My new hero … Randall Cunningham!

Cunningham, as a young
star for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Okay Eye On Sports readers, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m way too old to be ‘idol-worshipping’ any professional athlete like a wide-eyed teenager that is still hoping out some realistic hopes of making it in professional sports.

Cunningham and late son, Christian.

However, having said that, I am officially going on record right now to say that former NFL quarterback and now, ordained minister, Randall Cunningham, is not only my official sports ‘hero’ but that he should be every young athlete’s role model, particularly young African-American boys that may be under the impression that one they’ve made it to the pros, life will suddenly become easier.

Well, I am encouraging all young athletes – and their parents … (hell, let me just make that everyone) … to see ESPN’s E:60ultra-touching special on Cunningham, now the pastor of Remnant Ministires in Las Vegas.

Cunningham is now the pastor
of Remnant Ministries in Las Vegas.

Without giving too much of the video away, all I’m going to say is that Cunningham’s testimony, particularly that involving the recent death of his two-year old son Christian, is as powerful as anything I’ve ever witnessed and will undoubtedly help some folks think more about the ‘big picture’ than how much bling they’ve got and how much ‘paper’ they’re going to make.

Oh, yeah, I am now, officially, a huge Randall Cunningham fan – and I will be until the day I hit the dirt!

What are your thoughts on Randall Cunningham? Sound off in the comments section and have a great, sports-filled day!

Jacked up Jaguars Making Mistake!

Call me crazy, but I’m going on record right now to say that the Jacksonville Jaguars are making a very foolish move in hiring Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey as their head coach on Tuesday.

It’s not that Eye on Sports doesn’t like Mularkey, it’s just that I feel like he’s not cut out for the head coaching thing – particularly if his first crack at it means anything.

While the Jags plane on introducing Mularkey at a news conference on Wednesday, I’m thinking new Jaguars owner Shahid Khan should take a long hard look at Mularkey’s uninspiring 14-18 record in two seasons with the Buffalo Bills before being fired following the 2005 season.

Hell, Jaguars general manager Gene Smith didn’t even have to go back that far, seeing as how Mularkey’s Falcons managed to score just two points in their NFC wild card loss to the Giants this past weekend.

Brees Making Life Easy in Underrated NFC South

NFC South

The New Orleans Saints look as explosive as ever on offense under Drew Brees this season. Unfortunately, I’m no big believer in New Orleans’ Swiss Cheese-like defense.

Let’s just repeat the previous comment on the Saints, except I’m going to substitute Brees’ name for Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.

No matter what kind of record the Carolina Panthers finish with from here on out, you’ve got to be absolutely thrilled to see how this franchise performed in the very first season of their rebuilding campaign under first-year head coach Ron Rivera and gifted rookie signal-caller Cam Newton.

Rivera has gotten the Panthers to play hard in every single game this season no matter the opponent – and Newton proved in his very first season as the No. 1 overall draft pick that he’s already better than two-thirds of the quarterbacks in the league!

If you’re a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan, then you’ve got to be very disappointed in how the Bucs have underachieved this season. Frankly, for a team that won 10 games last season and looked like one of the league’s best up-and-coming franchises, Tampa Bay has gone backwards in a big way this season – and so have head coach Raheem Morris and young quarterback Josh Freeman in the process.