The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - NFL Top 100, Pay Aiyuk? New Kickoff Rule, Olympics Resurgence

Episode Date: August 5, 2024

Colin is joined by John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” to talk offseason football! They begin with trying to make sense of the NFL Top 100 rankings and Lamar Jackson being ranked higher than Patrick Mahomes (3:00). Then, they dive into the drama playing out in San Francisco and the 49ers being forced to choose whether to pay Trent Williams or Brandon Aiyuk (12:00), and Colin argues that #1 receivers are overvalued and point to Mahomes playing better WITHOUT Tyreek Hill (16:30). They discuss the new kickoff rule and point out that if it doesn’t work, the league won’t hesitate to change it again (26:30). They debate whether JJ McCarthy and Bo Nix will have more success than the QB’s drafted higher than them because they have offensive minded coaches (35:00), and break down the vibe shift in the building for the Chargers with Jim Harbaugh as the head coach (45:00). Finally, they talk about how NIL has changed the college football landscape and the ability of just one deep pocketed booster to supercharge a program (54:00), and the resurgence of popularity for the Olympics (01:06:00)! (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!  #Volume #Herd #3andOutSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild. I mean, it was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The volume. Hey, are you not playing best ball at Draft Kings? My opinion, you're missing out.

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day one, go lows as golf podcast as well. So, you know, I was thinking about this that when I built the volume, one of the things I think about all the time is I think of it a little bit like a swimming area, stay in your lane. Like there are things I know and things I don't. We have a series of people, you're a football guy and a golf guy. Like everybody has sort of a lane. And it's worked that way. And I've seen that most of my life in corporate America. And in corporate America, when you have problems is when people think, you know, a sales guy suddenly comes up and wants to talk to me about content. ESPN was famous for that. Here, I've got a segment I think could work well for a car dealership and I'm like, I'll create segments. If you can sell them, you sell them. But I heart,

Fox has never asked me to do a segment because they found a sponsor. Like, that's not the way it works. It shouldn't work that way. So Belichick, prime example, got into trouble. He took over personnel. Pete Carroll and Seattle got into trouble. He and John Snyder. Once John Snyder, the last couple of years, took over personnel. Seahawks had back-to-back great drafts. They had several where Pete had influence where they just kept missing on first-round picks. Rashad Penny, the running back's a great example where, like, everything was a reach.

So when the players vote on the NFL top 100, it's illuminating. It lets you look into what matters to players. They love athleticism. Lamar Jackson is the voted the number one quarterback over Patrick Mahomes because he's viewed as hyper-athletic. This is the NBA players, a majority thinking Westbrook's better than Steph Curry, despite the fact they're both guards, one can't shoot and has bad hands. Like the two most important things for a guard. Well, who likes him now? Yokic wants Russell Westbrook on his team.

It's like, what are we doing? What are we doing? So it's interesting. I don't have a problem. I love Lamar. he's not Patrick Mahomes, but it's interesting. They have Dak Prescott ahead of Matt Stafford and Joe Burrell. There is not, that's not, nobody thinks that, like in the league when you talk to personnel people.

I mean, DAC struggles with the best offensive line for years in football to win a single playoff game. Burrow got to the Super Bowl with an egregiously bad offensive line. So in the days that you were working for the Eagles, I look at the top 100. I'm not offended by it, but it illuminates how players view the world. Hyperathleticism is viewed on a grand scale for players. I just think the way personnel departments and coaches work, in the NBA, if the Warriors are going to do something big, they talk with Steph Curry. Obviously, LeBron James has a huge hand in personnel. And sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but you got to keep him happy.

The most famous dynasty of my life, the Patriots, never asked Tom Brady's. opinion one time. Now, it doesn't mean they shouldn't have it, but they never, it never even cross Bill's mind. Andy is not asking Patrick Mahomes, you know, for his draft board, right, or in free agency. Now, when a player plays somebody, if you play Lamar Jackson and he kicks your ass and you go, that was really good. Like that, there's something to be said. But in the NFL, you don't play every team. So in the NFC, only four teams in the NFC played the Ravens last year, right? It rotates every four years. So half the league is not even playing this player. And then there are teams in the AFC that aren't playing them either. Colin,

this ranking, which I honestly have to fake even caring about, I do not care about this. And the Madden rankings, which had Lamar and Patrick Mahomes right here, Josh Allen is a better player than Lamar Jackson. He's a better player. Yes. The Chiefs feared Josh Allen. They just played him both back-to-back playoffs on the road. They feared Josh Allen, they were excited to play Lamar. Again, that's not saying that Lamar's not good. They knew they could handle Lamar. He, Josh Allen has kind of owned them. This is in the playoffs. The reason the bills haven't won was Sean McDermott, the defense, not Josh. To me, there is a gap. Again, Lamar's regular season in the playoffs, he hasn't been remotely the same. No, no.

And that's a big problem for a team that at this point in time, like, we're not judging the Ravens on 12 wins, 13 wins. Like, who cares? Like, yeah, I expect the Ravens to be in the playoffs. He's getting judged on those couple games, just like Mahomes. And that's the thing with Josh. He hasn't won, but I think we all go, not totally his fault, right? They were Peyton Manning games early when I remember being in, like, early in college in high school, and I love Peyton. And I was like, this doesn't look like the same guy.

I've just watched for 16 weeks. And that's how Lamar felt in the big games. We're Mahomes, he's like a chameon. He's morphed. He was like one point in time. He was throwing like Dan Marino. Now he became a game manager this year because of his team. It's like, he can do it all.

Do you know the one position that they have asked Mahomes' opinion in the draft? It's the one position Kansas City drafts poorly, wide receiver. So they have asked Mahomes from time to time for an opinion on college receivers. And I imagine they listen to him if they ask. Brett Veach drafts everything great except wide receiver. And my take is he has an influence. Because I heard they have asked Mahomes' opinion on wide receivers. Well, if you ask his opinion and he says, I like this guy, you're not going to avoid that guy if he's available.

You're probably going to, and it's the one position where they've been really immature, Tony, Immature, Rishie Rice, Immature. Xavier Worthy, I think that's his name out of Texas. Yeah, it is. I mean, he's 160 pounds. I mean, you can jam him up on the line. He'll make spectacular plays, but he's pretty talented, Bill Conner. No, no, he is. I'm not disputing that.

But there's also video all over practice of him getting tossed around like a crouton and a salad bowl, just getting thrown all over the field. on. Deshawn weighed 100. Now, Deshawn was more talented, I think, than this player. He went in the second round because there were a ton of question marks. When you have the elite speed. Now, Deshawn was a great route runner. I think a lot of people view Xavier Worthy as more than just a go-rout guy. If he can do everything else. Andy has a soft spot for guys with a little trouble. Andy's not afraid of those. Bill just wants to avoid that at all costs for the most part. Andy kind of embraces it. And I'm not saying, like, and that's the Tony's, even Tyreek early on. Kelsey was a character guy coming out of high school. So I think Andy feels pretty comfortable that he can mold that. But overall, the quarterback ranking, you could not have an NFL quarterback ranking and not have Josh Allen second. And I take you seriously. You can't do it. I think he's the second best quarterback. And honestly, like, I have more faith in him winning. It's on the organization. But because I've seen him be awesome in the playoffs.

I mean, say what you want about, you know, the Bengals, the owners, been cheap. They have proven over the last 20 years, they've had moments with Marvin Lewis and Carson Palmer, some really good teams with Marvin Lewis and the Andy Dalton teams. They can build a team. Joe Burrell benefited two years ago. Their team was talented.

No, I mean, Cincinnati is like the Chargers. They've gotten quarterback right a lot. The Chargers have gone Fouts, Brees, Rivers, Herbert. I mean, go back to Kenny Anderson. Yeah, he was Cincinnati. Eddie, Kenny Anderson, Boomer O'Sayson. They played Joe Montan in the playoffs, didn't you? Yeah, Kenny Anderson, Boomer, Assison, Carson Palmer, Andy Dalton, Joe Burrell.

They've, and those two franchises will drive you nuts, but they've gotten quarterback right more than they've missed. How about even last year when Burrow goes down, what's the, you know, quarterback? All of a sudden, Jake Browning, who I watched in college, I said, this guy couldn't play. And you're watching them last year, like, God, this guy's not bad. Yeah. So they develop. Yeah. So I'll throw this out to you.

So I didn't make a big deal out of it. I went to Twitter. So I was doing a show last week, and I got a call from a very, through the years, an exceptional source, like 10 for 10. A former player in the NFL. And he said, next 48 hours, 72 hours, keep your eye on Brandon Ayyuk. He's going to sign a deal. So I just, you know, I just put it on Twitter. I said, hey, keep your eyes out for Brandon Ayuk.

Not in the moment, but next two to three days. Well, nothing has transpired. So it's funny because I've said this before, I didn't second source it. That's why I didn't make it into a big topic. I put it on Twitter. I had one source. I tried to get a second, but it was somebody that through the years has been just tremendously accurate for me.

And I don't hear from often, but he's led me in the right direction virtually every time. So I haven't talked to him yet. So I'm kind of waiting for it. But give me an update because... They do have cap space. It's fascinating for all the stars they have because they're paying pretty what a cashier makes at Costco. He makes nothing by NFL relative to NFL standards. Where are you on IU? Their cap space and the rumors you hear. Well, first and foremost, Trent Williams is more pressing than me. Like if you had to choose one, one guy's literally not there. He not only is he not there. He's 35 years old. He's made a ton of money in his career. In the back of your mind, what if he just called and said, you know, actually, I've done enough. We've had enough success.

I know I never won a Super Bowl, but my body, I'm just kind of, that has to terrify them. So to me, that is priority. Like the moment Trent Williams did not show up, it went Brandon Ayyuk, you're no longer priority number one. And he already was really emotional. Like, I don't think Trent's that emotional about this. It's like, hey, guys, we all agree. I'm the best left tackle. All these guys are now getting $28, $29 million.

That's what I need. It was kind of like what McCaffrey did, right? this offseason like, listen, I'm not going to make a big stink of this, but I'm no longer playing for $10,11 million. I'm not asking for $40 a year, but we better get this number around 20. The thing without you guy, I just think it's really complicated because, one, he's very emotional. I give him credit for showing up. Yeah. Kyle's good at this. Kyle often goes, like, listen, there's a lot of stuff flying around on the outside. I know these guys really well, especially my offensive guys. I'm very close with them. I played wide receivers. They know how much

passionate I am about that position. I've been around these guys from day one. I'm the only coach they've ever had here. So in a weird way, the Niners got more shit going on than like the Cowboys. And they're just kind of numb to it. And I think this speaks to, you know, John Lynch, he's a pretty rare operator. And one, he's not your typical GM. He was already rich when he took the job.

And he's a natural leader. But these are not easy situations. And this goes back to, you know, Jerry rides it. out and then ultimately I'll just pay my own guy the most, whatever. Right. The Niners and Parag, Jed's Money guy, who has led them, they bought a team over in Europe and soccer. They have been, I mean, the Levi Stadium changed the wealth of that family.

Yeah. Like Eddie DeBartolo was rich and his family was, but the Yorks were not on the same level. And they were not going to be able to sustain in candlestick and that thing changed everything. But they don't just hand you, this is George Steinbren, Brenner here's $300 million for, you know, some star player. That's not the way, look at last year with Nick Bosa. That's right. They just don't operate that way. And listen, they take some shit and rightfully so because it goes, I understand if you're willing to like, okay, do you have a number where you're like, okay, we're just not going to get a deal done, which I don't think they do.

So are you just, listen, I've been to go into these practice for years. Trent Williams is on a pretty cruise control training camp. Right. He, this ain't Junction Boys, Alabama, 1950 for him. But do you want him showing up week, you know, 10 days before week one? That has pulling a hammy or something written all over. I don't care what he's doing. He's still in pads out there moving around. And the IUC thing, like, how does he, he can work out all he wants with the trainers and stuff in the weight room. It's just not the same.

And you need, I mean, these are two of their height. Like, they are probably, the chiefs, to me, are the only team that can really go Super Bowl or bust. It was a disappointment. Yeah. But I do think there is a group of three or four teams. teams, obviously the Bills and the Ravens with Lamar and Josh, and probably the 49ers, that anything less than a Super Bowl birth feels like a devastating blow. And so to me, if you're the 49ers, like, the number's not going to come back to you.

He's not just all of a sudden go, like, hey, I turned $26 million, what, three months ago, but now more guys have gotten paid. Now I'm good with it. But I also get the Niners spot. Like, we don't think you're as good as DJ more. We just don't think you're that good. That's right. And that's where I have a hard time with NFL markets and stuff, like,

Whatever happened to, this is what we think you're worth. And you're still under contract. This is not like you're just some free agent out there. So do you want to play on $14 million or do you want to take our $75 million guarantee? Historically, the guy usually cracks. But it does feel, and I had Jake Rosenberg, who was a longtime contract negotiator for the Eagles on the pod last week. And he said, like, let's face it, these player empowerment in the NFL, it's not the NBA, but it's definitely amped up a little bit. Yeah.

And you see it all around the league. These guys are like, I'm not doing shit. And it's also a lot. That didn't happen with Parcells. It's a lot of wide receivers who have always been the NBA players. They're their most talented athletes. It's sort of an independent position. You break the huddle first.

You go up the sideline, throw me the ball when I'm not open. And, you know, I've argued this. Tyreek Hill just got a new three-year deal. No New Year's added, just a pay raise. And I've, I've argued this. And this is like, matter of fact, take your feelings out of it. The Chiefs of World. one back-to-back Super Bowls without Tyreek Hill. Fact. And I've said this about Tyreek Hill.

I'm not a believer at all in dominant number one receivers, especially with a Brock Purdy, because Brock Pretty is not getting paid. If you have a star receiver getting paid a lot, you do have, there's sort of a psychology, like, I got to feed this guy. This guy's got to eat. I remember Dak broke into the league with Des Bryant. Des left, and you lose that nine touchdowns a year, but DAC to grow had to spread the ball around and see the entire field. And I do think with Mahomes and Tyreek, it became sort of a he's always open. And it's forced over the last two years. He was a lot.

Yes. But it has forced Mahomes to throw underneath to take what the defense gives you. I think Mahomes has actually, all argue, has grown as a quarterback. 100%. without Tyreek Hill. Tyreek Hill made his job much easier, and he's obviously naturally gifted. So if you want a young quarterback to grow, everybody's fearful of Stefan Diggs and Josh Allen, he's still a little bit in the growing curve where he's got to take more of what the defense

gives him. So that's my knock on Tyreek Hill. Yes, he's fast, but he's a deep threat with a quarterback without a big deep threat arm. So he's flashy, he's exciting. I could think of 10 quarterbacks in the league where Tyree Kill would be a better fit than Tua. And again, I think he's a terrific player. I don't think he's the best player, number one, like the players do in the league, but I think he's very, very valuable. But I am not a believer in this.

If you're asking me the Niners, I think their DNA is Shanahan, Trent Williams, Debo and McCaffrey, and Kittle somewhat physically. I think Ayuk's just really talented. I think there's this bubble now with wide receivers where show me all the playoff went for Tyreek and Justin Jefferson and Devante Adams. Where are they? Well, with Tyreek, I do think the dolphins, he kind of had him by the balls because, like you said, he would be better off with a bigger arm quarterback. We've seen that.

Yes, no question. They can't even dream of functioning without him and Waddle. I mean, when those guys go down, they look differently. And the whole, once you double, down on Tua, you can't get rid of him or it would look really bad. You want to make it look good. I do think the 49ers already kind of showed their hands. It was like, oh, they got some needs. You know, Trent Williams getting older. You know, you can always go defense. And they took a wide receiver at the end of the first round. And now, big picture, maybe they already thought,

hey, we get IUC. That's Debo. Because he's more of an over the middle. He can break tackles. He's what Kyle likes. And ultimately, you can't have, like, this is not sustainable. sustainable for the 49ers. Now, part of it is the guys are older, too. But in the next two years, all these guys are not going to be on the team. And this is what the chiefs did. Listen, Feech, it's an all-time move, trading them. What were the chiefs last year?

A defensive team. How were they a defensive team? Well, Trent McDuffie became a superstar. Karlofskis, they were able to invest in Chris Jones. Now, they had less on offense, but their quarterback had become like Tom Brady in terms of game management, and their defense was so great, they felt comfortable winning 20 to 17 or 17 to 13. 13. And the 49ers are going to have to pivot off Kittle, Debo. One of these guys is not going to be there. He's 35, 36 years old. I said this before. I have the Rams running the division. I thought they

peaked last year. I think they're going through. I think it's noisy. Those guys are still on the team, though. That's what I would say. Those guys are still, now the Rams are still dependent on young players. Kyle's dominated him. To me, there's questions. I know Purdy got hurt in the playoff game. but for the most part, like Stafford's health, given the way he plays, given his fearlessness, and his age. I was thinking about this the other day because I want to do something. I haven't quite figured out what to call it, but some ranking of the quarterbacks. And I got to like five and six, and I'm like, I haven't even thought about Stafford. He's better than everyone I'm about to name.

Like his high end is through the roof. It's undeniable. It's Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes. And he played like that down the stretch. It's why he took a team full of kids. with Cooper Cup being a shell of himself, toe to toe with the lions who had the Niners on the ropes. So, yeah, I mean, I think both those teams are locked playoff teams,

but the Rams had to pivot, and the Niners are going to have to pivot over the next 18 months with younger players, a lot like the Chiefs do, especially once you should pay the quarterback. Yeah. So I was thinking about, you know, I've learned something through the years with men. and it's a big chunk of men. 40% of men, 40% of people never leave the area code they grow up in. I mean, you just made a pivot a couple years ago. You're like, I'm going to Arizona.

I can't, the San Francisco is outrageous. And I think you're a happier guy. Congratulations now. Thank you. Your fiancé. When is the date, by the way? I think it was easier to move. I had lived in Philly.

I had lived in Kansas City for six months. So it's, you know, you experience other than is fearful of anything. The date, March 8. Keep an eye on your mailbox. I will be available. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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

A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford 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 to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, 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.

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode

where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so... Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes, I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years. for black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So you have an upcoming fantasy football draft? Well, then you need to check out the fantasy pros draft wizard. When you sync your fantasy football league with draft wizard, you'll get an instant report that shows you how the rest of your league drafts. You'll see who overdrafts rookies in early rounds, who's going to be the person to take that first QB off the board, and which manager is going to always reach for that hometown

player every single time. And then you can take those patterns directly into the draft simulator and make your mock draft feel like the real thing. When your real draft comes around, you're going to be ready. And the draft assistant will be there for you to give you live pick-by-pick insights and expert recommendations of who to draft and when to draft them. You can see all of this and more at fantasy pros.com slash volume today. So I was thinking like, like, and I'm not, it's just people are different. And I'm not traditional. So I can move my wife's the same way.

we can move on a dime. And the kickoff rules, it's quirky looking. But just the new kickoff rules, think about it in terms of when they changed the PAT, it became a real play. One of those, your kicker misses one about every third week, unless you have the, unless you have the Bravens kicker. So seven of eight kicks were returned in the Hall of Fame game. 73% of kicks last year went through the end zone or were touchbacks.

you get an extra play about six to seven times a game. There were only like four balls, kickoffs taken for touchdowns last year. It almost never happens. It's really, yeah, I mean, like it may happen. It basically in the NFL happens every six weeks. It happens once. You don't even get that many. I mean, if a guy gets to midfield or the other teams 40,

it's considered a huge return. So the NFL basically said, we just want more plays. So I said this on the air, is that the, The NFL constantly adjusts. Baseball did when it had to. I mean, Fox basically went to baseball and said, we're not really interested in signing you to another deal. Speed the game up. So Fox literally told him how to tweak their schedule.

Speed the game up. ESPN, by the way, has no interest from what I've heard in resigning baseball. Lachlan Murdoch. It's pretty clear in our building. It's not like baseball is a priority. Baseball has changed when it's fundamentally. had to or networks just don't want to do business with them. And they have spread the game up, but it's a different time and it does still feel like it lacks juice and energy and pacing.

So, but the NFL in a leadership role, I always said this about Tiger Woods, number one golfer in the world, number one and change clubs. Oprah Winfrey had the number one ratings, and she literally changed her show to more of an ethereal, you know, quality of life, elevation of life show. She was number one. Tiger and Oprah changed. NFL does this. Number one, pulling away and makes changes. That's different from somebody going, John, if you don't quit smoking, you die. I'm not going to give you a ton of credit for quitting when the option is you're dead if you don't start exercising and stop smoking. So baseball is a little bit like change or we're just not interested in resigning you to long-term deals. So I guess my point is on the preseason thing, people can fight it. But John, I watched it and I'm like, it's, it was the first time I can remember watching every kickoff. It was fascinating. I'm totally behind doing out with the old because it was not working. But I watched, you know, I'm kind of sick.

I probably watch a coach press conference a day, different, you know, throughout the league. I ran into Sean Patent's yesterday because you get the right coaches. They're giving you nuggets left and right. All sorts of nuggets. And I saw this a couple weeks ago, a headline that the Packers, special teams coach, Rich Passaccia, probably the number one,

the heralded special teams coach in the league said the league might change things throughout the preseason. Sean Payton doubled down on that. So I think they've told everyone, and this is where they deserve credit. We did this, but we are not afraid to tweak it

before week one if we see different things. Because Sean Peyton mentioned this, and I do agree. There's a lot of moving parts with where the ball could end up, and he's like, it's hard to follow. It's hard for us. The coaches, it took us a while.

The fans cannot follow this. Like, if one goes, out of bounds if one goes through the end zone and obviously if you don't get it to the front square there are different yard lines i think one's 25 one's 30 and once 40 might be 35 he's like it's too confusing his Sean Peyton's pushback was i'm totally cool with this change of the formation but just have one or the other right if you kick it out of the end zone or kick it out of bounds it starts at the 40 and if you kick it if you don't kick it to the square started at the 20 but you can't have too many complications, and I agreed with that. The one thing, I think, again, it was

preseason game, the Hall of Fame game. You could even have that in its own category. Like, there's preseason and there's whatever the hell that is. I know it rained out or whatever, but I mean, the people were playing. I thought there would be more just open lanes, and I'm not trying to take too much away. It felt like the offensive players, because this guy gets a running start at five yards. I do have to back up immediately. And I, in the old rule, I had more space so I could back up and then attack. There's not really that much space. And there were a couple times when everyone just went by him and the offensive guy was swallowed. So, and I assume the opposite. I was like, you're only going to have to make a guy or two miss. It's why, like, Debo Samuel's like,

I want in. Because in theory, you think it's going to be easy. But then you watch it in practice. you're like, maybe it's not going to be as, I would say, offensive as you, it's going to be harder than, and who knows, maybe we'll see all sorts of stuff. But Sean Payton said this. He's like, if the average, if you're kicking in the square and the average where they end up with the ball is at the 38 yard line over like a two or three week period, every coach is going to kick into the end zone, start at the 30. We'll just play the numbers, which would be bad, which would negate everything they're trying to do. and the league obviously understands this. So they're trying to, they want it to be a play, right? They want it to be a play.

You know what I think? Which I do, too. Yeah, you know what I think is the disadvantage for the return team? So in the old kickoff, you know, you've got rookies on that kickoff team. You've got third string guys. Undisciplined get out of their lane. So you would see guys get out of their lane over the course. This is too short of a run-up.

So nobody gets out of their lane. It's a much more disciplined kickoff team. So when I watch that, I'm like, there are no openings. You have to make like, like, no, you don't have enough time to screw it up. You really don't have enough time to, some of these rookies are running full speed. They get out of their lane. And whenever you see a kickoff return for touchdown, you look at the replayer like, Jesus, you had two guys that were 12 yards out of their lane.

It's like the DB that dies for a pick or the basketball player that dies for the steel. You're like you didn't need to do that. Now you don't even have time to do that, like you say, because you're only taking six, seven steps. Yeah, so everybody stays in their lane. So my take is you can play younger players and not really worry about it. They get on you. Everybody's where they're supposed to be. But it is, this is something I've said for years.

There's an old saying, basketball thinks about what it comes to change. Basketball thinks about it first. The NFL gets it right and baseball makes the most money off it. And so baseball's always been money obsessed. Like, that's all they care about. about the ownership, just making money. So for them, you know, any change is something that they don't want to, you know, I mean, obviously baseball with the iPhone should take off 40 games per team. 120 games end the season in seriously last week of July and be done by September 20th, season over before the NFL gets rolling.

It's over now. between college, the Big Ten explosion and the SEC adding Texas, Oklahoma with the NFL. If you don't have the right October matchup, that shit's over. Like USC is opening with LSU and Michigan. I'm in. I'm out of baseball unless it's the Phillies, Dodgers, Yankees. I'm done. So baseball has always been one of those sports where they will very slowly make change.

And I think what's happened in the last several years, the networks like Fox and the FBI have come up and said, guys, you know, these games they're creating, these All-Star games, the game in the cornfield, they're fascinating games, but they're events, which, you know, Philadelphia, Phillies going to London, baseball would have never done that on their own. They were basically told, guys, you've got to get some ratings here in the regular season. So when people confuse the two, football in a power position, and I love this, is just rolling the dice constantly. And I love it. Well, and when they screw up, they'll change. Like they, remember a couple years ago, Belichick's whole thing was we should be able to challenge every play.

They didn't quite give them that, but they challenged pass interference. Clearly it wasn't working well. And they said, we're canceling this. So, like, if this kickoff rule is just an utter disaster, which I don't think it will be, but just in the hypothetical world it was, they would pivot to do something else. And that could be like week three. I mean, they are not afraid to make hardcore changes. But I was pretty adamant in my mind.

Like, I think we're going to see a ton of touchdowns. And then watching it. I understand it's Houston and the Bears four string players, but maybe it's actually going to be more difficult and maybe you will be less inclined if the defenders are able to break free pretty consistently to put a Saquan, Barclay, a Christian McCaffrey.

Because my thought was like, put one of those guys back there, it's much more like a normal play. It'll just be like a one-on-one. You'll get tackled. But I wonder if it actually might be more violent, so you're more likely to put your backup running back or backup safety that has some moves. If this guy gets hurt, whatever,

I am not risking Debo Samuel back there on a four-on-one in the corner and have them get destroyed. So a former NFL quarterback texted me after the draft. And I wrote this note down and I have notepads all over my house. And I found this the other day. And I didn't bring it up. And it's really interesting. Tom Brady has some draft takes. I'm not going to go there.

But he said, this is not a small thing. Caleb Williams defensive coach, Jaden Daniels defensive coach, Drake May defensive coach, rookie. He said, and Michael Pennix in Atlanta backup defensive coach. He said, don't be surprised if Bo Nix and J.J. McCarthy with really, really bright offensive coaches in one year, if we don't look up and go, those are the best two quarterback. And this quarterback said, man, when you come into this league and this quarterback spoke from experience, he goes, I had a defensive coach first. He said, it's a different language. He said, Bo Necks and J.J. McCarthy are getting a masterclass level coaching experience that Pennix isn't getting with a coordinator. Caleb's not getting. He said, this guy said, it's just, he goes, and he said this, he goes, people bang on.

Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson for not winning playoff games. He said, if you gave Josh Allen to Andy Reid, do you think he'd have a Super Bowl? And his thing was, of course he would. So it's just interesting is that every year in this draft, John, there's a quarterback drafted below the star. And very rarely is the first quarterback taken, the guy, C.J. Stroud to Bryce Young. So I'm not just saying now C.J. Stroud got a great coach, a great coordinator, Tank Dell, Nico Collins, they hit on draft picks. But your take on, because Kevin O. Connell is highly respected.

I mean, the tall Sean McVeigh. Sean Payton, I spent a lot of time with Sean. Sean is way too smart to be broadcasting. He has to be coaching. I think the best overbet in the league is Bo Nicks at five and a half. Like, the old line's pretty good. If the Franklin kid from Oregon works with Mims and Cortland Sutton, they have workable tight ends.

Two backs, I think, are capable. what do you make of that that the first year rookie quarterback, the two with offensive coaches who are deeper in the draft, could be the hits? Well, as I'm watching the Sean Payton press conference on my iPhone at 1030 at night in my bed next to my future wife, she's probably thinking I'm a nut. He mentioned the name multiple times in Drew Brees. And obviously getting rid of the football is a big deal. And the other thing he hammered home is like people act like I just want to dink and dunk like that's the offense. No, we want to push the ball down the field. and that is the game plan.

So I think the way that he talked about this guy in the press conference was a lot of love. I think he is really, really high. I think he liked his rookie class the way he was talking. I think he's pretty excited about his team. This did not feel like, you know, I think a younger Sean, Bill Parcell's guy, if he's not happy, you can feel it. He looked pretty excited with the group he has. It doesn't mean they're going to win 11 games.

I'm kind of out on Washington this year, not because I don't think Jaden Daniels isn't really talented, but they're not that good. They haven't been. They got rid of multiple de-linemen. Now, you could say Chase Young's a little overrated. Montes Sweat is not. So they lose talent there.

They just are not as talented as obviously the Eagles or the Cowboys. That division's hard. The Giants have some players. And Dayball, you have, like, he has been coaching. Now he's calling the offense. I could see Washington just having a rough season. And that's where, you know, big, of course they should. They've been bad, been bad, they're resetting.

But when you're a quarterback and you don't have your play caller, and then all of a sudden is there an offensive play caller good enough, Cliff Kingsbury. You see it a lot with defensive guys. They start getting pressure. Well, who do they point the finger at, the offensive play caller? When shit goes wrong, it goes to Kyle Shanahan or Randy Reid or Sean Payton or Kyle McHawainan. And they go, we'll fix it. And you go, yeah, they will.

They'll figure it out. And that's where it gets difficult. I mean, New England, they feel a little bit like a shit show right now. Yeah. You know, no team in the league has spent less cash. I've read this and heard people say this over the last decade than them. I mean, that speaks one to the brilliance of Tom Brady and Belichick building a team. But also, I think there's a knock on the crafts can be a little cheap.

They like to do the most with the least amount. Where I think a lot of teams, like the Niners of the Cal, they'll spend whatever it takes to try to win. Like, he's always, it wasn't just Belichick being cheap, you know, felt like a kind of, of a mandate. You have this rookie head coach who's not that far removed from being a player. You got this defensive star player who's underpaid that they had a kick out of practice. It's getting weird. Diana Rusini says, you know, they've made an offer to Matt Judon. Then he's saying bullshit. It's just there's a lot going on.

The quarterback situation, they have this major project. We've seen a million times. What history doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes. I've seen Jacoby Brissette in a scenario on a bad team 30 times. in my life. We know exactly how this goes. The record's terrible. Before Halloween, right around there, it's like, we can't take this anymore. Throw the kid in. The team's awful, and it can. Jared Goff go the wrong way. And they got lucky. McVeigh came in the next year and saved everything. But it goes the wrong way in a situation like that. Like Gerard Mayo ain't calling the offensive plays.

You can just see how it gets ugly. Even again, Dan Quinn, he did inherit Matt Ryan. It's a little harder with a young quarterback who, let's face it, Malik Neighbors looks like a bigger, thicker Odell Beckham from eight years ago. And the other wide receiver went in the top 25. And Brian Kelly got a pretty good history of developing offensive players at Notre Dame, at Cincinnati, and now here. So I don't know. I mean, Dan Quinn got, and I like Dan Quinn. He did get a job with Matt Ryan and Julio Jones on the roster. So it's just they were kind of a little more, they were already good. Ryan had already been in the playoffs. Julio was a star. Totally fair.

It's a lot more difficult. And I was thinking about this today. If, you know, in that Giants dock, when they tried to trade up from three to six and Elliot Wolfe, essentially at the end of the day, said no, unless you give me some godfather offer, not going to entertain it. If I told you Drake May was with dayball, who spent the four years, you know, with Josh Allen, you would like that scenario a lot more. Yes.

When you put a project on just a god-awful team whose coach, I mean, it doesn't mean he doesn't know football, but he's never been remotely close to a position like this. And now the fans are already turning on the owner because of everything that went on with the Apple documentary and the treatment of Belich. It's just weird. It's hard to overcome that. I saw it when I was in college with Alex Smith. The Niners were just a joke. We used to joke in college. Could Pete Carroll's team beat the Niners?

And it was like, yeah, I mean, a lot of people would argue, I don't know, they got about 15 first rounders. And this Niner team struggling to win like four games. And Alex went there and it was, his career was an embarrassment. And then he got real coaches and what happened. You're like, Alex Smith's pretty good. Yeah. And he's as mature and smart of a quarterback that has come in the league last 25 years. It is really, really hard to overcome negativity, losing a coach who's not really comfortable.

So I guess it's a long-winded way of saying, like, I think it's so much easier when your, when your head coach is the guy pulling the trigger on the play goal. He impacts the game. I'd never quite understand, like, Siriani. Like, what really is he doing on game? I can't figure it out. Yeah. Not calling a play. You know, toughness, like is he, say this about Dan Campbell, like, obviously he's adding an element of toughness.

So is Harbaugh. Harbaugh's are both doing that. Yeah. Yeah, they're in a different category, but there are some guys, you know, is Dan Quinn calling the defense? Is Gerard Mayle calling the defense? So if they take that part away, it's why when Robert Sala gets the Jets job, he immediately goes, I'm not going to be the coordinator. It's like, what the fuck did I hire you for?

Just to give Rara speeches? I mean, you've had two good years as a coordinator, and now you're giving up the asset in which I hired you for. Part of being the head coach is you got to lead, you got to motivate, you got to run practice, and ideally call one side of the ball. That's what all these coaches do. There's a rare group of people. Harbaugh's a great example who can dominate Bill Parcells. Most guys have to be pretty hands-on in this modern day of football, right?

The games, this is not 1987 where I can win most of my games 17 to 13. If I got the toughest guys, I can beat the shit out of you. Yeah, well, you know, one of the things I do think fans don't think about a lot. people tend to think there's a salary cap. So all the teams have the same money. I was like, no, they don't. The Bidwells and Stan Cronky in the same division, Stan Cronkey is the largest holder of residential real estate in America. You got homes in every city in the country, every place in the world you could think of. It didn't matter if it's Monaco, Santropay, Paris, you know, Stan. Steve Kimes, a buddy of mine and worked for Michael Bidwell, and he won't

bad mouth him publicly. But, you know, we've had a few calls. cocktails and the stories are, it's not a work environment I couldn't handle. I wouldn't have the ability to handle it. I just don't have the emotional DNA to deal with bullshit. A lot of people don't. That's why they get sued a lot by former employees, which is, I wouldn't say, typical in the NFL with scouts and coaches and stuff like that. Yeah. So I think fans sometimes think with salary cap, everybody's the same. And Stan Cronkey can write checks. Like you said, the Yorks before Levi Stadium. They didn't have that kind of money. Yeah, Mark Davis. just can't write, you know, you have to have money in the bank to make these big free agent

signings. And I think sometimes the Spanos's have money, but their closest allies in the league are not the wealthiest owners. They're closer to Bidwell and Mara than they are Stan Kronky, the really, really rich guys. And I know Dean a little bit. And that they're not, they're real estate guys. They're not tech guys or, you know, Jerry, Arthur, they've got much money, Arthur Blank has. Or Stephen Ross, the tycoon down in Miami. And so the chargers are a great example. They drafted very well. They've always done better than average on quarterbacks, like the Bengals.

They were always cheap on coaches. They were just, they just didn't spend, they just didn't spend the money on coaches. I mean, go through the, it's college guy, Mike Riley, it's coordinator here. And I think Harba, that's why I think Harbaugh. And I told Dean this. I said, Dean, it's like a Rubicon. You guys burst through it. You literally went to a place you'd never gone where you're going to have one of the two or three highest paid coaches.

And he told me, he said, it's changed our building. He just, he goes, there's no negative to so far. He just elevate the optimism, the wisdom. And it's interesting because I look at the chargers and people kind of lament their wide receivers. But John, I think we talked about this. San Francisco, it was crab tree and a bunch of guys. Michigan just won a natty with Colin Will. Wilson, they didn't throw the ball.

If you look at everywhere Harbaugh has been, I mean, you can go to Stanford, Doug Baldwin. They've never been great on the perimeter offensively. His teams have always had one shortcoming, not a great group of wide receivers. I don't think it's crazy to suggest the chargers are going to be a top three seed in the AFC. I don't think it's crazy. It shows you, though, I mean, the other day, now, granted, it's not like a ACL or anything. They are pretty dependent if Herbert were to miss a month or something.

Like he's great, and I am a Jim Harbaugh and loyalist, he would struggle to win games with this iteration of the roster. Maybe in a couple years, he can't win with Easton Stick. Yeah. You could lose the Raiders. You could lose to anybody you're playing, let alone the good teams. If Herbert is healthy, I do think they can win double-digit games. And listen, I think there are a lot of people with the Chargers over the years we put out clips and podcasts. I've been hard on them.

Yeah. and probably don't like me. And I am not anti-charger, but like you said, you can't be taken seriously as a real organization and constantly try to hire the cheapest coach. Yes. And Anthony Lynn's a nice guy. People love the guy. He should not be your head coach. Brandon Staley, I mean, I made it very clear where I stand on that one.

And even before, Mike McCoy, who had a little moment, but then it was like, you can't beat Andy Reed in these guys and Belichick with this guy. You got no shot. And part of it was they were never fishing on that part of the pier. They were only kind of messing over there. And whether they got lucky, regardless how this ended up happening, obviously, Jim, California guy, had coached in San Diego. It worked out. I give them credit for making this and making him your head coach because it can change the franchise. But, like, part of this now is, and I think Andy has really got Clark Hunt, who.

Obviously, Andy and Mahomes, they've made him a lot of money over the last six, seven years, right? Historically, he was known as a really cheap guy. And I would say the Hunt family is not Cronky or Paul Allen or just unlimited money. But now they've gotten a lot more aggressive, clearly with paying Andy and Veach, even stuff like that. And to me, that's the next level of the chargers of like, you can cut these checks because you can get players, you can fudge the salary cap however you want. Yeah. And like you said, I wonder if we did a research project of Jim Harbaugh, the player, just thinking of my mind. I wonder if some of the good teams he was on as a player. It didn't feel like they were running out Randy Moss and Jerry Rice at wide receiver. So philosophically, the way he's played and coached, we know it works. And now it's on, like, there really aren't excuses with the chargers now, right?

The knock has really been for the last 10 years. Like, look at who you're rolling out at coach. We know you can get the players. Joe Ortiz from the Ravens. It's pretty scary, though, Colin. and this is something I've never missed. You know, in the profession you were in long before me, we have so much more control. Like, I control how successful we are, how many people listen, like, by my content, how consistent I do it.

Like, I, in football, even as the head coach, like, breaks his leg in the middle of practice, and he's a start a player. It's like, I get you get numb to it, but you don't get numb to certain players getting injured. And that's all of a sudden he's got, he's in a boot for two weeks. That just rattles you.

Even if it's like, oh, it's planter fasciitis, not the end of the world. I can't imagine it just said chills up with everyone in the Chargers. We have a pretty high hopes this season to be competitive and be a wildcard team. And just, are we sure? Because part of it, I heard Daniel Jeremiah maybe even run him a little more, play him a little like Josh Allen. And you start getting feet injuries just freaks me out. I was going to bet a lot of money on that over under, Colin.

This is one of those guy misses, you know, two weeks in a boot for this. What if it crops up again? all of a sudden you've got to miss three weeks in a stretch where you're playing the Chiefs, Ravens and the Cowboys, or whatever their schedule is, you know? Right. You'd be screwed. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

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

A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clever 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.

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I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, John, I've been told you have a college football topic for me. I was thinking about this. I was driving around. You know, I listen to when I'm in the car, I have Sirius XM, and I'll go around some of like college radio in here, like New Heisel. And they'll just be like really, new. nitty-gritty on college football, which you don't really get that many places. And obviously the NIL and the financial world of the sport has completely changed.

And forever, you know, when I was growing up in the 90s, the main sweet teams, Miami, Nebraska, whoever was good in the Pack 12 or Pac 10 at the time, like their television presence, UCLA was really good when I was a kid. They were on TV all the time. Yeah. And it was a huge, you know, kind of game changer. And then as everything kind of changed in the 2000. and now it's all about money.

And they had an ACC guy on. And he was like, you know, SMU and a couple other teams went into the ACC. And they're like, we don't even need a share. We don't even need money. And SMU, and I saw the Baylor coaches were wearing this, we pay players. Some of these programs, you know, like UCLA in theory, like, oh, L.A. a bunch of money. They couldn't even dream of investing the money, SMU or Baylor.

Chip Kelly told me, UCLA was. 12 out of 12 in the PAC 12 for NIL, 12th. So do you think moving forward, obviously the big dogs, you know, Oregon, Ohio State, Michigan, Bama, LSU, but could we see a couple teams like an SMU all of a sudden be like, how are they getting these guys? Well, their budget is double the size of everyone except Oregon, Ohio State. And I do wonder if over the next couple years,

we would, because of the last 15 years, put certain teams all the time in the playoffs. and I wonder if we could see some curveballs because I know we can't do pay to play well bullshit that's happening and so if SMU has an unlimited checkbook like Dan Lanning or Ryan Day they're going to have a seat at the table

because that's getting you players now and maybe one of these SEC programs like does Alabama have the money that some of these other programs have? Not really. They don't. So it could change and you go well Nick Sabin clearly wasn't losing a step because I didn't think his team was that talented

and almost beat Michigan at the Rose Bowl I wonder if he realized I'm not going to be we're not going to have the funds I'm out yeah I think two things happened with Nick one he and he the last two years he started complaining about NIL a lot he had lost several players to Texas remember when Texas played Bama I think it was was it last year um well they played him back to back years and they beat up they beat the shit out of him last year and when you watch that game you went oh Texas is much bigger than Alabama. It's the first time I saw that in 20 years. Texas had five-star offensive linemen. They, if you had a switch jerseys eight years ago, it looked like Bama did when they would face a Pact 12 school or a Big Ten school. They were just bigger, faster, and stronger. And those were players he was losing. The number one booster in the state of Alabama is Bear Bryant's son. There's not this depth of income. There's like three guys with Arkansas. Actually, Arkansas, the state has more money than Alabama because they have three huge huge now surprisingly walmart

like the walton's don't give to arkansas people think they don't they don't isn't tyson food's guy caliperian i don't think tyson gives as much as people think there's another group that gives a lot of money i talked to eric mussulman some of this stuff is off the record u sc coach he used to be arkansas so he said like you know walmart's not opening things up but i always had this there that because of Silicon Valley, all those graduates that went to Washington, Stanford, UCLA, Cal, it takes one guy to just say, I'm going to give $28 million a year to Cal. Now, Stanford, because you have, Stanford and Cal are hard to get into, right? So I don't know what you could do.

But I've thought about that before is that maybe tech guys aren't big football fans, but I thought when the. The NIL started, I thought, oh, this is going to help the PAC 12. It's not going to help rural Alabama team. It's going to help. And it, listen, USC, the biggest collective is Oregon with Phil Knight, which is basically unlimited. USC's, I've been told, is 13 to 15. And I think they've done Jen Cohen, the new athletic director, who I talked to recently,

we had to sit down. They've really done a good job as a university. The university deserves credit. the big boosters. There's two or three really excellent smart, savvy boosters. USC, collaborative, you know,

you don't have this power need for constant power and validation. So Jen's really happy with their collective group, but UCLA, they got nothing. They don't have anybody. I'll give you a program. And again, it's a small sample size, but I know a couple

people that old, old guy through family friends, through my uncle knew a guy that was his mentor, former players at Notre Dame in the 50s and 60s, one passed away now, that were nine figure guys. And they were huge, you could only do so much in the past, right, give money for weight rooms. Now, I mean, isn't Notre Dame a program that you talk about Silicon Valley? Like, they got a lot of high level finance guys. I mean, you're talking guys worth hundreds of millions of dollars. And you're right. All it takes is one individual to go to one of these programs and just love football to go,

hey, I'm worth a couple billion. I start the next in the video or whatever, and I do that. And that's where the old school oil money in Texas, like they got that built in because those guys love football. They love being part of the program. They love being talked about as part of the program. And they got so much damn money, you know, giving them an extra $15 million a year is a line item that they don't even notice on their tax return. So I do think get ready for we're going to see some. teams. They're like, God, what happened to that? It's going to change the landscape because recruiting,

it's what is being a good recruiter anymore. I think every college coach would tell you it come, the majority of them come down to the checkbook. Yeah. And now with the transfer portal, even if you land a guy, you don't land a guy, it's like there's just so much craziness that the big money teams and some of them that haven't been able to flex their muscle because who cared how much money SMU had before. Even Baylor. It's like, well, who's to say they can't get a seat at the table now? All of a sudden, they're getting some five-star defensive linemen because they're willing to pay, you know, SEC's giving them 600 grand. They're like, hey, we'll double it.

You do that enough times. Word gets out. You start funneling guys to a certain place. Word gets out. That's how it happens. I had dinner this week with a big, an executive that negotiates contracts with leagues. And we were talking about this. And this person was talking.

talking about the NFL lawsuit, you know, with DirecTV. And, you know, the, the, the, the prosecutors are sort of arguing that, hey, let's do it the way college football does where there's parity. And the truth is, what the NFL argued is, you know, there's, there's no reason to change what we do. We actually have parity. Small markets win bigger than big markets. Bad teams Houston can turn around with just the right, two employees, a quarterback and a coach. And this executive was saying, college football has always been have and have nots. He said, it's going to get so much worse.

He said college, and I said, worse than Clemson, Ohio State and Bama, being in the national championship literally every year for a decade. And he said, he thinks what's going to happen. It's going to be about eight schools. And worse being a feeding frenzy, Oregon's going to remain in there as long as Phil Knight's there. I think on the fringes, USC will be there from the West.

But it'll be Texas, Texas A&M if they can get the right coach. Ohio State, I think Michigan, I think Notre Dame, Georgia for sure. Like Clemson, they're a program. Do they have enough money supporting them? I mean, I can't speak to knowing every one of their boosters, but on the surface, it would go there, a program that could fall behind. I think people, and I was talking about this with the executive, I said, I think if you look at all the scholarships, college football has always had this fear that it's getting top heavy. They used to give out

125 scholarships and they cut it down to 85. Bama put up the biggest dynasty ever, is that the truth is there are just some brands and schools that care more and they may have stretches. But I mean, And if I said to you the eight best college football programs ever, one of them's SC. They have a great collective now and Lincoln Riley. Oregon in the last 30 years because of Phil Knight's been an excellent program. Ohio State. Michigan just won a natty, Notre Dame relevant. Georgia, Alabama, LSU had Brian Kelly.

And, you know, Clemson or Florida State have always been in the running. Things really haven't changed. I would argue Oregon is the only new blood that's a blue blood. of all the college football powers Oregon the last 30 years is the new blood and that's they had their T-Boon pickets

except Phil because of sports apparel such a diehard sports fan but N I know and what your Nike incorporate like early 80s you know right and really took off early 90s with Michael Jordan I guess mid to late 80s

like that's yeah all those programs were established before that point so if Phil Knight had started that in the 50s they would have been right there it's just because of him so I think And I was just talking to this executive, and we were just going around.

We weren't really debating. We were just, and my take is, when I drove home after dinner, my take was, you know, college football, more than any sport in my lifetime. Anyone has always been lopsided, and I've never loved it more. I don't seek parity. I don't give a shit. The bottom line, if you give me the top 12 brands, I don't care what TCU does. Nothing against them. It's a beautiful little town.

on Fort Worth. But my take is the NIL, the transfer portal. Guess what? Bama, SC, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Georgia, LSU, Oregon now with Phil. They're all going to be in that playoff every year. Yeah, I think they're still led what college basketball used to be because so many of their coaches have retired. They are star-driven. We get to know their players because they've got to say they're three years and their coaches become stars. So the reality, television of college football is a two-prong lead with the coaches and the players. In college basketball, all the great coaches have retired. I mean, there's still a couple.

But for the most part, the legendary guys are gone, and we don't get to know the players. Because I was thinking about this watching the Olympics. I feel like the Olympics in the 90s was incredible, like Michael Johnson, some of the big moments. And then I felt like it dropped off a little bit. And then I think the way we consume everything, obviously football benefits the most from this, the scarcity, every event feels big, college or pro. every game matters and they got stars. It's like this Olympics has a lot of star power.

Yes. I don't care. I don't know nothing about gymnastics. I know who's Simone Biles. I like swimming a little bit for a workout, but beside Michael Phelps, I don't care at all, but Katie Ladecki, like I'm kind of checking out. Scotty Schaeffler wins the Olympic gold.

Yolkovich. And it just felt really, really big. I saw the NBA, when they played Yokage's team, did 11 million people. 11 million people never watched the NBA finals this year. I think this Olympics, I think the Olympics is on the company. comeback trail. At least this, you know, just stars.

No, I think. Easy for women and men to watch. It's just, it's an easy watch. Yes. And the other thing, and this should be noted, I've said this about TikTok. If TikTok, because it got banned because of its connection to China, if America said, we're banning it except for culinary TikToks. And it lost 80% of its followers, but the only people that went to TikTok went for Culinary. Culinary would own a singular platform in the country. John, over the last eight years, television is sports only. Now, we'll get some politics this year. Trump obviously drives numbers. But everybody keeps telling me TV's dying. And I'm like,

yeah, but the industry we're in owns all of it. So if cable loses goes from a FS1 goes from 90 million subs to 64. They're all now true sports fans, or you've gotten rid of cable. The only reason to keep it now is college football, college basketball. So I look at it. So when you, when I look at the Olympics, if you have a TV in America, you have it for one reason only, sports. That is, you used to have, people used to pay for cable for 30 years.

Nobody watched it. Like, it was the biggest con. It was the biggest grift in TV. ESPN built an empire. half the people paying them didn't consume their product. It was a grift. So, like, I think about what's happening with the Olympics now is television, people have been telling me newspapers were going to go under for 30 years. A year and a half ago, they sold the athletic to the New York Times for $450 million.

The New York Times has never made more money. The Washington Post has never been more relevant. Forbes, the Summer Olympics, I felt. The little guy's been knocked out. Would you agree? The little news page, the Sacramento B or something like that. They're all done. But, but to your point, you now go in a man, if you want to watch, if you love big sporting events, it is still TV runs our world.

And I think, I think that's been the benefit is that people that have TV, they're Olympic viewers. older on average, older viewers, women watch the Olympics. And so I felt like you. I felt the Olympics had really made a downturn. And these are, it's on everywhere I go right now, restaurant, bar, friends, pharmacy, all I see is the Olympics. And I think the summer Olympics is more relatable than the Winter Olympics. I think the momentum of this Olympics going into 28 in L.A. is going to feel massive. I think this is, and it's why I defended NBC for Peacock. Remember, they got so much shit for putting, it's like, does everyone understand? Once my parents' generation is gone, no one watches NBC, besides for the football game on Sunday night. Like, for them to survive, they have to get the

streaming service to work. I've spent a lot of time on Peacock watching, I mean, they give you every option. You can watch whatever you want. Like, I, I, I, I enjoy Peacock. I think, but again, I think this Olympics, not that I care about any of these sports, really beside golf and basketball. I have been glute. I mean, I'm watching handball. And I also think that some of these sports that you go, this is kind of stupid, why is this there? You do need more inventory for an event everyone's watching. You can't just have one relay race and everyone goes home. They're only going to add sports, right? Football going in. That's probably smart business. This is when everyone's watching. Nothing is going on right now. I mean, nothing. No. And what's happened is Sean McVeigh killed the NFL

preseason when he wouldn't play anybody and they went eight and no and everybody just all the young coaches like what what are we doing here i i remember i was talking to uh my bosses at fox and i said you know football now because college football is so big i'll work seven days a week now for the next seven months starting labor day i'll work labor day weekend i'll start i'll work seven months no days off i'll get a couple in thanksgiving but i'm glued to the tv those those are big football college and pro games. And I said to them, I said, after the NBA finals, and we don't have the NBA, I never would at Fox. I said, I could take July and August off, and I don't think it would affect anything. And my bosses said, take it. And I said, well, I have radio. So at this point in my career,

I'm not going to take July and August off. But if I only signed a TV contract, John, I would do TV and I would do this. And I, if I just did television in the volume, like, I, you can take. I mean, Fox would be like, take it off. We don't care. And for the record, we have the Olympics, we had Copa, we had the Euros, and we had the Caitlin Clark story. Next year, three of those four are gone, and we may not, the buzz around Caitlin Clark may not be as magnificent. So this has been, this has been to me like the rare, great summer of viewership. I think we're moving into a time that if it's not an Olympic year, maybe a Copa year,

We're at 10, and we are so dynamic as a country for 10 months now. There's so much money in everything that July and August are take, it's, it dies. This may be one of the last great July, August sports of, now again, we'll have the Olympics again, L.A. Olympics will be big in 28. That'll be a great year. But you're going to get every, you're going to get these two year periods where it's just nothing happening. Totally agree. I'm on board.

Yep. John Middlecough. Good seeing you, buddy. Good seeing you, Colin. Take it easy. The volume. Thanks so much for listening. If you've enjoyed the podcast, take a moment, rate, and review.

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