Almost as soon as the St. Louis Rams announced Monday that Mike Martz was out as head coach, they asked the Chicago Bears for permission to talk to Ron Rivera, their defensive coordinator.

Same thing in Houston: the Texans fired Dom Capers and asked Denver for permission to talk to offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak.

Such is the way of the NFL. If there's a "hot" coaching prospect out there, try to get to him as soon as possible before the competition grabs him.

And there's a lot of competition this year.

Four coaches were let go on "Black Monday," the day after the regular season ends and the traditional day for firing coaches. Martz, Capers, Mike Sherman of Green Bay and Jim Haslett of New Orleans were canned.

They join Mike Tice of Minnesota, fired after the Vikings' final game on Sunday, and Dick Vermeil of Kansas City, who retired Sunday at the age of 69. With the firing of Detroit's Steve Mariucci in November, that brings to seven the number of vacancies, with the prospect of one more - Norv Turner of Oakland, who could learn his fate Tuesday.

That's not an unusual number, especially since there were just three new coaches this season. Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, an average of 5.9 jobs per year opened up.

None of the firings were surprises.

Haslett's job has been in question most of the season as the Saints, who finished 3-13, went through a chaotic period in which the team was driven from its home by Hurricane Katrina; settled in San Antonio; and played "home" games in three different stadiums, including its opener at Giants Stadium, home of its opponent, the New York Giants.

"There were some unexpected challenges, but in any case our record isn't good enough," Haslett, who coached the team for six seasons and was coach of the year in 2000, said in a statement.

The 54-year-old Martz took a medical leave this season after five games with an infection of the heart lining and was not allowed back on the sidelines, in part because of differences with director of football operations Jay Zygmunt. At the time he left the team, his career record was 56-36 and he had led the Rams to the playoffs four times, and to the Super Bowl after the 2001 season.

Thus it was no surprise when New Orleans' offensive players heard of the availability of Martz, known for his innovations, and hinted he be considered for the opening. "I'd like an offensive-minded coach," wide receiver Donte' Stallworth said, nodding when asked if it was a coach who had a recent health problem.

Martz may, indeed, be a candidate for an opening, especially on a team looking for offensive help.

The Saints, who own the No. 2 pick in the draft and a possible shot at Southern California quarterback Matt Leinart, might do worse - Martz's specialty is developing quarterbacks, as he did with Kurt Warner and Marc Bulger in St. Louis.

The list of prospects for the vacancies is long.

Rivera is one of those at the top. Because he is of Hispanic heritage, he also fits the specifications of the "Rooney rule," which requires that all teams with vacancies interview at least one minority candidate.

Another top prospect in that category is Tim Lewis, defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, who was once a cornerback for Green Bay, and who turned down an interview with Detroit when it hired Mariucci. Other potential minority candidates include Cleveland offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon; Minnesota defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell; and Mike Singletary, the Hall of Fame linebacker who is San Francisco's assistant head coach.

Singletary, who only began coaching in 2003, is thought to be more a prospect down the road than this season.

The Broncos, Bears and Giants are in the playoffs, so Kubiak, Rivera and Lewis can't accept a job until after their teams are eliminated.

But all can be interviewed at their home headquarters, Kubiak and Rivera this week because Denver and Chicago have a first-round bye, and Lewis next week if the Giants beat Carolina in the first round. If New York loses, he obviously is free to interview and to take a job.

Other likely prospects among assistant coaches include Gregg Williams, assistant head coach for defense of the Redskins; offensive coordinator Brad Childress of Philadelphia; and Baltimore offensive coordinator Jim Fassel, who was head coach of the Giants for seven seasons and took them to the Super Bowl after the 2000 season.

College coaches are Pete Carroll of Southern California; Charlie Weis of Notre Dame; Kirk Ferentz of Iowa; Bob Stoops of Oklahoma; and Pat Hill of San Jose State. Carroll was a head coach with the Jets and Patriots, and all but Stoops were NFL assistants.

Kansas City also appears interested in Herman Edwards, head coach of the New York Jets. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Monday the Chiefs are free to ask permission to talk to Edwards, and could be asked to give up draft picks if a deal is reached.

One: Will Seattle end the NFL's longest drought, dating to 1984, without a playoff win? In some ways, it seems like a season of destiny for the Seahawks, who posted the NFC's top record and claimed home-field advantage for the playoffs. If not destiny, at least they have reversed some issues.

MVP candidate Shaun Alexander won the NFL rushing title with 1,880 yards after falling short by a yard last year. With a rebuilt defense, the habit of allowing big fourth-quarter comebacks vanished. The dropped passes aren't glaring anymore, either.

Since losing to the St. Louis Rams in their playoff opener last season, the Seahawks are 8-0 at Qwest Field. Even better, Mike Holmgren has the NFL's highest-scoring team (28.3 points a game). That's something to ponder for opponents making the long trip to the Pacific Northwest.

Two: Does Carolina have a playoff-ready rushing game? When the Panthers advanced to Super Bowl XXXVIII two years ago, they had the NFL's fourth-leading rusher in Stephen Davis. This time, they enter the playoffs with big-play artist Steve Smith tying for the NFL lead with 103 catches, while the 31-year-old Davis is on injured reserve with a bum knee.

When DeShaun Foster bolted for 165 yards in Sunday's playoff-clinching victory at Atlanta, it was just Carolina's second 100-yard rushing game of the season — both achieved against the Falcons defense, which ended the year ranked 26th against the run.

The Panthers didn't suddenly become a passing team. They passed on 48% of their snaps, compared with 47% in 2003. The big difference is they rushed for 412 fewer yards than in 2003, an extra 25-plus yards a game that could come in handy when emphasis on ball control and reduced risk goes up a notch in the playoffs.

Three: Is Washington the most dangerous team in the NFC? Coach Joe Gibbs takes his Redskins to face Tampa Bay with the longest current winning streak of any playoff team, at five games — the last three averaging 33.7 points against divisional foes.

Since Gibbs returned in 2004, the Gregg Williams-directed defense has been among the NFL's best. Gibbs has tweaked the offense enough to improve the protection and establish the signature running game led by Clinton Portis' 1,516 yards. Add big-play receiving aces in Santana Moss and Chris Cooley, and there is balance.

Health issues exist with Portis, revived quarterback Mark Brunell and cornerback Shawn Springs among the notables, but confidence is high. The Redskins have beaten three NFC playoff entrants — Seattle, Chicago and the New York Giants — and nearly won in Tampa in Week 10.

Four: Is Muhammad poised to become Chicago's clutch target? Bears quarterback Rex Grossman's comeback might also spark the return of Muhsin Muhammad as a difference-maker in the passing game. Muhammad led the NFL with 16 touchdown receptions in 2004, a good reason why little time was wasted in luring him to the Windy City.

Muhammad became such fast friends with Grossman during offseason work that he attended the quarterback's wedding. But his production took a blow with the broken ankle that floored Grossman in the preseason. With rookie Kyle Orton managing the offense for the bulk of the season, Muhammad finished with four touchdowns and 750 yards.

He is no speed burner, and with the NFL's best defense in tow, the Bears are not built for shootouts. But "Moose" could provide Grossman with the security blanket every passer needs at crunchtime.

Five: Who's at outside linebacker for the Giants? The past few weeks, the continuity of the Giants defense has been affected by a rash of injuries at linebacker. They had another scare when Nick Greisen was shaken up in their division title-clinching win at Oakland. Greisen, the only one of the six linebackers to open the season still standing for the regular-season finale, returned to finish the game.

Getting back Pro Bowl-bound Antonio Pierce from a high ankle sprain would be a huge boost, but that's hardly a certainty this week. The team is more hopeful that Reggie Torbor can return from a hamstring injury. Still, it's a group with three players signed within the past three weeks. Before Saturday, the unit had allowed three 100-yard rushers in four games.

But it helps to have Pro Bowl defensive ends up front in Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora and the NFL's No. 2 rusher, Tiki Barber, as a ball-control weapon to ease pressure on inconsistent young quarterback Eli Manning.

Six: Is max protection a good idea for Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden? In two games since he was sacked a season-high seven times at New England, Bucs quarterback Chris Simms has been sacked three times. That's heading in the right direction for a team that has allowed 41 sacks, more than any playoff squad.

Gruden has tried to scheme through the protection problems all season. He has reined in some of his more creative designs and often sends just two receivers out while getting heavy use out of max-protection formations such as two-tight-end sets.

It helps that rookie Carnell Williams fuels the rushing game and Simms — who didn't throw an interception in six of his 10 starts — keeps mistakes to a minimum. Simms throws a great deep ball, but without the blocking he can't connect with polished burner Joey Galloway.

When the Redskins played at Tampa in Week 10, they didn't get a sack. Undoubtedly, blitz-happy Washington will try to disrupt the flow much more this time.

Seven: Can the two-time defending champion Patriots overcome the loss of Harrison? Bill Belichick is still the most resourceful coach in the NFL. In addition to losing coordinators Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel, the Patriots lost 45 man-starts to injury and managed to win another AFC East title. They got stronger as the season progressed and key players returned.

The defense has all-pro defensive end Richard Seymour back. Tedy Bruschi came back from a stroke, although there's a mystery surrounding the linebacker's injured knee. Corey Dillon (the Patriots are 5-0 when he rushes 20 times) is again being counted on to lessen the load on Tom Brady, who made up for the running back's injury problems by passing for an NFL-high 4,110 yards.

But the one player the Patriots can't get back is all-pro safety Rodney Harrison. The vulnerable secondary has started six strong safeties since Harrison tore three knee ligaments in September. No playoff team has allowed more touchdown passes (25) than the Patriots.

Eight: How have back-to-back losses affected the Bengals? It's not so much that the Bengals finished the regular season with their only consecutive losses; it's the manner in which they occurred, allowing a combined 74 points.

Cincinnati allowed Kansas City 537 yards Sunday. Larry Johnson's 201-yard rushing performance was an eerie reminder of what happened the last time the Pittsburgh Steelers visited Paul Brown Stadium — they punished the Bengals with 221 ground yards. When the Bengals' season-opening four-game winning streak ended at Jacksonville in early October, they allowed 181 rushing yards.

A suddenly battered defense, which tied a franchise record with 44 takeaways, can expect a similar gut check in the franchise's first playoff appearance since 1990. And the lack of sharpness isn't exclusive to the defense. The three points scored at Kansas City, albeit with breakout quarterback Carson Palmer sitting out for the bulk of time, marked the fewest in 48 games with Marvin Lewis as coach.

Nine: Can "The Bus" drive the Steelers to Detroit? Jerome Bettis maintains one reason he returned for a 13th season was the chance to play for a championship in his hometown. Bettis is no longer the Steelers' featured runner; fast Willie Parker rushed for 1,202 yards. But Bettis, who had three touchdowns in his specialized role Sunday, still symbolizes the power rushing game that is Steelers football and is so critical to keeping pressure off quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Big Ben's 98.6 passer rating ranked third in the NFL, but he averaged just 19.2 passes in the nine victories that he started this season. In three losses, Roethlisberger threw an average of 31.7 passes. The Steelers' formula is still heavy on running tough and stopping it with the NFL's third-ranked run defense. On a four-game winning streak matching their longest of the season, the Steelers outscored opponents 115-33.

 

 For 21 years, Doug Flutie's career has been defined by one play. Now the "Hail Flutie" has its historic bookend.

The 43-year-old Patriots backup converted the NFL's first successful drop kick since 1941, making an extra point in the fourth quarter of the Miami Dolphins' mostly meaningless 28-26 victory Sunday over New England.

"I think Doug deserves it," said usually dour Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who broke into a wide smile when his sprightly quarterback split the uprights off one bounce. "He is a guy that adds a lot to this game of football, has added a lot through his great career - running, passing and now kicking.

"He's got a skill and we got a chance to let him use it, and I am happy for him. First time since '41," said Belichick, a football historian who last month brought out a leather helmet in his media session. "It might be 60 years again, too."

According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame website, the league's last drop kick for points was on Dec. 21, 1941 - two weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor - when Ray (Scooter) McLean converted for the Chicago Bears to beat the New York Giants 37-9 in the NFL championship game.

"Flutie might have been there the last time it happened," placekicker Adam Vinatieri joked.

The ball was more round until 1934, making the bounce more predictable. And the rules were changed to require the kicker to be behind the line of scrimmage, relegating the drop kick to a riskier version of a place kick or extra point.

But when a broadcaster Chris Berman mentioned to Belichick that he'd seen Flutie drop kick, the coach called his quarterback into his office and asked if he could do it.

"I said, 'I could do it,"' Flutie said. "There's no real application for it, but I could do it."

A native of nearby Natick, Flutie won the Heisman Trophy at Boston College after connecting with Gerard Phelan on a 48-yard touchdown pass to beat Miami as time expired. That is his signature play - and one of the most memorable in college football history.

With the Patriots already happy with their playoff seeding, Tom Brady sat out most of the game so Matt Cassel, who's usually No. 3 behind Flutie, could get some snaps. He hit Tim Dwight for a nine-yard touchdown with 6:10 left, and Flutie came onto the field with the kicking unit.

"It sort of screwed me up," said Dolphins coach Nick Saban, who needed a timeout to get things straight. "I couldn't figure out what was going on. They had a quarterback in, four tight ends and a receiver and there was no kicker."

Flutie took his position for a regular shotgun snap, then retreated to the 12 yard-line to await the ball; he caught the ball, dropped it to the grass and kicked it off the short hop straight through the uprights. After getting a hug on the field by his teammates, Flutie ran off to embrace Belichick.

Even Saban appreciated the moment.

"I was kind of pleased to know that somebody can still drop kick," Saban said. "Man, when I was a kid we all practised that. Thought it was a lost art.

"But," he added, "you know Flutie showed his age on that one."

The 1984 Heisman winner went into the USFL and the NFL, but only achieved stardom in the Canadian Football League, where he was a three-time Grey Cup champion and six-time Most Outstanding Player. He returned to the NFL in 1998 and played three years with Buffalo and four with San Diego before returning to New England for a second stint with the Patriots.

He hasn't said he will retire, but the impression that this is his final season was reinforced by Belichick's post-game valedictory.

"It's possible, but I'm not going to rule anything out," Flutie said. "But if that ends up being my last play, it wouldn't be bad."