Paying Phifer: Patriots know it's been worth it

By Nick Cafardo, Globe Staff, 1/30/2002

NEW ORLEANS - Roman Phifer played the 2001 season, his 11th, for a $477,000 minimum salary and $225,000 in playing-time incentives.

He had never had to play for his pay.

Phifer had been a well-paid second-round draft pick out of UCLA, and always had the market contract in eight seasons with the Rams and two with the Jets (with whom he signed a three-year, $8.9 million deal with a $3.6 million signing bonus).

For a while, Phifer - who has been one of the Patriots' most consistent defensive players as an outside linebacker/rushing defensive end - spent the offseason wondering if or where he would play again.

There wasn't strong interest in him as a free agent, and he had personal issues. The biggest was his 5-year-old son Jordan, whom he named after Michael Jordan, just as Phifer's father, James, had named him after former Rams quarterback Roman Gabriel. Jordan was living on the West Coast.

How could Patriots coach Bill Belichick resolve this for Phifer - a player wanting to spend more time with his son? Belichick couldn't offer him a lot of money. He couldn't offer him a lot of playing time. In fact, Phifer was supposed to be a situational player, not the guy teammate Terrell Buckley recognizes as the team MVP.

''I had played for Bill and I was looking around and seeing where the best place for me was,'' said Phifer. ''I knew Bill was trying to build something in New England with veteran players like myself and Bryan [Cox], and I thought in the end, why not? My big concern was my son. I didn't want to be away from him for too long. That was a big consideration in anywhere I went. Bill called and we talked about it, and he made it sound like a situation that would be good for me. I took it, and now I'm glad I did.''

And Belichick allowed Phifer to head back to Los Angeles a few times during the season.

The result now may be a Super Bowl ring, a new contract, and stability in the final years of his NFL career.

''I've really enjoyed the year and I'd like to come back,'' said Phifer, who will play in his first Super Bowl. ''Nothing has been discussed and really, that's not the focus of any of us right now. It's just amazing being here and soaking this all in. The only time I ever saw this was on TV over the years, but after 11 years, you don't think you're ever going to be in this position. As it turned out, I'm blessed to have signed here. I got the chance to do things and see things I've never seen before. And now I get to face the Rams in the Super Bowl. It's a little bit unreal sometimes.''

He still has friends like London Fletcher and Dexter McLeon and Isaac Bruce, who were leftovers from his Rams days. He made the move with the Rams from LA to St. Louis in 1995. By the time he left as an unrestricted free agent in '98, well ... he mistimed his departure.

The Rams won the Super Bowl the next season.

''I got to see a few of them the other day,'' said Phifer of his old friends. ''I played against them earlier this year, and it's always funny to play against your friends. But once you get out there, that stuff goes away and it's football.''

The other coincidence is that Phifer grew up a Steelers fan.

''That was fun, really, every week and every step has been fun,'' said Phifer. ''When I came here I thought I'd play on third down, but on first and second down, we had other people in place. But we had some injuries [to Ted Johnson, Cox, and Willie McGinest] and I got more opportunities and things worked out for all of us.''

As for the incentives he earned, ''Well, when you're playing you don't think about them,'' he said. ''I mean, you know they're there, but if you don't play well and contribute to the team and think about the team, what good is it? That's the great thing about this team, everybody played together. There were no hassles or arguments or anything like that. It was everybody stepping in and doing what they had to do. It was real professional.''

And that is what teammates call Roman Phifer.

''He's just a neat guy to be around,'' said Buckley. ''He's always around the ball. He makes the plays. He's asked to do a lot of things and he does them all well. He's a pro.''

That he made the conversion to pass-rushing defensive end after years of being a cover linebacker is testimony to Phifer's commitment. When McGinest wasn't ready to play significant minutes at the start of the season, Belichick inserted Phifer in that role. And the results were pretty impressive.

''I think we have a good defense,'' said Phifer. ''I think it started to jell about the time when we went to a 4-3. That allowed the linebackers more freedom to make plays and the guys up front to get better pressure on the quarterback.''

He may have played for one of the lowest paychecks in his career, but he's playing the biggest game of his life. For Roman Phifer, it was well worth the tradeoff.