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Tim Tebow talks about joining the Jets, his role on the team and his relationship with Mark Sanchez.

The Miami Dolphins have narrowed their coaching search to three candidates: Joe Philbin, Mike McCoy and Todd Bowles. Time is running short and we want our AFC East community to help owner Stephen Ross and general manager Jeff Ireland decide.

Using our SportsNation poll, vote on who should be Miami’s next head coach.

Should Philbin get the nod? He orchestrated one of the top offenses in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers. Philbin helped Green Bay finish 15-1 before its disappointing playoff loss to the New York Giants. Philbin also is dealing with the tragic loss of his son.

What about McCoy? The Denver Broncos offensive coordinator has created a lot of buzz for the job he did with quarterback Tim Tebow. McCoy changed the entire offense during the season to fit Tebow’s strengths, and it led to an AFC West title and a playoff victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Can he get Miami to the playoffs?

Finally, should the Dolphins stick with a familiar face in Bowles? He was 2-1 as Miami’s interim coach. Players continued to compete under Bowles and he could be a good bridge after the firing of locker-room favorite Tony Sparano.

You can share your thoughts in the comment section below.

It appears Tony Sparano is on his own with the New York Jets next season.

Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports former Kansas City Chiefs coach Todd Haley will not join the Jets as a passing game coordinator. Haley recently met with the Jets to see if he can assist Sparano, who was named offensive coordinator.

Pursuing Haley made sense. Sparano's experience is tied more with the offensive line and the running game. Haley could have helped New York quarterback Mark Sanchez develop, as well as the passing attack.

But the brunt of that now falls on Sparano, who has had mixed results with quarterbacks as head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Former second-round pick Chad Henne never reached his potential in Miami under Sparano. However, Matt Moore came off the bench this past season and put up career numbers.

The New England Patriots played a near-perfect game in Saturday's 45-10 divisional-round win over the Denver Broncos. But what was up with quarterback Tom Brady's punt on third-and-10 late in the fourth quarter?

Up 35 points, the Patriots kept their starting offense in the game and had some success moving the ball. But New England lined up in a shotgun formation and Brady surprised everyone by punting the ball 48 yards to Denver's 10-yard line.

It came off as New England showing up the Broncos by doing something zany instead of simply running out the clock. The Patriots were practicing something very rare at Denver's expense in a nationally televised postseason game.

"It's funny, that’s the kind of play you work on forever and you never know when it's going to come," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said. "Actually, we talked about doing it when we were backed up there on the 2-yard line."

Brady backed his head coach and didn't mind the call.

"We've been practicing it for seven years; a situation came up," Brady explained. "I was trying to get it inside the 5 but I needed a penalty to do that. I was happy about the call."

A skirmish ensued after Brady's punt when Broncos linebacker Von Miller lost his cool and delivered a late hit. Pride set in as Denver's defense was getting embarrassed. This quick kick by Brady certainly didn't help matters.

Belichick is always thinking about situational football, but punting on third down near midfield seemed unnecessary. Next time the Patriots should leave these things for the preseason, not the postseason.

AFC East blogger James Walker and AFC West blogger Bill Williamson discuss where the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos go from here.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Here are some thoughts on the New England Patriots' 45-10 playoff victory over the Denver Broncos:

What it means: The Patriots won a postseason game for the first time in four years and ended a three-game playoff skid. The AFC East blog said this was the easiest matchup possible for New England, and it turned out that way. Denver was no match for the Patriots, who punched a ticket to the AFC Championship Game and will host the winner of Sunday's divisional game between the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans.

Fast starters: New England was criticized for its slow starts in the final two regular-season games. But the Patriots exploded in the playoffs by taking an astounding 35-7 lead at halftime. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw five touchdowns in the first two quarters and tight end Rob Gronkowski had eight receptions for 97 yards and three touchdowns at intermission. "Gronk" tied a playoff record for first-half touchdowns. The Broncos had no answer.

Brady ties TD record: Brady wasn't done in the first half. He threw another touchdown in the second half to tie an NFL playoff record. Brady finished with 363 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. Brady also had a 48-yard punt during a quick kick in the fourth quarter.

Don’t forget Hernandez: The Patriots have the best tight-end duo in the NFL. They used both weapons by also getting backup Aaron Hernandez. Usually when you give Patriots head Bill Belichick two weeks, he finds a new wrinkle. New England put Hernandez in the backup where he could show off his tailbacks skills. Hernandez led the Patriots in rushing with 61 yards, including a 43-yard scamper on the first drive. He also caught four passes for 55 yards and a touchdown.

Ninkovich shines: New England needed someone to step up defensively, and the team got a great effort from linebacker Rob Ninkovich. The Patriots baffled Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow with a solid pass rush. Ninkovich tied defensive tackle Vince Wilfork for a game-high 1.5 sacks. Ninkovich also had five tackles and two quarterback pressures.

What's next: The AFC Championship Game comes to Gillette Stadium next weekend. New England will try to advance to its first Super Bowl since losing to the New York Giants following the 2007 season.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots are crushing the Denver Broncos, 35-7, at intermission.

Here are some notes at halftime:

• New England's up-tempo, no-huddle offense is giving Denver trouble. The Patriots scored two touchdowns in the first six minutes of the game to go up 14-0. New England is playing very fast and Denver is struggling with its adjustments, substitutions and matchups. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady completed nine of his first 11 passes in the first quarter. He also has five touchdown passes in the first half.
• Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is having a monster game. He already has eight receptions for 97 yards and three touchdowns. Denver did a lot of double-teaming "Gronk" in the first meeting and held him to just four receptions. But Gronkowski has exploded in the first half and is proving to be a huge matchup problem for Denver.
• New England discovered a hole in Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow's game in the regular season. They realized Tebow struggles with ball security. New England stripped Tebow for the third time in two games with a sack by Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich, who is having a strong game. Ninkovich has three tackles and a sack in the first half.
• Finally, I've been saying all week that this was as close to a free pass as New England could get in the playoffs. The Patriots have weaknesses, but the Broncos aren't the type of team to expose them. Tebow will have to throw the ball a ton in the second half for Denver to come back from 21 points down. That is not Denver's game. This game is over, folks.

Join our ESPN.com NFL experts as they break down the rematch between the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots.

Contribute your thoughts and questions beginning at 8 p.m. ET. See you there.

For the record, the New England Patriots did not break any rules by hiring assistant coach Josh McDaniels this week.

The move was announced shortly after McDaniels' former team -- the Denver Broncos -- advanced to face New England in the divisional round. That gave the impression the Patriots were trying to get the upper hand on an upcoming opponent.

That has forced the NFL to look into the matter. ESPN is reporting the Patriots may prompt a rule change for hiring coaches in the postseason.

This is simply a case where the Patriots' not-so-great reputation with rules -- "Spygate," anyone? -- preceded them. (It's also the 10th anniversary of the "Tuck Rule" game, where the rule worked to New England's advantage.) Would it be a big to-do for the NFL if McDaniels were hired this week by the Houston Texans or New Orleans Saints?

The truth is the Patriots were going to hire McDaniels whether they faced the Broncos, Texans or Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday. New England brought in McDaniels to replace current offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien, who is leaving for Penn State after the playoffs. Everyone quickly lost sight of that when Denver and quarterback Tim Tebow -- a McDaniels protégé -- became the opponent.

So, once again, it's all about Tim Tebow. (just kidding)

We're baaaaaaack!

After a week hiatus for the wild-card round, I decided to get back into prediction mode since we have one AFC East team playing this weekend.

Here are the AFC East blog’s picks for the divisional round:

Denver Broncos (9-8) at New England Patriots (13-3), Saturday at 8 p.m. ET

Skinny: The Patriots got lucky with this matchup. Tim Tebow won't be able to keep up with the scoring pace of Tom Brady.

Walker's pick: Patriots, 34-17

New Orleans Saints (14-3) at San Francisco 49ers (13-3), Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET

Skinny: I'm not buying Alex Smith of the 49ers as a playoff quarterback, especially against New Orleans' Drew Brees. Every year at least one road team wins in the divisional round. This is the where it happens.

Walker's pick: Saints, 24-21

Houston Texans (11-6) at Baltimore Ravens (12-4), Sunday at 1 p.m. ET

Skinny: This probably will be the most physical game of the weekend. The Ravens finally earned the right to play a home playoff game, and they won't let that opportunity slip away.

Walker's pick: Ravens, 20-13

New York Giants (9-8) at Green Bay Packers (15-1), Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET

Skinny: Some people think the Giants can be this year's version of the 2010 Packers. But the 2011 Packers are even better than they were last year.

Walker's pick: Packers, 30-20

Two weeks ago (Week 17): 2-0

Overall record: 15-7

ESPN.com bloggers James Walker (AFC East), Bill Williamson (AFC West), Paul Kuharsky (AFC South) and Jamison Hensley (AFC North) analyze the AFC.

Someone has to lose Saturday's divisional-round playoff game between the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos. But one person will smell like roses this weekend no matter the outcome: Josh McDaniels.

The formers Broncos head coach and current Patriots assistant has cleverly positioned himself in a win-win situation.

On one hand, McDaniels rejoins New England at the perfect time to help the team make a deep playoff run. McDaniels has plenty of inside knowledge on the Broncos' roster and would get a lot of credit if he helped New England win its first playoff game since the end of the 2007 season.

On the other hand, if New England (13-3) were upset by the Broncos (9-8), it would be in large part due to McDaniels' most controversial draft pick in Denver: Tim Tebow. McDaniels was heavily ridiculed for "reaching" to take the former Florida quarterback in the first round. One more win by Tebow would advance Denver to the AFC Championship Game and within one game of the Super Bowl. That would be the ultimate vindication for McDaniels, who believed in Tebow from the start when no one else did.

Obviously McDaniels would prefer the former outcome, not the latter. But both options have McDaniels sitting pretty in this AFC playoff game filled with interesting storylines.

After an ugly two-year stint in Denver, after which he was fired, and one year with the St. Louis Rams, McDaniels was welcomed back in New England.

"I have a lot of respect for Josh, not only as a coach, but as a friend," Patriots director of player personnel Nick Casario said this week. "I’ve known Josh a long time, it’s no secret. I think it’s great to have him back. It’s great to have him a part of our program and our system again. His goal and our goal is for everyone to work as hard as they can in preparation for this game, and that’s what we’ll try to do."

What is McDaniels' role during the playoffs with New England? Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has been vague.

McDaniels' title is "offensive assistant." But this week, because of the opponent, McDaniels could serve as more a scout on both sides of the football.

McDaniels, who was head coach of the Broncos from 2009 to 2010, has great intel on many of their key players. He drafted Denver's building blocks on offense -- Tebow and receivers Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker. McDaniels also coached defensive stars Champ Bailey and Elvis Dumervil. This is priceless inside info that the Patriots could not get from simply studying tape.

McDaniels also should fit in seamlessly with New England's coaching staff. He spent eight seasons with the Patriots as an assistant and position coach, and three additional seasons as offensive coordinator. The system and terminology is virtually the same. This is a great way to ease McDaniels back into the fold to eventually take over for offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien when O'Brien leaves for Penn State after the playoffs.

"[McDaniels] is a person that I spent a lot of time with in a lot of different situations," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said. "I have a lot of confidence in him, he's smart, he's got great experience and background, and he knows our system. I’ve enjoyed our conversations the past couple days as we’ve gotten caught up on some things and moved forward into the playoffs here. I think that he'll be a good asset to our team for the remainder of the season."

McDaniels is reviled by Broncos fans. He was expected to be the next prodigy at head coach. Instead, he went 11-17 and didn't complete his second season. Joining New England's staff this week in an effort to end the Broncos' season certainly doesn't help his reputation in Denver.

Still, no one can deny first-year head coach John Fox is advancing through the playoffs with a roster McDaniels helped build. Starters Tebow, Thomas, Decker and offensive linemen Zane Beadles and J.D. Walton were all from McDaniels' final draft class in 2010. McDaniels' 2009 draft picks Robert Ayers, who had two sacks in last week's playoff win against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and safety David Bruton, also are contributors on defense.

But Tebow and Thomas are McDaniels' greatest parting gifts to the Broncos. The quarterback-receiver tandem connected for one of the greatest plays in Broncos' history last week.

Denver's playoff run probably will end this weekend in New England. The Broncos are nearly two-touchdown underdogs. The matchup is perfect for the Patriots, who won the regular-season meeting in Denver by 18 points.

But if the Broncos pull a monumental upset, players like Tebow, Thomas, Decker (if healthy) and Ayers will have a huge role. For that, McDaniels would still deserve a lot of credit.

Sometimes the stars align.

McDaniels simply can't lose this week.

ESPN.com bloggers James Walker (AFC East), Bill Williamson (AFC West), Paul Kuharsky (AFC South) and Jamison Hensley (AFC North) analyze the AFC.

Bloggers James Walker, Bill Williamson, Paul Kuharsky and Jamison Hensley analyze the AFC.