PHILADELPHIA — For most of professional football’s history, few people among the millions who tuned in every Sunday and every Monday night actually understood what was happening on the field. There was a quarterback, of course, dashing and rugged, the clear leader. There were collisions of giant bodies. There were smaller, faster men with a ...Read more

DENVER — His wife thinks he’s a few Nix shy of a load.

See, the other day, an old acquaintance of Jamie Teumer’s rang him up with the most indecent of Denver proposals.

“I’ll send you $5,000 for Broncos playoff tickets,” the voice said. “Or a blank check.”

We’d love to tell you that Teumer replied by screaming “How dare ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Amazing what one kick can do, isn’t it?

John Harbaugh would still be coaching the Baltimore Ravens if Tyler Loop had made that 44-yard field-goal attempt Sunday.

Instead, Loop’s miss kicked Harbaugh clear out of Baltimore — although it seems obvious that anything short of a lengthy playoff run would have ended Harbaugh’s...Read more

BALTIMORE — So … now what?

The Ravens on Tuesday expressed urgency for change as they parted ways with John Harbaugh, ending the second-longest coaching tenure in the NFL.

Harbaugh’s departure also opened something far more complicated and equally exciting: Who will now be the Ravens’ most significant hire since 2008, the ever-...Read more

BALTIMORE — When there’s an available name with the gravitas and resume like John Harbaugh, the coaching carousel can spin quickly.

Multiple teams with active coaches have already inquired. ESPN reported that nearly a quarter of the league’s teams called Harbaugh’s agent, Bryan Harlan, within 45 minutes of the Ravens firing their ...Read more

CHICAGO — Rome Odunze needed to keep his hands busy on the sideline. With the seasons changing in Chicago and cold weather arriving, that gave the second-year Chicago Bears wide receiver something to do on game days.

While he was sidelined with a foot injury over the last five weeks, Odunze joined the Bears equipment staff in being the person...Read more

CHICAGO — From the sound of things, Tyrique Stevenson could get another opportunity to help a leaky Chicago Bears secondary Saturday night.

The third-year cornerback did not play Sunday when Jared Goff passed for 331 yards in the Detroit Lions’ 19-16 victory. Secondary coach Al Harris said it was strictly a football decision and defensive ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — Todd Bowles stated his case plainly Monday, saying three consecutive NFC South titles should count for something even if his team missed the playoffs this year.

Apparently the Glazer family, which owns the Bucs agreed.

Bowles confirmed Wednesday that he is returning as Bucs head coach for the 2026 season, his fifth at the helm ...Read more

Two-time All-American wide receiver and prominent Outdoors Channel host Jordan Shipley is in critical condition after an accident on his ranch in Texas, his family said in a statement.

Shipley, 40, was described as stable after remaining hospitalized Tuesday night in Austin. The statement said a machine that he was operating near his hometown ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey wrote on X, “John Harbaugh. A good man.” Defensive end Brent Urban offered similar praise, pecking out, “Much love to Harbs. Best coach I ever had. It was an honor and a privilege.”

Most of Baltimore’s players, many of whom were in the process of returning home or headed on vacation or ...Read more

The end of the NFL season has brought another round of head coach firings.

Don’t fret for Pete Carroll, who was cut loose Monday. He’s due two years’ salary. And he won’t have to watch Raiders film anymore.

The Browns handed a get-out-of-jail-free card to Kevin Stefanski, while the Jets, curiously, implied they’ll retain Aaron Glenn....Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The romance may have hit a snag. Nothing egregious or irreparable, mind you.

Something more along the lines of a prenup problem.

At this time a year ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had totally bought into the promise of Baker Mayfield. He was one-third of the way into a three-year, $100 million contract, and general manager Jason...Read more

BALTIMORE — Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti made the right decision in firing John Harbaugh as the team’s coach.

It was time.

His message had become stale among the players, and there really was no other choice.

In the previous 18 seasons, Harbaugh, 63, had fired or allowed several defensive coordinators to leave, such as Don ...Read more

Do it, Steve Ross.

Pick up the phone and call John Harbaugh.

He’d bring everything the Miami Dolphins need again this offseason from leadership to team-building vision to public credibility. Harbaugh has come free at the right time, too. He was fired by the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night just as the Dolphins are starting their general ...Read more

CHICAGO — Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson hasn’t heard from a lot of old colleagues about making the playoffs as a first-year head coach, nor has he given himself a second to pat himself on the back for the achievement.

It’s a short week before the Bears face the Green Bay Packers on Saturday for the third time in six weeks — and in a ...Read more

BALTIMORE — For the first time in nearly two decades, the Ravens are looking for a new head coach.

John Harbaugh was fired Tuesday evening, ending his 18-year run in Baltimore just two days after the Ravens lost a de facto AFC North championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. With a slew of injuries and underperformance, the Ravens ...Read more

It felt like the end of the San Francisco 49ers’ season last Saturday, didn’t it?

The Niners’ loss to the Seattle Seahawks wasn’t just a defeat; it was a gut-punch delivered with extreme prejudice.

With the NFC West crown and the No. 1 seed dangling right there for the taking, the 49ers were beaten to a pulp.

It was, arguably, the ...Read more

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions have parted ways with offensive coordinator John Morton after one season, the team announced Tuesday evening.

Morton was hired last offseason to take over for the departing Ben Johnson, now the coach of the Chicago Bears, and failed to meet the standard set by his predecessor. After eight games, Lions coach Dan ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Tyler Higbee has played in 12 NFL playoff games during his 10-year career, so the veteran tight end knows, better than perhaps any other Rams player, what lies ahead.

Higbee was part of two teams that advanced to the Super Bowl.

“Don’t listen to the outside noise,” Higbee said when asked to describe the formula for a ...Read more

BALTIMORE — The John Harbaugh era in Baltimore has come to a stunning end.

After 18 seasons, Harbaugh, 63, and the Ravens agreed to part ways on Tuesday, according to a source with direct knowledge of the team’s decision. The move comes less than a year after Harbaugh signed a three-year extension that would have kept him with the ...Read more