VINCENT FACES UPHILL CLIMB AT NFLPA

In the wake of Thursday’s report from Mark Maske of the Washington Post regarding the narrowing of the field of candidates for the NFLPA Executive Director position, we’ve picked up some more information about the status of the search process.
At one point, former NFLPA president Troy Vincent was regarded as the favorite for the job. But that was before he launched a coup attempt against former Executive Director Gene Upshaw in March.
Now, the thinking in some circles is that the folks currently in control of the union (interim Executive Director Richard Berthelsen and outside counsel Jeff Kessler) are trying to steer the process away from Vincent.
As we hear it, when the search committee convened recently to trim the names of candidates to seven, Vincent wasn’t even on the proposed list of 14. After objections were voiced by some members of the search committee, Vincent was added to the list -- and he then made the cut to the final seven.
We’re told that, after Vincent made the cut, interim Executive Director Richard Berthelsen began to press for a new contract, apparently due to concerns that, if Vincent gets the job, he’ll fire Berthelsen.
Berthelsen, as we hear it, is pushing for another former NFLPA president, Trace Armstrong, to get the job. Another former NFLPA president, Mike Kenn, is viewed (we’re told) by Berthelsen as an acceptable alternative.
As a source with knowledge of the process has opined to us, “This is a three-horse race and the fix is in. . . . All the other candidates are just filler. Armstrong, Kenn, and Troy will be the finalists. Armstrong will get the job after they dirty up Troy. . . . Kenn will be given some role for being a good sport.”
The attack on Vincent is expected to focus on his effort to topple Upshaw. Apparently, there also will be some focus on the question of whether Vincent actually obtained a degree at Wisconsin. (We’re not saying that Vincent didn’t obtain a degree at Wisconsin; we’re only saying that there’s a belief that questions will be raised in this regard in an apparent effort to undermine his candidacy.)
So, basically, things could get interesting soon. The biggest question is whether anyone is really paying attention to what is (or what may be) happening.