NFL-National Football League roundup

Dec 30 (The Sports Xchange) - Four more NFL head coaches were fired on Monday, as the Washington Redskins' Mike Shanahan, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Greg Schiano, the Minnesota Vikings Leslie Frazier and the Detroit Lions Jim Schwartz were officially dismissed. - - Shanahan was fired after four seasons as head coach of the Redskins. Owner Daniel Snyder is in the market for a head coach for the eighth time since 2000. Shanahan, 24-40 as head coach in Washington, limped to the finish line with a 3-13 season and franchise-worst eight-game losing streak. Shanahan is owed $7 million for 2014. - - Schiano and general manager Mark Dominik were fired by the Buccaneers and the team went 4-12 this season. Schiano was 11-22 in two seasons. The team had a 28-52 record on Dominik's watch. - - The Lions fired Schwartz after the team lost six of its final seven games to finish 7-9. Schwartz was 29-51 in five seasons, and he is owed $12 million for the remainder of his contract. A decision on the fate of general manager Martin Mayhew was made Sunday, and he was informed he was staying with the Lions. - - Frazier was fired after going 20-32-1 as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. Frazier was 5-10-1 in 2013 after riding running back Adrian Peterson to the playoffs in 2012, when Peterson topped 2,000 yards rushing. - - New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said he would like to continue to coach, and while no official decision has been made as of yet, that appears to be the direction the Giants will be taking. "I expressed to Tom this morning that we do want him back as our head coach," said Giants owner and COO John Mara of Coughlin, who would be entering the final year of his contract in 2014. Coughlin, 67, made it clear he is not ready to retire. - - Dennis Allen is still the Oakland Raiders head coach, and he seems to believe he will keep the job for another year. "I've been given an indication that I'll be back," Allen said Monday. "But we'll see." - - ESPN analyst Jon Gruden told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that he is not interested in any of the NFL head coaching vacancies. - - The Atlanta Falcons announced that offensive line coaches Paul Dunn and Pat Hill and defensive line coach Ray Hamilton will not return for the 2014 season. - - Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez officially retired after 17 seasons in the NFL. Gonzalez spent the majority of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs, who made the announcement. Gonzalez played in 270 regular-season games with 254 starts. The 13-time Pro Bowler owns NFL career records for tight ends with 1,325 receptions, 15,127 receiving yards, 111 receiving touchdowns and 31 100-yard receiving games. - - The NFL admitted the San Diego Chargers should have been penalized on the final play of regulation in Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs, which would have given Kansas City another chance to win. A Kansas City win would have eliminated the Chargers from a playoff spot and given the Pittsburgh Steelers the No. 6 seed. Instead, the Chargers beat the Chiefs 27-24 in overtime to clinch the AFC's final wild card. - - Denver Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker was cleared to play after missing the last four regular-season games, multiple media outlets reported. Welker sustained concussions in Weeks 10 and 13 this season. The Broncos (13-3) have a bye and play the lowest-remaining seed in the divisional round Jan. 12. - - Houston Texans running back Ben Tate tweeted that he probably will not return to the team next season. Tate, 25, is a pending free agent. Tate rushed for 771 yards with four touchdowns this year. - - Miami Dolphins wide receiver Brian Hartline has a torn PCL in his left knee, but the injury will not require surgery and he should be ready for training camp next year, the Miami Herald reported. Hartline finished the year with 76 catches for 1,016 yards with four touchdowns. - - The San Francisco 49ers re-signed cornerback Perrish Cox with the status of Carlos Rogers uncertain pending an MRI on his hamstring. If Rogers misses Sunday's playoff game at the Green Bay Packers, Eric Wright would slide into the slot cornerback position. (Editing by Frank Pingue)