The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - Notre Dame moves on

Episode Date: January 10, 2025

Colin reacts to Notre Dame's win over Penn State to advance to the National Championship and why it was a clear coaching mismatch between Marcus Freeman & James Franklin Preview of Texas vs Ohio State and why it would be totally different from the Orange BowlSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Thanks for making us part of your day. One hour from now, Urban Meyer stops by Ohio State and Texas will not look like last night. It will be a fireworks show, although I thought last night was exactly why college football's amazing. Bad officiating, nervous quarterbacks, a team that lost in Northern Illinois

earlier, now is rising. I thought last night was just a flawed, messy, fantastic, Newt-Rockney-feeling moment for Notre Dame. Jay Mack and I watched it together, knocked down some waters and great food. That was a wild one. Yeah, it was, I mean, I lost the under, which was feeling great for three quarters. But when it's a great game like that, you can't be too upset. All right. So Notre Dame moves to the national championship. I think James Franklin is a good football coach, but he got out-coached. His 12th straight loss to a top five team just at Penn State. And in big games, the little things matter. There was a million excuses for Notre Dame. First of all, they had two balls intercepted. They were both taken away on penalties. One of them,

the worst calls I've ever seen in a huge game. They called a pass interference on a wildly underthrown ball. And again, both picks that I'm showing you here got called back. Their quarterback got hurt in the first half. People thought he was concussed. Their running backs planted about 50, 60 percent. They've got injuries all over their offensive line. They fell behind.

Yet, they were amazing on third down. They had very few penalties. They had very specific plans on their final drive. And in every big third down or every big down defensively, they were completely buttoned up. Marcus Freeman, to me, feels like you're watching the college version of Sean McVeigh. The energy, the presence, the intensity, the way his team believes in him. He's like the classic player coach. Like you almost wonder if they could use him at like safety.

he's got that physical present and the players love him and this team lost to Northern Illinois at home and you got to remember about Marcus Freeman I'll get to this in a bit but this guy his first home game when he got the job when he was 35 he lost a Marshall what they have done at Notre Dame is a direct correlation and reflection

on Marcus Freeman this guy is a rock star they're all banged up and I thought it was fascinating at the end of the game James Franklin's a good coach but he can't learn from his mistakes. They make too many in big games. I mean, the eight guys on the field

on that final Notre Dame field goal kick, why are you throwing the ball with 33 seconds left in that game? What are you doing? I mean, you don't trust your quarterback. He didn't complete a ball to the receivers all night. You ran before that, so you kind of wanted to get to overtime. When I watched Notre Dame's final drive, I saw seven plays, 26 seconds, using timeout,

using Riley Leonard. There was a absolute plan on how to use this big. I like this kid way more than everybody else, apparently. I see a little bit of Josh Allen, maybe just a little bit, but they had a specific plan. It looked like Penn State decided, hey, let's go to overtime. Wait, what? We gained 12 yards? Hey, let's go for it.

That's not a plan. That's just making crap up as you go. So I thought, and again, I'm not anti-James Franklin, but what you saw was a specific, buttoned up, smart team, injuries O-line, injuries running back, we thought the quarterback was concussed, two picks taken away, one and an egregious call. If Notre Dame

would have lost, you'd literally as a Notre Dame fan be like, man, we couldn't get a break, we're falling apart here physically, and yet they won. So what I saw in this game was two young quarterbacks with talent, both a little nervous, two strong defenses, two

huge brands, two limited passing attacks down the field, especially for Penn State, but one head coach that everybody in America, with one five-star recruit, one is playing in the national championship. You go to Georgia, Bama, these teams the last couple years, Ohio State, Notre Dame, it's different. The rosters are different. Texas, Notre Dame, the rosters are different. How is Notre Dame here? They're here because of the coach. and why did Penn State lose? Here's their coach. Everybody wants to pick out a specific play. There's probably eight to 12 plays in that game.

That if we could have found a way to make a few more plays in that game, and we're that close, right? It's a game of inches. Now, it's a game of decisions, and there was one play. Go watch the final drives. Penn State should not have thrown that ball. They had not completed a pass to receivers. You could tell they really didn't trust their quarterback a lot.

That's a long way to go against an excellent secondary and a very well-coached team. That was making it up as you go. And I want to talk about Marcus Freeman here because, first of all, Notre Dame is doing it the right way. When he took over for Brian Kelly, I was like, he's a great recruiter, but he's 35. he's a defensive coach. I'm not sure if this is going to work. He went 9 and 4, 10 and 3, 14 and 1, and now he is 5 and 1 in bowl games.

But what's more redeeming about it, in my opinion, he went 0 and 3 to start, and he lost his first game at home at Notre Dame to Marshall. Right, right, right? Think about that. And this year they lost in Northern Illinois. And this is a great life lesson for young people and young coaches and young athletes.

I've said this about Michael Jordan. I mean, Michael Jordan struggled with his owner, his GM, Dennis Rodman, his first couple of coaches, the Pistons, the Celtics, life is hard. You've got to believe in yourself. And if you believe in yourself, young people around you will believe in you. We talk about this all the time about players developing. What you have watched with Marcus Freeman is a young coach developing. he probably wasn't quite ready to be Notre Dame's coach the first two months he got the job

35 year old coach that is a that's not just a job Notre Dame's got academic umbrellas um it's a really tough job i mean Brian Kelly was successful into Notre Dame and Brian Kelly stumbled a lot in his first several years and he'd been a successful coach previously. This is Marcus Freeman's first job. Your first head coaching job is Notre Dame? You know how many guys have failed at Notre Dame that have previous winning experience? And I don't think he probably was quite ready in the first few weeks. But I'm watching a rock start here. I see Sean McVeigh. That's exactly what I see.

Chest out, big energy, talking to the refs, motivating players. Notre Dame had every reason to lose last night. And I'm telling you, that that pass interference call that took away the interception in the end zone was awful. You can't call PI if a ball is wildly overthrown or wildly underthrown. You can't call that. Here's Marcus after. But these guys are resilient and they found a way to make a play when it matters the most. And that's what, again, is to me, were great teams, great organizations.

They're able to, at that moment, that they need to do their job. or make a play they do it. And the last play doesn't matter. There's unpredictable things that happen all the time, and they find a way to make it work. Just to give you more context, it is harder to get into Notre Dame, and then once you're in Notre Dame,

the workload for student athletes is as hard as maybe any place not called Stanford. I mean, it's hard. They can't take anybody. Think about this. Texas is going to play for the right, to go to the national championship tonight. They have 11 five-star athletes.

Ohio State's playing Texas. They have 14. Georgia just got beat by Notre Dame. They had 14 five-star recruits. Notre Dame's got one. It is virtually unheard of to be playing for a national championship with one elite

five-star recruit. And this program also, in this world of the transfer portal in NIL, players don't transfer out of Notre Dame. they go in they buy in they stay in that was a coaching masterpiece last night on a game where you got banged up players and bad calls and you're playing a good team and i mean i watched that game i'm not so sure penn state doesn't have more good players i mean i watched it last night i'm like halfway through that game i'm like i think i picked the wrong team i think penn state's got better players i mean that carter kid you can't block him all that tight end that kid's insane they got him throwing passes coaching, rock star, Marcus Freeman. J. Mack, that is what college football is all about. It was flawed. It had warts. It had pimples. It had everything. It had emotion. I had fun watching.

Marcus Freeman, you're right, man. He is a winner. If I'm the Chicago Bears or some of these other teams in the NFL, I'm just waiting until Notre Dame's done the championship. That was like LinkedIn on TV. That was a resume. Here's what you want as a coach. I can't believe there's no camera in the locker room to find out what the halftime speech was, because Notre Dame, after getting blitzed in the first half, they dominated the second half. Well, they came out in the second half and run the ball. I mean, they just got very physical, run the ball between the tackles, use Riley Leonard. And they got a break.

One of the breaks they got is Penn State had a couple of defensive backs fall down on a big play. I mean, listen, when you win games like that, you did get a break somewhere. They got a big break when a Penn State DB just fell down. The James Franklin stuff, though, I feel like people are crushing him for this loss. I don't know that it's on him. You got three timeouts. All you need is to get in field goal range to have a shot. Are you really just taking three knees there at the end?

Time out. That is a great secondary. They were great against Georgia. It is a great secondary. People aren't throwing the ball on Notre Dame. You don't trust your quarterback. You don't have a completion in the game to a wide receiver. Overtime is built for what Penn State does.

Great tight end and, I mean, singletary. Big time running back. Yeah. So if I'm Penn State and I look at my team, I don't have a pass completed to a receiver. I'm not trying to drive the ball 45 yards. By the way, kickers, when Jeter went up there to kick the winner, did you think he was going to make it? I was like, God, this is, I mean, this is. It's just like football coaches want to try to win.

We're out here. We got timeouts. We got the ball. Let's give it a shot. I personally would have gone to Warren and drawn another flag because all he's doing all night is drawn flag. Listen, I said before. It's just one bad pass. I think James Franklin is a good coach.

But I didn't think they used their running back enough. I think the kid, I think we talked about him earlier. It's a big, it's a bad. I was just talking to an NFL GM yesterday about Penn State's run game. They ran for like 200 yards. I thought they had a good, and the game plan was good. I can't blame Frank. I thought they were making it up on the final drive.

Fair. And that's been one of the knocks on him. Like, hey, late game situation. He's just... And I like James Franklin. This is not an indictment. He beats everybody except, you know, like Notre Dame and Ohio State and Harbaugh's Michigan. James Franklin is a very good football.

No breakthrough. Remember Harbaugh, we said this about him for a few years when he was in Michigan. That's fair. We got to run him out. But when you watched this game last night, does Penn State have better high-end talent? It's at least equal. Maybe, maybe, I mean, Carter, like you said. Well, the tight end and Carter are the two best players.

Carter wasn't even 100% coming off an injury. Like, he looks like, I mean, he's where Micah Parsons's number. He looks like Michael Parsons. He's everywhere. All right, we got a lot of stuff. The college football playoff, by the way, is working perfectly. We'll talk about that coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.

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So tonight's game is not going to look like last night's game. I can assure you both Ohio State and Texas will have a wide receiver that catches a ball. Last night with sparklers, tonight get your welders mask. This thing is going to be a Fourth of July show. It's Playmaker City. But the college football playoff, what I love about it, it is giving teams a chance to develop. Ohio State late in the year, a devastating loss to Michigan is a 12th. 20-point favorite.

And Texas just can't beat Georgia. They lost the same team twice. But yet college football now is like the NFL. You can lose a game late. It's not about the schedule. Oh, you lose late. It's over. The Chiefs lost to the Raiders last year late.

Peyton Manning had a Super Bowl trophy in Denver. They were two and two down the stretch. It's about the ability for talented teams to stumble. But our eyes don't lie. The data doesn't lie. lie. Texas and Ohio State are fantastic. Using last year's playoff format, you know who we would have ended up this year in the playoff? Oregon boat raced by Ohio State. Penn State can't

beat good teams. Georgia with a backup quarterback and Texas. There would be no Ohio State. There would be no Notre Dame story. So the playoff has allowed teams to stumble. I mean, Notre Dame lost in Northern Illinois. In the old format, you're not getting into to the national championship. It's not the way it's going to be. Texas lost twice to Georgia. You're not getting in. It's not the way it normally works. And so tonight, tonight is going to be the opposite of last night. If you have any eclipse glasses left over, grab them. There's going to be shiny objects and comets everywhere.

It's going to be wild. We are now left within college football, an overachieving Notre Dame team that's brilliantly coached, an Ohio state team that if they lose, they'll want the coach fired, and then a Texas team that is always mercurial that can't beat Georgia, their best quarterback, in my opinions, their backup quarterback, and they've got an incredibly polarizing coach who I like but drives me nuts, Steve Sarkesian, and he talks about tonight. I think in this day and age of college football, to think that you're just going to go unblemished is probably not realistic, especially not in our two conferences with the amount of quality teams that you have to play week in and week out and the grind that it puts on your on your team

not only physically but mentally and it's i think the ones that can be standing uh here january ninth and 10th uh playing for an opportunity to play for a national championship i think you know the credit is due to all four teams listen Alabama had three losses one of them that got housed against vandy late in a year they got crushed by oklahoma a very average oklahoma team they almost got in i like this first one formula. I like your allowed, I mean, we allow NFL teams to have multiple

Mulligans, and those are 28-year-old men. We can't let 19-year-olds stumble and stub their toe in Columbus, Ohio, against Michigan. A Michigan team that won a bowl game, didn't they beat a SEC team or something like that? Didn't Michigan have a really good bowl game? I forgot, you know, I haven't watched every one of the bowl games, but if

you look at Michigan, you're like, well, I won a very good team. Well, they're not terrible. and beat Alabama and so Ohio State lost at home. I shouldn't eliminate you from a 12-team playoff and it didn't and I love it. This is what I've been hoping college football

would be. Look more like the NFL playoff format, but still some quirkiness and independence like BYU and Notre Dame and a little uneven schedules and the officiating's not very good and sometimes the coaching is regrettable

but what we have now, I mean, Look at this final. You get both now. You get the Cinderella story, but we all know Cinderella's not going to win the national championship, but now Cinderella doesn't keep the big dogs out as long as they don't have three losses. It used to be we jam a Cinderella every year into the 14th playoff, and it would keep like a big dog out that should have been in. Now you get both.

Now you get Boise State and Arizona State and SMU, and I get two loss, Ohio State. and Texas and Notre Dame that lost in Northern Illinois. I love the new format. The first round, it needs some tweaking, it needs some reseeding. It's not perfect, but it's better than the previous part that we all sort of, you know, tolerated. We knew it wasn't a great formula. We tolerated it. This has been magic.

And tonight, again, grab the welders mask 4th of July. It's splash offenses, five-star athletes. It'll look a lot more like Sunday. Jay McAvlin News. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. We got some negative news here, Colin, to open. Cleveland quarterback Deshawn his Achilles again.

I'm stunned. This news just broke literally in the last five minutes. He had surgery yesterday to repair the torn ligament. This is the second time he's torn. the same Achilles in three plus months. Yeah, this is probably the end of his career, wouldn't it be? I think it... I don't see how he comes back.

I mean, he's only played in 19 games since joining the Browns. Cleveland does have the second pick in the draft, so they're in position to get Cam or Chador. Yeah. It's obvious that's going to happen. Now, I just look this up. Deshaun Watson is a $72.9 million cap hit next year in 25, or technically this calendar year, but next season, and also in 2026. So one of your big tenants that I like, and having known you for a while, is, hey, when something's not working, you move on.

Yeah, fast. This is not working. I don't care about the dead cap money. I don't want him in the building. Exactly. I think you just clean it out. You take your medicine for a couple years, struggle, build the roster, and deal with it. And this is over.

Denver is proven. If you have a smart offensive coach and you hit on a first round quarterback, you can literally make the playoffs six months later. So to me, if you can get Cam Ward or Chadour, you get Deshaun out of the building, you have an excellent offensive coach, offensive line and run game, more than capable. I was just looking into the offensive line there could be some flux. Three of them are free agents. We're not going to keep all of them. Yeah, so they've got some work to do. But you know what?

They're going to be bad for the next couple years, and they'll turn it around. But I think this Watson experiment, it's over. Career ender. No other player is going to strike. No other team has any interest in this at all. And also this idea, anytime somebody asks for a guaranteed contract, you see that Watson thing? We're not doing that. Yeah, the idea, I remember listening to some of the younger media members all over the landscape.

When he signed that, I think I was one of them. I was pro Watson and get your money. But my take was, okay, Cleveland did it, but the rest of the league shouldn't be forced to do business the way the Browns do. They're a poorly run franchise. I remember when Robinson Canoe signed a 10-year deal with the Mariners. And I'm like, I'm not signing every second basement to a 10-year deal. It'd be one thing it was Bryce Harper.

It's Shohei Otani, Muki. I'm not signing Robinson Cano to a 10-year contract. And that thing didn't work in Seattle. And so this idea that you have to do what poorly run franchises do, watch the good franchises. They usually have much greater discretion on key positions and what they pay them. So, Deshawn Watson, that's just... Sad, unbelievable.

All right, let's move on. Let's talk about Sam Darnold. He's got a lot at stake this weekend coming off the week 18 clunker. However, maybe he plays well against the Rams. This game, by the way, has been moved to State Farm Stadium in Arizona Monday due to the fires out here in L.A. So, Sam Darnold's got a chance. He will not be in enemy territory at SoFi. And, you know, there's a chance he could get franchise tag, get a big new deal.

But here's Darnal talking about the big moment in the playoffs. It's kind of where legacies, I guess, are made in the playoffs, not just winning games, but winning those later games like AFC, NFC championships, winning Super Bowls. Like that's, you know, that's how you're going to be remembered at the end of the day. Take a deep breath. What do you make of the move to Arizona, does it? I mean, I know McVeigh would rather play at home. It's kind of a wild card.

A lot spike back up a little bit, minus two and a half. It was down to one, one and a half. Do you see a lot of Rams fans all of a sudden adjusting their plans on a Monday and saying, I really do think a lot of Ram fans, honestly. So many people in Los Angeles right now are living in hotels to begin with because of these devastating fires. I can see a lot of people in L.I. saying, you know what, let's get out of town. Let's go watch our team. I may be unrealistic, but I can see people saying, well, we're already at a hotel.

Let's make the best of what has been a tragic, awful week. The Minnesota fans trying to escape. No, Minnesota fans will travel. Oh, yeah, yeah. Midwest fans travel like nothing else. Yeah. There'll be 25,000 Viking fans. I mean, I would be, I think it's going to be a purple crowd. Yeah, Rams have familiarity with the stadium.

We got some numbers here on Sam Darnold that our staff pulled. Colin, I did not realize. So look at what Sam Darnold has done against the Rams and two against the Lions. He's been bad. Look at against everyone else. He's been outstanding. I mean, this is, I don't, listen, man, I know you like him. He's a USC guy.

You know what? I will tell you, this pick is in my blazing five. I know you're rooting for him, but. I'm not rooting for him. You are. Listen, I'm not going to ever root against McVeigh. I think Sean McVeigh is, if Andy Reid didn't exist, Sean McVeigh and Marcus Freeman are two coaches, I think, are the top of the mountain.

So I think any time you get into a key game and I get Sean McVeigh, I just feel good about it. No matter who the coach is. Maybe even against Andy Reed, I just feel good about it. Regarding Donald and the Vikings, I know Flores is a hot name in the coaching market. How much time do you think he's spending about preparing for interviews this week versus preparing for the Rams? I think, I wonder how much of a distraction that could possibly be. Nobody on the Rams staff is interviewing anywhere. No, and the Rams are really healthy. Coming off a buy, basically, you know, the rest of a lot of their guys last week. No, the more you inspect this game, there's a reason the wise guys like the Rams.

Final story is back to the Cowboys. We'll get them in the show here. Remember, they blocked Mike McCarthy earlier this week from interviewing with the Bears. And now there are reports Jerry Jones is planning to sit down with McCarthy today to start contract negotiations. McCarthy's deal with Dallas expires on Tuesday. Could be some good news for Cowboys fans every weekend? He's going to block, if you're going to block a coach, that means you're working on a new deal. That's not real covert.

I mean, if I say you can't interview this employee, that means I'm... Yeah, but don't you think McCarthy's going to come to the table with some stipulation? You won't even let me talk to the Bears? Well, this is a new thing that I want in my contract. I think Jerry's going to offer him enough money. And, you know, you saw Jerry in that landman clip where he looks like Clint Eastwood and his prime as an actor. I think Jerry will put on the old Texas drawl and sell Mike on... Are you watching Landman?

Yeah, it's great. That show's amazing. It's amazing. It's amazing. It's basically Yellowstone with oil, right? In Texas. Yeah, I'm more swearing. Yeah, yeah.

It's good. Yeah. Jay Mack with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. So I have Blazing Five top of the hour. You know, I like my picks.

I'm more headed toward favorites this week. But I am on a, I am on a very small, lonely island. I think the Steelers are going to play Baltimore very tough this weekend. I like Baltimore to win, but I'll give you a couple reasons why I think Pittsburgh is going to go out with dignity. Number one, Zay Flowers is not going to play for Baltimore. They don't really have another receiver. I mean, the next best receiver on that team has 15 catches, Bateman. Like, Zay Flowers is their home run hitter.

Okay, against a good pass rush, good corners, like, he's out. Second thing is, this is a rivalry game. I mean, this morning my staff gave me a number. I could not believe it. I made them Google it. Harbon Tomlin, John Harbon, Mike Tomlin. I mean, just guess this. How many times do you think they've met, played against, coached against each other?

38 times. They're having an anniversary. I don't know what to get them. It's insane. It's a fist fight in an alley. I mean, this game is nobody's fooling anybody. And so Baltimore is better, missing their one home run hitter on the perimeter. in a rivalry game that is so often close.

And the other thing we have to acknowledge is, Baltimore never looks quite as fearsome in the playoffs. And Mike Tomlin, when he's a huge underdog, the team plays over at skis. So even when they played about a month ago, it was 34 to 17, but it was 24-17 late until Russell Wilson threw a pick six. So if you look at Lamar Jackson in his career versus the Steelers,

he's two and four against the Steelers, and he's two and four in the playoffs. and his passer rating is amazing unless he's in the playoffs and unless he's facing the Steelers. Well, now in the first round, he's in the playoffs facing the Steelers. And so I think you're going to have a really competitive game. I think it's going to be a little ugly. It's going to look like Penn State, Notre Dame a little bit last night with the, you know, experienced quarterback play is that it's going to be played between the 30s.

And I feel like I'm on an island. but when I saw that number, Ravens minus 9 and a half. That 3417 game is misleading. Nosei Flowers, 38th time these two teams have played. I'll take Baltimore, but it feels close to me. Urban Meyer and the Blazing Five top of next hour. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's Steve Kavino.

And I'm Rich David. Together we're Kavino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and of course the IHeart Radio app. Why should you listen to Kavino and Rich? We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world? We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture. Stories that, well, other shows don't seem to have the time to discuss.

And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still work together, I mean, that says something, right? So check us out. We like to get you involved too. Take your phone calls, chop it up as they say. I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio. Maybe the most interactive show on Planet Earth. Be sure to check out Covino & Rich live on Fox Sports Radio

and the IHeart Radio app from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific. And if you miss any of the live show, just search Covino and Rich, wherever you get your podcast and, of course, on social media. That's Covino and Rich. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news.

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

I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say,

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

Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L'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. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. O'Donno and our podcast point game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game.

His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reed. he has to guard Julius Randall.

And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running the court licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

get your podcasts. This is Saigon, the story of my family and of the country that shaped us. The United States will not stand by and allow any power, however great, take over another country. From My Heart Podcasts, Saigon. Please allow me to introduce Joseph Sherman. You don't think I'm serious about a free Vietnam? I should stop talking so much. I like hearing you talk.

One city, a divided country, and the war that tore America apart. This is for Vietnam. I've taken a hit from Japanese ground fire. They're pouring petrol all over him. He's holding matches. I'm on a landmine. Or freestyle! Let's get out!

Freedom, Mom, it, nah! Run! Saigon, starring Kelly Marie Tran and Rob Benedict. Sting, here's madness. The world should hear about this. There's a fire coming to this country, and it's going to burn out everything. Listen to Saigon on the I-heart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get. It's your podcasts.

This week on Crimless, we're joined by our first ever guest. Sorry, our first ever human guest. I don't think I could be in the same room with Shamrock the pair. I'd be too nervous. That's right. The very funny Will Ferrell joins Rory Scovel and me, Josh Dean, for an episode dedicated to the many crimes committed by people also named Will Ferrell. They called to his fellow officer for the nippers.

What are the nippers? Very good question. No, I was thinking, would that be a good name for like a salad dressing? Simple assault. And it's a play on word, salt? Maybe not. I say we invest and we see. There's only one way to know.

This did not amuse the cops. By the way, normally the cops are amused, but this did not abuse the cops. Will even comes clean about some of his own crimes. I didn't get caught. You know why? If you don't want to be suspected of anything, you whistle as you walk. Listen to Crime List on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. You can help families impacted by the California wildfires.

Visit go.com slash red cross or scan the QR code on your screen to support these efforts. Your donation enables the Red Cross to respond to and help people recover from this disaster. Fox has already donated over a million dollars and please donate if you can to. Yeah, I saw a picture sent to my phone this morning of somebody driving for two miles through that area. Everything burned down. Every house, every business. Absolutely devastating. Give to the Red Cross if you can.

So just to illustrate, I mean, you saw it last night when Notre Dame played Penn State. You can see the pressure. You can see how it's hard to watch as a dad to watch some of these young college athletes. And you watch their parents in the crowd. I get nervous for the kids and I don't even know them. In the NFL, it's a little bit different. but the pressure is insane. So, I mean, Buffalo and Philadelphia are combined 27 and 7.

And we know Sean McDermott's a good coach, and we know Nick Seriani wins a lot of games. Buffalo and Philadelphia. These are two exceptional teams. They could meet in the Super Bowl. Nobody would be surprised, except maybe Nick Wright. Nobody would be surprised. But if they lose his home favorites this weekend, Sean McDermott and Nick Sariani are both in big trouble. 27 and 7.

sustained success, regardless of the coordinators. Win, win, win, win, win, win. Win the division every year dominate the division. Every year doesn't matter. Bill Belichick and Mike Vrable, the phones ring and if these two guys lose. And I think some of this is, and I've seen this, I saw Nick Saban do this in the SEC where I got a lot of coaches fired, is that Andy Reid keeps winning Super Bowls with basically

patchwork offensive lines, no notable star receiver, an old distracted tight end, and sometimes Patrick Mahomes not at 100%. And Andy Reid keeps winning Super Bowls. And I think these other owners are like, where's his star receiver? He doesn't have an A.J. Brown.

He didn't have a Stefan Diggs. His offensive line isn't as good as Buffalo's, certainly not as good as Philadelphia's. I got Jalen Hertz and I got Josh Allen. I think the owners look at Andy Reed, and he put so much immense pressure on other coaches in this sport because they're winning. And what's interesting, because they pay Mahomes, what they pay them, and Chris Jones and Travis Kelsey is this is not one of the all-time great teams in Kansas City, or I should say one of the all-time great rosters. They don't have a number one receiver. I mean, their best receiver, Rash got hurt this year.

They're making it up as they go. Last two years, let go to Tyreek Hill. It's making it up as they go. depending on Skymore to make big catches in the Super Bowl. So Josh Allen is just too darn good not to get to Super Bowls. He has got to get to Super Bowls. He is now for the next six years in his prime. He's got to start getting to him a lot.

And there is a feeling in the NFL, I think most of us feel this way, that if Josh Allen would have inherited Andy Reid, he'd be the one hoisting trophies. It's a coach thing. Fair or not. If Josh Allen had Andy Reed, Mahomes had McDermott, A lot of people think, well, Josh would have a couple trophies, at least a couple. And Nick Seriani has the best roster in football.

Now that Detroit doesn't have Hutchison and are banged up on the back end, the Eagles have the best roster in football. I don't even think anybody argues about that. And now Jalen hurts the good news. He's going to play. He practiced. He's going to play. And can they keep playing as well as they did late in the regular season against weaker teams?

Now it's the Packers at home. Here's Nick Sariani. Same process. Same everything. Don't let the, everyone is going to tell you how much more, you know, how much bigger this atmosphere is and how much bigger this is. It's really, don't do anything different than what you've been doing. Like when the stakes get higher, when the game gets bigger, right, you need to lock down and do the tough detail together. I agree with them there.

So, yesterday, this week, Antonio Pierce was fired as the Raiders head coach. I wouldn't have done that. We'll see who they land. Tom Telesco talked to him yesterday. He was fired, the GM, after one year. So you have six job openings in the NFL. Here is the order. If I was looking for a job, this is the order, I think, in quality of job.

I think now the Patriots is the best job. I have stability and ownership. They do not run through coaches. They have a quarterback and a backup quarterback. They have the most cap space, $124 million in the NFL, and they own the number four pick. I think, I'm not saying this is Green Bay before Matt LaFleur took it, or the Cowboys before Mike McCarthy took it,

but for a franchise, without a lot of juice, they've got a handful of good players, most on defense. They've got the quarterback in his backup. I have a lot of cap space. And outside of Buffalo, there's a lot of dysfunction in this division. So you can get the wild card spot here over New York or Miami on a regular basis. I think the Patriots is the best job. Now, Chicago, and it shows you what a weird year it is.

How often do we think of Chicago is a great job opening? They got Caleb Williams. You don't have to pay him big boy money for a long time. They got the fifth most cap space in the league. they have the number seven draft pick you know I guess my issue and this is one that I've talked to

a lot of people outside of Chicago around the league it's just a lot of politics ownership front office and a feeling that the ownership is not terribly progressive but I like some of their players I don't think it's a great roster especially in that division

it's a solid roster a number one receiver, a star potential quarterback, a lot of caps face and a good draft pick. I think the Bears is the second best job. I actually think the Jets, despite Woody Johnson, I mean, he kept solo around for years. It's not like it's the Raiders. I think the Jets is the third best job. I like the roster. Now, it's an aging offensive line. They do have their left tackle for the future. They do have the number seven pick. But I like their running backs. They got a couple of receivers I like, an edge rusher I like, a top three corner in the NFL. They don't have a clear vision at quarterback for the future, but the way Aaron Rogers has played the last two months,

I could deal with it for a year. Aaron's not going to have a lot of power. The new coach is going to have the power and the new GM. So I think the Jets is not a terrible job, and we can call Woody Johnson impulsive, but compared to the Raiders, he's patient. I think that's the third best job. Number four to me would be the Saints, a winnable division, stability and ownership, Mickey Looma's been in the building a long time. They draft pretty well. Now, they also have the number nine pick in the draft. They do not have cap room. In fact, there's an argument. It's the worst cap situation in the room. So to me, and is Derek Carr the future? You can win games with Derek Carr in that division. It's not

Unlike a New England where you could go by three elite players, maybe five, and Drake made pops in year two with a smart offensive coach. This is going to be a slower build because of lack of cap space in the Derek car situation. But I do get ownership in a front office that has proven that they can accumulate, draft, and develop good young players, and it's a weak division saint at number four. I would put the Jags at number five. I get Trevor Lawrence. But, man, you talk about lack of stability.

Four different head coaches over nine season. Again, it's a winnable division with one good quarterback, C.J. Stroud. Again, I think they have some players. I think they have some offensive players I like. Again, I'm saying it's the fifth best job. So I don't think they have the roster of the Jets, the stability or the young free quarterback of the Patriots. I don't think they have a quarterback as talented as the Bears. and I don't think they've got kind of the ownership or stability that the saints have shown through the years,

but I would say the Jags is five, and I got to put the Raiders at six. First of all, you're in a division with Harbaugh, Sean Payton, Andy Reed, Mahomes, Bo Nix, and Herbert. I don't care who you hire is. You'll bring Belichick in. That's brutal. You've got great quarterback play and all-time coach stuff there. The other thing is you got some cap space. But, and you got Brock Bowers and Max Crosby, Colton Miller's a solid left tackle.

The roster needs upgrading, quarterback in a weak draft class. You know, Mark Davis, Antonio Pierce thought he was coming back, an hour later he was fired. Tom Telesco thought he was coming back. Two hours later he was fired. I don't think the Raiders is a good spot. And again, start looking at who you have to face in six games a year. Andy Reed Mahomes, Herbert Harbaugh, Sean Payton, Bownex. Bo Nix is not getting worse.

He's getting better. This is the worst the roster will be for Denver. They're going to get more cap space over the next three years. So I would go Patriots, Bears, Jets, Patriots for stability, bears for the talent quarterback, Jets for the overall roster, then Saints, Jags, Raiders are jobs I wouldn't want to take. You're looking at me like you think the Raiders job is better than that? Okay, so here's what's going to be interesting.

What happens if Mike Rable picks the Raiders, which you rank as the six. the job. I think there's a lot of stuff at play here. Like, how are the Saints ahead of the Jags? The Jags, you have your quarterback. At least you've got that. You have nothing with the Saints, Colin. But there are increasing concerns about

the ability to stay healthy by Trevor Lawrence. Fair. To beat good teams with Trevor Lawrence. We've watched in a couple back-to-back years. He can't stay healthy. There's been questions about is he really into it? There's kind of a

A kind of a... It's understandable. So I, and you know, I loved him, but he has not been as good as I thought he would be as a pro. I agree. I totally agree. But the Raiders also, you talked about it. They had the left tackle set.

You got Crosby coming off the edge. You got Brock Bowers who was named first team all pro. No, no. They have three star players. You let's Kobe Myers. He's not a star, but he's just... Yeah, but again, I have fairly decent insight into the organization. It's a bit of a math.

We think of the Jets as crazy. Sala was there. How many years did Sala get? Four or five? Too many? Well, how many years did Joe Douglas get? I mean, compared to the Raiders, the Jets look like IBM. They're like formidable and patient.

So again. Model of stability, yes. I mean, the jets look incredibly stable compared to the Raiders right now. I just think a guy like Vrabel is going to be like, oh, my guy, Tom Brady's here? I'm going to have protection. I could shove out the GM and bring in my own GM? It's a good job for me. If I could get Robert Kraft,

Drake May, and the most cap space in the league, I'm Mike Vrable. And I know the hallway. I know the skeletons. I know... But he's never going to be Belichick. He knows that.

That can't drive you. In Kansas City, when Andy retires, it's a good job. Take the job. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast?

Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite.

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

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast, Point Game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments.

If we didn't talk ever again, I was crying. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to you, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball.

So listen to Point Game on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your Podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to fupas to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex? Is it just me or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try.

So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHart Podcasts Presents Soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet.

Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. A redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks.

Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? They had a bogo. Well, then you got them. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.