Claudio Ranieri planned to remain at Leicester City forever after guiding the club to its first Premier League title.
Forever turned into nine months when Leicester’s owners opted to part ways with the manager Thursday, a decision that triggered an outpouring of support and sympathy for Ranieri.
Ranieri revealed the heartache associated with losing his job in a statement Friday. He also took the opportunity to reminisce about the fairy-tale season in which he played an instrumental role in leading Leicester to the summit of England’s top flight.
He wrote:
Yesterday my dream died.
After the euphoria of last season and being crowned Premier League Champions, all I dreamt of was staying at Leicester City, the club I love, for always.
Sadly this was not to be.
Related – Leicester vice chairman: ‘We will forever be grateful’ to Ranieri
Ranieri went on to thank his family, his agents, and two of his coaches who were also sacked Thursday, and praised the media for its coverage and reporting on the “greatest story in football.”
“Mostly I have to thank Leicester City Football Club,” he wrote. “The adventure was amazing and will live with me forever.”
Related: Leicester interim boss says players didn’t force Ranieri out
Ranieri reserved his largest measure of gratitude for Leicester City supporters:
You took me into your hearts from day one and loved me. I love you too. No one can ever take away what we together have achieved.
I hope you think about it and smile every day the way I always will. It was a time of wonderfulness and happiness that I will never forget. It’s been a pleasure and an honour to be a champion with all of you.
SAN DIEGO — George Stewart understands the importance of finding a game-changer in the return game.
Recently hired as special teams coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers, Stewart experienced first-hand how an electric return man can change the complexion of the game during his decade with the Minnesota Vikings. Speedsters Percy Harvin and Cordarrelle Patterson made many plays for Minnesota while he served as receivers coach there.
Isaiah Burse did some nice things as a kick returner last season for the Chargers, new special teams coordinator George Stewart noted, but Los Angeles needs more game-changing plays. Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire
The Chargers finished No. 27 in the NFL in punt return average and third-worst in the league in kick return average last season. The Chargers have not returned a kickoff or punt for a touchdown since 2012.
Stewart said he likes the skill set of pending unrestricted free agent Dexter McCluster as a punt returner, and pointed out that Isaiah Burse did some nice things as a kick returner last season for the Chargers.
“We have to develop that here,” Stewart said. “And that’s one thing we’re looking for going into the combine, going into the draft. Our biggest area [that we have to improve] is the return game, in terms of getting positive field position for [Philip] Rivers.
“Any time you get positive field position for your offense, you have a chance to be successful.”
Stewart said kicker Josh Lambo, while showing some inconsistency on field goals in his second season, has a strong leg and could be an asset moving forward. Lambo led the league in touchbacks with 67. However, he missed a 45-yard field goal at the end of the game in a 13-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns late in the season. Lambo also had a field goal and three extra points blocked, and was 0-for-3 from beyond 50 yards.
“You have to have an opportunity to rhythm up with your kicker,” Stewart said. “And what I mean by that is you have to be in the same flow and rhythm as them. Most kickers and punters are not your typical players, like your receivers or linebackers. They’re different, and you have to come at them differently. I’m not a psychology major, but there has to be some psychology with those guys.”
Stewart added that, like Lambo, punter Drew Kaser has a strong leg, exhibited by his 46.3 average per punt in 2016. However, Stewart said the rookie sixth-round selection out of Texas A&M showed fatigue as the season wore on.
“That’s something we will address in terms of his conditioning to obviously take some kicks off of him,” Stewart said. “I’m a quality kick guy instead of a quantity kick guy, in terms of a coach. He will have some quality kicks during the week. He will have some rest. But also he will be in that weight room getting his core squared away.”
Both Lambo and Kaser struggled with confidence last season. Stewart didn’t rule out adding competition at both positions in training camp, saying that’s something he has to discuss with head coach Anthony Lynn and the personnel department.
“I always say it’s like going back home to mama,” Stewart said about dealing with confidence issues. “We’ve all had mothers, and when you get in trouble, you don’t look for dad, you look for mom. And so that means going back to fundamentals and what was the situation that got you successful.
“So if you’re a field goal kicker, you start kicking field goals from 10 to 14 yards, where he can consistently see the ball go through the uprights. Then you start to back him up. The more success he has, the better he becomes.”
Stewart served as the special teams coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1989 to 1991, then took over special teams for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1991 to 1995 and served in that role for the 49ers from 1996 to 1998.
The Chargers finished last in Gosselin’s rankings for a second straight season in 2016.
“I’ve always taken over a team that’s been last,” Stewart said. “And obviously you get hired because it wasn’t good before. I’m not saying the guys in front of me did a bad job. It’s just the luck of the draw. We’ve been very fortunate to be a top-five team every place I’ve been, and hopefully with time, patience and with players, [that happens here].”
With one year left on Sam Bradford’s contract, should the Minnesota Vikings feel a sense of urgency to address the quarterback’s status, or should they make him prove he’s worth a long-term deal? Our Twitter question of the week:
#VikingsMail Is there really a lot of steam around extending Bradford? If so, why? Why not make him prove it?
— Tom Roller (@TommyRoller) February 22, 2017
@GoesslingESPN: Good morning, everyone. We’ll spend some time today discussing one of the big issues the Vikings are going to face this offseason: What to do about the future of Bradford, their 29-year-old quarterback who posted the best numbers of his career after arriving in a Sept. 3 trade.
Bradford is to make $18 million in 2017, after hitting a playing time-related $1 million escalator in his contract. He’s due a $4 million roster bonus on the fifth day of the league year, but he obviously isn’t going anywhere; the Vikings don’t know what Teddy Bridgewater’s future holds, and Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman have talked about how remarkable it was for Bradford to put up the numbers he did, given how quickly he had to get acclimated to the Vikings’ offense.
“I think he’s just right now in the prime of his career,” Spielman said. “I can tell you that looking back on that trade with all the other options, that I would do that over in a mini-second to get a Sam Bradford on our football team with the circumstance that we were dealing with, because I think that he’s [got] a chance to be a pretty good player and quarterback in this league.”
Sam Bradford threw for 3,877 yards and 20 touchdowns last season for Minnesota. Bruce Kluckhohn/USA TODAY Sports
That sounds to me like a quarterback the Vikings plan to have around for the foreseeable future — though it should be noted that when Spielman was asked about a long-term extension for Bradford on Thursday, he said, “Everything’s in flux right now. I’ll just leave it at that.”
The Vikings certainly could wait until sometime during the season, or after the 2017 season, to get a deal done with Bradford. Part of the art of negotiations is, as it is in any business, managing relationships with clients (so to speak). If the Vikings wait to talk about an extension, they run the risk of irking Bradford and his agent, Tom Condon, who’s no stranger to deals with big-time quarterbacks. They still don’t know what the future holds for Bridgewater, as Spielman said on Thursday, and they already thought enough of Bradford — not just in the short term, but in the long term — to trade a first-round pick and a 2018 fourth-rounder for him in September. A trade like that already assigned a certain amount of value to Bradford; waiting to talk about a contract extension could then send mixed messages.
It’s certainly possible the Vikings could wait on a deal for Bradford; there are sensible arguments for gathering more evidence before making such a substantial commitment to a quarterback. If you’re looking for the argument for doing a deal this offseason, cost certainty and a sturdy relationship with Bradford are two of the main points for said argument.
ALAMEDA, Calif. — The Oakland Raiders are scheduled to have 13 unrestricted free agents this offseason after the team broke through with a 12-4 season and its first playoff appearance since 2002.
On offense: offensive lineman Menelik Watson, tight end Mychal Rivera, receiver Andre Holmes, quarterback Matt McGloin and running back Latavius Murray.
On defense: defensive back DJ Hayden, defensive tackle Stacy McGee, linebackers Malcolm Smith, Perry Riley Jr. and Daren Bates and safeties Nate Allen and Brynden Trawick.
And on special teams: long snapper Jon Condo.
Linebacker Perry Riley Jr. gave the Raiders veteran leadership after signing in midseason. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Why he should go: Yes, Riley settled things down for the Raiders defense, but it was still ranked No. 26 unit in the NFL. So is that a testament to Riley’s ability or a shot at how poor the defense played? That depends upon how you look at things. Riley had two passes defensed, but he did not have a sack or an interception while starting 11 regular-season games and the playoff loss at the Houston Texans. Riley fits the mold of a journeyman and he will be 29 with a lot of mileage on him come next season.
The quote: “I love this place. Like I said, the team, the fans, opened their arms for me and welcomed me with open arms. I loved it here, so if everything works out, perfect scenario, definitely I’d come back.” – Riley, on the prospect of returning to Oakland in 2017.
The thought: Riley, childhood friends with outside linebacker Bruce Irvin, was the best the Raiders had last season at middle linebacker. So unless they draft an upgrade who is ready to contribute immediately, sign one in free agency or acquire one in a trade, it makes sense to bring Riley back for another run.
