The Audible: Noisy Sunday for the Rams, the Chargers’ choices and an epic rant

Jim Alexander: This day has been a firehose of sports activity. Kawhi Leonard signed an extension – three years, $152.4 million, first reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania – and Pete Carroll is out as Seattle Seahawks coach. He’s staying in the Seattle organization as an advisor, however, meaning one less rumored candidate for the Chargers job. (We’ll get to that in a few.) And then, this afternoon, came word that Alabama coach Nick Saban is retiring. Whew!

First, however, it’s Wild Card Week, Rams vs. Lions, the Matthew Stafford Bowl or the Jared Goff Revenge Tour, however you want to look at it. I was on an NBC Sports teleconference this morning, and in between all of the questions about why on earth Peacock was taking such an outsized role in the network’s playoff coverage – simple answer, follow the money – the Rams-Lions game received far more attention from questioners and network voices Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth than either of the other games NBC/Peacock has on its docket this weekend.

(By the way, yes, the Dolphins-Chiefs game on Saturday is advertised as a Peacock exclusive, but it is going to be shown over-the-air in the Kansas City and Miami markets. So even when Roger Goodell and his NFL executives chase the bucks, and they’re better at it than just about any sports entity, they also realize that the object is to draw the most eyeballs in addition to making the most money, rather than having to choose between the two. Old-school TV is still the best way to draw those huge audiences.)

But I circle back to Rams-Lions for this reason: You saw last week’s game in Santa Clara, and you had an opportunity to talk to Puka Nacua, the new NFL record-holder for catches and receiving yards by a rookie. He’s already had a breakout year. But could Sunday night in Detroit be his breakout game?

Mirjam Swanson: Oooh, that’s a good question. Puka is so cool, and seemingly so unflappable – and such a weapon. And on a such a roll, vibing. I wouldn’t be surprised if McVay uses him to pick apart the Lions.

I like the Rams in the Stafford-Goff Bowl, mostly because of how well McVay knows Goff. And because of how hot the Rams are, winners of seven of their past eight games, including taking down the San Francisco 49ers at home without seven starters and limited Puka. Their only loss, of course, was an overtime 37-31 defeat at Baltimore – the whole team is on a roll, vibing.

And you’ll get to be out there, right, Jim? Should be a terrific atmosphere for what will be the first NFL playoff game in Detroit since 1994!? That’s something.

Jim: The good news, in the midst of a Michigan winter, is that the game will be indoors at Ford Field. The bad news, for my eardrums? The game will be indoors at Ford Field. That little reminder on my Apple Watch of dangerous decibel levels is going to be pinging all night long. That could work as a positive for the Lions, who undoubtedly will feed off the pent-up emotion of a fan base that has seen too much bad football over too many years. But if the Rams can get a lead and that crowd starts to show its collective angst, all of that emotion could be counterproductive.

I’m sure we’ll be discussing matchups and strategies and all as the week goes on, but one other Rams item must be discussed: Mom Power. We saw it last week, when Puka’s mother greeted him on the sideline after his record-breaking performance. And we saw it the week before in the Meadowlands, when Kyren Williams scored and tossed the ball toward his mother in the front row — and she wrestled it away from a Giants fan trying to glom onto it in an absolutely classic moment. (With that in addition to the ball her son tossed to her after scoring against the Saints at home the week before, she’s amassing quite the collection. I think a trophy case to display them all is a must.)

Williams may be the X-factor on Sunday, as it turns out, As good as Stafford is and as many pass-catching weapons as he has at his disposal, the Rams are at their best when they’re running the ball consistently. Williams is giving them a better chance to succeed on the ground than they’ve had since Todd Gurley (remember him?) was healthy.

And now for the other team in town, which has its own important business to take care of. The Chargers – presumably meaning John Spanos, the president of football operations – took care of a couple of in-house interviews for the head coaching spot right off the bat, interim coach Giff Smith and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. I’m sure we’ll hear about all of the usual suspects, and Mike Vrabel’s availability after he was surprisingly let go by Tennessee may have changed the odds.

(By the way, I just double-checked the Boston Globe website. As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, Bill Belichick is still the Patriots’ coach. But stay tuned.)

Mirjam: Well, by all accounts, the Bolts are casting a wide net to find their next coach – and, yeah, it sounds as if Belichick is among the possible candidates. Which … wild.

I kind of got used to the idea that it would be Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, though the success rate for college coaches who transition to the pro ranks isn’t especially great, whether you’re talking Chip Kelly or Kliff Kingsbury.

But Harbaugh, after a trying and ultimately utterly successful season at Michigan, had been talking before the national championship game like he had a destination in mind, speaking freely about some of what ails college football: “The thing I would change about college football is to let the talent share in the ever-increasing revenues. We’re all riding the same train. And the ones that are in the position to do the heavy lifting, the ones that risk life and limb out there on the football field are the players. And not just football players, student-athletes. The organizations are fighting hard to keep all the money — the universities, the NCAA, the conferences. And it’s long past time to let the student-athletes share in the ever-increasing revenues.”

Also, of course, Harbaugh signed with football agent Don Yee, a guy with strong NFL ties who also represents Tom Brady and Sean Payton.

But maybe it’s not him? Maybe it’s Ben Johnson or Dan Quinn or Bobby Slowik or Eric Bieniemy or Frank Smith or Brian Flores or Jerod Mayo or Brian Callahan or Mike Macdonald or Brian Johnson or … or Deion Sanders? Or Carroll? Or why not Philip Rivers!? A couple days before Christmas, ABC-7 San Diego reported that oddsmakers had Rivers at 100-to-1 to get the job.

I just hope, whoever they land on, it’s someone who’ll have Justin Herbert throw the ball all over the field.

But what say you, Jim: Who’s your guess for whom the next Chargers head coach will be?

Jim: Philip Rivers as head coach (and conducting postgame and post-practice press conferences) would be a delight for all of us who cover the team in any form or fashion. Then again, while it would be bringing back one of the franchise’s most beloved figures, you’d also be hiring a guy whose coaching experience consists of two years tutoring his son, Gunner Rivers, at St. Michael Catholic High in Fairhope, Ala. So while the imagination delights at a reunion, reality says nah.

My pick: Ben Johnson, the Lions’ OC. Partly because of the success he’s had with Goff, partly because of the intriguing possibilities with Herbert … and mainly because, as I wrote last week, he fits the Chargers’ profile: Bright assistant coach, won’t ask for too much money, won’t ask for too much power. (Then again, Johnson’s liable to have plenty of suitors, and if it turns into a bidding war, that might not be such a lock after all.)

Whom the Chargers hire as general manager may be the more intriguing question, but I don’t think it’s going to make a difference which position they fill first. The son of the owner has wielded quiet power in that organization all along and will continue to do so.

Last topic of the week: I saw someone on social media Tuesday night suggest that every NBA coach should get a freebie, one game every year to say what they really feel about the officiating without being asked to make a subsequent contribution to the Adam Silver Party Fund. This, of course, was spurred by the classic and entertaining rant of Toronto Raptors’ coach Darko Rajaković, who laid into the officiating crew after a 132-131 loss to the Lakers in which L.A. was 28 for 36 from the free-throw line and the Raptors were 8 for 13 … and the discrepancy in the fourth quarter was 19 for 23 for the Lakers and 1 for 2 for the Raptors.

Among the highlights: “This is outrageous … This is shame. Shame for the referees. Shame for the league to allow this … I understand respect for All-Stars and all that, but we have star players on our team as well. How (is it) possible that Scottie Barnes, who is an All-Star caliber player in this league, he goes every single time to the rim with force and trying to get to the rim without flopping and not trying to get foul calls, he gets two free throws for a whole game? How is that possible? … They came to win tonight? If that’s the case, just let us know so we don’t show up for the game. Just give them a win.”

Darko is a real one. pic.twitter.com/qPUykwR2pO

— Kayla Grey (@Kayla_Grey) January 10, 2024

The over/under on the fine probably should be $30,000, which is another reminder: Free speech has its limits when you’re discussing officiating.

Mirjam: Darko Rajaković! Top-tier tirade. Tremendous tantrum.

The rookie head coach was talking pregame about sitting down with the Zen Master, Phil Jackson. About how much joy Immanuel Quickley plays with – and how he wants him to play with even more joy! And then, postgame, he’s thumping the table, growling, with fire in his eyes. One of my favorite basketball artists, lolwtferic (aka Eric Bui), depicted “Darko Mode” perfectly as the coach grabbing a rag-doll-looking ref by the lapels.

The coach was wrong, of course.

The disparity wasn’t nearly as drastic as the numbers portray. The Lakers – who don’t have a player in the top 10 in free-throw attempts – took eight of their fourth-quarter free throws in the final 24 seconds, when Toronto was intentionally fouling to stop the clock. And while the flagrant foul that was called was unfortunate, it’s not like that’s a call only the Lakers get in a situation when someone has taken as severe a shot to the head as Cam Reddish did.

And RJ Barrett’s moving screen? Did Anthony Davis accentuate the contact? Smartly, yes. Was it a moving screen, very much yes.

But never mind all that – Darko brought the drama, and that’s what we’re here for, no?