Among other things, Starkey points out that Haley didn’t seek out Ben Roethlisberger once Haley arrived at team headquarters, which seems to be yet another Haley homage to one of his mentors, Bill Parcells.

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Does this remind anyone of Brian Waters?

That's according to Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal, who reports that the arthroscopic surgery was successful and that the recovery time for Gronkowski is "expected to be 10 weeks."

Gronk suffered the injury when he was tackled by "Pats Killer" and Ravens safety Bernard Pollard in the AFC title game. Gronk's ankle was the focus of pre-Super Bowl media coverage to an annoying extent and the tight end managed to play, but was essentially a decoy, catching just two passes for 26 yards.

"I've gotten a lot of calls and texts and emails from people around the league, both good and bad about him," Roethlisberger said in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Everybody has an opinion, as we all know, and they're letting me know what their interaction with him was -- good, bad and indifferent. I've heard a lot of things and I'm looking forward to meeting him and forming my own opinion."

Let the speculation begin: Cardinals hired Frank Reich, Peyton Manning's QB coach the past six years in Indianapolis, as their QB coach.

No tears are being shed over Mike Sherman replacing Brian Daboll as offensive coordinator; one prominent offensive player said Daboll would tell a player one thing about his role and playing time, then do something different.

Had a good talk w/ Dwayne Bowe other night. Said he likes Haley and spoke to him recently. Said they had issues his 1st year, but not since.

Last thought on KC: I believe Bowe wants to stay longterm with the Chiefs, but the contract has to be right.

Paul Soliai - DT, Miami - NFL's Top Unrestricted Free Agents - Photos - SI.com

Chiefs in the Super Bowl...just close your eyes

imagine for a minute, what it would feel like if our team was playing in the Super Bowl today. I probably wouldn't be able to enjoy all the food I'm about to eat. I hope we'll be able to feel this "feeling" once very soon!

Former Dolphins OC Brian Daboll hired as Chiefs O.C. Tony Sparano wanted to bring him to #Jets as QB/passing gm coach.

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He's a NY Beat guy. Interesting to day they wanted to bring him as a Passing coach.

Crowder draws interest in retirement | ProFootballTalk

Jeremiah from Germany thinks 49ers fans should be clamoring for Dwayne Bowe, not Marques Colston, in free agency this offseason.

Mike Sando: It's tough for me to envision the Chiefs letting Bowe get away. Smart teams re-sign their best players, especially when those players are young. I would also favor Bowe over Colston, all else being equal. But I also think the 49ers would be more likely to address the position in the draft and with a lower-priced free agent. That is how they believe in putting their team together. They have been averse to overpaying for players other teams have let hit the market. That was the case last offseason when the 49ers showed no interest in Nnamdi Asomugha and other top free agents.

Joe Philbin is the next head coach of the Miami Dolphins.

The Dolphins made the decision to hire Philbin as their next coach today, multiple media outlets reported late Friday afternoon.

Philbin had been the Packers’ offensive coordinator, and his personal story overshadowed football when his son died last week. After mourning his son during the week, Philbin was there with his team at Lambeau Field on Sunday.

Now Philbin takes over a Dolphins franchise that has major question marks, particularly at quarterback. But there’s no question that Philbin is a coach who knows how to implement a strong passing game.

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Inside track to Flynn.

In the 2011 offseason free agency period the San Francisco 49ers let Aubrayo Franklin depart for the New Orleans Saints. The 49ers did that for a reason.

In two games this postseason Franklin posted one tackle. On the season Franklin had 17 total tackles. He was what some would call a bust for the Saints after coming off of impressive seasons with the 49ers.

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In hindsight?

@jcharles25 either way kid u gone beast so at the end of the day i rather play with you than against you but u know i dont control that

WalterFootball.com: 2012 NFL Free Agents - Guards

His 2011 season was far healthier than his 2010, and it was slightly more productive.

Finley scored eight touchdowns and totaled 767 yards receiving for a Green Bay air attack that spreads the catches around to a number of pass-catchers.

He'll be courted by several teams considering his age (25), but it will ultimately be the Chiefs that land him.

Jamie (BFE)

What would it take for KC to move from 10-11 to 3rd and pick RGIII?
Mel Kiper (1:05 PM)

For KC, you're talking about giving up your first pick and some picks after that. They'd be in a position where they could make that move up. But they'll be in competition. I think the team that could move up is Miami. For Cleveland, I keep hearing that maybe they make a move for Matt Flynn. Green Bay will probably franchise him and trade him. Cleveland has that extra first round pick from Atlant. Washington might be interested in Peyton Manning. St. Louis and Minnesota could be looking to trade down.

11. Kansas City Chiefs* -- Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa
The Chiefs need to infuse their offensive line with attitude, and Reiff plays nasty. He fits every stereotype of an Iowa lineman in a good way.

Drafting an inside linebacker who probably needs some sort of medication for anger issues may seem like a gamble at No. 11. Ask the Baltimore Ravens how they feel about having drafted a sketchy middle linebacker with character issues in the first round of the 1996 NFL draft.

There were many knocks on Ray Lewis coming out of Miami. There are more on Vontaze Burfict, but the upside is there.

Pairing Burfict, whose violent hits have marked college football for the last two seasons, with the athletic Derrick Johnson would be epic. Romeo Crennel will want to toughen up his defense. This is a way to do it.

Pioli on FAs

Pioli on FAs, "It takes two for a marriage". #chiefs I hope there aren't issues with Bowe, Carr, and McClain. Is he setting us up for letting one or all of them go?

Per a league source, Quinn has been getting roughly half the first-team reps in practice this week.

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Tebow time nearing an end.

Rams have told Josh McDaniels they won't hold him to his contract. If he wants to leave, they'll let him.

The Kansas City Chiefs signed linebacker Brandon Siler to a one-year contract extension after he missed all of this season because of a torn Achilles tendon.

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Don't know how I missed this one. Not a huge signing, but we're giving him a chance again.

With Matt Barkley returning to school and possibly Jones, I agree with Walt that Ryan Tannehill will move up and get drafted well ahead of where he should go because of the demand at the position. He could be this year's Blaine Gabbert/Christian Ponder.

The 6-foot-4, 222-pound Tannehill is a good athlete who can make big plays with his feet and has a strong arm. This season, he completed 62 percent of his passes for 3,744 yards with 29 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. The senior also rushed for 355 yards with four touchdowns. Tannehill was inconsistent and is still developing at the position. He played well versus Baylor and Missouri, but struggled against Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas.

Tannehill has only played one full season at quarterback, so he will need time to develop at the pro level. The senior has only 20 collegiate starts at quarterback.

As a wide out in 2008, Tannehill caught 55 passes for 844 yards and five touchdowns. He switched to quarterback in 2010 and played well in the last half of the season as the Aggies' starter. Tannehill completed 65 percent of his passes for 1,638 yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions.

no 304 OLB dropped into coverage more than Justin Houston (42.6%) followed by James Harrison (40.4%). Incredible rush numbers from Harrison

other top 3-4 OLBs like Hali (88.7%), Ware (85%) and Wake (92.8%) rush passer a lot more

GM Tom Heckert on snagging a franchise QB through free agency: "That’s probably not the way we go. … I’ve never been against free agency, but it’s not the way I want to build the team." Some have speculated the Browns will go after emerging Packers backup Matt Flynn.

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Need to trade with Minnesota if we want Him.

Is Josh McDaniels any more desirable...

now that STL did not release him yet?

Trades in the top three were very improbable in the old CBA. That's not the case anymore. I believe there's a good chance the Vikings will trade this selection to a team desperate to land Robert Griffin. That could be the Redskins, who can send their 2012 and 2013 first-round selections to the Vikings. Miami and Seattle will also be interested. And I wouldn't count out the Browns, who may want to make sure they can land the consensus No. 2 quarterback prospect in this class.

Bucs fired Raheem Morris.

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next...

Okay. Now onto Flynn. Imagine the value of a 26-year-old unrestricted free agent quarterback in a market with four quarterback-needy teams (Indianapolis, Miami, Washington, Seattle and maybe Cleveland) who won't all be able to move up to get one of the two quarterbacks expected to go very high in the draft -- Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. That brings us to Flynn. He'll either be a free agent and get to choose whatever team he wants, or have the franchise tag put on him by the Packers and be traded in March or April to the team that likes him the most. My early money's on Washington or Seattle. The Redskins have to have a quarterback if Mike Shanahan is going to have any chance to win, and Seattle GM John Schneider worked for the Pack when Flynn was drafted by Green Bay. But we'll see.