Green Light with Chris Long - Stephen A. Smith! Media Career, Relationships with Athletes, Dallas Cowboys, Bill Belichick's Future & a Special Appearance from Brandon Marshall!

Episode Date: March 12, 2024

A very special podcast guest today as Stephen A. Smith joins Chris and Kyle! The episode was recorded live at the Sportico stage at the Four Seasons in downtown Austin, Texas for South by Southwest. Stephen A. Smith covered many topics including his media career, maintaining a relationship with athletes, Bill Belichick's future, professional athletes in media and Stephen A. Smith's Dallas Cowboys non-fandom. We even have a special appearance from former Chicago Bear (and Kyle Long teammate) Brandon Marshall when the topic of Jay Cutler is brought up. A great conversation between professional athletes and a media member at a wonderful, live venue! (00:00) - Intro (3:10) - Chris and Kyle at the Sportico Stage at SXSW (6:46) - Welcome Stephen A. Smith (7:45) - Stephen A. Smith's Media Career (17:39) - Professional Athletes in the Media (23:40) - Building and Maintaining Relationships with Athletes (29:27) - Bill Belichick's Future (36:19) - Draymond Green's Media Career (40:00) - Kyle Defends Jay Cutler to Stephen A. Smith (45:38) - Stephen A. Smith on the Dallas Cowboys Check us out LIVE in Austin, Texas this weekend at South By Southwest! https://www.sportico.com/business/media/2024/green-light-with-chris-long-to-join-sportico-sxsw-podcast-stage-lineup-1234768328/ Want your Green Light Merch so you can look exactly like Chris and the fellas? Hit the website below and get kitted! https://stores.kotisdesign.com/yotehouse/products Have some interesting takes, some codebreaks or just want to talk to the Green Light Crew? We want to hear from you. Call into the Green Light Hotline and give us your hottest takes, your biggest gripes and general thoughts. Day and night, this hotline is open. Green Light Hotline: ‪[phone]‬ Send any Talent Search submissions to: [e-mail] Include any video of your talents, takes and bits as well as a little bit about yourself. Love hearing from the Green Light fans. Also, check out our paddling partners at Appomattox River Company to get your canoes, kayaks and paddleboards so you're set to hit the river this summer. https://paddleva.com/ Green Light Spotify Music: https://open.spotify.com/user/951jyryv2nu6l4iqz9p81him9?si=17c560d10ff04a9b Spotify Layup Line: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1olmCMKGMEyWwOKaT1Aah3?si=675d445ddb824c42 Green Light Tube YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/GreenLightTube1 Green Light with Chris Long: Subscribe and enjoy weekly content including podcasts, documentaries, live chats, celebrity interviews and more including hot news items, trending discussions from the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, NCAA are just a small part of what we will be sharing with you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I do first take. There's a lot of changes that took place over the years. There was not one single day that I walked in to my boss's office remotely concerned of being number one. I know when it comes to television, I'm coming to kick ass. I'm coming to make state claim to I'm the number one show in the morning. And ain't nobody knocking me off this perch. When it happens, I'll concede it. It hasn't happened in 12 years.

Hasn't happened in one week in 12 years. Happen hasn't one day in 12 years. That's how I roll. And so for me, that's what winners are about. You see all the challenges that are placed before you, and you can give less than a damn. Because what happens is that you're coming to take what I have. And when you embrace that kind of mentality,

you're going to be ready for whatever challenges come your way, and you're going to invite it, because you're trying to be that dude. Welcome to the Greenlight podcast. Hey, thanks for being around today. As you heard just before, Stephen A. Smith is our guest today. He was with Chris and Kyle down to South by Southwest. He popped on the Sportico stage on Sunday night with us.

We had a great conversation. Stephen A talked about his career, how he got where he is, his relationship with players, Bill Belichick, and why he didn't get a job this. cycle, the difference between having sources in the NFL and the NBA. The Dallas Cowboys, Stephen A's favorite team to hate, and a whole lot more. Stephen hits us with a couple of great stories. Kyle even rolls out with a story of his own.

You heard it on the show a couple weeks ago when Kyle talked to Stephen A. Smith at an ESPN party a couple years ago about Jay Cutler. And we had a special audience member who wanted to jump in to defend Jay Cutler as well. Brandon Marshall was actually in the crowd. He was hanging out. He had a good time. And he heard Jay Cutler's name and he just had to jump up. onto the podium to defend his quarterback.

So a surprise appearance from Brandon made this amazing interview even that much better. We have a wonderful hour in store for you. We had a great time in Austin, Texas, and South by Southwest. We hope that these folks have us back. Saw some good friends. Ran into a couple buddies. Shout out Ashley and Murphy. They were great.

Came into town just for us. But all in all, it was a wonderful weekend. You'll hear more about our great trip from all the fellas on Friday. So enjoy this interview with Stephen A. Smith, Kyle, and Chris. On the other side of the intro music, you'll hear Chris and Kyle live from the Sportico stage at the four seasons at South by Southwest. Enjoy.

Howdy, Texas? All right, I just want to be honest. I've never been holding a microphone and wanted to trade places with the people listening more because you all got a great setup. The weather's awesome. We live in Virginia. It was like 40 and raining when we left. Yeah.

So we are the Greenlight Pod. We are brothers. We are the other Kelsey's, the less successful Kelsey's. More affordable. More affordable. Better five-star crash rating. Yes. Better family vehicle.

No, but we're two or three brothers. Our dad played in the league. Dad's Howie Long. The guy with the military haircut that is on NFL on Fox, if you guys watch football on Sundays. Where the Cowboys fans out out here? I think we have one Cowboys fan working and everybody else is booing. I got a guy we're going to welcome up soon that's going to have something to say about the Cowboys. But we are just so happy to be here.

We run a podcast that centers around football, but my goal in doing the podcast is having a listenership that feels like we know each other. And I think the way to access that touchpoint is just being yourself. and talking about BS sometimes, watching like fans, which is something we never got to do as players. And talking like fans. And talking like fans. So we don't take ourselves too seriously, but hopefully we've got some things to say today about the game

and about sports media that you can walk away from here and say, hey, we didn't hear that anywhere else. And they kept it simple. So green light, check us out, wherever you get your podcasts. We are so thankful to be here. Sportico, thank you very much. South by Southwest. I mean, this thing's all about creating, I think.

And that's what everybody's doing here, whether it's music, whether it's something you watch on TV or a movie or a podcast. Like, it really holds this thing together, having, you know, different mediums that people can consume and talk about and find common ground over. So I'm so appreciative of the opportunity. And we have a guest today that I think is we talk about sports media. and I never appreciated it while I played because I wasn't a media member. But now that I have to do this for a living, watching Stephen A. Smith rant about something is like watching, I don't know. Beethoven Compose.

Exactly, dude. I mean, it's like watching Michael Jordan hit a jump shot. I don't want to pump his head up before we get him out here. I don't know if he's listening, but I just think what he does every day is so special because he has to do it every damn day. And the one thing I've learned over four or five years doing this is consistency is king, and people can tell if you really are into what you're talking about or not. And I can never tell.

Even if Stephen A. Smith is ranting about something totally uninteresting, I am convinced that he cares about it like it's game seven of the NBA finals. And I think that's what makes him great, his work ethic, all that stuff. We'll explore that more, talk a little football, a little basketball. So without further ado, in my opinion, one of the, absolute greats of our era in sports media. You know them if you watch TV or watch sports. Stephen A. Smith.

What's up, everybody? I told you we had a guest. A lot better dressed than us. Kyle walked out of the house in a camo t-shirt. And I said, Kyle, you're doing the Austin thing a little too well. How are you doing, man? I'm doing great, man. It's good to see y'all.

It's good to see everybody. How y'all doing? Good crowd out here. Yep. Show number two for you today. Yeah, but I'm used to it. You're just as usual. I beat Dan if I couldn't play.

I better know how to do something else, right? So it's all good. Well, you do it well, man, and we talked a little bit offline here about just work ethic. And when I asked somebody like Scott Van Pelt to me, somebody who kind of took me under his wing a little bit as I was transition. And if I ever want to know that the skinny on somebody, I just hit Scott up.

And I said, you know, what's it like talking to Stephen A? and he goes, one of the best in the business and nobody works harder. And that's coming from a guy that works at midnight every night. So what is it about you, consistency, work ethic that separates you in your opinion? Well, I care. I live it.

It's not something that I get up and do. It's who I am. It's a part of my fabric. I often use the analogy that if I were a billionaire and I never had to work a day in my life, what would I be doing? And a lot of it evolves around the things that I do naturally every day in terms of watching sports, going to sporting events, being a part of it, paying attention to the kind of stuff that's going on around it.

So that's a big deal, and that serves as a great motivation. But I think the other thing that resonates with me is that I'm very mindful and cognizant of who I'm covering. When I see you guys and you do what you do, just think about it. It can be anything from being in shape to showing up to work, day to trying to be a model of consistency, putting in that work, being on the grind. We literally live in a day and age where we get to hold athletes and sports figures accountable on that level. So my attitude is how dare us give anything less when we get to sit in judgment of whether

or not y'all are doing it. I mean, time, think about it. We watched a guy. I saw a guy, he'll remain nameless. but I went to an NBA game recently. This brother ran by me and he had a belly. Now, damn it, you're an NBA player.

Yeah, I might know. What the hell are you doing with a belly? That really, really bothered me. Yeah. Because I'm thinking about an 82 game schedule. I'm thinking about the playoffs coming up. I'm thinking about what you're going to be required to do. You're running slow.

You've got a belly. You clearly have been eating too many Doritos, Cheetos, or whatever the hell it is. And literally, I'm, I'm sitting courtside at the game and I'm watching this. That really, really bothered me. Well, it bothers me a lot more now that I've gotten myself in shape than it did when I was walking around with a belly of my damn self.

You see what I'm saying? And so you just look at things like that, and you take it from that angle, and you recognize the importance of accountability. And it inspires me to be accountable to myself, and that's what I love about covering sports, particularly on a professional level, because whether you guys know it or not,

you set the example of what we as human beings should aspire to be in terms of taking care of yourself. And I appreciate that. Yeah, except the guy with the belly. That's right. Western Conference team? Yes. Surprisingly Western Conference?

No. Okay, all right. All right. So geographically, there's one team in the West, I was thinking maybe. You touched on something, accountability. Dude, I totally. I watch you and it seems like you care about that responsibility when it comes to athletes.

You just expounded on that. But I feel like we're in an era where because of overexposure, because of the 24-hour news cycle, because of Twitter or X or whatever you want to call it, today's athlete, that wall between media and athlete is just a thin glass barrier. Like the back and forth between a media member and an athlete can create news. Do you feel like today's athlete is too sensitive when it comes to the consumption? Hell yes. You do.

Okay. A lot of them. A lot of them. And that's why I know most of them can't do what I do because of that sensitivity. You see, when somebody challenges me or they come at me, all I care about is are you fair and accurate. Yes. As long as you're fair and accurate and you avoid getting personal, I'm all for it. Let's get it on.

Let's have that kind of conversation because I'm not going to disrespect you. What I'm going to do is I'm going to pick apart and dissect what your argument is and whether or not it makes sense. I'm about to get Cam Newton's ass tomorrow because of something that he said, you know, I'm going to come for him. But very respectfully because I'm an admirer of his. You have respect for him. I got mad respect for him.

And I'm not one of those guys in the media that has a problem with athletes having a platform. I love the fact that athletes have their platform. I love the fact that you get to say what you want to say and you have your, your own platform to do it. Just don't go hiding because you do. Yeah. Because if you got the platform to do it, then you should be able to go on any platform and defend yourself.

I'm Stephen A. I got ESPN. I'm a member of the Worldwide Leader. I got my own platform that I own and operate. But if you ask anybody on my team, when athletes call for me to come on board, to come see them, to come talk to them,

the only thing that would stop me is my schedule. Other than that, I'm coming. Because if it were me, I would be calling you out for saying something and then hiding. I'm not going to hide. If I say something, if you want to challenge me on it, when and where. Name the time and place. I'll show up. And oh, by the way, if you're right, I'm going to say you're right. And it's not a problem. Because it's going to be that level of respect. You deserve

that as an athlete. But I'm going to show you that I deserve it as a professional. Here's what's interesting. And I, you know, I don't want to debate you, you'd probably kick my ass in that because he's always down to debate and to your credit I think when I watch you, you are not afraid to be like, yeah, I was wrong on that one which I think is the key. And it's also

it's liberating to just do that. If you've got to always be right, that's exhausting. And it's stupid. Especially when you're talking to an athlete about sports. I think one of the things that I've tried to teach athletes about me and I think

those who get to know me, regardless of whatever beefs I've had throughout the year. No athlete that has sit down and talk to me has ever had a beef with me after we've talked. Because they understand where I'm coming from and they know that it's not personal. And so for me, when I'm talking to an athlete or what have you, it's like, wait a minute,

when you got reporters and other people who never did what y'all did on your level, the greatest insult you can give to an athlete is acting like you know what they're. know you've experienced. I don't care what stats you have available. I don't care who you've talked to. I don't know, nor will I

ever know, what you guys know as former players. So what I do is I come to an athlete and say, I don't know that, but I have been covering your sport for 30 years. I do have all these connections. This is what has been said about you. Come with it. And at

that point, if I'm honest about it, you're going to respect it because I'm not coming to you. Like, I know what you know. And now we can communicate. That's the hard part as a player because we take extreme pride and ownership and I'm the player. It's a man in the arena. How could it not be personal? When I got, I work at CBS now and it became clear to me that there are guys who are 5 foot 7, a buck 50 that wear four inch thick glasses that know more about the game than I do. And that was a tough pill to swallow for me as a studio analyst. And when I listen to games,

the coupling of the intelligence of the game by these quarterbacks mostly, right? It's Troy Aikman and Tony Romo. Those are the two hot ones. He's guessing. Tony's guessing a little bit. Who do you like the most? Who do you enjoy listening to the most on a Sunday evening, 12 o'clock, one o'clock window, whatever it is? Well, for me, it's Mondays because I love me some Troy Aikman.

I just do. I think that he's straight up. I don't think he suffers fools nor foolishness very much. He tells you where he stands and how he feels. But I got to admit to you, I respect everybody. I haven't looked, whether it's Fox, CBS, NBC on Sunday night, ESPN. I have not seen any show where I've looked at somebody, and based on their acumen, said they don't belong there.

Everyone that I see talking about it belongs there. And am I going to be partial to ESPN to some degree, yes, because even though I know certain others, I work directly with a Ryan Clark, a Marcus Spears, a Shannon Sharp, a Dan Orlovsky, and others, and they know their work inside out, and they put in that work. But your knowledge is one element. Knowing how to do great television is another.

And when I think about me, it's like, okay, the theme of first take, if you really really, really look at it is it's the world against Stephen A. Smith. So I'm debating all comers. Basketball, football, boxing, UFC, tennis, blah, blah, blah. You have some fools out there as journalists who will try to act like they know what those individuals who participated in the sport know. I don't do that. Right. What I do is I've been covering this for 30 years. So I got sources all over the place. Not only do I have sources, some of who stood right

next to you. Hell, some who raised you. Some who tutored you. Some who counseled you. Damn it, in some cases, some who gave birth to you. I know all of these people. And oh, by the way, there's footage of you saying this, this, this, this, this, and that, okay?

So you deduce it as a journalist and you're saying, yo, I'm not the athlete that you were, but you ain't the journalist and the punding and the commentator that I am, let's go. You give your perspective against mine. And my attitude is 99% of the time I'm going to win, so I don't worry about it.

Well, you hit on a good thing because I think players do this too much when we're getting these arguments post-career about a media take. It's, I pull a card right away. It's, well, you didn't catch half the balls I did. Or you didn't, well, buddy, that doesn't mean you're good on TV. You know, if you were, that would mean the best thing. the game are consistently the best analysts and that's not the case.

Dan Orlowski and he's my buddy too. Step down to the back of the end zone. People make a lot of fun of Dan. I still do. I still do all the time. And I tell him to eat it up. He's great at his job. And also, you have to realize

whoever you're talking to as a pro athlete, they're special being there, period. So I always have this thing where people are like, that player sucks. I'm like, that player does not suck. That player is rare just for being there. But I would challenge you on that. Yeah.

Because it's not, you're literally speaking. You're absolutely right. Relatively speaking. Relatively speaking. What we're saying when we say that is on your level according to your contemporaries, like when Kwame Brown comes after me. I don't even want to talk about Kwame Brown, bro. Nothing but respect.

And here he comes after me. Well, you know, I'm better than you. Well, bravo, you were better than Stephen A. Smith. Really. That's your claim to fame. I'm talking about you being the former number one overall pick compared to your contemporaries.

And so, of course, you were better than me and various others throughout the world. But did you maximize your potential based on the expectations? Because we're all held to that standard. And then when you take into account salary caps, salary structure, the fact that your

position denies somebody else who may work harder, who may care, who may be better, who may have put then the sacrifices necessary in order to elevate their level of play when they're denied an opportunity because of your spot on the roster and you're not maximizing their opportunity. That's where people come in. But on too many occasions, we don't see reporters

going out of their way to explain that. And as a result, it gives folks the license to come and talk smack about you and they get away with it because you haven't articulated exactly what you meant. I happen to do that well. So I don't have that problem. I also think, though, and I don't want to push back here, Stephen, I feel like I'm on TV. This is awesome.

All right, so I kind of disagree. I'm not saying, Kwame Bryant, like, you know more about basketball than me. You watched it for years. You know the stories behind the player, right? So, like, the stories that I think, we were talking about this the other day on your show, a lot of fans don't know what's bubbling under the surface. There are select few people that do because they have sources and they talk to people and they know who to talk to. So I don't know what was going on with Kwame, but I'll say this. I do think we underestimate how much the context with which a player enters their professional sport matters

when it comes to their development and their success. And also, we put a lot on the player based upon the projections that people upstairs put on them. And they can be dead wrong. I think in our sport a lot when it comes to draft picks. I can think of a few. I feel for these guys. We were just talking about Bryce. Bryce Young. I think there's a good player in there. But the truth is we might never see it because you are so dependent on your surroundings in the NFL. There are a few guys who are special, right? The minute I saw C.J. Stroud duel it out with Joe Burrow and C.C. This year.

I was like, this guy's special. Right. But most guys, it depends on the context around him. We were talking about this the other day with Baker Mayfield. Right. He just got paid today. Right. Remember what we were talking about?

Yeah. I said the other day I would probably take Baker over Rust this year. I couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe it. He was incredulous. I would take Baker as well. Yeah, I didn't feel that way. But I could be wrong because Baker did have a good year this year.

There is no doubt about that. But I saw enough bad years to be reticent about placing long-term faith in him. Now, that's not to say he can't play. That's not to say he's a scrub because he's not. He can play? Yeah. But my question is, can I depend on you to consistently produce? You know, because you could have a good year and then there's more film on you.

You guys know this better than me. And to me, you know, I don't worry about my commentary. from this perspective. My commentary doesn't come out of thin air. It comes from the experts. It comes from people who know. I don't know football the way Kyle and Chris know football. So if I'm talking to Kyle and Christian privately,

and they tell me something, I'm going to go like this. Okay. So then when I say something and everybody's like, oh, no, you don't know what the hell you're talking about. The first thing I do is tune in to Chris and Kyle. Listen to them say the same thing, but you got no problem with them. So why do you have a problem with me?

because you're trying to question the credentials that I have as to why I'm saying what I'm saying where you can't question their credentials. And my argument is, bump the credentials for a moment. It's the intel. I got the intel from somewhere. You don't know where I got it from. I used to cover Alan Iverson.

There many times when I was covering Alan Iverson, my information came directly from Alan Iverson or Larry Brown. But I didn't say so. So when somebody's saying, oh, what does he know? And I'm going like this, how the hell you think I know? Not making it up. I'm not just saying it.

I got it from somewhere. And when you're doing that and you're making sure the audience knows that, then if they don't want to embrace it, it's all because they're hating. Because how many people really just want to hear you talk? They want to know the quality of your sources. And the one thing no one can question about it. They can try. But no one can question about me.

Everybody knows I talk to people. Yeah. You've seen the people that I've been around over the years. It's an accident. You see athletes coming on the show and we're arguing, but they're laughing. Why are they laughing? Because they know we have a relationship and I've talked to them on numerous occasions so they know where I'm coming from and it's not personal.

And we're having a good time just debating. And that's okay. How do you work that though? You know, because I'm young in the game and, you know, like I sit in a different space than you slightly where, you know, everybody's got a different voice, a different objective from the seat they sit in. And yours is information more than I, ironically. Like, I'm breaking down the game, but I don't peddle in information because it's too risky for me because I don't have established sources like you.

And I also don't have enough time to work the phones. You know, like I'm crunching film all week, which you're doing too. But how do you finesse that? I don't mean to sound like it's a, you know, it's like an evasive maneuver. But how do you finesse being friends with guys but not feeling like you're bum rushing them on a text message? How are you doing? They get a text after something happens. How you doing, man?

The first order of business is to make sure you establish the foundation of what the relationship is all about. Yeah. We can be friends as long as you're not asking me to compromise who I am as a professional. I'm coming here. Please understand you don't pay my bills. I ain't asking you to exchange Christmas gifts or have Thanksgiving dinner together. I'm going to analyze and dissect based off of what I see here, et cetera, et cetera. I'm letting you know that.

As I get to know you better, there's a trust and a comfort level that builds. So all of a sudden, Chris and Kyle get to know Stephen A and vice versa. Well, I believe I got a reason to trust you. So Chris will come to me and say something. I'm going like this. Well, he ain't never lie to me. I mean, I got to double check or whatever, but I believe him. And then all of a sudden, listen, my sources tell me X, Y, Z.

I find out that information is correct. It builds trust. It builds trust. Chris is test to me. I'm going to tell him this. Is he going to dime me out? Damn, he went on the air. He never told who I was. No, do that. Oh, yeah. He never told who I was. He never told who I was. He said up there.

Yeah, Stephen A. This happened. But don't quote me. Boom. Here it is. And I utilize the information in a way that doesn't indict or dime out, Kyle. But the information is accurate. And I utilize it in such a way that protected him but got out what he got out while refraining from giving too much. information that would have revealed him as my source and then all of a sudden he's like I can trust this guy I've been doing that for 30 years it's ballet it's ballet it's ballet listen and this is a testament of how much the St. Louis Rams absolutely sucked because nobody was ever asking me for information I didn't know I had this in my back pocket I didn't know people were exchanging information also never got any handouts I was never that guy either how do you look Chris played in New England football's different though I feel like because it is there's so much time me and my son he loves Steph Curry for the insider. I'd be like, where is?

Yeah. A good reporter will make sure you never find. Where in? But I took Waylon last week. My son, Wayland, he's just turned eight. Happy birthday, big guy. He loves the NBA, which I think is awesome. And as with kids, you're constantly hovering. You don't want to influence them, but you want them to like who you like.

It's just natural. When he told me, Steph Curry was his favorite player in the world, I was like, that's great. For his birthday, I took him up to see the Wizards and the Warriors. Pickets are easy. I don't know how much far. I don't know how much I don't know how much fatherly love that is to take your son to see the wizard. Of all the teams to watch the Wizards this year?

Damn. I don't know about that, Chris. Hey, well, listen, the kid from Gonzaga had a nice night now with the headband, the white guy with the headband. I don't know his name. Who cares. Okay, so. Who cares.

So listen. I mean, really? Hey, really. But we were sitting up there watching, you know, the insiders. I think Aldridge was, like, people are there, like, you know, those type of guys. there's a ton of time at the arena every night for players to dapp up, media members to talk off to the side.

The NFL's different. I feel like the exchange of information is a little bit more tight-lipped. And players are more afraid of of, you know, retribution from coaching staffs. It's more like the, it's like a military mindset not to conflate the two. But in basketball, it feels looser.

It feels like more of a players league, so they're not afraid to peddle in it. Well, you got different entities. You got 12 to 15 different corporations on a basketball court because of the money that getting paid, the guaranteed dollars that come with it, and the absence of control teams on the NBA level have over the individual athlete compared to that of a national football league player. And so that comes into consideration, plus the exorbitant amount of dollars. You got the average salary, average salary in the NBA right now being over $10 million.

Think about that for a second. And so when you look at it from that perspective, it puts them in a position where they're definitely, at the very least feel empowered, albeit momentarily, and you got to take that into consideration, whereas in the NFL, they damn sure may not be about it. But if you go into an NFL locker room long enough

and you cultivate sources and resources, guys will let you know. And just like you could talk to your friends or family members out here in the public, right? Once you get to know somebody, sometimes it's what they don't say. I've had players, look at me. Just look at me.

and it was a wink wink, go ahead and write that damn story because it's true Stephen A and it's time. And literally, I knew exactly what they were talking about because I've covered the team and the players long enough to know exactly what they're alluding to. That is about relationships that you cultivated. You can't get that from podcasters. You can't get that if you're a fan.

But if you're somebody that's entrenched in your respective sport, and entrenched with cultivating relationships and it spans decades, you can get away with doing that because people know you know what the hell you're talking about. It's like Stockton and Malone or something with the players in Stephen A.

It's just vision and there's the ball. You're immersed in all of the games that you play. It makes me think of a guy who's immersed that's up for a new deal, a new sport. Bill Belichick, Coach Belichick, a guy who's been entrenched and immersed for so long in playing and keeping the tight-lipped nature of the Patriot way,

he's going to probably get into the media. How do you think he's going to do it? Is there going to be a Bill Belichick pod or is it going to be up there on Sundays with James Brown? I'm going to tell you something. In New York. I think that Tom Brady, for example, is going to be a superstar in broadcasting.

Yeah. I've interviewed him. I've talked to him. I believe in Tom Brady. I think he's going to be spectacular. Trust me on this. Yeah. I don't think Bill Belichick is going to be good at all.

And it's not about his talent. It's about the fact that you don't go from not giving a damn about the audience and having virtually nothing to say for years for people suddenly caring about what you have to say. You have to ingratiate yourself with an audience to give them something to look forward to when you have the opportunity to do so. You can't be at the, you know, on top of your pedestal, literally for decades, going to winning six Super Bowls, going to nine Super Bowls as a head coach, 11 overall as a defensive coordinator and a head coach, never having a damn thing to say.

And then all of a sudden, now that you can't get a job, we're supposed to care about what you have to say. He was in his caterpillar stages. He has to be a butterfly now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And here's where the deal is, and here's how you know it. We live in an age where you see youngsters entrenched in analytics and data, quantitatively, qualitatively, looking at things a certain way, managing, analyzing it,

and speaking the language of the owners, right? Why do you think Bill Belichet don't have a job? That's the reason. Because these guys want to do what they want to do. and you know good and damn well Bill Belichick has forgotten more football than most of these people know. So once he comes in house,

who's he going to listen to? Nobody believes he's going to listen to them, which is going to disempower them and strip them of whatever potency they hope to have, which renders their job useless, who's going to hire somebody that they think is going to make their career get reduced to that?

The answer is going to be no one. And so in order for Bill Belichick to land a job, on the National Football League level, it's going to have to be a decision made by an owner himself as opposed to some young executive he's handed the reins to. Because that young executive is going to want someone other than Bill Belichick because he's going to want to be a voice that his coach is going to listen to, and there's nobody in hell that's going to believe Bill Belichick's going to listen to them.

So there's no scarcity model with, you know, like the inflation of a player that talks a lot over a long time. and you get the currency of his remarks kind of get, you know, brushed away. Bill hadn't said anything for a while, and that to me is the appeal of it. I'm more curious. You know, like when he went on game day, he does have a different side. Now, if people are into it or not, we'll see, time will tell. The thing about him getting a job is, and I agree with you, the minute he was out in the market, I worried about two things.

Number one, he hasn't interviewed in 30 years. So, like, this guy hasn't been dating in a while. You know what I mean? Like you can't take him out Real rusty Real rusty, he's a little rusty man So he might need some advice from you On the in the mailbag section

You know I don't know if I can give him any You don't use it, you lose it Yeah but I mean 30 years of not interviewing the games changed a lot You talked about analytics Owners also They don't like being Alford

And GMs If there would be a GM in that setup Because obviously you and I both know He'd want to control He'd want to buy the groceries And fix dinner Yes As Bill Parcells

say yeah that's a non-starter for a lot of you know owners and and executives so i this is not it's not an outcome that i didn't see coming and let's remember something as you look at this media industry and you look at the advent and the proliferation of the whole podcast world and what have you there are different things being utilized for monetization of purposes yeah everybody's trying to find a different way to make a buck right well if you're looking at any business what's going to get in the way of marketing your product, a lack of marketability.

You tell me one person who trusts Bill Belichick to market something for them. Think about that. I know he's going to win and ultimately winning might pull it off. Don't get me wrong. But that's applicable to anybody.

And we know what he was doing with Mack Jones over the last two years. We know they used the special teams coordinator and the defensive coordinator, which basically ruined a career. Mac Jones. We know all of these things. We know what his record has been since Tom Brady departed. Not to say the man can't coach, but damn it, when he didn't have the star players, what did he look like? So now we got to take into account his ability to talk to a media and to serve

to market the franchise. He doesn't do it. He doesn't have any interest in doing it. And I think it ultimately cost him a job this offseason. I think ultimately the problem is delegation. You know, because if he were to take his job and, you know, be a defensive coordinator, listen, the Super Bowl, those, all the Super Bowl wins, their bookended with defensive championships. You know, the early championships, Brady was not the latter years Brady, the Brady, who was so, it looked like a movie star. You saw him in the dynasty recently.

He didn't look like that back in the day. But, I mean, like, the last Super Bowl against L.A., defensive win. So I just think his problem is more delegation, and that materialized in the Joe Judge situation. you know, it materializing the Matt Patricia situation. Well, you can dissect it, and I don't think there's anything wrong with the points that you're making. But I think the overall point is more profound than you're willing to admit. Nobody gives a damn about Bill Belichick right now.

What they say is he's a six-time champion. We respect the hell out of him. We know he's a brilliant, brilliant football mind. No one cares. This is why he's so good, because when I woke up this morning, I was saying, everybody wants to hear Bill Belichick. Now you don't want to hear him anymore. There is no other side to this argument

and this is the other side to the argument. And if you don't have anything interesting to say and you got all that stuff in your brain and you're not willing to get it out, I agree with you. There's not a place for it. Who's somebody you can't wait to see? Like, matriculating in the media.

There's one for me that I think Draymond's going to be terrific. When he's on TV, I think they're cooking with gas, dude. I like Draymond's good. I think Draymond is pretty damn good. I've got a lot of respect for him. I just think that you got to, even though he's a four-time champion, you can't just plummet into the twilight. You can fade, you can't plummet.

Right. When people see that out of sight, out of mind, just like there was a model of consistency on the basketball court before that assisted in you becoming a voice off the court, you have to be that guy again. One of the things that disappointed me with Dremont when he got suspended after that latest incident with Nerkich. I think Dremont is a good brother.

I love him and I root for him all the time and he knows I'm always here for him if he needs me. But the thing that disappointed me about is that he had to take several weeks away and he disappeared. Not when you try to be new media. You don't get to disappear. I think that ultimately you get held accountable for that.

If Stephen A. Smith got in trouble, I don't get to disappear. I might go away for a weekend. You know what I'm saying? I might go to the islands for a few days. Which island? But St. Thomas. You gave it up, dude? That's home.

I'm a St. John guy. That's home for family. I'm actually a virgin Gorda guy. Right. Because, I mean, my aunt's uncles, cousins. It's family. It's all beautiful down there, man. That's right.

St. John's trunk bay, all of that. You know, you ain't lying. But what I'm saying is I might go away for a few days, but it's literally to get some sunshine and some warm weather. It's not to run from the problem. You don't get to do that when you're in the media. Because the media doesn't let you run away. When it's your turn, you don't get to hide.

And I'm not accusing him of literally hiding because I got too much respect for Draymond to do that. But I'm quite sure people advise them take a deep breath. Nah, bro. Own it. Own it immediately. Anybody can say the right things after you're away for a few weeks and you talk to the right people

and you become therapeutic and introspective in evaluating yourself and the mistakes that you made. If we all had an opportunity to do that, there wouldn't be any mistakes that were aired, okay? You got to show that you can do that in the moment. And I think that matters when you're talking about new media. That's something I had to deal with early on as a player in Chicago because of a guy that you and I both know well, number six, Jay Cutler.

Oh, this is funny. I don't know if there's any Jay Cutler fans out there, but I'll say you can hang out for a second. I'll tell a little story. So my rookie year, I got drafted by the Chicago Bears, and I got drafted to help keep Indomacan Sue off of Jay Cutler, which is impossible, by the way. That's a tough one. And at the end of the year, ESPN puts on a beautiful party at the Super Bowl every year, and Stephen A was there, and he is, you know, everybody wants a piece of Stephen A.

every once to talk to him. And I had a couple too many pops, which my dad probably advised me, do not have any pops before you go to this party because there's people in this business. And I saw Stephen A, and Stephen A was tough on Jay Cutler and deservedly so.

And I forget what I said. I had a snide remark to you, and I interrupted you in an adult. I'll tell you, you did this thing. When you put your hand on somebody's shoulder, you have no idea how that feels, bro. And Stephen A didn't say anything to me, but the look that your players give you when they say write the article,

that's a look you gave me. You gave me the, you dumb. Do the look. Do the look. He gave me this. With the eyes, dude. I apologize, but I was sensitive. You didn't need to apologize.

Listen, nobody, nobody put on the Jay Cutler palm palms more than Brandon Marshall. No, no, no. He's here. You're looking at him. They used to send me to the podium. Not even you. Not even you. Not even you.

It was ridiculous. And this is the thing that kills me. They talk so much. And first of all, you never owed me an apology. I was never upset at you, not one second. I felt bad for you. I was embarrassed. I felt bad for you because I'm like this.

These guys are just coming to the support of this dude who is completely unreliable. And you, I remember, I never once called Jay Cutler a scrub. I never once implied he couldn't play. I said, look at him. He looks like a depressed individual. He looks like somebody whose spirit You have to uplift How the hell is that your quarterback?

And then I was done. When y'all went an NFC championship game And that brother couldn't come into the lineup, all right? He had to leave an NFC championship game In Chicago, on his home turf, but somehow he can ride the bicycle. Well, if you can ride the bicycle,

you can backpedal and throw a damn football. I'm like, damn it, it's a super bowl. birth on the line. I don't want to hear all that. And so when that happened, and that damn Brandon Marshall, because I love Brandon B. Marshall's my boy. I love him to death.

When that man sat up there, I still hold it against him. He knows I will never, ever, ever let it go. I hold on to him constantly. He's right over there to the right. He knows. He knows. I've never seen.

I've been covering sports for 30 years. I have never seen any athlete. more supportive than their teammate than I saw that damn Brandon Marshall for Jay Cutler. Must be a cool guy. It must be a cool guy, Jay Cutler. While his choice in women were not bad. But not bad at all. Let's give him props for that.

Yeah, get up here, B. Markle. Be Martin. Be Marshal. Am I telling the truth? Am I telling the truth? Hold on. But Kyle, you were there, rookie.

Was Jay Cutler phenomenal in Cannes? Yes or no? He was phenomenal. You see what I'm saying? You see what I'm saying? What does that have to do with the price of tea in China? I specifically said, all I said, I didn't bring up nothing about training camp. I didn't bring him nothing about this way.

I said I have never, ever in my life, seen an athlete more supportive of their teammate than Jay Culler. Am I lying? Let me do it this way. Am I lying? Let me take you back. Let me take you guys back to 2013. What year were you drafted? That year.

Jay Cutler and I are sitting at Maestro's in Chicago, and we take Kyle. Oh, my goodness. We got a long. Pause. And now we're talking about winning the Super Bowl. Jake Culler looks at me, Stephen A. Smith, and he says, I want to win two Super Bowl. I say, okay, cool. But he says, I want to win two Super Bowls in four years.

That's what he said. Oh, my God. Good thing. And now we get into camp. and Jay Cutler, he is throwing a football like he's Picasso. Was he not? Yeah, it was a good, you did a good job. Picasso's all over the place.

You wouldn't have been speaking about Jay Cutler the same way I'm speaking about Jay Cutler. Hey, bro, he had a canon. Now, all the other stuff, what he couldn't put together, whatever, I'll just say this about Jay. I really enjoy working with him inside the NFL. You would like him at the desk. We ain't talking about this side of the NFL. We're talking about the field.

This is a sidebar, Steve. Come on, y'all. Y'all need to stop it. See, this is what Brandon Marshall does to people. This is what he does. This is what he does. This is what, listen, there is nobody. Let me.

You're dealing with the new media now. If you want a teammate, you want Brandon Marshall as your teammate. Because this brother right here, I mean, put on the Jake. I never knew Jay Cutler had palm palms to tell Brandon Marshall. Yeah. Okay. This dude, I never once said anything about Jay Cutler's physical abilities to play the quarterback position and the throw the football.

I said he is uninspiring. He does not lead. And when it counts most, this brother will let you down. And I challenge anybody to show me a quarterback that could not back pedal in the pocket. That literally

would take himself out of an NFC championship game with a birth to the Super Bowl on the line. But in that same moment, is on the sidelines, peddling in a bicycle, showing that he was, he was ready for Peloton class. But couldn't drop back the past.

You tell me who that dude is. I got a hot take. Maybe he's riding the bicycle trying to warm up so he can back. Why the hell did you get back in there? He had plenty of time. The word on the street was it was off the bone. It tore off the bone. Really?

Yeah. Was he on a bicycle yes or no? It was a Kurt Schilling situation. It was a Kurt Schilling situation. It was a Kurt Schilling situation. There was blood on the socks, Stephen, eh? You know what? How did we see blood on the socks of Kurt Schilling?

because he was on that damn mound throwing that pitch. Okay, okay. That's why. Okay, touche. Tushay. Y'all got to stop this. This is me y'all talking to. You got to stop this, man.

Not eight, since we got your RPM's up right now, the one question I always wanted to ask you this. Are the Cowboys videos where you're in your house and you look like you're alone, which is hilarious to me that you're doing it? Sometimes. That's what makes it so entertaining to me is you're just like sitting there and you're like, I'm going to do it. It's hilarious. It's hilarious. Go in the other room, throw my cowboy hat on, put the camera up here. I hate doing selfie videos.

Are these one takes? Yes. Every time. Every time. It's just your emotion coming out of you. Listen, man, you can't make it up. With the Cowboys. Did a gift that keeps on giving.

Listen, I was at my spot in L.A., you know. And I'm sitting there mind of my business because I fully expected the Cowboys to beat Green Bay and to, you know, look forward to them going to the NFC divisional playoff game, you know, probably losing at the Detroit lines because that would have been there next opponent and I thought North Detroit was going to avenge them because

they should have won the game in Dallas before they got hosed. Yeah. And that home and that game in Dallas, right? No question, right? So, I'm sitting there and I'm like, all right, you know, way to go. Green Bay goes up and down the field up 7-0. All right, stuff happens. They just

going to start all slow. Green Bay, Aaron Jones looking like a star, running the football right now. Okay, this is the best he's looked for a while. All right, they got to pay attention, you know, 14 to nothing. And then that those the interception. I was like this. Oh, shit. And it was a gross one. And I'm looking like this, right?

It's gross. And then it's 21 nothing. And I go like this. You saw the camera come around and went like this. And I'm looking, you know, like I'm letting the world know, I'm watching this shit. I'm watching it. And then Dag Prescott got through the pick six. I'm like, you can't make this up.

You can't make this up. I'm like, this is unbelievable. They just won't let me down. And I'm like, every time I keep telling people, they won't let me down. I told Jerry Jones this. I said, look, man, contrary to popular belief, you my Libre brother, you my buddy.

I saw you say that. I'm not necessarily rooting against you, you know what I'm saying? You brought me in the helicopter. I had fun. You know, I still want to go on the yacht. You know, I mean, I understand. They want to get a guy getting on the yacht one day. Got to get on the yacht, you know.

So I'd be nice. But damn. You, you, you, they won't stop. It's like they keep messing up. And this is the beauty of it because, see, I don't have, I loved Emmett Smith. Primetime Dionne Sanders, my dog, you know, the playmaker, Michael Irvin, that's my man. I love Troy Aitman to death. You know, I've never rooted against the players.

It's them damn disgusted, nauseating cowboy. that I can't stand. You know, we're going to win the Super Bowl next year. They go three and 13 now, three and four. They're going to win the Super Bowl next year, right? They never take a moment to smell their own stench. So they get on my last nerves. And so I love rooting against them.

And it's like, I'm watching them root for their cowboys. And they go on a little winter street. This is a year. This is a year. I got one of my boys. His name is Mark Turner. We went to school together, right? I don't talk to him.

You know why? Because he talks shit all year long. and then when the Cowboys lose, his punk ass can't be found for weeks. Nah, see, see, and so you know, so when you need tickets to Nick game, well, you want to go to a football game, kiss my ass, I ain't sending you nowhere.

Go get your own damn tickets. Because he pissed me off. Because it's like, take it. That's what you do, you typical cowboy fan. Oh, y'all want to talk, talk, chirk, chirk. The second they lose, you can't find. There's ABB out for them everywhere. One of my funnest moments.

Years ago, Dallas loses to, to the Rams at the Coliseum before they moved to the year before they moved to SoFi. So I happened to know at the time it's the downtown J.W. Marriott. That's where I like to stay before I got my crib there because we do ESPN at ESPN

at ESPN headquarters, which is right in LA Live. And everybody, all the cowboy fans at the JW, you know what I did? I stood in the lobby and all the cowboy fans came walking through the door and I was like this, don't y'all want a picture? I know y'all want a picture.

Let's take a picture together. I stood at the front door waiting for cowboy fans to take. And they were running ahead, their kids. They were closing their eyes and pulling their kids away. This is what they do. The typical cowboy fan, blovi-a, blow-vier, talk, talk, chirp, and then they lose, and you can't find them. That is why I like to troll them.

And their players don't let me down because the fans build up momentum that the players can't answer the call on. The pressure is too much. And they plummet. And that's how I know every year they're going to come up short. Do you think that bleeds into the personality of the team at times? Yes.

Yes. That's what I'm accusing them up. That's exactly what I'm accusing them up. As an O lineman, people always said the Great Wall of Dallas. Your job is hard. But the pressure is not on you to perform the way it is for a quarterback, a wide receiver, or a star. Because what happens is that they're the ones that are held a captain. for what transpires publicly.

They know it, and the pressure just appears to be too much when it comes to the Cowboys, and I love it. Now, here's two nightmare scenarios. You could be a wide receiver and line up off sides like Kidaris Tony. Or drop a ball in the Super Bowl. Or you can be the guy against like Tom Brady hurt. You know, so I do think... I'm not saying that their job don't matter.

No, no, I'm just saying... I'm just talking about the eyes of the public. They feel real dumb when they do that. I know they got... Bro, they got like... You have nightmares about that. Ramon and leave him for a bit. Right.

He's going to leave. Well, let me say this to you. It don't matter, and there's no disrespect whatsoever. All positions in the pro sports should be respected. But folks, if Tom Brady or Dak Prescott or somebody would get hurt, folks ain't going to be spending weeks talking about that tackle missed that block. They're just not. But go ahead and drop the pass.

Go ahead and fumble. Go ahead and throw the interception. No question. You're right. No question. I do think it bleeds into what they do. Here's an interesting one. do you think as an anti-Cowboys guy, do you realize that you actually affect games?

Because if you are applying pressure, they are feeling the pressure. Look at you. You like this. I'm not going to be arrogant enough to say that I know that it's true. But if it is true, it makes me smile. Does it? I love it because that's just going to give me more incentive

to mess with their heads as the season progresses. It's just my favorite thing to say about the Cowboys is, be patient, just wait. It's coming. Don't get, don't you worry. They will not let you down. Trust me. And especially when a playoff start.

And you know what? I love it when they win the division. And it's got a week. Or it's like two weeks and all the momentum and the precious building. And I just get to talk about, this is what y'all been waiting for, right? Watch what happens.

And think about that. I said they were going to lose San Francisco. I said the next year they were going to lose San Francisco again. You understand? And I picked them to lose, they lose. I picked them to win they still lose. It's beautiful.

I mean, it's just beautiful, man. They're just a gift that keeps on giving. And I just love them for it. I just love them. I think the difference between a team like Dallas and a team that I was lucky enough to go to Kansas City at the end, I watched them go to the AFC championship. I didn't get an opportunity to get on the field. But that team took so much pride in how many straight division titles they won.

Conference championships they won. before they even thought about the Super Bowl, when I saw Dak and C.D. Lamb not accepting their division champion hats because they said this isn't the hat. You thought they were different. No, no, no. I'm thinking, you're thinking, yeah. I'm thinking, buddy, celebrate your wins.

Can't skip the steps, bro. You can't skip the steps, Stephen. I would defer to y'all. Y'all know that better than me. What I would say to you is when Roger Starbock won Super Bowls, when Troy Aikman and the players, making them won Super Bowls, whether it was with Tom Landry,

whether it was with Jimmy Johnson, whether it was with Barry Switzer, and then you look at the Dallas Cowboys really manufacture mediocrity into being the number one sports brand

in North America and arguably the world worth over $9 billion when the rest of the league is worth on average over five. you at some point in time you can't be the kings of headlines you got to show that you're more than that

and when you tell them that and they don't answer the call I'm sorry I'm gonna hold that against you with a smile on my face because you need to do that I know DAC is no scrub I know DAC can play I know DAC is an all pro caliber player why the hell can't you show it until you're in in January. Because his record

in September, October, November, and December are all winning records, and as the season progresses, he's more successful until the month of January arrives and then he plummets. Why is that? You know, it's interesting. It predates him. Tony Romo in his career. Different arcs,

different heights. He said the same thing about him, too? Same record. That's right, two and four. And very similar ratings, depending on how you weight those metrics. But all in all, they're in the same place and it seems like the definition of insanity and if I'm Jerry

Jones and I love watching you guys kind of get together at 50 yard line because you kind of break character and you're like hey man it's not your fault. That's right. You're bringing the players that's right. They're just not getting it done for you. And I believe that. I totally believe that. I'm not saying that they have things they could tweak. Like for example, you got all of the speed and athletic

and athleticism but you got to have some horses. You got to have some meat and potato dudes. If it was me personally, ladies and gentlemen, you would call me geographically prejudice. I'm telling right now, I've got a quarterback, I'm going to the cornfield. I'm going to, I want them meat and potato boys. I'm looking, I'm going to mama. I want the big boys. I want the big blubber, the beef, the whole bit. I want dudes that's walking around with tree trunks for legs. You understand that that's literally

pulling trucks for crying out loud. That about 300 to 350 pounds, I want hogs. Okay, I want hogs in the middle. That's what I want dudes that just lean in on you and they make you tired just because they touch you and they sweat on you. I want that. I want to make sure we're playing, this is football. I want Rough House brothers. That's what I want to do.

If I was a basketball coach, right? If I was a basketball owner, I got a superstar, the likes of a Steph Curry, the likes of a LeBron James, I'm surrounding them with guns. I'm talking about the kind of cats, not literally, but the kind of cats that make you think, you know, when we lead this arena,

I'm going to kick your ass. You know, those kind of dudes that they're looking at you like, I'm going to get you later. Because I know about stories. See, I know NBA players that literally was, and they were playing. They were serious. I know one player, this is so funny, I'm not going to say his name. This dude was talking to him. And the dude walked into the elevator at the time he was playing for the 76ers.

And this other dude was playing for the Sacramento Kings. And he literally looked at the dude. He said, yo, man. You know, my mom told me that she saw you do an interview with, and you was talking some shit about me. I'm going to bust your ass after the game. I'm telling you right now, I'm going to kick your ass. I'm not going to do it before the game.

I'm going to do it after the game. The dude he said it to was averaging 20 a game. He scored two points that night. Yeah, dude. He was scared to death. And the guy that said it to him was not playing. His mother literally did tell him that. And he was literally serious about kicking his ass.

And he told him, I'm coming for you. Dude left the game early, got on the team bus, couldn't find him, teammates looking for him. He was scared as hell. He couldn't play. Score two points that game. Petrified. That's basketball.

Imagine what it is on a football field. You see what I'm saying? I was just telling y'all back there, about a story when Mike Tyson had a fight and you had somebody in the opposite room and they were scared to death because Tyson was furious and stuff and punching holes in the wall

because he thought the guy was engaging in gamesmanship to keep him waiting to throw him off. But Mike Tyson didn't know the dude was in the opposite locker room literally crying because he had to go into the ring against Tyson and the promoter was crying with them. And saying, let's say

a prayer, and God is going to bless you, and you're going to survive no matter what, and you'll collect your money, but you've got to show up, champ. You got to show up champ. These are the stories, I know. So I'm looking at it, and I'm saying whether it's stuff like that

or stuff about an audience, putting additional pressure on players, you've got to be made as something different to know how to handle it. And not everybody does. And that's how you find out who your rough riders are. Andy Reid has Marius Sneed.

Crete Humphrey at Senate. Oh, Sneed. We had Creed Humphrey, the center on. But it starts with Mahomes. And he said, I want to take these guys to the salt mines every game. He's not worried about what venue they're at. He said, I'm going to find out what they're made of. And it starts with Patrick.

And there's a reason the guy that gives the ball to Patrick is the baddest man on the field. Well, it starts with Patrick because when you have a leader that sits up there and says, I don't give a damn. who it is, here I come. There's something that matters. And we could take that in any walk of life. I do television. I do first take. There's a lot of changes that took place over the years.

There was not one single day that I walked in to my boss's office remotely concerned of being number one. I know when it comes to television I'm coming to kick ass. I'm coming to make state claim

to. I'm the number one show in the morning. And ain't nobody knocking me off this perch. When it happens, I'll concede it. It hasn't happened in 12 years. Hasn't happened in one week in 12 years. Happen hasn't one day in 12 years. That's how I roll.

And so for me, that's what winners are about. You see all the challenges that are placed before you, and you can give less than a damn. Because what happens is that you're coming to take what I have. And when you embrace that kind of mentality, you're going to be ready for whatever challenges come your way and you're going to invite it because you're trying to be that dude. And I love it because I get that from athletics.

I get that from athletes. This is the kind of attitude y'all have and y'all serve as an inspiration to people like me, not the other way around. Stephen A. Smith, everybody give this guy a round of applause. This is amazing, man. Appreciate you. Really do.

We enjoy watching you, man. You bring it every day, you know, and as athletes are like, That guy's giving it 100, man. So appreciate you. Thank y'all for having me. I really enjoyed it. Thank you guys out there. Y'all out there for listening.

All right, check us out, Greenlight Pod. Thank you, Austin.