Harrison won’t play against Colts

The New England Patriots downgraded safety Rodney Harrison from doubtful to out Saturday for the AFC championship game against Indianapolis.

Harrison will sit out today’s game at Indianapolis after straining his right knee in the last regular-season game, a 40-23 win over Tennessee, when he was blocked by receiver Bobby Wade. The injury sidelined Harrison for playoff wins over the New York Jets and San Diego Chargers.

The Titans game was his second after he sat out six games because of a broken right shoulder blade suffered when he tackled Marvin Harrison during a 27-20 loss to the Colts in Foxborough, Mass.

*

Rob Chudzinski was hired as the Cleveland Browns’ offensive coordinator, returning to the team to take over a unit that ranked near the bottom in the NFL in nearly every category the last two seasons.

Chudzinski, 38, was Cleveland’s tight ends coach in 2004 under Butch Davis. He coached San Diego’s tight ends the last two seasons.

The organization was impressed with Chudzinski’s plan for how to address the Browns’ scoring woes, Coach Romeo Crennel said.

“We talked about coaches, schedules and discipline,” Crennel said, adding that “he knew how he would handle some things here, and we were impressed with that.”

Before coming to the pros, the Toledo, Ohio, native was the University of Miami’s offensive coordinator for three seasons.

*

The Pittsburgh Steelers will wait until at least Monday to announce their new coach, and might interview Chicago defensive coordinator Ron Rivera that day for a second time if the Bears lose today.

The Steelers would not confirm whether they have chosen a coach to succeed Bill Cowher, who resigned less than a year after leading the team to its first Super Bowl victory in 26 years.

Since Cowher stepped down Jan. 5, the Steelers have twice interviewed assistant head coach Russ Grimm and Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin but cannot talk again with Rivera, their third finalist, until the Bears’ season has ended.