New York Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and New York Giants defensive coordinator Tim Lewis met with Miami Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga to discuss the team's head coaching vacancy on Wednesday, according to Dolphins sources.

Schottenheimer, completing his first year with the Jets, helped improve an offense that ranked near the bottom in total yardage and points scored in 2005. Lewis, who has interviewed for numerous head coaching positions in the past four years, oversaw a unit that was decimated by injuries and took a step back statistically in 2006.

The Dolphins, who spoke to USC coach Pete Carroll last weekend, are scheduled to interview Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Mike Martz on Thursday. Martz was 54-33 in five-plus seasons with the St. Louis Rams, having guided the franchise to four playoff appearances and a Super Bowl XXXVI berth against the New England Patriots.

Schottenheimer, Lewis and Martz are expected to be the final three of the 12 candidates

New Orleans Saints running back Deuce McAllister has the look and demeanor of a man with an old soul.

McAllister's reactions are measured and thoughtful, belying the fact that he turned 28 two weeks ago. In a game where players are often on edge, playing and acting as if they were about to be shot out of a cannon, McAllister is a wise man.

He has played this entire season, the most glorious the Saints have had in his six years, knowing that his time in New Orleans may be coming to a close. McAllister, who will try to help the Saints advance past the playoff's second round for the first time in franchise history on Saturday night against the Philadelphia Eagles, knows because, well, he once was Reggie Bush, the man who may ultimately replace him.

In 2001, McAllister was the first-round pick of the Saints, taken only two years after the team had traded an entire draft and more for Ricky Williams. Within a year, Williams was gone to Miami and McAllister was the starter.

"That's the way

PHILADELPHIA – While New York Giants running back Tiki Barber's career came to an honorable end Sunday and coach Tom Coughlin's tenure with Big Blue may simply have ended, the Philadelphia Eagles continued their season after recognizing enough was enough.

Philadelphia offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg put a quick end to a game plan that simply wasn't working, tossing a week's worth of preparation in a high-pressure NFC wild-card game. That was the key maneuver as the Eagles came away with a 23-20 victory at Lincoln Financial Field.

Eagles kicker David Akers hit a 38-yard field goal with no time remaining on the clock to put the finishing touches on a game that was fascinating from a tactical standpoint, but not always well executed.

The win put the Eagles into the second round of the NFL playoffs against the New Orleans Saints on Saturday night, setting up a rematch of a New Orleans win earlier this season sparked by a time-consuming late drive and subsequent field goal.

The

INDIANAPOLIS – Coach Tony Dungy got two reminders of his past: one over dinner Friday night and another from his team Saturday afternoon.

His Indianapolis Colts used a suffocating run defense that held the Kansas City Chiefs without a first down for more than 40 minutes to help secure a 23-8 victory in the first round of the AFC playoffs at the RCA Dome on Saturday. The Colts will now face Baltimore next Saturday in the second round.

Of course, the words "suffocating run defense" have been used in association with the Colts this season about as often as most people hit the PowerBall lottery.

"I think it's safe to say that nobody in the media picked us to stop Kansas City's running game," Indianapolis linebacker Cato June said after he helped contain the Chiefs to 44 yards on 17 carries including only 32 yards on 13 carries for bruising back Larry Johnson.

That type of defensive effort is also about as uncommon as Dungy and former assistants Herm Edwards and Lovie Smith getting together

The Miami Dolphins are about to go through something the franchise has never experienced in its 41 years of existence: a real coaching search.

For a team that's about to have its fourth head coach (including interim Jim Bates) since November 2004, the Dolphins are oddly inexperienced at the art of finding a coach. Most of the time, the replacement was predetermined. From having Don Shula lined up before they fired George Wilson in 1970 to knowing they wanted Nick Saban after the 2004 season, the Dolphins have never gone through a traditional hiring process.

There have been some perfunctory interviews, such as listening to Bates and Art Shell in 2004 before making the run at Saban. There was also the interview that former special teams coach Mike Westhoff demanded in 2000 before assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt was elevated.

But when it comes to a full-on search, the Dolphins have never done one. Not in 1996, when Jimmy Johnson was essentially hired before Shula

Dressed in suits is when you really get a sense of the essential difference between Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks Donovan McNabb and Jeff Garcia.

McNabb fills an outfit like it's a zoot suit, his physique cutting the fabric in the sharp angles and oversized shoulders that usually come by design. Garcia, with his skinny and slightly slop-shoulder build, looks like some teenager in his first formal wear.

There's a lesson in that comparison. For as talented, skilled and successful as McNabb has been in his career, sometimes less is more. The Eagles have discovered that this season, embracing that lesson as they put together a five-game winning streak that propelled them to the NFC East title and Sunday's NFC wild-card game against the New York Giants.

"You have to adapt to what your players can do," Philadelphia offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said. "As coaches, we can sit there and draw up all these plays and come up with systems. But it doesn't mean much if your players can't

Watch: Saban accepts job Dolphins' reaction
More on Saban – Dan Wetzel: Redefining disloyalty and dishonesty

Head coach Nick Saban is leaving the Miami Dolphins to accept a job with the University of Alabama, ending his two-year run in the NFL.

Saban told the Dolphins assistant coaches Wednesday morning that he was leaving, accepting an offer that is believed to be worth approximately $40 million over a 10-year period, although there are variable structures within the deal that Alabama put on the table. In the process, Saban left with three years remaining on his five-year contract with the Dolphins. He made $4.5 million annually.

He is expected to become the highest paid head coach in college and believed to be the first to reach the $4 million per year figure.

However, the overwhelming factor in Saban leaving for Alabama was not money. Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga had made it clear he was willing to pay more to keep Saban, though the coach never made the request. Rather, Saban had

Nick Saban received a one-day extension from Miami Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga to make a decision on whether he'll accept an offer from the University of Alabama to become its head coach.

Saban and Huizenga met briefly late Tuesday afternoon following a long day of Saban going over all the issues. Alabama has offered Saban a deal in the area of $40 million over 10 years. Saban spoke with Alabama athletic director Mal Moore by phone on Monday night.

"Nick told me he needed another day and would hold off on making any announcement until 10 a.m. on Wednesday," Huizenga said. "I agree with him and understand more now what he's thinking about than I did before we met [Tuesday]."

Saban, just two seasons into a five-year deal with Miami, has three years remaining on his contract at $4.5 million per season. While Huizenga has made it clear he is willing to increase Saban's salary, the issue may not come down to simply money.

Saban, who was quoted as saying last month that he would not become