Le Journal

I do not know about the rest of you, but finding a rooting interest among the final four teams that are still remaining, is difficult at best for me. Usually, once the Colts are out of it, my focus turns to who I am rooting against. This is often determined by who my friend’s teams are. I want them to lose, because misery loves company. I can only imagine how much shade I would have had thrown my way, had the Bears beat us in 2006. So, aside from friends who root for bottom feeders who are still looking for a title, I want them all to lose. Rooting against New England is conditioned, so I will have no problem rooting against them. I have to say that I despise this iteration of the team far less than past teams, but I will still see the helmet and want them to lose. The bad part of it is, I really do not want to root for the Broncos either. I really have no issue with them, but if they win, that means countless interviews with Peyton, where he gushes over his former team. If you haven’t guessed, I want him all to ourselves and any love he shows to Denver, feels like a gut shot. Over on the NFC side, I see two teams that I do not have much against. You don’t run into many Rams or Seahawks fan in Colts Country, or my new location in SE N. Carolina. So, I don’t have to worry about anyone strutting or talking junk to make a bad season worse. From a Colts standpoint, three of the four teams were on our schedule and represent three of our better performances. You all know how they turned out, but the simple fact is that the Colts could have emerged 3 – 0, or 0 -3 for that matter, because all three games were in our grasp. I suppose that seeing Darnold win with the “retread” label, might be cause for some optimism for us and D. Jones next year? A first year coach winning might be cool as well. I’m still not a fan of theirs, since they had the Pats beat, only to lose and thus stole an opportunity for us to see Brady sad when it was all said and done. Media day would not be the same without Beast Mode telling everyone that he was only there to avoid a fine. Now that he is a commercial celebrity, it would be funny to see him asking questions. As for the Rams, I go to McVay as reason to dislike that team. He comes off as pretty arrogant, which I do not like from an opponent. I think I would learn to love it in massive hurry, if he was on our sidelines. He’s won enough to be a little cocky, but not so much that I am tired of seeing his face in the post season. I think Stafford is a HOFer anyway, but another Lombardi would cement it. There are no former Colts of note, to root for or against. The results do not affect our draft status. Aside from a natural inclination to root against the Pats, I have no dog in the fight. I think I will be rooting for the Broncos, but I may find myself switching mid stream. How can I like Vrabel better than Payton? I’m figuring that the winner in the NFC will be the favorite in the big game, but again, do I really care which one? Of course I will be watching and I know that most of you will as well, so give me your reason for aligning with any of the four remaining teams. Maybe I’ll see something I like and join you.

16 different Longhorns received national recognition at some point during the 2025 regular season.

It's clear that On3 is pretty high on Longhorns DE Colin Simmons heading into 2026, and opposing fans hate it.

The Arizona Cardinals were one of 10 NFL franchises that were without a head coach after the 2025 season. The first step after their head coach was fired, was to compile a ledger of qualified candidates. Then, whittle that down to a short list. Next, submit requests to interview to other clubs that have these men employed. For guys who weren’t in football this past year, simply call their agent. Then schedule an interview. In today’s NFL, that is usually done virtually instead of flying in guys to meet. Not that candidates aren’t brought in. They are. This means the prospect can look over the facilities, offices, tour the home stadium, meet front office personnel, and then share a meal or two before flying back home.   RELATED: TITANS HIRE SALEH AS HEAD COACH The in-house visit is a key ingredient to the interview. The Cardinals brass gets to know the man personally whom they sometimes only got to know each other at the Combine, Senior Bowl, and other off-season events. The meal is the bonding time. And the coach gets to see what he is dealing with as far as facilities, weight room, training rooms, and meet scouts and his prospective future bosses. Several NFL teams have already hired their next head coach. As of Thursday, the number of vacancies has dwindled down to five teams: Cleveland, Arizona, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Las Vegas. Three teams are located in cold-weather cities, while both Vegas and Arizona have domed stadiums. The Cardinals have been in contact with potential coaches. They have conducted interviews. They have also requested second interviews from several prospects and, in addition, have been turned down with a “no, thank you.” John Harbaugh never accepted a phone call to interview. Green Bay Packers DC Jeff Hafley decided to take the Miami Dolphins position before doing his second interview. San Fran DC Robert Saleh had a second interview scheduled with Arizona, then skipped the meeting and accepted the job at Tennessee instead of weighing all his options. After being fired, Sean McDermott took the express lane to the front line of every vacancy, including Arizona, but word is he isn’t interested. The Athletic surveyed a panel of coaches and top team executives to rank the openings.Here’s what they said:https://t.co/1hTGvgwxbo— The Athletic NFL (@TheAthleticNFL) January 21, 2026 The Athletic had a poll recently where they asked NFL play-callers and high-up execs to rank the league’s 10 head coach openings before any club had filled their opening. The poll had the Cardinals ranked #10. That’s out of 10. Yahoo! Sports ranked the five remaining openings and released their findings on Thursday. Arizona came in at #5. They categorized the Cardinals’ position as “a dead-end job for many years, and there’s not much reason to believe that will change soon.” Why? There are only 32 NFL head coaching jobs. And the Cardinals have one of them wide open for the right candidate. Why aren’t these coaches running in droves to try to become the next head coach in the desert? Here are three reasons. —————————————————————————————————————————————- They haven’t spent big money on coaches The Cardinals are worth $5.5 billion, up 28% since 2024. And it’s not like the franchise has done anything new to increase its value. It just exists and gains value annually. In 2024, Arizona generated $571 million in revenue, according to Forbes. That’s in one year. This past season, the Cardinals had an operating income of $62 million and paid players $361 million. The franchise made another $571 million. That is largely due to the profit-sharing the league handles with its member franchises. Sponsors such as Oakley generate profits, and then split 32 directions. Plus, the TV revenue is huge. And yet, with making that much money, Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill prefers not to pay his head coach top-tier money. Jonathan Gannon was at the bottom level of coaching salaries during his three seasons at approximately $5…

Measurables 6‘0 Height 204 lb. Weight 2025 Stats 91 Targets 69 Receptions 937 Receiving Yards (13.6 Yards Per Reception) 13 Receiving Touchdowns 494 Yards After Catch (7.2 YAC per Reception) 2.55 Yards per Route Ran 9.7 Average Depth of Target 3 Drops (4.2% Drop Rate) 7 Contested Catches (50% Contested Catch Rate) 27 Missed Tackles Forced 143.2 Passer Rating when Targeted 3 Carries 74 Rushing Yards (24.7 Yards Per Carry) 1 Rushing TD 78 Yards After Contact (26 YAC per Carry) 3 Missed Tackles Forced One of my favorite receivers in the entire Draft Omar Cooper Jr! He’s a pro’s pro and will make an immediate impact on an NFL roster as a rookie. 🤓🏈 pic.twitter.com/iER7brjNFx— DraftNerd (@TALKINGBALL1) January 17, 2026 Awards/Accolades National Champion (2025) Second Team All BIG10 (2025) Strengths Highly elusive and physical Runner with the ball, had a 39.1% Missed Tackle Rate per Catch which leads the 2026 Draft Class by a wide margin. Runs like an RB with balance and lowers the shoulder to deliver punishment at contact. Reliable hands within catch radius that he extends to his fullest. Only 5 Drops in his entire collegiate career and 54.3% Contested Catch rate in his 3 years at Indiana. Made some insanely acrobatic and tough catches in contested situations and has stellar body control to stay inbounds. OMAR COOPER JR CATCH OF THE YEAR ALMOST KILLS GUS JOHNSON pic.twitter.com/kUE4czfzN1— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) November 8, 2025 Versatile in role and alignment. Was a outside deep threat Wide Receiver from 2023-2024 with 15.6 Average Depth of Target but low volume before shifting to slot with 9.7 ADOT in 2025 for a breakout year. Sudden cuts at top of routes, able to get quick separation horizontally. Changes up his tempo and speed in route running to fool defenders. Won a lot of digs, slants, flats, quick outs, crossers in short to intermediate depths. Smart player, shows a keen awareness of where defenders are around him and their angles with the ball in his hands, as well as knows how to read where the soft points of zone are. Able to improvise in scramble situations to create separation when plays break down as well as get creative in ways to elude tacklers. Fearless and intense run blocker, does well on blocking Corners or safeties. Has some snaps lined up at Tight End too for rare occasions to try to block Linebackers. How can you not love football (me after watching 1 minute of Omar Cooper Jr. highlights) pic.twitter.com/dVtegIWi2P— I Don’t Watch Film (Football Analytics) (@NoFilm_Analysis) January 16, 2026 Weaknesses Not enough long speed to threaten vertically to get separation on Corners. Contested targets happened more often on deeper routes, so while he can still be productive in those situations the lack of separation deep makes it harder. Route tree needs more variety, got a lot of production off of screens (25 of his 91 targets) and horizontal short to intermediate routes. Needs more routes coming back to the QB and improve vertical separation. Could get even more separation if he lowers his hips to explode out of breaks. Maximizes his available catch radius, but is still average height and length so it won’t be as large as some other pros. High ankle sprain in 2023 and lower body injury in December 2025 that he played through, has since recovered but will be something to monitor on medical checkups at the Combine. Omar Cooper Jr., the wideout who made the spectacular leaping, contorting grab in the last second to win the Penn State game, has a particularly powerful story of why he didn’t leave Indiana.Reporting with @ScottDochterman: https://t.co/mh5KTpIHh1 pic.twitter.com/xWbb3pOij9— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) January 22, 2026 Draft Projection Round 2 Grade In my initial big board Cooper was 73rd Overall with a Round 3 grade, but his playoff tape since was very impressive. He wasn’t targeted as often with just 15 looks over the Hoosiers championship run, but he secured 11 of…