It was a unique experience to see and hear about. It took heart and some courage to stand up to the firing line. But you wonder if the community really believes him?

I'm talking about San Diego Chargers owner Dean Spanos, who elected to come out of his executive office, and conduct a conference call, with some of his seasons ticket holders. It lasted 50-minutes, and they took approximately 20-phone calls in that span.

Spanos has become a recluse as his franchise has faltered over the last 24 months. None of the calls were filtered, and topics ranged from the benign to the belligerent. Credit Spanos for knowing he has a leadership crisis on his hands, but question whether his responses were empty rhetoric, or a sincere attempt to take his ticket holders into the inner sanctum of what's inside his heart.

Spanos has hid behind the shield of a whole cadre of Vice President's in recent seasons, coming out only at the end of this disappointing season, when he announced he would stay the course and retain his disliked General Manager AJ Smith, and his very unpopular Coach Norv Turner. His silence spoke volumes as season ticket holders refused to renew their tickets, went ballistic on sportstalk radio, and overwhelmed message boards with condemnation of all the leaders of the franchise that failed to make the playoffs for the second year in a row.

Dean Spanos has had to make three tough decisions in his career as CEO of the team. The first two times he obviously erred. He let Bobby Ross, who took the team to the Super Bowl, leave after a dispute with then GM Bobby Beathard. Then he let his current GM remove Marty Schottenheimer because of postseason failure. And in the decision just weeks ago, he elected to retain both Smith and Turner.

The owner said Smith built the franchise into dominance over the last eight years and though it has faltered, he believes the equity the GM built up, warrants him the chance to fix what he has ruined. Spanos gave votes of confidence to Turner too, saying the coach is a motivator, an offensive genius, and is not someone's puppet as the fans believe. He admitted Smith needs to repair his relationship with the media, and get away from his 'black or white' approach to business; love me or hate me.

He admitted Smith does not have people skills and he was hired to be a football man, but the man has to interact with the community and the press. Talk says one thing, but he must prove he can adjust. Dean reiterated his commitment to win, reminding the fans he has spent the NFL salary cap virtually every year.

But he has stayed away from free-agency, which is the right way to rent-a-vet, that could put the franchise over the top. True, the Chargers have not become like the owners in Cincinnati, Arizona or Tampa, where the teams have been bad, and been well beneath the NFL salary cap. In those places, profits seemed more important to winning. Ticket prices will remain the same going into next year. In this economy it would be suicidal coming off two non playoff seasons to justify any price hike.

His franchise is making $30 million profit per year according to Forbes Magazine, and there is the new mega TV contract just negotiated with all their partners.

Spanos says the first priority will be to re-sign star wide receiver Vincent Jackson. Easier said than done, with impending free agency beginning in mid-February. If VJ gets on the open market, the price will likely go up, as in big signing bonus and contract length. The Chargers had all this fall to extend the receiver and did not.

A year ago this time they let the window to extend Eric Weddle pass, and when he hit the open market, Spanos had to write a check worth $8 million per season. The Bolts exec says his team will delve into NFL free agency for the first time in nearly a decade. We're not talking about a Bobby Sanders or a Travis LaBoy, but an impact veteran. That comes with a healthy signing bonus price tag, and a multi year commitment.

Spanos says he is committed to staying in San Diego and not interested in Los Angeles. Take him at his word because he hasn't opted out of his contract. However, he has never committed publicly to say how much of his own money he would put into an $850 million stadium adjacent to Petco Park.

It has been awful couple years for his franchise. Playing in the weakest division in the AFC, having the best quarterback in the division with Philip Rivers, the Chargers have failed two years in a row to get to postseason games in January.

The owner came out of the confines of his office. Flushed out by a raging season ticket fan base. Harassed by the media. Probably hurt when he was terribly booed at midfield during a midseason ceremony honoring former star Junior Seau.

It took brass for Spanos to do what he did, because the fans asked the right questions. Whether they got legitimate answers remains to be seen. Following through on all this will determine the man's credibility.

He has put Smith and Turner on "Death Row" for they must make the right player decisions this off season so they can win next season, or they are all gone. Doing a conference call is one thing, doing the right thing in rebuilding the franchise is the most important thing. The Chargers are not the (2-14) Rams or (2-14) Colts or the (1-15) Panthers or Dolphins of a couple of years ago. They could be headed there if they don't get these roster moves right.

Spanos is at a crossroads, and next we will determine whether he is a legitimate NFL owner, or some rich man's son, born with a silver spoon and given a franchise to run. Between now and June, we will find out if he knows what he is doing.

Operating an NFL franchise is not just a business, but also a public trust, and the fans trust of the leader seems to be in a downward spiral. Dean Spanos' image and the image of the Chargers franchise has been tarnished.

A year from today I hope the Bolts have polished off the competition and the franchise has shine to it again.

Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton talks sports weekday mornings at 10 a.m.