How safe is Chuck Fletcher’s job? | Sports Daily

Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher says that he is ultimately responsible, so it’s a fair question to think about. The team is going to give interim coach Mike Yeo a chance, but if things were to go further south, then what?

Fletcher is on the clock just as much as Yeo is after the move was made to fire Alain Vigneault, writes beat writer Sam Carchidi. The Flyers’ losing streak has now reached nine games, even after Fletcher was aggressive in making offseason moves.

The latest — firing Vigneault — isn’t exactly a sign of stability. Will the coaching change help, and what happens if it doesn’t? As one of our emailers writes, “Fletcher should look in the mirror before firing anyone. And ownership should look at Fletch.”

— Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport

Tell us whom you would pick to coach the Flyers: sports.daily@inquirer.com

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How did it all go so wrong? From the players’ perspective, they simply failed to score very many goals and also have been plagued by injuries. So the firing of Vigneault serves as a wake-up call for the team. It’ll be on the players to get things going in the right direction.

Next: The Flyers visit the New Jersey Devils tonight at 7 (NBCSP).

Former Eagles president Joe Banner offers interesting insights on the Jalen Hurts situation, as coming off a poor outing and an ankle injury, backup Gardner Minshew came on to lead the team to a decisive victory. But even though Banner doesn’t seem to think Hurts will be the Eagles’ long-term answer and that it’s Minshew who gives the team the better chance to win now, he’s still in favor of Hurts starting.

The Eagles had planned this as a season in which they could evaluate Hurts, see him progress, and try out a quarterback run-based system. Some parts have worked and others have not. But there’s no reason to stop short now on evaluating Hurts because ultimately the goal is to win a Super Bowl. Banner believes a team needs a reliable passing attack to win in the playoffs, so let’s see what Hurts has got.

What’s your opinion on the Hurts-Minshew dilemma? Because we know Philly loves a good quarterback controversy.

There was pain felt among Dick Allen’s family as it learned he would not gain induction into the Hall of Fame. He fell a vote short. Yes, Allen might be laughing off his latest snub. But for his son, Richard Allen Jr., it wasn’t a great day. “Five years, if he goes up again, I don’t even know if I’ll want to go,” Allen Jr. told Phillies beat writer Matt Breen. “Are they going to do it for the third time?”

With Tyrese Maxey out because of a non-COVID illness, the 76ers were without their point guard and one of the team’s most reliable players this season. That meant other members of the roster would need to step up Monday to help Joel Embiid as the Sixers faced the undermanned Charlotte Hornets.

That didn’t happen and the Sixers struggled to beat a Hornets team playing without LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier, who were both sidelined in COVID-19 protocols. Embiid held the team together, putting up 43 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists to secure a 127-124 overtime victory. But the Inquirer’s Keith Pompey writes that it’s a bad sign that they needed so much from Embiid against the ravaged Hornets.

Next: The Sixers play the Hornets at tonight at 7 in their second half of back-to-back games in Charlotte (NBCSP+).

Sporting director Ernst Tanner has been in charge during the recent high-water marks hit by the Union, but if the club aims to be more than a plucky organization with an impressive youth academy program, it likely needs to expand both its vision and budget. In an Inquirer exclusive, Jonathan Tannenwald gets the answers on the Union’s future from the man himself.

Next: The season may be over for the Union, but there’s plenty of soccer for fans to watch, including teams abroad with former Union players.

Eagles great and Pro Football Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins joins sports columnist Mike Sielski on Inquirer LIVE on Thursday at 4:15 p.m. They’ll discuss Dawkins’ new book, Blessed by the Best: My Journey to Canton and Beyond, his career with the Eagles, and the causes and treatments for the mental health issues that he and other elite athletes have experienced.