🎠 Coaching Carousel

It’s Thursday! The best weekend of the NFL season is just two days away. But playoff football is not created equally. For some fanbases, watching their team play late into January is an inherent luxury. For others, the month is only good for two things: Mock drafts and group chat rants about who to fire. Today, we’ll focus on the latter by checking in on the NFL coaching carousel, highlighting the vacant positions and top candidates around the league. But first, we’ll recap another busy night of action. The Celtics remained unbeaten in Beantown. ESPN saw their dreams come true by broadcasting two LeBron James basketball games at the same time. And, surprise! Novak Djokovic is mad about something. But this time, it’s weirdly sort of endearing. Oh, also, Jerry Jones found his home run hire, and you won’t believe who it is! “How ‘bout them Blitz Boys!”

WTF Stat: Trail Blazers C Deandre Ayton missed last night’s game against the Nets because he was unable to drive to Portland’s arena due to icy roads in his neighborhood - Deandre Ayton: OUT (ice).

🏈 Cowboys announced they are retaining HC Mike McCarthy for the 2024 season, which will be his fifth year as the team’s head coach - McCarthy has led Dallas to a 12-5 record in each of the past three regular seasons but is 1-3 in playoff games

🏀 Pacers acquired All-Star F Pascal Siakam in a trade with the Raptors for G Bruce Brown, F Jordan Nwora, two 2024 first-round picks, and one 2026 first-round pick - as part of a separate trade, the Pelicans sent PG Kira Lewis Jr. to the Raptors and a 2024 second-round pick to the Pacers for cash considerations

🏀 Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic, known around the NBA for his work with star centers, died Wednesday at the age of 46 after suffering a heart attack at a team dinner - the NBA postponed the Warriors’ game against the Jazz, which was scheduled for last night

🏀 Thunder G Josh Giddey will not face charges following a police investigation into allegations that he had an inappropriate relationship with a potential minor - the NBA has reportedly not completed its review of the allegations

🏀🏒 Knicks and Rangers owner James Dolan has been included in a federal lawsuit claiming that he pressured a female masseuse into sex and that former movie producer Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted her in 2013 - both Dolan and Weinstein have denied the allegations through their lawyers

NBA - Top Games

• Boston Celtics 117, San Antonio Spurs 98: The Boston Celtics are 20-0 on their home floor. Yes, 20 games, 20 wins. Victor Wembanyama (27 PTS, 10-19 FG, 5 REB) scored 10 in the 1st quarter, but Jayson Tatum (24 PTS, 5 REB), Jaylen Brown (21 PTS, 7 REB), and the C’s pulled away before halftime and coasted to victory to remain perfect at TD Garden, improving their league-best record to 32-9 - Boston is the 13th team in NBA history to start a season 20-0 at home

• Los Angeles Lakers 127, Dallas Mavericks 110: Luka Doncic (33 PTS, 13 REB, 10 AST) dropped a triple-double in his first night back after missing three games with an ankle sprain, but Kyrie Irving (12 PTS, 4-16 FG, 6 AST) couldn’t get anything to fall, while D’Angelo Russell (29 PTS, 5-7 3PT), Anthony Davis (28 PTS, 12 REB, 9 AST), and LeBron James (25 PTS, 7 REB, 8 AST) combined for 82 to top the Mavs in Los Angeles for a much-needed dub - the Lakers (21-21) are 4-6 in their past 10 games and three spots behind Dallas (24-18) for the seventh seed in the West

• Atlanta Hawks 106, Orlando Magic 104: In a frantic 4th quarter that featured eight lead changes, Orlando’s Paolo Banchero (26 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST) knocked down a game-tying triple with just nine seconds to play, but Dejounte Murray (26 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST) turned around and nailed a cold-blooded jumper at the buzzer to give the Hawks an electric walk-off win in Atlanta - Orlando (22-19) has lost seven of their past 10 games

• Cleveland Cavaliers 135, Milwaukee Bucks 95: Giannis Antetokounmpo was surprisingly ruled out two hours before tipoff with a bruised shoulder, and the rest of the Bucks also failed to show up as Damian Lillard (17 PTS, 7-20 FG, 5 AST) and company got worked by Donovan Mitchell (31 PTS, 5 REB, 7 AST) and the Cavs, who got a huge boost from avid Blitzer Georges Niang (33 PTS, 5-6 3PT, 5 REB) to claim a wire-to-wire win in Cleveland - the Cavaliers (24-15) have won six straight for the fourth-best record in the East

See the full NBA scoreboard here and the current standings here.

College Basketball - Top Games

• NCAAM | #1 UConn 62, #18 Creighton 48: The newest No. 1 team in the polls overcame a 35.7% shooting night with a vintage defensive effort as the Huskies held Steven Ashworth (14 PTS, 5-15 FG) and Creighton to 21 first-half points, while Tristen Newton (16 PTS, 8 REB, 5 AST) scored a game-high to seal UConn’s ninth ranked win of the season - amazingly, this was UConn’s first regular-season game as the No. 1 ranked team in 15 years!

• NCAAM | #5 Houston 77, #25 Texas Tech 54: After dropping back-to-back games against Iowa State and TCU, Houston rebounded by routing Texas Tech at home, as they outscored the Red Raiders 40-8 in the paint and Jamal Shead (29 PTS, 10 AST) dropped a career-high - Houston (15-2) has won 15 consecutive games at home

• NCAAM | #12 Arizona 82, USC 67: While LeBron James was playing on ABC, his son, Bronny James (11 PTS, 5-11 FG, 5 REB, 6 AST), was playing on ESPN, but the Trojans were unable to knock off Caleb Love (20 PTS, 5 AST) and Arizona as the Wildcats pulled away in the second half to bounce back from Saturday’s loss against Wazzou - Arizona (13-4) is second in the Pac-12 standings while USC (8-10) is 11th

• NCAAW | #9 UConn 83, Seton Hall 59: Following a 4-3 start to the season, Geno Auriemma’s squad has now rattled off 11 straight victories and waxed Seton Hall last night on the road thanks to another brilliant showing from 2021-22 Player of the Year Paige Bueckers (32 PTS, 12-17 FG, 7 REB), who has come alive amid the Huskies’ heater after missing all of last season with a torn ACL - UConn (15-3) is 7-0 in Big East play and has beaten Seton Hall 37 straight times

See the full men’s scoreboard here and the current rankings here. See the full women’s scoreboard here and the current rankings here.

NHL - All Games

• Detroit Red Wings 3, Florida Panthers 2 (OT): After winning nine straight games, the Cats have now dropped three in a row as Detroit’s Robby Fabbri (1 G) tied the game in the 3rd period, and Dylan Larkin (1 G) ended it one minute into overtime with a power-play goal, snapping the Red Wings 10-game losing streak in the head-to-head matchup - Alex Lyon (32 SV) earned the second star of the game for his efforts in net

• Montreal Canadiens 3, New Jersey Devils 2: The Devils’ Luke Hughes (1 G) and Alexander Holtz (1 G) scored within 51 seconds of one another to erase a 2-0 deficit early in the 3rd period, but Cole Caufield (1 G, 1 A), who had an outrageous assist earlier in the game, netted the game-winner with 4:31 remaining, and the Habs escaped with a win in beautiful Newark, New Jersey - there were only two games last night after the Blackhawks at Sabres game was postponed due to heavy snow in Buffalo

See the full box scores here and the current NHL standings here.

ATP Australian Open - Round 2, Top Matches

• Men’s | #1 Novak Djokovic def. Alexei Popyrin (6-3, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3): For the second straight match, Novak Djokovic looked relatively vulnerable as the defending champion dropped the second set to Australia’s Alexei Popyrin before taking a tiebreaker to ultimately earn his 30th consecutive win at Melbourne. But Popyrin’s valiant effort was overshadowed by an objectively hilarious scene in the fourth set when the Joker invited a heckler in the crowd to “come down and tell it my face” - Djokovic didn’t disclose what the heckler said to him, saying "you don't want to know,” while adding, “unfortunately for him, he didn’t have the courage to come down”

• Women’s | #1 Iga Swiatek def. Danielle Collins (6-4, 3-6, 6-4): The 2022 runner-up Danielle Collins had the top-ranked Iga Swiatek on the ropes late last night, leading 4-1 in the third set, but Swiatek came alive on the brink elimination and took five straight games to survive a scare against the 30-year-old American

• Men’s | #2 Carlos Alcaraz vs. Lorenzo Sonego: Live score 

• Men’s | #5 Andrey Rublev def. Christopher Eubanks (6-4, 6-4, 6-4)

• Men’s | #7 Stefanos Tsitsipas def. Jordan Thompson (4-6, 7-6, 6-2, 7-6)

• Women’s | #2 Aryna Sabalenka def. Brenda Fruhvirtova (6-3, 6-2)

• Women’s | Elina Avanesyan def. #8 Maria Sakkari (6-4, 6-4)

See the full results here, the men’s singles bracket here, and the women’s singles bracket here.

🏈 NFL Coaching Carousel

It’s that time of year! The NFL coaching carousel is in full swing. Seven teams are currently looking for a new head coach in a candidate pool that is perhaps the best we’ve ever seen. The Patriots were the first of eight clubs to end their search, naming Jerod Mayo as Bill Belichick’s successor on Friday, while a pair of playoff teams not named the Cowboys could be joining the fun after first-round exits. Below is everything you need to know…

Head Coaching Vacancies

• Seattle Seahawks (2023 Record: 9-8)

  • Former head coach: Pete Carroll - stepped down on Jan. 10 after 17 seasons

• Tennessee Titans (6-11)

  • Former head coach: Mike Vrabel - fired on Jan. 9 after six seasons

• Washington Commanders (4-13)

  • Former coach: Ron Rivera - fired on Jan. 9 after four seasons

• Atlanta Falcons (7-10)

  • Former coach: Arthurs Smith - fired on Jan. 7 after three seasons

• Los Angeles Chargers (5-12)

  • Former coach: Brandon Staley - fired on Dec. 15 after nearly three seasons

  • Current interim coach: Giff Smith

• Carolina Panthers (2-15)

  • Former coach: Frank Reich - fired on Nov. 27 after 11 games

  • Current interim coach: Chris Tabor

• Las Vegas Raiders (8-9)

  • Former coach: Josh McDaniels - fired on Oct. 31 after 1.5 seasons

  • Current interim coach: Antonio Pierce

Former Openings Now closed

• New England Patriots (4-13)

  • Former coach: Bill Belichick - parted ways with team on Jan. 11

  • New coach: Jerod Mayo - promoted from linebackers coach on Jan. 12

Potential Openings

• Philadelphia Eagles (11-6)

  • Current coach: Nick Sirianni

  • The Scoop: Sirianni is believed to be on the hot seat after the Eagles’ wild-card round loss to the Buccaneers, but no reports from the team have emerged regarding his future.

• Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)

  • Current coach: Mike Tomlin

  • The Scoop: Tomlin told players during a team meeting Tuesday that he plans to be the Steelers head coach next season and that he didn’t answer a question about his future following the team’s wild-card round loss to the Bills because it would lend credibility to “unfounded speculation” suggesting otherwise. His job security is not believed to be in jeopardy.

Our Top Head-Coaching Candidates

• Bill Belichick (former Patriots head coach)

  • Known interviews: ATL

• Mike Vrabel (former Titans head coach)

  • Known interviews: None

• Jim Harbaugh (University of Michigan head coach)

  • Known interviews: ATL, LAC

• Antonio Pierce (Raiders interim head coach)

  • Known interviews: ATL, TEN, LV

• Ben Johnson (Lions offensive coordinator)

  • Known interviews: ATL, CAR, LAC, SEA, TEN, WAS

• Brian Callahan (Bengals offensive coordinator)

  • Known interviews: ATL, CAR, TEN (twice), LAC

• Raheem Morris (Rams defensive coordinator)

  • Known interviews: ATL, CAR, LAR, SEA, WAS

Note: “Known interviews” have either been requested, scheduled, or completed.

Other Notable Candidates

• Bobby Slowik (Texans offensive coordinator)

  • Known interviews: ATL, CAR, SEA, TEN, WAS

• Brian Flores (Vikings defensive coordinator)

  • Known interviews: None

• Dan Quinn (Cowboys defensive coordinator)

  • Known interviews: CAR, LAC, SEA, TEN, WAS

• Dave Canales (Buccaneers offensive coordinator)

  • Known interviews: CAR

• Frank Smith (Dolphins offensive coordinator)

  • Known interviews: CAR, SEA

• Ejiro Evero (Panthers defensive coordinator)

  • Known interviews: ATL, SEA

• Eric Bieniemy (Commanders offensive coordinator)

  • Known interviews: None

• Mike Macdonald (Ravens defensive coordinator)

  • Known interviews: ATL, CAR, TEN, WAS

• Steve Wilks (49ers defensive coordinator)

  • Known interviews: ATL, LAC

• Todd Monken (Ravens offensive coordinator)

  • Known interviews: CAR, LAC

Want more NHL coverage? Check out our friends over at Hockey Recap. We highly recommend this newsletter to hockey lovers!

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Last night, Kentucky beat Mississippi State 90-77 in men’s basketball for coach John Calipari’s 400th victory with the Wildcats. How many games did it take Calipari to get there?

A. 461

B. 499

C. 516

D. 542

On January 18, 1976, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 in Super Bowl 10 to win back-to-back titles. Dominating opponents with their "Steel Curtain" defense, the Black and Gold looked to defend their title against the high-scoring Cowboys in a highly-anticipated showdown in Miami. The season prior, Pittsburgh won their first Super Bowl, while Dallas won Super Bowl 6 in 1971 and had been knocking on the door of their second title for a handful of years. After going down 10–7 in the 4th quarter, the Steelers rallied to score 14 unanswered points, including a 64-yard touchdown grab by WR Lynn Swann. The Cowboys cut the score to 21–17 late in the game, but Pittsburgh S Glen Edwards halted Dallas' rally with an interception in the endzone as time expired. Swann's (4 REC, 161 YDS, 1 TD) touchdown and legendary bobbling catch helped him become the first wide receiver to be named Super Bowl MVP - Swann, Terry Bradshaw and the Steelers would repeat again in '79 and '80, while the Cowboys would win Super Bowl 12 in 1978.

NBA

• Chicago Bulls @ Toronto Raptors 7:30pm ET, TNT

• Oklahoma City Thunder @ Utah Jazz 9:00pm ET, Local

• Memphis Grizzlies @ Minnesota Timberwolves 10:00pm ET, TNT

• Full Schedule

NHL

• Colorado Avalanche @ Boston Bruins 7:00pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

• Seattle Kraken @ Edmonton Oilers 9:00pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

• New York Rangers @ Vegas Golden Knights 10:00pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

• Full Schedule

College Basketball

• NCAAM: South Florida @ #10 Memphis 

• NCAAM: Wichita State @ #23 Florida Atlantic 7:00pm ET, ESPN2

• NCAAM: #14 Illinois @ Michigan 8:30pm ET, FS1

• NCAAM: Full Schedule

• NCAAW: #4 NC State @ Miami 6:00pm ET, ACCNX

• NCAAW: #14 Virginia Tech @ Duke 8:00pm ET, ACCN

• NCAAW: #10 LSU @ Alabama 9:00pm ET, SECN

• NCAAW: Full Schedule

ATP Australian Open

• Men’s & Women’s Singles: Round 2 3:00am-7:00am ET, ESPN2

• Men’s & Women’s Singles: Round 3 7:00pm-2:00am ET, ESPN2

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Trivia Time Answer

C. 516. Kentucky’s victory last night marked John Calipari’s 516th game with the Wildcats, making him the third-fastest active head coach to reach 400 wins with a program. Bill Self reached 400 wins in 484 games with Kansas, and Mark Few hit 400 in 499 outings at Gonzaga.

Prime Lock of the Day

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NFL Divisional Round preview coming tomorrow. See ya then!