Skip navigation
sponsored by 

Jeb Bush to NFL: Thanks but no thanks

Florida governor 'flattered,' but won't leave office early to be commissioner

Image: Bush
Florida governor Jeb Bush says he has been approached about the NFL commissioner job.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
  Special Feature
Domenik Hixon
AP

See the experts' picks and rank all the teams yourself.

Presented by

Video: Football from NBC Sports
100K Challenge: Week 6
Oct 7: Tiffany and Gregg make their 100K challenge picks for week 6. Gregg thinks Chad Pennington is your best bet at QB.

  Free Fantasy Games

$100,000 Fantasy Challenge
It's not too late ... make "Perfect Picks" for a chance to win.
Play FREE GridIron Pick'em

Special feature
Tampa Bay Buccaneers v Denver Broncos
Sideline support
Check out some of the NFL cheerleaders from across the league.

NBCSports.com

updated 7:50 p.m. ET May 24, 2006

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Gov. Jeb Bush is getting tired of people trying to plan his life after he leaves office in January.

First, his brother, the president, hinted Bush should consider his own run for the Oval Office in 2008.

And now comes the National Football League, which had an emissary gauge his interest in replacing commissioner Paul Tagliabue, who is retiring in July.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement

To both, Bush’s response was thanks, but no.

“I’m flattered,” Bush said Wednesday of the NFL’s interest, “but I’m governor of the state of Florida and I intend to be governor until I leave — which is January 2007. And I’m not going to consider any other options other than being governor until I finish.”’

He doesn’t believe NFL officials will hold the position open until then.

No matter the buzz — including whispers about a run for U.S. Senate and the GOP’s vice presidential nomination in 2008 — Bush says he’s focused on simply finishing his second term.

“I swore to uphold the laws of this state and I interpreted that a little broader, perhaps, to mean also that I was going to work 24-7, that I was going to finish strong,” Bush said. “And so a day doesn’t go by where someone doesn’t have a great idea for what my life looks like in 2007 and beyond and I’m not entertaining any discussion about it.”

  ALSO ON THIS STORY

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sponsored links