After making history in 2015 by becoming the first full-time female official in NFL history, Sarah Thomas will become the first female referee to officiate a playoff game in league history.
Thomas will be part of the crew working the Patriots-Chargers game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
In 2017, Thomas was an alternate for the Falcons-Rams wild-card game but never took the field. She’s spent the last two seasons as a down judge, before previously working as a line judge. Thomas is in her fourth season as an NFL official.
Also, Terri Valentini, the NFL’s first female instant replay official, is scheduled to work the Colts-Chiefs game Saturday.
CARDINALS: Arizona has hired former Texas Tech Coach Kliff Kingsbury as its head coach, a move to provide guidance for young quarterback Josh Rosen and resuscitate the worst offense in the NFL.
Kingsbury was fired after going 35-40 in six seasons at Texas Tech, but his teams were known for their high-scoring performances. His prize pupil in those days was current Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Tuesday’s hiring came barely a month after Kingsbury was hired as offensive coordinator at USC.
He replaces Steve Wilks, who was fired after going an NFL-worst 3-13 in his one season in Arizona.
Arizona’s move is back to an offense-centered coach, a philosophy that worked well in the previous hire of Bruce Arians, who won 50 games in five seasons before retiring after the 2017 season.
CHARGERS: Running back Melvin Gordon, who limped to the sideline last Sunday in Baltimore and returned to play wearing a knee brace, is dealing with a knee sprain, according to reports.
Despite his injury, the two-time Pro Bowler is expected to play at New England on Sunday, but it appears unlikely he’ll be at 100 percent.
Playing in 12 games, Gordon totaled 885 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in the regular season. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry and caught 50 passes for 490 yards and four more scores.
• Tight end Hunter Henry could make his season debut on Sunday. He made it back to the active roster in slightly less than eight months after suffering a torn knee ligament in May
The Chargers activated him from the physically unable to preform list Monday, but his status against New England won’t be determined until the end of the week.
“He’s really excited,” Coach Anthony Lynn said. “He’s been with us all along. He’s been in meetings all year. He’s been very much engaged. So we feel like he’s ready to play.”
• The Chargers started 0-4 in Coach Anthony Lynn’s first season, and have gone 22-7 since.
FALCONS: Dirk Koetter has been offered a position as Atlanta’s offensive coordinator, the team announced Tuesday.
Koetter was fired as Tampa Bay’s head coach after going 19-29 in three seasons, including back-to-back 5-11 seasons the past two seasons. He previously served as offensive coordinator with the Falcons from 2012-14 and worked with quarterback Matt Ryan.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.