Ollie sent the Snake to retirement.-
1982/7/15: On this day in pro football history: After months of fighting over offensive philosophies, Houston Oilers head coach Ed Biles announced that veteran quarterback Ken Stabler had been released. Biles said that he gave Stabler the choice of retiring or being placed on waivers.
Biles felt that the Oilers needed to shift their focus to developing their 2nd round draft pick, quarterback Oliver Luck. Luck was expected to be the backup to the starting quarterback Gifford Nielson. “We don’t think he (Stabler) fits into the pattern now,” Biles said.
When Stabler didn’t give the Oilers an answer, Biles said that he was forced to place the 36-year-old quarterback on no-recall waivers which meant Houston could not bring Stabler back. “We wanted to give him the opportunity to get a job on another team and to have plenty of time for that to happen. In all fairness to the veterans, we feel are no longer able to contribute to this football team, we wanted to give them the opportunity in the right sort of way,” Biles said.
Stabler’s agent, Attorney Henry Pitts said that his client was not going to retire. He would also consider joining a team in the new United States Football League. “He’s not believing that he will not be playing somewhere this fall or next spring,” Pitts said. If an NFL team picked up Stabler, they will have to pick up his contract that will pay him $420,000.
1982/7/15: On this day in pro football history: After months of fighting over offensive philosophies, Houston Oilers head coach Ed Biles announced that veteran quarterback Ken Stabler had been released. Biles said that he gave Stabler the choice of retiring or being placed on waivers.
Biles felt that the Oilers needed to shift their focus to developing their 2nd round draft pick, quarterback Oliver Luck. Luck was expected to be the backup to the starting quarterback Gifford Nielson. “We don’t think he (Stabler) fits into the pattern now,” Biles said.
When Stabler didn’t give the Oilers an answer, Biles said that he was forced to place the 36-year-old quarterback on no-recall waivers which meant Houston could not bring Stabler back. “We wanted to give him the opportunity to get a job on another team and to have plenty of time for that to happen. In all fairness to the veterans, we feel are no longer able to contribute to this football team, we wanted to give them the opportunity in the right sort of way,” Biles said.
Stabler’s agent, Attorney Henry Pitts said that his client was not going to retire. He would also consider joining a team in the new United States Football League. “He’s not believing that he will not be playing somewhere this fall or next spring,” Pitts said. If an NFL team picked up Stabler, they will have to pick up his contract that will pay him $420,000.
