Truth & Rumors > NFL

05:53 PM ET 05.23 | Bill Belichick???s two-year run as America???s highest-paid coach has come to an end. That title now belongs to Sean Payton, the fellow NFL coach who will be paid around $8 million per year to lead the New Orleans Saints for the next five seasons. Payton???s future employment was something of a mystery at the end of last year when the NFL voided his contract extension with the Saints, making him a free agent at season???s end. But New Orleans, not keen on letting the franchise???s first Super Bowl-winning coach skip town, quickly locked up Payton with the rich contract offer. Not only has Belichick been knocked off of his top spot, but he doesn???t even get sole possession of the No. 2 place on our list. He is now tied with Andy Reid, who picked up a new coaching gig in Kansas City just days after losing his job in Philadelphia, where he won nearly 60% his games and made the NFC Championship five times.

Forbes

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05:45 PM ET 05.23 | Johnny Jolly was back in a Houston courtroom Wednesday ... but this time, it was a good thing. Jolly can now return to the Packers. The troubled defensive lineman was in a courtroom to receive his diploma for completing a court-ordered drug treatment program, his final step before returning to the NFL. There to hand him the diploma was the judge who sentenced Jolly to prison. "I know I've seen a change, and I know your family has seen a change, and we are just so darn proud of you today just for the progress that you've made," The Honorable Denise Bradley said. "I didn't know if we would see this day happen." The Packers had been quiet about the process for Jolly to return, but this was his last obstacle. Jolly last played in 2009 and then was suspended from the league for several drug-related arrests and jail time in Houston.

WBAY Action 2 Sports

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05:39 PM ET 05.23 | Former Titans offensive lineman Leroy Harris worked out for the Lions on Wednesday. Harris played in 75 games, with 42 starts, for the Titans over the past six seasons. Harris started the first eight games of the 2012 season before suffering a right knee injury. He underwent surgery to repair a partially torn ACL, and is not yet 100 percent. Harris, a fourth-round draft pick in 2007, is not expected to return to the Titans.

Nashville Tennessean

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05:33 PM ET 05.23 | As one prominent Jets defender learned the hard way Wednesday, appearances can be deceiving. Chris Ivory might have the build of a power back, but the recent Gang Green trade acquisition made veteran linebacker David Harris look foolish for thinking of him that way Wednesday during an on-field workout. Showing why the Jets are so excited about the draft-day deal that brought him from the Saints, the 6-foot, 220-pound Ivory caught a pass in the flat and spun Harris like a top with some exceptionally pretty footwork that hadn???t been in the pre-trade scouting report. ???That was one of those ???feel-type??? plays that you get from being in the league for a while,??? Ivory said afterward with a smile. ???I could feel him and was able to make something happen.???

New York Post

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05:26 PM ET 05.23 | Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch had a court date this morning for a motion to suppress evidence in Alameda County District Court, stemming from charges filed against him for driving under the influence of alcohol in July of last year. According to Teresa Drenick, assistant district attorney for the Alameda County District Attorney???s office, the motion to suppress was continued to July 5. Drenick also said that no court date has been set. Lynch, 26, was arrested by the California Highway Patrol early Saturday morning on July 14 when a police officer observed him driving north on Interstate 880 in Oakland, weaving in and out of lanes in a white Ford van, and nearly colliding with two cars.

Tacoma News Tribune

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