Firings And Hirings In The NFL

Dallas Cowboys assistant head coach Tony Sparano, the presumptive front-runner to fill the Miami Dolphins' coaching vacancy, was scheduled to fly Tuesday night to Miami on one of owner Wayne Huizenga's private jets, and could be named the club's new head coach by Wednesday. Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland, who most recently worked in the Dallas personnel department as vice president of college and pro scouting, is familiar with Sparano and his coaching style. Ireland left for Dallas on Tuesday afternoon. He is expected to return with Sparano, who interviewed with Ireland for the Miami job on Jan. 5.

Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has been offered the Baltimore Ravens coaching position, sources told ESPN. According to a league source, there is a "60-40'' chance Garrett will ultimately accept the opportunity to succeed Brian Billick, who was fired after the regular season. However, sources told ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli that Garrett left Baltimore Tuesday afternoon without making any decision about the job. Sources said he was en route to Atlanta for a second interview with Falcons officials. Garrett, who arrived at the Ravens' training complex for the second interview Tuesday morning, was the first candidate to have call-back sessions with the Ravens and Falcons.

The Tennessee Titans fired offensive coordinator Norm Chow on Tuesday after a season of struggling to score points and reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2003. Titans coach Jeff Fisher confirmed the dismissal in a short statement. Chow, who had been on staff for three years, did not immediately return a telephone message left by The Associated Press. But Fisher said the day after his Titans (10-6) lost an AFC wild-card game to San Diego 17-6 that improving the offense was his top priority this offseason. They ranked 21st overall in total offense and became the first team with only nine touchdown passes to reach the playoffs in a 16-game season. After a week of evaluating the team, Fisher told Chow he would not be retained as offensive coordinator.

Adam Pacman Jones Strikes Again

A woman is seeking an arrest warrant against suspended Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones, claiming he punched her at an Atlanta strip club.

Fulton County Magistrate Court officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Wanda S. Jackson asked for the warrant after a Jan. 3 altercation at the Body Tap Strip Club.

Jackson, an attorney, says in her filing that she was in the club's office when an angry Jones accused managers of stealing his money and bracelet.

"I was sitting in the office and he lunged at me numerous times in an effort to do grave bodily harm," Jackson wrote in the warrant application filed Jan. 7. "Veronica Jones, an owner, went into the hall to deal with a member of his entourage. I followed to gawk. He was in the hall, surprisingly reached over or around a security guard and sucker punched me in my left eye."

Jackson did not immediately return a phone message requesting comment. Jones' attorney Manny Arora said no warrant has been issued against his client.

Norris Arnold, a court support manager for Fulton County, said a magistrate judge will review Jackson's application on Feb. 8 to determine whether the warrant will be filed.

WSB-TV in Atlanta reported that Jackson said she was in the strip club because of a divorce case she is handling.

Last month Jones pleaded no contest to a disorderly conduct charge related to a strip club shooting in Las Vegas last February that left one man paralyzed. He agreed to a year of probation, random drug testing, community service and anger management classes.

Jones has been arrested six times since being drafted sixth overall in 2005, including two arrests in Georgia in 2006 that the Titans did not learn about until 2007.

In April, Jones was suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for the entire 2007 season for his role in inciting the Las Vegas incident.

At the time of his suspension, one of the changes Jones told Goodell he intended to make was to stay out of clubs and to avoid situations in which he might be compromised. Goodell has said that he has apprised Jones that he will ultimately be judged by his actions, not his words.

In mid-December, the NFL rejected an appeal by the players' union on behalf of Jones to have him reinstated for the final two games of the regular season.

San Diego Chargers Advance In The Playoffs

Thirteen long years after their last postseason victory, the Chargers finally came to life late in the second half Sunday to beat the Tennessee Titans 17-6 in an AFC wild-card game.

Overall, the Chargers had lost four straight postseason games dating to their ugly 49-26 loss to San Francisco in the Super Bowl following the 1994 season.

At first, this was a terrible game for San Diego. They entered the second half having scored zero points. Interceptions and fumbles plagued this team. LaDainian Tomlinson was shut down and I thought for sure this was the curse of Norv Turner.

But, thanks to Chris Chambers and Vincent Jackson finding open spots on the field and the lack of the Tennessee Titans being able to actually score, the Chargers came back to win 17-6. Rivers was 19-of-30 for 292 yards, with one interception. Chris Chambers had six catches for 121 yards, and Vincent Jackson had five for 114. I knew this game was over as soon as the Chargers scored their last touchdown on a bogus call. They were up by 11 at that point (the spread was for the Chargers to win by 10) and Vince Young is defiantly not the quarterback you want to fire the ball downfield during a 2-minute drill.

Why do I think LaDainian Tomlinson's second effort touchdown run was bogus? Because after he jumped into the air, he was stopped behind the goal line. If there was nobody beneath him, he would have hit the ground and the play would have been dead at that point. However, because there were so many bodies underneath him, it was impossible for him to hit the ground. So, when he landed on the first body, the official blew the whistle, making the play dead. BUT, no one acknowledged the whistle and this allowed Tomlinson to reach out for a second effort to cross the goal line. The play should have been ruled dead as soon as he was hit in mid air and dropped straight down onto the pile of bodies. After this touchdown, the Titans had no hope of coming back and all those calls against them which pinned them back to their own 1 yard line didn't help either.

Just like that, the nightmares of the Marty Schottenheimer era finally went away. The Chargers advance to face the Colts on Sunday in Indianapolis. That game also will be a rematch. San Diego escaped with a 23-21 win over the Colts on Nov. 11, when Peyton Manning threw a career-high six interceptions and Adam Vinatieri missed a 29-yard field goal attempt with 1:31 left.

Vince Young Or Kerry Collins: Who Is The Better Start?

Many have been questioning the status of Young's health and if he'll be 100% ready to play for his first playoff game. Obviously, you wouldn't want your quarterback to start a playoff game if he wasn't anything less than 100% ready. In Last week's game, Young was injured and Kerry Collins stepped in. The same Kerry Collins who led the Giants to the Super Bowl, but then got smacked.

Young and Collins have two radically different styles of play. Young is mobile and can make plays with his legs. This is always a threat because a defense never knows if Young will pass or throw. However, unlike a mobile quarterback like Michael Vick, young does make plays and always looks to throw before he takes off running. Collins, on the other hand, is more of your traditional in the pocket, fire it down field type quarterback.

Vince Young took part in most of practice Friday but will be a game-time decision for the Titans' playoff game Sunday against the San Diego Chargers.

Vince Young

Quarterback
Tennessee Titans

Profile

2007 Season Stats

Att	Comp	Yds	TD	Int	Rat
382	238	2389	9	17	71.1

Coach Jeff Fisher said Young was better but did not go full speed with his sore right quadriceps.

"I did say early he's a quick healer," Fisher said of his quarterback. "He's been that way. He can overcome some difficult things rather quickly, so we're very optimistic at this point."

But the Titans will still test Young on Sunday to make sure he can run around and be close to full speed.

"Then we'll make the decision," Fisher said.

Young is 17-11 as the Titans' starter since being drafted with the third pick overall in 2006. He originally hurt his quadriceps muscle in October and missed a game the next week but has said this injury isn't as severe.

It is interesting to note that while Young's numbers are pretty bad, he still finds a way for his team and him to win games and that's reflected in the record of his team since he joined.

This would be his second game against the Chargers in a month. Young was intercepted twice and limited to 2 yards on two carries. Fisher said Young has studied the tape of that game.

"Hopefully with some anticipation, he'll be able to take advantage of some things," Fisher said.

Also, running back LenDale White was back with the Titans after being excused the past two days of practice because of the death of his grandmother. He didn't practice Friday because of a sore knee but is expected to start after running for 1,110 yards.

However, the Titans are not without injuries. Center Kevin Mawae missed practice again with his sore left calf, and right guard Benji Olson (back) also sat out. Eugene Amano has started for Mawae the past two games, while Daniel Loper replaced Olson late in last week's win at Indianapolis.

The Titans have a roster spot with receiver Roydell Williams breaking his right ankle, and team officials planned to discuss making a move later Friday. With Mawae and Olson expected to be game-time decisions as well, an offensive lineman was expected to be promoted from the practice squad.

The bottom line is that if Young is able to start, then he will start. He is their young, future quarterback and Collins is only there as a veteran to guide him and come in if necessary. Then again, whenever you have a mobile quarterback on your team, every play seems like a back up will be needed. Mobile quarterbacks don't seem to last long in the NFL anymore.