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It appears former St. Louis Rams head coach Scott Linehan is about to find himself a new job, as the 49ers have offered him their offensive coordinator position as reported by Matt Maiocco of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Should Linehan accept, he'll become the 49ers' seventh offensive coordinator in the past seven seasons, replacing Mike Martz.

The 49ers were also considering former Browns offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski, as well as Rick Dennison and Clyde Christensen. Linehan was fired as Rams head coach on September 29, compiling an 11-25 record in his three seasons.

Linehan has quite a track record as an offensive coordinator including stints in Minnesota and Miami. As Josh Alper over at PFT points out, Linehan's Minnesota offenses all ranked in the top-five from 2002 to 2004, while the Dolphins showed considerable improvement during his one year on the job in 2005.

After getting yanked in the third quarter of Cleveland's 16-6 loss to Houston (I'm sure the Nielsen ratings were through the roof for that game) quarterback Brady Quinn made mention to the fact he wasn't very happy with coach Romeo Crennel's decision to send in Derek Anderson. If it makes you feel any better, Brady, I'm sure many loyal Browns fans shared your displeasure with the move. After all, Anderson was sent to the bench, due in large part, to an uprising of sorts among the fans.

Frankly, they could have sent in Ken Dorsey, or one of the random people sitting in the Dawg Pound wearing a Brian Sipe jersey, and nobody would have known the difference. Both guys were equally dreadful, with plenty of assistance from Braylon Edwards, who continues to pad his lead in the dropped ball standings.

Anyway, Quinn spoke to the local scribes after the game and shared his thoughts on Crennel's move. From Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

"Come on, I'm in this game to play. After that last one, I didn't really have any inclination I was on such a short leash. The fourth quarter is where games are won or lost and I just wish I would've been able to be in there to have a chance."

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback: A year ago at this time,Charlie Frye was the man. That lasted about 10 minutes into the Week 1 Steelers game before Derek Anderson came on in relief, and, well, you saw how things turned out. Anderson led Cleveland to 10 wins, and made the Pro Bowl, but faces pressure to exceed last year's surprising performance. I think he'll be fine, but if he falters, Brady Quinn will be eagerly awaiting his shot. Heat Index: 7

Running backs: Jamal Lewis was left for dead, at least in the professional sense, when the Ravens decided to "move in another direction" last offseason. Lewis signed a short-term deal with the Browns and proceeded to rush for more than 1,300 yards. He now has a new contract and will run behind one of the most underrated o-lines in the AFC. Heat Index: 7

Receivers: Prior to Donte' Stallworth putting out a hit on No. 1 wide receiver Braylon Edwards, these were some of the best pass-catchers in the conference. Actually, Edwards should be fine, and even with Joe Jurevicius on the mend, it's a talented group of big-play threats. And although he listed as a tight end on the depth chart, Kellen Winslow in No. 1A after Edwards. Heat Index: 9

This is oddly encouraging: even though Donte' Stallworth, signed to a seven-year, $35 million deal this spring, is currently recovering from a hamstring injury and has yet to participate in team drills at training camp, he's not worried. At all. So, Rob Chudzinski, Romeo Crennel and Derek Anderson, you guys got nothing to worry about.

Actually, there's sure to be some concern, if for no other reason than the Browns are facing expectations to make it to the playoffs this season. Stallworth will be a part of that, but Kellen Winslow, Braylon Edwards, Jamal Lewis and one of the league's most underrated offensive lines (not to mention Anderson) will also have a lot to do with how this thing plays out.

Whatever, Stallworth is at peace, thanks to the sage-like advice of his former coach and chronic cheater, Bill Belichick:

''I will always forever use what Belichick said last year, 'If you put a two-by-four on the ground and you walk across it, there's no pressure. But if you put it 300 feet in the air, you're going to be afraid. It just depends on what you think about it,' '' Stallworth said. ''I've never been one to worry about pressure. That word's not in my vocabulary.''

Pretty high-level philosophical stuff there. But, hey, whatever it takes to convince grown men to run full-speed into other, fatter grown men all in the name of football. And while the offense will be better with Stallworth healthy and participating, it'll be the defense that ultimately determine how far the Browns go in 2008.

Maybe Stallworth should give them the speech about the two-by-four.

The Browns and running back Jamal Lewis are still trying to come to an agreement on a new contract. The former Ravens first-round pick signed a one-year deal with Cleveland last off-season and had a surprisingly efficient year.

Now the Browns would like him back -- and it sounds like Jam-Jam would like to come back -- but, as always, it's about the money. And Lewis has every right to get all that he can; he'll turn 29 just before the 2008 season starts and he'll be lucky to squeeze out three or four more productive seasons (particularly since everybody thought he was washed up after 2006).

Even if Lewis gets away, the Browns have options. Interestingly, though, the Canton Repository's Steve Doerschuk writes that signing Lewis last off-season was the main reason Browns general manager Phil Savage didn't draft Adrian Peterson with the third-overall pick.

If that's true, bringing Lewis to Cleveland was one of the most important moves of the 2007 off-season. The Browns ended up taking left tackle Joe Thomas, who just wrapped up an excellent rookie season. Peterson is a great player, but without an offensive line to run behind, it wouldn't have much mattered.

And while the Browns had a need at running back, the bigger issues was the offensive as a whole. That problem was solved by giving Rob Chudzinski the play-calling duties, benching Charlie Frye, and solidifying the offensive line. Running backs are important, obviously, but not worth a third-overall pick when the team had plenty of other needs.

This seems far-fetched and all together nonsensical: the Baltimore Sun's Mike Preston wonders if the Ravens would be willing to package some draft picks and send them to Cincinnati in exchange for ... Marvin Lewis. Yikes. Is the coaching search going that bad in Baltimore?

Preston points out that most of the 27 candidates to be interviewed for Brian Billick's old job have no previous head-coaching experience. Presumably, the front office might be getting cold feet about handing the team over to someone who isn't yet ready for such responsibility. There are actual documented cases of head coaches succeeding in the NFL despite their age or experience, but it's still a legitimate concern, I suppose. But Lewis?

Lewis has long coveted the Ravens' coaching job, and there's no question he would come to Baltimore in a heartbeat. But he has three years left on his contract, so the Bengals would demand compensation.

Preston thinks owner Steve Bisciotti or general manager Ozzie Newsome should at least explore the opportunity, but even if both sides were interested why would the Ravens, a five-win team in 2007 with plenty of needs, give up draft picks to land a guy who's been nothing more than above average during his five years in Cincy?

Yeah, it's a swell thought, but that's all it should be. There are plenty of quality coaches available, it's just a matter of looking for them. And even though Josh McDaniels, Kirk Ferentz and Rob Chudzinski said no thanks, that isn't reason enough to just throw up your hands and settle on Lewis. Which is exactly what the Ravens would be doing: settling.

Maybe the Ravens job ain't as great as advertised. Sure, there are the sweet facilities, the rich, hands-off owner, one of the league's best general managers and a rabid fan base. But there's also the sense that the inmates are running the asylum which certainly equalizes some of the positives.

Whatever, after giving it some thought, Browns offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski has decided that staying in Cleveland -- as the team's offensive coordinator -- was more attractive than even showing up for his interview with the Ravens.

Precisely, Chudzinski phoned Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome with the news after the Browns gave him a shiny new deal. Also, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Chudzinski's wife just gave birth to the couple's second child and that the family is looking for stability (as stable as things can be in the NFL, I suppose). Obviously, withdrawing from consideration from the Baltimore job was the right thing to do under such circumstances.

The Ravens started the coaching search with a list of 30 potential candidates, which has now been reduced to 27. New England offensive coordinator Josh McDainels pulled a "Chudz" before Chudzinski did, choosing to stay with the Patriots for another season. And Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz has opted to stay with the Hawkeyes.

But all is not lost; as FanHouse's Josh Alper points out, Marty Schottenheimer could be in the mix. And if you thought the Ravens didn't feature much offense under Brian Billick, just wait until Martyball sweeps through Charm City.

It's a good thing that the Ravens are committed to taking their time in the search for a new head coach. Candidates keep dropping out - Kirk Ferentz isn't interested and Rob Chudzinski signed an extension with the Browns - and they get replaced by new names on the interview front. The latest contender to join the fray is Brian Schottenheimer of the New York Jets.

He's a bit of an odd choice for a team looking to jumpstart their offensive production. The Jets have finished 25th and 26th offensively in his two seasons as their offensive coordinator and his playcalling choices drew derision from Jets fans and New York media all season. He was briefly rumored to be in the mix for the Miami job before Cam Cameron got it last year but seems too inexperienced and lacking the appropriate resume to get the job.

Of course, he may not be the Schottenheimer the team really wants. According to Jay Glazer of Fox, the team has reached out to Marty Schottenheimer as well and GM Ozzie Newsome's old coach hasn't said no. He doesn't want to interview in the early part of the process, though that shouldn't be a problem. You know what you'll get with MartyBall, for better or worse, and his candidacy will only be helped by a series of underwhelming interviews.

Previously on FanHouse:
Ravens Job Most Attractive of the Bunch
Bill Cowher to Ravens Talk Won't Die
Ravens Starting Interviews for New Coaches, Emphasizing Offense

I
t seems the Ravens head-coaching job has a way of discouraging would-be candidates from leaving their current gigs. Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels announced a few days ago that he's not interested in interviewing for head-coaching positions this off-season, and now, Kirk Ferentz says he's staying at Iowa.

Ferentz, along with Fresno State's Pat Hill, are annually the hot names in college coaching most sought after by NFL teams. Bobby Petrino was once on this list, but that little experiment didn't last the season. Maybe the Petrino debacle scared Ferentz off, or maybe -- and this is a crazy notion, I know -- he likes his current set up.

"I've got a great job here, and with that being said, I'm sure Baltimore will get a top-notch coach," Ferentz told The Sun. "They have three great people in Eric [DeCosta, director of college scouting], George [Kokinis, director of pro personnel] and Ozzie [Newsome, general manager] and have great ownership in place."

Whatever, he's not leaving, which means Rob Chudzinski's chances of landing Brian Billick's old job just went from three to four percent. If 27 other guys drop out, it's his.

Ferentz also mentioned that his son will be a freshman offensive lineman at Iowa in the fall, and that also has a lot to do with his decision to stay. Good for him. I know the NFL is the pinnacle for, well, everybody. But some people are very happy with their current lot in life, even if it's not in the National Football League.

And the game of cat-and-mouse continues. The Browns hired former Ravens front-office type Phil Savage in 2005, and players like punter Dave Zastudil, cornerback Gary Baxter, running back Jamal Lewis and quarterback Derek Anderson have all followed.

The tide is turning, however: Baltimore will interview Browns' offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski for Brian Billick's old job.

Under the 39-year-old Chudzinski, the Browns had two 1,000-yard receivers (Braylon Edwards, Kellen Winslow) and a 1,000-yard rusher (Jamal Lewis). Quarterback Derek Anderson, who began the season as a backup, threw 29 touchdown passes.

Actually, I'm guessing this has little to do with payback, and everything to do with making the Ravens a competent offensive team. Of course, it's not unheard of for an organization to interview a rival coach with the express purpose of gaining a few behind-the-scenes insights. Given that Baltimore and Cleveland are already pretty familiar with one another, I can't imagine this to be the case.

If anything, this is recognition that Chudzinski did an amazing job with the Browns this season. The decision to bench Charlie Frye certainly helped, but I feel confident in writing that Maurice Carthon wouldn't have had this much success.

Chudzinski still has to be a long shot for the Ravens gig. Not so much because he's an unknown, but because everybody's a long shot: the team is interviewing 28 other candidates.

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