Cowher to Keep Coaching Steelers

Bill Cowher is staying. And, just as he wanted, none of his Pittsburgh Steeler assistants are leaving.

Steeler President Dan Rooney on Wednesday ended weeks of speculation concerning Cowher’s future, saying Cowher and his staff will return despite successive losing seasons.

Rooney issued a statement minutes after meeting with Cowher for at least the second time in three days. The meetings created a stir in Pittsburgh and generated rumors around the NFL that Cowher might be ousted.

“I believe Coach Cowher is capable of turning our team around and achieving the ultimate goal of winning a championship,” said Rooney of the Steelers, who have gone 13-19 in the last two seasons. “I do not think it is fair to allow the ongoing speculation about the coaching staff.”

There was one curious omission in the statement: any mention of director of football operations Tom Donahoe, who is scouting the East-West all-star game and did not attend the meetings. Cowher and Donahoe have had a strained relationship in recent seasons.

Cowher, who has three years left on a $6-million contract extension he signed in 1998, declined to elaborate as he hurriedly left the meeting.

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Wisconsin Coach Barry Alvarez said he will stay with college football despite being considered for the Green Bay Packers’ coaching job.

Alvarez spoke after meeting with Green Bay General Manager Ron Wolf, seeking a replacement for the fired Ray Rhodes.

Wolf was expected to speak with San Francisco 49er offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. One of the latest prospects might be former New York Jet defensive coordinator Bill Belichick, reportedly interested in a Green Bay interview.

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St. Louis Ram running back Marshall Faulk was named the Associated Press offensive player of the year.

Faulk became the second player in league history to gain 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 receiving in the same season. The combined yardage of 2,429 was an NFL record, breaking Barry Sanders’ mark of 2,358.

Faulk earned 26 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members. He beat teammate and Ram quarterback Kurt Warner by eight votes. The other six votes were split between Indianapolis Colt running back Edgerrin James and Colt quarterback Peyton Manning.

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Arkansas said it was a coincidence that Coach Houston Nutt received a raise to $950,000 amid talk that he was a possible replacement for fired Dallas Cowboy coach Chan Gailey.

Nutt, who earned about $650,000 last season, said he had not been “officially contacted” about the job and complained that the talk was hurting recruiting.

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Tennessee Titan tight end Frank Wycheck (strained knee ligaments) will try a new brace in practice today, and chances are improving that he will play against Indianapolis in Sunday’s playoff game. Indianapolis linebacker Cornelius Bennett, who had hoped to play despite tearing and stretching knee ligaments in the Colts’ regular-season finale, was ruled out for the game after doctors reexamined him. Bertrand Berry will replace him. Meanwhile, Titan cornerback Denard Walker will serve one year’s probation for pleading guilty to assaulting then-girlfriend Rhonda Lynn Chesser last June. . . . St. Louis Ram free safety Keith Lyle was listed as questionable while awaiting medical clearance after a seven-game absence because of nerve damage to his left neck and shoulder. . . . The Oakland Raiders fired defensive coordinator Willie Shaw. Shaw has been mentioned for head coaching vacancies. . . . Prosecutors in Charlotte officially filed petitions notifying former Panther receiver Rae Carruth and his three co-defendants in the fatal shooting of Carruth’s pregnant girlfriend that the murder charges against them “may be punishable by death.” The petitions mean prosecutors believe there are aggravating factors in Adams’ slaying. . . . Robert Wood Johnson IV, the winning bidder for the New York Jets, met with Bill Parcells, the chief of football operations, for two hours in Hempstead, N.Y. No decisions were apparently made on the team’s coaching situation, which has been a mess since Parcells stepped down on Jan. 3 and hand-chosen successor Bill Belichick quit the next day. . . . Northern Arizona junior running back Ronney Jenkins will forgo his senior year to make himself available for the NFL draft.

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NFL Playoffs

WILD-CARD GAMES

Jan. 8

* Tennessee 22: Buffalo 16

* Washington 27: Detroit 13

Jan. 9

* Minnesota 27: Dallas 10

* Miami 20: Seattle 17

DIVISIONAL GAMES

Saturday

* Miami at Jacksonville: 9:30 a.m. (Ch. 2)

* Washington at Tampa Bay: 1:15 p.m. (Ch. 11)

Sunday

* Minnesota at St. Louis: 9:30 a.m. (Ch. 11)

* Tennessee at Indianapolis: 1 p.m. (Ch. 2)

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Jan. 23

* AFC championship: TBA (Ch. 2)

* NFC championship: TBA (Ch. 11)

SUPER BOWL

Jan. 30

* Atlanta: 3:18 p.m. (Ch. 7)