The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Harbaugh, Brady-Belichick, Stafford

Episode Date: February 3, 2022

Jim Harbaugh is staying at MichiganPatriots fans are overthinking who should get more credit between Brady and BelichickThe pressure has been on Matthew Stafford during the regular seasonGuest: Jonathan Vilma Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 year, 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 year. It was a 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. 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 grahammed.

Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to The HARD podcast.

Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the Hurt at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHart Radio app by searching Hurd. For listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on a Thursday. One hour from now, Greg CoSell, live in L.A., it's the herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening.

IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Feeling really good, I'm giving you everything I have today because I'm off tomorrow. So today you're getting maximum effort, good night's sleep, mailing in those segments, really going to try on today's show. It's great to have you. Enjoy, how are you? I am great. It feels like we're starting to kick into the next year.

Super Bowl Weeks around the corner. I always take the Friday off before Super Bowl Week. Go skiing, hang out, rest, hang with fam. I get geared up. So today it's a trying day. What's that? I'll be here. You'll be here tomorrow.

Yes. Congratulations on that. Jim Harbaugh is going back to Michigan. Let's start with this. So the Rams offensive coordinator, Kevin O'Connell, Monday after the Super Bowl. Super Bowl is going to get the Vikings job. That's what everybody thinks. So let's start our show with this.

Sean McVeigh, I've never seen anything like this. He's been in the NFL five years coaching. He's already got a coaching tree of Matt LaFleur, Packers, Zach Taylor in the Super Bowl, Bengals, Brandon Staley, who people like with the Chargers, and now Kevin O'Connell, who people call a tall Sean McVeigh. That's the first thing. Second thing, what do they have in common?

It's very important here. What do they have in common? They're very smart and they're very verbal. They're all good in front of the podium. They're all, I would say, heading in the direction of the NFL. They like their analytics. Here's the other thing they all are. Collaborative.

You know, the days of Bobby Knight yelling and screaming, running the show. Those days are over. sports. Jim Harbaugh didn't get this job because he's not as collaborative. And I'm a Jim Harbaugh fan. He thought he had this job. But Jim Harbaugh is intense. And there are several teams in this league, and I've been told this by people who like

Harbaugh and think he's a great coach. 4419 and one as a head coach in the NFL, three playoff runs and a Super Bowl. A third of the teams in this league would not interview him. So yesterday, I spent a lot of time defending Brian Flores. And I think he's a great coach. and I would hire him today in New Orleans. But he fired three offensive coordinators and was not terribly collaborative with his GM.

That is something the NFL is moving away from. If it was just about winning in the National Football League, Jim Harbaugh would have to be the number one candidate for every job. Most of the jobs wouldn't interview him. He's not collaborative. It's kind of Jim's way. And I think he's great. But what you're seeing in the NFL happening,

right now. You know, Mike Dittkin, buddy Ryan, getting into a fist fight. Like, those days are over. You've got to be collaborative. You've got to work well with others. Because if it's just winning, Brian Flores has to be interviewed and Jim Harbaugh has to be the favorite for every job. He's 4419 and won. He took over a mess in San Francisco. They won immediately. He left. They were a mess again. So there's a real movement here happening and Sean McVey is leading it. His guys are moving around the league. They're verbal. They're sharp.

They're into analytics. They get along with others. They work with a quarterback. They work with a GM. They work with the owner. Players like them. And I absolutely believe the transfer portal is going to drive more of these college guys to the NFL. Because here's another thing.

that is happening with Harbaugh on signing day in college football interviewing for an NFL job. All the do-gooders in the media, it's such a cliche now, is, well, the coaches can move. Why can't the players move? Nobody's against, no reasonable person's against movement. But right now, the NFL has more structure than college football. So think about that. So the NFL has always paid more. The NFL's got better pensions.

It's easier to keep a staff together because they have pensions. you can keep your star quarterback for 12 to 15 years. And now the NFL allows the coach something that college always had on the NFL. More structure, more control over personnel. In college football today, a player could leave after a bad game, middle of the season. Even the NFL has got a trading deadline, a free agency period. So it's very interesting that Harba on signing day at his alma mater was hoping to get an NFL job. But my two takeaways on this hire by the Vikings is collaboration is the new NFL and college football better put up some guardrails or you're going to start losing a lot.

When the alma mater of a coach who just beat Ohio State and he's like on signing day, I'm going to go interview for I don't even think a great NFL job. It's not as good as the Packers when Matt LaFleur took it. I mean, the Chargers job, you get Justin Herbert. In one year in Minnesota, that's done a great job. I mean, if Aaron Rogers stays, you're playing for second place. So that's my takeaway on that story. So let me talk about another story. So I came in this morning and, you know, apparently, I don't even follow this stuff anymore.

Everybody's outraged by everything on the internet. It's just snowflakes everywhere. Some of you guys out there, you tough guys, you know, in your avatar and your bathroom with your shirt off, You're outraged by everything. You're not nearly as tough emotionally as you think. But apparently Brady on, was it Tuesday morning, Tom Brady officially retired. And I guess little fam boys in Boston were upset that Belichick, he didn't mention, he didn't mention patriots. You know, when we retired, oh, get over it.

And Kraft on Tuesday night said, congrats, Tommy, I love you. And people were upset that Belichick went until Wednesday. to say something really nice about Tom. Oh, good hell. I mean, people. Good God. Get over yourself. First of all, I'm not going to try to validate Belichick or Brady or Kraft.

They're all A plus, plus. And can we just come to terms with this? That Belichick and Brady really mattered to each other. And in the end, they liked working together. You don't go with anybody for 20 years. I mean, Shaq and Kobe at some point didn't like each other. So much so, they broke up a dynasty. The Lakers were the best franchise.

They had the best team. They had the best coach. And they drove each other so nuts, they broke up. Like, that's not getting along. If you can go 20 years with somebody, I don't care if it's a marriage or a football coach, you get along fine. And let's be honest about Brady and Belichick here. Tom early in his career would not have been as successful as he was without Belichick. and then later in Tom's career,

Belichick would not have been as successful as he was without Brady. Belichick was more important early. Why? It was a much more defensive run league. It was more defensive leaning. Brady threw for 145 yards in his first Super Bowl win. He was managing the game, not making big mistakes. Brady's early success is 70-30 Belichick.

But seven or eight years later, the league was changing. And the Patriots were becoming a more profound offensive team. Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Gronk, Aaron Hernandez. And in the last seven to eight years, Belichick, and we've seen it since Tom left, would not have been nearly as successful without Tommy. So let's be honest about this. Your first seven, eight years, it's probably the Super Bowls, they go to Bill. The last seven, eight, they go to Tommy.

And in the middle six, neither one. One of them won Super Bowls, so we don't need to fight about that. But too often in this relationship, we're trying to pick it apart. What's great about it is how it ended near the 2018 season was a perfect balance. And it really shows and illustrates what the relationship was. So early it's Belichick. It's all defense. Tom's managing.

Later, it's Brady coming back against Seattle. It's coming back against Atlanta. It's getting to shootouts. In fact, Belichick's defense let him down against Philadelphia. But the greatest example of a season that proved how valuable each was is 2018 playoffs. Go back to the 2018 playoffs. What happened in the AFC championship? It was a shootout in overtime, and Brady out-duled Mahomes, 37 to 31.

Tom threw it 46 times. They didn't have much of a running game. He threw for 350 yards, and the offense prevailed. They couldn't stop Mahomes. Bill Belichick couldn't stop him in the second half. Two weeks later, they go to the Super Bowl. Brady plays like poop, and the Rams offense and Kid Genius McVeigh are held to a field goal and totally shut down. In a two-game stretch, you saw the greatness of Brady when Belichick couldn't stop Mahomes,

and two weeks later, you saw the brilliance of Belichick when Tom couldn't get anything going. That sums it up. early bill gets credit late brady gets credit and 2018 the big super bowl the chiefs the rams they split it up can we just stop worrying about who thanks who and who goes to instagram boston fans get over it he thanked you already and belichick haters he's the best coach in league history we all good with that now can the snowflake stop can the outrage stop we all good with that we all good with it now? All right, there you go. It is nice to have you in today. A lot of different things. Greg CoSell comes by in 45 minutes. You know I love Greg if you play fantasy football.

If you gamble on football or you just love to get smarter, he will be joining us coming up. 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 app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced game. 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 which I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Taylor the fourth. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental, health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart

Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam 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. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84's 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 crack so I'm starting to see that there's a through line

We also have AIDS on the table right now so Thank you for 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 podcast 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've done 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? Are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app.

Search learn the hard way and listen now. You're now entering the No Bull Zone sponsored by credible great rates. None of the Bulls. So I mostly saved my Super Bowl stuff for next week. I don't talk a ton about the game. There's just other things happening. Thank God Brady retired. Thank God Harbaugh, the story there.

I don't want to waste too much stuff. I do think it's really interesting. Living in Los Angeles, knowing some people inside the Rams organization, there is pressure on this organization. It's well run. We have the richest owner on the NFL. We have the biggest revenue-producing stadium. The Rams are uniquely pressurized.

Lesney, the GM, Sean McVey, Matt Stafford. You can feel it. Like, they're all in on this stuff. They're giving up first-round picks. They're going getting stars. There's no limitation. There's no market squabble. Everything here is built to win championships.

It's very much the Lakers in the 80s, 90s, 2000. There's no obstacle. It's where players want to play. The stadium's great. The revenue's great. The owner's great. The GM's great. like this is the place to be right now you look at the stars in los angeles despite people who have

never lived in california complaining about the tax rate the 20th biggest star in this town is Justin herbert he'd be the second biggest star in most cities in the country if not the biggest like stars want to be here stan cronkey knows it and he built a stadium fit for stars um but the pressure's on matt stafford all year with this franchise it really was it wasn't on mcvay we know mcvake and coach he got golf to a super bowl we know mcvay's a great coach if andy reedy Belichick and Sean Peyton are the great veterans in Tomlin. The best young coach is McVeigh. He and Kyle Shanahan.

But if the Rams lose this Super Bowl, Stafford's not going to take the hit. Stafford got you to a Super Bowl in the toughest division. He beat Brady in Tampa and outplayed him. They beat the Niners, and he made huge throws in that game late. The pressure's not on Stafford. Now it's on McVeigh.

Because if the Bengals win the Super Bowl, here are the two stories. The lead story, I've been in this business long enough. I can predict the lead story. Joe Burroughs the next superstar, not Mahomes. People are going to start talking about that stuff. People are going to start saying, look at the roster.

The second story is going to be, how did they lose with a way better roster? And don't kid yourself. The Rams won a better division. All five of their losses came to playoff teams. The Titans, the Packers, Arizona, and San Francisco twice. Five of the seven losses for the Bengals came against non-playoff teams. The Rams outgain people Their opponents by almost a thousand yards.

The Bengals outgain theirs by 80. The Bengals aren't as good. The Rams are favored by four. I think it moves up before the game. The Rams should win. I think they're going to win comfortably. I said yesterday 3317 sounds right. Now, Burrow and Jamar Chase are crazy good.

They could just hook up. That could be problematic. I do see Jamar Chase. Sometimes you just can't. things that are off schedule. So much of Jamar Chase's game is throw it up. He outdules a corner. You can have it defended well.

I've said this all year. Cincinnati is in Arizona to me are hard teams to predict. Arizona, so much of their offense is Kyler Murray's feet. And you don't know what's going to happen until half a second before it happens. And with Jamar Chase and Joe Burrow, a lot of the stuff's off schedule. He'll throw it up, makes a play. You can have it well defended. but the Rams are a better team.

And there's one matchup that is a real problem. The Rams defensive front is better than Tennessee's, and that it's much twitchier, much more athletic. They move better than Tennessee's. Tennessee is more of a power front. The Rams have Aaron Donald who plays with power, but to me, they're more twitchy athletic front. Burroughs got some escapability.

It's really hard to escape this Rams front. They are fast, they're big, they're powerful, they move, they're experienced, they've been in these big games, They're well coached. But it'll be very interesting. If they lose this game, it'll be on McVeigh. Because Stafford, you beat Brady on the road.

We know you're good. First year, we know you're fine. McVeigh and Stafford are only getting better over time. And the first time McVeigh went to Super Bowl, he got out-duled by Belichick. And it was very much mentor pupil in that McVeigh learned a lot. He learned that golf had a ceiling. He learned that his offense could be at time. a little one dimensional and predictable.

He learned, he admitted that he over-prepared for the game. He was a little paralyzed going into it. He was so stuck on what he brought into the game. He wasn't willing to move off it during the game. And Sean this week talked about how his first Super Bowl appearance could help mount in this one. I think it's just experience. I think, you know, being able to learn from all those other things that have occurred.

You know, if you really work hard at something, I think you give yourself a chance to get better. but I just think, you know, that experience that you accumulate, both the good and the bad and use it as learning opportunities and making sure that you try to do everything in your power to put our players in the right position, structure the week and practices and the game plans in a manner that's reflective of, you know, accentuating these players skill sets, letting them go out and play with the quieted mind. There is a way to coach a Super Bowl. You get two weeks off.

There's a ton of pressure. There's weird media. You're practicing away from home. It's a very, it's a little bit like college bowl games. You install the stuff at home and then you go on the road and have to keep the players focused. So coaches hold some stuff back, some tricks, some different stuff to keep the team focused when they're on Miami Beach or they're in Los Angeles or they're in Arizona and the girls are pretty and there's not really a curfew and the weather's great. So it's a very difficult week and McVe acknowledged that his first trip, he was so prepared, which would not be surprised with Sean. McVey that he was paralyzed a little bit about it.

He was so into what he brought to the game. He wasn't willing to kind of move off the game. If you recall, the Patriots put up a defensive front, and they really never made a lot of moves off it. It was a very similar looking game for three and a half hours. There were not a lot of adjustments. And I think, and I've said this about Matt Lafleur of Green Bay. Matt LaFleur and Sean McBae came into this league with a style and a system. And I don't think either one of them were great second half coaches in their

first year. If you went and looked at the splits, first half and second half for Matt LaFleur, he was great all week, creating plays for Aaron Rogers. And then in the second half, third quarter, they didn't, and I think this is just a young coach not having the experience. I didn't think Matt LaFleur in his first year was great at adjusting. By year two, he was. By year two, McVeigh was. And I think Sean now, and we saw it, we've seen it so far in the playoffs, has become a much, not that he's less prepared, a much more flexible coach post-half. He's still great first half. He's only lost one football game in his career with a lead at half.

So he's great at that. It's his specialty, but he's a much better coach in the second half. And I think he learned that in his first Super Bowl appearance. Here's Joy with the News. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. former dolphins coach Brian Flores has claimed that owner Stephen Ross had asked him to tank the 2019 season in exchange for $100,000 for each loss.

It is a part of his lawsuit that he filed this week. ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports that the NFL will investigate the specific allegations that Brian Flores has made. NFL network also reported that an unnamed witness has corroborated the claim by Flores. that Ross made the financial offer. So if the allegation is true, he should not run a franchise. He could be forced to sell. He could also be prosecuted for violating the Federal Sports Bribery Act.

So this is a very, very serious allegation. Ross responded to it in a statement. He said, I take great personal exception to these malicious attacks, and the truth must be known. His allegations are false, malicious, and defamatory. I welcome that investigation, and I'm eager to defend my personal integrity. and the integrity and values of the entire Miami Dolphins organizations

from these baseless, unfair, and disparaging claims. Well, there's a witness now, so good luck with that. And by the way, the Cleveland situation, you know, I can see all the Cleveland Brown fanboys jumping to support Jimmy Haslam. Jimmy Haslam, over a five-year fraud case, had to pay $92 million because he was involved in a five-year fraud case with his business pilot, J. Flying J. Pilot, something.

I forget the name of it. They were like truck stops. Fraud case. So Jimmy Haslam denying it. Hmm. Okay. By the way, Stephen Ross paid no taxes last year. So I'm sorry if the, you know, ask yourself this.

If a player in the NFL, a young man, 24, and we don't think they have the judgment of a 50, 60, 70 year old man. If a player was involved in this, we would immediately make harsh assessments of him and want him out of the sport. Correct. An owner does it. And all the fanboys jumped to defend the owner of the Browns or the owner of the, these guys didn't become billionaires because they were just super smart and way smarter than everybody else.

You go look at Haslam and Stephen Ross and their business dealings. They've played on the edges for a long, long time. Yeah, I mean, look, lawsuits get, they get aggressive. And the statements to defend yourself are going to be aggressive. And these are extremely serious allegations. So, of course, Stephen Ross is going to put out a very strong statement. Look, I've spent most of my life around the Dolphins organization. None of this lawsuit was in the least bit surprising.

Thank you. It is a very dysfunctional place. That is apparent in the constant turnover of personnel, the culture of losing that has existed since Ross's owned the team. So you can talk all about, you know, integrity and standards and culture, the evidence has to present itself at some point because we do see examples of well-run teams with good culture, with good ownership, with respect for the fans, with respect for the game. And what do we have from those organizations? Results. So it all sounds nice and good. And look, the NFL will investigate it and I'm sure

the authorities will look into it and we'll see what happens. But at the end of the day, when you hear something like this and you're not surprised in a world where we hear some crazy stuff a lot. Like if you're in that category of like, yeah, not surprised. Well, yeah, Stephen Ross, Jimmy Haslam. Yeah, I mean, it's no coincidence that the Cleveland Browns and the Dolphins are the two teams that are immediately involved in this situation. And look, again, I maintain if you're going to, and these are all allegations still,

but if you're going to allegedly ask a coach to compromise their integrity, possibly their freedom and their future to tank games for money, you can't fire that guy. It's like criminal 101. You got to keep that guy close. What are you doing? Like this is not how any of this works. Have you ever watched a gangster movie in your life? Like if you're going to put someone in a compromising position and they say no. Got to keep them on the payroll.

Yeah. You got to keep them on the pay. You are now indebted to them because they now know your business. The whole situation in Miami is exhausting. I really truly feel bad for the players. I feel bad for Tua. I feel bad for the many great people that work in that organization and that care deeply about that organization because it's just really a bad situation.

So Justin Fields will have a new GM and a new head coach in his second year in the league, but he's looking forward to the change. Field says it gives him and the team a clean start and a fresh start heading into next season. And he's looking forward to the change because of what he's seen and heard from Iber Fluse thus far. They were 6 and 11 and 3rd in the NFC North last year. He had a 58.9 completion percentage, 1,870 yards, 7 touchdowns, 10 interceptions. But he also had 420 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. I think everyone's very excited about what could possibly happen with Justin Fields.

Obviously, we're waiting to see what this. entire division looks like next year because Aaron Rogers may not be there and everyone does feel like Justin Fields is the future. Let me throw this out there. The NFC playoff teams, all of them had an offensive coach. The Raiders just hired an offensive coach. The Broncos did. The Giants did. The Vikings will and the dolphins two favorites are offensive coaches and the Bears with a defensive coach. So right now 19 of 32

coaches are offensive. It'll probably be 21 to 22 of 32. and Sean McDermott as a young defensive successful coach is becoming a complete outlier in the league. Well, also had a great offensive coordinator in Brian Dable that he just lost. And a absurd, we believe Mahomes and Josh Allen literally are going to be the Manning Brady of our lifetimes of the next 15 years.

Right, but to your point about Sean McDermott, not that I think that they're going to, you know, walk off a cliff here, but you lose important personnel, your team might look different. Josh Allen got better every single year under Brian Dable. So he's not there anymore. Right, right. So my question with the Bears, and I'm with you,

I would have gone with an offensive guy as well. Yeah. Because it's just like, we get it, Bears. Like, you got to answer to defense. It's the thing. That's not what the league is anymore. And you have a young, unique quarterback. I'm not against defensive coaches.

For instance, I would hire Brian Flores today in New Orleans. Because the only way they're going to win in that sloppy division right now is defense. And they have a great defense already. Yeah. And they've got a proven general manager. So if I'm the Saints, I go higher Brian Flores. There are times for defense. I'm not saying we all know Belichick can coach.

McDermott's excellent. Vrabel's excellent. And I think that's the way New Orleans has to win. But in this instance, I have got a Justin Fields who was Rocky in Year 1. and I am really concerned because I do not believe defensive coaches, McDermott, the exception, understand and have the sensibility of getting the coach right on offense. Like to go from Daibald to Ken Dorsey is about as good as you can do. I told you last week.

No, Ken Dorsey is loved. He is considered kind of Frank Reich before he became a head coach. There's been two and three years of get Dorsey on your staff. But I don't love what the Bears did. Again, if they had a Pro Bowl veteran quarterback, it would be a whole different ball game. Brady could have won a Super Bowl with a defensive coach in Tampa. He didn't need Bruce Ariens. In fact, they battled the first year.

But I do think Justin Herbert did not make the playoffs. He's got a defensive coach and he's brilliant. It does worry me. Well, you have to, you're higher for the offensive coordinator when you have a young quarterback like a Justin Fields or a Justin Herbert has to be named. right away. You saw what happened in Miami with Tua. Part of the critique of Ryan Flores is that he couldn't get the offensive coordinator right. And you're dealing with a young quarterback. Every single year of their young career is crucial for their development, not just for them, but also for your team because you want to build around your young quarterback with more expensive veterans because you don't have to pay them right away.

So it's absolutely crucial that you nail the offensive coordinator hire. Now, Iber Fluse, I've asked two GMs about Iver Fluse. they both love him. So you're not saying he can't win. But we've talked about this. There are franchises. And this is a weird thing. But they do one side of the ball better.

Historically, Pittsburgh just does defense. Now, they do wide receivers great. They do defense. Chicago's done defense well my whole life. They haven't had a franchise quarterback since Johnny Lujack. So when you get a kid like Fields, to me, I would have really gone out. I'd have gone to the Rams. I'd have gotten a young offensive guy.

I would have considered Ken Dorsey and Brian Dable, but they didn't, and we'll see how it works out. Well, the Lakers have been struggling, and that has caused some to start having some speculation that LeBron might jump ship at the end of the season. One such speculation came from Charles Oakley, Nick's legend, and he spoke up on Sirius XM NBA Radio. You know, LeBron, his legacy right now is he definitely want to win the championship when he retire. He might have to leave L.A. to get it. I don't know it would be Cleveland. Could be somewhere else. But, you know, you left twice.

I mean, you'll leave again. It's a fascinating. It is a fascinating story because let me ask you, LeBron's going to probably win the scoring title. Yes. Unheard of it is age. So what LeBron is telling you is, oh, I can give you great nights, but I got to have reliable guys on the outside.

AD is no longer reliable. What if A.D. Joy got hurt in the night. this playoff run. It's over. You can't keep bringing that back to LeBron. So my takeaway is LeBron's either going to get him traded, which if he's hurt, his value goes down or LeBron's leaving. I just don't, I don't, there's just so much, there's so many layers to this. I believe that obviously LeBron is capable of winning another championship, which is basically what. I don't think in L.A. Charles Oakley is saying, well, he has to have AD healthy. Like that's the, and not just like available. AD has to play

how he played in the bubble. If you have 80 at that level, LeBron at this level, being that it's LeBron, being that you have Frank Vogel, I do think they could make a run. But that is a lot of ifs in those situations. I don't think LeBron is going to move out of Los Angeles.

I could see this roster shaking up. But I mean, do you really see LeBron leaving Los Angeles again? I guess my takeaway is this. I've seen LeBron leave his best friend, E Wade. Yeah, I was very surprised he left Miami. And Miami was...

And Cleveland was very surprised he left Cleveland. I mean, no, I was not surprised that he left Cleveland for L.A. Okay, if he was rickety, LeBron, if he was Michael Jordan and D.C. Where he's scoring 20 a game, he's not the same player. And, like, Michael was like done with the league. He wanted to go golf and he got his money. He had his titles. Yeah, LeBron's not done.

And I'll say it again. This roster, we were on this week one. It's not, they don't shoot threes enough. They don't defend it enough. It's old. old teams fall apart. So they've been exactly what we, that's why I've defended Westbrook. You can bang on Westbrook all you want. If Westbrook's not here on the nights that LeBron and AD aren't, who's dropping 28 points? Say what you want about Westbrook. If you can't figure out

he can't shoot and turns it over, that's a you problem because that's what he is. But he's productive, he plays hard, he can give you 30 point knights and you need it because LeBron and AD never play together. So to me, I don't think this is the construct here is not championship level. And if LeBron, if AD gets hurt in the playoffs, LeBron's going to be like, come on now. I'm not running, LeBron has made mistakes in his career. He doesn't make the same one twice.

Like he's not going to run it back with AD again. I don't know. It's a lot of ifs because that's a, I don't know. LeBron's just past the villain phase of his career. But I don't think L.A. would hate him. I think L.A. gets it. I don't know. It's a transitional.

town like people here I don't think L.A. would go. We hate LeBron. If LeBron left and you got No, I don't. If he left L.A., I don't know that like, I mean, it depends on what, it depends on how he leaves L.A. Like if he leaves L.A. and it's in complete disarray, I don't agree. The Lakers fans are not going to appreciate that, nor will they forget it. I don't know. It's a fast. It's very interesting. Because L.A. is not, there are a lot of things about L.A. you could complain about. Here's what it's not. Attached. Well, yeah. It's not. It's not.

Boston is provincial. Yeah. Like they're big, Miami's not provincial. Everybody's a visitor. Dallas is a big city, provincial. Boston, Philadelphia, Boston, provincial. No, L.A. is very transitional. And transactional.

And transactional. If you can help us, come and I've said this, if Lincoln Riley stayed here for four years and he won a national title and went to the Cowboys, people would be like, fist bump,

cocktails on us, let's get the next guy. We're not Oklahoma. We're not going to lose sleep. The next guy, the next guy is, the thing, though, because I think if he left and it was a situation like Miami or Cleveland, where it's a total rebuild, and because you went all in to bring him in and who he wanted

in, and now it's a disaster, that might be the issue. Which is not LeBron's problem. Like, that's what you signed up for when you brought LeBron here. I think LeBron loves L.A. Yeah, me too. And Brady left as an MVP level player. Would it be the, would LeBron say if AD got hurt? I don't want to go through this again.

the roster's too old. We can't make changes. He's out or is he going to wait for his son? Is that what he's doing? I don't know. There's a lot of angles, a lot of variables. Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Herd Lye News. Jonathan Billman next. And at Greg CoSell, top of the hour, The Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire. with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod

pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the sports book and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre 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.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations,

stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we picket 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 crack so I'm starting to see that there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now so 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 podcast 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've done 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? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app,

Search learn the hard way and listen now. 1,800 Flowers.com. Valentine's Day coming up, 18 Enchanted Rose Medley for $39 or get 24 red roses, 10 bucks more. Go to 1,800flowers.com, code heard. Jonathan Vilma, Fox Sports Analyst, 10 years in the NFL, a former first round pick. So, first of all, let me address this. Sean Peyton retired. You know him well, played under him.

If I said to you, give me one or two things that, because you played for, for the Saints and the Jets, one or two takeaways from Sean Payton that will live with you forever as a football player or analyst? The first takeaway is there's two personalities of Sean. You have Monday through Saturday, Sean. He's a practice guy, very thoughtful with his thoughts, actions, game planning. And then there's game day, Sean. And it's literally like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, where, you get this guy who he thinks he's a player at times.

He's running around. I'll never forget my first year there in 2008. We're playing Atlanta. We had a big stop against Atlanta. And he comes and literally chest bumps me. And he's like, yeah, I want the ball back again. I'm going to score now. And I want the ball back again.

And I'm like, who is this guy? What are you doing? Is this the head coach? I'm like, what is going on? So I'll never forget that what you see and how he portrays himself. that is a real Sean. Then you have another very real Sean who is crazy

on Sunday. He thinks he's playing the game. So, you know, I'll never forget that about him. And I'll also never forget how he loved promoting the competitive nature within practice. And he would just let us go. And that was probably the most fun

I had as a player, not only competing against Drew Breeze, but competing against Sean. And he would talk a little bit of trash. You would go back and forth. And that's how you want your head coach to be, where, you know, of course, it's coach-player relationship. And then there's that little gray area where you can have a lot of fun, a lot of success. And that's what ended up happening with Sean. So, you know, forever grateful for him. So glad that he traded for me. And then we had a ton of fun and success when I was there. Interesting. The Brian Flores situation, you actually had been to some

dolphin practices. And, you know, I've heard about Brian Flores. He has, very focused, very, very intense. You know, the feeling in Miami with Chris Greer, the GM, he wasn't terribly collaborative on the offensive coordinator side. But what did you witness when you did pre-production meetings with him or watched him on a Friday, his intensity? Because that's the little bit of the criticism is, man, he's intense. What did you see in the meetings?

What did you see at practice? Well, at practice, I saw good crisp practices. I saw a team that was clearly very focused, and you can see that there was precision. And we were just talking at the break, Colin, about what makes a good Friday practice, what doesn't make a good Friday practice. And the things that I noticed, and just from having my experience with the Saints and with the Jets, a good Friday practice was always crisp. The ball wasn't hitting the ground.

There weren't turnovers. There weren't doovers for running plays. I didn't see any of that happened. I also saw that the guys were communicating, especially defensively. The guys would communicate. That means that they know their assignment. They know the game plan. They know the tendencies of the opponent they're about to face.

And then you want to see that there's guys that are moving at a fast pace. And I saw why receivers running, running backs, finishing their runs, defensive backs, chasing down, getting the past breakups. So everything that you wanted to see in a well-oiled machine, a good team, that's what I saw. all. And then from the interviews, it was the same thing, very clear, very direct, definitely no nonsense, but that's what I wanted in a coach where he's not going to BS you about where you are, the situation that you're in, especially at late points in the season. He was very, very honest and had a very, very good pulse on his team when we spoke with them. And, you know, because of that, they would go out. It was two years ago, they beat the Rams. When the Rams came

to Miami, handled them. Defensively, they handled them very well. So everything I saw was the makings of a really good coach.

We got lawsuits, allegations against the Miami Dolphins owner, which are beyond egregious and really serious. But I'd like to talk. We got about three minutes left, and I want your take.

You're a smart, thoughtful guy. We got one black coach and 73% of the players. I tend to think jobs come from opportunities. The interview Brian Flores had with the Giants, if the text from Bill Belichick, if I'm reading them right, is an outrageous sham.

The Giants will go with their fourth straight coordinator and not a proven head coach. I don't necessarily have anything against Brian Daible. The direction I would have gone is head coaching experience. The last time the Giants were successful, the hired Tom Coughlin, who had head coaching experience. And Coughlin, by the way, and Flores share a personality trait. You don't mess with them. I think that works in New York. But as an African-American, your thoughts on the situation with coaching opportunities or lack thereof in the NFL?

Yeah, without knowing all the facts, definitely don't want to jump to conclusions, but you did bring up a stat that's probably the most telling where there's only one black head coach among all 32 teams. And I look at it from the message that it sends and the stigma and the perception that it continues to perpetuate throughout the NFL is that black players are just that. They're good players. They're good athletes. And the stereotype is, oh, he's a great athlete. It doesn't mean he's a great communicator. It doesn't mean he's smart. It means that he only got there because of his athletic ability and not because of all the other things mentally, the discipline that you have to have to be able to be a successful athlete. And when you see that it's, okay, the white coaches are coaching the black players,

then the stigma and the perception again keeps perpetuating that it's, oh, it's the white coach that is getting the best out of the black player. And when you start to think about people don't articulate it that way, but that's what happens, right? Because you start looking and saying, why is it that there's always a whitehead coach that gets a lot of the credit for what the black player is doing? As if the black player hasn't had time to really sit back and say, I need to study. I need to get myself right.

And then you have that relationship. And when this is articulating presented, some people think, well, oh, that's just racist talk. Well, no, it's not racist talk. It's the same thing you do with marketing. It's the same thing McDonald's does to make sure that they're always on a Super Bowl commercial. They always have a Big Mac in front of you at the most important time. They keep it top of mind. So right now, what I'm explaining is that the perception of the NFL is always top of mind.

when you think about coaching and leadership, where it's predominantly white, and then the players who the assumption is that you don't have to think, you just take direction from the white coach. You take direction from your leaders. You take direction from ownership. And so ownership is all white or definitely not black. So let me not say it's all white, but it's definitely not black as far as NFL owners.

And then the leadership trickles down that way. And so when you have young kids growing up where it looks like, it is odd to see a black head coach. It's not that it's odd for the black head coach, is that it now is running against the stigma and the perception that you've had for so long about leadership. Yeah. And that's where the issue comes.

As always, well said, Jonathan Vilma, Fox Sports NFL analyst, Rams Bengals next week. Brian Florey's top of mind this week. It's great seeing you, my friend. I always appreciate you. Stop by our show. Thanks, Colin. Talk to you soon.

You bet. One of the great college and pro linebackers in recent memory. Jonathan Bill McGreg Co. Sells around the corner as well. More thoughts on Harbaugh staying in college. It's The Hurd. 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 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. On the Look Back at it podcast.

From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is 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.

I mean, it was a 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. 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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen and learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast,

or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.