The open-ended nature of Major League Baseball’s offseason can lead to transactional stasis, to the point commissioner Rob Manfred has touted the concept of a winter deadline to consummate deals, the better to energize the proceedings.

That may never happen, with players and agents alike willing to play the long game to maximize the deals they receive. Yet there is one deadline looming that will require action: Munetaka Murakami must sign with a major league team within one week.

The slugging infielder faces a 5 p.m. ET deadline Dec. 22 to decide on a team, based on the 45-day posting window veteran players from Japan enter when they transfer from the NPB to the majors. He’ll make a nice holiday addition for someone’s lineup.

A look at Murakami’s market as the clock ticks a little louder toward his decision day:

Munetaka Murakami stats: What are teams paying for?

Most famously, Murakami set the single-season record for home runs in Japan, slugging 56 as a 22-year-old for the Yakult Swallows in 2022. He’s still just 25, and has 265 home runs in his NPB career; for reference sake, Pete Alonso, 31, had 264 homers in seven seasons with the Mets.

Yet there are some yellow flags surrounding his profile. Murakami struck out at least 28% of the time each of the past three seasons. That’s not the greatest foundation given that he’ll be facing pitchers with far better stuff and will encounter elite velocity with much more frequency than he did in the NPB.

Still, just as pitchers benefit from advanced coaching and technology, Murakami can adjust. His career OBP of .394 won’t naturally commute to the most advanced league on the globe, but it’s a significant canvas with which to work.

Best fits for Munetaka Murakami

Murakami can play third base and first base, though the latter is probably preferable. He should command a salary significantly north of $100 million; while no comps are perfect, consider that Masataka Yoshida received a $90 million guarantee from the Boston Red Sox in 2023, and he had a .337 career OBP and never produced a 30-homer season in the NPB.

In a broader sense, virtually any major league team should have interest. In the universal DH era, a corner infielder essentially has three spots in the lineup to slide into. And pursuits of Kyle Schwarber by the Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles – and the latter team’s successful $151 million bid on Alonso – at least partially reflects that there’s cash to be spent out there.

Still, Murakami figures to land with a larger-revenue club, if only because they have greater latitude to shrug off a suboptimal investment should Murakami’s skills not translate to the big leagues.

With that, a handful of solid options for Murakami:

Boston Red Sox: They still owe Yoshida $35 million over the next two seasons, not that his slightly above-league-average production and injury woes should necessarily serve as a cautionary tale in pursuing another bat from the NPB. The Red Sox need more thump in the lineup, and the simplest solution would be re-upping Alex Bregman, who shined in 114 games before opting out of his deal. But we’re into the back half of December and Bregman still loiters on the market. Perhaps one week isn’t a long enough runway for the Red Sox to have any, let alone all the answers to questions – bring back Bregman? Trade Triston Casas? – that might accelerate or cool a Murakami pursuit. But there’s certainly a universe where he fits in Boston.

Toronto Blue Jays: Yeah, these guys are in on everyone, at least until further notice. Murakami would give the Blue Jays a loaded roster and options to play around with so many lineup cogs. Drop him at third base and nudge Addison Barger to left field. A year from now, the DH slot will open up with George Springer’s likely departure. And a lineup that will feature five players 30 or older will get a bit younger.

What happens next?

Good question. Virtually every elite position player free agent – from Kyle Tucker to Bregman to Bo Bichette – could certainly impact Murakami’s pool of suitors. And the going has been particularly slow for Tucker and Bichette so far.

Yet none of those guys have deadlines to sign. Murakami does – and it’s likely his signing will tell us someone is boxed out of their old home before they know it themselves.

Since we’re talking so much about social media:

On Dec. 11, two days before the Heisman Trophy ceremony that Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia attended but didn’t win, Special Olympics Tennessee posted on its X account a video of an “incredible holiday shopping experience” for its athletes.

That experience? Hosted by Pavia. He’s prominent in the video.

Now, that post went largely unnoticed. It had relatively minuscule engagement numbers. I bring that up to show how much our society prefers to fixate on the bad in others instead of the good — something social media’s algorithms both exploit and ensure.

Noticing Pavia’s better angels has never been easy. There is good, though. I believe that. I’ve heard way too many people at Vanderbilt — names you’d know, ones I deeply respect — insist it.

Those are the people I’m sad for on the day after that Heisman ceremony. It was spectacular for Vanderbilt, wasn’t it? A special moment in the spotlight for the school’s dignitaries, at least until they checked social media in the hours after the event.

I’m not going to try to defend Pavia’s sore loser social media post saying to (expletive) Heisman voters after they (resoundingly) chose Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza over him.

Because I can’t defend it.

It was mindless. It was classless. It was cringeworthy.

Worst of all, it was just sad.

It’s truly unfortunate that a spectacular celebration of Vanderbilt football and Pavia now will be widely associated with an unnecessary post that accomplished nothing other than validate reasons people already had to dislike him.

I’m unsure who Pavia was trying to impress, but those people should have advised him otherwise. It was as if he was trying too hard to live up to his hardscrabble, renegade style while also staying true to the podcasting bro culture of the mid-2020s.

I get that. I get going out and blowing off some steam in New York with your pals. Years ago, if you’re ticked about losing enough to say, “Man, F those voters,” and only your friends hear it, then no big deal. But in a world where everyone wants everything posted for anyone to see? Big difference. Big dangers when done so foolishly.

Pavia deserves credit for owning up to his mistake and apologizing in a social media post, writing: “I didn’t handle those emotions well at all and did not represent myself the way I wanted to.”

Perhaps that’ll diffuse the startling amount of outrage this has provoked. I hope so.

But more for Vanderbilt than for Pavia. Because it wasn’t just himself he didn’t represent well. This ordeal reflected terribly on his university and its coaches and teammates and its fan base. These are the people who have — and will — stick up for Pavia the most because they know him the best.

Think back to high school or college. Did you have that one friend — and that friend no doubt was a lot of fun — who you could never be quite sure what he was capable of doing just to get a laugh or amuse people or endear himself, or hey, maybe for no reason at all?

Others might hate the guy, but you’d be like, “Nah, that’s just so-and-so. You don’t know him like we do.”

That’s how Vanderbilt feels about Pavia. Yet even its die-hard fans would have a hard time stomaching this latest instance of how handling fame does not come naturally for everyone.

While Pavia has proven to be an amazing overachiever on the football field, it’s fair to point out that this is someone who became very famous in a very short time after being a nobody for a very long time. That’s not an easy skill for a strong personality to master on his own.

He didn’t have an agent, a trainer, a QB coach and a publicist before he graduated high school. He was never trained on how to be a Heisman finalist. He made himself one through determination and toughness.

But that does not mean Pavia was owed this award.

Nor does it excuse acting so immaturely after failing to win it.

A brief aside: After the “Bad Boy Vols” of the 2022 Tennessee baseball season, former coach Tony Vitello told me the part that bothered him the most was when Vols slugger Jordan Beck infamously raised a middle finger as he rounded the bases during an NCAA Regional game.

“Because what it did was it gave evidence,” Vitello said back then. ‘ . . . It kind of checked a box for people that wanted to say, ‘These guys aren’t the villains like in a fun (way).’ ‘

This moment, occurring in the Heisman spotlight, is regrettably indelible for Pavia. It’s going to stick.

Many in my business who don’t know Pavia have sought to criticize him for things like bravado and brash comments or even attire or headphones. But this was indefensible. This was low-hanging fruit, and it was from a Heisman finalist in New York on the night of the ceremony. The aggregation and bashings flowed easy and numerous. That’s on Pavia.

He has labeled himself as a bad guy by looking like one when everyone was watching. A lot of people around Vanderbilt would disagree with that judgment, but that doesn’t matter so much now.

Because disputing it just got a heck of a lot more difficult.

Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and hang out with him on Bluesky @gentryestes.bsky.social

The negotiations between the WNBA and the WNBPA are ongoing, and the latest round of updates reveals that the two sides are working through several points of emphasis.

The WNBA offered revenue sharing at 15% on Dec. 3, The Athletic reported. SBJ reported that the player’s association countered with 30%, signaling that the two sides continue to spar over proposed revenue-sharing percentage. In the latest reporting from The Athletic, the outlet said the union proposed 33% revenue sharing and it was rejected by the league. The outlet also provided a peek behind the curtain regarding additional details behind the proposal.

According to The Athletic, with the latest proposal from the players’ association, the salary cap would be calculated by subtracting the cost of various player benefits (health insurance costs, house, local transportation costs, etc.) from the player’s share of the previous season’s total revenue and dividing that number by the number of teams in the league. The WNBPA is also proposing mandatory audits at the team and league levels to ensure accuracy and transparency.

“The WNBA has provided the union with extensive financial and other business information, including detailed league and team financial statements. Any asserted lack of financial transparency is simply untrue,” the league said in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports.

In the proposed agreement, players would receive just under 30% of the previous season’s gross revenue, including a one-time adjustment that reflects the league’s $2.2. billion media rights deal that begins in 2026. In each season after, the players’ share of total league and team revenue would reportedly increase by one percent. Ultimately, the proposal seeks to ensure WNBA players would earn as much as 34% of the previous season’s gross revenue by the end of last year in the CBA agreement.

What other points are the WNBA and the WNBPA debating?

The WNBA and WNBPA are still working through several other key topics.

Roster sizes: The WNBPA has requested teams carry a mandatory 12-player roster. (Most teams currently hover around the required minimum of 11 players and rarely carry 12.) The union is also asking for teams to sign two additional developmental players, who would receive a stipend and appear in up to 10 games a season prior to signing a rest-of-season contract.
Number of games in a season: The union is seeking an increase in games from 44 to 48, while the league grows from 15 to 17 teams. The number would potentially grow to 50 games should the league hit 18 teams.
Salary exceptions: The players’ association has proposed that salary exemptions should be added to the next CBA agreement. Some of the proposed exemptions would allow for a ‘performance-based softening,’ which includes additional compensation for high-performing players on rookie contracts.

Famed former South Carolina quarterback Steve Taneyhill died Monday morning. He was 52 years old. The former Gamecocks signal-caller died in hospice care, per the Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office, as reported by FOX Carolina.

The University of South Carolina is mourning the loss of their beloved alumnus, making a post on X letting everyone know that their ‘thoughts are with [Taneyhill’s] loved ones.’

Taneyhill was under center for the Gamecocks between 1992-1995, rocking his signature mullet and swagger that made him a fan favorite. Taneyhill remains the school’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns and completions. He is second all-time in passing yards.

His tenure in Columbia was remarkable, including being named Sports Illustrated’s Freshman of the Year in 1992 and leading the Gamecocks to a victory in the 1995 Carquest Bowl, the university’s first-ever bowl win.

Taneyhill’s post-playing career

After finishing up at South Carolina, Taneyhill transitioned to coaching, where he experienced exceptional success. He won three straight South Carolina state championships with Chesterfield High School between 2007 and 2009. He also won state titles as the head coach of the eight-man team at Cambridge Academy in Greenwood.

Outside of coaching, Taneyhill also owned two bars in Columbia — Group Therapy and CB 18. He also owned multiple businesses in Spartanburg.

Is Taneyhill in the South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame?

Taneyhill was inducted into the Gamecocks’ Hall of Fame in 2006 alongside fellow Gamecock football legend Willie Scott and several others.

Taneyhill’s signature moments

Taneyhill’s most iconic moment was undoubtedly when he pretended to sign the Clemson tiger paw at midfield after a big win at Clemson in 1992. Taneyhill was just 19 years old at the time, but fed off the energy of the fans and gave fans one of the most iconic pictures in South Carolina football history, his arms stretched out in victory.

Taneyhill’s memorable home run swing celebration after throwing touchdown passes also remains one of the most iconic celebrations of all time.

The New York Jets fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks on Monday.
The Jets’ defense has the fewest takeaways in the league through 15 weeks of the 2025 season.
New York’s defense ranks near the bottom of the league in points allowed and sacks.

The New York Jets fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks on Monday after the unit he led produced the fewest takeaways in the entire NFL through 15 weeks of the 2025 season.

New York (3-11) has not recorded an interception this year and has just three fumble recoveries. The Jets rank 30th in points allowed per game (28.4), ahead of only the Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals. Their 22 sacks is tied for the second-lowest total in the league.

Under first-year head coach Aaron Glenn, a former NFL defensive back who coached on that side of the ball, Wilks had to deal with the franchise trading away defensive lineman Quinnen Williams and cornerback Sauce Gardner at the deadline.

‘I thought it was time to make a change,’ Glenn said Monday. ‘I’m going to make the decision that’s best for this organization at all times.

‘I want to see consistent improvement. … I want to see the culture of this football team come together.’

Chris Harris will take over as the interim defensive coordinator, Glenn said.

Wilks was the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive coordinator during the 2023 season, when the team made it to Super Bowl 58. He was the Carolina Panthers’ interim coach in 2022.

After a 48-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Wilks was sure to tell reporters that the defensive system in place belonged to him and was not necessarily Glenn’s own. The Jets surrendered 34 points the week prior to the Miami Dolphins.

Several defensive players, including linebacker Quincy Williams and edge rusher Jermaine Johnson, declined to talk to reporters after the blowout defeat, in which Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence accounted for six touchdowns.

‘Monday through Saturday, that’s where our coaches come in,’ linebacker Jamien Sherwood said, according to ESPN. ‘On Sunday, it’s all about the players. Your talents got to show up. All the work you put in during the week, you have to show up. And the last two weeks we just haven’t been doing it.’

The Chiefs’ imminent end appears to have arrived, as the team needs to embrace change.
The Green Bay Packers might have had the worst Sunday of any team, losing a number of standout players, most notably Micah Parsons.
Reigning MVP Josh Allen propelled the Buffalo Bills to a huge road win over the New England Patriots.

‘It doesn’t look good’ became the regrettable catchphrase of Week 15 in the NFL.

It has been some time since injuries have hit so many stars throughout the league on the same day, with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament and Green Bay Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons feared to have met the same fate. Meanwhile, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay also said the outlook wasn’t promising for wide receiver Davante Adams, whose status is uncertain after he suffered a non-contact hamstring injury.

And along with the personnel hits came a significant reshaping of the playoff picture, complete with two teams becoming the first to seal their postseason spots in the Rams and Denver Broncos.

Here are the biggest winners and losers of Week 15 in the NFL:

NFL Week 15 winners

Josh Allen

Only the reigning NFL MVP could shrug off being caught on camera vomiting on the sideline. While no one could have blamed Allen if his fourth-quarter act had been in response to the Buffalo Bills’ porous run defense, which gave up 246 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, the quarterback assured it was a common occurrence for him. Despite that, he once again harnessed his distinct cool and singular playmaking streak to propel Buffalo to a wild 35-31 win over the New England Patriots, who saw their hopes of clinching the AFC East this week evaporate as quickly as their 21-0 lead did. Initially boxed in by some schematic and personnel restraints, Allen once again started off by working the underneath area almost exclusively in the first half as the Bills’ deficit grew. But the aggressiveness of yesteryear kicked in for the quarterback once the team’s moment of desperation arrived, and his knack for extending plays, operating out of structure and attacking downfield sparkled in the furious rally. In all likelihood, he’ll need to revert to this mode a few more times to rescue a group that looks bound to get roped into more shootouts, particularly in the postseason. With this outing, Buffalo established that it is far from the most trustworthy team likely to make the playoff field, but it might be the most dangerous.

Bo Nix

The Denver Broncos quarterback has been decried as the weak link in an otherwise Super Bowl-ready roster. Yet in a matchup that many expected to be defined by the Packers offense taking on the Broncos defense, it was Nix who might have been the deciding factor.

The second-year signal-caller strung together arguably the most impressive outing of his career, repeatedly dicing apart zone coverage for 302 yards and four touchdowns on the day in Denver’s 34-26 triumph. Nix helped the Broncos unlock an explosive streak that has been missing in action for large stretches, with six of his completions coming more than 15 yards downfield. He also weaponized his mobility, extending plays to give his receivers more time to get open. If this version of Nix shows up in the playoffs, Denver stands out from the rest of the pack as the AFC’s clear front-runner.

Jim and John Harbaugh

It was a decidedly good day for the brotherly coaching duo. Jim Harbaugh managed to solidify the Los Angeles Chargers’ standing while dashing the Chiefs’ playoff hopes with a 16-13 win at Arrowhead Stadium. That outcome once seemed unfathomable for a franchise that for so long stood in the Chiefs’ shadow in the AFC West – and it might earn the Bolts a thank-you card from the rest of the conference, which undoubtedly is relishing the first postseason field without Kansas City since 2014. Meanwhile, John Harbaugh helped calm the Baltimore Ravens’ bubbling bad vibes with a 24-0 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, who posed a major threat to send the team reeling with another loss. If the Pittsburgh Steelers falter on Monday against the Miami Dolphins, there will be another tie atop the AFC North. More importantly, though, Baltimore rediscovered its mojo somewhat and displayed some resilience. It’s a far cry from the title-contender form the franchise has known in recent years, but any progress is welcome for an outfit that looked poised to fall off in the AFC playoff picture just a week ago.

Trevor Lawrence

Getting to face the New York Jets in mid-December feels akin to a Southeastern Conference team scheduling a Football Championship Subdivision patsy in between late-season rivalry games. Nevertheless, Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t let up against Gang Green, with the quarterback notching six total touchdowns – five passing, one rushing – to power a 48-20 rout. The signal-caller has quietly come on strong as of late, exhibiting impressive command and precision Sunday when working the intermediate levels of the field. He completed nine of 12 attempts that went for 10-19 air yards, with three of his scoring strikes coming from that distance. There will be some whiplash in going up against the Broncos’ defense in Week 16 after facing the Jets’ undermanned group, but there are signs that the passing game is starting to catch up to the rest of the operation.

NFL Week 15 losers

Patrick Mahomes

As their season unraveled in recent weeks, the Chiefs faced repeated questioning of whether they were facing an imminent end: to their playoff hopes, to their dynasty, and to the approach that got them to this rare position. At least one of those elements has now been answered with Sunday definitively wrapping up the team’s 10-year run of postseason berths.

This was always bound to be difficult territory for Mahomes, who had never fallen short of the playoffs as a pro. But the three-time Super Bowl MVP will be navigating an even more difficult challenge than a different mental approach this offseason after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the closing moments of the Chiefs’ loss to the Chargers.

Now, Kansas City needs to embrace the change that’s been forced upon it. The franchise tried to run things back after its Super Bowl 59 setback, with the largest area of change coming in its repeated insistence on reclaiming the explosiveness of the early Mahomes offenses. But with the injury essentially bringing a closer to this era, the Chiefs should be focused on reinvention rather than replication.

That might be a stretch for Andy Reid, who clung to his group’s identity even as it proved untenable for competing with the league’s elite. But Mahomes was frequently left to compensate for a woefully ineffective run game, receivers who couldn’t get open with any regularity and protection that broke down all too frequently, with the quarterback being pressured on 48.6% of his dropbacks against the Chargers, according to Next Gen Stats. Without some fundamental change to both the scheme – particularly in the willingness to run from under center – and personnel, Mahomes will likely land in the same spot he found himself this season, all while attempting to recover from major surgery and begin a new chapter as he embarks on his post-30 playing career.

Indianapolis Colts

Philip Rivers’ teammates must be emulating their quarterback by saying ‘dadgummit.’ The 44-year-old’s incredible comeback looked as though it was headed for an incredible outcome when Blake Grupe booted a 60-yard field goal in the final minute to give Indianapolis a one-point lead over the Seattle Seahawks. But in less than 30 seconds, Seattle reclaimed the lead by getting in position for a Jason Myers field goal. Rivers’ ensuing heave over the middle was tipped and intercepted by Coby Bryant to seal Seattle’s 18-16 win.

Like the old timer’s famous delivery, his performance Sunday was hardly pretty but still sufficient – at least relative to what the team could expect from a retiree who last played five years ago. Rivers’ 120 yards on 18-of-27 passing won’t wow anyone, but he gave the rapidly sinking Colts a legitimate chance to stand up to one of the league’s most formidable defenses in an extremely difficult road setting. Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and the defense deserve plenty of credit for holding Seattle to six field goals, but this result laid bare Indianapolis’ undeniable reality: There’s not enough left in the tank to regroup for a postseason run, and things don’t look much better in 2026 and beyond given the myriad missteps made by Shane Steichen and Chris Ballard that got the team to this point.

Green Bay Packers

Arguably no team had a worse day than Green Bay, which not only now must prepare for a playoff push without Parsons but also lost big-play wide receiver Christian Watson, standout right tackle Zach Tom and promising safety Evan Williams. Losing any for a substantial amount of time could deal a substantial blow to the Packers’ playoff hopes after the team slid all the way to the NFC’s No. 7 seed with the loss to the Broncos.

But the most consequential development was clearly Parsons’ knee injury. The marquee trade acquisition had more than lived up to his lofty billing and price tag, racking up 12 ½ sacks while entering the week with a league-high 60 pressures. But his contributions can’t be fully captured by individual statistics, as his mere presence forced opposing offenses to account for his game-wrecking capabilities. Without him, the Packers’ defense looks ill-equipped to create any disruption after failing in recent weeks to capitalize on all the advantages he conferred. Green Bay is now without two players who set the tone on both offense (tight end Tucker Kraft, who suffered a torn ACL in November) and defense (Parsons). If the later unit regresses amid Parsons’ absence, as is to be expected, the Packers could have serious trouble maintaining their place as one of the NFC’s top Super Bowl threats.

Carolina Panthers

They’ve kept stride down the stretch with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On Sunday, they did so in a highly undesirable manner, stumbling to a 20-17 loss to the New Orleans and returning the NFC South lead just three days after the Buccaneers had gifted it with a face-plant against the Atlanta Falcons. Had Carolina managed to eke out a win, it would have been able to wrap up a division title – and the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2017 – with a win over Tampa Bay next weekend. Instead, the Panthers’ hopes very well could come down to the Week 18 finale and rematch against the Buccaneers. There’s plenty for Dave Canales and Co. to rue here, from the 10-point lead they squandered to Lathan Ransom’s unnecessary roughness penalty that set Charlie Smyth up for the game-winning 47-yard field goal. And while Carolina still has a chance to set things straight with its pair of matchups against the Buccaneers, the sweep by New Orleans will surely haunt the organization if it falls short of the postseason yet again.

New England Patriots

By Week 15, teams deserve to be judged on their full body of work rather than an isolated outcome. The problem for the Patriots, however, is that a soft schedule left many doubting the legitimacy of the AFC East leader’s resurgence. New England at first looked like it was ready to turn its divisional showdown with Buffalo into a coronation, but the defense came undone in the second half and gave the doubters more fodder. Getting Milton Williams back by the playoffs should aid an ailing front susceptible to giving up big plays on the ground, and a run at the conference’s No. 1 seed is still realistic. But this served as a reminder that a young and unproven squad might be unreliable come January.

Joe Burrow

Are we having fun yet? The Bengals quarterback created a buzz last week with his frank comments about his discontent with another lost season, though he clarified after he game that he wasn’t taking aim at the organization. But an admitted bummer of a campaign plunged to new depths with the shutout loss to the Ravens. Not only were Cincinnati’s extreme long-shot playoff hopes officially dashed, but Burrow threw a pick-six for the second consecutive week. Unlike last week’s snow-blasted battle with the Bills, however, there was nothing for the offense to hang its hat on as the unit was blanked for the first time in a start by Burrow. Miscues piled up and pressure was unrelenting, but the passer himself was also responsible for a fair number of slip-ups on a day when he finished with the second-worst quarterback rating of his career (58.2). A lot of reflection will be required in Cincinnati this offseason, but it’s difficult to see how a franchise that has remained so stubbornly committed to its vision will reinvent itself after missing the playoffs for a third consecutive year.

Shedeur Sanders and Jerry Jeudy

The two had to resolve a heated sideline confrontation two weeks ago in the Cleveland Browns’ loss to the San Francisco 49ers. But the quarterback would be within his rights to reignite a beef with the wide receiver after Jeudy allowed an end zone pass to careen off his chest and into the hands of Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who secured the interception in a 31-3 blowout. Sanders threw two more picks and took a season-high five interceptions in a substantial step back from his breakout performance a week earlier. Jeudy shouldn’t be expected to save an irredeemable offense, but he’s not doing nearly enough to give the franchise any confidence that a new quarterback could step in next year and succeed.

Whenever Tulane’s run in the College Football Playoff comes to an end, so too will Jon Sumrall’s time at the school, with the second-year Green Wave coach headed to Florida.

Before he departs, though, he’ll be leaving something behind for his soon-to-be-former employer.

Sumrall and his wife, Ginny, are making a $100,000 donation to the Green Wave Talent Fund, a university initiative to expand NIL opportunities for Tulane athletes, the school announced on Monday, Dec. 15.

In two seasons with the Green Wave, Sumrall went 20-7, including an 11-2 mark this year that helped them win the American Conference and earn a spot in the playoff, where they’ll take on Ole Miss in the first round on Saturday, Dec. 20.

Though he was hired away by Florida late last month, he’ll be coaching Tulane throughout the playoff. That transition has been aided by the Green Wave hiring one of Sumrall’s assistants, pass game coordinator Will Hall, as his successor.

‘Tulane University and New Orleans are special to me and my family,’ Sumrall said in a statement. ‘Ginny and I are honored to support the Green Wave Talent Fund because we believe in the vision of Tulane Athletics and want to contribute to the continued success of its student-athletes. The future is incredibly bright, and we are excited for Will Hall and his family to be part of it.

‘Coach Hall possesses a keen understanding of Tulane University and its football program, along with a passion that greatly benefits the Green Wave. As a leader, he cares deeply about helping others reach their full potential and is dedicated to equipping them to achieve that goal in every way possible. He has our family’s full support, and we wish him nothing but success as he leads Tulane Football!’

The money could be useful for Tulane, which has excelled under Sumrall despite losing talented players to bigger programs with more NIL resources. After the 2024 season, the Green Wave lost starting quarterback Darian Mensah and leading rusher Makhi Hughes to Duke and Oregon, respectively, with Mensah signing a deal worth a reported $8 million.

Since accepting the position at Florida, Sumrall has joked about balancing two FBS head-coaching jobs at once. His profile photo on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, is a picture of him in half Florida attire and half Tulane attire. In a post last week, he wrote that “I’ve got 2 Phones, 2 Jobs & 2 hours of sleep.”

In four years as a head coach, Sumrall is 43-11. Prior to Tulane, he spent two years at Troy, where he went 23-4 and won a pair of Sun Belt championships. At Florida, he’ll take over a struggling program that has finished with a losing record in four of the past five seasons.