Andy & Ari On3 - J.J. McCarthy Goes Pro; Is Jim Harbaugh NEXT? | Washington Hires Jedd Fisch | Dear Andy

Episode Date: January 15, 2024

Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy declared for the NFL draft on Sunday. Now all eyes turn to Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh, who is reportedly interviewing with the Los Angeles Chargers this week. (And if you watched the Cowboys get shelled by the Packers, does Jerry Jones call Harbaugh?)Also on Sunday, Washington hired Jedd Fisch from Arizona to replace Kalen DeBoer. (0:00-12:32) Intro: J.J. McCarthy declares for NFL Draft / Michigan's Future(12:33-25:50) Andy explains what the Huskies are getting in Fisch and who the Wildcats may consider to replace him.(25:51-43:36) On3's Pete Nakos joins to fill us in on a busy transfer portal weekend, and it's about to get busier now that Arizona's portal window has opened for 30 days.(43:37-43:57) Finally, Andy answers the Dear Andy questions he couldn't answer on the day Nick Saban retired...(43:58-47:25) Is Michigan in danger of a fall-off like the one LSU had after 2019?(47:26 -51:37)Who wins the Big 12 next year and who has the most success over the next five years?(51:38-53:52) Why doesn't Iowa have an offensive coordinator yet?(53:53-58:47) Why do teams planning to go for it on fourth down run on third down?(58:48-1:02:55) When can we expect to see de facto GM positions in college football?(1:02:56-1:03:55) Conclusion Today's show is brought to you by Fanduel, America’s best sportsbook. Sign up at fanduel.com/Staples. Make one $5 bet and receive $150 in guaranteed bonus bets!Want to watch the show instead? Head to YouTube here: https://youtube.com/live/ABnt4MdXERAMust be 21+ and present in select states. FanDuel is offering online sports wagering in Kansas under an agreement with Kansas StarCasino, LLC. First online real money wager only. $5 pregame moneyline wager required. First online real money wager only. $10 firstdeposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets that expire 7 days after receipt. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com.Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania,Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 in Arizona, 1-888-789-7777 or visitccpg.org/chat in Connecticut, 1-800-9-WITH-IT in Indiana, 1-800-522-4700 or visit ksgamblinghelp.com in Kansas, 1-877-770-STOP inLouisiana, visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland, visit 1800gambler.net in West Virginia, or call 1-800-522-4700 in Wyoming. Hope ishere. Visit GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call [phone] for 24/7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or textHOPENY in New York

Welcome to Andy Staples on three. Happy Sunday night. We're live. Andbaugh reportedly ready to interview with the Los Angeles Chargers. Plus, who knows? Jerry Jones can be very impulsive, and we all just watched what happened to the Cowboys. So we'll see what happens there. Meanwhile, Kalen DeBoer has left Washington. He's now in Tuscaloosa as Alabama's coach. The Huskies went out and got Jed Fish from Arizona today.

So they have named Jed Fish from Arizona today. So they have named Jed Fish their head coach. They keep the party going. We'll see what happens because a lot of the Washington players are in the transfer portal. But maybe some of them come back. Maybe some Arizona players are in the transfer portal, which is now open for 30 days for them. So our graphic is a little bit wrong. It says Washington expected to name Jed Fish's head coach.

No, he has been named the head coach. In fact, here is Troy Dannen, the athletic director at Washington, going to Jed Fish's house and then signing a little memorandum of understanding. How we doing, man? I was hoping you'd answer the door. I think our days are going the same way. They're all the same right now. All right. All right, my friend. I look forward to working with you.

This will be great. I look forward to it. I'll give you everything I have. I now that's a pretty sweet house in tucson but you can probably get a pretty sweet house in seattle with what washington is going to give jed fish so it could be quite a bit of fun there this is a a guy who has risen pretty quickly through the ranks. He's done a lot of things. He's worked for a bunch of NFL programs. He's worked for a bunch of college programs. But before we get to Jed Fish, let's talk about a guy he used to work for, because I think this guy is going to be the talk of at least the early week, and that's Jim Harbaugh.

Jed Fish was Jim Harbaugh's quarterbacks coach at Michigan a while back. You get the J.J. McCarthy news that he's going pro. That happened Sunday. You had the parade at Michigan on Saturday. You had Ward Manuel, the athletic director of Michigan, saying we're doing everything we can to get Jim Harbaugh's contract done. You have Santa Ono, the president of Michigan, saying, we want to keep Jim Harbaugh.

We're going to do everything we can to keep him. But the thing is, he hasn't said, I'm staying. And I don't think he's going to say, I'm staying, unless he talks to some NFL teams and decides he's either not going to take those jobs or they're not going to offer him those jobs. Now, you've got a lot of uncertainty. And the J.J. McCarthy thing, I don't know that it necessarily, because everybody's trying to read tea leaves on this. I don't know that it necessarily means Jim Harbaugh is going to the NFL

or he's leaving Michigan. I think we all keep looking for a sign that says, yes, this is definitely happening. Yes, this guy's gone or yes, he's staying. Yes, he's going to be at Michigan. I don't think it works that way with Jim Harbaugh. He's just different from all these other coaches. He doesn't act the same way. He doesn't decide things the same way. So the fact that JJ left I don't think means Jim Harbaugh told him I am going to the NFL I don't think that's what happened here I think Harbaugh is legitimately looking at some options and Michigan really wants him back

and they are willing to pay for it now the question with Michigan is what do you do if he goes? Because you've already got an opening at quarterback. Now, our guys at the Wolverine are on three. They said Michigan likely will look in the portal to replace J.J. McCarthy at QB1. They do have some options there. They've got Alex Orji, who you saw in kind of a Wildcat-type package this year. He's the one who played Jalen Milrow in the prep for the Rose Bowl. He's a big dual threat guy.

You've got Jaden Nittigal, another big dual threat guy. Davis Warren, who's been there for a while. Jack Tuttle, the backup this year, might try to get a waiver and come back. And you've also got Jaden Davis coming in, a big-time recruit from Charlotte, North Carolina. He's in the class of 2024. So could be somebody already there, or they could go into the portal. Now, I don't know that the person they would get is necessarily in the portal right now. You've got Will Rogers, who started at Mississippi State for four years, was going to go to Washington. Remember, we had video,

I took video of him throwing to Dylan Johnson, who was his former Mississippi State teammate, before the game at the national title game. And Will Rogers wearing a Washington jersey. But when Kalen DeBoer left, Will Rogers decided, I'm going back into the portal. And so we'll see. He could stay at Washington. He could play with Jed Fish.

But who knows? I mean, Noah Fafita, the Arizona quarterback, might want to go into the portal and try to go play for could stay at Washington. He could play with Jed Fish. But who knows? I mean, Noah Fafita, the Arizona quarterback, might want to go into the portal and try to go play for Jed Fish at Washington. Jaden Delora, who was the opening day starter at Arizona, is in the portal already because he got beat out by Noah Fafita. That's one that Michigan could take a look at. Roman Wilson, the Michigan receiver, was a teammate of Jaden Delora's in high school. But there are so many moving parts right now for Michigan.

And the biggest moving part, of course, is Jim Harbaugh. And we don't know what will happen with him yet. I'm very fascinated to see what happens this week. So you've got Ian Rappaport and Tom Palacero saying that Harbaugh is going to meet with the Chargers this week. So you've got Ian Rappaport and Tom Pelissero saying that Harbaugh is going to meet with the Chargers this week. Jim Harbaugh, Justin Herbert match seems pretty nice. That seems like something that you could get behind. And the Chargers are one of those teams that it feels like they have a lot of talent. It feels like they should be much better than they are. And that's why they fired Brandon Staley so could could Jim

Harbaugh be the guy to get him over the hump you've also got the Raiders who seem pretty interested in Jim Harbaugh and again I'm not going to discount the Cowboys because if there was any thought that Jerry Jones was going to bring in Dan Quinn elevate him after firing Mike McCarthy I'm not sure that performance is going to allow that to happen. We're talking about Jerry Jones, who's one of the more impulsive people in sports. After what we saw on Sunday night against the Packers, would Jerry Jones just sort of fire everybody and throw it open? And that was the thought going through my mind as I'm watching that game.

This guy's going to fire everybody. And so if that's the case, well, that's a team that Jim Harbaugh might want to work with too. The Jim Harbaugh, Jerry Jones marriage, the imaginary Jim Harbaugh, Jerry Jones marriage that I'm making up in my head right now just seems tremendous. Can you imagine even them talking about food? Did you see on Hard Knocks what Jerry was doing to that McGriddle? And then you'll have Jim Harbaugh talking about chicken being a nervous bird. I need this in my life. I need it.

Jim Harbaugh working for the Spanos and working with an elite quarterback in Justin Herbert, sure, that'd be fun. Jim Harbaugh working with Mark Davis and having meetings at P.F. Chang's. That would be fun. But Jim Harbaugh and Jerry Jones? Can we make that happen? And another Michigan fan says, shut up, Andy. Stop it, stop it, stop it.

You always keep talking about Jim Harbaugh going to the NFL. How do you know he's going to go? Stop it. And I get it. I wouldn't want him to leave either. I understand where Warren Manuel is coming from. I get it. I wouldn't want him to leave either. I understand where Warren Manuel is coming from. I get it. But the itch is real.

It makes sense. It makes a lot of sense why he might want to go. Because he was good in the NFL. And that's the thing if you are the Chargers or the Raiders or let's say the Cowboys. Three NFC Championship games in four years. He's really good at this. So just assuming that he would stay just because he won the national title and they're willing to make him the highest Big 10 coach or the highest paid big 10 coach. I don't necessarily think that's all that would keep him there. I think he would need to know he caved at his best shot at getting back to the NFL,

at winning that Super Bowl. And maybe he interviews with teams and it doesn't click, it doesn't fit, and he doesn't wind up taking a job then he goes back to Michigan and everything's hunky-dory and he begins the work of trying to repeat as national champion and there's a lot of talent on that Michigan roster like it is it's pretty loaded even though they're losing a lot they're going to lose a bunch of draft picks they might come close to setting the record for a number of players drafted in one offseason but they've still got a lot of really good young talent on that team. So I'm very interested to see what happens. Now, I'm also interested, if he does leave, what does Michigan do?

Do they look outside or do they just bring up Sharon Moore, who's the offensive coordinator, who is the acting coach for four games this season? Because it feels like if you elevate Sharon more, then you don't have to worry about the whole team hitting the portal. You don't have to worry about everybody trying to pick you apart. You don't really have to worry about a lot of changes. Now, he might lose some other people. Jesse Mentor, the defensive coordinator, was a guy that you're worried about losing anyway.

Does he go back to the NFL? If Harbaugh goes to the NFL, does he bring Jesse Mentor with him as the DC? But I do think if you were to promote Sharon Moore, if Harbaugh leaves, I think you keep that pipeline open. You keep the John Harbaugh Ravens defensive coordinator internship program going. And who knows, maybe you get a Jim Harbaugh internship program where he sends his hottest young assistants your way to get more seasoning. And then you send them back. And that's kind of what happened with Mike McDonald, who, by the way, also interviewing for head coaching jobs. But he was Michigan's D.C. He gets sent back to the Ravens to be the DC,

and now he's potentially an NFL head coach. That may be Mentor's future. But that will be the biggest question is if he leaves, does Michigan go outside or do they just pull up Sharon Moore? I think Sharon Moore is the move. I think that's the most, probably the most effective way to handle this. And also, I just think he's going to be a good head coach. You look at the way the players respond to him. You look at the way their offensive line has developed since he was moved from tight ends to offensive line coach.

You look at the way that he called those games when he was in very high pressure situations against Penn State and against Ohio State when Harbaugh was suspended. That's your guy. You've already got him there. So if you're Michigan fans, I don't think you need to worry. I think you should accept that, hey, this may happen, but if it does, we're pretty good hands. And I think that Kalen DeBoer going to Alabama helps too, because that's a guy you might've looked at on the outside. If he wasn't at Alabama now, he's not going anywhere from there.

But I don't know that there's anybody else you're looking at outside that you're going to be better than what you've already seen from Sharon Moore. So we'll see what happens, but it's going to be an interesting next few days on that front. Let's talk about what happened out West with Washington taking Jed Fish from Arizona. This was a pretty short search. Troy Dannen, he's in his first year as Washington's AD. He was Tulane's AD before. He hired Willie Fritz at Tulane. So that was his last hire. You saw Lance Leipold tweet on Sunday, late morning, early afternoon saying, hey, excited to see the guys at Kansas. They're coming back to school tomorrow. And that was sort of a signal, hey, I'm not in this thing. And I don't know if it means that Washington talked to him and he decided he didn't want to do it

or he wasn't in this thing. But that was a sign to the wider world, hey, I'm not in this. So it feels like Jed Fish was one that they had zeroed in on pretty early. And so here's the deal with Jed Fish. Really interesting resume. Kind of bounced back and forth from the NFL to college.

He's been the Jacksonville Jaguars OC. He's been the Michigan quarterbacks coach, the University of Miami OC. He's been the quarterbacks coach with the Patriots. He's been with the Rams with Sean McVay. So he's worked with a lot of really interesting people. He's worked with Pete Carroll and with the Seahawks. So he's been a lot of places and worked in a lot of interesting spots with some really good people. And it's funny because I saw some Michigan people saying, oh, the Jim Harbaugh coaching tree. Well, he's on a lot of people's coaching trees, but I think the, the original route that Jed fish grew from would be Steve Spurrier. So Jed fish, and he told this

story on the show a few months ago, Jed fish, when he was at the university of Florida, he had a roommate and both of them wanted to get into football for careers, but they weren't great football players in high school. They didn't play for the Gators. They were just trying to figure out, what do we do? So the one roommate would have all these boxes of research, and his name was Howie Roseman. He's now the GM of the Philadelphia Eagles. He's won a Super Bowl.

He's been awesome. Jed Fish decides to get into coaching. Well, how do you do that? He left post-it notes on Steve Spurrier's car every day saying, hey, I am willing to come in and do anything. And then remember, this is the 90s. There's not analysts. There isn't an analyst who works for every coach. There aren't recruiting staffers. There just isn't that big of a staff at a big football, even a big football program like Florida's at that time. So Jed just says, hey, whatever you need me to do, I will do.

And finally, they let him do some menial work. He got into coaching and never looked back. And I will say when Jed was hired at Arizona, it wasn't a case where everybody had him on the list. I'm going to talk about the list of potential hires for Arizona. And I've done these hot boards. And like this week, I've done okay. I had the guy that Alabama hired on the original hot board.

I had the guy that Washington hired on the original hot board. I'm not so sure I'm going to have the guy Arizona hires. And I have a pretty long list. And I feel like I'm in so sure I'm going to have the guy Arizona hires. And I have a pretty long list. And I feel like I'm in pretty good shape. But that one I might not have because what they did last time is hire Jed. We didn't have Jed on any list last. None of us did. None of us had him on the list for Arizona when that job opened when Kevin Sumlin got fired. And Bobby Robbins, the president at Arizona,

had a previous relationship with Jed Fish because he saved his life back when Jed Fish worked for the Houston Texans. And Bobby Robbins is a docker. So it's fascinating how all this works and how some of these things come together. So I don't know exactly who Arizona is going to hire. I do know Washington is getting a really good head coach.

I think when the portal is now open for Arizona, I am very interested to see who leaves, who jumps into the portal, because these guys like playing for Jed Fish, and now he's in a program that actually needs some folks to come. who jumps into the portal because these guys like playing for Jed Fish. And now he's in a program that actually needs some folks to come because a lot of Washington players are in the portal. Now, it might be that he gets some of those guys to come back, but a lot of that Washington staff is headed to Alabama. It certainly seems like Ryan Grubb, the OC, is headed there.

It seems like a lot of the offensive staff is headed there. Robert Gillespie, the running backs coach who was there under Nick Saban, probably going to stay. Defensive staff we're not as sure about. But they are going to probably need to bring in some people from the portal. And I don't know what the etiquette is on this now. Because it used to be you didn't take anybody. But now the players can just enter the portal if And I don't know what the etiquette is on this now, because it used to be, you didn't take anybody, but I mean, now the players can just enter the portal if they want

to. And if they're in the portal, what are you supposed to do? Just, nope, can't recruit you. I know you're great. And I know, you know, my offense and I know, you know what we do, but I can't recruit you. I just don't know if we're going to see that. So we'll find out, but that's another thing to look for in the next few days. Now let's talk potential Arizona coaches. This is one, they are not flush with cash at Arizona. So I don't see them grabbing a sitting power conference head coach. But there's some good group of five head coaches,

some good coordinators on this list. Barry Odom from UNLV. Great first year at UNLV. I know you don't want to see him leave after a year, but that's one that I could see happening. Brent Brennan at San Jose State. This is a guy who was in the mix for this job when Jed Fish got it last time. My guess is they will call again and see if he's interested

and see what the situation is and see if that can work. Will Stein, Oregon's offensive coordinator, who's one of those hot young coaches, former Louisville quarterback, actually cut his teeth coaching in the state of Texas, which I've got a couple of state of Texas type guys on this list. Because I do think as you go into the Big 12, being able to recruit Texas could be important. Running an offense that works in the Big 12 could be important. So, you know, Will Stein has not actually worked in the Big 12 yet, but he worked with Jeff Traylor at UTSA. He worked, well, he did work one year at Texas with Charlie Strong, but I think he's a guy who come in and understand the lay of the land in the new conference. I also had Garrett Riley, the Clemson offensive coordinator, on that list because he was one of the hottest assistants out there.

After TCU went to the national title game, he takes the Clemson OC job. I'm not sure that's a great spot right now because they're still not taking transfer portal guys. Yes, maybe Clemson does still win in the ACC and maybe they're going to be a playoff contender, but I just, I'm not so sure right now. And Garrett Riley is the type of guy who is a future head coach. Jim in the chat says, I don't see Brennan.

He's mediocre. No, no, no. He's won seven games in three of the last four years at San Jose State. Anybody who follows Mountain West football understands that is one of the hardest jobs in the country. So we'll see about that. But Jim also mentions that Brennan Carroll might be up for that job. And that's another one that's a possibility because that's Pete Carroll's son, but has worked at a bunch of different places.

He's right now the OC at Arizona. So you could be the internal hire and you could keep some continuity there. But yeah, he was Jed Fish's offensive coordinator at Arizona. So that would make some sense. And Brennan has been around the block. He's been at a lot of different schools, understands how things work. And who knows? Pete's not busy. Maybe get a little more Pete around the program if you do that. A couple other names that I thought would be interesting. Now, Scott Frost, living out in Arizona, didn't go well in Nebraska, but it went really well at UCF. So which coach is Scott Frost? Could he be back to that guy he was at UCF? It's worth asking. It's worth having a conversation.

That doesn't mean you hire him, but it's worth having a conversation. Jason Candle at Toledo. This is one that very much like Matt Campbell, who was Jason Candle's Mount Union teammate, he replaced Matt Campbell at Toledo. The thought was he'd eventually move up and he's done a really good job. That's just never been the right fit. But if you want somebody who can have a team out punch its weight in the big 12, well, that's what Matt Campbell's done at Iowa state. I would assume that is what Jason candle could do. Casey done the Oklahoma state

offensive coordinator. Uh, he's been there since 2011. Another guy who knows how to win in the Big 12 and has been part of a pretty special staff where those guys have won probably in spite of some of the situation. Everybody, you know, you always talk about Boone Pickens and the money he gave at Oklahoma State, but they've still, I mean, where they are, especially with Oklahoma and Texas in the league

for all those years, they've won kind of outpacing what their resources were. And I think that's important to understand here. And so I think almost all of these people I've mentioned would understand that and would be able to embrace that. Here's another guy, G.J. Kinney. Now, we had him on the show once. Uh, he's the Texas state head coach. We talked to him after they beat Baylor in week one. And if you saw that interview, you know, this dude is sharp. This guy is going to be a star. Uh, he was the incarnate word head coach in 2022, Texas state. He takes them to their first bowl game ever and wins it this year. They won eight games this year.

And that's another case of a guy who took a job that's really hard and did a really great job. So that's the next frontier. Jim says, any good big sky conference coaches? Brent Vegan at Montana State. The question is, what if Kevin Costner and the Dutton family kick in? Like, did the Dutton, I realize only people who watch Yellowstone will get any of this, but I want to know if the Duttons are big Montana State boosters. Like, I feel like that's an important question. Beth Dutton did mention the Bobcats once on the show, just saying. But that's

a list of potential Arizona candidates, and it's a long list because there are a lot of ways they can go with it. But I don't think they're going to go with the sitting power conference head coach. And you notice that I didn't say power five because there is not a power five anymore. Jake Dickert, by the way, there's another one. Speaking of no power five anymore, Jake Dickert at Washington State

is one who he's in Jake Dickert at Washington State is one who, he's in an interesting situation because Washington State is one of the schools left behind in the Pac-12. You saw Jonathan Smith leave Oregon State for Michigan State. I would imagine that Jake Dickert is on lookout for places to move.

Arizona would be a place he could win. And if you can win at Washington State, I think you win at Arizona too. So that is going to be a place he could win. And if you can win at Washington State, I think you can win at Arizona too. So that is going to be a very interesting search, and they got a lot of options. And I think there's a lot of different ways they can go with it and get it right. And I will say again, I wasn't sure with Jed Fish what he was going to be as a head coach. He turned out to be a phenomenal head coach. Elias asked, do we know for sure that Fafita isn't going to the portal? No,

we don't know that. We don't know that. The new coach at Arizona may have to completely rebuild this roster, which is exactly what Jed Fish had to do when he got there. But we'll see. And then that is the argument you would have for like a Brennan Carroll, for an internal hire, because you might be able to keep some people. But what this means is the transfer portal is open. I'm glad Elias let me segue there, because next up, we're going to talk to Pete Nacos about what happened in the transfer portal this weekend, which was a lot. But first, I want to tell you about FanDuel. Sign up with FanDuel.com slash Staples.

As soon as you finish watching this show, you may flip it to that Lions-Rams NFL game. Well, guess what? You could bet live here in that game. Even though it's already started, you could be betting live in that game. Put down your first $5 bet with FanDueluel and you will receive $150 in guaranteed bonus bets. And it doesn't have to just be football, basketball, hockey, you name it. FanDuel.com slash Staples, best sports book in America. You could be starting right now, tonight. Once you place a $5 bet, you get $150 in bonus bets. All right, we got Dear Andy coming up later in the show.

Remember, Wednesday was supposed to be a Dear Andy show, and then Nick Saban retired. And I obviously couldn't answer your questions because we were trying to figure out what the hell was going to happen in Alabama. Now, we have some ideas of what's happening in Alabama. Like, Amari Nyblak is in the transfer portal. Isaiah Bond has transferred to Texas. This is going to keep happening because that transfer portal is still open for Alabama because of Nick Saban leaving, but now Kalen DeBoer is there and we'll see if it calms down. But around the country, plenty going on in the portal. And the only man who can help break it all down for us, Pete Nacos of On3. We are joined now by the guru of the transfer portal,

Pete Nacos. And Pete, this is how fast the world changes. So we talked to you on Thursday. Alabama had not made a hire yet. so the last we'd seen of Will Rogers at that point was I was shooting video of him throwing to Dylan Johnson on the sideline of the national championship game in a Washington jersey and now Will Rogers is back in the portal because Kalen DeBoer is not the Washington coach anymore that is uh that's college football in a nutshell i guess it's it's crazy it's you got that now there's a qb1 opening at michigan which you know i don't know is that's the sort of thing that would bring people into the portal that being an opening see like it's such a i part of me says that we'll like see some movement with alab Washington. And does Jim Harbaugh leave?

You could definitely see some movement there. But I also, I don't know, my gut kind of says that Michigan might not have a quarterback until the spring transfer portal window. I guess that's just how things operate. And, man, just a lot of movement in the last, I don't know, 72 hours now in college football. Now's your chance, Alex Orji. So I don't mean to transfer. I mean to go in the job and hours now in college football now's your chance alex orgy so i don't mean to transfer i mean to go in the job and stay where you are uh but but pete one of the names that we've talked about this entire transfer portal window is cam ward and january 1st he

says he's going to the nfl january 13th nope i'm going to miami so what what changed there you know i think miami did a really good job of staying in his ear and trying to recruit him the last few weeks. And Cam was training for the NFL in Florida. And I also think that it kind of – I think he spent a couple weeks evaluating the NFL and college a little bit more. And I think that he realized returning to college and going to Miami would only boost his draft stock.

And obviously this year's class is uber talented, especially with today's news and JJ McCarthy going in. Yeah, and all of these things affect the other things too, because that's also a piece of news that maybe cam word was expecting when he when he committed to miami because you know i i think back to jj you know but before the rose bowl he did sound like a guy who was ready to go to the nfl but then you watched him play in the rose bowl in the national title okay another year he could be it could be helpful

for him but yeah now this this opens up that spot but you mentioned that the spring transfer portal window how how do you evaluate it if you're a player and your window's just closed but you know there may be something out there for you in the spring you just go through spring practice try your best to win the job you can win and then figure it out afterward yeah i mean just talking to some sources too, right? Like we saw it last year, like the spring game is the perfect opportunity to ball out and only help your stock in the portal. And just talking to some sources and stuff.

I think a lot of teams expect the spring portal. They be almost even crazier just because so many programs know that they're going to need a couple of pieces to, to feel good entering the fall and um it's just i expect the that that two-week period in the spring to be nuts so interestingly enough there's a rule in the sec that says if you don't transfer within the winter portal if you don't enter your name into the port you can transfer whenever but if you don't enter your name in during the winter portal you can't play for another sec team the following season so unless they change that it would mean

if you haven't like if the alabama portal closes and none of these players other than isaiah bond enter they're not they're not leaving for another sec team they would have to figure it out in the spring i do you think because i know the SEC kicked around repealing that last year and the thought among coaches I talked to and the administrators I talked to was that it actually calms things down for them and they felt like okay we're not going to get sued because you can transfer anywhere else and everybody else can transfer so they don't feel like they're going to get sued over it so like let's just make our lives easier and keep it but I do wonder if if now maybe they some of the ones that want players might want it yeah i mean it's definitely i think traditionally it made a lot of sense but with the way the college football

calendar now works i almost wonder if it needs to open in the spring um because i do think you put a lot of pressure on these athletes to make a decision on their future during bowl season or during the college football playoff or even you're taking classes and your coach just left. So, yeah, I mean, I think it's a lot for an athlete to evaluate, and I could see the SEC maybe doubling back and making some changes to that. And you mentioned schools being sued and stuff. Like with the, I guess, the environment of college sports

and the NCAA right now, I could definitely see a lawsuit happening in the spring. Yeah, and that's what their thought was. They're protected because you can still transfer somewhere else if you want to, just not to another SEC school. But yeah, as litigation averse, as everybody's getting it, it might open it back up, which would get wild too, because that was the thought when Traveris Robinson gets the job at Georgia.

For those who don't know, he was Alabama's defensive backs coach. He gets hired by Georgia. He was a very good recruiter. He helped recruit a lot of Alabama's players. The thought was, oh, they're all going to jump in the portal. But when Nick Saban announced his retirement, a lot of them had already attended class for the spring semester. Yeah.

Which means they can't go anywhere. Yeah, I mean, the drop date at Alabama is the 17th. That's three days away. I mean, it's quite the decision to try to make. And obviously, all these athletes are going to have to move fast to be on campus somewhere else for spring ball now isaiah bond did this so isaiah bond the hero of the iron bowl catches the fourth and 31 pass and and was great in the sec championship game too he is already said he's going to texas and that's amazing that it does this feel like a.d mitchell going

from georgia to texas like the SEC champ, one of their better receivers, is like, okay, going to Texas now. Yeah, it definitely does feel like that. And he spoke with ESPN, and he called it a business decision. And, I mean, I couldn't agree more, right? I mean, his head coach retires. That's not on him. That's not on Nick Saban.

Things just play out the way they do. And he's obviously trying to boost his draft stock and and have a successful 2024 and i mean i don't blame uh someone like isaiah bond for making the decision what she thinks is going to be best for his family and his future well and if you're caitlin deborah it means you got to work fast now like with isaiah bond i'd probably point to roma dunzey and jaylen Jalen McMillan and Jalen Polk and be like, hey, you can do pretty well in my offense as a receiver. But I can understand where the known may beat the unknown at this point. So how hard does Kalen DeBoer have to work these first few days to make sure that roster holds together. I mean, if I'm Kalen DeBoer, I mean, the first 48

hours, first 24 hours, I have to have one-on-one conversations with everyone, but especially Caleb Downs, Jalen Milrow, Tyler Broker, Caden Proctor. I mean, so many talented players on that Alabama roster that he needs to lock down if he's going to pick right up where Nick Saban left off. Yeah. And we mentioned Will Howard, who was going to pick right up where Nick Saban left off. Yeah, and we mentioned Will Howard, who was going to play for Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubb. Grubb's not going to be the head coach at Washington. I think it's a fairly safe assumption he's coming to Tuscaloosa to be with Kalen DeBoer. Do you think you see Will Rogers head to Tuscaloosa, which would be crazy. He'd be going from moving across the country to moving 90 minutes from where you've been in starkville you know i spoke with someone in will

rogers camp this afternoon and they really wanted to emphasize that every option is still on the table for will now what that is exactly i think we'll find out as as the days go on um i think staying at washington is still definitely on the table, depending who they bring in as a head coach. And he's, he's someone right. You transferred and started classes and it was brand new. And then all of a sudden he has to reassess what's going on.

There's definitely, I mean, we just talked about this earlier, but there's also some quarterback openings across the country. Does he go to a Michigan? Does he go to, does Auburn still want a quarterback i mean all intriguing options which i'm sure that he's going to evaluate but yeah i definitely talking to that source there's some confidence that if washington makes a hire who blakes will rogers that maybe washington is still an option well and auburn's an interesting

one too because it felt like before the bowl game they they kind of gave a vote of confidence to peyton thorne and then the bowl game happens and it's like okay let's let's reevaluate here now you've got hugh freeze he's going to call the plays they've had some some movement on their staff and they're going to some shake things up there can you see them shopping post spring for a quarterback if they don't get one now i definitely could and uh not trying to take a shot at peyton thorne at all but i mean it says a lot about he freeze if he went at after cam ward in the final hour and then all of a sudden um i mean they they obviously missed out on cam ward but you'd have to think that they're going to try to add a

quarterback one way or the other and um the one the one thing with you'd have to think that they're going to try to add a quarterback one way or the other. The one thing with Auburn to watch is they're not going to take a quarterback with like three years of eligibility left. There's Walker White, the freshman coming in, who's really highly touted and really highly thought of, and they want him to be the guy in the years to come. So definitely looking for a one-year stop at whoever they would take. Well, and there could be quite a few of those options out there in the spring.

And it's amazing because – so when do the Alabama and Washington portals close? I did the math. I think it's like around the Februarybruary 10th date give or take okay 30 days right so yeah i mean it's a lot of time but i kind of expect everyone to like enter the portal in the next 10 days or so and then we may have another school in a power conference depending on who washington hires i'll well that and then I mean let's just be honest if Jim Harbaugh leaves I mean yeah now we're gonna have the transfer portal until March at that point if it's a two-week process for Jim Harbaugh well and this might be a better question for our friends

at the Wolverine but I'm curious from your standpoint as someone who covers the portal would it behoove Michigan if Jim Harbaugh decides to take an NFL job, to very quickly promote Sharon Moore to ensure the roster stays together? Yeah, the part of the calendar year we're at does not really help Michigan, especially if they do have an exodus, right, and like 30 guys, 40 guys go in and they need to fill spots. So, yeah, if I'm Michigan, I'm telling Jim Harbaugh, if you make a decision just let us know because we're going to get you around more in your office as quickly as possible

yeah because that's the difference in in this situation than maybe with whoever washing tires there are some a plus plus plus players on michigan's roster that i imagine everybody in the country would want and it's not even a matter of questioning their loyalty to Michigan it's a matter of the the market's going to tell you hey there's a lot out there for you yeah I mean look at what Deon Sanders did at Colorado right he built a roster through the transfer portal well I if I'm sure if Dion was on the show right now he would tell you that he couldn't build a roster in two weeks in the spring transfer portal window. I doubt Michigan would like to do that either.

No, and it's the same situation at Alabama. I mean, also a bunch of A++ former five-star recruits, some really good players. So, yeah, if you're Kalen DeBoer, you're just playing defense right now. But what a – did you think it would stretch like this? Did you think – No. Okay.

No. That's what I was wondering because it felt like around New Year's Day or so that this was calming down, that everything was going to be cool. And it really feels like Nick Saban retiring just kicked it into high gear again. I mean, Andy, I'll be honest with you. Last weekend I felt like I caught my breath. And then Wednesday happened and Nick Saban retired, which, I mean, Andy, I'll be honest with you. Last weekend, I felt like I caught my breath. And then Wednesday happened, Nick Saban retired. Which, I mean, I don't – you can – someone can tell me they thought it was coming.

I didn't think it was coming. I mean, I never – yeah. I mean, you never think Nick Saban's going to retire until he actually does it, and he did it. Yeah, and now – I mean, that's the thing that we hadn't really just envisioned, but just a roster full of five-star recruits and open season. Yeah, and recruiting too, right? Plenty of signees and stuff who either enroll early or are going to enroll this summer who all of a sudden are going to reassess their futures.

Yeah, this is going to be a wild next few months, so are going to reassess their futures yeah this is this is going to be a wild next few months so we'll see what happens in ann arbor because i think you're right i think whether jim if jim harbaugh stays it probably calms everything down and then all you get is whatever happens with washington hiring there may be a little little domino effect after that but not not huge but yeah michigan opens katie bar the door yeah it's gonna be uh craziness all over again and then it'll be april before we know it right right and that's that's the other part like thank you jim harbaugh for moving spring practice because you were gonna have some teams starting your spring practice in about a month and it's going to,

their spring practice is going to end and you're going to kind of have an idea of who who's in and who's out by that point. Yep. Yeah. So, well, I can't wait to figure out what happens next. We'll see with Will Rogers,

Cam Ward. Now, Kim Ward is good at Miami, right? Like he's that. From my understanding, it's locked in and done. Okay. The NFL deadline's on the 15th,

and he was going to play in the East-West Shrine Bowl, and that's been called off from my understanding. And yes, he's locked in at Miami. Let me throw one other one at you. We haven't talked about this, and I didn't prep you for this. Great. Caleb Williams hasn't declared for the draft yet he has not now he can't he can't get in the portal yes he can yeah no he can't

after the spring he can he can in the spring so he could just if he wanted to he can go either go back and start at usc or say i i would sit out and i'm going to go somewhere else and I'll be there after. So the 15th is the deadline. The 19th is when the NFL is going to release that list of everybody who, who declared. So either they're going to announce, they're going to do it and announce it, or we'll find out on the 19th. But I,

I still can't imagine any scenario where he does not declare for the draft, but this year has been so weird, Pete. Now I'm open to any possibility. I don't know. Caleb Williams strikes me as the kind of guy who doesn't want to like make a huge deal out of it. Uh,

so I won't be surprised if he doesn't announce and just pops up on the 19th on that list. Yeah. Could you imagine if he doesn't announce and just pops up on the 19th on that list yeah could you imagine if he no it would be can you imagine a heisman trophy winner essentially on the open market because you know obviously he could just stay at usc and i'm sure lincoln riley would be cool with that i'm he he plays very well for lincoln riley so that would be fine but in the ultimate just chaos scenario yeah he goes i'm gonna sit spring practice i'll be in the portal and once i'm in let me know andy call your shot caleb williams to michigan with sharon moore as the

head coach i still think he's more likely a, a, a, whoever the bears trade, the number one pick to, or a bear. Yes. One of the two. So we'll find out though.

It's at this. That's why I asked you this Pete, because I feel like after the last week, you're open to any suggestion at this point. I am very jaded and I am open to anything. Yes. Yes. All right.

Pete Nekos, we'll talk to you again when the next bomb drops, the next Nekosification. We'll see you. Thanks, Andy. Pete was a very innocent person before all this started, before we threw him into the transfer portal and he just lives in there. Like, I don't think, I don't know if there's a lot of air in the transfer portal but pete is is surviving and thriving in there but yeah i'm gonna watch that that is gonna be a thing this week like monday is the deadline to declare for the nfl draft and they'll send out that list i don't know.

I think Caleb Williams will declare for the draft. I do. But can you even imagine? Can you even imagine? Because we don't know what Alabama's going to do at quarterback. We think it's Jalen Milrow. He says he's going to stay. Michigan needs a new QB1.

We don't know who that's going to be. This is going to get really interesting. But yeah, I still think Caleb Williams is probably a Chicago Bear or a whatever team the Bears trade the pick to. But we're going to watch it just in case. All right, now it's time for your questions. You sent in a bunch of great questions the other day. Dear Andy was supposed to come on Wednesday.

Nick Saban retired, and we had obviously other things we needed to talk about, but I am ready to answer your Dear Andy questions, and we will start with a question from Kevin. Is Michigan at risk of being the next LSU? 2019 LSU won the national championship, but then falls off the next few seasons and fails spectacularly with everyone

leaving after the 2019 season. Or is Michigan talented enough and set up to follow Clemson's path and compete for national titles in the next three to five years. Now what Clemson had that most programs don't is two really elite quarterbacks. They were, they went from Deshaun Watson to Trevor Lawrence now there was the Kelly Bryant period in between but in fairly rapid succession they went from Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence and that allowed them to win two national titles Michigan going from JJ McCarthy to, we don't know.

LSU was a little bit different because the pandemic hit right after that 2019 season. So not only did they lose the really good players who were going into the 2020 NFL draft, they also lost Jamar Chase. He never played for him again. There was a situation where it was very strange and very tough for them to deal with everything. And if you talk to people who are at LSU, they will tell you the Bo Pelini hire was not necessarily what the coaching staff wanted in terms of replacing Dave Miranda when he went to become the Baylor head coach. And it was more brought in from on high, and that didn't help very much either.

So I think Michigan probably will have more continuity, even if Jim Harbaugh leaves, mostly because I think they go with Jerome Moore. And I think that keeps everything very much together. And like, yes, that entire offensive line is gradual. I think Trent A. Jones can come back, but he was not a starter originally. He filled in after Zach Zinter's injury.

But most of that starting offensive line for most of the season is going to be in the NFL next year. So do they have the guys waiting in the wings? I will tell you, watching those guys warm up six days ago. Yeah, they got some dudes. They've got some dudes to replace them. And if Sharon Moore is still there, guess what? I think they're going to be just fine on the defensive line.

They are very much set with guys that I think they'll be very happy with. You know, I think probably the two guys that can be drafted the highest on this team are Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham, two defensive tackles who are both sophomores. Like they are, they're going to be back next year. And again, if you have that continuity, you don't have to worry about those guys going to the portal. Another guy who made one of the more important plays of the season, Derek Moore. He's only a sophomore.

He's on the edge. He was the one who pinched down, took on two blockers, and wound up being the first to hit Jalen Milrow on the last play of the Rose Bowl. So they have quite a bit of talent. Will Johnson has another year at the corner. They have plenty of talent. I think they can continue to be a very good program. I don't see them falling off, especially, again, if Harbaugh comes back

or if Moore is tapped to replace him. I really think they just keep going. Next one from Artie Kramer. And I will remind you, this one came in before Jed Fish was hired away by Washington. Next year, the big 12 seems next year, the big 12 parody seems like a real thing. No great teams, but some pretty good ones. Arizona, Oklahoma state, Kansas State, and Kansas all in it is ranked. Who wins next year and who's the most successful over the next five years? All right. So we don't know what's going to happen with Arizona now. We don't know who they're going to hire. We don't know if they're going to get picked apart in the transfer portal. I unfortunately think that's a

possibility. So my whole Alamo bowl bump theory where Arizona and Oklahoma both make the playoff next year, that was contingent upon Jed Fish still being there. So I don't necessarily feel that good about them anymore. But I do feel good about parodying the Big 12. I think this is a league where if you look at what they've got now, the teams that are in this league going forward. You are going to have seven to eight every year who can legitimately compete for the championship. It is going to be so much fun because those games in November, those conference games, are going to be absolute bloodbaths.

And remember, the winner of this league is probably the third or the fourth seed in the playoff. And I do think it'll be a two-b most years and maybe a three bid league some years. So who is it? OK, we know if we've been listening to this show, how I feel about Kansas State in the Avery Johnson era. I am so excited for the Avery Johnson era at Kansas State. He took over the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Will Howard, he's going to Ohio State. Avery Johnson is a five-star quarterback from Kansas

who is now taking over the starting job at K-State. I'm so excited. So I think they're going to continue to be good. Chris Kleiman seems to be not going anywhere, which is good because I think his name has come up a few times. But it looks like he's hanging there. Oklahoma State. At this point, we stopped doubting Mike Gundy, right?

They've got Alan Bowman back for another year. They've got Ollie Gordon back for another year. I think Oklahoma State is going to be a team to beat in the new Big 12. I think Utah, with Cam Rising coming back, will be a team to beat in the new Big 12. And in fact, Utah may be one of the more dominant teams going forward. Already asked about who's the most successful in the next five years. Utah may be that team. I still think there may be a bounce back for TCU.

Sonny Dykes goes to the national title game his first year. They were not very good last year. I refuse to believe that he suddenly forgot how to coach. I do think they're going to get things figured out there. They have access to really good players. I also think Willie Fritz is going to do a good job in Houston. But the other one of the new members that I'm really intrigued by is UCF. I think KJ Jefferson coming in, he'll fit very well in the Gus Malzahn offense.

UCF has access to athletes. They've always been able to recruit fairly well there, but now they can probably keep a lot of the guys from Florida who would have gone to kind of mid-tier ACC programs or lower-tier Big Ten programs. Those guys will stay home, and they can develop at UCF. I think UCF could be very competitive in the Big 12, maybe as early as next year. So again, I cannot wait for this league to get going because I think it's going to be so much fun.

Who do I think is going to win next year? JD Piquel and I did our conference picks at the end of the national title game. I said Kansas State. I'm going to stick with that one. Now, it's a long offseason, so I don't know if I'm going to stay there. But I'm going with Kansas State. And as far as the next five seasons, Kansas State's actually a pretty promising choice for that one, too. But I think I'm going to go with Utah.

I have a lot of faith in Kyle Whittingham. I realize he's 65, but he doesn't look 65. He doesn't act 65. He's got a few more years in him. So I do think Utah will be the one, the most successful over the next five years. This question comes from JC, and it's really interesting in light of how fast

Greg Byrne hired a new head coach at freaking Alabama and how fast Troy Dannen hired a new head coach at freaking Alabama and how fast Troy Dannen hired a new head coach at Washington. Why doesn't Iowa have an offensive coordinator yet? It seems this is likely hurting their portal and recruiting efforts and a recipe for failure. Is this spite on Kirk Ferentz's part? So when did, when was it announced that Brian Ferentz's part. So when was it announced that Brian Ferentz would not be back as the OC? October 30th. So we have known for that long that Iowa will need a new offensive coordinator. Their offense has been the biggest joke in college football for the last two seasons.

Now, why have they not hired someone? If I had to guess, and I hope I'm right about this, because if I'm wrong, oh, Lord, I feel bad for Iowa fans. If I had to guess, it's somebody who's in the NFL right now. That would be my guess. Somebody who's maybe in a team, with a team that is playing in the playoffs, and that person is going to come run Iowa's offense. Now, I think we all know who the real offensive

coordinator at Iowa is, has been, and always will be. It's Kirk Ferentz. So that boring offense they've been running, he's going to keep running it. He's not going to suddenly switch to an interesting one. So whoever they're hiring, I think they're hiring to run something boring. So just get ready. They're going to continue to be great on defense. Phil Parker's a saint. They're going to continue to be great on special teams. But as long as Kirk's there, I don't think they're going to run anything interesting on offense. So probably expect more of the same, no matter who they wind up hiring.

Now, I do think it's going to be, maybe it's like that time, there was a year when Troy Calhoun at Air Force hired a defensive coordinator, but wouldoun at Air Force hired a defensive coordinator, but would not acknowledge that he hired a defensive coordinator or confirm that he hired a defensive coordinator. So maybe Kirk already hired somebody. He's just not telling anybody.

Stranger things have happened. But yeah, if I had to guess, it's because it's somebody who's with an NFL team right now. I really hope that's the reason. Otherwise, hoo boy. All right, we got a video question from our friend Superior CFB. Hey Andy, I'm hoping you can help me understand some of the analytics behind third and fourth down decision making and maybe give your take as well. There was a couple times on Monday night where Washington had third and medium to third and long and chose to run the ball, presumably to set up a shorter fourth down conversion attempt. And I'm just curious what the numbers say as far as the percentages for

conversion on those two plays, third and long to fourth and short. Is it really that much more likely to pick up the first down with that fourth down and short in one play or would you be better off with two plays at seven eight nine yards and passing the ball the one that sticks out to me the most was the third and goal where they ran right with Penix I'm curious about that decision Penix not being a runner and then being in the red zone you're likely going to pass them fourth down anyway so So wouldn't the space be more beneficial? Where does your team identity fall into that decision making? What about the game itself?

You know, I know a lot of these decisions are based off of the long term, the bigger picture. It's a championship game. What would you do in those situations? All right. So we don't have exact percentages because we're talking about a few different types of plays but in general when you have third medium third and long and you are near a part of the field where you feel like fourth and short is an automatic go for it so if you get fourth and two or fourth and one you are gonna go for it so this is usually if you let's say you have third

and seven on the 50 yard line so if you, let's say you have third and seven on the 50 yard line. So if you get five yards and you have fourth and two from the opponent's 45, your analytics tell you you're going for it. So it's not like you won't have that. If you, if you get five yards, you will not have that decision where you have the offense pointing, let's go for it. Let's go. But you're like, you're going to go for it, let's go for it. You're going to go for it. You're calling a play. You're going to run a play. So why would you run on third down in that situation?

Well, here's why. So if it's third and seven, most defenses are going to defend as if you were going to try to get the first down on that play. Are you more likely to run on that play or throw on that play if you're trying to get seven or more yards? You're more likely to throw. So what you're likely to see is a much lighter box than you would see if it was, say, third and two. So it is probably a better play for you to run because you will outnumber the defenders at the point of attack and you probably can gain those yards especially since you don't care if you gain seven yards you want to

gain five six or more you know five or more yards you hope you get the first down but if you don't you're cool with going for it on fourth and two or fourth and one. Like you've already made your peace with that. So that's why they're doing it. That's why they're running. Now, I also will take issue with the idea that Michael Penix is a bad runner. Michael Penix is a great runner. They didn't run him that much because they didn't want to get him hurt. But in the championship game, yeah, you run with him.

You look at it in the Sugar Bowl, they did some read option where he was keeping and he was running great. He's very fast. So I don't have a problem with that call in the red zone either. And also remember, in the red zone, when you're trying to throw, things get much more compact. There's not a lot of room to work with. So I think I'm with Kalen DeBoer on this one. So Alabama fans, congratulations. But I do think if you are, and I think Kalen DeBoer and Jim Harbaugh are both like this.

I've noticed Jim Harbaugh, even before he got the Michigan job when he's in the NFL, was very forward thinking in terms of when to go for it on fourth down. And so I love it. I love it when it's third and seven or third and eight, and you know that they are calling two plays. They have two plays in mind to get that first down. It changes the attitude of the offense. It puts the defense on its heels.

Because remember, most defenses are trained that when you get that third down stop and it's a fourth down, everybody puts their fist up and then you're waiting for the punt team to come out on the field, that when you get that third down stop and it's a fourth down, everybody puts their fist up, and then you're waiting for the punt team to come out on the field, or you're waiting for the offense to look all confused, trying to decide if they're going to go for fourth and short or not. I like a team like what, you know, Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubbs teams when they say,

no, no, no, no, and Jim Harbaugh's team's like this too. Sharone Moore was like this in the Ohio state game. Another good example. We are going for it on fourth and one or fourth and two. We are not farting around making that decision. We're just going for it. And so it makes it easier to call a run on that for that third down play, because you have the advantage most likely because you're running into a light box. All right. One more question. And it is from RealBigHeartMan on Twitter. When can we expect to see de facto GM positions in college football to alleviate the burden of year-round recruiting of high school prospects, guys on the team, and guys in the portal?

It seems like a natural progression, especially for Power 2 schools. It's already happened. I mean, guys have general managers. The difference is it's not like general managers in the NFL, and I think that's the question. I think that's what real big heart man is trying to get at. At what point does that general manager, that person in charge of personnel, have equal power to the head coach? Because that's what it is in the NFL.

And, in fact, sometimes the GM has more power to the head coach because that's what it is in the NFL. And in fact, sometimes the GM has more power than the head coach or they don't even hire the coach until they hire the GM and get it okay from the GM. So that's what I think we're wondering is when does the person in charge of personnel become separate from the head coach? We haven't seen it yet. And I'll tell you how it is become closer to the NFL model. There's a guy named Bob Welton. He's a prime example. So he worked with the Browns for nine years as a scout. He went to Tennessee with Butch Jones as a player personnel

guy. And then when Butch Jones got fired at Tennessee, Bob got hired at Alabama. And so Bob's been the player personnel guy at Alabama. I don't know if he will continue to be because Courtney Morgan, who was the player personnel guy at Michigan and then at Washington, Courtney got off the plane with Kalen DeBoer in Tuscaloosa. He's a very, very important part of Kalen DeBoer's operation. And if you go back in his history, he was pivotal in identifying and recruiting Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant to Michigan.

He's been pivotal in Washington's recruiting since Kalen DeBoer was the head coach there. He will be pivotal in Alabama's recruiting under Kalen DeBoer. So that's important. But the question is, would he ever have the power to say, I'm giving you this quarterback and you're going to take him? I don't think that's going to happen in college football. I think college football coaches will still be like Bill Belichick was with the Patriots, where he has the personnel control. There may be personnel people, but he has the ultimate personnel control and say where he says, I am going to sign this person. I am going to play this person.

And you can't tell me otherwise. You know, the NFL is different. The GM or the owner can tell the coach, oh no, you are starting this quarterback, whether you like it or not. And if you don't, you're fired. We haven't seen that in college football yet. I don't think we're going to see that in college football.

I do think we may see, well, depends on how long collectives exist, because I do think they're headed to a point where the players will be employees, there'll be a CBA, it'll be much more organized. But as long as they're collectives, this does become a possibility. Could the person running the collective decide they want to be more powerful than the head coach? Because they control the money that controls who's on the roster. And if they decide they don't want to pay certain people and the coach says that person is critical to us and we need them, then you're going to have the same problems that you have in the NFL

when a coach and a GM get at odds. So we do have something like that in college football right now. We've not seen it explode like we have in certain NFL franchises. But, yeah, it is probably going to happen at some point. There is a chance. I don't necessarily think just because college head coaches have always been in charge of personnel, I don't think it's going to be a case where their player personnel person

or their GM, which is what they call them in some cases, I don't think they are going to outrank the coach at any point or have a power struggle where they win and the coach gets fired. But I can see that as long as they're collectives with the people who run the collectives. That is definitely a possibility. Those are great questions. Fantastic. I'm glad I got to get to them. I was worried on Wednesday night. I was like, I have all these great questions. What are we going to do? Well, let's save them. Now we have a lot of news to watch because Jim Harbaugh still out there. We don't know what's going to happen with him. By the way, I have no idea why the thumbs up just appeared on my screen. When I gave you a thumbs up, I think it's a new thing that, that the Mac operating

system is doing. I will see if I can turn that off, where if I put a thumbs up, a thumbs up appears on the screen. I think it does it for thumbs down too. Now it's not doing it. So we will find out what happens with Jim Harbaugh. All the eyes of the college football world will be on Ann Arbor, Michigan, and also maybe Los Angeles and maybe Las Vegas.

And Lord knows what's going to happen in Dallas. Maybe Nick Saban wants to coach the Cowboys. Here he's free. We'll talk to you tomorrow.