Holmes Has Quite an Impact

Priest Holmes accomplished in 14 games what many players can’t in two full seasons. His reward is the Associated Press NFL offensive player of the year award.

The dynamic running back for the Kansas City Chiefs was on pace to shatter several NFL records before a deep hip bruise sidelined him for the final two games of 2002.

Still, Holmes set 10 team records, including 1,615 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns. He also had three scores as a receiver, and the 24 touchdowns were two short of Marshall Faulk’s league mark.

Holmes’ 2,287 yards from scrimmage fell 142 short of Faulk’s NFL record. And in 383 touches, Holmes had only one fumble.

Chief Coach Dick Vermeil researched Holmes’ total yards from scrimmage and found it was the most ever in a 14-game span.

“After I missed the last two games, I wasn’t even thinking about any honors or awards or anything,” Holmes admitted Thursday after receiving 20 1/2 votes from a nationwide panel of sportswriters and broadcasters who cover the league.

*

Washington Redskin defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis was scheduled to travel today to Cincinnati for a final set of deliberations with Bengal officials, who apparently were poised to choose between Lewis and Tom Coughlin as their next head coach within the next day or so.

Coughlin, the former Jacksonville Jaguar coach, also was in Cincinnati. It appeared that Coughlin was scheduled to meet with Bengal officials today, followed by Lewis’ meeting.

Lewis told associates he would be in Cincinnati for a meeting with the Bengals but he did not know whether he would be offered the job. Lewis and Coughlin emerged as the front-runners this week from among a group of five candidates interviewed by the Bengals, who fired Dick LeBeau last week after a 2-14 season.

*

The Jaguars will interview the Baltimore Raven director of college scouting for their general manager’s position, according to a team source.

Phil Savage reportedly will interview with owner Wayne Weaver on Saturday.

Savage will be the second member of the Ravens’ staff to be interviewed in Jacksonville’s attempt to find someone to manage personnel. Earlier this week, Weaver interviewed Baltimore director of pro personnel James Harris.

*

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. loaned $100 million to the Houston Texans, who plan to use the money to make the next-to-last payment on their $700 million expansion fee.

The Texans will make their final $100 million payment next January, said Scott Schwinger, the team’s chief financial officer.