Super Bowl XXXIV • Discuss the Game

By Liz Clarke
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2000; Page D1

ATLANTA, Jan. 31 – His voice still hoarse from the revelry that followed Sunday's 23-16 victory over Tennessee in Super Bowl XXXIV, St. Louis Coach Dick Vermeil still found occasion today to point out shortcomings that made the final score closer than it might have been.

Vermeil cited a lack of toughness among his Rams, who yielded the Titans 16 straight points in the second half, and suggested a more rigorous training camp might be the solution. He also cited a disintegration of fundamentals on the part of quarterback Kurt Warner, who passed for a Super Bowl record 414 yards en route to earning the game's MVP honors.

But whether Vermeil, 63, returns for the 2000 season remains in question. He didn't rule out retirement the morning after becoming the oldest NFL head coach to win a Super Bowl – a move that would hand the reins to offensive coordinator Mike Martz.

Vermeil said he hadn't given the matter much thought but intended to discuss it with his wife, Carol, after returning home and savoring the victory. "It is much better to be talking about [retiring] than answering questions about getting fired, which I have done for two years" in which the Rams were 9-23, Vermeil said.

Broadcaster Brent Musburger, a close friend of Vermeil's, characterized Vermeil's thinking as "a jump ball." Said Musburger: "I think he will think about leaving because his wife may want to go back to a more relaxed lifestyle."

Sunday's game produced one of the most riveting finishes in Super Bowl history. After a plodding first half in which three Rams field goals accounted for the only points, it came down to the final play with six seconds remaining. All that separated the winners from the losers was one yard.

The Rams built a 16-0 lead, but the Titans fought back to tie the score with 2 minutes 12 seconds left. Vermeil said in that stretch, he worried the Rams had become "such a finesse football team" that they had lost the edge in toughness.

The Rams regained the momentum with a 73-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce with 1:54 to go. But the Titans made one last charge. With six seconds on the clock and the Titans on the St. Louis 10, quarterback Steve McNair threw a completion to wide receiver Kevin Dyson. He desperately stretched toward the end zone but was tackled one yard shy of the score that would have forced overtime.

Vermeil called the game "humbling" and thanked Rams players, management and his coaching staff for their efforts. He also saluted Tennessee's players and empathized with the Titans' loss.

Vermeil said he had hoped to put the game out of reach and force the Titans to play catch-up. "We could never put them away because we didn't execute well in the red zone, and we missed a field goal, and we dropped a field goal snap," he said. "So maybe we need to make sure that we rebuild that little edge of toughness."

Warner was named the game's MVP despite completing only 1 of 12 passes in the red zone. Vermeil said there were things the first-year starter could improve upon in the offseason.

"I think some of his quarterback fundamentals started to disintegrate a little bit," Vermeil said. "You have got to keep working on the fundamentals – the pass drops and the set-ups and the deliveries. I could see signs of him disintegrating a little bit, because you only have so much time on the field."

Warner, who was presented with a shiny black truck and a silver trophy for his MVP honors this morning, said it took watching highlights in the wee hours of the morning to fully appreciate his team's accomplishment.

He hadn't seen Bruce's 73-yard touchdown catch at the time, for example, because he was on his back, having been flattened by a Titans defender. He remained awed by linebacker Mike Jones's game-saving tackle.

"I mean, you just kind of look at it over and over and over, and you think, 'Man!' " Warner said. "So many times you see that same thing happen, and the one guy breaks the one tackle and gets into the end zone."

Rams officials now must decide how many members of their Super Bowl championship squad to bring back next season. Vermeil said the Rams' payroll was "in good shape overall" relative to the NFL's salary cap, though he acknowledged the team had mortgaged the future slightly in securing running back Marshall Faulk.

"I think we will be able to keep the squad together," Vermeil said. But re-signing everyone, he said, would be impossible.

Warner is expected to get a new contract, which may make it difficult to keep Trent Green, the team's original starting quarterback who suffered a season-ending knee injury in August. Vermeil said he hoped to have Green's status resolved within the next few weeks. "We will do what is best for Trent Green and the Rams organization," he said.

Warner said he hopes to stay with the Rams for a long time. In addition to a new contract, he's likely to get a barrage of endorsement opportunities that could make him exceedingly rich. "Let's hope, eh?" he said.

Already, the Warners are a long way from the difficult times just a few years ago. Warner's wife was on food stamps when the two met, which enabled her to care for her ill young son. And Warner himself was earning $5.50 an hour at a grocery store.

"I am a guy that isn't necessarily motivated by money," Warner said. "Other things are more important to me. And hopefully that can rub off with some of the other guys."

Vermeil excused himself just once for sobs this morning, when he recalled his brother reminding him that their mother had told Dick he would return to coach a Super Bowl-winning team one day. "And, God – she was right," Vermeil said. "I didn't think she was. But she was."

Staff writer Len Shapiro contributed to this report.