Why Penn State or Notre Dame can win it all; what comes next with NFL coaching searches?

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⚽ Good morning to all, but especially to …

CHRISTIAN PULISIC AND AC MILAN

The USMNT‘s biggest star shined once again, this time on one of his biggest stages. Christian Pulisic scored a wonderful late equalizer as AC Milan rallied past Inter, 3-2, to win the Supercoppa Italiana.

• AC Milan, under new manager Sergio Conceicao, trailed 2-0 at halftime.
• But Theo Hernandez scored on a 52nd-minute free kick, and Pulisic finished calmly with his left foot in the 80th minute. Tammy Abraham completed the comeback in stoppage time, scoring from close range.
• It’s AC Milan’s first trophy since 2020-21, making it Pulisic’s first trophy with the club.

Pulisic, who also scored in the semifinal Friday, will be a key part of Conceicao’s tenure, which is already off to a good start, Francesco Porzio notes.

👍 Honorable mentions

🏈 And not such a good morning for …

THE FIRED COACHES OF BLACK MONDAY

It wasn’t the busiest of Black Mondays in NFL history, but the day named for firings around the league still featured plenty of significant departures.

The only head coach fired was the Jaguars‘ Doug Pederson. The former Super Bowl-winning coach with the Eagles looked like he had things going in the right direction in 2022, when Jacksonville went 9-8 and won a playoff game in his debut season. The Jaguars jumped out to an 8-3 start last year, too. But since then, they are 5-18, tied for the worst record in the league. That included a 4-13 mark in the 2024 season. Cody Benjamin says Pederson’s fall in Jacksonville mirrored his fall in Philadelphia.

The Jaguars join the Bears, Jets, Patriots and Saints as teams looking for a head coach, and we’re tracking every team’s interviews right here. Tyler Sullivan has a list of potential Pederson successors in Jacksonville.

Here are the other significant stayings and goings from Monday.

That first bullet point may be good news for those two men, but not for fans of their team, Jordan Dajani says in his Black Monday winners and losers.

• Dajani: “Fans were surely hoping for sweeping changes following a disastrous campaign, and it’s fair to ask if the current regime can even build a culture of success. Giants legend Tiki Barber warned fans recently not to obsess about who the next quarterback is going to be, because no young quarterback can thrive in a terrible situation.”

Here’s what to look for moving forward:

👎 Not so honorable mentions

🏈 College Football Playoff: Why Notre Dame or Penn State can win it all, plus most impactful players

We’re two days away from the start of the College Football Playoff semifinals, and (7) Notre Dame vs. (6) Penn State in the Orange Bowl should be an absolute dandy.

Though (8) Ohio State is the clear favorite after steamrolling (1) Oregon, count out the Fighting Irish and the Nittany Lions at your own risk. Will Backus gives three reasons why Marcus Freeman‘s squad can win it all, while Tom Fornelli has three reasons James Franklin‘s bunch also has what it takes.

• Backus: “Dominance in the trenches — That win against Georgia wasn’t some breakout performance; Notre Dame has been wearing teams out from the inside all year. The Irish had three sacks and 10 tackles for loss in the first round against Indiana and carried the ball for 193 yards against a Hoosiers defense that currently ranks No. 1 nationally versus the rush. That’s a winning recipe.”
• Fornelli: “An explosive offense — The reason for it is a combination of Drew Allar, Mackey Award-winning tight end Tyler Warren and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki‘s ability to scheme open players with the chance to get yards after getting the ball. The Nittany Lions are explosive on the ground with Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen too, and a lot of the damage comes late in games.”

I think I speak for most college football fans, though, when I say I can’t stop thinking about how Ohio State beat Oregon, and how Jeremiah Smith just torched a very good defense over and over and over again. He rose to No. 1 in Shehan Jeyarajah’s top 10 most impactful players of the semifinals, but he’ll match up with another one of Shehan’s top 10 when the Buckeyes face (5) Texas in the Cotton Bowl on Friday.

🏀 Three sleeper Jimmy Butler destinations

Jimmy Butler, currently suspended by the Heat for conduct detrimental to the team, isn’t getting any love from the fans, either. Miami artist Kyle Holbrook, who painted a mural of Butler, added “I QUIT” to Butler’s headband on his piece. Holbrook may have to get rid of the mural entirely if Butler gets his way, and with Miami willing to shop him, Sam Quinn has three under-the-radar potential landing spots, including …

• Quinn: “Grizzlies — They’re the No. 2 seed in the West right now and have never made the Western Conference finals with this core. A Butler swing is exactly the sort of move that could make them competitive with the Thunder and give them a leg up on the rest of the field, but would come at a price that is at least cost effective enough not to prevent future significant trades down the line. … They’ve spent the entire Ja Morant era hunting for a big, versatile wing. … Butler could be that player for them.”

📺 What we’re watching Tuesday

🏀 No. 1 Tennessee at No. 8 Florida (M), 7 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 Pittsburgh at No. 4 Duke (M), 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 No. 6 Kentucky at Georgia (M), 7 p.m. on SEC Network
🏀 No. 1 UCLA at Purdue (W), 7 p.m. on BTN
🏀 Lakers at Mavericks, 7:30 p.m. on TNT
🏀 Georgetown at No. 8 Marquette (M), 8 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
🏀 No. 2 Auburn at Texas (M), 9 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 No. 14 Mississippi State at Vanderbilt (M), 9 p.m. on ESPNU
🏀 Celtics at Nuggets, 10 p.m. on TNT