Harbaugh keeps mere 3 from old Chargers staff
Coach Jim Harbaugh made sweeping changes to the Chargers' staff, announcing the additions and subtractions Wednesday. Special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken and his assistant, Chris Gould, and defensive quality control coach Robert Muschamp are the only holdovers from the 2023 season.
Giff Smith, the Chargers outside linebackers coach who became their interim coach after Brandon Staley was fired along with general manager Tom Telesco on Dec. 15, wasn't retained. Smith had been with the Chargers for the past eight seasons, coaching their linebackers and defensive linemen.
Harbaugh was hired Jan. 24, after leading the University of Michigan to the national championship earlier in the month.
Andy Bischoff was named the coordinator of the run game and tight ends, joining the Chargers from the New York Giants after two seasons. NaVorro Bowman, a former All-Pro linebacker with the San Francisco 49ers while Harbaugh was the coach, was hired as the new linebackers coach.
Steve Clinkscale will be the new coach of the defensive backs after spending the past three seasons with Harbaugh at Michigan. Shane Day returns to the Chargers as their quarterbacks coach, reunited with Justin Herbert after spending this past season with the Houston Texans.
Mike Devlin will coach the offensive line after spending the past two seasons as an assistant line coach with the Baltimore Ravens under Harbaugh's older brother, John. Mike Elston will coach the defensive line after spending the past two seasons with Michigan, his alma mater.
Sanjay Lal will coach the wide receivers after he was the Seattle Seahawks' passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach for the past two seasons. Rick Minter joins the Chargers as their senior defensive analyst from Michigan. Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter is his son.
Chris O'Leary was hired to coach the safeties after six seasons at Notre Dame, including the past two as the Fighting Irish's defensive backs coach. Dylan Roney, a graduate assistant coach at Michigan for three seasons, will be a defensive assistant coach with the Chargers.
Marc Trestman, a former coach of the Chicago Bears and two CFL teams who most recently was the offensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens in 2016, was named the Chargers' senior offensive assistant. Harbaugh's first coaching job was as an assistant on Trestman's staff with the Bears.
— Elliott Teaford • The San Francisco 49ers fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, three days after losing the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Coach Kyle Shanahan announced the decision to move on after one season with Wilks in charge of the defense. Shanahan called it a “really tough decision” but said he wants to find a coordinator who was a better scheme fit for the talent on San Francisco's defense.
Shanahan hired Wilks after losing DeMeco Ryans, who was hired as head coach in Houston after helping San Francisco field the top defense in the league in 2022.
Shanahan wanted to keep the same system that had been successful, and Wilks had the difficult task of trying to add his own wrinkles to an unfamiliar scheme.
The results were mixed during the regular season. Wilks was forced to move from the booth to the field following a three-game losing streak in October, and San Francisco's production on defense dropped marginally in the regular season.
But issues came up in the playoffs, with the run defense getting gashed by Green Bay and Detroit in the first two playoff games, when coaches and players questioned the effort given. The Niners then came up short defensively down the stretch against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
After holding Kansas City to six points on the first nine possessions in the Super Bowl, the Niners allowed two touchdowns and two field goals on the final four drives to lose 25-22 in overtime.
Defensive end Nick Bosa said after the game that the team was unprepared for Mahomes to keep the ball on key runs that led to first downs on the game-winning drive.
• Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said he went too far when he bumped into coach Andy Reid and screamed at him during the Super Bowl.
Kelce addressed the situation on New Heights, his podcast with his brother, longtime Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.
“Big Red, sorry if I caught you with that cheap shot, baby,” Travis Kelce said.
During the second quarter of the game on Sunday, Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed a long pass to Mecole Hardman and Reid took Kelce out of the game for the next play. The play resulted in a fumble by Isiah Pacheco that San Francisco recovered. After the play, a fuming Kelce caused Reid to stumble.
After the game, Kelce joked that he was just telling Reid how much he loves him. But the criticism rolled in, so the brothers talked through it on the podcast as they discussed Kansas City's 25-22 overtime win over the 49ers.
“People are all over this, and I mean, I get it,” Travis Kelce said.
“You crossed a line,” Jason Kelce said. “I think we can both agree on that.”
“I can't get to the point where I'm that fired up that I'm bumping coach and it's getting him off balance and stuff. When he stumbled, I was like `Oh (expletive)' in my head,” Travis Kelce said.
“Or even, let's be honest, the yelling in his face, too,” Jason Kelce said. “I think there's better ways to handle this retrospectively.”
“Yeah. I know,” Travis Kelce said. “I'm a passionate guy. I love coach Reid. Coach Reid knows how much I love to play for him, how much I love to be a product of his coaching career.”
Travis Kelce said he and Reid have discussed it and “chuckled” about it.
• The New Orleans Saints named Klint Kubiak as their offensive coordinator, marking a new direction for a unit that has been overseen by either former coach Sean Payton or his protege, Pete Carmichael Jr., since 2006.
Kubiak, 36, was he passing game coordinator for the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers last season.
Logano, Ford shine in Daytona qualifying
Ford swept the front row in qualifying for the Daytona 500 with former race winners Joey Logano and Michael McDowell shocking powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports.
“This is all about the team. I'd like to take credit, but I can't. Superspeedway qualifying is 100% the car,” said Logano, who won the first Daytona 500 pole for Team Penske. “Finally, someone else wins the pole.”
Hendrick drivers had won the pole at Daytona in eight last nine year years, but the team's highest qualifier was Kyle Larson in third.
The entire night, in which only the front row for Sunday's season-opening race was set, belonged to Ford. Four drivers in the manufacturer's new Dark Horse advanced to the final roundof-10 qualifying portion with Logano and McDowell sweeping the front row.
Logano turned a lap of 181.947 mph as the 2015 Daytona 500 winner earned his first pole since Atlanta last year. It was also Logano's first pole on a superspeedway. McDowell, the 2021 winner, qualified second at 181.686 for Front Row Motorsports.
Verlander may not be ready for opening day
Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander says he is “a little bit behind schedule” due to offseason shoulder inflammation that could prevent him from being ready to pitch on opening day.
• The Chicago White Sox agreed to a minor league contract with veteran infielder Mike Moustakas that includes an invitation to major league camp. Moustakas, 35 hit .247 with 12 homers and 48 RBIs in 112 games with Colorado and the Angels last year.
• Free agent left-hander Scott Alexander reached agreement on a one-year contract with the Oakland Athletics, filling a void in a bullpen needing lefties. Alexander went 7-3 with a 4.66 ERA and one save for San Francisco last season, making eight starts among 55 appearances.
Floundering Ohio State fires Holtmann
Ohio State fired seventhyear basketball coach Chris Holtmann with the Buckeyes mired in yet another subpar season.
Associate head coach Jake Diebler will run the program for the rest of the season and a search for a new head coach will commence then, the school said in a statement.
Ohio State is 14-11, 4-10 in the Big Ten, and has lost nine of the last 11. In 202223, the Buckeyes suffered their first losing season in nearly two decades.
NO. 13 AUBURN 101, NO. 11 SOUTH CAROLINA 61 » Jaylin Williams scored 23 points and Johni Broome had 21 to lead the Tigers (20-5, 9-3 SEC) to a blowout of the Gamecocks (21-4, 9-3) — the host Tigers' most-lopsided win over a ranked team. The Tigers snapped South Carolina's seven-game win streak and moved into a second-place tie with the Gamecocks in the SEC standings behind Alabama (9-2).
NO. 1 CONNECTICUT 101, DEPAUL 65 » Alex Karaban scored 21 points, and the Huskies (23-2, 13-1 Big East) rolled to its 13th straight win, at DePaul (3-21, 0-13).
NO 8 TENNESSEE 92, ARKANSAS 63 » Jonas Aidoo had 23 points as the Vols (18-6, 8-3 SEC) cruised past host Arkansas (12-12, 3-8).
Nadal ailing, sitting out Qatar Open
Rafael Nadal put off his return to the tennis tour because he isn't yet healthy enough to play, announcing that he will sit out next week's Qatar Open in Doha.