Pac-12 Football

Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is currently without a job after mutually parting ways with the team, but his son has reportedly found his next landing spot.

According to The Athletic's Bruce Feldman, former Patriots defensive play-caller Steven Belichick has been hired as the next defensive coordinator of the Washington Huskies.

The 36-year-old son of arguably the greatest coach of all time has called the Patriots defense for the last four years. Feldman added that Belichick worked with newly hired Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch when he was quarterbacks coach on the New England staff in 2020.

Feldman also pointed out that the recent success of former NFL assistants as college defensive coordinators bodes well for Washington's hire of Belichick. During the 2023 season, three of the top eight defenses in FBS were led by defensive coordinators who had NFL experience.

Michigan finished as the No. 4 defense in the nation under former Baltimore Ravens assistant Jesse Minter. Notre Dame ranked No. 5 under former Cincinnati Bengals assistant Al Golden, and UCLA was No. 8 under former Ravens assistant D'Anton Lynn.

The hiring of Belichick rounds out the new Washington staff under Fisch, who was hired after coaching at Arizona for the last three seasons to replace Kalen DeBoer following his departure to take over at Alabama following Nick Saban's retirement.

The entire offensive staff followed Fisch from the Wildcats to the Huskies, including offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Brennan Carroll, who is the son of former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll. A pair of defensive assistants also joined Fisch from Tuscon to Seattle.

The Huskies are coming off a run to the national championship game this past season, so they will be seeking similar success under Fisch and company in 2024.

Colorado football standout Travis Hunter announced his engagement to his girlfriend, Leanna, in an Instagram post on Sunday.

Congrats Travis Hunter 💍 !

📷 : @TravisHunterJr pic.twitter.com/DmmO3QUSU8

— We Coming 🦬 (@SkoBuffsGoBuffs) February 4, 2024

As part of the announcement, Hunter also included a short video of the radiant engagement ring.

The ring Travis Hunter got for his fiancé Leanna 🔥

🎥 : @TravisHunterJr pic.twitter.com/YDclgY6ror

— We Coming 🦬 (@SkoBuffsGoBuffs) February 4, 2024

The 20-year-old became one of the most recognizable players in college football during the 2023 season, as his impressive play on both sides of the ball under Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders caught the attention of fans across the country.

Hunter suited up at both wide receiver and cornerback, showcasing his ability to remain effective even though he was initially playing a high volume of snaps. Despite appearing in just nine games due to a liver injury, he made his presence felt whenever he was on the field.

As a receiver. he hauled in 57 receptions for 721 yards and five touchdowns. On defense, he racked up 30 tackles, two tackles for loss, and three interceptions while recording five passes defensed.

Although the Buffaloes lost eight of their final nine games to close out the year, the strong individual play of Hunter and junior quarterback Shedeur Sanders has led to optimism that the program will continue to improve in the second year under the Pro Football Hall of Famer at head coach.

They'll also be getting some help for the 2024 season, as Colorado currently owns the No. 5 transfer portal class in the nation (per 247Sports).

Dan Lanning's program added another offensive playmaker on Saturday, as wide receiver Gatlin Bair committed to Oregon, according to Hayes Fawcett of On3.com.

Bair is a 6'1" wideout from Idaho who is considered a four-star prospect, according to 247Sports' composite rankings. He's currently ranked as the No. 10 receiver and the No. 43 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class.

He fielded offers from notable schools such as Alabama, Michigan, and TCU before ultimately making his decision to join the Ducks after previously committing to Boise State.

The continuity of Oregon's coaching staff played a large role in Bair's decision to join the team, as several of the nation's well-known programs recently experienced changes at head coach. This includes Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Washington and Texas A&M, among several others.

"Biggest difference is probably coach Lanning," Bair said, per Fawcett. "He is one of the most ambitious coaches I've ever met. He is very passionate about Oregon and winning a national championship at Oregon. He's also not going anywhere which is huge for a program."

The wideout possesses an intriguing blend of speed and athleticism, able to make difficult catches downfield while also posing as a threat with the ball in his hands.

"Acceleration and top-end speed show on the field," Gabe Brooks of 247Sports wrote. "Mixes speed-changing nuance and route-leverage awareness with that volatile explosiveness. Shows impressive ball-tracking ability and adjustment acumen with mid-air body control and spatial awareness."

He'll join a high-powered Oregon offense that is expected to remain one of the best in the country despite the departure of quarterback Bo Nix, as the Ducks have owned one of the nation's top passing attacks in each of Lanning's two seasons with the team.

After Bair announced his commitment, Oregon now has the No. 5 recruiting class in the 2024 cycle, per 247Sports' composite.

After participating in all three days of practice at the Senior Bowl, Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is reportedly bowing out of playing in the actual game.

Per Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, Penix has decided not to play in the Senior Bowl after being slated to start for the National team.

https://twitter.com/SiriusXMNFL/status/1753849342157279738

Florio noted one reason for Penix's decision might stem from the National team being "gutted" by players opting out, with the possibility they might only have two or three wide receivers.

Players expected not to take the field for the National team in the Senior Bowl, per on-site source:

- QB Michael Penix Jr.
- WR Roman Wilson
- WR Jacob Cowing
- DB Quinton Mitchell
- DB Khyree Jackson
- WR Ricky Pearsall
- LB Payton Wilson
- WR Brenden Rice
- DL Laiatu Latu
-…

— Crissy Froyd (@crissy_froyd) February 3, 2024

Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy announced earlier in the day that Florida State defensive tackle Braden Fiske is switching from the American team to the National side due to roster attrition.

BREAKING: For first time in 75-year history of @seniorbowl, a player is switching teams on game day.

Due to roster attrition on National team DT group, Florida State's Braden Fiske will move from American to National squad for today's game.

Fiske, who will wear #94 today,… https://t.co/XaniiBP0Kg

— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_Sooners) February 3, 2024

Penix and Oregon quarterback Bo Nix are the highest-profile players on the Senior Bowl team. It wasn't even clear if Penix would participate in the event in any capacity after injuring his ankle in the College Football Playoff Championship Game against Michigan.

Despite the hype around Penix participating in practices at the Senior Bowl, his actual performance was a mixed bag. The Ringer's Danny Heifetz described him as "underwhelming."

On the positive side, Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus called Penix the "most impressive quarterback" this week.

"His arm talent was evident from the jump due to the NFL-caliber velocity on his throws," Sikkema wrote, "and though his wasn't always accurate, most of his throws were well-placed, and some, like the one above, were absolute beauties."

As long as Penix was able to workout in front of NFL scouts and executives during the week of practices, he doesn't really need to participate in the game. The 2023 Heisman runner-up has 49 games of college tape that can be evaluated. He will almost certainly take part in the NFL scouting combine and Washington's pro day in the lead up to the draft.

If the National team roster isn't going to look like the group Penix was playing with during practice, there's almost nothing for him to gain by participating in the game.

The Las Vegas Raiders are expected to hire former Arizona Cardinals head coach and current USC senior offensive analyst Kliff Kingsbury to be their next offensive coordinator, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Mike Garafolo of NFL Network added that the Raiders were "locked in" on the 44-year-old. He also noted that no deal is in place yet but that "it's expected to get done."

UCLA head coach (and ex-Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers head coach) Chip Kelly was reportedly in the running for the job, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, who added that he "appeared open to a return to the NFL."

However, Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce decided on Kingsbury for the position.

Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reported earlier Thursday that Kingsbury was the "frontrunner" for the job.

The Silver and Black ripped the interim tag off Pierce's title and made him the team's full-time leader on Jan. 19. He took over for fired head coach Josh McDaniels after eight games. The team also notably parted ways with OC Mick Lombardi and general manager Dave Ziegler.

Rapoport reported on Jan. 19 that interim offensive coordinator Bo Hardegree and most of the offensive staff would not be retained.

Las Vegas struggled scoring at times last season, finishing 23rd in points per game. The Raiders did drop 63 once against the Los Angeles Chargers, but they also finished the year scoring 20 or more points on offense in just four of 17 games.

Kingsbury starred as Texas Tech's quarterback at the turn of the century, notably throwing for 45 touchdowns and 5,017 yards during his senior year in 2002.

He bounced around the NFL, NFL Europe and CFL from 2003-2007 before beginning his coaching career as the University of Houston's offensive quality control coach in 2008. Two years later, he earned co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach titles for the Cougars.

In 2012, Kingsbury left Houston for Texas A&M, serving as the Aggies' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He matched up with breakout superstar Johnny Manziel that season, and Johnny Football notably won the Heisman Trophy en route to leading the Aggies to 11 wins and 44.5 points per game.

Kingsbury parlayed that effort into a head coaching gig with his alma mater in 2013. He coached the Red Raiders from 2013-2018 before being fired after the end of his sixth season with a 35-40 record.

Texas Tech never had much trouble scoring under Kingsbury, notably finishing second in Division I FBS in 2015 and fifth in 2016. It helped to have eventual two-time MVP and two-time Super Bowl winner Patrick Mahomes behind center for both those years, of course.

Kingsbury landed with USC as its offensive coordinator but resigned that position to pursue NFL coaching opportunities. The Cardinals hired him as their head coach in 2019 and soon matched him with franchise quarterback Kyler Murray, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft.

Arizona went 28-37-1 under Kingsbury, with an 11-6 mark in 2021 being the team's apex. That team made the playoffs but fell 34-11 to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wild Card round. In Kingsbury's four seasons, Arizona finished 16th, 13th, 11th and 21st in scoring.

He then went back to USC to join head coach Lincoln Riley's staff, but he could very well be heading back to the NFL once again.

As far as the other side of the ball goes, it appears that Patrick Graham, who is under contract with the Raiders, will return as defensive coordinator.

All NFL head coaching vacancies have now been filled, and the Raiders can block any interview requests for Graham at DC. Las Vegas notably did so on Jan. 10 for an unnamed team, per Rapoport.

The Raiders are trying to build upon a strong ending to the season in which the team went 5-4 under Pierce following the firing of McDaniels, who went just 9-21 in a season-and-a-half in Vegas.

Michael Penix Jr. might not be projected to be a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft, but the former Washington quarterback is ready to do whatever it takes to succeed at the next level.

"I can't control other people's perspectives or how they view me as a quarterback," Penix said when asked if he's frustrated about still having to prove himself to evaluators, per ESPN's Pete Thamel and Jeff Legwold. "For me, I just got to continue to be myself and continue to work hard each and every day to show them that I'm willing to do whatever it takes to be great, and I belong anywhere that I end up."

Penix began his college career at Indiana before transferring to Washington ahead of the 2022 campaign. He never completed a full season with the Hoosiers as he tore his ACL twice and suffered two shoulder injuries.

While evaluators have valid injury concerns regarding the Washington standout, Penix has been healthy in each of the last two seasons and has lit up the stat sheet as a result.

During the 2022 campaign, Penix completed 65.3 percent of his passes for 4,641 yards and 31 touchdowns against eight interceptions in 13 games.

He followed that up in 2023 having completed 65.4 percent of his passes for 4,903 yards and 36 touchdowns against 11 interceptions in 15 games. The Huskies finished the year 14-1, with their lone loss coming in the College Football Playoff national championship game to Michigan.

Penix told ESPN that Dr. Neal S. ElAttrache would be available throughout the draft process to talk with teams about his injury history and any concerns they might have. He added that ElAttrache gave him a "thumbs up," adding "there's nothing to hold me back."

Former USC quarterback Caleb Williams is widely considered the No. 1 quarterback available in the 2024 draft class, followed by former UNC signal-caller Drake Maye and former LSU standout Jayden Daniels.

The Bleacher Report NFL Scouting Department lists Penix as the fifth-best quarterback available this spring with Williams, Maye, Daniels and former Oregon signal-caller Bo Nix ranked ahead of him.

B/R NFL Scout Derrik Klassen wrote that Penix "isn't afraid to use his arm" and "also flashes the ability to handle pro concepts." However, he added that the quarterback "is largely unproven versus pressure" and "also has issues with accuracy, specifically adding touch to throws."

"For teams that want to chuck it down the field with a heavy dose of play action, Penix is an interesting dice roll. His live arm, aggressiveness and moments of progression passing give him a shot to stick in the NFL," Klassen wrote. "With that said, Penix's lack of touch, shaky pocket management and minimal ability to create plays will limit his ceiling in the pros."

Klassen has Penix being selected in the third round and graded him as a high-level backup/potential starter.

The always-optimistic Deion Sanders sees no reason why Colorado can't challenge for a spot in the College Football Playoff next season.

Appearing on FS1's Undisputed (starts at 1:18 mark), Sanders said the Buffaloes "most definitely" can be a playoff team in 2024.

“Last year we instilled hope, this year we gotta go do it.”@DeionSanders expects CU to challenge for a CFP spot this upcoming season pic.twitter.com/rsNVEo3L4Z

— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) January 30, 2024

The path to the College Football Playoff will be easier next season when the field expands to 12 teams.

It will be interesting to see how Colorado fares in Sanders' second year as head coach and in a new conference. The Buffaloes are moving back to the Big 12 after spending the past 13 seasons in the Pac-12.

This new iteration of the Big 12 won't include Oklahoma and Texas, both of which are moving to the SEC. That could open the door for a new program to take over as a dominant force in the conference.

The Sooners and Longhorns combined to win seven of the last nine Big 12 titles and 18 of 28, including shared titles, since the conference debuted in 1996.

Colorado hasn't won a conference title since 2001. Teams don't need to win a conference championship to make the playoff. The six highest-ranked conference champs receive an automatic bid, with the top four teams getting a bye to the quarterfinals.

The six highest-ranked teams after the conference champs will also make the playoff field.

It's still going to be a tall task for Colorado to make that group of 12. The team went 4-8 in Sanders' first season and had the 10th-worst defense in FBS by points allowed per game (34.8).

Recruiting from the high-school ranks is still an issue for Sanders. The Buffaloes have the worst incoming class in the Big 12, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

The transfer portal could pay huge dividends, with the top-ranked class among Big 12 programs.

Even if Colorado doesn't turn into a top-12 program in 2024, as long as the program continues to show signs of progress in Sanders' second season, that's a huge win given where it was at prior to his arrival.

Former Arizona State pass-rusher B.J. Green II will be transferring to Colorado after previously committing to Washington, according to Hayes Fawcett of On3.com.

With one year of eligibility remaining, Green II is joining a Buffaloes team that exceeded expectations in 2023 under head coach Deion Sanders despite a disappointing finish to the regular season.

He ranked as the No. 7 defensive lineman in the portal, according to 247Sports' rankings. Green II recorded 6.0 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss in 12 games with the Sun Devils in 2023.

His decision to move on from Washington could be linked to head coach Kalen DeBoer, who left the Huskies after a College Football Playoff appearance to succeed Nick Saban at Alabama following the retirement of the legendary coach.

Green II revealed that his unique relationship with Colorado's coaching staff was a large factor in his decision to join the Buffaloes. Sanders was his first football coach as a child in Atlanta, per the Pac-12 Network (0:51 mark).

"The relationships I have with the staff is just on a different level, the vision for what they are going to do this season is on a different level, they have a plan that's going to take my game to the next level, and at the end of the day it just means more to finish this chapter of my life with the people I started it with a long time ago," Green II told Fawcett.

Colorado has actively been attempting to shore up its defensive line in the transfer portal, making several major additions. Green II joins Samuel Okunlola and Quency Wiggins as another highly-touted defensive lineman to transfer to the Buffaloes. Okunlola and Wiggins, who ranked as the No. 5 and No. 6 defensive lineman in the portal according to 247Sports, have already announced their commitments to Colorado.

They'll attempt to help a unit that allowed 453.3 yards per game in 2023, the second-worst mark in the Pac-12.

Deion Sanders' sons are showing their father some appreciation in quite a special way.

In the latest Well Off Media video, Shedeur and Shilo Sanders, alongside eldest brother Deion Sanders Jr., showed off a new home they purchased for the Colorado Buffaloes head football coach.

The house was located within the Colorado mountains and had numerous amenities, including an in-home theater, a climate-controlled wine cellar, an outdoor pool and beautiful views of the scenery around the home.

Deion Sanders expressed his appreciation for the fact that his sons wanted to make sure he had a strong living situation even after Shedeur and Shilo eventually move forward in their respective football careers.

"My three sons had the thought process that they wanted me to see this," Sanders said. "It's so unbelievable, it almost evokes a tear."

His focus did not stay sentimental for too long, however, as he stressed the importance of winning now that the house was settled.

"We've got to win," Sanders said. "That's when (life is) complete."

Sanders just finished his first season as the Buffaloes head coach. The team went 4-8, which was a three-win improvement from the program's 2022 season, but surely not up to the standards that he expects from the program.

Shedeur and Shilo are expected to stay with the Buffaloes in 2024 and pave the way toward a winning season in the program's return to the Big 12.

Dan Lanning gave his commitment to Oregon football by remaining with the team amid Alabama's search for a new head coach to replace Nick Saban.

The decision to stay with the Ducks rather than pursuing the job at Alabama was one that was made before the start of the season, he said on on The Ryen Russillo Podcast.

"The decision was made long before the season started, long before I took this job," Lanning said. "Oregon took a chance on me. I truly believe that this a job that we can make the best job in college football. When you feel that way, let's put some blood, sweat and tears and sweat equity into making that the job you think it can be."

Did Dan Lanning ever consider pursuing the head-coaching job at Alabama?

He joined @ryenarussillo and shared his answer: pic.twitter.com/zikfWPc5RN

— The Ringer (@ringer) January 26, 2024

For Lanning, the decision was about both the commitment he made to Oregon and his family. He said he wants to remain the Ducks' head coach as long as they will have him.

"I'm committed to being here. I've got a 10-year-old, I've got to get him through high school," Lanning said. "The only way that doesn't happen is I don't win enough. So, to put my focus on something else other than Oregon football, that's going to be a distraction to us accomplishing that goal."

Now, Lanning will look to keep pushing towards the goals he set for Oregon when he took the job in 2022. He capped off a successful second year with a win over Liberty in the VRBO Fiesta Bowl, marking a 12-2 record, and he'll be pushing for a College Football Playoff appearance next year.

Lanning has a history with Alabama, serving as a graduate assistant for the Crimson Tide under Saban in 2015. That history wasn't enough to pull him away from what he believes can be the best job in college football.

"It was never really I thought in our mind," Lanning said. "I love Coach Saban and gosh, I can't tell you how much he's done for my career and what I'm at, but I think we can make Oregon the best job in college football and that happens with focus on where we're at."

Lanning has built up quite a resume so far in his career, finding success as Georgia's defensive coordinator before taking over at Oregon, but now he's chasing a national championship as a head coach with the Ducks.

As Lanning said, that's a goal that is achieved through focusing on where he is.