The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out -  OTA Opportunities, Steelers Questions, Mark Davis’ Kaepernick PR

Episode Date: May 27, 2022

John explains how unknown players can make an impression in OTA’s, if the Steelers are due for a franchise regression despite their elite culture, why Mike McDaniel feels like a boom or bust head coach with the Dolphins, why Mark Davis working out Kaepernick feels like a PR stunt, and why Terry McLaurin shouldn’t take a rep until he gets a new deal.  Follow John and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest content and updates and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me.

I'm Sam J. And 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. 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, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard,

but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The volume. The Three Now Podcast with me, John Middilkopf,

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What is going on, everybody? John Middlecom, three and out podcast. That'd be me. That'd be the show you're listening to. Hopefully everyone is, you know, I'm going to keep this short and sweet because I do believe that Memorial Day is like basically Fourth of July light. So I'd imagine many of you aren't doing much on this Friday, long weekends, having some pops on the lake, on the river, in your backyards, hanging with your family, and just attempting to enjoy life in these crazy times that we live in. but I wanted to get some podcasts out.

What I'm going to do is this podcast, this is Friday, if you're listening to. And I think we usually do the mailbag over the weekend, but what I'm going to do is because I don't expect many of you to be podcasting over the weekend. Could be wrong, but I got a pretty good idea. I got the metrics on the consumer. We're going to save it till Tuesday. So there'll be no podcast this weekend. There'll be nothing on Monday because that's Memorial Day.

And then on Tuesday we'll be just the release of our normal football podcast, but it's just going to be a mailbag version, which I recorded before Memorial Day, because I'm going to have some fun. I'm going to get after it. And I hope you are too. But you know, you got to still get some content out there. We've got to pay the bills.

Subscribe to the podcast. If you listen through Collins feed, Midlough Mailbag, which like I said, will be on Tuesday, it'll come out Tuesday morning. At John Middlecoff is my Instagram. Pretty easy to fire up in those DMs. If you have any golf questions, at Golopod is where we put all the golf DMs.

So yeah, you guys know the drill, subscribe to the podcast, leave a review if you could. And let's dive into something I saw actually yesterday. I'm recording this on Wednesday, but I went to 49er practice. And the 49ers basically were missing every single pro bowler on their team. Nick Bosa was working out in Florida.

Trent Williams working out wherever he works out. Kittle and Fred Warner either dinged up, not around. you know, George Kittle, I think I mentioned George Kittle, who else was I missing? Odibo Samuel, hold out. There's just a lot. All their star players were gone. And I talked to a couple of my buddies around the league.

They're like, yeah, some of our star players are working out in Florida, working out in Texas, working out wherever they work out. And our coaches didn't make, it's voluntary. I mean, so there's legitimately not anything they can do. Right. Ultimately, if something is voluntary, for most of us, right, when you're working for someone, And someone says it's voluntary, but other people are at the office,

you got to be pretty secure in your job to not show up. Like, all the backup quarterbacks, they're all showing up for a reason. They don't have the leeway. If you're Debo Samuel, if you're Trent Williams, if you're Lane Johnson, if you're whoever, you know, Travis Kelsey, and I don't even know if Travis Kelsey didn't show up, but I'm just players on that ilk, they can afford to take a voluntary minicamp. Just like, if you're the number one sales guy at your company,

yeah, you don't have to show up. But if you're a guy whose numbers aren't quite penciling, you better be there, shows him face time. It's part of the deal. Now, with football, it's ultimately a team game. You need the reps. Iron sharpens iron. But I got no problem with non-quarterbacks not showing up.

I do think it's important for quarterbacks to get rapport with guys they're going to throw with, right, and the timing of their given offense. Now, I would make some exceptions for Aaron Rogers, Tom Brady, right? I do not put Kyler Murray, who, to my knowledge, is the, one young quarterback, really the one guy like under 35 who's not at OTAs. Like, I'm sorry, I got you red flag, buddy. But I did well before he held out because I could have seen him being a holdout guy. And now he's holding out or not showing up or whatever you want to consider it.

It's not technically a holdout because, again, it's voluntary. But like voluntary, it always meant mandatory. Now it's kind of changed because of the CBA. A lot of credit to the owners. The owners do not, they don't give a shit about the offseason. You know why? They don't make any money. The only thing they care about is the fall because the TV and the games.

That's where they print all their cash to where they all make their money. And they gave in the players like, we want everything voluntary. You can't force us. They're like, cool, no problem. The coaches and GMs don't love it. But it is what it is. But ultimately my point is, if you're someone on the bottom of the rung, whether you're in the NFL or whether you're in a company, the moment someone is missing and they need you

to fill in for their job, like I'm in nine or practice. Debo Samuel is nowhere to be found because he wants a contract. Kyle's pretty confident that they're going to get it worked out. So am I. Like he's going to, he's not going anywhere. So he'll eventually show back up. But when he's gone, Trey Lance, who's going to be the starting quarterback, the backup wide receivers, Juan Jennings, who's their third guy,

their rookie, they just drafted in the third round, Danny Gray, get to take all of his reps. And think about this anytime, especially when you're young at a company, I know this, when I got to the Eagles, any opportunity they gave me, I took. Right. No different than when I worked in radio, the more opportunities that just opened up because a guy was on vacation, a guy was gone,

I would just take it. And that's where I learned to ultimately where I'm at now because of all the extra reps that I got. I was just there. And there's something to be said for just, when I was at Fresno State, one of the main rules Coach Hill had, be there. That's it. Be there.

Like, show up when you're supposed to show up. And for a young guy, you have no time. choice. But it is a great opportunity to get in front of the coaches because once training camp starts, it's really about who's making the team and how do we get ready for week one. Well, this time, it's pretty lax. There's a lot of bullshit and going on. I've just stood there and bullshed with John Lynch for like 10 minutes. Just because it's not, it's cutthroat, right? It's much, the coaches are in good moods. It's a great opportunity for young players, rookies, second year guys, guys that have been on the team.

team for several years as backups to take these reps and just get in guys in the coaching staffs and the front office is good graces. And those lead to more opportunities when the fall comes. It's why so many undrafted free agents make teams because they get put on the map in the spring. It's like, damn, we might have something here. Now, you don't truly know whether it's an undrafted free agent or whether it's your second round pick what he's going to look like when the pads come on.

and then there, once we get to training camp, I mean, there are several levels of camp, right? There's just, do you come in in shape, then do you know the playbook, and then are you ready to roll, and then when the pads come on, can you handle just your own team? And then once you get to the preseason games,

there's all these different steps on the ladder that you have to take. But it's late May. This is where we're at. And I just saw, and I know it's no different, and at the other 31 teams, it's an incredible opportunity

and an incredible time for a young player to put himself on the map for a coach. Because like, listen, most teams are going to be excited about their top three-round picks, right? Those were picks they valued. Those were guys typically they wanted and they're excited. And sometimes you're like, I'm interested to see what this six-rounder looks like. Then all of a sudden, if maybe you're running back is injured, that guy gets to rep, maybe not with the ones, but with the twos.

Then all of a sudden, your offensive coordinator, if your head coach is the play caller, goes, God, I kind of like this guy. and then you're more inclined to get an opportunity come the fall. And when I say the fall, I mean training camp. And training camp is really when you put yourself in the mix to get playing time. Because if you're excelling in training camp and you get to mix in the preseason games, you're going to get to play early on in the season. Now then it's a completely different level, obviously.

But right now is when you build the base. And if I'm a young player, I'm doing everything humanly possible, taking every rep I possibly can. and if the star players in my unit or in my group are gone, I'm running through a wall to try to get playing time because football is not like these other sports. In baseball, for the most part, maybe the shittiest teams,

once you go to spring training, like you know 22 of your 25-man roster going into the season. In the NBA, most teams have like one or two spots open. Maybe. I mean, the Warriors, now I know they've been one of the better teams in the league, have had like one swing spot open for half a decade. Now, some of the shittier teams may have two, but it's not that many spots.

In football, think how many jobs are open. We talk right now about the job market. They're all these jobs open. They can't get anyone to take it. Every single NFL team, you know, at minimum probably has 10 to 15 jobs up available. Like some of those jobs, they, you know, if you ask the coach, he'd say they have a starter.

But that doesn't mean that guy is not replaceable once camp comes. Because once you start factoring in salary, if a rookie goes, God, this guy is equally as good. He costs, you know, three quarters less. So it's a very unique sport that way that there are so many positions up for grabs. And hell, if you're just an undrafted free agent or a tryout player, if you do well in this time of year and just put yourself on the map with the coaching staff in the front office, that might just lead to a practice squad spot. And we know practice squad spots in the middle of season when guys get injured turn into, you know, dressing on game day and turn into real checks.

and then maybe you make some plays and then you get a contract. Things happen fast in the NFL. The other thing that stood out to me is I saw all around the league, guys are injured, right? Guys that ended the season, Trudevius White, Khalil Mack, you name it, guys that got hurt during the season last year. And right now, once they get on the field, the OTAs, and the media is allowed out there, most of the coaches say he'll be ready for training camp. And most of us go, yeah, can't wait for training camp.

And a large majority of those players will end up on Pupp. It's just usually how it plays out. Half of them will be ready for camp. The other half will get eased into camp. And I'm always fascinated right now. Everything, because every coach, besides like Belichick, we'll get to him here in a minute, is very happy right now. They're in great moods because they're working like seven, eight hour days.

They're playing golf. They're working four day work weeks. It's sunny outside. There's no pressure. They get to do what they really love, and that's teach football. So you got to take what a lot of guys. guy say with a grain of salt when it comes to the guy's availability. I mean, one thing Belichick mentioned yesterday was, and he was asked this, it was funny,

he's wearing a Celtics hat, you know, in the interview room. And they go, Bill, will you basically, will you announce the play caller? And he goes, what are we calling plays in May? And it was funny. And, you know, the way he said it was gruff and kind of angry and grumpy. But also, Bill, like, why are you so afraid to name your offensive play caller? Like that's insane. We can go to every single team in the league

and name their offensive and defensive coordinator. Every single one. College football, too. This isn't some secret. You know, during the season, I understand when guys won't talk about injuries. Even though I do think it's stupid sometimes, I get it.

Competitive advantages, competitive disadvantages. I understand why the media is not allowed at practice during the season. Because they would report scheme stuff. They wouldn't be able to help themselves. I do not understand. understand why Belichick can't name his offensive coordinator. But I do, because he doesn't really have one.

And I'm telling you, I can't get over the fact. Like, that's a major problem. Like, it just is. Now, it didn't bother me as much on the defensive side of the ball because he's the greatest defensive mind in the history of the league. But like Bill, while he's impacted the offensive game plan for his entire career, is he going to end up having to be the offensive coordinator? I just can't get over that they're going into the off-season.

season depending on Joe Judge or Matt Patricia ultimately becoming the play caller. That seems honestly like one of the craziest stories in the history of the Patriots. For all the crazy shit that's come out, deflate gates, spy gate, you name it. You know, Orchids of Asia with old Robert. This one to me is one of the bigger head scratchers. You told me Robert Kraft, 75 year old super rich guys going to Orchance Asia, I'm not shocked. You tell me Bill Belichick's taping signs, not really shocked. You tell me Tom Brady's doing something with the balls, like, clearly that was pretty overrated.

You're telling me Bill Belichick doesn't have an offensive coordinator in the middle of May or no for a fact who it is? I'm sorry, you could argue that's the craziest thing that's happened to the Patriots in a long, long time. That's insanity. The playoffs are heating up, and you can make every game feel like Game 7 on Fandual Sportsbook, an official partner of the NBA. Throughout the playoffs, all customers can place a no sweat same game parlay each week. You'll get up to $20 in free bets if you don't win. Fandua is so many ways to play.

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It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast.

It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far far away,

such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do?

do a little kill. Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s.

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

Thank you for finishing that sentence. 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. The Steelers who, let's face it, in all of sports, have been one of the most consistent organizations going now for my entire life.

I mean, really, before I was born, they were the powerhouse in the 70s. I don't know much about them in the 80s. Obviously, in the 90s, they were really good. In the last 20 years, they've competed to win Super Bowl's. And they are just a stalwart for consistency. They don't lose. Tomlin's never had a losing season. It feels like, obviously, they go through assistant coaches, but in terms of the GM,

Colbert's been there a long time. Before that, it was coward. Then they transitioned to Tomlin. The Roonies are just one of the staple owners in sports, named the new general manager. and there were a lot of rumors who it could be, where they go outside the house, not shocked at all to see them go internally. And honestly, if you're a good business,

whether it's, you know, you're running like an insurance company or whether you're running an NFL team, you should always be grooming people to take over spots. Like, that should be part of the deal. So when I saw them interviewing all these people, I was like, I'd be a little surprised

if they don't have an internal candidate. because now we've heard about Omar Khan who got the job for a long, long time. He's been interviewing with outside jobs for as long as I can remember. But when I saw that he was in the mix for this job, I just assumed that he would end up getting the job. You know, because in theory he would have such an advantage in his rapport with the coach and the most important relationship in an NFL building by far when it comes to management is your head coach and the general manager.

So clearly they are, and I mean this in a positive way, in cahoots together. They are, you know, hand in hand. Their success is going to be tied at the hip. And then I've always heard, I don't know him. I've never met him. But he's more of a, you know, contract negotiator, analytic guy, even though he has intermingled and crossed over with the football, which I think has become much more commonplace over the last 10 plus years.

the cap guy, the numbers guy, and the football front office being all at one. And that's how it should be. The cloak and dagger stuff, I mean, that works with New England. I don't know if that's the most successful way to run a business. And when you hire a guy like this, you do need a strong football person with them. And they go and they get Andy Weidel from the Eagles to be the assistant GM, who's a longtime raven guy, who was Joe Douglas's right-hand guy, when Joe Douglas got the job in Philadelphia

and who has worked for Howie now for several years since Joe left. So that's a good hire. Andy's from Pittsburgh. From what I've been told, he's a good football guy. The only thing that I wonder with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and I do think that their reign of just consistently being in the playoffs, might come to a screeching halt,

is the third most important guy. If the coach and the general manager are your most important relationship, the most important position we all know. what that is. You know, it's within a year or two, it's going to be the highest paid position in all of sports. I mean, Aaron Rogers making $50 million a year. I mean, there's not a guy in the NBA making $50 million a year. There's not a guy in Major League Baseball making $50 million a year.

And in several years, there's going to be some quarterbacks making $60 million a year. It's going to be like what those guys make in European soccer. And I just don't think they have one of those guys. I don't see it with Kenny Pickett. I don't necessarily think they drafted the wrong. guy because I wasn't into drafting any of the other guys, but I think they forced a need. And I think sometimes when you do that, especially when you draft a guy in the first round, you're going to end up giving him year.

I mean, he's going to get four years. Like Mitch Trubisky, it was pretty clear probably within two and a half years, like Mitch ain't it. But the Bears had no choice. They wrote it out for all four years. And it cost them. And when you draft a guy in the first round, you write it out for all four years. That's where the big difference is like even just passing.

pick 32, it's so much easier to pivot. Look at Drew Locke with the Denver Broncos. Like, they tried it, didn't really work, and they pivoted off it. I'm even talking before they traded him to the Broncos. Like last year he couldn't even win the job. It just didn't matter. Because just that being a second

round guy, that contract number, that cap hit, not having that fifth year option, you just look at it dramatically different. I think Daniel Jones, now he was drafted higher than pick 20. He was drafted 6th. But let's face it, he's got probably more time than he definitely would have got if he was a third round pick,

and he would end up starting as a young player. So I do just wonder what they stand for, the consistency, always grooming people, always just having high-level people around is really, really impressive. I'm not a Steeler fan by any means, and I respect the shit out of their brand, out of what they stand for. When you close your eyes and you think of the Pittsburgh Steelers, I've been to game, where the Steelers play in California and they sell out with Steelers. They're a lot like the Packers.

Their brand is incredible, especially for, it's not like they're one of the major cities in America. And I listen, I'm going to assume this guy knows what he's doing. Obviously, Tomlin knows what he's doing. But I do think the quarterback situation is eventually going to bite them in the ass. They had a pretty good thing going with the Bigfellow for a long period of time. And we've seen the kinks in the armor the last several years when he's either been hurt or not played that well. They have been very, you know, pedestrian, you know, in terms of a

franchise. And it's just very, very hard to win. Because you look at the Ravens, same type thing. Ravens have had consistency. Harbaugh's been there forever. Ozzie was the GM for a long time, like Colbert. Obviously, he was the GM a little longer. And then they transitioned to an internal candidate in DeCasta. But the reason it works in Baltimore is not because they draft well. It's not because they got really good players. It's because they found. fucking Lamar Jackson. If they hadn't found Lamar Jackson, all their roster, it would be irrelevant.

They would be a 7-8 win team. But because you have Lamar Jackson, obviously when he's healthy, they're going to win double digits, they're going to go to the playoffs. Period, point, blank, end of story. So if this guy is not pro bowl level, I do think it's very, very difficult

to overcome average quarterback. I mean, if he's just the 17th best quarterback in the league, that's difficult. One thing, after the 49ers practice, I went to just Kyle's press conference like 15 minutes long. And he mentioned they've gone through, they've had several guys the last couple years get head coaching jobs. And obviously Robert Saul last year took LaFleur's brother. Well, this year, I would say one of the hits of the internet is Mike McDaniel. Because when Mike McDaniel talks, it doesn't sound like most football coaches.

He's got a unique vibe, look, sound to him. He does not have many parallels in the profession. And Kyle basically said, I miss him. You know, it's hard to replace a guy who's been my right-hand man and who's done a lot for me. And before Mike got the job, he was becoming kind of a legend around where I live just because when you talk to, you know, I remember talking to Kyle Eusecheck and Eusechek swore by him. Debo loved him. this guy is brilliant. And Kyle, from a coach, whenever you're super dependent on a guy,

to me that's always impressive. Because that guy's bringing value to you that you value as the play caller. So Mike McDaniels, Mike McDaniel is not McDaniels, Josh McDaniels, Mike McDaniels, what he meant to Kyle Shanahan. I mean, they've won four playoff games in the last three years, was a lot. But one thing that's fascinating is like, now he gets to become the head coach. and I'm always, you know, coordinators who become head coaches,

we've seen constantly, they fail. That there is no guarantee just because you're the smartest guy in the room and just because you're the best schemer that you can be a good head coach. Think how much more pressure there is on someone. And McDaniel wasn't even the play caller. He was just like Kyle's right-hand assistant who helped him draw a place. He wasn't even calling the place. So he technically didn't even run half the team,

even though when Kyle was doing head coaching stuff, he did. But like we've seen Pat Schumer is a great example. We've seen him, remember with the Minnesota Vikings, how good he was? He got his second opportunity in New York and was completely over his head. Had no business being a head coach. Because being a head coach means so much more than just scheming up a guy open. You got to be relate to whatever side of the ball that you're not from. You got to be relayed to those guys.

and they have to feel like you have their back. And then when times get really tough, because let's face it, adversity is going to hit. Player gets a DUI, a player snaps his leg, you lose a game, something weird happens with an owner, an assistant coach gets in trouble or gets sick. Who knows? I mean, I can give you a million examples of things that happen

that you have no clue you can't prepare for. Can you handle that? And I think, and I've always believed this, there's something to when a guy walks in a room, does he feel like a head coach? and in my experience, Pat Hill had it and obviously Andy Reid had it. And, you know, people would say,

well, Belichick didn't have it in the early 80s. But eventually he figured it out. And he's a guy probably closer to McDaniel in terms of he hangs his hat on his brain, right? Now, McDaniel is much more like modern day, quirky, wearing Yeezys, feels younger, but he's going to have to hang his hat on his brain

because he's not going to be walking the room and own it. He ain't Mike V. Mike Vrable walks in the room, you kind of stand at his head. attention. When I used to go to Jim Harbaugh practices and Vic Fangio and those guys, you just kind of stand up. You just wanted to be on your P's and Q's. You wanted to be on your best behavior. Listen, I don't think he was the greatest head coach, but even Jack Del Rio. Jack Del Rio had a feel to him. And if you can scheme and you have the feel, you can win big in the league. If you can scheme and then eventually with winning like Belichick, you gain that

credibility, you can become a really good head coach. But you got to be able to, excel at one immediately. And to me, McDaniel is just, it's going to be a fascinating case in Miami. Because the one thing that's not going to go away is Tom Brady. Does Tom Brady want to play for them next year? And if McDaniel and those guys don't make the playoffs, he ain't going to play for that guy.

And what if he tells Stephen Ross all come and then they get Sean Payton? So there is, for a guy that just got a head coaching job, and it's a really big deal. He inherits a team that's won 19 games the last two years. There's going to be pressure on him to be competitive. right to basically I would say this year he's got a better team on paper than Belichick does but there's obviously he's not a better coach than Bill but can he just out-talant

them can he out-skeem him a little bit can they win more games than the Patriots you know because one thing Brian Flores and most Miami coaches have always done is they they beat the Patriots split with them they the Patriots have always always lost a random game to Miami so to me he wins six seven games like I don't think it's out of the realm possibility he's a one and done you know, Robert Sala's a guy who has a presence, who has a vibe to him. But last year I watched his team. They couldn't stop a soul. And he's a defensive guy.

So, you know, just because you have a presence doesn't mean you're going to be awesome. And just because you're a genius doesn't mean you're going to be awesome. It's what makes being a head coach so difficult. That's why when you think about it, even college and pro, there's a small list of guys that are actually good. It's not, if it was an easy job, we'd have a lot more star coaches. You know, there's a reason Sean McVease. stands out between the, you know, most guys, right? Because most guys can't coach. Most guys can't win. Most coordinators have no business being head coaches. It's hard. It's hard to lead. It's hard to have

people depending on you. It's something I work on. I got people that I work with now. I try to try to become a better communicator. You know, it's something, it's been a work in progress with me. It doesn't come natural to everybody. And I'm just fascinated to see Mike McDaniel, who, everyone in the 49ers building would tell you he's one of the smartest guys to ever come through there. And we've had some of the best coaches in the history of the league come through there. And I just, to me, it's kind of got a boom or bust. Like, they're either going to be make a wild card this year or it's just not going to work. And it might be somewhat out of his control.

Maybe Tua sucks. But, you know, at one point in time, everyone thought tank for Tua. I never tried to believe that. I was like, you know, he's kind of small. Average arm plays a lot of talent. And I'm not trying to play like Monday morning quarterback. I mean, I've said, I didn't like Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen, so it's not like I'm the Yoda here when it comes to

quarterbacks. But it's going to be a sneaky pressure pack team. I actually think the Jets and the Miami Dolphins have a lot. To me, the Jets, you can't win four or five games again. Like, it's time to get to seven or eight. It's time to compete just going into December. Like, could we make a wild card? You don't have to make the playoffs, but you got to be like alive come a little before Christmas.

You can't be dead at Halloween. You know, obviously same with Miami. Because those owners have unlimited cash and they're not just going to sit around. Let's fly around the NFL a little bit. One thing as I'm recording this, Kaepernick is working out for the Raiders. Ultimately, my take is that,

I've said for a while Mark Davis is under a lot of heat. I think they're coming for his team. Everyone thinks they're coming for Dan Snyder's team, which they are. But Dan Snyder has fought people off for decades now. He's, Dan Snyder's a self-mate. Might be a scumbag. Might be everyone hates him.

But I think he's going to be harder to get out than the people on the internet assume. I don't believe that about Mark Davis. I think they're doing everything possible to get him out. And then John Gruden is going to court right now with the NFL. And John Gruden does not need money. John Grun's worth $100 million easy. This is about principle. This is about thinking that he got royally screwed by the league when they were

after Dan Snyder and he became the example. He's going after them to try to like as an ego thing. So there's a lot going on and stuff might come out about the Raiders in that. There's a lot going on with the Raiders. This to me feels like you're trying to keep people off the scent. Because you can't convince me that the Patriot guys, Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler would work this guy out. He hasn't played in the league in six plus years.

to me this feels 100% Mark Davis and like a PR snut. Sam Darnold claimed he can be a great quarterback. Feel strong. Let's just try to become a solid quarterback. Let's just try to become a starting quarterback. But you've got to have confidence. And sometimes it's hard to tell. If things haven't been going well in life,

you can try to manipulate your brain and tell yourself like false things to try to pump yourself up. or some people are crazy enough to truly believe it. I don't know what Sam Darnold is, but clearly his confidence was shot. The Panthers were a disaster. Some people DM me like, Middokov, you keep saying Sam Donald's good. I've been watching him.

He's terrible. I'm not even a Jets fan or Panther fan. He has not been good in the NFL. I have never said that what I've seen has been impressive. It has not. Now, maybe I'm holding on to the guy that I saw in college and the guy that I thought could become a, solid NFL quarterback. I never thought he was going to be some superstar, but clearly, I mean,

I envisioned him being better than this. This is a huge, and I said it earlier this week, massive month for Sam Darnold. He has no competition around him. The only other guy is a rookie. You know, Jimmy Garoppel and Baker Mayfield are not on his team yet. So Ben McAdoo has no connection to the failures of last year. He gets to start over fresh. Ben McAdoo has a history as an offensive coordinator of being successful, not as a head coach, but as an offensive coordinator. So I think he can resurrect just his career internally in that building.

Now, whether that translates to good play in the fall, but I do think he has an opportunity to kind of solidify himself as the starter for the team. Terry McLaren, like Debo Samuel, absent for OTAs. I don't blame either of them. Under no circumstances, if I was either of those guys,

am I taking a full speed rep? Now, if you wanted to do a hold-in show up and not do anything, I don't think that would be crazy. If you don't want to show up at all, totally get that too. Have no problem with either guy not showing up. This is big boy business. We're not playing for $300,000. Both these guys are making, you know,

AJ Brown just got what? $50 million guaranteed, $20 million, $25 million a year, $24, I can't even remember what his contract was. But it was big. when you're talking that type money I would never take another rep until I got pen to paper so I don't think if I was representing either one of those guys

we might come to mandatory minicamp so we don't get fined I'm just here so I don't get fined but we aren't doing one I repeat one rep until we sign our contracts and I do think it's incumbent or important for the franchises

the football team the commanders commandos and the 49ers to get a same same deal with Seattle and D.K. To get a contract figured out. Gotta get these guys under contract because they're too valuable players. They're too good of guys. You love, I mean, I've seen, I'm not a huge, I don't follow the football team that close, but I think I follow them on social media.

Some of the clips that come out, like he's clearly a leader on that team. I obviously know Debo around here. He is beloved, he's like the heartbeat of the team. So I signed good guys that are great players. They're no-brainers to me. I actually don't mind even slightly overpaying. relative to the market. Because their market is not what the older guys just got.

Tyree Kill and Devante have a much longer resume. But their market is A.J. Brown. And I wouldn't hesitate giving either one of those guys those contracts. And yeah, and start rocking and rolling. Because once training camp starts, I got to have those guys. You know, I got Carson Wentz, Trey Lance, breaking into new quarterbacks. My star wide receivers, I need under contract and I need rep in practice. This is not one of the situations.

where it's an eight-year vet, and he's been working with a quarterback for five straight years. Both these guys need to get on the same page as their quarterback, if I want to win. Matt Stafford, not throwing. The Rams got a good deal going. They just trade their first round picks for veteran guys.

They don't make anyone do anything. It's like, oh, Stap, your shoulder's sore. Shit, man. Take spring. Go to Cabo. Do you even need to be here? Go to Hawaii. go to Europe.

You know, do whatever, man. We're just, we're good. We'll see you in camp. And then even in camp, you just, you won't play any preseason games. The Rams, as long as you win and they've been winning, they got a good thing going. A lot of chilling, a lot of relaxing. All the reps are going to undrafted free agents in these practices.

McVeigh's running around screaming to people. And the star players just get to chill. So, now, listen, they said his shoulder's a little sore. They played late in the season. he's an older player. To me, he's doing it right. Like, that's, he's still there. I mean, why wouldn't he want to be there?

He's in L.A. And, you know, I mean, listen, I don't blame Rogers for not showing up. Like, if I'm Aaron Rogers, multiple-time MVP. But I do think it's like, they just gave you $150 million. You make $50 million a year. There's got to be a give and take in a relationship.

Like, if Colin's paying me $15 million to host a podcast, eventually, like, I can't just all, always do my own thing. If he's paying me 50 grand, I can push back. If he's paying me $7 million, like, I can't just be like, Colin, I'm only going to do it on my time. Colin, I'm only going to do this. Like, there are price points in this world where there's a give and take. You can't expect your employee making 90 grand to go above and beyond with everything. But if you're a small business and you're paying someone $700,000, fuck, your expectations are going to be pretty high. if I'm the Packers and I'm paying you $50 million a year

the highest paid player in NFL history, you deserve it, but I'm still cutting you the check. You couldn't show up for OTAs? It's just a couple days a week. Hell, we'll even give you the private, we'll fly you back to L.A. or wherever you want to go. It's like, come on, man. What are we doing here?

Okay, let's end on that. Let's enjoy the Memorial Day. Have a great weekend. Get some sun. some race. Talk to everyone soon. See you. Volume. Another podcast from some SNL, late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help

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