Cornerbacks Marcus Trufant of the Seahawks and Nnamdi Asomugha of the Raiders have to be happy about the recent contracts given to Nate Clements of the 49ers and Quentin Jammer of the Chargers. The franchise numbers came out this week, and cornerbacks lead the way with a one-year tender of $9.465 million. If the Seahawks and Raiders can't work out deals in the next month, they would have to offer those cornerbacks $9.465 million in guarantees. Here are the rest of the positions for franchise numbers -- defensive ends $8.879 million, defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth $6.363 million, linebacker $8.065 million, offensive line $7.455 million, kickers $2.541 million, quarterbacks $10.73 million, running backs $6.538 million, safeties $4.396 million, tight end $4.522 million and wide receivers $7.848 million.
These are the transition numbers: cornerbacks $7.659 million, defensive end $7.679 million, defensive tackle $5.654 million, linebacker $7.335 milllion, offensive line $6.895 million, kicker $2.245 milllion, quarterback $9.5 milllion, running back $5.699 million, safety $3.893 million, tight end $3.733 million and wide receiver $6.872 million.
Three-way Skins race: It's starting to look as though Redskins owner Dan Snyder may wait until after the Super Bowl to hire a head coach. The three finalists for the job currently are former Giants coach Jim Fassel, Redskins defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and Colts defensive coordinator Ron Meeks. If a decision is made this week, Fassel appears to have the edge. The fact Snyder didn't hire Williams in the first two weeks is a sign he's questioning whether he is the right fit. If the search does go past the Super Bowl, then it's possible Snyder might interview Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo after the Super Bowl, slightly expanding the search.
Second time around: How did Fassel slip into the Redskins search? Four years ago, Fassel was going to be the Redskins head coach. Snyder had him one phone call away from making him the offer. But one of the minority owners convinced Snyder to take one more run at convincing Joe Gibbs to take the job. Four years later, Fassel is getting a second chance.
Next in line: The hiring of Mike Smith in Atlanta probably didn't generate much excitement but the guy is a good football coach. He probably did the best job of calling first- and second-down run blitzes to cover for some problems along the Jaguars defensive line. One of the names being mentioned for his offensive coordinator is former Jaguars offensive coordinator Carl Smith.
Heir apparent? Now that Mike Holmgren has made his decision to stay with the Seahawks for the final season, expect the organization to work out a contract for Jim Mora to be the next coach of the team. Don't be surprised if a deal is done as early as next week. Mora is the logical successor and the team will actively try to take care of that situation as soon as they get back from the Senior Bowl.
Solari knows the score: The Seahawks hiring of offensive line coach Mike Solari will take some pressure off the Seahawks in free agency. The Seahawks needed to do one of two things to improve their running offensive and their blocking in general. They needed to upgrade the coaching of the line or look to sign Steelers guard Alan Faneca. Solari was a great addition. He knows the West Coast offense and has coached some of the best offensive lines in football.