For the next 45 minutes, Tagliabue answered why it's difficult to do that. Every major topic had its challenges. Diversity hiring, perhaps the league's most explosive issue, is an exasperatingly slow process. Expansion to Los Angeles isn't likely in the next decade although momentum is building for a potential state of the art stadium for Southern California fans. Officiating, he said, is good although he's still steaming about the blown call that cost the Giants one last field-goal attempt in a playoff loss to the 49ers.

As for overtime, the push is to try to make a drastic change to give each team a chance at possessing the ball, but Tagliabue has to keep the momentum and interests into making such changes for the next couple months when the owners meet in Phoenix in March. His roadblock is an ownership group that is slow to make change and can block an overtime rule adjustment with eight negative votes.

The NFL is coming off one of its greatest seasons. Ratings are up. Scoring is up. Quarterback efficiency has soared. More than 70 percent of the league has built new stadiums or renovated old ones. Labor peace exists. Instead of making major fights, the league can look ahead and try to make bold moves.

	“	The time table for expansion is that there no expansion. If an opportunity to get a team in Los Angeles is there with a new state of the art stadium, owners might revisit it at some point. ”
		— Commissioner Paul Tagliabue

The problem is speed. Hovering over the NFL is a potential lawsuit by a powerful group lead by attorney Johnnie Cochran, who is pushing for more minority hiring in the coaching and front office ranks. The NFL made some slow steps forward this season. Marvin Lewis was hired by the Bengals as head coach. James Harris was hired to be the Jaguars' vice president of player personnel, and there is still a chance that the 49ers could hire a minority coach.

What's interesting is that hearing Tagliabue on Friday was almost like hearing NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw on Thursday when he had his state-of-the-league press conference. The two sides mouth the same words, and they appear to be working together.

For example, Upshaw said Thursday that he was happy with the progress being made on the minority hiring front of coaches. His biggest ray of hope is a plan to improve the hiring of minorities for front office positions. Outreach programs are being aggressively pursued.

For example, a dozen current NFL players are heading over to NFL Europe to get some front office experience. Efforts are being made to teach former players the front office ways. Teach them the salary cap. Teach them how to scout, how to evaluate off tape. Those classes could go anywhere from 2-6 weeks and take part annually.

Therein lies the frustration of changing the status quo. It might be four to five years to see significant results. After all, the escalation of hiring minority assistants are just now producing an ever-growing talent pool of assistants and coordinators.

With the backing of Upshaw, Tagliabue shot down criticisms of the recent hirings of Bill Parcells in Dallas and Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville. His responses were his most pointed and emotional Friday.

"There is more of a commitment than ever to diversity in employment in the NFL for coaching and business decisions," Tagliabue said. "We are going to have colorblind hiring practices."

Tagliabue called the pressure of the Cochran group mixed.

"In terms of Jacksonville and Dallas, I don't understand what principles are supposed to underlie the principles from the hiring of Bill Parcells and Jack Del Rio," Tagliabue said.

His point is a good one. Parcells is indeed, as he said, a world-class coach. Del Rio is a bright young coach, and as a commissioner, he certainly can't order an owner to hire someone he doesn't want to hire.

It can't be argued that the pressure being applied by the Cochran group is having some impact. That's positive. A lawsuit might complicate things, but the pressure is working. Unfortunately, it's slow to change the status quo.

As for expansion, forget about it. Tagliabue virtually dismissed it outright. The owners are happy with eight divisions of four teams. He stressed the need for a Los Angeles franchise, but as far as expansion, it would take a rare state-of-the-art stadium to wow owners into adding a team in Los Angeles.

"The time table for expansion is that there is no expansion," Tagliabue said. "If an opportunity to get a team in Los Angeles is there with a new state-of-the-art stadium, owners might revisit it at some point."

That might mean another decade. Listening to Tagliabue answer questions about stadium problems in other cities convinces the listener that San Diego better worry about keeping the Chargers. Super Bowls are done in San Diego unless a new stadium is built. Momentum is building for a state-of-the-art upgrade at the Rose Bowl that could get a Super Bowl and maybe even NFL consideration.

Tagliabue said he's working with city officials in Indianapolis to try to upgrade the playing facility for the Colts. For San Diego officials, he said that he likes owner Alex Spanos' loyalty in presenting a plan that has $200 million in private funding for a $400 million-plus stadium.

In other words, get ready for an interesting offseason, Charger fans.

Upshaw and Tagliabue are on the same page in trying to change overtime. With 25 regular-season overtime games, Tagliabue said the trend has been teams that win the coin toss are getting more and more wins. It's time for change. But there might be enough owners to block. Stay tuned in March.

Tagliabue did take back some of his harsh criticism of officials by saying the calls such as the "Music City Miracle" and the tuck rule were right calls. He said the efforts to give extra training in NFL Europe has been successful. Now, he said that 80 percent of the officials have taken those extra steps.

What angered him about the Giants' call was that it was a mechanical breakdown in communication at the end of the game. That won't happen again, he said.

Overall, there isn't a lot to change in the NFL, and the future is bright. Still, making changes is going to be slow. That's why it's a challenge.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.