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This week: The Vikings, Patriots, Saints, Jets and Raiders.

This week: The Eagles, Rams, 49ers and Redskins.

Starting in Philadelphia. ... Andy Reid moved quickly to once Brad Childress was named head coach of the Vikings, immediately announcing that assistant head coach Marty Mornhinweg would be his new offensive coordinator.

As the Sports Xchange noted, Childress had been Reid's top offensive lieutenant since 2001. Mornhinweg joined the Eagles in 2003 as a senior assistant to Reid and has spent the last two seasons as the team's assistant head coach.

Mornhinweg told Pro Football Weekly that he has been prepared to take over the offensive coordinator spot since he was hired by Reid. Indeed, he already had considerable input into the offense even before Childress left. He doesn't believe his new duties will be a marked change from last year.

"It's almost seamless, I would think," Mornhinweg said. "It's business as usual."

While Reid did most of the play-calling, Mornhinweg, a former offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers and head coach with the Detroit Lions, helped Childress and quarterbacks coach Pat Shurmur put together the offensive game plan each week.

Asked what would be different, Mornhinweg told Philadelphia Inquirer beat man Bob Brookover that he would direct more meetings and find himself with more paperwork. Mornhinweg was Reid's sideline offensive consultant the last two seasons while Childress provided input from the press box.

"It will be a little different as far as the organizational aspect of it, as far as directing meetings and some of the paperwork," Mornhinweg said. "It will be a little different that way."

Reid added the two also have different personalities. "Brad is a little more high-strung. Marty's a little more laid-back." he pointed out.

One thing that won't be much different is the offense's heavy emphasis on throwing the football. The Eagles averaged 22.8 rushing attempts and 38.7 passing attempts per game this season. Just two teams -- Oakland and Arizona -- ran the ball less than the Eagles.

That pass-to-run ratio would have been even more lopsided, but Reid turned the play-calling duties over to Childress in the second half of the season.

Mornhinweg was asked about his offensive philosophy, specifically whether he had the same pass-first mentality as Reid.

"Whatever it takes to win that particular game we are going to do, and certainly you need to run the football in a physical manner in certain situations," Mornhinweg told Brookover. Brian Westbrook "is such a great running back, and we do need to get the football to him.

"Donovan [McNabb] is such a great quarterback that he needs his shots."

It's worth noting that when Mornhinweg was the 49ers' offensive coordinator from 1997 through 2000, they finished in the top 10 in total offense three out of four years. They never threw the ball more than 58 percent of the time, even though Mornhinweg had two outstanding wideouts in Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens.

When Rice missed the '97 season because of injury, the Niners actually ran the ball 91 more times than they threw it. Garrison Hearst rushed for 1,019 yards and the Niners went 13-3 that year.

It's also worth noting that San Francisco finished lower than sixth in scoring just once in Mornhinweg's four seasons with the team, and, in 1998, were the first team since the 1941 Chicago Bears to lead the league in passing and rushing yards.

Asked specifically if he'll let Mornhinweg do a lot of the play-calling this season like Childress did last year, Reid replied: "I just kind of go on the flow. ... If things aren't going the way I like them (to), I'll give somebody else a shot at the plays. ..."

In St. Louis. ... Scott Linehan and Greg Olson were born six months apart in 1963 and grew up about 20 miles apart in the state of Washington.

"We actually didn't meet until 1987, through a mutual friend," Olson said. "Since that time, we both kind of grew up learning the same philosophy collegiately."

As St. Louis Post-Dispatch staffer Jim Thomas noted, Linehan and Olson worked for Dennis Erickson and John L. Smith at the college level, although never at the same time. Under Erickson and Smith, they became immersed in an aggressive, spread-the-field offensive philosophy.

"We've always shared that philosophy throughout the 15 years that I coached college football," Olson said. "And we'd often talk that it'd be interesting to see if we were ever able to get to the NFL, and maybe share some of that philosophy and be able to work on a staff together."

And here they are. Linehan was named head coach of the Rams on Jan. 19. Less than a week later, Olson was named Linehan's offensive coordinator.

Linehan will call plays in St. Louis, as did his predecessor, Mike Martz. But at face value, it appears that Olson will be on more equal footing with Linehan than his St. Louis predecessor, Steve Fairchild, was with Martz.

"That's a big reason why Scott was hired here -- his ability as a play caller and an offensive coordinator," Olson, 42, said. "So we're not going to take that away from Scott Linehan. I think my role is one of support. If it gets overwhelming for him, then I'd like to believe that I've got the experience necessary to step in and do the job."

Olson coached the Lions' quarterbacks the last two seasons. After Steve Mariucci was dismissed as head coach, Olson took over play-calling duties for the final five games. Detroit had some of their best games when Olson called plays.

Mariucci brought Olson into the NFL in 2001 in San Francisco. Olson had spent the previous four seasons coaching quarterbacks at Purdue. As 49ers quarterbacks coach, Olson helped Jeff Garcia earn a Pro Bowl berth.

But it was the common aspects of their past that interested Linehan.

"We're both Dennis Erickson-raised, as young coaches or players," Linehan explained. "I played for Dennis. [Olson] coached as a graduate assistant for Dennis at Washington State University. We were raised under the same system in college. Ran the same systems in college at different places."

Despite the connections, the two have never coached together, but have worked at the same camps and clinics. While Linehan will call plays, Olson will have significant responsibilities with the offense.

"(It) will be very extensive," Linehan said of Olson's role. "He will (have) input on the offense. He will be a big part of the entire evaluation of our offensive players in the offseason. He'll obviously be in charge of developing and grooming our quarterbacks."

Towards that end, he'll work closely with new quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier.

"Doug and I and the quarterbacks will meet together," Olson said. "I don't plan on giving up that part of the coaching end of it."

As offensive coordinator at Central Washington in the early 1990s, Olson worked with current Lions quarterback Jon Kitna. At Purdue, he worked with Drew Brees. He recruited Kyle Orton to Purdue, but was off to the NFL by the time Orton started playing. ...

Meanwhile, Linehan offered reporters a fascinating glimpse at his playbook -- and his offensive philosophy in general -- at last month's owners meetings. Per Thomas, Rams football under Linehan will include:

As Thomas noted, Martz was known for his encyclopedic playbook in St. Louis, and complex game plans that could change dramatically from week to week.

"I'm not smart enough to do that," Linehan said. "I've got to keep mine a little more simple."

In fact, Linehan has told his assistant coaches that if the Rams reach the Super Bowl, he wants the game plan for that contest to look very similar to the one the team will use on opening day.

"The more you shoot free throws in basketball, the better you get at it," Linehan said. "And the more you run the same play (in football), the better you're going to get at it. It's going to become more efficient. You're going to know where to go. You're going to know the problems with it.

"That's the only way I've ever known how to approach it. I think players get better by running the same things over and over -- and that's not being critical about how they did it (in St. Louis under Martz).

While limiting the number of plays in any one game plan, Linehan will try to disguise them with different formations, alignments and personnel groupings.

"Talking about Steven [Jackson] and the running game, we're only going to have three basic runs that we run different ways -- hopefully over and over again," Linehan said.

So the last thing Linehan wants to do with the Rams' offense is to try to reinvent the wheel on a weekly basis. Some observers -- and according to Thomas, privately, some Rams players -- felt that became a Martz shortcoming in his later years in St. Louis.

Make no mistake, Linehan's first Rams playbook has "borrowed" liberally from Martz's version. Many of the concepts, and play types, are very similar. A lot of terminology will remain the same.

And to some degree, the approach will be the same.

For example, Linehan is a firm believer in a quick tempo on offense -- as was Martz.

"You'll see us break the huddle fairly quick," Linehan said. "I like the maximum time at the line; minimum time in the huddle."

But Linehan takes tempo a step further, because unlike Martz, the no-huddle is a regular feature of Linehan's offense.

"You'll see us do a lot of no-huddle," Linehan said.

As offensive coordinator in Minnesota for three seasons, Linehan said the Vikings used the no-huddle approach for about two series per game as a change of pace. Last season in Miami, he used the no-huddle even more over the last half of the year.

"We won our last six games at Miami, and we opened up probably our last seven games in no-huddle and did quite a bit of it," Linehan said. "We're not strictly a no-huddle team. We're not going to be Indy. ... But there's going to be a time and place for it, and I would think every week it's going to be part of what we're doing."

Linehan also plans to give Bulger a tool that wasn't available under Martz -- the ability to audible, or change plays, at the line of scrimmage. Under Martz, Bulger and Rams quarterbacks had only a very limited ability to do this under a system known as "check-with-me's."

Under his audible system, Linehan will give Bulger more ability to manage the game based on what he sees at the line of scrimmage.

"He's going to have automatic things he can go to," Linehan said. "If all of a sudden we're playing a team, and they run a 'Bear' defense, the quarterback's got to know that this (pass-blocking) protection has too many holes in it against the 'Bear' defense. He's going to have to know how to get us out of a bad situation.

"He's going to have much more to do with our run game. That'll be a big change as far as (changing) runs, or runs to pass, or passes to run. ..."

As much as Fantasy owners enjoyed Martz and his scheme -- especially during the "Greatest Show on Turf" era, I have a feeling that Linehan's offense will be admired in its own right. ...

In San Francisco. ... As the Xchange framed it, new coordinator Norv Turner might have grown up in the San Francisco Bay Area, but he does not consider himself a "West Coast guy" when categorizing his offensive philosophy.

"In terms of the 'West Coast Offense, probably Seattle is as close to running the 'West Coast Offense' that was run in San Francisco in the 80's and early 90's," Turner said.

As for his offensive philosophy, Turner outlined his thoughts of using a power running game and making big plays in the passing game.

"I always smile when you read that the run sets up the pass or pass sets up the run," Turner said. "I think it changes every week, and ultimately the more things you get really good at, obviously, the harder you are to defend. That's our goal from Day 1: find out how many things we can be good at."

PFW pointed out that San Francisco will have their third different offensive system in three years under Turner, but there's strong reason to believe the newest system will be much easier to learn than the much more complex scheme employed by Turner's predecessor, Mike McCarthy.

Turner's system, which was most notably successful in the Cowboys' glory days (1991-93) under Jimmy Johnson with Troy Aikman calling the signals on the road to back-to-back Super Bowls, is based more on timing than progression and has its roots in the same downfield-passing, power-running system first developed by Don Coryell in the junior-college ranks, where the players were less cerebral.

Team insiders believe Turner's system should be a snap for highly intelligent young quarterback Alex Smith, particularly since there are some common elements with McCarthy's vintage West Coast scheme, including some of the terminology.

Former Cowboy Michael Irvin thinks Turner can get Smith pointed in the right direction.

"Norv is a great, great offensive coordinator and I see Alex Smith as a perfect fit for what he does," the one-time star receiver said. "Coaches too often think every player can do everything. It's more often that every player can do something and it's up to the coach to make use of those skills."

Irvin, an analyst for ESPN, spent 12 seasons with the Cowboys starting in 1988. In 1991-93, Turner served as his offensive coordinator. In Turner's first season, Irvin led the NFL with 1,523 receiving yards -- the first of seven 1,000-yard seasons.

He told San Jose Mercury News staffer Daniel Brown that the reason Smith, who struggled as a rookie, would work well under Turner's guidance is that the coach's game plans rely on simple, quick reads by the quarterback.

"If you see your X receiver one-on-one, that's your read. Just throw the ball," Irvin said.

After that, the onus is on the receiver. Irvin said that early in his career Turner made that clear by telling him to come down with everything in his direction.

"To me, that meant to go up big and come down with the ball even if you get hit in the mouth," he said. "The key for the 49ers will be finding those receivers who are willing to get hit in the mouth."

Smith said he planned to speak this offseason with Aikman.

"I've talked with him before but my past conversations were more on what it's like to be a starting quarterback as a rookie," Smith said. "I know he speaks very highly of coach Turner, so I'll definitely want to talk with him again. ..."

Head coach Mike Nolan believes Smith will pick the scheme up without difficulty.

"The system will change in verbiage more than anything," Nolan told PFW. "I believe it will be a much more player-friendly teaching system than the pure West Coast scheme that we used last year. The numbering system is more friendly from a route standpoint than the West Coast and is also more friendly from an adjustment standpoint.

"I don't think it will stunt [Smith's] growth at all. He's extremely smart, as are our other QBs."

Of course, there are those who might argue that Turner's arrival means more to the ball carriers than the passers. I'd be among them.

When Raiders tailback LaMont Jordan finished with 1,025 rushing yards this season, it marked the 11th time since 1991 one of Turner's runners surpassed 1,000 yards.

Emmitt Smith led the NFL in rushing all three years Turner ran the Cowboys' offense, and he also has coached Terry Allen, Stephen Davis, LaDainian Tomlinson and Ricky Williams to 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

And as Sacramento Bee staff writer Matthew Barrows reported, at his introductory news conference, Turner said one attraction to the 49ers was their late-season success in running the ball. San Francisco averaged nearly 200 yards on the ground in its final two games -- both wins -- and rookie Frank Gore appeared to emerge as a favorite to be the featured back in 2006.

"I think there's a good foundation here in the way the 49ers were running the ball late in the year -- it's exciting to me," Turner said. "Their backs are aggressive and talented and are ready to go. There's a young group of linemen.

"The biggest thing in any coaching job is figuring out what your guys do best and give them the chance to do it."

Also of interest. ... It turns out the perceived animosity between Turner and Nolan that team insiders believed might present a problem because of their past association in Washington -- Nolan was fired as the Redskins' defensive coordinator under head coach Turner (with what those in the know say was more than a gentle nudge from Redskins owner Dan Snyder) -- was never an issue.

In fact, Nolan said he was not fired as defensive coordinator. He said the parting was mutual. ... He also admitted that his Redskins defense was indeed too vanilla.

Now, the roles are reversed, but Turner said it will not take any adjustment period for him.

"There's no dynamic involved -- I work for Mike," Turner said. "I've been an assistant coach for over half the time that I've been in this league. I know my role."

"We spent two good days talking about how we could try to make it work, but there was always this outside force interfering with us trying to make it work," Nolan said. "And we couldn't make it work. It was unfortunate for us in some respects, but in other ways, it was the best thing for both. It really was."

Nolan figures he will benefit from having Turner, a man with head coaching experience, on his staff.

"Any time you lose a coach or face adversity, you have an opportunity to get better. And I do believe Norv is going to take us to the next level," Nolan said. "I do feel we've gotten better in a lot of respects, not only at the coordinator job but from standpoint of my job -- having someone to talk to."

In Washington. ... Joe Gibbs, famed for the offensive wizardry that won three Super Bowls and earned him a bust in the Hall of Fame, won't call the plays for the 2006 Redskins.

After a horrendous 2004 return to the NFL and a much-improved but still often frustrating 2005 season on offense, Gibbs hired former Kansas City coordinator Al Saunders to be the Redskins' associate head coach/offense.

"Al will oversee and direct the offense," Gibbs said. "It will free me up to do some other things. I plan on keeping abreast of what's going on, but it will allow me to have more flexibility here."

As former San Diego coordinators, Gibbs and Saunders are also products of Coryell. They also worked together way back in 1972 at Southern Cal. So the offense won't change radically.

"One of the things I hope I can help this team do is take some of the things we have done. ... And maybe tweak some things and add some things that will make us a more productive point-potential offense," said Saunders, whose Chiefs offense led the NFL in scoring in 2005.

According to the Xchange, Saunders is believed to have received a three-year contract worth $6 million, making him better compensated than almost any assistant as well as a great number of head coaches.

Gibbs said he first began thinking about adding another offensive coach late in the season. He called then-Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil, a close friend who was likely to retire, and they discussed Saunders. With Saunders a candidate for the openings with the Chiefs, Houston, Minnesota and Oakland, Gibbs flew to Kansas City and convinced him to come to Washington as an assistant.

"I never wanted to take a head job just to be a head coach," Saunders said. "The title of head coach was not as important as the people in the organization you work for. ... I'm an offensive football coach, and that's what I want to do."

Saunders said he liked such weapons as Pro Bowl receiver Santana Moss and running back Clinton Portis and H-back Chris Cooley.

Interestingly, Saunders also noted that quarterback Mark Brunell was as productive as he had been in years.

Also according to the Xchange, Saunders said the 10-member offensive staff won't be too unwieldy even though Joe Bugel and Don Breaux are also former coordinators. In fact, Saunders essentially takes over Breaux's spot.

"It's not about titles," Saunders said. "It's about production. We're going to work together as a staff and share the responsibilities. Everybody on that offensive staff will have tremendous value."

Gibbs insisted that Saunders' arrival should not be viewed as a sign he plans to lighten his legendary workload nor that he has begun thinking about retirement just two years after returning to the Redskins.

"I am committed here," Gibbs said. "I made a substantial commitment. The contract I signed wasn't for three years. It wasn't for four years. It was five years. ... I'll be here every bit as much. I'll just refocus on some things now. I'll be freed up to work on some other things."

While the off-season additions of wideouts Antwaan Randle El and Brandon Lloyd were considered vital to meet the needs of Saunders's dynamic scheme, Portis and the rushing attack will also clearly benefit from the installation of Saunders' scheme.

Once the players learn it. ... Fortunately, Washington Times beat writer David Elfin reports that Saunders is a passionate teacher.

He recently was asked about the challenge of learning the staggering number of plays in his offense. Saunders grabbed his questioner's pen and pad and spent more than five minutes diagramming and explaining his system.

"In 30 minutes I can teach you enough that I could put you at the X receiver position and you could run any number of routes," Saunders says. "The perimeter players just have to know one number on each play. The quarterback doesn't have to think, 'X-Scissors-Dragon, what happens on Dragon?' If you tell him 940, that's a clear picture. We can run 940 out of a bunch of different formations, a different bunch of movements, but it's always 940.

"It becomes an easier system than probably any system in football."

Well. ... Not for everybody.

Chargers head coach Marty Schottenheimer says that preparing to face a Saunders offense -- the most prolific in the NFL in the past four seasons -- can cause defensive coaches to feel uneasy because they rarely will see the same play twice.

"Part of our whole approach is to keep teams off balance," Saunders says. "Hopefully [opponents] in practice on Wednesday and Thursday will be practicing looks at plays that they won't see on Sunday."

It all comes down to four words Saunders uses to describe his scheme: Versatility, flexibility, volume and imagination.

It's hard to argue with the results. ... Kansas City ranked first in the NFL in offense each of the last two seasons. They averaged 387 yards a game in 2005. They averaged 25.2 points a game. In his five seasons there, the Chiefs never ranked lower than No. 5 in the NFL in total offense. ...

There you have it; our series on this year's new crop of offensive coordinators is now complete. But as noted in the opening, it's only a beginning. A single data point from which we can work forward.

As always, keep a close eye on the Headline News and News & Views sections of this site for more Fantasy-specific news and notes from the coming round of post-draft mini-camps. There will be plenty of info regarding all the league's offenses emanating from these and other off-season training sessions, so stay tuned.

One last item here: The Fantasy Notebook normally posted here each Sunday will not appear this weekend while I spend some time watching draft coverage and putting together assessments of the incoming rookie class. Keep an eye out for those assessments next week.