Tomlin fined for blasting officials

Mike Tomlin fired off on NFL officials this week, and now the NFL has fired back. The Pittsburgh Steelers coach has been fined $25,000 for criticizing officials, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports.

Following a victory against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, Tomlin called the quality of officiating “a joke” that needs correction. It was unclear whether he was referencing a questionable roughing-the-passer penalty called against Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt, another in a series of cases league-wide flowing from a point of emphasis officials are operating under this season to better protect the quarterback.

“We’ve got to get better as a National Football League,” Tomlin said on Sunday. “Man, these penalties are costing people games and jobs. We’ve got to get them correct.”

On Monday, Tomlin spoke about the issue with Troy Vincent, the league’s executive vice president of football operations.

Eagles interested in McCoy? It was reported Tuesday that the Philadelphia Eagles had contacted the Buffalo Bills and were kicking the tires to see if general manager Brandon Beane would be interested in trading running back LeSean McCoy back to Philadelphia

In an attempt to quell the rumor, coach Sean McDermott began his Wednesday morning press conference by making a statement.

“Just to get out in front of this LeSean thing a little bit here as best I can, LeSean is one of our better players, thought he had a good game the other day and we're just looking forward to playing the Houston Texans,” he said.

The Eagles placed running back Jay Ajayi on injured reserve due to a knee injury, and that immediately fueled speculation that they would check on McCoy’s status.