Seifert Stands Firm with Rams

The St. Louis Rams hope to have a new coach by the end of the weekend.

“Probably on Sunday, I’ll see one or two or all of you guys,” team President John Shaw told reporters.

Shaw had a busy day Friday, touching base with Jim Mora and former San Francisco 49er coach George Seifert. He was unsuccessful in his efforts to talk Seifert to return to coaching next year.

“On each call, he told me he wasn’t going to coach this year,” Shaw said.

The 61-year-old Mora, who resigned in midseason after 10 1/2 years as coach of the New Orleans Saints, apparently is the top candidate.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers moved quickly to replace assistant coach Dick LeBeau, hiring Jim Haslett of the New Orleans Saints as their defensive coordinator.

Haslett becomes the third assistant to hold the position since Bill Cowher took over in 1992, succeeding Dom Capers and LeBeau.

LeBeau, who led the Steelers’ defense to No. 1 and 2 rankings in the AFC in his two seasons, rejected an offer to become the Steelers’ highest-paid assistant coach so he could return to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Haslett installed a 4-3 defense in New Orleans, but the Steelers will continue to play the 3-4 defense favored by Capers and LeBeau.

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Robert Irsay was remembered as a man who cared deeply for his adopted community and for the NFL team he owned for more than two decades.

“He was a passionate man,” NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said after funeral services in Indianapolis for Irsay, who died Tuesday at 73. “There was no pretense, no phoniness, no veneer.”

Lindy Infante, hired as the Colts’ coach after Irsay suffered a stroke 14 months ago, regretted Irsay could not enjoy the success the Colts had recently.

“You feel bad he really couldn’t enjoy all the good things that have happened the last couple of years,” Infante said.