An incredible sports week arrives with Olympics, Super Bowl. Plus: NFL coaching carousel wraps up

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Good morning! It’s the start of a brilliant sports week. Coming up:

🏅 Olympic stars to know

🏈 Super Bowl week, baby

✍️ Coaching carousel problem

On the Calendar, Pt. 1: A big, big week

We often talk about the unmatched glory of a great sports weekend, whether that’s the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, MLB’s Opening Day blitz, Thanksgiving weekend in the football world, whatever. We have arrived at one of those junctures — and it’s a full week.

Let’s start with what’s first on the calendar:

The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics officially open Wednesday, the beginning of what will be a delightful month. We have an entire team in Italy already to document every triumph and heartbreak.

There are American stars ranging from the mega-popular to the ones you aren’t familiar with — yet. We have a list of 26 American athletes to know, just published this morning. I was struck by our feature on Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who is back at the Olympics after coming millimeters from never skiing again.

The rest of the world is there, too, of course, which means we have a list of 26 international stars to know as well. Keep an eye on Eileen Gu, the American-born skier who represents China on the international stage. And, of course, the Canadian hockey teams. See all those stars here.

We’ll have daily coverage throughout the Games, plus a new newsletter. Happy Olympics Week, everyone. On to that one game happening this weekend:

On the Calendar, Pt. 2: Hello, Bay Area

Also, yes, we are officially in Super Bowl week. Thank god, as the two-week break between conference title weekend and the Big Game always feels gratuitous from my vantage point.

A few notes to set the tone this week:

In his weekly Pick Six column, Mike Sando made some smart points about the game management by both Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald and Patriots coach Mike Vrabel ahead of Sunday’s game. There’s also some good commentary on Bill Belichick’s Hall of Fame snub, but stay for the Super Bowl game notes. They’re good.

On its face, the Patriots’ turnaround is quite compelling. But I found Michael-Shawn Dugar’s story this morning on the 11-year gap between Seahawks Super Bowl appearances moving. It is so easy to imagine a different reality where Malcolm Butler doesn’t make that interception and Seattle fully builds a dynasty. The history and reporting here are fantastic.

Andrew Marchand also made a point I couldn’t quite believe: Sunday will be the first Super Bowl Mike Tirico has ever called. It’s been a decade since NBC poached Tirico from ESPN, and per Andrew’s story, it still seems like no one involved can believe that happened.

Lastly, I will be on the ground in San Francisco this week for the festivities, along with a host of Athletic folks. If you’re going to/organizing a big fan meetup, drop me a line at thepulse@theathletic.com.

Let’s keep moving:

News to Know

NFL coaching carousel wraps up

The final two head-coaching jobs appear to be filled, as the Cardinals hired Mike LaFleur — the Rams offensive coordinator and brother to Packers coach Matt LaFleur — while The Athletic reported yesterday the Raiders and Klint Kubiak, the Seahawks offensive coordinator, are close to a deal.

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That adds up to zero Black head coach hires in a cycle that featured a record 10 openings, which means the league has just three Black head coaches for 2026 — one more than in 2002, when the Rooney Rule was prompted. Jerry Brewer thinks it tells you everything you need to know about the state of the NFL.

More news:

Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson said the team would’ve done better if Sam Darnold had stayed in Minnesota. Read his full comments.

Frank Thomas was very upset about a Black History Month graphic posted by the White Sox. It’s another file in a messy relationship between the franchise and its former star.

Speaking of the White Sox: They acquired Red Sox pitcher Jordan Hicks in a prospect-heavy trade yesterday. Details inside.

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes publicly wondered if his players were betting on games after the Volunteers’ win over Auburn yesterday. It was a joke, but still.

Justin Rose won the Farmers Insurance Open yesterday and set a record while doing it.

LeBron James made his record-extending 22nd NBA All-Star team, as announced yesterday. Full rosters here.

Bucks coach Doc Rivers stood by his criticism of ICE last week. More here.

No. 2 UCLA is still undefeated in Big Ten women’s college basketball play after a huge win over No. 8 Iowa yesterday. See our report.

📰 Find more news here 24/7.

Watch Guide

📺 NCAAM: Syracuse at No. 16 North Carolina7 p.m. ET on ESPN

Start the week with a casual battle of bluebloods here. The Tar Heels have won three in a row, while the Orange have talent but few results this year. Throw this on in the background.

Get tickets to games like this here.

Pulse Picks

One NFL fan visited every stadium this season with a single purpose: to shine a spotlight on wheelchair accessibility. Just a really great story.

A must-read from yesterday: Alec Lewis and Dianna Russini’s detailed report inside the stunning firing of Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. Make time for this.

Ian O’Connor writes that Giants co-owner Steve Tisch must pay for his “startling lack of judgment” in dealings with Jeffrey Epstein. Read that column here.

I loved this feature that looks back at old NHL arenas. Give me quirky stadiums any day of the week.

Carlos Alcaraz may have the career Grand Slam now, but as Matthew Futterman wrote, his goal of being the best to ever play is more realistic than you think.

An arbitration hearing is set for today between the Tigers and ace Tarik Skubal. It could have huge repercussions on the future of MLB salaries.

This weekend’s episode of “The Athletic Show” dove into the fallout from the Bill Belichick Hall of Fame snub: Is this a case of Spygate karma, or is the Hall out of touch? Stream it on Fire TV, The Athletic app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our story on the boxer’s hairpiece falling off, because of course.

Most-read on the website yesterday: The story on Adofo-Mensah above.

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