NFL notes: Lions fire offensive coordinator Lombardi, 2 OL coaches
Hours before leaving for their longest road trip of the season, the Detroit Lions shook up their offensive coaching staff.
Detroit fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and line coaches Jeremiah Washburn and Terry Heffernan on Monday, a day after the team dropped another game in a listless performance against the Minnesota Vikings. The Lions announced the moves shortly before they were supposed to depart for London, where they’ll play next weekend against the Kansas City Chiefs.
“It’s not a good day. It’s a tough day,” coach Jim Caldwell said. “I’ve been in this position myself three times, and it’s happened to me, and it’s certainly not fun.”
Caldwell said the staff changes were his decision.
Quarterbacks coach Jim Bob Cooter is taking over as offensive coordinator, and tight ends coach Ron Prince will now coach the offensive line. Assistant special teams coach Devin Fitzsimmons will now work with tight ends.
Cowboys won’t discipline Hardy
Dallas coach Jason Garrett says defensive end Greg Hardy won’t be disciplined for a sideline tirade that included a physical confrontation with special teams coach Rich Bisaccia after the New York Giants’ decisive kickoff return for a touchdown.
Garrett said the heated exchange that also involved Dez Bryant and other players was “not a big deal from anybody inside our football team and inside this building.”
Hardy, in his second game after a four-game suspension for his role in a domestic violence case, barged into the special teams huddle after Dwayne Harris’ 100-yard kickoff return for the winning points in the fourth quarter of the Giants’ 27-20 victory.
The Cowboys (2-4) face Seattle on Sunday with their first four-game losing streak under Garrett.
Foster’s season
over in Houston
Texans running back Arian Foster is out for the season with an Achilles tendon injury, a significant blow for a team that was just blown out for the second time this season.
Coach Bill O’Brien said he expects Foster to miss the rest of the season but didn’t elaborate on the injury to Foster’s right leg.
Foster was injured without being hit late in the Texans 44-26 loss to Miami on Sunday. He was in motion when he fell to the ground at the beginning of a play.
Richardson ready for Seahawks
Paul Richardson felt ready to start catching passes and running routes a month ago.
Because he started the season on the physically-unable-to-perform list, Richardson wasn’t able to do that on the Seattle Seahawks’ practice field until the team activated him to begin practicing.
“I’ve been itching to get here since my surgery,” Richardson said.
Around the league
Cleveland Browns starting QB Josh McCown is day to day with an injured right shoulder suffered Sunday late in the fourth quarter of a 24-6 loss to the St. Louis Rams. … New York Jets center Nick Mangold has a sore neck, but avoided a potentially serious injury when X-rays and other test results came back negative. Mangold left in the fourth quarter of a loss to the Patriots after banging his head. … X-rays on the left hand of Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford came back negative and DB Rashean Mathis was cleared after going through the concussion protocol.