NFL reinstates Saints’ Payton
Sean Payton is back as coach of the New Orleans Saints.
Payton’s season-long suspension for his role in the Saints’ bounty program was lifted by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday, nearly two weeks earlier than expected.
The decision allows Payton to attend the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Saturday, where some of the top college players available for the NFL Draft will be competing.
Payton, along with assistant head coach Joe Vitt, general manager Mickey Loomis, and four players, including Jonathan Vilma, was suspended after an investigation found the club had a performance pool offering cash rewards for key plays, including big hits. The player suspensions eventually were overturned.
The suspension was scheduled to end after the Super Bowl on Feb. 3, but was moved up after Payton and Goodell met on Monday.
RATLIFF CHARGED WITH DWI
Dallas Cowboys nose tackle Jay Ratliff was arrested and charged with DWI early Tuesday morning after he crashed his 2011 Ford pickup into an 18wheeler, ESPN.com reports.
Grapevine, Texas, police senior officer Sam Shemwell said Ratliff and the driver of the tractor trailer were not injured.
Ratliff was bonded out of jail Tuesday morning and Cowboys officials declined comment to ESPN.com.
This marks the second time a Cowboys player has received a DWI since December when nose tackle
was charged with involuntary manslaughter that resulted in the death of friend and teammate Jerry Brown.
RYAN UNINJURED IN ACCIDENT
Jets coach Rex Ryan was uninjured in a three-car accident in eastern Pennsylvania last week.
A team spokesman confirmed Tuesday that Ryan, a former Southwestern Oklahoma State player, was issued a warning and no citation after the accident on Jan. 14 in Bethlehem, Pa., located about 45 minutes from the team’s facility in Florham Park, N.J.
No one in the other two cars was injured in the accident, which was first reported by Deadspin.com.
Ryan is in Mobile, Ala., for Senior Bowl practices with several members of the Jets’ front office, including new general manager John Idzik, and did not comment.
Bethlehem Police said in a statement Tuesday night that Ryan, according to the incident report, was driving a Ford Mustang at 5:13 p.m. when he collided with another vehicle on West Third Street. One witness told police he observed Ryan pass through the red light at West Third and Wyandotte streets moments before the accident, and the impact caused the second car to hit into a third.
Former Oakland coach Bill Callahan has denied allegations made by two of his former players that he “sabotaged” the Raiders in their Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay 10 years ago.
Former Raiders receivers Tim Brown and Jerry Rice both said in recent interviews that they believe
CALLAHAN DENIES SABOTAGE
Callahan undermined his own team in the Super Bowl in 2003 because of his friendship with Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden. The Raiders lost the game 4821.
Callahan said in a statement Tuesday night that he is “shocked and saddened” by the allegations. He says he always tried to win every game and called suggestions to the contrary “ludicrous and defamatory.”
FPA PROPOSES REVISIONS TO ROONEY RULE
The Fritz Pollard Alliance is calling for the NFL to expand the Rooney Rule to include coordinators, assistant head coaches and club president positions.
The proposal sent Tuesday to NFL executives comes a week after no minorities were hired for eight coaching vacancies and seven general manager openings. There are only four minority head coaches going into the 2013 season, the fewest since 2003.
Robert Gulliver, the NFL’s executive vice president of human resources, said in a statement last week the hiring results were “disappointing” and anticipated making revisions.
ARREST MADE IN GEORGIA DOME STABBING
A 46-year-old man has been arrested in a stabbing near the Georgia Dome following the Falcons’ NFC Championship Game loss.
Georgia Dome spokesman Jason Kirksey says James Lewis McCoy of Villa Rica was arrested Tuesday by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority Police Department. Information on McCoy’s charges was not immediately available.
Kirksey says the stabbing may have been over an argument about food during a tailgate party outside the Georgia Dome Sunday. Some initial reports indicated it came from a dispute between football fans. But Kirksey said neither McCoy nor the person stabbed attended the game.
The 35-year-old person who was stabbed has not been identified. Authorities say he is in stable condition at Grady Memorial Hospital.
MARTIN VICTIM OF HOME INVASION
Police haven’t identified any suspects yet in the home invasion robbery at the Colorado home of New England Patriots defensive back Derrick Martin.
Two masked men forced their way into Martin’s home in the Denver suburb of Aurora on Sunday night when he was with the team at the AFC Championship Game.
Police spokeswoman Cassidee Carlson said Tuesday that the men held an adult woman and some children at gunpoint but wouldn’t confirm whether they were members of Martin’s family.
BRIEFLY
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday coach Jason Garrett may give up play-calling duties on offense to Callahan. ... New Browns coach Rob Chudzinski hired Joe Cullen as his defensive line coach, Louie Cioffi to coach the defensive backs and Shane Steichen as offensive quality control coach. ... The NFL is looking into Tom Brady’s leg-up slide that hit Ravens safety Ed Reed in the AFC Championship Game.