The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 1 - Caleb Williams might be better than you think, Lakers want LeBron James back for next season

Episode Date: February 18, 2026

Colin Cowherd declares Caleb Williams as the #1 QB in the NFL entering the 2026 season and has the proof to back it up The Lakers are saying are open to LeBron James coming back next seasonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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 Acapella 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 ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Turn someday into right now with Body by Jake Radio.

Non-stop workout music and expert tips 24-7. Hey, head over to iHeart.com. Search Body by Jake Radio and stream it for free right now. Awesome health and wellness tips 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Remember, stick to the fight. When your hardest hit, it's when things seem worse that you must not quit. Don't quit. Body by Jake Radio, where hope meets momentum.

Search Body by Jake Radio and stream it for free. Have a great day. I Heart Radio. Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man. Is everyone lying to me about who they are? I felt such desperation.

I felt it was what I had to do. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard Podcasts. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. We're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go Wednesday. That's the day it is.

We're in Chicago. The temperatures, mid-60s. Honestly, I had to get talked out of wearing a tank top on the show today. It's the herd wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Thanks for Megan us. Part of your day. Hey, listen, I got a lot of opinions on KD's burner account. It just hasn't been verified yet.

When it gets verified, I got all sorts of opinions. So a lot of people in our space, the talk show space, they don't like to get called out. That's why I've always respected guys who don't play it safe, who have big opinions, they don't care what you think, they don't care about the pushback. The bottom line is you can't worry about the critics, you can't worry about fans, do your prep, let it rip, it lands where it lands. And I saw this this morning, Caleb Williams, according to NFL.com, they looked at all the numbers, is the NFC North's best quarterback. And my take was, no, we're getting into a discussion if you count everything that Caleb Williams may very quickly be the best quarterback.

You've got to count everything with a quarterback, including the cost. Not including what a quarterback costs. There's a reason the bills have no pro bowlers on defense and the bears have a stacked roster. It's because Caleb Williams cost $10 million a year. it's a 3.5% cap hit. Lamar Jackson's going to be a 25% cap hit. If you count mobility and health and arm and lack of turnovers, this year he corrected negative plays.

It's Caleb Williams. I don't care about resume. I'm not into past celebrations or past failures. I'm into projecting 2026 Labor Day weekend. Is Caleb the best quarterback in the league? Because discussing quarterbacks without also acknowledging the cost is like doing your family budget when you sit down with your wife and not counting the Maserati you bought last year without asking her. Yeah, it's going to kind of screw up the budget. Not going to have a nanny this year.

Not going to be going to the movies much. Forget second vacation. Can't afford one. I looked up to stats this morning. only one quarterback in the league had more big time throws, 20 plus throws than Caleb Williams. It wasn't Josh Allen, Mahomes,

and it wasn't Lamar Jackson. Caleb Williams has the lowest interception rate since he entered the league, better than Mahomes. Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, and Josh Allen. He is now officially the fastest quarterback on clock, better than Lamar, faster than Josh Allen.

And oh, by the way, he also had the longest completion in the league last year. So if you count everything and you have to count cost, there is a reason. Drake May, Bow, Knicks, Caleb Williams have really good rosters and the Buffalo Bills don't have a pro bowler or why the chief's O-line and run games stinks. If you're counting everything, I said when he came into this league, I said two things he won't get a lot of credit for because he's so dynamic, there's so much horsepower that you're in all of watching him is he never gets hurt and he doesn't throw interceptions. That's just the little

stuff on the edges. Now he throws the longest ball and is the fastest quarterback and has the lowest interception rate and is 3.5% against the cap. Now once he's gotten rid of the negative plays, which he did last year, is he next year all things in the best quarterback in the league? you can keep telling me about Josh Allen and Mahomes and Lamar Jackson. C.J. Strouds regressed this year. I'm not into resumes. I'm into projecting. And he's also an ascending player. Go look at his last seven regular season games last year. Was it like 14 touchdowns, two picks, something like that. So, you know, when I hear this stuff, if you're going to count, and I think you should for quarterback, I mean, we have a trend in this league.

highest paid quarterbacks take out Mahomes in 20, 23, they don't make Super Bowls. They don't make Super Bowls. Sam Darnold just did. Drake May did. Bo Nicks should have. So if you're going to count everything, and I mean, it's like how do you not count what a quarterback costs? I said it all this year.

Look at the Bears roster. Offensively, it's stacked. Interior O line, right tackle, running back depth, wide receiver, tie. Snow is Arc. They got two of everything. Here's Caleb on Max Crosby's podcast, not talking about himself, but what he thinks he can be part of with the Bears' offense this year. I really want to become the greatest offense this year.

So that's really on my mind. I think the average was 38.5 or something like that of Denver. At Peyton year, where he had 50 touchdowns. I think it's 39. is the number, you know, average score. And so, yeah, so we're going for. Yeah. I don't think it's crazy.

You know, when things are right in front of you, the NFL's a hard cap league. Every dollar matters. So you can tell me how great Josh Allen is. And I can tell you, too bad we can't afford to go get Max Crosby. You know who can? The Bears. Denver.

Now they're out from under Russell Wilson's cap hit. So there you go. And I don't think that's hyperbolic. I think the kids that good. The numbers are now all coming in. Big throws, speed, longest completion, interception rate. They're all coming in.

And it's like, oh, they're better than Josh and Lamar and Mahomes and Burrow. And he never gets hurt. And now there's no negative plays. Okay. I'm here for it. So I saw this. I'm working on a project right now with a couple of people, a bunch of people, and it's one of those Hollywood projects.

And the difference is our show is great because Jay Mack and I can prep, do the show, go home, it's done. Hollywood's very glacial. And because of that, actors can be very frustrating to work with at times. It's very slow. Let me get into character. Let me contemplate what the motivation is for this character. and I'm like, bro, let's go. Got a life to lead, cha-cha.

So I see this story with Aaron Rogers, and Aaron's always been the most Hollywood of the quarterbacks. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, urgency. Aaron Rogers is very much like Christopher Walken, staring out a window. It will be amazing when I get to it. So I see a story this morning. Former general manager urges the Steve.

dealers to move on from Aaron Rogers. And I don't think the general manager dislikes Aaron Rogers. This is a very urgent league, and Aaron's a very casual guy. And I think that's much easier to do when you're in your prime. You know, when Aaron first exploded onto the scene, he was a little like the very first flat screen TVs. Whoa, what is that? You hang it on your wall.

my God, it's like 88 inches. Like not that many people, if anybody else in your group had the giant flat screen. Now everybody has them and they're not that special. And it's kind of embarrassing if you don't. And so it's like something to not necessarily brag about. They're kind of giving them away. And that's how I kind of look at Aaron. Aaron's casual nature was much cooler when he was much better.

and I thought he had a really good year. But I'm thinking about Mike McCarthy's building his staff. Free agency starts in three weeks. It's like Aaron, you're 42 years old. There are certain things by the time you're 42, you mostly give a quick answer to. Like, hey, do you want to come back for your job? Do you like it here?

What do we got to pay you? That stuff's harder at 20. And maybe it's harder at 80. But when you're like, when you're a pro athlete at 40, You kind of know when a season ends. I don't want to go through that again. I don't want to get hit again. I'm not into it.

So you got Albert Breer on Monday on the, I would go get Malik Willis, and it's nothing against Aaron, who I defended all year, but it's like, bro, this whole Hollywood casual, indifferent thing. I mean, Tom Brady is LFG,

Aaron Rogers is LFC. Let's eff and chill. And I think that's much easier when you're in your prime. Here's Albert Breer on if the Steelers should wait for AR. I know the Steelers like Will Howard. I don't think they like him to the level where it's like we're not going to do anything else at quarterback. You know, and then if you are going to wait for him, the problem is then all that quarterback movement that happens in the middle of March, I mean, you could be left with, you know, everybody's got their seat, you know, in the game of

musical chairs and you're left with nothing. I don't think Art Rooney wants to be. bad this year. I don't think he wants to bottom out. I think bringing in Mike McCarthy as the head coach tells you, you know, implicitly, that they do not want to go through the full rebuild all at once, go be bad for a couple of years and draft a quarterback. Yeah, I, I, when I read this story, I think to myself, the whole casualness is, is, it works for actors, it works when you're in your prime as an athlete. I, it would drive me. insane if I was Mike McCarthy. I'm trying to figure out the draft.

I got free agency. I'm looking at film. I'm trying to figure out my roster. And the most important position is I'll get back to you. Bring your wife. Maybe I'm married. Maybe I'm not. Wait, what? Huh? I It's just to me it's like I need answers, bro, like fast.

I'm building the business here. J. Mack, there's some Laker stuff percolating. I also want you to work on that KD. Burner story. Calvert is firing on all cylinders today. It's almost like he's excited about something. Is it the return of the NBA tomorrow?

Maybe it's my vacation. Oh, vacation. That's what I thought it was Michigan Duke on Saturday. You got to set an alarm in your phone for that one. That's a great college basketball. Michigan's a giant team. So if you don't have length, you're in big trouble against the Wolverines. It's a great game, yeah.

So listen, you want the KD. Burner stuff. I'm on it, boss. Yes, sir. Well, there is, there's been stories about, Somebody found Katie's burner and he takes a shot at teammates. Yeah. And he's taking shots at guys he plays with.

And I don't know if it's true or not, but people are acting surprised. And my take is, guys, we always said this about KD. Great player, not a great leader. You don't build around Keith. You build around Steph, Magic, Bird, LeBron, Kobe. They're a player, Duncan. There are players you build around. And then there's just players that are really talented.

Yeah. leaders, Steph Curry, you would never hear this story with Steph Curry on the burner. You would never hear that story with LeBron on the burner. You would never hear that story with Tim Duncan in a burner account. Yokic, Luca, SGA. But KD, if you told me this story, guess who it is? I would say, well, who's not a leader? Who's kind of an independent?

Who's a guy that's just a baller doing his own thing? I'd be like, oh, that's probably KD. So it plays into his brand, which is he's not married, he's doing his own thing, he's a little thin-skinned, he battles on the internet, he's staring at his phone all day. And remember, we've talked about this before, he's got rabid ears because he's on the phone all day. Married guys with a bunch of kids aren't on phones all day. These guys I know. And so I think single guys are, if you go to a restaurant and you watch two people on a date and they're both single and they're young and they're on their phones, that's generational. So to me, calling out teammates, people are shocked by it, I'm like, no, I'd be shocked if it was Steph Curry or Duncan or or, you know, the guys in this league.

Like Jalen Brunson, I'd be shocked. No way. Steph Curry is shocked. Yoke it's shocked. KD, I'd be like, that's kind of what we've always said. You don't build around him. He's not the cake. He's just unbelievable icing.

And there you have it, if it's true. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, Weekdays and New Needs. 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. Fox Sports Radio is taking over YouTube, and you can be a part of it. Pay attention! Just go to YouTube and search Fox Sports Radio. Hit that subscribe button and smash that notification bell, and catch all the videos from your favorite shows.

Two pros and a cup of Joe. Dan Patrick. Collett Coward. Doug Gottlieb. Cavino and Rich. The odd couple with Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington. The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon. And the Ben Mallor show.

Fox Sports Radio on YouTube. Subscribe. Hit that thumbs up icon and comment away. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember.

I think it was on a call about what we should call it. We were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast where people could call in and say, Hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.

But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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. 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.

SportsSlice 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 Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast. network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris, every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay.

Jenchian win. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lerner Rabakina is. arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way 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 a friend? free. 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, Keer Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Welcome in. I never forget this. I'm watching a documentary right now. It is fantastic. I'm three parts of four. parts through it. It's called Soul Power. It's the story of the ABA. And the ABA

was initially legitimized because they stole a star from the NBA, Rick Barry, the MVP. But it was ultimately legitimized not by Rick Berry alone, but by Dr. Jay. A star with star power. Yes, he was a great player.

Dr. Jay, the dunks. And then the NBA had a down period and David Stern came in and what saved the NBA star power Magic Johnson Larry Bird and and then this the league went global who gets credit for that David Stern agents no Michael Jordan superstar so in review what legitimized the ABA why did the NBA look at the ABA and go we should merge Dr. J. and then there was saved by Magic and Bird, went global by MJ. What is the biggest hole the NBA right now has?

It's not money. They're making a lot of money. It's not ratings. All-Star game got great ratings. A lot of the international guys lack star power. SGA lacks star power. He's just a great player. Same with Yokic.

Wemby's got a little bit of it. Luke has got a little bit of it. not close to Steph or LeBron. It's a star-driven league. And so when I watch what's happening, I'm reading a story this morning on Magic Johnson was on All the Smoka podcast. And he was talking about how he got LeBron,

a very smart businessman, very shrewd businessman, Magic and LeBron, how he got him to L.A. It wasn't because the Lakers had the best front office, the best owners, or the best roster. In fact, they were at the bottom of the group of teams. But Magic knew, LeBron's a star, Stars love L.A.

You can hide in L.A. Otani was offered a lot of places. He stayed in L.A. to a better baseball team. You can hide here, right? And so what's interesting about this article, it really makes me think of David Stern and Adam Silver. Adam Silver is getting criticized during All-Star Weekend. The league's got issues.

And they do. So did baseball years ago. And the commissioner tweaked them, changed them, altered them. And it's been a renaissance for baseball. But one of the things basketball has to lean into is star cities. The reason Rucker Park is cool is that it's not in Sacramento. It's not in Cleveland. It's not in Omaha.

It's not in Memphis. It's in New York City. And New York City is cooler than Memphis. And it matters more. We got two trillion dollar GDPs in this country, L.A. and New York. Trillion plus. Lean into it. Lean into stars.

It saved your league. It legitimized the ABA. When your league was broken, you leaned on them. Your most popular teams have been star-studded. Your best players have been stars. They made your sport global. They sell the most merchandise. Stop trying to neutralize market size and market share.

It does matter. There's a reason on the East Coast in a winter league, the one place that historically keeps landing stars is Miami. Star-friendly, no state tax, aqua water, celebrities everywhere. That's the one eat Boston, New York, Philly. No, a lot of them want to go to Miami. Winter League, warm weather, no state tax, aqua water. Lean into it.

This Magic Johnson's a prime example. Magic figured it out. He's like, this is a celebrity town. It's a celebrity league. You're a star. It's spread out. People aren't on top of you. And choose the Lakers because they were good.

And I just, I think it's unnatural to try and convince us. We have to care about OKC. as much as the Knicks and the Lakers. It's always been a city league. It's never been a rural league. It's never been a medium market league. Hell, Portland, Oregon, where I used to live, they've never even hosted an NBA All-Star game.

They don't have enough hotel rooms, apparently. I'm not making it up. They've been a proud NBA franchise forever and will remain for the next 100 years probably. They've never hosted an All-Star game. Why the league's like you're not big enough? So the league acknowledges, and David Stern was very comfortable,

leaning into the big city. So, I don't know. Magic Johnson figured it out. He recruited LeBron. There were seven teams after him. He's like, you can hide here. In the story, he's saying, you can be a billionaire here. You're not going to be a billionaire in Akron.

Unless you're like, you've got factories, right? Like, that's not going to work. Here was Nick Wright yesterday on LeBron's future with the Lakers. I do not believe LeBron James is retiring, and I do not believe LeBron James will be a Laker next year. I think wherever the final chapter is going to be will be somewhere else. It is a basketball crime that you had LeBron James on your roster, who Luca modeled his game after, and the types of players that you need to have around an older LeBron James to succeed, are the exact types of players you need to have around Luke at Anjic

and they trade for Lucanacic and were more than a year removed and they're like, man, we sure don't have the right types of guys around him. A lot of people think LeBron doesn't end his career in L.A., but there was a story yesterday and it was written about and confirmed again today. The Lakers are bringing him back if he wants to come back. And of course he wants to come back. That's why Stafford's here and Otani's here. and Freddie Freeman is here.

Of course he wants to come back. It's a city league. He's a celebrity. He's a star. The league can try to convince us that we have to care about Indiana and O.K.C. in San Antonio as much. The players don't. They may get drafted and developed there.

The players don't. They've always had certain cities they want to play in. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. It's been a rough six months for the Kansas City Chiefs, Colin, but they've got some good news this morning

and that Patrick Mahomes has restructured his contract and a pretty impressive move from the Chiefs. Kansas City converted $44 million of his base salary and a roster bonus into creating $43.5 million in cap space. So that's the good news. Okay, Mahomes restructure created $43 million in cap space. Here's the bad news, Colin. The Chiefs still are $11 million over the salary cap even after this move.

That's how dire things were in Kansas City. They have three of the first, I forget the number, three of the first like 70 picks. They have to nail an edge rusher. They've got to find a running back. They've got to shore up the O line. You're expecting three rookies to come in and do all that is rich. You don't need to carry the team. I didn't say that.

But they've got to upgrade at edge. I mean, edge in running back can play a. immediately. Offensive tackles probably a year to develop into a really good player. But running backs, I mean, Bejohn Robinson, Sequin Barclay, Zekele Elliott, running back and walk in, high school to college, college to pro, and play immediately. Here's the ball, find a crease, run hard. There are certain, is a cornerback, running back, and I also think edge rusher. You've got it or do you don't.

If you come out of, Aiden Hutchison came right out of college, he was immediately a factor. So do you think they'll be able to be factors in free? agency? Not really. Oh, well, that's not great. Banking on rookies to come in and help out instantly. I'm banking on three rookies to be drafted and start. And a couple of them running back and edge rusher to make plays.

I don't think that's a huge ask. Yeah, well, Jeremiah Love, I'm surprised you're on board for that, given the other needs, and we know running back's kind of a luxury. But he is a superstar. He feels like a Bejan Robinson time. Now, I don't feel running backs of luxury. I don't. I think Kenneth Walker proved you can be driven largely, not exclusively, but if you have a

when McCaffrey plays, the Niners win 75% of their games. When McCaffrey doesn't, they don't. That's Kyle Shanahan. That's an excellent coach. So, I mean, I think if you start looking at the best coaches in this league, most lean in. I mean, what's one of the first things Jim Harbaugh did? Get Najee Harris draft Amarian Hampton. He knew where it'd start.

They may not have enough receivers in tight-ins. They want to make sure they have excellent running backs. J.K. Dobbins, they brought him on last year. It seems like there's a couple guys on the defensive line, including Chris Jones, who could be the next restructure. We know Jones starting to fall off a little bit. Is that safe to say? He'll have a big game every now.

Sean Payton brought in J.K. Dobbins. Harbaugh did the year before. The point being is, I think for Kansas City, running back is not a luxury item. I do not believe it is. All right, let's move on to the Baltimore Ravens. they have finally named an offensive coordinator, and that is a gentleman by the name of Declan Doyle, Colin. He comes from the Bears, where he was the O.C.

Last year at the age of 28, now he wasn't calling plays in Chicago, but at 29 years old in Baltimore, he becomes the youngest play caller in the league, Colin. This is kind of stunning, but Lamar Jackson's calling the shots there, apparently, so maybe he likes this. Here's what Doyle had to say about his new quarterback in Lamar. That trust is going to be earned through time. You know, it's not like I can call up Lamar and say, hey, I need you to trust me. We'll earn that over time, and it's really going to be a two-way street.

He's got to earn my trust. I have to earn his trust. When you watch the tape, there's not really any throws that he can't make. He's very armed talented. I think there's a number of things that you watch that I think that he can get even better. I think there's even a higher ceiling to his game. You know, you're looking at a guy who's been the MVP twice, and yet I still think that just like all of our guys,

but I think he still has room to grow as well. Well, we'll see. Last year didn't feel quite as explosive. Wasn't as fast statistically as Caleb Williams. So we'll see. He didn't feel the same last year, but some of that could have been injuries. This is interesting, Colin. So Declan Doyle's 29 years old.

Yeah. So is Lamar Jackson. You know, we talked about Matt Stafford in the Super Bowl. He's seen every defense. He can handle everything. And then, you know, that was a couple years ago. Now we see young Drake, May in the Super Bowl, he was shook, he was rattled.

An offensive coordinator who's 29? That feels like a maddenish hire, doesn't it? In 29 years old, Colin, come on. I think, I don't know. Experience matters. I think brainpower matters. If he's the smartest guy you interviewed, McVeigh was a kid. He was six games into his NFL coaching career.

McVeigh was a top eight coach. A year into it, he was. probably a top three for coach. Like I, age doesn't, there's a ton of really smart people out there. Our kids are smarter than we were. They have access to more information.

So I, 20, I mean, I don't really care about coaches. I worry about when they get too old and they're not current. Like they're not, they're just not up to speed.

That worries me. I don't worry about you. I mean, there'll be a 26 year old NFL head coach at some point in my lifetime. And it's going to because he, I mean, Sean McVeigh's first press conference.

You're like, wow. He could have been an outlier, though. Well, he probably was, but this kid's probably an outlier too. Mike McDonnell was a kid when he got hired by the Seahawks. And what do we say? Oh, he's basically McVeigh on the defensive side. DeBico Ryans was right out of the league. He's been excellent.

So we got rookie first-time head coach in Minter and a first-time play caller, a youngest play caller in Declan Doyle. Well, it's a lot of change in Baltimore. You've got some bandwidth on this roster. There's some older veteran players that are really good. I don't worry about leadership with the Ravens. I don't. I worry about the cap hit Lamar Jackson's new contract is

because that's going to completely limit what you can do. It's February, but who's winning that division? I don't know. Oh, okay. I don't feel strongly about anybody. If Malique Willis went to the Steelers, I think that would be really interesting. Okay, I don't have that one. Final story, Colin, college basketball.

Your guy Mick Cronin last night, tough one for the Bruins. Crush. And one of his players made a poor deal. decision here. Kind of a hard foul, not cheap. He made an effort, got piece of the ball, but down 25, it was a bit of a dangerous play. And Mick Cronin, in a shocking move, ejected his own player. Yeah. I don't know that I've ever seen that. I don't like that at all. I think you're embarrassing a young man in front of 15,000 people or whatever the arena holds. I don't like that. I think it's over-emotional. I think coaches jobs are to lose. I think a really good coach.

You know, Bobby Knight used to preach discipline and yet had none. You know, Bobby Knight was like, be disciplined, be disciplined. But you didn't have any discipline with officials and how you were yelling and screaming and throwing stuff. So to me, I think this is showing up a player. I don't like it at all. I think, me, you try that stuff in pro basketball to get tossed into the stands. I don't like it at all. Technically, Colin, if we're being real, I know in full speed it looks scary.

when you slow it down, it's a good hustle play and he got ball. That's right. The guy was in the air, which made it look initially like, holy hell and Cronin flipped out. Anyway, here's Cronin and Tom Izzo after the game talking about the incident. True toughness is on how you compete and how you go to work every day. Steve's a good kid. He made a bad decision. If you want to be a tough guy, you need to do it during the game for a blockout for a rebound.

So I was thoroughly disappointed. The guy was defenseless in the air. I know Steve was trying to block the shot, but the game's a 25-point game. You don't do that. I guess he upgraded that to a flagrant, too, huh? That's the first time I saw a coach do it, but that sounds like Mick,

so he'll get that straightened out. Now, listen, Cronin, who you and I both like, after the game got a little combative with a reporter who asked him about the his own fan section, and he snapped at the guy. I like Cronin, okay? I like his feciness. He's tough.

He's not going to take any crap. It's just a tough one. They're not great this year, UCLA. I just don't like the look of that. I can like a coach. Two things can be true. I can like I can like I can like I can like I can make a play call or a play design I didn't like. I just don't like.

Well, first of all, you're a very young player. What's that kid? 19 years old. You're competing your butt off. You don't want to give up a. freebie. It looks like he gets, this is a real, it's not a cheap shot. He's going for the block and the kid crashes. I don't

I don't. I have no problem with coaches yelling. I think volume occasionally is very effective. I don't like this. Yeah, listen, in the moment I can see him getting heated. If he saw the replay, I don't think he would have told his guy to get to the locker room. Yeah, I don't like it. Jay Mack with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. And UCLA is not going to like that. Like UCLA, I mean, you know, UCLA has got a lot of people to answer to. USC is private. They can pay their coaches what they want to pay their coaches. Everything has to be above board at UCLA. It's the grand public institution.

They're, you know, it's listed right next door to Bel Air, very boozy. This is not going to play well. This is going to get massive pushback because UCLA has got this. sort of elegant, precious feel to it. And they're kind of a lost athletic department. They're lost in football. They can't really afford the NIL portal system and the basketball is what they have. They have a beautiful arena and mix kind of rough around the edges.

And it makes a lot of people uncomfortable. And I watch that and I'm like, oh, that will not play well at UCLA. Will not play what John Wooden did his coaching at practice. I mean, there's still, it's the ghost of John Wooden. Like it's this elegance, this expertise, the pyramid of success, that's not going to play well. I mean, just watch the next 24 hours. We'll not play well. It's the herd.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's us, the Jonas brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it.

We just contributed to a first. people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before

Jonas Brothers was. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call it. call in and say, hey Jonas, and then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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 headwriter, 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. 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 Slices Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris.

Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jen to win. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lernerabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck.

Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. 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, Tript 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,

or 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 hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search learn the hard way and listen now. Sunday on Fox, the NASCAR Cup series heads to Atlanta. Kyle Larson and the best of the best take on Echo Park Speedway for some high-speed chaos. Pre-race coverage begins at 2 Eastern with the green flag at 3, only on Fox. So I hear all these gloom and doom stories about AI. And I've always said this.

The media exaggerates everything. not the sports media necessarily, the political media. I don't know what tariffs are going to do eventually to the economy, but it sounded like within three weeks we were all going to be on food stamps, and it looks like we're all doing okay. You know, it's just, it's one of those things where the media, we're all going to die with COVID. 345 million people, 1.3 million passed.

That's too many people, majority over 75 years old, life expectancy in America is 78 and a half years old. This was not children. This was not teens. So I always, you know, everything with the media, I always, A, I've seen it all before. When you get older and have gray hair, you've seen every crisis. It wasn't our first pandemic, believe it or not. Like we've had stuff like this before.

And so when I hear the stories about AI, I'm like, this is going to be jet fuel to the economy. Microsoft just did a study where they found that AI, found disease four times faster than our best doctors. So, they're not, AI is not replacing doctors. It's going to be used by doctors to save lives. And I believe AI is, you know, coders are probably in trouble. The software industry could be in trouble, but I think AI is going to be a massive economy. And we've got hundreds of shoulder economies in this country.

I just don't buy all the, it's all going to die. We're all in big trouble. I don't. I take a deep breath. And the college football yesterday I had Urban Meyer on. And Urban Mike Elko, the coach of Texas A&M came out. And he's like, we need a CEO for the sport. I totally agree with that.

Absolutely agree with it. That's why boxing died and UFC got popular. They had a centralized voice. It's why the NFL has pulled away from everybody strong leadership, willing to adapt and innovate and change. College football needs a CEO. I'd nominate Nick Saban. But Urban Meyer talked about Mike Elko's comments and the state of the sport.

The last thing that college football needs is more rules. The rules are in place. Now, they're not enforced. That's chaos. College football is chaos right now. I think we're in the golden era of parody in college football. I mean, you had the number 10. Miami really should have won the game.

I was there and they should have, they could have. And I stood there and watched them warm up. they were a national championship looking team. So I have heard nothing but concern for the sport. And I don't see it. And here's my reason. If you truly love something, you'll accept its flaws. It could be your pets, your kids, your wife.

If you're a woman listening, your husband, your boyfriend. If you love something, you'll accept flaws. Your neighborhood. You'll accept it. We love college football. Half of you went to the school. You've got plaques on the walls, tailgating. You think people are just going to give up in the Big Ten and SEC country, Notre Dame fans.

We love this sport. One of the reasons many people don't watch the Olympics, even though there's patriotism and great athleticism, you don't love the sports. You don't love downhill skiing. You don't love curling. With college football, it's totally flawed. You don't have to love the NFL, the transfer portal, 12 teams and the playoff, which will become 16 or maybe 24, but you love the sport.

And all, I'm not, it's the same with AI. It's going to end the world. I'm like, it's a super economy. It's going to be used by every industry. It's going to replace some people. But in the end, I like my doctor. I like my accountant. I like my agent.

Hopefully you like me or you'll get some AI version of it. So I got Indiana winning a national. championship. I've got more parity than I've ever seen. I've got the Big Ten, the strongest has ever been, no longer a two-team conference. The SEC's no longer has a stranglehold on the sport and they're no longer a two-team conference. I've got an NFL-like playoff system that I've never had before. The older players, players are staying in college football longer because they're getting paid translation. The teams are better. Miami and Indiana, you had guys that could have been an NFL year ago.

So like the sports better, ratings up, revenue up. Indiana can win a natty. The Big Ten's got six teams that could win the championship, maybe five. SEC's got four or five, and one of them may not be Alabama. So it's like I see hope, I see passion, I see revenue and ratings. I don't see, chaos. I mean, a lot of us. like chaos. You don't go to Mardi Gras to get a good night's sleep,

especially if you're shy of LeBuff. You don't go there for a good night's sleep. You don't go to the ball drop in New York City because you want to go to bed at 8.30. People like tailgating and wild and loud and crazy. We sit in snowstorms to watch football games. So we're not bored sitting at home. So I think the sport's fine. Now, here's something that's not fine. Listen to this story. This is brutal. This is brutal. So long-time NFL defensive assistant, Wink Martindale,

interviewed twice last month for the Jets defensive coordinator position. A new report says he heard two different things from the head coach Aaron Glenn because they believe what happened is Aaron Glenn had his vision of defense and then Woody Johnson has his vision of what to do with the defense. And so now Woody Johnson is meddling with a defensive coach on the defensive side of the ball and a popular assistant said, I heard two different pitches for the defense. And I was thinking about this this morning. I do not remember an NFL team going into the season with less hope.

Coach F, quarterback situation, D-minus F. Ownership, brutal. I mean, if you, since 2015, the Jets have had 34 games with zero offensive touchdowns. Next closest is the Giants with 21, and they've been putrid. And you can, I mean, on the misery meter of the NFL, you can make fun of Cleveland. But if I'm a Cleveland fan, I'm like, I've got maybe the best player in the league, Miles Garrett. And Chedur Sanders, say what you want. Seven starts went three and four and one is last two.

There's a little bit of hope. Tennessee, you can say, oh, the Titans. I got Cam Ward, a ton of cap space. I've got Sala and Brian Daibald. I like that coaching staff in a winnable division. you look at the Raiders. I'm getting Mendoza. I got Clint Kubiak.

I got a tight end of running back and one receiver I like. Colton Miller, the left tackle's coming back. You can talk yourself into a lot of positives. Even Arizona. I got one of these young coaches from the Sean McVaytree. I've got tremendous tight end running back and wide receiver talent. I mean, they were scoring a lot of points last year, but Jacoby Brissette. You can talk yourself into Vegas.

And Cleveland. I mean, I've said, just play a Shador Sanders. Why not? Won his last two starts? Roll it out. Got a couple of first round picks. Let's see if he can play. I don't think he's going to be great.

Let's see if he can play. Jets? I mean, the only thing I like about the Jets is they got a couple of firsts. And if I was the Jets, I would trade down if possible. And I would just keep drafting young players. They don't have to. start, just get them in the building, cheap labor, get as many draft picks as I can, get your quarterback next year, and get a new coach. Bottom out. That's the best thing I can say.

But, I mean, there's only three teams that didn't have a pro bowler. It was the Jets. And that story, if Wink Martindale, and there's no reason for Wink Martindale to make stuff up, basically saying he went to Aaron Glenn and heard two different accounts of what they want the defense to be. that is I mean that's that is a notch below on the misery meter Cleveland Vegas Arizona

Titans that's like a notch below their hopelessness J-Mack I'm sorry but that's how I see it it's fine this is what you're gonna do on your your way out the door taking jabs at my jets who are down kicking them while they're down Colin yeah yeah

Matt Hassel back today is showing up you think he's he's You know, he's fine after the parade and the week-long celebration in Seattle? You know, that story. They were getting after it. That story about Kenneth Walker, there's a lot of momentum building that Seattle, this is tough choices, Super Bowl MVP, and a lot of people believe in they're probably not wrong.

Seattle's not going to franchise him because that running back does not want to be franchised. There's no reason to get a moody guy in the room. They're going to move off him. We'll cook you. Keep you posted, of course. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it.

We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your performance. Every family has its secrets.

But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man. Is everyone lying to me about who they are? I felt such desperation. I felt it was what I had to do. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. day into right now with Body by Jake Radio. Non-stop workout music and expert tips 24-7.

Hey, head over to iHeart.com. Search Body by Jake Radio and stream it for free right now. Awesome health and wellness tips 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Remember, stick to the fight. When your heart is hit, it's when things seem worse that you must not quit. Don't quit. Body by Jake Radio, where hope meets momentum. Search Body by Jake Radio and stream it for free.

Have a great day. IHeart Radio. This is an I-Heart podcast, guaranteed human.