First Call: Decisions in New England may impact Steelers coaching staff; Penguins face tough challenge; Pitt looks to rebound

Friday’s “First Call” has an update on a job hunt that involves a Pittsburgh Steelers assistant. The Metropolitan Division in the NHL had an interesting night. The Penguins were aided by some old friends.

Also, the Winnipeg Jets are at PPG Paints Arena on Friday.

And the Pitt hoops team wants to regain its winning touch.

Come again?

I’ll admit that sometimes I don’t get Pro Football Focus’ grading system.

You know who else doesn’t always seem to get it? Pro Football Focus.

Like, for instance, PFF tossed out this stat recently about Kenny Pickett.

Highest graded QBs since Week 12:

Josh Allen - 90.9
KENNY PICKETT - 90.1 pic.twitter.com/rtwQqieVLL

— PFF PIT Steelers (@PFF_Steelers) January 11, 2023

Yet the stat-based football site named San Francisco’s Brock Purdy to its all-rookie team. Here’s how writer Michael Renner explained the decision.

“Steelers QB Kenny Pickett had an encouraging rookie season, but what Purdy has achieved in such a limited time is extremely impressive,” Renner said. “The 49ers have not lost any of the six games Purdy has played since Jimmy Garoppolo went down in Week 13 against the Miami Dolphins. The Iowa State product’s 76.6 overall grade led the rookie QB class, and his 107.3 passer rating led all quarterbacks with at least 150 dropbacks.”

I’ve got nothing against Purdy at all. He’s a great story. This just strikes me as a little inconsistent on PFF’s part given the sample-size gap, as Pickett started 12 games and Purdy only five.

But Purdy had 13 touchdowns to Pickett’s seven.

Domino effect

It certainly appears the New England Patriots are working hard to retain former linebacker Jerrod Mayo as a defensive coach on the staff.

Unprecedented: The #Patriots announce they are working toward keeping Jerod Mayo and that team will begin OC interviews next week. pic.twitter.com/1RoSjFoSk3

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 13, 2023

Mayo is supposedly a candidate for the defensive coordinator’s job in Cleveland. So is Steelers defensive assistant Brian Flores.

So if Mayo falls out of the running by staying in Foxborough, that could clear the way for Flores to leave the Steelers and join the Browns. ProFootballTalk says Flores may also be a candidate for the head coaching job with the Carolina Panthers.

More sports

• Tim Benz: Steelers need to decide how real its offensive line improvement truly was
• Consistently inconsistent best way to sum up Penguins at midway point of season
• Steelers add 3 more to offseason roster, including former 4th-round pick RB Anthony McFarland

Big ol’ jet airliner

The Winnipeg Jets are in town to play the Penguins on Friday night. That’s not great news for the Penguins.

The Jets have won six of their last seven games, including a 4-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night. Kyle Conner’s 21st goal was on a breakaway for the game winner at 7:19 of the third period.

It's not even fair how good he is ????#NHLAllStarVote | Kyle Connor pic.twitter.com/51bYrRdfQJ

— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) January 13, 2023

Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck stopped 39 shots for the victory. Winnipeg picked up two points on the Central Division-leading Dallas Stars. That’s because Dallas lost 2-1 in overtime to the New York Rangers on Thursday. Adam Fox scored the game winner in overtime for New York.

Adam Fox (@foxyclean) helps the @NYRangers pick up the extra point with his incredible @Energizer overtime winner! pic.twitter.com/jzXS0qwJki

— NHL (@NHL) January 13, 2023

The Jets (55 points) are now just two points behind the Dallas Stars (57 points) for the Central Division lead.

A little help from their friends

The Rangers weren’t the only Metropolitan Division team in action Thursday. The New York Islanders lost to the Minnesota Wild 3-1.

That helps the Penguins (48 points). The Isles (47 points) stay stuck a point back of the Pens for the final wild-card slot and fifth place in the division.

Minnesota got a goal from former Penguin Freddy Gaudreau. It was his 10th, and it came shorthanded.

We'll take that #mnwild pic.twitter.com/RVKkaMlFKX

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) January 13, 2023

Another ex-Penguins prospect, goalie Filip Gustavsson, got the win with 20 saves.

Also, the Carolina Hurricanes snapped a four-game losing streak by ripping the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-2.

So the Canes lead the division (59 points) by four points over both the New Jersey Devils and the Rangers at 55 each. The Washington Capitals are next at 52 points — four points in front of the Penguins for fourth place.

Georgia on their minds

The Pitt basketball team looks to rebound from Wednesday’s disappointing loss at Duke as they take on Georgia Tech on Saturday. The game is in Atlanta at 3 p.m. on the ACC Network.

The Panthers had a 12-point lead during the game against the Blue Devils. But it slipped away, and Jeff Capel’s crew ended up losing 77-69 to his alma mater.

Now the 11-6 Panthers visit an 8-8 Yellow Jackets team that is 1-5 in ACC play. ESPN analytics is giving Pitt a 55% chance to win. Georgia Tech is shooting only 43% as a team. That’s 13th out of 15 teams in the ACC.

Both clubs rebound the ball well, though. The Panthers are third in the conference at 38.5 boards per game. The Jackets are fifth at 36.8.

As for Robert Morris, the Colonials are also trying to get over a close loss. They dropped a 69-65 decision in Oakland on Thursday night. They’ll next play Detroit Mercy on the road at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Duquesne is off until a road game at St. Bonaventure next Wednesday. The Dukes just dropped St. Joseph’s 92-80 this Wednesday night.