Super Bowl 2021: Roger Goodell praises all for playing entire season amid pandemic

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell praised the entire NFL family – from players, to coaches, to administrators, to fans – who collaborated to pull off the unlikely goal of completing its entire regular season and first three playoff weekends amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"This was an extraordinary collective effort," Goodell said Thursday in Tampa during his "state-of-the-NFL" address preceding Super Bowl LV. "There are so many people that had to work together. There were doubters. There were people who didn’t believe we could do it. But we believed."

But the commissioner was quick to point out that there is one final hurdle to overcome.

"We still have a few days left here [before Sunday’s game]," he said. "We want to focus on finishing strong."

Goodell credited the league, NFL Players Association and the teams to "implement those [COVID-19] protocols and adapt throughout the season. We had to adapt just like everybody else. This was a year where we were all challenged and we had to find innovative solutions to those challenges."

Just weeks after the league and NFLPA signed off in March on a 10-year extension of their collective bargaining agreement, the two sides worked throughout the spring and summer to deal with the first pandemic in more than a century. The net result was that there have been no cancellations, despite a handful of postponements revolving around COVID-19 spread inside the Titans and Ravens organizations.

There is also unprecedented harmony between the league and players union, a relationship that has been fraught with mistrust over decades of labor dealings.

NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith even made an appearance near the end of Goodell’s news conference, complimenting the league on its efforts.

"We’ve had our dustups in the past, but this season, it really took all of us to get through this," Smith said. "I’m really proud of the partnership we have with the NFL. We have a fantastic business, a great game that we are only able to do together. I think the best days of the NFL are ahead of us."

Goodell addressed several other issues facing the league:

• DIVERSITY HIRING: Despite a push from the league office at improving diversity among NFL head coaches, only one African American coach was among the seven new coaches hired. Jets coach Robert Saleh, of Lebanese descent, was also hired. "I’m not sure there’s an issue we spent more time working with our ownership on," Goodell said. "We want to make our clubs more diverse. It’s much broader than head coaches, but the head coach is important. We had two minority coaches hired, but it wasn’t what we expected and it’s not what we expect going forward." Goodell said he plans to speak with owners, newly hired coaches and those who missed out on coach hirings to try and come up with different solutions.

• ON DELAYING COACH SEARCHES UNTIL AFTER THE SUPER BOWL: "We’ve had a lot of discussions with the Fritz Pollard Alliance. It’s something I’m sure will be brought back up again. This season, as part of our policy, technology was a benefit. They were able to have interviews by Zoom. That gave coaches the opportunity to interview."

• OFFSEASON WORKOUTS: Goodell hinted that teams would continue to conduct at least some of their offseason conditioning program on a virtual basis, similar to the 2020 off-season that was limited to Zoom sessions because of the coronavirus. "Virtual is going to be part of our life for the long term," he said. "It was a positive way to install offenses and work in the offseason." But Goodell doesn’t want to eliminate all aspects of the offseason and hopes teams can resume regular training camp practices and preseason games. "I believe our coaches feel strongly that there is value in training camp, value in practices, value in having preseason games, where you can develop young players and get better as football players."

• GETTING BACK TO NORMAL IN A COVID WORLD: "One of the things I’ve learned and all of us have learned is try not to project too far in advance. Go back to last March and early April and trying to project what the environment was going to be like and where the virus and pandemic was." Goodell said the strategy moving forward is to "waiit as long as you can, be prepared for the uncertainty and find solutions. I don’t know when normal is going to occur again. We have learned to operate in a very difficult environment. We have found solutions, and we will do it again."

• CONCUSSION SETTLEMENT: Goodell pushed back on reports that the league has held African-American players to a different standard when it comes to compensation related to the NFL’s concussion settlement. "The federal court is overseeing the operation and implementation of that settlement, and we are not part of selecting the clinicians, the medical experts on a day-to-day basis," he said. "We’ll see if there are changes to be made, but those will be determined by the court."

• COLIN KAEPERNICK’S PROTESTS: Asked if he felt the need to further apologize to former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, whose decision to take a knee during the 2016 season sparked a movement to draw awareness to racial injustice in America, Goodell expressed remorse that the league didn’t pay attention to players’ concerns sooner. Kaepernick has not played in the NFL since the end of the 2016 season and reached a settlement with the NFL in 2019 after filing a grievance. "I said back in June we wish we had listened to our players earlier," Goodell said. "We had a lot of players that were bringing these issues to us. Colin was one of the individuals who brought a great deal of attention, and he deserves our recognition and appreciation."

• ON HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH BUCS QUARTERBACK TOM BRADY, WHO WAS SUSPENDED BY GOODELL FOR HIS ROLE IN DEFLATEGATE IN 2014 PLAYOFFS: "Tom Brady has shown that he is the greatest player to ever play this game. His leadership, his ability to rise to the big occasion and make everybody rise around him – everyone plays better when they’re with him. He’s an exceptional talent. He’s real, and he cares about his game deeply. I wish him well. I'm glad to hear he’s going to play a few more years." Goodell did not answer a question about whether he regrets imposing sanctions on Brady, who was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season.

• ON THE NFL’S FUTURE: "We’re playing at an extraordinary level that has never been seen before. The future is bright because of those great young players and those great young teams. I believe the best days are ahead. I’m very confident of that."

By Bob Glauber

Special to NewsdayBobGlauber

Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”