By Mark Maske
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Jacksonville Jaguars tackle Richard Collier, the victim of a shooting four weeks ago, is paralyzed below the waist and had his left leg amputated by surgeons, his doctor said yesterday.

Collier, 26, is listed in good condition but spent about three weeks on a ventilator and has no memory of the Sept. 2 shooting, according to surgeon Andy Kerwin.

"His overall condition has improved greatly," Kerwin said, according to the Associated Press. "We expect him to be discharged soon."

The doctor said Collier will not walk again. Collier suffered 14 bullet wounds, and a bullet severed his spinal cord. Collier reportedly suffered bullet wounds to the back, left leg, left groin and right buttock, and suffered from infections, pneumonia and renal failure.

Few details about Collier's condition had been released publicly until yesterday.

Collier was shot as he and former Jaguars teammate Kenneth Pettway sat in a vehicle outside an apartment building waiting for two women, according to authorities. No one has been arrested in the shooting.

The winless St. Louis Rams fired Scott Linehan as their coach and promoted defensive coordinator Jim Haslett to replace him on an interim basis.

"Obviously, we let him down as players and coaches," Haslett, the former head coach of the New Orleans Saints, said of Linehan at a news conference. "We didn't get it done. That's why I'm standing here right now."

The move had been expected after Sunday's loss to the Buffalo Bills dropped the Rams to 0-4 this season and 3-17 since the beginning of last season. Rams owner Chip Rosenbloom recently had promised to make changes if the team's play didn't improve, and Linehan appeared to lose the support of his players. He benched quarterback Marc Bulger last week in favor of Trent Green, and running back Steven Jackson criticized the move on a radio show.

Linehan had a record of 11-25 with the Rams, who have a bye this weekend. A source said it's likely that Haslett will reinstall Bulger as the starting quarterback.

The NFL suspended New York Jets safety Eric Smith for one game for his hit Sunday on Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin. Smith also was fined $50,000 for what the league called a flagrant violation of player safety rules.

Cardinals Coach Ken Whisenhunt had said earlier yesterday he expected the league to study the hit for possible disciplinary action. Boldin was taken from the field on a cart but tests taken at a New York hospital revealed no serious head or neck injuries, according to Whisenhunt. Boldin returned to Arizona and was resting at home yesterday. . . .

Green Bay Packers Coach Mike McCarthy said starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers has a sprained right shoulder. Rodgers's playing status this week is unclear. . . .

The league and the NFL Players Association all but completed their settlement of the Plaxico Burress case.

The New York Giants wide receiver still will be suspended from Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks for an unexcused absence from the team last week. But Burress apparently will have his amount of lost pay reduced significantly. . . . Jack Faulkner, a longtime executive with the Los Angeles Rams and coach of the Denver Broncos in 1962 and 1963, has died. He was 82.