Tag: former

Current, former Chiefs players react to Kansas City’s Super Bowl LVIII win on Twitter

Current and former #Chiefs reacted to Kansas City’s Super Bowl LVIII win over the #49ers on Twitter.

The Kansas City Chiefs are back-to-back Super Bowl champions after defeating the San Francisco 49ers in a thrilling matchup on Sunday night.

Their mettle in the game was unmatched and in just the second-ever overtime Super Bowl, Kansas City’s unbelievable come-from-behind victory will go down as one of the best efforts of all time in a championship game.

Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs on a final touchdown-scoring drive after Kansas City’s defense held San Francisco to a field goal on their first possession of overtime, and unlikely hero Mecole Hardman was the recipient of the game-sealing pass that lifted his team to victory.

The contest was pure poetry in motion, and as soon as the post-game ceremonies were over, both current and former Chiefs players took to Twitter to let fans know about their most recent accomplishment.

Check out some of the top Twitter reactions from some of Kansas City’s most familiar faces below:

17 ex-Saints will compete in AFC, NFC Championship Games

17 ex-Saints players and coaches will compete in the AFC, NFC Championship Games for a shot at advancing to Super Bowl LVIII:

The New Orleans Saints won’t be competing in this weekend’s AFC and NFC Championship Games, but many of their former players and coaches will be fighting for the chance to advance to Super Bowl LVIII.

By our count, 17 former Saints have a shot at moving on to the final stage — here’s a quick look at the list suiting up for the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions, and San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Wil Lutz thanks New Orleans ‘for the best 7 years of my life’

Wil Lutz shares an emotional goodbye with Saints fans, thanks New Orleans ‘for the best 7 years of my life’ | @DillySanders

https://www.instagram.com/p/CwidMoPAGJ0/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D

Wil Lutz had a wonderful career for the New Orleans Saints but that era has come to an end, as he was traded to the the Denver Broncos to reunite with Sean Payton before Tuesday’s roster cuts deadline. Lutz shared an emotional goodbye to the city and its fans on Instagram after the news was announced.

Lutz spent seven years in New Orleans, playing for six seasons. He made 165 field goals on 195 attempts. He is second on the franchise all-time scoring list, adding 268 extra point kicks. The biggest kick of his career came against the Houston Texans as he put a 58-yard field goal through the uprights to walk the game off.

He will be in a great new environment in Denver, as the altitude has always been kicker friendly. As for the Saints, they will roll with rookie Blake Grupe.

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Thomas Morstead isn’t taking his 15-year NFL career for granted

Thomas Morstead isn’t taking his 15-year NFL career for granted. The longtime Saints punter has caught on with the Jets’ Super Bowl-or-bust campaign:

You won’t find many players who left a team with greater appreciation from the fanbase than Thomas Morstead, and not many of them would be punters. The longtime New Orleans Saints specialist embraced the city, making himself and his family a part of the community — and proving to be a reliable asset on the field whenever the team called his number.

But even good things come to an end. These days Morstead has found himself hitched to the New York Jets’ Super Bowl-or-bust campaign, and he isn’t taking his 15-year NFL career for granted.

“God blessed me with some long legs,” Morstead told Jets Wire managing editor Billy Riccette, “I guess I walked into a casino with 10 bucks and, and have, you know, come out with millions. You know, it’s like, just an awesome dream ride.”

Morstead jump-started his career with a Super Bowl win on the Saints’ legendary 2009 squad, earning his own spot in franchise history with the iconic “Ambush” onside kick coming out of halftime. That he went on to earn Pro Bowl and All-Pro recognition while appearing in 205 games with the Saints (190 regular season, 15 playoffs) is remarkable. That he capped it off by training his own replacement, Blake Gillikin, before moving on to continue his career is laudable.

He’s hoping to lean on that experience now as the Jets go all-in on a Super Bowl run of their own. Morstead isn’t the oldest player on their team (he’s 37; Aaron Rodgers turns 40 in December) but he does feel the generation gap with his younger teammates, and he’s making the most of the opportunity to share these moments with his family. When his children were younger, they didn’t know much about his job besides it taking him away from home all the time. Now he’s involving them as much as he can.

Morstead continued, “And, you know, I think I’ve always had pretty strong whys to take out the making good money and having an awesome career experience, I think I’ve had a really strong set of whys as to what kept me going, you know, my kids are old enough, they kind of know what’s going on now. So it’s really cool to be playing, and having experiences with them, where they get to be a part of it. You know, stuff that not a lot of guys get a chance to do.”

You can read Riccette’s full interview with Morstead here as he discusses his NFL experiences, why he went to the Jets this season, and what he hopes to accomplish in the fall. So long as he isn’t playing against the Saints, we’ll be rooting for him. Hopefully he can return home some day and retire in black and gold.

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Sean Payton’s Broncos to sign another former Saints player

Sean Payton’s Broncos are going to sign another former Saints player, having reached an agreement with Chiefs fullback Michael Burton:

It doesn’t seem to end. Yet another former New Orleans Saints standout is expected to join Sean Payton on the Denver Broncos — with fullback Michael Burton leaving the Kansas City Chiefs for a new deal with Denver, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Burton played for Payton in New Orleans during the 2019 and 2020 seasons before leaving for the Chiefs, and now they’re going to be reunited.

Payton’s Broncos recently signed former Saints practice squad wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey, which followed the hirings of multiple old Saints assistant coaches and staffers. Payton siphoned a lot of talent out of New Orleans once he returned from hiatus, but it remains to be seen how well all of these new parts will work together with embattled franchise quarterback Russell Wilson.

Saints fans will get their up-close look at Payton’s Broncos team when they visit the Caesars Superdome for a game in 2024.

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Former coach Mack Brown wins bowl game with North Carolina

UNC faced off against the Temple in the Military Bowl. Coached by former UT head coach Mack Brown, they got their first bowl win since 2013.

After 15 seasons as the head coach of the Longhorns, Mack Brown was let go. Taking some time off and working as a studio analyst with ESPN, Brown was out of coaching for five years. He took the North Carolina job at the end of the 2018 season and has turned the program around.

After gaining bowl eligibility and dancing with his team in the locker room, the Tar Heels faced off against the Temple in the Military Bowl. Led by freshman quarterback Sam Howell, UNC demolished the Owls 55-13, getting their first bowl win since 2013.

After two straight seasons of nine losses in 2017 and 2018, Brown has come in and instantly changed the culture at North Carolina. With this being his second stint with the school, they are used to winning with Brown, getting 10 wins three times.

Ending the season at 7-6, the bowl win is the highlight of the Tar Heel season. The second best moment came when they nearly defeated now ACC Champions Clemson, but came up short on a two-point conversion.

UNC will be a dark horse candidate in the ACC next season and they have Mack Brown to thank for that. As Longhorns Wire’s Head Coach of the Decade, watching Brown succeed is always good to see.

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Former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer flashes ‘Horns Up’

Former Sooner coach Barry Switzer tweeted out a picture of him giving the Horns up signal. Getting car help, a UT grad was there to assist.

Everybody, even former head football coaches from Oklahoma, eventually figures out the right side of the Texas-Oklahoma rivalry. Former Sooner head coach Barry Switzer tweeted out a picture of him and a University of Texas graduate giving the ‘Horns up’ signal after he helped him on the side of the road.

Switzer’s tire had blown out on the side of I-40 and UT graduate Franciso De Soto was there to assist him. De Soto may not have known who Switzer was or what his old job was, but he was glad to assist with his tire during rush hour.

Here is the tweet:

Switzer is famous for wearing a “Beat Texas” hat on the sideline in the 1984 Red River Shootout. The Sooners were not able to pull out a victory that year, as the two teams tied 15-15. With a career record of 9-5-2 against the Longhorns, Switzer saw success in the annual matchup in Dallas.

While it may not be what Oklahoma fans want to see, Texas fans will forever have something fun at their expense. One of the greatest head coaches to ever work for the Sooners giving a ‘Horn Up’ instead of a ‘Horns Down’ is quite the sight to see.

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