Goodell says NFL improving on diversity, concussions
From diversity to concussions, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reiterated the league is still looking for improvement.
As for officiating, he said: “It’s never been better.”
Goodell addressed those topics and more in his Super Bowl news conference Wednesday.
DeMeco Ryans became the NFL’s third Black head coach when Houston hired the former Pro Bowl linebacker and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator. Ryans joined Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin and Tampa Bay’s Todd Bowles. There are three other minority coaches, including Miami’s Mike McDaniel, who has a Black father and identifies as biracial.
The Titans hired Ran Carthon, the league’s eighth Black general manager and ninth person of color overall.
“I still feel like there’s better work and more work ahead of us,” Goodell said. “... We’re pleased to see progress but there’s never enough. We look to see how we can make things better.”
Player safety is inevitably a hot topic in the NFL. Concussions were magnified and the league revised its protocols during the season after criticism for the way Miami QB Tua Tagovailoa’s head injuries were handled.
The NFL announced last week concussions had increased by 18% during the regular season. Goodell attributed the rise to the updated diagnostic measures.
Overall, Goodell said injuries are down 6% this year. He said injuries for Thursday games and for the additional Week 18 games are no different than any other time during the season.
Quality of NFL officiating has been scrutinized, especially in the playoffs. There was heavy criticism early in the season regarding roughing-the-passer penalties.
“When you look at officiating, I don’t think it’s ever been better in the league,” Goodell said. “There are over 42,000 plays in a season and multiple infractions could occur on any play. Take that out, extrapolate that. That’s hundreds, if not millions, of potential fouls. Our officials do an extraordinary job of getting those. Are there mistakes in the context of that? Yes. They are not perfect and officiating never will” be.
Mahomes better: Patrick Mahomes says he’s “definitely in a better spot” when it comes to his ailing right ankle than he was for the AFC Championship Game, and the All-Pro quarterback doesn’t expect to be limited by it when he leads Kansas City against Philadelphia in the Super Bowl.
Mahomes said before Wednesday’s practice at Arizona State’s facility that he continues to get treatment on the ankle, which he hurt in the divisional round against Jacksonville, and that probably will continue until Sunday’s kickoff.
“You won’t know exactly how it is until you get to game day,” he said. “I mean, I definitely move around better than I was moving last week or two weeks ago.”
Mahomes hurt the ankle when a Jacksonville pass rusher landed on it late in the first quarter. X-rays taken during the game came back negative, and he returned in the second half to lead Kansas City to a 27-20 win.
He was clearly hobbled by the high ankle sprain in the AFC Championship Game and several times limped away from a hit, but Mahomes was there against Cincinnati when the Chiefs needed him at the end.
Irvin yanked from TV: Michael Irvin has been pulled from the remainder of NFL Network’s Super Bowl week coverage after a complaint about Irvin’s behavior in a hotel Sunday night.
The Hall of Fame wide receiver went on a Dallas radio station Wednesday and said he was asked by network officials to move to another hotel Monday after what he described as a brief encounter with a woman.
In interviews with Dallas’ 105.3 The Fan and the Dallas Morning News, Irvin said the conversation with the woman lasted between 45 seconds and one minute. Irvin also said he initially didn’t remember the meeting because “I had a few drinks, to tell you the truth.” Hamlin honored: Damar Hamlin made a brief appearance in Phoenix during Super Bowl week to receive the NFLPA’s Alan Page Community Award.
Hamlin read a brief statement with his parents on stage with him at the Phoenix Convention Center. The Buffalo safety received the award a little over a month after he went into cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated on the field in Cincinnati.
The Alan Page Award annually recognizes one player who goes above and beyond to perform community service in his team city and/or hometown.
Hamlin’s toy-drive fundraiser has raised more than $9 million since he collapsed.