Now, we wait to hear Steelers head coach Bill Cowher's decision.

We know Raiders owner Al Davis will take his time deciding Art Shell's fate.

Until he asks for a salary increase, we'll take Nick Saban at his word that he's staying with the Dolphins.

The obvious happened this morning, with both Arizona and Atlanta firing their respective head coaches.

The Cardinals were an under-achieving football team, one that never recovered from a second-half meltdown against the Chicago Bears in Week 6. Jim Mora is a good coach, but Michael Vick -- his quarterback -- turned his back on him and owner Arthur Blank simply didn't understand his flippant radio remarks about wanting to the coach the U. of Washington. Mora would be a great choice at the U. of Alabama.

Both franchises will check out the same candidates, although Oklahoma's Bob Stoops supposedly is high on Atlanta's wish list. Former head coaches Steve Mariucci and Mike Martz, who transformed Jon Kitna into a 4,200-yard passer, should be considered simply for their past successes and Martz for his offensive brilliance. Of course, Martz can't afford to ask for total control and definitely needs a talented defensive coordinator in order to be successful.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz and USC's Pete Carroll are on every owner's wish lists. Ferentz seems reluctant to leave Iowa for any job other than Penn State's. Carroll has denied that he has spoken with Arizona officials. Carroll would want too much money and power for either franchise at the moment. Plus, his USC team next year is believed to be a solid candidate to win the national championship.

The hot minority candidates will be Minnesota defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin, San Francisco linebackers coach Mike Singletary and Chicago defensive coordinator Ron Rivera. You can bet that Rivera is definitely on Arizona's radar screen if Rod Graves remains employed there. San Diego offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, who played for the Falcons and Georgia Tech, should be a candidate in Atlanta if he doesn't replace Cowher.