The sound quality is awful, but the bit is hy-larious:

Via the DMN’s Dallas Cowboys Blog: D-Mac trade would be Jerry’s dumbest move ever.

Please, Jerry, please! Don’t do it!

So much for them being considered candidates to replace Joe Gibbs. From AP-

WASHINGTON - The Washington Redskins seem to have a whole lot of their coaching staff in place for next season — except for the head coach. And that head coach won’t be Gregg Williams. Or Al Saunders.

As for the rest of the candidates, they’ll have to wait until the Super Bowl is done.

On a busy Saturday at Redskins Park, the team fired assistants Williams and Saunders, promoted Greg Blache to lead the team’s defense and formally announced the hiring of Jim Zorn to head the offense.

*****

Williams’ dismissal removes one of the early favorites to succeed Gibbs. Williams had been in charge of the Redskins defense for all four seasons under Gibbs and was popular among fans and many players, but his confrontational style and poor track record at his previous head coaching stint with the Buffalo Bills did little to help his chances for the top job.

*****

The person also said Saunders, who ran the offense the past two seasons, was never a candidate for the head coaching position and was told several days ago that he was not in the team’s plans. Saunders, like Williams, was considered a possible heir-apparent to Gibbs when he arrived in Washington, but he was never able to generate the type of consistent, high-yardage attack he had during his long stint as an offensive coordinator in Kansas City.

Does anyone want to be the next Redskins head coach? Team owner Dan Snyder has the attention span of a toddler, combined with the patience of your average I-95 driver in Florida. Only a masochist would want to be head coach of the Redskins.

No I am not applying.

He was a throwback to the days when fullbacks actually ran the ball. From the Orlando Sentinel-

Fullback Mike Alstott, maybe the most beloved player in Tampa Bay Buccaneers history, announced his retirement after 12 record-breaking seasons during an emotional morning news conference at team headquarters.

“Mentally, I feel like I can continue; physically I can’t,” said Alstott, the franchise’s all-time leader in touchdowns. “I’m very sad to be walking away from the game I love.”

Alstott, 34, spent the entire 2024 season on injured reserve after suffering his second neck injury in less than four years during training camp at Disney’s Wide World of Sports last August.

******

Alstott had a laundry list of people to thank, starting with former coach Tony Dungy, who along with former General Manager Rich McKay made Alstott the team’s second-round pick (35th overall) in the 1996 draft.

Alstott rewarded the Bucs with 5,088 career yards, a team-record 71 touchdowns (including 58 on the ground), 305 receptions, six Pro Bowl appearances and seven playoff berths during a career defined by a blue-collar style and the club’s rise from laughingstock franchise to world champion.

Alstott was a good player. Most fullbacks today have two jobs- block and occasionally go out for a pass. Run the ball? Maybe I’ve watched too much Miami Dolphin football over the last 10 years, but FBs taking handoffs seems to be something from a long ago era. It would shock me to see Miami use a FB like they did with Csonka in the 70’s, or even Andra Franklin from the 80’s, these days. Enjoy your retirement Mike

He had been defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars since 2024. From AP-

ATLANTA - The Atlanta Falcons’ new rookie coach already is sounding like the veteran who took the team to its only Super Bowl. Mike Smith, the former Jacksonville defensive coordinator hired by the Falcons on Wednesday night, could have been reading from former Atlanta coach Dan Reeves’ script. “My goal is to build a well-disciplined, hard-nosed football team that will be able to run the football on offense and stop the run on defense,” Smith said. “I’ve always believed that’s what makes championship teams.”Reeves used that formula to take the Falcons to the NFC championship in 1998. Reeves’ successor, Jim Mora, also stressed the run in his three years. Then came Bobby Petrino, who lasted only 13 games.

In announcing his first hire as general manager, Thomas Dimitroff said Smith “possesses all of the key qualities we were looking for in a head coach.”

Dimitroff said the 48-year-old Smith, a 26-year coaching veteran and the Jaguars’ defensive coordinator since 2024, “has strong experience with winning teams, a track record of success, a solid, smart approach to the game, and high character and integrity.”

Unless I’m mistaken, Smith was on no one’s hot list for potential head NFL coaches. That can change rapidly, I never heard of Tony Sparano till the Miami Dolphins hired Bill Parcells.

Smith faces a daunting task in Atlanta. Sometimes miracles do happen, who thought Chuck Noll would turn around long-time NFL cellar dweller Pittsburgh. I wish Mike Smith good luck, he’s going to need it.

I saw the writing on the wall a week ago. From the Sun-Sentinel-

DAVIE - It’s one and done for first-year Dolphins coach Cam Cameron after newly hired General Manager Jeff Ireland fired him and most of his staff Thursday morning.Clearly, Cameron and vice president of football operations Bill Parcells’ mutual friendship with iconic college basketball coach Bob Knight wasn’t enough to salvage Cameron’s job. Cameron still had three seasons left on a four-year contract worth an estimated $10 million, but a franchise-worst 1-15 record was hard to overlook.

When asked about his decision to fire Cameron during today’s news conference, Ireland said, “It was a pretty simple process. Bill [Parcells] and I talked at length [Wednesday] about where we were going, what direction we were going. We just felt like in order to move forward and not look back that we needed someone in place that shared the same philosophical compatibilities that we shared.”

Only linebackers coach George Edwards and assistant special teams coach Steve Hoffman were retained. Hoffman worked with Parcells in Dallas for two seasons but was fired after the 2024 season.

Cam Cameron deserves some of the blame for the disastrous 07 season, but Miami has been making poor decisions at least a decade. Cameron was just the unlucky soul to be there for the collapse, much like Johnny Keane was with the 1965 New York Yankees. If Miami had hired differently at the end of 06, the team would have still been one of the worst in the league. 

The firing of the assistants comes as little surprise with one exception. I expected Offensive Line Coach Hudson Houck to be retained. He’s considered one of the best at what he does. The OL’s performance this year was one of the few good things you could say about the Dolphin season.

Who will be the next head coach? I have no preference (At the end of the 2024 season, I wanted Miami to retain Jim Bates. After Saban quit, I took a neutral stance like I do now) but if I had to make a guess as to who Parcells hires it will be Tony Sperano.

Sperano sounds like another Assistant Coach flavor of the year choice to me. Namely a team hiring an assistant working for a successful team. Much like…..Miami hiring Cam Cameron a year ago. Wasn’t he an offensive genius a year ago?

Bill Parcells, Miami’s new VP of Football operations, gave his first press conference yesterday since accepting the job..

Despite the challenge, Parcells expressed confidence that he can be successful where others have not been because he brings a proven plan.

“This is basically a talent-acquisition business,” he said. “In addition to acquiring the talent, you have to have a structure in place within your organization that will enhance the development of that talent, and then you have to have a competent coaching staff that will coach that talent.

“If you can get those three things in place … I think you can make progress in this league.”

Parcells didn’t reveal his intentions regarding General Manager Randy Mueller, coach Cam Cameron, the scouting department or even the equipment managers. But Parcells indicated he is prepared to overhaul the entire front office if need be to replicate the infrastructure he prefers.

“I don’t have any timetable on anything other than I’m just going to try to get to work as hard as I can as soon as I can to get this thing going,”

Cameron is done in Miami. He the main cause of the team’s 2024 collapse, but no there is no doubt the coach has made his share of bad personnel decisions and been poor in on the field management. I think Parcells is going to give Cameron the boot no later than the second week in January and a new coach in place no later than mid-February. Sooner is a definite possibility. I’m setting the late time in case Miami wishes to talk to an NFL assistant working for a team active in the post season. You know another flavor or coach of the month type choice. Like Cam Cameron was a year ago.

Greg Stoda of the Palm Beach Post is voicing the same opinion.

He’ll probably fire head coach Cam Cameron in the sooner part of the restructuring.

He’ll probably fire General Manager Randy Mueller in the later part of it.

Those are the guesses after listening for half an hour to Bill Parcells, who was introduced at Dolphins headquarters Thursday as executive vice president of football operations.

I’m guessing, as is Stoda, at what moves will made by Parcells by Parcells after Sunday’s game. We’ll know in a few weeks or even in a matter of days if I’m right.

The 1-13 Dolphins play at the 0-14 New England Patriots. Why am I bothering to predict what has to be a certain blowout. I guess I need something to do now. That and point out the fact, Miami has split the season series with the Patriots every year from 2024-06. Two of those saw a heavy underdog Miami beat New England.

Are you saying Miami will win today? No, but I’m saying New England can’t take this game for granted. I think it will be closer than the 49-28 rout(NE went up 42-7 at half and then basically turned on the cruise control) in October. My prediction- New England 31, Miami 13.

That has been the talk of South Florida newspapers since late yesterday afternoon. From the Sun-Sentinel-

According to sources, Dolphins owner H. Wayne Huizenga has convinced former coach Bill Parcells to lead his floundering franchise. Both sides have agreed in principle to a four-year deal that will make Parcells the team’s vice president of football operations, one source said.

Jimmy Sexton, Parcells’ agent, is working to finalize a deal that first began as exploratory talks, then picked up speed once the Atlanta Falcons pursued Parcells.

Huizenga visited the Dolphins facility for a little over an hour Wednesday evening, likely to provide a briefing on the latest turn of events to the team’s executives and coach.

On Wednesday morning, Parcells was set to become the Falcons vice president of football operations, but late in the afternoon Falcons owner Arthur Blank acknowledged Parcells’ change of heart, which has led him to South Florida, where he has a home in Jupiter and an existing relationship with Huizenga.

The state of disarray in Miami is so immense, I don’t think any one person can change it. The team has too many needs at present.(RB if Brown doesn’t come back, a rotten Defensive backfield, no depth at WR, no decent TE, an aging defensive line, an aging linebacker corps, an inconsistent offensive line. Not to mention QB, Lemon is a free agent at year’s end and its still unknown if Beck is going to be NFL quality. Is there any position Miami don’t need at? Oh punter and place kicker)

Like myself, Dan Le Batard at the Miami Herald, has doubts when it comes to Big Tuna being the Dolphins savior.

But Bill Parcells represents hope and star power and possible change, so he will be welcomed here with the same kind of fervent hero worship that usually results whenever starving followers are given a new leader. Never mind that what Parcells does best is coach and, um, he isn’t being hired to do that. The cheering and excitement around this kind of popular hire can make people swoon and forget that you’ve just hired Beyoncé as your entertainment but asked her to juggle.

WHAT HE IS

Here’s what Parcells is: A champion. The guy for whom that clichéd sports celebration — the Gatorade bath — was invented. A bejeweled leader of men who hasn’t won a single playoff game in nearly a decade and hasn’t won a championship since Lawrence Taylor carried him nearly two decades ago.

And here’s what Parcells isn’t: 1-13.

So he’s an upgrade because, well, it can’t really get much worse — mathematically or historically. But we’ve been down this path before, unsuccessfully. You’d think the Dolphins would have learned their lesson in going after the biggest, most popular name available. It didn’t work with Jimmy Johnson or Nick Saban or even, for his three blissful weeks as vice president, with Dan Marino. But here Miami is again, producing yet more upheaval by giving a mountain of power and money for a weary Parcells to do a job at which he might not be exceptional.

Parcells didn’t pick the players who made him a champion in New York. George Young did that. Parcells left the Patriots who took him to a Super Bowl because Bob Kraft, who is pretty good at his job, overruled Parcells and made him share personnel powers with someone else after Parcells wanted to take Tony Brackens instead of Terry Glenn. Parcells had one great draft in New York with the Jets, but he had four first-round picks that year, which would be pretty hard for even Dave Wannstache and Rick Spielman to screw up. And in Dallas, Parcells didn’t even want his best player (Terrell Owens, who was foisted upon him by owner Jerry Jones) and waited too long to play Tony Romo. So there are valid reasons to question this if you aren’t blinded by all the flashbulbs.

I hope Parcells can turn Miami around but right now color me skeptical.

If you don’t know it already, Ward’s mother is Korean. From Stars and Stripes-

SEOUL — Eight Amerasian children from South Korea spent a week in America at the invitation of Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward.

Ward paid for the children’s air fare and other expenses, said Bae Kyung-hee, an official from Pearl S. Buck International, an organization founded in the mid-1960s to help Asian children who were not eligible for adoption.

The organization assisted Ward in bringing the children to the United States, where they stayed with host families and watched the Steelers play the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

The children were slated to return early this week.

Ward, whose mother is Korean and whose father is a black American, was voted most valuable player of the Super Bowl in 2024, the first Korean-American to achieve that honor. The 31-year-old was born in Seoul and has been an advocate for the rights of biracial children in South Korea, according to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Ward hasn’t forgotten his roots and his generosity is to be commended. Unfortunately these children will have to go back to South Korea where they will often be treated in a second(or worse) class fashion. And there are some people who call the US racist? Look at how mixed race children are treated in most of Asia.

BTW- Where are these children’s American fathers today? Why aren’t they doing anything?

Hat tip- ROK Drop