In a surprising move that came seemingly out of nowhere, ESPN reportedly has cut ties with NFL analyst Ryan Clark.
The news comes courtesy of Andrew Marchand of The Athletic.
Clark, who began appearing on ESPN while still playing in the NFL, became a full-time ESPN personality following his retirement from football after the 2014 season. He had signed his current contract in February 2024.
As Marchand explains it, Clark was expected “to be a large part” of ESPN’s Super Bowl LXI coverage (ESPN is televising the game, if you haven’t heard it 1,000 times). Instead, Clark is among the first wave of ESPN layoffs that are expected to happen later this week.
Clark also hosts The Pivot podcast and Inside The NFL, which moved to The CW in 2023 and, as of last year, became an original series on Twitter.
The move comes at a time when ESPN has been extending plenty of on-air contracts for both ESPN and NFL Network employees. And at a time when ESPN is reportedly preparing to bump former NFL player Pat McAfee’s compensation north of $60 million annually.
The Broncos are expected to re-hire outside linebackers coach Michael Wilhoite as a member of the staff, Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reports.
The team fired Wilhoite in March 2025 after his arrest on suspicion of second-degree assault of a police officer, misdemeanor obstruction of a police officer and misdemeanor criminal mischief. But all charges were dismissed on June 8, 2026.
Wilhoite still faces a civil lawsuit, filed by Denver police officer Jesus Galvan Chavez, who Wilhoite allegedly punched in the face at a drop-off traffic zone at Denver International Airport on Feb. 23, 2025.
Wilhoite joined the team’s staff as outside linebackers coach in 2023 after the Chargers fired him.
If/when someone seriously challenges Hall of Fame head coach Don Shula’s all-time win record, the magic number shouldn’t be 347.
It should be 349.
Dave Hyde recently explained that Shula doesn’t get credit for a pair of victories in the Playoff Bowl, a third-place game the NFL staged in the 1960s. Shula won it twice with the Colts, capping the 1965 and 1966 seasons.
In 1965, Shula’s Colts beat the Cowboys. The next year, Shula’s Colts beat the Eagles.
“It’s silly to say it’s a vacation deal,” Shula said after the 1966 game, per Hyde. “You couldn’t ask for more desire or effort, and that goes for both teams.”
The Playoff Bowl eventually yielded to the Pro Bowl. But Shula’s victories were wins that happened in the NFL postseason. They should count as postseason wins.
By way of example, Kylian Mbappé’s two goals in Saturday’s World Cup third-place game count toward his 2026 World Cup total and all-time World Cup total, giving him both the Golden Boot for the most goals in the latest tournament and the all-time World Cup goal record, with one more than Lionel Messi.
Without those two goals in a “meaningless” game, Messi would have won the Golden Boot — and Messi would hold the record for the most World Cup goals.
It doesn’t matter that the NFL would never again have a third-place game. It once did. And it was a playoff game, at a time when the NFL staged far fewer playoff games than it now does. Those two wins from the 1965 and 1966 Playoff Bowl should be added to Shula’s record.
When news broke that former NFL running back Le’Veon Bell was arrested in Canton on a warrant from Michigan, there were no details as to the underlying reason for the move. Via Aaron Hughes of the Canton Repository, the arrest happened due to allegedly unpaid child support.
Bell’s lawyer, Thomas Shaffer, told Hughes that Bell’s support payments “inaccurately” reflect his NFL salary.
“Six months ago he cashed in an NFL pension to pay $50,000 in child support for that child,” Shaffer told Hughes. “His guidelines are still inaccurately being deemed based on his NFL salary and his professional boxing career. This is a revolving door because he pays a number that doesn’t reflect his true income. The issue will never end. The court needs to reflect his true income.”
That’s fine, but Bell’s NFL salary ended five years ago. He’s surely not the first person with child-support obligations who had a significant reduction in his income. Whatever the solution, it should have been solved long before Bell was arrested for not paying amounts based on his income from five years ago.
Former NFL running back Le’Veon Bell, who once seemed to be on track to have a bronze bust in Canton, is currently staying in town for a very different reason.
Via Aaron Hughes of the Canton Repository, Bell is currently being held in the Stark County, Ohio jail.
It’s being described as a “courtesy hold for another agency.” Citing court documents, Hughes explains that Bell was arrested on a warrant from Michigan. (It’s unclear why a warrant for his arrest was issued in Michigan.)
Bell had appeared on July 19 at the Belden Village Mall in Jackson Township. He was later arrested.
A second-round pick from Michigan State in 2013, Bell spent five years with the Steelers. He sat out the 2018 season in a franchise-tag dispute. He signed with the Jets in 2019.
Bell was released during the 2020 season and signed with the Chiefs. In 2021, his final NFL season, he played for the Ravens and the Buccaneers.
