Detroit selects Marinelli as coach

Rod Marinelli has agreed to a four-year contract to become the Detroit Lions’ next coach, sources said Wednesday night.

Lions senior vice president of communications Bill Keenist said he could not confirm or deny the hiring of Marinelli, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ assistant head coach and defensive line coach. President Matt Millen and chief operating officer Tom Lewand were unavailable for comment and did not respond to messages.

But the Lions have called a news conference for 7 a.m. (PST) today.

Marinelli, 56, has never been an NFL coordinator, let alone a head coach. But that’s partly because the Buccaneers denied him permission to explore opportunities as a defensive coordinator on four occasions. He is respected by other coaches and known for his ability to teach and inspire.

When the Buccaneers won the Super Bowl during the 2002 season, their motto was “Pound the Rock,” meaning you keep pounding the rock until one day the rock breaks. They had it engraved on their championship rings. Marinelli came up with the motto.

Porter won’t be fined

Pittsburgh linebacker Joey Porter won’t be fined by the NFL for criticizing officials after the Steelers beat Indianapolis.

NFL coaches are subject to fines for criticizing officials, but players usually aren’t fined.

Porter, a Pro Bowl selection and one of the Steelers’ co-captains, criticized referee Pete Morelli’s crew repeatedly during postgame interviews following a 21-18 win in the AFC divisional round. Among other comments, Porter said, “The whole world wanted Indy to win so bad, they were going to do whatever they had to do.”

Bradshaw doesn’t back down

Terry Bradshaw made no apologies for “doing my job” Sunday, when he criticized Peyton Manning for saying in a postgame news conference that the Colts had pass-protection problems following a 21-18 playoff loss to the Steelers.

Archie Manning told Newsday on Tuesday that Bradshaw’s comments were “a cheap shot” at his son and that Bradshaw “seems to like to take shots at Peyton.”

On a Fox conference call, Bradshaw fired back.

“You’ve got to stand up and do your own battles,” Bradshaw said. “My daddy taught me that a long time ago, that you fight your own battles. The only way to shut everybody up is to win.”

Bradshaw said he did what he is supposed to: give an off-the-cuff critique.

“I don’t have all day to analyze a tape,” he said. “And Archie can pile on a whole lot more people than me today, because I wasn’t the only one who said (Peyton was calling out his offensive line).”

As for Archie, Bradshaw said he expects a father to defend his son.

“I don’t want to make it personal with the Mannings, because they’re wonderful people,” he said. “Archie’s mad, I understand. I was doing my job.”

Around the league

Defensive end Julius Peppers (injured shoulder) was one of seven players to miss practice as Carolina prepared to play Seattle in the NFC championship. … Former Green Bay coach Mike Sherman interviewed with Buffalo, bringing the team a step closer to hiring its new head coach. … New Orleans formally introduced Sean Payton as their new head coach. … The New York Giants hired Peter Giunta as secondary coach, a day after firing Ron Milus. … An assault case against Kansas City running back Larry Johnson in Kansas City, Mo., was dismissed. Johnson was accused of shoving a woman in a bar… San Diego fired offensive line coach Carl Mauck and assistant secondary coach Albert Lewis.