Ken Whisenhunt's name has surfaced in Atlanta as a candidate to replace Jim Mora if, as expected, he is fired soon after the season ends. Whisenhunt, 44, was born in Atlanta, played at Georgia Tech and played his first four seasons in the NFL as a tight end for the Falcons.

Bill Cowher apparently won't make anyone wait to learn if he will return as the Steelers' coach next season. Cowher is expected to announce his future plans within a few days of Sunday's season-ending game at Cincinnati, one that is without playoff implications for the no-longer-defending Super Bowl champion Steelers.

Bill Cowher opened up a little bit about his future with the Steelers on Tuesday, even when remaining secretive. "I said it will be decided after the season, it will not be a knee-jerk reaction. ... There's been no decision made. It will be something I will need to get away from and give some serious thought to, and I will do that -- at the right time. Now is not the right time."

Pittsburgh linebacker Joey Porter has been fined $10,000 by the NFL for what league spokesman Steve Alic called "vulgar, inexcusable statements" to Cleveland's Kellen Winslow last Thursday. Incensed by a late hit on one of his teammates in the fourth quarter by Winslow, Porter made a derogatory slur questioning the Cleveland tight end's sexual orientation following the game.

Bill Cowher will wait until the end of the season to decide whether he'll return to coach the Steelers. "There will be something at the end of the year," Cowher said Wednesday during a conference call with reporters in Charlotte, N.C. "I'll sit back and put a lot of thought into it and make a decision accordingly. "Right now, my focus is purely on trying to find a way to win these last three games and see where that takes us."

Steelers quarterback coach Mark Whipple is set to interview with officals from Boston College on Sunday for the head coaching position. According to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report, the Steelers have granted Boston College permission to talk to Whipple.

Joey Porter should expect to hear from the NFL after he referred to Kellen Winslow as a slur that is associated with a person's sexual orientation Thursday night. The Steelers beat the Browns 27-7 at Heinz Field and afterward Porter was still fuming about a play in which Winslow got called for a personal foul for a late hit on Steelers linebacker James Farrior. "It was late, that's what (slur) do," Porter said. "He's soft. He wants to be tough but he's really soft."

The weather was nasty, windy, miserable. For Willie Parker, it was a record cold night. Parker broke the Steelers' single-game rushing record with 223 yards, a game better than either Franco Harris or Jerome Bettis enjoyed, and Pittsburgh excelled as usual in inferior weather by roughing up the offense-less Browns 27-7 Thursday night.

Facing the Cleveland Browns always is special for Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger looks to remain unbeaten in his career against the Browns when the Pittsburgh Steelers host their AFC North Division rivals Thursday night.