The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Richard Sherman Podcast - Reaction to Lamar Jackson MVP, Jim Harbaugh to Chargers, Macdonald to Seahawks

Episode Date: February 10, 2024

Richard Sherman reacts to the NFL Honors awards and the head coaching hires across the league. What does Richard make of Lamar Jackson winning his second MVP? Should Kevin Stefanski have won Coach of the Year over DeMeco Ryans? CMC won Offensive Player of the Year but has his eyes on a Super Bowl trophy this Sunday. Richard's former college coach Jim Harbaugh was hired by the Los Angeles Chargers to eleve Justin Herbert, Pete Carroll is out in Seattle, and the Seahawks hired Mike Macdonald from Baltimore – was that the right move? 2:30 - Lamar wins MVP, Stefanski COY 6:30 - Jim Harbaugh to Chargers 17:00 - Dan Quinn to Commanders 22:45 - Belichick unsigned 30:00 - Mike MacDonald to Seahawks (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) #volume #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You're supposed to these. Super Bowl. Championship. That should always be the expectation. All right. You're mad that you going here. We are back live here from the win. The Richard Sherman. podcast went from virtual

than person. Richard, let's talk a little bit about these awards. I know I know you weren't the biggest fan of Lamar Jackson winning the MVP. Let's just start right there though. What are your thoughts on him taking home the hardware at NFL honors last night? Well, congratulations to Lamar Jackson. He took home his second MVP,

almost unanimous again. Again, the numbers weren't there for me, but he won the award. So congratulations. I wasn't as irritated about that one as I was, some of the others. You know, I thought defensive rookie at a year should have probably went to Witherspoon. I thought he had a fantastic year in Seattle. I thought he made a lot of great plays. I think, I think Will Anderson benefited from, obviously, Houston's run late. He played really well late in the season. But I thought he'd be at least second. You know, it's kind of weird.

Jalen Carter kind of slowed down throughout the season, and I didn't think he was going to get it. But, you know, obviously some of these voters were already, you know, their minds were already made up. coach of the year. I'm just trying to figure out how Stefanski keeps getting it. He's gotten two out of the last four years. Not saying he didn't do a great job. You get into your fourth string quarterback and still making the playoffs and play

as well as they did. Defense played incredibly. Shout out to Swartz and what he was able to do with that Cleveland defense. But I'm just trying to figure out how you keep getting coached a year when your team isn't winning divisions. They're not winning Super Bowls. They're not really not winning anything. They got put out in the first round

of the playoffs. So it's like, What, I mean, I watched Kyle take a team with a mystery relevant third string quarterback to an NFC championship last year. And they didn't, I don't even think it was top three in coach of the year. And so there's some weird bias there where you're like, hey, if they have a talented team, then they can't win it. But you got to play in some weird place like Cleveland to win it. Well, it comes down to expectations. And that's why, you know, a guy like Kyle Shanahan can't win the award because they expect. them to be in this position. And that's, it's, it is kind of BS. And you're right. What about my boy

Dan Campbell? I mean, come on now. I mean, this guy has changed the culture of Detroit football. He's changed the culture of Detroit, for God's sake, not even the football team, but the city, you know, here's a guy that absolutely deserves it. Kevin Stefansky, I will say, Richard, they have overcome so many odds. I mean, you lose Nick Chubb to a brutal knee injury. Obviously, you lose the quarterback to Sean Watson and insert Joe Flacco. That's why Stephansky was in this conversation

in the first place, but you're right. It is a little odd that he took it home. I mean, D'Amico Ryan's had it. You know, interesting. I'm just trying to figure out how they're voting for it because Damiko Ryan took a really, I mean, he took a team that was picking the top five in the draft twice. Right.

To a playoff and then won a playoff game. You know, not that you, they're voting after the playoffs, but it's like, what is the criteria? This is a team that had no business being anywhere near a playoff, let alone winning a division in this coach's first year as a head coach with a first year quarterback with young defense, young receivers who played outside of their minds.

Great scheme. You had their OC getting head coach interviews. I mean, you give him all the credit in the world, but then you give it to Stavansky. It just leaves you scratching your head. Stavansky already won one. You should kind of not take him out of the discussion, but somebody else's turn. Because obviously these other guys are doing a good job.

Dan Campbell had his team second seed for a while. I mean, they end up the third seed, but get two home playoff games. He deserved a ton of credit. But then, you know, Kyle Shanahan and John Harbaugh deserve nothing. It's like, hey, you got great teams and they played great. So, you know, thumbs up to you. No, give them coach of a year. That's why these teams, it takes talent to take a team that's supposed to get there where they're supposed to go.

So, I don't know. And you're, I mean, looking at the Niners, they had to overcome some adversity. I mean, what they went on a three-game losing streak in the middle of the season. I mean, that's not easy to overcome. They battled injuries. Trent Williams was out. Debo was banged up. You know, so you're right.

But, Richard, outside of these awards, we saw a lot of movement recently, this coaching carousel. I mean, we've seen a lot of landing spots take place. What are some of the things that stand out to you? I mean, let's start with Jim Harbaugh. What do you think about him going to the Chargers? I know you just got a nice little text from him today, which is beyond odd. Yeah, we're going to talk about that.

We're going to talk about that a story for a different day. You guys want to see entertainment. Jim Harbaal is going to be on our podcast at some point this offseason, his words. So I'm looking forward to that. It's going to be very fun and interesting. I can't wait. But I think it's a good fit. I think he felt like he did everything he needed to do at Michigan.

Obviously, he said he will restore them to glory. He definitely restored them to. glory. He took him to the playoffs a few years in a row, beat Ohio State three years in a row, won a national championship. There's nothing else to prove there. He wants to come back to the NFL, win a Lombardi trophy. And that's his words. He says you can't win a Lombardi trophy in college. He's right. He's walking into a situation that could be one of the most talented teams in football if you look at it on paper. Now, they have some cap obstacles that they're going to have to work through. I think there's $30 million.

cap hits for three of the four, three or maybe four guys. If you look at Justin Herbert, Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa, and Keenan Allen. I think all of their cap hits are around $30 million. So you got to find a way to either lower them or eliminate them all together. You know, you see them starting conversations about trading Khalil Mack, who's coming off a career year with 15 or 17 sacks. I think he might have ended it with 17 sacks. But he's coming off a career year. They're trying to get off of that. Joey Bosa may need to be moved or cut. And if he's cut, I again would look at San Francisco 49ers as a potential landing spot.

If he's willing to take any type of pay cut, obviously he's been in California his old career. Just move up north. I know you would love that. Six hours. His brother would love it. I'm sure the San Francisco 49ers would love it. The Bosa's would love it. Their parents wouldn't have to split games anymore.

You guys, one-stop shop. Just go on head to San Jose Airport and get to Santa Clara. But I think it's a great fit. I think he's going to bring Greg Roman in. He's going to bring in some of the guys from Stanford. He has done a great job putting together great staffs. That's something that he is abreast at putting together great staffs and getting the most out of his players.

He's going to get the most out of Justin Herbert. He's going to get the most out of that defense. That defense isn't going to be as bad as they have been because they're two talented to be that bad. So I think that's a great fit. Some of the head scratchers were Tennessee Titans and Callahan. I felt like they went downhill. Right.

How do you fire Vrable and then hire a guy who's not even calling the plays for his team? And the team that he was a part of wasn't one of the best offenses in national football. Mike Vrable is one of those guys, too. It's like, I get it. They started losing games, but he had always put them, in my opinion, overachieved with that roster. You know, Ryan Tannehill as your quarterback, and he's, you know, leading them in the playoffs. The word on Mike Brable, and I'm shocked he's out of a job. right now is that he was too intimidating.

Like, Richard, this is football. What do you mean too intimidating? Mitchell, when you get to the point where you're saying a head coach is too intimidating for a GM or a front office or an owner, then Mitchell, we're in a bad place because that's not an organization that's looking where their first priority is winning. Your first priority is comfort, apparently. Because I don't hear players complaining about my variable intimidating him.

I thought he got the most out of these teams, the most of these players. they were in games. They had no business being in with a young quarterback and Will Levis, you know, their officer coordinator, their weapons aren't the greatest outside of Derek Henry. And so I thought he maximized what they had. And so to fire him, and there were some conversations that him and Rand Carthin may not have gotten along, may not have seen eye to eye on some things. If that's the case, then I can understand that.

But them picking Callahan because it seemed like their owner was like, hey, I need to get out in this coaching search because there are so many big names out there. We don't want to miss out on a Jim Harbaugh. Our Bill Belichick's out there. Now Pete Carroll's out there or even Mike McDonald or Ben Johnson. You know, there are names out there. We want to throw our hat in the ring early so those guys know we have an opening. We want you.

But then to hire Callahan? You're like, wait a minute. Let me add up this. So you're saying Eric B. Enemy didn't get a job because he didn't call the place. but you're going to give a guy a job who's not only not in the Super Bowl and not even in the playoffs this year and he doesn't even call the place.

You're like, he helps with calling a place. It's like, okay, but he's going to be your head coach now running everything and you're sure, this is the guy you want to go with. This is the guy you fired for able to go after. Whatever you get in Tennessee is what you deserve. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

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

A win is a win. A win is a win. Yep, that's me. Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the same. skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place

for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross

double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down,

and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day but just so y'all know I mean at this point Mark this is the second episode

where we've discussed crack so I'm starting to see that there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now so Thank you for finishing that sentence I don't think there's a more important year for black people

Really? Yeah for me it's one of the most important years for black people in American history Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast

Dave Canales, I like that. I think he's one of the young, bright minds in National Football League. Obviously, he was with us in Seattle. Great man, believes in his faith, great human being. I love it for Carolina. A young team, he'll be great for Bryce. I think he'll get that team where they need to be. Richard, on Dave Canales,

what he did this year in Tampa Bay with that roster, with Baker Mayfield having a resurgence in his career, that is beyond impressive, man. I mean, does not go overlooked. This Panthers job is one that's a little dicey, though, because they don't have a first-round pick. They gave it to the Bears. They got Bryce Young, who at times looked like he didn't belong on the field this year,

but he's still got all the talent in the world. I mean, what do you make of Dave Ken, Alice? Can he bring the Panthers back to life here? I think he'll have a great opportunity to. It's just the patience of Tepper. You know, is he going to be patient? Right. Right now, we're in an age where nobody's patient.

Nobody's going to give anybody time to develop. You didn't used to fire coaches after four and 12, five and 12 season in your first year and say, we already know he's not the answer. It's like, well, you didn't give a chance to find out. If all the greatest coaches of all times were fired after their first years, mentioned we never have great coaches because you've got to let them develop. You've got to let them learn from their mistakes, correct things, be better. You're not giving these guys a chance to be better or correct anything.

You're like, hey, he's not the immediate answer. Then find the immediate answer. It's like you're not giving, nobody feels confident going into Carolina and thinking, hey, I'm going to have a chance to develop these guys, to draft guys, to develop a culture, and get it done. You're going into every game thinking, I got to go for it on fourth down because they may fire me by the sixth game if we're on six. Even though we don't have the most talented team, even though I haven't been given the best circumstances, if I don't show this man we can win, he's going to fire me.

And when you coach like that, it's hard to see you getting me. the best out of anybody. So that's the one concern I have about Tapper. He's what he's he's fired six coaches. Yeah. It's six years. It's unbelievable. I mean, Dan Campbell started out, I think, oh and seven with Detroit. And I mean, and the fan base was like, we hired the wrong guy. This guy's talking about biting off kneecaps and doing all this. And look at him now, you know. And now he's totally revitalized that organization. And to your point, patience is key. Dave Canales looks like a guy that, you know, has a good, bright future here. How about the Washington commanders? They with your guy, DQ, Dan Quinn, and they bring in Cliff Kingsbury as the O.C.

And what looks to be a move to possibly get Caleb Williams over there? Richard, what do you think of DQ? Is he going to make some noise over there in commanders? I think he's going to be fantastic, Mitchell. I think he's a fantastic pick for defense coordinator. I mean, for head coach, because of the way he calls the defense coordinator, he gets the most out of his players. He'll call the defense.

I think Cliff Kingsbury is a great play developer. He's a guy that draws up a great scheme. I think he didn't have the quarterback he needed. in Arizona to be successful. I think he'll find a quarterback in Washington. I don't know if he'll get Caleb Williams to be because I think Chicago's asking price will be too much, and I think the teams that are willing to answer that

the asking price are plentiful. Not that I even believe Caleb Williams is the answer for a lot of these teams. I think he's a shorter quarterback who's going to struggle early on in the National Football League, and if you have these other-worldly expectations for him, he's going to disappoint because he's going to need time to develop. He's going to need playmakers around him.

That's the hard thing about being a great quarterback coming out, you know, because they expect you to be so great. That's why it's a blessing to be a Brock Purdy type where you just got to go to the right team. He went to a team that was stacked, that was winning, that had great culture, bang. Usually when you're a top pick, you're going to a bad team that just changed coaches, that just changed staff, that just got a new regime that clearly isn't playing very well. and you have to find a way to make that work. And so I think best case scenario is he gets picked by a great team,

by a team that has some structure in place. I think Sean Payton is going to make a run for him. He's somebody that's spoken highly about him throughout, even before he was in the national, before he was a head coach. I think that's a situation that he's going to try to trade. I mean, he may trade Sir Tan to try to move up to get Caleb Williams. You know, I haven't heard this.

I dissing anything that I'm not in their building. But that's something I would expect to be offered on draft day. Sartan, their first, and maybe a first from the next year to get in a position to draft a quarterback that he thinks is the best quarterback available. And I think other teams will make that same move. I don't know if the commanders have enough to make that kind of offer that would really move the Chicago Bears. And maybe they don't make the offer at all. Maybe they sit pat and say, hey, I think we'll get the right guy too. What Chicago, and this scares me as a fan of the Detroit lines in the NFC North,

this offseason for the Chicago Bears is a crucial one because they've got a lot of good pieces. Their management has done a really, really good job in terms of assembling assets. They got the first overall pick. They got the ninth pick. They don't necessarily need a quarterback. They could take a King's Ransom and still move down and get another quarterback in Drake May. What they do here, it could change the landscape of the, NFC North in my opinion.

But Richard, we saw another former player stick around in Las Vegas here with the Raiders. Antonio Pierce, I mean, he proved himself his interim head coach last year and he got the job ultimately. I mean, your thoughts on him sticking around here with the Raiders. I thought that was the right move. Now, did I think the Raiders had much choice? No, I didn't. Not only because Max Crosby said he's going to ask for a trade, if you don't want him out of time,

you can't have that. but they don't have any money to do anything else. Mitchell, Mark Davis has tried his best to take the next hot coach. He took Gruden and tried to say, hey, we want stability. I want to give him confidence he's going to be here. I'm going to sign him to a 10-year deal. Sign him to a 10-year deal. The problem with that is, Mitchell, is if you have to fire him at year three,

you've got to pay him the rest of the deal. So they're paying John Gruden to not be there coaching for the Raiders. Then you say, we're going to hire Josh McDaniel. I thought that was a mistake. I don't think Josh McDaniel is a head coach. I think he's a fine coordinator. I think he's fine at putting together an offense, putting together a first 15 play sheet, but it's not great at leading a full team.

Then you fire him. You decide he's not the answer. And you had somebody in-house that took your team to the playoffs that guys believed in that you said, hey, he's not the answer. We're going to go with Josh McDaniel. Then you fire him two years into a six-year deal. So now you're paying two coaches roughly $25 million a year that aren't coaching for you. So now you get Antonio Pierce in there, and he's doing a great job motivating them.

He beat your division rival in the Kansas City Chiefs, a team that's in the Super Bowl right now. And you sit there and say, hey, why are our guys celebrating with cigars the first day this guy is hired? Like, we just got the best coach we've ever had. Sometimes you've got to listen to your locker room and say, it's a reason why these guys are gravitating this man. Maybe you can surround him with guys that have been head coaches before. So he has the structure. He has a support system so he doesn't make mistakes. So then you hire guys like Marvin Lewis, which they did as somebody to consult,

somebody that can assist him in situations where it gets kind of sticky that he hasn't experienced before. But you've got to listen to your locker room. And also, Mitchell, he's going to be the most inexpensive option. Right. He's going to be the most inexpensive option because he's already in-house. He's not getting a ton of other, other shots. shots. It's your first time. We're giving you your shot. You want to be here. We want you to be here. You're probably taking less than $10 million, I would imagine. And compared to Ben Johnson's of the

world who are looking for $15, $18 million, we'll take that as a bargain. No question. And it looks like he's bringing in his buddy Chad Ochosinko, too. So we shall see. Richard, I think one of the, I don't want to say awkward, but more, I don't think we saw a coming was Bill Belichick you know hottest name on the market leaves leaves New England Mayo inserts himself in there um Bill Belichick is still free on the market do you see him landing anywhere you know next off season I know the knock on him is hey if I fire this guy if I hired this guy I might have to fire myself because he's coming for my job too right like when does that change well when Bill Belichick changes it and I think that's the only way he gets another

opportunity is if he changes his approach to coaching. If he says, I'm just going to coach the team. I'll have input just like any other head coach and who we draft. I'll have conversations, but I don't have to be the end-all-be-all. And if he decides that and he goes in with that kind of humility and understanding, then he'll get another job. If he goes in saying, hey, I got to be the president, the GM, I got to be the judge, jury, and executioner, then he probably would never coach again in the National Football League. But if he can go in and say, hey, I know what my reputation says. But I'm coming in here to make these men better to develop this team and to take them to a championship.

You can keep your GM, you can keep your president. Sure, I would like to have some input in those decisions, but I don't have to have all those titles attached to my name. Then it'll get a shot. But I just don't see any team changing their culture to bring him in and changing their structure to bring him in and do that. I think that he does a great job, drawing up defensive game plans, making sure that they're in great positions. He's drawn up some unbelievable plans in Super Bowls, even this year with less talent than some of these teams that they're playing.

But I just don't see any team giving him the keys to the castle and saying, here, go have fun. I think Rahim Morse was the right job, was the right guy for the job in Atlanta. You know, three black coaches getting hired in the hiring cycle. Mitchell, we're in a different place. I'm grateful for the place we're in. Gerard Mayo getting hired in Boston, Massachusetts was, I mean, I'm interested to see how that media responds to him if they don't go to the playoffs this year. You know, I'm not saying it may get ugly. I'm saying it's going to be different than the way they handle Bill Belichick when things get ugly because he rarely had bad season.

But I think that he'll get another shot if he can do it a different way than he's done it. But right now he hasn't proven that. Well, you talked about Rahim Morris, and Atlanta's an interesting job because they got a lot of pieces. Bejohn Robinson, Drake London. These guys just seem to be so underutilized, misused. What is Rahim Morris going to have to do to change the trajectory of the Atlanta Falcons? Because they do have a lot of pieces in place, maybe outside of the quarterback. He's going to have to do what he's done, Mitchell.

He's a great leader of men. And he showed that. I think his most marvelous coaching job of his career was last year with the L.A. Rams. because they didn't have the talent. They didn't have the most talented defense in the world. They didn't have all these world beaters. Sure, they had Aaron Donald, but, you know, Aaron Donald was kind of in the twilight, wondering if he's going to retire or not.

But Rahim had these guys playing incredible football, inspired football. Him and Sean both had it. And so if you can get that out of those guys, I think you'll be able to get that out of anybody. And they have talented guys, and they need a quarterback. I don't think Desmond Ritter is the answer. I don't believe Heineke's the answer. But I think if anybody's going to get the best out of him, it's going to be him.

And I know that he's going to bring McVeigh and Shanahan's scheme to Atlanta. They're going to use Bajon Robinson in a lot of ways. They got Kyle Pitts. They got weapons. Drake London. We talked about it. They got A.J. Terrell, friend of the program, on the other side.

They got some talent, but you need a leader of men to be able to get the most out of these guys. And for a while, they were in the playoff race in the NFC South because it was just so down. but I'm excited to see what he's going to be able to do because I think he's going to be able to move the needle for this team. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand-new podcast. The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told,

and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross

double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And the other one, the big one, up in Seattle. You know, what are your thoughts on their move? Pete Carroll, obviously, I know it's got to be a little emotional to see him leave. I know he meant so much to you in your career.

Maybe you want to talk a little about what Pete meant to you. as a head coach, and then we'll talk a little bit about the new guy. Yeah, I think Pete was an incredible leader of men. He established such an incredible culture in Seattle that it still resonates to this day. Young men still come and speak to this team about the culture that he built, the men that he coached still come into the building and try to make a difference and try to help. And even in their coaching search this year, while they were searching for their next head coach, a lot of it was culture.

A lot of it was, hey, we have established a very powerful. positive and encouraging culture here, we don't want somebody to come in here and change that. We're looking for a little bit more accountability. We're looking for a little bit more of a, not a heavy-handed approach, but just a more strict regimen, you know, tighter ship than Pete started to run at the end. But for the most part, in terms of culture and the way that he did things, the way he talked to players, the way he communicated, I think he did a fantastic job. And so did Jody Allen.

voted John Snyder. So that's the conversations that they're having with their head coach, their potential head coaches when they come in. I think Mike McDonald is one of the most brilliant defensive minds in National Football League right now. And I think the reason that they brought him in is because he's so ingenuitive. If you watch the tape and you watch his defense perform, you'll have, there'll be six to seven guys on the line of scrimmage and you will not know what positions they're playing or

who's blitzing or who doesn't. Not that that's incredibly unique. There are a lot of teams that do that, but the way he did it, the way that he utilized Kyle Hamilton. At times, he's playing safety, normal safety. At times, he's playing linebacker. I saw him play D.E.N. at times, nickel. And when you see a guy like that, it's hard to peg that defense.

Like, I'm watching the defense, and I'm sitting there like, wait, is Roquan Smith at Nickel right now? Like, there's no way. There's no way he's the middle field safety. And so when you can't peg a defense, it makes a lot of it. them very difficult to prepare for. It makes them very difficult to create blocking schemes for because you can't predict who's blitzing, who's not blitzing. Jade Dionne Clonnie's that nose tackle. You're like, I don't know what to tell the center

at that point in time. Pray. You know what I mean? I hope you're a religious man because you're going to need whoever your person is to protect you on this play because this guy is built to something that they don't make anymore. But I think that he's going to be a great fit in Seattle because they have a lot of pieces on defense that you've got utilized in that way. They good young linebackers, they have a good secondary. Hopefully they're able to retain the pro bowler and Julian Love and Cawandre Diggs, but Witherspoon is going to be used in the same way that Kyle Hamilton was. I think they got great corners on the outside.

I think Tariq Wulin is still a great corner. I know he had a down-year tackling, but he did a great job in coverage. The things that he struggled with are correctable. I think it's a great fit who their offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator is. is going to make a huge difference. Obviously, the reason they haven't hired a defense coordinator is because McDonald's going to call the defense. And not a lot of guys are willing to walk into a situation

where they're not going to get credit. So what they get? Right. It's not going to be anybody you know. But they apparently, Seattle, just hired a defense coordinator, but it's not going to be a big name because he's not giving them that power. They're not going to call the defense. and nobody's stepping in if they have other opportunities into a situation

where they're not going to get credit for calling the defense. So if the defense is number one in the land, they're going to be like, well, I mean, we're not going to steal your head coach, and you don't call the defense, so it's nothing. And so you want to walk into a situation if you have opportunities to be in a situation where you get credit for calling defense, good, bad, or indifferent, it's on you. And so I think that's why people aren't like jumping off the roof

to go interview for that spot, because same. As in Washington, they're not calling defense. The head coaches are in time to get a head coaching position from those spots. Well, for me, it seemed the obvious route was get back to basics. You know, Seattle was always known. The Legion of Boom, something you started for their defense, right? And it seemed like that identity kind of shifted over there ever since you guys all left, right? This is a smart hire, in my opinion.

Now the eyes kind of shift a little bit back to Gino Smith. Do you still have faith in him as the guy in Seattle? Yeah, yeah, I still have total faith in Gino. I got faith in K&I, I got faith in their weapons. I think it's tough to win in this league. And that's why it was so weird that they fired Pete. But I understand, you know, you're ready to move. Jody Allen's hearing all these whispers, like, well, new hot coaches,

like we've got to try something new, something different. The difference is not always better. And I think they'll find out, you know, over time. But I think McDonald will do a great job. I think schematically he's going to do a great job. He's going to give Kyle problems. He's going to give McVey problems, even though McVey had some success against them when they played this year, Baltimore won on that overtime pump return. But I think at the end of the day, those guys are still good players.

DK is still a good player. Tyler Lockett, JSCN is going to be a good player. K-9, those two tackles are still good. They got banged up throughout the season. So there were some shuffling on the offensive line. That's always tough to deal with. So there'll be some better play next year, and they weren't an awful team. They weren't a four and 12 or four and 13, you know, five and 12 team.

They were a nine and 18. They were a winning team that just missed the playoffs. And so I think there's a lot of optimism to be seen, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they're doing defensively and if it's a drastic difference. There was a lot of big names that we expected to get, you know, named head coaches that are still on the market. What's the biggest name that you're surprised did not get a job?

Biggest name that's on the market that didn't get. Eric B. Enemy is probably the biggest that didn't even get a coordinator job, which is concerning because I don't, I didn't hear the negatives that everybody else heard, but now I'm starting to, like he's just a hard-nosed old-school coach, which just isn't great for millennials. And that's the unfortunate truth of how we're doing. They're soft.

And they've got to be coached a certain way. You know, that's why these guys, that's why Saban retired from Alabama. He said, I can't do it anymore. I've got to pay kids and convince them to stay when winning isn't just enough. I can't guarantee you a million dollars. I can't guarantee you all this. I can guarantee you if you play well and you do what I ask you to do, you'll go to the NFL, you'll make a lot of money, you'll win national championships.

And when that's not enough, Mitchell, it's tough. Because every year, regardless of how well you do, regardless of how well you coach, guys are going to come to you having awkward conversations about how much money they're going to make the next year. And college coaches, that's why they don't coach in the National Football League because they don't want to have those conversations. They don't want to deal with that. And so they coach college.

And now they have to deal with that in college. Savin's like, all right, I'm done. I'm done. I'm not about to talk to this 18-year-old kid who does it. absolutely nothing for my team and try to convince him to stay on my team and not transfer to Ohio State because he wants to get paid a million dollars to sit on the bench for my team. I got you.

It's going to be tough. I don't ever want to coach college. I don't know if I want to coach at all. Maybe in 10 years, Mitchell, when I'm done, saying what I got to say about the league, I'll give coaching a shot. Hopefully the game has changed. Richard, it's a huge topic, and you went there, so I'm going to ask you a question about it.

You've always been an advocate for college players getting compensated somehow, right? No question. But what you just said is it's not working the way it is right now. How do you fix this landscape of NCAA sports in general? Well, it's the NCAA's fault. You greedy bastards. They're greedy bastards. If they weren't greedy bastards, they would have been able to institute a system already

when they first started to have these conversations. They would have started to work on it. But instead, they said, hey, we're not going to work on it at all. We're just going to fight these kids tooth and nail and tell them they don't deserve anything while we're paying our executives $10, $15 million a year. And when you're greedy like that, you're going to always have to deal with the consequences because now it's Pandora's box is open. And you can't get everything back in the box because you lost your power being greedy. If you would have said, hey, fine, we'll give each team, each team is allocated $15 million a year to figure out what they want to do. We regulate it like this.

We put these rules in place. We police it like we do every other aspect of college sports. We put rules in, regulations. You've got to abide by these rules or else there's consequences. There's penalties. But when you lose in court because you were too greedy, then you lose the ability to regulate it. And now they're trying to get to the point where they say, hey, the top 40 schools, the biggest 40 schools, we're going to regulate you. And hopefully everybody else falls in line.

But it's the way you do it is the NCAA needed to do something before, Mitchell. I don't know if they'll ever get back to that point. I don't know if it'll ever be organized enough or regulated enough that you can keep these kids here. You know, I think they'll get to the point where they're not having kids in college for seven years, eight years. But I think they have to get to a point where they say, hey, you don't get the transfer. And if you transfer, you got to sit out a year under otherwise, it's going to, it's going to. going to continue to be ridiculous because kids will continue to threaten with that. Hey, hey, I'm your quarterback.

I just had a Heisman season. They're offering me $10 million. What are you doing for me? I was like, well, I mean, we're going to give you money, but like we can't afford $10 million. Well, you can't afford to keep me. I'm going to Oregon or I'm going to Alabama or I'm going to another situation. And it will never be a fun, it will stop being a fun sport to watch if this keeps happening.

Yeah. I mean, these guys that's stuck. with and grew through a program, you know, they're no longer. The loyalty of the game seems to be gone. And the NCAA seemed to lose all control. So I don't know how you fix it. But and then on top of that, Rich, you got these mega conferences joining. I mean, the Big Ten just got three West Coast team or four West Coast teams. I mean, it's, it's becoming mayhem and we'll see what transpires with it, Rich. But this has been a blast. I'm going to let you sign us off here as we conclude you know, our Super Bowl week here at the win.

Well, thank you guys for joining us again. This has been fun. This has been a great time. Congratulations to the Hall of Fame class of 24th. Got some great guys, some guys that competed against. The Andre the Giants in there. Devin Hester, who was with us in one of the playoff runs in Seattle, one of the greatest of all time.

It's been a fantastic thing to be a part of. Obviously, Pat Willis with the San Francisco 49ers, had a very short career. People were concerned he wouldn't go in when he should have. He should have been a first ballot Hall of Fame. We're clearly one of the best to ever play the position, but sometimes length of career matters. So I'm grateful to see him going to the Hall of Fame.

He's one of the all-time greats. It's been a fun time in Vegas. We hope that it ends the way it's supposed to. With a San Francisco 49ers win, that would make this week marvelous, Mitchell. McCaffrey got FedEx ground player at a year, Brock Purdy Air player at a year. Willis went into the Hall of Fame.

You ended with the quest for six ending in Las Vegas in the Raiders Stadium. There's some San Francisco 49ers fans in the Bay that could not get a sweeter gift in their lifetime, Mitchell. Looking forward to it. Appreciate you guys joining us, sticking with us through all these episodes. It's been a fantastic year. Grateful for it. The volume. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite.

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