Although he still disagrees with the Ravens' decision to let him go after winning the Super Bowl, quarterback Trent Dilfer now wants to make amends for his long-standing grudge against coach Brian Billick.
"I want to use this opportunity to publicly apologize to Brian for that bitterness," Dilfer told Baltimore reporters in a conference call yesterday. "I'm going to make a point to see him on Sunday. He's been the man in this deal and I haven't. I've been the childish one, and I want to end that right now."
Dilfer, who replaces injured quarterback Alex Smith for the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, will make his second start against the Ravens since winning the 2001 Super Bowl.
His anger toward Billick dated to March 2001, when the Ravens decided to sign Elvis Grbac without extending a contract offer to Dilfer. He remains the only quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl and lose his starting job before the next season.
At this year's Super Bowl in Miami, Dilfer expressed years of bitterness about Billick's decision to replace him, saying he never wanted to speak to the Ravens coach again.
Now, Dilfer wants to use this game as a turning point.
"I recognize they had a tough decision as an organization. I disagree with it still to this day," Dilfer said. "[But] just because I disagree with it doesn't mean I can't let it go. This is a great opportunity this week to let it go."
Asked for the reason for the sudden change of heart, Dilfer said: "I think I've grown up as a man. You're always trying to get better. As my parenting becomes a lot more serious, I feel hypocritical because I feel like I'm trying to teach things that I haven't done on my own."
Since capturing the NFL title in January 2001, Dilfer said, he has not had a substantial conversation with Billick.
Before Dilfer made his comments yesterday, Billick said he would like to reach out to his Super Bowl-winning quarterback.
"I would love to talk to Trent," Billick said. "I'd love to say hello to Trent and wish him well and see how he is doing."
Dilfer went 11-1 as the Ravens' starter after replacing Tony Banks midway through the 2000 season but struggled at times with his accuracy.
In his first five winning starts for the Ravens, he completed 65.2 percent of his passes for 11 touchdowns with six interceptions. In his other seven starts, he completed 48.3 percent for four touchdowns with five interceptions. He completed 47.9 percent in the postseason.
