#special-teams

#special-teams

A former NFL defensive end who appeared in 33 games with the Rams, Ah You turned to coaching following the end of his playing career. Apart from a brief stint in the XFL, Ah You has only coached at the collegiate level. He started as a special teams quality control coach at his alma mater, Oklahoma, before heading to a defensive line coaching job at Vanderbilt.

Arizona is interviewing a number of candidates for defensive coordinator, while Giants special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial has emerged as a leading candidate to take over as special teams coordinator, per ESPN's Jordan Raanan. Ghobrial, 37, has spent the last two years with the Giants. Before that, he served as the Jets' assistant special teams coordinator on Robert Saleh 's staff, overlapping for two years with LaFleur. Ghobrial previously worked for a number of college programs as well as the Lions in 2017. The Giants had a solid year on special teams in 2025. They ranked fifth in yards per kickoff return (27.7) and 10th in average starting field position (31.3). Cornerback Deonte Banks also recorded one of the NFL's five kick return touchdowns last year.

The Flyers were putting the pressure on the Caps as soon as their man-advantage started. Clay Stevenson made a save on a Bobby Brink wrist shot from above the left circle, and then Konecny just missed his chance off the rebound down in front. Trevor Zegras corralled the puck down in the corner and found Drysdale just below the blueline, and Drysdale one-timed it through traffic, over Stevenson's glove, and into the net.

Smiley began his coaching career at Dartmouth, where he initially served as assistant quarterbacks/specialists coach in 2005 before being named special teams coordinator after his first year. He then went to Division III Eureka, where he spent a year as offensive coordinator and the next at defensive coordinator until he was named interim head coach. Following that, he worked three years at Eastern Illinois as running backs coach/special teams coordinator and a year at Charleston Southern with the same title.

"If there's one person, two people that aren't executing to the best of their abilities, he's going to find that crease," Rams veteran linebacker Troy Reeder said. "And they have a unit as a whole that does a really good job of getting him started in his returns. ... You just want to contain this guy, and not let him make a play that could change the game."

We talked before the game that this game was huge,

all year, hitting him ferociously at every opportunity, sometimes right on the line of legality, if not past it. Indiana coach Curt Cignetti complained to ESPN's Holly Rowe about uncalled personal fouls against Miami, and he wasn't wrong, especially with regards to Jakobe Thomas's potential targeting hit on Mendoza in the first quarter; the Miami-raised QB was bleeding from the lip after Thomas's helmet smashed into his face, but, as was the case most of the night, the flags stayed in the referees' pockets.

As it turns out, the Seattle Seahawks didn't even need a healthy Sam Darnold to cruise to a spot in the NFC Championship Game. The quarterback's supporting cast is just that good. Coach Mike Macdonald's squad now has an even stronger claim as the most complete team in this season's playoffs after it delivered an all-three-phases 41-6 win over the division-rival San Francisco 49ers Saturday night.

I didn't talk to the team after the game. I'll talk to them in the morning. But it is more of the same. We have to find a way to get some pucks to fall in for us. We had to execute better on the chances that we do get. We had some really clean looks in really good spots, and we either missed the net or hit the goaltender in the chest. That is kind of the way it has been going.

Commanders need to find out what they have in Kain Medrano Washington has nothing to play for in its season finale except for draft position and bragging rights. This is a game in which veteran players should be getting a lighter workload, and the youngsters should see the field as often as possible. One of those players in question is Medrano, who has yet to see his first defensive snap of 2025.

After punting on their first two possessions, the Giants scored on their final six non-victory formation drives. Jaxson Dart impressively responded from his worst game as a pro last Sunday (7-for-13, 33 yards, five sacks, INT in a 16-13 loss to Minnesota). He completed 22 of 30 passes for 207 yards (no touchdowns or picks), rushed for two touchdowns and 48 yards on nine carries (the last three were kneels) and was sacked only twice.