WASHINGTON (AP) -The NFL Players Association has chosen a Chicago-based firm to assist in the search for a new executive director to replace Gene Upshaw, who died in August.
A search committee picked Reilly Partners on Wednesday from a group of six it had interviewed for the job.
Richard Berthelsen, the union's acting executive director, said the main reason it was chosen was because it had helped in the search for a new director for the NHL Players Association. The search will be handled primarily by two of the firm's partners, Bob Reilly and Dave Poulin, a former NHL player.
In addition, the union retained Pat Richter, a former NFL player and the retired athletic director at the University of Wisconsin, as a consultant in the search. Richter was on the union's executive committee during his days as a tight end for the Washington Redskins in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The union search committee consists of Tennessee's Kevin Mawae, the NFLPA's president; Tony Richardson of the New York Jets; Mike Vrabel of New England; Jeff Saturday of Indianapolis; Domonique Foxworth of Atlanta and the retired Donovin Darius.
