The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - Jim Harbaugh

Episode Date: February 2, 2024

New Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh joins the show to discuss star QB Justin Herbert and what he expects from the NFL after spending 9 years at Michigan Colin looks at the best available QBs teams should be interested in  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Wherever you may be, however you may be, however you're watching us, listening. You appreciate it always. Thanks for making us part of your day. Jamack, Jim Harbaugh is going to join us. Going to wait for him to sit down, charge his facility. Jaymax got his headlines later. So I was thinking about this this morning. A friend of mine ran into Baker Mayfield.

Where's that? Pro Bowl action? Yes. My friend mentioned my name to Baker. Oh. And Baker smiled. It wasn't hostile. It wasn't hostile.

What's there to be hostile about you? Well, I was very critical of him. Very critical. And he didn't, that's not hurt. Nobody wants to be criticized. Yeah, that's fair. I'm kind of loud, and he was a rookie, and he didn't like that. You loud?

Well, I'm a little over the top sometimes. So our relationship. When somebody asked, I don't want to give away what he said, but it was very nice. It was, I really liked what he said to my friend. That's great. Yeah. So my friend was there, and he said, you know who I ran into today? And he said the name and I started laughing.

And I said, that was sort of his reaction when I mentioned your name. He sort of laughed. Oh, oh, my name. So, you know, we feel, we've been telling you for about an hour, we're going to have Jim Harbaugh on, and I'm so excited. I've said this. There's eight new coaches in the NFL. One's going to work for sure, and then I don't know about the rest. He's one of the great coaches of my lifetime.

His brother's obviously a great coach. His dad was a remarkable coach. And we implored the Chargers when they moved off their coach. We and everybody in the Los Angeles media said, Justin Herbert deserves a great coach. And they went and got one. And his name is Jim Harbaugh. Nice enough to spend time with this today.

Join us live. First of all, Jim, how are you? Thank you for doing this. How are you doing? How are you doing? Oh, incredible. Doing great, Colin. And I just can't tell you, I mean, how excited I'm being on the show.

It's a chance for redemption. Jim, you and I are good. We're going to be good for the rest of our life. We're good, brother. You know I love you. You're good with me. You leave me little notes at Fox. We're going to be good.

No problem. The infamous 2015 interview, I mean, I was a clunker. I've been dreaming about this day. I've been dreaming about this day picturing it. I'm going to really try to bring it for you today. Okay, we're going to manifest. We're manifesting it because I thought about it too. I told you how bad I felt about that.

I told you it was my fault. I stunk. I didn't do it. Oh, okay. So I want to start with this. Before you took the job, how much? much did you know we know Justin Herbert's great but how much

did you know about Justin Herbert? Well I mean how did you not know about? I mean watching him on TV and and watching tape I mean he's an incredible player and yeah I knew a lot about him. Top top as good as

as they get in the National Football League and he's a crown jewel. I mean in every way you know he's he's got it. He's It's tough. He's got the arm talent and leadership and just games he's played.

I mean, just marveled. You know, watch my young son, Jack. I mean, let's just watch this guy and enjoy. Yeah. You know, you do something that is not easy to do in coaching, but you do it repeatedly and you do it immediately. And I'm not sure how you do it, but you do it. And if it was easy, everybody would do it and they can't.

your teams get tough and physical immediately. I watch the Stanford team walk into the Coliseum as a 40-point dog and start getting right in USC's face. I saw it with four of your top 10 defenses in San Francisco. Again, your teams get good and they all get physical very fast. Can you explain what is the messaging? If it's easy, everybody does it. What do you do to instill that in all your teams quickly? Boy, nothing fancy, you know, just good old-fashioned hard work, good old-fashioned teamwork.

You know, guys are good at football. You know, the player that knows what to do, how to do it, where to align, you know, plays the technique properly. And then you combine that with being a superior athlete, and then, you know, then you really have it. So, you know, we can all control, you know, being the kind of player that knows what to do and how to do it and when to do it. And then train, you know, just good old-fashioned, hard work, training yourself to be, you know, a good athlete, a better athlete, a superior athlete. Now, Jim, you've been out of the NFL for nine years. The league has changed some rules. It's much more of an offensive league now.

You can't do as much grabbing. and so are you, is there any concern that you're like, wow, it's football, but I've been out of this space for nine years. Any concerns at all about that? Do you feel like you have to catch up on anything? Yes, I do. That's a really good question. And there's things I got to, that I do have to catch up on. You know, I still know this, that you have to win.

That hasn't changed. Right. I'm darn sure of that. The analytics piece, the report. the study, I think that's grown. I mean, even 10, 15 years ago, you know, coaches sitting around watching the tape, putting in the game plan. You know, it's been aided so much by reports, analytics,

of what coaches should watch and the important things to watch. And I'm not talking about when to go for it or go for two or go forward on fourth down. You know, really the, the tendencies, you know, all play callers have in their DNA, but, you know, to really be able to hone in on it. I mean, think of it like the human brain, and I think of, you know, what the computer can do. And then there's stuff about AI that the human brain can't even go to. Not even there yet, but I bet, you know, but it's not perfect.

few more years that, you know, the AI is in football as well. So I am generally not a fan of the coach having GM personnel power, but there are exceptions. I thought when Jimmy Johnson came out of college, he knew the guys he recruited. Give him personnel say. I have strongly said give Harbaugh, especially the first four years, give Jim personnel say. Is it possible? Because you recruited many of these first and second, third round guys. You probably recruited a lot of them.

how much of the personnel, you obviously are going to have a GM, but how much do you want to be in it saying, I want that defensive tackle? I recruited him. I want this edge. How much say do you want? Teamwork makes the dream work. I mean, good old-fashioned, hard work and teamwork.

And that's what it's all about. And, you know, Joe Ortiz is here. He just got in the other night. And, you know, we're always, we go back. And we've always had a great relationship. That's his that's what he's the expert at and you know I'm gonna be there to aid him I'm a aspire to watch you know as much tape as my brother does you know as much tape or more than any any coach in the NFL watches on the on the college players and the free agents

but I mean that's you know I'm gonna be robin to his Batman that's that's that's his where he's the expert and that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's a kind of coaching staff, that's the kind of organization we want to build is an expert in their field doing their job, and then we're there to support in that area. But I've been just my dad, just the way I grew up was, I mean, that person, he or she is the expert in that area. And if I do what they tell me to do, how they tell me to do it, then I will be successful. You know, that's what I want for our coaching staff, everybody in the organization, and

ultimately our players, right? I mean, the players that have a position coach, you know, getting that expert in that position so that you take the thinking out of it and just listen to the instruction, you know, embrace the instruction and then go execute the instruction. But yeah, I don't think there's anybody better. And my brother John would tell you, I mean, Joe Ortiz is one of the absolute

best. So, no, I want to coach the team. And, you know, when it comes to the other decisions, we'll support the expert in that area and do it as a team. You know, it's interesting.

I see you as such a Midwest authentic guy. And you, yet you come out west, you crushed at San Diego, you crush with the Niners, you crush with Stanford. And it's because I really look at you and your brother and your dad, you're kind of this Midwest family. And was there part of you that said to yourself, listen, I made a lot of money, Michigan's home. Do I, you know, West Coast is all glitzy.

I don't know if I'm an L.A. guy. Did you have any doubt about coming back to the NFL in Los Angeles? No, no. I mean, it's, to me, it's, you know, faith, family, football, the chance. challenge, you know, take a, take another crack at, you know, winning the Lombardi, being known as simply world champions. And then the family, I mean, I was the Spanos family. It's all about that. You know, coach some of the nephews and, you know, go back with John Spanos, you know, many years.

And Dean Spanos played for the, I played for the charges. And I'm a Midwest guy, but then half of me is a is a, is a, is a, is a, a, is a, a Calano. California got as well. Yeah. Graduated high school from Pally High in Palo Alto, California. My first coaching job was with the Raiders when they were in Oakland. Then I went to USDA. That was my first head coaching job, then Stanford, then the 49ers.

My only coaching job outside is Michigan. And now back here, there's definitely an emotional connection, not only to the team, but to the state and to, as Ronald Reagan said, let me see if I can get this one right. If I remember it, you know, California is in a place. It's a way of life. Wow, that was very good. You pulled that one out.

That was a good one. I like that. Hey, one final question. I do know about L.A. L.A., L.A. I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but, you know, they respect talent and effort. Yes. And winning.

They'd like you to win. There's a lot to do here in L.A. You've got to win or they forget about you real fast in L.A. Finally, I've got to ask you one Michigan question. You don't need a quarterback. So I can ask you about J.J. McCarthy as a kid. How do you think he'll do? What does he bring to the table that maybe I can't see as a TV viewer?

Armed talent, athleticism, it factor, winning with numbing repetition. Don't be surprised when he, if, when he goes. to uh he's the number one quarterback off the board that's that's my prediction right now uh when people get a load of uh j j and what he you know how he can throw the ball how he spins it his athleticism uh his intelligence uh you know talk about it factor you know he's got it the competitiveness that he has and uh and they get around him and they really start digging in and they start talking to him That's an early prediction for the 2024 NFL draft.

Well, I can't wait for the season. I'm looking at your schedule this morning, and I told my buddy who's, I got a bunch of buddies who are Charger fans, and I said, who's got it better than you? Nobody, because I look at you and what you do. You are, man, you are chomping at the bit. So you're right now, you're just watching all these Charger games.

Is that what you're doing right now, going back and watching every play? Is that your life right now? Yeah. Yep. trying to hire, not trying, but, you know, really focused on hiring the staff, you know, getting our staff of coaches hired in place, you know, talking to multiple, multiple people, you know, kind of put together an all-star staff what I think our players deserve. Yeah. And, you know, especially the quarterback, you know, motivates me every day, getting up in the morning. like, no, I've got to bring it.

And this is going to have to be, going to have to be, you know, a plus game because he's so good. And there's so many pros, pros that are on this team, you know, getting the right, getting the right coaching staff together, the best we can get, you know, top five kind of guys in the profession, what we're going after. And then it's going to be, you know, addressing. what we need to address and that's you know getting good at football so uh in the process every day is uh so much fulfillment right now because uh things are getting things are getting done we're working at it all right good luck a little sticker shock i'll just give you a heads up houses are expensive out here

good luck because you and your beautiful wife look for house it's not midwest prices you'll do fine, but I think you'll love it out here. Wherever you live, Ocean Breeze, you're going to be winning football games. It's great to see you, and thank you for taking time for us today. I know you have a lot of things going on. Well, I appreciate that. That's probably a topic for

another day. I mean, I've lived out here in California, bought homes, sold homes, they've been the best investments in my investment career, so I can vouch for that. All right. Great seeing you, Jim. Good luck to you.

Yeah. You too, Colin. Thanks a lot. All right. Jim Harbaugh. Yeah, he does have a lot. He has a rich history. Palo Alto High. He really does. I mean, he and his brother feel so Midwest. His whole family feels Midwest. But he's got so much here. So much invested. High school, college. The Stanford job's the most impressive he's ever done, actually, because Stanford has such rigorous academic standards. And they were so bad when he took it over. Bill Walsh coached at Stanford, he went 34 and 24. And Bill Walsh just viewed as maybe the best football coach in the history of the sport. He went 34 and 24. And when he took it over, it wasn't as bad as when Harbaugh took it over.

And he went from 1 in 12 to 12 and 1. Or 1 in 11 to 12 and 1 in 4 years. And they were good. And that is, Stanford is a hard place to win football games. 100%. He did find Andrew Luck, which helped obviously. No question. However, that Niners turnaround.

Because wasn't Jim Taylor? Well, they were terrible the year before. Who was the guy right before him? It was Singletary. I think it was Mike Singletary. And they were, and the first. year they hit with well a lot of the also is the guy who found Colin Kaepernick and identified him as a game changing quarterback and Kaepernick goes on to be a massive superstar with

harbaugh and then we know without harball Kaepernick I remember I saw Colin Kaepernick play one game in college and if I recall it was a Friday night it was Boise State against Nevada I remember it yeah it was a Friday night game and he was a tall kid who ran and I didn't know I didn't think about him in terms of prospect I was like it's it's it's it's November matter. Then Harbaugh saw it and said, I like that. And you remember, Kaepernick outplayed Aaron Rogers in a big, big game early in his career. Oh, what about the playoff game? Yeah, the playoff game. You were like, I'm just saying like if Harbaugh can do, I mean, he didn't win at Michigan until he found McCarthy really. I mean, he didn't totally dominate.

Early on, he was okay. What he could do with Herbert is, you know, you would expect Super Bowl over under Super Bowl trip in five years. Put up the schedule again. Let's just be realistic. about this. He has Justin Herbert. In this league, if you have a quarterback advantage, you're going to be a favorite in most games. That's a good one. So they play, I mean, just listen to the schedule. Saints, Titans, Raiders, Falcons, Panthers, Patriots,

Steelers, there are a lot of games they'll go in with a massive quarterback advantage. The only place they have a quarterback deficiency on the road is Kansas City. Yeah, I mean, they'll have a quarterback deficiency. with the Chiefs. Burroughs obviously really, really good. And I think Joe will be ready to go. So that's like three games.

Well, that was at home. I was looking at the road. That road schedule? Panthers. That is an incredibly favorable road schedule. Browns will be tough. We know they play tough. But I mean, like the Raiders are going to have a rookie quarterback.

And the Patriots will probably have a rookie quarterback. Patriots might be the worst team in the league next year. Well, the Falcons either have a rookie quarterback or a new quarterback and a new coach. The Steelers, they'll have. You know, either kind of average quarterback or a new quarterback. Look at how many coaches that are brand new they face on the road. Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots, all brand new coaches on the road. Well, I mean, again, Will Levis.

Who knows who the Bucks quarterback is? Raiders, Falcons, Panthers, Patriots, Steelers. This is not, 11 to 12 wins is not out of the picture. And by the way, the Chargers have always matched up well it feels to me against the Chiefs and Mahomes. They have, yes. They've always played. I think they've split a couple times. Yeah.

So I don't think 12 and 5 or 11 and 6 doesn't feel crazy. I just don't like keeping those expectations on a harbaw? Well, Vegas thought, I said, didn't you say Denver's going to win 10 games with Russell Wilson? They had a lot of issues. Well, the Vegas total was right around that. I don't think the Vegas total. I would take, I would, if it was, I think the Chargers over under, when they look at the schedule is going to be 10. And a half.

9 and a half, or 10 and a half, right? Yeah. If it's 9 and a half, you take the over. If it's 10 and a half, then you wait. for injury reports and see how camp goes. Yeah. I don't think that's L.A. hyperbolic talk.

I think that's what it looks like. Again, if that schedule was all veteran quarterbacks and continuity and staffs, I wouldn't think 11. Boy, L.A. with Stafford and McVeigh, Herbert and Harbaugh. Oh, my God. LeBron sticks around, Clippers new facility.

Sports are, oh, oh, oh, oh, Tony. Dodgers, yeah. No, I mean, they're just, I mean, it's amazing that if you look at New York sports right now, the biggest star is Aaron Judge, second's Jalen Brunson, third is Aaron Rogers, who we don't know how long that is.

But there's not really a fourth. You look in Los Angeles, just, I mean, honestly, just go to the Dodgers. Freddie Freeman, Mokey Becks, O'Tonnie, a Kirshaw. Those are headline guys that put butts in the seat. Just on the

The Clippers, Hardin, Kauai, George, Westbrook. Say what you want. Westbrook's a star. LeBron A.D. Our coaches in town are Chip Kelly, Lincoln, Riley, Jim Harbaugh, and Sean McVey. Our coaches. Our quarterbacks are, were Caleb Williams, Stafford, and Justin Herbert.

Not bad. I mean, you just go through these cycles. Boston had one of these cycles where they, just all your teams are interesting. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand. whenever you'd like. 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 podcast. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions,

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And for more behind the scenes, follow at, Clifford and a TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away,

such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You know, we talked about the NFL draft and how rich it is with quarterback talent, but it was interesting. We were talking, what about the guys already in the league that will be available? And it's interesting because Baker Mayfield is pretty interesting right here. A buddy of mine ran into him yesterday, and he was top of mind. And so right now in the NFL, here are the free agent quarterbacks that will be available.

It will be Baker Mayfield, it will be Kirk Cousins, and it will be Ryan Tannahill. So they will be available. Then there's a candidate, a trade candidate, Justin Fields, with the Bears, and a cut candidate potentially in Russell Wilson. The last four seasons, of those five candidates, one of them is winning playoff games. Baker Mayfield, one in the AFC and one in the NFC. And I think despite his turbulent start, you kind of know what you get with Baker Mayfield. If you go look, you're going to get a mid-90s passer rating. You're going to get mid-to-high-20 touchdown passes,

and his completion percentage is going to be around 63 to 64 to 65%. I think he's the best quarterback not in the draft. I think he's the most available. Remember, both Tannahill and Kirk Cousins are going to be 35 or 30. I think they're both 35 will be 36, so he's seven years younger. Baker is in his athletic prime. Russell's not. Tanna-Hill's not.

Kirk Cousins isn't. Baker wins, not as much as Mahomes or a Josh Allen. But, I mean, Justin Fields, this is not a shot at him, but he struggles in division. Forget his 10 and 28 record. Justin Fields in his division is bad. He can't win games. And so, and 3 and 12 is Justin Fields in division. And by the way, golf's better and Jordan Love looks better.

He certainly did what they played. So, and we know the Minnesota Vikings either going to re-sign cousins or they're going to go ahead and get another quarterback. So it is interesting. Baker's actually got a, I think he's got a pretty decent market. And if the five available either via free agency cut or a trade, I would make him the best, I would make him the number one pick. Seven years younger than a bunch of guys wins more than the other one. And I think Russell Wilson, you wouldn't have to pay all of that contract because Denver to move off him would have to eat most of it. But again, there's just certain things.

Russell Wilson can win you games. But if his offensive coach, a brilliant offensive coach, Sean Payton's moving off him, that concerns me. That would be the second head coach moving off him. Despite what has been said publicly, there's multiple reports now that Sean would like to mix things up at quarterback. Here's J-Mack with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

You know, one of your favorite players this season was Jordan Love. You guys have like some, there's a bromance. Not early. Not in October. No, no, no. Late in the season when he was cooking. They got in the playoffs and he's going to get a long-term deal this off-season. GM Brian Gutikuntz spoke yesterday about love and how the team will handle his contract. Jordan had a really good season toward you, especially the second half.

And I think we're really excited to build around him. Would you like to sign him to a long-term deal this off-season? Yeah, I think we'll go down that road. You know, I think certainly I think that'll be important for our football team to have some stability there. You know, Jordan and his representation, I think they're really good people, so we'll start working towards that, you know, sometime in the next couple months. If you said who has the most talented team, quarterback tied-in receiver, that isn't being paid yet, like Green Bay's number one by a mile.

Now, Detroit's got a lot of good talent not being paid. Green Bay has four receivers I like, two tight ends I like. I think they have to upgrade it left tackle in the draft and they will. They're going to go get a tackle. But I mean, and Matt Lafleur sink that puppy up. I thought he did. I thought it was the first time I watched Matt Lafleur and I could see the coaching. I couldn't really see it with Aaron Rogers.

I didn't know how much Aaron was doing. That's not a criticism, but it was documented. It was reported that that offense was Aaron and Matt's. This was Matt Lafleur's offense and they became the best first quarter. team in the league on script. Like, it's impressive what Lafleur did. Like, I think about Matt Lafleur differently today than I did a year ago based on those first half, first quarter performances on script from him.

Okay, so regarding his salary, Jordan Love. Okay, so I'm looking at SpotTracks average salary for quarterback. Burrow topping next year at 55 mil. Okay? Then you go down on the list. Kyler Marie, 46 mil. Yeah. Jordan Love making more or less than Kyloorne next year.

Same ballpark, 46 mil. You're not paying those receivers and tight ends for four years, so you might as well, Green Bay, sign him, get ahead of it. Might as well get ahead of it. 46 will be a bar. If he makes playoffs consistently and wins playoff games, in three years, $46 million is a bargain. So, Dak Prescott did not get the extension he wanted. He's going to get one.

Is he in the $46 million range or higher? Oh, I think Jordan Love is more naturally gifted. Absolutely. It's a little bigger, better arm, moves better. I think Jordan looks really special. Now, again, Jordan's erratic still. He can be erratic. There's no question.

That was the knock on him in college. You see it in the NFL. But so can Josh Allen. So let's be fair about it. Josh Allen can be erratic. Next up, the commanders capped off their head coach hiring cycle yesterday. Bring in a Dan Quinn.

I think we both kind of like this deal. Many thought that maybe Bill Belichick could fit in Washington, but he reportedly wanted full control of the roster, something the commanders were not willing to sacrifice, just like Atlanta. Colin? I mean, are we going to be in October, November, Washington's 3 and 9?

Boy, they could have had Belichick, and they got Dan Quinn. Did we'll have that discussion? Because we had it about Lamar Jackson with Falcons, my jets. Passing on Belichick, like, in the moment it feels okay. But next season, if this team's struggling badly with Quinn,

like you guys could have had Belichick. I would take Dan Quinn without the personnel power over Belichick. I don't want Belichick touching my offensive personnel at all. There's no track record. He knows what he's doing. None. Sorry, that's just what I see. And by the way, the staff he built, the last three staffs he built, were not good

staffs. They make as many dumb mistakes as anybody in the league now. They used to be an elite staff. Dante Scarnacia, McDaniels. That's not the case anymore. They did not look well-class. coached last year. Will any of their top coordinators get jobs around the league now that they're, or will Mayo retain them? Or, I mean, will Belichick's son be coaching somewhere? I don't know. I have

no idea. I just, I'm saying if Bill just coached, like if you gave him the Chargers job with Herbert and he didn't have GM power, Bill would win there. I'm not, I don't doubt that. But if Bill has to select the quarterback, he selected 12 in his career, one's hit, and he passed on him five times. So I don't trust his quarterback evaluations, his receiver tight end evaluations. I just don't. The more power he accumulated in his last 10 years, the worse

the drafts got. When he didn't have ultimate power early, they drafted well. Once he started stacking rings and trophies and he had more power, the drafts went downhill the last seven, eight years in New England. Do you think this year's sitting out will get him to understand, hey, I can't have total control, I'm just going to be cool as a head coach?

I don't know. I don't know. I just... I, I, I, Moe is fascinated by men who can't acknowledge their weaknesses. Maybe Sabin will talk to him. They're buddies. Sabin did acknowledge that. He deserves major props for it. Yeah, Saban always adapted.

Final story. Now, so Dan Quinn's going to the commanders. Cowboys need to fill the role of defensive coordinator. Rex Ryan. This is an interesting name. Not Rex Ryan. According to the Dallas Morning News, Ron Rivera is going to interview for the Cowboys DC job.

Now, I had heard Wink Martindale maybe, but I don't know. Ron Rivera? in the division? Very incestuous that NFC. Nothing against Ron, but I'd go Rex Ryan. Can you imagine? Wait, wait, well, hold on.

Rex Ryan from who's like an announcer now? Yeah. That's my choice. Why? Because it's interesting. And that's all I care about. He hasn't coached in the league of what, like six, seven years?

Harbaugh without nine years and not in the league? He's a great pick. Joe Gibbs took a decade off. You can coach or you can't coach. I would take Rex Ryan. Rex Ryan. What about Riverboat Run? I think Rex as a...

Rex's energy, right now I would take him. Wink Martindale? I think he's good. I think I would consider Wink Martindale's excellent. Why are you guys laughing at Rex Ryan? Well, what's wrong with that pick? Rex was a great defensive guy. I don't know.

He's not on my radar. Why isn't he on your radar? I mean, we saw the Jeff Saturday experiment. No, no, time out. You're asking Jeff Saturday to coach a team. And by the way, he's never coached. Rex Ryan's been a head coach and a great coordinator. That's apples and oranges.

That's not even close. I just want you to come in and be a defensive coordinator. I'm not giving you the head coaching job. Belichick was better more recently than Rex Ryan was. Well, but Rex has been doing television and making a fortune for years. He's good on TV. You guys, say what you want. I would do Rex Ryan.

Have you been talking to Sanchez? I'm not going to get it. I'm not saying it's happening. I'm saying you're asking me who I would pick. And I think Rex is aggressive. I think this cowboy defense from Quinn is aggressive. I think they've got a pass rusher. I think Rex has a good eye for talent.

He does watch some college football. I think Rex is a good guy in the room. He wouldn't Mike McCarthy, he's an older coach. He wouldn't bulldoze some young coach. Rex wouldn't walk in and just overwhelm some young coach. He's like Greg Williams. He's got a confidence and a gravitas about him. So you'd have to have the right coach.

And McCarthy's got a Super Bowl. And I think Rex Ryan would be a blast with the cowboys. By the way, Ron Rivera got to a Super Bowl with Carolina. I made my choice. My choice is Rex Ryan. All right. J. Mac with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Line. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app. Bali Fusco here with Tony Fusco. Yo. You know, as the host of the... the number one rated Paulie and Tony Fusco show.

We get tons and tons of fan mail every day. Piles of it. In fact, Tony, why don't you open up one of those letters right now and read what's inside? Yeah, listen to this. Dear Paulie and Tony, your sports takes are the dumbest and most terrible. Wait, not that one. Open this other one. Dear Paulie and Tony, you suck more than anyone.

Not that one. Try this one. Dear Paulie and Tony, you guys are the absolute best. There you go. At coming up with the stupidest takes possible. You know what? Just listen to the Polly and Tony Fusco show on the iHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Yeah.

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.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered.

conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of Tontons and Wampas on the Ice Planet Hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tomorrow on Fox, get ready for some Caitlin Clark in your life. As the biggest star in college sports leads third-ranked Iowa against Maryland. It all tips off tomorrow at 8 Eastern on Fox.

You bet more college basketball than anybody I know. Have you had a good recent string? I might have had three straight winning nights, correct? You know, might have happened. I don't know how you bet college basketball. Are you excited for March Madness? Just a month away. Yeah, I always like it.

It's fun. A couple weeks of great. I don't know who to bet on, but it... Well, I'm here to help, buddy. Okay. So the Seahawks hired Mike McDonald, and he's got a totally different personality than Pete Carroll, according to Mike McDonald.

I have no idea how he's going to do. It's really interesting to me. I told you in 2021, playoffs, offensive coaches won 12 games, defensive coaches won 1-1. In 2022, offensive coaches won 12 playoff games,

defensive coaches again, 1-1. And this year, after the Super Bowl, it'll be 9-4 advantage offensive coaches. Yet five of the eight hires are defensive coaches. And again, this year, I think the best hire is Jim Harbaugh offensive coach, to the chargers. So I don't get it.

And I, you know, it's just the way it is. I have no idea if Mike McDonald's going to work. My gut feeling is Harbaugh will work. Dan Quinn, if you look at the landscape, if they can get Drake May, should work. Not saying it. The cap space, Drake May, good receivers, aging division. But what really struck me is there's three potential head coaches, Harbaugh, Belichick, and Vrable had great resumes, and two of those did not get jobs.

Instead, it's a bunch of unproven kids. And this goes back to something I've said time and time again, and I repeat it. You think your owner wants to win, not specifically. He wants to win on his terms, and they do not want to relinquish power. That's why it was so important for Dean Spanos to sort of open up the checkbook, let Jim kind of run the operations and the football and have a huge say in personnel. And that's rare. And for years and years, a lot of these owners, they don't want to pay above like $8 million for a coach.

And my takeaway is if you look at who's winning in this league, let's just look at who's winning. Andy Reid, John Harbaugh is consistently winning, and Andy Reid is consistently winning. It's a lot of the best guy. I mean, Doug Peterson went backwards this year. but you're going to have to pay for Doug Peterson, right? He won a Super Bowl. So you're going to have to pay for Vrable. You're going to have to pay for Belichick.

And a lot of those, and you're going to have to relinquish control. The one that surprised me, but not too much, the name to keep your eye on is Mike Vrable. So Vrable did not get a job. I think Mike's really sharp. So a little birdie that knows Mike, the feeling with Mike Vrable is he couldn't win in Tennessee with Will Levis. and the young guys,

and he couldn't win at the highest levels with Ryan Tannahill. So if you don't get the Chargers gig, and that was going to be Harbaugh's, what's the point of taking any of these jobs? He's done it with a B quarterback. He's done it with Will Levis. You can't win in this league with that.

So Vrabel, I think, will be the number one candidate next year. He's going to take a year off. He's made player money and coaching money. He's got a lot of money. Vrable can do local, media, national media. He can cherry pick, step off the treadmill.

He's going to have a coaching and a player pension, super bright guy. But if you go look at next year, remember, your life experience in any industry is going to dictate your next job. And so Brable's sitting there thinking, well, I could draft a quarterback. We did Will Levis. That didn't work. Well, I could have like a B quarterback that I have to pay a lot of money to. I had that Ryan and Tadillo.

That didn't take us anywhere. So I think he's waiting for next year. and I will say, J. Mack and I have talked about this. I think Buffalo, once they started losing home playoff games, I think the pressure is really on Sean McDermott. You can lose in the playoffs and you can lose on the road in the playoffs. But if you have the perceived second greatest quarterback in the world, you can't be losing home playoff games.

So that's the one in a year to keep your eye on. Now, I think Buffalo will be good next year, and maybe they don't replace them. But if Buffalo again hosts a playoff game next year and loses again to a Kansas City, then you have to consider, okay, we've just bang, we've hit a ceiling. This is what we are.

Because then you also get to a point where you got, how many more prime years of Josh Allen do you have? Three, four, max. You don't have seven or eight at the end of next year. Is there a comparison of the bills to the Mark Jackson-led warriors where they were good but just couldn't break through? And then you bring on like a seven.

Steve Kerr, who makes a tweak. You know, it was fortuitous. There was an injury to David Lee. That's a great point. Draymond comes in. That's the tweak, and they make the jump to let's me. The argument I've used with McDermott is Chuck Knox, who had a great career. Marty Schottenheimer did this.

Marty would come in immediately, increase physicality, make you a very good football team, was not a visionary. But Marty and Chuck Knox and Chuck's old school, I'm showing my age, but they both were very capable, clean up your organization, you win immediately. But they're not visionaries. They're not Andy Reed. They're not McVeys or Shanahan's. And so you hit a ceiling and then you move, you know, you get right. McDermott has cleaned up the space.

He's a very thoughtful guy. Nobody thinks he's a dummy. He can coach. But the question is if you're going up against Andy Reed, who is a visionary, what are we doing here? I know. We can't kill McDermott for that loss. Honestly, it came down to that. I'm not saying, no, no, I'm just, I'm saying, but if you lose another home game,

Then you have to start going, okay, we got four years left to Josh and his prime, and we got nothing to show for it. Well, hopefully four. He's taking a beating. But you remember, it came down to basically that third and fourth, or the second and third down plays into two-minute timeout for Josh Allen. He missed the two throws, and then the kicker shanks a field goal in his ball game. I like, I don't know.

I'm not saying he's going to go the route of Cam Newton and be like kind of in trouble at 30 because his body's taking a beating. But Josh Allen is taking some hits, too. No, these big guys that run, it age, a big Ben age pretty fast. He was like spry and young, and then all of a sudden it felt like he got old. Same with Cam, yeah. Cam, we definitely, yeah. Yeah, so I think Braybill's going to be the number one candidate.

Now, I'm not saying McDermott's going to get run, but you have to keep your eye on that one. The other one is Nick Sariani with Jalen Hertz. He's been to a Super Bowl. You've got to look at that one. The other one is, now he may not want to go Derek Carr. Maybe that's not, you know, I think Dennis Allen's going to have some heat. What about Dallas? Oh, by the way, let me.

Here, let me throw another one at you. Chicago. They pick Caleb Williams number one. Iber Fluse. It just doesn't work. And it's like, let's go get a grown-up. Let's go get an established guy. Brable's got his, I'm just telling you, a little birdie.

Vrable's got his eye in a couple of gigs. I think you're being a little low on Chicago. I think there's an opportunity for Iber Fluse to get that team to the play. If they make one or two moves in the off season. Who are they going to beat? They're going to beat in Detroit and Green Band that division? Hold on. Timeout.

Houston, Texas just took a quarterback. That division's not as good. Green Bay and Detroit are better than anything in that division in the AFC South. Detroit and Green Bay are not only stacked. Well, wait a minute. Jacksonville. We thought Jacksonville would be in the mix for the number one seat, no? And then they weren't.

Who's better today? Detroit, Green Bay, or Jacksonville? I'll take the NFC teams. Coming into last season, it was Jacksonville. I got news for you. Green Bay and Detroit are not going backwards. So Chicago's going to have to take a massive leap to get to them. Forget above them.

And by the way, don't we think the Minnesota coach is one of the best young coaches in football? I like him a lot. I think he's great. So they're going nowhere. Bears last place schedule. Come on now. I think I've got Bears as a playoff team. Bears last place roster.

Let's go Caleb Williams. Let's go. Hour three. Next. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite, unhumored me with Robert Smygling. 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 podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the Enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at a Podcast. For 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. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.