Ron Jaworski

It never has been easy for Ron Jaworski in Philadelphia. Not coming, not going. In his 10 years as the quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, Jaworski has been booed, battered and booed some more. He also has been to a Super Bowl, which occasionally gets forgotten. But that was six years ago. That was six years and 218 sacks ago. Jaworski is older now - almost 36 - and more bruised now. He also is a free agent now, according to his agent. There is a possibility that Jaworski will be back in an Eagles uniform, but it isn't likely.

Every time you tuned on ESPN during April, chances were Ron Jaworski would show up to report on the NFL draft. But whenever he saw old NFL friends and coaches on his travels, Jaworski fielded one question more than any other: Do you have any room in your Atlantic City golf tournament for me? The 23d annual Ron Jaworski Celebrity Golf Challenge will take place Sunday and Monday at Atlantic City Country Club in Northfield. The first day features the popular Acme Celebrity Shootout, in which 10 sports figures team with amateurs for a $100,000 purse.

Bill Bergey looked delighted, as if he had just snapped a quarterback in two. He was back in a crowd at an official Eagles function, he was pressing the flesh and posing for snapshots, and he was having a blast. The most fearsome and fervent Eagles linebacker of them all had been virtually ignored during Norman Braman's nine-year tenure as owner. But now Braman was gone and Jeffrey Lurie was in. And Bergey and his old Eagles buddies were not just honored guests at Lurie's first party - they'd been encouraged to be there.

OK, I've had it, I mean I've really had it. After reading the Dec. 29 article "Returning fire" I've just about had all I can take. Although I'm sorry to see Marion Campbell ousted so heartlessly before finishing the 1985 season, a change was certainly in order. If ever a team lacks imagination, it is and has been the Eagles since before the Vermeil regime. But really, who is more lacking on the field in imagination, execution, forethought, common sense, and just plain charisma than Ron Jaworski?

Once more, with feeling, Eagles owner Norman Braman says that money is not the reason that Ron Jaworski is a former Eagles quarterback. "I wish Ron Jaworski well, regardless of where he goes," Braman said yesterday, on the telephone from Miami. "I think the world of him, I really do. I like him, I like his family. He's a good guy, a businessman, an entrepreneur. I respect him as an individual and an athlete. But money was not the reason. I said that last week, and I'll say it again.

Ron Jaworski has carved out quite a niche more than 20 years after he retired as a professional football player. The former Eagles quarterback has been an analyst at ESPN for more than two decades, the last four on Monday Night Football. Jaworski is also part owner of the Philadelphia Soul, CEO of his own golf management company, and recently penned the NFL book The Games That Changed the Game . The Medford resident has also remained a vital part of the Philadelphia community through his local foundation, which benefits the United Way, and his ubiquitous presence.

Former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski went before the Deptford Zoning Board last night, asking permission to build 45 detached condominiums on two former fairways of his Eagles' Nest golf course. But Zoning Board Chairman Ray Groller indicated that "Jaws" might be a fish out of water. Groller said that Deptford's water system does not extend to the Eagles' Nest and that Jaworski might have difficulty obtaining state permits to sink enough wells to service 45 residences. Plans call for 52 acres of the 122-acre property to be used for condominiums, which would range in size from 1,500 square feet to 3,000 square feet.

In 1980, Ron Jaworski had the kind of year most athletes only dream about. He was the top-rated passer in the National Football Conference, the player of the year in the National Football League, and he took the Eagles to the Super Bowl. But that was 10 years ago. To talk about Jaworski these days is to talk about a thriving entrepreneur. His business ventures include a Gold's Gym & Sports Complex in Langhorne. His long list of speaking engagements included a motivational speech last week to a Chamber of Commerce breakfast in Langhorne.

THE SOUL in the offseason added more all-stars than a Miami Heat limousine. Twelve of the 16 players in this week's expected starting lineup were with other teams last year. Five of those 12 were either first- or second-team All-Arena. And another guy, lineman Devin Clark, will make it six All-Stars when he comes off injured reserve in 3 weeks. New coach Doug Plank led Georgia to the Arena Bowl in 2005. New offensive coordinator Clint Dolezel was one of the league's greatest quarterbacks and is one of its brightest minds.

Ron Jaworski will not be interviewing for a job with the Eagles today. Or tomorrow. Or next week. An unusual news release issued by the team last night made it clear that Jaworski would not be interviewing at all. Joe Banner, the team's executive vice president, moved to put an end to three days of wild speculation about Jaworski's candidacy for a front-office position. "There has been a significant amount of unfounded speculation surrounding Ron Jaworski and the Eagles with respect to whether or not he has been or will be interviewed for a front-office position," Banner said in the release, which was faxed to media outlets early in the evening.

PEYTON MANNING won't be an Eagle, but the second biggest prize in the free agency Cracker Jack box sure would look good in midnight green. And given Andy Reid's penchant for defensive linemen, ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski would love to see the Birds make a run at defensive end Mario Williams. "If I were the Eagles, I'd sign him tomorrow. I'd sign him today. I'd be with him right now," Jaworski said, his voice climbing excitedly with every sentence. "He's a tremendous player. But my gut feeling is the Chicago Bears are going to make a serious run at him. Can you imagine Julius Peppers on one side and Mario Williams on the other side?

THE SOUL in the offseason added more all-stars than a Miami Heat limousine. Twelve of the 16 players in this week's expected starting lineup were with other teams last year. Five of those 12 were either first- or second-team All-Arena. And another guy, lineman Devin Clark, will make it six All-Stars when he comes off injured reserve in 3 weeks. New coach Doug Plank led Georgia to the Arena Bowl in 2005. New offensive coordinator Clint Dolezel was one of the league's greatest quarterbacks and is one of its brightest minds.

DID ESPN drop Ron Jaworski from Monday Night Football because of his age? Possibly, the 60-year-old Jaworski told 97.5 The Fanatic yesterday. Last week, ESPN removed the former Eagles quarterback as a commentator from its three-man MNF team, but retained play-by-play man Mike Tirico and color commentator Jon Gruden. The network did give Jaworski a 5-year extension for what it termed a multiplatform NFL analyst role that includes appearances on "Sunday NFL Countdown," "Monday Night Countdown," and "NFL Matchup.

RON JAWORSKI'S move out of the "Monday Night Football" booth doesn't mean he's being silenced. Quite the contrary, actually. ESPN is taking Jaworski off the three-man "MNF" team and giving him other forums for his football knowledge, while giving the 60-year-old Jaworski a bit of breather. Additionally, the network and the former Eagles quarterback agreed to a new, 5-year contract. Financial terms were not disclosed. "It's a bittersweet decision, no doubt," Jaworski said.

With the Soul set to play their final game of the season Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center, co-owner Ron Jaworski vowed to return the team to the heights it reached while winning the Arena Football League title in 2008. The Soul (6-11), whose organization was revived this spring by Jaworski and businessman Craig Spencer after a two-year absence, will host the Pittsburgh Power (8-9) in a game between teams that did not qualify for the postseason. "When you put a team together, obviously, the ultimate goal is to win a championship," said Jaworski, who was the Soul's general manager when they took the crown.

Ron Jaworski has carved out quite a niche more than 20 years after he retired as a professional football player. The former Eagles quarterback has been an analyst at ESPN for more than two decades, the last four on Monday Night Football. Jaworski is also part owner of the Philadelphia Soul, CEO of his own golf management company, and recently penned the NFL book The Games That Changed the Game . The Medford resident has also remained a vital part of the Philadelphia community through his local foundation, which benefits the United Way, and his ubiquitous presence.

THE QUARTERBACK torch has been passed from the six-time Pro Bowler to the 25-year-old probie, and now, all eyes will turn to the little town of Bethlehem on Monday as everyone anxiously waits to find out whether the Eagles' faith in Kevin Kolb is justified or misguided. Were Kolb's two 300-yard performances against the Saints and Chiefs early last season an indication of things to come or simply the result of what can happen when you throw the ball 85 times against two bad pass defenses?

A quarter of a century. That's how long former Eagles quarterback and ESPN's "Monday Night Football" analyst Ron Jaworski has been holding his charity golf tournament. A shade over $3 million. That's how much the tourney has raised. "It really sounds good," said Jaws, when asked about the numbers recently at Atlantic City Country Club, which again will be the host for the 26th annual event on May 16-17. "I remember those early years, at Eagles Nest Country Club [in Sewell, N.J.]

A LONG, LONG time ago, the Eagles had bookend tackles named Stan Walters and Jerry Sisemore. It was so long ago, such a different time, that Walters would sometimes sneak a smoke in his locker after practice. It seemed like they played together forever, establishing themselves before the arrival in Philadelphia of a quarterback named Ron Jaworski and then guarding his flanks as the franchise built to a trip to Super Bowl XV. Walters and Sisemore. They were so different. Sisemore was much more of a physical guy, more of a mauler on the right side, a truly great player.

Ron Jaworski won't pick one. Donovan McNabb or Eli Manning? He ranks each in the top 10 among NFL quarterbacks, but to pick one over the other wouldn't be right, Jaworski said, because the burden on each is so different. The Eagles pass to win. The New York Giants run to win. That difference will be on full display tomorrow when the Eagles play at the Giants in an NFC divisional playoff game. "There's much more of a burden on Donovan to carry the Eagles and be successful," Jaworski said.