Broncos fire Hackett
The Denver Broncos have fired first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett with two games left in the season.
Owner and CEO Greg Penner said he’ll lead the search for a new coach with assistance from general manager George Paton, in whom he expressed confidence Monday 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. Before joining the Broncos, Hackett, 43, had spent three seasons as the Green Bay Packers’ offensive coordinator.
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, and pass rusher Randy Gregory threw a punch at a Rams player after the game.
Wilson has had an awful first season in Denver after the Broncos sent four premium draft picks and three players to Seattle for the nine-time Pro Bowler. Wilson has 12 touchdown passes with nine interceptions and 49 sacks in 13 starts and has been unable to snap out of a season-long funk.
Hackett replaced Vic Fangio last January but hasn’t been able to build an offense suitable to Wilson.
NFL
Broncos linebacker Randy Gregory and Rams offensive lineman Oday Aboushi were each suspended one game for exchanging punches following Los Angeles’ 51-14 win over Denver on Sunday.
NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan issued the suspensions Monday for violations of unsportsmanlike conduct and unnecessary roughness rules, specifically those which prohibits “striking, swinging at, or clubbing the head, neck, or face of an opponent with the wrist(s), arm(s), elbow(s) or hand(s).”
Gregory will miss the Broncos’ game at Kansas City on Sunday and Aboushi will sit out the Rams’ game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Tagovailoa back in protocol: Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has returned to the NFL’s concussion protocol, Miami coach Mike McDaniel said. Tagovailoa met with doctors a day after the Dolphins’ 26-20 loss to Green Bay and was experiencing concussion symptoms.
Teddy Bridgewater is expected to get most of the first-team reps in practice this week, but McDaniel said it is too early to name a starter for Miami’s game at New England on Sunday.
It is the second time this season that Tagovailoa, 24, has been in the concussion protocol. He took a scary hit that knocked him unconscious during Miami’s Week 4 game at Cincinnati. He was stretchered off the field and returned in Week 7.
The injury comes at a challenging time for Miami (8-7), which has lost four straight to fall to the bottom of the AFC playoff field.
Jets QB OK to play: Mike White has been cleared by doctors and will start at quarterback for the New York Jets on Sunday in Seattle, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation.
White, 27, missed the Jets’ past two games while dealing with broken ribs suffered in New York’s 2012 loss at Buffalo on Dec. 11. He has practiced on a limited basis since, but hadn’t been cleared by doctors for contact so he couldn’t play.
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Carter Booth, a 6-foot-7 middle blocker who is coming off a standout freshman season at Minnesota, has committed to Wisconsin. She was a firstteam all-Big Ten selection and the American Volleyball Coaches Association North Region freshman of the year.
Booth’s addition gives UW a high-level talent to fill the void left by the graduation of All-American middle blocker Danielle Hart. She opted to leave Minnesota after a coaching change and has three years of eligibility remaining.
GOLF
Kathy Whitworth set a benchmark in golf no one has ever touched, whether it was Sam Snead or Tiger Woods, Mickey Wright or Annika Sorenstam. Her 88 victories are the most by any player on a single professional tour.
Whitworth, whose LPGA Tour victories spanned nearly a quarter-century and who became the first woman to earn $1 million on the LPGA, died on Christmas Eve, her longtime partner said. She was 83.Bettye Odle did not disclose a cause of death, saying only that Whitworth died suddenly Saturday night while celebrating with family and friends.
Whitworth won the first of her 88 titles in the Kelly Girls Opens in July 1962. She won six majors during her career and broke Wright’s record of 82 career wins when Whitworth captured the Lady Michelob in the summer of 1982. Her final victory came in 1985 at the United Virginia Bank Classic.