The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 1 - College football lacks leadership, Steelers need a reset

Episode Date: December 3, 2025

Colin Cowherd tries to make sense of the latest College Football Playoff Rankings reinforcing his long-held belief that college football lacks the necessary leadership to establish who should get into the playoff bracket and direct the sport The Steelers and Mike Tomlin may need a reset as the offense continues to struggle this seasonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart 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. 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. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm CJ 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 harmed. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to him. 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.

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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. Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is, getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is, getting a new one put up in its place.

I'm Akela Hughes, and Rebel Spirit, season two, is about both of those things. As I was watching these statues come down, I was thinking about what it meant that I grew up in a majority black city, in which there were more homages to enslavers than there were to enslave people. Listen to Rebel Spirit Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. Oh, here we go. It'll be a rambunctious Wednesday show. We are live in Chicago. It's the Hurd. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Joel Cladden one hour to try to unravel the 2025 latest edition of the college football playoff, the 12-team playoff.

Now, again, you have an ACC championship game. An SEC championship game, a Big 12 championship game to be played. But I just want to talk about this for a second. It's so confusing. March Madness has 68 teams. Easier to explain than this. I can explain over the next five minutes the blockchain. Easier than I can the college football playoff.

Miami is 10 and 2, has beaten Notre Dame head to head, and they're not in the ACC title game. You know who is? Seven and five Duke. And if Duke wins the ACC title game over Virginia, it blows up the ACC and nobody gets in from the conference. How do you make a conference championship game? And if you win it, a heroic seven and five teams in the ACC championship, 10 and two, Miami's not. And if Duke wins, nobody gets in from the ACC.

Basically what we learned yesterday, the committee said, yeah, I know Miami that you beat Notre Dame. and I know that you're 10 and 2 and have impressive wins. You're not in. And hammering pit in cold weather up north, that didn't impress us either. Okay. This is a perfect time to go back to my 10 to 20 year rant on the ridiculousness of college football. $8 billion industry, no centralized figure, no CEO, no Dana White. It's ridiculous.

And whenever anybody says college football is better than the NFL, no, it's not. you can't have a great movie with a bad ending. You can't have a great movie with a bad ending. Once again, we're left with this nebulous cloud trying to decipher what matters. I thought scheduling big tough road games matters. Yeah, Texas did, see ya. I thought winning big games mattered. Well, Texas beat Oklahoma.

That was a pretty big game. Texas has three wins. Texas A&M beat Vandy. No, that doesn't matter because they lost it all. Ohio State. I thought bad losses punished you. Well, last year, Notre Dame made the nanny. They lost a northern Illinois at home.

I mean, it's unbelievable. It's just unbelievable. I mean, ask yourself, have you ever watched the NFL playoffs and said, I like it, but I can't quite figure it out? I mean, occasionally in the NFL, you'll have like a team of the losing record to have a home playoff game, but we all know why. We don't have to like it, but we know why, because they won a division. and they're playing a team that was a wildcard team with the better record.

That happens occasionally. But the simplest way to explain what happened last night, and again, we still have championship games to be played. The simplest way to explain last night is Notre Dame is in, and Miami and Texas are out. And Miami has an impressive win. Texas has several. But I guess Notre Dame doesn't have a really, really bad loss. So Texas and Miami have, you know, I mean, Texas has multiple big wins. But that Florida loss, that's the capper.

And Notre Dame doesn't really have a great win. You could say USC, but USC has not played well the last two years in the Big Ten on road cold weather games. They just haven't. So it's funny. In the last 30 years in college football, first we had the media select who played for the Natty. Then it was the computers. And now we're down to an arbitrary committee where it's math meets selective feelings. Again, whenever you argue, college football is better than the pros.

What you're saying is NFL, great beginning, great middle, great end, is not as good as a movie with an atrocious ending. Even the Lane Kiffin saga. They can't even get their calendar right. And I love college football. So I'm not going to hyperventlate too much on the rankings. I'd put Miami in. I think Texas deserves a shot.

I don't have a problem with Notre Dame being in. But it is remarkable that Duke, seven and five is in the ACC championship game. And if they win, they not only don't get in, nobody in the conference does. That is absolutely ridiculous. That's why Urban Meyer came on my show earlier this week and said, get rid of the committee. I think the committee's got to go away. You have Chris Felica, you got the bear, you got Mark Gingram, you got Matt Liner, Brady Quinn, Urban Meyer.

There's a bunch of national titles, Heismans, a bunch of football guys. That's what they do. I mean, we're damn near fist fights in that green room. getting ready to go on Big Noon because everybody's got, and we can't agree. So how in the world are athletic directors, conference, how are they coming up with who's going to be in the playoffs? So I'm a big believer in the 4-4-2211 that was presented earlier about the committee goes away. The conferences take care of it.

I agree. The ACC is this weird convoluted Ponzi scheme. I'm almost rooting now for Duke to beat Virginia, so nobody gets in from the ACC. We know Miami should. And then everybody has to sit down and go, this is ridiculous. I mean, it's been ridiculous forever. It used to be computers. Now it's math and selective feelings.

Take a deep breath. We still have championship games coming up. Maybe it'll get better. Okay. So Ben Rothlisberger, who carries a. a lot of weight with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His voice carries. He is

now joining the fans and the media and privately there is a discussion. There's tension between Tomlin and the ownership. Here's Big Ben on the Mike Tomlin future discussion. It's being talked about around here

a lot. Maybe it's time. Maybe it's a clean house time. Maybe it is. Maybe it's time. And I like Coach Tomlin. I have a lot of respect of Coach Tomlin. But Maybe it's best for him too. Maybe a fresh start for him is what's best. This is what I agree with. Big Ben's right.

Ask yourself this. Sometimes people, I would include myself in this, I like fresh starts. Some people have to be pushed into them. But a lot of times, be honest. Did your wife, your kids, a friend convince you? You know what? This job, you need a fresh start. You're kind of getting tired.

You've lost your energy. And you do it. You got to be pushed into it. It ends up being the greatest movie your career. I think that's what Mike Tomlin needs. Think about this. Since Mike Tomlin's last playoff win, his last playoff win, Donald Trump hadn't been inaugurated the first time.

Shohei Otani was still playing baseball in Japan. Sam Darnold just beat Penn State in a Rose Bowl. Kevin Durant, it was his first. season with the Warriors. Sean McVeigh had not coached a single game for the Rams. This isn't like just happening or in the last couple years. Sam Darnold was in college. I mean, come on.

It's time. And I've said in my career, I'm not out to fire people. but when somebody's going to get a job pretty quickly after, I don't have a problem with it, it's time. I mean, this has been like a seven-year leaky roof, and Pittsburgh just keeps putting buckets all over the living room and kitchen. This offense has been dreadful, bottom 10 for years.

Aaron Rogers, he'll save the day. Arthur Smith, he'll save the day. It doesn't matter. You can keep running through great receivers. NFL coach is not a Supreme Court justice. It's not a lifetime appointment. Mike Tomlin is not a college professor.

He's not tenured. Whatever's happening in his personal life, I don't know and I don't care. But what I know right now is this is a seven to eight year leaky roof. Fix the roof. Stop just putting buckets

around the house. 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers once again feel out of touch with the league offensively and kind of outdated defensively. Old defensive coaches, Belichick, Pete Carroll, Mike Tomlin, a few years ago, Ron Rivera, Levy Smith. Those defensive coaches do not age as well. I tend to think offensive coaches tend to be more curious. They're play designers where you have to be current. Defensive coaches tend to be about brute

strength and aggressive, which doesn't always necessarily for people or businesses or teams age well. But if Big Ben's entered the fray, you got to take it seriously. J-Mack, Joel Cladden, one hour, Albert Breer, Alexie Lawless. We're going to have the World Cup draw on Friday, which is going to be unbelievable. Can't wait for that. Can I ask you real quick about this Tomlin stuff? Because I'm kind of on the other side, Colin. I've seen some of these franchises. You move off a good coach, and it may take you a while to find a great replacement. I mean, we've seen this from quarterbacks. I mean, you can't

just say, Mike, we're done. You need a game plan. Who you got? Give me five names where you think we could realistically get to shape the franchise going forward. They would all be offensive. You know, Brian Daibel is somebody I would strongly consider. I mean, remember.

Firing Tomlin to hire a guy who couldn't get his act together in New York over there. But New York's got worse ownership. New York's front office has been wonky. Contextualize it. The giant have run through everybody. The Steelers generally aren't chaotic. They underperform, but they haven't had a losing season in 21 years.

When's the last time the Giants had a winning season? So Brian Daibble would be, I mean, Brian Daibles won a playoff game in the last eight years with Daniel Jones, who the Indianapolis Colts may regret now with the Soss Gardner move. Oh, yeah. So Brian Daibald would be at the top. And again, there's always a Liam Cohen out there, hunt around. There's always a Ben Johnson somewhere. but Brian Dable is the obvious one to me that just jumps out.

And do you think Tomlin goes back into coaching? Yeah. The Titans have an opening. The Jets could have an opening. The Browns could have an opening in the division. I think people would be really interested. Tomlin's not quite in the Vrabel Harbaugh boat. Is he of like, that guy's going to work?

Remember those guys, when they were on the market, it was like, that's a slam dunk. Let me throw this one out. Mike McCarthy. All he does is win 12 games in Green Bay and in Dallas. Like him. Yeah, I mean, Mike McCarthy, Brian Daible, offensive guy. Whether you like them or not, it is indeniable. I mean, Brian Daibble is the one that pushed for Jackson Dart in New York,

and you're watching Jackson Dart, and it's like, oh, that's a franchise quarterback. The rest of the league wasn't clamoring for Jackson Dart. So if you look at Jackson Dart's completion percentage is running, if he can stay out of the blue tent, which, by the way, Drake May first year was in the blue tent a lot. Guys are in the blue tent when they're young. Then they get hit a few times. end of year, too, they're out of it. And I think Jackson Dart, after that hit against New England in the first quarter,

may be avoiding hits from this point forward. But the point is, Brian Daible won a playoff game. Brian Daible, like Jackson Dart. Brian Daible, I think, can coach in the NFL, and he would get a less chaotic ownership group. I think you have to consider him. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app.

Hey, it's Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington from The Odd Couple on Fox Sports Radio. And in addition to hearing us live weeknights from 7 to 10 p.m. Eastern on Fox Sports Radio, we are excited to announce brand new YouTube channel for the show. That's right. You can now watch the Odd Couple live on YouTube every day. All you got to do, search Odd Couple FSR on YouTube again. YouTube. Just search Odd Couple FSR. Check us out on YouTube and subscribe.

Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? 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. And, well, 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, 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. Will Farrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcast Presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend Janet. Hey. 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 drinks. 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 color or something here? Just take it. Oh, what are y'all doing?

Microphones? Are you making a rap album? Oh, I would. Come on. I would buy it. Cuts 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 are. 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, oh. Listen to soccer moms on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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 perimenopausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with Deanna Maria Riva, where I call on my GenX squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic. B.S. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that nest was going to be.

Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex? Dating at 45. How can it be, getting naked at 50 with the new guy. That one's kind of hard. Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears laughter and dive into it unfiltered and unbothered and ask, how hard can it be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of My Cultura podcast network available on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas.

And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs.

I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too.

Steve Nash will get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball, like, after you go through a training camp with that, I said, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball.

So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Saigon, the story of my family, and of the country that shaped us. The United States will not. stand by and allow any power however great take over another country from i heart podcasts saigon please allow me to introduce joseph sherman you don't think i'm serious about a free vietnam i should stop talking so much i like hearing you talk one city a divided country and the

war that tore america apart this is for vietnam i've taken a hit from japanese ground fire deteriorate they're pouring petrol all over him he's holding matches I'm on a landmine. For free time! Let's get out! Freedom, vomit! Run! Saigon, starring Kelly Marie Tran and Rob Benedict.

Sting, here's madness. The world should hear about this. There's a fire coming to this country, and it's going to burn out everything. Listen to Saigon on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So there is a lot of consternation, a lot of question by Bears fans and Bronzer. Franco fans, are we any good? And there's a lot of questions about their quarterbacks, Bo Nix and Caleb Williams.

And so in Chicago, they have quarterback, it's like quarterback derangement syndrome. Like, they get very defensive if you criticize Caleb Williams. And this week, Ben Johnson addressed the fact that his quarterback has

a bizarrely low 58% completion percentage. I know what the stats say, throw those out the window. He's doing a really good job managing the ballgame. And that's step number one for the quarterback. And so he's going to continue to get better. The process is really good right now with how he approaches the week.

The way he's taking the coaching, the way he's applying the coaching. I'm very pleased with that. And I think we're going to continue to see him ascend whether the stats tell the story or not. So, I mean, here's the thing with Caleb. He is a big play quarterback. Bears lead the NFL in big plays. So the ceiling high. And he's also really inaccurate.

But instead of just talking about Caleb Williams, I'm going to combine Caleb Williams and Bo Nix. Because they're very similar. Both talented, both in a rookie contract, both uneven, both miss on some layups, both make big plays. Right? Both have offensive coaches, Sean Payton, Ben Johnson. And yet there's a lot of criticism of both.

How are they winning? Does quarterback play even matter anymore? How is Denver a number two seat? How is Chicago a number one seat? How is Bo Nix 10 and 2? Quarterback just doesn't matter. It's overrated. How is Caleb Williams nine and three a number one seat?

It's all very explainable. Go look at their old lines. The top four old lines in the NFL? None have a quarterback that's making the max money. There's two ways to win big in this league. superstar quarterback, mostly taking a team-friendly deal, or a really talented quarterback, Bo Nix, Caleb Williams, on a rookie deal. So I'll give you an example.

I think what's underrated is how good Chicago and Denver's rosters are. If you're wondering how Bo Nix and Caleb could potentially end up as number one seeds and be so uneven, let me give you an example of how good the Bears and Broncos rosters are. here are the 10 best players. There are excellent players I'm not including. And I don't care what the order is, but I'm going kind of close. Nick Benito, Denver, Patrick Sertan, three-time Pro Bowler, Denver. Joe Tuny, Pro Bowler, three straight years.

Darnell Wright, Chicago. Drew Dalman, number two-ranked Center, PFF. Garrett Bowles, number two-rank left-tackled Denver. Huffunga the Safety. Unbelievable player. San Francisco and now in Denver. Montez Sweat, seven and a half sacks, game changer

since he arrived defensively in Chicago. Quinn Miners, right now the number one guard on PFF. Kevin Byrd leads the NFL in interceptions. I am not including in the top ten. Do you see how many offensive linemen were on that? Bears in Denver arguably

have the best offensive lines in football. Detroit's up there. I didn't count Jalen Johnson, who's a pro bowler, but he's been hurt most of the year, so I won't count him. He may be the most talented defensive player. I'm not counting Zach Allen for Denver, who would start for every single team in the NFL, every single one. So when you're like, well, how does Bo Nix, how does Caleb Williams, rookie contract, really, really high-end offensive coaches, unbelievable offensive lines. You don't have to complete

67%. You can be uneven. Now what you hope is over the next two to three years, Bo gets up to 66. Caleb gets up to 61.5. 62 and a half. And all the bumps in that uneven quarterback play. I mean, when Brady was at his best, you got the same Tom Brady literally every Sunday. He would throw picks, but it was the same guy. It was the same Peyton.

It was the same breeze. It's mostly the same Mahomes. But with these guys, you're not quite sure quarter to quarter half to half what you get. If that evens out and it needs to, because as you get paid more, think about this. how are these guys number one seeds? Caleb Williams' cap hit is only 15% of Dak Prescott's. Bo Nix cap hit is only 8% of Dax, which is a compliment to Dac because Dack has the number one offense,

and he's gobbling up so much of the money. So when you, great offensive coach, great offensive line, fairly underappreciated stacked rosters. That explains it. And they're both good. Bo and Caleb are really talented guys. They're uneven. You just got to iron out the bumps,

and that's when the Super Bowl happens. Eventually, potentially for both. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, let's start in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Colin, obviously Bill Belichick's first season did not go as expected. However, reports indicate

that the school will keep him, quote, for at least one more season. Not a resounding vote of confidence, but Carolina went four and eight, five double-digit losses. Reports claim it would be about 30 million, 30 million to buy out Belichick and his staff. I don't mind admitting I was way off on Belichick. I had faith in the old man. I thought he could deliver. then he got sidetracked by the young lady. Now, Jay Mack, there's only one old man you can count on. Me. In a football sense, I mean, yeah, maybe.

Belichick's been disappointing. Pete Carroll's been disappointing. I don't know. It kind of feels like the last ride for both those dudes, right? Yeah, I mean, I think one thing, their offense was really bad. Well, so was New England's. And the two carryovers, Bill knows offense, but he's not. good at diagramming it, calling it, or drafting it.

So what did you notice about Carolina that you noticed about New England the last several years? There's no playmakers. I don't think Bill has an eye for it, a touch for it, a feel for it, or a sensibility for it. I think his sensibility and touches defense and leadership and culture. And I do think they got better. But the offense for Carolina, I watched them twice early in the season. And I'm like, this is a bad team. They got no playmakers.

And I watched Carolina. I watched New England last four years when Brady-in-law left and Josh McDaniels. He has no feel for offense. He had a great feel, maybe the best ever for defense. And the world has pivoted away from Bill. It's an offensive sport, college and pro. And remember, this isn't a league, the ACC, where, like, the conference championship game is Virginia against Duke.

Like, this was a weak league in Belichick only went four and eight. Not great at all. All right, let's go back to the NFL and the New York football giants. I think they're a disaster. this season. They fired Day Bowl. Kafka seems like he doesn't know what he's doing. Yet somehow, Colin, GM, Joe Shane is still

employed. He had a press conference yesterday and he was grilled about how he still has a job. Here's what he had to say. This is in place, Dan, and I understand the question. And I do have confidence in our ability and our process to find the next coach to lead the organization.

And again, I truly believe in that process. And, you know, I know we're going to get it right. I mean, he looks the hair combed. We're in the quarter zip. And just his history in New York has been a disaster from Sequin Barclay. By the way, did you see his first round pick, Abdul Carter? He got benched again against the Patriots. I don't know what's going on with that guy in the locker room.

He's a good player, but New York, New York... Seems like a knucklehead. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. He's a very, very good player. I have told you this before. I do not think the Giants are miles away. I don't. I think they're receivers, even without Malik neighbors.

have been kind of surprisingly good. They need to go out and get Scatibu back and probably get another back. I think their offensive lines better. Jackson Dart appears to be a franchise guy. They've got a couple of rush ends I like. I think if they went out and nailed their first two or three picks, I think if they went and got a number one corner,

a number one defensive tackle, they got to add somebody along with Scataboo at running back because I don't think Jackson Dart's going to be a guy that throws it 40 times a game. He's a little dangerous. He's a little cocky, a little too confident at times for me. He's going to throw picks. If you can give him help, like the Bears have given, by the way, like the Bears have given

Caleb Williams, great run game. So I get Scataboo back. I would go third, fourth round pick. I'd go another run. Remember, Scataboo was not a first round pick. They're not paying him anything for several years. So I don't think they're miles away. And in that division, where's Washington?

I mean, Philadelphia may have a new coach by next year. So I don't think the Giants are miles away. Now, New England, they've got. I watched him previous three or four weeks, and they were frisky. They came to me, I mean, they're playing hard. Okay, you've taken me for a loop here. I was going to trash Shane because he's been awful. I mean, from paying Daniel Jones, which would say regretted instantly.

I didn't say he's right. So moving off Saquan Barkley. But fine, let's move past that. Right now, do you believe ownership will keep Joe Shane after the season? Yes. Oh my gosh. Well, you know, that's great news for the Jets. Because I'll tell you right now, the New York Jets are in a better spot football-wise.

than the Giants are. This Giants are close. The Jets have so many draft picks, Colin. Yeah. What's it matter when you get them and don't know what to do with them? You mean like the Giants? I mean, listen, we had Sam Donald way back in the day, but wow, you're optimistic on the Giants.

Eagles, Cowboys, Washington has Jaden Daniels. You've got the worst quarterback in the division. Good luck. Oh, my goodness. I can't believe. There must be a Jets thing. That's what it is. Final story, Colin, Mike Vrabel, your boy.

he had an awesome quote yesterday. He was talking about that hit that Christian Ellis laid on Jackson Dart. Oh, God, it's hard to watch. 37 times. Hard to watch. I love that. That's football right there, baby. Anyways, here's Vrable talking about this hit, not being dirty,

and he's coaching his players to keep an eye on quarterbacks in-bounce. If we show that to Drake and our defenders are being coached the same way. When I say we better not get queued over there by the sidelines because this is legal. I turn around and tell the defense, if this is happening, we need to try to knock out of them as legally as possible. Yeah, that's right. Damn, how the Patriots fell backwards into Vrable is just so unfair. They're not going anywhere for the next decade.

Vrable and May? How about that division? Josh Allen, Drake May. Good luck if you're a dolphin or a jet fan. Well, we got Aaron Glenn. So, so far, that's a start. And then maybe we'll get Mendoza, maybe a little Ty Simpson. I've worked Jets into two stories in this hour.

How about that? That's a win. J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. So tomorrow, Thursday night football is a great one. There's a lot of stinkers on Thursday night football.

Tomorrow is a great one. Dallas at the Detroit Lions. And it is a, this is what I love about the NFL. I think this is one of the NFL strengths. Maybe it's greatest strength. It is a great reminder. How fast, how quickly things change in the NFL. Last year, Lions win 15 games.

They may miss the playoffs. Dallas a month ago, tire fire, they may make the playoffs. No sport gives you this. Last year, the Lions were an offensive juggernaut. 17th now on third down and can't pick up fourth down. That was their culture. It's unbelievable. So, you know, there's the old people were banging on Lane Kiffin this week and LSU,

but it's always been the truth, strike when the iron is hot and never settle. Old Miss, Lane Kiffin's like, I'm settling. LSU is not settling. So this goes back. Why is Detroit going backwards? Did the players get worse? No, they settled. They had the best offensive coordinator in football.

He left. He's now got Chicago as a. elite team, and they settled on an in-house candidate, who may be more than capable, but he's not Ben Johnson. And I've said, the greater the coordinator or coach you lose, the broader the search has to be to replace him. You know, we all know that. Steve Jobs, force him out of Apple.

You better get the next Steve Jobs, or you're going to be begging 10 years later for Steve Jobs, the late Steve Jobs to come back, which Apple was doing. Like I say, if you're going to fire James Franklin at Penn State, I said, okay, you want a lot of games. Now they can't find a coach. The answer for fans is fire everybody. And the answer for fans in the media is hire the friendly guy everybody likes. Michigan football did that. Doesn't quite look the same, does it?

Two years later. And Detroit had great coordinators, Aaron Glenn, Ben Johnson, and they stayed in-house. and so, you know, 90% of Americans, I think, and it's not a bad thing, but are very content being good. But if you want to be great, if you want to hoist trophies, there's two things you have to do. You can't settle, and you have to be aggressive. Because if you're not aggressive, you're like 90% of Americans who aren't aggressive. And you'll be somewhere in the pack, slightly below, middle of it, or slightly above. and Detroit settled.

And Dallas, by the way, took massive swings. Dallas plays... They traded Micah. They gave them flexibility. Jerry the dealmaker. Quinn and Williams. That's a huge swing. So Dallas and Detroit are different.

Dallas settled... If they lose, they're not going to make the playoffs. Detroit settled if they lose their out of the place. Dallas took huge swings and risk. And if they win, start looking at their schedule, guys. Start looking at Dallas's schedule. And I think Jerry is a dealmaker. And I said this for years.

When he traded Micah Parsons, it was so easy. 90% of the media, 95% said, oh, Dallas, terrible move. I said, you got to give dealmakers the opportunity to make deals. This year, the Rams, the Eagles and the Cowboys, have made huge moves, aggressive acquisitions. Two are doing really well. Two will make the playoffs in Dallas May.

So it's really interesting. You juxtapose the lions and the cowboys. One settled. One took a huge swing. And who would you rather be today? Ask yourself. Who would you rather be over the next two years? I got back Prescott, George Pickens.

I got C.D. Lamb. I got a run-stopping defense with an elite defensive tackle and Kenny Clark as well. DeMarvie and Overshown has emerged as a stud, and I have two first-round picks, and I'll probably go get a Caleb Downs and an edge rusher. And my coach is overachieving at this point. I mean, so I think it's a fascinating game, and it's a reminder of why the NFL is king. It is the League of Optimism and the League of Hope. Four weeks ago, one of these teams was circling the train four or five weeks ago.

And before the Quinn and Williams trade, Dallas defense didn't look like this. And Detroit was humming. Now look at it. Oh, and don't forget this. Here's another thing. That Tyler Booker, remember everybody made fun of that Tyler Booker move? That trade by Dallas, or not trade, he was the 12th pick in the draft. Everybody's like, oh, what a reach.

Do you see a match up against Jalen Carter? Pretty good. As a rookie, as a 12th pick. So things are humming for the Dallas Cowboys. Okay, I do it about every five weeks. About once a month, maybe once every five weeks. I do a Super Bowl bubble. And this year's bubble is our strangest and skinniest ever.

And we'll talk about that next. Be sure to catch live editions of the Heardtons. heard 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, new? 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 podcast. 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. Well, 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. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before.

And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this. series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense.

And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the bar like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick.

Get your ass up and down the court. and you're going to get the bombs. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 drinks. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? They had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar or something here? Just take it.

Oh, what are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album? Oh, I would. Come on. Could you move? I would buy it. Cuts 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 are. I'm 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.

Listen to soccer moms on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 paramedoenipausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How How Hard Can It Be with De Anamoreva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that?

I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that nest was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex? Dating at 45. How can it be getting naked at 50 with the new guy? That one's kind of hard. Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try.

So let's get blunt with laughs, tears or tears of laughter, and dive into it unfiltered and unbothered and ask, How Hard Can It Be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of My Cultura Podcast Network available on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Saigon, the story of my family and of the country that shaped us.

The United States will not stand by and allow any power. However great, take over another country. From My Heart Podcast, Saigon. Please allow me to introduce Joseph Sherman. You don't think I'm serious about a free Vietnam? I should stop talking so much. I like hearing you talk. One city, a divided country, and the war that tore America apart.

This is for Vietnam. I've taken a hit from Japanese ground fire. Do you rate me? They're pouring petrol all over him. He's holding matches. I'm on a landmine. Or three, die. Let's get out.

Freedom, bomb at night. Saigon, starring Kelly Marie Tran and Rob Benedict. Sting, here's madness. The world should hear about this. There's a fire coming to this country, and it's going to burn out everything. Listen to Saigon on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Saturday for the first time in conference history. Number one and number two collide in the Big Ten title game.

Iceman frontrunners collide as Julian Sayan leads number one Ohio State against Fernando Mendoza and number two Indiana. Coverage begins Saturday at 6.30 Eastern on Fox. I like Ohio State by 10 points, the two touchdowns. Let me stay on college football for a second. So the college football playoff, it's not finished the 12 teams yet. So we've got multiple conference championships. But I think the thing most troubling, I'll talk to Joel Cloud about this,

is the message is sent. So, like, Miami does not get in, but Miami's got, like, a quality win over Notre Dame. And Miami, you'd say, has a bad loss to Louisville. Yes, bad loss. But the SMU loss is not a terrible loss. SMU made the playoff last year. SMU was 8 and 4 this year.

SMU beat Miami in Clemson this year. SMU is a fine football program. It's not great. It's pretty solid, 8 and 4. And it was a close game, 26, 20. Miami is getting punished for a really bad loss to Louisville. Okay, Notre Dame doesn't have a bad loss. They've got losses to Miami and Texas A&M.

But what's their quality win to 16th ranked USC, but it was at home. That matters. USC is two different programs. There's the in LA Trojans, right? Like in LA, hammered Michigan, and then there's the on-the-road Trojans who last year lost to Maryland, could struggle with Rutgers and kind of get blown out a lot on the road in the Big Ten, get handled. So what's the messaging?

Like Texas has multiple excellent wins. Throttled Texas A&M, throttled Vandy, throttled Oklahoma. And they lost three road games. The closest loss to Ohio State. Losing to Georgia is a game they don't match up well with. Yeah, Florida's an ugly loss. So what the messaging to me says is you can't have. have a really, really bad loss.

But Notre Dame last year lost at home to Northern Illinois. That's an atrocious loss. Made it in and made it to the nanny. So I just think, you know, there was a coach named Mike Leach. He was a very funny guy. It was a very unique, clever guy. And he has passed away. But before he did, when he found out college football, you know, was going to go to this

playoff and it was going to be selected by a committee, and Mike Leach understood what was going to happen down the road. We're so smart, wouldn't all the other sports say, I don't want, let's have a committee, you know, because why not? Because, you know, we're American, we love committees. Let's get us a committee. Well, who should be on the committee? Well, I don't know. This guy's a good guy. Let's have him on the committee. I mean, it'd be fun. We'd go to that resort. We could talk. We could hang out at dinner. And then we'll decide which four teams should go. Because you know why?

We don't need to solve this on the field, because we're the ones that know. And that's the problem with committees. There's a lot of cronyism. I mean, you can't have relationships with people for 20 years and not favor them. Right? Like, that's just not the way the world works. So I think the messaging bothers me. I am not anti-pro-Miamy or Notre Dame, but if you both have two losses,

At least Miami is a complete ACC member. You know, Notre Dame is still like, all right, we'll kind of play in the ACC, but we want to do our own thing. I mean, couldn't I argue if Notre Dame and Miami are tied and Miami won head-to-head, that because you're a full member, that's an advantage. You have to play more games that you don't control. Notre Dame controls a bigger percentage of their schedule. Miami doesn't.

They're a conference member. You get stuck some years with tough schedules. I mean, let's face it. If Miami plays SMU at home, instead of the road, they probably win that game and they're in. So, and I don't think head-to-head is the only thing, but I said yesterday, Miami's got the better defense. Miami's got a better passing game.

They have four common opponents. Miami beat three worse. So, I mean, it's, I feel bad for Miami. I really do. I like the program. I like the spirit. It's a flashy program. Not a lot of flashy college football programs.

Miami, USC are kind of flashy. It's not anti-Noderdame. I said if they played today, I'd probably take Notre Dame. But I don't think you should allow people in based on what Colin thinks would happen if they played again. Right? That's not the right way to do it. Okay. So I do a Super Bowl bubble every four or five weeks.

And usually the average has been, through the years, I have about seven or 18. late in the year that I think can reach the Super Bowl. It's not about winning it, it's reaching it. So I did, this morning I did it, and there's only three teams that I feel real strongly about that they're going to reach the Super Bowl, potentially. Rams, Green Bay, and New England. Denver, I've got in the bubble, but bumping out of the bubble,

I just don't know if I trust them. Can you be a team that's that uneven offensively and get there? Philadelphia is actually in the bubble. They are touching the bubble. They are making slight contact with the bubble, so they're in the bubble. But I would just say if Congress voted on it, nobody would like them. They would be, you know, kind of a Marjorie Taylor Greenfield. Like nobody's quite sure what's going on there.

In, out, we're not sure. Maybe out in a week. Nobody really knows. Philly's in the bubble. there's contact with the bubble, they're kind of the bubble. So I want to concentrate on the four teams I put just outside of the bubble. Chicago, Seattle, Buffalo, San Francisco. I believe there are fatal flaws that eliminate you, even if you have a good record.

So let's start with the 49ers. The 49ers have a fatal flaw. They don't sack the quarterback. They are last in defensive sacks this year. 13 games, only 16. No team has ever won a Super Bowl last in sacks. And Fred Warner and Nick Bosa are not coming back. The bills.

The bills can't defend the run, no matter who gets healthy. They're 30th in run defense. Only one team, Peyton Manning's 2006 Colts have won a Super Bowl being a bottom five run defense. I think it kills you. Josh Allen's sitting on the sidelines. Let's talk to Seahawks. they turn it over too much. No team has ever won a Super Bowl.

Bottom three in giveaways. Seattle's number two. Only the Vikings have given away the ball more, and that's because a quarterback play. Seattle is just too reckless. And the Bears, you have to go back to Eli Manning 2007 when a quarterback had a completion percentage at 58% or lower

and won a Super Bowl. Now, it was a different time. 56% didn't sound as bad as 58% does now. Now, Caleb Williams could get up to 60%, which is kind of the threshold I'm looking for in his last several games. But I think the strangest team in the league is Philadelphia.

We love their roster. They should be a Super Bowl team. I'm not sure what to do with them. They're playing terribly on offense. They've got incredible personnel at wide receiver, at corner, at defensive line, at linebacker, at running back, at tide end, and they're a mess, and I'm not sure their head coach can fix it.

So, Jay Mack, am I missing anybody here? Count the Eagles in because they're making contact with the bubble. Anybody I'm missing here. Well, I like to come in fresh, so I didn't see this before it was posted, and my eyes popped when I saw that the two AFC teams in the Super Bowl bubble are Boe Nix and Drake May. Like, I'm stunned.

No Ravens, I cannot believe. Nobody in the building had you force-feed the chiefs onto, like, touching the bubble. I mean, these are some bad teams, Colin. I think Buffalo should be touching the bubble. By the way, nice political analogy there earlier. There's just not enough AFC here. I mean, I can't envision a world where Denver's in the Super Bowl. I just can't.

Well, it's a hurdle. Okay. For the previous five years, we thought the AFC was better. It's not. The NFC now is better. I think Seattle could get to the AFC championship game. I think Chicago could. The Niners could. The Eagles could. The Rams good. The Packers could. I mean, I just, I cannot. I think the team that people think I'm hard on is Buffalo, but you can't struggle against the run. Because the way Buffalo is going to beat you is Josh Allen and James Cook. If you're sitting on the bench and losing time of possession, that's the killer. That's always been the way to beat

Mahomes. And that's why Kansas City is generally, by the way, why is Kansas City losing all those one possession games this year? Nick Wright said it yesterday. They can't stop anybody on third down. That's what Buffalo is struggling with on third and three, people just like, we're running it. And a lot of the teams that they could play in the A, I mean, Buffalo's got one advantage. They do run the ball very, very well. That usually helps in December, January football. That's really, and Denver's run game is hit and miss, and New England's run game is hit and miss. But if you love Buffalo, this is the one thing you like. Football the next six weeks, run games matter.

Bears, Niners, Seahawks. But again, Colin, remember, you've got to walk before you run in all the sports, especially in the postseason. We've never seen really Bow Nicks outside of one playoff game. Drake, we don't know what these guys are going to look like in the playoffs. So that's why it's difficult for me to envision. vision, boom, you get in the playoffs and you go to the Super Bowl. It's just hard.

I don't see it with those guys. All right. There you go. Kansas City was not force-fed by management. 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.

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. personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come until 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. Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is, getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is, getting a new one put up in its place. I'm Akela Hughes,

and Rebel Spirit Season 2 is about both of those things. As I was watching these statues come down, I was thinking about what it meant that I grew up in a majority of black city in which there were more homages to enslavers than there were to enslave people. Listen to Rebel Spirit season two on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Turn someday into right now with Buddy by Jake Radio, nonstop 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. 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.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.