The NFL has settled on the teams for this season's regular-season game in London. It is just waiting on the stadium.

The clubs will be Miami and the New York Giants, with the Dolphins hosting the game, sources told me this weekend. The New York Daily News earlier reported those two teams would be chosen, but there have been conflicting reports since then.

There shouldn't be. The teams have been decided, league sources said. The only question is when and where. Arizona and the San Francisco 49ers played a regular-season game in Mexico in 2005, with the Cards surrendering one of its eight home games.

That made sense to me considering Arizona's history of home games against San Francisco. But why would Miami agree to surrender one of its home dates?

"Because it's one over the next 16 years," I was told.

Oh. An announcement is expected before the Feb. 4 Super Bowl.

Cowboys special teams coach Bruce DeHaven has landed a three-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks.

DeHaven is a highly respected 20-year NFL assistant who has been in Dallas since 2003. He was in Buffalo from 1987-99 but showed the door as the scapegoat after the Bills lost to Tennessee's Music City Miracle kickoff return in the 1999 playoffs. He spent the next three seasons in San Francisco.

DeHaven replaces Bob Casullo, who is moving on to become tight ends coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Casullo earlier was with the Oakland Raiders, and spent some of his tenure there working with Bucs coach Jon Gruden.

I don't know how hard it was for San Diego president Dean Spanos to keep coach Marty Schottenheimer, but I know it was the right thing to do.

So Schottenheimer didn't win another playoff game. He got the Chargers there. In fact, he's put them in the playoffs two of the last three seasons. And you know the last time San Diego reached the postseason before Schottenheimer arrived?

Uh-huh, 1995.

But that's not all. Schottenheimer was a league-best 14-2 this season, and he did it with a quarterback who hadn't started once prior to 2006. So he lost to New England in the playoffs. So have a lot of good teams. In fact, only one of the Patriots' last 13 playoff opponents won, and that was Denver last year.

Schottenheimer deserves another chance, and I say that knowing about his strained relationship with general manager A.J. Smith. Smith knows how to find the best talent out there. He's demonstrated that. Schottenheimer knows how to coach that talent to the playoffs. He's demonstrated that, too.

Keeping Schottenheimer is atypical for a franchise that typically runs through head coaches the way most people run through socks. But that's why this is a good move. Continuity counts for plenty in this business, and look no farther than the Pittsburgh Steelers.

• Schottenheimer rejected a one-year extension, and I think I know why: It allows him to become a free agent next year and to sell himself to the highest bidder. Let's face it, the situation between head coach and general manager is as unpleasant for Schottenheimer as it is for Smith, and if it doesn't change Schottenheimer doesn't want to extend his stay. My only question is: Does he want to coach beyond next year? He does if he feels as he does now.

• Chargers offensive coordinator Cam Cameron was expected to be interviewed by the Miami Dolphins, a source close to the assistant said. Cameron was supposed to talk to the Dolphins Wednesday, the source said, but was delayed in going from San Diego to Miami. There has been speculation that the Dolphins might be close to naming a head coach. Another San Diego assistant, receivers coach James Lofton, is talking to the Oakland Raiders -- with another meeting scheduled for later this week, a source close to Lofton said. Lofton spoke with the Raiders on Tuesday.

With the addition of Bobby Petrino as head coach, Michael Vick is safe at Atlanta's quarterback for another season.

But there is no commitment beyond that for two reasons: 1) No one knows what this year holds for the beleaguered Vick, and 2) the Falcons have a quarterback they like in Matt Schaub, who is sitting behind Vick and generally regarded as the better passer.

Essentially, the Falcons want to find out what they have in Vick, and they want to find out now. That's why they hired Petrino. Look what he did for Louisville's passing attack and Brian Brohm.

The Falcons believe they must develop a passing game if they're going to make it to the top of their division again, and they'd like to do it with Vick. But the clock is ticking on the guy.

Essentially, he has a year to prove himself. To Petrino. To owner Arthur Blank. To his teammates. And if he can't play more consistently than he has in the past, the Falcons won't hesitate to move on without him.

In interviews, Blank told prospective head-coaching candidates that Vick could be jettisoned if his eventual choice for the job wasn't comfortable with him -- but Blank was looking a year down the road. In hiring Petrino, he believes he's given Vick a coach who can turn him into an effective passer and win.

And that's what the 2007 season is all about. It's Atlanta trying to get a read on Michael Vick and determining where he ... or they ... go next. Because if Vick doesn't improve, it's not Petrino who must worry; it's Michael Vick. His time in Atlanta will have run out.

Once I wondered if Vick might not be the perfect trade bait in a deal with Oakland for the Raiders' first pick in the 2007 draft. I mean, we all know how much Raiders owner Al Davis admires great athletes, and Vick is at or near the top of that list in the NFL. But sources close to the Falcons told me there's no way the team deals Vick. Not now. Not with Petrino aboard.

Michael Vick has one year to prove he belongs. Starting now.

Bad BCS game won't hurt Smith's stock

That underwhelming performance by Troy Smith and Ohio State in the national championship game apparently won't affect his draft status. That's the conclusion of several scouts and personnel directors I spoke to after Smith and the Buckeyes were waxed by Florida.

Most people I speak to see Smith as a likely second-round draft pick, though a couple said they could envision someone taking a flyer on him at the bottom of the first. The knock on the Heisman-Trophy winner is his size, particularly his height, with one player personnel director insisting that Smith doesn't reach 6-feet.

"He's no Doug Flutie," said one. "He's more like a Drew Brees, and he went early in the second (he was the first pick of the round). And Troy Smith is probably right there."

One player personnel director said it wasn't Smith's play that bothered him so much in the Buckeyes' loss as it was Ohio State's lack of speed. Or, their lack of speed compared to Florida.

"If those two played 10 times, Florida would win nine of them, and not because of Troy Smith," he said. "Because of the team speed. What happened there reminded me of what happened in the LSU-Notre Dame game. Are you going to knock down Brady Quinn because of that one game? I don't think so. Florida was undersized on defense, but all those guys could run. In fact, at times it looked as if they had 12 players out there."

Now that Art Shell is gone the question is: Who will be interested in coaching the Oakland Raiders?

"Maybe someone in college coaching," said an NFL source close to the situation.

Maybe not. The Raiders considered going down that road last year, and Fresno State's Pat Hill and Louisville's Bobby Petrino weren't interested. So they talked to NFL offensive coordinators Al Saunders and Ken Whisenhunt and defensive line coach Rod Marinelli, and Whisenhunt was even offered the job.

He declined to take it.

In fact, no one was overly interested until the Raiders found Shell at NFL headquarters. But now the only guy who couldn't say no is gone.

So let me repeat the question: Who will be interested in coaching the Oakland Raiders? It's not an easy one to answer because of what the next coach would be asked to do, and that's give control of personnel and staff to owner Al Davis.

One NFL assistant with knowledge of the Raiders' situation said that money is not an issue -- the Raiders are willing to pay market value for their next head coach. But, he said, the problem is Davis and what he demands. And what he demands is the lead voice when it comes to personnel and assistant coaches.

In fact, said the source, Davis has assistants he retains on the coaching staff to report back to him about what's happening behind closed doors -- and he insists they stay, no matter who the head coach is. That, the source said, discouraged some applicants. But so did Davis' insistence that he have the final say over personnel -- essentially who makes the roster and who does not.

"He wants total control," said the source. "And that will scare off a lot of people."

So will the club's recent instability. Jon Gruden stayed there four years before leaving for Tampa Bay. Bill Callahan followed and lasted two seasons. Norv Turner stayed two seasons, too. And now Shell has been there one.

Compare the Raiders' turnover to what happened in Pittsburgh, where Bill Cowher was the club's only head coach the past 15 years. In that time, the Raiders have been through seven head coaches -- with Shell serving two terms.

So who will they get? Well, two names already have been mentioned as possibilities -- former Arizona head coach Dennis Green and former New York Giants head coach Jim Fassel. Both are out of work, and both almost surely would jump at the chance to return to head coaching. ...

Just a suggestion, but the Raiders owe the NFL Network's Adam Schefter an apology. After Schefter reported that the team was going to fire Shell, the Raiders attacked the report and the reporter as not credible. "Adam Schefter has always been a false rumor-monger with respect to the Raiders and Anti-Raider bias based upon his relationship with Denver and Mike Shanahan," said a club-issued statement. "No decisions have been made relative to the 2007 Oakland Raiders, nor will they be made for some time." Schefter filed his report on Dec. 21. The Raiders fired Shell two weeks later. So the Raiders got it wrong all the way around. First, Schefter was right. Second, it didn't take "some time" to make the decision. It took two weeks. I'd say that's a quick hook and, yeah, I'd say an apology is warranted, but we'll see Shanahan rehired by Oakland before the Raiders admit they were wrong. ...

The Pittsburgh Steelers should stay within their staff and hire either Russ Grimm, the team's assistant head coach in charge of the offensive line, or offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt. Grimm is expected to interview for the Arizona Cardinals' vacancy next Tuesday. Whisenhunt has interviewed with Atlanta and Arizona and will meet with the Miami Dolphins on Saturday. Sources close to the club said he's expected to interview with the Steelers next Tuesday.

Nick Saban is gone from his "dream job," and we're left to ponder what it all means. Well I'll tell you what it means to me: The next time I hear a head coach say he wouldn't leave for another position or he's never been happier than where he is or that he just found his "dream job," I'm turning down the volume. I don't know how coaches like Saban can demand accountability from their players when they aren't accountable to themselves. Let's face it: He lied. There's no getting around it. I don't care what Alabama offered. He said he wouldn't leave. That's not stretching things; that's lying. So the next time Nick Saban tells us to trust him, don't. He has no credibility.

• Did anyone else find it odd or amusing that New England safety Rodney Harrison complained of a dirty hit? I mean, this is the guy who's been fined by the NFL as regularly as Houston beats Jacksonville. And what caused the league to act on Harrison? Uh-huh, dirty hits. I guess maybe this one falls into that category of "It Takes One to Know One." Nobody would know more about illegal hits than Rodney Harrison. But to hear him complain that he's the victim of wrongdoing ... please, Rodney, practice what you preach.

• Like everyone else, I expect Bill Cowher to announce that he's leaving the Pittsburgh Steelers. Frankly, I've expected it from the beginning of the season. So this has nothing to do with how the Steelers played in 2006; it has everything to do with the toil that 15 years of coaching have taken on Cowher. He needs a break. So he will step back, spend time with his family in North Carolina and catch up on his daughters' basketball games instead of the next weekend opponent. But here's something I wouldn't rule out: He's under contract through the Steelers through 2007, right? So that means he's out at least a year. But that's perfect timing. Because I figure a year is what Joe Gibbs has left in Washington. When he leaves, I wouldn't put it past owner Daniel Snyder to consider outbidding everyone else for Cowher. I know about how defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is expected to succeed Gibbs and how his contract reflects that, but Al Saunders -- Washington's offensive coordinator -- was expected to succeed Dick Vermeil, too, and it didn't happen. Of course, there was no language in his contract that stipulated -- as Williams' contract does -- that he will receive $1 million if he does not succeed Joe Gibbs, but so what? Snyder is the guy who spent $10 million just to get rid of Marty Schottenheimer -- and now he's the coach of the league's winningest team.