New Mexico State fires head coach

New Mexico State fired men’s basketball coach Greg Heiar on Tuesday in the wake of hazing allegations on the team that shut down the program for the rest of the season.

Chancellor Dan Arvizu announced the firing of the first-year coach and said “hazing has no place on our campus, and those found responsible will be held accountable for their actions.”

The chancellor said decisions about the rest of the coaching staff will be made after further investigation.

Arvizu shut down the program for the season on Sunday, after reviewing a campus police report in which an Aggies player said three teammates ganged up on him and attacked him. The report, which redacted the names of the players, included allegations of false imprisonment, harassment and criminal sexual contact.

The 47-year-old Heiar spent time earlier in his career as an assistant for former Aggies coach Chris Jans, who left after last season to coach Mississippi State. Last season, Heiar was at Northwest Florida State, where he helped the Raiders win the junior college national title.

He brought two highly ranked players with him from the juco ranks, Issa Muhammad and Marchelus Avery, but the Aggies were riddled with problems almost from the start of their season.

It started unraveling when some basketball players were involved in a fight with New Mexico students at an Aggies football game in October.

A month later, the night before New Mexico State basketball was scheduled to play at New Mexico in Albuquerque, forward Mike Peake went to the apartment complex of one of the students involved in the fight. Security cameras at the apartment complex shows the student pulling a gun, then Peake brandishing his own gun and shooting the student, inflicting fatal wounds.

Peake has been suspended from the team but not charged with a crime while authorities in Albuquerque investigate.

The hazing allegations came less than three months after the shooting. The police report says the witness described teammates removing “his clothing exposing his buttocks and began to slap his (buttocks). He also went on to state that they also touched his scrotum.”

The Aggies were 9-15 when the season was first put on hold before a scheduled game last Saturday at California Baptist.

NO. 5 KANSAS 87, OKLAHOMA ST. 76 >> Freshman guard Gradey Dick scored 17 of his season-high 26 points in the second half and the visiting Jayhawks beat the Cowboys on Tuesday night.

Kansas (21-5, 9-4 Big 12), which shot 66% from the field in the second half, has won three straight. The Jayhawks are tied with Texas and Baylor atop the conference standings.

Kalib Boone scored a career-high 27 points for Oklahoma State (16-10, 7-6).

OKLAHOMA 79, NO. 12 KANSAS STATE 65 >> Grant Sherfield scored 22 points and the host Sooners went on a 12-0 run early in the second half on their way to a victory over the Wildcats.

The win snapped a seven-game Big 12 conference losing streak for Oklahoma (13-13, 3-10 Big 12).

Nae’quan Tomlin had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Kansas State (19-7, 7-6).

NO. 24 PROVIDENCE 94, NO. 18 CREIGHTON 86, 2OT >> Devin Carter had 25 points and the host Friars (19-7, 11-4 Big East) outlasted the Bluejays (17-9, 11-4).

NFL Raiders officially cut ties with QB Carr

Quarterback Derek Carr was released by the Las Vegas Raiders as the club evaluates its future at the position.

The move was expected after Carr was benched with two games remaining in the 2022 season because the Raiders would have owed him $40.4 million in guaranteed money over the next two years if he remained on the roster beyond Tuesday. By releasing Carr, the Raiders’ salary dead cap hit will be $5.6 million next season.

Las Vegas tried to work out a trade with the New Orleans Saints, and Carr visited the team last week. He exercised his no-trade clause and turned down the deal Sunday because he didn’t want to take a pay reduction.

Now Carr, who turns 32 on March 28, will see what he’s worth on the open market, and there is little doubt there will be interest in the veteran given how many teams need to upgrade at quarterback.

Over nine seasons with the Raiders, Carr became the team’s career leader in passing yards (35,222) and touchdown passes (217).

The knock on Carr was that he led the Raiders to just two playoff berths.

• The NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles lost both their offensive and defensive coordinators to NFL head coaching positions.

The Indianapolis Colts hired Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen as their next head coach while the Arizona Cardinals hired Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to be their new coach.

Each of Indy’s last two full-time head coaching hires were offensive coordinators for Eagles teams that made the Super Bowl. Frank Reich was hired in 2018 after the Eagles won their first championship since 1960, but was fired last October as the Colts’ season started to unravel.

He was replaced by interim coach Jeff Saturday, who won his first game but lost the final seven.

Under the 37-year-old Steichen’s two-year tenure in Philadelphia, Jalen Hurts went from secondround draft pick in 2020 to solid starter in 2021 to NFL MVP runner-up in 2022.

In 2020, as offensive coordinator of the Chargers, Steichen presided over Justin Herbert’s NFL offensive rookie of the year campaign. Steichen had two stints as a Chargers assistant (2011-12, 2014-20).

Gannon replaces Kliff Kingsbury, who was fired last month after going 4-13 in his fourth season. Gannon becomes Arizona’s fourth coach in seven years.

The 40-year-old Gannon has been Philadelphia’s defensive coordinator the past two seasons, helping rebuild a defense that helped the Eagles reach the Super Bowl last Sunday.

The Eagles had the NFL’S No. 2 defense and the thirdmost sacks in NFL history with 78 (counting the postseason) under Gannon in 2022. Philadelphia led the NFL with 70 regular-season sacks — 15 more than any other team.

Before being hired by the Eagles, Gannon served as the defensive backs coach for the Colts from 2018-20. He also worked as an assistant defensive backs/quality control coach for the Minnesota Vikings from 2014-17 and held the same position with the Tennessee Titans from 2012-13.

Gannon began his coaching career as a defensive assistant with the Atlanta Falcons in 2007 and worked as a scout for the St. Louis Rams from 200910. He played defensive back at Louisville in 2002.

• The Carolina Panthers added even more experience to new head coach Frank Reich’s staff, hiring Jim Caldwell as a senior assistant.

The 68-year-old Caldwell brings a wealth of NFL experience, having coached the Detroit Lions and Colts. His hire comes just days after the Panthers added 72-year-old Dom Capers, a former head coach with Carolina and the Houston Texans, to their staff as a defensive assistant.

MLB Sources: Padres, Wacha agree on deal

Right-hander Michael Wacha has agreed in principle to a contract with the San Diego Padres, according to two people with knowledge of the deal.

The contract was believed to be for multiple years.

The 31-year-old Wacha was 11-2 with a 3.32 ERA in 23 starts for the Boston Red Sox last year. He spent his first seven seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals and was selected MVP of the 2013 NL Championship Series as a rookie. He’s also pitched for the New York Mets and Tampa Bay Rays.

Overall, Wacha, a 2015 All-star when he went 17-7 for the Cardinals, is 74-50 with a 4.05 ERA over 225 games (204 starts).

Wacha will join a rotation that includes Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell, Nick Martinez and Seth Lugo.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL Bobo will be OC for Georgia once again

Mike Bobo reclaimed the offensive coordinator job at Georgia, with Todd Monken leaving the twotime defending national champions for the NFL.

Bobo, a former Bulldogs quarterback and longtime assistant coach at his alma mater, also served as offensive coordinator under former coach Mark Richt.

The 48-year-old Bobo has some big shoes to fill. Monken accepted the offensive coordinator job with the Baltimore Ravens after serving on a staff that guided Georgia to back-toback national titles.

The Bulldogs averaged 38.6 points per game in 2021 and 41.1 this past season while finishing 15-0.

Bobo, who had head coaching stints at Colorado State and South Carolina after leaving Georgia following the 2014 season, returned to his alma mater a year ago as a quality control analyst for the offense.