Lions to interview Mariucci this week

Detroit — The Detroit Lions plan to interview former San Francisco 49ers coach Steve Mariucci by the end of the week, a source within the league said Wednesday.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Lions chief executive Matt Millen made contact with Mariucci to set up a meeting after Millen fired coach Marty Mornhinweg on Monday.

Mornhinweg, who served as offensive coordinator under Mariucci with the 49ers, was fired after a month after the Lions finished 3-13. Mornhinweg had a record of 5-27 in his two seasons, the worst two-year stretch in team history.

Mariucci, who was born and raised in Iron Mountain, Mich., had a 60-43 record in six seasons with the 49ers. He guided the team to the playoffs four times.

Pace out of Pro Bowl

Honolulu — St. Louis offensive tackle Orlando Pace will skip the Pro Bowl to rest from an accumulation of injuries. Pace was selected to his fourth straight Pro Bowl despite missing six games last season because of calf and hamstring injuries. Seattle tackle Walter Jones also dropped out after surgery on his shoulder. Pace and Jones were replaced by Jon Runyan of Philadelphia and Chris Samuels of Washington.

Falcons make changes

Flowery Branch, Ga. — Atlanta head coach Dan Reeves made several changes to his staff Wednesday, promoting Pete Mangurian to offensive coordinator and moving Mike Johnson to quarterbacks coach. George Stewart, who spent four of the last seven seasons in San Francisco coaching receivers, was hired in the same capacity with Atlanta.

Pro Bowl lucrative for NFL players

Honolulu — As NFL salaries have skyrocketed through the years, and so has the payoff for earning a spot in the Pro Bowl. Besides their travel to Hawaii, stay at a luxury oceanside resort and a generous per diem, players often have incentives in their contracts for making the all-star game. Each winning player also takes home $30,000, while each loser gets $15,000. The players say the payoff adds plenty of incentive to win.

“I don’t care if you’re a housewife or a CEO of a large company, $15,000 is $15,000,” New Orleans special teams player Fred McAfee said.