The Pulse: Overnight USMNT coach news (2024)

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Good morning! Football’s back on tonight.

While You Were Sleeping: USMNT going for splashy hire

Around 2:30 a.m. ET, our David Ornstein confirmed the rumors that had been swirling all day: Mauricio Pochettino, the former Tottenham and Chelsea coach, hasagreed to become the next U.S. men’s national team head coach, two years ahead of a World Cup on home soil. It’d be the 52-year-old’s first gig managing a national team.

Phil Hay has more on the news in the latest edition of The Athletic FC, coming within the next few minutes.

Also last night:

• Aaron Judge hit career home run No. 300in last night’s win over the White Sox,making him the fastest in MLB historyto reach the milestone. He did it in just 955 games, breezing past Ralph Kiner’s previous mark of 1,087 contests. Judge, 32, also reached 300 in the fewest number of at-bats, eclipsing Babe Ruth’s record. History is fun.

Moving on:

Curses? A hex is upon Vikings camp, apparently

The Minnesota Vikings entered this season with hope. They have the game’s best wide receiver in Justin Jefferson and a promising defense. Sam Darnold, an experienced QB, joined as a solid stopgap before top-10 pick J.J. McCarthy takes over in the near-ish future.

This week has cast doubt. Here’s the list of things that happened just yesterday:

• McCarthy, who we knew would have surgery on a meniscus tear,will miss the rest of the season, the team announced. A crucial year of development for the QB of the future is wasted, outside him watching and rehabbing. Minnesota coach Kevin O’Connell called it a “small bump in the road” of McCarthy’s career, but it remains a supreme bummer.
• Hours later, capable WR2 Jordan Addisonwas carted off the field with a leg injury during a joint practice with the Browns. O’Connell said he thinks Addison will be OK, but they don’t have any definitive results as of now. Addison caught 70 passes for 911 yards last year, when Jefferson missed time with his own injury.
• Rookie wide receiver Thayer Thomas also left practice after a hard hit,which prompted O’Connellto askBrowns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz to calm it down. Woof.

Again, that was just one day.Alec Lewis hasa detailed recap of what’s been a depressing offseasonin Minnesota, where everyone hopes it’s just notone of those years.

News to Know

Harbaugh offered Kaepernick coaching job
New Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh extended a job offer in January to former NFL QB Colin Kaepernick, who played for Harbaugh in San Francisco. Kaepernick, 36, hasn’t played in the NFL since 2016, when he protested racial injustice and police brutality on the sideline before games. Kaepernick, who nearly won a Super Bowl with Harbaugh with the 49ers, still wants to play, but Harbaugh said his offer remains on the table.See our full report here.

Falcons acquire Judon
Well, one of our picks from earlier this week is already wrong: Matthew Judon will not be signing a new deal with the Patriots, whotraded the Pro Bowl defensive end to Atlantayesterday for a third-round pick. Judon clashed with New England brass this summer over the lack of a new contract as he heads into the final year of his current deal. Now, he fills a desperate need in Atlanta — one cited in many complaints about the Michael Penix Jr. pick — for a team that should be the NFC South favorite.

Blazers join RSN defectors
The Portland Trail Blazers are ditching ROOT Sports, their former regional sports network broadcast partner, the team said in a statement yesterday, joining a cavalcade of NBA teams doing the same thing. The feasibility of RSNs have faded over the last few years, despite their higher media rights fees guaranteed to teams. Franchises like Phoenix, Utah and New Orleans have also left their RSNs in favor of over-the-air broadcast deals and/or creating their own direct-to-consumer product. The trend intrigues me.

More news

• More training camp fights: The Rams and Cowboys got into it yesterday.
  
• The English Premier League acknowledged VAR mistakes last season and said it will emphasize on-field referee calls this year.
  
• Man City winger Oscar Bobb will miss time after breaking his leg.
  

(Top photo: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

Chris Branch is a staff writer for The Athletic's daily newsletter. Before joining The Athletic, he covered the Phillies for The News-Journal and worked as a content strategist for various industries. He graduated from LSU, where he worked for The Daily Reveille. Follow Chris on Twitter @cbranch89