The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 1 - The Bills have had a rough couple of days, people are still upset at the Dodgers but not other teams

Episode Date: January 22, 2026

Colin Cowherd pushed back against the recent criticisms of the Bills after the firing of head coach Sean McDermott and why they are still in a Super Bowl contending window He asks why the isn't "outrage" over the Yankees and Mets spending big money like the DodgersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It's the herd. Wherever you may be, however, whatever platform you're watching or listening. A lot of choices out there. Thanks for choosing us. Making us part of your day. We all know there's bias. For the record, you have some too. There's recency bias.

There's confirmation bias. In the media, we have what I'm not. I would call chaos bias. The more chaos you have, we jump to it because we know you'll jump to it. That's how it works on YouTube and TikTok. People find chaos. And I think sometimes it steers us and the media, myself included, toward chaos bias. Buffalo bills have had a bad 48 hours.

Everybody's piling on. You may want to take a deep breath. Let's look at where Buffalo's at. Ownership stable, new stadium coming, massive revenue upgrade. Buy more players. Superstar quarterback, top six offensive line in a league that has shifted over the last decade to offense, tight end, slot receiver, running back quarterback O line, left tackle. Really good.

Last six years, most wins in the league. Best point differential by a country mile. Number one offense, second in playoff wins. Yes, they had a. a bad 72 hours. That a bad press conference yesterday. The Sean McDermott firing and press release could have been better. They've been excellent for six, seven years.

Excellent. Can this also be noted? Winning Super Bowls is hard. Sean McVeigh, the best coach arguably in the league, has won and should probably thank Aaron Donald and one sack late on Joe Burrell for that. Jim Harbaugh, none. Kyle Shanahan, none. Sean Payton, won.

And if the Colts recover that onside kick, he's maybe looking at zero. Okay, the Buffalo Bills are a controversial catch-no-catch call from beating the excellent Jags and the excellent Broncos on the road. Okay. Bill Belichick, five of his six Super Bowls decided by a possession. three by a field goal. Rory McElroy, best golfer in Europe for 15 years. He went 11 years without winning a major. He was often PGA player of the year multiple times.

In a year, he didn't win a major. And in golf, you get four chances a year to win a major. In the NFL, you get one, one, three-and-a-half-hour window. That's it. I would rather be a Buffalo Bills fan today than almost anybody not named Kansas City because of Andy Reed and Mahomes and Andy Reed could retire in a year.

I'd rather be the New England Patriots. I think Drake May is actually at this point underrated. I like where the Rams are, but Stafford could retire. I like where the Seahawks are, but do we all trust Sam Darnold yet? I do. Most of you don't. Recy bias, confirmation bias. There's also chaos bias. And it's what we in the media do.

And it's also what you, the fans, are attracted to. Brandon Bean's probably not the best personnel guy in the league. But again, if I told you, in 2026, an offensive league, if I said, yeah, there's this franchise, upstate New York, superstar quarterback, pro bowl running back, great left tackle, good O line, star slot receiver, really is good. Excellent tight ends. And their roster's full of B guys. It's not like they've got C and D guys all over. They could use another cornerback. So could the league except Seattle.

Everybody needs new corners because everybody's going three receivers wide and nobody has three great corners, not even Seattle, and they've got two. Terry Bagula, didn't have a great press conference yesterday. But what he's saying has so much merit. We're pretty good here. We've got the things you'd want here. Here's the owner yesterday. That's our seating over the last seven years in the playoffs.

Five, two, three, two, two, two, six. An organization doesn't carry that kind of record without being a great organization and without having great players. We are focused on bringing a super, Bowl to Buffalo. Josh Allen's 29, not 39. That's Matt Stafford, going to be 38, 39 soon.

Josh Allen's 29, seven years, hasn't missed a start due to injury. New stadium, stable ownership, more revenue, O-line, left tackle. They had a bad 48 to 72 hours. There's an old cliche. Wind blows harder at the top of the mountain. They're near the top. This stuff had happened in, you know, Carolina. I would not even make the show.

Would not even make the show. It's the bills. It leaves the show. You know, here's the thing about smart people. Even geniuses. Van Gogh actually died poor. Yeah. Yeah.

And wasn't viewed as successful. And then he died, and now you have to wait in line to see his work. Right? Like, that's the way it works sometimes. because visionaries and people who see things before I see them or you see them, we don't give them credit in the time. And we also, not only do we not give them credit, we forget the risk they took to do it.

And I'll give you an example with Seattle, Planned the Rams, Seattle. 90% of you thought Sam Darnold was not a good signing. He got lucky he had Justin Jefferson. Kevin O'Connell's a genius. Not a very good defensive division. You didn't like it. You didn't like it. He's been great.

By the way, D.K. Metcalf moved. You didn't like that either. What is Seattle doing? When Russell Wilson left, I can remember saying on the air, he's been at least a 103 quarterback rating dude for four straight years. Are we sure this is the right move? I didn't think it was the right. move. Gino Smith's a bum. Not really. He made a Pro Bowl. They won 10 games and Seattle had the number

eight passing offense in the league, his last year in Seattle. But John Snyder bailed on Gino and failed on D.K. Metcalfe and signed Sam Darnold. Hey, by the way, Pete Carroll was wildly popular in Seattle. A lot of people didn't think he should be let go. And then you watch him with the Raiders and you're like, yeah, John Snyder, the GM of Seattle got that right too. When, Demme, Marcus Lawrence signed, 33-year-old defensive end. They brought out the checkbook. How many of you are like, perfect? That's what we need, a 33-year-old defensive end who I forgot about in Dallas.

He had more pressures this year than Nick Benito in Denver. We do this all the time. When somebody sees stuff, a visionary is what they call them, before you and I see them, we always forget the risk they took. We don't give them the credit. Everybody now goes, well, of course, Darnold was better than Gino Smith. And go back and look at some of your tweets. The D.K. Metcalf move.

You didn't like it. Crazy. One of one, there's nobody like him. So Sam Darnold was available to the entire league. Pittsburgh could have had him. They wouldn't guarantee him multiple years. Minnesota had him in the building. Smart people in Minnesota.

They let him walk. So Seattle's moves, they look brilliant now. That's what happened when you have a great visionary GM. They look good now. We didn't love those moves. Go back to Russell Wilson's last year's in Seattle. Oh, let me guess you got that right, too. He had a 103 passer rating year after year after year after year.

Let Russ Cook maybe didn't work, but he was still successful. So I don't know. when I look at what Seattle's done is that a lot of these moves we just we line up with I mean you know they hit some draft fix they've hit everything

Mike McDonald was a kid unproven as a head coach home run they found their McVeigh Donald was great in Minneapolis why wouldn't he be good in Seattle to Marcus Lawrence D.K. Metcalfe they all worked here's his

his boss is John Snyder His name's Mike McDonald. Here's his thoughts. His leadership example on a day-to-day basis shows up in so many ways. Just like the spirit of the building, his interaction with everyone. I mean, he talks more people than Bill and I do. You know, like he's just doing this thing all the time. And he's been incredibly helpful to me. He knew when to kind of give you some air to breathe and grow and expand and learn, you know,

maybe fall a little bit. And he also was there to support you when you needed it. Can't wait. Ram Seahawks, Seattle minus two and a half. By the way, in about an hour from now, I do this, as J. Mack knows, anytime you get a massive game, AFC Championship, NFC Championship, I go to both teams. Who's got the top 10 players? Generally, the team with more of the top 10 players.

I'm doing AFC today. I think you'll be surprised by it. Seahawks, Rams is impossible. You could go to 15 players and still leave like really, really high-end starters. off Seattle Rams I got the 10 players and I'm like I don't even there's like four other defensive players

that I think are near Pro Bowl players there's so much talent the Rams Seahawks game it's insane well there's probably two guys Colin on that list who didn't even play in the week 16 meeting Devante Adams who missed that game remember and Dotson the offensive lineman

who's back and who was excellent against the bears Dodson's in the second highest Denver's got the highest redded guard in the league Dotson for the Rams is second. Those positions you don't think about, but those are great players. Remember, those two guys missed a game with the Rams scored 30 points in regulation and had, I believe, 550 yards of total offense? You can tell where I'm leaning in this one, Colin.

I think any time you can get McVeigh, Stafford, and a healthy Rams team in a big game plus points, I think the side is L.A. Doesn't mean they're going to win. I think that's the betting side. Who's a better offensive line in this one, by the way? A Rams. So better coach, quarterback, offensive line. Okay.

Defense, though. Special teams, though. Yes. Defense special teams matter. A little bit. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Hey, is Kavino and Rich from Fox Sports Radio? Now, in addition to hearing us live weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, We're excited to announce a brand new YouTube channel for the show.

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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 did 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.

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. What's up, fam, Isaiah Thomas? And I'm CJ Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about Define 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. 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 to flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball. Like, 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 ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. With Gianmanca seemed like a mild-mannered suburban dad, but secretly he became someone else, a master of disguise who went on a crime spree. At the time, did it seem like a crazy idea? It seemed very crazy, but I felt so desperate that I felt it was the quickest, easiest way out.

Did you allow yourself to think about how it could go wrong or what that might look like? No. I didn't want to manifest that. I was trying to manifest success. 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. This is going to change my life and my family dynamic forever

because everything that had existed prior in my reality is now untrue. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man. the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You're now entering the no bull zone sponsored by credible great rates, none of the bull. All right, so that was a big story from Baxter Holmes, ESPN, detailing some of the strife inside the Laker organization, Jeannie Bus, who I've always liked, some, you know, felt a little disrespected by LeBron James. LeBron didn't take, you know, responsibility for the Westbrook move. I talked about that over and over and over. LeBron wanted that move. It was a disaster.

Now Westbrook and LeBron, don't get along, whatever. But I read the story. I'd heard about half of these rumors, maybe 75% of these rumors. Baxter Holmes has a history of getting stuff right. Jeannie Buss is now saying, oh, this stop is, you know, it's putting LeBron in a bad space. listen, here's the good news. It's time to move off LeBron at some point in the next calendar year. And LeBron's never been loyal to teams. This is not a Derek Jeter situation. You know, this is not magic or Kobe.

LeBron's easier to move off. It's been a mutually beneficial relationship. His net worth has almost doubled since he came to L.A. He came to L.A. for basketball, 60% and business 40%. percent. I mean, he kept the thing to thing. Yeah, by about year two, his network is almost double. Net worth. He's expensive. He's not always available. He's not the player he once was. Lakers are so bad defensively, and statistically they're worse when he's on the floor. So I've said it forever. Really, really confident, successful men are bad at exits.

They've all got a great pickup line, but won't pick up the phone when they break up. That's what successful, confident men do. LeBron's been great for the game. There's a little LeBron fatigue around the league. I get it. But this new ownership group, they have no loyalty to him. In fact, remember when Bob Myers left the Warriors as GM and many speculated, he just didn't want to trade. He didn't want to trade Clay Thompson. I think Jeannie Bus knew deep down, she didn't want to move off LeBron. She didn't feel comfortable with it. It's easy for the Dodgers people, too. They're the smartest guys in town. I really believe that, that at some point, instead of confronting bad PR and I can't believe.

A lot of people just don't like that discomfort. I mean, now you've got LeBron's agent, Rich Paul, who I like talking about Austin Reeves deals potentially on his podcast. So, you know, the other thing is look under the hood. The Lakers are a mirage. They're 26 and 16. But 15 of their 16 losses, they've gotten blown out. They're great in clutch games because they have a really smart head.

coach. But they're not in that many clutch games. They're horrible defensively. It's a 3-and-D league and they don't have enough of either. No rim protection, not very athletic. This is a Luca, JJ Reddick, and maybe Austin Reeves franchise going forward. So if you look under the hood, they're a mile from San Antonio and Oklahoma City and Minnesota and Houston. They're a mile from those. I don't think they're as good as Detroit long term. The Knicks eventually will get it figured out. and next year Halliburton and Jason Tatum come back. And Philadelphia is on the rise and so is Orlando. So it's like it's actually easy.

Or I should say easier to move off people who have been highly mobile. Right? Like LeBron's bounced around the league. He's been the ultimate opportunist and I totally defend him on that. He has been front and center of the player empowerment era. Barclays and Jordans, they're not as comfortable moving around. But now these days, if you don't consider moving, people look at you and go, are you crazy? That's because of LeBron.

LeBron's been great for players. Tiger Woods was great for golf. LeBron's been great for NBA player empowerment. Is he good for the ratings? Well, Lakers still get a lot of ratings when they play the Warriors every Christmas or near then. But it's easier to move off somebody that's moved off multiple teams. LeBron is a businessman at this point first. And a basketball player, I know, keep the thing the thing.

But for his entire career, he's a basketball guy that did business. LeBron now is kind of a business guy who's still pretty good at basketball. But moving off him is not difficult. The agent's talking, they're a worst team defensively when he's on the floor. He's not always available. You can be a credit to the game. And it can be time. but part of me thinks the Lakers sold this

because the discomfort of the LeBron exit. LeBron's exit, he's been exiting his entire career. He exited from Cleveland, his hometown twice. Pat Riley. And remember when he chose the Lakers, they stunk. He didn't choose the best basketball team. He chose the best economy in the country, Los Angeles. That's what he chose first.

This was not a good operation. He could have gone to four other teams when he was closer to his prime. And he's still good. But it's not a criticism. I can think two things. All time great. Unbelievable asset to the league.

Totally defend his opportunistic business ventures and moves and mobility. Totally defend it. I think it's great for players. Smart, smart dude with a smart circle. And I can also think it's time to move on. J-Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. Let's start with a real conversation about Drake May, who may or may not win the MVP this season. But let's be real, he's been pretty bad in two playoff games. Now we faced the brilliant Jesse Minter and the Chargers didn't do much and then kind of got swallowed up by the Texans. I believe he had four fumbles, lost two of them, not a great effort. May does not plan to change his aggressive mentality heading into the AFC championship. No, I don't think trying to change it. I think last week you change it and K. Sean doesn't make the play.

So little things like that, just knowing the time and place for it. I think trying to get the ball out of my hand and just being cognizant of the edge rushers and taking care of the football is the number one thing. So if we have time and have a look downfield, you know me. I'm going to take a look and take a shot. Now remember, two things happen in the playoffs that don't happen regularly in the regular season for quarterbacks. Number one, the weather stinks. Matt Stafford in Chicago missed seven guys.

Like, did you see his completion percentage? It's much easier at SoFi in September than it is in Chicago in January. So the number one thing is he's now quarterbacking in snowdrifts. Secondly, you're facing the best defense in the NFL. It's like Seattle now. Stafford's got to face the Seahawks. May had to face Houston. So quarterbacks don't look today.

like they look in September and October. The weather's lousy. You face the best schemes, the best coaches, the best corners, the best pass rush. Drake Mays won twice. Trevor Lawrence, great year. Couldn't win a home playoff game. So to me, if you win in the postseason, you know, the Stafford didn't throw a pick last week. But Stafford had three drives.

Two long ones, one short one. They didn't move the ball consistently. Drake May's winning games, I am totally okay with it. So Drake May has five turnovers. and has taken 10 sacks into playoff games. Not a great O-line. New England still needs to fortify that O-line in the drafts. Not a great O-line.

This is a difficult one, Colin, because, again, he has not been good. Now he has to go on the road. And remember, they had faced the Patriots defense overwhelmed the Texans O-line and the Chargers O-line. Bochard bottom of the league. Denver's got a great O-line.

I have a feeling this game's going to be close. Oh, it is. Think about this. If that controversial, catch, no catch in Denver Buffalo was flipped. We'd be getting Josh Allen against the kid. Oh, why can't? I'm so disciplined. Think about that. We'd be getting Josh Allen against the kid for the third time and the Rams Seahawks third time.

So for all the, it's rigged, you did not want to eliminate Josh Allen from facing Drake May. Can you imagine, we'd have basically Seahawks, Rams, NFC, and Seac's AFC version. version with Patriots bills. That arguably, you can't do better in the league than that. So for all the, you know, the call gets flipped, nobody rigs a game to get rid of Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. That's the team you'd want in. Do you think anybody even forget Gerrit Stidham?

Anybody rooting for Bow Nix in the AFC championship? You think that moves the needle? It doesn't. May is so fascinating, Colin. So he took the second most sacks in the NFL this year. usually guys who take a ton of sacks, they don't rank highly in the EPA. But Drake May is like one of the best in the league because of these big plays. He hits booty on a one-handed, unbelievable catch.

Outside of that, like, I didn't think May had a good game, man. I have a feeling Denver keeps his close. I just don't know if Stidham can get them there. I grade on a totally different scale in January for offenses. I mean, honestly, try driving in snow. much easier to drive in Scottsdale, Arizona than Chicago this weekend. Try driving in Nashville this weekend with the ice storm. Try playing football in Chicago this past weekend.

Caleb and Matt were both great. Their completion percentages, little low. Well, it's windy. It's cold. I just grade in a different scale. You win playoff games. I don't care about the numbers. All right.

Let's move on to the Philadelphia Eagles. And the news just keeps getting not amazing. Call them the latest name for this. vacant OC job, which apparently nobody wants is Matt Nagy? Yeah, that guy, who I know you like because he worked some wonders for a season with Mitchell Trubisky in Chicago. But again, the Kansas City Chiefs quietly were like, oh, your contract expired? Oh, we'll let you go explore the market.

Do you want to go ahead and get a hoot coaching job? Go for it, Matt. And nobody's really beaten down his door. I think Matt Nagy's fine. This whole idea that Matt Nagy's just lost us, knows what he's doing. I don't buy that. I think Matt Nagy wants to call plays. And when you're with Andy Reed, you know, Andy's on the headset.

He probably wants a little more power. Also, just pretend you're Matt Nagy. So you've been the coach of the Chicago Bears. You got fired despite getting Mitch Tribusky a couple of times into the playoff with Matt Stafford, Aaron Rogers, Kirk Cousins, in their prime. Same division. Played him twice. And you got Tribisky into the playoffs.

Okay. And then you get fired and you think, okay, I want to take some time off. And then you go under Andy Reid. Even when you succeed with Andy Reid, you know what people say? Well, you didn't call any of the plays. So I think Matt Nagy's like, I want to go somewhere where if we win, people go, oh, Matt Nagy, that's the problem coaching under. Like Sean Payton, you can tell me, you can tell me you're the offensive coordinator

if you work for Sean Payton, but I know who's calling the plays. Lane Kiffin, Lincoln Riley, Andy Reed. I mean, it's hard to be, it's hard to work under them. you get to win some games, but I don't think you're the one. I think Matt Nagy's probably like, I want to go somewhere where I get some credit if we win. I'm shaking off a sneeze here. Okay, so here's my only problem with that. You say he goes to Philly, he'll get credit.

Will he, though? Shane Steichen didn't get credit. Remember it was, oh my gosh, Jalen Hertz is amazing. And then Kellen Moore didn't really get the credit. Hey, Jalen Hurts was a Super Bowl MVP. Sequan Barkley was historic. So I, this is a tough job. And by the way, I think we would agree if the Eagles don't like suddenly get

back to Super Bowl contender. Everybody's getting blown out. Right? Head coach is gone. So this is not a great job. That's why McDaniel is like, no thanks. Yeah. And Daibald's like, nah, I'm good.

No, I think you're right. I think it's a hard job, and I think that is very true. I think you're spot on. All right, let's go to the final story, Colin. Is that the New York Giants? You are all up in the John Harbaugh. You are riding the big blue train. You love it.

Well, somebody who may not love it. GM Joe Shane, he's getting grilled by the New York media about the perceived power shift because Harbaugh has some say in personnel. Here's Joe Shane. Yeah, and I'm not worried about that. Everywhere I've been, I've been in league for 26 years. So everywhere I've been, the head coach and general manager work together. That's the only way it's going to work. And get on the same page, go through the process.

Again, we've done it everywhere I've been. So I'm not worried about it. Like you said, that's just something on a piece of paper doesn't matter. We need to work together. and we're going to come to the final conclusion. And it's always going to be about what's best for the New York Giants. So I have no problem with that. And, you know, I'm looking forward to work with.

That's a good answer. That's the only answer. You can't be combative. He's happy to be employed right now. How about we give him credit for a good answer in front of that relentless New York media? That was a very good answer. Don't be in the taking credit business, be in the winning football games and collaborating business. That's the league now.

It's not about I have all the power. that's not what the league is. I like that answer. I'm willing to give credit. Hasn't been my favorite GM? Hasn't been your favorite? Okay, okay. But we've got to be fair.

Everybody bangs on Brandon Bean. Go look at the offense. If Keon Coleman would have hit, and I thought he would, I watched him in Florida State. I thought he was good. It's been the number one offense last six years. Did Brandon Bean get any credit? You can bang on Joe Shane.

Hay to this Akewan Barkley move. But look at the roster. They need a right tackle. By the way, Evan Neal, everybody liked Evan Neal out of Bama. He was a bust. Nobody thought he would be a bust. If they get a right tackle, neighbors can stay healthy. Go look at the Giants roster. There's been a lot of good moves by Joe Shane. I don't think he's John Snyder. I don't think he's Howie Roseman. But look at the Giants roster and look at the Bill's roster. Now, I don't think

the Bill's defensive roster is that good. I think it's okay. Very okay. But the Giants have a lot of dudes. They got a lot of dudes. That roster is Scataboo and Dart and neighbors and Andrew Thomas, Abdul Carter, Burns, they got a lot of good players. Dexter Lawrence, Fibadoe, they got a lot of dudes. He drafted them, most of them. Hopefully, Abdul Carter's not sleeping in team meetings

and missing stuff this year. But I'll just, I'll go back to it. The Daniel Jones contract, the day it was signed, the ink wasn't dry, and you and I were savaging the Giants for how bad of a deal that was. Yes. That's on Joe Shane.

Yes. And then to let Sequin walk, They were a laughing stock in the league the last couple years, Colin. Well, again. Mostly because of those two moves. They overshadow everything. Again. Tibito, yeah.

They were high profile moves. Absolutely. I'm not, I'm not, that's why he's not viewed as a, you know, maybe a, you know, a less need or something. He missed on that, on that move. I'm not, but again, it is Joe Shane and Brandon B. now don't, they just can't do anything right. Buffalo's offense and the giant. defense, there are dudes everywhere and somebody's got to get

credit for it. Dayball wasn't drafting all those guys. I mean, he bought into the Jackson Dart move. Jackson Dart's better than we thought. Joe Shane had to sign off on that. Yeah, my guess is Harbaugh walks into the building and is like, you know, I like this Ruben Bain guy. That's our target in the first round. Hey, by the way, Joe, can you grab me a coffee

while you're at the printer? Grabbing some updates on Rubin Bain? Sorry, I'm a Jets fan. Come on, I got to take some shots. J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. I've got something so tasty.

I don't even want to give it away yet. I want to tease it. Greg CoSell, top of next hour, plus the 10 best players in the AFC championship. The Patriots or the Broncos have more. Coming up next, I thought everybody was outraged and enraged. But the Mets did it, and nobody's upset.

Next. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, 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. We're starting a trend. 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. 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. 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 Nasree. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night bases on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too.

Steve Nass would 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, Isaiah, 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. 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. As long as there's a politics of race in America, there's going to be a politics of remembering the Civil War. To get to school, I had to go down Robert Lee Boulevard. Get to the grocery store. I had to go down Jefferson Davis Parkway. If you're an historian and you leave out half of what the history is, you're not doing your job. I'm Akila Hughes. In Rebel Spirit, season two, goes deep on both of those things. The fights, the politics, the people who won, and my personal campaign

to add something to the Kentucky State House that's actually worth the wall space. We are more than our bodies. We contain essence. We contain spirit. How do you write? represent that. They are just fueling a fire that is really catching. You'll see what I mean. Listen to Rebel Spirit season two on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Seattle will be electric on Sunday with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. Matthew Stafford and the Rams take on Sam Darnold and the Seahawks.

The NFC Championship presented by Intuit TurboTex. Sunday at 6 Eastern 3 Pacific on Fox. I don't know if you've noticed. I certainly did. The New York Mets have been very busy this offseason. Let me read you some of their new additions, some good ball players. Bo Bichette just signed him, $126 million. Marcus Simeon, $72 million from the Rangers.

Luis Robert Jr. White Sox don't have many good players. He was one. They owe him $20 million. Jorge Polanco, $40 million. Devin Williams, three years, 51 million. Luke Weaver, 22 million. Freddie Peralta, they made that deal yesterday, gave up some minor leaguers.

Brewer's got some good minor leaguers, infielder pitcher, but they're going to have to pay in one year. Freddie Peralta, a lot of money. That's interesting, $126,000, $72,000, $40 million. Where's the outrage? Well, the owner should be furious. Because nobody spent more money the last five years than Steve Cohen, the richest owner. But you don't care because the Mets are the Mets and they'll underachieve.

It's their brand. Cody Bellinger, 150 large Yankees, also got one of the Marlins garage sale, got a good Marlins pitcher, crickets, because you don't respect their front office either. I talked about this yesterday. When I hear that Kyle Tucker acquisition by the Dodgers from the Cubs, that pushed owners over the top. Chicago couldn't wait to get him out of town. They upgraded it third and on their staff, let him go.

They complained about him for a year that he didn't care about baseball. He's the eighth best Dodger, maybe ninth if Tyler Glass knows healthy. So I look at this. Five years, Steve Cohen's been in baseball. Richest owner only made the playoff twice. so you don't care. You're not threatened by the Mets, and you're not threatened by the Yankees currently.

You used to complain a little about that hot stove thing when you had Jeter and his prime and Mariano and Bernie Williams and they were winning. Then it made you uncomfortable. Now you don't trust them. Yeah, I mean, they went and got Cody Bellinger for $162 million. Not crickets. So I've said this with the Dodgers.

Here's the chart you need to look at. The revenue and payroll percentage of revenue, a new chart. I grabbed this from 24. Yes, the Dodgers make $752 million, but they spend 73% of that $752 million. The Yankees make almost as much $728 million. They spend less than 50% of it. So what you're seeing is outside of the Mets and the Blue Jays, the Dodgers just spend a lot of their profits. Your billionaire could do it too. By the way, the Orioles, little old Baltimore, 66 million. They only spend half of it on players and talent. So the Dodgers president of baseball ops, Andrew Friedman, on this notion that they're ruining baseball.

We don't pay much attention to that because we operate within the rules. We do everything we can to put ourselves in the best position, both short term and long term. And we're not thinking about more macro things outside of that. It is about how can we win as many games and put ourselves in the best position to win a championship in 2026 without really compromising ourselves out into the future and falling off that proverbial cliff? Like, I'm not a fan of socialism, and salary caps to some degree are sport socialism. Don't you dare spend? Well, there's a lot of money in New York.

There's a lot of money in Houston. There's a lot of money in Los Angeles and San Francisco. If the Dodgers want to spend it, God love them. I mean, when I watch the Dodgers play, it's like an all-star game. I mean, to me, Toronto now. Toronto's the powerhouse economic bell cow of Canada, they're spending a ton of money and a big chunk of what they make. The owners in the Blue Jays, they could absolutely pocket it. No, they want a great baseball team.

The Orioles are good. Could they get great? They could have they spent 72% of their revenue, not 49.9%. So again, I'm more concerned about the floor. I think billionaires, there should be a limitation. There's a floor that you have to spend, $75 million a year. That's what worries me, just taking the Dodgers money and the Yankees and Steve Cohen's money, pocketing it. That would bother me.

Raise the floor. I don't care about the ceiling. L.A. is a huge economy. It's hundreds of times bigger than Cincinnati. Of course, they're going to have a better roster. So I was thinking about this. There has been, you know, I was talking to texting a GM during the Indiana game. And I said, oh, boy, that run looked a lot like Andrew Luck.

And he said, well, he's not Andrew Luck or Elway. And he's right. He's not. He's not that. I think he's better than a lot of people think. I think he's an absolute franchise quarterback. The only thing that could ruin him is possibly the Jets. And thankfully, he won't go there.

But what's interesting about Indiana, and I'm not denying that Indiana's roster this year, it is better than last year's roster. Last year that a couple guys drafted, this year they'll have the number one pick, but no other first round guys, is that the truth is this story, Signetti is getting the credit. If you didn't have Fernando Mendoza, they lose to Miami. That's not even arguable. that fourth down run by Mendoza and that fourth down pass, they lose to Miami. They lose to Penn State.

I watched that game. No other college quarterback could make the throws that kid was making against Penn State on the road. It was magical. And they probably lose to Ohio State. And what they are is a really good football team. But they're not Cinderella. They're not this. Signity, we don't fumble.

We don't drop snaps. All of that is true. They didn't have an errant snap all year. They didn't have a fumble their last 15 games. They don't drop passes. All of it's absolutely true. That doesn't make you a national champion with their roster. And even with that coach, because to win a national champion,

Chip, you have to go undefeated. At the point when they face Miami, one loss, they're not camps. I think Mendoza strangely gets, I mean, let's be honest about college football the last decade or so. There's been a lot of quarterbacks that have won Natties that have largely been carried by the roster. A Mack Jones, a Will Howard, a J.J. McCarthy, McCarthy, they're fine. But if you go look at the last six national championships, Mac Jones, Stetson Bennett twice, McCarthy, Will Howard, there's only one of those guys, only one of those guys where the team has multiple losses if he's not the quarterback. I think J.J. McCarthy, Stetson Bennett, I think

there's a lot of quarterbacks that could have taken that Michigan roster and those Georgia rosters, the natties. Nothing against Will Howard. I like Will Howard a lot. I thought he was, didn't he go to Syracuse? He was a really good play. I like him a lot. I think there are a couple quarterbacks that could have won a natty with that team.

So in all this stuff about Signetti and he is a terrific coach, let's not forget as great as Andy Reed is, he kept getting beaten the playoffs until he had Mahomes. We always look at college football. football, it's coach first. And it usually is. I think Mendoza is really special. And the reason I have compared him to Andrew Locke, and he's not the prospect of Andrew Locke, size, toughness, almost seeks out contact early in the game, late game drives, poise, humility, gratitude, great parents.

It was Kyle McCord. There we go. Will Howard was from Kansas State. Howard replaced, yeah, McCord. McCord went to Syracuse, right? I I like Kyle McCord. I like Will Howard. But I think there's other guys that could have done that. Dante Moore does not win a natty at Indiana. Nope. Ty Simpson, in my opinion, does not win a natty with this team.

I think this guy is a different grade. And maybe I'm wrong on this stuff. And I'm not in any way saying Signetti's not magical. This is a really good roster at Indiana. It's not as good as Georgia. It's not as good as Texas. Not as good as Ohio State. I'll tell you right now.

It's not as good as Miami. Miami had 45 players who are four or five stars. Indiana's got seven. Do the division. They're like one six, one seventh the roster. Urban Meyer was at that game on the sideline. He's like, he told me off air the other day, but he was like, in person, one of them looked like an NFL team. One of them looked like a good college team.

So here's Signetti on Mendoza, leading him to a title. You got the right people and anything's possible. In our particular situation, in the, the athletic world. College football's changed quite a bit, the balance of power also. But we had the right people on our staff in the weight room, in the locker room. And we had great senior leadership and togetherness. And we had a really good quarterback that played us best when the chips were down. Yeah. You go to that Miami game and that Penn State game. I'm telling you, that's a first round. That's not only a first round quarterback. That's a

number one pick. I sat on my couch. I had missed the first half. I turned into Penn State, Indiana second half. Penn State had a backup quarterback, and they were mowing up and down the field. They had more yards in Indiana that day. And Mendoza put on a cape. I mean, he put on a Mahomes cape. It was like, holy me, he was making throws. That crowds, 90,000. He was so good at that Penn State second half. It was, by the way, they could have lost to Iowa. They could have lost Ohio State. They should have lost to Miami. Miami, I thought was the better team in the second half, just Mendoza, the run.

I'm not knocking Indiana. It's a great story. But we keep talking about they don't fumble and they don't have a lot of errant snaps. It's not like Harbaugh's team fumbled a ton and had a bunch errant snaps either. I mean, like, right, like national chance. Miami's so good, they do make mistakes. Indiana can't make those mistakes. Miami Canada did all year and came with it, you know, one pick late of winning the whole thing.

J. Mack, top 10 players in the AFC championship around the corner plus Greg CoSell. Hey, can we go back to, so if, remember the whole Brady versus Belichick, who got more credit for the Patriots dynasty? Yeah, forever it was Belichick until the divorce, yeah. Yeah. So it's a little tougher with Signetti versus Mendoza. They're both great. Yeah, I don't know that there's a right answer. I mean, listen, somebody had to call the play on fourth down.

Somebody had to call the play, then Mendoza delivered, right? Yes. In the NFL, it's understood. It's 70-30. Even with a great coach, it's 65-35 quarterback over. I mean, Mahomes has proven that with Andy Reid, Breeze and Sean Payton. I mean, we know the quarterback.

He's got the ball. And by the way, we don't huddle as much. now. So you got the ball for 70 plays, not 52. Yeah. So quarterbacks have never been more valid. At the college level, it's coach first because recruiting is so much about the coach. But I'll tell you, they're not 16 and all without Mendoza. Hey, guys, it's us and the Jonas brothers.

I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it.

We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-heart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Joey Dardano, and on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with thoughtful solutions.

Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, and recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to me. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from a Hypocrite Wednesdays on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Conky, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 Podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became. one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines

ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.