NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

Just when you thought things were going so well healthwise for the Saints, who just a few games ago saw their injury list  down to only three players, the unthinkable happens.  Going into the game against the Buccaneers Sunday, New Orleans did so without the skill of Marques Colston, Pierre Thomas, Jeremy Shockey, David Thomas, Anthony Hargrove, or Anthony Waters.  Then Malcolm Jenkins, Jimmy Graham, and Chris Ivory fell victim to injuries during the game.  To make matters worse, Ivory has since been place on IR, freeing up the roster space for the newly re-signed DeShawn Wynn.  These are all key players at key positions that the Saints can ill afford to be without.

As usual, Coach Sean Payton is pretty mum about the situation and understandably so.  There's no benefit to the team for him to release information that could potentially be used as a strategy for Seattle to gameplan against them.  But we have to be realistic here–things are looking dire.  Three of the Saints' four tight ends are currently hurt, leaving only Tory Humphrey who's seen very little playing time.  Then the two power backs are down again with Thomas and Ivory being hurt, so naturally the run game is in some serious jeopardy.   And we all know how valuable Colston is, as well the defensive players.  Coach Payton is reportedly optimistic about the situation, saying

"Guys were in today, got treatment, and we'll get 'em up to speed, get 'em healthy. We'll have to be real careful about how we practice this week, and go from there. "We'll get 'em up to speed and get 'em healthy as quickly as possible."

Let's hope and pray that his optimism is genuine and not just a ploy to keep from showing the "enemy" his hand.  Right now, the Saints need a miracle to get at least some of those guys back on the field in time for Saturday's game.  We should get more information in the coming days about the injuries.  I hope it's all good news.

Despite rumors that the Texans have already signed Wade Phillips at defensive coordinator, Wade Phillips says different:

"That's not true," Phillips said today. "I haven't even interviewed for the job. I talked to Gary today, but I haven't been offered the job. We're going to talk (Wednesday)."

The Texans expressed interest and talked with current Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis about the defensive coordinator position before he re-signed with the Bengals today.  Phillips comes in tomorrow to talk with Texans head coach Gary Kubiak.

Senior writer jclombardi reviews LB Bishop’s extension & ILBs.

Bishop nets 4 years $19 million deal: Continuing a trend under general manager Ted Thompson, the Green Bay Packers added linebacker Desmond Bishop to the nest of young, productive players signed to long-term contracts before they reached free agency. Multiple sources confirmed that the 26-year-old Bishop had agreed to a contract extension with the Packers that would bind him to the club through the 2014 season. The deal was agreed upon within the last week and believed to have been signed Tuesday. Through his Twitter account, Bishop confirmed the agreement and thanked friends for their congratulations on the new deal, saying, “I’m EXCITED! BLESSED! & glad to be staying w/ the #PACKNATION. Means more than $.” Bishop, a sixth-round pick out of California in 2007, became a starter in Week 5 after Nick Barnett was lost for the season with a wrist injury. He finished the regular season second on the team with 121 tackles (82 solo) and added three sacks and an interception returned for a touchdown. The deal Bishop signed averages exactly the same $4.75 million as the four-year deal fellow inside linebacker Brandon Chillar signed a little more than a year ago. Including Barnett, whose yearly average is $6.6 million, the Packers have three inside linebackers earning starters money through at least the ‘12 season. Barnett has two years left on his deal at salaries of $6.05 million in ‘11 and $6.55 million in ‘12. Chillar has three years left at $2.6 million in ‘11, $3.3 million in ‘12 and $3.6 million in ‘13. The Packers may not be done at inside linebacker either. Still in question is the status of Hawk, who is having his best year as a pro. Hawk has one year left on his contract at $10 million, but when the two sides negotiated the deal they included that high figure to force a renegotiation or a release of Hawk to the free agent market. If the two sides can’t reach a compromise in the off-season, the Packers would probably let him go. They won’t pay him $10 million next season. The biggest question if all four do come back is whether to move any of them to outside linebacker. Chillar played some there this year but wasn’t good enough against the run. Barnett has the speed to play outside but is better going sideline-to-sideline. Bishop could play the position with enough training, but he’s not as fast as the typical right linebacker in a 3-4 defense. The Packers won’t have to worry about that until next season.

Bishop sign 4 years $19 million deal: The Green Bay Packers were already facing some tough decisions at inside linebacker during the offseason. On Tuesday, those decisions got even more interesting after the team reportedly signed Desmond Bishop to a four-year, $19 million contract extension. ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported the deal for Bishop, who registered 112  tackles, three sacks, an interception (which he returned for a touchdown against Minnesota's Brett Favre on Oct. 24) and two forced fumbles after taking over as the starter alongside A.J. Hawk after Nick Barnett was lost for the season to a wrist injury after four games. The team had not announced the contract extension as of Tuesday afternoon. Now, after signing fellow inside linebacker Brandon Chillar to a four-year, $22 million deal last year, the Packers must figure out what they'll do with Barnett and Hawk in 2011, when Hawk is due a $10 million guaranteed base salary that will force either his release or an extension, and Barnett is due a $5.5 million base salary to a player that has ended two of the last three seasons on injured reserve. Bishop, 26, certainly received starter's money in the deal, although it would appear the Packers did get a rising player at a discounted rate because of the uncertainty surrounding the negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement between NFL owners and the NFL Players Association. While the previous CBA called for players with four years of accrued NFL experience like Bishop to become unrestricted free agents, the 2010 uncapped year pushed unrestricted free agency to six years of service. "I'm just trying to focus on keeping being productive and keeping getting better. That's my mindset. All that other stuff will fall into place," Bishop said when asked about the possibility of a new deal recently. "I definitely feel good about the way I've played. It'd be nice to be undefeated and still do good, but at the same time, individual goals are still important." Inside linebackers coach Winston Moss said Bishop should be applauded for the way he took advantage of an opportunity he's been begging for after three years of strong preseasons but limited playing time on defense behind Barnett, Hawk and Chillar. "Desmond's playing at a high level. His production has been right up there with anything that Nick has done," Moss said. "I'm very pleased with his progress. He's doing an outstanding job. I'll put it to you this way. The thing that I'm most pleased with is Bishop is a highly competitive person. There were situations in the past in training camp and during the offseason that he would just compete at an extremely high level. He always thrived going up against the Finleys, the Jennings, the Drivers in some special situations where he's had to match up against those guys in coverage. You can just always see the intense competitive spirit that he had. He would always compete against those guys very well. “

It's official. The Tom Cable era in Oakland is over. Late Tuesday night, the Raiders issued a statement saying "The Raiders express gratitude to Tom Cable for his contributions in his four seasons as an assistant and as head coach of the Silver and Black." And with that, Cable's time as the Raiders Head Coach was done, and the search for a new coach began.

Personally, I think they should have kept Cable for one reason only. Continuity. This team and organization need a steady hand, and bringing Cable back would have provided that. Although he was only 17-27 as the head coach, the team did improve this year quite a bit.

Unfortunately for Cable, his success was probably his downfall. When the Raiders beat the Chiefs in Week 9 to go to 5-4 and tied for the division lead, many fans thought this team was playoff bound. The biggest Raiders fan is still Al Davis, and I'm sure he thought the same thing. He was wrong. This was an average team from the onset, which made great strides, particularly on the offensive side of the ball and finished 8-8, 6-0 in the division.

However, I've said it before. Expectations are a coach killer. After that big Chiefs win, Oakland laid two big eggs, one in Pittsburgh, and one at home to Miami. The playoff hopes vanished and so was Cable's tenure in the Bay Area.

So who's next? If you ask me, I say you have to give serious thought to Offensive Coordinator Hue Jackson. The Raiders scored almost two TD's more per game this year, and gained almost 90 yards more per game. Quarterback Jason Campbell looked more and more comfortable in his system as the year went on and Darren McFadden became the star back everything thought he would be since coming out of Arkansas.

Please don't say Jim Harbaugh. The last thing this team needs is to take a flyer on the next Jimmy-come-lately college coach. If they can get a Bill Cowher, or a Jon Gruden, or a Bill Parcells go for it. I'm not saying any of those three; I'm saying a coach with that kind of resume. If he's available, fine. If not, stay in-house and give it to Jackson.

This team can be good next year; maybe really good. Just don't let Davis screw it up. Haven't we seen enough of that already?

The NFC West champion Seahawks have signed wide receiver Mike Williams to a three-year contract extension. The former USC star had a career year in 2010, catching 65 passes for 751 yards and two touchdowns. He caught a touchdown pass in Sunday night’s 16-6 victory over the Rams to give Seattle the division title.

Williams spent two years out of football following three subpar seasons with the Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans. The 7-9 Seahawks became the first sub-.500 division champion in league history. Seattle will host New Orleans, the NFC’s fifth seed, on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

For NFL head coaches (and those who are about to be tabbed as former head coaches), yesterday was known as Black Monday;  a day when several coaches around the league are told their respective teams' performance isn't up to par and he's given his walking papers.

There could potentially be nine NFL teams that will have a new head coach at the start of the 2011 season (here's hoping that whole lock out threat never comes to fruition).  Let's take a look at the coaching vacancies around the leage:  who's staying put, who's mulling it over and who's being shown the door and asked to turn in their keys to the building.

Minnesota Vikings.   The Vikings have removed the interim tag from Leslie Frazier, making him the head coach in Minnesota.  Frazier took over on Nov.22nd when Brad Childress was fired.  He guided Minnesota to a 3-3 record, but it's been the way he's handled the mess in Minnesota over the final stretch of the season that has made Frazier the choice for the Vikings.  They had two of their games delayed due to winter snow storms, forcing the team to play a "home" game on Monday night in Detroit because the roof of the Metrodome collapsed under the weight of heavy snow and then thanks to a winter storm in Philadelphia, their game was moved from Sunday night to Tuesday night last week.  Because of the severe conditions in the Metrodome, in Week 15 the Vikings were forced to play outdoors at the University of Minnesota against the Chicago Bears.  Perhaps his greatest attributes are that the players both like playing for and respect Frazier, two critical areas Childress fell short in around the locker room.

Dallas Cowboys.  Nothing is set in stone in Big D, but it appears that interim head coach Jason Garrett is the leading front runner to be the permanent coach of the Cowboys.  Owner Jerry Jones has stated he wants to have a full-time head coach in place as quickly as possible, so it's likely he'll begin the process and the grind of interviews and inquiries today.  The quicker Jones starts pounding the pavement and working the phones, the sooner the next head coach can begin with roster moves and putting in place his coaching staff.  It seems highly unlikely it'll be anyone other than Garrett.  Garrett finished with a 5-3 record that included the Giants, Colts and Eagles.  Dallas has scored the third-most points since Week 10 and he's instilled a no-nosense work your butt off or else attitude that was badly missing under Wade Philips' reign.  All signs points to Garrett staying put.

New York Giants.   President and CEO John Mara is backing head coach Tom Coughlin, announcing after Sunday's win over Washington that Coughlin will remain with the team.  Coughlin has had only one losing season ( finished 6-10 in 2004) since he began the Giants' head coach in 2004.  Mara has stated that he believes in Coughlin, he believes in stability and he believes that players play hard for Coughlin.  Despite reaching the 10-win mark, the Giants were eliminated from the playoffs with Green Bay's win over Chicago.  New York has won at least 10 games in three of the past four seasons, however, they've now missed the playoffs for the second straight season.  Big blue (coaches and players both) will be under pressure and a microscope to produce results in 2011.

Carolina Panthers.  On Dec.31, the Panthers announced that John Fox would not return to coach the team next season.  Not exactly Earth shattering news, I know.  It was both a terrible and forgettable final season for the marriage between Fox and the Panthers.  Carolina finished 2010 with the NFL's worst record, going 2-14 and landing the No.1 overall pick in next April's draft.  Fox spent nine seasons in Carolina beginning in 2002.  A year later, he led Carolina to their second divison title and first ever Super Bowl berth.  However, since 2006 the Panthers have had only one winning season and in each of the last three years they saw their win total take a steep decline from 12 wins in 2008 to 8 wins last year to just 2 wins this season.  Fox is arguably the best coach in Carolina history, but in recent years Fox and owner Jerry Richardson have been on opposite sides of the fence regarding philosphies and personnel.  It's likely Carolina could go the route of hiring a coordinator.  It is unlikely that they'll dip into the college ranks for a coach, which takes Stanford's Jim Harbaugh off the list.

San Francisco 49ers.  The team by the bay needs a head coach and then some.  A couple weeks ago, they didn't wait until season's end and pulled the plug on Mike Singletary.  Singletary brought the intensity desired by the 49ers, the results however never materialized.  Admittedly, he's a defensive guy.  We all know that.  The Niners offense was a mess this season.  Singletary juggled quarterbacks in and out of the lineup.  You know the old saying:  When you have two, even three quarterbacks you have none.  That was and has been the case for the Niners for a long time now.  Singletary might be most remembered for his post game tirade on the immaturity of tight end Vernon Davis and his handful of public, sideline shouting matches with his quarterbacks.  In half their games this season, the 49ers scored points or fewer.  The popular name will be the guy who coaches in state, Stanford's Jim Harbaugh.  But the biggest question mark surrounding the franchise is who plays quarterback?  Troy Smith, Alex Smith and David Carr aren't the answer and all three might not even be on the roster in 2011.  Singletary got just one full season to right the ship, and of San Francisco's last three head coaches only Mike Nolan lasted for three full seasons.  The 49ers are starting from scratch at the most important position in the game.  Will the next head coach be given enough time to develop the 49ers' next quarterback?

Earlier, we looked at the coaching situations of the NFC.  Now we'll shift gears and focus on the coaching situations among the AFC.

Miami Dolphins.   7-9 with just one home win probably wasn't what owner Stephen Ross had in mind this season.  Offseason acquistions of Brandon Marshall and Karlos Dansby, coupled with the emergence of defensive stud Cameron Wake and expected development of Chad Henne had the Dolphins thinking big.  Instead, after Sunday's clobbering against New Englad, 38-7, should GM Jeff Ireland and Sparano feel good about their chances of returning to Miami next season?  They were supposed to challenge the Patriots and Jets.  They went 1-3 against them, and in two games against New England, the Patriots made them look as if they had no business being on the same field;  they allowed 79 points combined in two blowout losses against the Patriots.  Miami has major work to do.  They must fix their special teams problems because they were manhandled twice by the Patriots.  They lost four of their last five games, to the likes of Oakland, Detroit, Cleveland and Buffalo.  Miami must resolve their offensive coaching problems, as quarterbacks coach David Lee has faced problems developing Henne while losing the confidence and trust of Marshall.  And Miami is facing a troublesome quarterback situation in which Henne and Tyler Thigpen aren't franchise guys.  If he wasn't on the firing line before Sunday's debacle in New England, you have to imagine Ross may be strongly considering going in a new direction and cut ties with Sparano and his staff.

Cleveland Browns.  I'll be shocked if Eric Mangini gets another season in Cleveland.  I don't think he'll survive under GM Mike Holmgren two years in a row.  Likely Sunday was his final game was a drubbing against the Pittsburgh Steelers, 41-9.  Mangini's record in two seasons isn't eye appealing: 10-22 and just 2-10 in the division.  He started the year on the hot seat and it's likely within 48 hours he'll be out.  This won't be the sexiest job opening on the market.  The Browns lack impact players to build a franchise around and they have about as much buzz around the league as a bucket of dishwater.  All wasn't totally lost in a 5-11 season.  They found a running back and completely stole Peyton Hillis in a trade with Denver.  The quarterback merry-go-round finally stopped this season with Colt McCoy, who will likely enter 2010 as the prohibitive favorite to start at quarterback.  The defense was drastically better in points allowed and takeaways.  But they relied too much on Hillis and lack a strong offensive line as well as a true No.1 wide receiver for McCoy.  Cleveland is still rebuilding and lacks the talent necessary to compete against divisional rivals Pittsburgh and Baltimore.  With plenty of coaching openings expected, the Browns will be a tough sell to prospective coaches.  Keep your eye on what Holmgren decides to do.  If he fails to reel in a big-name coach (think Jon Gruden or John Fox), Holmgren could opt to return to the sidelines.

Houston Texans.    According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Houston is retaining Kubiak and he'll  return to the sidelines in 2011.  Under Kubiak, the Texans are 36-43 with no playoff appearances.  After starting the season 4-2, the Texans endured two, four-game losing streaks and finished the year 2-10.  Their achilles heel has been on defense, where Houston ranks 29th in total defense and last in the NFL against the pass.  Kubiak has built a high-octane offense with quick strike abilities.  For the first time, thanks to the addition of Arian Foster, the running game is just as fierce as the passing game.  Houston will likely ask Kubiak to make some changes to his coaching staff.  First priority needs to be hiring a strong minded defensive personality.  Don't be surprised if you hear Wade Phillips' name popping up.

Cincinnati Bengals.  This is a tricky one.  It seems as though the Bengals want Lewis to stay, however, the feeling is not mutual.  Lewis has voiced his desires for the team to make some sweeping changes, from upgrading the training facilities to improving the team's player personnel department.  One reason Lewis rejected the idea of a contract extension prior to the season was because the Bengals apparently aren't willing to change their ways.  This season, the Bengals tied the franchise mark with 10 consecutive wins.  Looking to post back-to-back division titles and playoff berths, the team added WR Terrell Owens.  Everything for the Bengals snowballed.  Carson Palmer matched his career high with 20 interceptions and looked both mentally and physically exhausted being under center in Cincy.  During his eight seasons with the Bengals, Lewis posted a 60-67-1 record and had only two winning seasons during his tenure.  Cincinnati lost their only two playoff appearances under Lewis.  Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer could be a leading candidate to replace Lewis as the Bengals' head coach.

Oakland Raiders.  It's no longer 'Just Win, Baby'.  It's more like, 'Just Find Another Coach'.  According to sources close to the situation, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Tom Cable is likely out as the Raiders head coach.  Oakland finished the season 8-8, but went 6-0 in division play marking the first time since the 1970 merger that a team went undefeated in thei division and missed the playoffs.  Under Cable, the Raiders are 17-27 and posted their best record this season since 2002 when the Raiders went to the Super Bowl.  It's also the first time since 2002 the Raiders didn't lose at least 11 games.  Still plagued by quarterback woes with Jason Campbell and Bruce Gradkowski and his back and forth on playing both, Cable seems to have the Raiders moving in the right direction.  For Davis to cut Cable loose and start over again seems both unnecessary and unfair.  But then again, this is Al Davis we're talking about.  Should Cable be let go, Oakland will have had five coaches since 2003.

Denver Broncos.  The Mile High City reached lows the past two seasons.  Josh McDaniels traded away vital pieces in Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Peyton Hillis.  Denver finished the year with an embarrassing 4-12 mark and McDaniels didn't make it to the end of the season.  Now the Broncos are turning to a legend to help them start fresh.  John Elway is set to become the Executive Vice President of Football Operations in Denver and guess who's leading candidate is?  Jim Harbaugh.  Both players have Stanford ties; Elway played there, Harbaugh currently coaches there.  So it's likely Elway will pursue Harbaugh and have a great pitch for Harbaugh to become the new man in Denver.   But should Harbaugh land elsewhere, will Elway continue to swing for the fences and go after a big-name free agent coach such as Bill Cowher or Jon Gruden.  Gruden has been linked as a leading candidate in San Francisco and Cleveland.  No matter the case, Elway and the Broncos have a tall task in front of them trying to undo all the wrongs done by McDaniels.  Denver hasn't won a playoff game since Elway's final season with the team in 1999.

Tennessee Titans.  By far, this is the most interesting coaching situation to watch.   There's an ongoing power struggle and a major difference of opinions in the Music City between owner Bud Adams and head coach Jeff Fisher.  Adams loves Vince Young and wants to keep him in Tennessee.  Fisher has had his fill of Young and doesn't him with the Titans.  The same can be said from Young's front, who wouldn't mind if Fisher and the Titans parted ways.  The players love Fisher and Fisher stated he wants to retire with the Titans.  But Adams' infatuation with Young might mean Fisher's 16 years in Tennessee are coming to a close.  Just three years ago, Fisher led Tennessee to the AFC's top seed with a 13-3 record.  If Adams decides part ways with Fisher, then the Titans get everything they deserve and Adams will have set a tremendously lousy precedent that a player holds power over the head coach.  Teams will be lined up around the block to land Fisher.  I find it extremely disrespectful that on the Titans' Christmas card Adams was posing with Chris Johnson and Young, and Fisher was no where to be found.  Fisher and the Titans could be heading for divorce and a messy one.

Turn the lights back on, folks.  Shawne Merriman is staying put.

After what looked like a near $2 million dollar mistake and only 20 minutes of practice time, the Buffalo Bills rang in the new year with the news that GM Buddy Nix came to terms on a two-year deal with Merriman.  The contract runs through the 2012 season and gurantees the former Maryland standout will receive $2.5 million in 2011.  Merriman’s deal also averages to about $5.25 million per season and it littered with  playing time and performance based incentives that could increase the value of the deal to as much as $9.25 million per season.

Merriman was claimed by the Bills off of waivers from the San Diego Chargers, but the excite of the news about his arrival at One Bills Drive was short lived.  The outside linebacker aggrivated a pre-existing calf injury just 20 minutes into his first and last practice with the team.

For Merriman, it’s been a tale of two careers.  The first three years of his career, ‘Lights Out’ as they call him, was a man among children on the playing field, appearing in 42 games (37 starts), took home the 2005 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, had three Pro Bowl selections under his belt and recorded 39.5 sacks.  But the last three, howevers, injuries have plagued Me