Tiervermittlung Schweiz » Louisville interim football coach Lorenzo Ward

LOUISVILLE Tony Pollard Jersey , Ky. (AP) — said he is focused solely on salvaging the Cardinals‘ final two games rather than whether he will have the job permanently.It’s unclear who will be Louisville’s next head coach, whether it’s Ward or possibly Purdue’s Jeff Brohm, a former Cardinals quarterback who has been mentioned as a possible candidate.It’s a challenge either way: Whether Ward gets the job is not within his control and ending the Cardinals seven-game slide that won’t be easy against North Carolina State on Saturday.“We’re going through tough times,” Ward said Monday in his first news conference as interim coach. “They’re used to winning. We’re not, and the thing we want to do is try to make these next two weeks as fun as we can possibly make them.“It’s not going to be about me. … It’s about what we’re going to do for these young men.”Ward, 51, was named Sunday to replace Bobby Petrino, who was dismissed after a 2-8 start featuring a handful of blowout losses. Louisville athletic director Vince Tyra said he tabbed the second-year safeties coach for his administrative and leadership skills.No matter how the season ends on the field, Ward might not keep the job permanently.There are already questions about who take the reins after the season finale against No. 20 Kentucky. Brohm has been frequently mentioned as the top candidate. The former Cardinals quarterback who became an assistant under Petrino acknowledged the reports Monday but dismissed them, saying he is concentrating on making the 5-5 Boilermakers bowl eligible.“I’ve heard the noise just like everyone else Noah Fant Jersey ,” Brohm said during his weekly news conference. “Unfortunately, it’s important for me to not comment on any speculation right now. I have a job, and we’ve got work to do, and a lot of it. …Brohm added that he was “very appreciative of the job I have right now.”Ward is little short-handed in his preparation for the Boilermakers — three assistants were also let go.Petrino’s son, quarterbacks coach Nick Petrino, defensive line coach L.D. Scott and linebackers coach Ryan Beard were also shown the door along with director of football operation Andy Wagner.Ward — whose defensive background includes spending the 2009-15 seasons at South Carolina coaching backs and linemen such as 2014 NFL draft No. 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney — will handle defensive line duties along with quality control coach J.B. Lageman. Grady Brown will coach the secondary, while first-year defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder will maintain his current role.Offensive coordinator Lonnie Galloway will call plays and coach the quarterbacks. The next step is getting effort from a Louisville squad that has underachieved in many phases.The Cardinals (0-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) enter Saturday’s meeting with North Carolina State (6-3, 3-3) ranked at or near the bottom statistically in conference offense and defense. Last week’s 54-23 loss at No. 12 Syracuse followed a 77-16 shellacking at No. 2 Clemson and led to Petrino’s firing after a five-year second stint with the program. He will receive a $14 million of his contract.Tyra on Sunday questioned the Cardinals’ effort in some contests, which Ward slightly disagreed with. But the interim coach conceded there’s room for improvement.“We definitely can pick up our effort,” he said. “The guys have given great effort Dalton Risner Jersey , but they haven’t given maximum effort.”The Cardinals’ morale hasn’t been helped watching opponents regularly hang 50-plus points on them, either. Whether Ward changes things over the next two Saturdays remains to be seen, but players look forward to seeing what new leadership brings.Until the next change, that is.“I was shocked, but at the same time it was only a matter of time,” junior defensive lineman G.G. Robinson said of Petrino’s dismissal. “It was like a big unknown cloud over everybody. We were having a bad season.“It seemed like all the fans wanted it to happen and it finally happened, so now we just need to move forward and can’t dwell on it.” JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP)Between wrist surgery, signing a $54 million contract and nearly getting robbed, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles had quite the start to the offseason.His next phase probably won’t create as much buzz Drew Lock Jersey , but it’s much more important to the team’s success in 2018.Bortles opened organized team activities Tuesday behind a revamped offensive line and with three new passing targets – all part of a plan to improve an offense that featured the league’s top rushing attack last season.”I have always believed that when your quarterback is ahead of everyone, and the rest of the offense has to catch up, that is a pretty good thing,” coach Doug Marrone said. ”You don’t want the quarterback trying to catch up to the rest of the offensive players. I think that Blake is in a good spot as far as what he knows of the offense, what we want to do. It’s just another year.”I think that’s why you see those quarterbacks that stay in these systems for a long period of time and play for a long period of time that do such a good job.”Bortles threw for 3,687 yards, with 21 touchdowns and a career-low 13 interceptions in 2017. He was at his best in the postseason, throwing for 594 yards and three scores without a turnover.Interceptions and fumbles were among Bortles’ biggest faults during his first three years in the league. He limited them down the stretch last season and eliminated them in the playoffs, helping the Jaguars reach the AFC championship game.”You want to have that every game,” said Bortles http://www.cardinalscheapstore.com/zach-allen-jersey-cheap , who had surgery to repair a partially torn ligament in his right wrist in late January. ”Just wanting to make sure that no matter what I did I gave us a chance to win. I knew that if I didn’t turn the ball over we’re going to have a chance to win every game. That should be and it is my mindset every single game we play. I think it was only heightened in the playoffs to make sure I wasn’t the reason we couldn’t win the game.”The Jaguars rewarded Bortles with a three-year contract that included $26.5 million guaranteed, making him the team’s starter for at least the next two seasons.”The contract stuff doesn’t really change anything about how I think or how I approach every day,” he said.The biggest difference, he said, is having continuity. The Jaguars returned their entire coaching staff, giving Bortles and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett a solid foundation to start from during OTAs.”We talked about it this morning: Kind of taking it to the next level,” said Bortles, who didn’t have the freedom to audible early last season. ”He kind of gave me the green light to go ahead … as far as what you’re doing versus all the different looks and not just running the play called, (but) getting yourself in the best play possible.”Bortles will have a much different supporting cast to work with in 2018.Donte Moncrief and rookie DJ Chark replaced receivers Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns, and tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins stepped in for longtime starter Marcedes Lewis.Moncrief and Chark are expected to bring more speed to Jacksonville’s offense Andy Isabella Jersey , which coaches are counting on to help loosen up defenses and create more room for bruising running back Leonard Fournette. The addition of All-Pro guard Andrew Norwell should help, too.Bortles will use the next few months to build a rapport with those newcomers. If it includes any dinners, Bortles probably will be sure to lock his truck.Bortles had his wallet stolen and pickup truck nearly hijacked earlier this month from teammate Brandon Linder’s driveway during an offensive line dinner. An 18-year-old Jacksonville man was arrested and charged with auto theft, auto burglary and trespassing.Bortles left his keys inside his unlocked truck, but other vehicles parked around it prevented the man from driving away.”He checked my truck out a little bit and left it nice and clean for me,” joked Bortles, who has since teamed up with local police to help prevent automobile burglaries. ”It was all right. … Glad to be back playing football, running around. It feels good to kind of be back to some familiarity.”—