PANTHERS SAY PROTOCOL FOLLOWED
Chiefs coordinator Nagy named Bears head coach
Carolina says it handled Cam Newton’s injury on Sunday the right way. Still, the NFL is looking into it.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Interim general manager Marty Hurney insists the Carolina Panthers handled the medical treatment of quarterback Cam Newton “the right way” during Sunday’s 31-26 playoff loss to the New Orleans Saints.
The NFL and NFL Players Association announced Monday they plan to conduct a joint review to determine if the Panthers followed the correct concussion protocol after Newton took a hard shot from Saints defensive tackle David Onyemata midway through the fourth quarter. If the concussion protocol was not properly followed, the team is subject to discipline, including a $150,000 fine.
Newton spent time on the ground after the hit. Then, as he was walking toward the sideline, appeared to stumble to one knee. He briefly pointed toward his right eye.
He sat out one play, but returned on the next offensive series and finished the game.
“He took a hit. But when he walked off and he told the trainers he got poked in the eye, then they did take him into the tent and checked him for a concussion, which he did not have,” Hurney said. “And it was really getting poked in the eye.”
Hurney said Newton intentionally took a knee because he was told to by the team’s training staff so Carolina could get an official timeout, thus allowing backup quarterback Derek Anderson a chance to warm up. Anderson came in for one third down play and was nearly intercepted.
However, the question could become whether or not Newton should have been taken to the locker room for evaluations.
The league and the players union changed its concussion protocol last month after Houston Texans quarterback Tom Savage returned to the field after having a concussion that left the quarterback’s hands shaking after a hit.
BEARS: Chicago hired Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy as its new head coach Monday, hoping he can help a foundering NFL franchise emerge from one of the worst runs in its history.
The Bears announced the move a week after firing coach John Fox, who went 14-34 in three seasons for a .292 winning
percentage that is the second-lowest in team history. The Bears were 5-11 this past season and haven’t finished above .500 since they let Lovie Smith go following a 10-6 finish in 2012, two years after their last visit to the playoffs.
The 39-year-old Nagy spent the past 10 seasons working under Andy Reid in Philadelphia and Kansas City. He did not call plays until late this season, but drew praise for his work with Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith. In Chicago, the former quarterback at Delaware and then the Arena Football League will be trying to develop No. 2 overall draft pick Mitchell Trubisky.
INCOGNITO: Jacksonville defensive end Yannick Ngakoue stood by his tweet accusing Buffalo Bills guard Richie Incognito of using “weak racist slurs” during their playoff game, but declined Monday to provide more details about what was said.
Ngakoue called out Incognito on Twitter hours after Sunday’s wild-card game, referring to him by his No. 64 jersey.
Ngakoue backed up his tweet Monday, saying, “He said what he said. He knows what he said. I don’t have to repeat it.”
Incognito was not present in the locker room during Buffalo’s hour-long media availability Monday. He also did not respond to a text message from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Ngakoue adds, “I’ve been playing this game since I was a little kid. You hear all type of stuff. Stuff’s not going to bother you, but somebody says something about your ethnicity, that’s really kind of taking it a little too far. I’m all with trash talk. It’s part of the game, but you can’t say certain things.”
BENGALS: Cincinnati hired Teryl Austin as defensive coordinator.
Austin spent the past four seasons as Detroit’s defensive coordinator, but his future was in doubt after the Lions fired coach Jim Caldwell last week .
49ERS: San Francisco hired former Raiders defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. as an assistant head coach.
PACKERS: Brian Gutekunst was promoted to general manager on Monday after working the last two seasons as the team’s player personnel director.
He succeeds Ted Thompson, who is staying with the organization as a senior adviser. The Packers said Gutekunst will have complete control over all roster decisions, including the draft and free agency.