The Baltimore Ravens signed safety Chuck Clark to a three-year contract extension Monday, the team announced.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but Clark’s extension is worth $15.3 million, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. It now ties Clark, who had been scheduled to enter the final season of his rookie contract in 2020, to the Ravens for the next four years at $16 million.
The 24-year-old Clark, who was drafted by Baltimore in the sixth round (186th overall) in 2017, moved into the starting lineup in Week 6 in 2019 and had the best season of his career, finishing with an interception, 2 forced fumbles, a sack, 9 passes defensed and 68 tackles.
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Clark’s extension increases the likelihood of Baltimore cutting Tony Jefferson, whose season-ending knee injury opened up that starting spot for Clark. The Ravens can create $7 million in cap space by releasing Jefferson.
“Chuck is a great story about hard work, patience, preparation and passion,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said in a story on the team’s website announcing the deal.
“He waited for his chance and seized the opportunity. Chuck’s a good football player, a fine teammate and a respected leader. He’s the type of player we want on our defense for a long time. Congrats to Chuck and his family.”
DeCosta said when he took over as general manager last year that he wanted to retain his players before they reached free agency.
ESPN’s Jamison Hensley contributed to this report.
ASHBURN, Va. — The Washington Redskins are working to make Jennifer King the first African American female full-time assistant coach in the NFL after meeting with her late last month, multiple sources confirmed to ESPN.
King would join the staff as an offensive assistant, a source told ESPN’s David Newton.
Redskins coach Ron Rivera hired King as a wide receivers coaching intern for the Carolina Panthers the past two summers. She also was an offensive assistant with Dartmouth College this past fall.
The Athletic first reported that the Redskins are working to hire King.
Multiple sources said she met with members of the organization before the Super Bowl. The Redskins hired Rivera in January.
King previously coached the Johnson & Wales University women’s basketball team, guiding it to a Division II championship in 2018. She also played for the New York Sharks in the Women’s Football Alliance and served as an assistant receivers coach for the Arizona Hotshots in the Alliance of American Football.
King first met Rivera in 2016 at an NFL Women’s Careers in Football Forum. Rivera told ESPN in 2018 that he could envision a day when a woman becomes a coordinator or even a head coach.
“Part of it, it’s all about the fan base,” Rivera told ESPN at the time. “It’s also knowing the moms out there that understand the game. It’s important because they really do control as to whether their kids are going to play. This is something that has to be developed.
“It helps us in a lot of ways. It also shows everybody deserves an opportunity.”
Jennifer King worked as a wide receivers coaching intern for the Carolina Panthers over the past two summers. AP Photo/Chuck Burton
Last year at a Women’s Careers in Football Forum, Rivera said that female coaches were “an untapped source. There’s a lot of forward thinkers in this room. We’re in a production-based business. It’s all about winning, and we’ve got to create that opportunity to win. It doesn’t matter who you are — if you bring something special to the table and help us, we most certainly want you.”
During her time in the AAF, King helped coach former Redskins receiver Rashad Ross, who is now playing for the DC Defenders of the XFL.
“[King’s] knowledge of the game was impressive,” Ross told ESPN last year. “It’s a double standard when it comes to sports with females and men.”
Ross said he felt King could relate to the players because of her own playing days and her coaching ability.
“She’s been through what we’ve been through,” he said. “It’s different learning by the book and actually playing and actually going through it — understanding how players feel when they’re hurting and not hurting, when they’re frustrated.
“When things weren’t going right, she was good at keeping my head in the game and understanding it.”
FRISCO, Texas — For much of the past few weeks, Mike McCarthy’s coaching staff has been in the get-to-know-you stage, introducing ideas on both sides of the ball that will ultimately define what the Dallas Cowboys will look like in 2020.
“Coach McCarthy had a motto going back to Green Bay: Conflict is good,” linebackers coach Scott McCurley said. “You’re going to have different people with different people and that’s great. But you get your opinion put out there, you work through it, and at the end of the day, we’re going to find a solution that, hey, it may not be the best for everybody, but that’s what we bought into and we’re going forward.”
McCarthy’s staff is made up from those with ties to his Packers days, such as McCurley, offensive line coach Joe Philbin, assistant head coach Rob Davis, defensive backs coach Al Harris, assistant offensive line coach Jeff Blasko and coaching assistant Scott Tolzien. McCarthy was Mike Nolan’s offensive coordinator when Nolan was head coach in San Francisco. McCarthy has Pittsburgh ties (the city and school) with defensive line coach Jim Tomsula and running backs coach Skip Peete.
And he has coaches with no direct ties to him, such as Jason Garrett holdovers Kellen Moore, Doug Nussmeier, Leon Lett and Markus Paul.
Here is a look at the staff:
Head coach Mike McCarthy: He went to the playoffs in nine of 13 seasons in Green Bay and won a Super Bowl. Having that résumé made him the most attractive coach to Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones. He has a 125-77-2 record and went to the NFC Championship Game four times before winning Super Bowl XLV at AT&T Stadium.
The Cowboys led the NFL in yards last season under offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. Tim Heitman/USA Today Sports
Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore: In his first season as a playcaller, the Cowboys were No. 1 in yards and No. 6 in points per game in 2019. McCarthy is keeping Moore as the playcaller, and most of the offense will remain intact.
Defensive coordinator Mike Nolan: He has been in the NFL since the 1980s and can pull from a number of different schemes that will give the Cowboys a much more varied defense than they have had since 2013. He spent the past three years as linebackers coach with the New Orleans Saints.
Special teams coordinator John Fassel: One of the more imaginative special teams coaches around, he has an opportunity to turn around a group that ranked near the bottom in 2019.
Special teams assistant Matt Daniels: He was with Fassel the past two seasons with the Rams and played for Fassel as well.
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Assistant head coach Rob Davis: He does not have an on-field coaching role but will be McCarthy’s right-hand man. He was the Packers’ long-snapper for 11 seasons before becoming the director of player development.
Offensive line coach Joe Philbin: He served as McCarthy’s line coach and offensive coordinator for a time with the Packers before becoming the Miami Dolphins head coach. He inherits one of the strongest groups in the NFL with three Pro Bowlers.
Offensive line assistant Jeff Blasko: He spent last season working in Cleveland under James Campen, who was McCarthy’s line coach after Philbin.
Receivers coach Adam Henry: He spent last season with Cleveland and has coached Odell Beckham Jr. in three different spots. He is viewed as a no-nonsense coach who might not be a yeller but effectively gets his points across.
Tight ends coach Lunda Wells: If tight end Jason Witten does not re-sign, then Wells will have a young group to work with. He helped develop Evan Engram with the New York Giants. He spent time with the Cowboys in training camp as an offensive line assistant in 2010.
Running backs coach Skip Peete: He is back for his second tenure with the Cowboys, having helped develop Todd Gurley with the Rams. He worked with Marion Barber, Felix Jones and DeMarco Murray in his first run with the Cowboys. He will make sure RB Ezekiel Elliott pays attention to the fundamentals, like his predecessor Gary Brown did.
Quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier: He spent 2018-19 coaching the Cowboys’ tight ends, but he played quarterback in the NFL and was a coordinator at spots such as Alabama, Michigan and Florida. He is a stickler for doing things the right way, and the tight ends improved under him. He has a good rapport with Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.
Defensive line coach Jim Tomsula: He was a head coach in San Francisco and spent the past three seasons in Washington in a 3-4 scheme. Players like playing for Tomsula, who is viewed as tough but fair.
Assistant defensive line coach Leon Lett: He has worked under Rob Ryan and Rod Marinelli and understands different techniques and schemes. His NFL playing days help him relate to the players, and he has worked well with guys such as DeMarcus Lawrence the past few years.
Linebackers coach Scott McCurley: He spent last season with McCarthy in Green Bay studying the league, passing up an opportunity for an analyst job at LSU. He coached inside and outside linebackers with the Packers.
Senior defensive assistant George Edwards: Like Peete, he is back for his second run with the Cowboys. He spent the past six seasons as Minnesota’s defensive coordinator under Mike Zimmer. His role is somewhat undefined, but he is expected to work with linebackers as well as the sub packages.
Defensive backs coach Maurice Linguist: He comes from Texas A&M and can help with so much of the offensive game trickling up from the college level. A native of Mesquite, Texas, Linguist will work with the safeties and slot players.
Defensive backs coach Al Harris: He played under McCarthy for five years in Green Bay. From 2013 through 2018, he was with the Kansas City Chiefs as an assistant. With 21 career interceptions, the hope is he can help a secondary that has struggled taking the ball away.
Coaching assistant Scott Tolzien: He spent three seasons as a backup to quarterback Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay when McCarthy was coach.
The XFL launches Saturday and will showcase a heavy emphasis on sports betting. In fact, some of the new rules were built with the engagement of the sports betting fan in mind, and wagering will be front and center during the games.
“For a lot of our fans, free-to-play gaming, fantasy and legal sports betting have become [as] essential to the football experience as the helmet, ball and jersey,” XFL president Jeffrey Pollack said.
Let’s take a deeper look at the role of sports betting in the upcoming XFL season.
Where can you bet the XFL?
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All major sportsbooks, including Caesars Sportsbook, will have lines up for every game during the XFL season. Week 1 lines have been posted since last week and feature the DC Defenders (-8 vs. Seattle Dragons), Houston Roughnecks (-6 vs. Los Angeles Wildcats), Tampa Bay Vipers (-2.5 at New York Guardians) and Dallas Renegades (-9.5 vs. St. Louis BattleHawks) as favorites.
The following states have authorized XFL betting markets ahead of the inaugural season: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Rhode Island, Iowa and Nevada. More states may allow it as the season gets underway. Notably, many states and sportsbooks did not begin offering lines on last spring’s Alliance of American Football (AAF) season until after Week 1.
What can you bet on?
Point spreads, odds to win the championship and season win totals, just like in the NFL, are up at most sportsbooks. In addition, totals on individual games will be offered on a weekly basis, and the plan is to offer player props once the season gets underway.
How will betting on the XFL differ from NFL betting?
Betting limits will vary from book to book but will be lower than the limits for a typical NFL game. Bettors should expect lines to move quickly and significantly as oddsmakers look to gauge the new rules and the betting patterns.
Glad you asked. In the XFL, you can elect to go for one point (a play run from the 2-yard line), two points (from the 5) or three points (from the 10) after each touchdown. This will make the standard key betting numbers of 3 and 7 likely irrelevant and open up a whole new angle to betting.
In addition, overtime will consist of each team getting five one-play possessions to attempt to score from the 5-yard line and will continue until a team is mathematically eliminated. This means that if a game has a point spread of 6 or less, it will always be in play in the OT.
Is the XFL on top of things bettors want and need, like injury reports?
Yes, this is where things will differ from the AAF, which supplied very limited information. Through surveys, the XFL identified what fans wanted to be more engaged in games. According to league officials, the XFL’s injury reporting will closely replicate the NFL’s, using similar nomenclature in practice reports like “limited participation,” and will be updated throughout the week.
What else do I need to know about how the XFL will embrace sports betting?
ESPN and ABC plan to incorporate betting lines into their on-screen scoreboards and more freely discuss those lines during broadcasts. This is vastly different from the NFL, which does not allow on-screen graphics regarding sports betting or in-game mentions of it. Every XFL game in 2020 will be televised by ABC, ESPN, Fox or FS1. The full schedule can be found
