Trivia

Ben Johnson is the hottest candidate in this year’s NFL head coach hiring cycle.

Which former Jaguar is currently a member of his staff with the Detroit Lions?

• A: Mark Brunell

• B: Keenan McCardell

• C: Byron Leftwich

• D: Chad Henne

View the answer in the “Feedback” section

Stocks

Trending up

• 🏈 (NFL) Buccaneers OC Liam Coen. Despite their Wild Card round loss, Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator is a hot commodity. Coen is considered head coach material after the Bucs finished third in total yards and fourth in points scored during the regular season. Quarterback Baker Mayfield produced the best season of his career under Coen’s tutelage — perhaps he can get the most out of another former no. 1 pick in Trevor Lawrence. The Jaguars have requested to interview Coen, and he’s likely one of their top choices assuming he does become available. The Bucs may fire Todd Bowles and promote Coen to head coach so as not to lose a well-respected and fast-rising offensive mind. -Gus Logue

• 🏈 (CFB) Penn State Nittany Lions. It may seem odd for a team whose season ended just five minutes away from the National Championship game to be in the “trending up” section. However, Penn State is in a phenomenal position heading into 2025. Not only did future NFL quarterback Drew Allar announce his commitment to return for his senior season, so did the Nittany Lions dynamic backfield just a few days ago — Nicholas Singleton AND Kaytron Allen will be returning to Happy Valley next year. Both stud tail-backs were projected to be picked in the upcoming NFL draft (with Singleton looking to be selected in the top three rounds). The loss of star edge rusher Abdul Carter hurts, but Penn State seems poised for an even deeper playoff run next year. -Trent Osborne

• 🏀 Houston Rockets. The Rockets have won four straight games, including a big win over Memphis on Monday to remain in second place in the West. The winning streak has been the Rockets’ best stretch of offense this season, averaging just about 125 points per contest. Jalen Green has also been on a tear during the win streak as he’s tallying just under 30 points a game, including a 42 point performance against the Grizzlies at the beginning of this week. However, the absence of Jabari Smith Jr., who is recovering from a fractured hand, has been a factor defensively for Houston. That will need to be figured out with six of their next eight games against top-eight offensive teams. That said, don’t sleep on this squad going into the second half of the year. -RJ Saunders

• ⚾️ Rays 3B Junior Caminero. The next big star for the Rays has arrived. Caminero hit 6 home runs after being called up in late August last summer. He hit a scorching .435 in the Dominican winter league this year. At just 21 years old, Caminero hasn't even scratched the surface of his ability. Expect him to be a force in the middle of the Rays lineup in 2025. -Andrew Gibson

Trending down

• 🏈 (NFL) Jaguars GM Trent Baalke. Jacksonville’s general manager is on the decline despite being retained last week. There’s a rumor that his role in the front office could change if a head coach candidate (likely Ben Johnson) tells Shad Khan he’s only coming if he can bring his own GM. There’s a better chance that Baalke does what he’s always done and manages to stick around — but his job doesn’t appear to be as safe as it did seven days ago. -Gus Logue

• 🏈 (CFB) Texas QB Quinn Ewers. The Longhorns signal-caller’s football future is murky, to say the very least. The assumption is that the big-name passer will enter his name into the 2025 NFL Draft but his reviews from scouts at the pro level have been less than stellar. Ewers' current projections range from him being selected in the first two rounds to some saying he could fall out of the top 100 picks altogether. If Quinn decides to stay in college for his senior season, it will almost certainly have to be at another school. Sophomore quarterback Arch Manning (you may have heard of him) has been biding his time on the Texas bench, but it’s hard to imagine head coach Steve Sarkisian doesn't hand the reigns of the offense to the nephew of Peyton and Eli sooner than later. The promising Ewers has much to consider as the deadline to declare for the NFL approaches. -Trent Osborne

• 🏀 Jimmy Butler being moved traded. The Miami Heat do not want to trade their suspended star. Problem is, according to Shams Charania, Butler told team president Pat Riley in face-to-face meeting that he wants to be traded and will not sign a new deal in Miami. But while the Heat have received multiple offers for Butler, Riley has shown no urgency to finalize any deals. No matter what type of heat Butler puts on Miami, unless a team is willing to give an offer that’s too hard to pass up, the All-Star forward will have to play out his contract in South Beach before finding his joy of basketball again elsewhere. -RJ Saunders

• ⚾️ Marlins offseason spending. As of January 4th, the Marlins had not spent ANY money on free agents this offseason. Now, since then, Miami has agreed to terms with a handful of their arbitration eligible players. Some of those include former Jumbo Shrimp stars Edward Cabrera and Braxton Garrett. But let's face it, the Marlins are just not spending enough to put a competitive product on the field. -Andrew Gibson

Find more written content, including Hays’ Blog and Gus’ Tiers, here.