Sid Hartman: Tice deserves chance to be head coach again

While Mike Tice's name is being mentioned as a possible candidate for the Dolphins job and other coaching vacancies, the former Vikings head coach is more concerned in his present role as Jaguars assistant offensive coach. He's preparing his team for Saturday's playoff game against the Patriots.

"Oh, I've been working past midnight every night, going in at 6:30 a.m., so I've been crazy trying to figure a way to score at least one touchdown against these [guys]," Tice said from Jacksonville.

Tice and Bill Parcells, the Dolphins' new executive vice president of football operations, both have Jimmy Sexton as an agent. So unless Cowboys assistant head coach Tony Sparano is handed the job as rumored, look for Tice to get an interview. There are also reports that Sparano would prefer the Ravens job to the Dolphins.

"If I can get a chance to interview, I think I have a good plan," said Tice, who never really had a chance to show what he could do under frugal Red McCombs, the former Vikings owner. And then he was a victim of the Love Boat incident -- that was the big reason he was fired.

"I think I've learned a lot from the four years in Minnesota," he said. "It was really hard to win there with the resources we had, and it's been great for me to come down here working for [head coach] Jack Del Rio for two years and seeing how he does things. Jack and I are dear friends -- and of course we were teammates -- and he does a lot of the same things I do, coming from the Denny Green, Brian Billick [coaching philosophy] and so on."

Tice said he has matured, and realizes some mistakes he made as the Vikings coach he wouldn't repeat if he got another shot as a head coach.

Tice, 48, has been in the league for 26 years. When the Jaguars beat the Steelers last week, it was his 21st playoff game.

Asked to describe Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, Tice said: "Oh my goodness, he's unbelievable."

Then there will be Tice on the sidelines, trying to help figure a way to help stop the Patriots' Randy Moss, who won so many games for the Vikings.

"I think it's exciting, I'm really happy for Randy," Tice said. "I said to people that asked me what kind of year Randy was going to have, I said, 'Randy's going to have a great year.' I thought he wasn't utilized correctly in Oakland. Randy's going to make his share of plays in the game, and hopefully they're none that are going to break our backs."

Was Tice in favor of the Vikings trading Moss to Oakland?

"I didn't make the final decisions on anything, personnel decisions, and it was a decision made by our football team, our football program," Tice said. "And I was in New York at the time the decision was made [when I was at Food Network chef] Bobby Flay's wedding, and it's just something that was done. And that's the direction the football team went."

Good interview In Miami, the word is that Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier did well in his interview for the Dolphins head coaching job with owner Wayne Huizenga, Parcells, General Manager Jeff Ireland and others.

I believe somebody among the Vikings brass has suggested that Frazier not talk to the local media about the job until it is filled.

But before he returned to Minnesota, Frazier told the Miami Herald, "I think it went very well. You have to talk to Bill Parcells and Jeff Ireland to see what their thoughts are. They are the ones you should talk to, but I was happy with how I did. I was honest and forthright. That is all you can do in this situation."

Frazier also told the Herald he wasn't concerned about being interviewed only because of the "Rooney Rule" requiring clubs interview minority candidates.

"I think the rule was respected," Frazier said. "Having myself in, and I don't know who the other candidates are, but them giving me the opportunity to sit down and talk about the job shows they respect it. We will just have to see what happens."

Jottings Each Minnesota pro team has been a boon to those in the Beantown region, contributing David Ortiz to the Red Sox (where he won two World Series); Moss to the Patriots, who are highly favored to win the Super Bowl; and Kevin Garnett to the Celtics, who are the favorites to win the NBA title. The Wild sent goalie Manny Fernandez to the Bruins, who have Stanley Cup aspirations, but Fernandez has been hurt most of the season.

Monte Kiffin is earning $1.7 million as the defensive coordinator of the Buccaneers, so don't believe those rumors that he might join his son, Lane Kiffin, who is head coach of the Raiders. However, there are reports that Lane wants to change his defensive staff if he returns next season, and owner Al Davis refuses to make any of those moves.

One member of that defensive staff is Randy Hanson, who was with the Vikings, then the Rams with Scott Linehan before joining the Raiders. He was hired by Lane Kiffin.

Offensive lineman Jimmy Martin, a seventh-round draft choice of the Chargers from Virginia Tech in 2006 who was a member of the Viking practice squad, has signed with the Patriots for 2008.

Devron Bostick, the junior college forward signed by the Gophers, is averaging 19.4 points a game for the Southwestern Illinois Community College team that is 12-1. ... Paul Carter, who also signed with the Gophers, is averaging 9.5 points and seven rebounds for the Missouri State University-West Plains Community College Grizzles, who are 15-1. ... Former Minneapolis South guard Bruce Price scored 17 points in leading Tennessee State to a 60-58 victory over Illinois recently. Price ranks 38th in the country, averaging 20 points per game.