First Things First - Indiana beats Miami, Sam Darnold vs. Matthew Stafford, Jimmy Butler tears ACL, Mahomes Mountain

Episode Date: January 20, 2026

(0:00) Indiana beats Miami, Will the Bills regret firing Sean McDermott (27:24) Can Sam Darnold outduel Matthew Stafford? (41:09) Jimmy Butler tears ACL (47:39) Mahomes Mountain  (01:06:23) Eric Bieniemy back with Chiefs, Titans hire Robert Saleh (01:22:18) Bills or Ravens the better HC job? (01:29:03) Indiana wins title, Top 10 Impact Players (01:51:24) Will the Bears pick up where they left off? (02:01:34) Bills HC search, Will John Harbaugh turn things around for the Giants? (02:11:15) Who should the OC be for the Eagles? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Live from New York. It's the show that for just one day is without Kevin Wilds because he had to go on a mission down to Miami to bail social media producer Gianna out of jail after she fought Indiana fans last night at the game. It's first things first. The U is back. Yeah, exactly right.

On today's show, did Indiana just complete the greatest turnaround in sports, History. People are going to bring up Leicester City, which means the answer is yes. Drake May is also, Drake May is only a five and a half point favorite Sunday. Is he being disrespected or is it actually the one seed at home Broncos who should be offended by this line we discuss? And finally, it's a very special edition of Championship Week in Mahomes Mountain where we open the aperture. past the three and a half quarterbacks remaining and to include the rosters at the full rosters. I'm Nick Wright alongside Chris Broussard. Danny Parkins is here. Danny Nick?

I'm going to reveal a confidence. Okay. Danny text me. You guys you guys want to know how you get a how you here. Here we go. Don't ever text Nick off the record because he's going to be on the record. get ready for three hour like like like you just a career skyrocket like Parkins Fernando Mendoza dives into the end zone to win the national championship Danny text me signature moment thanks buddy I wouldn't know that I was watching that I mean Brew I don't know about you were you watching that you were like oh I didn't know this is a mundane play yeah yeah I had to fill the void of wild saying for big wild yeah games and also I will say this uh

You don't know how special of an addition to Mahon Mountain is. I got something special playing. Oh, wow. Oh, that's right. All right. Well, I'm excited for it. Bruton's no either. All right, but we do start with an awesome game culminating an unbelievable season.

There's that signature moment. No doubt. Fernando Mendoza, Kurt Signetti, and the Hoosiers took down the hurricanes last night, 2721. Miami didn't win. They did cover. Indiana wins its first ever national champion. championship in just an all time and probable run. Hoosiers finish undefeated, hoist the trophy,

longer than 100 to 1 preseason odds. Here's Kurt Signetti after the game. Hard-fought game, give a lot of credit to Miami. It was a real gut check. We found a way. It's credit to our guys' resiliency to find a way to get that done. This team really overcame a lot on the road in a lot of tight games and found a way to get it done and we're 16 and no and we're

I guess we're 27 and 2 since Indiana but we're 16 to know 16 national champions at Indiana University which I know a lot of people thought was never possible it probably is one of the greatest sports stories of all time yeah everybody thought it wasn't possible for the They are also our first new champion, Brew, in nearly 30 years. And those previous three new champions at least had somewhat storied football histories, unlike Indiana. Brew, what was your biggest takeaway from last night? Well, when I think about the game, and maybe everybody will say this, but obviously that run by Mendoza. Signature moment.

Yeah, exactly. The defense rests. Dana was the first to that. I'm the first to know that. First of all, he is, he encounters his first defender at the line of scrimmage. I mean, so he, he avoids, you see this, that's four yards from the first down. He encounters him. Then meets two other guys at the five, six yard line, spins, and then to Danny's signature moment,

dives into the end zone surrounded by three hurricanes defenders. he ran that like he was a Heisman trophy winning halfback instead of a quarterback. All right. So you got to give him props on that. I mean, it was a good play call, great play call. But if he doesn't run it in spectacular fashion, it may not work. So number one is that.

But also the fact that Signetti decided to go, it was fourth and four. It's an easy field goal. You would have went up six, 20 to 14 by just kicking the field goal. He decides to go for the score and obviously it works. Because think about it. If he kicks the field goal, they're up six.

Miami went right down and scored. Miami would have been up a point. They already seem to have some momentum going for him. If they take the lead late in the game, they may win that game. And so that play for the fact that the way Mendoza, ran it, the fact that it was called on fourth and four. That's what I remember in terms of that actual game.

We'll get to the moment, the moment. To put it in signature coaching moment for signetic. Yeah. One of many. Yeah. But so, yeah, the big picture stuff for Indiana, it's hard to divorce yourself from it, but we will talk about it in a second. So just from the game, it was a continuation of maybe the most remarkable part

of what Indiana has done all year, which is they don't make mistakes. It is just so apparent how disciplined, how veteran, how well-coached they are, that while that game was close and while Miami did seem to get some of the momentum back, and Miami was very impressive and Miami did cover, that was still another wire-to-wire win for Indiana. They never trailed. And if you just look at some of the things that would show, like, discipline, It was a game of no giveaways, no snaps trailing, an incredible conversion rate in clutch spots, third and fourth down, and only five penalties for less than 40 yards.

And if you extrapolate that out to the playoffs, they had no giveaways for the entire playoff run. They didn't trail for a single snap of the playoff run and only 11 penalties in three games. So we will talk about Mendoza, the number one pick and the historic turnaround. But coaching matters so much in football. It matters so much in college football. for them to be able to be that disciplined that consistently was just remarkable. Well, so let me expand on that point. Then I want to give Miami some credit.

So, Duss, you can run through all three of my graphics. I mean, they never lost the turnover battle all season, all year. Yeah, they're only lost fumble rights, but week one. So they went the entire season without losing the turnover battle. You just mentioned, you know, never trailing. They never trailed on the run to the title in their three-game playoff, Alabama and two-game playoff. So one of only two teams since there has been something of a playoff. And keep in mind, prior to a couple years ago, all of the champions only had to play two games.

They, of course, played three. And then for the historic context of the team, Heisman and National Title this, you know, Heisman Trophy and National Title this century. it's five iconic teams. And, you know, in my opinion, and I think a lot of people's opinion, the greatest team ever, the 2019 LSU team. And I think a lot of people's opinion,

the greatest single season in college football ever, 2010 Cam Newton. That James team's unbelievable. We know how good the USC with Leinert and Reggie Bush that team was, which to me makes what Miami did in the loss, impressive because you're right Indiana never

makes mistakes but they made one the false start and that false start and then Kurt Signetti for the first time all game I thought lost his medal just a little bit because late in the game he didn't go for the fourth down he did

kick the field goal and all of us I was shocked he kicked that field goal I thought they're going to go for it they picked up two of these already they're going to win the game and then all of a sudden It's like, oh, man, up six, Carson Beck getting the ball, and Miami starts moving it, and then, Carson Beck makes the one bad throw. But a Miami team that was the last team in the field that a lot of people thought

shouldn't have been in the field, thought Notre Dame should have been in it, to go to Texas A&M and beat them, then to beat Ohio State by 10, the way they did, beat Ole Miss and the classic, and take Hayman. from Indiana. I mean, there was a blocked punt touchdown in this game. Miami is the one that missed the field goal in this game. And despite all that, they have the ball with time with a chance to win. I just thought it showed the growth of Miami over the course of the year

because we're going to talk about Indiana as, you know, one of the greatest teams, certainly of the last few years, which then gets the bigger story, Brew, which is how to, I do not think a turnaround like this can be compared to anything in pro sports. To me, I don't know if you can, because pro sports in theory, everyone's on a somewhat even playing field. You all have the draft, whatever it is. I don't, I have thought all day, is there like the counterintuitive take? Like, actually, it's not the greatest turn.

It, to me, is quite obviously the most shocking, immediate turnaround to the championship level I've ever seen. Yeah, I would agree with that. The things I came up with, I was like, turnaround. or Cinderella stories. I thought about Villanova beating Patrick Ewing in 1985 or even a five slamma jam or losing the NC State in 83, I think it was.

The thing is those are those teams, Villanova and NC State are established programs and we're pretty good. NC State was a top 20 team. Villanova's in the Big East, had played Georgetown a few times. Those were huge upsets, but I don't think they compare it to this at all.

And I mean, the only thing I can think of in sports is something like the miracle on ice. That's what Mark Cuban said after the game last night. Yeah, I mean, that's like the only thing that's comparable. I've never, now look, some people might try to take away from it because it likely would not be possible without the NIL and the portal, which we're in a new era. But still, I mean, you're talking about going into this season, Indiana football had lost more games. than any other program in football history. They hadn't finished in the top 10 before Signetti got there two years ago since 1967.

And he immediately turns him around not with a bunch of five-star recruits or guys from the portal. Like a bunch of men. Well, guys from the portal are from James Madison. Right, right, right. I mean, you don't expect James and Madison to come in and start winning at the higher level. And Mendoza said it last night after the game. when he was interviewed on the field. He was a two-star recruit in high school.

And so, yeah, I mean, this is unbelievable what he's done. And you said it, coaching is so important in football. And he's proof, like, he's Exhibit A to the power of coaching in the sport of football. So, yeah, I would agree with you, Nick. Yeah, listen, I think some people have compared it to Bill Snyder at K-State. sometimes when programs go up a level and then become competitive and even like make a bowl game. It's like, wow, what an incredible thing just because of just there is a JV varsity level to all these different levels of college sports. But what I was thinking about was when Kevin Garnett yelled like, anything's possible.

Like it's the type of thing and the type of moment that just has to make you recalibrate everything in your mind that you thought you knew about sports. Like we went to Syracuse. It's now on the board Syracuse football could win the national championship. Oh, yeah. Syracuse football has got a much better history than Indiana. It's on the board for Hawaii. It's on the board for – I said it's on the board for UMKC, University of Missouri, Kansas City, men's basketball to win the tournament. Like, it all feels possible.

And that's what I'm saying. Like when the Cubs won the World Series, it was like, okay, any drought can be broken. When Luca got traded, it was like, oh, well, I guess any trade can happen. Right, sure. It took a crazy person and rules changes. Like, yes, a lot of, upon a ton of stars need to align. But the story felt like a mind-opening experience which you'd be like, oh, yeah, I guess anybody can win.

Here's my other takeaway. And this isn't to be negative at something someone didn't do. But what Kurt Signetti just did is what I think some, some people dreamed was what Dion was going to do. Like, think, like, Dion goes to Colorado, which had been bad, had been bad, but was not his story. Colorado's got a history had not been as bad as Indiana. No. And the fact that in the, like, from year one and then to year two, it's like, wow, look at the strides.

You got them where it's like, oh, maybe they could possibly tie for the conference and then make the playoff. like that was a discussion. And that, by the way, was an amazing accomplishment. Like, he deserves credit for that. I'm not taking anything away from it. But it would have been, I maybe said it wrong in the beginning. It would have been farcical if when Dion got there, someone went on TV. And Dion's got a lot of supporters on TV and was like, so here's what's going to happen.

They're going to go 11 and 1 his first year. And the next year, they'll win the national championship. And you know why? It's not going to be, it's not because they have the most stacked roster. he's going to take a bunch of his kids from Jackson State, a couple key portal guys, and his coaching's going to do it. Everyone would have said, you're out of your mind. And it's what this guy did.

And Mendoza deserves credit. Obviously, they have good players, and they're older players, which helps a bit. But it's what he did. It's really remarkable. Now, the other reason they do it is they have the guy who's probably, almost assuredly, going to be the number one pick of the draft. And the team with that number one pick, the Raiders, had all their brass there. to watch Fernando Mendoza.

Tom Brady, John Spitech, owner Mark Davis, all in attendance. They of course do have the number one pick of the draft. Here's a list, by the way. Get your reading glasses on brew. Raiders starting quarterbacks in the last four years. That's too many. That's nine of them in the last four years. Wow.

I think it's pretty clear for Fernando Mendoza is going to be the first player taking in this draft, Danny. Should the Raiders keep that pick? Or should they trade it for a bounty of picks? So I expect them to keep it. He strikes me as the type of guy that Tom Brady would love to have a say in drafting and molding into being a winner and all of that. And a Signetti Mendoza package deal is something that I would at least be interested in exploring if I was the Raiders, if you're going to draft Mendoza. Keeping them together would be something that I would be very intrigued by.

But as someone who is a fan of the team that most recently pulled off the trade for the number one pick, I do think trading the number one pick for a haul is almost always the right move if you have any doubt about the quarterback. And most of the draft people seem to think Mendoza is going to be the number one pick a lot because of Mendoza, but partly because of the quarterback class, that he is not a Drake-May-level athlete, that he is not a Nassau. that he is not a natural talent like Caleb, that there are some questions about Mendoza's ceiling in the pros, that he's more of like a Jared Gough-like prospect. Smart, winner, big, accurate, but has a few.

And by the way, if he turned, did Jared Gough like prospect turned into Jared Gauph, you'd turn the card in right now. I agree with you, but I'm just talking about the draft, the draft profile from the people that I've read at this point on Mendoza, that there are some questions about it. So just to remind people what the Bears did when they traded the number one pick in the Bryce Young. It was a first round pick. It was Bryce Young.

They took their ninth overall pick, Darnell Wright. He's their all pro right tackle. Second round pick, Tyreek Stevenson, starting corner. The first round pick next year, now they got lucky, turned into the number one overall pick, Caleb Williams. Second round pick, Luther Burden, and DJ Moore. Can I just real quick for you, go, Drew? as great as of that all sounds, if that number, if Carolina wasn't quite as bad the next year,

and instead of getting Caleb Williams, they got all those players plus the sixth overall pick and had, and we're still starting Justin Fields. Well, you know what I mean? I just feel like, but you maybe take J.J.

McCarthy, you maybe take Bo Nix. Yeah, well, J.J. McCarthy feels like a disaster. You know, I'm saying it just feels like that worked out perfectly because the team you traded it with then got, that gave you back the, number one pick the following year, which rarely happened. Also, that draft, people loved Bryce Young.

Yes. And C.J. Stroud after him. So I'm not, you would get a lot for the number one pick, but this is a draft where nobody, there's, like you said, it's viewed as kind of a down quarterback class. So are you going to get as much? I don't know that you'll get that haul because people are like, oh, I want to get Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud or whatever. So, look, the fact is, there. you said if there are questions about the quarterback. There always are questions about the quarterback.

Caleb was a no-brainer, and we saw it took him two years, and we'll see. I mean, we all believe in him now. I'm the last one to really buy into him, but let's see how it is going forward. Plus, he does have a fantastic coach and play caller and Ben Johnson. Trevor, it is taking five years, maybe, right? If he's finally arrived, he was also absolute no-brainer generational talent took in five years. People loved, you saw, you showed the board, Nick, James Winston. Everybody loved James Winston.

Yep. Didn't pan out. So it is always a question mark with the quarterback. What I do, look, and I'm not saying he's a sure thing. Physically, he's big, what you like. He's got decent athletics. I mean, he's not a great athlete, but he shows some athleticism. He's on that run.

Very tough. See, what I think he has, and this is where you might be about Brady, the intangibles. He's got the toughness, as he showed. He's got heart. He's a leader. He's smart and intelligent. He processes quickly. Like, he has all, we know at the NFL level, it's up here.

That's how Brady succeeded and became so great. So he seems to have those things more intangibles than the tangibles, plus the accuracy is great. And so I think they need to take, because even if they get to your point a bounty, but don't end up getting a quarterback in the next three years, that bounty is somewhat limited.

We're seeing some teams with guys right now in the final four that we didn't think were necessarily great quarterback, so I'm not saying it can't be done. But ideally, you want to get a guy that is your quarterback for the next 10 years. So I would draft Mendoza if I'm the real. The Raiders may be their kind of insurance plan on if they were to trade the pick is we don't need who we trade the pick to to give us the number one pick. We're going to have the number one pick again next year.

If we are trading, maybe you also trade Max Crosby, you do a full true teardown. But, Brew, can I just tell you what's happening here? Why Danny is trying to encourage the Raiders to move that pick. Danny watched football this weekend, playoff football. and saw Bo Nix play. And then he watched playoff football last night and saw Fernando Mendoza play. He's like, if Mendoza goes to the AFC West,

Herbert is officially the worst playoff performer of all the quarterback there. That's what he's trying to avoid. That is what he is trying. He's like, I can't have it. All right, let's go to. What an outrageous take by you? Well, I don't know.

I mean, has he ever played a game as well as Nick for Mendoza in the playoffs in the last 72 hours? I haven't seen it. Ending in Buffalo. They're moving on from Sean McDermott after nine years. Some of their players, nonplussed. We oddly haven't heard from Josh Allen on it yet. We have heard from Jordan Phillips, who said,

this bleep here is so stupid, honestly sickening. Best coach I've ever been around. Brew, what do you think the chances are that the bills end up regretting firing Sean McDermott? Look, as I've said, it's always a risk when you get rid of a very good. good coach. All right. That record is crazy.

98 and 50 is a crazy record. Yeah, no, look, he's been, and remember, that's a team that I think had made the playoffs once in 17 years before he got there. No, once in 17 years before Josh Allen got there and it was the year with McDermott. They were on a 16-year drought when he was hired. And then McDermott broke it. So, but that said, I think the only way you could regret this is one, if Josh Allen isn't who we think he is, or two, if you believe Sean McDermott eventually was going to win

a Super Bowl. And I think nine years, eight years with Josh Allen, we saw enough evidence the way his defenses gave up 33 points a game in the playoffs. The way they not only lost to the Chiefs, but they lost to the Bengals. Still, there's no way they should have gotten blown out in that game and then just losing to Bo Nix. So I don't think there was enough evidence to think you're going to win a Super Bowl with him. My point is that if they bring in a solid coach and Josh Allen is who we think they are, they should remain a perennial playoff considerate. Now, they may not get past where McDermick got you,

but if he wasn't going to get you pass there, then you didn't lose anything and you had to take a shot to get over the hump. Is there not a concern for you? Because I understand everything you're saying, but both you and I, I think, thought 96 hours ago, we all thought they could win the Super Bowl this year. And during the Broncos game, into overtime of the Broncos game, we thought they could win the Super Bowl.

The concern, the way they would regret this, I would imagine, Danny, would be the concern is you hire a dope. And I know that sounds rude. You hire a guy who's just like that he actually, his floor is so much lower that even though you have Josh Allen, he is an impediment to winning, and after two years,

you are hiring a coach again, and now Josh is 32. Like, that would be my, for Baltimore or Buffalo, my concern would be, what if I just hire, if I'm not going to go with Mike McCarthy, you know what I mean,

like known quantity, whatever level it is, that I'm going to just hire. Because everybody at the very least is an unknown. Unknown, exactly right. So I think there's, that's obviously on the board, though, I would think how attractive this job opening is, is that you'd be able to hire a pretty accomplished person to take the job and you would kind of know that person's warts. I'll be surprised if this is a first-time head coach that gets this job.

The one other scenario. Really? I'd be surprised. So you think it's going to be Daibel? Yeah, I think Daible is the favorite there. But the one other scenario is, is there a power vacuum in Buffalo and the wrong guy won it in Brandon Bean? Like I thought that if you fired McDermott, you were firing Brandon Bean. Instead he got promoted.

And instead he got promoted. And I don't know if you guys saw this. This was locally reported Vic Carucci, long time NFL guy out of Buffalo, WGR. I'm told that during a meeting held five weeks ago between McDermott, Bean and Pagula, the owner, the coach pointed out that the roster lacked to win a Super Bowl. I don't know the specifics McDermott mentioned, but I'm told neither Bean nor Pagula was pleased with McDermott's assessment. So if the coach is given feedback to the owner, that says we've got holes on the roster that make us not likely to win a Super Bowl.

And then the team gets eliminated and the owner fires the coach and promotes the GM, that feels dysfunctional if you're not willing to hear negative feedback. So if you just promoted the wrong guy and empowered him to then hire a guy, who to your point might end up being the wrong guy, that's a way that you could backslide organizationally.

Can I throw out who I think they should call? I think they should call Bill Belichick. and I think they should hope that his girlfriend doesn't like the snow and that they can be long distance for the football season and he can be back to being Bill Belichick and be like, hey man, three years. Oh, so you're saying, okay. No, higher.

That the girlfriend doesn't go out. Yeah, exactly. That's what I'm saying. And that you catch Don Shula, the chip on your shoulder of, oh, look at the Patriots now without you. You get to compete with them. I still think you can coach up. up defense. The roster,

you don't have to worry about the roster. Right or wrong, Brandon Bean's got the roster. And you will... But is Belichick will go with that? I mean, at this point, if you're Belichick, it's the last house on the left, and it's the house with Josh Allen as the quarterback. Like, if you want... Bill would take the job. I think

this is one job he would take like with no strings attached. And I don't think Brian Dable's a better NFL head coach than Bill Belichick. I just don't. I think it's ridiculous. I mean, he's 73 years old. It just went poorly at North Carolina. I think the girlfriend is clearly pretty attached and in power in some ways there. So yeah, I think Bill Belichick is not

coming back to the NFL ever again. I'll be stunned. Brew, as a Ravens fan, would it scare you? Potentially. Yeah. I don't think I as I wouldn't want Bill Belichick coaching Josh Allen as a fan of Drake May. Talk Drake May next with Coach me and Gene. Back here on first things first alongside Super Bowl champion, fresh off his birthday, coach Manjini, talking championship weekend. Patriots traveling to Denver on Sunday, a chance to go to the Super Bowl on the line. They're going to have to get past that vaunted Denver defense and Jarrett Stidham. Brew, I'll start with you. The Patriots, obviously, this is a lot to do with the quarterback injury, but not just to do with the quarterback injury.

Drake me and the Patriots are five and a half point favorites against the Broncos. Are you surprised by that? No. I mean, some people think they should be greater favorites because of Stidham. Look, I think this is still going to be a tough game. It will be a horrific loss for the Patriots. But I can see a way that Denver beats them. I mean, they got a great defense.

We know that may as coaches. said yesterday has been getting sacked a lot. He's been sacked 10 times in two playoff games. They lead the league in sacks with 68. He's been sloppy with the football, Drake May. So if Stidham can just not have a lot of turnovers and play decent, Denver's got a chance. Again, New England should win this game, but I think it's going to be a lot tougher than people just expect based on Jared Stidham.

So, no, I think five and a half is pretty fair. Denver also is eight and one at home. which is the best record in the league. So I expect right now I feel like New England is going to win, but I don't think it's going to be an easy, easy game. Yeah, if we use C.J. Stroud as the bar for quarterback performance, the Texans now were. He can't be worse.

Well, yeah, the Texans were less than a touchdown down to start the fourth quarter. And this is a very similar situation with Denver in terms of what they can do defensively and the volume of sacks that they have and the fact that, you know, May is not just getting sacked at a higher rate. He's getting sacked at double the rate that he got sacked at in the regular season. That, to me, is a real problem. And the idea that they have the five and a half point favorite, it never lost one game.

And I get it. Nix isn't there. But they only lost one game. It's a really difficult environment to play in. Drake May hasn't played a playoff game on the road. And that noise is significant with the silent count, with the communication, with making checks, checking out of things, everything becomes hands. signals. There's a lot of things that go into that. And here's the other thing I'll say about

Siddham is obviously Sean Payton felt very strongly about him. He was a day one pickup for him. Josh McDaniels felt very strongly about him because he traded for him when he was the head coach of the Raiders. So there's two guys that are accomplished offensive coaches who feel like he could be a starter and very successful. And the last thing is sometimes a backup quarterback, you don't want to have it in this situation, obviously. But it's hard. for defenses because you don't totally know what you're going to get. You don't have the same bead on that guy as you had in the other guys. How is he going to escape? How often is he going to run with the ball? What are his best? Like some of those things, you'd like to have more

information on the quarterback than less. Here comes Mr. Favorites, Danny Parkin. No, no, no, no. No, you're misreading me. I, all year we can question how good Bo Nix is, how much of Denver's success is because of Bo Nix? This is correct. Like, all year. They didn't lose Josh Allen. They didn't lose Lamar Jackson. They didn't lose-

He played very well in that playoff game, no. He did, but odds are said based on a large body of work and a large sample and expected performance. But Bo Nix is, I know Broncos fans would say he's a top 10 quarterback, but I think most people would have Bo Nix outside of the top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL. So if a middle third quarterback gets injured and then a top third backup quarterback, just based on number of times he's signed, the offensive coaches who have vouched for him, his age. The fact that he's been in the league this long. It's better than, I understand you're saying.

He's not a rookie backup quarterback. It's a guy who at least has experience. Exactly. Like, it is obviously a drop off and it's obviously a huge blow to Denver. And the odds, the line would not be this if Bo Nix was starting. I'm not dismissing any of that. But this is not, the Broncos have not been

Bo Nix dependent this year. That I think is the key point. And I want to say this while on the front end saying, I thought Bo Nix of the eight quarterbacks that played this weekend, you said it, Brew, and I agree with you 100%. I thought he played the best. I thought Bo Nix was awesome.

At the end of the first half, when they were trying, I thought maybe to steal three points and they ended up getting a touchdown. I'm talking about before Josh. his Bumble and obviously at the end of the game. And I didn't hate the fact that it seemed like in overtime. They were like, why don't we chuck it deep?

He's not going to throw a pick and maybe we'll draw a P.I. And they were able to do that. So I want to give Bo Nicks credit. And I obviously, had he not been injured coming off that game, you feel very differently about the Broncos. But over the course of the season, we watched the Broncos seven times win games. with quarterback play about the level I expect they can get from Stidham this week. And it was one of the reasons I didn't believe in them going into the Bills game

because I thought they were going to get that level of quarterback play against what I thought would be an explosive Bills offense. I think that if they just, if Stidham can just be 160 yards on 17 of 30 with no terms, turnovers, I do give the Broncos a real shot, not just to cover this number, but to turn the Patriots over and to put them in an adverse position. And so I, if I were, and again, I've been ice cold these playoffs, but if I were betting this game right now, I'd take the five and a half. Like I understand, there's a scenario where a quarter and a half into it, we're like,

okay, Jared Stidham, there's a reason you have three career starts and it's the AFC championship game. But there's also a scenario where a quarter and a half into the game, it feels like a lot of Broncos games in the regular season, where the offense protects the ball, doesn't do much explosive, and the defense is getting after you. And I think your point about May having not played a road playoff game, and his first one is to go to the Super Bowl at altitude in that stadium, if you're, if, if Will Campbell's already having a hard time, you know, getting off on the pass rush. I think it's going to be even harder in that spot. The one real strange

stat with the Broncos, though, was as many sacks they've had, they've only turned the ball up, had four fumble recoveries. They're 30 first in the league in fumble recoveries. They're due. But it just doesn't make any sense at all with that volume sacks to have that few fumbles and

fumbles recovered. All right, let's go to the other game this weekend. Seattle hosting the Rams. Danny called the Thursday night football game of this in week 16 game of the year. He was right. It's now the third one between these two teams. It's Sunday 6 Eastern on Fox. Stafford, to my eyes, look like the MVP all season long.

Darnold, back-to-back 14-plus win, 4,000-plus-yard seasons. Daniel, I'll start with you here. Are you giving Darnold any chance at out-playing Stafford on Sunday? Yeah, a small chance. He did not play well, obviously, against Seattle, and there are two matchups this year, right? Who's he? Sam Darnold. Oh, he didn't play well against the Wands.

Against the Rams. Did I say against Seattle? Yeah, yeah. Seattle's quarterback is Sam, Arnold. Yeah, there. Gotcha. Yeah, so he, so Donald's did not play great against the Rams. Two touchdowns, six interceptions.

His pass-a rating wasn't good. He had the one game with all the turnovers. We know that. But I do think there's just a lot of other factors that are in Seattle's favor that he maybe doesn't need to. Like, it's not, I always say it's not one-on-one basketball between the quarterbacks. Like, you really say that when it involves.

involves Herbert. I do. Like, it's the most of that. That's when we hear that. You notice? Yeah. But honestly, like, they are at home. They have been playing really well.

They are the healthier team. They had the buy. So, in theory, they are the more rested. They have the better defense right now without question. So there's just a lot of other factors that even if Stafford has a touchdown or two more than Darnold, Darnold can still be the guy who wins the game and goes to the Super Bowl. Yeah, look, chances of Darnold out playing Stafford. are very slim, very slim, but he doesn't have to, to your point.

He didn't outplay him when they beat him 38, 37 in overtime. He had two picks, two touchdowns. Stafford threw for 457 yards and three touchdowns and no pick. So Stafford's probably, he doesn't throw many interceptions. So I don't see him just throwing two, three interceptions. So assuming he doesn't have that type of game, Stafford's going to outplay Darnold statistically. because he has to.

Like he's thrown it 42 times on average in these two playoff games. I get it. It was a blowout, but Donald threw it 17. Their success is just not based on Sam Donald. If he doesn't make turnovers, maybe throws one touchdown and, you know, has a solid game, they can win even if Stafford goes off. Now, if they get in a shootout and he has to start, he really has to, to throw it a lot, coach.

Then the chances of him making some interceptions and mistakes are more. But I still think the proof is in the two times they played this year. He was bad in the first game. They almost won. He was pretty good. He was bad through three quarters.

And it was right there. And then he turned it on. So he won't outplay Stafford, but he doesn't have to for Seattle to win. Yeah, he wasn't bad in the first game. He was terrible. They had a 48 quarter of a quarter of a minute. Right.

And through four touchdowns. And that was the game. Four touchdowns. Four touchdowns. Would have been a miracle. That game when we were talking about it, we were talking about, okay, is this the moment that Sam Darno performs in a big moment? Because it was to kind of take control of the division and the number one scene. And then we fast forward to the last game.

And it's significantly better at the end. Obviously still two touchdowns and two turnovers. You don't want the two turnovers. but it was better. So I'm really hoping that Sam Darnold can have a clean game and can get over this hump because he's done such an amazing job redefining the narrative on him and changing everything from Minnesota to hear. But it's just so hard for me to think that he's going to be able to out dual Stafford. But when I look at Stafford's two playoff games against two very mediocre defense. He hasn't been good yet. He's not turned the ball. He's been good at keeping the ball. clean last round at least when everyone was turning the ball over, but he has not played his best. He's not played his best against two defenses that, and we talked about this yesterday, with the defenses that Drake May faced versus the defenses that Stafford faces, it's not even, it's not even close. So the argument for this is really a Seahawks defense argument.

It's that Stafford is the one that has the multiple turnovers forced by the Seahawks defense, and Darnold outplays him by simply being the one who plays a clean game. You know, I don't think any... 457 yards, right. No, I know. Well, that's... In that game that they...

37 points. In that game that they lost, I thought that was the best quarterback performance of anyone all year. Stafford's game. 450 yards, three touchdowns against this defense. Zero fact. Right. I thought it was the best game anybody's played at the quarterback position all year.

It was also probably Stafford's last great game. You know what I mean? As far as down the stretch, the season. So in some ways he's due for a great game. Here's why, and again, I preface it all with I've been ice cold these playoffs. Yeah, you have. After beating Danny in the regular

season. Marathon. I don't think it's realistic after seeing these two teams play for eight quarters. That Seattle just controls the game and, you know what I mean? Leads it from start to finish. I think that Seattle's

best case scenario is this is a fourth quarter game. And man, in a fourth quarter game, I'm just going to trust Stafford. I think that Stafford with the, I'm not, he's been so great in the playoffs with the Rams. They've almost all been road games or neutral sight games in the one in the Super Bowl and won. Last year's first round was a weird neutral sight game because of the L.A. Wildfires. So he's used to playing away from home. He's played this defense and Mike McDonald's defense now four times in the last two years since he's been

head coach there. He's experienced with it and he's coming off an amazing performance against them. So I think that the Rams beat the Seahawks because Stafford has another excellent game against this defense that nobody seems to be able to have great games against except him. Yeah, I think both coordinators have to break a lot of tendencies. Oh, because they're used to it. That makes sense. Jimmy Butler, season over. What does it mean for the Warriors? Next. Moving on to the NBA, this is brutal. I think it's fair to say future Hall of Famer, Jimmy Butler.

Yeah, I agree. Been the best player on two finals teams. Tours ACL last night. He's 36 years old. The Warriors, you know, trying their damnedest to stay out, stay in the play-in or maybe get out of the play-in to get into the top six. Brew, what does this mean for Golden State? Yeah, you hate to see it for Butler.

He's 36 years old, so you wonder, will we see him on the court again? Here's the thing. The Instagram today, you know, basically see you soon. Like, he talked like he's certainly a tough guy. He's a media. Yeah, we'll see. But for the Warriors, look, they weren't a contender. They were hoping they were playing contender, you know, but they really weren't there at AC right now.

They had gone on a little street. They won six of their last seven, I believe. But they were not going to, they did not have a chance of winning the West. If they were in the East, it would have been different. If it were in the East, it would have been different. So everybody's saying, oh, their chances of getting to the finals now are done. They were done. They were non-existent.

All right. Here's the conundrum for the Warriors. They have been trying to, as long as they have stuff playing well, they're like, we're going to go for championships, which I like. I applaud. And they're not going to trade him. I can't imagine unless he asked for it, which I don't see happening. So he's going to be there.

So he's still playing at a high level. He's going to be there. So you can't like tear it down. Right. So that's where they're in a tough situation because there's no way they can compete for the championship, but they're not going to get rid of stuff and tear it down. What I would try to do, and I'm not saying it can happen. Kaminga, it looks like obviously is going to be traded.

that he wants out. Can you package, Jimmy Butler has next year left on this deal at $56 million? Is there a team or some teams out there that just for the potential cap room or, you know, where they'll trade for Jimmy Butler knowing a year from now, we will be able to clear $56 million off our books. So I would try to package Butler with Kaminga

and see if I can make a trade that gets me some good players where, we're still good if not a legit contender. Well, I got one for you. Okay. It sounds good on TV. It probably won't happen, but I think you have to make the call. Do you call Dallas and say, we will give you Jimmy Butler and Kamenga and you give us Anthony Davis and Clay Thompson? And then you need a little bit of salary filler.

The salaries of those two guys are very- How many years does Davis have left on his day? An extra year beyond Butler. Okay, because I was going to say he has a player option beyond the Butler's at like 63 million. He's going to be a proud because he's going to won an extension there. Why would Dallas want to do that? Well, I mean, it gets you out of the money of Anthony Davis a year earlier with. I guess I look at it as Dallas.

I love obviously the Warriors. First of all, warm and fuzzies about Clay being back. Plus Anthony Davis is like the perfect fit for that team. Again, Davis is dealing with his own injury. and that was it risk the you would think Dallas might be like he can't stay healthy and so may and that is a risk for anybody that trades for him so I would make the call like you so here so I just wonder if even though people are worried that he can't stay healthy if Dallas still couldn't get a better return if they are trying whether it be there was

talked that Atlanta wanted him right that there is that you could get more for him what I I love the idea if Dallas wanted to do it maybe if Dallas re-hires Nico they would do that type of here you. Here's the other thing that to me this means for the Warriors. Obviously you feel sick for Jimmy because he was a great player and such a unique career where was

the bad comp, I will admit it. One guy won championships and the other guy was actually better than him, but kind of a basketball, Eli, in that was at one level and then a couple different playoff runs more than a couple of him. But probably better than Eli. Yes, but you know what I mean?

But the rare player that was like really good regular season player that had a couple just legendary postseason, not just games, but real run. So tremendous respect for him, even though he can be a handful, I guess as a teammate. The other thing to me this means for the Warriors is it deads any pipe dream. of trading for Janus this year because that doesn't really make as much sense anymore. Because you might disagree with me,

Brew, now that you don't have Butler, all the stuff you'd have to trade to get Janus, even if you could get him, just Steph and Janus and minimum, you know, those guys. It would have to be Milwaukee saying, okay, a year from now we'll be it

to, you know, have to have to have to have. No, but I'm saying, I don't even think that would be enough. To win, I'm saying. Not enough to win, I'm saying. Not enough to win. I'm saying because you don't have Jimmy anymore. You'd have to trade. So you're saying Steph and Yannis wouldn't be enough to win. Because you'd be trading Kamenka, you'd be trading Dremond, and Jimmy's out.

So just a one-two punch of Steph, Janus, and then minimum salaries. I would do it, though. I would try. I'd like to watch it. Right. If they, if Milwaukee would do that, they won't. Big if. Yeah, I don't think they would.

But I would do it. You would do it too. If you could. Listen, I agree with you in this regard. I think if you have. you have one of the 12 greatest players in the history of the league and they're still awesome. You have an obligation to the sport as a whole

to go for it every year. Like to always be in win now mode. And so I never liked the Warriors two-track philosophy. I like you have Steph freaking Curry. You'll probably never have a player as good as him. Go for it. And they tried that with Jimmy. And then Jimmy got hurt.

Conference championship game, Mahomes Mountain. Full rosters is. edition next. Live from New York, it's the show that's texting someone rather than banging the desk. Oh, my bad, dude. What a disaster. Wow. Just what a disaster.

You had one job. Exactly right. Second hour. You know what? That's on me. Yeah. Of first things first. Coming up, two former MVP's.

The two last MVP's are currently without a head coach. It's the better job. coaching Josh Allen or coaching Lamar Jackson, we discuss. And also, Patrick Mahomes is getting his new offensive, his new offensive coordinator, his old offensive coordinator, which is what Brew is really wanted, which is what I wanted. A lot of Chiefs fans, oddly, didn't want. We'll discuss all of it.

We'll see a return of the light show. But it's just after 4 o'clock on a Tuesday, which means, Hold on a second here. Go ahead. See, I'm doing Wilde's job, and so, oh, I got to go. Danny's going to do something silly here. Go ahead, run it. Kevin Wilds is the leader of the show.

And frankly, he's a respected figure in these walls for his long and distinguished career in television. He's a man of wisdom. But honestly, it might just be his chair because sitting in it today is making me feel pretty smart. So I thought I'd offer a suggestion. Why settle for just one mountain? Did you know that at Cordillera is a system of mountain ranges,

often consisting of a number of more or less parallel chains of mountains? It's true. Well, Caleb Williams was in these playoffs. Mahomes wasn't. The throes that Caleb makes that we've never seen before, they're now known as Pulling a Caleb, or Calebesque. Is Mahomes-esque a thing of the past? People are asking.

So does my not so humble suggestion that today's championship Sunday edition of Mahomes Mountain be known as the Caleb Cordillera. What do you say, Nick? That's the worst idea I've ever heard. I think it's a pretty good idea. Terrible. Caleb Cordillera.

You throw a pick to end the game. Exactly right. Exactly right. Is it a mountain range of three separate mountains of one for each interception he threw that caused you guys? Is it a mountain that you fall down on a regular basis? Yeah, I mean, who makes the most spectacular throws in the NFL now? The Caleb Williams.

Well, I mean, actually, no, because he's not playing now. He's a steady stuff. He just, he just, The mountains about Steney. Listen, I'm not anti-Kaleb. Again, many people correctly believe I was the first to really see Caleb other than Lincoln Riley. He was your guy when he was. When he was dropped that banner disowning him.

I was trying to be nice. One of the many things I've tried to be nice to this guy and now he's trying to change the name of the mountain. However, we'll keep Caleb Cordillera for the OTA. It's a serious amount ranges. Nobody knows what that is. I tried to explain it. Parallel each other. We're wearing goggles and a stupid smelly rope.

I was like, don't go too far with it. All right. The rope's walking. Here's the deal. Folks, I try to stay with you. Stay focused. Sorry.

So there's only four quarterbacks left. So we made the executive decision. The full rosters are eligible for the Mountain this week. We might do this as well for the Super Bowl. Then it will be right back to a quarterback only segment. But it's not that much fun to rank just four quarterbacks. And by the way, we'd all know how it would be. It'd be Stafford at the top.

Drake and Sam Darnold, the second row. And then poor Jared said him by himself. In the third row, that would be it. There it is. Spoiler alert for what it would have been. Seventh row. Sam Darnel does make the mountain. Every quarterback didn't.

Devante Adams. Kisham Boudi, who I got to tell you, the connection with him and Drake has been really good, and that catch in the end zone was just unbelievable. Portland Sutton somewhat, I don't want to call him underrated, and he was probably properly rated, but he's clearly the best weapon, the Broncos have.

Jonathan Cooper, who certainly, I think, is underrated because of the impact of the other Broncos defenders, most notably Nick Benito. Byron Murphy the 2nd, who's been awesome on the inside for Seattle, and Kyron Williams, who quietly had 1,200 yards and was super reliable for Sean McVeigh, particularly in that three-tied-inset. Sixth row.

I'm glad Wilde isn't here to hear me say this. He was right about Stefan Dix. When they signed him, I thought they were paying him too much money. I thought he wasn't going to be healthy for week one. I thought he could potentially be a pain in the ass. He has been excellent for the team. Brable and Drake may seem to love him. He has been incredibly reliable, very surehanded.

He's been excellent on the field for the Patriots. Lawrence, who has just been for a decade now, an excellent defensive lineman wherever he's been. Rashid Shahid, who coached, I think you were here for it. Trade deadline day while everyone was wide. Oh my God. Quinn and Williams to the Cowboys. Sauce Gardner to the Colts. Some smart people.

This guy said the most impactful player trade. It will be Rashid Jihad to the Seattle Seahawks. All he does, punt return to flip the first or the second Ram Seahawks game. Kick return to get the winning score, 7-0 in the divisional round game. Christian Gonzalez came back from concussion. Played great. Byron Jones, who has been excellent and Devin Witherspoon, one of the more underrated corners in all of football.

Ro five, Leonard Williams, another guy who wherever he's played has been nothing but impactful. Jared Verse was a great rookie. One defensive rookie of the year, if I'm not mistaken, has been the best front seven defender for the Rams. And then three big guys for the Broncos, Garrett Bowles, Quinn Miners, and Zach Allen, their two best offensive linemen and their best de-lineman, if you don't count Benito as a D-Lyman, just interior de-lineman.

And now row four. the coaches because all four of these coaches have put their imprints on this team on their teams have been forced multipliers for their teams and have been exceptional we know what sean mcvay's resume is he continues to remind everybody Mike rable continue no I don't know I'm not saying he continues to remind everybody I didn't mean it like that I mean said no he doesn't actually He carries her? No, let me rephrase it. We know watching him remind you what a great resume he has

is really what I made. It was no shots attempted there. Mike Vrable reminds everybody what dysfunction they must have in Tennessee for choosing a general manager who they fired two general managers ago over Mike Vrable as he instantly changed the culture in New England. Sean Payton might rub me either on. way at times. His play design's been great. His ability in that divisional round game, two separate times to identify in real time, oh, they just had a corner go down. We are attacking him.

And both times resulted in a touchdown is remarkable. And Mike McDonald, a lot of Ravens fans feel like what went wrong for the Ravens was losing Mike McDonald a couple years ago. And he has instantly brought a great defense to Seattle, and now the top six players conference championship weekend. Next quarterback on the mountain, Drake May. The only reason he's not on Road 2 is because I think he has struggled to bit these playoffs. His highs have been high.

He's had some great throws. The fumbles are a killer, though, and he is taking a bunch of sacks. The reigning defensive player of the year, Pat Sertan, and a guy who I actually think is the best player on that defense with Pat Sertan, Nick Benito, and then Roe's. So, flatly this season, your two best receivers in football, Puka and Akua, Jackson Smith and Jigba, Puka has an argument that he's the best non-quarterback offensive player in the whole league.

And atop the mountain, even though he has not lit up this postseason, is the guy who I believe is about to win league MVP and I believe is going to win Super Bowl MVP, one Matthew Stafford. Coach, your thoughts on the All Rosters Mountain. I love it. Wow. I love the fact that you went all rosters. And so much of what we talk about is quarterbacks. And when we talk about the MVP race,

you can't really bring in somebody else from a different position because it's like, oh, yeah, they'll be fifth or six. So to incorporate players from different positions is great. All that being said, I'm going to talk about a quarterback. Because I am disappointed with where you have Sam Donald. The mountain, as we know, is a rich tapestry. Yeah. And Sam Donald's tapestry is about as rich as they come with the failure in New York

and then getting shipped to Carolina and then Carolina to, what was his next stop? San Francisco. San Francisco to Minnesota. Minnesota, he goes 14 and 3. He can't secure the number one seed. Then they have the disappointing game there, disappointed game in the first round of the playoffs. Now, this year, they're disappointed. They are able to secure the number one seat.

So that's progress. He was able to win his first playoff game. That's real progress. And as much as I'm concerned about this moment for him, I'm definitely rooting for him to get over this hump. But even if he doesn't, he's still at a more significant impact than take your pick. And this isn't about any one guy.

This is about Sam Donald just being too low. Well, so that's fair. My hesitation is he has, as opposed to the last two games of the year in Minnesota, the week 18 game and the playoff game, when he turned the ball over a bunch and won, got sacked nine times in the other. He has avoided the huge negative plays in week 18 this year and then in the playoff game. But he also, he's avoided them by not really having to do much. They score 13 points in the one game.

They literally scored the game-winning touchdown on the first play of the game. Kick return. Because the defense held him six points. And Dust, if we can show players on from each roster on the mountain. So there's 24 total players. So the Seahawks have eight. Broncos seven, Rams five Patriots four. Again, it's just my own accounting.

Yeah, it's not the all-pro team. No, I get it. But I did include, by the way, every player, that made the all-pro team is accounted for on this mountain. I do think that the Seahawks have the most non-quarterback talent. And that kind of fits, by the way, how these teams have gotten there. The Rams and the Patriots been powered more so by the MVP candidate quarterbacks. And the Seahawks and Broncos powered more, I think, by the all-world defenses.

In fairness, Sam Donald's in the toughest division and Drake May, that that, That record or the opponent's record was what the worst since the 90s or the... No, it's the worst strength schedule in NFL history for a playoff team. But still, Wilds isn't here. He's going to zoom in and yell at you and explain how actually it was harder than you think. Well, I just think that has to come. It's totally fair. Brew.

All right. As is often my custom, I'm going to start with a bonus take. Wow, bonus take. Kishon Booty, however you want to say it. He should be up. Oh. He has been their best. receiver in the playoffs. He's he's got 141 yards in the playoffs. That's twice as much more than

twice as much as digs, but almost twice as much as any other player for the Patriots and he's leading them in receptions. You can argue without that great one-handed catch. They're not even here, but he's been their deep threat all year and a great deep threat. You know, average, I don't know, about 16 yards of catch, 17, 20 in the playoffs. So I'm moving him up. That's just a bonus. If I have to, yeah, that's just the bonus. You don't have to move anything.

You can move Shaheed down if you want. Shaheed is the punt and kick returner. I get it. But the what, number three receiver? But the real take, I'm going to put Drake May second behind Stafford. Just because as a quarterback on a team driven by their quarterback, as you said, he's one of the two teams driven by their quarterback, I get it, he's made some mistakes,

but he's also made some huge plays for them, unlike a lot of the other quarterbacks that have made mistakes in the playoffs. And he's just so, he, as the quarterback of a team driven by him, he is so instrumental in their success. Puka had, was somewhat taken out of that game by the defensive backs in Chicago.

Five catches, 56 yards, no touchdowns. JSN had three catches for 19 yards. I get it was a blowout. Maybe it would have been more in a close game. But still, he wasn't a huge factor. He had one touchdown. So I'm just saying May's importance to the Patriots, to me,

puts him right behind Stafford. All right, two things quickly. One is, I want to clarify something I said before, because when you mentioned Shaheed is the kick returner, I realize I did leave off one all pro because the Patriots punt returner Marcus Jones was on the all pro team. He didn't make the mountain, so I just want to be fair to him. to your point on May.

He's not on road to because of what coach did yesterday. So coach yesterday, I felt bad after the show. Lame and coach. I felt bad after the show. I was like, man, am I being too hard on Drake May? Was he just, the ball was snapped, and then before he even looked up, field, just bam, hit in the back, fumbled,

no, what are you doing about it? So I went back and watched all those fumbles. One of those fumbles was like what you described. The other ones, yes, it was blind, inside hit. But he pump fakes. He's like, no, I don't have it. And then he rears back and gets hit. Another one. Like Drake May just walked in with this reenactment.

Thank you very much. He, it was, the offensive line, obviously, Will Campbell had a rough game. But it felt to me like a veteran quarterback would have known, even if you can't see the pressure. I got to get this out quick. And he was not, there was only one play where it felt like he had no chance.

Other plays that felt like he had no chance. Other plays, it felt like, He was hunting the big play, and then he had to pay for it. Pumped the ball once and then got hit. Caleb on his interception was reading a book. Okay. Like, we got to for 45 minutes. He had lunch and then decided to throw the ball late.

Caleb out of it. I mean, Caleb, to be fair, also not on the mountain. Yes, the, I mean, that, come on. You got to, come on, Drake. You got to hold. And also, you guys know, as much as I like Drake May, and I like him a lot, I'm always a little skeptical of small hand quarterbacks. He did step up in the pocket, too.

The guy raked his arm from behind. Hold the ball. Hold the ball. He's having stronger hands. Come on. Everybody had those little things. We all had those little things with black handles and squeeze. Everybody knows it.

Brew, I know I'm a guest here on the regulation show, but can I borrow your power of bonus texts? Absolutely. Oh, thanks. Absolutely. All right, first of all, can the mountain take a stand? What a cowardly mountain? Oh, all the coaches on one run. I mean, it's not left right.

Does the mountain think McVeigh is better than Peyton? Is McDonald's better than Ray? I mean, take a stand. No, because the mountains for players. And so the coaches, it's much like, again, again, much like when we did the all-time quarterback mountain, we had a special row for the old timey guys that were in black and white TV. They're all together.

I mean, it's just they need to be included. They are not being ranked. Just so you know. I'm just saying, take a stand. Okay. Rashid Shaheed above future Hall of Famer Devante Adams and number one receiver, Cortland Sutton, doesn't feel right. But those are just bonus takes.

That's also a bonus take? Also a bonus take. A double bonus take? He said I can have multiple bonus takes. I asked for permission. You got three. Has had more impact this postseason than either those two players combined. For the right.

He's the one game sample. Yeah. Well, yeah, go ahead. All right. Well, then for the real take, you said you mentioned All-Pro. Can we move Witherspoon and Sertan onto the same line? You said you value All-Pro. second team all pro cornerbacks this year.

Sartan and Witherspoon. They're the same level of all pro. And in this game, Witherspoon has the much tougher assignment. He's got to go up against Devante Adams or Pooka Nakuwa. And in the two games that we've seen him play against the Rams, in one of the games, DeVante Adams, only had one catch. And in the two games total, Witherspoon's been targeted, a total of 10 times, five catches, 90 yards, a quarterback rating of 83, no touchdown.

And one of those games in Stafford Throw for 500 yards? Wait, but he wasn't targeting. What was it wasn't targeting? Well, I'm just saying, I don't think that playing is working. I think that. I think that he hasn't been the problem. Him and Sartan this year, same level of player. All pro voters agree.

The mountain disagrees. The mountain does disagree because if this year, you guys have been the same level. And the previous year, one guy won defensive players, of the year. And Sir Tan, by the way, wait, Sir Dan was second team all pro this year, even though he missed six weeks with an injury. Yeah, no, you're all pros.

No, so he, well, that's my point is if he was, if he was second team all pro despite missing almost half the season, then while he was playing, he must have been Uber impactful. I'm not listening. And Danny, you want to have a cornerback debate? Let's have a cornerback. Danny, he got me really early with the rich tapestry.

So yeah, that, that's always, you got to bring in the pack. So there's like a current and there's a mid level. It's a lot. You've got to go historical. It's not left. to write. This row is not really a ranking. Is it career? Is it not

career? Is it just season? Just the playoffs. There's a reason that it's very, very difficult. You can just scan the car cluster and just be like, when was Nick wrong on the mountain? And the answer is how could you be? To Rich

Taffish there's a lot of moving pieces here. I got to tell you, I enjoyed the all rosters mountain. I will take under advisement whether or not on the Super Bowl mountain, we will rank the coaches when it's down to just two or if there'll just be row two all by them. I can't wait. Coming up next, coaching carousel. Oh, return of the light show. Coaching Carousel and one of those as the Chiefs have their old offensive coordinator back as the new offensive coordinator. We discuss all that next first thing,

on Fox. Sunday on Fox. I think this will be the best football game played all year. It was the best regular season game played all year. I think this would be great. This could be better than the Super Bowl. Monday on Fox. Trip to Super Bowl 60s on the line. Matthew Stafford. Everybody's All-American Brewing the Rams. Hey, I'm still reading this, Hubbs. Take on Sam Darn, Top Ced and Seahawks. NFC Championship is presented by Intuit TurboTex.

Sunday, 6th Eastern, 3 PM Pacific on Fox. Now time for the no huddle. Coaching Carousel, no huddle. Chiefs bring back Eric B. Enemy. It's the offensive coordinator. All he did in his time when we can see was go through Super Bowl's win, too. Leading offense had, you know, Leading scoring a bunch of times, won the MVP a couple times.

Last couple years with commanders in UCLA. Last year, Bears running game coordinator. Oh, my, what was the best thing about the Bears other than Caleb Fourth Downs? The running game? Brew. I'm talking about their offense, coach. That's the best thing about the Bears. There's offense, I said.

I thought. Drew, you've been asking for this. How much do you like this reunion? You're taking credit? Chiefs, you're welcome. Chiefs Kingdom, you're welcome. Let me know about it next time I'm there. I love it.

I love it. I was calling for it. I didn't think it would happen, you know, just because it's unusual a lot of times to bring a guy back. But I'm glad they did. And I think we have a graphic showing the difference in Mahomes' numbers. His first five years is a starter with B&M. Last three have not been.

I mean, the difference obviously still been great, won a Super Bowl and got to another one without BNemi. But look at the individual numbers across the board. far better with Beenemy. And I just think this is a great hire, you know, for the Chiefs. And hopefully it'll bring Mahomes back to the numbers, statistically, where he used to be in the early part of his career. So the numbers are undeniable, right?

I have one too just with ranks because it's just, it puts what you just did basically into context. First across the board, right? With Eric Beenemy on. the left. But there's also Tyree Kill and... Well, the last year with Beaneh was not Tyree Hill. No doubt. But just the five-year run that he was there. My only issue with this, because Bears people told me that they loved him too.

Eric Beanymy is a tough coach. He coaches stars hard. He's big on accountability, hard practices, should help the Chief's running game. Million reasons to like it. The only thing is it felt to me like the Chief's offense needed something new. like the modernization of Andy Reed's office. You don't think he could have taken anything from his time with Ben Johnson? He could have. I mean, that's kind of my hope is that he did glean some things from a year with Ben Johnson from being elsewhere that he can then import over.

I mean, listen, that is the glass half full version of it, but it's not his system. So yeah, maybe he learned something from Ben Johnson that he brings in. But Andy Reid had Matt Nagy, lost Matt Nagy, brought Matt Nagy back. And he had Eric B. Enemy, loses Eric B. Enemy, brings Eric B. Enemy back. He's very loyal to his guys. The Andy Reed tree, like, at one point, 25% of the coaches in the NFL were Andy Reed assistants and disciples. So, like, I would have liked to see him go outside of the circle of trust. Yeah, no, that's not a good idea. Okay.

All coaches agree with you, you know, hire Mike McDaniel. Josh McDaniels has been the offense coordinator in New England three different times. And here's, I understand what you're saying about getting new blood. But for Andy, at this point in his career, To be able to bring Eric back in, that's going to free up some things for Andy. And then he'll be able to, he's got an absolute comfort level with him. So he can be even more global if he wants to. The other thing is Patrick must have signed off on this.

There's no way he's coming back without Patrick signing off. So to get the most important player to want you back, that's huge as well. The third part of this, there's no learning curve. So as much as you want to bring something new, and he will because he's been different places, he doesn't have to relearn how you run OTAs, how you run minicamp, how you run, you know, what the operations during the season, the things that Patrick Mahomes likes, those shared reps that you have are so valuable because it saves time that you can then distribute somewhere else.

So to be able to bring him back into the building, be highly regarded by the head coach, be highly regarded by the most important player, and then not skip a beat with scheme or operations, I think it's a home run. So I want to say something to Chiefs fans in general because the level of skepticism and outright, I think, dismissiveness towards Andy. Andy Reed, inarguably one of the six greatest coaches in NFL history,

arguably the greatest offensive coach in NFL history, and the greatest coach in Chief's history by a mile that after going to three straight Super Bowls and being their five out of six years, the fact that they weren't able to do something only one team ever had done, which is go to four straight, the fact that they finally had a down year

and everything broke down at once meant Andy Reid doesn't know what he's doing anymore. That discourse has been, categorically insane to me. I understand the theoretical idea of, man, what if you were able to marry Mike McDaniel's innovation and running game with Andy Reid's offense?

But they're different systems and different offenses. And so if people are, and I, the chiefs are going to run Andy Reid's offense. They are. And you know what? I'm good with it. It led to the greatest success any teams ever had other than the Patriots and some of the greatest offensive years ever. I think the idea that you are going to get nothing new from Eric B. enemy, even if that's the case, if he just brings back what he had before,

I think it's a net positive of what they were getting from Matt Nagy. And I do think Eric B.N.M. Clearly, part of what I think makes him a great coordinator and great, as, far as motivation has made him a tough bad interview. I think that the gruffness, the, you know, the holding people accountable. I think that has put a ceiling on where he can be as a coach in this league. It's why he never has gotten a real shot at being a head coach. But I do think he probably learned things from Ben Johnson.

And I like the fact that Kyle Munung guy was a seventh round pick and was awesome this year. Like I think the Chiefs running game needs a real overhaul and I think he'll be good at that. And every offseason, it's not like coaches. just are like, okay, put the playbook away, we'll get it out back in, you know, and man, you know, get okay. Like, you spend a lot of time going through what's been the most successful thing in college football, what's been the most successful thing in pro football. You try to incorporate those concepts into your system within your terminology.

So, and it's nice to have Eric back where he's been other places, and he can infuse some of those ideas. But people don't, outside of the drafting for agency, they're working on scheme and trying to, you know, ahead of the curve. All right. There have been three head coaches hired that we haven't discussed much, so we'll try to get to all of them here quickly. Falcons hire two-time coach of the year, two-time playoff participant.

Kevin Stefansky was in Cleveland for the last six years, went five and 12 last year. Danny, you really, you love offensive play calling coaches. Now, you like them to be a little younger than Kevin Stefanski and less proven. Do you like this? I buy stock low and sell it high. Do you like this hire for Atlanta? I own all the Benjohn.

Yeah, I love it. And I'm wondering if Kevin Stefansky wish that he would have held out a little bit because I think he would have been a great hire in Buffalo. Imagine you're Kevin Stifansky and you're an offensive coach and you're a play caller and you get to go from what you've had in Cleveland and playing in that division and playing in those conditions. And now you get to go to a dome and a softer division where you play really. road games in warm weather climates. You play road games in a dome and you have Bijon Robinson and Drake London and some of the talent that they've added. Now, obviously, huge quarterback questions.

He's got a trade for Dylan Gabriel. He could be available. But he's, he's dealt with huge quarterback questions before without having that amount of talent. I thought this was an absolutely fantastic hire for the Falcons. I agree. I love the hire. Look, Coach, you know how tough it is to win in Cleveland. Since they went back in 1999, the franchise, they, have had three playoff years. Stefansky has two of them. They've had two 11 win season. He has both of them.

I actually was a little torn over what Cleveland should do with him. I get the whole, the way handles should do. I'm sure it wasn't all Stefansky's fault, but that was obviously awkward. So that's why apparently they moved on. But he's a good coach. Like I think he will, he's just what Atlanta needs. Again, I think he brings stability.

I agree with you. I mean, I would like him in. Buffalo. Now, I don't know if the fans, you know, coming off some losing seasons in Cleveland, if they want that. But that's the question in the quarterback. And that was always the question for him in Cleveland. And it hasn't really been answered. But just giving him a decent quarterback for a little while, Joe Flacco, Baker early in his career. And he was able to make the playoffs. So if Pennix can stay healthy or if cousins can have a couple of good seasons, then I think they can have success in that bad division. Yeah, I don't like it. I love it.

I knew that was going to. I got to work on, though, but it was like it. It's true things, I don't want to totally. So one of my favorite quarterback interviews, and we spent a lot of time when you're going through that process with the quarterback's potentially draft was Matt Ryan. I thought he was outstanding, smart, articulate. Matt Ryan might need to run for president. Everybody that talks about Matt Ryan's like this guy.

He was awesome. He was awesome in the interview, so impressive. And I think that this job is not going to be too big for him. And I also think he looks like a guy who's going to be collaborative, but yet still strong enough to make tough decisions. So I'm happy about that. And then with Kevin, I got to know him some while he was in Cleveland, spent some time with him. He's another guy really bright, collaborative, articulate. and to win two-time coach of the year in Cleveland,

that's a hard, I've been there. That's a hard sell, okay? That's a hard thing to accomplish. And you had two potential Hall of Fame coaches. You didn't have not only the best quarterback, you had the worst quarterback situation, and you're anchored down by Deshaun Watson. So there's that.

And then bonus take, who did they hire today? Bill Call. Oh, the offensive line coach. Oh, there you go. I mean, that's such a lot of. That's a good hire. Here's what I'm, I do, they got to, I don't know if they're bringing back Kurt Cousins. I don't know if what Pinnock's health is going to be.

I would hope for Stefanski that he is going to be able to have some stability at quarterback at some point. My, it's always been impossible for me to untangle how much of the Deshawn Watson trade contract staying with him after it was very clear he didn't have. it anymore. And then the mess at quarterback since him, how much of that was Kevin Sopansky, how much of that was Andrew Barry, how much of that was the owner? And now I think you're going to get to have a fresh look, you know, a fair judgment of him. Because I think the way Cleveland has handled quarterback for the entirety of his tenure was a disaster. Now, maybe that was, none of it was on him. Maybe part. So moving on from Baker, all of that, I think, was a mess. but I don't know where to assign that blame.

So you give him credit because of what he was able to do, despite not having the quarterbacks, but how much say did he have in that? Now we're going to get a fair read on it, and like you said, a winnable division with talent. You kind of know where to assign that. I have a feeling it's the home. I sure, but I just, I want to see it in this situation.

It felt to me like he was the least culpable, but I still want to see it. All right, let's quickly go to Tennessee. Big Bob Sala, he's got another job. And listen, when he was with the Jets, they had an awesome defense, couldn't get the offense right. He goes to the Niners. I think he's certainly in the running for a coordinator of the year, assistant coach of the year, whatever that award is called. Brew, the record with the Jets was Grizzly.

It's 20 and 36. But, you know, there are only a select few coaches can have a winning season with the New York Jets. coat or brew. What do you think? Multiple, I'll tell us multiple winning season. Do you like this hire for Tennessee? I hate to sit here and just

applaud all these hires, but I think this is a good hire. I actually have questions about Sala, is it a great situation for him? Now, if he can go there and strengthen their defense, the question is just Cam Ward. We saw Sala without a quarterback, and it wasn't pretty.

All right? if Cam Ward has really turned the corner, in the last five games, he had eight touchdowns, one pick. His last four games, three times he was well over 100 pass rates. So he shows some promise. So if Cam Ward is actually going to be a good quarterback,

then I like this a lot more. So I'm going to give it a thumbs up and hope Cam Ward pans out. Yeah, it's hard from a head coaching perspective. If you get an opportunity to be a head coach of a team, I mean, it's harder than being elected to Congress. Rare. Rare. Maybe not harder.

No, I just thought it's hard to end up. But so it's hard to turn those down because you have the bad season the next year, the ball doesn't bounce your way, and you may not get another shot for who knows how long. And the other thing is, as a coach, you fundamentally believe that whatever problems there are, you can fix it. But the Jets were dysfunctional, and now he's going to another organization that's rivaling the Jets in terms of dysfunction. That's my worry, man. The ownership there has been a mess. They have no talent.

Yeah, I mean, Jeff Simmons is a great player. Cam Ward is a great prospect, who is an unknown. And other than that, there's nobody. I worry about that exact same thing for him. I think it's crazy. For him or for the team? For the team. Like, Sal is a good coach on the defensive side of the ball,

Now you have entrusted Cam Ward's rookie contract to a non-offensive coach when you are going to need to really coach up that side of the ball to overachieve. I just think it's risky. The whole thing should be about maximizing Cam Ward. Get the right coordinator. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, this is a philosophical disagreement. We don't have time to get into here.

Danny saw them hire Brian Callahan that offensive wonder kind and was like, run that back. I didn't say to do that. No. No, but the next offense and genius that guy. Right process for him result. Is Luke Getsy available? Time now for afternoon headline.

Hilton afternoon headlines sponsored by Hilton Garden Inn. Hilton, it's for the stay. Last two MVP winners, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are currently without coaches. The Ravens failed to make the playoffs. Buffalo was another second round exit. A little context here on how rare. it is. New head coach, if you have an MVP, that's 30 or younger. So it happened 45 years ago with the Colts twice. The only other times it happened was the Packers with Favreve,

Mike Holmgren left on his own. He wanted more power. He left for Seattle. They had one year of Ray Roads. It didn't work. Went to Mike Sherman. So they didn't fire him. Dick Vermeal retired. So we've really in modern football, ever seen this, and now we've seen it twice in a week, where you have an MVP in his prime, and they fire the head coach and bring someone else in, which make these just objectively brew two of the best jobs in recent NFL history. Which job do you think is the better job? Ravens, because one, I like the GM better, Eric DeCosta, than Brandon Bean, and the stability of the franchise. So before Sean McDermott got to Buffalo, they had had seven coaches in 12 years.

So if they like if you get hired there in the first or second year, because Rex Ryan was there a year and a half. Doug Maron was there two years. So if it goes badly or you start slow and you never kind of recover, your job's in jeopardy. So whereas Baltimore has just had a few coaches, you know, before Harbar was Billick. You know, Ted Marshall Broder, three coaches, right. So the stability of that franchise, obviously you've got, I think you have more talent on the roster in Baltimore. Now, Lamar or Josh is like this.

If you want to give the advantage to Josh because he's healthier, you know, he doesn't, Lamar has had these injuries. And if you, I think Derek Henry's in a different class than James Cook, but Cook is younger. So if you want to go to that. But overall, I'm still taking the Ravens job. for the reason I said. Yeah, there's three prongs that you really have to look at.

So you've got to look at the quarterback and what style do you like? Do you like Lamar's style better? Do you like Josh's style better? And that's more of a preference of how you want to run your offense. That's one component. Then you talked about the front office. And with the bills, we saw the tweet yesterday. They've had two pro bowlers drafted outside of Josh Allen since Josh Allen's been there.

The difference now, the Ravens, since in that same time period, So not just when Lamar's been there, but since Josh Allen got to Buffalo, they've drafted nine pro bowlers. So they've been a lot more successful. And that personnel group has been there 30 years. So I sat in the interview with Ozzy Newsom when we interviewed Eric DeCosta out of college to come in as an intern. So he's been there. Yeah, I remember. The suit didn't fit really well.

Had a good interview, really bright. But the salary cap guys, he was in Cleveland with us. He went over there. Pro personnel. He's been there 30 years. So that group has been so ingrained, but that also means they're going to do it their way. And you might have a little bit more influence in personnel in Buffalo, but who knows? And then the final component is ownership.

And to your point, I would imagine now that McDermott's gone, ownership may be more involved. And that was one of the knocks when they bought the Sabres, is there was success early, but then they fired five head coaches and they had a bunch of GMs. So maybe this is a little bit of a power redistribution from an ownership perspective. and that could be more meddling, where with Steve Boshadhi, he's going to hold you accountable, but he's not in the building every day

trying to figure out what you're doing. Like, if it's good, he'll be out of the building. He's got a sick boat. Yeah, he's got a lot of cool stuff going out of his life. You do your job. I'm going to hold you accountable, but I'm not going to be involved day to day. So I think it's the bills,

but I'll concede all the points that you guys said about the organization. You just think it's Josh Allen, right? Correct. Yeah. Yeah, I just, you're not a big, Lamar fan.

Well, no, I, listen, I marvel at his talent, but if you said, like, next, who's going to have the better next five years? Because it's not about two MVP's V-1. It's not about both of their playoff failures of the past. It's about, like, whose next five years are going to be better. And I agree with this piece. I bet on Josh's next five years over Lamar's next five years. And don't you think, like, comfortably?

Oh, I don't know about comfortably because I think Josh could have a short prime as well. Like, I think for some of the same reasons. Takes a lot of hits. Right. I mean, he gets beat up. He takes more hits than Lamar. He's been more durable, but he takes more hits. But go, I don't.

Yeah, well, no, I mean, been more durable, bigger, stronger, better pure passer. Like, I do, so I do think that I would comfortably bet on Josh's next five years over Lamar's. And then this is something that I would factor that it seems like no coach does. Because I said, I was like, man, Sean Payton wants to go to the Broncos and compete with Harbaugh and Herbert and Reed in the homes. I do think, like, if you take the bill's job, you have two dysfunctional teams in your division, the Jets and the Dolphins. If you take the Ravens job, the Browns are dysfunctional, the Bengals have Joe Burrow, the Steelers are one of the best organizations in football. Like, it's just, the AFC North is a tougher division to win in consistently than the AFC East. Maybe.

I mean, if the Patriots are for real, then you got them to deal with. And right now, nobody in the NFC North, other than the Ravens, like, I mean, the Bengals got Burrow, But there's a lot of problems there. I think the Steelers are a black box right now post-time. And so I had a story, you know, I would have, and the Patriots have ascended so high. A year ago, I totally would have agreed with you that the bills are in like the worst division in football or the best for them. And the Ravens are in the toughest. It now feels a little more unsettled.

I also, I agree with you, however, I also would take the bill's job because the, other thing that you have going for you is your quarterback is under contract. And I understand the Lamar contract has been put to the back burner because you've got to figure out that coach. I don't think that is going to be a carefree negotiation. And so I just think you would, whoever walks into the Ravens job is immediately walking into, you know, what is going to be a tough negotiation, I believe. Live from New York.

It's the show. No, we don't do that. the OT anymore. It's the show that Mrs. Kevin Wilde wishes him well and we'll see him back tomorrow. It is first things first. Indiana just won its first ever national championship. We break down how this run will be remembered. Also, it's top 10 Tuesday. Danny tells us the players who will decide championship weekend. It is not necessarily the 10 best players of championship weekend. It's the 10 most impactful. Yeah, who are going to have the biggest say in the wins or the losses?

Wow. Nuisance. I love it. And finally, Josh Allen needs a new coach. Break down who will be the best fit in Buffalo. I say Bill Belichick. Everyone else is wrong. I'm Nick Wright alongside Chris Broussard, Danny Parkins.

Danny, which unproven 31-year-old would you like to cross Josh Allen's future to? Actually, guys. Because he calls fancy plays. I'd like to make this announcement. I'm going to be missing a show in a couple of days. Interviewing for the Cardinals, John. Yeah, see that Danny? Can you draw fancy plays on a whiteboard?

Can you properly double down in blackjack? You have enough to be the head coach of Danny Barkins football team. You understand that you should throw on first down? Yeah, there we are. I or me. But we start with the national championship. Indiana takes down Miami to culminate what was an awesome college football playoff with a really really,

really, really good national championship game to hoist the school's first ever national championship trophy. IU finishes a perfect and to be totally honest, incomprehensible 16 and O. Fernando Mendoza wins the Heisman and the MVP. Kurt Signetti gets to finally smile and enjoy a few postgame beers. Here he is after the game. Take a listen. What the outside public thinks, we don't control. It's a great story. Tremendous story. Most people will tell you that are in the note,

probably one of the greatest stories of all time in terms of a team expect that most people, what we got done. So, you know, we're going to enjoy this moment. Take a day off tomorrow. Get back at it Wednesday. we had Kurt Signetti on the show, Big Ten Media Day. Indiana was coming off what was an incomprehensible season last year, going 11 and 1 before losing in the playoff.

But they had gotten blown out. They were 100 to 1 to win the championship. And most people thought, obviously, Signetti's a very good coach. It's amazing already what it did in Indiana. Last season was probably as good as it. it'll get, you know, they'll settle in to being nine and three, 10 and two, which would, for Indiana, would be fantastic. They'd build a statue for him.

So this was literally four months ago, at least to me, incomprehensible. Danny, how will you remember this Indiana team? As the team that recalibrated what is possible in the sport. This is something that could not have happened before. NIL in the transfer portal. It was impossible. They're a basketball school. They did not prioritize football.

They did not have the money for football. They did not really care about football. But they get the right coach and they get the right money backers. I mean, Mark Cuban is, he's got the money. And he's back in the team. Can I ask something that there real quick for you? But it's, but they, this isn't a Phil Knight or T-Boon picking situation. Like, it's not as if we, Indiana is spending.

more on NIL than any other. And so I just want people to understand, yes, that changed it. But this, they were not the most expensive roster and they didn't, they didn't pillage Georgia and Alabama and the transfer. That's not what I'm saying, though. The system that has set up for those types of things to happen has just now leveled the playing field. Sure.

And Indiana took advantage of it in a way that in the old system, the history of college football, Indiana would have never been able to take advantage of it with that way. So, like, it's, it just changed everything, man. Like, they have a great coach, a great quarterback. They took advantage of the system. And it gives hope for whatever program you root for, if you care about college sports. Like, that Syracuse could win a national championship in football, that whatever you're fill in the blank punching back, they were the losingest program ever, the most.

Number one, most losses. And so we can talk about the quarterback and the coach and the ways at which they played it. But how will I remember it 20 years from now as one of the most unlikely champions in all of sport, but also in this sport specifically, the one that showed everyone else that it was possible? Well, it'll probably put more pressure on these coaches at these mediocre schools. Like now at Syracuse, it's like if you can't get us into the playoff. In five years, what are you doing? We just watched Kurt Signetti do what he did in Indiana.

So it could be a double-ed-short for some of these coaches. But to me, I'm sitting here, and as I was watching Signetti on the highlight there at the press conference, I'm just thinking, and I've been thinking this, how did he do such a great coaching job? And I'm not saying I didn't think he was a good coach. I'm just saying this coaching job is fantastic. They didn't. They never missed a tackle. When they committed a penalty,

you were shocked. They never turned the ball over. Like all of the things we attribute to coaching. And just over to lift a program, I get it. You're right. There were a lot of transfers, but transfers from James Madison.

Right. Last night, they sat on the broadcast, they were giving up 53 pounds per person on the offensive versus defensive line. Because Miami's offensive line is huge. I mean, it was, and then the blowout Alabama, to blowout Oregon, to beat what many would say was a more talented Miami team, right, in this game. Like, I'm sitting here like, this is incredible.

And we obviously have had some fantastic coaches. What he did, it's just hard for me to fathom when you look at where the transfers came from. where the quarterback came from, all of that, where Indiana's program has been historically, and he immediately turns them around, and then the second year they win the national championship, pretty much going away, and to be the first team since the 19th century,

since the late 19th century to go 16 and 0. This is Nick one of the best, this could go down. They're not the best team. team ever, but this could go down as the best college football season ever. 16 and 0, tough schedule.

You ran through, you beat Penn State and you ran through Ohio State, or you beat Ohio State, ran through these teams in the playoffs. They beat Ohio State to get the number one overall seed. They then annihilated Alabama, annihilated Oregon, and then beat Miami head up

when Miami had been arguably after September, the second best team in college football. In Miami Stadium. In Miami, Miami who had gone through a gauntlet to get there and outplayed one at A&M and beat Ole Miss, Miami beat Ohio State. Like, it is, and they, it was a start to finish

as close to a perfect game as you can pitch as a team. All year long, they didn't lose the turnover battle once. the entire season, which we can show you the graphics on this. So this century, them in Florida State, pretty good. In the playoff, again, it's three games, but no one else prior to two years, last year had played more than two. They never trailed in the playoff. That's, it's them in the 2020 Bama team that again, that's only two games.

Right. So every other team, even though they'd only played two games in the college football playoff era had trailed at some point you win the championship and have the Heisman trophy winner that's only happened five times this century

and those are all for different reasons very memorable iconic teams or seasons from the player and it also you were talking about what it means for Syracuse it reframes things like I'm trying to pick on the guy because I've been critical.

Lane Kiffin's saying, got to leave. Ole Miss, if I want to win a national. Ole Miss is, Ole Miss is football history compared to Indiana's. Ole Misses recruiting base compared to Indiana's. Apple's bowl is. Right, is laughable.

And I think that is Kiffin misreading it. I don't think that's him using that as an excuse to go to L.S. I think that's him misreading the climate. But I totally agree with you. But this football year, pro and college, has been a real reminder. If you have the right coach and the right quarterback, you are instantly competitive. It's the Chicago Bears with Ben Johnson and Caleb. It's the Patriots with Mike Brable and Drake May.

You guys get mad of me. It's the Jags with Liam Cohen and Trevor Lawrence. It's Indiana with Kurt Signetti and Fernando Mendoza. Big four. No, I'm just saying teams that all of those teams, except for Indiana actually, last year, were four-win teams. And they transformed it. And so I'm from the Midwest. What Bill Snyder did at Kansas State, which had been the worst program ever, was considered the greatest job in college football history.

Because he took a team from the depths Indiana was at and made them a perinian. top 25 team that twice late in the year. It's like, could they play for a national championship? And it's considered the greatest job ever. This guy is 27 and two with a title two years in. In a three-game playoffs. Right, right. The whole gauntlet.

All right, let's talk about his quarterback for a second before we get to Danny's top 10. So, Whole Raiders front office, Tom Brady, our colleague, GM, John Spitech, owner Mark Davis. Head coach might have been in attendance too. We don't know who that is. Who knows?

Raiders have the number one pick in April's draft. Danny, do you think Fernando Mendoza can turn the Raiders around? Does he seem like a Raider? I don't know. He did drop an F bomb. He praised God. That was shocking.

That was shocking. So, yeah, like, I got to be out of it. He is going to be the number one pick. I'm almost positive. He will be the number one pick of the Raiders. But just like his personality and vibe and aura with the history of the Raiders. But who's the last excellent Raiders quarterback? Rich Gannon.

Rich Gannon is a very nice guy. I'm just saying optically. You're looking for the next Kenny Stain. Kind of. Like, I'm just like optically, it's a little weird. But I do think Brady would see all of the things that Mendoza seems to represent in terms of between the ears and what you said about intangibles. I'm sure he's going to be a raider.

I would just say they don't have a lot of talent. in a year where there are not a lot of quarterbacks, if there is a surefire number one pick quarterback, you probably could get five or six teams bidding on trading up to get him. It makes the pick more valuable even if he isn't the level

of prospect. Because there isn't a second place. That part I agree with that. Even if he's not, if he's an eight out of ten prospect versus a nine and a half out of ten, if the second best quarterback is a four out of ten, that's me. Does everybody think he's an eight?

I mean, this year has been great. And so. But he's clearly the number one quarterback in the class without, is, if the numbers two is Ty Simpson, then there isn't a number two that's worthy of a top 10 pick. The odds makers say he is a 70 to one favorite right now to go first overall. Right, you've got to bet $70 to win one. He's going first overall, probably to the Raiders. I would just, I personally would shop the pick because if he isn't that, if he isn't that level of prospect as like a 10 out of 10 guy, and you might be able to hold the whole league hostage

because of how many teams need a quarterback. And we just saw what the Bears did in the trade with the Panthers. And I understand they ended up getting the number one pick back for Caleb. It's just I would not turn in the card today if I was the Raiders because I do think that you could host a bidding war. No, look, it never hurts to listen and see what you could get because obviously they need help in a lot of places. But right now my thinking would be I'm drafting him.

I'm not trading the pick. And again, I would listen. But I, quarterbacks, I don't want to say crap shoot, you know, in the draft, but obviously it's hard. Nobody is a surefire hit. But he does have, he's 6'5s,

225. He's got the size. And I love, as you said, the intangibles that he has. We saw that touchdown run. He's got heart. He's got toughness. He is accurate.

He's got, you know, he makes quick decisions. He processes well. The mental things it takes to succeed in the NFL, he does have, and with his size, he doesn't have the strongest arm, but is strong enough. And his athleticism is athletic enough.

So I would go with him and see if I can turn him into my franchise quarterback, because if you get that, then you can put the pieces around him. And they already have a few pieces. Danny knows the Raiders are going to take him. They're going to take him. Danny just doesn't want another quarterback in the AFC West that doesn't melt in the playoffs.

I've seen Bo Nix. Bo Nix just played a better playoff game than Justin Herbert's dreamt about. Fernando Mendoza just played three straight better playoff games than Herbert's ever had. We know who Mahomes is. It's just his nightmare. I just don't need these drive-bys on Herbert. I haven't brought a moment in the whole day. Of course.

Nightmare. All right, Danny. Time now for top 10 Tuesday. Just four teams remain, which make a third. makes the top 10 list of teams impossible. Danny had to get creative this week's edition of Top 10 Tuesday. It's not the 10 best players. It's the 10 players who are

going to have the biggest impact on championship Sunday. You love this. You love Devinvin Wetherspoon. Devon Witherstone. Devon was out of Illinois, second team all pro. Oh, okay. Illinois is a small piece of it. Listen, Pooka Nakua. I would never forget about Pooka Nakua, but Pooka Nekua has

dominated the Seahawks in their two matchups. But when Wetherspoon was the closest guy to him, one catch in the in the in the two games so he's got devante and puka he makes a big impact in that spot if he can limit one of those guys he's going to be great number nine cheating a little bit the broncos running backs they only had 10 carries last week they're hoping to get jk davens back if you've got jared stidham at quarterback you probably need a little bit of a running game they were a great rushing offense the first half of the year since week 10 they're the 28th ranked

rush offense in the nfl get jk davens back help out stidum that'd be big for them coming in At number eight, Jackson Smith and Jigba. This is just a, he has been, for him, oddly quiet in his production, the last three games. But over the course of the whole season, we have not seen a receiver dominate his share of the offense in over a decade in the NFL. He attributed for 44% of their passing offense, JASN. You go back for receivers, highest percentage of teams he are. Shout out Brandon Marshall. You got to go back to Brandon Marshall in 2012 in 2012.

12, two Bears receivers. How on earth is this an all-time receiver stat that two of the top four are Bears receivers? I'm as shocked as anybody, but it really speaks to like they just had one good receiver. Right, right. Lack of depth. And they just throw it to that guy the whole time. So JSN, he can make a big impact on championship Sunday. Hot take, I know.

Coming into number seven, the Patriots offensive line. This is such cheating. Well, they're going to got 20 people on your top 10. So it's kind of like a mountain. Yeah. If you look at the Patriots offensive line, specifically the, left side of the offensive line. Big yikes. Will Campbell, top five pick. The left side of the offensive line allowed 124 pressures this year, right side only 74. Going against the Broncos

pass rush. It'll be a huge story in this game. Patriots O line needs to step up. Number six, our first quarterback makes the list. Jared Stidham. If I carried the one and added the two, this is the number of pass attempts for Jarrett Stidham this year. There'd be zero. One of two teams where their backup quarterback did not even throw a pass. All six. season is the fewest starts ever for a career for a guy making a start on championship Sunday. Sidham only has four career starts coming in the other team do you know it would be the Rams. Oh wow with a backup quarterback who did not throw.

Yeah it's for Rams. Set it right there on the graphic. Oh sorry. That's not a problem. Okay. Uh, coming in number five, Kenneth Walker the third. Oh yeah. Charbonnet's injury. Keep Stafford off the field. Had the monster game last week with 116 yards.

Obviously the A TEL for Charbonnet. They're going to on Walker tremendously in this game. And number four, Nick Benito. I think the league definitely knows. I think the general public knows. Their sacks certainly got a ton of attention this year as a team, but this guy is just a bona fide superstar. When you combine pressures and then actual production,

14 or more sacks, 75 or more pressures, Miles Garrett, Aidan Hutchison, and Nick Benito. He's gonna be lining up over Will Campbell a ton. That home crowd, that noise Benito could have an absolutely monstrous game. And then at number three, the run on quarterbacks begins. Drake May. In the regular season, spectacular. Might win the MVP.

In the playoffs, four touchdowns, five turnovers, six fumbles, three lost. Drake May, going to need to get it done. Expected to get it done, given Jared Stidham is on the other side. Coming in at number two, everyone's All-American. Matt Stafford, he's got three road playoff wins with the Rams. He's got seven wins overall. He's obviously spectacular, but he's going up against the Mike McDonald defense. And coming in at number one, most impactful player on Championship Sunday, it's Sam Darnold.

He either changes the narrative completely, but right now he's on this list, quarterbacks who have struggled in two matchups, lowest pass the rating against a divisional opponent team that you play twice in one year. J.J. McCarthy against Green Bay. That's Darnold against the Rams? Yeah, almost saved this one for PAC stats. It was that good. Gino against the Chargers.

So he has not been good, obviously, against the Rams. That's a tragic triumvirate, man, and Gino's my guy. So it's going to go one way or the other for Darnel here. Not a great company. Brew? I'm going to move Stidham up just because, I mean, obviously he's going to be a huge factor in this game. But look, if the guy that created the list can cheat, so can I. I'm throwing a coach on Sean Payton.

Sean Payton's got a backup quarterback, and he's going to have to figure out a strategy. He ain't going to figure out a strategy to minimize Stidim. Okay. And obviously the run game's going to be huge. You have to run against the Patriots. And then your defense is going to have to shut down. Drake may keep it low scoring.

So Stidham doesn't have to be too big of a factor. I agree, brew. He's not a player. He's a coach. But he will have a big impact. Your top 10 players. which actually, at a minimum, is 15 guys. Because the seventh player is five people

and the ninth player is at least two. That's right. Somehow only has one Los Angeles ram and does not have Puka Nakua. Well, yeah. Who I'm going to go, yeah, where is Puka Nakua? To which I'm going to give you the option to either spend 30 seconds explaining

the indefensible or look into the camera and tell America he was on your initial list and then you edited it and you forgot to put him back on it. Or you think he's not that impactful. Listen, I think it's just a given that Pook and a Kuku is going to have a great game. It's like a baseline expectation. It's too obvious. You just said Devin Witherspoon held him to like, you're like when Devin Wetherstone is within six ingradients of him.

Listen, I don't, I, I, I think Pook and Naku was important. Yeah, no, I think he's important too. I think he matters. Is it possible that in my initial text, Puka was on there and in the final draft, he was not. It's possible. But the thing is, Willie Colon's outside and we've got to go. Okay. Well, yeah, I think Puga probably should be on the list.

I don't know. I maybe, I maybe forgot him. What are the, it's possible. It's possible. It's possible. Will he's going to come to him. We'll finally talk some Caleb around here. Talking Caleb?

First thing first. Welcome back to the OT. We go to Chicago where Caleb Williams spoke with the media to reflect on just the gut punch end of the Rams, but the overall successful season and how that is fueling him. You know, he wants to build on it. First guy ever. Oh, I bet. Yeah, shocking, right?

On what lies ahead. Take a listen. You see what you have to do. You figure it out. And when you get knocked down, you get back up. And so, you know, that's what we're going to do. That's my mindset. And so, you know, we never stay down.

as a team. I think we've shown that this year. We never stay down. We keep fighting. We keep fighting. And so bringing that mentality into next year. So I've been asked in some interviews, I've been heckled with it on social media, like, oh, your team's going to regress. Caleb can't do all those things. You can't live with those miraculous plays. And so the question is, will the bears pick up right where they left off? And I will just say, like, I'll concede it.

They are going to be a very popular pick for regression. But here's the two places I think that they are most likely to regress. Leading the league in takeaways, they had 33. That probably will not happen again. There's not a ton of year-to-year consistency on that in the NFL. And an underrated thing that we're not talking about much on the show, but coach, you guys will both really respect this, actually. They were remarkably healthy on the offensive line.

Yeah. Left guard to right tackle. Especially after the year they had prior to that. Right, right. Last year it was a disaster. This year, we can show it just real quick so you can see it. I mean, four of their five starters played 94% of the snaps or more. That's one of four teams in the NFL with four players at just the 90% threshold or more.

So, like, those two things are likely to regress. But what is going to get better is their offense. Like, Caleb Williams will be better. Luther Burden will be better. Colston Loveland will be better. Roma Dunzee will be better. And so will some things regress? Yes, but I would imagine Caleb Williams and his talent,

year three in the NFL, year two in the system, will be enough to cover for some of the points where I completely agree they will step back, coach. Yeah, one of the biggest fallacies in sports is the idea that you get to start where you left off. And I think it's one of the biggest mistakes that teams make. And after we won our first Super Bowl, we thought that we could, to some degree, go roll the ball out there. And we were the New England Patriots and teams were going to lay down for us. But the truth is that you've got to do all the things that you did well the year before,

but you've got to do them better because people prepare for you differently. They look at the games differently. They study you harder. And they're not taking the bears for granted like I'm sure a lot of people did early on and they're not going to sneak up on anybody. And the other part of it is a good friend of mine, Teddy Atlas, the boxing trainer. He used to always say success is like a martini. It relaxes you.

And that's something that you've got to learn too. In athletics, we teach guys how to deal with adversity. there's not a lot of teaching on how to deal with success and understanding how to make sure that you still approach things even though you have had those positive experiences. Yeah, I think it's interesting because you talked about regression. I think if you look at the division itself, you're talking about their two rivals in the Green Bay Packers

and Minnesota Vikings, they're regressor, right? Because Jeff Hathley is now the Dolphins head coach and Brian Flores is looking for his next spot. And I also think right now a few of the bears, And I'm leaning on your side. I feel like Caleb is no longer a secret to anybody, but on top of this, springboarding of their success, it's okay if their campaign going into next season

is Super Bowl bus. I'm fine with that being their theme, considering that you talk about the offensive line, you talk about the weapons, they got to figure out what the hell happened to DJ more. I think they didn't get enough out of him. But defensively, Dennis Allen walked into the season saying, hey, this is all we have.

It's all eyes on getting Caleb better and revamping this offense. Now you go into this offscenes and saying, all right, look what we have on defense. How can we make that better? Who are we going to keep? Who are we going to let go? And put some money where they can actually get a pass rush and beef up the interior of this defensive line for the Bears. If that's the case, I feel the Bears can be in the NFC championship because you got Caleb in year three under Ben Johnson system.

Yeah, I just want to see how Caleb reacts to this offseason. Because remember, he came in the league. He told the punter, don't worry about it. You're not going to have to punt. He had all of that. He was a year early on that. Yeah, he had all of that overconfidence. And look, confidence is a great thing.

Arrogance is what eventually gets you beat. And going into this off season, does he realize all the things he still has to work on? Is he going to every single day be doing that? Are we going to see 15 commercials, you know, all the other stuff besides the work? Yeah, I will just say, like, so I've watched every press conference the guy's given this year. And shortly after they lost that game to the Rams, he was talking about how he's got to work on his footwork this offseason so that he can improve his accuracy and he can't wait to get together with all of his past catchers, tight ends and receivers, before the OTAs in the mini camp, so that they can keep what he was talking about as like their momentum and their build on their offense going into the off season. So he said all of the right things about that. And maybe this has accused me of being biased.

I think he is too talented to not be able to improve on hitting the layups. Like the thing that, like, Caleb Williams is more talented than a guy who completes 59% of his passes. He just wasn't this year. Like, I firmly believe that he has the ability to improve on that.

Yeah, you would think that he has the ability to do that. It would be shocking to me if he didn't. But what we consistently talk about are the late comebacks, the crazy, The hero ball. Yeah, the hero ball. That's what we talk about.

And for him to be able to just do the mundane really well, that would elevate him to a different level. I think it's coming. Let's go to Kansas City. Big news there. The Chiefs are bringing Eric B. Enemy back. Looks like he's going to be making a return as their offensive coordinator. He, of course, won two Super Bowls with Mahomes and the Chiefs last couple of years

with the commanders, UCLA, and then the running game coordinator for the Bears, who were the second best running team in the NFL last year. year. Coach, I'll go back to you here. What impact do you think this would have on the Holmes and the Chiefs? I really like it. And you see a guy like Josh McDaniels goes back to New England three different times the offensive coordinator and the different success he's had each time. And with Eric, what's nice is obviously Andy has a real high comfort level with him and they understand each other well. There's so many things that they shared together that you don't have to go through that learning curve between head coach and coordinator. And

Patrick Mahomes obviously had to sign off on this. And it's the same thing. When your best player signs off on your offense coordinator, that's another huge step. And for Eric, what's great is he knows the system. He can bring other ideas in from places he's been, but there's no learning curve for him. He knows how mini camps run. He knows how training camps run. He knows what Andy likes from a meeting perspective.

So they should be able to hit the ground running. To me, this is a great hire. Yeah, I mean, it makes sense. I think two questions I have is, one, how can he get the run game back up in Humming? I think that was a big factor when it was averaging 30 points a game when he was the O.C. And on top of that, how will he adjust to the new Patrick Mahomes? Patrick Mahomes, this is the biggest injuries he's dealt with in his career. He won't, I don't think he will be as mobile.

I think you have to now wrap your eye, the playbook around what he can do in current time. Because when he was young, Patrick Mahomes, he was a menace. He was the baddest in the land. I don't know what version we're going to get. So that's going to be an adjustment for Airbnb. enemy and I think also you know Andy Reid is the final he has the final say on what comes off the sideline right that was the biggest knock against Eric Barry enemy when he was looking for a new position was like year you had the install you drew it up but did you give the final say it all went through Andy Reid so how much power were Eric B&me now have as the new OC coming into this campaign so I like it I love Eric Bainte I always been a fan of him obviously I like him as a player honestly when he was in Colorado but overall man I thought he's done a hell of a job hopefully he can work with this time around? So I've covered two NFL teams, like in the cities, the chiefs and the Bears.

So those are where I know most of the people that I know in the NFL. And the people of those organizations will tell you about Eric B. enemy, that some of it is the coaching piece of it, like the stuff that you would traditionally think in an offensive coordinator, but you're right. Andy Reid calls the plays. He might say that other guys, he calls the plays. But Eric Bienemy is one of the great, like, accountability coaches, that he coaches stars hard.

Like Travis Kelsey speaks. I'm like the impact that he made on him. He doesn't coach the tight ends, but Patrick Mahomes. He is a guy who coaches everyone hard and is very intense and all of that. And then the results are undeniable. And so we'll just show you the results because it's a lot of firsts. He's there during the first and he's not there during the middle of the pack stuff. But to your point, like, I don't really believe that that is because they lost the genius of Eric B.

enemy. Is that a causation or correlation thing? I tend to think it is more correlation than causation. So I would have been interested in Andy Reid going outside of his circle of trust here. Was Tyreek Hill in that team? For four of those five years at the beginning. That was a big piece of it. I mean, so you're talking about explosive plays.

And you're talking about dialing up things that can really fit the strength of that team at the time. This is a different roster, right? And so this is what he now has to be accompanied to, no run game and no explosive plays. and you don't know what's going on with Travis Kelsey. Those are all question marks he's going to have to answer going into this. Yeah, he doesn't have a magic wand, but it is a really good fit, and they should be able to hit the ground running. Yeah, I'm just saying, I don't think he's going right back to firsts.

Like, I don't think Eric B. Enemy brings you back to first across the board, but I know everyone in Kansas City is thrilled to get him back. Tons of coaching news coming up here, including names circling around and who gets to coach Josh Allen. We'll make our suggestions coming up on the O.T. Thanks for hanging out with us on the OT. where big news, the bills, of course, fired head coach Sean McDermott. And now, about a third of the league had openings.

Some have already been filled, though, Jeff Hathley, as you mentioned, to the Dolphins, the Fansky to the Falcons, Robert Salo to the Titans, and John Harbaugh to the Giants. So still six openings and the question is who do we want to see get the prized honor of coaching Josh Allen? And I will say separate here into two things. My gut tells me it's going to be Brian Dable. I would be surprised if this job, it's so good if it goes to a first-time head coach. I'd personally be surprised by that. And Dable and Allen having such a great relationship and Dable having head coach experience,

that makes a lot of sense. But I do think that with what Josh Allen has had going on on offense, he kind of is the offense at this point. Like this is the type of place where a defensive-minded coach would be fine, and I know McDermott was a defensive coach. Brian Flores in Buffalo is a very scary combination, because you're not going to have all of the talent and all of the resources on Buffalo's defense because of what you've poured into that offensive line and Josh Allen.

So a defensive coach who coaches up everybody, Brian Flores would be my pick of all of the available candidates coach in Buffalo. Yeah, it's interesting. Brian Daibol not only has a relationship with Josh Allen, he's been there, so he's got a relationship with ownership. He knows the building. He also grew up in Buffalo, and he could be, I mean, he's Mr. Buffalo. He loves Buffalo so much. So I think that's all really positive stuff.

But there is an element of selling it to the fan base of, okay, here, he got let go during the season. And we let go Sean McDermott with all the accolades that he had because we feel like we need to go get someone who can get us over the edge. in the playoffs. So how do you manage that dynamic with the expectation of the fan base? Not that I think it's a bad fit, but I think that's a little bit tougher. If you were in charge of the hire, though,

what hire would you make for Josh Allen? Well, that's a tough question because I would interview a lot of people and make sure that we got the right person. Obviously, the relationship that Brian has with Josh is fantastic. And to some degree, I'll give Josh or Brian the same credit with Josh early in his career of helping develop him, helping become the player that he is,

similar to the way that Josh McDaniels is doing that for Mac Jones now. I did it for Mac Jones and now is doing it. Yeah, for me, I like Chris Shula. I like him a lot. Young head coach, young potential head coach, and also he started with Sean McVeigh. But what I like about him is that he's worked in multiple capacities, lineback coach, past game coordinator. I mean, he's pretty much done it all. And now you implement him in a system where Josh Allen, to your point, is, you know, I think he's in autopilot. I think we know who he is

and what he's capable of, but a lot of the help they need in Buffalo is on the defensive side. This is where he can wear multiple hats. And I think right now, Josh Allen, especially with the new stadium, everything that comes along with Buffalo, he needs a new young face to relate to. And I think that you have that in Chris Shula. Hopefully, maybe it could happen. Man, a first time head coach getting that opportunity would be pretty incredible. Do you have a preference on where? Sean McDermott, Lance, of the six openings. He can't get the Buffalo job. So when he took the job, how many years had it been since Buffalo had gone to the playoffs?

18? Yeah. He had one playoff appearance in 17 years and it was his. And how many years have been since the Jets have gone to the playoffs? They've been since 2002. 15, yeah. 15, yeah. So the Jets.

They don't have an opening. If you look at McDermott as a person who can transit. who can transition through dysfunction and change dysfunction. And it's something that not only was functional, but won the division five years in a row and then competed at a high level year after year. That to me is... The Jets job isn't open, so you have McDermott's sitting out a year?

No, I'm not... You said where would he be your best fit? I'm saying that's the most dysfunctional franchise right now. Yeah, all right. Yeah, I got the Baltimore Ravens. Yeah. I see, for me, it feels like the most logical approach. If you felt in the beginning of the season, you had the roster of the quarterback and the defense to make a run this year.

Now you have a grown man who's not only going to show up and be the best coach you can be for that organization, but you're going to have a coach who has a chip on the shoulder. So I like Sean McDermott. I like what he brings to the table. I think I'm right here. Eight and eight in the playoffs, he has 106 wins on his belt. I think you steps into a division right now. He steps into the locker room and earns instant credibility because of his resume.

And you get somebody who's going to hold Lamar Jackson account because we don't know what's going on with Lamar Jackson. But you do know who haven't had a coach who can be disciplined, relate to Lamar Jackson, and get the best out of his players. No, it's really interesting about that. So we talked about the tweet yesterday where it said the bill since Josh Allen has been the quarterback only drafted two pro bowl players out of their 56 draft picks. Over that same time period in Baltimore, they've drafted nine. I just cannot imagine selling it to the Ravens fan base that, hey, we fired the coach who has. had the MVP quarterback who couldn't get over the hump in the playoffs to hire the coach that had the MVP quarterback that couldn't get over the hump in the playoffs.

Like John Harbaugh and Sean McDermen are kind of the Spider-Man meme looking at each other. It's the same guy. See, I don't feel that way. I feel like we knew what held Buffalo back, right? The lack of firepower and the receiving core and a deficient defensive line. That wasn't the case for Baltimore, right? They felt like they had enough to be the difference. They just need a head coach right now who I think is going to be fiery and ready to go.

So I would go McDorme. All he has to do is not crash the car. Well, John Harbaugh used to coach Lamar Jackson. He got the job and was announced today, introduced as the next head coach of the Giants. Big contract, high hopes, high praise. And everyone's talking positive. Those are his guys. Take a listen.

To be on the biggest stage in the biggest sport. I know the challenges. I understand the expectations. I know the fans are hungry for a winner. We're here with one mission to become, to earn the right, to be called the world champions in New York. And that's what we plan to do. Got to love applause at a press conference.

Coach, do you expect Harbaugh to turn around the Giants? This is going to be challenging. And we just talked about the personnel group in Baltimore. So when I was there in Baltimore, the first year the Ravens existed. And I sat in Eric DeKasas' interview, who's the current GM with Ozzy Newsom. So he's been there 30 years. The pro personnel guy has been there 30 years. The salary cap guy has been there 30 years.

That's an established personnel group with a clear vision of how to do things. And John came in and he had the benefit of that as a first-time head coach. Now, if he suddenly has a final say over the 53-man roster, over the draft picks, over free agency, that's a big, big job that he hasn't done it. And he's not saying he's not capable. But you go from that type of support group to now you're running it yourself. that that's a challenge that I don't know we've accounted for. Yeah, I mean, the Giants hired an adult who can operate the wheel.

This team was 4 and 13 last season. They were just looking for some type of stability and continuity that and a product that's respectable in the field. John Hallball brings you all that. I think right now is how can he get Jackson Dart to be the best, have that year to jump like Caleb Williams had, how can he get his defense to play a lot better? And I think he has all those underneath his tool belt.

I think right now is how does he handle the media, right? I don't think he had to deal with the scrutiny like he had to deal. Well, he will have to deal with here in New York. That's going to be a lot. You know for more than anything. It's a different dog here, especially because there's going to be a lot of pressed on him. How can he get Jackson Dart to arrive and play better than what he played this year? So can he turn around?

Yes, I think so because of what he's done in his career. But it's going to be tough here in New York. You know, I think Harbaas are pretty good with the media. I think he'll be fine with that. He's a young 63. He looks great. I'm kind of shocked that he's 63 years old. I saw him squatting the other day.

He was putting up huge weight. He said, though, he was kind of an offhanded comment, but he was asked about if he considered sitting out a year. And he's like, no, I don't have that kind of time. And I do wonder, like, if he has any regret, he took this job and then the bill's job came open. There's a much cleaner path to winning with Josh Allen than there is with Jackson Dart.

And so I kind of just, part of me thinks, I'm 63 years old, I didn't want to sit out a year, and I got $100 million to go live in New York City. And there's a lot of good restaurants, good show. It's a really good gig. And so, this won't be a vacation for it. I'm not saying it's going to. It's a really good gig until it's not. Correct.

That's my point. The check still cash. No, I know. How bad of a gig could it possibly be for $100 million? The Texard cast at all the jobs that he could have. have taken. So he's better have a conviction. I mean, you're going from Lamar to Jackson Dart. It's a pretty big. He's going to have to have an immediate impact. And I think compared to what they've had recently, he'll raise the floor there. He'll raise the floor. I got questions about

the ceiling. Welcome back to the OT. In Philly, the Eagles are interviewing some big names for their offensive coordinator job. Giants head coach Brian Dable today. He got the interview. We see from Diana Rossini here. And he, of course, worked with Jalen Hertz at Alabama. He's also receiving head coaching interest. I just saw another tweet from Tom Pellisero that Mike McDaniel has pulled himself out of the Brown's head coaching vacancy because he still could be the Raiders or the Ravens head coach and has multiple offensive coordinator options. This is an interesting job. Who do you want call and plays for Jalen Hertz next year?

You got a name coach? I'm partial to Dayball because Dayball is my offensive coordinator in Cleveland. He was my quarterback coach at the Jets. We've known him for a long, long time. So I'm parceled him, but the fact that he has a relationship with Jalen Hertz, he also has a relationship with Sequin Barclay. I think those are both very positives. And when he's had a chance to coordinate, it's been good,

and it's in a division that he's intimately familiar with. There's so much boom or bust with this job. Yeah, for me, I think you don't look no further than Brian Dayball because of the relationship you talked about. And we don't, you know, there's been so much talk about Jaylon Hurts not having anybody to trust. Well, now you have the guy who's available, right? You have to get some continuity and stability in that building.

Why not go over the guy who you know that he has a legit relationship with? And he's not going to get pushed wrong. That too. Yeah, you've got to be able to. I'll just say whoever hires Mike McDaniel for, if they get him as an offensive coordinator, that's a home run. But I think he's going to get another head coaching job this cycle. Raiders? If he gets the Ravens job, talk about your all-time come-ups.

Going from Tua to Lamar. That's what I'm rooting for. I'm rooting for you, Mike.