The North Carolina Tar Heels and Bill Belichick landed a top defensive lineman in the transfer portal from the UConn Huskies amid rumors the legendary head coach has an interest in NFL jobs.
The Tar Heels landed defensive lineman Pryce Yates, who won Defensive MVP honors in the Fenway Bowl as the Huskies topped the Tar Heels, 27-14, ESPN reported Wednesday. He had 21 tackles and 3.5 sacks in seven games. He missed some time due to injuries.
The latest transfer endeavor came as the NFL Network reported that Belichick and Tom Brady spoke recently about him possibly taking the Las Vegas Raiders job. The report also mentioned the Jacksonville Jaguars as a possible landing spot for Belichick.
The Athletic reported Belichick has no plans to leave North Carolina.
Belichick led the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles along with Brady, who recently became a minority owner of the Raiders. He was there through the 2023 season before the two sides mutually parted ways.
Belichick was out of the league in 2024 after no team made him their head coach. He interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons but failed to win the sweepstakes. He spent the season as an analyst before making the surprising move to take the Tar Heels gig.
He is 302-165 as a head coach between the Patriots and Cleveland Browns.
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett shared a touching moment with Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman Roger Rosengarten on Saturday during their Week 18 finale.
After a Ravens play, Rosengarten was heard asking Garrett to swap his jersey when the game was finished. The jersey swap has become a major part of the game for players in recent years.
Garrett, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2017 draft, won the Defensive Player of the Year last season and is angling to win the award for the second straight time. Rosengarten was the Ravens’ second-round pick in the 2024 draft. He has started in 14 of the 17 games he appeared in this season.
Rosengarten talked about the moment on Wednesday, according to the team’s website.
"It was just me and him walking after Derrick's big run for a touchdown. I was like, 'He's right next to me. Why not? No one else is around.' Actually, the whole world saw it," he said, adding that he wished he would have called himself a rookie instead of a "nobody."
The Ravens will play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
Deion Sanders made clear last month before the Alamo Bowl that he planned on staying to coach the Colorado Buffaloes for the long-term future despite rampant rumors he could jump.
On Wednesday, Sanders appeared to throw in a caveat to his previous statement. He suggested the only way he would ever leave for the NFL was for an opportunity to coach his sons.
"You know what? The only way I would consider it is to coach my sons," he said Wednesday on "GMA3." He put an emphasis on "sons," suggesting he would want to coach both Shedeur and Shilo Sanders.
"I love Colorado. I love my Buffaloes. I love everything we’re building. I love what we’re doing, and I love Boulder, Colorado," he added.
He said in a trailer for the upcoming season of "Coach Prime" on Amazon Prime Video that the 2024 season was special because he was "99%" sure it would be the final opportunity for him to coach his sons.
Sanders could very well do that, but it would take a lot.
Of the top 10 picks in the NFL Draft, the New England Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears each have head coach openings. Only the Raiders could really have a shot at selecting a quarterback.
Shedeur Sanders is expected to be one of the first players taken in the draft, but it will all depend on what the five teams in front of them do. The Tennessee Titans definitely need a quarterback and will likely choose one if they stay at No. 1. The Cleveland Browns need a quarterback but could opt to go for a veteran free agent. The New York Giants are also in need of a quarterback, but they also have a bunch of other needs to address as well.
Shilo Sanders may not be a first-round pick, which could make it easier for Deion Sanders and whatever team he may coach to select him.
It is a lot of hypothetical work for each of the Sanders boys to play together. A perfect storm will have to be created, but crazier things have happened in the NFL.
Former NASCAR star Danica Patrick wondered why water was an issue for firefighters and first responders who were called upon to battle the raging California wildfires this week.
Several wildfires popped up across the Los Angeles area on Tuesday and through Wednesday, which were fueled by the high winds that plagued the region. The widespread flames immediately put a strain on the water system in the city, according to FOX Weather.
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) CEO and Chief Engineer Janisse Quiñones said Wednesday teams have struggled to maintain water pressure on the system, which allows water to be pushed into fire hydrants used by firefighters.
"The strain that this fire has put on the water system and the hydrants, they’re just not designed for that type of usage all at once for 15 hours straight," Los Angeles County Fire Department Captain Sheila Kelliher Berkoh told FOX Weather.
"California has 840 miles of coast line and 3,000 lakes and reservoirs. Why don’t they have enough water to fix any and all fires?" she wrote on X.
"At some point I have to imagine it’s getting difficult for hardcore cali lovers to accept the state of their state and how it’s managed."
She then wrote that it would be time for Gov. Gavin Newsom to resign, only using the term "Newscum" as President-elect Donald Trump has done in his jabs toward the California leader.
By Wednesday night, another fire had broken out in the Hollywood Hills near the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Sheila Kelliher described the scorched hillsides as "dramatic and apocalyptic" in an interview with Fox News.
Kelliher said she watched winds "whip up to 70, 80, even 100 miles an hour," further fanning the flames."
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is leading the charge for a national ban on trans athletes in college sports.
Tuberville previously told Fox News Digital he will be re-introducing the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act to Congress after the new House rules package passed last week, which would punish schools financially if they allow trans athletes to compete against girls and women.
For the Republican, who has been a longtime advocate for the bill, certain decisions that have been made over the last four years under the Biden administration are the driving force behind his urgency on this issue.
"It's just a shame what's happened here over the last four years. It's been an attack on gender, it's been really an attack on women, all women," Tuberville said during an interview on OutKick's "Don't @ Me With Dan Dakich."
"They don't like women," he said. "They like everybody to think when they're born, ‘you’re not a woman, you're actually a man in women's clothing.'"
The Biden administration, alongside other Democrats, has taken sweeping actions over the last four years to enable trans athletes in women's and girls' sports.
On Jan. 20, 2021, just hours after President Biden assumed office, he issued an executive order on "Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation."
This order included a section that read, "Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports."
Biden issued a sweeping rule that clarified that Title IX’s ban on "sex" discrimination in schools covers discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation and "pregnancy or related conditions," in April. The administration insisted the regulation does not address athletic eligibility. However, multiple experts presented evidence to Fox News Digital in June that it would ultimately put more biological men in women's sports.
Multiple states filed lawsuits and enacted their own laws to address this issue, and then the Supreme Court then voted 5-4 in August to reject an emergency request by the Biden administration to enforce its sweeping changes in those states.
Democrats have proposed other federal legislation that would allow for more transgender inclusion in women's sports. These include the Equality Act, which was proposed in 2019 and has seen revisions that "would force public schools to allow biologically male athletes who identify as transgender on girls’ sports teams."
In March 2023, Democrats advocated for a transgender bill of rights, proposing a resolution "recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights." The resolution specifically called for federal law to ensure that biological men can "participate in sports on teams and in programs that best align with their gender identity; [and] use school facilities that best align with their gender identity."
Multiple national scandals erupted as a result of these laws, and other Democratic laws at the state level, in 2024 alone. The issue became one of the strongest attack points by the Trump campaign and other Republicans as they re-took control of the White House and both houses of Congress in November, as many Democrats have withdrawn from their past support for trans-inclusion amid insurmountable backlash. Biden's department of education was even forced to withdraw a proposed rule that would outlaw states from banning trans inclusion in December.
A national exit poll conducted by the Concerned Women for America legislative action committee found that 70% of moderate voters saw the issue of "Donald Trump’s opposition to transgender boys and men playing girls and women’s sports and of transgender boys and men using girls and women’s bathrooms," as important to them.
Additionally, 6% said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was "very important."
Now, Tuberville's bill will be their first step toward making good on their election-season stance on the issue.
The measure would maintain that Title IX treats gender as "recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth" and does not adjust it to apply to gender identity.
The bill would also ban federal funding from going toward athletic programs that allow biological men to participate in women's and girls' sports.
The measure is co-sponsored by 23 Republican senators, including Sens. James Risch and Mike Crapo of Idaho, Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Thom Tillis and Ted Budd of North Carolina, Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Tom Cotton, R-Ark., James Lankford, R-Okla., Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy of Montana, Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Mike Lee, R-Utah, John Kennedy, R-La., John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Pete Ricketts, R-Neb.
New Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has already granted Tuberville's bill the proper blessing to move forward, and a vote on the measure could come as soon as the end of the week.
JuJu Watkins says she has a goal that she keeps in the back of her mind.
That goal is to break the NCAA all-time scoring record, currently held by Caitlin Clark. It is a realistic goal for her, statistically.
"Naturally, being on pace, it's always in the back of my mind," Watkins told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. "The goal is to continue to produce at this level, and do it as efficiently as I can."
Watkins played the 50th game of her college career on Wednesday night in a 79-74 win over Maryland, bringing her career point total 1,318 over those first 50 games. Clark put up 1,328 points over the first 50 games of her college career. Watkins was outpacing Clark in career scoring after a 40-point game against California Baptist on Dec. 3, but slowed down over the next eight games compared to the same stretch in Clark's sophomore season.
Still, Watkins has the benefit of possibly playing more games in her career with an expanded Big 10, compared to the one Clark played in, and potentially more postseason games.
However, even with that competitive pace, Watkins only "wishes" she could play like Clark, who is far and away the better 3-point shooter.
"I wish I played like her," Watkins said.
Watkins also has multiple opportunities to do what Clark never could in college – win the national championship game. That first opportunity could come as early as this March. Watkins has led her squad to a 15-1 start and a top-four national ranking. They just have to get past the big sister in town, as rival No. 1 UCLA is undefeated, with two matchups to play against Watkins late in the season.
Clark's direct interference may or may not play a role in whether Watkins ends up doing any of that. At some point this season, or any in the future, Watkins has the option to ask Clark a question.
"I met her once," Watkins says. "She offered her number and she said, if I ever have any questions, she would answer them."
Watkins added, "It will probably just be a spur of the moment type of thing," when she does reach out.
There is plenty she could ask when that time comes. It might not even have anything to do with playing basketball. At just 19 years old, Watkins has already been anointed a subcultural icon.
She has a devout and visible following in her home community of Southern California and has taken the reins as the most popular player in the college game, nationally, in the aftermath of Clark's departure for the pros.
On her first road trip to the East Coast as a player in the Big Ten Conference for USC's inaugural season, Watkins made a stop in New Jersey to lead a 50-point blowout win against a Rutgers team reeling from the dysfunction of a mysteriously-benched star player. However, nearly the entire crowd stayed the whole game to watch Watkins.
On Thursday in Maryland, she put up 21 points before fouling out of the game, beating an undefeated top-10 team in front of a devout crowd of many of her own fans, while a national audience watched on Fox Sports.
"The attention wasn't always there, so to just see the eyes on it and people respecting the sport more, and young girls getting into the sport more, it's a dream come true," Watkins said, crediting Clark for bringing the attention.
Before it was playing in front of home court-type away crowds thousands of miles from home, Watkins' dream had plenty of harder moments along the way.
Watkins remembers all the hard moments. One particularly glaring moment came during the COVID-19 quarantine in 2020. Watkins was just a sophomore in high school and admitted she was probably out of shape because of the lifestyle restrictions during the pandemic.
"I was out of shape, I was so out of shape," Watkins said.
So Golden State Warriors player Draymond Greene came knocking with a workout offer.
"I will never forget it," Watkins said of the experience.
Watkins said Green's workout had her dribble up and down a court and shoot the ball over and over again until she threw up.
"I was done," Watkins said, adding that she did not even talk to him after the workout. "I don't even think I could speak, honestly."
Green spoke about this workout with Watkins during an episode of his podcast in February.
"It's not your typical NBA workout," Green said.
"You go shoot some spots and go to the next like we go and she came to our workout and the first day like you could tell her skill was there and like all the things, but she was struggling to get through the workout a bit and and like you know I'm pushing her like ‘hey come on Ju you got it come on.'"
Green said he has seen other athletes refuse to come back the next day after their first session, but Watkins returned for more punishment.
"I've had NBA players come to my workouts, throw up, not come back, you know. I've had, I've seen all different types, and she came back the next day, and I was like that ‘that young lady has a future in this game,’" he said.
What happened next?
Watkins went on to have such a strong sophomore season amid the crisis of a pandemic, that she won the 2020 Sports Illustrated Kids' SportsKid of the Year award. Her reputation started to really spread. Then she went on to win Gatorade National Player of the Year and Naismith Prep Player of the Year, and became the top-rated college recruit in 2022.
She shocked the nation when she turned down an offer to play for Dawn Staley at South Carolina, instead staying home in Los Angeles to play for USC.
Then came what she calls the hardest experience of her life.
"The adjustment from high school to college, and getting used to the rigorous schedule of it all, it was just a big adjustment for me. It was a big change," she said. "It gave me a new perspective on life."
Watkins did not get into too much detail about what that adjustment looked like. However, the numbers say she was able to adjust in time for the start of her first season. She got on pace to potentially break Clark's record right away with a historic freshman year and has stayed on course ever since.
A period of growth for women's basketball is also a time of diligence for players like Watkins. She is highly aware of the importance of players maintaining leverage as they negotiate their dues, rights and privileges from the WNBA and NCAA.
"It's so important to advocate for our rights, especially in this field as women," she said. "That's where true change comes, being able to voice our opinion and change things that don't seem fit for us."
In 2024, WNBA players got access to charter flights for the first time. Now the players' union, the WNBPA, is taking the league back to the negotiating table. The union voted to opt out of its current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in October, and the league could see a work stoppage if a new deal is not met by the end of the 2025 season.
The next CBA that the union negotiates will determine just how many rights and benefits Watkins will get as a player when she enters the WNBA in 2027 or later. So, she is rooting for the union to get as much as it can, especially after the wait for charter flights.
"Charter flights, that was long overdue," Watkins said. "It's what these women deserve, they work so hard, the least they can get is chartered to their games."
Watkins' passion for this is rooted in her family history. Her great-grandfather, Ted Watkins, organized and founded the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC) in 1965. He organized it just months before the infamous "Watts Rebellion," also known as the "Watts Uprising" and "Watts Riots." This incident saw thousands of residents in the Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles riot out of anger over issues that included employment discrimination and poverty.
After the riots, Ted organized the youth to clean up blighted vacant lots, plant grass and flowers and turn them into vest-pocket parks, according to the WLCAC website.
Ted Watkins' committee grew to prominence as a community self-help agency aiding thousands of residents in gaining employment and essential services. He was involved in the construction of a financial institution and hospital in Watts, as well as the development of low-income housing and youth programs.
"My great-grandfather is a big part of our family and one of my role models just to look up to for my city of Watts and just for so many people," JuJu said.
However, she also understands the importance of growing the sport as a whole to ensure that it can provide as much as possible for those players.
The WNBA has not been profitable in a single season in its history.
Clark's arrival in 2024 appears to be the league's best opportunity to change that for the first time. Clark's arrival, and the new wave of followers and media attention she has brought to the game, has also sparked controversy and criticism from WNBA veterans and former players.
Watkins, who is now seeing the spoils of all the attention Clark brought to the college game, is ready to embrace it all.
"I don't think anyone has changed the trajectory of the sport so much," Watkins said of Clark.
As Watkins looks to break Clark's scoring record, she hopes many of the new fans of women's basketball, even the ones who cause her "headaches" and "don't know what they're talking about sometimes," will come to cheer for her. But Watkins will also embrace these fans and the attention if they "hate" her.
It was a tough season for the San Francisco 49ers, and with it came Brock Purdy's worst stretch as a starter.
Certainly, Purdy did not benefit from injury issues all over the offense, most notably from Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk, butPurdy's numbers were worse in 2024 than last season.
He threw for roughly 400 fewer yards, went from 31 touchdowns to 20, and threw one more interception (12) than he did in 2023. After posing QB ratings of 107.3 and 113.0, it dipped to 96.1.
After missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2020 season, though, general manager John Lynch has no plans on letting Purdy walk out the door.
"What we know about Brock is that he's our guy. We have interest in Brock being around here for a long, long time," Lynch told reporters on Wednesday. "He's done so much for our organization. He's won big games and had a little tougher task, as we all did this year, with some of the things that happened throughout the course of the year. We just never could string games where we were all together. And through that, he continued to lead, he continued to play at a high level, so we have every interest in him being around."
Purdy is eligible for a large contract extension – as the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, his base salary this past season was less than $1 million. He could see a wild increase, as Spotrac says his market value is $59.7 million annually, which would be the largest in the league.
The site says he could be slated for a four-year deal worth nearly $239 million, which would be more than Kyler Murray, Deshaun Watson, Tua Tagovailoa, Jordan Love, and Jared Goff.
If he were to sign such a deal, he'd become the 14th QB in NFL history to surpass to $200 million mark, with each of the previous contracts having begun since 2020.
Before his Nittany Lions take on the Fighting Irish for a spot in the national title game, Penn State head coach James Franklin was blunt about Notre Dame not playing in a conference.
Notre Dame is one of three teams that play an independent schedule in the FBS, but the College Football Playoff expansion has led Franklin to believe every team should be in a conference.
It didn't matter that Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was right next to him during a joint press conference Wednesday. Franklin let his thoughts known.
"It should be consistent across college football," Franklin explained, via ESPN. "This is no knock at [Freeman] or Notre Dame, but I think everybody should be in a conference. I think everybody should play a conference championship game, or nobody should play a conference championship game. I think everybody should play the same number of conference games."
To Franklin’s point, the Nittany Lions made the Big Ten championship game, where they lost to the Oregon Ducks, who were named the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. The Ducks fell to Ohio State, who will take on Texas for the other spot in the national title game.
Penn State played one more game than Notre Dame, which made the CFP as an at-large team with the No. 7 seed.
So, with more teams entering the playoff, Franklin is calling for every team to play the same number of games and belong to a conference.
However, Notre Dame has been adamant about its independent status, which has been a part of its identity for decades. Other Fighting Irish teams play in the ACC, the conference with which the football program has a scheduling agreement.
There are also differences among conferences. For example, SEC teams play only eight conference games, while the Big Ten plays nine before conference championship games are played.
Franklin likes the eight-game conference schedule in the SEC.
"I was not a math major at East Stroudsburg, but just the numbers are going to make things more challenging if you’re playing one more conference game," Franklin, who previously coached at Vanderbilt in the SEC, said.
"We need somebody that is looking at it from a big-picture perspective."
The CFP selection process was already ridiculed in this first year of an expanded playoff, with teams like Alabama being left out. Franklin wants to see consistency because of scheduling differences, which makes it difficult for the selection committee in his eyes.
"How do you put those people that are in that room to make a really important decision that impacts the landscape of college football, and they can't compare apples to apples or oranges to oranges?" Franklin wondered. "I think that makes it very, very difficult."
Freeman said he recognizes how his program’s independence comes with a great sense of pride, but he also knows his squad can use conference championship weekend to rest and recover, a luxury only Notre Dame could afford before heading to the playoffs.
"I’m a guy that just [thinks[, ‘Tell us what we’re doing, and let’s go.' And you move forward," Freeman said when asked about whether he had an opinion on the matter. "I love where we’re at right now. [Notre Dame athletic director] Pete Bevacqua and our Notre Dame administration will continue to make decisions that are best for our program."
The Capital One Orange Bowl between Penn State and Notre Dame kicks off Thursday in Miami Gardens, Florida, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The Philadelphia Eagles have Super Bowl aspirations, but they will very likely need their franchise quarterback to get them there.
However, Birds fans collectively held their breath a couple weeks ago when Jalen Hurts went down with a concussion.
The head injury caused Hurts to miss the final two games of the season. It should be noted that the Eagles rested plenty of starters in their season finale against the New York Giants, but even if they hadn't, Hurts would have been shelved, since he's still in concussion protocol.
But, Philly did receive good news on Wednesday, as he hit the practice field for the first time since the injury.
Hurts was spotted throwing and without a helmet on; thus, he didn't log a full participation, but it's at least a step forward ahead of the biggest game of the season.
The Eagles earned the No. 2 seed in the NFC, winning the East and going 14-3 on the season. But they certainly do not have an easy matchup.
They will host the Green Bay Packers, who are the seventh seed for the second year in a row; that didn't stop them from beating the Cowboys in Dallas last year, though, and this year's 11-6 squad has much more experience than last.
Philly did win both of their games without Hurts this year, although in the game in which he got hurt, they did fall to the Washington Commanders.
Further good news for the Birds is that their game isn't until Sunday, as two games will be on Saturday. So, Hurts will have one more day to be cleared.
Hurts threw for 2,903 yards, the lowest since he became a full-time starter in 2021. He did, however, run for 14 touchdowns thanks to the always unstoppable Brotherly Shove. His five interceptions were also the lowest of his career.
A contingency plan has been put in place by the NFL as it continues monitoring the wildfires in California ahead of the Los Angeles Rams-Minnesota Vikings wild-card matchup Monday.
The No. 4-seeded Rams are scheduled to host the No. 5 Vikings at SoFi Stadium, but as the wildfires rage in the area, there’s a strong chance the Inglewood venue won’t be used.
The NFL released a statement saying it plans on having the Rams-Vikings play as scheduled Monday night at SoFi Stadium. If the stadium can’t be used, the game will be moved to a different venue.
State Farm Stadium, the home of the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, will be the backup location for the wild-card game, if necessary.
"The NFL’s priority is the safety of the Los Angeles community," the league’s statement began. "We are grateful for the tireless efforts of the first responders. Our hearts are with Los Angeles and everyone affected by the fires.
"We will continue to closely monitor developments in the area and will remain in contact with public officials, both clubs and the NFLPA."
The league issued a statement earlier Wednesday, which noted it was monitoring the situation.
The Rams had a scheduled off day Wednesday, though the Los Angeles Chargers, who share SoFi Stadium and head to Houston for their own wild-card game Saturday, limited players’ time outside during practice due to poor air quality.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the air quality index in Inglewood hit 281, according to ESPN. Air is considered unhealthy at 150 or higher.
At least 70,000 people have been ordered to evacuate as three major fires burn from the Pacific coast to Pasadena. Officials say the number of evacuation orders continues to fluctuate as the fires rage.
The Rams made an announcement Wednesday that no players or staff members have been affected by the fires, but the team is monitoring the situation closely.
"Our hearts are with those affected by the Eaton Fire in the Altadena/Pasadena area and the first responders protecting our community. Be safe," the Rams said.
Rams star receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp were among many who posted on X to show support for the community.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the fires," Kupp said. "Thank you to the firefighters, first responders, and everyone else doing their best in unfathomable circumstances."
Nacua added, "Thank you to all of the first responders! God bless the families impacted!"
The New England Patriots fired coach Jerod Mayo after just one season on Monday, and a report on Wednesday revealed telling details about his first year as NFL head coach and what the lead up to that decision looked like.
The Patriots closed out the season with a win over AFC East rivals, the Buffalo Bills, but it wasn’t enough for owner Robert Kraft to want to stick with Mayo.
"After the game I informed Jerod Mayo that he will not be returning as the head coach of the New England Patriots in 2025. For me, personally, it was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made," Kraft said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the trajectory of our team's performances throughout the season did not ascend as I had hoped."
Mayo had developed in the Patriots’ system, first as a player winning a Super Bowl during his eight-year career and later as a linebackers coach under Bill Belichick. But it seems that the "Patriots’ way" didn’t carry over into his coaching style.
According to a report from The Athletic, one incident that stood out to those close to the situation was a plane ride home after a loss to the Arizona Cardinals last month.
The report claimed that instead of reviewing film with the coaching staff, Mayo opted to play cards with the players.
"But in a move that surprised some at the front of the plane after such a lopsided loss, according to a team source, Mayo, the team’s first-year head coach who had been handpicked by owner Robert Kraft to succeed Bill Belichick, left his spot near the front and went back to where some players had gathered to play cards, choosing to hang out there while his assistants watched film," Chad Graff’s report read.
"Look, there are a lot of ways to do the job," a team source on the plane told Graff. "It’s not that Jerod’s was definitely wrong. But I can’t say I’ve seen that before."
Other sources added that Mayo’s attempt to differentiate himself from Belichick may have been his downfall.
"Mayo, they felt, tried too hard to be 180 degrees different from Belichick, then struggled to apply and uphold discipline after positioning himself as a players’ coach," the report continued.
For Kraft, he shouldered much of what led to Mayo’s troubles.
"This whole situation is on me. I feel terrible for Jerod. Because I put him in an untenable situation," Kraft said during a press conference on Tuesday. "I know he has all the tools as a head coach to be successful in this league. He just needed more time before taking the job."
The Miami Dolphins' decision to hire Mike McDaniel in 2022 represented a distinct change in coaching style from the previous regime.
Former Dolphins coach Brian Flores was defensive minded, while McDaniel handled the offensive coordinator duties for the San Francisco 49ers in 2021. Each brought a distinct personality and took different approaches to player discipline.
The New York Jets defeated the Dolphins this past Sunday, which dropped their record to 8-9. While Miami finished the 2022 and 2023 seasons with winning records and postseason berths, this season's sub .500 record kept the Dolphins out of the playoffs for the first time under McDaniel.
Missing the playoffs also prompted McDaniel's final media availability prior to the team's offseason.
McDaniel made some rather telling admissions during the media session, suggesting that he perhaps gave players too much leeway at times. The third-year Dolphins coach also argued that issuing fines lacks a certain level of effectiveness.
"I can fine people till they are blue in the face. I can take their money, I can yell at them," McDaniel said. "But until they understand that part of the reason that we are in [this] position is controllable, and what we have to [have], with absolute certainty, is a zero tolerance for anything else, we have to clean the controllables up and we can have a chance to have success together."
While McDaniel stopped short of naming any specific player, he did hint that the Dolphins had "multiple offenders." He then doubled down on his belief that fines are inadequate, before noting that any internal issues that popped up during the season were not widespread.
"Certain specific individuals… I don’t think it was across the board… There’s a lot of guys that had certain fines before that didn’t have any. There were some people that had multiple that, you know, I think there are different ways to counteract that," McDaniel told reporters. "Bring it up as a team and continuing to fine guys wasn’t enough, so I’m not going to continue to just place all of the blame on even some of the smallest individuals that were multiple offenders."
Nevertheless, McDaniel made it clear that he is open to making adjustments. "I will adjust my process and make sure that it's team-wide knowledge anytime that things are done that aren’t in the best interest of winning football games," he said.
McDaniel's contract with the Dolphins ties him to the franchise through the 2028 season.
Jermaine Burton did not travel with the Cincinnati Bengals over the weekend, and there now appears to be a reason why.
The Cincinnati Enquirer says it made a public records request to local police after the coaching staff decided Burton would not join the team for Saturday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The request yielded two reports and a recording of a 911 call made by a woman who claimed Burton assaulted her the morning of Dec. 30, three days before the game.
The Enquirer reported the two had been out together and had gotten into an argument. Later on, Burton allegedly followed the woman to her apartment, choked her and stole her phone while also threatening to kill himself as he held a knife to his neck.
"Jermaine Burton on the Bengals just broke into my house," the woman said in the 911 call, according to the outlet. "He broke my phone. … He's been, like, pretty abusive. He does a lot of things that I don't tolerate."
The woman also told police Burton "broke into my house" and "hit me and left."
"We are aware of information related to Jermaine Burton. We will continue to evaluate as we gather additional details and will have no further comment at this time," the Bengals said in a statement.
While playing for Alabama in 2022, Burton allegedly struck a female Tennessee fan who had stormed the field after the Volunteers beat the Crimson Tide.
After the Bengals drafted Burton in the third round, possibly as an eventual replacement for Tee Higgins, head coach Zac Taylor said he felt "really comfortable" about selecting him despite concerns about his character.
Burton appeared in 14 games but was seldom on the field, never taking half of the offensive snaps in any contest. He was targeted just 14 times and made four receptions for 107 yards on the season.
As wildfires continue to ravage the Los Angeles area, one of its pro sports teams is taking action to help relief efforts.
The Los Angeles Chargers announced Wednesday they will provide $200,000 in targeted funding to the American Red Cross, LA Fire Department Foundation, Team Rubicon and pet rescue organizations sheltering animals that have been displaced by the wildfires.
The franchise is also urging fans to attend the "Charge Up to Playoff" events ahead of the team’s wild-card game against the Houston Texans, which will kick off from Houston on Saturday.
The team’s watch party at Hermosa Beach Pier on Saturday will also serve as a supply drive, as the Chargers are asking fans to bring any supplies for evacuation centers, including El Camino Real High School.
"While we're currently experiencing unprecedented conditions that seemingly cannot get any worse as we deal with multiple fires across our region, we're also witnessing our community at its very best," Chargers owner Dean Spanos said in a statement. "The bravery, selflessness, courage, sacrifice and compassion on display over the past 24 hours by first responders, good Samaritans, friends, family and neighbors alike has been remarkable.
"Our hearts are with everyone who has been displaced by these fires, the firemen and police officers and frontline workers who are risking their lives to keep us safe and those among us who have stepped up to assist one another in this incredible time of need."
The Chargers had a "Charge Up to Playoffs" event scheduled for Friday in Sherman Oaks, but the fires continue to devastate the area. However, similar events will be going on as scheduled, and the hope is fans who can provide goods such as blankets, bottled water, new or gently used clothes, first aid kits and more will join the relief efforts.
The team has a history of helping those in need, and not just in their own community. They recently donated 50/50 raffles from the team’s game against the Tennessee Titans to the American Red Cross Mountain Fire relief efforts in Ventura County. Also, funds for relief efforts for the Maui fire, Hurricane Harvey and other causes have been contributed by the organization.
While the Chargers are focused on supporting their community in this time of crisis, they do have to think about their game in Houston in a few days.
The team may not be playing at its home SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, which had an air quality index above 280 on Wednesday, but the team did alter its practice schedule to limit players’ time outside, a team official told ESPN.
Meanwhile, a game is scheduled to be played at SoFi Stadium, as the Los Angeles Rams are set to host the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night. The NFL released a statement saying it’s monitoring the fires in Los Angeles closely.
Weather conditions are not helping firefighters control the flames, as it’s often been too windy to fight the fires with aircraft.
The Los Angeles Fire Department has already put out a plea for any off-duty firefighters to help, with thousands already working day and night to get the fires under control.
EVACUATE– Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr’s 90-year-old mother was forced to evacuate from her home in Los Angeles as fires continued to rage across Southern California. Continue reading …
‘MUCH WORSE’ – Former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel used his social media platform to give a glimpse into the sheer scope of the wildfires plaguing Southern California. Continue reading …
POSTPONED – The wildfires ravaging Southern California have impacted the NHL schedule. The league announced Wednesday’s game between the Kings and the Flames in downtown Los Angeles has been postponed. Continue reading …
'DID NOT SURVIVE’ – Altadena Golf Course, which is located just a few miles from Rose Bowl Stadium, shared a social media post saying its clubhouse "did not survive" the wrath of the wildfires sweeping through Southern California. Continue reading …
'THANK YOU TO THE HEROES' – Olivia Culpo, the wife of 49ers star Christian McCaffrey, shared a message of gratitude as first responders and firefighters battled a wildfire near a nature preserve in northeast of Los Angeles. Continue reading …
STICKING AROUND – Jerry Jones has controlled the Dallas Cowboys football operations since he purchased the franchise in 1989. He recently confirmed he has no interest in relinquishing his general manager role. Continue reading …
BLACK MONDAY – The New England Patriots parted ways with Jerrod Mayo shortly after the team’s regular season finale, after just one season at the helm. Continue reading …
FROM FOX SPORTS – Lakers head coach JJ Redick says his family were among those who were forced to evacuate their Southern California homes this week as strong winds whipped wildfires across the Los Angeles area. Continue reading …
FROM OUTKICK – Six-time Super Bowl winner and current North Carolina football head coach Bill Belichick's name is now being linked to at least one open NFL coaching job. Continue reading …
WATCH NOW – The Raiders parted ways with coach Antonio Pierce after a 4-13 season, but FOX Sports' Colin Cowherd believes the franchise's decision was a mistake. Watch here …
A women's college basketball team in Vancouver, Canada, is refusing to play a Christian university's team over alleged abuse against a trans athlete. The Christian university has denied the allegations.
Vancouver Island University released a statement on Wednesday announcing it will not play its upcoming games against Columbia Bible College. The Vancouver Island statement alleges that during an earlier game between the two teams on Oct. 25, a Columbia Bible coach treated the transgender player in a way that violated the Coach's Code of Ethics.
"Intimidation, harassment, and discrimination have no place in athletics," the statement read. "VIU stands in full support of our student-athletes and affirms the right of all athletes to compete in an environment that prioritizes their safety and well-being."
The school has also requested its athletic conference, the Pacific Western Athletic Association (PACWEST), to not penalize the team for its refusal to play.
Columbia Bible has provided a statement to Fox News Digital addressing Vancouver Island's decision and statement.
"This was surprising news to us," the statement read. "CBC stands for safe play for all. Accusations that CBC, its coaches, players, and fans are a safety threat are simply untrue and misinformed."
Columbia Bible's statement also included claims that the university was developing a safety plan, which included added security for the games that involved the trans athlete.
"CBC has a reputation for providing a safe environment, however, out of an abundance of caution, CBC in cooperation with PACWEST, developed an event safety plan specifically for these games. We received input from VIU and the Abbotsford Police Department. This plan included extra security among other measures," the statement read.
All of the players on Vancouver Island's team have signed a letter saying they do not feel safe playing at Columbia Bible after the October incident.
The trans player is third-year forward Harriette Mackenzie, who is openly transgender, as reported by multiple outlets.
Mackenzie posted a video to the athlete's Instagram page on Oct. 30, alleging Columbia Bible head coach Taylor Clagett "cornered one of our athletic staff and went on a tirade about how I shouldn’t be allowed to play."
Mackenzie said she was also deliberately fouled to the ground by a Columbia Bible player.
"I got two-hand chucked to the ground by No. 13 without a play on the ball in sight, then head coach Clagett can be seen applauding in support," the trans athlete said.
In response, Clagett posted her own statement on Instagram, claiming that Mackenzie's statements were inaccurate.
"My intention has nothing to do with a specific athlete, but instead, the safety of female athletes in their sport," she wrote.
Vancouver Island has submitted a formal complaint to the PACWEST, as an investigation into the matter is currently ongoing. The university says that Mackenzie's participation is in compliance with conference policy.
"VIU strictly adheres to the rules and regulations established by PACWEST and the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), including the CCAA’s policy on transgender student-athlete participation," its statement reads.
The PACWEST released its own statement on the matter on Nov. 1.
"The PACWEST is aware that participation of transgender student-athletes has recently received public attention. As a member of the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), the PACWEST follows national policies and procedures for all sports that lead into CCAA championships, including the CCAA's policy on transgender student-athlete participation," the statement read.
"Furthermore, the PACWEST encourages everyone to engage in education through the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) with their findings around diversity and inclusion and transgender people in sport. Creating a safe and inclusive environment for all participants is a shared responsibility."
In the U.S., President-elect Trump has vowed to ban trans athletes from competing in girls' and women's sports. Trump has also repeatedly suggested that Canada join the U.S., potentially as the 51st state.
Colorado coach Deion Sanders has made a name for himself in the college football world and is become a Buffaloes icon in just a matter of three seasons, but the former NFL player has also become a polarizing figure to some. And, according to his security team, he’s been subjected to multiple threats because of it.
In the latest season of the "Coach Prime" docuseries which aired on Prime Video earlier this week, Sanders’ personal security, officer Michael Rhodes, revealed that Sanders received a "very credible threat" before a game during the 2024 season.
"Coach gets a lot of mail every day, a lot of packages — a lot of gifts," Rhodes said in the second episode as he put on gloves in preparation of reviewing Sanders’ mail.
"As he stated publicly, he gets a lot of death threats, a lot of hate mail, so just as a precaution, we go through the mail very carefully. Put on these gloves just to ensure that we don’t come into contact with any type of hazardous material."
Rhodes said he served as a member of Jackson State’s campus police for around 10 years when he was asked to be a member of Sander’s security detail during his tenure there. When Sanders was offered the job at Colorado, he asked Rhodes to join him.
He said in the episode that before a Sept. 14 game against Colorado State, they received "multiple threats concerning people trying to do harm to Coach."
"There was a very credible threat — two individuals trying to possibly tackle Coach either before, during, or after the game," he continued. "So we had to have multiple law enforcement agencies there — SWAT team, CSUPD as well as Boulder PD."
Rhodes said during games he keeps his head "on a swivel" watching for any potential threats in the crowd and around the stadium.
"Everybody doesn’t love Coach. With all of the death threats, I don’t know who is who. I’ve got one job, and that’s to make sure that Coach is good, to make sure he’s safe, so that he can go out and coach the team to a victory."
The Buffaloes closed out the 2024 season on a high note despite a blowout loss to BYU in the Alamo last month.
Colorado made their first Bowl game appearance since 2020 and sold out every home game for the past two seasons — a first in the program’s 134-year history. Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy, and he and Shedeur Sanders are expected to be first-round draft picks in the 2025 NFL Draft in April.
With the new "Unrivaled" league set to begin later this month, one perennial WNBA All-Star feels it could possibly lead to change for women's basketball.
Brittney Griner is one of the 36 WNBA players going to Miami for the 3-on-3 league, which will give the game a "different look," the Phoenix Mercury star said to ESPN recently.
"[Unrivaled] is bringing something new to women's basketball," Griner said. "They're trying to give us a different look, a different feel. We can bring everybody together in one spot. They're really pouring in a lot. Unrivaled is showing that you don't need a lot of time to pull resources together to be able to put a good product out there."
The WNBA saw a huge uptick in viewership and attendance, and it's pretty clear that Caitlin Clark is the catalyst for that. Despite Clark's presence, though, it's taken a long while for WNBA players to fight for more.
This past season was the first where teams had chartered flights, while the average salary is still a little less than $150,000 (Clark's was $86,000, but she earned millions from other endorsement deals).
It's been reported that Urivaled players will make more than $220,000 for their participation, and the season will only last two months.
"Hopefully, it helps the [WNBA] bring in more viewers, more [corporate] partners. It's definitely going to put more pressure on the [WNBA] to do better, honestly," Griner said.
"I think it puts pressure for sure. It's been amazing," Cooper said. "I'm grateful they're able to put some pressure on things we deserve and things we are pushing for."
Clark will not be playing in the league; she has not had an extended break from basketball since prior to her senior year at Iowa, which began in late 2023.
This is the first time Griner is participating in an offseason program since being released from a Russian prison in December 2022.
Jason Kelce may understand why the Philadelphia Eagles rested running back Saquon Barkley, missing out on a chance to set the NFL's single-season rushing record.
Barkley was 101 yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s record, set in 1984. But with the Eagles already locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC entering Week 18, Barkley sat against the New York Giants.
Travis Kelce said during a recent episode of "New Heights" that people don’t realize how hard it is to rush for 100 yards in the NFL, suggesting he might not have gotten it if he played. But Jason was confident Barkley would have.
Travis then said Barkley’s record would have required an asterisk because he would have broken it in 17 games, while Dickerson did it in 16 games. But Jason countered that if Barkley had done it, there would be no asterisk.
"If he would have had the same amount of carries Dickerson would have had through 16 games, he would have set the record there too. And we don’t put an asterisk next to Dickerson, who broke O.J. Simpson’s record at 14 games or whatever it was, broke Jim Brown’s at 12 or whatever that was. I just, dude, I think the rushing record is awesome. But I think it’s obviously the right call," Jason said.
Barkley has 345 carries this season, while Dickerson had 379 in his record-setting season.
The former Eagles center said the risk wasn’t worth the reward. If Barkley or one of the Eagles' offensive linemen got hurt and missed the playoffs due to chasing a record in a meaningless game, it would hurt a team with Super Bowl aspirations.
Kelce did bring up how cool it would have been for Barkley to have had a chance to break the record against his old team.
"You’re the baddest dude in the NFL if you got that stat, and he had a chance to set that record. He had a chance to do it in the city of Philadelphia for the Eagles. He had a chance to do it against a team that literally did not pay, like, did not value him. They let him walk, and a bunch of fans were burning his jersey just earlier that year," Jason said.
"This could have been an all-time storyline, a historic moment in the NFL. So, yes, I would have loved to seen it, but it’s the right call. It’s the right call. I want to emphasize that."
The Eagles will take on the No. 7-seeded Green Bay Packers at home at 4:30 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX with a rested Barkley.
"Just had a scope of my vocal cords & I was very emotional with the great report by Dr ZEITELS. He said the vocal cords are cancer free & he feels I can return to my love of being at courtside for @espn," Vitale posted on X with pictures of himself in the doctor’s chair.
Vitale has not lost his passion for college basketball at 85 years old, but he has been through tremendous battles with cancer, including melanoma, lymphoma and laryngeal cancer over recent years.
But Vitale announced in December 2024 that he was officially cancer-free, though it wasn’t known if he’d be returning courtside to call some of the country’s best college basketball matchups.
So, this news after his checkup with Zeitels is significant because he clearly wants to get back to entertaining the fans with his enthusiastic broadcasting on game days.
"Dick, you’re back!" Zeitels said in a video posted to Vitale’s Facebook Watch. "Your vocal cords are not going to hold you up.
"We've been down this road a long time. I didn't know we could get here, but we are here. And you're ready to be with your viewers, the players, ESPN, you're ready to be with everyone again."
Vitale got emotional after Zeitels said those words, and the doctor comforted him, knowing all too well what he’s been through.
"Dickie V" has spent 41 years as a college basketball broadcaster after spending time coaching at various levels, from high school to the NBA.
The New Jersey native spent time coaching at Garfield High School before taking over his alma mater, East Rutherford High School, where he led teams to two New Jersey state titles.
Vitale would go on to coach as an assistant at Rutgers before heading to the University of Detroit as their head coach. He’d remain in the Michigan city to coach its Pistons from 1978-79.
Once he was done coaching the Pistons, Vitale joined ESPN, calling its first-ever college basketball game in 1979, a game where DePaul beat Wisconsin, and the rest has been sweet history.
Now, Vitale is excited to get back to his love, as he says, and it’s safe to say every college basketball fan can’t wait for his long-awaited return.
