The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast Prime Cuts - Is Scheffler The Next Tiger? Caitlin Clark Will Get WNBA Players PAID, Saban To The NFL?

Episode Date: July 26, 2025

Colin’s top takes of the week! First, he’s joined by Danny Parkins, co-host of “First Things First” on FS1! They start with the WNBA and their public compensation dispute with the players, and that despite losing money for years…why the league should pay the players as its trajectory soars in the Caitlin Clark era (3:30). They compare the ratings draw of Caitlin Clark games to other sports that rate similarly, and those are all billion dollar industries (6:00). They discuss the major changes made to college football in recent years, and why the upside outweighs the downsides (12:15) and argue that parity in the NFl  is generally a myth. They point out the predictability of knowing which teams will win their divisions, and that even the “surprise” teams aren’t usually surprising (18:30). Finally, they debate the Bears prospects in an NFC North division that has seen major reshuffling (20:00) Then, Colin is joined by John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” and “Go Low” to debate how Scottie Scheffler stacks up to Tiger Woods after winning the Open Championship (28:30) and whether we could see Nick Saban returning to coaching… in the NFL (36:00)  (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!  #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.

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Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

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She's an outsider to win the French friend. And she likes Clay. Listen, Leonard Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcasts on the IHeart Radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. The Volume.

Live Golf heads to the J.C.B. Golf and Country Club, July 25 through the 28, one of the world's best new courses. The venue will have its own home team, Majestics, G.C. featuring Rider Cup legends Ian Poulter and Leel Westwood. So this is the last event before the season enters its final stretch. So there's only three events to go after this one. And it's tight at the top of both leaderboards. So in the individual stakes, Joaquin Neiman leads John Rom and Bryson to Shambo. So the field features a total of 14 major champions, 16 Rider Cup stars, including Rom to Shambo, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Kepka, Dustin Johnson. It is an all-star-loaded field. If you want to catch any or all of the drama from the the JCP Golf and Country Club, follow every shot live on Fox Sports. All right, Danny Parkins, we've got to bring him on about once a month. We've got some personal news for him that we're going to circle back and talk about this in a bit. I want to start about a story that sometimes in this business, there are little shifts all the time in every business, right?

Little shifts. And in our business, August used to be a pretty fruitful month. You talked a lot of NFL. NFL quarterbacks played at least a little. they played a lot in week three. And then Sean McVeigh decided, I'm not going to play any of my good players. People criticized him for it. He goes eight and no to start the season.

And everybody goes, yeah, we don't really need to start any of our players. The season's getting longer. So I blame Sean McVe for making August a really awful month for Sports Talk Radio. But filling in that gap is the WNBA, which has now become a regular topic. I can watch minute to minute our ratings. I can watch my podcast. I can watch downloads on social, and the WNBA stuff moves a meter. So I find it interesting that a lot of people are using this as a reason not to pay the women.

Hey, the last 25 years, it lost money. And my take is, okay, I own the volume. If I had a podcast, let's say it was an eight-year contract, and it lost money seven years, and then the podcast added somebody to last year of the contract, and it exploded. Well, I want my money back. I'm resigning it to a five-year contract. The whole part of this league is, guys, it was a choppy failed league. It's not for the next decade.

Who the hell wants to give up their investment after all these years of struggling? Your thoughts on that? I find it to be fairly obvious what you're saying. And I don't mean that in an insulting way. Like, they just signed a $2 billion media rights deal. They have $250 million expansion fees. The Golden State Valkyries already have a $500 million valuation, and they don't exist yet. Patrick Mahomes is openly campaigning that he wants to bring a team to Kansas City,

and his wife is the owner of a women's soccer league team, and they built the first ever stadium that is its main tenant is a women's professional soccer team. So he's got some real cashé in capital in the women's sports space. Like, rich people, powerful people are lining up to invest in the WBA.

Ratings have taken off. Caitlin Clark is able to sell out NBA arenas. I know not every other team is and every other player is, but like you've got a phenomenon. You've made the Tiger Woods comparison before. I agree with it. Like

Ernie L's made money off Tiger Woods. Ernie Ells was playing golf professionally before Tiger Woods, but Tiger Woods changed Ernie Ells's life. He changed Vijay Singh's life. He changed David Duvall's life. And those were guys that were older than Tiger that were on the pro tour before Tiger. So it's clearly a great business to invest in. It's clearly growth. How many startups lose money with venture capital money for years and years and years?

And it's still like, oh, well, this company's very business. valued at $8 billion. What's its profit? Oh, they're in the red. And it's like, what? It happens all the time. So they're obviously going to get more money. The question is how much more money? I don't think you and I can really have an educated opinion on that without seeing the books on everything. So I find it all to be kind of disingenuous, like a lot of the stuff around the WNBA, obviously they're going to get more money. And obviously, they deserve more money. Yeah, I thought the real point of distinction was that Caitlin Clark didn't play in the All-Star game and the ratings were down a million. But the bigger number was it was still the highest-rated All-Star game in 19 years, meaning she has risen the league's not worthiness.

It's so redeemable now as a TV product that when she's not playing, people know the league. I couldn't have told you when the WNVA All-Star game was three years ago. I couldn't have picked the month it was in. Now I know. I watched highlights on Sports Center this morning when I was on a treadmill. It was well before NFL highlights and NFL camp discussions. And that was interesting highlights. It was New York and the fever.

So like I think, you know, the word that's been overused is woke. It's like, guys, it's business. Timing is everything in business. In fact, I was talking to somebody at a company called Lion Tree when the New York Times bought the athletic. The athletic was losing $45 million a year. It's still not profitable. But Trump wasn't in office.

Biden was, and the clicks went down. And the New York Times was like, you know what? We need more people coming because there was a certain standard with Trump where the clicks were through the roof and subscriptions were up. And Biden, you know, Sleepy Joe. And it was all of a sudden like, oh, the investors are like, well. And they went and bought a company that increased, and I think it was a smart buy. it still doesn't make money. It's all timing.

And so the timing's great. If they'd have been negotiating this deal, an hour before Caitlin Clark was drafted, it'd be a totally different story. Yeah, of course it would be. But also, like, these things take time. The NBA, you are old enough to remember, right? The NBA being taped away?

I remember watching an NBA finals game because I struggled. My parents didn't want me to stay up late at night. They were on after the news. 11. Right. Right. Not the 6 o'clock news.

The 11 o'clock news. Right. So, like, these things take time. And your point about the liberty, right, is a good one. In Chicago, Angel Reese is a thing. Is it a thing like Caitlin Clark is a thing? Obviously not. But, like, Juju Watkins, that's going to be a thing.

She's obviously got the injury. But, like, she looks awesome. Asia Wilson is awesome. The league is growing. going. And I will even say, I don't even want to pretend, like, I'm not watching every night yet, but I do like Caitlin Clark and the phenomenon of it. And but it's clear that I'm getting more aware of it. And ESPN is invested into their broadcast talent and their studio talent. And the college, the women's college tournament, same thing, the presentation is better. So you learn about

the characters earlier, like you learn about the characters in the NBA from March Madness or in the NFL from college football. There's a lag effect on popularity and growth. And so if someone said to you, Danny, you could invest and you can own X percent of a WNBA team. Obviously, I don't have the capital. But if someone came to you and said, you want to buy into 5 percent of an expansion WNBA team, of course you would.

I tried to buy into the MLS twice. And both times, I wanted to get it $35 million. the next time I tried it was 85 million. Now they're 500 million. I've tried twice. Yeah. So it is an obvious buy. And I just think that so many people have made a little bit of a cottage industry off of what you said being anti-woke.

And they feel like it's, you're shoving it down our throat or whatever. Like, you don't have to pay attention. You don't have to like that. it. But when Caitlin Clark, a regular season game when she returned from injury, when that game outrates

Yankees Red Sox on Sunday night baseball. Yeah. Sorry. I don't care if it's not for you. It doesn't matter. It's not even 100% for me. But neither, by the way, is regular

season Yankees Red Sox all the time, right? Like, we pick and choose what we truly love. Like, I'll watch the VALspar. right for golf like we all have our different things we all have only so much sports capacity but it's it's an objective fact if she if she can generate ratings that are like lower level college football games or higher level regular season baseball games those are billion dollar businesses so obviously if she's making 75 grand she's underpaid it's just it's just an obvious story that people want to get mad about for some unknown reasons so when the college football

playoff was announced for 12 teams, eventually 14, 16. It cut right down the middle. There were the people like myself that are like, oh, this is awesome. December's going to be awesome. These bowl games are so dried up. Like, we got 45 bowl games. I watch four. I thought it was obvious.

Like, December now is going to be even better, and December's great with NFL playoffs. And we saw that to be true. But there was another group, including a lot of the media that said, it's going to kill rivalries. And my take is when Texas played Georgia last year, it was the highest-rated game, right? I think before the national championship, that's not a rivalry.

People watch good. When Texas plays Ohio State on Fox over the Labor Day weekend, people watch good. And they'll watch it a second time. You watched Oregon, Ohio State the first time, well, it was a terrible game, but you'll watch it the second time. So my take is, it doesn't matter.

We watch NFL football. Teams can play three times in a season. years, the Steelers and Ravens played three times. I watched all of them. So that's, like, to me, I was shocked by the number of people that were college football fans, like diehards or media that were like, this is bad, it will kill urgency. Well, what it actually did is it allows teams now, like Ohio State and Texas, to play opening week. And whoever loses is fine. There'll be more big games in December and more big games in September. Do you think it makes the week one game less big, though?

I watch great. I know you do. You are a super fan of college football. Michigan, Ohio State, last year, the loser of the game wins the national championship. and on some level, not to a Michigan fan and not to an Ohio State fan, but to a guy who went to Syracuse, it did take away, and I watched it, and I will still watch it, it did take away a little bit of the first Michigan-Ohio State game. Because it objectively matters less.

But it didn't take it away in the moment. As Michigan was shocking them as a 20-point dog, it didn't hurt them. In retrospect, you look back and go, well, it doesn't feel as big. Well, that's like saying a year after you got a Christmas present. I don't feel the same today as I did a year ago when I got the Christmas present. No, I know. But I guess you take the lesson and you go forward with it and you say there is some, like, the NFL has expanded, the playoffs. Right.

Easier to get in. We love the playoffs. It's more football. Week 17 was terrible because most of the teams. we're like sitting we're sitting guys. And teams have been eliminated. And it's like, oh, well, what's the difference between being the five seed and the sixth seed? Like, we're in.

It doesn't matter. We're going to still, we're going to sit guys. We're going to play guys for a quarter. So I think there is a tradeoff that comes with more games and all that. And with college football, listen, I understood. I always was like, more games I am going to watch. More big games. More big games.

I am going to watch. But it, I, I had a hard time with the college football argument for the expansion of the playoffs was like, how many times in the BCS era even did you feel like the fifth best team in the country deserved a shot at being the national champion? I didn't think that it existed. And so if your argument is, well, expands the tournament, get them in, and then any given Sunday they can, or any given Saturday it, they can win it.

That's fine, but then it does take away a little bit of the regular season to me. And again, I will watch, but my guess is as they keep expanding this playoff, people will come away with it'll blend together. And the week six game is not going to feel as big. But in mid-October, double the number of teams to triple are still in the hunt for a 14-game playoff or a 12-game playoff. it used to be, if you lost a game in September, you lost another one you were done. And so the last six weeks of the season, you're out and going to talk.

Now, like Ohio State loses to Oregon, then they lose to Michigan. You're like, shit. Oh, my God. Ryan Day is going to get fired if they lose to Tennessee. So the story went from winning to Ryan Day's getting blocked. Oh, they just blew out Tennessee. Well, he better beat Oregon. Oh, they blew him out.

Well, they better beat. So the story changed from just the game to, are they going to blow up Ryan Day's career? So to me, it pivoted from, okay, Ohio State's still going to get in. Remember the story before the Tennessee game? Ryan Day can't lose re-spired. So there was a different drama. It wasn't, and nobody thought Ohio State, most people, even in Columbus, didn't think they were going to win a Natty after losing the Michigan.

People were like, no. They were like going overboard. They were. It was insane. And now you're going to get games. Like Arizona State's going to, you know, they made it. And it was a nice story. And then the spread in the game was like 20 points.

Right. For a college football playoff game. It doesn't, it doesn't, that part of it is going to feel a little weird to me. Because can they win? Yes. But like, was there any part of you that? thought that Arizona State could have gone on a run and won the national championship? No.

No. But, but, okay. Zero, zero part of you. So it felt a little bit like a waste of time. Okay. But I think there's only five teams that can win the Super Bowl next year going into the season. I think Kansas City. That's just not true. That's just not true.

Kansas City, Buffalo, Baltimore are just, they've just got better players, better coaches. Yeah. I think we both think Denver and the Chargers are interesting. but Bo Nix hoisting a trophy seems rare. We know Philadelphia is really, really good, and McVeigh and the Rams will be there. And then there'll be a couple of really interesting teams. I don't think Brock Purdy now with an older team

and a shaky old line works. But I've been arguing this for years. There's way less parity in the NFL than everybody thinks. And the reason I know that, because for the second year in a row, I can pick the division winners easily in the AFC. And it's getting to the point, And picking division winners in the NFL six of eight is not that difficult.

Okay, but do you think Washington could have won the Super Bowl last year? No, no. There's always a shocking team. I had picked the Rams the year before as the shocking team. I picked, by the way, last year Washington and Denver to be the shocking teams. How did I do that? Well, because I think they were so poorly run with Dan Snyder that all the new guys, easy division wins against Dallas and the Giants.

So I actually pick Washington and Denver to be much better. Like this year, I think it's obvious. New England and Tennessee are going to double their win total. So even the surprises are pretty pretty. I've done four years in a row where I've picked the double-year win team. It's going to be New England this year and Tennessee. So let's go to Chicago. I find the division very weird.

Oh, listen, I mean, we could go. But we can do the, listen, we'll do a lot of bears at some point before the year. Here's the thing. Big advantage to the bears. Yeah, they got a lot better. J.J. McCarthy, you're going to see it very quickly, is not what people think. And the Lions lost both coordinators. So whereas we look at the AFC West and go, God, that's a good division, we say that about the NFC North.

We don't know about Jordan Love. really don't. J.J. McCarthy is a C quarterback. You ever seen J.J. McCarthy's fourth quarter college stats and playing from behind fourth quarter stats in college? With Michigan and Harbaugh on that O line, they're terrible. Detroit's pulling back because they're O line in the middle is a mess, and they lost both coordinators. That is a real bonus. That division we think is really well, it's well coached. I think the Bears have an opportunity to win 10 or 11 games. I don't think it's as good a division as people think. Well, then they would be a double your win team if they can get to double digits.

I mean, I think that having the level of coaching in that division is just very, very, very high. And so I think that that makes the worst team in that division. Like, let's say you're right about J.J. McCarthy. He still is Kevin O'Connell, Jordan Addison, and Justin Jefferson. Like, they got Kirk Codagh. to be near 5,000 yards. They got Sam Darnold $100 million. Like, J.J. McCarthy doesn't need to be awesome in order for that offense to be pretty good.

And let's say Minnesota is the worst team in the division this year. They won 14 games last year. It's a pretty good worst team if that's what they are. Or if the Bears are the worst team in the division, that's a pretty tough worst team. So like, even if they're not top heavy dominant, I don't see there being any team in that division that's just like straight up bad. There's no Cleveland Browns in that division. You know, there's, there's no, there's no jets, there's no giants, there's no push over there. So I think that's what's going to make it tough is that they each just have to play each other

six times and the team that does the best in that division might go four and two. You know, they might just beat each other up this year. Nothing says summer like long days, clutch plays and firing off a few bets, all with Draft King's Sportsbook. As the season heats up, so do the bets. And Draft King's Sportsbook has you covered, home run props, odds boosts, whether you're chasing dingers, jumping in midgame. Midgame bets are great. There's always action to be had. So if you've never bet on baseball before, it's really easy. Pick a guy to hit a home run. Hammer some live odds midgame. Or you can just ride with your team and hope for the best. No spreadsheets, just vibes and dingers. Here's something special for first timers. New draft king's

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Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. Four additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkng.com slash audio. Hey, it's us, the Jonas brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news?

We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's the one's,

extra special. So how did we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this.

We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast where people could call in and say, hey Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas. and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite.

Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between. Queen songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the head. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered.

Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. For more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. All right, John and I are doing it's 1 o'clock central right now as we do our podcast, as Scotty Schaeffler just won the Open. And really, just he started playing well early in the day and it was over. Yeah, I want to start with this because we know he's great. It's so funny, Bryson DeCambeau said, I played with this guy in college.

He wasn't nearly this good. This guy has really changed the trajectory of his career. I was thinking about this. People are saying, is this like Tiger? Because he is the most dominant golfer in terms of leading, pulling away at majors. But I think people forget this. Tiger was about 40 yards longer, minimum off the T. Shephler's born in the 3-3-10. Tiger was 340 to 360. Tiger's the best iron player in my life. Now, you're, you could ask experts. They may put him third, fourth, but I thought in his prime, he was as good to iron players the world have. and Tiger was not only the best big putt, long putt putter, but he was a great lag putter as well.

He could set up putts. If he missed, he had a short putt from there. Whereas Schephler, to me, the weakness has been putting. He's better now than he used to be, but I've always felt with his putting. If he's making putts, he's unbeatable, but he's not always making his putts. So my take is, I know we want to crown the hot new guy Tiger. I've never seen anything like Tiger in his prime. I think if Shepler was in his prime with Tiger, he would be like Mickelson.

He'd be on him. He'd win majors. But I don't think you can compare anything to Tiger. Yeah. I think one element of Scotty that differs from most superstar athletes. And that's, I mean, truly today was the icing on the cake. This guy is a complete rocket ship. Way more accomplished at the same age than Phil Mickelson, who's easily the second best player

the last 30 plus years is typically right. Quarterbacks now, but NBA superstars, definitely individual athletes, right? Tennis stars and golfers become a business in themselves, the F1 drivers. Scotty, Jordan Speath mentioned this today. He's like, you know, what makes Scotty a lot different than anyone I've seen out here is we all do these corporate events and kind of hustle and love that aspect. Not love it, but it's a huge part of our world. Scotty's not into that at all. You know, Tiger, let's face it, Phil Knight followed him.

If, you know, if you read Shoe Dog, I think the last like three or four rounds in Tiger's final U.S. amateur victory, and he turned pro immediately after winning it for the third straight time. I mean, Tiger Woods was a business, honestly, before he became a major champion. And then they just kind of colluded together. Scotty Sheffler's just a great golfer who said before this week started, did you see him go on the rant for about five, six minutes about. Honestly, a lot of people had a bunch of different opinions. It reminded me a lot of football coaches. It's like, you know, we grind, we grind, we win, and then we're just on to the next one. Belichick did this for 25 years, right?

You interview him, we're just on to the next team because everyone's like, oh, Scotty doesn't like golf. No, Scottie doesn't find that much value, like holding up the trophy. It doesn't do much for him, but you don't become this good. He likes the grind. He wants no one to watch him and just be by himself and play golf, which I respect. Listen, Philip Rivers told me one time. And I was surprised.

He said it. He goes, I like the process better than the games. He goes, building a, and Philip was the total trash talking grinder, one of the great guys that ever played in the NFL. Philip Rivers is like, I love building a game plan. I love it. That's how I feel Scottie Schaeffler is. He loves the process of it.

But once he wins, it's like, okay, I won, but it's really about family in the process. Nick Saban talked about this forever. and you've been in my process when we do a radio show. I love walking in for two hours and building a show. Once I've done that, I know the show is going to be fine. There is something, and I think there's a lot of people like this. I think there are lawyers like this who the courtroom's fine, but it's building the case to defend your client.

And I think that's a common thread with greatness. You really like sitting on the range for three hours, working on your seven and eight iron, your rescue club, whatever it is. And so everybody's kind of like, whoa, whoa, whoa, Scotty Sheffler, Buzzkill. No, he's telling you that the process, his love affair is with the family and the process, more than holding up a trophy on Sunday. I also think it would be a turnoff, right? If he wasn't literally winning every time he played, so he's essentially showing you,

like, I'm grinding as hard, if not harder than everyone out here. I love doing this aspect. I just hate everything, especially in 2020. that comes along with this. You know who didn't like that as much? Tiger Woods. Stevie Williams, his former caddy,

they broke up after Tiger had the incident in 08, talked about this forever. Tiger would win a tournament, and he'd tell them maybe an hour after winning and doing the press conferences, like, see you on the range tomorrow to 8. Stevie Williams. You know, after a while, it's like, Tiger,

what are we talking about? Like, you're not playing for a couple more weeks in tournament. Enjoy the week. Enjoy tomorrow. Nick Sabit. Lane Kiffin's told the story forever. Jim McAwen went. They would win a national champion.

And this Haven's like, see you guys tomorrow, 8.30 in the morning recruiting meeting. It's like, Nick, we just won the national championship. He's like, actually, it's a 745 we'll meet tomorrow in the conference. And they'd be like, what did we do? Tiger was notorious for that, right? Of just being on the range the next day. Yeah, and in retrospect, it's easy to say. But the truth is, because of the torque in which Tiger Woods played with, he would have

been much better served to take time off. For sure. He's like Zion Williamson. Like his torque, I can remember when Tiger was in his prime. And you know how a guy will take a shot? And then the analysts will look at it in slow motion, the golf experts, and they'll break it down. Nothing Tiger was doing a golf coach would tell you to do. I mean, he was coming out of his shoes.

His torque was insane, but it worked for Tiger. He would have been much better served more than any golfer of my lifetime to actually take Monday off. because it literally... Big down. He went the opposite, right? He started lifting harder. You know, I think I listened to Hank Haney's book within the last couple years,

and he thought, you know, Tiger, a little like Jordan almost became bored because I'm like, I'm winning every tournament, started doing the Navy SEALs training, like chasing his dad, right? It was like a part of his life. Like at one point in time, I think he believed, I don't know if it was actually going to happen. He could be a Navy SEAL,

started training with them in San Diego and, like, messed up his knee. And that's what happened. a couple years later in 08. This was in like 05, 06, 07. He's going on these long runs with the seals and boots. I mean, these guys now are doing cold tubs. They obviously treat their bodies.

I would say golf has mirrored all these other sports in terms of all these guys. You know, the lifting, the recovery, the eating. You know, it used to be, let's face it, even when Tiger, early on in Tiger had changed by the last 15 years when the money got so big. Kind of a beer drinking. You could eat cheeseburgers at the turn. I mean, that's all these guys. look who their friends are.

Justin Thomas hangs out with Michael Jordan, right, hangs out with football player. I mean, they're all kind of interconnected now in that circle. Tiger made golf cool. But that's where Scotty feels much more like a 60-70s golf or like he just wants to go home, be left alone, does not want the cameras to follow him. But Colin, last year he made $65 million on the course. And this year he's won two major.

I don't think he's going to make the same amount of money potentially. But he's going to accumulate in a 24-month span probably on and off the course, when you factor in Nike bonuses being the number one player. I mean, you're talking $150 million. I mean, he's going to be paid like he's an NBA or football star playing golf. And I think the one thing with his words, he's uncomfortable with it a little bit. He's not, he doesn't like that world. He doesn't want to be a celebrity.

A lot of times when there's a rumor, John, who starts the rumor? So Greg McElroy, a guy who I respect greatly, does a great job on, I think it's W-J-O-X radio in Alabama, former Bama quarterback. Greg's really smart, really works hard. He's as good a college football analyst. And I'm talking TV networks. He's the good at anybody out there. I bring him on the show, the volume a couple times a year. He's just sensational. And he said, there's a lot of talk about Nick and coaching. So that's, in my opinion, I'm guessing here. That's coming from his Alabama sources. Well, they all play golf in the same circles at this point, time, don't they? Then Lane Kiffin says, and Lane's,

one of his closer, is close to Nick, more close than many other assistants. He's like, yeah, I think my guess is he may miss, you know, developing young people. He really, he loves that. So my take is, okay, this is a story. So I brought Urban Meyer on this week, who is friends with Nick. And he said, I don't think he's going back to college, but he's going to, he would take NFL calls. And this is one of those things where, and I told Urban this, and Urban hadn't thought about it a lot, But what the NIL has done, coaches thought the NIF, the NIL was trouble. I got to pay my players. Davosweeney's like, I'm not paying my players.

That's not college football. It's actually been a beneficial additive for coaches. You can't fire Brian Kelly or Lincoln Riley if you wanted to. Because USC just built 300 million in facilities. They got that from the donors. They raised $18 million a year NIL. They got it from the donors. To buy out Lincoln would be 80 million.

And then you'd have to pay $6,000. 60 million to 80 million to get the new coach. USC in Southern California, the biggest economy in the country, they can't afford it. The idea that Alabama, who is struggling to raise 15 million a year NIL, could buy out Kalin for 70 and then bring Nick back for a hundred million six-year deal, they don't have close to that money. Auburn now is raising more money. And so my take is with Nick, he's not going to college because nobody's buying out their

coaches anymore. Nick's not coming back for 12 million, two years. Nick's coming back. I want four years guaranteed. Okay. And I want 13 million per year. That's 50 minimum. Jimmy Sexton, 50 minimum. Then you have to buy out your coach. It's not happening. But Nick, like Harbaugh, Harbaugh had Kaepernick and Alex Smith, and it nod at him. He's like, if I can get the quarterback, right, and the owner is paying for a staff, which the Spanos family finally opened up the checkbook for the staff. Big, you know, Jesse Minter, Greg Roman, that's an expensive. They're paying a lot. Yeah.

A lot. And the Spanos, the knock on the Spanos, it was fair. I don't think it's fair anymore, but it was fair for a long time. They're cheap. They're not anymore. They pay Herbert. They pay the staff. They built a gorgeous new facility.

It does look good on one of the pictures. Oh, it's gorgeous. Like they spend money. That's an unfair criticism anymore. I thought it was fair until about three, four years. ago. The SOFA deal is great for them. They're spending money. But I think Saban looks around, and I'll throw this at you. Jimmy Haslam loves publicity. They're probably the worst team in the league. Arch Manning goes to Cleveland. Manning's no Saban. He coached in Cleveland before. They would be the

most interesting team in the league. He would give him a five-year, what's 15 times five, $75 million deal. Yeah. I think Nick would do it. Well, Here's the thing. Belichick is a good example of, right, the NFL kind of turned on him and he was open to college. He claims the NIL. Obviously, that's an aspect. They're comfortable. But no one tells you what to do in college when he become the football coach. You have, you're basically the owner, if it was the equivalent of the NFL, right? Nick Sabin has answered to nobody for 15 plus years. I mean, by the time, year two or three to Alabama, when he won, he answered to nobody. In the NFL, you know, the AD, in recruiting is not sitting behind you on a chair looking over your shoulder. What did we talk about with Shador? It was Andrew Barry, Stefansky, and then Haslam kind of right there in the middle.

Now, Haslam has spent more actual cash than any owner in the league in the last four years in terms of signing bonus. So financially, he would be the equivalent of like University of Texas in terms of the pros, right? He is spending an ungodly amount of money. So people would be attracted to his willingness to kind of, he'll manipulate the salary cap for you, but he's extremely involved. And Nick has had, I mean, his nickname, right? I mean, he's a dictator. Like he answers to nobody. And in fairness, his decisions are usually correct. I think, I saw that you talked to Breer about Dallas. I'm not saying that some of these owners would not sniff around and probably already have made some contact. Like, hey, just big picture. It's called business. I just wonder, like, would he

answer to Jimmy Haslam or Jerry giving him constant football ideas? Remember Belichick probably might have been the year he was off, started listing off stories. I think they're like McAfee about different times owners storm in and give different ideas. Like, hey, are we sure defense? He used to talk about the Cleveland experience. Like, we know what we're doing on defense. And Bill would be like, Nick Sabins are defensive coordinator, you idiot. You know, so I just think these guys, it's unlike like any business where a family like the Haslums who are clearly successful or Jerry or whoever in whatever industry they're in, even if they are football people and love the sport, you can't speak the language in terms of like football language, which is extremely complicated, especially

once you get in season with schematic stuff. I just think it becomes really complicated for a guy like Nick who's, you know, I don't know, made hundreds of millions of dollars to then answer to someone. And I don't care who you are in the NFL. You still somewhat have to answer. I mean, you talk to all these GMs. I'm sure what they bitch to you about is like, God, the owner, he's in my ass about this and this. And it's not always just like the star quarterback. It could be the stupidest stuff. And they spend a lot of their time. It's when GMs go on an interview and they say, you know, you have to realize that you can't just sit in a room and watch film. What they're essentially saying is I'm getting pulled in a bunch of different directions. And whenever that call or that

guy walks in, you don't have a choice. You drop everything you're doing for the owner. So, and that Jimmy Haslam's extremely involved. But I'm with you. Nick Saban, Jimmy Haslam, what year are we in, 25? So that would be like January of 2006, signed me up. Now, we got a long way to go. I think Savant would be more realistic than like Arch Manning. I'm excited as anybody. But like, he's played two games. So, you know, is he going to be a great play? I don't know. the SEC's really hard. They're still open up with Ohio State. He has an insane amount of pressure.

And it's not his fault. He's saying all the right things. Sark's saying all the right things. But it's everyone else. It's going to be pretty intense. And the other thing, this quarterback class, like good players at that position, even in his own conference that are pretty well established. It's been starting for a couple years.

Let's just see, like, is he throw 35 touchdowns or is this year a work in progress? he doesn't need the money. So even if he is really good, he's on a lock to go pro. Peyton Manning hell went back to school in the late 90s. He easily could after NIL. So I think he would have to have like one of the great seasons in college football history for me to feel comfortable,

like he would be a lock to come out. If you just tell me, hey, they're in the final four. He has a good season. He's like second team all SEC. I could 100% see him coming back to school. His two uncles did it. Like college football to that family for a family that's obviously known for NFL stuff and financially really successful, means a lot to that family.

Right. It's, I mean, it meant a lot to Eli. Goes back to Ole Miss all the time. His dad's a huge part of Ole Miss. Peyton's constantly in Tennessee. I think I just saw a story. His son, is it Marshall? Is Trent?

I thought he lived in Denver. He's going to play high school football in Tennessee. They have a lot of passion for college football. And I don't care who you are. When you're around, your uncles and your dad, like, stuff rubs off on you. And I can imagine it means a lot. To be a multi-year starter at Texas is a lot. You won and done, that's not special, but I think playing for two or three years is a really big deal.

Look at Matt Leinert, you're in L.A. Like, he's still a huge part of that program. He's parlayed it, even though his NFL career didn't go great. So I don't think Arches is a lock, even if it goes well to go pro. Yeah, the one guy I said, Drew Aller is the one guy at Penn State, where I watched him a couple years ago, and I'm like, he's just not, he's not buttoned up. He's loose. He's not accurate.

And then I watched him last year and I was like, oh, that's a first round quarterback. If he makes the same jump this year and gets to like 68% completion percentage with his size, that is a big time player. You know, we forget this all the time. These guys are like 21. Yeah. You know, like, and now they're in an NIL world where there's a little bit of pressure like they're buying pizza, right? Guys, I got all the money. And Penn State's got an NIL that's, you know, reasonably noteworthy.

So no, I think Oklahoma feels that Washington State, John Matier, I mean, I would say they're very bullish on his prospects. I know NFL people are very, very excited. And obviously, Oklahoma, I think they think they're going to be a lot better. They paid for a lot of money in Transfer Portal. They bring in this quarterback. So you start comparing Matier and Arch. And Matier already has a year starting at Washington State. So he's played a lot.

And I understand Washington State in 2024 is not what it used to be. But still, he's played. like Arch hasn't really played. He played the two games against nobody's and thrown in against Georgia, which is not his fault. They just went with Quinn Ewers. But, you know, the conference in the SEC, which I would say over the last 15 years, has been more a positional conference. They've had a couple good quarterbacks. This year, from a quarterback standpoint, Florida's got a quarterback, South Carolina's got a quarterback. Oklahoma's got a quarterback. Obviously, Texas has a quarterback. It's going to be a pretty fascinating kind of little quarterback group. and then, you know, Alabama, Georgia, one of those teams, at Nussmeyer at LSU, you know, is viewed as a potential top 20 pick. So it's a pretty good quarterback conference this year, and we know they always got defensive linemen, skill guys, DBs. I think the SEC is going to be pretty interesting from a quarterback standpoint.

Because, you know, you look at the Big Ten, Ohio State, their quarterback, you know, it's pretty big shoes to fill. I mean, we'll Howard down the stretch look like Peyton Manning. Obviously, Michigan paid the kid $20 million or whatever. It's difficult. The volume. Hey, guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers.

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