PACKERS
2 coaches fired
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Green Bay Packers have fired running backs coach Sam Gash and tight ends coach Jerry Fontenot following a challenging season for the offense.
Coach Mike McCarthy announced the moves on Tuesday.
Gash was with the team for two seasons. Eddie Lacy ran for more than 1,100 yards in 2014 but gained just 758 this year on 187 carries. McCarthy has said that Lacy did not have a good offseason last year and it carried over.
Lacy was disciplined for tardiness the night before a game, and McCarthy had concerns about Lacy's weight.
Fontenot leaves the Packers after joining the team in 2006 as a coaching intern. He previously served as running backs coach and assistant offensive line coach.
PATRIOTS
LB Mayo on IR
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots have placed linebacker Jerod Mayo on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, ending his season.
Mayo, 29, was injured in Saturday's victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Mayo played in all 16 regular-season games and totaled 49 tackles and one sack.
New England will play the Denver Broncos on Sunday for a spot in Super Bowl 50. The Patriots are attempting to be the first team to repeat as NFL champions since they did it in 2003-04.
EAGLES
Schwartz new DC
PHILADELPHIA -- The Eagles have hired former Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz to be their defensive coordinator.
Schwartz was the first assistant brought in by new head Coach Doug Pederson. He last coached in 2014 as Buffalo's defensive coordinator.
Schwartz was 29-51 as Detroit's coach from 2009-13. He led the Bills to the No. 4 ranking on defense in 2014. Schwartz was Tennessee's defensive coordinator for eight seasons before going to Detroit.
Pederson announced the hiring at his introductory news conference on Tuesday. Pederson also said he would retain from Chip Kelly's staff offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland and special teams coach Dave Fipp. Running backs coach Duce Staley also is expected to remain.
BUCCANEERS
4 assistants added
TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have added four more assistant coaches to the staff of new Coach Dirk Koetter.
Koetter began filling his staff after being promoted from offensive coordinator to coach last week, hiring former Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith as defensive coordinator.
The team announced Tuesday that Nate Kaczor joins Tampa Bay as special teams coordinator. Mark Duffner is the new linebackers coach, Jay Hayes will coach the defensive line, and Jon Hoke joins the Bucs as defensive backs coach.
Kaczor spent the past four seasons with the Tennessee Titans, working as special teams coordinator the past three years. Duffner moves to Tampa Bay after two seasons as linebackers coach for the Miami Dolphins.
Hayes coached the Cincinnati Bengals defensive line the past 13 seasons. Hoke spent last season as co-defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach at the University of South Carolina.
STEELERS
No surgery for QB
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's ailing right shoulder will not require surgery, but he will take some time off in the next few weeks to let the injury heal following the Steelers' 23-16 playoff loss in Denver.
"From what I've been told by Doc (James) Bradley, no surgery," Roethlisberger said on the radio Tuesday morning. "The ligaments will scar up and heal on their own. The only thing he could foresee possibly down the road is cleaning out the arthritis and scars. I don't foresee any surgeries anytime soon."
Roethlisberger said he took a painkilling injection on Friday and before the game. They did the test run on Friday so he would know how his arm would feel in the game.
"The shot was probably as painful as my shoulder was during the game," he said. "It was the first time I took a shot in the shoulder. I don't think there was any way I could have gotten through the game without it."
Roethlisberger threw for 339 yards in the losing effort.
NFLPA
Rice working bowl
BALTIMORE -- Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice is serving as an assistant coach this week at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.
Rice has not played in the NFL since being suspended at the start of the 2014 season for domestic violence.
Rice is serving as assistant running backs coach for Mike Martz.
Martz is head coach of the National Team and Mike Holmgren is in charge of the American Team.
The teams are slated to practice Tuesday through Thursday. The game will be held Saturday in Carson, California.
The Collegiate Bowl is for draft-eligible college players and run by the NFLPA. According to the union, "the weeklong schedule provides participants with a first-class professional experience while introducing them to the business of the National Football League."
Rice, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, is expected to provide players insight on how to act on and off the field.
-- Democrat-Gazette Press Services
Sports on 01/20/2016