The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - MNF Reaction, Eagles drop another one, The Bills are back

Episode Date: December 19, 2023

John recaps the Seahawks 20-17 Monday Night win over the Eagles, how concerned should Philadelphia be after dropping their third in a row, should we start looking at the Bills as a contender again, and Tom Brady weighs in on some of the "illegal hits" in the NFL and who should also be at fault for them. Lastly, John answers your questions for this week's mailbag segments. 5:20 - MNF Reaction 22:27 - The Bills are back 27:01 - Tom Brady's comments 31:13 - Cowboys overreaction 33:11 - Why does the Purdy hate continue 36:51 - Does Robert Saleh deserve another shot  45:57 - Mailbag 46:17 - Saints and the playoffs 50:03 - Should the Chargers trade Herbert 54:03 - Why did Staley fail 1:15:21 - Is Dennis Allen the worst 1:30:05 - Could Nick Saban come back to the NFL Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow -  for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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What is going on, everybody, John Middlecock, 3 and Out podcast. What did I just witness? Well, I just witnessed James Bradbury getting cooked by Drew Locke in Seattle, and the Eagles just had a devastating loss on Monday Night Football to the Seattle Seahawks. That was nuts. That was wild. So we'll dive into that game from an Eagles perspective. Drew Locke in tears, basically, after the game.

Pretty cool moment. And just the implications, obviously, it has major implications on the NFC playoffs. But wow, that's hard to be football. It's hard to be football in December. That was fun, unless you're an Eagle fan. Then that really sucked. I mean, it probably couldn't have sucked more. Here's the plan.

We'll do a big mailbag today. At John Middlecough is the Instagram. Fire in those DMs. and we'll have podcasts all week, so we'll be rocking and rolling. Talk about some other stuff going on around the football world today as well. Subscribe to the podcast if you listen on Colin. We also have a YouTube channel. Make sure you subscribe to that as well,

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Don't even thank me. Hammer that promo code. I don't even know what to say. I'm pretty speechless. I thought when the Seattle got the ball back, things might get weird, I didn't expect that. I didn't expect Drew Locke to throw a dot to DK down the sideline and then hit Jackson Smith in the end zone.

That's insane. And listen, before we dive into the game, the NFL got a lot of blowback internally from the teams, from the coaches. I don't think the players necessarily care, but, you know, team executives flexing Monday night football. Never forget. This league exists because of us, the fans, that sit on our couch and watch football. And the reason that they made this available, the flex Monday night game,

is so we do not have to watch Belichick and Bailey Zappy. Because that's what would have happened, play the Can Sea Chiefs. They flex that game. We get Seattle, which is an incredible night primetime environment. The rain, the cold. You get the Eagles, you know, trying to battle for the number one seed, and you get that. It just, it never disappoints. That was, listen, I didn't really, I didn't have money on today.

I was kind of rooting for Seattle, want to see the Niners get the number one pick. Also, just clearly things are getting weird in Philadelphia. And Drew Locke, listen, you got to give the guy his flowers. And this is why I'm so hard on the Pittsburgh Steelers. How can you have Mitch Trubisky as your backup? Like, how can you like that guy? Like, listen, Drew Locke is not a perfect player, but he's a pretty good backup. He clearly is really physically gifted.

He battled maturity issues, which Aikman talked about tonight on the broadcast, how clearly in Seattle he's grown a lot. They like him a lot. And to come in and have the ability to be that final drive to make those throws, I mean, that's big time. That go route to DK down the sideline

that ultimately led to the touchdown was perfectly thrown. The ball to Jackson Smith was an absolute dime might even be a better catch. Just an awesome moment for the guy and just a cool moment for the NFL. Now, if you're an Eagles fan, listen, I will defend the Eagles on this. They didn't just demote Vic Fangio,

Todd Bowles, or Bill Parcells. They demoted a guy, I checked his resume, who was a quality control guy for about seven years in the NFL before working his way up, getting fired, and last year he was a special assistant on the staff, kind of like Patricia's. He got his shot.

And any time you have a veteran-led, kind of star-driven team, you know, think about who their leaders are on defense. Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Darius Slay. You're not making a move. Like, the Eagles aren't just haphazardly throwing shit at the wall and hope it sticks. Clearly, the players weren't on board.

And there was a story that leaked today that, like, the defensive coordinator lacked a little confidence. Maybe he doesn't feel comfortable. He knows what he's. doing because I watch the Eagles defense all season long and they have been pretty bad. Now, they still have major flaws. Their players aren't good enough. It's really that simple. With Slayout having knee surgery, Bradbury, who is a major weakness. There's a reason that Debo

never shut up for a year. Debo thinks because the 49ers and Kyle Shanahan taught him last year going to the NFC championship that James Bradbury is not very good. And if you watch last week, if you watched two weeks ago against the 49ers, and if you watched tonight, they went at him relentlessly. So when you have a corner, and listen, he's highly paid, who's not any good,

and who can't cover anybody, I don't care if the offensive coordinator is Bill Walsh, Mike Shanahan, or me, you are going to throw at that guy over and over and over. Honestly, Patricia, I mean, he held him the 13 points, 58 minutes of the game.

He's fine. I'm sure he is an upgrade over the guy they demoted. I don't have a big issue. The media hates when you don't tell them stuff. So like, why was it so cloak and dagger? Sorry they just didn't send out a memo to the league. That's not the way it looks.

Hell, Pete Carroll tonight didn't tell you who a starting quarterback was up until like 25 minutes before the game. Even though they knew, as Drew Locke kind of alluded to, after the game, Drew Locke knew when he showed up at the stadium of the night he was starting. It's football. It's gamesmanship. It's like you don't just tell your competition everything you're going to do. The media gets up in arms.

That's the way it works. But I don't care if Bill Parcells had been the defensive coordinator tonight. There's nothing you can do when you have major weaknesses in your secondary. And James Bradbury and some of their other corners aren't very good. It's just that simple.

Now the one thing this Eagles team last year, I'd say Bradbury was a little better and obviously Slay was there and they weren't as banged up with their other corners and their defensive line dominated. The Eagles have never been, like Brian Erlacker and Fred Warner and Patrick Willis at linebacker. Like they don't value linebackers that much.

They really value the defensive line. And last year that defensive line, eviscerated people. And you watch tonight like Jalen Carter had a cool sack, but for the most part, like where is this on Reddick? Where are guys making, Brandon Graham had a sack, but for the most part, they are not relentlessly getting pressure. And the easiest way to make a guy like Bradbury look capable is to constantly pepper the quarterback. Well, on that

final drive, it didn't even feel like they got close to Drew Locke. So in the NFL, if you have a guy with the talent that Drew does have and the arm strength that he has, which he clearly showed in that final drive, if you don't touch him, like, he can make some throws. And he clearly did.

And one thing that you will say about Seattle, and they are a flawed team. They, to me, are pre this 14 team playoff back when it was just six. I don't think they're a playoff team but with seven teams in

I have to look at their schedule hell they might still be able to get in they feel more like eight and seven than they do nine and eight but listen offensively here's what they got three sweet wide receivers they have the modern version he's not as good but DK's like a Tio

just a physical freak who can run faster than anyone in the league except five guys and has good ball skills you have Tyler Lockett who's been one of the most consistent wide receivers in the league and you have Jackson Smith who's a first round pick, who's clearly an elite talent. Like, that's a big time wide receiver court. And the Eagles defensive backs, one, they struggle to cover, and two, they're not great tacklers.

Like, one thing Seattle, who defensively is not very good statistically, their DBs will hit you. They are a physical unit, and you felt their presence tonight. Like you watch the Eagles and you go, where's your physicality? Even linebackers. Like, they're just not, their back seven. is not physical. And to me, Seattle was taking it to them a lot of the game

because the Eagles aren't a great tackling team. And there's no drills you can do in practice. This isn't peewee football or high school football. Schematically, I'm sure Patricia is much more advanced and better than the guy they had. But it's, where did I hear this tonight that someone said, oh, it was on the pregame. And it's so stupid.

It was it wasn't booger. It was swagger. and he said defense is all about effort. And I was like, you know, yeah, kind of. In the NFL, you got to play with effort, good players play with effort, but it's also a lot about scheme. So it's a combination of effort, talent, and scheme. This is the highest level of football.

Play calls, talent, effort, it all is molded into one. And to me, like, the Eagles, I don't think they're not playing hard. I think their scheme looks fine. But if you don't have the talent, and their guys to me just don't look talented enough. Like it was Advantage Seattle with their wide receivers. And for most of the game, they're not, like, Drewlock's not a great player. So he's not going to throw 300 yards in a rainstorm, just like Jalen.

Like, it was hard to throw for yards tonight. But in those spots and have to have it, when you know you're just like, fuck it, we're throwing to the DK, you're at a disadvantage. And James can't run with him. And clearly he was just, he was a liability. And listen, we've all watched football long enough. In this modern day game, when you have a major liability at corner and you're playing big-time wide receivers, you are at a huge disadvantage.

It does not matter who's calling the place. It doesn't matter how hard you're playing. Now, can you quote-unquote double a guy? I guess you can, but they have multiple other wide receivers that can make me play. So it becomes very difficult. You do need your corner to at least be functional out there and give you a chance. And down the stretch, Bradbury got eviscerated. He got destroyed.

To me, he lost them the game because you can't hide that. And he's better than probably anything else they have. But what are you going to do? What are you going to do? And the answer is you can't do anything. You really can't. And tonight, a huge difference in the game was the DBs for Seattle made a couple big plays. I'm not even counting the final pick, which was also a big play.

But he made another big pick in the end zone. Like, I just don't see the Eagles making big plays in the back seven. And their defensive line is not consistently dominating enough. who is the best defensive lineman on the field? Leonard Williams. That guy tonight, if you didn't know anything about football and tonight was your first game of the season, you'd be like, is Leonard Williams the best defensive player in the league?

He was awesome. Now, he's playing a backup guard, but still, he was all over the place, physically dominating the point of attack. And for Seattle, who to me is kind of Swiss cheese typically on defense, they were flying around tonight and they were playing hard. Now, obviously the Eagles, Jalen is sick, shows up, up, you know, it takes a private plane with Big Dom, not feeling well. But I actually thought for the most part, he's playing pretty well. Did the one pick, you know, toward, uh, in the second half

to love the first one. Little underthrown, could have called PI, but like, listen, we can blame the defense all we want. They're often scored 17 points. Like, you should be able to score 25 plus against the Seattle defense. Now, you could argue when Jamal Adams is not in the game, he's like their version of James Bradbury. You don't necessarily have an enormous weakness. You don't really honestly Seattle's big weakness. The linebacker, Bobby Wagner, all-time great player, their linebackers aren't that fast.

So when you get them in space, it's why when Jalen's running around, there's no one even close because they're team speed. Michael Lombardi has said this for a while and it's so true. When your linebackers are fast, your defense is fast, and you watch both those two teams, our linebackers aren't fast. So the defense looks slow.

It's just that simple. But big picture, enormous win for Seattle. I mean, if Seattle loses this game, they're done. Seasons is over. And still, they're no lock to make the playoffs. And this is just a devastating, you know, kicking the nuts for the Eagles.

I've been watching the Eagles for a long time. I would say this is the worst Seriani loss. If you just think about on the road, you're winning, they get the ball back, Pete's pissed away a couple timeouts. They got to drive the entire length of the field. They have to score a touchdown. they have one time out and they score a touchdown.

And honestly, they scored a touchdown with like 28 seconds left. It's not even like they scored in walk-off fashion. So that's just, it's just an absolute devastating moment for the Philadelphia Eagles. And, you know, a lot of the talk, things are going to get weird because the way they fire their defensive coordinator, which like I said, have no problem with. You know your team better than everyone else. We'll get into the bills in a minute. Internally, like the coaches, the players, you know your vibe.

even better than the fans and definitely the media. So you do what you've got to do. But ultimately, it's a black and white business. You either win or you lose. So you lose like this. Now again, you have the same record as the Cowboys. Now, the Cowboys schedule is still much harder. But listen, division games get weird.

I've said over and over. I don't care how shitty the Giants are. It's not like Dayball and Wink Martindale aren't going to try to win those games. One of those games, to me, is a lock to get weird. And let's face it, the Eagles are just off. They are just off. and talent-wise, their back seven on defense,

is not that good right now. And the guy they have playing at corner in James Bradbury is not going away. He has to play. Because he's your best option. But him being your best option doesn't mean he's a good option. He just kind of means he's your only option. And teams get into these positions sometime.

To me, if the Eagles, clearly there's a physicality that, they're not even in the same universe as the 49ers. If they played the 49ers 100 times, I don't think they would win 10. even the Cowboys. I think if they went back and forth, to me, the Cowboys, and I know they just got it, they're ass kicked by the bills,

but the Cowboys typically are just a more physical team than the Eagles. And, you know, this is going to put a lot of pressure on Siriani. He does not call the place, right? He's a CEO head coach. So this is kind of what you pay him to do, right? It's like, well, motivate, figure it out, lead. This is a shitty spot. This is the NFL.

Three-game losing streak. Forty-niners had one of the, those earlier this season. You know, hell, they almost fired their defensive coordinator. And they just kind of rallied together. They just figured it out. Like, this is a moment. The problem is that their three-game losing streak went into the buy.

So they got to take a deep breath. This three-game losing streak, they play next week. Like, you got to figure it out, you got to figure it out fast, leaking oil at rapid pace. You just lost in front of the entire country in devastating fashion. That city is just insane. When it comes to the football team, they just tend to, you know, where I come from, like when I hosted a radio show in the Bay Area, when the Niners start losing,

like people kind of zone out. They don't care. In Philly, winning and losing, like people get just as excited for losing, like the fan base rallies. And I'm not saying that, like, in a way, like trying to talk shit. Like, I appreciate that.

In the business I'm in, the problem, if the Niners go five wins, no one cares. Eagles five win team, like everyone has an opinion. Everyone cares. And this, it's just, it can turn negative fast,

and there's going to, to be a ton of pressure, and I mean a ton of pressure on Siriani, to just figure this thing out. Like, are we looking at a team that's going to be back in the NFC championship? Are we going to looking at a team that's going to have to battle right till the end to win the division? And now, I mean, clearly the 49ers still have a couple easy games left. They're going to be the one seed. So the Eagles, like, could they lose in the first round? We have to see the way the seating plays out.

But, like, this thing get weird, and it can get weird fast. ton of pressure right now syriani that's just one of those that that's a tough one to shake it really it's you get your ass kicked like fuck anyone bent in a fight get your ass kicked you just kind of shake it off take the blood off your lip and just kind of walk the other way you know it happens no different football sometimes just get your ass kicked you get back on the plane you eat a chicken sandwich have a cold gatorade just kind of shake your head just like oh show up to work tomorrow when you lose these type games it's like what is going on

it's it's a jarring feeling as a team as a coach as a fan you're just you're if you watch tonight your jaw had to hit the floor when he completed that touchdown to Jackson like your jaw because mine did and I'm just watching it as a fan of football it was a

it was one of the crazier moments I would say this season especially when what was on the line the team they were playing Monday night football. It was awesome. In Seattle, listen, if they could ever figure out their defense, which is crazy because Pete's a defensive coach, offensively, they are so loaded. I mean, D.K., Lockett, how good is Kenneth Walker? Obviously, they got some young offensive linemen. They got a lot going for them, but Pete, a little reckless with the timeouts. When Pete

calls timeouts when there was going to be a delay game, like Pete, just let the delay game happen and kick the field goal. You need that timeout. And then Siriani throws the red flag, which he was right on. And then Pete's screaming at the ref, do I get my timeout back? No, Pete, you don't get your timeout back. Pete got very lucky. Because if Seattle had lost that game, that was a moment like, is Pete losing his fastball? Is the old man, is he still throwing strikes here?

Because that was pretty embarrassing little stretch there in the fourth quarter of Pete, just wiping his butt with timeouts. Like, hey Pete, it's kind of a close game. Those timeouts are kind of important. Now, he ultimately got lucky, partly just because D.K. and Drew Locke made some plays, but holy moly. And I know there are a lot of Seattle fans

who aren't in love always with Pete. Tonight was not his finest moment, but he won, and his team still alive, and ultimately, what a game. I was thinking today about the bills, because, you know, having worked in football and now being on the outside, when you're inside, it's very,

you kind of live in this bubble of the team, it's easy to justify weird shit. Even when things start kind of falling off the rails, you think you can figure it out. All it takes is a win and everyone, you know, it's pretty contagious. Yet on the outside, it's easy to think like a building is on fire, especially when an article comes out, like the one that came out on Sean McDermott, you know, on the 9-11 thing, which to me would have been,

listen, it's a crazy thing to say, but it was from 2019. It's not like it was from three weeks ago. So the way everything was going on, a lot of teams could have just imploded. And let's face it, a lot of adversity, when you just think about it like your family, some adversity like breaks families. I've seen it, right?

Over wills, over bad things that when people get sick, it's easy to fracture. And I've also seen a lot of families come even closer together and get stronger. It's no different with a football team. When shit hits the fan, a lot of bad teams usually just fracture, right? They all go their separate ways.

They all start talking shit, point and finger about the other guy. And then the team just starts losing over and over and you become the Chargers. And you lose 63 to 20 on Thursday night football against the Raiders. That happens a lot. Like the Chargers, by no means,

are an outlier in that situation. But sometimes, especially when you have talent and you have pedigree, when something crazy happens, you get closer internally. And did they get a little lucky beating the Chiefs? Of course they did. But that effort,

against the Cowboys, to me that shows a team that still kind of beliefs. And I think the way that they beat the Chiefs and everything that transpired after with the Mahomes and all the conversation, I wonder if they're a lot tighter unit now. And me and Colin talked about it yesterday when you look at their schedule. I think there's a very good chance of it coming down, week 18, them and the Dolphins for the AFC East. And let's face it, if it does come down to that, that'll be the Sunday night game. Everyone in their mother's going to pick the bills.

because ultimately the bill's ceiling what we witnessed yesterday against the Cowboys is as high as anyone in the NFL beside the 49ers and I said last week I'm like I don't believe in this Bill's team because they play in the same game all the time it's just a wacky game they win some and they lose this season now here's the difference

the last three years everyone acts like I think Sean McDermott is getting treated like he's some scrub coach he's gone 13, 11, and 13 wins the last three seasons. The guy's won a lot of games. And he's had this team right on the precipice of, like, getting over the hump. Now, they had a devastating loss a couple years ago, the 13-second game against the Chiefs.

But this is not, I think sometimes he gets talked about like he's Josh McDaniels or Brandon Staley. Like, he's proven to be pretty damn good. And what he just did against Sean McDermott. He's also the defensive coordinator. So that defensive effort yesterday was him. That's his game plan. he's calling the place against Mike McCarthy.

He's the guy that had them under 100 yards the majority of the game. He's the guy that embarrassed the Cowboys. That's his defensive play calling. And obviously Josh and Joe Brady, here's the thing. Anytime a coach wants to make a move, sometimes it's out of desperation. Like Ron Rivera firing jackdell reel. Like everyone's getting fired.

You just throw some guys off the boat. Like you're eventually going to get tossed off the boat too. And sometimes maybe things just. aren't working and you go, you know, we need a change. And he goes to Joe Brady and let's face it, the bills have looked dramatically better on offense. And that game against the Cowboys, so now the defense has a high ceiling, if they're playing well like they did against Cowboys, and their offense is rolling.

This is a team, and me and Stucky have been talking about it for a while. If they get hot, watch out. Because they're like they're the type team with that ceiling that can beat the Chiefs and beat the Ravens in the playoffs. Clearly you look around the AFC, I don't think anyone else can. The bills, if they get in, if they run the table and win the division, I think a lot of people will pick them to win the AFC. And I think it'll come back to the moment when that article came out

and everyone was trying to say the bills were done. You know, Sean was going to get fired. They were going to do a reset. And everyone banded and kind of, you know, grew closer together. And that's a cool thing that happens sometimes in sports. And I think that might have been what we just witnessed on Sunday. Tom Brady said a while back that he thought quarterback play had never been worse. And, you know, he got a lot of pushback from different people, especially, you know, newer-age people get very angry with that.

And I'm sitting there on Saturday, eating a sandwich, you know, drinking some water, watching the game. And Gardner Minchu, who is a fun player, he might throw more yolo balls than any quarterback I've ever seen. And in the history of the league, a lot of his balls would have got guys carried off in stretchers. In the 80s and the 90s, would have got guys killed. Well, I've been saying this for a while. Football, I despise throwing guys out of games. This is not baseball where you play tomorrow. You only get 17 of these.

And in 2023, I feel very confident saying, nobody's trying to hurt anybody. When anyone makes a tackle, one, it's so easy in slow motion to think, Oh, that's a, he lowered his head. Put pads on, put a helmet on. See how hard it is to like put your head in front with the shoulder. It's bullshit. Every fat ass on their couch is always tweeting like, oh, that's chicken shit.

He lowered his, no, he's just, he's trying to put his shoulder into the guy and tackle the player. Fred Warner was asked, I saw today by Pat McAfee, about the hip drop tackle. He's like, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I've never once thought about like, I got to wrap this guy up, drop my hips, and spin. I'm literally just tackling.

the guy and trying to get him to the ground. So in that moment, when KZ hit Pittman on Saturday and knocked him out of the game, the pass was a fucking joke. It was an awful throw. Historically in football, it's been called a

hospital ball. That's what men chew through. And when Casey started to go forward, he thought Pittman was up. And then Pittman has to lay out because, again, it's a terrible throw. And then as he's going down, he's going down, he's going down because he doesn't want to hit him high

and he doesn't want to take his legs off and his head and his shoulder come right into the guy. And I think it happens all the time. And the quarterback, no one ever talks about Gardner Minchu throwing his wide receiver into a death trap. It's always like, that guy is a headhunter. We need to get that out of the NFL. Let me tell you this.

You know the reason why the NFL is throwing all these flags and now suspending these guys for the season without pay? Litigation. They don't want to get sued for CTE ever again. So they can say, in 10 years, in 20 years, here's everything we did, X, Y, and Z. Think about your company. Everything they do, they document with HR.

It's the same logic. They're just covering their ass. They don't actually care that he didn't mean to hurt him. They don't actually care that it was a terrible throw. It's simply covering their ass, which I understand. But let's call it for what it is. and Tom Brady, Instagram, like, does the quarterback ever have to take any responsibility anymore?

And the answer is no. And I started thinking, I wonder if the reason that it's never been easier for these backups to excel in the NFL, you can kind of throw it anywhere, right? Because one, those hits are even very rare. So even if you throw hospital balls,

no one's going to get injured for the most part. Hell, most DBs aren't even trying to hit you that way anymore because they fear getting in trouble, they fear getting fined, and you can just throw it wherever. It's literally never been easier. If that was 1997 and you were playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, John Pittman would be out for the season. He'd have a shattered clavicle.

He'd be done. It used to happen all the time. And then you knew, and this is what Brady and Peyton and Breeze and all these guys forever, just in the most recent generation, but Young and Aikman have talked about forever. I had to be very, very careful where I put the football. because if I put it in harm's way, I would legitimately get the guy hurt.

And my biggest issue now is no one's trying to hurt anybody. People are just trying to tackle. It's been legislated out of the leak. But where's the responsibility for the shitty throws? And the answer is there just isn't any. I do think, and Colin mentioned this the other day, everyone's going to overreact on the Cowboys.

They get a great opportunity. Because that Bill's team, they clearly went into the Hornets nest. That team came together and they just got their ass kicked. But now they get Miami, who's going to be feeling themselves a little bit, at home, which is a much better matchup for them. And then they get Detroit. Now, I'm not saying the Cowboys are going to,

they're a lock to win these two games, but it's going to be a pretty easy opportunity for Dallas to get their swag back. They can go to Miami, they can win, then they can play Detroit at home, where clearly they excel. And if they win that game, all of a sudden, everyone's going to be taking Dallas seriously again. the ebb and flow football because one game means so much.

It's why I'm so opposed to throwing guys out of games. Because you don't just get to play tomorrow. Hell, for Casey, he doesn't even get to play the rest of the season. But I think you've got to be very, very careful about the overreaction to the bills, especially when you look at the schedule. I think this is a huge game this week. I mean, this is the best part about the NFL. Fox has been very lucky this season.

Basically, it feels like for the entire season, either the Cowboys, the 49ers, or the Eagles play a massive game in the afternoon slate. And, you know, obviously the Cowboys and Niners have been carrying the league financially in terms of big television ratings for 30 years, and the Eagles are a massive brand too. So you're going to get a huge cowboy Miami Dolphin game, and I'll promise you this, I'm going to pick Cowboys without hesitation.

And the following week against the Lions, I think that has a chance to be just a fantastic game. So it's an awesome little stretch for McCarthy to get the boys, get the train back on the tracks, and all of a sudden people being, like Dallas is the second best team in the NFC because I don't think anyone is going to say that about Detroit no matter what they do because they can't play outside

but Dallas does need to shake this we can't play on the road and they get an opportunity this week in Miami which I'm sure will be a Dallas home game and then play Detroit at home which you know that should be the type team that you light up to scoreboard on two more things first and foremost the whole purdy conversation do you know the saddest part about it all he should really be the type guy that is really relatable to most people.

Most programs didn't want him. Nick Saban was like, yeah, I guess you could walk on. I don't think you'll ever play here. He was the Arizona player of the year. He had to go to Iowa State, historically not some great football program. He turned the program around. He became an all-big 12 guy back-to-back years. The previous all-big 12 quarterbacks in that conference were like Jalen Hertz,

Kyler Murray, you know, Baker Mayfield. I mean, it was a quarterback factory conference, and everyone was like, hey, he's still a seventh round pick. Like, this guy had been handed nothing. Everyone's acting like this guy just landed at home plate. He literally got drafted in the seventh round, had to make the team as a third-string quarterback, and then because of injuries, just got his opportunity.

He's actually more relatable to most of us than like first-round picks, who were just handed a bunch of money and handed starting jobs. most human beings kind of have to earn their stripes and then get lucky with some opportunities and then take advantage of it. Like, okay, this guy can't make the meeting, Bill, we need you to go in.

It's like, shit, I've been waiting for this opportunity for two years, right? To me, Brock might be one of the most relatable stories in the NFL. And I see all these guys on television, especially the former players. A lot of them tend to be more famous guys. In a weird way, it feels like they hate it. It really does. It feels like a lot of those guys gravitate more toward the high pick.

becoming sweet, which, listen, I do too. I like a Miles Garrett and Aaron Donald or Miles, you know, Nick Bosa as much as the next guy. But I think stories of guys that are laid around picks who become legit players are what make the NFL so great. It really is what carries the NFL. The overwhelming majority of NFL starters are guys drafted on day three. And, you know, it's the ultimate meritocracy in sports because anyone can make a team,

anyone can earn a spot and then anyone can become a really, really good player and it's just so much like negativity around the guy for listen, I think a lot of it goes back to the draft pick and I don't think that's going to change for the foreseeable future. Even if he wins a Super Bowl it'll be the conversation next year. Well, can he do it again?

If he was the second or third round or second or third overall pick I think we talk about this guy like an absolute flat-out star and I've been watching the 49ers for 30 years and the kid can fucking play. Now, I've said over and over, would I give the guy $200 million tomorrow? No, you've got to do it a couple years.

But this notion that he's not some super high-level player and he hasn't been at minimum, even separate from the MVP conversation, a top four or five quarterback this year, you're smoking crack if you can't see that and you've watched football season long. So I just think the conversation is just one of those things that solely exists because of his draft position.

It really does, right? and that's just not going to change. And that's the hard part about the NFL is to get the, not that it matters. Like the only thing that truly matters is do your teammates like you, do your coaches like you, and do you make plays? Like whether the former players on TV and the media pundits like you're not, who gives a shit, they don't pay your bills. They determine zero success for you.

But it is just a conversation. This is the biggest league in America. It's talked about. And clearly he's a really polarizing guy. And like I said, it's all about being the last pick in the draft, which to me should be like a positive. It should be like an incredible part of the story. And it's just not right now for whatever reason. And last but not least, you know what's crazy is a lot of these offensive coaches are having success with like backup quarterbacks.

Right. Zach Taylor, Jake Browning, they're winning games. Kevin O'Connell's like won some games with Mullins and Joshua Dobbs. Stafansky's winning games with 70-year-old Joe Flacco. I mean, it's remarkable that he's won multiple games. Joe Flacco, like five years ago, wasn't any good. The version of Joe Flacco looks dramatically better than the Joe Flacco, his last couple years on the Ravens. Shane Steichen with Gardner Minchew.

So a lot of guys around the NFL, let's face it, the NFL this year is a little down, talent-wise, because so many quarterbacks are out, there's been a ton of injuries. You should be able to compete with the backup quarterback. That's why I'm so hard on the Steelers. Like, one, that's who your backup player. quarterback is a two and you can't even compete with the guy.

But I'm watching Robert Salah and I believe they're all going to come back simply because they're going to give them a shot with Aaron Rogers. But this has been a couple years in a row that they have just gone with quarterback situations and they're just not even that competitive. And one thing I think we all have to acknowledge, their defense is a little overrated. Like their defense is not as good as the hype because you can watch them some weeks. Like, ah, the defense looks pretty. And then other weeks you're like, well,

What the hell is going on? But to me, the main problem is I can give them Zach Wilson or Simeon or Mike White. And it's just, it looks way more difficult than it does for these offensive coaches. And I want Robert Solid to be good, but I understand a lot of people are getting a lot of shit around me. I mean, Bill Belichick might get fired.

Mike Tomlin might get fired. I'd be like, well, Robert Solid is because he just, like, what's he doing? Well, not much. It seems not very good. they're probably destined to go six wins. So the last two years are probably have 13 wins in two years. And let's face it, it's been an ugly 13 wins.

It's not like it's been a pretty watch. I just think that this situation with their quarterback, he can't influence at all. He has no influence. And he clearly gets influenced on his offensive coordinator. He hired a buddy LaFleur, and now he's with Hackett because of Rogers. And it's just been an utter disaster.

So I do wonder, let's say they lose out, If he could be a wild card firing, just because owners, we've talked about it forever, they have more money now than ever. It's all a line item to them. Like for you, if you have to like do something you don't want to do, pay a $25 late fee or like whatever, I'll just pay this to go away. If it's $100, for these guys, paying a guy $20 million to go away is like change you find in your sofa. It's just so meaningless to him. And Woody Johnson is just a wealthy owner to begin with. he's just a major wild card.

I can see things getting weird. Now, I know people like him. I think the best thing Robert Sala has going for him is people legitimately like him. And it's just a good lesson. Like, some reason, you know, a lot of guys in certain companies last a little longer, even when they don't produce. Like, oh, we just, we really like Ted, just a good guy. It's like he doesn't do shit.

Well, we just like having him around. It's kind of what we feel, at least what I feel like with Robert Sala, just people like the guy. But I think if you just go, well, is he a good, coach? Is he a good head coach? I think if you were going to be objective, take a step back, no emotion, you'd have to say he's not very good. So yeah, we'll have to see how that shakes out if they keep losing. I wanted to end on this because I didn't know this until I saw a stat today on the interweb about Rahim Mozart. So my Morgan and Morgan player that made it look easy. It's not that shocking that Christian McCaffrey has 20 touchdowns. I mean, he had that

that streak that he almost broke of whatever, like 15 straight games with a touchdown. He's breaking 49er records. He might break the 49er Jerry Rice's record. He's been remarkable. I don't think most people know that Rahim Mousert has 20 touchdowns this season. 20 touchdowns. I've been following football since I can remember. And if you say a guy has like 12 touchdowns on the season, either running back or a wide receiver,

that feels like an awesome year. If you get to like 14 or 15, a decent chance you're going to lead the league in touchdowns. You get to the 20 mark. That is just, you're having a historic year. And to me, he's a good example. McCaffrey, it's not that weird. He was the eighth pick in the draft.

McCaffrey could have gone to any team, and if he's healthy, he's going to be a star. He literally can do anything. I saw a coward call him the greatest running back talent of all time. I would have him right up there with like L.T. Marshall Falk, he definitely is with those guys the most versatile running back of all time.

Raheem Ostrut's a guy that bounced around. If you just go to his wiki page, his first couple years in the league, practice squad, cut, practice squad, another team, practice squad, bounced around. He's a great example of why fit matters so much. He got with Kyle

Shanahan in like 2017 or 2018 and he never looked back. By 2019, he became the starting running back. He had the huge NFC championship game. Obviously, Mike McDaniel is the run game coordinator. They become buddies. He goes with him to Miami. And now in 2023, with three games left, he has 20 touchdowns.

This is a guy who was cut by countless teams. This is a guy that could not get off practice squads. Then he goes on to start an NFC championship game and now be a guy who can be a playoff teams starting running back and give you 20 touchdown. So props to Rahim Moster for making it look easy. That's freaking awesome. So if you're ever injured, you can check out Morgan and Morgan.

Their fee is free unless they win. For more information, go to for the people.com slash john or dial pound law, pound 529 from yourself. That's FOR the people.com slash john or pound law, pound 529 from your cell phone. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing.

human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions. 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. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so you're not. But just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed correct. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now.

Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, it's mailback time.

and it's very, very easy to get in our mailbag. You just go to my DMs on Instagram at John Middlough, at John Middlecoff, DM's wide open, and you slide right in. And you get your question answered here on the show. We got a lot, I will try to get to as many as possible. Start with Elijah. I know we are not very good, but if we get in the playoffs,

do you think that we could upset Philly or Dallas? I'm a Saints fan. I don't. I have a hard time seeing tennis Allen and Derek Carr win a playoff game. I still am not betting on you guys to make the playoffs. I just, I have a hard time with what I've seen this year, and I had high hopes. I picked you guys to make, pick you guys to be like an 11-win team. But Derek, for the most part, has not played well, and I just don't trust your head coach.

And I'm sorry, I don't give you much credit beating DeVito. You guys, maybe you'd have a better chance, depending on a Philly kind of imploded down the stretch. I just think Dallas would be a tough. matchup for you. They can rush the passer. Derek's not very good against pressure. They're a fast team indoors, even Philly with all their skill guys on offense. I think you would be a major, major underdog, even though you have a home game against anybody. Now, it's football, it's a one-game situation. It's not, you know, basketball or baseball where I guess baseball, the cream doesn't always rise, but in football, in basketball, usually the best team wins the series. Football,

weird things can happen. Maybe Dak throws a couple picks. but I think the Cowboys are going to beat any team they play in that 5-4 matchup. Mailback question. When Staley gets fired, you always see folks saying, you never want to see someone lose their job. But, dot, dot, dot, it was time for a change. I disagree. These head coaches make so much damn money compared to the regular working man.

I don't think we should feel bad for them at all when they get fired. For being terrible. Is that unfair? I have, I feel bad for the guy making 70 grand with three kids at home who gets laid off. I feel bad for the guy whose business goes under because of, you know, COVID restrictions in 2020 and 2021 because he's in a state that, you know, locked his business down. Like, that's who I feel bad. Do I feel bad for Brandon Staley who was making millions of dollars who was not in a position that he ever should have been in in in the first place? Zero remorse.

I have no remorse when any of these coaches get fired who aren't good at their job, right? I mean, it's like, one, they get paid to go away. Most humans are at-will employees, so when they get fired, maybe they get a month or two severance. A lot of these guys that get fired have years left on their contract. Millions of dollars to go home. And most guys, like, listen, if you're good and you get fired, you immediately get another job. Sean Payton quit. but Mike McCarthy, Andy Reed, like Doug Peterson, like the cream always rises, right?

Or you get another coordinator job that pays seven figures. I feel it never crossed my mind once of like, oh, it sucks for Brandon. Now, do you know who it sucks for? I've been fired in the NFL. I was making, I think, 60 grand. Like, yeah, it kind of sucks. I had to figure it out. Now, I was young, was, you know, time was on my side and I figured it out.

But you're making millions of dollars and you get fired? No. not players get run out of the league when they're not any good. It's part of the business. It is a very competitive, highly paid industry that, you know, you take these jobs, you're hired to get fired. It's kind of the way it is. And if you can hold that job for three or four years alone, you make a ton of money.

And regardless, even if you get fired the first year, you get, you know, four and five-year contracts. So I think he's an all-time scheme. damn artist. I really do. Says the right things. Interviews well. Skinny looking guy. Looks the part, I guess. And fool the Spanus. And I don't think he's ever getting another head coaching job again.

Question for the pod. I'm not a charger fan, but should the new GM coach consider trading Herbert and a first to the Bears to get the number one pick? Draft Caleb Williams and reset the clock. No. In football

and sports in general, the entire point of having a high draft pick, especially in football when it comes to a quarterback, is to land to Justin Herbert. So once you land to Justin Herbert, you do everything humanly possible to build your team, to build your organization, to hire coaching staffs, and as a GM to pick the players around that guy and to make him successful. There is no guarantee. I don't care how hyped up the prospect is that he's going to be any good. We see time and time again, players with a ton of hype, they get drafted, and just aren't good football players. I mean, it literally just happened a couple years ago.

Zach Wilson, pick two, awful. Trey Lance, pick three. He's a third stringer. Justin Fields, pick 11. He's about to get traded. Mack Jones, pick 15. Not good. Now, obviously, Caleb's a better prospect than all those guys, but I do think it speaks

to who would ever saw Brock Purdy having? You just, you never know. And you have Justin Herbert, good guy under contract. it's not even to me. I wouldn't even entertain it. I guess your job is to take phone calls, so obviously you're not going to hang up. You just maybe listen to the phone call,

but I think it's pretty easy to end with, yeah, we're not interested. Assuming San Francisco, Dallas, and Philly, all either went out or at very least go three and one in the last quarter of the season. Should San Francisco versus L.A. be the last Sunday night football of the regular season?

McVeigh versus Kyle in a scenario where Kyle has to win to keep the one seed, and McVeigh might have to win to get in. I think the final game, and I looked at the schedule the other day, is already shaping up to be Buffalo, Miami for the division. Because I think if Miami loses one of the next two games, they play Dallas and they play the Ravens, so let's just assume best case they go, I guess they could sweep,

highly unlikely. I think they lose this week to Dallas, but they go one in one. And Buffalo plays the Chargers, who literally quit last week. They play one other terrible team. Maybe, oh, they play the Patriots. So assuming they're 2-0, that game would be for the division. So I think any time that you have a game for the division, which means a home playoff game, especially with Josh Allen,

if I was a betting man right now, that's going to be the Sunday night, week, whatever it is, 18 game. What are your thoughts on the high number of mobile quarterbacks in the National Football League? It seems like most quarterbacks in the NFL can move around, especially the younger recently drafted guys. Personally, I think the focus on mobility in extending plays has made

quarterbacks significantly less efficient and turnover prone. Well, the NFL can only draft what they're given. And like when I was a kid, all the quarterbacks kind of looked the same, right? They were the Peyton Mannings, Ryan Leifes, to Philip Rivers, to all that crew of guys, right? Carson Palmer, they were tall

pocket quarterbacks who were the least athletic guy on the field, always. And that has dramatically changed. If Peyton Manning was in the draft, like yeah, someone would take him. Though I think the offensive line play is dramatically worse. So non-mobile quarterbacks

you would just get sacked more now than ever. Even Peyton and Tom, and you saw Tom last year, most offensive line, one, the injuries have gone up and two, there's not as many good players at that position. We've talked about it over and over. The practice schedule, the development is not the same. Yet the

amount of good defensive line, and every year, ton of guys are getting drafted high. And half those guys turn out to be impact players. And there's already a ton of impact players in the league. So I just think it's more of a result of what's playing at the lower levels and what comes up. And I would want a mobile quarterback. And I think 100% you can have a mobile quarterback. And when I say mobile, I don't necessarily mean like Kyler or Lamar.

Like Patrick Mahom's really mobile. Brock Purdy's mobile. Obviously Josh Allen is really, really mobile. Herbert's mobile. Why would you not want an athletic guy who can also play within the podcast? I think in a perfect world, you want both, right? You want John Elway. Obviously, the greatest quarterback of all time is a pocket quarterback, but most other guys kind of in that crew, Joe Montana could move. Brett Far of Aaron Rogers could move. John Elway could move. Steve Young could move.

Peyton can't. Dan Marino can't. But a lot of quarterbacks had some mobility just to get outside the pocket. So I don't know if it leads to more turnovers. It definitely, it definitely definitely leads to, I guess that's fair, a hero syndrome when you're out trying to keep a play alive, but I like that in my quarterback for sure. I'm a Falcons fan and have been contemplating this all season. Should the Falcons bring back Arthur Smith, assuming we draft a quarterback early in next year's draft? He hasn't shown very much ability to utilize his offensive weapons to the fullest extent. Do we give him one more year with a new quarterback and see how it goes, or do we start fresh with a new head coach and a new quarterback?

Well, I think most young coaches are going to, you know, first time, let me rephrase that. Young, first time coaches are going to struggle if their quarterback position sucks. Now, one thing I didn't quite understand is why they were so confident in Desmond Ritter being a good player, right? He wasn't a super high pick. What was he, a third rounder? I think a lot of people, like the Cincinnati career, which he was playing at a lower level of football. We saw him against the big boys in that playoff game. It was pretty ugly.

And I think he's shown a lot of those qualities in the NFL. Obviously, the game against the Panthers. He had one of the worst picks you'll ever see. I never was a huge believer, but that's who he staked his career on. Is Arthur Smith good? I don't know. I'd be lying if I said I watched that much Falcons football. But I didn't like the pick at 8 with Bejan Robinson. It didn't make that much sense. And now, is he picking the players? I don't know. They have the GM is the former Saints guy. So my guess is he gets one more year, but it has not gone smooth.

It really hasn't. And one major issue for the Falcons is when their quarterback play, Matt Ryan started falling off a cliff. Now it doesn't, they've just been a meh franchise. They are just pretty meh. And you're not shitty enough where you're going to draft super high to get one of the top guys. So I don't know.

I think you just, you probably run it back and try to sign, maybe trade for Justin Fields. I think that's what most people think Justin Fields is going to be on the Atlanta Falcons. I don't know why we all just assume that, because there are going to be other teams that need quarterbacks, but it feels like where it's going to go. Big fan from Tijuana, Mexico. I like Tijuana.

Why did Brandon Staley fail so miserably as the D.C. in L.A.? Or could you argue that give it his track record with the Rams and adding his revolutionary ideas of fresh new and young voice, open-minded, hottest DC on the market. This was a great match, given the talent and the organization, and obviously a top-10 quarterback. But year in and year out, he fell flat on his face, ranking in the bottom half in every statistical category.

I've gotten to the conclusion that he was a great defensive coordinator because he had a generational, foundational, foundational, cornerstone players in two key positions, Jalen and Aaron Donald, at the peak of their powers, hiding his defensive coordinator shortcomings. But I have no expert. and this assessment is a little bit superficial and lacks a lot of in-depth explanation. I think the hardest part about transitioning from a coordinator to a head coach

and one, he was only a coordinator for one year. So a sample size, and it was 21, 22, it was in the COVID year. So it was a super weird year. And like you said, they had two guys, Aaron Donald was the first bout Hall of Famer and Jalen, you know, is having a fantastic career. They also just had a very buttoned up organization like that team had been winning. McVeigh was a fantastic head coach.

But when all I have to worry about as a head coach is 20, 25 guys, and I don't have to think about anything else. Like a guy gets a DUI, a guy breaks his leg, something happens with the practice squad, something's weird with the travel. None of it's on me. I only have to focus on defense, and also that year, remember, it was very Zoom heavy. I think you look back, it was a little bit of a Fugazi year.

I mean, it's an all-time quarterback, guys he draft. So I think a lot of guys get overwhelmed when they're the head guy because there's a million things going on. You got to worry about your offensive coordinator. You got to worry about your offensive players. You got to worry about everything going on off the field. And you get overwhelmed. And when you watch the Chargers play, they're players. Like, do I think Brandon Saly, if you got him on a whiteboard, would know where everyone's supposed to go? Would go, well, this coverage should have worked. If this guy was here. Yeah. But it does not matter as a coach how much you know, right? Like any parent listening to this, if you're trying to instill life lessons,

eventually your kid, like, I know, I remember my parents tell me all these things growing up and until you go through it, like it's hard for it to really resonate and then the older you get. That's why in my late 30s I think about things that I was told like when I was 10, 15 years old because like, I can finally get it. Even looking back to college, like finance class, kind of bored me. I didn't have any money. I didn't even know what any of the shit meant. And the older you get, You get money. You're like, God, you start realizing all these things start resonating with you. And I think that a lot of guys have, one, he lacked experience.

So all of his knowledge giving it to these other guys, I just don't really think he knew what he was doing. I really don't. And do I think he knows defense? Yeah, probably. Do I think he knows how to properly communicate it as a coordinator slash head coach to the entire group? I don't because I watched his team play and they never were on the same page, ever. So, yeah, I mean, and this is another question. Do you think he'll ever get the opportunity?

I would say this. Like Tom Telesco, most general managers, if you look, historically like the alt, like a great name, like a Ron Wolf type or Bill Pollian, they might get a couple spots or a couple shots, but GMs usually get one bite at the apple. And Tom Telesco had got 11 years as a GM. He hired three coaches. I don't think he'll ever be a GM again, even though he wasn't that terrible. and it's not maybe all on him who he gets to hire, right?

His owner is so cheap, they might have forced some coaches on him that maybe he wasn't all on board at the time. But I do think you can never say never. I do think it was as ugly as it was that it would be very, very difficult for an NFL team to hire Brandon Staley. I'd say the same thing with Joe Judge.

It was just so like, I don't know, it's hard to shake that. Now you never say never, you know, a lot of guys, a lot of coaches, Ron Rivera. I mean, coaches get second chances that you go, how did that happen? But I would, at least in the near future, next five, eight years, hard to see that. Hard to see that. He also coaches on the wrong side of the ball. So when you're a defensive coach, you're just moving forward, they're going to be less likely to be the guy people pick.

The other thing is, if they get a real coach in there and then the chargers are good, I mean, really good. Like start going to the playoffs every year. Herbert starts dominating again. I think that'll be a poor reflection on him. Like Mark Jackson, who had some red flags, like when he was there, players didn't like him or whatever. But one reason he's never sniffed another opportunity, it's like, God, how did you not dominate more with this Warriors team? I hate Arthur Smith for fantasy football reasons,

but I've watched a lot of their games because of Bejohn Robinson. At what point does ownership give up on him? His play calling and misuse of stud offensive players is embarrassing. Bejohn, Pitts, London, all play great when featured. Can you misuse players fracture the locker room? Well, for sure. And I think the number one job of any good coordinator, whether it's pass, whether it's run,

whether it's screens, whether it's deep bombs, regardless of the play call, get the ball in your best players' hands over and over and over again. Andy Reid did it forever with Mahomes and Hill and Kelsey, right? Kyle Shanahan is currently doing it. it with all the guys. Find ways to get them the ball. However that is. It doesn't even matter how the play looks. Get the ball in their hands and then let them cook. And for whatever reason, I hated the pick at the time. Fucking hated it. It's like they just had a rookie running back who was good.

You're taking a running back there when you have a million other needs? I didn't understand it. I really didn't. If anything, I thought they should have traded up for Anthony Richardson. And maybe they tried and they didn't get it done. I was talking with a buddy about wide receivers that make a lot of contested catches and we named a few AJ Brown D.K. Metcalfe Jefferson and Mike Evans but we were struggling to name more off the top of our heads. Is it me or the prototype now Tyree Kill? And could there be a resurgence of big bodies like Julio, T.O.

Anquan, Randy because Rieke is actually one of a kind and no one will be able to replicate it. Well, it all depends on the wide receivers coming into the NFL, right? The draft dictates that. Like Marvin Harrison's going to be a top 5, 6, 7 pick. Why? Because he's a big time talent. And I've heard his ball skills and contested catchability is fantastic. So is the dude at Florida State, Coleman, fantastic contested catch guy.

But you look last year, like, who are the guys having a lot of success? Zay Flowers, smaller guy, but just a dynamic player. I watched Jordan Addison. The guy is really, really good. I like, to me, the skills I look for at wide receiver would be ball skills, would be like one of my, obviously, route running, getting open and catching the ball. And being able to catch the ball in areas that aren't easy. Devante Adams is fantastic at it.

Keenan Allen, fantastic at it. You have to have, even Debo, smaller guy, he can make contested catches. So that's just a thing when you're evaluating a wide receiver, he has to have. Because you used Anquant. Like Hopkins is the same one. Those two guys could never run, but it didn't matter. They could box you out. They could be physical.

They could make a catch in traffic or the guy draped all over. So it's just a skill you have to have. But Tyree Kills can make contested catches. He has incredible ball skills. Happy Brandon Staley firing day. See, here's the thing. While I don't feel any sympathy or, listen, here's a good life lesson. Most people, when you go through terrible things in your life,

probably don't care as much as you think. Now, obviously, you're short, immediate family, your wife, your family, your brothers, your sisters, your close, close friends, but most people are kind of worried about themselves. So, like, listen, I don't get any joy in Brandon Saley getting fired. I don't even care. I mean, it's just, I'd like the Chargers to be good. They're not going to be this year.

He was, it was inevitably he was going to get fired. Whether it was after a ass kicking like that on Thursday night or at the end of the season, like his career with the Chargers, was over. But I'm not like, I don't, I don't care that much to like get super, to get joyful in other people's. Like, I don't get joy in other people's misery. So Brandon Staley's failure, like, it was a take of mine. I thought he was a fraud. And I'm not even obsessed with being right or wrong. Like, I'm wrong all the time. Like, I thought the Montes sweat, trade was insane. Actually, he's aging pretty well. Maybe I'm wrong on that. Right. And I definitely like, failure, like, a lot of people get

joy in other people's struggles. It's not me. I don't. I just paid to talk about football, and Brandon Staley was just a major NFL topic. A long-time listener and longtime Ram fan. Two questions. Something I've been thinking about in regards to the mess that is the Panthers. Not only do they have the worst team in the NFL,

a possible bust at quarterback, and no first round or second round pick this year, and a crazy owner. But something that adds to the shit show is last year the Rams offered the Panthers two first round picks and either a second or a fourth for Brian Burns. Now they will either watch Brian Burns walk

or have to franchise them and pay a ton or get way less capital than they could have gotten last year. One to your thoughts. Second question, you will miss the smug unjustified confidence that permeated through Brandon Staley's pressers. You know, once, and this happens a lot in the business of talking about sports,

when you go all in on a take, it's hard for people to pivot. And most guys don't, right? And Brandon Staley, like, I'm the best defensive coordinator. He was never going to pivot off that. So I never expected him. I just thought it was funny, and everyone should ask him every single week.

Are you still going to call defensive plays? But he was never going to eventually say, you know what, guys, I'm not a good defensive coordinator, and I'm going to have my linebacker coach do it. He was never going to say that. Just like a lot of people with the take, like Brock Purdy sucks,

is never just going to be like, okay, I missed on Brock Purdy. They're just not going to say that. I would say that. I would say the Panthers, organizational, organizationally, just no one's on the same page. It made no sense. One looking back, shouldn't you have kept DJ Moore? Like, if you weren't going to lock sign Brian Burns, why didn't you just, because they wanted Derek Brown, DJ Moore, or Brian Burns?

And in order, DJ Moore was actually the third guy they wanted. They wanted one of the defensive players. And they said, no one, Brian Burns. Well, if Brian Burns is like you're Vaughn Miller, Nick Bosa, Miles Garrett, I'd want to I'd understand it and he'd be under contract. But he's not even under contract. So what the fuck are you guys doing? DJ Moore was under contract.

You should have just kept him with your rookie quarterback and traded burns in that trade. Or like you said, if they weren't going to trade him for all those picks to the Rams, why haven't they signed him? I just, it doesn't feel like anyone there. There's no cohesion from the top down. It's just a bunch of cooks in the kitchen

all trying to make a different meal. charge with the crazy owner, but is the GM, the coach, they're just fucking all over the place. This is from Octavio. I'm a Niners fan living in Houston. Nick Wright is also one of my favorite sports media personalities, but his unwillingness to pivot off his hate toward Brock Purdy is ludicrous. He says that Purdy is aided by other all-pro players in the 49ers,

but last time I checked, Montana and Young also were surrounded by Hall of Famers. He also penalizes Purdy for the fact that he never comes from behind to win a game. but that's because most of the 9ers, most of the time, he has the 49ers in a winning position. I'm not saying Purdy is Mahomes, Alan, or Lamar, but what does he have to do to gain the respect he deserves?

Just keep winning. I also think, like, not getting the respect of people that talk on a television show. Who gives a shit? I don't think Brock and I know for a fact that I've heard some stories cares at all. I don't even think he's paying attention.

Sometimes the San Francisco media you like ask him, Brock, what do you think of everyone talking about, like, I don't know. What are they saying?

Like, I heard someone say this a while back, haters don't even realize how much money they make you. And it's so true, right? And a player who's, with someone that's successful.

Like Brandon Staley had haters because he stunk. But like, Brock Pretty's having a lot of success. The team loves him, the coach loves him, every nighter fan with a brain loves him.

He's been incredible. He's a seventh round pick. So, like, to not, anyone that can't acknowledge like he's been incredible. I don't know what to say. You're just sticking on a point to stick on a point. It starts becoming a little skip Bayliss with LeBron. Anyone who just

refuses to pivot. Because it's that fucking obvious. Now, is he the all-time greatest thing since sliced bread? Is he a $200 million player? Got a long way to go. Like you said, he hasn't come back in a game yet. And it might happen in the playoffs. And if he does that, then what, there's going to be literally nothing else to say.

If he comes back in a game, They win the Super Bowl. It's one of the great second years we've ever seen. If he wins the MVP, wins a Super Bowl, a seventh round pick. So I think part of it is like, it's all relative. Like, where does it come from? I understand if he was, imagine,

and I've said this over and over. Trent William said this a while back. If Brock Purdy had been drafted where Zach Wilson or Trey Lance and was doing this, we would call him like a generational player. But when you're a late round pick, and most people to begin with are going to be hesitant to hits their wagon to you as a take, right,

that's not a fan of that team, you're going to have to go above and beyond. It's going to take some time. It's happened consistently with, you know, Dak Prescott to prove he was a good player. Kirk Cousins, it took him like a decade to prove that he was a good player. So I think a lot has to do with draft position.

A lot of people, just Brandon Staley talk. Brandon Fraud Staley. I still think it is truly one of the great great quit jobs in NFL history. It really is. It was a historic loss by the Raiders. 3-0-0 at home. Most of the low-scoring, 6-0-6-3-whatever games in NFL history

have been in tornado, you know, blizzard-like conditions. Crazy winds, snow, sleet, rain, totally understandable. Like you can't even, can't catch the ball, can't throw the ball, can't cut or whatever. the Raiders lost three to nothing to the Minnesota Vikings. Three to nothing. Did not score a point. Hell, there wasn't a point in that game to like two minutes left.

And for them to come back and have 42 points at halftime, I honestly think it's one of the craziest things I've ever seen. Truly believe that to my core. Do you think the Chargers could win a single game without Justin Herbert, or would they have gone 0 and 17? You know, it's the NFL. I would say Max, if Brandon Staley had been the coach,

and you would remove Justin Herbert, and their backup were Easton Stick, and let's just, I know he works for NFL Network now, he's technically retired, but like Chase Daniel. Like that was kind of their quarterback room, something like that,

I think they would have been competing to be one of the worst teams in football. Because their defense is awful, and they would not have been able to score. So they would have been really, really bad. They would have been really, really bad. Now, they would have had a couple games where maybe, you know,

Bosa was on the field, and Mac was on the football. field that both those guys get six, seven sacks total, and they win a game like, you know, 13 to 10 playing like a crappy team. But for the most part, I think they would lose a lot. Are the Giants completely screwing themselves by losing a top quarterback in the draft by winning all these meaningless games, or do they have something in DeVito? Jones, clearly not the guy. You know, I'm torn on this because I talk a lot of shit about the NBA when it comes to tanking. I think teams,

trying to lose right in December, which a lot of teams do. And obviously a lot of teams tanked down the stretch of the season. It's just bad business. And the media loves it, right? But the media loves a lot of things that the fans don't. There's a huge disconnect between people that cover sports and people that provide all the money for sports given they're the fans, right? And I think, listen, in football, one of its great attributes that other sports don't

have is everyone tries all the time. Even when I worked in the front office, like we're talking about draft picks in October, but coaches and players do not care at all. The coaches don't get involved in the draft process to like March 1st, like the combine. So they're not even thinking about that. Yet that when it comes to the players, I mean, most of the players, you're like traveling on Saturday. You're not super locked in it. You don't even care because that guy they draft might take your job.

and this is not guaranteed contracts. So you should always try. And DeVito, to me, was a fun story. Played with the Saints, did not go as well. And obviously got C-O'd in that game. But I think DeVito could still be a backup quarterback. And the problem is then you've got a ton of, you got a highly paid backup, fringe,

not great starter in Daniel Jones, coming off an ACL, Tommy DeVito. Your quarterback room is kind of in shambles. But these last three weeks, you play the Eagles twice. It does not behoove you to beat them, but they're going to try to beat them. And I'm recording this before the Monday night game.

It would not shock me if one of those games gets weird. If one of those games against the Giants get weird. I mean, Brian Dable is going to try to beat those guys. I'll promise you that. So we'll wink. So we'll just the players. Let's be honest. Dennis Allen is the biggest clown in the league.

Do you think the Saints regret not hiring a quality offensive coordinator like Eric Bienemy? Do you think they need to go after a big name like Bill or Tomlin? Well, here's where you guys might be screwed. You play the Rams on Thursday night, which is going to be a really tough game in L.A. I think I haven't looked at the line yet, but I'd imagine L.A.'s favorite. You lose that game. Then I think your last two games are relatively easy.

So let's say you get to 9 and 8. Let's say you make the playoffs at 9 and 8. I don't know if he gets fired at 9 and 8. To me, for him to get fired, I think he's got to go 8 and 9. In fairness to the Saints, Sean quit. He had been doing an awesome job as a defensive coordinator. He's a pretty impressive guy like when you talk to him. Clearly as a head coach, he's a little over his head, knows nothing about offense.

So he's very beholden to whoever his coordinator is. I wonder if they wanted to keep a Sean Payton guy in there. Eric B. Enemy is not like had a good year. Washington's a fucking joke. I mean, they are, this notion that like Eric B. Enemy is having success, I don't know where. Sometimes I see that like on the interweb. Like are we following the same league?

Are we watching? What are we talking about? It's been a disaster. He's been a disaster. So I don't think that would have guaranteed them anything by any means. Non-sports question. I grew up in the East Bay, Antioch, California, class of 09, Antioch High School. My older brother that is around your age is the class of 2002.

Where is the East Bay did you grow up? Love the show. I grew up in Davis, California. So I grew up closer to Sacramento than I did, San Francisco. Born and raised in Davis is where I grew up. And then I lived in the city for a year. I lived in Emoryville for a couple. And then I lived in Walnut Creek from like 2016 until I moved here in 2022.

If you were just hired as a GM, what are you the first three things you're doing out? of quarterback and a head coach. So basically, there are three things you think every GM should do. Well, that's a good question. Obviously, if you're hired to hire the coach, there is no bigger job. Like, that is your entire livelihood. So does the coach hire me?

Because if the coach hires me, then I'm not really in charge of anything when it comes to his staff. if I hire the coach depending on his background let's say he's an offensive coach I am going to put a ton of emphasis on who we hire as a defensive coordinator and when I got hired as a GM I would tell my owner

whatever coach we hire the opposite side of the ball that that guy's on and again my focus would be on an offensive head coach but if it is a defensive head coach we have to pay the highest paid offensive coordinator in the NFL or the highest paid defensive coordinator. Like last year in Miami, they got Vic Fangio. We have to put a premium on that side of the

ball. Right. And then depending on my team, like, do I take over the charges and we have Justin Herbert? Because if I do, then everything around my process is how do I help that guy out? And the easiest way to help that guy out is improve my offensive line, get a physical running back, get him a good tight end. If I go to a team that does not have a quarterback, right, I need to find a way to get one. So where are we drafting? How do we evaluate the quarterbacks in this draft? Who's the free agent market? So everything to me would start with the quarterback and the coaching staff.

And then from there, it's just one thing I would make mandatory with my team that would be borderline, we don't budge off this philosophy. Anyone we invest in, especially if we're starting from scratch, we do not budge when it comes to football character. right so any guy that we acquire in the building has to fucking love football and i think a lot of teams say that and then they give in because of the talent and i think if you look at the chiefs over the five or six years if you look at the 49ers right now hell if you look at the rams like the way they're playing right now just like all their guys are just football junkies when you get guys

who are good at football but don't care that much you know you get situations like the steelers just had with George Pickens, who had some major red flags coming out of college. And all of a sudden some stuff's happened. It's like, oh, what's this guy's deal? Well, you know, for everyone that Tomlin turns around, some become headaches. So to me, the coaching staff and the quarterback, we can't talk about that enough. Because it doesn't matter who my middle linebacker is if we don't have my coaching staff in the quarterback situation figured out. And I'd argue even if we have the quarterback, like, if just if I went to the Chargers like we need to get a good backup quarterback look at the look at the bangles this year like Jake Browning's a real backup quarterback like the 49ers invested in

Sam Darnold who listen is he great I don't know but could they win a couple games with them 100 so I think everything has to revolve around those guys and when you get the job you have to talk to the owner like are you going to give me the resources to spend on a defense five million dollars spent on a defense coordinator can I go get a Dan Quinn of Vic Fangio if Todd Bulls available. I want to get those guys. I don't want, you know, this guy was pretty good. No, I want the best because that's the only way to compete in the NFL is to have a really good defensive coordinator. So I think before we get two into the weeds, I'm like, how do we rank the DBs? Like, fuck, who cares? Offensive defensive line coaching staff quarterback. Everything falls into place.

And guys who were just addicted to football. The Patriots for 25 years put a premium on football character. Their best players were football junkies. Starting with Tom, but Edelman, Gronk, McCordy, Hightower, Matt Slater, the offensive linemen

who were good for them over that period of time. Football character is so important. And when I say football character, I don't mean like nice guy, bad guy, whatever, obviously you don't want

a bunch of shitheads, but people that are addicted to playing football. And I think sometimes society is like, balance is so healthy. Maybe for you. Not in this industry.

Not in the industries I'm in. I don't really have a life. I just, I watch a lot of football and talk about it. Like, I don't do that much else, right? Should I have more balance? Sure. Should I do more shit?

Maybe. But it doesn't really work for me. Right? Do you. And most of the good teams in NFL history get guys that don't have that much balance, who are football addicts. Shit, look at Dion Sanders. Right?

You would think like, ah, Dion's got a lot going on. Deon's fucking addicted to football. Was a great football player, quit playing football, and got into coaching. And he, like, couldn't get a real job. He went to an HBCU, because he was. wanted to be a head coach. They went to Colorado. Say what you want about them, but like, I don't dispute that guy's passion for the sport. Trent Dilfer, coach high school. Then he went to UAB. I want guys who think about football 24-7, 365. I don't want balance in my locker

room. Trying to win a championship. Not go six, seven wins. And I would say most of the great players are kind of addicted to football. It's like all the great coaches are football addicts. if you had to rank the top five front offices in the NFL, how would it go? On the other side, how would you rank the worst front offices? I think the Panthers just have no clue what you're doing. And I think you always have to factor in the owner because the owner, it's easier for him to get in and sit in the office of the GM and talk deals, talk economics, top salary, than it is the coach

because he doesn't know football plays. Right? So I would say the Panthers right now are in complete nutter shambles. I think that they have absolutely no clue what they're doing. And I would say when you look at the best front offices, you would just say the teams that are winning. I would say that in part of it, when I say a front office, like are your coach and your GM on the same page?

Like Andy and Veach speak the same language. Kyle and John speak the same language, right? How he's just an elite GM. He'll make, he could just make moves and he's willing to do stuff. And he's just always thinking like, how do we upgrade? How do we upgrade? And it speaks for itself. And then you see some front offices like the Giants.

They're a better version of the Panthers, but their owners really involve, likes to keep certain players, and it becomes a disaster. So just look at the better teams in the NFL. They just typically have cohesion between the GM and the coach. If you do not have that,

you're completely fucked. You just long term. You might have a good season, but over a longer period of time, you have no shot. You just don't. everyone talking about Tomlin and Belichick getting fired to only talk about where they would go.

But nobody seems to have ideas on who the teams would hire to replace them. We've seen Billy O. and Josh McDaniels crash and burn. And other than Ben Johnson, Detroit, I don't know who would be a good replacement. Well, there was a report this week that Gerard Mayo, the longtime Patriot linebacker and now he's been on the coaching staff for a while, signed an off-season contract to be the heir apparent toward Belichick. Now, does that come to fruition? I don't know.

But a lot of people think that Gerard Mayo is going to be the next head coach of the New England Patriots. I'm operating under that assumption based on just the contract, what people say. Who knows if it actually plays out that way? But I think Gerard Mayo will be the coach. The Steelers, that's a hell of a question. Because when they hired Mike Tomlin, no one thought they would hire Mike Tomlin. Right. So people would be very, very interested in that job.

Now, who they would hire, no clue. They're another front office that I've had some buddies tell me, you know, they're not quite as good as they used to be. The Ravens are another front office. It's really good. But the Steelers, like, I don't know. I don't really see it. They have a couple high-end players,

but the more and more of the season goes, like, what the fuck am I watching? How are you guys just terrible? Who on that team, whether it was Tomlin, whether it was someone in the front office, said we need to extend Mitch Tribisky. Whoever said that, I can't take you seriously. I really can't.

And everyone makes mistakes. But you had Mr. Bisckey and your team, and then you extended him? You fucking out of your mind? Are you insane? He's objectively awful. He's just not... If you have to play Mr. Biscay, you will lose.

And when you extend a guy at your backup quarterback, he's one ankle injury away from starting seven games. So, I would say the Steelers have fallen off a cliff. I know you said on record, you didn't think Gannon would end up being a good head coach. early, but the way the players seem to be responding, what are your thoughts on them now? Well, their team's terrible. I mean, they're going to draft three overall, or potentially two. We'll see how the next three weeks plays out.

But one thing I had heard, my reaction was more just any time you give a guy with not that much experience a shot, it's pretty risky. But my people with, like, I heard things of people that had worked with Brandon Staley. It was like, no at all. Kind of a douche. People in Philly love Jonathan Gannon. I can't get anyone during when he was there and they would have moments on defense. No one would say a bad word.

They loved the guy. So my opinion was more like, this is pretty risky. Not the pew, pew, pew, pew, and, you know, all that stuff. Because clearly his team plays hard. People I know that have been around him really liked him.

That's the thing with the Eagles. Like Shane Steichen was viewed very, very highly. Clearly, he's an awesome offensive mind. And Gannon, from a leadership standpoint, I mean, the story came out that Sean Desai lacked confidence. Like, that ain't Gannon's deal. Gannon's a good leader. He's good with the players.

Schematically, is he great? I don't know. I mean, it's hard to even judge him. The Cardinals are terrible. But my take always is, like, when Kyle Shanahan became the head coach of the 49-year, he had been a coordinator for like a decade. It's like part of getting a head coaching job,

experience matters so much. And even then it's going to be learning on the, fly. So if you're not hiring a Mike McCarthy or an Andy Reid or Pete Carroll, a guy that has been a head coach before, the learning on the job transition is huge. So if you don't have a lot of experience at your expertise at the NFL, because like coaching in the NFL and coaching in college are like two different industries. Like the game is somewhat the same. Most of the rules are the same. But everything outside of the 60 minutes that's played on a football field is completely different. How you acquire players, how you coach, the time you have, the time you have, the

you don't have everything surrounding football. And I just think experience, experience matters in any walk of life. It doesn't mean there are certain people who are just destined to be great, but most people in football have some experience before they have success or to have a chance to have success. I hear people talk about Kellyn Moore getting a chance at the Chargers Head coaching job. He got fired by Dallas and this year the Dallas offense improved. Moore got the OC job in L.A. and the Charters O is still trash.

Herbert has regressed and Echler is underutilized and basically look like a bump. Why is more even in the conversation when it comes to head coaching jobs? I think once you get your name in the cycle, like once people just start talking about you as a coordinator or as a head coach, I remember I had a buddy who was a quarterback coach

for a long time, and then he became a coordinator. At a place, I'm like, why did you take this job? He said, once you become a coordinator, you get in the coordinator cycle. And then you get several of those jobs before you're kind of shoved back to be a position coach. That's if it goes bad.

He's like, if it goes well and you have success, you become a head coach. So you change the financial future of your life. And Kellyn Moore over the last several years became a coordinator who was highly thought of in Dallas and in the future head coach mix. So once you get talked about like that, it takes a lot for you to get kicked out

of kind of that lane. There are some guys they're just always going to be position coaches. Whether they're not great promoters, their agent doesn't do a good job, whatever the case may be.

I just think Kellen Moore's been in the discussion for a long time as a guy that knows offense. And whether that's true or not, how many guys would have gone to the charter situation this year and had success?

Piggybacking off of your talk about likely to, Chargers head coach vacancy. Could you see someone like Nick Sabin being interested in that job? Could you see him leaving Bama if he had an elite level quarterback to coach in the NFL? I can't. I think Nick Saban, I had someone pretty close with him years ago that said the moment he turned

down that 10 years, $100 million offer from Texas, and this is well before anyone was sniffing that type money in college football. This is probably 7, 8, 10 years ago. Maybe a little less than 10. seven, eight years ago. It was like, I think for the first time in his career, he's become very content with his surroundings, likes living in Tuscaloosa,

likes being the head coached Alabama, and it's just comfortable retiring as the Alabama head coach. So I guess you never say never, but I think this year he's in the playoffs again. I think he's at Alabama's coach until he's no longer coaching football. So that would be a no. But one thing you can,

can't discount is there could be some names. You're like, damn, that guy's interested. And I think that would be on the table when it comes to the charges job. I'm a Spartan fan from Hamilton, Ontario. Things haven't been too hot for the football program over the past couple years. However, their recent hired Jonathan Smith from Oregon State could be promising. His resume looks good, and it can't be a bad thing to have a former Pac-12 coach when four new teams from the Pac-12 are joining the Big Ten.

he even brought a big chunk of his staff. I don't keep a close eye on Pack 12, so I'd like to hear your thoughts. I think Jonathan Smith is a star. And as being a West Coast guy, I thought UCLA made a major mistake. I think they should have fired Chip Kelly and hired Jonathan Smith.

Because the moment Oregon State got asked out of the conference reallignment, Jonathan Smith had to go. He took a program that has no business ever going 500. If you've ever driven through CoreVal that they ever win eight, nine, compete to win 10 games is insanity. But he's done it.

He worked for Chris Peterson at Boise State. He worked for him at Washington. He's a Jeff Tedford guy. And obviously at Oregon State as a head coach, he has been awesome. He's a former quarterback. He was the quarterback at Oregon State when they had Chad Johnson and Hushman Zada. So he played. And he's just, he's kind of got a little Jim Harbaugh.

Not like he's a more normal guy, but that's the way his team's. play. Defense, run the ball, physicality. He's old school for being like 43 years old. I think Jonathan Smith is an elite hire at Michigan State, and I think they're going to be good. And I think it's not crazy in a couple years, maybe three or four. That team is not only competitive, but, you know, competing for playoff spots. And he's talked about as one of the better coaches in the country. I would bet on that. I think Jonathan Smith is legit a star. I think out on the West Coast, I think the last couple years, you know, Kyle Whittingham, has probably been the best coach.

I would put Jonathan Smith right up there with Kaelan Dubour, Dan Lannning, he's been awesome. And you can ask people that, you know, big Oregon fans that hate Oregon State or Washington or whatever. I don't think you'll find a bad word set about the guy. I think he's a stud. And I think you guys got very lucky

to get out of the Mel Tucker situation, which let's face it was a debacle. And to get Jonathan Smith, who's never going to be an idiot, but I would take Jonathan Smith over Mel Tucker every day of the week and twice on Sundays to be my head coach. Mel Tucker's whole career was like got transferred Kenneth Walker. Other than that, the team was terrible, and I'm not even talking about. Can't figure it out off the field.

But yeah, I love that hire. Really do. My question is, this is from Dean. Where do you rank Kevin Stefansky for the Browns coach of the year? I'm a Browns fan, and obviously he wanted a few years back. But to me, this year has been tremendous. Considering the fluctuation at quarterback and massive injuries, yet still winning games, he has them in firm playoff position.

I think Dan Campbell, if he gets to 12 wins, has to win it. The Detroit Lions have had 10 wins or more nine times in 90 years as a franchise. They have not won the division. They have not won the division since 1993. So I think part of it is the franchise he took over. obviously Stafansky, what he's doing, is unreal. Same with Shane Steichen. I think how shitty the Lions have been.

If the Lions go 12 and 5, they're hosting a playoff game. I just got to give it to Dan Campbell. Just like Stavansky a couple years ago. Wait, you're winning with the Browns? Like, listen, Kyle Shanahan, what if he wins, I don't know, 14 games? Well, they won 13 last year. He's got an unreal roster. He's a great coach, right?

like Andy Reed, Bill Belchick, it's hard to win it when everyone views your team as good and you is good. But when you take the Lions and do what he did, it's to me why Stefansky, when he went to the playoffs, it's really more impressive. If someone goes to the Raiders next year and they're in, they win 10 games during the playoffs, like, I'm giving it to that guy. Wait, you just went to the Raiders and won? So that to me weighs heavily on how well you do. Now, the backup quarterback thing is really, I mean, look at Zach Taylor.

He's winning with Jake Browning. So I think if Stavansky was. the only guy winning with backup quarterbacks, he would kind of stand out a little more, but a lot of coaching. You could make this Stefansky argument for like three different guys. And the Brown's roster, even obviously you guys have a bunch of injuries,

you know, chob, your O-line, but it's still pretty damn good. And your defense is awesome, but I'm going Dan Campbell. 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 Odin Kirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque, others say it's unleashing human potential. Either

way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.