The Jordan-owned Hornets are narrowing their search after interviewing several candidates Andy Dalton Jersey , people familiar with the situation said Friday.The people said the list of coaches who have interviewed include Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga, Raptors assistant Nick Nurse, Spurs assistants James
Borrego, Ettore Messina, Ime Udoka and Blazers assistant David Vanterpol. Former
Grizzlies coach David Fizdale also interviewed but has since been hired by the
Knicks.The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Hornets haven’t discussed the coaching search.Larranaga, Nurse and Borrego may be the most experienced candidates, but with Fizdale out, the search remains fluid.The 43-year-old Larranaga would be a popular hire with so many Celtics fans in the area and that he is a Charlotte native. The son of Miami Hurricanes coach
Jim Larranaga, he was born here while his father was working at Davidson College
in the mid-1970s.He spent 12 seasons playing overseas before landing a job in the NBA’s developmental league with the Erie Bay Hawks. He parlayed that into an assistant
coaching position with the Celtics, and his now back in his second stint with
the franchise.Nurse also spent time overseas, coaching 12 years in Europe mostly in the British Basketball League and is very familiar with the talent overseas. He
joined the Raptors in 2013.Borrego has been an assistant coach in the NBA since 2003 with stints with San Antonio Baker Mayfield Browns Jersey , New Orleans and Orlando.Larranaga and Nurse are both currently coaching in the NBA playoffs.The new coach will inherit a Hornets team that went 36-46 last season and has point guard Kemba Walker, center Dwight Howard and guard Nic Batum as its best
three players.The Hornets fired Steve Clifford in April after five seasons as head coach. The Hornets had missed the playoffs in three of the past four seasons, including
the last two.—Four of the five teams that gave up the fewest points during the regular season are the last four left with a shot at the Super Bowl, something that had
never happened since the NFL-AFL merger nearly a half-century ago.And three of the four toughest to gain yards against are still around, too.Still think that all a team needs to succeed in the modern game is an elite QB? Go ahead and take a close look at Sunday’s matchups for the conference
championship games.Sure, Tom Brady (assuming his injured right hand is good to go) and the New England Patriots will be playing for the AFC title, just like they always do,
but they’ll be going up against Blake Bortles and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Over
in the NFC, the Philadelphia Eagles will send Nick Foles out to face the
Minnesota Vikings and Case Keenum, hardly a marquee matchup between
quarterbacks, and one set up by injuries to other signal-callers.What this quartet of teams does have in common is solid defense Derrius Guice Jersey , showing once again that while everyone is paying so much attention to one side of the ball, it’s the other that might truly matter
the most. The more league rules and officiating tend to favor offenses, the more
figuring out ways to slow that down is imperative.”When you have a defense that can shut that type of firepower down,” said Brian Robison, a linebacker on the Vikings defense that ranked No. 1 in yards
and points allowed, ”it allows you to win ballgames.”Minnesota gave up 15.8 points per game. Jacksonville was No. 2 at 16.8, followed by No. 4 Philadelphia’s 18.4 and No. 5 New England’s 18.5.”There’s teams that have really good defenses that aren’t talked about,” Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy said. ”We’re one of them.”It’s the first time since the 1970 merger there has been that sort of defensive dominance among the NFL’s final four. The closest was at the end of
the 2010 season, when teams that ranked No. 1 (Steelers), No. 2 (Packers), No. 4
(Bears) and No. 6 (Jets) in points allowed reached the conference title
games.”The most heralded guys on the field are the quarterbacks. So I would say Sam Darnold Jets Jersey , nine times out of 10, your detail goes into your offensive planning and things like that,” said Jacksonville’s leading tackler, Telvin
Smith, who returned a fumble 50 yards for a touchdown last weekend. ”Offense
sells tickets, and defense wins championships. I’m happy I’m on the defensive
side.”He is part of a young, talented and speedy D that rose to prominence quickly via a combination of shrewd drafting (linebackers Smith and Myles Jack,
defensive ends Yannick Ngakoue and Dante Fowler Jr., cornerback Jalen Ramsey)
and free-agent signings that panned out (defensive lineman Calais Campbell,
cornerback A.J. Bouye, safeties Barry Church and Tashaun Gipson).Take a look at the regular-season rankings in various defensive categories Minkah Fitzpatrick Youth Jersey , and you can’t miss the Jaguars. That helps explain how they made it this far with Bortles, whose 84.7 rating ranked
22nd among QBs with at least 100 pass attempts and whose 13 interceptions were
exceeded by only six players.Campbell tied for second in NFL with 14.5 sacks, while Ngakoue added 12 and led the league by forcing six fumbles. Bouye tied for third with six
interceptions, while Ramsey, Gipson and Church each had four. As a unit, the
Jaguars were No. 2 in yards allowed at 286.1, trailing the No. 1 Vikings
(275.9), with the Eagles (306.5) at No. 4. The Jaguars were also second in sacks
and total takeaways, while they topped the NFL with seven defensive TDs.Exceptional defense can carry a team far: In nine of the last 10 seasons, the No. 1 or No. 2 team in points allowed participated in a conference championship
game. The exception was 2015, when the Seahawks led the league in that category
but lost in the divisional round Da'Ron Payne Youth Jersey , and the Bengals ranked second but lost in the wild-card round.”Now it’s down to, `May the best defense win,”’ Eagles linebacker Nigel Bradham said. ”We each get to showcase what we can do.”—AP Sports Writers Dave Campbell in Eden Prairie, Minnesota; Kyle Hightower in Foxborough, Massachusetts; Mark Long in Jacksonville, Florida; and Rob Maaddi in
Philadelphia contributed to this report.—.
