Philip Rivers, Ed Reed and Justin Miller were named the AFC Players of the Month for December. Rivers joins Jay Cutler, Andre Johnson and Thomas Jones to be recognized on offense in 2008. Reed joins Albert Haynesworth, Joey Porter and Dwight Freeney to win the defensive award. Miller joines Darren Sproles, Stephen Gostkowski and Dan Carpenter to be a special team player of the month.

The Saints are expected to show interest in Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha if he becomes available. New Orleans is in dire need of help in the secondary, and he is considered among the best in the league at his position.

The Raiders' list of coaching candidates is expected to include Giants' offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, Raiders' scout Paul Hackett, and Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh. Former Giants' coach Jim Fassel and interim coach Tom Cable are also expected to have a chance to land the gig. Oakland owner Al Davis will decide the next coach, and "he wants to move quickly," club spokesman John Herrera said.

The Raiders are reportedly in the process of requesting permission to speak with Giants' offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride about their vacant head coach position. As New York enters their bye week for the opening round of the playoffs, Gilbride is expected to take the opportunity to interview for the job. However, Raiders' sources tell ESPN that interim head coach Tom Cable has a solid chance of retaining the post.

For the first time since 1979, Al Davis won't be in the owner's box watching his Raiders play an NFL game. Davis is listening advice from his doctors and not making the round-trip flight to Tampa, Fla., allowing swelling in his right knee and ankle to recover. Davis had a brief hospital stay earlier this month following a fall. "The doctors told him it's probably not the best thing to spend 10 or 12 hours in the air," Raiders' executive John Herrera said, according to the Oakland Tribune.

Many around the league believe that Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell is starting to settle into his role as an NFL starter. "He's starting to put it together," Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden said. "All he needs is a little confidence and success, and that's what springboards a guy. I got a pretty good feeling, based on his last two performances, that he's starting to get it." It has taken 15 starts and nearly two seasons, but he has finally started to show such inclinations. "I just let him know we need him to be our leader," running back Justin Fargas said. "I just tell him to lead us and to be confident in us, that we can make plays for him. He's just continuing to grow as a leader."

Both cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and punter Shane Lechler, Pro Bowlers, will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season and the Raiders will have to franchise one of the two. For the second straight season, Oakland is likely to place the tag on Asomugha. The Raiders used the exclusive franchise tag on him this season. That guaranteed him $9.7 million and prohibited other teams from pursuing him.

Raiders receiver Ashley Lelie will miss the final two games of the season because of a calf injury. Lelie is the fourth Oakland receiver placed on the season-ending injured reserve list this year, joining Javon Walker (ankle), Drew Carter (knee), and rookie Arman Shields (knee).

In last week's 49-26 loss to New England, Darren McFadden didn't touch the ball until the Raiders trailed 21-0. JaMarcus Russell also played his best against the Patriots after McFadden became a part of the offense. Head coach Tom Cable wouldn't say if starting McFadden with tailback Justin Fargas, as he did in the first two games of the season, would be an option Sunday when the Raiders host the Houston Texans. "We'll see," Cable said. Russell wouldn't mind seeing McFadden earlier. "A lot of people have probably been talking about it," Russell said. "When the ball is in No. 20's hands, it is fun to watch. I'm pretty sure (Cable) might work on getting him some touches early in the game and go from there. Because once he got the ball in his hands last week, you saw some turning points in the game."

ESPN reported that Al Davis has interest in Giants' offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, who was the Chargers' head coach in 1997 and '98, as his next head coach. Canadian media outlets recently cited Marc Trestman, who led the Montreal Alouettes to the CFL championship game as a rookie head coach. Trestman was the Raiders' offensive coordinator during their Super Bowl run in 2002. He interviewed for the head-coaching position in 2007 before Davis hired Kiffin. Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh also has been mentioned as a candidate.