Super Bowl 54 live updates: reports from 49ers, Chiefs pressers and more

Stay up to date with news and live reports on everything from practices to press conferences as Super Bowl 54 draws near. This post will be continually updated throughout the day.

4:22 p.m. - Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and Jim Rooney discuss Rooney Rule

It’s clear the Rooney Rule has lost some of its luster.

When former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue enacted the mandate in 2003, it was designed to increase the number of minority coaches.

Nearly two decades later and not much has changed. While the actual amount has vacillated over the years, the fact remains that the league had three black head coaches then and still only has three black head coaches now.

“It’s clear that things need to be done new and different again,” Tagliabue said Tuesday at RISE’s 5^th Annual Super Bowl Critical Conversation on Social Justice.

When the former commissioner installed the rule 17 years ago, he tasked then-Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney with creating a committee to develop its framework. Designating a new Rooney could be the key to increasing the number of minorities in leadership positions, Tagliabue says.

“The place to start is with a new committee of owners,” he explained. “... The first thing that a new committee could do is an audit of the [hiring] process.”

Jim Rooney, the son of the former Steelers owner, agreed. Using the hiring of Mike Tomlin as an example, the younger Rooney said not rushing the vetting process paid dividends in the long run.

“It is actively engaging in something that gets over those unconscious biases. You have to get to know someone. You have to create an experience. You have to have thoroughness in the process.”

— C. Isaiah Smalls II

1:22 p.m. - Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott says 49ers “great playmakers” on defense will be key

Dak Prescott doesn’t get paid to analyze.

He does, however, get paid to play football. And after facing the San Francisco 49ers earlier this season and in 2018, he knows a little something about that defense.

“They got some great playmakers and they got a great leader in Richard Sherman who’s leading that back end,” the Dallas Cowboys quarterback said Wednesday after helping donate 100,000 bowls of Campbell’s Chunky soup to the Miami Rescue Mission. “Then when you have a front four that can get home without pressure — that’s dangerous.”

While the Niners didn’t deploy their full arsenal of weapons during their two preseason matchups, Prescott says their defensive scheme makes them so lethal.

“It allows those guys to trust their instincts, communicate easily and just go play,” Prescott continued.

That unit, specifically their defensive line, could end up being the difference maker, according to the two-time Pro Bowler.

“If they can get pressure on Patrick [Mahomes] with just those four front rushers then they’ll have a chance... if he gets out the pocket and they don’t get him then they’re in trouble. ”

— C. Isaiah Smalls II

1:36 a.m. - The WWE touches down during Super Bowl week

On Tuesday, the WWE was in town

The weekly show WWE Backstage on FS1 conducted its first remote on Tuesday night at the FOX NFL Super Bowl studio set-up at Lummus Park on South Beach in Miami.

Joining WWE Backstage regulars Renee Young, Booker T and Christian were The New Day (Big, E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods), The Big Dog Roman Reigns and special guest comedian, actor and impressionist Frank Caliendo.

Footage aired on the show of Roman Reigns and King Baron Corbin as FOX Sports Digital Correspondents during the early stages of Super Bowl Week.

Reigns interviewed San Francisco 49ers and King Corbin the Kansas City Chiefs.

Reigns played football at Georgia Tech. He practiced (training camp) with the Vikings and Jaguars and later competed in the CFL.

Corbin played at Northwest Missouri State and in the NFL on the practice squad with the Colts and the Cardinals.

On Tuesday, The New Day members were also guests on Lock It in on FS1 - a live sports wagering show.

— Jim Varsallone

This story was originally published January 29, 2020 at 10:03 PM.

C. Isaiah Smalls II

Miami Herald

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C. Isaiah Smalls II is a sports and culture writer who covers the Miami Dolphins. In his previous capacity at the Miami Herald, he was the race and culture reporter who created The 44 Percent, a newsletter dedicated to the Black men who voted to incorporate the city of Miami. A graduate of both Morehouse College and Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, Smalls previously worked for ESPN’s Andscape.