INSIDER
First-year coach DeMeco Ryans transforms Texans with relentless mindset
Read full article: First-year coach DeMeco Ryans transforms Texans with relentless mindsetDeMeco Ryans was in high school when a coach told him if he wanted to make a career out of football, he’d have to show great energy on every single snap.
Texans to host Uvalde high school team at season opener
Read full article: Texans to host Uvalde high school team at season openerThe Houston Texans will host the Uvalde high school football team and wear “Uvalde Strong” decals on their helmets when they open the season Sept. 11 against Indianapolis.
Metchie addresses Texans in wake of leukemia diagnosis
Read full article: Metchie addresses Texans in wake of leukemia diagnosisHouston Texans rookie receiver John Metchie III, who announced Sunday that he’d likely miss the season after being diagnosed with leukemia, addressed the team in a video before it started preparations for the season.
Goodell, civil rights leaders discuss diversity in hiring
Read full article: Goodell, civil rights leaders discuss diversity in hiringNFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and a few team owners and executives met with civil rights leaders who urged the league to make drastic changes to its hiring practices to improve diversity in leadership positions.
New 7th seed helps Bears 8 years too late for Lovie Smith
Read full article: New 7th seed helps Bears 8 years too late for Lovie SmithChicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy watches during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)While Matt Nagy gets to coach Chicago in the playoffs despite a middling 8-8 record that could help save his job, former Bears coach Lovie Smith can only wonder if the extra team in the postseason could have helped him eight years ago. Smith’s Bears teams from the beginning of last decade are near the top of that list. Chicago lost five of six and missed the postseason as the seventh seed with an 8-8 mark. The tough-luck missing playoff team that season was the Giants, who missed out the year before Eli Manning and Co. won their second Super Bowl under coach Tom Coughlin.
Illinois hires Bielema as coach to lift struggling program
Read full article: Illinois hires Bielema as coach to lift struggling programBielema is returning to the Big Ten and his home state to coach Illinois. Illinois hired the former Wisconsin and Arkansas coach, hoping he can turn around a program with nine straight losing seasons. Illinois said Bielema will receive a six-year contract with an annual salary starting at $4.2 million, and begin work immediately. He became the third coach in NCAA history to win 12 games in his rookie season when Wisconsin went 12-1 in 2006. In January, the New York Giants and new head coach Joe Judge hired Bielema as outside linebackers coach and senior assistant.
Illinois fires coach Lovie Smith after 5 seasons
Read full article: Illinois fires coach Lovie Smith after 5 seasonsCHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois fired coach Lovie Smith on Sunday with a game left in its ninth consecutive losing season. Smith became Illinois' first Black head football coach when he was hired by athletic director Josh Whitman in March 2016. The longtime NFL coach went 17-39 in five seasons at the school. Smith’s original deal was for six years and $21 million, but he received a two-year extension through 2023 after Illinois went 4-8 in his third season. The slide continued into this year, with Illinois losing its first three by a combined 117-45 score.