The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - Right / Wrong, Jimmy Johnson

Episode Date: January 1, 2024

In this hour of The Herd, it's another edition of "Where Colin Was Right, Where Colin Was Wrong." Plus, NFL Hall of Fame (and now Cowboys' Ring of Honor) head coach Jimmy Johnson joins Colin to discuss the ending of the Lions-Cowboys game, why Bronco quarterback Russell Wilson and Denver head coach Sean Payton clashed in their brief time working together, whether the Bears should keep quarterback Justin Fields or draft Caleb Williams, Jim Harbaugh's future at Michigan, and more! Finally, what to do with quarterback Justin Fields in Chicago.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. All right, here we go. We are loaded. It's Monday. We are live in Los Angeles. It's the hurt. Wherever you may be.

However you may be listening. Jimmy Johnson, Urban Meyer last hour talking Texas, Washington, Michigan, Bama. I don't know where to go, Michigan, Bama. I do like Washington. Kailin Nabor with a month to prepare more. Watch out.

Great weekend for Jimmy Johnson. He joins us in five minutes. So a lot to be right. I was actually three and two this weekend. You had a rough weekend. That Colts, I lost by half a point. But I will say, this next week, can have a blazing five. You know, you don't want to bet week one next year.

I think you should punt on this week. You don't know who's playing. Yeah, I don't have, no, I'm not doing it. Some of the lines are crazy. Unless you just want to pick like the biggest games, Miami Buffalo. That's a good game. Yeah, but that's a tough game to pick, you know. Blazing one.

Well, wait. Saturday night, I think there's a good game. There's a couple others that matter for playoff ramifications, but there's like eight games that are irrelevant. Yeah. Here we go. Every Monday at this time, Colin Wright, Colin wrong, plenty of both. Where Colin was right. Lasing five went three and two. I had the Giants to cover, the Texans to roll in Arizona plus the points have not had a losing week since pre- Thanksgiving. It's been a very good second half of the season for us. Three and on the year, and we're happy about it. Where Colin was wrong.

I think I was a little too optimistic on the Philadelphia Eagles and Nick Seriani. They've lost four of five. I don't know what their offense is. How can A.J. Brown not have a touchdown in December. I mean, the reality is they've got some really good offensive personnel, a left tackle, a center, a right tackle, capable running backs, always good tight ends. Jalen hurts, two receivers. and yet outside of the tush push, I don't know what I get.

They were outscored, dominated. In this game in the second half, I think I've been too optimistic on the Eagles. Where Colin was right. The Sean Payton Russell Wilson divorce, we had said, we're not sure if this thing's going to work. When they signed Jarrett Stidham before the season to an expensive backup deal, that was a warning sign that Sean had looked at film, stylistically didn't think Russell Wilson fit.

They have two different personalities. They clashed on the sidelines once. He was always questioning, simplifying the offense. You know, the contract stuff aside, that stuff gets ugly all the time and a lot of businesses. But we just didn't think from the very early stages. I thought Sean got the most out of Russ you could get out of Russ at this point in his career. But it's just stylistically and personalities, it's a difficult fit. where Colin was wrong.

I finally professed my love for Baker Mayfield in the box, and they laid an egg. They trailed 20-0 to the Saints. Baker did throw for 300-some yards, but most of it was late in the fourth quarter, a little bit of garbage time stuff. The Saints, and I've got my misgivings about Dennis Allen in that operation right now,

but I went all in on Baker, and that was a very weak performance. Where Colin was right? You know I love Kyler Murmans, he put on a showcase yesterday. I think he's amazing. 32 first downs, 25 of 31, touchdowns on all four second half possessions. I just think he's magic. I think he throws a beautiful ball. I think he sees the field. I think he has twitchy everything. I think he throws a good deep ball. Intermediate. Yeah. People say, is he great in the locker room? Well, I mean,

I don't know what that means. I'm not in the locker room. All I know, is that guy generates offense. And if you didn't watch this game closely, I thought Arizona could have had 10 more points. I mean, they just did what they wanted in the second half. Where Colin was right? The Miami Dolphins. Listen, when they beat Dallas, I said,

I'm not going to give you too much credit. I don't trust Dallas on the road. I don't think Miami's the kind of team that will be able in the postseason to match up physically with some of these teams. This game was interesting for a quarter, but all the gaps. I mean, they didn't pick up their alerts, their checks, whatever it was on the defensive end,

but there was just mistakes all over the field. And again, I think they're fun. I think they're flashy. I think they're fast. I think Mike McDaniel's really clever, certainly capable of winning a playoff game, but this is the kind of game. Northeast physical team that I always have my questions about with Miami.

Where Colin was wrong. Boy, did I miss on this. By October, I was done. with Jordan Love. I didn't see it at all. He was tall and athletic, but erratic. He's been terrific. His last seven games, 16 touchdowns and a pick. And remember, all these receivers and tight ends are kids. They're first and second round players. This is the youngest team in the league. So we always knew he had the size. He was athletic. He had a pretty good whip. But he's really playing under control. I like the fact he's a risk taker. He'll throw it downfield. Boy, I was

Wrong on that one. This kid is really, really over the last seven weeks exploded. Where Colin was right? Florida State got beat 63 to 3. George is the one that should be upset. They're the one that may be better than everybody. Michigan, Bama, Texas, and Washington. And what really bothered me about Florida State, leadership comes in many forms. When the administrators and the coaches pouted and whined and complained nonstop for two weeks,

It set the tone in the building. The young players watched it and mailed it in. Obviously, preparation was poor. Many quit. Many transferred. Leadership comes in many forms. Just because you don't get your way, whining and pounding by adults, set a really bad tone for this game.

Where Colin was right? You know I love spring football, and I know it keeps failing. But yesterday, Fox and ESPN jointly announced a UFL. This thing is going to work with legalized gambling in America. I told you years ago, I would have invested in the MLS a decade ago. Those have exploded. I would have invested in MMA UFC 20 years ago. I didn't have any money.

The UFL, the Spring Football League, the two major sports networks, it's going to work. And both network presidents signed off on it yesterday. Colin right, Colin wrong on a Monday. So a really, really emotional weekend for our friend Jimmy Johnson, who comes on our show, you know, pretty regularly. We try to get him every four or five weeks. He teaches us stuff about football, the Hall of Famer.

So he finally, Jerry Jones, acknowledging, yeah, this ring on or things not going to look right if Jimmy Johnson's not in it. So Jimmy was introduced and included in the Cowboys Ring of Honor, and here it was. People have asked what this means to me. I'm so very, very proud, proud of what we accomplished. And when I say we, a lot of people, but more than anybody else, thank you, Jerry Jones, for bringing me to the Dallas Cowboys. thank you thank you thank you

and I just got one more thing to say Jimmy must be wiped out a very emotional weekend for him there was the rock moment we'll show you later you know it for us at the family this was one of these things

that you know we're all partners in this world of the NFL and the Cowboys and Jimmy Johnson but for us we were all like come on Jerry and when you got the call When you got the call privately, you and I talked about this. When you got the call privately, it does mean something. This stuff does mean stuff, right, Jimmy?

Yeah, you know, Colin, the big thing, you know, Jerry told me for years I was going and going to go in the Ring of Honor. So I knew eventually it would happen. But what was special, you know, I had my family, my wife, Rhonda, my, you know, sons, Brent, and Chad, and their wives, Ron. daughter, all my best friends, all the Fox crew, my players, my coaches. I mean, they were all there. And so that's really what made it special. Yeah. You know, when I watch the Cowboys Lions game, I know the officials, it appears, made a mistake.

But you've told me this before. They happen. You can't be a fan or a player. As a head coach, you've got to be emotional and just deal with it. You're not a player. You're not a player. You're not coordinator. You're a head coach. I didn't like Dan Campbell going forward again. You'd use your trick play. That's a congested area. Jimmy, I didn't like it. I would have kicked the PAT and gone to overtime. Would you have done the same? Yeah, yeah, exactly. I think he got emotional. He got upset that the official probably made a bad call, but he got himself in trouble because he tried to trick the cowboys and to see who the substitution was and who was eligible. And what he did, he tricked the official. The official wouldn't sure, you know, because really 68, you know,

three people went up toward the official, you know, and even though 68 said, you know, hey, I'm the one, I'm eligible. He was trying to confuse the cowboys. And what he did, he confused the official. The official made the wrong call. But then again, you've got to deal with it. And then after they penalized him, rather than be emotional about it, kick the extra point, try to win it in overtime. Because really, they were playing better than the government. Yes, yes.

So that's the reason why I would always make a decision whether or not to go into overtime or not. If I was the underdog and if I didn't have as good a team as the opponent, then I might go for two. Yeah. But if I had the better team, I would feel like, hey, Let's put it in overtime because we're the better team. We'll win it in overtime. Okay, let's go to the Dallas side.

And this bothers me. Whenever coaches go for it and it fails, they always say the same thing. Hey, I want to go for it. And it's hard as a reporter to push back on that. We all love aggressive coaching. But I didn't love Mike McCarthy in field goal range anyway. Detroit's got one time out.

Jimmy. I didn't like them throwing the ball and a low percentage drifter down the right sideline. What did you make it at? And in fact, I said the same thing on Fox NFL Sunday. You know, he gave Detroit an opportunity to win the game rather than running the clock out, make them get rid of their timeouts and win the game that way.

And so, no, I didn't like him throwing the football there at the end because he just opened the door for Detroit. So I got to ask you about Philadelphia. Jimmy, you coaches all, you experiment at your OTAs. You experiment in preseason. Even in September, you're going to try some things to figure out if guys can play. How can they play? But you get post- Thanksgiving, you like to have stuff buttoned up.

I watch Philadelphia's offense. I like their personnel. I don't know what they are offensively. I don't know. Can you flip a switch this late in the season, Jimmy? No, I think they've got real problems. And there's two things there, Colin. As far as their offense, people have seen that offense,

and the more times you play against it, the more times you practice against it. You know, Gannon practiced against it, you know, every day a year ago when he was a defense coordinator. Yeah. And so he knew how to play that offense. The other thing is they are so bad in the secondary. I don't know if their defensive backfield can hold up.

They've got a lot of good players. I'll say that. They've got a lot of good players. But they're really poor in the past defense, and people are playing their offense better than they have in the previous years. I've got to ask you about this because, I mean, you've had contract negotiations with, you know, Wayne Hisinga, Jerry Jones, and Fox. Stuff gets dicey.

And the Russell, Wilson, Sean Payton stuff, There's a lot of stuff behind the scenes that I just don't pretend I know. But there is something about this relationship. Sean is almost to a fault, authentic and emotional and outspoken. It's gotten him in trouble. Russell is relentlessly optimistic, so much so he's had teammates turn on him. I never felt the personalities worked. You don't have to go to dinner.

Belichick and Brady weren't going out for cocktails. But this just never felt right to me. Did it feel right for you? Well, first of all, you mentioned Belichick and Brady. And, of course, as you know, I know both of them, especially Bill, you know, extremely well. Both of them respected each other as winners. Both of them knew that the other one could help them win championships. So there was tremendous respect there.

I don't think you have that with Russell Wilson and Sean Payton. and I'm not real sure Sean Payton morning Russell Wilson from day one. But the problem is he got that huge contract. And now it looks like Sean's going to try to win without, not only without Russell Wilson, he's going to try to win without the same amount of money as the opposing teams. Because there's going to be a lot of dead money for the next couple of years. And so his cap number will be much smaller than his opponents. Now, whether or not, you know, a lot of times you can play with some cheap players and still win games.

But it's nice to have the best players. So Miami, I've watched San Francisco and Miami tried to defend Lamar Jackson. It doesn't work. He's now become... It doesn't work. I don't care who it is. It's not going to work against Lamar Jackson. He's a great player.

What would you have done against Lamar? What would you have tried? I'd start studying the next week's opponent and try to beat them. Yeah, there's not much. You know what I love about him, Jimmy? And you see this with a lot of players, not necessarily quarterbacks. He's so competitive. He gets so angry at himself.

How much did you value competitiveness? Oh, please. You know, if he's a great competitor, not only is he going to compete during the ball game, he's going to be competitive getting ready for the ball game. After a loss, he's going to be that much of a competitor in preparing for the next opponent. So the competitiveness helps you not only on game day,

but it helps you throughout the year. Yeah. Yeah, you know that very, very well about so many guys in locker rooms from the 28 spot to the 55 spot in a roster are leaders, gunners on special teams, and they make a big difference. So I want to take you to a moment yesterday. It's amazing to me that we knew this. The Rock came on the Fox Sports Show Sunday, right?

NFL Sunday with Fox. You guys have been doing this for years. And there was a little surprise that Rock delivered to Jimmy Johnson. Here it is. I had to take a moment just to let you know how influential, you've actually been in my life. When I was getting in trouble at 15 years old, getting arrested, my football coach said,

you come play football. I committed to the game of football. There was one team in the country that got my attention, and it was University of Miami, and there was one man who got my attention, and that was you. Coach, I'm here to tell you, when I was 18, I wanted to give you this.

This is my letter of intent to play for you. So if you ever decide to coach again, the coach again, coach it'll be it up. That is, did you know he, that's craziest thing I've ever seen. How, what did you make of that? Well, yeah, I knew he loved University of Miami. And I knew, of course, he played there. But, you know, when he kind of made up his mind,

he was going to go to the University of Miami. That's when I was still there. Then I left and went to the Cowboys, and he stuck with his decision to go to Miami. But he still is a huge Miami fan. and obviously a great star in a lot of different areas. You know, Jimmy, you've had a career where you're one of the best college coaches ever. You're one of the best NFL coaches ever.

You are, as everybody at Fox knows, you're the coach on the set. You know, those guys are screwing around. You're the coach on the set just making sure Bradshaw and Howie Long and just stray hands show up and, you know, wear their suits. Is, you know, you don't celebrate yourself a lot. You're a grinder. You used to get here before everybody. you'd walk down the road in L.A. and get here, and I'd see you walking all over town, is if I said to you, if I said to you, I was going to hire a young Jimmy Johnson.

And I'm the athletic director or I'm the owner. And I said, there's this guy, Jimmy Johnson. What do you think your core strength has been? I know you don't like talking about this stuff. What is your core strength or the message you would give to coaches about how to get it right, college and pro? Well, you know, a bunch of my guys were down here, you know, this past summer, and they were all talking what my strength was.

And, you know, a couple of them said, well, evaluating talent, you know, drafting, picking up free agents. Another one said motivating the team, et cetera. I said, you know, I think my greatest strength is I try to bring out the best in everybody. Jerry Jones said it a couple days ago. He said, I inspired him to be competitive. It inspired him to be the very best. I try to bring out the best in everybody I'm around, whether or not it's the Fox NFL Sunday set,

whether or not it's the graphic people, whether or not it's a cameraman, you know, whoever it is. And so that's the thing that I try to bring to the table. As far as the talent, now, remember Colin on your show a few years ago? We were talking about the draft. It was about a week or two before the draft. Yeah. And I said, you know what?

Detroit needs a draft. one of these young quarterbacks like Justin Herbert. And people said, well, they've got Matthew Stafford. And so they're going to draft this defensive back or Kuda or whatever. I said, you'd rather have a franchise quarterback or a defensive back. And that was just a week or two before the draft. Now, I think looking back, they probably would have drafted Justin Herbert, you know. And so you look at Chicago now.

And so evaluating talent, that's what I love. I love evaluating players. And, you know, Chicago right now, they've got a chance to take Caleb Williams. But you've got to realize a team wins the Super Bowl, not just the quarterback. You know, is it to Marcus Russell? Is it Cam Newton? Is it Jared golf? You know, look at all the first picks in the draft.

And so they've got to make a decision. You know, Ken, they win a Super Bowl with Fields with about five or six great players because they can trade that number one pick. Yeah. you know, for a lot of picks. Yes. Or can they take Caleb Williams with the roster they have with a couple of players and win a Super Bowl? That's the decision they have to make.

And it's going to be an interesting one to see which way they go. I would take Caleb and reset the clock. My belief is he's a better thrower of the football. What would you do? I don't know. Justin Fields has come on strong. And like I said, you could take that number one pick, and you can get, you can probably get five or six players. Yeah.

Really good players, you know. Or you can take Caleb Williams. He may be Patrick Mahomes. And you're still going to get a couple of good players because you've got some other picks. So if you think he's Patrick Mahomes, I'd say take Caleb Williams. Yeah, you have to rely on your scouts. finally, you're uniquely positioned to have a comment on this. There's a handful of great college jobs.

Now, you made Miami a great job, but they don't have the funding historically of Alabama or an Ohio state. I think Michigan's a top five job. It was a little smoke and mirrors down in Miami. You had some recruiting, but you didn't have to fan, the culture. I think Michigan. We had to tell them we were going to get good for something. every year. We don't have a stadium and we don't have very good facilities,

but we're going to get there eventually. Now, they are improving, by the way. So I think Michigan is one of the ten best jobs in America, pro or college. But boy, go to Chargers, get Justin Herbert. It's a higher level of coaching. What would you do if you're a hardball? Yeah, you know, this comment came to me secondhand.

you know, I can't say if it's 100% accurate. But Nick Saban supposedly made the comment here not too awful long ago. With all the NIL problems, with all the transfer portal problems, if he wasn't at the age that he is right now, he'd go back to pro football. Because it is a pain right now, and I don't like it at all the way college football is being operated with NIA and with the transfer portal. If I was hardball and say, hey, adios, I'm going to pro football with a great quarterback. By the way, Jimmy, did you notice that basketball coaches Jay Wright, Mike Shoshchevsky, and Roy Williams, all retired probably earlier than they, maybe Shoshchewski, no. But a lot of these college basketball coaches saw this thing coming and went, this is a mess.

We're out of here. Jay Wright had another 10 years to coach. He's like, I don't want anything to do with this stuff. They've got to work 12 months out of the year around the clock just to recruit their own players to keep them from transferring. You know, they've got to identify certain players. Well, who's going to get what money with the NIL, this guy, or that guy, and then ends up you give money to a guy that can't play a lick, you know. And so it is a real headache. You know, like I said, I think at one time college coaching, man, that was the easiest thing going because you coached during the season, during the all season.

you had family time, you could travel, you could do whatever. Do a month or two of recruiting. No big deal. If you're at a great school, you're going to get great players. But the atmosphere has changed. Now, I think the college coaches are working as hard, if not harder, than pro coaches. Yeah. Great weekend for you, Jimmy.

Several more to go. You always take time for me. We know you're busy and I appreciate it. All right, Colin. Hey, happy new year. Happy new year to you. Yeah, no, I think he brings up a good point. And Jay Wright had another decade to coach.

He's like, I'm out of here. Roy Williams, Coach K, were older. But if Sabin said that, and I didn't hear that, the NIL, the transfer portal, Jimmy made a great point. You spend so much of your time recruiting your own players to stay. And I'm for the portal at NIL. But guardrails are very important. It's a little wild, wild west. I think it's come back down to Earth recently, but it's not perfect.

I think the 12-team playoff next year, you're not going to see Ohio State's quarterback transferring out when they're in the playoff. I think you've got so many useless bulls. This is kind of a messy pivot from one system to another system, guys leaving. I think next year those 12-team playoffs, you're not going to see top programs lose their quarterbacks because they're playing in the Liberty Bowl or the Cotton Bowl.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I I heart radio app. Two NBA insiders podcasting twice a week to plug you right into the NBA great buy. All happening in only one place. This League Uncut. The new NBA podcast with me, Chris Haines. And me, Mark Stein.

Join us as we team up to expound on everything we're covering, hearing, and chasing. Listen to This League Uncut with Chris Haynes and Mark Stein. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement

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

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

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack.

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

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple, podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. A lot of stuff going on. A lot of stuff. I have some thoughts on Justin Fields. Jimmy Johnson says he doesn't know what he's due.

If your scouts say Caleb Williams projects as that asks Mahomes, then you obviously make a move. I've got thoughts on Justin Fields coming up. But first, J-MAC with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, let's start with the Denver.

Broncos last week they decided to bench Russell Wilson because he wouldn't waive his $37 million injury guarantee. Despite the move, according to Ian Rappaport, Sean Payton and Denver have not ruled out a 2024 return for Russ. Obviously, we don't, that's just coach speak. That's not happening. Now, this is where it gets interesting, Colin. And I mentioned this to you over the weekend. If you look back at the Jared Goff for Stafford trade, right? McVeigh was done with Goff. He had maxed out. He had to attach a 2021-3rd, 2021st, 20231st.

He attached three picks to Goff and he got Stafford. Is there a team where Sean Payton could say, hey, we'll give you Russ and we'll attach some draft picks, give us your quarterback? And I started looking around, it's bleak. It's really difficult. We both think Atlanta makes more sense for Justin Fields, right? Yes. I don't think Russ has a big market. Okay, I would agree with you. I'm just going to put this out there.

Washington? Washington, certainly. But now they have the number three picks. Yeah, they could end up with a two pick. Yeah, my guess is they go with Jaden Daniels or Drake May. Maybe Caleb. Here's the other ones. Mike Tomlin and Pittsburgh.

Let me just talk. He's going to win over 500 again, right? Rudolph goes in, man, Rudolph. I'm winning with Rudolph. Treading water with Pickett. What could I do with Russell Wilson? Could Tomlin talk himself into wanting Russell Wilson thinking that's an upgrade? Well, they spend a lot of money on defense, and they have for a long time.

They'd have to scale back and get rid of some of their defensive players. That's not their culture. But Russell Wilson's absolutely better than Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph. And the other one, and I stand by it. I love this guy as a play caller. But Kevin O'Connell, we saw last night, like, Jaron Hall, you can't work magic. Nick Mullins, Josh Dobbs, these are flashes. in the pan.

Kirk Cousins is their guy. Could you trade Cousins for him? If Cousins is like, guys, I'm done in Minnesota? I don't think Russell. I don't think offensive coaches, look at Russell as the answer. Three coaches have moved off him. I could be wrong here. I think Washington's in play.

But now that Washington has the third pick, I believe, this morning. Yeah, we'll see what happens in Week 18. Second. Now they have the second pick. Why would they have to go into a massive banknote situation when they can just go draft a kid and have, you know, a cap friendly situation. You and I both like Russ. Colin, there's a non-zero chance that he is not a quarterback on a roster next year.

Yeah, somebody will make the move. Is he a backup? Because Breer asked you that last week and you were like, now. I don't think he has the personality. I think he's too big of a deal to be a backup. And I do, again, I do think he's a starting quarterback in this league. Your question is, what's the market? You've got to be very careful about, you know, I don't care if you're in my position,

quarterback or a lawyer. I don't care what it is. Once you get the bag, expectations change. Yeah. So people aren't going to make a move on Russ to be solid. Like you're paying him like he's Brady in his prime. You're paying him like far in his prime. So people want championship. So you got to go to a roster where, you know, he's going to gobble up so much of the cap. I will, let's just speak from a Denver perspective. Denver's now got about the 13th, 14th pick around there. That's Bo Nix territory. Bo Nix is Drew Brees with mobility. 75% completion rate last two years. Bo Nix is bigger than Drew Brees, more athletic than Drew, same arm.

Now, cognitively, he's got so many starts in college. You imagine he's a bright kid who's had two systems. To me, Bo Nix to Denver and Jared stood him the backup. Now, again, it doesn't solve everything, but if you can hit on a first round quarterback mid-first round, you're not going to worry about salary cap of Russell. It will solve some of those issues. I just remember what happened at Carson Wentz,

how he was quickly like tried, tried here, tried there. Not on a roster. I'm going to go 10% chance that Russ is not on a roster week one next year. 10%. It's not just his ability. Yeah, it's the money. The money is superstar money, and he's not a superstar quarterback.

All right. Next up, the chiefs, boy, they are leaking oil, Colin. Holy cow, they look all. awful for most of the game against Cincinnati. A bunch of field goals. They got a lucky cover. Another game I ended up on the losing side of. Eight straight AFC West title locked up the number three seed in the AFC.

The offense just can't get right. Other than Pacheco, nobody does anything. I don't want to hear about the Rishi Rice. Okay, he had a couple nice plays. Colin, Travis Kelsey has gone three straight games with fewer than 50 yards receiving. I thought this was a revenge spot against the Bengals. He had nothing at halftime. I'm just...

It's a very weak receiving core. That's why you can't move off Tony. He's one of the only twitchy guys they have. Green Bay, there's not a single... Maybe Rishi Rice is the only receiver that could even get into Green Bay's rotation. It's just a bad receiving core and an aging Travis Kelsey.

And the offensive line, clearly... Tony Romo said this twice yesterday, I think. Once I heard it, the airtime I think I heard it, Mahomes is letting go the ball early. He doesn't trust his tackles. He is left. Letting go with the ball before he has to. But do you know what we're saying when you say,

well, Mahomes doesn't have any talent around it? Well, that's what happens. That's a quarterback's job. I've got to elevate the guys around. Well, but there are limitations on elevation. Doesn't mean you can make Lederius Tony into Jerry Rice. Well, wait a minute. Once you pay the quarterback big money,

I've watched Mahomes elevate coordinators, players, tight ends. But there's limitations. You can't turn a number three receiver into a dominant one. This is mostly what they had last year. With Juju Smith-Schuster, right? Ju-Ju Smith-Schuster is a productive veteran receiver. If you put Juju on this and Rishi Rice was your two, it would look a lot different. You don't have.

J-Ju-J-J-J-Ju's a one now? Well, but I'm saying he and Rice both feel like twos, but J-Ju-Smiths Schuster's been productive. Yeah. They don't have productive guys on here. Yeah. And remember, Travis Kelsey was a year younger. He looks older. I feel like.

without being overly critical. I feel like Mahomes is escaping some criticism here. He has not been great this year. Let's be real. He's an awesome quarterback, MVP, blah, blah, blah. He's just not great. Well, as Jimmy Johnson said, championships are about teams.

Okay, tackles, left tackle, not as good. Receivers, bad. Kelsey aging. Coordinator left. Even Brady had a decade. No trophies. Like, this is what? happens when you pivot stage one to stage two. But be very careful. This is the Russell Wilson

discussion. If you pay the quarterback to bag, you have to hit on like seven straight. You have to hit on back-to-back draft seven guys. Just FYI. There's no easy fix, Chiefs fans. You're not getting AJ Brown the way he landed with the Eagles. That's like not happening. So good luck. Final story, the Steelers, man. Another side, your boy was way awful. Well, I was way wrong on this. I just don't get this. Colin, this one of the craziest stats. You ready for this? The Steelers got to the red zone seven times with Mason Rudolph. How does that happen? I don't know what's going on with Seattle, man.

Mike Tomlin now, 17 straight seasons finishing above 500. I mean, it doesn't matter. If it's Kenny Pickett, if it's Rudolph, it's Maserati Mitch Trubisky. Somehow, Tomlin pulls it off. This morning, Tomlin announced that, oh my gosh, Mason Rudolph is starting week 18,

even though Kenny Pickett's been medically cleared. You know what? Say this for Mason Rudolph. Oh, stop. Where does he throw? I don't know. To Pickens constantly. Yeah.

I mean, that was the knock on Kenny Pickett. It's like, bro, you got the best young receiver talent in the league. Throw in the ball 20 times. So Mason Rudolph, to his credit, has gone in and just said, guess who I'm throwing to? We got five years of dad on. They are, well, yeah, but they're feeding the ball to the right guy. Anyways, Steelers playoff scenario. So they beat Baltimore and Jacksonville loses.

And it looks like the Steelers are in the playoffs. Here we go. Well, I had him getting in his last thing. a wild card, so I am pulling for a Steeler win. Baltimore sits all their starters. Do you want to see Mason Rudolph in the postseason? I will tell you this.

How is Jacksonville still a lot? Yeah, but Pittsburgh's a massive brand with star players on both sides. They're not good, dude. We say what you want. The Steeler brand is going to get a way better rating than a Jags brand with Trevor Lawrence. It looks like it's a Texans.

If I'm Roger Goodell, I can tell you who I'm rooting for. I'm rooting for Pittsburgh to get in over Jacksonville. Dude, wait, hold up. So let's say Buffalo beats Miami, because I think we think that's going to happen. Buffalo gets a two, and the Colts are seven. What is Buffalo favorite against Gardner-Minshoot? Ten?

Yeah. Like, that's not even a good first zombie? There's always a lob-sided first-round playoff game. I mean, that's just... Well, whatever. At least I get an offensive coach and a good story in Gardner Minshue. Ooh, how about, look at that. So Flacco now would line up against Jacksonville?

Oh, I'd take Cleveland. Absolutely take Cleveland. Wow. Jacksonville's a bit of a mess. They're so bad with Bethard. I couldn't even watch that team. That's blech. J-Mack with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. Why I'd strongly consider moving off Justin Fields, despite yesterday next. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

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So the Chicago Bears don't have great ownership or great management, and it's been that way for most of my life. And in my opinion, when you don't have strong management in any business, you go wherever the wind blows. And I don't think the Bears have any idea what they're doing with Justin Fields. All right. I would go with Caleb Williams. he's a better prospect.

I can restart the rookie quarterback clock, and he throws the football more accurately, more consistently. That's what I see. But the Bears don't have strong ownership. And the Chicago media, the talk shows, the columnists, the fans, they are all in on Justin Fields. And he does make spectacular plays. I would not deny that.

But his heater, he's won 405 in that heater, he's completing 59% of his throws with a 77 passer rating. and the Bears defense now is like one of the better scoring defenses in the league. And they're playing bad quarterbacks, mostly. So in this heater, the last five games, he's thrown for 200 yards a game with a number one receiver, very solid tight end, middle of the Paco line, capable running backs, and getting great field position because the defense is playing great. Passer rating at 77. And his heater. And you've got to make a decision by next year, are you going to pay him?

So I think he's, you know, buy low, sell high. I think his value is overstated. I contend he's a, he makes great plays, but I just don't consistently see a guy that's given me a mid-90s passer rating. He's not even close to that in his heater. So don't confuse. Your defense is playing really well with Matt Eversloose. Your defense playing really well.

And you're beating mostly bad quarterbacks. Atlanta, you know, Vikings. You know, it's a lot of that stuff. So I would move up. Jimmy Johnson earlier on the dilemma Chicago and their weak ownership has. Chicago right now, they've got a chance to take Caleb Williams. But you've got to realize a team wins a Super Bowl,

not just the quarterback. You know, is it to Marcus Russell? Is it Cam Newton? Is it Jared Golf? You know, look at all the first picks in the draft. And so they've got to make a decision. You know, Ken, they win a Super Bowl. with fields with about five or six great players,

because they can trade that number one pick for a lot of picks. Or can they take Caleb Williams with the roster they have with a couple of players and win a Super Bowl? I think that's the answer, because I think their defense with Iber Fluse is really good now that he's got Montez Sweat. And I think you can still get good players in the draft. But fans, media, they're all in on.

Justin Fields, because he is a playmaker, and he's fun to watch. I'm not denying that. But, you know, this is, you got to, in one year, right now his record is like 10 and 27. And they're not a lot of wins over good teams. And so to me, you've got to get the emotion out of it. Detroit this weekend couldn't separate emotion, and their coach goes for it and they lose. Get out of the emotion business. Get out of the, he makes great play business.

That's not what it's about. do I get 63 to 65% completion percentage, always available, doesn't get hurt, and pass a rating mid-90s. That's what I got to get. And by the way, they're not even close on that stuff. So I would move off. I think his value will never be higher,

beating bad teams with a defense that's gotten good. So I, I, I, and for the record, Jimmy does point out you could just drop to second, third, and get a couple of ones. So what if you're the Bears and you're saying, we'll go down to three. We'll let New England come up to one

and we'll still draft a quarterback, but maybe it's a quarterback that we don't have to play immediately. I don't think that would work, but there's a lot of options here. There's move out of it and get five great picks. There's draft Caleb Williams. That's what I would do. There's moved down a little.

bit and maybe get more of a, you know, what if you move down to like, and you ended up with a ninth and the 10th picks? Then you get a quarterback and a great player. I mean, there's a lot of options here, but I just don't think Caleb Williams, I don't think he's available very often. He projects arm movement accuracy. USC's number one in the nation the last two years in offense. Number one. They got defensive issues. Maybe they have culture issues. Maybe they have culture issues, they're number one in the country. And they don't have number one talent. They don't have a dominant wide receiver or a dominant tight end or a dominant running back. They did not have a good offensive line. It was the biggest disappointment on the season,

wasn't their defense. It was their old line got worse. So, I mean, you start looking at these Caleb's number one offense at 130 teams. And they did not have elite personnel. So that's, that is, that is something. This isn't hard. This has got to be. you draft a quarterback at one, right? I think that this management, whatever the talk shows, columnists, whatever the wind's blowing, whatever way it's blowing,

that's where they're going to go. I think the tougher one is the Packers and Jordan Love. Oh, they're staying with him. That is over. That is over. All right. Our three, Urban Meyer, on the corner. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy,

not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David, Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the 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 unleashed. Others say it's unleashed. human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 taun tons 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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.