The Houston Texans may be leaning toward a surprise hire in their head coach search.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Texans are conducting a second interview with Baltimore Ravens assistant head coach David Culley, who has impressed the team’s brass. Rapoport’s colleague Mike Garafolo went further, saying that there is growing support for Culley within the Houston organization.
Culley wasn’t on anyone’s radar when the process started. The 65-year-old has vast NFL experience, having been an assistant in the league since 1994. A member of Andy Reid’s coaching tree, he spent over a decade as the Philadelphia Eagles’ wide receivers coach, moving to Kansas City with Reid as an assistant head coach as well.
Buffalo defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier is thought to be the other finalist for the job. It’s not clear that disgruntled quarterback Deshaun Watson would be pleased with either choice, but it also probably doesn’t even matter.
Seattle Seahawks offensive lineman Chad Wheeler was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence early Saturday morning, and the details from the police report of the incident are extremely disturbing.
Wheeler has been accused of assaulting his girlfriend at an apartment in Kent, which is a suburb of Seattle. He bonded out of the King County Jail on Tuesday after Bail was set at $400,000.
According to a police report obtained by TMZ, the victim told police that Wheeler suffers from bipolar disorder but had not been taking his medication recently. She said she has been dating Wheeler for six months and that the two never had any issues.
The victim says Wheeler “snapped into a bad place” the night of the incident and told her to bow to him, which she refused to do. She said in a 911 call that she was being “killed,” and officers could hear her screaming inside the apartment when they arrived. The woman told police Wheeler strangled her “with both his hands for some time.” She says she then ran into the bathroom, locked the door and called the police.
Police observed injuries on the victim that included fingerprints on both sides of her neck and “capillaries that had burst at the back of her throat.” Her left elbow was also swollen significantly.
The Seahawks issued a statement on Wednesday addressing the incident.
Wheeler, a backup lineman, appeared in five games for the Seahawks this season. He was undrafted out of USC in 2017 and signed with the Seahawks in the middle of the 2019 season. He is set to become a restricted free agent.
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay dropped a hint about what type of quarterback he may be looking for to lead his team in 2021.
Irsay spoke to the media on Wednesday and suggested that he would ideally prefer to find an experienced quarterback who can win now, noting that he feels the rest of the team is close to being ready to compete for a Super Bowl.
Irsay and the Colts are working to replace Philip Rivers, who retired following the 2020 season.
These comments certainly suggest that Irsay will be in the market for any established quarterback that comes on the market. Rumor has it that there’s one already interested in playing for the Colts. If Irsay believes the Colts really are that close, then it makes sense to do whatever it takes to bring in what may be the missing piece at the quarterback position.
Josh Heupel hinted at how he plans to approach recruiting at Tennessee after officially being confirmed as the school’s new head coach.
Heupel was introduced on Wednesday afternoon, and he made it clear that his ambition is to win titles at Tennessee. He also added one of his main priorities: dominating within the state on the recruiting front.
According to 247Sports’ recruit rankings, the state of Tennessee has nine four-star recruits in the 2021 class. Only one of them has committed to Tennessee, with the rest leaving the state for the likes of Clemson, Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Michigan.
A one-time Heisman Trophy runner-up, Heupel was successful at UCF, where he went 28-8. That’s a nice track record, and should at least deliver him some credibility upon arriving at Tennessee. That said, he has quite the rebuilding job ahead of him, so he’ll want to establish himself in recruiting as quickly as possible.
The Los Angeles Rams signed Jared Goff to a massive contract extension prior to the 2019 season, but the quarterback is suddenly not guaranteed a starting job.
The Rams are expected to hold an open QB competition this offseason between Goff and John Wolford if Goff is not traded, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media. L.A. head coach Sean McVay liked what he saw from Wolford toward the end of the season and in training camp last year.
Wolford, an undrafted free agent out of Wake Forest, started for the Rams in Week 17 after Goff injured his thumb. The 25-year-old completed 22-of-38 passes with no touchdowns and an interception. He then suffered a frightening injury early in L.A.’s playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks and was replaced by Goff.
While McVay may be impressed with Wolford, this sounds like it is more about Goff’s current status than it is about Wolford. A recent report indicated the relationship between Goff and McVay is strained. The Rams obviously feel Goff should be giving them more after he signed a $134 million contract, so perhaps this is their way of trying to motivate him.
Tate Martell appears to be on his way to his third career school after once again entering the transfer portal.
Martell, who sat out the 2020 season after opting out in September following a suspension, has entered the transfer portal and looks set to leave Miami.
Martell essentially confirmed the news by posting a video on Twitter where he made clear that he intends to play quarterback again.
Martell’s college career has been quite the odyssey. After being featured on Netflix’s “QB1: Beyond the Lights,” he originally committed to Ohio State as a five-star quarterback recruit. He transferred to Miami after Justin Fields joined the Buckeyes, where Martell lost out on the quarterback job and was shifted to wide receiver. He stood little chance of playing quarterback for the Hurricanes in 2021 after D’Eriq King announced his decision to return to school.
The 23-year-old resurfaced on social media just last week, at the time seemingly preparing for his return to Miami. He will have at least two years of eligibility remaining wherever he lands.
Eli Manning was not with the New York Giants this season for the first time since 2003, but the two-time Super Bowl champion could be returning to the organization in the very near future.
Manning visited with the Giants this week and expressed to owner John Mara that he wants to return to the team in a front office role. Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News believes Manning will take on an ambassador-type role and could be involved in both the business and football sides.
This is hardly a surprise. Manning is one of the most important figures in the history of the Giants organization, and he was always expected to remain a part of the franchise’s plans.
Manning seems to be enjoying retirement, and he has entertained us with some incredible tweets this year. Hopefully he keeps it up even after getting back to work.
Tom Brady has built an entire brand around his jersey number, but apparently he was willing to give it up when he joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
During an appearance on “The Peter King Podcast” this week, Bucs general manager Jason Licht revealed that Brady explored the idea of changing jersey numbers when he signed with the team. Chris Godwin was wearing No. 12 at the time, and Brady said he did not want to take the wide receiver’s number. Brady said he wouldn’t be opposed to wearing No. 7. He had a great explanation for why he would choose that number.
“He’s a great player. I’m not gonna take his number,” Licht recalled Brady telling him. “You know what number I was thinking of? I’m thinking of taking maybe No. 7. Is that available? We’ll go after that seventh Super Bowl.”
Licht said he got the impression that the jersey number was the “last thing on (Brady’s) mind,” though we find that hard to believe. If you remember, Godwin said he would prefer to keep No. 12 if Brady was willing to give it up. That’s an indication that Brady must have cared on some level.
Brady wore No. 12 during his entire Patriots career, so his “TB12” brand would have been safe either way. Still, given the steep prices some other players have had to pay for jersey numbers, it sounds like everything worked out nicely for the GOAT.
Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski have teamed up yet again! Treat yourself or a friend with this great Tampa Fiesta shirt. You can buy it here.
Curt Schilling wrote a lengthy letter on Tuesday asking to be removed from the Hall of Fame ballot next year, but it does not sound like his request is going to be fulfilled.
Baseball Writers Association of America secretary and treasurer Jack O’Connell issued a statement on Wednesday responding to Schilling. O’Connell said removing Schilling from the 2022 ballot would be a violation of the rules put in place by the Baseball Hall of Fame’s board of directors. The BBWAA is urging the Hall of Fame to reject Schilling’s request.
The results of the Hall of Fame voting for 2021 were released on Tuesday. Not one player met the 75 percent minimum required for election, marking the ninth time no player was elected. Schilling received the most votes at 71 percent and is 16 away from making the Hall of Fame.
Schilling is tired of voters using his political views as a reason to not vote for him. He wrote a lengthy letter on Tuesday asking to be removed from the ballot next year and wants to only be judged by the veteran’s committee. You can read the full letter here.
Schilling is one of only 16 pitchers with 3,000-plus strikeouts in his career. His 216 wins are a bit low for some people, but he ranks third all-time in strikeout-to-walk ratio. The strongest case Schilling can make for Cooperstown is his 11-2 record and 2.23 ERA in the playoffs, where he was downright dominant.
This is not the first time Schilling has unloaded on Hall of Fame voters for holding his political views against him.
Photo: GoogleMan/Wikimedia via CC-BY-SA 3.0
David Griffin has seen first-hand the type of impact LeBron James can have on a franchise, and the New Orleans Pelicans executive feels there is no other player in the NBA who can do what King James does.
Griffin, who was the general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers when LeBron led the team to an NBA title, told the Ringer this week that James is the only player in the NBA who makes a team a championship contender by himself.
“I’ve never really been able to say unequivocally ‘go flip the switch,’” Griffin said. “LeBron is the only player in the NBA whose presence alone makes you a Finals contender. So when LeBron came back to Cleveland, it was time to rock and roll.”
You can understand why Griffin would feel that way, though it is not entirely accurate. Just look at the Los Angeles Lakers, who didn’t even make the playoffs in LeBron’s first season with the team. It wasn’t until the Lakers paired Anthony Davis with LeBron that they were able to win a title.
NBA stars need help to win, and LeBron is no exception. He certainly puts any team in the Finals conversation, but there’s a reason he has reached the Finals 10 times and won four championships. The supporting cast simply wasn’t good enough more than half the time he reached the Finals.
Griffin made headlines over a year ago when he appeared to question LeBron’s desire to win, so perhaps he is simply making up for that.
