Archives for January 16, 2002

‘It could be that Cowart’s condition is merely a convenient excuse to jettison another veteran.’

Carolina officials on Tuesday sought and were granted permission to discuss their head coach job with Cottrell. It marked the 2nd consecutive day in which the Jets granted permission to talk to Cottrell, who will meet with Colts officials by the end of this week.

An 18-year league veteran, Cottrell moved to the Jets staff in 2001 after spending 7 years on the Buffalo Bills staff, the last three of those seasons as DC. His defense led the NFL this season in takeaway/turnover differential and Cottrell was key in making a critical switch at midseason from a "cover two" scheme to a "cover three" alignment.

Ex-Bill great Bruce Smith has warmed up to new Redskins coach Steve Spurrier. "He’s a coach that believes you should burn it on the game field instead of the practice field," Smith said.

Smith injured his shoulder early in training camp and didn’t come close to repeating his 10-sack season of the previous season, finishing with just five. Smith called Spurrier "very refreshing" and noted the coach’s no-tackling rule in practice.

Smith is 12 sacks short of Reggie White’s NFL career record of 198, a mark Smith would dearly love to have. He also wants one more chance to win a Super Bowl, having lost four in a row during his 15 seasons with the Buffalo Bills.

‘Nevertheless, Irsay said that while he has "tremendous respect for guys like Marv Levy and Ted Marchibroda," he sounded somewhat reluctant to endorse Levy as his next coach. "If we could just meet, if we stirred up the coals, I think he would have a different view," said Levy. "But he has to be open for it to work."’

‘"I didn’t apply for the job," said Levy, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August after posting a 154-120 record (including playoffs) during 17 years as a head coach. If the Colts expressed an interest? "I’ll give you an honest answer rather than dance," Levy said. "I would probably listen."’