The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Eagles 1st L, Rams Purgatory, Dolphins Identity, Payton/Chargers Fit, Watson Uncertainty, Mailbag

Episode Date: November 15, 2022

John reacts to the Eagles unexpectedly taking their first L against the chaotic Commanders, and the surprising stat that separates Taylor Heinicke from Carson Wentz and other unremarkable Washington QB’s. He also discusses why the Rams are in no mans land after building their Super Bowl team by trading draft picks, how Josh McDaniels is reinforcing the narrative on Belichick assistants, why the Dolphins are a legit contender, the obvious fit with Sean Payton in the Chargers in 2023, and answers listener questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag. Subscribe NOW and follow Middlekauff and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest content. It's always FanDuel for the best wagering action! #volume #herdSee 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.

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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Volume. The Three Now Podcast with me, John Middilcoff, is presented by Fandual Sportsbook. There's no better place to make every moment more than with Fandual.

America's number one sportsbook, very easy to use, safe and secure, you get your winnings fast. I cannot recommend it enough. Love gambling with Fanduel. If you are new, just download the Fandual Sportsbook app to get started now, Sign up with promo code, Colin, so they know we sent you. What is going on, everybody? John Middilcock, three and out podcast. Fly, Eagles, fly undefeated, no more, even with Miles Teller in the house.

Ron Rivera, Washington commanders get a big win. Yeah, so we'll be talking a lot about that. Some other thoughts around the league. A lot going on. football-wise. I thought maybe a coach would get fired when I woke up, but Mark Davis gave Josh McDaniels. The old Rome wasn't built in the day

and nothing coming out of Denver, so coaches survive. Middlecoff mailbag at John Middlecoff is the Instagram, fire in those DMs. Also, if you listen on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe to the three-and-out feed. I recorded the opening early because we go live on AMP. You could find us Amazon Am.

Download that app. You can find us on the volume. I think I called the Washington running back Bejohn Robinson. I meant Brian Robinson, who I'm also pretty sure went to Texas. He was the guy that got shot and ran for 86 yards tonight. No big deal. But yeah. But first, let me tell you about my friends, the Turtle Box, baby.

The number one Bluetooth speaker in my heart, in my room, and on the market. Turtle Box. It's loud. The battery life on this bad boy is absolutely incredible. Longest lasting battery life of all the Bluetooth speakers with Christmas right around the corner, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving, we're throwing parties. What do you want to bring to a party?

Booze and music. And this bad boy will fill the entire room wherever you're at with tunes pumping. And it also, you can personalize if you're a fan, college, pro, personalized, on turtlebox audio.com. Use the promo code J-O-H-N, J-O-H-N, for $20 off and free shipping. Again, that's turtlebox audio.com with the promo code John, J-O-H-N, free shipping, $20 off.

Can't recommend these bad boys enough, especially right around the corner holiday times. Get people in your life a gift. Turtleboxadio.com promo code John. Okay, let's start with the Monday night game, a little upset city. Now, I think a lot of people, when we looked at the schedule, the Eagles were heavy favorites. They weren't going to go 17-0. Now, did I think they were going to lose at home to the commanders and Taylor Heineke? Probably not.

But before we dive into the game, can I just ran on one thing really quick? I personally am tired of hearing these referees on the broadcasts. I just, I don't like them chiming in, especially Monday night, Sunday night really annoys me. Like, yeah, bro, we understand you can't challenge the face mask on the fumble. We get it. But we're mad and we don't want to hear you chiming in. It's really becoming a pet peeve of mine every time that I hear that voice come on. And consistently, have you noticed, Chris and Troy on Sunday night and Monday night are always arguing with the guy.

Because we're like, this rule is stupid. We get it's the rule. We get you're not in charge of. changing the rule or whatever. We don't want to hear your opinion. I understand that the NFL executives and all these television executives put these guys on because we're all complaining. We're complaining because we're mad.

It's football. We're emotional. But I don't need to hear some has-been fucking referee telling me about the letter of the law. I do not want to hear it. I'm tired of it. And if I hear Chris or Troy have to argue with these guys one more time, get these guys off my broadcasts. Now to the game.

We got to give the commander some credit. One, their franchise, I mean, talk about being in peril. We're constantly talking about them getting sued, attacked by attorney generals. Other owners are saying that Dan Snyder should sell. It is just a constant shit show with that franchise. They've had three different names in two years. Three different names in three years. That's like the Raiders.

They had like three homes in three years. When you have a lot of homes in a short period of time or a lot of nicknames, names in a short period of time, like I red flag your franchise. But ultimately, as you saw tonight, and really this season, they're five and five, the players don't care. You think the players, like, do you think any of those defensive linemen or Terry McLaurin or Curtis Samuel or Bejohn Robinson who just got shot? I mean, do you think these guys care about Dan Snyder? So while we talk about it a lot and it's kind of fascinating how the Washington football team commanding, I mean, you think these guys care about might get sold.

Ultimately, the players do not care. And you got to give them some credit for all the turmoil and everything going on. We just thought they weren't going to be that good. They trade for Carson Wentz. He gets hurt. He's nowhere to be found. And they're five and five. Think what Josh McDaniels

would do to be five and five. What Frank Reich would have done to be five and five. What the Texans and the Jackson, all these teams all over the league, would do to be five and five right now. and Washington, if you open the internet, you'd think their franchise is about to fold. And I think what you saw tonight is

the Eagles are a better team than Washington. If they played 10 times, the Eagles are winning that game eight or nine times. But when you're going to take on a team that's more talented you and a team later in the season that's 8 and 0, 9 and 0, great record that's rolling, the way to take them down is hit them right in the mouth. Like, how do you take down a bully?

You shove them. You hit them right in the teeth. You don't let the bully push you around in Washington showed up a little old school Ron Rivera style. What did Troy say right before the game ended? They ran it 47 times tonight. Now that they ran it down their throat. I mean, they ran for over 150 yards,

but they ran for like a little over three yards to carry. But they were just slamming it into them over and over and over again. And the stat that they showed on Monday Night Football, to me, was pretty eye-opening. Because is Carson Wentz a more physically gifted, player than Taylor Heineke, of course he is. But when you see the stat that Taylor Heineke since 2018, they've had all those different quarterbacks come in and out since they let Kirk Cousins walk.

They are 19 and 37 with all these random quarterbacks, right? And when Taylor Heineke, in the 18 games he started, he was 9 and 9 going in a night. Now he's 10 and 9 as the starter. So it's like, yeah, does he have some flaws? Is he a perfect quarterback? Does he make some throws that make you kind of? to go, whoa, Taylor, he made one the night. When he threw it up there, got it picked off.

And it was like, you cannot make, even Troy was like, you just can't, you can't do that. But I will say this, like when you watch them play with him, they have some life to him. I said the same thing about the Arizona Cardinals. Now it's different. Like, obviously when you pay Kyler Murray, you draft the number one, you pay him that much money. It's not like Colt McCoy is ever going to Wally Pip Tyler Murray. But just the eye test, when you watch. them play with Kyla Murray, and then you watch them play with Colt McCoy, you go,

this team's just got some life. This team's just got some juice. And there is something to Heineke, diving for first downs, throwing his body around, doing first down signs. You know, I don't care about that football team at all. And I was kind of into him. I was in a weird way kind of rooting for the upset. Just cool story. But like, the numbers don't lie.

They're 10 and 9 with the guys of starting quarterback. And if you just stay around 500 in the NFL, you get a fumble to go your way. Maybe you get a misfield goal. Like, it's not inconceivable this team's going to be right there until the end. And I don't remember who said this. I heard on a podcast in the last couple weeks. And I don't even know if this guy actually said it. But I guess Peyton Manning, again, maybe, allegedly said that the NFL has three seasons.

It has the regular season. It has the divisional games. And then it has the playoffs. And whether that's he actually said that or not, if he did, it's kind of genius. Because it's so true. these divisional games, whether you're the best team in your vision, playing the shittiest team in your division,

whether it's late in the season and one team's going to be the one seed and the other teams drafted in the top 10, they're always hard. They're always tightly contested. And the other thing I'll always say about Monday night games, because as we get later in the season, Sunday night flexes,

so you're not going to see shitty teams on Sunday. But throughout the years, you get teams that are going nowhere near the playoffs. Now, I'm not saying that about Washington. They're obviously very much still alive. You're going to play hard for me. Monday night football. You're a human being as a player or a coach. Every single person in your life is watching that game. That's not true about a Sunday game. If you play for the Houston Texans or the

Jags or the Falcons, like your friends and family might not see you play. Depending on where they live, depending on what they're doing, no one's missing Monday night football. Everyone's at home. So you got a lot of pride. These guys, like both teams make a lot of money. They live in big houses and drive nice cars. And here's the thing about Washington. Like, they got some good players. For a team that is last in their division, you go, obviously the quarterback has been a revolving door, but I like their skill guys. Their defensive line is obviously loaded. And what, the number two pick, Chase Young hasn't even played this year. So it's not like there's some, you know, there's no bullets in their gun. And when you see them play hard and play just kind of

with their hair on fire as they did the night, because they're not as good as the Eagles. The Eagles roster top to bottom is much better than Washington. And that's not even a slide at Washington. The Eagles might have top to bottom the best starting 22 in the league. But divisional games are hard, even on the road. And the way the Giants, Eagles, and Washington, it works, like you don't fly to those games. They all take the train.

So it's a very, very easy travel. And it's that division, it's a very big deal. So I guess, you know, massive underdog winning. It's a little shocking. but when you think about it, like these divisional games around the league are typically highly contested. I don't, I'm not going to change my opinion on the Eagles. I think they're really good. But I do think it's fair to ask the question of, and Jalen late in that game through a beautiful deep ball

that would have put them in position to win the game and his wide receiver fumbled it. So I think the easy reaction, the lazy reaction from all the people in all these television shows that no one watches will be, You know, Eagles are overrated, Jalen. It is a question how Jalen will play now that he's taking another step in a tight game. Because for the most part, this year, they've been kicking the shit out of everybody. So he hasn't been tie game, fourth quarter, five minutes left. How will we look? And tonight, he didn't really get the chance, right?

Again, he hit Watson down the middle of the field on a bomb in the hands. They would have put them in position. You know, they weren't very far away from the red zone right where he got tackled. obviously they had another drive and he ran right into a sack but still like i i'm like i'm not writing jailing off just because of the game but i do think it's fair to ask the question what will it look like just because now that they've taken a step as a team and he's taking a step as a player he hasn't got the reps in these games because they've been winning by so much and if i'm an eagles fan if i'm definitely on the coaching staff obviously you want to win these games but the nice part

about being eight and no you know you can go what you could go I'm trying to do my math here so you got nine games left you can go five and four the rest of the season and you're still in pretty good shape right what would that be 13 and four I'll tell you this that'd be the number one seat if you go 13 and four in the NFC you're going to be the number one seat now going five and four the last nine games would feel really shitty but if you get a lot of reps in those games and are still able to hold on to the to the one seat or even go six and three and get Jalen in these positions where, hey, it's five minutes left. We got one position, one possession.

We're down four or five points. We have to drive to score a touchdown. Like, he's going to need that. Because ultimately to win in the playoffs, you're in those situations. You're not, for the most part, every once in a while teams just roll to the playoffs. The Niners did it like three years ago when they beat Minnesota and beat Green Bay. But for the most part, if you're going to make the Super Bowl, you're going to play in tightly contested games. and he just hasn't got tightly contested reps now that he's at this level of a player.

He got some of them last year, but it's clear he's a different player this year. To me, his ball and his staffs weren't great, but I think he throws a beautiful deep ball. I think I saw Jason Kelsey because I always see his clips with Travis on YouTube. They do a podcast, and Jason thinks that he throws one of the best go-rout balls in the league. And I don't necessarily disagree. He throws a beautiful deep ball. But, you know, to win in the playoffs, it's not just about throwing go routes, right? It's about working your way down the field, picking defenses apart when they're mixing up from man to zone.

You have to like take what the defense give you. You got to be patient. You got to know where the openings are. And you get better with that stuff with reps. Remember, this is a guy who was benched in college. I actually, I don't know if you had a chance to see RG3. down kind of weird RG3 he's like playing this role

with ESPN like it's like guys RG3 was kind of a laughing stock like the Shanahan's couldn't stand the guy but you know he resurrected his career with ESPN they think he's a star but he was with McNabb Michael Vic and Jalen and you can just tell the way Jalen was sitting around those guys

like Jalen carries himself like he's a dude he's an alpha and talking to people in Philly like it's one of his best characteristics and they mentioned on the game tonight that like Jason Kelsey earlier in the season basically told Jaylen, like, this is your team now. I'm not the guy talking to the team all the time. Like, this is your role.

You need to take this on. And that shows you what Jason, who's a Hall of Fame level player, believes in this guy. They clearly have the talent around them. But they're just going to have to rep it out in these tighter games. They get another game against Dallas on the road in Dallas. That's going to be huge. Now, by no means do they have the number one seed locked up because Minnesota somehow doesn't lose either. Now, they already beat the Vikings this year.

but I mean do we really think the Vikings are going to go I don't know if I had to guess on the Vikings like 13 wins and 13 wins is a hell of a season like I said the Eagles could flounder to 13 wins that's what happens when you have such a big cushion now you still got divisional games left these are really hard but I'm not necessarily out on the Eagles the other thing is they kept running the ball tonight right 47 rush attempts Washington had against Philly well is Philly have a bad run defense or are they missing

the number, I think, what was he, 13th overall pick, Jordan Davis, the defensive tackle from Georgia, who's like 700 pounds, but moves like a linebacker. Like, he's been out a couple games with an ankle injury. Like, that's a pretty big addition to your run defense. Part of the reason you draft a guy like that in the top 15, because you can't run in the middle when I got that body type there. And he's not there. You put him with Hargraves, Brandon Graham, like, you know, sweat and some of the other guys

they have, Quinn. that's probably the best defensive line in the league. Hell, it's still pretty damn good now. But I think that tonight is just your classic example, divisional game, fun. I mean, how much fun was that? Just watching two teams, just be physical? I don't always need every game to be 40 to 38.

I like a low-scoring game. I don't even mind some turnovers. I like chaos. I was very, very entertained tonight. Football season is underway. So now is the perfect time to download. Danuel, America's number one sportsbook, because right now, new customers get a no-sweat first bet up to $1,000. That's free bets back if your first bet doesn't win.

Just sign up using the promo code, Colin. Fandual has all your favorite bets from Moneyline to point spreads to player props. You can combine your bets for a chance at a bigger payout with a same game parlay. The app is safe, secure, and super easy to use. Get paid your winnings fast. So sign up today with promo code Colin for your no sweat first bet. Make every moment more this season with Fandul, official sportsbook partner of the NFL. 21 and over and president of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, or West Virginia.

Must wager in designated offer market. Max bet $5.5. Restrictions apply. See full terms at sportsbook.Fandul.com. Gambling problem. Call 100 next step or text next step to 5334-4-2 Arizona. 1-88-7-8-8-8-8-9-7-7 or visit ccpg.org slash chat, Connecticut, 1-800 gambler, or visit Fanduil.com slash RG, Colorado, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, 18777-7-70,

stop, Louisiana, or 1-800-2707-1-1-7 for confidential help, Michigan. 18778-8-Hope-N-Y, or text Hope N.Y, 467-N-Y-N-York, Tennessee, 888-98-97-89, Tennessee, 1-800-5-2-4700. Wyoming. Visit www.1-800 gambler.net, West Virginia. 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 IHard 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'll say it. 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 where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast,

or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. It's funny. I was thinking about two trades today and just trades in general. I mean, a lot of players got traded really these last couple seasons. And I love them, you love them, who doesn't love trades? When we're young kids loving pro sports, one of the cool parts is the off-season trades, the trades in season.

Trades are just a cool element as a fan to follow whatever your favorite team is, whatever your favorite league is, it just adds an element of interest. I mean, it's cool. But they're not all created equal. And when you trade, it's like in baseball, the old adage is always trade prospects for guaranteed legit players, right? Like if you can get Bryce Harper, trade all your prospects. If you can get C.C. Sabathia back in the day, trade all your prospects.

But in football, when you trade draft picks, there's a different level of draft picks, right? when I trade you in the middle of the season a one for a player, like the Rams did a couple years ago, in the middle of the season when they traded for Jalen Ramsey, they didn't know for sure what their draft pick was going to be that year,

let alone the following year. There's an unknown. But when you're in the off season, and I trade you my first round pick for Devante Adams, when I trade you my first round pick for Tyree Kill, you know there's a value on that pick. So in my opinion, it's always easier to be like, hey, I'll give you my first

and the rest of this package for Tyree Kill. The package is set, right? But when you're in the season, there's a lot of unknown. Or even right before the season. Remember, Khalil Mack got traded basically week one all those years ago to the Bears. And you didn't exactly know where the Bears were going to be. I thought the Bears would probably be pretty average. They ended up winning 12 games that season.

And when you look at the Broncos and you look at the Rams, like they made trades for quarterbacks, veteran quarterbacks, one who's a Hall of Famer and the other Stafford, you know, who was really talented and basically everyone blamed the Lions. But when they made those picks, it was like, we're going to be good. And for the Rams, they won the Super Bowl. But this year, they're in shambles. And you know who's really set to benefit?

Like, they're not going to win. They suck. And now Stafford's banged up. I mean, the Lions are going to have two top 10 picks. The Lions actually have somewhat of a bright future because of the move they made. Jameson Williams, the dude they drafted in the first run, has not even played yet. Aiden Hutchinson is really coming on.

They're going to have their own pick. And this Rams pick, which honestly, are we sure the Rams are going to win five games? Cooper Cup just got injured. Who knows how long he's going to be out. Matt Stafford was already hurt before he got a concussion. And Denver made a calculated risk. I supported him when they did that.

When I saw that the Seattle traded for Russell Wilson, like every person, I thought Seattle was going to suck and Denver was going to be good. It's been the opposite. Seattle looks like they're a nine or ten win team. team and Denver blows. I mean, Denver stinks. And they got a major problem on their hands.

At least the Rams, no matter what happens, can always say, we won the Super Bowl. Denver not only made this enormous trade where they had, I think, what they had the ninth pick last year, they're looking like they have a potential, another top 10 pick this year. And they have this quarterback who's a diminishing asset. So anytime you trade future picks, you know, you can be cocky and confident and think you're going to be good. But in football, a couple key injuries, season.

goes weird, you lose, you get a couple, you know, a field goal bounces off the upright, a pick doesn't go your way, a fumble, you don't fall on. All of a sudden, you can go from an 11-win team to a six-win team in the blink of a fucking eye. And I think you're seeing it happen. And basically every single one of these trades that were made, I thought Denver won it. I thought the Rams won it. I thought the Raiders won it.

Now, the difference is the Raiders and the Miami Dolphins trades, those were set trades. Like, I'm trading you the picks. We already know the numbers, pick 31, 58, like the numbers were already set. When you trade these futures, you're basically just betting we're going to continue to be good. And last year, for example, with the Lions, they won the Super Bowl. They got the 32nd pick. Wasn't that big of a killer. This year, for the Lions, you got to be licking your lips because you have the same amount of wins right now as the Rams.

And that was not, I mean, the Rams are in shambles because they're at the point, kind of like the Lakers. You can't just tank. You don't have your pick. So it doesn't behoove you to lose. It doesn't behoove you. Let's just give Stafford a month off and take a deep breath. And like I said, the other story that is just never going to go away is like, is Sean McVey just going to call it quits?

That's already exhausting me. I've talked about this before. My theory was pretty simple on the Belichick guys. The ones that never leave Bill's side and then go become head coaches always fail. Joe Judge, Matt Patricia, Josh McDaniels, the ones that, studied under him or played under him, and then go on their own and figure it out, have been having success.

And I saw this clip on Instagram, I think like last week, you know, it's just like one of those motivational Instagram accounts, and it basically said, leaving home when you're young, you know, like 25 to 30, like that rains,

like once you get out of college, is a life hack. Go to a city, move to a state that you don't know anyone. And I didn't mean to do it. It just kind of happened. But looking back, Like it really benefited me as I grew older, taking a chance and not even knowing what I didn't even know and forcing you to meet new people.

And you just grow as a human being because for the Belichick guys, for Josh McDaniels, it was always easy for him to go back to Bill Belichick. Look at Joe Judge and Matt Patricia. Joe Judge became the head coach of the New York Giants. Lasted two years, went crawling back to Bill. Matt Patricia was one of the biggest laughing stock head coaches we've ever seen. the players despised him crawling back to Bill Belichick. And when I look at Mike Frable, who is known as a Belichick guy, even though he never coached under him,

but he played under him for so long and he was his team captain and kind of like him and Bruske were, you know, Belichick on the field. And then Brian Dayball, whose career in the NFL started with Belichick and spent a lot of time with Belichick, multiple iterations, really grew as a coach when he went under Sean McDermott and got to coach a project in Josh Allen. Like those guys right now 1 7 and 2 and the other guy 6 and 3

They have no business to be that good Neither one of those teams is very good Now Vrable has a long resume now Or a longer resume He's been coaching for what four or five years Of being a head coach and he's been winning But this specific team With the injuries

Trading their best player Losing their best pass rusher And they just win Is it pretty? No But did they beat the Denver Broncos Of course they beat the Denver Broncos Do you think Nathaniel Hackett And Crappy Russell

Wilson were going to beat Mike Vrable? No. And Mike Vrable, think about this. Like, as a player going into getting into coaches, think how easy it would have been for him to go work for Bill Belichick. You don't think Bill Belichick would have named him as D-Line coach, his linebacker coach. It would have been the easiest move of his career. Yet he went to work for Urban Meyer, who in a weird way is also kind of, you know, Belichick and Urban are tight.

And then he went to work for Bill O'Brien, someone who is a Belichick guy. But he just, you know, he just got to hear another voice. He got to do his own thing. And obviously Brian Dable's career took off like a rocket ship when he went to Buffalo. Because it would have been the easiest thing just sit and sit with Bill, sit with Bill. Eventually Josh leaves. He takes over for Josh. But he didn't do it.

And I think both these guys are really benefiting, unlike the majority of the history of the Belichick guys, because they weren't afraid to leave him. And not just leave him for a head coaching job, but leave him for position coaching jobs, coordinator jobs. Just get from out of his wing. Because under his wing, he does everything. he's the GM he's the cap guy

he's obviously the offensive defensive coordinator nothing happens under that regime without him putting a stamp on it and that's not the way a lot of programs work most teams if I'm the defensive head coach like I let my offensive coordinator call the place I mean because I don't know what's going on and I think those guys

are great stories of just people willingness to spread their wings and now they're kicking hands and taking names I mean Brable's going to make the playoffs and it would take you know dayball they're playing the Lions this week. They win that game.

All of a sudden, you're 8 and 2. I mean, they basically just have to win two of their next seven games, and they're a 10-win team, and that's a playoff-bound team. So, incredible job by both those two coaches. A couple other quick nuggets. One thing, listen,

Tua's getting a lot of credit, and he's clearly better than most of us haters ever thought he would be. He's playing well. But, I mean, Tyree kills open every fucking play. Jalen Waddle's a stud. Now, Tua's an action. accurate player, and he's, I think he was 25 or 32.

They beat the living crap out of the Browns. I mean, absolutely pissed on the Browns. We'll get to the Browns here in a second. But one reason they got a chance, and they were one of the worst rushing teams in the league, that's why they traded for Jeff Wilson. What just happened? Jeff Wilson runs for 120 yards. You get Moser chiming in with an extra 55, 60 yards.

If they're going to be a potent running team with those two speed-wide receivers, like that offense is going to be super legit. shit. Because it's one thing when it's like, some team, somewhere is going to find a way to neutralize Tua in the passing game a little bit. But if I'm a threat to run for 100 plus yards every single game, that keeps you on your heels a little bit. So to me, one thing watching the dolphins, again, the Browns with the backup quarterback, I'm not even taking them that seriously, but that's what a good team does. They beat the living piss out of them. And I think the addition of Jeff Wilson, and as you saw on the Sunday night game, like part of the reason Jeff Wilson

had to leave the 49ers is with Elijah Mitchell and Christian McCaffrey, he just wasn't going to play. Now, those guys have both been hurt in the past, so it was risky. But Jeff Wilson can play. And that one two punch to go with those two wide receivers, Gasecki, Sherfield's a good player. Dolphins offense is really, really loaded. The question, can their offensive line hold up? If they can, they could win that division. I'm for running the ball. And I think when you have, when you establish a run, your team's tougher. I saw it with the Harbaugh teams. I've seen it with Kyle Shanahan. I do think it helps your defense because you just run the ball in practice. It's a mindset and kind of an ethos of an organization. But I also think you have to be willing, like

most quarterbacks are not going to be Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rogers. So you have to be willing to let Kirk Cousins slinging around. You got to be willing to let Dak Prescott slinging around. And when I was watching the Sunday night game and going, Kyle, I understand that you want to give it to Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell every single play. Those guys are really good players, and I'm cool. I'm pro running the ball. But you also have Debo Samuel, George Kittle, Brandon Iyuk, basically the seventh weapon on your team is Juan Jennings, who's like 6-3, 215 pounds, and he's made massive plays in playoff games and must-win games last season. Like, be willing to throw the ball. And we don't have to just run go routes. You can just go four or five wide and run quick slants,

quick outs, and have a threat of passing the ball. Kind of like what I just talked about with the Miami Dolphins. What's going to balance out their offense is now that they can run the football. Well, hey, Kyle, you have to, Kyle, Kyle's addicted to running the ball, and it's served him well, right? He's won four playoff games in two of the last three years. Last year, he won two playoff games on the road because he's been tougher, and his toughness stems from running the ball. And he's lucky he's got a fullback, one of the only teams in the league that has like a legitimate fullback and obviously a tight end that can block. But in this league, especially when you have a team, you're down by three points, you're up by three points, and you've got a

team on the ropes. When you can pass, you can score. When you have to run the ball constantly, it takes you forever to drive the football. And the 49ers are just not a quick strike team, unless Debo makes them play out of his ass. But if they were just willing to spread the ball out, and I'm not sitting here acting like I'm Bill Walsh in Kyle Shanahan. Freddie Kitchens. But like there's a basic element of football of like, bro, you got advantages. Brandon Ayuk's really good. People can't cover them. Most linebackers and safeties are not going to be able to cover George Kittle. So you've got to be willing to let Jimmy Garoppel throw them the ball. And yeah, he might throw a pick, but he also might throw two or three touchdowns.

And then you'll get the lead. And then you can run the ball. But he's just, God, it's just very rare that you see a younger coach so addicted to running the football. Brandon Staley I'll give him a little bit of a pass like his team is very very injured I mean he's losing players on a weekly basis for the season it's pretty crazy

but they're going to be in a dogfight now to make the playoffs and if you watch if you're a Justin Herbert hater I don't know what to tell you like if you watch that guy and your quarterback is not Mahomes Allen Lamar Rogers like what are you really talking about You would take that guy in a New York minute.

Herbert's a stud. If you miss the playoffs back-to-back seasons with Justin Herbert as your starter, I don't know, man. Now, I understand Dean Spanis is cheap, and he does not want to pay a coach to go away, even if Brandon Staley is technically, you know, probably one of the cheaper coaches in the league. But you have this bright shining star,

this young, physically gifted quarterback. And there is an offensive coach out there in the market. And he goes by the name Sean Payton. And he's literally working in L.A. right now for Fox. Comes there every single week. If you can't entertain that, shame on you. You deserve to be this mediocre franchise. That really, if it wasn't for us,

people that talk about football that are from the West Coast, most people would never care about you. Because I lived in Philadelphia. No one cares about the Chargers in any other element or any other part of the country. Because for the most part, you don't really matter. You always have really good teams and you never live up to the hype. well, why don't you go pay for a top flight head coach who happens to be available and put him with this young star quarterback and to see what happens.

Last time Sean Payton got a really good young quarterback, he built a dynasty. Dynasty would be strong, but you know what I mean. He built a consistent high-end top 5-6 NFL team for 15 years. The Saints were a consistent playoff team, went to a Super Bowl, what a Super Bowl, went to the playoffs all the time. We're just consistently good. They won that division a lot. You're not going to win the division with this guy.

You're just not. You have no chance of meeting at Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes with Brandon Staley as your head coach. If Brandon Staley was your defensive coordinator and that's all he had to focus on, maybe. But if he's going to be the head guy, you're just wasting years. On Cleveland.

I think the Browns are a good example of a team that, you know, Jacoby's, I would say, somewhere between 35 and 45 on the quarterback rankings in the NFL. If he was your backup quarterback and you had a top 15 quarterback in the NFL, a Dak Prescott, a Kirk Cousins, hell, a Jimmy Garoppel, Derek Carr. And he had to start a couple games. You could at minimum split them, let alone win a couple games. If your defense played well, if you ran the ball. But when you play basically nine or ten games, like that is not a small sandwich. sample size. You get exposed

when you're a backup. It's why most teams, when they sign a backup, they're just praying to God worst case scenario, maybe their quarterback sprains an ankle, breaks a finger, misses a couple case scenario, it's that Drew Breez situation a couple years ago when Teddy Bridgewater, I think started five games,

maybe six, and it was like four in one or five in one. Last year, Russell Wilson missed three games, and they had Gino Smith. Like, that's the those are the worst case scenarios. Ideally, it's just one game. Remember Henning a couple years ago, Mahomes, his knee, one game. And if your team and your coach

is good enough, you can win one game with a backup quarterback. You can't, I don't care if you gave the 07 Patriots Jacoby Bressett as their starter. They're losing four games. And that's a good example when you have to start. And there's nothing they could have done. Now you could argue they could have traded for

Jimmy Garoppel or, I don't know. I don't really know what their options were. But like, you watch the Cleveland Browns, they got really good players at a lot of positions. but they started their backup quarterback for nine games, and they went three and six. And honestly, they could have been, you know, one and eight. You know, they're just, now, here's the thing.

Deshaun Watson, in the one preseason action that I watched him play, looked a little tight, looked a little like a guy that hasn't played football. He hasn't played football in two years. So to think that he's clearly when he's playing and healthy and, you know, in a rhythm, a much better player than that. and what they've been dealing with. But today, there's no guarantee that today he's about, what's he been doing?

Training on his own by himself? There's a difference of building a rapport with Amari, building a rapport with your running backs, building a rapport with your offensive line, building a rapport with your play caller. So I'm not saying, yeah, I am saying, because they knew what they were doing when they made this trade and he was going to get a long suspension,

that this was somewhat of a wasted season. These reps are basically just for next year. Get them reps for next year, hopefully win some game. You don't have your pick. The Texans do. If you're the Texans, you hope this goes pretty poorly.

A little bit like the Denver and Rams trade. They could benefit greatly from this. And they got a couple more first round picks coming. So I don't expect Deshaun to look that good early on just because he's a human being. He has not been playing. And then there's the element of everyone kind of looking at him weird. There's an elephant in the room with him of just,

there's a bizarre situation. So there's a pressure outside of football, and then there's just the pressure of football trying to prove that you're worth $230 million, all guaranteed, which is going to be very difficult for him to do this season. The Browns, I think if you're a fan, you just root for them to win as many games

so you don't have to give like the ninth pick to the Houston Texans. And then last but not least, I think Texas and Texas A&M are a good example. That historically in baseball, I could buy a sweet play. I could buy Bryce Harper, and he can win the MVP.

In basketball, I can buy Kevin Durant and he's just sweet. In football, for the most part, historically, free agency has been very hit or miss. It's difficult for it to be a plug-in-play league. Now, that doesn't mean there are transcendent players. Reggie White, the Packer signed him. Boom, Hall of Fame. Vaughn Miller, the bill signed him, he's awesome.

Like, it can work with all-time great players. But for the most part, most players hitting free agency are hit or miss. no different than recruiting. In the history of college football, in the SEC, all the Ohio States and USC's, they've been cheating forever. And when I say cheating, they just haven't followed the fucking ludicrous NCAA's stupid rules.

They've given huge wads of cash to players. But in football, unlike basketball, like in basketball, if I want to buy Zion, or I want to buy Anthony Davis, for the most part, the elite player in college basketball is going to be pretty good in, you know, from high school to college, right? Unless your team sucks like Ben Simmons, LSU team.

But if I get Anthony Davis, if I get Chen Holmgren, if I get whoever, he's going to be a plug-and-play player. But there's only a small percentage of it. In college football, even if the top 50 players are better than the majority of like the top 300 players,

it's still very hit or miss. Historically, when you look at NFL drafts and you look at where guys were ranked, it's all over the map. Some guys are the number one pick like Trevor Lawrence, who's the number one player, Julio Jones. And other guys, you're like,

oh, they got this guy in the fourth round out of Clemson or out of Ohio State. Three years ago, he was the number two overall player in the country. So Texas and Texas A&M last year spent all this cash buying all these players, and they suck. They are terrible. And obviously A&M is paying Jimbo Fisher $100 million.

Who, Sark's probably getting $50 million, and their programs are a joke. I mean, Texas A&M isn't going to go to a bowl. They have a $100 million coach. They had the best recruiting class when it quote unquote stars in the history of college football. They had to suspend guys for smoking weed in the locker room. Like, hey, guys, use an edible. You know, you don't think these guys are going to smell it.

How about just bring a couple gummies in your bag, you fucking morons? And maybe it's just a simple those guys would say, we don't give a shit. Jimbo gave us each 900 grand. We can do whatever we want. If we don't like it here, we'll transfer. And that's just the fact. And last year it was like, oh, Sark, they're paying all this money for these offensive linemen.

They're buying all these players. Jordan Addison's on the open market. Part of why Lincoln Riley has had some success with all the movement, think of the players that he brought. Like his main player was the quarterback that he literally brought from Oklahoma. Already knew the guy. Like they had a close relationship. So yeah, USC bought Caleb Williams, gave him a ton of money.

But it was a personal relationship. It was a, you know, it was a business deal that both sides agreed to and felt good about and wanted to be together. Like, did ultimately a lot of these guys go to Texas and Texas A&M because they love Jimbo and Sark? Or because they gave him an astronomical amount of money. I think Lane Kiffin was asked a couple weeks back. I think Jimbo's defensive coordinator came from All-Miss last. year and they're like, you know, why'd you lose them? He's like, well, they bought them. They paid, they had more money than us. And any time that you're doing that, like, that's all

you hang your hat on. Like, obviously Alabama, Ohio State and these other progen, Georgia, spend a lot of money too. Like, I'm not trying to act like they don't. But it does feel like there's more substance when they're doing it. It does feel like people want to be there. It feels like a lot of people, players and coaches included Texas A&M going strictly for the money. And anytime you go somewhere strictly for the money and figure out everything after that, it can be a very, very, it's kind of like a teeter-totter. If it goes perfectly, it'll balance out. If it goes wrong, it's going to be a disaster and it's going to sink like the Titanic

and that's what's happening. Ultimately, with Texas, now Jimbo might be a bad coach too. Sark's just not very good. Sark is just not a very good coach. I've been saying this forever. Said the same thing about Cliff Kingsbury. It's pretty clear. When the evidence is there, just read the evidence and just,

just base everything off that. Sark has a long history of not being a very good coach. And he plays TCU, who I had a buddy in the league that told me they got a ton of NFL players, quarterback, wide receiver, running back. So it's not like TCU is, you know, fucking San Diego State here. They are a good program with NFL players. Sunday likes beat him. And it's like, well, Sark, you know, their defense sucks, but they could always score. Score 10 points at home. 10 points. Game day was there. You got Jordan Speath picking you, singing hook of horns and every. there's 50,000 people screaming.

He scored 10 points. Of course he does. Steve Sarkozy, not very good. And Texas and Texas A&M are great examples. Money can't always buy you championships. Okay, let's dive into the Middlecoff mailbag. At John Middlecough is the Instagram.

At John Middlecough is the Instagram. Fire in those direct messages and get your question answered here on the show. Very, very easy to do. What's up, bro, question for the mailbag. I've never been a Derek Carr guy, but he's obviously got talent and really cares, but he's just too sensitive,

and I think his teammates look at him in the eye, look at him side-eyed, sometimes for being soft. You think they trade him this off-season? I would. I played baseball at Blank when you were at Fresno, so shout out to the old whack. Oh, Hawaii.

Yeah, I mean, here's the thing. I thought yesterday he was, you know, know, and borderline tears emotionally. I think because he knows he's in trouble. Like, I think he knows, there's nothing else he can do. For a decade, the majority of the teams he's played on have not been good. So he's been used to saying after games, I got to do better, I got to play better. I think they've put everything they've had into this season, him and Devante, and they're

two and seven. So I think he's emotionally moved because he knows his time with the Raiders is going to come to an end. He's not going to be the quarter. quarterback next year. I will be stunned if Derek Carr is on the team. I saw a coward theorizing that they could get rid of them and trade him. Look at his contract. He did not sign a Kyler Murray contract. They're not going to cut him because he has value. But yeah, I think that they trade him this offseason. I think that it wouldn't be inconceivable that if they have a top

five pick, they draft a quarterback and then trade Derek and use that pick to, you know, get maybe like a one in the two. Because Derek would have value. High character guy. He's won before. He does have, you know, for a guy with physical attributes, he doesn't really let it rip often enough.

And like, when you watch Cousins, I used to think Carr was a better player than Cousins. But like, Cousins doesn't play afraid, especially when, like, his backs against the wall, he'll kind of let it rip. And it feels like you watch Derek. It's like, Derek, you got to let it fly, baby. and it might just be he's had 7 million coaches in his life.

I don't know. I thought he was emotionally moved because it's like, you know, when you realize it's over before it's over, but you know. And I think he knows. Listen to your Saturday mailbag. Someone DMed about Vegas golf. Highly recommend Payute Resort, Paiute Resort, Paiute Resort, P-A-U-T Resort, North of town. Love the show. Keep up the good work.

P-A-I-U-T-E resort. Check that out, people, if you're going to play golf in Vegas. Found you on Collins' feet and have been an avid listener ever since. I wanted to piggyback off a question asked earlier in the week. Someone stated that they were worried about the world of golf without Tiger Woods. I am concerned about the negative and impact of live in the PGA battling against each other. I know the majors aren't run by the PGA, but I'm hoping they allow live golfers to play. Otherwise, I feel like there would be an asterisk should be placed by the

winner's name. This back and forth between the two leagues makes for a more negative effect on both leagues. I wanted to get your opinion on the future of golf if Live and the PGA continue to battle. Well, if Liv doesn't go away, they're going to continue to battle because those guys are going to talk shit. And I'm in agreement that like the best guys on Liv got to play in the majors. but here's the reality. DJ, exempt to the majors. Exempt for life with the Masters and exempt to whatever for the U.S. Open. Same Kepka for, I think he's got a couple more years. Cam Smith just won a major.

Bryson D. Chambot won a major in 2020. So their top players are all going to play. Like DJ, you don't need to be like, well, I don't know how good the players are. Yeah, all I know is that when I watched DJ play, he was one of the best players on the PGA tour, he's kicking ass now, he's one of the best players in the world. So he can fall down the world of golf. rankings, like, I can watch an NFL team and go, like, they're winning, but I don't think they're that good, right?

Or they're that talented. Like, I watch Tennessee and the Giants. They're six and three and seven and two. But it's pretty clear, like, they're not as talented as teams like the Eagles or even the Vikings. Like, there are teams with more talent on their team. Like, you can watch DJ play golf, even if it's on YouTube on Live. I don't think Liv's terrible for golf.

I think that type controversy in the way society we live in, like, that interests people. Now, can that just carry itself for years? No, but I also think that eventually someone, you got to meet in the middle. Can you play some events against each other? I find live pretty fascinating. And I haven't watched that much of it, but I like the back and forth. And I think the PGA tour, like sometimes, like, PJA Tour got fat and happy. Like, how the fuck are you guys fat and happy? Tiger's got a messed up leg. He's never going to play on your tour again full time.

Hell, he's not going to play in PG events. The only event he might play is his own Riviera. He's going to play the majors, which aren't you. So you got to figure out a way to adapt. And Jay Monaghan, you know, it felt like got a little fat and happy. And Liv rattled their cage. So we'll see if that has positive impacts, big picture. But ultimately, as fans, like, we don't care that the, you know,

the player purses went up by, double. Like, that doesn't, or DJ got $100 million or $200 million. Like, ultimately, it's about riveting golf, riveting action. Like, if you like golf watching a tournament where the best guys are battling against each other, that makes it interesting. Like, why was the Minnesota Vikings playing the Buffalo Bills interesting? Because it's an incredible venue against two of the best teams in the league.

Doing crazy as shit. That's fascinating to watch. Like, the most memorable golf tournament I can remember is the 2019 Masters. because it was Tiger Woods battling Tony Fienow, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Kepka, Francisco Malinari. You know?

If he was battling me, you, and one other guy, it wouldn't have been as interesting. He was playing some of the best players in the world. Zander Shafley. That was sweet. Still one of my favorite golf tournaments of all time. Tony Dungey and Jason Garrett on Sunday night football is a crime.

Like, who makes these fucking decisions? Totally agreement. man. I just, I don't get it. I do not get. I was telling someone the other day that when Aaron Judge was in his pursuit of the home run chase, but it wasn't even the home run chase. It was just to break a Yankees record and have the most home runs in the American League history. For those back-to-back weekends on Saturday, they kept cutting into college football games. and people, I'm blocked out of Twitter because someone scammed me and stole my account, but back when I could check, people were pissed off.

And I didn't blame them. Because if I'm a UT fan or a TCU fan or an Oklahoma fan, and you keep cutting into my product for Aaron Judge to hit a home run, like, hey guys, there's things called iPads and multiple TVs. Like, if I want to watch Aaron Judge hit a home run, I'll find it. But think who is making that decision. Well, who's in charge of ESPN? Dudes from the Northeast.

Probably some diehard Yankee fan. He thinks the Yankees are infinitely more important than Oklahoma and Texas football. Well, that dude that lives in Texas or Oklahoma or the Midwest and is a diehard fan of those, nothing is more important than those teams. Just like to that guy, the Yankees, you know, the sun sets on what Aaron Judge and Garrett Cole are doing. But so I think this regional misunderstanding. And I think one thing, I worked in radio and people used to be obsessed with big names. and I think podcast is really showing that that's kind of bullshit,

like the Kardashians and Michelle Obama and, you know, you see these people with huge followings on Twitter. Well, if you have 5 million people that follow you on Twitter, you start a podcast and have millions of people listening. But that's not the way it works, right? Because you have to be interesting to listen to. Like, if you're not entertaining, I'm not going to consume you. It's like all these people that get cocky that work for ESPN.

You're just, you don't do it. you just fill a role on a show. I could replace, like Jeff Saturday. And I'm just using him as an example. He was on NFL Live. He takes a job. They replace him with NFL Live. NFL Live keeps going.

NFL Live is bigger than any person on that show. Now, Monday Night Football is a good example of like, Joe and Troy add some cachet to the show. But like, if you're going to be, if you're going to have your own show, you've got to be good at whatever you're doing. So Sunday Night Football, ultimately they could put me,

they could put you, they could put my mom, they could put Jerry Jones, they could put fucking Vince Lombardi on. People are going to watch that show. It's the number one show in America. But this notion that we actually want to watch Tony Dungey or Jason Garrett talk to me before the Sunday night game is laughable. And I think this gets back to a lot of these executives love these big names. Big names can be pretty bad at their job. Like Greg Olson's a good example. Greg Olson's pretty good on TV. He was just a, you know, good tight. end. He's not Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. They put Drew

Breeze on TV last year. Remember what I said? Not trying. I'm not one to shoot my own horn here. Saw that one coming from a mile away. Like, Drew Breeze is not going to be interesting talking about football. Great player. Great human being. Someone you'd build your franchise around. I don't want to sit there

for 10 minutes and have him entertain me because he can't. And he couldn't. And he got fired. I mean, that was, you could see that one coming from a mile away. Like, if you put Jason Garrett and Tony Dungey on a show where they actually had to entertain, they would be impossible to do it. But when you just are the lead-in to the biggest show in America, like, it doesn't necessarily matter.

But it's a slap in our face as a consumer. And honestly, sometimes it pisses me off. Like, get the fuck out of here. Putting those two guys on? I mean, no one wants to hear what these guys say. Not a soul. Not in 2022. Maybe Dungy 10 years ago, I guess.

But to me, he's pretty boring. And Jason Garrett, again, probably a nice guy. Maybe fun to have a beer with. Maybe not. I don't know. but God, stop smiling at me and telling me about your 8 and 8 Cowboy teams.

Even though I don't even know what he told me because I've never listened to a word that comes out of that show. That's an immediate mute for me. I don't know why that stuff bothers me, but it really does. These executives on television just don't know what they're doing.

So what happens to Josh McDaniels? As I'm recording this, I saw it come across my ticker that he got the vote of confidence. Josh McDaniels will not lose his job. I think it's just as simple as Mark Davis does not want to look for a new coach. I think that is the bane of his existence. Thinking about going on a coaching search, it's so much time, it's so much energy.

He's just paid Josh McDaniels. You know, is he paying? Gruden, I don't really know how that works. I'd assume he's not, but shit, who knows? So he survives. Josh McDaniels doesn't go anywhere. How come Mahomes isn't in the people's MVP shortlist, but he's leading the league in yards,

TDs, top five and QBR in almost every other major category. I would say if the season ended tomorrow, Patrick Mahomes would be your MVP. I think he's the leader in the clubhouse. Josh Allen has had his couple games where if you were a Heisman candidate, he'd be like, ah, his Heisman candidacy is over. You know, that happens every week. Like, bye bye to so-and-so, right? And that, to me, Josh Allen feels like, now, there's a lot of football left.

Josh Allen could still get back in the mix. But, you know, I would, I said over and over, I think Tyree Kiel is a legitimate candidate. People are not going to vote for him. Just because when do any non-quarterbacks ever win, it just doesn't happen. I think that Patrick Mahomes is going to win. He'd be the guy I'd pick right now to win the award. Just realize Joe Brady landed as the Bill's quarterback coach after Charlotte.

I was watching, I noticed earlier in the season, but you saw him a lot in that Vikings game standing there next to Josh. What do your NFL buddies' opinions on him as a coach? Haven't heard much hype since, the National Championship Day. I honestly don't, I've never really talked about them with people that know them beside people that scouted and went through LSU, but they didn't really get to know them that well.

So I don't really have any good intel about the guy besides that he was a key guy on that, you know, one of the greatest teams ever. But it's not gone well, right? I mean, think about he was the offensive coordinator for rule. That was a disaster. He's now the quarterback for Josh, who is, you know, let's, face it a little up and down. Now, was he going to come in and tell Josh

Allen what to do? But it's kind of a big job. You know, it's kind of important. So I would say the Joe Brady stock, and here's the reality with coaching, it's why you've got to strike when the iron's hot is, I would say his arrow is trending down. He feels closer to being a

lifetime position coach than he does to be a coordinator anytime soon. So I don't have any good insight on him though. Sorry to say. Seems like a cool. I thought you were wrong about the Saints all off season and thought the team had enough talent to be a wildcard team. Dennis Allen was awesome as the defensive coordinator and I thought he'd be good.

Well, it turns out I was wrong because this team is so indisciplined and the defense has regressed so much. Offensively, James wasn't good except for one quarter versus Atlanta and there's reason Dalton has been a backup for a while now. How would you fix the team going forward considering the Eagles fleeced us and took our pick? Do you think we could get a first if we trade Sean Payton? I think that's the number one thing you have to demand. If someone wants your coach,

in assuming, I mean, everything I've read, you have the rights to him, you do not let him go for anything cheap. Now, can you get a one, I would say at minimum you're doing like the Alex Smith deal when Andy traded for Alex from the Niners, two-toos. That to me would be the minimum,

just to kind of get the ball rolling. Two-toes would be as low as I would go in negotiation. I think you would love a one, but I think a lot of teams will be like, fuck you, I'm not trading you by one. Are you really like, he's never coaching for you again. It's over.

I think two-toes would be more than fair. Like, he didn't quit on you. He needed a break. I think it's clear. He stepped away. He did not coach last year. You know, part of it is you don't want to screw him too much either, right?

He was a major reason for your success. He did not screw you guys over. at all. And I don't think he's trying to take advantage of the situation. I mean, I'm assuming he's going to come back. Maybe he won't this year. Maybe he'll take two years off. But I think, you know, working with him would be the fair thing to do.

I think when coaches screw you, right, it's happened with Parcells and Belichick, Gruden and the Raiders. This situation feels more like, I think you can work with him. Because if you're Sean Payton, like if I, let's say I take the Chargers job and we have the 15th pick. I don't want to trade the 15th pick and take the job. Can I trade you our second round pick? Can I trade you a player?

Can I trade you? I don't know. It's tough. And it's weird. You know, that's the hard part about doing business with people your friends with is, you know, you let personal feelings get involved.

It's easier to not probably be as cutthroat as you can be without letting personal feelings get involved. Appreciate everyone firing those DMs. At John Middlecock is the Instagram. Fire in those DMs. Talk to everyone soon. Peace. 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. 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 IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.