PHOENIX — NFL commissioner Roger Goodell accepts that 2014 was not a great year.

“As an organization and an individual it’s been a tough year but a year of progress,” Goodell said Friday during his State of the League address at the downtown Phoenix Convention Center.

“We have enormous responsibility to lead every day by example,” Goodell said. “It is what our fans deserve. We are humbled by and grateful for their passion. They are the ones that inspire me, and our teams and coaches. We know we must earn the trust of our fans each and every day.”

Goodell said Friday that he envisions no scenario in which he would be fired or resign despite the hot-stepping from off-field crises spanning domestic violence and personal conduct to the current investigation into alleged deflation of game-used footballs by the New England Patriots.

“It has been a tough year. It’s been a tough year on me personally. It’s been a year of what I’d call humility and learning,” said Goodell, who also said any reduction in his annual salary would be decided by the NFL’s 32 owners. “It’s been adversity for me. We take that seriously. It’s an opportunity for us to get better. We’ve all done a lot of soul searching, starting with yours truly.”

The integrity of the league and the so-called “shield” — Goodell’s commonly used reference to the NFL logo — are driving his decisions, the commissioner said. That includes the current investigation of the Patriots led by Ted Wells.

“We want the truth,” Goodell said, downplaying his close personal relationship with Patriots owner Robert Kraft who was recently termed “assistant commissioner” by GQ Magazine.

“We take seriously anything that impacts the integrity of the game. We are focusing principally on two questions — why were some footballs used in the game not in compliance with the rules and was this a deliberate action.”

Off-field controversy involving domestic abuse charges against former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy and suspended Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson contributed to the development of a new personal conduct policy and the formation of a committee comprised of owners and former players. The committee met for the first time Thursday in Phoenix.

“We know when we meet our challenges successfully we are a better league and a positive contributor to society,” Goodell said. “I truly believe we will continue to make progress.”

Three questions related to his own job performance did not seem to faze the commissioner. His approval rating with players was also downplayed despite a judicial appeal filed by the players association objecting to the new conduct policy ratified by owners but not bargained collectively with players.

“There’s close to 3,000 players at any given time in the NFL, I communicate with players regularly, in most cases privately,” he said. “We spend a lot of time talking with former players. … We are not going to agree on every matter, we understand that. I’ve had the great privilege of being able to work closely with them for 30 some-odd years. I will continue to reach out to them and continue to have their input.

“We agree we need to raise standards in the NFL. We agreed we are not going to be completely reliant on law enforcement … we had a fundamental difference with the players association on that but we implemented the player conduct policy.”

Goodell said the league is not close to determining the future of the NFL in Los Angeles, but did put heat on the San Diego Chargers and St. Louis Rams to settle their own stadium issues. Each franchise is connected to Los Angeles, as are the Oakland Raiders.

Chargers owner Dean Spanos “has been working on this for 11 years,” Goodell said, saying it’s time to produce the needed results. The Chargers announced the formation of a task force Friday, as the Rams have.

“There have been no determinations of us going to Los Angeles of any team going to Los Angeles or any particular stadium,” Goodell said. “There are teams that are interested but are trying to work their issues out locally. … We want all of our franchises to stay in their current markets. That’s a shared responsibility we have to work together on.”

The league is continuing dialogue on safety issues, citing a three-year decline — 173 to 111 — over three years of in-game head injuries and a decrease by 66 percent of helmet-to-helmet blows in 2014 from the 2013 totals. With a sharp focus on head injuries and treatment, Goodell said the position of NFL Chief Medical Officer was established and the position is likely to be filled soon.

The competition committee will again discuss expanding the playoffs and decreasing the width of uprights, plus other possible modifications to make extra points less automatic, Goodell said. In addition, expanding instant replay to include penalties is on the table.

There is still consideration being given by the NFL on how to respond to Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, including if he will be fined for wearing his own “Beast Mode” branded hat to media sessions and not being fully available to reporters.

“I do not believe any decision has been made on (fining Lynch for his hat),” Goodell said. “It is part of your job. We have all have things that we have to do in our jobs that we may not want to do. I understand it may not be on the top of his list, but everyone else is doing their part.”