The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Eagles Coordinator Drain, Fields Trade Rumors, Olsen vs. Brady, Rex Return

Episode Date: February 17, 2023

John discusses if the Eagles will contend despite losing both their offensive and defensive coordinators, if the Bears should trade Justin Fields and draft a QB, why the NFL has completely separated itself from all other major U.S. pro-sports, why Greg Olsen has no chance to keep his #1 analyst seat over Tom Brady, and if Rex Ryan can successfully comeback as Sean Payton’s DC. 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.

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John Middlecock's a three and out podcast. How are we doing? Beautiful. Actually, it's not as freezing cold, but Thursday afternoon. Got Tiger Woods on in the background. I got some football thoughts. I'm about to fire out. And here's the schedule for about the next week.

We're going to this podcast, Friday. Then we will have, I think I'm going to do a good. Go Low podcast on Sunday night after Riv, especially if Tiger does well for Monday. Then I'm going to do a mailbag only, probably unless there's some breaking news. Podcast for Tuesday. You guys have fired in the DMs at John Middilkoff is the Instagram firing those DMs. And then I'll just have probably a normal podcast come Friday. I got my brother, his family, my mom running an Airbnb there in town.

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Let's start with Nick Siriani and the Philadelphia Eagles, who I got a little stat for you, became the first team to lose both coordinators since the 1994 San Francisco 49ers. my personal favorite team of all time. Mike Shanahan, Ray Roads. Mike Shanahan went to the Denver Broncos. Ray Roads went to the Eagles. And it was kind of, that was the end, a little bit of the Niners dynasty. They kept going to the playoffs, but they obviously never won a Super Bowl on that Walsh Seafurt run.

So it's not very often that a team loses both coordinators. When I saw that, it was like, that, it's been almost three decades for that to happen. It's pretty crazy. And listen, Nick Siriani through two years has been, wildly successful. When the Eagles hired them, and listen, the most overrated thing in any industry, regardless what your industry is, here's what I know. If you judge a coach based on their press conference, it's overall pretty irrelevant, right? We have seen guys have bad press conferences, be great coaches, and guys great at the podium, be terrible. Just because your opening

press conference is good, does not mean you're going to be a good head coach. And Siriani has proved just because your press conference is God awful does not mean you're going to be a bad head coach. But here's the thing. Siriani did not call the offense or the defense. Obviously, he's an offensive head coach. But even last year, his play calling was stripped or he gave it away. I don't know the details. They've been, you know, a little bit cloak and dagger over the last period of time,

how that actually happened. But Shane Steichen took the reins and they had a lot of success with Jalen over the last year and half, especially this season. When you look at the NFC, unlike the AFC stacked, right? I mean, you got Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Patrick Mahomes, already a Hall of Fame where he's 27 years old. How is Joe Burrow not going to be a Hall of Famer? Josh Allen and Justin Herbert, their ceilings are so freaking high.

Would anyone be stunned if Trevor Lawrence and Doug Peterson don't just start going to the playoffs every single year? We're not even accounting for. Aaron Rogers is probably getting traded within the division. and the Patriots, while they lack offensive firepower, they're clearly a pretty feisty team because of defense and special teams. And if the Miami Dolphins could ever just figure out the quarterback position, their team is pretty good.

They have season in a completely different world. I haven't even talked about a guy that got $230 million who once was really good. Then he had some massage therapist issues. Last year was pretty terrible, and I give him a little bit of a pass. If he bounces back, the Browns could be really good. So when you look at the NFC, it stinks. There are three teams that sitting here, here right now, February 16th, Thursday afternoon, if they were to not make the playoffs at the end of

the 2023 season, it would be an utter royal disaster. It's the Philadelphia Eagles, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Dallas Cowboys. I don't think you can say that about any of the other teams. Now, for the most part, McCarthy, little turnover, right? Obviously, Kyle Shanahan lost his defensive coordinator. But when you lose both your offensive and defensive coordinator, puts a lot of pressure on Nick Siriani. And let's look at the other two teams. Kyle Shanahan now has lost multiple coordinators and been fine. Got to the NFC championship game with different guys calling his defense. Mike McCarthy, I've been very critical of him, but the last two years won 24 games. And he has a long resume as a coach of being a successful guy. Now, we could argue how good he is. And I think that is

wildly up for debate, but like his resume kind of speaks for itself. If his team is relatively healthy, they're going to go in the playoffs. Now, are they going to do anything in the playoffs? Probably not. You know, that's not what the Dallas Cowboys do. They don't have success in the playoffs. But with Nick Siriani, I actually think there's tangible pressure now on him to kind of prove like, okay, this is the first, I wouldn't just say adversity because last year they had an up and down year and they got bounced in the first round.

But you lose a pretty devastating Super Bowl where you had a 10 point lead. And then it ends with you losing both of your coordinators. And I, you know, I don't know them personally. I know all the guys in Philly really like them. Sometimes doing the Bash Brother thing in the middle of the Super Bowl. It's like, come on, bro. Like, you're not even fucking calling the place. You just challenge and say when to go for two.

And really, are you saying when to go for two or someone you're saying? But I think it's like, now we're going to find out. Because regardless of some of these free agents they have, they still have the 10th overall pick. They still have a nucleus of guys who are really freaking good. And like I said, like the Cowboys and the Niners, our minimum playoffs or bus next season. You can't say that about the Giants. We don't even know who their quarterback is.

You can't say that about, think about the other playoff teams, right? Can't say that about Tampa. I mean, Tampa, sorry, bye-bye, Tom Brady, bye-bye, the playoffs. You know, the Packers, Aaron Rogers is not going to be there anymore. The Lions, who are, they can't say that. So the Minnesota Vikings, their defense is horrendous. If you tell me next year they lose all those one point games and they're a nine-win team again, I think that's very believable.

So I'm very fascinated to watch this Nick Siriani situation just with some legit pressure now on him, the bull's eye on his back, how he handles it. Because they got to be a little bit of, I wouldn't say the underdog, because as the season went on, it was clear they were one of the better teams. But now there's like tangible pressure. Like, can you rattle off another? 13 win season? Can you do this? Can you just replace your two coordinators and not skip a beat? We're about to find out. One story I saw this week, and listen, sometimes depending on where the

story comes from, we judge the merit of that story. And that's fine. And I understand every one of us have different relationships with different people in the media, quote unquote, reporters, right? if they have put things out there that piss you off about your team or they've been wrong, it's part of the business. But Jason Lockinforah, you know, you can say as a check in history with some of the things that he throws out there, said that there are GMs in the league who believe the Chicago Bears are going to trade Justin Fields. One thing that bothers me a lot in pro sports is when a story comes out that so-and-so team or so-and-so free agent is having talk. with whoever, right?

They have met with these three teams. Like, bullshit, they already have a quarterback. Why would they talk to him? The business these people are in are talking to everyone and uncovering everything. That is their job as a GM, especially when you're on a terrible team. And right now, the Chicago Bears, and let me preface it by saying this, I am not anti-Justin Fields. I love Justin Fields coming out. I thought he was clearly the second best prospect in his draft behind Trevor Lawrence.

I thought he was in a different universe than Mac, Trey Lance, and Zach Wilson. Somehow Trey Lance and Zach Wilson went above him. I think that's crazy. But here's a reality. What you think about someone coming out of college and then what you think about them a couple years later, it should change. I never understand on the internet why people like, that take age poorly. Well, yeah, I said it six months ago. Things have changed.

I have 80 grand into a couple stocks that are now worth about 20. You think I would like to invest my money in different places if I knew where it was going? Of course I would. Like, welcome to life. These things are fluid. Now, I'm not anti-justin Fields because I always bet on big strong guys with big arms who when I know, because I don't know these guys, but I lean on my scouting buddies that go, high character guy, hard worker.

I heard positive things. So I think I bet on those guys to improve. But not everyone is just on a, they're going to turn into Josh Allen. Like, I'm intrigued by Will Levis, but part of what made Josh Allen was these intrinsic characteristics of drive, determination, work ethic that he just keeps chopping wood. He just keeps swinging. When you're not looking, like right now, he's working out or throwing.

I don't actually know if he is, but the only way you improved to the levels in which he improved the first couple years were doing the dirty. dirty work, right? The reason Patrick Mahomes keeps getting better is because he works right now. Well, not actually right now. He's probably hung over because they had their parade yesterday. But when you're not looking, when we don't have the TV cameras on them, when the season is not going. Like the reason Brady and Manning. So part of why I bet on Justin Fields, because I thought he could become a top, you know, 15-ish passer. And then when you have that level of arm strength, you have that athleticism, you can become a top 10 player.

But so far through a couple years, I think that's very much up for debate. Now, in fairness to him, the Bears made a horrific trade this year. They traded their second round pick for Chase Claypool. That's awful business. And the easiest trade the Pittsburgh Steelers will ever make. But I do not fault Ryan Poles and Matt Iberflus,

I got you Bears fans, for doing their due diligence. Because part of their job when you suck is to look at every single avenue of what are our options. That's the business therein. This isn't about feelings. This is about doing what's best for the team. Now, is there a quarterback in this draft who you believe is going to be better than Justin Fields?

Because if there is, you 100% trade him. Because right now, Justin Fields, because he's on his rookie contract and his value, because of all these moving parts, what if Lamar Jackson is traded? Wouldn't he make immediately a lot of sense for the Ravens? Immediately. What if other GMs that just took over, let's say, or other GMs that have opportunity at quarterback, Seattle, the Giants, once upon a time, love Justin Fields? What if Brian Dayball was like, I've always been very, very intrigued?

What if they would trade you a first round pick? maybe two twos and a three. Like, you're not getting multiple ones for a guy who has questions throwing the ball, but let's even reverse it. When the season ended, they asked Ryan Pulse, what does Justin Fields need to work on? He said throwing. Like, I'm sorry.

Like, after that comment, I take it that trading him, once they have the number one overall pick, is definitely on the table. So get ready, these rumors, whether they actually have merit this specific one, like GMs believe he's going to get traded, it's coming. They are going to have conversations.

One, they wouldn't be doing their job. He's not Trevor Lawrence or Andrew Luck, right? How many quarterbacks truly, if someone's like, hey, I'm interested in Dak Prescott, I'm interested in Kyler Murray, I'm interested in Kirk Cousins. You don't think those teams are just going to have a conversation? Now, if you call me and say,

hey, I'm interested in Mahomes, Alan, Herbert, you know, Trevor Lawrence, it's an immediate hang up, right? Jalen Hertz, hang up because I'm not upgrading. But most quarterbacks, after 7-8, you're having the conversation, especially with a guy who just was a quarterback who you can say what you want about his offense. And listen, it was more than questionable, but his GM doesn't think he's good at throwing. So regardless of what me or you think, the guy that runs the team who did not draft him, thinks that's an area that he needs to improve. Just keep an eye on that. I'm sorry.

That is, if I was a betting man, I would bet on him getting traded. I would put it at 51, 49 that he would get traded. If there were better quarterbacks in this draft, I'd put it at like 90-10. If Caleb Williams and Drake May, if it was next year's class, it'd be a lock. You'd trade them. You could argue like, you know, Bryce Young, small in Chicago, but he's a better player than Justin Fields. I like Bryce Young coming out of college more than Justin Fields. I don't even think it's close.

But I like Justin Field's size and athleticism and speed more. But ultimately, if speed and power is your best attribute at quarterback, not ideal, right? Ultimately, why Lamar Jackson, you know, we thought we kind of started buying into him after he won the MVP. He started throwing it much better. Something to keep an eye on. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal. but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

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Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Virginia, or West Virginia. First online, Real Money Wager only. Refund issued as non-withdrawable. credit that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.Fandul.com. Gambling problem, 1-800-800-9-7-7 or text next step to 5334-2-2-2-2-2-1-1-7 or text or C-C-C-P-G or visit Fand-UL dot com, RG, and Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey and Virginia. 18777-7-0-0-N-1-7-1-7 for confidential help in Michigan.

1877 H-O-P-E-N-Y, or text H-O-P-E-N-Y-4-6-9-6-9 in New York, Tennessee. Redline, 1-800-89-9-7-8-9 Tennessee. Visit 1-800-Gambler.net in West Virginia. I saw this tweet. I don't usually do this, but it kind of got me worked up. Because we saw Jonathan Gannon got the Arizona Cardinals job, and Shane Stuyken, the 2002 Sacramento B high school player of the year. I always root for guys from Northern California.

Though, when you Google Shane Steichen, or you just look at his introductory press conference, I am older than. I was born in 1984. He was born in 1985. But he's kind of got this like 2010 Nick Cage look, where his hair is receding. Looks like he hasn't seen that much sun lately.

He definitely doesn't eat that much, tall, skinny. He looks much closer to 50 than he does 37. Looks very old for 37. Jonathan Gannon, on the other hand, looks his age. He's 40. You know, good looking, also receding hairline, but looks much younger. Now, Shane Steichen from a head coaching perspective, was the play caller and definitely the guy that helped Jalen Hertz become an MVP candidate. Not debatable. When you're the offensive coordinator for a guy who sucks two years ago and then becomes an MVP candidate by the end of your run, you get a lot of credit in rifle.

So Jonathan Gannon, on the other hand, just got absolutely clowned in the Super Bowl. Though I don't even judge him for that. A lot of great coaches have had devastating moments, especially young ones, in the Super Bowl as a coordinator versus coordinator, right? Kyle Shanahanan has had it. Sean McVeigh had it against Bill Belichick. Of course, Andy Reed is going to work Jonathan Gannon. Like, that's not surprising to me.

But overall, and people in Philly love Jonathan Gann. Great guy, great leader. He has the characteristics you're looking for in a coach. And this leads me to the tweet that I saw from this guy, Coach Lampkin. Google his bio, he's just a small school coach. But his tweets pretty interesting because this is a conversation that's had a lot. Why is it that in the football world? We're under the impression that calling plays is a prerequisite.

to becoming a head coach. The roles are, all caps, completely different and almost unrelated. While there is some truth to that, being the head coach is about much more than calling plays. Find me a lot of high, high-end head coaches for guys that we consider top five head coaches who aren't masters of their domain. The two best coaches of my adult life, Bill Belichick, Andy Reid. Bill Belichick's the greatest defensive coordinator in the history of the league.

His defensive game plan against the mid-80s, Bill Walsh, Joe Montana 49ers, is literally in the Hall of Fame. Bill Belichick, who has his hands all over that defense, they have been consistently sweet on defense for 20 years. And Andy Reid, who has gone back and forth calling plays over his career, we can't really argue, is kind of the modern day Bill Walsh or Mike Holmgren. right? And Mike Holmgren was obviously Andy's mentor. Now, you can go to the next rung of guys, especially younger coaches. Think about some of the better younger coaches. Because it's not arguable to be a head coach.

You have to have leadership skills. You have to be able to handle everything. You don't just have to worry about third down offense or defense. You have to worry about when your backup special team or gets a DUI, when, you know, the star tight end has a pregnancy issue with his wife. The star linebacker is having contractual issues. That's on you. But as I talked to a buddy earlier this season, we talked about Urban Meyer.

And ultimately the reason Urban Meyer failed. Now, you could argue his leadership style did not translate to the NFL like it did college because you have guys on your team, one, who are as accomplished as you. and two, make as much money as you, that Urban was not a schematic guy. And having been in an NFL office Monday through Saturday, while that stuff handles in the coaching, the head coach's office deals with some of the bullshit

that's going on with your team or just craziness or things out of everyone's control, he's also working with his coaches to devise a game plan. We often say that the NFL is chess because it is. It's me thinking again, to you. We all got good players. Some, obviously, some teams have better players than others. But for the most part,

80% of the league has relatively equal talent. It's a thinking man smart. And think about the better young coaches. Sean McVeigh, Kyle Shanahan, both have a direct impact on their game because they're the play caller. Both have proven to be very good leaders.

Think about some of the older coaches. Pete Carroll, 71 years old. The guy created a defense that everyone copied when they became head coaches under his umbrella. So being a leader and being as the head coach, whether it's high level college or the NFL, it's a prerequisite. Like that's the price of admission.

But if you are not a very, very talented, schematic guy on your side of the ball, you don't have to understand the whole landscape, right? Most offensive coaches aren't great defensive coaches. is why they put a lot of effort in hiring the right defensive coach and vice versa. A lot of people tweeted at me because I reacted to this. Mike Tomlin. Well, think about this. Since he's been the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, a defensive guy.

Now, you could argue he went to a defensive organization. They're always good on defense. You know, well, they had Dick LeBoe. Well, they've been good on defense since. I couldn't even tell you, I mean, I know if you're a Steeler fan, you know who it is. I don't know at the top of my head who their defensive coordinator is. But over the last several years, when I watched the Pittsburgh Steelers, they are good on defense. So you get credit for that.

Why? Because you set the tone for the organization. And clearly the tone in that organization from a defensive head coach is high-level defense. Now, do I think during every single week, he is dialing up third-down defenses or second-down pressures? Of course not. But his team reflects him. John Harbaugh, same thing. they have both those two guys benefit from good organizations,

but their teams, for the most part, reflect those two guys. So when I see Jonathan Gannon, like ultimately I get why the Colts hire Shane Siking. I'm betting on his qualities, but he's also, he can impact the game. He better be calling plays. That's why I hired him. When I see Jonathan Gannon, good leader, but his defense, like, if you're an Eagles fan listening to this, every single time that I talk to someone who's like,

the defense isn't good enough. Now, I know their front four is really good. Well, let's face it, me or you could coach Hassan Reddick, Hargraves, sweat, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, like defense, especially the front. Like, if I got Aaron Donald, Miles Garrett, Nick Bosa, Joey Bosa, Micah Parsons, I'm going to create pressure. The back end, the most complicated part of the sport by a mile, whether you're an evaluator, whether you're a coach, coverage, matching up coverages against Andy Reed, Kyle Shanahan, Sean Payton, week in, week out, these offensive coordinators are fucking working 20 hours a week or 20 hours a day.

And they have the advantage because they know the play call. You do not. Your guys are reacting. So having the ability to dial up coverages and adapt all game long in the second half, he just wouldn't do anything. Like, bro, you got to throw a blitz. You got to have some different pitches. So yeah, he might be a really good leader. But watching him from a schematic standpoint wasn't that impressed.

And this gets back to the tweet. like, I can't hire a coach just because he's a good leader or just because he's a good schematic guy. I need you to be both. This is the NFL. Like Andy Reid, great leader, great scheme guy. Bill Belichick, great leader, great scheme guy. Mike Vrable, clearly a great scheme guy, his defenses are always sweet, great leader. Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVey, like, let's just go around. You got to be able to do both. How long you can get away with it, right? If you're an elite recruiter, you don't have to be a great scheme guy. In the NFL, you cannot avoid it. Like ultimately, if the Lions are going to take a step and go from that, kind of that

threshold they're at right now to be an 11-win team, they're a good example. Because Dan Campbell is a guy that I'm rooting for. But if he's going to be Mike Vrable of the NFC, schematically is where they're going to have to separate. They're going to have to be better on defense. They're going to have to maintain on offense. Can he do that? Can he do that? We're going to find out. And next year, if they do, and they lose Ben Johnson, the offensive coordinator, can they sustain because I watch good coaches lose coach after coach

Annie Reid's been losing coaches for 20 years never skips a beat wins every year Belichick loses coaches in their heyday all the time it's like whatever

like part of the deal Walsh all the time Pete Carroll like can you maintain it that's why when I hire a head coach that's what I'm looking for the total package just like a quarterback

I can't have a slap dick quarterback it doesn't play look at all the top quarterbacks all high level guys and high-level players. When you've got some questionable character, you know, you create problems immediately. Look at the guys who have.

Ask the Arizona Cardinals in Cleveland Browns. Do they feel great about their guy right now? I got news for you. They don't. The Super Bowl. At one point in time, I think 119 million people watching. That might have been during the halftime. I think it average like 113, 114 million people.

Third most watch program in the history of America. I think a lot of like, you know, people around the business side of it have been saying forever. It's the greatest, you know, it's the most made for television sport we've ever had and will ever have. And I agree. But I've said for years, one of it's because now, like, football doesn't have anything in common with basketball or baseball. Absolutely nothing. Like the NBA finals was struggling to get 13 million people to watch. That's when it was the Warriors in the States.

Celtics. Flag football, Pro Bowl, got six million people. The World Series ratings have been really down for the last decade. Now, I like both those two sports, especially in the playoffs, but the overall masses don't anymore. It's not a debatable topic. That's a fact. Now, 13 million people, 10 million people is still more than the majority of program. But when it comes to football, they have nothing in common. A random good NFL game on a given weekend. A given weekend, Sunday, Thursday, Monday night football, it's doing 15 to 20 million people watching. So like the Amazon,

which is still, I guess, somewhat nichey because you had to stream it, I think average like 10 million people watching. So when you look at the Super Bowl, football, I've said forever, this is not going to last all my life. Right? Because when I was a kid,

or I'm not even a kid, when I was born in the mid-80s, the number one sport in America was baseball and had been for a long period of time. And then society changed, and they kind of got left behind. The NBA in the 90s, it couldn't have been bigger. Michael Jordan had the NBA as big as the NFL. It was fucking massive.

20 years later, no one plays. Clearly, some political stuff, a lot of different variables. It's not even close to his popular. Under Adam Silver's watch, since 2014, they've lost half their audience. And the NFL, one of its greatest attributes, all the BS on the outside of just talking about sports, it's once a week. It's the easiest thing to consume.

Baseball is every single day. There's going to be a game in early June. Whether you're a Yankee fan, whether you're a Cardinal fan, or you're a Dodger fan. I got news for you. It does not matter. in the NBA star players literally skip just 10, 15 games because, I feel like it, kind of tired.

The sports scientist said, like, take it off, be good for you. I feel fine, but they say just take time. In football, the best player of his generation, now, it was a playoff game, screamed at his head coach, I'm not leaving. And think about this as a football fan, whether you like the Texans, whether you like the Vikings, or whether you like the 49ers.

when you pay for a ticket to a regular season game, and every game in football matters, you know for a fact that if a guy can play, if he's 80% he's playing. And if he's not playing that given week, you're never mad because, you know, yeah, he's really hurt, man, can't walk, can't move, shoulder wouldn't work.

Yet you go to these other sports like, well, he just needed a day off. They played 17 straight days in baseball. We had to give him a day. Very understandable. He's a catcher. He's tired. in basketball.

You're like, I bought tickets to watch Steph Curry play Yonis. Like, oh, they're both sitting tonight. Not Yonis, he actually plays a lot, but the Warriors. And then Steve Kerr will be like, you know, it's the shitty part of the business. She's part of the business. You mean you guys not playing your guys for the consumer? And football is the most consumer-friendly sport by a country mile. It's the easiest to consume.

It only takes if you just want to watch your team three hours a week. And two, from a standpoint of you know that your team and your coaches, now they might not be good, and your coaches might not be a high level coach, but he truly cares. And they're doing everything humanly possible every single week to play. Think about that just to play. Part of baseball, I actually think they do play pretty hard.

It's just too much. I can't watch every game. What's crazy is at 38 years old, I used to watch in my 20s and probably even my early 30s, the amount of basketball and baseball games, as well as the same amount of football I watch now, it's just humanly impossible. moment you get to your mid-30s,

you're 40s, you have kids, you have other responsibilities, you can't consume that much. And then the moment you realize, like, it's not even worth it. Like, what am I watching this for? And then the curveball is the gambling. There is no sport to gamble like football.

So I think football, listen, is this going to last for 30 more years? I don't know. I can't tell you that. But I think this next decade, you know, the 2020s is going to be,

continue to be massive. So I would bet in the short term, the next five to seven years, to just maintain these numbers. Now, I don't ever think these other sports are going to get booms, but I think football is going to continue to separate from them because I actually think they're going to keep struggling to get people to watch them. Because it just doesn't matter. When you turn on Thursday night football,

you know that game, week six, against the Giants of the Eagles, matters. Hell, Texans and the Jags, it matters. The Niners and the, every, There's not a matchup. You can't convince yourself that it doesn't matter. Even at the end of the season, that Bears game, that Texans game, they mattered for draft position. The other sports just do not have that.

You can't. Most people don't even know, like, you know how Major League Baseball, the drafting works? It's not, it's based on record, not actually like, I remember the Giants one year made the playoffs, but they still drafted a little higher. Now I'm confused. I don't want to screw this up, but it's just confusing. You know, nothing's confusing about the NFL. Every game matters.

You know, every team when the season starts, 80% of them feel like they have a chance to make the playoffs. And, yeah, football's got a really, really good thing going. A couple other quick things. I read a story that Greg Olson. Because a lot of people have been saying, you know, Greg Olson was pretty outspoken about how he wanted to keep the number one overall seat. And, you know, there's a short list of guys, right?

Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan. Tom Brady that if they wanted a role in the media, whoever had that seat immediately gets fired and or immediately gets, you know, demoted. And Tom Brady is just at that level. Is Tom Brady going to be good at calling football? I got no clue.

I don't, I was, I knew for a fact, Drew Breeze was not going to be good. No chance. Absolutely none. I got a pretty good feel for this. I shorted that stock immediately last of the year. Tom Brady, I don't have a great feel because he's so competitive,

clearly being a great teammate, like he could be a guy's guy, but sometimes when the camera's on, he can be kind of stiff. I would probably lean. He'll under-deliver, but I'm not going to make a living betting against Tom Brady.

But if I ran the network, under no circumstance, Greg, you can say whatever you want, and I get, you got, you're good. You're fine. You're solid. But you're getting demoted for Tom Brady.

But the reason Greg Olson has been so outspoken is his salary is the number one overall guy is $10 million. Rightfully so, number one guy, Fox, doing 20, 30 million people watching all of your games during the regular season, let alone playoff games. It goes down if he goes to number two, still good living, still a number that 99.9% of people in this world,

let alone America, would gladly take the job to $3 million. So the difference of them hiring Tom Brady is going to cost Greg Olson, $7 million. I get it. I do. But it's the easiest move they'll ever make. Now, is Tom Brady just sitting in the seat forever if he sucks? Of course not. But he's definitely sitting in the seat. Yeah, it's just welcome to the reality of Tom Brady being one of the most famous people of my life. Another guy that I would have guessed would have been pretty good on TV, yet whatever I watched him was terrible. Now, I'm not a big pregame show guy. They don't really do anything for me. I like college game day, but I don't watch for the analysis.

I watch more for the entertainment. On Sunday morning, you know, I try to get a workout or whatever because I'm going to sit on the couch for the next 12 hours. So, like, I'm not one to watch. I don't need you breaking down the games. I just don't really care. And I just don't find the shows that good. Too many people, too many people talking. Whenever I saw Rex Ryan on TV, I always thought to myself, God, he kind of sucks.

Because he was his massive personality. He would talk a lot of shit. but I just, I didn't see it. Now, he's been out of the game for a while on television. Rumors are, based on the interweb, that he is a, could very well be the next defensive coordinator for Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos. That would be cool.

Because I think some guys, like Sean Peyton was good on TV. The NFL's better with Sean Payton in football, coaching. Just like Sean McVeigh. Would Sean McVey be good on TV? Probably. But the NFL is better off with Sean McVeyton. Faye coaching in the league, especially if his team's good. One thing, watching Rex Ryan, the NFL would be better with Rex in the NFL, not on some

studio show that a million people are watching and he never says anything that matters. So I hope Rex Ryan is the next defensive coordinator. I think that would be exciting. And that'd be a lot of ego in one operation. You know, buckle up, Russ, because you no longer are the big dog. You know, there are some big names and I don't think they're going to give a shit about your feelings. Vance Joseph also talk to the Broncos about the defensive coordinator.

The Eagles have reached out to Vance Joseph about being the defensive coordinator. I'm pretty fascinated. I think he'll definitely get a defensive coordinator job. He's well respected, well liked around the league. And I've said it forever, a guy like him, the best part about the NFL, it is a great spot to be a number two. Because a lot like Wall Street and venture capital, if you're the number two in some industries, pays 100 grand. pays $200,000. In football,

defensive coordinators are now making a guy like Fance Joseph, $3 million. Do you know what Vic Fangio just signed for? My guess would be $5 million a year. $5.5 million a year. That's what these type guys are making.

Remember Josh McDaniels years ago when he said with the Colts was making $4 to $4.5 million a year. It's not a bad gig to be the number two. Pays very, very well. You don't have to talk to the media as much. You don't have to take the hits. You just kind of get to ride shotgun

and make a lot of coin. Last but not least, Calvin Ridley. One thing to keep an eye on the Jacksonville Jacks is because clearly they need to improve some of the offensive weaponry. Chris and Kirk had a really good season. Calvin Ridley has just, I think, filed for a reinstatement. Be probably the first.

I wouldn't say last, but the last for a while guy involved in gambling that gets suspended. And, you know, if you're going to get suspended, getting suspended for a parlay, that sucks. Because there's no chance that he won that part of. especially his was like an 11 team parlay. So he's going to come back well rested. Remember a couple years ago,

not only was he really good when there were talks about like, you know, the Falcons could be interested. The Eagles, before they got A.J. Brown offered a first round pick for Calvin Ridley. Like people, this guy's very, very talented. I think he could be a huge boost.

And let it be a life lesson to you. If you're in the NFL, if you're going to go out, don't do an 11 team parlay. Just bet the house on that. Patrick Mahomes. Appreciate everyone listening. Talk to you guys soon. 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

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