ESPN: Steelers set to interview coach Gailey, Fassel interviews w/Raiders

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Steelers to interview former assistant GaileyBy Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com

ATLANTA -- Just when it appeared the Pittsburgh Steelers were ready to narrow the number of viable possibilities for their head coach vacancy, the pool of candidates has actually widened.


Sources here and in Pittsburgh confirmed Thursday to ESPN.com and to ESPN's Chris Mortensen that Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey, a onetime Steelers assistant coach, will interview Saturday with Pittsburgh management. Gailey will be the fifth, and likely final, candidate to meet with the Steelers' search committee.


The Steelers will probably cut the field of prospective successors to Bill Cowher next week and might conduct a second round of interviews with the finalists.


Cowher apparently recommended Gailey to his former bosses as a possible candidate.


The two in-house candidates, each of whom interviewed for the job earlier this week, are assistant head coach Russ Grimm and offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt. The three-man search committee -- which is comprised of owner Dan Rooney, team president Art Rooney II and director of football operations Kevin Colbert -- has also interviewed defensive coordinators Ron Rivera of the Chicago Bears and Mike Tomlin of the Minnesota Vikings.


It is not believed the Steelers have sought permission to interview any other candidates. In fact, the sudden addition of Gailey to the Pittsburgh field of candidates was a bit surprising, since the consensus was that the team's search was winding down.


Gailey, 55, has been an NFL head coach once previously with the Dallas Cowboys (1998-99). In two years, he compiled an 18-16 record and won a division championship in '98 with a 10-6 record. Last week, he met with Miami Dolphins officials about their head coach vacancy. Gailey was an assistant with Pittsburgh for four seasons (1994-97) and was offensive coordinator for the last two of those years.


In five years at Georgia Tech, Gailey has posted a 37-27 record and taken the team to a bowl appearance in each season. In addition to the Cowboys and Georgia Tech, he has also been a head coach at Troy State and Samford and with the Birmingham Fire of the USFL, and his resume is extensive.


Gailey began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Florida in 1974.


Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.

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Fassel interviews for Raiders coaching jobAssociated Press

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Former New York Giants coach Jim Fassel interviewed Thursday for the Oakland Raiders' head coaching vacancy.

Fassel, the Raiders' quarterbacks in 1995, met with officials at the team's headquarters to talk about replacing the fired Art Shell.

Oakland fired Shell last week after a 2-14 season that was the worst season in the more than four decades that owner Al Davis has been with the franchise. The Raiders set a team record for losses and fewest points scored with a league-low 168.

Earlier in the week, the Raiders interviewed Southern California quarterbacks coach Steve Sarkisian. Oakland defensive coordinator Rob Ryan is expected to interview over the weekend.

Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Mike Martz could also be brought in for a second straight year for an interview, and the team also plans to talk to at least one or two minority candidates.

Fassel was fired in October as offensive coordinator in Baltimore after the Ravens scored just 10 offensive touchdowns in their first six games. Head coach Brian Billick took over the play-calling duties and the Ravens scored 22 offensive touchdowns in their final 10 games to win the AFC North.

Fassel was in his second year as Ravens offensive coordinator after serving a season as a senior consultant to the offense.

From 1997 to 2003, Fassel guided the Giants to two NFC East titles, a conference championship, an appearance in the Super Bowl and a wild-card playoff berth while posting a 58-53-1 record. He was NFL coach of the year in 1997 and lost the 2001 Super Bowl to Baltimore.

The Raiders are hoping to complete this year's search for Shell's replacement in a shorter time frame than the more than five weeks it took to replace Norv Turner a year ago.

Most of the candidates are offensive-minded. Most of the NFL's third-ranked defense is set to return next season, putting the focus on rebuilding an offense that was one of the league's worst.

Oakland has the No. 1 pick in April's draft and could use it on quarterbacks Brady Quinn of Notre Dame or JaMarcus Russell of LSU.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

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