It’s been a busy six weeks for Philip Rivers.

The eight-time Pro Bowl quarterback came out of retirement two days after his 44th birthday to start three games for the Indianapolis Colts. That ended a four-year layoff since his last action with the Colts in 2020.

That may not be the last we see of Rivers on an NFL sideline.

Rivers is interviewing with the Buffalo Bills for their head coaching job, per multiple reports.

The Bills are searching for their next coach after firing Sean McDermott, and Rivers would be a wild-card in the mix. He currently coaches St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Alabama.

Rivers and Bills quarterback Josh Allen are reportedly close friends and the 2024 NFL MVP will have a big say in Buffalo’s next head coach.

Rivers lost all three of his starts in 2025 to the Seahawks, 49ers, and Jaguars. He completed 58 of 92 passes (63%) for 544 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions.

Indianapolis signed Rivers following a season-ending injury to starting quarterback Daniel Jones and another injury to backup Riley Leonard.

Those injuries were a big reason behind the Colts’ collapse from early AFC frontrunner to missing the playoffs altogether.

Indianapolis was the last team to hire a coach without any NFL or college coaching experience when they brought in Jeff Saturday on an interim basis in 2022. If hired, Rivers would be the first non-interim head coaching hire with that designation from at least the last 60 years of the NFL.

The bantamweight fight between Cameron Smotherman and Ricky Turcios at UFC 324 has been canceled after Smotherman collapsed during his official weigh-in Friday, Jan. 23.

After making weight at 135.5 pounds, Smotherman stepped off the scale and took a few steps before fainting and falling face-first onto the platform. Smotherman appeared to lose consciousness briefly and was tended to by medical personnel for several minutes before being carried away by staff.

Smotherman’s status is not yet known, but he was transported to the hospital. MMA Junkie, which is part of the USA TODAY Sports Network, has reached out to his representation for an update on his health when it becomes available.

UFC 324 is set to take place Saturday, Jan. 24 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card features co-main events with Justin Gaethje facing Paddy Pimblett in an interim lightweight championship fight, and Sean O’Malley taking on Song Yadong.

MMA Junkie reporter Nolan King contributed to this report.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s homicide investigators continue to examine the death of former NFL defensive tackle Kevin Johnson, a spokesperson told USA TODAY Sports on Jan. 23.

Investigators have released limited details on the death of Johnson, 55, who was found shortly before 8 a.m. PT Jan. 21, near a homeless encampment roughly 10 miles east of Los Angeles International Airport. In a release, the sheriff’s office said that deputies located an unconscious adult male, later identified as Johnson, suffering from head trauma. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

‘Unfortunately it appears he was homeless,’ Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Steve De Jong told Newsweek on Jan. 22. ‘It looks like he was probably living there.’

The sheriff’s office has not released additional information about its investigation, including the status of its search for a suspect.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner on Jan. 22 cited ‘blunt head trauma and stab wounds’ as Johnson’s cause of death and listed his place of death as a homeless encampment.

USA TODAY Sports will continue to update its reporting on Johnson’s death as new information is made available. Here’s what we know about Johnson and his playing career:

Kevin Johnson’s college career: Standout defensive lineman at Texas Southern

Johnson, a Los Angeles native, played college football at Los Angeles Harbor College and Texas Southern, where he was a teammate of Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Michael Strahan. Johnson was drafted two rounds after Strahan in the 1993 NFL draft as a 6-foot-1, 306-pound interior lineman.

Kevin Johnson’s NFL career: Eagles, Raiders stops after Patriots draft selection

The New England Patriots drafted Johnson in the fourth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. After the Patriots released Johnson that August, the defensive tackle made brief stops in Minnesota and Oakland as a practice squad member and training camp participant before the Philadelphia Eagles claimed him off of waivers in August 1995.

Johnson played two seasons for the Eagles, appearing in 23 games and starting six of them in the regular season with 54 tackles, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery, which he also returned for a touchdown. He also appeared in two playoff games in 1995. Philadelphia suspended, then released Johnson in 1996 after he missed a practice, according to Pro Football Reference and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Johnson signed with the then-Oakland Raiders the following April, and he appeared in 15 games for Oakland, tallying seven tackles.

After Johnson’s release from the Raiders in 1998, he played four years in the Arena Football League, winning an ArenaBowl with the Orlando Predators in 1998.

Jarrett Stidham is starting for the Denver Broncos in the AFC championship game due to an injury to Bo Nix.
Stidham was drafted by the Patriots in 2019 and has connections to several current New England coaches and players.
Coaches describe Stidham as decisive, accurate, and possessing a calm demeanor suitable for big games.
Despite limited regular-season playing time, the Patriots are preparing for Stidham as a capable quarterback.

FOXBOROUGH, MA – Milton Williams spoke the truth when he stood at his locker and declared that he didn’t know much about Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham. 

“I ain’t gonna lie,” the New England Patriots defensive lineman said, “nothing. We’re gonna watch the tape on him and figure out what he likes to do. But no. They didn’t like him over Bo (Nix), so.” 

Indeed, the Broncos would have preferred their starting quarterback for the last two seasons, Nix, were healthy and playing rather than Stidham, pressed into starting action Jan. 25 against the Patriots in the AFC championship game due to Bo Nix’s season-ending ankle injury. But Williams’ words were more logical than disrespectful. For a team that has embodied New England head coach Mike Vrabel – Williams’ statement a fair example of that – the entire locker room knows they have come too far, with too much at stake, to lighten up because the No. 1 seed in the AFC has a backup quarterback in the lineup. 

“I think he sees things really well,” Vrabel said of Stidham. “I think he’s athletic enough to extend, like we talk about a lot of quarterbacks. Accuracy. I think the decision-making – he’s really decisive in the games that we went back and watched.”

Patriots drafted Jarrett Stidham in 2019, praise his preparation

Stidham has plenty of connections to the Patriots, starting with them being the organization that drafted him out of Auburn in 2019 (fourth round, 133rd overall). He was Tom Brady’s backup during the seven-time Super Bowl champion’s final year with the organization, then served in the same role behind Cam Newton in 2020. 

(Speaking of Brady, the Patriots know a thing about a backup coming in and being a hero in a conference title game. Drew Bledsoe, after Brady had usurped him earlier that season, led the Pats to Super Bowl 36 after Brady injured his ankle against the Pittsburgh Steelers.)

Linebacker Anfernee Jennings, drafted in 2020, is one of the two current Patriots (offensive lineman Mike Onwenu is the other) who overlapped with Stidham in New England. He sounded like Bill Belichick while describing Stidham – who took the job seriously, “prepared the right way,” and acted like a NFL quarterback. 

“‘Stiddy’ was a good teammate. He did a good job at doing his job,” Jennings said. “I remember that he was a competitor. 

“Those guys, they want to win, just like we want to win.” 

Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels coached Stidham for two seasons in New England and then signed him after he took the Las Vegas Raiders head coaching job in 2022. Stidham made his first two starts at the end of that season and replicated that with the Broncos the next season when he filled in for the benched Russell Wilson during head coach Sean Payton’s first year in Denver.

Payton told reporters that he’d evaluated Stidham during his draft process when Payton was the head coach of the New Orleans Saints. Stidham’s first career start, an overtime loss to the San Francisco 49ers in which he threw 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, racked up 365 passing yards and averaged 10.7 yards per attempt, impressed him. 

“I have a lot of respect for Josh (McDaniels), and I knew that he liked him,” Payton said. “He really played well in that 49er game against a real good defense. That’s when we became aggressive.” 

Stidham ‘is going to rip it,’ Broncos coach Sean Payton said

At the start of the season, Payton said he felt like his backup was one of the 32 best quarterbacks across the entire league. 

“I think everyone feels that way,” he said. “That’s why that signing was important. You don’t know when it’s happening, but I’m glad it happened. I’m glad that acquisition took place.

“He’s going to rip it, and that will be our approach. He has this calm demeanor that I think suits him well. He’s played in big games, college.” 

Stidham has played behind mostly healthy quarterbacks during his professional career. Vrabel recalled negotiating with Stidham’s representation during the offseason, and the player’s agent joked that signing Stidham would guarantee good fortune for the Patriots. Payton won out and kept Stidham in Denver. But beyond the preseason and a handful of late-season affairs, there isn’t much tape on Stidham.

Vrabel doubted whether McDaniels’ relationship with Stidham would provide any game-planning advantage. But that doesn’t mean they won’t account for it, he said. 

McDaniels described the 29-year-old as “smart, accurate, great human being, worked hard, great teammate.”

“Just hadn’t had an opportunity, based on the situations,” said McDaniels, who added that he enjoyed working with him. 

Patriots prepare for Broncos offense to operate on schedule

Patriots linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson, who has three sacks in two games this postseason, played against Stidham during their college days (Chaisson won a national title at Louisiana State in 2019). The team watched Stidham’s preseason tape, Chaisson said, and said he can make the necessary throws from a clean pocket. Two All-Pros lead what is regarded as one of the league’s best offensive lines in Denver and should provide that on a few occasions. 

“We won’t take that for granted at all,” Chaisson said. 

Not attempting a pass in a game in more than two years makes Stidham a mystery to plan against. The Patriots expect Payton will have the offense operating similarly to how it would with Nix. 

“Until they show otherwise,” Chaisson said. 

By midweek, Vrabel had watched the approximately 400 regular-season snaps Stidham has taken across 20 appearances. Denver will stick to its strengths, Vrabel said. 

“So, we’ll have to be prepared for the plan and the things that they’ve shown. I’m sure there’ll be some things that they haven’t shown,” Vrabel said. “He’s more than capable to go out there and operate. It’s why he’s a backup, and one that was coveted around the league.” 

There’s a way to increase the college football schedule but also play the national championship game on Jan. 1.
Conference championships must go. Replace them with a 13th game for everyone.
Start season in August. End it on New Year’s Day.

Fernando Mendoza is a champion. He’s also an idea man.

Asked during a 2024 podcast appearance what his idea would be for a bowl game, Mendoza suggested a game in Alaska.

“It’d be crazy — just the salmon and bears all around,” said Mendoza, before going on to win the Heisman Trophy and a national championship as Indiana’s quarterback.

Hey, nobody said it was a good idea.

Inspired by Mendoza’s blue-sky thinking, I’ve come up with a few postseason ideas of my own and revamped the playoff schedule.

Buy IU championship books, prints

1. Eliminate conference championship games, move to 13-game schedule

The playoff selection committee confirmed conference championship games had lost their meaning after Georgia boot-stomped Alabama in the SEC championship, and then neither team budged an inch in the ensuing CFP rankings. The committee treated Alabama-Georgia as a December exhibition.

The argument for conference championships further withered when Duke won the ACC title game, but Miami received the conference’s de facto automatic bid.

Conference championships were once revolutionary. They’re now antiquated. Time to evolve.

Dump them in favor of an additional data point for every team. I’m not suggesting play-in games. Sorry, Tony Petitti, that idea still stinks.

Instead, I’m suggesting every team play a 13-game regular-season schedule, with no conference championship games. So, you’d just add one game to everybody’s schedule.

On the subject of regular-season scheduling, to be eligible for playoff consideration, each Power Four team should be required to play at least 11 of its 13 games against either Power Four opponents or Notre Dame.

So, a schedule could look like this:

Two cupcake games + two marquee nonconference games + nine conference games = 13 games.

2. Start the season earlier, but keep rivalry week during Thanksgiving

No matter when the season starts and ends, rivalry week must remain during Thanksgiving week.

Ohio State-Michigan. The Iron Bowl. The Egg Bowl. Texas-Texas A&M.

These games should occur alongside a helping of turkey and pumpkin pie. Rivalry week remains the sport’s pinnacle. Leave it undisturbed, even if the playoff changes in size and shape.

But, we must find a spot for the 13th game I’ve added to the schedule. I could slot that 13th game in December, in place of conference championship weekend. But, no. Instead, start the regular season a week sooner. In other words, the week that’s now dubbed Week 0 becomes Week 1. The regular season would end with rivalry games during Thanksgiving weekend. Then, advance straight into playoff selection.

3. Start and end the College Football Playoff sooner

OK, so I’ve freed up the first weekend in December by nixing conference championship weekend and slotting the additional game into Week 0. Using the 2026 calendar as a guide, that means the regular season would start Aug. 29 and end Nov. 28, with Selection Sunday the following day.

Let’s model what this could look like, using the current 12-team playoff format.

First-round playoff games: Dec. 4-5. One game on Friday, followed by three on Saturday.
Quarterfinal playoff games: Dec. 11-12. One game on Friday, followed by three on Saturday.
Semifinal playoff games: Dec. 19.
National championship game: Jan. 1.

This would wrap up the postseason before the NFL playoffs begin.

By starting the postseason sooner and shortening delays between CFP games, you’d build off the momentum of rivalry week and Selection Sunday and roll straight into a playoff crescendo.

4. Make New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day a college football bonanza

Bowl games don’t mean what they used to, but they can be incorporated throughout the holiday season as appetizers to the national championship game to preserve New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day as marquee dates on the college football calendar.

Earmark multiple bowl games to be played daily, starting on Dec. 26. Include several bowl games on Dec. 31 and additional bowl games in the noon and afternoon windows on Jan. 1, as the lead-up to the national championship game that kicks off in prime time on New Year’s Day.

5. Portal opens after the national championship

Open the transfer portal on Jan. 2, one day after the national championship game.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

Despite their very different sports, Mikaela Shiffrin and Simone Biles understand each other’s experiences better than almost anyone else.

Biles was a guest on Shiffrin’s “What’s the Point” podcast released Friday, and the two talked about relating to the other’s very public struggles at the Olympics. Though the two did not meet until the Paris Games in 2024, Shiffrin reached out to show her support after Biles developed the “twisties” at the Tokyo Games.

Unable to tell where she was in the air, Biles pulled out midway through the team competition and missed four individual events before returning for balance beam, where she won a bronze medal.

‘It was really powerful to see you stand there, shoulders tall, head high, cheering on your own teammates, being there to be such a supportive force when you couldn’t get on the mat yourself. And then to still be able to compete and perform, as well,’ Shiffrin said. ‘I thought that opened the door for a lot of possibility for athletes.’

After the Beijing Games went sideways for Shiffrin a few months later, it was Biles’ turn to offer her support. Normally as consistent as a metronome, Shiffrin posted DNFs in the slalom, giant slalom and combined races.

“I’m just watching and I was like, `No, it’s happening.’ I just wanted to cry,” Biles said. “For you to reach out and now it’s happening to you … I’m like, I see me in her, and I know exactly how she is feeling.”

Which made it all the more gratifying to see Biles dominate in Paris, Shiffrin said. Biles won three golds and a silver, and became the first woman since 1968 to win a second Olympic all-around title.

“I felt like when I walked into the restaurant and saw you there, and your sister and your mom were there, you were so just free. It made me feel lighter,” Shiffrin said, referring to when she and Biles met in Paris.

During the hour-long episode, Biles and Shiffrin discussed the differences in their sports and the similarities in their successes. Biles is the most-decorated gymnast, male or female, and has seven Olympic gold medals. Shiffrin has more World Cup wins than any other skier, male or female, and has two golds from her first three Olympics.

Both have been described as the GOAT — a label each understands even if they aren’t certain it applies.

“The stats are there and it’s on paper … but there have been so many greats that have set us up,” Biles said. “We’re just athletes doing what we love. I don’t know if it’s the same for you, but if you asked me how many medals I have, I don’t know! The stats — that’s for a lot of other people.

“But I do know the work that I’ve put in to get where I am at, and I do recognize how I’ve pushed the sport forward. I hope you feel the same.”

There’s a certain mindset behind the art of creating turnovers. This much is evident when listening to members of the Denver Broncos defense talk about their bad intentions.

Sure, any defense worth its weight subscribes to such theories.

Yet these Broncos are one of just four teams still playing in the NFL, and they head into the AFC championship game against the New England Patriots riding the wave of a season-high five takeaways in the last round.

They deserve to have the floor on this.

‘It’s just been a conscious effort,” Broncos nose tackle Malcolm Roach, full of exuberance, explained after leaving a distinct mark on the divisional playoff conquest of the Buffalo Bills last weekend. “All day, every day, that’s all we’re talking about.

‘Attack the ball. Attack the ball. Attack the ball.”

OK, Malcolm, we get it.

‘We’re preaching to the DBs, ‘If you’re coming in, come punching,’ ” he added. “They’ve been doing it all year, but like we always say, if you want to play the lottery, you’ve got to buy a ticket.”

Ca-ching!

The Broncos defense has been one of the league’s best all season. For the second year running, it led the league in sacks (68) and for much of the campaign was on pace to challenge the single-season record (72) set by the immortal ’84 Bears. They allowed just 18.3 points per game, third-fewest in the league, and led the NFL with the lowest TD rate (42.6%) in the red zone. Nik Bonitto, Zach Allen and Patrick Surtain earned All-Pro honors, and coordinator Vance Joseph was named NFL Assistant Coach of the Year.

Yet for all of that, turnovers haven’t exactly come in bunches – until now. Denver finished the regular season with just 14 takeaways, fourth-fewest in the league.

To victimize Buffalo in such a fashion last weekend – including the interception by nickel back Ja’Quan McMillian in overtime that set up the winning field goal drive – was so timely.

‘It’s so crazy,” said Roach, who had 1 ½ sacks, a fumble recovery, a tackle for loss and three QB hits on Josh Allen. “We’ve been going after the ball all year, but teams have done a good job protecting the ball.”

Now comes the Patriots in a matchup that dares Denver’s defense to take over the game on at least two accounts. You’ve probably heard that the Broncos are without quarterback Bo Nix, who suffered a broken right ankle on Sunday, leaving backup Jarrett Stidham – who hasn’t attempted a pass in a real game since 2023 – as an ultimate X-factor. Whatever help the defense can afford Stidham could be huge.

Then again, with or without Stidham, the Broncos defense faces off against a Patriots offense that has had its challenges in two playoff victories. While second-year quarterback Drake Maye emerged as an MVP candidate after leading the NFL with a 113.5 passer rating and 72% completion rate, the flow has been much less impressive during the playoffs.

In the two games, Maye committed five turnovers – three lost fumbles and two interceptions – and was sacked 10 times. He also fumbled three other times, with New England recovering the football. Including the regular season and postseason, Maye has had an NFL-high 14 fumbles.

Maybe it’s an opportunistic trend for the Broncos. It’s a given that turnovers and sacks represent key barometers that could determine whether Denver’s defense pushes it to a berth in Super Bowl 60.

Last weekend, for as much as the Broncos wreaked havoc on Allen, collecting three sacks and forcing the reigning NFL MVP into four turnovers, there was also a sense that they let him off the hook a few times as he extended plays by scrambling out of trouble.

I know he got away from me three times,” linebacker Jonathan Cooper grumbled from his locker afterward.

Good, there’s another week to make amends. While Allen led NFL quarterbacks during the regular season with 579 yards, Maye ranked fourth in that category with 450, demonstrating his own knack for extending plays with his legs. Allen was quite the warm-up act for trying to contain Maye.

Every week, we correct and we look forward to making fast improvements,” Joseph said during a Thursday media session. “So, that’s the same way we feel this week. It’s no different. We watched the tape and it wasn’t good in certain spots. We’re going to fix that and move forward and keep chasing that perfect game.”

One thing that probably needs little fixing: Bonitto, flying off the edge. The weakside linebacker registered a team-high 14 ½ sacks during the regular season, bolstered by perhaps the NFL’s fastest accelerations off the snap.

Last weekend, Bonitto forced two fumbles, including his strip-sack of Allen that led to a field goal to open the second half. His matchup against rookie left tackle Will Campbell, the first-round pick, could be pivotal.

Joseph maintains that Bonitto, a fourth-year pro, has raised his game by finishing better.

In other words, he is attacking the football as directed.

‘That’s changed his game,” Joseph said. “He’s always been a guy who can win. My first year with him here (in 2023), we would win and then jump and simply miss the football. Now he’s finishing better. We want the ball and the ball’s the game. Last week, it proved that.”

They want the ball. See, it begins in the mind. Bonitto will vouch for that.

‘That just goes to the point Coach VJ and Sean (Payton) these last couple of weeks have been making, (putting) such an emphasis on getting the ball.

‘VJ kind of broke it down easily. He’s like, ‘You know if you get the ball, you can still get a sack?’ We’ve been working on it.”

And it could make the difference in whether the Broncos will head to Santa Clara. After all, defense wins championships. And to win the lottery, you’ve got to buy a ticket.

Contact Jarrett Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on X: @JarrettBell

Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder wanted by the FBI on murder and money laundering charges in connection to alleged drug trafficking, was in U.S. custody on Jan. 23 after being captured in Mexico, federal officials said.

Wedding, a 44-year-old Canadian national, was taken into custody in Mexico City by law enforcement the evening of Jan. 22, FBI Director Kash Patel said during a news conference in Ontario, California.

Wedding is the leader of a transnational drug enterprise, Patel said, and is responsible for the ‘murder of innocent civilians.’

“He’s the modern-day El Chapo. He’s the modern-day Pablo Escobar,” Patel said.

Officials did not release details about the circumstances under which Wedding was captured, citing the continued investigation. Patel commended Mexican authorities for their assistance in the case.

Ryan Wedding to appear in court next week

Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said Wedding will remain in custody and is expected to appear in court on Jan. 26.

It was not immediately known whether Wedding had obtained legal counsel.

‘Ryan Wedding tormented several people and families, and they will never be the same,’ Davis said, alleging Wedding’s organization is responsible for importing 60 metric tons of cocaine to the U.S. and Canada from Mexico each year.

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell, who also spoke at the press conference, said Wedding’s alleged drug trafficking operation used Los Angeles as a base of distribution.

Wedding accused of cocaine distribution, collaboration with Mexican cartel

In November, federal authorities unsealed an indictment against Wedding, charging him with witness intimidation, murder and money laundering.

At the time, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi called Wedding ‘the largest distributor of cocaine in Canada.’

He is also allegedly involved in selling other illegal drugs including fentanyl while collaborating with the Mexico-based Sinaloa Cartel, who ‘is closely protecting him,’ Bondi said.

Wedding is also accused of ordering the killing a federal witness, who was gunned down in Medellin, Colombia, in 2025 before he could testify against Wedding.

Davis said 36 people have been arrested in connection to the federal case.

A $15 million reward had been offered by the FBI for information leading to his capture and arrest. Patel would not disclose details regarding whether anyone would receive the reward money.

Patel said Wedding is the sixth fugitive from the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted list captured within a year, “a record historic achievement.”

When did Ryan Wedding compete in the Olympics?

Wedding represented Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

He competed in the men’s parallel giant slalom snowboarding event, where he finished in 24th place.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund