William Stephen Belichick is an American football coach. Widely regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, he holds numerous coaching records, including the record of most Super Bowl wins (six) as a head coach, all with the New England Patriots, along with two more during his time as the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, for the record of eight combined total Super Bowl victories as coach and coordinator. A renowned American football historian, Belichick is often referred to as a "student of the game" with a deep knowledge of the intricacies of each player position. Under his tenure with the Patriots, he was a central figure as the head coach and de facto general manager during the franchise's dynasty from 2001 to 2019.
Troy Darnell Vincent is an American sports executive and former professional football player who played cornerback for the Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Dolphins as the seventh overall pick in the 1992 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2023. On September 28, 2011, Vincent was named as one of the Preliminary Nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2012 in his first year of eligibility and each year since.
ESPN on ABC is the branding used for sports event and documentary programming televised by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. Officially, the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, in 2006, ABC's sports division was merged into ESPN Inc., which is the parent subsidiary of the cable sports network ESPN that is majority owned by ABC's corporate parent, The Walt Disney Company, in partnership with Hearst Communications.
Marshawn Terrell Lynch is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. Nicknamed "Beast Mode", he spent the majority of his career with the Seattle Seahawks. Lynch played college football for the California Golden Bears, earning first-team All-American honors and becoming the school's second all-time career rusher. He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft and played three full seasons before joining Seattle during the 2010 season.
Thomas George Dimitroff Jr. is an American football executive. He served as the general manager of the Atlanta Falcons from 2008 to 2020. Before joining the Falcons in 2008, Dimitroff was with the New England Patriots for six years. He joined the Patriots in 2002 as a national scout before being named director of college scouting a year later. He is the son of former football player and coach Tom Dimitroff Sr.
William Christopher "Dabo" Swinney is an American football coach, currently serving as the head football coach at Clemson University. Swinney took over as head coach of the Clemson Tigers seven games into the 2008 season, following the resignation of Tommy Bowden. Swinney's team won national championships in 2016 and 2018. His 2018 Clemson Tigers have often been considered one of the greatest college football teams of all time. He is also the winningest head coach in Clemson football history. On September 8, 2022, Swinney signed a new contract extension that keeps him the head coach of the Clemson Tigers through the 2031 football season and pays him $115 million over the duration of the contract. This makes him the highest paid college football coach, now that Nick Saban has retired.
The Legends Poll was a poll that rated the Top 25 teams weekly during the college football season. Its aim was to identify the two best teams in its opinion by the end of the season who should compete in a national championship game. The voters were a group of retired coaches, most of whom were in the College Football Hall of Fame. The Legends Poll was founded by Andy Curtin in 2005 as the Master Coaches Survey, but changed its name in 2008 to better reflect the make-up of its voting members. Curtin and his partner, Pete Wolek implemented the original plan and operated the Legends Poll since its inception. The Legends Poll was published by ESPN and the Sporting News.
Tom Telesco is an American football executive who is the general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the general manager of the Los Angeles Chargers from 2013 to 2023.
The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level of college football competition in the United States. It culminates in the College Football Playoff National Championship game. The inaugural tournament was held at the end of the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season under a four-team format. The CFP expands to include twelve teams for the 2024 season.
The College Football Playoff National Championship is a post-season college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), which began play in the 2014 college football season. The game is held on the second Monday of January and serves as the final game of the College Football Playoff, a bracket tournament between the top four teams in the country as determined by a selection committee, which was established as a successor to the Bowl Championship Series and then its similar BCS National Championship Game.
Patrick Lavon Mahomes II is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The son of former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Pat Mahomes, he played college football and baseball at Texas Tech University. Following his sophomore year, he quit baseball to focus solely on football. In his junior year, he led all NCAA Division I FBS players in multiple categories including passing yards (5,052) and total touchdowns (53). He was selected 10th overall by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Joshua Patrick Allen is an American football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wyoming, where he was a bowl game MVP, and was selected seventh overall by the Bills in the 2018 NFL Draft.
William Trevor Lawrence is an American football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). Considered among the highest-touted college football prospects, he won the 2019 National Championship Game as a freshman at Clemson and set the school's record for quarterback wins. Selected first overall by the Jaguars in the 2021 NFL Draft, Lawrence had a breakout season in 2022 when he led the Jaguars to their first division title and playoff win since 2017.
Tuanigamanuolepola Donny Tagovailoa is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide and was named the Offensive MVP of the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship during his freshman season. Tagovailoa won the Maxwell and Walter Camp Awards as a sophomore. He is the brother of Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa.
Jordan Alexander Love is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Utah State Aggies, where he was named to the second-team All-MWC (2018) and was selected as the MVP of the 2018 New Mexico Bowl. After announcing that he would forgo his senior year of college, Love was drafted by the Packers in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He served as the back-up quarterback to starter Aaron Rodgers for three years, before being named the starting quarterback of the Packers for the 2023 NFL season. During his first season as a starter, Love recorded over 4,000 passing yards and threw 32 touchdowns while leading the Packers to a victory in the playoffs.
Joseph Brady is an American football coach who is the interim offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers from 2020 to 2021. He was a passing game coordinator and wide receiver coach for the LSU Tigers during the 2019 season, winning the Broyles Award for the best assistant coach in college football, and an offensive assistant for the New Orleans Saints from 2017 to 2018.
Michael McCorkle "Mac" Jones is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Jones played college football at the University of Alabama, where he set the NCAA season records for passer rating and completion percentage as a junior en route to winning the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship. He was selected by the Patriots in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Steven Sims Jr. is an American football wide receiver for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Kansas and signed with the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2019.
Coleridge Bernard "C. J." Stroud IV is an American football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State, where he holds several school records, including most passing yards in a single game with 573, as well as being the first player to throw for six touchdowns three times. Stroud was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2021 and 2022 and was selected by the Texans second overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, where he set multiple rookie and playoff records en route to the Texans' first division title and playoff victory since 2019.
Jonathan James McCarthy is an American football quarterback. He played college football at Michigan, leading the team to win the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship.
