Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Danny Parkins talks Bears' stadium quest, Caleb Williams' MVP odds for 2026

Episode Date: February 11, 2026

Leila Rahimi, Marshall Harris and Mark Grote were joined by FS1 host Danny Parkins to discuss why he isn’t interested in discussing the Bears’ stadium saga. What Parkins does like to talk about is Bears quarterback Caleb Williams’ outlook and his MVP odds in 2026.

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Host of Fox Sports Wands, First Thing First. Coming in number six, though, the team that should be the favorites in the NFC North, though, the odds-makers. say they're the third best team. My Chicago Bears. Why can't the Chicago Bears be the best offense in football? The Bears, plenty of reason to doubt them. Caleb Williams, no. Former host of 670 The Score before he abandoned us.

That's the Caleb Williams custom, baby. Jersey number one is going to the Raptors. You guys made it seem like a Chicago Bears fan. We had our guy, Danny Parkins, all these guys. Danny Parkins, on 1043 the score. Hey, Danny. How are you? It's time for Danny Parkins. He joins us via the Circa Sports Illinois hotline.

Download the Circa Sports app today. You can watch him on the newly expanded First Things First OT from four to five on Fox Sports One. He is at Danny Parkins on X, and he joins us on Twitch. Twitch.tv slash The Score Chicago. Danny, how are you? I'm great, Leila. How are you? Good.

We've been playing the game of Bear Stadium. Stop us when you've heard this before because you've. were also a part of that game at one point in your job duties. And the latest on the list has become Portage, Indiana and Iowa. So we've got that going for us right now in stadium search. Idaho would make sense. I almost said Idaho. But yeah, at that point, yeah, it might as well. Yeah. I mean, you said it was part of my job responsibilities when I was there. Spegel could attest to this. I hated the story then and I hate the story now. I think it's the I think it's the worst. sports talk like oh god like it's it's joyless oh in this location the tax rate is this and in this

location the tax rate is that and here it would be this and all at the end of the day is making billionaires a little richer like i just i think it like i want the bears to have a good stadium uh i care about that um i would like it to be more accessible to fans i would like it to be open air or retractable roof if it's so important to get one Super Bowl. You know, so I have no opinions on the stadium, but like the process of it, I mean, they hired Kevin Warren to get the job done and he hasn't. It's been an objective failure at this point. And, you know, I just like wake me when it's done. Like I do not want to know how the sausage is made in this story at all. I just do not care. I know, I know, show me the baby. Don't tell me about

the labor pains. Do you have a care as far as? where this stadium is, is that kind of, you don't care about that either? No. I mean, I don't like going to, I don't like going to NFL games. Unless you have a robe on, right? Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, yeah. For a, for, yeah, I went to, I went to, that's right. That's exactly right. But if it's that level of game, Grotie, like if it's that level of game to get me to invest in the tickets and the

flight and figure out the logistics, sticks and freeze my ass off, I also would do that in Northern Indiana. Like, you know what I mean? Like, like, if the game rises to that level of significance, the location of it is not terribly important. Like, the bears obviously want this to be in Arlington Heights. You know how I know? They bought 300 acres of land, like, you know, to try to do it out there because they want

to make money from the surrounding things that they could own on that ground. The television networks wanted to be at its current location because it's an awesome visual to have the stadium with the city backdrop right behind it. But me personally, it doesn't impact me one way or the other where the stadium is. I think it's joyless. Well, then let's bring up a topic that I know gives you lots of joy. Oh, we can talk about whatever you want to talk about. No, this is... I got something for you because I know you like weed and gambling.

That's what I know about you. And the gambling part, we were just talking gambling. Were we not? Caleb Williams odds, per draft kings, to win the NFL regular season MVP next year for 2026, listed at plus 1,500. Are you buying or selling Caleb as an MVP candidate next season, Danny? now we're talking weed and gambling this is a topic

I have no idea why weed was relevant to that question I want to think about things that you like stand-up comedy weed and I'm not saying I don't like all these things Danny I'm just trying to think of you

I was going to say didn't we hit the pen together before the desert show at which we saw Cole Commet yeah he did not hit the pen for the record Cole Commet did not hit the pen Yeah, no, we saw him after the pen. Yeah, that was post-pen. Yeah, I spilled some beer on my hand and then shook his hand.

Right. And Danny, to his credit, this was one of the most precious things ever. Danny would not allow me to buy liquor for him because I don't drink. And he said, no, no, no, Grody. I'm not going to make you buy me a drink now. So that was a precious moment, Danny. You wanted to buy my beer because I bought the tickets. Exactly, right, the least I could do.

You know what, if I already bought the tickets, I'll just tack on your water on top of it. I didn't want to make you buy me a miller light or whatever it was. What was the question? Caleb MVP. Plus 15-100. Yeah. Listen, 15 to 1 is not like, obviously I'd be thrilled to turn 100 bucks into $1 or $1 into $15.

Like, it's great ROI, obviously. But I would have liked it to be a little bit longer odds than that. Caleb is going to be a very popular MVP choice because he's a very popular. player and he's very fun to watch. And so I don't think that there's a lot of value in that price to be honest with you, but I absolutely believe

that he is the exact profile of player that can win MVP and should be considered among the favorites for MVP. You can't bet awards in New York. So this actually didn't get on my radar, which is a terrible job by me. Can you give me the players ahead of

Caleb for MVP? I could probably guess I mean, Josh, I don't, Allen is better than him, obviously. I think he's at 6 to 1, Josh. I have my draft king's app open right now. Here we go to be a second. Josh Allen's got to be better. Stafford's got to be better.

Who else? Does Lamar Jackson get back into the conversation? Is Drake May even still in it? Yeah. Is Drake May still in the conversation? Is Drake May better than Caleb? Right. Is Mahomes better than Caleb? Hey, and this draft class is like the Dunkin' Donuts race at the United

Center. It's like, is it Jaden Daniel? starts to take the lead. Oh, no, Drake May has it. But then Caleb has this year. It's really fascinating to watch this particular draft classes. They all jockey for position. I once had a guy who ran the stadium operations at the United Center in my buddy's seats, Ben Kaplan, who I co-wrote Pipeline at the pros, available now. They were actually his seats, and they knew the guy who did the scoreboard operator, and he would turn around and flash one, two, or three ahead of the Dunkin' Donuts race. And the first time I figured out that we had insider trading on

True story. I was like, I don't know, 11. And I turned to the guy next to me and said, I'll bet you five bucks it's cupy coffee. And he got Biggie Bagel and dashing donut. And it was an even money wager. And I swindled this guy out of five bucks. True story. You know what, Danny? I'm not surprised by that. By the way, I have the updated odds for you. The favorite is Josh Allen at plus 550. Lamar Jackson closely behind at plus 650. Patrick Mahomes is plus 1,000, as are Justin Herbert. Joe Burrow and Drake May. Dak Prescott is plus 1,300. Matthew Stafford is plus 1,400. And joining Caleb Williams at plus 1,500 is Jordan Love. Okay, so eight quarterbacks in front of them. He's tied for ninth with Jordan Love.

You know, I mean, listen, that feels about right. Right. I don't think that Mahomes, I mean, he's incredible, obviously, but I don't know that they have enough offensive weapons for him to have an amazing statistical year. Herbert's a pretty obvious case with his tackles coming back and McDaniel coming in. Stafford statistically would have to do exactly what he did this year,

which is hard to imagine. Joe Burroughs right there. Toyota builds vehicles that don't just keep up. They lead the pack. On the road, in your routine, and most of all, within your budget. Take the Camry and Corolla, two stylish and dependable cars, both with the latest tech and driver-friendly features,

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And right now, your local Toyota dealer has great financing and lease options available to qualified customers, meaning there's no better time to step into a new Toyota. Start your search for great deals today at buyatoyota.com. Toyota, let's go places. Hey guys, this is Matt Norlander, co-host of the Ion College basketball podcast with Gary Parrish. We are part of the CBS Sports Podcast Network, and college hoops is turning toward what's going to be a phenomenal March. So be sure you are tuned into the show. We're going to be publishing at least four shows every week.

Follow and listen to IOn College Basketball free on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast. March is coming. Burroughs right there. Yeah, Burroughs got to stay healthy, but he's right there. Yeah, I mean, listen, I think that feels about right. I think, you know, eighth or ninth on the quarterback list for MVP, I got to be honest. Like, that feels fair, and I wouldn't bet it. But I just, I think that the bears are in a very interesting spot.

I think the value on betting the bears is actually more in like betting on the team. You could get them at 27 to one right now to win the Super Bowl and roughly half of that to win the NFC. And the only reason their odds are so low is because, you know, the odds makers like Detroit and Green Bay a little. little more. But if you believe that the Bears are the best team in the NFC North and should be actually favored in the division, that means there's value across the board, them in the NFC North and to win the whole NFC. And I can promise you this, if the Bears make a trade for Miles Garrett or Max Crosby or someone like that, those odds are going to skyrocket. Did you say Miles Garrett? If you want to bet the Bears, I would do it now. Yeah, listen, Miles Garrett, everyone is assuming

that's not going to happen. And okay, maybe not. He just got the huge contract extension. But he loved Jim Schwartz. Jim Schwartz just resigned as the defensive coordinator in Cleveland because he didn't get the head coaching job. Miles Garrett was just on Michael Parsons's podcast a couple of days ago saying that the next step for him is to hoistle-Lombardi and be Super Bowl MVP. Don't see a real path to that happening in Cleveland. They need to tear it down.

They don't have a franchise quarterback. They got 46 million committed to Deshawn Watson next year. They got a first-time head coach. they got two first-round picks. If I was running Cleveland, I would be looking at trading 30-year-old defensive player of the year Miles Garrett for multiple first-round picks. Absolutely. Well, and Max Crosby has been such a buzzword for us here.

You know, the question becomes whether or not Kling Kubiak wants to keep him and build her at him. And then there was the report that he has reportedly said he's played his last down already for the Raiders. What do you make of it? Yeah, I don't know. It was a Cubiak said at his press conference yesterday that he obviously wants to keep and Crosby has said, you know, that he's been at the facility and has been participating and working out. So they're all saying the right thing. But that's another, yeah, it's another obvious spot to, you know, to get to be bad. Like, it's probably valuable for them to be bad.

If they're going to draft Mendoza and not trade out of that spot, you know, having multiple first round picks next year to build around him, to build out his offensive line, to build out his defense, whatever you end up needing because they've got a ton of talent holes there. trade a great pass rusher on an awful team is like a great closer on an awful baseball team. It's not terribly valuable. You want to have a great pass rusher on a great offense so that you're playing from out in front so the other team needs to pass a lot so you can tee off on the other team's quarterback. What good did Miles Garrett's 24 sacks have on a team that has the sixth pick in the draft?

So I think that both of those guys should be traded. A little Twitch stream feedback here, Danny, if you don't mind. Somebody who goes by the Triano Kid post, who is this guy? And he needs to step up his game. So I just want to make sure that you know that that's the feedback we're getting on the... Kids got a lot of balls. He's on the clock right now. Bobby Tree, our guy, Robbie Triano.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. A lot, a lot of balls. I did want to ask you this too, Danny, is it was your guy, Kevin Wilds, who I think was the first guy, or you guys had the first show, at least, as a group to talk about Drake May for MVP. I feel like that came on very early in the season. We had the discussion here about how if you put Caleb Williams into Drake May's shoes, I think, in that game, it's a different outcome for Boston. You know, what do you think of just the comparison and the discussion? What has it been like amongst you all this past week after the Super Bowl? Well, we haven't done Drake v. Caleb this week, but I know that's been a big thing in Chicago.

Listen, Drake was not good in the playoffs and he was awful in the Super Bowl. And I think a small piece of that is the shoulder injury that he heard it in the Denver game and he played through it with the pain-killing injection. But I also think it's a couple of things can be true. Drake May, I said I would have voted him for MVP this year. I thought all of the advanced numbers pointed to him, and he did not have Sean McVeigh. He did not have Pooka Nakua, who was first team all pro, and he did not have Devante Adams, who led the league in touchdowns.

His defense was better than New England's during the regular season, and his running game was better than Stafford's was. All season. Like Stafford's was, excuse me. So, like, I thought that doing more with less, May actually had a better candidacy than Stafford did, though it was very close. So I thought May would have gotten my MVP vote this year. But to your question about the Super Bowl, yeah, I think Caleb would have done better. Because his magical trait is escaping sacks and escaping pressures and his mobility. Drake May is a good athlete, but he took a ton of sacks this year.

He just set the record from most sacks and most fumbles in a single postseason. But Drake May's superhuman ability is he completed 73% of his passes this year. Caleb Williams was below 60. So they are both elite quarterback talents and elite quarterback prospects, but their skill sets and the things that they are exceptional at are very different. So in that particular Super Bowl, yes, I think Caleb's escapability and improvisation would have led to him having a better game than Drake, but Caleb's inability to have a high floor of accuracy kept him from even sniffing the MVP conversation this year, of which I thought Drake should have won.

Well, Danny, as usual, good time to chat, good talk, and I feel better about at least we got to inform you of the award results. here or the award odds, that maybe if you go to another state, you can check out, like, I don't know, New Jersey or something. Well, listen, I have no problem betting MVP and betting awards. I just, I honestly, like, I hadn't, it hadn't even occurred to me. Look, I have too many round one unders on the Pebble Beach proam this week. It was raining during the week, and then there's no wind in the forecast for Thursday. Half the field starts at Spyglass.

Half the field starts at Pebble Beach. So, like, under 69 and a half on, you know, Maverick McNeely. and Russ Henley and Siwu Kim and Victor Hovland. That's just free money that these places are hanging on the board. So I've been spending my time gambling on that this week. All right. You heard it from Danny first. Danny, thanks for joining us today.

Thanks, Danny. Bye, Danny. Bye guys. We'll see you in Idaho at the new stadium. Say it out of Bob for us. Bob Tree. Danny Parkins. Hey, guess what just happened in the NFL today?

What happened? What happened? What? A dude we know is back at a job, we know. It's going to go for him. As if you needed more reasons to pay attention to the Packers next. It's Toyota Truck Month. Time to get a truck that works as hard as you do.

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