Professional Football Writers of America honor several with 2024 awards

Colton Pouncy, the Detroit Lions beat writer for The Athletic, has been selected as the 2024 Terez A. Paylor Emerging Writer Award winner by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA).
 
Pouncy, the fourth Paylor Award winner, has covered the Lions for The Athletic since 2022. He is the third person affiliated with The Athletic to receive the Paylor Award.
 
The Paylor Award recognizes a young NFL writer who carries on the legacy of Paylor through his or her work ethic, professionalism and dedication to the craft and commitment to improving diversity in NFL media. Paylor, the former Yahoo! Sports and Kansas City Star football writer, passed away in February 2021 at the age of 37. He joined the Star after graduating from Howard University in 2006 and took over the Kansas City Chiefs beat in 2013. He spent the next seven-plus years covering the NFL and joined Yahoo! Sports in 2018 as a senior writer to cover the league on a national level.
 
A Chicago native and a 2017 graduate of Missouri, Pouncy worked for the Columbia Missourian student newspaper covering University of Missouri sports, and he was one of two beat writers from the paper to cover Mizzou’s 2016 football season. After graduation, Pouncy was one of 12 journalism students across the country selected for the Sports Journalism Institute’s Class of 2017, and he moved to Nashville to be a sports intern at The Tennessean that summer. Upon the completion of his internship, Pouncy’s first full-time journalism position came as the Austin Peay beat writer at the Leaf Chronicle in Clarksville, Tenn., from August 2017 to May 2018, while also serving as a general assignment sportswriter at The Tennessean during that time. Both papers are part of Gannett’s USA Today Network.
 
Pouncy joined The Athletic in June 2018 as the Michigan State football beat writer. He covered the Spartans for four years, and he moved to the Lions beat in July 2022. In addition to his daily written coverage of the Lions, he also co-hosts a podcast, “One of These Years”, about the Lions with Chris Burke and Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic.
 
The other 2024 finalists for the Paylor Award were Ben Arthur (Fox Sports), DJ Bien-Aime (ESPN.com), Katherine Fitzgerald (Buffalo News), Daniel Oyefusi (Miami Herald) and Kris Rhim (ESPN.com).

“Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell did a bit of foreshadowing when he pointed to a young scribe seated in the front row of his training camp news conference in July 2022 and said, 'I'm not going to forget you, Colton.' Since then, it has become impossible to consume Lions content and not be impressed by Colton's commitment to storytelling, his connection with Detroit's passionate fan base and his creative approach to chronicling the way Campbell has orchestrated the franchise's rebuild,” said Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic. “Colton is more than deserving of the Paylor Award, and he has undoubtedly demonstrated a work ethic that suggests this will be among the many honors he receives as he continues his journalism career.”

TEREZ A. PAYLOR EMERGING WRITER AWARD WINNERS (Young NFL writer who carries on the legacy of Paylor through his or her work ethic, professionalism, and dedication to the craft and commitment to improving diversity in NFL media): 2021 – Jourdan Rodrigue (The Athletic); 2022 – Jori Epstein (USA Today); 2023 – Tashan Reed (The Athletic); 2024 – Colton Pouncy (The Athletic)

 

Tennessee Titans offensive line coach Bill Callahan and Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo have been selected as the 2024 Paul “Dr. Z” Zimmerman Award winners by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA).
 
Callahan and Spagnuolo are the 24th and 25th recipients of the Dr. Z Award, which was instituted by the PFWA in 2014.
 
The Dr. Z Award is given for lifetime achievement as an assistant coach in the NFL. The award is named for Zimmerman, who covered the NFL for 29 years as Sports Illustrated's lead pro football writer. His impact on the writing and football industries was profound. Zimmerman is widely considered one of the best football writers of all time, and his 1970 “A Thinking Man's Guide to Pro Football” and revised 1984 “The New Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Football” are textbooks to this day for young football writers trying to learn the game and trying to learn to write about the game. He started to cover the NFL in 1966, and he started at Sports Illustrated in 1979. He stayed at SI until his writing career was cut short by a series of strokes in November 2008. He served as PFWA president during the 1982 season.

Other 2024 finalists for the Dr. Z Award were the late offensive line coach Larry Beightol, the late defensive coordinator Tom Catlin and Philadelphia Eagles run game coordinator/offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland.

With 25 seasons in the NFL and 46 overall in coaching, Callahan was hired as Tennessee's offensive line coach in 2024. During his time in the NFL, he has spent 22 seasons coaching the offensive line and seven years as offensive coordinator. He has guided 14 offensive linemen to a total of 35 Pro Bowl selections. Callahan spent the previous four seasons (2020-23) with Cleveland as the O-line coach. He also coached with Washington (2015-19), Dallas (2012-14), New York Jets (2008-11), Oakland (1998-2003; including 2002-03 as head coach), and he began his NFL career with Philadelphia (1995-97). He was head coach at Nebraska (2004-07) as part of a 15-season collegiate coaching career, and he also spent two seasons in the high school ranks.

Spagnuolo just completed his fifth season as the Chiefs defensive coordinator and 24th in the NFL in 2023. He has coordinated four Super Bowl champion teams, and he is the only coordinator in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with two different franchises (N.Y. Giants 2007; Kansas City 2019, 2022, 2023). His 2023 defensive unit ranked second in both points and yards allowed and held San Francisco's offense down late in the Chiefs' OT victory in Super Bowl LVIII. He was the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants (2015-17) and the Giants' interim head coach for the final four weeks of the 2017 season. Spagnuolo began his NFL career with Philadelphia (1999-2006), followed by stints with the Giants (2007-08), St. Louis Rams (2009-11), New Orleans (2012) and Baltimore (2013-14) before returning to the Giants.

PAUL “DR. Z” ZIMMERMAN AWARD WINNERS (For lifetime achievement as an assistant coach in the NFL): 2014 – Jim Johnson, Howard Mudd, Fritz Shurmur and Ernie Zampese; 2015 – DICK LeBEAU, Tom Moore and Dante Scarnecchia; 2016 – Monte Kiffin and Wade Phillips; 2017 – Bud Carson; 2018 – Joe Bugel and Emmitt Thomas; 2019 – Gunther Cunningham and Mike Westhoff; 2020 – Bill Arnsparger and Romeo Crennel; 2021 – Rod Marinelli and Bobby Turner; 2022 – Leslie Frazier and Greg Knapp; 2023 – Don “Wink” Martindale, Bobb McKittrick and John Mitchell; 2024 – Bill Callahan and Steve Spagnuolo.

 

PFWA recognizes 49ers’ PR staff with annual Pete Rozelle Award

 

Best in the League!

Congrats to our PR staff on being named the recipients of the 2024 @PFWAwriters Pete Rozelle Award.https://t.co/zcLtgS0RX0 pic.twitter.com/lSNiU7m5S9

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) June 4, 2024

The San Francisco 49ers public relations staff, lauded for overall professionalism with the reporters who cover the club, has been selected as the 2024 Pete Rozelle Award winner by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA).
 
The 49ers’ PR staff, the 35th Rozelle Award winner, earned the award for the first time.

The other 2024 finalists for the Rozelle Award were the Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams and the Miami Dolphins.

The Rozelle Award is given to the NFL club public relations staff that consistently strives for excellence in its dealings and relationships with the media. The award is named for Rozelle, NFL commissioner from 1960-89, who started his distinguished career in sports PR roles as a student at both Compton (Calif.) Junior College and the University of San Francisco. After two more years as USF’s assistant athletic director after graduation, he broke into the NFL as the PR director of the Los Angeles Rams from 1952-55. Rozelle used his PR principles as commissioner to build relationships with the media during a period of unprecedented growth and challenges for the league.

During the 2023 season, the 49ers football communications staff consisted of Corry Rush (vice president of football communications), Peter Volmut (director of football communications), Kristin Wojcik (manager of football communications) and Zackary Teats (coordinator of football communications). The staff was also assisted by Caleigh Elkin (football communications seasonal intern), Ellie Caple (director of communications and public affairs), Josh Stephens (senior manager of communications and public affairs) and Jacob Fill (senior coordinator of corporate communications).

A finalist for the Rozelle Award for second straight year, the 49ers’ PR team worked to facilitate access for beat writers to head coach Kyle Shanahan, assistant coaches and players along with general manager John Lynch and front office personnel throughout the season.

“I got permission to be a fly on the locker room wall during halftime two seasons ago. It’s true. In a league bent on keeping even marginally sensitive information triple-bolted and away from prying eyes, I was allowed into a rarely seen inner sanctum,” said PFWA San Francisco chapter president Matt Barrows of The Athletic. “No, the 49ers’ PR department doesn’t fulfill every request it gets. But it at least is willing to listen to and consider them, and many story pitches – from an in-season chat with the QBs coach to getting a pair of star players together for a sit-down session – have been granted in recent seasons. That’s the 49ers’ PR department’s greatest strength: Facilitating requests that lead to better stories and a better understanding of the game by readers and viewers.”

PETE ROZELLE AWARD WINNERS (To the club public relations department that consistently strives for excellence in its dealings and relationships with the media. Year indicates when award was presented for previous season): 1990 – Denver Broncos; 1991 – Pittsburgh Steelers; 1992 – Seattle Seahawks; 1993 – Miami Dolphins; 1994 – Houston Oilers; 1995 – New York Giants; 1996 – Indianapolis Colts; 1997 – St. Louis Rams; 1998 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers; 1999 – Miami Dolphins; 2000 – Tennessee Titans; 2001 – New York Giants; 2002 – Philadelphia Eagles; 2003 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers; 2004 – Houston Texans; 2005 – Philadelphia Eagles; 2006 – Cincinnati Bengals; 2007 – Houston Texans; 2008 – Seattle Seahawks; 2009 – Arizona Cardinals; 2010 – Houston Texans; 2011 – Baltimore Ravens; 2012 – Houston Texans; 2013 – Baltimore Ravens; 2014 – Denver Broncos; 2015 – Pittsburgh Steelers; 2016 – Denver Broncos; 2017 – Baltimore Ravens & Houston Texans; 2018 – Minnesota Vikings; 2019 – Los Angeles Rams; 2020 – Indianapolis Colts; 2021 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers; 2022 – New England Patriots; 2023 – Detroit Lions; 2024 – San Francisco 49ers.

 

Los Angeles Rams General Manager Les Snead, lauded for his professional dealings with the media who cover the National Football League, has been selected as the 2024 Horrigan Award winner by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA).
 
Snead, the 52nd Horrigan Award winner, is the second member of the Rams’ franchise to receive the award; head coach John Robinson won the award in 1992. Snead is the first GM to win the Horrigan since Brandon Beane with the Buffalo Bills in 2021, and the third general manager in the last five years to be honored with the award by the PFWA membership.
 
The Horrigan Award is given to the league or club official for his or her qualities and professional style in helping the pro football writers do their job. It is named for the father-son pair of Jack Horrigan and Joe Horrigan.

Jack Horrigan was a sportswriter for UPI and the Buffalo Evening News, public relations director for the American Football League (1963-66) and vice president of public relations for the Buffalo Bills (1966-73). Joe Horrigan, in his 45th year with the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is the Hall’s senior advisor; previous positions included executive director (2017-19), executive vice president of museums, selection process and chief communications officer (2014-17), and vice president, communications and exhibits (1996-2014).

Other 2024 nominees for the Horrigan Award were 49ers General Manager JOHN LYNCH, NFL VP of Communications Brian McCarthy and NFL EVP of Football Operations Troy Vincent.
 
Completing his 13th season as the Rams’ general manager in 2023, Snead has built the Rams into Super Bowl LVI champions with an aggressiveness that included the hiring of Sean McVay as the league’s youngest coach and a flurry of trades and free agent signings. He has maintained an open-door policy with the media, who have relied on him to discuss and analyze his decisions.
 
“Les believes that football is an endless source of curiosity. He is also in a position of power to where, should he want to seek and find the answers to a million questions about the evolution and dynamics of the sport, he could very well keep that gate shut for himself and his staff, and keep those answers for himself and everyone else out. Instead, when Les comes across journalists who are ALSO curious, who want to learn, and who are on the outside of buildings looking in — he opens that gate,” said PFWA Los Angeles Rams chapter vice president Jourdan Rodrigue, who covers the Rams for The Athletic. “When I arrived in Los Angeles — a young, female beat reporter hungry to learn — Les’ open-door policy about all things football changed my life. A two-dimensional world became three- and four-dimensional. By explaining things and answering endless questions and saying ‘yes’ to endless ideas, Les empowered curiosity, and he helped preserve in history some of the key stories that are shaping this league.
 
“When people in power open the door of access to those who are seeking knowledge, particularly underrepresented voices who have something to contribute to the fabric, the sport we love progresses. When ideas are shared, they challenge everybody to push forward. Les embodies this and is so deserving of this award.”
 
PAST HORRIGAN AWARD WINNERS (To the league or club official for his or her qualities and professional style in helping the pro football writers do their job; year indicates when award was presented for previous season): 1973 – John Breen (Houston Oilers); 1974 – O.J. Simpson (Buffalo Bills); 1975 – Art Rooney Sr. (Pittsburgh Steelers); 1976 – Floyd Little (Denver Broncos); 1977 – Jerry Wynn (San Diego Chargers); 1978 – Bob Peck (Denver Broncos); 1979 – John Madden (Oakland Raiders); 1980 – Bum Phillips (Houston Oilers); 1981 – Bob Sprenger (Kansas City Chiefs); 1982 – Joe Gordon (Pittsburgh Steelers); 1983 – Archie Manning (New Orleans Saints/Houston Oilers); 1984 – Art Rooney Sr. (Pittsburgh Steelers); 1985 – Joe Browne (NFL); 1986 – Dick Steinberg (New England Patriots); 1987 – Charlie Dayton (Atlanta Falcons); 1988 – Art Modell (Cleveland Browns); 1989 – Tom Landry (Dallas Cowboys); 1990 – George Young (New York Giants); 1991 – Jim Finks (New Orleans Saints); 1992 – John Robinson (Los Angeles Rams); 1993 – Warren Moon (Houston Oilers); 1994 – Don Shula (Miami Dolphins); 1995 – Leslie Hammond (NFL); 1996 – Ron Wolf (Green Bay Packers); 1997 – Don Smith (Pro Football Hall of Fame); 1998 – Tony Dungy (Tampa Bay Buccaneers); 1999 – Greg Aiello (NFL); 2000 – Ernie Accorsi (New York Giants); 2001 – Jeff Fisher (Tennessee Titans); 2002 – Charley Casserly (Houston Texans); 2003 – Herman Edwards (New York Jets); 2004 – Ozzie Newsome (Baltimore Ravens); 2005 – Rich McKay (Atlanta Falcons); 2006 – Floyd Reese (Tennessee Titans); 2007 – Steve Alic (NFL); 2008 – Mike Holmgren (Seattle Seahawks); 2009 – Dan Rooney (Pittsburgh Steelers); 2010 – Gil Brandt (NFL.com); 2011 – Rex Ryan (New York Jets); 2012 – Thomas Dimitroff (Atlanta Falcons); 2013 – Michael Signora (NFL); 2014 – Pete Carroll (Seattle Seahawks); 2015 – Bruce Arians (Arizona Cardinals); 2016 – John Elway (Denver Broncos); 2017 – Mike Mayock (NFL Network); 2018 – Randall Liu (NFL); 2019 – Joe Horrigan (Pro Football Hall of Fame); 2020 – Chris Ballard (Indianapolis Colts); 2021 – Brandon Beane (Buffalo Bills); 2022 – Michael Signora (NFL); 2023 – Ron Rivera (Washington Commanders); 2024 – Les Snead (Los Angeles Rams).
 

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, who was praised for his dealings with local and national media during this past season, has been selected as the 2024 Good Guy Award winner by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA).

Stroud, the 20th Good Guy Award winner, is the first member of the Texans franchise to win the award.

Other finalists for the Good Guy Award were Cleveland Browns guard Joel Bitonio, Buffalo Bills tackle Dion Dawkins, Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

The Good Guy Award is given to an NFL player for his qualities and professional style in helping pro football writers do their jobs. The award has been presented annually by the PFWA since 2005.

Stroud, the second overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft by Houston, made an immediate impact on the field with his play, in the locker room with reporters covering the Texans daily and in the greater Houston community.

“Stroud is the Good Guy Award winner because of his professionalism and openness with both the national and local media. He is always available during the week and after games, win or lose. He understands the media has a job to do and answers each question thoroughly,” said PFWA Houston chapter co-vice president Jonathan Alexander, who covers the Texans for the Houston Chronicle. “He is also active in the Houston community without seeking attention, recently volunteering to remove trees and clean up debris from yards in underserved communities after a storm left many residents without power for several days.”

“First and foremost, I want to give all glory and praise to my lord and savior, Jesus Christ. It’s a blessing to be recognized as the PFWA Good Guy Award winner, and it stands out to me because it’s more of an award that embodies someone’s character rather than the stats they compile on the field,” Stroud said. “I appreciate the job the media has and thank them for choosing me as someone who is deserving of this honor. A special shoutout to the other very deserving players who were nominated and those that won before me.”

The 2023 PFWA NFL Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year, Stroud started all 15 games he appeared in, and he finished the regular season completing 319 of 499 passes for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns and only five interceptions while posting a passer rating of 100.8. The 4,108 yards were third most by a rookie quarterback in NFL history, and his TD-to-interception ratio of 4.6 led the league – the youngest player

to pace the league in that category. Stroud also started the season with 191 consecutive passes without an interception – an NFL mark to start a career.

Stroud was the 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month twice in September and November, the AFC Offensive Player of the Month for November, and he was selected as the AFC Offensive Player of the Week twice (Weeks 9 and 18).