The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - Caleb Williams at training camp

Episode Date: July 24, 2025

Colin discussed Caleb Williams struggling in training camp under new head coach Ben Johnson and why all the pressure is now on Williams entering his second season in the NFL Thoughts on the drama between Tyreek Hill and the Miami Dolphins Plus, he talks to Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian about their huge match up against Ohio State to kickoff the season and expectations for quarterback Arch ManningSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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J-Mack yesterday in little old Chicago. Let's just say the Bears practice went a little sideways, and Ben Johnson was not happy. It was a little volcanic at the Bears' practice, and you know I'm leading with that. Of course you are. Yeah, you are Team Chicago right now. You love it. So per multiple reports, I did see some of the video. The Bears' offense and Caleb Williams were a disaster yesterday. At one point, Ben Johnson barking at him. He pulled the first team off the field.

It was a disaster for Caleb Williams yesterday, and some of his OTA issues, resurfaced, not getting the playwright, looking disorganized, not getting the footwork right. So two things can be true. I think he's a huge talent, and I also think his critics are valid. I mean, I love Tom Cruise, but I think Scientology's wacky. Love my wife, don't agree with her on everything. Smoked a cigar last night. No, it won't extend my life. Have politicians I like. Don't agree with their policies. Two things are true. Caleb Williams is super talented, but you're now starting to see last year OTAs in camp some of the same problems not as correctable as many of us think.

Can't get the play right. What I talk about yesterday, Belichick saying the best part of Brady, he got the play right. No pre-snap penalties. He didn't hold on the ball too long. And I got to tell you, we're going to know by early, early October if this guy can play. The coach is fine. The offensive line's been upgraded. The weapons are good enough. I don't want to hear about the Bears' daunting schedule. Oh, second toughest in the league. Nonsense. They're favored in four of their first six games. For their first six games, it's a bunch of teams rebuilding. New Orleans, Washington, Vegas. Dallas is rebuilding. Jerry Jones doesn't want to admit it, but they're rebuilding. That early schedule and even the later schedule.

It's New York. It's Cleveland. There's a lot of rebuilding teams. There's not a lot of great defenses until you get to Baltimore in late October. So you're going to know, Jaden Daniels coming in with a shaky O'line, complete overhaul organizationally, and one big-time weapon, Terry McLaurin, by early October, we were all going with Jaden Daniels. Whoa. We thought he was going to be Lamar Jackson-ish.

He's Lamar Jackson now. That's the new standard. And I'm not asking you to chop it up and be dominating in September. Bo Nix with Sean Payton was bad in September. And Sean Payton's as smart as they get. He had a touchdown four picks and a passerating in the 60s. But Bo Nix by October, seven touchdowns one pick and a passerating of 103. Jared Goff.

Owen 7 is a rookie. Got Sean McVeigh. He went from Owen 7 to his first September with McVeigh, pass-er rating at 118. It just doesn't take that long. By the time you're a senior in high school, you've got 10,000 snaps, 7-on-7

camps, private coaching, the ability in high school and college for these top quarterbacks to transfer. Yeah, even in high school, to better coaching, better support systems. So we need major, major elevation, significant improvement

by late September, early October. And that's not asking for a lot. It's a new world. I used to be a believer. Give a quarterback until year three. I am now Thanksgiving of year two. And when you look at Ben Johnson, better than average higher, when you look at the division and the early schedule, not a lot of great defenses, when you look at the O line upgrades, they've spent money on weapons, this team's built to win right now. That early schedule, the Bears coming off an awful season are favored in four of the first six games as of this morning. So I don't want to hear it.

Here's Cole Commett on the mess yesterday and Ben Johnson pulling Caleb off the field. If you're not doing it right, he's going to get you out. And he's not going to just see that stuff continue. So it's just a lesson to us that, you know, you've got to be on the details. We've got to be on the details going into practice in order to get our reps in. You know, you can't be result-driven all the time, especially this time of year in training camp. You know, you really got to be detail-driven, and Ben's all about the details, and you feel that in every meeting. So we're going to have Steve Sarkesian on bottom of the hour.

Lincoln-Riley, a lot of heat at USC on Lincoln-Riley stops by and Mark Sanchez. So it's the Big Ten SEC. All these coaches are talking right now, and that's why we've had a few of them on with that Ryan Day, James Franklin. This is a good week for us to get those guys on the stars of college football, the big-time coaches. So I'm all fired up. I said this. There's heat on Sark. Sort of like Ryan Day before he won the Natty last year.

Everybody knew Ryan Day could coach me. What is the guy? Like 70 and 10 at Ohio State? Like he struggled with Harbaugh at the end. But we all knew Ryan Day could coach. But he got into a little heat when he lost at home to Michigan as a 20-point favorite. And then he rolled on to the title. Same was Sark.

Everybody knows he can coach. He was college football coordinator of the year under Sabin. NFL teams are interested. I think he could in a couple years if he wins a Natty this year. I think he would be the top college coach candidate to coach in the NFL. I don't think he will. I think he's going to stay at Texas. It's one of the best jobs in all of football.

But the truth is that Ohio State, Texas is great. And you know what it shows? Unpopular opinion. Rivalries are overrated. Ooh, Dallas and the New York Giants, Bears Packers. Those are one o'clock window games in the NFL. The best rivalry is Kansas City and Buffalo. It has no great historical context.

Mahomes against Josh Allen. Right? That's why it's a great rivalry. So the college football playoff has created two dynamic advantages that college football didn't have to have. Number one, December now, playoff games, sudden death like March Madness, instead of Randall bowl games that nobody attended.

You know, the phrase is, remember the Alamo, not remember the Alamo bowl. Okay, we got rid of a lot of bad bulls. The second thing, early losses aren't as punitive. so you can take big swings on your schedule. You can grow as a football team. I mean, in high school and in the pros, you're allowed to lose early and still win a championship.

Until now, you couldn't do it in college football. So Ohio State, Texas, five years ago, if they would have played, the loser would have to go undefeated the rest of the way. These are 19-year-old kids. So in a memo to all you college football rivalry guys that didn't want the playoff because you thought would ding rivalries. Nobody cares outside of your fan base. I mean, I think Iowa and Wisconsin play

for a spittoon or a cheese wheel or an axe or something. Nobody cares. I'm in the Big Ten building. Nobody cares. I mean, I'm looking at the Texas Longhorn schedule right now. Oh, the Red River rivalry. I got news for you. If you let me, if you would fly me private to three games this year for the Texas Longhorns. Number one would be the game against Columbus, Ohio State and Columbus. That's number one. Number two would be the game at Georgia, November.

And then I would figure out if Oklahoma was better than A&M late November. Maybe their great rivalry is third. The highest rated game last year for Texas was the George game. It won the Oklahoma game. So college football rivalries are like family traditions. if you're totally honest with yourself, you're diluted a little bit by them. Like, Grandma's fruitcake, it's mid, and you know it.

And Uncle Hank's peanut brittle stinks, no cap. Just be honest. You know, I mean, I know you've talked yourself into Thanksgiving's always the best, but then Earl gets drunk, go sideways, and you regret it, and you can't wait to get in the car and drive home. I don't want to hear about rivalry games. Ohio State, Texas is not only great because the teams are great, the coaches are great, the traditions are great, it's great because the loser can lose again. Ohio State lost at Oregon, lost as a 20-point favorite, was allowed to make the playoff and grow as a team, use that as jet fuel, that ugly loss, the staff and the players, and win the national championship.

That's how the NFL works. That's how high school football can work. Why in college? If you lose a huge game early, you have to go undefeated. So I'm not into these rivalry games that everybody talks about in college. Oh, the Iron Bowl. When's the last time it mattered? Now, Michigan, Ohio State remains fantastic.

But the NFL is a ratings powerhouse. What's their biggest rivalry? Honestly, it's Lamar Jackson against Mahomes. It's Mahomes against Josh Allen. It's quarterback-driven, not regional or rivalry-driven. A lot of these great rivalries, they're one-o-clock window games. The biggest Fox rating this year for a college football game are going to be Texas and Ohio State.

That's going to be the big number. Not a rivalry game. Sark's on coming up around the corner. It is a lot to ask. I will say this. It is a lot to ask. Archmanning opening game at the shoe against a top three team in Ohio State. with college football national championship momentum, elite coaching staff,

and oh, by the way, Longhorns are rebuilding the O-Line. So it is a big ask, I can't wait. Jamek, we've got a lot going on. What do you make of Caleb Williams? Listen, these offensive coaches, like Ben Johnson, I applaud him. He's what's concerning about Caleb Williams, the stuff that you saw with Iberflus, He's running backwards, can't get the playoff, negative plays. We worried and saw a little bit of that in OTAs where it wasn't organized,

couldn't quite get the play in on time. And now we're seeing it again. Is this just something that doesn't get better? So his backstory is, didn't he follow Lincoln Riley to USC? Lincoln Riley takes a USC job. He's like, oh, yeah, Caleb, come on down. And he kind of got free reign to do backyard football. I'm curious if Lincoln is kind of on board.

with that because that was his style at USC and it kind of worked at times until it didn't and now he's carrying those same traits over into the NFL and I don't think and again I'm not going to overblow the Ben Johnson story but he clearly is not a fan of that backyard football stuff he wants you to drop back process and fire and if Caleb can't do that Colin I well they're not going to they're not going to be in a long partnership together of the great scheme coaches in the NFL Ben Johnson is is considered a scheme coach. So Shanahan is a scheme coach. He doesn't want you running around. That's why he loves Brock Purdy. Okay, who's another scheme coach? So Mike McDaniels, Miami, doesn't want you running around. He wants you to run their play. Who's another great scheme coach?

Sean Payton in Denver. He wants Bo Nix to run his play under center, not shotgun. Now, we've talked about that. Bow Nix was shotgun last year. It was better for Bo. Now, Sean wants him understand another scheme coach is ben johnson run my play defensive head coaches sean mcdermott's like you know he's a great talent let him move him right a play the great and there's andy reed by the way he's talked about it like he wants mahomes to run his play but then he there is that battle of you've got to let your guy do his thing but most of the elite scheme coaches they scheme up plays that was always the knock that Aaron royer with both McCarthy and Matt LaFleur, sometimes with both, would kind of do his own thing.

It got really frustrating to McCarthy, and privately, I think it got frustrating to Matt LaFleur. So this idea of Hero Ball, it works with some coaches, but Ben Johnson is one of these guys that draws up winning plays. Like Shanahan, run my play. Payton's very much like that. He got frustrated with Russell Wilson, who would not run his play or couldn't. see the second or third option. When on film, Peyton would say, yeah, it's open. Here it is. So Ben's going to get really frustrated clearly if you can't get that playoff and you can't get that ball out. And you know the younger generation coming up with quarterbacks. These guys are social media stars. Let me cook. That's the big saying. Just let me do me. Let me. Let me fire.

Let me be me. And I just wonder, it's going to be a radical transformation trying to rein in Caleb I don't think it's going to be easy, Colin. It's going to take more than a season. That's for sure. Trust and will.com for $199. That's it. You can now get everything lined up, all your documents. Go to trust and will.com for total peace of mind. Protect your family.

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It's going to be a game for the ages. You're now entering the No Bull Zone, sponsored by credible great rates and none of the Bull. So a leadership is hard because you've got to do unpopular things and sometimes alienate coworkers. So Tua, who's an adult, who's a grown-up, who's a really smart kid, has had to deal. Sometimes it feels like he's had to sort of babysit Tyreek Hill. And I felt Dak had to do this with Des Bryant, is that Dak came into the league, very mature and very focused. And I feel bad when these young quarterbacks, often they're great teammates. I think they have a, you know, there's a certain burden put on them by people who can't.

get it together and tuo was talking remember tyrie kill threatened he wanted to leave the team remember he talked about that uh recently and um twoa talked about their relationship and tyrie hill it's still a work in progress not just for me but for everybody but everyone knows what he can do on a field everyone respects what he can do on a field uh but i think you know he's he's still trying to figure things out for himself as well uh kind of the man he wants to be um and And, you know, he's not too young. Like, everybody makes mistakes. It's just some people, you know, they're in the spotlight, you know,

and their deals get pushed out more than some others. He's being diplomatic. It's time for Tyreek Hill to eventually grow up. Again, the Cowboys had to move off Des Bryant. He couldn't. Stefan Diggs, who I really like. Josh Allen's like, enough. Kyle Shanahan, Debo, see ya.

Steelers on 8. A.B. I mean, the Chiefs won back-to-back Super Bowls the minute Tyreek Hill left. They went with the old, slow, tight end. Even the great Randy Moss, Brady won Super Bowls pre-imposed. I think sometimes, I'm not, I'm not, I mean, I love A.J. Brown. I think he's unbelievable for Philadelphia. But the heart and soul of that team is Sequin, Jalen Hertz, and that offensive line. And that's the way it should be. I am not arguing about the value of great wide receivers. But the uglier the weather gets in Cincinnati, Baltimore, Buffalo, Kansas City, how much is a guy 75 yards down the field with a quarterback who doesn't throw a lively deep ball in wind? How much value does it have?

And my take is, you know, great wide receivers are a little bit like those Christmas tree toppers. It's the first thing you look at and that they had value, but it doesn't care. keep the tree upright. Like you can't build around it foundationally. In fact, I've argued this with football people. I think a great tight end is more valuable than a great receiver because tight ends block and help the run game and they don't get marginalized in December and January with bad weather. They run shorter, easier to complete routes. So the two dynasties in the last 25 years in this league were led by Gronk and Travis Kelsey and star quarterbacks. Why to receive? Revolving Door in New England.

Wide receivers, frankly, in Kansas City have been even more of a revolving door. At least Edelman hung around for a while. So star receivers, they are great for headlines. I'm not sure they're great for hardware. And I also, I think it's a burden that you lay on young DAC or a young quarterback like Tua. There's some handholding here going on. And I think my take, and I said this last year, I'd move off Tyree Kill. Somebody will bite.

He's a very, very good player. But you do get to a point when how much is worth it. I mean, think how good A.B. was. Pittsburgh. Mike Tomlin, player-friendly is like, we've had enough. George Pickens, enough already. So, D.K. Metcalf, Seattle's like, listen, the penalties are stacking up. We got to move off it.

And I'm not diminishing the value or the person, but I am saying when Tua has to come out and go to a podium and you can see him dance around the very uncomfortable truth, I think it's time to move on in Miami. Jay Mackle the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, Colin, about two hours ago, the New York Jets had a huge scare. Justin Fields was carted off the practice field. And everybody's panicking. It was a leg injury.

Well, we now know that Aaron Glenn has said that someone accidentally stepped on Fields and he suffered a dislocated non-big-toe injury. There are no specifics as to which toe it is. How long he's going to be out, if at all. But the Jets quarterback room, Colin, is minus Justin Fields. We're looking at Tyrod Taylor. Adrian Martinez, who briefly was like a big-time college. player, but he never really became the star, everybody thought he would be.

And then someone named Brady Cook. I'm not familiar with his work. But listen, it feels that's to be out a month here. This is not great. And I think we could start talking about Arch Manning and the New York Jets. I'm not even kidding. You know, Drew Aller could work. The big arm needs to cut through those Meadowlands wins at MetLife Stadium.

But obviously not a great start to the New York Jets. It's shades of Aaron Rogers, four plays into his Jets tenure, popping his Achilles. Obviously, we hope field returns quickly. Yeah, this division is starting to remind me a lot of when Brady was in it. Like Josh Allen now is just like, you can just put Buffalo Bills in the playoffs, home field, you know, game, round one. Everybody else has issues. Miami's got like cultural stuff they're battling. The Jets have quarterback issues.

I do think New England will be a good, tough, strong wildcard team, but they're not there yet either. You probably don't remember this, but as diehard Jets fans remember, several years ago, they were like the worst team in the league, and then they faced the Rams out here at SoFi, and they beat them, and it cost them Trevor Lawrence. Okay? Cost them Trevor Lawrence. They had to settle for this guy named, what's his name? Oh, Zach Wilson. Remember that?

The Jets should feel to be out here. Cannot screw this up. Okay? We can't miss out on a potentially generational quarterback. We must tank correctly. And it's early for that, but that's if Fields is out for any period of time. All right. All right, let's go to the next story, Colin.

In Cleveland, Kenny Pickett took all the first team reps on day one of Brown's camp. A Brown's writer named Mary Kay Cabot predicted Pickett would likely get the first crack with the first team. And he was six of seven, no touchdowns, no picks. Now, here's the interesting part, Colin. A gentleman by the name of Mike Clay. does roster analysis at ESPN and predicts cuts. He is predicting Kenny Pickett is a roster cut of the Cleveland Browns. So on one hand, we have Pickett getting all the first team reps, and the other is a guy

predicting Pickett will be cut. Any early take on Kenny Pickett? We're not even in August yet, but fire away. Well, I mean, if you drafted two quarterbacks, it seems to me one of those guys is guaranteed to stay. So Flacco is going to start. This has always been our prediction. and then I think they keep the two young rookies.

Because Kenny Pickett, you can move for a sixth round draft pick or a seventh round pick. Somebody's going to get hurt. It could be, you know, it could be any quarterback's going to get hurt. Either a starter or a backup gets hurt, and Kenny Pickett's been around the league. So I think Pickett's easier to move. Who's going to give you anything of value for Dylan Gabriel? I mean, if the Browns are willing to move off, and that's telling you they like Shadour more than Dylan, and Shadur went in the fifth round.

So Kenny Pickett, to me, is a guy you can move and get some. something in return. That's a good point. Final story, Colin, is, yep, it's the Dallas Cowboys. Yeah, I know, but we're not talking Michael Parsons, finally. We're going to C.D. Lamb, Colin, listen, he is really one of the top receivers in the league. We know this. He talked about working with DAC, and he's very excited about the upcoming season. I feel like the league knows what happens when I'm healthy, and I have DAC for a whole season. But if you don't, I will happily show you what it's going to be like this year. Honestly, It's, I'm a dominant receiver.

I don't like to speak highly up myself, but I can't wait to show you guys. He'll be good. He'll battle for a Pro Bowl. He's very good. He's the best player on the team, absolutely. No question. Best player on the team. It's interesting because you're not a huge fan of the self-promotion.

Where are you on I'm a dominant player? Well, he is. Like, if you're dominant, don't tell me. I know this. Don't tell me. Show me. Young man waving the flag. a little bit. I get it. I'm okay with it. I can live with it. Jay Mackle News.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. Well, there were 13 and 3 last year before losing to the Buckeyes. One of the reasons I love the college football playoff is that you can play big games early and even if you lose 35, 30, it's okay. You can grow as a team. You don't have to go undefeated the rest of the way to play for the college football national championship. The Buckeyes last year lost as a 20-point favorite at home. after losing to Oregon and Otson, and they still made it.

That's why I love Texas and Ohio State playing. My buddy Sark's joining us, Coach of the horns, Texas Longhorns, who I have playing in the national championship this year against Penn State. The two best teams I think are Penn State. And you guys, I want you to go back, Sark,

to your USC days, your Washington days, the Alabama days, and now at Texas. This is a lot to chew on in week one. Road game, Ohio State. You guys, Pete Carroll and you guys, You played some tough games early. Go back in your career.

Is there anything that reminds you of this kind of game as an opener? As an opener? No, the only one I could think of, Colin, is when we went to Auburn, I want to think, I want to say that it was 02, and it was Linert's first career start. Reggie and Lundell were true freshmen, and we went into Auburn, and they were pretty highly ranked team. but I don't know of anybody going on the road playing the defending national champions

after having played them in the semifinals ended our season last year and then we turned around and open with them this year it's going to be heck of a game but that's you just touched on it that's the beauty of this format now that you can afford to play these games it's great for the fans

it's great for college football everybody's talking about it and I was jokingly saying you know it's so different than the NFL nobody's talking about week one matchups in the NFL. Everybody's talking about this game. And the idea that I don't think either of us get punished playing this game. Obviously, we both need to play well throughout the entirety of the season.

But sure, it's what a spotlight it puts on both programs as well as college football. Yeah, and also it's a litmus test. You'll know a lot about your team that you couldn't, you wouldn't know if you played a lesser opponent. So here's what I worry about, four new offensive line starters. Now you've got, this is a position. you have recruited very, very well. And Archmanning, I bet just like Dad and Eli and Archie is good at the line of scrimmage.

He'll get that ball away quickly. But it does, to go on the road, Sark, you know this better than anybody. The O line, you don't have a preseason. These are 19, 20-year-old guys. That is a cohesion chemistry unit, not just a talent unit. Are you concerned for new starters on the road? Not the arts thing. That's fine.

but you don't have an exhibition game to start. That's a lot to ask. Does it worry you? Well, I think that's why training camp is going to be so important. And, you know, the beauty for the offensive line is they have to compete against our defensive front every day. And I think we've got one of the premier defensive fronts in the country. They're very talented players, but also a really good scheme, a difficult scheme. But to your point, them all playing together as one is going to be critical.

And Arch does play a part in that. We're fortunate DJ Campbell's a returning starter. Cole Hudson rotated with DJ, played a bunch of football. Trevor Goosby really at the end of the season, he was playing against all sorts of high-calibre opponents from Georgia to Texas A&M to Clemson. So he got a lot of experience at tackle, but there'll be a couple new faces in there. And I do think that's going to be one of the keys for us in the ball game is,

I don't want to say protecting them, but putting them in really good positions so they can go out and execute and play plays a unit. So Jeremiah Smith is on a short list of the most talented college football players I've ever seen. Reggie Bush, I can remember seeing him as a sophomore and thinking, oh, he could probably play in the NFL right now. Javon Curse was kind of like that. When you play a guy like Jeremiah Smith, do you bracket him, do you double him, do you trust your corners,

he is so physically strong that it's one of those you contain him. I mean, what is a game plan? Is there a perfect one? Do you just mix coverages? You know, it's interesting. I had a chance to coach Julio Jones for two years in Atlanta. Reminds me a lot of him. So big and physical, but yet fast.

I mean, cover ground, so strong at the point of attack when the ball's in the air. You see just the ability to make contested catches. and I do think at the end of the day, A, that's where your attention needs to be. But hey, they got really good coaches. He's going to be moving around. He's not going to be lining up in one position all the time. Ideally, you've got multiple people with eyes on him and guarding him, but you can't, you still have to play great team defense.

And you've got to have the ability to stop the run. And you've got to cover the two other wideouts they have. We're two really good players, too. So I do think a multitude of things that you can do well, But you better know where number four is at all times. So it's interesting. When you get quarterbacks that I've always kind of felt like, ideally, I was talking to an NFL GM about this. He goes, I'm not really hiring coaches.

I'm hiring CEOs. A coach should be a CEO. I don't want them on the headset constantly. Now at college it feels a little bit different, but you are a CEO at Texas. You have a great athletic director, but I mean, NIL, transfer portal, building a staff, players. So how much, I know it's Arch's biggest start yet. How much freedom does he get at the line of scrimmage in the opener? Well, I mean, there naturally there's going to be some, you know,

and we're still formulating that game plan. That thing is nowhere near set in stone. And we're going against a really good defensive coordinator and Matt Patricia, which I don't think people are talking a whole lot about of here's a guy who's been an elite defensive coordinator at the NFL level and worked under coach Belichick's been a head coach with the Detroit Lions. And so that poses its own challenges too. There's not a lot of tape, no tape of him coaching in college football. And so putting a plan together that we feel good about also gives Arch a little bit of freedom to get us in and out of some things that, you know,

as looks present themselves in the game because there's so many unknowns, I think is going to be critical and he's more than capable of doing that you know he's the guys you know been been raised watching tape with with eli and Peyton and his dad and his grandpa and everybody so we're going to feel good about that and he's got great composure and he's been in some fires with us already so we'll feel good about it do we want to major in him having to audible on the road that's a difficult thing to do but we're going to give him some opportunities to do those things especially at some critical moments so I you know I was thinking about this. I talked to Urban Meyer about this, is that

NIL's tricky. Lincoln Riley's done a lot. Brian Kelly's done a lot. Dion Sanders has done a lot. And those, I would argue those three, there's value to it, but it is hard to create culture and chemistry when you're bringing in a player and paying them three times

what you're paying a third year starter. Like, in the NFL, everybody understands. There's the salary cap and there's certain guys that get it and it's the quarterback in college. I think the NIL, I'm for it, but there is a danger in the transfer portal, not screwing up chemistry. Where do you land on, I mean, have there been guys that you really like, but you're like, you know what, man, I'm not going to pay this receiver that and bring him into our room? Like, is that something you have to think a lot about with the NIL?

For sure. I think he hit the nail on the head. It happened this offseason. We ended up not going on a player because, because I didn't feel comfortable about what he would have had to, what it would have cost us to get him in comparison to other players on that side of the ball. And we love our culture. And we've exhausted ourselves and building the culture here at the University of Texas. And it's really good. And we're navigating the NIL space, I think, is good or better than anybody. I think there's a lot of respect in our locker room.

We believe in, it's a production-based industry, right? How you perform, ultimately is how you get compensated. And so I think our players understand that. And so when you bring somebody in from the outside that all of the sudden is making more than everybody else, I think that's when you can run into some problems. And so you've got to make those decisions because we're a really good football team. That's the beauty of our sport. I think teams win championships, not just a bunch of talented individuals.

And we've got a really good team. And I'm very cautious to do anything to cause any time. of feud or disruption to that what we have going right now. Finally, what is Arch Manning's best trait? Something that you didn't even have to coach. It's just intuitive. There is something he just did well the minute he got on campus. Work ethic.

His work ethic is incredible. Whether it's studying tape, studying film, studying the playbook, working at his craft, in the weight room. like that that is whether it's innate in him or it was you know handed down from his uncles whatever it was his work ethic is really pretty incredible um and that lends itself to the teammate that he is too and again that's not to take away the armed talent the deep ball the athleticism all that i think all those things are a byproduct of how hard he works at his craft and how hard he works at being a great teammate you know those those things i've never had to coach a

on it. He walked in the door. It was a great teammate and has worked his tail off from day one. You know, you're a coach. You could do TV. You did a little TV, but in the end, you're a coach. You just love coaching. You're an ex-as-and-o's guy. One of the smarter guys I've ever met that does that.

And I watch Nick Saban on TV, and I think he's such a coach. Nick's such a coach. I don't think he's coming back to college. Let me ask you, if somebody in the NFL called him, maybe the team that got Archmaning or got a great quarterback. Do you think Nick Saban would take the call? You know him.

You know him well. You already have him in Cleveland. I heard you yesterday. You already have him in Cleveland. He's coaching Arch. I only have Arch for one year. Shoot, I thought I was going to have him for two. I don't know.

You know, hey, he is a great coach. And I loved my time working for Nick. I mean, he really is a fantastic coach. I think he feels really comfortable to me. You know, he's really good on team. I think he enjoys what he gets to do. He's playing a ton of golf, which he loves doing. I'm sure, you know, Miss Terry loves having him at home.

So I don't know. That's obviously a personal thing as he grows. I know he's one of, if not the most competitive person I've ever been around. So I'm sure those competitive juices get flowing pretty good. But, man, he looks like he's having a lot of fun doing television. He looks relaxed. He's great for our sport. You know, I know people are in love to tune and into to hear his insight.

on all the stuff. You know, it was just speculation on my part. That's what I do, Steve. Great seeing you. You too, man. You too. All right. One of my favorite guys, Sark, who's had just a fascinating journey.

I mean, I'm telling you right, Texas, Ohio State. I mean, I am parked pregame, game, post game, on Fox. That is going to be, that's as good opening game as we've ever had. that Labor Day weekend. That's as good as it gets. It's The Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers, and guess what?

We have some big news. What's the news, new? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a... We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special.

So how do 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. Oh, 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 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. 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 headlines. 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we does. enough because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses steve burns dustin ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're

afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that that's two different levels of trust i want you to just really be a good person join me care gains is we have real conversations about healing growth fatherhood pressure and purpose on my new podcast learn the hard way Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. Lincoln Riley next hour. I want to thank Sark for stopping by. So the Cincinnati Bengals have announced this week,

they're going to play Joe Burrell more on the preseason than they have in previous years. They have traditionally started slowly. A lot of that is that Burroughs not healthy. And it takes offensive lines and quarterbacks and timing a while to get going. But we were talking about this as a staff this morning. is I think I worry that Joe Burrow could become, and it's not that crazy, could become Matt Stafford in Detroit, where unbelievable college talent, you know, goes top of the draft,

highly productive, has a little taste to winning early, but just underwhelming ownership with a really good organization in his division, like Baltimore or for Stafford Green Bay. and you just don't, you just don't flourish. And I said last week, if I was a top NFL head coaching candidate, if I was the top, priority is who's the quarterback, that's why Harbaugh went to the Chargers. But number two is who's the owner.

And there are, I've said this, Kirk Cousins, with very strong ownership, beat Matt Stafford a lot in that division. okay and it wasn't talent so i think i would probably take now jamax going to be shocked at this but if you gave me a good quarterback brock purdy an excellent ownership with jed york i think that job's more attractive than joe burrow and cincinnati that's why keep defending zach taylor they don't have a designated general manager they have among the smallest scouting departments in the league they don't spend in free agency i mean how what they

did with Jesse Bates the safety. He's a great example. He was a pro bowler. They won't pay him. He goes to Atlanta. He's a pro bowler to get paid. So I think Zach Taylor's always fighting an uphill battle. And I think Joe Burrell is getting tired of it. Last year, more than once, he was, I mean, it's not being moody. He was upset. He sees it. He was easily the best quarterback in the league that didn't make the playoffs. And he recently talked about the multiple holdouts going on right now with the Bengals. Yeah, obviously, disappointing. You know, you'd like to have all your guys out there

day one to try to build that cohesion that I was talking about earlier. But that's not how it usually works out. You know, it's a business, and that is, how it's gone. Yeah, that isn't the way it works out. In most teams, this stuff is private, right? So, you know, this is, it sounds crazy. Like everybody knows that Harbaugh went to the Chargers because of Herbert,

but he got guarantees from the Spanos family on the money allotted to him and his staff. And they wanted new facilities for free agents, right? Like, so there was a lot of things going on here. Harbaugh looked at the facilities. Harbaugh looked at the guarantees salary with a coaching staff. Most of it was Herbert. But with Joe Burrow now, you look, and much like Matt Stafford, well, you had the very, very well-run Packers in the division, and you had the really, really well-run Vikings who are always capable in division.

And so Harbaugh looked at that and he thought, well, you got the really, really well-run Kansas City Chiefs in the division. I got to make sure I got more than just Herbert. I need guarantees on a coaching staff. I need those new facilities. And L.A. is attracted for free agents, too. So it's a tough spot. I mean, I've said this. If you don't think ownership matters, Carson Palmer had the deal with the Bengals ownership,

the Raiders ownership in Arizona. He got one gift in his career. He got Bruce Ariens for three years. And the Bidwells weren't great owners, but they mostly stayed out of the way. And he went 29 and 9 with 70 touchdowns. And it was a running league. Carson Palmer is the best quarterback that never. He had three different teams.

He never had great ownership. He briefly got a great coach for him, and he tore the league up. So I know quarterbacks the most important. Ownership second. And I've said this. As owners of the NFL are now all billionaires. They've gotten increasingly impulsive. And the one exception is Cincinnati, where they're not impulsive, but they've remained

cheap. So you're letting really good players go. Lots of distractions. I will defend Zach Taylor to the ends of the earth on this thing. He's got a lot to deal with. They do not have an official designated general manager. They have an incredibly

small scouting department. Go look at the Eagles drafts. There's a reason. They've got a massive scouting department in Philadelphia. Massive. So I worry about this. I worry about it with Joe Burrow. And that's why I think Cincinnati's there's a couple teams in the NFL that it's hard for me to predict.

Like, I like Zach Taylor and I love Joe Burrow and I love Jamar Chase. I mean, Jamar Chase won the Triple Crown last year. Joe Burrell was amazing. They didn't make the playoffs. Okay. So it's like, well, why would that be? You've got a competent offensive coach. Burrell was arguably the best quarterback in the league, yet the best wide receiver,

and he didn't make the playoffs. It's upstairs. Hour to next. Hey guys, it's us The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? 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. 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 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 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 podcast. 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. 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. you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife-12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.