Connect with us

Published

on

Six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick advanced to the final 12 coaches in the running for the 2026 class for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Belichick is in his first year of eligibility after rule changes put in place last year that shrank the requirement for how long coaches have to be out of the NFL before they can be considered for the Hall to only one full season .

Two-time Super Bowl champion coaches Tom Coughlin, Mike Shanahan and George Seifert also advanced, along with another Super Bowl winner in Mike Holmgren.

The other coaches in the running are Bill Arnsparger, Alex Gibbs, Chuck Knox, Buddy Parker, Dan Reeves, Marty Schottenheimer and Clark Shaughnessy.

A blue-ribbon committee will reduce the field to nine semifinalists next month and eventually down to one finalist. Holmgren earned that spot last year but fell short in the final vote. The coach will be grouped with one contributor and three seniors candidates. One to three of those five finalists will make it to the Hall based on getting at least 80% of the votes from the full committee.

Belichick was the architect of the New England Patriots dynasty in the 2000s, leading the franchise to six Super Bowl titles and three other appearances in the game during an 18-year span from 2001 to 2018. Belichick’s 333 wins in the regular season and playoffs with New England and Cleveland is the second most to Don Shula’s 347.

Belichick also was one the game’s top defensive assistants before taking over New England, winning two more Super Bowls as defensive coordinator for the New York Giants.

Belichick’s tenure in New England ended following the 2023 season, and he is now coaching in college at North Carolina with a team that is 2-4 in his first season.

Belichick, Coughlin, Shanahan and Seifert are among the 14 coaches who have won multiple Super Bowls. Nine of those coaches are already in, with the other being Andy Reid, still active and thus not yet eligible.

Coughlin coached 20 years for Jacksonville and the Giants. He led the Jaguars to the AFC title game in their second season as a franchise and back again in the 1999 season. But his greatest success came after taking over the Giants in 2004.

He led the franchise to a Super Bowl title in the 2007 season when New York upset the undefeated Patriots, then knocked off Belichick, Tom Brady and New England again four years later. Coughlin finished with a 170-150 regular-season record.

Seifert helped San Francisco win two titles as a defensive coordinator under Bill Walsh and then two more as head coach after taking over for Walsh in 1989.

He won at least 10 games in all eight of his seasons in charge of the 49ers, with his 98-30 record (.766) the best for any coach with at least 100 games on a single team. But he was unable to duplicate that success in three seasons with Carolina, going 16-32.

Shanahan was the offensive coordinator under Seifert on San Francisco’s 1994 championship team and then won back-to-back titles as head coach in Denver in 1997-98. Shanahan finished with a 170-138 record for the Raiders, Broncos and Washington, and his impact on the game is still strong today through his disciples, including his son, Kyle, who coaches San Francisco.

Four other current NFL head coaches worked under Shanahan in Washington — Sean McVay, Mike McDaniel, Matt LaFleur and Raheem Morris — and the offensive system he brought into the league that tied the outside zone run with the passing game is still the most prevalent in the NFL today.

Gibbs was the longtime offensive line coach for Shanahan in Denver and helped implement the zone-running scheme that was the foundation of the offense.

Holmgren preceded Shanahan as offensive coordinator in San Francisco and also had a big impact on future coaches, with Reid and Jon Gruden going on to win Super Bowls after working under Holmgren in Green Bay. Holmgren had a 161-111 record for the Packers and Seahawks, winning the title in 1996. He also got to the Super Bowl the following season in Green Bay and then again in the 2005 season in Seattle.

Continue Reading

Sports

Bruins show love to emotional Marchand in return

Published

on

By

Bruins show love to emotional Marchand in return

BOSTON — The Little Ball of Hate still has a lot of love back in Boston.

Brad Marchand appeared to be holding back tears on the ice when the TD Garden crowd gave him a standing ovation Tuesday night during his first game as a Bruins opponent. The 37-year-old forward tapped his heart, wiped his face and waved to the crowd as both teams banged their sticks against the ice and even the referee and each linesperson clapped along.

The last remaining member of Boston’s 2011 Stanley Cup-winning team, Marchand was traded to the Panthers last season for another chance at a title. He helped Florida complete its pursuit of back-to-back championships, while the Bruins plummeted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

In his first game back as a Panther, the Boston crowd cheered him off the ice after the pregame warmups, as the TD Garden DJ played a mashup of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” Marchand responded with a stick salute as he headed off via the visitors bench.

Fans wearing Marchand’s Boston and Florida No. 63 jerseys cheered again during introductions for the former Bruins captain. (They booed when he drew a tripping penalty just 33 seconds into the game, then gave a mixed reaction when the Panthers scored on the power play — a goal that first appeared to be Marchand’s but was credited to Mackie Samoskevich; Marchand picked up an assist.)

But things got really emotional during a commercial break midway through the first period, when the scoreboard showed a highlight reel from Marchand’s time in Boston — including shots of him raising the Stanley Cup, and ending with him posing with the captain’s “C” that he wore for just one full season.

Florida ended up winning the game, 4-3, on a last-minute goal.

A four-time All-Star who had 422 goals and 554 assists in 16 seasons in Boston, Marchand remains in the Bruins’ top 10 for goals, assists, short-handed and overtime goals, playoff goals and points. His 1,090 games played is fourth in team history, one spot ahead of Don Sweeney, the general manager who dealt him to Florida at the trade deadline.

Marchand did play in the TD Garden as a visitor in February when he suited up for Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Although he was still a member of the Bruins, the Boston fans booed him.

He was traded to Florida a few weeks later as Boston sold off its roster and began a rebuild. But when the Panthers visited for the Bruins’ first home game after the trade deadline, Marchand was injured and skated on the Garden ice only in practice.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

Back from IR, Oilers D Walman nets winner in OT

Published

on

By

Back from IR, Oilers D Walman nets winner in OT

OTTAWA — Defenseman Jake Walman, activated from injured reserve on Monday after missing the season’s first six games with an injury, scored in overtime on Tuesday night, lifting the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators.

Walman, a late-season acquisition last year who helped Edmonton back to the Stanley Cup Finals, was injured in a preseason game on Sept. 21, but the 28-year-old veteran picked up where he left off on Tuesday. He finished with 25 shifts across 18:51 of ice time, and registered four blocks.

The Oilers wrapped up their five-game road trip and handed the Senators their second consecutive loss on home ice.

The Senators scored twice in a span of 1:25 to tie the game 2-2 early in the third. Ottawa got on the board after winning a puck battle along the boards. Drake Batherson dished a pass to Dylan Cozens who scored on the power play past Stuart Skinner, who made 19 saves. Just over a minute later Thomas Chabot beat a screened Skinner to tie the game.

The Oilers opened the scoring late in the first with a power-play goal when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins fed Connor McDavid, who snapped a shot from the top of the faceoff circle for his first of the season.

Edmonton extended its lead to 2-0 just 49 seconds into the second period after a turnover by the Senators. Leon Draisaitl skated in before sliding a pass back to rookie Isaac Howard, who beat Linus Ullmark, who finished with 22 saves, for his first career NHL goal.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

Hughes’ 3rd career hat trick lifts surging Devils

Published

on

By

Hughes' 3rd career hat trick lifts surging Devils

TORONTO — Jack Hughes registered the third hat trick of his NHL career, and the New Jersey Devils defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 on Tuesday night.

Cody Glass and Brenden Dillon also scored for New Jersey, and Jake Allen had 23 saves. Jesper Bratt added three assists for the Devils, who have won five in a row since opening the season with a loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.

John Tavares and Matias Maccelli scored for Toronto. Anthony Stolarz stopped 30 shots. William Nylander had two assists for the Maple Leafs, who have lost two in a row and four of six after a season-opening win.

Toronto led 1-0 after the first period before giving up three goals in the first five minutes of the second much to the dismay of the home crowd at Scotiabank Arena.

Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev left with an upper-body injury during a second-period penalty kill after he collided with Devils center Dawson Mercer.

Toronto challenged New Jersey’s first goal for goaltender interference only to see the call on the ice stand. The Devils went on the power play with the ensuing delay-of-game penalty, and Glass made it 2-1 moments after Tanev skated off to the locker room.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Trending