Success will still work against them
During Super Bowl week, offensive coordinator Charlie Weis complained that the guidelines for interviewing and hiring head coaches "pigeonhole" assistants on teams that advance in the postseason. It's safe to assume, then, that Weis and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel are disappointed in the competition committee's decision not to allow interviews during the off week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl or put a freeze on hiring until after the season.
Instead, the committee will recommend to the league's owners at next week's annual spring meeting in Palm Beach, Fla., that the current "windows" during the wild-card and divisional rounds be extended to include the weekend and the so-called "antitampering" rule be applied to "high-level employees." That's bad news for coordinators, who still could find themselves victims of their teams' success but good news for executives such as vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli, in whom the Dolphins were rumored to be interested but who could not be contacted during the postseason.
"There was no real sentiment whatsoever to open up a second window, because at that point the feeling was the focus should totally be on the Super Bowl," said committee cochairman Rich McKay, the Falcons' president and general manager, who interviewed Crennel for the Atlanta head coaching job that went to 49ers defensive coordinator Jim Mora Jr.
"With respect to allowing the coach to be hired," McKay said yesterday, "we felt like it's the same issue, which is, No. 1, you can't have a coach under contract to two different teams. No. 2, you don't want that coach having to spend all his time worried about hiring his staff for when he's going to take the next job in, let's say, 10 days, as opposed to getting ready for the Super Bowl."
Crennell interviewed for five and Weis two of the seven openings over three days during the Patriots' first-round bye. The system tweaks should make the process less hectic but no less difficult for assistants on championship teams.
"Everybody assumed we were going to the Super Bowl," Crennel said, prior to the game and after every vacancy had been filled. "They didn't want to wait until February to have a chance to talk to us again and maybe make a decision about a coaching job. I would have to say it was a disadvantage."
Traylor park?
The Patriots hosted free agent defensive tackle Keith Traylor Tuesday. Traylor, 34, played for two seasons (2001-02) alongside Ted Washington, who signed with the Raiders the first day of free agency. At 6 feet 2 inches, 340 pounds, Traylor is 3 inches shorter and 25 pounds lighter than Washington and isn't anywhere near the force in the middle Washington is. Traylor has the size to play the nose in the 3-4, but he's only played defensive tackle in the 4-3 since converting from inside linebacker 10 seasons ago. Known more as a run-stuffer than a pass-rusher, Traylor has 301 tackles and 13 sacks in 171 games over 12 seasons with Denver (1991-92, 1997-2000), Green Bay (1993), Kansas City (1995-96), and Chicago (2001-03) . . . New England signed receiver Michael Jennings and released NFL Europe cornerback Michael Hall yesterday . . . There's mutual interest, but if the Patriots plan to wait until after the league meeting to pursue free agent guard Ruben Brown, that may be too late. The eight-time Pro Bowler and former Bill, whose representative New England has been in contact for several weeks, visited Chicago Tuesday and the Lions yesterday, and may land with a new team by next week.
Economics class
For anyone still interested: Should the Patriots accept Ty Law's proposed buyout of his contract, they would receive a salary cap credit for signing bonus recovered next season equal to the amount he pays back. In other words, if Law were to write the Patriots a check for $5.4 million (what's left of his bonus prorations), New England would take a cap hit of $5.4 million this year (just as if it had released him prior to June 1) and get a $5.4 million credit in 2005. Law, wanting to be on the market at the start of free agency, was offering the credit as an incentive to do a buyout before the league year ended March 2. The Patriots weren't interested . . . In recognition of their Super Bowl championship, the Patriots will visit the White House in May, though the date has not been released. It's not quite "long time, no see" -- they met President Bush in April, 2002, after their Super Bowl XXXVI victory . . . The team's voluntary offseason workout program begins Monday.
