The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 2 - Knicks might have a chance, thoughts on Fernando Mendoza, Nick Wright

Episode Date: March 3, 2026

Nick Wright from First Things First joins the show telling Colin why he buys the Knicks as a serious championship contender and why he’s not sold on Fernando Mendoza as franchise changing QB More on the Lakers and the rift between JJ Redick and Luka DoncicSee 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. 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. 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. Therapy is fantastic, but once again, it does not have a monopoly on healing. That's why I create the resources and that's why I create the community because I really just want you to have more access. On the podcast, Cultivating Her Space, Dr. Dom and Terry Lomax create a space where black women can show up fully and be heard. It's tough because we're suppressing our emotions and so many of us are like high-achieving individuals.

Listen to Cultivating Her Space on the IHeart Radio app. Apple Podcast, 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 podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app

by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It's hour two. Alexey Lawless is going to be showing up hour three. 100 days out from the World Cup. So I, Mike Sando, who does excellent work, he pulled four executives in the NFL. And he said, you know, forget all these mock drafts. Four executives in the NFL.

Give me your top 10. Give me your top 10 mock draft. And a couple of things just jumped out to me. Fernando Mendoza, Arvel Reese, David Bailey, Carnel Tate, who feels can't miss, a bunch of Miami guys, Mackay Lemon, the receiver, Jeremiah Love, the running back, Peter Woods, Clemson,

zero SEC guys, four NFL execs who used to fall over themselves to draft SEC guys. Zero SEC guys in the top ten. I'm telling you, the NIL has been a Netflix Uber-level disruptor. The transfer portal and the NIL, they have hurt the SEC. College basketball and college football. They don't have the money.

I mean, think about Alabama football. They have a first-round quarterback potentially, a first-round tackle offensively, and an excellent head coach, blown out by Indiana. Men's college basketball, current AP poll. Top 15. One SEC team. I mean, just let me read you the teams. ACC, Big 12, Big 10, UCon, SEC, Big 12, Big 12, Big 10, Big 10, Big 10, Big 12, Big 10, Big 10,

Gonsaga, ACC, Big 12, Big 12, Big 10, one SEC team. I mean, it is five years ago. though, we were worried about the lack of competitive balance in college sport. And I think it's funny. When the SEC was paying players, everything is rosy. Now that it's above board, we've got a real problem with college football and basketball. Now, the problem is down south. One basketball team in the top 15.

Top 10, according to Mike Sando, four NFL execs. No. best receivers, Big Ten, best back, Notre Dame, best O lineman, Utah, Miami. Wow. Joel Clat on the lack of SEC talent in the NFL draft. My job is to be the best point. Poignant Joel Clat. You know, it's something.

I mean, it was weird to watch Alabama's got a great coach, great quarterback, a great left tackle, and just gets housed by Indiana. And for the record, I thought the NIL would change college sports and make the Big Ten and the ACC more viable. I did not think it would become this. And this is nobody in the top ten. I will say I think the best corner I saw play college football this year, played at LSU. I do think they have the best corner. But, I mean, and Fernando Mendoza didn't even come from the SEC to go to Indiana.

He was at Cal, whatever conference they're in now. So it was Cal to Indiana. So again, we all knew the transfer portal and NIL would change. But it's distinct. Here is clap. In my mock 1.0, I had 10 players from the Big 10 in the first round and only nine from the SEC. That's obviously a vast difference than what we saw in the late 2018, 17, 18, 19, 19, 19. when it was just SEC littered with the SEC in the NFL.

Best running back, Notre Dame. Best wide receiver, a debate between Carnell Tate and Mackay Lemon, both from the Big Ten. So even the skill is sitting outside of that footprint, which is something that we haven't seen in a long time. And it's not going anywhere. Back to back to back to back, Natty's by, I mean, the Big Ten basketball conference and the Big 12 are a mile above the SEC this year. And if you go look at the quarterback play, next year in the Big Ten, returning quarterbacks, I've never, ever seen a singular conference was eight quarterbacks

who I think could play on Sunday, seven or eight. I mean, I think it's getting worse. I think the gap is growing. I mean, if you go look at the quarterbacks coming back to school next year in the Big Ten, it is incredible. The PAC 12 was always a quarterback conference in their best year. I mean, there was a year, was it the Nick Foles, Andrew Luck, Matt Barkley. There was a year the PAC 12 had a several, you know, I never thought Matt Barclay was a top NFL prospector, Nick Foles, Andrew Luck was. But it's like double this year in the Big Ten. With that, Nick Wright, first things first is joining us live on Tuesday. So I like Rich Paul.

I think he usually makes a lot of sense. but he said something about the JJ Redick, Luca Dantich, kerfuffle on the sideline. And I mean, it's confrontational and blowing somebody off. And JJ Redick is a, he's a, you know, he's a guy that's combative. He's going to give you his opinion.

Hey, smug. I think smug is fair. Oh, yeah, a little full of himself. I mean, we've known JJ Redick for 20 years. Yeah. He's kind of the same guy. He's been since he walked onto the Duke campus. Smart guy.

coach, you know, I don't know if I would enjoy a round of golf with him. Maybe I would, but it's, go ahead, as you were. So, Rich Paul says, very healthy. He said, coach and star conflict healthy. And I said, no, no, no, no, no, no. In the NFL, Andy Reid Travis Kelsey, now that's the football culture, right? You all need each other. The basketball culture is LeBron didn't like David Blatt. Luca didn't like Rick Carlisle. Kauai didn't like pop. KD. got his feelings hurt in Golden State. The NBA is different. Come into the league at 19, Super Max 23, 24. The coaches, I mean, Spoe and LeBron had their issues. LeBron left didn't give him a heads up. Like, I don't buy into this. Oh, it's no big deal. Do you?

Well, I don't think it's nothing. I maybe don't think it's quite as big of a deal as it appears you do. Listen, Luca annoys his coaches. Luca annoys a lot of people. His incessant, griping at the officials and kind of stubbornness in style

of play can be grading for, I think, his coaches, his management, fans of other teams. Now, it's the tax on a guy who this year, in what is universally being regarded as a down year, is going to win the

scoring title is scoring 33 a night and giving you eight rebounds, nine assists to go along with it. And so the juice is obviously worth the squeeze. I do think it is incumbent upon coaches, even young coaches like JJ, even former players like JJ to remember, I'm not allowed to be immature. The player is. It's unfair, but that's reality. Like we saw the other night, Chris Finch tell Anthony Edwards pass when you're double teamed and Anthony Edwards then got triple teamed and took the shot anyway, made it and then started screaming at Chris Finch. This is who I am. This is what I do.

And Chris Finch just kind of had to eat it in the moment and then privately they can chat. They have a great relationship because players can be emotional. Players can be immature. Coaches can't be. So I wouldn't have thought this video was a huge deal. What I like about it the least is,

and I don't know if it's going to loop one more time, the confrontation starts because Luca won't give JJ a handshake. Like if you really watch what happens here, Al Arrington point in the show yesterday, like JJ's trying to give Luca five. Luca won't do it. So Luca walks away and they go back and forth

and they're barking at each other. And then watch the end, J.J. walks away. Luca relents and puts his hand out to get right there to give him five and J.J. won't give it to him. Like, you didn't give me five, I won't give you five. And that's what got Luca going.

Now, shout out to Jared Vanderbilt for playing peacemaker. But I just don't, I think JJ cannot meet Luca's immaturity with his own. J.J. is the literal adult, the coach. He has to be, I think, better than that.

and he also has to recognize this. In this moment right now, Lukad Anjic is way better at his job than J.J. Redick is at his. Luke Adich is one of the handful of very greatest players in the league, even with his flaws. J.J. Reddick has not earned that distinction yet. Yeah. Don't you think, you know, everybody, J.MAC thinks I'm constantly hating,

but LeBron is older, but that said, he played well immediately with Austin Reeves. He actually was the best teammate AD's ever had. He worked with Kooky J.R. Smith. Kyrie Irving was kind of a broken brand in Cleveland before LeBron got there. I mean, Dwayne Wade and LeBron never really fed, but it worked. LeBron works with everybody. It's like salt in a kitchen.

It's good on everything. And my take is, yet, when LeBron and Luke are on the floor, together, it's the Lakers' worst tandem. Doesn't that give you a little pause on that Jalen Brunson becomes a star when he leaves him? LeBron's struggling to make it worse work. Doesn't that give you some pause with Luca? I do. It does give me some pause. However, not enough to overwhelm the fact that I saw this guy be, in my opinion, in the discussion for best player alive and carry an underwhelming team to the finals. Now, it does, not long ago, a year and a half ago, he's in the finals with, again, Kyrie's a really good player, but not a superstar, and it was role

players. What is definitionally true is, Luca is not easy to build around. You need specific archetypes of players to build around him. Yes. And to me, what is such a shame of the Lakers squandering last year, their first year with Luca, and this year is the reason they didn't have the right pieces, the right players to put around Luca Donchich, is because they didn't have the right pieces to put around LeBron James, because it's the same type of player.

Who do you need for old LeBron James? defenders and three-point shooters. Who do you need for young Luca Donchich? Defenders and three-point shooters, and they didn't get him. And so he is not an easy of a fit to plug into a team as Kevin Durant. Like Kevin Durant just drop on any team.

He's going to take his 17 shots. He's going to score his 27 points. It's going to be awesome. Luca is different. What has surprised me is this, Colin. LeBron this year career low in usage rate. That's not surprising. He's 41.

He's in year 23. This would be the Luca. Before the year, I said, folks, there's going to be a gap. LeBron and Luca. Luca's going to take over the offense. So LeBron doesn't have the ball that much. And that part's fine. LeBron being at his career low makes sense.

What doesn't make sense is Luca's usage rate this year with the Lakers is higher. than any year of his career with the Mavs. So it doesn't make sense that Luca with LeBron, who is no longer one of the 10 best players in league, but still one of the 20 best players, and Austin Reeves coming on, that Lucas actually has a higher usage rate than he had when he was playing Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington.

That is confusing and confounding and not ideal for the Lakers' path forward. One of the things that's always been true in the NBA, and as I was watching the Spurs and the Knicks on Sunday, I watched the whole game. And one of the things that's always been true is if you're a talented team that doesn't have a title, you play harder in the regular season. And then once you get the title, like an Oklahoma City last year or a Celtics team, you know, a little different vibe.

That Bulls team with Derek Rose, you know, they played like it was game seven of the finals all regular season. So I'm watching the Knicks. Their net rating, I think, leads the league. They play very good defense against. kind of worn down San Antonio team, but I still see a completely flawed team that will get to the postseason and you can hunt their two best stars. Jalen and Kat, you can just go after them. Or do you think there's something, there's a secret sauce, Mike Brown, it's different because right now, this is about as well as they have played in the last two to three years.

Yeah, I mean, I think that they have to be, I was actually at this Nick Spurs game, and it looked like the spurs were going to blow them out of the water. They were up, I think, 22 to 7 early. And then the Knicks just hit an onslaught for the next hour, and the game was over. I do really like this Knicks team. I think it makes sense the way it's built. If your two best stars, one is going to be undersized in Jalen Brunson, the other is going to be a defensive liability in Kat.

If those are going to be your two leading scores, then you must have. build the exact type of supporting cast they built. They built with OG, with Hart, with Mikhail Bridges, Mitchell Robinson, length and defense on the wings, a good backup center. I like the addition of Alvarado. I do think that they are more likely to use their depth this year with Mike Brown

than they did with Tibbs. And so I do, the team makes sense, and the East does feel wide open. I think Detroit is really good and Detroit has dominated the Knicks this regular season. Go ahead. Detroit's a very limited half-court offense. They don't have a dependable great second score.

You know in the playoffs, when you can just basically drop a game plan for five games against Kate Cunningham, you know there's a ceiling with Detroit. That's what worries me. Maybe it wouldn't be quite as adamant as you, but Detroit, it worries me a little bit like Houston did last year, where it's like, man, there's a really good team having a great season, but can you trust him to go get a bucket in a seven-game series repeatedly other than Cade? I don't know. So at Cleveland, I don't trust at all. And then there's Boston, which if Jason Tatum, I believe, is coming back soon. If Jason Tatum is even 80% of Jason Tatum by the playoffs,

they're the team to beat in the East. But right after them is New York. And because Tatum's coming off an injury, I think the Knicks are a very live threat to make their first finals this century, which would be awesome. And then, listen, going into the finals last year, I don't think anybody thought Indiana had a shot. They find themselves in game seven with a lead before Halliburton goes down. You make the finals, you can win the title. Yeah. I got about five questions I could ask you here. And I got one more. Fernando Mendoza met with Matt Hasselbeck this weekend

and he said, I know I'm a goober. And Hasselbeck said, you know, I played with Andrew Locke, just lean into being a nerd. And Mendoza is a funny player. Like,

I talked about this earlier. Cameron Boozer is not flashy. Either is Cade Cunningham. there's a lot of guys in the NBA that aren't flashy, but they're really winning players. Camingas flashy. John's flashy. John's flashy. Like in the NBA, the culture, flash sells.

Like, I totally get it. Fans wear their favorite basketball players gear. So you're more loyal to a player, even if Zach Levine doesn't win games. In football, there does feel like there's this reality. It's that a lot of the great quarterbacks are kind of nerds, are kind of. are kind of not cool. How do you land with Mendoza? You don't love college football, but you watch a lot of sports. What do you make of the nerd thing? I don't think it would play. I remember when Adam Morrison came into the NBA out of Gonzaga. I remember a GM telling me he will not fit in the

locker room. He's just too odd. But it doesn't seem to matter in football. No, listen, if the quarterback's great, then I don't think it really matters. I think luck is a good comp. I think there, you know, it worked until it didn't. for Russell Wilson, who has a unique personality. You know what I mean? Nobody cared so much as long as he was still a really good player. So my concern Mendoza is less about, you know, his column, very unique interview style and all of that. And it's more this.

If we were to take Colin, all of the quarterbacks taken in the top 10 in the last, five years, where would he stack up? And that's where I fear, like, that this is, he is the number one quarterback kind of by default. Like, is he a better prospect than, you know, Caleb, Drake, Jaden, no. So he's, in that class, he's at best fourth. He's not better than Herbert or Burrell either. Oh, no, and that's going back even further. He might be a better end up a better player. He's not a better prospect than Trevor. But I think we can go.

I don't know that he is, I do think he's a better prospect than Cam Ward was, who also felt a little bit by default, you know, the number one pick of the draft. And so it is, I look at him as he would make a ton of sense. as the third quarterback off the board and the 12th pick of the draft. But because it's a quarterback draft where Ty Simpson is going to go, is the second quarterback, he's the number one quarterback by a mile. And that's, again, not putting a ceiling on what he can be. You know, your guy, Bo Nix, I didn't see it at all.

He's had an awesome two years. A lot of people love J.J. McCarthy. He's fighting for his job. So I'm not saying it's definitive on what he'll be, but this is not to me the type of number one pick where it's like, man, how lucky did the Raiders get? It's more like, okay, you might have your guy. That's where I land on Mendoza. Hey, any World Cup story that, listen, it's on our soil. I think it's going to be on. It's the most since I was a kid. When I'm sold that when soccer started, the best player we had was Kyle Rote Jr. who was like more of a football player,

but he was the best guy, and he loves soccer, and so, you know, and then we got into, you know, Clint Dempsey, Alexi Lawless, Landon Donovan, and now we're at a point with Christian Pulisic.

No, we got real players. Yeah, well, we have strikers. We have goal scores that play internationally. So I do think we're a top 12-ish.

Maybe we're better than that on home soil. What is your thought on the World Cup? So that, listen, if you can tell from my setup behind me, we're really, You know, we're 100 days out for the World Cup and our set looks like it. We do have Chris Richards on the show later today. So I'll give you one U.S. take and one outside of the U.S. take for kind of storyline is 100 days out.

For the U.S., this is the way fans should look at it. They are going to get out of the group stage, particularly because this year with the expanded field, it's 32 teams make it out of the group stage instead of fewer as the way it used to be. so it would be a catastrophe not to make it out of the group stage. They'll make it out of the group stage. The goal should be, let me rephrase it, the expectation should be make it to the final 16, and the hope should be make the first quarter final in my adult life. You said they're around the 10th to 12th best team in the world.

That's about right. Can you play a little above your seed because it's at home and get to the final eight and set up the biggest American soccer game in 32 years? That would be, that to me is a realistic hope. Anything past that is gravy and anything short of the final 16 is a disappointment. And if somehow they were to not make it out of the group stage, it's an utter travesty. But I don't think that's going to happen. So that's for the U.S. and for the world at large, Spain is a deserving favorite.

And you have arguably two of the three greatest soccer players ever in Messi and Ronaldo. Four years ago, I don't think anybody thought either one of them would be playing in this tournament. They're both playing, assuming help, both of their teams, particularly Messies, the defending champ, have a legit shot. So all of that with my own personal storyline of, you talked about your life growing up watching soccer. My life growing up watching soccer was, who's going to get to lose to Brazil? Because Brazil's just the best. And the last 20 years, Brazil has been wildly disappointing in this tournament. They have only made one deep run and it ended in a 7 to 1 loss in the semifinals.

Brazil's talented enough to change that this year. year, I wonder if they do. So there's my little World Cup primer, which I am super into. You always preface, you'll kind of undersell my college football affinity because I'm not a nerd like you. I like college football, but I love the World Cup. And so I'm super excited. No, it's going to be unbelievable. It just, it just, June is usually a dead time for our business.

It is going to be the biggest June of our lives, certainly at Fox. Oh. Speaking of Fox stuff, can I give you one other plug? How about this? What a great, if I can pat myself on the back. Company man, I am. Guess where I'm going this weekend, Colin? Now, is it to cover the event? Maybe. Do I just happen to be there? No way to tell. But I'll be in Tokyo for the World Baseball Classic. I'm going to go to some games. Go to some WBC games. I'll be a man on the ground for first things first. You always joke our show with an unlimited budget. We're sitting in a correspondence. responded to Tokyo to watch Japan take on South Korea round one of the world baseball classic how about that? I'm impressed I will tell you I'm bitter at your unlimited budget

but I'm impressed it'll be good seeing you buddy World Baseball Classic Yeah I was just I mean it's it's You know when you watch the hockey team Which everybody but sports writers loved in America Men's and Women's And then you watch the World Baseball Classic

And then you get guys like KD are like, yeah, I want to play for the country. As much as everybody's like, you know, these athletes, these pro athletes, these guys care. Otani's there and Bryce Harper's going to be there. It's going to be fantastic. 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, 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? 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... 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.

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. What's up, fam? This Isaiah Thomas.

And I'm C.J. Tolodano and our podcast. podcast point game is about defining 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 while 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. You get your podcasts. This week on Crimless, we're joined by our first ever guest. Sorry, our first ever human guest. I don't think I could be in the same room with Shamrock the pair.

I'd be too nervous. That's right. The very funny, Will Ferrell joins Rory Scovel and me, Josh Dean, for an episode dedicated to the many crimes committed by people also named Will Ferrell. They called to his fellow officer for the nippers. What are the nippers? Very good question. No, I was thinking, would that be a good name for like a salad dressing?

Simple assault. And it's a play on word, salt? Maybe not. I say we invest and we see. There's only one way to know. This did not amuse the cops. By the way, normally the cops are amused, but this did not abuse the cops. Will even comes clean about some of his own crimes.

I didn't get caught. You know why? If you don't want to be suspected of anything, you whistle as you walk. Listen to crime lists on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What would you eat if you had to start over? Real simple, poor man's, poor woman's food. Black beans, chicken, rice, plantains. That's all, that's poor people's food, man.

But be in Nigeria, and that's, come on, a go-to. On the podcast eating while broke, I sit down with celebrities, entrepreneurs, and creators as they revisit the meals they once relied on in the moments that shaped their journey. named Best Food Podcast at the 2006 I Heart Podcast Awards. This show is all about real conversations on money, growth, and what it really takes to make it. It was times where me and Lex were, like,

definitely getting into it. Because we're not making any money. Like, I need to start making money. Like, why are we doing this? But I don't know. I think we just always knew that we had something really good. And eventually people were going to catch on. And so we just thugged it out.

The full season is available to binge. Right now. Listen to Eating While Broke from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Alexi Lawless last hour. Great to have Nick write in today. Journalist JMAQ with the News. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the Heard Line News.

I do prefer journalists to hot take artists, which I get occasionally. Well, you know, you used to work at the big league. You were very journalism-aid. I didn't just work there, friend. I started the damn company and sold it. Anyways, let's start with the NFL draft. Colin and this Fernando Mendoza, overwhelming favorite status at the number one pick.

But interestingly, listen, you're going to find doubters out there. So, of course, your favorite outlet, the athletic, found a veteran offensive line coach who has doubts about Mendoza saying, are you ready for this, Colin? I don't think he's sure fire at all. I like the Alabama guy better. So we have one guy, a veteran offensive line coach. That's why he's not an O.C.

I should not. I don't know who the guy is. But like that seems a little goofy. Well, I just love to hear more than like, hey, Ty Simpson was great the first eight games. I will say the thing I like about Ty Simpson, he's probably a little more athletic. He's less stiff. He's a better athlete probably than Fernando Mendoza. The second thing is that when you have Nick Sabin into Kalin-de-Bore,

you've had very good coaching and the Alabama team was not very good. Running game, none. I mean, that's the thing about Alabama. Defense, they had to win a lot of games by shootout. I mean, you watched Alabama. Kalin DeBore won everywhere he was at. He went to Washington and the guy was a magician with Washington's talent.

What does it tell you that he goes to Alabama? It's not that the SEC's great. SEC's weaker today than it was five years ago. Why couldn't he win in Alabama? So Ty Simpson, did not play with as many good players, arguably, as Mendoza. You know, Alabama quarterbacks, over the last 15 years, we always go, well, anybody could win there.

Right? A couple of guys, you know, won natties, and you're like, you know, A.J. McCarron-ish. This is not that Alabama team. They had no run game. So he really, early in the season, I thought was really good. At the end of the season, it kind of, you know, just watered down. It didn't look great. But they were banged up, and they had no run game.

So he's not your typical Bama quarterback that did it with five star guys everywhere. Bama's just not that good. Yeah, I agree with a lot of that. And, you know, sometimes end of the season, it's similar to a batting order, right? The pitcher has seen the batters, or the batterers have seen the pitchers, and they catch up to him later in the game, right? So was it a situation where they saw Ty Simpson early in the season and caught up to him late? And defense has started bottling him up?

I don't know. Like you said, there were some injuries. But I will say this. So I do a lot of, you know, March Madness stuff. posted online. And you can tell by the numbers historically which teams are going to have success in March. Okay? You can tell in the NFL draft, Colin, which teams and which quarterbacks are going to do well. The history says, quarterbacks that only started one season have not thrived in the NFL. Period. There's no question. Go and find them. There aren't many. And Ty Simpson was only a

one-year starter. He got beat out by Jalen Milrow. I forget who the other quarterback was before that. So did Simpson just cook last year for a little bit as an older quarterback against young 18 and 19 year olds? Well, no, I think the scarcity of starts is there's 100%. That's a big thing. People forget Joe Burrow transferred. Before his great year, he had a pretty solid year, not spectacular. 100%. And the SEC was better, deeper, thicker, more NFL bodies, at least defensively then.

So Burrow had two years of starting in the SEC. you just didn't watch the first one. If you watched it, I think he was like, like straight up mediocre, like 15 touchdowns, 10 picks, something along those lines. And then he just exploded and became like the greatest quarterback in college football history for a season. I think he set a bunch of records, didn't he? Well, that team stacked at one of the toughest schedules ever and bulldozed through it. Yeah, unbelievable stuff.

All right, let's stay in the NFL. Go to Mike McDaniel, the new Chargers offensive cordial. Well, we had a guest on the show yesterday, Rahim Moster, who played three seasons for McDaniel in Miami. I won't talk about what we talked about here privately yesterday regarding McDaniel. But here's what he said on air about his former head coach. Head coach-wise, obviously, you know, the past couple of years, what they've been going through has just been, you know, kind of rough. And I kind of feel bad for the players, you know, just because, you know, when you have a coach that is so, you know, player-feworthy. friendly. It doesn't really mix all that well.

You know what I mean? Look at the coaching history, not in just in the NFL, but you know, MLB, NBA, you know, all these different, these sports franchises, they, they have coaches that implement toughness, resilience, you know, and that's something

that he kind of missed a mark on. I thought that was brutally forthcoming and honest yesterday. He just laid it out there is that we weren't a tough team, we weren't a resilient team, we were clever, and that's, that That has always been the question when you hire a coordinator. It's, you know, obviously if you get a head coaching job, Todd Monkin may not work, but he succeeded at the coordinator level.

But to be a head coach, you know, think about this. When you're a position coach, you're often, you know, you're a friend of the player. When you're a coordinator, you're a supporter of the player. When you're a head coach, you coached coaches. And so a lot of these, you know, you have a different relations. a players coach, a lot of times you're really, you're the sounding board for the player. Like the players getting beat up by the head coach and the coordinator, you're the sounding board. You're their guy.

You're their ally. And I think Mike McDaniel is a really good position or coordinator, but I'm not sure he can be the heavy. In Miami, he wasn't because we saw it last year. There were multiple reports that came out like not holding players accountable. So there's a fine line between. like the players fearing you and respecting you. And that fear thing, it works. Yeah, it's, you know, being a coordinator is one thing, like you said,

and then being the guy as head coach much more difficult. Reminds me a little of the Cliff Kingsbury saga. Remember in Arizona? Hey, great as a coordinator. As a head coach, I know you're down on it. I believe the only way to find out if you're going to be a head coach is to be a head coach. McDaniel had a shot. They got to the playoffs twice.

Kingsbury had a shot, got to the playoffs. I'm a believer that those are young guys, they should get another crack. I don't think like, oh, three years, boom, you're done, it's over. Do you think McDaniel will be a head coach again? That's a good question. I think if you had an established team with a quarterback that just needed, like an older quarterback that needed an ally, maybe it works. But I don't know.

I mean, I was surprised Brian Flores. he has a lawsuit, you know, against the NFL. I was surprised he didn't get a job. I don't know. Like, I've said this before about Cliff Kingsbury. I like Cliff. But the book is out. He in Arizona and in college didn't want to be the heavy.

Like some coaches just want to cut the player, get rid of the player. They don't like that. The fissures in relationships. Well, that's the league. That's pro sports. Players have never had more leverage and been richer. You're going to have confrontation just part of the game. So you want to hear the craziest thing I heard?

It's not that crazy. But since we started talking about Kingsbury and guys who were an offensive coordinator. So he's now with the Rams. Do you know what his title is? Assistant head coach. He's not the offensive coordinator. Cliff Kingsbury is the assistant head coach of the Rams.

So as the story goes, someone mentioned to me, well, what if McVeigh and Stafford win a Super Bowl and McVeigh says, I'm out? I don't know. I want to hand it to Cliff Kingsbury, who was just my assistant head. head coach watched me as the head coach for a year. He went to USC for a year and just did kind of the same thing. Keep an eye on staff, but didn't have to do the heavy stuff. He just worked with Caleb.

So I think Kingsbury is like assistant to the head coach. That may be his jam. That may be what he does. Well, for this year. We'll see what happens next year. We'll see. But float back to your boy, less need. Let me know what he says. Final story. Let's go to Adam Schifter reporting that Kenneth Walker is not expected to get the franchise tag from Seattle, meaning he will become an unrestricted free agent starting on March 11th. Walker would be just the fourth player to win Super Bowl MVP

and start the next season with a following team. This feels like a Jeopardy question. The other three, Larry Brown, the cornerback, Desmond Howard, the wide receiver special teams guy, and then Dexter Jackson, who I think was a cornerback as well. Not a surprise to you, Kenneth Walker, going to be elsewhere next year? Listen, I worry about Clint Kubiak and Kenneth Walker not being part of it.

But I do think there's a reality in Charbonnet. The backup's fine. They've got another running back they're okay with. Yeah, I mean, I think he's a, I think he was perfect for Seattle and had a great playoff run. But in fairness, I liked him out of Michigan State. In fairness, he was, he's very good after contest. He's a bit of a bulldozer, not a blocker, not a pass catcher, a little bit of a one-dimensional back.

And I think it's probably the right move going forward because Seattle's got tough decisions. And what you don't want to do is judge his playoff run as his career. He's been hurt a lot as a running back. He is a home run hitter, though. I'll say he's the big play guy. Charbonnet's not as explosive as Kenneth Walker. He's 25, turns 26 in October. There's some chatter about the New York giant.

is a potential landing spot as kind of a thunder and lightning with Cam Scataboo. Scatabotabot. I haven't heard any other teams, but I think there's going to be demand for Walker. You need two backs now. We've talked about this a lot. Yeah, that's a good question, Jason. There is a mark. Obviously, there is a market for him.

But Snyder is a very good GM. If Snyder lets him go, that will create pause with some other teams. Like, well, he's letting him go. But again, I think he fits with somebody on a rookie. deal. What about D.K. Metcalf? Remember, they let him go. People were like, whoa, whoa, whoa.

But I mean, who's a, like, you know, I'll give you an example. Who is a team with a young or inexpensive quarterback? You know, Pittsburgh could be with Aaron Rogers. What about Denver? If you're Denver, that's a, that's interesting. Harvey and Kenneth Walker is pretty interesting. Cam Ward, go grab him in Tennessee. I'll help him Cam Ward in the backfield.

I mean, there's options because Sala has seen Walker. He knows what he can do. I think there's a market for Walker. Bigger market than Kyler Murray, but that's another time. Yeah, good discussion. J-Mac with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Herd Lie News. In Chicago, it's The Herd. Want more Herd? The Herd streams 24 hours a day seven days a week within the I-Hard Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news.

What's the news, huge news? We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a... 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. 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. 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 every. 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 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, IZAD,

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 week on Crimless, we're joined by our first ever guest. Sorry, our first ever human guest. I don't think I could be in the same room with Shamrock the pair. I'd be too nervous.

That's right. The very funny Will Ferrell joins Rory Scovel and me, Josh Dean, for an episode dedicated to the many crimes committed by people also named Will Ferrell. They called to his fellow officer for the nippers. What are the nippers? Very good question. No, I was thinking, would that be a good name for like a salad dressing? Simple assault.

And it's a play on word, salt? Maybe not. I say we invest and we see. There's only one way to know. This did not amuse the cops. By the way, normally the cops are amused, but this did not abuse the cops. Will even comes clean about some of his own crimes. I didn't get caught.

You know why? If you don't want to be suspected of anything, you whistle as you walk. Listen to Crime List on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What would you eat if you had to start over? Real simple, poor man's, poor woman's food. Black beans, chicken, rice, plantains. Yeah. That's poor people's food, man.

But be in Nigeria, and that's, come on, a go-to. On the podcast eating while broke, I sit down with celebrities, entrepreneurs, and creators, as they revisit the meals they once relied on. moments that shaped their journey, named Best Food Podcast at the 2006 I Heart Podcast Awards. This show is all about real conversations on money, growth, and what it really takes to make it. It was times where me and Lex were, like, definitely getting into it. Because we're not making any money. Like, I need to start making money.

Like, why are we doing this? But I don't know. I think we just always knew that we had something really good. And eventually people were going to catch on. And so we just thugged it out. The full season is available to be. binge right now listen to eating while broke from the black effect podcast

network on the iHeart radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast in just 100 days the biggest tournament on the planet comes to America and you can see it all right here on Fox get ready for the 2006 FIFA World Cup it all kicks off

June 11th on Fox and FS1 fired up so I you know now J-Mack and Nick Wright think I'm being a bit of a fire starter, but I just think it's an interesting conversation where you know, Rick Carlisle, an excellent coach now with the Pacers and Luca did not get along. And Jalen Brunson, who's now a star in New York, the Red Hot Knicks, and Luca didn't see eye to eye. And it's pretty clear that JJ Reddick, according to some video we saw Saturday night,

and Luca don't always I mean, it can be confrontational. So again, over the last 10 days, people are now acknowledging there is a trend. Rick Harlow gets along with a lot of people. Couldn't get along with Luca. Brunson exploded once he left Luca. LeBron, who plays well with everybody,

doesn't necessarily a year in play well with Luca. J.J. Reddick, confrontation, right there with Luca, constantly Luca berating the officials. So here was Nick Wright earlier on the Luca JJ Reddick incident. It is incumbent upon coaches, even young coaches like JJ, even former players like JJ, to remember, I'm not allowed to be immature the player is. It's unfair, but that's reality. JJ cannot meet Luca's immaturity with his own.

JJ is the literal adult, the coach. He has to be, I think, better than that. And he also has to recognize this. In this moment, right now, Luk Adanjic is way better at his job than J.J. Redick is at his. Yeah. And I do think, though, as I stated earlier, the basketball culture and football culture are different.

Football, Brady's yelling at Josh McDaniels. I mean, Peyton Manning's barking at Jeff Saturday. Bo Nix and Sean Payton. I mean, what do they have, four dustups this year? Five in the last couple of years. There's the Andy Reed, Travis Kelsey. This is just part of the football culture. There's an intensity on game day, one game a week.

It gets loud and there's volume and it's confrontational. And it's all good within minutes. Basketball, once the star is not happy. Katie, not happy with Steve Kerr, the GM, Bob Myers, maybe, Draymond Green splits. LeBron and Spoh, LeBron and David Blatt, Kawai and Pop. You know, the player wins. And with the new CBA, the star players make so much money, they've never had more power. So, you know, people that you don't like Luca, there's no question he's gifted.

But this idea that he was a liability-free, I mean, we got much. Multiple, the GM in Dallas struggled with him. Carlisle struggled with him. LeBron and he don't necessarily play well. The officials and Luca, it's a, I mean, it's an obnoxious. It's just something. That's all. I mean, it's just something.

All right. We're good. That's my favorite coward move. I don't know what it is. I, maybe it's something. Meanwhile, you're over here lighting the match and throwing it at the gasoline tank to just try. Listen, we both. This is why you're good, man.

We both love the NBA playoffs, and it's going to be very, very engaging. You know how insufferable I'll be when the Lakers win that first round series? Oh, boy. No, I wouldn't hold your breath on that. 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 an ass 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 crying. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game,

Kevin, Mark keep coming to, 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. Therapy is fantastic. But once again, it does not have a monopoly on healing. That's why I create the resources and that's why I create the community because I really just want you to have more access.

On the podcast, cultivating her space, Dr. Dom and Terry Lomax create a space where black women can show up fully and be heard. It's tough because we're suppressing our emotions and so many of us are like high achieving individuals. Listen to cultivating her space on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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.