BURLINGAME, Calif. (AP) — Carmen Policy, whose salary cap wizardry kept the aging San Francisco 49ers among the NFL's top teams, was not able to master the intrigue of his own front office.
Caught in a bitter personal battle with 49ers owner and former best friend Eddie DeBartolo, Policy resigned Wednesday after eight years as team president.
While Policy is expected to seek an executive position with the expansion Cleveland Browns, who begin play in 1999, his resignation likely signals that DeBartolo is about to regain control of the club he co-owns with his sister.
Policy and DeBartolo have not spoken since January, when the owner — who faces possible indictment in a gambling fraud case in Louisiana — feared Policy was trying to take control of the team.
"It's in a deep freeze," Policy said of his relationship with DeBartolo. "It has not been defrosted during the past whatever number of months."
Team vice president Dwight Clark said he was among several people who tried unsuccessfully to mediate the rift between Policy and DeBartolo.
"There were a number of people, including myself, who gave it a shot. It was just something that couldn't be reversed, for whatever reason," Clark said.
DeBartolo released a statement that fell far short of heaping praise on Policy.
"Carmen leaves our organization with my best personal wishes," DeBartolo said. "He has been an integral part of the 49ers' success since we named him president in 1991."
Policy was brilliant at manipulating the salary cap and recruiting free agents — key ingredients in San Francisco's 1994 Super Bowl championship, the most recent of the team's five titles.
He also oversaw the transitions that have been at the heart of the 49ers' success — from Joe Montana to Steve Young at quarterback, from Bill Walsh to George Seifert to Steve Mariucci at coach.
"I think that I'd like my legacy to be one that's reflective of the fact that I was a problem-solver," Policy said. "I handled stress, I handled transition in a straightforward way."
Larry Thrailkill, chief operating officer of the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation, will take over as the team's interim chief executive.
Thrailkill, a lawyer who joked that his only football experience was as a high school quarterback in Atlanta, said Mariucci would remain as coach and that the 49ers are committed to moving forward with plans for a new stadium in San Francisco.
Thrailkill, who met with Policy on Tuesday at the DeBartolo Corp. headquarters in Youngstown, Ohio, will be the spokesman for the 49ers on league matters.
"We were shocked, we were surprised, we were disappointed," he said of Policy's resignation. "Twenty-four hours ago I was minding my own business in Youngstown. I've had little sleep since then."
Former coach Bill Walsh, who led the 49ers to three Super Bowl titles, had been mentioned as a candidate to replace Policy on at least an interim basis but was not included in the temporary management team.
Policy would not be specific about his plans, except to say he'd like to stay in the NFL, "preferably with a team."
"There are some excellent opportunities that are available to me individually, to me as part of a group, that are very exciting," he said. "I see these opportunities as being golden, but I see these opportunities as fleeting."
The messy clash between Policy and DeBartolo could test the continuity of a team renowned for its seamless transitions on and off the field.
"Although it's not shocking because there's been so much turmoil over the last six months, it is somewhat disappointing and we will have to regroup upstairs," Clark said.
"Our team upstairs has lost its Jerry Rice, so to speak. It's unfortunate for us, but like our football team did last year when they lost Jerry Rice, they kept going — and so will we."
After Wednesday morning's practice at training camp about 75 miles east in Stockton, 49ers quarterback Steve Young said the team's experience at going through management and coaching shakeups in the past will help it deal with this change.
"We've made transitions in the past pretty seamlessly and there's no reason to think we can't do it again. There's history for what we're talking about," Young said. "Today is a little bit chaotic, but I really think there will be long-term stability."
Policy's stay with the club had become tenuous since his relationship with DeBartolo soured earlier this year. The two, friends for 30 years and once described as being as close as brothers, have not spoken to each other since a heated meeting in January.
DeBartolo believed Policy was trying to take over the 49ers himself or organize a group to bid on the team and buy it from the DeBartolo family, something Policy has denied.
Denise DeBartolo York assumed active ownership of the franchise in December from her brother, who gave up his role as team chairman after the U.S. attorney's office in New Orleans told him he could be indicted in a federal investigation involving a Louisiana gambling fraud case.
Eight months have passed without any charges being filed against DeBartolo, but the inquiry remains open.
In the meantime, DeBartolo has moved to resume control of the team, entering into negotiations with his sister over her share of the club. Each of the siblings owns 45 percent of the team.
Thrailkill said the 49ers will be able to make a smooth transition to Policy's successor.
"Why would stability be an issue here? This club has been through coaching changes, through all kinds of changes through the years," he said. "We have got to be one of the most stable franchise in all of sports."