SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Maybe — just maybe — this is the next evolution of Kyle Shanahan.

Perhaps this is the form the ninth-year and now beleaguered 49ers head coach — who sat at the dais at Levi’s Stadium, unshaven and gaunt after a Super Bowl-or-bust season turned into a six-win, never-sniffed-the-playoffs nightmare — has always ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The winning began with Tom Brady, although that is not where the story originates.

The turnaround started when Bruce Arians walked through the door, except that was also a few chapters into the narrative.

If you are interested in tracing the most sustained period of success in Buccaneers history, you should begin with the ...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — If Tyreek Hill wants out, there’s the door.

If the Miami Dolphins receiver wants to be traded, find a trade.

There’s a plane leaving town every few minutes. Nobody’s going to miss him too much if he’s on one.

Two personally good years don’t give Hill carte blanche to be a constant off-field headache in his ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Colorado football coach Deion Sanders has his eyes on the Raiders’ coaching job, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

“He has a very strong interest in the job,” the person said.

The person indicated that NFL-connected associates of Sanders reached out to the Raiders to express Sanders’ interest in the ...Read more

ATLANTA — Jimmy Lake, who served as the Falcons’ defensive coordinator for the 2024 season was fired on Friday, according to the Falcons.

Also, defensive line coach Jay Rodgers was fired.

“After a thorough evaluation of the season, and with careful consideration for our team’s future, we deemed these moves necessary,” Falcons coach ...Read more

MIAMI — Steve Ross is much like the single guy at the bar who won’t approach a woman he’s attracted to because he’s terrified of rejection.

That’s the easiest and most succinct way to explain this billionaire’s hiring practices since 2009, when he became the majority owner of South Florida’s NFL franchise.

Remember, his first ...Read more

CHICAGO — Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams had just won his first NFL game in nearly three months. After his exit interview at Halas Hall, he was preparing to pack up his belongings and head home for what he hopes will be a productive offseason after his rookie year.

So when he was asked Monday about some of the names that have ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — Important disclaimer:

A football game is not won or lost by one person. There are about 100 players on the two sidelines. Coaches and officials. A ticking clock. Weather, field conditions, injuries. Even fan noise can occasionally have a role in a game’s outcome.

Except, in this case, those are all mere details.

When the ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Two Sundays ago, Eloise Brown sat quietly in her wheelchair inside the tunnel at Lincoln Financial Field. It was about an hour before game time. She was dressed in a black Eagles jacket, an Eagles sweatshirt and an Eagles hat, with A.J. Brown earrings dangling from her ears.

She held up a sign.

“102 years old and still ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The NFL, in a rare display of humility, isn’t calling this “Super Wild Card Weekend” anymore. So, welcome to plain-old wild-card weekend, where 12 teams with a combined 137 wins — an opening-round record — will fight to join the NFC’s top-seeded Lions (15-2) to see if anyone on God’s green earth can prevent Patrick ...Read more

BALTIMORE — A smile stretched across Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s face as running back Derrick Henry extended a congratulatory hand, while sporting a freshly unpacked AFC North champions T-shirt and hat. The two men were inside the locker room at M&T Bank Stadium, where the victorious scent of cigar smoke still hung in the air.

...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A wildfire that erupted during practice Thursday forced the evacuation of many Rams players, coaches and staff.

Their NFC wild-card game was moved from SoFi Stadium to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., causing the entire organization to mobilize quickly.

So Friday morning, coach Sean McVay arrived at the team's Woodland ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson and long snapper Andrew DePaola earned first-team All-Pro honors for the second time in three seasons with Jefferson joining former LSU teammate and Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase as the only unanimous first-team selections by the 50 members who voted for the 2024 Associated Press All-Pro NFL ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — More than 2,000 rushing yards later, Howie Roseman’s offseason investment in Saquon Barkley is shaping up to be a shrewd decision.

Despite sitting out the Eagles’ regular-season finale against the New York Giants, Barkley finished the year with 2,005 rushing yards, the most in the league. The 27-year-old running back is one...Read more

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — After the Falcons flopped again, general manager Terry Fontenot had to explain to team owner Arthur Blank how he planned to overcome the failure of his Kirk Cousins Experiment. We can guess how that conversation went based on what Fontenot said during his news conference Thursday.

Yes, the Falcons signed Cousins with the...Read more

PITTSBURGH — I have seen the future. It's the past. It's Lamar Jackson again at the Steelers goal line with a chance to win or lose the game.

That's what my crystal ball tells me, anyway, forecasting Saturday night's renewal of the NFL's fiercest rivalry: Steelers-Ravens.

I'm just the messenger.

You already know these teams hate each other....Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Jalen Hurts returned to action Wednesday with the expectation that he will report no post-concussion symptoms Thursday and thereby present himself for duty Sunday afternoon, when the Eagles host the Green Bay Packers.

While the availability of any starting quarterback logically means that the team will be the best version of ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Rams receiver Demarcus Robinson, who was arrested in November, has been charged with one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of alcohol, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records.

Robinson is scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 24 at the Van Nuys Courthouse.

TMZ.com first reported the charge.

Robinson ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — If the Vikings beat the Rams on Monday night, they will earn their first playoff victory in five years.

If the Vikings lose, they will experience one of the worst forms of sporting regret — knowing they had the makings of a championship team and failing to pull themselves to the second rung of the playoff ladder.

For all of ...Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The ghosts of past playoff collapses haunted the 49ers this season, so much so that a 6-11 record assured them of no postseason horrors this year.

Three of their first five defeats came by blowing fourth-quarter leads against NFC West teams, and the 49ers never recovered.

“When I go back to the hardest thing for me ...Read more