The Sportsletter - Coach Approach & Simulator Golf

BY JEFF YODER

JAN. 7, 2025 | SUBSCRIBE | WEB VIEW

Good Morning 👋

More NFL head coaching jobs are open, and they're not done yet. Today, we rank the five available positions in the NFL. Plus, Tiger Woods’ indoor golf simulator league takes center stage tonight, and the SEC is tightening its grasp on college basketball's top-10.

🏈 FCS National Championship

North Dakota State beat Montana State (35-32) last night to win their 10th FCS championship in college football in the past 14 seasons. QB Cam Miller scored 4 TDs (2 rushing, 2 passing) to lead NDSU. No other FCS program has more than six titles. Talk about dominant.

Letter Rip!

NFL

Ranking NFL Head Coaching Jobs

Photo: Elsa / Getty Images

NFL’s "Black Monday" Leaves 5 Open Head Coaching Positions in 2025 Cycle

We might not be done at five, but the initial dominoes have fallen. Black Monday struck two more NFL coaches from the ranks (now five total), but the rumor mill keeps spinning. Mike McCarthy (Cowboys) still has a job in Dallas, for now. Brian Daboll (Giants) appears safe in New York despite a declining record in three straight years. Shane Steichen (Colts) is hanging by a thread. Antonio Pierce (Raiders) is, too. Here’s what we do know about the victims of the 2025 coaching cycle:

The league saw three coaches get burned mid-season (Robert Salah, Matt Eberflus and Dennis Allen). Black Monday's two casualties in the past 36 hours included Jerod Mayo (Patriots) and Doug Pederson (Jaguars). Mayo became the latest one-and-done after just one season in New England. Pederson is unemployed after the Jags lost 13 games, including 10 (seriously, ten!) by a touchdown or less. With five vacancies to fill, let’s rank the opportunities:

Ranking NFL Head Coaching Jobs

1. Chicago Bears (5-12)

Caleb Williams and a lot of young stars make Chicago the top destination. The Bears haven’t been great in awhile, but expectations are high. Only problem? The NFC North.

2. New England Patriots (4-13)

The team with the most cap space in 2025 resides in Boston. There’s a lot to like about QB Drake Maye’s potential. Get the kid some weapons and get back to winning. Simple.

3. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-13)

One name: Trevor Lawrence. Nothing else about this job is appealing (maybe the weather?), but T-Law was once a No. 1 pick. An offensive guru should be attracted to this quarterback.

4. New York Jets (5-12)

Dynamite talent. Destructive organization. Are the Rex Ryan rumors real? Don’t expect Aaron Rodgers back in gang green, and don’t expect a coach to save this franchise.

5. New Orleans Saints (5-12)

Inflated contracts make New Orleans a black hole. The Saints haven’t been to the playoffs in four years, and their 2025 salary cap space ($-78M) ranks dead last. Roster nightmare.

Teams may have finished their season just two days ago, but they’re already making calls and poaching coaches. McCarthy has drawn interest from Chicago, and Lions OC Ben Johnson is the most coveted name on the market. To be continued…

CBS Sports: Bears Ask Cowboys to Interview Mike McCarthy

B/R: Matching Top NFL Head Coaching Candidates With 2025 Job Openings

SI: Lions’ OC Ben Johnson to Interview for 2 Head Coaching Jobs During Playoff Bye Week

GOLF

Now Loading: TGL Golf ⛳️

Image via TGLgolf.com

Everything You Need to Know About Tiger Woods’ Tech-Infused TGL That Starts Tonight (9:00 pm ET, ESPN)

Ready for this? Winter golf gets a bold new twist tonight when Tiger Woods’ high-tech, indoor golf simulator league launches its first major event. TGL (TMRW Golf League) is a nod to Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TMRW Sports. You’ve likely heard about the project in recent years, but launch day has finally arrived. It’s New York Golf Club vs. The Bay Golf Club (Tonight, 9:00 pm ET, ESPN). Here’s how it works:

⛳️ TGL Explained: Imagine simulator golf meets stadium atmosphere (like the photo above). The special SoFi Center was recently constructed in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and it combines a virtual course with a short-game complex. It’s designed to keep fans close to the action while players drive into a massive simulator screen before finishing on an adaptable green that changes shape to create hole-to-hole variations. The list of 24 PGA golfers will compete in teams of four. Each weekly event is 15 holes and approximately two hours long. The matches include two sessions — triples (9 holes, 3-on-3 alternate shot) and singles (6 holes, head-to-head). There are referees, shot clocks, timeouts, and all sorts of twists.

Still don’t get it? Rickie Fowler Explains (Video)

The Clubs (6 Teams, 4 Players Each)

Atlanta Drive GC: Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas, Billy Horschel & Lucas Glover
Boston Common Golf: Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley, Adam Scott & Hideki Matsuyama
Jupiter Links GC: Tiger Woods, Max Homa, Tom Kim, Kevin Kisner
Los Angeles Golf Club: Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose & Sahith Theegala
New York Golf Club: Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick & Cameron Young
The Bay Golf Club: Wyndham Clark, Shane Lowry, Ludvig Aberg, Min Woo Lee

It's team-based stadium golf, and it could be just what you need this winter if your NFL or NBA team isn't getting it done. Let's play golf... in January!

Sporting News: TGL Schedule 2025: Dates, Times & Ways to Watch Tiger Woods Indoor Golf League

NCAA BASKETBALL 🏀

Men's AP Poll: SEC Stands Alone

The SEC is Dominating Men's College Basketball, And It’s Not Even Close

Our first look at the men's college hoops poll in 2025 unearthed a startling revelation we’ve known since the season began: The SEC is loaded. Like, very loaded. Six SEC teams now make up the top-10 in men’s college basketball, including three of the top 5 and arguably the three best teams in the country — Tennessee, Auburn and Alabama. We’ll get a glimpse at four of those top-10 SEC teams tonight when undefeated #1 Tennessee takes on #8 Florida. #2 Auburn and #6 Kentucky are also in action. Fun fact: Not a single Big Ten program resides in the top-10 in men’s basketball.

Men’s AP Poll

1. Tennessee (14-0) | —

2. Auburn (13-1) | —

3. Iowa State (12-1) | —

4. Duke (12-2) | —

5. Alabama (12-2) | —

6. Kentucky (12-2) | ↑4

7. Marquette (13-2) | ↑1

8. Florida (13-1) | ↓2

9. UConn (12-3) | ↑2

10. Texas A&M (12-2) | ↑3

Women's AP Poll: 5 Undefeated

Is That Parity in Women’s College Hoops? 5 Unbeatens Remain

While the SEC (4) and Big Ten (4) are more balanced in the women’s top-10, five teams enter 2025 with unblemished records. Three of them are Big Ten squads — UCLA, Maryland and Ohio State. #6 LSU (17-0) has flown under the radar while #13 Georgia Tech (15-0) is still perfect. The juggernauts from South Carolina, UConn and USC still look like title contenders. Your guess is as good as ours in early January, but parity like this is rare in women’s hoops.

Women’s AP Poll

1. UCLA (15-0) | —

2. South Carolina (14-1) | —

3. Notre Dame (12-2) | —

4. USC (14-1) | —

5. Texas (15-1) | —

6. LSU (17-0) | —

7. Uconn (13-2) | —

8. Maryland (14-0) | —

9. Ohio State (14-0) | ↑1

10. Oklahoma (13-2) | ↓1

HIGHLIGHTS 🎥

🏀 NBA

Kings def. Heat (123-118, 2OT)

Domantas Sabonis (21 pts, 18 rebs, 11 ast)

T-Wolves def. Clippers (108-106)

Anthony Edwards Notches Six 3s (37 pts)

Suns def. 76ers (109-99)

Bradley Beal Drops 25 Off the Bench

Bulls def. Spurs (114-110)

CHI Rallies From 19 Points Down

Full NBA Scoreboard

🏒 NHL

Avalanche def. Panthers (3-1)

Devon Toews (2G, 1A) Puts Stick on All 3 Goals

Canadiens def. Canucks (5-4, OT)

Nick Suzuki (1G, 2A) Nets Power-Play OT Winner

Sabres def. Capitals (3-2, S/O)

J.J. Peterka Scores Deciding Goal

Full NHL Scoreboard

STORYLINES

🏈 2025 NFL Mock Draft

The end of the NFL regular season means mock drafts can finally take place in their rightful order. The Tennessee Titans are officially on the clock. (CBS Sports)

🏀 NBA Trade Deadline Watch

The NBA trade deadline is one month away, and everyone’s watching the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler. Here’s one player to watch for all 30 teams. (ESPN+)

⚾️ 2025 MLB New Year’s Resolutions

The new year is here. We can see Spring Training and the 2025 season on the horizon. Here’s what we’re looking forward to in 2025. (MLB.com)

NEWS 📰

⚾️ Dodgers Trade Infielder Gavin Lux to Reds After Signing South Korean INF Hyeseong Kim (AP)

🏀 Suns Bench Bradley Beal & Jusuf Nurkic Amid Brutal Slide (Yahoo! Sports)

🏈 Packers’ WR Christian Watson Believed to Have Season-Ending Torn ACL (B/R)

🏈 Chargers Add Depth Before Playoffs With Signing of RB Ezekiel Elliott (ESPN)

🏈 Browns Say QB Deshaun Watson’s 2025 Season in Jeopardy After Injury Setback (SI)

⚾️ Wife of Late Padres Owner Peter Seidler Sues for Control of Team (ESPN)

🏀 Rockets Assign No. 3 Pick Reed Sheppard to G-League With Minutes Dwindling (CBS Sports)

SCHEDULE 🗓️

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