The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast Prime Cuts - Carroll Fired, Saban Retires, Patriots, Michigan Bullies Washington, Nick Wright On Jim Harbaugh, Sharp or Square

Episode Date: January 13, 2024

Colin’s top takes of the week! Colin reacts to the news of Pete Carroll’s firing and makes some predictions on what’s ahead for the former Seahawks coach (2:00). He also congratulates Nick Saban on being the greatest college coach of all time and has a pretty good idea of what the future holds for Saban (9:30). John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” joined Colin after the national championship to break down how Michigan was able to smother Washington for four quarters and win the title (14:45). Nick Wright, host of “First Things First” on FS1 stopped by to discuss why Jim Harbaugh has been chronically underrated as a coach and where he might land if he chooses to leave Michigan (27:20). Chad Millman, Chief Content Officer of the Action Network, joins Colin for a round of “Sharp or Square,” to help provide Colin with the sharpest betting advice for the NFL Wild Card weekend! 41:00 - Browns vs. Texans 43:30 - Chiefs vs. Dolphins 46:15 - Packers vs. Cowboys 47:30 - Rams vs. Lions 51:00 - Eagles vs. Bucs 52:30 - Bills vs. Steelers (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates! #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

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Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard 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, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey,

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Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. The volume. This week on Prime Cuts, Chad Millman Sharper Square, Nick Wright on the best NFL job for Jim Harbaugh and my top takes of the week.

All right, saying it wasn't his decision. Pete Carroll. Well, classy as he stood at the podium, energized, saying there are waves to surf. Pete's had a house in Hawaii for some time. Very active guy. Manhattan Beach, Hawaii. He's a very young, 72 years old. I don't think energy, intelligence, stamina are the questions for Pete Carroll. I think he's somebody that could interview for the Chargers job. If Lincoln Riley left tomorrow, USC would talk to him. That's not the question. I do think there's, A question that defensive coaches just do not want to confront. When Pete Carroll's telling me that Gino Smith is the answer, I don't know. Sean McVeigh moved off Gough. Gough's a lot better than Gino Smith. Kyle Shanahan moved off Jimmy Garoppolo, who I think is better than Gino Smith.

And both of those quarterbacks got to a Super Bowl. But when I hear Ron Rivera say, Sam, Sam, how, we're good at quarterback. Or Pete say, Gino Smith, Drew Locke. Come on, guys. The culture is changing beneath your feet. Come on, guys. That's not good enough. Pete Carroll has an NCAA championship and a Super Bowl.

Who are the quarterbacks? Two elite quarterbacks. Matt Leinert as a college quarterback and Russell Wilson in his prime as an NFL quarterback. Pete's defensive philosophies, ideologies, details haven't changed. He had a lot of quarterbacks at USC. When he had Linerd, those were his best teams. And he had a lot of quarterbacks in Seattle, right? But when he had Russell in his prime, he got to be a lot of quarterbacks.

he got to Super Bowls. So defensive coaches struggle with two things. urgency at the position of quarterback. Listen, Belichick's a legend, right? Tom Brady privately will tell you he has no idea about offense, none. Now, Pete maybe knows more about offense than Bill Belichick, but I think that's the number one thing, is that Pete can go to a place that has an established offensive culture.

But I think it's a legitimate, reasonable question about defensive coaches. I mean, when Mike Tomlin's telling me, Kenny Pickett's good enough, Kenny Pickett's the fifth best quarterback in that division. Burrow Lamar, Deshawn Flacco, Kenny Pickett. Come on. I mean, Mason Rudolph looks better than Kenny Pickett. Is he the sixth best? Come on. And when Ron Rivera, Sam Hell's good enough. Come on. So I think that's nothing against those particular quarterbacks. But that's my thing with Pete. Chargers already have a great quarterback. Great young talent. Maybe that's a good fit. But I, I, I, I'd been watching this for years. Andy Reed had Alex Smith said, not good enough.

Alex Smith's a playoff quarterback. He was a successful quarterback in San Francisco and Kansas City, both conferences. Andy Reid's like, we're going to upgrade. McBay, Gough, Shanahan, Garoppolo. And I just think offensive coaches have a higher standard of offense and the league rules now. I mean, even if you go look at the national championship, three of the four teams, Kaelin DeBore, Jim Harbaugh, Steve Sarkeesian, offensive coaches, right? Kirby Smart's a great coach.

Nick Saban are a great coach. One didn't make it and one was the fourth best team in the playoff. So I just think the world's changing. And that's what worries me about Pete. It's not his energy. It's not as intelligence. It's not his commitment. It's not as personnel decisions.

That's not it. He's a good enough coach to coach somewhere else. And these defensive coaches, they see the world, run the ball, control the clock, don't make any mistakes at quarterback, play good defense. Well, Seattle wasn't playing good defense. And I don't like turnovers either. But Elway, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Josh Allen, Matt Stafford, they turn the ball over occasionally. But they make up for it in 14 possessions, 15 possessions with great elevated quarterback play.

So that's my concern with Pete. Everything else, he checks a lot of boxes. What's next for the Seahawks? I would look at Jim Harbaugh and Shane Waldron. I look at Ben Johnson. I think Dan Quinn's a lateral move. Dan Quinn's success in Atlanta was tied to a great offensive coordinator, Kyle Shanahan. Before it and after it, never great. Got Kyle, great. Almost won a Super Bowl. Maybe he should have won a Super Bowl.

So, even Belichick, when he lost Josh McDaniels and Tom Brady, Dante Scarnackia, offensive line coach, the greatest coach ever, just didn't have the aptitude offensively to turn things around. Mack Jones got worse over time, not better. Do you think if Mack Jones was given McVeigh, he would have gotten significantly worse over time? I don't. Jared Goff got better over time than they moved on. Stafford came and he's gotten better over time. Brock Purdy, you think it would work if he had a defensive coach? Do you think Kyle Shanahan has a connection? Why is Jared Gough playing so well, Ben Johnson? Why was Matt Ryan and MVP, Kyle Shanahan?

So I've been on this now for two to three years. It's not that the defensive coaches lacked certain skills, abilities, and talent. That's not it. The league is changing right below their feet. And so Seattle kind of felt like, Pete, if you're locked in on Gino and Drew Locke, that's not going to work for us. So I think Seattle is one of the few teams in the NFL that has the personnel and draft picks to, you know, move from their draft position into the top 10. I can see them going after Bo Nicks or Michael Pennix around 10 to 12 if they're available.

Seattle doesn't have a lot of needs. They have a left tackle. They have multiple weapons. They have pass rushers, good corners, nice running backs, active linebackers. Could maybe use another safety, maybe. Seattle doesn't have needs. Quarterback is their need and now a coach preferably offensive. Dan Quinn feels like somebody that Pete Carroll recommended. Right. And that's okay. Pete and Dan are close.

And Pete and Dan are both really, really good defensive minds. But I think this year when you watch Seattle, their defense slipped, their offensive line was not as good as it should have been. And if I look at the Rams and I look at the Seahawks, this is a rebuilding year for the Rams. This was not a rebuilding year for the Seahawks. They were in the playoffs last year and had another great draft. Can't let the Rams beat you twice.

Rams can't make it and you can't miss. Can't be that way. You got the better roster. You have the momentum. So I think it's, we just have to be honest, this division, the NFC West is going to run through Shanahan and McVeigh for the foreseeable future. And if Brock Purdy's as good as I think he is, and I think he's good. And Matt Stafford's really good. And then Kyler Murray is terrific.

Seattle's got an upgraded quarterback. Forget the NFC. Forget the NFL, the division. McVey, Shanahan, Tyler Murray, C, Seattle. the analyst to upgrade at the most important position. Maybe Pete didn't want to. But I would put Geno Smith, draft pick package, maybe another player, and I'd move up five or six spots, seven or eight, nine or ten spots, and go get a quarterback. That's what I would do. So I think Pete is going to coach again. I think Pete wants to coach again. I think, you know, he's not an assistant. He's not

an advisor. That's not who he is. But who knows, Bob Stoops retired at Oklahoma early. I didn't understand it. Chris Peterson wanted out, but if you listen to Pete Carroll today, he sounds like he wants to coach. I mean, he was selling at the podium. He was selling. My energy is great. My optimism. Let's go ride some waves. I can't wait. I'm very excited. That press conference was not only classy by Pete, but he was sending messages to all the GMs and maybe all the athletic directors in college. He was sending messages. You go to the podium. Tom Brady used to do a radio hit every Monday in Boston radio. Was he doing it because he needed the money?

He would send the message for the week, right? What's the message for the week for the organization? So Pete smartly steps to the podium and he wanted to sell energy. I'm not done. I feel great. I'm not tired. I got a bright future. I'm a young 72-year-old guy.

That was the messaging. And I think Pete deserves interviews. If I was the Chargers, I would hire Harbaugh first, Brable second, but I interview Pete. I don't want another assistant, but I'd interview Pete. Hell, Michigan. Pete want to coach college again. I mean, Lincoln Riley in two years, wants out. I mean, so 72-year-old today is not a 72-year-old 25 years ago.

Pete exercises. Pete moves. Pete eats better. You know, it's just a different world. It's a different world. I just turned 60 years old. I weigh the same weight. I weighed in high school in college.

Lower body fat. I work out more. I eat much better. You know, I don't recover as quickly from a cocktail, but I feel pretty good. There you go, instant reaction. I'd go offense. Shane Waldron, Ben Johnson, and Seattle. That's not a rebuild roster.

They're ready to win a lot of games now. Pete Carroll, good luck. You've earned it. Speaking of 72-year-olds, Nick Saban, Alabama head coach is officially retiring. It just happened. Little bit surprised, although years ago, Nick Saban, and I think he told his agent Jimmy Sexton, he said, I don't want to be Joe Paternal, Bobby Bowden, I don't want people dragging me out of here. I'm going to know. I am going to know when it's time. And I think he knows

it's time. I'll also tell you this. I have a theory on why he's retiring now, and I think you're going to find that he has quietly and privately negotiated a huge TV contract with somebody, and you'll know that very quickly. You will know that very quickly. That's my guess. I'm not going to tell you why, but there could be a network that feels they have a need for a big, important personality, and I think he's going to go the TV route and make lots and lots of money sign a very, very big contract. So Nick is the greatest college football coach of all time. One of the things I appreciate about Nick Saban is his ability to adapt unlike a lot of defensive coaches. I mean, it was Doug Nussmeier and Jim McElwain and Lane Kiff and Sark and Bill O'Brien. He had to run through

offensive coach after offensive coach, and he didn't miss. I mean, he really hit a lot of hires out of the park. And most defensive coaches, they miss on those coordinators regularly. So Nick nailed it. Nick was willing to evolve. I think Lane Kiffin deserves credit for that. Brought him in and, you know, would confront Nick. Like Nick, the world's changing. I can score on your defense at practice. I also think college football is a young man's game. Jay Wright, Shoshiewski, Roy Williams, now Nick Saban. The transfer portal is a pain in the butt. It's year-round recruiting. It's really ruined it for coaches of stature and age. It's just not any fun. You don't have a life. You get maybe two weeks off a year. NFL coaches get like five to six weeks off a

year. So the college game is a young man's game. It's Elaine Kiffin World. It's a Sark World. Kaelin DeBore world. You get into the 60s and 70s. It's exhausting. And the transfer portal, the NIL, and I think probably a TV network walked up to Nick Sabin and said, we're going to pay a 10 million bucks a year. Get over here. That's my guess, and you'll hear about it fairly soon. I think Nick will be great on TV. But I think he's the greatest college football coach of all time, his ability to adapt, his ability to dominate the toughest conference in the SEC. Bama will be fine, personnel-wise, but there'll be no more Nick. Spare Bryant, Nick Saban. There's a lot of average coaches in between. And it's a very, very tough job. You know, whoever's

going to line up. There'll be a lot of people lining up. A lot of people think Davo Sweeney at Clemson is going to take the job. Dabo would be my choice if he was willing to leave Clemson, not sure he would. Terrific coach. It's not a rebuild. But I do think the transfer portal and the offer from a TV network are the deciding factors. You just don't know about the offer yet from the TV network. I can guarantee you, this is not just Nick didn't wake up and have a side of eggs and a piece of burnt toast this morning and said, you know, I just going to retire. Nick's been thinking, Nick plans everything. Nick strategizes everything. Nick Saban been thinking about this for a while. And he sees young Lane Kiffin and here comes Sark and here comes Brent Venables. And he, you know, he starts looking around

this conference at some of these young guys and Lane Kiffin and he's like, come on, man, I'm in my 70s. Do I want to be on the road recruiting constantly? All this transfer portal. nonsense where I have to recruit my own kids as much as high school kids. No, thanks. I'm out. So, um, congrats to Nick Saban, greatest college football coach of all time. John Middlecough, former NFL scout with the Philadelphia Eagles. He does the three and out podcast. And we just watched Michigan throttle Washington 3413. I was pulling, um, you know, for Washington for reasons because John had a lot of money on it. And I am from the Pacific Northwest. but I had said with John and on FS1 and Fox Sports Radio,

I thought Michigan really matched up with Washington well. I thought their secondary would clamp down. They'd get a pass rush. You saw it tonight. Recruiting does matter, and Michigan recruits at a higher level. You know, one of the limitations for Washington has always been. They are geographically jammed up in the corner. Washington, Oregon, Idaho do not have a lot of Division I players.

They have to convince kids to come up to the rainy weather. Michigan, more centrally located. And sometimes it's a little bit easier in the region they're into recruit. I mean, Oregon and Washington play at a very high level and sort of overcome some recruiting disadvantages. NIL certainly helps Oregon because of Phil Knight and his backing. But my takeaway to start this game was that, listen, Michigan felt they could obviously, they were going to pound them a little bit on the run. Washington was aggressive defensively, got burned.

But I think in the end, Washington averaged four yards of play. Michigan average 7.8, and they just negated Washington's firepower. Washington has thrown the ball on everybody for two years, and Michigan's corners and pass rush just took it away, and then you had a very limited Michael Pennix, who doesn't move particularly well, and a run game that was never great all season. I just, I kind of felt like I knew who was going to win this thing about eight minutes into it. I had like a feeling like, yeah, they're just going to lean on Washington. That was my takeaway. Yeah, I mean, it was 1710 right at halftime, but it felt more like 30 to 3. I mean, it was Washington was very, very lucky, which you felt like had some momentum because

they were going in half, they were getting the ball, and then he immediately comes out and throws an interception. But in that third quarter, I mean, Michigan couldn't get anything going on offense. They only gave him three points. So it was 20 to 10 going into the fourth quarter. But, you know, Michigan is about to set the record, many people believe, for players drafted. And it's not super high in talent. It's 15 to 17 guys.

they're going to get drafted. You know, a lot of guys, third, fourth, fifth round and showed that I, right? Washington's talent, NFL-wise, is all the skill guys on offense. The receivers, Adun's A, the other two guys, and the quarterback. Well, if I tell you the quarterback, I would say has one of the worst games you've ever seen him play that mattered. You know, not some of the Stanford to the random games against Oregon, against the big-time teams they've played Texas. He had, I'd give him like a C-minus tonight. They have no chance.

And then the other thing that really stood out is Washington's offensive line, you know, won the Joe Moore Award was the, they got worked. I mean, that guard center combination was getting shoved around, the physicality. You saw Harbaugh's team look like the good NFL teams. They're just good at every position. They tackle well. And to me, the player of the game is Harbaugh's defensive coordinator, Jesse Minner,

which I'm sure would go with him. He's a Raven guy to the NFL. What a performance by him. I mean, shutting down one of the more explosive offenses we've seen in recent memory. Yeah, I mean, you know, Pennix had an off game. I kind of look at it like it's, it's not a random off game. He got pressure, not a lot of space to move, and people weren't open. And so he was off because he was pressured. He was off because there just wasn't one lot, weren't a lot of openings. I mean, you and I both thought Washington matched up really well with Texas. I thought it was like, oh, that that matches. Texas week in the secondary. Michigan's got NFL guys in the secondary. Everywhere.

Penick, you know, Penix was just throwing that ball. It was sort of jump ball situations. And, I mean, Michael Pennix is still going to get drafted very high. But you can see the concerns about him. He is sort of a statuesque thrower. He kind of lets it fly. He doesn't like to get hit. You saw a couple times when he had pressure.

He didn't want to get popped. And in the NFL, if you go to a bad team, you're going to get popped. So you watch a Josh Allen on Sunday or Lamar, and they can throw, they can pass. Michael's going to sit in the pocket in the NFL like Tua, and he's going to throw the football. I think he's a bigger, stronger Tua, throws it up the sideline better than Tua. But that's sort of his comp. He's kind of a statuess thrower when he has time to throw. Does it hurt his draft stock? Certainly didn't help it. You're a former scout. I mean, you know, people are saying he'll drop out of the first round. I just, I think there's so much

desperation for a quarterback. He may go down to 20, 25, but it doesn't feel like he'd go mid-second, does it? No, I mean, maybe I'm a little biased, you know, living on the West Coast and rooting for them, and maybe I got a little over-excited for the Texas game, because I like to ask my friends that are on teams that don't need a quarterback. So when they go into these schools, they have no agenda in evaluating the guy, and a couple of guys that are, you know, scouting directors had second-round grades on the guy. And, you know, a lot of people were pushing back against this top-10 talk after the Texas game because they go, he's an older player, he's been banged up. Look at tonight. It looked a lot like some of those Oregon games where he's getting

peppered and you go, God, is he going to be able to get up? Well, what happens when that's T.J. Watt or Fletcher Cox or Aaron Donald, those guys leaning on them all game long. So I understand the concerns. I'm bullish on him. I like him. Tonight is rough because the way you evaluate a player is against the best competition he plays, right? So Oregon, Texas defensively is not. Right. So tonight would be the game that if you were feeling pretty good about your second round grade, which I understand. Like I understand the concerns. But I don't think you, you got to be careful in scouting about overreacting to a performance like tonight. Because to me, he was really amped up early. He could never get into a rhythm. And he was bad. I mean, guys have bad games. Right. So I wouldn't write the guy off. But tonight is definitely going to be of concern in these draft meetings for these teams. Like you said, I would be like I don't see him. falling out of the first round, all the character stuff. The medical is going to be a concern. And when he goes to the combine, if anything, red flags with the knees, you know, just

to wear and tear on the body, because you draft a guy in the first round, it is about the second contract. Like, can the guy be an eight, nine year play? Do we feel comfortable about giving the guy a second contract? And I do think tonight brought up some fair questions. I still like the player, but tonight was a rough performance. Yeah, I mean, it was, as I was watching the game, I said, you have two contrasts. styles, a team that would prefer to throw, a team that would prefer to run, a West Coast

Pac-12 team, a Big Ten team. Michigan made it look like a Big Ten game. Michigan made that game looked like they wanted to make it look. McCarthy doesn't have to throw much, a couple of big throws to the tight end, take a lead, physically push Washington around. As Washington, you know, now heads into the conference. Michigan's like, okay, this is what we do. This is sort of what the kind of brand of football. I mean, Michigan doesn't have an elite receiver. Their tight ends, one of their more consistent pass catchers. So I bet Michigan made it look like a big 10 game.

And you know the other thing that jumped out to me? And Michigan, for the record, is a very good tackling team. You pointed that out. You know, sometimes you have to watch a moment. You know, you can speculate and then you watch a moment. And I was like, I don't know, I think Harbaugh is going to come back to Michigan. As I watched that game, and I watched the way Michigan played, I'm like, yeah, this would be the perfect time to leave. Like it was.

I sat there and I'm like, he beat Washington, Alabama, Ohio State, Iowa, Penn State in a row. That's your last five games at Michigan. And you see his brother and you see the family. And I thought he's going to take his D.C. All these kids are leaving. And as I watched it, it's weird. but it felt like his last game at Michigan. Does that sound crazy? Yeah, he's gone. I mean, I think he's definitely gone.

And the one thing Jim Harbaugh has always done, it was on full display tonight, is his coaching staffs are so good. I remember going to a nine of practice when he was there, and it was Vic Fangio, was a defensive coordinator who was with him at Stanford. Feels like he has a young superstar in this Chessie Minter guy that he got from his brother. Previously he had McDonald that is now his brother's defensive coordinator. the Harbaugh skills of accumulating excellent assistance is an elite skill. Because Jim is a CEO head coach. He's not calling the plays.

He's a motivator. He's a program guy. That team felt like an NFL team today, the way they tackle, their physicality, their relentlessness. And listen, Washington's like a really good college team. That felt like we're good at everywhere. Really our only flaw is our quarterback. How much can we rely on him? But he clearly has NFL potential.

We can talk about him from an NFL standpoint. But Harbaugh has built teams like this when he's been at his best where he's a heavyweight fighter. And he comes in, I mean, what do they have almost 180 yards rushing in the first quarter? They hit him like Mike Tyson right in the face. And it felt like it really wobbled Washington. And they were never the same after that. They were just holding on by a thread. And because Harbaugh's teams typically, unless they're playing crappy opponents,

aren't going to score 60 points. You're always going to be in the game, especially they were bad on third down. But the game was never close. 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, Clivert 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 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 Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a 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 is 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. 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. All right. Let's move to Jim Harbaugh.

So one of the things, I wrote this, I think in my first book, two things make smart men stupid, beautiful women and sports. And I always think, so I grew up in the Pacific Northwest where I was a Husky fan as a kid, but we didn't have teams that won a lot of championships. And ever since I was a kid, I've always wanted to be a sportscaster. So I was never a true fan as a kid. You know, people know I like the Huskies or USC, but I'm not really a true fan. I love creating content. And anybody that knows me, you know me, Jamie Horowitz, Charlie Dixon. I love to create content.

That's my love of my life beyond my kids and family. I love to create seven-minute rants, eight-minute rants. And I love the audience to rip them, enjoy them, whatever. And this Jim Harbaugh stuff is why I, as a moderately bright guy, have a great career, is that Jim Harbaugh has literally won everywhere. He got to a Super Bowl with Kaepernick. He won at academically rigid Stanford, like 12 games. He won 10 games at Michigan the first year with Brady Hokes players in the Big Ten.

and for years, people just kept pushing back. He's not good. And I tell people, it's called Google. It's a search engine. You can look at his brother's brilliant. His dad won a championship. His brother's brilliant. He's won everywhere.

And it was the reluctance for people because Jim makes people he's a disruptor, uncomfortable. He's Uber to taxi. He just pisses people off. He's new. We've done it this way. He does it that way. The Jim Schwartz, Pat, in the back.

He's hard. He pissed Pete Carroll off. And the idea that Jim Harbaugh needed the natty to be viewed as a great coach. And I'm like, Saban bombed in the NFL. Spurrier bombed. Like there's four or five guys ever, Jimmy Johnson, Pete Carroll, Jim Harbaugh, that one with both. It's really hard. I mean, Belichick, he wouldn't deal with donors.

He wouldn't recruit. he's shown no ability to understand offense that in our business that if we allow the fans to be the jury and then you know somebody can be the DA somebody can be the prosecuting attorney and you and I are just the judge and you remove a motion from most of the arguments it is rather bizarre that how often greatness is obvious and people People because their agendas or their connections to other schools just won to, yeah, Jim Harbaugh has won everywhere. Everywhere.

I am shocked by all the people that are like, yeah, I had it wrong. That needed this to prove it. They needed it to prove it. Now, listen, I will admit, you know, it's not like we don't all have our own whiffs. I just mentioned the Yokic thing. So, like, it's not like anybody bats a thousand on this stuff. But no, no, no, I'm not saying that. Yokish, by the way, was an ascending player who's a lot.

a second rounder. And it just, there was no precedent for it, which is part of what makes him so special when you're unprecedented. But, and also to add to your point, and I might be totally misremembering, but like a decade ago, didn't you have a really weird, like thing with Harbaugh? Yes. Like, I don't, I love that was it. Right. And, but you, no, but you, like there was an interview or whatever where it seemed like he was giving you the hard time. I don't remember the details of it. Yeah. Okay. So I didn't interview. It was terrible. clunky. I could have easily turned on him. But the reason I...

Okay, so that's what I was... That's what I was going to bring it up. Was I thought, somewhere in my brain, I thought that existed, but I couldn't quite remember it. Nothing would have been easier than to be like, everybody thinks this guy's a dope. He kind of was a dick to me when I talked to him. And it's always the safer bet to say someone sucks because it's hard to win. Yeah.

Because you're going to get to be right so much more often than you're going to get to, then you're going to ever be wrong because there's only one winner at the end of the day. And if you can be like, well, I can't win the big game. I mean, what do you want me to tell you? Like, I talk to the guys, it sucks. And I, I watch 10% as much college football as you. But I watch the biggest games, the biggest programs. And I obviously am very aware of what's going on.

And it was like six years ago, I'm like, wasn't Harbaugh's team with a lot? way less talent like a bad spot away from beating Ohio State. Yeah. Like wasn't it wasn't, hasn't so much of this narrative of, oh, can't beat the best teams. Like, aren't we basing that partially on a spot? We all agree was the wrong spot in a year. He would have either been undefeated or in the title game. I don't remember all the details.

But there is, there's just so much data. I'll give you the, and a different contemporary example. it should not have taken Patrick Mahomes for people to realize Andy Reid pretty fucking smart. Yeah. You know what? And by the way, he would have probably never won a Super Bowl. You know what I mean? It would have just been Alex Smith to the next guy because winning Super Bowls are hard.

But when every player, every quarterback that you have has their best seasons under you. And then it's like, oh, like it's so. all the and I think by the way kind of a future take I can see some of the media turning on is too strong but starting to do this topic how good is Kyle Shanahan really because it's like oh these great regular seasons but where's the jewelry like if they don't win the Super Bowl as opposed to being like well I don't know he's taking quarterbacks that the moment they leave him are backups or bench or whatever, and when 12 games, 13 games, one playoff games, probably pretty good.

And so I do think there is a level of folks that I think won't go with, will only go with what they truly believe. And see. Yeah. Up until it's like, this is not in the mainstream enough anymore. I'll disagree with everybody else. And I think that's why not to bring up the Niners again, I think that's why people have gotten so frustrated with me on Brock Purdy.

Yeah. It's because so many of the other skeptics laid down their swords, and I don't think they were convinced. I just think they got sick of getting yelled at. And what I think folks don't know is, in order to yell at me, you better see me in person. Because I'm not seeing any of it. I'm not reading any of it.

Like, the only people who get to yell at me are Broussard, Wilde, and people I know. So, like, I don't really, it doesn't impact me. And so the Harbaugh thing is fascinating. And I do wonder how much of it is they didn't like it. They just thought the guy was weird and a jerk or whatever. And I don't want to describe that to him because I don't know him. but it seemed like a lot of it was like, I don't like this guy.

Yeah, I had four. You know, I rely a lot because I'm older. So I know a lot of coaches and executives. I go to lunch with him. I have dinner with them. So I know four different coaches who have been on Harbaugh staff. And they all said the same thing. Guy is different.

He's the most football obsessed guy ever. He's just, it's insane. So a lot of times I have access, you do, that fans don't, right? They don't have these guys. I mean, I go to dinner probably twice a year with Mangini. We talk about shit. that I'm not putting on the air. Jed Fish is a good friend of mine.

You know, different guys I've dealt with. So I do have some, you know, I can call a part of the job. Yeah. Right. This is what we do. If you're a mortgage broker listening to me, you have access to stuff that I don't have. So, but I just found the Harbaugh stuff. It's like, guys, four times, including the NFL, first year he took the Niners over.

They were excellent. And it's like if a lot of people get jobs and they don't last. But if you get four different jobs, five different jobs, you take crap and you make a good immediately, and you're successful in all of them. I don't need championships. Now, and where was he before Stanford? I don't even remember. I shouldn't say that out loud. So he was at San Diego.

It was a small university. That's where it was. Yeah. He succeeded there and he succeeded everywhere. They had a quarterback who was good. He made him really, really good. Then he went to Stanford. Stanford was the worst program in the country with high academic standards.

And they beat USC. As a 40-point dog in the Colise. Yeah. I mean, I remember that. vividly. I mean, I remember it. And, in my opinion, set the table. And this is the other thing that happens sometimes to guys. Are you pals with Chris Peterson? Maybe I'm making myself. Yeah, I like, I have them on my phone. Yeah. Okay. So I feel like sometimes guys become victims of their own success. Yeah. Where they make a place so relevant or good that it stays that after they leave. And then to some

folks, it's not as wildly impressive of what they did when they got there. So Chris Peterson turned Boise State into such a power that after he leaves, it's still relevant. And it's like, no, no, no, that was created by him. Similar thing happened with Harbaugh with Stanford. Like Harbaugh can leave. They have Andrew Luck and David Shaw, and they're really good still. And it's like, oh, yeah, Stanford's always pretty good. It's like, no, it was not.

Terrible. I mean, I understand there were times when it was and they were involved in famous games, obviously. But when he took it over, it was terrible and made it great. And the Niners were in the wilderness. And it instantly turned around. It instantly turned around for them. If you were advising him, what job would you to, if he had his pit of all the NFL openings, what job would you tell him? I would say, Jim, you recruited Drake.

May, do you think he's better than Justin Herbert? And if the answer is yes, you take the Washington job. Because Herbert for the next rest of his career is expensive. If you believe that Drake May is better than Justin Herbert, you take the Washington job. Your brother coaches Baltimore, you take Washington. Your mom and dad can move between the two of you. Cap space, good roster, Drake May. Now, if you don't think it is, then just go with the best quarterback. I mean, the answer in the NFL is almost always go where the best quarterback is or draft the best quarterback. Chicago, draft Caleb Williams. It'll just work out. He'll, it'll work out. Of course. Right. So the Chargers is the best job unless, and wherever Harbaugh goes, what's really an advantage is like Pete Carroll or Jimmy Johnson.

When they're in college and they come to pro, you get about a three-year window where you know all the college players. You recruited all of them. Oh, that's a good point. Huge edge. So the rebuild will be much easier for you. Now, the Chargers is not a rebuild. They have cap space, cap issues. Washington's not a total rebuild, but a semi-rebuild with tons of cap space. So Harbaugh can walk in and go, yeah, I'm going to, like Jimmy and Pete, the rebuild is much easier for me.

I know all. And by the way, we will trade off some players, get draft picks. I'll probably take four of my Michigan guys who I know can play, and I'll avoid the ones. that I know that can't. That I know can't. Yeah. I mean, you go look at Pete Carroll's first three or four drafts out of USC. I mean, it was just fifth round, sixth round.

I mean, he was nailing people. Jimmy Johnson walks into the league. He is just fish in a barrel. So I think Washington's very interesting. No cap issues. Marginal rebuild. You look around that division and you're like, Jaylon Hertz, Dack, Daniel Jones.

Off another winning week, three and two, blazing, For the record, 13 to the last 15 weeks, or is it 14 of 16, I was 500 or better, 63% after my disastrous opening two weeks. So we had a very good season of Blazing 5, Sharper Square, Chad Millman, CCO, Action Network, all odds provided by Draft Kings. You know, the game that I talked myself, you and McIntyre talked me out of, was the Texans. And so, you know, the numbers, it did feel like a, a, of. Holt's play. But one of the reasons I think that the consumers, fans, had one of their best years

ever. Because increasingly, over the last two years, it has gotten so quarterback-centric. Last year, seven of seven playoff teams in the NFC had offensive coaches. This year, it's 11 of 14, was 12 of 14 for most of the season. And I think C.J. Stroud, listening, watching those who either cover him or watch him or judge his film. I think we're looking at a deep ball thrower that is one of the best in the league. Accuracy, seeing the field. So I know the Browns have a better roster, but Joe Flacco's story has actually been better than his quarterbacking. His passer rating's been 90. The story's great. His quarterback plays been okay. I would take C.J. Stroud at home plus two and a half. Don't think they have the roster. I know rookie quarterbacks don't do well in the

playoffs, but I think we're looking at a special player, sharper square. Yeah, the way you're describing it is similar to how wise guys have been describing C.J. Stroud is that he's Neo from the Matrix, right? There's something about him that is unicorn-esque, and he defies all the expectations, he breaks all the models, he changes the rules for what we expect. We shouldn't want to bet on a rookie coach with a rookie quarterback against the best defense in the NFL in the playoffs, and yet that's what we want to do. And if you break this game down a little bit further, the Texans were six and three at home this year, six and two playing with C.J. Stroud, one of those games he missed. It happened to be

the game in which Joe Flacco and Amari Cooper had a career day. against the Texans in Houston. When he was at home, C.J. Stroud threw for 2,500 yards. He threw for seven yards, no, nine yards per completion, threw for 17 touchdowns. When the Cleveland Brown's defense was on the road, they gave up 30 points a game.

They had eight road games, nine Hogan games. In those eight road games, they gave up 112 more points than they did in the nine games at home. Everything about their defense is different when they're on the road. So the wise guys are on the Texans at two and a half. This game actually opened a two, got that down to one and a half. The public came in and wrote it back up to three. Wise guys took the three. Now it's settled the two and a half. Personally, I'm waiting, hoping that it gets back to three sometime before kickoff. A lot of lines have been moving aggressively before kickoff. So,

I'm hoping it gets back to three, but the wise guys are with you, Colin. Okay, we're not getting the best of the number, not even close. But the Chiefs minus four and a half, I think, you know, it's all better off. Zero degrees. I mean, Tua under like 40 degrees has been a different quarterback. Tua in December and January is a 500 quarterback. He's a Hawaiian kid who plays in Miami and then in Alabama. This is a whole, he's just like taking a surfer and saying,

And here's Anchorage. Take your shirt off. Good luck. It's just different. So I think, I think I also think the chiefs rested people at home, they're used to it. It's just a weather advantage. I would take the chiefs to cover. The number was at like one and a half at one point two. So it's not the best of the number, but I think I'd still take chiefs sharper square. Well, it's square at four and a half because of what you just said. Look, if it was Chiefs 1 and 1 half, it was Chiefs 2, 2 and 1 half, even Chiefs 3,

then the Wise guys were playing the Chiefs. But as soon as it got to 3 and 1⁄2 and then all of a sudden it's 4 and 4.5, you're just playing a bad number. And long term, you might win this weekend, but long term it's not the right play, right? And so there's a couple things that have made this number run.

I think, one, the weather. People already believe the narrative that the dolphins can't play in the cold, to the injuries that the dolphins have suffered, suffered defensively, I don't know how they're going to rush the passer. Are they only going to be able to rush the passer by blitzing? And if you blitz, you don't win against Patrick Mahomes.

But here's the flip side, and here's why the wise guys like the dolphins in this spot. One, these aren't the chiefs of years past, right? They really don't have any reliable downfield targets. The Dolphins can bracket Travis Kelsey coming off the line at tight end, double team him. And then you basically put Jalen Ramsey on, Rishie Rice, and you've taken away all the weapons that Patrick Mahomes has. And the flip side is the Chief's defense is better than anything Patrick Mahomes has ever played with. The Dolphins, what's their M.O?

While they're a great downfield passing team, they're a really great running team. Don't forget, Mike McDaniels, he's a running game coordinator, right? Yeah. Rehim Mostard, limited practice. I would expect him to play. Devon A. Chan, brilliant out of the backfields. Those are running back this year. I think this will be a closer game than people think.

So that's why the wise guys are taking the four and a half. Personally, I took the under 44 and a half. I'm not taking a side in this game. Okay. Packers plus seven and a half would be the side at Dallas. Dallas is going to score points. Joe Barry's defense has been a sieve most of the year. But Green Bay is a live dog. Four different receivers I like.

Good tight ends. Jordan loved playing well. If Dallas went seven and a half for a Green Bay team, I mean, if I told you they scored 27, you'd be like, yeah, I can see that. I mean, Joe Barry's defense looked good against Chicago. It's not good. So I think it's a 33, 27, 33, 28, fun game to watch. Seven and a half feels way too heavy. I'll take Green Bay Sharper Square.

Totally nailed it. wise guys are all over Green Bay here. It's really interesting because this number probably should be power rated at six. The line should be about six for this game. You have two defenses that you say Joe Barry and the Packers defense is very good, but look, the Cowboys defense gets more credit than it deserves. It does. It's pass rushes middle of the road. You've got Micah Parsons, who's, you know, an all pro had more sacks this year than he's ever had. And you've got, a defensive secondary with George Bland, who had more pick sixes than ever, led the league in interceptions. Between those two spectrums, it's a lot of sizzle, not a lot of steak. And so this is a

pass rush that is middling at best. So I wouldn't expect them to be a team that puts Jordan Love on his heels. And by the way, they play a lot of man. Jordan loves passer rating is 13 points higher against man that it is against zone. And what you're doing against Jordan Love right now, don't forget, Dak Prescott led the league in touchdown passes, Jordan Love was number two. Jordan Love since November has just been lights out, elite as a quarterback. And I think it speaks to a coaching advantage for the Packers, Matt LaFleur, just a better coach than Mike McCarthy. We've seen it. Mike McCarthy is not great in late game situations. He is not great in managing the clock. Very good chance the cowboys put themselves in a very bad position with bad decision

making late in the game. 100% agree with you. Yeah, this is the easy one. Rams plus the points, three and a half at Lions was four at one point. I get a coaching advantage, a quarterback advantage, a health advantage. And I think people are forgetting just how good the Rams draft was. Their first three picks, a left guard, a defensive tackle who should be the rookie of the year defensively, an outside linebacker who is relentless. And in the fifth round, they got the steal of the entire draft in Puka and Akua. Their special teams are dubious. So that's what scares me.

I don't think they win the Super Bowl. But it's a healthy team, coach quarterback upgrade, and they have young players. We all know Puka, but they have nailed this draft. This is a team runs the ball, can throw it deep, can rush the passer. they're not a great team. They're a little like Detroit. They can score a lot. You can beat them over the top.

But there's no way I'm giving over your field goal to the Rams. The Rams could easily win this game. Rams plus three and a half, sharper square. Totally right. It's another live dog, by the way. If you're putting together a money-line parlay, you could do worse than putting together a parlay with the Rams and the Packers. Because I agree with you 100%.

The wise guys agree with you as well. They're going to be on the Rams at three and a half. They did bet it down from four almost immediately on Sunday night. It was the first game that the wise guys started pounding on the wild card games were announced. And you didn't even mention Colin Kieran Williams. This has been a different team since Kiron Williams came back from injury. Matthew Stafford, when's the last time? Matthew Stafford wasn't sort of the focal point of the offense.

Didn't throw for 4,000 yards this year, played in every game. but this team was accelerating towards the playoffs when Kyron Williams came back. Great coaching season by Sean McVeigh. It's curious to me that you think he's that much better of a coach than Dan Campbell. I don't see the difference in this game being on the sidelines. To me, the real difference might end up being the fact that Sam LaPorte isn't playing because he's a guy who this past season, second most first down receptions on the Lions, finish the season with the most receptions ever for a tight end, tied for the most touchdown receptions,

I think the books are discounting how important he is to the Lions and Jared Goff's comfort. This is a line game. If the Eagles are minus three and a half, I probably go bucks, but I think it's a close 27-24 game. I'll take the Eagles minus two and a half, much better personnel. I mean, Tampa down the stretch, maybe Carolina a couple times. I think, you know, it's, It's a little like the Joe Flacco story. The story is better than the reality. I don't think Tampa's very good. They don't have really a home field advantage.

Half that stadium will be Eagles fans. At two and a half, the numbers, to me, a Philly number, sharper square. It's totally sharp if you're playing two and a half. If it's three and a half, the wise guys are going to play the bucks, that's it. Like, that's how it's going to go. So check your local listings, figure out what you want the number to be and play the half point on either side. the greatest advantage that the bucks really have could be in the middle of the field with Kate Otton. If you want to be taking a player prop, you might want to think about playing his over reception yards.

Keep it under, say, 23, 24 if you can find that. But the other advantage has been Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans this year. You know, Mike Evans tied for the league, lead in touchdown receptions. But if it's going to be terrible weather and there's going to be weather all up and down throughout the country, then, and it might be torrential rain there, that's going to limit Baker's ability to get the ball downfield to Mike Evan. So it's a really, really tricky game to bet.

If you have to pick a side, you've got to play the number. And finally, the Bill's game could be moved. There's so much snow. Buffalo's a much better team. TJ Watch not playing. I, Mike Tomlin, getting 10.

in crappy weather. It's like, that's a stayaway game for me. Talk me into the side the wise guys like. Well, look, the wise guys are sort of thinking the same thing as you, right? Don't forget, this game opened at seven and a half. It lasted for about 30 seconds and got that up immediately to nine and a half, 10. I unfortunately, and the sucker who looked at it on Tuesday and was like, screw it.

I don't care what the number is. The bills are going to destroy this team. bet it at minus 10. And then 48 hours later, I'm, you know, getting reports of the winter apocalypse coming into Western New York. So that scares me quite a bit. But if not for the weather, I would tell you, yeah, you take the freaking bills and you eat the number and you don't care. Because the Steelers forget about the fact that they're going to have a first playoff game quarterback and Mason Rudolph, which is never a good scenario, C.J. Stroud, accepted. Without T.J. Watt, this is just a different team in terms of they're a bad team. So you cannot bet on

the Steelers if they're not going to have T.J. Watt. The problem is the weather, which is such a mystery and X factor right now. If you haven't bet it yet, don't bet it. Good team, you, buddy. See, buddy. The volume. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

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