ESPN’s Len Pasquarelli reports that apparently Arthur Blank is undaunted by his most previous experience in hiring a head coach. Blank was burned by Bobby Petrino last month, when the former university ace spurned the Birds after coaching only 13 game. Now the Falcons are back on the hunt for a head man, and Pasquarelli reports their short list includes USC’s Pete Carroll.

Unlike Petrino though, Carroll does have significant NFL head coaching experience. And based on the events of the past 24 hours, the timing may be finally right for the Trojans coach to take a long, hard look at an exit strategy.

But Pasquarelli reports that there could be some hangups in the Falcons’ pursuit of Carroll.

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Turns out Mike Martz’s stay on the unemployment line was a short one:

The SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE reports that the ex-Rams coach and ex-Lions assistant will be named the new offensive coordinator for the 49ers.

Martz was let go less than a week ago from the confines of Ford Field, but has been tabbed to make his magic at Candlestick 3Com Monster Park. And Mike will have his work cut out for him, as the Niners ranked dead last in points scored and yards gained this season.

But is Martz the right fit for the 49ers?

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Neil Best of NEWSDAY has wonderful news for those of you who delight in Tony Kornheiser on “Monday Night Football”: He’ll probably be back for the 2008 season.

Kornheiser: “I have no reason to believe I’m not [returning] at the moment; I think I have a contract.”

Hmmm, isn’t that what Joe Theismann was thinking after last season, too? Sadly though, it does appear that Tony K. will return in his role as mindless irritant in the MNF booth. At least if you believe ESPN exec Norby (!) Williamson.

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We were reading in the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION today about our Georgia Bulldogs and their recent, remarkable recruiting success when we ran across this line in Carter Strickland’s piece: “Maybe the Bulldogs aren’t as hot as Notre Dame, which has the top recruiting class in 2008 despite an abysmal 3-9 season.”

Notre Dame has the top recruiting class in the country? Apparently all those kids missed the recent “Mythbusters” episode on the school’s football program (ok, we made that up).

Just to make sure Strickland’s assertion wasn’t island-bound, we tracked down an opinion in SPORTS ILLUSTRATED from the top recruiting expert in the country, CSTV’s Tom Lemming.

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The WASHINGTON POST reports today that “according to Redskins sources” Joe Gibbs has resigned. A press conference will be held this afternoon to make the news official.

DC-based MISTER IRRELEVANT thinks that former Buffalo Bills head coach and current Redskins defensive coordinator Gregg Williams could be the next Washington coach, but the Post reports “No decision has been made on a replacement for Gibb.”

UPDATE: The Post is reporting that Bill Cowher is #1 on Dan Snyder’s hit list to replace Gibbs.

The PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW reports how some ex-NFL stars are still cashing in on their popularity through endorsement payments to the players’ union.

Over $117 million has been paid by companies to the NFL Players Association to use their stars to hawk their products. For example, Peyton & Eli Manning received a combined $4 million for their selling success in 2005-06.

Yet, you don’t have to be an active player to get such money from the NFLPA. Former Cowboys RB and “Dancing With The Stars” champ Emmitt Smith tapped in $757,000, while John Elway snapped up $616,000 and Joe Montana struck gold with $556,000 in endorsement payments.

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THE BIG LEAD spots Matt Leinart going back to the well:

The Arizona Cardinals QB was caught in Vegas with former flame Kristin Cavallari over the weekend. The former star of MTV’s high-brow drama “Laguna Beach” was celebrating her 21st birthday at a club in Caesar’s Palace.

According to the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, when Cavallari arrived at the Pure Nightclub at 1 a.m., Matt was already waiting in the VIP room with his crew, including ex-USC teammate Chauncey Washington.

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We’re happy we’re not the only people perplexed by the Atlanta Falcons. We all know about the organization getting jilted by Bill Parcells and bailed on by Bobby Petrino, and most of us had sympathy for owner Arthur Blank, especially in the wake of the Michael Vick nightmare.

But here we are in the new year and the Falcons still don’t have a new coach or, more importantly, someone running the overall football operation. Rich McKay was removed from that post weeks ago, and now has been offered the job of team president (with a raise). But McKay will no longer have final say in football decisions.

While that’s rather curious, Mike Florio of PRO FOOTBALL TALK (our favorite site without permalinks) has even stranger news about how the Falcons are going about finding a GM.

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We’re probably like you, we’d already made plans for tonight (snooker tournament) when we realized that the excitement and pageantry of the BCS Championship game was tonight in New Orleans. We can hardly wait for that bright, cheery light of broadcasting, Thom Brennaman, to illuminate us on the latest offensive innovations from Tressel & Co.

Those of you who say that the BCS is a complete debacle that has somehow rendered the big bowl games meaningless, probably said the same thing about NASCAR’s innovative “Chase For the Cup”, and we all know how huge that’s been for the sport of auto racing.

The GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE tells the strange story of Michael Holton, a Milwaukee native living in Atlanta. Holton takes sports team obsession to a new level, having purchased two homes near Lambeau Field and renovating them with insane Packer-inspired furnishings.

The home nearest Lambeau, described by Holton as “place for men, designed by men“, has the requisite memorabilia and a layout driven to perfect the Lambeau tailgate experience. That explains one of the Packer palaces including “a flat screen featuring a live camera shot of Lambeau above a urinal in a main floor bathroom.” (more photos of the home)

Many locals, as you would expect, wonder what Holton’s true intentions are with the homes. That is, if the dwelling re-dos are designed as money makers or for publicity for Holton’s home improvement business in Atlanta.

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