Talks heat up between Reid, Chiefs

Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs should be quite familiar by now.

The two sides spent much of Thursday in negotiations for Reid to become the Chiefs' coach, a person familiar with the situation said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the situation.

The discussions followed nine hours of talks Wednesday that went well enough that Reid canceled plans to interview for other openings, the person said. It was unclear which details were preventing the two sides from reaching an agreement.

The Philadelphia Eagles fired Reid after 14 seasons on Monday, the same day the Chiefs parted ways with coach Romeo Crennel after the worst season in franchise history.

The search for Crennel's replacement has been led by Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt, who intends to take on more responsibility in the franchise's day-to-day operation. Also on hand was team president Mark Donovan, who has a connection to Reid after spending six seasons as the Eagles' senior vice president of business operations.

Reid had been linked to the opening in Arizona before the Chiefs put on the press. The Cardinals now intend to interview former Chiefs coach Todd Haley, a person familiar with their plans said. Haley led the Chiefs to the AFC West title in 2010 but was fired in December 2011 and spent this past season as the offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh.

Hunt said Monday that he would have final say on the next Chiefs coach, rather than embattled general manager Scott Pioli. Hunt has not said whether Pioli will be back next season but indicated that the next coach could determine his future.

Various reports have indicated Reid would be open to working with Pioli, while other reports have said he would prefer to build his own front office. If Pioli is not retained, the top candidates to replace him include former Browns GM Tom Heckert and John Dorsey, who has been integral in building the Green Bay Packers into a perennial contender.

■ KELLY TARGETED - The Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills are interested in signing Oregon coach Chip Kelly, the offensive mastermind whose break-neck, stop-us-if-you-can system is already being copied in the pro game. Others could be courting the 49-year-old, but the Browns, Eagles and Bills seem to be the leaders to land him.

It's not clear who will get the first crack at Kelly, who has spent the past few days in advance of Thursday night's Fiesta Bowl against Kansas State deflecting questions about his future.

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner have spent the past few days in Arizona, where they have conducted several interviews. On Tuesday, the Browns interviewed Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton, who described his meeting with the team as "fantastic." On Wednesday, the Browns' brass met with ex-Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt.

■ BEARS - The Indianapolis Colts said offensive coordinator Bruce Arians had been granted permission to speak with Chicago about its head coaching vacancy, though it's unclear when the interview will take place because Indy (11-5) will face AFC North champion Baltimore (10-6) in a playoff game Sunday.

There has been speculation that the San Diego Chargers want Arians, too.

Arians led the Colts to a 9-3 record as the interim coach while Chuck Pagano battled leukemia.

■ EAGLES - Philadelphia will interview Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy for its head coaching vacancy Sunday in Denver.

The Eagles already have interviewed Atlanta defensive coordinator Mike Nolan and special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong.

■ 49ERS - Newly signed Billy Cundiff is competing with David Akers as coach Jim Harbaugh determines who will handle San Francisco's kicking duties for the playoffs.

Akers revealed Thursday not only did he receive death threats last month via Twitter, he also underwent surgery for a double hernia in February and then had a flare-up in November. After a win at New Orleans on Nov. 25, Akers returned to Philadelphia for injections from the doctor who performed his procedure.

"People talk about my demeanor being down, listen, I take my job seriously," Akers said. "I feel when I miss kicks I let the team, the organization, the fans down. I take it personal. ... If I had an answer, I would have fixed it a long time ago."

The 32-year-old Cundiff, who missed a potential tying 32-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the AFC title game for Baltimore, connected from as far out as 55 yards Thursday while using a portable holder. He was 10 of 12 overall, including 7 of 8 with punter Andy Lee holding.

Akers, who made 44 of 52 attempts in 2011, is 29 of 42 this year.

■ COWBOYS - An autopsy has found practice-squad player Jerry Brown Jr. was sober when he was killed in a crash that led to an intoxication manslaughter charge against a teammate at the wheel.

The Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office reported Brown died of head and neck trauma when their vehicle overturned. He had a dislocated neck, a severely bruised spine and a blood alcohol content of 0.056 percent, below the Texas drunken driving standard of 0.08 percent.

Police have said Cowboys nose tackle Josh Brent, who was driving, had a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit when after the Dec. 8 crash in Irving, a Dallas suburb. He is free on $100,000 bond.

Police say neither man was wearing a seat belt.

■ PACKERS - Green Bay plans to cut off alcohol sales early for Saturday's playoff game against Minnesota at Lambeau Field.

The Packers said alcohol sales that night will be cut off at the beginning of the third quarter. Normally, alcohol is sold through the end of the third quarter.

■ VIKINGS - Cornerback Antoine Winfield did not practice Thursday and plans to wear a bigger cast on his broken right hand in the playoff game at Green Bay.

Winfield wore a pad on his hand in Minnesota's game Sunday but could not finish because it swelled up and was causing him too much pain. He's sat out all three practices this week but did individual work Thursday to test how the hand responded with a bigger soft cast.

Winfield said it was an improvement, and he plans to play against the Packers.

■ MANNING MILESTONE - Peyton Manning tied yet another NFL record, this one held by Tom Brady, when he won his sixth career Offensive Player of the Month award.

Manning joined Kurt Warner (2001) as the only players with 10 touchdown passes, 1,300 yards passing, a 70 percent completion percentage and five wins in December as the Broncos (13-3) captured the top seed in the AFC playoffs.

■ TV RATINGS - The Redskins' victory over the Cowboys with a playoff berth on the line was the highest-rated "Sunday Night Football" game since NBC picked up the package in 2006.

The network said the game received a 17 rating and 27 share. The 30.3 million viewers were up 10 percent from the previous record for last year's Cowboys-Giants game in the same slot with the same stakes, which wasn't as close.