NFL this 'n' that

The Dallas Cowboys finally said goodbye to coach Jason Garrett on Sunday, ending weeks of speculation. Owner/GM Jerry Jones is already in the midst of an informal search for a new coach, having already interviewed Marvin Lewis (formerly with Cincinnati) and former Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy, who's also on the Giants' radar after Big Blue dumped Pat Shurmur last week.

I don't see Lewis or McCarthy landing in Dallas, though. Surely, the 'Boys have enough assistants with qualifications for a promotion, and they should have been interviewed first if Jones was that sure he was dumping Garrett, who some say could wind up with the Giants, though I doubt that, too.

Update, 1:57 pm (ET): McCarthy has been hired as the new Cowboys head coach.
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In the space of 24 hours, three divisional champions have been eliminated from the NFL playoffs.

New Orleans & Philadelphia followed New England out the door Sunday, but there is again a great deal of to-do in N'awlins about the Keystone Kops-level officiating at the end of the game vs. Minnesota.

NFL Director of Officiating Alberto Riveron, himself a former game official, claimed via Twitter that his staff in New York reviewed the controversial game winning TD pass from Vikings QB Kirk Cousins to Kyle Rudolph, and said that while Rudolph & Saints DB DJ Williams each could've been called for pass interference, there wasn't enough contact to actually warrant a flag.

Roughly translated.......



We all know Riveron went to the Quincy Magoo Academy of Officiating, but this is ridiculous.

Let's just hope Riveron never has to leave his cushy office in New York and travel to New Orleans any time soon.
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Of the four games played, three home teams went down to defeat. Of those, Philadelphia was the lone underdog, so maybe the oddsmakers actually knew something headed into the game against Seattle for a change. The Eagles were held to three Jake Elliott field goals in the loss to the Seahawks, even as backup QB Josh McCown tried to turn back the clock on his career to save the Eagles' season.

The NFC Divisional Round is now set:

Saturday: Minnesota @ San Francisco (NBC).
Sunday: Seattle @ Green Bay (Fox).

Predictions on Friday.