ESPN broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit was visibly emotional after watching his alma mater, the Ohio State Buckeyes, win the College Football Playoff National Championship game, and the reason is now known. 

Herbstreit made an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," where he not only discussed medical complications his son, Buckeyes walk-on tight end Zak Herbstreit, went through, but he also revealed that his wife, Ally, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. 

"It was almost like a perfect storm for me," Herbstreit told McAfee and his crew about his emotions during the post-game show as Ohio State celebrated the victory. "My son had heart failure two years ago, and they were talking about a heart replacement for a while. He had to medically retire, and I think the gratitude I have for Ryan Day putting his arms around Zak and keeping him involved. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

"…Ally, my wife, faced some stuff. It’s been a tough year for me behind the scenes. My wife got diagnosed with breast cancer, you know (family dog) Ben dies. It was just a lot of emotion, and when you do what we do, you endure. You do your job. 

"I think what happened, when they won, I was so happy for Ryan Day and those players, from what they faced and everything they went through. It was almost like a relief, and it just got the best of me."

KIRK HERBSTREIT, OHIO STATE FOOTBALL ALUM, BREAKS DOWN DURING BROADCAST AFTER BUCKEYES WIN NATIONAL TITLE

The Herbstreits met during their time at Ohio State together, where Kirk was a four-year letterman as a quarterback and Ally was a cheerleader. They had four sons together after getting married, including Zak, who remained with the Buckeyes despite having to medically retire following his heart failure. 

After calling the Buckeyes’ 34-23 victory alongside Chris Fowler, Herbstreit was on the postgame show when Scott Van Pelt decided to start with the Ohio State alum after seeing him teary-eyed.

Herbstreit did not mention what he said to McAfee, but he did discuss the resiliency of this Buckeyes group this season. 

"Oh, don’t start with me, man," Herbstreit, who grew up about an hour away from Ohio State in Centerville, told Van Pelt during the postgame show. "I’m a little emotional. I’m just fired up for these guys.

"When I call these games, I’m incredibly objective. You know, I love all these Ohio State teams, but this team, because of what they went through to get to this point, you’re just happy."

When the cameras cut back to the broadcast booth, Herbstreit was spotted grabbing a handkerchief off camera to wipe tears away as Fowler continued to speak. 

As Herbstreit mentioned, it has been a trying year personally for him, but he has endured through the college and NFL seasons, as he also works alongside Al Michaels during Prime Video’s "Thursday Night Football."

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Cooperstown welcomed three new players Tuesday night. Here's why the trio is headed to the Hall.

Defending champion Jannik Sinner dismissed No. 8 seed Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 to reach the Australian Open semifinals, where he will take on American Ben Shelton for a place in the final.

Borussia Dortmund have sacked head coach Nuri Sahin after a disappointing start to the campaign.

What's the latest on each team picking in the top 10? Our reporters weigh in.

After losing Ashlyn Watkins for the season, South Carolina showed that it's still a national title contender.

Every generation has a dominant team, but all periods of dominance end -- just look at Liverpool in the 1990s and Man United in the 2010s. Have Man City begun their decline?

Sharelle Rosado couldn't help but laugh about a rumor that her relationship with ex-fiancé Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson was a PR stunt.

England face the world champions in Brendon McCullum’s first match in charge of the white-ball side

© Getty Images

American player Ben Shelton has criticized some of the questions and comments made by post-match TV interviewers at the Australian Open after reaching the semifinals at the Grand Slam tennis tournament

© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

The world number one lost only six games in a 6-3 6-2 6-1 triumph.

© AP

The New England Patriots’ head coach choice was a familiar face, and Mike Vrabel kept that trend going with his offensive coordinator hire heading into the 2025 season. 

The Patriots are expected to reunite with Josh McDaniels as their offensive coordinator, a role he previously had with the organization, per multiple reports. Barstool Sports first reported McDaniels returning to the Patriots was imminent. 

This will be the third time McDaniels returns to the Patriots, though the first with Vrabel at the helm and quarterback Drake Maye to mold after his rookie campaign in 2024. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

McDaniels was among the offensive coordinator candidates the Patriots had been interviewing, which included Thomas Brown, the passing game coordinator for the Chicago Bears, and Los Angeles Chargers passing game coordinator Marcus Brady, per ESPN. 

McDaniels was out of the game in 2024 after being fired mid-season by the Las Vegas Raiders during the 2023 campaign. He was also head coach in 2022, but things did not pan out, and owner Mark Davis made the call to move on. 

While the Raiders remain searching for their own head coach after the firing of Antonio Pierce, who served on an interim basis after McDaniels’ departure in 2023, the Patriots found their guy in Vrabel after parting ways with Jerod Mayo following his first-and-only season. 

ROBERT KRAFT'S SON PLANS TO RUN FOR MAYOR OF BOSTON: REPORT

Additionally, though Vrabel and McDaniels have never coached together, they have a connection with their time together as player and coach respectively, when they won three Super Bowls during the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era. 

McDaniels’ big break into the NFL came with the Patriots in 2001 as an assistant under Belichick. He eventually worked his way up to the point where the Denver Broncos hired him in 2009 to become their next head coach.

However, that was short-lived, as McDaniels was fired in December 2010, when he would eventually return to the Patriots after being the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive coordinator in 2011.

McDaniels would enjoy his time as New England’s coordinator from then until making the move to the Raiders for his second attempt at head coaching. During the 2021 season, McDaniels was also tasked with grooming Mac Jones, the team’s first-round quarterback choice in the NFL Draft, and he would help them earn a playoff berth. 

The Patriots will hope McDaniels can lead the way for Maye, the No. 3 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft who showed spurts of greatness in his first NFL season despite the team’s overall struggles. Maye threw for 2,276 yards with 15 touchdowns to 10 interceptions with two rushing touchdowns on 421 yards over 12 games. 

As Vrabel continues to build out his coaching staff this offseason, bringing in a familiar face with an extensive track record is something that could go a long way for a Patriots team that continues to look for its next dynasty.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter. 

The Kansas City Chiefs are in their seventh straight AFC title game with a chance to become the first team to ever three-peat.

Ever since Patrick Mahomes became the full-time starter, the Chiefs have run the league, winning three titles in that span.

Well, that has bothered a lot of people.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Chiefs hatred has certainly become a thing for fans, but it is now spreading to the players as well.

The Baltimore Ravens had a chance at a rematch of last year's AFC championship when they went to Buffalo on Sunday night (the Chiefs had beaten the Houston Texans earlier in the weekend).

The Chiefs defeated Baltimore last year, and certainly, the Ravens wanted revenge, but they fell to the Bills, 27-25.

Despite being home this upcoming weekend, though, Ravens star Marlon Humphrey will be emotionally invested in Sunday's Bills-Chiefs matchup.

BILLS FANS START GOFUNDME TO DONATE TO MARK ANDREWS' CHARITY AFTER CRUCIAL DROP

"I have no reason of saying this other than being a hater. The Bills or whatever NFC team gotta beat the Chiefs. We can’t let them keep getting away with this," Humphrey posted to X on Tuesday.

Lots of the hatred has come from fans feeling referees favor the Chiefs, which Mahomes addressed earlier this week.

"I‘ve kind of learned that no matter what happens during the game that something’s going to come out about it if you win, and you continue to win. So, I don’t really pay attention to it," Mahomes said. 

"I mean, obviously, I’ve been on both sides of it as far as how I felt the calls were made, but, at the end of the day, man, those guys are doing their best to make the best calls and keep it to where the players are making the plays in the game. And that’s what decides the outcome. And obviously there was a call here or there that people didn’t agree with, but, at the same time, I think there was a lot of other plays that really decided the outcome of that football game."

With a win on Sunday, the Chiefs will be in their fifth Super Bowl since the turn of the decade.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

It looks as if No. 3 is one spot out of where the Giants need to be in what is widely considered an underwhelming and largely a two-quarterback draft.

The Argentina international last played for Spurs on December 8.

© PA Wire

England rugby’s governing body has agreed to hold a special general meeting after the Guinness Six Nations.

© PA Wire

Former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson left the team to take the Chicago Bears' head coaching job Monday.

Super Bowl champion Lomas Brown talked about what Lions fans are going through losing their top coordinator after a crushing playoff loss during a recent appearance on OutKick’s "Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich."

"I know it’s another body blow. You know that old game, body blow, body blow. … That was a big one yesterday," Brown said. "All of them on talk radio, that was the subject yesterday, Ben Johnson leaving. Oh my god, you got so many fans upset at Ben about taking the Chicago job. I think it’s more, not him leaving, but more of the job that he is accepting because of how bitter rivals we are with Chicago.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

"Now, we got to face him twice a year. That just made the division even harder with Ben Johnson going in there. And a lot of sentiment before he took the job was that Ben wouldn’t take that job because he knew he would have to go up against his good friend Dan Campbell twice a year. But he took it. A lot of people not happy with it around here."

The No. 1-seeded Lions were upset by the No. 6-seeded Washington Commanders, 45-31, Saturday.

Brown said losing Johnson, especially to a division rival, and potentially other top assistants make the loss to the Commanders hurt that much more. 

LIONS' DAN CAMPBELL CONFIDENT TEAM'S SUPER BOWL WINDOW REMAINS OPEN AFTER DISASTROUS LOSS TO COMMANDERS

"A lot of people not happy with it around here, and I think that it’s, again, I just think a lot of that’s from the results of the game, and just everything that’s going on the last few days around here. It’s culminating with Ben Johnson taking the job and, d---, we’re going to lose other assistants," Brown said. 

"I mean Aaron Glenn, you talk about maybe (offensive line coach) Hank Fraley. It’s other assistants that we’re going to lose off this team. That’s why this was the year for us to get it done."

Glenn was scheduled to interview with the New York Jets for the second time for their head coaching position Tuesday, according to NFL Network. 

Tuesday’s interview will be the first in-person meeting between the Jets and Glenn. 

Fraley is being interviewed for the Seattle Seahawks' offensive coordinator position Tuesday, according to ESPN. It will be Fraley’s second interview with the team and their first in-person interview. 

Brown spent 18 seasons in the NFL and was with the Lions for 11 of them. Brown was a star left tackle and made the Pro Bowl seven consecutive seasons from 1990-1996. 

Brown won a Super Bowl in his final season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002. 

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Josh Hart clarified his remarks about "egos" and "agendas" after Tuesday’s 99-95 win over the Nets, saying theyr were blown out of proportion.

Cam Thomas, who is now rehabbing a left hamstring strain, has begun "on-court activities," according to Nets coach Jordi Fernandez.

Sweeney received a £742,000 salary and £358,000 bonus in 2023-24, while the RFU posted a record operating loss of £37.9m and made 42 staff redundant.

© PA Archive