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 "We are very disappointed with the results of the season so far and
believe a change was necessary. Sheldon White will be the acting
general manager and report directly to me," Ford said. "I have
informed coach (Jim) Caldwell of our decisions, although no changes
have been made to our coaching staff."
White, in his 19th season with the franchise, was vice president of
pro personnel. Allison Maki, the team's chief financial officer,
will be the team's interim COO and report to Ford.
Caldwell met with Ford, who made it clear that her expectations for
the season - winning - are unchanged.
"We intend to identify and hire the very best leadership in order to
be a winning football team," Ford said. "We have no intention of
giving up on the team. We expect to compete, improve and win."
Detroit has a 41-63 record and two playoff appearances, both losses,
since Mayhew was hired in 2009. The team has not drafted a Pro Bowl
player in five seasons.
The moves by Ford are the second major changes in 10 days.
After a 1-6 start, the Lions fired three offensive coaches -
including offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, whose buyout was more
than $1 million - before heading to London for their Week 8 game
against the Chiefs. That game at Wembley Stadium turned out to be an
embarrassing 45-10 defeat that spun the Lions into their bye week at
1-7.
- - -
Former NFL running back Tony Dorsett is turning to controversial
stem cell treatment to combat memory loss.
Dorsett told USA Today the initial treatments did not have "staying
power" after an initial boost.
"I'm determined to beat this, but it can be very frustrating at
times, very frustrating to try to find places that I've been going
to since I've been in the Dallas metroplex area," said Dorsett, who
played at Pittsburgh before joining the Dallas Cowboys from 1977 to
1987. "All of a sudden you don't know how to get there, and you've
got to ask, 'How do I get there?' Thank God for GPS."
- - -
[to top of second column] |
Tony Romo will throw during Friday's practice as he inches closer to
returning to the Dallas Cowboys from a Week 2 collarbone injury.
The Cowboys have been a mess at quarterback and injuries helped
contribute to a five-game losing streak without Romo. Most of that
stretch was played without wide receiver Dez Bryant, who returned to
the starting lineup last week after recovering from a broken foot.
Romo was not involved in Thursday's practice. He threw in
Wednesday's practice and head coach Jason Garrett said the same plan
was in place for Friday.
- - -
The Pittsburgh Steelers claimed kick returner Jacoby Jones off
waivers from the San Diego Chargers, the team announced.
Jones, who also plays receiver, has more than 10,000 career
all-purpose yards but struggled with San Diego. The nine-year
veteran averaged 21.4 yards on nine kickoff returns and had minus-4
yards on five punt returns before being waived.
Jones has six career kickoff-return touchdowns, including a record
108-yard score in Super Bowl 47 for Baltimore against San Francisco.
He has four career punt-return touchdowns.
Pittsburgh released running back/kick returner Dri Archer to make
room for Jones on the roster. (Editing by Steve Keating.)
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