Rhule leaves Temple to be coach at Baylor
Matt Rhule is taking on a Texas-sized challenge at Baylor after leading Temple to unprecedented success.
After consecutive 10-win seasons with the Owls and a roster filled by kids from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Rhule will be introduced on the Waco campus Wednesday as the new coach of a Big 12 Conference program hit hard by scandal and suddenly struggling on the field.
He becomes the full-time replacement for two-time Big 12 champion coach Art Briles, who was dismissed after a scathing report over the university’s handling of sexual assault complaints, including some against football players.
After that report and Briles’ departure, Baylor lost half of its highly touted 22-player class from last spring. With recruiting on hold since then, the Bears have only one firm verbal commitment for signing day in February. They have only about 70 scholarship players this season on a roster with a dozen seniors.
The Bears (6-6) haven’t won since becoming the only FBS school to start 6-0 each of the last four seasons. Temple named assistant Ed Foley as interim coach to lead the Owls (10-3) in the Military Bowl against Wake Forest on Dec. 27.
Stanford junior running back Christian McCaffrey will declare for the NFL draft, according to Bleacher Report.
Heisman winner Salaam dead at 42
Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam was found dead Monday night in a Boulder, Colo., park less than two miles from Folsom Field, where the running back carved his name into the University of Colorado record books as one of the greatest players in the team’s history.
His mother, Khalada, told USA Today that police suspected Salaam, 42, killed himself. “They said they found a note and would share that with us when we get there,” she said.
The death stunned the Colorado football community that this year celebrated a revival with a 10-3 record, an appearance in the Pac-12 championship game and the Buffaloes’ first bowl bid in almost a decade. “You talk about a young man who was smart, handsome, talented. He was very, very gifted,” said Bill McCartney, who coached Salaam from 1992 to ’94.
The Chicago Bears made him a first-round draft pick in 1995, and he rushed for 1,074 yards and 10 touchdowns in winning NFC rookie of the year honors. Injuries cut short his career. He played his last NFL game with the Cleveland Browns in 1999. He fell on hard times after that.
In 2011 he auctioned his Heisman ring.
The Louisiana man who fatally shot former USC and NFL player Joe McKnight during a road rage dispute was jailed on a manslaughter charge as a sheriff defended the investigation, saying authorities “strategically” waited for days to make the arrest because they needed to find independent witnesses.
Ronald Gasser, 54, was initially questioned after the shooting last Thursday but was released without being charged, drawing heated criticism from protesters who said race played a role in the investigation. Gasser, who is white, was arrested late Monday. McKnight was black. Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand pounded on a podium during a news conference ex- plaining the investigation. “This isn’t about race. Not a single witness has said one racial slur was uttered,” he said.
He added, “Let’s not try to make this out to be something that it is not. What we had were two adult males engaged in unacceptable behavior that did not understand how to deal with conflict resolution.”
The sheriff said McKnight had a gun in his vehicle but no evidence suggested he insinuated anything about it.
Minnesota Vikings Coach Mike Zimmer returned to practice with the team following surgery to repair a detached retina. He is expected to travel with the team for its game Sunday at Jacksonville . ... Colin Kaepernick is keeping his starting job after getting benched during one of the worst performances of his career. San Francisco’s offensive coordinator, Curtis Modkins, said the quarterback will start when the 49ers host the New York Jets on Sunday. Kaepernick completed one pass in three quarters in a 26-6 loss to the Bears on Sunday. He was benched for Blaine Gabbert . ... The Jets waived running back/kick returner C.J. Spiller and wide receiver/kick returner Jeremy Ross . ... Green Bay defensive tackle Mike Pennel and Indianapolis linebacker D’Qwell Jackson have been suspended for the last four games of the regular season for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy. They will be eligible to return Jan. 2 if their teams make the playoffs.
In the only group where qualification for soccer’s Champions League knockout stages was still to be decided, Besiktas crumbled under the pressure, allowing Napoli and Benfica to progress. The Turkish team fell, 6-0, to Dynamo Kiev. Napoli won, 2-1, at Benfica to win a Champions League group for the first time.