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Tuesday Morning NFL Notebook: Pat Bowlen Warms the Hot Seat

By TheDarkHorse

Big Fur Coat Man rides by night. (Source: SBNation.com)

¶ As C-O-U-R-T-N-E-Y reported earlier this week, AOL’s Fanhouse released a story Monday with quotes from Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen in favor of retaining coach Josh McDaniels through 2011 — but the team has moved into damage-control mode.

Asked directly if McDaniels would be kept, Bowlen initially told Fanhouse reporter Thomas George: “Yes he will. I am not interested in making a coaching change.”

George quotes Bowlen as saying, “I’m very happy with Josh. Josh is doing a good job. I wish he had a few more wins, but we’ve got five games to go.”

After the story went viral, the team hastily issued a release that tempered Bowlen’s support, at least a bit.

“This has been a very trying and disappointing season for all of us,” Bowlen said in the written statement. “We haven’t had the success we had hoped to achieve. Josh McDaniels is the head coach of the Broncos, and you always strive for stability at that position. However, with five games left in the 2010 season, we will continue to monitor the progress of the team and evaluate what’s in the best interest of this franchise.”

¶ The New York Jets have been masterful in close games this season. Kicker Nick Folk has kept them in a few — and kept them from pulling away, at times, with some troublesome misses. Rex Ryan and the Jets, preparing for the New England Patriots next Monday night, have finally cracked, bringing in some competition for Folk.

Former Texans kicker Kris Brown visited the Jets’ compound for a tryout Monday, according to The New York Daily News, but the team is unlikely to make a change at kicker before the Patriots game, according to beat writer Manish Mehta.

¶ NFL Network’s Jason La Canfora reported Monday evening that San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore will miss the rest of the season with a hip injury, now being reported as a fractured hip.

¶ NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell congratulated New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees for being named SI’s Sportsman of the Year, an honor bestowed on Brees for both his play and dedication to the community. Certainly someone Goodell can hang his hat on — Brees, by all accounts, has been a class act.