Browns’ owner Jimmy Haslam confirmed to USA Today that he was interested in Harbaugh. The 49ers and Harbaugh denied that a deal was ever discussed to exchange Harbaugh for draft picks.

“There was an opportunity there, and it didn’t materialize,” Haslam told USA Today.

He wasn’t specific about how far down the road those talks went. It could well be that Harbaugh was never interested at all (which would surprise no one). Pro Football Talk was the first to report that there was ever discussion between the parties.

The Browns went through all kinds of rejection and soul searching before settling on Mike Pettine from the Buffalo Bills. Unfortunately for Pettine, he had to address the issue when he met with reporters at the NFL Combine.

“I got a phone call saying that the report was about to come out, and I shot the messenger a little bit. Because I asked, ‘How does that affect my tenure as the head coach?’ I think in my next sentence, I either used the word ‘flying’ followed by something or reference a part of a rat’s body,” Pettine said. “I think that’s noise. It has no bearing on my job moving forward.”


ARCHER HAS WHEELS


Kent State running back Dri Archer ran a 4.29 40-yard dash on his first attempt  and a 4.28 on his second and capped the day with a 4.26 at the NFL Combine on Sunday in Indianapolis.

It's the best result of the weekend.

Texas wide receiver Marquise Goodwin ran a 4.27 at the 2013 NFL Combine before being drafted by the Buffalo Bills with the 78th overall pick.

The fastest official time at the NFL Combine since electronic timing was implemented in 1999 was run by Rondel Menendez of Eastern Kentucky. He ran a 4.24 40-yard dash in 1999 and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons with the 247th overall pick. Chris Johnson ran a 4.24 in 2008.

In 1986, Auburn great Bo Jackson ran a 4.12 40-yard dash, a time which was heavily scrutinized. But he followed it up with a 4.18 within the same week which helped to legitimize the original time.


ROBY FELT 'LIKE AN EMPLOYEE’


Former Ohio State defensive back Bradley Roby is about to go pro as one of the top cornerback prospects in the 2014 NFL draft. He told reporters at the Combine that he feels he should have already been paid as a professional while playing for the Buckeyes.

Roby echoed the sentiment of former Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter, who's leading a movement that college football should be unionized and the players should be treated like employees of their school.

"The money athletes make for universities, (getting) a scholarship just isn't enough," Roby said, pointing to the profits major programs such as Ohio State earn through television contracts and other such revenue streams. "I felt like an employee."

As a player, Roby was frustrated how injuries limited him in his final season at Columbus. There are still question marks about whether he can shake off some coverage woes in big games (see against Wisconsin's Jared Abbrederis) and sneak into the first round in May.

Regardless, he's about to get his real paycheck for playing football. No wonder he wanted to leave school after his junior year.


LEWIS VOICES SUPPORT FOR DALTON


The last time we saw Andy Dalton on the field, it was hard to watch. The Bengals quarterback was falling apart in a 27-10 wild card playoff game loss to the San Diego Chargers.

Dalton was responsible for three of four turnovers — a lost fumble and two interceptions in the second half.

Still, the Bengals seemingly have not lost confidence in Dalton. Speaking at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis discussed a contract extension for Dalton.

“As a football team we would like to continue to keep our good, young players,” Lewis said. “The representatives from his side and our team will get together and try to discuss something. We feel good about what Andy has done the past three seasons and we have to continue to help him to continue to play better.”

Dalton has helped to get the Bengals to the playoffs, but Lewis’ teams have failed to win any.

“We need to win a playoff game,” Lewis continued. “We have to play better on offense, defense and special teams. We didn’t play very good and we got our butts whipped because of it. There’s no excuse about it. We didn’t play good from the QB spot, the defense spot or protection and you get beat when you do that.”

But how much better can Dalton get? His career passing rating is 85.7, with a 60.9 completion percentage in three seasons. Last season, Dalton threw 20 of his 49 career interceptions. Talking about Dalton, Lewis used words like “confident” and “convinced” to describe his level of trust in Dalton’s ability.

“He is a driven young man,” Lewis said. “He’s been that way. That’s how he’s gotten to be where he is with his internal drive. That is not going to change with Andy Dalton. It just continues to burn brighter.”


RAVENS WR ARRESTED


There’s more bad news for the Baltimore Ravens.

Reserve receiver Deonte Thompson was arrested and charged with suspicion of marijuana possession, according to WJC-TV, Baltimore’s CBS affiliate.

The incident occurred in Gainesville, Fla., where Thompson played college football at Florida.

Thompson was a passenger in an SUV that was pulled over around midnight Friday. Police said there was a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle and a search turned up nearly 30 grams inside a duffel bag. Thompson said the bag was his.

Thompson was signed by the Ravens as an unrestricted free agent in 2012.

It was the second arrest in a week of a Ravens player. Running back Ray Rice was arrested and charged with simple assault after an altercation with his fiancée, Janay Palmer, in Atlantic City, N.J.

A video emerged on TMZ.com that showed Rice dragging Palmer out of an elevator. Ravens’ GM Ozzie Newsome, after watching the video, said, “it doesn’t look good.” The team is still collecting information on that situation.

Contributors: Rana L. Cash, Vinnie Iyer, Troy Machir, Ken Bradley