Football

The New England Patriots might've technically satisfied the Rooney Rule requirement, but NOT the spirit ... according to longtime NFL executive/GM Rod Graves who says the Pats made a joke of the policy.

TMZ Sports spoke with Graves, who after decades working in the NFL as a league executive and general manager, now serves as the Executive Director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, an org. dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion within pro football, about the much-debated rule that says teams must interview a minority candidate before hiring a coach.

Robert Kraft's football team interviewed two Black head coach hopefuls, Pep Hamilton and Byron Leftwich, before ultimately hiring Mike Vrabel ... who was expected to land the job from the moment the Patriots fired Jerod Mayo.

Sad news from Russell Wilson ... his beloved dog has died.

The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback announced the heartbreaking update on his Instagram page just minutes ago ... revealing his Great Dane, Prince, passed away on Friday morning.

"I got you my rookie year," Russ said in an emotional note to his late pup, "& you have been a blessing to our family with so many memories, hugs, and kisses from our 4 kids and us."

Some notoriously tough Philadelphia Eagles fans just proved they have a soft side ... they're raising some funds for Los Angeles wildfire victims -- in spite of their scheduled faceoff with the L.A. Rams on Sunday.

A spokesperson for GoFundMe tells TMZ Sports ... a group of Eagles supporters who congregate on Reddit created a charity earlier this week in an effort to assist people in need in the Rams' hometown.

The fans who helped kick things off made it clear they wanted to put the playoff matchup aside to make sure Angelenos felt supported, even from those thousands of miles away.

8:57 AM PT -- TMZ Sports just spoke with Michael Lombardi ... and he called all of the rumors surrounding Bill Belichick nothing more than "fake news."

UNC general manager Michael Lombardi broke out his wet blanket Thursday and threw it all over rumors that Bill Belichick could leave Chapel Hill for the NFL ... insisting the coach is staying put.

Speculation that The Hoodie might bolt reached a boiling point on Thursday AM -- after it was revealed Belichick does NOT yet have a binding contract with the Tar Heels.

Travis Kelce sure sounds like a guy who's in love ... 'cause he just raved over his relationship with Taylor Swift -- straight-up admitting he "couldn't be happier."

Stephen A. Smith grilled the Kansas City Chiefs superstar on his feelings for his girlfriend for several minutes during a recent sit-down on "The Stephen A. Smith Show" ... and check out some of the 35-year-old tight end's answers -- he certainly seems smitten.

Kelce told the ESPN analyst he and Swift are "in a strong relationship" ... and because of it, he's "as focused as I've ever been on my job."

Sam Darnold didn't torpedo his chances at a big payday after two bad games to finish the season ... at least that's what NFL super-agent Leigh Steinberg thinks -- telling TMZ Sports he believes the Minnesota Vikings will stick with him as the franchise quarterback.

Darnold -- the No. 3 overall pick in 2018 -- had a career resurgence in the 2024-25 campaign ... throwing for more than 4,300 yards and 35 touchdowns as he led the Vikes to a 14-3 record.

His hot streak fizzled out down stretch, though ... with the team's Super Bowl dreams coming to an end after a poor outing against the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round on Monday.

Drake Maye didn't get a ring to cap off his rookie season, but his longtime girlfriend did -- the New England Patriots quarterback just proposed to Ann Hudson -- and she said yes!!

The two announced the happy news on Wednesday on their Instagram pages ... with the couple revealing the 22-year-old signal-caller got on a bent knee while out at a beach.

Maye set up some roses, pillows and champagne for the occasion ... and was clearly thrilled Hudson agreed to be his forever partner by the sea.

The Philadelphia Eagles fan who was captured on video over the weekend calling a Packers supporter a "dumb c***" has finally broken his silence ... claiming Wednesday his outburst was provoked.

Ryan Caldwell said in a statement to the New York Post the video that showed him going off on a female Packer backer at Sunday's playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field did not tell the full story.

Caldwell insists what took place just before his vulgar rant was "banter" between all parties. He then strongly implied that Alexander Basara and his fiancée, Ally Keller, egged him on.

The Eagles fan who berated a female Packers supporter in Philly is officially out of a job ... with the hotheads' now-former employer calling out his behavior ... while also knocking people who have trashed their business online!

TMZ Sports spoke to BCT Partners co-founders Lawrence Hibbert and Dr. Randal Pinkett -- who appeared on Season 4 of The Apprentice -- who slammed ex-project manager Ryan Caldwell for his actions in a now-viral video where he called the Green Bay fan a "dumb ugly c***."

"I can't say enough about how abhorrent the behavior that we observed was and how upset I was in seeing someone who was at the time associated with our company displaying that kind of behavior," Pinkett said.

Ryan Clark says it might be time for Mike Tomlin to pull up his stakes in Pittsburgh ... telling TMZ Sports a change of scenery could result in an Andy Reid-like run for his former head coach.

It's now been eight years since Tomlin last won a playoff game, and while many online are calling for his head, Clark said his old team should absolutely NOT fire the 52-year-old.

Instead, the ex-Steelers defensive back told us Tomlin should explore his other options ... because he truly believes the coach still has it.

Kelly Stafford says she felt massive guilt bringing her sick children aboard the L.A. Rams charter flight ... knowing the players had a hugely important playoff game on the horizon!

Stafford opened up on the situation on the latest episode of "The Morning After" ... just days after she documented her daughters' sickness on social media in the leadup to the Wild Card tilt vs. the Vikings.

"We were sick on that flight," Stafford said, "and there was a huge guilt factor to me going 'should we be on this plane right now because everyone surrounding us and everyone who has to play this game?'"

LeBron James is waving the white flag in the battle for Christmas Day ... admitting the NFL whooped the NBA's ass in the ratings department -- but claiming Beyoncé played a huge role in the L.

The King chopped it up with Jason and Travis Kelce on the newest episode of their "New Heights" podcast this week ... and at one point in the convo, they asked LeBron about his famous deceleration following the Lakers' 115-113 victory against the Warriors -- in which he stated Dec. 25 belonged to Adam Silver's organization.

Unfortunately for James, the viewership numbers didn't back his claim -- as the NFL drew in 65 million U.S. viewers for its two games ... which was much more than the NBA got for its five games throughout the holiday.

Shedeur Sanders added a bit more fuel to all of the Deion-to-the-Dallas-Cowboys speculation on Tuesday night ... as he made a somewhat peculiar appearance at the Mavericks game in Big D.

The Colorado Buffaloes quarterback scooped up courtside seats for Dallas' tilt with the Nuggets at American Airlines Center ... and even though he's a native of Texas, the timing of his decision to hit the town sure got Cowboys fans buzzing.

Jerry Jones' team, of course, is looking for a new head coach after parting ways with Mike McCarthy on Monday -- and a whole lot of internet detectives wondered out loud if Shedeur's emergence in Dallas this week means his dad could very well be Jerry's next man up.

The Philadelphia Eagles fan who berated a Packers supporter during Sunday's playoff game is out of the job -- his employer just announced he has been fired as a result of the viral moment.

BCT Partners -- a consulting firm that specializes in DEI services and solutions -- announced the move Tuesday night ... saying project manager Ryan Caldwell's words during the altercation with the female Cheesehead were "highly offensive and misogynistic," which goes against the company's values.

The firm decided to cut ties after an internal personnel investigation ... and slammed Caldwell on his way out.

Mike McCarthy out ... Deion Sanders in??

If Drew Pearson were running things down in Dallas, he says that's exactly the way it'd go ... telling TMZ Sports Prime should be the Cowboys' "No. 1 choice" for their vacant head coaching gig after McCarthy's Monday departure.

"I think he's capable," the Hall of Famer said of the Buffaloes' current head man. "There's no question he has the qualifications to do it. He paid his dues. He came through the ranks and he's proven it each step of the way that he knows what he's doing."

Patrick Mahomes says his wife, Brittany, was an absolute rock star during her third childbirth ... praising her for crushing it -- and letting him watch football leading up to the big moment, too!!

The three-time Super Bowl champ met with the media just two days after the happy couple welcomed their second daughter -- Golden Raye Mahomes -- to the world ... and he talked all about what it's like to have the newest addition around.

"It's been cool to welcome another baby girl into our family and see how our other kids react to her and having baby sissy and stuff like that," Mahomes said.