Two NFL franchises hired new head coaches on Thursday, as the Cleveland Browns named Pat Shurmur as their new head coach, and John Fox, let go by the Carolina Panthers after their disappointing season, was tabbed as the head coach charged with reviving Denver’s fortunes.
Shurmur’s hiring came 10 days after sacking Eric Mangini in the wake of the Browns’ 11-loss season.
The Browns ended their search for a fifth coach since 1999 with the announcement that they had tabbed Shurmur, who was the offensive coordinator in St Louis the past two seasons.
Browns president Mike Holmgren opted to go with the 45-year-old Shurmur, even though he has no prior head coaching experience.
Not coincidentally, Holmgren’s defensive coordinator when he was head coach in Green Bay was Shurmur’s late uncle Fritz.
And Holmgren himself was a quarterback’s coach and offensive coordinator before he got the Packers’ head coaching job in 1992.
“Pat is a bright, young man who grew up in football and around the coaching profession,” Holmgren said. “I came away from our interview very impressed with him as a person, his extensive knowledge of the game and his track record of success as an assistant coach in this league.
It could be a tough entry to the head coaching ranks for Shurmur. The perennially under-achieving Browns have had nine seasons with double-digit defeats in 13 years.
Shurmur showed in St Louis that he can guide a young quarterback as he oversaw the development of top draft pick Sam Bradford.
Under Shurmur, Bradford set rookie records for completions and attempts. He also led St Louis to a 7-9 record — a year after they were 1-15.
The Browns hope Shurmur will have similar success with their young quarterback Colt McCoy.
“I am looking forward to this challenge and can’t wait to get started in helping to build the Browns back to one of the elite teams in the NFL,” Shurmur said.
Meanwhile, in Denver, Fox will replace Josh McDaniels, who was sacked on Dec. 6 amid the Broncos’ worst slide in four decades and an embarrassing videotaping scandal.
Fox’s contract wasn’t renewed by the Panthers after their league-worst 2-14 season.
Fox, 55, built a 78-74 record — including playoffs — in nine seasons in Carolina.
The Panthers were coming off a 1-15 season when he took over in 2002 and led them to a 7-9 mark in his first year before guiding them to the Super Bowl in his second season.
Fox arrived in Denver on Wednesday to meet with new Broncos chief football executive John Elway.
The Broncos are coming off a franchise-worst 4-12 season.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and