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UCF inquires about USC coach Lincoln Riley: Sources

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UCF inquires about USC coach Lincoln Riley: Sources

By Bruce Feldman, Antonio Morales and Ralph Russo

UCF has inquired about the availability of USC coach Lincoln Riley as it searches for a replacement for Gus Malzahn, three people who have been privy to those conversations told The Athletic on Wednesday.

There has been no indication Riley is interested in making the move, the people said. He is three seasons into a reported 10-year contract that pays him about $10 million per year.

The people spoke to The Athletic on condition of anonymity because all the discussions were private and UCF was not publicly revealing details of its coaching search.

Riley’s contract is not publicly available because USC is a private school, but extracting him from Southern California — if he wanted to leave — would likely cost tens of millions of dollars for either the Trojans or the school looking to hire him away.

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Representatives from UCF reached out to Riley’s representatives last weekend to inquire about his interest in making a move across the country, one source said. Any discussions about adjusting the terms of Riley’s contract would be between him and USC, sources said.

The first source added that UCF has not received any word from Riley’s camp that he is interested in leaving USC, and the school is still looking at multiple candidates to fill its head coaching vacancy.

Firing Riley, whose win total with the Trojans has decreased in each of his three seasons, would cost USC about $90 million, according to one of the sources. If Riley were to leave for another school, he would owe USC nothing. But UCF is not in position to replicate the deal Riley has at USC. Malzahn made $4 million in 2024 at UCF.

Two sources said even if Riley had an interest in making the move, it would require some payout of his current deal with USC to make up for what he would be giving up in the transition — like a professional sports trade where one team pays a chunk of a player’s remaining salary on a large contract and the receiving team picks up the rest.

Riley was hired at USC by former athletic director Mike Bohn, who resigned amid controversy in the spring of 2023. University president Carol Folt oversaw the hire as well and will retire this summer, which means two of the main parties involved in bringing Riley to USC will be gone.

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Jen Cohen, the former Washington athletic director, was hired in August 2023 to lead the athletic department. She inherited Riley and his contract.

She’s in the unenviable position of having an underperforming football program but a coach who is too expensive to move on from. In the spring, Cohen navigated a delicate situation with men’s basketball coach Andy Enfield, whose tenure had run its course but his track record was too good to justify a firing. He eventually took the SMU job, and Cohen hired Eric Musselman from Arkansas to replace him.

Even with a suitor for Riley, getting out from under his deal looks more difficult.

Malzahn left UCF after four seasons as head coach to become offensive coordinator at Florida State. The Knights have gone 10-15 overall and 5-13 in league play in their first two seasons in the Big 12 after making the move from the American Athletic Conference. UCF received only a partial share of Big 12 revenue last year, about $18 million, and is scheduled to receive about $19 million for the 2024-25 fiscal year.

The number jumps to a full share in 2025-26, which should be about double those figures.

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Riley is 25-14 at USC since being lured to Los Angeles from Oklahoma after the 2021 regular season. It was a seismic move for the Trojans, swiping away a coach who had a 55-10 record in Norman and two Heisman Trophy winners in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.

The Trojans went 11-3 in Riley’s first season with another Heisman winner in Caleb Williams, the star quarterback who followed the coach from Oklahoma to USC. But the results have been trending in the wrong direction since.

USC went 8-5 in 2023, its final season in the Pac-12, and wrapped up its first regular season in the Big Ten with a 6-6 overall record (4-5 in league play).

After the 2023 season, Riley told The Athletic that he “didn’t come here (USC) for some short-term thing and as long as SC continues to give us the support and the things we need to continue to build this, this was not a two-year rebuild.”

Recruiting hasn’t lived up to the high expectations that came with Riley’s hire. USC continues to regress on the field each season, and the program doesn’t appear to have much direction moving forward, making the outlook for Riley look hazy at best.

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(Photo: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)

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Giants’ record-setting Willy Adames deal shows Buster Posey means business

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Giants’ record-setting Willy Adames deal shows Buster Posey means business

Buster Posey held the San Francisco Giants’ record for the largest contract in franchise history. In Posey’s first major move as the club’s president of baseball operations, he did not hesitate to smash it.

The Giants agreed to terms with free-agent shortstop Willy Adames on a seven-year, $182 million contract on Saturday, reshaping the left side of their infield for the remainder of the decade and signaling their resolve to remain aggressive as they seek to reestablish their relevance in the National League West. The agreement with Adames is pending a physical — more than a trifling detail given the medical issues that scuttled Carlos Correa’s $350 million contract following the 2022 season — and its guaranteed money would soar past Posey’s own nine-year, $167 million contract that he signed after winning the NL MVP Award in 2012.

With Adames and third baseman Matt Chapman, who signed a six-year, $150 million extension in September, the Giants have committed a third of a billion dollars to establish a solid offensive and defensive presence on the left side of their infield. Viewed together, those investments are not so different from the megadeals that the Texas Rangers gave to shortstop Corey Seager and second baseman Marcus Semien after the 2021 season — a $500 million bet that paid off when the Rangers won the first World Series title in franchise history two years later.

Adames, 29, earned 4.8 fWAR last season when he finished fourth in the majors with 112 RBIs, set career highs in home runs (32) and stolen bases (21), and led the Milwaukee Brewers to the NL Central title. Likely just as significant to Posey and the Giants, Adames was a respected leader in Milwaukee, praised for his durability and his ability to produce in the clutch. He was among the league’s best defenders at shortstop in 2023, and although several of his advanced metrics declined this past season, there’s little doubt that he represents an upgrade with the glove over the Giants’ internal options at the position.

Perhaps the most revealing aspect of the Giants’ stunning agreement, which came on the eve of baseball’s Winter Meetings in Dallas, is how it reflects on Posey, who had been something of a cipher in his brief tenure as a first-time baseball executive, filling out front-office positions and adding advisory voices but otherwise providing few specifics on how aggressive he would be at improving a team that finished 80-82 in 2024 while missing the postseason for the seventh time in eight seasons.

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But Posey had been clear on one point: He identified acquiring a shortstop as the club’s top priority. And the Giants just agreed to sign the top shortstop on the free-agent market.


As a player, Buster Posey was a problem solver. (G Fiume / Getty Images)

Posey had a talent for cutting through the noise during his career behind the plate, tackling problems head-on, carving a direct path and avoiding the trap of overthinking. If his first major move as the Giants’ chief baseball architect is any indication, he will lean on those same attributes and impulses while seeking to close the sizable gap between his team and the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks.

Identify problem. Fix problem.

Posey wasn’t sufficiently deterred by the fact that signing Adames, who had been extended a qualifying offer by the Brewers, will force the Giants to sacrifice their second- and fifth-round picks along with $1 million in international bonus money from their 2026 pool. Those are no small considerations for a franchise that also punted its second- and third-round picks in this past draft after signing Chapman and left-hander Blake Snell the previous offseason. The Giants wouldn’t have lost draft picks if they had pivoted from Adames to shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, a favorite of Giants manager Bob Melvin from their time together in San Diego but who will be continuing to rehab from offseason shoulder surgery on Opening Day.

But Adames was clearly the best shortstop on the market. And Posey kept it as simple as that.

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“Ultimately, it’s a boring answer, but you just want complete baseball players,” Posey said at the GM Meetings in November. “You want guys who can do some of everything.”

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Interestingly, Posey’s first major free-agent signing is a fellow CAA client. The Giants recently announced the hiring of Jeff Berry, Posey’s former agent and the former head of CAA’s baseball division, as a special advisor.

ESPN was the first to report the agreement. The Giants aren’t expected to announce it until late Sunday or Monday.

The addition of Adames would push Tyler Fitzgerald into a competition at second base with Casey Schmitt, Brett Wisely and potentially Marco Luciano if the organization’s former top prospect isn’t traded or moved to the outfield.

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The biggest question becomes how aggressive the Giants will be to address their second major need: a pitching presence for a rotation that threw the fewest innings in the National League despite the fact that their opening-day ace, Logan Webb, threw the most on an individual basis. Several reports have linked the Giants to former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes, a Bakersfield-area native who competed at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga and would give the Giants one of the best 1-2 punches in the league.

Before last season with the Baltimore Orioles, Burnes had spent his entire major-league career with the Brewers so the addition of Adames might be a selling point in any Giants’ attempt at a pursuit. Both players are very well known to Zack Minasian, the Giants’ newly elevated GM, who had been the scouting director in Milwaukee during his 14 seasons with the organization. Minasian had been one of the strongest voices to champion Burnes when the right-hander showed promise in the minor leagues, advising then-Brewers GM Doug Melvin to make the former fourth-round pick practically untouchable in trade discussions.

On a cash basis, the Giants spent $206 million on player salaries last season, exceeded the luxury tax threshold ($237 million) for the first time since 2018 and sustained operating losses that caused some discomfort among members of the ownership group. Their placeholder budget numbers for 2025 had called for a reduction in player payroll, which might still be achieved even if the club can win the bidding for Burnes — a market that is expected to exceed $200 million — as well as Adames.

Adding Adames’ $26 million average annual value would put the Giants’ estimated cash-basis payroll at roughly $170 million. If the Giants seek to trim in other areas, they could trade one or more of their arbitration-eligible players (LaMonte Wade Jr. and Camilo Doval among them). Or they could sign one of several second-tier starting pitchers who won’t come cheap — witness Luis Severino’s three-year, $67 million contract with the A’s — but would require a fraction of what it would take to land Burnes, who notably left CAA for the Boras Corporation in 2023 and whose potential signing also would cost the Giants their third- and sixth-round draft picks.

Or Posey could do what he demonstrated so often over his playing career: cut through the noise, go after the best player, and convince ownership to spend.

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“I know we’ll be very diligent in our decision-making,” Posey said last month. “But something I’ve tried to inject with the group is for us not to be hamstrung from that potential fear of failure. It’s knowing that, ‘Hey, sometimes we’re going to have to risk media members saying this was a bad decision or a bad move.’ But if we feel convicted in it, then you have to be OK with it.”

(Top photo of Adames: Lachlan Cunningham / Getty Images)

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The end of Ferrari’s ‘C²’: Leclerc and Sainz’s genuine F1 partnership faces its sunset in Abu Dhabi

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The end of Ferrari’s ‘C²’: Leclerc and Sainz’s genuine F1 partnership faces its sunset in Abu Dhabi

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz sat in the back of a car chatting en route to Bahrain International Circuit.

A buzz was in the air as Formula One prepared for the first race weekend of the 2024 season, fresh off of a long winter, the teams’ season launches and a silly season signing changing the drivers’ market. News broke on Feb. 1 that Lewis Hamilton would leave Mercedes and switch to Ferrari for the 2025 season, costing Sainz his seat. It wasn’t a matter of the Spaniard not performing — how do you say no to a seven-time world champion?

On the way to the Bahrain track, Leclerc stared down the camera with a slight smile. “Tell me, Carlos,” he said to his teammate before a stuffed chili pepper appeared in the frame. A fan had given it to Sainz, a nod towards one of his nicknames. Sainz said, “I want to give this to you, from my fan to me, for you so you remember me for the rest of your life.”

Leclerc pressed the chili against his face, saying, “A chiliiiiii.” Sainz added, “For our post-teammate era.” Leclerc stopped spinning the chili, his smile fading as he looked at his teammate.

“Come on, we’re only starting the season,” he responded with a slight laugh. Sainz said, “Getting emotional already.”

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Together, Leclerc and Sainz formed a formidable driver duo that helped Ferrari contend for its first constructors’ championship since 2008, sitting 21 points behind first-place McLaren. The 2024 season has been the strongest of their respective F1 careers, Leclerc securing three wins (including an emotional home win at Monaco and a team home win at the Italian GP) and 12 podium finishes. Sainz brought home two victories (one just 16 days after having surgery) and eight podiums.

Their working relationship is strong, though tensions have flared, like after the Las Vegas Grand Prix. But on the personal side, the two have formed a beloved duo known by fans as C². Ferrari has put them through numerous viral challenges over the years, and the pair have become memes on social media. Their personalities have shone, and while they both will still be in the paddock in 2025 with Sainz at Williams, it’s the end of a special driver pairing.

“I’m sure that even though he won’t be in red next year, we’ll most likely travel together on the races to spend some time together,” Leclerc said in Abu Dhabi, “because our relationship is really good.”

It all began four years ago.

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Ferrari announced in May 2020 that Sainz would replace four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel. The news came after Daniel Ricciardo was confirmed as the Spaniard’s replacement at McLaren, Sainz’s home for two years. The Woking-based crew led the midfield battle then, ending 2020 third in the standings (but 117 points off of second-place Red Bull). Sainz’s breakthrough year came with the papaya as he secured his first podium in 2019.

However, one of the lasting memories of Sainz’s McLaren chapter is how he bonded with the team, especially then-teammate Lando Norris. The duo formed what is still known today among fans as ‘Carlando,’ the term even popping up during competitions like the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix.

Recreating that close friendship bond is rare, especially in a ruthless sport where the drivers’ market can be fluid. But Sainz and Leclerc clicked quickly, becoming so close that many fans wondered online whether it was a PR stunt pulled by Ferrari. Those types of comments continued for years, even when on-track frustrations flared.


Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz prepare to play a game in the paddock during previews ahead of the Australian GP in 2023. (Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

“I honestly keep seeing sometimes in social media that people believe it’s not true and it’s all PR. And honestly, it disappoints me because people cannot sometimes understand that we have a professional relationship, and in that professional relationship, we go through ups and downs,” Sainz said in Qatar. “As competitive as we are, we’re always going to have some issues on track because, again, if he would be P1 and I would be P8 or vice versa, we would never have issues, but unfortunately, or let’s say fortunately for the team, we’re always in the same point on the track, and we’re having our little issues here and there.

“But then we also have a personal relationship, and as much as the professional one goes through ups and downs, the personal one, I can tell you, it’s always been really, really good.”

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Leclerc and Sainz have clashed on track over the seasons but battled within the lines dictated by Ferrari (like at the 2024 United States Grand Prix, where they finished 1-2, the 2023 Italian Grand Prix and this year’s Las Vegas GP).

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the ferraris made sure we were all entertained 🤺🤺 #f1 #formula1 #f1sprint #usgp #ferrari #carlossainz #charlesleclerc

♬ Hahahaha again – Lea👅

They are allowed to fight. And as noted by Sainz, they’re fighting for the same high-scoring positions, which starkly contrasts his stints at McLaren, Renault and Toro Rosso (now RB). He wasn’t fighting for wins when competing for previous teams, and none of those stops came with the same pressure that being a Ferrari driver brings. After all, it is the oldest team on the grid and a prestigious and legendary brand.

Sometimes, friction arises in the professional relationship, like during the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Leclerc gave a fiery radio message, saying, “Yeah, I did my job, but being nice f— me over all the f— time.” He was reluctant to go into details, and team principal Fred Vasseur felt Leclerc’s radio remarks were about the difficult situation, not one specific moment.

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Communication, though, appears to be a hallmark of their relationship. They are able to separate the professional from the personal, but they also move on from misunderstandings quickly rather than allowing it to drag on to another race weekend.


Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz dressed as cowboys in the paddock ahead of the United States Grand Prix in 2023. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Leclerc said in Qatar: “Whatever happened in Vegas, we discussed about it, and we are all good, which is the most important thing. I had no doubts about that because we’ve always had a really good relationship with Carlos and we’ve had races where sometimes things don’t go exactly the way we want, but the most important thing is that we discuss about it and we go forward.”

Leclerc was later asked in the same news conference what was said that made him comfortable putting trust in Ferrari and Sainz. He doubled down on the relationship and communication aspect again. “Sometimes I have overstepped the lines, and sometimes he did,” Leclerc said. “And then it only requires a discussion between us two. And we look ourselves in the eye, and we know each other since a very long time now. We understand each other very, very quickly.”

Come Sunday, once the checkered flag falls, the cameras turn off and the debriefs wrap up, that’ll be it. Sainz is driving in the post-season test with Williams, his new home, and it’ll be the end of an era in red. While the chapter will close on Sainz and Leclerc’s professional relationship, it’s hard to imagine that the dynamic duo of C² will cease to exist. This relationship, like any friendship, is different than ‘Carlando.’


Leclerc and Carlos Sainz celebrate in parc ferme during the Monaco GP on May 26, 2024. (Clive Rose/Getty Images)

And as Leclerc said, Sainz will only be working “20 meters away in the paddock.” But that doesn’t mean he won’t miss his teammate. His helmet for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend is indicative of it.

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Etched on the top of the glittered helmet is “mucha5 gracia5 Carlos” — a nod to Sainz’s car number, 55.

“(Leclerc’s) one of those guys that I know in the future when I’m not in Formula One, I’ll look back and say I’m glad I met him, and I’m glad I raced with him, and I’m glad I can have a lot of good memories with him,” Sainz said in Qatar. “And in these four years in Ferrari, I’ve enjoyed every single moment with him, even the tough ones. As much as they’ve been tough, I’m pretty sure in 20-30 years I’ll laugh about them and look back with being proud of what we’ve achieved together.”

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Top photos: Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire, Chris Graythen/Getty Images, Clive Mason – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images; Design: Meech Robinson/The Athletic

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NFL Week 14 roundtable: Should Pittsburgh be on upset alert? Time for Michael Penix Jr.?

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NFL Week 14 roundtable: Should Pittsburgh be on upset alert? Time for Michael Penix Jr.?

The Jameis Winston experience reached heights never seen before with the Cleveland Browns’ loss to the Denver Broncos on Monday night. The Browns aren’t your typical 3-9 team, which the Pittsburgh Steelers already know well.

Should the first-place Steelers be on upset alert again in Week 14? Our writers Mike Sando, Zak Keefer and Jeff Howe address the question in The Athletic’s roundtable previewing Week 14’s remaining slate.

Our writers also ponder if it’s too late in the season for a team amid a playoff push to throw a rookie quarterback in the fire. It’s the talk in Atlanta as the Falcons and Kirk Cousins (at Vikings) continue to fall with the rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. Raiders) rising.

Read more below for what else is on our writers’ minds this week.


As Monday night showed, you never know what you’ll get out of the Jameis Winston experience. Should Pittsburgh be on upset alert vs. the Browns on Sunday?

Keefer: Absolutely. For starters, they lost to this same Browns team in Week 12, and it’s no secret across the league that Cleveland’s offense is much more potent with Winston under center than Deshaun Watson. Maybe Winston’s prayer to rid himself of the pick-sixes will work, because without those killer mistakes, he’s unlocked something in the Browns’ passing game. For starters, look at what Jerry Jeudy’s doing (he’s eighth in the league in EPA per reception). Also, with Winston at QB, the Browns have had their three most productive days on offense this season.

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Howe: The Steelers would need to have short-term amnesia if they aren’t on upset alert because the Browns beat them two weeks ago in one of the funnest games of the season. The Browns are playing much better on offense with Winston, similar to the way the move to Joe Flacco sparked the offense in 2023. You can tell the Browns are playing hard for their coach and quarterback, and they’d love nothing more than to sweep their rivals during an otherwise lost season. The Browns may not be able to predict what they’ll get out of Winston each game, but the results were far more predictable and a whole lot less successful earlier this season when they could foresee the results.

Sando: Yes, because it’s a divisional game and Pittsburgh already lost to the Browns recently. The Mike Tomlin-era Steelers are 19-4 against the Browns when Cleveland had a losing record entering the game. The record is 4-2 since 2019 and 0-1 this season.

The Jaguars meet the Titans without Trevor Lawrence, who, while sliding, suffered a concussion on a hit by Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair last week. There has been some debate over whether Lawrence started his slide too late. Is there any merit to that notion? Could you envision the league ever addressing “fake” QB slides in the future?

Keefer: I’m not buying that. Lawrence started to slide when he saw the defender approaching, giving himself up on the play. Al-Shaair leveled the quarterback with a forearm to the upper part of Lawrence’s shoulder pad and his neck. It was late. It was dirty. It was unnecessary. And it’s not the first time this season Shaair’s been criticized for a late hit on a QB. I do think, if quarterbacks start faking slides to keep the play alive, the league will step in. But this was not that.

Howe: Lawrence slid later than critics may have liked in order to maximize his opportunity to get a first down, but that doesn’t come with an open invitation for a defender to launch himself with a leading elbow to the head area. Later slides generally come with some level of contact from the defense, and the officials tend to do a decent job of determining which of those hits are incidental and which others rise to the level of a penalty. If quarterbacks start a tendency of doing the fake slide, a la Kenny Pickett at Pitt, the league should absolutely put an end to it. The closest thing we’ve seen to that, at least in terms of any semblance of regularity, would be the QBs who take advantage of a few extra yards near the boundary, but I’m not sure how that could be objectively enforced.

Sando: The first coach I spoke with regarding the Lawrence hit pointed out right away that he thought Lawrence slid late. There is merit to the notion. Texans GM Nick Caserio speaking out so forcefully in defense of Al-Shaair does raise the possibility some in the NFL could push for clarifications/changes. But because the league would rather have critics complaining about too many protections for quarterbacks than not enough protections for them, I think it’ll take examples more blatant than the one involving Lawrence for the league to address “fake” slides.

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The Bears and 49ers meet on Sunday. Who might be the best fit as the next Bears head coach? What should be at the top of the 49ers’ offseason to-do list, should they miss the playoffs?

Keefer: Can they get Ben Johnson? If Kevin Warren is right — and this is the best job of the NFL’s impending hiring cycle — then this franchise needs to do everything it can to lure the Lions’ offensive coordinator down to Chicago. Nothing is more paramount than Caleb Williams’ development, and the rookie’s shown enough promise this season, despite the recent chaos surrounding the organization, that with the right coach he can become a star in this league. The old Chicago regimes would get this wrong. Maybe this year they actually get it right.

As for the 49ers, despite what some pundits are saying, I don’t think a full-on rebuild is necessary. There’s too much talent. Brock Purdy is young. Christian McCaffrey will be back next season. This year was plagued by a ridiculous stream of injuries, and probably the lingering effects of last year’s gutting Super Bowl loss. The roster needs some tweaks, and needs some youth, but there are too many sound building blocks to move on from.

Howe: They should prioritize offensive consistency for Williams, so there should be apprehension over a defensive-minded coach who could lose his offensive coordinator every couple years. Thomas Brown will deserve a serious look if the Bears play better down the stretch, and the Bears should also bring in Ben Johnson, Zac Robinson and Liam Coen for interviews. With the Niners, it’s been a few years running now where rival executives marvel at the top-end talent but remain wary over their depth, which is why they run into these issues when their stars go down. They aren’t giving out bad contracts to their stars, but there’s an injury risk involved that’s been coming to a head. Same with the Trey Lance pick. Sure, they ultimately figured it out at quarterback, but they’d be in a much better spot right now if they hit on the trio of first-round picks that it cost to draft Lance. This would be a logical time to move on from veterans who are on the back nine and reinforce depth through the draft.

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Sando: How fun would it be if the Bears made a run at Deion Sanders? I’m thinking outside the box with an eye toward the other coaches in this division. Dan Campbell is one of a kind, an outsized personality. Kevin O’Connell and Matt LaFleur are more conventional and both are flourishing. Coach Prime would instantly make the Bears relevant. And while most high-profile coaches would want more personnel/organizational control than Chicago appears willing to grant, Sanders might not. He could bring in some veteran NFL coaches and shake up the division. Is anyone with me?


Would Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders be a fit for the Chicago Bears? (Ron Chenoy / Imagn Images)

The Bucs (vs. Raiders), Cardinals (vs. Seahawks) and Rams (vs. Bills) are all 6-6 and probably need to win their respective divisions to make the playoffs. Which team should be feeling most confident right now?

Keefer: I like Tampa Bay’s chances in the NFC South simply because the Falcons feel like frauds. Atlanta’s been so wildly inconsistent this season, and Kirk Cousins is amid one of the worst slumps of his career. The Bucs, meanwhile, won’t see a team with a winning record the rest of the regular season.

Howe: If the Bucs take care of business, they should win four of their last five games and take the NFC South. Their defensive inconsistencies are concerning because it’s tough to rip off a winning streak like that, but their schedule is the most accommodating compared to the Seahawks and Cardinals. The NFC West is completely unpredictable and has been pretty much all season. The only thing I feel confident about is the Niners won’t win the division, so you might as well print their championship T-shirts now.

Sando: Tampa Bay is the team for me as well. It’s amazing to me the Bucs lost twice to the Falcons, but they did, and that’s why they’re in this position. The Athletic’s model puts the Bucs’ playoff chances at 54 percent, compared to 35 percent for Arizona and 26 percent for the Rams. That feels about right to me.


Our writers trust Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to end up on top in the NFC South with the Atlanta Falcons struggling. (Elsa / Getty Images)

The Falcons are on the road vs. the Vikings. Throwing a rookie QB into the fire against a Brian Flores defense seems ill-advised. But should the Falcons consider starting Michael Penix Jr. over Kirk Cousins at some point this season if things get worse?

Keefer: Yes. If Cousins continues to struggle — his third interception Sunday against the Chargers was one of the worst ones I’ve seen a starter throw all year — the Falcons need to consider giving Penix a chance. The division is still within reach, and if you stick with a starter who’s killing drives and costing the team games, you’re doing a disservice to the locker room. Players know. Players pay attention. They simply want the guy who’ll give them the best chance to win on Sundays. Penix played a lot of games in college; it’s entirely possible he could step in and give this offense a spark.

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Howe: I’ve been told Penix has been lighting it up in practice, so a switch would be justified if they felt like making the move. Under no circumstances would I start Penix against the Vikings, but the remaining games against the Raiders, Giants, Commanders and Panthers would be appealing. But this decision wouldn’t be made in a vacuum. If the Falcons go with Penix while they’re still in contention and he plays decently enough, I don’t see how they could keep Cousins in 2025. And it’s fair to believe Cousins will be better next season once he’s fully healed from the torn Achilles. But if the Falcons switch to Penix once they’re out of contention and he plays OK, even if it’s only for the regular-season finale, Cousins won’t have any room for error with the fan base in 2025. The safer play is to stick with Cousins. But if the Falcons believe moving to Penix would spark the locker room and accelerate his chances to start in Week 1 next season, such an aggressive move would be the correct play.

Sando: The Falcons should play Penix for the final four games if Cousins plays poorly and/or the team loses at Minnesota. They’ll have an extra day to get Penix ready because they follow their game at Minnesota with a Monday night visit to Las Vegas in Week 15. Atlanta then finishes with the Giants, Commanders and Panthers. Getting some experience for Penix in the absence of great expectations seems like a good idea. Getting Cousins to the offseason without another injury also has value.

(Photo: Brooke Sutton / Getty Images)

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