The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Dave Wannstedt on Fields Doubters, Tua 2.0, Steelers QB Battle

Episode Date: July 18, 2022

First, (3:00) Colin explains why the Vikings and Kirk Cousins will shine without Mike Zimmer around. Then, former Bears and Dolphins HC and FOX NFL analyst Dave Wannstedt joins Colin to discuss how USC and UCLA will adapt to the B1G (8:00), if the new Bears regime is committed to Justin Fields (13:00), if the Steelers will start Kenny Pickett over Mitchell Trubisky in Week 1 (25:00), if Tua can have a breakout year in Mike McDaniel’s QB friendly offense (28:00), and why the Niners can't keep Jimmy G around another year (33:00). Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! #Herd See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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morning podcast. I can't wait to talk to Dave Wansett today about the Big Ten, the Bears, Tua, Justin Fields. There's just a lot of different topics. We're nine, ten days away from like the Bears opening up camp. I saw this story, and I think it's worth talking about. Ben Lieber is a current sideline reporter. He's a former Minnesota Viking. One of my constant themes has been, I think over the last year, and if you watch the herd on TV or listen on radio, about, how the game is changing. Quarterbacks make more. They want more.

It's an offensive league. Pete Carroll has struggled. He struggled with Russ. Belichick last couple of years with Brady. Brian Flores got fired. Struggle with Tua. And I was told after the season this year, I think it was after the season,

from somebody I trusted in the Minnesota kind of ecosystem, that Zimmer and Kirk Cousins really had a chilly, chilly relationship. And so Ben Lieber, the former Viking linebacker, came out this weekend and said, Mike Zimmer did not like Kirk Cousins.

And it's interesting because the Vikings' defense last year was ranked 30th. And Kirk Cousins' offense was ranked 12th. And the Vikings only had one double-digit loss all season. Do you know that's the fewest in the NFL? They had eight one possession losses. That was the most in the NFL, two more than any other team. That's why I picked the Vikings this year to be my surprise team in the NFL, 13, 14 wins. I think they're going to be great.

They got the tall Sean McVeigh as their new coach. This is what I've been saying about Pete and Bill and Vic Fangio. And I think Carson Wentz is going to hear this from Ron Rivera. Is that the culture's change. Quarterbacks make more. They want to be respected more. and they want more of a voice. And, you know, it's funny about Kirk Cousins.

Does he have a lower ceiling? Yes, does he shrink? But if you look at the Vikings last year, and I want you to look at them this year, outside of the game at Buffalo, their schedules very favorable. The tougher games are mostly at home, and their road games are very winnable at Philly, at the Saints,

at the Dolphins, at the Commanders, really winnable games. But I think more than that, if you've ever had a boss who was rigid, and I think Zimmer's a good coach, but a little rigid, and you didn't think he trusted you, I absolutely think it affects performance. And I think Kirk Cousins, whose personality can shrink in big games anyway, if you look at their season last year, they lost a couple of overtime games. They were just not very good late. And I think that's going to be the game changer is that Minnesota has a, Kurt got a little contract extension. He's got an offensive coach. The offensive coach is a fresh set of eyes and ears.

And my takeaway is this story by Ben Lieber, the former Viking linebacker, is something I heard last year, which is, and it's not like some, you know, Jay Glazer scoop here. But Zimmer and Kirk Cousms just did not connect. And I think that's the greatest challenge for defensive coaches is that I still think many of the principles of a defensive coach win. But things are changing. And it's becoming more of an offensive game. And you got to lighten up. In fact, you know, I had Cooper Cup on. He said he wishes Sean McVey was meaner.

You know, these Zach Taylors, Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVey, Matt LaFleur, good listeners, very much about the psychology and elevating quarterbacks, making quarterbacks feel comfortable. It matters. And I think Kirk Cousins is going to have a big gear. I think the Vikings are going to have an exceptional gear. And I'm going to go out on a limb, 13 and 4 or 14 and 3. I know you think I'm out of my mind. Don't trust the Bears.

Don't trust the Lions. And they have always, since Kirk Cousins has been there, they have always played Aaron Rogers straight up. Let's bring in Dave Wonstadt. He's got good shit today. Well, he's one of my favorite people. Dave Wanstatt, former bearhead coach and Dolphins head coach, won a Super Bowl with Jimmy Johnson and the Cowboys, college coach, now an analyst for the Big Ten Network, former USC defensive line coach. So I was in Chicago where you've got a place and I did not run into you this weekend and was bummed out about that. But I got to tell you something, coach, that is my favorite food city in America.

I freaking had six meals from Thursday night to this morning. six a plus plus god that's a great food city well the next time you come in i'm taking you to a place that's cash only they write the menu on a chalkboard whatever the chef decides to cook and it's in a house in little italy i just i love the and i promise you we'll get out of there alive we'll get out of there alive no it's just something about the People are great. The sports is great. The food is great.

I went walking for an hour, 15, this morning, all over the city. It was humid and sticky and great. I want to talk about the Big Ten expansion. You were now Big Ten analyst and you know USC well. Listen, UCLA was broke, $100 million in debt, and USC was up against it financially. So I get the reason. But it is a different conference. You know, the Big Ten teams are built for a little more power football.

and the West Coast spreads it out. Just from a football perspective, do you think USC and UCLA will struggle in those late October, November games, doing more power football? Well, no, I don't think so. I think, you know, even though they threw it in Oklahoma

and the Big Ten's known, quote, unquote, for running the football, I mean, Ryan Day will throw it as much as anybody in Ohio State. Right. And Lincoln Riley, when he was at Oklahoma and they had those great backs, he was not afraid to run it 45, 50 times the game. So I don't see an out of factor. But I'll tell you, you know, for our viewers, you know, I said this on the Big Ten last week.

I did a couple of shows because I was a defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State with Jimmy Johnson and left there to go to USC as a defensive line coach because of the tradition and the winning. Yeah. And our second year there, we went to the Rose Bowl, beat Ohio State. It had Spilman, Chris Carter, Tom Zack was the quarterback, Keith Fires was a running back, and we upset him in the Rose Bowl and beat them. And then Jimmy got the Miami job and I left and went to Miami. But I told my wife when we left, I said, this place, we've been here three and a half years now. And every day is kind of a learning experience.

There's something else, football-wise, alumni was, culture-wise, that we learn about USC. And UCLA, I told the guys at the big tennis, because everybody's kind of on their heels right now here in Chicago. Are you kidding me? What does UCLA bring the table? We know USC, you know, all the 17 championships and the Heismans and all that. I said, UCLA has 119 team championships second to none in the country. I think Stanford may be tied. Yeah.

But I think they may have more than the entire big. So they're getting an athletic program from top of. the bottom men's women that is really, really going to bring some national attention, I think. Yeah. Well, plus UCLA and USC are academically strong. And, you know, the big 10's always been Northwestern, Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan. I mean, those are great schools. I think people, that's why they want Notre Dame so much. They want their academics and the revenue. Yeah. People will talk about, and this was the effect, oh, how we, about the traveling. I said, the traveling's talking. When I was coaching the dolphins, we went out and played the Raiders and the

Seahawks, and we flew out Saturday. He got up, played the game, one that came home. I said, forget about that. I says, the team, the little bit of a shell shock is maybe the teams like Rutgers and some of them that all of a sudden you're adding two teams that you've got to play that are going to be tough to beat, you know, just from my coaching's perspective, I'm not worried about travel. I'm worried about who can I beat on the schedule. And you have to, you know, you know, you know, UCLA and USC, obviously, you're not going to be easy games for any of those teams. Well, I've been saying this about college football. As much as I love it, it has a big game shortage,

is that there's too many bad weekends where you get one great Big Ten game and one great SEC game. And I'm like, I want to watch Ohio State USC. I want to watch Michigan, UCLA. I want to watch Iowa USC. I want more good games. And I also think we're going to have an expanded playoff here because I think eventually people are going to complain about two massive conferences, having all the best teams. And so I think what will get coach is a 12-team playoff in every conference, the Big 12,

the Big 10, the SEC, the ACC, everybody's going to get three or four teams in. They won't complain. But, you know, I understand traditionalists. I'm not a traditionalist. I understand them. I'm not going to mock them. But I can't wait to watch USC play Wisconsin and Iowa and Michigan. I mean, you work for that network.

Those are going to be great games. Absolutely. Absolutely. No question about it. And I know, you know, like you mentioned earlier, I worked for the Big Ten network. I think it's tripled already the subscriptions to the Big Ten network in out west in Southern California just because of that. So, I mean, it's going to be coast to coast and draw. And you'll have to work on some scheduling so the games aren't real late at night, but they can do that. That's easy. I think the teams that have to really, the challenge are going to be the basketball team and the women's sport, you know, they play, they're going to have to go out to the USC and play hopefully both games in the same week. If you stay there a week, you can get it done. I want to talk about the Bears because you coach there and have, you're on the air in Chicago. So they have a new GM and a new coach. And that GM didn't draft Justin Fields. And that coach is a defensive coach.

And Fields, I think, is a big talent. But I do think he can be mistake prone. And you know as a defensive coach, you guys see the world through a different prism. And I'm interested, if you inherited a quarterback, didn't draft him. He's not your guy, right? It's much easier to come in and go by Thanksgiving. This ain't working. Say to the owner, do you think it hurts Justin Fields a little bit that this isn't the group that brought him in?

I really appreciate your comment, Colin, of saying I see it through a different prism. Rather than saying, you defensive coaches are boring, you know? Oh, seriously. But I tell you what's going on right here. And, you know, they're changing the defense, first of all. And we'll get to Justin Fields. But for our viewers, our listeners, they're going from a traditional 3-4 to a 4-3. And Matt Eberfluse, the head coach, he has that Tampa Bay.

Actually, what we did at the Cowboys and did it at the Dolphins, a 4-3 mentality. So they're going to juggle it around. And everybody's saying, you know, the Bears, are publicly are coming out and saying, we're not rebuilding. You know, and that's cliche. You know, everyone wants to say, we're just reloading. Barry Switzer could say that at Oklahoma, reloading and it, it work. But they'll be rebuilding.

And I think it's a great decision by the general manager, you know, Ryan Poles, the new general manager of the Bears, because the offense is young, offensive line quarterback, running back, receiver. and if they do take the steps that everybody hopes to in Chicago, and they kept Kaleo Mack and they kept Akeem Hicks and they kept Danny Trebathan. All these older players, because of contracts, injuries, whatever, they would have been getting rid of them two years ago. And then the defense would have been trying to catch up with the offense.

Right now, this football team is all on the same plane. And so if it works, it's really going to work big. So, you know, and I know this for a fact, talking to somebody else, offensive coaches up there. It's going to be an offensive friendly offense. I mean, they're going to run the ball by that, I mean, and they're going to give Justin Fields the best chance to develop one and to be successful. So we're all going to find out here about week eight if he's the guy or not.

And I hope he is. Yeah. Well, I mean, when the bears are good, it's better for Fox. It's better for the league, right? Ben Lieber is a Minnesota Viking linebacker, a former Viking linebacker. And he came out and said it was no secret that Mike Zimmer. And Kirk Cousins didn't like each other a ton. So I had heard after last year that it was a pretty chilly relationship.

The Vikings lost more close games than any team in the NFL. Their defense was pretty good, but they lost a couple of overtime games. And, you know, Kurt, as much as his data, his stats feel like he's a pro bowler, he can shrink in big spots. So I get it. But we are seeing an interesting trend. Belichick and Brady at the end wasn't great. Pete and Russ at the end wasn't great.

Zimmer and Cousins wasn't great. You don't hear as many of those stories with offensive. Brian Flores and Tua was reportedly brutal. Do you think defensive coaches, and I think Zimmer's a hell of a coach, I really think Mike was a good coach. But Dave, the world's changed. These quarterbacks now have 10,000 snaps by the time they're sophomores in high school. Do you think the world's changed a little bit?

They make more money. They come in ready to play. and that you have to coach him a little differently. Well, I don't know, yes. I mean, I hear what you're saying, but again, as a defense of coach, I think it all comes down to the offense that you run. I mean, the offense that they look at Kirk and I don't know Kirk Cousins that well.

I was at a banquet with him once. Look at his numbers, everybody, from when he's been at Minnesota, his completion percentage is almost 70%. He's two to three touchdowns. most of the time, three to four to interceptions. I mean, his quarterback rating for the four years of Minnesota has been over 100%. But their philosophy on offense was Dalvin Cook, run the ball, play defense, and a quarterback

make plays. So I'm kind of caught it in the middle on this thing. I mean, I would like to defend Mike Zimmer, but, you know, I was in the same situation with Ricky Williams. I had Jay Fieler and Ivy League kid a quarterback. And I had the top five defense in the NFL and a Pro Bowl kicker, Linda Mari. And we couldn't win a Super Bowl. Right.

You know, it's a quarterback-driven league. Everybody, quarterback gets the money. The quarterback gets the credit. He gets the criticism. I don't know. When things go bad, I just think it's an easy way out for the coach, anybody to say, you know, if we made more plays at the quarterback position, but I'm not buying that. I think the philosophy that they have at Minnesota, when Mike Zimmer was there, was running.

the ball and play defense. And that's the role of the quarterback. So, you know, if it changes now, you know, we'll see. We'll see. This baseball season turn K's into cash, big hits into big wins with Fandall Sportsbook. Okay, right now, new customers. Step up to the plate. No sweat first bet.

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Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement

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mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network On TikTok. As a Pittsburgh guy, I'm not a huge Kenny Pickett guy. I think I was initially and then in college the more I watched him. I think I don't see a ton of ceiling.

He felt like a second or a third round pick. And in fact, I had a GM in the league tell me, a really good GM tell me, we haven't graded as a middle third round pick. But the Steelers go ahead anyway. So you've always been a bigger Trubisky fan than I am, but I will say this. I do think Mitch Trubisky as a bridge quarterback is a damn good quarterback. He and Garoppolo are great bridge quarterbacks. You can win a lot of games with him.

I don't want to build around him. What if Pickett comes in and they're tied? Who do you go with? They're going to go with Pickett. I mean, I'm convinced of that. I mean, and I think that as close as I am to the PIP program, I would say that they practice on the same fields, guys. I mean, for our viewers, we have four fields there.

they walk in the same door. Pit goes to the right. Steers go to the left. Their offices are separated. Their waitrooms, all the facilities are separated. You go out to the practice fields. The first two fields are the Steelers. The second two fields are pit.

And my point is, they eat right there. My point is that nobody knows more about Kenny Pickett, give Kevin Colbert the general manager of the Stewards and Mike Tomlin, the head coach, a little bit of credit. I think they know more than any of them. us and for them to like him without a doubt in their minds. And I talked to a lot of people in Pittsburgh, there was no question. They didn't think that he would be there.

That's the other side of this coin. You're saying to a GM thought he'd going a third round. People in Pittsburgh tell me they thought that he would be gone before they picked 20th or whatever it was. And they were going to take another quarterback, a young one. So they were excited to get him. Are you worried at all that when they drafted him, Trubisky probably comes in. They're not paying him much, but he thinks he's a starter.

What if Trubisky is better, not significantly, but he's a little better understanding the system. Do you still go with picket? What's the line on that? No, I think that Mike Tom is going to go with whoever can win, and I don't think he would have a problem at all, slow play and picket if there's a difference. And I've always said this, Colin, you know, 17 years as a head coach, the players are watching the same tape. that you are. Okay? No, really, as a head coach,

so you might think that we're going to trick these guys and we're going to start this guy or play this guy, but really on the tape, player B is a lot better. And he's making more plays and complete more passes and throwing less interceptions. Players are watching the same tape. So Mike Tomlin's not going to fall into that trap.

He's going to play the best guy. Yeah. All right, let's go. When I bring you on, I like to talk bears, Steelers, dolphins, OAS. So my prediction on Tua is this. I really like their skill people. Waddle, Cedric Wilson, I think it's a terrific three.

Mike Gaseki, Tyreek Hill, very capable backs. Again, nice. I think they're okay in the offensive line, not great. But they bring in Kyle Shanhan's offense. It's always been a good offense for a quarterback. It's not quarterback-reliant. It's quarterback-friendly. Tua, I think his strength, accurate throwers.

It's like Jimmy G. There's a ceiling, but Jimmy gets the ball out, and he gets it to guys run after catch. Well, shit, that is Tyreek Hill. I think he led the NFL. I'm like, maybe I'm wrong on this. I read it like bubbles. 75% of his catches were not deep. They're bubble screens.

Get the ball out to him quick. Tua can absolutely activate that. I think the issue is going to be. I think Tua is going to be pretty good. I went and looked at his numbers from last year, and I said, if they improve 15 percent, the dilemma is going to be, oh, crap, do we have to pay him knowing he's in the same division with Josh Allen? Because I think he's going to complete about 66 percent. He's going to have a 94 passer rating, a 3 to 1 touchdown interception ratio. He's not Mahomes.

He's not Herbert. He's not Burrow. So I think what you're going to get is a very – this quarterback system day. it works. Christ, Garoppolo's making 27 large. It works. You can win a lot of games in this thing. No, no question. Two thoughts come to mind with your comment, your question there. Number one, the first time, if you talk to anybody in the NFL and you say Shanahan, what's the third first thought that comes to mind? One of the best game plan run schemer there is in the league. Yep. And so that's what you got to expect with the Dolphins. So they're their run game.

They were 28th. I may be wrong on this, 27th, 28th or 29th in the league rushing the football last year. They weren't very good at all. They didn't really give two of the chance that they had. And you're right. Tyree Kill, I'm part of a group, well, 10, 15 coaches called the 33rd team. Okay?

Yeah. And we have Zooms and meetings and we just talk ball and we do some things. They're going to have something new going on with our group this fall. but we were talking and watching tape on Tyree Kill. And you're exactly right. He led the NFL in yards after catch. And so the point is that that fits right in. Perfectly.

And let them run. I mean, it sounds too simple for some of these geniuses. But I'll tell you what, if you come out of the Shanahan system and I was coaching the dolphins and I was coaching the bears when his dad, you know, was coaching the, he was offense coordinator of the 49ers, and then he was the coach at Denver. And so I know the system.

And he's doing exactly what his dad did from the standpoint of philosophy-wise. And it's working. I think he's going to be a little bit like a left-handed Jimmy G. He'll get banged up. You can see the ceiling, but he'll get rid of the ball quick. He'll deliver it accurately. And in the end, the coaches will win a lot of games. You're going to win 10.

I think they're going to be a 10-win team. I think Miami is a playoff team. Do you? You know, you can't lose sight of this. When he was struggling early, every week, we were all talking about it on all the shows. Deshawn Watson going to the dolphins. Deshawn Watson being traded to the dolphins. And two is playing horrible.

All of a sudden, halfway through, the general manager down there says, that's enough. Enough talk about this. You know, this is our guy. We're out of the Watson. stakes. We're not interested anymore. And it's Tua. And his numbers, his performance, it was like night and day. Yes. So I think that now you get an offensive coach, okay, it's the first time that he's ever had a head coach that's the offensive coach. Nick Saban, right? Alabama. I think his high school coach was a defensive coach. I could be,

I think he was. Colin, you got me again. You know, what can I say? No, I think you're right. I think it's high school, Sabin, Flores. I think they all were defensive coaches. So now you've got the head coach putting his armor on him and the meeting's giving him some loving. Boy, the guy, I think that could accelerate his performance twofold, really. I really do just because of the environment and the atmosphere that he's going to be in now as compared to the past. And you know the one thing I like about Tua? When he's getting all this crap, Dave, he's really good at the microphone. He handles it.

He laughs at it. He rolls his eyes at it. Baker could get real snarky, real defensive, and to his left. It's all good. You know that. The last thing you want is you have to answer a question because your quarterback the day before we got into argument with the media. Yes.

Oh, absolutely. No, no question. And I think, you know, too, it's the type of quarterback that you hire him in any profession. He's going to make your team or your business better. He's just got that type of charisma and I think he's got that type of mentality. So here's off. throw this at you.

Dave, you know this really well because you're one of the few guys who wanted the pros and college. There's not many guys who did it, Jimmy, Pete Carroll. There's not. You're in a short list. There are certain guys and they don't always have to be great players, but they're guys, guys,

and the players love them. They're great locker room guys. This is what I've said about Jimmy G. He's a great looking guy. He's a nice guy. Impossible to hate. And I think Brady sensed that in New England So get this guy out of here

Like guys love Jimmy G Right And so I mean this whole Trey Lance circus He's been great He's been a total I mean a coach's dream So my takeaway is You can't keep Jimmy G

In that locker room And then demand that Trey Lance Own the locker room Jimmy's just one of those guys You want to go hang out with him And have a beer And watch the You know

If there was a guy in the locker you want to go out and have a steak dinner with, it's Jimmy G. And that's if Tremerich is a great kid. And my takeaway is you got to get him out of the locker room. If you want Trey to have a shot at owning that damn locker room, you can't have Jimmy G. in the quarterback room. When my tenure ended at the Dolphins, it was the year that Ricky Williams took a sabbatical, whatever we would call it.

And we were hit with a couple hurricanes, and we started the season off. bad. They were using our facility as a hurricane shelter. Okay, put that aside. So we start off bad, and I remember that Wayne Hezenga, God bless his soul, he was the owner of the dolphins. He came in and said, I want to play somebody's younger players. And, you know, we had won 10 games a year before. And we were off to a 1 in 5 start or whatever it was. And I said, Wayne, Jay Fiedler, if we start another quarterback other than Jay Fiedler, we will lose this locker room. Jason Taylor, Zach Thomas, Patrick Satan, these guys believe in Jay Fidler. So I can relate to your story. And as long as Jay was on that team and I was the head coach, Jay, Jay had to be the guy.

And maybe he wasn't as talented as the backup guy. But from a mentality standpoint and a belief standpoint. And there's nobody that has more influence on a team than the quarterback. When he comes into the huddle and he in a critical situation, and he's looking at everybody in the eye, he's the only guy talking. And when he makes a statement and calls a play and says something at the end about we got this, we can do this.

That makes the difference in the world. That's Tom Brady. That's Tom Brady at half time, half time. They're 28 point comeback against the Atlanta Falcons when you and I were working the show in Houston, the Super Bowl. Tom Brady was the guy that got the offense. I talked to Dionne Lewis. They're running back coach. And Tom was the guy that got that offense together and said, believe in me, we're going to do this thing. Quarterbacks the guy. Yeah. No, there really is. I mean, you know this. When you recruited

quarterbacks, like my thing with Justin Fields is I know he's big enough, fast enough, talented enough, and has the arm. My question is, is he the guy? Is he a guy that guys rally around? Do you think he is? Well, I do, I hope so. I know I'm, I know I'm signing like I'm on the fence a little bit, probably because I am a little bit. I want to see him this year. I think that this year's offense is going to give them the best chance. And I've always evaluated NFL quarterbacks like this. Number one, when they're done 10 points with six minutes to go in the game, can they bring their team back and score twice and win the game? That usually separates quarterback.

When you look at the braidings, the mannings, the Marinos, all those guys, I mean, the great ones can do that. The ones that can't bring their team back, but are really good players, unfortunately, they don't fall into that category. In my mind, that's my personal opinion. Yeah. It's, did you think, sometimes I do think media market matters. L.A. is not as vicious as Philadelphia. The Midwest is a friendlier place than New York, Philadelphia. It's less snarky than maybe San Francisco or Los Angeles.

If Fields struggles this year, are the McCasky's reactionary, if the media starts clobbering him? What is your sense when you were with the Bears? Is the media tough, or the fans brutal, they're not as brutal as Philly? And by the way, do the McCaskies listen to that? Yes. they do they listen to the one thing owners can do and i used to tell my assistant coaches is make sure we got 11 guys on the field okay not 12 okay because the owners might not know anything about football but they can count and they can count when there's 12 guys on the field and they throw the flag

the owner sitting in the box saying why did that happen you know and the same thing they can count seats that's my point and you know in chicago if you don't win they're not going to come to the games the bears are trying to get this new stadium so i mean do they listen to it sure they do they'll probably all say they don't but they do they do because in the end it comes down to attendance and it comes down to marketing and it comes down to money yeah well wayne hyzinga you you respected him but he could be reactionary couldn't he he never was until the last year and then he kind of got that way because we didn't go to the Super Bowl, even though we're winning 10, 11 games a year, you know, a little bit.

But Wayne was good. Wayne was probably as good as any owner that I've been around, even though not working for but associate with. He was good. He was good. Jimmy always told me Jerry was good for the first few years when he was building up the business. It was after Jimmy started winning.

Jerry wanted to show up. Well, I can tell you the story. We used to, Jimmy kind of believed that we would take, he always calls it the inner circle. We still get together once a year. We just had a little reunion down his place about two months ago. It was North Turner, our offensive coordinator. I was obviously the defense corner. Tony Wise, our line coach, our attorney.

And then Troy comes in. And the inner circle, he called it, which Davis came. So we would sit. And so we would go for a jog every lunchtime. And we didn't talk about anything except the upcoming game. and where we were at. And I remember we were getting ready to head out for a jog. And it was that year, like third year when we were winning playoffs.

And Jimmy just got finished with his press conference. And they were setting up all these tables. And they were bringing in these big stakes and, you know, they're setting up the catering. And we were walking out. And Jimmy turned to somebody and said, what's going on? And they said, oh, Jerry's having a press conference this afternoon. And he's feeding the media.

stakes and he's going to feed him and have his own press conference. Oh, Jesus. And I looked at, I looked at Jimmy and he looked at me. And I knew he never said a word, but I knew that was kind of the beginning of the end. Jerry, plying the media with throwing. Well, and I think it happened, Paul. And I think it was two weeks later, Troy threw an interception.

And when Jimmy comes out in a press conference at 11 o'clock and says, hey, I don't care who you are. Troy Aikman, Emmett Smith, Mike Irvin, you turn the ball over, we're going to have issues. And one o'clock, Jerry had this press conference and they said, what do you think about the turnovers? And it might have been Troy, might have Emmett, whatever. And he says, oh, no, there's no problem. We're fine.

So you can imagine the headlines of the Dallas morning news the next day. No chance. That was no chance. That was not going to fly. I think that's so funny. All right. So you and Jan, when do you go back to Chicago? We are here now full time.

I got in last week. Yep. I am here now full time. I did a little show tonight for the Bears at NBC. And I start my Big Ten and radio shows here in a couple of weeks. The Bears go to training camp in nine days. So I'll be up there. I'll be all in.

Yes. So we're here. We are absolutely here. I was at last night. You may be too young to not even recognize it. So I'm at a function last night. It's Smith and Lewinsky's. Yeah.

They're at Chicago. And I'm at a private party in the back. And someone comes up me and says, coach, Mr. T is in the room next door. I walk over and he comes up and we hug. His daughter went to high school with my daughter. And we used to see each other at all the volleyball events and all that. So I'll tell you, it's great to be back in Chicago.

I mean, I'm not running into Mr. T in Naples, okay? Let me tell you something. For people, I was introduced to Chicago very late in my life. I done all the West Coast stuff. I've done a lot of Dallas. I done a lot of northeast stuff throughout my career. I got introduced through my wife to Chicago. It is my favorite city in America.

The people, the architecture. We have a cute little tiny place near a park. I just love it. I love everything about it. Yeah, no, it's good. And I'll tell you what, there's a lot of excitement, right? It's a sports time. Oh, my God.

It's a, I mean, this town, and, you know, the big talk now is the bears are, I'll throw this out since we're talking to Chicago. I mean, the bears are, I think they're going to move. I think they're going to leave Soldier Field and move out to Arlington to the racetrack and they're going to build a new stadium. And supposedly there's going to be a hotel involved and there's going to be a gambling casino. I mean, it's going to be a big move for the Bears, and I think it's happening. I really do. So stay tuned. Stay close to that one.

Yeah, I heard there's a casino going downtown Chicago where the Tribune building is. Yes, you're correct. You're correct. Absolutely. Yeah. So it's good. Right now the Cubs. The Cubs won today.

I was watching. I got to get caught up. I just got up here calling, so I got to start watching Tony the Russo and the socks. And I got to start watching the Cubs and get caught up here. so I'm not blindsided of some of these media guys, you know, they're into it. This is a sports town. Well, Ann, can't wait to see your lovely wife again. I appreciate you coming on.

All good stuff. I finished off my vodka Red Bull. Did you finish off Bradshaw's bourbon? No, I got about four more bottles over there, but not tonight, but no, I'm good for tonight. It's empty. I'm done. I'm done. All right, coach.

All right, see, kid. Make sure to check out the Dramon Green Show. I brought Dramon Green into the volume because one of the more entertaining voices in sports, unique perspective, understands behind the rope. Also chops up with guests like Gary Payton, Zach Levine, Tracy McGrady. Make sure download the Dramon Green Show wherever you get your podcast, only on the volume podcast network. Another podcast from some SNL, late night comedy guy, not quite, unhumored me with Robert Smigel and Friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an

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embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

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