Texans hire Sherman; Warner signs with Cards
Mike Sherman wanted another head coaching job and was willing to sit out a year to wait for one.
But an aggressive owner, a former colleague and a little prodding from his wife made the ex-Green Bay coach abandon that plan and join the Houston Texans staff.
Sherman, who was fired by the Packers on Jan. 2 after the first losing record in his tenure there (4-12), was introduced Wednesday as Houston’s assistant head coach for offense.
The 51-year-old Sherman had turned down offensive coordinator positions with Buffalo and the New York Jets when the Texans began wooing him.
Sherman’s wife, Karen, it turns out, is a big fan of him having a job.
“My wife was kind of kicking me out of the house saying you need to coach. This isn’t going to work,” he said, only half-joking. “She played a little part in that.”
• Quarterback Kurt Warner was prepared to sign with another team if the Arizona Cardinals decided he wasn’t in their plans after one injury-shortened season. His daughter, Jesse, had a different idea.
“She said, ‘Dad, just retire. Just retire so we can stay here,”’ Warner said.
It never came to that once Warner agreed to an incentive-laden three-year contract that could be worth between $15 million-$22 million.
• Bud McFadin, a five-time Pro Bowl lineman who spent 11 years in the NFL, died at 77.
He died Monday in a hospital in Victoria, Texas, where he had lived since 1980.
McFadin was an All-American guard in 1950 for Texas. The next year he was drafted in the first round by the Los Angeles Rams, where he starred for five seasons. He played six seasons in the AFL with the Denver Broncos and Houston Oilers.
Hockey
Ronning retires
NHL veteran Cliff Ronning retired, ending an 18-year career in which he played for seven teams and was one of the league’s smallest players.
The 40-year-old Ronning last played for the New York Islanders in 2003-04 and went unsigned after the 2004-05 season was wiped out by a labor dispute. He also played for St. Louis, Vancouver, Phoenix, Nashville, Los Angeles and Minnesota.
Basketball
Judge rules for O’Brien
Ohio State, awaiting a decision on possible penalties for NCAA rules violations under former basketball coach Jim O’Brien, could have to pay him millions of dollars for firing him under a judge’s ruling.
O’Brien claimed the university improperly fired him in June 2004 for loaning $6,000 of his own money to a recruit.
Ohio Court of Claims Judge Joseph T. Clark ruled O’Brien broke his contract by giving the loan and failing to inform university officials, but the error was not serious enough to warrant firing.
The 55-year-old O’Brien sued for $3.5 million in lost wages and benefits. The award, which could reach nearly $9.5 million with interest and other damages, will be determined after another hearing.
• Wally Palmberg, an Oregon State All-American who played basketball in the 1930s, has died, the university announced. He was 93.