Steelers to Give the Ball to Bettis

Pittsburgh Steeler running back Jerome Bettis is all but certain to start Sunday in the AFC championship game against New England.

Last week, Coach Bill Cowher tried keeping the New York Jets guessing by not revealing whether Bettis or Duce Staley would start.

Bettis went on to run for 101 yards in a 20-17 overtime victory -- his seventh 100-yard game in seven starts. But Staley, sidelined much of the second half of the season because of a sore hamstring, ran the best he has in weeks with 54 yards in 11 carries.

Staley’s performance raised questions whether he might return as the starter, but Cowher apparently doesn’t want to risk curtailing Bettis’ effectiveness by sitting him down early.

Asked Tuesday whether Bettis would start, Cowher said, “Probably.”

But Cowher also said Staley is likely to play more than he did Saturday, when he did not carry the ball until the second half.

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Mike Nolan agreed to a five-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers to become the 15th head coach in franchise history.

Nolan, a longtime NFL assistant who was Baltimore’s defensive coordinator the last three seasons, accepted the job Monday and met with 49er owner John York to work out a deal.

Nolan will be officially introduced as coach today in San Francisco.

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As expected, the Baltimore Ravens hired Jim Fassel as offensive coordinator and Rick Neuheisel as quarterback coach, and promoted Rex Ryan to defensive coordinator.

Fassel, who coached the New York Giants to the Super Bowl in the 2000 season, accepted the position after realizing he wasn’t going to get a head coaching job this winter.

“Although things didn’t work out the way I wanted this year, the last thing I thought I was going to do was go back to being a coordinator,” Fassel said. “There was only one place I even considered, and that was right here.”

Neuheisel was out of coaching since being fired by the University of Washington in June 2003 for participating in a basketball pool.

After impressing the Ravens while interviewing for the job as offensive coordinator, Neuheisel was hired to refine the skills of quarterback Kyle Boller, who is headed into his third season.

“I’m excited as I can be to be back in the game,” Neuheisel said. “I don’t pretend to have a wealth of experience and that I can just snap my fingers. I’m going to follow the direction of Jim Fassel, who has a great track record.”

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New York Jet General Manager Terry Bradway kept mum on the future of offensive coordinator Paul Hackett, who took criticism after the team’s playoff loss to Pittsburgh.

Hackett, under scrutiny for his conservative play calling since joining the organization, could be gone in the near future. The Jets managed three points offensively in the loss, and had two combined touchdowns in four losses to New England and Pittsburgh.