Mike Mularkey

Lovie Smith was hired yesterday to coach the Chicago Bears. The former St. Louis Rams defensive coordinator was given a four-year deal to replace Dick Jauron, who was fired Dec. 29. The Bears focused on Smith and Pittsburgh offensive line coach Russ Grimm after Nick Saban turned them down last weekend. Smith was the Rams' defensive coordinator for the last three seasons and spent five years as a position coach at Tampa Bay. "There's a position right for everyone," he said Tuesday.

Indianapolis wide receiver Brandon Stokley practiced yesterday and plans on making the trip to play against New England in the AFC Championship Game tomorrow. But coach Tony Dungy said Stokley would leave the team if he needs to be with his hospitalized infant son. "He is planning on playing, as long as Cameron doesn't have any downturns," Dungy said. Stokley missed practice Wednesday and Thursday morning after his month-old son, Cameron, was hospitalized with an undisclosed illness.

Titans placekicker Gary Anderson retired from the NFL yesterday, a day after his 22nd season ended in Tennessee's 17-14 divisional playoff loss at New England. "That's a great group of guys here, both coaches and players, that made it a lot of fun for me and my boys," Anderson said. "I'm really pleased that I came and played for the Titans. " Anderson, 44, left a trout stream in Colorado in September to sign with Tennessee for one last chance at the Super Bowl. The NFL's career scoring leader - in both the regular season and the postseason - only had two extra points in his final game.

Denver defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes resigned Saturday after the Broncos' second consecutive disappointing season. "Ray Rhodes has resigned as defensive coordinator because he felt like he wasn't getting the job done," the Broncos said in a statement. Rhodes was unavailable for comment. Rhodes met Friday with coach Mike Shanahan, who excused him from his contract, according to the Denver Post, which first reported the resignation. The report said Rhodes is a strong candidate to become the defensive coordinator with the Seattle Seahawks.

Kicker Gary Anderson retired from the NFL yesterday, a day after his 22d season ended in the Tennessee Titans' 17-14 divisional playoff loss at New England. Anderson, 44, played for the Eagles in 1995 and 1996. He left a trout stream in Colorado in September to sign with Tennessee for one last chance at the Super Bowl. The NFL's career scoring leader - in both the regular season and the postseason - had only two extra points in his final game. His only field-goal try, a 31-yarder, was blocked by Richard Seymour.

Former Eagles assistant Sean Payton will be named head coach of the Oakland Raiders, according to ESPN.com. Payton, the offensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys last season, was the only candidate called back for a second interview by Raiders general partner Al Davis. He will sign a four-year contract, the Web site said. Payton was the quarterbacks coach under Ray Rhodes in 1997 and 1998. He was an assistant under Jim Fassel with the New York Giants from 1999 through the 2002 season.

The Detroit Lions, who never have been to the Super Bowl, are turning to the only player who has won it four times with three teams. The Associated Press yesterday reported that former Penn State star Matt Millen will be hired as president and general manager of the Lions. Calls to Millen's home went unanswered. Lions owner William Clay Ford has been out of town and was expected to return at the beginning of the week to announce Millen's appointment, the AP said. Detroit has not won a championship since 1957 - nine years before the first Super Bowl - and has won only one playoff game since then.

Just recently, Rams running back Marshall Faulk spoke of being able now to see the end of his career coming up. He wasn't talking about retiring after this Super Bowl, but the eight-year NFL veteran was talking about hanging up his pads in the next two or three years. What would Faulk do? Stay in the league? Coach? Become a personnel man or a front office executive? Rams coach Mike Martz answered those questions with all of the above. "There are just no limitations to what this guy is," Martz said.

Marty Schottenheimer could have kicked back for the next three years, playing golf and collecting $7.5 million from the Washington Redskins for doing nothing. Instead, he accepted the daunting challenge of coaching the San Diego Chargers, who over the last six seasons have been one of the NFL's worst teams, failing miserably in the age of parity. Schottenheimer, who previously coached division rival Kansas City, yesterday signed a four-year, $10 million contract. He can make an additional $7 million in incentives.

ATLANTA - When you win a game by 27 points like the Eagles did yesterday, no one particular play or series of plays seems all that significant afterward. But don't try telling that to defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, who still was juiced after the game about his unit's impressive goal-line stand at the end of the first half. "Gut-check time," McDermott said in the locker room after the Eagles ran their record to 8-4 with a 34-7 win over the Falcons in the Georgia Dome.

In all likelihood, Chris Redman will turn out to be somewhere in between the Orson Welles or the Ed Wood of quarterbacks. The Eagles, though, have prepared for either extreme. This week defensive coordinator Sean McDermott and his players have studied the Atlanta quarterback's limited film work as if it were as laudable as Citizen Kane or as laughable as Plan 9 from Outer Space. That's what happens when you're facing a backup with very little playing time. The Falcons ruled Matt Ryan out on Monday, so the Eagles have had time to prepare for Redman, who stepped in and guided Atlanta to a come-from-behind win over Tampa Bay last week after the starter went down.

Chris Redman has edged rookie Matt Ryan and will start at quarterback in the Atlanta Falcons' preseason opener tomorrow night at Jacksonville. Based on how often he has worked with the first-team offense in training camp, Ryan, the Penn Charter product who was drafted No. 3 overall, would likely be the first quarterback to replace Redman in the exhibition game. D.J. Shockley and Joey Harrington are essentially battling for the third-string job, but coach Mike Smith wants all four quarterbacks to play against the Jaguars.

Michael Vick has a new position coach after the Falcons hired Bill Musgrave to tutor the quarterbacks. Falcons coach Jim Mora wrote, "Hired Musgrave!" in an e-mail to the Associated Press yesterday. He offered Musgrave the job as quarterbacks coach after an interview at team headquarters in Flowery Branch, Ga. Musgrave was a quarterbacks coach for the Eagles under Ray Rhodes in 1998. Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp was present for most of Mora's conversations with Musgrave.

Dick Jauron didn't need to attend Yale to learn what it'll take to make his second stint as an NFL head coach more successful than his first. "In our business, it comes out in wins and losses. And if you win, it was a great decision. And if you don't win, it was not a great decision," Jauron said yesterday after being hired by the Buffalo Bills. "And we know that our back is against the wall to win. " Jauron coached the Chicago Bears for five seasons, going 35-46 with one playoff appearance before being fired in 2003.

The St. Louis Rams hired Miami offensive coordinator Scott Linehan yesterday, the sixth first-time NFL head coach to land a job in the last 2 weeks. The team called a news conference today to introduce their fourth head coach since moving to the Midwest in 1995. It's the first hire outside the organization, however, since Dick Vermeil was lured out of retirement in 1997. That move produced the franchise's only Super Bowl victory after the 1999 season. Linehan, 42, impressed the team in two interviews.

The St. Louis Rams hired Miami offensive coordinator Scott Linehan yesterday, making him the sixth man to land a job as a first-time NFL head coach in the last two weeks. The team called a news conference for today to introduce its fourth head coach since moving to the Midwest in 1995. Linehan, 42, helped the Dolphins finish 9-7, winning their last six games. He had been one of three finalists along with Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera and Chargers offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.

The New Orleans Saints will hire Dallas Cowboys assistant Sean Payton to his first NFL head coaching job, the Times-Picayune of New Orleans reported yesterday. Payton, a former Eagles assistant, has been a quarterbacks coach for three seasons under Bill Parcells in Dallas. Before that, he was a Giants assistant, a stint that included New York's NFC championship in 2000. He was the Eagles' quarterbacks coach in 1997 and 1998. Payton will succeed Jim Haslett, whose tenure lasted six years.

Daniell Harper, the wife of Indianapolis Colts cornerback Nick Harper, was jailed last night, accused of cutting him with a knife, a sheriff said. Hamilton County Sheriff Doug Carter said Daniell Harper, 31, was being held without bond on charges of battery with a deadly weapon and criminal recklessness. Nick Harper was treated for a knee injury at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis. His injuries were not life-threatening, Carter said. Harper, a starter, was listed as questionable for today's AFC divisional playoff game against Pittsburgh.

Mike Mularkey submitted his resignation to the Buffalo Bills yesterday, a person familiar with discussions between the coach and the team told the Associated Press. The Bills will formally announce the coach's resignation during a press conference scheduled for today. ESPN.com, citing unidentified sources, first reported that Mularkey had reached a settlement with the team to cover the final 3 years of his contract. ESPN.com also reported that Mularkey's decision to leave the team was because of undisclosed family reasons.