He's a reigning Super Bowl-champion coach.

He's a proven sound teacher of offensive football, able to take a virtual rookie quarterback and turn him into a Pro Bowl performer almost overnight.

He's a daring innovator, unafraid to use trick plays in the biggest moments in an effort to win the game.

	Charlie Weis played a major role in New England's success this season.

He's experienced in almost every phase of the game; a football lifer who's had a hand in the game from the high school level to the highest pinnacle of the NFL coaching profession.

And -- are you listening Glazers of Tampa Bay? -- he's AVAILABLE.

He can be your Valentine and your new head coach.

Memo to the Glazers of Tampa Bay: Hire Charlie Weis as your head football coach and do it now.

End your embarrassing bumbling, bungling coach search that began with Bill Parcells snubbing you and has evolved into you snubbing Marvin Lewis and alienating your general manager, Rich McKay.

Everything Weis has touched has turned to gold. Hire him and he brings automatic credibility to your program, not to mention the offensive mind your team desperately needs to complement your proven defense.

When he was a high school coach in Franklin, N.J., Weis led his team to a New Jersey state championship.

After he was hired by the Giants to break down film for Bill Parcells, he captured the eye of the difficult-to-work-for, discerning Parcells, who quickly and repeatedly promoted him and brought him to New England.

In New England, Weis was first the tight ends coach, during which time he helped develop Ben Coates into one of the NFL's best tight ends.

Then he was moved to running backs coach, where he helped develop Curtis Martin in his rookie season during which Martin rushed for 1,487 yards.

Then Parcells moved Weis to receivers and he helped the enigmatic Terry Glenn to one of his few strong seasons as a pro.

Weis followed Parcells from New England back to New York, where he was the offensive coordinator during Vinny Testaverde's finest season as a pro in 1998 (29 touchdown passes and seven interceptions).

Weis, too, was a big part of salvaging the Jets' 1999 season after Testaverde was lost for the year in Week 1 with a ruptured Achilles. He helped develop former special teams player Ray Lucas into a starting quarterback who went 6-3 as the starter.

Weis went back to New England with Bill Belichick two years ago and the Patriots' ride to the Super Bowl title this season has been well-documented, beginning and ending with the remarkable development of unheralded backup quarterback Tom Brady.

If the Glazers are concerned with whether Weis has the other qualities a head coach needs, they should worry no more.

Weis is comfortable and confident in handling the media. As a Parcells disciple, he, too, is a no-nonsense type of coach whom the players will immediately respect because he's tough, hard line and a proven winner wherever he's been.

The Buccaneers not only need a strong head coach, but they desperately need to restore credibility to their organization.

Weis provides both.

With respect to the various parties involved, it's difficult to imagine the Glazers' reported current fascination with the various college coaches with whom they've been flirting -- Maryland's Ralph Friedgen, Oregon's Mike Bellotti, for example.

Both have done terrific jobs at their respective universities, but, without NFL experience, what makes them better than Weis? It's as if the football-challenged Glazers picked up a couple college football magazines and read up on who had good seasons in 2001 and then decided to place a few calls.

The same thing goes for University of Washington coach Rick Neuheisel and Brigham Young's Gary Crowton. What makes these guys better candidates than the well-seasoned Weis?

Hawaii's June Jones, another of the reported Glazer interests?

He's been an NFL head coach and failed.

The only unknown about Weis is the fact that he's not yet been a head coach in the NFL. But remember, there was a time when Parcells and Belichick were highly-regarded assistants before finally being given the opportunity to be elevated to head coach.

For the Glazers of Tampa Bay, the time is now to make Weis a head coach. He's cut from successful head coaching timber and he's known nothing but winning.

Isn't that what the Buccaneers are after?

Fiedler's reward
After weeks of wild speculation about Troy Aikman joining the Dolphins once Norv Turner reunited with Dave Wannstedt, one of the NFL's good guys was rewarded this week when Miami quarterback Jay Fiedler was signed to a new five-year contract worth nearly $25 million with a $4 million signing bonus.

	Fiedler

It must seem like a long time ago to Fiedler since he left the NFL four years ago because all opportunities had dried up to help assist coaching at Hofstra University on Long Island.

"This (contract) puts me in that category of being a starting quarterback in the NFL," Fiedler said. "With that comes the affirmation that I have arrived."

Fiedler, who completed 60.7 percent of his passes for 3,290 yards, 20 touchdowns and 19 interceptions in 2001, "has proven he can win," Wannstedt said.

Pats kick Walter some money
Another feel-good story in the AFC East is Patriots' punter Ken Walter, who this week was made one of the highest-paid players at his position when he was awarded a five-year, $6 million contract.

Not bad for a guy who was brought in off the street by New England last Oct. 17 when the team released Lee Johnson.

Walter's statistics were remarkable. Though his gross average was a modest 40.1 yards, his net was an AFC-best 38.1 yards. He, too, placed 24 balls inside the opponents' 20-yard line and let only two punts reach the end zone for touchbacks.

The most amazing number and a show of how accurate he is as a directional punter with good hang time was the mere 59 return yards he allowed on 49 regular-season punts.

The Patriots are believed to be working quickly on a new deal for postseason hero, kicker Adam Vinatieri, who'll be one of the league's highest-paid kickers.

Expansion intrigue
There has been rampant speculation -- but no proof -- making its way around the NFL that some under-the-table hand-shake deals were made between the expansion Houston Texans and some other NFL teams regarding whom they select in Monday's expansion draft.

For example, many eyebrows were raised when the Jets left right tackle Ryan Young on the unprotected list. Young is a dependable two-year starter and counts only $560,000 against the salary cap. Surely, there were more expensive or dead-weight players the Jets could have left exposed rather than Young.

One conspiracy theory going around for a situation like this is that Jets' management made a verbal side deal with Texans' general manager Charley Casserly that might have gone something like this:

"If you promise to draft our two high-priced cornerbacks (Aaron Glenn and Marcus Coleman, who count a combined $13 million on the salary cap) and we'll throw Ryan Young onto the list for you to take."

A far-fetched theory?

Not exactly.

But, of course, it's something virtually impossible to prove.

Watching how things unfold Monday, though, could provide some intriguing insight.

Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post writes an AFC notebook every week for ESPN.com.