The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - Draymond Green's suspension

Episode Date: December 14, 2023

Colin reacts to Draymond Green's indefinite suspension following his latest on-court altercation Thoughts on Cam Newton's latest comments labeling Dak Prescott a "game manager" and why not that's not a bad thing Giannis Antetokounmpo's rise to superstardom and what this tells us about the fabric of American sportsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard Radio app,

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by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. We're listening to Fox Sports Radio. All right, here we go. It is a Thursday live in Los Angeles. It's the herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening or watching. Thanks for making us part of your day. I appreciate that.

I want to thank J. Max for filling in more than capably yesterday with Alex Curry. Greg Cosell on one hour from now. So yesterday was a very interesting day in my life yesterday, J-Mack. Because as you know, I have a relationship with Draymond Green because he's an employee of a company that I founded. And so yesterday, let's start with that, Draymond Green was suspended indefinitely by the NBA yesterday for actions on the court, inappropriate actions. It just so happened that my two top employees at my company in management, the company's called the volume. It's a podcast digital company.

We're with him when the commissioner called for three and a half hours or close to it. We were working and have been working on a contract with Draymond. We're going to resign him, but we've been working on it for four or five months. It's complicated because Draymond's a very effective podcaster. And it's, you know, it's a lot of contracts for your big stars at any company are a little more difficult. right so we've been working on that well it all came to a head yesterday we were working on the contract we finalized it and then he was suspended so my guys just happened to be in his house and talking with him so um it's very very different so i was on the phone this morning and last night

uh with my management team uh draymond was very reflective felt very sad about it um is a very thoughtful guy made a mistake and knew it and he is now sort of questioning himself as all adults do with complex lives. The Draymond that I know, the employee of the volume, is a great teammate, highly effective, incredibly coachable, smart, thoughtful, a great teammate. And let's be clear, he's been a great Golden State warrior, and outside of Jordan Poole, has really been thought as a great teammate. That relationship never worked.

But it has been, and I think I have a little bit of unique insight, and I do believe I have right to share it. It's been a tough few months for him. First of all, all of us, I can only speak for men, not women, have a rabbi, a guru, somebody close to us. It can be your wife. It can be a brother. It can be a pastor. Dremont's guru with the warriors to get him through tough times was Bob Myers, the former GM, a brilliant guy and a former basketball player. Bob left, and it's created a hole in Dremont's life. They were on the phone for multiple times yesterday. Also, it's been a team that is struggling. The dynasty is ending. It is ugly. They're losing a lot of games and they feel a little bit hapless and helpless as a franchise. And if I may, I'd offer this third one, because

we've been negotiating a new deal with Draymond. He hasn't been podcasting. And Draymond, I think, would be the first to acknowledge that podcast is not only good, but it's his therapy to some degree. He can go, look straight down the barrel of a camera, talk to you, the American sports fan. He's just great at it. He's like a broadcaster. He's got a Charles Barkley ability. But I also I know him old enough, and this is the advantage of being in the 50s, when I remember Charles Barclay, who I adore, I love Charles Barkley, grabbed a fan and threw him through a window at an Orlando restaurant. And I grew up with Bill Lambere, who did things that were wildly inappropriate on the court.

And I watched Dennis Rodman do things. And in all cases, Barclay, Lambeer, Rodman, and Draymond, it's a different ask. You're asked to be an enforcer, not just a score or a defender. I know a guy that was a hockey fighter for years. That was his job. He wasn't the most skilled. He was a fighter. And we had a long lunch and talked about it one day about hockey fighters.

Every team would have one. They were called disruptors and fighters. Draymond, Lambere. Now, Barclay's obviously a highly skilled disruptor, but he was at times asked to do that. Be the enforcer. It is a tough life. Many of the hockey fighters medicated through alcohol and drugs,

many very sad stories. That's not the case with Draymond. Draymond's married kids, great employee, but it has been a really rough six months for him, and I'm living through some of it and hearing about it. Now, let's be clear this is a sports suspension. The Internet loves an avalanche, and people love to ski on down it.

It's why I'm not on the Internet much these days. I'm sort of over it. It's bullying constantly. But, He didn't sell drugs to kids. He's not an arms dealer. He's not a shady politician. He's a highly emotional, professional basketball player who has become like Rodman and Lambere a disruptor.

And sometimes he crosses the line. I am not defending his actions. He absolutely should have been suspended. And I don't have a problem with indefinitely at all. But I will defend him as a human being. I will defend him as a coworker and employee. He's terrific. and a really good guy.

He was wrong and he knows he's wrong. And he's gone through a very tough six months of no Bob Myers, a dynasty falling apart. We see it in football, New England. We see it in basketball, Golden State. It's hard and it's hard on those people. I know many of you are thinking, come on, Colin, go after him. He's a public figure.

Public figures don't get a hide. Their mistakes are on TV, in radio. They're talked about on talk radio shows. It's different. and I always am conscientious of that. I really like Draymond. I hope he gets the help he needs. I hope I can be there for him.

I will defend him to the end. As a guy, as a employee. But what he did is wrong, absolutely wrong. There's a place for regulated physicality, and sometimes crossing the line can be highly effective. He burst through it. He knows he burst through it. And he's now going to reflect the conversations he had last night with my management team,

and I'm not going to share very much of them, but we're incredibly thoughtful. There was great sadness. He reflected. He was critical of himself. But what guts him at his soul is that many of you think he's now a bad teammate. And on his tombstone, that's all that's ever mattered. to Steph, Clay, Kerr, and his guys, and Bob Meyer, being a great teammate. And now many people doubt that, and it's gutting him.

I'll update you as I learn more. So I wasn't around yesterday. Had some doctor appointments and stuff like that. And so there was a piece of audio from Cam Newton. His outfit is quite something, but I am not a dresser. So I'm really, other than get your hat on forward, you know, I don't talk much about dress. but he got into a discussion, and it should be noted. If he had not mentioned Dak Prescott, this would be a local story.

If he just mentioned the other quarterbacks and not Dak Prescott, nobody cares. But Dak is the quarterback, highly effective one of America's team. So here is Cam Newton. He has a right to an opinion. He's a former MVP, got to a Super Bowl. Here's his thoughts on quarterback play. As game managers, Brock. parody to a tongue of

Aloha, Jared Gough. And really, Dag Prescott. These are game managers. They're not difference makers. And when you say game manager, I'm not asking you to go out and win the game. I'm just asking you not to lose the game.

That's, listen. I don't give a damn what you do. You don't have to score every time. You just don't have to throw a pick every time either. If we're going to really call a spade a spade a spate, a game manager is different than a game changer. Now, first of all, that's very smart, and he's right. A game manager is different than a game changer.

That's a great line, and he's right. And Cam Newton was a game changer, and Josh Allen is a game changer. But yet with both, I'm often left unsatisfied. Because the all-time greats, and Cam doesn't qualify, are both. Mahomes does. But the word managing gets a really bad rap. Have you ever thought about this that 90% of life is managing? Your wife's managing you.

You're managing the family. You're managing your ego. I manage stuff all day. I've got a three-hour live TV show. It's a lot of talking. There's a show over at the other place. It's great. It's called PTI.

It's excellent. It's two guys, a half hour. Mine's six times as long. That doesn't make it a better show. I'm just managing this thing. It's a lot. and managing football teams and managing families and managing companies, managing co-workers and managing your friend group and managing your family over the holidays.

We're all managers. Mostly in life, you're trying to avoid the time bombs and the big mistakes. Jimmy Johnson, a couple of days ago said on my show, you lose more games on dumb plays than you win them on great ones. It's all about managing. Cam Newton and Josh Allen aren't as good at the game manager part, although they are both game changers. So let me get you into Dak Preska.

Again, this would not be a story if Dak's name wasn't mentioned. I think Dak is a game manager. But when you're the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, that's much harder to manage than the Carolina Panthers. He had to manage from game one, Des Bryant's immaturity and emotions. He had to manage Zeke's immaturity. he's always had to manage Jerry Jones more than healthy ego. He's had to manage the expectations of being the Dallas Cowboys quarterback.

I would make an argument that Dak Prescott, on the field and off, is the greatest game manager the sport currently has. He's absolutely great. Is he a game changer? Once or twice a game, DAC will make a throw that most people on the planet can't. can. Mahomes can, but most can't. Game manager and managing in life is underrated. Cam Newton, by the way, would not be nearly as effective as a cowboy quarterback. He led too often with his ego. He was constantly distracted. Cam and his game changing talent was perfect for an irrelevant

franchise in the South. He could be the star of. He sold tickets. He sold merch. He won games. Tam Newton was perfect for Carolina. But I would argue DAC is perfect for the Cowboys. You can't have a bigger ego than the owner. He won't permit it. Jerry's willing to take risks on highly dysfunctional but highly talented players, and DAC is asked to put his ego aside and manage them. If you look at people in life, in any industry,

it's the ability, even for the super, talented to manage themselves Michael Jordan was a super talent he didn't win anything until Phil Jackson asked him to put a bit of a governor on his game and be a better teammate it was when Michael Jordan was willing to manage his talent pullback better teammate give up in key spots that Michael became a legend that is not a criticism of Michael Jordan it shows you as IQ, his self-awareness, and his passion and commitment to winning. Managing gets a bad rap.

Dak Prescott is in a unique quarterback spot in the world. Like, I'm talking about Real Madrid Star. I'm talking about Manchester United Striker, Dallas Cowboy quarterback, superstar score for the Lakers. It's why LeBron is so effective. He is a great manager and also a game changer. And DAC may be a little less in the game changing department. But saying that DAC is a game manager is, to me, people do not understand the lift of it. It's much easier to quarterback the Buffalo Bills and the Carolina Panthers and the Detroit Lions.

DAC is one of the great managers of controversy, ego, teammates I've ever seen. I've never loved him as a thrower. But his IQ coupled with his enormous EQ, don't take it as a criticism. In fact, the ultimate sign of respect for Dak Prescott is that it bothered you when his name was mentioned. You were okay with Tua. You were okay with Goff. You were okay with Purdy. but it ticked a lot of people off when you mentioned DAC.

And my take is, your damn right, he's a game manager. Maybe the best I've ever seen. And there you go. You know, I get one day off and I get very reflective. Who knows? Maybe I should take every Wednesday off. Jay Mack get ready. Wait a second.

Now I've got to work every Wednesday solo? I'm considering. Like three hours? I mean, Alex was helping me out big time. But boy, ooh, that was. And I got people coming at me from all angles. I mean, goodness gracious. That's the life of this show, you know.

I have a great parlay for you this weekend, thanks to Drafking Sportsbook. New users. Use the code herd, H-E-R-D when you download the app. Here's my parlay picks. People will sell their Packer stock because they lost to an average Giants team, but they're at home. I'll give up the three and a half. I think they beat the bucks handily.

Browns minus three and a half hosting the Bears. Chicago looked great. But Cleveland's defense at home will be a different matter entirely. Browns by a touchdown. And the bills minus two at home? Yeah, I like all three favorites. I'll take them over the Cowboys coming up a highly emotional thrashing of the Eagles. You want to take the herd parlay.

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Call 1-800 gambler. In New York. text Hope and Y. 467369. See show notes for full details. 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-Hart Radio. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations,

stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Cliverts Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or we're you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look

Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode, with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so.

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It's a crazy life. Here I am. We're signing contracts. It all worked out. My people are all there. It just happened to be the day. Draymond Green is suspended. So I'll get back to that.

Talk about that in a bit later. So I thought I'd give you some perspective on that kind of situation last night that happened. So anyway, Janus, a little bit of a little bit of. of a dust up. So Milwaukee is playing Indiana and Janus has a huge night, 64 points. He wanted to get the game ball after. It was like one of the big nights of his career. And apparently some kid for Indiana had scored his first points ever and they wanted to give the game ball to Indiana. And so there was something that happened. Yonis is kind of going down the tunnel trying to get the game ball and people are getting all worked up and he wants the ball. And Indiana says,

well, we're giving a little bit of a confusion here. And so it's not that big of a deal, but Donnas talked about it after. Can you confirm that you have the game ball from tonight? I have no idea. I'm not going to lie. I have no idea. I don't know. You know, I really don't know.

I don't know. I have a ball, but I don't know if it's a game ball. It doesn't feel like the game ball to me. It feels like a brand new ball. Like I can tell, you know, from my plate, what, 35 minutes a day. You know, I know how the game ball felt. You know, the ball that I have, which, you know, I can tell. I'll take and I'll give it to my mom for short, but I don't know if it's actually the game.

So what I find fascinating with Janus, this is the part, and this is just an incident, you know, it is, not much of a sports topic, but what I do think is interesting. So Janus entered the NBA. It's almost a childlike innocence, European player, eager, earnest, just a kid. And then the United States sports machine took over. And that's about unforgiving, relentless pressure, wealth, expectations, and harsh criticism from talk show hosts, fans, coaches. It's the United States sports machine. And Janus now swears regularly, gets after officials, can be highly critical, and it's okay.

It's really okay. It happens. Media, social media, fans, criticism, you can see it, hear it, read it in the arenas. it hardens you. And that's what makes a great player, international soccer, NBA, NFL. Are you resilient? Can you handle it?

Most athletes can't. And what you're watching is a hardening of an international star who came in a little puppy to this league and now he's got a little bite to him. And I'm here for it. All these years of, you know, the different industries I've been in podcasting,

digital, radio, TV, covering athletes. The number one quality is not where you go to school. It's resilience. Remember that Michael Jordan documentary? He's fighting with the owner. He's fighting with the GM. He's fighting with Rodman who's in Vegas parting. He's fighting with Pippin.

He punched Steve Kerr. Resilience. Kobe Bryant fought with Phil Jackson. Fought with Shaq. Resilience. And Janus comes in, and these international players, you know, I'm just so lucky to be here. And then the sports machine takes over.

And we say, oh, you want a championship? Where's the second? And then he has to go to his team and say, get me a star. I'm out of here. And so when I look at Janus, the growth of Janus, it's fascinating to watch what he was, innocent, childlike, funny, eager to now the expectations have been heaped on him. And he's got some bite in him. he's got some fight in him and the path for superstars. I said this about Jordan. Jordan was the

best looking guy. He was the best guy. He had the best marketing. He had the best shoes. He was the coolest guy. He was the winning the titles. Go watch that documentary. It's not linear. He's battling the entire time. So I like young Janus. I like maturing Janus. He's changed and he's needed to change and become more resilient with a little bigger bite and more. more demanding to get his way. Stars, people view them as a pain in the butt, but we create it. We demand it. Why not more?

When Mahomes is barking on the sideline, he should be happy, right? Wife, family, riches, titles. No, we do lists. We judge. We criticize. They hear it. Young of Janus loved him. Maturing Janus with a bite, love him too.

It's part of what we do to, young people as part of the United States sports machine. J. Mack with a news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. You know, one of the fun topics we've had lately is who's going to win the NFL MVP. Well, the 49ers have two guys.

Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey's shouldering the load. Both have garnered MVP consideration. I think the McCaffrey stuff is silly, but Kyle Shanahan was asked who he thinks should win the award. Here's what the coach said. I mean, trying to get me in trouble with those two guys. That's the only reason I want it overly comment on either one of them because I don't want them to cancel each other out. But if any non-quarterback's going to get an MVP,

I don't get how Christian McCaffrey can't. I mean, he's amazing in what he's done all year. If it's going to a quarterback, then I don't have to talk about Christian. I can talk about our quarterback. And I'm still, if his numbers is all you see, then I think that solves it up. But if you watch the film, then it makes it even stronger, which to me is the most important thing. Well, I think it shows you how good they are when they have two players just in their backfield that could be MVPs.

And that's not a knock on pretty because Dax's a good quarterback and there were times that we felt that Zeeke was the MVP of the team. It's okay. I mean, McCaffrey is by far and away, by far and away, the best running back in the league. Like Adrian Peterson had distanced himself from everybody else, that's McCaffrey. so I don't think it's a shot at Brock Purdy, I just think McCaffrey has literally changed the position. There's never been a running back that catches the ball like that.

I mean, he's just, he is, this dexterity as a player's insane. I don't want to be harsh, but we talk about gambling spreads a lot, right? Yeah. What do you think McAfree's worth to the point spread? Well, clearly they don't lose when he plays, so I would say a point and a half.

Okay, what do you think Brock Purdy's worth? Two. Who's more valuable? You could do this game all day, to a Tyreek Hill, Any quarterback, any other position. Well, I would say Tyreek Hill is worth a point and a half. Yeah, no, he's worth something.

Two is probably worth a point. Well, wait, the drop off from two at a Mike White? You don't think that's a little more than a point? You see the drop off from Tyreek Hill to his replacement? They're 8 and 0 when he has big games, one in four when he doesn't. That's fair. I think there's a handful of players in the league that aren't quarterbacks. Miles Garrett, Christian McCaffrey, Tyreek Hill, that are Trent Williams, the left tackle for San Francisco.

He's valued. Yeah, I think those guys are all worth. a point to a point and a half. That's a lot for a non-quarterback. Trent Williams is probably worth a point to a half a point. Christian McCaffrey's worth absolutely if he doesn't play, he's a point in a half. Okay. If two has ruled out this week and Mike White's in,

that spread against the Jets goes from nine and a half to six and a half? No. Mike White is more than capable for a game of handling the offense. We haven't seen him for a second in this offense. I watched him with the Jets last year. It was solid in a couple games. Last year with the Jets. Good memory by you, by the way.

All right. Next up, the Chiefs are still addressing criticism for Cadarius Tony. Man, guys, catching it all from all sides. Listen, he had a bad penalty. Yesterday, the Chiefs practiced for the first time since the L. Patrick Bohomes spoke about advice for Cadarius, Tony. Just be you, man. I mean, that's all you can do in life or in this league.

I mean, you're going to make mistakes. I mean, such going to happen in your life. how do you accept that adversity and get past it and do it the right way and coach reed preaches that and that's how our role is it i mean you make one mistake that's not to define you it's going to be how you respond to that mistake well they need him because rishi rice and tony are the two potential game changing talents i mean it's nothing against watson it's nothing against sky more but those two guys are the twitchy playmakers so you can't you know it's very easy in the off season to make moves. But if you're in the middle of a season, you're on a losing streak.

Be careful about your punitive action against the guy who a young man who makes a mistake. You need him. He's a very, very explosive player. So Colin, you know, Chiefs have lost three or four, two in a row. A lot of talk about are they in trouble in the AFC? Have we talked about their schedule the rest of the way yet? Looks like a lot of doubles to me. At Patriots versus Aiden O'Connell. win-win.

Versed Jake Browning and Easton Stick. Win, win, win. Okay. What's preventing anyone from going and betting Chiefs get the number one scene in the AFC?

Despite all their struggles this year, despite the lack of receivers. Chiefs Ravens, to me, today, is the AFC. The Ravens have a tough schedule. They got a little, they get two potential losses. That's what I said.

I said this, I think, Monday or Tuesday, when they lost to Buffalo. They were a foot over the line or a helmet over the line from winning that game and distancing themselves from their own division.

I think Kansas City is going to end up. Ask yourself this, that we know San Francisco is the most talented team. And we know Dallas is pretty darn good. Everybody else has issues in this league, and they're clear and they're obvious. Dallas and the Niners have blown out seven or eight teams. They look like Super Bowl teams. So somebody's got to get there from the AFC. So doesn't it come down to, if it's a quarterback coach league,

do you trust Mahomes and Reed more than Lamar and Harbaugh, or more than Peyton and Russ, or more than McDermott and Josh Allen or two and McDaniel and that's not a criticism of the other groups but in a coach quarterback league what I'm saying is I have my highest trust in Reed Mahomes

getting out of the AFC the only one that I think rivals it is Lamar and Harbaugh and I do worry about the injury factor with Lamar because I've seen it the last two end of seasons trust I don't disagree with that I just, they've hit a snag in the schedule, man. Listen, that loss at Green Bay was bad.

I know you want to say, everybody can say the refs got involved. That loss to the Eagles, that was bad. They imploded in the red zone. They got smacked around by Denver, in Denver. We could say Mahomes had an illness. But you were on this. Don't come off of this position. You were early.

A month ago, you said they had problems. I was like, they're going to be fine. No, they do. They've got some problems. They do. Their margins have shrunk. But their problems are champagne problems. It's like Alabama struggling at quarterback earlier this year.

That's a champagne problem. They lost to Texas. They didn't lose again. Their problems are Tony sometimes can be immature, and they wish Sky Moore would have developed more quickly. Those are not big boy problems. Rishie Rice has developed into a number one, and they wish Tony was a bit more mature.

They're not as good at tackle as they were last year. That may be something they can't overcome against, like the Niners of the Dallas Cowboys or Baltimore and Big Gets. James. Or Buffalo. If you don't get the number one seed and Buffalo gets a wild card, which it looks like they might. Colin, we're talking about somebody facing Buffalo in the first round and Josh Allen. You do not want that smoke. Final story, reports are indicating the Patriots are done with Belichick at the end of the year. Linebackers coach Gerard Mayo has gained a lot of momentum to fill the shoes of the Hall of Famer. Mayo just didn't want to entertain questions about replacing Bill Belichick. You've been here long enough. I bet you can say the answer that I'm about to give you. We're 100% focus on the Chiefs. And, you know, I only try to control the controllables. And that's out of my control.

Hopefully, as you guys all know, one day I want to be a head coach. Where that is, I don't know. But at the same time, I would say I have a lot of love for New England. I have a lot of love for the fans, the people around the building. And, you know, my family, they love it here as well. So that would be great if I can stay here and continue to progress throughout my career. But we'll see. So we're going to replace a defensive defense.

coach with a defensive guy who's never been a head coach in a league that's pivoting to the offense where 11 of 14 playoff teams today have offensive coaches. I got nothing against Geron Mayo, but what this organization needs is it more defense. They need a nuanced, progressive, evolved offensive mind because their personnel offensively stinks. Their offense stinks. They have no feel for it. They're fine on defense. That's not, this is not against Geron Mayo. This organization offensively is awful. They have no feel for it at all. They don't need more defense.

Gerard Mayo deserves a job, but to me, I'm like, people mention Vrable. I love Vrable. But again, is Vrable what they need? Look at their receiving corps. Look at their tight ends. They have no feel for offense. And defensive coaches, biggest allies in coaching are defensive coaches. And McVeigh's closest allies are offensive coaches, as are shant.

the hands. And so usually, you know, Dave Wonstadt, if I said, who are your five best friends in coaching? It's a lot of defensive coaches. That's the reality of coaching. So New England literally has to do what Miami did. Miami had Brian Flores. They were very much a defensive culture. They literally blew it up and said, we're starting over. We're going to go go San Francisco West. And they changed the way they thought, the way they drafted, the way they paid, the way they coached, Miami, it's a tough pivot. Because Flores was successful. They were winning games.

And they're like, we're literally going to flip the telescope and change how we view football. It has been wildly successful. If the Patriots do not get the number two pick, let's say they land on three. Patriots have the third pick. What's a better job? Patriots or Carolina Panthers next year? Well, I have Robert Kraft. I take Robert Kraft easily.

Better owner. By far. By far. It all starts there. Really? Wacky owner? No, thanks. I mean, Washington had some coaches that had some talent.

I mean, go look at Washington under James Snyder. You've got to follow Bill Belichick. Good luck if you don't win quick. No, that's different. Howard Stern would have been very easy to follow on FM radio if his last five years is ratings tank. What made Howard Stern hard to follow, he left as the king of FM radio. Belichick's in the toilet.

Belichick five years ago I wouldn't want to follow. Belichick now, offensive coach comes in, They're actually fun to watch. Don't take Belichick and Tom Landry. 20-year runs ended ugly. By the end, only the dummies were yelling that Jimmy Johnson was getting a coaching job. Those were dummies.

Everybody knew that Landry was outdated. Defensive guy, Belichick. So replacing Belichick now, much, much easier than five years ago. J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd lies. News. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.

On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio. Pauly Fusco here with Tony Fusco. Yo, of course you know us as the host of the number one rated show in all the sports talk, the Pauley and Tony Fusco show. Yeah. Now, the suits at Fox Sports Radio gave us this air time, because they wanted us to tell you how great our show is. Why?

Yeah, instead of us doing that, let's show. Just let our millions of fans do the talking. Yeah, play the tape. You don't know crap about sports. Why am I even on this crap? Whoa, whoa, whoa. That's the wrong tape. Wrong tape.

Just forget that. Look, listen to the Paul and Tony Fusco show on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 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, 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, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from Batsats, basketball to college football or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at It podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed cracks. I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Sunday, we got a huge doubleheader on Fox. First, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Take on the Patriots or Ombuds. other regional action. Then in America's Game of the Week, Jack Prescott and the Cowboys.

Take on Josh Allen and the bills. Check for the games in your area Sunday on Box. A couple of stories here. I want to start with the Dodgers and Shohei Otani. Details of his contract are now pouring out. He has a stipulation in his contract that he can opt out if Andrew Friedman, the president of baseball ops for the Dodgers, exits. or the owner of the Dodgers, Mark Walter, exits.

Otani can leave. I love this. I have a saying I say two or three times a year on this show. In life, don't chase money. There's a sea of it. Chase good management. There's very little of it. He was in Anaheim.

Chaos. Zero playoff wins. He has no interest in duplicating that. I mean, have you ever noticed, folks, it's the same NFL team. teams, decade after decade, year after year drafting at the top of the draft. This year at Chicago, Carolina, the Jets, Arizona, Washington, the Raiders. Why? Upstairs. Otani's like Upstairs changes, I get a leave.

Ask yourself this. When's the last time the Kansas City Chiefs with the Hunt family, Rock Solid, were bad for any extended period of time? They were kind of bumpy 2007, 2008, 2009. happens when you don't have a quarterback ready to go like far to Aaron Rogers. But there's a reason Kansas City's usually formidable, a viable playoff team, and the Bears aren't. So even the biggest brands in the world, it can be Real Madrid, it could be the Lakers, it could be the Knicks, the Raiders at one point were incredibly viable, year after year, a commitment to excellence. And then upstairs gets all mangled.

Otani isn't asking for anything, anything but stability. That's all he's asking for. He's deferring his payments for stability. He's asking to have a contract which limits the movement upstairs for stability. That's it. He's 29. He's not 23. He's probably got four great years left.

And then you'll see slow declines if he can avoid injuries. Maybe it's longer. But he's not asking for anything other than what wins in pro sports. Stability and the ability with deferred payments to attract other players around him. Clayton Kershaw talks about his newest teammate. That's great. I mean, great for the Dodgers, obviously, and Shohei, and he is a unique, unique talent, and I don't think there's anybody like him.

And once he starts pitching again, you know, everybody wants to watch it. You know, I want to watch it. So I get the attraction. And from the opening day ticket sales that I've seen, everybody's pretty excited about it. So it's a fun time to be a Dodger fan for sure. Certainly is. Can't wait.

So Ben Rothlisberger has a podcast. I mean, who doesn't? And it's pretty good. He talks about stuff. And whenever he talks about the Steelers, he has a long history there. So he's an expert in Steelers football and knows it. And he has been critical of Mike Tomlin. They just recently lost 2118 to the awful Patriots.

and we're blowing timeout and they can't move the ball offensively. And as a former great quarterback, Rathlisberger has the right to an opinion and we should listen. And he was highly critical of Mike Tomlin. You can't afford in the second half of games to burn silly timeouts and not to have them late in the game. And so to me, that is, that's bad, it's a bad coaching. One of the leaders on the team kind of got on me for saying that I felt that certain guys on the team aren't in it for the team. for themselves. Well, now some of the guys in the team are saying the same thing. So maybe I wasn't too far off when I said that.

But I just feels like that's something that's kind of been lost on this team a little bit. So the Steelers have been a picture of mediocrity for about six years. Ben played in some of those. Go back six years. They won nine games. They won eight games. They had one good year at 12 wins. And then nine and then nine.

And now they're seven and six. Six years, zero playoff wins. In fact, they have three playoff wins since. 2010 over A.J. McCarron, Matt Moore, and Alex Smith. The Steelers' last playoff win over an elite quarterback was 2010, Joe Flacco. It's now 2023 and in three weeks, 2004. And in that time, they've lost two in playoff games, Blake Bortles, Tim Tebow, Baker Mayfield. As long as Mike Tomlin is there, two things will be true. It will be a highly emotional, one, culture and two, a defensive culture.

It will be toughness over ingenuity, more alpha than actually offensive details. That's how they roll. The problem, of course, and we're seeing this in New England, is what is winning in football today. And it's ingenuity, and it's creativity, it's McVeigh, it's Shanahan. look around 11 of 14 playoff teams today creativity ingenuity offensive football spend your money on the right side of the ball so i don't think mike tomlin's a bad coach and i think bill pelichick bellichick is legendarily a great coach but like i referenced tom landry earlier cultures change and coaches kind of feel out of touch with the current culture. Now, maybe all of this, I could say, would be solved with a better quarterback.

But at the end with Big Ben, who's a Hall of Famer, it wasn't pretty either. They weren't winning playoff games. They were losing to Tebow, Baker, Blake Bordles. And so two things can be true. I can think Tomlin's a good coach. And I can be deeply concerned about their ability to adapt offensively. Now, the good news is, unlike New York, you know, England, they draft skill players at an incredibly high level. So the Steelers issues, to me, are much easier to solve than the Patriots issues. They can't draft offense. They can't develop it.

They've got no feel for it. Steelers always draft receivers, running backs, tight ends, old linemen that can play. So they just need to get better at quarterback. I do not believe Kenny Pickett's the answer. I could certainly be wrong. but Big Ben has a right to an opinion. I don't think he's necessarily wrong, and they do not feel like a relevant Super Bowl-worthy discussion football franchise today.

I'm not saying you have to fire the coach, but the coach maybe has to be tweaked and give half of this team to offense. A little more ingenuity, little less concerned about toughness, little less concerned about the chest out, the alpha, a little more concerned about details. I think that's a reasonable ask. I don't think they're miles off. I tend to think they're a quarterback off.

New England's problems are the Grand Canyon. Deep and they last a long time, and I'm not sure you can get out of them. All right, Jay Mack. Hey, I got a quick one for you. Kenny Pickett has six touchdown passes this season. He has like 12 starts. Joe Flacco has five touchdown passes already.

In like, what, three games, two and a half games? Kevin Stefansky. No, I mean, we talked about this. I know it's boring to everybody, so I won't spend too much time. It's not boring. You're educating folks. Stefansky has taken Joe Flackle off the couch, and they're moving the ball. Shane Steichen has taken Gardner Minchew, they may make the playoffs.

Look at what is happening. I'm looking at pickets like last. When an offensive coach has to use a backup, all through this league, they're flourishing. When a defensive coach gets a backup, an increasingly. Increasingly, backups play. It is man overboard. Kevin O'Connell won a game with Josh Dobbs without a practice. McVeigh last year won a game.

Baker Mayfield had a single practice. We are watching offensive coaches. Remember, defensive players are getting bigger, stronger. The hits are more punitive. There's more injuries. Offensive line play simultaneously is getting worse. So we're getting more injured quarterbacks. So your team is going to have to play a backup.

If you have a defensive coach, you're screwed. If you have an offensive coach. Kevin O'Connell, Shane Steichen, Mike McDaniel, McVeigh, I mean, Brock Purdy is largely, was a backup, has now become an MVP. You think that's going to happen with a defensive coach? Tribusky got to the playoffs twice. You watch him in the defensive coach culture of Pittsburgh. He looks like, look at how good, this is insane.

The greatest example of this is Tommy DeVito's first start. I sat there on my couch watching it, and I thought, he's not an NFL player. I'm not sure he's a good college player. I watched the second start. I'm like, he's kind of mobile. His third start, I'm like, well, you can win games with Tommy DeVito. Tommy DeVito. I think he got benched in Syracuse.

That does not happen. So as defensive players have gotten bigger, stronger, and faster, offensive lines were. You cannot solve a quarterback injury with a defensive coach. The proof is throughout the league. Top to bottom. 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 I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast.

From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.

84 was a wild. It was a wild. Wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.