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Sunday, December 31, 2000

By Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Jim Haslett should easily win NFL Coach of the Year when the Associated Press announces the award next Sunday, and he got my vote.

But when it comes to best coach on a continuing basis, no one can touch Mike Shanahan.

All he has done is win two Super Bowls in his previous five seasons with the Denver Broncos, and he has his team in the playoffs today chasing Vince Lombardi, the coaching legend and the trophy named after him.

He's doing it, two years after the great John Elway retired with his second consecutive Super Bowl ring, with a sore-shouldered quarterback who was on his way to having an Elway-like season and a rookie running back who was drafted on the sixth round.

Brian Griese, a third-round draft choice in 1998, has thrown for more than 5,700 yards the past two seasons. He led the NFL with a 102.9 passer rating this year, despite his sore shoulder and missed playing time.

Mike Anderson, a former Marine and a 27-year-old rookie, picked up for injured Terrell Davis and Olandis Gary to finish third in the AFC with 1,500 yards rushing. He should easily win the NFL's offensive rookie of the year this week.

Shanahan takes his team into Baltimore today with a chance to extend his 7-1 record in the playoffs. Lombardi's record was 9-1, the best postseason percentage in NFL history. If the Broncos win another Super Bowl, it will be Shanahan's record, and the Broncos would make it official by receiving a third Vince Lombardi trophy.

"Then maybe they should change the name of the trophy to the Mike Shanahan trophy," Broncos wide receiver Rod Smith said.

Cunningham out?

Gunther Cunningham's tenure as Kansas City coach is tenuous at best after just two seasons. It became more so when several Chiefs berated him for taking too much credit for the good and passing out blame for the bad.

"I've always been brought up that the game is about team," cornerback James Hasty said. "It's not about individuals."

"All season, I heard a lot of 'I built this,' and 'I built that,' " said halfback Kimble Anders. "I guess that's what he felt he needed to do to try to make a point that we should respect what he's done."

And this from center Tim Grunhard: "Gunther used the 'I' word more than most coaches do. He also tried to appease too many guys who weren't playing well."

Batch of confidence

Charlie Batch, who played the final month of the season with broken ribs, has gotten a vote of confidence to remain as the Lions quarterback -- to a point.

"There are two things you can do about a quarterback," Coach Gary Moeller said. "One of them is, you can work at it. You can go out and get another quarterback. That isn't what I'm saying I'm going to do. I'm not saying I'm going to get a new quarterback. We're going to work on the one that we've got."

For the first time in his three seasons, Batch threw more interceptions than touchdowns, 15-13. He also has been injury-prone, opening this season and ending it with separate injuries.

"This season can't happen again," Batch said. "It can't ever happen again. I did OK. At this position, you can't be just OK."

'I think I can'

Attention Amos Zereoue: You can stand just 5 feet 9 and weigh 200 pounds and become a successful running back in the NFL.

Tiki Barber, the smallest Giant, proved it by gaining a franchise-record 2,085 yards with 1,006 rushing, 719 receiving and 332 on punt returns and 28 on a kickoff return.

Not surprisingly, one of Barber's favorite tales is "The Little Engine That Could."

"I read it in the first grade, and it was just a cool story," Barber said. "As I got older, it was really neat. People say the little engine couldn't climb the hill, but he did. It's funny how life parallels that story for me."

New season

The Minnesota Vikings enter the playoffs, somehow as the No. 2 seed in the NFC, on a roll -- they've lost three in a row.

Their defense gave up at least 400 yards in each of those games, but Coach Dennis Green is going with the double-zero theory, that every team enters the playoffs with a 0-0 record.

"It's a whole new season," Green said. "We're not coming in shy about anything. We think we have as good a chance as anybody of being world champions, and that's what we're going to try to do."

Razing Arizona

Arizona Coach Dave McGinnis has a theory, too. It's called the scorched earth theory, which is familiar to those who spend so much time in the desert.

McGinnis promised wholesale changes after a 3-13 season, the Cardinals worst record since 1959.

"Everybody's heard of the old saying 'If it ain't broke don't fix it,' well this thing's broke and we're going to fix it," McGinnis said. "There are going to be changes made, and some of these changes are going to come fast and furious. You better hang on because this thing's going to start spinning.

"The people that come to the stadium for the first game next year are going to need to buy a program to find out what's going on, because this thing is going to get fixed."

Giant foot in mouth

Instead of using his feet on the grass at Giants stadium last week, Jacksonville running back Fred Taylor stuck them in his mouth.

Taylor questioned the Giants' defense before the game. He lasted only the first half before leaving with a hip pointer.

"That wasn't a hip-pointer," Giants defensive end Michael Strahan said. "That was a heart-pointer. Enjoy it, Fred. You have to get beat like that and still want to talk?

"I'm pretty sure if they had something to play for, Fred would have stayed out there. He got his one touchdown, he's satisfied. He realized he's not going to get anything else, so that was the best time to bow out and go home for the off-season."

Tattooed

Jon Gruden might wish he had not opened his yap, either. Oakland's coach agreed early in the season to go with receiver Andre Rison to get a tattoo if the Raiders won the AFC West Division.

Will that be a heart on the biceps, Mr. Gruden, or a Pirate with a patch over his mouth?

"If I have to get a tattoo with Andre Rison in downtown Oakland," Gruden said, "I guess I'll have to do it."

Jefferson Street Joe

Joe Gilliam died watching the Monday night game between Tennessee and Dallas.

"There was an exciting play, and someone said, 'Joey, did you see that?' " said his father, Joe Sr. "They shook him and he didn't respond. Joey passed away in his sleep, sitting there on the couch."

Quick slants

An ad in the Football News promotes a sports memorabilia show in New Jersey next year with prices for various autographs. Price of a Cade McNown autograph, $35. Price of Hall of Famer Otto Graham's autograph, $25. The gall of it, priceless.

Lions defensive end Robert Porcher, whose salary doubled this season, had eight sacks, down from 15 in 1999. As a whole, the Lions went from 50 sacks last season to 28 in this year.

Atlanta tackle Bob Whitfield got an $8 million signing bonus to accept a $30 million, six-year contract.

Among those who will be interviewed soon for the job as Houston Texans coach are Dom Capers and Marvin Lewis.

Curtis Enis will get one more shot with the Bears. "I still think he may be a year away from getting his legs back totally," Coach Dick Jauron said. Enis had knee surgery midway through 1998 to repair a torn ACL.

Minnesota's great John Randle also is fading. He had eight sacks, ending an eight-year streak of at least 10. He had 31 tackles, his lowest total in a decade.

Oakland quarterback Rich Gannon finished fourth in the MVP voting, won by Marshall Faulk in a landslide. "We're the Raiders, so the only way we get an MVP is if the other candidates dropped dead at once," said Raiders Darrell Russell.

The Raiders were 12-0 in games in which they recovered more turnovers than they lost and 0-4 when they had fewer.

Tennessee, and not Baltimore, wound up No. 1 on defense in the NFL after finishing the season with consecutive shutouts.