The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 – Nick Wright is on the Bills Bandwagon, The Justin Herbert-Jim Harbaugh Connection

Episode Date: December 23, 2025

Colin unveils his Herd Hierarchy, and Nick Wright joins him to discuss the struggles of the Chiefs and why he’s on board with the Bills for this year. Justin Herbert is coming into his own, thanks to his relationship with his head coach. It’s hard to upgrade from John Harbaugh. Discussing the Week 17 slate and how Robert Saleh wants to be back in the head coaching chair.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It's hour two. First hour flew by live in Chicago. It's the herd. Brock Purdy seven-on-seven passing drill last night. Those secondaries, both very mid, as they say. All right, Nick Wright's a couple of minutes away.

I'm going to tell you, I, there's a couple of teams in this league. and they played on Thursday, Ram Seahawks. You've got to be impressed with those teams. But between the third best team in the league and the 10th, maybe a point in a half, here we go in our herd hierarchy. Heard hierarchy. Time is now. Let's go.

The top 10 NFL teams, according to college, number 10. Buffalo, Josh Allen's hurt. Did you see the offense once he went for an X-ray? They've been held under 200 passing yards in three of the last four games. They can't stop the run. I am not as high on Buffalo as everybody else is. People keep seeing, well, Mahomes, does it make the playoffs? Have you watched Jacksonville?

You watch Denver? They're pretty good. Seen the Texans defense? I don't know. I don't see this as a team that can win three playoff games. They have no passing attack downfield, Buffalo at 10. Number nine. The Niners.

Opposing quarterbacks, including Phillip Rivers, have a 101 passer rating against this defense. No, Bosa? I mean, the last night's pass rush wasn't bad, but I think you can really beat this team in the back end. And Christian McCaffrey, 27 touches. They're 0 and 4 the game after he has 27 touches. George Kittles now hurt.

Do you realize Kettle this year is worth a touchdown to their offense? That is insane. A lot of that's just blocking. I have the Niners at 9. Number 8. I had no idea Woody Marks was that. valuable. Texans were atrocious against the Raiders. Woody Marks didn't play.

Now, listen, opposing quarterbacks this year have a passer rating of 74. I do think, and they'd be ugly, but I think they could get to the conference championship. I like the coach. I like the quarterback. If Woody Marks is healthy, they can run the football. I got Houston

at 8. Number 7. Denver just didn't play well. And the defense, since the week 12 by has gotten worse. It's allowing 20, six a game since the buy. And it's not the offense. They had 445 yards.

Now, the other thing, though, I will give them credit. Teams that play Denver are 3 and 11 the following week. That tells you they're a really physical team, and it also tells you you should bet against the Jags this week. Number six. The Jags. They were four and five in the red zone, and teams had struggled all year against the Broncos in the red zone,

six-game winning streak. Um, hard to run against them. I like their story. Um, I thought that game felt so big for them. They were very intentional. They're receiving cores a real deal. Listen, when you're bad for years and have top 10 draft picks, you got dudes. And Jacksonville at six has dudes.

Number five. I like Philadelphia. Lane Johnson, Jalen Carter coming back. The band is back together. There's only two teams in the league. The Rams are one, Phillies, the other that are top five in red zone offense and red zone defense. That's Philadelphia. I may not always love their coach, but I got the Eagles at five. Number four. Bears beat them in Philly. I'll put them four. Now they've played an easy schedule,

but they're 11 and two since week three. They do not give the ball away and they take the ball away. That is really good going into the playoffs. Their quarterback, yeah, he's young, but he is dynamic. I think situationally, I love their head coach. I know a lot of you have missed giving's about him. I don't care that they get outplayed in the second quarter. I care they win games, bears at four. Number three. It's like New England. They've had one stinker in the last 10 weeks, and they dominated the Buffalo Bills in the first half of that game they lost. I like them. 7 and 0 on the road. They're doing it now without their left tackle and left guard. So the, and the weakest part of this team right now is their run game because they're all beat up on the offensive line.

but the reason I took them over Baltimore is they move the chains. Their receiving core is way, way underrated. Go look at big plays this season. I think you'll be shocked at where New England is. Number two. Rams are one or two. They lost to Seattle. I'll put them at two.

Three straight games with 500 plus yards. Outgaining opponents this year by almost 1,100 yards. Nobody can stop Puka. Doing it without Devante. Adams now, two running backs, three tight ends I like, getting a pass rush, Rams at two. Number one. Well, Seattle turns the ball over too much, but they've been very good against good teams. They could have beaten the Rams twice, beat them once, Steelers, Jack, Texans, Colts.

It's not just Sam Darnold. I've said it. If you turn the sound down when you watch the Seahawks, they look like the best team in the league. They can turn the ball over and still blow teams out. they can get outplayed for three and a half quarters and still beat excellent teams. I'll put the Seahawks at number one. Now, Nick Wright, for the first time at his career, is a Bill's Stan. And he is joining us live.

I just, there's so much about the bills that worries me. You've pivoted to Buffalo this year, and it's a redeemable quality. Why? Well, it's, I mean, no, I just last year and this year, I thought going into the season, Buffalo was the second best team in the conference. Last year, I was correct. This year, obviously both years to the Chiefs. This year, the Chiefs let me down on that end. The bills are who they've been, which is they have one of the three best quarterbacks alive. I think he's the second best quarterback alive and the best healthy quarterback, even though Stafford's having the

great year. And the supporting cast, a few years ago, it was wildly overrated. And now it feels a touch underrated. I know people wish Josh Allen had better receivers. I get that. But I guess he just has to settle for having the rushing champ a good to very good offensive line and really good tight ends. That's enough in a wide open AFC. And I do think for Josh when the hurdle for him to make the Super Bowl has to get deep in the playoffs or make the Super Bowl has been, and Patrick Mahomes, four out of five years and Joe Burrow the other year, the fact that neither of those teams or quarterbacks are going to be in the playoffs means this is wide open for him.

So I just think, I don't think Buffalo has the best resume, but of every team in the AFC, their resume is close enough that because they have the only Hall of Fame quarterback in his prime, that is going to be in the playoff field, I think I'd roll with them with the possible caveat of. Look out for my Jags, Colin. Oh, man, I told you to a month ago, what if Trevor went on the Sam Darnold arc? I didn't know what was going to happen right now.

I didn't know what was going to happen for Thanksgiving. He's been great. Now, it's funny. So years and years ago, this may have been 30 years ago. I've never been a big car guy, but I loved Jaguars. I think I saw a movie with a guy in a Jaguar, and I thought it was cool. But Jaguars had a reputation.

They fell apart. That you could not trust the Jaguar. They get British, the Brits. And then I think somebody bought them like Ford or somebody bought them. And now the Jags, you know, they corrected those flaws. But I feel the car and the Jaguars franchise are similar where, boy, they look good. There's a lot of good. Man, they look good.

But I don't trust them on a long roadie. Why do you suddenly trust them? Well, here's the thing. know that I can't fully trust him. But what I will say is this. Liam Cohen just doesn't have like the PR that some of the other young coaches have. He's been excellent. He has been awesome. And as much as I love, and I do love Baker, Baker seems to miss him in a way he didn't miss Dave Canales. And so Liam Cohen, maybe because the Duval thing was goofy, maybe because on camera, he doesn't really cut the same profile as Ben Johnson or D'Amico Ryan's or some of

the other young coaches everybody likes. He wasn't taking as seriously. And then there's Trevor, who here would be my argument about what has changed with Trevor Lawrence. I do not think his highlight throws this year are any different than any of the last four years. I think Trevor's second year in the league, if you cut up his 20 best throws of the season, that they would stack up next to just about any of the all-pro quarterbacks. What Trevor's problem had been was his 20 worst plays of the season? Or brutal. Looked like the worst plays you've ever seen. It was just dropping the ball. Red zone picks, terrible. And he's the last month, he has kept the highlight throws and cut out the other stuff.

They are this, during this run, Colin, they are beating teams by an average of 18.8 points per victory. Yeah. That is, last year, they scored 18.8 points per game. It has been a transformation, and I, listen, they are alive for the one seed. They are huge favorites to win the division, and they feel a little dangerous,

and they do have a bit of a nobody believes in us since the whole media and your guy, Sean Payton, all made fun of Jacksonville for no reason. That's a fine American town. Another wrong with Jacksonville. So I like the Jags. I don't trust them as much as the bills, but see if Trevor can keep this heater going.

So a couple years ago, I said a story that's not a big story, but it's something, is Andy Reid is aging, and he's not going to be around. So Mahomes is going to have to have a second head coach and a second grunk, Travis Kelsey, trustable outlet. So like anything in life,

it's just, I mean, the Patriots weren't great at drafting, but they got tight ends right for a few years, and then in the end, they didn't have enough players. So it's hard. Wide receiver's hard.

It's an emotional position. You get some immaturity, blah, blah, blah. So is there any part of you that looks at it, and you may not, say it on the air, but you're thinking to yourself, if Andy retired after next year, and they're not quite great next year, they retool, but they're not quite great.

They don't have the Rams, maybe the Seahawks roster. Is there any party that worries that the best is gone? And then it was wonderful. It was a Broadway hit, but the understudies filling in aren't the same in Mahalms. It's never quite able to duplicate it. So here's the thing. Worry is not the word I would use. Okay.

And I hear, if you are asking me, do I think it is likely they ever duplicate the last seven years? Because let's just be clear on what it was. That's as good of a seven-year stretch as any team has ever had in the history of football. Are they going to do that twice? Are they going to make seven straight conference championship games? are they going to make five out of six Super Bowls, including three straight? I think the odds are no. The Patriots best stretch ever, 2011 to 18, they did on the back end instead of the front end.

But there is no, they didn't do that more than once. I do think if your point is that we will look at the entire Mahomes era and say the best six-year run was the one that just ended, I think that's likely. I don't think they are likely to make five out of six Super Bowls again and be the favorite every year. But that is a very, very, to me, far bridge from they are done being a perennial Super Bowl favorite. I think they will go into every season over the next, I believe,

five to seven years with the best quarterback in the league and that being your starting point is the most important starting point. And so if you were to ask me how many more Super Bowls do I think Patrick Mahomes plays in, I would probably say four. If you were to ask me how many more Super Bowls does Patrick Mahomes win, I would probably say two or three. Now, again, that would, in any era of NFL football, that career I just described would be incomprehensible.

because Tom Brady went to 10 and 1-7, that seems like odds almost disappointing. But he's already second most all-time in Super Bowl appearances and tied for third all-time in Super Bowl, or fourth all-time, pardon me, in Super Bowl wins. So I think they are going to get back to being a dominant juggernaut. But making five out of six Super Bowls, literally no one had done it before. So I don't know that I can say the Chiefs are going to do it again. I will say this quickly on this. I think you, for all the people poking at Mahomes,

and I saw you say Josh Allen's been way better for two years, which again, I don't know, they play each other in the playoffs. One guy who was out plays him, but set it aside. I think we saw on Sunday how much the offensive load Patrick is carrying. Yes. Because he goes out and they instantly become the worst offense in football. So they do need to retool. some things offensively,

most notably the running back room, and I think they'll do that next season. So I'm always fascinated by unicorns, people that do things, and, you know, it's like unbelievable that Yokic is the, maybe the best center ever.

Now, he doesn't have Kareem Skyhook, but passing, threes, low post, screening, you're like, I've never, and he goes against type, like, he's not twitchy. He couldn't jump over a folded newspaper and you're like,

yeah, you can't guard him. You literally can't say, Draymond Green's like, yeah, that's the one guy I can't do anything with. So here's Caleb Williams. It's fascinating. When he paints his fingernails, he's awful on script. He jumps into the crowd to see his mom.

Oh, I talked to all these GMs. They're like, he's not very accurate. He's kind of moody. I'm not sure if he's a league. And now you're watching the dysfunctional bears. He's going to win this incredible division, you know, before the season where he's at the best

division. And it's fascinating. I don't worry about the completion percentage, but it is rare that you'd be like, because Cam was in the 5960, but I think Caleb's, I think his ceiling's more consistent than Cam,

because Cam's personality was kind of distracted. Is it possible that we are, look, I said this a couple weeks ago, is he a shorter Josh Allen. There's nothing else like him on the, that even looks like him. What do you make of his personality? So the Jacks, yeah. So all of it. So listen, the Josh Allen comp I struggle with only because so much of Josh's greatness is just brute force. Just how big and strong and that, so I, that comp, I can't wrap my mind around. But what, so let me just go through all of it. Fact of the matter is, and people were, you know, kind of dancing around it, there was a lot of, without saying it, people are like, ah, I think the guy's too effeminate.

They didn't like that he cried. They didn't like that he painted his nails. And they didn't like that he was fine with it. Like that he was, he knew people were going to have that criticism and he didn't care. I thought that critique from the beginning was nonsense. People were like, ah, will locker rooms follow him? And the answer is if he's good, absolutely. Like nobody, as long as he's good, no one will care.

And if he's bad, you know, all of a sudden not painting his fingernails won't do anything. So that, I dismissed that criticism. The, him not being great at layups is a fair critique. But if you were to ask me, Colin, here are 15 traits that make a quarterback, make up a, NFL quarterback. Pick one that is most fixable, I would say not great at layups. The stuff he is great at, not only is it not fixable, it's not teachable. And so give me the guy who has the inherent greatness in him

and then pair him with someone like Ben Johnson, whose job it is to help him with the other stuff. I would say this. After last year, I thought he finished his rookie year well behind schedule. I think now he's not only on schedule but ahead of schedule. And still, the completion percentage is crummy. And if not for an on-side kick recovery, he wouldn't have gotten any of the highlight moments that we got against the Packers. But after that on-side kick, the fourth and four play was unbelievable. and the throw in overtime might have been the play of the year in the NFL. And he's young and he's figuring it out and Ben Johnson is, you know, ushering him along.

So I like, I love what he's doing. I believe in the Bears to a degree. Do I think they're going to win four playoff games to win the Super Bowl? No. But do I think that nobody wants to play them? Absolutely. One small critique about the Bears. And this was Ben Johnson's issue in Detroit too.

And I like Ben. You can be a little too cute for school sometimes. time, buddy. It's fourth and one in the first quarter against the Packers. Maybe that's not when you call your trick play that involves snapping the ball between your tight end's legs to your 5-9 running back so he can throw a pass to your quarterback. Maybe save that one for a lower leverage moment, but I think overall Bears fans got to be over the moon. By the way, my only criticism ever of McVeigh was in his first two or three years, he showed off a little bit. He would do stuff.

You're like, Sean, run the ball. Todd Gurley, let's just do that. Okay. Correct. I want to show, you know, America should be proud of us. You now have pivoted to a pro-bills guy, and I am an abject charger, Homer, because I love Herbert and Hardball. They did not make my herd hierarchy.

I was shocked by that. Okay. I wanted to ask you about it. Okay. So I put him at 11, and my takeaway is, I have to put Josh Allen in. I don't know what to do with the Chargers. Where do you put him on that list? Well, I, that's my problem.

I am, so here's, here's what my response would be. And I'm not as high on the chargers as you obviously or as our pal Danny Parkin. So I'm pretty sure thinks Justin Herbert's the third or fourth greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL. Right. I think they're better than the Texans right now. So the Texans, I don't know how much people watch Texans Raiders. But the Texans offense, Colin, is a problem. problem. And here is my, here would be my concern for Houston. Because I like D'Amico, the defense

is obviously sensational. When the 14 teams, or I'm sorry, the seven teams that make the AFC playoffs, if we were to power rank each team's offense and defense, so like the number one unit might be Denver's defense, number two might be the Texans defense, number three, Bill's offense, whatever, on down. Would 14th be the Houston Texans offense? Are they going to walk into the AFC playoffs with the worst unit, offense or defense of either of any team in it? I think they might. And so that, but I agree with you, I would have the bills ahead of the Chargers. I think the job that Kyle Shanahan's done with San Francisco is unbelievable. And Colin, just so you know, be ready. I can't believe we're going to be pulled into it again. But after you and I won,

declared victory, was drawing borders for the great Brock Purdy War of the 2020s, we're back in it. Now, everyone's going to forget that Mack Jones did all the exact same stuff, and we're going to hear about how elite this player is after last night. But the night, so I think all of those teams, except for the Texans, I think I'd have ahead of the Chargers, so the Texans would be the spot. But I appreciate your integrity by not having, you know, just fitting in your beloved Los Angeles Chargers. I like to put friends in the herd hierarchy. I don't know what to do.

I had them at 11. Nick Wright is always, buddy, great stuff. Great to see you. I see you, Colin. Yeah, I did this last night. I sent it to Kyle, our producer, after the Niners game. And I sat there, and I literally had chargers jumping over like a fence. I was having these weird dreams.

I'm like, what am I doing? These are my friends. I don't know what to do with them. Buffalo's got to be in it. Coming up next, be careful the job you take, even if you're a great candidate and it pays a lot of money.

I'm worried about a guy that's going to get offers and he shouldn't take them. Just because you get a job promotion, doesn't mean it's a good decision. Next. 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. Pauli Fusco here with Tony Fusco. Yo, as everybody knows, we're the host of the award-winning Pauley and Tony Fusco show. Yeah. But instead of us telling you how great we are, here's how Dan Patrick described us when he came on our show. Quick, knowledgeable, and funny, opinionated. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

What are you doing? You're interrupting our promo. Yeah. He wasn't talking about you. You took those clips totally out of context. Oh, yeah, well, after this promo, I'm going to take you out and beat you. Let me put this into context. Shut up.

Anyway, just listen to the Pauley and Tony Fusco show on IHart Radio, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Yeah. Hey, it's us to 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 a podcast. 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. We were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band.

Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.

But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 and the TikTok podcast. network on TikTok. Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is, getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is, getting a new one put up in its place. As long as there's a politics of race in America, there's going to be a politics of remembering the Civil War.

To get to school, I had to go down Robert Lee Boulevard. Get to the grocery store, I had to go down Jefferson Davis Parkway. If you're an historian and you leave out half of what the history is, you're not doing your job. I'm Akila Hughes, and Rebel Spirit Season 2 goes deep on both of those things. The fights, the politics, the people who won, and my personal campaign to add something to the Kentucky State House that's actually worth the wall space. We are more than our bodies. We contain essence. We contain spirit. How do you represent that? They are just fueling a fire that is really catching.

You'll see what I mean. Listen to Rebel Spirit Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever. you get your podcasts. Keith Giamanka seemed like a mild-mannered suburban dad, but secretly, he became someone else, a master of disguise who went on a crime spree. At the time, did it seem like a crazy idea? It seemed very crazy, but I felt so desperate that I felt it was the quickest, easiest way out. Did you allow yourself to think about how it could go wrong or what that might look

No, I didn't want to manifest that. I was trying to manifest success. Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man. This is going to change my life and my family dynamic forever because everything that had existed prior in my reality

is now untrue. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man. The Family Man, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. J-Mac with the news. This is the Herdline News. Well, let's go to Chargers. Cowboys, Colin. Interesting game on Sunday.

Very nice win for Justin Herbert and company. I was blown away by Herbert's movement in the pocket, just shredding this terrible secondary, despite not having his tackles. I'll get to that momentarily. But you know who loved it even more? Jim Harbaugh. Listen to him gush about Herbert. Justin Herbert.

It was as far as quarterback performances go, that was a Picasso. Just incredible. Played by him and just dialed in like he always is, though. I mean, it's that way every single week with numbing repetition, how well he plays. he loves his quarterback. It's a great place to be in the NFL. There's not many quarterbacks. There's probably, I used to always say,

used to have this game, I'd say, there's quarterbacks where you pick up the phone and try to move them. There's quarterbacks, a lot of them, where you'll take a call on the quarterback, but you don't get on the phone to trade them. And then there's like six guys in the league, tops, you don't even pick up the phone.

There's not a single place. player in the league, Harbaugh would pick up the phone. There's not a single trade he would make to get rid of Justin Herbert. I mean, he is, that is not he, they are so sympathetico, their relationship. Like all Herbert cares about his football, Harbaugh is obsessed with football. That is a great head coach quarterback relationship. Colin, Justin Herbert's been amazing and it's interesting because nobody talks about this, okay? When Patrick Mahomes loses his two tackles, He shrivels up and can't do anything. In the Super Bowl this season, you know, both of Justin Herbert's starting tackles are on IR?

He hasn't had them for weeks. He lost one of his tackles this week against the Cowboys. It didn't matter. I mean, listen, I'm not really comparing Herbert to Mahomes. Resumet-wise, Mahomes has him by a mile. Herbert won't catch him. But right now, if you're asking me who's a better quarterback this season, it's not close. Justin Herbert has outplayed Mahomes, and both of them have been missing their tackle.

So I don't want to hear it. No excuses, Mahomes. How many quarterbacks in the game? the league could take the beating Justin Herbert's taken this year. And I mean Josh Allen, maybe. Herbert's also got the broken bone in his hand. Did you notice he went down against Dallas? He came up win-saying it.

And Harbaugh didn't care. He's still called the push. Herbert runs it in. I was watching closely because he's my fantasy quarterback. Listen, I'm just saying I'm not bashing Mahomes. People will take this the wrong way. But Colin, you and I watch football closely. Justin Herbert's been a mile better than Patrick Mahomes this year.

and he doesn't have amazing skill position. They were down to a third string running back. Yeah. They're really, they're below average at tight end. So this is what we say. The difference between there's a lot of levels of quarterbacks and tears. The guys that can do it with an atrocious O-line and no run game for six weeks. And what are they, 11 and 4 right now?

They should not be 11 and 4. Now, I'll just preface this. I don't love them this weekend against Houston. I know the Texans looked awful. Either do I. But your bad old line can hold up against Dallas. I don't know that it could hold up against Hunter and Will Anderson. That's just a nasty combo.

I'm leaning Texans, but I like the Chargers, so I'm not. No, no, I felt the same way. If Woody Marks plays for Houston, I like Houston and the point. Woody Marks. It's like Richie Rice. Wait till Rashie Rice and Xavier. Now, Woody is a big part of that offense. He's good.

You're USC guy. All right, let's go to the other Harbaugh. John Harbaugh. Now, I was mentioning the speculation in Baltimore that people are upset, unhappy. Remember, Derek Henry didn't get any carries after going up 11. The Ravens have an 11% chance to make the playoffs. They need the Steelers to lose this weekend in Cleveland. That could happen.

And then, of course, they need to beat the Steelers. But after 18 years in Baltimore, there's questions about Harbaugh's job security, and he addressed it yesterday. And it's never been about keeping a job. And there's no such thing as, it's like your job, or my job. You know, we, we have, we have responsibilities. We're given opportunities to steward those responsibilities and you're given a job to do that until you're not, you know, then, you try to do the best. I try to do the job, not try to keep the job, because there's no such thing as having a job,

just doing a job. And so my focus is on always, it has been for the last 18 years here and the last 41 years in coaching, or is it 42? It's up there. It's been, to try to do the best job I can today. That's a great quote. That's a great way to look at it. I like the Harbaas always are so quotable. That's Jack. That comes from dad.

I mean, they just always have a perspective on life that is gratitude. I mean, it really is. Both the Harbaughs are incredibly grateful for their position. I hope everybody can acknowledge how valuable that is as an asset as a human being. Because it just comes through the camera every time they open their mouths. How gratitude, how grateful and what gratitude. they have for their positions. Good leaders. I'll say this.

The idea of moving off Harbaugh, okay, I get it. You're unhappy. You're ticked off. The team is trending poorly. But what's the game plan, Colin? Is there a coach out there who's a legitimate upgrade? No. No, I mean, right now, yeah, I mean, there's some really good coaches in this league. I just don't even, I can't even broach the subject. John Harbaugh is the coach of the Ravens. I don't think anybody else fits that culture or could build an equal culture.

so I just don't see, you know, it's like Andy Reid getting up there physically, it's coming to an end. It's like I feel like the same way. If Kyle Shanahan had back-to-back losing seasons, I mean, I can nitpick, but the guy's so good. I mean, it doesn't matter. Garoppolo, where was Garapolo the minute he left Kyle? Mack Jones pre-Kyle. Seven teams passed on Brock. I mean, he's got this history.

That's why he said when he let go of Trey Lance, folks, buyer. Beware. If Kyle can't fix you, you're probably not that fixable. I don't know. Was I going overboard with the Lamar stuff, or do you think that there's a question there? I think Lamar's beat up. His speed early in the season was 15 miles an hour, now it's 10. He's not the same guy. He doesn't move the same. That was on the screen. Are we blaming injuries or AIDS or just? Yeah, he's beat up. So you think next season they can bounce back? I think they will bounce back. We'll see. Is Derek Henry on the roster next year?

That's a good question. He's got, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's had some ugly fumbles this year. Yeah, getting up there in age. Finally, let's go to the Niners. Bang Bang, Bang, Niners, Colin. How about Brock Purdy? My guy. Five Tuddies, really impressive performance. Listen, I know you were kind of muted, despite saying how good they look. You decided to talk about Christian McCaffrey and not Brock Purdy, but Trent Williams. Oh, boy, he talked about Brock and company chasing the top spot in the NFC. It's not end-all, be-all, but it's definitely important. You know, we got two playoff teams coming up, so

I'm just more excited to see how we match up. Can we continue to play the football that we're proud of, the football that we play tonight? You know, because it's a great chance that we can see one of those two teams in the playoffs as well. So, you know, I'm not really

number one seed, obviously it's a path to that, but it's not the number one thing in our mind right now, especially not mine. Let me just say, The offense is humming. Yeah. Now, George Kittle.

Man, that's... Okay, so now you've got two days less rest than Chicago. Kittle probably doesn't play, and McCaffrey's coming off a 27-touch game. Those are bad numbers. That's why I like the Bears. Those are bad numbers for the Niners. I did drill down on the 27 touches. Unbelievably, all four times after he had the 27 touches, they played a tough team.

Well, they played a tough team. They're not playing like the sisters of the poor. And I don't know that the bears are tough. But you did give me pause, because I already bet the over in this Sunday night football. And I may lay the lumber with the Niners. I'm praying this drops to two and a half. It's three now. But I hope people hear your bears love.

And maybe Roma Dunzei returns. Luther Burden returns. Yeah. Yeah. I just, I don't know that they can stop this nineers often. These guys are shredding. But how about this? We got the headline writers.

Brock you like a hurricane. Okay, we got a lot of stuff in the chain. We're ready for action. This Niners team, hey, Colin, you got to admit this. This 49ers team is very fun to watch. Oh, God, they're a great TV product. I love watching the Niners. They're so much fun to watch.

You got to get Kittled back, though, dude. That guy is, oh, my God. It just, the blocking alone changes their offense. He is arguably one of the top two or three blocking tight ends of all time. You took every receiver and tight end in league history. That was good. Yeah. And by the way, no Ricky Pearsall last night? He didn't even play. He was an early pick. They love him. Super athletic. He can't stay healthy.

Yeah. But I'm just telling you, if the defense can get just a few stops against the run, I got to look up Robert Sala against Ben Johnson. I got to chat, GPD. Give me the history of their matchups head to head. I haven't done all the research yet, but it's early in the week. J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. 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. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, new?

Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to 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 new?

name Hey Jonas, guys. I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. 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, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. Help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending. Opinions are flying. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source. The athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 and the TikTok podcast. podcast network on TikTok. Keith Gianmanca seemed like a mild-mannered suburban dad, but secretly he became someone else, a master of disguise who went on a crime spree. At the time, did it seem like a crazy idea? It seemed very crazy, but I felt so desperate that I felt it was the quickest, easiest way out. Did you allow yourself to think about how it could go wrong? on what that might look like.

No, I didn't want to manifest that. I was trying to manifest success. Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man. This is going to change my life and my family dynamic forever because everything that had existed prior in my reality

is now untrue. Listen to deep cover, The Family Man, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is. Getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is. Getting a new one put up in its place. As long as there's a politics of race in America, there's going to be a politics of remembering

the Civil War. To get to school, I had to go down Robert Ely Boulevard. Get to the grocery store, I had to go down Jefferson Davis Parkway. If you're an historian and you leave out half of what the history is, you're not doing your job. I'm Akila Hughes. In Rebel Spirit, Season 2 goes deep on both of those things. The fights, the politics, the people who won, and my personal campaign to add something to the Kentucky State House that's actually worth the wall space.

We are more than our bodies. We contain essence. We contain spirit. How do you represent that? They are just fueling a fire that is really catching. You'll see what I mean. Listen to Rebel Spirit season two on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Sunday, the Colts tried to keep their playoff hopes alive against the division leading Jags or other regional action.

Then in America's Game of the Week, it's a potential Super Bowl preview. As Jalen Hertz and the Eagles take on Josh Allen and the Bills, check local listings for the games in your area Sunday on Fox. I said if there was an award for the best coaching staff in the NFL this year, I would give it to the San Francisco 49ers. What Robert Sal has done is amazing. So Salas signed for the Jets. I think it was five years, $25 million, and he's the highest paid defensive court rate in football.

And I have said all year, I would hire him as a head coach in the right spot. He's going to eat. He won't be taking public transportation much. He's done well for himself. I think he should follow the Mike Vrable or Ben Johnson route. Ben Johnson turned down multiple teams until he found a quarterback he thought that's dynamic.

And Mike Vrable took a year off. So if you look at Jim Harbaugh and you look at Ben Johnson and Mike Vrable, they waited until in their mind, okay, that's a quarterback, I can win double-digit games with. You can't predict Super Bowls, but that's a guy I can win 10, 11, 12 games with.

And that's when you jump. The Titans have an opening, dysfunction, giants have an opening. I wouldn't go back to New York. First of all, both those organizations have dysfunction, and they don't have a ton of momentous franchises, and that matters. But it's weird because I've always thought a good coaching candidate. Now, Harbaugh is a great candidate.

Braybill's a great candidate. Sala did get fired. Saul is a good coaching candidate, and a good coaching candidate should be like a good actor. Wait for the right script. But both professions are weirdly insecure. Is that good actors, they don't get, they don't get called for the big movies.

They get an audition, right? They need to know a director. And so it's easy for Matt Damon, who once told his wife, we'll take an extended break, I will, unless Christopher Nolan calls again, and he did for Oppenheimer. It's like, okay, I'm going back to work. Jim Harbaugh went, okay, Justin Herbert is great.

I'm leaving college football for that gig. Mike Vrable watched, took a year off, watched Drake May and said, that looks a little like Tom with better movement. So I think Sala, and it's a weird space, I think he should stay in San Francisco for as long as he has to. There's only been a handful of great job openings. Now, I thought the Patriots was great.

Owner Robert Kraft, Josh McDaniels, the OC, had failed at head coach, wanted to stay there, and Drake May was super talented, and you had $300 million of free agent money. and you don't have a lot of, it's a good organization. That was a great job. Mike McCarthy, Matt LaFleur, getting Aaron Rogers late prime, great job. I mean, Mike McCarthy getting Dak in his prime.

That's a pretty good job. Harbaugh to Herbert, very good job. But I think I look at Robert Sala, and there's a weird thing about coaches. It's not just the money, because he's made good money, not amazing money relative to what, you know, high-end coaches make. but I think he can work in college. He just doesn't want to coach college. I think he'd be a rock star in college, but that NIL nonsense, you know, a lot of coaches now are like, if you're going to pay players,

just go coach the best players. But here's Kyle Shanahan on his amazing defensive coordinator. I think Robert had a lot of opportunities to be de-coordinator. I think that was definitely one of them. So just talking to that whole thing, and he got close to, I think, a couple head coach jobs at the time, too. So he was definitely our first choice, and we were hoping that we would be his.

and that's a hot commodity. And the way he carries himself, the how he is, I hope for us he's not a head coach next year. But I also know when you have the talent that someone like Robert does, it's only a matter of time. So he's coached the Jets.

He's been in a bad movie with a bad director before and a bad script. So he doesn't want to do that again. So you have to be choosy. And like an interesting one, you say, oh, what about, what if Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati job

was available. I think Zach Taylor's fine. I don't think he's McVeigh. He's fine. I don't think that's a great job because of ownership and Joe Burroughs injuries. I do not think that's a great job. Titans, like the quarterback, not a great job. Folks, there's not as many good jobs as you think. Like, I think the ownership in Buffalo is strong, and I think if they got bounced in the first round, that would be one of the last great jobs in the last five, six years, Buffalo. I'm not rooting for that to happen. I think Sean McDermott is good. and Brandon Bean, the GM, is known as a very sharp cap guy. He knows how to work his way around the math.

But these coaches, they want gigs. There is a lot of good coaching going on in the NFL. There is unbelievable. I mean, think about this. The playoffs are not going to have Mahomes, Burrow, and maybe Lamar Jackson. But you're going to get Stafford and Aaron Rogers and Caleb and Bo Nix and Trevor Lawrence and Justin Herbert and Drake May. And they're CJ Stroud.

and you're going to get a lot of great quarterback play. So if you're not going to have Burrell, Lamar, and Mahomes, you would think that's a dent to the playoffs. Jalen Hurts is going to be around. Brock Purdy's absolutely on fire. Great stories. I do like Philadelphia to beat Buffalo over the weekend because I think Josh Allen still dinged up.

We can throw the schedule up at you want. It's not, the one o'clock window on Sunday does not harken back to the great early windows in league history. The best, I mean, you know, Thursday, you know, you're getting backup quarterbacks. I do want to watch Detroit at Minnesota. Whoa, whoa, not just backups, Colin. Josh Johnson's a third stringer.

I know. Max Brosmer is the third stringer rookie. A Ludicon, whoever that is, is a third stringer. Those are brutal. Yeah, this is a really weak slate. Saturday's great, though. Texans at the Chargers. Whoa, hold on, hold on.

Ravens have to win. It's the season. It's probably going to be Josh Johnson? Or not Josh Johnson. Who's the backup? Snoop Huntley against whoever, Malik Willis is heard. Let me tell you something.

Snoop Hanley and Malik Willis, there's an argument. Those are the best backups in the league. We'll see. I think Texas Chargers is really, really good. Sunday, I'm circling that Panthers Seahawks game, Colin. I just sent a request to our great statistician, researcher. The play is Carolina plus seven? Yep.

But is there a money line play on it as well? Because we've seen some teams from the West Coast go east in November, December, and really struggle. Yeah. Well, yeah, travel early is not travel late. Teams are beat up. And it is interesting about when you get this time in the NFL season and people always bemoaned that we have all these backup quarterbacks. And this is something I think, I know I've been on this for years, is of all the positions in the NFL, we know quarterbacks most important, left tackle, either a pass rusher, an elite pass rusher ringer front four to five, a weapon or two. I think the center, I think the center is underrated, corners overrated. Let me tell you another position that's underrated.

Backup quarterback. If not, for the quarterback room and for three or four potential mid-games moments. 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.

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 Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel helped

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. Turn someday into right now with Buddy by Jake Radio, nonstop workout music and expert tips 24-7.

Hey, head over to iHeart.com. Search Body by Jake Radio and stream it for free right now. Awesome health and wellness tips 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Remember, stick to the fight. When your hardest hit, it's when things seem worst that you must not quit. Don't quit. Body by Jake Radio, where hope meets momentum. Search Body by Jake Radio and stream it for free. Have a great day. I heart radio. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Konki, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called the 1021 podcast. I'm taking you behind

the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This season on Dear Chelsea, with me, Chelsea Handler, we have some fantastic guests like Amelia Clark.

When, like, young people come up to me and they want to be a act or whatever. My first thing is always, can you think of anything else that you can do? Rather be disappointed in. Do that. David O'Yello-O. I love this podcast, whether it's therapy or relationships or religion or sex or addiction or you just go straight for the guts. Dennis Leary, Gaten Moderato from Stranger Things, Tena Mongeau, Camilla Morone, Carrie Kenny Silver, and more. Listen to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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