Latest news with #NickSirianni
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Pro Motocross title, Hangtown 'a two horse race'
The Eagles Just Got Some HUGE Answers At OTAs... Day 2 of the Eagles OTAs was held today, open to the media. We received some huge answers regarding positional battles, early favorites to emerge, and even an indication regarding a potential trade in the coming months. In other news, we got to hear from new Offensive Coordinator Kevin Patullo for the first time as he discussed his mentality heading into this season. He also dove into some similarities and differences from Kellen Moore and Nick Sirianni. Lastly, we hear from the newly re-signed Dallas Goedert who is back for another run with the Birds! Today, RB discusses all of this and more! 12:45 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
No evidence found that a fan threw a chair into the broadcast booth at Blue Arena
The Eagles Just Made A SNEAKY Move That NOBODY Expected... The Philadelphia Eagles made two big splashes today; one being expected and the other not so much. First off, Super Bowl winning Head Coach Nick Sirianni is here to stay as he has finally signed his contract extension. On a more surprising note, the Eagles brought back a familiar face to work in the scouting department after recently losing two of their biggest personnel pieces. Today, RB discusses all of this and more! 9:47 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
New York Times
2 days ago
- General
- New York Times
Can Notre Dame take the next step? What Marcus Freeman has learned and what's next
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — In almost exactly two months, Notre Dame will open preseason camp with something to defend and something to chase. Because as Marcus Freeman enters his fourth season in charge, Notre Dame's head coach will be both trying to recreate the magic of last season's run to the national championship game and figuring out how the Irish get over that final finish line. Advertisement It will take everything Freeman has learned on the job for the Irish to do either. On Thursday, Freeman met with a small group of reporters to set the stage for summer as Notre Dame balances two competing ideas. The program's 37-year wait since its last national championship is the longest since Knute Rockne won Notre Dame's first 101 years ago. And yet, it feels like the Irish may be as close to ending that barren spell as at any point since Lou Holtz left the building. 'Where am I better? The experience at every situation that has to do with being a head coach,' Freeman said. 'The experience with dealing with (media), the experience with dealing with making high-pressure situation decisions, the experience of two-minute situations, the experience of recruiting. I'm better at every area of being a head coach because of experience where there's no substitution for it, and that's what I have to continue.' Freeman did some professional development this offseason, sounding out Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni on what it took to win a Super Bowl after falling short before, going all the way in his fourth season. Freeman has made NFL connections before, from Mike Tomlin to Sean Payton. But the questions are different when there's a national championship game appearance on your resume. 'If you have a camera on me or you're in my brain 24 hours a day — 'Oh, he's better here.' Why? Because he's done it. He's experienced, he's more confident in it,' Freeman said. 'He's been there, but there's just not one area where I can point out and say, 'Hey, I'm better here than every other place.' I hope I'm better in every area and every aspect of being a head coach.' Two months from now, Freeman will need to start to show that on the practice field. Three months from now, the curtain will go up at Hard Rock Stadium against Miami. Advertisement As for what that show looks like, Freeman explained how some past experiences might inform future decisions while also detailing how last year's postseason continues to impact Notre Dame moving forward. When Tyler Buchner battled Drew Pyne to be Freeman's first starting quarterback, the competition wasn't entirely a fair fight. Freeman expected Buchner to win the job before the first practice period of camp. The sophomore figured as much too. Then Buchner suffered a season-altering shoulder injury in the season's second week and gave way to Pyne. Would the competition have turned out differently if Freeman was more open-minded? Probably not. But Freeman doesn't want to go down the same path of presumption with CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey. 'I think what I learned from that is you don't ever go into a competition expecting somebody to win it. We will evaluate your performance, and that's what we'll do, right?' Freeman said. 'We're truly gonna evaluate both of those guys' performance. We'll make sure it's fair in terms of the reps, the situations they get.' The presumption is Carr will win the job with Steve Angeli out of the picture to Syracuse and Minchey remaining as the competition. And that presumption might become reality during the first couple of weeks of August. But Freeman wants to stress test both quarterbacks before choosing one. Maybe Carr struggles with a starter's burden. Maybe Minchey excels. The greatest unknown for Freeman is how either will react when the lights come on at Miami. Neither has started a game. Only Minchey has thrown a pass. It's all a big jump to opening night in south Florida. Working in favor of Carr and Minchey is they both have a year under offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, with Minchey also logging two with quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli. It's just that what's working against them is the thing coaches seem to value most: having been there and done that. Advertisement Neither Carr nor Minchey has. 'How do we find ways in fall camp to put them in as many high-pressure situations as we can?' Freeman said. 'One of them is to say, 'Hey, you know that you're going to be taken out if you don't execute.' Like, that's a stinky situation, but it's high-pressure, right? But what we've got to do is put them in as many of those situations, to get them to execute before we go and play down in Florida. So, that will be one of the ultimate challenges. 'In-game experience is a high-pressure experience. So, let's create that in practice.' Freeman may not come out and say this, but he knows Notre Dame ran into a better roster on Jan. 20. The Irish may not have taken their best shot at the Buckeyes in a game that collapsed around Freeman in the middle quarters, but it was clear Notre Dame needed to be much closer to perfect than it played. And that's because the Buckeyes had a talent edge before opening kickoff. Notre Dame doesn't have to get back to the CFP to change that reality either, with the 2026 Irish recruiting class ranked No. 2 in the 247Sports composite, one spot ahead of the Buckeyes. 'I'm always trying to get better, man. We want to be bigger, we want to be faster, we want to be stronger. I know that's a general statement, but I don't look at a team and say we need that,' Freeman said. 'You know what? Jeremiah Smith, I wouldn't turn away. He's dang good football player, but I'm pleased with what we got.' Catching Ohio State at the top of the food chain might be harder than what Freeman has already accomplished further down the roster. The Ohio State lesson in recruiting isn't just about topping off the roster with elite skill-position talent. It's about keeping the middle stout enough to endure a 16-game season. The Irish lost two starters on the offensive line during the CFP, never mind going without defensive tackle Rylie Mills and watching Jeremiyah Love come up lame. Advertisement That doesn't touch season-ending injuries to cornerback Benjamin Morrison and defensive ends Boubacar Traore and Jordan Botelho. Freeman said both ends, along with center Ashton Craig, would be back for Miami. 'The personnel you have that you can get through a 16-game season and have to use multiple different people with starters,' Freeman said. 'You go into the semifinals game and you're losing starters, putting backups in, but if you don't have the depth that you can put somebody and get the job done, then all of a sudden that becomes a hole and it becomes a deficiency and you lose.' A month ago Freeman counseled with a group of sports analytics experts, leaning into how to call a game with maximum efficiency. The analytics teams praised Freeman for how the Irish offense sequenced its play calling to get to fourth-and-short scenarios, the kind of down-and-distance where the math says go for it even if conventional wisdom doesn't always agree. 'I wanted to be like, 'I like your book and all those things, and thanks for the compliments, but the reason we went for it on fourth down was because of the confidence we had in getting that first down.'' Freeman recalled. 'And so, I sat with the offense and said, 'OK, Kenny Minchey isn't the running quarterback that Riley Leonard was — how do we create that confidence in the head coach that we can sequence things on third down, knowing that we're going to go for it on fourth down?' Herein lies the rub for Freeman. Going for it on fourth down with Minchey or Carr at quarterback won't make as much sense as it did with Leonard, even if the analytics are agnostic to a quarterback's ability to gain the hard yards. So how does Notre Dame get those inches when it absolutely needs them? Is there a get-out-of-jail-free card in this offense like Leonard's legs or former tight end Michael Mayer's catch radius? 'It's a great challenge for our offense and myself to come up with, 'OK, what will be our short-yardage packages,' right?' Freeman said. 'How do we find unique ways on offense to get an extra hat to the point of contact, so we feel very confident we'll get the first down? That's one of the great challenges we have.' Advertisement Working in Notre Dame's favor is an offensive line that could challenge for the Joe Moore Award, plus a running back in Love who might be the best in the sport. Working against the Irish, a green quarterback and a receiver group that still needs to prove itself. Yes, figuring out the starting quarterback will be a priority of the preseason. But once the Irish get that down, creating an offensive identity will be a close second. It's not clear exactly what that will be just yet, but if Freeman wants to call games with the same aggression as last season, he'll need to figure that out.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Zangaro, Brooks on what to expect from Kevin Patullo's offense
The Eagles Just Made A SNEAKY Move That NOBODY Expected... The Philadelphia Eagles made two big splashes today; one being expected and the other not so much. First off, Super Bowl winning Head Coach Nick Sirianni is here to stay as he has finally signed his contract extension. On a more surprising note, the Eagles brought back a familiar face to work in the scouting department after recently losing two of their biggest personnel pieces. Today, RB discusses all of this and more! 9:47 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
New York Times
3 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Goedert talks contract, a Cooper DeJean experiment: Observations from Eagles OTAs
PHILADELPHIA — Rain drizzled before a whistle blew. The doors to the Eagles' indoor practice facility opened, and there, towering above swaths of stretching players, were twin images of the Lombardi Trophy, set behind two bold words: World Champions. The Eagles have begun practicing under that plurality. Nick Sirianni, fresh off signing a multi-year extension, strolled past a slew of incomers wearing their new digs for the first time. Several of them aim to replace the five players who started in Super Bowl LIX and now play elsewhere. The majority of holes are on defense; newly promoted offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo must only find a new right guard. The first-time play-caller, speaking to reporters for the first time under his new title on Wednesday, said the continuity in his inherited lineup is 'huge.' Patullo is now tasked with keeping an offense that leveraged Saquon Barkley's 2,000-yard season from growing stale. Advertisement 'I think really when you say different, I think it's going to be what our players do best, like it's been,' Patullo said. 'And then, from there, we just expand upon it. 'Hey, we're really good at this' … 'Let's bring this to the table and try this and see where we can take it.' And I think when when you look at just our staff as a whole, we've added some new coaches so they bring some other layers to it, too, and then the knowledge of what they have and their backgrounds. So I think as we go forward, as we build this thing together as a staff, you'll see some some new wrinkles and there, but more so it's just kind of building on what our players do best.' Cooper DeJean is working out with the cornerbacks. He also worked with the safeties earlier. — Brooks Kubena (@BKubena) May 28, 2025 The Eagles began the first of six OTA workouts on Tuesday. On Wednesday, reporters got their first look at the defending champs. Seven players did not attend the voluntary workout. Two managed injuries in 2024: Landon Dickerson (knee) and Ben VanSumeren (ACL). Three are veterans: Lane Johnson, DeVonta Smith and Reed Blankenship. Another, Avery Williams, is a return specialist who signed a one-year deal. Most notably, Bryce Huff did not attend. He's entering the second year of a three-year, $51.1 million contract after an underwhelming 2024 in which he missed five games after undergoing midseason wrist surgery. Huff returned in Week 17 and was eventually a healthy scratch in Super Bowl LIX. Brandon Graham, who displaced Huff in the Super Bowl lineup, still walked about the NovaCare Complex. The organization is keeping its past locker-room pillars around as they enter their retirement era. Jason Kelce attended Wednesday's workout and spent the entirety of the practice with the offensive line and position coach Jeff Stoutland. Graham and Kelce, members of both Super Bowl teams, serve as image bearers of a franchise looking to prolong a golden era. Here are some observations and takeaways from the second practices of OTAs… Dallas Goedert, speaking publicly about his re-worked contract for the first time on Wednesday, said he never requested a trade or a release during his negotiations with the Eagles. He gave his agent, Chase Callahan, 'certain numbers' that served as thresholds during a series of conversations with general manager Howie Roseman. The Eagles spent the offseason searching for ways to cut costs and explored trading Goedert. But the Eagles did not find a trade partner, nor did they draft a tight end. On May 7, the Eagles hashed out a new deal on which Goedert agreed to a $4.25 million pay cut in exchange for having the remaining $10 million salary fully guaranteed, according to Over the Cap. Advertisement 'I've been very blessed to sign a good contract here,' Goedert said. 'I feel like at some point I wouldn't wanna play for less. You know what I mean? I feel like I know my value. I feel like the Eagles know my value. And just finding something that I was OK with, a number that I felt excited (about), that my time was worth it, or whatever I can do on the field is (worth), there's a threshold that I felt like I deserved. And like I said, we were able to get there.' The immediate benefit for the Eagles is clear: Goedert has been a dynamic pass-catcher when healthy. He's been the team's third-leading receiver in each of the last three seasons, and led the Eagles with 215 receiving yards in their four playoff games last year. It's reasonable to debate the value of an age-30 tight end who's been placed on injured reserve in four of his last five seasons. But it was clear the Eagles would have lost significant firepower without Goedert, having not drafted a tight end and signing journeymen Kylen Granson and Harrison Bryant to one-year deals. Goedert said he was still in touch with Jalen Hurts throughout negotiations, and the Eagles quarterback shared his thoughts on what was best for both parties. 'Dallas is awesome,' Patullo said. 'You could feel his presence out there yesterday, just doing our 7-on-7 stuff. I'm so glad to have him back. He brings a very unique, different style of play to the offense, and he's another weapon to have.' Still, Goedert's re-worked contract is a temporary solution to a tight end situation that looks no less murky in the long run. The Eagles saved a nominal amount of money after months of negotiations. According to Over the Cap, Goedert's new contract lowered his 2025 cap charge by $1.05 million — 0.3 percent of the team's total salary cap. Meanwhile, Goedert is still set to be a major financial hit after his contract expires. Goedert is scheduled to be the team's third-highest cap hit in 2026 due to the guarantees the Eagles just increased. Will the Eagles decrease the cap hit by eventually extending Goedert? Or will they take the hit? Managing the tail end of a long-term extension isn't a new issue for the Eagles. In 2024, they re-worked Josh Sweat's contract as the now-former Eagles edge rusher entered the final year of a three-year, $40 million extension. Sweat's formidable age-27 season placed him well beyond the Eagles' price range in free agency (he signed a four-year, $76.4 million deal with the Cardinals), and Philadelphia is stuck with a $16.4 dead money hit that's essentially their fourth-highest cap hit in 2025. But the Eagles offset that eventual financial blow by spending a third-round pick on Jalyx Hunt in 2024; Hunt, who played 25 percent of defensive snaps as a rookie, will give the Eagles meaningful snaps in Sweat's stead at a $1.28 million cap hit. Advertisement The Eagles, though, don't have any tight end who's logged NFL snaps under contract beyond this season. Will Goedert be back? 'Obviously, you know, I'd love to play my entire career in Philadelphia,' Goedert said. 'But, you know, I'm not too worried about that. I'm excited to see what happens this year, excited to put up a really good year, have a successful year with an incredible team and let my agent handle his job and talks after the season.' Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio told Cooper DeJean, his starting nickel, that he'd spend OTAs experimenting with DeJean playing outside cornerback in base packages. Indeed, DeJean flipped between both positions during Wednesday's workout. He spent a period each of individual drills with both the safeties and cornerbacks. He aligned at the slot during 7-on-7 drills in which the defense fielded its nickel packages, and he bumped to right cornerback in base looks. It's a significant development for DeJean with major implications for the secondary. The Eagles drafted DeJean as a cornerback, at No. 40 overall, in 2024. After he returned from a summer hamstring injury, nickel was the defense's most pressing need. Even when DeJean started practicing at nickel, Fangio said he'd eventually want to see DeJean at cornerback. DeJean's future reached relevance when the Eagles created a vacancy opposite Quinyon Mitchell by releasing Darius Slay. That Fangio has DeJean pulling double duty is notable. Fangio tried the same experiment with Mitchell during training camp last season. Fangio said it 'would be ideal' for Mitchell to focus on one position because nickel is 'a drastically different position' from outside cornerback and they had to 'be careful not to overload his plate.' Even before DeJean made his Week 5 debut at nickel, Fangio had chosen to play Mitchell exclusively at outside cornerback. A deciding factor (if not the deciding factor) in this year's experiment will be DeJean's experience at nickel and familiarity at cornerback. Mitchell spent the bulk of his collegiate career on the outside, as did DeJean. But DeJean blossomed into a defensive rookie of the year finalist at nickel and snagged a pick-six that turned Super Bowl LIX into a beatdown. It's evident he can handle the duties of an NFL nickel; can he simultaneously handle outside corner, where DeJean had three pick-sixes in 2022 while playing for the Iowa Hawkeyes? Or will the experiment prove needlessly complicated? DeJean himself said 'it's definitely a tall task.' 'They're both a little different,' DeJean said of nickel and cornerback. 'I did a little bit in college, played both. But they're different. And on the inside, you gotta prepare more to fit the run and be able to cover and do all those things. In the corner, it's more worrying about covering the top guy, top receiver with a lot of space.' Advertisement When asked where he viewed himself playing long-term, DeJean said 'I'll play wherever.' But there's a business factor he can hardly ignore. If his trajectory at nickel continues, he'd warrant an extension of greater value than the three-year, $40 million contract the Chicago Bears recently awarded Kyler Gordon, the NFL's highest-paid nickel. That's substantially less than the three-year, $90 million extension the Houston Texans awarded Derek Stingley, the NFL's highest-paid cornerback. What does DeJean think of his future in view of that value gap? 'I haven't really thought that far down the line, really,' DeJean said. Call it team-oriented, call it naive, DeJean could still very well be creating his own market as a 'starter' at two positions. The Eagles could rationalize paying above-market for a nickel defender if he also plays cornerback in base packages. They could also convince themselves that they value the nickel more than other NFL teams. The Eagles deployed nickel 80.5 percent in 2024, up from 73.5 in 2023 and more than any season since 2014, according to TruMedia. Only four teams broke the 80 percent threshold last season (Commanders, Texans, Eagles, Bills). But in a long-term view, a multi-use DeJean could create a problem for the Eagles, as they'd need to secure someone who can proficiently play outside cornerback when DeJean is at nickel. If Mitchell and DeJean both secure long-term extensions, can the Eagles afford another outside cornerback on a long-term deal? Or will they resolve to cycle through budget-friendly options at one of the game's most valuable positions? • During 7-on-7 drills, newly signed veteran Adoree' Jackson was the first-team outside cornerback opposite Mitchell when DeJean played nickel. Jackson, a first-round pick of the Titans in 2017, was the primary starter for the New York Giants for three seasons before fulfilling a depth role in 2024. During team drills, Kelee Ringo, Philly's fourth-round pick in 2023, replaced Jackson opposite Mitchell in nickel packages. • Blankenship's absence offered little insight into the initial positioning of the safety battle, but it afforded the coaching staff more looks at the competitors. Andrew Mukuba and Sydney Brown were the first-team safeties during 7-on-7 drills. Brown and Andre Sam were the first-team safeties during team drills, and Mukuba and Tristin McCollum rotated in during the drills. Lewis Cine, a 2022 first-round pick of the Vikings who spent last season on the Eagles' practice squad, was a first-team safety during a later 7-on-7 drill, but Brown subbed in for Cine after a few plays. • The first-team offensive line during team drills: LT Jordan Mailata, LG Matt Pryor, C Brett Toth, RG Tyler Steen, RT Darian Kinnard. Neither RT Lane Johnson or LG Landon Dickerson attended Wednesday's OTAs session. Kenyon Green, acquired in the C.J. Gardner-Johnson trade, also saw time at left guard. It's clear that Stoutland is cross-training several offensive linemen at guard. Laekin Vakalahi, who's entering his second year in the NFL's international development program, spent last year mostly at offensive tackle. Vakalahi worked at left guard during team drills. Advertisement • Three players with injuries attended Wednesday's OTAs session but did not participate. Starting linebacker Nakobe Dean, who suffered a patellar tendon tear in the NFC wild-card round, was notably not wearing any sort of brace or wrap on his knee. Starting center Cam Jurgens, who underwent offseason back surgery, stood beside the offensive linemen throughout practice. First-round rookie Jihaad Campbell, who underwent labrum surgery, stood next to the linebackers, as he did during rookie minicamp. (Photo of Cooper DeJean: Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)
