The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Vikings/Steelers TNF Reaction, McCarthy Guarantee Game, Belichick 2nd Act, Harbaugh to Raiders (?),Headlines, Mailbag

Episode Date: December 10, 2021

John reacts to the Vikings fighting off a late comeback by the Steelers to get a TNF win, and why it won't save Mike Zimmer's job. Then, he looks at Mike McCarthy oddly guaranteeing a win over the WFT, why it makes zero sense, why Belichick's MNF bulldozing of the Bills is among his best, why Jim Harbaugh to the Raiders would make a ton of sense, if the Browns need to move off Baker should they lose to the Ravens, and why Michigan's Aiden Hutchinson gaining the inside edge over Oregon's Kayvon Thibodeaux to be the first overall pick. He also gives some quick thoughts on some other top headlines, including why the Jamal Adams trade has been a disaster for Pete Carroll, and his thoughts on the wave of high profile CFB hires and answers listener questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag.Make sure to 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! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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What is going on Everybody, John Middletop, three and out podcast. Back at it again on a beautiful Friday. It's almost 9 o'clock at night. Don't worry. Burning the midnight oil, just grinding. Griding for you. Actually, the Thursday night game went a little longer.

From 29-0 to the Steelers having a chance to tie it at the end of the game, it would have been the biggest comeback in NFL history. But it wasn't just 29-0. It was 29-0 midway through the third quarter. I don't know. I know they showed the graphic that the biggest comeback was 28. No chance that comeback of 28-0 in 1980 started midway through the third quarter. That was wild.

Give a couple quick thoughts. And then something that happened today with Mike McCarthy. I'm a little flabbergasted by old Mike down in Big D. I can't believe he said what he said. And then some thoughts on Belichick, some thoughts on the Raiders coaching situation. there's some buzz, they might blow it all up. The Browns and some desperation mode. A couple other things around the NFL,

I think Aden Hutchinson, the past rusher at Michigan, because he's still in the playoffs, some thoughts on him going number one overall over Kvon Tibido, who declared for the draft this week, who's leaving Oregon to start training. A couple thoughts on,

I watch Mario Cristoballs, the new coach of the U, his press conference. I watched Marcus Freeman's press conference, the new coach at Notre I did some press conference watching this week just because I was interested to see and I'll give my thoughts on there.

Then of course, Middilcoff mailbag at John Middilcoff is the Instagram slide up into the DMs. My overall take with Thursday night games I give the road team past like October, past Halloween, a little bit of a pass might be too strong but I don't judge them as equally as the home team.

You're at a huge disadvantage. The Pittsburgh Steelers, who let's face it, I mean, they're probably an 8-8-1 team when the dust settles. That's who they are. They're pretty average, right? But they find a way to win some games they shouldn't. They'll probably lose a couple games that they shouldn't.

They obviously have the tie, which was pretty embarrassing against Dan Campbell and the Lions. But ultimately, they just played a knock-down drag-out game that they pulled out of their, you-know-what, against the Ravens three days ago. So then they got to travel on a short week on Thursday night in December. to me it's one thing in September or even early October, but when you start talking December 9th, Thursday night game, especially with a quarterback, like as you saw as the game went on, Big Ben still has a little bit left. But early on in that game, he looked terrible.

He looked awful. They looked awful, which is pretty understandable. And then the Vikings who just blow games, unlike any team we've ever seen in NFL history, let them back in the game. They made a couple plays and it was entertaining. But it was pretty sloppy. Let's face it.

I mean, this Thursday night games in December. My expectation levels are pretty low. I don't come out with any big judgments on either side. I mean, the Vikings probably an 8-9 team, and the Steelers an 8-8-1 team. And I get a lot of them my time, like, Mike Tomlin, he should look to go to some other team. Like, bro, he coaches for the Roonies.

They got a pretty good deal going on. They need to improve their offensive line. They need to find a young quarterback. But they got a lot to like there. You know, I think coaching for the Steelers, is a pretty good gig last time I checked. Zimmer, when they miss the playoffs, which they surely will, will bid him farewell because I think this will be the last month

for Mike Zimmer as probably a head coach in the NFL. I don't think he'll be a head coach ever again. He's a good defensive coordinator. And whether he still wants to coach, I would imagine he does because he's a football junkie. Maybe he'll be someone's defensive coordinator next year. And many teams should be all over him. To me, the biggest story of Thursday, which I was just, I was stunned to see this.

And listen, I grew up in a home where the irony is I talk for a living, where we just try to, you know, lay low. Not overstand our mouths. And just be careful what you said. And don't pump your chest out when you don't need to. So that's just kind of, you know, where I come from just naturally. I honestly, in the profession I'm in, sometimes I'm even uncomfortable. it's part of the gig. You naturally have to self-promote and say some things.

I do it. I've become a little numb to it, but I still, it's not a natural thing for me. And by no means do you have to be Belichick and just say nothing if you're a coach. But for the most part, nothing good comes out of saying things do other teams. Definitely negatively, right?

There is a reason Nick Sabin last week when he talked about the rat poison, it was easy for him to get his team up because literally everyone in the world says, you're going to lose. The Kirby Smart was singing their praises. The Georgia players were singing their praises. It was just the media.

So when we talk about bulleted more material, we can use that with scribes and talking heads. But when it comes from a player or a coach, it actually has meaning. Because you're actually playing or coaching against that individual. So when Mike McCarthy, and listen, If ultimately Belichick or Hell Tomlin or Andy Reed,

you know, Sean McVey, wanted to say something. Hell, Matt LaFleur, who's had a lot of success, Bruce Ariens, you know what? I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt. We're going to win this week. We ain't losing in the middle of the week. I'd be like, you know, a little out of character, but I get it.

You know, he's got a lot of peltz on the wall. Now, Mike McCarthy has won a Super Bowl, but Google's record. Last year was an abomination. was an embarrassment. He had to fire his defensive coordinator, and because they drafted so high, they got a star player, right?

The previous year, he was out of football. The year before that, he was fired after a loss to Steve Wilkes and Josh Rosen at Lambo. The year before, under 500 missed the playoffs. So Mike McCarthy as a coach, in recent memory, in the last four years, hasn't exactly been lighten the world on fire.

And while the Cowboys have eight wins, one of those wins this year came with him sitting at his couch like me and you. So for him to say, we're going to win this week and call his shot, to me, not only a little out of character, moronic, dumb. I don't see any value to it. Now, I know Dak Prescott was asked about it. He was excited. He said, to quote, shit, yeah.

And I don't blame him. Of course players are going to like that. And I come from the school when everyone will push back. What's he supposed to say? everyone thinks they're going to win on both sides. No one ever says it. There's a reason Belichick never says a word. There's a reason Nick Sabin would never say that.

It's moronic. You're playing psychological games with your team and against the opponent. And you give an opponent who is an underdog at home who's playing good football also happens to be a divisional rival. And the football team say what you want. Like they have a legitimate coach. It's not like Jim Tom Sula or Pat Schumer as their coach. Ron Rivera has taken several teams of the playoffs, including his own team last year.

So for him to say that to the football team, it doesn't make any sense. I cannot wrap my head around why he would say such a thing. And it's not like he gets caught up in the moment. This guy's used to, he's been giving press conferences for a decade plus. He's used to saying nothing. The only thing, really honestly, if you're a coach and people like me crush them because it gets boring, they have nothing to gain from saying anything that I'm going to like or a fan's going to like. They really don't.

It doesn't make any sense to give any opponent players some added motivation, some added benefit to get fired up on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of practice, just to focus a little bit more. The game of football, the margin for winning and losing, we already see. It's tiny. Hell, the Minnesota Vikings were just up 29 to nothing, midway through the third quarter, and the Steelers had to play at the end of the game basically to tie it, or at least give them chance for two-point conversion.

These are the margins in the national football league. Both teams have multi-millionaires. Both teams pay their coaches a lot of money. So for you to just give these guys an easy BP fastball to fire up their team, to me is just a poor job. And listen, I've been critical of Mike McCarthy since they hired him. I don't really even know what he's doing, right? Because he doesn't call the offense.

Kellen does that. We know last year or last week, you know, Dan Quinn is the defensive guy and he's actually a motivator. So now Mike McCarthy is bringing negative stuff to the team because he's doing things. And listen, they still might win on Sunday. But I can't condone or think it's smart to do what he did, especially when you haven't been having me.

much success, right? You haven't had a winning team under your watch in almost half a decade, my man. So I thought that was a meathead move. I thought it was stupid. And if they lose this week, and listen, I'm sprinkling a little cash on the football team. Dallas should win. Dallas is the better team, but it's on the road, divisional game. Football team's been playing better. Their defense looks good. It's all going to fall at his feet. He is going to take a lot of heat. And listen, sometimes like take a lot of heat. What does that even mean? I think people are going to be pissed.

And I think, and listen, the players will defend them. They love it. But if the football team comes out, hair on fire and kicks the Cowboys ass or wins that game, McCarthy's going to have to answer for that statement. That's for sure. Okay. I wanted to start with Belichick because I've spent a lot of this week

thinking about that game on Monday night. And if you've listened to the show for a while, I think you realize, like, I'm not breaking down guard play. I'm not breaking down, you know, secondary coverages, coverage units on special teams. That's not the show. And I think my overall viewing of sports reflects what I talk about here. I watch pro sports and definitely the highest level of college for legends. The best of the best.

My favorite athlete, really there's two of them, but definitely the last 20 years is Tiger Woods. and before that was Michael Jordan. Like, those are the type guys I watch sports for. I don't watch for the overachieving guy who makes it that shouldn't have. If I wanted that, I'd go to a high school football game. I actually had a good one right down the street from my house last week, Folsom, who upset Dailas out. I watch pro sports for Steph Currys, for Max Scherzer's, for Bill Belichick.

And that's what I'd like talking about. And luckily, most of you, most people, most people, sports fans are casual fans. And the weird part about someone like myself who's dedicated his life to working in football and now talking about it, I'm much closer to a casual fan than I am some diehard. I just consume a lot of it. And I made it my life's work. But I am not as into the weeds as some of these other shows. And listen, I've I've listened to a bunch of different stuff.

It's just not for me. And, you know, most of it's not for you. I see some of their numbers. Like McAfee. McAfee's a good example. I just saw you got $30 million a year. You watch Pat McAfee. Like he's talking to Aaron Rogers.

He's playing the hits. And that's what interests me. And luckily with Belichick, and there were some breaking news this week, Tiger Woods is playing in that little thing with his kid, which is really cool. And I say this all the time about Tiger. If you were worth, I mean, Tiger's worth like a billion dollars.

He just had his leg shattered. And from, I knew someone, on like second hand that was on the scene, clearly, if you just watch him limp around, his leg was mangled. Yet less than a year later, the dude's playing golf still. Like, what does the guy have to prove? You know, and a lot of people that watch football think, like, I could do it. I don't think you could. I tried it. I don't think you quite understand the addiction these men have. Tiger Woods, Belichick, I saw it firsthand with Andy Reed. They love the sport infinitely more than you think you love the sport and I bet a lot of you probably love the sport a lot. These guys are

addicts and Belichick who last year let's face it, it was pretty ugly for his standards. He still went seven and nine. He had a quarterback that couldn't pass and he had a defense that led the league in opt-outs. And then this year he somehow figures it out and now he's nine and four and in the driver's seed to get the number one overall seat. But I think part of the coolest part about talking about the best of the best, a Tiger Woods, a Tom Brady, a

Bill Belichick, a Steph Curry, is they have these different moments along their career. And it's hard, like, until it ends, it's hard to put it all into context. But you know when you're watching it, you're like, that was pretty special right there. And listen, he has won bigger games

clearly in his career than what happened on Monday night. He's won six Super Bowls as a head coach. He was a defensive coordinator for, you know, one of the more famous teams in league history. And even Parcells had said in the 30 for 30 documentary, Belichick was in full control of the game plan. I think they put the game plan in Canton, the one that he beat,

won the K-gun offense with against the bills and one of the Walsh teams just to get to the Super Bowl. So Belichick has eight Super Bowl rings that he's amazing. you're part of, right? But that moment on Monday night to throw the ball three times in the modern day NFL

and really, and we talked about this on Monday's pod, one of the throws Josh screamed at Mac for throwing the ball. They didn't want him to throw the ball. It's, it's, listen, I don't know where to rank it. I haven't watched every Patriot game over the last 21 years, but that is

definitely a moment in time in his career that was very, very memorable. And that was a moment that kind of defines, and we talked about it a couple days ago, his willingness to do whatever it takes. I've been thinking about, like, if Tom Brady had been his quarterback, I don't know if the game would have looked that much different. Now, they clearly would have thrown it a couple more times, but they would have ran it,

given they were having success that many times. I don't know how many other coaches would have. It's in my lifetime. You know, it's just an incredible accomplishment. I also was thinking about this. One thing you do when you watch the Patriots this year, they're getting some huge contributions from guys that he signed as free agents. And for a long period of time, Belichick, definitely like the last half decade,

Belichick has taken a lot of shit for not being a great drafter. And I do think sometimes when you're the head coach, you can be so close to things, it's hard to separate. Now, he historically, he's been a great general manager. Look at the players he's acquired, he's drafted, you know, he gets credit for Tom Brady. Like, he gets credit for Rob Grunkowski. He gets credit for trading for Randy Moss. He's made incredible moves as a general manager over his,

like he signed Gilmore to the most money he'd ever signed a free agent. Like he's done incredible things. But his drafting in a vacuum has been very hit or miss lately up until this year where it looks like he had a fantastic draft. But the years previously had struggled. And it hit me. He had never, you know, kind of dove into the deep end when it came to free agent. signings. And it was understandable. He never wanted to pay a guy because forever he had Tom Brady,

who was always making under what he should have been making, and pay a guy who made equal or maybe even more than Tom was making. You bring that in the locker room, it would get weird. And the one time he kind of did it, Gilmore was immediately so elite, no one even cared. But it's pretty risky. One thing's pretty clear, though, looking at his team this year, Judon has been fantastic. Kendrick Bourne makes plays all over the place. The two tight ends are really, really good. Trent Brown when he's been healthy, you see some of the clips from the other night of Trent Brown, just

mollywapping defenders, just destroying them. Belichick can isolate and tell you exactly who is good in the NFL. No one does it better on a weekly basis. The strengths and weaknesses of players, he gets it.

If you think about moving forward with the Hasmac Jones, I would say Bill, don't even waste, use those picks to make trades for players the league. Belichick's, you know, ability to sign guys and understand who is a really good player and who is going to fit on his team is actually a point of strength form. And I don't think he's utilized it much over the years because of the financial constraints. And like I just said, he didn't want to screw up his locker room. Well, now he has a rookie quarterback. Who doesn't

make that much money? He should utilize that benefit, not only free agency, but maybe use some of his draft capital to trade for players that are already in the league. We've seen it in recent memory of Jalen Ramsey's, of Stefan Diggs, guys like that who might become available. You would say historically, Bill hasn't really done that, definitely with a high pick. I think he should delve into that water. Because I think that's kind of a point that he can separate himself from

because of his understanding of the league. No one understands individual players better on a weekly basis, on a yearly basis, on a career basis than Belichick. We saw him on the top 100 players in league history, his ability to talk about guys, strengths and weaknesses, put their careers into context. He can do that with every guy in the NFL right now. To me, he should get more aggressive moving forward, big picture.

He could build a team these next couple years that is just ready made to kick ass. And I think what's going to be scary, if Mack can keep progressing, the Patriots are going nowhere. And we talk about Bill Belichick. I know he's 70 years old, but I don't think he's going anywhere either.

So he's already a clear legend, arguably the greatest coach in the history of the sport and potentially top two or three in the history of sports, he could go on a little two or three year run here where he's just a major, major factor. Now, are they going to go to the Super Bowl? I don't know. It's very, very difficult to go to the Super Bowl,

even if you're the number one seed with a rookie quarterback. It just is because it's hard to circumvent some of his weaknesses. And his weaknesses might just be as simple as just experience. And, you know, I know he had experience last year leading a team in the national championship. He's got to play immediately right away. He's already got to play in some big games. But eventually, like, as a quarterback in the NFL in big games,

you got to make place. Third and eight, third and nine, third and 11. Like, that just happens in playoff games. But I do think the Patriots, whether they, you know, win a playoff game this year, get bounced in the second round, you know, host the AFC championship and lose it, get to the Super Bowl, whatever, are kind of built, especially if he doubles down

on what he's realized that he's already really good at, they could be a factor for a while. Can I tell you about my friends at Fanduel? The playoffs are almost here. And to help you stay on top of the action, Fandual Sportsbook is giving you a $10 bonus when you place $20 in same game parlay bets. Bet on a single game or a spread

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I like the Niners to win boom a little same game parlay new to fan dual sports book sign up using the promo code Colin to get 30 to 1 odds on either team in the Browns versus the Ravens rematch. You can win $150 on a $5 bet. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced

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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 Clivert 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 ton-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-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 a podcast. I'm Sam Jette. 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 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, so. 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. Just enter the promo code, Colin, exclusively on the Fandual Sportsbook app. 21 and present in Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia, or West Virginia. Refund issued as non-witrable site credit that expires in seven days.

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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. A couple other teams going into this weekend that are pretty desperate. Start with the Raiders. They're depending on where you look at nine and a half,

10 point underdog against Kansas City. They're already rumors circulating. And it makes sense that Mark, Mark Davis might blow this bad boy up, right? His coach is already gone. His acting general manager who's in charge. The only reason he's there is because Gruden hired him. Let's face it, like Mayock wasn't probably getting a general manager job without John Gruden. And then under Mayock's watch, it's not no fault of his own. A couple weeks later after Gruden got fired, the Henry Rugg situation happens, they're not going to make the playoffs. Assuming they get their

ass kick this week in Kansas City, which I don't think you can easily do just because they beat him last year, but last year, if I remember correctly, Henry Ruggs had a touchdown in Kansas City, it's going to be very, very difficult. So if Mark Davis chooses to blow this thing up for like the third time in his tenure as the owner since Al Davis died, there's a rumor circulating that I saw that actually makes a little sense. You know, we see this in college football and we'll get into Mario and Marcus Freeman and some things I saw in their press conferences in a little bit. But it's it's hard with college football. When a coach leaves after a championship game, because of the recruiting calendar, everything can get a little off. Right? So like right now, Oregon doesn't have

a coach while all these recruits are committing. Signing days in like a week, that first signing day, it's just kind of, it's not ideal. But in the pros, if you're going after a college coach, the Raiders last game is January 9th. So even if Jim Harbaugh was in the national championship, and yes, I just said Jim Harbaugh, that game's the following day. So if you fired everyone on the 10th, Jim Harbaugh is playing that night. Hell, and even if he got bounced the first night against Georgia, that's the week ago. He's not going anywhere.

He's already signing his class. Jim Harbaugh and Mark Davis, when Jed York mutually departed with his coach, had contact. They talked. Now, it was a weird spot. Michigan was going full court press. They offered him an enormous contract.

The Raiders weren't really viewed as. You know, Kille Mack and Derek Carr had just finished their rookie season. the team was financially not in a great spot. It was kind of a toxic place. I give Jackdell real some credit. He got the job and kind of got them on the right foot. Well, now they're in Vegas where in theory the money should be flowing. Their practice facility is incredible.

And Mark Davis has just shown with John Gruden, he's willing to pay a premium for coaches. He was actually ahead of his time. You see some of the coaching money that's getting thrown around now for college guys? Mark Davis was doing that five, six years ago with John Gruden, right? I mean, he kind of set the bar. Like, that's the new contract. You want to get a sweet coach, you're going to offer 8 to 10 years at 10 million plus.

And I do think that Mark Davis would be crazy to not reach out to Jim Harbaugh. Because the team has a couple defensive ends. They have a quarterback on the roster that they need to figure out what to do with. Derek Carr next year will be going into the last year of his contract. But if you are going to detonate this thing, which I think is probably the right move, you can't just entrust Mike Mayock, who's been a general manager in the league for three years. and a lifetime TV guy to just resurrect your franchise and let him hire the coach, that I think Jim Harbaugh would make a lot of sense.

And obviously Jim Harbaugh had the most successful year in his career so far at Michigan. So if he were to win a national championship, I actually think he has a pretty easy out. He said, listen, I came back, you cut my salary in half, I gave all this money to all these people that lost their money during COVID. I'm a good guy and now I'm a winner. I've brought you everything. I've kind of filled the cupboards for you guys with players and talent. I got the brand back.

Take it from here. Right? Or maybe he just finds himself being very little. I don't know. But we've always talked about Jim. This is the longest Jim Harbaugh has ever been in a place in his coaching career. By a pretty wide margin now. Every game that goes by keeps separating because the longest before that was four years.

And listen, Jim loves his money. He just took a huge pay cut. I don't know if he's resentful or petty. at Michigan, not saying they were wrong because he hadn't been producing. But to me, if you are going to blow it up to meet Jim Harbaugh, for the Raiders and their brand, I think it just aligns and makes perfect sense. So if the Raiders get their ass kick this week, which they should, playing the Chiefs, you know, a team that's just one of the hottest teams in the league.

And then their season just kind of unravels. Again, as it should, they're just not good enough. We don't, I don't know if this coach is any good. They just got some problems. Don't be shocked when Jim Harbaugh's name, keeps coming up with the Raider search. And the other team that I think is just facing a little desperation is the brownies. And listen, they were a team that coming into the season,

you didn't have to be John Schneider or Jason Light to look at their roster and go, damn, this has got to be one of the best rosters in the league. This is a team that should win 12, 13 games. And right now they are, you know, fighting for their playoff lives this weekend against the Ravens. They've had a bunch of injuries. Mainly their quarterback has been a shell of himself because of those injuries. Now, as of recording this on Thursday, he practiced on Monday, he practiced on Wednesday. They're coming off a buy.

It's the first time he's been healthier in a while because it's hard to get healthy when you're playing every week. Well, they have this buy. Maybe he gets his body under him a little bit. But if you lose this game against the Ravens, and let's face it, the Ravens aren't that good right now, what do you do if you're the Browns? You've already picked up his fifth-year option. so he's going to be on the team next year. But this is not the general manager

that drafted Baker Mayfield. This is not the head coach that pounded the table for Baker Mayfield. Now, Stefansky has proven that he can win with quarterbacks like this, right? I think he could win with Case Keenham. He won with Kirk Cousins. He could win with a healthy Baker Mayfield.

But the big, you know, kind of the elephant in the room is, and Lamar hasn't signed his contract yet, but he's going to get a huge contract. Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, are we giving this guy huge money? Well, if you can't make the playoffs, and a big reason is because he's terrible.

Like, let's face it, Baker's not getting extended. These are two Ivy League guys. They're really wired. Stavansky is a football coach, but I do think the way they think, definitely Andrew Barry is a little, you know, like baseball analytical. And I mean that in a positive way.

You know, valuing, what's the cost we got to pay, you know, given the production, can we piecemeal this together? Now, unlike baseball, where you can platoon players, it's much different with quarterbacks, right? You can't go cheap on a quarterback and then complain when you don't win. But they inherited this situation. And last year he was good, so I don't blame them for rolling it back.

But I do think this season, and if you lose games like this, divisional games to a team that is not going away. Like if you think about the Ravens, this might be their low point. They had a million injuries. Even Lamar's banged up. It's just been a weird season. And they're still going to win probably 10 or 11 games. That's their low point.

right the Bengals whether they make the playoffs this year or not it's pretty clear their their core of young players is going nowhere and number one they have a quarterback so if you're the Browns part of it is not just the big picture of the AFC which looks pretty good chiefs are going nowhere the Colts now have a quarterback titans just have a good infrastructure the bills are going through a rough spot and they ain't going anywhere Patriots are here to stay like I do think you need to do some introspection kind of same thing with the Raiders like the AFC is going to be good for a while You need a top flight coach, which I think the Browns have.

I think Stephancy's good. And he need a good quarterback. Without the good quarterback. And when I say, like, Baker's good enough if he's making $8, $9 million. He's not if you've got to pay him $35 million. Especially if, like, this is probably closer to the Baker than what we saw last year. Is there some middle ground? I don't know.

But if he gets smoked this weekend, which I don't have a great field for this game, I would tend to bet the Ravens, I do think you have to start questioning, what are these two Ivy League guys that run the Browns going to do with their young quarterback? And then some other news. K. Bon Tibido, the star pass rusher for the Oregon Ducks, who's one of the, I think the biggest recruit Oregon's ever landed, who is going to be a lock top three pick.

I think the number one pick is really between him and Aidan Hutchinson, the star pass rusher for the Michigan Wolverines. one problem for Tibido, and it's no fault of his own, the moment they lost to Utah, they're no longer going to the Rose Bowl. Then his coach leaves. So he declares to go pro. He's not going to play in the bowl game against Oklahoma. Now, he has three years, a body of work.

He doesn't need to do anything. I can say the same thing for Hutchinson. The problem for Tibido is going to be, Hutchinson might have been slightly above him anyway. And when I think Dan Campbell, if you watch number 97 at Michigan, it's hard not to think like, yeah, I can't imagine Dan Campbell loving this guy.

When I think Dan Campbell, I think number 97 at Michigan. And then potentially he has two more games, because obviously he's going to play in his bowl games, because he's playing in the playoffs. What if Hutchinson gets to play in multiple games against the two best SEC teams and racks up three or four sacks? If he has a couple against Georgia

and then a couple against Alabama. I don't see how he wouldn't solidify himself as the number one overall pick. it makes a lot of sense. Not that this matters in pro football, but he plays at Michigan. The Lions are going to have the number one overall pick. They're in desperate need for defensive players.

Honestly, it already feels, like I said, like he's going to be the guy. But if he has any, there's going to be 20 plus million people watching these playoff games. The ratings are going to be out. Michigan, Georgia, I would imagine that game is going to be one of the most highly rated playoff games

in the history of the playoffs. And he's going to be one of the prime, guys we're going to be talking about, and the camera's going to be on him. He has a couple sacks. They upset that, they win that game. I think they're a touchdown underdog, and then they get Bama in the Natty. You're going to look at a guy that earned himself a lot of money coming back for a senior season and he's going to end up going number one overall. A couple other NFL stories that I just thought were interesting. Andrew Whitworth, who I'm just a big fan of. I mean, I've been watching his game since he was with the Bengals. He's 40 years

old, 40 years, starting at left tackle at 40 years old. What an incredible accomplishment. Now, part of it is like, you just get incredible genetics to be that big and that, you know, graceful just to be able to play tackle. But then the element of luck slash toughness to be able to last that long in the trenches and still be good enough to start on a good team, you're just not going to see that very often. Remember when we had that, I think it was like 10.000. years, Joe Thomas had never missed a snap. And then he hurt his shoulder and it ended his season. I think he retired a little later after.

You just don't see this stuff that often. Even in a day and age where 40's probably the new, you know, even for offensive linemen, 40 ain't the new 30. 40s maybe the new 37. But it's very, very difficult to start at that position where unlike Garder's center, I got to cover some ground. I'm going up against powerful guys, speed guys, outside linebackers, they blitz

defensive backs off that side. You got to be a top flight athlete on top of being a top flight tough guy on top of just having, you know, not having major injuries to overcome it. So it's just, that's just a cool little nugget. Extra point rate in the NFL right now is the lowest since 1979.

And go back to Belichick. Do you remember several years ago? He was the guy pounding the table. for not having the extra point field goal at the two yard line. He said, move it back. Make it a legitimate field goal. So there is some human element of that even if it's not, because I think before it was like 99.9%.

Just adding that slight variable and then it gets some people to think about going for two. Let's face it, added a little excitement in the NFL. I remember when it was, I don't want to say controversial, but when it was being discussed, whether they were going to move the extra point back. I'm like, who even cares? It has been a hit. That worked. Belichick, genius.

Jamal Adams, out for the season, injured. I think he hurt his shoulder. I know Pete basically said that like they don't not only regret the trade, or they don't regret the trade. They think he's been fantastic, made a bunch of plays. It's been a disaster. If they had a do-over, they would press the reset button so fast your head would spin. I don't blame them.

They made a bowl. move because Pete, the head coach is ultimately the boss of the organization. And it's just backfired. Now, I don't blame, it didn't backfire because he got injured, even if he hadn't got injured. He's just not good enough to trade for two ones and a two. And it's just been a trade that ultimately might cost, you know, this kind of like, this dynasty is the wrong word, you know, the tenure of the group to come to an end. Now, it's not just because of this move, but I do think this move, this move that

short-sighted move is going to be symbolic to why it all ends. And last but at least, is the Burrell finger. It's just something to keep an eye on. Because the AFC playoffs pretty wide open. I still think the Colts are going to get in. I think the Chargers are going to get in. And I think if the Bengals lose this week to the 49ers and Burroughs hands messed up, like the Bengals have no shot if Joe is injured.

That's just, that ain't going to happen. And that pains me. I'm a big Joe Burrow guy. I wanted to be healthy. But you heard a finger. We've seen what it have done to come. couple guys in the league. I mean, we saw what it did to Russell. He's been a show of himself since that injury. So I know it's a little, I don't think it's Mallet Finger, but he dislocated

it. Clearly is probably pretty painful. A couple college things. I would recommend if you just got seven, eight minutes, just watch Mario Cristobald's introduction press conference. I didn't watch him taking questions, but just him introducing himself to the Miami community, to his team, to media, and just kind of selling himself. And I'll be honest, I haven't watched Mario speak that much. But when I watched that introductory press conference, I came away thinking, I get it. I understand.

I understand why this guy's such a good recruiter. Now, part of it was his passion for that university, obviously his connection to playing there, what it means for him. It's hard to fake that. Like, you can't fake his passion for. the University of Miami. But I also think, and he mentioned this, people act like he was just ready to jump ship.

I actually think he was all in an Oregon. Not that anyone is saying anything otherwise, but he was in the deep end with Oregon. And I do believe watching him talk, there are two jobs. Like Oregon had themselves a coach who was not looking to leave. Two jobs he would have left for.

Alabama, if Sabin had retired, or this job. Other than that, he wasn't going to leave Oregon. You know why? He didn't need to. They were landing top 7, 8 recruiting classes every year in a conference that no one was doing that. Now, Lincoln probably will now that he's here. But part of him going to Miami, you just feel the passion. I think he feels obligated to fix a place that changed his life.

But his ability to go into these recruits homes, I understand why all these guys have been committing to him in Oregon. It's like, I get it. I see it. he's got like a panache of a swag to him that it's like yeah now he's not a great in-game coach he's not mr schematic but in college if you can be an elite recruiter let's face it now urban myer you know when he was in college was a better schematic guy but he he had offensive coordinators calling the place urban wasn't play caller he just became the best recruiter in the country him and save it right it's kind of what kirby's doing like kirby's not calling the plays anymore dan landing is calling the

plays on defense. So if you can become, and I think Mario can become this, a top two or three recruiter in the country, especially at Miami, when all the, like, it's going to, his floor, listen, I don't think Mario is ever going to be some elite college coach. When I say elite, I just mean like, I think it's going to be difficult for him to win national championships. But his floor, because of his recruiting ability, like, I think they can win 10 games by like year two. Now, it's going to be natural. Everyone will be excited. If he has back-to-back, like 10 wins seasons, people will get antsy. Like, why can't you make the playoffs? Why can't he beat Clemson or whatever? But I'm telling you, he's going to turn that bad boy around much faster than I think people

realize. I would imagine they're competitive next year, but they will be good in two years. He's just too elite of a recruiter. I'm telling him, watch the press conference and you come away thinking, yeah, I'd probably commit to Mario Cristobal. I watch Marcus Freeman, who, you know, at 35 years old, hell, I'm older than the guy. It's remarkable to see his maturity level and him talk at his press conference. He is a very, very impressive guy. But I also have this thought like, it can go two ways. I think whenever you take over a program that is already really good and has a ton of players on the roster,

your inexperience as a coach, like Lincoln Riley several years ago, you can learn through it because your talent is so strong. like would Lincoln Riley have become Lincoln Riley if I put his first job at Arkansas or I put his first job at Duke? I think we can all agree and I think he'd agree if he was sitting here with a beer yeah probably I wouldn't have

you know I might not have dominated right off the bat so he gets to inherit a program which is loaded with NFL players even if they're flawed relative to Ohio State and Alabama and Clemson they're still better than 98% of other programs and he's a really impressive guy and watching him talk, he is going to recruit harder than Brian Kelly.

And Brian Kelly was doing a damn good job at Notre Dame. This guy is going to go after players that Mario, Kirby, Nick, and Ryan Day are going after. Which we'll see if they have success doing that, but he's going to on top of the guys that he knows he can get. The one question I have is for every Lincoln Riley that gets to inherit this really good program,

sometimes you see, Now it was different because they got sanctioned, but like when Lane got the job at USC. And sometimes you see it with younger coaches. It can just be difficult. Like you have a couple difficult losses. Something weird just happens in your program. Because the one thing every coach always talks about,

and it makes sense, you can never be prepared for things that end up coming your way. Because when you're like the offensive coordinator, the defensive coordinator, let's say if you were Marcus Freeman the last year with the defensive coordinator. Not that this is going to happen that often at Notre Dame, but a starting offensive guard gets a DUI.

You don't have to deal with that. It's not your unit. It's not your guy. I'm not saying that it doesn't impact you. You don't know the player. But it's just not really your problem. That's the head coach's problem. That's the offensive coordinator's problem.

And it's really the offensive line coach's problem. But when you're the head coach, if that happens, a guy gets DUI, a guy gets in trouble, a guy's ineligible. That's your problem. Whether it's an offensive guy, whether it's a defensive guy, whether it's a special team's guy. And I'm just watching him going, this guy's 35, you know, he only, the difference is,

now he's worked for Fickle for three years and then he went to Brian Kelly. Lincoln Riley had worked for Bob Stubes for several years as the offensive coordinator. Now, it was only a couple. But to me, if he had been there a couple years, he would have, you know,

a lot of good insight into the way Brian Kelly ran his program. Now, like I said, he did work for Lou Fickle for a couple years. It's just going to be tough. It is not easy to be a head coach. And I think next year, they play Ohio State,

they play Clemson. The thing at Notre Dame, right, like I think in Lincoln's first year, boom, they made the playoffs. Right, so it just gives everyone thinks of your credibility at a much higher level than really,

you might have been that like, you were going to be what you were going to be. But his team, and he had a stud NFL quarterback. Now, if Marcus Freeman makes the playoffs next year, he'll get a contract extension. He'll be a made man. What if they go nine and three?

Then all of a sudden it's like, are we taking a step back? whether that's fair or not. And then, you know, that's the thing about taking over the elite of the elite programs. Like, ultimately, when Lincoln took over Oklahoma, you had to be going 10 and 2. 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 what you're 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.

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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 a lot?

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 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 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. Minimum. You know, really they wanted 11 and 1, 12 and 1 competing for the playoffs. You can't just come in Notre Dame and have like a solid year 8 and 4. People start asking themselves, can this? guy coach. So I do, I'm rooting for him. Again, his maturity at that age, six kids blows me away.

But it might be a little more difficult than we think. And last but not least, Jeff Tedford became the head coach at Fresno State. And listen, I GA'd at Fresno State. I don't think it can be overstated how lucky a non-power five program is like Fresno State to have an alumni in Jeff Tedford, who despite having several heart attacks, refuses to quit coaching football. Because they shouldn't be able to hire a guy this good. I mean, they should. Jeff Tedford should be at Oregon. Jeff Tedford took Cal, which is, I think the best public university, not in America,

in the world. The number one public university in the world and turned it into like an elite football school was producing multiple first rounders every year. found Aaron Rogers, Marsha. You think Marshawn and DeShon, Marcia Lynch and Deshawn Jackson would ever end up at Cal in a million years if Jeff Tedford hadn't been alive.

And for Fresno State to get this guy, they are very, very lucky. And when I talk about football addicts, like I'm talking addicts, this guy had to have surgery on his heart. This guy had a bad ticker. He had to quit coaching multiple times because of his heart. He's 60 years old.

He's a multi-millionaire. And he just refuses to stop. He just will not stop coaching. Me, you, most of us, at that age, with some health issue, like, I'm done. He just can't stop. As a Fresno State fan, excited to have him on board. And the program should feel very, very lucky that Tedford is just a football addict and loves the program.

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Almost on time this morning. Mom is coming out the front door strong with a double-arm 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. 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 NHTSA 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 Dinnwity 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 slash podcast 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. Okay, let's go Middlecoff mailbag. At John Middlecoff, the Instagram.

Firing those DMs. I'd love to be in your Middle Coff mailback. John, there's Jason from Oklahoma. My grandmother taught English and Spanish at Stanford in the middle of the 80s. Had Elway in a class, allegedly. I visited Palo Alto area a few times growing up. Love Northern California.

What's your take on Lincoln, Riley, in the USC job? I think it's a great fit, even though 90% of OU fans were hating on them. Now, OU, as it turns out, with the new hire and Venables, I think is super hire as OU hasn't had, I believe, a top 10 defense since 2000. I'd love to hear your take on both hires. I'm from Oklahoma. Now reside in Denver.

If you ever want to tee it up, be my treat to take your money on the links. Oh, shit. I would say, I think Lincoln, I've got a lot of people in my timeline retweeting pictures of him with star players. They are going to get legitimate recruits. not that they historically haven't but the last several years they have not.

It hasn't been at the same level. They're going to recruit like a top I would say five level program. My only question is going to be Lincoln Riley is going to be made or broken on this. He was crushing it at OU.

But they were never going to win a national championship. Why? They didn't have a good enough defense. They didn't have NFL corners. They didn't have NFL pass rushers. They just weren't good enough on defense. He has got to

to get offensive players. He can find wide receivers and Joe Mixins and Kyler Murray's and Caleb Williams and he can find offense and sweet offensive linemen. Offense is going to be zero issue for him. I have one question. Can he recruit like Pete Carroll recruited? Because when I think about Pete Carroll, I think about a linebacking corps that had Clay Matthews, that had Brian Cushing and had one other sweet dude who's escaping me and Maluga. But I don't know. know if Maluga was with that group. Might have been. Maluga, Cushing, and Matthews, yeah, maybe that's it. That was the linebacker group. He had defensive linemen, like, four of them.

If he had, he played, you know, he played a four-three. On a given year, two of them would get drafted in the first round. And the other two would be second and third-round picks. Ruckers and Lawrence's and Mike Patterson's and just an unlimited amount of front seven guys there to kick your ass. Other dude, 55, like, last name Rivers. Remember that guy? The other Samoan guy who played for the Seahawks was a baller. I almost said Seattle. Pete Carroll at USC, the reason he ran a program like USC, Oregon, or excuse me, Alabama, Georgia, or Ohio State. His front seven NFL players. And then he had

NFL guys in the secondary. If Lincoln's going to win big, he better do that. And I don't know if he can recruit that. I don't even know if he knows what it looks like. Honestly, I'm just asking. I'm a Lincoln Riley fan. If you follow me on Twitter, you know, I've been retweeting Sooner stuff for years. My guy worked for him. I love Lincoln Riley. I love the Oklahoma Sooner program. I'm still an Oklahoma Sooner fan. I'm a big Venable's guy. I actually think he's going to be really good. I was listening to my guy, Jay Boy Show. He had a good point. They actually might be better equipped to go into the U.S. you know, go into the SEC with a defensive coach. Think about a lot of the coaches that are having success in the SEC.

Saban, defensive guy. Kirby, defensive guy. I mean, it's not rocket science here. You got to play defense. If you play defense in the SEC, you can win. So if Venables, you know, Venables knows how to recruit. He's at a front row seat with Bob Stoops and then Davos-Sweeney. He's worked for two guys in 20 years.

Both guys recruiting non-stop NFL players. And actually, when Stoops, was there, they were better on defense way back in the day. So I like both hires. I'm fascinating. You know, at Clemson, Clemson does not take transfer guys or junior college players. They only take freshmen that they recruit from high school.

We'll see if Venables falls through on that or he changes. Because at Oklahoma, they've taken a lot of transfers. I mean, in Oklahoma, where do you think they got Kyle Murray? Where do you think they got Baker Mayfield? Where do you think they got Jalen Hertz? Clemson's not doing that at any position. I'd be doing that. I would love the transfer portal.

But I'm a pro guy. I like free agency. So we'll see if Venables, like Lincoln Riley is going to be into the transfer portal. Will Venables? I don't know. I don't know what his philosophy is. Now, is it going to be a good,

like I hope Venables is still calling the defense. I've been a Seahawks fan for a couple years now. And I don't think it's all Pete's fault. Schneider should be on the hot seat as well with all of his questionable draft picks, the first one that comes to mind is taking Rashad Penny over Nick Chubb. I agree.

In hindsight, that pick is really, really bad. I mean, that's really, it's easy. December 9th, 2021, 9 o'clock at night to say, that's a shitty pick. And we've known that for a couple years. But at the time, I'll be honest, I love Rashad Penny. I really did.

And here's the hard part about judging people in football. And I would say in any job that you're not in. It's go, well, that's a terrible draft pick. Well, does John Snyder pick the players or does Pete Carroll? I don't know the answer to that. I know a lot of people that think Pete controls everything. Now, I do think he gives John a lot of leeway, but like, who made that decision?

Really, only those two guys and the rest of the front office knows. I don't have the answer. I think it's easy to be like, John Snyder made the pick. Are we sure? Did Pete make the pick? I don't know. I honestly don't know. So until you know that information,

I think sometimes it's hard to just shit on a guy for a draft pick. Like, who's in charge in that room? Easy to make suggestions. Only one guy gets to make the decision. So is Pete letting Schneider pick the players on draft night? Or is Pete actually influencing that? Again, do not know. Brian, I remember you doing quick takes on the rise guys.

This guy's going way back. I appreciate your take on Mike Tomlin early this week, but it got me thinking. Why does Mike McCarthy get dumped on by everyone else? both Tomlin and McCarthy have won Super Bowl both are CEO head coaches similar winning percentages coach Hall of Fame quarterbacks

and have had a lot of playoff heartbreak on their resume both brought stability to top-notch organizations I know McCarthy had a couple of rough seasons but Tomlin has had several as well yeah Tomah's never lost Tomlens never had another 500 season so if he doesn't go 8-8 and 1 this year it'll be his first under 500 season of his career

McCarthy, his last three seasons coming into this season, all under 500. He got fired in the middle of, it would have been 18, he was under 500, 17, and he was under 500 last year. Thomas never lost. In a division that's, you know, the Ravens,

the Bengals have been pretty good. Like, his division, the bears, the lions, I mean, these teams suck. The Vikings have been the only team that's good. So I would just say that I think Tom, Tomlin is more likable. Like, it's just, I just view Tomlin, I would just rather have Tomlin. I don't really know.

I can't, that's the hard part about judging coaches beside the record. Like, I can just quantify what I see as a guy. I'll take Mike Tomlin all day long over McCarthy. Wouldn't even hesitate. And like you said, if you just look at the numbers on their Wikipedia page and wins, I hear you. I'd roll with Tomlin. Big Michigan fan here.

Couldn't be more excited about the last few weeks. have gone for my football team. I was wondering what your thought about Cincinnati being in the playoff. More specifically, if Cincinnati gets blown out by Alabama, does that hurt the group of five than if they didn't get in at all? Seems like losing by 60 would be more detrimental than not being in at all. If they're not in at least, will they still talk about the group of five?

If they just get blown out and the narrative will be, they never belonged in the first place. What's the saying like it's better to live and love? the never to loved it all or never to lived at all. I'm fucking up the saying, but you guys know the drill. You got to just get in and take your chances. If they lose by 30 points, like they're playing Nick Saban in Alabama. They're playing the greatest coach in the history of the sport.

They're playing a coach who's trying to get a seventh national championship at Alabama. I mean, this would be his eighth national championship. I think they're going to get a little bit of benefit of the doubt. And if I'm a Michigan fan, I'm thinking, can we beat George? and then can we beat Alabama? It would be the greatest two-game stretch of Jim Harbaugh's life. How awesome would that be?

I'm rooting for that. I'm rooting for Jim to beat Kirby and then obviously Nick Saban to handle business against Cincinnati Sabin Harbaugh National Championship. You want to see big television ratings? Michigan, Alabama. I would imagine Alabama,

let's say Michigan wins a tight game against Georgia. Alabama wins, beat Cincinnati handedly. I would imagine Alabama's a 10 point favorite 10 might be strong 7 and a half 8 points I guess it depends It depends how Michigan looks against Georgia But they would be a pretty heavy favorite

But I think Cincinnati I don't think it matters What happens to them I mean if they lose by 60 Yeah that'd be a problem You can't lose by 60 I started listening 3 and out Which I found on the herd

Say thank you dig the podcast Just a little compliment appreciate that, Oliver. Good people here in my DMs. Notre Dame fan here. Been thinking about you were with the Eagles when the coaching change happened with Chip Kelly. I have always wondered how close Brian Kelly was

to being hired before they went with Chip. Well, what I think happened, if I remember correctly, is Howie and Jeffrey Lurie offered the job to Bill O'Brien, who was coaching at Penn State, but it had only been there a year. And Bill O'Brien turned the job down, and then they went to Chip. And Chip originally turned the Eagles down,

and then they just went back after Chip. I think he played Kansas State and the Fiesta Bowl. Honestly, I was scouting the West Coast. In 2012, the year Chip, you know, like that fall, he was with Oregon, and he takes the Eagles job in January. He should have played the national championship. They blew a game at home and overtime to Stanford.

He had an elite team. His team on defense, Kiko Alonzo, DeForse, Buckner, Eric Armstead. They had a ton of dudes. Their offense was elite. Really, their downfall. Mariotta was a redshirt freshman.

It's why Chip was hesitant to leave because he knew he had Mariotta coming up and he thought Marioada was going to be a star. The irony is of recording this, Chip Kelly might be the next head coach at Oregon. Which to me feels a little bit like, you know, we all got that person that we can give a call to, you know, if it's like late at night if you're single and, you know, a date didn't go well and, you know, you need to hook up or something. It feels like Phil Knight's just kind of going back to the well. Like there's a reason you guys broke up.

And you've seen what he's done since you. It hasn't gone that well. Like you can do better than Chip Kelly. You can, Phil. You really can. You're going to go from Mario Cristobal, who LSU was over, University of Miami was all over. Florida would have easily taken to Chip,

a guy that no one else would hire beside you that UCLA doesn't even want to give an extension to. Feels kind of crazy. is some buzz in the interweb that if Chip Kelly goes to Oregon, Dave Miranda, who's a Southern California guy, would go to UCLA, if that's true, if I was UCLA, I would drive Chip Kelly to Eugene, Oregon.

If that happens, UCLA became the luckiest program in the history of programs. A little bit like Sark when he got hired at USC and then Washington immediately hired Chris Peterson. I mean, it was like, oh my God, what an upgrade. I'm a diehard New York Giants fan. What are your thoughts in the organization for improving the offensive side of things.

It's painful to watch, get us in the red zone and force to kick field goals, stupid mistakes, defense always seems to be carrying us. Our receivers are not as productive as Saquan doesn't seem to be as explosive after the injuries. I never like Gettelman,

but what's going to turn us around? It's pretty simple, man. You have no chance without a quarterback, and Daniel Jones, this isn't good enough. Freddie Kitchin, Joe Judge, probably aren't good enough either. So your general manager sucks. Your play callers,

Garrett and Freddie Kitchens are any good, and your quarterback isn't any good. And is Joe Judge a good head coach? I don't know. I mean, it's just, it's hard to tell, but it doesn't look great. Let's be real. Like, it's been average at best. If you're giving Joe Judge the benefit of the doubt, like, you know his team sucked, they play hard, okay. It's like, it's not, we don't judge you on playing hard in the NFL. It's a bottom line business, you win or you lose. And like, it's understandable if you're a 20 point underdog to a team and you lose. But if you lose week in and week out, you just, you just, you just, you just constantly losing.

You just become a loser. Your job is to win. So I would tend to say that they probably just need to blow the thing up. I mean, that sucks. That sounds really shitty. You'd want to avoid that at all costs to start over, but I don't know, man.

Don't have Twitter or Instagram questions regarding the comparisons to DeShan Watson and Gruden. Obviously, no one is on board with either of the actions by the two guys, but I'm curious why the drastic difference of public reaction. With Watson having 20-plus sexual assault allegations with him, is his talent so great that a team will take on

regardless of the outcome of these cases? If a player of lesser talent has this happened, I'd imagine no team would touch him. Thinking of Ray Rice and Kareem Hunt, even though those both guys ended differently. If roles were reversed and Watson said, some nasty emails, I'd assume he would have been suited up at some time this year. And if Gruden had 20 plus allegations, I'd assume he'd get canned for resignation.

Curious if Reed, Belichick, or Tomlin did this, the same heat would come from it. Well, the reality is none of those guys are doing that. So, you know, I think when we play that game, like, what happens if Andy Reed or Belichick? Well, they wouldn't. Here's the thing. I think this one's pretty simple. John Gruden got fired because we had the evidence of the email. Not we, I mean, I didn't, but we saw it.

Ray Rice got booted from the league because we had the video. Kareem Hunt, Andy Reid cut him immediately because that video came out. If we had evidence of Deshawn Watson sexually assaulting the masseuses, he'd be fucked. It'd be over. But it's just he said, she said. So if these cases, like if he's guilty, if the law finds him guilty, And he does like some time or something. He's in, no one's going to trade for him.

But if they go away, just the he said, C said, even if he pays him off, like people will just pretend it didn't happen. Because no one really knows. But if there were videos of him, let's just hypothetically say, touching a girl while she's saying, don't touch me, it would be over. It'd be a rap. It'd be game set and match.

There was evidence with Gruden. To me, it's just, is there evidence? if there's evidence on a player, they're screwed. We've seen it with players hitting people, any video that goes viral of a guy, it's over, it's done. Right? It's just that simple.

There's no evidence, at least tangible evidence to the public. If there was tangible evidence to the public of Deshawn Watson, he wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell to play in the league again. But that's not the case. It's just women suing them.

The whole thing's kind of bizarre. But it's just he said, she said. and really in every individual instance, just the two people know, him and her. Now, there happens to be 22 of them, but, like, it's just, it's just that simple. Now, you could say Gruden got, the whole thing with Gruden is weird, right?

They clearly, like Mark Davis said, they, I think maybe Musburger said this a while back. Like, someone tried to assassinate his career. They did. They went after Dan Snyder and the football team, and they ended up getting Gruden. I mean, it's not, it's pretty clear what happened.

Someone had a vendetta against them and used that because there's no way that that was the only incriminating evidence in 650,000 emails. But if there was incriminating evidence on Deshawn Watson and it was public, we wouldn't be talking about teams trading for them.

It's why when Stephen Ross, when they were trying to make the trade happen with Miami, he told Deshawn Watson his camp, you have to make this go away, so it goes away, pay them off, or whatever and we'll trade for you but until this goes away we can't trade for you so until as it goes away no one's trading for them and you can get on your moral high horse and say stephen ross a bad guy paying them off i don't i don't it doesn't matter to me i just this is simple facts evidence

ray rice video career over right i mean when we have tangible evidence it's over there have been dey's guy get you know a game or two when you see some of these videos you know you see some of these like the Henry Ruggs thing, it's like, a guy's going to go to jail for 20 years, 30 years. Obviously, these aren't apples to apples comparisons, but I really think in this, in 2021, when we see stuff, meaning the public, that there's no going back of stuff that's just over the top, right?

Remember the story, Greg Hardy? Remember when the Cowboy signed him? And he had paid the chick to go away. But there was written evidence in the, I don't even know if I'm using the right, you know, terms. I was going to say affidavit, but that doesn't sound right. But whatever, that he had thrown his girlfriend on the bed with guns, thrown her against the wall, like, that happened.

He admitted to it. Yet the Cowboys still signed him. I remember thinking like, God, this is kind of stupid. Which I don't even think that would happen now. Not saying the Cowboys still might because Jerry doesn't care, but most teams were not going to touch him based on that, you know, evidence that was public information. So I really think it's as simple as public information is a game changer. Appreciate everyone listening.

have a great weekend and enjoy the football, enjoy your family. Enjoy a drink or, you know, a nice meal or just hanging out and in the cold, wherever you are. Adios. The volume. Are you ready for the big day? Not your big day. Her big day.

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