The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out -  D-Hop to Titans Reaction, TE Value $$$, Hot Seat Top 5

Episode Date: July 17, 2023

John explains why DeAndre Hopkins should have taken less money to sign with a Super Bowl and why the move doesn’t make a ton of sense for the Titans. He also explains why Tight Ends are the best value of any position, his top 5 coaches on the hot seat across the NFL and CFB. Follow John onTwitter, 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. #Herd #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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 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.

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Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The volume. What is going on, everybody? John Middilcoff, Three and Out Podcast. How are we doing, my people? Hopefully everyone had a good weekend.

Enjoyed some sun. I know it was about 197 degrees where I'm at. So be careful. Put that SBF on. Put a hat on. Stay in the AC, stay in a pool. Here's the game plan. We had some news today, DeAndre Hopkins, the Titan.

The Jags extended Evan Ingram, who was also a franchise tag guy. I don't have, the running backs as of recording this on Sunday night have not signed, so we will probably react to that on Tuesday's pod, as well as some other football stuff. And I will also do a little hot seat list today because football's right around the corner. I think we got some coaches coaching for their job, so we will dive into it. On tomorrow's show, we will do a big mailbag. At John Middlkoff is the Instagram. Fire in those DMs.

Get your question answered here on the show. Very, very easy to do. So the plan is basically a couple football podcasts. The British Open is this week. We will have a golf podcast and a gambling preview. And then probably a football podcast later in the week. So we got content flowing regardless of the slow time on the sports calendar. Don't worry, we're working.

Other than that, subscribe to the podcast. Leave a review if you can. Greatly appreciate everyone that has. Check out the volumes merch, thevolume.com. We got some three and out hats. They look really, really sharp. Volumes YouTube page, make sure you check that bad boy out. Yeah, other than that, you can find me on Instagram.

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Type in the promo code, John. That's just my name, J-O-H-N, and get $20 off your first pair of tickets. Okay, the big news of Sunday is I was sprawled out on my. couch watching Steph Curry trying to take down Aaron Rogers, Joe Pavelski, and Marty Smith, Marty, Marty Fish, excuse me, at the American Century Championship, which is just an absolute gem in Lake Tahoe. If you've never been to Lake Tahoe, highly recommend you go. Clearly, guys like Mahomes and people that did not go there growing up, that go, come back every year for a reason. It is one of the most remarkable places in the world. I'm lucky enough to grow up around it. I highly

recommend it to anyone. And that event just does not suck. It looked like a lot of fun. But news broke today of DeAndre Hopkins, and Mike Vrable, the head coach, was there. I saw Pat Mac if he talked to him the day. He said he knew yesterday. DeAndre Hopkins is officially now a Tennessee Titan. And it came down between the Patriots and the Titans. And the Titans at the end of the day gave him the most amount of money.

As of right now, the contract details, this is not baseball or basketball. We don't know the guaranteed money. But we do know that he's going to get $12 million for sure. this upcoming season with a chance to make 15, which is that O'Dell Beckham, you know, kind of threshold, threshold, threshold, threshold, threshmark, is that even a word, kind of line that he wanted to get to with his contract. And there's a lot of different angles here. Let's start with the player, DeAndre Hopkins.

Not every player values winning, you know, with every ounce of their being. We saw a couple weeks ago, Travis Kelsey said, I know I can get more money other places. I really value winning. We've watched James Hardin's entire career. First and foremost, money comes first. And there's nothing wrong with that. There's a lot of people listening. Money matters a lot to you, including myself.

It doesn't actually do that much for me emotionally, but I like making it. Most people do. Right. We all have different priorities in life. Some people love their family. Some people have families don't care about them that much. I can't force, just like you can't, anyone to want something. We all have different wants and desires.

and a lot of people thought that DeAndre Hopkins should try to win a Super Bowl and go to a place like Buffalo or Kansas City, two teams that I would say are pretty pass-happy with, I don't know, star quarterbacks, especially the Chiefs. Neither one of those teams could sniff the $12 million number. They were never going to pay him that much. But they could probably figure out a way to get $3 or $4 million and incentivize that thing up to $8 or $9 and give him the opportunity,

especially the Kansas City Chiefs who are basically on scholarship when it comes to being in the AFC championship game. And the bills now are kind of on scholarship of being in the playoffs, an opportunity to win and win Vic. But DeAndre Hopkins cares about money the most. And that's his choice. Money came first. I said this a couple years back when J.J. Watt had the opportunity to go to some of these franchises, the Packers, the Steelers were interested. And he chose to go to the Cardinals. Why? Because they gave him over $20 million. And living here now, I understand from the location standpoint. And when it came to the contract, it made sense.

No one else was sniffing that number given how things were going at the time when he left the Texans. So they gave them the most money. And I understand from a player standpoint, your careers are short, right? You do not get to, I could podcast until I can't talk anymore or as long as I'm interesting and people are willing to listen. You can't play football in your 50s, right? Tom Brady was pushing the envelope when he got to 45.

Most of these guys in other positions, it ends in their early 30s, mid-thorries. So anytime you get the opportunity to make 2-3X when another team is offering them, you have to take it. But I looked up, the other thing is I always understand it when a guy hasn't made that much money, right? Last year when all those second round wide receivers, Debo, AJ, DK, like, you know, these guys were second round picks. They hadn't got some enormous contracts.

So they had to kind of, you know, draw a line in the sand and make sure they got paid. And they all three did in some form of fashion. One guy got traded. One guy had to hold out. And D.K. just got broken off. Right. Hopkins, I Googled it, has made $11 million in his career. And he's never played in New York or California.

He has played in two of the best, you know, tax haven states in America, Texas and then Arizona. And now he's off to Tennessee, another state with no state income tax. The guy likes his money. Like, that's, you know, I think it's fair to say money is the driver of his career, which there's nothing, nothing wrong with it. But that's what he is. So when he says, makes these statements, the quarterback matters the most. He went to Ryan Tanyhill.

The other team he was interested was Mack Jones. If the quarterback meant the most, you go, listen, I've already made $110 million. And because of the states I've played in, I've kept more than most players. If you played for the Giants or the Jets or the Niners or the Rams, I'm doing pretty well. I want to win a Super Bowl, set my legacy, make myself a leg. legend forever, like a lot of famous players did for years with the Patriots. Now, unlike the Patriots, it's football. Nothing guarantees you anything. Looking back on JJ Watt, if he had gone to the Packers, wouldn't have won a Super Bowl, right? Or even the Steelers, right? They haven't won a

playoff game in forever. So just because you choose a team does not guarantee you anything. But if the Chiefs were interested, and they said, listen, DeAndre, all we can offer you is three or four million dollars. Like I said, they guarantee you an AFC championship game. they guarantee you a chance to win a Super Bowl. I'd even say the bills who now are in the playoffs every single year, both the teams throw the ball a lot. Like he chose going to the Titans who went 7 and 10 last year, who have a quarterback who's a lame duck guy,

who have, you know, a star running back who's on the wrong side of, you know, probably his career. They don't have a really good passing game. Defense, division, division is not very good, but, you know, the defense, I wouldn't exactly call them the 85 bears. Good coach, really good coach. But I would bet on the Tennessee Titans not making the playoffs in 2023. Now, speaking of, listen, Rand Carthin, who is the new GM of the Titans, we follow each other on Twitter.

We've DMed a little bit over the years. He was with the 49ers for a long time. I don't pretend to know the guy at all. I know a lot of people that worked for the 49ers that know him much better than obviously I do. They love the guy. everything I've ever heard about him as a scout, as an executive is top-notch. I think he's going to be really, really good. But any time that a general manager gets fired in the middle of the season,

like what happened last year for the Titans, and you have a coach who is a big name and just has a lot of options like Mike Vrable, that guy becomes the boss. And now, even though Rand is the GM and he plays a big role, Mike Vrable is the top of the food chain there. and nothing is going to happen in Tennessee without that going through Mike or without Mike being giving it the ultimate

thumbs up or thumbs down. And when I saw this move, I thought, you know, this is a coach who hasn't quite come to grips with it's okay to take one big step back to eventually take a couple steps forward. But in his mind, he's not trying to take any steps back. Now, the one thing I respect the most about the NFL,

right? When you think about the NBA, their regular season hasn't mattered in years. Why? Because the coaches, but most importantly, the players, no one really cares. Half the league starts tanking by New Year's. So the league, the regular season, the ratings are obviously down. Well, of course they are. It's not a great product. You never know when a game is going to matter.

And the one thing with the NFL, the team that should have tanked years ago, the Miami Dolphins, by the end of the season, they win three of their last five games. Why? Because their head coach is like, fuck this. Their players are doing every. thing and they take down the New England Patriots, whatever week 17 at the time, to ensure that they weren't going to get a sweet quarterback. And it's the reason that I don't care if you're really good or really bad, games are entertaining late in the season because everyone's trying.

Mike Vrable, deep down in his core, in his football being, thinks they're got that a chance to win. He goes, who are the Jacksonville Jacks? They won nine games last year. Why are they something special? Well, I'd say, Mike, well, they have a trending quarterback who's the best prospect since luck, who really showed signs of life last year, now paired with a Super Bowl winning coach. So I think it's fair to say that they're going to be a double-digit win team. You got Waller Division kind of stinks beside them. Yeah, but are you that good? Like, are you that good?

I know you are a good coach, but you're a run-heavy coach that has a running back who last year got injured. I think it's fair to say that most people universally that fall football, whether you're a fan, whether you're an analyst, whether you work in the league, are going to go, yeah, I bet the Titans are an under 500 team. That's not what he's thinking. And you make a move like this. I understood why the Patriots were interested. Bill's really trying to win, trying to keep his job. He wants to keep Robert Kraft happy.

Now, maybe Mike Gravel would say, well, they just fired the GM. Who's to say they wouldn't fire me? Well, I'd say, Mike, you would immediately be hired in two seconds if they did. But this is the classic move. At least it feels like to me on the outside of a coach having too much power. This doesn't make that much sense. I would just roll with what I had. Let the chips follow they may.

And if I get a top five, top eight pick, so be it. I have a lame duck quarterback who's not going to be on my team. You go, well, John, they just drafted Will Levis. Well, if I'm not good, Will Levis is playing early, right? there is no sacred cows in the NFL anymore when it comes to these high draft picks. We saw years ago, Josh Rosen was drafted 10. Within a season, he was done and they drafted another quarterback. Who cares?

Will Levis isn't the guy? If you have the chance to draft Drake May or definitely Caleb Williams, see Will Levis. Been nice knowing you. Maybe you'll be a backup. You can never have too many quarterbacks. Watching the quarterback documentary, what Kyle Shanahan do? And Mike Shanahan, they drafted RG3, and then they drafted Kirk Cousins. Year one, cousin's the backup.

You can never have too many quarterbacks. So this to me screamed head coach in charge, head coach refusing to come to grips with, I'm not going to be that good. Head coach who's desperate to try to make the playoffs, even if that means win in the division at 9 and 8, which to me, that's the worst spot you could ever be in. I understand the Jags having that mindset.

I get Trevor Lawrence. Titans kind of feel stuck in, you know, quicksand going nowhere. So totally get. why DeAndre Hopkins takes way more money than the chiefs or bills. But let's not acknowledge or let's acknowledge that winning is not your number one priority. And there's nothing wrong with that. Most, a lot of players in pro sports, winning is not their number one priority. Money is. It's like a lot of people in life, right? Doing good for the company, whatever. You just care about yourself. Most of us are selfish in some form or fashion. So we'll see

how that plays out. Usually these type moves are much splash your headlines than they are in reality of results. 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford 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 where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Speaking of value, because I don't love the value really there for DeAndre Hopkins.

To be honest, I think he's a trending down player. I think the best value in the NFL is tight ends. When you hit in the draft on an offensive tackle, a wide receiver, obviously a quarterback, a pass rusher, the amount of money. you have to pay them. Now, it's sweet hitting on them, right? A D.K. Metcalf, a Nick Bosa, a Justin Jefferson, you name it. Elaine Johnson, they just immediately, when it's time to get paid, cost a boatload of money and eventually have enormous ramifications on your salary cap because they play premium positions that cost premiums. Tight ends, in my opinion, is a premium

position. One, they're expected to do multiple things, block and catch. But even if you remove the blocking, if you just thought, well, George Kittle is somewhat of an outlier, most of these guys are glorified wide receivers. Well, look what wide receivers make. One problem the Bengals are going to have is they would give anything if T. Higgins was actually a tight end. He did what he did, but he played tight end. It would be so much easier to financially build the core around Higgins, Chase, and Burrow. But when he plays wide receiver, we know how much Jamar Chase is going to cost. We know how much Joe Burroughs going to cost, newsflash, a lot. Well, even if T. Higgins is not on their tier, he's still on a tier where it costs him way more than it does a tight end. When I look at Evan

Ingram, who got over 70 balls, you know, he was at one point viewed as an underachiever. I don't want to say a bust, but a guy not worthy. of his draft status has resurrected his career and became a really good player for the Jacks, got 73 balls, and four touchdowns and I don't think 800 yards. If he had played wide receiver and was viewed like he was viewed relative to his position, he cost you $20 million. But they just got the guy on a contract extension for $24 million guaranteed and basically averaging about $14 million.

But even if we remove him, we just look at the two best players at their position in the game, George Kittle and Travis Kelsey. Kittle got an extension a couple years ago, $40 million, and average is about $15 million a season. Travis Kelsey, who has been open about giving the team discounts or whatever, costs under $15 million a year. And his last extension was $22 million guaranteed. Now, part of it, guys like Kittle and Kelsey, I'd argue their guaranteed money is a little less important because they're not going anywhere. right when T.J. Watt signs last year or Nick Bosa signs, anytime you have an all pro level player on your team, he's going to be on your team for a while. And he's going to get the benefit of the doubt,

even if he hurts, even if he is hurt, right? Jerry held on to Zique a little longer because he's like, I want this guy to get back to the status. But I was thinking about from a draft perspective, if I was a GM and I had tight end and wide receiver in a draft slot in the first or second round high, and I thought the guy could be a premium player. And I had them both graded the same. I would take the tight end over the wide receiver. Just based on economics. Because if when I make the pick, I plan on hitting on it.

Well, once I hit on it, if I get the tight end, he's much cheaper for me to keep for a long period of time. If the Buffalo bills hit on Dalton Kincaid, and he becomes what many people think can be a version of, you know, I'm not saying he's going to beat these guys, but Kelsey, Andrews, just an awesome pass-catching tied-in. They're going to have one of the best values in the league. It's what I always say about linebackers.

The moment you hit a home run on a linebacker, not only do you get a stud player, a Luke Keeckley, a Fred Warner, or whoever, you get a guy on a contract at much less than all of his other all-pro, pro-bowl contemporaries. You get one of the best values in the NFL. I'm doing a big remodel right now in my house. It is crazy how expensive things are. from cabinets to lightings to you name it.

Everything is just fucking outrageously expensive. You know the best value in my entire house? 80s TVs. I'm going to have 15 televisions in my house. Because while everything over the last, my adult life, up, up, up, up gets more expensive. Do you know what keeps going down? TVs.

You go to Target. You go into Costco. You find 75, 80s TVs. You're like, wait, it's $600? I remember being a kid, big screen TVs, like $5,000, $6,000. And they've been one thing that just as time has gone, they've gotten bigger, they've gotten thinner, and they've gotten cheaper, right?

It's like, why do you have so many homes in your TV? Well, one, I watch TV for a living. And two, they're just not that expensive. Like, tight ends, we talk about it. You can never have enough quarterbacks. And I agree. But when you do hit on a quarterback, they're not cheap. Even the backup costs.

A good backup, $5, $6 million. Yet tight ends, I can have. future Hall of Famers, like Travis Kelsey on my squad, he's making $14 million. If I want Tyreek or Devante Adams, it got me $28 million a year, right? Watch what T. Higgins, whenever he signs a contract extension, is going to be way more money than Travis Kelsey and George Kittle are making. Wait till Justin Jefferson, Jamar Chase, they get paid. You're going to be like, holy canoli.

So I just don't think we talk enough about the value of the tight end, especially. when you factor in their importance in the game. Who's covering George Kettle or Travis Kelsey? They're elite players. They dominate in the biggest spots. Mark Andrews as well when he's healthy. Guys a stud. Not that expensive,

given what he gives you. Okay, one thing I wanted to do before we get into the season is do a little, this is one of my favorite topics, the hot seats. And just coaches that I think, I think sometimes, you know, you throw names that are like,

that guy's not going to get fired. Like, we can talk about Mike McCarthy all we want. If Mike McCarthy wins 12 games again, and they're hosting a playoff game or they win a playoff game on the road as a wild card, Jerry's not going to get rid of him. He's just not. It's one thing when you're going 8 and 8,

and I understood back in the day when people were getting pissed about Jason Garrett, that made sense. If McCarthy's winning, I don't mean the Super Bowl. I just mean a lot of games and you're in marquee playoff games and he wins just another playoff game,

Even if he gets bouncing the second round, he ain't getting fired. That's just a fact. So I'm not going to waste my time on him, even though that's an easy one and that's very polarizing. The other guy, I skimmed probably half the article on ESPN, on basically John Gruden, on the Washington football team, Dan Snyder, and just the disaster that is the fighting over the emails. one thing that stood out in there is that Mark Davis, I don't think fired Gruden, you know, or fought Gruden for like cause and tried to get out of that $100 million salary. Based on the reporting in that article that's written by like old school Big Jays is they reached a settlement.

So Mark Davis, who is not by any means the richest NFL owner, I'm sure paid Gruden a large sum of money, or is continuing to pay him some form of the $100 million. Maybe not all of it. Maybe they came to an agreement, but he's still paying him or paid him off. Mark Davis is not in a position to just fire people left and right. Now, Josh McDaniels, when you base things on history, you'd go, listen, it was a long time ago,

but that Denver thing was a disaster. Last year looked weird. I think that regardless what happens, I would imagine Josh McDaniels getting a third year. Same with the GM. I think he's going to give a little run, Mark Davis is a guy that does not want to go on coaching searches, right? He just doesn't.

So I didn't put Josh McDaniels. I think he more than McCarthy would be my strongest honorable mention. Okay, starting at five. Me and Colin last week talked about this guy. The elephant in the room with Belichick is he's not just on scholarship for life. And historically, like some great coaches, Bill Walsh kind of had a mental breakdown, left. He wasn't going to get fired. He just won the Super Bowl.

Landry with the Cowboys, Jerry fired. Chuck Noel with the Steelers, I think, did the quote-unquote walk away. Now, even if Bill was fired, I was thinking about this today, actually. I think the Patriots would like to release something. Let's say they went seven and ten. We have mutually departed or we have just come to an agreement. It's just best. We both agreed.

I think Bill is petty enough. I think he's old school enough. I think he's just prickly enough. like refused to put his name on that. So if it ever got to the point, I do think it would get ugly. Now, the reason I didn't put him higher on the list, because I think there's a,

uh, a potential for them to go like nine and eight, or even best case, 10 and 7 miss the playoffs, and him still keep his job just because they're interesting enough, they're competitive enough. The stadium's still full. And it's like,

his equity with the franchise is enough to not fire him. I do believe, though, if they go under 500, 8 and 9 or worse, which two of the last three years, he has gone under 500. And even the year, which I thought was a pretty good coaching job in Mack Jones' rookie season when he went 10 and 7, they did lose in the wild card 47 to 17 to the Buffalo Bills. And if memory serves me correct, the Bills did not punt in that game. So it's one thing to lose to a random team.

It's another thing to lose in the first round to a team in your division and get curb stomped like that. Happened a couple years ago to the Cardinals and the Rams. Remember when the Rams just like, we're your daddy. Like you guys are an embarrassment and absolutely eviscerated the Cardinals on Monday Night Football in the playoffs. Those games sometimes is one thing to lose in the playoffs, you know, the Cowboys, lost in the second round. They had a formidable, you know, admirable effort. It was not by any means an embarrassment.

47 to 17, that's hard, especially when you're used to the standard of the Belichick and Brady error. But to me, it's less about that season, more about two of the other three years. Seven to nine, obviously Brady won the Super Bowl that year. And last year, eight and nine, and it didn't really feel that close. So to me, they go eight and nine or seven and ten. I think this bill's last year. And I'm not acting like he deserves to get fired or some complete failure, but it's not going well. And everyone, and a lot of coaches have talked about this, either their message gets stale.

It's just sometimes it's just time for a change. Right. You don't just keep a job in perpetuity that you don't own. And there are obviously a lot of variables historically is Bill the nicest to the owner. It doesn't matter when you're winning. You're hosting playoff games. You're going to aFC championship games. You're winning Super Bowl.

You're printing money for your owners. It's another thing when you're going eight, nine, seven, and ten. Everyone in town is talking shit about you and wondering, is it time for a change? So to me, Bill is right there at number five. Number four, I went to college here because I think when you factor in the brand, and the move next year to the SEC, I think Steve Sarkesian needs to win double-digit games this year. Now, history would show us he's not going to do that.

Why? He's never won double-digit games in all of his years coaching. The most games he's ever won was a decade ago at USC. He went nine and four. He averaged in five seasons at Washington, 6.8 wins. And you go, well, it's Washington. Yeah. Chris Peterson won big there.

Kaelin DeBoer winning big there. You can win at Washington. Sark did not. The other thing is time at Texas hasn't gone that well. Two years ago, five and seven, pretty ugly. I think last year was even uglier because of the talent they had on their team.

They had elite running backs. I mean, they played in a conference that isn't very good. And they went eight and five. If he goes eight and five again this year, I think he would be in major trouble. they're going to the SEC next year. He has proven nothing.

It'd be one thing. Part of the reason Jim Harbaugh was able to just kind of navigate when things got a little weird is his resume. It's like, well, this guy has been a winner his entire life. He will figure it out. Look at what this guy did early on when he got here. Obviously with the 49ers at Stanford, he's our guy, but he's proven it.

So let's stick with him. And that's played out. It took a little bit longer, but back-to-back playoffs, right? And now it's like the standard so high, it's like, can he win in the playoffs? Sark would die just to be in the Big 12 championship game. And I think I saw a headline last week is the goal is to win the Big 12. But the goal should just be to win, like, not lose conference games, not lose to Texas Tech, not lose to Kansas. But if you're losing those games, you don't have a snowball's chance in hell against the Tennessee's, the Georgia's, the Alabama's, the LSUs.

and the old misses. They're going to destroy you. So the only thing I could see keeping his head above water is the recruitment and the landing of Arch Manning. So maybe that has some, you know, ability to keep his head afloat if this year's another eight and five with Quinn Ewers and it just looks a little weird. Maybe Arch goes to the mat for him. But I don't know, man. I think anything less than 10 wins, I would say Sark's job is in major, major jeopardy. We're going to end with three NFL coaches. Number three,

Robert Sala. Anytime you're in a big market, a lot more eyeballs, a lot more people talking about you. Anytime you trade for one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, obviously there puts a lot more pressure on your organization. And I do think one reason,

several reasons, and a lot of people have talked about this, hard knocks. No one wants hard knocks in their building. And we can argue, if nobody wants this in the entire league to be part of it, isn't it time to pivot? I don't understand the point of the show if no one wants it, especially when the show just kind of replicates what we see on these teams' website. If I can get the same information from going to Jets.com, they put out a show. It's going to be very similar to what we get in Hard Knocks because they have editorial control. So if we are getting the same thing, why don't we just end this show?

Right? I mean, just pretend it. It's no longer what it is. And the partners in the league that are making you the money don't want any part of it. It is not necessary anymore for the growth of the game, in my opinion. But part of the reason he doesn't want it is just adds an element of pressure. And I think that if they don't make the playoffs, he's done. And I think Joe Douglas would be done.

Now, I think, hi Leo, I think, you know, when I say Bill Belichick's on the hot seat, I still think he's the greatest NFL coach of all time. I think Robert Saul, is he a good head coach? I don't know. He can be my defensive coordinator any day. Is Joe Douglas a good GM 100%. Has he hit on a lot of players? 100%.

Anytime you draft a quarterback at number two, and it's as colossal of a miss as it is, your clock starts when you're not winning. The 49ers might have done it, but they kept winning. If you win, who cares? You can miss on all the draft picks in the fucking world. No one gives a shit when you win. Who you draft, who you sign a free agent. None of it matters.

Belichick's missing a lot of draft picks. When he was winning 13 games a year, going to the Super Bowl, we didn't talk about. You start winning eight games, we talk about. Aaron Rogers is a little bit of cover for all those mistakes. Now, if he plays as well as he did in 2020 and 2021, the Jets will be in the playoffs. But if the dolphins keep their quarterback healthy and they're good again, bills keep rolling. We know all stack the AFC is. Belichick's feisty. You miss the playoffs. I think Robert Salon, I would include Joe Douglas, would be audios. Number two, this one's pretty simple.

Anytime you get new ownership in the NFL or in any sport, everything is up in the air when it comes to head coaching and executives with the team. That includes people, not just the GM, but team president. like everyone's job is on the line. And Josh Harris, who owns the Sixers, has just shown like he just fired Doc Rivers. They're going to playoffs every year. He's fired Brett Brown, who was winning. Now, not winning at the highest level, but it's not like the Sixers are used to much success. Right.

So this guy, in the NFL, we see it all the time. You get a new owner. Maybe that head coach gets a year. Honestly, even if he's somewhat successful, goes above 500, makes a wild card. that doesn't guarantee him anything. And a lot like, you know, speaking of the college coaches that have some equity, Ron Rivera's history is not great.

His three career playoff victories. He has never had a winning season in his three years with Washington. They went to the playoffs his first year, but he was seven and nine. Division was a joke. So I think this one's simple. Ron not only has to make the playoffs,

I think he'd probably have to win a game to survive. And even then, I don't think it guarantees you anything. We just saw the Phoenix Suns. Guy pays all this money for the Phoenix Suns. Their head coach had got to a finals before. Was in the second round of the playoffs. See you. Adios. You're gone.

Matt Ishby is like, peace out, brother. Nice knowing you. It's been real. It's been fun. I've heard you're pretty good. But see you later. That guy got like $80 million to go to Detroit Pistons. He's a legitimate NBA coach.

Didn't matter. Ron Rivera, I don't think, would be a head coach anymore. Who knows? Maybe he did not even coach anymore, but I think anything less than a playoff victory because I'd be hard pressed to see them how could they win the division. Honestly, best case scenario, they would be third place in that division, but behind the Cowboys and the Eagles, but would be some postseason success and kind of prove that maybe they got a gem in Sam Howe, like once upon a time they had in Kirk Cousins as a mid-round pick. And first, I think by a wide margin is Brandon Staley.

Because unlike these guys, Belichick, Mack Jones, Robert Sala, Aaron Rogers, but he's old and he could retire. And Ron Rivera, not really a quarterback. Brandon Staley has Justin Herbert, who's in his mid-20s, who every team in the league beside like the bills, the Bengals, and

shit, the chiefs would take their quarterback. The Ravens would trade for Justin Herbert yesterday. They would. So you have Justin Herbert, you struck oil and got lucky because Tuel was taken ahead of him.

It's one of the great, and I understand it at the time, Justin Herbert is a much better NFL player than he was a college player. And he was a solid college player, but he has shocked a lot of us. I watched him a lot in college. I liked him, but I never thought he'd be a top five quarterback. Turns out he is. Anytime you have that with a lot of talent on your roster,

I'll say this for Tom Telesco. He has done a really good job over the years. Hasn't been perfect. No GM is. I don't necessarily blame him for the coaching hires because I do think their owner plays a huge, huge role in it. He doesn't want to pay any money. He doesn't want a $15 million coach. He likes having a coach who is toward the bottom of the barrel

when it comes to coaching salaries. And he got Brandon Staley, who was a good defensive coordinator for the one year he was a defensive coordinator in the NFL. But last year was pretty embarrassing. He's up big in the first half in a wildcard game where the other quarterback throws four interceptions. He's up 27 to 0 at one point in time.

I think the Jack scored right before I have time to make it 27 to 7. Under no circumstances can you lose that game. So it's not just they've underachieved. It's the one playoff game that he did coach in was an all-time disaster. And I don't expect him to win the division. But when you have a player of Justin Herbert's ability, and you have the talent in which you have all over the roster, you got to make some noise in the playoffs.

I think anything less than a playoff victory, audio is Brandon Staley. And if their offense is better in their defense, that has had moments over last year, ultimately let him down on the playoffs. Colin and I talked about this too. They're not hiring some Sean Payton. They're not hiring whoever the Bill Parcells is.

They're not Lincoln Riley. He's not spending $16, 17 million on Lincoln Riley. Kellan Moore will be the next head coach. So I think Brandon Staley is basically just coaching to make sure that Kellynne Moore is not the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024. The volume. 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 David Letterman help make you funnier.

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