Sports briefs

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Tom Coughlin, Mike Shanahan among coaching candidates

for Hall of Fame

Two-time Super Bowl winning coaches Tom Coughlin, Mike Shanahan and George Seifert are among the coaching candidates under consideration for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

One other Super Bowl winner, Mike Holmgren, also made the cut Thursday as the Hall’s nine-member Blue Ribbon committee for coaches reduced the list of candidates to 12.

The committee will cut the list down to nine semifinalists in the next few weeks before picking one finalist to go before the Hall’s full selection committee for consideration early next year.

The one coaching candidate will be grouped with one contributor and three seniors candidates. Between one and three of those five finalists will make it to the Hall based on getting at least 80% of the votes from the full committee.

Coughlin, Shanahan and Seifert are among the 14 coaches who have won multiple Super Bowls. Nine of those coaches are already in the Hall and Bill Belichick and Andy Reid are not yet eligible.

Coughlin coached 20 years for Jacksonville and the New York Giants. He led the Jaguars to the AFC title game in their second season as a franchise and back again in the 1999 season. But his greatest success came after taking over the Giants in 2004.

He led the franchise to a Super Bowl title in the 2007 season when New York upset the undefeated Patriots and then knocked off Belichick, Tom Brady and New England again four years later. Coughlin finished with a 170-150 regular-season record.

Seifert helped San Francisco win two titles as a defensive coordinator under Bill Walsh and then two more as head coach after taking over for Walsh in 1989.

He won at least 10 games in all eight seasons in charge of the 49ers with his 98-30 record (.766) the best for any coach on a single team with at least 100 games. But he was unable to duplicate that success in three seasons with Carolina, going 16-32.

Shanahan was the offensive coordinator under Seifert on San Francisco’s 1994 championship team and then won back-to-back titles as head coach in Denver in 1997-98. Shanahan finished with a 170-138 record for the Raiders, Broncos and Washington and his impact on the game is still strong today through his disciples, including his son, Kyle, who coaches San Francisco.

Four other current NFL head coaches worked under Shanahan in Washington — Sean McVay, Mike McDaniel, Matt LaFleur and Raheem Morris — and the offensive system he brought into the league that tied the outside zone run with the passing game is still the most prevalent in the league today.

Holmgren preceded Shanahan as offensive coordinator in San Francisco and also had a big impact on future coaches with Reid and Jon Gruden going on to win Super Bowls after working under Holmgren in Green Bay. Holmgren had a 161-111 record for the Packers and Seahawks, winning the title in 1996. He also got to the Super Bowl the following season in Green Bay and then again in the 2005 season in Seattle.

Among the other candidates are former Houston, Tennessee and Rams coach Jeff Fisher; Chuck Knox, who won Coach of the Year Awards with the Rams, Bills and Seahawks; Dan Reeves, who went to four Super Bowls with Denver and Atlanta; and Marty Schottenheimer, who won 200 regular-season games and made the playoffs 13 times in 20 full seasons as a head coach in Cleveland, Kansas City, Washington and San Diego.

The list of candidates also includes several coaches known more for their work as assistants: Bill Arnsparger, the defensive coordinator for Miami’s perfect team in 1972 and Super Bowl winner the following season; Richie Petitbon, who called the defenses on three Super Bowl champs in Washington; and longtime offensive line coach Alex Gibbs, who helped Denver win two titles in the 1990s and popularized the zone blocking scheme.

The final candidate is the innovative Clark Shaughnessy, who is considered the “father of the T formation” and three-receiver set during his long career that included a stint as an adviser to Bears coach George Halas for a 73-0 title game win over Washington in 1940, two years as head coach of the Rams and a stint as defensive coordinator for Halas in Chicago.

Cleveland mayor says Browns owners have decided to move team

CLEVELAND | The Browns are moving out of their lakefront home.

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said Thursday he met with Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslem, who announced their intent to relocate the NFL team to suburban Brook Park despite the city’s efforts to keep it in Cleveland.

The Browns considered a $1.1 billion plan from the city to renovate their 25-year-old downtown stadium, but instead chose to build a $2.4 billion dome in Brook Park, about 12 miles south of Cleveland.

“As mayor, I will always prioritize the needs of residents and businesses,” Bibb said in a statement. “The Haslem Sports Group may want a roof over their heads, but my responsibility is to ensure that Cleveland residents have a roof over theirs.”

Bibb added that balancing those priorities “requires care and precision” and that the city must be “practical about our many needs and finite resources.”

The team’s lease at its current stadium expires after the 2028 season.

Last month, the city proposed funding $461 million — splitting the cost with the Browns — to upgrade the current stadium and re-develop its surrounding property along Lake Erie.

The Browns have only been in their stadium since 1999, when they returned as an expansion team after owner Art Modell moved the franchise to Baltimore four years earlier following a squabble with city officials.

Officials believe the current stadium needs “substantial improvements” for sustainability. The Browns often cite traffic and parking issues among the main reasons to consider a new stadium location.

“The Brook Park site is the most compelling option for a dome for several reasons: its central location for our regional fan base, its proximity to downtown, the RTA and the airport, and its strong existing infrastructure,” David Jenkins, chief operating officer of Haslam Sports Group, wrote in the letter last month. “The large footprint is also ripe for major economic development and supports ample parking and optimized ingress/egress for our visitors.”

Funding remains an obstacle. The Browns are seeking a public/private partnership for the $2.4 billion project. They’re proposing bonds to cover the public portion.

“The City of Cleveland and the success of its downtown remain incredibly important to us,” Jenkins wrote. “We acknowledge that a move to Brook Park may have a near-term impact on downtown, but we believe that the year-round activity of a domed stadium can still positively impact the downtown economy, particularly when coupled with the possibilities of a reimagined lakefront absent the stadium.

“Developing the lakefront without the stadium could be the best way to maximize the long-term success of our underutilized North Coast waterfront asset.”

Los Angeles Lakers

shrug off the critics about Bronny James

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. | LeBron James gets to end every practice these days by shooting hoops with his son.

When the Los Angeles Lakers cool down with small-group shooting sessions after workouts at their training complex, the top scorer in NBA history and 20-year-old Bronny James take turns putting up dozens of jumpers alongside third-year guard Max Christie.

Getting all this family time at work is still surreal to LeBron, even though he pretty much willed it into reality.

“For a father, it means everything,” LeBron said.

Less than three years after James declared his desire to cap his decorated career by playing alongside Bronny, they’ve already teamed up in the preseason. They’ll soon become the first father and son to play in a real NBA game at the same time, let alone on the same team.

“It’s a special feeling, a different feeling, to work with him,” said LeBron, who turns 40 in December. “When you go to work every day, you want to try to help each other. If it’s a bad day for him, you pick him up. … There’s things we can do that doesn’t even need words. We can just look at each other and know.”

The sports world has been looking at them both this fall as the Lakers embark on a remarkable experiment — albeit one that could present unique challenges for the James family’s teammates and the Lakers’ rookie head coach, JJ Redick.

Bronny has already acknowledged and lamented the social media stigma of favoritism and nepotism hovering over the start of his NBA career. The Lakers have also been criticized for using a draft pick to guarantee this father-son pairing, with detractors questioning the inclusion of Bronny and his still-raw skills in any contender’s plans from a competitive standpoint.

“It won’t be an easy situation necessarily to navigate,” said Stan Van Gundy, the longtime NBA coach and current commentator. “There will be a lot of external noise about Bronny. If he doesn’t play, people are going to want him to play with LeBron. If he’s playing, people are going to say he doesn’t deserve to be playing. … But I think the focus should be that this is something to be celebrated. This is a phenomenal thing that we’re not going to see much.”

Indeed, only a handful of great athletes have ever played on the same professional sports team as their sons — and Ken Griffey Sr., Tim Raines and Gordie Howe were not still at the peak of their formidable skills when they teamed up with their progeny.

LeBron is still one of the NBA’s best players, and the Lakers aspire to championship contention for a roster built around him and Anthony Davis.

In other words, this is no time for a stunt.

But Bronny’s first few months on the roster have generated overwhelming positivity around the Lakers, both from the front office that orchestrated it and from the players suiting up alongside the James duo. No matter how much or how little the James family ends up playing together this season, the Lakers clearly don’t regret making this bit of basketball history.

Davis has known Bronny well since Davis joined the Lakers in 2019, watching his maturation from a shy teen into a young man.

“It’s awesome,” Davis said. “It’s historic. It’s powerful. Bronny’s locker is across from mine, so every time I walk in and see it, it’s still surreal for me that he’s on the same team as his dad. I can’t wait until they step on the floor and officially make history, but it’s been super-dope to watch so far.”

While LeBron has been an international star for more than two decades, Bronny is quieter and more circumspect than his famous father. Friends and family have sometimes joked that his passion for video games is right up there with his passion for basketball, which only became the primary focus of his life a few years ago.

LeBron set these circumstances into motion with his declaration that he would end his career playing with his son, although he later amended his statement, saying he only hoped to play in the league at the same time as Bronny. That was the last thing on his mind one summer ago, when Bronny survived cardiac arrest during a workout at USC.

Although Bronny said it wasn’t necessarily his own dream to play alongside his father, he still made it happen by entering the draft after just one truncated collegiate season.

The Lakers’ front office is obviously and unabashedly on board with the plan. When Rob Pelinka chose Bronny with the 55th overall selection, the general manager said he did it with history in mind: “The biggest moments in sports happen with the Lakers.”

Still, most basketball experts seem to agree Bronny is currently a fringe NBA prospect who almost certainly would have benefitted from another year or two in college. An identical 6-foot-2 player with a different last name probably wouldn’t have been drafted, even with one of the final picks in the second round.

The appearance of favoritism or nepotism toward Bronny obviously has the potential to sour players who had to work harder and longer for their opportunity — yet there’s no evidence anybody in a Lakers uniform is currently feeling that way.

If anything, the Lakers are uniformly protective of Bronny against the criticism he faces from the media’s chattering class and from skeptical fans around the league.

“There’s pressure on all of us, (but) the inherent pressure on him is a little different than most second-round picks, most 20 year olds,” Redick said. “But I don’t sense any nerves. For us, the thing we’ve talked with him, like a lot of young players, is you have to be more consistent with your effort and energy every day. Not to say it’s been bad. … I talk to him about the standard of who he is as a player, and he’ll eventually build that standard, and it’ll be apparent every game.”

Bronny’s new teammates have uniformly praised his work ethic and commitment to improving — and they say it’s no surprise, since Bronny has spent his life watching his father’s relentless drive to extend his unmatched career, which is now in its record-tying 22nd season.

Bronny has particularly earned respect for his defensive abilities since summer league play.

“He’s tough,” Davis said. “Obviously he’s defensive-minded. Some great blocks. The physicality he gets over on screens. He’s good with his hands as far as deflections and steals. But he’s also still learning. He’s still trying to figure everything out. We have to realize that. He’s still a rookie. It’s a different style of basketball, but I like what I’m seeing.”

Titans release

three-time Pro Bowl safety Jamal Adams

NASHVILLE, Tenn. | Three-time Pro Bowl safety Jamal Adams’ tenure with the Tennessee Titans ended Thursday on his 29th birthday with his release after the team placed the eight-year veteran on reserve/non-football injury list last weekend.

That roster move came after the Titans (1-4) already had declared Adams out with a hip injury. Adams started one of three games played for Tennessee, and he had just one tackle Sept. 30 in the Titans’ one win at Miami.

The first-round pick in 2017 by the New York Jets signed a one-year deal with Tennessee just before training camp opened in July. He saw joining a defense coordinated by his former Jets secondary coach Dennard Wilson along with safeties coach Steve Jackson and linebackers coach Frank Bush giving him a comfort level. His former Seattle safety Quandre Diggs already was on the Tennessee roster.

Wilson deferred questions Thursday to coach Brian Callahan, who won’t talk to reporters again until Friday, on why Adams didn’t work out here. The Titans used seven starters new to this defense this season in last week’s loss to Indianapolis.

“At this point, wish Jamal the best going forward,” Wilson said. “It just didn’t work out. Going forward, he’ll have success wherever he goes.”

The sixth overall pick out of LSU started every game his first two seasons with the Jets and every game in his career when healthy until this season. Adams lasted only three seasons with the Jets before being traded to the Seahawks in 2020 where he earned his third straight Pro Bowl nod that season.

He played just 10 games over the past two seasons in Seattle. The Seahawks released him and Diggs in March despite taking on nearly $20 million in dead cap money by not waiting until after June 1.

Diggs has started all five games after signing with Tennessee this offseason alongside Amani Hooker. Asked Wednesday if he had talked with Adams, Diggs said he talks with his friend regularly but declined to comment on what was going on between Adams and the Titans.

“All I could do is be there for my brother, you know?” Diggs said. “I mean, that’s all I can do. That’s all I will do. … Whatever’s going on, you got to stay internal. And, you know, they’ll figure that out.”

The Titans currently have the NFL’s stingiest defense in total yards allowed and against the pass.

Justin Fields says he hasn’t played well enough for Steelers

PITTSBURGH | Justin Fields seems to be at peace with the idea of getting benched in favor of Russell Wilson, even with the Pittsburgh Steelers at 4-2 and tied with Baltimore for first place in the AFC North.

While the fourth-year quarterback knows he’s done some positive things while filling in as Wilson rehabbed a nagging calf injury, Fields isn’t sure his performance produced a compelling enough case to coach Mike Tomlin that Fields should remain the starter even when Wilson returned to full health.

“I don’t think I played good enough, if I’m being real with you,” Fields said Thursday. “If I’m being real with myself, I think if I did play well enough I don’t think there would be any sort of ‘who should be playing, who should not.’”

Though Tomlin has declined to announce a starter for Sunday night’s visit from the New York Jets (4-2), all signs point to the 35-year-old Wilson making his Pittsburgh debut. The nine-time Pro Bowler has taken extended snaps with the first team this week and in a telling move, Fields talked before Thursday practice instead of after, as had been the norm all season.

Tomlin opened the door for Wilson to return by noting that while Fields and the Steelers have both been “really good at times” during the opening third of the season, it was “not to be confused with great.”

Fields has accounted for 10 touchdowns (five passing, five rushing) while turning it over just three times (one interception, two fumbles). Yet his accuracy has dipped over the past two weeks and with a daunting second-half schedule looming after the team’s bye week in early November, Tomlin appears poised to see what Wilson might be able to provide.

Tomlin and first-year offensive coordinator Arthur Smith have both made it a point to praise Fields at nearly every turn, with Tomlin consistently crediting Fields’ toughness while Smith marveling at the 25-year-old’s maturity, pointing to Fields’ blaming himself despite a very solid if not always spectacular play as evidence of Fields’ selflessness.

“I think that’s why you love working with Justin, because that’s real,” Smith said. “That’s not just some cliche that some TV guru or somebody (else) told him to say.”

Fields, whom the Steelers acquired in a trade with Chicago just days after signing Wilson to a one-year deal, shrugged when asked about the emotional impact of the looming demotion.

“I’m just going to do my job,” he said. “And whether that’s playing, it’s helping the guys out on the sideline, telling them what I see (or) helping Russ out if he’s out there.”

Fields and Wilson appear to have maintained a cordial relationship throughout the process. Wilson demonstrably cheered while Fields raced to the end zone against the Raiders, and Fields has been deferential to Wilson’s status as the player who held the “pole position” on the starting job from the day both arrived.

Still, it’s telling of the unusual position the Steelers find themselves.

Tomlin, for example, said during his news conference on Tuesday that “stats are often for losers. It’s comfort food when you take a (loss)” and has said historically that coaches and quarterbacks are defined only by their wins. Pittsburgh is off to its second straight 4-2 start.

A year ago, the offense was in much the same spot. Kenny Pickett was in his first full season as a starter yet there was no talk of a switch even with points coming at a premium.

Tomlin pointed out the variables are far different this time around. Pittsburgh was committed to Pickett as the franchise quarterback at the time and his backups were Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph, neither of whom have Wilson’s resume.

Wilson and Fields, by comparison, could both be free agents next spring. Letting Wilson play would at least give Tomlin an idea of what he has with both players going forward.

Asked if he was worried about Fields’ confidence being shaken if Wilson gets the nod against the Jets, Smith’s answer offered a telling response on the somewhat strange position Steelers find themselves in.

“He’s 4-2,” Smith said. “He’s been pretty productive.”

Just apparently not productive enough to stay on the field. At least for now.

—From AP reports