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Some thoughts on what the franchise tag deadline means outside of Kansas City in the AFC West as the Chiefs ruled the day:

I’m not surprised that Oakland and San Diego didn’t place the franchise tag on any players. None were worthy of the tag.

It will be interesting to see how the Dustin Colquitt contract affects what Shane Lechler looks for on the open market. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Colquitt signed a five-year, $18.75 million deal. The deal makes Colquitt the highest paid punter in the NFL.

Colquitt is 30 and is coming off of a Pro Bowl season. Lechler is 36, coming off a so-so year and he is coming off an injury. Lechler is considered one of the greatest punters of all time, but I’m not sure if he will command the money Colquitt did. The Raiders are interested in bringing back Lechler, but they have other needs as well.

With Branden Albert getting the franchise tag in Kansas City, the Chargers can scratch a potential free-agent target off their list. But the free-agent left tackle class is still solid so the Chargers will be OK if they decide to try to answer their biggest need in free agency.

In other AFC West news:

The Contra Costa Times reported the Raiders created more salary-cap room by cutting the salary of guard Mike Brisiel. Many people thought Brisiel could be cut because he is a better fit for the zone-blocking scheme Oakland used last year. But it scuttled that attack moving forward. But it seems Brisiel will, at least, get a chance to keep his starting job.

The Chiefs are still in the mix for free-agent defensive end Chris Canty even though he is making other trips. The process still may take some time.

At this point, it seems that former Minnesota coach Brad Childress will not join Andy Reid’s staff in Kansas City this year, but it could conceivably change.

Another in a series of important offseason issues facing NFC North teams:

In the past nine months, Percy Harvin has:

• Publicly expressed unspecified unhappiness as a receiver for the Minnesota Vikings
• Requested a trade
• Questioned the reaction to his public statements
• Played at an MVP level for eight games
• Exchanged words with coach Leslie Frazier on the sidelines during the ninth game
• Sprained his left ankle a few moments later
• Reportedly had another exchange with Frazier at the team's facility
• Went on injured reserve and never played again after the original ankle sprain
• Returned to his Florida home to rehabilitate during the team's playoff push.

That series of events represents a microcosm of Harvin's four seasons with the Vikings. They are a stew of unique production, extraordinary versatility and eccentric behavior. There is no single smoking gun to suggest that Harvin's personality will stand in the way of extending a contract that would otherwise expire after the season. But there have been enough odd moments and strange plot twists to suggest that negotiations will be extraordinarily complicated.

On the one hand, Harvin is a 24-year-old player who proved last season that an offense can be built around him. The Vikings opened the season with a general intent of getting him the ball in space and, as we discussed in September, simply letting him do his thing. He scored touchdowns as a receiver, running back and kick returner and, even though he didn't play nine full games, opponents still missed an NFL-high 22 tackles against him, according to Pro Football Focus. Harvin also finished the season with the league's fifth-most yards after the catch (542).

On the other hand, of course, Harvin has built up a complex resume of what we can fairly call off-field question marks. There have been reports of heated exchanges with both Vikings coaches he has played for. As you might recall, players and coaches had to get between Harvin and former coach Brad Childress in 2010. And his long ankle rehabilitation was not the first time he missed a surprisingly extended period for health reasons; you might recall he missed most of training camp in 2010 at first because of a migraine headache, and later because of a family member's death.

Based on what we know, I would call Harvin high-maintenance and note he is far from the first professional athlete to earn that description. Quite frankly, he is a good-enough player to merit the extra effort it takes to employ him. Unless much more has happened behind the scenes than we know, Harvin hasn't crossed the line from being high-maintenance to a unmanageable problem in my eyes.

Yet with Harvin, there is always a suspicion that more has happened behind the scenes. Shortly after the Detroit Lions released Titus Young this week, I heard from someone who works for another NFL team asking if the Vikings would do the same thing with Harvin.

I don't think Harvin's situation is anywhere close to Young's, but it's possible the Vikings have just done a better job of keeping the significant drama under wraps. It's worth noting that Frazier stopped short of endorsing a long-term contract for Harvin during a radio interview with 1500 ESPN this week.

Even if the Vikings decided to move on from Harvin, he would almost certainly generate value on the trade market whereas Young did not. There would be no reason to cut him. All the same, Harvin might have trouble convincing the Vikings to pay him elite receiver money considering the history of eccentricity we have discussed. You have to assume a compromise is available. If not, the Vikings have a Big Decision on their hands.

Let's quickly summarize Phil Emery's first 11 1/2 months as the Chicago Bears' general manager:

1. For the modest sum of two third-round draft picks, Emery acquired one of the NFL's best and most enigmatic wide receivers. Brandon Marshall rewarded the decision with a career year and last weekend was named a first-team All-Pro.
2. [+] Enlarge
   AP Photo/Nam Y. HuhChicago Bears general manager Phil Emery is doing things his way.
   He fired coach Lovie Smith after a 10-6 season, unconcerned about the level of difficulty in finding a coach better than the one who built an 81-63 regular-season record in nine seasons.
3. As Smith's replacement, Emery hired a one-time NFL wunderkind who has been out of the league for eight years and coaching in the CFL for five. As we discussed earlier, Marc Trestman is a courageous choice who will either be a monstrous home run or a fall-on-your-face strikeout.

The English language offers us plenty of words to describe Emery's tenure. I'll choose "bold." Emery was a longtime scout and spent time as a conditioning coach at the Naval Academy, but he has shed all stereotypes that go along with that background. Anyone who thought he would take a cautious, by-the-book approach, has been proved wrong.

Emery has certainly displayed the work ethic of a career grinder, interviewing at least 13 candidates in two weeks and stunning them with his preparation and thorough approach. Asked in a news conference earlier this month about the Bears' offensive line, he spoke for about 10 minutes and used nearly 2,500 words to explain why he didn't sign or draft additional depth.

His thought process, however, can clearly take alternative paths. I've talked to some NFL people who have been predicting a Trestman-like hire for Emery. They have suggested he is much more aggressive than people realize, completely secure in his informed judgments and totally unconcerned about initial public reaction. Based on what we know about Emery and Trestman, it's quite possible that the Bears' new power duo connected on a professorial level that matched their unique personalities.

What it also speaks to, I think, is an approach I first heard voiced by former Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress. (And no, there are no further comparisons to be made here.) Shortly after he was hired in 2006, Childress said he would make all important decisions with the idea that he was unlikely to get a second chance if he failed. If he was going to go down, Childress wanted to go down knowing he had done what he thought was right.

Emery is following a similar approach. Chances are that this is the one an only general manager job he'll ever have. Recycled general managers in the NFL are rare. His decisions and moves haven't always been predictable, but they are ones he has clear conviction on. Emery isn't looking to extend his time on the job with safe decisions. He's trying to do his job and is willing to reach out of the box to do so.

It’s been a busy 17 days in the AFC West since the end of the 2012 regular season.

The Kansas City Chiefs and the San Diego Chargers both fired their general managers and head coaches and they each found replacements for both spots.

Thus, the heavy lifting of the AFC West firing/hiring season is over, but there still is some work to do for each team. Let’s take a look at what is left for all four teams in the division.

Denver: It has been a light offseason for the division champions. The Broncos must now replace offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, who took over as the Chargers’ head coach Tuesday. Among the potential replacements are former Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt (if he doesn’t get a head coaching job), former Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore, Colts quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen and Denver quarterback coach Adam Gase.

Kansas City: The Chiefs have moved fast. Coach Andy Reid and GM John Dorsey are in place and much of the staff is in place. Among the potential coaches who could join the staff are Brad Childress (senior offensive assistant) and Tony Sparano (offensive line).

Oakland: The Raiders have four assistant openings -- offensive coordinator, special teams, offensive line and linebackers coach. The only coaches reportedly interviewed in a very quiet process have been Mike Martz (OC) and Juan Castillo (OL), while there has been rumbling that Marc Trestman and Greg Olson could be offensive coordinator candidates. I think one name to keep an eye on for that job could be Stanford offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton.

San Diego: McCoy will likely keep the defensive staff together while hiring several other assistant coaches, including a new offensive coordinator.

 

The NFL's explanation for how it learned of the New Orleans Saints alleged bounty program goes like this: Former Saints defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove told former Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy about it at some point near the 2009 NFC Championship Game. Kennedy told Vikings coach Brad Childress, and Childress reported it to the league.

Friday, Kennedy denied his role as the bounty whistleblower and said the NFL has distributed "blatant lies about me." In a statement released by the NFL Players Association, Kennedy said: "Coach Childress approached me and asked me if I knew anything about such an allegation, and I told him the truth: I did not. I had no knowledge of any such alleged bounty."

Further, Kennedy said it is "an utter lie" to suggest Hargrove told him about the bounty. Kennedy: "It simply never happened. I never discussed an alleged bounty with Anthony Hargrove before, during or after the NFC Championship Game. The only discussion I have had with Anthony about the alleged bounty occurred when we recently spoke about the NFL’s egregiously flawed and unjust investigation and proceeding."

I've had plenty to say about the NFL's investigation of the bounty program, especially as it related to Hargrove during the time he spent with the Green Bay Packers. To be blunt, much of it doesn't pass the smell test. (Many of those posts can be found in this link.)

Hargrove and Kennedy have now both denied the NFL's claims on how Childress became convinced there was a bounty; Childress hasn't commented to my knowledge. And as we've discussed, the evidence the NFL presented against Hargrove has either been debunked or substantially discredited.

We all know the NFL didn't have to meet a legal standard in order to make these accusations and distribute discipline. And part of the language in Kennedy's statement no doubt is setting up the inevitable legal battle that is only beginning. But I agree with one sentiment in the statement from Kennedy, who said he is now among "the list of men whose reputations and character have been irreparably damaged by the shoddy, careless, shameful so-called investigation behind this sham proceeding."

That language might be a bit over the top, but careers have been altered and lives changed forever as a result of this bounty investigation. To this point, it's difficult to say that impact has been merited.

Hindsight makes it easy to judge the Jahvid Best Era, right? A pair of concussions ended his tenure at Cal, after all, and now two more concussions are threatening his career with the Detroit Lions.

So is it that easy? Can we wrap up the Lions' decision to draft him in 2010, tie a bow around it and declare it an unmitigated mistake? Was it a simple matter of overlooking substantial risk in a desperate search for playmakers? Or is it unfair to apply what we know now to a 2 1/2-year-old decision?

I'm having a hard time mustering complete outrage at the original choice for two reasons. First, we don't have access to Best's medical records. We don't know what his pre-draft examinations told the Lions, so we can't evaluate whether his presumed clean bill of health was justified. Second, we don't know how much of his current status is wrapped in a concussion protocol that didn't exist in 2010. Both the Lions and Best have been silent on that question.

What I do think: The Lions couldn't have predicted this course of events, but they should be held accountable for risking a worst-case scenario that appears to be playing out.

Let's refresh the facts of Best's pre-draft status.

In November 2009, Best suffered concussions in his final two games for Cal. The first was reported as "slight," a classification that would never be used now, and he missed two days of practice before returning to the field.

That's when Best suffered the second concussion, on a frightening five-foot fall after a tackle attempt. He lost consciousness briefly on the field and was hospitalized. On January 2, nearly two months later, Best said: "I'm still not 100 percent right now. But I'm very optimistic about my ability to come back by the time the combine and pro day come around. I have no doubt in my mind I'll be able to perform."

Best did participate in pre-draft workouts, and the Lions were drawn to his quickness. They believed he was a perfect fit for their offense and, famously, coach Jim Schwartz joked that he was "aroused" by watching his video highlights on YouTube. The Lions traded their second-round pick, No. 34 overall, to the Minnesota Vikings to draft Best at No. 30. The teams swapped fourth-round picks in the exchange, and the Vikings also got the Lions' seventh-round pick (No. 214 overall).

During a Twitter discussion Tuesday morning, many of you are supporting the Lions' thought process in that 2010 context. @boomshaka9 called it "a calculated risk" and added: "He's dynamic when healthy, the gamble just didn't pay off." Wrote @cam_diesel: "If healthy, we have Warner-Faulk Rams 2.0 I'm good trying to get that." Added @Erik_Parsons: "In 2010 it was praised as a steal that they were going to get a dynamic playmaker to help the team. Hindsight is 20/20."

Those points are all reasonable. It's also fair, I think, to point out that even in 2010 there was ample medical evidence suggesting football players with concussion histories were more susceptible to future concussions. In 2003, in fact, a University of North Carolina researcher published a well-cited study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that concluded:

"Our results suggest that college football players with a history of concussion are likely to have future concussive injuries. We observed an increase in the likelihood of recurrent injury with each successive previous injury."

Again, I'm not going to hold the Lions completely at fault for not using the JAMA as their primary draft guide. Truth be told, it's not like many -- or any -- of us in the media were writing about Best's history with the foreboding tone we're using now. We weren't any quicker to the dance than anyone else.

We know at least one team took Best off its draft board. In September 2010, Vikings coach Brad Childress, said: "There's no question about his ability. He's got 'A' ability. We just had, in this day and age, concerns about his concussions and the fact that with a smaller-in-stature running back, how he could play through that."

It's instructive to recall Schwartz's response to that comment. Schwartz, like many people at the time, overlooked Best's first concussion and believed the long recovery from his second was simply for precautionary reasons. Schwartz also espoused a typical football view of the time: That Best was no more susceptible to future concussions than any other player.

Via the Star Tribune, Schwartz said:

"[Best] had one major concussion. I think a lot of people looked at that. And there's always concern anytime a player has an issue like that. But all our reports and everything else led us to believe that he had put that behind him and was no more susceptible than any other player.

"I think part of that was after he had his concussion, he didn't play in the bowl game. I think looking back on it, I think it was probably more [Cal] holding him out because they knew he was coming out [in the draft] and not wanting to get him hurt. I think a lot of teams held that against him, the fact that six weeks later he didn't play in a game.

"We were comfortable with where he was. Running backs take hits. It's a fact of life in the NFL. They deal with injuries and things like that all the time. We liked what Jahvid brought to the table and we thought he fit very well with what we wanted to do offensively."

In the end, I think we can say the Lions demonstrated a high tolerance for risk in drafting Jahvid Best. They were like young investors in a volatile stock market, willing to gamble huge loss in exchange for the possibility of a big hit. Was it a smart risk? In 2012, no way. In 2010? Given the Lions' situation at the time -- 2-30 in their previous two seasons -- I understand why it happened. In baseball terms, they took a home run swing to hasten their comeback from a big deficit. At the moment, they appear on the brink of striking out.

Veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb said last week there's an "an 80 to 90 percent chance" he'll play this season. According to the 35-year-old quarterback, there are three teams that he's considering, although he declined to name them. As ESPN's Adam Schefter pointed out, it could take an injury in training camp before a team considers McNabb.

I have my doubts whether McNabb, who has played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings, has anything left. In six starts for the Vikings last season, he threw four touchdown passes and lost five times. It also doesn't seem like McNabb has drawn the interest of his former longtime coach Andy Reid, which should worry teams because Philadelphia needs a No. 2 passer.

Here's how I assess his chances with the AFC North teams:

BENGALS: Not happening here. Cincinnati is set at backup quarterback with Bruce Gradkowski. He is familiar with offensive coordinator Jay Gruden's system (he previously played under Gruden in Tampa Bay) and he led a come-from-behind victory in the season opener last year. McNabb's name won't be brought up in any conversation.

BROWNS: It's easy to draw a connection here with McNabb's ties to coach Pat Shumur and offensive coordinator Brad Childress. But bringing in McNabb would add an unwanted distraction for a team looking to start a new era with rookie first-round pick Brandon Weeden. I've never had a problem with keeping Colt McCoy as the backup because he doesn't have a disruptive personality. If McNabb was such a good mentor, the Vikings wouldn't have cut him in early December.

RAVENS: This is one spot where I could see some potential if the Ravens are feeling uneasy about their backup spot later this summer. When Joe Flacco missed the final day of mandatory minicamp for the birth of his son, backup quarterbacks Tyrod Taylor and Curtis Painter were awful. During one team drill, Taylor and Painter each had an interception returned for a touchdown. Plus, after leading the Ravens to the playoffs the past four years, Flacco wouldn't be threatened by the addition of McNabb.

STEELERS: Don't see much of a fit here. The Steelers already have two experienced backups in Byron Leftwich and Charlie Batch, and Pittsburgh has a familiarity with both. In ranking the backup quarterback situations in the division last month, I talked about how the Steelers have the best insurance policy at this position in the AFC North. Leftwich has started 49 games (24-25 record) and passed for 10,260 yards and 58 touchdowns. Batch is 5-2 as a spot starter since joining the Steelers in 2003.

In sifting through the mountains of rookie camp coverage over the weekend, I stumbled upon this video from the Detroit Lions' reporting team of Tim Twentyman and Mike O'Hara. Toward the end, the pair addressed an issue that brought up two interesting questions:

1. Is there anything to read into the fact that Lions coach Jim Schwartz hasn't yet signed a long-promised contract extension?
2. If not, at what point is it significant that Schwartz's contract, at least of this moment, is set to expire after this season, or in about 10 months?

From the top, we should point out that coaching contracts are among the best-kept secrets in the NFL. There is no salary cap for coaches, nor is there a union, so teams don't have to file the final documents with many outside entities. News releases are typically issued to announce a new deal, although they often don't include the duration and never mention dollar figures.

Schwartz reiterated over the weekend that he won't talk about his contract, nor will he say if he would confirm a deal if it had happened. Regardless, it's probably safe to assume the Lions don't yet have a final agreement with Schwartz. That doesn't really matter at the moment, and to me it won't be an issue until the first day of training camp -- the symbolic start of a team's season.

There is every reason to think the sides will come to an agreement. If you judge coaches by playoff appearances, Schwartz is the Lions' best coach in more than a decade. And unless Schwartz has previously undisclosed designs on some sort of dual general manager/coaching job that wouldn't be available in Detroit, there is every reason to think he wants to stay put.

Those factors suggest a friendly negotiation that will wrap up in due time. But if Schwartz and the Lions report to training camp in late July to begin earnest preparations for the 2012 season without a resolution, then there is reason to start asking fair and legitimate questions about the future.

For what it's worth, the past three coaching contract extensions in the NFC North all came at least 11 months before the deal's expiration.

With his deal set to expire after the 2011 season, Bears coach Lovie Smith signed a two-year extension in February 2011. Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy's five-year extension came in March 2011; his contract was scheduled to expire after the 2012 season. And in November 2009, former Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress received an extension about 13 months before his deal was set to expire.

Judging by your comments, some of you are neither surprised nor particularly upset to learn that the New Orleans Saints had a bounty on then-Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre in the 2009 NFC Championship Game. Over on our Facebook page, for example, Ace wrote: "Wait a second. Does anybody actually care that NFL players are actively trying to hurt each other? I thought that's why we watch the game?"

Fair point. There is absolutely a segment of football fans drawn to the game by its physical brutality. For you, players incentivized to hurt each ultimately enhance the violence and elevate the game to a modern-day gladiator scene, where combatants win by disabling their opponent. If you like that sort of thing, you loved seeing Favre pummeled during that game and should probably remove yourself from this conversation.

The rest of you are wondering why it took the NFL two years to document what seemed painfully obvious (pardon the pun) in the days that followed: Regardless of their motivation or incentive, the Saints seemed determined to batter Favre, inside or outside the rules.

It was clear early on, when defensive end Bobby McCray drilled Favre in the chin after a handoff, and continued through a game that included two personal fouls and a third the NFL later said should have been called. Favre's ankle was heavily bruised after McCray grabbed it as part of a high-low hit in the third quarter, and in all it was one of the most brutal beatings we've seen a veteran quarterback take.

McCray was fined $20,000, and looking back, there were plenty of clues and suspicions circulating that suggested this was more than just a physical game. The Vikings were incensed by the Saints' approach and complained to the league the next day. A few months later, then-coach Brad Childress said: "What I hate to see are late hits or attempts to hurt anybody. I don't think there's a place for that in the game."

Asked if he thought that happened in the NFC Championship Game, Childress said: "Yes, I would have to say that, yes."

It's even worth taking a second look at the Twitter "feud" between then-Saints safety Darren Sharper and Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe in the spring of 2010. What most of us thought was fun self-promotion takes on a different meaning with what we know now. The exchange began when Sharper, noting Favre's subsequent ankle surgery, tweeted: "Well y'all seen Brett had surgery on that ankle we got after in the championship game. Come Thursday night 1st game. X marks the spot."

We even discussed the issue of deliberate attempts to injure that spring. Did anyone know the Saints had a bounty on Favre in that game? Would it have mattered?

To me, not really. Whether there was a bounty or not, the Saints did everything they could to remove Favre from the game. In some cases, what they did violated NFL game rules. We've known that for two years. The only thing that's changed for me is that I no longer blame McCray or any other individual for playing out of control. Clearly, they were acting as part of a larger mentality conceived by defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and endorsed, at least tacitly, by coach Sean Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis.

Not to get all preachy here, but indulge me for a moment. Competition spurs some people to high achievement, but it puts others on a mission to limit the achievement of their opponents. Are you trying to win? Or are you trying to make the other guy lose? It's a subtle difference, and doesn't necessarily correlate to win-loss records, but in the end, the Saints succeeded in making the Vikings worse than them on that day.

Under duress and in pain, Favre threw two interceptions, one of which came after an illegal hit by McCray. The Saints won in part by disabling their opponent. But at what price? The NFL will soon provide an answer to that question.

Browns coach Pat Shurmur confirmed that he will remain the Browns' playcaller on offense, which is the right decision. Actually, there wasn't really a decision to be made.

New offensive coordinator Brad Childress has only called plays for one season in the NFL. And there was a reason it was for one season. The Minnesota Vikings finished 23rd in yards and 26th in points (17.6 per game) in 2006, which led Childress to pass the play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell the next season.

When the subject of play calling was first asked, Shurmur said, "Here we go," because he doesn't understand the fuss over the duties. It shouldn't be a surprise that there's heightened interest in how the Browns will try to turn around an offense that scored the third-fewest points in the NFL last season. Until the Browns come up with some answers, there are going to be constant questions about the starting quarterback and the plays that are called.

So, on game days, Shurmur will call the plays on the field and Childress will sit up in the coaches' box.

"There's constant interaction between the playcaller and the other people on offense," Shurmur told Cleveland reporters Wednesday before heading to the NFL combine. "Every place I've been, that's always been the case. So, yeah, I'll be on the field right now and call [plays], but it's constant communication. People talk about halftime adjustments. Well, there's adjustments going on all the time, and that's why we wear the headsets so that we can communicate."

Shurmur was overwhelmed in his first year as an NFL head coach last season when he ran the offense without a coordinator. The perfect scenario would have been to hand off those duties to an experienced playcaller.

Childress addressed the challenge of having the dual role of head coach and playcaller.

"In my case, I didn't think I could do justice to all the preparation that I spent as an assistant coach doing what I needed to do," Childress said. "Did I have a fundamental knowledge of everything that was going on? Absolutely, but I felt like I wasn't that pinpoint laser. That's just me, and that's why I gave it to Darrell Bevell, who knew exactly how I wanted it and did a great job."

Childress said he has no problems in going from a head coach to coordinator.

"To be a good leader, you've got to have good followers. I do know that," he said. "I know what I'm charged with here and how I'm going to go about doing it. Pat's been real clear about that, and we're not going to have any trouble at all."

The Browns have hired Brad Childress as their offensive coordinator, two sources confirmed to the Akron Beacon Journal.

The team has yet to announce the move. Childress became the front-runner for the job after Mike Sherman decided to join the Miami Dolphins as their offensive coordinator.

Browns head coach Pat Shurmur has a long history with Childress. They spent seven years together on the Eagles' staff under Andy Reid before Childress left to take over as head coach of the Vikings from 2006-10. Childress, 55, has been out of football since being fired by the Vikings in November 2010.

The Browns made the right call when they decided to add an offensive coordinator, and they needed to hire someone with experience.


But hiring Brad Childress -- who was named offensive coordinator, according to a league source -- is not the answer. The Browns really needed to push to get Mike Sherman, who appears to be headed to the Miami Dolphins to be their offensive coordinator.

The problem with Childress is his track record with offenses. In the eight years that Childress has been a head coach or offensive coordinator in the NFL, his offenses have ranked in the bottom half of the league five times.

The disturbing part is he's only been an NFL playcaller for one season. The result? The Vikings finished 23rd in yards and 26th in points (17.6 per game) in 2006 before Childress passed those duties over to offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell the next season. Childress didn't call the plays in his three seasons as the Eagles' offensive coordinator (Andy Reid held that role) and he didn't call the plays in his final four seasons with the Vikings.

That resume doesn't inspire confidence that he will turn around a Browns offense that scored more than 17 points twice last season. Then again, it's hard to imagine any coordinator could really affect an offense that has major question marks at quarterback and running back as well as a void of playmakers at wide receiver.

Hiring Childress isn't the worst move. The team could have simply promoted quarterbacks coach Mark Whipple, but that wouldn't have accomplished anything.

Pat Shumur was overwhelmed in his first season as the Browns head coach, and he needed to have the responsibility of running the offense taken away. The only way an inexperienced head coach will succeed is if he has experienced coordinators supporting him. The Browns will have veteran voices with Childress and defensive coordinator Dick Jauron.

If I were Shurmur, I would rely on Childress' advice but not his play-calling ability.

Brad Childress is the frontrunner to become the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, a league source told to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

The Plain Dealer reported that the Browns had narrowed their search to Childress and Mike Sherman, but Sherman is close to becoming the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins. That leaves the Browns with Childress, who would become the first offensive coordinator under head coach Pat Shurmur.

The hiring could happen in a few days, according to the paper. Childress' ties with Shurmur date back to the Philadelphia Eagles, where Childress was the offensive coordinator from 2003 to 2005 and Shurmur was the quarterbacks coach there.

In his first season as the Browns' head coach, Shurmur also served as the offensive coordinator and called his own plays. The Cleveland offense finished 29th in yards per game and 30th in points per game.

Childress, 55, was out of football last season after being fired as the Minnesota Vikings' head coach in November 2010. He guided the Vikings to the NFC championship game in 2009, but he followed that up with a 3-7 season before being removed as coach.

It is unknown whether or not Childress will take over the playcalling, although Childress probably wouldn't take the job if he didn't have that role.

It's interesting to note that Shurmur, Childress and Browns president Mike Holmgren are all represented by agent Bob LaMonte.

I will provide my thoughts on this probable hire shortly.

Oregon coach Chip Kelly reportedly backed out just as it appeared he was about to become the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Kelly reportedly had been in the final stages of negotiating a deal with Tampa Bay. But general manager Mark Dominik said Monday morning that Kelly informed the Bucs he’ll be staying at Oregon.

So where does that leave Tampa Bay’s coaching search?

Well, Kelly may have been the first choice, but the cupboard is far from empty. Of the candidates known to have interviewed, only Joe Philbin, now the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, is officially out of the picture.

Former NFL head coaches Mike Sherman, Marty Schottenheimer and Brad Childress already have interviewed. So have NFL assistants Tom Clements, Mike Zimmer, Jerry Gray and Rob Chudzinski.

The Bucs could turn to one of them. The Bucs also could seek to talk to other NFL assistants. Or they may have another surprise candidate like Kelly. It hadn’t been reported that Kelly was even on Tampa Bay’s radar until Sunday night, when he appeared close to a deal. It turned out the Bucs quietly had interviewed Kelly last week.

NFL.com is reporting that the Indianapolis Colts want to interview former Minnesota coach Brad Childress for their head-coaching opening. Here’s another name the Colts should consider: Hue Jackson.

If Childress is on the Colts’ list, Jackson – who was fired last week after one year at the helm in Oakland – should be, too.

Jackson wasn’t fired in Oakland because he can’t coach. I think Jackson, 46, is one of the bright, young offensive coaching minds in the league. His work with Oakland’s offense the past two years shows how capable a coach he is.

His problem in Oakland was that he took on too much power after the death of owner Al Davis — and that he talked too much. But those are issues he can quickly resolve. The Colts have a strong power structure in which Jackson would simply be asked to coach. And whether the Colts’ quarterback in 2012 is Andrew Luck or Peyton Manning, Jackson would be a good leader for either.

Jackson is a candidate to be the offensive coordinator in St. Louis. If he gets that job and the Rams offense rebounds in 2012, Jackson will likely be a hot head-coaching candidate next year. Still, if the Colts are looking at a retread like Childress, they might as well take a gander at Jackson, who’d still be the head coach in Oakland under the right circumstances.

In other AFC West news:

The San Diego Union Tribune is reporting that former Carolina secondary coach Ron Meeks has been offered the Chargers’ secondary coaching job and he is expected to decide by the end of the weekend. Meeks would replace Steve Wilks — who went to Carolina to work for former Chargers defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, who is now Carolina’s head coach.

The Raiders denied a report that new Oakland general manager Reggie McKenzie has hired former Raider Sean Jones as assistant general manager. The team's search for a new head coach continues, meanwhile; Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg was reportedly set to interview Friday.

The new coach in Miami could further increase the chances of Dolphins offensive coordinator Brian Daboll ending up in that role with Kansas City. Daboll worked in New England with new Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel.