ESPN's Pat McAfee lambasts sports media for negativity over remarks at Jaguars coach's press conference

The "NFL on FOX" crew reacted to the Chicago Bears' win over the Green Bay Packers and other Wild Card games.

Pat McAfee, an ESPN broadcaster who formerly punted for the Indianapolis Colts, lambasted sports journalists for their outrage over a reporter’s remarks toward Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen.

Jacksonville Free Press associate editor Lynn Jones-Turpin made the comments that sparked a sports media debate online. She told Coen, "I’m going to tell you, congratulations on your success, young man. You hold your head up. You guys have had a most magnificent season. You did a great job out there today. You just hold your head up, OK? Ladies and gentlemen, Duval. You keep it going. We got another season."

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Pat McAfee at the 2025 Rose Bowl and quarterfinal game of the College Football Playoff at Rose Bowl Stadium on Jan. 1, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

Jones-Turpin’s words sparked consternation among journalists who cover the NFL, and generally sports, for a living. NFL fans brushed it off as sports reporters taking themselves too seriously.

McAfee took the side of the fan in a lengthy rant posted to X.

"Love seeing these sports ‘journalists’ getting ABSOLUTELY BURIED for being curmudgeon bums.." he wrote. "OBVIOUSLY NOT ALL OF THEM but a LARGE % of these things hate sports.. they hate what sports are for people (happiness).. They hate what sports are for society (unifier).. they’re political journalists by nature who’ve preyed on sports because they saw it as an easier path to ‘make it.’

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AJ Hawk, Pat McAfee and Darius Butler do an alternate broadcast of the game for ESPN from