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A proposal was submitted at the NFL owners’ meetings this week that called for a significant change to the way the playoffs are seeded, but that change will not be implemented during the 2025 season.
The Detroit Lions made a proposal to league owners that called for playoff teams to be seeded strictly by record rather than factoring in which teams won their respective divisions. The seven playoff teams in each conference would still consist of four division champions and three wild card teams, but those seven teams would then be seeded by record. Division champions would not automatically have higher seeds than wild card teams.
If a division winner and wild card team were to finish with the same record, the division winner would earn the higher seed as the first tie-breaker.
According to multiple reports, the Lions withdrew their proposal on Wednesday at the spring NFL owners’ meetings in Minneapolis, Minn.
The proposal, which was originally submitted in March, had also been amended to call for teams to be re-seeded after the first round. That means the No. 1 seed in each conference would play the lowest remaining seed in the Wild Card Round rather than the winner of the No. 4 versus No. 5 matchup, and so forth.
It is possible that the change could be considered again in the future, especially with the NFL expected to move to an 18-game schedule at some point. The benefit of changing playoff seeding would be that games late in the regular season would become more meaningful, as teams that already have their divisions wrapped up would still have to compete with potential wild card teams for playoff seeding.
One particular NFC team would have greatly benefitted from the Lions’ proposal last season, and that scenario will still be in play again in 2025.
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Nick Saban responds to speculation about coaching return amid NFL rumors
Shortly after former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback and current college football analyst Greg McElroy shared that someone "in the know" believes there's a possibility Nick Saban — who retired in January 2024 — might return to coaching, NFL insider Albert Breer suggested that the Dallas Cowboys could be a potential destination for the seven-time national champion. According to Mike Rodak of 247Sports, Saban was asked during a Friday appearance on Fox News if he intends to come out of retirement. "No, I'm really happy with what I'm doing right now," Saban responded. "It's exciting to still be involved in the game. It's exciting for me to work with athletic directors, conference commissioners, people in Congress to preserve the integrity of our game and continue to be able to create opportunities to help young people create value for their future that will help them be successful in their life, which is what we always try to do as a coach." Saban, now working as an ESPN analyst, will be 74 in October. Per Christian Datoc of the Washington Examiner, President Donald Trump could consider having Saban "lead a new commission examining problems arising with the growth of name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights and coinciding changes to the NCAA transfer process." Meanwhile, it's thought that Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones could look to hire a big-name candidate if first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer fails to impress during the 2025 campaign. Additionally, Fox Sports personality Colin Cowherd recently hinted that Saban could be interested in becoming the head coach of the Cleveland Browns if the team selects Texas quarterback Arch Manning as the first pick in the 2026 draft. "There is no opportunity that I know of right now that would enhance me to go back to coaching," Saban added during Friday's segment. "I enjoy what I'm doing. I did it for 50 years. I loved it. I loved the relationships with the players. I loved the competition. But it's another station of life now. I enjoy what I'm doing right now and want to continue to do it — spend more time with my family, my grandchildren, my children. It's been really, really good." The "right now" portion of Saban's comments attracted the attention of Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, who was quick to point out he did not say "no for good" regarding a return to coaching. In short, it seems that rumors about Saban's future could hover over the college and pro football communities through at least the rest of the year.
Athletics' Nick Kurtz makes MLB history vs. Astros
Athletics rookie first baseman Nick Kurtz already had an impressive start to his career. Kurtz entered Friday having posted a .288/.360/.622 batting line in 265 plate appearances, hitting 19 homers and 17 doubles. Despite making his major league debut on April 23, Kurtz has been the A's most valuable player, leading the team with 2.6 bWAR. He appeared to be on the cusp of becoming the superstar the A's needed to sell the team to the residents of Las Vegas. That performance set the stage for what may have been the most impressive game for any rookie in major league history. Kurtz became the 20th player in MLB history to have a four-home run game and the first rookie to achieve that feat. Kurtz's performance also put the 2025 season into baseball history. Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez had a four-home run game on April 26, making this the third time that there have been two four-homer games in a season. That had happened in 2002 (outfielders Mike Cameron and Shawn Green) and 2017 (utility man Scooter Gennett and left fielder J.D. Martinez). Kurtz did not stop with those four homers. He was 6-6 in the A's 15-3 victory over the Astros, with a double and eight runs batted in. The favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Year award, Kurtz put an emphatic stamp on an already impressive season with his barrage on Friday.
ESPN Predicts Mets-Twins Trade One Week Before Deadline
The New York Mets are a half-game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the NL East, but their pitching staff is still injury-ravaged despite the recent returns of Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas. Brandon Waddell (hip), Dedniel Nuñez (elbow), Max Kranick (flexor), Paul Blackburn (shoulder), Tylor Megill (elbow), Griffin Canning (Achilles), Drew Smith (elbow), A.J. Minter (lat), Danny Young (elbow), and Christian Scott (elbow) are alll on the Mets' IL. The MLB Trade Deadline is July 31 at 6 p.m. EST, so the front office has one week to add healthy arms from around the league this season. ESPN's David Schoenfield predicted on Thursday that New York would trade for a Minnesota Twins reliever. "One guarantee of the trade deadline: The Mets will add to the bullpen, probably with more than one trade. Though the rotation still ranks fifth in ERA, that was built off a hot start," he wrote. "More importantly, the only Mets starter to complete six innings since June 7 has been David Peterson. As a result, manager Carlos Mendoza has run relievers Reed Garrett, Huascar Brazoban, Jose Butto and Ryne Stanek into the ground. The bullpen had a 2.78 ERA through May, but that figure is over 5.00 since the beginning of June (ranking near the bottom of the majors)." "The Twins have two high-profile relievers in [Jhoan] Duran and [Griffin] Jax, both of whom are under team control through 2027, so they'll be much more expensive than your usual short-term relievers if the Twins decide to trade one or both," he continued. "Duran would be harder to deal -- but bring more in return -- so we'll say Jax will go. Don't be fooled by his 4.09 ERA: He has 68 strikeouts and 12 walks in 44 innings with a 97-mph heater. He's an elite strikeout reliever, the type you want on the mound in October." The Mets are hot despite their injuries, as they're on a four-game winning streak and just swept the Los Angeles Angels. Next up is a road trip against the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres. New York right-handed pitcher Clay Holmes (8-5, 3.48 ERA) will face Giants right-hander Logan Webb (9-7, 3.08 ERA) on Friday.
Phillies' Kyle Schwarber inches closer to franchise history vs. Yankees
Right now, it is Kyle Schwarber's league, and everybody else just happens to be playing in it. The Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter continued his white-hot month of July -- and incredible season at the plate -- on Friday night in a 12-5 win over the New York Yankees, going 3-for-5 with two more home runs and four runs batted in. He is now up to 36 home runs on the season, and within striking distance of a Phillies franchise record. His 36 home runs are tied for the most for a Phillies player through 103 games, and have him on a pace for around 56 home runs for the season. The team's single-season record is the 58 home runs hit by former first baseman Ryan Howard during the 2006 season. This is a huge season for Schwarber because he is in the final year of his contract and is set to be eligible for free agency after this season. He wants to stay in Philadelphia, and the Phillies would love to keep him, but each home run is only making that price tag go higher and higher. As of Friday, his 36 home runs are tied for second in the National League, just one behind Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani. While Schwarber has been a key cog in the Phillies lineup all season, his performance has reached an entirely new level of production in July. With his two home runs on Friday, he has now hit 11 home runs in only 73 official at-bats for the month, and entered Friday's game with a staggering 1.044 OPS in July. It went up after Friday's performance. The Phillies are in a back-and-forth fight with the New York Mets for the top spot in the National League East race, and it might be time to start talking about Schwarber as a potential MVP candidate, given how much of an impact he is making at the plate.
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