The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - Ben Johnson goes to Chicago, Why did the Raiders miss out, Has Jerry gone rogue
Episode Date: January 21, 2025John offers his instant reaction to the Chicago Bears hiring of Detroit Lions OC, Ben Johnson, as their new head coach and how impressive it was that the Bears were able to land Johnson. Later, John a...nswers your questions during this episode's mailbag segment. 6:11 - Ben Johnson to the Bears 32:01 - Mailbag Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The volume.
What is going on, everybody?
How are we doing?
John Middlecock, three and out podcast.
Hopefully, everyone's having a great day.
I think my game plan when the day started was just to do a mailbag.
And I'm going on with Colin after the Notre Dame Ohio State National Championship game.
So I was just going to do a big mailback today because we got so many questions.
But right before I sat down on my desk to my desk to be a national championship game.
bang that out, Ben Johnson was hired as the Bears coach.
So I said, well, we can't do a football podcast without doing some Ben Johnson to the Bears
content.
So we will talk about that off the top.
I just kind of wrote down some of my thoughts.
Obviously, I mean, there's no way.
It's a great day if you're a Bears fan for what's been a rough time.
But we'll dive into the good, the bad, the ugly.
When it comes to Ben Johnson, the hype, staying in the division.
obviously Ryan Poles looks like he's keeping his job.
Those two working together, two young guys.
The pressure on Caleb, the pressure on the team.
Tom Brady, I guess, couldn't close the deal.
And yeah, so we'll do some of that.
And then we'll do a mailbag at John Middlecoff.
At John Middlecough is the Instagram firing those DMs.
If you are the person that's shot me the DM that said,
I know a guy that knows a guy in the Bears organization,
Ben Johnson will be the coach
yesterday, so that would have been
Sunday. You got some good connections.
Couldn't run with it because I didn't know who the guy.
I'm not a newsbreaker, but I was like, damn.
And it came true. So you never know who's going to have
a scoop in their back pocket.
Other than that,
I think the game plan will just be podcast this week.
I mean, we should see a bunch of guys get hired, hopefully.
So we'll have some storylines.
obviously the two big games this Sunday, Washington going to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Think about their owner in Washington, who owns the Sixers as well.
Eagles are the Phillies team for sure.
That's the number one team.
But the Sixers are a big deal.
And he's kind of turned him into a running joke.
And it's one thing to own another team in the Eagles division when they suck.
Now you're going to potentially block them from going to the Super Bowl.
It's going to be an interesting week for Josh Harris.
If he were to win the game, I think Eagle fans would demand he sells the Sixers,
which is, again, not going well at all.
They are a disaster this year.
And I think he's most well known for the owner that supported, created, and wanted the process.
And obviously, I would say the heavyweight fight.
Many are going to think it's the Super Bowl.
I would give the Eagles a chance to win the Super Bowl.
Jaylon's got to play better.
But Chiefs Bill, that's a great game.
that's a great game big moment for josh allen because josh wins he would join uh join joe burrow and
tom brady as the guys to take down mahomes in uh in championship games so we will uh we'll discuss
that as the week goes on as well so make sure you subscribe to the podcast uh if you listen on
collins feed make sure you subscribe to the youtube channel as well if you uh like our content and
other than that, let's talk some ball. And congratulations if you're a Chicago bear fan.
In the simple fact that the last 12 months, I guess the last 12 months weren't because you got Caleb,
but I would say the post-Kaleb-Eber flu season had to be as shitty as it gets.
I mean, that's just, I've been watching sports for 30-plus years, rooting, watching, gambling,
seeing the ebbs and flows, seen it all.
And that's about as low as you get.
You talk about, especially when you come into a season with hype,
so we'll just dive into that.
I think that's the headline story here,
is that Chicago Bears have hired Ben Johnson.
I started to believe, again, like,
I'm not some insider here,
just reading reports from insiders,
that Tom Brady was giving him
the, you know, a full-on pitch.
And Ben Johnson was more than intrigued.
It was like he was inclined to take the Raider job.
And I told Colin on Sunday night that that's insane.
They have no quarterback.
I just saw a quote from Max Crosby that's like, yeah, I got no guaranteed money left.
We got a lot to talk about.
And it wasn't just like, I want more money here.
I think Max Crosby will inevitably be traded this offseason.
And it's probably the right move.
Just blow that shit out, nuke the Raiders.
but from a job standpoint, they got no quarterback, they have no direction to get a quarterback,
and the reason you would have been taking that job was for Tom Brady who lives in Florida.
So you'd be going into the job every day.
Now, they started interviewing what we think was his buddy, Adam Peters' right-hand man,
who has been in Detroit for 25 years.
So you thought, well, if they hire him, Ben Johnson gets his GM, that's not what he gets here in Chicago.
Like, he has to work with Ryan Poles.
but clearly he just looked at
I would rather take my chances
to resurrect Caleb's
NFL career. At least
we have a quarterback under contract
who was just the number one pick in the draft
and widely considered, fair or not, right or wrong,
the best prospect we've seen in a long time.
Long time would be strong. I mean, Trevor Lawrence
was viewed really highly. Shows you
what being the best prospect
doesn't always pan out. Now, sometime
Andrew Locke, Peyton Manning,
John Elway, Matt Stafford,
But I totally understand.
They got good defensive pieces.
And it's the Chicago Bears.
I mean, it's one of the biggest cities in America.
It's a diehard sports city.
And the number one team in that city is the Bears.
And they have some historic teams.
I mean, the Chicago Bulls had a guy named Michael Jordan.
The Chicago Cubs are just, I mean, one of the more high-profile baseball teams.
I know they've been down recently, but obviously when Theo and they won that World Series,
it was a really big, it's just a great sports town.
and like I understand being intrigued by it.
If you're Ben Johnson,
clearly you got a lot of money,
but you know this division really well.
Like if you just think about like what's his advantage taking this job,
it's like he knows this division like the back of his hand.
Think about it.
He's been calling, you know, offense.
So he's been game planning against the Bears defense,
which now is his defense.
The Lions defense like every day in training camp for three years
and seeing them every day in practice.
Obviously, the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings,
so his comfort level with the personnel in these six games
honestly couldn't be higher.
And not just his comfort level with the personnel,
but his comfort level with the coordinators.
He got to face halfway twice this year.
Obviously, he knows Flores now.
He's seen him a couple years in a row.
And regardless of who, you know,
we assume Aaron Glenn is either going to get the Jets,
the Saints, one of the Jags,
one of these jobs, he is going to know maybe not the next coordinator, unless it's a guy that
they elevate from the staff. But he's like, they're not going to drastically change what they do.
So he's going to be very comfortable there. And anytime you make the transition from a coordinator
to a head coach, most guys, and I, it's a little weird. Honestly, like I don't blame him for doing this
because when you look at the landscape, I didn't think any of these jobs are any good, the Jags, the Raiders,
the Bears, but I do get staying. It's an easy comfort level.
But those are your guys.
Like, you've just been in the trenches with them trying to win a Super Bowl for the last, you know, whatever, 12 plus months, really 18.
And you got so close.
You're the number one seed this year.
And now you just bounce.
I mean, it's part of the gig, right?
There's only so many jobs open.
But oftentimes that guy, like, leaves the conference or definitely leaves the division.
So anytime you get a divisional, you know, carryover like that from an assistant coach,
always adds like an element of intrigue.
And so if I'm a Bears fan,
one, just the simple fact that we got the number one guy.
We got the number one guy on the market.
The Raiders wanted him.
The Jags wanted him.
He didn't even interview with the Jets.
They definitely would take him.
If he said, I want your job, they would hire him tomorrow.
The Saints would obviously take him.
I don't even know what Jerry's doing.
That'll be a conversation for another day.
But you got the number one head coach on the market.
You celebrate.
You celebrate this.
And I think Lions fans had just come to grips with well before the last couple weeks.
Like, this guy was gone.
He was going to take a job.
And if anything, you should be lucky that you got this extra season with them.
And we'll dive into them in a second.
But it's an overall great day for the franchise, which, let's face it, has not had many great days in recent memory.
you know, beside like the trade Ryan Pulse pulled off.
But in terms of coaches, you know, the Iberflue situation, this year was a coaching disaster.
From Iber Flus getting fired to them.
Last year they fired a bunch of coaches during the season.
They've just had a lot of weird shit going on.
Obviously, they elevated Thomas Brown.
He's completely over his head.
The team looked even worse.
It was a sad state of affairs.
And when you have, like the NFL is very lucky right now that they,
they're not beholden to these big markets.
Right?
Like, the Niners suck this year.
Who cares?
Doesn't matter.
The Bears haven't been good in a decade.
The Jets, the Giants, they've sucked a lot recently.
And the league just keeps on trucking along.
Like last year, the Saturday night game was Niners Packers.
And this year, it was the Detroit Lions and the Washington commanders,
two franchises that have not been important to the league over the last 25 years.
And a little less people watch.
than last year. I don't know, two of the most historic franchise in the league,
but you're not beholden to you like the NBA, the Major League Baseball. It's Dodgers, Lakers,
Celtics, Yankees, you need those teams. Or you got no fucking chance. No one will watch the Oklahoma
City Thunder. Hell, the Denver Nuggets who have been really good. People just don't watch it.
That's not the case in the NFL. And like if you can get, like, if Dayball could ever get the
Giants rolling, if whoever gets the Jets job can get it rolling, if Ben Johnson
can roll with the Chicago Bears.
You like to become a legend.
I don't think people quite understand probably outside the DC area
how big a deal it is for Dan Quinn and Jaden Daniels
to resurrect that franchise.
This isn't something random.
This is not like resurrecting the Jags.
It's just not.
So resurrecting that franchise and have them in a game
is a really, really big deal.
So the pressure, like there's no disputing the pressure on Ben Johnson
for as cool as this most,
moment is, starts pretty quickly.
And this is not, like, you take over the Raiders job, there aren't really that many expectations
immediately.
Like, you're going to get a long grace period.
Now, I would imagine he's going to have a long contract.
So I'm not acting like he would get fired if he struggles.
But the expectations, it's why Iber Fluss and everyone got blown out.
Because the expectations are going to be really, really high.
They're going to go, we got a lot of good players.
We've had the number one overall pick in the draft.
We got some cap space.
Time to roll.
You don't need to win 12 games right.
way, but we have a better roster than the commanders, right? And the commanders in year one
with just credible coaches, people that knew what they were doing, a new GM with a lot of
history that knew what he was doing, are in the NFC championship game. We don't even want that.
Can we just compete for a wildcard spot? Can we just be like the last couple weeks of the
season, have a chance to make the playoffs, have a chance to get nine or ten wins? That is a successful
first season. But those are kind of going to be the expectations. There's no like, well, it's
first year he went four or five wins because he's basically being hired and rightfully so
to fix and get this quarterback good and this offense to not look as putrid as it did last
season. The problem is is when his offense was rolling these last couple years in Detroit,
their offensive line was elite. I mean, no team in the league played their six offensive
linemen more than them. So you skip her. So their offensive line to protect a quarterback. Now
granted, Jared Goff is a lot different player than Caleb Williams,
but their offensive line with the Chicago Bears was embarrassingly bad.
And part of it was Caleb holding the ball too long.
And the pressure on him to kind of get that out of them,
part of what they did in Detroit with this offense,
like here's the thing, Caleb, we're bringing my offense.
Like, this offense works, so can you run it?
Now, obviously you can't just be too stubborn as a coach.
what type things Caleb likes, you would be,
I mean, you would not be doing your job if not only you ask him,
but you implement some of that in your offense
because he's a different player than Jared Goffin.
He's just not as accurate.
But there are going to be elements like we like snapping the ball,
getting the ball out of our hands.
That is what we do.
One, because we're going to have to do it with the offensive line.
And two, because that's how I play.
And that's what I want to do.
And obviously running the ball was such a huge part of what
Detroit did. That's something that this year with, starting with Ryan Poles, I mean, they built a
passing team. They built a team that was like, in theory, was trying to play like a dome team.
And Dan Campbell built a dome team that actually was built to play outside. Obviously,
the injuries took its toll on their defense, but in terms of offensively, they could play
like the Ravens. We'll run it 40 times in the game. Even though Todd Monkin in the playoffs never
does that. He's obsessed with passing. But again, another conversation for another day.
The thing that makes me a little nervous, and all reports as of recording this is he's going to hire Dennis Allen as his defensive coordinator.
Excellent defensive coordinator.
The best part about the NFL, not everyone's meant to be a number one.
We've seen Dennis Allen try to be a head coach.
It's not for him.
But the best part about being a great number two is it pays a premium in the NFL.
This is Wall Street on grass.
Dennis Allen will make three or four million dollars being the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears.
and he's an important guy for Ben Johnson, given that he's been a head coach multiple spots
and someone to lean on when you have questions about what to do things.
Because anytime you go from coordinator, I've been saying this forever, go from coordinator to head coach,
it changes obviously financially your life, but it changes the way you do business.
Because every day is not just about sitting in a film room and drawn up plays for St.
Brown, Laporta, and Jemir Gibbs.
Like you might have a player that gets a DUI that only plays on special.
teams. That's now your problem. You might have a coach who's kids sick and needs to leave
on the defensive side of the ball. That's your problem. You might have something happened to the
owner. He wants to meet with you. Out of the blue, that's on you. Everything Dan Campbell dealt with,
now Ben Johnson has to deal with. And while Ryan Poles now has been a general manager for a
couple years, I looked at their ages before I hopped on. Ben Johnson's 38. Ryan Poles is 39.
So these are two really, really young guys. Obviously Ben Johnson's never been a head coach.
before and you would say Ryan Poles, like, has been a little over his head at times being a
general manager. So the pressure on these two guys that are under 40 in a division full of high-level
coaches, high-level players, well-run operations, is going to be a big, big challenge. And back to
what I said about, like, this is a pressure job. This is a job where just a lot of people are talking
about you. A lot of people are working, are just kind of looking at what's going on. And a huge
reason for that is Caleb Williams.
So, like, there's just going to be a lot of eyeballs
and a lot of people, like, I don't necessarily
care about the Chicago Bears. I'm
going to follow them really closely.
You know, this is a
national team the moment they got
Caleb Williams. We're paying attention.
We're judging them. How, we were judging them this
year. Not because of Matt Eberfluce.
No one cares about Matt Eberflus.
He's one of the worst coaches we've ever seen. Good
defensive coordinator, just over his head
as a head coach. But
in terms of the story with Caleb Williams,
like you had to pay attention if you're in the football business.
So I'm just fascinated to watch these two guys who, you know, Ben Johnson gets a clean slate,
but there's like, assuming Ryan Poles keeps his job, does he know what he's doing?
Does he know what he's doing?
Because Ben Johnson came from a place where we hammered home physicality up front,
which is ironic because Ryan Poles is an offensive lineman.
He blocked for Matt Ryan at Boston College.
But yet he built his team like he was a wide receiver or a dean.
B. We build it on the perimeter instead of building it in the middle, right? Which most offensive
linemen, like, why do you think Andy Reid over the years loves signing and drafting defensive
and offensive lineman? Because he was an offensive lineman. That's who he is. Dan Campbell,
where did he line up? The line of scrimmage as a blocking tight end. I mean, that's his baby.
You know, Jim Harbaugh, which is all we make fun of him, that, and I remember reading an article
in Sports Illustrated years ago.
that I think one of his teammates, either at Michigan,
or one of his teammates when he first got drafted to Chicago Bears,
they said you realize early on,
Jim Harbaugh was just a linebacker in a quarterback's body.
And some guys are wired differently,
and I'll be fascinated to see Ben Johnson's influence.
Did he think like Dan Campbell,
or did he just call plays based on the players that Dan Campbell and the GM build?
I don't know.
but I'm not trying to poo-poo any of this.
This is an awesome moment if you're a Bears fan.
Cool moment for the NFL.
Because this is a guy that, I think we've seen a short list of them over the years.
Like Kevin O'Connell was not as famous when he was higher as this.
Sean McVeigh definitely was not.
I mean, we have seen guys.
Some of them have flopped and some of them made it, right?
Shane Stike had a lot of hype because he was the offensive coordinator on a team
that was kicking ass and taking names in the Super Bowl.
And he got the job, and he's clearly, it feels like by year two, a little in over his head.
Josh McDaniels couldn't have been a more hyped, famous offensive coordinator over the years,
got his second opportunity with the Raiders and was an abomination.
We've seen guys like Kyle Shanahan, a ton of hype, same type deal with Ben Johnson have success.
But the one thing Kyle did when he got the Niner job is he got a clean slate,
there wasn't any pressure because the team had sucked.
And he got to bring in his GM.
This is one of those, like, you kind of got to marry, like,
It's an arranged marriage with polls.
You've got the Kevin Warren factor.
And you just got like, let's talk about the elephant in the room here.
Ben Johnson, if Caleb's is not any good, it's not going to be Ben Johnson's fault.
And if Caleb is good, he's going to get a lot of credit.
So before, I was like, Caleb's going to save the bears.
Those days are over.
Caleb is now in a partnership with Ben Johnson.
And if we saw Ben Johnson last year.
or excuse me, well, we obviously saw Ben, but we saw Caleb.
Without coaching was a bad.
I mean, was borderline unplayable a lot of the games.
Like, he was like, you're going to lose if this guy's your quarterback.
So now if he's good, like Ben Johnson's going to get, I mean, at minimum be a 50-50
shareholder in this operation.
It was kind of like Sean McVeigh when he got Jared Gough with the Rams.
We saw Jared Gough as a rookie.
He didn't even look like an NFL player.
Then Sean McVeigh showed up.
They started running the ball and Jared Gough was a good player.
Well, who got a lion's share of the credit?
Sean McVey
that's going to happen here
and if you're Caleb
like if it goes well
you're glad to share the credit because that means
your team's winning and everything's going well
if it doesn't go well
no one's going to be like well Ben Johnson doesn't know what he's
doing as an offensive coordinator
because we've seen him as an offensive coordinator
with Jared Goff who got kicked to the curb
be awesome
so I'm fascinated by
the
you know the dynamic
of the conversation here
because we talk about pressure.
There's pressure on the organization.
There's pressure now on Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles.
There's a ton of pressure on Caleb Williams.
And a huge, huge reason for that is
Jaden Daniels just had the greatest rookie season we've ever seen.
We have never seen a rookie quarterback who's been asked to do this much
carry a team to the NFC championship game.
I want to say they got no shot against the Eagles,
but I think at this point in time you would
you'd be crazy to even utter those words.
It might just be a stayaway as a bet, right?
But, like, I don't know.
How would you not give him a shot?
He's fucking good.
What would Howie Roseman do right now?
Would he trade Jalen Hurst trade up for Jaden Daniels?
What do you think?
What happens if, obviously, you can't during the playoffs,
but I'm just saying, like, if that conversation happened at the combine,
who says no?
Obviously, there's one guy that says no, and it's Adam Peters.
Harry Roseman's like, you want me to say,
send him on a bus or do you want me to drive them or do you want Big Dom to fly them? Like, how do you want me to get them there?
I mean, but that's what we're talking about. And you go, we've seen a lot of this. No, we've never seen this ever in the history of the game.
Seen this. And let's face it, it's never been easier to play football. So, like, you're never a bad quarterback when you make a bad pass.
Like, Jalen Hertz threw a hospital ball yesterday to Devante Smith. And throughout the magic.
majority of my life, DeVante Smith just gets laid out. It's an incompletion. Instead, now it's
15-yard penalty. So all the rules are for the quarterbacks. And I'm not trying to
act like Jalen shouldn't have thrown the ball, but 10 years ago, no one cares that DeVantase is
laying there buckling his chin strap and hops back up and runs to the huddle. Instead,
now seven flags come out. It's like, oh, is he okay? And I get it. The league doesn't
want to get sued. They're making too much money. But let's face it, that's
never how the game's ever been officiated up until
recently. Because you just
put your offensive player in harm's
way. And now that's the big benefit
why playing quarterback, what Tom Brady said,
is dead on the money. It's never been
easier. The rules are on
your side. So it's like, hey, Caleb,
now you got an offensive coordinator.
They drafted Rome. You got D.J.
under contract. You got
Colcombat. Like, you got real players on
offense. I mean, look what Jaden's dealing with. You got Terry
McLaren. Then who?
Like a backfield
by committee, a
McCaffrey brother who played
like three different schools in college.
You got, Brown's
not bad from UNC.
Ertz is 38 years
old. What are we
talking about? And so it's like,
hey, you're the guy that
everyone was blowing. Not this guy.
The Bears didn't even bring this guy in
for an interview.
And Adam Peters got
just barbecued
for bringing in all five of them.
It's like, isn't that his job to scout all these guys?
Ultimately, he picked the right one.
Who cares if he took all five of them to top golf?
You just get to know him.
That's his job.
It's pre-draft process.
So I think if Jaden just keeps playing well, it's like, hey, this is a problem.
Yeah, I'm just fascinated to watch this all play out.
So congrats to the Bears, got the number one guy.
It's crazy.
Like, you see another, I saw a headline.
The Colts have hired Lou Amaruno.
Coordinator hires when a head coach hiring happens,
a head coach is a 10 out of 10.
A coordinator hire feels kind of irrelevant,
even though, like, that's a good hire.
I think Lou Amaruno is a good coach.
And clearly the Colts are desperate for defense.
Congrats to the Bears, man.
That's just a cool football moment
that the story had felt like they had no shot.
They're going to hire.
They're going to end up with Mike McCarthy,
and they end up with Ben Johnson.
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Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what?
We have some big news.
What's the news, name?
Huge news.
We created our own podcast called...
Hey Jonas.
We invented a podcast?
Well, we didn't invent it.
We just contributed to a...
We're the first people to do podcasts.
Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there.
But this one's extra special.
So how did we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys?
I honestly don't remember.
I think it was on a call about what we should call it.
Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it
one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers.
This is how you guys remember it going down.
Yes. I have a very different memory of this.
We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast,
where people could call in and say, Hey, Jonas.
And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas,
and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.
But thanks for remembering that, guys.
Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcast.
Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.
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, S&L'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. Last night, a blown
call changed a game. This morning,
the internet lost its mind. Highlights are
trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where
SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the
plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source,
the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to
hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From
viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down,
give you context and ask the questions
everybody wants answered.
Sports Slice brings you closer to the action
with stories told by the people who live them.
Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12
and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.
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.
Okay, let's do a little thing we like to call the mailbag at John Middlough.
At John Middlecough is the Instagram fire in those DMs.
Get your questions answered here on the show.
and yeah, let's talk
because easiest way to get a hold of me,
my Instagram DMs fire in them,
and we will start with Sam.
How badass is this Eagles Rams game?
I'm with you on Winter Football Games.
They're the absolute best.
Just chilling on my couch,
watching these two teams
to see who's mentally tougher
in addition to physically better.
Can't beat it.
I saw AJ Brown said that he wouldn't wish
it upon his worst enemy to have to play in those conditions.
I've told the story I think before, but it's not really even a story.
You know, when you're a scout or you work for a team, usually on game day,
and I would say the Eagles are probably more buttoned up in terms of like what our dress code was
than some teams.
Always jealous like the Packers, in the Raiders, you kind of wear whatever you want.
But, you know, you wear a suit to the games.
I only had one at the time.
and I remember when it first started getting cold, probably about in November,
and you show up in the suit.
And on the East Coast, and for those of you listening that live there,
you guys have those big overcoats, right?
So you have your coat, and then you have that long kind of like trench coat,
thick that just keeps you warm.
Like, I didn't even know what that was.
We never had those in California.
You wouldn't even need them.
At most, we had like a ski jacket.
You know, if you hunted like a hunting jacket,
but you wouldn't have those, like, nice,
kind of corporate coats, right, to either go to work or take your lady out for a night on the town.
And I remember being on the sideline, getting there like two hours before game,
I couldn't feel any part of my body.
I had to go to the heaters because it was so cold.
And that's the cool part about Philly is like,
and it's the best part about the good teams in the NFL right now.
The Chiefs, the Bills, the Ravens, obviously the Eagles,
the Packers forever.
You just get conditions.
And conditions don't always have to be snow or rain.
It could just be it's seven degrees.
You cannot feel your body.
And then you factor in the snow.
That first scene, when Sequin bust his first run and scores a touchdown,
and as he's kind of, he entered the end zone on the left side,
and then he kind of hung a right and ran down the end zone.
And the snow just started falling.
I'm like, this is about to be badass.
Cool moment for the Eagles.
to win that game in the snow.
Awesome moment I thought too for the Rams to play like that in the conditions.
Just a fantastic viewing experience.
Like I like, and the Super Bowl,
I'm recording this part before the National Championship.
Totally understand putting those things in a controlled environment.
But playoff games, first round, second round, third round,
give me the Condidis all day long.
Question for the back.
With Ben Johnson becoming the new.
head coach of the Bears, do you think he'll be a success like McVeigh or be Adam Gase 2.0?
I'd be stunned if he was Adam Gase 2.0.
I mean, one thing with Adam Gase is he was Peyton's guy, and Peyton was the guy, like, being his reference, calling everybody trying to get him a job.
And obviously, he's smart and had worked for Sabin.
but Adam Gase clearly had some issues in terms of just the interaction aspect,
like struggle with the media, struggle, just felt like he was just on the struggle bus
with certain things when it came to communication.
It does feel like Ben Johnson, if you were to watch his press conference a year or two ago,
probably a little less confident than he was.
I watched him a lot this season.
Felt like he grew into himself.
And listen, he's 38, 39 years old.
Three or four years ago, no one even knew who he was.
So it takes some time.
I would say Sean McVeigh,
it'd be pretty tough.
Sean McVeigh is a 101.
Just his energy, his vibe.
I mean, Sean McVeigh is an outlier.
I would say best case scenario, he's more Kyle.
The thing with Kyle is Kyle had been an offensive coordinator in the league for like 10 years before the Niners hired him.
Had been calling plays for a long, long time and had been multiple places.
So I don't think we're going to see Adam Gase, but could you see Matt Nagy?
It feels like this is not going that well, potentially.
If I was going to bet, is it going to be successful or fail?
I would just bet fail.
My favorite football podcast, if the Eagles lose this weekend,
do you think Howie would swoop into the Ben Johnson sweepstakes?
I'd love to see the Eagles have an offensive mind start steering the ship.
We let Shane Stuyken get away.
love to see this.
This was this morning, which clearly isn't going to happen.
I think the moment they won that Packer game and were just in the second round and he
won another playoff game, Siriani was coming back.
Siriani was coming back.
I will have to see what happens with Kellynne Moore.
There was a report out today that Schottenheimer might get the Cowboys job, which to me
feels a little crazy, but trying to keep track of what Jerry's going to do is like, what a
waste of energy.
So maybe he's trying to do that to mess with Kellyn Moore.
Callen Moore is asking for too much.
But I think in a perfect world, if you're Howie, you just bring back this entire team and both your coordinators are feeling pretty good.
Question for the mailbag.
Big fan, Big Eagles guy from California.
I understand Mahomes and Allen play a different sport than Jalen.
There's no disputing that.
But after this divisional round, they all had pretty much the same stat line.
Yet Jalen gets criticized for not being able to throw, and the other two are praised for winning.
Why do you think the media shifts in the way that these quarterbacks are discussed?
Thank you.
Well, I would say that their history as throwers is just a little bit longer.
I mean, Mahomes could have a game where they win throws for 70 yards.
Like once you rattle off three Super Bowls, you've won a couple of MVPs.
Like, we've seen it.
He doesn't have to prove anything anymore.
Like, he's not in the prove it mode.
He's in the win it mode.
Start stacking up chips.
Josh Allen has.
a pretty long resume of throwing a lot of touchdowns and being a dynamic
thrower of the ball. So on an individual game basis, we're not going to ebb and flow with a
take. You know, Josh Allen, I don't know, ran for multiple touchdowns and played awesome football
in a game where his team, let's face it, probably isn't as talented as the Ravens.
So, like, I'm just judging it differently. When you watch Jalen, I give everyone in that game
a little bit of a pass because of the conditions.
But I think big picture, we have to question, like,
Jalen is not the thrower of these guys.
And I don't mean like when he's scrambling around
and throws the ball down the field.
Like, he can throw the ball.
I just mean as a consistent passer within the pocket.
I think we have to acknowledge it's not really his game.
Luckily, he's on a team that's so fucking stacked
that doesn't matter all the time.
Love an intern Jackson.
The fact that he pestered you on the golf course
and you gave him a shot.
I think he had picked my brain.
I had picked his brain.
We had done some golf videos.
My guy named Luis, who's a camera guy.
I had asked Jackson for some advice, people he knew that are kind of in that world.
Because Jackson's, follow him on Instagram.
Jackson's hustling.
And so he pointed me in a direction.
He was just, he just came up to me.
I was hitting some golf balls.
and I realized the guy was passionate.
You could feel it.
And hell, I was once that guy.
Just a lot of passion.
This is a good question.
Question.
When you lost your hair,
did you go through any period of grief
or such as being anxious about it?
How old were you when you committed to shaving it,
watching your content and hearing you discuss it
in a matter-of-fact way
really helped me get over losing my hair
to join the Bald Brotherhood?
I think for most men that are having some follicle challenges at any point in our life, I started losing my hair in college.
I remember being at Cal Poly, not listening in class, probably reading the newspaper, the Cal Poly newspaper, not like a newspaper.
I don't even know if those exist on campuses anymore.
And just looking down and seeing hair fall out.
And I came from a family of bald men.
So, Anne, I think it comes from your mother's side.
Well, her dad was bald and everyone on her side was basically bald.
My cousins were bald.
I knew I was in trouble.
So, yeah, I mean, I was insecure, anxious.
You could use any way to describe it for years.
You hold on.
And then you just get to a point where it's like, what are we doing?
And you just shave it.
And, you know, I think the thing you're most insecure about, any young person listening to this that's kind of going through that,
which I imagine is a decent,
amount is you're like especially if you're single like can i still get laid like our girl's
gonna want to go out with me like that's probably your biggest insecurity uh and just am i going to
look funny because like when i was in junior high and in high school i had a buzzed head a lot of
the time i felt like but you don't even it's not even crossing your mind like how i look with this
or without that and then you get a little older you grow your hair out a little bit and it just
becomes then you get you know in the professional world and it's yeah you put some gel in there
and all of a sudden it just starts going away.
So you just, you don't really have a choice.
Sometimes I mess with Maria.
I act like I'm going to go to Turkey and get the plugs.
I mean, it feels like all the rage right now.
Everyone flying over there getting plugs for like $4,000 or $5,000.
And really, if you do it with them, I think they take care of you.
I've heard it's very intriguing.
But then I think, well, then I'll just be another guy with hair.
So bald's in right now, especially in the podcast world, the number one podcaster,
is a bald guy.
Obviously, the rock.
So I'm just, I'm just going to ride the bald wave.
I shaved it with like a buzz, basically like a zero, probably for a couple years before I took,
I took like the mock three or five razor to it, which is now I do.
Just shave it today, actually.
Question for the bag.
26-year-old dairy farmer from Wisconsin.
Do you think there are a lot of NFL front offices that rather than
playing for championships or trying to play it safe and just be competitive to keep their jobs?
Seems like big swings can win you a Super Bowl or get you fired if they don't work out.
I think there are a lot of guys who hesitate to put their nuts on the table and take a big swing
because they are worried about losing their job, yes.
And they would rather just be a competitive 8-9-10-ish win team, compete for a wild card
they never have the upside of being a dominant, dominant team.
Because if it backfires, it could be a disaster.
And that's, I would say, making big trades.
I mean, look, when McVeigh got to the Rams,
they started taking big-ass swings.
They started swinging for the fences.
And it took a while for it to work, but it eventually did.
Andy Reid's been taking big swings since he got the Eagles job.
I mean, you go look back to Terrell Owens,
and he's never been afraid of that.
and are they all going to work out? Of course not.
But you cannot be afraid to mix it up.
And that goes both ways.
Trade for a player or trade a player away.
And I think the younger and younger the GMs get,
I do think the more inclined they are,
one, the money's pretty big right now.
So if I become a GM and I sign a four-year contract at $4 million a year,
you know, after taxes or whatever,
I got three or four million dollars for sure in the bank.
And obviously, I've been an assistant GM, I'm a G.
I'm making a lot of money.
So like, even if I do get fired, I'm going to be okay.
And my family's going to be okay.
My kids can still go to private school.
We had a nice house.
We're going to be okay.
But if I make a swing and this works, I'm going to get, it took balls.
It's probably easier for Andy than it was for Veach.
But I think Veech has been around Andy so long.
When they traded Tyrie Kill, it's like, damn, man.
This is, that's pretty balsy.
And it's the best thing that they've done, I would say, minus Patrick Mahomes of the run.
And Feats was, you know, making seven figures at the time.
But now he's going to make a lot of money.
Contract extensions, huge raises because of what happened these last two years into now.
So, I mean, look at Howie.
I mean, people, whenever the Eagles go through tough times, you know, the finger gets pointed to him, rightfully so.
But look at how good he is.
Like, anyone could have had Sequin Barkley for like 30.
It's like, okay, he wanted to go to the Eagles.
True.
But they were offering him $27 million guarantee.
Someone could offer him $38, $40.
Anyone in the top eight could have drafted Jalen Carter.
Zach Bonn, all these defensive coordinators watched him as a free agent.
they could have been like, you know what, we should move in positions.
Got to have balls.
I think once you're making a lot of money, I always do this in gambling.
You know, like, if I have a $100 bet and it's parlayed
and it's going to pay me like $5 grand, I always let it ride for the most part.
Because I'm like, well, the high of watching this event is worth it for me on losing $100.
I'm basically paying $100 for the entertainment.
and every once in a while they hit,
it's an incredible feeling.
But if I bet 10 grand and I have the chance,
and it's getting weird,
and I have the chance to cash out midgame
just to get my money back,
sometimes I do that.
Because I don't want to lose,
not like I bet 10 grand on games.
Let's say biggest bets I usually make are like up to 5 grand.
I bet $4,000 on Penn State.
That sucked.
But I should have cashed out there at one point in time when they were up.
But I was like,
I thought they were going to,
went. And then it backfired and I was furious for like 48 hours. And that's lost a decent
amount of money. I mean, I'm not just throwing around four grand on Penn State. I'm still pissed
at him. Luckily, I battled back this weekend and got about half of that back. But I think
part of it is when you take a risk like what is on the line. And forever like losing this job
in the 90s, you know, GMs weren't multi-millionaires. So I was like, I want to keep this job for a
long time. But you become a multi-millionaire. It kind of changes. You got something to fall back on.
So you might as well, I don't want to say go for broke because you don't want to make bad decisions.
You don't want to be an idiot. But you also like, what's the whole point of this? Try to win.
Like that's why everyone gets into this business to try to win games or Super Bowls. Right. Like Borgazi
leaves the chiefs to go to the Titans. Probably a lot easier for him to make that move. It's like,
well, he's got a bunch of rings.
the guy's been to a lot of Super Bowls won three rings.
So even if he's got to pack up his office and leave before this season ends,
it's easier to do it when you've won three Super Bowls in the last five years.
If you hadn't won one, you're like, well, I'm making a lot of money being Veech's number two.
Is this the right job?
You're like, well, I've already won three Super Bowls.
We've been to another one.
Like, is a fourth one really going to change my life?
I'm making, let's just pick a number, $900,000 is the number two.
the Titans are offering me a five-year contract at three and a half, four million dollars a year.
That's going to change my life.
It's not like I got to go to some shitty city.
I get to go to Nashville as a Super Bowl champ and run the organization.
So I think everything is based on timing.
And if you're him, like, you've already won, you've made a lot of money now.
You might as well, you don't have to do it right away, but over the course of like 24 months,
you shouldn't have an idea.
If something pops up that I think can be a game changer, I'm going to think long.
and hard about pulling the trigger.
Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what?
We have some big news.
What's the news, name?
Huge news.
We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.
We invented a podcast?
Well, we didn't invent it.
We just contributed to it.
We're the first people to do podcasts.
Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there.
But this one's extra special.
So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys?
I honestly don't remember.
I think it was on a call about what we should call it.
And, well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers.
This is how you guys remember it going down?
Yes.
I have a very different memory of this.
We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, for people could call in and say, hey, Jonas.
And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.
But thanks for remembering that, guys.
Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your
podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.
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 Smygel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are
trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where
Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the
plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source,
the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.
The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.
From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down,
give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered.
Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.
Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.
Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only
legal but encouraged.
It's the enhanced games.
Some call it grotesque.
Others say it's unleashing human potential.
Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the
athletes for a full year.
Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.
I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.
Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your
podcasts.
Very sad Ravens fan.
I agree with your take with comments.
and that Lamar played well.
I think my take was he played better than he has in the past.
In the past, he was atrocious.
He was not, he was good in the second half.
I mean, he was good on that final drive.
He looked much more like himself at points yesterday than he has in previous games.
But the turnovers were killer.
You said it with another coaching loss.
So my question is, do the Ravens move on from Harbaugh
and try to get a fresh voice in the locker room?
I'm thinking about how the Eagles won after getting rid of Andy and if it would help.
If not, what can the Ravens do to get over the hump?
Thanks for the quality content.
Yeah, I really thought yesterday was,
they had a little success on that first drive throwing,
and I actually think that ended up being their demise
because they stuck with the past so much throughout the game,
where it's like, guys, hand the ball to.
to 22. Have Lamar keep it. Do the game plan that you just did against the Steelers.
Try to run it 50 times for 400 yards. And win the game, even if the score is not as high,
win the game 24 to 20. But it was like, no, we got a pass. We got a pass. And what happened?
He made a killer mistake on throwing the pick. Now, they ended up not getting points out of that
pick, if memory serves me correct. But still, that ruined the possession. And obviously the
Fumble, I watched Lamar after the game, who was obviously, I don't want to say, I would say
Dan Campbell was distraught.
I would describe Lamar as being pissed off, and rightfully so.
I mean, he knows what was on the line, and he was really mad at himself.
And he took accountability and ownership on the interception.
He called it awful, didn't look off the safety and throw it right to him.
And he said on the fumble, he's like it was an RPO, so I couldn't throw it because our
lineman were downfield, and I just tried to make a play, and the ball slipped out of my hands.
But that play, slipping out of his hands, Vaughn Miller picks it up, that did lead to a touchdown.
And it went to 14 to 7, which was a deciding moment in the game.
So when I see these people arguing, defending Lamar, whatever, he was better than he has been in the past.
But in that moment, this is where the coaching thing, why wouldn't you have just ran it nonstop?
How about the two two-two-point conversions?
I saw John Gruden on a clip talking about like, listen, in the freezing cold, in that moment, the guy's exhausted, obviously he should catch the ball.
He's paid $14, $15 million when he's healthy.
Mark Andrews is, I don't know, I mean, a top four or five tight end in the NFL definitely has been throughout points of time of his career.
He's a really good player.
He's a winning player.
But like, there's a margin for error there.
We have seen that player, not specifically that player,
but in that situation, falling back, drop the ball.
It's cold, it's harder to grip.
How would they not run it twice with Derek Henry?
Who looks like he's in the prime of his career.
In this game, he was awesome.
In this game, it was like, keep handing him the ball.
He's bigger than their defenders.
And he looked fast.
To me, the first two-pointer where Milano tipped the ball,
and they didn't, that was crazy.
They literally scored by just rushing it right down the field,
and then they get to the two-point, they call pass.
It's like, well, the guy was open.
Yeah, he didn't complete it because the ball was tipped.
Hand the fucking ball off.
I don't think John Harbaugh is going to get fired.
I think John Harbaugh's good.
But I think offensively,
what I don't understand about John Harbaugh,
if that was Jim, they would have ran the ball 40 times.
And they would have won an ugly game.
I don't know what understand like what's going on.
Just run the ball.
You just did it against Pittsburgh.
You're bitter rival.
And you just bludging them to death.
Why wouldn't you do that against the bills?
I don't get it.
And I do think it gets back to on that first drive
when they score a touchdown with Lamar making some passes.
They're like, oh, he's going to be fine today.
It's not about that.
Just win the game.
That's why the bills played like that.
We're not going to be.
turn the ball over. We're going to get into an ugly game. Once we got the lead, play smart,
no picks, no fumbles, hold on to the rock. I mean, why did the Rams lose?
Awful turnovers down the stretch. If you were a Titans fan, what would you say they should do
with the first overall pick in order to maximize their chance of getting back in the playoffs
in the next few years? You know, their new GM was with the Chiefs.
during the Patrick Mahomes draft time, right?
He was there when they drafted Patrick.
So he knows about the conviction in that office when it came to that player.
Brian Callahan was in Cincinnati when they drafted Joe Burrell, number one overall.
So both these guys have seen quarterbacks change the lives of everyone around them.
Brian Callahan is the head coach of the Tennessee Titans because of Joe Burrell.
Mike Morgonzi is the general manager of the Tennessee.
to see Titans because of Patrick Mahomes.
Obviously, there are other variables there,
but they'd be the first to tell you
that Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes
are the most important players
in the history of their career
as coaches.
So, as the number one pick,
if you don't have 100%
conviction to take Cam Ward,
I would not do it.
I would not do.
If there are questions, I'm not risking it.
Because for as awesome as Burrow and Mahomes
and some of the...
We have seen other guys destroy people's career and literally derail it.
So I would have no problem.
I don't care what the media says.
I would just sell my owner on this.
We don't like this guy enough.
If we don't.
And if you do, draft him.
But to me, that is the number one conversation.
Do we take this guy number one overall?
I don't think you could take Shadoor Sanders number one overall.
And I don't think he would go one overall.
I think he's, I think when the death is.
settles, he'll end up going somewhere between like
3 to 10.
I think a lot of people struggle with
guys like him who physically
like he's not Jane Lamar
athlete by any means. Hell, he's not even Bo Nix
as an athlete. And his arm is like
okay. It's like Jared Gough. And again,
I'm a Shador fan. He's a good player.
But when you take guys like that number one
overall, it's pretty risky. I'm
much more inclined to take the traits guy
number one overall. But again, like I got
like the guy. I had a scout text me the other day.
I couldn't take Cam Ward in the top
15. So all these players, they're going to be people with second round grades on these guys.
There were people last year with Pennix and Bo Nicks that thought they were second rounders.
So, like, you got to be cool if you also pass on them that, like, Cam Ward is going to go to another team, and he could be awesome.
So it's like, do you have enough conviction to do that and live with it?
Hell, the 49ers and the Bears passed on Patrick Mahomes. How'd that work out?
Not good.
So I would spend the majority of my energy over these next month of evaluating Cam Ward.
I bet Borgesi has watched him, but nowhere near like they were never going to draft him in Kansas City.
So it's like, yeah, I've seen him on some cross tapes.
Maybe I wrote him up.
But did I really study him?
I'm talking about really studying.
It's like Adam Peters last year when he went to Washington.
I think he said during his introduction press conference, like, yeah, I just,
I need to really watch these quarterbacks
because he hadn't watched him in San Francisco
to the level in which you have to watch them
and then at the end of the day he made a decision
and that's the hard part about this year
it's like Jaden Daniels, Drake May, Caleb Williams
they all would go higher in these guys
with Washington going for the NFC title
after revamping their entire franchise top down
we now see how important
the big fork of football are
the owner the GM the head coach
and the quarterback
are all four pillars of football.
And if you could pick your current fantasy big four,
who would it be?
Interested?
Well, there's just not a better one right now than the Chiefs.
I don't even think that's arguable.
You know, for 20 years, it was Robert Kraft,
it was Bill Belichick, coach and GM, and Tom Brady.
And right now, I think it's clearly Clark Hunt,
who I don't even know what he's necessarily doing,
but if the owner's just solid,
he's not, like, he's not really influencing football.
He can ruin football, but he can just be solid and stay out of the way.
And that's what I think Clark does a lot of the time.
You know, it's Andy Mahomes of Beach.
Is it even close?
I think the bill's really been underrated.
I really do with McDermott, Josh, and Brandon Bean.
Like, they've done a really, really good job.
they really have.
I mean, they have been
this is their, what,
third AFC championship or second?
In 2020,
they lost to the Chiefs
in the AFC championship game.
In 2021,
they lost the
13 second game
in the AFC
divisional round.
Last year, obviously,
they lost in the divisional round.
So this is the second time.
They have played the Chiefs
four times
in the playoffs since 2020.
I said it to Colin,
I'll say it again.
Like, this is the new rivalry.
Bill's Chiefs.
Now, it's been one-sided.
Can the Bills finally win?
If you believe that, you can get the Bills as an underdog.
I've been telling my buddies to start listening to you.
I like you, Steve.
Question.
Why did you ever get into scouting in the NFL?
Seems like a well-paying profession,
and would you ever go back to it?
Just surprised because you seem really knowledgeable regarding the NFL players.
It's actually not a great-paying job.
It is,
once you start working your way up, you know, my buddies now that are in their mid-30s or early
40s are making good livings. But when you first get into scouting, you are not making much money.
You know, when I first got hired with the Eagles, I made $25,000.
My second year pro scouting, I made 45.
My third year, I made 50.
And, you know, I was 27, 28, 29.
my friends, just in private sector and sales, working in tech,
I mean, we're making hundreds of thousands of dollars at the same age.
I mean, it wasn't even, I was by far the poorest guy I knew of all the people I went to college with.
It wasn't even close.
So you make a lot of money once you get to a certain level, like once you become the college scouting director,
once you become the number two, like an assistant GM, you make $7,800,000.
But I think the average scout, like just a college scout,
I bet the average is low six figures,
which again is not a bad living,
but this is not a 9 to 5 job.
So if I'm paying you $110,000 and you're 37 years old
and you have a wife and a kid,
it's not like you're home a lot.
You're working 70, 80, 90 hour weeks.
You're going to games on the weekend all the time.
Like, it is a fucking grind.
Even if you're making, let's say, you're a longer tenured guy and you're making $150, $200,000.
Like, relative to the time, like, you are spending a lot of time.
And I mean, a ton of time, six, seven months of the year.
I mean, you're having 90, 100 hour weeks also gone.
You know, part of that is you're driving or flying or traveling.
Like, it's, I bet most professions, given, like,
working for these billion-dollar corporations, given the time,
if you did the same thing at Goldman Sachs or did the same thing at Tesla or whatever,
you would be making Forex what you make working in football,
up until you get to a certain level.
And even then, like, once you become the college director,
okay, now you're making $400,500,000.
You are still working insane hours.
That's the thing, like coaches.
It's like, okay, yeah, you work crazy hours.
The quarterback coach is making $950 grand.
The offensive coordinator is making $2.5.3 million.
You know, it's the defensive coordinator, like Vic Fangio,
goes, okay, works for 80 hours a week. He's making $5 million.
Siriani, people question what he's doing.
He's probably making $7.5.8.
Kevin O'Connell's mad because he's making $7.5.
He wants to make 14.
You make a lot of money in coaching.
Coaches make dramatically more than scouts.
And I would say scouts don't.
work as much hour-wise during the season because coaches hours are insane.
But like, if you're out of the playoffs right now, you're on vacation.
Like, you get several weeks off.
Scouts work January, work February, work March, work April.
Okay.
They work, so they work basically double the amount in terms of months.
Just stand it up for my people.
It's a hard job.
It really is.
And then the other thing is, like, if you're a good coach, right, if you're a quarterback
coach and you're making $750,000, and you're 32 years old, and your quarterback starts
balling, everyone starts interviewing you to become an offensive coordinator.
But if you're like the SEC scout for your team, like you do the South, and you're awesome,
like you're like, nine out of ten, like you're a stud, like you know what you're doing.
Who beside people on your team know?
No one outside, like on other teams know.
So unless your agent's kind of gassing you up
Or you know some people in the media
No one knows how good you are
It's a weird profession
But no, I'm not going back
Like doing this
This was my calling
And I just got into it randomly
Because I got
You know, I played high school football
I just loved it
I mean I was terrible
But I just being with your friends
The sport
The practices
It was just
There was something special about it
And I loved football well before I ever started playing it as a young kid.
And then you go to college and you realize you've been playing sports your whole life
and you kind of have this void.
And I just kind of got back involved with the athletic department at Cal Poly.
And I kind of got involved with the football program and just kind of, I would say,
organically took off from there.
Why are there only three teams running the tush push?
The play is almost unstoppable.
And now the Ravens have shown it can be run with a tight end under center to eliminate the injury risk to the quarterback.
Well, okay, let's take the Chiefs.
Because I guess you're saying that the Washington commanders do it with Marietta.
The Eagles do it obviously with Jalen.
The Ravens do it with Mark Andrews.
The Bills, I would say, do variations of it with Josh.
I think the Chiefs, Mahomes, has gotten injured on the quarterback.
back sneak before and I'm sorry like I'd I'd rather punt than have Mahomes get hurt.
Who would do that for them if you remove Mahomes?
It's not really Kelsey's thing.
You know, I mean, Kelsey's, Mark Andrews is just different body type, especially at this point in time.
Could you have like Kareem Hunt do it?
He's never done anything like I just don't know who on the chiefs would do it.
Could you just have, could Chris Jones take the snap?
current graduate student
from intern Jackson's
alma mater the University of Montana
Go Gris
I'm a lifelong cowboy fan
and as my dad grew up
and filled my head with the stories of the good old days
from the 90s my whole life
they've been mediocre
my question for the pot is this
realistically what are the incentives
that Jerry and the Cowboys ownership
has to get back into Super Bowl contention
he has brilliantly positioned them
as being this relevant in the
media world and always with the increased TV money, he is just printing cash.
No matter who our next coach is, I seriously doubt Jerry's desire to bring us back in the
Super Bowl contention.
P.S. Tips for navigating waste management during the weekend.
Coming down with some buddies and we'll be on the course Saturday.
Probably going to skip the 16th hole as we don't want to wake up at 4 a.m., but any
tips, what holes to camp out at or the nightlife after the sun goes down?
something we can do best.
I used to would have said the front nine,
but I would say one thing over the last couple years,
I feel like even if I'm just not even there
and turn on the television in the morning,
the front nine is packed.
But I would say nine, eight, seven, six.
If you're able to get some passes into some cool situations,
I mean, it's hard to beat 17 and 18.
That's, it's already up right now.
It's like one gigantic bar.
But if you don't, you just have general admission.
I think the front nine, go like whole nine backwards.
I think it's tough to be.
12, probably underrated, par three.
And you can see them coming in on 11 hitting into that green as well.
It's cool.
Hopefully the weather, it's not as cold this year.
I would say, I think Jerry, like, Jerry definitely wants to win a Super Bowl.
I think every human being would agree that.
If he said, hey, Jerry, do you want to win a Super Bowl?
When he says yes, he's not lying.
So I take Jerry at face value of he wants to win a Super Bowl.
But he wants to do it his way.
Like, look at who there.
Leslie Frazier?
Brian Schottenheimer?
What?
Is this real life?
Robert Sala?
What are we doing here?
That's Jerry.
He's going to do it his way.
And it doesn't work.
at the highest level.
They've had successful seasons.
Like you said, they're a well-run business.
They're a well-run entertainment entity.
But when it comes to,
will you do absolutely anything he can to win a Super Bowl?
No, he won't.
And I think if you're a cowboy fan,
you almost just got to write it out.
You just got to write out this Jerry Dak era,
which I think probably already peaked.
I mean, do they have 12 games?
games in them this upcoming season, I would say probably not.
I think the big question mark this offseason is would they trade Micah Parsons?
And would that be the right move to trade Micah Parsons for a couple first round picks?
Like, would you trade them to the Detroit Lions for their two ones?
Who knows?
Maybe not, would you trade them to an AFC team?
Would you trade them to, I don't know, you pick a team that would be interested?
I think you'd have to think long and hard about it.
I actually think he makes some sense for like the Washington commanders,
but I don't think if you're Jerry, you'd trade him there.
He makes a lot of sense for the commanders, actually,
but I just don't think you can do that.
So I think you're kind of stuck in this mold of kind of is what it is.
And there's a circus element to your team that years like this feel bigger than the actual team,
which kind of sucks.
but that's that's kind of Jerry's M.O.
It's like he's, it's almost like he's Martin Scorsese or Stephen Spielberg.
Right.
Like he likes directing the show more than he cares about like at the end of the day what happens to the movie.
He likes being in there pulling some strings, making sure the picture looks like he wants to look like the picture.
Whether that's going to be a good movie or a bad movie.
He just wants it to be an entertaining movie.
and he will never give up that director's chair.
He's never given up the GM spot.
He's never going to be an absentee owner at this point in time.
I remember when they first run Hard Knocks.
I think the Ravens were the first ever team on Hard Knocks
and maybe the Cowboys were the second.
And Jerry gave a speech at the beginning of training camp
that was essentially like,
I could be anywhere in the world right now,
but I choose to be here with you.
I think that sums up Jerry very well.
He likes telling you, like, I don't need to do this.
It's like, yeah, Jerry, but you are doing it.
Yes, you could be in Milan.
You could be in Australia.
You could be fucking wherever the hell you want to be.
But you're always going to be by the Cowboys.
Because that is at this point in time,
and up until you die, the identity of Jerry Jones.
And not just like, I'm the owner of the Cowboys,
I control the Cowboys.
When we make a signing, when we make a trade,
when we make a coach hire,
is what I want to do.
What happened to the reports early on when they fired McCarthy?
Jerry's kind of going solo.
He's just calling people.
Can you just see Jerry in his office with like Stephen going,
Dad, let's just, can we just do something normal here?
But anyone who's been around,
I've never been around a billionaire, 80-year-old,
but I've been around some successful older people,
they usually get more stubborn.
They don't usually lighten up and give in.
It usually gets worse.
If they're that hands-on.
And it's, I think we have some examples in recent NFL history.
It could get a lot uglier.
Like that potential for that to happen is 100% on the table.
Hey guys, it's us.
The Jonas Brothers.
I'm Joe.
I'm Kevin.
And I'm Nick.
And guess what?
We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas.
We invented a podcast?
Well, we didn't invent it.
We just contributed to it.
We have first people to do podcasts.
We get to ask other people questions.
because we're sick and tired of being asked questions.
Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it,
but, you know, tired and sick.
Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcast.
Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.
Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy,
not quite.
Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends.
Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman
help 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.
Your husband is not who you think he is.
Your body is not what you thought it was.
Your identity is formed by a secret history.
I'm Danny Shapiro.
And these are just a few of the stunning stories
I'll be exploring on the 14th season
of Family Secrets.
He kind of shoved me out of the way
and said, move.
And he went out the front door
and he jumped in a car
and drove off.
And that was the last time I saw him.
Listen to season 14
of Family Secrets
on the IHeart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Turn someday into right now
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