Ram President Says Vermeil to Return

St. Louis Ram President John Shaw told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Coach Dick Vermeil will be back with the team next season.

“At this point we are not planning on changing our head coach,” Shaw told the newspaper Monday night. “I can’t imagine anything that will change our mind, or at least change my mind. After discussing this with both owners, the view is that we will not change coaches at this time.”

Shaw said he will meet with Vermeil in early January to discuss some of the changes Vermeil has in mind for the team.

Vermeil is 9-22 in two seasons with the Rams, the losingest team in the NFL in the 1990s, and has three years to go on a five-year, $9 million contract.

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Steve Young has a sprained ligament in his left knee, but he’s still expected to play in the San Francisco 49ers’ season-finale Sunday against the Rams.

“He feels pretty darn good right now. He feels like he’ll be able to play,” Coach Steve Mariucci said after an MRI on Monday showed that Young stretched his medial collateral ligament.

While officially Young remains probable, Mariucci said a final determination on the quarterback’s status would be made after seeing how well he holds up in practice this week.

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Center Brian Williams, who has sat out the New York Giants’ last two seasons because of a freak training-camp eye injury, has been given the OK to attempt a comeback, Coach Jim Fassel said.

“I would say this, both he and I are very optimistic about next year,” Fassel said during a news conference.

The Giants’ first-round draft pick in 1989, Williams was examined by doctors in the locker room after Sunday’s 28-7 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Williams was not immediately available for comment.

The Giants’ starter between 1994-96, Williams was been on the physically-unable-to-perform list since last season. He was injured when defensive tackle Bernard Holsey’s finger found its way through his facemask during a blocking drill in the opening days of camp in 1997.

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Receiver Bert Emanuel will sit out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ regular-season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals because of a cracked rib and a bruised kidney. Emanuel was injured when he fell on the ball after a reception during Saturday’s 20-16 loss to the Washington Redskins.

AFC Gruden: Woodson May Play on Offense While watching cornerback Charles Woodson dart around would-be tacklers on an interception return, Oakland Raider Coach Jon Gruden realized it finally may be time to fulfill the rookie’s wish.

“There’s a real good chance you’re going to see the debut of Woodson on offense this week [against Kansas City],” Gruden said. “I would just say that the odds are in that favor.”

Woodson, a wide receiver as well as cornerback and punt returner while winning the Heisman Trophy last year at Michigan, has been lobbying to play on offense since the Raiders made him the fourth pick in the draft.

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Gruden was ordered to stand trial March 1 in Pleasanton, Calif., on charges he was drunk while driving home after a team victory party two months ago. Gruden was arrested Oct. 11 after the Raiders’ 7-6 home victory over the San Diego Chargers. Police said his blood-alcohol level was .10, over the state’s .08 limit, when he was arrested for weaving across lanes and driving 51 mph in a 35-mph zone. . . . Pittsburgh Steeler President Dan Rooney promised “a long, hard look” at the Steelers’ assistant coaches after the team missed the playoffs for the first time since 1991. “I’m very disappointed,” Rooney said a day after the Steelers’ 25-24 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals--only the third victory for the Bengals this season. . . . One day after passing for 367 yards and a touchdown against the Steelers, Bengal quarterback Jeff Blake learned that he has a broken bone in his passing wrist that will probably prevent him from playing in the season’s final game.