Coach Brian Billick

At this time last season, coach Brian Billick had the Ravens close to clinching a playoff berth. Now, instead of talking about winning a Super Bowl, he has to explain why he isn't worried about losing his job. Ravens@Chargers Today, 4:15 p.m., chs. 13, 9, 1090 AM, 97.9 FM Line: Chargers by 8 1/2

Newly minted Johns Hopkins University graduates were proudly proclaiming themselves "pigs" yesterday after an unusual but apparently effective commencement speech by Baltimore Ravens head coach Brian Billick. The football coach repeatedly invoked a homespun bacon-and-egg metaphor to win over a student body that had questioned the appropriateness of having a sports figure honored at an elite college known mostly for its academic rigor and ultra-nerd personality. "In a bacon-and-egg breakfast, the chicken is involved, but the pig is committed," Billick said from the lectern at Hopkins' lacrosse field.

Jared Gaither may no longer be a project. Selected by the Ravens in the supplemental draft this summer, the offensive tackle was expected to dive into the playbook and serve as an understudy to Jonathan Ogden and Adam Terry. But injuries to Ogden and Terry have accelerated Gaither's development to the point where the former University of Maryland player might make his first career start at left tackle against the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. "You don't have time for nervousness in this game, baby," Gaither said after the team's 9-7 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

During his nine-year tenure in Baltimore, coach Brian Billick often has delivered a great nugget of information, but the Ravens' front office obviously wasn't paying attention. Billick would say that the shelf life of an NFL head coach is 10 years, and that makes you wonder why the Ravens signed him to a four-year contract extension at the end of last season. We all know why Billick signed. He couldn't wait to complete an agreement that reportedly pays him $5 million per season. But it was a mistake to sign Billick to an extension of that length.

Once considered a position of strength, tight end has become a concern for the Ravens. Injuries to Todd Heap and Daniel Wilcox have thinned the depth at the position, where Quinn Sypniewski is the only healthy player. The team also has Lee Vickers on the practice squad, but the converted defensive end was signed just last week. "It's a tough one," coach Brian Billick said yesterday during his weekly media briefing. "A couple of weeks ago, it was the receivers; now it's the tight ends.

Ravens defensive tackle Trevor Pryce "very likely" will miss the rest of the season with a torn pectoral muscle, coach Brian Billick said last night. "We're going to miss Trevor," Billick said on his weekly radio show on WBAL. "Getting him back was important for us. We'll adjust, but missing him on the inside is going to be a lot to deal with." Ravens@Chargers Sunday, 4:15 p.m., Ch. 13, 1090 AM, 97.9 FM Line: Chargers by 9 1/2

The contract extension signed by Ravens coach Brian Billick two weeks ago is for one year and will pay him about $5.4 million, a league source said yesterday. That means Billick, who was entering the final year of his contract, is signed through the 2008 season. His two previous extensions with the Ravens were multi-year deals. Billick, who turns 53 this month, is going into his ninth season, which is tied for the third-longest current tenure in the NFL. Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said at Tuesday's news conference that the Ravens have declined to give the terms of Billick's contract publicly because he is following the policy of former majority owner Art Modell.

Only Tuesday afternoon, everything seemed so chummy with the Ravens. They swore the window of opportunity wasn't about to close and they had pretty much solved any salary cap problems that might arise. Break out the champagne and roll out the red carpet. But it was strange yesterday when news leaked out that coach Brian Billick's contract extension was only for one year, which takes him through to the end of 2008. If you read between the lines, you have to believe owner Steve Bisciotti doesn't have as much faith in Billick as he tried to display Tuesday.

The Ravens are beginning to become impatient with the indecisiveness of veteran quarterback Warren Moon, and could make a deal with St. Louis Rams quarterback Tony Banks by the beginning of next week, according to Ravens coach Brian Billick.Moon's agent, Leigh Steinberg, had said his client would chose among the Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and possibly the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the past two weeks. But Moon has yet to make a decision and Billick has been unable to contact him in recent days.

Ravens coach Brian Billick blamed the confusion on the heat of the moment.It occurred shortly after the Ravens had tied up the game on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Stoney Case to Qadry Ismail with 1: 22 left. On the ensuing kickoff, the Ravens allowed a 37-yard return by Will Blackwell to midfield following a kickoff to the 13 by Matt Stover.On the next play from scrimmage, the Ravens sent out nine players instead of 11 in their nickel coverage even though safety Corey Harris managed to get on the field by the snap.

Former Ravens coach Brian Billick is being considered for head coaching vacancies for the New York Jets and Detroit Lions, according to NFL.com. A league source told the Web site that New York is planning to interview Billick this week and that he is "a viable candidate for the Jets' job." Billick, who led the Ravens to the Super Bowl title in 2001, was fired after 2007 season after going 5-11, his worst year with the team. He is working as an analyst for Fox. He recently told the New York Post that he would be receptive about possibly returning to coaching, but he declined to comment on talks with specific teams.

The last time the Ravens visited Indianapolis, the Colts still played in the RCA Dome and quarterback Peyton Manning was gunning for Dan Marino's record of 48 touchdown passes in a season. Although the Ravens kept Manning from the 20-year-old record, they couldn't keep the Colts out of the win column Dec. 19, 2004. The 20-10 victory was the Colts' seventh straight, and it dropped the Ravens into a four-way tie for the final AFC playoff spot. When the Ravens return to Indianapolis on Sunday, they will play in Lucas Oil Stadium, a retractable-roof stadium that opened Aug. 14. WHAT HAPPENED: : On the Colts' first possession of the second half, leading 6-3, Manning mixed the run and pass on 10 plays to work down the field.

Eight months after he was summarily dismissed on New Year's Eve, former Ravens coach Brian Billick chooses not to look back in anger, if he looks back at all. Did he get a raw deal Dec. 31 when team owner Steve Bisciotti reversed his position and fired the last coach to win a Super Bowl in Baltimore? "No, I understand fully how this league works, the business side of this," Billick said yesterday in his first extensive interview with The Baltimore Sun since the 2007 season. "I'm not one to look back.

Speaking to a communications class yesterday at Towson University, former Ravens coach Brian Billick told the students scattered around the half-filled lecture hall that he was in a similar position to some of them - at a crossroads of his life. Unlike those who are a month or so away from graduating, Billick, 54, is trying to decide whether to return to the coaching ranks - if and when an opportunity presents itself - or move on to another phase of his professional career. Billick was fired after the Ravens finished the 2007 season with a 5-11 record, having coached the team for nine years and leading it to a Super Bowl victory in the 2000 season.

His brother Jim is more familiar to his newest players, but news of John Harbaugh's ascent to the Ravens' head coaching vacancy was well received by several players last night. "I'm excited that we have a coach," running back Cory Ross said. "Now we can get things done." Added linebacker Antwan Barnes: "We finally got one. I'm sure they picked someone who's going to put forth his best effort, and that's what we want." Harbaugh, 45, becomes the ninth-youngest head coach in the NFL and is just six years older than kicker Matt Stover.

DEC 31 Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti (left) surprisingly fires coach Brian Billick after nine seasons and a Super Bowl victory. The decision comes 18 days after a high-ranking team official told The Sun that Bisciotti had informed Billick he would return. "I believed that it was time for a change," a visibly upset Bisciotti says. "I believe we have the nucleus of a team that can get back to the Super Bowl. We felt that in the next five years that we had a better chance with a new coach than leaving Brian in that position."

Whenever an injured player goes down, the Ravens like to use the term "the next man up." At the team's training facility in Owings Mills, the next man up is general manager Ozzie Newsome, followed closely by owner Steve Bisciotti. The Ravens' troubled offense during the past nine years has led to the dismissal of offensive coordinators Matt Cavanaugh and Jim Fassel and the recent firing of head coach Brian Billick. It's Newsome's turn on the hot seat. If the Ravens can't correct their offensive problems with a new head coach, then Newsome is the next man on the food chain.

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti obviously is a talented corporate chief executive, but he proved this week that he also has a flair for public relations. How else do you explain the way he flip-flopped on the status of fired coach Brian Billick and still came away looking like the decisive leader he already has proved to be in the business world? Remember, it was only a few weeks ago that word leaked out Billick had been told his job was safe for at least another year, and Bisciotti was up-front about that during the Monday news conference in which he announced his team's longtime coach would be replaced.

Mark Clayton's cell phone buzzed yesterday morning with a text message from a friend relaying the news that the Ravens had fired coach Brian Billick. Clayton's reaction? "I thought he was playing around," the wide receiver said. "I said, `Yeah, right.' " But as Clayton, his teammates, the rest of the Ravens' organization and the team's fans later learned, this was no joke. Billick, just the second coach in the franchise's 12-year history, was removed by team owner Steve Bisciotti less than 24 hours after the Ravens had ended a nine-game losing streak by defeating the AFC North champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

Two days after he remained committed to Kyle Boller as his starting quarterback, Ravens coach Brian Billick acknowledged that his plans might have to change. With Boller feeling lingering effects from a concussion, Troy Smith could make his first NFL start Sunday when the Ravens play the Seahawks in Seattle. Ravens@Seahawks Sunday, 4:15 p.m., chs. 13, 9, 1090 AM, 97.9 FM Line: Off the board