The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Middlekauff: Over for Jason Garrett in Big D; John Harbaugh/USC a perfect fit; GM Belichick robbing bottom feeders blind; Hard pass on Josh McDaniels as HC

Episode Date: November 6, 2018

Subscribe here to the 3 and Out with John Middlekauff Podcast https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/3-and-out-with-john-middlekauff/id1352730623?mt=2. 3 and Out with John Middlekauff is part of the Colin Cowherd Podcast Network. 3 and Out is an unfiltered podcast covering the biggest stories in the NFL and college football. John brings his unique perspective as a former NFL scout, NFL analyst and radio host. In this episode, John looks at the Titans' MNF win over the Cowboys and why it's time for Jason Garrett to go. John also explains why John Harbaugh is more suited for USC than today's NFL, how GM Belichick is robbing bottom feeders blind, why he'd pass on Josh McDaniels as a head coaching candidate, why Jared Goff is now a star, and answers listener questions from the Middlekauff Mailbag. Follow John on twitter @JohnMiddlekauff and go to theherdnow.com to find the latest content. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Just watched Cowboys, Titans, in Jerry's world. What a terrible night for Jason Garrett and the Dallas Cowboys to Dak Prescott. That was, if you're a Cowboys fan, that was depressing. Same shit, different pile. That was bad. That was tough to stomach.

And thank God I almost put a little money, digging myself out of a hole on the Cowboys. Minus 5, I think kickoff, backed out, ended up not betting the game. Thank God I did not. I am on a cold streak and it would have gotten even colder. Bet on Jason Garrett on Monday Night Football. What an embarrassment in Dallas. Some other things coming up on the show today. Some thoughts on a couple guys whose job security is in major trouble,

and they're kind of carried by this elephant in the room whenever you have a Super Bowl. You're just viewed as a Super Bowl winning coach, and I don't think all Super Bowl winning coaches are created equal. Jared Goff was fantastic this weekend. Kansas City Chiefs are rolling. Josh McDaniels on Sunday Night Football's name came up. Would he be a candidate? for some of these jobs.

I have some thoughts on that. And then I'll probably dive into this too, is Bill Belichick just absolutely steals players. I know he's a Hall of Fame coach, but he's a Hall of Fame general manager as well. And I'll just dive in what makes the hoodie great. He's a freaking genius. But let's start with this.

Optics are a real thing. And the Dallas Cowboys are the number one brand in the NFL. it or not, they are the number one television rated team when you throw them in a primetime game. And I think people on Twitter struggle with this, like, get the Cowboys off prime time. No, this is why the league so lucrative. You throw them on Sunday and Monday night, an enormous amount of people watch, more than every other team. That includes the Patriots, that includes the Packers, that includes the Eagles, that includes everyone. You put them on and you print cash because the masses watch.

and then every seven, eight years or six years or whatever it is, when you renegotiate television deals, you have the Cowboys on national television as much as possible, and the numbers are up. It's a basic business. Listen, as a media member who talks about football and who's worked in football my entire professional life, the higher television ratings are,

the more people interested in football is better for the NFL business. It's also better for my business. I am pro good business. I'm pro the Cowboys doing well. But from a football standpoint, from a business standpoint, they crush it. Number one, valued franchise. They have the most famous owner, probably in all of sports ever since George Steinbrenner died in Jerry Jones. But they've stumbled upon a problem.

Their football product, they actually have a lot of talent on the team, but their overall team. And this isn't tennis. This is not golf. this is not an individual sport, it's a team effort, and their team effort is no longer good. But in football, you can have really good players, and a big problem can be your coach. Well, they just coming off a buy.

That was, you're playing on Monday night, so you went Sunday, that's seven days, then another Sunday, that's 14 days. It was basically 15 days to figure this thing out. I get you have a weekend off, and coaches work crazy hours. I mean, insane hours. I've seen it firsthand.

College and pro. not normal jobs. But when you take the weekend off or whatever on a by week, when you're coming off a bad loss like Jason Garrett was to the Washington Redskins, he should not have gone to the World Series game in which he did last week on Friday night. He sat next to Brad Paisley. And again, if you are going to go to the World Series game,

you know, regardless of Jason Garrett shot it down, said it was no big deal. Jerry Jones definitely shot it down to, listen, we were in constant communication. get it. But you can't get your ass kicked and lose by two touchdowns on Monday night football in Dallas. Like, yo, Jason, you're a Ivy League guy, you're super smart, we're not sure you're definitely not very good schematically X's nose wise. For a long time, you could motivate the troops, but watching your team just not seeing it anymore, that was a terrible move. And I'm starting to

question, I always thought Jason Garrett was super on the ball. I've always been impressed by but that was a move I read flagged. He went to the World Series, and this isn't why he won or lost the game, but I do think he doesn't have a great pulse of the way people are looking at him, the way this thing is going. Like Jason, it's off the rails.

You're now three and five. Dak Prescott is a whole other can of worms. He's just not very good. It's just that simple. Like, I like Marriota. I think I've always said he can be a better version of Alex Smith, a little more athletic, not quite as accurate,

but definitely when he gets in a rhythm, can complete balls. We'll never be as consistently accurate as Alex, but he can be a better player than that. So that kind of tells you what I think of him. Dak can't sniff Marriota. They're not even in the same conversation. Then you put together his head coach,

who is an offensive guy that, again, just stands there. I know people call him the clapper. Listen, it's over. I said a couple weeks ago for McCarthy, it's over. This thing is over. Now, whether they fire him or not, I don't know. Like, Jerry may be stubborn enough. Clearly, he's at the age.

He's not big on change when it comes to his football team. He would pay $100 million right now for Jason Garrett to turn this thing around and make it work. Not just because Jerry wants to win, but because he does not want to fire Jason Garrett. But Jason's not going to win. The evidence is there now. This thing is over. I mean, you get five catches, you get a touchdown from Amari, and your offense is still just horrendous.

The thing about the Cowboys that's pretty eye-opening, and I've watched them three or four times start to finish this year, is the one thing they used to hang their hat on is their offensive line was dominant. They could obviously run-block would mall you, and then pass-blocking, they were well above average. They're getting smoked tonight. Their first-round pick was getting worked.

The Cowboys have issues. The way they've built their team, even their defense, which I got to give them credit. Their front seven is extremely talented. They have all their DBs are pretty good. Like they have an extremely talented defense. Trust me, is someone that lives in the Bay Area and watch the Raiders and Niners defense? Like, the Cowboys are playing a different sport. But in the biggest moments, when they needed it in the most, they couldn't come through tonight against the Titans.

They couldn't get a third down stop to save their life. And Jason Garris is not good enough. In a moment, like, the Belichick and Josh McDaniels run that trick play, the delayed throwback pass at the perfect time. Jason saves this end-around double pass to Cole Beasley with like under two minutes when they're just in beyond desperation mode. Like Jason, why don't you bust that out when the game's tied 14 to 14? To give your team a spark.

Again, what's to optics, whether it's to coaching his team, I think Jason's completely lost a feel for this thing. It's over. It's done. And again, I keep getting back to this. I don't necessarily think that means Jerry will fire him, though I do think this. Jerry clearly listens and watches everything. There is going to be a ton, an avalanche worth, and there already has been this last 18 months on Jason Garrett. it's only going to magnify.

It's going to exponentially grow with every game. And they showed that graphic on Monday night football. The Eagles, the Falcons got it turned around, the Redskins are pretty good. Some of the teams they play coming down the stretch. Like the Cowboys, and this is, you know, you got to give John Gruden some credit. Not that no one at it wouldn't have traded to Marry Cooper. But if you are, you get a first round pick. This Dallas Cowboy team might be a six-win team.

They might be a six-and-ten football team. And really quick, I want to give a little credit to this team. General Manager John Robinson came on this podcast for those of you that have been new to the podcast over the last, I don't know, five, six months. I went to training camp. I've known them for a long time. I thought the Titans had a solid team. I thought a lot of their success was going to rely on Marietta kind of taking a step. He's been hit or miss.

But you can see, John Robinson, the pickup of Dionne Lewis. He was excellent. Harold Landry, the guy they got in the second round, the pass rush for Boston College, Electric. The Titans are a physical team. They do have good defensive players. Malcolm Butler, I know he got smoked early in the game, but he got a little better as the game went on. Their wide receivers aren't great,

but Marriota can make enough plays with his legs. I don't think the Titans, while the Houston Texans at 6 and 3 are in firm control of that division, I do not think the Titans are dead. And I think he saw tonight two teams that have a lot of talent on the roster, not like Saints, Rams,

you know, Chiefs level talent, but enough talent to compete for a playoff team. One team's just better coached. One team just made fewer mistakes. One team is just a little, I'd take Mike Vrable over Jason Garrett. Neither calls the defense, neither calls the offense. They're just kind of motivators.

I know which guy I'd take is my motivator. The dude that took a pullover, cut off the sleeves, made his own vest. I like Mike Vrable. Jason Garrett's, Redhead, Ivy League, World Series going, no innovation on offense going coaching style, I'm over it. The Cowboys season over.

I was told a long time ago, whenever you get a new job to fight for salary, not title. And I've realized now that I work for myself and basically have an independent business owner or fighting for things financially and claiming and having a title or a press release are two completely different things. Now, in football, once you get a title, like you're the head coach, that really means something. You had to earn having an owner give you that title. It's a really big deal. It's why position coaches want to be coordinators, why coordinators want to be head coach.

Then you get the opportunity to earn, you know, records, you know, in terms of winning and losses count, you know, on your, on your ledger as a head coach. And if you coach long enough, you know, 8, 10, 12 years, we get a feel for if you're good or not. But the one thing in football, and I think it's probably true for any sport, but definitely football, when you're just known as a Super Bowl winning coach, that stays with you forever. and think about this. Brian Billick was a Super Bowl winning coach in Baltimore. Would Brian Billick be a top 10 coach in the NFL right now?

No chance. There are a couple guys in the NFL right now that are living off this Super Bowl in years past and again, both of them had had high highs and have a long resume and I actually think one guy is better than the other. But actually I don't think either is that great. and one of them specifically in John Harbaugh, who would have been wildly considered four or five years ago

as a top five coach, a locked top five coach in the NFL. I think there's a decent chance. John Harbaugh is reported this weekend. He's on the hot seat. Of course he is, the owner said last year after the end of the season that he thought he contemplated firing him. John Harbaugh, like Vrable and Jason Garrett, doesn't call the offense, doesn't call the defense.

can't call the offense, knows nothing about offense. Defensively has helped out DBs in the past, but never been a coordinator, was a special teams coordinator, never been a defensive coordinator. So he's not a defensive guy, definitely not an offensive guy, cannot coach the quarterback. But he has won a Super Bowl. Like, what does that even mean? Like, here's what I do know. Andy Reid, since showing up in Kansas City, an organization that before he got there was kind of a joke,

has gone 61 and 28. His record in Philly speaks for itself. Andy Reid has never won a Super Bowl. It feels like with Bahams, he's going to have a pretty good chance these next three or four years. But he's Super Bowl less right now. Would anyone in their right mind

take John Harbaugh over Andy Reid? I got another guy for you. After they lost to the Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots on Sunday night. Would anyone take Mike McCarthy over Andy Reed is an offensive mind. I'll give Mike McCarthy this. If I was the New York Jets or the Cleveland Browns,

I would take a flyer I would think about. I'd definitely talk to him when Mike McCarthy. It's not if, it's when. Mike McCarthy is relieved of his duties in Green Bay. At least Mike McCarthy can coach quarterbacks and can call offense. Now, his offense is a little infuriating at times, but at least I know he can do that.

Now, eventually, will he be willing to look in the mirror and be open to change? We've seen Andy is more than willing to do that. Constantly changed, especially once he got to Kansas City, was open-minded with Alex, completely changed his offense. Now has morphed his offense, even into more of this spread attack with Patrick Mahomes, and it's lighting the league on fire, because he's just open-minded to everything. Like, John Harbaugh is this kind of stubborn, he's like, listen, I got one for you. Jim Harbaugh's never won a Super Bowl.

Jim, I'd much rather have Jim Harbaugh than John Harbaugh. I'd rather have Mike McCarthy than John Harbaugh. Is John Harbaugh hireable? This might sound crazy, but is he hireable as a head coach in 2000, what will be 19? Again, he can't coach the most important position on your team, the quarterback, knows nothing about offense, a league that's, you know, on the pie chart, if we were breaking it down, if you were in, owner looking at what you wanted at your head coach.

I'd say it's probably like 70, 30 offensive-minded guy. Like that, just the natural thought process now, given the rules, given the way the game's officiated, given the way the games played, given what the draft is giving you every year. Would anyone hire John Harbaugh?

Would John Harbaugh get a job this off-season? He's also known for being a borderline egomaniac. It's one thing to be an egomaniac like Sean Peyton. Well, do you know what I know, Sean Payton can do. I know he can call offense. I know he can coach quarterbacks. So you want to be an eagle man? And he's won a

Super Bowl too. But I just you know what? If you can just remove the Super Bowl, like I could remove Bill Belichick's five rings. And when I just watch his team, I go that guy's really freaking good. You know, Bruce Ariens felt like he was a head coach for

like five years. Not long enough. I watched Bruce Ariens. He was a little flawed like to pass it sometimes. But that guy was a big time NFL football coach. Mike Zimmer, who's a defensive coach, again, older guy late to his opportunity, never won a Super Bowl, may never win one because he's older, he's only going to have a limited opportunity.

When I think of Mike Zimmer, I think I'd much rather have Mike Zimmer than John Harbaugh than Mike McCarthy. He's just a better football coach. Now, and again, it might be a little unfair because Mike has had high highs. to me, Mike McCarthy would be more desirable than John Harbaugh. I've said forever, and I think it's even more in play, especially if SC finishes 7 and 5. John Harbaugh, I don't know if he will be.

He should be the next head coach of the U.S.C. Trojans. I actually think all those clips over the years of John Harbaugh with a samurai sword in the middle of the locker room, John Harbaugh with his crazy motivational speeches, John Harbaugh sitting in the living room, motivating the young, the youth of America. Like, he's perfect for college, for USC. He's got a chiseled jaw line, fit right in in L.A. Lynn Swan, NFL guys is AD.

They have an unlimited budget. He can go hire coordinators, you know, quarterback coaches, you name it. He'd had a bunch of Ray Lewis's in his prime, doesn't have to worry about aging players in the draft. I think it makes too much sense. But I think it's also, and this is why I feel even more confident about it actually being in play, I don't think he's going to get hired in the NFL. I think John Harbaugh's tenure in Baltimore is, again, it's not like Jason Garris. It's not if, it's when.

And it's clear his style and what he brings to the table is outdated. Let's dive into my main man, Bill the hoodie Belichick. If you've ever read business books, follow anyone in business, have mentors that have been successful in business, I'll always tell you, the key in life is to have cash on hand for when recessions hit, for even when they're not recessions, just value arises and you can buy something for 50, 40, 30 cents on the dollar. But you have to typically have some cash on hand to take advantage of those opportunities.

have to be ready to pounce when the opportunity presents itself because that's how you can make a lot of money you can get an undervalued asset and for cheap for whatever reason for whatever circumstance whether it's a recession whether it's someone is just desperate to sell they need the cash you name it you know i bought a lot of stock in the last couple years in the market uh and trust me i paid $350 per stock for Netflix right now it's not even at $310 so i i didn't get a in at the ideal time. People that got in at the ideal time, I'm sure some people are listening, bought that bad boy for a buck 50, $200. So even if it went from 350 back to 300, you're like, damn, I'm still making money because you can never go broke making a profit. Well, Bill Belichick,

and I think the guy he most admired just of the last 30, 40 years, obviously he worked for Bill Parcells, very tight with Bill Parcells. But Belichick's style is, I wouldn't say it's as much Parcellian as it's more Bill Walsh, it's kind of a combination of the two. But for as great as Belichick is as a coach, and I think he's the greatest coach in the history of sports. Football, basketball, baseball, any major sport, he's the best. I would take him over everyone. Because this also goes hands at hand.

He's a Hall of Fame general manager. Is there anyone better at feasting on incompetence around the NFL? Like the Browns and the Raiders, are basically teams that are just constantly in a recession. The Belichick just goes, yeah, I'll give you a six-rounder for Josh Gordon. Like, the Browns couldn't get that guy to show up. Belichick paid nothing for the dude's been awesome for them.

Corderell Patterson. Yeah, I'll give you a seventh for CP 84. By about week six or seven, he's playing running back for them. Who else in the NFL could do that? Now, he's unique because he's the coach and the general manager. So he understands if you have one or two traits, he can get the most out of him because he's also going to be coaching you. But for what he's doing with Cordill-Patterson is borderline mind-blowing.

CP cannot understand plays. Like literally, every time he's on the field, he has no clue what's going on. But somehow Bill Belichick can teach him to play a completely different position. Now, if you follow Jack Del Rio on Twitter, he kind of claimed that he moved him to running back last year. Kind of. They experimented. But they didn't leave him there. Anyone that's watched Patterson since his Tennessee days goes, damn, this kid's got some freakish talent.

I mean, you just get the ball in his hands and let him do things. Now, he's not the sharpest tool in the shed. So he's not, some coaches, and I've been around it, and I hate this mentality. And I'm personally like this. If you're too dumb to understand something, I don't want to do business with you. But I couldn't take that approach if I was a coach. Like if you're a coach, you can't just be like,

well, you can't learn the scheme. I'm just going to go back to my office and watch more film. Coach him up. And Bill Belichick, if you have enough talent, we'll find a way to get through to you. So somehow he got through to Josh Gordon. The dude is just making plays. Looks like, I mean, I wouldn't say an elite player,

but a damn good player that he got for nothing. He traded a late-round pick for a wide receiver kick returner that he's turned into a running back. The dude never played running back, I mean full-time, just ran for 60 yards on Sunday night football and had a touchdown. And could just be there starting running back for several weeks. Like you can play games with that guy. Name me another coach that would have that in the bag.

That would even think about that. And most, I think a lot of people, I'm sure, listening, if you're, I'm 34. So whether you're parents, you know, in their 60s, 70s, whether you work for people in their 60s and 70s, I mean, most people running companies with all the money are in their 60s and 70s. You know, it's the richest generation in the history of mankind. That generation typically, as you gain a lot of wealth and you gain a lot of success, you don't like change your ways in your late 60s.

You know, you don't go, I'm going to be open-minded to this. That's what's so incredible about Bill Belichick. and I throw a Nick Saban there too, is how open-minded they are with everything. You know why? Because their number one goal, it's the only thing they care about is winning on Sunday or a Monday

or whenever the hell they play. Just winning the game. Whatever they have to do. Change a scheme, change a player. They do not care. For as big as Belichick's ego probably is. And in his post-game press conference, he was wearing the seven-rings sweatshirt

to count for his five rings in New England and two in New York. So Belichick's ego is pretty big. 45-year-old Bill Belichick, even if you would have told him that you would have had seven rings one day, never would have warned that. But I will give him credit for him continuing to be open-minded with everything. His ability to get guys for nothing. To pay 30 cents on the dollar for players is incredible. He's the best in the league by a country mile.

It ain't close. Like, for as great as the Rams talent is, it's eventually going to come to roost how much they've paid all these players. Even the picks they've used. They've used first rounders and second rounders, and they've just thrown around picks for players. Like, eventually it comes to do a head. Belichick never really does that.

He maybe do it once, like a bold trade, but he won't snowballed on three or four. Like the Rams are like, oh, here's the third for Dante, Fowler. Here's our second last year for Marcus Peters. Here's our first for Brandon Cooks. Then you've got to pay some of these guys. It's just a never-ending game. It's like me, my gambling streak right now.

I'm always chasing losses. Well, you've got to be careful because sometimes all of a sudden you're like, God, I can't afford to keep doing this. Belichick's a little more, you know, pragmatics, the wrong word, because he will be, you know, especially his coach.

Like, he will be really aggressive. And I do think he's kind of gone out of left field, like giving Gilmore all that money a couple years ago. I was like, what? and his ego has gotten the way Malcolm Butler was on the bench, all the Super Bowl. Now did that cost in the Super Bowl? Maybe.

I'm watching Malcolm Butler this year he's not that good. But man, I think we need to tip our hat to, because we only talk about him as the coach, but Bill Belichick on Sunday night football against the Green Babe Haggers? The reason they won by two touchdowns? Bill Belichick, the general

manager won in that game. Okay, staying on the Patriots, I got to give this guy credit. I mean, he's been, one of the best offensive coordinators since he returned. He was this guy before he originally left to Denver. But since he's gotten back with Brady and Belichick for Part Duh, 2.0. Josh McDaniels has been fantastic. But it came up on Sunday Night Football.

I think Chris Collinsworth kind of claimed that, you know, don't be shocked when he gets another job. And Al Michaels was, you know, just flabbergasted, perplexed. Couldn't believe that he brought it up. But actually, rap sheet I saw on NFL. network on Sunday morning that kind of threw his name out there for the Cleveland Browns. Or maybe this was last week that Josh McDaniels might be a name to keep an eye on. Because one of the reports was the Cleveland Browns have used a search firm on their 50 million coaches they've signed the last, you know, eight years.

And this year, John Dorsey is going to do it. I hope so. I mean, if John Dorsey can't figure out who to hire, then you've got problems as a general manager, that should be your number one job. If you have a good GM, you shouldn't need a search firm. But Josh McDaniel's name was thrown out there. If you are an owner and you even want to interview Josh McDaniels, I think you're a little crazy.

He's shown you what he is. He's excellent in New England. He should just stay in New England. But in Denver, it was a royal disaster. Then, you know, this Diane Pompeii article came out. Maybe it was a year ago. Maybe it was two years ago about Josh McDaniels doing a lot of. lot of introspection, keeps a journal of things he's working on.

You know, all your classic kind of a PR move. Well, I thought Josh McDaniels was a big time candidate a couple years ago. I thought the San Francisco 49ers should have hired him. They tried. He said no. He got, you just didn't want the job. So, okay, they went with Kyle Shanahan. Then a year later, which I got was a weird job because Andrew Luck, we later found

out shoulder was messed up, that he heard it against snowboarding. Like, it was a major question mark. The number one asset, if you were taking a job, think about this, if you were taking a job and the number one asset in that company or the number one thing that was going to dictate your job performance in that company was a question mark. I get having cold feet. But if that asset had the upside potential of Andrew Luck, and I think we found out, he's headed toward potentially 50 touchdowns.

this year, a general manager that's well thought of around the NFL and Chris Ballard, and he got cold feet and he pulled out last second, I don't think he's hireable. I do not think he's hireable. Why? Because I do not think his decision making is dependable. Like, he's comfortable in his little bubble. You know, he does well. It's like a lot of people and a lot of different towns do really well and whatever they're doing. Could they do it in another market? Only so many people could succeed everywhere. Like you could throw Bill Parcells in any city, any works, any city, and it's getting the job done. You know, that's just a fact.

Well, could you throw Josh McDaniels in any environment and have him succeed? I don't know. I'm not quite seeing it. Like, there are some of our, like in Hollywood, could every, like the culture and things that go on in Hollywood, could people in Hollywood excel in other businesses and other cities? I'm not so sure. Like, the things we do in California are a little weird.

Now, our businessmen could. Like Steve Jobs is running any company anywhere. Warren Buffett's figuring anything out. Bill Belichick, at this point in time, is figuring anything out. Josh McDaniels, first off, he had problems when he got his opportunity. Now, you could chalk that up to him being young. But then when he was asked to make a big boy decision, he made one. I'm pretty sure he, did he actually sign it?

Maybe sign like understanding or whatever. the term was he didn't sign his actual contract but he was all in they had hired coaches for him like it's one of those things that it's the most basic premise when you when you uh are growing up your parents teach you when you tell someone something you got to fall through on if you don't want to do it don't ever say you're going to do it but once you say you're going to do it you got to do it whether you like it or not now as you know as you get older i mean business contracts are meant to be broken but still this one was an all-timer i don't think we'd ever seen anything quite like it.

So to me to even bring it up that he is hireable is crazy, I wouldn't touch him with a 10-foot pole if I was an owner. And I'm not disputing. He's been one of the better offensive coordinators in my life of watching football. And maybe it's the combination of Bill and Tom, whatever. But Josh B. Daniels, when he's calling football games, with Brady, is elite. And I've heard Brady talk about it enough. Brady thinks he's elite.

Like, he's unreal. But he wouldn't be by head. coach unless I'm Robert Kraft and I'm comfortable with him in his little bubble. Outside of his bubble, he gets cold feet. I wouldn't even waste an interview. I would not waste an interview. I think it's that simple. So if he's interviewing this and here's the other thing, if he were to leave, like let's say the Browns were to hire him, you take the Brown's job with Jimmy Haslam and Baker Mayfield over the potential of Andrew Luck. Are you on drugs? Are you taking crazy pills? Like, think about that. Even the Jets. And I'm a saying.

Sam Darnold's guy. But you would mortgage your career on Sam Darnold over the potential of Andrew Luck, which is going to change Frank Reich's life because Andrew Luck's good. You know, he's a superstar. Like, you don't turn that down. And Josh did. Like, I'm sorry. To me, Josh McDaniels, maybe these owners are kooky enough.

Maybe they would interview them. These general managers, John Dorsey's nuts, maybe he'd do it. But you're telling me, you wouldn't work for. Chris Ballard, but you'd work for John Dorsey, who couldn't get along with Andy Reed and Clark Hunt. You know, you'd go to the New York Jets. I just, I think it's crazy. Now, again, maybe it's all hearsay.

Maybe it's just, you know, hypothetical, classic NFL drama talk. But we've seen the NFL. It's not crazy enough. But I would think it would be absolutely borderline insane to even Grant Hintman interview. The game of the year, maybe so far, was Rams at Saints. For some reason, I thought that the game was in L.A.

And then it came on my television. I'm like, damn, it's in New Orleans. And it even made it better. That game was just fantastic. So many storylines. Michael Thomas, to me, is a smaller version of, not that much smaller, of what Julio Jones was, you know, three or four years ago, like in his apex. He's basically unstoppable.

He's been unreal. Alvin Kamara, superstar, Todd Gurley, borderline MVP, Drew Breeze's resume speaks for itself. But the guy that I came away, and I've really thought this all season long, his growth as a player has been eye-opening. And I say it all the time. People that listen to this podcast know, if you're from Northern California, just in general,

the Bay, the Southern, you know, the San Jose area, Sacramento, anywhere in that little vicinity, I'm rooting for you. I just naturally have my entire life. I root for people from North Carolina. Northern California. I have somewhat of a special place for people from Stanford and Cal. I just root for those guys because I watch them play a lot of games, especially when they're going to be a prominent NFL pick. I watched a lot of Jared Goff's games. I got news for you. Check his career win-loss record is three years in the program. It didn't win many games.

The only year they were bowl eligible was his third year. He played for a terrible program in Sunny Dykes. I mean just defensively all-time bad. They did not. not playing important games. And the big games he played in, his junior year, he lost. He couldn't beat the organs. He couldn't beat the SCs. He got smoked by UCLA. They just weren't very good.

But I still liked the prospect. I thought he was a first round pick, number one overall, probably a little bold. But man, you know, he has gotten so, he was awesome. He was really good last year, given, you know, coming off his rookie year. But his improvement from last year to this year is eye-opening. I mean, it really is. Watching that game in New Orleans, to go into that environment, I get the rules, it's easier to play quarterback.

But to go 28 to 40, throw for almost 400 yards and three touchdowns. But just how confident he looks in the pocket, how smoothy is, how accurate he is down the field. Like, I say this all the time, and I know Raider fans love to tell me around here that they're owning L.A. Listen, the Rams, they were L.A.'s team with the, you know, The Raiders were stolen, the Rams were already there. But the Rams, football being gone for so long, then it comes back out of nowhere.

Obviously, the Lakers are always story number one, especially now with LeBron. Dodgers are a really big deal. USC football is a really big deal, even though it's struggling. Like this McVe, Gough, when you have a superstar quarterback, superstar quarterbacks in this country are treated like royalty. I know Collins always said that. Like, our royalty in America are our quarterbacks and shooting guards. You know, I mean, Jared Goff, if he continues to play like this and one day becomes one of the top paid guys and he's clearly, it looks like, headed for continued success, is going to be a rock star.

Now, what makes, well, I like most about Jared, he's kind of got this California cool. He's pretty low-key. We'll see if that can maintain. It'll be hard. The more famous he becomes. But, man, he is, no really hot take here. beside, I'm just blown away by how good he's gotten, how calm, cool, and collected he looks in some of these big, big road environments.

Like, for whatever reason why I thought that game was going to be in L.A., if he had played like that in L.A., I would have given him a lot of credit. But he earned so many more just street credit points with me doing that on the road, in that environment, just being lights out. I mean, the kid is an absolute baller. I tweeted during the game, like, this guy's becoming. a star. And someone tweeted at me like, maybe you should take Becoming out.

And maybe that's fair. Maybe he just is a star right now. Like Jared Goff is a bona fide star quarterback. We never mention him in the top 10. We always just say the clear top four or five guys and then, you know, sprinkle in the Philip Rivers, you know, Russell Wilson, some of those guys. We never, even Carson Wentz. You know, we never mentioned Jared Goff.

Like say one thing for Jared Goff and Carson Wentz They are in a different galaxy Than Marriota and James Now James is just not a good player I mean James doesn't even play Mariotas little hit or miss But Goff and Wentz are stars We just consider Wentz a star

Maybe we should start considering Goff a star Okay let's get to the Middlecoff mailbag The way you get into the middle cough mailbag Is you slide up into my DMs at John Middlkoff on Instagram. You slide up into my DMs, they're wide open on Instagram, and I answer your questions here.

Like, hi, this is Clay, a Jets fan. I've heard you say the Jets would be a desirable job for Mike McCarthy. As bad as the Jets have been over the past couple years, I don't think it's a reflection of Todd Bowles. With the talent we've had, and he's vastly outplayed what they should have been. For example, last year, they were viewed as a 1 and 15 team. True.

and they were an 0-16 team without the roster arguably could have been 7 and 9. What makes you think he will be fired? I'm not that confident that he will be fired. I just think anytime you land a young quarterback, owners get antsy. You draft a quarterback really high, owners' expectations change. When you don't have the quarterback, it's, I mean, in layman's terms, no one gives a shit. You know, it's easy to justify. You know, we're building.

we're on the come, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But once you have Sam Darnold, everything changes. How can I make Sam Darnold great? I got Sam Darnold at three. How can I make him a star? I agree. I worked with Todd. I always got along with him.

I like Todd Bulls. I'm rooting for Todd Bulls. But if I was a Jets fan, I wouldn't want a defensive coach. I'd want an offensive head coach. My entire future rests on the right shoulder and right arm of the kid from Southern California who I kind of got gifted at the third overall pick

because he probably shouldn't have been there. I know he's struggled the last couple weeks but still everything comes back to him how can I make him the best version of himself so we can win. I'm with you.

Todd Bulls has done an admirable job but in 2018 with the way this league is set up offense offense offense offense I need an offensive head coach. Because even if I do get a new defensive coordinator, if that offensive coordinator does good with Sam Donald,

he's going to lead. Because they get hired away. That's why I want my offensive coach to be my play caller. Because I get the young quarterback can't go anywhere. Do you think the Warriors can win 74 games? No, I don't. Basketball question, but they're not going to win 74 games. They're not going to try that hard all season.

But good question. Hey, John, I have some friends who are Georgia fans and are convinced Jake Fromm as the best quarterback college football. I feel like he's solid, but that is ridiculous. Can you give them a reality check and talk about your top college quarterback from a scouting perspective? Yeah, Jake Fromm is not the best college quarterback. The best college quarterback this year, by a game close, and you saw it on Saturday night. What an awesome environment in Baton Rouge.

I've never been there, but I mean, it sure looks badass. Death Valley, to a kick their ass. LSU is littered with NFL players. Not just NFL players. Dues, they're going to get drafted high. And he beat him like a drum. Tua is the best college quarterback right now. Best college prospect?

I don't know if it's Tua. Though Tua is an intriguing prospect. Probably be non-draft eligible. Trevor Lawrence and Clemson is really intriguing. I mean, he's 6'5. He's got an absolute hose. He plays on a powerhouse. I'm fascinated to watch his career kind of continue to play

out. Will Greer, I watched a lot of that Texas game on Saturday. He's pretty interesting. I was kind of not down on Will Greer, but I thought the hype was a little strong. I was impressed. He played really, really well at Texas. You know who's actually pretty intriguing? Now, I don't know if he's a quarterback, but I'll tell you this, I think he's a better thrower of the football than Lamar Jackson, is Kyler Murray at Oklahoma. Now, he was drafted by the Oakland A's number nine overall. He's already signed a contract, already been paid. They allowed him to play college football, he worked out a deal or whatever. I've talked to multiple people in the NFL that think that he would get drafted in the top 40, 50 picks. If he proved, now he can throw the ball, but if he could show that

he could catch the football, have you seen how explosive he is in the open field, how fast he is? Can you imagine him catching the football? Like, he would be a lock first round. pick if he has, as my buddy in the league told me, if he just proved that he had like C plus hands, you know? I mean, that is an elite NFL athlete. It's just an elite athlete. But even on NFL standards, he is special. Now, he's small.

Could he play some quarterback for you? Sure. I like him more as an offensive weapon. But, man, that guy is a freak show. Obviously, Justin Herbert, you know, is a big time NFL, NFL. NFL prospect. I'm trying to think the Ohio State guys kind of come back to Earth.

You know, Shea Patterson, I don't think he's a great NFL prospect, but he has grown on me. He's at an excellent college season. He's put Michigan in position to be in the playoffs. I can't wait. I'm a Harbaugh guy,

so I'm going to be rooting for Harbaugh to kick Myers' ass. And, yeah, I think we got to, you know, for the most part, I think you turn on games on Saturday and see pretty good quarterback play. Now, Jake Fromm, I think he's solid. I don't think he projects, you know, Aaron Murray a couple years ago that led that team.

What year would that have been? 2012, maybe, 2013. They lost Alabama in the SEC championship game. He's probably a little slightly better version of Aaron Murray, and Aaron Murray was out of the NFL, I think, in like four or five years, max. Okay, let's see some other questions. Hey, John, different kind of questions. for the pod. Why doesn't Gus Johnson get to do NFL games anymore? I really think he is the best in the biz and I love when he and Clack get to call games on Saturdays. I think it's just a simple contract that you sign with the employer. And if you're Gus Johnson, are you better off doing a regional NFL game? I don't know this for a fact, but I know if I was him and I was looking at it because clearly he would be able to do NFL games. But I think the Momas Fox and Fox Sports One got the, the big TV package, you go, should I do the number one Fox game on college on Saturday

or do the number three or four NFL game? Because Troy Aikman has the market cornered as the number one crew. So I get the nation watching me on Saturday instead of a regional group watching me on Sunday. I just get more eyeballs, more people watching. Now, it's college and not NFL, but for the most part, Fox gets a lot. a bunch of big NFL games. Like he's going to get to do Ohio State, Michigan. He's gotten to do just a bunch of big games over the years.

But you've got to do games on Saturday. I think it's really that simple. I'm with you. He makes the game feels very big. He's actually, honestly to me, feels a little more collegiate. I think he's perfect for college. I think him and Joel are excellent. I enjoy that game.

Usually I got multiple TVs and whatever game they're doing on Fox. I guess it depends on what the matchup is But for the most part I flipped him on And I think this week Did he call the Will Greer Texas game? Maybe he called the A&M Oklahoma game Or I mean the Tex-Tech Oklahoma game I can't even remember

But yeah he did No he did call the West Virginia Texan game Because he freaked He freaked out when they scored the touchdown So he's to me he's perfect for that And for him I think the way this question was asked more people watch them now because when you're doing the Atlanta Falcons Carolina Panthers

at a 10 a.m. West Coast kickoff most of the time now depending on the week sometimes that's a national morning game but for the most part it's a regional game so it's played in the south like I don't get to watch that game on the West Coast now if you have the NFL package or whatever but I probably get a different game so I this way I guaranteed to watch them hey John love the podcast I want to get your take on the Texans if you're the GM. The roster is full of star power, but no really depth behind it. Would you try to improve the depth through the draft or trade a package for Patrick Peterson and make a bid for Levion Bell?

Well, they definitely need a running back. They 100% need a running back. Lamar Miller is just for that team. They need more. Can you imagine if the Texans had like, not even a Todd Gurley, just like a shady McCoy, You know, just like Cream Hunt's really good. But just a good player.

I'm trying to think of just a solid running back. You know, a Dionne Lewis, just something like that. They would be so potent an offense now that they got Demarius Thomas. I guess next year, Will Fuller will come back. I've been impressed. I didn't think JJ Watt would ever come back from this back injury, but he hasn't just come back.

He's been fantastic. Clowny's still a player. I guess you could let Clownie walk Now the hard part with that is you did draft Clowny in the first number one overall, and he's been a really good player, but are you going to give him an astronomical contract? Are they just going to franchise them? To me, that is the most important decision they make before they figure out that, whether they sign Levy on Bell, whether they trade for Patrick Peterson, is what do they do with Clowny? Are they going to invest $60, $70, $80 million in Clowney? or are they going to let Clownie go and allocate resources?

Sign levy on Bell. Make a big trade for Patrick Peterson. You know, maybe sign some other players. That, to me, is going to be the tipping point. It's kind of, you know, because once you sign Clowny, then Hopkins is already getting paid. Deshawn Watson's a year away from getting paid. JJ still makes a ton of money.

The decisions become really hard. Like, what do you do? ultimately, I think, at the end of the day, clowny stays, and that somewhat limits what they can do big picture. I don't think it's a black and white decision, but whenever you draft a guy number one overall, I don't want to say you're stuck with them, but usually that mindset and that draft capital,

especially when it's the same head coach, same owner, kind of dictates what you do with that player when he's shown enough to, you know, will he ever be a superstar? I know this. When Clowny tries and Clowny's healthy, he's a dominant, dominant player. Marriota will look great tonight.

What are the odds of Titans back up the Briggs truck for him? Titans aren't exactly a free agent destination, but he isn't worth a big deal at all. Yeah, I think that you just play it out. This is year, this is your three? Or is this year four? This is your four.

He's going into year five. I don't think you're necessarily in any rush. Is this year four? I can't even. So he played his rookie year. And then he said two years. Yeah, this is your, so this is year four. I think people rush to, we got to pay this guy.

We don't need to pay this guy. Right now I would not. I would make him play his fifth year option out. It would be that simple. Marcus Marriota would have to play his fifth year option. I'm looking up as we speak, how many years this guy's been in the NFL. So, yeah, this is his fourth year.

In a perfect world, if you have your franchise guy, you pay him after this year, and you pay him a lot of money. Marcus Marriota is not making $30 million a year. Now, would Marcus Marriota sign a deal for $24 million a year to stay in Tennessee? And I think that would make some sense if you're the Tennessee Titans.

But I think what I would try to do is play this year out, see if he can get us to the playoffs, If you can keep making plays like tonight, then we got a chance. Then play next year on the fifth year option. And again, keep making him prove himself. Because I don't know, is he going to keep getting better? Does he have the physical attributes and the talent to ever be a star? Like the one reason why I supported the Derek Carr contract, the Jimmy Garoppolo contract,

because it was clear those guys had the ability to be what you needed. Like Marcus, can he simply sit in the pocket and throw it? I know he can run it. He had the great running touchdown tonight against the Cowboys. I know he can take off on his own read. I know he can occasionally hit some plays in the passing game, but can he do it consistently? I don't know.

And sometimes he makes me nervous that that's not really his deal. So as of right now, I would not pay Marcus Marriota. I would not expect the Titans to pay Marcus Marriota this offseason unless they get them at an extreme discount. And I, like I would imagine, would do is just play it out. Middlecoff mailbag, hit me up in my DMs at John Middilcoff,

and I'll see you a little later this week. Thanks for listening. Three and out podcast, subscribe, rate, review it, like it, slide up in my DMs, do whatever you guys do, and I appreciate everyone listening. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind,

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Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite, unhumored 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. What's up, guys? This is Clifford Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Clivert Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff.

Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What?

Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio, app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast, Point Game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season.

And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was funny. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis keep coming to you. He's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love.

This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the I Heart Radio. app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.