Pittsburgh Steelers 02/13/2007 10:30 AMThe Post-Gazette reports the first discouraging words from within since the Steelers hired Mike Tomlin as head coach came from 4,657 miles away, from OG Alan Faneca, a team co-captain playing in his sixth Pro Bowl in Honolulu. The new coach tackled this initial public difference of in-house opinion yesterday by saying he was not really surprised. "Yeah, I did see what he said and, no, I'm not concerned about it whatsoever," Tomlin said. "Transition's never easy, particularly at a place like this that has had great stability. Some organizations get quite used to change; this is not one of them, thankfully. So you don't expect it to be easy or comfortable for everyone, but not concerned about that at all."Read more
Miami Dolphins 02/13/2007 10:27 AMThe Palm Beach Post reports the Dolphins are considering hiring a coach who has a reputation for developing quarterbacks and already has a connection to a young quarterback they covet. New HC Cam Cameron recently interviewed former Kansas City Chiefs quarterbacks coach Terry Shea, a source said. Shea, former head coach at San JoseState and Rutgers, could be the Dolphins' offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, or both. But the team is interested in him for another reason: Shea is tutoring former Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn to help prepare him for the draft, which runs April 28-29.Read more
Atlanta Falcons 02/13/2007 10:25 AMThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Falcons QB Michael Vick may be the team's most recognizable and highly paid player but the new coaching staff, led by HC Bobby Petrino, could care less. "There will be no coddling of Michael Vick," offensive coordinator Hue Jackson said in an exclusive interview with the AJC Monday. "We're not going to coddle Michael Vick. This is not a demerit system where we say, 'Okay we're going to deal with this guy this way and this guy that way.' We're going to coach them all hard and he knows that. We have an expectation of him and I think he'll be the first to tell you that I'm not afraid to say anything to him and I'm not afraid to say anything to anyone on this offense.Read more
San Diego Chargers 02/13/2007 10:22 AMThe San Diego Union-Tribune reportsChargers President Dean Spanos reversed course from just four weeks ago and fired HC Marty Schottenheimer last night, ending one of the most strained relationships in the NFL. âWhen I decided to move ahead with Marty Schottenheimer in mid-January, I did so with the expectation that the core of his fine coaching staff would remain intact,â Spanos said in a statement. âUnfortunately, that did not prove to be the case, and the process of dealing with these coaching changes convinced me that we simply could not move forward with such dysfunction between our head coach and general manager.â Schottenheimer and GM A.J. Smith have hardly spoken since January, often communicating only through an intermediary. Their lack of communication proved disastrous in a time of much transition over the past few weeks.Read more
