The Jacksonville Jaguars have been left reeling after allegations regarding Urban Meyer’s treatment of his players and staff leaked. A new report indicates that coaches who may have leaked information that was the source of the report heard from ownership. The message from ownership seemed to echo Meyer’s.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan addressed the team’s coaching staff in person after the report about Meyer went public on Saturday, according to NFL reporter Josina Anderson. While Khan expressed his support for the coaching staff, he made clear he disliked the report going public and warned coaches against leaking stories to the media.
This might not have been the message Jaguars coaches were hoping to hear. While it wasn’t quite as blunt as Meyer’s message on Sunday, it doesn’t sound like Khan’s message was particularly encouraging, either.
Meyer reportedly called his assistant coaches “losers,” which Meyer essentially confirmed himself.
Such a message is especially jarring coming from Meyer, who has won just two NFL games as a head coach. The assistants probably would have liked more backing from Khan than they may have received.
Photo: Oct 17, 2021; London, England, United Kingdom; Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan (Shahid Khan) watches from the sidelines during an NFL International Series game against the Miami Dolphins at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Pittsburgh Steelers were drilled on fundamentals in a pretty embarrassing way after what happened at the end of Thursday night’s loss to Minnesota.
Steelers wide receiver James Washington said Monday that coaches had a word with players about overcelebrating with a running clock late in the fourth quarter in light of Chase Claypool’s gaffe against the Vikings.
The last thing coaches want to do at this stage of the NFL season is work on fundamentals. Reminding guys to run back to the line of scrimmage instead of celebrating during a two-minute drill is beyond basic, but it’s a lesson that Claypool apparently needed. The fact that Claypool refused to take any responsibility only makes it worse.
Claypool has been a clear subject of frustration for the Steelers in recent weeks. One would expect him to learn his lesson sooner rather than later.
Coming off his team’s fourth straight victory this week, Tom Brady is taking some time to clown a couple of his biggest rivals.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback had some shade for Tony Romo and Peyton Manning in a funny tweet Monday. Brady called on his former adversaries to respect his speed after he ran seven times for 16 yards and a touchdown in Week 14 against the Buffalo Bills.
“So I was rewatching the broadcast last night,” said Brady. “And I heard Tony say, ‘Tom does that in the pocket all day long. That’s the same thing he does to move people with his eyes. Cuz he’s slow, right? He can’t actually make someone miss.’ So is he not watching? Because … ”
The seven-time Super Bowl champion then played a video of a first-down scramble that he had against the Bills set to some heavy metal music.
“Hey EA, tell Peyton to jack my speed rating back up,” Brady added.
Manning recently became a ratings adjuster for the “Madden NFL 22” video game as part of a collaboration with EA. He hilariously used his new powers to downgrade Brady’s rating in the game.
After their bitter battles with Brady during their respective playing careers, both Romo and Manning have made some funny jokes at Brady’s expense. At some point, it was going to be Brady’s turn to respond. Now is that time.
Photo: Aug 28, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) jogs off the field after a game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
One of the biggest names in the transfer portal has found a new home.
Spencer Rattler shared some messages on social media Monday night regarding his transfer. The former Oklahoma quarterback has decided to go play at South Carolina.
Rattler supplemented his tweets with the Gamecocks’ “spurs up” hashtag.
What’s impressive is South Carolina is getting more than just Rattler.
Rattler’s Oklahoma teammate, Austin Stogner, is also transferring to South Carolina.
Stogner had 14 catches for 166 yards and three touchdowns this season for the Sooners. The junior tight end has eight career touchdown catches. Rattler has passed for 4,595 yards, 40 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in his college career.
South Carolina is 6-6 this season, their first under new coach Shane Beamer. Three different quarterbacks have seen significant playing time for the Gamecocks.
Photo: Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler (7) warms up before a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021.
The Las Vegas Raiders’ season has turned ugly fast, and now the team is getting called out over its practice habits by a rookie.
Divine Deablo, a rookie linebacker, questioned his teammates following Sunday’s 48-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the team’s fifth defeat in six games. The third-round pick suggested that the veteran players are not taking practice seriously, and do not bring the necessary intensity on a daily basis.
“Personally I feel like a lot of people just, for lack of a better term just ‘fold,'” Deablo said, via Raiders Beat. “They’ll just lay down, come to practice not ready to practice. I know I’m a rookie but I don’t want my teammates to do that. I want to make sure they’re ready to practice and we bring that intensity every day.”
This is a brutal criticism for any player to air in public. For the Raiders, it’s even more embarrassing when it’s coming from a rookie. Veteran players should be setting the tone in practice and leading by example. At no point should it be necessary for a rookie to question his more experienced teammates’ commitment in private, much less in public.
This is not the first time the Raiders have seemingly had their commitment questioned this season. A full housecleaning might be needed once the campaign is over.
Photo: Aug 14, 2021; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders safety Divine Deablo (49) looks on during the second half against the Seattle Seahawks at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
When Kyle Kuzma left the Los Angeles Lakers, he apparently left his filter behind too.
The Washington Wizards forward appeared to take another shot at his old team on Monday. Kuzma reacted to recent trade rumors involving young Lakers swingman Talen Horton-Tucker.
“Here y’all go again,” Kuzma wrote with a bunch of laughing-face emojis.
Kuzma’s tweet could be interpreted as a shot at the media for creating more rumors about Lakers players. But given the shade that Kuzma has thrown at the Lakers recently, the more likely interpretation is that he was calling out his former team for shopping yet another one of their young talents.
While that would be a pretty petty swipe from Kuzma, it is definitely not untrue. He knows firsthand what it is like to be shopped by the Lakers. In fact, it happened all the time even before Kuzma with ex-Lakers phenoms like Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Jordan Clarkson, and D’Angelo Russell. Every single one eventually got traded by the team, in addition to Kuzma.
It is unclear if the 21-year-old Horton-Tucker will suffer the same fate. But everything seems to be on the table right now for the 15-13 Lakers. They are reportedly in the mix for an intriguing veteran or two via trade.
Photo: Dec 6, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma (33) in the first half against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
There have been a number of wild rumors about Zion Williamson’s weight in recent weeks, but one reporter disputes that there is much to any of it.
Williamson is still trying to come back from foot surgery, and with him out of the public eye, speculation has run rampant about his current weight. One recent report claimed Williamson was as heavy as 330 pounds, well above his listed weight of 284.
That’s not true, at least according to ESPN’s Andrew Lopez. In an appearance on Monday’s edition of “The Lowe Post” podcast, Lopez said Williamson is more or less at last season’s playing weight, though the New Orleans Pelicans still have some concerns over his conditioning in the longer term.
“The guy that I see right now at shootarounds, at practices … he looks like the player I saw last year,” Lopez said. “He is at his playing weight last year. If you see him without a hoodie, without all these extra baggy clothes on, he looks like the guy who played in games last season.
“That being said, if he’s 290 or 270, that’s still a lot of weight on the foot. You’re looking at this and you’re treating this and it’s like he’s basically an offensive lineman in the NFL. So he still has a ways to go in terms of long-term conditioning, but the Pelicans feel like that is a solvable issue, and things have turned a corner in that aspect in the last two to three months.”
In other words, the worst reports about Williamson’s weight sound untrue. This doesn’t necessarily invalidate some of the unflattering reports about his work ethic that have emerged lately, however.
Williamson recently suffered a setback in his rehab efforts and has been shut down for the time being. The Pelicans have no timetable for his return to game action.
Photo: Mar 4, 2020; Dallas, Texas, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) laughs while warming up before the game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Urban Meyer appears to be entering the “I’m an old man, I’m confused!” stage of his time in Jacksonville.
The Jaguars head coach sounded absolutely clueless on Monday with his latest quote about the team. Meyer was asked about the playing time of rookie safety Andre Cisco, the team’s third-round draft pick.
“Cisco is playing a little bit more, I believe,” replied Meyer, per Jaguars writer Demetrius Harvey. “I don’t have his numbers in front of me.”
The problem, as Harvey pointed out, was that Cisco did not play a single defensive snap in Week 14 against Tennessee.
Cisco did play 17 special-teams snaps, but even that number was the fewest he had played in weeks. By just about any interpretation, Meyer was off line.
Perhaps Meyer’s quote is not all that surprising considering how disengaged he looked after Jacksonville’s latest defeat. But you would at least expect a head coach in the NFL to have a basic idea of the personnel on the field for the game that his team just played. The only good news for the 2-11 Jaguars is that this whole circus could soon be coming to a merciful end.
Photo: Oct 10, 2021; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer reacts during the second half against the Tennessee Titans at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
The end of December will mark 12 years since Texas Tech fired Mike Leach for cause, and he has not forgotten about it.
Leach was fired for cause in December 2009 over allegations that he locked Adam James in an electrical closet for hours after the player suffered a concussion. Leach has consistently disputed the allegation, but the Red Raiders found enough reason to fire Leach one day before he would have collected an $800,000 bonus.
To this day, Leach has not forgotten about the manner of the firing. His Mississippi State team will face Texas Tech in the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 28, and he was happy to use that to point out again that he feels the school still owes him.
“You know, great school,” Leach said Saturday, via Andy Kostka of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger. “I’ve got great memories there. They still owe me for 2009, the last time they won nine games, so maybe they’ll deliver the check. So we’ll see what happens there.”
Despite Leach’s very long memory, he insists that facing Texas Tech provides him with no extra motivation.
“You’ve gotta be motivated for everything you do,” Leach said. “There’s no real extra reserve for motivation. You try to improve and be the best you can every day.”
There have been hints over the years that Leach still holds a grudge against Texas Tech. It’s obvious that he has a pretty long memory, too. We’re guessing he’s not actually expecting the Red Raiders to hand him a check at the bowl game.
Photo: Oct 2, 2021; College Station, Texas, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Mike Leach argues a call while playing against the Texas A&M Aggies in the third quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Kliff Kingsbury recently paid Bill Belichick a huge compliment when discussing possible candidates to win Coach of the Year, and the future Hall of Famer is giving the praise right back.
Kingsbury, whose Cardinals have an NFL-best 10-2 record heading into Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, was asked on Thursday about being in the Coach of the Year discussion with Belichick. He said the 69-year-old deserves to win the award this year and eventually have it named after him.
Belichick weighed in during his weekly appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Monday morning. He was just as humble as Kingsbury.
“Very nice of Kliff to toss that bouquet, and I’ll toss it right back,” Belichick said. “Kliff has done a great job. I think he’s done a great job and should be the Coach of the Year this year.”
A case could be made for either coach, and they both know it. Belichick has the Patriots back in the playoff hunt in only his second season without Tom Brady. Mac Jones has been the best rookie quarterback in the NFL this season, and Belichick’s defense has helped keep the pressure off the former Alabama star. Belichick has easily done one of the best coaching jobs of his illustrious career.
The Patriots are in first in the AFC, and Belichick managed to keep them there with an extremely unconventional game plan last week. He’s the favorite to win Coach of the Year for a reason.
Photo: Oct 10, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick reacts during the second quarter against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
