The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 2 - More on the Bills hiring Joe Brady as their HC, what teams should look for in a head coach, Nick Wright

Episode Date: January 27, 2026

Nick Wright from First Things First joins the show questioning the Bills decision to make Joe Brady their head coach and breaking down the Seahawks-Patriots match up in Super Bowl LX Nothing wrong with hiring an older NFL coach IF that coach can think "young"See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. For listening to Fox Sports Radio. Welcome in. It is hour two. Nick right around the corner, we have a lot to talk about today. The Buffalo Bills have officially hired their offensive coordinator, Joe Brady. He's a young guy. He'd interviewed for a couple of jobs. I, you know, I talked about this to start last hour. There are certain hires in the NFL that are absolutely obvious when the Broncos went from Nat Hackett to Sean Payton. You knew I knew. I knew. knew that was going to be an upgrade. When the Chargers went Brandon Staley to Jim Harbaugh, you knew and I knew, that was an absolute upgrade. You know, sometimes when you've got a young hot shot coach, McVeigh, Mike McDonald, D'Amico Ryan's, Ben Johnson, it's very, very promising, right?

You, Ben Johnson had been the hot coordinator for years. Matt Eber Fluse was struggling. The league had pivoted to an offensive league. but my takeaway on this hire is whenever you hire like for instance Kevin Stefansky and Cleveland got fired but it was, it did feel like they they kind of Stafansky came in

Ivy League graduate this is going to work better than the previous guys Freddie Kitchens Greg Williams ask yourself this is Joe Brady a better coach than Sean McDermott? A, I don't know and B I don't

think so. That's not to say it's not going to work, but the Steelers hired Mike McCarthy. Why? Mike is a Pittsburgh guy and it makes them comfortable. Joe Brady is hired because he makes them comfortable and he's worked with Josh Allen. And I'm not saying it's not going to work. I mean, with Josh Allen, St. Mahomes, you're going to win some games, right? Like, it's just you're going to win some games if the coaching is competent. But the golden rule is most of the time when you see Vrabel replacing Gerard Mayo. Peyton Nat Hackett. You can see the obvious stuff that's going to work.

And then you get this really hot coordinator that everybody, Mike McDonald, wants. Jesse Minter qualifies as that this cycle. Jesse Minter, like Ben Johnson's been the hottest young coach on the market for two or three years. My guess is Jesse Minter, Baltimore is going to win a lot of games. Ben Johnson, Chicago, we all felt like major upgrade. So even if you haven't been a head coach, are you the hot coach on the cycle? And my take here is, I don't know he's a better coach than Sean McDermott. Maybe he is.

I don't know. Nick Wright, I know he's got a strong opinion. Host of First Things First is joining us live. Yeah, it's, I mean, I, it's one of those. I mean, what do you feel? So I don't get it at all in the context of that press conference. conference last week with Pagula. And here's why. Two points were made by the bill's owner, seemingly unrelated to each other, but totally related to this specific hire.

Point one, the team, I wasn't planning on firing Sean McDermott, but when I saw the utter devastation in the locker room, I felt like the team needed a fresh voice. Yeah. Like that they, they just too many devastating losses. Right. And you, You can argue with that logic or not, but that's what he said the reasoning for it was. So to me that screams, you're bringing in someone from the outside, someone who is not scarred from the devastating losses that has not had a hand in the devastating losses. So that's the first point that to me makes this odd. The other seemingly unrelated point is, oddly, about Keon Coleman.

the owner of the team jumps in, he's like, let me be very clear. Keon, who's still in the roster, was not RGM's pick. He was the coaching staff's pick and putting, being like, those dope screwed that up. Who on the coaching staff, Colin, do you think would have the loudest say on which wide receiver to pick? The defensive-minded head coach or the offensive-minded coach? or the offensive coordinator. It's Joe Brady.

So the one, like, drive-by in the press conference was on Kiongallman where they laid it at the feet of the coaching staff, which I think means Joe Brady, even though they were trying to put it on McDermott, but why would McDermott have a super strong opinion about which receiver to take? It'd be the coordinator. And the other one was the team just needed a deep cleansing bath

after a half decade of playoff defeats, but they bring in the same guy. So, again, that doesn't mean he won't be a good. good head coach, but it is weird, and it does make me feel like the bills are not the best run operation, and maybe McDermott was covering up more than we thought. Yeah. Well, you know I'm happy that Sam Donald made the Super Bowl and that he played his best game as a pro, probably in the biggest spot. I know. I'm happy for you, buddy. I'm happy for you. You were the only one. No one can say no one saw this coming. No one believed in him. We all.

have to say no one saw this coming except for coward no one believed in him except for like you're the one guy so congrats but go ahead um i i will say this um that i never knew if sam was good enough to win a super bowl i always argued he's way too good not to win games like i'm not i'm not saying you know i mean it's funny in that quarterback draft class lamar Allen, Baker, Darnold. And I said this. What we learned this year, Nick, hire the best or hottest young coach on the coaching market,

Vrable, Payton, Mike McDonald, McVeigh. Either do that. That'll get you. That helps win your division. Secondly, if you have a star quarterback, it's got to be team friendly. Donald has been last two years a star team friendly, Stafford pretty team friendly.

And so everybody thinks, This is sort of a one-off. And my take is Joe Brady and Josh Allen at $56 million. Lamar Jackson wants a new contract. Could I not argue that this Darnold thing is not a one-off? Is that if you look at their roster full of kids they don't pay, Sam Darnold is going to make more Super Bowls going forward than Lamar and Josh Allen. More going forward is very interesting.

Well, he's already the only one to make one. And it is, listen, there have been three quarterback classes. ever, Colin, where you had at least three quarterbacks from those classes win 50 or more games. 83 with Elway, Marino, Jim Kelly, that quarterback class made 10 Super Bowls. Wow. Oh, 4 with Eli, Rivers, and Big Ben. That quarterback class made five Super Bowls. Rivers obviously didn't.

And 2018, where four guys have won 50-plus games, Baker, Josh, Lamar and Sam, and Sam is now the only one to make the Super Bowl. And going into the year, Colin, I picked it didn't be in dead wrong, Baker to be the one to make the Super Bowl based on a lot of the same logic. He is going to give you franchise-level quarterback play at a good but not overwhelming salary, and you're going to be able to have all this talent. We know the cleanest path to the Super Bowl over the last 20 years is the one the Patriots are writing right now. Get a draft a quarterback, get him up to franchise quarterback level while on the rookie contract.

Yeah. After that, it gets tricky. Yeah. And it does look like that the second best path might be get a guy who had been cast aside, get him back up to a level or a level. he's never been, pay him more than a rookie, but not what the top guys make. I mean, it's a short list of guys who were making franchise quarterback salaries and made Super Bowls much less multiple. Mahomes obviously did it a number of times. Stafford, his first year in Los Angeles did it. I think Brady, one of his years in New England, but it's not

a lot of instances. When Burrow made it he wasn't making any money, it asks a lot of the quarterback, and I do wonder what this means for Josh and Lamar, especially because I think Lamar is going to try, and he deserves it, to become the highest paid player in league history this offseason. I think that's really tough. Yeah. I said the one thing we know to be true is coaches in these big games, especially when there's time off before the big game. They love to try to motivate their players.

when Miami played the national championship against Indiana, and I mean, I said on the air, Miami has heard now for over a week, you have no chance to beat Indiana. I said they're going to play with their hair on fire. They've got more NFL players. They're going to bloody Indiana's lip. It's going to be a good game. The first quarter, they literally bloodied the lip of Mendoza.

They were late hitting. You could tell their whole thing was, you don't think we belong here. So Brady's run, the dynasty started as a 14-point big. dog to a much more popular team that was more fun to watch. Great a show on turf. I said this yesterday. New England's a five-point dog. Everybody thinks Seattle's going to crush him.

I think New England and Vrable, he is going to sell them on this for two weeks. It's that everybody wanted McVeigh first, Seattle second, and nobody cared about the AFC. I think the Super Bowl is a field goal Super Bowl. I think it's going to be incredibly well coached. I think it's go either way. I'm in the minority. Where are you on it?

Well, listen, I agree with you that I think New England obviously could can win. And I feel like Vrable would have had more legitimate, you know, everybody, nobody's picking us ammunition. Had they been playing the Rams, even if the point spread was a half point smaller, because there would have been a general sentiment of, oh, we know Stafford and McVeigh can do it. I think what's going to be tough to sell the Pats players on nobody believes in us is even though it has not played out this postseason, most people believe the Patriots have the better quarterback in the game.

And the people who don't pick Seattle are going to say, as great as he was in the NFC championship game, I don't know if I trust Sam Darnold. That's not necessarily how I feel about it, but I just think it's going to be hard to sell the true nobody believes in a story for the Pats. What I find so interesting and why the Pats are scary is they have gotten to this game

and their quarterback hasn't played well once this postseason. And so I am, I get a little annoyed when some of the Pats, apologists, fans, co-hosts of first things first, Kevin Wilds, not naming names, you know, talk about, man, look at these great defenses we've had to go through. That is impressive, beating the Chargers,

the Texans, and the Broncos. Yeah. But those great defenses have looked like great defenses to the tune of Drake May, putting up identical numbers en route to the playoffs as Trent Dilford did in route to his Super Bowl. So, like, that part of it, but I know how good.

Drake May is, I know that he can pop off for a huge game. My 12 days out, gut feeling on this game is, if the Pat's O line holds up, I think they win. If the Pat's O line has the issues it has had in every round of the playoffs, I think Seattle wins, and maybe it could get, I don't want to say it could get ugly, but we've seen Drake may be loose with the ball. I know Will Campbell didn't allow a sack this past week. He has struggled every game since coming back from injury. I think that Seattle D-line has been their not-so-secret weapon all year, and that to me is the matchup that'll decide it.

But I also do like for the pet side of it that Vrable has been in Super Bowls but hasn't coached in them, had the Rams won. McVeigh and Stafford have been there. They know the rhythm. They know all of it. Mike McDonald is a Super Bowl rookie. as well, so there's not the edge there. So I think that helps the pads more so than if the Rams had won.

So I'm going to lay this out because I have always said I prefer man analytics over analytics, but I do buy that in baseball, for instance, strikeouts don't matter, just don't hit ground balls. I do believe that over the course of a regular season, three-point shots are better than two, although when you get to the playoffs, I think it becomes get a basket, get a stop more than the regular season. And in the NFL, I'm a go-for-it guy. So I'm just going to lay this out.

We like Sean McVeigh more than Sean Payton. Not me personally, but the market. Patent's cockier. Yeah, I'm one of them. Yeah, go ahead. So if Bow Nicks would have been playing, I have no problem going for it. The Jarrett Stenham Factor is why I don't like it, nor do I like him rolling out. But just think about this.

It's at home. You have a top two offensive line. You're not dealing with the crowd, O-line. And to be honest with you, Sean Payton's one of the best play callers in the game. You have great confidence. I didn't like it because of the play call, putting it in a backup quarterback to make an athletic play. Bo Nix doesn't get it. I'm much better with it.

You're at home with a dominant O' line. Here's what's interesting. McVeigh as a fourth and four on the loudest road stadium in the league against a better defense with a quarterback who's arguably the least athletic in the league. So if you don't get it off the snap, there is no second play. There's no Caleb Williams here. Whatever's dialed up is the play you get. And everybody universally is, I love what McVeigh did on fourth and four on the road, better defense immobile quarterback. And my take is, in both of them, if Bonix is healthy, I was good going for it. But is it possible that C.S.

The Rams going for it, they'd stopped him on the previous drive. The Rams going for it wasn't as sure a thing as I'm being told it is. Well, so I'll do Rams and then Broncos. Okay. I would have gone for it in the Rams spot without a doubt. Okay. And because I would have been worried about if I kicked the field goal is what ended up happening going to happen, where Seattle is able to pick up the three first downs they have to.

and I never touched the ball again. And I, you know, they put the ball in the MVP's hands and to Seattle's credit on both third down and fourth down. They were not able to throw the ball to Puka, to Devante, to either of their tight ends, to Kairn Williams. Those passes went to a fifth and a six-string receiver because Seattle covered them so well. Credit to them. So I didn't have a problem with McVeigh going for it there. I think McVeigh does have some game management issues. He's a great coach.

Nobody's perfect. My biggest Sean Payton issue is this, and I don't know that it has been emphasized enough. No matter who your quarterback is, it is Sean Payton's job to know, better than I know, better than you know, better than Nancy Romo know. What's the forecast for the next hour?

And that was not, I understand that the viewer was caught off guard at how bad that storm got. But when you have all week to prepare, when everybody knows the country was going through a very, you know, a winter storm, you have to have factored in. Is it, you know, what is the possibility that come the second half, this game's going to be a blizzard? And does that make a 10-0 lead more valid? than otherwise. And so I thought that that was, I thought Peyton and Stidham both made one grievous error. I thought that was it for Peyton and for Stidham, when it's third and four, if you're on the border of field goal range, the difference between a sack and an incompletion is a big deal.

Try to avoid the sack, maybe make a mistake. when he fumbled the ball trying to turn a sack into an incompletion, a sack and incompletion are identical things when you're on your own 20-yard line. You're punning. So, like, Stidham's got to know

a sack is fine. It's throwing the ball away. What? It saves us eight yards. Who gives a damn? We're punning anyway. So those, and those two mistakes plus a blocked field goal, and all of a sudden the pads are back in the Super Bowl. Yeah. The, um,

We'll end with this. I called him the Pittsburgh Stalers most of this year. It just feels like the league is pivoted to offense. They still pay the most for defense. They're kind of tone deaf to offense. Everybody in the playoffs, you know, AFC had a 20-year-old quarterback. They got a 42-year-old quarterback. And they hire Mike McCarthy.

He is not an awful coach. In fact, my guess is he'll turn the franchise into offensive-friendly more than where they're at now. What was your reaction to the higher? It feels like he makes them comfortable. Nobody loves Pittsburgh more than Pittsburgh, and he makes them comfortable. Is that fair? Yeah, I think it's fair. Listen, this is not the higher I would have made. I would have gone. Young, offensive-minded, big swing, whether it's the skill house kid, and I might even is pronouncing his name, the kid from the Rams. who's interviewing, wait a couple weeks for Clint Kubiak and say, hey, we're the Pittsburgh Steelers,

you have a long leash here. It's okay if we take a giant step back next year and then draft a quarterback and then develop them. That's the path I would have taken. However, while I'm saying that, I understand the defense, the people that like the hire, be like, hold on, let me get this clear. The reason you don't like the hire is because you think with McCarthy will win nine or ten games and without them we would have won three or four and you think that's better. And my answer to that is, yeah, basically, like yes, I think that the Steelers bottoming out briefly to then come up would be best for them long term. But we have four coaches, Colin, in John Harbaugh, Mike Tomlin, Sean Payton, Mike McCarthy, who

who all win between 61 and 63% of their games, who all have 10, 11, or 12 playoff wins, except for Tomlin, who I think has eight, who all coached Hall of Fame quarterbacks and have won Super Bowl. Harbaugh's considered the, was the hottest coach on the market. Sean Payton's a genius. Tomlin, everyone thinks he'll get any job if he wants to take one.

And then McCarthy's considered a bit of a bozo. So I just think maybe he has bad PR because he has the similar resume of these other guys, and we're like, yeah, but he had Aaron Rogers. And it's like, yeah, and Sean Payton had Drew Breeze, and Harbaugh had Lamar Jackson, and Tomlin had Big Ben, and we don't hold that against them. All that said, I wouldn't have hired him. I'd have hired Clint Kubiak or somebody young to roll the dice, but I don't think it's a disaster.

Yeah, I think it's really funny, and it's true. If you look at the resume with, you know, the Sean Patent's and John Harbaugh, somebody posted it on the Internet. It's the same thing. One of them's got a way better image. And that's just the reality sometimes. Mike McCarthy, because he is coached the Packers and the Cowboys, we've often had huge viewership numbers for his losses.

When the Packers lose, it's the number one rated game. When the Cowboys, and I think a lot of it is, it's like coaching Duke basketball or Notre Dame football, whether you're good or not, it's embellished to some degree because your games are so notable. It's like Aaron Boone for the Yankees. a bum, it's like, if he was coaching in Kansas City, you wouldn't remember, you know, you'd be happy with the results.

Wow. Well, listen, drive by on the Royals, who, by the way, of won a World Series far more recently than the Yankees, but that's neither here or there. Just very quickly, I would just add to that. I also think when McCarthy was losing playoff games with Rogers, the only loud national media a voice that was like, Aaron Rogers, maybe he isn't the greatest quarterback ever to live

was you. And everyone else just put it all at McCarthy's feet. By the time Matt LaFleur was losing playoff games with Rogers, the Bloom was off the rows a bit, and some of those losses went at Rogers' feet, and LaFlears, you know, not so much. And so I do think

that some of those really tough playoff losses he suffered early, most of us, myself included, were like, well it's obviously not Aaron Rogers fault looking at how talented he is and so it's stuck to him in a way it wouldn't have to other coaches that's kind of the last point on that. I apologize

for the Royals shot. That was unnecessary. I mean, I don't know. Making the two World Series back to back years, winning one of them, the Yankees haven't been to one since I think since it was W president first year of Obama. It's been quite some time. I mean, the Royals, pretty good franchise when you look at it. Talk to you later, Colin.

Nick Wright. Yeah, there is something, you know, when I certain people getting criticized, like, you know, and I throw Aaron Boone out there, it's like, you know, when you manage the Yankees, you know, people watch the Yankees. I mean, a great example is the Dodgers skipper. Dave Roberts has now went back-to-back World Series and literally pulled every lever brilliantly in a game seven. But when you're the Dodgers manager and you have that payroll, you know, just we watch the games.

I mean, think about this. McCarthy is coached the Packers, the Cowboys, and now the Steelers. dealers. There's an argument that the three most iconic brands in the sport. So every bad clock management moment, we watched. Hey, I mean, how many Jags games did you watch? It was Liam Cohen perfect on the clock this year? Probably not. You didn't watch the games, right? So it is very true. Mike McCarthy's resume looks a lot like Tomlunds. It looks a lot like John Harbaugh's, but we view it differently, and that's, you know, a little bit the way the world works. the herd. Be sure to catch live

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No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, let's start with the best quarterback in the NFL this season, Matthew Stafford. Colin, it was a tough ending for the Rams quarterback as they fell just short against the Seahawks. He led the league in passing yards and touchdowns. I mean, I think smart people think he's going to be. be the MVP slightly over Drake May. However, there's, of course, chatter.

Is Stafford going to retire? He's old. He said he's still taking time to consider it. Here is the sound. I'll be a lot that goes into it. You know, it's a physical, a mental and emotional decision, a personal and a, you know, a family decision as well. So when I'm ready to figure that out, I'll be ready to figure that out.

That moment isn't right now. I have so much more time. I feel like to reflect on just the people in the season that we just had. I want to appreciate that and give it the time that it deserves before I start thinking personally about what's next for me and my family. I think this is one of the most fascinating parts of next year. So Stafford gave the Rams a team-friendly deal. It was very team-friendly.

and then he gets the MVP. Okay. They're not getting that deal. And by the way, it's a bad quarterback space. Now, there's those speculating they're going to go after C.J. Stroud with Houston, but is Houston going to give up C.J. Straub in the bad quarterback class? Not yet. Yeah.

So my take is they rolled the dice. Stafford bet on himself. Remember Joe Flacco did that won a Super Bowl and got rich. So, you know, Stafford's like, okay, I'll take a team-friendly deal. And he went 52 touchdown, nine picks. So my take is Stafford will come back, but he's going to want more money. And they also have a Devante Adams issue. Even if they let him go, it's a $15 million cap hit with Devante Adams.

So one of the great gifts of this Rams team is they have a star quarterback who makes a lot of money, not Josh Allen, a lot of money, but they've drafted so well. They've been able to maneuver around the cap and get an innate landman and go and pick some pieces with Devante Adams. Well, now Stafford is going to sign a deal. if he stays and he's going to get paid really, really good money. So they're still about a year away from having to pay all these young defensive guys,

but they, that's why my take is they're not going to give up a lot of picks and go get Ty Simpson. They've got to go draft. Like, they have to get a right tackle. They'll save money on Havenstein. They'll probably move off one of their older tight ends. They'll probably

move off of Devante Adams. They probably have to move off either a safety or a corner. It's a fast. fascinating year because Matt Stafford bettered himself. He's not taking another Super Ram team friendly deal. I can't believe he would do that. Yeah, I think he's definitely coming back. I would assume like you that they're probably restructure his deal.

I think Devante's coming back. However, you know, you start your off-season work. I'm not the Super Bowl's name, whatever. I'm more into these off-season moves. Colin, I got four names for you who are contract extension eligible on the Rams. They're four starters. Kobe Turner, defensive. end, he's good.

Byron Young, outside linebacker, edge rusher, he's good. Steve Avila, left guard, he's good. And then the big one, Puka Nakua, is eligible for an extension. I don't know if all four of those guys are back. I would say three for sure. You can't lose Puka. I feel Puna Ford has been so good that they move off Kobe Turner

because they've got vers. They have so much talent in the defensive front. I can see them moving off Young or Turner. Not that they're not great. They'll have a big market. Because Puna Ford's been great. And Garrett Verst and the Frisk from Florida State. I mean, they've drafted so well up front. I could see movement there.

I think they're going to keep that offensive guard. He's outstanding. Yeah. They drafted him high. He has delivered for them. Puka, they're obviously, they would give an extension to. Well, our buddy, Daniel Jeremiah, did his mock draft. And he had Mackay Lemon, your guy from USC, going to the Rams,

and the teens, they got two first-round picks. Rams are sitting pretty, Colin. I'm just telling you, they're off-season. Like, there's some teams that are messy. Rams look really good. They just have to figure out who these guys to bring back. If they get Mackay Lemon plus Devante and Puka with Kyrin and Blake Corum, who's got a better offense in that?

That's ridiculous. I think Stafford is coming back. I think Rams, would you agree Super Bowl favorites going in the next season? Short list, two or three teams, yeah. Yeah. All right, let's move on to the next story, And that's the Denver Broncos. Tough ending with the loss at home to the Patriots.

But interestingly, Russell Wilson, remember that dead money? That comes off the books this offseason. And left tackle, Garrett Bowles expects Denver to be a popular destination in free agency. People want to come to Denver. I mean, I'll be shocked to see how many free agencies want to come here. We got a young team. We got a quarterback. We got the best old line football.

I don't care what anyone says we do. That's just reality. he's great, great player. I saw him once in an airport in Salt Lake City. He looks like a left tackle. Large individual, yes. I tell you something, man upstairs does not make a lot of Garrett Bowles. That is an offensive tackle.

No, I think Denver has always been a city that, I mean, Peyton Manning played there and then stayed there. Like, there's a lot of pro athletes that love living in Colorado and Denver, and I think they're going to be good for a long time. Weren't you out here? I think Bo Nix proved, even to you and the critics, Bo Nix proved he's pretty darn good. Me.

I mean, Bo Nix is fine. But I think you're the one who was trying to sell me on Boulder being this, you know, cosmopolitan town. It's like basically the Paris or the Midwest or something. I've never been to downtown Denver. Is it amazing? A beautiful state. Lot to do.

Very recreational. So I'm just digging into their offseason. They're in really good shape. I mean, Chiefs fans, they're up against it this offseason. But Denver, Bowles is on to us. something. They're going to be a destination. I don't know if you're with me, but I feel like offensive skill position, running back, tight end

receiver, they could use a bump up. They don't have a, like, Cortland Sutton, you like him, but he's not elite. He's not like a top five, top seven wide receiver. He's a pro bowler. Shador Sanders is a pro bowler. Come on, bro. Like, the running game's fine. I feel like they're one offensive piece

away, and I believe in Peyton. They're going to be good next year. Final story, Colin, this is spicy, and I'm a little salty. Those two go together. Brian Daibol is reportedly going to take the Tennessee Titans OC job. Wow. If he does not get the Raiders head coaching job. Now this, you earlier, I think this was yesterday,

you said that Titans are your pick to keep an eye on them. If they get Daibol and Sala, the two New York coaches? I will choose them as the New York Giants won, Tennessee two, as the double your win total teams. Absolutely. That would be a home run. You beat me to it, man. I like Tennessee this year.

I was a year early, but you are going to be right. With Sala and Daibol? I mean, listen, people are way down on Cam Ward. By the way, Cam Ward could have been the Pro Bowl guy over Sudor Sanders. He just doesn't have a big Instagram following. Cam Ward had a fine rookie season, not amazing. He's fine. Listen, man, this day bowl hire would be huge.

Colin, that division all of a sudden is kind of good. Houston made the playoffs. Jacksonville made the playoffs. The Colts were at one point, I think. Just ask yourself this. Sam Darnold. since he left the Jets. Doesn't that make you understand that maybe it's the Jets?

Robert Sala is with the Jets. He is going to Buffalo, and if they win a chance to be tied for first day fire him, he was obviously the best coach on the staff, and they circled the drain. I don't think people, and then he goes to San Francisco, and I think both of us agreed, what he did with the Niners defense is hard to explain.

No Bosa, no Fred Warner, they moved off Huffunga, Green Lange, a bunch of kids and until the end of the year when they just fell apart physically, we're outstanding. Beat Philadelphia. I think the Sala hire is the one hire that people have,

maybe it's because Harbaugh is getting so much attention and the Bill's job and the Ravens job gets so much attention. I think Tennessee, they got their guy. Big time. Just to clear something up. Okay. It's not just you. A lot of national guys have been taking shots.

Oh, Dartle was with the Jets. He had no chance. I mean, come on. I'm just going to remind people, he threw 35 touchdowns for the Vikings last year. Okay, he had 4,000 yards passing. And the Vikings, who went 14 and 3, said, Sammy, thank you.

Enjoy wherever you want to go. So it's not like just the Jets screwed up on Sam Darnold. The Vikings had a guy and just said, we're good. All right. If that's how you feel, Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping you. The Herd Lie New.

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 us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, new? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a... We're the first people to do podcasts.

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

This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential. title for the podcast.

But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. Help an Acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself.

I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jench. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now.

And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed.

And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup,

he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying.

He running up the court, licking his fingers while he got the ball, like, after you go through a training camp with that, I say, you figure it out. real quick. Oh, yeah. 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. Saturday, we got National Powerhouse and second-rent UCon on Fox primetime hoops. Alex Caraband and the Huskies stake their claim as the best in the country as they take on Creighton. Coverage begins Saturday night, 7 Eastern, 4 Pacific, only on Fox. Yeah, I was just thinking about this, that we're going to. into a Super Bowl, and this is obviously a very physical game, but the Seattle Seahawks have their entire roster except one running back, and they play physical football. They're healthy. And the

New England Patriots, very physical team. They're healthy. Where are all the injured missing starters? A few years ago, it was like four or five years ago, there was such a major pushback mostly by the other network, but, you know, it was, oh, these Thursday games are too brutal. And so I literally called two players in the NFL, an older player and like a, you know, a 28-year-old player, like a 38-year, an older player. And I said, what's the skinny on that? And the player said, you get a second buy week, and it's the easiest week of practice all year. And you're usually playing somebody in your region.

So it's a, you don't really practice is the easiest, and you get like extra time. Players actually like it. you get the same check and you get a second buy. And so this idea that, oh, it's just too strenuous for a violent league. The Super Bowl between Seattle, one of the most physical teams in the league, they'll be missing one player of note. Zach Charbonnet, good running back, but Walker is their go-to running back, and New England is overwhelmingly healthy as well.

In the end, this league has made a lot of changes to enhance safety, much less hitting. Players can adapt and modified helmets. You just don't hit as much as you used to. There's a lot of, you can't hit certain players in certain spots. And I'm not

saying it's not a, you know, a brutal game of regulated violence. But once again, we get to a Super Bowl and, you know, 98% of the rosters are healthy and ready to go and they're going to get, you know, plenty of time rest before we get the Super Bowl. It's a

It's a darn good league. Well run. You know, I was thinking about when Mike Vrable got hired, I don't mind older coaches if they think young. Andy Reed is 67. His play design, his play calling, the culture he's built is youthful. He's 67. He feels like he's 47.

Right? Like he just is a young coach. Vrable's 50, but he feels like he's one of these 38-year-olds. He's very much on clock management, very, very good situational. ball excellent on analytics. Vrable is 50. He doesn't he didn't coach like an older coach. And then you'll, you'll, Belichick 73, it feels 73. Tone-deft offense, only wants to coach certain guys. And that's not a shot at Bill. He has said that. So, you know, I just look at Vrable as one of those guys. We all know, you know, the Ben Johnson's and the McVeigh and the Shannahan

and the young guys. But Vrable is one of these guys that is aging really well. He is a young and I just the way he relates to players he's always talking about analytics and situational football and Drew Breeze yesterday talked about Braves I remember Vrable was a player man hard-nosed tough love confrontation like he was just one of those players I see a side to him I don't want to say like a softer side because that's not the way to say it but it's a side of him that has become such an unbelievable like teacher and and motivator of men but in a way to say it. way that is like so caring and thoughtful, but also just so wrapped up in like identity and who we are and what our standard is. And so to me, that's the epitome of what they've done by going on

the road. Yeah, I mean, there's certain things that travel well. So New England was the best road team in the league. Seattle was second. And it's defensive coaches, which is rare. We would expect Mike McDonald, the younger coach, he is going to be generationally great with the players. But you start getting into the 50s, the first number is five, and sometimes like you want to coach certain guys and not other guy. Vrable is just one of those guys that's going to age really, really well. He's not about being right. He's about getting it right.

He's so good on the clock. He's so good with situational football. He really likes his players. I love that tunnel stuff. I think it's just, I think it's fantastic. And, you know, there is that balance of loving your players, but holding accountable your players. And there's stories about Vrable walked in when he got there.

And he went into the locker room and the showers. And there were towels on the floor. And he's like, don't clean them. Bring them out. And do not clean those towels. You can do both. Be very demanding on your players and be absolutely pro player. I think that's the model.

You know, there was a story about Cooper Cup this week that he didn't feel loved by the Rams. And you're always going to get some of that. Mike Silver wrote a story where, you know, the Rams. Cooper Cup felt the Rams were poisoning the waters with Cooper Cop. They didn't want him to go to other teams. And my takeaway is, you got your feelings hurt. Because in the story, buried in the stories, actually a line where nobody from the Rams called Cooper Cup. Right, and Cooper Cup got his feelings hurt.

Plus, they had drafted Pooka Nakua, who was taken over the league so they didn't need him. They had Kairn Williams. They had Pooka Nakuwa. They had drafted tight ends. They had all these elements. So, but again, it is a hard balance. There was a story this week that makes it look like the Rams don't care for their players. Well, they've moved off Jalen Ramsey.

They've moved off Todd Gurley. They've moved off von Miller. They've moved off all sorts of players and haven't poisoned the waters. The truth is, Cooper Cups got hurt, couldn't stay healthy. They drafted Pug and Nakua. He became less valuable. He played nine games, then 12 games, then 12 games. His yards went down three or four straight years.

He just wasn't as valuable. And athletes are very prideful. They get their feelings hurt. They always think they have more in the tank than they do. so it's the first time I've heard a ram player and they've moved off I mean they've been right they moved off Todd Gurley two years later Zippo you know when the Rams move off players it it's considered a very tough on players but it's pro player so when I read the Cooper Cup story I'm like that doesn't sound like the Rams and then I went into the story in fact there was a line in the story by Mike Silver I'm not I'm not doubting that Cooper Cup feels that way

but there's a line, quote, after the Rams Cut Cup last March. He was stunned. Nobody in the organization, the most powerful people never called to thank him for his time of the franchise. He has feelings hurt. I get it. I understand. He's bitter. Doesn't sound like the Rams, though, that I know.

Hey, guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast?

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

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert 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 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. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was hiring you. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow.

Then after that game seven, Marquis come until, he's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Turn someday into right now with Buddy by Jake Radio.

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