ORLANDO—The Jaguars will kickoff their 2006 season by hosting the Dallas Cowboys in a nationally-televised game on Sept. 10. The Dallas at Jacksonville game will be part of a doubleheader and will kick-off at 4:15 p.m. on FOX.
NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue also announced that the 2006 NFL season will begin on Thursday, Sept. 7, when the Super Bowl-champion Pittsburgh Steelers host the Miami Dolphins on NBC.
Tagliabue conducted a brief press conference on Monday afternoon at the NFL owners meetings. He spoke mostly on the subject of a search for his successor.
"What's needed is a really effective leader and somebody who can be around a long time," Tagliabue said. He listed "vision, intelligence, persuasiveness, work ethic, integrity and the ability to put together a strong leadership team and keep it together" as the necessary job skills.
The search for a commissioner and the state of the league's quest to prepare Los Angeles to receive an NFL franchise were the main topics to be discussed by owners on Monday afternoon. When asked when Los Angeles might be ready to receive a team, Tagliabue said: "I'll answer that after the Denver meeting." Owners will meet in Denver in May.
Tagliabue announced that the official NFL football will be re-named "The Duke" in '06, as a tribute to New York Giants founder Wellington Mara, who passed away last fall. Mara's nickname was "The Duke," which appeared on the NFL ball during Pete Rozelle's term as commissioner.
