Month: January 2025

Oakland Athletics’ slugger Brent Rooker has agreed to a five-year, $60 million contract extension with the organization.  Sources told ESPN that Rooker’s deal includes a sixth-year vesting option worth $22 million; he was eligible to hit arbitration this offseason and could have became a free agent in 2028.

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal also reported that the deal includes a $10 million signing bonus and can be worth up to $92 million over six years if incentives are met. Rooker’s new deal is the largest contract extension in the A’s history in terms of average annual value ($12 million).

Rooker, 30, entered the league with the Minnesota Twins in the 2017 MLB Draft, who later traded Rooker to the San Diego Padres during the 2022 offseason before ge was traded again to the Kansas City Royals. He joined the Athletics off waivers and hit .293 with a career-high 39 home runs and 112 RBIs over 145 appearances last season. Through the first five years of his MLB career, Rooker hit .258 with 79 home runs.

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The Tennessee Titans announced on Tuesday that they have fired general manager Ran Carthon after two seasons, after finishing 3-14 this season and earning the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft, set for April 24 to 26 in Green Bay, Wis.

The Titans said Brian Callahan will continue as the head coach, and president of football operations Chad Brinker will lead the search for the franchise’s next general manager. Brinker said via the team’s website: “I think the general manager position is unique to their respective organizations. This particular job, what we’ll be looking for is someone who has spent their career as a scout, is a top-flight, top-level evaluator who has spent the majority of their career projecting college players to the National Football League, they’ve had a major hand in setting the draft board in preferably a consistent, winning organization, and you can see their fingerprints all over the roster.”

Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said in a statement: “I’ve loved the time I’ve spent with Ran. He’s a talented football mind, a great man, and friend to everyone along his path. It’s impossible to ignore that our football team hasn’t improved over the past two years. I am deeply disappointed in our poor win-loss record during this period, of course, but my decision also speaks to my concern about our long-term future should we stay the course. I love this team more than you can imagine. To our fans: We know this level of performance isn’t acceptable. We’re humbled by your support as we continue to work towards building the team you expect and deserve.”

Titans president and CEO Burke Nihill shared: “We just haven’t improved this football team for the last couple of years. We’ve won nine of the 34 games we’ve played over the past two seasons, and as much as the record was concerning to Amy as it was to all of our fans, her assessment was also that we’re not on course to get where we need to go moving forward. As difficult as these decisions are, she believed it was the right one.”

Carthon previously served as a scout and personnel executive for the Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers. He was hired as the franchise’s first Black general manager in 2023, following the firing of previous GM Jon Robinson midway through the season.  He was promoted to executive vice president in addition to his general manager title last year, and at the same time promoted Brinker to president of football operations. The Titans went 6-11 in Carthon’s first season with previous head coach Mike Vrabel at the helm, who was fired last January. Over the past two years, Tennessee has a 9-25 record.

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Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan announced Monday that they have fired coach Doug Pederson after three seasons with the organization. According to Khan, the team will retain general manager Trent Baalke (who is entering the final year of his contract.) The Jaguars will now be searching for their sixth head coach since Khan purchased the team in November 2011 and assumed control in 2012. (per ESPN.)

Khan said in a statement: “I had the difficult task this morning of informing Doug Pederson of my intention to hire a new head coach to lead the Jacksonville Jaguars,” Khan said. “Doug is an accomplished football man who will undoubtedly enjoy another chapter in his impressive NFL career, and I will be rooting for Doug and his wife Jeannie when that occasion arrives. As much as Doug and I both wish his experience here in Jacksonville would have ended better, I have an obligation first and foremost to serve the best interests of our team and especially our fans, who faithfully support our team and are overdue to be rewarded. In that spirit, the time to summon new leadership is now … I strongly believe it is possible next season to restore the winning environment we had here not long ago. I will collaborate with General Manager Trent Baalke and others, within and close to our organization, to hire a leader who shares my ambition and is ready to seize the extraordinary opportunity we will offer in Jacksonville.”

Pederson, 56, came to Jacksonville following a one-year hiatus after his five years stint helming the Philadelphia Eagles *where he took them to their first Super Bowl title in 2018). Over the last three seasons Pederson led the Jaguars to a 22-29 record, but in 2024-25 had a dismal 4-13 record and started the seasonwith four consecutive losses. The Jags later went on a five-game losing streak and were 2-10 through 13 weeks, ending the season with a 2-3 mark over their final five games. Jacksonville finished 24-25 third in the AFC South division standings, and will miss the playoffs for the 15th time in 17 years.

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The Cincinnati Bengals have fired defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, offensive line coach Frank Pollack, linebacker coach James Bettcher and defensive line coach Marion Hobby (per Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic).

Anarumo, who has served as Bengals defensive coordinator for the last six seasons, was fired on Monday. He went 9-8 during each of the last two seasons. The Bengals started the season with three consecutive losses, and allowed the eighth-most yards and points in the NFL in 2024-25. They allowed the second-most yards and 12th-most points the previous season.

Anarumo, 58, was the New York Giants’ defensive back coach in 2018. He spent six seasons on the Miami Dolphins staff from 2012 through 2017 and was the Dolphins’ interim defensive coordinator in 2015. Bettcher served as Bengals linebackers coach for the last three seasons, while Hobby and Pollack assumed their roles in 2021. The Bengals, who had the No. 9 offense — fueled by the top passing offense in the NFL — started the season with three consecutive losses.

Cincinnati ended the season on a five-game winning streak to register a winning record for the fourth-consecutive year. Under head coach Zac Taylor (whose contract runs through 2026) the Bengals are 46-52-1.

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