Just 10 days after signing with the Chicago Bears, veteran kicker Doug Brien has won the starting job, as the team on Sunday afternoon released Paul Edinger, who had handled the kicking duties for the past five seasons. The move, hardly surprising despite the contentions of Bears officials that they planned to take both kickers to training camp, came as Chicago wrapped up a three-day minicamp in which Brien was the superior kicker. In the wake of the Brien acquisition, Edinger and agent Ken Harris had asked for the kicker's release and been denied that request. But on Saturday, Brien converted six of seven field goal attempts, with his only miss on a 50-yard try that struck the upright. Edinger, a sixth-round pick in the 2000 draft, missed three of his seven tries, on attempts of 38, 43 and 50 yards.