Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - Hafley Hops Away from BC

Episode Date: February 8, 2024

In this episode, Kenton Gibbs and AJ Black of LockedOn BC discuss Hafley's surprise exit and potential replacements Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey there, folks. I know that y'all are used to seeing Candice Cooper and her lovely flooring head of hair. But today it is me and AJ Black talking all things Boston College because we don't feel like we've quite done this thing justice. Okay. AJ hit me up and he said, we need to talk about it. We need to talk about it. I said, well, come on down. You got the floor, brother.

AJ, how are you feeling, man? I'm doing great, Kent. Thanks for having me on. Absolutely. Well, listen. In today's show, we're going to get into it now. We're going to get into the good, the bad, and ugly. We're going to talk about how this exit happened as well as who the replacement is,

you know, what I mean? And they already got the guy or who it can be in terms of the guys that are cadets. And we're going to grade all the potential replacements according to our Boston College insider, A.J. Black. That's sound good to you, brother. I love it. Let's do it, Ken. All right. Well, let's get it rolling on today's episode of Locked on ACC. You are Locked on ACC. Your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference.

part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. What's up, everybody? I've got to tell you all that today's episode is bought you by Fandu, new customers. Join the day and you'll get $200 in bonus bets of your first bet of $5 or more wins. Visit Fanduil.com slash Lockthorn to get started. AJ, my brother from another mother, how are you? It's been a while, Kenton, since I've talked to you. And it's a pleasure to be back on.

And it's one of the hosts that I look forward to talking to most. Now, no, listen, some people would say, I wish it was under better circumstances. Right. Some people say, me personally, you know how I feel about happening. You know that I am, I've been a happily truther for a while. I've been a guy screaming. Are people upset about 12 and 22 leaving? Baby, that's the trash taking itself out.

That's the nurse. But I'm here to be fair. I'm here to get Boston College positive love and all the positive. of feelings. And in order to get into that, I need to know, because like I said, you're the Boston College insider. Tell us how this thing went in terms of the actual exit and all the things that led up to it as far as you know. So, yeah, the Boston College season kind of fell apart in the month of November. You saw the Eagles. They got smoked by Virginia Tech. They got smoked by Miami. They lost to a terrible pit team that they had no business losing to. And there was

a ton of pressure. And as the person covering, I was like, man, this is the perfect time to let Halfley go because it's not working. This is the year you have, like you're, you have a very, very good quarterback. You know, Todd Castle has just win games by himself. And you're coaching yourself, you know, to lose to terrible teams and to not be competitive in a lot of the other ones. So I heard, you know, I think what ended up happening, you know, I, the hot seat was happening, but BC's a cheap school. They didn't want to pay his buy. out to get rid of him. Right.

So he was going to get another year. Now, Halfley, he, if you ever talk to him, his big love is the NFL. He loves the NFL. He loves the NFL.

He loves coaching. He had it at a, it was so funny, the morning of the day that he left. He dropped a podcast with Adam Brennaman, who was tight end for

Penn State and Arizona State. And in that, he was glowing about how great of a life it is to be an NFL coach and how, You don't have to do all the recruiting and NIL and boosters and all that stuff. And I was like, oh, interesting.

And I knew he's thought that before. But the fact that he was gone like 12 hours after that podcast dropped was pretty crazy. It caught everyone off guard, obviously, because you would have to think that Blake James, the BCAD, would have loved to have had his first choices. And many of them, I watched leave to other schools back in November. You know, guys like Bob Chesney of Holy Cross, who is a local guy that I think a lot of fans wanted. Or Mani Diaz, who ended up at Duke. You know, these were all names that had been bantered around and they were gone. And now Halfley just basically up and left and kind of screwed the school.

Yeah. Yeah. And to me, the worst part about this is the timing of it all. Because, you know, it really doesn't, it's kind of a terrible thing in terms of, a lot like how players, or not players, when coaches leave at this time, you know, to take another job or whatever the case may be, you're left in a situation where coaches retire immediately after signing day. It's like, oh, yeah, well, you know, I told you that I was going to make you a better man, but I meant that a special analyst to the head coach, because I ain't going to be here in the words of the great Magic Johnson. So, you know, it really is an unfortunate situation where, like you said, Blake got stuck, but also, about 100 kids, right?

A hundred young men got stuck in the situation where, you know, we can talk about this. And here's the thing. Even if Castiano's knew, even if Thomas Castiano's knew. And you and I both know this, that brother's a star. Every time I watch him play, he has prime time TV written all over. I can tell you this right now. I played against Andre Williams and that, you know,

six, seven offensive linemen as your baseball. package. I saw A.J. Dillon and those thighs that are, you know, just as big as a lot of people's torso. I saw it in real life. I was there. It live in the flesh. And I can tell you, this is the first time in quite some time, including Zayflower.

There's no disrespect to the young man, that they had a guy that was, hey, he's so prime top TV. When B.C.'s on offense, I can't leave. I can't go. the bathroom. I can't do nothing. And so do you think that Thomas Casiano's decision to stay was a situation where it was, hey, I'm sticking here because there was nothing else out there? Was that like a, he's a BC guy through or through and there was no way that he was, you know, going to leave here? Or does it really not matter at this point anyway? Because, I mean, it is what it is

and he's here. I think he's a BC guy. And I'm not sure what his relationship with like with Hathley. And I'd love to get to the bottom of this and no one, you know, I'd have to dig to find out. Clearly, the offensive coordinator and halfway disagreed on who should have started at the beginning of the season between Castellanos and not Emmett Moorhead. One of them wanted one and one and one of the other and they screwed that whole first game up because neither of them got the message clear. Castellanos everywhere, you go anywhere at BC, he's there. He's everywhere on campus at basketball games, at women's basketball games, hockey. you see him he's he was at the bean pot for hockey last week like he's bc and so i think that again that's gonna make fans gravitate more towards him because he he's he's their guy right like he's he's

embraced being an eagle and fans are gonna love him for it so you know he's got his nil deal here at bc and i've i've heard it's pretty good so that's good he's getting taken care of um and i i i you know kent you were you were talking before i wasn't all that thrilled with the way any of the coaching was done at BC, offensively. Right. I feel that. You know,

I feel like he's going to be waiting to see, like, whatever I'm going to get is going to be better than what I just had. Yeah. And, you know, like I said,

again, on this show, we don't do fluff pieces or hit pieces. Right. I never thought highly happy. I never. And so whoever comes in, nine times out of ten,

you're not going to hear a complaint out of me. Because, I mean, to be honest, I don't, Like, I struggle to find things. Like if somebody told me, hey, can say three nice things about Jeff Havley. Yep.

I struggle to find it outside of, he's a really good motivator, it seems like. Like, he gives the good, he knows what to say, how to say it to the media to make you feel like he's a great motivator. And he has a wonderful head of hair. And I'm struggling for the third. He kept the team together. I think that's a big piece. He, you know, like, he was able to, like, navigate some things to keep Zay from hitting the NIL portal.

Things like that. And I know the players all liked them, but you're right. Like this is a guy. And again, the fact that I don't know what Green Bay is doing, honestly, you, you looked at, look at BC's defense last year. They were 130th in the country in Sacks. They hired Jeff, they hired Jeff Haffley, but they also just hired his defensive line coach to Vince Ogabase, who was in charge of that group.

So I don't know. I don't understand why you would want. Maybe you just, you may be envision that he's going to just focus on defense and he's a film guy and that's going to be where he finds a success. But BC's defense last year stunk. So I don't, I'm not sure what the Packers are looking for there.

You know what I mean? Any group that has Donovan as a rockoo as one of their, and I apologize about butcher your name, Donovan. But that anybody, any group that has him as an A. eddresher and ends up with triple digits in terms of where they rate. That's not a skill issue on his end. It's not.

They had 13 sacks the entire season, BC. Six of them came in one game against a really bad UVA offensive line. That means they had seven in 12 games. Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Well, folks, we got some things to talk about and we got some things to get into in terms of who the potential replacements could be, who the folks could be that you could be looking up at and saying, oh, man, this is a very different situation because AJ and I, AJ is boots on the ground.

He is there. He is live in the flesh day to day following this thing, tracking this thing, getting every inside Scooby can. And so we're going to talk about the potential replacement, some very serious, some very unsurious, but fans are calling for it. So we got to talk about it. We're going to talk about that after a quick word about. about Fanduil. Folks, it's very clear.

The Super Bowl is here. It's that time of the year where basketball is getting in a full swing. All-Star weekend is approaching it. You know, that's when basketball players get serious. Why would you want to place your first bet anywhere but Fandual? It's absolute insanity if you ask me. And you know why I say that? Because Fandul is the place to be for betting.

Fandall has so many ways for you to end this. season with the W. Listen, I know that most of our teams got eliminated. I'm a lion's fan. Trust me. Best season we ever had. Our team still ain't in the Super Bowl, but guess what? You can feel like you won the Super Bowl when you just placed your first $5 bet or more and win $200 in bonus bets if that bet wins. Just visit fandoor.com slash locked on to sign up. That's fendore.com slash locked on. Make every moment more with Fandual, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. Now, AJ, I'm going to throw some names out at you.

Okay? I'm going to throw some names out that I've heard through the grapevine. And I want you to tell me how you would judge the potential fit. Not whether or not they get hired on there. Not whether or not you think, because some of these names are far out there. Some of these names, very close. One of these guys would probably end up being the guy, right? It feels like we're playing The Bachelor.

and you know, BC is the one doing the picket. This is a very interesting episode of The Bachelor where you got a bunch of 50-year-old old white dudes is like your potential guy, but that's neither here nor there. So we're going to start this thing off with none other than

hometown guy per se. Hometown. Bill Belichick. No, I'm just joking. We're going to start it with Notre Dame defensive line coach Al Washington. Former BC player, how would you grade the fit? I would give it a D-minus because I love L.

I was there as a student when he was a player. He was a fiery defensive lineman. He was a coach under Steve Adazio, worked special teams and running backs for Andre Williams. So he was there when you were playing against him. Really likable guy. But the biggest issue and what I've been told by BC is they're looking for a splash hire of a coach with experience because they just got done with the coach that had no

experience as a head coach. Right. Al hasn't done anything more than being a positional coach at this point. So he's even further back than Halfley was. I just feel like he doesn't fit that role yet. What I would love for Al Washington to do and what I've heard Buzz about is he's kind of logjammed at Notre Dame. He can't progress to be the defensive coordinator because they have Al Golden.

Right. he could come for it we'll get to who I think is going to get it and I've heard buzz that he may come with him and be his defensive coordinator so he'd get a promotion be at BC his album mater get you know and bring his he's a good recruiter I think he would be a perfect fit for defense coordinator I just don't think he's ready to be a head coach yet okay well you you you you've hinted at the favor yeah you know me I'm not a better people this is the funny thing everybody's always like Ken how do you know the lines for so much stuff if you don't bet it's interesting I find it interesting. I like going online, see, you know, how Vegas thinks. And see, Vegas is right a lot. They write a lot. And this one, Bill O'Brien is the odds-on favorite. Tell me about the fit. Talk to me. So Bill O'Brien is by far the favorite. And honestly, I thought about three days ago, he was going to be the guy hired immediately. But BC has a process. They have to go through Father Leahy, the president of the school, and do interviews. and all that stuff, you know, they had Matt Ryan sitting on them. They did in Atlanta last week, I mean, earlier this week. So Bill O'Brien has shown interest in this job. He was, he was rumored to be connected to the hire when Halfley got it.

But I just don't think he ended up either pursuing it or whatever. He has everything I think BC is looking for, which is experience at both the pro and college level. You know, he coached at Penn State. He had a team with limitations there, which is, kind of what BC's motto is, we're a team with limitations. So he was able to be able to be successful there. They were eight before the first year he got there after the paterno stuff.

Then, you know, he obviously he worked with the Patriots. He's a local guy. He went to St. John's Prep, who is a local program that's connected to BC. I think, so right now he's at Ohio State. He's the co-offensive coordinator at Ohio State. Right. And Ohio State fans who have been listening to my podcast, if you're listening right now, hi guys, they've been yelling at me a lot all week.

They don't understand why he would leave. And there's a big, first of all, he wants to be a head coach. So that's one piece. The other big piece is, and he's made this clear, he's got a very disabled son, who has a pretty significant disability that he can only get care in, he gets care in hospitals in Boston. So when he was in Alabama, his wife and his son stayed in Boston while he was coaching for Nick Saban. And so there's a, I think there's a piece that would love that too, so he could be with his family again. So that piece is there.

And I think he wants to be local. So I think, honestly, odds on favorite is Bill O'Brien. And I know you probably have different feelings about this, Kenton, but I know this is the hire that BC is looking for. I know the fans, too, the fans are dying. So in terms of great, if we had the greatest fit, what you think? Do you want me to tell you what I have saved for the podcast name for this, if they hire him? I believe I talked to Zach Blackerbie about this. And I said, the title of my episode is going to be, this is the biggest hire Boston College has made in football history.

Because they have, you know, they get like the coordinators or, you know, with, with Halfley was a coordinator. And then Adazia was a crappy Mac coach. And you get all these like kind of like retreads or guys that are just. you know, building their way up, he's an established guy that's won. I know, I know Houston had some issues there too, but I feel like he would fit what B.C.'s doing. And he would get donors to donate because I think the local folks want to. He'd get fans back into the seats. And I honestly believe he would be a pretty good, hopefully he would be a pretty good recruiter,

or bring a staff with him that could recruit for him. That's fair. That's fair. You know, folks know my feelings about Bill O'Brien. I don't feel the need to talk about it anymore. I will say this. I will say this. In terms of a coaching talent, in terms of how's he doing, getting the best out of his players,

making this players better and all that. I don't see it. I've never seen it with him. But that is what it is. We're going to move right on down the list here because so that's your A plus slam dunk. Yep. This is, and again, this is not us saying that AJ Black is saying, Bill O'Brien will take this program to New Heights.

We're not saying that. He's saying in terms of fit for the hire right now. Because let's just be honest. Boston College is left in the situation. They got to make a chicken sandwich on chicken scratch because of the way that halfway left and when he left. Right? This is the end of the season where you either fire a coach or coaches,

you know, because somebody got fired and then you go get their job. And then the coaching carousel, the coach of carousel stop. The state fair packed up the stuff. The rides are gone. And they're like, oh, well, let's still play bumper cars. Well, who's here? You know, that's what's going on there. So I get it.

I understand. And they actually is. Chip Kelly. Okay. So this is the one that I, someone covering it is most intrigued by because I keep getting told different stories. And I feel like there's more smoke behind the mirror than I'm hearing. So I've been told that he had, he interviewed. on the phone with BC, but didn't make it to Atlanta for the in-person interviews.

But then I talked to a national guy that's with my, with 247, and he expects him to be, there's a big chance that he's at BC right now. He, he hates, I mean, if anyone's followed, his, his issue with UCLA is, is legendary right now. And he hates, in our former ADs over there, Martin Jarman, he wants to get the heck out of LA right now. And it looks to me, if I was a betting man, like if I was on fan duel and I could bet, it looks like more to me that he wants to go towards being a college, I mean a pro OC. Like, you know, I think he was with the Raiders, they interviewed, and I heard him linked with the commanders and the Seahawks.

You have him interviewed and all that. But maybe he just wants a fresh start. He's from this area. He's, he went to UNH. He's got a house in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. And the, you're a BC. a program with not a lot of pressure. If Bill O'Brien is 1A,

Chip Kelly is 1B to me. And honestly, you could argue either. I mean, I would kill to see what Chip Kelly could do with Thomas Castellanos. Oh, boy. Oh, boy. He would get that offense smoking. You know,

I feel like in terms of maximizing that, but then I feel like he'd leave in three years. But you know what, Kenon? Who cares? If it's a good three, if it's a good three, you know? The question, the age-old question, would you rather have a mediocre six or a really good three? You know what I mean?

I would, yeah, we had Jeff Jagazinsky those years and he was there for two or three years and no one can shut up about it. And let's get, if Chip wants to come here and win nine games, ten games for a couple years, then head off to the NFL or something else and get the program back up out of the scraps. But so, yeah, so the thing that I'm thinking, too, is the money. The money is a big piece. Right, right. Of course. The big thing that I've heard, Halfley had a pretty sizable buyout too. Green Bay had to pay something.

So they have money to throw to buy out somebody else. I have to wonder, and again, I don't know how it works. Chip has been really nasty with UCLA. I'm wondering how much they want to get rid of them. Maybe they'll knock that number down to a number that BC can take the Halfley money, pay him that and then get themselves a coach that's been to a national champion. championship. Absolutely.

Could be crazy, but weirder things have happened. It's only crazy when it doesn't work. Right. Okay, that's the reality there. It's only crazy if he doesn't end up with the job and you end up botching this thing and you end up having to pay Bill O'Brien Extra or something crazy like that. I'm just saying, that one, I like that one. You got me?

My eyebrow raised a little bit. I did a little bit out of Dwayne Johnson. Hold on that. Hold on. Okay. Let's talk about one more. And then we're going to talk about the ACC as a whole with what we're seeing out of certain teams here. Jeff Monkin of Army. Talk to me. So this is a coach that has done a lot with a little. Army before he took over was getting plastered by Navy every year.

And obviously that's a huge deal for them. And then he brings them in. he's winning 10 games a year he's got them going this i i talked to brian dona two four seven he's a colleague of mine and he says jeff munkin is one of the best coaches that he knows like he's a master motivator he's a very good ex andos coach um which is exciting like i've heard the same things i feel like he would be good but he's a bit of a risk too a he runs a triple triple option and they tried to go away from that this year and then i think they ended up ended up saying, screw it,

and went right back to it for the last, like, three or four games. Of course. So if he can't do an off, I'm like, I just haven't seen enough of him

doing an offense that's not the triple option. And I don't want that here. I don't want the triple option to PC. We have a good rep right now with wide receivers because of Zay. The last thing they need to do is go to a gimmick option and lose that piece. I just don't think he's a great,

a good fit. I feel like he's a safety option at this point behind a lot of the other guys. And I feel like he, he should get a power five gig at some point. I just don't think he's the right fit for BC at this point. So what grade we give me? C?

Yeah, like a C plus. C plus. Okay, C plus. So you wouldn't like it. You wouldn't like the fit, but you wouldn't hate it. You wouldn't be like, oh, P.U. Get this out of here. Right, right.

There's question marks. And he wouldn't totally rev up the fan base, which is what BC really needs. And I think O'Brien and Chip Kelly could do. But I still would work. about him coming here. Well, you're talking about local guys. Bill Belichick is in it.

No, I'm joking. What about Pete Carroll? AJ and I both agree that is not happening and neither of us want this to happen. I think we can agree with that, right? Neither one of us would want Belichick to BC, right? Yeah, I have to say as someone who goes to press conferences, I have not been to a Patriot's press conference, asking him a question and have him, you know, dress me down in front of everyone else.

honestly as a past fan, I kind of think that'd be funny. At least I got to try it at one point. I want him to like just tell me my question was stupid. Wow. Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, AJ Black has just said that he would like one puppet flogging

from Bill Belichick. Just one. Yep. Don't make it a regular. Just a one time deal. But in all seriousness, we have got to talk about the ACC because you talk about leaving some folks high and dry.

Well, guess what? That is exactly what the nose are. attempting to do but they're also claiming that they were left high and dry first so we're going to get into all that and more after a quick word from our sponsors folks this thing is very clear it's very obvious it's not much to think about it's not much to do in terms of if you are looking for last minute tickets there is nowhere for you to go but the game time app i want to make this very clear to everyone there is no better app for so many reasons game time is fast and easy, and it may be called game time, but it doesn't just do sports.

You talk music, you talk comedy, you talk theater events. It doesn't matter. Game time will get it done. And right now, all users get $100 off when they buy a big game ticket with the code, Vegas 100, with killer last minute deals, all end prices, views from your seat, literal views from your exact seat of where you would be at. and their price guarantee, game time takes the guesswork out of buying tickets. Trust me, the last minute tickets, flash deals, zone deals, all that good stuff is amazing.

The lowest price guarantee of bank cancellation protection, job loss protection, all that is great. But to me, the one that seals it is the view from the seat. Because how often do you get to know the exact sight line you're going to have at an event? Not too often. and yet they have it on game time. So take the guesswork out of buying tickets with game time. Right now, all game users get $100 off a big game ticket with code Vegas 100. Terms apply.

Just download the GameTime app and use the code V-E-G-A-S-10 for $100 off a big game ticket. Or if you're not going to the game use code locked on for $20 off your first purchase, regardless of what it's for. Download the game. We're talking about today. Last minute tickets. Lowest prices, guaranteed. All right, AJ, we're about to land this thing.

We're about to land this thing. But before we do, talk to me, man. Florida State, you know, very similar color scheme to Boston County County. Pretty similar. You know, Florida State is, they want out. They're leaving. And the thing that I've talked about

and that I've heard from everybody is that this thing is not going to last until 2036. as it's currently constructed, one way to other, right? Florida State is, you know, if they got to go get some venture capital or money from who knows where or what sources is coming from, that's not going to last, right?

And so, with that in mind, do you believe, hey, it's been a great run, but ladies and gentlemen, we're Pack 12 East at this point. It's over. Or are you looking at this thing and said, hey, the Big 12 lost Texas in Oklahoma, those are the two heavy hitters that carried that conference

on their back for years and they're just fine, we'll end up just like that. What do you see? It's interesting because it does look like the end of the ACC coming up. Like you see UNC kind of poking around and Clemson has obviously voiced their concerns about the future of the conference and all that stuff. I, there's a lot of moving parts that I feel like could also come into play that will change the way that this conference works or create something completely new out of the ashes like a phoenix um and i think the big thing that i keep watching is these media deals like the cc and the big ten they've got these crazy huge media deals but you hear more and more that espn's cutting and and they're not putting you know they don't

want more cc because they can't afford it and all this stuff of course the bubble's going to burst at some point i don't feel like it can continue to to inflate the way it is so the money the money is going to stop. And so what are you going to get? You could end up with like superpowers, right? Like Florida State and Clemson could go run off and play Georgia and Bama and have this great conference that plays kind of their own game, whatever. And then you could have some of these schools that are part of the SEC, the Big Ten, the Big 12 that don't find themselves in that end up maybe going to like an ACC, right? Like you see schools like Rutgers and Maryland and Indiana.

in Illinois, Vanderbilt. That's so interesting because that's the exact opposite direction of what I'm thinking in terms of, I think that we're headed towards a singularity where everybody kind of flows into one thing where football is separate. But you believe, and this is the first time I've heard this, so I'm very intrigued about it. You believe that this is heading towards there's going to be a subset of the really big boys. And then there's going to be like this mid-level of like, you talk about the, like you said, the Indiana, the Rutgers, the.

And, you know, not to disrespect anybody's universities, the NC states and the Boston colleges potentially in that same group, right? Yep. You got that kind of deal going. So tell me more. I want you to finish that thought. So then I think you were saying, like it would be more split away from, I think football will split away from itself.

Like it's going to, it's its own cash cow in itself. So they're going to have their own deal. And then I think basketball will end up being regionalized, right? Right. Right. I would, I would, I would, love to see BC play Yukon and Georgetown and all the old big East schools that we used to play. I'm sure a lot of the people in the tobacco belt would love to see the schools down there play each other more.

And it makes more sense money-wise and travel. It's not going to cost as much. So I think football, you're going to get these, you know, they'll probably figure out a way to get the college football playoffs to probably give those two mega conferences more spots. But then maybe it's a combination of the ACC and, you know, it's ACC in Big 12 and you get the east and west right and then they get a few a few spots um and that's how they get that you know they kind of figure that out um i i college football is so weird because the tribalism around your conference and like the almost like death wish that they have for other conferences

and teams is odd like why do you care if like a like people are like actively rooting for programs to fall apart and fail I don't understand that at all because there's money. You can, it should all shake out that like Florida State and Clemson and all these bigger schools get a lion's share. But there should be enough money for, you know, people around the world love NC state and BC and smaller schools like,

you know, App State and whatever that they should be getting their money too. You shouldn't be wishing that they fall apart and that these football programs end. But there's people out there that are like sick with that. It's like, I don't know, man. I think that's what's going to end up happening so that there's going to be enough content out there for football on different platforms and everything. But there's going to be Florida State will end up probably leaving in Clemson and maybe like a UNC or a UVA. And then the other schools will just, they'll figure something out.

I feel like it's not going to be this like it's going to change because everything changes. Right. But I don't think it'll be as catastrophic to many schools as some people think it will be. I'll tell you this much. A lot of people keep talking about, hey, there will be a, you know, if Florida State leaves, if they agree to a settlement, pay a few hundred million and leave, that opens the door for everybody else. And all that says, opens the door for what exactly?

It's like those articles where it's like how we save money and how we saved money bought a home and a yacht off, you know, just living at home for a few months. And then it's like, hmm, let's do a little digging into that article. Oh, yeah, their parents gave them a $200,000 dollar dollar payment. Oh, yeah, they worked at their dad's firm. This is not what the average person can do. If Florida State can generate $200 million, with all due respect, where is Wake Forest going to get $200 million from?

Right. Where is Louisville going to get $200 million from? where is Miami going to get $200 million from? I know that everybody likes to think, hey, my school is the best in anything they can do. We can do better. The real world doesn't work like that, Fred. Some teams have deeper pockets.

Some teams have people who are willing to leverage and risk more. And I'll also tell you this. Depending on the terms of whatever settlement may shake out, you wouldn't want to be those teams. Imagine if you leave and end up like Maryland, for example, where even now they're still feeling the effects of leaving the ACC early and having to pay buyouts and not have their rights for years. Is that really an ideal situation that half of these schools can just stomach in the name of,

yeah, we're off. And mind you, after they do that, they still have to find a home, right? Right. You still, the SEC, ACC, I'm sorry, the SEC Big Ten has to say, we agree to share our pie with you. Right. And how big can it get? Right. Like these,

the media, as I say, the media companies, they can't just keep giving them $40 million, $60 million to bring in all these schools. They're going to have to start cutting somewhere. And that's why I was saying,

like they might look at this eventually and say, okay, Rutgers, we don't need you anymore. We want Florida State. You know, Indiana, we don't want you anymore because we're going to take Oklahoma State.

You know what I mean? Like things like that. Yeah. And if they ultimately say, hey, we're going to go to these schools with a deal that says you'll get, you know, 40 million per school. And then the conference is like, no, that's not 40 million per school because we have this many teams. They're like, oh, no, no, no, 40 million for all your original schools or 40 million for all the schools that these schools that we deem is important to the package. These last couple, figure it out. Work out the money.

You know, like, again, nobody's going to want to cut their checking that way. So I, to me, I think we're moving towards the singularity, but I think that we are much closer to a Big 12 situation than a Pact 12 situation. Yep. But we shall see in the end. AJ Block, tell the people where they can follow you and find your work. Yeah, so you can check me out at Eagle Insider. If you're interested in BC's coaching search, I have updates every day.

I've been, I've talked to people. I've got all the scoops going on. Check that out. If you're part of the 247 network, you can check out all my work free. Um, you also in Locked on BC. I've been doing a podcast every day. I'm almost up to 900 episodes, which is crazy. Um, check that out on YouTube, wherever you get your podcast.

If you like, like me, come, come find me. Let me tell you something. This is one of the hardest working men in that New England area, sports media situation. He has got more scoops than Baskin Robbins. Okay. This man does it all and he does it well. Make sure you check him out for all things. college. Thank you all so very much for coming out. We appreciate you every single time.

Tell me, what do you think about what AJ said? What do you think about the culture fits? What do you think about the ACC? What do you think about the ACC? Potentially no longer being. Tell us all about it in the comments and come on back next time. And the time after that and the time after that, peace and love, y'all. You are Locked on ACC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.