Mawae out against the Ravens?

Depending on who you’d like to believe, Titans Pro-Bowl center Kevin Mawae may not be playing when Tennessee takes the field on Saturday against the visiting Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs.

Mawae initially felt that he will not be able to give it a go, before he beat a hasty retreat to a more open-ended response:

“No, I’m not going to play this week. It’s still questionable. We’re day to day, and hopefully things progress to where I’ll be able to play next week. But again, we’re day to day right now.”

His head coach, Jeff Fisher, on the other hand sound much more optimistic when pushed on his star center’s status:

“He’s day to day, and (we’re) evaluating him throughout the week,” Fisher said.

Either way, this news has to be a major blow to the Titans, who rely on Mawae to consistently tie up opposing defensive tackles and free up the rest of the blockers to attack the linebacking corp. Titans RBs LenDale White and Chris Johnson may find the going much rougher with Mawae on the bench, especially against a Ravens defense that physically dominated a solid Miami offense last week.

Lions targeting Schwartz, Mularkey

Sunday – 01/04/09

Pro Football Talk is reporting that the Lions are interested in speaking with former Baltimore Ravens head coach Brian Billick about their coaching vacancy. It’s not known if Billick would have any interest in taking a Detroit job that would require a major time commitment to rebuild.

Saturday – 01/03/09

The Lions met with New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo on Thursday, according to Newsday. It’s not known if Spagnuolo is interested in the position or not.

Friday – 01/02/09

Detroit is expected to interview Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz on Saturday according to the Detroit Free Press. They also requested permission from Atlanta to speak with the Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey, who served as the Buffalo Bills head coach for two seasons (2004-05).

The Lions are fairly set on the idea of bringing in a defensive minded coach, which bodes well for a franchise that has struggled mightily on that side of the ball in recent years, but seem to be open to a high-powered offensive coach as well.