The Sports Xchange

Coaching stability remains a constant in Pittsburgh, where coach Mike Tomlin is now signed through 2018.

On Thursday, Tomlin signed a two-year extension, which ESPN.com reported will pay him at least $7 million a year and will put him among the five highest-paid coaches in the NFL.

Since 1969, the Steelers have had just three coaches: Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Tomlin.

Tomlin, 43, is entering his ninth season as Steelers coach. The Steelers hired him despite his one season of experience as Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator and no experience as a head coach at any level. He became the youngest head coach in NFL history to coach in — and win — a Super Bowl when he led the Steelers to a 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.

—Letroy Guion, a defensive tackle for the Green Bay Packers, reportedly has been suspended for the first three games of the upcoming season.

He plans to appeal immediately, ESPN Milwaukee reported Thursday.

Guion was arrested Feb. 3 on felony charges that include possession of 357 grams of marijuana and possession of a firearm. He entered a no-contest plea in the case and paid a $5,000 fine.

Guion signed a one-year deal worth up to $2.75 million in March.

—Seattle Seahawks free safety Earl Thomas will be idle when the team begins training camp and could miss the start of the season recovering from shoulder surgery.

Thomas told ESPN he would not be ready for the start of training camp and his availability for Week 1 is not a guarantee.

Coach Pete Carroll seemed upbeat last month about Thomas, saying, “He looks great. They (the team’s trainers) are really fired up about his return and the rehab work that he did already, so it looks like there should be no problems.”

—Cornerback Tarell Brown reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with the New England Patriots.

Brown, 30, spent seven seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and started in 14 games with the Oakland Raiders last season, when he played most of the year — from Week 4 to Week 15 — with a broken bone in his foot. He has 11 interceptions in his career but none in his past 27 games.

The Patriots also re-signed rookie wide receiver Zach D’Orazio. Undrafted out of Akron, D’Orazio signed with the Patriots on May 26 but was released June 11.

—Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning has created the Chattanooga Heroes Fund to help support the families of U.S. servicemen who were murdered in Chattanooga, Tenn., last week.

Four Marines and a Navy sailor were shot to death by a 24-year-old man, who was killed by police. A Chattanooga police officer also remains hospitalized.

Manning, who played at the University of Tennessee in the 1990s, traveled to Chattanooga last Saturday to visit police and military personnel.

—Despite a pending suspension for his alleged role in deflating footballs before the AFC Championship Game, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was the top-selling NFL player last fiscal quarter, according to the NFL Players Associaton.

Merchandise in Brady’s name topped the list of sales from March 1 through May 31, the first time Brady has held the No. 1 spot since the rankings’ inception in 2012, the NFLPA said in a release Thursday.

Brady, who led the Patriots to victory against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX, displaced Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson from the top spot. Wilson was the No. 3 seller behind San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning rounded out the top five.

— The Washington Redskins waived running back Michael Hill, an undrafted rookie out of Missouri Western State in 2013 who has had brief stints with the Chargers, Packers, Buccaneers and Colts.

Hill, who is 5 feet 10 and 210 pounds, spent the final month of last season with the Washington Redskins’ practice squad and was re-signed in February.

The move leaves Washington with five running backs: Alfred Morris, rookie Matt Jones, second-year players Silas Redd Jr. and Chris Thompson and undrafted rookie Trey Williams.

—Miami Dolphins rookie offensive tackle Mickey Baucus has decided to retire from football. The undrafted rookie out of Arizona was signed May 8.

Baucus was rated as the No. 32 offensive tackle prospect in the 2015 NFL Draft by NFLDraftScout.com.