The Cleveland Browns fired head coach Hue Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley, the team announced Monday.
Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will serve as interim head coach and Freddie Kitchens as the offensive coordinator. Kitchens was the running backs coach for the Browns (2-5-1), who will host the Kansas City Chiefs (7-1) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET).
Reports circulated that there was a fractured relationship between Jackson and Haley on Sunday prior to the team recording 237 yards of total offense in a 33-18 setback to the Steelers. The loss was Cleveland’s third in a row and fourth in five outings.
During a press conference on Monday afternoon, Jimmy Haslam seemed to confirm the power struggle between Jackson and Haley.
“We did what we thought was best for the organization. I think we put the organization in a better place today than it was yesterday,” Haslam said. “We’re not going to put up with internal discord.”
Jackson has posted a 3-36-1 mark in parts of three seasons at the helm of the Browns.
Williams, who served as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills (2001-03), is perhaps best known for being suspended by the NFL for a year in 2012 after admitting to his role in the New Orleans Saints’ bounty scandal.
–Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter announced that Ryan Fitzpatrick will start at quarterback in Sunday’s road game against the Carolina Panthers.
He will replace Jameis Winston, who has started the past three games but has thrown eight interceptions in those games, two of which the Bucs lost.
Koetter noted that the Bucs are last in the league in turnover ratio at minus-13.
“This is really about we just have to do a better job of protecting the football,” he said.
Winston threw four interceptions, one in the end zone and another the Bengals returned for a touchdown, in the Bucs’ 37-34 loss in Cincinnati Sunday.
–Tampa Bay defensive tackle Vita Vea, the team’s first-round draft pick, was feared to have torn his ACL in Sunday’s 37-34 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, but an MRI revealed that the ACL was intact.
–Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht doesn’t appear interested in trading away wide receiver DeSean Jackson.
Per the NFL Network, Jackson asked for a trade from the Buccaneers that was reportedly denied by the team prior to their game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
–The New York Giants coach Pat Shurmur isn’t interested in teasing the possibility of a quarterback change during the team’s bye week.
Shurmur noted that he’ll look at everything surrounding Eli Manning and the struggling Giants (1-7), who dropped their fifth straight game on Sunday with a 20-13 setback to the Washington Redskins.
“Eli’s our quarterback,” Shurmur said, via SNY. “We’ve got to do what we can to help him be better. There’s a handful of plays where he needs to be better. That’s obvious. … We’ll see. But yeah, I think Eli’s our quarterback. I know what you’re all trying to tease a headline out of. At this point Eli’s our quarterback and we’re looking at all ways to improve.”
–The Green Bay Packers needed to move themselves into position for a go-ahead field goal in the waning moments of the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the undefeated Los Angeles Rams.
The Packers (3-3-1) had 2:09 on the clock, one timeout and were trailing by two.
They didn’t get that chance, however, after Ty Montgomery elected to return a kickoff that sailed into the end zone, resulting in a fumble that effectively snuffed out any chance of a comeback.
“That play didn’t lose the game,” star quarterback Aaron Rodgers said, “but it definitely took way an opportunity for us to go down and win it.”
Rodgers reportedly used stronger language, per an unidentified Packers’ coach to Mike Silver of NFL.com.
“Aaron was hot,” a Packers coach told Silver. “And he had a right to be. He yelled, ‘Take a (expletive) knee!’ He was very, very mad.”
Montgomery elected against talking to reporters on Sunday, going so far as to press his cell phone to his ear when asked for a comment after the Rams’ 29-27 victory.
–Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley isn’t interested in your fantasy team or about any wager you made.
Gurley insists he’s only interested in keeping the Rams on the fast track to success.
The 24-year-old made that point known as he rushed for a game-sealing first down late in Sunday’s 29-27 win over the Green Bay Packers. With a clear path to the end zone, Gurley alertly put himself on the turf at the 4-yard line to go to allow the Rams (8-0) to run out the clock.
“Man, forget fantasy and forget Vegas today,” the 6-foot-1, 224-pound Gurley said. “We got the win, so that’s all that matters.”