OverDrive - OverDrive - January 30, 2026 - Hour 2 - Mike Johnson/Joe Brady

Episode Date: January 30, 2026

Join Bryan Hayes, Jamie McLennan and Jonas Siegel for Hour 2 on OverDrive! TSN Hockey Analyst Mike Johnson joins to discuss the Maple Leafs organizational changes, rebuild potential and Brad Treliving's outlook on the roster. Buffalo Bills head coach Joe Brady joins to discuss being named the head coach, his impact of the team and leading the Bills and Bryan gives his FanDuel Best Bets.

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Bringing you more ways to play your games, your way. Phil Brady later in the hour, head coach of the Buffalo Bills, Mike Johnson in a few moments. Ryan Hayes, Jamie Noodles, McClennon, Jonas Siegel of the Athletic in here. All right, Jonas. Let's get into it here, okay? So yesterday you wrote an article that exploded in terms of, I would say, online activity. How would it relate?

Do you have the analytics, like, in terms of the amount of people that read the article compared to your average one? We do. Was it more, was it higher than the average? I'm like the players. I don't look at that stuff. Oh, you're not aware of it. Oh, based on common. Comments alone would you suggest that it's higher?

I have no clue. Okay. Once I'm done with it, I'm kind of done with it. You're gone. Okay, you don't go back and read your own stuff. Okay. Well, needless to say, the Maple Leafs heard of it. And Brad Truliffe came on and responded to it yesterday,

and he was pretty adamant that, you know, he didn't love the slant of the article. Now, do you want to give the calls notes quickly of what you reported yesterday? And then after that, why don't you respond to, you know, know where you stand on this whole thing. So they had a, the Leafs had a sports science director, sports performance, whatever you want to call it. That person as well as another sports scientist leave last summer for Pittsburgh.

They are not replaced, which is what I reported, write it, wrote about. I spoke to the first person who had that job here, Jeremy Bettel, who got the job in 2015, really successful at keeping the team healthy for the time he was here. he told me that he thinks it's a mistake not to have a person in that position and that he definitely thinks it's a factor in the fact that they've had so many injuries this year. Is it the only factor? No. Clearly, like the schedule has been insane, the team's older,

but he believes it's a factor and he got into all the reasons why, and you can read the story, but I think he makes a very valid point, which I agree with. Okay, and he details the job, which is ultimately someone that is going to be someone that determines the workload of players that might be able to foresee possible injuries that are coming and someone that can basically be the manager of quote unquote, I don't want to say protecting the players because it's not like the Leafs are not protecting the players. But there's examples in your article of them looking at players saying,

okay, maybe the strength and conditioning coach says I need them in the gym more. And the therapist goes, actually, I need them to cool down. I need to work here more. They're budding heads. This particular person makes the call on what they believe is the best route for the player. And is doing so based on their credentials, based on their authority. So it's not just like the team wants to practice and the data is saying like, man,

these guys are tired. They shouldn't be practicing. You need someone in that position and be like, who is the authority to say to Craig Broube or Bradtree Living. It can't happen today. This is a bad idea. They need to rest. And they, previously, this role that does not exist anymore within the leaves, they had autonomy over all that.

They, I don't know that they're at least with that final. That was the original one, right? Because Betel's the guy you interviewed, and he's been gone since 2019. Yes, right. But, okay. And the way, and to be clear on that point, the way for this to work anywhere, you need the people in positions of authority, the head coach, the general manager. You need those people to be behind it. Right.

To believe in the process. Exactly. Okay. So Brad Tree Living, representing the leaves, because the reaction that I saw, and the reaction that I had originally was, okay, is it because they went cheap? Is it, you know, you had a quote within there that I think would be particularly scathing again from the doctor that held this role that left in 2019. He said, well, now they're just a hockey club. They've gone backwards, basically. Which basically insinuates, you know, they're not cutting edge.

they're not using the money and the resources they have for whatever purpose that might befit them. Instead, they're going old school, hockey, rah, raw, and I think the leaves took issue with that. And again, to be fair to Brad Trilliving, he came on and said, the budget's gone up in this area. They've actually hired more people in terms of therapists,

which you did report. We put in the story. Okay. So there you go. How do you respond to Brad Trilliving taking such issue with your story? So what I would say to what he said, and I talked to him as well, he was not happy, as you might imagine. This is, yeah, I'm sure you guys have to call us once in a while. This is the most valuable team in the NHL.

They are worth, I believe, I looked at Forbes, $4.4 billion. They should be looking for every possible edge that they can have that doesn't exist within a salary cap. They can spend whatever they want on everything else. So when their sports science director leaves, the sports scientist who works with him leaves, you would think that they would be like, we are the Leafs. We can do whatever we want.

We should scour the globe and find the best possible person for this position because maybe it gives us a 5% edge in keeping players healthy. Maybe it gives us a 1% edge. Maybe it doesn't matter, but we are the Leafs. We can spend whatever the heck we want. And what they did instead is they said,

you know what, that role is gone, the sports sciences role is gone, we are going to take the responsibilities, or at least some of the responsibilities, of the director, and we are going to pass them to our assistant strength coach, who still has his own job. Like, he is a strength coach. And from what I understand, like, he is pulled pretty thin, like, he has a lot of responsibilities. And now you're telling him on top of all that, we want you to be on top of this sports science. We want you to look at, like, that doesn't, to me, that doesn't make sense.

I don't know why you would do that. If you're the Leafs, you're worth $4.4 billion, you can do whatever you want. You can spend as much as you want. So to me, it looks like cost cutting 101. It looks like what a company does when they want to save some money, they cut a position, they say you, you, you, you do this, you do this, you do this, you do this, and now we can spend a little less money. We know they didn't hire a president replacement for Brendan Shanahan.

They fired Messiah Jerry, didn't replace him. We know they cut a bunch of jobs. In MLSE, I believe 10% of their workforce. So we know all these things. I think there are a lot of other examples to come about things that they have cut. I can also tell you. Now, that wouldn't be Brad Tree Living. That would be above Brad Trayley.

Kelly Rogers ownership thing, whoever that is. But to me, it just clearly looks like cutting costs. And like I just don't think that makes any sense. And you can say they've added more people. Cool. Add more people. I don't think you're further ahead adding people in positions who are not as qualified to do it as the people who were there before.

Well, this is where I go. Like, this guy comes off very arrogant in your article. Like, he's the god of all scientists. And I was like, okay, fair enough. Like, you're good at your job. Can I stop you there, noodles, though? Yeah. I asked him this.

He didn't, like, come to me and say, like, I want to talk to this. Yeah, he's not a storned ex-girlfriend. No, like, we were talking for 45 minutes, and I asked him this 30 minutes into the conversation. And, like, he's doing his own thing. he's like he has a podcast you can listen to him like he is not that so continue sorry okay fair enough i just like like if you have more people involved then like like if they up the budget then what is like i didn't but i don't actually know that i don't a i don't know that that's the case that's what they're saying they've up the budget but like cool like maybe you up the budget by

hiring like an extra dietitian which they did and an extra strength coach but why wouldn't you just do both you can spend whatever you want hire extra strength coach i hire extra strength which is awesome. Also get the best possible position person for the position to keep players as healthy as you possibly can. Like maybe it doesn't matter this year. Like maybe it was just inevitable. But like maybe it would have helped a little bit. I mean, William Neander has never been hurt before this year.

Missed one regular season game before this year. He's hurt a bunch this year. Is that a factor of his age, the schedule? I don't know. Could it have been prevented? I don't know. But clearly like they had something that worked. You're right.

You know what I mean? Well, I just want to, like, well, just the one thing is when you look at it is certainly you can point to, but the team is older, the schedule is condensed, like just lots of different things. But in the end, you make the best point at the starting. This is the Leafs, and they have nothing but money and resources to add to it. And when I look at the Toronto Maple Leafs, nobody is going to die of overwork there. They've got like 150 people that work. They've got development people. You see what type of circus travels with that team.

That's the one thing I was like, I'm shocked that they don't have somebody for everything because it seems like they've always had that, correct? Yeah. Well, yeah, let's, I mean, I'm curious how they respond to this in the future, you know, if they decide. And I think what was particularly scathing was that Dubus swooped in and took the guy and hired the guy. I'm sure that didn't go over well with the leaves. And now Pittsburgh's doing what they're doing.

All right, let's bring in Mike Johnson, our TSN Hockey Analyst, joining us here on the Maple Toyota Hotline. Sorry to make you wait there, Johnny, but I wanted to give Jonas the floor there. What is your understanding of the Leafs, you know, this year the way they operate compared to past years? I was fascinated to listen. No problem, boys.

Happy to listen along. I have no idea. I have no idea about their sports science department and who runs and who's got the authority. I don't know if there's an idea that's how true living in Brubate wanted to eliminate some of the science. behind the decision-making and want to go by their gut or more traditional measures. I have no idea.

I think the only thing I would say in Jonas Nudis, he talked about it, Hayes, I'm aware that even the Maple Leafs, for all their value, they are still a business. If you own the business, you don't want to waste money. You don't want to spend millions and millions of dollars. You don't have to. But if you're looking at the way that the Toronto Maple Leafs can have a competitive advantage in their industry,

it is not with the money they can spend on players. That's not a competitive advantage to them. It's the money they can spend on other things. And so whether it's sports science, whether it's the chefs that they have, whether it's a training facility, whether it's the plane, whether it's the hotel, whether it's the masseuse, whether it's whatever. That to me should be a continual area of evaluation and refinement where the Toronto is able to say, okay, we're not looking at waste money.

So I own the team, I'm not looking at waste money, but how can we give our team everything and also maybe something other teams don't have as good at. And it might be incremental 1%, might be half a percent. It might not matter this year, it might matter next year. But if you believe it matters, then that's things that they should spend money on. And that doesn't mean bloated, noodles talks about the traveling circus, like people everywhere, a trillion. But the people that matter that can make a difference in your competitive success on the they should not be outbid or out-resourced for anything.

Right. Well, and now when you consider where they are in this cycle of things, you know, the belief was, okay, you use all these resources to get you to the top. You know, they're closer to the bottom right now, but the resources are still very valuable and need to be utilized here for them to get back into a position to succeed. And it's pro-scouting, it's amateur scouting. Like, I don't know where things stand on that.

not that I would expect, you know, every year there's some state of the union from the leaves. Like, this is who we've hired. This is what we have. This is where people are. But as you know, Johnny, you're following. I mean, the games, the individual games are losing meaning because they're 10 points out and it's ugly. You know, like we'll break down the games. We're talking about players, of course. But there is a, it is, the scope is starting to expand. It's becoming more of a big picture conversation. What do they do? How do they do? How do get out of this. And they've got to be crafty, right?

They've got to be creative, crafty, and they've got to win. They've got to find some guys like diamonds in the rough. They're long overdue for that. I don't know how they're going to do it, but, you know, that's got to be the expectation, doesn't it, Johnny? They've got to find some young guys that can step in and play over the next couple of years that maybe other teams don't see the value in. I feel like that's a lot of pro-scouting, amateur scouting, player development.

Right? Whether it's college free agents, whether it's European, and free agents, whether it's other guys and organizations that are, you believe you can extract more value from, that you see something that they don't. Yeah, 100%. The focus of this organization today, of course, it's on the games and tomorrow night and three and four and all the rest. But it's really for them to get to where they're trying to go, which for the last seven

years, to their credit, it has been about trying to win that year. And they've been close enough to warrant that conversation. We can debate how close they have been. but it's been the focus and it should have been the focus not so much anymore. Now it's about, okay, what do we do with this team? How do we get it moving forward

and Hayes to your point? How do we find some ways to win some transactions? Like that's what they got to do and then be, you know, good with what they decide to do and the assets they acquire and how they manipulate it all around.

Yeah, that's a jigsaw puzzle that is extraordinarily complex. But that's what the people who have that job, Brad Tray living in his group, all of them. That's their job right now. And their job is as important as it has ever been to make the Leafs not be in the situation next year.

And a lot of talk lately about rebuild, prong, saying take it down to the studs and all the rest of it. And, you know, the idea sort of taking it down to the studs would be to what? Get a franchise player. To get elite level talent. Like, taking to the studs is not going to get them a player better than William Elander or a player.

or a player better than Austin Matthews. You would take it down to the studs and hope you get three years of Austin Matthews. Like, they already have the thing that you get it to the studs for, which is like the super high-end players. You can dump Matthew Nyes in there as a really good player. It's all the other stuff that they have sort of,

you know, they've missed on some, they've aged on some, they've injured on some, and it's all sort of chipped away of what they were supposed to be this year, and they have to find a way to get that all back to where they think can surround those, core pieces and be a better team next year.

So, Johnny, where do you start? I mean, you know, do you, if you're Keith Pelly, do you decide, okay, this is the group that I want to make these decisions moving forward? Like, do you think that first and foremost, you go, Trees my guy? I don't know if you have to come out and say it, but you just go, we need to do this. Tree, you're the guy who's going to execute it. Chief, you're the guy who's going to coach it. Like, do you think it starts there, or where do you think they start?

and move on from there. If I'm Keith Pelly, I sit down and have a meeting with Brad True Living. What's your vision of the future of the team? And I hear it. And then if I believe in it, okay, how do you make that happen? And now I hear it and I believe in it, but he's my guy. I don't know if I need to say he's my guy. I've already said he's my guy.

But if he's not or he doesn't have the vision that I think we should go on, and I'm the ultimate boss, then I would change that guy. And then whoever is Brad True Living or whoever that next guy might be, Again, if I'm running the team, now I take that vision and where we're headed. And that vision includes, like, how we play and what our style is and X's and O's. And I go to Craig Baroubae. And I talk to him, okay, this is how we play? How do you think we should play?

If I agree, Craig Baroube is still the coach. If I disagree, or the new GM or the old GM, if he's still there, disagrees, then it's a different coach. Like, I think that, like the world, as the least have known it for the last nine years, which has been a great run. I think I read somewhere in the last nine years, they have the third most wins in the regular season. They've been a model franchise, incredibly successful without playoff success, okay? That's well established. They're not that team right now.

They want to get back to that team, but they're not that team right now. So I have that evaluation noodles. GM, okay, yes, no. Coach, again, yes, no. And then have a vision where we're going, what we look like, how we get there. And I also want to say, like, how we play when we get there. Like, I don't, you know, what style are we going to have with this new vision that we're going to go forward with and what's that going to look like? And I think that's the conversation you start with.

And then you do that like now because you have to make decisions in the next week and the next five weeks to make sure that you start down that road all on the same page. So, Mike, I think you've identified one of the tricky challenges with the way that they're set up. the person asking those questions is Keith Pelly. Is Keith Pelly qualified to ask those questions and know what the right answers should be? Like I was thinking as you were talking, like one of the questions I think they have for the next six months, how do we get a number one defenseman or something close to it? But like is Keith Pelley asking those questions? Like what is, you know what I mean?

Like it just doesn't feel like it's set up to be successful with him there and no president in between. I can't speak to Keith Pelley's specific hockey knowledge. The point is he has the job. That is his job. Or to have confidants, whether he wants to call Brian Hayes or what's called noodles or call you or whoever, like people that would help, you know, guide his opinion if he's not sure what his opinion should be or could be. But that's his job.

And again, if you don't think that works, then you have to go above Keith Pelley, which is what? Edward Rogers and like, like, say, or whatever runs the MLSC and say, is he the right guy? But whoever that is, how you want to go, at some point you have to trust the people. Right. So, you know, you got to trust Keith Pelley, the ultimate decision maker is capable of making these ultimate decisions. And then you have to trust the tree living or somebody is, then Craig Brubay or somebody is, and the scout or somebody is. And down you go.

That's what an organization is. It's a fair question. Keith Pell is relatively new. He's been around hockey forever, but he's also been around media and golf and a whole bunch of things. But I have to believe if you're the decision maker, You've got to be able to make the decisions. Yeah, that's ultimately the job. I mean, and that's it.

When you get rid of the president, he's the one. Well, it's like, think about that. They replaced Brendan Shanahan, who had a really successful run running this team. Obviously, there was stuff that they didn't do right that we've talked about ad nauseum, but he had a long history here, long history as a player,

and now he's gone. It's kind of the same thing. He's not been replaced. and in his place is a person who runs MLSC and has a million other things The business executive Is it busy?

Like it doesn't like imagine if Brendan Shanahan was running M or was running like CTV or you know what I mean? You'd be like wait what? Yeah. But that's the equivalent. That's the reality. He's got to figure that out. And listen.

Well to be fair, I think when Shannon, when Shannon took over was his title not like he was president of all things? Yeah. And like in charge of marketing and sales and business development. And like, I have the ultimate respect for Ben and Shannon. He's a bright guy. He's not a Harvard NBA, I don't think, right?

So people in sports worlds get sort of involved in doing things that they are maybe not classically trained to do. Whether it's Shanney running a business or whether it's Keith Pelley having, you know, impact on hockey decisions. I don't think that's probably as abnormal in big sporting franchises. Does Bob Kraft know a lot about player personnel? Good point. Or, you know, but I bet he's in on it. Jerry Jones is on it. I think we see this kind of stuff in sports, not that unusual.

Well, keep in mind one last thing here, too, is regardless of what you feel Brandon Shanahan's role was or what he was doing, he's another bright hockey mind in the room that you're lesser then. You're lesser, like Brad Tree Living can't go to him and say, I'm thinking of doing this. There's one less hockey brain. Exactly. One less resource. I like having resources in the room.

that challenge each other. You don't want a bunch of yes men. So that's Brendan Shanahan. You take away a massive hockey brain out of the equation. You know, it weakens the system regardless of how you view it. You just took out another resource for Brad Tree Living. Yeah. And what matters now is that the system, that entire organization, is more important than ever in the last seven, four, five, six years.

That's the iron. the team is on the ice. Yeah. Like, when the team was really good, it was about just the GM and making decisions and trying to find a way to, like those fine-tuned things. But when it's sort of bigger, a bigger picture is required to make these decisions and make them soon, then then you guys, if you want to, you want to have faith in the guy in your organization that they're up to the challenge.

Absolutely. All right, Johnny. We'll leave it there. Have yourself a great weekend. We'll do it early next week. All right, fellas. Jonas, try not to stir it up so much anymore, right? Listen.

Oh, I can't. This is like Watergate, man. Jonas is, I think he's going to win an award for those. I was all over it. Like a tree called right end to the fandoms is brilliant. Oh, yeah. Watergate, man. Jonas Siegel.

Thanks, Mike. Johnis Siegel. I love it. All right, Johnny. Talk soon, buddy. Boyce. Mike Johnson joining us here on the Maple Toyota Hotline. It's time to Toyota in the 2025 Prius.

Go up to 72 kilometers on battery alone and seamlessly switch to hybrid mode. Check it out at Maple Toyota near Canada's Wonderland and the Maple Auto Mall. Yeah, man. I'm glad, by the way, noodles you brought that up because obviously I go to practice every day, go to the morning skates.

Every day, basically, for the last, for the previous, whatever, 10 years, 11 years? How long was Shannon here? 24. 11 years. Yeah, like, every day, it was him sitting in the stands or sitting wherever with the management group. And that's just gone.

Like, that person does exist. Like the amount of times I've seen Keith Pelly there is like a handful, not that like he should be there all the time anyway. Well, he's got the Raptors. Ray. He's a whole other thing. Yeah, a lot of different things. But that's just gone. Keith Pelley, yeah, but Keith Pelley wouldn't be able to point out to the ice and go, I didn't like that guy's game.

He, you know, he's not doing this. Brandon Shanahan has lived it. He's a Hall of Fame. He's, you know, one of the best players who ever played. He's a smart guy. Like, to me, you just talked about it. And there's cost cutting. There's also being efficiency.

But they didn't replace Brennan Shanahan. You know, you've got Shane Don't. You've got a lot of smart people in that front office. Don't get me wrong. Like I think Tree's a smart guy and all of that. But Brendan Shanahan is a smart hockey guy. And you're down one guy. And he was a buffer too, right?

He was a guy that, you know, he could deal up. Clearly, he did it for 11 years. Listen, he was here for a long time. Oh, I don't think anyone's like, pining for Shanahan. No, no. It's just the existence of his role. It was significant.

And it felt like there was control. Like whether you agreed with everything they did, it felt organized. It feels dysfunctional now. Yes. Although, you know, in a weird way, you know, the beginning of the tree living era was the beginning of the kind of dysfunction. Yes. Because it was a power play by all accounts, Dubus and Shanahan, and the two of them were going at it. And Shanahan just said, fine, you're out.

And then all of a sudden, you've got to hire somebody. And he obviously wanted to hire Tree Living, but a day prior to firing Dubus, he wasn't thinking, I got to have Brad Tree Living. You're right, great call. It was, okay, I got to do something now. It was like weeks until free agency. Yes, and they made that call quickly.

And listen, what I think is important to point out to is, you know, we're all talking about it, MLSC's talking about, the players are two. The players and the agents and they're all calling, be like, what are you doing? Where are we going? What's happening? We got guys here, some of them,

can stomach it. Some of them can't. Some of them want to know, am I being traded? Am I not? And I don't know if they're entitled to that information or not, but they're going to ask it. And especially the heavy hitters who have been here a long time that have the no-move clauses, that have the big money, that are on

the marquees. We all know their names. They're going to wonder, what is happening here? What is going on? What is the plan? How do we get this back on track? And they got to own a lot of this too, obviously, but players, they escape, they disappear, right?

Season ends, they get on a bird, they're out. It's the management that's at the draft. It's free agency. They're the ones that have to figure all this out. And, you know, everyone's got a different opinion on what you do with your big players. For me, I'm, I lean where Johnny comes from. And I think you're in the same spot. Like, I'm not asking Matthews to wave and I want to trade for picks and prospects and rebuild.

I'm hoping he's committed to this. And I think if he is, and I'm sure he's not thinking of this, but it would be a huge boost to his legacy, in my opinion, where if he comes out, and I don't know if he's capable of doing this because it's just not in his nature. Like he's generally a guy,

he's pretty soft-spoken, he comes out. Like last night, like their effort, you know, move on to the next game. He's not a speech guy. He's not William Wallace and Braveheart. You know, he's not going to jump on a horse and say, you know, charge. We're doing this. Yeah, that's not him.

But if Matthews comes out at the end of the year and goes, I'm just setting the record straight, I'm a leaf and I'm not going anywhere, that would play so well in this market. Yes. That would land. Even if he just said to top that off, like, we're going to win here. And we're going to win. Yeah. Yes. And if it's a year, two years, five.

I don't care. I love being a leaf. I'm the captain of this leaf. I take responsibility for this. Let's go. It would do numbers for his legacy here and his reputation in Toronto, which is obviously uber positive to begin with.

I just don't see him doing that. I don't think it's in his nature. I doubt. But to your point, Hayesley. That doesn't mean he won't follow through with actions that way. Like he is going to be a leaf. Yeah. But it's not, his nature to grab the podium and say, listen to this. I would just think if you surrounded him and some of those other guys with better players,

I think you can still compete, is the point. Well, he's 28, Will, he's 29. He's got two more years. Yeah. No, exactly. I mean, they're still in the prime. Like, he's playing really well right now. Yes.

Like, he was still playing like he was at the start of the year or last year, then you'd have a different conversation on your hands. But I think he has played himself back into, you know, the good graces of Lee fans because he's playing well. He's playing with Domi and McMahon. We're going to look back on that line in five years and say he was playing with Domi and McMahon for the majority of the year. All right, Joe Brady coming up, the new head coach of the bills. What was the process like?

What's the message to Josh Allen now that you're the head coach? How do you look back on that game in Denver? We'll get into all that and more with Joe Brady next. With corporate traveler, you get a dedicated travel expert and 24-7 support. So business travel feels effortless. Big meetings land Business grows With corporate traveler

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Every single day, enjoy the pasta as you love. It prices you can't miss. Hustle on your local VP tonight. Best bets later in the hour. All right, the bills have a new coach. And I guess a new offensive coordinator as well. But Joe Brady getting the job. And we saw the pictures of Joe yesterday.

I kind of doing the whole laptop. I'm in the new office thing, which is big in the NFL. But also, we're in shorts walking into the facility. shorts guy in the height of winter. I always thought you were offended by that. I've always been offended. I've got to get right to it. I got to ask him out of the gate.

Here he is, the head coach. The new head coach of the Buffalo Bills, Joe Brady. Joe, are you shorts guy? And if so, what are you thinking? Canada, Florida, it's all the same, right? It's the same weather. We're in the shorts right now. Yeah, look, I'm not spending a lot of time outside, right?

I walk from the car inside and then I'm good to go. But I'm shorts. If I can be in shorts, I'm going to be in shorts. Love that. Love that. So, Joe, how extensive was the process? You know, you're familiar with the organization. You know, was it an extensive interview multiple days? Like, maybe walk us through or give us the Reader's Digest version of that?

Yeah, look, I really didn't know what I was walking into. Like, you know, it's, are they going to be able to, are they just going to skip the part of, hey, here's a, here's a, the offense according to you from the New York Jets and we want to get to know him and and kind of start from the beginning and you know I've been fortunate I've been in some of these opportunities you know in some of these interviews to kind of have an idea of kind of what it looks like and it was it was really I was really impressed by when I went in that they treated me like I had not been in the building and that was really important to me because that that's when I knew that I actually had an opportunity here it wasn't like yeah we know you all right

here we go it was it was an intense interview like there was But there was no, they were asking questions. I mean, talking about the offense, like they really treated it as if they had, they didn't know me at all because they didn't want to assume anything. They know the version that, you know, the offensive coordinator of Joe Brady. But now as the head coach, you know, there might be things that I did that, you know, I wouldn't do as a head coach or, you know, just as I build the staff and put it all together in the vision. And it was, I mean, shoot even with Josh Allen, right?

You know, he's in there kind of, you know, asking questions. and so I'm appreciative of how they handled the approach, but it was not an easy one. Well, that transition from going, you know, from the offensive coordinator to the head coach, it is a significant one, and obviously that's, you know, why you interviewed and now you've got it. What do you think will be the most challenging transition for you

or the one that you feel you've got to tackle first and foremost, going from O.C. to head coach? Yeah, I mean, look, I'm not nice. to know I've never been a head coach, right? So I'm understanding that there's elements like the only way to get head coaching experience is to be a head coach. And there's elements that I, you know, I've been fortunate. I've been so fortunate of the coaches I've been around to be able to kind of see them, see what they do, but I'm not with them at all times. And so there's going to be, there's going to be elements of me trying to figure out, hey, what that kind of looks like, you know, in the schedule and the

balance. But to me, the most important thing for me is when I got this job, was making sure that it is and it will always be about the players. And, you know, man, it was so important for me to, hey, and I'm still in the process of going through that, but, you know, especially the defensive guys. I'm not the offense coordinator anymore. The defense and special teams guys, you know, hearing from me, you know, making sure that they, you know,

plug the number in, you know, and as we can develop and grow this relationship, like I obviously had on the offense side of the ball. With Joe Brady, the new head coach of the Buffalo Bills, and he mentioned Josh Allen, you know, being a part of the process. how would you expect your relationship with Alan to change again now that you're the head coach? Well, I hope we have such a strong relationship, but we also have a relationship built on professionalism and accountability. And he knows that all, he knows I want him to get everything that he deserves.

Like I do this so that he can hold a trophy that he deserves and that means so much to me. He knows how much I love him. And every decision that we make in this organization will be centered around maximizing him and our players. And I want him to be involved in a lot of the decisions in places that I've been. When I was in New Orleans, Sean Payton was that way with Drew Brees. And it's important for that ownership. And as he continues to take another level of his growth and leadership is knowing that, hey, all these decisions are going to go through you and you having a pulse of the locker room. But, you know, we're not always going to agree, but we know that we're in it together.

with Joe Brady so go ahead noodles so Joe now that you're the head coach do you maybe go to the manager in the off season and kind of you know help with a wish list of players that you might want to acquire in the off season that would help

your team the next level would you like to be a part of that process or do you believe that you can be a part of that process yeah I think I think the the big thing is you know having an opportunity to already be here and work with brandon bean was was important for me like I wanted to be head football coach, but I want to be a head football coach with the right people. And I know

the collaborative approach that Brandon Bean has with coaches and personnel as you put it all together. And as long as you have clear visions and you can articulate exactly like what you're looking for, then you can trust that the personnel is going to do everything they can to get that. Do I imagine you got hundreds of text messages? I was wondering if there was like one message you were like, oh man, this person, I can't believe I heard from them. I wish I could tell you I've had an opportunity to go through them. And it's, I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to. I'm appreciative of a lot of the texts.

It's a great question. There is some that I was like a little, whoa, that's how that was that text. Like how did they get my number? Yes. And I know I know I'm in such a fortunate opportunity, right? There's only 32 NFL head coaches, and I'm extremely grateful to be the head coach of the Buffalo Bills. But there's still people in the world that you're like, whoa, that's that person. And, you know, it those obviously mean a lot.

But even just hearing from my, you know, my grade school guys is still just so important because, you know, I try not to obviously forget where I came from. With Joe Brady, head coach of the Bills. And, you know, obviously in a town like Buffalo, every bill fan would know who you are. They know who everybody is on the staff, but there is a difference, you know, once you get that head coach label. And now you're representing, you know, a town and a market, western New York in general that has an incredible football history. But, you know, a history obviously where they're still seeking that Super Bowl. And there's some anxiety.

We can feel it across the border. There's a million bills fans in Toronto, you know, and you can feel it. How do you take on that responsibility? You know, the history of the team, the fan base, the small. market, the anxiety of feeling like you're right there, but are you ever going to win? Like, what message do you have to Bill's fans? Well, like, you embrace it. Like, there's, it's, look, as the offense corner, I mean, my wife and I, when we can get away,

we go north of the border, right? We go to Toronto. Like, it's, and you're walking the streets in Toronto as the offense corner of the Buffalo Bills, people see, right? It's, it's, it's, and recognize you. So I understand if, you know, north of the border, they're recognizing me. that's where it is in Buffalo, and that's part of the passion, right? And I'm understanding of that.

But I want everybody to embrace the expectations. And I'm grateful to be in this position. And I know what we're chasing, and I want to do everything we can to get where, you know, I want Mr. Bagula and Josh Allen and everybody to get what they deserve. Well, it's been a couple of weeks since, you know, that heartbreaking loss in Denver. And obviously, you've been focusing on the future and trying to get this job. But you were a big, big part of this team all year. and you were there in Denver.

As you look back on it now, and the dust settles a little bit, what do you think went wrong? Like, why could you guys not get across the finish line in Denver? Yeah, look, at the end of the day, I wasn't good enough, right? We turned the ball over five times. And usually you turn the ball over five times. You're probably going to lose 40 to three.

And, you know, it was one of those games where I felt like, you know, we don't turn the ball over. I feel like we're able to put up a lot of points, and, you know, hopefully we're playing this week. But that's the importance of the ball and protecting the football and giving you a chance. But even with it all, we had an opportunity with the ball on our hands to go down and win the football game. And we didn't get it done. And that's something that we have to obviously own.

And when we get the opportunity again, I hope we take advantage of that. Is there anything that can be done to maybe make Josh's life a bit easier game to game? Absolutely. Look, I don't like when Josh is showing up to the press conference in crutches. right you know that's you know I don't when when he's taking hits and they're making sure that I'm you know I'm doing the best thing to put him in a position to have success where you know where he's not taking he's not taking some of the hits that he's taken and you know where I'm putting people in positions where you know he can get the ball out on time and he doesn't have to hold on the football and so

you know it's we we hold each other accountable in this in this organization but as as the head football coach just like it was his offense coordinator it's always I'm always going to point the thumb by myself first and making sure I know it's making sure I know it's I'm doing everything I can to improve our football team, knowing that if I do that, the players are going to do the same. Well, and you know, you're just barely on to the job, but I've been reading a lot about you. I, you know, watch the press conference, a high energy guy, and, you know, you're going to put your own stamp on this, but, you know, you're taking over for a guy who was there for a

long time and had a lot of success and obviously brought you in. You work very close with Sean McDermott. You know, I'm curious what, you know, obviously you're going to change things, but is there anything that you'd want to apply to this team and to the future that, still kind of feel like Sean McDermott. Is there anything you learn from McDermott that you think needs to still apply? There's so much that I learned from Coach McDermott. And I know I only dressed a few of them yesterday, but it's, it's, I'm, I hurt for Coach McDermott, right? Like, I was a part of him not, you know, if I do my job, maybe I'm not sitting in this chair right now.

I'm understanding that. And like I said, I didn't take a job. I didn't take the Buffalo Bills job. ever with the mindset I was going to be the head football coach here. You know, when the opportunity came up, there was no place I'd rather been. But there's a foundation here that has been also set that this place is, this organization is a much better position than when I walked into it. And I'm understanding of that.

And I hope that I can continue to grow upon that and not just sit there and say, hey, you know what, it's not Joe Brady. It's not Sean McDermin out, Joe Brady in and we're just going to keep it moving. But it's also not like, hey, this place is broken. and we've got to get rid of it all either. And so I'm so appreciative of Coach McDermann and what he's meant for my career. And I hope that I can just continue to continue and improve upon, you know, the foundation that he laid. Absolutely.

Well, it's, you know, going to be really interesting to see where the team, you know, takes it throughout the offseason. But as you stated, Brandon stated, Bill's fans are aware. You guys got a really good team. I mean, that's got to be incredibly gratifying, right? For your first head coaching job, you're not walking into a scenario where your team won three games. last year. Like you're walking into a team that's playoffs every year. You've got a great quarterback. I mean, that's got to be,

that's got to help you sleep at night a little bit, right, Joe? Yeah, you know, some people, some people tell you, it's, it should, you should sleep a little less because of the expectations that, you know, when you take over a two-win team and you win four-win, you get four wins, there was improvement, right? And so, um, but I'm not going to work any, I'm not going to work any, uh, my, my, my work ethic's not going to change because,

I'm the head football coach now. There's a standard and expectation of how I work, you know, and the expectation of this organization. And, you know, no one rises to the low ones. I said that yesterday. And so I know what's expected,

and we're going to embrace them. And it's going to be hard, and we're going to get to work. And I'm excited once the guys get here for them to feel an energy and a vibe. And we'll take it day by day. Absolutely. You got a go-to spot in Toronto, Joe.

You're a downtown guy, Yorkville, guide, does your wife make that call? What's your spot in jail? Oh, yeah, we're downtown, and when we go up there, I don't know if I'm allowed to, but there's a restaurant that we go to right away for dinner. Shout out. We have that. Jacobs.

Yes. And so, Jacob's Steakhouse. If we're in Jay, and Danny is a Bill's fan, and, man, I could sit there and talk with him all, you know, all nights. But that is our, that is our favorite. restaurant. It's probably in the world. But if we get an opportunity to get a weekend, we go up to Toronto and we just enjoy walking around and, you know, being around it. And we go to Jacob's Takehouse. Ada boy. Yeah, you're getting in line. There's a lot of, well, you probably don't have to

get in line. We have to make reservations. You're probably walking right in there. Maybe not anymore. Yeah, I wouldn't think. Yeah, maybe we can use this to possibly get in there. Doogie, think about that. Think about that. Anything else? Let me know. Absolutely. We're always looking for hookups. Well, congrats on the. gig. We're really looking forward to seeing what you do with the team moving forward, and we appreciate you doing this today. Thanks, Joe. Thank you guys. I appreciate you

guys having me on. Go bills. There is Joe Brady. Big Toronto guy. Big Toronto guy. Yeah. Big Toronto guy. I like that, man. That's actually good to know because I might be walking around downtown and be like, that kind of looks like Joe Brady. But I'd be like, why would he be here? Might be him.

I think they come up a lot. I know. But it's like, but I didn't realize they would come up that. I think it's, you know, it's an hour and 15 door to door, probably, give or take. You know, they're all got nexus. They're flying past the border. Yeah. You know, it'd be probably private car or someone driving up, driving down. And Buffalo is such a small town.

Yeah, you just to go out. Yeah, you kind of got to escape. In Toronto, they're not expecting you. And Toronto, you know, like if Josh Allen's walking around Toronto, people know, it. But my understanding is Alan comes up here a fair amount too. So maybe they don't expect it.

Or they're getting the VIP treatment, right? Yeah, it goes both ways. I remember going, I'll drive to Buffalo for P.F. Chang's. Because there's no P.F. Chang's. I did that. Yeah. For Panned Express, too. Remember that? I love these guys are going to Jacobs. You're going to P.F. Chang's. Oh, I love Jacobs.

But, you know, there's some great steakhouses, obviously, in Toronto, like, here. Oh, of course. But, I mean, I remember, like, was like, hey, let's grab your passport. Let's go to P.F. Chang's drove down there. I think Steph and I did that early on when they're dating. But I do remember, I will tell you a crazy story.

Yeah, exactly. We were playing the Maple Leafs the night before a game, and the three of us went down to Buffalo the night before the game. It's like, hey, let's go down to Buffalo. I like some wings. Yeah. Yeah, late night. It's a great, I like Buffalo, man.

Buffalo's got a good little vibe. That goes both ways. But Toronto is a top-tier city as far as attraction, all the restaurants, all of that. So, you know, if you're in Buffalo, absolutely. Head north for an hour and a half. But you're right. Going the other way, I guess, like, if you're,

let's say you're Austin Matthews, you might be like, I'm just going to dip down a Buffalo. I got a night off. Like, they're not expecting me down there. And it's true. On that. You don't think that's happening much? Maybe not.

Point five, I'll take the time. Maybe not. Maybe not. Yeah, maybe not. Never know. I love it. Jacobs or P.F. Chang's. Basically the same.

Never know. You never know. You never know. All right. You know where you need to go is Boston Pizza. Mailing Friday brought you by Boston Pizza. Canada's favorite sports bar. This January at BP, get delicious mouth-watering pasta starting at $11.99 every single day.

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All right, best bet's coming up and we'll recap a busy afternoon. T.F. It'll be a busy weekend. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on YouTube live. With corporate traveler, you get a dedicated travel expert and 24-7 support. So business travel feels effortless. Big meetings land. Business gross. With corporate traveler, the booking is just the start.

Search corporate traveler today. The MPHL playoff race titans as the push begins February 13th. In the north, the Iron Man and Blitz are fighting for positioning. In the south, the Killer Bees, Jets, Irish, and Bluebirds battle through a crowded standing. Every shift now carries playoff weight. Mail it in Friday is brought to you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports bar. This January at BP get delicious mouth-watering pasta starting at 1199 every single day. Enjoy the pastas you love at prices you can't miss.

Hustle in your local BP tonight. All right, Best Bet's powered by Fanduel. make your picks and assemble the same game parlay in seconds on the Fanduil Sportsbook app taking the over in the Leaves Canucks game tomorrow. I don't know who's going to win that game. I am not convinced the Leafs are going to win at all. But I think the goaltending will struggle.

I think the defensive play will struggle. Willie's back. Neelander's going to play. So there you go. Yeah. That should boost the offensive production. But now, again, you're in a position where I'm like, if you can bottom out and maybe get into the bottom five,

then I guess you want them to lose out here. It's a lot of losing. A lot of games left to be played. I know it is, noodles. It's too much. It's top five protected, though, man. They're not making the playoffs. So it's either the 10th pick overall or the sixth pick overall.

Is it worth it to try and get into the top five? Probably is. I don't know if you can catch those teams, quote unquote, Chicago and St. Louis and Winnipeg and Vancouver and Calgary. I don't know if you can. Yeah. But, man, it's ugly right now. It's tough.

They are losing a lot. Best bets powered by Fandall. Same game parlay is around the NHL available on the Fandall Sportsbook app. Please play responsibly 19 plus physically located in Ontario. In fact, we're having this, Chad. It's depressing, but a reality of the scenario. Anyway, good stuff. All right, Jonas.

Thank you. Thanks for always. Great stuff. Great stuff. Thanks to everyone behind the scenes for helping out. We appreciate it. Everyone for tuning in today, TV, radio, podcast, web, and of course up on YouTube live, we're out of here.

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