The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Urban's NFL Test; Hire OC's Over DC's; Crazy Long-Term HC/GM Deals; Divisional Round Breakdown; Saban Killing CFB Interest; Mailbag

Episode Date: January 15, 2021

In this episode, John discusses Urban Meyer taking his talents to the NFL sidelines Jacksonville, and the biggest challenges he'll face entering the pros. He also explains why hiring defensive coordinators in today's NFL is the wrong move, why teams are going overboard signing new GM's to long-term deals, dives deep into this weekend's Divisional Round matchups, and lays out his theory that Nick Saban retiring will instantly restore college football interest, and answers listener questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag. Follow John on Twitter and SUBSCRIBE now to get all the latest content!! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games.

This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor it? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me.

I'm Sam J. 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. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 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. Get right to the romance and find the way to wow this valentines with 1800flowers.com.

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Good to be alive. You know, it really is. January 14th, Thursday afternoon. Actually, usually record earlier in the day, but I don't know. I put it off and then I realized, you know what? I have not recorded the podcast. Luckily, I put together a bunch of topics, really the last couple days,

so I knew what I wanted to talk about. So it's, you know, a pretty good show. I'm excited about it. We have Urban Meyer accepted the Jags job. I think the first coach, obviously, to, you know, to be hired in the NFL cycle, right? Lions, no, Jets, no, Falcons, no. to know, Eagles know, Chargers

know, so yeah, Urban Meyer. Something I found kind of interesting on defensive coaches. George Patton, or as I like to call him, General Patton, got hired to run the Denver Broncos. And they gave him a six-year contract, and I have a couple thoughts there.

Obviously, there's NFL playoff games. You know the craziest part about the month of January for the NFL? The playoffs feel big, and I guess if you're like a pass-off, or whatever, you're kind of thinking about it all week. But there's a lot of other stuff going on in the NFL during the week. And then the playoff games come and it's like, awesome.

Seven days a week of content. For me, I'm not complaining. So I'll go through the playoff games, what I think and some of my thoughts. And then on something that hit me the other day about college football and some overreactions that I think are happening right now because people are acting like the college football is screwed up and the ratings are tanking. I'm telling you it's going to be all right.

right here very, very soon. Three and Out podcast, go subscribe. I need to just subscribe if you follow on Collins' feed. Also, Middlecough mailbag at John Middlecough is the Instagram. You're welcome to people always like, you always say slide in the DMs. Isn't that for girls? Yeah, it's a joke. I'm being sarcastic.

Come in my DMs, DM me. I DM people all the time. I DM probably 50 people today, answering questions and just random people trying to book interviews. So it's like DMs, yeah, you DM me. text, however you want to do it. My DMs are open at John Middlecock. But let's start with Urban Meyer, who now, by the time of recording this podcast,

is officially the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, I think is how you say it. And essentially, he turned down the University of Texas, who, you know, five or six years ago or four years ago or whatever, was prepared to offer Nick Sabin 10 years, 100 million, $10 million per year. They had a lot of money. Urban Meyer turned them down.

And Ohio State, Florida, he would have done the same thing at Texas. He didn't have anything left to prove in college. You know, college, when I was a kid, I would say the 80s, the 90s, you just made more money as a head coach in the NFL. So a lot of coaches wanted to go to the pros just simply because it was double-triple the money.

Now the money has exploded. Urban Meyer's been making huge cash for 50s. years. He did not need to go to the pros for a race. Texas would have given him an obscene amount of money. He simply went to the pros because he wanted to take a shot at the highest level. He wanted his shot at Belichick, at Erbitt, Andy Reed, at Sean Payton, at Pete Carroll, Sean McVeigh, Kyle Shanahan. He's beating everyone that matters in college football. He has nothing left to prove there. When I was in college football, I aspired to get to the NFL, just like players did, just like probably coaches did, because I viewed it as the highest level. And that doesn't mean there aren't great coaches in college.

That doesn't mean that Nick Sabin or Lincoln Riley or whoever, if they went to the pros, couldn't hang. But I think most people in the sport of football view the NFL as the most competitive, right? because the dynamics of how you build a team at Ohio State or at Alabama, every single kid that I sign in my recruiting class would be the equivalent of a first-round pick. Well, in the NFL, unless you make a trade, you only get one first-round pick. And the more competitive you are, like if you are Ohio State or Alabama, your first-round pick would be at the end of the round. Pat Hill told me I remember being at Fresno State, and he's like, you know, Pete Carroll,

Because remember, Fresno State almost beat him in their heyday, and that game would come up a lot. And I think Pat liked Pete, but he also hated USC. And he's like, listen, it's really impressive that they're winning, but Pete, and at the time he was basically the equivalent of Sabin or Urban Meyer, every single guy in his recruiting class is a five-star number one recruit. It is much more difficult at a lower level, right, at a Boise State to consistently win than at Ohio State.

Now winning championships is hard wherever you go, but I think Urban Meyer wanted to say, I tried it. I think I'm good enough. And I just looked up his record while he was at college. Because listen, I've been hard on Urban Meyer. I've had a nickname before called him Fraudmire. The reason I've called him Fraudmire in the past is because he always gets on his moral high horse

and talks about life lessons and molding young men while he had gang members who were killing people at Florida an assistant coach who was like a mentor's grandson who was doing who knows what with his wife and so it's like Urban you talk a big game but the people you surround yourself ain't really living it well you know the best part about the NFL you don't have to pretend about morality and teaching life lessons

because the NFL is about two things money and winning games, and you can put those two in any order you want. Where in college, and back to my experience at Fresno State, I remember Pat got a lot of pride about changing kids' lives, right? Getting a guy from nothing, from the gutter. Some of these, you know, some of where these players come from, they have nothing. Getting them a college education, putting them on a path to succeed, seeing them get married, watching them own a business, watching them have some.

success in whatever industry they have because the majority of people even at the highest level of college football do not play in the pros so the the influence a college football coach has over every team has 100 players right 85 scholarships and really 105 20 walk-ons so you are influencing a boatload of young men that are going to go into society and I think most coaches you know I know chris peterson does pat Fitzgerald does hell I know nick saving these guys take pride in helping change people's lives, separate from all the guys that are going to go pro, which clearly they take a lot of pride in as well. But the majority of guys do not go to the pros. And definitely don't make, even if they get a cup of coffee, don't make any money in the pros. Well, in the

NFL, you don't have to pretend that. So I hope Urban kind of drops that stick, right? Like, bro, you're just here to coach and win. And winning he did. Because when I look at his record, He is 187 and 32 as a head coach. Let me repeat that. 187 and 32 as a head coach. This number really stands out to me though. He's 12 and 3 in Bulls. So when the games get big, he's ready to kick ass.

And not all those bowls are national championships. So it goes back to Utah. It goes back to Ohio State and Florida, some of their teams when they weren't playing for the national championship. Urban Meyer is a big-time coach. and to me coaching is a little like sales if you can sell you can do you can work in any business you're hireable

like if you can be a good coach and listen there are coaches in high school who would crush it in the NFL maybe they don't know anyone maybe they don't aspire to leave whatever if coaching is just interacting with people teaching people communicating with people

I love seeing this like he's got no chance in the NFL he doesn't he's one of the best coaches of all time. Like Nick Saban failed in the NFL. He went 15 and 17. I bet if he coached for five years, he would have been successful. You know why?

Nick Saban relates to his players. There is something, so does Pete Carroll. Age doesn't matter. Style doesn't matter. If you are a good coach, your style works. Whether you're an asshole, whether you're a nice guy. If you're authentic to yourself and a good coach, Pete Carroll's style is dramatically different than Nick Sabin style,

dramatically different than Bill Belichick style, which is probably dramatically different than Lincoln Riley style. They all work. Why? Because they're good coaches. Urban Meyer is a good coach. Now, there are going to be difficulties in the pros. First and foremost, like I said, he doesn't have a stacked roster. But I think he can accumulate talent pretty fast because he's got a good quarterback that he's going to draft number one overall. Another element that I think is going to be challenging is the coaching top to bottom is just better. Think about his own division. If there was a draft from scratch and just every coach became a free agent, and we just did a lottery 1 through 32, and every GM got to draft a coach,

Mike Vrable would go in the top 10. Well, he plays him twice a year. Frank Reich, probably going the top 10 too. Plays him twice a year. So his division is low, I mean, that's two good coaches with two really good teams. They ain't going away. So that's a challenge. The other thing in pro football, you lose, even if you're a good team, four or five games a year.

You also have players go down. Unlike college, your roster is set. You know, there isn't turnover, right? You're 105 guys, you're 105 guys. If you get hurt, a backup comes up. In the pros, you are constantly signing guys off the street, elevating guys from other practice squads, bringing guys in on a week and forcing them to start later that week. you know, bring them in on a Monday or Tuesday,

and that guys are starting Nickel Corner on Sunday. That you do have to adapt to. That's why I think it's very imperative for him to hire NFL people. I got a text today from an NFL assistant. What do you think? I said, I think it's a pretty good hire. He's like, well, he better hire NFL people. Scott Linahan, who I'm sure Cowboy fans will be like, he sucks.

That to me is a good hire. Trent Balke has been rumored to be a general manager. The guy was a GM in the league for like eight years. Went to playoffs, drafted pro bowlers. that would be smart move. He's not going to be able to be the GM. It helps to have a guy with NFL GM experience. But his ability to coach is elite.

That translates. Urban Meyer could coach a pee-wee team. He coach an NFL team. It's going to work. Think about his teams. He's coached Alex Smith. He's coached Chris Leak. He's coached Tim Tebow.

He's coached Shotgun or 12-Gauge, whatever the guy's name is. J.T. Barrett. Dwayne Haskins. He can coach anybody. His offense always changes. He's like Belichick that way. He's very open-minded.

He's not tied to a scheme. The other thing he's done very, very well over the years is higher good assistance. Dan Mullen has been his guy from the jump. Dan Mullen's a good coach. Tom Herman ended a little weird in Texas. Tom Herman ain't a scrub. That's an urban guy. Like Ryan Day, another urban Meyer guy.

Doing pretty well at Ohio State last night. checked. And there are countless other guys that are head coaches all over the place. My point is his track record of winning, of getting the most out of talented players. And the reality is every player in your roster does have some... Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'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 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 Little Kim? Well, you're going to be.

You can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. 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 yeah, yeah, literally. 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 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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and comments. conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. Because you find it important to be a good person

while you hear on earth? Or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions. bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keer Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth,

fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. Level of talent in the league. Now, his just understanding of the players in the NFL, you know, their guys

in the league are from all over the place. They're not just from Power 5s. They're from D-2s. They're from non-power-5 programs, you don't have a scouting report on every player. You're not going to be that comfortable with all the coordinators in the league. So there is going to be a learning curve. My expectations year one are not that high,

but I am betting on Urban Myers to succeed simply because good coaches usually have success. If you love to be remembered as the person who gives the best birthday gifts, I'm here to tell you that 1-800 Flowers.com is your ultimate birthday gifting destination. 1,800 Flowers has thoughtful and artfully created options that are guaranteed to deliver the best birthday surprise. Shop thousands of unique gifts at 1,800flowers.com for exclusive offers and great values.

To order today, visit 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. That's 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. What grows in the forest? Trees? Sure. Know what else grows in the forest? Our imagination, our sense of wonder, and our family bonds grow too because when we disconnect from this and connect with this we reconnect with each other the forest is closer than you think find a forest near you and start exploring

at Discovertheforest.org brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the Ad Council If I could be you and you could be me for just one hour if you could find a way to get inside each other's mind walk a mile in my

shoes. Welcome mile in my shoes. We've all felt left out. And for some, that feeling lasts more than a moment. We can change that. Learn how it belonging begins with us.org. Brought to you by the ad council. Okay, I've been thinking this for a while and I hate to ever back yourself into a corner with just, this is the only thing that I would ever do because it's not smart to be like that. The right, the right move on basically anything in life, but definitely hiring practices is to be open-minded. You know, not to be like, we need this type person. We need this. We need that.

But to just talk to the best candidates and see what happens. Whether it's a head football coach or whether you're trying to hire a chef, I mean, wouldn't you just want the best? The thing, though, in football is that offensive head coaches are just consistent. more impactful over the long haul on your franchise. Throwing Belichick out. He does not count. But I think when you look around the league,

offensive coaches who are head coaches and call the plays are a massive advantage for any staff. I think Robert Saul is going to be a good head coach in the NFL. I've followed his career very closely. He obviously coaches right down the road for me. I've watched the majority of his press conferences. I've been to many. I've seen him at practices.

I don't know him personally, but I've followed him as closely as humanly possible without like knowing the guy. And I think he's a really high-level guy. People I know in the organization swear by him. I've watched his defense the last couple of years. He's good. I wouldn't hire him, though.

I wouldn't not hire a defensive coach because the head coach is the most important guy in your organization. and the quarterback is the most important asset that you have, right, on your football team. And it's the guy that eventually you pay the most. Typically, if you're going to draft one, you've got to invest a lot into it, and then ideally he's good, and then you pay him $100, whatever, million. That guy is influenced directly by the play caller. And I saw Florio going on this rant that Minnesota, I mean,

Kirk Cousins is about to go on as like seventh offensive coordinator in four years, right? Pete Carroll's on how many for Russell Wilson. Vrable, the Titans are having success. He's potentially going to lose his second offensive coordinator in basically two and a half years. LaFleur's been there, what, two years? So when Arthur leaves, he'll have, his three years coaching, he'll have four coordinators, or three coordinators, excuse me.

Let me rephrase that. Vrebel next year will have three coordinators in a four-year span. It's a lot. And it's, ideally, you want to keep continuity, but there's something to be said about Sean McVey, about Andy Reed, about Matt LaFleur, about Kyle Shanahan, about Andy Reid, Bruce Ariens.

Like, the offense is their baby. I know Bruce doesn't technically call plays, but if he has to, he easily could. And you never worry about, because the moment your offense has success, because the moment your defense has success, doesn't mean you're going to lose a coach. Look at Wink Martindale.

at Robert Sala, who, as of recording this, I think he's going to get the Jets job, but I don't know. Maybe he doesn't. Maybe there's someone else. You have a great defensive coach. He's not guaranteed to get a head coaching job. You have a great offensive coordinator? He's gone. It's not even a question.

And then you're just immediately scrambling again. Like the 49ers this year are going to lose Robert Sala, and they're going to lose multiple offensive coaches potentially who are going to become offensive coaches. coordinators for other head coaches. It won't impact the offense one bit. I'm not saying that those guys aren't really good. And in a perfect world, Kyle Shanahan wouldn't want to lose LaFleur or McDaniels.

One might go with Robert Salon, and the other might go with, you know, someone else. But as long as I got Kyle Shanahan, I'm fine. Last year of the Rams, man, all this turnover and get rid of Wade Phillips, get rid of offensive coaches, they had Sean McVeigh. Who cares?

Like, that's my play caller. Think how many head, how many coaches Andy Reid has gone through in his career. Think how many coaches Sean Peyton has gone through, especially on defense? Doesn't matter because he's there. So when I see the list, and listen, I'm not trying to diminish Robert Saul as candidacy, and I actually think he could be successful. But what happens, let's say they keep Sam Darnold, and let's say he gets the Jets job,

and Mike McDaniel from the Niners is his offensive coordinator. In two years, Sam Darnel is in a pro bowl. what do you think is a lot to happen? Mike McDaniels get a head coaching job. Joe Brady is getting head coaching interviews based on last year at LSU. Did you watch the Panthers this year? Not saying he's bad, I like Joe Brady.

But at one point in time, they lost eight straight games. It's not like he had success. Aren't they drafting the top 10? Offensive guys are in such demand because they influence the most important player on your team. by a wide margin. They call the plays. They coach the player.

It's just, I understand, I can't imagine being a defensive guy. It sucks because Wink Martindale's going, we've had one of the best defenses for the last couple years. And in defense of Week Martindale's candidacy, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Hologna, and Suggs ain't walking through that door. Their defense is well-coached.

It's not like some superstar, all-star cast. I mean, they got some good players. but it is nowhere near some of those Ravens' defenses in our lifetime. Does he even get an interview? If the equivalent was what Wink did on offense, the guy would already be hired as a head coach, without hesitation. Zero question asked. There wouldn't be one question, not one.

So I understand it. And I think when you're looking at it from an ownership or GM standpoint, it's the most important continuity is the guy with your quarterback. And the easiest way to do that is to hire an offensive coach. So if all things are equal, if I'm interviewing Robert Salah and Arthur Smith, and I think, God, these guys are both like nines out of tens or tens out of tens. Without hesitation, I'm taking the offensive guy. Okay, let's get into something that has just kind of been on my mind lately.

And anytime that you hire, you know, with a coach, when you hire Urban Meyer, or when you hire Roberts de Law or when you hire Arthur Smith, fans have known about those guys. So it's not like, wait, who's this guy? Right? You've been hearing these names.

So it's not a shock to the system. But when you hire a general manager sometimes, you go, what's this guy's deal? How long has you been in the NFL? You just don't know anything about them. Because unless you're a GM, you're not really that famous. No one knew who John Middilcoff was

when I was just a West Coast Scout. several buddies in my league that are in the league that I'm friends with you've never heard of these guys are eventually going to be GMs if they want to be

I mean they're listen I might be biased but I know a couple guys that easily there can't be many scouts better than again I'm biased but you know some of them got rings but you've never heard of them

because it's not like it's not like a backup player in the NFL or an assistant coach like you can become famous that way you don't really become famous being like you know, this guy is the assistant director of pro personnel up and comer, unless you share an agent with like rap sheet, no one knows you, which is fine. Like, that's just part of the deal. But the one thing that happens is the moment a guy's hired, the articles that are written about

the guy are just glowing. I mean, I read some articles on General George Patton, the Broncos guy that just, I mean, he sounded like the greatest human being ever alive. He was like a mixture of Tebow off the field and like Ozzie Newsom meets Bill Walsh with a little sprinkle of like Ron Wolfe. That's how I would describe the way they, these articles that wrote about him. So just based on the articles and like the Denver posts and some of the different blogs and people tweeting about him, he's the greatest evaluator ever to live. And that's expected because we don't know anything and you're not going to write anything

negative. Now, I text a couple people that know them. they love them. So I'm not even trying to make fun of them. But we're just like, damn, George Patton. And this guy had been in the mix for GM jobs. Ever since Chris Ballard got a job, I'd say he was a guy that kind of had been in the mix,

had been interviewing different openings. He was bound to get one. But I saw that he got a six-year contract. And my first thought was, that's fucking insane. How many people in your life, in whatever line of work you do, would you sign to a six-year contract? contract. About 50% of the marriages in this country, which in theory is a lifetime contract, the

moment you get married, end. And, you know, it wasn't that long ago, the 49ers, they hired Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch. They gave them each six-year contracts, which was kind of unprecedented. Now, part of it was they were desperate, and John Lynch didn't need the job. He was a millionaire and worked on TV so that he had them kind of bent over. But I've seen more and more these teams do this. Why? George Patton wouldn't have come for a four-year deal? Wouldn't it come for a five-year deal? Now listen, John Elway has a good gig. He doesn't own the team. He's spending other people's money. And I'm not trying to talk shit about John Elway. I like John Elway. I actually am one of the guys on Twitter over the years who was like defended him. I think the team he built when he first got

there was really, really impressive. But they have ownership issues and he's just handing out a six-year deal. part of it is like there's some issues going on. But when I see these six-year contracts, it'd be one thing if this guy had been a general manager before. He was like, Ozzie Newsom, you're like, well, I know he's going to be good. We have no clue if this guy's actually going to be good. No different, like Arthur Smith. Arthur Smith, the last couple years, his offense has been badass.

I watch the Titans, I go, this guy kind of carrying Vrabble these last couple years, right? Because their defense hasn't been as good, especially this year. You just, what he's done with Tanny Hill, just what he does, with Derek, how good he's made A.J. Brown. I just go, God, this guy's sweet. I couldn't give Arthur Smith a six-year contract. He might be a good coach, or he might not. Why? We have no clue. And I think the NFL... 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.

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 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 what 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. 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? I 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's 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 age. on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence.

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They've never had more money, and it's not like, you know, given a general manager, let's say they gave them $3 million a year, $18 million. million dollars means anything to the franchise. But it's not good business. I just, I don't quite understand it. And I liked what the guy said. He called the Denver Broncos a sleeping giant. I agree. Because there aren't many huge brands on the West coach.

Right? The Niners, when they're good, are massive. The two LA teams don't really move the needle. They're much bigger nationally than they are in LA. Seattle is like had a 10-year run with Russell. before that they didn't matter. So it was like the Broncos, the Niners, and this last like Pete Russ run.

Raiders are like, what about us? Like, guys, you guys made the playoffs once in 18 years. Let's just, let's win a little before we talk. But these six-year contracts, hell, we saw it with Gruden, they gave him a 10-year contract. If we had a coaching, like, how many players? I even said with Mahomes, I love Vich and Andy.

And listen, they had to do it. But like, do I love giving Mahomes a 10-year contract? and the reality is the NFL guaranteed money. I know it's not truly a 10-year contract, but still, I like four-and-five-year deals. Six years? The Gruden 10-year contract is a disaster.

He hasn't sniffed the playoffs. In year three, he missed the playoffs by three games. It's like, yeah, they were close this year. No, they weren't. He went 8-8. It took 11 wins to get into the playoffs with an extra seed. If you just pulled most Raiders,

fans, they would fire him yesterday. But he's got seven more years on his deal. So I get like, you have all this money, you get excited to use it, it doesn't make it smart. And I'm not trying to be like these owners should be stingy. All these coaches and GMs are making huge cash.

Six year contract? Six? I don't understand it. Did you know Amazon provides ways of working that fit your lifestyle? They know you value your time outside of work, juggling family, school, friends, or other activities. That's why they offer a variety of shifts that work for you. There are full-time, part-time, and even temporary opportunities that can work with your schedule,

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and the Ad Council. And we're live here outside the Perez family home just waiting for the... And there they go. Almost on. time this morning, Mom is coming out the front door strong with a double-armed kid carry. Looks like Dad has the bags, daughter is bringing up the rear. Oh, but the diaper bag wasn't closed.

Dipers and toys are everywhere. Ooh, but Mom has just nailed the perfect car seat buckle for the toddler. And now the eldest daughter, who looks to be about nine or ten, has secured herself in the booster seat. Dad zips the bag closed, and they're off. Ah, but looks like Mom doesn't realize her. coffee cup is still on the roof of the car, and there it goes. Oh, that's a shame.

That mug was a fam favorite. Don't sweat the small stuff. Just nail the big stuff. Like making sure your kids are buckled correctly in the right seat for their age and size. Learn more at nhtsa.gov slash the right seat. Visit nhtsa.gov. Slash the right seat. Brought to you by Nitsa and the Ad Council.

Okay, we got to, I don't know, talk about these things called NFL playoff games. playoffs playoffs playoffs are here and we got a lot of good teams we got a lot of good players eight teams left eight teams left think about this

four games this weekend two games next weekend and the Super Bowl I'm no math major just Cal Poly Fresno State guy a couple state school that's seven games now I love the offseason as much as

anybody. Who knows? I'm not quite sure what's going to happen with the Combine. I don't think really the league does yet. And I love free agency, love the draft. Honestly, don't even hate OTAs. I go to them. They're kind of entertaining some of the stories. But the games are

like, I like watching football. And we only got seven games left. So cherish these. I'm going to watch every minute. I don't care if any of these are blowouts. I'm making a pact. Sometimes, you know, it's like in November. and you're watching a game you don't really care about

and it's a blot, you just kind of stop paying attention or you start playing on your phone. Like, I'm going to lock in. Not that I don't normally lock in, but I'm really going to try to save it. There's the last football we're going to have till, you know, September, whatever. Well, I guess, yeah, I mean, who knows

that maybe we never get the preseason again, who knows? It could be a while. I'm going to go in order. Basically, I'm going to just talk about the game, the first thing that comes on my mind. Rams at the Packers. The Rams are a six and a half point underdog. Now, I saw that they, Sean McVeigh today ruled the Walford kid out.

The guy that got Catoed and the Stinger and went to the hospital, he's not going to play. Know this. If he was healthy, this guy would be playing in this game. Sean McVeigh does not want to have to play the guy that he's going to play in Jared Gough, despite the guy being the number one overall pick and making, you know, whatever, $35 million a year. Jared Gough, this year has not been very good. Now, he's a tough guy.

He's playing with the broken thumb. But even before he got hurt, like, Chau McVeigh wanted to go with the other guy. Aaron Donald, who's, like, one of the best players ever, is also banged up. And the Rams defense has been fantastic. I listened to, I might have been wrong on Brandon Staley. I got to text my buddy who gave me some intel.

You know, I thought he was bad coach. Pretty good. I heard an interview he did with Peter Kiddly. He's an impressive guy. I like the guy. And he's just been a really good defensive coach this year. But the Packers have, you know, just from the eye test statistically, I mean, they got the MVP of the league.

They've been unreal this year offensively. So I just think that the Rams are in some trouble. They got a big boy win last week going up kicking Pete's ass, but this is a different animal. Jared Goff, in the cold, in the snow. I just, I like the Packers pretty big in this. game. And even if their defense was like Aaron Donald was fully healthy, I just think the Packers have too much. I just think the Packers kind of are on a team on a mission right now and just how

good they looked late in the season against Tennessee at Lambo in the snow. They are so comfortable in that environment. Can you imagine going from Los Angeles? I went swimming today and I live in Northern California. It was 65 degrees and sunny outside. LA's warmer than it is where I am. How can you possibly get ready for Lambo Field? You can't. Aaron Rogers, you know, kind of on a mission this season. We'll get into who I'm hoping he plays next week,

but he's two more games away from kind of entering that John Elway category as just, you know, I always say like John Elway is the most talented. He's got five Super Bowl appearances, two wins. If Brady's the best in Montana, was the goat. And I think most people, you know, Elway probably third. Rogers would ring away from three MVPs, two rings.

Still kind of looks like in the prime of his career. He got a lot to gain these next three weeks. And I think it starts by just kicking the Rams ass. Ravens Bills. This is a fantastic game. One, just the coaching connection. Sean McDermott got hired with the Eagles in the early 2000s. So did John Harbaugh.

John Harbaugh was a special team's coach, but he also kind of expanded his wings and helped with defense. He was a secondary coach, too. That's Sean McDermott's thing. They actually worked together. They were both coaching the secondary, I think, in 06, in 07. And then he got the job in 08. Harbaugh became the head coach of the Ravens.

Maybe, yeah, I think it's 07, then he became the coach, you know, in like January of 08. So these guys know each other really well. A couple Andy Reid guys, a couple hard-nosed defensive guys. this game is just fantastic. Now, to me, the Ravens, they beat the Titans last week. When they run for 200 plus yards and Lamar's running for 100 plus yards,

they ain't losing. So if you let them control the clock by Lamar running around because he ain't throwing for 300 yards in these big games, he's not. So you're going to keep him in the maybe 150 to low twos. Well, if he can make up that yardage

by, yeah, he threw for 180 and he ran for another 104. 40, it's like the same thing as Brady throwing for, you know, 3.30 because he's accumulating a total of 300 whatever yards. And it slows down the game because he's running. There's no incompletions, right? So the clock keeps going. And that's Advantage Ravens. Where the Bill's much more high-powered, explosive offense in terms of throwing the football. So to me, if I'm the bills, I want to get into a shootout. Now the Ravens' defensive statistics, the last couple of years, years. I heard Lombardi going on this rant on his podcast about Wink Martindale where they ranked the last three years. Like, they've been fantastic. I kind of like the Ravens in this game.

And you know, I like Josh Allen, it does just feel like, I don't know. You know, the Ravens last couple years, blew some games. The Chiefs, or I can't get the Chiefs game out of my head earlier this season. Remember when they play, I think it was like a Tuesday night? And Mahomes didn't even do that much. They ran it down the Bill's three. throat and they slowed the game down. Now, Josh Allen was bad in that game, but to me, if you could slow the game down and not get into a shootout with Josh Allen,

because the Ravens will not win a shootout. That's not the way they play, unless they're playing the Bengals and they kill them, right? When they play other good teams, why they've struggled against the Chiefs, against the Titans previously, is because, like, it's not their deal to throw it on third and long.

But when they can dictate the terms, they're good. And I do think the Ravens might be able to dictate the terms a little bit to the Bills. Because the Bills' defense, they're just not as good this year as they have been. Now, if Josh Allen is fantastic like he was last week, they'll win. But to me, he's probably got to have like another A game. He was really good against the Colts. Really good against the Colts.

And I think Wink Martindale is better than Uber Fluse, and Uber Flues pretty good. This game, I mean, I can't wait. Brown's Chiefs. Browns plus 10 I think everything's gravy now they won 11 games Stafansky's probably the coach of the year Baker resurrected his career

I was hard on Baker and he's gonna get his fifth year option picked up though like do I like paying Baker Mayfield $30 million? No is he better than I thought he was a $10 million quarterback is he probably like a $20 million quarterback yeah he's growing on me

he's growing on me But Stefansky's play calling, the run game, Austin Hooper, like their offense is loaded. But to me, I don't care how shitty the Chiefs played the second half of the season. This is a different animal. Mahomes, Kelsey, Tyreek, Andy, like, this is when they eat. And think about this the last couple weeks for Andy.

Do you know what he can show him? Hey guys, remember last year when we were getting our ass kicked and we had to come back? Wasn't it 24 to nothing Texans? How about this time we start a little faster? I guarantee you this. They have emphasized the last two weeks. And definitely two weeks ago before they even knew their opponent,

starting fast. Not going through the motions, and they've been going through the motions, and I don't blame them. The playoffs are a different animal. And these guys tasted it. They know how sweet it is to win the whole thing. But you can't win the whole thing if you fuck around in the second and third round because they were lucky.

Like last year they were on a team, you know, just on a mission. Any coach would tell you, if you fall consistently behind in playoff games, you're not going to win them all. You will get clipped. I would expect the Chiefs to come out firing. The Brown's defense isn't that great. I just think the Chiefs are far superior. And I just, I kind of like the Chiefs minus 10, to be honest with you. Takes nothing away from the Brown season.

It was fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. You won 11 games. You beat the Browns. crap out of the Steelers on the road in a playoffs. To me, that is an incredible year.

To me, if they can keep this tight, I'll be really impressed. Baker on the road, fans are allowed in Kansas City, cold environment, Arrowhead's a little different animal, even with 20,000 fans or whatever. But I'm kind of excited for this,

mainly because I just don't think the Browns really have a chance. And then the second best game of the weekend. So if I had to rank the game, I would go, Ravens Bill's 1, Tampa Saints 2, probably Rams Packers 3 and Brown's Chiefs 4. I love Tampa in this game. I absolutely love Tampa in this game. On the most, on a big picture football history type, you know, moment,

you're getting Brady and Brice. Two, I mean, the greatest quarterback of all time and another first ballot hall famer. basically the Steve Young of his generation. At one, I think Brady tweeted, like, or maybe he said this in a press conference, he's like, you know, I feel old. Breeze is 18 months younger than me.

One guy's 43, the other guy's 41. It's just pretty cool. If you just love the sport of football, love star quarterbacks, like this is a cool matchup for the history books. But I think the Saints team is really good. And I think if the Saints had a good, really good young quarterback, they would be my favorite in the NFC.

But they have Drew Brice, who saying he's shot is too much. I mean, he can still function. But he cannot push the ball down the field. I don't understand, listen, I'm not a coach. I don't understand how no one takes away the short intermediate stuff. If you could take away the short intermediate stuff and just corral Kamara, who's a great player, they're not going to be able to score on him. They're not going to be able to do it.

to me Tampa's defense has to play better than it does the first two times and it's just an easy one for Ariens right hey guys these guys beat the shit out of us last time we played them hey guys remember week one when these guys kind of beat us up too but the last time we played them on Sunday night football at home they mollywopped us they embarrassed us we have every bit as good of players of them if not better I saw Aryan say like Antonio the last couple weeks has become Antonio again

and I agree last week of the last week of the the season and then that wild card game, he's starting to look like the dude that used to dominate in Pittsburgh. Evans, Godwin, you have the greatest quarterback of all time, who lives for this. And they got Gronk. They got two guys who have been through countless. I mean, so you can't even count how many games they've been through at this level. So the influence that they can have helping some of the younger guys on the team, then you have a coaching staff, like Ariens has been to an NFC championship game. He's one playoff games. He's one playoff games. I just think the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an underdog.

I took a money line, I put a couple hundred bucks on it. I just think it's their time. I have a hard time seeing the Saints beat Tampa three times in a season. Especially with Drew Breed's just being kind of meh. Then, to me, we get potentially one of the all-time great, on-paper championship games. MVP Rogers against the old greatest quarterback of all time. who threw 40 touchdowns this year, sign me up for that. Like when it comes to the AFC championship game,

Chiefs versus either team, we can't lose. I'll take either one. I want Tampa at Green Bay. I want to see Brady walking out in Lambo in the snow. I want that bad, and I think we're going to get it. Okay, really quick on college football. I read the national championship was one of the lowest rated national championships in like decades.

It was a bad game, right? It was a blowout. It was, it went really quick to Alabama, which was a heavy favorite, very predictable. And I see a lot of people DMing me, tweeting at me, and I see narratives on social media like college football. It's not fun anymore. It's the same team winning over and over, same teams.

Really, it's kind of one team. The dude has seven national championships since like 2009. If you took Nick Sabin away and just gave that spot to just another SEC team with Ohio State and whoever in their conference, Notre Dame's, the Clemsons and Oregon, it would be pretty wide open. There'd be a lot more drama because right now, Alabama makes it every year. And it sure as hell feels like they make the championship game every year. It took a two of injury last year to derail them from making the playoffs.

Nick Saban is 69 years old. He's not going to coach that much longer. You take him away from Alabama. They are not the same program. He is the program. Now, he's in like the peak of his powers right now. He's like 2000 Tiger Woods, you know, or 07 Brady. Like, it's not even fair.

he's kicking everyone's ass it is not a fair fight like Chuck Liddell in his prime he used to knock guys out you remove him the coaching parody like dabble doesn't beat everyone every year dabble loses not just a Nick Sabin

he just lost the Clemson or excuse me he just lost Ohio State would you feel good about Kirby or Dan Mullen or whatever in a playoff game or Lincoln Riley those guys would get their shots but they could easily win or lose a game it's hard for all those teams to go undefeated every year. There really is one, I mean, Clemson is in the mix too, and they're not going away,

but they don't win it every year. He's won seven national championships. Take him away. The most competitive conference is wide open. Texas A&M would be right in the mix. That would help maybe get two big 10 teams in. I think Oregon's going to be really good. There's never going to be ultimate parity, right?

The country club that is the Power 5 programs do not want the little guy in their party. As long as is it four teams, Coastal Carolina, Cincinnati, Boise State, UCF, are never going to be allowed. They are never going to get the invite. Who cares? I don't even want to see them. Put them in a New Year 6th bowl. But if you keep it at 4 and Sabin retires, which again, he's not 54 years old. he's 69.

Now I don't think he gets tired of winning. I don't think he gets tired of working, but he's not going to coach forever. So let's just assume he's got two more years. I do think the moment he leaves, now their team, whoever got that job, Lane Kiffin, whoever, they'd inherit a really good roster.

But it ain't the same. It's just not. I truly believe that when Nick Saban, decides to walk away that college football will feel dramatically, again, with the 10 plus teams, right? It's never been 40 teams have a shot. It is not March Madness, where, you know, probably 25 teams think they got a shot to make the final four, right? And then once you're in the final four, hell, anything can happen. The same group of 10 to at most, maybe 15 programs

feel truly they can win a national championship at the beginning of the final year. And then, the year. And right now it's probably less than that. I mean, it's probably 10 might even be pushing it, right? I think the teams that get up in front of their squad and start talking about that are four or five teams in the SEC, Ohio State, Clemson, Notre Dame, and maybe Mario's starting to do it at Oregon. But that's just, you take away Alabama. I think it would start to spread around the town a little bit. Because one thing he has doing, he is. a little bit like they reminded me of Pete Carroll when he was at USC, he's getting the best player in every state.

So if he wants a guy from San Francisco, or he wants a guy from Maryland, or he wants a guy from Seattle, he's getting them. Because he's Nick Saban. And if you're that guy, why wouldn't you go play for Alabama? Najee Harris, right down the street from me. Why did he go play for Alabama?

I don't know, because it's Alabama, and now he has two national championship rings. and he's a legend in college football? Of course he went to Alabama. Well, if in five years Nick Sabin's been retired for a couple years, you know what the next Naji Harris might do? He might go to Texas and play for Sark.

Maybe Lincoln Riley convinces him to come there. Maybe he goes to Ohio State and plays for Ryan Day. Maybe Mario or whoever's in Oregon does the full court press and he goes to Oregon. But right now, when Nick wants a guy and those guys typically turn into pros and good pros. Remember when the talking point used to be like,

don't want to draft a guy from Alabama. They just don't make it in the pros. Look at Trent Richardson. That sure seems long forgotten. Because every game I watch, I go, God, they got about seven dudes. They're going to be pro bowlers. I mean, their guys immediately translate to the league now.

It's a seamless transition. Like a Sabin underachiever is Amari Cooper. And he had like 95 catches this year. I mean, think how many good players Nick has all over the league now. And it's only going to grow. I mean, look at this year, Devante Smith, Jalen Waddle, Naji Harris, Sertaine, the corner. I just listed four guys that are going to go in the top 35 picks. Three of them are going to go in the top 12, 15 maybe.

So we get rid of Nick. I think Dabo will become that. But listen, I like Dabo. He's not Nick Saving. He's not Nick Saving. his big advantage is conference sucks. I mean, it's terrible. People love talking smack about the PAC 12.

I think the ACC is worse. Obviously, Clemson is way better than anything in the PAC 12. But when North Carolina is your second best team, it's like, come on, guys. Miami, Florida State, like, this ain't 1999 anymore. And I don't blame Dabell for taking advantage of it. As my friend told me, he recruits an SEC player and he plays an ACC schedule. That's what's so crazy about what Nick does.

And you can be like, oh, the SEC's overrated. Bullshit. All the top players are in that league. Any other coaching can be hit or miss. But how many great coaches are there in college football? Five? Most guys are average anyway. Even guys that we think are probably pretty good are a little overrated.

And Nick dominates them all. he was just almost a 10-point favorite against Ohio State. You get rid of Nick, those days will end. College football will be okay. They just need Nick saving to retire. Okay, I was going to do the Middlecoff mail bag here, and I still am going to bang out a couple questions. Robert Salah just got hired by the New York Jets.

Got a bunch of stuff on the Haberman Middlecoff YouTube channel. We just talked about Sala. I've talked about Sala a lot. I think he's a really impressive guy. It's a good hire for the Jets. My only pause is that when you don't hire offensive guys and an offensive league and the quarterback's the problem, it's just going to be a predicament for him.

But in terms of leadership, in terms of just intense, in terms of toughness, in terms of what he stands for as a football coach, in terms of how much players like him, in terms of just how enjoyable he is as someone to like, I don't cover the team. I mean, I just talk about it. but I've been to several praxes. He's a badass.

And, you know, I'm bald, so I root for other bald guys. So actually, Joe Douglas is bald. Robert Sala is bald. We got a lot of bald guys going in the New York right now. And listen, coming from the Gase and Greg Williams, big upgrade. Big upgrade. We think. I mean, he's never been a head coach.

That's probably unfair to say. We'll see how he is a head coach. But I like to hire. as I was told a year ago, what type coach will Joe Douglas look for? I've said this on this podcast. John Harbaugh. Leadership, toughness,

a big picture thinker. You know, that's what he was looking for. And that's kind of what he got. I'm not saying this guy's going to be as good as John Harbaugh, but that's what he was looking for, and that's the type of guy, the type mold that this guy is. So congrats to the judge. best fans. You got a real coach.

Big fan of the pod. You crack me up sometimes cussing and shit, but you know what you're talking about being a former NFL scout, which makes me always listen. Five stars. Appreciate that. Leave five star review. Does Miami trade number three, Tua, and two second rounders for Watson? Two second rounders? That's, I need a little more than that. To me, the starting price for Deshawn Watson. And I know there are a lot of trades out there. And I've heard some, some rumors on the street that you could never discount it with the Patriot guys, but I would say that the starting price will be three first rounders. And Tua does not count as a first rounder right now. I'd say two is a second rounder. Like that's his value after last year. So I would say that no, not for that.

Now could he get traded? I believe he could. Do I think it's likely? No, but I will not discount it. I'm trying to work through these DMs. You know? Okay. Brown's fan down in San Antonio, Texas. As Charles Barkley would say, it's where those big women are. I'm sure I'm not the only one that thinks the dog pound has a puncher's chance come Sunday. What do you see is the key aside from the typical keepaway from Mahomes? Also a big listener of RJ in Vegas says he's a fan of your style.

Thought it was a cool shotout. I'm a big RJ in Vegas guy. Big fan. You know, it's funny, I have a bunch of family that are just degenerate gamblers that listen to his podcast and they're all like, bro, RJ just gave you a shot out. And appreciate that. Love RJ. I would say the biggest key would be for running for like 250 yards.

Slow down the game and just not get into a game that's going to be in the high 30s. Maybe not even the high 30s, but the high 20s, low 30s. Chubb, Kareem Hunt all day long. And that when you can run it, then Baker can have the play action and you can win the game like 24 to maybe 27 to 24 because you just, you know, you don't give them that many possessions. That to me is the only way. You're not going to win a shootout against these guys. They just have much better players.

Just a better team. Like I said, I don't think the dog pound is going to stay close. And I'm not trying to be a Browns hater. I'm with everyone. Baker's playing well. He is. I love their coach. Coach of the year.

This is the big leagues, though. Like, you can have a really good season. season, you run into the champs. You're about to see what the champs look like. And I know they've struggled, but I still pretty confident in them, at least against this team. Would like to know your draft prediction on Kyle Trask. I think you would be a good fit for Pittsburgh. Thanks, keep up the good work. I'm not a big Kyle Trask guy. I'm not a big fan of bad athlete quarterbacks anymore. And he can't move. And he doesn't have a great arm. He reminds me a little bit of Nick Foles. so I could not draft him in the first couple rounds.

To me, he's like a third or fourth round pick. But the way quarterbacks, you know, get picked now, they all get drafted way higher than they should. He might go in the late first, early second. Like, I couldn't do that. I don't know much about him. I'm going to assume he's a high character guy. All the, he checks all the boxes off the field.

So I'm not worried. Clearly, he's a smart offensive guy, I can learn Dan Mullen's offense. They spread it out. He was throwing it all over the yard. He was really good this year. But when I look at it, prospect from an NFL standpoint.

He can't move. I just don't see the arm strength. His greatest attribute is his size. Did not start a game in high school. Now, the guy that started over him is at the University of Miami, but still, that's, to me, a red flag. He couldn't beat the guy out.

Why? Because the other guy was a good athlete. So I'm just, I'm not into drafting bad athletes high. I think you can be a just solid backup. Nothing wrong with that. Listen to your pod you put out today, and I have a suggestion. If you think the bucks have good value to win the Super Bowl, I would just bet them to win this week and roll it over to next week versus assuming the Packers and most likely Kansas City,

and you will get like 10 to 1, 11 to 1 odds if they have to go through the Saints, Packers, and Kansas City. I agree. I put $250 on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week. If they win, I'll take that money. Maybe I'll take if I win, I'll put $500 on them against the Packers. I have a mailback question for you. As a diehard Eagles fan,

I'm getting a little worried about how much Jeffrey Lurie seems to be involved with football decisions. Is this something that has happened even when you were there with the team or since the Super Bowl has become more involved? When I was there, honestly, I didn't see him that much. You know, Andy and Howie did everything. I can't speak to what's going on now. I do think he's always been involved. Like comes to, you know, draft meetings or has free agent meetings.

He deals with his general manager and coach, but I can't speak to what's going on right now. I think the Eagles have a Carson Wentz problem. Just hearing some things about the way Carson Wentz has handled some stuff makes me shake my head a little bit. I'm not going to say it right here because I don't have it like double-sourced, but I'm a little down on Carson. And you guys know throughout the leaks and some of the stuff,

like, but you're paid a lot of money to act like a pro. And you know sometimes in life, shit doesn't go well. and you had a disastrous season. That sucks. You ain't the first star quarterback for that to happen to. Suck it up, play better, stop complaining. So I think Carson Wentz threw a wrench in the whole Philly thing. And I know how he's getting a hard time.

Here's what I will say. The reason Doug is no longer there, to me the number one reason, is the Carson Went situation. A guy they're paying like $35 million next to you. year is literally leaking his camp that he can't stand the coach and wants to be traded so when here's and i'll also defend lorry on this one when that happens what the fuck is the owner supposed to do he didn't have a choice can't fire the player they're paying him too much you can't it doesn't make that much sense to trade him you can't get enough back dug dug had to go it's just like

Doug, I just think their relationship was done. Carson and Doug, which has nothing to do with the owner or the GM. Now you can say indirectly if they forced Jalen Hertz on them, but I had heard that Doug liked Jalen Hertz, which might have led to the weird relationship, but I'm talking in the draft process. But, I mean, a lot of coaches like a lot of players.

It doesn't matter. It's like, Carson, you were the number two overall pick, you paid a lot, who cares they bring in a second round quarterback? Kick his ass. I'm just, I think Carson needs to just grow up a little bit. So yeah, I mean, Jeffrey, I can't speak to him meddling, but I think the demise and the destruction of this year for Philly was the coach and the quarterback, period, point blank, end of story.

Now, there was a lot of other stuff going on, injuries, dudes playing bad, whatever, but to me it starts there. The Eagles' number one problem was Carson. and then him and Doug. That's their issue. So I can't put that, like, what the hell does that have to do with, like, Jeffrey or even Howie? Jeffrey's not going to the quarterback meeting every day.

Jeffrey's not calling the plays into the headset. Jeffrey's not sitting at practice in the huddle with the guy. It's the coach. Even Howie's, they're on the sideline. That is a relationship that is on those two guys. I don't know one person that has ever had an issue with Doug. I would say Doug is about as humble and as normal as an NFL head coach in NFL history, especially one with a ring.

I don't know one person that hasn't got along with him. Not one. And Carson can't? Maybe that's a Carson problem. Maybe it's on you to be a pro and act, right? Say one thing for Rogers. He's one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. They drafted Jordan Love in the first round.

Even people like me kind of defended it. if I was Aaron Rogers, I would have been fucking irate. I would have been furious. And I think he was mad at first. He sucked it up. Zero public issues. No problems. Had one of the best years of his career.

Everyone gets along in Green Bay. That's how you be a pro. Jared Goff was literally just benched. He said it sucked. But I knew I had to be a good teammate. Came in and won the game for him in the playoffs. With a broken thumb. He sucks.

You don't hear him complaining. he was bench for a dude from the AAF. Carson was benched for a guy that had been to like a national championship from Oklahoma and Alabama that was drafted in the second round. Jared Goff was benched and his team's winning. For a dude from the AAF, not one issue. Jared Goff has never had an issue, no matter how crappy he's played. You know why?

He's a good teammate, good guy. Like Carson, are you a good guy? Or are you just like, you have this on the exterior good guy, but you're kind of a me guy. Because that's how it kind of feels from 3,000 miles away. Watching some of the stories get leaked. Watched Doug lose his job.

That would be my take. Again, this isn't based off inside information. You just got to follow the crumbs. Pretty clear when a guy's like, yeah, the relationships fracture with Doug. I don't think Doug leaked that out. 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 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. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from. 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. 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 a little Kim? 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 you're not. 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 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. Welcome to my new podcast. Learn the Hardway with me.

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Doesn't make any sense for Howie to leak that out. Pretty clear where that came from. If I'm not the starter, I don't want to be here. What do you think that came from? We just got to put the pieces of the puzzle together. And I'm a big Carson Wentz fan before this year. Like I've always thought he had a chance to be like a great player. But you learn the most about human beings when times are the worst.

It sucks to struggle in life. I've been fired before. I'm sure many people listening. I've had terrible things happen. It sucks professionally. Lose a business, lose a job, file for bankruptcy, whatever. Get benched.

It happens. And whenever it happens to you, you know what you got to tell yourself? I'm not the first person for this to happen to. I sure as hell won't be the last. The sun is going to come up the next day. How do I carry myself? How do I conduct myself?

Because I got to move on. I got to keep trucking. and it does feel like I got some red flags on Carson's maturity in this whole situation. Didn't like what I saw from far away. Why do you not see any quarterbacks under 35 test-free agency?

With modern sports medicine, worst-case scenario is a DAC situation who is poised to get well and pay this off-season. Wilson, Rogers, Watson, hurry to sign deals with teams that don't draft well. You know, I remember being in Philadelphia

and I was driving around, I first got there and it was like they were talking about whether to give Cole Hamill's a lot of money or not and whether he was going to play out his last year and hit free agency. And I remember it was like Jason Stark or Buster Only or it might have been like a former GM and they called in and they said, I don't know many human beings if you put a piece of paper down in front of them and hand him a pen and the number says $120 million that he's going to say to himself, yeah, I'll just play this year out and see how much I get next. offseason. He signed the deal. Most of these

quarterbacks, they have a front row seat every year to guys carted off the field, guys' careers end, some of their best friends. Think how long it's been since Jordy Nelson. Jordan Nelson was drafted after Aaron was there. He's long gone and Aaron's still there. Think how many players Brady saw come and go. When someone puts money in front of you, at that level. It's never happened to me. I would imagine most people, most people don't get to sign contract with 140, 120, 110 guaranteed. When someone does that to you, though, I don't care how

bigger balls are. I don't care how much you believe in yourself. You could argue it'd be negligent and stupid to not do it. And I'm with you with modern medicine, but it's more of just, the one thing is a quarterback typically where most players they get kind of thrown to the curb right quarterbacks see every penny of their contract so it's like if they signed a seven year five year 180 million dollars I'm just throwing out random numbers

but the guarantee is 90 well if the guy plays and most of these quarterbacks do they see every penny of it remember Derek Carr signed a contract that was like $130 million $70 of it was guaranteed Well, he's been the starter every year since he signed the contract. Every single penny of that contract he's seen.

Maybe not some bonuses or whatever, but like, the quarterbacks see their guaranteed money and the other fake money, where the overwhelming majority, even good players, non-quarterback, usually have to restructure or get cut after the guaranteed money is over. Just the way the league works. So I just think when people put those numbers in front of you,

you just you take it you know it's hard it's really hard to pass it up look through your children's eyes to see the true magic of a forest it's a storybook world for them you look and see a tree they see the wrinkled face of a wizard with arms outstretched to the sky they see treasure and pebbles they see a windy path that could lead to adventure and they see you their fearless guide is this fascinating world. Find a forest near you and start exploring at Discovertheforest.org brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the ad council. Look through your children's eyes to see the true magic of a forest. It's

a storybook world for them. You look and see a tree. They see the wrinkled face of a wizard with arms outstretched to the sky. They see treasure and pebbles. They see a windy path that could lead to adventure. And they see you. Their fearless guide is this fascinating world. Find a forest near you and start exploring at Discovertheforest.org brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the ad council. Adoption of teens from foster care is a topic not enough people know about and we're here to change that. I'm April Dinwiddie host of the new podcast navigating adoption presented by Adopt U.S. Kids. Each episode brings you compelling real-life adoption stories told by the

families that live them with commentary from experts. Visit Adoptuskids.org or subscribe to navigating adoption presented by Adopt U.S. Kids. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families and the Ad Council. Listen to the pod and always look forward. Bears fan here. I know Nagy is your boy, but how just how do you justify keeping him in there another year? I'd like to hear your take on this. My take would be simple. I would have fired pace.

I would have hired a new GM and basically attempt to get a new quarterback and kind of give him that year to evaluate Nagy and then decide. Andy Reid called Matt Nagy, the best coaching candidate he'd ever had. He took over a job and inherited a quarterback. The chiefs, the number one guy on their board was Mahomes. Veets loved him, Nagy loved him, Andy loved him, Dorsey loved him, high-level organization they liked Mahomes. Wouldn't have touched Trubisky.

He came in and inherited Trubisky, who the GM had drafted... Number two overall, in a draft with Watson and Mahomes. So that shows you what Pace knows about quarterbacks. And still won that first year without him. Then last year, Trubisky fell off a cliff, and Fangio left, and Chuck Pagano, like, Chuck Pagano stuck. So you want to criticize Nagy, like, Nagy hired the wrong guy. Chuck Pagano's not a good defensive coordinator.

He needs to hire a better defensive coordinator, right? Kyle hired Sala, McVeigh hired Brandon Staley, even when Andy made the switch to Spagnola, he's got to hire it. But the quarterback is not his fault. What the hell was he supposed to do up this offseason? He went for a guy that he knew Foles and it didn't work. But that was like a short-term Band-Aid situation.

To me, if they either draft a guy or can get like a Sam Darnold, you know, get a, I guess they're not going to get Matt Stafford, but get a legitimate starting quarterback, a guy that a large percentage of the teams would want as their starting quarterback, or trade up in the draft and get a good player, then I think you can evaluate him. But when Ms. Trubisky is starting the majority of your games, you know what Mr. Bisky is?

He's a backup. That's what he is. And that is who Matt Nagy has had to, you know, play with his quarterback. Do I have an agenda and a bias on this one? Of course I do. I know the guy. But, like, I'm not ready to just call him, I think Bears fans call him like the village idiot.

He went 8 and 8 and 8 and 8 and 12 and 4. With Trubisky and a little bit of fools. Think about that. Imagine if he just had, I don't even know, like a Jimmy Garoppelow or Jared Gough. He's fucking playing with Mitch Trubisky. And it's not his fault. It's just not.

He had nothing to do with it. He's not the gentleman. He doesn't pick the players. Now this offseason's big. I don't know what they do. It's going to be hard. But like, I think the naggy experience, I blame the general manager much more than him.

Has he made mistakes? Sure. Did he hire the wrong defensive coordinator? Yes, he did. Was there going to be a downgrade from Fangio? It was inevitable. But he hired Pagano. He was not good enough to make up for the quarterback play that he has.

So they just got to find a way to get the quarterback. But I do think 12 and 4, 8 and 8, 8 and 8, the way he's talked about in Chicago is like he's the village idiot. I've seen some village idiots. Tom Sulla. Freddie Kitchens.

You know, hell, Macadoo, Schumer. Schumer's not a village idiot, but he's just not a good coach. Like, I'm watching Aggie, like, not bad. He just needs a quarterback. Gets a quarterback.

Then I think he can be properly judged. Appreciate everyone listening. Have a great week. Adios. See all soon. If you love to be remembered as the person who gives the best birthday gifts, I'm here to tell you that 1800 Flowers.com is your ultimate birthday gifting destination. 1-800 Flowers has thoughtful and artfully created options that are guaranteed to deliver the best birthday surprise. Shop thousands of unique gifts at 1-800flowers.com for exclusive offers and great values.

To order today, visit 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. That's 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. 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 I-Heart 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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way

with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you not to be played with, And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to.

Listen and learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is 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. 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.