Category: Sport

Believe it or not, there was a time when being a Nick Saban disciple did not seem like a ticket to greatness. Particularly in the first part of his Alabama tenure, when schools were desperate to mimic Saban’s methods, some of the more prominent names on his coaching tree like Derek Dooley, Jim McElwain and Will Muschamp could not reproduce his secret sauce when they got their chance to run SEC programs.

But with Saban now comfortably on the ESPN desk, where it seems like he spends most of his time either railing on the state of the sport or helping rehab the image of his fired buddies, his influence over college football is inescapable.

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While Saban left the stage before the professionalized era of college football could chip away at his mystique, he has found a way to still dominate the sport through proxies who have adapted his lessons to a model that Saban himself wanted little to do with.

“I think everybody learned a lot from Nick,” said Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, who was Alabama’s wide receivers coach for Saban’s first four seasons in Tuscaloosa. “If you were serious about your career and wanted to be a head coach one day, you took great notes or great mental notes. I felt like after one year with Coach Saban, I had learned more about how to run a program than I maybe did the previous 27 as an assistant coach.”

Now, as we reach the semifinals of the College Football Playoff, you can see Saban’s influence on multiple generations of coaches who have reached the top of the sport.

There’s Cignetti, 64, who has clearly borrowed Saban’s intensity, attention to detail and unwillingness to accept complacency from anyone in his organization.

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There’s Dan Lanning, 39, who learned at Alabama that you need to recruit the best players to build the best teams and has imported that philosophy to Oregon.

There’s Mario Cristobal, 55, who has built Miami in the image of Alabama teams that dominated on both lines of scrimmage.

Then there’s Pete Golding, 41, who almost sounds like he’s doing a Saban imitation — both in cadence and curse words — whenever he steps in front of a microphone as Ole Miss’ new head coach.

And though they’re all different in terms of their X-and-O expertise and what they borrowed stylistically from Saban, the one thing they all share is an inside view of how to build the kind of multi-layered, staffed-up organization that covered every base and made Alabama a consistent winning machine no matter which coaches or players came in and out in a given year.

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“The time there opened my eyes to what college football had grown into, what it had become and the resources necessary,” said Cristobal, who spent four seasons as an assistant under Saban.

They’re not alone. Seemingly every top-level program, but particularly those that encountered peak Saban either as a competitor or a cousin, has tried to copy Alabama with an army of analysts, personnel gurus and assistants to assistants on top of the cutting-edge facilities and bloated recruiting budgets.

It hasn’t always worked out, of course. Plenty of former Saban assistants have arrived at head coaching jobs with big hype and left a trail of expensive buyouts in their wake.

But when you look at the entire breadth of the sport, Saban’s coaching tree is now undeniable, stretching from Kirby Smart at Georgia to Steve Sarkisian at Texas to Lane Kiffin at LSU to Brent Key at Georgia Tech along with up-and-comers like newly hired Cal coach Tosh Lupoi and Charles Huff at Memphis.

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It’s enough Saban-connected success across the landscape to raise the question of why Alabama — which is 20-8 without a playoff win since Saban retired — doesn’t have a Saban acolyte in charge now.

But that’s a story for another day. Alabama is old news at this point, and Saban’s DNA is all over the four teams playing for a chance at this national championship.

It doesn’t even necessarily matter how long his former assistants were there or how they arrived.

Lanning and Golding represent the dozens of up-and-comers who passed through the Saban system, hoping to learn his famous “process” from the inside.

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Golding was a defensive coordinator at UTSA who caught Saban’s eye at a chalk talk and subsequently spent five years at Alabama, helping the Crimson Tide win the 2020 national title. If you watch and listen to him closely, you can see echoes of Saban’s verbal tics with a lot of “aights” and hand motions as he makes his points.

“I think most people who went through and were fortunate enough to be around Coach Saban understand, No. 1, the lifeblood of the program is recruiting,” Golding said. “And then you’ve got to have sound schemes on both sides. You want to keep stability within those schemes for the development of players. And there’s a toughness component, a competitive character component to hold these guys accountable and hold them to a high standard. And I think that’s pretty consistent with whoever is playing right now.”

Lanning’s time at Alabama changed the trajectory of his career. Though he was only with Saban for one year, he left a job as a full-time, on-field coach at Sam Houston State in 2014 to work at Alabama as a graduate assistant, which many would consider a backward career step. But not only did it help launch Lanning into an assistant coaching role at Memphis, getting into Saban’s world helped him land at Georgia for four years under Smart.

“I was going to take a pay cut to go be there,” Lanning said. “When anybody asked me why, I said, ‘I’m going to get my doctorate in football.’ And that’s what I felt like working for Coach Saban. Things I thought I knew, I realized I didn’t know anything.”

Cristobal represents the scores of coaches who went to Alabama to, in many ways, rehabilitate their career. Like Sarkisian, Kiffin and current Maryland coach Mike Locksley, Cristobal landed at Alabama as offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator after six years at Florida International where he had some success but ultimately fell victim to significant funding and administrative challenges. After four years, Cristobal left to be Willie Taggart’s co-offensive coordinator at Oregon, took over as head coach the following season when Taggart left for Florida State and was successful enough over four years to come back to his alma mater.

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“If I could just put my finger on one thing that I valued the most in terms of learning, was reconfirming what I learned under Coach [Jimmy] Johnson and Coach [Dennis] Erickson, the guys I had a chance to play for here, is under no circumstances can you allow human nature and complacency to take over yourself and the people in your program,” Cristobal said. “That’s at all costs and it’s a daily fight. When you wake up, that has to be opponent No. 1 that you have to attack with intent, with urgency and I would say that would be the most important thing.”

But perhaps the most Saban-like disciple is the one whose tenure at Alabama barely registers a memory.

By the time he got to Alabama in 2007, Cignetti had been a longtime quarterbacks coach rising through the ranks from Rice and Temple to Pittsburgh and NC State. Unable to put his career on a path to becoming an FBS head coach, Cignetti in 2011 famously took the job at D-II program IUP — Indiana University of Pennsylvania — making $125,000, about half of his salary at Alabama.

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Since 2019 when James Madison hired him, Cignetti has posted a Saban-like 77-11 record as a head coach and has Indiana on the verge of arguably the most surprising championship in college sports given the program’s history as a perennial loser.

For many years, it was an interesting hypothetical about what would happen if you imported Saban into a random program and not a monster like Alabama or a place like LSU that had untapped potential.

Cignetti has essentially ended that debate.

“There’s a lot of disciples out there doing well,” he said. “And that’s why he’s the greatest of all time.”

Saban’s role in the sport these days is interesting because while he has a huge megaphone, he has chosen to use it largely as a signal flare against the Wild West of the transfer portal and NIL while engaging in dubious conflicts of interest around certain coaching moves like advising Kiffin before he took the LSU job.

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The reality, though, is that Saban chose to become a TV personality because his own dominance in the sport was waning. With the dramatic shift in recruiting and player compensation, he could no longer horde talent on the premise that being an Alabama player would unlock future NFL riches.

He was also 72 years old.

While Alabama may struggle to ever get back to that level of success, this year’s CFP has made it clear his influence across the sport will be felt for decades to come.

We are inching closer and closer to the culmination of the college football season and this week gives us the next step on that journey. The College Football Playoff Semifinals. One of the star quarterbacks in the playoff is fighting to get a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA. Ross Dellenger explains this story and how there is a chance Trinidad Chambliss is back at Ole Miss next season. Then Ross, Andy Staples and Steven Godfrey discuss Chambliss’ effect on the Rebel’s this season. They breakdown the semifinal matchup against Miami by discussing who has the advantage and what each team needs to do to move on to the Natty.

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Then, they move over to the other semifinal. This is a rematch from earlier in the year as Oregon takes on Indiana. Indiana got the best of Oregon in Eugene, but the guys talk about how this is a much different Oregon team than it was in the first matchup. They discuss if Oregon will be able to get the best of this dominant Indiana team or if the Hoosiers will claim their spot in the championship game. Plus, they look at how the Big Ten conference was not given enough credit for the strength of its teams this year.

Later, Ross reports about the college football calendar changing yet again. No more spring ball? Discussions are being had about changes to the early signing period, games in Week 0, CFP dates, the dates of the portal and spring and summer access periods. Ross, Andy and Godfrey discuss the benefits of changing all of these and what changes should happen to improve the college football calendar.

Get ready for the CFP Semifinals with College Football Enquirer.

0:00:00 – Trinidad Chambliss petitions for 6th year

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15:21 – Miami vs. Ole Miss CFP Semifinal

28:07 – Oregon vs. Indiana CFP Semifinal

48:13 – Fixing the college football calendar

Check out all the episodes of the College Football Enquirer and the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at yahoosports.tv

Trae Young and the Hawks are reportedly working together on a trade. Where could the four-time All-Star land? Could he be the starting point guard on a title team? And should Atlanta pursue Anthony Davis, whom it has reportedly shown interest in? Our writers weigh in.

What’s your reaction to Trae Young and the Hawks working toward a trade?

Tom Haberstroh: It’s about time. The Hawks have clearly checked out with Young on the floor, allowing 126.2 points per 100 possessions with Ice Trae on the court this season. That’s the highest rate for any starter in the league, and an embarrassing figure for an All-Star. With Jalen Johnson taking the wheel, Young’s defensive liabilities became too much to handle.

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Steve Jones: I’m not surprised. Good intentions don’t always lead to great results and it was clear the Hawks had gotten a new wardrobe, took the long road home and stopped telling their franchise player about the future. It’s time for both sides to move on and focus on the future. I’m sure Young will look to remind the world what he’s capable of contributing moving forward.

Morten Stig Jensen: While I think Young does have significant upside, fact is, that upside has turned far more theoretical than practical. He just doesn’t weave himself into the fabric of a team offense, and we obviously know of his defensive limitations. As such, the Hawks can surely find better use for his forthcoming $49 million salary slot, as they build around Johnson.

Ben Rohrbach: Not surprising. I’m sure the Hawks have canvassed the trade market for Trae Young for some time. If they haven’t, they have been derelict of duty. They have long been better defensively without Young, and now they have an offense that can serve that defense without Young. Why not gauge interest from around the league, to see if they can improve that edition of this team? The question, then, is whether they can secure anything close to equal value for him.

Where would you like to see Trae Young land?

Rohrbach: The Minnesota Timberwolves? They are the only team that would have the array of defenders — Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert — to create a championship-caliber outfit around Young. Of course, they surely would have to give up one of those salaries in order to make the math work on a Young deal, and that could tip the scales against Young’s fit on a title contender. These are inherent issues around trading Young’s salary.

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Jones: I believe he is spiritually a Washington Wizard or a Sacramento King.

Jensen: Chicago Bulls? With Young insisting upon being the primary player, likely negating championship upside in the process, we need to identify a team wherein that’s not a problem. Hello, Chicago? The Bulls have the necessary expiring contracts to get it done, and Young’s presence would allow Josh Giddey to play his more natural position.

Haberstroh: On the waiver wire. That way, we can get him to fun places. His contract — $46 million this season and a $49 million player option next season — makes any trade so challenging. Minnesota would be an ideal fit with Gobert, but the Wolves really can’t make the money work unless Gobert is included. I just don’t love anywhere else.

Should the Hawks deal for Anthony Davis?

Jones: Absolutely not. If you did not feel like you could it done with Trae Young, what would make you believe you can do it with Anthony Davis? Build toward the future.

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Haberstroh: I wouldn’t. Move off of Young, but keep this thing going with the youngsters. I’d rather have Kristaps Porziņģis on a $30.7 million expiring deal and try to work out a sensible deal in free agency than go after Davis, who will be looking for a max extension in the offseason. Doubling down on AD at this point in his career reeks of desperation.

Rohrbach: To what end? I don’t think Davis transforms a Trae Young-less Hawks roster into a championship contender, especially as an oft-injured big man aging into his mid-30s. His timeline does not mesh with the new version of Atlanta, which boasts Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher as young, exciting wings. There is already an oft-injured big on the roster. Why not spend Porziņģis’ expiring salary more wisely in free agency in the summer?

Jensen: Trading for a soon-to-be 33-year-old who is often injured, has lost a step athletically and is owed $111 million after the conclusion of this season is just never a good idea, so that would be a hard no from me.

True or false: Trae Young can be the starting point guard on a championship team

Jensen: True, if he’s able to adjust his game and conclude he’s not the best player on the team. He’d have to be better off-ball, integrate himself as more of a helper, than the heliocentric player that he is. Defensively, I’m not sure there’s anything he can do, so it would make sense for that team to have elite defenders around him, and at least a real superstar helming everything.

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Haberstroh: True, only if Wemby is his center. It’s looking more and more that the deep playoff run in 2021 was an aberration. He presents so many problems defensively that he requires an all-time center to put out all the fires behind him. Elite passer. So-so shooter. Calamitous defender.

Rohrbach: True, to a degree. I do not think a team that counts Young as the high-usage engine of its offense can win a championship. Now, if you were to build a team of talented two-way players (like the Timberwolves) around Young, and he were to accept his role as a secondary or tertiary option to a more well-rounded superstar, who is to say that version of the four-time All-Star point guard — an idealized one we’ve long anticipated — couldn’t help a team to a title.

Jones: Yes, it’s a possibility. He has scoring and playmaking, and he draws attention in pick-and-roll. On the right squad, with the right defenders and the right balance it could happen.

Parker Livingstone will be on the other sideline for the Red River Rivalry in 2026.

The former Texas wide receiver has committed to Oklahoma, per multiple reports. Livingstone has been Arch Manning’s roommate at Texas and had 29 catches for 516 yards and six touchdowns as a redshirt freshman in 2025.

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Livingstone was the team’s fourth-leading receiver and one of just three Longhorns to have over 500 yards receiving. He also led all Texas players with more than two catches at 17.8 yards per catch.

Days ago, Livingstone announced he was entering the transfer portal. In a post on social media, he made it seem that leaving Texas was not his first choice.

“Never in a million years did I think I would be going into the portal looking for a new home,” Livingstone wrote. “Some things are out of my control. Such is the reality of the ever-changing landscape of college football.”

Texas’ wide receiver room is going to look a lot different in 2026. Leading receiver Ryan Wingo is back, but previous No. 2 receiver DeAndre Moore entered the portal before the Citrus Bowl and tight end Jack Endries is heading to the NFL Draft. The Longhorns are in the running to sign Auburn receiver Cam Coleman. He’s a former five-star recruit that’s in the transfer portal.

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Reloading at receiver will be key for a Texas team that is getting Manning back for a fourth season in 2026. The preseason Heisman favorite will likely have that status again heading into 2026 after a strong close to the season. Manning totaled four touchdowns in the team’s Citrus Bowl victory over Michigan and scored 11 total touchdowns across the Longhorns’ last three games of the season.

What was billed as a clash of Eastern Conference titans at Little Caesars Arena on Monday hardly lived up to the hype. Early in the second quarter, the Detroit Pistons hit the gas, slammed the pedal to the floor, and never let up, leaving the New York Knicks — the team that eliminated Detroit from the 2025 NBA playoffs, a sour taste that has fueled the Pistons’ surge to the top of the Eastern standings — stuck in neutral and eating their dust.

With two starters in street clothes — potential All-Star center Jalen Duren and steady veteran forward Tobias Harris — Detroit dismantled the visiting Knicks in a 121-90 pasting that further cemented the 27-9 Pistons’ standing atop the East. Cade Cunningham got wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted, scoring or assisting on 61 points against a New York defense that struggled to stall dribble penetration or stay connected to shooters all night, allowing a Pistons team that ranks 26th in 3-pointers per game to drill 16 long balls on 31 attempts.

The issues were arguably even more pronounced on the other end, where the ball pressure, physicality, length, quickness and tenacity of the Pistons’ No. 2-ranked defense completely short-circuited the Knicks’ attack. New York shot just 19-for-46 (41.3%) inside the 3-point arc, with a mere six makes inside the restricted area, and had a season-high-tying 20 turnovers, with six apiece coming from the All-NBA tandem of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. And while Brunson finished with a team-high 25 points, he also failed to register a single assist for the first time since March 2024 (a game in which he played just 47 seconds before leaving with a knee contusion) and for the first time in a full game since March 2022 — when he was still backing up Luka Dončić in Dallas.

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The result: The Knicks posted an offensive rating of just 96.1 before garbage time, according to Cleaning the Glass — their second-worst offensive outing of the season. The chaser to that bitter shot? Their worst came three days earlier, in last Friday’s loss to the Hawks (95.1).

All of which is to say: The vibes surrounding the Knicks, so immaculate just three weeks ago when they hoisted the NBA Cup in Las Vegas, have taken a dramatic and dire turn during what’s now a four-game losing streak, the team’s longest since February 2024. And that downturn — which now has the Knicks looking up in the standings at not only the Pistons, but also the red-hot Celtics, and just a game and a half clear of fourth-place Toronto — is prompting the sort of look inward that sounds an awful lot like reaching DEFCON: Team Meeting. From Vincent Goodwill of ESPN:

“A lot needs to be addressed,” Knicks guard Jalen Brunson said.

Brunson declined to elaborate on precisely what he meant, but when asked if the members of the team had any discussions amongst themselves before the media was allowed in, he said, “Yeah, a little bit.” […]

“We just gotta respond. A lot more needs to be said. We keep it internal,” he said. “If we want to be the team we say we want to be, we have to be better, simple as that.”

And from Stefan Bondy of the New York Post:

“We’ve got to get to the drawing board,” Towns said. “We’ve got to figure it out. Offensively, defensively, we’ve got to figure it out. It just hasn’t been good basketball from us recently.” […]

“[The Pistons] were ready to go tonight. They wanted to play,” said Brunson […] “They truly wanted to win and we didn’t.”

And from James L. Edwards III of The Athletic:

“This is a bad, bad time,” [Towns] said. “You can’t have it be this bad.”

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It’s been this bad for weeks now. At the time they won the NBA Cup, the Knicks were 18-7 with the NBA’s No. 2 offense, No. 13 defense and No. 3 net rating. Since the Cup win, though, they’re now 5-6, including four of their eight double-digit defeats on the season. In this span, they’ve plummeted down to 17th on offense and 27th on defense, getting outscored by a downright Wizardian 5.6 points per 100 possessions — and if there’s one thing we know, it’s that you never want to be downright Wizardian.

Not if you fancy yourself a title contender, anyway, which the Knicks very much do — an assessment made abundantly clear on Monday by none other than Knicks owner James L. Dolan, who, during a rare interview on New York radio station WFAN, laid out his expectation that his team would make the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. (Which, for the record, was right before Dolan took the franchise’s reins from his father. Y’know, in case you were wondering.)

“We want to get to the Finals, and we should win the Finals,” Dolan said. “This is sports […] anything can happen in sports. But getting to the Finals, we absolutely gotta do. Winning the Finals, we should win.”

After four straight losses punctuated by the most lopsided blowout defeat of their season, the Knicks feel awfully far away from that sort of rarefied air — and from the confidence, overflowing mere weeks ago, that they could get there. The question facing Mike Brown and his staff: How do they get that back?

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Well, some reinforcements couldn’t hurt. The Knicks have gone 2-4 since losing Josh Hart, who was off to arguably the best start of his career, to a sprained right ankle on Christmas Day, and have been without reserve guard Landry Shamet (right shoulder sprain) since before Thanksgiving. Both could return to the fold by the end of the week, according to SNY’s Ian Begley, and both could provide welcome infusions in areas that have ailed the Knicks.

Hart gives head coach Mike Brown another dogged perimeter defender to ease the burdens on OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges — and to help insulate the vulnerable Brunson and Towns — while also offering a source of complementary ball-handling and playmaking, another physical rebounder for a team that’s been outrebounded in four of the last six games, and a jolt of grab-and-go offense in transition. Shamet, for his part, was shooting 42.4% from 3-point range before his injury while pairing with Deuce McBride as two of New York’s best point-of-attack defenders — a particular pain point for a Knicks team that’s given up blow-by after blow-by in recent weeks, a major factor in New York ranking 23rd in the NBA in the share of opponents’ shots that come at the rim over the last 11 games.

Brunson has been the culprit in plenty of those blow-bys. While opposing offenses, particularly those helmed by bigger and/or more athletic lead guards, have long hunted the smaller Brunson at the point of attack, the Knicks have largely come out ahead in the bargain by virtue of Brunson’s ability to consistently marshal an elite offense that dishes out at least as much punishment as it takes. But despite Brunson continuing to put up great numbers during New York’s post-Cup swoon — just under 30 points and six assists per game on 45/39/86 shooting splits — New York’s offense, on the whole, has dipped down below league-average over the past several weeks.

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And while the offense has been markedly better in Brunson’s minutes than when he’s taken a seat, it’s still performed like a fringe-top-10 outfit with the captain on the ball rather than the league-best-caliber murderer’s row it was in his floor time earlier in the season. That’s not nearly effective enough to overcome the kind of defensive hemorrhaging the Knicks have been suffering with him on the floor — and a level of slippage that feels like, if not regression, at least a bit of reversion to old habits.

[Get more Knicks news: New York team feed]

Brunson’s usage rate, time of possession, seconds per touch and dribbles per touch are all up during this downturn from where they were earlier this season, and the Knicks are throwing about 16 fewer passes per game than they were earlier this season. Against the Pistons, Brunson ended 42.4% of the Knicks’ offensive possessions with a shot attempt, foul drawn or turnover — the kind of gargantuan usage that he’d begun to eschew during the Knicks’ hot start, and the kind of ball-dominant, isolation-heavy style of play from which Brown was brought in, in part, to steer New York’s offense away.

“We’re not getting off [the ball] like we were in the past,” Brown told reporters after the Detroit loss. “You’ve got to make quick decisions, and as soon as you feel another body come to you, you’ve got to get off it. And right now, we’re not doing it. We’re holding onto it too much, trying to force the issue too much. […] You’ve got to play off two feet, you’ve got to spray the basketball, and you’ve got to rely on your teammates to make decisions once you do spray it.”

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On one hand, it’s difficult to blame Brunson for taking it upon himself to shoulder a heavier offensive burden when few, if any, of his teammates seem up to the task of dribbling through defensive pressure without losing the ball or generating and making shots against tight coverage. On the other, it’s an approach that can kickstart a vicious cycle: stagnant possessions begetting misses and turnovers that give opponents the opportunity to attack in transition against a Knicks defense that isn’t set, increasing the likelihood that they score, forcing New York to take the ball out and bring it up the floor against a defense that is set in the half-court, leading to stagnant possessions that beget misses and turnovers, and so on, and so on.

(It can become a chicken-or-the-egg conundrum: Are Towns, Anunoby, Bridges, et al., struggling to catch a rhythm and make plays because they’re reduced to bystanders while Brunson’s trying to cook? Or is Brunson having to try to cook so much because they — most notably Towns, who has played well all-around this season, but has seen his touches and offensive production dip as he adjusts to a new system under Brown — are struggling to catch a rhythm and make plays?)

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Those cycles can turn virtuous, too. More intentional attacking, quicker decisions and better ball/body movement can lead to better, more open shots (and, if defenders are scrambling and out of position, more offensive rebounding opportunities). Make those, and you get the chance to set your defense more often, giving you a better shot of getting the kind of stops that give you the chance to run and hunt early offense. String enough of those sorts of sequences together, and you’re on the front foot, acting as the aggressor and knocking the opposition back on its heels — playing to the win-the-possession-battle identity that the Knicks, at their best, wield like a weapon.

The bad news is the Knicks haven’t done much of that lately. The good news, Brown noted, is that they’ve done it before, and they’re capable of doing it again.

“It’s not time to panic,” Brown said Monday. “But we have to make sure we’re doing what we can do to help this group. And our guys have to bring it, or try to take it to another level as a group — not trying to do too much, but take it to another level as a group in a lot of areas.”

Pete Carroll’s only season with the Las Vegas Raiders didn’t go as expected. Geno Smith cratered, Ashton Jeanty looked mortal and star pass rusher Maxx Crosby was shut down for the rest of the season … and reportedly wasn’t happy about it.

But if Crosby harbored any ill will toward Carroll for that decision, the pass rusher has already put it aside. Crosby had nothing but nice things to say about Carroll when asked about the coach’s firing during an appearance on the “Let’s Go!” podcast Monday.

“I haven’t had time to really process it, to be honest. I just found out. I’m here in the building and literally see it pop up on the TV. So it was kinda gloomy, I would say. It’s something that I’ve been a part of before.

“Just to speak on Pete, this season didn’t go the way we expected it at all. From the players to the coaches, I don’t think anyone expected we would be in this position and be getting the No. 1 pick to be honest. But I will say, the one thing I did admit about Pete is he was as consistent as they come. He’s won for such a long time. He’s a Super Bowl champion. He won a national championship at USC. He’s been an incredible coach and he’s had an incredible journey.

“Unfortunately, this thing didn’t work out the way we expected it. But he’s done an incredible job and had an incredible career. He was always awesome to me. Still gonna have that relationship regardless. Had a lot of coaches in my time, to say the least, but all of those coaches, you take something from them, you learn something from them … I wish him the best. Like I said, he was always incredible to me and treated me amazing. So, big shoutout to coach Pete. We’ll see what happens next.”

[Get more Raiders news: Las Vegas team feed]

While Crosby’s interview was recorded Monday, the podcast episode did not release until Tuesday.

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Carroll, 74, was a bold hire for the Raiders after he spent the 2024 season out of the NFL. After a year off, Carroll was brought to the Raiders to help re-invigorate the franchise and get it back on track.

That didn’t happen. Las Vegas finished 3-14 and earned the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Despite all his previous success with the Seattle Seahawks, Carroll was fired after just one season in Las Vegas.

The end of the Carroll era came with some controversy, as Crosby was shut down with two games remaining in the regular season due to a knee injury. Crosby seemingly took issue with that, and posted videos of himself playing basketball and playing on a trampoline right after being shut down.

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Following that shut down, there were reports suggesting Crosby’s relationship with the team was strained.

Crosby’s podcast appearance on “Let’s Go!” seems to refute that. Crosby didn’t appear to speak about the Carroll situation with any animosity, and the fact that he was already back at team facilities after briefly leaving suggests his relationship with the Raiders isn’t broken.

While that’s a good sign, it might not stop the Raiders from trading the 28-year-old star in the offseason. After a miserable year, Las Vegas is desperately in need of a major rebuild. Having the No. 1 overall pick helps, but the team could benefit from having multiple first-round picks over the next couple seasons if it decides to trade Crosby.

Three things should be known when it comes to the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator opening: Jerry Jones is worth an estimated $20 billion, there is no salary cap for coaches in the NFL, and Brian Flores is a free agent.

Jones says he wants to win a Super Bowl. He has actually said in the past that he would write a check so big it would be “embarrassing” just to win another Super Bowl. Now is his chance to prove it.

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The Cowboys fired defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus on Tuesday, a move that was expected after Dallas’ complete failure on defense. The Cowboys finished as the fourth-worst defense in DVOA history, which dates back to 1978. Eberflus wasn’t the only problem. The personnel was bad too. But there’s a reason Eberflus was fired.

[Get more Cowboys news: Dallas team feed]

You’d assume Jones would view this as an opportunity to make the biggest move he can possibly make, with no downside to the competitive ability of his team, only to his sizable bank account. The Vikings don’t seem concerned that Flores, one of the NFL’s best defensive coordinators, will leave for another coordinator job.

That’s why Jones should make an offer Flores can’t refuse. If he’s truly serious about winning, that is.

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Coaching salaries don’t compare to what players make

Paying top dollar for coaches is an untapped advantage that’s available for any owner, especially one as rich as Jones.

The highest-paid coordinator in the NFL last season was reportedly Chip Kelly at $6 million by the Las Vegas Raiders. That didn’t work out, but it shows how low the salaries are for top coordinators vs. players. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott makes 10 times what the top coordinator in football makes. That seems a bit off. Somehow, owners have kept coaching salaries relatively low. The top head coach in the NFL is Andy Reid at a reported $20 million, which is one-third of what Prescott’s deal pays him.

Also, unlike players, there is no salary cap for coaches. Paying Prescott or any player a huge salary impacts how much a team can spend on the rest of the roster. Paying a coach a salary well above market salary affects nothing, other than an owner’s wallet and the feelings of other owners.

Flores will likely have some head-coaching interviews, and it would make sense if he chooses that route over being a defensive coordinator for any amount of money. Or, he might simply love Minnesota and would take a significant discount to stay there. But there’s no reason Jones shouldn’t tempt him.

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Flores’ Vikings defenses have finished 11th, second and third in DVOA in his three years there, despite a combined four Pro Bowl appearances by his players in three seasons. He’s a very good defensive coordinator. Perhaps the best in the NFL. He’s also a free agent.

All Jones has to do is write an “embarrassing” check, which actually wouldn’t be that embarrassing.

Will Jerry Jones pay up for a defensive coordinator?

If the highest paid coordinator in the NFL last season made $6 million, would Flores be enticed if Jones doubled that to land him? After all, $12 million isn’t a crazy salary when compared to some players, and again, there’s no salary cap. There would be some angst from the existing coaches over that type of deal, but nothing is stopping Jones from writing them “embarrassing” checks too. Again, he’s worth in the neighborhood of $20 billion. And coaches are incredibly important to fielding a championship team. That shouldn’t be debatable.

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There likely is some number that Flores couldn’t say no to. Jones just has to find it.

The problem is that Jones has never wanted to pay top dollar for coaches, which is counterintuitive to his claims of wanting to win a Super Bowl at any cost. He, or any other owner, could get a completely legal edge that has been willfully ignored forever. He could pay the best position coaches like coordinators, the best coordinators like head coaches and head coaches like quarterbacks, and it wouldn’t hurt the Cowboys’ on-field product at all because there is no salary cap for coaches.

This is a test. Owners have a tendency to band together, often when it comes to keeping salaries down. They do so while fans are charged a lot for season tickets, merchandise and subscriptions to multiple streaming outlets to watch their team play. They do so while promising that winning a Super Bowl is their top priority. Is it?

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It seems unlikely that Jones resets the market to land Flores or any defensive coordinator. It has not been his approach in the past. Or, maybe, at age 83, he’s ready to act on his promises of desperately wanting to win a Super Bowl, rather than just saying it over and over.

The Washington Commanders will be in search of a pair of new coordinators as the team is reportedly parting ways with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr., according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Kingsbury and Whitt were hired in February 2024 as part of head coach Dan Quinn’s staff. Now after two seasons, both are gone.

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According to Jordan Schultz, Kingsbury is expected to interview for the open head coaching positions with the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans.

Offensive line coach Bobby Johnson, who was hired not long after Kingsbury and Whitt, was also let go, according to The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala.

[Get more Commanders news: Washington team feed]

Kingsbury was reportedly hired on a three-year deal to replace Eric Bieniemy, while Whitt joined after previously working with Quinn as a passing-game coordinator and secondary coach with the Dallas Cowboys.

After a 2024 season that saw the Commanders finish 12-5, place second in the NFC East and reach the NFC championship game, 2025 was one to forget. The Commanders dropped to 5-12 and saw 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels and receiver Terry McLaurin hampered by injuries.

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The Commanders’ offense ranked 22nd in the NFL with 318.8 total yards per game and 20.9 points per game. They were one of 10 teams to average under 200 yards passing per game. Defensively, no team allowed more total yards than Washington (384 per game) and they were a bottom-five team in both pass (242.5) and rush (141.8) defense, as well as points allowed (26.5) per game.

That lack of defensive success led to Quinn taking charge of defensive playcalling duties beginning in Week 11.

In April, the Commanders will select No. 7 in the 2026 NFL Draft and have the ability to add another weapon to their roster in hopes that next season will see better health and a turnaround in the standings.

The High Score 100 — the top 100 players in Yahoo’s newest fantasy basketball format — is a running reflection of year-to-date performance and trending production. Each weekly update captures who’s actually delivering value and who’s fading.

Here’s a breakdown of the biggest risers and fallers through the 11th week of fantasy basketball — with the complete High Score 100 at the bottom of the article. I’ll be updating my rankings every Tuesday throughout the fantasy basketball season.

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📈 The Risers: Young players seizing their opportunity

Anthony Black – G/FC, Orlando Magic: 90th overall (⬆️ 15)

Black earned his spot on the risers list while cracking the top 100 for the first time this season after amassing 65 and 60 fantasy points in the last two scoring periods in High Score. Jalen Suggs is out indefinitely, leaving a gulf of opportunity for the third-year guard. Over his previous 16 games spanning December to early January, Black’s been worthy of Most Improved Player honors, averaging 19.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game.

The game is slowing down for him as he matures into both a facilitator, scorer and defensive disruptor. Black’s fantasy relevance has shot up with his usage (around 25% in the past month) and he’s been one of the best waiver pickups of late. Don’t sell too early because this breakout is for real.

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[It’s not too late to create or join a High Score league, a new way to play Fantasy Basketball on Yahoo with simple rosters and scoring]

Onyeka Okongwu – FC, Atlanta Hawks: 71st overall (⬆️ 14)

Okongwu’s recent productivity is no fluke. With Kristaps Porziņģis in and out of the lineup due to health issues, Okongwu is stepping up once again. Okongwu played his way into the starting lineup, averaging 17/8/4 with over 2 stocks per game with the first unit.

His jump from the mid-80s into the low-70s reflects both his production and promotion in Atlanta’s rotation. He’s posted consecutive weeks with at least 50 fantasy points in High Score and 40 fantasy points per game is becoming a conservative floor as long as he continues playing around 30 minutes per night.

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VJ Edgecombe – G, Philadelphia 76ers: 87th overall (⬆️ 9)

Edgecombe is turning heads as a legit two-way guard, making several Dwyane Wade-like plays over the past week and for much of the season. And then, even doing things I’ve never seen before.

He’s been a top-20 player over the past week, averaging 22.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 4.5 stocks and 51.2 fantasy points per game. I was skeptical that he would continue producing at this level with Joel Embiid and Paul George healthy. However, the Bahamian Mamba is flourishing alongside Tyrese Maxey on both ends of the floor, while becoming a reliable backcourt option for fantasy managers in High Score. Keep him locked in your lineups.

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📉 Fallers: Injuries with an underperforming star

Kristaps Porziņģis – FC, Atlanta Hawks: 81st overall (⬇️ 11)

Porziņģis took a dip in the rankings this week because he (rightfully) hasn’t done much since returning to play. He’s been dealing with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), which has made it challenging to be available for his typical workload. In his two games in Week 10, KP put up an average of 21 fantasy points. On a per-minute basis, he’s been quite effective in the second unit; however, coming off the bench with a minutes restriction that tops out at 20 minutes is far from ideal in fantasy.

Fantasy managers have no choice but to leave him on the bench until his minutes trend up again. He’s becoming one of the hardest players to trust in fantasy, so if he has a spike game, use that as an opportunity to sell.

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P.J. Washington – FC, Dallas Mavericks: 100th overall (⬇️ 5)

Washington hasn’t eclipsed 40 fantasy points since Dec. 18. The Mavs forward suffered an ankle injury over the weekend and is looking doubtful to start Week 12. Despite leaving his last game early and scoring 7 fantasy points, his other two performances in Week 11 were very underwhelming, scoring 21 fantasy points versus the Trail Blazers and 27 points against the Sixers.

It was a frustrating week for anyone expecting the 30+ fantasy point output and his latest injury leaves no other recourse but benching or dropping him.

Bam Adebayo – FC, Miami Heat: 58th overall (⬇️ 4)

Adebayo’s fall is more subtle but still noticeable. He’s gone for a longer stretch than Washington in failing to hit 40 fantasy points. The last time Bam did it was on Dec. 9. He hasn’t scored 20 points in a game since Dec. 15. Adebayo is on pace for a career low in field goal percentage; his assist and steal rates are his lowest since his rookie season. All this to say that Adebayo is underperforming. He missed a couple of games in Week 10 with a back injury, and perhaps that’s still bothering him. Either way, fantasy managers would like to see Bam perform at least at his ADP (32.3), but he’s pacing to be more of a top-60 guy right now.

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Complete High Score 100 rankings

The High Score 100 is a running reflection of year-to-date performance and trending production.

The top player in High Score (and across all formats), Nikola Jokić remains out with a hyperextended knee. Even though he’ll be out for multiple weeks, he’s far and away the best fantasy player in High Score. He’s the only player averaging north of 70 fantasy points per game and since his injury isn’t expected to keep him out long term, he should still be the No. 1 overall pick if drafting a team right now.

Stay tuned for the next look at the High Score 100!

While the 2025 NFL playoffs still need to be played, it’s officially the offseason for 18 teams. Yahoo analyst Matt Harmon is going team-by-team, listed in order of the NFL Draft, offering what each needs to do this offseason to ensure success/improvement, particularly for players in fantasy football.

Las Vegas Raiders – Nail the offensive architect

There were many problems with the 2025 Las Vegas Raiders. Their biggest flaw was the lack of cohesive vision between the front office and coaching staff. Frankly, I don’t even think the entire coaching group — namely Pete Carroll and Chip Kelly — shared the same view of what the plan should be for the offense. The Raiders have cleaned out the staff. Now, it will be up to Tom Brady and his handpicked GM John Spytek to continue building a roster that has some young talent in the skill positions spots on offense that the prior staff didn’t maximize. The most important box to check is that they identify the correct offensive architect to lead the coaching staff and develop the eventual No. 1 overall pick at quarterback.

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New York Jets – Quarterback plan

No more half measures; we all knew that, at best, the Justin Fields acquisition would be just that and it turned out to be much worse. This offseason, the Jets need to make sure the starting quarterback is a serious option or nothing else matters. Garrett Wilson led this team with 395 receiving yards and he hasn’t caught a pass since Oct. 13. That is so beyond unserious. If this team determines they are so far away they can’t add a young passer to the mix in the 2026 NFL Draft, I could understand it from a team-building standpoint, but it’s a tough pill to swallow for a passing game that I do think is well-designed and has a No. 1 wideout in place.

Arizona Cardinals – Offensive ecosystem makeover

The Cardinals relieved the coaching staff of their duties Monday morning. Fantasy players enjoyed what was ultimately a scam for passing production with Jacoby Brissett under center. Brissett dropped back to pass 548 times (45.7 per game) since Week 6, Caleb Williams was second in that same span with 484 (37.2 per game). That’s the difference of 8.5 dropbacks per game. The Cardinals won a single game in that span. There was production but not a ton of good outcomes for Arizona. Moving on from Kyler Murray is a given at this stage, but the team also needs a fresh start from an offensive ecosystem standpoint.

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Tennessee Titans – Support for Cam Ward

Cam Ward ranked 35th out of 35 qualifying quarterbacks in EPA per dropback and success rate this season. However, we can all use our brains and apply some context to the situation and realize he wasn’t set up for any level of success with a lame-duck, play-calling head coach who was fired early in the season, and no quality experienced pass-catchers for most of the year. The Titans front office needs to nail the head coaching hire, which best facilitates growth for the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft first and foremost. The rest of the roster needs refreshing on offense, too. I wouldn’t write anyone who played a role at running back, wide receiver or tight end from 2025 in as a starter in 2026. If those guys compete in camp and win jobs, great. Just aim for more depth with upside overall.

New York Giants – Support for Jaxson Dart

The Giants essentially have the same assignment for supporting Jaxson Dart as outlined above with the Titans and Ward. New York will be able to attract some interesting candidates at head coach, provided those options are bought in on Dart, who wasn’t viewed as a consensus Round 1 quarterback but did show real-deal flashes this season. From a supporting cast standpoint, they need to add playmakers and more help on the offensive line. The impending return of Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo from injury could be an X-factor, provided they are healthy.

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Cleveland Browns – Fix the offensive line

The Browns hit on some young players in this most recent draft, including RB Quinshon Judkins and TE Harold Fannin Jr. Cleveland still needs a quarterback and a complete refresh of the wide receiver room. However, the offensive line has hit a breaking point due to age and expiring contracts. If that doesn’t get corrected in the offseason, I’m not sure what they add at those more marquee positions will move the needle much at all. That has to be top of mind for GM Andrew Berry, who was retained despite head coach Kevin Stefanski being shown the door.

Washington Commanders – Don’t cut corners

The Commanders just fired both of their coordinators less than one year after playing the NFC Championship game. Life comes at you fast in the NFL and this team is guilty of resting on its 2024 laurels to far too high a degree. They tried to cut corners and left significant holes in their offensive weaponry. The running back room and outside receiver position were ignored in the offseason and the lack of depth was exposed throughout the season. Moving on from Kliff Kingsbury signals they know they need to change their stripes a bit on offense this coming season. We’ll see how that works out but it’s the right idea, even if Kingsbury was great for this team in 2024. Getting the OC hire right is pivotal but so is surrounding QB Jayden Daniels with better young talent at pass-catcher.

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New Orleans Saints – Playmakers for Tyler Shough

Tyler Shough strung together a strong end of the year for his rookie season. From Week 9 on he ranked 14th in EPA per dropback and 11th in adjusted yards per attempt. We’ll see how high the ceiling is on Shough but he absolutely looks like someone who can start in the NFL. Now that the Saints have that answer, it’s time to load up on some playmakers. Chris Olave is coming off a breakthrough season and is capable of being this team’s multi-year WR1 but let’s stock the cupboard around him. This is especially glaring at running back, where the team never found a stride with Alvin Kamara and wasn’t any better without him after his injury.

Kansas City Chiefs – Look in the mirror

Back in November, I wrote a long piece detailing what’s gone wrong for the Kansas City Chiefs on offense this season and why those structural problems are big. Their season only got worse since that moment and I stand on everything written in that article — no need to regurgitate it. The issue is that there is no quick fix for any of that and Step 1 requires a pretty significant “look in the mirror” moment by the folks who have built what’s been the defining NFL team of the last decade.

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If we’re looking for clues as to whether Andy Reid and Co. have the awareness needed to proceed to the next steps, offensive coordinator Matt Nagy is a free agent this offseason and his status will tell us a lot. By no means do I think Nagy is some kind of boogeyman and his removal will fix everything. Rather, what the Chiefs do at offensive coordinator next season will indicate if they think some changes in vision are needed (they are) or if it’s a run it all back type of deal.

Cincinnati Bengals – Build around Joe Burrow and the trio

The Bengals have Joe Burrow. They have a great set of offensive skill position players, namely Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Chase Brown. And? This team has missed the playoffs for three straight seasons and while Burrow’s injuries are a big factor in that reality, they’re fooling themselves if they think that is the only variable. If Cincinnati runs back the same product — all those offensive pieces surrounded by middling play in the trenches and a poor defense — for another season, there might actually be some consequences. The Bengals as the NFL’s leading Carnival Team has been a goldmine for fantasy value but it’s become a tiresome operation going nowhere.

Miami Dolphins – Figure out the quarterback spot

The Dolphins are bringing Mike McDaniel back, presumably under the assumption that he can make it work with a different quarterback going forward. What they do about his contract is a big question but it’s beyond over between Tua Tagovailoa and this team. McDaniel’s early offenses revolved around getting the best out of the quarterback’s limitations but as always, that ran out of rope. This will be a fascinating team to watch going forward at the quarterback position and what it indicates for McDaniels’ vision. There are star skill position players like De’Von Achane and Jaylen Waddle to work with for whoever is under center.

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Dallas Cowboys – Retain George Pickens

Pretty simple; the Cowboys can’t allow George Pickens to hit the open market. Dallas is currently over the cap by a significant amount, but can create plenty of room via cuts and restructures to star players like Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. I’d be stunned if Pickens plays anywhere else next season, whether they come to an agreement on an extension or he’s retained with the franchise tag.

Atlanta Falcons – Figure out the quarterback spot

Atlanta made two big bets at the quarterback position in the 2024 offseason and as we head into 2026, I don’t think you can label either as a hit. Perhaps Michael Penix Jr. becomes that guy. However, I’d bet against a new front office and coaching staff hanging their hat on that as their answer, considering the soon-to-be 26-year-old quarterback is both still unproven and coming off his third ACL reconstruction. I’m not exactly sure what the path forward is for this team, which lacks a Round 1 selection in the upcoming draft, but I doubt either Penix or Kirk Cousins opens the season as the starting quarterback.

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Baltimore Ravens – Add more around Lamar Jackson

There will be sensationalist headlines about Lamar Jackson in the coming months regarding his future with the team. My guess is that he’ll be back with this team in 2026, especially after the Ravens fired John Harbaugh. With that in mind, I think it’s time for the Ravens to get serious about what they’re putting around him — especially considering where the soon-to-be 29-year-old quarterback might be at this stage of his career. He’s carried a huge burden in the offense as a creator and elevator. Those days might be done, especially coming off several injuries. If I’m Baltimore, I’m going hard this offseason to try and make sure I field an above-average offensive line and pass-catching corps in 2026. I don’t think you can say either of those rooms deserved that designation this past season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Clean up some clutter

By the end of the season, it felt all too crowded in both the running back and wide receiver rooms for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That can work if you have a play-caller who can maximize everyone. I think it’s fair to say the Buccaneers no longer have an offensive coordinator who can manage that “burden.” As it stands, several names from both rooms could move on in the offseason. Rachaad White is an unrestricted free agent, while Sean Tucker is a restricted free agent at running back. All of Mike Evans, Cade Otton and Sterling Shepard are set to see their contracts expire. Of those players, Evans would be the one I’d consider most likely to return and most difficult to replace. However, he’s set to turn 33 this August and is constantly dealing with injuries. Evans may retire.

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Indianapolis Colts – Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce free agency

The Colts enter the offseason with plenty of cap space but have two big offensive free agents to consider. Daniel Jones is a tricky evaluation after he tore his Achilles tendon in November. The team likely still wants to retain him and he could even be a franchise tag candidate. Alec Pierce had a breakout season in 2025 and ended up being the Colts most important wideout in a really good room. While they’d love to retain him, he could end up being the best wide receiver on the market. He has the size, speed and true X-receiver skills that don’t come available often. A sneaky bidding war could ensue and the Colts may end up losing out on that one, especially with right tackle Braden Smith also up for free agency. The Colts’ first moves of the offseason will be the biggest.

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Detroit Lions – Remake the offensive line

Much of the Lions’ step back this season will be blamed on the coaching brain-drain and specifically the exit of Ben Johnson. That played a significant role but we might not be having this conversation at all if the offensive line even remotely resembled the unit we watched the previous few seasons in Detroit. As it stands now, Penei Sewell, who is one of the best right tackles in the NFL, is the only high-end starter locked in for 2026. Left tackle Taylor Decker will turn 33 in August and sounded like a man ready to consider retirement post-Week 18 for the same grueling health concerns of his former teammate Frank Ragnow. You can probably project some growth from Tate Ratledge at one of the guard spots going into Year 2; the other two spots are areas that held them back in 2025. Detroit needs to hammer this position if it wants to get back to the offensive identity it has long held under Dan Campbell’s regime.

Minnesota Vikings – Figure out the quarterback spot

Simple to say, hard to do. The Vikings can’t realistically go into next season with J.J. McCarthy as the unquestioned starting quarterback. Some degree of competition will need to be acquired. How high they reach to get such a competitor will be fascinating to watch. The Vikings were one of the most disappointing offenses in the NFL this season, with Justin Jefferson’s lack of production a weekly talking point. You can trace most of it back to the state of the quarterback position. You don’t have to bail on McCarthy altogether but they just need more options.