>>Packers Square Off With Seahawks In NFC Title Tilt
(Seattle, WA) -- The Green Bay Packers head to the Emerald City to go up against the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game Sunday at CenturyLink Field. It's a rematch of the season opener back in September in which the Seahawks began defense of their Super Bowl championship with a 36-16 victory. Marshawn Lynch ran for 110 yards and two scores in that game. Green Bay got by Dallas 26-21 in the Division Round last weekend to advance with the help of an overturned call on an apparent Dez Bryant catch near the end zone. Seattle handled Carolina 31-17 behind three touchdown passes from Russell Wilson. The Packers and Seahawks both went 12-and-4 during the regular season to win the NFC North and West, respectively, and earn a first-round bye.
>>Colts Play Pats In AFC Championship Game
(Foxboro, MA) -- The Indianapolis Colts head to Foxboro to face the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game Sunday at Gillette Stadium. It's a rematch of last year's Divisional Round game in New England. The Pats won that game 43-22 with LeGarrette Blount [[ Blunt ]] rushing for four touchdowns and the defense picking off Colts quarterback Andrew Luck four times. New England also won 42-20 at Indianapolis in Week 11 of this season. The Pats have won five consecutive meetings against the Colts and are 16-and-4 at home all-time in the playoffs, including 13-and-3 under head coach Bill Belichick. New England rallied past Baltimore 35-31 last weekend to advance, while Indianapolis upset Denver 24-13 after beating Cincinnati in the Wild Card round the week before.
>>Cardinals' Arians, Bowles Win PFWA Awards
(Undated) -- The Arizona Cardinals' coaching staff is hauling in some awards for their 2014 season. The Pro Football Writers of America have named Bruce Arians the Coach of the Year and recently-departed defensive coordinator Todd Bowles the Assistant Coach of the Year. The two helped Arizona get off to a 9-and-1 start before injuries to two quarterbacks led to the Cardinals settling for a Wild Card playoff berth with an 11-and-5 record. Arians is 21-and-11 in two seasons as the Cardinals' head coach. Bowles ran the defense for Arians the last two seasons, but was just named the new head coach of the New York Jets.
>>Callahan To Join Redskins Staff
(Ashburn, VA) -- Bill Callahan is making his way from the Dallas Cowboys' coaching staff to the rival Washington Redskins'. ESPN reports Callahan has agreed to a three-year deal to join Jay Gruden's staff. Callahan is expected to work with the offense in some capacity, but his title is not yet known. Sean McVay is the Redskins offensive coordinator, which is the role Callahan held in Dallas. Callahan worked with Jay Gruden's brother, Jon, with the Oakland Raiders from 1998 to 2001, and then replaced Gruden as head coach in 2002.
>>Spagnuolo Returns As Giants Defensive Coordinator
(East Rutherford, NJ) -- Steve Spagnuolo [[ SPAG-no-loh ]] is going back to the New York Giants as defensive coordinator. The 55-year-old returns to the team he helped win Super Bowl 42 over the undefeated New England Patriots. He replaces Perry Fewell, who was fired after five seasons when the Giants finished 29th in total defense in 2014. Spagnuolo returns after unsuccessful stints as head coach of the St. Louis Rams and defensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints. He has spent the past two years as a defensive assistant with the Baltimore Ravens.
>>Ryan Names Thurman Defensive Coordinator
(Orchard Park, NY) -- New Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan is wasting no time in filling out his coaching staff. After taking over the reins on Monday, Ryan has hired close friend Dennis Thurman as defensive coordinator, along with seven more coaches who come to the Bills from the New York Jets' staff. Thurman served in the same role under Ryan with the Jets the last two seasons after four years as defensive backs coach.
>>Cardale Jones To Return To Ohio State
(Columbus, OH) -- Despite an amazing three-game starting run to a national championship, quarterback Cardale Jones is returning to Ohio State next season. Jones made his decision public Thursday afternoon.
Speculation grew that Jones would leave school and enter the NFL Draft after he tweeted earlier in the day that he was ready to announce a "life-changing decision." Jones says he's simply not ready for the NFL after just three collegiate starts. He added that he wants to graduate and be done with school before trying to play pro ball.
Jones came out of nowhere to lead the Buckeyes to the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship after J.T. Barrett broke his ankle in the regular-season finale against Michigan. Jones took over under center and led OSU to wins over Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon en route to a national championship. Barrett began the season as the starter after previous starter Braxton Miller was lost to a shoulder injury before the season even began.
