NFL Capsules: Chris Johnson unanimous choice for AP All-Pro team
NEW YORK — Chris Johnson didn’t get any votes for MVP. He didn’t miss any for The Associated Press 2009 NFL All-Pro team.
The 2,000-yard rusher from the Tennessee Titans was the only unanimous choice for the squad, announced Thursday. He’s joined in the backfield by Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who won an unprecedented fourth Most Valuable Player Award last week, when only quarterbacks received votes.
"That’d be a good thing," said Johnson, who won the Offensive Player of the Year award Wednesday. "Because I feel like if you put a season out there, out of those dudes who got votes or the dudes who won, I wouldn’t feel they had a better season than I had, and broke as many records in one season that I had."
For setting the league mark for yards from scrimmage and becoming the sixth 2,000-yard rusher in NFL history, Johnson got all 50 votes from a nationwide panel of sports writers. One other player, San Francisco inside linebacker Patrick Willis, came close with, appropriately, 49. Cornerbacks Charles Woodson of Green Bay, the Defensive Player of the Year, and Darrelle Revis of the New York Jets each got 48, as did Oakland punter Shane Lechler.
"I just think Patrick is a very unique guy," 49ers coach Mike Singletary said. "He’s a guy who’s always going to be around the ball. He has the instincts. He has the speed. He can be where he wants to be."
He’s on the All-Pro team for the second time in his three pro seasons. The other inside linebacker, Baltimore’s Ray Lewis, made it for the seventh time.
Other veteran All-Pros include Manning, chosen for the fifth time, as were Minnesota guard Steve Hutchinson and Vikings defensive tackle Kevin Williams, and Lechler.
The Vikings had the most players on the team with four — running back Adrian Peterson and defensive end Jared Allen also made it. Next was Indianapolis with three: Manning, tight end Dallas Clark, and DE Dwight Freeney.
New Orleans (guard Jahri Evans and safety Darren Sharper), Dallas (outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware and defensive tackle Jay Ratliff), the Jets (Revis and center Nick Mangold), Denver (tackle Ryan Clady and defensive end Elvis Dumervil) and Cleveland (tackle Joe Thomas and kick returner Joshua Cribbs) had two players.
"To be selected for the All-Pro team is really overwhelming to me," Clady said. "There are so many great tackles playing right now. To be recognized among them is truly a blessing. I would like to thank my teammates and coaches for this honor."
In all, there were 15 AFC players and 12 from the NFC selected.
Fourteen players made All-Pro for the first time: Johnson, Revis, Dumervil, Ratliff, Cribbs, Mangold, Evans, Thomas, Clady, Clark, New England receiver Wes Welker, Philadelphia fullback Leonard Weaver, San Diego placekicker Nick Kaeding and Arizona safety Adrian Wilson. Woodson made it for the first time with Green Bay, second time overall; he was an All-Pro in 1999 with Oakland. Sharper made it nine years ago with Green Bay.
Also selected to the team was Houston receiver Andre Johnson for the second time.
Repeaters from last year were Manning, Peterson, Andre Johnson, Hutchinson, Allen, Williams, Ware, Lewis and Lechler.
The New York Giants, Washington, Atlanta, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Chicago, Detroit, Seattle, St. Louis, Miami, Buffalo, Jacksonville, Cincinnati, Kansas City and Pittsburgh had no All-Pros this season.
Ex-players reminisce about doomed Giants Stadium
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Long before he became one of the best all-purpose players in the history of the New York Jets, Bruce Harper would drive from his nearby home past the spot where Giants Stadium was rising out of a New Jersey swamp and wonder if he had what it took to play at football’s highest level.
Stephen Baker’s introduction to the stadium nearly ended his career, to hear him describe it.
Their reminiscences were among many offered by former players Thursday at the announcement of a sale of memorabilia from Giants Stadium, a structure often ridiculed during its 34-year lifetime but the subject of fond memories as it nears demolition this year.
"This stadium was always a very fun place to play, and it’s the place where I set all my records," said Joe Morris, 49, who retired in the early 1990s as one of the Giants’ all-time leading rushers. "When this place is torn down I’m going to be sad."
Steiner Sports Collectibles, a company that also is selling memorabilia from the old Yankee Stadium, is offering items ranging from pieces of turf to seats to section signs to, yes, the goal posts — one in small pieces and the other whole, according to Steiner’s A.J. Romeo, who said the company has received interest from fans, as well as former players.
The goal post will be auctioned off, as will items such as swaths of turf from either end zone bearing the teams’ logos. Pieces of turf can be had for as little as $29.99, while a pair of seats will cost $499.99.
The items won’t be removed from the stadium until the Jets are assured of not hosting a postseason game — they would host the AFC championship game if they beat San Diego this weekend and Baltimore beats Indianapolis.
Proceeds will go to the corporation formed by the Giants and Jets to build a new stadium, which they’ll both use starting this fall, and tear down the old one.
The Giants opened the stadium in 1976 after incurring the wrath of many New Yorkers who felt betrayed that the team left the city while keeping "New York" in its name. The Jets joined them eight years later, and the teams spent the next 26 years in an uneasy partnership in which Jets fans often complained of second-class treatment.
On the field, the teams rarely faced each other during the regular season but played often in the preseason, and the players remembered those games as having a playoff-like intensity.
"We knew it was the only time we’d see Mark Gastineau in person," Morris said. "We’d try to do anything we could to keep him off Phil (Simms)."
Gastineau, 53, recalled Thursday how, after he had just driven Simms to the turf, the feisty quarterback would jump up and let loose a string of expletives at him.
"I remember thinking, ‘Man, this guy’s got some guts,"’ he said.
Other players offered a range of recollections. Harper, 54, remembered pulling over to the side of the highway and peering through the fence at the half-built stadium, dreaming of roaring crowds.
Baker, whose nickname with the Giants was "Touchdown Maker," recalled working out in the empty stadium in front of head coach Bill Parcells and dropping pass after pass because the empty seats provided a confusing backdrop.
"I thought I was going to be going home really quick, if anybody remembers how Coach Parcells was," said Baker, now 45.
O.J. Anderson, the Giants running back who was named MVP of Super Bowl XXV, recalled a fan who changed his tune after Anderson, who had visited the stadium as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, was traded to the Giants.
"He’d stand over the tunnel where we came out and scream things that your kid shouldn’t hear," said Anderson, 52. "Then I get traded and the same guy who’d hated my guts is leaning over yelling, ‘O.J., I love you man, you’re the greatest."’
The new stadium will host its first event, a college lacrosse tripleheader, in April with only the lower bowl accessible, according to Mark Lamping, chief executive of New Meadowlands Stadium, the corporation formed by the Giants and Jets. A Bon Jovi concert in late May will officially open the stadium.
-- David Porter
Coaching
Giants hire Perry Fewell as defensive coordinator
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Buffalo Bills interim coach Perry Fewell has been hired as the New York Giants’ defensive coordinator.
Coach Tom Coughlin announced the move late Thursday evening after Fewell spent the past few days weighing offers from the Giants and the Chicago Bears. Fewell also interviewed for the vacant Bills coaching job but he has said for a while that he felt he was a long shot for that position.
Giants rookie defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan was fired the day after the regular season ended. The Giants gave up more than 40 points in each of their last two games and 427 points for the season, ranking third from the bottom in the NFL. Only the Detroit Lions and St. Louis Rams gave up more.
Fewell and Coughlin have known each other for years.
Fewell spent five seasons as Coughlin’s secondary coach in Jacksonville. He spent the last four as the Bills’ defensive coordinator and was made their interim head coach for the final seven games of the 2009 season after Dick Jauron was fired. The Bills went 3-4.
"I expect Perry to bring the same qualities that I expect from myself," Coughlin said. "I want him to be firm, fair, honest and demanding. My expectation is that he will solidify and unify our defense and be an outstanding teacher. I want energy, enthusiasm, toughness and to make the necessary corrections and game adjustments. Perry is a teacher and a leader and I thought he did an outstanding job of displaying great leadership as the interim head coach of Buffalo this season."
The Giants and the Bills both use a 4-3 defensive scheme.
Both teams struggled with injuries on defense this season. The Giants lost safety Kenny Phillips (knee), middle linebacker Antonio Pierce (neck) and tackle Jay Alford for the season and had cornerbacks Aaron Ross and Corey Webster, linebacker Michael Boley and defensive tackle Chris Canty sidelined for significant portions of the season.
The Bills had five starters go on injured reserve.
"I am ecstatic to come to work for the New York Giants," Fewell said. "It’s a good football team with good defensive players, and it is a franchise known for defense."
The Bills struggled stopping the run (30th overall), but the defensive backs led the AFC with 28 interceptions, and were second in the NFL behind only Green Bay.
Rookie safety Jairus Byrd tied for the NFL lead with nine interceptions.
The Bills’ defense allowed 14 touchdown passes in each of the last two seasons. The Giants gave up 31 in 2009.
The Giants had 24 takeaways and 13 interceptions in 2009.
In his four years as coordinator, the Bills’ defense ranked 18th, 31st, 14th and 19th in the NFL, and that was with an offense that did not produce much or control the ball.
In 2009, Buffalo allowed 340.6 yards and 20.4 points a game. The Giants’ gave up an average of 324.9 yards and 26.7 points.
The year before, the Bills were fourth in the NFL in red zone defense, allowing a touchdown on only 41.8 percent of possessions inside the 20-yard line.
Fewell coached Chicago defensive backs in 2005, when the Bears led the NFC with 24 interceptions and cornerback Nathan Vasher and safety Mike Brown were selected to the Pro Bowl. It’s one of the reasons Lovie Smith wanted him back as coordinator.
"His defenses have consistently done a good job taking the ball away," Coughlin said.
Fewell was the secondary coach of the St. Louis Rams in 2003-04. He entered the NFL as the defensive backs coach for Coughlin in 1998 and stayed there through 2002. Jacksonville’s pass defense ranked third in the NFL in 1999 and two years later the Jaguars gave up only 13 touchdown passes.
"We brought Perry into the league in Jacksonville," said Coughlin, "and I was impressed with his thoroughness, his ability to work with the players and his absolute intent on learning all he could about his profession. He was hired as the secondary coach and he has had great experiences in St. Louis and Chicago with Lovie Smith and that system and in Buffalo with Dick Jauron, who was my original defensive coordinator in Jacksonville."
Fewell was a college coach for 13 years before coming to the NFL working at North Carolina, Army, Kent State and Vanderbilt.
"I was a young coach, and he helped develop my philosophy of the game, the discipline, the know-how, the toughness that it takes and the attention to detail. Being prepared. That is what he instilled," Fewell said of his time with Coughlin.
-- Tom Canavan
Crennel hired as Chiefs’ defensive coordinator
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Romeo Crennel is eagerly jumping back into the NFL with renewed energy and diminished pain.
He’ll be the defensive coordinator in Kansas City, taking over a unit that’s been miserable under its last three coordinators. But he may not be here for long if another team comes calling with an offer to be head coach.
"I think that’s why many of us coaches are in this business, to get to the highest level possible," Crennel said Thursday. "And I think being the head coach is the highest level. And if that opportunity came along again, I would definitely be interested in that. But at the present time, the opportunity is to be the defensive coordinator for the Chiefs. That’s what I’m putting all the energy into."
The Chiefs made the hiring official on Thursday and Todd Haley confirmed that one of the first things he did after becoming head coach last year was to offer Crennel the job.
But Crennel, who had been fired as head coach at Cleveland in 2008, decided to spend 2009 recuperating from hip replacement surgery. Doctors told him he would not be able to resume coaching until several months after his surgery last February.
"I was able to take a breath last year," said Crennel. "Todd was willing to wait however long I needed. I thought it would be a disservice to him and this program for him to have to wait until basically June. I told him I wasn’t available and this year, after sitting out for a year, I’m available. That breath has filled my lungs. Enthusiasm is up. Energy is up. My hip, there’s no pain in it."
Crennel will replace Clancy Pendergast, who could become a position coach.
Crennel’s challenge is a big one. With personnel needs on both sides of the ball, the Chiefs were 4-12 last year. They have won only 10 games in three seasons. Defensively, they’ve been awful for several years under coordinators Greg Robinson, Gunther Cunningham and Pendergast.
In 2009, they finished 30th in total defense and 31st in rushing defense. But everyone was encouraged by a lopsided victory at Denver in the regular-season finale.
"I was impressed with the way they played the last game," Crennel said. "I think there’s a good young nucleus. We have to improve and add some players and we’re doing that. But I think this is a great opportunity to try to grow and develop a team."
Before accepting Haley’s offer, Crennel talked with the New York Giants. He indicated other clubs also expressed interest in the man who was defensive coordinator for New England’s three Super Bowl champions.
"There were a few lines in the water," he said.
Crennel and Haley did not address the media face-to-face. They were upstairs in the Chiefs’ administration building, talking via speakerphone to reporters who were downstairs in the media room.
Crennel did not deny that one thing attracting him to the Chiefs was the people he’ll be working with. Charlie Weis, hired last week as offensive coordinator, was offensive coordinator in New England the same time that Crennel was in charge of the Patriots’ defense. In addition, Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli was personnel director for the Patriots.
Crennel also worked with Haley when both were members of the New York Jets staff in the late 1990s.
"It’s good to be back around those guys," Crennel said. "All of that was important in my decision to come here and try to build a program."
Being away from the high-pressure world of coaching for a year was "somewhat refreshing," he said.
"I’m in a good mental frame of mind. Physically, I’m in decent physical shape. I could still stand to lose a couple of pounds, but so could many of the other coaches here. We’re all going to get to work and get that done."
-- Doug Tucker
Carroll moving fast on rebuilding Seahawks
RENTON, Wash. — Pete Carroll kept saying upon his arrival from Southern California that he "couldn’t wait to get started" rebuilding the Seahawks.
He didn’t have to. Seattle’s new coach barely had time to take a breath from his excited hello to the city, barely got done kissing his wife in the back of an auditorium, before he started the Seahawks’ next search. Carroll joined team chief executive officer Tod Leiweke on Tuesday afternoon to interview Omar Khan, a contract administrator with the Steelers.
By evening, Packers executive John Schneider was in town. New York Giants college scouting director Marc Ross and former Titans GM Floyd Reese were up next in the fast-paced auditions that the Seahawks expected to last into Thursday night.
An announcement of a new GM could come this weekend. Or Seattle could seek a second batch of candidates.
It’s unusual in the NFL, picking a coach and then choosing a new GM to conform to him rather than the other way around. It’s power Carroll thought he’d never get in the NFL after the Patriots fired him as coach following the 1999 season.
"Yeah, I think there’s a real positive in it. I get to be involved in it," Carroll said. "I like it a lot, as a matter of fact."
Leiweke said it wasn’t necessarily going to be that way, until the Seahawks learned last week that such authority is what it would take to pry Carroll from USC.
The Seahawks CEO said there will be three doors atop football operations: "a cap/contract door" for money and number crunching, a job returning vice president for football administration John Idzik is poised to handle; a GM door; "and Pete will have his own, unique door."
Leiweke’s job will be to ensure collaboration between the three positions.
The lack of a singular authority in football matters is something Seattle hasn’t had since before Mike Holmgren arrived as a Super Bowl champion from Green Bay to become the coach and general manager in 1999.
"The cool thing is, we are getting an outstanding coach as the centerpiece," Leiweke said of Carroll. "And we are going to build around that."
The Seahawks have promised Carroll he will be "shoulder to shoulder" with the new GM. Carroll is getting a say on each GM candidate interviewed and, depending on the candidate, may get the final word on who gets the job.
Leiweke fired coach Jim Mora last Friday after a single season that saw the Seahawks finish 5-11. The move left Seattle without a coach, GM or president less than four years after it was in the Super Bowl.
Even though Leiweke had said last month he expected Mora to return, Mora said he began wondering when he didn’t hear from his boss for four days last week. Leiweke had flown to California to meet with Carroll and see if the coach who restored a dynasty at USC wanted to coach and have executive privileges with the Seahawks.
"I do owe Jim Mora an apology," Leiweke said. "Jim and I are friends — we climbed Mount Rainier together last summer — and we are going to remain friends. But the fact of the matter is, we’ve won nine games in the last two years, and with all due respect four of those wins have been against the St. Louis Rams. Something had to change in a substantial way."
Leiweke said after Seattle lost its last four games under Mora by a combined 123-37 that he had a "lack of hope" for the first time since he joined the team in 2003, as the top deputy of Seahawks owner Paul Allen. Allen, the Microsoft Corp. tycoon and native of suburban Seattle, bought the team in 1997 and was at team headquarters Tuesday to welcome Carroll.
"Paul Allen, especially with what he’s gone through, deserves hope," Leiweke said. "He’s currently battling cancer (lymphoma, for which he has been having chemotherapy), and that added a little bit of drama in my mind. The last two years have broken our hearts."
Carroll knows the stakes — and embraces them.
"I know that Paul Allen wants to win, and he doesn’t want to just win once in a while. He wants to win from now on," Carroll said. "To me, that fits exactly with the way I think, and the way I’ve tried to present our football in recent years.
"It’s hard to imagine that the standards could be set so high, where you’re only judged by perfection. I have embraced that thought."
-- Gregg Bell
Jets’ Schottenheimer goes with gut over Bills
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Brian Schottenheimer chose happiness over the prestige of being an NFL head coach.
For now, anyway. The New York Jets offensive coordinator said Thursday he turned down the Buffalo Bills’ request earlier this week to interview for their vacant head coaching job.
"A lot of thought went into it, but as I told you guys a couple of weeks ago, the biggest thing for me is the fact that I’m happy," Schottenheimer said. "I haven’t always been happy and I love the direction of this team. We’ve got a lot of time invested in the players and coaches, and I think there are a lot of good days ahead."
Schottenheimer, the son of former NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer, is in his fourth season running the Jets’ offense. He has been instrumental in rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez’s development and establishing the NFL’s top-ranked rushing attack.
Schottenheimer said he would "listen and consider" other potential opportunities should they arise, "but at the end of the day, I’m happy, so I don’t see myself going anywhere."
"Do I want to be a head coach? Absolutely," he added. "I think it has to be the right time, and it has to be the right situation, but again, you can’t put a price tag on happiness. I come to work every day excited. I come into meetings with the players energized. That’s something that not every coach in this league has. I’m flattered that somebody wanted to talk to me, but it’s more about what the Jets had to offer me."
The Bills received permission Monday from the Jets to speak with Schottenheimer, who talked with general manager Mike Tannenbaum and coach Rex Ryan on Tuesday about the situation.
"I kind of explained to them what my thoughts were and how I felt," Schottenheimer said. "They said, ‘Hey, take some time and think about it.’ I said, ‘I don’t think it’s going to take very long, but I appreciate that.’ I went and made a few phone calls, talked to my wife, and at the end of the day, I followed my gut."
Schottenheimer said he has a lot of respect for the Bills organization and owner Ralph Wilson, and is friends with new Buffalo general manager Buddy Nix.
"It’s not about the Buffalo Bills," he said. "It’s about the New York Jets. How I feel about this organization, the way I see the direction this team’s going in under Rex, the fact that Woody and Mike stuck by me last year, all that stuff is stuff I took into consideration."
Schottenheimer has previously interviewed for other head coaching jobs, including with the Jets, who instead hired Ryan last year.
"I didn’t feel that I had to take this interview," Schottenheimer said. "I have the experience. I’ve done three of them and I’ve come up short in all three of them. I didn’t need the experience. I’m happy, I’m content and we’ve got a big game to play this weekend."
New York plays at San Diego on Sunday in the AFC divisional round.
Schottenheimer previously worked under his father as the quarterbacks coach in San Diego from 2002-05 and Washington in 2001. He said the idea of beating the Chargers was enticing not because general manager A.J. Smith fired his father following the 2006 season, but because he still has several friends on the team.
"This is a business," Schottenheimer said. "The stuff that happened between Marty and A.J., that’s got nothing to do with it. It’s more of when I see those guys around the golf course or whatever, it would be nice to have bragging rights."
-- Dennis Waszak Jr.
Cable will meet with Davis about job status
ALAMEDA, Calif. — Tom Cable planned to meet with Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis on Thursday to discuss his status as head coach.
Raiders senior executive John Herrera said the two men could meet again Friday. Cable has been spending the 10 days since the season ended evaluating the team with his assistant coaches.
Cable’s status is in question after he went 5-11 in his first full season as coach and failed to develop JaMarcus Russell into a legitimate NFL quarterback. Cable is 9-19 since replacing Lane Kiffin early in the 2008 season, leading the Raiders to their NFL-worst seventh straight season with at least 11 losses.
Cable has pointed to the team’s improvement after Russell’s midseason benching as proof that he deserves another year to get the Raiders back to the playoffs.
Cable provided some positives this season by beating playoff teams in Cincinnati and Philadelphia and knocking off contenders Denver and Pittsburgh on the road in December.
He also had solid support from his players, who publicly advocated for him in hopes of maintaining continuity for a franchise that has had five head coaches in the past seven seasons.
Oakland also lost to last-place teams in Kansas City, Washington and Cleveland, and scored just 17 touchdowns in 16 games. With Cable serving as head coach, play-caller and overseeing the offensive line, he could have a hard time convincing Davis that he deserves another season.
Eagles hire Bobby April; fire Ted Daisher
PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles have fired Ted Daisher and hired former Bills assistant Bobby April to be their special teams coordinator.
Daisher spent one season as Philadelphia’s special teams coach. The team also fired strength and conditioning coach Mike Wolf, and assistant strength and conditioning coach Jay Merlino.
April worked in Buffalo the last six seasons and previously coached in Atlanta, Pittsburgh, New Orleans and St. Louis during 18 years in the NFL.
"Bobby April has proven himself as one of the top special teams coaches in this league," coach Andy Reid said in a statement Thursday. "I have spoken with many coaches and players who have worked with and played under Bobby directly and they have had nothing but the highest regard for him in terms as a coach and as a person."
Redskins hire RB coach Turner away from Broncos
ASHBURN, Va. — The Washington Redskins have hired Bobby Turner as running backs coach, reuniting Mike Shanahan with the assistant who helped the Denver Broncos establish one of the NFL’s top ground games.
Turner spent the last 15 seasons as running backs coach with the Broncos, including 14 years under Shanahan. Since Turner arrived in 1995, Denver has produced the most yards rushing in the league.
The Redskins said Thursday that Turner will also be assistant head coach.
Shanahan has worked steadily to complete his staff since replacing Jim Zorn as Redskins coach last week. Longtime Steelers assistant Lou Spanos has agreed to be linebackers coach. Other newcomers include offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and defensive coordinator Jim Haslett.
Steelers hire Kugler as offensive line coach
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers have hired Sean Kugler as their offensive line coach.
Kugler replaces Larry Zierlein, an original member of Steelers coach Mike Tomlin’s staff in 2007. Zierlein and special teams coordinator Bob Ligashesky were fired last week after the Steelers (9-7) missed the playoffs.
Kugler, a former UTEP player, worked with the offensive linemen and tight ends with the Detroit Lions from 2001-05. He was the assistant head coach and offensive line coach at Boise State in 2006 before joining the Bills in 2007 as an assistant offensive line coach. He was promoted to offensive line coach in 2008. The Bills fired their entire coaching staff last week.
Kugler also spent eight seasons at UTEP as an assistant coach and a graduate assistant.
Pees to step down as Pats defensive coordinator
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Dean Pees is leaving after four seasons as the New England Patriots defensive coordinator.
Pees said Thursday that he’s told team owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick that he won’t seek to renew his contract when it expires at the end of January.
In a statement issued by the club, Pees said he enjoyed his time in New England but feels this is the right time to pursue other opportunities.
The 60-year-old Pees left the Patriots’ final regular season game in the second half at Houston after suffering shortness of breath. He was hospitalized and flew back to New England the next day. His statement did not mention his health.
The Patriots gave up the fifth fewest points in the NFL this season but were eliminated by the Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs.
Browns GM begins overhaul with four firings
CLEVELAND — New general manager Tom Heckert began his overhaul of the Cleveland Browns’ personnel department with four firings.
Heckert dismissed the pro personnel group Thursday, spokesman Neal Gulkis said. The department was headed by senior director Steve Sabo, who had been with the Browns since 1998. Keith O’Quinn, Jim Jauch and James Kirkland were also let go.
Sabo was responsible for scouting NFL teams and assisted with advance game scouting. Pro personnel director O’Quinn spent one year with the Browns after coming over from the Dallas Cowboys. Jauch, associate director of college and pro personnel, spent six seasons in Cleveland, and assistant director Kirkland joined the Browns in 2004.
Heckert, Philadelphia’s former GM, is expected to bring in his own people to oversee pro personnel and scouting.
-- Tom Withers
Elsewhere
Chrysler returns to Super Bowl to advertise Dodge
Chrysler is advertising during the Super Bowl for the first time since 2004, making it the first U.S. automaker in the world’s most expensive advertising showcase in two years.
Chrysler will feature its Dodge Charger in a 60-second ad in the first half of the NFL championship game on Feb. 7. According to TNS Media Intelligence, CBS is selling 30-second ads for between $2.5 million to $2.8 million.
None of the U.S. automakers — Ford, General Motors or Chrysler — advertised in the game amid a sharp industry downturn in 2009 that saw both Chrysler and General Motors seek bankruptcy protection and government aid.
Italian automaker Fiat took control of Chrysler after it emerged from Chapter 11 reorganization in June. The U.S. government gave Chrysler LLC about $15.5 billion in aid and now owns nearly 10 percent of the company.
But now the company is out and wants people to know it, said Chrysler spokeswoman Dianna Gutierrez, who declined to disclose the cost of the commercial.
"Most American consumers do not realize we have emerged from bankruptcy so the Super Bowl is a great way to reach out to our consumers to let them know we are still here," she said Thursday.
The company also added that, although the move could be criticized as a big expense, Chrysler feels it is justified considering the viewership, which reached nearly 100 million people last year.
"In fact, it would be more costly to achieve the same number of viewers in traditional media placement and ensure the high viewership attention span that the Super Bowl delivers," the company said.
Chrysler has not been advertising much, so it needs to make a bold statement — but with a humorous, eye-catching spot if it wants people to pay attention, said Peter De Lorenzo, a former ad executive who publishes autoextremist.com, a Web site that follows and is often critical of the auto industry.
"They’ve been flying under the radar now for so long I think they’re desperate for a little attention," he said.
Foreign automakers Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai were the only auto presence in last year’s Super Bowl — shrinking the presence of auto advertising dollars to just 8.5 percent of the $213 million in revenue the game generated, according to TNS. That’s down from nearly 17 percent in 2005, a year when both Ford and GM advertised.
GM, sitting out for a second year in a row, is the third-largest Super Bowl advertiser in history, having spent $80.5 million for 15 years’ worth of ads, according to TNS.
The foreign automakers, who have been taking market share away from domestic companies, continue to have a heavy presence, with ads by Volkswagen, Audi, Honda and Hyundai.
German brand Volkswagen returns to the Super Bowl for the first time in nine years, with a 30-second commercial in the third quarter that highlights all 13 of its vehicles and takes the "Das Auto" campaign in a new direction. Gone will be Max the Beetle, the talking Beetle who helped launch the campaign, but the company declined to be more specific.
Volkswagen has been increasing its market share and sees a presence in the Super Bowl as a way to continue that, said Tim Ellis, vice president of marketing for Volkswagen of America, speaking from a site where the company was filming its Super Bowl commercial on Thursday.
He said the increased presence of automakers this year signals more business for the industry this year.
"I think that they sense that there’s more confidence out there and that people are going to be coming into the showrooms," he said of fellow automakers. "So we expect it will be highly competitive year."
Hyundai will have two ads, both 30 seconds long in the first quarter. For the second year in a row the Korean automaker will sponsor the "Hyundai Kick-Off Show" before the game and air three 30-second ads during that show. The company declined to say what it was spending or which products will be featured.
Volkswagen’s sibling brand Audi will be in the Super Bowl for the third year in a row, with a 60-second fourth-quarter commercial for its A3 TDI, a new diesel hatchback, with music by rock band Cheap Trick.
-- Emily Fredrix
Ex-NFL star Bruce Smith admits to driving drunk
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Former NFL star Bruce Smith pleaded guilty to drunken driving Thursday, saying he wanted to own up to his mistake and strive to be an asset to the community.
Smith, 46, was fined $1,000 and given a 90-day suspended sentence in a plea agreement with Virginia Beach prosecutors, who dropped charges of speeding and refusal to take a breath test. He also must complete an alcohol safety program, and his driving privileges will be limited for one year.
Smith’s restricted license will allow him to drive only for work, medical appointments, to visit his elderly mother, to attend the alcohol program and to take his children to and from medical appointments and school.
The NFL’s all-time sacks leader, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August, had been convicted of the drunken driving charge in General District Court in July.
In Virginia a person convicted in General District court can appeal to Circuit Court and get a retrial. Smith appealed, and his retrial had been set for Thursday morning.
"The risk versus reward was not in our favor," Smith told reporters outside the courtroom. He said he had a 50-50 chance of beating the drunken-driving charge but still would have to contend with the other charges.
"As I have said, I was having some wine at dinner with friends," Smith said of the night he was arrested. "I thought it was in my best interests to take ownership of that evening."
Smith told reporters he has hired a former state trooper to accompany him when he meets friends for dinner in the future.
Putting the matter behind him, Smith said, would allow him to "concentrate on being an asset to the community."
Smith was stopped on Interstate 264 in May and was charged with DUI after failing field sobriety tests. His attorney, Larry Cardon, said at Smith’s first trial that the 19-year NFL veteran’s 11 knee surgeries made it difficult for him to walk a straight line heel-to-toe and stand on one leg for 30 seconds.
Smith, who played for the Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins and appeared in 11 Pro Bowls, had two previous DUI arrests. A 1997 conviction was later dismissed, and he was acquitted in another case in 2003.
-- Larry O’Dell
TV job swap ahead for Elisabeth and Tim Hasselbeck
NEW YORK — ABC says Elisabeth Hasselbeck, a co-host of "The View," is trading places for a day with her husband, ESPN football analyst Tim Hasselbeck.
Elisabeth will spend Tuesday afternoon at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn. There, she will substitute for her husband on shows including "NFL Live" at 3 p.m.
Then on Jan. 28, behind-the-scenes footage of her ESPN visit will air on "The View."
On that same broadcast, the job swap will conclude when Tim occupies his wife’s chair alongside co-hosts Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd and Barbara Walters.
This marks the first time the former NFL quarterback has served as a guest co-host on the ABC talk show. It airs weekdays at 10 a.m.
