The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Bears Failure, Next Man Up, Saleh’s Opportunity, College GM’s, Mailbag

Episode Date: September 14, 2023

John rants on why the viral video of Chase Claypool mailing it in is an indictment of the Bears Coach, GM and organization, and why “Next Man Up” sounds nice, but doesn’t work in practice. He explains how Robert Saleh can earn a contract extension despite losing Aaron Rodgers, identifies the teams that can’t afford to lose in week two, and highlights the one major change Nick Saban brought to college football that made it more like the NFL. He also answers listeners' questions from the “Middlekauff Mailbag”. Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow -  for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #Volume #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Get the app on Apple's App Store and make sure you follow me at John Middilcoff to get notified when I go live. What is going on, everybody, John Middilcoff, three and out. podcast. How are we doing, my people? Wednesday afternoon, recording a little podcast reacting to the viral video of Chase Claypool and how that reflects current Bears management. Some piggybacking on the Aaron Roger story. They just won't die in Robert Sala. Some teams that are basically in, I mean, you can't start 0 and 2, you know, especially if you were a playoff team last year and had high expectations. There's a lot of teams from the Steelers to the Giants to Buffalo

bills to the Seattle Seahawks. They're going to have some pressure on them immediately, right? You go into week three and you don't have a win. You got problems. And something I noticed in college football when it comes to Nick Saban, I read an article today that I realized he doesn't get any credit for, at least publicly and nationally, because he gets all the credit for what he's done on the field. But something he did off the field that really changes the sport forever and really for

the better. He, we'll discuss it coming up. So big, big show today. And then, of course, Middlecoff mailbag at John Middlecoff is the Instagram. At John Middlecoff is the Instagram. Fire in those DMs and ask your question and get it answered here on the show. Very, very easy to do. The DMs are wide open, easy to slide into.

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Download the GameTime app, Fast Growing Ticketing app in America, promo code John, and go do something. Okay, I wanted to start with the hype machine. And let's face it, the impact of the offseason because of the distance between games, can get pretty outrageous, right? And I think we saw it somewhat this offseason with the Chicago Bears. They make a big draft day trade. their general manager is, you know, he's willing to say some pretty bold comments he did when he was hired about eventually running the division.

He did this offseason about how hard he was working, evaluating the draft. They obviously have Justin Fields, who once upon a time they traded up for, highly touted prospects. Like, the Bears could be good this year. And I think sometimes we talk about GMs in general and what their job is. Like if you make a good draft pick, right? Like, look at who he found in the second round. Like, the job of a GM encapsulates so many things. First and foremost, it's hiring the coach.

Second, it's running the entire roster. So that free agency trades the draft. It's not just like, well, he hit on some draft picks. Well, who does he sign a free agency? Has he ever made any waiver claims? Who's he made trades for? And I think sometimes the hype machine with a franchise that feels a little dead, especially a big market franchise.

I think you see it sometimes in the NBA, like with the Knicks. People desperately, this year they actually were good. But for a long period of time, like, this could be the year. It's like, have you guys looked at their roster? They're not going to be any good. And I'm pretty unbiased when it comes to football. Like, if you got a good team, tell you got a good team. And listen, I can be wrong sometimes.

We'll see on like the Miami Dolphins. But I've never acted like the Miami Dolphins stink. Do I think they're probably closer to a 9-win team than a 13-win team? I do. But time will. tell and if I'm wrong, I'll be the first to wave my hand and say, God, I've missed that one, because I love Vic Fangio, I like Mike McDaniel, I just don't quite see it with their personnel on defense, but who knows? Now Aaron Rogers is gone. Maybe they cruise that division. With the Bears,

this one was a pretty easy one for me because the hype machine this off season was outrageous. People were picking, and I love Justin Fields coming out in the draft, but I've loved a lot of players that didn't turn out to be very good. And I've questioned a lot of players that turned out to be pretty good, right? So this is like, the way football works, whether you're a GM or whether you're just a fan sitting on your couch. We all have opinions on football. And then over the course of time when the games happen, we're either proven right or proven wrong.

It's the fun part of watching sports, right? You get to have takes. You get to have thoughts. You get to root for a player. You get to root against a player. Now, GMs have skin in the game, right? They're no different than you. They like certain guys and they dislike certain guys.

They just have the power to add them to their team. And there was a video that went viral over the last 24 hours, and it was of Chase Claypool, a player that the Chicago Bears last year traded a second round pick that turned out, wait for it to be pick 32. And this video of Chase Claypool, and once upon a time, I watched a lot of all 22. I spent basically every waking hour in the NFL watching all 22 tape on either college or a lot of time when I worked in the office professional players. And it can get pretty monotonous and redundant and kind of boring at times.

Because especially when you're just a random scout, you're not spending most of your time watching Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Donald. You're watching a lot of random guys. And Chase Claypool would be a guy that every team in the league this year will evaluate. Why? He's going to be a free agent. And I got a newsflash. The Bears are not going to extend them. This video on Chase Claypool is one of the.

more embarrassing things you'll see. And this gets back to the organization. You're only as strong as your head coach and your quarterback. And a lot of teams like, you know, your GM plays a pretty big role in that too. And clearly right now, the Chicago Bears have question market quarterback, very talented individual, but is he good enough in the passing game? And right now I think it's more than up in the air than he is. Most people, the evidence we have, he's not.

But any time that you attempt to surround a player, like part of being a GM and part of being that kind of group as the head coach in the GM is having a direct idea and a specific idea of the tight players you want. Not just from a physical standpoint, right? height, weight, speed, all that crap. But their football character, how hard they play, how much football means to them, how willing they are to do absolutely everything to improve. at their craft. Because once you get to the professional level, if that's your mindset and you have

talent, sky's the limit. You make millions of dollars. You become a star and you become a productive player in the most Watts League in America. And the Pittsburgh Steelers now have a long history of knowing what they're doing when it comes to personnel departments. They find a lot of gems in the draft and when they don't work out if they get rid of a guy, it's usually to me a red flag. And Antonio Brown had a six-year stretch with. just Google his stats, it's one of the best stretches you'll ever see in football history. And then when they were willing, obviously it got weird at the end and they were trading them. When the Raiders were the team that wanted, I'm like, this is not going to be a good fit.

You don't have the infrastructure. You're not a good team. You're not even remotely close to being ready to win, taking in this personality flyer. And even at the time, we didn't know he was remotely as crazy as he was. And it completely blew up. He was cut before. I think he ever played a game. Remember, he showed up in training camp with the burnt feet from the cryo in a hot air balloon. It was bat-shit nuts. And then a couple days later, he puts out a video on YouTube of his phone call with John Gruden.

Well, last year, when the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to put Chase Claypool on the trading block, that should be a giant red flag to any team. Now, I understand, like, this is, it's a very black and white league. Either win or you lose. And you need to acquire talent to win. You can't win with just Johnny Trihardt's. that won't work. Like, look at the best teams in the league.

It's Michael Parsons and Trent Williams, right, and Travis Kelsey's in Mahomes. Like, you need elite guys to win in the NFL. And you need elite guys to even just improve in the NFL. And talent, there's a big difference, right, between guys that are fringe NFL talents and guys that have the NFL, like, high-end physical capabilities. But if you don't like football,

if you don't care about football, and you don't play hard, no one cares. In this video on Chase Claypool, to me, you could argue, well, it's a reflection on Chase Claypool, but he's kind of been this guy for a while. The Steelers knew it, and they couldn't have got rid of him any faster. And for the Bears, a team that aren't even remotely close to being good to not only bring this guy in, but to play him and trade a second round pick for him. Like, when you're bad, premium picks mean a lot to you.

So a guy like Chase Claypool, if you would be, be interested should be a team that's much closer to making the playoffs. Never made sense to me. Honestly, I thought the trade at the time, this is not playing Monday morning quarterback. But then when this happens, like there's an old adage by Bill Belichick. You're either coaching it or allowing it to happen. So both the guys, the head coach and the GM, you know, kind of have egg on their face when it comes to this player. Obviously, the GM is the guy pulling the trigger to make this trade, which aged incredibly poorly and was awful at the time, let alone right now, it's even worse.

And this is a reflection of the coach because you're either coaching or allowing it to happen, and that reflects you because this is not peewee football. This is the pros. If he's doing that, you've got to get him out of the game. And I know it was easy for him to say that everything's on the table and maybe he'll get bench this week. It's too late.

Like that is, I think the bears are so far away because they don't even have an identity of what they're looking for. If you're willing to do that and that mistake, They're still a year away from being a year away, whether this Justin Fields thing, which is not headed in the right direction, but this just shows you. And it happens all the time with like coaching assistants. And it definitely happens in college, the hype machine. And I'm guilty of this. The overall media is guilty of this is there becomes a hype machine, this coordinator and this, you know, assistant GM.

And then you'll talk to a guy for the team. They're like, yeah, this guy's kind of a fraud. Or yeah, he's actually not that good. Or sometimes they're like, yeah, this guy's a stud. But when the hype machine grows, there's just no stopping it. And I think this offseason, the hype machine on the Bears, was borderline laughable. It really was. And I got no agenda here.

There's no bias. Just look at their roster. It's not that good. And it was dependent on Justin Fields taking a massive step, a massive step just for them to be competitive. And if he's going to play just like he did last year, and then they're going to have stuff like did happen with Chase Claypool, they have no shot. Say what you want about the Packers, right? And we still unknown.

Like, I'm not giving them that much credit in terms of Jordan Love because I think they played one of the worst teams in the league. But they have a clear identity. They know exactly what they're looking for. And they have for a long period of time. From Ted Thompson to Gutikins to Ron Wolf, they have consistency in their front office. They're typically pretty aligned with the GM and the head coach.

And I thought the Packers' performance on Sunday was just like, Yeah, that's an organization that has not only a specific type, but they're all on the same page. I think Coward said this, and I agree, their offense looked disjointed. I'd argue their franchise feels disjointed. And I was critical of the Chargers for having the cheap disease, and that's with the owner. I think the Bears battle this sometimes. There's just a cheapness to their operation. I've known people that have worked there, and it's sad because they're one of the stalwart brands of the league,

one of the biggest markets, the Bears, a historic team. But let's face it, for the last 20, the majority of my life, kind of been pretty average. And offensively, they've really, really struggled. And it's not really a secret why they're struggling when you watch a guy like Chase Claypool. Dogging. Imagine doing that for one of the top coaches in the NFL. Imagine doing that for Bill Belichick or Andy Reid or Kyle or Sean McVeigh.

or Pete Carroll. That would never be tolerated. That would never be tolerated. And I know you traded a second round pick for him. You want to dry a line in the fucking sand? Cut that guy on Monday. Because it's not just automatically going to improve. Be one thing if he was a rookie. Guy's been in the league for several years. This is fourth season.

He's in a contract year. He's literally playing for money. I mean, you're actually paying him. And his contract's going to end. He's going to try to get an extension somewhere or have someone pay him. That's what you're tolerating. I never understand. when bad teams don't immediately cut a guy in a situation like that.

What do you have to lose? More games? You're probably going to lose them anyway. So I think the bears have major, major problems. I've always found it funny, and I get why coaches do this, is the quote-unquote next man up mentality, which is the case for a lot of players when they get injured. If your second corner gets hurt or a guard gets hurt, like next man up.

But there comes a point when certain players get injured. there just is usually no replacing them. And there are clearly several quarterbacks in the NFL that I don't care who the backup is. It is a gigantic drop off and a drop off that is impossible to bridge the gap, right? There is no, when Aaron Rogers gets hurt, there is no next man up, Zach, let's figure this out. Everyone knows the players, Robert Taw can say whatever he wants, and obviously every one of us on the outside. they're screwed at the quarterback position. Now, they're not necessarily screwed as a team because they got a really good defense

and they got some good running backs. But I go back to the late 90s when Trent Green tore his ACL and Dick Vermeal gave the impassioned speech. Kurt Warner is our quarterback and we will win with Kurt Warner. At the time, do I think he truly believe that? Probably not. But clearly Kurt Warner went on to be a Hall of Famer and it worked out pretty well. You know, when Tom Brady tore his ACL the year after the undefeated,

season, well, actually didn't end undefeated because they lost the Giants. Matt Castle came in and they won 11 games. But there is no next man up to Tom Brady, even if it's to Matt Castle. In this situation, I was thinking about it today, if Robert Sala can keep them above 500, like if the dust settles and they go nine and eight or better, I think he probably got to extend them. I really do because everyone in that building, I don't care how optimistic he is, and I'm sure he was when he addressed the team on Wednesday morning.

Like most teams come to the team meeting to get the, you know, the game plan before they break up to offense, defense, and the head coach addresses them. Every coach is a little bit different, and every setup of that meeting is obviously different. But I would, I think it's fair to venture to guess that Robert Sala opened the meeting with some positive reinforcement that were bigger than one guy, that we have a good enough team to compete. The season is not over. we're one and oh, we got a long season ahead.

Everyone needs to band together. And he's not wrong. Like that message, what else is he supposed to say? But these guys aren't idiots. They know. But if he's able to keep the, you know, and I thought he did an incredible job on Monday night. The team kept playing hard. They just kept themselves in the game.

You know, you could argue, and I had people DMing me, like, you're just, you're acting like Josh Allen played like shit. Why not give the Jets defense more credit? listen, I'll give the Jets all the credit in the world. Two of those interceptions, I mean, threw it right to the DB. One thing when you break on a route, like the third pick by Whitehead, the other two are kind of Yolo throws. I don't give you that much credit as a defense for Yolo throws.

I do give them a lot of credit just for the pace in which they played, the violence in which they play with, and just the overall quickness and just how good they are. I'm not just arguing that. But I do think Robert Sala has a lot on the line this year for a lot to gain. because anytime you go through a moment like that, like when do you really learn something about yourself, about people you work with, about your significant other,

it's not when times are great. It's when you hit adversity, when shit hits the fan, right? When you learn a lot about yourself, I know professionally when I've been fired, you know, when you spend a lot of time in deep thought when you lose a parent, right?

When you go through times that you don't wish upon anyone else, that they're not easy. But that's usually your greatest time for growth. and if you can make it through it. And sometimes it's very, very difficult. I don't care what you do. Whether it's a personal situation, whether it's a professional situation, you just got to find a way to make it through it.

Now, the hard part about football is like, you can have the right mentality and you can try really hard. If Zach Wilson's going to suck, they're going to be at a huge disadvantage. And we've talked about earlier in the week, like, who should they go get? Like, this is week two. What are they supposed to do? You know, he's mentioned today. He doesn't expect Aaron Rogers to retire.

I don't either. So he's going to come back. You still own a bunch of money. You can't trade for any of these quarterbacks make it any coin. You already are giving up a second round pick next year because of the Rogers trade. You drafted Zach Wilson number two overall. You might as well see if he grew it all this offseason, see what he has for a couple weeks.

But you don't have any other options. It kind of is what it is. It's the reason you trade for Aaron Rogers. It's the reason this game is so fickle that if your quarterback has a major injury, you're kind of on the sideline. but if he's able to keep it just, you know, the boat above water, which is not going to be easy. I don't care how good their defense is. And Zach Wilson just improves enough to make them competitive.

I think Robert Sala can earn himself a contract extension, right? Now, it can go the other way, and we could argue they could win six games, and it could be just, you know, every game tightly contested, kind of like last year, but even closer. And you have, God, that's still pretty impressive. And I'd agree, right? but I don't know, you know, it wasn't his fault. It was no one's fault that Aaron Rogers got hurt. I don't quite understand, and I saw Diana Rusini say that Aaron didn't love some of the blocking schemes with the cut blocks of the defensive linemen. I didn't get why they were going five wide, four wide and in the shotgun.

Just get understanding and run the ball early in the game, just establish your toughness. But that's kind of irrelevant now because they didn't and they lost their quarterback to a torn Achilles. So that next man up is so easy to say when it's a random guy. and then like Aaron Donald goes down. You're like, next man up. Like, well, what does that mean? Like, he's 10% of the player. Micah Parsons goes down, right?

A.J. Brown goes down. Like, there is 20, 30 non-quarterbacks in this league that I laugh in your face. Travis Kelsey hurts his knee before week one. Like, good luck supplementing that. I don't care how long the bulldozer and Noah Gray have been around the chief. There's no replacing Travis Kelsey. It's impossible. just like there's no replacing Chris Jones up with his two mob buddies

who orchestrated one of the worst holdouts in league history. And yeah, I just, I'm fascinated to watch. I don't necessarily want to watch the Jets. Like, I'm not that interested really in watching Zach Wilson. I just want to follow the team, right? I don't have to watch. I was really, I think the shittiest part about this is if you love football, you're just like, I just want to watch Aaron Rogers, New Jersey play.

Like, I don't care at all about Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But when Tom first got there, it was impossible to not be glued. And that's what Aaron was bringing to the table. Now I'm just interested in kind of following the story and not having to be glued to every one of their snaps. Okay, I think after week one, if we think you're going to be a good team or a competitive team, a playoff level team, you know, we have long heard the stats of being 0 and 2 in the league. The percentage chance of making the playoffs, I think it's close to 10%. it's a little skewed because now we got the seventh team right we have the added wildcard

spot and that's only been going now for what two years so we have a small sample size but it's clear like if you start oh and two you are at a huge disadvantage and your margin for error is very very small because you're really staring right two and five in the face and you could play well so i i picked some teams this week that i think kind of got to draw a line in the sand And I saw Trent Williams had a quote about the Steelers is early on in that game, once the Niners took the lead, the Steelers went three and out basically every drive to the final drive of the first half. He said by about the third drive, he was so tired because they got no rest.

He was rooting for the Steelers just to get a first down. So instead of running three plays, they ran like six or eight just so he could catch a breather. Now, he was not saying that like he's not being mean or. anything. He's just honestly saying, I was exhausted. It was crazy how fast our defense was going on the field and coming right off. That was an embarrassing performance. For all the Tomlin games, I can remember in recent memory, that was about as gutless of a performance. It's one thing to lose the 49ers. They're better than you. No big deal. It's another thing to just get curb stomped like they did. And this week, they're playing the Browns at home.

I like the Steelers in this spot, but I definitely am a little nervous on, and I said this all week, my preseason thoughts on them. If they don't show and bounce back, I'm probably out on them. Like, they'll have their classic, start slow, and then somehow get to eight, you know, nine wins and not be under 500, but they already have some major injuries. Hayward team captain forever is out. Deontay Johnson's injured. This is kind of must.

I don't want to say it's must-win territory because obviously you still have 15 games left, but you get beat by a divisional opponent at home and you get curbs top by the Niners. I mean, are we finally looking at a team that's under 500 after all that hype? And again, I'm guilty of it. They better win this week. Seattle. Until I looked at the schedule early Wednesday morning, I was thinking, listen, I rewatch Seattle rent I really watched it for the first time I had it on if you got four games on your TV it's fun and you can consume a little bit at a time but it's not the same of just watching a game like I had the charger in the afternoon slate on week one I got two TVs were in my office and on the big TV on like 60 incher I had the four TV box and then a little TV like the 40 incher I just had the Chargers dolphins so I had four games going on one and Chargers dolphins going on the other it's way

easier to follow the Chargers Dolphins game on just the one TV than it is the four box game. So I love doing it, but in terms of this show and feeling confident about what I'm talking about, it is difficult to watch and just have like strong takes on the four box situation. So I watched the Rams Seattle game. And Seattle had the lead. They were up 13 to 7 in halftime. And then the second half, the Rams, a bunch of their random guys played really well. When I say random, like young mid-round picks were making plays left and right.

And Matt Stafford was awesome. And Seattle got worked in the second half. Like McVeigh kicked the shit out of Pete. He really did. He got him on a fourth down play call for a touchdown that Acres walked into the end zone. It was a coaching mismatch in the second half. It really was. Seattle plays the Lions this week.

And the Lions are coming off a long week where because it's week one, I don't know if they're really going to be in the position where they're kind of feeling themselves, right? And the other thing is, and I don't agree with this, anyone trying to do. diminish the opening game because Chris Jones was in the stands and Kelsey was, you know, in street clothes, Tex and Taylor Swift, I don't buy into that. A win's a win. This is football. You only get so many games.

This isn't, you know, the NBA where guys rest every other game. Like, this is, the chiefs are hard to beat. I don't give a shit. Who's playing? If Andy's coached and Mahomes is the quarterback, that's a good win. But I think the Lions, and they mentioned this during the broadcast, like season tickets are sold out. The buzz coming into this season is an all-time high, as it should be. I think that place is going to be going bananas. You know kind of what prime time has brought to

Colorado? I think you're going to sense a little bit of NFL version of that with the lines. This is not going to be an easy spot for Seattle. Now, Seattle's got a lot of good players. And honestly, Gino, his stat line was worse. The eye test, he wasn't as bad. Like watching the game, he was, I didn't, I know if you just go to the box score, it does not look great. He did not look like some scrub. But Seattle will find a way to win this game, man. Because if they don't, with how hard the schedule is, the NFC West, they haven't played the 49ers yet.

They've already lost the Rams. The NFC West plays the NFC East. And so they still got to play the Eagles, the Cowboys, the Giants, and they play the AFC North. All of a sudden, that could be one of the swing teams as like Seattle's out of the playoffs and, you know, some new random NFC team is in. So that's, that is a massive game. Now, a game on paper that is a massive mismatch, regardless of what happened last weekend, the Giants have no excuse.

They really don't. They're coming to Arizona. If you are a playoff team, you win this game. And honestly, you should win this game by 10 plus. Especially after that absolute shalacking that the Cowboys. The Steelers were embarrassed. The Cowboys made the Giants look like a JV team. And for a team that had so much hype that won a playoff game.

when a road playoff game to have that happen to you at home, I don't care if the Cowboys are a lot better than you. That's unacceptable. And clearly anyone that's not a Daniel Jones guy, and I don't blame you if you're not a Daniel Jones guy, everyone is shitting on them this week. Every single person was, and rightfully so, because they're paying them a lot of money.

Anytime you get paid a lot, the criticism, the microscope just increases. Everyone's paying closer attention to you. And it's going to be fascinating to watch that play out. the last but not least team, like, listen, I was not one of those people that like, you know, I can see Buffalo coming back to Earth. As long as they got Josh Nall and I'm chalking them up as a playoff team,

but that version of Josh Allen, they'd have major problems. And I'm not saying I'm on the Raider bandwagon yet, but I've been pretty bullish on the Raiders this preseason. They just feel, I don't know, more cohesion. Maybe the coach feels a little more comfortable with the quarterback that knows what he wants, even though Jimmy is every bit the roller coaster is Derek Carr,

you know, they get rid of some players, they add some guys on defense. Even the Chandler Jones situation last week, which we don't even really have details. Did he just go nuts? Did they say something to piss him off? He clearly is not around the team. He wasn't at the game. He was going to be their starting pass-resger opposite Max Crosby, who might not even need an opposite pass-rissor because he was ruining McGlinchie.

I think Buffalo, you talk about must-win. You lose your first two games and you lose your second game at home to the Raiders, there is tangible pressure, not just on the bills, but Josh Allen to just play dramatically better than he did the other night. Okay, last but not least, I read this article today on The Athletic about the rise of the GM in college football. And when I got hired in the NFL, by my second year, we hired a guy named Ed Manowitz, and he was the director of player personnel, which is essentially the GM of Alabama football.

and they had won a couple national championships, and he really, him, he had worked for Nick Saban, revolutionized the position in college football because historically, the main difference, obviously in college, players pick you, and in the NFL, you pick the players. But one of the main differences in a coaching staff in college and the pros is in the pros,

your scouts are scouts, not the coaches. In college, your scouts, your scouts, are your coaches. They're your recruiters, right? They're equivalent to your road scouts. They go to the high schools and help you recruit and find players and work with your head coach who is essentially the GM as well because he's the guy who has final decision-making power on every player on the roster and who to sign and who to recruit. Well, once Ed and Sabin really created this position in 2009, 2010, 2011, so many of Sabin, coaches started spreading throughout college football. And because of the success Nick was having,

many consider him the greatest college coach of all time, everyone copied what he did. And what he did was build a personnel department. So he essentially had a GM. And then he would take students or student assistants and train them to work with different coaches in different positions. So they would basically have an operation. And this article on the athletic basically talked about every team now has a GM. And these GMs around college football are making $250,000, $400,000. And they are in charge of the transfer portal, high school recruiting, working with their coaches going throughout the country. My buddy Derek, who works at Florida State, who is the GM of Florida State, has like a team of 15, 20 guys working under him.

And before the last couple years, historically Florida State for being a power program was actually one of the lower budget in terms of some of their recruiting resources relative to like the Clemsons, the Alabama's, and the Georgia's. Now, all of these, if you're a Power 5 program and you not only not have a GM or a director of player personnel, but you don't have a staff of that minimum 10 people, give or take, you are way behind the times. In this article, Steve Sarkeesian talked about hiring a guy that he needed someone with experience. And he plucked a guy from a different program. Lane Kippen did that. Georgia did that. They all have these, the guy that originally hired me at Fresno State has been in Oklahoma in that position with Bob Stoops, Lincoln, Riley, and now Brett Venables, Drew Hill.

And their job, and now it's clearly expanded with the transfer portal, is operating just like you do in the NFL. When I worked in the NFL, my first job was evaluate a couple teams, keep an eye on the practice squad, run the boards of any guy that's cut. well, now these personnel departments, it's not just high school recruiting. If you talk to any of these GMs and I'm lucky enough to know them, any starter who enters the transfer portal in Division 1 football, we put a grade on, right? Hell, Florida State took a D2 player. So you're keeping an eye on absolutely everybody.

If a guy plays at a Division 1 program, you're getting eyes on him. And if he's decent, you're giving him up to the position coach, the coordinator, or the head coach. and the only way you can keep track of all this shit, because you obviously still have to high school recruit, you obviously during the season have to game plan for your opponents. There's a lot going on. It's why in the NFL, there is no chance. It's why it was so stupid whenever these coaches would try to be coached GM,

it's impossible. Now, there's one thing about having decision-making power, but you need a GM, you need personnel people. And I think these college coaches realized it because they all copied Nick Saban, this is the only way to operate. It's the only way possible to be competitive. And I think Nick Saban,

for all the credit he deserves on the field, having this dynasty in the internet era, kicking the shit out of everyone he played over 15-year span, winning all the championships, even his bad teams are winning 10-11 games. I think something that he'll never get enough credit for is changing the landscape of college football in terms of,

personnel departments and in terms of essentially bringing an NFL front office to every team in Power 5 football because in the next 10 years, these GM positions in college football, I would imagine all the big boys are paying over 500 grand. I mean, they are great jobs. You actually have more juice than most people have in the NFL. Like ultimately, if you're a college scouting director, it's an awesome job. But, you know, you got to go to your GM and then has to work with his coach, like in college, you are the right-hand man of the head coach.

You're essentially, I mean, you are technically a lot of people call themselves to the GM, but the closer you get to your head coach, like, he leans on you. Now, it goes on his resume if you pick a guy that's not any good, but you get to have a lot of juice that you might not get in the NFL. So we talk so much about Nick Sabin on the field, but off the field, he's been just as impactful in college football. Football is back, in full swing with another week of Epic. games. And who's got you covered on the action for every single one of them? Draft King Sportsbook,

an official sports betting partner of the NFL. New customers can bet $5 on football and get $200 instantly in bonus bets. Nobody's missing out on the action this season. All Draft King customers can take advantage of two new offers every game day this September. Get in on the NFL week two action with Draft King Sportsbook. Download the app now and use the code John, J-O-H-N, to sign up. New customers can bet $5 and take home 200 instantly in bonus bets. Only on Drafking Sportsbook with code John, the crown is yours. Gambling problem. Call 100 Gambler or visit www. www.1-800-Gambler. In New York, call 8778-8-8-7-7-8. Hope N. Why? Or text, Hope and Y. 467-6-9. In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-78-7-77 or visit ccpg.org. Please play responsibly.

On behalf of Boot Hill Casino and Resort, Kansas, 21 plus, age varies by jurisdiction. Voided Ontario. C.DK.NG.com slash football for eligibility. Terms and responsible gaming resources. Bonus bets expire seven days after issuance. Eligibility and deposit restrictions apply. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast. Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions,

my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite

athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space.

For honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right what you need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little kill?

Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack.

so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years

for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, let's dive into a little thing we call the Middlecough mailbag. At John Middlecough, Instagram, DM's wide open. I have a million DMs, so if I don't get to yours, you know, if I'm ever to skip yours, it is not intentional. I apologize.

It's hard. The way Instagram and my man Zuck has this thing when you get as many just, you know, and I get a lot of repeat DMers, that there's not a way like on an email or an Excel spreadsheet to really categorize it. So if I ever miss you, I apologize. I appreciate everyone who slides in. Start with Patrick. I know Aaron Rogers is a very positive person, and I'm cheering for him.

However, I'm in the Navy and part of a very select and special community. I blew a tendon out in my foot at 40. Full reconstruction. To expect a 40-year-old to recover from that and be close to what he was, well, I had the best nutritionists, therapists, and doctors, the U.S. military, many who came from pro sports, offers. and I have yet been able to pivot or balance on that foot, cheering for him and wish him the best, but I'm afraid reality isn't kind.

I don't want to be negative here, but, and obviously I'm not in a very special community. Us podcasters, we can't be considered a special community, though we are a little community. I'm in a bald brotherhood, though. I tend to agree with you. I think this is, age is a huge factor here. It really is.

And I mentioned this the other day, but hearing Marino talk and clearly medicine and the procedures of change or improved, I think age is a massive, massive factor, right? It's one thing. And we've all known people. The older you get, you'll realize your parents, your friends' parents, older colleagues will get the knee replacement, the hip replacement, whatever. Just not even pro athletes. They just need it. And they're fine. And I think sometimes we don't realize those people, and even just older former athletes that get the replacements or, you know, knee surgeries, they don't have to play pro sports anymore.

So the other reality with Rogers is that, like, you could tell, like, he's clearly slower than he once was. Of course he is. He's 39, not 30 years old. So I tend to be with you. I think it's a, it's a devastating injury. It really is. to a guy of that age. That's the crazy part about Brady. You know, really from 40 to 45 as he aged,

he never really had significant injuries. What up, brother? Have a bone to pick with these NFL broadcasts. The networks zoom in so much that you can't see half the play develop, especially in the drop-back game. All 22 from the sideline or end zone would be a better viewing experience.

Does this bother anyone else or just me? the simple reality is that this has always been the way they've done it. Right. It's why when you hear coaches talk, I have to watch the tape. Now, they're obviously not watching on TV. They're watching on the sideline. But until you watch the All-22, you don't, it's impossible to be a scout and scout off TV. I mean, you can gain some stuff, but the All-22 tape is dramatically different than the TV copy.

The TV copy is really just entertainment. You know, the broadcast. where the ball is, that's all that matters. No one actually cares. Well, excuse me, you do, and I'm sure some people would, but I don't think they're changing a formula, which newsflash is working pretty well in terms of TV with the NFL. But I hear you.

Love the pod. Let's say in fantasy football world, the Jets make the playoffs with Zach Wilson as quarterback. Where does that leave the Jets next with the decision of rolling with Wilson going forward or turning the team back over to Rogers? Do you think Wilson would have to win at least a playoff game or the Jets to turn the page from Rogers? Well, there's no turning the page from Rogers. I mean, we talked about this the other day.

When you pay massive contracts to these quarterbacks, you amortize the cap numbers, right? That's why you saw recently like the Niners restructured contracts. All that's essentially doing is pushing money back to impact the salary cap in the short term, making more space. So part of Aaron Rogers is his cap hits. I don't have his contract up, but it's over a several year period of time. And his contract is not small.

So it's, you can't just even if he's, even if he's never the same. Like those guarantees are the guarantees. It's why injury and play guarantees teams try to separate it out. Right. And that's where this gets very, very complicated.

The Jets are in, trust me, if they make the playoffs with Zach Wilson, they will take that and run with it. They would happily make the playoffs and figure out the consequences of their quarterback situation next year. Obviously, Coward is a big influence on you since going to the sports media route. What other personalities would you consider an influence still loving the pod?

Well, I listened to like a lot of people my age growing up on the West Coast. Now, he was a national show, but I love Jim Rome. I listened to Jim Rome in high school and in college before I ever knew who Colin was. I would say him and Dan Patrick, obviously, are just people that I've listened to. I don't listen to Dan as much, but I definitely did when I was young. I would say Rome and I've always been a huge, huge sports radio guy. I mean, Rome when I was young, was huge. Obviously, once I, like most people probably found Colin through ESPN,

One of my favorite shows ever was Rissillo and SVP. And Dan was just, I mean, such a star, his radio show having Reggie Miller and Charles Barkley calling in. You know, it's just those were special radio days for sure. Obviously, Ricillow still does essentially radio. He's got one of the biggest podcasts. And I think Dan Patrick and Scott Van Pelt kind of share this like kind of relatability for famous guys. and they're just an easy listen.

I think what makes Colin so special is most people I hang out with like we're talking business. Like we're talking sports. We're talking our personal lives or we're talking business. And Colin was the first radio host and even still to this day

that like can integrate business and money and just real life stuff. Obviously his analogies, but his takes with finances work like let's face and most of the media they all think alike and most of them are kind of anti-business and that's what that's what like that's what makes dan patrick and scott you know they they don't feel like you know the group think media they're just themselves right and jim was kind of like a renegade when he was young and collins probably the smartest most talented

just so like he doesn't need interviews he can just he can just hammer out takes And one thing that I've definitely gained from him over the, in the last four or five years, it's just not worrying about like part of this job. You're going to say things. Who gives a shit if people hate you or disagree on the internet? It's completely irrelevant. Everything on Twitter is completely irrelevant. And it used to not be when I was younger and I started in radio.

And I think Collins is the best at it, completely unfazed by all that stuff. And I've, I've gained calluses just by watching the way he operates. I'm like, God, if he can be unfaced, like, why, why am I worked up over some guy with seven followers saying mean things to me on the internet? And you just, just say what you think. And in two days, it might change. Like, this is, it's sports. It's fluid. Things change all the time.

My opinions are constantly changing. And that's, that's definitely one thing I've gained from him. But I love, you know, I listen to a lot of financial podcasts. So I enjoy that aspect of the world. And obviously I love football and just sports in general, but football and golf and I try to cross, you know, bring those two together like him. I'm not as smart as him. I'm sure he reads a lot more than I do. I'm more of an audiobook guy.

You talked last episode about the arrow pointing up for the Jets with Rogers under center, and it's like the arrow went up in flames. I'm curious what your thoughts are setting the ship with a trade for another team's strong backup. this team seems good enough to grab a playoff spot if they have a serviceable quarterback. I don't even think it's really an option, though. Like a strong backup? Like, who's one of the best backups in the league? A guy that's played a lot, like Marriota's not. Sam Darnold's played a lot, but he was already on the Jets.

They're not going to go back to that well. Some young guys, I just don't, I don't see their options. I think you just got to figure it out was Zach Wilson. I mean, I really do. And when I say figure it out, just, If he can keep the train on the tracks, great. And if he can't, I don't think anyone's going to blame you. But this is just a, it's a situation that is almost unfixable.

There's not a fix. The fix literally has torn Achilles. I mean, Aaron Rogers was the fix, right? So it's like, I don't know what to tell you. If that, you know, that was the move. That's why this whole thing is so devastating. there's usually not a contingency plan for the contingency plan. And that was Aaron Rogers was your pivot away from the Zach Wilson situation.

It's what makes sports really what it is. I've only listened to half anyways, Jets and the quarterback debacle. What about Wence? He's mobile. I think we talked about him the other day, is that Joe Douglas was in Philly when he was around. I don't see that really as being an option. That's just one of those situations. that he's already experienced it, he's got the inside information.

You know, I heard some stories about people who were in the backup quarterback market, doing some due diligence on Wentz, and they were turned off. I'll just put it that way. And he's clearly good enough as a player, but you can't have your backup quarterback being that big of a distraction. I was talking to a neighbor who played college ball and played with future NFL players. He said that players get paid via paycheck every Tuesday or Wednesday, after necessary taxes were taken out, depending on where they play.

Is it true that players get paper checks every week? I found that shocking when I heard it. I think back in the day, they got checks. I mean, there was a famous story about, I think Ricky Henderson had a million-dollar check in his locker, and they found it like two years later. I'm pretty sure in 2003, you get direct deposits, right? But you are paid most players. I guess you can set it up differently.

but throughout the season, so 17 weeks. And that's typically how it operates, right? You're paid throughout the season. And yeah, direct deposits. I think in 2023, I don't think they're receiving checks. Maybe some organizations still potentially do that, but that seems crazy to me. I would be shell-shocked if the overwhelming majority of players don't get their payments.

You know, in golf, I think they call it Wad Wednesday. that's after you, you know, you play a golf tournament ends on Sunday and the payout comes Wednesday. And they call it Wad Wednesday. That's also not a Wadatat. You're paid in a direct deposit. If the Raiders beat the bills next week, will we have to talk about them as a playoff contender? 100%. They'd have two road wins against AFC opponents.

They would be in fantastic position. And let's face it, the Raiders do have high-end players. Max Crosby, pro-bowler. Devante Adams, baller. it's like I stopped there like they got another guy Colton Miller Josh Jacobs I mean they have

I mean last year they lost so many tight games that they were leading that they blew lead after lead after lead and one thing's clear Josh McDaniels likes Jimmy Garoppolo a lot more than Derek Carr to run his offense

now how will that go is time you know will Jimmy say healthy only time will tell but I mentioned earlier there is a ton of pressure on the bills you can't start the season 0-2. You can't start

the season 0-2. Not to Rogerless Jets and then the Raiders at home, you could argue no team, at least if the Steelers lose, you know, hell, maybe the Browns are like a 12-win team. Seattle lose the Lions, well, what if the Lions are 12-win team? Buffalo,

obviously the Giants can't lose and go home and two to the Cardinals. I don't think Buffalo can lose the Raiders, even though I think the Raiders are obviously better than like the Cardinals. After watching the Monday night game, I'm surprised people aren't talking about how volatile the entire Bill's organization seems. Alan and McDermott looked like they had played a grueling full season after losing the Demar thing last year, obviously the Diggs dynamic, Leslie Frazier, walking away,

he was fired, and the McDermott heat. They've had a ton of shit going on. Seems to be there's zero stability in the building. They're easily a top three team that can have this thing blown up if they don't at least get to the AFC title game. Thoughts. I blow up would be strong. I could see some big moves getting rid of digs. I have a hard time if they make the playoffs, seeing them getting rid of Sean McDermott.

Like, who are their options? But you never say never. Obviously, their owners have a lot of money. They're under a lot of pressure given that they got a franchise quarterback. So, yeah, I mean, I think there's just a lot of pressure. I think there's a lot of pressure on you whenever you have a star quarterback to win every single year, right? There is no guarantee year to year.

Every season matters, especially once you start paying a guy $40, $45, $50 million. So they're not alone. There's a ton of pressure on the chargers. There's a ton of pressure on the Bengals. Once they pay Trevor Lawrence, there's going to be a ton of pressure on Trevor Lawrence and Doug Peterson. It's just the nature of the beast.

Like there's a ton of pressure on the Eagles with Jalen Hertz, a ton of pressure on the Giants, Daniel Jones. Like the only reason the chiefs, who I'm telling you internally just feel pressure because it's football, but they've won a couple Super Bowls. Every other team, every other contending team, think about it. That's what makes this kind of unique

is like in the 2000s. Like once Peyton won a Super Bowl, you had Peyton and Brady, you got a couple guys that won Super Bowls. And Drew Bree's won one, that Rogers won one. Like, all these guys had a championship. Well, beside Mahomes, think about his contemporaries. Alan, no. Burrow, no.

Hertz, no. Dach, no. Lamar, no. A lot of those guys haven't even sniffed a Super Bowl appearance. Besides Joe Burrow, like, Alan hasn't been there. Obviously, Lawrence hasn't been there. Lamar hasn't been there. Hertz has and had a pretty devastating loss was not his fault. But so you start looking at Dak hasn't sniffed the NFC championship game yet. Yeah, I just think anytime you start paying guys, there's just pressure. Pressure builds, man. You kind of feel it when you're

watching these teams. What would the Lions need to do to be considered a serious contender in the NFC. Some people look at them that way, but some still look at them as the same old lines. I don't know how you could look at them like the same old lines. They went 9 and 8 last year, right? They're 1 in their 1st,000. So, they're above 500 in their last

18 games. And if they win this week, they would be 11 and 8. You start stacking up wins like that. They're clearly trending. They have a core group of high-end players. They're good at the main positions, offensive line, defensive line. They have

impact skill guys, that young running back they drafted. It looks like he's got a chance to be a stud. Their quarterback is very solid. It looks like their coaching staffs pretty good. So are the lions as good as like the Cowboys, the Eagles, and the Niners? I would pump the brakes there. But do they have a chance to be the fourth best NFC team? For sure.

Think of that. Think about that. If the Niners win the West, if the Cowboys or Eagles win the East and the other one's the wild card. So those are your top three teams. teams. Who's in contention to be the fourth team? The Giants? I thought they would, but they need a couple games to get their

their swag back. The South, like the Saints, I think the Lions have a chance to be the fourth best team in the NFC. And if you're the fourth best team, that means you can win a playoff game, and that would be an incredible season, obviously. A lot of you guys asking about these quarterback trades, I just, I don't think they exist. I really don't.

I'm not trying to be a negative Nancy here. but they're just, you're not going to trade for a good quarterback. The last time emotional trade happened, let's face it, it was a bad trade. And it was when Minnesota lost Teddy Bridgewater to the injury and they traded for San Bradford. You typically don't want to make moves out of desperation. You want to make moves because you really like a guy. And you're like, okay, we'll get aggressive to land them. Like last year with Christian McCaffrey, the Niners really liked them.

the Rams also liked them. The Rams were offering a second and third, and the Niners were like, we'll give you a second, third, and a fourth. The Rams are like, I think the Rams didn't have a fourth, so they couldn't match the offer. But it wasn't really desperation.

It was just two teams that liked the player a lot. I think the Bradford move, and I'm sure that's not, I think the Browns move. Now, we'll see, because Deshawn was a good player, but that was pretty desperate when they gave them all that money.

Is that the smart way to do business? I would say historically in any industry, desperate deals usually backfire. How's it going, brother? Quick question, how much better do you think Brock Purdy could get? Has he even hit a ceiling yet? Or do you think he'll come back down to Earth sooner than later? I think he's a really good player right now.

So I think if he can just sustain this level of play, I think he's a top half starter in the NFL. And given with the talent around him, McCaffrey, Debo, IU, Kittle, they got several other running backs, Juan Jenny. is a good player and his play caller, yeah, he's got a chance to be really good. He's mobile. He's accurate and he's mobile. He does not have a great arm.

Like, that's really the knock on him. He's not, I would not say he has an explosive arm. But his understanding of the offense, he gets rid of the ball fast, he knows where he wants to go with it so he can lead guys. Like, he's never going to make plays like Josh Allen makes or Herbert. He doesn't have that in the bag. But he gets, he's able to kind of get around that with his smarts. and he's actually a really, really instinctive little scrambler.

It's one of the craziest things I've ever seen. Seventh round pick, who's that good? And it makes you think, like, are there other guys in the NFL right now and definitely in the history of the league that were just late round picks that weren't lucky enough to have injuries in front of them that just never got a chance to play? That's the crazy part about the sport of football, is all these other positions, like, if you're a good de-leiman, you're eventually going to play, rotate in, and establish yourself.

Same with a wide receiver. same with most positions, because most positions have so many options, right? You can rotate safeties, you can rotate wide receivers, running backs. At quarterback, if you're a late round pick, depending on where you go, you might never get the shot.

Hell, Tom Brady was the fourth quarterback his rookie year. And then he worked his way up, but if it wasn't for Bledsoe getting chaoed, who knows? Right. Brock Purdy, to become the starter, needed a shattered ankle and a broken foot to even just get his shot. So there's a huge, it's a good life lesson, man.

We all need a little luck. Kurt Warner once upon a time was dude was bagging groceries. He never starts for that Rams team if Trent Green doesn't tear his ACL. Matt Castle doesn't become a multi-millionaire if Tom Brady's knee doesn't get ripped up. So you just need a quarterback. If you are a backup, you need a guy to get injured or a guy to suck, which is completely out of your control to even just get an opportunity. And then we know a lot of guys

that get an opportunity don't ever actually make anything of it. But yeah, just incredible story. Mr. Irrelevant to starting quarterback for arguably the best team in the NFL. Can't make that up. It's what the NFL has in the bag

that really no other sport has. Mr. Irrelevant. Starting quarterback, San Francisco 49ers, Powerhouse. His second year in the league. Crazy. Appreciate everyone listening. We'll have a podcast out Friday morning.

We will be reacting. Football's already back. We got Eagles, Vikings, Cousins Hertz, opening game at the link. Play should be wild. Amazon Prime, streaming. So we'll have a lot to talk about come Thursday night after the game. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to date. David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand, new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun-tons and wampas on the ice planet hot,

or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.