Author: Kalyn Kahler

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INDIANAPOLIS — Grey Zabel hesitated. The North Dakota State tackle didn’t know if he should answer the question posed by a reporter. The two-time FCS national champion played five seasons for the Bison, and was one of seven FCS players invited to the NFL combine this year, the smallest number of small school prospects, defined as players who most recently played below the Division I FBS level, in a decade. Zabel said he had a few offers from bigger programs to enter the transfer portal.

How much money did you leave on the table by not entering

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NEW ORLEANS, La. — When a coach realizes his quarterback could be the greatest of all time, it should be a feeling of pure joy, right?

Not in the case of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes.

“It makes it so much more stressful,” Chiefs passing game coordinator Joe Bleymaier told ESPN on Wednesday of Super Bowl week. “You feel the burden as a coach and as you’re putting a game plan together to not waste his abilities. To not go through a season where you don’t give him the opportunity. To not screw it up as the

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NEW ORLEANS — Two officials on the crew who will be presiding over Super Bowl LIX are in their third season of NFL officiating, which two former league heads of officiating said is a notable difference from the custom of prioritizing experience for the Super Bowl. In the past, NFL officials have needed five or more years of officiating experience in the league to qualify for Super Bowl consideration.

The league’s officiating department restructured this past offseason and hired former umpire Ramon George as vice president of officiating training and development, succeeding Walt Anderson in the role.

George told ESPN

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NEW ORLEANS — In light of President Donald Trump’s executive order to roll back DEI policies, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell faced multiple questions Monday about the league’s intentions for equitable hiring.

During his state of the league address, Goodell doubled down on the NFL’s commitment to inclusive hiring practices, such as the Rooney Rule, which the league created in 2003 and requires clubs to interview minority or female candidates for open head coach, general manager, coordinator, quarterbacks coach, and senior level positions.

“We got into diversity efforts because we felt it was the right thing for the National Football League, and we’re

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NEW ORLEANS — NFL commissioner Roger Goodell did his best to shut down the popular notion that NFL officials are partial toward the Kansas City Chiefs, calling it a “ridiculous theory.”

“This sort of reminds me a little bit of the script,” he said during his state of the league address Monday. “That I write a script, and I have the script for the entire season … I think it reflects a lot of the fans’ passion, and I think it also is a reminder for us how important officiating is. And I think the men and

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