Schwartz resigns as Browns’ defensive coordinator after being passed over for head coach
CLEVELAND — Jim Schwartz resigned as the Cleveland Browns’ defensive coordinator after three seasons. The team announced Friday that Schwartz handed in his letter of resignation a day earlier. Schwartz has led one of the league’s top defenses over the past three seasons but was upset about being passed over...
Super Bowl ad features Cam Heyward, group of Boys & Girls Club of Western PA
Cheri Green signed her now 10-year-old daughter up for the Northern Area Boys & Girls Club of Western PA two years ago, never expecting it would lead to a role in a national Super Bowl ad. When the invitation came to have CiAnna Green appear alongside Steelers defensive lineman Cam...
Sonny Jurgensen, the strong-arm QB whose personality made him a beloved football figure, dies at 91
Sonny Jurgensen, the Hall of Fame quarterback whose strong arm, keen wit and affable personality made him one of the most beloved figures in Washington football history, has died. He was 91. While a cause was not disclosed, a Washington Commanders spokesperson confirmed Friday the team learned of Jurgensen’s death...
From doinks to Bad Bunny: The best novelty Super Bowl bets on the board
Super Bowl Sunday is like Christmas Day for football fans. Besides the pregame rampup and nonstop action on the field, the big game is an event filed with seven-layer dips, block polls, comical commercials and halftime entertainment. Then there’s the gambling. Sure, there’s plenty of ways to bet on how...
Larry Fitzgerald to become 11th Pitt player enshrined in Pro Football Hall of Fame
Larry Fitzgerald once wore a gold helmet, but now he’s getting a gold jacket. The former record-setting receiver at Pitt will be enshrined this summer in the Pro Football Hall of Fame following a legendary 17-year NFL career that left no doubt he’d someday reach Canton. Ultimately, he got there...
Rams’ Matthew Stafford edges Patriots’ Drake Maye for the AP NFL MVP award
SAN FRANCISCO — Matthew Stafford edged Drake Maye for the AP NFL MVP award Thursday night in the closest race since Peyton Manning and Steve McNair were co-winners in 2003. Stafford received 24 of 50 first-place votes while Maye got 23. But Maye has a chance to go home this...
WR Cooper Kupp leading way on, off field for Seahawks ahead of Super BowlVideo
SAN JOSE, Calif. — While Cooper Kupp donned a T-shirt Thursday in vehement support of quarterback Sam Darnold, the veteran wide receiver simultaneously received heaps of praise from his teammates. Four years removed from the most productive season of his career, Kupp will become the sixth player in NFL history...
Patriots OC Josh McDaniels takes winding path, returns to Super Bowl for 10th time
SAN JOSE, Calif. — When it comes to being an offensive coordinator in the NFL, few coaches have fared better than New England’s Josh McDaniels. As a head coach, it’s been a completely different story. The six-time Super Bowl champion is back in the title game after taking a one-year...
Patriots’ Stefon Diggs has helped fuel Super Bowl run with his fire
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Left back pylon. One knee. Head bowed. Eyes closed. That is how Stefon Diggs will spend some of his final moments prior to kickoff of the first Super Bowl of his career. It’s been a staple of the wide receiver’s routine before each game he’s played...
Harrison native keeps Super Bowl streak alive, plans to attend his 60th matchup in Calif.
At 84, Harrison native Tom Henschel won’t let a stroke — or disappointment in his beloved Steelers — keep him from celebrating at the Super Bowl this weekend in Santa Clara, Calif. After all, why break a 59-year streak? The football enthusiast will be in the stands at Levi’s Stadium...
Macdonald’s focus on defense a perfect fit for Seahawks heading into Super Bowl
SEATTLE — Long before the Seattle Seahawks reached their fourth Super Bowl, coach Mike Macdonald donned a blue, gas station attendant-style shirt with a team logo on the chest. He made the fashion statement after the Seahawks put the finishing touches on their 2025 draft, just as he and president...
Sam Darnold’s season as a backup with the 49ers helped him reach the Super Bowl
SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Darnold’s NFL career had hit rock bottom when he arrived in San Francisco in 2023 after failing at two spots to live up to his high draft billing. Less than three years later, he’s ready to step on football’s biggest stage as the starting quarterback...
Todd Monken gives passionate outline of his vision as he’s introduced as the Browns’ coach
BEREA, Ohio — Todd Monken was a surprise choice to become the Cleveland Browns’ head coach. In his introductory news conference Tuesday, Monken tried to reassure those unfamiliar with his background by delivering an emotionally charged outline of his vision and philosophy. “There’s something that I’ve kind of always lived...
Unheralded players who could make a big impact in the Super Bowl
SAN FRANCISCO — Much of the attention during Super Bowl week is usually on the star players like Drake Maye and Jaxon Smith-Njigba for good reason. But if history is any indication, some lesser-known players could have a big impact on the Super Bowl on Sunday between the New England...
Patriots and Seahawks kick off Super Bowl festivities with a quieter, calmer, tamer Opening Night
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Maybe the game itself will live up to the hype — because Super Bowl Opening Night was calmer than usual. Drake Maye and the New England Patriots (17-3) take on Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks (16-3) on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, home of the San...
NFL commish Roger Goodell: 18-game season is ‘not a given’
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Not so fast on an 18-game NFL season. A week after Patriots owner Robert Kraft made it seem inevitable, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said expanding the regular season to 18 games is “not a given.” “We have not had any formal discussions about it and, frankly,...
Turning Point USA announces alternative Super Bowl halftime show, including Gabby Barrett
One of Pittsburgh’s own, the country singer Gabby Barrett, was announced as a performer in Turning Point USA’s “All-American Halftime Show” — a counterpoint to the Super Bowl halftime show Sunday night. The alternative halftime show will compete with Bad Bunny’s performance as part of the game, held at Levi’s...
NFL to play first regular-season game in France with Saints in 2026
SAN FRANCISCO — The NFL will play its first regular-season game in France next season with the New Orleans Saints set to travel to Paris later this year. The league on Monday announced the plans to play a game at the Stade de France next season in addition to a...
10 years of NFL Next Gen Stats has changed how the game is watched and played
SAN FRANCISCO — Anyone watching Caleb Williams’ desperation fourth-down touchdown pass in the divisional round knew how improbable a play it was. Quantifying that was a different story. That’s when the NFL’s Next Gen Stats stepped in. Within minutes after the 14-yard touchdown landed in Cole Kmet’s hands, the answer...
Reports: Raiders working on deal to hire Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak as head coachVideo
The Las Vegas Raiders are working toward finalizing an agreement to make Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak their head coach, according to multiple reports Sunday. No announcement can be made until after next Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Seahawks and New England Patriots in Santa Clara, Calif. Kubiak interviewed...
Column: Super Bowl LX next stop for Seahawks star Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s magic show
SEATTLE — Everybody has a Jaxon Smith-Njigba story. They all just sound the same. Because this man is a traveling magician, wowing audiences from Texas to Ohio to Seattle with the same repeatable routine. His repertoire does not include superhuman size or speed, which makes the reveal even more mystifying....
Cardinals hire Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur as head coach
TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals hired Mike LaFleur as head coach on Sunday, turning to a division rival’s offensive coordinator to try to pull the franchise out of the bottom of the NFC West. The Cardinals’ announcement brought an end to the nearly four-week hiring process. The 38-year-old Los...
Patriots’ Christian Gonzalez savoring 1st Super Bowl appearance after past adversity
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — If it seems like Christian Gonzalez is lingering on the field during pregame warmups on Super Bowl Sunday, that’s because he probably will be. After a series of setbacks over his first three NFL seasons, the 23-year-old is well aware of how fast things can change in...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: It’s time to fix the Pro Football, Baseball halls of fame
Bill Belichick got excluded from the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first ballot. It didn’t happen randomly. Belichick won six Super Bowls as New England’s coach but got caught cheating twice. The Hall’s voting process is flawed when it lumps in Belichick with old-timey candidates like L.C. Greenwood....
Seahawks sale rumors swirl ahead of Super Bowl; Paul Allen’s estate denies report
SEATTLE — The Seattle Seahawks will go up for sale after the team’s appearance in the Super Bowl on Feb. 8, ESPN reported Friday night. Citing unnamed sources, ESPN said talks between Seahawks ownership and the NFL have been going on over the past week. The estate of late Seahawks...
