Posthumous honor for Bud Carson
Innovative defensive coach Bud Carson, the coordinator for the Steel Curtain who was part of two Super Bowl-winning teams, has won the Dr. Z Award from the Professional Football Writers of America.
Carson, who died in 2005, entered the NFL as the defensive backs coach for the Steelers in 1972 and was their defensive coordinator from 1973-77. During his time with the Steelers, he combined the team’s front four with a complicated zone coverage in the secondary, which later became known as Cover 2.
Carson also was head coach at Georgia Tech and for the Cleveland Browns. He also was a coordinator with many other NFL teams The Dr. Z Award, named after sports writer Paul Zimmerman of Sports Illustrated, has been given out since 2014 to top assistant coaches.
Packers
A Green Bay fan is making a federal case out of a dispute with the Chicago Bears, filing a lawsuit accusing the rival team of violating his free-speech rights by prohibiting him from wearing Packers apparel at Bears’ pregame warmups.
Russell Beckman of Mount Pleasant, Wis., filed the 10-page lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Chicago Friday seeking a court order lifting the ban. An email Beckman sent to Bears executives that he included in his court filing last week accuses the team of creating “segregated safe spaces for Bears fans” by banishing Packers gear.
“Stop coddling them,” he wrote.
The suit’s focus is a Bears rewards program that lets season-ticket holders stand along the sidelines during certain pregame warmups at Soldier Field, Beckman admits he did that in 2014 and 2015 in Packers apparel.
Elsewhere
Hall of Fame running back and former Steeler Jerome Bettis says the NFL has taken advantage of its players by not sharing with them all the information it had about the risk of concussions. After viewing an innovation expo in Jerusalem that included a presentation from ElMindA, an Israeli neuro-technology company that can help the NFL diagnmaose concussions, Bettis said he was encouraged by the progress but still perplexed about how transparent the league has been over the years.