Sports
Leny Yoro, from Paris boy to Man Utd: 'He had the same speed as Kylian Mbappe'
There are always Sliding Doors moments in a player’s career; points when a lifetime’s path takes a critical turn, based on what feels like a coin toss.
In Leny Yoro’s case, it happened in the form of a red card.
On October 20, 2021, Baptiste Rolland’s dismissal for Lille Under-19s against their Sevilla counterparts in the UEFA Youth League transformed Yoro’s trajectory. Centre-back Rolland was dismissed in the 79th minute for pulling the shirt of Diego Rodriguez. Yoro, just 15 years old and previously a striker and then midfielder, came on to play in defence for the final few minutes, his first appearance for the French club’s under-19s side. The sending-off and Rolland’s subsequent suspension meant Yoro would start the team’s next Youth League fixture, the return at home against Sevilla.
It was the last time Olivier Szkwarok, who was in charge of Lille Under-16s at the time, would coach him.
“When Leny was an under-16, I said to the under-19 coach that he needs to play in the under-19s, but he didn’t have a place for him,” Szkwarok, now working as a youth coach at Toulouse, another French club, tells The Athletic. “But the first time he (started for the under-19s), he never returned with me. He was the best on the pitch.
“On that day, Liverpool and Monaco saw a lot of potential in him. After that, he was with the under-23s, and it was easy for him. Lille needed him to sign a professional contract and they invited him into the first team. Jocelyn Gourvennec, the first-team coach, loved his potential and said he could train with professionals full-time.
“I was a little surprised, but not surprised. Leny is a competitor and a hard worker.”
Yoro had joined Lille in 2017 from local side Villeneuve-d’Ascq. He initially grew up in Saint-Maurice, a suburb of Paris, 137 miles (222km) to the south, where he played his football in a playground opposite his home. Then he played for Alfortville, in the south-east of the French capital. His three brothers — Esteban (14), Eden (12) and Romeo (10) — all play football too; his father, Alain Yoro, had been in Lille’s academy himself as a teenager.
When Yoro was young, his parents split up and his mother, Flore Baugnies, moved the family to Bormes-les-Mimosas on France’s south coast for six months, before then going to Lille, in the north of the country near the border with Belgium, to be closer to family. That was when Yoro joined Villeneuve d’Ascq, known locally as VAM.
United’s Yoro battles with Rangers’ John Souttar last week (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
“The club is located in a working-class neighbourhood,” recalls Aboubacar Sankhare, the former Lens, Toulouse and Dusseldorf defender. “At the time Leny was there, I was the club’s general manager. He stayed at the club with his brothers for two-and-a-half to three years.
“From a very young age, he had this ability to adapt quickly, and he had this maturity. He understood instructions very quickly. He already had intrinsic qualities of his own. He played with the team of his age and a higher category (age group). He had his siblings, and his mother came to see them every day at the stadium. It was a social club.”
VAM fell into financial difficulties and no longer exist. At the time, though, Sankhare was leading the club’s social and educational projects, in addition to training youth sides with a view to some of those kids reaching the first team. In addition to Yoro and his brothers, Sankhare’s sons, Yssouf and Zakary, also joined professional clubs after playing at VAM.
Yoro stood out. But not in the position you would expect.
“He was a striker with us, and could play in all positions because he could adapt extremely quickly,” recalls Sankhare. “The Lille scouts came several times and reported on him. At the time, there were the biggest clubs in the region — Lens, Lille, Valenciennes, Dunkirk, Boulogne — who came to scout. He became a defender at Lille.”
When he went to Lille for a trial, Yoro impressed immediately. That was when Szkwarok, who coached the under-13s and then the under-16s at the club, first saw him play. “I loved him from the trial,” he recalls. “He was a different player. When he was 12, he was the same as now. For a tall player, he had good technique. But he was missing the speed. He had a good personality. Like today, he was a leader who always encouraged his team-mates.”
The years Szkwarok worked with Yoro bookmarked a critical period in his development. Yoro initially played in midfield, before switching positions. “He was a defender full-time from under-15,” says Szkwarok. “He had a very good technical level and a very good in-game intelligence. He can see and play quickly, with his left or right foot, and I think, at professional level, he can play in midfield if a coach needed him to. A little bit like John Stones at Manchester City. In my opinion, Leny has a better potential than John Stones.”
But not everything was straightforward.
“All of the coaches loved him for his personality but not all of them believed in him,” says Szkwarok. “In the under-14s, it was a little bit complicated. A coach said in a meeting that Leny does not have the potential to play at the highest level. For me, it was a big error to say that about Leny. Because he was a tall player, and we needed to give him a little bit of time to grow up, and after he can show his potential.”
Yoro had a growth spurt before the age of 16. Speaking to French newspaper La Voix du Nord, mum Flore recalled how “he gained 10 centimetres (almost four inches)” during his under-16 year but “all year long, he was injured”. “He injured himself, without taking any hits during matches,” she said. Yoro had to adapt to his changing body and Lille tailored their coaching to deal with his small, repetitive muscular issues.
Yoro going up against Kylian Mbappe in Ligue 1 last year (Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images)
“Leny was always the tallest but he grew and it (led to) small injuries,” says Szkwarok. “He had them often. Two days (out of action), three days, four days. We found a solution and after we changed our method of training with him, he could train all day and played all the games.
“When he was an under-16, at the beginning of the season, we went to a small tournament. He hadn’t played during the season so in his first game, to protect him, I put Leny in midfield. Against (Belgium’s Club) Bruges and PSV (Eindhoven, from the Netherlands), he played very well. In defence you have to make more runs in behind, longer runs, and in midfield they are shorter.
“In order to adapt to his new body, he worked a lot. That’s why he’s always a good player technically and this part of his character is a very good example for his career in football.”
Yoro became one of the quickest and strongest in the group. But those years without exceptional pace had honed his ability to read the game too. It is a key trait, normally confined to experienced players, and it is something scouts picked up on when assessing him.
GO DEEPER
Leny Yoro to Manchester United: The Athletic 500 transfer ratings
“When he played against (France captain and now Real Madrid forward) Kylian Mbappe, he had the same speed as him,” says Szkwarok. “But when he was younger, Leny did not have a lot of speed and he developed the ability to read the game, both defensively and offensively. It is his best quality. A very intelligent player.
“He had the mentality of a defender. He loved defending, he loved intercepting the ball, winning the ball with his head. It is a little bit rare to have both qualities, to have technique and the mentality of a defender.”
Then came those under-19s matches against Sevilla in late 2021, under coach Stephane Pichot, and Yoro’s progress went up several gears. “It all started from there, because he played two more Youth League matches afterwards,” his mother said. “That’s where his No 15 comes from (which Yoro will now also wear at Manchester United). Because it all started when he was 15 years old.”
In October 2021, Yoro played with Lille Under-19s for the first time. By the following May, then aged 16, he had made his debut for their first team — coming off the bench away at Nice. In the process, he became the club’s youngest player since Joel Henry in 1978, surpassing Eden Hazard. He was invited to stay with the first team under new manager Paulo Fonseca in summer 2022 and, after just two days of pre-season training, the Portuguese coach had made up his mind.
Yoro holding back Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins in the Europa Conference League last season (Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images)
“In all my years as a coach, I’ve never seen such a young player with so much maturity,” Fonseca told The Athletic last year. “He has so much class. So much elegance. He’s a beautiful player.” In the September, he became Lille’s youngest starter since Oumar Dieng in 1989.
“When we started to work with Leny, we saw a lot of potential,” Tiago Leal, Fonseca’s assistant, tells The Athletic. “We didn’t care about his age. We care about his skills. Technically, tactically, mentally, personality, character… he had many things that for his age were not normal.”
Taking the step into the professional game is never plain sailing, though. His full debut against Toulouse, a 2-1 Lille win, was a case in point. He won four of five aerial duels but also made an error that led to the Toulouse goal — a loose pass. He needed time, and the right environment, to adjust.
Under Fonseca, he would get that. Now in charge at AC Milan, Fonseca is no stranger to bringing through young talent, doing so with Diogo Jota (now of Liverpool and Portugal) at Pacos de Ferreira and then Mykhailo Mudryk (Chelsea and Ukraine) at Shakhtar Donetsk.
“In the first season, he made many mistakes that cost us many games, but for us, it was not a problem at all,” says Leal. “We knew it was part of the process with younger players. He was brave, because he never stopped trying to do what we demanded of him. We made a bet on him and as a team we were ready to pay the costs of this bet.”
Yoro’s first season of senior football was a learning curve. He made eight league starts and 15 appearances for Lille’s first team. How he responded to those inevitable rookie errors set him apart. “He’s really mature, his composure is not normal at his age,” says Leal. “That’s what impressed us. It wasn’t just because of his physical or technical qualities. It was the package. He was different from most of the others at his age.
“When he made mistakes, what I felt is that he was always stable, and that says a lot about his personality. He was always focused on his work, always trying to improve every day, not dependent on winning, losing, making a goal or not. He was always stable. That’s why he has this level of attention with Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, clubs like that spotting him. Because it is special at his age.”
𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 & 𝒏𝒐𝒘 😍
Leny Yoro et nos diplômés 2023 ont reçu leur BAC lundi au Domaine de Luchin 🎓@leny_yoro ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ZjaMixgnX4
— LOSC (@losclive) April 24, 2024
Under Fonseca, Lille played an expansive brand of football, the coach demanding that his team press high up the field, take risks in possession and sometimes leave their defenders exposed with half a pitch of space in-behind. “Leny showed from the very beginning that he wanted to learn, to improve, and this is an important aspect of his character,” says Leal. “He is humble. When you have the skills technically, and when you are physically blessed — he’s really tall, fast, explosive — you need the desire to be better and courage to play the game we demand. He showed that from the beginning.”
His second season, 2023-24, bore fruit. Yoro started 30 league matches and featured in 44 games in all competitions. He succeeded the experienced Jose Fonte in Lille’s starting lineup, who had been a “role model” for him within the group according to Leal, along with the new captain Benjamin Andre. “He needed the mix of many things to help the flower grow,” says Leal. “We didn’t create the flower, we just gave it water, nutrients — the others and us are the gardeners.
“In the second season, he became the player we expected. He became more confident in himself, started to build this ego that you need, because he was ready to take his place in the team. He became almost complete. And we are speaking about a kid. I don’t have any doubts, about Leny. He’s getting what he deserves.”
His form earned him a place in the Ligue 1 team of the season, and elevated his status to one of the most exciting centre-backs in Europe. It was enough to persuade Manchester United to spend £52million ($65m; €62m), potentially rising to £59m, and fight off serious competition, making Yoro the most expensive player ever aged 18 or younger. (Mbappe was signed initially on a season’s loan by PSG before his €180m transfer from Monaco at age 19.)
Throughout his career, Yoro has quickly adapted to every challenge. United, English football and the Premier League will be a different order of magnitude but Leal feels he can thrive again.
“We cannot forget he is a young kid,” he says. “He is not going to solve every problem at Manchester United. Not alone. But if he gets a proper environment around him and the space and confidence to participate, I’m pretty sure he is going to be a main player for them.”
GO DEEPER
How Manchester United beat Real Madrid to the signing of Leny Yoro
(Top photos: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)
Sports
Those who never doubted Cameron Skattebo share validation: ‘No one understood what we were looking at’
Arizona State was picked to finish last in the 16-team Big 12. The Sun Devils are now meeting Texas in the Peach Bowl in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. The player who sparked that incredible run also epitomizes it.
Cameron Skattebo — 1,568 rushing yards, 19 rushing touchdowns, 506 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns — went from high school graduate with no FBS offers to fifth-place finisher in the 2024 Heisman Trophy voting. The running back has gone from cult hero to folk hero, displaying an uncanny knack for breaking tackles and for blowing people’s minds.
Leo Skattebo III (Cam’s father): Before he turned 3, we got him a bike for Christmas.
Becky Skattebo (Cam’s mother): He (Cam) argued with my dad (Cam’s grandfather) to take the training wheels off. “I don’t want em! I don’t want em!” wouldn’t take no for an answer. My dad popped them off. “Welp, he’ll eat dirt a couple of times and then he’ll figure it out.”
Leo Skattebo IV (older brother): They took him out on the bike. He goes down the street, and within two minutes, he’s full speed pedaling back and goes, “Watch this!” And he stands up on the seat of the bike coming down the street.
Becky: He’s going, “I don’t have to hold the handlebars!” The neighbors just stood outside hysterically laughing.
Leo III: I think that’s when I knew he was gonna be different.
Becky: At about 18 months, we were sitting at the dinner table and a neighbor knocked on the door. She’s standing there with Cam in a diaper. He had climbed over the fence and dropped over the other side to play with her kids.
The scariest thing he ever did was when he was 2. We were watching his dad play softball. He had been standing next to me and we were watching his dad at bat. It seemed like a split-second but when I turned and looked. He was gone. I started to panic. Everybody was yelling his name. His brother ran to the bathroom and was calling his name. People are looking under the bleachers. Then, the umpire says, “Well, there, he is!”
We looked straight up above us. He had crawled all the way up the chain-link backstop and was looking down on his dad that was at bat. It was like 14 or 16 feet up on those rounded backstops. One of the guys started to climb the fence and Cameron turned around but instead of backing down like a normal person, he came down head first, like a little Spiderman. He’s been doing things that are inexplainable from pretty much Day 1.
Leo III: Yeah, he did a lot of weird things.
Leo IV: All he ever cared about was winning. It didn’t matter if we were playing a video game, or wrestling on the trampoline. He wanted to beat me.
Becky: We had many holes in the sheetrock from the boys wrestling, slinging each other around the house. They never took it easy on him. They tossed him around pretty good, and he’s just always been able to handle it.
Leo IV: I was six years older than him and he wanted to beat me in everything. I didn’t take it easy on him.
Becky: He’d always competed with older kids, whether that was wrestling in the front yard or on the field. When he says he can do something, it’s real hard not to believe that he can do it.
Jack Garceau (Rio Linda (Calif.) High School coach, Skattebo’s coach from 2017-19): I’ve known Cam since he was a little boy, because I coached his older brother, so we’ve always heard about Cam coming up in our youth program. We’d go watch him. He was just a little ball of muscle. He had that little mohawk and it just always fit his image.
I became the head coach when he was a sophomore. It was the first day of spring ball. It was a blocking drill. No pads and he just was not going to lose. If he got beat in any one-on-one drill, he was going again. I came home and told my wife, “This guy is way different than anybody we’ve ever had.”
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In 2018, Rio Linda won its first section title in 14 years, led by Skattebo. The junior running back scored seven touchdowns and ran for 313 yards in a 63-12 win over Casa Roble.
Chris Horner (Casa Roble (CA) High School head coach): After that game, I saw him by the bus. I remember dapping him up. I said, “Bro, you were so fun to watch. I’ve never seen anything like that. Good luck. I’m a huge Rio Linda Knights fan from here on out.”
Skattebo had a prolific high school season but struggled to gain traction with major FBS programs. (Photo: Aaron M. Sprecher / Getty Images)
A few weeks later, on Rio Linda’s opening series of the CIF State Division 5-AA Title Game against San Gorgonio, Skattebo had a 67-yard touchdown run where he broke 11 tackles. He finished with 396 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries in a 38-35 win. He was doing it all through his parents’ divorce.
Leo IV: My mom and dad had been together for about 20 years. That was hard. It was hard on Cameron. I was away at college. I lived in Ohio, had a son. I wasn’t there to be the big brother for him. And at the most formative moment for him — he’s 16 and everything around him is falling apart. Somehow on Friday nights, he was able to tune out all that emotional distress, when he was falling apart on the inside, and still be the best player in the state. A lot of kids can’t handle that. That showed me this kid has something different than other kids have mentally.
It’s very easy to let that affect you, and start lashing out at other people around you. He just didn’t do that. He continued to be a leader.
Becky: When we split up, his coach was really instrumental in keeping him focused and letting him vent, giving him room when he needed. I don’t think we’ll ever really know if it fueled him or if it almost derailed him.
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That same year, Skattebo led the Knights to the California 5-A state title by rushing for 3,550 yards and 42 touchdowns. He averaged almost 12 yards per carry but he was still a zero-star recruit who had no scholarship offers.
Garceau: Bigger schools did come. We had UCLA, USC. Utah, Air Force but they just passed on him. It made us all kind of doubt ourselves.
Cam Skattebo: I went to UCLA right after my junior year. They told me that I wasn’t good enough for this level. I can’t remember who I was sitting with at the time. It was (Bruins running backs coach Deshaun) Foster’s assistant. Bjian (Robinson) was at the facility and that was their focus. They spelled my name wrong on my name tag. It was just an unofficial visit there. I was just sitting in the back, hanging out. Me and my father. It was a humbling experience.
Troy Taylor (Stanford head coach, former Sacramento State head coach 2019-22): We were evaluating players. I couldn’t really find anybody who said we should go on the kid. I put on the tape. You could see the anger when he ran and the determination. I was five or six clips in and I said, “We’re taking this guy!”
I remember specifically that run (where he broke 11 tackles in the state title game). I just couldn’t believe that no one else would go on the kid. I’m not always right but I decided on the spot. We were his only offer. Everybody missed on that one.
Cam Skattebo: I wasn’t too worried because I knew at some point in my life I was gonna take that next step even if I had to go the juco route. I knew I was gonna make it. But I definitely sat around a lot of days hoping for a text from somebody, which never happened. I finally got Sacramento State, and I was the happiest kid in the world.
Taylor: Then he came to our camp and he was kind of a prick when he competed. It was one-on-ones against the linebackers. He would win the rep and then get up and cut in line and take another rep. He just had that attitude that you don’t want to compete against this kid. I just fell in love with him.
Malcolm Agnew (Sacramento State running back coach, 2021-22): In 2021, he was unbelievable in spring ball because of how physical he was, and because of how competitive he is. It was practice No. 6. This kid touched the ball probably around 10 times that practice, and he scored every time. And we had a pretty good defense.
My favorite play was when we ran this middle screen with him. It was a poor throw, but the dude caught it with his left hand like down towards where his knees are — and he played baseball so he’s really good at tracking the ball — and had the ability to make a guy miss as he was turning and catching it. Then, he made another guy miss and scored. I said to our head coach, “That is one of the best plays I’ve ever seen.”
Taylor: His first game, it looked like he was playing with younger people who didn’t belong on the field with him.
Jason Eck (New Mexico head coach; then-Idaho head coach): He killed us (Idaho) in 2022. He reminds me of Jim Brown highlights.
Agnew: I’ve seen this kid hit standing backflips. I’ve seen this kid broad-jump almost 11 feet. He did a 10-7. I’ve seen him throw a baseball 95 miles an hour to the point where the Sac State baseball coach asked him if he wanted to play in the offseason. We didn’t let him.
Skattebo is the heart and soul of Arizona State’s turnaround. (Photo: William Purnell / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
In Skattebo’s first season at Sacramento State, he ran for 520 yards, averaging over 9 yards per carry, scoring six touchdowns. In his second year, he had almost 1,900 all-purpose yards and was named Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year, helping the Hornets go 11-0 in the regular season. But after Taylor left to become Stanford’s head coach, Skattebo opted to enter the transfer portal.
Taylor: (Then-Arizona State offensive coordinator) Beau Baldwin called me: “We’re trying to figure out whether to go on Skatt. What do you think?” I said, “Beau, he’s an incredible player. You guys would be crazy not to take him.” Beau pulled the trigger.
The Sun Devils were in the midst of a massive rebuild. They finished 3-9 in 2022 and subsequently hired 32-year-old Kenny Dillingham, an ASU graduate, to lead the program. They were an undermanned team in 2023, but Skattebo emerged as the backbone of the overhaul. He did almost everything for the Sun Devils. He was a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award, given to the nation’s most versatile player. He’d run for 788 yards, but also played some quarterback, completing six passes on 15 attempts for 150 yards and a touchdown. He averaged over 42 yards per punt. He lined up at receiver for another 100-plus snaps.
This year, the Sun Devils were seeded fourth and got a bye in the first iteration of the 12-team College Football Playoff. They will play 5-seed Texas in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 1 for a spot in the Playoff semifinals.
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Marcus Arroyo (ASU offensive coordinator): I think (former USC analyst Kliff) Kingsbury was the first guy who told me about him (Cam). Kliff’s like, “Dude, they got a back down there that is bananas. This little sawed-off White guy.”
Joe Connolly (ASU strength coach): Last season, we saw a lot of flashes of unbelievable balance, unbelievable body awareness. He was our starting quarterback at one point, our starting punter, our starting running back, often playing wide receiver. One of the biggest things we did this offseason was tightening the nutrition, the consistency. He was north of 230 pounds and now he’s around 218. He’s increased his speed and his quickness. All those things really showed this year. He never has to come off the field. He is absolutely relentless.
Cam: I think my top speed was the high 19s (miles per hour on the GPS) last year. Right before training camp this year, I almost hit 21.
Arroyo: The guy can really run. He’s hitting 20 MPH on his GPS in the game. It’s crazy where he doesn’t look like he’s moving that fast sometime. When you see guys go up against real guys, and you’re like, “OK, let’s see what this looks like?” And every time, he takes the torch. God-dang, these guys just can’t even tackle this guy. Against Utah, those guys are really big and fast and talented, and he ran over those guys. He was absolutely insane against Iowa State.
Morgan Scalley (Utah defensive coordinator): For as much punishment as he dishes out, and as much as he takes, he is so durable. His shirt get ripped and all the crap he takes, and he just keeps coming back. He’s like Rocky.
Taylor: I always said he was like a Viking. A couple of hundreds years ago, he’d have been at the front of the boat with horns on his helmet, ready to jump onto the other boat to take it over.
Horner: Our coaches (at Casa Roble) had a text chain while we were watching what he was doing to Iowa State (in the Big 12 title game). It was another level. When we lose to a guy like this doing what he’s doing to a college team, it should make us feel a lot better about that drubbing that he put on us in his junior year of high school. Yeah, we lost to Cameron Skattebo, but so did everybody else!
Taylor: He’s been doubted at every single level, and they’ll doubt him again for the NFL, but watch, he’ll end up being an NFL player — and a good one.
Leo III: Whoever drafts him or wherever he ends up, if he just plays in the preseason, he’ll earn his spot on the team. But if they get him on the field and give him the opportunity, he’s going to make somebody very smart.
Garceau: Now, we all feel validated. We knew exactly what we were looking at and nobody else understood. We would hear everything from he’s too small, he’s too short, he’s not fast enough. There was the stigma of the White running back; the fact that we weren’t a giant school. There was just always that one little thing. I am just glad he got the opportunity to show everybody what he can do. But if you change that, and he maybe he gets a big ride out of high school, maybe we’re not here today.
(Photo: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens was singled out by NFL legend Terrell Owens after the Steelers dropped three straight games, including a lopsided loss to the Kansas City Chiefs Christmas Day.
Returning from a three-game absence after a hamstring injury, Pickens was expected to have an impact against the defending champions.
Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid (20) hits Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens (14) during the second half Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
But after just three receptions for 50 yards, the third-year wideout faced scrutiny for his lack of production. Among those calling him out was Hall of Famer Terrell Owens.
Responding to a social media post about Cam Hayward’s postgame comments in which he said, “When 10 guys do their job and one guy doesn’t, we are screwed,” Owens agreed there was a similar issue on offense.
“Same on offense as well when you got #14 not running his routes causing [interceptions,]” Owens said in a post on X.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens (14) makes a catch against Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Joshua Williams (2) during the second half Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
STEELERS’ GEORGE PICKENS RAISES EYEBROWS OVER POSTGAME HANDSHAKES WITH CHIEFS STARS
Owens seemed to be referencing a play at the end of the first quarter. With the Chiefs leading 13-0, veteran quarterback Russell Wilson threw an interception in the end zone. While taking ownership for the mistake, Wilson acknowledged Pickens was supposed to run another route.
“Yeah, you know, I think he was going to go vertical. But, at the end of the day, it can’t happen. It’s on me,” Wilson said, via FOX 8. “I was trying to give Pat [Freiermuth] a chance. He’s done a good job for us down in the red zone, and they made a good play.”
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) runs into the end zone for a touchdown against Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal (54) during the first half Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
The Steelers have lost three games in 11 days.
“The bottom line is the junior varsity is not good enough. We’ve got to own that,” head coach Mike Tomlin said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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It certainly seems calculated. Pete Carroll, scheduled to begin teaching at USC this spring, has reportedly expressed interest in the Chicago Bears’ head coaching job.
Likely of no coincidence is that the Seattle Seahawks — the team Carroll coached for 14 seasons — visit the Bears on “Thursday Night Football.” The broadcasters are spoon-fed a talking point while noting that the Bears have lost nine games in a row, including all three under interim coach Thomas Brown.
A delicious detail is the shared USC history of Carroll and Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. Carroll coached the Trojans from 2001-2009, posting a 97-19 record and winning national championships in 2003 and 2004. Williams was an appendage to new Trojans coach Lincoln Riley, transferring to USC as a sophomore in 2022 and winning the Heisman Trophy. Although 2023 didn’t go as well, Williams was the first pick in the NFL draft.
Chicago needs an impact coach. Carroll is one, or at least was for a long time, leading the Seahawks to nine consecutive winning records, 10 playoff berths and a Super Bowl title. He is one of four head coaches — Barry Switzer, Jimmy Johnson and Jim Harbaugh are the others — to have led teams to a college national championship and a Super Bowl appearance.
But Carroll is 73 and appeared done when he was nudged out the door by the Seahawks after the 2023 season.
In August, he seemed lukewarm, replying to a question about his coaching future on a Seattle radio station by saying, “I could coach tomorrow. I’m physically in the best shape I’ve been in a long time. I’m ready to do all the activities I’m doing and feeling really good about it. I could, but I’m not desiring it at this point.”
Yet sitting at home watching 17 weeks of football apparently rekindled the fire. Carroll initiated this story. He wants it known. He’s interested in coaching the Bears, according to a report by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Remember that in his final days in Seattle he repeatedly said he wanted to continue coaching, putting an exclamation point on his intentions shortly after his last game by saying those comments were “true to the bone.”
NFL head coaches have been skewing younger. If Carroll were hired, he’d be seven years older than the current oldest NFL head coach, Andy Reid, although it bears mention that Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs are 15-1 and defending Super Bowl champions. Carroll has always appeared younger than he is, exhibiting boundless energy and enthusiasm in a profession that can jade men.
The Bears are one of at least three teams — the New Orleans Saints and New York Jets are the others — that will be shopping for a head coach when the season ends. Chicago fired Matt Eberflus on Nov. 29, one day after a 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions that concluded with perplexing clock mismanagement by the coach and his quarterback.
Williams has had a roller-coaster season, mixing brilliant plays with poor decisions. He’s been sacked a league-leading 60 times yet hasn’t thrown an interception in nine games. Working under Carroll, who developed Russell Wilson even though the pair had their share of differences, could accelerate Williams’ improvement.
All of a sudden, the USC class Carroll is scheduled to co-teach this spring is in jeopardy. The Marshall School of Business offering is called “The Game Is Life: a new course designed to help students develop their personal game plan for life after graduation, while using their USC education to conquer challenges along the way.”
Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit can unpack it all Thursday night while the Bears try to win for the first time since Oct. 13 against the Seahawks, whose sideline still seems strange without Carroll bounding, grimacing and grinning.
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