Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase pulled his name from consideration for the Browns coaching job, as reported by NFL's Ian Rapoport Tuesday.

Gase, 35, said in late December he would postpone any potential coaching interviews and opportunities until after the Broncos season concluded. Denver scored an NFL-record 606 points during the regular season with the first-year coordinator and will play in the Super Bowl Feb. 2. 

The Browns had Gase high on their wish list after firing coach Rob Chudzinski, their seventh coach since 1999. The team is also looking at Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and Buffalo Bills defensive play-caller Mike Pettine. The Browns have also added Dirk Koetter to the list of prospects, Alex Marvez of FOX Sports reported.

It's the first time we've heard Koetter's name in the mix. Koetter has been the Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator for two years and held the same role in Jacksoville the five years prior to that.


COWBOYS TO KEEP MONTE KIFFIN


Jerry Jones didn't fire head coach Jason Garrett after another 8-8 season in which his Dallas Cowboys didn't make the playoffs. The Cowboys owner/general manager isn't making any big changes to Garrett's staff, either.

Upon further review and no further action, Jones has decided to keep defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin and offensive coordinator Bill Callahan in their current positions. There was the expectation Kiffin would be let go after one season, based on Dallas' dismal key stats. The Cowboys finished 26th in points allowed (27.0 per game) and 32nd in yardage allowed (392.4 per game), dropping off from what predecessor Rob Ryan did with their defense.

Talking to reporters during Senior Bowl week in Mobile, Ala., on Monday, Jones clarified his intention of not wanting to drop the quick axe on Kiffin's tenure.

"Do you discuss and get input about a lot of things?” Jones said. “Absolutely. But what we did not do is have a big debate or a big management session regarding Monte Kiffin. We didn’t do that. That decision was made last year.”

Although the points and yardage ballooned, Kiffin also did deal with key injuries to ends Anthony Spencer and DeMarcus Ware and middle linebacker Sean Lee while trying to get the Cowboys to make a successful, difficult transition from a 3-4 base to a 4-3 front. The secondary also didn't have a good bill of health.

The Cowboys had only seven interceptions under Ryan in 2012, and that total went up to 15 under Kiffin. Even though they still had trouble rushing the passer without Spencer and a banged-up Ware, they were better in forcing takeaways and helping Dallas win the turnover battle.

Everyone expected Jones to have a quick trigger. But he's trying to show patience in the right areas, and by sticking with Kiffin and his Tampa 2 savvy, a healthier roster that's bound to be improved in the offseason gives the Cowboys a better chance to make their defense work than starting fresh again with another coordinator.


STEINBERG: LEAF MANIPULATED DRAFT


One-time NFL super agent Leigh Steinberg writes in his new book ( The Agent) that he helped all-time quarterback bust Ryan Leaf make sure he was drafted by the San Diego Chargers, and not the Indianapolis Colts, at the top of the 1998 draft. Steinberg also added that then-Chargers general manager Bobby Beathard was aware of the plan and "went along with the ruse" that included Ryan spurning the Colts during the predraft process.

"No way do I want to play in Indianapolis," Leaf told Steinberg, after which Steinberg told Leaf this: "If you go to the Combine but fail to show up for a meeting with (then Colts head coach Jim) Mora, that should do it. Jim is a real prideful person who has a tendency to explode. I am not recommending you do this, but if you are desperate to go to San Diego, this is the way."

To make it work, Steinberg writes he "cleared the idea" with Beathard so the Chargers also wouldn't "question his client's credibility."

As a guest of ESPN's Mike & MIke In The Morning on Tuesday, Beathard recalled talking to Steinberg before the '98 draft, when the Chargers took Leaf at No. 2 after the Colts took Peyton Manning first overall. But the GM didn't remember any conversation about conspiring.

“If Leigh knew anything about Ryan, he was going to protect Ryan," Beathard told hosts Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic. "It was a disaster from the beginning, and I was responsible.”

Beathard admits they also were wary about Leaf, but went against their better judgment. The result was Leaf getting a monster contract and flaming out of the league in less than four full seasons. Meanwhile, Manning's Hall of Fame career is still going strong with the Denver Broncos, whom he just led to Super Bowl XLVIII.

“We had reservations about Ryan. I didn’t agree with Leigh, because he didn’t feel those reservations were justified," Beathard said. "When we didn’t get Peyton, we thought we could work with Ryan."

Former St. Louis Rams GM and current ESPN analyst Billy Devaney, who served as the Chargers' director of player personnel under Beathard in '98, was more definitive with Mike & MIke to say Beathard wasn't in on Steinberg and Leaf's plan.

“It’s a competitive situation. You do whatever you can to enhance your position and help your team. But like anything, there are lines that you don’t cross. You only go so far.

“This would be crossing the line," Devaney added. "A line I know Bobby wouldn’t cross.”

ESPN analyst Bill Polian, the former Colts GM responsible for drafting Manning over Leaf, dismissed Steinberg's story.

“Agents cannot manipulate anything in the draft,” Polian told Mike & Mike. “Leigh and other agents for years and years have told kids that they can get players drafted by a certain club at a certain spot, and nothing could be further from the truth."

Polian added Leaf did miss that Combine meeting with the Colts, but also that the excuse given by Steinberg for Leaf's absence was a lie.

“I remember Leigh telling the press that we had blown it because we hadn’t given him the right time,” Polian said. “I knew that was false because I made the call. I’m glad after 16 years he’s finally told the truth.”

Steinberg was the inspiration for Tom Cruise's titular character in Jerry Maguire. His job was to show Leaf the money, and that happened. The quarterback's $11.25 million bonus was part of a lucrative initial contract that wasn't that far off Manning's.


OPERA STAR TO PERFORM ANTHEM


The Super Bowl will have a touch of the classical this year: Opera star Renee Fleming will sing the national anthem.

The four-time Grammy winner will perform before the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks play at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Feb 2. Fleming is the first opera star to sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl. In recent years, it has been performed mainly by a mix of pop and country stars.

Known as "The People's Diva," the soprano is closely identified with the New York City region, having spent years singing on such iconic stages as Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Last year, she received the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor the government gives to artists.


SUPER HIGH TICKETS


The average family of John, Jane, Sue and Joseph decides to go to the Super Bowl.

Already their bank account has taken a hit for at least $2,000. And that's if they're one of the 1,000 lucky ones who can get a $500 ticket.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell didn't seem fazed by the prices when asked by the New York Daily News about the cost an average fan doles out for the big game. 

When asked if he felt the average fan was being priced out of attending the Super Bowl, Goodell suggested the $500 price point, along with the league's commitment to not allowing fans to transfer those tickets on the secondary market, has kept the game within reach for fans.

Obviously, $500 is an easier buy than tickets that jump over $1,000, but that doesn't mean $500 is affordable for the average football fan. To this, Goodell gave the ultimate pick-me-up.

"What’s the average fan?" Goodell told the Daily News. "We don’t have average fans. We have great fans. We have fans that are passionate."

Passionate, if not rich.

So when the Daily News gave its explanation that an average fan means the average fan in economic terms, Goodell said ...

"I still don’t know what that is."

No, Goodell, you probably don't.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average U.S. family of four brings in $67,000 annually. That's before taxes, rent, mortgage, food and all those fun necessities. A family of four pays, on average, close to $400 to attend a regular season NFL game when factoring in tickets ($81 on average), parking (regular season average $31) and concessions (average $5 for a soft drink and $5 for a bottom-of-the-pan basic hot dog). That number is sure to be vastly higher at the Super Bowl, especially given the New York/New Jersey location.

So with everything taken into account, John and Jane would be spending at minimum their entire bi-weekly $2,577 paycheck to take their family to the game.

Ah, no biggie.

Contributors: Cassandra Negley, Vinnie Iyer, Rana L. Cash, The Associated Press