The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 1 - Lakers lose to the Magic, Luke and LeBron doesn't seem to be working

Episode Date: February 25, 2026

Colin Cowherd reacts to the Lakers' shocking loss to the Magic after a botched final possession between Luka Doncic and LeBron James. Colin explains how this highlights the disconnect between Luka, LeBron and an unbalanced LA roster.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It is a Wednesday. We are live in Chicago, and it's the herd, wherever you may be. And however, you may be watching or listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. What if I told you that the red carpet, the Lakers roll,

out for Luca was made of red flags. I know that hurts. So last night, wildly entertaining game, one of the more entertaining Laker games of the year. Magic in L.A., average Orlando team, Powell Bencarros kind of had an off year, had his second best game of the season, shocker against the Lakers. But Austin Reeves played well. LeBron played really well, especially early, had a rundown block in that game. J.J. Reddick dialed up a great final game winning shot. How did they lose to an average Orlando team? Because Luca didn't shoot well last night. Luca gagged on the final play and anybody for Orlando who was lucky enough to have Luca guard them shot nearly 60 percent. Is the bloom off the rose? No. It's what we said yesterday. And you saw it last night. The final

play is just an illustration of a lingering problem. LeBron and Luca don't play that well together. They both need the ball. Neither is great off ball. They're both exceptional passers, but you have to have the ball to do that. And then when you add Austin Reeves, he needs the ball to be effective. And so does Rui Hachamora needs the ball to be effective. It's a repetitive roster. we've told you many times the Lakers need to diversify their portfolio. How about some bonds? Buy some land. Little heavy in tech stocks.

Right? Like everybody does the same thing. And Orlando's not a very good team. They've been a disappointment. Powell Bankero had 36 points last night, second best night of the year. 36 points. But he became such a big part of the offense whenever Luca guarded him because then you have to move off your guy to help Luca. So the reality of what's happening with Luca and LeBron, do you realize they are the worst Laker

tandem plus minus minus 82? It doesn't make sense, right? But it does. When LeBron and AD played together, AD did what LeBron didn't want to do, defend the rim, defend Biggs, and rebound. So LeBron and AD were a great fit. LeBron and Kyrie. Well, LeBron was in his athletic prime.

so he could help and hide Kyrie's regrettable defense. Both great ball handlers, Kyrie not a pass guy as much as LeBron, but they were really a good fit. Kyrie just didn't like the fit because he didn't have the ball as much, but Kyrie and LeBron were good fit. Well, what about D. Wade? Well, D. Wade and LeBron were both in their athletic prime.

Maybe Wade was slightly out of it, but they were just two great athletes, totally committed on the defensive end. So that was a good fit. LeBron and Luca aren't because LeBron can't help the whole, the clear deficiency that's in Lucas game. He's an atrocious defender. And he's not in great shape.

And LeBron doesn't have the four-quarter energy he used to. It's not LeBron's fault. So if you want to remain in the Luca business and the Lakers do and the Lakers should, you have to shield him. You have to build a roster to assist in high. hiding his clear deficiency. The entire league knows it. And when you get into a postseason matchup, teams will hunt Luca.

That's why last year we're like, oh, Minnesota and the Lakers, that'll be an interesting playoff series. It was lobsided because the T-wolves got to play against Luca and Austin Reeves, back to back to back to back, and you can hunt both of them. And so last night, this final play's a beautiful play drawn up by J.J. Redick. And the Lakers have been very good in clutch spots. And they should be because Luca LeBron and Austin are all capable of being very good closers. They just have repetitive skill sets.

The entire damn roster does. So on that final play last night, it's like Luke and LeBron, you're like, oh, it should work. Something sound like they should work. And they just don't work. You know what I mean? And I'm watching this last night and I go look up there plus minus of all the Laker Tandums and they actually have the worst. And so you saw it last night in the final play.

Here was Luca asked about the final shot, which he should have taken and passed up on. Did you and LeBron have any communication about the final play after it was over? When you passed it to him, did you think he had a shot or did you recognize it was kind of be a tough opportunity? I mean, I just saw him open. I didn't want to lose the ball. And we didn't have timeouts. you know but like I said you know

shouldn't have picked up the ball I should attack I thought I was getting a clean look but that's on me I know I was open but I just thought I was a little bit far try to take one dribble closer probably shouldn't pick up the ball just trying to attack yeah

and again it happens he had an off night but this is a basketball team that can kind of win one way Luca has to shoot well because the other team is going to their points. I mean, Powell Boncaro having a year that many people have been disappointed with and he was the bomb last night. He was outstanding. Could not stop him. And so I think when Luca and

LeBron were put together, my take was, well, this is not a very good construct of a roster in terms of defense, but Austin Reeves is great with a ball in his hands. He was excellent last night. LeBron is like Luca didn't shoot well last night, but he must have had 15 assists. So it's a very repetitive roster, but it was great seeing at the end of the game. In a wildly entertaining game, you're like, man, Luca and LeBron, how many games? We're a year into this? We're a year into this? I said this yesterday.

Randy Moss and Tom Brady, seven touchdowns first four games. KD to the Warriors, 16 and 2, messy to Miami. MLS, immediately impact. We're a year into this. it's still not working. The Lakers can't beat any good teams. And Orlando is a disappointing team. And the Lakers led most of the game.

And it was in L.A. I'm not anti-Luca. The Lakers are going to be in the Luka business and should. But if you want to be in it, you got to get out of the LeBron business. So we always talk about when it comes to quarterback traits. And we all know what traits are. or traits like size, arm, mobility, toughness. I would die on this hill.

I also think personality is a trait. And this is not a shot at Baker Mayfield, but I said, I liked Sam Darnold's humility and gratitude out of college a little more than Baker's cockiness. I think personality is a trait. And Sam Darnold was on the show yesterday, and multiple times, I asked him about situations that did not go his way. The New York Jets was a disaster.

Got benched in Carolina. He was grateful, talked about his teammates, his great coaches. And then I asked him about Minnesota, where he was up for an MVP by about week 12, week 13, week 14, had a great year. And they moved off him because they didn't want to pay him as much as Seattle would. and they were going to go with J.J. McCarthy. He didn't point fingers because that's not Sam Darnold. Here's what he said instead.

I definitely haven't seen it all, but I've seen a lot in the NFL. And I understand kind of the process and what it takes to, you know, I don't understand necessarily what it takes to run an entire organization and run a team, but I understand how difficult it can be. When I sat back and really,

you know, digested, I guess, the information that they didn't want me back. You know, that was, you know, a little bit of a tough pill to swallow, but when I really stood back and looked at it from afar, I really understood the decision. And I really did, and

I'm thankful that I landed in Seattle. You can tell, in my opinion, when somebody has good parents as a kid, because they become an accountable adult. Not dump, on people, not holding grudges, not being petty, not being vindictive.

You can tell when somebody has good parents. They're an accountable adult, even in loss, even in defeat, even in humiliation, which Sam had multiple times in his career. Never better, never a victim, never points a finger, always absolutely accountable. Good to have Sam on yesterday. So I know it's hard for J-Mack because he loves Luca, but it is, It is interesting that when LeBron, and this has been one of the criticisms, and I don't think it's a fair criticism, but it's kind of a reality of LeBron James.

Whereas a KD can be a catch and shoot guy, where Steph Curry is actually great off ball. LeBron, if LeBron's on your team, even as he ages, you got to kind of run the offense through him. He's a great ball handler. He can always get to the rim. he's a massive mismatch in body size, and he's become a pretty decent, albeit inconsistent shooter, but pretty decent shooter. So when LeBron off ball is not a dead eye shooter, an off ball you don't take advantage

of his strengths. So LeBron mostly needs the ball. Well, who leads the NBA in usage? It's Luca. So to me, if you're going to be in the Luca business, you can be in the Luca and Austin business, because Austin absolutely can step back. And also, if Luca leaves, Austin can take his role. But I find Luca and LeBron to just be clunky.

That they're both, I mean, LeBron is still last night. Great first quarter. Chase down block. LeBron's still outstanding. He's still an A player, A minus. But what LeBron can't do that he could do with Kyrie, he can't overcome a teammates, a truck. defense. He's not giving you those minutes, that energy, that defensive rating. He can't do that

anymore. So with Kyrie, he could, because LeBron at that point was still the best athlete in the league. So would you at least acknowledge Luke and LeBron, it is kind of clunky a year in? It's weird. It's not ideal. Remember, this team was constructed for LeBron and AD to carry the torch. For five years, they were all built around LeBron and AD. It was. But if you had the chance to get Luca Donch it, you don't turn it down and say, well, no, we got LeBron in that rule. So now they have basically duplicative skill set, right? LeBron's always made people better, found the open player, not as good of a shooter as Luca. And at times, yes, it's clunky.

But let me just remind people. I know everybody's freaking out nationwide. Lakers stink. They lost Orlando. Like the Lakers were the best clutch team in the league this season. They were number one. And they had a bad night. I mean, it was a – Luca had an open shot.

He didn't take it. I like Reddick. Do you like Reddick drawing up a 28-footer for Luca Donchitz down by one? I don't hate it. I thought he not only got the look. Yeah. Then he had a second look. If you watch the play from the back of the camera at the other basket,

not only does JJ Reddick right here, he also has, looking, steps in. He's got a second look. So Luca passed twice on second Luke looks. And then LeBron, who again off ball is just sitting and watching it, gets the ball. he has no choice for the turn and jack it up. So Luke, I think Luca did not shoot well. And I think it was one of those nights. And this is rare, but he didn't trust himself from that distance.

He's tried to step in and all of a sudden a long defender, you know, you know, reaches out to defend him. But I don't ever worry about JJ Reddick or the Lakers getting a good final shot. This roster is actually in a half court offense. It's actually a really good roster. Yeah. Now, if you watch it again, DeAndre Aiton sets the first screen. And then he just stands there. I mean, dude, pick and roll. Three guys go to Luca. Watch Aiton. Set the screen and just stand there watching. Roll to the basket. You get a 12-foot, 12-foot little runner. That's a wide open. So, I mean, again, listen, Lakers, it stunk last night. I will not come off the hill that this team still can contend in the West. You can laugh all you want, my friend. I see you smirking.

They're going to need things to go their way. I'll remind you, this time last. year, Colin. Did you think the Indiana Pacers could go to the finals? Did you think they could sniff the finals? Did anybody have them there? Things broke their way. The Eastern Conference is a whole different ball game. Eastern Conference, yeah. 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.

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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 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.

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or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it.

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This morning, the internet lost the time. 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.

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But this is something to remember. What happens to all the quarterbacks that leave Shanahan? Jimmy Garoppel gets to a Super Bowl. Jimmy Garoppolo leaves, he flops with the Raiders. Matt Ryan in Atlanta gets to a Super Bowl and is the MVP of the league with a 117 passer rating. Shanahan leaves takes the Niners job. His passer rating is 91. He has double the interceptions nearly and half the touchdowns 38 to 20.

Matt Schaub made a Pro Bowl with Shanahan. Believe it or not, and then Shanahan leaves and he goes 6 and 10. Like, we have multiple examples. This is no longer a theory. It's a hypothesis. Like, we've had it tested multiple times. If there's a quarterback whisper, it's Kyle Shanahan. Unless your name's Sam Darnold, when you leave Kyle Shanahan, bad things happen.

And just to give you an example, I thought Mack Jones was excellent last year. He won five of his eight starts. His passer rating was 97, well above his career pass. passer rating, and he completed almost 70% of his throws. And to give you an example, Max Jones had a 97 passer rating with Kyle Shanahan last year of the Niners. His career passer rating is 85. So what's the difference between that?

The difference is a 97 passer rating is 13th in the NFL, 85 is 30th. A 97 passer rating is Tom Brady's career passer rating. Mac Jones last year, Tom Brady's career passer rating. 85 is Case Keenham and Jay Cutler. So you can go ahead and make a deal for Mack Jones, but maybe it works in Minnesota with Kevin O'Connell, maybe, and Justin Jefferson. But Max Jones did that last year without Brandon Iuk.

Ricky Pierce always hurt often. George Kittlemanist starts. I mean, and the O line was okay. And the defense was being well coached, but you didn't know is when the, and you all played in the division with the Rams. and the Super Bowl champion Seahawks. And yet Mac Jones had a remarkable year.

He's not as mobile or athletic as Brock Purdy. Therefore, I don't think he's quite as good as Brock Purdy. But with Shanahan, he had Tom Brady's career passer rating number. And that was without a number one wide receiver. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line.

news. We're going to start this morning with Trent Williams at an emerging situation in San Francisco entering the final year of his deal. He's going to count 39 mil against the cap. GM John Lynch is hoping for an extension. Obviously, you need a superstar left tackle in this league protecting Brock Purdy, but it sounds like Trent Williams is not willing to take a hometown discount. Here's Lynch breaking it down. In recent weeks, I've met with both Trent and with his age. agent, Vincent Taylor, and had really good productive and substantive meetings. And so here's what I know. Trent loves being a Niner. We love having Trent as a Niner. And it's up to us to figure that out and to thread that needle. There's some unique circumstances in that we all know what Trent is as a

player, how great of a player he's been. You know, he's going to be 38 years old. And so there's some things that go into that. He's still really good. Well, he was really good last season and the year before, but he's approaching 38 years old, Colin. He's a left tackle. That's not ideal. And we have the splits with and without Trent Williams. You know how, like, if Lane Johnson misses a game, bet against the Eagles?

Right. If Trent Williams is out, you're going to want to go against the Niners. It just does not go well. I mean, look at that. It's only a one-season sample size without him, but they can't score. They can't move the ball. I mean, I think if we're being honest, I think the 49ers top priority, and I know they have many because Joanne Jennings is a free agent, likely leave.

Ayuk is cooked. I think they probably need to draft Trentson, like a left tackle first round, at worst second round, right? Well, you draft a tackle in the first round. You can play him at right tackle for the first year, and then he moves over. You know, these, like Joe Alt was drafted to be a right tackle for the Chargers, then he moved over to left tackle. everybody you're supposed to be able to play both sides if you're a really high-end first second-round

tackle you should be able to swing and play both ways but i i agree and i think trent williams is still great if he gets his hands on you good night so i i would have no problem signing him to a two-year deal but and that's what john lynch says when you're 38 i'm not writing a contract up where i have guaranteed money down the line i totally get that and i'm sure the niners have a rich database with all the info on 38-year-old left tackles in NFL history. And you could say maybe he's an outlier, but that's old for left tackle. All right, let's move on to the Philadelphia Eagles, Colin. I mean, we talk about him every day. Nick Siriani opens his mouth and says something, the latest thing he said that it was moderately interesting at the Combine. He essentially said, I don't want to

call plays. I'm not an O.C. I'm a head coach. So that's why Sean Mannion is here. He's going to be the first time play caller taking over for Petulow. Siriani is excited about Mannion's scheme because he is friendly with nose McVeigh and Shanahan. Colin, I'll believe it when I see it. If Sirianney's job is on the line and this ain't working, he's going to take over play calling mid-season. Well, he's not good at it.

Sean Payton is relinquishing the play calling this year because Davis Webb, the young, you know, the sharp former player. and Sean Payton didn't believe Lombardi could be that guy. So it's Davis Webb is going to take it over. I don't think coaches should be play callers. I think Lincoln, Riley, Lane, Kiff, and some of the guys at the college level are simply, there's nobody else out there better than them. Like I get an offensive coach saying, like Kyle Shanahan,

I'm a better play caller than anybody else on the planet, so I'm not relinquishing it. That's why if you notice with the Niners, they're as good as their defensive coordinator. like with Sala, Kyle has total trust to hand it over to Robert Sala, but they've missed on a couple of their DC hires. And you've seen what's happened to the team. So Shanahan, when you do call plays, it is, again, it is more overwhelming. It's pretty daunting experience. But I don't think like Kyle Shanahan or Lincoln Riley,

who are you going to get that's better to run your offense? So I think it's a dilemma. Sean Payton's been doing it forever because Sean Payton's great at it. So I don't crush a guy for doing it. I think ideally you would not want to do it. All right, let's pivot to the New York Giants. John Harbaugh is in an interesting situation here. So he goes from the Ravens to the Giants.

He's probably their best hire at head coach ever. I mean, you know, when you look at what he's accomplished, the guy comes in with some credentials. And you've got Joe Shane, the battle GM, kind of sitting there at the podium in Indy. Essentially, the New York media is like, you don't have any power. Why are you here? They're grilling him and it's almost painful to watch. And he has to dance around it. And interestingly, Harbaugh has shifted the narrative quickly saying,

this is going to be a collaborative process. I think he's like throwing the guy a lifeline. I'm just curious, like, can it really be collaborative of Harbaugh has all the power and reports to the owner? I don't think Joe. I don't think Joe Shane's a great GM. But I feel the same way about Ryan Poles of the Bears. Ryan Poles has pulled off too many good moves and hit on too many draft picks to say that he's not effective. Joe Shane whiffed on this Akewan Barclay move, but they do have talent.

They have hit on picks. I mean, the Jackson Dart move, the Scatibu move. Neighbors is a big time player. So, like, when I look at Joe Shane, do I think he's a top six or seven GM? I don't. No. But I also think the Giants roster is a right tackle and another weapon away from being a potential division winner next year.

It's not a disaster. And I think what happens is when he went on the HBO show, when you go on these hard knock shows, you know, I mean, if you put a camera in all of our prep meetings or, you know, or anybody's job, you ever see these like, you know,

these reality shows where they follow a couple around, there's always an impending divorce. Like, it just adds heat to it. So you put a camera in a locker room, sitting down with your owner and your coaches, it never looks good. That's why so few teams have great bona fide years when they're on those HBO shows. So Shane isn't my favorite, but the roster's pretty good, and some of that is due to him.

Okay, so the Malik neighbor's pick was sixth overall. I mean, again, if you're drafting top six, you were terrible, and you better nail that pick. Abdul Carter went third. He slept through half the season team meetings. But he's a great talent, and it was a bad draft. I don't know that he's even a long-term fit there. Like he's got talent, but the guy doesn't want to go to meetings. He's a mess.

I will say, Jackson Dart's interesting. If we got Brian Dauble on the show tomorrow, who's taking credit for Jackson Dart getting drafted? Joe Shane or Brian Daible who likes mobile quarterbacks. And remember, Joe Shane is the one who gave Daniel Jones that horrific contract that blew up in their face. Well, by the way, the Colts are about ready to give Daniel Jones another big contract. Is your guy Ballard's still there?

That's very scary coming off at Achilles. Big contract? You got Zooks. All right. J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line news.

So I was watching a lot of NBA last night. I watched the Knicks and the Cavs. And the Knicks lost. Whatever. The bigger point is, my staff gave me this this morning. We went to last year's Knicks with Tibbs. And this year's Knicks team with Mike Brown, the new coach. They're the same team.

Points per game, same. Opponents point per game, same. Steels, blocks, same. Three points shooting percentage, same. Opponents field goal percentage, same. This season, they're two games worse. And that could just be the schedule. It's the same team.

Coaching has real limitations in the NBA. Remember when Steve Kerr was the best coach on the planet? his best players were all in their prime. Remember when Spoh was considered the best coach in the league, or Greg Popovich. The older and the less dominant Tim Duncan got, the less great Greg Popovich appeared to be. And that's the truth about this Nick's team as everybody is freaking out. You can change coaches. I wouldn't have.

Well, Tim's is not offensively creative. Well, Mike Brown comes in and there are. averaging actually one point more per game and they're shooting slightly better from outside with Mike Brown. So there you go. Massive difference. It's the same team. Your two best offensive players are Kat and Jalen Brunson and both, especially when they're

on the floor together, are your two biggest defensive liabilities. But in the NFL, Ben Johnson can come in and Mike Vrable can come in. They can change your roster. They can change your system. they can change your culture in three months, maybe shorter. And so Tibbs leaves, Mike Brown enters, and my takeaway is they were ninth in scoring last year. They're ninth in scoring this year. And Mike Brown's considered more of an offensive coach than Tibbs.

It's the same offense. So, you know, Denver did this. They fired Mike Malone, and he was too intense, and I hired David Adelman, and it's the same team. in fact i think they're a gamer too worse some of that's injuries uh this year so you know NBA coaches are very similar nick fans to a good chef as good as a chef is he can only do so much with second tier ingredients and the Knicks probably need to go after yonis remember Detroit's super young only getting better jason tatem's coming back for the celtics Halliburton's coming back for Indiana.

And so, you know, the honest move. And now you gave up five picks for McHale Bridges, so you lost some draft capital. But the honest move, because I believe Jalen Brunson will age rather quickly, smaller player, ball-centric. I think Brunson's a great player. I think at the end of years,

he looks worn down in the playoffs. He can look a little worn down. You know, you just send people at him. You hunt him a little bit in the postseason. So I think you got about, three to four more great years of Jalen Brunson, and I think he got about three to four more great years of Yannis. That may make sense.

Here's Mike Brown, who replaced Tibbs. It's the same team on the loss last night. We had some decent looks throughout the course of the game, but we couldn't knock a shot down. One of the things we have to try to do better, especially offensively, is play with pace. No matter what we did, we either turn the ball over we had a tough shot.

And so we made some play calls tonight, but we didn't generate anything from the calls that we made. It's something interesting about the Knicks, too, because I like the Knicks. But Jalen Brunson is going to be 30 here very quickly. He is an old 30 because he played four years of college. And at Villanova, you play minutes and you play defense. Like, Villanova makes you grind.

At practice, in games, you have to defend. and with the Knicks, he's got the ball in his hand so often that certain players, based on their, we're seeing Luca, who's very ball-centric. He's aging quickly. He's not yet 27, and he's not a vertical player anymore, not very often. So Brunson's going to age pretty quickly. He's going to be 30 here, four years in college, and people kind of hunt him in big games and in the postseason. So my take is, you can talk about going.

through the draft with Jalen Brunson. But you probably need to find somebody on his timeline. And I would argue that Janus, with his injuries in his age and his limitations from the perimeter, is probably a good fit. Much better defensive player than Kat, not as gifted offensively, needs the ball in his hands a little more than you'd like. But Brunson's the centerpiece of this team. He's your quarterback, and he's going to age pretty quick.

He has got the ball in his hands. lot. A remarkable study done in the NFL, 23 years of data on what works when you hire a head coach, and we've got 10 new coaches. And what works is not much. You won't believe this coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at 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, 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, 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 Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some

retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer 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

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Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. 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,

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Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The fastest racing on Earth returns to Fox. Alex Palo, Joseph Newgarten, and Pato Award lead the way as the 2026 indie car season launches in St. Petersburg. Sunday at noon Eastern, live on Fox. So the athletic went back 23 years. 2000 to 22, 23.

they wanted to get a really large sample size. And they narrowed it down to the last 160 coaches hired. And there are nine current head coaches who were hired during the stretch they counted. So the data continues to evolve. And though they have six categories of what they view as success. The length of your tenure, regular season record, playoff record, Super Bowl appearances, Super Bowl wins. The bottom line is most teams do not hire well.

60% of the 160 hires are flops. That's a pretty big number. There are exactly 10 of 160 coaching hires over over two decades, who I would consider gold star or silver. The gold star coaches are Andy Reed, Bill Belichick, I think you have to count Tom Coughlin. Look what happened to the Giants when he left, two Super Bowl wins, and Sean McVeigh. The silvers are Pete Carroll in Seattle, Tony Dungey and Indy, John Harbaugh and Baltimore, Mike McCarthy in Green Bay, pretty good in Dallas, too. Sean Payton and New Orleans, pretty good in Denver, too, and Mike Tomlin.

that is 10 of 160. That is, let me look that up. That's 6%. So, if you look at this year's 10 new coaching hires and coaching staffs, statistically, at most, one will end up being classified as a great hire with the odds actually,

slightly leaning toward none. So if I look at this list, radio audience I'll run through it. Joe Brady's never been a head coach and he's really young. I don't think that'll be a gold or a silver. Likewise for Todd Monkin in Cleveland. And Mike Lefleur.

Jeff Halfley, I will say I like the GM and I like Halfley, but if you're asking me, if it's going to be a six percenter, I'd say no. Clint Kubiak, don't love the ownership in Vegas. Jesse Minter, well, they're going to pay Lamar Jackson so much money. There'll be a regression in the quality of roster. Mike McCarthy is rock solid. I think he'll be rock solid, though they don't have a quarterback. I like Saul a lot, but Tennessee is political

and it's difficult to win. You know I'm a Stefansky fan, but who's their quarterback? John Harbaugh appears to me, and he's already on the silver list. And what's interesting, the two guys, I think, have the greatest chance to end up having a long tenure are Harbon, Mike McCarthy, and they're already on the list. The new guy, and I think Stafansky's a really good hire, but, you know, what's the quarterback situation? Even though the division is winnable, I like the owner, Arthur Blank, you know, who's the quarterback?

So, yeah, here's Kyle Van Nuya, the Ravens on his former coach, would the Ravens take the New York Giants job. I was really shocked was when he signed a huge $100 million contract right away with the Giants. Not saying that I didn't think he was going to be one of the top coaches. I would have thought maybe he wanted to take a little time off. Maybe he wanted to take a year off like some coaches have been doing to revamp. I truly believe he picked the right spot for him and his family, New York. They're getting a CEO coach that's going to go in there and build that type. of brand football what they were used to with Tom Coughlin. I tend to agree.

So yesterday I got in this rant. I said I've been hearing whenever I hear this, well, I've been hearing forever, my entire life, Social Security is going to run out. I don't think it's going to. We'll fund it. I've been hearing that. I'm 60. I've been hearing that for 35 years.

It's going to run out. Okay. It's too important to run. out. Like, you know, the old saying, too big to fail, it's not going to run out. And there's a lot of things I've been hearing. And the media said, no nuke, save the whales, you know, go green, organic, oh boy, recycling, oh boy, everything over time. We kind of go back to the stuff we know it's going to work and what, you know, a lot of this idealistic high hope stuff. So, whenever I just hear the media tell me, blank is not sustainable. And I say, you know, a lot of it. And I say,

said this yesterday. My only question is, if the blank is something we love, it is sustainable. Because people always find money when they love something to sustain it. Golf. You don't have to be rich, but if you love golf, I mean, you're retired, you're going to find a way every couple years to buy a trip to Scotland and play. The money will just magically appear. You'll stop smoking as many cigars and you'll lay off the gin for two months whatever it is you'll find money for it so whenever i hear blank is not sustainable my question is well what's the blank if you love it it's sustainable we always fund stuff we love we find money under the couch you know the the chairs in the couch so i'm going to give you a heads up so ls louisiana is not a rich state

The USU football reportedly is spending $40 million on their roster. Now, listen to this. So they just finished a $17 million buyout for Ed Orgeron and a $50 million buyout for Brian Kelly. And they just signed Lane Kiffin to a seven-year $91 million deal. Again, it's not a rich state. 18 months ago, they invested $20 million to upgrade their stadium. And they're in the process of funding a 400-million dollar. million dollar basketball arena upgrade.

And yet they still found $40 million for their football roster, tops in the country. So folks, they're spending $162 million on Brian Kelly, Ed Orgeron, and Lane Kiffin. So despite the fact that they got child support and alimony, they bought a Lambo. You know, $400 million for the basketball, $20 million for the football, buy out Brian Kelly, buy out Ed Orgeron, get Lane Kiffen. That's not even mentioning Lane Kiffin's staff is probably second or third highest paid in the conference. Right?

Because Lane had so much leverage, he got his guys paid. Football upgrades, basketball arena, Brian Kelly, Ed Orgeron, Lane Kiffin. Blank is not sustainable. Tell me what the blank is. And if the blank is college football in the south or at Ohio State or at Notre Dame or the Miami Hurricanes or you, USC, you're going to find a way to do it. I mean, I'm not a tax expert. I am not a tax expert, but churches and universities have a way of avoiding taxes. There's some gaps there they can maneuver through. And so I saw that story this morning and I'm like, you know, Louisiana is not

what you would consider like a Texas or a California, you know, or a New York state. or in Illinois where you may have your pension issues and you know you're not making budget annually but they're rich states they're they're wealthy state Louisiana is not a wealthy state and they're fun in everything football basketball multiple coaches 40 million for the roster if i heard that was texas i'd be like yeah i get it or noder dame or michigan with huge endowments Louisiana LSU didn't have those and yet they found money so it it's just the way we are big consumers in America and we find ways

we're going to keep Social Security alive. Why? Because it's too important. Because our grandparents need it. And we love our grandparents. So it is sustainable and we will pay for it. And that's the way it's always been in our country. Hour two. Albert Brewer on the corner.

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 out. 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 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. 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.

Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast. for no nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris.

She's an outsider to win the French fame. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lennarabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now and actually can win on any surface. 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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.