Advertisement

NFL-National Football League roundup

Jan 11 (The Sports Xchange) - The Tennessee Titans confirmed that they interviewed San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt for their head coaching job. Titans officials flew to San Diego to meet with Whisenhunt on Friday. The Chargers play at the Denver Broncos in an AFC divisional playoff Sunday. Whisenhunt, 51, is in his first season with the Chargers after spending six years as the Arizona Cardinals' head coach. His stint in Arizona included a Super Bowl appearance after the 2008 season. He went 45-51 as the Cardinals' coach. Before that, he was the Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive coordinator from 2004-06. He began his coaching career as a Vanderbilt assistant. Whisenhunt also reportedly met with the Detroit Lions on Thursday and was expected to interview with the Cleveland Browns. The Titans are among four NFL teams in search of a new coach. They also interviewed Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell and Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer earlier in the week. - - - Romeo Crennel is expected to take the Houston Texans' defensive coordinator job, ESPN reported Saturday. Crennel met with new Texans coach Bill O'Brien on Wednesday and was reportedly offered the job. However, he told O'Brien after the interview that he needed more time because he is committed to coaching the East-West Shrine college all-star game Jan. 18, according to ESPN, citing sources. Crennel was believed to be the favorite for the job because he and O'Brien have ties to the New England Patriots as assistant coaches. The Texans and Crennel did not comment on the report. Sources told ESPN that an announcement would come after the East-West game. The Texans hired former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel as linebackers coach Thursday. Vrabel played under Crennel. Vrabel coached Ohio State's defensive line while O'Brien was Penn State's coach the past two seasons. Both schools are in the Big Ten. Crennel was formerly the Kansas City Chiefs' head coach. - - - The New England Patriots placed linebacker Brandon Spikes on injured reserve this week in part to punish him for being late to a meeting, ESPN.com reported Saturday. Spikes has battled a knee injury for several weeks and the team put him on IR Monday, meaning he is out for the season. Despite being ranked the top run-stopping linebacker in the NFL this season by Pro Football Focus, the team reportedly punished Spikes for his tardiness to a meeting. Spikes, 26, played in all 16 regular-season games (12 starts) in 2013 and was second on the team with 134 tackles. He has 384 tackles in 51 career NFL games (40 starts). He also has 45 tackles in six postseason games. (Editing by Gene Cherry)