The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - LIVE from The NFL Combine, Seahawks GM John Schneider stops by, Los Angeles Chargers voice Matt "Money" Smith joins

Episode Date: February 26, 2026

John is still in Indy at the NFL Combine and sits down with the Super Bowl Champions GM, John Schneider to talk about what an incredible season this was for Seattle, and what it took to get to this point. Later, John is joined by longtime LA Radio host and the voice of the LA Chargers, Matt "Money" Smith. The guys talk about what it's like having one of the biggest radio shows in the country and making the decision to move away from having a radio show that is syndicated, how Petros and Money has been able to stay on the air for 20 years, and making the transition from a radio show to broadcast professional sports. Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest.  All lines provided by Hard Rock Bet Use promo code “3ANDOUT20” on https://nicokick.com/zone for 20% off at checkout! Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow -  for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. 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

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What is going on, everybody, John Middlekoff, three-in-out podcast? How are we doing? Probably better than me, because this morning I woke up and I was going to check into my flight for Thursday morning, and there was nothing. I haven't told anyone this this morning. It's kind of embarrassing. And I looked, I'm like, that's kind of weird. So I hit up customer service. And they're like, your flight was Wednesday morning.

So I clearly scheduled the wrong day. Luckily, I guess I got travel credit and I booked tomorrow. So that was a nightmare start to the day. We woke up a little foggy after a late night, but we are here still at the Combine. Your boy has a ticket to get back to Arizona where we'll just keep podcasting. But today, we will have John Schneider. I don't know if you've heard of him. He just won a Super Bowl on the show.

Matt Money Smith, who is the Chargers play-by-play guy and hosts a big radio show Petros and Money in Los Angeles. I met him through Daniel Jeremiah. Last year when they were playing the Cardinals, they came to Arizona, we played some golf and hung out. I love the guy. I mean, I followed him from afar, but meeting him. He's just a great guy.

He knows L.A., the Chargers, the Dodgers. They do a bunch of radio shows from Chavez Ravine. I think that's what it's still called. But he'll join us. So we got a couple interviews, and that will be the show today. I also talked to Greg Kosell. We'll probably put that on Friday's podcast. And then we'll just get back to the home base and start getting back to life as normal.

As the Combine will officially start. I was about to say on the grass, but I guess they play on turf here in Indy. You guys know the drill. Subscribe to the podcast, Apple, Spotify. and if you're looking for the video, you can check it out on a little thing called Netflix. But other than that, let's dive into John Schneider. Okay, last time I saw this man, he was on Zoom and it was the spring. Now I'm sitting with him and he's a Super Bowl champ and it's in person and indie.

Super Bowl champion John Schneider, how are you doing? Awesome. Good to see it. Yeah, that was a fun conversation, man. That was a good day. We've gone pretty good since then. Yeah, yeah. How's the last couple weeks been?

It's been nuts. It's really, you know, like the finality of it. it's really kind of overwhelming, you know? You're like, wait, that just happened. You know, we just, we followed a plan. The guys bought into it. They fought into the coaching staff. And that literally just happened, you know.

And so there's like, when your season ends, you know, you're always, it's always like, whether you make the playoffs or not, you're always like, nah, like, you're just kind of, it's kind of a bummer feeling like, no more football. Because it's ends. Yeah, you're just, yeah. And, you know, it's different for guys like, like you and I where, like, you're constantly, planning and you're in you're in draft mode you're in free agency mode but um yeah just you know like all of a sudden now we're here we're like okay you know trying to get a lay the land for the spring

see what free agency's going to look like and we're just moving into that right away but you do forget how late it is you know but our staff's done a great job that we had really good free agency meetings during the season and then um i just got to get caught up draft wise you know i've talked to howie and beach about this and you've dealt with this before do you feel behind right now or Are you able to keep up? Not with free agency, with the draft a little bit, because we were, you know, the day after the parade, we were.

Hung over? Actually, not too bad. You know, Coors, or Bud Lights, sorry, Bud Lights, yeah. Yeah, you can't say that. Proud partners. Yeah, yeah, so, but, no, we were in, you know, we were in the offensive, we were in draft meetings, but I was in and out, you know,

because we were interviewing offensive, coordinators. And so we had that going on and obviously we had the ownership statement. So there was, there was just a lot. There was just a lot going on right away. So I was in and out of those meetings a lot. So it's, but it's really just, John, it's like that personal time, you know, like your study time, you know, you've done it. Does it feel easy to handle all this? Coordinator leaving, a sale, Super Bowl, you've been in the league a long time. Yeah. Is it easy for you to handle than it would have been 15 years ago? Less stress at least? Oh, yeah. You feel the same amount of pressure. No, definitely. You know, you're over.

time your experiences you know you you bank them you know Mike would say you stack them right like stack all your experiences and and um I journal a lot too so that kind of helps me like all right like how long you've been doing that oh uh shoot 2008 I always heard that work something like that works or helps yeah it just helps me kind of like all right it's like a yeah therapeutic yeah So the Sam Darnold thing, did you watch a hockey game a couple days ago? No, it was on, it was on. It was like six in the morning. Yeah, I woke up, it was over, yeah.

Well, that hockey game was like just a true, pure, like, sports story. You know, these guys, they beat Canada. Yeah. I feel like Sam Darnold, we just don't get these as much anymore. Just like a pure, genuine, the guy's career, resurrects it, Super Bowl champion. Like, it's just, you're around them every day as a player and sign them, but, like, there's a human being. I was telling someone the other, I had never, ever heard anyone's, a negative thing about Sam Donald

this entire career. And that's not easy to do. Especially in our industry, right? But yeah, yeah. And then... What was it like just watching? And then it ends up being true. Yeah.

You know, like I... You know, people were asking me, you know, throughout like the playoffs and Super Bowl Week and all that. Like, well, when did you know that you guys are going to be a really good football team? And I, and I, honestly, it was in training camp watching Sam interact with the offensive staff and his teammates.

and like it was it was it was seamless and it was he was everything that everybody had talked about just hard work in low ego tough competitive like ton of like you know strong south alac efficacy but not like not in your face you know like it was it was it was awesome to witness no you think going through some i was telling someone the other day like by the time like andy reed got alec smith kind of unfazed by everything had just seen a lot of crap in his career yeah yeah and you just kind of develop some like thick skin where some guys you get you've had some of these type players you draft them and they are just superstars immediately so if it starts going the other way they're not ready to handle it where when you just kind of get in the mud from day one as a player especially when you're drafted high

you realize like this shit's hard and if you're a high character guy and you make it out it's honestly becomes a little easier to handle everything doesn't it yeah you know this is not like about myself but it's an analogy like the way i started out in the industry was like Ron Wolf, Ted Thompson were my you know my boss bosses they'd love to go scouting so they would leave like Tuesday morning. So I'm in

I'm like 21 years old in the office with Mike Holmgren and Andy Reed and John Gurd and Dick Geron and Rayroads and like like this whole staff like yeah and so also I was just like thrown into it and then when then when I went to Kansas City

the pro director there it was just it was just much easier to your point Like when you're thrown into something like that, it was overwhelming at the time. But then you just kind of like keep working. And all of a sudden you're like, wait, that was rough. But it's really helped me in the future. So is job easy now? No. No, good one.

I know you've had a long day, so I'll get you out here. You just hired, or you know, Mike did you part of it, the new offensive coordinator from the 49ers. You lose Kubiak. How important was it to hire someone offense for Sam? Like, what goes into that? Yeah, Brian and coach. Sam in San Francisco and then it was really just like with for Mike it was like keeping keeping like the collective together the whole many of the as many of the coaches as we possibly could so you know losing

clint I mean that's that's hard that late in the year you know so same system you know similar very similar system background with the quarterback and then just the different skill sets with the other guys that that are on our staff that was that was that was was most important for Mike how many coaches on your watch. I know, you know, Pete played a big role, have become head coaches. It feels like a pretty high number. A bunch of the defensive guys. Much of the defensive guys. This is the first offensive guy. This is the first offensive guy. Goes well. Gus. Gus, DQ. Sala in directly. Salah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Robert. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Dave Canales. Shottonheimer was your offensive coordinator for a minute.

Shottie. Yeah, Dave Canales. Yeah, there's been, yeah, it's been a good group of guys. So this week for you changed a lot over the course of your career. I know the rhythm and the timing of like... This day is like much... This is the NFL now, John. This is the bigger than it used to be. Yeah, it's like, wow.

I mean, we've been cruising around here. So we had league meetings this morning and then I'll have more league meetings tomorrow. But yeah, me and the medical getting all that stuff is going to be super important. But like I said, our staff's like our staff kick a butt. We got a great group of guys. Yeah. I don't know if you know any of our guys. No, I used to me and the medical.

No, I used to know more of the guys probably like five, six years ago. Okay. The interviews with the prospective future Seahawks or future NFL players or meeting with the agents for free agent guys in the league, what is more your priority this week? Here, agents, I get caught up on the draft stuff, you know, like being able to study the interviews, whether it's the canned interview they do here or in the room, you know,

over at the dome, the Zoom ones that the coaches do. that's probably that's probably increased a lot since you scouted the Zoom interviews does Mike come to this? COVID yeah yeah he's here for a couple of days but the COVID really like that was like eye opening like whoa you can really you mean you're on Zoom with somebody for an hour at different moments right at like different All-Star game or in his family room or at his dorm room you know what I mean you can really why did a podcast interview with you from your office for 45 minutes I mean that wasn't impossible yeah no five six years ago it's kind of you kind of you

Yeah, so I think we've really, we've really, well, me personally, I've learned a lot from it, and our guys do a great job. I learned a lot from those interviews, and our guys do a great job of, like, asking the pertinent questions. Not like, you know, it's your favorite color, you know? Well, I just, as a football fan, it was really enjoyable to watch you guys come together and play, and that was, you know, there's something just like, something about a team that no one really saw coming, even though you'd won 10 games a year before. Yeah.

You know, it's not like you were like a three-win team. Yeah, I thought it was crazy. Yeah, I thought it was crazy. You should put some cash down. I did. Five to one. Did you win the division? Wow.

I did because it was like the Rams last year at 1-10. It wasn't that big of a difference. Yeah. And then watching you guys get hot and, I mean, that's Super Bowl. That was pretty cool. Yeah, that was a blast, man. That was pretty cool. So congratulations.

I appreciate you, John. Enjoy the week. Thanks for having me, man. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor Hard Rock Bet, Florida's Sportsbook. I know it's tough when no football. It makes me sad. But like the song says, I bet I will survive. With Hard Rock Bet,

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Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, new? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to our... We're the 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 And we were thinking I'm originally calling it One of the early names of our band Before Jonas Brothers This is how you guys remember it going down

Yes I have a very different memory of this We were talking about a thing A bit for the podcast For people could call in and say hey Jonas And then I wrote down on my little Notepad Hey Jonas And offered it up as a potential title For the podcast

But thanks for remembering that guys listen to hey jonas on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcast just listen we don't care where you hear it another podcast from some s nl late night comedy guy not quite unhumor me with robert smigle and friends me and hilarious guests from bob odenkirk to david letterman help make you funnier this week my guess s n l's mikey day and head writer streeter sidel help an acapella band with their between songs banter where does your group perform we do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

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

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

And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast. network on TikTok. Okay, let's dive into Matt Money Smith. Okay, very excited. We actually played golf, I think, last year. Matt Money Smith, biggest radio show, Southern Cowell, I mean, the Dodgers, pretty good team to be in business with. AM 570 in Los Angeles with one of my favorites, Petros, which we'll dive into.

He had a pretty legendary rant. And we played golf, we played a par three of me, you and Daniel Jeremiah, who you are the play-by-play guy for the San Diego, or Los Angeles Chargers. 10th year. Isn't that wild? And you came over from the Lakers? I worked for the Lakers for five years, and then I did national NFL and NCAA football calls,

and then when the Chargers moved to L.A. and 17, they hired me. I'm always fascinated by guys like you who do the play-by-play guy, who's a play-by-play guy for a massive team, but also has a radio show where it's a completely different world. Is it ever hard to kind of flip back and forth? Yeah, a little bit. We do a stupid show, you know, you're familiar with it, so it can get you into a little bit of trouble. It's like Howard Stern's sports kind of. A little bit, yeah.

I mean, I think that's, we, so like we were syndicated for three years, and we hated it. Because it was just, when you're syndicated, it's like, hey, here's story one, here's story two, here's story. And that's just not us. And so we might be the only show in the history of sports radio that was like, hey, we're not doing this anymore. And they're like, wait, what do you mean? You're not, no. We want to be an L.A. show and just talk about law. Angeles and our experience you know we love the city I moved there you know for

college I went to Pepperdine when I was 17 so I've been there for 35 years now 34 years now so it's Petros from LA or raised in on the Hill San Pedro Palis Verde's obviously a San Pedro High School or Peninsula High USC been just there the whole time and I just you know I met my wife there she's a local she's from Huntington Beach, so it's just a special place and me like having a local show. You know, the thing, you know, I grew up loving radio. I remember the first time being in, like, junior high and Jim Rome, and this is late 90, nothing like that existed.

Yeah. And I got worked in football for a little bit, but radio is something, I think it was the easy transition because I was a listener in my whole life. My dad, you know, up in Northern California, K&BR. Yeah. The sports leader. I never got in his truck. You know, he was a farmer driver without that being on.

or anyone, all the people he worked with, that was just, it was a staple. But radio in Northern California, not quite the same. You guys are still having a lot of success. How's that possible? Especially in a market, like the West Coast can be a little, like, you know, people just get distracted. It's just easier to get distracted. The car, right, we connect to our phones. How have you guys kind of maintain success?

Because clearly you have. I appreciate it. Yeah, it's, I think you described it perfectly. you develop relationships. I'm old now, man. You can see it on my face. It's leathered and worn. So I now meet people who are in their 30s

that tell me they were, you know, in middle school when their dad picked them up at school and they would listen to Petrosin money on their way home, and it was a connection that they had with their dad. And like I've now met people that have 10-year-old sons that were the sons that now listen. Oh, yeah, and this is something my son and I have together. So I think that's how you survive it.

This is our 20th year, or the longest running show that's still intact. John and Ken, which is on KFI. It's a conservative talk. Ken is retired. So there's just John now, but that's it. It's so far and away the longest running sports show in L.A. That stayed in the afternoon drive slot. And I think that's it is you just, you know, I think it's like you with your audience, right?

You engage with your people that are commenting, that are in the, and they feel like you're with them. Like, oh, yeah, they're in the car with me. And because LA's a car culture, I think that helps a lot. Even with the phone, you can still, and the other thing, not to make, it's probably pretty boring for everybody, but like we got into podcasting early.

We told Iheart before there was an Iheart radio, hey, we need to, where can we post this? How can we get this on Apple music? How can we get this on iTunes to be able to podcast because we're going to lose audience if we don't? So we've been podcasting for a little. long time. I've been in business with IHeart, you know, with Colin and everything. And they are, you know, for probably traditional 20 years ago, more radio-based have

transitioned pretty well to the digital, like pretty, you know, some of these quote-unquote legacy companies struggle making the pivot. They pivoted pretty well, which I sure helps being involved with them. Yeah, I mean, perfect. So I came up in music originally. I was in music the first, you know, while also doing a little bit of sports, not that bore people, but I work for K-Rock. I was the music director at K-Rock. I was on the morning show at K-R-R-R-R-R-K. It's arguably the biggest station in America at the time. And they did not have the vision. Is that rock? That was, so it was K-R-O-Q, so it's alt-rock. So basically breaking bands like Depeche Mode, The Cure, Nirvana, Sublime, you know, that sort of set. Red Hot Chili Peppers,

all of that stuff was K-Roc. And they didn't have that vision. And now when you look at, if you want to stream K Rock live, streaming from the IHeart Radio app. Yeah. Even though they're competitive companies, even though they're Odyssey and it's Iheart here, it's still, which is why you and Colin are in a great spot and so many people can access

your content, IHeart's just like, whatever, man, come on over here. We'll run your stream and we'll make money off it. We'll throw some commercials in there and we'll be good. When I first got into radio after football in like 2013-14, I was on the smaller station in the Bay Area, 95-7, going up

against K&BR. At the time, the Giants had won two World Series, and then in 14, they won another one. And I remember we'd get the ratings books, and we were doing pretty well. But when that team started taking, they were doing like 20 shares in a market that's, I mean, San Francisco is not quite L.A., but it's one of the biggest markets in America and KMBR's Reach. You guys have the Dodgers who are now, you know, I was a little young for like the Magic Johnson, Pat Riley, who just took the country by storm. Yeah. does feel, you know, and baseball is not quite the same of what it was,

but that team feels like they've broken through and almost feels like an NFL team. You couldn't find a casual sports fan that wouldn't have an opinion right now on the Los Angeles, which is great for business. It is. And you're in the business with that. You go to games. I do, yeah. I remember talking to you on the golf course about how dialed in these guys are from a character standpoint.

Like, they're an impressive operation that has a lot of money. Yeah, the one of the, we go to games because we broadcast from the games. We'll do our radio show because, you know, we go into Dodger baseball. So pre-games at six. We're on three to seven. We get that last hour preempted. So we'll just do the show from the stadium, wireless mics on the field. We know all the players.

That's pretty cool. It's really cool. It's not pretty cool. It's really cool because they're good guys and sort of one of the more viral social media conversations we had. We were talking to Andrew Friedman. And we brought up, I think the way we phrased the question was, you know, people saying that you just spend all this money, feel like it short changes, you know, scouting, the work the players put it, and he just lit up. He's like, it was like, and it wasn't something that I pre-planned or anything.

He was just almost like a, oh, thank you for asking me that. He said, and he did not hold back, man, I think it was during a Padre series. So you got a little bit of a salty vibe already going there. And he said, look right behind me right now. What do you see? He's like, there's Freddie Freeman, digging out, you know, with Dino Ebel, just working on digs. He's like, do you see Mookie Betts out here? Mookie Betts was out here two hours ago, fielding grounders and short stops. That's Mooky Betts and Freddie Freeman. That's every one of our players.

Look on that sideline. Look over there on that baseline. What do you see? Nobody's there. He's like, these guys bust their ass. He goes, you run the, they're only winning because they're getting paid and they're paying all this money. He said it's insulting to these guys because of how professional they are and how hard they work. And that's what they've done an incredible job of is they put together a team.

team and they didn't pay anyone until Mookie. They're like, Mookie's one of those guys, man, who's just so hyper-focused on being the greatest ever. And Freddy's the same way, and Shohay's the same way, and Yamamoto with his javelins and all of that. They're like, yeah, we'll give you guys hundreds of millions of dollars,

but we won't give it to everyone. If you took Jim Harbaugh to a pregame and you said you get to pick one guy to try to make a football player, would he pick Mookie or could he pick Otani? He'd pick Otani. Otani's huge. Like, you don't realize it until it. he walks out, you know, and, you know, a lot of times we're just kind of leaning on the railing

of the dugout, and here's where the guys are walking out right next to you. So you're level with them, right? And for the most, like, you know, that's what's cool about baseball is Mookie's a slightly larger than me, and I'm not a big guy, obviously, you know, whereas, like I remember David Eckstein for the Angels, smaller than me, and yet here's an ALCS MVP, right? Dustin Padroia, who I grew up close to in Woodland, California was like 5'8, won the MVP. Right. One an MVP, you can do that, and then all of a sudden you see Aaron Judge or like, Show A. Altani emerged from the dugout, and you're like, oh, my God. Like, look how broad he is. Look at how thick his trunk is. Then you see that, and it's like, okay, now that's a football player. I remember it was like Sunday night baseball, his first year for the Angels, and he hit like a ball off the wall. And I remember him rounding for, because you didn't know. You just do this guy, this like all-time talent from Japan. But we've had that before. And guys,

and he rounded first, and it was like, holy shit, look at him, run. Right. You know, because we've had some big boppers from Japan, but this, the athletic ability, like, I mean, what would his 40 time be, probably, four or five? It'd be ridiculous. Yeah. At that size. And then just kind of thinking about, you know, the arms, like, the idea of dropping

Shohei into a quarterback clinic for, you know, two years or something. Like, he's built like Herbert, you know, he's that big. You know, you think about Justin Herbert, who's, you know, probably, you know, between he and I think maybe even more so just from a muscular standpoint than Josh Allen. I think you probably point to Herbert as, hey, what's the best stature, best body QB in the NFL? And it's probably Justin. And like, that's who he reminds me on. Well, let's talk about the Chargers.

Yeah. How long you've been doing their games? Ten years. This is my 10th year. So you did it before they moved to Los Angeles. I did it the year they moved. It's crazy to think they've been in L.A. This will be their 10th year in Los Angeles.

Isn't that insane? 10 years? 2017. Yeah. Yeah, 2017. So you were doing the games at the Home Depot Center? Home Depot Center. What was that like?

Coolest thing ever. Like it sucked with the fans because it was such a small, premium-priced experience. So you're spending pretty much $300 on every ticket. How many people were in there? $24,000. That's pretty cool. It was incredible. Like we're calling the games.

It's like a high school stadium. Yeah. Calling games at the top of the first section. And that's it. That's the top. And then on the opposite side, you actually have an upper deck. That was it. I told so many people, friends of mine that are scattered around the country, as like, do yourself a favor, fly to L.A., go to one of these games. It'll never happen again.

Like, it'll never happen again. You can hear, like from our broadcast booth, you could hear Rivers yelling at the refs. You could hear the opposite sideline at times, screaming at each other. Like it was so intimate. It was really, really cool. But it was terrible for the team. Really quick. How cool was the Philip Rivers moment this year? The best. moment on Monday night football. I know they lost, but he was slinging it around. It's just, I said this about Sam Darnold, the hockey team. We just don't get that many genuine moments anymore in sports. Listen, the media, I'm part of it, you're part of it.

Some of it's just like we talk too much about stuff. That was just like pure and cool. This 45-year-old guy, probably weighed 280 pounds. Just come back, knew the offense because he'd been calling it. His passion and pride. Him getting hit. It's just like, what a bad. How cool it would have been to Ben on his high school team? They showed the video of all those kids watching. What a moment. Right? You know, for his own family, some of his kids that were younger, don't remember. He's the best guy.

He's the best guy. I know that he's got a bit of a polarizing personality, especially if you're a Raider or a Bronco fan. I think since he's retired, they recognize that there's only one Philip Rivers, man. You just, you don't make him like that. The guy that cared so much that was willing to get emotional about how much he cared. You talk to his teammates, like, it'll be interesting. I think he seriously considered that Bill's job, and I think they seriously considered him. I don't think that was a joke.

I think he and Josh Allen really hit it off, and that was something that they were very serious about. Just because he's that kind of guy. And so I think when he takes his job, it's going to be fun to see how many of his former teammates he puts on his staff because of just the respect. We have Nick Hardwick as our assistant O.L. coach, his former center, I have no doubt. He'll be like, where do you want me? I'm there. Were you there with, was Kenny Wiggins on the team? Remember that offensive lineman?

He's a Fresno State guy. He, uh, trying to think if he was. He might have been like 15, 16, 17, maybe right before he got there. Yeah, I think he was right before us. Might have been San Diego, but he, when I was a GA of Fresno State, he was our tackle. And I remember texting with him, and he's like, I can't tell you how much I love Philip Rivers. And it was just, I've said forever, what John Madden had and even Gruden, like, you can't fake that. Like, people kind of try.

It's like, they're just unique personalities. I think Rivers, I'm glad. If you're going to be a head coach, that's cool because you're part of our lives. I think he could be a John Madden, John Gruden. He would be a rock star. The money, I believe the money that Amazon threw at him was ridiculous. Oh, they tried to get him. Oh, yeah.

That it was ridiculous. And like the accommodations that they were going to make for him, ridiculous. And just to speak to the kind of guy he is, he's like, man, gosh darned, I'd be shortchanging my guys. You know, I appreciate you get me back. for games on Friday, but I don't want to shortchange my guys being gone on Wednesday, afternoon, Thursday night. They're like, well, charter you're playing back right after the game. Thursday, you'll be home, you know, middle of the night on Thursday, you'll be good.

Yeah, short change than kids can't do it. That's the kind of guy he is, man, for like $25 million a year. What's clear, though, then, is coming back and coach in the high school, he's gotten the juice to coach, because you take a head coaching, so that maybe he's not going to do the John Madden thing and he's more likely to do the Andy Reed thing. I think so. I think so. When you say the next five years, he's a head coach in the NFL?

I wouldn't be surprised if he's a head. NFL, yeah, I could see it. I wouldn't be surprised he's a head coach, you know, at NC State next year. His son just committed, I saw on the ticker. Yeah, I mean, I could see that. If you're NC State, you want to have relevance. It's a state with money. You know, you need people to scratch out checks.

You're going to write a check to Philip Rivers. How sick would that be, Philip Rivers, the coach, and his son, the quarterback. Incredible. They're like, we'll put Belichick on all these kids. No, Philip Rivers is, they would. Yeah. What was Kenny Dillingham's famous line? Can somebody stroke me a check for 20 minutes? Philip Rivers will get someone to stroke a 20 million.

You know, people made fun of Kenny Dillingham. I love Kenny. Someone gave him a check. They got, he got money. He said on a interview the other day. I love Kenny. Like a guy that wasn't even associated with Arizona State, but a rich guy in Scottsdale gave him a bunch of money and they're building the thing.

I told my wife, it worked. Yeah, it's just such a great line. You mean to tell me there's not someone who's strok a $20 million? I don't know. Maybe you're traveling in circles that I'm not. It does seem like it would be kind of hard. But Kenny's awesome. Okay, you talked about Herbert.

You've seen all these games. I've always supported him. He's an easy guy to root for. the playoffs games, I mean, this year he has a broken hand, the offensive line's hard. But he's played three playoff games and hasn't gone well. I always say, people forget, Peyton Manning, like, when I was young in high school and college, everyone said he was better than Tom Brady. But then the playoffs would start, and Peyton Manning would be atrocious.

A lot of people, I watched the Elway Doc. He had, I mean, in the Super Bowl against the 49ers, now, granted, they're like the greatest team of all time. He threw for like 100 yards. Yeah. It was like 9 of 40. So it's like guys have bad games. He's young. I take it you and DJ and all these guys around him think that

and Jim Harbaugh most importantly, like they ain't selling stock. No, no. But why has it happened? Well, I think this year I think was different than last year. Last year I don't think he had a chance. There's just, there was no chance. Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter and all those guys were in his lap every time he took a snap. Like there was just even the tackles, Slater and Old were out there.

And even they were getting gas. Will Anderson's a problem. Exactly. He was a huge. So for me like that one was. different. This year, I think that so much scar tissue had built up over the year where there's just unblocked rushers, there's quick pressures that by the time that playoff game came around, it was just, like basically the success of the offense was him operating out of structure.

That was it. You know, it wasn't really anything else. You know, him against the Eagles was... He was running around. Yeah. It was like, I'm just going to pull it and run. It wasn't a play call. He's just pulling it and running it because nothing else is working because he can't get blocks. He has no time in the pocket. He's wearing it. He's getting hit. God knows how many times. So I think it just caught up to him in New England.

And I don't think, and I like Greg Roman a lot. I know this is what people do, right, when they're about to say something bad. But Greg's a gray guy. I just thought the game plan was very curious. It's like, you know you can gash these guys on the edges with a run game. And yet they never ran it. Like they just, they got that turn. Turnover, first and goal from the 10.

And what is it? It's three runs by Justin Herbert. It's like, what? Run to the edges, you know? You've got this, Trevor Penny is your 6-0 lineman. Tucker Fiske is your tight end. Go beat him up. And they just never did it.

And so I think that game got into his head and he missed some throws. He wasn't good. I mean, he had a bad game. No. But they weren't. You know, defensively they were sensational. Offensively, they weren't good. And I think that's what makes this year so interesting.

What's weird about Roman is like historically back to his 49er days with Harbaugh, then with Harbaugh's brother in Baltimore is a run game guy. Yeah. And then this year, you know, before the injuries really took old, they were passing all the time. Do you think he was trying to prove like, I'm a pass guy or was it just like trying to ride? What, what? I think, unfortunately, it happens.

It happens. And I think that's what, you know, I credit Harbaugh and the way that he's coached his teams is he's always been so good about it. He's like, I don't care. I'm going to run with a tight end who's got his hand on the ground. I'm going to run with a fullback. I'm going to run power. God's play.

And guess what? You're not even going to pass in the second half, JJ McCarthy. We're going to beat Penn State by running the ball. And I don't care if that doesn't lead to celebration and sports center highlights. That's not what I'm here for. So I think it's just very hard for OCs, especially in the era of Kyle Shanahan and Sean McBay and Mike McDaniel and all of this eye candy. It's very hard for them to just be a power team, you know. I think I saw a clip.

Maybe Mike's McDaniel's first or second day, you were sitting down. with them. What's your thought of just the Mike experience so far? Yeah, he's a really cool guy, man. He's a very thoughtful, interesting guy. You ask him a question, and it's not dismissive. It's very thoughtful about, you know, and I think that just kind of speaks to how into football he is. I think he and Jim are a lot more similar than people think, you know, they're just different about it. Jim. It looked different. It looked different, yeah. You know, I think Jim loves, I think Coach Harbaugh loves the physicality of football, the idea of, you know, ultimately what is football? Football is preventing forward progress.

It's what it is, you know? This guy's trying to go here. You're trying to make sure he doesn't. And I think Jim loves that, you know, that. Whereas I think Mike McDaniel is, he gave a great answer. I think it was in that interview. I don't remember if it was at the presser or if it was with us. But he had the, I'd never heard someone say it before, and maybe you have,

but it was so, it crystallized it. He said, the defense is trying to guess the answer to your question. As an offensive coordinator, I'm delivering a question, and they're trying to answer it. And I've got to devise the hardest question for them to answer. And it's just such a great way to think about pre-snap motion, different formations, you know, using players like Darren Waller was talking about putting a slot receiver in the backfield,

because now the question is more complex. It's not the same. And so I think when you have someone that's thought about football and thinks about football that way, like, I need to make this as hard on them as possible. And Harbaugh is the same way. I need to make this as hard as them as possible. I think people when they look at Mike, you know, he's this nerdy, Ivy League guy, his football career really took off. And he's even said this is he's with Kyle and that whole crew. And he realizes these guys, like, I got to find a niche with these guys.

So he got with Chris Forrester, who's Kyle's O line coach. and learned the run game and blocking, that's kind of his bread and blood. Like, if you talk to Ushack or Kittle, they swear by the guy. So when you say he's a lot like Jim Harbaugh, when Jim Harbaugh said, we took Joe Alt because he's the tip of the spear.

People were like, he's a weapon. You're like, well, no, weapons are Malik neighbors. And Harbaugh's like, no, weapons are my tackles, my guards, and my centers. I think Mike thinks more like that than people, I think the Miami thing is, like, throwing people off the scent a little bit.

Yeah, I'm with you, man. Ultimately, and to that, Matt, To that, think about Sean McVeigh. Sean McVeigh's a run guy. Like, it's outside zone, man. That is the foundation of the Rams offense. It's Todd Gurley. This last year, it's Kyron Williams, man.

And you look at the way he's now drafted offensive linemen. He's kind of even gone from those smaller, more athletic guys like Mike McDaniel had in Miami to. He's got freaking beef on that line now. And they're starting to run a little bit more power. So I do think that, and I mean, my gosh, look at Kyle in San Francisco, right? Kyle would run at every play. Kyle's like a skinnier, younger version of gym. Right.

You know? Like, that's what people, I think, forget. Because the eye candy is pretty cool, and the explosives are pretty cool. But when you boil it down, they're run guys. Is that a charger's deficiency right now, some skill guys? I mean, biased, not selfishly, but with my bias, no, I really like the room. I think Lad's a legitimate number one receiver. He could end up with Jalen Waddle, like 1,700-yard, eight touchdown season.

It wouldn't surprise me. He is that good. He is. He's so good. He's so good in the open field. He always whips out of catches. A guy like J.S. Andrews. Yeah. He'll whip out of catches and get you an extra 10 yards every single time. And he's become so proficient at finding soft spots in zones now. You know, before it was a lot of just man-beater. He'll just be, you got no chance, man. He's going to shake you. And that's when he whips out and he's getting those extra 10 yards. Now he's, last year we saw him start to settle into zones and kind of feel it.

out a little bit more. So I think he could have a sensational year. And second year guy doesn't have a lot of stats. Nobody would know him unless you follow the charges. Trey Harris, he's going to be special. Old Miscuit. Yeah, he's going to be special, man. He blocks his tail off, man. He will block like a mother effer. And the players love him. He's crazy smart. Like stupid smart when you talk to him. Former quarterback was Malik neighbor's quarterback in high school. And probably a decent high school team. Right? Quit to play basketball because he thought he was. getting recruited to play ball. Malik neighbors came to him and said,

we can win the state championship, but I need you. Can you come back and essentially sold him on the idea of, I need you too, man. I'm going to get recruited. I don't play basketball. And so that's like selfless sort of behavior too. And I think that speaks to why. Here's a guy who was an axe at Ole Miss.

And now he's just being asked to block his ass off. Every time he's on the field, he's got like 15 targets through eight games. And yet he's crushing dudes in the run game. I think it speaks to the type of player he is. So I say all of that to get to, I think he's going to have a big year because I think McDaniel's going to love him. One thing by the time before Harbaugh and Ortiz got there, it felt like the synergy with,

you know, Tom and Staley just was a little off. And then now I was just getting a breakfast sandwich this morning behind Joe Ortiz. And it feels like Joe Ortiz and Jim Harbaugh, you know, the successful teams, you know, Veach andy, right? I mean, Kyle John Lynch, McVeigh, Les. You've got to have some synergy with those two guys. Yeah. And it does feel like a pretty good relationship.

Because Jim, he's mellowed out a lot. You know, he's a different guy now than he was 15 years ago, probably 10 years ago. He's actually kind of come into his own, I feel like, just very comfortable. And the chip on his shoulder is still there, but he doesn't show it as much. It feels like they got a pretty good thing going, those two, which is important. And the only way you can have sustained success, even if you're as good of a coach as Jim, we saw at the end with Trambleki, you around these guys, what's like your takeaway for the couple of years being around those two? Yeah, I think the, to me, especially Joe Ortiz.

Yeah, I think the key with GMs is, and I thought Tom was really good at this too, you know, with different types of coaches. You know, when I was there, Anthony Lynn was the first coach, and then it was Brandon Staley, and they both were very different. And I thought Tom Telesco worked very close with them, too, not just, oh, I'm going to pick the best guy,

and he's going to be a pro bowler, and it's going to look good for me. I need to draft the right guy for my team. And I think Joe and Jim have a very special relationship like that. Yeah, I'm going to draft the guy that, you know, I think is going to, A, be the best player over the next four years or five years. That's what you're drafted them for, not just this year. And be someone that has a chance to thrive, that is going to fit in with this group,

that has the right character, makeup, style of play, physical. It's a physical team. You've got to be able to kick some ass to be a charger. Like when you look at Tully, Khalil Mack, these guys are physical. You know, tier tart is mean as hell. And same thing with Joe for his baby. baby face, he's nasty. Alt, he is a, yeah, Alt is a nasty.

And Rishon Slater is nasty, as smart as he is. These are nasty dudes, man. And so I think Joe has done a really good job of drafting. And I think Ladd-McConkey, low-key is that chip on the shoulder. Okay, I'm a little white guy with curly hair. I got my little southern accent and you think I'm a cute guy. No, man, he wants to kick you out of ass. Remember guys, I played Georgia, the best team in the country for multiple years?

I was the best receiver on the team. Right with Brock Bowers, like we were the two guys? Yeah. Remember when we left to the NFL part? Like, that was me. Yeah. So I think he does a great job of drafting guys like that. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers.

And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a 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 the 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 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 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 Acapella 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 Sports Slice 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. What's, Calil Mac's a free agent, right?

I would imagine they like Calil Mac a lot. Yes, they love him. Tone setter. Tone setter, had a great conversation with Corner. Tarheed Still, who was going in at just finish his rookie year. And he had mentioned that he was coming

in the facility to work out, and Khalil was there. And he's like, yeah, it was cool. You know, I started talking to Khalil, and he was sort of helping me out, getting me on a path. And then I came in, it was like a Tuesday. I came in on Thursday.

and because I was like, where were you yesterday? He's like, oh, you know, I'm doing Tuesday, Thursday, Friday right now. He's like, okay. He's like, and I got the hint real quick. He's like, and yeah, ever since I've been coming in seven days a week, and I meet Khalil and we work out together. And that's, you want to know how you can be 34 going on 35, and you're still one of the top 10.

We've got like Schwarzenegger 85 biceps. Right, exactly. They are huge. And that's kind of going back to our Dodger conversation. Calillo puts him the work, man. and he's now, like, I think Tully's 23, going into his fourth year, 24, I think he's going to be 24. Like, talk about having a guy to guide you. And, like, Tully was probably the most underrated D-Lyman in the league last year.

I had 13 and a half sacks, man, like in countless pressures. He's top ten in pressures. Can play inside, kick outside, that NASCAR package with Tully on the inside and Mack and Oway on the outside at a 55% pressure rate. Jeez. Like, that's all Kaleo Mac. That's him setting the tone. So you'd expect them to be. pretty aggressive trying to bring it back. I think it's what's the number. Can we make it work?

We got to re-sign O-Way. We probably got to do an extension for Tully so we doesn't get to free agency next year. Can we make that work? And I think Khalil, he loves Southern California, man. I see his kids running around the field all the time. You know, there's certain guys that don't like it and want to go back to Kansas and climbing their truck and go hunting and stuff like that because that's what they're into or go back to Florida because that's what they're into. I get the sense Calil really likes Southern California. I feel like Caliol could be a movie star. You know, like, Howie Long, we need a broken arrow. He's such a good-looking guy. He's enormous. Got the Schwarzenegger, Howie Long thing going. It's a great call.

I mean, I feel like Khalil Mack. Movies have changed, the action movies don't happen as much. But if this was the heyday of like 95, I feel like Khalil Mack would like have a machine gun. Relaunch Commando or something. I'll be kicking everyone's ass. Absolutely. I'll get you out of here on this. You know, I think the Chargers are going to be a sexy, obviously free agency in the draft.

Yeah. I think there's going to be a lot of momentum going into the season. You know, the Super Bowl is at SoFi. Harbaugh, third year, kind of. really established his group. Yeah. I think they're going to be a team that a lot of people, the division's hard. I mean, the Raiders are surely going to be a little better, you think.

And Denver and Kansas City is kind of an outlier, six-win team. They're tough. What's the key to, like, figuring it out and getting over the hump? Well, I think it's offense, you know, which is why the McDaniel hire is so exciting. You know, you look at the Patriots game, they allowed 16 points, you know? You've got to win a playoff game when you allow 16 points. You think about, like, that Denver game in week. K-T, and they had all backups, right, playing defense, and they didn't allow a touchdown.

And it's a team that was fighting for the number one seed, and they did not allow a touchdown. So, like, I feel great about the defense. Even though Jesse's gone, and I think the world of Jesse, I think he's going to be exceptional in Baltimore. I didn't do him the other day. He is not big. No. If you didn't know who he was, you would never think that's a new head coach of Baltimore

race. And he looks very young. He's got a very young face. He's so smart. He's going to, his pressers, I used to, not a big press conference guy. You know, it's a lot of platitudes and non-answer, answer. Jesse was always great, man. Very thoughtful, articulate,

answered with, yeah, we did that wrong, we should have done this, I could do this better. So he's going to be great. So you're going to lose a lot. Who's their defensive coordinator? Chris O'Leary. So Chris was, so it was interesting because we thought they would go in-house

just to try to keep the continuity, keep as many of the coaches in-house as they could, which they did. Chris was the safeties coach in year one of Harbaugh. So came from Notre Dame. last 24 or 2024 was his only year coaching in the NFL,

coach safeties. So he's the one that was tasked with getting Derwin right. Like, hey, this is how I think we're going to play you. We're going to predominantly feature you as a slot corner as a big nickel. We're going to play in some dime linebackers. So he basically was tasked with,

let's make sure Derwin, what was his line? It was clarity as velocity. That was Chris O'Leary's line. Clarity's velocity. and I need Derwin to play with Velocity. So I need to get this to be easy and clear so he can be the best version of himself, which is in the conversation is the best player.

Like Kyle Hamilton and Baltimore. Like Kyle Hamilton and Baltimore. So he did that. They traded for Elijah Mulden, I think middle of training camp. And it was on O'Leary to get him ready for the season. And Molden had a huge year playing free safety for them. And so I think those two things combined with,

he goes to Western Michigan to be their D.C. He was not on the team last year. He takes the Bronx from, I think they were 115th defense in the nation. And remember, this is the Mac. You're not spending a bunch of money to get a bunch of great players in. It's pretty much level. So me and you're on defense. Yeah.

So it's like you might as well, you're at Ohio or you're at Toledo or you're at Western or Central Michigan. It's all equal, you know, for the most part, top 10, top 10 defense. And all he did, and it was funny when you looked at his game plans and his teaching, sheets, they were all chargers. They just put a little Western Michigan logo on there. So basically he's just a disciple of Jesse Minter and a great, again, very smart guy. So as long as, it's a really long answer. As long as that holds up, they're going to be good.

They're going to be good, man. Because I think the offense can be good. I think the Harbaugh brothers and Jim's talked about this forever, their ability to hire coaches. That's it. Especially defensive coaches is pretty good. I mean, no one 10 years ago, Mike McDonald, I mean, the guy was a quality control guy at Georgia. and they've turned him into, I mean... One of the best coaches in the league.

Kyle Shanahan or Sean McVeigh of defense. Right. So in Harbaugh, you've got to trust because it typically works. And your floor, the thing with Jim, your floor is so high. It's like you're disappointed back-to-back playoffs, no problem. Right. You know, so... You're going to get in.

And if you can get into the tournament, when you've got Herbert, I know he has not played well, anything can happen. And, you know, I can make excuses forever about those playoff games and just sort of the issues that were plaguing that. Even the Jacksonville game, man, they just, I mean, I can do it. How are you running a freaking reverse to Michael Bandy when you're shutting the Jacksonville Jaguars out and all you need is a yard and a half to pick up a first down and go to the half? Up 28 nothing and it's over.

And instead, Joe Lombardi's running a freaking reverse with a practice squad guy who bibles the snap and turns it over. Jacksonville scores and it felt completely. different going into the half because of that. It's like, what? What are we doing? I got one more question, actually. SC football. Your co-host Petros. People, you know, he might not remember played at USC. Captain of the worst football team in USC history. And he says that. I don't. That's his line. Yes, I was the captain, although I believe it has since been surpassed in one of those Clay Hill years. You remember the, in like 06 or 05, Fresno State played USC.

Remember it. Well. Petros called that game. My cousin was a long snapper on that. team. I remember what it was on TNT back then. But USC in the heyday of Pete, is it fair to say Dodger-Laker-level buzz in that city? Yeah, we had no football team. We had no NFL team. Would it matter, though, as good as they were? I think they still would have been. Yeah, USC football is a big deal. U.S. football is a big deal. What the hell happened? California. I think bad leadership is ultimately what it came down to. Pete, I think it started with Pete. And a lot of this is me just regurgitating sort of what Petros's views are. but Pete I think became jealous of Norm Chow and you know he was getting a lot of the credit.

You know, Norm is this great play caller and he's got Matt Leiner and Reggie Bush and look what he's doing with Lendale White and Mike Williams. And he just kind of basically kicked him out, you know, and made Lane and Sark and these young guys kind of came in, did the same thing with Duane Walker on defense who was really good at coordinating the defense. And then when he left, it just got away from him, man. Like, instead of recognizing that, hey, you've got all the recruits, you've got an incredible base. They were like, let's just keep the Pete thing going. You know, and so you hire Lane, and then you hire Sark. Like, they hired allegedly, reportedly, and I want to make sure I say that,

hired a search firm when they hired Sark. They were going to pay a million dollars. It's so stupid what these schools do do with these search firms for coaches. What's the 80s job? Right? What are you getting paid a million dollars for? So they hire a search firm. Search firm comes back and says,

Chris Peterson. No brainer. Perfect guy. They're like, okay. Steve Sarkeesian. Washington's like, take them. We'll hire Chris Peterson and look at how that worked out.

They went to the playoffs immediately. Yeah, immediately. Like had USC just listen to the search firm and hired Coach Pete? I think Coach Pete might still be coaching there like it would have gone so well. I've said forever in college football, like culture and personality and where you're from, matter.

Look at all the great West Coast coaches, Pete, California guy, Jeff Tedford, California guy, Chris Peterson, UC Davis, West Coast guy. Nick Sabin, Kirby Smart, Davos Sweeney, they're from the south. They have the draw. The Northeast guys. Now, there are some guys. Urban Meyer could have coached on the room. Nick Sabin probably could have too, but most guys are not that.

And Lincoln is a small town Texas guy who took over Oakland. Oklahoma who... It was already built by... It was already built by Stoops. It was a little like... Now, Chip with Bellotti took it to another level, but Bladi, they were already a top 20 team. It was a good job to take over and take the next level.

Lincoln did the same. They were already a top 20, top 15 team. He just made him a top 5 team. USC was a disaster. Yeah. And Lincoln, they thought they could buy their way out of problem. They gave him $120 million. They buy his mansion in Oklahoma.

It's been a fucking disaster. There's no way around. It's been. And then he, last year, he wants out of the LSU game, and Brian Kelly's like, no, we're playing this game. Brian Kelly said that. It's like this guy, everyone's making fun of him, and he's like, no, we're playing. This year, obviously, he's pushing for the Notre Dame thing.

I feel like USC's just lost his way, and it kind of starts with, I met him a couple of times. He's a nice guy. I just think it's an awful fit. I mean, I think it's a terrible fit. And I just, he has this great recruiting class. Okay, all these 18-year-old guys. You ever hear Rick Petino talk? High school kids in basketball and football are done.

Yeah. Because you don't need them for like three years. Right. So it's like, okay, you have the top recruiting class. And part of it is California law, they could pay these kids in high school. Yeah. Some of these states can't, so they can give them a bonus while they're still in high school. So would the kid actually go to SC or is he just going because you gave him $700,000?

Yeah, it's like... I think I'm short in SC football this year. I don't see them as a playoff team. No, I'm with you. It's top down. It's beyond leadership. It's beyond the head coach. I think it goes all.

And it's beyond Jen Cohen. I think it's all the way to the president of the university, how it's just gotten sideways. The idea that you could let a small town, Texas, head coach that's done nothing for your program dictate the end of the most storied college football rivalry outside of Michigan, Ohio State. Like, you're going to really let that go because of Lincoln Riley thinks he can make the playoff, which he has not done yet if you get rid of USC Notre Dame, McKay Rockney, like that that's what we're talking about. You know, for me, a guy that's my age. Liner's defining play in college was not any of the national championships. It was

the Notre Dame game with the Redmond? Exactly. Like, right? And like, so for me, my era, it was Rivers versus Rodney Pete, man. Like, that was the game. Like, that's the greatest, I remember that being to me as a kid, like the coolest college football game I ever watched, because it was storied Notre Dame, storied USC, the history of those two programs, California versus Chicago. And it's just... Is it done officially? They've tabled it for two years. They could revisit it, but it's just so dumb that it happened. It's so incredibly stupid that they let it happen. I don't understand it. And I know like the USC supporters and there's plenty of them that will just boot lickers, they'll say whatever they can to support the school and the team. Well,

Notre Dame doesn't play by the rules and they need to join a conference and they don't know what it's like. And it's like, I don't give it damn, man. It's USC Notre Dame. I don't care. Like, all that stuff you can figure out in the playoff and put pressure on them and they can't make the playoff unless they carry this sort of whatever it's just i'm just talking about this one game every year and the idea that it came to an end is assenine completely assonial you think link is the coach in two years no no no chance i think he wants out i think he was if mcguire if texas tech had not gone well do you think he's a texas i think he takes any of those jobs yeah if anyone from the cc or the big 12 come to get him, he will gladly need.

Problem is there not? No. I think if any of the NFL teams, like there were some rumors that Tennessee was sniffing around, you know, Sark and sniffing around Lincoln a little bit. I think had they come, gone, see you later. I don't think it's, you're right. Not only is it not a fit for SC, I don't think he believes that. No, that's what I mean. It's his side too. What would they do? We'll end on that.

If SC had an opening, what would you even guess? Because it's hard to even like, I don't even know where they'd start. Like to me, when it was all coming up, when it all came up, I was like, first person I'd call, it'd probably be Pat Fitzgerald, get a guy that builds culture. Get the train back on the tracks. Yeah, let's get, what was SC? It was halfback you, man. It's like, let's get this thing back on the tracks.

Let's get the trenches right. You've got, like you said, high school players don't matter as much anymore, but they do for depth, you know. Not that they don't help you win immediately. Right, exactly. They're not going to help you win immediately. But I think if you get like someone like what Pete Bill, with the offensive and defensive lines.

When you think about those teams and how good those O-line and D-lines were, man. And when you get sort of like what I think Pat's going to be able to do in the Big Ten again, it's just tough football, man. Chris Peterson does stuff at Fox. He's in L.A. all the time. Oh, I'd hire him in a second. I just don't think he wants to do it. He's done.

If Coach Pete said, hey, I want to do it, done, let's go. Nope. I think he's one of the most underrated coaches of the last 20 years, 30 years. Genius. Money, I appreciate it. Enjoy the combine. I will. Enjoy the combine.

I do want to make one correction. When we were together in Phoenix, you played golf. I held clubs and swung them at a little ball. That was the difference. I had a kid about a month and a half ago, and I probably look more like you now swinging this. That's not good for you. So next time you guys come to Arizona, we'll be equals.

Awesome. Talk to you soon, man. Appreciate it, brother. Thanks, bro. The volume. Hey, guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe.

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