There are many different ways to fill an opening

There are many different ways to fill an opening
Two teams are being particularly active today in their search for a head coach.� One team believes in never doing anything low-profile, and the other has had just about enough high-profile to last them for the rest of eternity.

Word is that the Falcons have offered their head coaching position to a fellow named Mike Smith. The hire is as exciting as his name, but again, after enduring a year in which your quarterback gets tossed in jail for dog genocide and your head coach bails in the middle of the night for a college job, going low-key might be the way to go.��

Smith has been defensive coordinator of the Jags for the last five years ... and the Jags had a pretty good defense this year, unless you count the secondary. Before that, he was the linebackers coach with the Ravens. So if nothing else, the Falcons linebackers should be, from this point on, quite proficient in stabbing.

As for the Redskins, they appear to be targeting Giants reject Jim Fassel, who they almost hired back in 2004. It seemed for a while like they'd go with current defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, which would seem to be a perfectly reasonable choice and an easy transition. Some owners, though, seem more interested in making a splash than making the sensible hire.

And Redskins fans out there seem really excited about it.

• Falcons offer coaching job to Smith / Yahoo! Sports
• Former Giants coach Jim Fassel becomes favorite for Redskins job / Yahoo! Sports
• Jim Fassel the Next Skins Coach? Kill Me / Mr. Irrelevant
• A Timeline of the Redskins Coaching Search / Kissing Suzy Kolber