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Wednesday, July 16, 1997

Cowboys' Haley, Novacek make retirement official

By Josie Karp

Knight-Ridder Newspapers

(KRT)

IRVING, Texas - Tight end Jay Novacek decided he was through with football on a basketball court last month. When two all-out trips up and down the court left his back in pain, he said he knew he would never again be able to make a clutch reception on third-and-three.

For defensive end Charles Haley, the same realization came in a doctor's office in California last year when the word "cripple" got his attention.

After combining for 10 Pro Bowl appearances, eight Super Bowl titles and four back surgeries, Novacek and Haley formally announced their retirements from the Cowboys on Tuesday during a news conference at Texas Stadium. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones lauded their accomplishments, then handed his players engraved, star-shaped crystal sculptures designed by Tiffany's.

It was not an easy swap. A year of struggling through surgeries and rehabilitation forced both players to choke up and finally admit their careers were over. Rangers veteran Mickey Tettleton did the same in a tearful news conference 10 days ago after chronic knee problems forced his retirement from baseball.

"For a year now ... I've been going through a state of depression because I knew that it was over," Haley said. "I was walking around bitter and angry, lashing out. But I've come to grips with it.

"My wife told me, 'Maybe it's time to do something else.' It's hard when all your life all you've done is play football. It's hard to even think about it."

Haley endured three back operations in less than two years. Novacek had one back operation and spent all of last season struggling through rehabilitation because he wanted to see if he could keep playing.

And though both players say they will continue to be involved with the team as consultants, the things they probably will miss most is the things they aren't able to do.

"They'll go in a restaurant, and Novacek will still be Novacek and Haley will still be Haley," Cowboys scouting director Larry Lacewell said. "But they still won't have the opportunity to make that sack or score that touchdown, to have that rush, to have that feeling. It's just not there.

"I miss it as a coach. I miss that feeling that only comes from competing right there on the field doing it. That's what they'll miss."

For Novacek, that means never again having the opportunity to go over the middle cloaked by a linebacker and make a catch for a first down, knowing the quarterback never saw him but threw the ball anyway because Novacek would be in the right place at the right time.

For Haley, that means never having the chance to blow by an offensive lineman and flatten a quarterback for a sack to turn around a game and ignite a crowd.

"I think that's one thing that athletes just have - they have that competitive nature," Novacek said. " ... I think I can beat that other guy, and I'm going to go out there and prove it."

Having a sense of career satisfaction might help ease the transition from professional athlete to retiree, says Mark Aguirre. Aguirre, the No. 1 draft pick of the Mavericks in 1982, won two NBA championships with the Detroit Pistons in 1989-90 before ending his career by playing 39 games for the Los Angeles Clippers in 1993-94.

"I think the biggest thing from Day One is to know that you feel a sense of accomplishment," Aguirre said. "If not, then you might want to dab back at the game."

Few players in NFL history accomplished what Novacek did, winning three Super Bowls with the Cowboys. No other player in NFL history matched what Haley did, winning five Super Bowls with two different teams.

Novacek's last active game was the Cowboys' Super Bowl XXX victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Haley played in five games last season before opting for back surgery. He said his back still bothers him and that he plans to consult with doctors again in the near future. Novacek says he believes that his back is about "50 percent healed."

Both players held true to form in their farewell appearances. Although he eschewed his traditional cowboy hat, Novacek was casually dressed in shorts, T-shirt and baseball cap. He started off his remarks by lamenting that he still had to speak to the media one more time.

Haley, who had announced his retirement prematurely on several occasions, was emotional as he thanked Cowboys personnel and several representatives of his former team, the San Francisco 49ers.

Immediate plans for Novacek include hunting, eating his mother's coconut cream pie and, he said, spending some time in Austin over the next month at Cowboys training camp, working with the tight ends.

Haley also said he would like to help groom the Cowboys' younger players. But his most pressing plans are to support his 3-year-old daughter, Brianna, whose leukemia was recently diagnosed.

"The thing that matters to me is my family, my wife and my three kids. In the last year it's been really, really bad," Haley said. " ... It's been a real, real trial now just trying to keep your head above water."

(c) 1997, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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