Less than 24 hours before Howell resigned, one executive committee member had said, "We felt great about the process. A senior union executive said Tuesday night that Howell's "failings were human failings and errors of judgment." Of the final six, at least three were veteran union insiders, and one was an ex-player, multiple union sources said. The complaint was among the red flags found by Russell Reynolds in Howell's background check, multiple union sources told ESPN. In the months afterward, two NFL owners independently told ESPN they believed 18 games was a near certainty.