A pair of prominent NFL insiders removed themselves from the holiday spirit to have a testy back-and-forth on Christmas Day.

It all started when ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Pete Carroll was interested in returning to NFL coaching, and more specifically, being the Chicago Bears’ replacement for Matt Eberflus. That set the stage for Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio to claim an ulterior motive for Schefter’s report.

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

Schefter, who almost exclusively uses his X account for business purposes, didn’t take Florio’s jab in silence.

“Everything you say here is 100 percent wrong,” Schefter posted. “Keep up the guess work and Merry Christmas.”

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As for the initial report, time will tell if Carroll returns to an NFL sideline next season. But it’s tough to imagine the Bears will want Caleb Williams and company coached by someone who will turn 74 when the 2025 campaign commences.

Featured image via Kirby Lee/Imagn Images