PRO FOOTBALL REPORT / WEEKDAY UPDATE : AROUND THE NFL : Patriots Fire Rust After 1 Season, 1 Win

Rod Rust was fired Friday as coach of the New England Patriots after one season and one victory.

Five days after the worst season in Patriots’ history ended with their 14th consecutive loss and a 1-15 record, chief executive officer Sam Jankovich dismissed Rust, who has three years left on his contract.

Jankovich said he wants the next coach, the Patriots’ fifth in 13 seasons, to be “highly energized and enthusiastic . . . full of fire.” Rust, 62, is low-key.

Jankovich plans to find a coach quickly and said he has a list of candidates. Published reports have mentioned John Mackovic, coach at Illinois and former coach of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Rust was named Feb. 27 to succeed the fired Raymond Berry after the Patriots went 5-11 last season.

Denver Bronco Coach Dan Reeves got a clean bill of health after a follow-up examination of his heart condition, a spokesman for the North Colorado Medical Center said.

“He came in today and they did a customary follow-up,” said Kermit Huckabay, a hospital spokesman. “Everything’s fine.”

Reeves had chest pains and was taken by private vehicle to the hospital last August. He was admitted and diagnosed with blockage of the arteries that supply blood to the heart, a condition known as hardening of the arteries.

The next day he was flown to a hospital in Redwood City, Calif., where a procedure was performed to cut the blockage out of the artery. He was expected to be away from the team for several weeks but returned in about one week.