The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Saturday Special - Colin talks NCAA athletics with Bruce Feldman

Episode Date: February 15, 2020

Colin goes in depth with Fox Sports College Football Reporter Bruce Feldman about the troubling state of Pac-12 football and they try to explain why the conference is struggling so much to keep up with the Big Ten and SEC. They discuss "middle of the pack" schools like Michigan State being able to poach coaches and why USC has been unable to recreate the success of their past in this exclusive podcast. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

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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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts 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, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

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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 hiring.

you just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to her. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, everybody, and welcome to our Saturday morning podcast, where we take 20 minutes. We find a topic we find fascinating. And, you know, I've talked about this a lot on my show. We just got out of the decade.

decade of dynasties, the Yukon Women's Basketball, Alabama dynasty, Patriots dynasty, Warriors and Heat Dynasty. And there's a lot of reasons for this, which I've gone on and talked about at length on my show. College football has now a regional and financial dynasty called the Big Ten and the SEC. And it is not only puncturing the momentum and sort of the gravitok of the PAC 12, but it is making it entirely difficult to keep the coaches out west. And we saw it again this week where little old Michigan State, not Michigan, not Ohio State, not Penn State, not Wisconsin. Michigan State steals away Mel Tucker from Colorado and Bruce Feldman, a great college football reporter TV print everywhere for Fox Sports is joining

us. Is this, am I too hyperbolic? Is this just? Am I too hyperbolic? Is this just just a coach who decided to double his salary, or do you see something beyond that? No, it's actually exactly what it is. I mean, look at just on the reality of this. So the Michigan State, and first of all, Mel Tucker had started his coaching career at Michigan State on Nick Staven's in late 90s. So there was a lot of people there, whether it's Tom Izzo, Nick Saban had some influence, some other people who were inside the university who had felt like this is our guy. This is the guy we feel like should, we know what he's about.

This is a guy we feel like should take the program going forward. So they reach out to him late last week and he just basically says, you know, I want to be a Colorado. I plan on being here. Then they come back to him like three days later with a

big financial offer. And he thinks about it and he's inclined, I'm going to still stay at Colorado. Now is his plan. Then they came back to him even more the next day. And by the end of that night, breaking news, Mel Tucker's leaving the Pac-12 in Colorado to go to the Big Ten. And a big reason for this is Michigan State is going to double his salary pool, basically from a little over $3 million to $6 million. That is a very

significant value. That should be noted. That's not just for Mel. That's for his assistance. Correct. I mean, they're doubling Mel's salary. They're more than doubling Mel's salary and they are doubling his salary pool for his coaches. And so about about a week and a half before this, this happened, I did a column on the athletic about just what the money means, because the FCC had just put out its revenue numbers for the fiscal year. And they were eye popping. And what you're talking about is very true about the gulf right now that exists between the Big Ten and the FCC and then everybody else. And most notably the PACT will, and most notably the Pact 12 is getting left behind.

And what that can translate to from talking to people in the sport is a lot of schools in the PAC 12 may have one recruiting person in the recruiting staff. Maybe a work study kid is also helping out. At Ohio State, they have 11 full-time people. They have five people in creative media alone. And that's a big deal. It's a big deal if you're Colorado that Nell Tucker and his staff are flying on planes just like their next door neighbor, where a lot of other big schools are traveling on

private planes. That matters because when you're at Colorado, there's not a lot of players. You maybe can get three or four players in the state who are probably legit, you know, top 25 program caliber players. You've got to get on the road and recruit. And so if you don't have the access to private planes and those things, and that costs money. and with all these TV money that's coming in, and it's going to get even bigger with this TV contracts,

the Big Ten and the FCC are about to get, that's only going to set the Pac-12 even further behind where they already are. Something else to throw out at you. It's the Silicon Valley dilemma. So Silicon Valley has obviously made Seattle richer. Salt Lake, it's called Silicon Slopes. San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles. Boulder, Denver is becoming increasingly techy. What does that mean? It's driving up home prices.

So to buy a home in East Lansing for $400,000, that's a million six in Boulder, is that Silicon Valley is driven up the housing prices, which for assistance is a big deal when you're selling it to your wife and kids. Nobody is talking about this, but when I can pay a Southern coach or a Midwest coach, $700,000. His buying power is significantly more than a $400,000 coach that has to live in Seattle or Los Angeles or the Bay Area at Cal and Stanford. So I don't know if you've thought about this, but I think you can find good head coaches. I think it's hard to build a great staff in the PAC 12 now.

Yeah, I think it comes back to that salary pool number. And I think what the key is, you know, for a lot of folks, you're hearing this, you're going, that's outrageous money. A special teams coordinator is making $250,000. That's way more than I make. That's way more than my buddy makes. That's way more than the guy I watch football with makes. But relative to the guys in the sport who are doing the similar jobs, it's not. You are on the other side of it.

It's not insignificant that a couple of days before, I think it was two days before, Melville, Tucker accepts the job. His defensive line coach leaves Colorado. He came with Mel Tucker, he leaves Colorado to go to Tennessee. He didn't go to Alabama. He didn't go to LSU. He went to Tennessee, which obviously has, you know, terrific football history. But Tennessee is not right now a top 10 program.

And so when you're losing assistance because you're not paying them enough, as you can't pay them enough, that stuff matters. And so, you know, ultimately, I think when you look at how this is, and the thing is, it's happening now, it's going to get much worse. The Gulf is going to, when the TV dollars for the next contract kick in, that's when the gap is really going to be eye-popping. And if your USC, you might be able to withstand it, if things are going right and your leadership gets his act together and all that. But almost everybody else, I mean, I use this analogy in Colorado this week after my story broke, that the way that folks in the PAC 12 and the old PAC 10 would look at the Mountain West schools, that's the way the Big 10 and the SEC look at the PAC 12. That's the difference. I mean, it may jolt people because they're like, hey, we had all these Heisman winners and this and that.

This is the reality now. They are looking at it, much like the PAC 12 looks down, like Colorado would look down at Colorado State. Well, this is what everybody else is looking at you guys now because the financial differences are that significant. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlic on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games.

And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped. up in the chase, that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch.

Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about. on healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts 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, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Rhett, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a paramed apocal chin here you do. So let's talk about it.

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as part of my Cultura podcast network available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Now, let me push back. I'll be devil's advocate. And I'll say, listen, Oregon and Washington right now have excellent rosters full of NFL players. If they were two and three in the conference and just USC got its act together, the conference would be fine. You'd have Oregon as the eighth best team in the country, Washington as 11th and USC is a top five, that the PAC 12, much like the Big 10, is dependent on one team, USC or Ohio State.

If the Bunkies are down, it's not the same conference. Yet Alabama can be down and LSU can still win the national title. Florida, LSU, Georgia, recruiting, Auburn, they're recruiting powerhouses. But if USC Bruce could just get the right guy and then Oregon and Washington battled it out for second and third place and went to good solid bowls and had a bunch of NFL players, all would be fine out West. Is that possible? But what's different is, you know, who has made the big. gain from USC spinning its wheels and struggling, Oregon. So Oregon is well positioned.

They just got, you know, two five-star linebackers committed a couple months ago and signed. And one of them, people Justin Flo, think, is the best linebacker prospect of West Coast has had years. That keeps USC, he would be instead of Oregon. A lot of these kids would probably be at USC instead of Oregon. Some of them wouldn't be at Washington. And so I'm not saying there's not enough players to go around, but I think, you know, if USC was a top five program again, that would change the narrative to some degree because everything is driven from the top.

If you have a great program that covers up what happens in the middle or at the bottom, I mean, I think that's a fair statement. It's just then I think you'd have what it felt like, you know, 12 years ago where it was Pete Terrell. and then it was everybody else and there was a big gap. And it just covered things up. But what's different now, I think, is the gap between the middle programs and the bottom tier program,

and that's what right now, let's say what Colorado is. They haven't had any sustained success since they've been in the PAC 12. And their resources are much lower. Their commitment to football is not the same. And so you're going to lose, as you said at the top of this,

Michigan State, not Michigan, Michigan State was the one who made the big pull. And so it's when their middle programs are able to big brother your middle programs, that's where I think your reality is. And I think that ultimately, that hurts the conference significantly. You know, I've always had, this is kind of my theoretical DNA, Bruce Feldman, joining us. I kind of have a belief that the longer a country or the longer a business, is around the greater the gap between the haves and have-nots. And I'll give you an example, the newspaper industry.

The longer it's around, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the athletic have separated from the cream of the crop. Have separated. In Silicon Valley, the older it gets, Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, have separated from the rest of Silicon Valley. if you look at sports. Let's take college football. I mean, there's never been a bigger gap between the 1% in America and the bottom. Technology is a dynamic that creates wealth 24-7. It used to be even the richest guy in America, went to bed, the world stopped, he got up, started his day again.

You can make money when you're sleeping now. So I look at college football, and the longer it exists, the greater the gap between the South and everybody else. Because there is simply more passion. It matters more. A lot of USC's greatness was when Pete Carroll was here and there was no NFL teams here. Now you've got two NFL teams. Both the Clippers and the Lakers are interesting. There wasn't two soccer teams when Pete Carroll was here.

Can I make the argument the South is doing what every business does, the longer it lasts. There's a separation, cream rises, and the South cares more. In the southern footprint, there's simply more athletes. And this is just a natural byproduct of a longstanding business. The cream rises and the PAC 12 will just never. They just don't care enough. There's too many things, too many pro teams, too many mountains, too many beaches, Too many side interests.

Well, I think what you're saying has merit. I think what it really is is there's way more margin for error. The expression I would use when I talk about, especially the SEC, is they're committing, committed to playing football at the highest level. There's an aggression level in terms of how they want to position football and how they're going to, that line that the SEC is as its motto that people can mock. But in this case, there's a reality of it. It just means more.

It just means more to the fans. It just means more to the coaches. The Senate could say it just means more to the boosters. I mean, all of this stuff factors in. It doesn't mean that if USC had Pete Carroll or some version of Pete Carroll kind of coach who is running the program right now, that they couldn't make a run at a national title. USC has a, it's a private school with a, a ton of money with a huge recruiting base and huge history.

If things are going good, USC is in a different position than everybody else in the PAC 12. But I think, again, what happens now, and thinking about your model as it relates to technology and all this stuff is, I go back to that part about Ohio State talking to their recruiting coordinator who came with Urban Meyer from Florida and was a guy who was with him at U.S. what they have changed is five people in creative media, people like, well, what does that mean? 11 people just in the recruiting office.

That's how you communicate now with 16, 17, and 18-year-olds. It's not just with a text from a coach. It's not just, it's all this kind of imagery and messaging. And that stuff matters. And the private planes, that matters. Because if you can't see a kid or your coach can't see him or that coach is late, you know, we're dealing with kind of a very thickle world right now. And so those details matter and it translates.

It doesn't mean that every entitled kid you think is entitled, it's going to turn out to be a great player or going to turn out to be a bus. But it goes back to you, you just have a greater margin for error. You have, you know, Bill Tucker wanted a nutrition bar, which sounds like, okay, you know, in the, you know, in the football complex, wanted there are some detail stuff that when those things, can't get just signed off on. This is a smaller example.

It sounds like it is. Before the FCC title game, Ed Ogeron, the FCC wanted him to come in a day early to do some media obligations. So he would do even Thursday from Baton Rouge instead of Friday to go to Atlanta. And his feeling was, hey, we do everything as a team. I want my team there with me. They're going to come on.

And his AD, Scott Woodward, who by the way is, you know, was a Baton Rouge guy and had once worked in the PAC 12 at Washington, the AD. He was like, done, we're going to get this done. Some other places would say, oh, look how much money this is going to cost to fly the team, travel the team, put them in a hotel and extra night, all this other stuff. And it was like, hey, if this is what it takes to compete for a national title and win an SEC title, we're going to do it. And other places just with five reasons, you know, the bureaucracy.

And you could ask Rick Newheisel, all the nonsense stuff that you deal with when they're the head coach at UCLA. That stuff, to that degree, doesn't happen at big time programs and other parts of the country. You know, it's interesting. I see this Bruce Feldman joining us sometimes with politics. I remember before a young man named Barack Obama from Chicago arrived on the scene, the Democrats were complaining, you know, our parties lost its way. and then all of a sudden this dynamic politician arrived and won the election and a second term. And it was the conservative saying, you know, the Republicans have lost their way. Then Trump, a dynamic personality, regardless of what people think about him, would be wins.

And now the Democrats are like, well, we've lost our way. We've gone too far left. The reality is what Barack Obama solved and Trump solved for their specific parties was they were dynamic. personalities. Could I, could I argue this? The PAC 12 has a coach who's likable in Clay Helton. But if you put an urban there, you put a James Franklin there, a dynamic personality, it solves USC. And I got into this discussion with somebody inside the program not long ago. And I said, L.A. is a very distracted town. Clay is perfect at New Mexico State. He's perfect somewhere that's not distracted.

But USC probably now in 2020. LeBron's in town. Kauai's in town. Two soccer teams, two NFL teams. That USC really needs to go out. If Clay has the season, many predict, they open with Bama, they don't have a left tackle currently at USC right now, that USC needs to really go out and get a superstar head coach, perhaps from the NFL.

Do you believe that is the answer to solve? USC to really in this distracted, crowded market, get a superstar, get a hardball. I don't think it necessarily has to be a superstar or a big, big, big personality type to compete with the star factor. I really think it's this. And I think what you said, Clay Hilton is a really decent, good math. Oh, yeah. I think one of the challenges with maybe the dynamic of some of the players that you have out here,

is Monday through Friday. It can't feel like, and I don't want to say it's like a substitute teacher, but if the vibe is, you know, everybody's comfortable, you need an edge to it. I've seen that at other places where, you know, you can have players be comfortable and loose, but there has to be an edge of a urgency there. And I feel like this from having been out here for a while,

that's the one thing that's been missing here. And if you have somebody there that maybe people don't feel like they can take advantage of or people don't feel like, you know what, this goes into development. And there's something that's hard to pull off. I mean, there's been a lot of staff turnover at USC. I think also what's hurt Clay Helton, and to me this is no fault of Clay Helton's, but when you've been on the hot seat at such a high-profile place for so long, It becomes almost impossible to recruit at a really high level to compete with some of these other programs.

I mean, they may have a five-star caliber quarterback in Keaton-Slovis. But Keaton-Slovis was paying in as, as you know, a three-star guy. There wasn't a ton of traffic on him. It worked out really well for USC because they had a smart evaluation. But if it's the five-star kid who has all this traffic around him, well, it's easy enough for those other schools to go, you can't go to USC client. You don't know who's going to be your head coach. they're going to fire Clay Helton a year from now or six months from now.

And that has really undercut him so much. And I think a part of that is because Clay Helton was a guy that most of the fan base just didn't feel like should have gotten a job in the first place. And then he got off to a Rocky Star, you know, losing a bowl game or losing the Stanford in the Pack 12 title game. And it's just been more of that where for whatever reason, it's just kind of undercut him at every chance on the recruiting part. So I think there's the recruiting piece of it,

and I think there's a Monday through Friday piece of it. And, you know, look, hopefully for USC's sake, these Todd Orlando kind of hires an assistant moves that he's shaking up his staff and maybe brought in guys with a little more of an edge to them, maybe that'll be something that gets them cranked up and can take them up to the next level. Because it's not like they don't have any players, they do,

but it's just been kind of right now. I feel like USC has had a hard time getting out of USC's way. And a big reason for that is they had a terrible AD before and they had that leadership and all that stuff. It's not to say you can't overcome it, but it's just been such an uphill battle for USC and it's been much harder than it needs to be. And I also think, and I know people listening from the south of the Midwest will push back on this. college football is better when there's a West Coast presence.

USC is good for the sport. It's getting very regionalized. We saw what happened at the NBA when LeBron left the Eastern Conference. It feels like in the NBA, it's killed ratings. The sport is too lopsided. Too many of the good players and teams are out west. I think it can hurt baseball where the Yankees and Dodgers now are just dealing with different payrolls. Even the Red Sox feel a little bit now that they can't keep up financially with the Dodgers or the Yankees.

I don't need ultimate parity, but I do think there's a sense in college football that the sport dies at the Rocky Mountains. And I think USC is the one program that can elevate the entire sport. The highest rated college football national title game in recent memory was USC, Texas. And you can see these championship games. Listen, I love college football. And I watch eight Alabama games a year and six Clemson games. But I think they're going to meet again next year in the title. And I do think the PAC 12 needs an imprint or the sports going to be marginalized and regionalized to a larger degree than it already is.

Well, I think what happens to is, look, USC, I'll use Notre Dame as an example. It's better for college football in Notre Dame is a top five kind of program, top 10 kind of program, because then they're relevant. And I'm not saying it's because all the Notre Dame fans are going to watch those games anyway. The thing is, when they're really good, you're getting a lot of fans from hate Notre Dame who want to tune in to watch Notre Dame. And they are hoping to see Notre Dame lose. I think there's a big chunk of people who tune in, who would tune in to try if USC's really good to root against them. Because they don't, they, to a lot of people, USC represents things they don't like. Just like I am sure that LSU had a big amount of support that weren't really people from Louisiana who were rooting

for LSU to go into Tuscaloosa and with the tide. I think that works that way. I think right now, I don't know how, you know, it's hard to find a lot of people who I think really dislike Clemson. You know, they had Deshaun Watson, who was a great kid and everybody liked him. And Davos Sweeney, who's kind of got this awestruck, it's not going to be fourth and one every second of the day kind of vibe around him. So I don't, you know, I think it's just, I think when you have.

some of these figures and some of these programs that come with a lot of other stuff with them, I think people can get into those. And they, you know, just, especially in this day and age, just as much as rooting for a team, you'll get people who root against them. And they're going to tune in to say, God, I hope they lose. And that, you know, that adds up to ratings too. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

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

We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down,

give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardaway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross,

because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines,

as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clifford Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts 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? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her.

What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents. soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. This is my best friend Janet. And we

have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later. We're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. Wider. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drink.

Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar or something here? Just hit it. What are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a wrap? All the, I wish. Come on. Could you believe?

I would buy it. Cut through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic. You're lucky I'm not a killer. I love this team and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on.

Oh. Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, Bruce, I have two programs I want to discuss and two coaches. What's the current standing of Tom Herman, who have been told is difficult, smart, but it does feel like he's alienated some within the program, address him, and what's the current standing of Jim Harbaugh, his administration, his boosters currently at Michigan? Give me Tom Herman and Jim Harbaugh. Well, with Tom Herman, obviously had a good year when they beat Georgia, but then it's been a

backstep, he fires half his staff, and then on top of this, what you've had is some really immature behavior that I think really does not sit well with a lot of people going, you're the Texas head coach, you shouldn't be doing this, you shouldn't be mocking through Locke, the other team's

quarterback in a bowl game. You shouldn't be slipping off the Longhorn Network camera on signing day. That stuff looks beneath what you should get from a college head coach at a program like that. I think those things do not help.

If he goes eight and four again, I think there'll be a lot of people who go, you know, we're done with this guy. He's had time. They should be better than they are. He already fired most of his staff to get to this point. I think his seat is warm. I don't think it's scalding hot,

but Texas has a lot of money, and they're looking over and their big rival, and they say, hey, here's Lincoln Riley. He's going to the playoff. Why isn't that up? As far as Michigan and Jim Harbaugh, he's got the program better than what it was when he inherited it. The problem is it's the Ohio State thing. He's been embarrassed by Ohio

State at every turn. And I don't know if you're Michigan. It's to me it's a harder thing there because I don't know who you get at Michigan if Jim Harbaugh were to leave. And I don't know where he would go because all I've heard for a long time is Jim Harbaugh is this ultimate competitor. Well, how do you, if you're the ultimate competitor, walk away after you have not got the one thing that matters more at Michigan than anything else when it comes to football. and that's beating Ohio State, and he's not done it, and he hasn't come close to doing it in the last couple of years now. So I don't know what, you know, I think you've got to ride it out and just say, hey, you know what? Hopefully he will recruit better.

Hopefully his team will be more dialed in, but they're getting Ohio State's best punch that game every time they're getting their A game, and they have not matched up to it. And until that happens, I think there's going to be a feeling that he is really underachieved and underdelivered in Ann Arbor. And that's not going to sit well with anybody there. All right, Bruce Feldman, Fox Sports College Football reporter. Bruce, it's great talking to you. Always a pleasure, Colin. Thanks for having me.

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