Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels isn't the only member of the Patriots coaching staff drawing interest from another team.
The Seahawks have requested permission to speak with special teams coach Brad Seely. The request, first reported by Adam Schefter of the NFL Network and NFL.com, was confirmed yesterday by a Seahawks spokesman.
McDaniels has interviewed with the Broncos and Browns, and you can add the Rams to the list of teams interested in talking to him about their head coaching vacancy.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported last night that the Rams have requested and received permission to talk to McDaniels.
Seattle, meanwhile, still has Bruce DeHaven in its employ as special teams coach, but with Jim Mora Jr. taking over for Mike Holmgren as head coach, staff changes could be in the offing.
The 52-year-old Seely has been the Patriots special teams coach for the last 10 seasons. His arrival in 1999, after four seasons as the Panthers special teams coach, predates that of head coach Bill Belichick by a season.
Patriots special teams ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in three major categories in 2008. New England was third in kickoff-return average (25.2 yards), ninth in punt-return average (10.3 yards), and 10th in kickoff coverage (22.3 yards) - although it allowed two touchdowns on kickoff returns.
Seely also oversaw the success of placekicker Stephen Gostkowski and cornerback/kick returner Ellis Hobbs.
Gostkowski earned his first Pro Bowl berth. He led the NFL with 148 points and 36 field goals, also a franchise record.
Hobbs ranked second in kickoff-return average (28.5 yards) and set a franchise record with 1,281 kickoff-return yards.
Brees wins AP award
Drew Brees understood what breaking a record set by
Dan Marino would mean to the Saints. So coming up 15 yards short was disappointing to the quarterback, who won the Associated Press 2008 NFL Offensive Player of the Year award yesterday. Brees threw for 5,069 yards, 15 fewer than Marino's 1984 mark. "The only reason I still even think about it is because I know how much it would have meant to the offensive line and the skill position guys," Brees said. Although the Saints were 8-8 and didn't make the playoffs, Brees earned 22 votes in balloting by a nationwide panel of 50 sportswriters and broadcasters. That easily beat
Peyton Manning, the NFL Most Valuable Player for the third time for Indianapolis, and Minnesota running back
Adrian Peterson. They tied for second with nine votes each . . . An MRI showed that Bengals QB
Carson Palmer won't need surgery on his injured right elbow and should be ready for offseason workouts.
Mawae up in air
The Titans got Pro Bowl defensive tackle
Albert Haynesworth and end
Kyle Vanden Bosch back on the practice field. The availability of Pro Bowl center
Kevin Mawae against Baltimore seems highly doubtful. During a radio interview before practice, Mawae was asked if he would play Saturday in the AFC Divisional playoff game. "No, I'm not going to play this week," Mawae said before trying to soften that answer. "It's still questionable. We're day to day, and hopefully things progress to where I'll be able to play next week. But again, we're day to day right now." Mawae, who earned his seventh Pro Bowl spot in his 15th season, hurt his right elbow Dec. 21 and missed the regular-season finale in Indianapolis . . . Chargers wide receiver
Vincent Jackson was arrested early yesterday on suspicion of drunken driving. Jackson failed sobriety tests shortly after 2 a.m. on state Route 52 in San Diego, said California Highway Patrol Officer
Ray Scheidnes, who didn't know Jackson's blood alcohol level. Jackson was on probation for a previous DUI arrest, Highway Patrol Officer
Brad Baehr said. The player was taken to the San Diego County jail and released. Jackson caught 59 passes, second on the team behind Pro Bowl tight end
Antonio Gates, but didn't catch any in Saturday's 23-17 overtime playoff win over Indianapolis. San Diego visits Pittsburgh for a playoff game Sunday.
Broncos plow on
Rick Dennison served 14 seasons as
Mike Shanahan's assistant, and now he wants to be his replacement. The Broncos' offensive coordinator met with team owner
Pat Bowlen after expressing interest in the position following Shanahan's firing last week. The Broncos also spoke with Cowboys offensive coordinator
Jason Garrett, and
Leslie Frazier, the defensive coordinator of the Vikings, is slated to interview today . . . The Browns plan to interview Eagles general manager
Tom Heckert for their GM opening . . .
Carl Peterson bade farewell after a 20-year run as president, GM, and chief executive of the Chiefs, saying although he isn't retiring, he plans to take a couple of weeks off, and dismissed as "pure speculation" talk of possibly going to work for the new ownership of the Dolphins . . . A Detroit News sports columnist has left the paper, two weeks after he was criticized for asking Lions coach
Rod Marinelli if he had wished his daughter married a better defensive coordinator.
Rob Parker resigned last week, managing editor
Don Nauss said.
Joe Barry is Marinelli's son-in-law and was defensive coordinator during Detroit's 0-16 season. On Dec. 21, after a 42-7 loss to New Orleans, Parker asked Marinelli about his daughter's decision to marry Barry.
15 are Hall finalists
Career sacks leader
Bruce Smith,
Rod Woodson,
Shannon Sharpe, and
John Randle were among the 15 finalists named yesterday for the Hall of Fame, the only first-year eligible players to make the final round this year. Joining them will be two contributors, former commissioner
Paul Tagliabue and Bills owner
Ralph Wilson, as well as two senior nominees selected last August: former Atlanta defensive end
Claude Humphrey and former Dallas wide receiver
Bob Hayes. Of the other finalists, only former Pittsburgh center
Dermontti Dawson and former Seattle defensive lineman
Cortez Kennedy have not been finalists before. The rest: wide receivers
Cris Carter and
Andre Reed; defensive end
Richard Dent; guards
Russ Grimm,
Bob Kuechenberg, and
Randall McDaniel; and linebacker
Derrick Thomas . . . A gun owned by Colts star
Marvin Harrison was used in an April shooting, but investigators still can't determine who pulled the trigger, Philadelphia's chief prosecutor said. No charges have been filed and the investigation remains open.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
