Meeting of minds for former rivals

No two NFL teams hate each other more than the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens.

But from that intense rivalry there grew an admiration and eventually a partnership between a defensive coach named Mike Smith and an offensive coach named Mike Mularkey.

"Mike was in Pittsburgh and I was in Baltimore, and when you had to prepare for a Mike Mularkey offense, you spent a lot of time doing so," Smith said. "I spent a lot of sleepless nights in breaking down his tapes."

Smith coached the Ravens' defensive line from 1999-2001, including the 2000 team that won the Super Bowl. Mularkey was the Steelers' offensive coordinator from 2001-03.

"What gave you headaches were all the shifts and different motions, and all the personnel groups you had to chart," Smith said. "You were worrying about all that different fancy stuff he was doing, but underneath it all, at the end of the day, Mike's core philosophy was he wanted to hit you right in the mouth. I didn't like that then, but I like that now."

Smith had been Jacksonville's defensive coordinator the past five seasons when he was hired as Falcons head coach before this season. He had never been a head coach before, so the task of assembling a staff was new.

But he knew immediately who he wanted as his offensive coordinator: Mike Mularkey.

The two had never met, nor worked together. It was a relationship born from those sleepless nights.

Mularkey played tight end for the Vikings from 1983-87 and the Steelers from 1988-91. He was a hard-nosed blocking tight end whose first coaching job came in 1993 as offensive line coach at Concordia College.

"Mike was in Miami [as offensive coordinator] last year, and obviously there was a coaching change there," Smith said. "I called him. We sat down for two long conversations. We found out we have the same philosophy."

Fifteen games later, the Falcons came into the Metrodome, beat the Vikings 24-17 and clinched a playoff berth with a 10-5 record. Atlanta's rise from last year's disastrous season on and off the field is one of the best stories in the league this season.

It also should put Mularkey at or near the top of the list of hot assistants that could get a head coaching job in 2009. Mularkey was head coach of the Bills in 2004-05, going 14-18 before resigning because of disagreements with management.

Mularkey shouldn't be having this much success this season. After all, he's had a rookie quarterback (Matt Ryan) leading his offense the entire season.

But the Falcons rank sixth in total offense (357.5) and fifth in rushing (145.3). They've given up only 16 sacks after allowing 47 last season. They've also thrown only nine interceptions, six fewer than a year ago when they used three veteran quarterbacks.

Sunday at the Metrodome, Mularkey was at the top of his game. His game plan perfectly neutralized the Vikings' pass rush while taking advantage of the huge void created by the absence of nose tackle Pat Williams.

Ryan's one touchdown pass was an 8-yard shovel pass to Jerious Norwood that caught the hard-charging Vikings completely off guard.

Mularkey also rolled the pocket to the right, away from Jared Allen, and sometimes lined up an extra tackle on the left side.

As for the running game, Mularkey didn't overthink the situation. He knew exactly where he wanted big Michael Turner to run the football: Right where Pat Williams used to be.

Fourteen of Turner's 19 carries for 55 of his 70 yards went straight up the middle. Turner had runs of nine, 11 and 13 yards up the gut. He also scored his 1-yard touchdown right smack where Big Pat wasn't.

"Coach Mularkey is able to see a mismatch and go with it and stick with it," guard Justin Blalock said. "The Vikings have capable backups in there. But, obviously, with [Williams] not in there, things are a little different for them."