ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos fired first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett on Monday with two games left in the season.
Team owner and CEO Greg Penner said he’ll lead the search for a new coach with assistance from GM George Paton, in whom he expressed confidence while announcing Hackett’s dismissal.
Firing Hackett with two games left in a lost season allows Penner to begin his search for a replacement immediately.
Players were told during a team meeting Monday that senior assistant coach Jerry Rosburg, who was hired by Hackett in September to help him with game operations and clock management, will serve as interim head coach.
The group involving Walmart heir Rob Walton, his daughter, Carrie Walton Penner, and her husband, Greg Penner, purchased the Broncos for $4.65 billion last summer, a global record for a professional sports franchise, and Rob Walton said after the league’s approval that he aimed to make the Broncos perennial championship contenders again.
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On Sunday, the Broncos (4-11) were blown out by the equally downtrodden Los Angeles Rams 51-14 when Russell Wilson threw three interceptions and was sacked six times. The game featured a sideline spat between backup QB Brett Rypien and guard Dalton Risner; pass rusher Randy Gregory threw a punch at a Rams player after the game.
In a statement Monday, Penner thanked Hackett for his dedication but said that “following extensive conversations with George and our ownership group, we determined a new direction would ultimately be in the best interest of the Broncos. This change was made now out of respect for everyone involved and allows us to immediately begin the search for a new head coach.”
Penner said that “moving forward, we will carefully evaluate every aspect of our football operations and make whatever changes are necessary to restore this franchise’s winning tradition.”
Hackett replaced Vic Fangio last January but hasn’t been able to build an offense suitable to Wilson, who recently turned 34.
Hackett is the third NFL head coach fired during the 2022 season. The Carolina Panthers replaced Matt Rhule with interim head coach Steve Wilks and the Colts fired Frank Reich and replaced him with coaching novice Jeff Saturday.
Mike White is back at quarterback for the New York Jets.
And just in time, with their playoff hopes hanging by a thread.
White was cleared by team doctors and will start Sunday in Seattle after he missed the Jets’ past two games while dealing with broken ribs suffered in New York’s 20-12 loss at Buffalo on Dec. 11.
White has practiced on a limited basis since, but hadn’t been cleared for contact so he couldn’t play.
That clearance came Monday. And with the Jets (7-8) still in the playoff hunt with two games remaining, they get their quarterback back. And “barring injury,” coach Robert Saleh said, for as long as the season lasts. But the coach wouldn’t go as far as to speculate whether White could be the long-term answer at quarterback.
“He just needs to take it one day at a time,” Saleh said, “and go from there.”
Saleh said Joe Flacco would serve as White’s backup and Zach Wilson will go from starting the past two games to being the No. 3 quarterback and inactive on Sunday.
BASEBALL
Feds: MLB players can represent Cuba in WBC
HAVANA — The United States will permit Major League Baseball players from Cuba to represent their home country in the World Baseball Classic next year.
The decision announced Saturday in a news release by the Baseball Federation of Cuba (FCB) could be a big step in once again turning Cuba’s national team into heavy hitters on an international stage.
Major League Baseball confirmed Monday that the U.S. granted the license to FCB. It clears the way for MLB stars such as José Abreu, Yordan Alvarez, Randy Arozarena, Yoán Moncada and Luis Robert to play for Cuba in the WBC in March if they choose to accept a potential invitation.
It’s up to each country’s national governing body to pick the players on its WBC team. Final 30-man rosters are due Feb. 7 for the WBC, which begins March 8 with Cuba facing the Netherlands in Taiwan.
While the sport of choice for much of Latin America is soccer, baseball dominates in Cuba. The island has gained fame around the world for its baseball talent.
But in recent years, hundreds of those players have defected from Cuba to play professionally elsewhere. Most not ably, many have become United States residents and stars with major league teams in the U.S.
The defections are largely due to a not-so-uncommon geopolitical spat between the two seaside neighbors, leaving Cuban players stuck in the middle.
Cuban athletes competing on the island can’t earn a paycheck under the communist government, which prohibited professional sports following the Cuban revolution 60 years ago.
Longtime sanctions by the U.S. make it largely impossible for Cubans to play professionally for an American team without defecting. Meanwhile, Cuba historically has not allowed Cuban players who defected on their national team rosters.
The defections have taken a toll on Cuba’s performance in international baseball competitions. For example, the Cuban baseball team failed to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after years of previously winning medals in the sport.
In November, Cuba changed its tune and invited several top players who defected to represent the country in the World Baseball Classic, a tournament that features some of the sport’s top players competing in Japan, Taiwan and the U.S.
Weeks later, Cuban officials accused the Biden administration of blocking those players from representing Cuba.
Faculty concerned about changes to U of A admissions policy
