With the Atlanta Falcons’ season ending Sunday, the thought now turns to who will be the Falcons’ head coach next season.

It appears the leading candidate is the defensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams, Lovie Smith. He is very knowledgeable from what I have read and could be a good choice for the Falcons.

I will say this, Coach Smith has to be a tough man. He has survived in the world with the name Lovie. I don’t know about you, but the only Lovie I knew about for a long time was Mrs. Howell on Gilligan’s Island.

Believe it or not, Lovie is not a nickname — it is the coach’s given first name. His parents came up with that name, because they had hoped for a girl. However, they stuck with it even though they had a boy.

Even though Lovie is, shall we say, an unusual name for a football coach, news out of Atlanta Monday indicated there may be another “name” on the horizon. It seems the Falcons have asked the New England Patriots for permission to interview defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel.

That’s right, Romeo. Coach Crennel has to be another tough guy to have gone through life with the name of a soap opera character.

(I know, “Romeo and Juliet” is Shakespeare, but it is still a soap opera.)

However, like Smith, Crennell appears to have solid credentials and may be a good choice for the Falcons.

Anyway, it just makes me wonder if I ever have a son and I want him to be a football coach, should I name him something creative.

Hmmmm…

I got it, maybe Weezie, aka Mrs. Jefferson on The Jeffersons, or Hamlet. Check that, though I think Hamlet was more studly than Romeo, maybe I should come up with Ophelia or something like that instead.

Whatever his name might be, the next coach for the Falcons should have a decent team coming back next season.

The Falcons still need a lot of things, but the biggest one is a dependable backup quarterback. Losing Michael Vick hurt this team in every area. The missing links on offense are obvious, but the defense was also hurt. With Vick out there, the Falcons hold the ball a lot longer and that means the defense is on the field a lot less.

Vick is a one of a kind player, but the Falcons should be able to find a capable backup that will at least be dependable enough to keep the team from imploding. That’s what happened this year with Doug Johnson and Kurt Kittner at the helm in Vick’s absence.

Heck, Steve Bartkowski could have done a better job. Kids, ask any Falcons fan from the 80s about Steve Bartkowski.

RONALDA RETURNS HOME: Playing for the first time in Georgia since ending her high school career, former Turner County Lady Rebel Ronalda Pierce and her Florida State Lady Seminoles were defeated Saturday 75-68 by the LSU Lady Tigers. The game was played as a part of the Russell Athletics Shootout at Atlanta’s Phillips Arena.

Pierce, the All-Tiftarea Player of the Year in all four of her years at high school, is averaging 4.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. The freshman has played in 10 of FSU’s first 11 games of the year, averaging 11.6 minutes per contest.

BARNES SCORES ANOTHER HONOR: Liberty University running back Verondre’ Barnes was recently named the Big South Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Barnes, an Ocilla native, rushed for 1,347 yards on the season, scoring seven touchdowns along the way. The yardage set the conference and school record.

Barnes was also named to the Roanoke Times all-state first-team offense. That squad is comprised of players from schools in the state of Virginia. Barnes shares the first-team backfield with running back Kevin Jones of the University of Virginia.

BRAGGING ABOUT SOME RELATIVES: I became a sports writer, because I love sports. While I have always loved sports, I have never been much of an athlete.

That does not mean I do not have some athletes in my family. Two of my cousins are doing well for Tuscaloosa Academy in Alabama.

Justin Collins was the starting quarterback as a freshman and he did well for a young team, even throwing for over 250 yards in one game. He is 6-foot-4 and is also doing well on the school’s basketball team, scoring 20 points in a recent game.

His sister, Samantha, is doing well on the basketball team, as she also scored 20 points in a recent game. She is around 5-foot-10 and is only an eighth grader.

Their grandparents are Bill and Faye Busbin of Ocilla.