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  • Diane Richardson says Temple’s recent play is ‘unacceptable’ as the Owls ride two-game skid

    Diane Richardson says Temple’s recent play is ‘unacceptable’ as the Owls ride two-game skid

    Temple had high expectations entering the 2025-26 season after back-to-back 20-win campaigns.

    The Owls were picked to finish fourth in the American Conference preseason poll and head coach Diane Richardson believed her team had the talent to win the conference.

    After the Owls’ 71-58 loss to Tulane on Tuesday, they look far from the conference contenders they were expected to be. Temple is just 1-3 in the American and sitting in 10th place. In Richardson’s eyes, her team has not been playing “Temple basketball,” and it was especially evident against the Green Wave.

    “That was a piss-poor performance,” Richardson said after the loss. “It was terrible and not Temple basketball at all. It’s got to be fixed.”

    Richardson’s passionate words came after the Owls shot 32.1% from the field, including 5-for-23 in three-pointers, and were out-rebounded, 39-31. Temple was outscored, 21-12, in the final quarter, and its late-game execution ultimately cost the Owls a chance at a victory.

    Temple trailed 65-58 with 22 seconds remaining. Tulane guard Shiloh Kimpson was at the free-throw line for two shots. The next 22 seconds saw Temple fail to get out of its own way.

    Temple women got their offense in gear, but defense sputtered during a 1-1 road trip’

    Kimpson missed both free throws, but the Green Wave got the offensive rebound and made their next two attempts. Then, guard Tristen Taylor got a five-second call on an inbounds pass, Temple surrendered another offensive rebound from a missed free throw and then missed two free throws of its own.

    The performance caused Richardson’s frustrations to fully boil over, after previous poor showings.

    “No pride. No pride in going after the ball,” Richardson said. “They wanted it more than we did and the 50/50 balls killed us. They went after them and we did not. We can’t sit back and let any team come into the Liacouras Center and do what they did to us. It is unacceptable.”

    Before the season, Richardson envisioned her team playing fast, getting to the basket in transition, and most importantly, playing as a team. However, that version has been absent.

    The Owls have struggled with starting slow on offense, and while that wasn’t the case against Tulane, it was a major issue against Drexel in the Big 5 Classic and UTSA. Temple scored just 52 points in a seven-point loss to Drexel on Dec. 7, and Richardson mentioned her team’s lack of urgency.

    Temple’s Brianna Mead during a game against UTSA at the Liacouras Center on Jan. 3.

    Less than a month later, the same issue occurred against the Roadrunners on Jan. 3, and Richardson expressed more concern about the type of basketball her team was playing. Temple lost 50-47 and was largely uncompetitive until the fourth quarter.

    “I don’t think we played hard enough,” Richardson said following Temple’s loss to UTSA. “I think we waited until the fourth quarter to play Temple basketball. We can not go through the conference like that, and that’s going to be a reality. It’s got to change.”

    Over three games since Temple’s loss to UTSA, little has changed.

    The Owls split road games with a win against Wichita State and a loss to Tulsa before returning home to face a similarly struggling Tulane team. Instead of bouncing back, Temple hit a new low.

    Temple briefly took the lead in the third quarter before they collapsed in the final 10 minutes. The lack of urgency was clear. The Owls took their foot off the gas, while the Green Wave scored the last five points of the quarter to regain control.

    Temple attempted to turn to the three-point line to recover in the fourth, which Richardson did not want to see happen. The Owls went 1-for-9 in three-pointers in the final frame.

    A late fourth-quarter push isn’t enough as Temple falls in conference opener to UTSA

    “I thought we took quick shots in threes and we kept saying get to the rim,” Richardson said. “But again, that selfishness came back and they just wanted to shoot threes. You can’t expect the ball to go in when you’re shooting 21% and just keep trying.”

    Richardson also called out her team for a lack of accountability, as she saw them attempt to shift blame after a mistake.

    “We have to play harder and each person has to step up and do what their job is and not look around for somebody else to do it,” Richardson said. “Today, we kind of sat back and looked around to see who else was going to do something, or it wasn’t my fault because she didn’t do this. That is not playing together, and we have to play together in this conference.”

    Temple’s Kaylah Turner has been the Owls’ leading scorer this season, averaging 17.1 points.

    The Owls’ 1-3 American record is their worst four-game start in conference play since the 2018-19 season. The road ahead is no easy task to get back on track.

    Three of Temple’s next four games will be against the top three teams in the American: East Carolina, South Florida, and Rice. Richardson has not seen her team play its brand of basketball, but she said, it has to change to remain competitive.

    “Again, we have to play Temple basketball: the confidence, the grit, and the resilience. The ‘I’m going to throw my body on the line to get these 50/50 balls. I’m going to box out and get rebounds,’” she added. “We need them to take that on personally and not look to someone else to do it.”

  • ‘Some sort of connection’: Police investigating whether three Philly slayings tied to towing industry are related

    ‘Some sort of connection’: Police investigating whether three Philly slayings tied to towing industry are related

    Philadelphia police are investigating whether the separate slayings of three men, all of whom worked in the city’s towing industry, are connected, authorities said this week.

    Two of the men, who were shot and killed in December and January respectively, worked as truck operators for the Jenkintown-based company 448 Towing and Recovery, according to police.

    The other man, who was shot and killed in November, is connected to a different towing company and worked as a wreck spotter.

    Investigators began looking at a possible connection between the killings after the shooting death of 25-year-old Aaron Whitfield Jr. on Sunday, according to Lt. Thomas Walsh of the department’s homicide unit.

    “On the surface, there’s obviously some sort of connection,” Walsh said.

    Whitfield was in a tow truck with his girlfriend outside of a Northeast Philadelphia smoke shop near Bustleton Avenue and Knorr Street that evening when two men pulled up in another vehicle. They fired at least a dozen shots at the truck before speeding off.

    Whitfield died at the scene, while the woman was hospitalized with gunshot wounds to the leg.

    The shooting came after another 448 Towing and Recovery driver, David Garcia-Morales, was shot on Dec. 22 while in a tow truck on the 4200 block of Torresdale Avenue, according to police.

    Police arrived to find Morales, 20, had been struck multiple times. They rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he died from his injuries on Dec. 26.

    While Walsh could not conclusively say whether investigators believe the killings were carried out by the same person or by multiple individuals, he noted that two different vehicles had been used in the crimes.

    One of those vehicles, a silver Honda Accord used in the shooting of Whitfield, was recovered earlier this week after police found it abandoned in West Philadelphia, Walsh said.

    Meanwhile, police are investigating whether the shooting death of 26-year-old Aaron Smith-Sims in November may also be connected to the killings of Whitfield and Garcia-Morales.

    Smith-Sims, who Walsh said was connected to a different towing company, died after he was shot multiple times on the 2700 block of North Hicks Street in North Philadelphia the morning of Nov. 23.

    Investigators are now looking to question the owners of both towing companies involved, according to Walsh.

    So far, they have failed to make contact with the owner of 448 Towing and Recovery.

    “Obviously the victims’ families are cooperating,” Walsh said. “They’re supplying all the information that they have.”

    An industry that draws suspicion

    Philadelphia’s towing industry can appear like something out of the Wild West, with operators fiercely competing to arrive first at car wrecks and secure the business involved with towing or impounding vehicles.

    Police began imposing some order on the process in 2007, introducing a rotational system in which responding officers cycle through a list of licensed towing operators to dispatch to accident scenes.

    But tow operators often skirt that system, employing wreck spotters — those like Smith-Sims — to roam the city and listen to police scanners for accidents, convincing those involved to use their service before officers arrive.

    The predatory nature of the industry and, in some cases, its historic ties to organized crime make it rife with exploitative business practices and even criminal activity.

    But Walsh cautioned the public against jumping to conspiracy theories about the killings, which have proliferated on social media in the days after Whitfield’s death and the news of a possible connection between the murders.

    Those suspicions aren’t entirely unwarranted.

    In 2017, several employees who worked for the Philadelphia towing company A. Bob’s Towing were shot within 24 hours of one another — two of them fatally.

    Police and federal investigators later arrested Ernest Pressley, 42, a contract killer who was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to killing six people between 2016 and 2019.

    Pressley admitted to accepting payment in exchange for killing one of the towing employees, 28-year-old Khayyan Fruster, who had been preparing to testify as a witness in an assault trial.

    Pressley shot Fruster in his tow truck on the 6600 block of Hegerman Street, killing him and injuring one of his coworkers.

    And in an effort to mask the killing — and to make it appear as if it had been the result of a feud between towing operators — Pressley earlier shot and killed one of Fruster’s coworkers at A. Bob’s Towing at random, according to prosecutors.

  • A charter seeking to open on Valley Forge Military Academy’s campus has withdrawn its application

    A charter seeking to open on Valley Forge Military Academy’s campus has withdrawn its application

    A group seeking to open a charter school on the Valley Forge Military Academy campus has withdrawn its application, citing a move by Radnor Township to take some of the land by eminent domain.

    The board of the proposed Valley Forge Public Service Academy says it plans to resubmit its application to the Radnor school board once the township’s plan to take 14 acres by eminent domain “has been clarified sufficiently to ensure the welfare and safety” of potential students and staff.

    The Radnor Township Board of Commissioners voted last week to authorize the township’s solicitor to acquire the land from the military academy, which is set to close in May amid financial turmoil and abuse allegations.

    Township officials say they want to prevent more development around North Wayne. At a meeting last week, Radnor Commissioner Jack Larkin said the township had reached out to military academy officials to negotiate a deal, but had not heard back.

    Alan Wohlstetter, a charter school consultant who is backing the proposed Valley Forge charter, said the move to use eminent domain was “clearly not something we could have anticipated.”

    “Clarification is now needed on a number of items in order for us to proceed with our application,” Wohlstetter said in a statement Thursday.

    Plans for the charter — which was proposed to open this fall and enroll up to 150 students — had been in the works since last year, even before the military academy announced its closure. The once-storied academy, which has struggled with declining enrollment, mounting costs, and a series of abuse scandals, had discussed renting its campus to the proposed new charter.

    It was the latest plan for a charter school — a school that is publicly funded but privately managed — to rent facilities from the military academy.

    The Radnor school board — which like other Pennsylvania school boards has the power to approve or deny applications for new charters seeking to open in their districts — has rejected two previous charter proposals at the military academy campus.

    The board held its first hearing on the latest proposal in December and a second hearing had been scheduled for this month.

    The academy spans about 70 acres. In December, Eastern University entered an agreement to buy 33 acres of the property.

    In pursuing eminent domain, Radnor officials say they are considering taking 14 acres to build a replacement for the township’s recreation center, along with a park.

    A video still of Radnor Commissioner Jack Larkin speaking at a Jan. 5 township meeting regarding the possible taking of 14 acres of Valley Forge Military Academy through eminent domain.

    While Larkin said he did not believe the plan would conflict with the proposed charter school, Wohlstetter said the charter’s backers needed clarity on which acres would be affected, and how the plan would impact traffic and parking.

    The uncertainty impairs the charter’s ability to pre-enroll students, Wohlstetter said — adding that the charter wants to be “good partners to the Radnor community.”

    Wohlstetter said the charter would resubmit its application to the school board “at a future date.” The proposed charter would enroll students in grades six to 12, with a focus on preparing them for careers in public service fields like law enforcement, firefighting and EMS.

  • Eagles defensive line coach Clint Hurtt named a head coach at 2026 Senior Bowl

    Eagles defensive line coach Clint Hurtt named a head coach at 2026 Senior Bowl

    As the NFL draft process gets underway over the next few weeks with the All-Star games circuit, one of the Eagles’ position coaches will get a unique opportunity to be a head coach for a week.

    Defensive line coach Clint Hurtt will lead the National team at the Reese’s Senior Bowl, which begins practice in Mobile, Ala., on Jan. 27. The event brings in the top draft-eligible players to compete in three practices, culminating in the Senior Bowl game on Jan. 31 at 2:30 p.m. at the University of South Alabama’s Hancock Whitney Staduim.

    The 47-year-old Hurtt has spent the last two seasons coaching the D-line for the Eagles. Hurtt began his career at the collegiate level for 11 years before making the jump to the NFL with the Bears in 2014 and spent seven years with the Seahawks in various roles, including as the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach.

    NFL draft 2026: Who could the Eagles target with the No. 23 overall pick?

    He oversaw a group that saw defensive tackles Jordan Davis and Moro Ojomo have career years in 2025, and also assisted in Jalen Carter’s breakout during the 2024 season.

    It is possible more Eagles assistant coaches will join Hurtt to help him coach at the Senior Bowl. The All-Star game typically gives assistant coaches the opportunity to manage staff, format practices, and assume gameday decisions typically reserved for head coaches. Joel Thomas, a member of former Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore’s staff in New Orleans, will be the head coach of the American team.

    “We are thrilled to welcome Clint Hurtt and Joel Thomas as our head coaches for the 2026 Panini Senior Bowl,” said Senior Bowl director Drew Fabianich in a statement. “Both coaches are highly respected throughout the league and bring tremendous leadership, football knowledge, and teaching ability. Their impact on our players and coaching staffs throughout the week will be invaluable as these prospects prepare for the next step in their careers.”

    The Senior Bowl will also feature two Philly-area prospects in Penn State tackle Drew Shelton, a Downingtown West alumnus, and South Carolina running back Rasul Faison, a Pottstown native.

  • Philly students are posting their best math performance in years

    Philly students are posting their best math performance in years

    Philadelphia students are performing the best they have in math in years, showing steady improvement since the pandemic.

    Still, just a quarter of city third through eighth graders passed Pennsylvania math assessments, with 25.1% of students scoring proficient or advanced on the 2024-25 exam, up from a 22% pass rate the prior year and 18.9% in 2016-17.

    That means the district surpassed the school board’s goal of a 22.2% pass rate for last school year — but fell well below the 2029-30 target of 52% proficiency.

    Philadelphia students still lag Pennsylvania averages considerably, though — for the 2024-25 year, 41.7% of students in grades three through eight statewide passed math tests.

    Scores are slightly stronger in the lower grades. Overall, 33.7% of Philadelphia third graders passed the state test, compared to 27.4% the prior year. The board’s third-grade target is 57.5% for 2029-30; it was 28% last year, a nod to prior performance.

    Officials said the jumps are due in part to the new math curriculum the district adopted in 2023-24.

    The school board devoted its full Thursday night progress monitoring session to examining math goals. The highlighted findings include:

    Attendance correlates with math scores

    Students’ attendance generally correlates to their math performance. Of pupils who attended school 90% of the time or more, the highest percentage of students were at or above benchmark (29%) and the lowest percentage needed the most intense interventions (24%).

    The reverse is true for students who are considered “chronically absent” — those who attend school less than 80% of the time. In that category, more than half of students — 52% — needed intense interventions, and just 7% scored proficient or above.

    Improvements for students learning English

    English language learners’ math skills are improving, as measured by Star tests, which the district gives periodically throughout the school year to measure student learning.

    The math proficiency of third grade English learners, for example, was up year-over-year as marked by the winter Star exam. This school year, 23% of English learners passed the test, compared with 18% at the same point in 2024-25.

    Slight improvements for students with disabilities

    Students with disabilities scored lower. Overall, 11% of students with disabilities passed the winter Star exam, up slightly from 10% last year.

    Focus on early math skills

    Officials said gains were made in part because of a focus on building foundational math skills.

    Students in kindergarten and first and second grades all saw jumps from fall to winter in mastering skills such as numeral recognition, addition to 10, and subtraction to 10, as measured by Star tests. The district showed significant gains in third grade performance this year.

  • Despite earlier DOGE cuts, Philadelphia groups receive $3 million in new NEH grants

    Despite earlier DOGE cuts, Philadelphia groups receive $3 million in new NEH grants

    Despite recent cuts and an uncertain future, the National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded about $3 million in new grants to Philadelphia groups. The local awards are part of $75.1 million in new grants announced this month by the NEH for 84 projects across the nation.

    The biggest local award went to the Museum of the American Revolution, which is receiving $2,247,435 for the planning and production of a conference, podcast series, exhibition catalog, digital interactive, and activities related to the museum’s current exhibition about the Declaration of Independence, “The Declaration’s Journey.”

    The NEH’s latest round of grants reflects the federal agency’s ongoing ideological shift to align with President Trump’s agenda. In April, the NEH announced that “future awards will, among other things, be merit-based, awarded to projects that do not promote extreme ideologies based upon race or gender.” Critics say grants canceled by the Trump administration last year were revoked because they represented viewpoints such as diversity, equity, and inclusion.

    U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D., Maine) raised the concern in a November letter to acting NEH chairman Michael McDonald that the agency is now making awards in some cases without peer review, giving “massive grants through questionable non-competitive processes.”

    “Moving forward,” the NEH’s April statement said, the agency is “especially interested in projects on the nation’s semiquincentennial and U.S. history more generally.”

    That directive connects to projects of all six of the new recipients in Philadelphia.

    America’s 250th birthday is the moment Philly museums have been waiting for

    The Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts is receiving $349,927 over two years to fund its preservation field services for small- to mid-sized organizations around the country. The program provides assessments and education to groups like museums, libraries, archives, and historical societies — as well as individuals — on how to care for their collections.

    A $200,210 NEH grant to the American Philosophical Society will help fund “These Truths: The Declarations of Independence,” an exhibition at the society’s museum opening in April. It explores the first 50 years of the document and its evolution from “a pronouncement of news, [to] political tool, [to] national symbol,” says an exhibition description.

    The Windsor chair Thomas Jefferson used while drafting the Declaration of Independence at the 7th and Market Sts. house he was renting.

    The show includes 19 early printings of the Declaration from 1776 through 1824 and the Windsor chair in which Thomas Jefferson sat while writing the document. The NEH grant will go toward the exhibition, its catalog, and a related conference in June.

    The NEH was among the federal agencies whose budgets and staffs were slashed last year by the Department of Government Efficiency, headed by billionaire Elon Musk. Arts and culture groups in Philadelphia and across the country had grants revoked from the NEH, National Endowment for the Arts, and Institute for Museum and Library Services.

    Some grants were restored without explanation. A $750,000 IMLS grant to the Woodmere Art Museum was rescinded, and, a little more than a week after the Woodmere filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, was reinstated.

    In this new round of funding, three other NEH grants were awarded locally, each for $100,000: to Eastern State Penitentiary, the National Liberty Museum, and the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History.

  • Flyers’ skid reaches five games as penalty kill falters, Sam Ersson pulled in 6-3 loss to the Penguins

    Flyers’ skid reaches five games as penalty kill falters, Sam Ersson pulled in 6-3 loss to the Penguins

    The Flyers are free fallin’. And not in a fun Tom Petty way, although they may want to leave this world for a while.

    Skating on the second night of a back-to-back, the Flyers were handed a 6-3 loss by their Keystone State rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins. It is the Flyers’ fifth straight loss, in which they have been outscored 25-9. They lost 5-2 to the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday in Western New York.

    Yikes.

    A lot of the blame falls at the feet of special teams. The power play went 0-for-4 and had 12 shot attempts, with five shots on goal. But it’s the penalty kill that has struggled, and add some extra emphasis when you say struggled.

    Flyers recall goalie Aleksei Kolosov from Lehigh Valley and move Bobby Brink to injured reserve

    Between Wednesday and Dec. 31, when they allowed two goals on three chances to the Calgary Flames, the Flyers’ penalty kill was brutal at 59.1%. It ranked second-worst, with nine goals allowed in 22 opportunities across seven games. In the 38 games before that, the Flyers ranked sixth-best (83.1%).

    So you’d think when facing the third-best power play in the NHL (27.9%), they’d be more disciplined. Instead, by the 13-minute mark of the game, the Flyers had already taken three penalties and were trailing 2-0 via power-play goals.

    The first tally came off the stick of Pittsburgh’s Justin Brazeau after Cam York was called for hooking Rickard Rakell on the hands right after he walked in front and got a shot on goal. Before Brazeau scored, the Flyers actually had two shots on goal during the Penguins’ power play; however, with seven seconds left of their man advantage, Brazeau was left alone in front to tap in the puck past Sam Ersson.

    Philly then killed off a high-sticking penalty to Travis Sanheim, taken 3 minutes, 53 seconds into the game. But 12:11 into the first period, Garnet Hathaway was called for tripping Kris Letang behind the play. Hathaway didn’t sit long in the box, as nine seconds in, Bryan Rust scored to make it 2-0.

    Sean Couturier won the faceoff, but the Penguins recovered the puck, and Rust eventually got it in the left circle. He curled at the top before sending the puck past Ersson’s glove. It looked like York may have been used as a screen.

    Early in the second period, after Jamie Drysdale got a shot on goal, the Penguins got the puck, and Thomas Novak sent a stretch pass up to Evgeni Malkin at the Flyers’ blue line. The future Hockey Hall of Famer sent a pass over to Egor Chinakhov, who got past the defense and scored short side past Ersson to make it 3-0.

    According to Natural Stat Trick, although they were outscored 2-1 in the second period, the Flyers dominated in shot attempts 34-19. Sixty-one seconds after Chinakov’s goal, Rodrigo Ābols scored his third of the season. After Carl Grundström got the puck along the boards, he sent it to an open York, and Ābols tipped in the point shot as he cut across the crease to make it 3-1.

    It was Ābols’ third goal of the season and eighth point (two goals, six assists) in the past 13 games. The Flyers had one goal on 17 shots in the middle frame.

    Flyers goaltender Aleksei Kolosov replaced Sam Ersson in the second period and allowed three goals.

    Then came an interesting move: coach Rick Tocchet decided to pull Ersson after the Flyers scored. Aleksei Kolosov, who was recalled from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League on Thursday after Dan Vladař was injured on Wednesday, entered after Ersson allowed three goals on 14 shots.

    Kolosov allowed three goals on 16 shots in his first NHL appearance since he started in a 2-1 loss to the Flames on Nov. 2.

    He did make two big saves, one on Brazeu from 12 feet out and another on Anthony Mantha’s quick shot from the right circle, to keep it close. But with less than two minutes to go in the second period, Pittsburgh’s Blake Lizotte stole the puck from Travis Konecny deep in the Flyers’ end. Noel Acciari got it and crashed the net, putting two whacks on the puck. It popped up, and Lizotte knocked in the floating puck past Kolosov to make it 4-1 Pittsburgh.

    In the third period, Sidney Crosby added yet another power-play goal for the Penguins to extend their lead to 5-1. He was sitting all alone on the right side and got a cross-crease pass from Malkin for his 60th goal and 138th point in 93 games against the Flyers.

    Connor Dewar made it a touchdown after getting a cross-crease saucer pass from Novak 77 seconds later.

    Jamie Drysdale returns but Flyers lose Rasmus Ristolainen before Sabres game to an upper-body injury

    The Flyers did get two more goals in the final frame.

    Nick Seeler made it 6-2 with his second goal of the year and his second in the past seven games. Denver Barkey, who was a healthy scratch on Wednesday for the first time in his short NHL career, responded with a pair of assists, beginning with the setup to Seeler.

    Barkey took a touch pass off the skate from Noah Cates and fed the Flyers defenseman above the left circle. Seeler skated in and sent a sharp wrister past the glove of Penguins goalie Stuart Skinner.

    Later in the period, Barkey set up Matvei Michkov for his 10th goal of the season. Couturier started the play when he got the puck along the boards and attracted two Penguins. It allowed the Flyers to have some space in the neutral zone, and the captain sent a backhand pass to Barkey, who skated into the Penguins’ end with Michkov and just Parker Wotherspoon back. Barkey sent a perfect pass over to the 21-year-old, and Michkov shot the puck off the pass for his first goal past a goalie since Nov. 30. He had an empty-netter against the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 22.

    Breakaways

    Michkov dropped the gloves in the second period when he went after Lizotte for a hard, high hit on Barkey. He earned an extra for roughing on the play, and Crosby scored his goal on the ensuing power play. Michkov also had four shots on goal, with three coming in short succession atop the crease in the second period. … Owen Tippett had a game-high five shots on goal and nine shot attempts. He also had two hits. … Grundström had a team-high seven hits. His season-high of eight was set on Jan. 8 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. … Forward Nic Deslauriers was a healthy scratch with Barkey back in the lineup.

    Up next

    The good news for the Flyers is that they face a New York Rangers team spiraling on Saturday (1 p.m., NBCSP). New York has also lost five straight, getting outscored 27-10 in the last four since No. 1 goalie Igor Shesterkin went down with a lower-body injury.

  • Center City District Restaurant Week, now once a year, debuts Sunday with 120 options

    Center City District Restaurant Week, now once a year, debuts Sunday with 120 options

    Center City District Restaurant Week returned Sunday for the first time in a year, with 120 restaurants offering fixed-price lunches and dinners — the largest lineup since the pandemic.

    This also will be 2026’s only restaurant week. After running both fall and winter editions since September 2003, a district spokesperson told The Inquirer that it will not return this fall and will remain an early-winter promotion “at this time.”

    The fall edition disappeared last September as the district said it had shifted its focus to newer programs, such as Open Streets and Let’s Do Lunch, while keeping its popular Center City District Sips series. Restaurateurs had also been pushing back on the September restaurant week, arguing that it landed during an already busy month and that promotional dollars were better spent in January, traditionally the slowest stretch of the year.

    For the 2026 restaurant week, running through Jan. 31, some restaurants will offer $20 two-course lunches in addition to three-course dinners priced at $45 or $60. (The lower-tier dinners were $40 last year.)

    The list, online at centercityphila.org, includes five restaurants on The Inquirer’s 76, the summation of the region’s most essential restaurants: Bolo, Château Rouge, High Street, Oyster House, and Tequilas, as well as Michelin-recommended Dizengoff.

    More than 100 of the participating restaurants are repeats from last January, including such popular destinations as a.kitchen, Barbuzzo, Del Frisco’s, Estia, Fork, Forsythia, Gran Caffe L’Aquila, Harp & Crown, Loch Bar, and Wilder.

    Additions this year include the yearlings Rockwell & Rose (attached to P.J. Clarke’s on Washington Square) and Rhythm & Spirits (at One Penn Center, above Suburban Station), as well as established restaurants Ambrosia, Bar Bombon, Charlie was a sinner., Cry Baby Pasta, Farina Pasta Bar, Grandma’s Philly, Hi-Lo Taco Co., Kanella, Kirin House, La Fontana Della Citta, Miss Saigon, the Mulberry on Arch, Pub & Kitchen, Radicchio Cafe, Superfolie, Trattoria Carina, Umami Steak & Sushi Bar, and Vita.

    Some 2025 participants are not returning, such as the shuttered Banh Mi & Bottles, Del Frisco’s Grille, Flambo, Iron Hill Brewery, Kook Burger & Bar, and Mulherin’s Pizzeria.

    The district has arranged discount parking for $10 or less at participating BexPark by Brandywine Realty Trust, LAZ Parking, and Philadelphia Parking Authority parking facilities from 4:45 p.m. to 1 a.m.

  • Eagles news: Birds interviewing Falcons OC; coaching search rumors and updates; early look at Birds draft picks

    Eagles news: Birds interviewing Falcons OC; coaching search rumors and updates; early look at Birds draft picks

    // Timestamp 01/16/26 5:04pm

    Cowboys will reportedly interview Eagles DB coach

    Earlier in the week, the Dallas Cowboys reportedly requested permission to interview Eagles defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator Christian Parker for their defensive coordinator opening. It now appears that interview is moving forward, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

    // Timestamp 01/16/26 3:53pm

    New ‘unCovering the Birds’: What do Lurie and Roseman really think of Sirianni?

    Marcus Hayes joined Jeff McLane on the latest episode of “unCovering the Birds.”

    There was a lot said during the Eagles’ end-of-season news conference, but nothing stood out more to The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane than a comment general manager Howie Roseman made about his head coach, Nick Sirianni. What did Roseman say, and why was it so noteworthy? Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes joins Jeff as the two read between the lines in this recap of Roseman and Sirianni’s Q&A with reporters.

    What does Nick Sirianni do? A lot, says Howie Roseman, despite Eagles’ frequent offensive resets.

    // Timestamp 01/16/26 1:43pm

    Eagles interviewing Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson: ESPN

    Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson.

    The Eagles are interviewing Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson Friday in Philadelphia as a potential Kevin Patullo replacement, according to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

    It’s Robinson’s third interview, having already met with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions.

    Robinson, 39, a former NFL quarterback who spent the bulk of his brief career with the Cincinnati Bengals, has been the Falcons’ offensive coordinator for two seasons. Prior to that he spent five seasons with the Los Angeles Rams under Sean McVay, moving up from an assistant quarterbacks coach to the team’s pass game coordinator.

    — Rob Tornoe

    // Timestamp 01/16/26 1:06pm

    Kevin Stefanski to have second interviews with multiple teams

    Kevin Stefanski is getting a lot of interest from teams this hiring cycle.

    It’s looking less and less likely the Eagles will land Philly native Kevin Stefanski as their next offensive coordinator.

    The former Cleveland Browns head coach has already interviewed for six head coaching jobs and is scheduled to hold second interviews with multiple teams next week, according to the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

    “My sense is the Titans, Falcons and Ravens are all potential landing spots for Stefanski,” Pelissero said Friday.

    SNY’s Connor Hughes reported Friday the Falcons are considered the frontrunner to land Stefanski.

    — Rob Tornoe

    // Timestamp 01/16/26 11:53am

    Eagles defensive line coach lands Senior Bowl gig

    Defensive line coach Clint Hurtt was a key part of the Eagles staff in 2025.

    As the NFL draft process gets underway over the next few weeks with the All-Star games circuit, one of the Eagles’ position coaches will get an unique opportunity to be a head coach for a week.

    Clint Hurtt, the Eagles’ defensive line coach, will lead the National team at the Reese’s Senior Bowl, which begins practice in Mobile, Ala. on Jan. 27. The event brings in the top draft-eligible players to compete in three practices, culminating in the Senior Bowl game on Jan. 31 at 2:30 p.m. at the University of South Alabama’s Hancock Whitney Staduim.

    The 47-year-old Hurtt has spent the last two seasons coaching the D-line for the Eagles. Hurtt began his career at the collegiate level for 11 years before making the jump to the NFL with the Bears in 2014 and spent seven years with the Seahawks in various roles, including as the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach.

    It is possible more Eagles assistant coaches will join Hurtt to help him coach at the Senior Bowl. The All-Star game typically gives assistant coaches the opportunity to manage staff, format practices, and assume gameday decisions typically reserved for head coaches. Joel Thomas, a member of former Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore’s staff in New Orleans, will be the head coach of the American team.

    Eagles defensive line coach Clint Hurtt named a head coach at 2026 Senior Bowl

    — Devin Jackson

    // Timestamp 01/16/26 10:57am

    Brian Daboll to interview with Titans today

    The Titans are interviewing former Giants head coach Brian Daboll for their HC job today. He’s also a hot OC candidate.

    [image or embed]

    — Ian Rapoport (@rapsheet.bsky.social) January 16, 2026 at 10:30 AM

    // Timestamp 01/16/26 10:01am

    Mike McDaniel interviewing for at least two offensive coordinator jobs

    Ex-Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is drawing a lot of interest across the NFL.

    By the end of the day, former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel will have interviewed for at least two offensive coordinator jobs.

    Unfortunately, neither will be with the Eagles.

    McDaniel is scheduled to interview for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vacant offensive coordinator position Friday, as first reported by Fox Sports reporter Greg Auman. McDaniel also interviewed with the Detroit Lions for their offensive coordinator opening.

    That’s on top of at least four teams that have interviewed McDaniel for head coaching jobs – the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans, and Baltimore Ravens.

    “Since he arrived in Miami in 2022, the Dolphins rank sixth in rushing average at 4.5 yards per attempt,” wrote columnist David Murphy. “He did this while also calling an offense that saw quarterback Tua Tagovailoa throw for 4,624 yards and go 11-6 in 2023.”

    — Rob Tornoe

    // Timestamp 01/16/26 9:21am

    An early look at potential Eagles first-round draft picks

    Utah offensive lineman Caleb Lomu could be of assistance for an Eagles trench group that took a step back in 2025.

    The last time the Eagles picked in the early 20s range of the NFL draft was two years ago, when the team broke a 22-year streak of not selecting a defensive back in the first round. The player they selected was Toledo defensive back Quinyon Mitchell, who was recently named a first-team NFL All-Pro.

    After a disappointing end to their Super Bowl title defense, the Eagles head into the offseason with uncertainty at a few positions, but most of their core is intact.

    Could they add younger pieces to an offensive line that struggled? Add some youth to a tight end room that might be without Dallas Goedert next year? Or will the Eagles add to the secondary?

    With the Eagles locked into the No. 23 pick in the 2026 NFL draft, barring a trade, here are six players they could target:

    NFL draft 2026: Who could the Eagles target with the No. 23 overall pick?

    — Devin Jackson

    // Timestamp 01/16/26 7:45am

    A.J. Brown back on social media

    A.J. Brown hasn’t spoken with reporters for more than a month.

    With questions swirling about his future in Philly, Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown reportedly jumped on social media to share a few cryptic posts before deactivating his account.

    94.1 WIP’s Devan Kaney took a screenshot of the two posts Brown shared Thursday evening:

    What the posts mean is anyone’s guess. Brown hasn’t spoken to reporters for more than a month and was a no-show when the team cleaned out their lockers.

    General manager Howie Roseman called Brown a “great” player but was noncommittal about trading away his star wide receiver.

    “It is hard to find great players in the NFL, and A.J. is a great player,” Roseman told reporters Friday. “I think from my perspective, that’s what we’re going out and looking for, when we go out here in free agency and in the draft, is trying to find great players who love football, and he’s that guy. So that would be my answer.”

    Will A.J. Brown and Lane Johnson be back? Those are key questions facing the Eagles and Howie Roseman.

    — Rob Tornoe

    // Timestamp 01/16/26 7:41am

    Where we are on the Eagles’ search for a new offensive coordinator

    Former Giants head coach Brian Daboll is a candidate to become the Birds next offensive coordinator.

    We’re going on four days since the Eagles moved on from offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, but we still don’t have a clear idea who the team is focused on or planning on interviewing.

    Here’s the latest:

    — Rob Tornoe

    // Timestamp 01/16/26 7:35am

    Eagles OC candidate Mike McDaniel to interview with the Bucs today

    // Timestamp 01/16/26 7:30am

    Eagles could have a second coaching vacancy

    Eagles special teams coordinator Michael Clay, seen here in September.

    The Eagles might have a second coaching vacancy to fill.

    Birds Special teams coordinator Michael Clay interviewed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Thursday for the same position.

    “It’s somewhat surprising news because special teams has been decent in the five years Clay has been here and Sirianni has always spoken highly of Clay,” wrote NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Reuben Frank.

    Clay, whose contract is up next month, has been with the Eagles since 2021. It’s his second stint with the Birds after starting as a defensive quality control coach in 2014.

    — Rob Tornoe

    // Timestamp 01/16/26 7:25am

    What does Nick Sirianni do?

    Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni at the NovaCare Complex Thursday.

    Unprompted, Howie Roseman listed Nick Sirianni’s responsibilities and accomplishments.

    Normally, a head coach one year removed from winning a Super Bowl, who has taken his team to the title game twice, and to the postseason in each of his first five seasons, wouldn’t need to be publicly lionized by his general manager.

    But these aren’t normal times and not in Philadelphia. The Eagles got bounced from the playoffs in the first round and the expectations that have risen from recent success — in part because of Sirianni — have helped foster a distorted reality that has been amplified by a culture increasingly shaped by contrarianism, algorithms, and conspiracy.

    Roseman heard several questions about the Eagles’ next offensive coordinator when he felt compelled to jump in. He knew where the inquiry was going having sat in the same seat two years ago when Sirianni’s authority seemed diminished and he was asked essentially: What is it exactly that you do here?

    The narrative that Sirianni was just a figurehead propped up by Roseman and his coordinators has hung over his tenure — even after winning a championship. But it gained steam again after he removed Kevin Patullo as coordinator on Tuesday, and the question of who will replace him and how much Sirianni will be involved in the offense remains unanswered.

    There is truth to the notion that the selection of a pedigreed play-caller who has previously been a head coach — Mike McDaniel and Brian Daboll are among the top candidates on the list — will make Sirianni more powerless, perhaps put him on the hot seat as early as next season if things go poorly. Roseman might have been anticipating that narrative when he spoke on Sirianni’s behalf during Thursday’s end-of-season news conference.

    What does Nick Sirianni do? A lot, says Howie Roseman, despite Eagles’ frequent offensive resets

    — Jeff McLane

    Divisional round playoff schedule

    Josh Allen and the Bills will take on the Denver Broncos Saturday.

    While the Eagles won’t take the field, there is football to be played this weekend.

    Here is the complete schedule for the divisional round of the playoffs:

    Saturday

    • No. 6 Buffalo Bills at No. 1 Denver Broncos: 4:30 p.m. CBS (Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson)
    • No. 6 San Francisco 49ers at No. 1 Seattle Seahawks: 8 p.m., Fox (Kevin Burkhardt, Tom Brady, Erin Andrews, Tom Rinaldi)

    Sunday

    • No. 5 Houston Texans at No. 2 New England Patriots: 3 p.m., ABC/ESPN (Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Lisa Salters, Laura Rutledge)
    • No. 5 Los Angeles Rams at No. 2 Chicago Bears: 6:30 p.m., NBC (Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, Melissa Stark)

    Remaining playoff schedule

    • Divisional round: Saturday, Jan. 17, to Sunday, Jan. 18
    • AFC and NFC championship games: Sunday, Jan. 25
    • Super Bowl LX: Sunday, Feb. 8

    — Rob Tornoe

    // Timestamp 01/16/26 7:20am

  • What does Nick Sirianni do? A lot, says Howie Roseman, despite Eagles’ frequent offensive resets.

    What does Nick Sirianni do? A lot, says Howie Roseman, despite Eagles’ frequent offensive resets.

    Unprompted, Howie Roseman listed Nick Sirianni’s responsibilities and accomplishments.

    Normally, a head coach one year removed from winning a Super Bowl, who has taken his team to the title game twice, and to the postseason in each of his first five seasons, wouldn’t need to be publicly lionized by his general manager.

    But these aren’t normal times and not in Philadelphia. The Eagles got bounced from the playoffs in the first round and the expectations that have risen from recent success — in part because of Sirianni — have helped foster a distorted reality that has been amplified by a culture increasingly shaped by contrarianism, algorithms, and conspiracy.

    Nick Sirianni looking for an offensive coordinator to help Eagles offense ‘evolve’

    Roseman heard several questions about the Eagles’ next offensive coordinator when he felt compelled to jump in. He knew where the inquiry was going having sat in the same seat two years ago when Sirianni’s authority seemed diminished and he was asked essentially: What is it exactly that you do here?

    The narrative that Sirianni was just a figurehead propped up by Roseman and his coordinators has hung over his tenure — even after winning a championship. But it gained steam again after he removed Kevin Patullo as coordinator on Tuesday, and the question of who will replace him and how much Sirianni will be involved in the offense remains unanswered.

    There is truth to the notion that the selection of a pedigreed play-caller who has previously been a head coach — Mike McDaniel and Brian Daboll are among the top candidates on the list — will make Sirianni more powerless, perhaps put him on the hot seat as early as next season if things go poorly. Roseman might have been anticipating that narrative when he spoke on Sirianni’s behalf during Thursday’s end-of-season news conference.

    “I’ve got a lot of things that I’d like to say about Coach and the job that he’s done here,” Roseman said.

    He then proceeded to spell out what he thought Sirianni, as a CEO-type coach, was “elite” at doing: “Building connections with our team, … talking about fundamentals, game management, situational awareness, bringing the team together, holding people accountable.”

    The GM continued: “When you’re looking for a head coach, those are really the job descriptions. As you’re building out a coaching staff, you’re talking about being able to do that, being able to have elite play callers on both sides of the ball, and when you think about how hard it is to find those three things and that we have one, I mean, we’re starting with a huge advantage.”

    To Roseman’s point, it would be true to say neither McDaniel nor Daboll came remotely close to doing what Sirianni has done as head coach.

    McDaniel, who was fired by the Miami Dolphins over a week ago, and Daboll, who was fired by the New York Giants in November, will get some interviews for one of nine head coach vacancies. But they are more likely to be coveted by teams in search of a coordinator.

    Nick Sirianni’s forceful vote of confidence from Howie Roseman, and some A.J. Brown trade talk highlight Eagles news conference

    How much Sirianni is willing to cede authority could dictate how attractive the Eagles job is to the prospective contenders. Roseman’s statement that the coach has given previous hires “the flexibility to put their own spin on things” made it obvious he would give as much autonomy as he does to defensive coordinator Vic Fangio — if need be.

    Sirianni, for his part, didn’t divulge much about what he’s looking for and how much will change in terms of his involvement and a new scheme.

    “Those decisions don’t have to be made for a long time and, as the head coach, you always have to be oversight of everything,” Sirianni said. “Again, this year obviously I got involved more on the offense as the end of the season came because that’s what I needed to do as the head football coach there. Many different ways to do it.

    “I know that I want to be the head football coach and I think that that’s what the team needs.”

    But even though he gave up play-calling midway through his first season as coach, and more of his system after coordinator Brian Johnson was fired two years ago and Kellen Moore was brought in as his replacement, the offense has remained relatively the same throughout.

    At least since Sirianni decided to abandon some of the scheme he brought with him from Indianapolis and cater his offense more to quarterback Jalen Hurts’ skill set, which meant more emphasis on the run game.

    The offense evolved over time and was most explosive in 2022 when the Eagles first reached the Super Bowl. But then-coordinator Shane Steichen left to take the Colts’ head job, and running it back again in 2023 didn’t work with Johnson at the controls.

    Two years ago, when Sirianni sat in the same chair and was asked about the next coordinator and his involvement, he said there would be a “meshing” of systems. The Eagles hadn’t yet announced Moore’s hiring, but they had zeroed in on him.

    This year, they aren’t as far along because the news conference came earlier than two years ago. They have also cast a wider net. Roseman will lead the search. Owner Jeffrey Lurie and his son Julian, recently appointed to a formal role within the organization, will also be in the interviews, per a team source. Sirianni will be in the meetings too, but it is apparent that the senior members of the front office will be making the final call.

    Will A.J. Brown and Lane Johnson be back? Those are key questions facing the Eagles and Howie Roseman.

    There don’t appear to be any restrictions, but the Eagles will likely lean toward proven commodities. It has been suggested that they hire an offensive Fangio who no longer has head coaching aspirations because they previously lost Steichen and Moore to promotions.

    “It’s a great compliment when guys get head coaching jobs from here because it means we’re having tremendous success,” Roseman said. “As much as you’d like to have continuity and would like to have guys here for a long period of time, we want to win. We have an urgency to win right now.”

    But the offense clearly needs a reset. Two years ago, Sirianni said the offense had gotten “stale” and that he wanted to bring in “new ideas.” This year, he said the scheme needs to “evolve.” The Eagles were again at the lower end of being under center, using motion, and throwing over the middle of the field. They ran more hitch routes than any other team.

    From 2022-24, they had one of the NFL’s best offenses, despite not necessarily being at the vanguard of modern offense. But they took a significant step back in 2025 for a variety of reasons. Patullo struggled as a play-caller, but he also took the brunt of the blame because he was the new piece.

    Hurts and others got off easier. Sirianni and Roseman, as expected, mostly praised the quarterback when asked about his performance this season.

    “We all had a hand in our offense this year,” Sirianni said. “Good, bad, you name it, we all had a hand in it. That’s every coach, every player, myself obviously at the front of that list.”

    Sirianni said it would be “foolish” not to have Hurts involved in the coordinator search, but he also mentioned including other players in the same breath. Two of those players — wide receiver A.J. Brown and tackle Lane Johnson — may not even be on the roster for different reasons.

    Roseman called Brown “a great player” when asked about trading the receiver who is still under contract, but he didn’t directly answer the question. And he declined to give an update on where Johnson, who turns 36 in May, stands on possible retirement.

    Hurts isn’t going anywhere. He’s been the one main constant in the offense since the beginning. Any good coach revolves his schemes around his players, but never more so than at quarterback.

    It’s unclear how much Hurts kept the offense from evolving this season — or even doing what it did well previously in terms of him running — but Sirianni said the 27-year-old quarterback will be open to change.

    “I think you saw this year that he’s open to do a bunch,” he said. “We were under center probably more than we have been. Different motions, different things like that. Here’s what I’ll say: Jalen’s proved this to everybody, that he’ll do whatever it takes to win football games. Sometimes that’s throwing it a bunch, sometimes that’s running it a bunch, sometimes it’s him handing it off a bunch.

    “He’ll do whatever it takes to win.”

    Eagles general manager Howie Roseman (left) offered unsolicited and lavish praise for Nick Sirianni on Thursday.

    But that was far from good enough this season, at least on the offensive side of the ball, despite the Eagles having the most expensive unit in the league. There will be a balancing of sorts in the offseason through the draft. The offensive line may undergo some retooling.

    The defense will lose some parts, but young, homegrown talent will eventually need to be paid. Roseman, who like Sirianni had faced doubters despite winning a title, knows how to rebuild a roster. Both said the Eagles were in win-now mode.

    But the GM knew what kind of pressure that would place upon the coach, who has yet to win over a vocal segment of the fan base, and even himself. So he offered a parting clarification.

    “I think it’s important for our fans to understand, you can do whatever it takes to win now and still build for the future and still have those parallel paths,” Roseman said. “I just don’t want it to get confused that we can’t do whatever it takes to build a championship-caliber team next year and also continue to have really good players on this team for the future.

    “I just want to make sure that we’re on the same page on that.”

    Good luck with that.