The Cardinals were looking for a new leader for the third time in less than a decade. After another disappointing year in Arizona, the Cardinals fired Jonathan Gannon after his third straight losing season.
LaFleur will be tasked with reversing the fortunes of a franchise that has just one playoff appearance in the past decade. The Cardinals haven’t seen consistent success since the first three years of the Bruce Arians era, when they won 34 regular-season games from 2013-15. Arizona even made it to the NFC title game in 2015-16.
(Davis Long/Yahoo Sports)
LaFleur, the younger brother of Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, has spent the last two seasons as the Rams’ offensive coordinator. He was also the New York Jets’ offensive coordinator for the 2021 season. Before his time with the Jets, the 38-year-old spent time coaching various offensive roles with the 49ers, Falcons and Browns under Kyle Shanahan.
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The first major issue to tackle for LaFleur could be getting on the same page about potentially drafting a franchise quarterback with general manager Monti Ossenfort. After another tough, injury-plagued season in Arizona, the Cardinals could be ready to move on from quarterback Kyler Murray.
Murray, a former No. 1 overall pick, appeared in just five games in 2025, posting an 88.6 passer rating and 46.8 QBR. Jacoby Brissett filled in admirably for Murray, starting 12 games while Murray nursed a lingering foot injury.
Finishing 3-14 landed Arizona the No. 3 pick in this year’s draft. If the Murray era is over in Arizona, the Cardinals could be in line to take another chance on a young quarterback prospect.
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Following a 2-0 start, the bottom fell out for the Cardinals. Arizona’s last win of the season came in early November over the Dallas Cowboys. The Cardinals ended the 2025 campaign losers of their final nine games.
Aside from a glaring need for stability at the quarterback position, the Cardinals also have other needs. They desperately need a young game-changer on the defensive side of the ball, as well as help along the offensive line. Top quarterback prospect Fernando Mendoza will almost assuredly be off the board when Arizona picks third.
Playing in the NFC West, Arizona has lots of work to do in terms of catching its division rivals. Every other team in the Cardinals’ division made the postseason and won at least 12 games, with Seattle topping out at 14 wins and claiming the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
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The Seahawks have since secured a bid to face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX with a win over the Rams in the NFC championship game. The NFC West was the only division in the league with three of four teams making the postseason.
After a winter-storm delay and a plane-equipment issue, the San Antonio Spurs are finally on their way home to play the Orlando Magic. But in order to give the Spurs adequate time to prepare, the NBA has now pushed back the contest to 9 p.m. ET.
The NBA anticipated weather would be an issue Saturday. With the Spurs unable to leave Charlotte due to a winter storm, the league initially pushed the game time back from 3 p.m. ET to 6 p.m. ET.
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But the Spurs experienced a minor equipment issue on their plane out of Charlotte on Sunday, forcing the team to stop in Atlanta so it could switch to a new plane. That unexpected delay forced the league to push back the game’s start time to 9 p.m. ET.
That proved to be true … but then their plane experienced an equipment issue.
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After a stop in Atlanta, the Spurs’ plane finally got off the ground around 2:22 p.m. ET. It’s a two-hour flight to get back to San Antonio. From there, the team will presumably head straight to the arena to prepare for Sunday’s game against the Magic.
Following Saturday’s loss, the Spurs sit at 32-16 entering Sunday, good for third place in the Western Conference. The Magic, meanwhile, are 25-22 and in seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
The travel issues could wind up playing a significant role in Sunday’s contest. The two teams have already met once this season, with the Spurs picking up a narrow 114-112 win over the Magic in early December.
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The Spurs will need to dig deep following a difficult couple hours of travel if they want to push past the Magic on Sunday.
We now know the 10 names for teams with head coaching vacancies. We assigned grades based on how each hire looks in the moment. We also did it for the buzziest coordinator positions that opened up.
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Head coaching hires
Las Vegas Raiders: Klint Kubiak
For a team that waited for most of the rest of the NFL to fill its openings, the Raiders did well. Kubiak was a hot name at the start of this cycle but teams opted for other coaches over the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator. Perhaps having to wait for Seattle’s long playoff run was a drawback. But Kubiak is coming off a fantastic season and once he’s done with Super Bowl LX he’ll take over as the Raiders’ head coach. He’ll do so knowing that in a few months the Raiders are very likely to pick Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza first overall in the NFL Draft. Las Vegas is a tough job, but if Kubiak and Mendoza can grow together quickly, this will be a good hire for the Raiders. Considering how bad Las Vegas has been recently from top to bottom, this was a really good hire.
Grade: A-
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Arizona Cardinals: Mike LaFleur
The Cardinals weren’t an attractive job and that seemed to show in a lackluster coaching search. There’s nothing wrong with taking a shot on LaFleur. He’s 38, with seasons as Kyle Shanahan’s passing game coordinator and Sean McVay’s offensive coordinator. Those are two excellent head coaches to learn under. Rams passing game coordinator Nathan Scheelhaase seemed to be the hotter name in the cycle, but if you liked Scheelhaase because of his youth and McVay ties, that applies to LaFleur too. The Cardinals don’t have a good roster, their quarterback situation is a mess and there’s very little track record of success. It’s a hard job. But LaFleur gets his chance to make it work.
Grade: C
Buffalo Bills: Joe Brady
The Bills moved on from Sean McDermott for not getting the franchise over the Super Bowl hump but promoted his offensive coordinator, which is a bit unusual. But Brady has been an intriguing name in NFL circles for a few years, and Buffalo knows what it has with him. He offers some continuity for Josh Allen and the rest of the offense. Brady has been Buffalo’s offensive coordinator for three seasons and the Bills have been top six in the NFL in points scored each time. There is some trepidation hiring a 38-year-old first-time head coach to a job that has as much pressure as the Bills’ job as they try to get Allen to his first Super Bowl. But maybe a radical change wasn’t the right path either. Now Brady can prove if he has been worth the hype that has been following him since he was the passing game coordinator for an undefeated championship LSU team in 2019 with Joe Burrow.
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Grade: B
Monken was a surprising choice because he hadn’t been getting a lot of buzz this offseason after the Ravens failed to make the playoffs. He doesn’t have NFL head coaching experience, but was Southern Miss’ head coach from 2013-15. He is a longtime offensive coordinator and was part of two national championship teams at Georgia before coming back to the NFL to guide the Ravens’ offense. He’ll have his work cut out on a team that has had poor quarterback play the past few years and is now losing defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. But Monken has a good reputation as an offensive mind, even if he was overshadowed by other candidates in the interview process.
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Grade: C+
McCarthy has a track record. He has won 60.8% of his regular-season games over 18 seasons and has a Super Bowl. But there have been plenty of playoff disappointments since that Super Bowl that have given McCarthy the reputation of a coach who has one title many years ago and can get you to the playoffs but not go on long postseason runs anymore, which is exactly what the Steelers just moved on from in Mike Tomlin. McCarthy was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area and maybe that was a draw, but it’s also an unusual reason to hire a head coach. Perhaps hiring McCarthy leads to Aaron Rodgers coming back for another season, but is that much of a draw anymore? The hire is fine but it’s not going to lead to much excitement or the belief that the Steelers found another coach who will be on the job 20 years.
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Grade: C
Let’s be clear: Getting Harbaugh was as good as the Giants could have done. It’s their best hire since landing Tom Coughlin in 2004. The Giants can only hope for similar results from Harbaugh.
Harbaugh comes in with a 61.4% career win percentage and a Super Bowl ring. He hasn’t had a ton of playoff success lately, but neither have the Giants. They haven’t even been reaching the playoffs most seasons, as they stumbled through hires like Ben McAdoo, Joe Judge and Brian Daboll.
Harbaugh immediately raises expectations in New York. There is a good, young core here. Harbaugh had only three losing seasons in his 18 years with Baltimore, and while there might not be that level of success right away with the Giants, this is the best coach they have had since the end of the Coughlin era, and it’s not close. Harbaugh was the best coach on the market (unless you prefer Mike Tomlin, who seems set on sitting out at least a season), the Giants were quickly identified as the favorite to land him and they got it done before any other team swooped in. For a franchise that has gotten a lot wrong lately, this was a major win.
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Grade: A+
The Ravens had Mike Macdonald as their defensive coordinator a couple seasons ago, and he left to be the Seattle Seahawks’ head coach. Macdonald led Seattle to a 14-3 record this past regular season, and the Ravens might have regret that the timing didn’t work out better for them to simply promote Macdonald to head coach. So they hired someone with a similar profile in Minter. He is 42 years old, was a Ravens defensive assistant from 2017-2020 and the past two seasons he has done a fantastic job guiding the Los Angeles Chargers’ defense. He was working under Jim Harbaugh, whose brother John was just fired by the Ravens. Before that he was with Jim Harbaugh for two seasons as Michigan’s defensive coordinator, and his final season there resulted in a national championship. Minter was a prime head-coaching candidate in this cycle, due to a lot of respect for his schematic excellence, and he should be a good fit with the Ravens. There is some risk in pairing a rookie head coach with a roster that should believe it can bounce back to being a Super Bowl contender next season.
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Grade: A-
NFL Coach of the Year might be a flawed award, but Stefanski has two of them. It’s rare that a coach like that is available, and the Falcons saw an opportunity.
It’s easy to like this hire. Stefanski and the Falcons still has a quarterback situation to work through, but he’s used to that after his seasons with the Browns. Stefanski steps into a situation with a talented team in a bad division. And he should be able to elevate the Falcons right away. This seemed like a great fit, with a coach who succeeded at times in a tough situation in Cleveland with a team that underachieved last season and could make a big improvement right away. It’s easy to be impressed with this hire.
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Grade: A
Considering the pitfalls of the Dolphins job, Miami did fine in landing Hafley, who was a hot name after two good seasons as the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator. Hafley steps into a tough situation, with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s time in Miami likely done and a massive dead salary cap hit in his wake if he’s let go. There are other issues with the roster too. Reuniting with new Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan, who had been the Packers’ vice president of player personnel, had to be a big draw. Hafley has some head-coaching experience, albeit in college at Boston College for four years. That should help him with what might be a rough transition season or two as the Dolphins start to build back up.
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Grade: B
The Titans job ended up being one that attracted interest of top candidates. And Saleh is a very good hire. Saleh had just a 20-36 record as head coach of the New York Jets, but it has been proven over time that the Jets job is one of the toughest in the NFL. Saleh went to the San Francisco 49ers this past season as their defensive coordinator and had a fantastic season, rebuilding his reputation and putting himself right back in the head-coaching cycle. Saleh’s leadership and his defensive acumen will be an instant boost for a Titans team that has gone 3-14 each of the past two seasons. The big question will be what Saleh does on his offensive staff, considering how important that will be for the development of 2025 No. 1 NFL Draft pick Cam Ward.
The Cowboys have reportedly passed on some more proven coordinators in favor of a young star on the rise in Parker. Parker, the Eagles’ defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator the past two seasons under respected coordinator Vic Fangio, turned 34 years old last month. He was part of the Eagles’ championship-winning defense during the 2024 season. That group shut down the Chiefs in an impressive Super Bowl LIX win, and rookie cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean were big parts of that effort. Parker had been getting other interviews for defensive coordinator jobs. There’s some risk in hiring an unknown commodity, but the Cowboys are hoping they’re ahead of the curve by hiring Parker now.
Petzing has a good reputation, even though his three seasons coordinating the Cardinals’ offense didn’t have great results. Arizona was 19th, 11th and 19th in yards gained in his three seasons there.
There is some context, however: The Cardinals had sub-optimal quarterback play, whether it was Kyler Murray or Jacoby Brissett. Brissett put up decent numbers when he took over for Murray, and receiver Michael Wilson had a fantastic second half of the season. There are questions over why Marvin Harrison Jr. never broke out that way in his first two NFL seasons. Petzing is close to former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, and there’s some schematic overlap there, so maybe that was a draw. Given how many proven offensive coaches there are on the market and the attractiveness of running a Lions offense that has immense talent, the hire of Petzing seems a little underwhelming. But now he has much more to work with.
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Grade: B-
The Chargers might be a force on offense next season. The talent is there, though last season players like Ladd McConkey seemed to have been forgotten. McDaniel should bring everything together. He got head-coaching interest and was the hottest offensive coordinator candidate on the market too, and the Chargers reportedly landed him. The opportunity to take Justin Herbert to the next level must have been enticing. Assuming the offensive line gets fixed starting with more health next season, McDaniel’s play-calling might lead to the Chargers having a top-five offense.
Grade: A
After three seasons apart, Bieniemy and the Chiefs realized they’re better off together. Since Bieniemy left after the 2023 season his career has stalled, with single seasons with the Washington Commanders as their offensive coordinator, UCLA as its offensive coordinator and then the Chicago Bears as running backs coach. The Chiefs missed him too. In Bieniemy’s five seasons as Kansas City’s offensive coordinator the Chiefs never finished worse than sixth in yards gained or points scored. In the three seasons without him the Chiefs finished ninth, 16th and 20th in yardage. Bieniemy left Kansas City to call plays, something he didn’t do under Andy Reid, but his reunion with the Chiefs makes sense for both sides. The familiarity will make for a smooth transition.
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Grade: B
It’s hard to be too excited about Robinson after last season, when his offense with the Atlanta Falcons was criticized for lack of creativity and took a step back in production. The Falcons’ offense was 20th in DVOA after being 14th the season before, Robinson’s first running the offense. Did quarterback play affect Robinson’s play-calling? Perhaps. It’s still hard to view this as a home-run hire for head coach Todd Bowles, who enters the season with some pressure after the Bucs collapsed in the second half and failed to win a weak NFC South.
Grade: C-
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Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator: Jonathan Gannon
Gannon ultimately couldn’t win as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, but he got that job due to his acumen coaching defense. That’s what he’ll return to with the Packers, as he replaces Jeff Hafley. Gannon had a top 10 defense in yards allowed in both of his seasons as the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive coordinator, and his last season there the Eagles won the NFC. Gannon’s defenses in Arizona never finished in the top 20 in yards allowed, which is a bit worrisome, but he also didn’t have much talent to work with on that side of the ball. The Packers have more than enough talent, especially if Micah Parsons returns healthy, and Gannon should produce solid results. It’s a solid hire for Matt LaFleur’s staff.
Grade: B
Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator: Brian Daboll
If you buy that Daboll was the driving force behind Josh Allen making the leap to one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks, when Daboll was the Bills’ offensive coordinator, this is a great hire. Daboll gets to work with Cam Ward, who had some promising moments last season after he was the No. 1 pick of the draft. We know Daboll’s time as Giants head coach didn’t work out great, and seeing Daniel Jones blossom with the Colts after the Giants cut him should lead to some curiosity over whether Allen’s rapid improvement was due more to Daboll’s coaching or Allen putting in the work to fix his flaws. Still, having an coordinator who has experience in grooming a toolsy young quarterback is probably a good move for Tennessee.
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Grade: B+
Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator: Sean Mannion
Less than two years after announcing his retirement as a player to become a coach, Mannion was hired to be the Eagles’ new offensive coordinator. He had one season as a Packers offensive assistant and one as the team’s quarterbacks coach before being hired to call the Eagles offense. In his nine seasons as a quarterback he got a chance to play for many coaches and learn multiple systems, and he impressed the Eagles with his ideas on schemes. It’s still a major risk, given the pressure that comes with turning around the offense for a team with Super Bowl aspirations, to take a chance on a coordinator with such little coaching experience. Gambling on a young, sharp coach who is on the rise can turn out great, but it is still a gamble. It will be very interesting to see how this turns out.
For years, teams tried to pick coaches from Sean McVay’s staff. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they do the same to Ben Johnson’s assistants. After one year as Johnson’s offensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears, Doyle will have the same job with the Ravens but with play-calling duties. Like the Eagles’ hire of Sean Mannion, the Ravens are betting on a young coach before he hits big. Doyle is just 29 years old. He has more experience than Mannion, with four years as an offensive assistant with the Saints (mostly with Sean Payton), two years as the tight ends coach under Payton again with the Broncos and the year with Chicago. It’s another team with Super Bowl hopes that is making a risky hire on a young offensive mind before he becomes a star somewhere else, and that has to be factored into the grade, but it’s a gamble the Ravens hope pays off big.
Grade: B-
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San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator: Raheem Morris
When Kyle Shanahan hired Robert Saleh, fresh off being fired as a head coach by the Jets, to be his defensive coordinator last season it worked out great. Saleh is onto the Titans, and Shanahan is following a similar path with Morris. Morris had a disappointing run as the Atlanta Falcons’ head coach and was fired at the end of the season, but Shanahan remembers Morris’ successful run in the NFC West as the Rams’ defensive coordinator from 2021-23. Morris hasn’t proven to be a good head coach in the NFL but he can coordinate a defense. And if the Saleh script continues, maybe a successful season or two running San Francisco’s defense will result in another head-coaching shot.
The San Francisco 49ers are hiring former Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris as their defensive coordinator, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
Morris will replace Robert Saleh, who left the position after one season to become head coach of the Tennessee Titans.
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A former head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and defensive coordinator with the Falcons and Los Angeles Rams, Morris spent two seasons as Atlanta’s head coach. The Falcons fired Morris after consecutive 8-9 seasons failed to produce a playoff berth.
Morris takes over a defense that was beset by injuries in 2025, including season-ending injuries to All-Pro pass rusher Nick Bosa and All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner. The 49ers finished 20th in the NFL in total yards allowed and 13th with 21.8 points allowed per game.
Raheem Morris will take over a 49ers defense that hopes to get back All-Pros Nick Bosa and Fred Warner from injury in 2026.
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The 49ers are hoping Morris can shape San Francisco’s defense into one of the league’s top units as they seek to return to contention.
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Despite a rash of injuries to key players on both sides of the ball, the 49ers finished 12-5 and advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs. They were no match when they got there for the NFC champion Seattle Seahawks, who delivered a 41-6 blowout en route to the Super Bowl.
The 49ers are hoping for better injury luck next season and a return to contention after making the playoffs in four of the past five seasons. In Morris, they have a respected and experienced NFL veteran to run their defense.
After months of the most unlikely comebacks and some shocking playoff eliminations, two NFL teams will finally square off for the ultimate prize. Super Bowl LX will kick off Sunday, and features two teams no one would have predicted would be here back in September.
After a 10-7 season in 2024, the Seattle Seahawks decided to take a major gamble at the league’s most important position. Geno Smith, a former high draft pick who nearly washed out of the league before a late-career resurgence, was shipped out for Sam Darnold, a former high draft pick who … basically did the same thing.
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The change looked to be prophetic, as Smith led the NFL in interceptions and sacks allowed for a Las Vegas Raiders team that finished with the NFL’s worst record. Darnold, meanwhile, proved that last season’s resurgence with the Minnesota Vikings wasn’t a fluke, leading the Seahawks to the third-most points scored in the NFL.
On the other end, the New England Patriots fired head coach Jerod Mayo after just one year last offseason. Former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel was brought in as head coach after being let go by the Tennessee Titans in 2023. At quarterback, Drake Maye showed flashes as a rookie, but also looked raw and in need of further development.
Turns out, Vrabel was the perfect hire. More competent coaching resulted in a massive turnaround, and Maye’s development was a major part of that. In his second season in the NFL, Maye put himself in contention for the MVP award and suddenly looks like the best quarterback to come out of an impressive 2024 class.
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All of those figures played a prominent role in their respective teams getting to this point of the season. With everything on the line Sunday, here are the top 10 storylines heading into Super Bowl LX.
Can Sam Darnold’s complete his career resurgence?
Prior to 2024, Darnold’s NFL career could be summed up with short video clips, neither of them flattering. The first occurred during Darnold’s second season in the NFL, when the New York Jets quarterback was caught on a microphone saying he was “seeing ghosts” during a loss aired on ESPN. Darnold received plenty of criticism for that comment.
The second came later that same season, when Darnold was ruled out of a game due to mononucleosis. A graphic of Darnold was shown on the broadcast and instantly became a meme due to its absurdity.
The graphic served as not only a reminder that the Jets were cursed, but that Darnold seemed well on his way to becoming a bust after the team took him with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
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For a long time, that looked to be the case. From 2020 to 2023, Darnold combined for 27 touchdowns and 28 interceptions over 40 appearances. After serving as a backup with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023, his NFL career appeared to be on life support.
But everything changed with the Vikings. Darnold turned in his finest season as a pro, tossing 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, making the Pro Bowl for the first time. He led the team to a 14-3 record, but couldn’t overcome the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card game.
After vanquishing the Rams this season, Darnold is looking to complete his career resurgence against the Patriots in the Super Bowl. A win would absolutely erase Darnold’s previous demons, especially considering his “seeing ghosts” game came against … you guessed it … the Patriots.
Is Drake Maye the Patriots’ true successor to Tom Brady?
Much to the chagrin of NFL fans outside the New England area, the Patriots are back on top in the NFL and it’s all due to their talented, young quarterback. Maye became a legitimate MVP candidate in just his second season in the league, something Tom Brady didn’t accomplish until Year 4 of his career.
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But Brady showed his greatness before that season, leading the Patriots to a Super Bowl win in his second year as a pro. If Maye can do the same, the comparisons will be inevitable.
Putting that comparison on any player is absurd, though it’s worth noting Maye has already produced much better numbers in his first two seasons compared to Brady. There are some very obvious reasons for that, as Maye was a first-round pick who played almost immediately and Brady was a sixth-round pick who wasn’t viewed as a starter until an injury to Drew Bledsoe pushed Brady into action.
Of course, what Brady did moving forward is what established him as the GOAT. Brady kept winning, bringing home seven Lombardi Trophies in all, which is more than any single NFL franchise. He only got better with age, winning all three of his MVP awards between the ages of 30 and 40. And he somehow beat Father Time, putting up excellent numbers through his age-45 season.
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Expecting any of that from Maye would be silly, but the fact that the Patriots seemingly have another championship-caliber quarterback this soon — one who has better stats than Brady at the same age — is going to invite that comparison, especially if Maye wins Sunday.
Can the Seahawks put the Malcolm Butler game in the past?
The Super Bowl LX matchup should sound familiar, because it hasn’t been that long since the Patriots and Seahawks have squared off in the big game. The two teams met back in Super Bowl XLIX after the 2014 season, and that one had a pretty famous ending.
With the Patriots leading by four points and just 27 seconds left on the clock, the team’s defense found itself in a bad spot. The Seahawks had driven down to the 1-yard line, and had three more chances to score the game-winning touchdown. Seattle also had one timeout left and bruising running back Marshawn Lynch lined up in the backfield. Their victory looked certain.
The Seahawks shockingly opted to throw for the touchdown on second down. Quarterback Russell Wilson quickly set himself after taking the shotgun snap and tried to fire a slant to Ricardo Lockette. Butler jumped the route, coming up with the game-sealing interception with just seconds left to play.
It was an improbable play that led to one of the biggest “what-if” moments in NFL history. What if the Seahawks had trusted their tackle-breaking running back and tried to slam the ball into the end zone? Would fans be talking about a Seahawks dynasty instead?
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With a win Sunday, Seattle can finally put that game — and Butler’s interception — in the past.
Can Stefon Diggs get redemption for previous playoff failures?
Prior to 2025, Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs had made the playoffs seven times, but a Super Bowl appearance remained elusive. It wasn’t for lack of trying. Diggs has put up some impressive postseason stat lines, with four games over 100 receiving yards. One of those contests was the “Minneapolis Miracle,” in which Diggs caught a game-winning 61-yard touchdown pass in the divisional round as time expired.
But as his teams continued to fall short, Diggs’ disappointment grew. Following a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2020 season AFC championship game, Diggs, then a member of the Buffalo Bills, was spotted in full uniform watching the Chiefs celebrate from a distance.
Stefon Diggs has had his share of playoff disappointments, like the 2020 season AFC title game loss to the Chiefs. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The image gained traction on social media, as it captured Diggs’ disappointment following the loss.
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Years later, Diggs has an opportunity to live out finally become a champion. A win Sunday would not only give Diggs the Super Bowl championship he’s been seeking, but put a new spin on his AFC championship photo. Instead of it being an image of failure, it will serve as an example of staying motivated and continuing to fight, even at your lowest moment.
Can Mike Vrabel become one of the best coaches in the NFL?
Prior to 2025, Mike Vrabel was viewed as a solid coach who did an admirable job with the Tennessee Titans despite the team lacking star power at some key positions. And while Vrabel was regarded well following his 2023 firing, he wasn’t necessarily considered a slam dunk for the next team in need of a head coach.
But Vrabel exceeded all expectations with the Patriots. While some improvement should have been expected under Vrabel, going from 4-13 to 14-3 and immediately reaching the Super Bowl has done a lot to improve Vrabel’s standing among the current crop of head coaches.
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With the Titans, Vrabel put together a 54-45 record, making the playoffs three times, but going 2-3 in those appearances. After one year with the Patriots, Vrabel now has a 68-48 career record as a head coach and a 5-3 record in the postseason.
A win in the Super Bowl would go a long way toward establishing Vrabel as one of the league’s best coaches, potentially putting him on par with names like Andy Reid, Sean Payton and Sean McVay. Maybe that’s premature, but the Vrabel-Patriots pairing certainly has a lot of similarities to those coaches and the NFL franchises where they became household names.
Is John Schneider the next Hall of Fame executive?
Seahawks general manager John Schneider made history when the franchise punched its ticket to Super Bowl LX. With the win, Schneider became the first NFL general manager to reach multiple Super Bowls with the same franchise, but with a different head coach and no players from the previous Super Bowl team.
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The accomplishment speaks to Schneider’s team-building ability and the Seahawks’ decision to keep him around despite some major team changes since the team’s first Super Bowl appearance under Schneider in the 2013 season.
Over that time, the Seahawks traded away Russell Wilson, watched Pete Carroll leave and completely reconstructed a defense on par with the “Legion of Boom.” While Carroll had final say on personnel moves while he was in Seattle, Schneider deserves credit for playing a key role in them, and then for making more big moves that propelled Seattle back to the Super Bowl. Swapping Smith for Darnold was a massive upgrade, as was drafting safety Nick Emmanwori in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Signing DeMarcus Lawrence also proved to be a shrewd offseason acquisition by Schneider.
Whether Schneider reaches the level of Hall of Fame executive probably depends on how the team responds in the immediate future (and, apparently, how the voting rules shake out after this year’s Bill Belichick fiasco). The Seahawks have experienced plenty of success in Schneider’s 16 seasons with the team. If that continues while he’s fully responsible for personnel moves, he’ll deserve a good look at Canton.
JSN vs. Christian Gonzalez: Who wins battle of 2023 first-round picks?
The Patriots hit on a future star when the team selected cornerback Christian Gonzalez with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Three picks later, the Seahawks found a star on the offensive side of the ball, taking wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
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Both Gonzalez and Smith-Njigba played crucial roles in their teams reaching the Super Bowl this season. Gonzalez picked up his first-ever Pro Bowl appearance, forcing 11 pass breakups in 14 games. Smith-Njigba established himself as one of the game’s best receivers, leading the NFL in receiving yards and being named first-team All-Pro.
Both players will presumably see a lot of each other on Super Sunday. While Gonzalez may not shadow Smith-Njigba the entire game, that’s probably the matchup the Patriots will prefer. Whichever player wins that battle could determine which team wins the game. If Gonzalez can find a way to shut down Smith-Njigba, that could completely throw off Darnold and the entire Seahawks’ offense. But if Smith-Njigba is allowed to run free in the secondary, that could spell major trouble for New England.
One game is unlikely to define the rest of their careers, but it will be one heck of a matchup, especially with both players entering the NFL as part of the same draft class.
Are we in for another Patriots dynasty?
Sorry, America: We might be in for another decade-plus of the Patriots contending for Super Bowl titles. (Photo by JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images)
(JEFF HAYNES via Getty Images)
If the Patriots win Sunday, comparisons to the team’s rise in the early 2000s will be inevitable. New England is led by a talented, young quarterback and a defensive-minded coach … that sure sounds similar to the duo that eventually led the Patriots to six Super Bowl championships.
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Any talk comparing Maye and Vrabel to Brady and Belichick will be premature, but it’s easy to see why some fans would assume another Patriots dynasty is on the way. For one, there will likely be more belief in Maye than there was in Brady following his first Super Bowl win. At the time, Brady was a first-year starter who put up modest numbers. The team seemed to rely less on Brady in the playoffs, as he tossed just one touchdown in three postseason games that season — though he was injured for a portion of one of those games. Still, it could be argued that the Patriots won the 2001 season Super Bowl with Brady in more of a game manager role. He had his moments, obviously, but there was no indication he would turn into the Hall of Famer he eventually became.
Expectations are much higher for Maye, who was the third overall pick and put himself in contention for the MVP award in his second season in the NFL. Given his draft pedigree, there’s a possibility Maye can get even better moving forward. Plus, the roster around him is just a year removed from picking in the top five of the draft, so a strong rookie class or two to complement last spring’s solid free agent signings will only bulk out the roster.
That’s a scary thought for the rest of the NFL — and for the non-Patriots fans who thought the team’s reign of terror was over the instant Brady left.
How will preseason odds shape the NFL offseason?
At some point Sunday, a player on the winning team will deliver some version of the line, “Nobody believed in us.” And for the first time in sports history, that tired cliche will actually be accurate.
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Both teams entered the 2025 NFL season with long-shot odds to win the Super Bowl. The Seahawks were listed at 60-1. The Patriots came in at 80-1. That makes Super Bowl LX the most unlikely Super Bowl matchup in at least 50 years.
If the Patriots and Seahawks could overcome massive odds, what’s to stop teams like the Arizona Cardinals or Miami Dolphins from pulling off the same trick next season?
That’s the way most NFL teams should be thinking in the offseason. A year can make a massive difference in the sport, with teams routinely going from last place in their division to winning that same division a year later. The right coaching change or a willingness to take a shot on a talented player who hasn’t had the opportunity to blossom can drastically alter a team’s fortunes.
Of course, expecting every single team to hit on an elite head coach and an excellent quarterback is foolish. But if the Patriots and Seahawks taught the league any lesson, it’s that taking risks on talented players can pay off in a big way. Darnold and Diggs were far from sure things when they signed in the offseason, but both players proved to be enormous acquisitions.
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The Seahawks and Patriots are evidence that teams in similar spots — maybe the Tennessee Titans or the New York Jets — should try hard to make upgrades across the roster and take risks on high-upside players instead of writing off a year and praying a multiyear rebuild works out.
Are the Seahawks the NFL’s next big coaching tree?
It’s only been two years, but the Seahawks’ hiring of Mike Macdonald looks like a masterstroke. The former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator has a 26-10 record, including playoffs, in his first two years on the job, and already appears to be cultivating a coaching staff bound for bigger things.
Defensive coordinator Aden Durde also interviewed with teams this offseason, including both the Atlanta Falcons and Cleveland Browns. While Durde did not get hired as a head coach this cycle, he could be among the most desirable names available next offseason if he can keep the Seahawks’ defense playing at a high level.
The Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan coaching trees have dominated the NFL in recent seasons, but the Seahawks already seem to be making some noise following the reported Kubiak hiring Sunday.
Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark is spending her WNBA off-season honing her broadcasting skills and she’ll make her on-air debut with NBC Sports as a special contributor for the debut episode of Basketball Night In America this weekend. The new NBA pre-game show will air live from Madison Square Garden in New York City on February 1 at 6 p.m. ET and precedes the Sunday night game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks. Tip-off for that game is at 7 p.m. ET and both the pre-show and the game air on NBC and Peacock. That’s the first game of a Sunday double-header, it’ll be followed by the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Denver Nuggets at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Clark will provide pre-game commentary on Basketball Night in America, along with hostMaria Taylor and analysts Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter, and Tracy McGrady. Here’s everything you need to know about how to watch Caitlin Clark as she makes her broadcasting debut.
Date: Feb. 1
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Time: 6 p.m. ET
Channel: NBC
Streaming: Peacock, DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV and more
When is Caitlin Clark appearing on Basketball Night In America?
Caitlin Clark is making her broadcasting debut on Basketball Night In America, part of NBC’s Sunday Night Basketball broadcast, on Feb. 1 at 6 p.m. Clark will serve as a special contributor on the show.
What is Basketball Night In America?
Basketball Night in America is a new NBA commentary show from NBC Sports hosted by Maria Taylor and featuring a panel of analysts including Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter, and Tracy McGrady.
How to watch Caitlin Clark on Basketball Night In America?
Caitlin Clark’s debut on Basketball Night in America will be on Feb. 1 at 6 p.m., airing live on NBC.
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Where to stream Caitlin Clark on Basketball Night In America:
Basketball Night In America will air on NBC, which is available on streaming platforms like DirecTV. It will also stream live on Peacock.
More ways to watch Caitlin Clark on Basketball Night In America
As our guide to the best live TV streaming services to cut cable notes, both YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV are excellent options for watching live broadcasts of NBC shows, including Sunday Night Basketball coverage, but you’ll want to skip Fubo until and unless the service resolves its contract dispute with Comcast, as NBC channels remain unavailable for now.
One of MLB’s biggest power threats has finally landed with a team in 2026. Slugging third baseman Eugenio Suárez reportedly agreed to a one-year, $15 million deal with the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Suárez, 34, is coming off one of his best seasons in the majors, in which he clubbed 49 home runs between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners. The new deal with Cincinnati reportedly includes a mutual option for the 2027 season, too.
Power has always been Suárez’s calling card. In 12 seasons in the majors, he’s clubbed 325 home runs. Since 2014, that number ranks seventh in MLB, ahead of players like Bryce Harper and Freddie Freeman.
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While Suárez settled in as a player who would hit roughly 30 home runs per season, he managed to take his pop to the next level in 2025. Suárez got off to a tremendous start in Arizona last season, blasting 36 home runs in just 106 games. He posted what would have been a career-high .576 slugging percentage with the team and was voted to the All-Star team for just the second time in his career.
With the D-Backs flailing, however, Suárez was traded to Seattle. While Suárez was able to add 13 more home runs with the Mariners, he struggled following the trade. Suárez hit just .189/.255/.428 with the Mariners.
It marked the second time in his career in which Suárez faltered with the team. The slugger — who played for the Mariners in 2022 and 2023 — had a .234/.327/.423 slash line, with 53 home runs, during his first stint with the team. Those struggles led to the Mariners trading Suárez to the Diamondbacks following the 2023 MLB season. Suárez quickly rebounded in Arizona, getting his career back on track.
While Suárez is one of the biggest power threats in the game, his approach comes with a few downsides. Strikeouts have been a consistent problem for Suárez, as he’s led the league in the stat in three separate seasons. That approach has fueled Suárez’s poor batting averages. Suárez is a career .246 hitter, though has only exceeded that number once over the past six seasons. He can make up for that somewhat by taking walks, but he’s not an elite plate-discipline guy and posted a lowly .298 on-base percentage last season. That figure ranked near the bottom of the league among qualified hitters.
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That all-or-nothing approach, combined with Suárez’s age, add a fair amount of risk to a player coming off a 49-home run season. The Reds took the plunge on Suárez for his ability to pop home runs at a high rate.
Despite his age, that seems like a safe bet. Expecting much else from Suárez at this point in his career is a risk, one that will only get worse as he continues to age.
At a glance, here are some of the trends by the numbers:
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6
Hires who will be NFL head coaches for the first time. The “rookies” are Buffalo’s Joe Brady, Miami’s Jeff Hafley, Baltimore’s Jesse Minter, Cleveland’s Todd Monken, Las Vegas’ Klint Kubiak and Arizona’s Mike LaFleur.
Robert Saleh will be charged with rebuilding the Titans who haven’t had a successful season since 2021 under Mike Vrabel. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
1
Racial minority who was hired in this head coaching hiring cycle — the Titans’ Robert Saleh, who is Lebanese American. This is Saleh’s second head coaching job after spending four seasons with the New York Jets.
63
Age of the Giants’ John Harbaugh, the oldest coach hired in this cycle.
36
Age of youngest head coach hired in this cycle, Joe Brady of Buffalo.
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3
Head coaches whom Aaron Rodgers, 42, is older than in the league. Those coaches are: Joe Brady (36), Mike LaFleur (38) and Klint Kubiak (38). Jesse Minter (42) of the Ravens is older than Rodgers by about 7 months.
354
Combined regular-season victories for John Harbaugh and Mike McCarthy, the two most senior members of this coaching class.
2
Lombardi Trophies this head coaching class has among itself with John Harbaugh and Mike McCarthy each claiming the game’s ultimate prize once in their careers.
4
Offensive coordinators — Joe Brady, Todd Monken, Klint Kubiak and Mike LaFleur — who are making the jump to head coach next season
3
Defensive coordinators — Jeff Halfey, Jesse Minter and Robert Saleh — who are making the jump to head coach next season
Nobody was catching Justin Rose this week in San Diego.
Rose, who started the final round with a massive six-shot lead, cruised to a dominant win at the Farmers Insurance Open on Sunday. Rose posted a 2-under 70 in the final round at Torrey Pines to grab the seven-shot victory, his first of the season and second in his last five PGA Tour starts. Rose’s 23-under broke the tournament record last set by Tiger Woods in 1999.
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The win earned Rose a check worth more than $1.7 million.
Rose fired a 10-under on the North Course to begin the week and jump into the lead immediately, and then he backed it up with a 7-under 65 on the South Course on Friday. Though he slowed down a bit on Saturday, Rose still built a six-shot lead over Joel Dahmen and the rest of the field. Sunday’s round was just a formality. Rose has now won 13 times on Tour in his career.
Pierceson Coody, Si Woo Kim and Ryo Hisatsune finished in second at 16-under. Dahmen, who was in second to start the day, ended up T7. Brooks Koepka, after making the cut on the number in his first start since returning from LIV Golf, finished T56.
Here’s a look at how much Rose and the rest of the field earned this week at the Farmers Insurance Open.
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Farmers Insurance Open payouts
1. Justin Rose — $1.728 million T2. Pierceson Coody, Si Woo Kim, Ryo Hisatsune — $726,400 T5. Jake Knapp, Stephan Jaeger — $370,800 T7. Sahith Theegala, Andrew Novak, Joel Dahmen $301,600 10. Maverick McNealy — $261,600 T11. Tony Finau, Ryan Gerard, Adam Schenk, Keith Mitchell, Hideki Matsuyama, Seamus Power, Haotong Li — $193,029 T18. Michael Thorbjornsen, Chris Gotterup, Matt MCCarty, David Lipsky — $132,000 T22. Chad Ramey, Cameron Young, Nicolai Højgaard, Harris English, Kris Ventura — $92,640 T27. Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Patrick Rodgers, Eric Cole — $71,520 T30. Isaiah Salinda, Sam Stevens, Rasmus Højgaard, Adam Scott, Justin Lower, Dan Brown, Kristoffer Reitan, Max McGreevy — $56,280 T38. Matthieu Pavon, Karl Vilips, Jason Day, Danny Walker, Emiliano Grillo — $41,688 T43. John VanDerLaan, Johnny Keefer, Keegan Bradley, Davis Thompson, John Parry, Ricky Castillo — $31,264 T49. Mac Meissner, Denny McCarthy, Taylor Moore, Austin Eckroat, Zecheng Dou, Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson, A.J. Ewart — $23,739 T56. Matti Schmid, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, Brooks Koepka — $22,176 T59. mackenzie Hughes, Doug Ghim, Sam Ryder, Zach Bauchou — $21,504 63. S.H. Kim — $21,024 64. Keita Nakajima — $20,832 T65. Wyndham Clark, Marcelo Rozo, Emilio Gonzalez, Tom Kim — $20,352 69. Mark Hubbard — $19,872 T70. Cam Davis, Rico Hoey, Tom Hoge, Jackson Suber — $19,392 74. Kensei Hirata — $18,912
The only way that Joel Dahmen knew he would have a chance at winning Sunday afternoon was if Justin Rose somehow didn’t make it to Torrey Pines.
“He’s just playing too well,” Dahmen said Saturday night. “So, maybe he will not set his alarm correctly or something might happen that way.”
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Unfortunately for Dahmen, Rose was there waiting to tee off Sunday afternoon in the final group. The Farmers Insurance Open was all but over.
Rose, who built a massive six-shot lead over the rest of the field entering the final round, posted a 2-under 70 on Sunday to get to 23-under for the week, which gave him a seven-shot win over the rest of the field. That broke the tournament record of 22-under set by Tiger Woods in 1999.
“The whole week has been sort of a record-setting week,” Rose said on CBS. “I was just kind of aware of that, just for my own personal pride … I was grinding on that. Obviously I was aware of the big lead, but I kind of wanted to play for [the record] for myself.”
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Vintage Rose showed up at Torrey Pines. He fired a 10-under on the North Course to kick off the week and jump into the lead immediately, and he backed it up with a 7-under 65 on the South Course that gave just about everyone else issues in the second round.
Rose went 5-under on his first 10 holes Saturday, and ended up building a six-shot lead by the end of his round. It would have been bigger had he not slipped and made three bogeys down the stretch. Rose even admitted he thought his round “could have been lower,” something you “never want to say after a 68 at Torrey.”
By that point, Sunday’s round was merely a formality. Rose made three birdies in a four-hole stretch to make the turn at 3-under on the day. He bogeyed early on the back side, but it didn’t matter. Rose still cruised to the finish with seven straight pars to wrap up his dominant win.
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Si Woo Kim and Pierceson Coody finished second at 16-under for the week. Coody went 7-under in his final round. Ryo Hisatsune birdied the 18th to join that group at 16-under. Dahmen went 1-over in his final round to fall back to 14-under for the week and finished T7.
Brooks Koepka, who made his return to the Tour this week after a run with LIV Golf, finished T56 at 4-under. Koepka made the cut on the number to make the weekend.
Rose has won 13 times in his PGA Tour career and twice in his last five official starts after his win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in a playoff last fall. The 45-year-old fell to Rory McIlroy in a playoff at Augusta National last April.
Though it’s been years since he reached No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings, and well over a decade since his lone major championship win, Rose is playing some of the best golf of his career. He dominated Torrey Pines, often regarded as one of the toughest courses on Tour. While that will undoubtedly be tougher to do against stronger fields at the majors in the coming months, Rose appears more than ready to claim his second career major title in the near future.
