Tag: Don Yee

Report: Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy hires ‘super agent’ heading into final year of contract

From @ToddBrock24f7: Don Yee has represented Tom Brady, Sean Payton, and Jim Harbaugh, among others. He’ll now add McCarthy entering a pivotal 2024 season.

The start of the 2024 regular season is still over four months away, and things have already take a potentially dramatic turn regarding the Cowboys and head coach Mike McCarthy, who is heading into a contract year.

McCarthy has reportedly hired “super agent” Don Yee to represent him, according to ESPN insider Adam Schefter.

Yee, 64, signed Tom Brady while the quarterback was still an unknown senior at the University of Michigan and then went on to represent Brady for the duration of his record-shattering NFL career.

The California-based agent has also represented Rams quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, former Patriots receiver Julian Edelman, Broncos head coach Sean Payton, and Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh.

McCarthy has led the Cowboys to three consecutive 12-win seasons and a playoff berth in each of those campaigns, but the team finished just 1-3 in the postseason under him.

It was announced shortly after the most recent loss, a stunning 48-32 loss at home to the seventh-seeded Packers, that McCarthy would not be receiving a contract extension and would coach through the final year of the contract he signed in 2020.

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The move comes just hours after the Cowboys’ annual pre-draft press conference. During that Q&A session, team owner Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones spent the majority of the time discussing the current financial state of the franchise, especially getting grilled by reporters on why the Cowboys have yet to sign their three biggest stars- Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons- to contract extensions.

Jerry blamed past contracts and the salary cap, while also explaining that he likes to give himself plenty of options as he wait “to see a few more cards play.”

Now it appears that McCarthy is lining up his own options, keeping his own interests protected for however the Cowboys’ 2024 season plays.

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Report: Commanders interested in Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh

The Michigan coach has won everywhere he’s been.

The Washington Commanders fired head coach Ron Rivera on Monday morning, and owner Josh Harris announced an advisory committee, consisting of minority owners Magic Johnson, David Blitzer and Mitchell Rales, along with former Golden State Warriors GM Bob Myers and Minnesota Vikings GM Rick Spielman.

It didn’t take long for Myers to get to work.

According to a report from Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report, Myers has already reached out to Jim Harbaugh’s agent, Don Yee, to express interest in the current University of Michigan head coach.

Michigan plays Washington in the NCAA championship on Monday, but reports have indicated he’s ready for a return to the NFL, with multiple teams interested, such as the Raiders and Chargers.

Harbaugh was a first-round pick of the Chicago Bears in the 1986 NFL draft, where he played quarterback for seven seasons. Harbaugh would enjoy a 15-year playing career, also playing for the Colts, Ravens, Chargers, Lions and Panthers.

He quickly jumped into coaching, beginning that phase of his career with the Oakland Raiders in 2002. He spent two years in that role before accepting the head coaching position at the University of San Diego. He was head coach there for three seasons before being named head coach at Stanford in 2007. He coached the Cardinal for four seasons before returning to the NFL as head coach of the 49ers in 2011.

Harbaugh immediately turned around San Francisco, enjoying a 44-19-1 record in four years, leading the Niners to the playoffs in three seasons, including losing in Super Bowl XLVII to the Baltimore Ravens and his brother John. Harbaugh played a critical role in turning around the career of quarterback Alex Smith.

In his nine seasons at Michigan, Harbaugh has a record of 88-25.

Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda initially reported Washington’s interest in Harbaugh.

Jim Harbaugh hires Sean Payton’s agent while considering NFL opportunities

Jim Harbaugh hired Sean Payton’s agent while considering NFL opportunities. He may not have Mickey Loomis on speed dial, but Don Yee knows how to reach him:

This probably means nothing for the New Orleans Saints, but you never know. News broke Saturday evening of Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh hiring influential agent Don Yee to represent him as he weighs his options — either signing a long-term extension with Michigan that will tie him to the school for the rest of his coaching career, or returning to the NFL.

How do the Saints figure in? Yee is more familiar with their organization and general manager Mickey Loomis than almost any other agent in the game, having represented Sean Payton for more than a decade. We’re guessing Yee still has Loomis’ office in his rolodex, though he may no longer be on speed dial.

All reports say the Saints are prepared to run it back with Dennis Allen again in 2024 despite his losing record as their head coach (14-18) and lack of the promised playoff success when he was hired. His team is 11-20-1 against the spread in two years on the job. Between his stints with New Orleans and the Raiders, Allen has coached 68 NFL games, but his career winning percentage (.324) ranks 152nd among 157 coaches to reach that number.

If Yee wants to do right by his new client Harbaugh and sell him to NFL teams, passing along facts like those wouldn’t hurt. Loomis and the Saints’ leadership team have been too complacent with Allen. If there’s any chance that Harbaugh is interested, Loomis owes it to his organization and its fans to pursue a vastly more successful coach at every level of football than the career loser he’s backed week in and week out.

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Pro Football Talk reports potential Sean Payton-Tom Brady teamup is NFL’s ‘worst-kept secret’

Pro Football Talk reports that a potential Sean Payton-Tom Brady teamup with the Saints is the NFL’s ‘worst-kept secret’ ahead of a wild 2023 coaching carousel:

Yeah, sure, okay. We’re weeks away from the start of the 2023 NFL coaching carousel, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reported Tuesday that the “worst-kept secret” around the league is rumors of a potential teamup between Sean Payton and Tom Brady — with the New Orleans Saints.

This comes on the heels of news from Nola.com’s Jeff Duncan that the Saints don’t plan to move on from head coach Dennis Allen in 2023, having liked the grit and fight and determination his squad showed in holding off a couple of other teams that won’t end the year with a winning record. So how do these two different reports square together?

Let’s tackle the Brady-Payton nugget first. Those two have wanted to work together for a long time. Rumors linked Brady to Payton and the Saints a few years back before Drew Brees’ final season, when Brees considered retirement, only for No. 9 to squash that speculation by returning for one last playoff run. And the Miami Dolphins came under fire recently for tampering in hopes of getting Brady and Payton together, which progressed so far it got their owner suspended and cost them hefty sanctions from the league office.

It’s not hard to see why they’d like to team up. Payton is one of the most successful coaches around not named Bill Belichick. Brady has seen him extend the career of an aging Hall of Fame quarterback before. It certainly helps that they’re both represented by sports agent Don Yee. Brady will be a free agent in 2023 and can sign wherever he pleases, if he wants to continue playing after turning 45. Jameis Winston is the only Saints quarterback under contract next year, but it sure feels like his days in New Orleans are numbered.

So let’s shift gears and look at it from the Saints’ perspective. If they’ve already chosen to retain Allen for 2023, why would they shift course and welcome Payton back with open arms? Probably because their commitment to Allen has a caveat: he’s their guy unless Payton comes back. Payton was the organization for more than a decade. He called the shots, he made personnel decisions, and he dictated team-building strategy. He’s led them to their most successful era in franchise history. Mickey Loomis and Gayle Benson have gotten a taste of life without him at the helm. It isn’t very appealing, and they aren’t eager to try and replace him again if it can be avoided. It’s tough to see Allen returning with a demotion as defensive coordinator, which would kill his credibility in the building, so that helps explain some of Payton’s interest in an experienced hand like Vic Fangio for that role.

This is just my take, but I wouldn’t rule out a Payton-and-Brady union in New Orleans next year at all. I don’t think it’s very likely, because Payton very likely wants a fresh start and to prove he can win a Super Bowl elsewhere, but the Saints should have some appeal to him. He’s won there before, he knows everyone he’d be working with (and answering to), and at the end of the day there’s something to be said for a strong sense of comfort. It’s possible, but anything is possible. It’s possible that I could win the Powerball lottery and you’d never hear from me again. We’ll just have to wait and see how this shakes out.

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Adam Schefter details conversation with Tom Brady’s agent following retirement leak

“Don Yee calls and said “why would you not call me in advance?”

Tom Brady’s retirement situation was awkward for a few days.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington reported on a Saturday afternoon that the 44-year-old was planning to retire after 22 years in the league. The NFL world quickly responded with their congratulations and appreciation for Brady.

But, reports quickly surfaced saying that Brady hasn’t made a decision yet. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was told by sources that the pushback was more focused on the timing of the news, not his decision. Brady’s agent, Don Yee, reached out to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer with a text on this situation.

“I understand the speculation about Tom’s future,” Yee said. “Without getting into the accuracy or inaccuracy of what’s being reported, Tom will be the only person to express his plans with complete accuracy.”

A lot was happening, but Brady eventually announced his retirement three days later. Schefter joined “Pardon My Take” this week and discussed his conversation with Yee following the announcement.

“The first contact I had with Don Yee was afterwards,” Schefter said. “When he called, he said – and my wife was in the office – and I haven’t talked about this before, but I’m in my office, it’s a Saturday afternoon, there was a snowstorm in New York, wife is sitting there, Don Yee calls and said “why would you not call me in advance?’ I said, ‘I did call you, multiple times, left messages, never heard back from you.’ He said, ‘I have a statement I want to read to you.’ Now, when he said that, I will say I thought OK, what have we got here? What’s this statement going to be?”

The aforementioned statement was set to give Brady time to make the announcement on his own. At the end of the day, Schefter’s reporting was accurate — it just didn’t fit the timing in which Brady’s camp would’ve preferred.

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Tom Brady se retira y estos son todos los reportes negándolo

Esto es todo lo que sabemos hasta el momento, antes de echarnos un clavado a lo que ha sido un sábado de locos, por decirlo de alguna manera: De acuerdo a reportes, incluyendo uno del USA TODAY Sports, “Tom Brady va a anunciar su retiro después de …

Esto es todo lo que sabemos hasta el momento, antes de echarnos un clavado a lo que ha sido un sábado de locos, por decirlo de alguna manera: De acuerdo a reportes, incluyendo uno del USA TODAY Sports, “Tom Brady va a anunciar su retiro después de 22 temporadas, de acuerdo a una persona con conocimiento directo de la situación, según Mike Jones del USA TODAY Sports el sábado.

Pero un poco después que salió la noticia, salieron reportes que decían que Brady no había tomado una decisión final respecto a retirarse o regresar por una temporada 23 y competir por otro Super Bowl con las Bucaneers de Tampa Bay-

USA TODAY Sports añadió esto:

Mientras que otros medios de comunicación reportaron que Brady todavía no le había dicho a los Bucs que se iba a retirar, la persona que habló con USA TODAY Sports dijo que Brady quería poder comunicar la noticia por si mismo pero que “definitivamente# se retiraba.

Esto es lo que se ha deportado desde que salió la noticia inicial: