(My Sportsbook) - In his mind's eye, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley sees another team.

The 2008 Arizona Cardinals.

According to Haley, whose current Chiefs completed an unlikely turnaround from 4-12 last season to AFC West champions this year, some similarities exist between his team of 2010 and those Cardinals of two years ago, who came within a minute of winning a Super Bowl championship against Pittsburgh.

Back then Haley was offensive coordinator for Arizona, which won nine games in the regular season and toppled Atlanta, Carolina and Philadelphia in the NFC Playoffs before a 27-23 loss to the Steelers that was decided by a Santonio Holmes catch with 35 seconds remaining.

Now the Chiefs enter the AFC playoffs as a No. 4 seed and will host the fifth- seeded Baltimore Ravens to begin the Wild Card Round on Sunday.

Kansas City finished its regular season at 10-6 after a 31-10 home loss to Oakland. Had the Chiefs won, they'd have earned the No. 3 seed and hosted the sixth-seeded New York Jets.

It's the franchise's first postseason appearance since 2006 and its first home playoff game since 2003.

"There are probably some similarities [to that Arizona team]," said Haley, whose present staff includes former Cardinals assistant Mo Carthon. "This is a team that hasn't been in this situation for a while. Hasn't won a bunch of postseason games in a while, or any.

"And we were in that situation [in Arizona] with a team that didn't have postseason experience as a team, but yet had some key guys that were able to get that message out there and help a lot of guys."

The Chiefs have won three playoff games since prevailing in Super Bowl IV -- none since 1993.

Arizona was quarterbacked by Kurt Warner, who'd won a Super Bowl with St. Louis. The Chiefs have Matt Cassel, who backed up Tom Brady for four years in New England. Additionally, Kansas City has linebacker Mike Vrabel, a three-time Super Bowl winner with New England, and coordinators Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel, who also won rings with the Patriots.

"We've got 21 guys or so, players that have played in postseason games and have great, great experience to pass along," Haley said. "Our coaching staff has obviously got great experience in the postseason. Those are the things you need to go forward, be ready for this week.

"We showed in Arizona if you win one game, you've got a chance to do anything."

The Cardinals lost by a 47-7 margin to the Patriots in their second-to-last regular-season game in 2008 before winning the finale against Seattle to kick- start the postseason run. Kansas City, meanwhile, had won five of its last six before falling to the Raiders on Sunday.

Oakland held the Chiefs to just 201 total yards, intercepted Cassel twice and registered seven sacks.

"History has proven it doesn't matter whether you've won nine games as we did in Arizona and ended up being two minutes away from a Super Bowl title, or New England [in 2007], winning 17 games and then losing [in the Super Bowl], the same as we did," Haley said.

"It doesn't matter what you've done. It's what you're going to do now."

RAIDERS: To the list of NFL head coaches already concerned over job security after the 2010 regular season, add one more -- Oakland's Tom Cable.

Cable said he and Raiders owner Al Davis haven't yet scheduled a time to talk about the season or his own status as head coach. The Raiders finished at 8-8 -- including 6-0 in the AFC West -- after a 31-10 win at division champion Kansas City on Sunday.

The win total was the most for the franchise since it reached the Super Bowl after the 2002 season.

"I'm going to rest for a few days," Cable said. "We'll have a chance to meet some time in the next two weeks, but nothing has been set up. Right now is a time to reflect, evaluate the team, evaluate the staff. We'll sit down when it's right and necessary and make those decisions."

Reports from both ESPN and NFL Network said Cable was "unlikely" to return for 2011.

The 46-year-old is 17-27 since taking over four games into the 2008 season upon the dismissal of Lane Kiffin. Cable finished that season with four wins in 12 games and went 5-11 last season before getting the Raiders to the .500 mark in 2010.

He has coached more games with the Raiders than anyone since Jon Gruden, who led the team from 1998 through 2001. In fact, between Gruden and Cable came Bill Callahan (15-17), Norv Turner (9-23), Art Shell (2-14) and Kiffin (5-15).

Oakland was in contention for a 2010 playoff spot until a Week 16 loss to Indianapolis, and the Raiders more than doubled their scoring average in 2010, going from 12.3 points per game to 25.6.

"I'd like for it to just go away and have Al and I sit down and discuss it, which we will," Cable said. "I think everybody who knows football knows what we've done."

Cable is in the final year of a contract with a two-year option at $2.5 million per season, with the deadline for notification Jan. 17. If Oakland does not exercise the option, Cable is free to field offers as an assistant or head coach from other teams, although there would be nothing preventing the Raiders from signing him to a new contract.

Several players have been outspoken in their wish for Cable to return.

"I can't go through another head coach, I just can't," punter Shane Lechler said. "I've been through too many of them. I'd rather be with the guy that's here right now and we'll roll with him."

CHARGERS: A week after the team president declared its head coach and general manager safe for 2011, the San Diego Chargers began the supplemental season- ending house cleaning.

Steve Crosby, named the NFL's top special teams coach three years ago, was let go after nine seasons with the Chargers. His contract was not renewed at the close of a 9-7 season that ended a run of four consecutive AFC West championships for San Diego.

Only two teams since 1994 allowed more kickoff returns for touchdowns and five gave up as many as San Diego's three in 2010. Just two had allowed more blocked punts than the Chargers' four. And no teams since 1976 had allowed a higher punt return average than the 18.9 yards San Diego permitted this year.

Crosby joined the Chargers as part of Marty Schottenheimers staff in 2002 and has coached with four other NFL teams in a 33-year career.

In terms of on-field personnel, the status of several players remains up in the air relating to 2011.

Backup quarterback Billy Volek has expressed an interest in staying with the Chargers as a teammate of Philip Rivers, in spite of Rivers' clear-cut role as the starter for the foreseeable future.

"I absolutely love being a Charger," Volek said. "Hopefully, I'll be back here. Philip and I have a good chemistry. We work well together. I want to go play. I miss playing. I don't want Philip to get hurt, but if it happens I want my chance to go out there and show people what I can do. San Diego is not a bad place to live. I enjoy coming to work every day.

"It's a quarterback-hungry league. I know my agent is very excited about it. Right now, the ball is in the San Diego Chargers' court."

Head coach Norv Turner is on the record saying he hopes Volek remains in San Diego.

"We want Billy here, and he's been great, he's great for Philip," Turner said. "We all sleep better at night knowing if something happened, [Volek] would be ready to go play."

Rivers, meanwhile, will be off to Hawaii in a few weeks to participate in his first Pro Bowl.

The former North Carolina State standout has had four previous opportunities to play in the league's all-star game, but missed three due to injury and another to attend the birth of a child.

He completed 66 percent of his passes for a league-best 4,710 yards, 30 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 2010.

"I'm looking forward to it," Rivers said. "Being around the guys, the best players in the league."

BRONCOS: The Denver Broncos' search for a new head coach will officially begin Thursday, when former Buffalo Bills head man and current Atlanta assistant Mike Mularkey is interviewed in Atlanta while his Falcons enjoy a bye week in the NFC Playoffs.

The Broncos completed a 4-12 season with a 33-28 home loss to San Diego on Sunday.

Mularkey was head coach with the Bills from 2004-05 and has been with the Falcons since 2008, where he has coached quarterback Matt Ryan, the No. 3 pick in the 2008 draft. He is also scheduled to interview with the Cleveland Browns, who fired Eric Mangini on Monday.

The nine-year NFL player had a 9-7 record with Buffalo in 2004 -- that franchises only winning record since 1999 -- but was fired after falling to 5-11 a year later.

Mularkey spent eight years on Bill Cowher's staff in Pittsburgh and was offensive coordinator when quarterback Kordell Stewart threw for more than 3,100 yards and made the Pro Bowl in 2001.

"I have been contacted by both teams," Mularkey said about the Broncos and Browns. "The Falcons have granted permission to speak with both of them and I'll speak with them at the end of the week. Right now my total focus is prepping for this next game, whoever it's against. That's where I'm at."

The Broncos are scheduled to interview interim head coach Eric Studesville next week. They is also likely to conduct second interviews with its finalists. Additionally, the team will introduce John Elway as the vice president of football operations this week.

Both Elway and his fellow front-office staffers, along with the new head coach, will have a starting quarterback decision to make in the aftermath of rookie Tim Tebow's performance in a three-game audition for the job at the end of the regular season.

Tebow, who'd seen limited duty in goal-line packages early in the season, took over for Kyle Orton and led the team in a 16-point loss at Oakland, a come- from-behind home win over Houston and a competitive home finale against San Diego.

For the season, the No. 25 overall pick completed 41-of-82 passes for 654 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. He also carried the ball 43 times for 227 yards and scored six touchdowns.

Orton started 13 games and is under contract for 2011 with a total salary of $8.4 million.

"I'll just wait and see," Orton said about his future. "I know I'll be somewhere, and it will be good. I'm disappointed I couldn't finish the year out, but I'm not going to sit here and cry about it. What's going to happen is going to happen."