The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - Drake Maye & Patriots CRUSHED Jaxson Dart & Giants on MNF
Episode Date: December 2, 2025Former NFL scout John Middlekauff is reacting LIVE immediately following the Week 13 Monday Night Football matchup between Jaxson Dart and the New York Giants vs. Drake Maye and the New England Patrio...ts. John kicks off by reacting to Drake Maye's performance in a blowout win vs. the Giants on MNF. John then explains why he believes Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin would be a perfect fit for the Giants in 2026. John then dives into the Lane Kiffin saga as he was announced officially as the head coach of LSU. John then reacts to Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator getting his house egged, and how it is a reflection of how Eagles fans feel about the offense. John wraps up by providing updates on injuries to Indianapolis Colts cornerback Sauce Gardner, Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert, and Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy. 03:23 - Giants-Patriots 13:41 - Giants are perfect for Mike Tomlin 24:57 - Lane Kiffin 33:50 - Eagles OC house egged 36:38 - Colts CB Sauce Gardner 37:40 - Chargers QB Justin Herbert 38:45 - Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. All lines provided by Hard Rock Bet Use promo code “3ANDOUT20” on https://nicokick.com/zone for 20% off at checkout! Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow - for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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I do think we need to start with the New England Patriots.
And I would say two teams that I was hesitant to really get behind that at this point in time
I just have to embrace.
It's just like real contenders
are the Bears in the NFC
and clearly the New England Patriots.
Now, I do think the Bears and the Patriots are a little different.
And we'll talk about Ben Johnson a little bit later.
He had a comment today where he's like,
we're winning despite our passing game.
And I do think it gets hard in some big playoff games.
The NFC's definitely a little deeper,
one through seven.
Your passing game has to be on a little bit.
bit to make a run in the playoffs. But you look at New England like they can win the
AFC. And if you win the AFC, you certainly can win the Super Bowl. I think we have to embrace
that the New England Patriots can win the Super Bowl. And I'm not trying to act. They just
beat a two and ten Giants team who are in complete shambles. Their star, you know, number three
overall draft pick, pass rusher to get benched every week.
week, which we'll dive into in a second, but the Patriots have a couple things going for them.
One, like, their quarterback is really talented, and he's really come into his own this season.
What they have taken, you know, everyone was really high on him last year.
I was hesitant to kind of get behind that, not that he couldn't be a good player, but to put
much substance behind what we were watching.
They were getting killed every game.
Their team was so shitty.
It was almost like watching a draft pick on an awful team.
right in college.
And it happens sometimes.
Mahomes played on bad teams.
Josh Allen, who I didn't even think was a good college player.
If you go way back like Cutler at Vanderbilt,
you get some of these guys that don't win a lot,
you just kind of look at their physical attributes,
and that's kind of how you do,
how to do with Drake May.
This year you watch him, you go,
he throws like the most beautiful,
catchable deep ball in the league,
hits everyone in their hands.
He's obviously a fantastic athlete.
He's in complete control.
his ability to layer throws, his touch passes on screens.
But to me, their most valuable asset is one, they're led by a guy who has won in the playoffs.
Like Mike Vrable has won road playoff games.
Clearly, he's one of the top leaders of men in the league.
He transformed this team.
I understand they've had an easy schedule, but overnight, even if you have an easy schedule,
this team had been a complete laughing stock in the NFL.
and boom, they're going to win 13 or 14 games.
Now, their season, especially for the one seed,
is going to be defined these next couple weeks.
I'm pretty sure they have a buy,
and then they play the Bills,
and then they play at Baltimore.
And obviously, you win those two games.
I think they have a very, very good chance
to have the number one seed.
If they beat the Bills,
they're clearly going to win the division,
and then the Ravens game would probably determine
whether they're the one or the two seed,
which is a big deal in 2025.
Right? Most of my life, it's like, long as you got one of the top two seats, you're on the by week.
Well, that dramatically changed once the NFL did the Monday night wildcard game.
They wanted the extra wildcard game. They added an extra team in the playoffs.
And they want more inventory for us to watch on that first weekend of the playoffs, which I'm not going to argue with.
But it does, you know, hurt a team that goes 13 and 4 and is the two seed.
Like, that kind of sucks.
but this team, whether they're the two-seed or the one-seed, like,
I can't envision them winning multiple playoff games.
And the other thing they really have going for them,
I just thought of this right before we hit record.
I don't know what the number is,
but my guess would be over under 40-ish that Josh McDaniel,
playoff games, Josh McDaniels has called as an offensive coordinator.
So they have a head coach with experience, obviously, as a player.
I mean, they were showing a night.
He caught multiple.
ball's touchdowns in the Super Bowl as a player. He was a linebacker. I mean, I was thinking about this.
His ability to relate to players, and I've heard like Taylor Luwan talk about this on Bustin,
his ability in front of a room is like he can look at every guy and go, I can relate to you.
You're on the practice squad, I've been there. You're a backup playing on special teams,
I've been there. You're a guy on a big contract, I've been there. You're the team captain,
I've been there. You're an older player that's fighting for a roster spot that might be
a cap casualty or traded, I've been there.
There's literally not a guy in the room that Mike Vrable can't relate to.
And obviously, as a coach, he's pretty elite.
And Josh McDaniels, there is no disputing.
Like, sometimes you just realize you're not a one.
And there's nothing wrong with that in the NFL.
You make $5, $6 million being the number two call and plays.
That's Fing Fancho.
It's a pretty good life.
So their power of having Vrabel, having Josh is their number two,
clearly their home field advantage.
Like, those fans are used to winning a lot of playoff games.
It's going to be a very, very tough place to win.
They're going to have to rely on the run game.
Clearly, you saw it at a night, and I get at their playing a shitty team,
they were crushing people.
The physical mentality that Mike Vrable has given to that team is really, really impressive.
I mean, that's a team that, like, listen,
if you just remove the quarterback and go guy for guy, New England or the Denver Broncos,
I like the Denver Broncos.
But how can you watch the two quarterbacks play and go,
well, I like Drake May a lot more than I like Bo Nix?
So it wouldn't shock me at all.
That's the AFC championship game.
We used to see that game a lot when it was, you know,
the Peyton Manning, Tom Brady,
or even before Mike Shanahan back in Tom Brady's younger days.
But the Patriots are for real.
And I think the scary part is for the AFC is like,
this is a team on the come.
This is a team that in next year,
the following couple years is going to be way better.
This was year one that, you know,
you look at the Washington this year,
who took a step back.
That felt a little bit like obviously this offseason.
They got old.
They extended a lot of older players.
Like, I watched the Patriots.
Like, their core guys are young.
Like, the commanders are pretty reliant,
even last year on Zach Hertz.
He's a pretty important player.
Bobby Wagner.
Like, I'm watching the Patriots.
Like, Trayvion Henderson,
Kyle Williams,
Drake May,
even Christian Gonzalez, who's the quote unquote veteran on the team.
How old is Christian Gonzalez?
27, 28 years old? Is he even that old?
So, I mean, the core group of their guys are young.
Even Milton Williams, who's injured, but what was he?
Four years on the Eagles?
It's not like he's a 32-year-old veteran player.
So they're going to have another draft class.
Like, this is a team that's not going anywhere.
But sometimes, you know, you're ready a little faster than you realized.
And all of a sudden, and I'm not this.
is not an apples to apples comparison because the chiefs had been a consistent playoff team when
Patrick came in. Chris Jones is already on the team. Travis and Tyrick Hill were already on the team.
But once Patrick came on the team, I think people were hoping for good things, but they were
ready made and ready to go. And I think once they were able to turn Drake May and do a really good
player in this offense with the coaching, and obviously he deserves a lot of credit, this team is
way more real real quick,
then even the most diehard
Patriot fan could have, you know,
imagine. If I would have told every Patriot
fan at the beginning of the year,
hey, you'll win 11 games
and you'll be the sixth seed. There's
not a soul that wouldn't have signed up for that.
But if I would have told you on December 1st
that you would be the number one seed,
have a guy that's, you know,
him and Ben Johnson are going to be co-coaches
of the year, have a quarterback
that's in the MVP discussion,
and just have young offense
of players that are explosive.
Stefan Diggs immediately mixes in.
And just like they have a lot of cohesion.
That's the one thing Washington had last year.
Like this isn't tennis.
This isn't golf.
It's a team game.
You know, meanwhile, the antithesis of that is the giants who you're like,
what is going on here?
It's like they're just kind of, it doesn't all flow together.
Sometimes it does.
But typically bad teams kind of feel like more individuals than,
the group as a whole.
And the Patriots, it's a little bit of a throwback.
Again, I'm not saying they're going to win the Super Bowl,
and I'm not saying they're as good as these teams in the early 2000s.
But, like, there was a time when people didn't know who Mike Vrable, Teddy Bruske,
and some of these guys were.
And then they started winning big, and you're like, God.
And if, you know, even if you're a younger Patriot fan,
I'm sure you've heard these stories.
But, like, the thing that define those teams, especially the first Super Bowl team,
was like when they played the Rams in that Super Bowl,
they didn't get announced as individuals.
They came out as a group, which was unheard of at the time.
And I do think Mike Vrable, you know, he took those Titans teams,
he's doing it again.
His teams just feel very, very, like arm in arm, very connected.
And clearly they're well coached, they're tough,
and that quarterback is extremely talented.
So congrats to the Patriots.
that was a
hey we're playing on Monday night
everyone's watching
anytime that you play a crappy team
to me it's always a little risky
like they get to fly under the radar
a little bit
your players don't take them that seriously
they're human beings
it's their Super Bowl
the Giants had been playing pretty well
and they're up 30 to 7 at halftime
I mean honestly you could end the game at half
I mean seriously
just so no one gets injured
I'm always a proponent of that
but at the same time
I'm in the content creation
business so you never know if crazy things happen in the second half but that was they stepped on
their throat early and the game was over it felt like in the blink of an eye so the Patriots are
for real and on the flip side I do think the Giants are a very interesting job and I've been saying
this for a long time now the Steeler fans are behind me I mean what happened the other day and me and
Colin started our podcast on Sunday afternoon during that game because once the, once Josh
scored, made it like 23 to 7, there wasn't a soul alive that thought like the Steelers can't
come back. So we just started recording. So I didn't even see the fire Tomlin chance. If I am
Mike Tomlin, I would try to run to the Giants job. I would imagine every coordinator worth
their salt is going to want the Giants job.
They have a young quarterback that clearly has a ton of talent.
They have multiple young defensive pieces.
They have a star talent at wide receiver who's going to come back off an ACL injury.
They're going to have top draft picks.
They are one of the premier franchises in the NFL in terms of brand,
in terms of market size, in terms of overall fan base.
They play in the marquee or one of the marquee divisions in the league.
It is a job that any coordinator worth their salt that is going to interview
is going to want not only interview, but want that job.
You know, there's been a lot of talk like Robert Sala.
Robert Sala would start running right now to New York City from San Jose to get that job.
If I am the New York Giants, I feel a little unlucky because last year the cycle was so incredible.
Mike Vrable or Ben Johnson would take your job.
That guy doesn't like, I'm not hiring Clint Kubiak, right?
I'm not hiring any of these coordinators like Shula at the ramps.
I've already done that song and dance and has blown up in my face every single time.
Well, one of the headline stories of this game was that Abdul Carter for the second time,
second straight game, was benched.
Why?
Because he's showing up late or not showing up to meetings.
And the last time it happened, the reports claimed that he was sleeping.
He pushed back and just said that he missed it because he was in rehab.
Either way, guess what happens on bad teams, that type stuff.
guess what does not happen on well-run teams, players missing meetings, especially young players.
I'll never forget a current GM, Adam Peters.
I was talking to him a couple years ago at 49er practice, and we were actually talking about
Hufunga.
And he was kind of describing to me, and I remember John Lynch a little later, I talked to him about
this too, is like when you go into one of these teams that are really bad in college
and a coach gets fired at the time
like Clay Hilton got fired.
It's just a mess.
And I've experienced this a little bit
when I was scouting,
right? When you go into a team
that's like Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State,
like everyone's in a good mood.
It's easy to get information.
When you go into some of these programs
that everyone's lose,
like if you went into the University of Tennessee
that's 8 and 4,
and that's 8 and 4,
but a 6 and 6 team,
any of these teams with high expectations
or coaches getting fired,
people are on edge,
everyone's negative,
people just start crushing players.
This guy's a loser.
This guy doesn't listen.
This guy's out for himself.
This guy's selfish.
And I remember Adam telling me about Hufunga's like,
you couldn't find a negative word said about him.
And everyone in the program to a man was like,
I'd swear by that guy.
He's here early.
He's working out late.
He studies hard.
He plays his ass off.
He's everything you would want,
good or bad, regardless you want this guy in your team.
six, seven years later, look at Tallahanoho Funga.
Shocker, he's a stud.
And, you know, Abdul Carter came from Penn State,
where over the last couple years, they were awesome, right?
Which is kind of ironic because James Franklin got run out of town in the middle of the season,
partly because of the expectations built by the Abdul Carter teams.
People thought they could win the championship this year, and rightfully so,
which looking back, like losing Abdul Carter and Tyler Warren's pretty big blow.
But Abdul Carter, like most programs, most people are not leaders, right?
I don't claim to be a leader.
Most human beings are followers, right?
There's a small, small percentage of true leaders.
And most people will kind of follow the group in a business setting, in a team setting.
It's a natural human instinct, right?
Only so many, there's only one Moses leading you through the Red Sea.
Right?
There's only one Vince Lombardi leading you out in the field.
There's not seven Nick Sabins on a football team.
There's one.
And most players kind of fit in and follow.
And when you're in high functioning organizations,
like when you play for the Chiefs,
when you play for the Rams or the 49ers,
it's like if you don't fit in, you have no shot.
If you're showing up late, you'll be on the bus to the practice squad.
It just will not work.
It wouldn't even be tolerated.
So you wouldn't even think, even if you might have those tendencies,
it wouldn't even be allowed.
Like if you put Abdul Carter this year
on the Seattle Seahawks
or you know
just pick the New England Patriots
this would not be happening.
You know why? It didn't happen in Penn State
because that wasn't the culture that wasn't
tolerated. Well when everyone gets fired
it's a complete shit show, you get
chaos and you get situations
like this. And it's pretty clear that
the Giants need a grownup. Because guess what?
This would not happen with a grownup. But you look
around like, who are you hiring?
to be a grownup.
And to me, I will hammer this home.
Like, it's time.
And if I'm Mike Tomlin, that's the type job.
It's a bright lights job, big market job,
with a lot like going for it.
Now, the quarterback, he's a little reckless.
There is no disputing that.
He reminds me a little bit when I got to the Eagles
and Michael Vicks started and resurrected his career.
Michael's greatest attribute was also kind of his downfall,
was his incredible athleticism slash toughness,
let him to get hit a lot.
And he wasn't the biggest guy,
and he got injured all the time because he was fearless.
Well, being fearless like in a business meeting trying to land a client,
it can serve you pretty well, right?
Being fearless when you're running and a guy that weighs 50 pounds more than
you is running at a similar speed and hitting you going out of bounds is not going to go well for
you most of the time as a quarterback. So Jackson Darts going to need some direction of like,
we need to corral this a little bit. No one questions your toughness. I'm watching Mike Vrable
with Drake May. Like he's clearly corralled some of his reckless nature. This is not, and I think it's
this. Most of my life in the NFL and even college football, but definitely the NFL,
quarterbacks were scared to do two things.
One, take off and get hit
because they would get absolutely destroyed
and they could get injured.
I mean, think about some of the famous hits
on these quarterbacks over the years.
Why Tom Brady's career happened?
Because Drew Bledso was killed
on the sideline against the Jets.
Those hits don't even take place anymore.
And, you know, the NFL used to be like the freeway.
Well, guess what most humans don't do?
They don't try to walk across the freeway.
but if you just went to a random road,
you see people crossing it all the time.
And I do believe these quarterbacks have less fear now
because they don't look at the road like a freeway
because they don't think they can get hit.
And even when they do, they feel protected by the referees.
So to me, you need to get a guy in there.
And I've had, I brought up this name a couple times,
and I've had a buddy in the NFL that goes,
you need to stop bringing up Mike McCarthy
because he's like, look at what Brian.
John Chottonheimer's doing since he left.
Look at what happened to the Packers once he left.
Like, Jerry was right about Mike McCarthy.
Like, Mike McCarthy, that's pretty risky.
Now, he's good with quarterbacks or whatever,
but you could argue that, like, might be a little overrated.
Packers don't miss them.
Cowboys surely don't miss them.
Jerry was right.
Like, Mike, I'm not paying you anymore.
But I'll just go with Brian Chottonheimer.
And guess what?
We'll win nine or ten games with a team that's not as good as some of the teams you had.
So I do think there's only one option
that I see. And that's a guy
who literally as fans are chanting
to fire him. The team is circling
the drain. I mean, they are going nowhere
fast. This feels
like there couldn't be an easier transition.
I do think the Giants got to be kicking themselves
a little bit because
they would have been an
incredible landing spot for Ben Johnson,
but they were a year late. And they didn't
pull the trigger last year. And who knows?
Like, if they would have done it, if Jackson Dard on the team,
no one ever knows. And if I'm a
bear's fan, I feel pretty good that it all worked out
that way. And same thing with the Patriots of Mike Vrable. And I think you see the impact of those two
guys. Those guys are star coaches. Their teams are freaking awesome. And both teams probably don't have
the, as, like, they shouldn't be as good as they are. Now, we're going to find out with the,
you know, the Patriots have already beat the bills. The Bears are lining up now against the Packers
twice and three weeks. We're going to learn a lot about them. But we've already learned.
Like, they're good. Right now, are they like Super Bowl contending good? The NFC's
clearly harder than the AFC, it's going to be more difficult.
But it just jumps off the screen.
Meanwhile, the Giants just a rudderless ship.
They got this star young pass rush.
The thing with Abdul Carter is he's got the talent to be one of the best players in the league.
Malik Davis, got the talent to be one of the best players in the league.
Jackson Dart's got the talent to be a top 10 quarterback in the NFL.
So anytime you got a quarterback that has a talent to be a top 10 quarterback in the NFL,
you got to start pass rush, you've got a star wide receiver,
you've got some other young pieces.
You're going to have a bunch of draft picks.
Listen, I think you could even make the argument
because even if the Steelers like,
yeah, we're not going to fire them,
but we might be willing to go our separate ways.
Would you trade your second round pick for him?
I'd be more inclined to do that
than hire one of these coordinators
or one of these retread guys that haven't won.
That's where I struggle with a...
I can do a retread guy if he's won somewhere,
but it's like, I like Robert Saul a lot.
and he's an excellent defensive coordinator.
Can he be a good head coach?
I have no clue.
Arthur Smith, I mean, these are some of the names that are out there that are going to be available.
So this class, if I'm the Giants, I would hone in on one guy.
And it'd be the guy in Pittsburgh as that building clearly is on fire.
And if I'm Tomlin, I'm looking around, T.J. Watts old.
In half the games, he doesn't even look like young T.J. Watt.
You know, this D.K. Metcalf contract, Wondale Robinson, check the stats.
check Wondale Robinson stats and check D.K. Metcalf stats.
And holler back at me, who's are more impressive?
Spoiler alert. It ain't D.K. Metcalf.
So you got these huge Albatross contracts with players that aren't equaling the return
on investment on those contracts. I'm sure Cam Hayward's going to retire.
They have no quarterback. Again, if I'm Tom and I'm getting in my car and I'm driving
to the Giants. So congrats to the Patriots.
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Concerned about gambling in Florida, call 1-833 play-wise.
In Indiana, if you are someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help,
call 1-800-9 with it.
Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler.
Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia.
Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers, and guess what?
We have some big news.
What's the news?
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.
Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band
before Jonas Brothers
was...
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.
What's up, fam?
It's Isaiah Thomas.
And I'm C.J. Toledano
in our podcast point game is about defining the odds.
Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed.
And finding ways to win no matter what.
He's the smartest player to ever play the game.
His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before.
And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves,
I got to manipulate the game.
We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs.
I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series
because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup,
he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid.
He has to guard Julius Randall.
And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense.
And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too.
Steve Nass would get that thing.
That man, hell get to fly.
He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball.
Like, you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick.
Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball.
So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.
you get your podcasts.
Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is, getting a racist statue removed.
And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is.
Getting a new one put up in its place.
As long as there's a politics of race in America, there's going to be a politics of remembering
the Civil War.
To get to school, I had to go down Robert Ely Boulevard.
Get to the grocery store, I had to go down Jefferson Davis Parkway.
If you're an historian and you leave out half of what the history is, you're not doing your job.
I'm Akila Hughes, and Rebel Spirit Season 2 goes deep on both of those things.
The fights, the politics, the people who won, and my personal campaign to add something to the Kentucky State House that's actually worth the wall space.
We are more than our bodies. We contain essence. We contain spirit.
How do you represent that?
They are just fueling a fire that is really catching.
You'll see what I mean.
Listen to Rebel Spirit Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.
you get your podcasts.
Keith Giamanka seemed like a mild-mannered suburban dad,
but secretly he became someone else,
a master of disguise who went on a crime spree.
At the time, did it seem like a crazy idea?
It seemed very crazy,
but I felt so desperate that I felt it was the quickest, easiest way out.
Did you allow yourself to think about how it could go wrong
on what that might look like.
No, I didn't want to manifest that.
I was trying to manifest success.
Every family has its secrets.
But what happens when you discover that your dad
has been living a double life?
That is not the look of an innocent man.
This is going to change my life and my family dynamic forever
because everything that had existed prior in my reality
is now untrue.
Listen to deep cover,
The Family Man.
On the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey, I'm Jared Adano.
You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet.
Help!
Somebody!
Please!
But there's so much more to me than me.
I'm an actor.
I'm a comedian.
And recently, I've become quite the helper myself.
And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives.
Helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions.
Sike, I'm a comedian!
I'm not qualified to give good advice.
Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant
and recommend some of the most legally dubious advice
known to man.
If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone,
let it ring twice.
One ring is too scary.
Cream a chicken suit.
Hey, cream a chicken suit.
This is Help from a Hypocrite,
the worst advice from the dumbest people you know.
Listen to Help from Hypocrite
as part of the My Cultura podcast.
Network available on the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
A couple other quick things. I've been thinking a lot about this. I think the hard thing about
football that's different than a lot of industries. If you get into the private sector and you
get into the business, there are going to be times when you have to be a little selfish.
It's just part of reality of life. You know, there are times when you have to think about yourself
first. And some of our jobs impact less people than others, right? Obviously, if you're the CEO of a company,
you're, you impact a lot of individuals. If you play a role on a team or whatever, maybe you impact
10 people. If you're the head coach of an NFL team or a college football team, you're talking a lot
of human beings. So when you make a quote unquote selfish decision, it impacts other people. And anytime
they get impacted, they are going to judge your decision, whether it's good for them or bad for them.
So anytime, and here's the thing, the NFL actually used to have stuff like this happen when I was younger.
In the late 90s, Mike Holmgren left the Green Bay Packers to the Seattle Seahawks.
They had Brett freaking Farve in the prime of his career.
You know why?
Because Seattle paid him a boatload of money.
I think at the time it was like five years, $20 million.
Average $4 million a year back in the time.
the late 90s. When he factor in inflation, probably a lot of coin. A couple years later,
Al Davis refused to give John Gruden a massive contract like the one that Michael Holmgren got.
Guess what happened? He had to trade him to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who were willing to pay him.
And historically, a lot of these coaches in college, even in the pros back in the day, would leave a job
for money. That is no longer the case. In the NFL, let's use the race. Let's use the race.
and the 49ers. When Sean McVey and Kyle Shanahan got there, those jobs sucked. They were terrible.
Both of them couldn't have been losing anymore. They were just, they were an embarrassment.
And now, eight, nine years later, those guys can stay in those jobs forever. And they don't need to
leave to get more money, to get better opportunities for players. You just stay. No different all
around. Like, Andy Reid never needs to leave. Right. Mike McDonald, the things go well in Seattle. He can just
there. Like, you just don't jump around. So the day and age, because all these teams have money,
if the going rate for you is $15 million, even Kevin O'Connell felt like, you know, he's like,
they might trade for me and the Vikings is giving a bunch of money. Yet in college, typically,
you left for two reasons. One, money, usually the bigger job paid a lot more. That's no longer
the case. Kurt Signetti. In the history of the sport, whenever football was invented in the late
1800s, right?
You would never stay at Indiana
to not go to Penn State.
Ever. No human alive
in the history of football
up until now would ever
make that decision. Yet when
Kurt Signetti made that decision, you're like, oh, they gave him
$93 million. I don't even blame him.
I would say too. And he's winning big.
His team, if he beats Ohio State,
which is going to be difficult. But if he
did this Saturday
in Indianapolis, he would be the
number one seed in the playoffs.
It would be the most remarkable thing I've ever seen, but he literally just did it.
And he said, I don't need to go to Penn State.
And I do think Lane Kiffin, like, the reason you went from Indiana to Penn State was, too, obviously they'd give you way more money.
And two, it was just easier to get better players.
Well, now with the portal and NIL, is it?
It's obviously you can get better players at Ohio State and Texas and Oregon.
Well, they're paying more money for those guys to go.
Why did Lane Kiffin have, many people consider one of the best roster?
in the country last year at Old Miss.
He hasn't played that much because he's been injured,
but whenever I look up at Arizona Cardinal game
and you see Walter Nolan, you're like,
geez, Louise, guy's a monster.
You know that quarterback that I'm like,
yeah, I would run to that job if I'm Mike Tomlin.
That was Lane Kiffin's quarterback.
I think Trey Harris, the wide receiver,
had a big catch for the Chargers.
Played at Ole Miss.
I mean, so the world has really changed.
And I think inherently it's hard because coaches,
I've always thought it was a little fraudulent in football.
Everyone's like, the team, can't be selfish.
It's the team, it's the team.
Yet everyone, when it comes to jobs, it's kind of out for themselves.
And at least in college football,
we kind of acknowledge that everyone's a mercenary.
Coaches, players.
And I think the hoopla and the pushback is like,
I think the fair question is
five years ago, no one even
would have questioned, even if Lane
didn't handle it well, of course you're going
to Ole Miss to LSU.
And clearly LSU's history compared to
Ole Miss is not even comparable.
LSU has a bigger stadium.
I think those people would say it just matters
more here, and many people
would say it's one of the best jobs in the country.
But you could argue that Lane Kiff
in these last couple years has turned Ole Miss
into one of the best jobs in the country. Now, is it because
of him? Is it because of the program?
we're about to find out.
But I think a lot of people making these concrete stances
about him being selfish,
about him not handling it well,
like we've seen this happen over and over and over.
Like if you think these college football coaches
are consumed with like,
yeah, I'm leaving these guys, it sucks,
but like I'm not going to hold the guy's hand through life.
Like it's not that big a deal.
I truly believe that.
Like it's, I think we have acted.
And I, listen, I do think Lane playing the victim,
card is a little outrageous.
You know, they just wouldn't let me coach.
I was thinking about this, like, he wants his cake and he wants to eat it too.
What, what you, no one's ever got the cake and then not eating it.
So it's like, I was thinking about that statement.
I'm like, am I, is that statement kind of stupid?
He wants his cake and he wants to eat it too.
Well, who wants cake and doesn't want to eat it?
Like, he wanted to coach the team, which is understandable.
Ole Miss, you would be viewed as the biggest group of loser pussies in the history of sports
if you allowed him to keep coaching.
They had no choice.
They had to get packing.
Now, when you get everything you want, whether you're a little kid, whether you're, you know,
in the business you work for, you're like a star employee, and they do everything that you want
them to do that.
When you finally do here, no, this is not going to be allowed.
You don't react well, right?
Why? Because you've lost touch with reality.
So I think when Lane's not reacting that well, of course he's not.
Ole Miss is done when Lane said jump for the last six years.
They said, how high can I jump again?
And for the first time, they're like, this is not going to be allowed.
And he knew it.
And he kind of turned into a petulant child, which he kind of can be.
But like I said, you know, sports needs, not everyone can be a good guy.
You need to have some people that piss people off.
You need to have some people that move the average fan emotionally to like, I can't stand that guy.
Sometimes I miss not hating more people in sports, right?
Because sometimes when you do this for a job, like, I don't like just sitting on my couch and being indifferent.
Like, I kind of like rooting against people.
And anyone, if you're an Eagle fan, if you're an Alabama fan, if you're whoever, like, it's cool to hate the Cowboys.
Like, I can't stand Jerry Jones.
I can't stand Auburn and LSU.
Right, that's good emotions in sports.
Right, the one team I truly still root against,
and I just hate is the Lakers,
though I hate him a little less with Luca because he's just like,
he's hard to hate, he's so great.
But every time I look down, they're like 16 and 4.
I'm like, God, it sucks.
They're not going anywhere.
I was supposed to hate the Dodgers, but it's like,
what am I doing?
You just kind of tip your hat.
I wish I hated more people in sports.
Even Ryan Day.
Like, I, I gotta, he's pretty good, you know.
I just got to acknowledge.
Like, he's just kicking everyone's ass.
Like, what am I going to hate?
Just every single game, he's beating someone by 20 or 30 points.
I wanted to not like Matt Patricia, but I got to respect him.
He went from college, or excuse me, from the pros, with Belichick forever,
and then it comes to college, and I get it.
He goes to the best pro, he starts kicking everyone's ass.
Like, I respect people's talents, and their talents are working.
So I've been Ohio State hater, but I might just,
just have to take a gigantic L on that one.
Because if I was a betting man right now, I kind of expect them to win the whole thing again.
You went back-to-back Natty's in the NIL era, even if you got a lot of money in your program,
like, that's pretty impressive.
So the selfish word, I think it's like, we're all a little selfish.
Anyone in business is selfish.
Like, welcome to life.
The other thing is Kevin Patola's house was egged.
And I was thinking, like, when I was young, I used to do a lot of T-Ping.
there was probably under five,
but there were definitely some homes egged.
And like that is, when you're egging someone's home,
it's typically someone that you want to feel like we hate you.
Like that is a double middle finger,
like kind of scumbag move from whoever's doing that.
I also think it reflects nobody,
and I mean nobody in the NFL needs a bigger week
of just like 35 points, three or four touchdowns, some cool plays, some explosive plays,
and just like a 15-point victory than the offensive coordinator in Philly,
because the city's turning on them, the players feel like they're kind of on the fence on them,
and at the end of the day, even if the organization and Sireani, like the guy personally,
it's a production-based business, and if you don't get it done, these stories,
You know, the one thing in Philly, which I hate the cold weather, but I really enjoyed working there because I love football.
And when I was working in it, it was so cool to be in a place where it just really mattered.
It's why talking to people that work or associated with the SEC, it literally just means more.
And when you work at one of these programs, it just feels like life or death.
And that's what you want.
when you're a competitor, when you're working in a sport.
Like, it's a bigger deal to be associated with the Yankees or the Red Sox
than it is with the Texas Rangers, right?
It just means more.
And in Philly, that team means a lot.
And I think people go, oh, you're booed?
They just won the Super Bowl last year.
Well, yeah, it's December.
And they can't get a first down.
You want me to clap?
You want me to cheer?
Now, I'm not condoning egging a home.
and while I'd be a hypocrite to say that you should never egg a home because I've done it a couple
times, I actually think it'd be harder to egg homes now. I mean, I got seven cameras around my house.
My brother was telling me a story over the Thanksgiving weekend that I guess there's some like TikTok
trend with like young kids like 1213 to do like doorbell ditches. And he's like in the neighborhood
I live in, everyone knows each other. We all have ring cameras. The dude's ringing
my doorbell. I work with like
two of the guys. I call him. I'm like, hey,
James, like your
kid just doorbell ditched me. Here's the picture.
It's like his son with his backwards hat.
It's like, what do you do? Are you just an idiot?
You know, there's cameras everywhere? But
Big Don will probably be all over that. A couple things
before we get out of here.
Sauce Gardner's week to week.
I've said this
forever. I just, that
feeling as a GM when you make a
move, the only thing
again, if a guy, like sauce was
never going to be a terrible player. So you felt pretty good about what you were going to get with
the guy. But when you see the person that you just give multiple first round picks laying on the
ground, your heart has to just go to your stomach. And I saw Sauce say that, you know, at first,
it felt like he got shot. And the first thing you think is like Achilles, but clearly avoided a disaster.
But it just shows you how fickle sports are. You know, you make this big move, which I thought was a little
polarizing and controversial. But if he plays like an elite play,
If Charverius comes back, you've got two elite corners.
You know, you're going to need your defense to carry you,
especially if Daniel Jones is limping around now.
I just can't even imagine that feeling when he was laying on the ground
and then has to be helped off and he could struggle to put weight on it.
Chris Ballard probably had a rough 12 hours, but luckily, you know,
big picture he's going to be okay.
You know, Justin Herbert, the surgery on the hand is, you know, who knows?
Like, you're going to throw him out there, you know, in a Roger's situation.
I mean, part of the reason is, you know,
If Rogers was 30 years old,
he would not have played in that game.
He would just like miss a month, right,
and come back when it was somewhat healed.
But he knows, like, the season's not going well.
This easily could be his last season.
Who knows if Mike Tomlin's even going to be there next year?
That's why he played with the cast on,
which I respected.
But that wasn't normal.
And I do think, and I get at their eight and four,
so they got maybe a week of wiggle room.
I just don't think,
if it's somewhat of a similar situation,
you can't put a player out there.
Even with the non-throwing hand,
there were a couple times when Rogers would like hit the ground.
Your natural reaction as a human being is to put the wrist on the ground.
And I just,
you've invested way too much money into this human being.
Your big picture of your franchise hinges on him.
I think you've got to be very, very careful when it comes to him.
Well, we just saw one of the worst performances ever,
not totally his fault, probably shouldn't be starting an NFL game.
But luckily, J.J. McCarthy is set to return.
I do think this month, if it continues to just be as ugly as it's been,
I don't know how any Vikings fan, like, you have to be a really patient individual.
It's like, just give him time.
Just give JJ some more reps.
There's not a fan alive that's going to want to give them more reps.
There's not a fan alive that's going to be okay with the offseason,
not having someone else to come in to essentially be the starter.
Now, who that guy is, I don't know.
Like, Mac Jones with his eyes closed is a better quarterback than this guy.
So, listen, the best case for J.J. McCarthy would be to come back from this concussion,
not get injured again, and just have some good games.
Not a good series, like a couple good games.
And good games, the bar is not that high, right?
Just don't throw some of the worst interceptions we've ever seen.
Don't throw balls 25 feet over Justin Jefferson's head.
Just throw a couple touchdowns, have some completions.
Just have some drives that leave to field goals.
Just look like a capable NFL player.
Because the NFL has never moved faster.
There's more money in the line.
There's more pressure.
Because of the amount of money the owners have, they can get rid of people quicker.
Plus, we just have recent examples of quarterbacks not getting long leashes.
People just turn on you.
Why? Because back to the Lane Kiffin thing.
These coaches and GMs are inherently selfish.
You notice what coaches usually do when they're losing games.
They don't go to the owner of the GM.
I want to fire myself.
Can I fire myself?
You know what they do?
I'm firing my offensive coordinator.
I'm firing my DB coach.
I'm firing my own line coach.
They never go, fire me, right?
No.
No one wants to fire themselves.
No one wants to get.
They throw everyone overboard before they get thrown overboard.
So I promise you this when it comes to Kevin O'Connell,
who seems like a nice guy, always upbeat, positive, optimistic individual.
They better show some signs.
And I know this guy made a comment about how organizations fail quarterbacks.
I'm not even putting this on him in terms of they made the wrong decision with the player potentially,
but there are some players that just aren't going to be good enough.
That's the thing with the NFL.
It's the cream of the crop, and it even separates, like,
certain people are just not going to be good enough.
It's why after training camp, basically half your team does not make the active roster.
They get cut, and then a small percentage of those people get to come to the practice squad
and try to claw for their career to get, to become a backup.
It's very, very difficult.
It's probably one of the more difficult things to do in America in terms of the private sector,
to make it on a field and play NFL football, just to be like, hey, I had a two-year NFL
career, let alone be like, yeah, I started at quarterback for 10 years.
Look at Marcus Marriota.
Marcus Marriota is one of the most harolding college players.
He was a top, he was a second pick in the draft, and hasn't been a starter in like seven
years, and he's going to have a long career, right?
So this thing can change on a dime.
You can get derailed quick.
You can just prove to the league like, you're not good enough.
And I think there is tangible pressure over this.
I think I would imagine the Vikings have fun.
more games left in the season.
For J.J. McCarthy to, like, show some serious.
Don't get rid of me yet, guys.
Because if he doesn't and continues to play like he does,
my prediction would be like, this thing is over before it even started.
Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what?
We have some big news.
What's the news, new?
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 well.
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.
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,
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.
What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas.
And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds.
Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed.
And finding ways to win no matter what.
He's the smartest player to ever play the game.
His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before.
And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves,
I got to manipulate the game.
We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs.
I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series
because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup,
he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid.
He has to guard Julius Randall.
And then he has to give us everything he gives us
on the night-to-night basis on offense.
And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson,
we dive into some playoff history too.
Steve Nash would get that thing
That man, hell get the flying,
he running up the court,
licking his fingers why he got the ball,
like, after you go through a training camp
with that Isaiah, you figure it out real quick.
Get your ass up and down the court,
and you're going to get the ball.
So listen to Point Game on the Iheart radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Keith Gianmanca seemed like a mild-mannered suburban dad,
but secretly, he became someone else,
a master of disguise who went on a crime spree.
At the time, did it seem like a crazy idea?
It seemed very crazy.
But I felt so desperate that I felt it was the quickest, easiest way out.
Did you allow yourself to think about how it could go wrong
and what that might look like?
No, I didn't want to manifest that.
I was trying to manifest success.
Every family has its secrets.
But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life?
That is not the look of an innocent man.
This is going to change my life and my family dynamic forever,
because everything that had existed prior in my reality is now untrue.
Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is.
getting a racist statue removed.
And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is,
getting a new one put up in its place.
As long as there's a politics of race in America,
there's going to be a politics of remembering the Civil War.
To get to school, I had to go down Robert Lee Boulevard.
Get to the grocery store, I had to go down Jefferson Davis Parkway.
If you're an historian and you leave out half of what the history is,
you're not doing your job.
I'm Akila Hughes, and Rebel Spirit Season 2 goes deep on both of those things.
the fights, the politics, the people who won, and my personal campaign to add something to the Kentucky State House that's actually worth the wall space.
We are more than our bodies. We contain essence. We contain spirit. How do you represent that?
They are just fueling a fire that is really catching. You'll see what I mean.
Listen to Rebel Spirit Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down.
Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man.
They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew.
Pinky has financial issues.
I like the bougie style of Housewives show.
I think it looks like it's going to be interesting.
On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real House Wise franchise.
the drama, the alliances, and the T, everybody's talking about.
As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it.
I understand the game.
As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this.
At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment.
To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
banging out mailbags at John Middlecoff,
Instagram, this is a mailbag.
If you hear people banging in the background,
it's the roofers.
It's why my Fugazi a couple weeks ago,
I said he better be very careful when you buy something.
You know, it's nothing like being a renter.
You got an issue, you just place a call.
Well, when I bought this house,
it needed a new roof, put it off for a couple years,
and you have historic rainfall as you realize,
yeah, I don't think I can put this off anymore.
So I had to do it sooner or later,
definitely before we have a kid.
So that will be the noise if you hear anything in the background.
Again, mailbag at John Middlecoff, at John Middlecoff is the Instagram.
Fire in those DMs.
Start with Jack.
I'm drinking the Kool-Aid.
After how the Bears looked against the defense that is shut down both the Lions and the Packers
in the past month, I'm starting to believe the Bears can make a run.
No matter how many times it burnt me in the past,
I think this upcoming game at Green Bay is the hardest game left on the schedule for the Bears.
With the game in San Francisco being the second hardest, and if they win, I can see them winning the rest of their games.
My question, do you think there is a world where we can actually get the number one seed?
And if they do, does the style of football they play, strong run game, good third down pass game, and a takeaway defense translate to the playoffs?
How far do you think they can go if the playoffs run through Soldier Field?
Well, I think the division will be, like you said, in the next month.
Because this game is not must win.
But if you lose this game, I do think you would have to win the next two.
Obviously, the Browns, take care of the Packers at home.
And then if you go to the Niners and win, there's a chance that Lions game, Detroit's just done.
Like, they're completely out of the playoffs and that game is meaningless to them.
So, listen, there's going to be a lot of.
emphasis on this game. It's the Packers, this historic rivalry, which has really been one-sided.
But to me, the game is much more about the home game against the Packers.
If you go to Green Bay, even if you lose by 10, it's like, yeah, you went to Green Bay and lost.
But can you beat him at home? And I think he can. You know, the 49er game, the 49ers defense is a shell unit because of all the injuries.
Bosa, Fred Warner, Mikel Williams. I mean, they're playing Cleveland Farrell, who,
was a practice squad level player earlier this season.
Again, he's done an admirable job.
But the way you guys play, that is a very winnable game.
Again, they're kind of like the Spider-Man meme, the Niners and the Bears,
in terms of the way they want to play.
Very fascinated these two games against the Packers, you know, how you guys look
against their defense, you know, their strength is that pass rush, you know,
is Ben Johnson just going to run it 50 times, you know, a game?
which I would imagine he's going to try, but your game translates to the playoffs.
Anytime you have an elite run game and you're playing playoff games, whether it's in Chicago,
even if you don't win the division and the Packers do, you could go to Green Bay and win,
given the way you play.
You could go to Seattle and win.
San Francisco probably be the seven or six seats, so you wouldn't have to do that.
But go to the Rams and win.
Like, your stuff's going to translate.
So, you know, your first round game, if you're the five seed, would probably be.
be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and if you're the one seed,
would obviously you get a buy, which is pretty crazy.
It's honestly nuts we're even having this conversation,
but I also think it's kind of unneeded.
We'll know a lot by the time that that game, I guess TBD,
they have a flex schedule ability for it.
So I'm fascinated.
If you win two of the next three games and you are,
what's your record right now, nine and three?
so if you are 11 and 4 going into that 49er game,
assuming the 49ers would be
they have a buy this week,
then they play the Titans,
so let's give them a win there.
That would be 10 and 4.
At Indy,
I don't want to get too confident,
but I would say Indies in a little bit of trouble
because just injury,
Soss Gardner now is week to week.
Obviously their quarterback is banged up.
They just haven't been playing as well.
well. So if both teams are 11 and 4 in that game, that would be pretty nuts. So it's a great
time to be a Bears fan. You should be very excited. I'm happy to be wrong. Yeah, I mean,
your coach is just fantastic. I'm curious as to who you think will win the Super Bowl this year.
To my eyes, there are about 10 very good teams in the NFL, but the gap between them and the
five, six good ones, there are 10 very good teams. Okay, and then the gap between the
next five isn't that big.
Like if I told you the 49ers beat the Seahawks in their last game, you wouldn't be shocked
that if the Bengals won out and someone won their division, they are only two games
behind with some divisional games upcoming, no one would be shocked either.
It seems that any team could beat any team on a given weekend.
I totally agree.
To my mind, I would just trust the people who have been to the dance before.
For example, I trust Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers to at least be considered.
insistent in the playoffs. I don't know what the version of the Eagles or the Lions I would be getting
in a game. In the AFC, if Buffalo is in, do I trust Bo Nicks of the Broncos or the Jags and
Trevor Lawrence or Josh Allen and Sean McDermott? While I agree, I do think health plays a pretty
big role, you know, once everyone is somewhat even, right? If we assume, if you look at the playoffs
right now and the standings in the NFC, we know it's the Bears, the Packers,
Seattle, the Rams, the Niners, Tampa, and Philly.
All of those teams could beat each other.
Now, I do think the 49ers are an example of, like, their defense, it's going to be difficult.
The margin for error on their offense would be slim than that.
Like, they couldn't overcome interception and a fumble because their defense is going to struggle
to stop people, right?
Now, if you're playing the Eagles, what if their offense is terrible, right?
If you're playing the Rams and Stafford does one of his games,
though he feels like he plays pretty well against the 49ers.
I just think you have to look at it very matchup-based and health-wise.
Like what the bills just did against the Steelers on Sunday afternoon.
Are they winning playoff games that are two starting tackles?
I have a hard time thinking of that.
But I also watched Dion Dawkins are starting left tackle play against the Houston Texans
and he could barely move.
So it's like, are you better off with a guy who's fully healthy,
even if he's clearly a backup,
over a guy who's your starter that's 60%.
Yeah, I mean, these are the arguments.
I also think momentum matters, like how you've been playing.
You know, the 49ers have been winning a lot of games, right?
The Bears have been really, really hot.
I mean, the Bears have won five straight games.
The Packers now have won three straight games.
They have momentum, like how you're playing going into the playoffs.
The Rams last year had a lot of momentum going into the playoffs.
The Broncos, they've won nine straight games.
Same with the New England Patriots.
Like you went nine straight games.
You're playing at a really, really high level.
I'm recording this before the Monday night game.
The Colts, like if they limp in as the six or seven seed,
like I don't have that much faith in them.
So to me, it matters how you're playing, how healthy you are,
and then I totally agree.
Like having Kyle Shanahan, having Sean McVeigh,
having Vrable and Sean Payton,
like there's a big advantage.
Like, you know, Ben Johnson's coached a lot of playoff games.
I know he hasn't been the head coached.
but he's been involved in a lot of him as a coordinator.
Kevin Petula, he's never called plays before in his life before this year.
So what's he going to be like in a playoff game?
You know, Seattle's kind of interesting.
Mike's never been a head coach for a playoff team.
Kubiak never called plays for a playoff team.
Those are things to watch.
You know, Matt LaFleur, Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVeigh, Ben Johnson,
whether as an assistant or a head coach,
like they've been involved in a lot.
I actually think the coaching in the NFC,
you know, even Mike McDonald was the DC for the Ravens,
obviously the Packers, the Niners,
you know, Siriani and Fangio,
Sean McVeigh, Ben Johnson.
These guys, they've coached a lot of games.
Meanwhile, you look at the AFC,
you got Sean Payton,
who, you know, Super Bowl winning coach,
coached a lot of playoff games.
You got Vraebel and Josh McDaniels,
that they've been around the block.
Liam Cohen would, you know,
that would be a little bit of a,
if they are either win the division or a wild card,
You know, the Ravens would be a team that would make you a little nervous in a playoff environment.
The Chargers just have so many injuries.
The Colts, those guys have never coached.
Like, I guess, you know, as assistant coaches they have, but Shane Steichen since he's been there,
they haven't been in the playoffs.
Once the last time Chris Ballard went to the playoffs.
So I'm with you on the Bills.
They have a pretty big advantage.
I think the Bills would be the sleeper in the AFC.
I've noticed continue, John, I.
I've noticed continued references to Kiffin's sobriety and weight loss as evidence to his changed personality.
In 12-step circles, we often consider drinking as a symptom of a person's overall alcoholism,
self-centeredness or general narcissism.
Stop drinking is the starting point at which a person can begin to affect a meaningful personality shift,
often through their improvement,
improved treatment of others
and amend for the past transgressions.
Clearly Lane has not progressed to that
and level that he probably never will.
To me, this reinvented image is entirely superficial
and he's just the same guy
he's been with a slightly different haircut.
I do think it's pretty evident by his body
that he stopped drinking.
Definitely at the level in which he was
is the man completely sober?
I mean, truly only he knows that.
But it's clear his lifestyle changed.
But I'm with you.
Just because you change a lifestyle doesn't mean it changes your mentality.
I'm going to talk about this on the main podcast.
I'm recording this during the day.
I'll do it after we talk about the Monday night football game.
There is a level of selfishness.
I think you have to have in most industries to be successful.
So clearly, I think we'd all agree, even in a tough situation to handle, and typically when a coach leaves a program, especially a stepping stone job, which historically Ole Miss has kind of always been, for LSU, if one program is doing really well, and the other program is down, there is this, you're leaving us for them, even though we're better than them right now, though they've been better than us.
historically. There's like this little brother syndrome so that the fans get involved in.
There's always, it feels like a little shadiness with the way it's handled. And people just,
offended's the wrong word, but just, you know, emotions run really, really high. But historically,
like Nick Sabins left multiple jobs. He left Michigan State for LSU, Miami from LSU, and then
he left Miami to go coach Alabama. And he almost left Alabama to coach.
for the University of Texas.
So I think a lot of times, like,
didn't Urban Meyer,
bowling green to Utah, Utah to Florida,
kind of quit on Florida and then went to Ohio State.
I just think the profession is naturally more nomadic
than what most of us do.
Now, we love, and I know speaking for myself,
I love football.
I don't have that much in common
with just like every couple of years picking up and leaving.
though relative to most people I've known, I've lived all over the country, right?
I've lived in California. I've lived now in Arizona. I lived in Kansas City for a little bit. I lived in Philadelphia.
I've been nomadic in my pursuit of some quote-unquote professional dream.
Now, I also think when you're a public figure like him, everything gets dissected.
I'm totally with you, though. The E-60 video that he did with ESPN, which I enjoyed, like there was,
a, you know, there was a reason that was produced, right? It was basically like the bat signal
to the other programs. I'm a changed man. What you know about me because people talk is no
longer the case. And the Lord, the No More Booze, my family, like these things are important
to me now where they used to not be. And he wanted everyone to know. Now you can say that's
self-serving. Like, that's not what the reason why someone should get sober or gravitate toward
God is to tell everyone in your profession that you've done that. But that was the only way he was
going to get hired. Now, I think the question mark is moving forward is, is it going to be quiet? And
when I say quiet, obviously from a recruiting standpoint, from a hype standpoint, he's going to do
things. But like, does he find himself in controversy in LSU? And I'm not talking like a recruiting
controversy. I'm talking legitimate
like, whoa, that's not a great
look. Because we've seen that with
people over the years in the SEC.
From Petrino, banging
the strength coach's wife, to
Hugh Freeze and all the hookers and
the strippers. Like, if
you are not winning, and you
are no, last year Lane went nine and three,
five years in, with the expectation
of a roster that could win the national championship.
And they went nine and three and was like, oh, no big deal.
Cool. We'll get you more money and we'll
get another team the next year. And this year, clearly they didn't think they were going to be
this good, but they were very supportive. Nine and three, I'd even say a couple years of
eight and four would not be the end of the world there. As long as you have the occasional
10 or 11 win season that he just had and everyone's jumping for joy. That's not how it's
going to be tolerated at LSU. It's just not. Look at Kalin at Alabama. Rocky season,
year one, which players leave left and right. I mean, his starting quarterback and his starting
star safety immediately go to Ohio State. So Nick Saban retires. The transfer portal and everything,
I'm pretty sure the timing, I'm not as dialed in as some of you that fall in closer than I do,
but it was after the national championship, so it was late in the cycle. And he went nine and four,
which obviously for Alabama standards, might as well be a two-win season. Okay, we'll give you
somewhat of a pass. You get your boy Ryan Grub back from Seattle.
Anything less than the playoff birth, this year is a disaster and we might think about firing you.
It's like, well, John, they don't have the money. Well, we'll fucking find it.
And that game against Auburn, you felt like he was coaching for his job. That's year two.
You'd be like, well, he's following saving. Well, yeah, I'm at LSU where the expectation I'm giving you $100 million.
Like, the reason Brian Kelly was shoved out was obviously because he just wasn't winning.
and his program clearly wasn't close to, you know, Bama or Georgia,
but like, Ole Miss was in a different world.
He was losing the teams, like, he simply was not as good as teams that he's expected to be better than.
And he didn't make the playoffs, and he didn't make it till the end of year four.
Now, obviously, being an asshole and that type stuff, what made it an easy decision,
I just think you better win.
and you know the sobriety the the
hot yoga
the living I guess with your ex-wife
like that that is you know
it's important to let everyone know that
but now no one cares
we're not teaching life lessons here
we're trying to win daddies
you know and can you get us closer to that
if you can no one will care about any of your indiscretions
if you pick back up the bottle if you started running around your wife
again no one would care not a soul
but if you have an 8 and 4 year
it'll be a problem
full stop
now you could win a national championship
and then have an 8 and 4 year
and people will let up on you a little bit
but the expectations
one thing I will say about Ryan Day
who you'd be like
Middokoff I owe him an apology
he's kicking ass and taking names
his program is elite right now
and hiring of Patricia
that was a big time
that was a big time higher.
And clearly the not beating Michigan thing
was a big deal. He knew it, he had to get it done,
and they just kicked their ass.
But you start rattling off national championships,
like if they win it this year again,
you start going to final fours.
Like his, the standard's really, really high there
and he's just answering the belt year in, year out.
It's like a bunch of dudes in the NFL,
we're top five every year,
we're competing to win the Natty,
we have one of the best teams
clearly in the country every single year.
But that's the expectation.
like anything less than that, he would get fired.
He was so good outside of Michigan for a couple years,
that couldn't really stick to him.
But if last year he would have lost in the first round,
it would have been a much bigger problem
because the expectations are just outrageous.
And I would say,
you could make the argument that in 2006,
the highest expectations in the country are number one, Ohio State,
because they now are consistently the highest expectations.
I even think Georgia's in a weird way have lowered because of the transfer portal
it's like yeah, it probably never going to get as good as like 22 and 23 or 21,
whatever they won back to backs.
As long as we're in the mix, final fours, and if Kirby can win another one,
like their last championship was 1980.
Like I saw Mark Rick for 15 years.
You know, be a top 20, 15, 10-ish team.
Like what Kirby's done, like he's a made man now.
And as long as every year they're in the SEC title competition in the playoffs,
it's all good.
That's not the case of Ohio State.
And I don't think that's going to be the case for the LSU.
But also that's what I think drove Lane to go there.
You know, part of in certain industries,
when you're, you know, it's pretty clear,
Lane's a pretty ambitious person.
You kind of are driven to the craziness.
It's like, I think a lot of people,
and listen, I sometimes I question, what would I do?
Like, why would you leave Ole Miss?
You got a great gig.
They're paying you a ton of money.
They're very supportive, and you can clearly win there.
Because I want the highest level possible.
And let's face it, and this is no shade at Ole Miss.
LSU is just a slightly higher level.
It used to be way higher in the pre-NIL.
It's still higher.
And I just think he wanted to test himself.
No different than when Brian Kelly left from Notre Dame.
And he failed.
But I'll always respect a guy for getting up to bat and taking a swing.
even if it was ugly and we can debate that all day long.
You could argue everyone's shitting on Lane.
What about LSU?
It's like they don't care about their business partner Ole Miss.
They don't care at all.
Like they don't bear any responsibility in this.
I think it's all just very complicated.
Obviously, I do not feel like Lane is the victim at all.
Him playing that card is a little egregious.
But I do think like tough situation.
It's not as black and white as everyone's making it out to be.
playing a little Monday morning quarterback.
How crazy would it have been for the Lions to trade Dan Campbell and promote Ben to head coach?
Obviously, he wouldn't have ever been a thought, but who do you think?
But what do you think the Lions could have gotten in return for Dan Campbell in a trade?
I think it's always easy to play this game.
I think they played it in New York with Sean Payton.
I think they play in Dallas with Sean Payton.
I think Dallas has done this before with some of the coaches.
They let out the door.
Sean Payton, Dan Campbell.
You know, look at Washington when that picture comes up of like Kyle and Sean McVeigh.
I think sometimes when you are, it's no different than your parents always look at you like their child.
And sometimes you have to leave the nest to kind of, you know, earn your true respect, right?
There's something powerful about leaving the house at 17, 18, 19 years old.
and going to do your own thing and improving it to yourself, to them, to whoever.
No different than someone that gives you, you know, your first internship out of college.
Most people don't take their first internship and then go become the CEO.
Start in the mail room and work their way up.
There are stories of that, but the majority of it are guys that have to go, you know,
stepping stone jump to somewhere else because they use that position to gain more leverage.
and like, listen, I think Dan Campbell,
and I think Ben Johnson be the first to tell you this,
his leadership and his toughness,
we would never have got to where we got
through the mud in the 3 and 13 season
and even that next season,
I think it went 9 and 7 that year that they beat Rogers
at the end of the season and knocked them out of the playoffs
without him.
I don't know if Ben would have been capable to do that
a couple years ago.
Now, if you give them both equalties,
teams. Like if I give them the lions, I give them the bears, I give them the Packers.
If all things are equal, would you take Ben Johnson? Like, Steve Kerr, would he be equipped to take
some shitty NBA team and build them up to like a seven seat? I don't think so. Would Phil Jackson
be equipped? No. But those guys can really handle stars. They're equipped to do that. Steve Kerr's
been around Michael Jordan and Tim Duncan, right? Steve Kerr called for the ball for Michael in his heyday.
that takes some balls.
He's comfortable being around, like no different Joe Torrey,
being around dude on the Yankees.
Not everyone can handle being manager of the Yankees.
Even if you're though the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays,
you can win more games.
A little bit easier.
Less people are watching you.
A little less media scrutiny.
You know, a lot less people in the stands.
You get to fly under the radar.
So I think Ben Johnson,
I do think I'd be stunned if he didn't admit this,
that he learned a lot about leadership
and just like mental toughness from watching the way Dan handled that.
Now, I don't think it's really arguable.
Ben is an elite schemer.
And if you had to have a guy scheme you a game plan on a given week,
I think Ben is immediately elevated near the top of the league.
And that's really impressive to do.
But, yeah, I mean, if you could have over the next month,
who would you rather have calling the plays,
Ben Johnson or Dan Campbell for the line?
you take Ben Johnson.
I think you, you know, I think the New York Giants would give him a first round pick for Dan Campbell.
Pretty sure Dan Campbell, did he play for the New York Giants?
Pretty sure he did.
God, he had great hair.
Yeah, he played for the Giants for a couple years.
You know how it's great hair?
And I always notice it on TV.
He's obviously, he's been, he's been good whenever I, you know, depending on how my four boxes sit up,
I don't always listen to him.
But JJ Watts is pretty good.
He has just elite hair.
I'm just, I'm jealous of that flow
Someone that has no hair
No one of my family does though
My brother
I'm actually going to dinner with him Monday night
Before the Monday night game
He's got he's got no hair as well
We're bald as a bat
Luckily for our kids
It's on our wife's side
Who both sides have hair
But God we're bald to my family
Hey it's us to Jonas brothers
And guess what? We have some big news
What's the news news? 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 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.
What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm CJ Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about
defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed.
And finding ways to win no matter.
matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've
never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game.
We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be
exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys
like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives
us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richards
we dive into some playoff history too.
Steve Nash will get that thing.
That man, hell get the flying.
He running up the court, licking his fingers
why he got the ball, like,
after you go through a training camp with that, I said,
you figure it out real quick.
Get your ass up and down the court,
and you're going to get the ball.
So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is,
getting a racist statue removed.
And here's something that should
to be a whole lot easier than it is.
Getting a new one put up in its place.
As long as there's a politics of race in America,
there's going to be a politics of remembering the Civil War.
To get to school, I had to go down Robert Lee Boulevard.
Get to the grocery store, I had to go down Jefferson Davis Parkway.
If you're an historian and you leave out half of what the history is,
you're not doing your job.
I'm Akila Hughes.
In Rebel Spirit, Season 2 goes deep on both of those things.
The fights, the politics, the people who won,
and my personal campaign to add something
to the Kentucky State House that's actually worth the wall space.
We are more than our bodies.
We contain essence.
We contain spirit.
How do you represent that?
They are just fueling a fire that is really catching.
You'll see what I mean.
Listen to Rebel Spirit Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Keith Gianmanca seemed like a mild-mannered suburban dad,
but secretly he became someone else,
a master of disguise who went on a crime spree.
At the time, did it seem like a crazy idea?
It seemed very crazy.
But I felt so desperate that I felt it was the quickest, easiest way out.
Did you allow yourself to think about how it could go wrong
and what that might look like?
No, I didn't want to manifest that.
I was trying to manifest success.
Every family has its secrets.
But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life?
That is not the look of an innocent man.
This is going to change my life and my family dynamic forever
because everything that had existed prior in my reality is now untrue.
Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down.
Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man.
They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew.
Pinky has financial issues.
I like the bougie style of Housewives show.
I think it looks like it's going to be interesting.
On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real House Wise franchise, the drama.
the alliances and the T everybody's talking about.
As an executive producer in reality television,
I'm not just watching it.
I understand the game.
As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this.
At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment.
To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app,
Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.
Question, I'm a Tampa fan, and hated how Liam Cohen went about things.
How much do you think Jason Light may be regrets not keeping him and moving off Todd,
especially since our defense looks inept at the moment?
I suppose it's easy to say it now, but we did look considerably better with Cohen on the staff.
I think it's always easy to play Monday morning quarterback, right?
You have your reasons and you make your decisions.
And this is not one of those where you dump her and then you look on Instagram three years later
and she just looks like a dime
and she's married to a guy
who's way richer than you
and her life looks way sweeter.
This is one of those situations
where it's pretty hard
when you're winning
to fire your head coach.
Even if you take a step back
and you go, yeah,
who would be the better hire
for the next 10 years?
I bet Jason Light would have admitted
over a beer that like,
yeah, it's probably Liam Cohen.
But what am I going to do?
Fire Todd Bowles.
And you'd be like,
well, sometimes the leader
you got to make tough decisions.
It literally never happens.
I do not remember a situation
where it's like, he got us out of the mud,
he got us going in the right direction,
but we're going to trade Dan Campbell for Ben Johnson.
Listen, I know Todd has done just an impressive job.
He has kept the ship going in the right direction.
He's taking us to the playoffs post-Tom Brady.
But we got to fire him and go with Liam Cohen,
who has been an offensive coordinator for one season.
Yes, I think if you could, you would.
I just don't think it's very possible to do that.
I don't think it's realistic.
Aren't 95% of Division I college football jobs just stepping stones?
Not destination schools?
Isn't that the real reason All Miss fans are so salty?
Not so much that they lost their coach,
but that the last couple of years,
they had the best feeling themselves thinking they were Bama,
LSU, Georgia, tier program.
And Kiffin leaving for LSU kind of gave them
a double dose of reality that they are not a top-tier destination school.
I think sometimes getting humbled in life can be just a great reminder for us all.
And I think it's really difficult.
I think it's easy to understand, you know, in football, it's like, hey, in college.
Historically, when a program would lose another coach or lose a coach to another school,
it would be, well, they've doubled his salary.
Like, well, what are we going to do?
Like, what are we going to do?
Right? Even now, if you lose
a recruit, it's like, well, we offered
them 400 grand, the other school offered
them $900,000. It wasn't my
shitty recruiting.
It's like easy to justify it.
And then every once in a while, it's like,
no, this is just kind of who you are.
Right? You are,
this is the greatest
three-year stretch in the history of the school.
10 wins, 10 wins, 10 wins, 11 wins.
I think Lane Kiffin said this.
11 wins is the most regular season wins by Mississippi or Mississippi State
in the history of either program.
I mean, Bama, think how many times Bama went undefeated.
LSU's their national championship with Joe Burrow, they were undefeated.
So I think the dose of reality hurts,
but I think where it hurts now, it's like, well, we could offer the same amount of money.
We've been giving them huge money.
for recruits.
Like, it's literally not for the money.
And it's kind of not as much this time.
It's just because through his lens,
and he told you this, through his actions,
I don't give a shit what he tells Marty Smith,
what he tells McAfee,
what he'll ever say moving forward at a press conference.
He told you with his actions,
and let's face it,
he'd committed to going to LSU weeks ago.
You could argue he committed the moment
he sent his wife and his kids
to go check out Florida in Baton Rouge.
And I do think, you know, they just hired Dave Caldwell,
the former Jags GM at Florida from the Eagles,
that Lane was never going to have a GM forced on him.
He has too much leverage.
So I've been read some articles and some different people that cover their tweets
that thought that was an area that made him uncomfortable.
What you're going to, because in the pros it happened sometimes, right?
You got to work with this GM.
Lane ain't working with anybody he doesn't want to work with.
Right?
So if he's going to work with somebody,
it's going to be because he's choosing to work with that guy.
And I do wonder if, like, Florida was already kind of out.
And Jimmy, who's no dummy as a businessman,
was like, hey, send them there, use a little leverage,
and we'll get more money.
But the moment Lane sent his family on the fact-gathering information trip,
he gone.
I mean, he gone.
And at that moment,
every old Miss fan kind of knew.
Like, we're getting played a little bit.
And he's such a good coach,
and they beat the shit out of Mississippi State and the Egg Bowl.
It's no different than if you know you're getting a divorce
or you know you're breaking up,
and the relationship's going to end.
We've all been to that position where it's inevitable.
It's going to end.
But then you just have a night where you maybe go,
get some cocktails and then, you know, spend the night together and the sparks are flying,
maybe even to get in the morning, you're like, God, this is good. But deep down, you know, it's over.
And that's what I think sucks about the situation is, like, it was, everyone kind of knew it was
over a couple weeks ago. And then you played that game and Lane was smiling. But even the way
that he attacked that dude that said, called him, you can't make a hoe a housewife, when everyone
acknowledges that analogy is perfect. And I even saw that guy say that Lane called him in a
apologize. I think sometimes we snap back when we know what you say to us is true. Like,
you know, Lane's like, I'm sober now. I'm not sleeping around. I'm back with my wife. You call me
a hoe. Like, that kind of struck a nerve. Even though he, like, he wasn't even talking about your
sexual proclivities out, out in the town. He's talking about your ability to just jump around.
You just go to a lot of places. Naturally, most coaches do. But Lane does a lot more than
most. Okay, a couple more.
Watching the Sunday night game
has me questioning Sean Payton.
He turned that franchise around, but his play calling is dreadful.
He makes Andy Reed look like a run heavy coach,
except Sean doesn't have him a homes under center.
I know Coward loves him, but tell me I'm not crazy to think he's a bit overrated.
Side note.
These officials have been awful.
Another side note, Marcus Mariotta,
Collinsworth is awesome.
I don't know why Collinsworth couldn't just call him his name that we all call him.
Marriota.
I was actually thinking about this this morning
because I nitpick Bo Nix.
But what was the Broncos record post
Peyton Manning?
Like if you go back to just when Fangio took over
to, so if we go Kubiak, the end of Kubiak, 5 and 11.
And then you just start in 2018
when it was Vance Joseph, 6 and 10.
7 and 9, 5 and 11, 7 and 10, 5 and 12, 8 and 9, Peyton's first year.
So think about that.
From Peyton Manning Super Bowl win, the following year, 9 and 7, 5 and 11, 6 and 10, 7 and 10, 7 and 12.
They had seen some hard times.
Sean gets there 8 and 9.
Last year, playoffs 10 and 7, this year they're 10 and 2.
With tied with the Patriots for the best record in the league.
I think he's pretty good.
I think he's got a, you know, the thing's a little weird with the quarterback, but 10 and 2 is 10 and 2.
Hear me out. I'm 25. About to be 26.
Played JV. and varsity sports. Graduated high school.
Applied to, got into, and graduated from college with a four-year degree.
Started a career in aerospace, smart guy.
Got engaged, planned a wedding, and got married.
Got my first dog.
bought my first car, lived in four, quote, four different cities.
All since the Steelers have won their last playoff game.
I have been waiting to see an end to Tomlin's time in Pittsburgh since I was in college.
So it feels validating to hear people I respect so much like you saying it as well.
Say what you want about him as a coach, but Tomlin, the staff builder,
is not someone I want in charge of the future of my team moving forward.
With all that said, my question is this.
With the benefit of hindsight,
how good of a coach is Mike Tomlin really?
The Steelers' defense of the past were good,
but that was with Dick LeBoe,
who was a legend and a coward guy.
I think we're going to find out how good Mike Tomlin is
when he's the coach of the New York Giants next season,
when he's the coach of the Miami Dolphins in two years,
when he's a coach somewhere else.
It's not as easy.
And it's kind of on him.
Like after a while, people question Andy in Philadelphia.
And he's like, okay, I'll go to the Can Sea Chiefs,
who have the number one overall draft pick,
who just had a linebacker,
shoot his fiance and then blow his head off in the parking lot.
The franchise was in shambles.
Andy gets there, brings in Dorsey,
brings Vech, brings in, you know,
Nagy and Doug Peterson, all those guys,
immediately there in the playoffs.
Five, six years later, they got Patrick Mahomes,
they become a dynasty.
And all they've done is won.
And now no one can dispute like Andy's elite.
Sean Payton took over the Saints, who were a joke,
won a Super Bowl, won a lot.
It's like, okay, you got Drew Breeze.
Good luck, Denver.
Okay.
8, 9, 10, and 7, now we're 10 and 2.
And we got a month to be the number one seed with an elite defense.
And we feel pretty good if we're the one seed,
at minimum, we'll be in the conference championship game.
So I think you really prove your worth.
and really earn your respect the second place.
Like, it's like, how good is Mike Frable?
Well, actually, I actually think it's more impressive what he did in Tennessee,
watching Tennessee now and what a disaster of that organization is.
And then you watch him go to New England,
a place that had been a joke, and immediately turn them down.
So I do think Mike Tomlin's kind of legend and his validation,
if he goes to the dolphins and all of a sudden they're just good every year,
he's going to get a lot of respect.
Because I do think the stars dimmed,
and a lot of people question it,
rightfully so you haven't won a playoff game in a decade.
Your team now just sucks.
He's definitely going to have...
He's going to have a spotlight on him wherever he goes.
And I think he'll be at another organization
neither this year or next.
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Okay, last question.
This is from Eli.
After the huge win against the Rams
and with all the Bryce Young love,
honest opinion hate who knows what.
What can I expect for my Panthers
finishing off the season?
We have the Buccaneers two more times,
Seattle once and the Saints again.
Our run game this past week looked great,
splitting the carries between Hubbard and Dowdle,
and our defense the past two weeks
against the Niners and the Rams
looks like a top five unit.
I know we're not going to go to the Super Bowl,
but what's your honest opinion?
Well, let's bring up Carolina,
who is, let's go conference.
They are currently the 10th seed.
So the Cowboys are above them,
the Lions are above them,
and then the Niners are several games above them
and beat them straight up.
So if you go to Carolina, like you said,
they play the Bucks twice.
They get the Bucks at home this week.
which is a massive game.
If you lose to the bucks and you go to 7 and 7 and they go to 8 and 5,
I do think you would be in major trouble,
given that you would have multiple losses.
They beat you head up.
In their schedule, it's not exactly murderers row.
So the Buccaneers, I guess they play you.
so the Bucks have the Saints, the Falcons,
at Panthers, the dolphins, and then the Panthers.
What schedule was I looking at?
I don't know what I did there.
I don't think you're making the playoffs.
I think Tampa's schedules is too easy.
And if they just split with you,
I think the big question mark is,
is Bryce Young this offseason
if you go 8 and 9 or 9 and 8 and you miss the playoffs.
Is that an auto, you're not picking up his fifth-year option?
Like, is he getting his fifth-year option picked up?
There's my roof.
I don't know.
I would say right now, no.
But he has more games like yesterday where he's going 15 to 20,
throwing a couple touchdowns.
Actually, I think he threw three touchdowns yesterday.
What was he last year?
Yesterday.
Yeah, 15 to 20 for three touchdowns.
It's amazing what a running game will do for a young quarterback.
It's kind of important.
So if I would have told you at the beginning of the season
that starting in December,
you would control your own destiny to make the playoffs
against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and have a home playoff game,
you would have 100% signed up for that.
So you could argue that the season has already been a win.
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Hey guys, it's us.
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We invented a podcast?
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Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it.
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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.
What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas.
And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs.
We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season.
And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments.
If we didn't talk ever again, I was crying.
You just understood.
That's how personal it got.
Wow.
Then after that game seven, Mark, keep coming to you.
He's like, you know, I love you, dog.
You know, it's all love.
This was just playoffs.
This was just basketball.
So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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This week on Crimless, Rory and I welcome a very special guest.
When I did podcasts, I wear my sleep masks.
I like what this is going.
So if you guys will indulge me.
That's right.
The incredibly talented and hilarious Will Ferrell on an episode dedicated to crimes committed by people named Will Ferrell.
You're good for 300 crimes?
Yeah.
We've got two.
I'm ready to go right up to present day.
Listen to Crimless on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
This is an IHeart podcast.
Guaranteed Hewerect.
Amen.
