The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - Jayden Daniels out, AGAIN, Russ vs. Payton, and Why Backup QBs Matter

Episode Date: October 23, 2025

On this episode of 3 & Out with John Middlekauff, John dives into Jayden Daniels’ latest injury and what it means for his long-term NFL future. He reacts to reports of tension between Russell Wilson and Sean Payton and breaks down why having a quality backup quarterback has never been more important in today’s league. Plus, John hits the biggest headlines from around college football and gives his take on what’s shaping the playoff race. 04:32 - Jayden Daniels Injured again 16:53 - The importance of back QB's 22:45 - Russ vs Payton 32:22 - Kauff on Campus Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest.  All lines provided by Hard Rock Bet 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'm going to do a couple quick NFL things. Jane Daniels is injured and just the overall scope of these quarterbacks. Are they being a little too reckless? Also wanted to hit on Sean Payton, his comments, and are we overreacting? Russell had a tweet, so I want to, Woody Johnson also had some comments on his quarterbacks, or quarterback in Justin Fields. Are we just too obsessed with the optics right now relative to reality? I just want to dive into that.

And then I brought on, formerly known as intern Jackson. Now he's just behind the scenes producer, Jackson. And we just talked college football for like an hour. On the hiring cycle, who's going to get hired, what jobs are good. We just, he's a college football junkie. And I said, you know what, Jackson, hop on here and let's talk a little ball. But other than that, that'll be the game plan for today. So I know I saw a lot of you guys fire in those DMs.

I might have to manually get back to some of you. But we will work on that. I'll find that maybe I'll put one out on Saturday morning or something. I'll have to think about that. But no mailbag today. So basically just a little NFL talk, little college football talk. If you listen on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe to 3 and out. If you listen or watch all of our stuff's on YouTube as well.

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John for 20% off. Download the GameTime app today. Last minute, take as low as price is guaranteed. I was thinking about this today because I saw Jaden Daniels is injured. And let's face it, it feels like he was injured kind of to start the season. He has not looked like the same guy physically, just moving around. He's been banged up. And one of the knocks on Jane Daniels, like a lot of quarterbacks in these modern times,

is pretty reckless, doesn't protect himself. And I was thinking like, listen, we all get accustomed to our environment. My life is so predicated on the internet. Obviously, I make my living literally on the internet. But all my TVs are all powered through the internet. If the internet goes down for five seconds, I have a connoption. I lose my mind. If just for a split second, and it rarely does, I'm watching TV, I'm watching a game,

and that little refresher goes, I flip out. 15 years ago, or hell, 20 years ago when I was like in high school and in college, it took me five hours to download one song. And at the end of it, I was so happy. I remember being, when I worked at Fresno State, streaming the show Dexter, off this illegal website and it would take like three hours to watch one 40 minute episode

because it would have to buffer and I was like a pig and shit I was so happy it was awesome and nowadays if our internet especially for those of us that pay for the highest speed internet isn't at warp speed and everything works perfectly

we lose it we wouldn't act like that 15 20 years ago why the internet wasn't that fast we weren't used to the internet working no different than cable television. We didn't have the ability to press a button and something would be downloaded like that.

I grew up on NFL football where my favorite player as a kid, Steve Young, got knocked out on the field, Aeneas Williams. And guys used to get dropped constantly. If you threw a ball over the middle and it was in danger zone and your target, your wide receiver,

your tight end, your running back, was going to get taken out. it would be called a hospital ball. Hell, when I worked for the Philadelphia Eagles, I remember multiple times the ambulance coming in a guy getting carted off the field because of safety. I think Austin Colley one time in Philadelphia, it definitely happened to Deshawn Jackson on the road in Atlanta.

It used to happen all the time. Guys would get killed. So safety and being cautious from quarterbacks, the way they played, and the way they threw the ball down the field, was a huge part of the sport. Well, now, because of what happened in the middle of last decade, everything was CTE, and I would say, I don't want to say an over-correction.

I do think college can peel back a little bit. If you watch football, Saturdays, Sundays, no one's trying to hurt anyone anymore. They literally used to. I mean, Greg Williams once said, killed ahead, the body will die. But that was like the ethos of football. Now when you watch a guy, especially on Saturdays, sometimes a guy makes a last second movement and the crown of his helmet hits him.

Suspending him for a game or kicking him out of that game is to me egregious. Even in the NFL, some of these targeting penalties, like, I don't think this isn't John Lynch, 1996. This isn't Ronnie Lott, 1988. Like, times have dramatically changed, and I give a lot of credit to the players and the coaches that they've kind of worked it out of the game. But quarterbacks,

feel much more, I would say, emboldened to run around thinking, you can't hit me. Hell, I love Patrick Mahomes. His little move on the sideline of like, I'm fake going out of bounds, I know you can't touch me, I move back and I gain more yards is insane. It should be penalized. But a lot of younger quarterbacks even feel like, I'm going to run around, you can't touch me. And I think once you get to the NFL, obviously, like in any physical contact sport or any sort of activity that there's a physical element.

Earning your teammates or people you play with or against respect as a competitor and your toughness is something males like to do. So I never hold it against a player for trying to prove his toughness. But I think pretty early on guys can tell, like, this guy's tougher, he's not. And most people, especially most quarterbacks in the NFL, Like, we can just go around the NFL. You'd be hard pressed to go say this guy's not tough, right? But I watched Jaden Daniels.

I watched Jackson Dark. And my first takeaway is like, they're kind of reckless. And I understand that the game protects you now to a point. But when you run around, and I'm not saying Jaden Daniels pulled his hamstring because a reckless individual play. But I'm saying his overall game is not sustainable. And, yeah, there aren't guys in the NFL that, 2060 pounds anymore, linebackers.

They weigh 230 pounds, but they run way faster. And they have 2% body fat, and they train 365 days a year. And if they catch you on the sideline, and you're not going to slide, they will fucking rock your world. And the thing I respect about the mature version

of Lamar Jackson and even watching Kyler Murray, is they're pretty dialed in to when they're running around hitting the ground. Why? Because their livelihood, and most importantly, their team's success, maybe not Kyler, but definitely Lamar, but any decent quarterback depends on them playing in the game. It's why people are so critical of Tua as he's getting knocked out. It's like Tua, you need to get down.

You are not, this is in high school football, even Damar Hamlin is going to dominate you in the open field if you just run into them. You got to slide, you got to live to fight another down. and historically, one, there hasn't, you know, up until the last, I don't know, 10 plus years, the majority of quarterbacks were statutes. And we have morphed into where all these guys can move. Like, every single quarterback except like Jared Goff is what you would consider like above average mobility. And we have a handful of guys who are like elite athletes, right, running dual threat quarterbacks. Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Carson Palmer, all these guys, listen, you get hurt.

Those guys have missed seasons for major injuries. It's football. You can get hurt training. You get hurt lifting. So, like, I have to be very cautious and be smart about when I'm in the open field. And even in the pocket, some of these guys, and you saw it Sam Darnold the other night. Like, you got to be cautious. You got to be smart because you will get injured.

These guys are big, fast, strong, and they get to hit you once a week. They work all season long for 17 times. It's the only time they get to. tackle you. And honestly, most of these practices, they don't get to tackle anybody anymore. So the violence and the way people are coached, if you went to a defensive team meeting on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, the day before the game, the day of the game, it sounds a lot different than the offensive team meeting. It would make a lot of people in society probably pretty uncomfortable. And I'm talking about people that like watching football, that watch probably

many hours on Saturday and Sunday. If they got to attend the defensive coordinators meeting on a Saturday night on Sunday at halftime, there would be a lot of millions of people that would just say, listen, I get it but I don't really want to know how the hot dogs

made. And it would sound way better today than it would have 15, 20, 30 years ago. And I'm watching Jane Daniels and I'm watching Jackson Dart. I'm watching all these young quarterbacks. I mean, Brock Purdy's banged up. And obviously they're in individual injuries could be a little random.

But their overall way they play, it's not a sustainable model. The reason, I mean, look at Aaron Rogers, who was kind of a dual threat, scramble guy. I wouldn't call him a runner, but most of his career was relatively smart. And still had a couple times where had a collarbone shattered, as he got older, ripped in Achilles. You just never know. That could come at any moment completely out of your control. So the things that you can control When a defender is by you

You've got to learn to pick your spots And I do wonder If these guys starting in high school Through college These guys can't touch me And I don't even blame them That's kind of what I would think It's like they touch me

They're gonna get flagged And most times I get touched As a younger player I'm not getting injured But as you go up And then once if I'm Jackson Dart If I'm Jaden Dan Shit I made through the SEC

It was cool then I was playing the best players in the country Look at me I'm good to go. It's like you're playing now the best of the best, who are every single one of those guys is a pro. Every single one of those guys has a chance to be a multi-millionaire. You're going up against some guys making 20, 30, 35, $40 million.

You're playing Michael Parsons, $47 million. You cannot run away from that guy. And if he catches you and you're not careful because you're feeling invincible, he will send you to the blue tent. Could knock you out a month. Could end your season. And unlike a lot of these other players, think about this. The 49ers are a good example.

Fred Warner's the best linebacker in the league, I would say. Nick Bosa, he's coming off of downseason, but I thought based on early in the season, it looked like one of the best players in the league again. Both of them, gone for the year. 49ers probably still going to win 10 games with their backup quarterback. Why? Because Mack Jones is a serviceable quarterback. But if they didn't have Mack Jones and they had Kyle Allen like they did last year,

they'd win six or seven games, even if Nick Bosa and Fred Warner were playing. Your value, we know this from a gambling standpoint, when a starting quarterback goes out, when Lamar's out or when he's in, can be worth anywhere from seven to ten points. That's an objective, no one cares, no emotion involved, these are the facts. And so when I see Jaden Daniels, who had this incredible rookie season, I go, God, I just, I hope he can corral his talents a little bit because the way he plays is not, look at the guy he is playing when. Marcus Marriota, a bunch of injuries early in his career. Also same type of thing, little reckless as a player. I'm watching Jackson Dart, who

is someone that I hope has like a 15 year career. I know this, the way he's playing currently of just giving zero, you know what, about anything when it comes to his body, he will not have a long career playing like that. Now, it's hard to like coach that out of you, and who knows, maybe it's not coachable once you hit a certain point. But if they do want to play for a long time, we've got to have, no one's asking you to play like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady where you don't move from a two or three yard radius. But you can't take unneeded hits for the hell of it.

It's just not, you can't have a long career doing it. It's just not possible, not a quarterback. I saw an interesting stat that Kyle Shanahan is 17 and 7 when his quarterback's injured and he has to play with a backup. On the flip side, John Harbaugh, when Lamar's injured, is 2 and 6. And I was thinking, like, because I saw Matt Mayoku, who has covered the 49ers for decades, I think close to 30 years. And he went on local radio today, K&BR, for those of you in the East Coast, like WFAN's, big channel.

Unlike WFAN, it's not quite as powerful as it was in its heyday, but it's still, you can hear it up and down the state. to California. And he said that Kyle Shanahan essentially is a lifetime contract. He would either have to quit on his own or have something, you know, crazy happen off the field. But if he wants to keep coaching the 49ers, he's going nowhere. And I see a stat like this, 17 and 7 with your backup quarterback, that's where your value is derived from. You know, like Andy Reid, for example, people think that he's become this legendary guy because he's won these Super Bowls

and obviously his status in the NFL going to 5 a 6 and winning all these games with Patrick Mahomes has like cemented his legacy I'd argue his legacy legacy is the wrong word but I'd argue his status in the league was set over the years of winning with random guys remember when Donovan McNabb I think

ruptured his spleen and they made the playoffs with an old Jeff Garcia. Remember when he traded for Alex Smith, who had like a season and a half of good football, and then went to the playoffs four or five years, and competed toe-to-toe with Philip Rivers in his prime and a loaded Denver Bronco team? Like, we know Andy Reid, Sean Payton, Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVeigh,

if I give them the best quarterback in the league or top two or three quarterback in the league, they're going to dominate. But what do you do when I take that guy away? what do you do when I give you someone random? Because let's face it, the beginning of the year, if I said, you had to start 10 games with Mac Jones, whether you're Andy Reed, whether you're Kyle Shanahan, or whether you're the New York Jets,

all of our answers, I'm guilty of this too, would have said, you're in trouble. That is not going to go well. Now, if, you know, we would all agree that Andy Reid would have a better chance to win some games with Mac Jones than the Jets, but would I say, hey, would they say, Hey, would they be a Super Bowl contender? You'd say no chance.

But that's the value of a star coach, especially an offensive one, is they can take random guys, not even random guys, but people whose value is down, just simply their backup quarterback and continue to win. And sometimes, like the backup quarterback, like Jacoby Versette, is he a better player than Kyler Murray? Yeah, he might be. But that's like up for debate.

They just gave Brock Purdy $200 plus million. he's missing again this week. If you told me he never plays again this season, I think that's possible. He has an injury that simply does not go away. And he's not going to get surgery in the middle of the season. So there's a chance that even if he tries to come back in a practice, he could re-injure it. We never see him again.

The 49ers with Mack Jones, I would say their floor would probably be 10 games. If he plays well in some of these tougher games, who's to say they couldn't win 12? That's with missing. I. The entire season. Fred Warner, Broken Foot,

Nick Bosa, torn ACL. And it's why when we bring up John Harbaugh, it's like, okay, John, you're great with Lamar Jackson. But wouldn't most coaches be? You know, like,

that's impressive, I guess. But what do you do when he's injured? And we see, you're terrible. You have no shot. Your team's loses. And that's where you start asking these questions of like,

how valuable is he? Is he replaceable? Because the guy that's not replaceable is Lamar Jackson. The guy that is replaceable, I think it's fair to say, is John Harbaugh. And Kyle Shanahan, like, listen, Jed Yorko, I'm paying him a lot of money. He's probably underpaid, given how many wins you get out of him with just chaotic quarterback play. And last but not least, Sean Payton. I understand how the story took on a life of its own when Russell Wilson put out a tweet.

basically taking a shot at Sean Payton for taking a shot at him, calling him classless, whatever. So I just went back and rewatched what Sean Payton said. And my first, one overall theme I have just in general in society is the internet has created this world where if everyone agrees that the sky is red, if you say the sky is blue, everyone goes, what the fuck are you talking about?

We're so big into optics and saying the right, thing, even if it's not true, but it'll make people feel good. So it's like, okay, did I listen to this wrong? Like Woody Johnson. I understand people going, yeah, probably not the best idea. Even if Woody Johnson says that they're his quarterback, struggles to complete passes, and essentially isn't good at football. Universally, you couldn't meet one Jets fan, you couldn't meet one football fan,

who has watched the Jets, gambled on the Jets, has fantasy players on the Jets, who has paid attention to the Jets go, He's not lying. But as the owner of the team, given that your team's in shambles, given that your team is just, I don't know, just always chaotic, crazy, a laughing stock, like, just adding fuel to the fire. Not needed. It would have been an easy thing to bullshit your way through.

Right to go, listen, our quarterback's struggling, our offense is struggling, we're all struggling, we're going to keep working hard and we'll be better. It just would have made the story less of a story. and I've come to the conclusion is like I don't even think Woody Johnson realizes what he's saying and maybe that's the case of being born into crazy wealth, being so rich and being a little out of it.

I don't even think he realizes his comments create a bigger issue and who knows, maybe he doesn't give a shit because I also think that's at play. But I rewatch Sean Payton's comments about saying how good Jackson Dart was and how an ownership in which he worked for decades ago

and like he said, still friends with the marrows, the tishes, how he said like, listen, I was hoping you wouldn't make the change. Everyone thinks that. Universally agreed upon. One, it's not even debatable. It's not like a subjective thought at this point in time. It's literally a fact that since Jackson Dart has come in, an offense in a team that was in Shambles has averaged over 25 points a game

and is six in the NFL in scoring during that time. and just from an aesthetic eye test standpoint, he looks fantastic. One of the fun young players in the National Football League. And honestly, one of the more entertaining young quarterbacks in recent memory. Looks like he's got a chance, as long as he can be a little more careful running around, to be a stud.

And that's what Sean Payton told him. Like, you guys got a good one. And somehow, and I get it because they're paths crossed. But honestly, rewatching that again, I'm like, I don't think he was going out of his way. And this comeback is like, he can be a dick, he can be a D-bag. And maybe some of those things are true. I don't know Sean Payton.

But on that individual instance, I don't think it was about Russell Wilson. I honestly don't think it had anything to do with Russell Wilson. I don't think he gives a crap about Russell Wilson anymore. And you know who definitely doesn't? Giants fans. Why? Because they get that quarterback. He was putting your guy on a pedestal saying like, you got something special here.

I was hoping we wouldn't have to play them. them. Part of running a football team is you're getting ready for stuff way ahead. Early in the season, you start game planning in training camp. So this notion that he was like going out of his way, classless, I just didn't see it. Now, I get we're in this world where, I guess on the internet at least, not in society, in real world, doesn't act like that. But like, you have to pretend something is true even though it's not true. Like, we all can agree. Russell Wilson's not good anymore.

if you were a coach, if you were a player, if you were a gambler, if you were anybody, you would rather play Russell Wilson than Jackson Dart. That is like 100% universally agreed upon. Yet a guy doesn't even say that, but people think he's alluding to that, it becomes a national story in his class list. I do think it's funny.

And again, maybe it's the internet, not a great representation to people. Everyone can agree with something. Even the Woody Johnson thing. I would say if you just go on social media during the course of this season, every person. And you can probably even find like a brother-sister or someone related to him.

Kind of shitting on Justin Fields. And I feel bad. I never thought he was that a good player. But he's really earned my respect the way he's handled some of these weird situations in Chicago in Pittsburgh. So it's like, I like the guy. So it's like, I'm not going to.

going to just take a dump on him for being a bad player. Never thought he was that good. Once he kind of established that he can't really throw in the pocket. But we all agreed like, yeah, he's not any good. Then the owner's like, yeah, he's not any good. And people are like, oh, what an asshole. How can you believe that? Even though I believe it, but you can't say that. Well, I can say it, but you can't say it. That's what it feels like a lot of this is, which is just exhausting. I can't do these mental gymnastics. And, and listen, I get Russell Wilson, or Sierra, whoever put that tweet out standing up for himself, because everyone's been crapping on him for a while.

Hell, his own teammates at Seattle, they don't like him. Like, that's, again, this isn't, it'd be one thing if, like, can you believe he took a shot at Cam Hayward? Can you believe that that guy said something about Max Crosby? You're like, well, that's not a left field? This guy said something about, something bad about Justin Herbert, or, you know, you just pick the good place. Roquan Smith?

No, you don't hear those things. Yet everyone now for a decade plus, his own teammates didn't like him. We didn't create that story. They literally did. John Snyder, Pete Carroll, pretty much over him. Sean Peyton, immediately over him.

The Pittsburgh Steelers. Couldn't get rid of them fast enough. And it's like, Sean Payton's the bad guy now? People are like, middle cut, if you're just sticking up, I don't, I've never had one interaction with Sean Pateau. I don't know one guy on a staff. I have no connection to Sean Payton. I don't care at all.

I'm not... But I also think this story is just insane. Other than that, I just the double-hatter thing. I promise you, I saw Florio post about it, that the numbers are up, and it just not going to go away. I'm not going to... I'm trying not to complain about football

because I love football and I do love watching it. I just don't like Monday night doubleheaders. I get it from a fantasy standpoint. I don't know. Maybe it's nostalgia. Playing on Monday night football is a really big deal. Like when I was a kid, if your team was playing on Monday night football,

hell, even teams that you didn't care about, like, oh, I get to watch the Chiefs play the Broncos, or I get to watch the Jets play the Dolphins. I just think, like, Monday Night Football, to me, is a very meaningful three hours. It was a really big deal. And it almost feels, and this is the modern day NFL, they don't care about anything.

I mean, look at the European game. Games terrible. Every single week, even when in theory it's good teams. Like, Rams, Jags, it's fired up. I wake up, it's 14-0. I'm like, this game is trash. So maybe I'm, you know, a dying breed, feel like get off my lawn.

But I just, Monday Night Football should be a sacred place for one game. You know? But if you told me that in five years, for 10 weeks of the year there's a double header, I'd believe you. Who knows? Maybe it'll be 16 weeks a year.

Maybe it'll just be double headers Thursday night as well, Sunday night as well. Maybe it just won't stop. So maybe I need to change my tune and carry myself off my lawn into reality, into Roger Goodell's office. I'm just going, double headers. Hell, we might have Monday through Tuesday,

Wednesday, just double headers on. all over the place. I wouldn't put it past him at this point. Today's show is brought to you by our new presenting sponsor Hard Rock Bet. The Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook now has new promos every single day. We talk a lot of football in three and out, but there's always something to bet. We got the World Series, baby. Week eight kicks off later this week as well, but if you haven't tried your first bet on Hard Rock bet, there's still time for you to get 150 in bonus bets if you win. Just place a $5 bet, and if it hits, you get not only your winnings, but $150 in a hundred and Extra bonus bets.

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Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. the 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. Oh, 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. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. Help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

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We haven't done this in a little while, but we got a lot going on right now in college football. We got guys getting fired left and right, some of the biggest jobs in America, Penn State, Florida. It looks like, you know, Mike Norville at Florida State. you got Brian Kelly at LSU fending off the buyouts. So we got a lot going on. So I said, you know what, let's bring in, as I called him yesterday on the podcast, a little overachieving slot receiver. I guessed he was a 4-7 guy.

But hey, listen, he played college football at Montana, which is a place I have a lot of respect for. When I was scouting, I actually watched a game there. And I sat next to, I stood next to. because I watched the game on the sideline next to Tinkle, the basketball coach. Yeah. Who then went to Oregon State. The guy was awesome.

I mean, we just ended up talking football. Remember, he took Oregon State to the final four, probably like, I don't know, seven, eight years ago. He was really cool. But that's awesome place. So it's bringing, he used to be intern Jackson. Now he's just producer Jackson. What's up, bro? How you doing?

I'm doing great. Reping the Montana Grizzlies, not the Montana pandas, according to the Sacramento State President. But yeah, so much going on in college football in terms of the hot seats, in terms of coaching. You've been covering college football for a while. Like is there ever been really quick, though? Did we get a verified 40 for you?

Oh, yeah, yeah. 4-76, I think it was my best, which I don't know. You're an NFL scout. I don't know how much what round I would get drafted in. I know my stats weren't great in college, didn't even see the field in college. But a 4-7-5, but ran a 3-9 in the, what is it, the 5-10-5 shuttle, which,

I got that agile. I got the hands. I can't really run the go route, but third and five, you need something. I got you. I mean, Keenan Allen, if you remember, at Cal had, like, kind of messed up his knee or something, refused to run the 40 and then kind of did like a week before the combine. I think if we time Keenan Allen, especially at this age, he's probably a four-eight guy. Listen, if you work the middle of the field, you do not need to be Justin Jefferson there on the outside. So it's about toughness. it's about willingness and it's about really just kind of getting open in short areas just get open catch the ball that's all that matters i mean you're not getting open on derick stingly or anything no no hell no i think i could maybe get open on uh jalen ramsie though that's probably the one i don't think you're getting out off the line i'm gonna i'm gonna red flag that he's like time out no no you're a little too cocky there

uh i i would bet a lot of money that if we had let's say 20 reps and you lined up and he got to press you, there is, you would not get two feet off the, off the line of scrimmage. What does the average play four to six seconds? So I'd get probably three seconds to get off the ball. Jay and Ramsey's also, I mean, what are you like? 510, 5.11?

Yeah, 5.10. Jalen Ramsey's like 6.2. He's long arms. He's tough. No chance. Zero. There might be some guys that you could do. that against he would not be one of them that's i mean yeah fair i mean he's probably like a borderline hall of famer who's like one of more physical corners he is but he's getting older i mean i guess it's tough to guard some of these receivers like who do you have to guard the other night and you

got yeah jimar chase what did it what an intro to the uh but speaking of speaking of people with no chance uh let's get let's dive into it coaching chaos a bunch of college football got burning six-packed questions college football let's get into it speaking of some guys that are now on the hot seat never thought billy naper was going to get fired you thought he was going to get fired last year they kept him another year they beat mississippi state big man pick the players around and around him you think hey maybe he lives to see another week he gets fired so first question hot seat watch who's going to be next he frees his name is throwing around like norvel of fort State, Brian Kelly, Luke Fickle, like, what in your mind?

Who's on the hot seat next to get fired in this college ball carousel? I was watching the pregame for Ole Miss. Maybe it was on social media. It might have been on TV. And it was Lane Kipp in a couple hours before the game walking out when they were playing Georgia. And Jimmy Sexton is a hard guy to miss. I mean, he's, you know, his body shape is pretty distinct.

and he obviously is the most powerful man in college football. And I think one thing that he's done because he represents anyone who makes any decent size of money is he's made this pretty complicated. And firing guys like Brian Kelly, for example, when Brian Kelly signed his contract, whatever, four years ago, it was fully guaranteed like $95 million. So it's just really difficult to fire him. Same thing with Mike Norville, I think it's over $50 million.

Now, I had to tap out on Saturday. Like, I'm not going to watch Florida State Stanford. But when I woke up and saw the floor, when I went to bed, I was looking on my phone and it was like, I don't know, 13 to 6 or maybe it was the final score. Maybe it was going into the second half. And I was pretty shell-shocked when I woke up and they had lost. So it's like you can't lose to Stanford if you're Florida State, but can they afford to pay them 50 plus million. Because that's, I saw Urban Meyer say this the other day is it's not just firing the guy to go away, even if you can pay them incrementally over the course of like five years. If you're Florida State,

you want to hire the next, you know, Brian Kelly, Lincoln Riley, whoever. That guy costs a lot of money. And I just think this stuff's really, really complicated. The Hugh Freeze, they're losing these crazy games. Like, they are not, they're a good example. Like, they're not that bad. Like, Florida State's worse than Auburn. Like, I watch Auburn play. Like, they're in these games with Georgia. They're in this game with Mizzou. They're losing in overtime.

The place is rocking. They're losing to Stanford. So you could argue Florida, like Mike Norville, back-to-back years. They haven't won an ACC game in two years, right? Two years. Yeah. And the ACC is not that good.

It's not like, hey, you know, look who they're losing to. I mean, Stanford just fired their coach six months ago. Stanford's terrible. Stanford's terrible. So I don't know. I mean, I would guess Hugh Freeze. I think a lot of people would assume Brian Kelly,

but I'm actually not that confident. I saw T. Bob, who works for Barstool now, but he used to have a show here on the volume with Aaron Murray. He's a big LSU guy, right? Played at LSU. And he kind of went on this rant. Like, whatever happened to, hey, Brian, we're paying you $95 million.

How about you figure this out? we've seen you in 10, 11, 12 games. You know, this is not like we treat it like you cut a guy in training camp. Like, just get rid of them. It's not that easy. And listen, maybe Brian Kelly is not clearly Nick Saban or Urban Meyer. But like, how is he worse now than he was at Notre Dame when it should be way easier to get way sweeter players in at Notre Dame or in the LSU? And how is his offensive line so bad?

Like, that's like what he hung his. Offensive line running game. And you watch it, LSU, like, what is going on? So I would guess he gets more time. I would say obviously Hugh Freeze and those other two guys, like it wouldn't shock me at all if they survived just based on money. James Franklin had been there 11 years. You know, I think we talk about James Franklin like he got fired overnight.

He had been there a long time, right? He took the job back when Bill O'Brien got hired in Texas. Mike Norvell is interesting because you mentioned the 15. million. I think his buyouts actually 76 million. I think it's one of the highest buyouts and the entire staff as a whole is $100 million. But you watch Forte State and to your point about Auburn, Auburn's at least live in these games. They have NFL talent, Keldrick Felk, Cam Coleman, Eric Singleton. They got guys on either side. But Auburn like LSU, their offensive line are horrible. And they also have been poorly recruited at the quarterback position. Jackson Arnold holding onto the

ball probably longer than anybody on earth. He's probably still holding on to the ball as we speak in the pocket. And to his credit, the offensive line's been horrible. But I agree with you. I think Hugh Freeze, but Hugh Freeze is kind of the same situation of Billy Napier, where if you're Auburn, okay, yes, the referees are helping you out a little bit. But if we go through the same cycle once again with all this talent that we've invested in the pool or straight in high school recruiting, like what if next year for Auburn they have the same exact type of, you know, pattern or same type of like problems or issues going on, then they're in the situation with Florida where we're like,

oh shit, like we're screwed. Yeah, I mean, I think that some of these programs, they're all holding themselves up to basically Nick Saban and Urban Meyer. And that's just not realistic anymore. It's going to be much more fickle year to year.

Now, I can't, listen, Hugh Free's the guy that, Wright, was posting about God and then sleeping with the prostitutes. am I confused? Okay, I get some of these guys in the South confused. Clearly, a lot of people think highly of him as an offensive mind, right?

That's his thing, right? He's an offensive, quote-unquote guru. Just like Brian Kelly is a offensive line running game guru. Like, that's kind of what they hung their hat on, and it's not working. I think that's where that you have these concerns. But Hughes also, like, battling cancer or something, a lot going on there. I just think you miss on these quarterback. Look at Mike Norvell.

He's basically treated Florida State like the Washington, back when they were the Redskins with Daniel Snyder used to treat free agency. They thought they could just buy a team. That's not really how football works. Like when you look at Nick Sabin's great teams or Urban Myers great teams, it was pretty organic. Even Ohio State, like last year, most of those guys were homegrown guys. Now, you can't, the transfer portal, you definitely can supplement at a guy here or there. but like the best teams in the country, like how many guys at Oregon are guys they recruited?

You know what, Georgia, a lot of these are homegrown guys. And I think just buying your whole team is not going to work. Look at Lane last year. Wasn't he called the Transfer Portal King? And it didn't work. Texas Tech's a good example. Like obviously their roster is pretty loaded individually,

like position by position. They're spending $28 million. They bought their whole team. They got into a little adversity. on the road and they kind of crumbled. Now, maybe that would happen anyway if you had a homegrown team, but it's, I do think you can't just pass up recruiting, like the old school way of recruiting recruiting high school kids. And Hugh Free is a good example. Like, it's signed Jackson Arnold. And I think they gave them millions of dollars, which pretty nuts. And same with,

same with Florida State. They signed Bill O'Brien's, I don't want to say trash. I mean, was a decent player for him. But didn't he kind of like quit on the team? They benched them. Like it isn't one of the big stories right now coming out of Florida State as guys have tuned them out. Well, of course. They just,

they showed up like six months ago. You think you're tuning out Kirby Smart or Ryan Day or these, they've known you since you were like 15 years old. You have a strong relationship with them. And I think sometimes the transfer portal when you just try to buy a team at that level, right? Some teams don't have a choice. But like when you are viewing yourself as a top five,

top 10 program. I think it can really bite you in the ass. And I think that's what Davo would say. Now, Davo can't even beat SMU anymore. So he's got bigger problems. But I do think there's got to be some balance. I would, if I were the top programs, I would spend so much time on high school recruiting

and then try to supplement a couple guys here and there. And no, it gets very risky, very fast. And they hit, I think one of the issues for Norville, he had home runs with like three guys, right? Jared Verse from Albany. Fisk, I think, was from like Wake Forest, and Keon Coleman was from Michigan State. And those three guys are, you know,

high-end starters in the NFL. Well, Keon Coleman's still got some work to do, but he was high traffic for a reason. And they've just tried to find that again, and it just doesn't really work. Yeah, and I think for Jordan Travis, he stayed homegrown. So they had success from a guy that's been in the program

for a couple years and that learned and develop where Auburn and Florida State, you're kind of taking a chance on film, but you don't know if the cohesion is going to be there. You don't know if he's going to play up to the standard. And even with Arnold, you knew he was bad at Oklahoma. And I guess Bo Nix was bad at Auburn, but with Will Stein and what Dan Lennon was built and what they had built around him, the transition was easy.

But with Jackson Arnold, it just has it. And that's where I think for Auburn, Auburn fans are kind of puzzled and they're confused. And they're like, why is this happening again? It's like, I could have told you that in the offseason, and when you sign Jackson Arnold. So I think you're right. I think another coach,

what do you make of Brian Kelly? Because they're kind of stuck in this $10 million extension. And I think his issue is he needs to adapt. I know you had Josh Payton talking about he needs to adapt to the Louisiana culture and maybe needs to change things internally. But he's kind of one of those egotistic guys. I mean, you see the Notre Dame Helm in the back. He wanted it.

He wanted it his way. He doesn't want to do it any other way because he thinks his way is the only way. And last year they spent a lot of money, number one portal class, all this returning production. And they got a home game against Texas A&M. They're going to have a bunch of angry Cajun fans. They lose that game. And you got at Alabama, you got at Oklahoma moving on, you're eight and four, seven, and five. It's like, do we have that conversation for LSU?

But like who do you go out and get? Do you try to change internally? That situation seems like more of a blunder than all the other situations. Well, I think I do support the Louisiana community. contingent that many people would say can be a little crazy. It's one thing if Alabama's better than you, and it's one thing if Georgia's better than you, because when Brian Kelly arrived, those programs were better than him. Vanderbilt has now passed LSU.

I mean, they kicked the shit out of them. I watched every snap of that game. The final score did not indicate what I watched. Pavia was running all over them. Their offensive line, I saw, was it Gruden or Baldi or someone posted some clips? their offensive line was destroying LSU. Now, it turns out I think they got some high-end offensive linemen, but still, and Vandy Lane passed LSU like two years ago.

So it's like, we've been passed by Ole Miss, and now we're passed by Vanderbilt. What are we doing? Because obviously Alabama and Georgia are ahead of us. So that's a problem. And I don't know if LSU played Texas this year. obviously Texas is a better program. You would say big picture, you know, once they get this art situation figured out.

So I think if you're LSU, you go, how did this happen? You know, even if, you know, when Brian was hired, it's like, well, is he actually a national championship winning coach? And I think you could obviously have had that argument, though I think the games he lost when he was at Notre Dame to Alabama, like they have a better team. But what he did at Notre Dame was pretty impressive. And now what he's doing at LSU is kind of the opposite. It feels like it's getting worse.

And I don't know if he's hired the wrong coaches. Because at the end of the day, you know, he's a CEO head coach, right? He's not like, in theory, it feels like the offense is his baby. But like whoever is offensive coordinator is has the juice. And obviously defensively, he is very beholden to whoever that guy is. For the most part, his hire a defense coordinator the last two years was good. But yeah, I think that that, like Ole Miss, once Ole Miss beat him again, it's like, okay, Lane's better than him.

Which is, yeah, Lane's a better coach. Everyone would hire Lane over him. I guess you could live with that. Though if you're an LSU fan, it's like, well, why don't we just fire him and hire Lane then? If Florida's going to, why wouldn't we just get Lane? And who knows? Maybe Lane would not be interested in LSU. It's like, oh, let's go to Florida or nothing or go to, you know, school like that.

Maybe he wants to Miami, Florida State would rather be in that state than Louisiana. But once Vanderbilt and Clark Lee are working you, that to me is like, I can't. If I was a fan, I wouldn't even be able to take him seriously anymore. And A&M last year, now, this game's in Louisiana. But remember that was like, I remember watching that here right behind me on the couch. And LSU was kicking their ass. I was like, God, Nesmire. This guy looks like the number one pick.

Second half, I think Marcel Reed came into the game. And I don't think LSU's ever recovered from that game. They haven't quite. Because for that half, you're like, LSU is really good. And then ever since, it's just, I mean, are they, are they, it ended up going eight and four because that's what it feels like eight seven and five and it's like you go back to back to yours and even the year you had jaden with those two wide receivers like you went nine and three like you look back you're like how did we lSU battle on defense that's that's

what doesn't make sense they always have defensive line and they always have db's name drop i was just i sent john schneider a text just like man your team you're crushing it and then he's like yeah we got at the houston defense is no joke i'm like yeah stingly's pretty good You know, I mean, that guy, Will Anderson is pretty good. But that's like what I think, Bama, LSU, I think Will Anderson, Stingley. I'm watching LSU. It's like, where are your height? Where are your impact guys?

And you just wonder, like, does he not have a great feel for, I don't know, clearly something's off. There's no disputing that. It's just not working, right? Like James Franklin didn't work because, like, something about him in the big games, right? But no one ever argued, like, his team was loaded. right it's like that guy can recruit and it's why if Auburn hires them if Florida hires them like

the team will be loaded it's just like in game the thing with Brian Kelly it's like what's you going to be like recruiting these kids down the SEC and you're just watching you like I don't something's off I'm not trying to pretend like I'm rivals.com number one user here but I watch enough football to know like I know what SEC guys look like and he's been lapped by you know I mean, Clark Lee and that GM of his in Vanderbilt, like if you had to buy, like if you were just Program X and you could have anyone, you wouldn't even hesitate going in on those guys over Brian Kelly and his operation, which would have been unheard of to say out loud like three years ago.

We should have known that Brian Kelly was going to go downhill when he faked that Southern accent at that pep rally or when he was dancing with that recruit. Like I feel like once you saw that, we should have known it was going downhill for LSU. I mean. Yeah, I mean, I do think you have to do cheesy shit, though, in recruiting. Like, I'm not as bothered by the TikToks and stuff to kind of like get those high school recruits and stuff. But I don't know, he's kind of older. But to your point with their defensive issues, I think A&M is going to beat him again.

And I think LSU fans are going to be livid because just like last year with A&M and Marcel Reed, the game that basically exposed their defense, Blake Baker can't stop a mobile quarterback. And they paid him as the highest paid him. assistant in college football. You saw what Diego Pavia did to them last week. They couldn't get the defense off the field. They just had 11 play, 11 minute drives against LSU. That same thing's going to happen. And to kind of turn the perspective a little bit as we get into Florida and Penn State, they're kind of looking for their next head coach to have a quick turnaround. A guy that's been talked about in these discussions that's going to face off against LSU is Mike Elko. What

Mike Elko is done in year two at A&M, if he goes into Brian Kelly in death. Valley and beats them and they're undefeated. They're one game away last year from the SEC championship and they're in prime position again to make the SEC championship in a playoff spot in year two. That's about an LSU fan. I'd be pretty pissed off. The fact that A&M and sure they have more money, but the LSU brand I would think in the SEC would be a lot higher than what Texas A&M is. And maybe we need to change our perspective. I mean, we've always said pre-NIL, A&M was a was like a sleeping giant, right? it was like this could be something.

I always thought that on a lower level, like how is Fresno State good and San Diego State sucks? Like how could Pat Hill, Jim Sweeney, Jeff Tedford, all these guys build this NFL program in Fresno, yet San Diego State is a laughing stock. And on a higher level, it's always like A&M, A&M. And now that you can pay players,

I mean, look at tech and A&M. Like those guys, if you were Elko or Joey McGuire, why would you leave either one of those jobs? Like, what do you need? what budget you need to pay the players. What do you need? Blank check. I don't think LSU has that.

So, yeah, I mean, I think I think there's a chance A&M blows them out. You know, wins by 20 plus points. Then all of a sudden you're like, what the fuck are we doing? The problem is, financially, it does feel like ultimately the Bama

conversation just kind of died because it's like, oh yeah, Kailin DeBore, weird game, Alabama. Everyone was right to freak out. Like, that was a weird game. but he's an ass kicker. And I saw the, you know, you see they're like making fun of the sweatshirt now because forever it was like he didn't dress up and Saban did.

And now he's kicking ass and everyone loves a sweatshirt. And all you got to do in the SEC, the thing I love about it the most, the Big Ten is a little, there's other stuff at play sometimes, right? The way you act, talk about academics. It's just the universities operate a little differently, right? There is a, I don't know,

intellectual arrogance to Michigan, to Washington, to UCLA. In the SEC, no one gives a shit about anything, wins and losses, you know? Now, ideally, Sabin's the best example. He was like presidential, and he was also like the greatest coach of all time. But you can be like Lane Kiffin's shirt off with a couple of babes, hot yoga, if you win 11 games.

That's all they care about. So, like, you talk about the accent, the TikTok, If Brian Kelly was winning 11 games in the SEC champion, no one would care. No one would care. Like Billy Napier, he just sucked. Like I looked at his record today at the gym the other day and they put up like the three coaches. It's like Dan Mullen and Jim McAwayne. Like those guys were kind of having some success.

And then he just started losing. Like he didn't get fired because he's a bad guy because he's a weirdo because he couldn't. It's just because he didn't win enough. And I think it's just it's the. SEC is the closest thing in the NFL that way. Nothing else matters besides wins and losses. And I would throw like Florida State kind of is like that too. It's why there are people.

I mean, if money wasn't an issue, Mike Norville would have been fired a couple days ago. Hell, he might have been fired like two weeks ago. But money is an issue now for some of these programs. And in fairness, it's a lot of money. I mean, pay a guy $50, $60, $70 million to go away is pretty insane. I mean, no one in the NFL has ever been paying. that much to leave beside a player. It feels like nowadays, and Nick Saban talked about this too, about how fan bases have more

power than ever because most of those people in the fan bases are NIL boosters and they're the ones funding the money and they're funding the roster. But to your point, what if Texas Tech spends $28 million and they're three and five or they're three and four? Texas Tech would be going at Joey McGuire, like they're going at Brian Kelly. He'd be done. He'd be done. Yeah.

So how do you, I mean, it's like, it's like. like the scientific like experiment we're seeing right now in college football and we'll get into like this next question about is Florida or Penn State a better job and that kind of like is in a line of what I was talking about how both both fan bases are pissed off they want to win because both have especially Florida DJ Lagway they're sweet running back two stud freshman five star wide receivers you invest all this money in you don't get a lot of wins then players get angry you don't play for the head coach they transfer. So my question to you for the second one is, is Florida or Penn State a better job and then kind of talk about who are some intriguing candidates to you for both positions? Well, let's just talk

about like forever, part of the reason a guy would go from San Diego State to Michigan, right, or Urban Meyer, Utah to Florida, or when I was at Fresno State, Pat Hill would interview for Pact 12 jobs because you got a huge race, right? And even like you would leave in conference for or USC's coordinator, Danton Lynn, left UCLA to USC because they like doubled his money. Well, all the top jobs, at least the top, let's say 10, 15, 20 jobs, pay a ton. Like Lane Kiffin makes 10, 11 million dollars, right? Signetti just got paid 11 million.

So there is no difference of pay for Lane Kiffin or Brian Kelly or Marcus Freeman to move around. So money now has no factor, especially if they're, like, we're willing to pay your staff or willing to pay, you know, your roster. The money at the top, the top guys is relatively even. So it's much more about like, what are the expectations? I'd argue Penn State is much worse than Florida just based on Dick Franklin's been win 10, 11 games. He's been in the top 10.

It feels like most years. He was just runner up. Well, I guess he lost in the final four, but he was a couple of plays away from being in the finals, right? He was beating Notre Dame. Like he ran a really good program, producing a ton of top draft picks. Like he was crushing everything except winning the national championship and beating Ohio State, right? And the Harbaugh version of Michigan.

I think he would probably beat this version of Sharon Moore. But I think Florida's expectations, while they are high, you are getting in kind of on the ground floor. They've been really bad. You know, if you won nine games in 2020, what's 25? So by 27, Lane Kiffin went nine and three, that'd be a pretty big deal. If you went nine and three at Penn State, people would, like, what are we doing? So you could argue just based on the expectations and based on the previous success, the standard is pretty low at Florida.

I mean, the expectations, in theory are high, but like they haven't sniffed being good in a while, relative to the conference. Penn State, they were in the conference championship last game or last year against Oregon. Now, you could argue that part of the reason is Ohio State blew the game to Michigan. So it's like, were they, they weren't one of the two best teams in the conference because Oregon then kicked their ass and obviously Ohio State had beaten them in Penn State, if I remember correctly. Yeah. But still, like James, we can nitpick him relative to like Sabin, Kirby Smart, Ryan Day, but he was the top of that next tier. Florida would die for him to be in that tier, right?

If Billy Napier was in that tier, he would not be fired. James Franklin was fired because he just couldn't get out of that tier. So they view themselves right or wrong, like we should be Oregon, Ohio State, and the Harbaugh version of Michigan's equal. And we're willing to spend for it. But that is like, I'm trying to think, let's say Matt Rule or Signetti had gone there. Like your expectations would be like you should be in the final four every year. And I don't, you know, it's hard.

I mean, Ohio State right now is clearly the best run program in the country. And Oregon is really high up there, top three or four. So it's like that's, and if USC continues to spend money, they're clearly on the come. Notre Dame is not going away. So you just look at that region, you know, I don't know if Sharon Moore is good enough or not, but if he's not, they'll replace him with someone sweet. So it's really, really hard. I'd argue Florida is dramatically better job than Penn State

based on all that factor. Hey, it's us, the 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 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. We were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers.

This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast where people could call in and say, Hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. Help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast.

network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris, every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jenchian win. I mean, she went down at three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me.

And she likes Clay. Listen, Lerner Rabakina is. arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. So are you pretty, you're pretty set on Florida going after Lane Kiffin. Penn State's interesting because you mentioned Matt Ruhle. Obviously, they wanted to go for Signetti, he signed that extension.

I think the most intriguing part about all this coaching movement and stuff is the guys that are out their alma maters, like Clark Lee's names thrown out a lot, Brent Key's names thrown out a lot. And I've been looking back, there's not a lot of, maybe today there's more money than ever in college football, but there hasn't really been a guy that's left his alma mater for a bigger job. Like, do you think that could happen out of all these other jobs? Or you think Penn State just, I feel like Penn State's just going to hire some random person because I feel like they're going to go after all these people, and you and me have talked over and over about this

with the calendar of the playoff schedule, most of the top coaches that you can maybe poach at of those lower tier, the Vanderbiltz, the Georgia Tech, or even if you're Florida this weekend, you're hoping Ole Miss loses so they don't make the playoff. Like that whole situation with the early signing day and the portal window being in January, it just seems like a blunder and kind of like a disadvantage

for the Penn States and the Florida is that they want to go after and poach those coaches. And I think part of it, like, you hired Clark Lee and Brent Key are bad examples because it'd be pretty impressive what they've done. But Matt Rule is a good example. It's like, well, why is Matt Rule any different than James Franklin? And if anything, it's like, where is Matt Rule proven that he can recruit at the level

of James Franklin? So it's going to be very hard for Penn State to make a hire and be like, this is incredible, right? You could have said it's Signetti. And I would be, I would say it'd be hard to not be excited if Penn State had pulled off hiring Signetti. But yeah, I mean, I, listen, I, I think sometimes we talk about the, like, where you went to school and coaching there, like part of it for Clark Lee and Branky,

like that was the best job they could get at the time. There obviously is connection. But that was, if you're 40, 45 years old, that's 20, 25 years ago. So the guy, like most of the people that were there when you are long gone. And most of these coaches, beside like Pat Fitzgerald or Mike Gunnar, have bounced around, right? I bet if we, I don't know where else Clark Lee is coached, but he had probably been at a bunch of different places before he comes back.

It's a very nomadic profession. Plus, I think that like we have seen a lot of examples of if it starts going the other way, they will fire you immediately. You know, Cliff Kingsbury. See ya. Pat Fitzgerald, who liked Northwestern more than any human ever, you know, things got a little weird with. that the hazing thing, and they fired him without hesitation.

So I think it's kind of a cutthroat job. You know, these coaches, you got to be very conditionally loyal because it can change. There aren't many Nick Sabins or Bobby Bowdens, you know, or the kind of the rope Kirby Smart has. Things just get weird. And you become, you know, a product of your own success and the expectations that you created. You see dabble battling with this. Now, in fairness, like, dabble, watch your team is pretty terrible. Like, it's like, what are they supposed to say?

But it's like it's more fickle now. It can happen randomly. And I do wonder if you're at Vanderbilt, for example, like, you kind of got a strike when the iron's hot. Same thing, you know, I think Siddi could say is like, well, I've had two years, two different quarterbacks and different core group of guys now. I guess there's some carryover still. But he lost his quarterback.

He lost some other guys to the draft. He's pretty confident that he can do it. I think if you're Clark Lee, you know, are you going to be able to maintain this at Vanderbilt? More likely at Indiana that he can be a competitive eight to 10 win team on a yearly basis than Vanderbilt be consistently like in the playoff mix, I think. Would you agree with that? Yeah, because I mean, Pavi is a super senior. He's the heart and soul of that team. Haynes King's a super senior.

He's the heart and soul of Georgia Tech. Both those guys, they give them ball like 15 times a game or running through tackles or get a hit a bunch of times. Like those are the heart and souls of each team. And that's the reason why their programs are both top 10 programs in college football, which is still weird to me. But to your point about Clark Lee, strike when the iron's hot, that's not to the level of this, but that was like when Caitlin DeBore left Washington to Alabama.

And I thought he was going to do it because Pennix was gone, a lot of returning production, all these senior guys that led him to the national championship were leaving. So that was kind of his way out. So for Clark Lee and Brent Key to your point, yeah, like they have an emotional tie. because that's their alma mater. But how realistically is it for them to make the playoff next year

or be at the caliber or what they're at, especially with the Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech that, let's face it, maybe the NIL boosters weren't expecting this grade of a season from those two schools. So I think it's, I think it's an interesting kind of scenario and an interesting kind of topic in today's, you know, college football about those guys that are tasked. I do think is a good example is in no world, NIL, pre-NIL, the 50,

is 2025 is Washington ever a better job than Alabama football. And I think that gets to the case that if, you know, I'd have to look at Clark Lee's background, but let's say Auburn and let's say Brian Kelly's fired as well. And both those two programs offer Clark leave the job. I think you could argue he's pretty nuts if he doesn't seriously consider it, right? I get he's loyal. The one thing you have going for him, and he'd know this better,

than us on the outside is like the NIL world with some of these smaller cities where these Baton Rouge or some of these programs that aren't in bigger cities. I better know the boosters have an unwilling, a willingness to just open the wallet constantly. And maybe Nashville, they can tap into some of the corporations around there, that it's not dependent on like former alumni, like not. not everyone who is going to have like this Texas tech situation where this former offensive lineman hits a bunch of honeyholes and then becomes a multi-billionaire and just writes an unlimited check. So that that has to factor in. But I'm watching Auburn and night going, God, I mean,

they've won a national championship with Cam. They got back in another game when who they, oh, they lost Florida State. So it's like that, and that was during the saving era. So I don't know, man. I think you've got to be very careful. And they're in a profession where you got to be willing to move. I mean, that's part of the deal, right? For most of us, but like, yeah, you're making $9 million. You're happy where you are. Why would you leave? But that's not, football is very fickle that way. And you got to be careful because like you said, you strike where the iron's high. You get the special quarterback. Maybe the, I would say this year for Vanderbilt, they're like beating and playing gets a good team. It's not like they're just beating up on

Mississippi State every week. I mean, they were right there with Bama for most of that game. They just worked LSU, who they play this week, Missouri. I mean, if they beat Missouri, I mean, they might just be a playoff team. That'd be impressive. Yeah. I think you, Missou, Vanderbilt, you're right. Whoever wins that game is going to be in a good position for the college ball

playoff. But see, that's a good example is Eli, right? Like, he's another guy. How good is Missouri? right relative to some of these other jobs like if lane turns it down and they offer him the job like you just you you can't turn out Florida from Missouri I mean that's that's that's that's crazy and he's proven like the the running back he got from Louisiana Monroe or whatever like you're going to be able to do that Florida no problem and they already have like the one thing in Florida is going to have

is a pretty good roster in theory I guess these guys I mean who knows I mean 10 of them could quit over the next couple weeks, right? And just be like, I'm not risk getting injured. I'm going to go in the portal at the season's end. So it's a little more fickle now. I've seen a lot of people like the Andy Staples of the world, like this roster is loaded. Well, yeah, today.

I mean, these guys, I can't imagine the DMs for Florida's starting defense, what it looks like. They're phones. Like, I mean, the texts they're getting from Kirby, from Lane, like these guys from Ryan Day, their staffs. I mean, they are, how many guys at Florida would start all over the country? I mean, they have to be inundated with people fucking hitting them up, making them offers starting December 1st or whatever.

You talk about Eli Drinkwitz. Would he be kind of your, the question I have for you, what coaches are wildcards to either get fired or to leave for another job? Him being one, I know we talked about before, it's been a little quiet because they haven't been in the prime time light. Davo is still interesting because fan base obviously still. angry at him for a disappointing season. Maybe he's fed up with it and says, I want to go to Arkansas,

or maybe Florida coaches in, or maybe Penn State. There's some other wild card coaches that you got your eye on that are like, okay, like maybe they could go somewhere else. See, the problem is, I would have said like three weeks ago that like Davo should already be working to go to Florida. If they announced in a month that Davo Sweeney was the head coach at Florida, that he just worked something out with Clemson, let him out of his contract, I feel like Florida fans would not be happy.

which is crazy, but they would go, what the hell's been going on with this guy the last couple years? So I think part of that, and I wonder how much these ADs and these boosters worry about the reaction, right? You could argue if you're Florida, the only guy you could hire to get like universal excitement would be Lane Kiffin. Because if you ended up with Davo, if you ended up, Eli Drinkwitz is really impressive. I don't know if like, and could be a home run hire, but are people doing. cartwheels down the street if that's announced.

You know, James Franklin, what does Florida just announce tomorrow? We've hired James Franklin. I feel like the reaction on their Reddit boards would be like, what? Even though they would die to be what James Franklin has done. That's a huge part of college football is there aren't many guys you can hire that aren't named like Nick Sabin or Urban Meyer

that aren't getting you universal excitement. And just because you get universal excitement, we saw it with Lincoln Riley when they hired him from Oklahoma at USC, they couldn't have been happier. And four years later, they're like, what is going on? You know, I think Brian Kelly is a pretty good example. When LSU hired him, people were excited, but it was like conditional excitement,

kind of excited, kind of uneasy, but like, oh, this should work. He's pretty solid. So they turned on him really quick. So I think this is really hard, you know, Matt Ruhl, if Penn State hired him are people going to be excited? Can I throw a name out at you, Jeff Brom, Louisville.

Would that bring any intrigue to a Florida or, I know it's not the sexiest name, but him beating Miami, what he's done with quarterbacks the last couple of years, from Jack Plummer to Tyler Shuck to Miller Moss, they always win 10 games. Like, they're always relevant. They're upsetting opponents. Like, I think his record's, like, insane in terms of against a top 25 team. That, but he's another, and he's another guy in that equation. in that circle of the Brent Keys of the Clark Lee's that are former alma mater guys.

So would it be tough for him to leave? I have no idea. A lot of these guys that talk about their alma maters are like Kenny Dillingham. Kenny Dillingham says he's not going to leave. I believe him. But I also could see him go on and go to Penn State, which is the amount of money that he offers and how that, you know, changes coaching career. But what do you make of like Jeff Brom?

I would say Jeff Brom historically is exactly the guy that a good program and a good AD would want to hire. He's 54 years old. He's been a head coach now since 2014 at Western Kentucky, 8 and 5, 12, and 2, 10, and 3. Then he goes to Purdue, which I think we'd all agree, is not a good program. His last year at Purdue, he was 8 and 5. The year before that, he was 9 and 4. So his last two years, he won 15 games. Then at Louisville, 10 wins, 9 wins, and now 5 and 1. he is a former NFL quarterback, right? He was undrafted guy in the 90s,

played in the NFL off and on as like a backup third stringer for a long time. He's a quarterback guy. He's an offensive guy. Kind of just kicked Miami's ass. You know? Wasn't Miami coming off a buy? Yeah, yeah, after beating Florida State.

Yeah. I mean, dominated him. So I don't think, listen, he's not like, it feels like lanes in his own little island of being the sexy hire no one else feels sexy and that that doesn't matter

in the pros it does matter a little bit like when John Schneider hired Mike McDonald you know it's kind of boring he's not going to give you great sound bites a lot of NFL coaches are not like Dan Campbell they're pretty boring hires

Brian Schottenheimer people like what's up with this idiot college it's a lot about pizzazz and you know when Auburn hired Hugh Fries and I'm not saying that's the right thing but it does kind of matter. And I think Jeff Brom, 20 years ago with his resume, I think we'd be talking about him like he's the number one coaching candidate,

not named Lane Kiffin on the market. But it does feel like he's kind of an afterthought. Like if I'm Penn State, I think I'd be all over. I mean, he's worked at, he's worked in the conference, had success. he worked at a little school and now he's at Louisville I think he'd be a no-brainer I like Bro.

But I think if I said, hey, Penn State has hired Jeff Brom Do you think people would be happy at Penn State? Probably not at first, but I think it, because he's kind of a sneaky underrated guy in terms of the transfer portal. I think Penn Station would be all over him. I mean, look at his resume right now. I agree.

Maybe they are. Maybe they end up hiring him. I'd hire Jeff Brom before I hired Matt Rule. Yeah, yeah. He's not an outspoken guy like Matt Rull is. Matt Roles has got a podcast, and he's definitely got like the image of, to your point earlier,

talking about Brian Kelly and having to do kind of those cheesy things. That's what Matt Rull will do and it works. But he also is the same guy that lost to Minnesota on a Friday night where that same Friday night, Brahms beat Miami. Number two, Miami, what you and me talked about is one of the most complete teams in college football. And you look back at Miami and you got question marks.

And now Miami and I might not even make the ACC championship game because of that game with Louisville. Speaking of another guy that got fired, James Franklin, we talked about him earlier. Do you think James Franklin will land a head coaching job in 2026? Do you think he'll aim at, we mentioned Florida, but realistically, Arkansas is available, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, UCLA Stamford. What does your crystal ball say about a guy like James Franklin? I think I'd be hard pressed if I was him and he just said on game day that he wants to keep

coaching like right now. Like he's ready to win. He's like, we plan on winning national championships. Like, James, let's just pump down the hyperbolic talk a little bit. You're good. You're going to get paid a lot of money. But you haven't sniffed a championship, even in your own conference. I guess he won the Big Ten what back 2016?

I can't, you know, you bring up Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech. If I'm James Franklin, there's no way. I wouldn't even fathom taking one of those jobs. I've seen his name in the mix for you. UCLA. If you're James Franklin, you're going to UCLA after coaching Penn State, like to me, it's got to be like Auburn would make some sense. Arkansas, if they financially back them, would make some sense. I think the SEC jobs, I mean, if I was him, I'd be all over Florida. You know, I think if you're Florida, you have your sights set on, because I've heard some people

say this. It's like, you know, James Franklin's a former wide receiver, offensive guy, and his offenses kind of suck. Now, he's ultimately. like not he's more like a seriani like it's not like he's calling the place but like the offense should be his baby he's actually recruited really well on defense you know you watch on offense you're like where are the wide receivers on this team so it's his offense he actually probably more suited to go to like abber and Arkansas and build that type team he actually builds SEC level teams now the SEC's changed a little bit these last couple years become you watch Georgia um oh miss that look like a big 12 game but my guess

would be Auburn, Arkansas, like those schools would be out. Now, I don't know if he'd take those jobs. He's getting paid so much money. But I couldn't, if I was him, there's no way I could take the Oklahoma State. I think Oklahoma State job is one of the worst jobs in the country. Virginia Tech's starting to feel that way as well. And when my guy, Tim Skipper, beats Indiana on Saturday, they're just going to have to offer him a contract.

I mean, that's what UCLA has to do, right? I mean, you can't, you can't back away from what you're seeing with Skipper and New Heisle together. just pay them both. Hey, here's your checks and just run with it with UCLA. But to your point about James Franklin, what would a job like, because he's been in the Big Ten? It seems like if he's a guy that wants to get back into winning, it would be the ACC. And Florida State fans are probably going to be upset about it. But a guy like James Franklin would come in and relatively would at least beat Stanford, would at least beat SMU, would at least beat Pitt and all these teams that

Mike Orbell is leaving. So I guess to James Franklin's credit, if the SEC job wouldn't be available. A Florida State would be intriguing. But again, that's another fan base that's pretty upset right now. The last couple of years, that program just looks dead. Also, his, like, next contract is mitigated by what they own. So, like, you could pay him $4 million and they got to cover the other five or whatever. So you could actually get James Franklin in theory for a little cheaper. You can say, hey, we'll pay a little less. We'll let Penn State cover some of it and we'll use some of that money to buy your coordinators to buy your GM. to use toward your roster.

So it's actually a pretty big advantage for him. Like he's getting his money no matter what as a $9, $10 million coach. But Penn State can flip some of that bill. It happens a ton in the NFL, right? I can get a coordinator for half price because another team's paying part of it. I have to pay him a threshold, right? I can't pay him like $100,000. And they pay the other $9.5.

But, yeah, I mean, I think I would guess Auburn, Arkansas, if you tell me Florida State, available. I could see him being all over that as well. Because they kind of like, you know, Bobby Bowden. They like a big recruiter. And I don't know much about Mike Norvell, beside a couple years ago. I thought he was good. Clearly it's just not going well. I mean, you can't be losing these games. Like, they lack talent. I mean, that's at this point in time, or a couple years ago, they were stacked. And I think that's part of the transfer portal, you know? And I think James Franklin, like, most of their star play,

players like Tyler Warren, Abdul Carter, Sequin Barkley, Michael Parsons, like homegrown guys. Then 49ers safety, Jeyer Brown. Like they have a bunch of dudes all over the league that are just the two running backs, like homegrown. You could argue he needed to supplement a little more with the wide receivers, but he definitely can, like, identify. It's like Sabin and Kirby's great strength and Ryan Day,

high school kids. because then if they like you, they'll stay for like three years. I think he's got good relationships and good report with his players too. And I know people will kind of at the end of the day, like, we're all human. You look at a record against his AP top 25 or AP top 10, not great. But the players respect him. He'll go out and drive. I think you saw a video a couple years ago that he drove to Chop Robinson's draft party

and then drove to another guy that was getting drafted. I think it was Olu Fashion who's draft party in the same day. So I get it like his record stings. but I think he could be adaptable and other programs to your point. 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 a first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. 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. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy. Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio. app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments.

that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand. because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris,

every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Genschen win. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck.

Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. I want to go back and talk way preseason. You made a bold prediction on this very show, the only show. Subscribe, Road to 100K. John Gruden, you said, would be a head coach in 2026.

And now with a lot of jobs opening up, looks like a guy that not a lot of people are talking about because a lot of people's focus is in on college guys that are currently coaching. But do you still feel as if Gruden will be a college head coach even more now than he did in the preseason? And what are some jobs that you think would be perfect for Gruden? Yeah, I don't feel as great about it. Like, I wouldn't put money on it as of sitting today. And part of that is one thing Gruden's always been good about and this happened forever when he was with Monday Night Football is like, you would just hear and read stories about it.

It feels like it's been a little quiet. Now, that could change. He's outspoken like he wants to do it, but it doesn't like, it's a two-way street. And forever NFL owners wanted them, to me, it's like do the ADs want them? And, yeah, I mean, I would say I'm not as strong. I'm definitely, I feel like Mike McCarthy is more likely to be the coach

at, like, Wisconsin than Gruden is to be the coach at Arkansas. Maybe I'm wrong. It'd be interesting to a guy like that that's never played in, and that's never coached in college, how would he adapt to the portal? How would he, has John Gruden ever been on a home visit in high school? Those little things to me where I would love to see Gruden in Arkansas.

I think he'd bring a lot of tremendous, you'd bring a lot of vibes, Walmart, Tyson, they've got a lot of NIL boosters behind him. But in terms of like the logistics side and college football being an everlasting cycle, I wonder how he would adapt to the college football space. You don't have to go in as many homes. homes anymore. That's part of it. But, you know, I don't think Dionne Sanders ever been in a home.

I actually think he'd be fine doing that. I think it'd be a natural skill form to just got such a great personality. Yeah. I mean, I, that to me, I wonder if that's a little overrated where it used to matter more with the money aspect of just like sitting down with the grandparents talking about life. I still do believe that matters though. You know, I think Kirby Smart's doing it. Ryan days doing it. You don't have to do as many guys, but I do think when you hone in on your top five to ten high school kids a year, and you're probably even doing it now way before, right? You know, you're on these guys now sophomore, junior year, but you're spending a lot of time building a relationship. And I think that matters. And that's where I think a big advantage

for like Kirby Smart's been in college football for a long time. Sark's been in college football for a long time. Lane's been in college football for a long time. And that would be if I was an AD like, Does Gruden just really want to coach Because he just loves football Which I get it But like one thing you're seeing with Belichick Is this industry is way different than the pros Right?

Developing a relationship with a 16 year old kid Kind of sucks I mean does anyone really want to do it But it's kind of what you got to do Like does Kirby Smart love Making the recruiting calls Five days a week And half the

Fridays of the year going to high school football games, they'd probably be rather at home with his wife having a beer with his kids. But that's part of the reason you make all this money is to do that. And it's like any job that any of us have, there are things that come along with it that you don't love, that you just kind of have to do. And that's one area in college football where you just wonder like, like how much better would Dion be?

And he's got like obviously health issues. but if he was just, think how good Dionne would be sitting at the fucking table having dinner with people. I mean, he would, he would probably land way more recruits. I mean, that's, like, his great strength. You know, it was his personality. But in fairness to him, he's like, I don't really want to fly to Texas tonight. Right. I don't even blame him.

But it's, it's probably, I just think like the top guys, you think Dan Lannning is not doing that? like you know he does there are probably nights like on his by week you think he wants to fly down to LA and have dinner with three of his top recruits like yeah he'd probably rather just hang out of his family we all would yeah him Marcus Freeman Kenny Dillingham those are kind of some guys that are killing the recruiting game killing the in-house visits but last question for you we pivot off of call or coaches I should say the Heisman watch everyone who loves the Heisman trophy we're approaching week nine right now any guys sit out to you I know last year it was kind of more of a non-quarterback award because some of the

quarterbacks were kind of iffy. This year, our expectations were Archmanning, Garrett Nussmeyer, Clubnik, Aller, those guys out of the picture. But some of the top guys that we've seen in college football have been pretty impressive. And I think the award's still wide open. I mean, I'm looking at the odds right now, Mendoza and Ty Simpson, even Julian Sane at plus 400, which is interesting because it's Ohio State. I get it, but they're throwing 42 times.

you have an 80% completion percentage against Wisconsin. I think a lot of quarterbacks are going to do that against a poor team. But who in your eyes, you know, I mean, early high has been talked, not saying that you got to give a vote, but who's been kind of impressive to you in college football that deserves the award? Well, I think the award kind of overrated. I mean, I think it used to mean more. I think it used to mean more.

But I would say this, if Vanderbilt makes the playoffs or Indiana is just in the conference championship game. I have a hard time not giving it to one of those two guys. Like nothing against Ty Simpson. He looks unreal. Most quarterbacks over the course of the last 15 years have looks pretty sweet. Nothing against saying he's kicking ass and that team's awesome. Like most people look pretty good at Ohio State.

What these guys are doing at Indiana and Vanderbilt is pretty incredible, specifically Pavia, because now we have two straight years. Rourke was, I mean, he was, turns out he had torn ACL by the end of the year, but he was good. Like their offense was good, right? He was throwing those back. Like, Signetti's a good offensive coach. But it does feel like they've gone up a level. And clearly Mendoza is a better player.

I mean, he's like a high-end traffic. And he's, I had a buddy who's a scout at the game against Oregon. And he's like, listen, that interception was bad. But he bounced right back. That was like really impressive in that environment and that place. And you watch Pavia just making play after play. Because every once a while, like LSU would kind of get back in the game. you're like, hey, if they can just get a stop, like else you can,

and then he would just pull something out of his, honestly, it was Johnny Mansell. It was, it's the closest thing to see, we've seen the Johnny Man, because it's like, what is he doing? I would, to me, he would get, if we were voting today, I would vote for Diego Pavia. Now, you know, you get a couple more games, you lose, don't play well. He does that again against Missouri.

I think he's going to win. I mean, if he just keeps playing like he's been playing. Because even against Alabama, I thought he was good. Now, again, these, defenses, this isn't like 2012 Nick Saban defense on Alabama. That's kind of college football. I mean, Georgia and Ole Miss was an eye-opening experience. I think there was like one punt for 90% of the game.

I just think defense is Ohio State plays it, but most of these teams, Texas, most teams are not that good on defense. So it's like, I don't really, I don't have a problem with, you know, bigger stats now and stuff. It doesn't bother me as much, you know, so it's just part of the football. because forever it was like if you throw a bunch of touchdowns like oh you're playing the big 12 you're a texas tech or oklahoma well i'm watching this d2 guy go up against georgia and slice and dice them till the last five minutes of the game so you just great defenses don't really exist

the offensive expectations are higher and what pavia is doing uh in the SEC is just he's the most fun player in the in the country right now i would say for court yeah i agree and people will hate his theatrics or hate his cocky I love it. I think it brings added storylines to the sport. You mentioned Johnny Mansell. He's giving kind of that mentor towards him whether it's good or bad. That's a little bull. I have a pivot.

The high, the he's been, the high has been posed in the end zone or like doing the money stuff that, like, that Pavia does. I don't know if I'm a huge fan of that, I guess. He, I saw him. They, they did that mic up pregame on college game day. And he was, he's, I didn't think he was as dushy as the way people were kind of making fun of them. I thought he's cool. like giving Saban credit. And remember,

last year, Saban talked a bunch of shit about them. I thought like, what's he going to say to Nick here? Like, hey, Nick, remember what you said about? I was expecting him to say that. And he's like, uh, he's basically like, Mr. Nick Saban. It's great to finally meet the goat or something. Well, to his credit, he's had a chip on his shoulder his whole career. I mean, he started a New Mexico, Juco. Then he was at New Mexico State and now he was here.

But do your point about Vanderbilt, they've got, let me look at their schedule real quick. They got Missouri this week at Texas against Archvany. you know that's going to be a prime time game versus Auburn at Tennessee. I think they're going to be a playoff team. I think if they go past Missouri, they're going to have a, I mean, at Texas. Texas is not looking at the team. You talk about Fugazi's probably the Fugazi team of college football is Texas. You don't know what the hell.

When do they play them in that program? They play them week 10. So next week. They are good on defense. That probably be a prime time game. That is true. They are good on D. They do have good defense.

To me, if he leads them to a win and they win, you know, score 20 plus points against them and he makes him plays, I think he would be in the driver's seat. Assuming he wins this week and that game's going to be in Texas because I remember last year it was in Vanderbilt that was close. But people didn't think Vanderbilt was that good. Like Vanderbilt wins this week. I mean, would they, I don't know if they'd be favored in that game, but the lion would be small. They would not be some huge underdog at all. I mean, it might be, I think a lot of people would take Vanderbilt if they were getting like three or four points. That's for sure in that game. Texas looks terrible. I mean,

offensively they're bad. Their line's bad. Their defense is good though. Yeah, they look bad. That would be a great matchup. Just their defense against Pavia and the Vanderbilt offense. Because a lot of this stuff is a little Johnny Mansell running around, you know, but part of when you run around a little bit, it actually is harder on like a high level, like buttoned up defense because they're like in their lane, in their gap, not screwing up. That's always screw up Nick Savin, right? Guys that ran around because he's like, we're doing everything perfect. And then he has three, three 60s. He runs sideline to sideline. and then he throws this bomb. It took out Nick Saban for years, the random mobile quarterback.

Because, like, being fundamentally sound and gap integrity, it doesn't mean anything. Where it's like, when they play Leonard Fournette, it's like, we're just running over the B gap. Nick Saban's like, good luck. Yeah, it's like scrambled draw. Everything just shit out the window. People are going up and down the sideline and they have good receiver chemistry, which is. And Pavia is just one big scramble drill. That's his whole offense, you know.

not his whole offense. He's better than that. But I'm saying like it's a huge part of his game. And I think people are going to probably in the comments say, well, Mendoza's favorite, he should win the award. I also think part of the award, too, is you've got to be in primetime moments. You've got to be up against great competition. Penn State stinks because that would have been a good game. I'm sure Big New and Kickoff would have been there. Maybe they still will be there at Penn State, Indiana. I'm sure they go back and forth between there and Ohio State. They're like Ohio State's home TV station, it seems like. But I think, I think Ty Simpson would be the only other guy that can compete with Pavia,

just because of what he's done with Alabama. He's been the answer. He was the question heading into this year for an Alabama team that was loaded. We knew the receivers are going to come back. Behani on the board year two, kind of under that, you know, spotlight that they had. But the loss with Florida State wasn't his fault. And he just continues to get better week after week. Looking at their schedule, they have LSU, they have Oklahoma at Auburn.

I mean, the Iron Bowl, who knows what could happen for that. game. But if you're talking about a Heisman guy, he would be the one that would contend for Pavia for me just because he came out of nowhere. I mean, this guy's seventh start, about to be his ninth start. I think this weekend, it's crazy. I do think, you know, sometimes like, who is this guy? We did it with Mack Jones. Like, well, he's on Bama's roster. So, like, he is on Ohio State's roster or Texas. When you're at the top

program, like, you're pretty good. How did he not start last year over Milrow? I mean, I mean, the evolution and developing and stuff, I get that. Maybe he didn't have the confidence he did last year. I mean, Milro had just been the starter on a playoff team. It was a weird playoff team, but it was a playoff team. I don't know, the money, probably paying him a lot. I mean, Milro did just get drafted in the third round. I mean, he's a pretty big physical freak.

Completion percentage can be a little hit or miss, but he can't throw a slant and save his life. He can run. He can throw bombs. I mean, that passed against Auburn was a pretty legendary moment. now Isaiah Bond's playing for the Browns. He's his receiver three now. Wow. Crazy how that came to be.

You went undrafted. I forgot about that. Well, I mean, part of the reason is because the girl said that he did that and then he claimed he didn't and then he got off. Slash didn't happen. Because what round would he got drafted like the second? He had the disappointing year at Texas. So maybe I'm saying, but he's still in a press player. He ran well.

He did. You know, he's physically a freak. Yeah. I mean, the Browns, again, some of these guys are completely innocent. Judkins, Bond. A lot of weird stuff, though, happens to their guys. You know, so, again, I'm not saying they're guilty by any means. The one D-Tackle Hall did, you know, put a gun to his fiance and miss some games last year.

Again, this is, yikes. They, uh, the standard for their character, be a little hit or miss. See, that's why I thought of, or you can say they're open-minded. They, they give people to them. for the doubt. I don't know. That's what I'm trying to wait. I'm trying to wait. I don't want to get in a situation like that where the volume or three and outs calling and say he said she said type of situation. We don't want the Browns over here at three and out. No. We're pretty open-minded to, though. I mean, we don't rush to judgment here. No. We let the process play out. I'm not a, I'm not the court system,

but a judicial system. So it's like, uh, I do put it on you to make good decisions, though, with, uh, with ladies. I got to ask, I got to ask, I got to ask, for some advice. But last question for you, before we wrap this up, I got to ask a personal question. How's the baby, man? How are you feeling? How are you locked into a football season? And she's due in February, right? January. January. How are you processing that? Are you reading dad books? Are you listening to podcasts? Like, how does that work as someone that's about to be a new dad? You realize the disconnect. They have this human growing in them. And it's, you know, this kid's starting to kick and moving nonstop.

And you're just sitting here living your life completely normal. Yet they, that thing couldn't exist without you. Yet during the nine months, you don't bring that much to the table. And from what I've heard, I don't think once it's, once it comes out, you don't bring that much of the table either early on.

So it's, it's kind of a weird experience that way. She is very connected. Because again, this thing is growing in her stomach, kicking, you know, and I just live like I lived five years ago, you know, football's on, talk about it, you know, read an ad, work on the next topic we're going to talk about. What are we going to talk about next Wednesday, Tuesday, Stucky, what were my picks? Yet her life is dramatically changed.

So, yeah, I mean, I, I know not much reading, just kind of keeping my fingers crossed. We signed up for some CPR classes. One thing I'm big on is I would say the first several months, I would not feel comfortable being alone. Just someone's life is in my hands to, you know, even after the CPR class, which I think, I don't know if it's like legally mandatory, but most people take it. I don't know because if something weird happens, but you just realize this person's life is, you know, if you're ever just, if she leaves, even if the baby's like six months, like it's. something bad happens, it's on me to figure it out. Like you've got to turn into like an EMT meets SEAL Team 6. I mean, it's just a, it feels a lot of pressure.

So I, it's more heavy on her right now. And then, you know, it probably falls into my world once the baby is out and about. But it's the connection she has with, with the young man is, it's just, it's a powerful thing. I mean, it's just, she just has this thing in her. You know, it's crazy. That's so nuts. I think the weird part, too, I mean, obviously I got a long ways, hopefully, God willing, I'm not having a baby soon. But I always wonder when they cry and you can identify what type of cry the baby has.

Crying for food, crying for mom, crying for, obviously you're going to figure that out, hopefully sooner than later. But yeah, I mean, we'll try. We'll try. That's, uh, I need my sleep. That's what we're already kind of looking at that. It's, you know, you got to help. But part of being a podcaster, right, it's one of those things where I mean my, my head open, my energy, my creative juices.

So it's, uh, we're going to have to figure out the, uh, the sleep schedule. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully he's just a good sleeper. You know, nice eight, 10 hours, uh, night. And, uh, we all just get well rested. And we have a smile on our face. Though I've heard that's not really the way it works. So, uh, I don't know.

We'll see. We're taking this journey and full speed ahead. And yeah, hopefully he's, I don't know, successful young man. And hopefully the NFL gets rid of those Monday night doubleheaders. That'll help you out too with your sleep schedule. He won't like that crap, you know. That's ridiculous. What are we doing?

10 o'clock at night. It's crazy. I feel I always thought living on the East Coast is kind of crazy. But I don't know how. Robert Sala has seven eight kids. How's that even possible? Like how some of those guys was 17? Yeah. Well, he's coaching. You're right. Yeah, he's coaching the NFL. It just, it just seems pretty just, yes, it's crazy. I don't know how, I don't know how people do it. Who knows? Maybe when, maybe when he pops out, you, you want another one. Maybe it's just kind of an

addiction to making more life, having more kids, having more baby. Like when you have a dog, you get another dog and you get a third dog or you want a dog after that dog passes. could happen. Yeah, definitely could. Definitely could. I think two is like the new five. When I was a kid, a lot of people had like four or five kids. Maybe not a lot, but you just knew a lot of people, three, three kids or four kids.

I would say most people, most of my friends, I'm 40. My brother's 35. Most people like in my friend group, his friend group that have children, it does feel like it's pretty shocking when you meet someone with three children. It's not because people don't like. their kids or what it's just obviously really expensive well also my son has more clothes he doesn't even exist yet in terms of like the real world still inside that i probably had through my first five years of life already at the house that's great these kids are just they're styling and profile i see some pictures of me from like 1988 i mean every human being i knew is we all just kind of wore the same

clothes we had a couple tank tops a t-shirt and a jacket you know one pair of shoes even like through high school I didn't even feel like I had that many clothes a couple colored shirts a couple like football you know Blue Devil football shirts maybe like a San Francisco Giant shirt

my closet was not very big I mean I see some of these little kids closets I'm not including my son it's insane how many clothes they have maybe it's just Instagram TikTok I don't know it's wild and they're not doing much they're just laying down

yeah you don't even exactly me and that's it It's not like they're going on a walk or anything. Like they're just staying in the house or staying with mom and dad. Can't even walk for like first year plus. That's amazing. I can't wait. Okay, Jackson.

Good talking of college football with you. Have a great day. Go ours. I'll see you soon. The volume. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe.

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