The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 3 - Latest NFL news and more

Episode Date: January 30, 2024

Colin discusses why Bill Belichick hasn't been hired yet and what it says about the NFL Do you need a Super Bowl caliber QB? Thoughts on Lions OC Ben Johnson deciding to stay in Detroit   Guest: Albert Breer  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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And with that, we bring in at the Senior Bowl. They now invite juniors, actually. The world's changing. Albert Breer, NFL reporter, Monday morning quarterback. Need a name change on that thing here next year. Let's start with this. The upperclassman, Bull. Yeah.

Ben Johnson, almost a lot. to take Washington, a dark horse maybe for Seattle, he comes out today and says, hey, I'm out, I don't mind the decision, but it was a surprise, was it not? Yeah. Well, I think there are two things at work here, Colin. First, maybe he wasn't the favorite that people thought he was in Washington. And really the sense I've got talking to people, you know, with that Commander's group, is that the plan really was to reset this week and almost start anew with the coaching process

getting to meet with some of these people in person. and so Ben Johnson really had to go in there and win the interview, and I'm not sure that happened. And then there's the second piece to it, which is the Lions. And a couple people brought this up to me a couple of weeks ago where if you're Detroit and you've been building for three years now and you're at this point where you're right on the cusp, and there's even a little bit of doubt in Ben Johnson's head about going to Seattle or going to Washington, would you throw them an extra million bucks and say, you know what, don't do something you don't want to do.

We'll make you whole here. You'll get another year here to develop. You'll be able to develop your voice, your presence in the room. We'll do some things to make it more comfortable for you here. And then you go back out there in 2025. I certainly think, again, there are like multiple things at work here. So Belichick didn't get the Atlanta gig. There's two job openings.

Many of us suspected Washington was one of the jobs he'd have a shot at. Is Bill off the table now? Does he have any shot at these two? jobs, preferably, I would think, the East Coast won Washington. Yeah. I think he's not going to coach in 2024, based on the conditions right now. You know, I don't think he was a major part of Washington's plans from the start. And things became so focused on Atlanta. And I think Arthur Blank wanted to hire Bill Belichick as a coach. It was everything else that came along with him. And this is a question that we're going to

have to continue to ask over the next year and seeing whether or not he gets a job in 2025, which I know sounds crazy that the greatest coach of all time might not be able to land a job. But it's sort of interesting. You know, when I dug into this a couple of months ago to just sort of take the temperature on Bill's market, the answer I got back from a lot of people who were involved in these things was, one, if he wanted to be a front office guy like Tom Cougham the second time in Jacksonville or Bill Parcells in Miami or Mike Holmgren in Cleveland, somebody would hire him to do that. If you wanted to just coach, somebody would hire him to do that.

The question was, was somebody just throw him the keys? the way that Robert Kraft has thrown in the keys over the last two decades and said, this is your show, set it up however you want, hire who you want, do it the way you want. That's where people would stop short. I think that's sort of the trouble right now for Bill is, is there a team that's willing to reset who it is in his image and do it maybe for only 24 months or 36 months of Bill? Like, that's your return for it. I think that's sort of where the rubber meets the robe with this sort of thing with Bill,

and it'll be interesting to see if there's an adjustment to all of that, 2025. So, you know, there's been this kind of growing narrative, I should blame JMAQ, that you know what? Get an average quarterback or slightly above average and stack the roster. But I was doing the math this morning, Albert. 14 years in Philly, he never had a superstar quarterback. And the first five in Kansas City without a superstar, Andy Reid couldn't win a ring. Seven years, if they don't win the Super Bowl in two weeks, Shanahan's seven years. years. So that's 26 years between the two brightest offensive coaches, arguably in the

sport, and they're not winning until they got a superstar quarterback. Do you think if Brock Purdy lost, it would sort of reset this idea that, hey, stack a roster, quarterback a lot. I just, I think if they lose, it's like, well, if Kyle can't bring home a trophy, and Andy couldn't without Mahomes, what's an average coach to do? Yeah, and the trouble, Colin, is that you can't snap your fingers and make one appear. You know what I I mean, like you can't, if you're San Francisco and say the thing went down the tubes on Sunday and you decide you want to move on from Brock Purdy, what are you going to do? Like snap your fingers and make Josh Allen appear on your roster.

It just doesn't work that way, you know? So I actually think, like, you can look at what Kansas City did, and you can see where that, that I think, has become the blueprint. Like, that's the way you want to do it, is you want to, as a new coach, new general manager, come in. And if you don't have that Super Bowl, you know, that Super Bowl caliber quarterback, which it feels like you need to today's NFL, just get good at the position. And get good in the position, get good at the position, keep building, building, building, and treadwater until the right opportunity comes along to go and get one. And that's what Kansas City did. Kansas City, over the first four years that Andy Reed was there, kept building and building and building around Alex Smith. And by the time they found that quarterback,

they really loved and they really wanted to go in on Patrick Mahomes. Well, the roster was set. So they were putting that quarterback in a good situation. They were okay throwing a bunch of capital of trading up for Mahomes because they didn't have a ton of needs in the roster, and now we see where they've taken it. So I think that that's sort of the idea now is there's a handful of quarterbacks that can get you to this level that can, quote unquote, get you in the club, right? Like in Buffalo's got one. Cincinnati's got one.

Maybe Jacksonville will have one over the next year or two, depending on where Trevor Lawrence goes. It's hard to get into that tier. So how do you get there? I think the way Kansas City did it is actually a pretty intelligent way to get there. And so you understand why, you know, for San Francisco, Brock Purdy's got to be good enough for the time being. All right. You're at the Senior Bowl, which now does allow some juniors, about 15 there.

Notable names there. How many of the quarterbacks are there? Yeah, so Caleb Williams isn't here. Drake May isn't here. Jayden Daniels isn't here. J.J. McCarthy isn't here. I'm told McCarthy, like, wanted to come, but was a little banged up after the year, so they held him back. The biggest name quarterbacks, the guys who I think have the best shot to go in the first round are probably Michael Pennix from Washington and Bo Knicks from Oregon.

And this can be a week for those guys to start to separate themselves, you know? So I think in that first cluster, you've got Williams, Daniels, and May, according to the NFL people I talk to. And then there's a second cluster with McCarthy, Pennicks, and Knicks. And so Pennix and Knicks and Nicks certainly have the opportunity to take a step forward. And then there are some other quarterbacks here who I think a little further down the line can help themselves as well. Sam Hartman from Notre Dame obviously played a lot of football both Wake and Notre Dame, Joe Milton from Tennessee. And then a guy who like NFL guys seem to like a lot, Michael Pratt from Tulane's another one to watch. All right, good stuff.

Albert Breyer, Monday morning quarterback at the Senior Bowl. Thanks, man. All right, thanks, Colin. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, Weekdays and New Newn. Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, CliverTaylor 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 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 ton-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. You bet owning a Mercedes-Benz EV isn't just extraordinary.

It's extra easy. Full remote access to your vehicle from your phone via the Mercedes-Me Connect app. Go to MBUSA.com slash EQJMAC with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Can I just say real quick? Sure. It's interesting that Ben Johnson was the hottest candidate,

and Washington and Seattle were fighting over him. And now he doesn't interview well, and he was asking for a lot of money. Well, it's interesting. I'm not knocking the reporters. I like Brewerwer, buddies. It's just those narratives are strange. Are they not?

I mean, literally two weeks ago, half of the guys who covered the NFL said, Johnson and Washington locked that up. Okay, but it's funny about this. Because I had heard years ago, BNAMI wasn't a great interview.

And people bristled, whoa, I've, in my life, it hasn't happened a lot. But in my life, if I've had any influence, and it's very rare that I do,

have had influence on a hire, I've had a couple occasions where I have high hope somebody comes in and I look at a boss and think, that was odd. There are, if you're interviewing for a job,

it's a $10 million a year job or something, and you get nervous. I understand that certain people, Jim Harbaugh walks into a room, and I think Jim is one of those guys that he is so embolded and powerful, he's either a turn on or a turn off, because he's different.

He's just a lot. Not everybody comes in like McVeigh, good-looking smiles and just flies through it, and you're like, when the Rams interviewed McVeigh, they were, they had just, It was an interview. They literally said we can't let him out of the building. We're hiring it.

He was a kid. So it is possible occasionally people. I've had, you know, I've interviewed for 20 jobs in my life or 10 or something. I've had some clunkers. Yeah, you're going to have some clunkers. It happens. But it's just so crazy. Like, you know, I got two kids.

One of them, fearless. He will walk in any interview, no fear. He'll just say whatever's on his mind. Kind of like his dad. And then my daughter's the opposite. She's very, you know, trepid and, cautious and not great at interviewing. And Colin, I feel like

people like us who talk for a living, we're going to crush most interviews at this stage. Your daughter is only five, so she doesn't crush interviews. She's a little older than that. But no, I think, be that as it may, I think interviewing's hard, and interviewing for a head coaching job is

there's like, I mean, if Mike Vrabel walks in, I have a hard time believing Mike would struggle during an interview. Well, I mean, he could just pop on some tape of his dominance. Like Ben Johnson, hey, Before you have me any questions, let me just put on some, let me just put on a couple drives here in the playoffs and how I went through the Rams like mince me. Falcons are, but we got to get Rahim Morris in the building.

I torch Rahim Morris for an entire half. Well, but you have to remember, there's a big difference between a play caller and a head coach. That's a great point. So there's a lot of these guys who are academic and they're cerebral and they can't lead men. I remember when Matt Lefleur got the job. I would tell Matt this if he stood here. And the question with Matt was that he was such a nice guy, kind of a handsome young guy, so nice. Could he lead a group of men?

Now, no, now, Mike McDaniel got the job. We were all like, he's kind of quirky. You know Dan Campbell walks in, and he's 6'8, good-looking. Guys are going to buy a new. But there are people that can be very cerebral, and it can be off-putting their clunky in interviews. Sometimes the smartest guy at a company, you know, Bill Gates was the front of the of it or Steve Jobs is the front of it. The smartest guy in the White House is never

the president. It's somebody behind the scenes who's just not telegenic or good on in the room. Sometimes you don't know if someone can lead men until they're forced to lead men, right? Like McDaniel, like you said, Yale educated a guy I never played football in college. But I thought he was pleasantly surprising

as a front man. He's an awesome coach. Like some guys just are different. I love getting into the psychology of this stuff with you. We got an offseason to do it. Like, I think you need to give your daughter a couple more years before you judge her as a... That's fair. That's fair. All right, let's get started with Brady and Belichick and some comments that Brady made earlier on our show about Belichick not coaching in 2024.

Brady says Belichick still wants to return to the league. I think the fire burns with him because he's got... He loves the sport. He loves the preparation. He's been doing it for decades. And in my mind, there's nobody better than him at it. So whoever gets him at some point is going to have, in my opinion, the greatest coach ever. And I know he's as competitive as convenient.

He wants to be out there winning football games as a coach. And I don't mean this as a shot at golfers. But if you're really as smart as Bill is about the sport, is golfing seven times a week going to do it for you? I mean, I got nothing to get. I love golfing too. Every summer I get the clubs, go with buddies. But it's like this. Some people golf's great.

Bill's, I mean, he can't sit and watch some of these defenses. He's not a brilliant offensive coach. But I think for some of these guys like Andy Reid, he is functioning at such a high level. The idea of just shutting it down and go fishing is hard. I mean, we say that. But, Colin, if I told you tomorrow you could retire and you could play pickleball and you lift your weights and do whatever you? No, no. You could not do it?

No, God, no. Retire to what? I don't work at a lug nut factory. I think and talk and laugh all day. I couldn't do it. Well, listen, if you wanted to shove me out and I retired. I could play basketball three days a week. Okay, that's fine.

Work out the rest. Have fun. Eat healthy. I can't. I can't. I wouldn't. I'm not judging. I couldn't do it.

Some people can golf and I can't. And I'm not comparing myself to Belichick. But Belichick was known as an academic guy. He was known as an academic coach. Okay. Eddie Reed, Shanahan. These are guys literally designing plays. Sean Payton, I saw him. I sat with him for a year.

And I told people upstairs. They said, what do you think about Sean? I'm like, that guy's got too much going on upstairs to do television. He wants to be in the game. He's got too much juice. He loves it too much. You'd have dinner with him, and it was like he wanted to design plays. Some guys can go to a golf course and be happy.

I wish I had those qualities. It just takes on takes on takes. Whatever. I'm not judging anybody. I'm not saying I'm better or worse. It's just everybody's different. And some people can't wait to go on vacation. Some people halfway.

Like Jim Harbaugh. Do you see Jim Harbaugh as a, I'm going to go hang out at the beach? It's not how he's, that's not Jim Harbaugh. It's not the Harbaugh at DNA, man. They like the dad's probably still diagramming plays with his grandkids. That's who they are. All right, let's go back to the Lions at Ben Johnson. They were one win away from the Super Bowl.

And Ben Johnson now gets to come back and coordinate that offense. A wide receiver from Detroit, Amara St. Brown, said the NFC championship game loss will keep the team motivated going forward. You know, that feeling that we think that, you know, we all had walking off that field. It sucks. I don't think any of us want to feel that again if you can. So I think just the feeling that we've had is enough to motivate us for next year. We had a good year, you know, if you look at it as a whole, but, you know, it's all for nothing. You know, you don't want the whole thing.

everyone's goal at the start of the year. If you don't, if you don't, you kind of fell out the season. So whether you lose here in the national championship, don't make the playoffs, it's all the same. So, yeah, we'll be ready. Okay. I don't know. You mentioned Jacksonville. Remember that Blake Bordles team?

Blake Bordell's, Jalen Ramsey, got to the AFC title game. Had the Patriots on the ropes. They are not. First of all, Jared Goff is a thousand times better than Blake Borgas. I'm not denying that, but Blake Bortles had a hell of a year. Got paid off that. Another one, the Buffalo Bill. Those.

2020. Get to the AFC title game. Let's see, have they gotten back? No, they haven't. But they've still been very viable. People that are, all these people selling their Buffalo bill stock, all buy more of it. Uncle Colin, your financial advisor, I'm buying more bill stock. Where do you think they're going?

Josh Allen's got five. They're not going to the top. Listen, man. Burroughs back. Okay. Lamar, we know he's going to be on a vengeance tour. Oh, yeah. Justin Herbert and Jim Ramos.

The Jets have, I'm going to stop saying. wins, games, vengeance. How about making big plays? Okay. I'm going to stop saying a certain quarterback's name on this show. I'm not going to say it anymore, but the Jets should have that quarterback being healthy. Like, there's a lot of competition. I'll make you.

I'm not going to say how much. I'll make you any bet you want the Jets don't make the playoffs. They are not making the playoffs. I need some time to think on that, but I will ponder and get back to you. Sir, final story. What are we doing here? Oh, yeah, the Chiefs. Do you remember when they lost to the Raiders on Christmas Day?

20 to 14? Yeah, good team for those games, yeah. Dumb bet for me. Uncharacteristic loss for KC. They had won their last six against Vegas, but Andy Reid is grateful that the L happened. I think it gave our guys, you know, a nice little,

you know, for a better term, a wake-up call. Listen, we need to step things up here. Things aren't just going to, you know, fall in our lap. And so we're taking every Everybody's best shot. We were able to learn from it and move on.

I felt all along, though, we had the ability to do that. We just, like I said, we needed a little kick in the tail there. I need to get Andy on this week. I wonder if at any point, because Andy's at practice watching the film, at any point this year did he ever say after a practice, I don't know if we're a Super Bowl team. I just don't know. Because, you know, you and I watch games.

Andy's sitting there watching the film over and over and over. Coaches know a lot of things they don't tell them. No, they were first place, I think, almost the entire season after week one. Questions for Andy Reed? Number one, what happened with Cadarius, Tony? You know what? Have you followed the... Yeah, and by the way, better...

Smart move. Seriously. Yeah. He was good in the Super Bowl last year. Had a couple splash plays. Maybe he'll come back and make one splash. No shot. You want to wager on that?

J-Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. This year resolved to keep your family safer than ever with SimplySafeColon.com, 20% off. Great security system. Front yard back. Detects floods, fires, and more.

Go to SimplySafecollan.com. There's no safe like SimplySafe. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Bali Fusco here. Tony Fusco. You know, as the host of the number one rated Pauly and Tony Fusco show, we get tons and tons of fan mail every day. Piles of it. In fact, Tony, why don't you open up one of those letters right now and read what's inside? Yeah, listen to this. Dear Pauly and Tony, your sports takes are the dumbest and most terrible. Wait, not that one. Wait, why? Open this other one.

Dear Paulie and Tony, you suck more than anyone. Not that one. Try this one. Dear Pauley and Tony, you guys are the absolute best. There you go. At coming up with the stupid This takes possible. You know what those clowns say. Just listen to the Foley and Tony Fusco show on the IHot radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Yeah. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the 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, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment,

and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

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

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. Well, we got about halfway into our show today. We got a call. Tom Brady was going to join us, which we appreciate. Second time we've had Tom on the show.

And last hour, we talked about several things, wide-ranging interview. And I asked him about some of the great young quarterbacks in the game, Mahomes and Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson still having room to grow in their careers. I think a lot of it comes down to when I think of my growth as a player, it was really about who was pushing me to succeed and who was pushing me to learn more about the game. And I was fortunate. I had Coach Belichick earlier in my career that I had meetings twice a week with them about defenses, defensive players, skill sets, defensive coordinators, how they were going to call the game against us.

you know, what they were going to do when we motioned across the formation, when we lined up in certain formations, how they were going to adjust based on their calls, and we motioned out of that what to expect. So there was such a high level of football IQ that I was getting every single day in practice from my own coach. And then when Josh took over as the coordinator, he came in with his own philosophies and ideas about how to attack defenses. And then I had mine. And then Josh left and then I, okay, great, a little bit was more on myself and working with Billy O'Brien to really dive into the deeper parts of offensive football. And then Josh came back and then we saw another kind of explosive movement in our offense

when we got gronk playing the way that he played for his entire career. So I think it's all about evolution as a player. I think everyone's going to evolve and grow at different stages. Some people grow and evolve earlier in their career. don't see much growth after three or four years. I always love the late bloomers, the guys that really appreciate how hard it is to get to this professional moment where you become dependable and consistent and really a prime time player for your team. So I think Patrick, obviously, I think he's a tremendous player. He's a great leader. I think that's one part. Everyone would look at a

pass that's a no look pass. I look at how do his teammates care about him? do they respond to him? And that happens week in and week out with him. So that's why I think they're always the team to beat because he can play at an elite level and he can bring his teammates along with him. And I saw that a lot when I played Peyton Manny. He was the same way.

When I played Drew Brees, when I played Phillip Rivers, when I played Brett Farb. I mean, these are guys that were great leaders for their team. And then you could see why that team was always knocking on the door. and I had a lot of other great players with me along the way that pushed me behind the scenes every day in practice to be a little bit better. All the defensive players, they were as competitive as I was, and I wanted to get the best of them every day, and they wanted to get the best of me. So I felt like we were always so battle-tested in these moments.

We would have, we'd get the number one seed because we played well over the course of the year, and then we'd go out that first week of the playoffs when we weren't playing, and we practiced like we were getting ready for the Super Bowl. We had competitive drills, two-point plays, end-of-game situations, two-minute drills. And Coach Belichick was pushing us to make sure that we stayed sharp in those moments. So there was never a chance to take the foot off the gas pedal. And again, I appreciate it about those guys that you mentioned. I think their development, the key to their development is who's really pushing them to get better? Because as an individual, you could push yourself to a certain point,

but there's days where you need people to push you. And that's what team works all about. That's his people that are pushing each other to be successful. And I love the fact now that in my second career, I get to be on Fox with an amazing group of teammates with Kevin Burkhard and Aaron and Rich Rousseau and Richie Zions and what they do for everyone in the booth. I love watching Greg do his thing this year. So I transition from one team to another group of teammates that I'm equally as excited about to share the stage with. Yeah, it's the best group I've ever worked with by far. and I have great respect for the other place.

I said something about Brock Purdy. I said, you know, if you're, and I tell I have friends that are GMs in the league, and I was texting a couple last night, and I'm always asking questions, and I said I can measure arm and strength, and even a little bit cognitively, I can watch tape. But what I can't, and this is why quarterback is so hard, I mean, it's just amazing. You go late round. Montana goes later.

Russell Wilson goes later. Peyton Manning's rare. Number one high school, number one college, number one pick. That's rare. It's not linear. But the one thing you can't judge, and I did see it from Brock Purdy this weekend, and I could test you on paper for hours. Do you get nervous?

Bill Russell threw up before every game. You didn't have great first quarters. Sometimes I remember your first quarters. You were amped. I mean, that ball was flying out of your hands. But there's something about later football. I always felt like you were just, you couldn't wait to get back on the field in second halves.

And I saw it with Brock Purdy. So I have to ask you, as he goes into his first Super Bowl, go to your last. Were you nervous? How did you suppress it if you were? Yeah, I think part of it, part of that is putting yourself in those positions where you make yourself nervous. I would go out to practice and I would be so ready for practice. I wanted to see how I responded to my own teammates in practice when they knew what we were doing, when they knew the kind of routes we like to run.

And I put a lot of pressure on myself so I could deal with those feelings of whether it was anxiousness or nervousness that you're always going to feel as an athlete because there's nothing guaranteed when you go out there on the field. There's no part of the game that is knowing exactly how it's going to unfold, which is great why we watch the television

and why we watch the games is because we want to see how they unfold as well. So none of these games are predictable. I think there's parts of them you say, oh, I think they're going to do these things, but how's the other team we're going to respond? I didn't think in the Niners game that Detroit was going to get the ball first, run the ball three times, and be in the end zone on a 40-plus yard reverse.

But when I saw that, I was like, wow, what's the Niners defense going to do? How are they going to stop the run? How are they going to stop the run? How are they going to stop the reverse? They struggle with that the entire first half. Then they come out in the second half, and they found a way to say, okay, this is how the game plan is identifying itself. This is how we're going to now go in there and try to defend it,

and then they tighten it up. So I watched Novak Djokovic lose so many first sets. And then he's just feeling it out. And he's not exactly, you know, you don't need to dominate 60, 6-0-60-60. Sometimes you could lose a little bit early. Not that you're trying to, but the other team's got a plan as well. And I think as the game goes on, you see what the plan is. And then ultimately you adjust your plan to try to counter, you know, almost like a counterattack.

And our teams were really good at that over the years. We had a lot of really sophisticated minds that were out there. Not only did we had a plan going in, but we did have a backup plan. And then we adjusted. I remember the 2007 Super Bowl, the one we lost to the Giants. We had a really hard time blocking them in the first half. They had a lot of blitzes coming out of us that were tough to pick up. Spagnullio was on fire and he was hitting us at the right time.

We went in at halftime and we said, screw the game plan we had. Let's throw it out. Let's get to things that can slow down the rush. And then we had a little more production in the second half, not a lot. but at least they weren't bearing down on us every single play. So football really is a chess match, and I love to see them unfold over the course of the game. You judge games based on a four-quarter performance,

not a one-quarter performance or a halftime performance, but I want to see how it unfolds over the entire game. Brock really showed, I think, what he could do in the second half, down against another great team to rally his team and that offense to a great second half that allows him to play for a world championship. By the way, before we go, I know both you and Peyton, but mostly casually like this, but you know why I can tell you're both smart,

because neither one of you went into coaching, you both went into television. And let me tell you, it's way easier because I can work in TV. So I can't wait to have you, smart guys. You and Peyton both, I'm going to skip the front office stuff. Did you know you were going to do TV? I had, when Eric and Brad approached me, It was not on top of mind and I walked out of that meeting going, wow, what an incredible way to move out of the playing field.

And how do you impact people in a positive way in the second part of my life? And I get to use my voice doing that rather than just like my physical skills on the football field and how I thought about the game. But now I get to sit there and be in a booth and I've actually walked through that studio that you're sitting in right there several times. and you see it and then you get excited about what the opportunity can bring. And I love the fact that I'll have a voice that can carry a lot of credibility with what I say. And ultimately, for me, it's about getting really comfortable in a new role. But I also know that going into it, I'm not a finished product. And I've reached out to a lot of different people this football season and had a lot of phone conversations with people who have really helped me out.

And I'm looking forward to continue to do that over the next eight months. I don't have to go on air until September of next year. But I really want to be prepared for that first time out. But I also know I'm going to improve and grow as it goes over the next 10 years. So I'm excited. I love being part of the Fox family. I love feeling like I can still make a contribution to the game by highlighting and showcasing how great it really is. And I want to do that in a very authentic way, in an honest way.

And I do feel like I'm going to call it as I see it based on the really unique perspective that I had over a 23-year-playing group. And also, it should be noted, there are a couple published reports that Belichick may go into TV. I don't know if it'd be any good. Well, it's weird. Like, there's only three coaches I know would be good on TV. Mike

Tomlin would be great. Dan Campbell would be really interesting. He'd have kind of a gronk presence, a physical presence. I think McVeigh would jump off the TV. It's funny. Kyle Shanahan's brilliant, but I've never seen him smile. You know, like McVeigh is big, good-looking, jumps through a TV.

He and Tomlin. Dan Campbell, I just think, is just, I think he's so likable. Eh, I, listen, it pains me to say this as a Jets fan. But McDaniel from the Dolphins has like a wry sense of humor. He's very, he's a smart dude, and he knows football really well. I think he would be at home run on television. He's not leaving Miami, though. I don't know.

I don't know about Dan Campbell. Because he's groffing, former. He's just a big, authentic, pure, real guy. He's very relatable. He's like the Gene Hackman, who had his 94th birthday, I think yesterday. He's 94. Yeah. Gene Hackman of coaches, what you see is what you get,

totally relatable. Totally relatable. Whizzy Wig, what you see is what you get. Did you know that? I did not. A lot of this stuff's all new to me. I want to thank Tom and Nick Wright for stopping by today. See you tomorrow. It's The Herd. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy. Not Quite Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends.

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 IHeart 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 tauntons 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.