Shanahan Hires Rhodes to Guide Bronco Defense

Six years after celebrating a Super Bowl victory together, Denver Bronco Coach Mike Shanahan and Ray Rhodes have been reunited.

Rhodes became Shanahan’s defensive coordinator Tuesday, agreeing to a three-year contract with the Broncos. Team officials said Rhodes will sign the contract Monday.

Rhodes, who was the defensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins last season, replaces Greg Robinson.

Shanahan declined comment until Rhodes signs his contract next week. Messages left with Rhodes’ agent, Jim Solano, were not returned.

Shanahan and Rhodes were assistants for the San Francisco 49ers during the 1994 season. The 49ers won the Super Bowl in January 1995, and both men subsequently were hired as head coaches, Shanahan by the Broncos and Rhodes by the Philadelphia Eagles.

In his one season with Washington, Rhodes helped the Redskins improve from 30th in total defense to fourth.

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Overnight television ratings for both NFL conference championship games dropped from a year ago.

The New York Giants’ 41-0 victory over the Minnesota Vikings for the NFC title, leading off Sunday’s doubleheader, drew a 21.6 rating and 44 share on Fox, a 22.6% drop from a year ago. Last year Fox had the late game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and St. Louis Rams, which produced a 27.9 rating and 46 share.

CBS had the late game this time, the Baltimore Ravens’ 16-3 victory over the Oakland Raiders for the AFC title, which drew a 23.2 rating and 41 share. Last year, when CBS had the early game for the AFC title between the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars, the rating was 4.9% higher, at 24.4, with a 47 share.

The rating is the percentage of all homes with TVs, whether or not they are in use. Overnight ratings cover about 63% of the nation’s population. National ratings for the AFC game will be available today and the NFC game Friday.

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Fans buying tour packages to the Super Bowl be warned: Not all packages include game tickets.

That’s the advice from the Transportation Department to those planning a trip to Tampa, Fla., for the Jan. 28 title game between the Giants and Ravens.

Under federal rules, if a promoter markets a tour package as including tickets it must have the tickets in hand or have a written contract for them.

If a game ticket is not specifically mentioned in newspaper ads or other solicitation material or listed as a tour feature, the ticket is probably not included, the department said.

If an ad does not specifically state that the game ticket is included, consumers should ask about it.

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Art Modell’s new team is in the Super Bowl and his lawyers argued that the Raven owner should now be rid of a suit brought by Cleveland fans who are still mad the old Browns left town.

A judge did not say when he would rule on an effort by the Ravens to throw out the fans’ lawsuit, which is scheduled to go to trial March 19 in Ohio’s Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

Season-ticket holders originally sued Modell on the same day--Nov. 6, 1995--that he announced he was moving his Browns to Baltimore. The case has been kicking around the legal system since.

The Browns’ fans accuse Modell of misleading them by saying publicly he would never move the team while he was privately arranging to bolt from Cleveland. Modell also deprived fans of the right of first refusal to buy 1996 season tickets, the lawsuit says.

The class-action suit is on behalf of 11,000 Cleveland season-ticket holders for 1995, who controlled about 39,000 seats at the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium. They are seeking $6.4 million in damages, said their attorney, Joshua Cohen.

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Washington Redskin Coach Marty Schottenheimer added two familiar faces to his staff, hiring Jimmy Raye as offensive coordinator and Richard Mann as receivers coach. Raye spent the last nine seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, seven under Schottenheimer. . . . Minnesota Viking running back Robert Smith will sit out next month’s Pro Bowl and wide receiver Randy Moss is listed as doubtful because of injuries. . . . The San Francisco 49ers hired Bay Area businessman Les Schmidt to be their chief operating officer.