Adam Schefter blasts Mike Florio’s criticism of Pete Carroll scoop

Christmas football came with a side of sports media steak.

On Wednesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that longtime NFL and college coach Pete Carroll was considering a return to the game, citing league sources.

“Three teams — Bears, Jets and Saints — are in the market for a head coach who can help reset their culture,” Schefter wrote. “Few coaches have been more effective than Carroll in doing just that.”

There’s no debating Carroll’s effectiveness as a coach at the NCAA and pro level, but Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio seemed willing to challenge Schefter’s insider credentials.

“Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports Carroll wants back in,” Florio wrote. “Which, frankly, means that Carroll’s agent specifically told Schefter this in hopes that Schefter would broadcast it to the world in hopes of creating public opinion. Then Carroll’s agent will owe Schefter big time.

“And that’s how the sausage is made.”

Florio wasn’t done there though.

After he broke down Carroll’s ability to help in a number of NFL scenarios, he turned his attention back to Schefter.

“It’s hard to blame Carroll’s agent for trying to use the media to get the word out about Carroll,” he continued. “That is the agent’s job. However, it is not the media’s job to engage in quid pro quo PR for coaching candidates.”

Despite a busy day of football and news, Schefter took a moment to fire back at Florio’s claims about his sources — leaving little to the imagination.

“Everything you say here is 100 percent wrong,” the longtime ESPN news anchor wrote on X. “Keep guessing and Merry Christmas.”

It is not the first time in recent weeks that Schefter has felt the need to defend his reporting.

He got into it with Fox Sports college basketball analyst and Wisconsin-Green Bay coach Doug Gottlieb regarding Michael Vick’s emergence as a football coaching candidate at Sacramento State (he later took the job at Norfolk State).

“Jeezus Shefty, edit what agents are telling you… 0.0% chance Sac State has $50M NIL,” Gottlieb wrote on X. “Gotta raise money for a stadium, coaches and then NIL. Saying , that it’s $50 million in NIL, is sincere.”

Schefter not only backed up his report, he also went for the throat and pointed to Gottlieb’s poor record this season.

“And Jeezus, Doug,” the ESPNer wrote. “A seven-game losing streak and last place in the Horizon League? Less time on social media and more time in the gym.”

Schefter apparently has more time for these feuds these days, something his critics may want to consider going forward.