Archie Manning didn't hurt the San Diego Chargers when he told them not to take his son, Eli, with the first pick in the NFL draft today. The Chargers didn't want Eli anyway. Archie gave them an excuse not to choose Eli, the excuse they were looking for.

But Archie did hurt the Steelers.

San Diego and the New York Giants will swap first-round picks, with the latter picking Eli first and the former picking Philip Rivers fourth. With Rivers gone, the Steelers might take Ben Roethlisberger with the 11th choice. But it's not hard to imagine quarterback-hungry Buffalo trading up to a spot ahead of the Steelers, with Tom Donahoe snatching Roethlisberger from Bill Cowher's grasp.

Not only would the Steelers not get Rivers, their preferred pick, they wouldn't get a quarterback. The Steelers would then take a cornerback. Said cornerback would then back up Chad Scott.

All because Archie Manning is a nosy father.

Archie comes off as a jughead in this instance, and a bit naive, too. He actually trusted San Diego not to make his request public.

Somebody has to be the fall guy if the Chargers end up without Eli Manning, and daddy dearest became the logical candidate as soon as he opened his trap.

Archie certainly has the right to act in behalf of his son. But there's no doubt he looked bad by doing so, and his kid looks like a punk.

Jack Elway helped steer his son John from Baltimore to Denver in 1983. Carl Lindros constantly has interfered on behalf of his son, Eric, even acting as his agent.

It's safe to assume history will remember Archie Manning as a jerk if Eli continually underachieves, like Eric Lindros. But if Eli turns out to be the next John Elway, Archie's strong-arming the Chargers will be forgotten.

It's easy to understand Archie's frustration with the idea of his son playing for pitiful San Diego. Archie played quarterback for New Orleans circa 1971-82. Those Saints were one of the worst teams in NFL history, and Archie took a beating on a weekly basis. Archie was a great talent, but that talent was almost totally wasted in New Orleans.

Then again, Archie didn't exactly turn the Saints around. He only made the Pro Bowl twice. So maybe his talent wasn't so great.

Football's entry-level job placement is unique to American society. If Eli were a lawyer, a truck driver or a shoe salesman, he would have some say in where he works. But in the NFL, you work where you're told, at least initially. And the courts just made it clear that the NFL's draft rules are OK by them, so things aren't going to change.

Here's the big question concerning the Manning family's spurning of San Diego: Why now? The thought of Eli playing for the Chargers seemed fine as recently as last week.

The Giants are no better than the Chargers. Both went 4-12 last year. San Diego coach Marty Schottenheimer isn't very adventurous offensively, but neither is the Giants' Tom Coughlin. Coughlin just got to New York, however, and Schottenheimer is on his last legs in San Diego. Maybe the thought of a quick coaching change soured the Mannings on the Chargers.

Here's a theory Oliver Stone might like: The Giants, longing for the combination of franchise quarterback and ready-made big name that Eli Manning is, contact Archie and tell him how great it would be if Eli got in the New York groove. Bright lights, big city, richer endorsement opportunities, partying with Jeremy Shockey -- the world could be Eli's if he came to Broadway.

Archie then meets with San Diego and, when the Chargers don't kiss his feet, he issues his don't-draft-my-son edict.

Tampering? You bet. That's why the Giants involved dad and not Tom Condon, Eli's agent. Such a theory might seem far-fetched, but how else do you explain the Mannings' sudden change of heart?

Don't expect NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue to investigate this situation too deeply. What's good for New York is good for the NFL. Tagliabue would love to see Eli Manning in a Giants uniform.

Eli is supposedly prepared to sit out the season if San Diego drafts him. It's a shame the Steelers don't have the first pick, because Dan Rooney would know just how to handle that.

The Steelers would draft Eli anyway. Then, the silence would be deafening, save for Rooney occasionally saying, "I guess we know how much that young man really wants to play football."

Of course, it would turn out that Eli wants to play football and get paid, too. He would crawl into camp late. Rooney would have won, and without benefit of histrionics.

Instead -- probably by the time you read this -- Eli Manning will get his way. The player will dictate the draft. Which is why sports are so messed up.

First Published: April 24, 2004, 4:00 a.m.