The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - The Panthers have an owner problem

Episode Date: January 3, 2024

Colin believes any great coaching prospect should stay away from the Panthers Thoughts on the NFL playoff picture   Guest: Daryl JohnstonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app

by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. We're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go. Live in Los Angeles, it's the herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. I got so many things going on today. We're supposed to go to the dentist.

I have to give blood. Jamak, I got a lot of stuff going. I got to take care of Numerono here, babe. Yeah. Wow, the dentist. That is not good, buddy. What are you doing once a year? Four times a year.

Got to get cleaning. Four times a year you get your teeth clean? Yeah. Well, I know what to get you for your birthday. I was just going to get you some fresh NFL takes. But now I'm going to get you some floss, clearly. Keep you out of it. Is that too many times?

Ryan, am I weird? The staff makes fun of me. Well, I'm on television. You should have your teeth should be straight. Well, how about just brush them every night? I brush them three times a day. Morning. What about those?

Those crest white strips? Do you use those? No. I garg over something. Coffee you drink? I drink. First of all, my body, ticking time bomb. I drink like six of these a day.

So I don't even care about studies. Wine's good for you, wines, bad for you, coffees, good for you, coffee's good for you, coffee's bad. I work out every day. I enjoy life. I don't care. First hour, I love the numbers. Second hour. I don't care about the studies.

Come on, bro. What are we doing here? Okay. So I just want to do this before we get to Daryl Moose Johnson. Okay, who now is running? USFL and XFL merged. I have gone to Fox. I would like to be an investor in the spring football league.

They just stiff arm me. But I'm going to bring on moose because I want to talk to Cowboys, too. So let's go to the AFC playoff bracket. Mahalms, by the way, just announced would not play this week. They're locked into a playoff spot, so whatever. So, okay, here's the AFC. As of today, these would be the playoffs. Now, things can move around.

So who would you take? Indiant Miami, who would you take? Whoopsy, Daisy. I'm going dolphins for sure. Yeah, same here. I just think Indianapolis is a great story. I don't think they're good enough to go to Miami against that offense.

I would take Miami. Kansas City, Mahomes rested against Buffalo. Attack Kansas City. I'm going Buffalo. Buffalo owns them in KC., so I'm going Buffalo. Yeah, I also think Buffalo the best their own line's been since McDermott's been there, in my opinion. Also, I think their running game this year with Cook

is something. So I'm going to take Buffalo to beat Kansas City. Even Brady's teams had some, you know, they had a 10-year stretch. They didn't get to Super Bowls or at least win them and win trophies. Okay, the next one is, this interesting. Jacksonville's been reeling for like a month versus Cleveland. It's at Jacksonville. I'm taking Cleveland.

That's a lay-up. You got to go Joe Flack. January or Joe Flack? I got to tell you something. It's one of the great stories that Baker and Deshawn had so much pressure around them. It was such a pressurized organization. Flacco goes there with nothing to lose. Having the time of his life, I would want no.

part of Cleveland. They are playing totally with house money, and I think Stefansky is such a good coach. Four quarterbacks this year. That's insane. He's a coach of the year. Yeah, he is. He's terrific. We know we'd never have him on this show, and Cleveland doesn't like me, but I'm going to tell you something. Stefansky, I think, is a brilliant guy. I really like him a lot.

And Jacksonville is just leaking oil badly right now. I don't know what's going on because I like so much of their team. I just don't understand it. Okay, let's do NFC real quick. Dallas is hosting the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay is a really fun young team, but they're not going to Dallas and winning that game. No way.

You see you got Cowboys there? First of all, Dallas's offense at home, the data tells you against that Green Bay defense, they're dropping 40. That is just, that is the kind of team. What are you looking at? I'm taking the points with the Packers and Money Line. Give me LaFleur over McCarthy.

And I know I'm not a dual. Jordan Love guy, I think they can, like you said, house money. Their whole team is 24 years old. And? And you're going to go to Dallas? I'm just telling you right now, McCarthy is getting nervous. When you start seeing the Dallas media putting out all these awesome accolades for McCarthy, they hear it. Okay, Detroit hosting the Rams, I got to take Detroit.

I think the Rams are a great story. They have one elite, well, they have two elite defensive players. Ernest Jones, the linebacker and Aaron Donald, so the middle of their defense pretty good. but boy they got kids and I love Detroit offensively can play with power they're twitchy they can beat you over the top

I love Detroit's front office I'm taking Detroit and give me the Rams as long as everything goes well this week against the Niners no injuries to Kyrin Cooper you're gonna take them to go in Detroit and win yeah Matt Stafford goes home homecoming

and just wow that's gonna be one of the best first round games ever yeah no no the story that is a that is an unbelievable NFC first round playoff game that is unbelievable Tampa hosting Philadelphia, I got to take the Eagles here. You too?

Yeah. Come on, Tam. First of all, I don't even think Tampa's going to get in. I have a feeling they're going down this weekend. I would go Eagles here. All right. So you and I disagree strongly on Dallas Greenback. Wow.

Yeah, and it's weird. I know the Packers fans hate me because of the Jordan love stuff. I'm just telling you, that Packers team like Dallas right now? Colin, I know they were hot early and crushing people. When was the last time they looked really good? Seattle, they struggled. They gave up 34 points at Gino Smith or was it 37? I don't know.

A lot of points. They couldn't stop Gino Smith. Well, let's bring on Daryl Moose Johnson. Three rings. Two Pro Bowls. You know, it's funny. When you live in Dallas, you're in the belly of that thing. And we're on the outside, and we see chaos.

We're like, they're not playing well. McCarthy's getting heat. But when you're in Dallas, what is the thing? the temperament about what the Cowboys are most today? I think it's all good. I think there's genuinely definite concern about going on the road in the playoffs. I think that that's the big trepidation right now, but as long as they can play at home, I think they're good. You know, I agree. You're trying to think back, you know, when was the last time that they really looked good against a quality opponent? So I think that that's one of their bigger challenges.

and very similar to a lot of the teams we're talking about. You know, everybody's had that little bump during the course of the season. There's nobody that's had smooth sailing this year, not even the 49ers when they had that three-game losing streak. So I think it's going to be really interesting getting into the playoffs. I think what we've seen in the last couple of years is who is that team that's playing the best football as they're coming in. I think we've got another season of that.

Is there anybody that can peak? And, you know, potentially the Cleveland Browns, as you guys touched out. Yep, yeah. So, you know, your cowboy teams were unique. You could play with power. You could play with Finesh. You could beat people over the top. You could win situationally with Jimmy and Troy.

That's rare. So you had the Eagles last week blowing a 15-point game, which when you look at their O line and their ability to control time of possession, it's inexplicable. My take on Philadelphia Moose has been, they don't know what they are. And even if you're a flawed team, if you know what you are, it just, you know, in these close games, Michigan football. They know what they are. They're going to lean on that run game, right? And I look at Philadelphia and you had the game. What are they offensively? Explain what you would do and what you see with them because they had that game wrapped up and all of a sudden they didn't. Well, I think the big thing is, is one of the areas that they've talked about that's different from last year is getting out to that big lead and then allowing the defense to kind of control the game, let the pass rush get after the quarterback.

back, they were in a perfect situation last week to do that at 21-6 at halftime, and they didn't do it. And I think you make a great point. I don't think they know what their identity is this season because they're trying to be what they were last season. And they don't have the ability to do that. I don't think we've appreciated the loss of Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon enough. And we got a little bit of that feel this week because Jonathan Gannon came back and you heard some of the defensive players kind of talk about him in a very, very, very positive light. And I'm not being critical of Sean Desai or Matt Patricia, but when your head coach or your defensive coordinator has a connection to all the guys,

and they kind of play a different style of football, it's an elevated pace. It's a lot of fun. I mean, it's, you know, it's a Bush Davis type, you know, coach. Yeah. The kind of motivation, you know, very rah-rah. And, you know, I just think that they're struggling to adjust to the new dynamics of Brian Johnson as the offensive coordinator. and Matt Patricia now is their defensive coordinator. Yeah. So you have the Lions this week.

Vikings need a win to help get in order a wildcard birth. And I think Minnesota has been a great story. I'm not sure they're a great team. They're on multiple quarterbacks. But Detroit's fascinating. Usually, when you have a really good team that wins a division, the quarterback of the coach of the story, I think their front office is arguably the story.

I just think they've drafted so well. Big risks on linebackers, tight ends, running backs early, and they've all hit. I thought they were, I honestly thought, when Dallas lost to Miami, I still like Dallas more. When Detroit lost to Dallas, I still like Detroit more. I think they beat the Rams. I think they're deep.

I think they're physical. I think they're twitchy. What did you make of the Dallas Detroit game? When you lose games and you think you're the better team, does it affect you going forward? Because they are a young team Detroit in spots. I think they have to be very careful this week, or not this week, but when they get into the playoffs. I read that quote from some of the guys, you know, we can't wait to see Dallas in the playoffs.

They've already got it mapped out how it's going to happen, you know, with the two and the three playing. We did that back in 1991 against Detroit. They beat us up pretty good at Texas Stadium, and we beat Chicago in the wildcard round, and we got Detroit in the divisional round. And we were a little bit revenge motivated, and they beat us worse up at the Pontiac than they did during the course of the regular season. So just be careful about that revenge factor as motivation. Understand why you didn't win the game against Dallas, and you can go into the whole two-point play, and it was stolen from us. Whatever you want to think, everybody that's speaking to the press right now, players, coaches

are talking about the things away from the two-point play that if they would have done better, they would have been able to win that game. So that needs to remain the focus. You don't want to get too tilted towards that revenge component because that's never a great motivating factor. So that would be my one concern right now is a couple of the guys, you know, Aidan Hutchinson coming out and saying, you know, a little bit can't wait to get back to him. It doesn't matter what happened in the regular season.

We'll get them in the postseason. and we're at a game taken from us and we're going to get revenge on these guys. No, that's not the right way to motivate yourself. The fact is you're North Division champions for the first time in 30 years. You're into the playoffs. You're hosting a whole playoff game.

Stay with all the positives that you've accomplished this year and why you are, just the things that you talked about. Your physical upfront, your explosive down the field, you're powerful, you're twitchy, all the things that you talked about. That's what you need to start talking about as you're getting ready for the playoffs. All right, there's the rest.

V. Versus Russ theory. Now, Christian McCaffrey, give him the week off. He's dinged up. But what is your sort of take on Baltimore, San Francisco? Mahomes is resting this week. Take your history. Did you like a week off or did you want to play?

If you're hot, did you just want to keep getting out there? I think there's young teams in the league like Detroit. I would play my starters. Old teams like San Francisco, I'd probably rest some guys. What's your take on that? Yeah, I think it's an individual basis. And Jimmy was really good with that. Obviously, you're going to sit down the guys.

If you have an injury in week 18 and then you're missing somebody for the playoffs, I mean, it's going to be devastating. So, you know, be selective in that. Troy, Michael, and Emmett didn't play. You know, if we had everything kind of sewed up and we couldn't improve our playoff positioning, there was no reason for them to play. But a lot of the other guys played. You know, our offensive line played.

You know, I played through the game. Jane Olvichick played through the game. defense was pretty much out there in full go. So I think that there is value in continuing to play at a high level. And I think we saw that, you know, a number of years when when that wild card team gets hot, you know, towards the end of the season because they've been in playoff mode for two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, just to get into the playoffs. And they're playing their best football.

And they don't want that week off. They want to continue to play and stay on that role. I mean, you look at what the Giants did with Eli Manning. I mean, on two occasions got into the playoffs and we're playing their best football coming in. and then roll through the playoffs. So I think there is value in continuing to have your guys go out there and play and execute at game speed, but you also have to be smart with a Patrick Mahomes, you know, with a Christian McCaffrey, you know, the key guys on your team that you can't afford to lose or carrying a little bit of an injury,

you know, throughout the course of the season, and it just gives them a little bit of extra time to get healthy. Well, this weekend, it was probably done weeks ago, the USFL and XFL merged. you were the president of ops for USFL. I have been a huge believer in three things over the last 15 years. The MLS, it's grown, the UFC 20 years ago, and they were throwing it off cable, and spring football. So I've been right on two of them. I am convinced spring football would legalize gambling and our addiction to these urgent sports where there's just limited number of games. I would invest in this tomorrow if I could.

I think it's going to work. I think because of COVID we've had disruptions. Your sort of take on the UFL, the merging of it, you'll work for that operation as well. Your take on spring football. I agree with you. That's why I continue to be involved in it. For me, it's having the opportunity to change the trajectory of a young man's life. I mean, there's great football players out there.

Whether it's timing or circumstance, whatever the reason's all, are, you know, they didn't get the opportunity to get to the NFL and to be able to give them that other chance and really kind of help them find out the reasons why they didn't stay in the NFL and help correct them. And a lot of times, it's not football oriented. It's preparation, accountability, being a pro at everything you do. I mean, those are the elite of the elite when you get up to the NFL level. And you've got to be good at everything. And I think a lot of times we see guys who are really, really talented football players and they're not staying. at the NFL. They'll get a tryout and they might get into camp and maybe get on the practice roster,

but they're not staying there for two years, three years, four years. And why is that? And we get around them on the day-to-day basis and you start to see some of the behavioral things. And we can help them there as well. So, you know, that's the big thing for me. And this time around, I hope you're right, Colin. I hope you're going to go three for three on this one. Because for me, it was going to be who's going to be the last league standing. And I think the NFL was going to kind of stay on the sidelines a little bit and figure out, is it going to be the USFL, is it going to be the XFL? The fact that we've done the merger now and we've kind of accelerated that process, I hope that we can really start to have meaningful conversations with the NFL, because I truly

believe when you look at the offensive line, you look at the quarterback play, Cleveland's on their fourth, they go to Joe Flacco. Jaron Hall gets an opportunity as a fifth round draft pick in Minnesota. He doesn't really have the success that you would hope. Nick Mullins, you know, he's got great potential, but he's throwing the ball all over the field. There's interstate. So getting those types of players down into our league and allowing them to see the game at game speed. It's not the NFL game speed, but it's better than practices. It's better than a joint practice. And I had multiple coaches throughout the course of my travels this year doing the broadcasting for the NFL season that understand it as well.

And they've come up to me and said, hey, listen, you know, you guys got to get this thing to the finish line because we really need that ability to either pull players from your league or send players down. to continue to grow and develop. And one of the great guys, you know, Evan Neal, his seventh round pick overall, why is he struggle in the NFL? And I'm not saying that's the type of guy that would come into the UFL, but it shows you that even from a program like Alabama

and a guy as talented as Evan Neal, making that jump to the NFL is extremely challenging and anything you can do to give a player more time and task, more attention to detail, to work on the finer points of the game. And I think that that's where, the lack of time on the practice field in the meeting rooms from the college level to the professional level we've seen over the last 10 to 15 years, that's where it's had the impact,

is on that attention to detail and the time on task for these guys to really grow and develop and become masters of their craft in certain positions. Moose, great seniors always appreciate it, man. You got it. Happy New York, Colin. Same to you. Yeah, people forget, if you go look at the history of the UFC, very bumpy. It took them a long time.

the Fritita family. You had politicians trying to throw them off cable. This stuff is not just, it's hard. You've got the NFL, baseball, basketball, it's a labyrinth of college sports, which other countries don't have. UFC is the one sport, you know, league, for lack of a better term, over my lifetime, that has exploded onto the scene. Now, women's basketball is more popular now than 20 years ago, but I mean a new sport emerging. Spring football to me is going to work. You've got gambling, you've got football, you've got scarcity, you've got urgency, you've got once a week.

It's a dead time of the year, NFL free agency talk. There's not much going on in March. We look forward to March Madness and the draft. And that's mostly four days and a couple weekends. So I think it's going to work. I got to tell you, that Monday spectacular we had with those three great quarterbacks and four great programs, it's still resonating with me. I went to bed last night at 8.

I was emotionally so... I went and watched... I went and watched Washington, Texas. Went and watched long. I went, YouTubeed it, and I watched it over and over and read five articles. What a wild Monday we had. Yeah, I was more breaking down

the Michigan stop of Alabama because, you know, I was loaded up on Michigan big time. And it just, like, you weren't with me watching the game, obviously, but I was... You know what it's like watching a football game. game, right? Well, if you've got, you know, some cheddar on the line, like, you get excited. And I was, I just, not quite goosebumps, but it reminded me of, remember when Trevor Lawrence was facing Ohio State and he broke off that, like, 70-yard touchdown run in that game?

Totally flipped it. That was another one of those moments where I just went crazy. Like, college football. Sports is a great place, great business to work in, or just to watch. This year, keep your family safer than ever. Make that resolve. With simply safe, trust them in my home. New system, fast protect plan. Right now, 20% off. Simplysafe, Colin.com. No safe like simply safe. All right, great. Parlay for you this weekend. Thanks to Draft King Sportsbook, new users. The code is heard. That's me, H-E-R-D, when you download the app. And that takes two minutes. All right, my parley pick of the week via draft king sportsbook. Texans at the Colt, Texans minus one.

I think they're the better team, better quarterback. I'm going to take the Texans like I did last week to win straight out. Bears at the Packers, Green Bay minus three. I know Iber, Fluse, and Justin Fields feel like they're playing for their job, but Green Bay's dominated the series, better coach, better offense. I take the Packers to win about 2720. Bills minus three at Miami, I like Buffalo. Dolphins, without Nick Chubb, no pass rush. Buffalo wins by a touchdown.

Want to take the herd parlay? H-E-R-D-Parlay. Check out Draft King's Sportsbook. New users, code is heard when you download the app. 21 plus in most eligible states, but age varies by jurisdiction. Eligibility restrictions apply. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler. In New York, call 8778-8 Hope-N-Wire, or text Hope NY 467-369.

See Show Notes for full details. 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. recommended it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories,

that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

All right, welcome back. By the way, the NFL fine David Tepper, the billionaire owner of the Carolina Panthers, find him 300 grand for tossing of some drum. drink, some water drink or whatever it was on a fan. It's amazing to me. Why would any legitimate head coaching candidate go to Carolina? Does David Tepper have any self-awareness? I mean, Dan Snyder at the end in Washington, last 10 years, you're not getting the best candidates. Arizona, there's a reason. They settle.

There's three current openings in the NFL and nine possible openings. Carolina is number nine. Awful roster, frightening owner, poor draft capital, and a quarterback that nobody believes in. I still think Bryce Young has some talent. But, I mean, I don't know what Carolina's sales pitch is.

Hey, our division's awful. This turnstile approach to ownership and head coaching does not work. Now, I'm not saying you have to be as loyal as, you know, like the Steelers,

although it's redeemable and admirable. and they've had, you know, Chuck Knoll, Bill Cower, Mike Tomlin, all way above average. The Philadelphia Eagles have done some movement. But even then, Andy Reid was there 14 years. Doug Peterson, mostly five. Chip Kelly was given three. I thought they moved off him too quick, but he had some issues with the GM, Chip. There was some conflict of personality.

It happens. But, I mean, Philadelphia gave Andy Reid, you know, a decade and a half. So this is why I'm saying. this your job is as good as the candidates that apply at Fox we poach great candidates from other really good networks it's why we have a lot of Emmys and what we have really good candidates apply sometimes behind the scenes we don't hire other companies top people want out you're as good a job as the candidates you apply that that that will apply what good candidate would take Carolina

no thank you i mean i washington's got new owners i kind of like their roster i'd consider it if they call bellichick i'd take it big check good roster i don't know massive cab space i'd take that and you look at washington is a bit of a mess washington is the rich carleton carolina is you know a motel and a bad part of town on the freeway like stale boy. So I, that's why I say, my rule is always, I always think, what if I would never own an NFL team,

but if I owned an NFL team and I was questioning my coach, the Jets and the Bears, both their coaches, Robert Salah Matt Eberfluse, and I have my misgivings about both, but they're both with their side of the ball. You can, you can complain about a coach. But if Ranin Staley got fired because his defense, as a defensive coach, regressed. Ron Rivera in Washington. The defense is worse as a defensive coach since he arrived. I would say Arthur Smith in Atlanta, their offense is like, they got weapons. They have a good old line.

It's like 25th, 26th, that's not good enough. But if your coach is doing a really good job on his side of the ball, that's why the Bears and the Jets, I would probably hang tight for another year. And I'm not sure it's going to work. But Sal is good with passion and defense. Motivation and defense. Doesn't know offense, nearly as well as the offensive guys. Why would he?

But, I mean, Carolina, this is, what candidate would give their career to this organization? You'd be nuts. Fire your agent if he even offers it. Jay Mack with a news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. I hear what you're saying on Tepper and Carolina.

and run away, but I wanted to look up the exact quote from Warren Buffett to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful. So nobody wants this job. Everybody's running away. I'll take it. Did you see the other Warren Buffett comment, quote? He's had a lot of them, yeah. Never go to a football team with a lousy quarterback. Although I do think Bryce Young has talent. I mean, again, I know. They're their quarterback situation.

There's not a lot of belief. So you have to get a coach that buys into Bryce Young. And he's going to look at that tape and go, I don't know. Yeah. So you're going into buying a number one picket, the bottom of his value. He's not even anything. He's terrible. And you're going to an owner who basically has to be hands-off and fix things now.

Like, this is a great opportunity for someone. Risky, major risk. But I think... Oh, it does not... Tell me one thing about Carolina you like more than Washington. One thing. roster, cap space, owner. Nobody else wants the job.

You're not competing with anyone. Like Eric Bienemy has never had a job chance to be a head coach. If Teper goes to him, Bienemy, yeah, well, sure. Nobody else is giving me a head coach job. Well, Washington, May, I don't think it's a bad idea to give Eric Bienemy the job. What is he showing you with Sam Howell? Sam Howell hasn't done anything. Well, Sam Hale's arguably a backup.

Well, they went into the season looking at him and saying, hey, Sam, Sam, Howell's our guy, just like Desmond Ritter. I would consider Bienemy strongly. Right side of the ball. Has Super Bowl cachet, played the game. Players respect that. He's tough on people, too. He's not a fanboy. Be enemy's tough on people.

I know people are going to hate that take on temper. I think there's an opportunity here for somebody to get a chance that may not otherwise get one. If I came to you and say, yeah, there's this broadcasting company, guy who owns it's nuts. There's no talent in the building. You interested? A couple questions. Can I ask a couple questions? Where do I get to live?

How long is a contract and how much? I would at least entertain it. I mean, I know you're sad that I might leave, but I got to at least hear what's out there. Well, if you'd consider it, I'm not sure I'm sad. I always say. You always take a call. Not really. I don't always take a call.

My dentist just canceled on me, so I took that call. Is that real? Yeah. He was watching the show. You don't always take a call. There are some, you know, when I want time I went to the Chargers and they let me into their draft room on draft day. Oh, damn. Oh, so much fun.

Jeez. It was great. It's one of the great. Days of my life. Okay. And birth of my kids and Chargers drafting. Chargers, draft. Right.

And wedding day, Ann. Okay. So, but one of the things you notice is there, everybody has this in their draft room. There's all these talented players and they're in red, undraftable. Injuries, ego, discipline issues. There are guys you take off your draft board. And there are jobs, if you're seeking them in America, there are jobs you don't call. if you got crazy ownership and you don't have funding, don't go.

Why put yourself in a horrible position? You want to put yourself in a position to potentially succeed. Doesn't mean you will. Nobody's going to succeed in Carolina. Not right now with that owner. We thought Frank Reich was going to do with everybody. Not just us. Everybody out there's no, but there's new data.

I thought he was crazy on Matt Rule, but I thought he learned his lesson. Now I've got new data. Rule and Reich get fired. Like, okay, new data, I'm out. You know, people bank on Jerry Jones. He gave Jason Garrett two more years than people wanted. He's given McCarthy another year. Jerry Jones has been not Steeler patient, but he's been patient.

Listen, some people gave me a heads up before, you know, when you called me, Jay Mack, can you come to the show? I was like, hey, hi, let me talk to some people. They said, be careful with cowherd. I was like, I got this, folks. It's going to be fine. All right, let's get started with Shaw McVeigh and the Rams. What an incredible season for the Rams. They were 5 and 12 last year.

Now they're a wild card team. They're a dangerous one. Now, McVe contemplated retirement. Remember, last offseason? Yeah. Monday, he confirmed that he'll be back for the 2024 season, looking to become the franchise leader in wins by a head coach with the Rams. John Robinson, 75, McVeigh at 69.

You know, everybody's got a secret sauce as a coach. And Shanahan is the scheme genius. McVeigh is the culture-building genius. people that have spent time with Sean that I know, and I know a lot of people that know Sean, say he is, he walks into a room and his energy and optimism and his ability to motivate is second to none. He is such a positive, influential person. He is so good. If you go to this Rams team, first of all, look at, you know, Belichick has seen as sort of negative and a downer. McBay's the opposite. Look at how good his assistants do.

look at what he did the whole team this year to this offensive line. I'm going to tell you something. They are playing so... What is the Rams' PFF offensive line rank? Their run game night now with Kyron Williams is really substantial. Like, it could go on the road and beat Detroit. I wouldn't take it to. I'm telling you, there's not five people in this world that could have figured out.

What is it? That's amazing. Their own line right now is ranked 11th. It last year was arguably the worst in the league. And he went out, and they drafted a guard, a rookie from TCU. They went and got dots and less need great move. Now it's a top 10-11-0 line. That's a smart offensive.

And they have moved people all have had injuries this year. I'm looking at their draft was pretty incredible when you look at it, despite the Stetson-Bennett-in-Bennett-Wiff. The Pook and Nakua thing was incredible. And Tyrone Williams two years ago. No, their first three picks, ace. And then in the fifth round, they got three guys to comply. All right, let's go to the Lions. They had that controversial loss to the Cowboys on Saturday.

Dan Campbell does not want to dwell on the outcome and even sees it as a positive going forward. We walked away, packed our bags and left. This one, we got a taste of what that's like, but we still got a chance. You know, we hadn't even started the tournament. So this is, I think it's a blessing. We were in it. We were in a tight game. Had a chance to win it.

We weren't able to. And so now you know what that's like. You know what that feels like. And you can't let that opportunity slip, man. We're on a mission, and we're not going to, we're going to feel sorry for ourselves and watering everything. We had plays to make, we didn't make them. And it's a tight game, a good opponent,

playoff-type atmosphere, and you've got to make that one extra play that we didn't. And so we will use this as fuel. I got pure octane right now. I woke up, I'm ready. So we're moving forward. I think he's the most likable coach I've ever seen in my life. If there's one guy to have a beer with in the league

That was just going to say Dan Campbell's a guy who don't have a beer What about duck hunting? Like that would want to be. Well, I don't hunt, but I'd tell you something I'd probably go with him. Yeah, he looks like a dude who just knows a bunch of stuff. I mean, he could be a big bully.

I mean, the guy is literally, is a building. He's a refrigerator. He's a former tight end, right? I think, yeah, yeah. And, but I mean, he and Mike McDaniel physically are the opposite. And those two guys, if you could say,

I want to go have dinner and a glass of wine with a coach and pick his brain. Mike McDaniel. I want to go have a beer and laugh and just cut it up, Dan Campbell. As for what he's saying, though, Colin, I know if you have like a rough show, it's not your best effort. It festers for days. There's no way on earth Dan Campbell and the Lions have buried this loss.

I think they have. No way. I refuse to a little bit. I think in football you have to. Well, you want to, but do it, like actually moving on from it, that's going to take a little while. First of all, they know in their hearts they won that game. And it was robbed. It was taken from the by the referee.

So a football coach told me years ago, don't lose twice in the same game. You've got to have a short memory. Quarterbacks, coaches preach it all the time. Bad pick, get over it. Next play. You got to get over it. How many guys in that locker room think,

damn, after they took it away from us, why don't we just kick the extra point and play for overtime? How many do you think thought that way? No, and pro athletes don't think like that. Pro athletes are aggressive. They want to go for it. Always.

I don't know. Pro athletes are... You got pushed back from, what, the three to the seven? Or the eight, whatever it was. Like, that's not an easy two-point conversion. When's the last time? They took a shot of a sideline of players during a game in a fourth down, and they're all going, kick it.

They're all going, go for it. They think that. They don't know. Athletes are like, when you play as hard as athletes do, when you train for three hours and it comes down to a play, no, very few athletes are like, let's take the passive approach. They don't want to go to overtime. They want to finish the game off.

And they all have to be a pro athlete. You have to have unbelievable self-belief. So those Detroit guys, and by the way, Detroit's a better team and with a better roster than Dallas. So those guys are like, let's go for it. I wouldn't have. But again, I'm not playing. I'm 30,000 feet above. I'm watching on TV.

Final story is JJ McCarthy, Michigan quarterback. Now, 26 and 1 as a starter over three seasons. You love a good quarterback win stat. 26 and 1, Colin, including that amazing come from behind win over Alabama with that clutch fourth quarter drive in the final four minutes. Here's the Jim Harbaugh bold statement about his quarterback. I've said it before, but this is right here. This is the greatest quarterback in University of Michigan football, college football history.

Got a long way to go to get where Tom Brady eventually got to, which is the goat. I mean, he's left the field when it comes to that. But in a college career, there's been nobody at Michigan better than JJ. I love hardball. Tom Brady agrees, by the way. Tom Brady, remember famously winning in Michigan was like sixth on the depth chart of the freshman. I mean, listen, I know people are out on McCarthy. The stats are pedestrian.

Talk to your NFL guys, Colin. I mean, they like this dude a lot. No, they don't. My guys don't. Interesting. My guys in the NFL don't like that. They're out on McCarthy. I'm just, I don't see what you see.

I don't see it. I think he's got a great O-line, a great coach, a great run game. Pamanegger. I mean, just, you didn't have to do much. Penix also has a good O-line. Watch Pennix throw the ball. Well, come on. Nobody's saying he's Pennix.

You at him in the top 10. That's different. That's totally different. I'm just so my sources in the NFL are not McCarthy guys. The reason Pennix would drop is his age, which is silly, his ACLs, which could be and then the wonky side line. Who cares? Philip Rivers had the goofiest delivery ever.

Who cares? Exactly. Again, I like McCarthy a lot, and the guys I talk to say McCarthy has the tools to be a big time. I'm going to say something. I'm Caleb 1. I'm not so sure Pennix isn't my 2. I haven't seen enough of Drake May to have a strong. I mean, I've watched like everybody else.

I've watched North Carolina games occasionally on TV, but I don't have a lot of connections. I like Bo Nix. I think he's Drew Brees with mobility. I don't think he's quite that accurate. Are you Knicks over McCarthy? Yes, absolutely. I'm Pennix over McCarthy. And I'm not anti-JJay.

I just, there's always a quarterback that everybody, like, Zach Wilson, I didn't get, Jamarcus Russell, Tebow, Johnny Mansell. There's a lot of guys in the first round. I don't see. But it should be noted. I thought Sam Darno was going to be great. Yeah.

And he wasn't. So everybody misses. We know famously tough to predict. I don't think anyone had C.J. Stroud having this kind of. I know somebody that loved him and they're like, I didn't think he was this good. Nobody had Brock Purdy being in the MVP discussion in week 15. I don't worry about being right.

My point being is my NFL guys are not like, they're looking at Michigan's O-line personnel, 18 pros, run game, coaching style, and they think there's some elevation. Now, does he move well? Does he process well? You look at him and watch him in that pocket against Alabama. A lot of balls batted down. He did have some balls batted down. Obviously not great. First throw was frightening.

Yes, it was awful. Very regrettable. That's a really good football. And I don't want to go to the mattresses for a guy that I barely know, but I also saw him doing some grounding before the game at the Rose Bowl. Did you see that? You know what grounding is, right? You take off your shoes and socks and then get one with the earth and just... Do you do that ever? I don't do that, but I'm not discounting it. Very cool thing to do. Do you ground? I wish I knew about it when I was 22. Do you ground now? I do, yeah. Not every day, but I try to. I go to a hookah bar. It solves all my problems. Jay Mack for the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. Grounding hookah. You know, I take my socks off when I go to the hookah bar. From the versatile EQB to the sublime EQS sedan, Mercedes-Benz makes electric extraordinary,

the vehicle's all electric, the feeling's all Mercedes, the choice is all yours. Learn more at MBUSA.com slash EQ. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Two NBA insiders podcasting twice a week to plug you right into the NBA great fight. All happening in only one time. 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 Haines and Mark Stein. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 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 I'm saying.

Yep, that's me. Clever 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, personal health, personal health,

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

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun,

thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Saturday on Fox, the biggest games are on Fox primetime hoops. Bruce Thornton leads Ohio State in a Big Ten class with Indiana. It all tips off Saturday at 7.30 Eastern on Fox. I read a headline today by a columnist in Texas. The Texas Longhorns now have a major problem at quarterback,

and his last name is Manning. It's hard to envision a scenario where Quinn Ewers is the starting quarterback next year. First of all, Texas will go by a quarterback if Arch Manning doesn't work out and Quinn Ewer's transfers. They have the biggest collective NIL in the country and Sark's a very good coach offensively. So the politics of it, yes, it's sticky. But college quarterback dilemmas have always been around. So there's a term used in the industry, the college football industry. When you're talking college quarterbacks and their dads, most are all.

overbearing. There's a term called, oh, his dad is that guy. About three out of four college quarterbacks, their dad is that guy. Arch Manning, the Texas quarterback, that's not his dad. I've known the Manning's for a long time. I've known Archie and Cooper and Eli. I don't know Peyton terribly well, but that's not the kind of family there are. They're not demanding to Sark. Arch needs to play. Ewers right now is a better quarterback. Quinn Ewers would get drafted, my guess, second round. He's a good quarterback.

He reminds me a Jay Cutler out of college. So the good news for Texas, you'd really have a problem if Arch Manning, the young quarterback's dad, was that guy. He's not. The Manning family is successful, wealthy, and they're intimidating to a lot of people in football. So if you recruit Arch Manning, there are a lot of people that are going to be like, I'm getting out of here.

But the truth is, Quinn Ewer's should say. stay. He'll probably at this point beat out Arch Manning and Texas will be really good. Arch Manning's going to start. I think he's somebody that will red shirt, backup, start for a couple years. I think he can play. Some question

that, small school, blah, blah, blah. My guess is he can play. He talked about being a backup when you were the number one rated high school phenom quarterback. There were a lot of tough days. I'm not going to lie. Like I said, I was never a backup in high school. Some days it's it's tough. I mean, there's hard workouts, hard practices.

They expect a lot of you. But I'm glad I went through that. Yeah, it takes some time. But I think it'll be worth it one day. In any business, if you have a surplus of talent, you're not staring at a major problem. Ohio State lost a quarterback Kyle McCourt. They don't have one.

That's a problem. As of today. Texas has two really good courts. quarterbacks. Actually, they got another kid in the program pretty good. So Archmanning spin it and Quinn Ewers, I think it's really, we both said this. Penix overshadowed him, but Quinn Ewer is an NFL quarterback talent. So I think they'll figure it out. I think Texas football is a lot of politics. They've got the most money of all the college football programs in the country that richest donors are Texas football donors.

Richer than Ohio State. In the south, you know, Alabama's got car dealers. We're talking here billion dollar tech people billion dollar oil land It's big money And it's political They get rid of coaches They Texas football is hard to manage

They have what many considers The best athletic director in the country One of the richer fan bases Austin Texas There's a lot of moving parts at Texas They'll be fine Sark's a good coach I mean Mack Brown was never thought of

As the schematic guy he was the gentleman of the South and he won a national title and Mac Brown's a legend. I think Sark's going to work. He's not engulfed by it. Politics are part of USC, Texas, Ohio

State, Notre Dame. It's just the whole world we live in now with NIL. There was always politics between quarterback dad and coach. Now you throw in NIL money. There's more politics. If you take the Texas job, you just got to come to terms with it. They're going to be politics.

It can be donors you got to take care of. It's going to be a quarterback dad, that guy. You're going to have two five-star All-American quarterbacks. Thank goodness. The Manning family has never been heavy-handed. Thank goodness. This thing is Quinn yours is good. Arch Manning's talented.

The Manning family's not that guy. You're fine. This is bumpy turbulence here. It'll work itself out. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not. 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. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw,

unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, Follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.