Hall of Fame executive Beathard dies

Four-time Super Bowl-winning executive Bobby Beathard has died. He was 86.

A spokesperson for the Washington Commanders said Beathard’s family told the team he died Monday at his home in Franklin, Tennessee.

Beathard was director of player personnel for two of the NFL championships by Miami in the 1970s and served as general manager for two more by Washington in the ’80s. He also scouted for Kansas City when the Chiefs won the American Football League title and made the Super Bowl in the 1960s and was GM with San Diego when the Chargers got there in the ’90s.

Part of seven teams that made the Super Bowl during his lengthy front office career, Beathard was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.

Chargers owner Dean Spanos in a statement called Beathard “one of the best judges of football talent in NFL history.”

Eagles’ lineman accused of rape

CAMBRIDGE, Ohio — Josh Sills, a reserve offensive lineman for the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles, has been indicted on rape and kidnapping charges that stem from an incident in Ohio just over three years ago, authorities said Wednesday.

Sills, an undrafted free agent who appeared in just one game this season, was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list. That means he can’t practice, play or travel with the team as it prepares for the Super Bowl.

The NFL announced the move Wednesday and said the issue is being reviewed under the league’s personal conduct policy.

The rookie, who played at West Virginia and Oklahoma State, was indicted Tuesday by a Guernsey County grand jury in Ohio and ordered to appear in court on Feb. 16, four days after the Eagles are to play the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.

His attorney, Michael Connick, said the allegations are false and that Sills will be aggressively defended.

McCarthy to call plays for Cowboys

MOBILE, Ala. — Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is set to call plays in 2023 after the club parted ways with offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

Owner/general manager Jerry Jones told reporters at the Senior Bowl on Wednesday that McCarthy will run a version of the West Coast offense he used when calling plays as head coach in Green Bay from 2006-18.

Executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones hinted at philosophical differences between McCarthy and Moore, who kept the play-calling role for three seasons after McCarthy was hired.

The Los Angeles Chargers hired Moore as offensive coordinator Monday, a day after the Cowboys announced Moore’s departure.

Commanders talk to Lynn for OC job

The Washington Commanders are interviewing Anthony Lynn for their offensive coordinator vacancy.

The team confirmed the interview Wednesday. Lynn, the San Francisco 49ers assistant head coach/running backs coach, is the sixth candidate the Commanders have spoken to about the job.

Coach Ron Rivera interviewed Lynn in person in California days after the 49ers flew home following their loss at Philadelphia in the NFC championship game. Rivera was criticized on social media Tuesday by Washington radio broadcasters for golfing at Pebble Beach before hiring an offensive coordinator.

That process has been ongoing since Rivera fired Scott Turner on Jan. 10, less than 48 hours after the Commanders missed the playoffs with the NFL’s 20th ranked offense. Turner’s at times curious play-calling and underwhelming results with multiple quarterbacks contributed to derailing their postseason hopes.

Lynn, 54, offers a deep resume after coaching the Los Angeles Chargers from 2017-20 and serving as offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions in 2021 before joining San Francisco. The 49ers have already lost defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, who was hired by the Houston Texans as their next coach.

AP source: Ruhle files $5M arbitration suit

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule has filed an arbitration suit with the NFL against the Carolina Panthers seeking about $5 million in offset severance compensation, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Rhule was fired as Panthers head coach on Oct. 10. He has since hired high-profile New York City litigator John Singer of Singer Deutsch LLP to handle the lawsuit, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the arbitration suit has not been made public.

A Panthers spokesman would not confirm the suit and declined to comment to the AP. Rhule, reached by text, also declined to comment.

CBS Sports was first to report the arbitration suit.