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Sunday, October 28, 2001

By Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

The Tom Coughlin watch is on, and it's not necessarily taking place in South Bend, Ind. Coughlin's star is falling at Notre Dame and in Jacksonville as the Jaguars plummet. Coughlin's popularity in Jacksonville has never been high with the public, his players or anyone else he has to work with. Winning compensated for that, but with the Jaguars headed for oblivion and their fans jumping off ship, this could be Coughlin's final year.

They play in Baltimore and Tennessee the next two weeks without running back Fred Taylor and tackle Tony Boselli and could end up 2-5 with a five-game losing streak.

Their past two home games did not sell out and were blacked out on local TV for the first time in the franchise's seven-year history. Owner Wayne Weaver said it would be ridiculous to say Coughlin's job is on the line but if Steve Spurrier would say the word, the job would be his.

Whoever gets it won't win soon.

An NFL personnel man who knows Jacksonville's salary-cap situation well says, "Most teams that are down take three years to make a turnaround; they're looking at five."

Notre Dame, once rumored to be Coughlin's next stop, is hot for Oakland's Jon Gruden.

Slow to pour

The Steelers refuse to have cheerleaders, they refuse to have a mascot, they refuse to introduce their team at home through billowing smoke, they refuse to have cannons exploding and fireworks shooting off when they score.

Yet, now they have giant Heinz ketchup bottles sitting on top of their video board pouring out red stuff whenever they get inside the opponents' 20? They should use the green ketchup bottles instead because it will make many of their fans sick.

That red zone stuff, by the way, can backfire. The Steelers are last in the AFC once they pierce their opponents' 20. They've gotten there 10 times and scored two touchdowns and three field goals.

That red might not signify ketchup as much as it does the color of the Steelers' faces when they reach the red zone.

Modell behavior

Art Modell avoided showing a red face in Cleveland last week when his Baltimore Ravens were upset by the Browns.

Modell hasn't been to Cleveland since he trucked his team out of there in February 1996. Neither has he set foot in Cincinnati or Pittsburgh because the two cities are within close range of Cleveland, where the fans' hatred of him runs high. He had planned to go to Cincinnati for the Ravens' game Sept. 23, but he attended a friend's funeral in New York instead.

He will break his boycott of Pittsburgh tomorrow.

Starting tomorrow, the NFL owners meetings will be at the Pittsburgh Hilton and Towers, Downtown through Wednesday, and Modell will attend. He won't be at the game tomorrow night, preferring to watch it in his hotel suite.

The Ravens come to Heinz Field the following week and he hasn't yet decided whether to attend his first game in Pittsburgh since the old Cleveland days.

Quick slants

If the Bengals beat the Lions today, they will enter November with a winning record for the first time in 11 years.

San Diego defensive end Marcellus Wiley, like quarterback Doug Flutie and General Manager John Butler, who were former Bills, on the game today against Buffalo: "This isn't Coke vs. Pepsi. It's a much deeper debate than that."

Between 1994 and 1999, NFL teams drafted 48 wide receivers in the first and second rounds. The 48 averaged just 28.3 catches as rookies. Troy Edwards caught 61, and now he's virtually ignored.

The Raiders and Steelers may be tied with the best record in the AFC at 4-1, but they've done it differently. The Steelers are No. 1 in rushing and No. 2 on defense. The Raiders are 22nd in rushing and 13th in defense.

Tight end Marcus Pollard ripped the Indianapolis fans for booing the Colts: "How would somebody like it if ... somebody went to their job and booed them for what they're doing?" As one local fan replied: Gladly, if you will trade paychecks (Pollard makes $14 million over five years).