Todd Haley

TAMPA - When the Steelers informed Dick LeBeau that they were going to honor him for his 50 years in the NFL before their Nov. 20 game against the Bengals, he was less than thrilled with the idea. "I didn't want to do it," said the Steelers' 71-year-old defensive coordinator, who spent 14 years in the league as a player and is in his 36th as a coach. "It was a very critical part of our season. Now, we're all sitting down here in Florida and we're in the Super Bowl. But back then, we had just a one-game lead in our division through almost 90 percent of the dadgum season.

Thumbs up To Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles. Charles rushed for a team-record 259 yards in Sunday's 44-24 win over the Broncos. He could have returned to the game on the Chiefs' final possession and tried to take a run at the NFL single-game rushing record of 296 yards set by Adrian Peterson in 2007. But he asked coach Todd Haley to take him out and put in rookie Javarris Williams instead. "I didn't want to do it like that," Charles said, suggesting that setting the record in such a lopsided game would have cheapened the record.

Todd Haley was hired as coach of the Kansas City Chiefs yesterday after helping the Arizona Cardinals reach the Super Bowl as coordinator of one of the NFL's most exciting offenses. Haley, 41, joins a team that went a franchise-worst 2-14 under coach Herm Edwards, who was fired Jan. 23. Edwards lost all but two of his last 25 games and launched a rebuilding project that made the Chiefs the league's youngest team this season. Scott Pioli, hired last month as general manager, said at a news conference that Haley has a "strong understanding of players and the type of players that create championship football teams.

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Larry Fitzgerald tied an NFL conference championship game record with his three touchdown receptions, of 9, 62 and 1 yard, yesterday against the Eagles. The 62-yarder came on a gadget play, after quarterback Kurt Warner lateraled the ball to halfback J.J. Arrington on an apparent sweep around the right end before Arrington stopped and passed back to Warner, who had drifted deep to the left. Warner lofted a pass toward Fitzgerald, who made the catch after the Eagles' Quintin Demps fell down while trying to find the ball.

THE GREEN BAY Packers are mourning the reported death of offensive coordinator Joe Philbin's 21-year-old son, who was reported missing Sunday night. An Oshkosh, Wis., police spokesman said the identity of the person whose body was pulled from the Fox River near the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh campus was not being released pending official notification and wishes of the family. Members of the Packers, however, were told that the body was that of Michael Philbin, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Todd Haley was hired as coach of the Kansas City Chiefs yesterday after helping the Arizona Cardinals reach the Super Bowl as coordinator of one of the NFL's most exciting offenses. Haley, who turns 42 this month, joins a team that went a franchise-worst 2-14 under coach Herm Edwards, who was fired Jan. 23. Edwards, a former Eagles cornerback, lost all but two of his last 25 games and launched a rebuilding project that made the Chiefs the league's youngest team this past season.

Going 2-1 and stunning then-undefeated Green Bay as Kansas City's interim head coach meant a lot more than gratification for Romeo Crennel. It also persuaded the Kansas City Chiefs to give the affable, 64-year-old defensive specialist a second chance to be an NFL head coach. The Chiefs announced Monday that Crennel was the official replacement for the fired Todd Haley, removing the interim tag he bore for the last three weeks of the season. "The three games had a lot to do with where we arrived at this decision," general manager Scott Pioli said.

Pregame Watching the Fox pregame show, and wondering how long this yuk-fest format will endure. If I wanted to see a handful of old guys in garish vestments gesturing wildly and saying little of importance on Sundays, I'd go to church. Could have saved myself an hour of pain. CBS apparently doesn't think much of this matchup. Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots? Now it's three hours of pain. What, Jamie Farr and Gary Bender weren't available? Eagles look better right off the bat. Sheldon Brown isn't wearing a mask.

Eagles guard Shawn Andrews will miss the Pro Bowl because of a neck injury. He will be replaced by Chicago Bears guard Ruben Brown, who was added to the NFC's roster yesterday. Andrews suffered the injury - a bruise that will not affect his play next season - just before halftime of the Eagles' second-round playoff loss to New Orleans on Jan. 13. The 24-year-old Andrews was the Eagles' first-round draft choice in 2004. He was voted as an alternate to the NFC's Pro Bowl squad last season.

Former Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress apologized to his family and tearfully kissed his pregnant wife and young son goodbye yesterday in court in New York before he was led away to prison to begin serving a two-year sentence on a weapons charge. Burress, at the time a star receiver with the New York Giants, was at the Latin Quarter nightclub in Manhattan last November when a .40-caliber gun tucked into his waistband slipped down his leg and fired, wounding him in the thigh. He told Judge Michael Melkonian before sentencing: "I want to apologize to my family.

JIM IRSAY IS putting the Peyton Manning decision on hold. The Colts owner said yesterday he will monitor Manning's recovery from Sept. 8 neck surgery over the next month and may wait until the last possible moment to determine whether to pay the quarterback a $28 million roster bonus, redo the 5-year contract he signed last summer or risk losing the four-time MVP as a free agent. "It's two-phased. There's the medical aspect, as to whether he can play at a really high level and that's the only place he wants to be. Can he drill it in Foxboro in 10 degrees, 50 yards, that sort of thing," Irsay told a small group of reporters.

Going 2-1 and stunning then-undefeated Green Bay as Kansas City's interim head coach meant a lot more than gratification for Romeo Crennel. It also persuaded the Kansas City Chiefs to give the affable, 64-year-old defensive specialist a second chance to be an NFL head coach. The Chiefs announced Monday that Crennel was the official replacement for the fired Todd Haley, removing the interim tag he bore for the last three weeks of the season. "The three games had a lot to do with where we arrived at this decision," general manager Scott Pioli said.

THE GREEN BAY Packers are mourning the reported death of offensive coordinator Joe Philbin's 21-year-old son, who was reported missing Sunday night. An Oshkosh, Wis., police spokesman said the identity of the person whose body was pulled from the Fox River near the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh campus was not being released pending official notification and wishes of the family. Members of the Packers, however, were told that the body was that of Michael Philbin, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

It was bad manners, Todd Todd Haley got the message Monday - his peevish refusal to shake hands after Sunday's loss had become a national furor, and he looked like a petulant child. The Kansas City coach opened his Monday news conference by apologizing for refusing to shake hands with Denver coach Josh McDaniels after the Chiefs' absorbed a 49-29 pounding the day before. When McDaniels approached Haley after the game, Haley refused his hand, pointed his finger at McDaniels, and made a comment to his counterpart.

Thumbs up To Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles. Charles rushed for a team-record 259 yards in Sunday's 44-24 win over the Broncos. He could have returned to the game on the Chiefs' final possession and tried to take a run at the NFL single-game rushing record of 296 yards set by Adrian Peterson in 2007. But he asked coach Todd Haley to take him out and put in rookie Javarris Williams instead. "I didn't want to do it like that," Charles said, suggesting that setting the record in such a lopsided game would have cheapened the record.

Former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis has agreed to become the offensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs, according to team and league sources. The team had not announced the hiring as of last night. Weis and Chiefs coach Todd Haley were assistants together on the New York Jets in 2000. And, Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli was New England's vice president of player personnel when Weis was the offensive coordinator for three Super Bowl championships before going to coach at Notre Dame.

Running back Larry Johnson, who was released by the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday, cleared waivers and is a free agent, according to several reports. The Chiefs cut Johnson - who was 75 yards short of breaking the team rushing record - 2 weeks after he posted a gay slur on Twitter, insulted fans and questioned the competence of coach Todd Haley. NFL.com, citing league sources, reported that Houston might have an interest in Johnson, and that Chicago, New England and Washington have inquired about him. Any team that Johnson signs with would have to reimburse that Chiefs the $2.1 million balance remaining on his contract.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson was told to stay away from the team yesterday while the NFL and the Chiefs complete their investigation into his use of a homosexual slur twice this week. Johnson issued an apology and a national gay rights advocacy organization called on the league and the team to take action against the two-time Pro Bowl back. The latest chapter in Johnson's stormy career began Sunday night when he questioned coach Todd Haley's football credentials on his Twitter account.

Miles Austin looked nothing like a backup making his first career start. Stepping in for injured wide receiver Roy Williams, Austin caught 10 passes for a franchise-record 250 yards and scored the winning touchdown in overtime of the Dallas Cowboys' 26-20 victory yesterday over the winless Kansas City Chiefs. In dooming the host Chiefs to their 28th loss in 30 games, Austin erased the record of 246 yards that Hall of Famer "Bullet" Bob Hayes set against Washington almost 39 years ago. "It's a feeling that's unbelievable," he said.

Pregame Watching the Fox pregame show, and wondering how long this yuk-fest format will endure. If I wanted to see a handful of old guys in garish vestments gesturing wildly and saying little of importance on Sundays, I'd go to church. Could have saved myself an hour of pain. CBS apparently doesn't think much of this matchup. Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots? Now it's three hours of pain. What, Jamie Farr and Gary Bender weren't available? Eagles look better right off the bat. Sheldon Brown isn't wearing a mask.