News & Info/Headlines

After an intense week-plus of signings, trades and other free-agent fun and games, it's time to stop, take a deep breath and start considering the impact some of the moves made will have on the teams and individuals involved. We'll use this week's Fantasy Notebook to begin that process and address some other items of interest.

But first, we need to catch up on a couple of coaching-related items. Specifically, the Cowboys and 49ers have officially named their new offensive coordinators.

We'll start in Dallas, where Jason Garrett was finally given the title of offensive coordinator on Feb. 20 -- nearly a month after being hired. New head coach Wade Phillips also elevated Tony Sparano to assistant head coach with a contract extension through 2009.

In case you missed it. ... Cowboys owner Jerry Jones hired the 40-year-old Garrett to the coaching staff Jan. 25 after interviewing him for the head coaching vacancy. It had been expected since then that Garrett would be the offensive coordinator, even though his only coaching experience was the last two seasons as quarterbacks coach in Miami.

"We believe that Jason is one of the bright young offensive minds in the NFL," Phillips said. "He has extensive experience in working with some outstanding offensive coaches through his years of professional football, and he is well-prepared for this position."

Garrett was a quarterbacks coach for two seasons at Miami before getting elevated to a coordinator with Dallas.

"All the good ones are pretty much the same," Phillips said. "It's been my experience in the league guys that are really good you can recognize it pretty quickly and I think he's one of those guys. ..."

Phillips added: "It took me five years to be a coordinator, and I did all right. I think he's ready."

And as Dallas Morning News staffer Calvin Watkins noted, Jones also values Sparano greatly and wanted to retain him. Watkins reminded readers the Cowboys denied Sparano an opportunity to become New Orleans' offensive coordinator last year.

Earlier this year, Dallas wouldn't let Cleveland speak with Sparano about becoming the offensive line coach.

"We're excited about him being here," Phillips said of Sparano. "He's done such a great job here we felt certainly he deserves to be assistant head coach. We want him to carry on his duties as offensive line coach."

Sparano shared play-calling duties on Bill Parcells' staff last season.

"Tony's past performance with the organization and the respect that he has from our players made this an easy decision," Phillips said. "His contract commitment will provide stability for our staff for a long time, and that was also an important factor in this decision."

Sparano's role on game day may change with Garrett as coordinator, but the Cowboys' running game is expected to remain the same. The passing game will be tweaked by Garrett, who is more familiar with the schemes used by coordinators he played under, like Norv Turner, Sean Payton and Jon Gruden.

"I think like a lot of teams, you spend this time evaluating what the team had done the year before and invigorate the offense or defense with new ideas," said Garrett, who spent the previous two seasons as the Miami Dolphins' quarterbacks coach.

"Obviously, with a new staff coming together, there's different thoughts about ways to do things. Tony's been great. He's been fun to work with and talk offensive football with."

According to Morning News staffer Todd Archer, the two men are in the rudimentary stage of putting an offense together, which includes deciding what to call the formations and packages and studying the offensive players on the roster.

"Part of the goal is to keep the stuff consistent as we can for the players," Sparano said. "Sometimes it's good the coaches learn and don't have to put all the learning on the players. There's going to be change anytime there's staff movement like that, and it's got to be comfortable for Jay and comfortable for myself."

Last year's offense was among the best in Cowboys' history, but Sparano is the only leftover from the offensive staff.

The Cowboys scored 425 points (26.6 per game -- fourth-best in the league) and averaged nearly 361 total yards (fifth best) per game last season. It was their most productive offense since 1995, when they won the last of their five Super Bowl titles.

"There's been some great Cowboys teams, and our numbers compare to those teams or were better," Sparano said. "That says an awful lot, in my opinion. It's a credit to the coaches, but more importantly, it's a credit to the players. We have good players."

For the second time in team history, the Cowboys had a 1,000-yard rusher (Julius Jones) and two 1,000-yard receivers (Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn).

Tony Romo threw 16 touchdown passes in 10 starts and was named to the Pro Bowl. Owens led the NFL with 13 touchdown catches and Marion Barber ran for 14 touchdowns.

"I'm excited about it," Garrett said. "I'm excited about the team they have on offense and defense and everything they've been putting together in Dallas.

"We're going to evaluate the things they did last year and try to keep those constants and then add some other things and continue and try and grow. ..."

Meanwhile, as Pro Football Weekly noted last month, Phillips is, has been and always will be a defensive coach. But that he will have a significant say in what the offense does -- and specifically with the quarterback.

There is some history to fall back on.

A look at Phillips' experience with QBs in his two full-time head-coaching jobs is somewhat intriguing, if not telling. First, he helped turn around John Elway from one of his worst seasons in 1992 to career highs in completions, yards, completion percentage and TD passes, not to mention his fewest interceptions (he later surpassed the TD mark).

But clearly, Phillips made a more conservative QB of Elway, too. In Phillips' two seasons with the Broncos, Elway's yards per completion fell from 12.7 in his career under Dan Reeves to 11.5.

And following Phillips' career to Buffalo, the coach favored the more conservative Rob Johnson at the end of the 1999 season and in 2000 over the more unpredictable Doug Flutie, who was coming off a Pro Bowl effort in '98.

PFW went on to suggest that Romo, who shares some traits with both Elway and Flutie, might find out quickly that he'll have to cut down on his ratio of one interception every 25.9 attempts. ...

In a semi-related note. ... Brad Johnson made it clear Tuesday that he didn't sign with the Cowboys in order to be Romo's mentor.

"I've never agreed with that terminology, that term: mentor," Johnson said the day after signing on with Dallas. "My role is to be ready to play at any moment, and my role will be defined in time."

Johnson, who was a teammate of Garrett's in Tampa Bay for part of one season, said he hopes Romo and the Cowboys have a successful season but added that he is "not there for my health." Johnson plans to have a role in that success and not one that involves holding a clipboard.

Romo, he said, "already has a quarterback coach. He doesn't need another coach. My thing is to work hard in practice and have a great relationship with Tony and hopefully he has the best year of his life."

In a statement, the Cowboys said Johnson "will provide depth and experience" in his 16th NFL season. ....

And finally in Dallas. ... Jones said he talked with Owens last Saturday as the receiver recovers from a second surgery on his right ring finger.

"He was still a little groggy," Jones said. "He's very optimistic about getting in shape and excited about working with the coaches."

Owens is expected to work on conditioning and running routes during the team's off-season program later this month but isn't expected to catch passes until training camp in late July. ...

In San Francisco. ... The 49ers promoted quarterbacks coach Jim Hostler to offensive coordinator on Feb. 28, making him the fifth coach to hold that job in five seasons.

Head coach Mike Nolan chose Hostler to replace Turner, who became the Chargers' head coach earlier last month, after interviewing each of the five offensive assistants Turner left behind.

Turner spent just one season with the 49ers, but led a turnaround for a club that fielded one of the worst offenses in NFL history in 2005. According to Associated Press sports writer Greg Beacham, Hostler intends to keep the same offense and power structure in place next season, hoping to build on those improvements.

"The progress we made last year is a credit to the staff," said Hostler, who first called plays in 1993 as a 24-year-old offensive coordinator at Juniata College, a Division III school in central Pennsylvania. "Where we're going in the future is based on that staff, not one person alone. I look forward to continuing with what we started into (last) year."

Nolan's concerns about play-calling experience were apparently eased during the interview when Hostler showed him game plans he'd drawn up over the past two seasons.

"They were all laminated. They were already done. They just were never used," Nolan said, adding that he'd done the same thing as an assistant aspiring to a coordinator's role. "How effective they are, we'll never know. But I was extremely impressed that he did that."

Hostler spent five seasons as an assistant coach with three NFL teams before joining the 49ers in 2005 to tutor Alex Smith. Hostler has never been a coordinator -- and neither has Greg Manusky, hired as San Francisco's new defensive coordinator several weeks ago after Billy Davis was fired.

Turner replaced Mike McCarthy, who left San Francisco after one season to become the Green Bay Packers' head coach. Hostler plans only minor tweaks to the system left behind by Turner, who got remarkable improvements from Smith and Pro Bowl running back Frank Gore.

"I don't know how much different we'll look when you watch the game," Hostler said. "We're not going to change. It's just about a feel for how the game is going."

Nolan expects to hire a new quarterbacks coach soon, but wouldn't reveal any candidates.

Also considered for the job were wide-receivers coach Jerry Sullivan, tight-ends coach Pete Hoener, running-backs coach Bishop Harris and offensive-line coach George Warhop. Nolan said his consideration of outside candidates was limited by the late timing of Turner's departure. ...

Also in San Francisco. ... Ashley Lelie, who signed a two-year contract with San Francisco on Monday, told reporters he chose the 49ers over Houston and other suitors because of "the opportunity to start and be a player in this league."

"This team gave me the best chance to go after that," Lelie said. "It's definitely a great organization. I get to try to fill the shoes of one of my favorite players of all time, Jerry Rice."

The 49ers released last year's No. 1 receiver Antonio Bryant after a single, tumultuous season that began with a hefty signing bonus and ended with Bryant on a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.

Lelie joins receivers Arnaz Battle and Bryan Gilmore and tight end Vernon Davis to augment an unimpressive group of targets for quarterback Alex Smith.

In an article published last Monday, SI.com insider Peter King expressed doubts about Lelie. According to King: "Nolan and the Niners will be disappointed in his toughness, or lack thereof."

Maybe so. ... But they can't question his desire to play.

As San Jose Mercury News staffer John Ryan noted this week, while Lelie has been considered a disappointment and a bit of a malingerer in his six seasons as a pro, he's the only guy in the NFL who can say, with a straight face, that he'd play the game for free.

In 2006, Lelie wanted out of Denver so desperately that, to facilitate a trade to Atlanta, he agreed to pay holdout fines and reimburse the Broncos for part of his signing bonus, a bill that's believed to have run to $982,000.

This is especially significant considering Lelie earned only $600,000 in salary. Although a later ruling allowed him to recoup $220,000 of the ransom, he still ended up in the hole for the season. ...

Speaking of money matters. ... Agent Drew Rosenhaus told Yahoo! Sports correspondent Jason Cole this week that he expects talks with the 49ers over a new contract for Gore to "heat up" in the next few days.

Those sentiments came shortly after Rosenhaus negotiated a six-year deal worth in excess of $32 million for running back Willis McGahee, traded from the Buffalo Bills to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday.

McGahee was the third running back client of Rosenhaus to receive a new deal in the past week. Fred Taylor signed an extension with the Jaguars on March 1 and Thomas Jones got a new deal after being traded by the Bears to the New York Jets on Tuesday.

"Obviously, [contract talks for Gore have] to heat up after where the market has gone the past week for running backs," Rosenhaus said. All three deals were worth at least $20 million. The pacts were among 14 Rosenhaus negotiated or restructured for players in the last week.

"You'd like to think that a deal for Frank is imminent," Rosenhaus said.

Rosenhaus is probably right. And the market has certainly been set -- in large part thanks to Rosenhaus himself.

But nothing is certain at this point.

As Cole pointed out, Gore is just two years into his original five-year rookie pact. And, as reported in a previous Fantasy Notebook, the Niners truly love his hard-running style, but they are concerned about his history of injuries.

As PFW put it: "Team officials still consider him a 24-year-old running back in a 30-year-old's body. ..."

Meanwhile, Profootballtalk.com editor Mike Florio suggested on Saturday that if/when Gore signs, look for his guaranteed money primarily to come from a signing bonus, which hits the cap over multiple years, and not from a large roster bonus, which counts against the salary cap in the year in which it is paid.

It's a good point. ...

In Chicago. ... The Bears reached the Super Bowl last season thanks in large part to a combined 1,857 rushing yards from Jones and then-backup Cedric Benson, who were able to coexist while working toward a common goal.

"What we did last year worked very well," said general manager Jerry Angelo. "I didn't foresee that being inevitable again this year."

Also, as Arlington Heights Daily Herald sports writer Bob LeGere noted this week, Angelo didn't use the fourth overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft on Benson just to watch him caddy for Jones.

"We like Cedric Benson," Angelo said. "It's his time, it's that simple. We feel strongly that he is ready."

That's why the Bears were content to move up 26 spots in the second round in exchange for Jones, who rushed for 2,545 yards the past two seasons.

So, as LeGere suggested, the New York Jets get a workhorse running back in Jones, while the Bears clear the way for Benson, whom they feel is a thoroughbred.

"In part, that was our reason," Angelo said. "There were other things that we factored in, too, and in the end it was not an easy decision."

While neither Jones nor Benson was happy with the job-share arrangement, it worked well enough for the Bears. And over time -- and with success -- the two were able to peacefully coexist.

Upon arrival in New York, Jones was asked how he thought Benson would handle his increased workload with the Bears.

"Cedric Benson has a lot of talent," Jones said. "(But) when you move into the featured role, there are a lot more responsibilities. (Running backs) coach Tim Spencer had so much advice for me to make me a better football player, and I'm sure he'll pass that same advice to Cedric."

For now, special-teams ace Adrian Peterson moves up to No. 2 on the Bears' depth chart at running back, but another player will be added in free agency or the draft.

"We still feel we have two quality running backs," Angelo said. "That was part of why we did what we did."

Meanwhile, as Chicago Tribune reporter David Haugh pointed out, Benson finally gets an opportunity to quiet the critics who question whether he has the necessary durability and maturity to carry an offense as reliant on the running game as the Bears for 16 games.

That's by no means a lock. But if he responds well, Benson could easily post top-10 totals this fall. ...

In New York. ... In a rather ironic twist, New York Daily News beat man Rich Cimini advised readers this week the Jets plan to employ a 1-2 punch of Jones and Leon Washington.

Jones is a workmanlike runner. Washington can provide electricity. Both will get a chance to demonstrate those skills.

"Who plays, and how much they play, will be determined on the field," Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum, declining to anoint Jones as the feature back.

Asked about the prospect of sharing the workload with Washington -- given the issues he had sharing with Benson in Chicago, Jones toed the company line.

"That's up to the coaches," said Jones, apparently unwilling to question the team that just put $12 million in his bank account. "I'm here to play football and make plays. That's why I signed here, to help the offense be as productive as possible."

Of course, Jones actually benefited from Benson's presence.

As Cimini noted, in the seven games last season in which Benson carried the ball at least a dozen times, Jones averaged 4.8 yards per carry. In the other 12 games, when he was the workhorse, his average dipped to 4.1.

Age could be a concern, as Jones turns 29 in August, but the Jets believe he'll be a young 29 because he didn't play much in his first four seasons. "I'm a workout warrior," said Jones, a chiseled 220 pounds. "The way I feel right now, I could play for a long, long time. ..."

In Baltimore. ... It's been widely reported the Bills were disappointed in McGahee for conducting most of his off-season workouts in his native Miami rather than traveling to the team's Buffalo facility.

McGahee said that won't be a problem with the Ravens.

"I'm going to be up here working out," McGahee said Friday. "Coach tells me to come up next week; I'll be here next week."

According to Baltimore Sun staffer Jamison Hensley, McGahee, acquired via trade Thursday, was welcomed to town with questions about his work habits, his reconstructed left knee and his underachieving 2006 season.

After a full examination, Ravens doctors dismissed concerns about the knee.

And his career-low 990 yards last season?

"My situation wasn't that great in Buffalo. I thank God for getting the 990, to tell you the truth," McGahee said. "If you look at it, I missed two games and was facing nine guys in the box a lot. If you get to a better team with receivers, a quarterback, a line helping out, it's going to be hard to stop everybody. ..."

Oh really?

As I noted Thursday night, the Ravens' offensive line -- at least as things currently stand -- isn't all that impressive. The loss of massive fullback Ovie Mughelli, who signed with the Falcons, doesn't help.

And while Todd Heap certainly gives the Ravens an edge at tight end, one could easily argue that Lee Evans is a more explosive a receiver than anybody on Baltimore's roster. Evans was also a top-10 Fantasy receiver -- not something any of Baltimore's wideout's can lay claim to.

In fact, based on the 2006 FootballDiehards.com Players Performance Rankings, Mark Clayton, Baltimore's most productive wideout, ranked 28th.

As to whether Steve McNair is a huge upgrade over J.P. Losman, that's debatable, too.

The numbers -- Losman threw for 3,049 yards with 19 TDs and 14 INTs while McNair finished with 3,050 yards, 16 TDs and 12 INTs -- hardly back McGahee's contentions.

So, when McGahee claims to be "best (running back) in the NFL," I would suggest the overall level of accuracy -- or lack thereof -- demonstrated in his assessment of the Bills' and Ravens' personnel should be a starting point in making your own determination in that regard. ...

Meanwhile, head coach Brian Billick talked about how the Ravens can more frequently spread out teams with three receivers because McGahee can run out of single-back formations.

Billick spoke about how the team can break out the screen and swing passes again because McGahee is so effective in space.

Those are the types of changes to expect as the Ravens go from a bashing-type runner in Jamal Lewis to a slasher like McGahee. ...

In Arizona. .... The re-signing of RB Marcel Shipp didn't garner any big headlines, but according to Arizona Republic staffer Kent Somers, it was an important move for a couple of reasons.

First, new head coach Ken Whisenhunt is going to place a heavy emphasis on the run.

If the club is going to run 35 to 40 times a game, it's going to have to use two or three backs. Edgerrin James won't be asked to carry that big of a load.

Unless the club drafts a back, Shipp is the obvious backup to James. He surpassed J.J. Arrington for that role last year and provides the kind of tough, physical attitude that Whisenhunt wants.

In addition, Somers notes that Shipp also is a willing and able special teamer. That's how he made it into the NFL six years ago, and he's never complained about being used in that role.

Meanwhile, Whisenhunt would like to have four or five running backs by the time training camp starts, so the club will look to add a couple of more in the coming months. ...

In San Diego. ... North County Times staff writer Mike Sullivan reported on Friday that Philip Rivers continues to make progress from a late-season foot injury and should be out of a walking boot by the end of this month.

Rivers injured his right foot in the regular-season finale against Arizona on Dec. 31 and aggravated the injury two weeks later in the playoff loss to New England. He had to miss the Pro Bowl because of the injury.

"He's making great progress with his foot," Turner said Thursday. "He's upbeat about the whole deal. He's in every morning working out. The good thing is he's in here working out every day, so I get to stop in and see him and visit with him."

The Chargers begin their voluntary offseason workout program on March 19. Rivers figures to become a full-time participant in mid-to-late April.

"The time schedule is based on how he comes along," said Turner, "but it's not an issue. ..."

In Houston. ... Following up on an item from last week's Notebook, asked Monday about the status of Domanick Williams (the artist formerly known as Domanick Davis), Texans GM Rick Smith told reporters the veteran halfback will need more surgery on his troublesome knee.

"He had some swelling in his knee a couple of weeks ago and we sent him to a specialist in Atlanta, and he's going to have to have some additional surgery." Reported by HoustonTexans.com

As for Williams' future -- especially now that Ahman Green is on board -- things aren't looking good. At least not in Houston.

As Smith put it: "He did experience a setback, so we're not sure what's going to happen with Domanick."

In Oakland. ... As previously reported, Jerry Porter has a new head coach, a new uniform number and a new outlook on his playing career. On Wednesday he expounded on the tumultuous events of the past year in his first extensive interview since last offseason.

"Last season never happened for me, so I don't even remember it and can't even talk about it," Porter said while appearing on Sirius Radio. "This year, we've got an offensive-minded coach, a nice, bright, young guy. He's coming in, willing to work hard; I'm willing to work with him. We got a lot of things in place. We need a lot of help, but we've got a good start."

In case you missed it, Art Shell, with whom Porter feuded all season long, was fired five days after the Raiders completed a 2-14 campaign. USC assistant coach Lane Kiffin was hired less than three weeks later.

Porter led the Raiders with 76 catches in 2005. However, Shell dismissed him as an integral part of the team last season once Porter balked at the offense the Raiders intended to implement under then-offensive coordinator Tom Walsh.

"I never showed up and said I wouldn't play," Porter told Sirius listeners. "I did ask to be traded because when I saw the way things were going, I didn't want to be on board with that. I saw that it was a train wreck waiting to happen."

Porter also offered his side of what led to a suspension, which stemmed from an incident at practice Oct. 13.

According to Contra Costa Times beat man Steve Corkran, Shell said the suspension was for comments Porter made to some of the coaches. Porter said he got suspended for "trash-talking" after making several interceptions while playing cornerback on the scout team.

"I didn't even get a chance to curse," Porter said. "That was the most expensive trash I ever talked. ... It's pretty ugly when the receiver's playing defense and getting interceptions. It's bad."

Those interceptions came against Andrew Walter. Even so, Porter said, he has no problem with Kiffin giving Walter another shot at proving himself.

"I'm not sure that Andrew Walter can't get the job done," Porter said. "The guy, he showed me a lot of promise. He's got a quick release, he's very smart in the pocket, but it was tough last year. ...

"We've got to shore up the offensive line to give the quarterback, no matter who the quarterback is, a chance to see if he can play. ..."

And finally, in a semi-related note. ... The Kansas City Chiefs sent out a memo to the rest of the NFL, declaring that veteran signal caller Trent Green is free to discuss a deal with every team in the league -- except the ones in the AFC West.

But as NFL Network insider Adam Schefter pointed out, San Diego doesn't need a quarterback; it has Rivers. Denver doesn't need a quarterback; it has Jay Cutler.

But Oakland?

The Raiders might need a veteran QB if they plan to draft JaMarcus Russell with the No. 1 pick.

The Chiefs' problem is they have to find a trading partner to prevent Green from landing in Oakland. Miami is interested and is the most likely landing spot for Green. But the Chiefs realize if they can't trade Green, the quarterback could wind up in Oakland. ...

That's it for this week's Notebook. I'll check in again next Sunday. ... In the meantime, keep an eye on the News & Views section of this site for late-breaking news and other tidbits of interest. Watch the Headline News section for more in-depth reviews of current events -- including the Fantasy Notebook.