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NBC making massive change to Notre Dame football coverage
NBC is making a major change to its college football coverage.
Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported Jac Collinsworth is out as the Notre Dame play-by-play voice. Dan Hicks will replace him, and Jason Garrett will remain as lead analyst. Hicks called Fighting Irish games a decade ago but is better known for his PGA Tour coverage.
Next fall, NBC will have Noah Eagle — son of CBS play-by-play voice Ian — and Todd Blackledge serve as its No. 1 college football broadcast team. Marchand added the pair garnered positive reviews on the Big Ten and NFL games they've called. The duo will mainly focus on Big Ten prime-time contests, but they'll switch to Notre Dame if its game is viewed as the better matchup.
Collinsworth — the son of "Sunday Night Football" analyst Cris — earned the job despite little play-by-play experience. The Notre Dame alum failed to make a strong impression and received heavy criticism due to the family name. In 2023, he and Garrett ranked last in Awful Announcing's reader rankings of national college football announcers.
Clearly, NBC is making this move to make room for Eagle, casting him as its new budding star with a strong pedigree.
Collinsworth, 29, will continue to serve as a reporter for "Sunday Night Football" and the Olympics. He will also call college football and basketball games on Peacock to gain more play-by-play experience.
This isn't ideal for Collinsworth, but it could be a bump in the road. He held on to other prominent roles and will probably continue to advance and grow throughout the rest of his career.
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LSU predicted to go to court over Brian Kelly's buyout
Despite LSU firing Brian Kelly on Sunday, the program has not yet finalized a plan for the former head coach's buyout, estimated at $53 million. It's unclear how many greenbacks the Tigers will pay. Kelly left Notre Dame in November 2021 to sign a 10-year, $95 million deal with the Tigers. He went 34-14 with LSU before he could finish his fourth season, which equates to approximately $2.97 million per win for Kelly. Per Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry suggested during a news conference on Wednesday that state taxpayers could foot part of the bill for Kelly's buyout. That would be atypical, as most programs fund buyouts via donations. LSU could go to court over Brian Kelly's contract LSU is set to continue paying Kelly in monthly installments of $800,000. However, a long-term solution between Kelly and the program has not been reached, and a case could end up in court. According to Yahoo Sports, LSU noted in its announcement that buyout details would be announced at a later date — quite possibly at the governor's behest, who seems opposed to paying the full fare, even if it means resorting to the legal system. “We may end up in a Louisiana courtroom,” predicted one person, per Yahoo Sports. Landry expressed concern about the contract now-former athletic director Scott Woodward gave Kelly, stating that the next head coach would not receive such a contract. (Woodward has since been fired.) "We're gonna make sure that he's compensated properly, and we're gonna put metrics on it because I'm tired of rewarding failure in this country and then leaving the taxpayers to foot the bill," said Landry. The situation is bad optics for the state of Louisiana and LSU. Any prospective candidate for the Tigers has to wonder whether the program or the state is willing to live up to its word. While college football coaching contracts are spiraling out of control, it's up to the school (and in LSU's case, as a public institution, the state) to make sure those contracts aren't signed in the first place if they cannot honor the details of the agreement.
Matt LaFleur spills the beans on what the Packers really plan to do ahead of the NFL trade deadline
The Green Bay Packers don't tend to be the most active team ahead of trade deadlines. Since general manager Brian Gutekunst took over in 2018, he's never acquired a player in the week leading up to the deadline — on the other hand, he's sold Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Ty Montgomery, Rasul Douglas, and Preston Smith. However, Gutekunst did consider some trades — most notably, wide receiver Will Fuller back in 2020. Ultimately, the price requested by the Houston Texans wasn't right. This is mostly how the Packers will process things ahead of Tuesday's deadline. The roster is good enough The Packers already made two trades right before the season, acquiring Micah Parsons and Darian Kinnard. Asked about potential moves on Monday, head coach Matt LaFleur mentioned that the team doesn't need to add more players to be competitive, but the front office is making sure to evaluate opportunities. "I don't think so, not necessarily," LaFleur said about the need to add pieces. "I know Gutey and the rest of the guys upstairs are doing a great job of looking for things that could potentially help us, and if the right decision is there, I’ve got full confidence he’ll make it." Gutekunst and LaFleur have a close relationship, and the big roster decisions go through both of them, even though the GM has the final call. "We're in constant communication about everything," LaFleur added. While cornerback and defensive tackle were arguably the biggest needs on the roster, the tight end room also became thin with Tucker Kraft's season-ending knee injury. Right now, the only two TEs on the roster are Luke Musgrave and John FitzPatrick — Josh Whyle is on the practice squad and could be promoted or elevated. The trade deadline is at 3 p.m. (CT) on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Don't expect big moves from the Packers, but something might happen — and as always, only if the price is right. This article was originally published on A to Z Sports Green Bay, as "Matt LaFleur spills the beans on what the Packers really plan to do ahead of the NFL trade deadline."
Packers linked to trade for former All-Pro to replace Kenny Clark
The Packers could look to upgrade the defense ahead of the NFL trade deadline at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, especially after Panthers running back Rico Dowdle paved the way to Carolina upsetting Green Bay Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field. Dowdle’s 130 yards and two touchdowns was the catalyst to an upset win over the Packers, but also served to further expose one of Green Bay’s most glaring weaknesses along the front seven. Could Packers trade for Calais Campbell? If general manager Brian Gutekunst is working the phones in hopes of replacing the run-stuffing interior lineman the Packers traded away in Kenny Clark as part of the Micah Parsons blockbuster this past summer, Calais Campbell could be an ideal fit. Ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, Pro Football Focus lists the Packers as one of Campbell’s best fits and possible trade destinations. "Even at 39, Campbell has still been an above-average player for the Cardinals this season," Bradley Locker writes for PFF. "He’s on track for a 15th straight year with a 71.0-plus overall PFF grade, and has been a well-rounded addition for Arizona’s new-look defense. Campbell has generated 11 pressures while also producing a 70.0 PFF run-defense grade. "The Cardinals’ promising start has taken a wayward turn for the worst, one that doesn’t seem especially salvageable. With Campbell at his age and on a one-year deal, shipping him away — particularly to pave the way for playing time for younger players — could be logical. Kansas City’s 28.8 run-defense grade by interior defenders is the lowest in the NFL, and a reunion in Jacksonville isn’t out of the question." So far this season, Campbell — who boasts 113.5 sacks through 18 seasons — has three sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss. He is still playing at a high level despite his advanced age and the trajectory of the Cardinals’ 2025 campaign. Arizona’s season has quickly fallen off a cliff, but Campbell could have the chance to chase a Super Bowl ring if the Packers pull off a trade. He would immediately become a key piece along defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s front seven.
Seahawks GM's comments offer clue at potential NFL trade deadline partners
If there was any question about whether the Seattle Seahawks should be buyers or sellers going into the NFL trade deadline, last night's crushing victory over the Washington Commanders answered it. After eight games played, Seattle has a top-five scoring offense, a top-five scoring defense and a special teams unit that's making high-impact plays routine. That gives the Seahawks all the reason in the world to be aggressive at the trade deadline, and the latest reporting suggests that's exactly what they're going to do. General manager John Schneider may have offered a hint in his pre-game radio hit with KIRO, saying that the Seahawks spoke with teams at the Maryland-Indiana game on Saturday. That give us an idea of who they might be dealing with, based on the reports of the other teams who sent personnel to that game. That includes the San Francisco 49ers, the New York Jets, the Carolina Panthers, the Cleveland Browns and the Washington Commanders, who may have had some extra face time with the Seahawks during last night's game. We can safely cross the 49ers off the list of potential trade partners, but we can't do that with any others. The one question mark is the Panthers - and nobody seems to know which way they're leaning. Carolina is a surprise 5-4 after shocking the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, but the gap between the Panthers and the NFC teams currently on pace for a playoff spot is pretty massive. That makes the Jets, Browns and Commanders the most likely candidates to make a deal with the Seahawks from this list but we also have to assume they're talking with other teams. Pete Carroll's Raiders are another obvious potential trade partner based on their relationship and the fact that they're 2-6 going into the deadline. The Seahawks have also had a long history of making deals with the Philadelphia Eagles, who need cornerback help an have reportedly been considering a deal for Riq Woolen. On that note, the math may have changed last night due to the injuy to Josh Jobe, who was ruled out early with a concussion. Woolen responded with his best game of the season - which might be just enough to convince the Seahawks to keep him around for the playoffs.
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