Falcons Hire Mora Jr. as Coach

The Atlanta Falcons have reached an agreement to hire San Francisco 49er defensive coordinator Jim Mora Jr. as head coach, a source said Thursday.

The Falcons will make an announcement this morning, said a source close to the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Mora, the son of former New Orleans and Indianapolis coach Jim Mora, was a finalist for the San Francisco job last year before the 49ers hired Dennis Erickson.

Mora met with Falcon owner Arthur Blank on Wednesday for the first time. He interviewed the previous week in Atlanta with Falcon General Manager Rich McKay.

Dan Reeves was fired as coach on Dec. 10, and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips took over on an interim basis. The Falcons finished 5-11.

The hiring was announced by SI.com.

Mora, 42, has worked the last five years as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator. He spent the 1997 and 1998 seasons coaching the secondary and held the same job with San Diego from 1986 to 1988.

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Joe Gibbs was given an unprecedented hero’s welcome as the returning coach of the Washington Redskins.

“I reached a point in my life where you love the thrill of trying to do something that’s almost undoable,” the Hall of Fame coach said in Ashburn, Va. “Certainly this is probably as close to that as you can get.”

Gibbs emerged from a five-limousine parade and was greeted by cheers and the blare of a horn playing “Hail to the Redskins” as he strode down a path lined with orange cones and barricades.

Back after 11 years, Gibbs said that if there was one thing that made him hesitate, it was the thought of returning to the place where he won the three Super Bowl trophies that were displayed in front of him at his news conference.

“There is no net,” Gibbs said with a panicked laugh. “I’m going to pray a lot. There’s nothing down there. There’s nothing going to catch us. That’s maybe the biggest thrill of it ... knowing how hard it is, but getting a chance to do something super-hard.”

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Tennessee Titan running back Eddie George will play against the New England Patriots in Saturday’s AFC playoff game despite sitting out a third straight day of practice because of a left ankle injury.

George also has a sore left shoulder he dislocated during last Saturday’s 20-17 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in the wild-card round of the playoffs.

“He’s still got some swelling, but it’s improving daily,” Coach Jeff Fisher said. “He’ll play. That’s not a concern of ours.”

Everyone else practiced for the Titans, including quarterback Steve McNair, who has been hobbled by a sprained left ankle, a cracked bone spur and a strained right calf muscle.

“It was his first time in a long time where he’s had two good days of practice, which is important to us,” Fisher said.

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Indianapolis Colt receivers Reggie Wayne and Troy Walters and defensive end Robert Mathis were held out of practice because of minor injuries.

Mathis was bothered by a sore groin but should be able to practice today before the Colts leave for Kansas City and Sunday’s AFC playoff game, Coach Tony Dungy said.

Walters, who also returns punts, hurt his foot running a pass route late in practice on Wednesday. Wayne has sore legs.

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Former New York Jet defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell is considering an offer to take the same job with the Minnesota Vikings.

Viking Coach Mike Tice said he offered a two-year contract to Cottrell, who was fired last week because of philosophical differences with Jet Coach Herman Edwards.