Christmas football came with a side of sports media beef.
On Wednesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that longtime NFL and college coach Pete Carroll was considering getting back into game, citing league sources.
“Three teams — the Bears, Jets and Saints — are in the market for a head coach who can help reset their culture,” Schefter wrote. “Few coaches have been more effective than Carroll at doing just that.”
There’s no debating Carroll’s effectiveness as a coach at the NCAA and pro levels, but Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio seemed willing to challenge Schefter’s insider credentials.
“Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that Carroll wants back in,” Florio wrote. “Which means, frankly, that Carroll’s agent has specifically told this to Schefter in the hopes that Schefter would broadcast it to the world, in the hopes of generating public opinion. Then, Carroll’s agent will owe Schefter big time.
“And that’s how the sausage gets made.”
Florio wasn’t done there, however.
After he broke down Carroll’s ability to help in a number of NFL scenarios, he turned his attention back to Schefter.
“It’s hard to fault Carroll’s agent for trying to use the media to get the word out about Carroll,” he continued. “That’s the agent’s job. It’s not the media’s job, however, to engage in quid pro quo P.R. for coaching candidates.”
Despite a busy day of football and news, Schefter did take a moment to fire back at Florio’s assertions about his sources — and did not leave much to the imagination.
“Everything you say here is 100 percent wrong,” the longtime ESPN news breaker wrote on X. “Keep up the guess work and Merry Christmas.”
It’s not the first time in recent weeks Schefter has felt the need to defend his reporting.
He got into it with Fox Sports college basketball analyst and Wisconsin-Green Bay coach Doug Gottlieb regarding Michael Vick’s emergence as a football coaching candidate at Sacramento State (he later took the job at Norfolk State).
“Jeezus Shefty, edit what agents tell you… 0.0% chance Sac State has $50m in NIL,” Gottlieb posted on X. “Have to raise money for a stadium, coaches, and then NIL. Saying it is $50m in NIL is disingenuous.”
Schefter not only backed up his report, he also went for the jugular, pointing to the Gottlieb’s poor record this season.
“And Jeezus, Doug,” the ESPNer wrote. “A seven-game losing steak and last place in the Horizon League? Less time on social media and more time in the gym.”
Schefter seemingly has more time for these feuds nowadays, something his critics might want to consider going forward.
