NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell gave his annual State of the NFL press conference on Friday in New York City and Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie was among the attendees. Following the expansive address, Lurie joined NFL Network's Rich Eisen for an interview to discuss topics both relating to the league and the Philadelphia Eagles. Here's a transcript of some of the highlights from the discussion ...
On whether he would be interested in seeing Philadelphia host a Super Bowl: "Absolutely. Philly would be a great place to host it. It's got everything, all the infrastructure, fourth-largest city in the country, the great history, state-of-the-art stadium and great fan base. And there are others (cities) that'll want to host it, too. I've never been afraid of a cold-weather Super Bowl. We just played a game against Detroit in a blizzard and it was the most incredible experience for our fans and on TV, just spectacular."
On having a cold-weather game determine the Super Bowl: "I don't think it's something you want to do every year. Some of the greatest games in the history of the NFL, including championship games, have been played in cold-weather climates, Green Bay in particular. They've been some of the most historical games and great games in NFL history. A lot of us grew up in cold weather and it's natural to play big games in cold weather. I think we'll see how it goes on Sunday and go from there. There are some great fan bases and huge markets that would love to host a Super Bowl."
On playoff expansion: "I think we've got to be careful. We've always wanted to be a league that it's not easy to make the playoffs. I think adding one team per conference might work. We've got to schedule it in a way where the follow-up games allow for equal preparation for all teams. These are crucial games. You don't want to have a competitive advantage because one team has four or five days to prepare and the other has seven, so I think it's doable. We've got to be careful, but I could be in favor of it if we could figure out a way to schedule it where there's no competitive advantage."
On making all plays reviewable by instant replay: "I am firmly in favor of that. I think what we can do is still limit the number of challenges if we don't go to a centralized system. I just think coaches and teams will want to wait and use their challenges for big plays and those could be pass interference calls, they could be big plays, game-impacting plays. It's frustrating when you find a play that could have changed the game and you can't challenge it. I think we've got to address that and I think we will. The replay system is evolving and evolves every year. There are some changes we can make that can really improve the game."
On whether he likes the idea of a centralized replay system: "I think it has potential. I really do."
On whether the coaches would like a centralized replay system: "I think what we have to do is figure out what's best for the game. I haven't talked to Chip (Kelly) about it, but if it's a policy decision we're going to make or something we can propose we'll go there. I just want to make it so the fans and all of us, we have so much invested in it, Rich, that we don't suffer from poor calls or lack of replay experience in terms of making those final decisions on big plays. We want it available to reverse if it's necessary."
On Nick Foles: "He's been great, what a first year and a half with Nick, spectacular. Real smart. Poised. Wants to be great. He's got a lot to be great. Great teammate. Great leader. He's got a lot going for him, but in the NFL you've got to compete at all times. He's had an amazing first year and a half."
