The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast Prime Cuts - Eagles Nosedive, Miami’s “Tua” Problem, Disaster in Dallas, Nick Wright on Rodgers + Belichick

Episode Date: January 20, 2024

Colin’s top takes of the week! He dissects the Eagles no-show in Tampa and why Philly’s regression in the second half of the season requires a coaching change (2:00). He gives an honest assessment of what Tua IS and what Tua ISN’T and why the Dolphins will struggle in the postseason with Tua under center (7:15). He applauds the performance of both the Lions and Rams, and gives a special shout out to the “true star” of the Lions (10:15). John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” joins Colin for an autopsy of the Dallas Cowboys after a first-round playoff exit(18:15) and a breakdown of Jordan Love’s incredible progression from shaky to stardom in the second half of the year (25:30). Nick Wright, host of “First Things First” on FS1 debate Colin’s theory that even after setting aside Aaron Rodger’s vaccine/conspiracy talk… his football related decision making proves he isn’t the smartest guy in the room (28:45). They look into the potential best fits for Bill Belichick’s next coaching gig (39:30) and discuss whether teams without an opening would fire their current coach in order to hire the future Hall of Famer (46:00). (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.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule. of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

get your podcasts. The volume. This week on Prime Cuts, John Middilcoff on the disaster in Dallas and all things NFL. Nick Wright, a fast-paced hour. And my top takes of the week. What an S show was that by Philadelphia? So I went three and two on my playoff picks, but I thought Philadelphia, You know, it was one of the games I thought, you know, they'll win. There's not much there with Tampa. This thing, if Tampa Bay could catch in the first half, the game would have been over start of the second quarter. Philadelphia was not even competitive. And, you know, I was thinking about this is that we all know that even competent NFL coaches, Dan Quinn for Atlanta was a competent coach, not great, but competent. He was elevated significantly by Kyle Shanahan. That we know. And there have been a lot of, coaches through the years who have been helped by an assistant. They, they reach their highest

form of head coaching with a really good assistant. But they don't necessarily fall off the table. I mean, Sean McVeigh, Shanahan, they just run through assistants and coordinators. They're elite coaches. It doesn't affect them. And then the B coaches, Dan Quinn, are clearly elevated by an elite coordinator. But Nick Seriani's not an A or a B. He's probably a C or a And if you take Shane Steichen's play calling, not Shane Steichen just being in the building, just his play calling away from Nick Seriani, you have a coach that had the most embarrassing opening press conference ever who struggled in year one when he called the plays. And here in his final year, the team got progressively worse like Brandon Staley bad every week. Brandon Staley, good job a climbing the coaching ladder. He wasn't ready to be a head coach in the National Football League.

Nick Seriani's not. I remember when he first got the job. You know, I said, I call people and I was talking to a GM tonight about Jedfish going from Arizona to Washington. And I was just asking some questions about recruiting and personnel and blah, blah, blah. But I usually do that. I'll call GMs, text GMs and say, hey, what do you know? What do you think? And on Siriani, two of my executive friend said, I don't think he's ready for the job. I don't think he's ready for the Philadelphia Eagles. It's a high pressure, high leverage job. That's a tough job. And so then he butchers the press conference. And I'm like, oh, Jesus, Google it. I've never seen anything like it. Go look at Sean McVeigh's opening press conference. Kyle Shanahan's, go go look at the young co. Demico Ryan's. I mean, Mike Tomlin's first press conference, go look at Nick Sariani's. And so I had sources say he's not ready. The opening press conference, his first year's ugly. Then he relinquents. question his play calling and you think, well, this guy is something. This guy is something here. Folks, the truth eventually comes out. And I don't think my problem with Brandon Staley is my

same problem with Nick Sariani. What does Philadelphia do well? What do the charges do well? You went from narrow losses to touchdown losses to embarrassing losses. It just got worse over time. It's like having a bad boss in any industry. The company gets worse really fast. So I think, you know, You could certainly argue Mike McCarthy, as Callen Moore left, upgraded the cowboy offense. You could argue he's won 12 games, 12 games, 12 games, best DAC we've ever seen. You've got to keep him. You could certainly argue Mike Tomlin they lost today. He's Mike Tomlin.

He's never had a losing season, right? Those are different conversations. But with Brandon Staley and Nick Sariani, this isn't going to get better. I mean, this doesn't, I don't see the hope. I don't even know what I watched. And like the Chargers, you have these young coaches who probably had somebody on that resume. For the record, the Eagles were going to hire Staley until the Chargers did. Think about that.

You know, he had probably somebody on the resume made a call for him and maybe interviews well. But I don't know where you go if you're Philadelphia. Like, again, look at the losses in the playoffs. Kevin Stefansky lost. He was on his fourth quarterback. Mike McDaniel lost. warm weather or two on the road against Mahomes. Sean McVeigh lost.

Hell of a game. Rebuilding year to begin with. I could look at Mike McCarthy. I mean, the offense was better when Kellanmore left. I can make arguments for all the losing coaches. I don't know what to do with this. I don't know what to do with this. It doesn't look like he's ready.

He can't coach. I mean, what do they do well? And they got personnel. So, I mean, Troy Aikman said on the broadcast very early, he didn't like the body language of Philadelphia. I mean, for Troy to say that, go out and say that, it's like, wow, he's seeing something or hearing something. And he was right. The coaching disparities in these playoffs, man, I know it sounds impulsive and overreactionary to say, ah, Seriani was in the Super Bowl. You know, you got to move on. You tell me his theatrics on the sidelines, the regression of Jalen Hertz. I mean, Jalen Hertz, Justin Herbert.

We know they're talented. We've seen it. Wrong coach. We know the quarterback's the most valuable player in the league and the most valuable element to a franchise. But if you don't think coaching can puncture quarterback momentum, I give you the Chargers and the Eagles. So let me get this straight on Tua.

He's small, doesn't have a great arm up to sideline, not athletic, has some men. injuries and now can only play in ideal conditions. So he has to have home games throughout the playoffs to be formidable. So, I mean, it doesn't mean you're going to get rid of him, but I think you have to look to the future and understand what he is. I mean, his record in December and January is not good. His record in September and October is good. And that's okay. You know, he is a quarterback that's more than capable. I mean, he made a Pro Bowl over Josh Allen. Now, I think the Pro Bowl's nonsense.

I think awards, Oscars, Emmys, I think a lot of it's nonsense. Plaques don't make the player. Everybody knows that. But, you know, I mean, I think you look at two, and it's like, what one skill does he have over Josh Allen? Really? So you just have to know going forward. There's limitations to what he can do, especially late in the season. You know, I think Miami was when I said they were all season.

They're fun. I like watching them. I like their coach. I like Tyreek Hill. two is fine. They're a convertible sports car. They're just not built for December and January. They're just not built for this type of weather.

So quarterbacks, none of them love playing in this weather. Brady liked cold weather because he said when it was slippery, defensive linemen couldn't get a pass rush. Most quarterbacks don't love it. But, I mean, the difference between the great ones and guys you don't give an extension to are can you overcome? Can you play in bad elements? Can you play hurt?

Can you play against the great pass rush? can you play when your left tackle's a swinging door. So I think Tua is just a quarterback that when everything's lined up perfectly, he can play. But you saw C.J. Stroud earlier today. Bigger, stronger, better arm. Now, again, weather's different, but you look at C.J. Stroud, there's nothing you're really missing there. Big arm, sideline, seize the field, get rid of it, can throw on the move, can move a little. There's just nothing you don't like.

And with two, there's not a lot I love. He is a warm weather quarterback when things are ideal. He can put up some good numbers with a world-class receiving core and Mike McDaniel, who's a really smart offensive coach. But things have to be right. You know, it's interesting when I was watching Tua. Teams will tell you what they think of their players by the play calling. And so Mike McDaniel's play calling was super conservative in the second half.

Well, that's telling you. He doesn't trust him. So, you know, you can tell when you watch Mahomes and C.J. Stroud, their coaches trust them. They trust them cognitively. They trust them, you know, in crisis situations, high leverage situations. I'm watching Mike McDaniels playcalling. He didn't want two at a throw. He didn't want him to sit in the pocket.

There's bubble screens. So that's a tell. In poker, that's a tell. I thought the Rams Lions game, I felt it was going to be a very, very close game. I had the Rams winning by, I think, one really elevated quarterback play. First of all, Matt Stafford's insane. Pooka Nakuwa for a rookie is insane. I mean, you are watching.

Matt Stafford is making throws out there that maybe only Mahomes can do. This is a rebuilding year for Sean McVan the Rams. And Stafford playing with guts, his hands all ripped up. what an athlete that guy is. It's just, you know, the difference in the game was pretty simple. The Lions had three long drives and got touchdowns out of them. And in the second half, it was the Rams having long drives and just getting field goals out of them. And that's the difference in the game.

I thought Detroit, you know, Rams pretty poor tackling first half. And, you know, the Lions physical up front O line punishing running backs, hard to tackle, kind of push the Rams around. They made adjustments at half, which Sean McVey is prone to do, and they slowed Gough down. Gough was just too comfortable in the first half. And when Jared Gough is comfortable, you know, he's just a really, really good quarterback. I've seen Jared Gough, comfortable Jared Gough out dual Patrick Mahomes on a Monday night football game. He throws a beautiful football. But if you pressure him, he's not the same quarterback.

So he didn't face any pressure in the first half. Long, 75-yard drive after 75-yard drive, and you're getting touchdowns. In the second half, he got some pressure on him. He was less effective. And Stafford put on a clinic. I mean, it was 2-2. It was Puka, Cooper Cup. It didn't matter.

Everything worked. It was beautiful to watch. I just thought you watched a really good football game. And if you go look at this weekend, here's what we saw this weekend. C.J. Stroud, elevated quarterback play. Stafford, Gough, elevated quarterback play. Mahomes, elevated quarterback play in terrible weather. That's the sport.

Tua, disappointing. Flacco, too many picks. I mean, Stafford played like a winning quarterback, but the Lions got the W at home. And, you know, listen, I'm, you know, the thing about all these games is the league is different in the postseason, right? It's more intense, and players will tell you that. Every time I talk to a player,

it's much more intense in the playoffs. But it really does come down regular season and postseason. Do you trust your coach? and do you trust your quarterback? And I thought the Lions Rams, that is about as good a playoff game as you're going to get. Two culture setters as head coaches, and Stafford and Gough are,

especially when they have time, are really, really elite throwers on the football. I thought that was so much fun to watch. And I'm very happy. My wife's from Michigan, so I'm very happy for Detroit. I think the architect of this Lions Renaissance is not Dan Campbell, though he's been effective, and it's not Jared Gough, although I like him.

I think it's Brad Holmes, the executive upstairs they got from the Rams. I think they've had back-to-back-to-back great drafts. Remember Dan Campbell's first year and a half? Go back and look at the record. It wasn't very good. They have done just a remarkable job of fixing that offensive line via the draft, upgrading tight-end, wide receiver, pass rushers, Detroit's got this convergence of excellent GM, really strong quarterback play, a culture-setting head coach, and you jam it all together.

Listen, defensively, they can give up some big plays. They're not great on the back end. But we have a salary cap era, and you're paying golf some real money, so you're not going to have a perfect roster. You know, you're not going to have the Niners when you're paying Brock Purdy nothing. You can retain all your stars. You know, Detroit's going to pay Jared Goff. And so when you're paying him, and his contract's up after next year, so it's going to get bigger if you retain him.

So there's just going to be some limitations to a team when you pay your quarterback a lot. The Rams, they pay Stafford. That defense on the back end, it's okay, right? And so Kansas City, they pay Mahomes. They're receiving corps for the chiefs, rice, Travis Kelsey, and a bunch of guys. So San Francisco is a really stacked roster in the NFC. But I think the lions match up pretty well with it. I do.

I think the offensive line for Detroit matches up pretty well with everybody. And, you know, we've talked about this before. Even Mahomes got humiliated in the Super Bowl when he didn't have his tackles. When the lions are blocking for Jared Goff and they have really twitchy, hard-running, elusive, tackle-breaking running backs. If Laporte is healthy. You know, Detroit's offense could be a Super Bowl winning offense. 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 same. 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 a TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun,

thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the iHeart Radio, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, here we go.

John Middletoff, what a circus that was for Dallas. And you know, John, we've talked about this. For years and years, I've never bought into Dallas. I always had this rule, the pretty good rule. Romo, DAC, they'd be pretty good. And then there was about a five-week stretch this year that I bought into it. And then they went to Miami. And I'm like, okay, it's the same old shit.

And then I just, I said on the air, I was reeled in, I got fooled. But if you look in retrospect now, blown out by the Niners, blown out by Buffalo, pounded by Green Bay in the playoffs, lost to Miami, and beat Detroit on, you know, a really dubious officiating moment. And in that game, DAC had two picks and ten completions. And so you look at it, and my takeaway is, this was just an average team, right? like the slightly better than average team. Well, to me, I'm with you.

I bought into them. Their downfall now, three straight years is the quarterback who makes a ton of money this year in all pro. Interceptions. Three years ago against the Niners at home, threw an awful pick and was not good in that game. Last year against the Niners in the playoffs, two interceptions. Today, how many could he have thrown?

Five? I mean, there were some drops. Obviously, the pick six, which the guy, walked into the end zone was not some freaky play. And then the other thing the Cowboys kind of hung their hat on was physicality being a tough defense. What the hell was that? So if I tell you, the Cowboys defense got a no-show and Dak Prescott, I don't care what the final numbers look like. The game was over in the first half when he's throwing the ball to the other team and getting thoroughly outplayed by a

first-year starter, just a horrendous effort by the defense at Dak Prescott. Yeah, I mean, when you size up a player and Jordan Love and Dak on the same field, loves more talented. He moves better. He's got more of a whip. He made a sidearm throw late in the game into the end zone to Romeo Dobbs. Dat can't do that. That's just beyond deck. That was a Mahomes level throw, a Lamar Jackson throw. It reminded me a Lamar. And I'm like, oh, Dak can't do that. Dak doesn't put a ton of velocity on the ball. He really has to step into it. He was never a natural thrower. I mean, I joked out of college. I thought he was a better version of Tebow. He had all the intangibles, but he wasn't a beautiful thrower. And when I,

You've used Kirk Cousins as a comp. He's Kirk Cousins with the Jordan brand, is that Kirk's a more accurate thrower. Dak's a better athlete. But we always feel with Kirk, he's holding you back from a Super Bowl. But we somehow feel that Dak is carrying you to one. And I watch today and I'm like, oh, he's easily the second best quarterback on the field that's not particularly close. Well, the reason guys like Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Kirk Cousins have to be so elite with their footwork, because they can't afford to throw off their back foot.

The one reason why Aaron Rogers always pushed back on some of that, like let me freelance. He'd get away with it. Brett Far, the big arm guys, right? You see it with Mahomes and Josh Allen. They're not beholden to the quarterback feet, you know, quote unquote rules that the coach's harp on because of their talent. And you saw today Jordan Love had countless throws off his back foot that hit guys in stride way down the field. Dak Prescott, if the timing's a little off, he's way off. And today, I mean, he was terrible, Colin.

I mean, he was, this is three straight years of just absolute no-shows in these playoff games. And I know in the one playoff game he had that was good was against Tampa Bay, who was clearly got awful and was, you know, headed home, should not have made the playoffs last year. So against the Packers, whose defense has been really bad. I mean, the number one conversation is like Matt LaFlor has got to fire his buddy Joe Barry. And then for them, I know they got the touchdown late in the game, but to only have 10, I mean, they had seven. How does this happen? I don't understand.

Obviously, Mike's the offensive play call. There's a combination of them both. Yeah. No, it's one of those things where, you know, and I want to talk about this because I think McCarthy's in real trouble. I had said, I defended McCarthy most of the season, but I said he has to beat Green Bay. If he can't beat Green Bay, it's a different conversation. Well, to get absolutely dominated by Green Bay and Jordan Love, now that's a different

conversation from losing an overtime game on a bad officiant call. Now we have a different conversation. And I think he gets replaced. I think, and Dan Quinn, by the way, there went his job market outside of Seattle. That was a dubious effort. So, I mean, let's just talk about it. Does Jerry have to, I mean, Jerry's got to pay DAC. He loves DAC.

He views DAC as some sort of elite quarterback and is willing to pay him. So let me ask you, how good of a job is it? If the starting point is, owner loves the quarterback, thinks he should be paid among the top five, aren't you working uphill from that point forward? I think it's a pretty good job because I think the guys, I mean, immediately, obviously, Belichick and their relationship has been, you know, talked about a lot. I think Jim Harbaugh is going to have to get a call. Those guys have the juice and the power to say, we're not doing this.

We're not giving this guy $50 million a year. You know, Mike had to lie to get the job. And the other thing that was on full display today, Matlifflor has the most important quality you can have in the NFL. He has the ability to develop and make a quarterback into a star, right? I mean, DAC was already pretty good when he got there, right? Dak had had success before Mike McCarthy, and one thing he has done is shit the bed now in three consecutive playoff games. Two of them have been at home.

I think it's worse, like you said, last year they lose the 49ers in a very tight game on the road. You hold your head high. It wasn't a bad loss. They have had two awful losses, though, in 2021 and this one at home. And that to me is unacceptable. I personally thought coming into the game, Mike McCarthy to keep his job was going to have to win both home games, right? Because if you won this game, he'd have another home game. You can't be losing it home. If you lose on the road in the NFC championship game where they hadn't been in 25 years, okay. But now I think all signs point to Belichick.

And one thing's pretty clear is Belichick has his offensive coordinator available. We talk a lot about offensive and defensive coaches. Well, the reason to me, Mike Vrable and Bill Belichick, obviously Bill's resume speaks for itself, but what makes him truly powerful, Vrable has Arthur Smith available, who he had a lot of success with. Belichick has Josh McDaniels available, who he has all the success with, and they can allow those guys to coach the offense. So I think to me, you could argue Mike Vrable if the Belichick and Arthur Smith makes sense. There was a toughness lacking. But again, I say if Jerry believes DAC is it. I mean, I think we have to have.

How could he believe that now, Colin, after what he just witnessed? How could he? Again, I have been on this for years. Dak is a good B plus quarterback. Jerry views him as an A. It's really interesting. This job is fascinating. It's not that Jerry runs a turnstile,

but I'd almost rather Jerry be impatient than delusional on quarterback evaluation. I'd rather a guy want me to get ratings in my job. I'm fine with a little pressure. What I'm not fine with is unrealistic expectations or forcing me to work with people aren't as good as you think. Dax's just not a top 10 level guy, and Jerry thinks he's a top seven guy. The Internet loves, I mean, this is what they love. They forget that new information, new opinion.

Matt LeFleur was calling out Jordan Love in October press conferences. So was the GM. The GM and the coach were disappointed with him. Have you ever seen an in-season improvement for a quarterback? Not only is Jordan, think about this, he's cheaper than Aaron Rogers. He's now more athletic than Aaron Rogers. He throws the ball a lot like Aaron Rogers. You get no drama like Aaron Rogers.

And generationally, he is completely copacetic with all these receivers and tight ends. I mean, right now, Green Bay's young receiver tight end talent is the envy of virtually every team in the league. Like, it's hard to wrap your brain around this. based on what we saw in October. Jordan Love is a significant, multifaceted upgrade from Aaron Rogers. Right? That's not debatable now. Well, I think that you become a legend

in the business of football by making moves like Ted Thompson once made, right? Brett Farve, you're gone, we're going with Aaron. Bill Walsh, we got to pivot to Steve Young. When you pivot off Aaron Rogers, who had just previously won a couple MVPs, the coach and the GM are behind it, And then by the end of the season, into the playoffs, he looks like this.

And as a GM, you have put around the youngest offense in the league. And these guys, I mean, Watson didn't even really do anything. Reed up until the end of the game hadn't done it. It was Dobbs making all the plays and he's really good. Think of the talent they have. We know how well they build offensive lines. I think these guys have immediately entered like Ron Wolf, Ted Thompson. We have stars running our operation.

Because I think it was okay to question it early in the season. Not because they made the wrong move getting rid of Aaron. And it's like, well, it's really hard to replace that. It was Rocky. And by the end of the season, the guy's a flat-out superstar and so's the unit around him. So to me, it's Goudicons and Lafour. Like, this is why your argument on hiring offensive coaches when you get the right one.

Kyle Shanahan has owned the Cowboys the last two years in the playoffs. Why? Because he has, he's comfortable playing against Dan Quinn. Matt LaFour was also on that staff in Atlanta with Kyle, who's the quarterback coach. You saw it a day. He wasn't uncomfortable going up against that defense and that coordinator. and honestly embarrassed him worse than Kyle ever did the last two years. All right, Nick Wright, we try to bring him on as often as we can.

So I'm going to start with something that I think you'll like. Okay. That's a great place to start. Yeah, I mean, why opposed to starting with something that really pisses you off? Yeah, I mean, yeah, let's start off on a good foot. By the way, I've decided this podcast, I'm drinking wine. I've decided to go classy. I figure you're going something that's hard.

liquor. By the end, you're going to be slurred. I'm going wine. I'm going Diet Coke. So, oh, I'm drinking alone? Oh, that was not part of the deal. Now you're really going to have the upper hand by the end of this thing. But go ahead. So I've kind of stayed out of all Aaron Rogers' political opinions and vaccine. I can disagree with stuff. But I also believe Aaron has a right to an opinion. I can disagree, dissenting opinion. I don't really care. But I think there is a personality trait, a couple of them with Aaron that are fairly obvious. Number one, he doesn't like authority. He struggled with his parents, his brother, Green Bay's front office. He pushes back on the media, the government. That's okay. I mean, when I was a kid growing up, that was known as

a liberal, a hippie in the 60s, right? So I'm okay with that. The other one is Aaron is absolutely sure he's the smartest guy in the room. And it comes across in every interview. Think about this. Forget all the government vaccine stuff. Robert Kennedy, conspiracy theories. Look at his football decisions. He chose an offense, a defensive coach, not a successful offensive coach, because he wanted the Jets. He liked the Jets. They have one player, Garrett Wilson, that could start for the Packers.

One, Green Bay has the friendliest offensive salary cap for the next five years. They're not paying either tied-in. Five receivers. The offensive line, all five start over the Jets. Even Aaron Jones, to me, is a bigger, stronger version of Brees Hall. So his football decisions stink that he really, really believed Jets is going to be a great fit. They have one player. If Garrett Wilson twists his ankle, they don't have a player that can start for the Packers.

When you watch Green Bay beat Dallas, if you don't believe it's a fluke and you believe it's players, that game wasn't competitive. Green Bay is stacked with talent. Well, there's a lot of Green Bay angles here to go to. There's a fun. Remind me once we get on with the Rogers stuff to ask you a Jordan Love question that I was asked today. So, all right, you sat on the front end, don't care about Aaron Rogers, you know, political opinion, stances, vaccine status. I don't either. And he, in my opinion, uses that as a shield, meaning any criticism of him, he's like, oh, you don't like me.

He is using the fact that some people criticized him about being unvaccinated. I think more people criticized him about lying about it. And then any negative attention he gets, he can be like, oh, that's not because you're actually engaging with what I've done. you hate me for this reason, which is just nonsense because Lamar Jackson's never been more popular. I don't think he was vaccinated. Kurt Cousins is one of the most well-liked post-quarterback series. Oh, yeah. Quarterbacks in the league, I know he's not vaccinated.

So it's not about that, but it is, this is someone who's, you know, in your life or someone that you know a family member who's like, yeah, nobody invites me around anymore because they don't want to hear the truth. And it's like, no, it's because you're an asshole. Like, it's not, it's not our failing. It's yours. So, so that stuff does irritate me. I'm not going to act like it doesn't. But as you cannot in modern America, not have people in your life that you love, care about and spend time with that have different opinions on be it COVID, the upcoming election, a lot of things. Like, nobody is that in a bubble. So we all know how to deal with people. We disagree with some of the people we love and care about the most.

So that's not it. Now you mention the football thing. So I think that was ego. I don't think it was purely. I think the Jets are better than the Packers. I think it was he probably underrated what the Packers could be because they were mediocre last year with him. And he doesn't have the self-awareness to be like, well, I was mediocre.

last year. You weren't getting A plus Aaron Rogers last year. And in fact, there was a great moment when he was on McAfee last season when I think it was after the first Lions game or something when the Packers were before they had started winning those games where he just kind of says out of nowhere. He's like, yeah, and you know, my coach said that was my highest graded game of the year. And a loss. And it's like, oh, this guy just can't acknowledge that he might be part of their team struggling. So I think that's the first. part of it. And the second part of it is, I think he thought, okay, well, it doesn't matter what the Jets have. Once they have me, they'll be awesome. And I think that's one thing for Aaron to be that.

And by the way, that might have been true a decade ago. It's not true at 39 in the AFC in that in that division. But it's another thing for the Jets a year into the experience. Now, they are not getting the Aaron Rogers. They thought they were getting whatever they thought they They were getting a player a year older, off in Achilles, a year more removed from football, from good football. I mean, that game Jordan Love played was the best quarterback's best quarterback play that Packers have gotten in a playoff game in seven years. Yeah. Look it up. And now he played phenomenally.

So that's a high bar. So I think it is ego and being delusional. Like I know this probably makes you a little uncomfortable because I often use you when I'm talking to you. analogies. But I think, you know, you made a decision in your career almost a decade ago to go from a more stable place to not quite a startup, whatever it is. I would, I would argue that would be maybe a poor decision for 70-year-old Colin Cowherd to make. To be like, you know what? I'm, you know, I can carry and build this new thing. Aaron's 70 in football years. to think I can, you know, go LeBron the Cavs the second time around this for the Jets.

No, you can't. And so I just, yeah, I think that, I think the Jets are, I looked around the league. Mike Vrable, been to an AFC title game, gotten the one seed with Tennessee. Couple down years, not good enough, we got to move on. Bill Belichick, obviously won six Super Bowls, went to nine, also went to the the playoffs with Mac Jones. Two down years, not good enough, got to move on. The other coach that was just fired after two bad years, I'll remember it.

It doesn't matter, but we're talking about, you know, all these coaches moving on. And then you look at the Jets. It's like, well, our coach wins 30% of his games, has two career wins against the division, has been there three years, good enough. Let's stay there. You look at these coaches where it wasn't good. enough. And then you look at Bob Sala, who they're like, yeah, let's run that back. And it's because that's what Aaron wants. And so then you do have to ask yourself the question. Is what Aaron wants

right now the best chance at winning or the most power possible? Do I want the best coach I can get or do I want a coach who knows the reason he has the job is thanks to me? And therefore, I run the whole operation. Yeah, I always feel in sports. and in our business, it's wins. Like, in our business, I don't care about anything other than in radio, my revenue is great right now. Highest ad rates have ever had. And in TV, my ratings are my highest.

The volume, we're crushing. Like, to me, it's not about me. It's about the unit. If the unit's good, that exerts pressure on everybody around you because nobody wants to break up winning, right? If you're winning and your show, by the way, is doing great. Nobody wants to screw that out, right? They want to extend it.

So to Aaron, it's really crazy. Did he have the forethought with all these super young players for Green Bay? He saw them. He saw Dobbs and Christian Watson. He knew they were talented. Did he not think, Jesus, if I hang around here for three years, you don't have to pay them? These are tremendous players. I mean, Aaron has to have some of like that.

In the easier conference? and a lot of factors there. And so I don't think that. I don't think he thought those guys were that good because they didn't succeed last year. And he can't, I don't think he has the self-awareness to be like how much of that was on me. If you operate from a place of, I am always excellent. I am always producing excellence. and the results aren't excellent,

then I think you're like, well, this place sucks. Listen, if Brady was in New England, and they would have had Dobbs, Christian Watson, Jane Reed this year, who I know Aaron didn't have, but yeah, but go ahead. Tom wouldn't have left.

Tom was too smart. Tom left. I remember specifically on the sidelines during a New England game when he yelled at the receivers, just get open. His problem was, New England's last seven,

drafts with Belichick, two pro bowlers, one's a punter. Tom would have stayed. He was frustrated. I was told he was frustrated for three years before he left. The idea. And by the way, where did Tom choose? Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Bruce Ariens, where did Stafford shoes? McVeigh, Cooper Cup, Andrew Whitworth. Aaron literally left this bevy of super talented kids, saw them, knew, by the way, And in the following draft, they were going to go heavy tied-in. And it was, all you had to do was go to one mock draft. It was the best tied-end class when he was leaving. And Green Bay, they drafted two, I think, in the second round or third.

So the takeaway is, did Aaron ever get out of himself and go, this is all about having the right pieces? When Peytonnard and chose Denver, go look at their pieces, their old line, their receiver, their tight-end. It is remarkable that he didn't look at all that Green Bay talent that was on display Sunday. Now, some of it hadn't been drafted yet and go, God, look how good they are now. What are they going to be in a year? If you were advising Belichick of any of the jobs open or jobs that could be open, where would you tell them to go? I would say, listen, Bill, you've shown an ability to win rings with an elite quarterback and no ability to win with an average quarterback.

One job has a really talented quarterback. The Chargers? Jalen Hertz is good, maybe a bit overstated due to the Shane Steik and Lincoln-Riley Connection. That would be second. But there is no disputing. Bill has shown no proclivity, no ability to draft and develop well or win without a quarterback. So there's no reason to believe he can address that if you don't have it. That's why I wouldn't go to Atlanta.

That's why I think the Atlanta thing's crazy. Or people have talked about Washington. Now, I understand Washington is the number two pick, but that player's got to get developed. That's why. Now, the other thing is this that I find interesting. And people think it's unfair, but I don't think it's unfair. And maybe Bill wouldn't do this. This is really just a thought exercise, which is you look around the league.

And I like, I'm wondering what? team, what teams would fire their coach if Bill called him and said, that's the job. I want to go to your team. I know you have like, so that, you know, right now technically Philly as a coach. I don't know if they will much longer. I certainly, if I were Jeffrey Lurie and I knew Belichick will take this job. I will fire Nick Siriani. But that's almost too easy because he's on the hot seat either way.

You know, not as many as you think, because I have believed this for a long time. Less than half of the owners want to win first. Less than half. It may be less than a third. What they want is profits and control. The Spanos families had opportunities, including this year, to secede some control to Jim Harbaugh. the best candidate easily. It's not, I'm told, in the building, unanimous.

So you know in the league, top 10 quarterback elite coach, you get to conference championships. You've got one. The other wants the job. Yes. So the only reason not to choose that would be profits and control. Belichick will force you and Harbaugh to have less control. And these owners, that is number one. Billionaires control people.

Their families, their businesses, their employees. They don't like loss of control. Like Wall Street. Wall Street is not just about earnings. Wall Street is about the unknown. It plummets on unknowns. Often a company will come out and say, we are chopping 10,000 jobs.

The stock goes up. Okay? They're going to have a tighter, right. That's bad news. No, it's great news. It's known. Owners do not relinquish power. There's only a handful that would go to call relinquish power.

Jerry won't. Jerry had Jimmy and Bill. He let him both run. So I'm going to, this is on your TV show today, I made up a fake trade essentially. I'm now doing the coaching version of it, which is there's two AFC jobs that came to mind that I think are intriguing. game. If Bill Belichick's agent called up the owner of the Bengals and said, Bill, you know, would take that job if it were offered to him, would you, if you were the owner of the Bengals, fire Zach Taylor to hire Bill Belichick? No. No. All right. Second one. Bill Belichick's agent calls up Shod Khan. Says Bill Belichick would like to coach Trevor Lauren. would you fire Doug Peterson to hire Bill Belichick?

I'd think about that one because I thought this year when I can't figure out why you get bad and it's not personnel, I think I'd probably make the move there. It was a weird year for that talented team. And listen, the easy answer is Trevor got hurt, but you still shouldn't go from 8 and 3 to out of the playoffs entirely. So I'm not like advocating Belize. I'll check go like, you know, that would be a good revenge for that Eagles Super Bowl.

Like, hey, Dougie, guess what? I'm sniping your job. But yet, if I were Bill, my, my jobs list would be I would go down. I would make my own list of who are the best quarterbacks in the NFL. And I'd be like, okay, Mahomes won. Well, that job's no, you know, they're not firing Andy Reid. That's not available. And go down and then see.

Obviously, the open one is Justin Herbert, but it doesn't seem like that's going to happen. So then I would try to find a spot where either, and I don't think it's a weird thing because nobody thinks this is like unfair with players. So like if you have a good NBA player who's been a, you know, you have no reason to trade or whatever, and then a star is like, I want to go to that team. Then that guy gets traded. And nobody's like, oh, that's redid, that's unfair. Maybe it's because it's firing.

But I wouldn't think it was outrageous for a coach who had no reason to fire their own coach, fire their coach because Bill Belichick became available and they thought they were better. Like, I think that happens in life. It's like your job was safe, but this supernova talent came into the world or into our orbit. And so your job is no longer safe. Listen, we know Jimmy Sexton controls college football. Fans have, the overwhelming number of fans have no idea. So I'll give you an example.

So Kalyn DeBoer got hired by, from Washington, Alabama. And you somehow knew Jed Fish was going to get the job. Well, I knew Jed Fish was getting Washington. In fact, I knew. That's what I mean. Yeah. Yeah, I knew Saturday night, but to protect Jed, because it wasn't finalized and protect my source, I couldn't report it. So I'd rather have Bruce Feldman and those guys. I don't make my money on breaking college football. Reported. Kaelin DeBore, I've known Jed for a while. I'm not going to

screw up his contract and, you know, had he told Arizona. Oh, okay. Oh, I didn't know that part of it. Okay, got you. So Kalin DeBore, I was told, basically said, okay, Jimmy Sexton, I'll let you be my agent, but I want the Bama job. And Jimmy Sexton's like, I'll get in the top two. And so, So he knew Kailen Dabor was going to be. So Kailen Dabor, I knew on Wednesday, was going to be a top two candidate. He didn't guarantee him the job. But in order to rep him, he was going to get him. And Sark, Alabama knew, Greg Byrne knew that Sark wasn't going to take the job.

Sark loves his wife, loves Austin. They weren't leaving. They called Sark as almost a perfunctory, professional thank you for what you've given us. Yeah, and get him a raise at Texas. That's right. That Alabama job coming open was great for a lot of people's economies. Everybody who's out here getting raises. Right, right.

So it was one of these sort of, we're going to call Sark, but it wasn't, it was never, ever, they never thought they were going to get Sark. So it was a prime example of, so to your point is that this, Jimmy Sexton is operating on multiple levels. He is promising interviews and opportunities. He didn't say, Kaelin, you're going to get the Bama job. He goes, I'm going to get you in the running. for it. And so this idea that he was the fourth guy. No, no, no, no, no. Caleb DeBore signed with Jimmy.

I want to be in the running for that. And so the idea that agents don't do that, I've had an agent forever. You have. We're talking 18 months out. So this kind of stuff, Belichick's agent is calling and doing that. Calling and seeing what jobs would come open if you knew he wanted the job. Yeah, I mean, Brady did the same. Brady picked his team. Bill probably has three teams he's interested in. So, yeah, and by the way, I don't listen, maybe he'll go to Atlanta and it'll be weird. Maybe that'll happen. I thought

it was really odd. Atlanta tweeting out, we've just finished our interview with Bill Belichick. It just, I don't know Bill Belichick, but that seems like the type of thing that would make him not want to coach your team. Yeah, I almost wondered

if Bill's agent asked for that. I'm not saying it. Oh. For, hey, could you make sure Bill wants it out there that people are interested, right? Sure, that makes more sense. Yeah. Because if he did, if he did, I would almost, because what I thought was that it was a stress test for the organization.

Like, I'll go meet with you guys because I, maybe I am interested. And I want to see if it leaks. And you know what I mean? And then saw that it was everywhere. What you're saying actually makes probably more sense. Bill wants to be viewed as viable. When you get to be 70, Pete Carroll, when he stepped on the podium, losing the Seattle job, he was like, my energy is great. He was talking to every other GM in the league, every other owner.

Hey, it's not my energy. I'm going a thousand miles. He started talking really fast. He was selling himself. Bill wants it to be known. I'm interested, and teams are interested in me. And his agent wants that out there. Yeah, no, that makes sense.

So if you had to bet right now, where would you say, and maybe you're. you don't want to say. Where do you think he goes? I think Philadelphia and Washington, he's got a big, he's got multiple homes in Nantucket. He's got a big spread. So he wants to be a private jet flight there. He does it. Bill's not going to go. He's going to do Washington or Philadelphia. He's not going west. It just doesn't, he doesn't have any connections there. And, you know, by the way, if he brings Josh McDaniel, Josh McDaniel's northeast, Josh has had no success out west, Vegas, Denver. He's going to come back east for his kids in schools. I think Philadelphia is the end. I think Philadelphia is the answer.

You stay in the Northeast. You stay in a prime media market. You have a talented roster. Listen, I think the talent on the roster is a little overrated, but what's not overrated is the D-Line talent. So, you know, Belichick can coach up the secondary. He can create a secondary if there's anything out of thin air. And even if Jalen is, you know, a flawed quarterback, he's the best quarterback that

Belichick's had in a half decade. You know what I mean? Like you go from Mac Jones and Bailey Zappy to jail and Hurt. You feel like you're playing a different fucking sport. So there is real,

there's real value there. The volume. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you

funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer Street or Idle help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away,

such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.