For the better part of the past decade, Tom Brady and Drew Brees were the NFL’s two top quarterbacks. But that’s no longer true.
Brady and Brees are still great. But they’ve got company at the top of the mountain with the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott, Deshaun Watson and Josh Allen emerging as the next generation of great quarterbacks. That’s a major change in the NFL landscape.
Change is inevitable in the world of sports. In 2019, there have been myriad significant changes in sports, and we’re not just talking about the changing of the guard at quarterback in the NFL.
We’re talking about things such as big-name coaches landing in new places, NBA teams rising and falling, a first-time champion in men’s NCAA basketball, allegations of a juiced baseball and new looks with new uniforms.
Those are just a few of the changes that took place this year. Let’s examine the 12 most significant changes in the sports world in 2019.
12. The spread of legalized sports gambling
For years, betting on sports was illegal in the United States, with the exception of Nevada. Otherwise gamblers had to turn to offshore and online gambling or bet with illegal bookies. But all that has changed recently. Sports gambling now is legal in Arkansas, Delaware, Mississippi, Indiana, Iowa, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia in addition to Nevada. Gambling also has been legalized, pending launch, in several other states with legislation pending in approximately 20 other states. Only a handful of states have taken no action toward legalizing sports gambling.
11. The NHL’s push for diversity and to stop abuse by coaches
For decades, lack of diversity and abuse by coaches have been major problems in hockey. But the league is taking steps to make the sport and its fan base more diverse while aiming to halt abuse by coaches. The challenge is that the league’s players and fans always have been predominantly white, and abuse by coaches has long been accepted as part of the game. Calgary coach Bill Peters resigned in November after allegations that he used racial slurs. After Toronto parted ways with coach Mike Babcock, team president Brendan Shanahan said Babcock’s coaching techniques were not “appropriate or acceptable” when addressing allegations of mental abuse. Even legendary Canadian broadcaster Don Cherry lost his job after making a controversial statement about immigrants. The league has taken major steps to clean things up. It started a diversity program called “Hockey is for Everyone” in recent years. In 2019, Commissioner Gary Bettman started program that offers counseling, education and a whistleblower hotline for players who witness or experience racism or abuse.
10. UConn women not a No. 1 seed
The dynasty that coach Geno Auriemma built with Connecticut’s women’s basketball team stumbled just a bit in 2019. For the first time since 2006, the Huskies were not a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They ended up a No. 2 seed in their region, but the Huskies made it to the Final Four anyway — for the 12th consecutive season. Baylor won the national championship in a Final Four that also included Notre Dame and Oregon. This season, UConn is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation.
9. The Jets changed uniforms
In 2019, the New York Jets changed uniforms. They now include a color scheme that features black and green. That hasn’t gone over well with fans who are traditionalists. They have a point. The Jets just don’t look right in uniforms that are nothing like the ones Joe Namath wore. But get used to the Jets’ uniforms because they’ll be around for a bit. NFL rules allow teams to change their uniforms once every five years.
8. Alabama not in College Football Playoff
Over the past 13 seasons, Nick Saban has rebuilt Alabama into a college football dynasty. But the Crimson Tide had an impressive streak come to an end in 2019. For the first time since the advent of the College Football Playoff, they will not be one of the final four teams. After losing to Auburn in the Iron Bowl, Alabama, which had been in the top five all season, fell to No. 9 in the Amway Coaches Poll. The Tide are set to face Michigan in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1. Alabama is 10-2, but don’t count on the Tide staying down for long. In Saban’s tenure, which started in 2007, Alabama has only lost more than two games in a season once — and that was in 2010.
7. Greg Schiano back at Rutgers
The coach who brought Rutgers football to respectability in his first stint from 2001 through 2011 is back with the Scarlet Knights. The expectation is that he, once again, can make the program respectable. Schiano failed miserably as a head coach in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. At one point, Schiano appeared to have the University of Tennessee job, but the offer quickly was rescinded after fans expressed outrage that Schiano may have failed to report child abuse during his time as an assistant at Penn State. That allegation arose during the Jerry Sandusky trial. Schiano spent three seasons as an assistant at Ohio State. He briefly took a job as an assistant with the New England Patriots in 2019, but resigned for personal reasons. Now, Schiano is back where he belongs.
6. The NFL’s new pass interference rule
There was outrage around the country, especially in New Orleans, after Los Angeles Rams cornerback Nickell-Robey Coleman obviously interfered with Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis in the NFC Championship Game in January. But no call was made and the play wasn’t eligible for review. That prompted New Orleans coach Sean Payton to go on a crusade to get the pass-interference rule changed. Payton was successful, as the league changed its rules to include reviews of pass-interference calls and non-calls. But coaches haven’t been happy with how pass interference is being enforced, with very few on-field calls being overturned. Look for the league to examine this issue again in the offseason.
5. Lane Kiffin back in the SEC
Kiffin recently was hired as the football coach at Ole Miss. He’s back in the SEC where he did a one-year stint at Tennessee in 2009 before skipping off to USC. He also spent three years as Alabama’s defensive coordinator under Nick Saban from 2014 through 2016 before moving onto being the head coach at Florida Atlantic, where he spent the past three seasons. Kiffin knows the SEC well and is a charming recruiter. It might not take long for him to turn Ole Miss around.
4. Virginia finally wins basketball title
The University of Virginia was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and started its men’s basketball program in 1905. The Cavaliers have had many good teams through the years. But it took until 2019 until coach Tony Bennett’s team won an NCAA title. Virginia currently is ranked No. 9 in the nation, so a repeat is not out of the question.
3. The Lakers are back, and the Warriors are not
For decades, the Los Angeles Lakers dominated the NBA’s Western Conference with players such as Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. But the Lakers fell on hard times, with six consecutive losing seasons since 2012-13. In that same time frame, the Warriors, led by Stephen Curry, built a dynasty. The Warriors went to five consecutive NBA Finals and won three championships. But things have flip-flopped this year. The Lakers, led by LeBron James, sit comfortably atop the Western Conference. The Warriors, meantime, are dead last in the conference standings.
2. Baseballs were flying
The juiced ball theory made a comeback in 2019 as home runs were launched at a record pace. Home runs were up 11 percent over the previous record (set in 2017). When new baseballs were brought in for the postseason, the number of home runs dropped significantly. Recently, MLB released a report concluding that baseballs were not juiced. Instead, the report attributed the spike in home runs to inconsistent seam height on the baseballs as well as “player tactics.”
1. The new generation of QBs
Tom Brady and Drew Brees were the gold standard for quarterbacks for many years. Now in their 40s, Brady and Brees are still playing at a high level, but they’re not quite as good as they used to be. That’s opened the door for a new generation of quarterbacks. Russell Wilson has been dominant, but he doesn’t really qualify, because he’s a veteran. Rookies such as Kyler Murray, Gardner Minshew and Devlin Hodges have shown some promise. But they’re not on the same level as quarterbacks such as like Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, Deshaun Watson and Josh Allen. Those players already have emerged among the best in the league, and that probably will be the case for the next decade or so. Brady and Brees will be Hall of Famers. But the next generation is emerging.
Pat Yasinskas has covered the NFL since 1993. He has worked for The Tampa Tribune, The Charlotte Observer and ESPN.com and writes for numerous national magazines and websites. He also has served as a voter for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
