The Ryen Russillo Podcast - Chris Long on Brian Kelly and the Super Bowl Favorite. Plus, Matt Leinart on Lincoln Riley to USC.

Episode Date: December 1, 2021

Russillo shares his thoughts on Brian Kelly departing Notre Dame to coach at LSU and why so few coaches can exit without criticism (0:38), before talking about the Suns’ win over the Warriors and marveling at the Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards (10:52). Then Ryen is joined by two-time Super Bowl champion Chris Long to discuss the Patriots’ strengths and weaknesses, the Bills’ fatal flaws, why Chris thinks the Packers will win the Super Bowl, and more (31:07). Then Ryen talks with USC legend Matt Leinart of Fox Sports about new USC head coach Lincoln Riley and the team's bright future (1:08:51). Finally Ryen answers some listener-submitted Life Advice questions (1:32:30). Host: Ryen Russillo Guests: Chris Long and Matt Leinart Producers: Kyle Crichton and Steve Ceruti Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

today's podcast is going to be one of the best that we do all football season we have chris long on the nfl his super bowl pick why the pats floor is higher than anybody else and also brian kelly going to lsu chris is on that matt liner going to join us and talk about Lincoln Riley to USC. I've got some NBA stuff. We are now on Anthony Edwards' podcast. Life advice in my open on why when coaches leave, I don't know that they can ever do it the way we want them to. You could have probably guessed this open,

but I want to talk about Brian Kelly leaving Notre Dame and going to LSU. Let's do a quick run through who Brian Kelly has been as a head coach. Central Michigan first year, four and seven. In three years, gets them to nine and four. Goes to Cincinnati, goes 34 and six. At Notre Dame, he was 113 and 40. He's the first coach, by the way, which is always weird for, well, it's not always weird. It is weird because it doesn't happen.

He's the first coach, apparently, in over 100 years to leave Notre Dame on his own, and he passed Newt Rockne and wins. But granted, he didn't have the titles. But in a decade span, we're talking about three chances of the title. I feel like sometimes I'm soft because I think of programs and go, okay, I know it sucks you didn't win. I know it sucks you got killed by Alabama in the BCS title game. I know the playoff games didn't work out for you.

But the fact that you're in the mix three times in a decade, that tells me that you have the right guy and that your program is a really good program. But Notre Dame's going to deal with an extra level of hate for a million different reasons, which I totally understood. But if you just look at your program and say, we've had three chances at this, that's pretty good. Now, granted, he had one bad year where he went 4-8.

Feinbaum wanted him fired, I think, every week. Tough week for Feinbaum on the guys he's wanted fired, by the way. He went 4-8, and then after people said Kelly should be fired, he went 54-9. So he leaves for LSU, and he leaves because of money. I don't know what the full contract deals are. Some of these leaked things early on have been a little out of control. Like even the Lincoln-Riley one about how they were going to buy

both of his houses in Norman for all this extra money. That's been shot down a little out of control. Like even the Lincoln Riley one about how they were going to buy both of his houses in Norman for all this extra money. That's been shot down a little bit. I don't know. It looks like these guys are close to nine figure deals on this. The base is apparently 10 years and 95 million. There's this number floating around where Kelly's going to make 15 million a year.

That didn't make any sense to me whatsoever. If that ends up being the case, we're like real obtainable incentives. And that's just dumb. I mean, we've, we've been on this money thing that I'll mention in a second here about how much has increased recently, but I don't know that we're quite there yet. So it looks like 10 years, 95 million with incentives. If this team wins the SEC, if it wins a playoff game, if it wins a national championship,

I mean, these are hard things to do where the incentives can maybe get this up to like $11 million a year or something like that. All right, so we know this, that he can coach. If I'm an LSU fan, I feel like, okay, so you run through all that. If it doesn't work out, like what did we do wrong? I guess you could sit there and say not everybody is built for the SEC recruiting cycle. You'd love somebody who has ties to that part of

the country. But with everything happening in the NIL deal and the whole gray area of what a recruiting violation even is anymore, it's a different world. A world that definitely scared off some big names in the past. I know for a fact there's certain coaches who are just like, I just don't want to go down there. I don't want to go down there and deal with all that stuff. Some people think Urban Meyer after a while is like, this is ridiculous. Like, I'm out of here. I'm going to go to Ohio State. So we understand all those things.

I think I feel a little bit better, too, if the coordinators are coming, Marcus Freeman, defensive coordinator, and Tommy Reese, both guys who are terrific. But we still, it looks like Freeman, I don't know what version of this. They're both young guys. If he stays at Notre Dame, I don't know what's going to happen with Tommy. But all of these boxes as far as we want somebody that has run a top program who can coach, has coached everywhere he's ever been. We want that kind of guy. And that's what LSU has in Brian Kelly. But really, this isn't what the topic is about, is it?

It's about the exit. We hate the exits. We hate when these guys leave. We hate the way business is done, usually in businesses that we do not work in. I don't know what people want it to be. Is Brian Kelly a bad guy? I mean, some stories flying around that he wasn't always the greatest to work with. I don't know if that's something he's gotten over. I don't know if it was a vendetta deal. I mean, pictures of him with his middle finger out from a guy who was like, hey, I finally feel comfortable releasing this. I don't know. I mean, I saw him with his middle finger out from a guy who was like, hey, I finally feel comfortable releasing this.

I don't know. I mean, I saw him lose his mind and turn purple multiple times on the sideline. And there was a time where they were like, Brian, what's wrong with this guy? Like something has to change here. They're football coaches. They're not like the rest of us. I'm not excusing the behavior, but that's the world that they live in. And the more important thing to understand of the world that they live in, this is the way business is done.

Can you imagine if any coach ever said, like, let me give an example here. For whatever reason, I watched Tennessee a bunch this year. I like Tennessee's team this year. I know they weren't great. Nothing to get really excited about. I just like watching them. I thought Hypel did a good job. What if, like, three weeks ago

they go to Hypel and be like, hey, would you ever leave here? I'd be like, yeah, definitely. I mean, Tennessee's a good gig, but it's not the best. And, you know know if i can have a nice two-year run i'm out of here yeah i need a better recruiting base and you know there's maybe five to ten destination jobs for me and i'd love to land on one day which is what all of us want for ourselves and certainly what college football coaches want because these guys are really, really competitive. But we would kill anyone who ever did that. We would. You can't have it both ways.

You can't be honest, actually. And when you look at the path of information and the way it travels when these major transactions are happening, there's no way you can ever address the team or address the fan base before they find out about it on the ticker or for some leaked news. Think about it this way. The agent's probably going to want the information to get out just so the market understands that their client, who may have been thought of as unavailable, is actually available.

The people, let's say in this case for Brian Kelly, I'm sure Kelly probably tells a couple people, I don't know how many administrators at LSU want the information to get out, but I can tell you who does want to get the information out. Boosters, because the boosters get a heads up and be like, hey, are you guys ready to kick in on this? If we're going to buy a guy out, here are the deals here. You've got to be on the same page with the boosters that basically run a lot of these

college football programs. And guess what the boosters like to do? They like to fucking tell people. They like to be at the country club and tell somebody, hey, you know what? We're getting Brian Kelly. I don't know what voice I just did. I just did one. All right. They want to tell people. They want to tell people because the information is currency. It's fun. It's fun to be in the know. It's fun to kind of know what's going on. I like having information about the NBA. It's a fun thing to actually have access to. And in this world, it's the exact same thing. So there's no way to ever really control the information path on this because it's too much fun to know about it. So whenever we look at the exit and be like, okay, well, it should have been done this way. Which way should it be done? I'm all ears. I'm open to any suggestion you have on the right way to handle an exit when you're talking about, in this case, a hundred million dollars to go coach somewhere else. I don't know how it can be done to make everybody happy because if the coach ever told us he was totally open to going to bigger programs,

then you alienate your fan base while also fucking up your current recruiting. Because if you don't get that next job, everyone's going to be like, this guy just said he might go somewhere else. He admitted it. It would all be used against him. We would all use it against these people. So I don't really know the better way of doing it. It would all be used against him. We would all use it against these people. So I don't really know the better way of doing it. Now, there are extremes, right? You've got the Todd Graham situation where he went to Pitt for one year, left, went to Arizona State. That was in 2011.

People destroyed Todd Graham. You want to know why? I went back and read those stories because he sent a text message to everybody. Man, 10 years later, that doesn't even sound that bad. But you go one place, one year, and then you bounce. You go to Arizona State. Maybe it was a Pitt-Arizona State thing. I don't know.

But I remember being on the air when this was happening. Van Pelt and I were doing the show together, and it was like just understood, Todd Graham, this guy's the worst. At the other extreme, I think people would tell you that Matt Rules handled it well, whether it was from Temple to Baylor or Baylor to the pros. Or maybe it was because people at Temple were like, well, he got to go to Baylor. And then maybe people at at Temple were like, well, he got to go to Baylor,

and then maybe people at Baylor were like, well, he got to go to the NFL, and every time he made more and more money. I just don't really know which way it can be done the right way. But it's also college football's fault because they are selling us and have been for decades. They've been selling us righteousness while hiding free labor, right?

They've been selling us the emotional ties that is this better altruistic brand of entertainment when you could argue it's actually the most fucked up of any of the sports entertainment products that we consume, right? It is the most screwed up of all of them. So it's kind of college football's fault. You tell us you want these things to be important. You say student-athlete strategically instead of athlete-student. You brag about graduation rates when you lose. You've fought any compensation for players for decades. You finally gave in on the NIL because that way you don't have to share the money with them.

We were on the Hugh Freeze money thing last week because I couldn't believe that it wasn't even getting any attention. He went 7-5 at Liberty and is now making over $4 million a year, and nobody even says anything about it. This money is going to get crazier and crazier. People spend, and I'll ask you this, when you know you're about to make more money, a Christmas bonus or more money next year or however your finances work, don't you start to spend a little bit before? Now, some of you are going to say, I don't. Congrats to you. I think most people, human natures, you start to spend the money you think or know you're going to get before you actually get it. I think there's another part of this where college football, as I've said, has all this TV money coming in. So they're like,

you know what? I'd rather pay a guy 11 or 12 than pay the wrong guy seven and have to buy him out. And you still don't even know if you're right when you're paying the guy 11 or 12. So this is all college football's fault on top of everything else because it's been branded as this thing that's beyond the money, right? It's this community, which I believe in some of the community stuff here too, but this is why I don't want any transfer restrictions. That's why I want the players to make every last dollar they can. and I want even more compensation going to players that play for revenue-generating sports. So part of the angst and reaction to Brian Kelly is because it's like, wait, this is all bullshit.

None of you guys care. And what I'm telling you is that it's always been bullshit, and I've been kind of okay with it. I'm not even rooting for anyone. And what I think I'm doing here is I'm rooting for everyone while simultaneously not rooting for anyone. And what I think I'm doing here is I'm rooting for everyone while simultaneously not rooting for anyone. But I think the only thing I'm actually rooting for here is reality.

Whenever I see a story like this happening, I go, oh, here we go. Everybody's going to get their pound of flesh for a guy who handled it basically the only way it can be handled and likely the way we would handle it if we were lucky enough to be in the same position. Want to run through some NBA stuff here, a little NBA open for you, but not in the open. Watch Phoenix Golden State. I don't know about you, but that was how my day was planned. And Phoenix won. They won with only 15 minutes from Devin Booker.

I got to ask, when you get a hamstring injury and you can't return to the game, is the staff thrilled that you're upstanding the entire time during the game, cheering people on? I mean, I know it looks good. It makes you look like a good teammate. And this isn't a critical thing to Devin Booker. I love Devin Booker. But if I were a trainer, I'd be like, hey, you can't play because you're hamstring.

Can you not jump? Maybe it's just one of those deals where like, you know what's easier is jumping and cheering than running around with NBA guys for 40 minutes. So that's just an aside. I still am very surprised. There's always a weird thing here, and I'll ask Rudy about this one. Whenever people think I'm being critical of the Warriors, I go, what, are you new here?

What is going on? I said this a couple weeks ago. I will say it again. This Warriors run is terrific. Both Phoenix and Golden State are 18-3. Phoenix has won 17 in a row. Phoenix wins a very close game where Steph didn't play well, but it was kind of like, depends on how you were watching it. And for me, I'm watching it going, so Jordan Poole was really good. And Otto Porter going to the first half carrying him. The defensive attention on Steph was terrific. What DeAndre Ayton is capable of doing as a big and switching. And I brought this up last night, and a lot of people brought up Evan Mobley as well. Jared Allen's really good too,

about bigs that are mobile enough to get out and defend perimeter players. I don't know that I'll ever see anything like prime KG switching out to a guard and completely bottling them up and guards going, nope, no point even trying this. I don't know that Ayton or anyone will ever be at that level, but Aiton, I don't think there's – I'd rather have Aiton, I think, now because of the physical part of it, not saying, you know, that Mobley might end up being a better player.

Mobley's been an insanely impressive rookie, and the contested shot numbers are all through the charts. But what Aiton did, like last night was a showcase of, again, what Aiton is capable of. And on top of it, offensively for Aiton, it's a terrible matchup for Golden State because they just don't have enough size to deal with it. And why Wiseman actually is really important for Golden State and coming back and what he's going to look like to even give Golden State a chance. Now, granted, all of this, and I'll let Cerruti here in a second. I know I started rambling. All of this is irrelevant. None of it matters. I think Phoenix is better than this version of Golden State.

This version of Golden State is not the version that we're going to be watching later on. It's like talking about a team with a really good backup quarterback that's winning a bunch of games, but there's an all-pro quarterback that we know that's coming back at Week 12. And that's what Klay Thompson is. I have high hopes for Wiseman, but at this point, it's an assumption. It's not based on anything than just liking who he is physically with all that stuff. But I guess I'm just surprised that when I say this version without Clay, without Wiseman, a version that got off to an 18-2 start that's incredible, but also very surprising. finals last year like to say that phoenix is better than golden state i don't even know how that's remotely like debatable at that one but again like i said it's irrelevant but it's kind

of funny because it's a little sampling of me being dipped into the oh you're just a golden state or your hater world which could be maybe the most inaccurate statement about me the last 10 years yeah that'd be like you knocking oregon back in the day when chip kelly was there like that just it just didn't happen if you didn't if you were critical of them, it was kind of awkward. I think people were... Well, they never... Oregon never lost any other than the Arizona game without their left tackle.

They literally didn't have a bad loss the whole time Chip was there. They never lost to a team they weren't supposed to lose to, which I think is an incredible sign of stability with coaching. I mean, it's the same thing for a decade here and why the Auburn loss would have been like, wait, you're going to have one of these losses? Like, you don't have these losses.

So go ahead. I just think people were confused. Because there was a clip that went out on social, which I thought was good. But again, you should listen to the whole pod. That's the whole point here. You got to listen to the entire context of stuff. And I think people are confused because you're saying that,

oh, when Clay gets back, this is irrelevant. They're like, well, what are you exactly saying then? Because if Clay's going to come back, then they are one of the best teams in the league. But you're just saying that right now, as presently constituted with this roster that goes like almost 12 deep, basically, which is crazy. It's insane that their record is what they are. And their record probably isn't an indicator of how good this team's ceiling is without Clay Thompson. I think that's completely fair. The reason I've even brought it up is that you know i really like nba radio i love listening to a bunch of the different shows there and you know i'll dabble on one of the

espn studio shows and it's been brought up as a question because i know how these topics work like again i did this for a really long time and it's hey could this warriors team win a championship and because you're staring at an 18 and 2 record and the depth and the efficiency and you know at one point number one in one category number two and the other I think going into last night number one defense number two offense behind Utah and I go yeah this is awesome but this isn't the kind of team this isn't a profile this kind of roster that wins a title so that question has been asked in the last couple weeks just because you're trying to find a way to fill the 60 minutes or the three-hour radio show going, hey, could this Warriors team win a championship?

Which, again, is not what they're going to be. So to say that this team – like when Andrew Wiggins is your second-best offensive player, sorry, folks. That does not fit the profile of an NBA title winner to me. And I know Wiggins has been better. He wasn't very good last time, I guess, the back spasms. I think you could even see it a little.

But it's just kind of weird, too. Like when Phoenix goes on a run and wins a game, people are like, man, Phoenix. And you're like, they just were in the finals. And it's almost the same team with actually a backup big, which was one of the biggest reasons they couldn't hang with Milwaukee last season. So, again, the whole thing is pointless because Klay is coming back and there'll be a tweak here, tweak there. There was no Lee. There was no, you know, Iguodala.

But again, Booker didn't really play in this game except for the beginning. So, I mean, even if Golden State gets Phoenix in the rematch part of it, I would never look at this roster as impressive as a start as Ben and start saying, yeah, that's a title. That's a title winning kind of roster. as impressive as a start as Ben and start saying, yeah, that's a title-winning kind of roster. Because if that's the case, then Steph should start creeping up towards MJ and LeBron more than he is in that probably top 15 all-time that he is right now. One thing on Aiton, though, really quickly,

because you just brought him up, and kind of like the Mobley vibe. Aiton is an incredibly rare player, right? He is. Everything you described at the start of this segment, it's insane. Phoenix should pay him. Somebody's going to pay him. He's going to get the max.

The things he does is, you know, whether five guys in the league, maybe they can do that. And Mobley is kind of in that, you know, that, I guess, category as well. Mobley's ceiling is probably higher. But again, the reason that we've talked about the Mobley versus, you know, some of the other guys in this draft and why I think you kind of always side with the wing and you know the wing guy or the guard is because

ayton needs a guy like chris paul he needs booker and i kind of look at it the same way as mobile you know even if his ceiling is like a kg or you know somebody of that elk even at anthony davis i think you're again last night ayton proved that that kind of big that guy even if he is super rare he still needs help he still needs a guard he still needs a lead ball handler so i love ayton I think, again, last night, Aiton proved that that kind of big, that guy, even if he is super rare, he still needs help. He still needs a guard. He still needs a lead ball handler. So I love Aiton.

I've been an Aiton guy for a while. Obviously, the draft, picking him over Lucas, never going to look super great, but I still think he's a great fit with that team. But to me, it proves that, yes, that guy could be rare. Yes, he could be a max player.

Yes, I want him on my team, but he still isn't a franchise player. Okay, well, now we're talking about something different that I didn't think I would get on, but it might be worth doing. I went to go see the Pistons play at the Clippers last Friday here in LA. It was my first game that I'd been to since everything happened. I can't believe it actually took this long. It was always kind of for me where I'd be like, I just get more value sitting at home and watching games than missing a bunch. Part of that's been wanting to watch Phoenix and Golden State as much as I have been.

So I went because it was a noon tip in LA the Friday after Thanksgiving. And I'll just say this because anyone who was there, we all have something that we can carry with ourselves the rest of the life. It's one of the worst games I've ever been to ever. And it kind of took like 20 minutes in, you know, I was, I don't know, minute Mark six in the second quarter where I kind of was sitting there and

go, Hey, this is an awful, awful game. This is a really bad. And by the way, thanks to the Clippers for getting me the press pass. But I don't want anybody to,

I don't think they care. They got the win, but I only went because I wanted to just watch Cade Cunningham. I just wanted to keep my eyes on Cade the entire time to your point because when I was doing whatever version of you know my draft prep I wish it were year-round it's not realistic it's not going to happen that way but I do a lot and you know hey here you go instead of just reading over the guy's mocks I'll do my own stuff and I get it right and wrong on my own just like everybody else but I remember watching Mobley one day

and I was going through all these clips, all these clips, and then I'd watch games too, but I did a clip thing with him. And I was at clip 48 or 50 or something and I go, you've just watched this minute and there hasn't been a bad play yet.

There hasn't been a bad play yet. And I go, I might put Mobley 1 in whatever fake board that I have that no one cares about and then I went back and watched Cade and I kind of kept doing this Cade Mobley thing and Simmons I go hey I might go Mobley 1 and then I get the text message and he's like he's number one on mine like he was all in on Mobley and I'll admit like this is where you can start to have some of the

bias stuff is you go if you attach yourself to somebody or anti someone else you can start to have some of the biased stuff is you go if you attach yourself to somebody or anti someone else you can almost watch the player with that lens so i switched it back to you know what i think you gotta go kade because of the way the game is played everything you just said saruti and then i don't know if it was like seven or ten decision makers but i i figure what the number is um i can go back and look at the text, but it was, hey, Cater Mobley. You got the number one pick, Cater Mobley. Not one person said Mobley. Not one guy said Mobley

because you run high pick and roll. Cade can defend. He's huge. He can shoot. He can play on. He can play off. Pick and roll, pick and roll, pick and roll. That's what the game is.

And I thought he sucked in that Pistons-Clippers game. He had a bad game. He's had some really bad games. He had a nice little stretch there for a week and a half. I was like, oh, he's starting to figure some things out. I'd rather them just let him kind of take over the offense. I don't know what the usage numbers are on there. He's still touching the ball a decent amount, but his drives, he's not getting past anybody.

And the shot just isn't going in. I think he's positionally done a really good job. I think defensive positioning, he's very smart. I think he makes the right decision a lot of different times. I'm not even remotely worried about it, but I'll just say for Friday afternoon, it was a bad game and he was bad again and he's had some bad ones.

Yeah, no, I think I could have made it a lot shorter by just saying, and I've listened to a lot of Bill on this. Yes, he is rare, but rare doesn't necessarily mean that it's the best choice for your franchise. Like I think him falling to three, him going to Cleveland was perfect. And you know, it wouldn't even be the end of the world, I guess, if he went one to Detroit.

But just because you're a rare player, I mean, Jonathan Isaac is a rare player, right? Just what he could do, his skills defensively. I'm not picking him number one overall. And I'm not trying to compare the two because his ceiling is obviously incredibly higher, better offensively. He's just picking him number one overall. And I'm not trying to compare the two because his ceiling is obviously incredibly higher, better offensively. He's just going to be

a better player. But I think we look at the lens of, okay, this guy's a rare player, yes, and I want him on my team, but that doesn't mean he's the guy that's

going to lead and be the number one guy on a championship team. That's what I would say. Yeah. Look, the direction that big man has gone in this league now is so weird because a lot of it's all a three-point shot. I'm not intending anything new there.

But the number of games where I'll watch the big where you go, hey, you just had the ball two feet away from the hoop. These young guys that are 6'10", 7'0", are already wired to go, all right, I got the board, kick it right back out. I still think there's something to be said, especially if you look at what Aiton did against a Golden State roster that is not built to deal with Aiton right now. But deep post, do your work early, double comes, swing the ball,

get the other team in foul trouble, make it tough to rebound through 40 minutes of basketball. Rebounding is fucking hard, man. To be determined to always be in position to box somebody out, that's not fun. It's not fun to do that all the time. Some guys just are like, eh, I'm not going to get there on this one. They're like, oh, I'm already sealed off. I'm out. I'm not going to get there on this one. They're like, oh, I'm already sealed off. Like, I'm out. I'm not going to do this.

And when you make, like, that was always something about Anderson Veragiao that I always loved is that he may not get the rebound, and he was a good rebounder, but he may not get it, but you were going to have to fight all night long with him. He was going to make rebounding hard for you every minute he was out there. And I don't know that we value enough of that stuff anymore. It's almost like the pitch count thing where you go, hey, not every pitch is created equal. High stress pitches versus cruising through the fourth inning in an afternoon are different.

They may both be 12 pitch or 15 pitch innings, but there's something different there. There's also establishing patterns. They're setting guys up. And I think some of that stuff can be lost a little bit. And I've watched so many big guys where in today's NBA, they almost feel like they're not valuable. They almost play the game as if, well, I'm not really that important out here. So I got the ball and whatever, and I'll set some screens and I'll'll rebound but i'll make sure that i'm constantly kicking it back out to reset the offense and i'm thinking you know at 14 seconds on the reset sometimes sometimes i'd rather you

just go in there and fight a little bit more and maybe you know again i know we're not going to get 20 al jefferson post-ups in a game anymore i'm not asking you back but uh run it back big out i think it would be awesome if somebody actually just zigged on that. The Magic would be the team to do that, but somebody just drafted back to the basket center. That's why I always forget the pronunciation. Is it Sagun? Sangun? Sangun.

Sangun. I just want that dude to succeed because it's just different, period. His footwork's ridiculous. His footwork's absolutely ridiculous. I don't know what kind of lab, what kind of footwork lab he was in. I know everybody loves, after my Jimmy Chitwood story

where I was making fun of myself on the Hoosiers pod. Some people liked it, some people didn't. But like Timmy at Gonzaga, who I think toned it down a bit since the Texas game where he just basically was saying,

like, if you're going to flex the entire game, be more jacked, all right. But Timmy has the story where he has all these McHale moves that nobody has anymore. All these, you know, all these little things. And he's like, my dad was huge and I couldn't score against him. And I'm sitting at home laughing because my dad was six, five and played in college. And I was like, the only way I could ever get my shot off is if I learned all these little stupid little things. And I'm like, well, Timmy had a much better career than I did. So we'll leave it at that. All right, two more things that I want to get to here.

This is also, this is an announcement, a new branding here. The Ryan Russillo podcast, Ringer Spotify. This is an Anthony Edwards podcast now. I love the guy. I love him. Minnesota's 11 and 10, seven of the last 10 they've won. There was a carryover, I thought, last year that didn't pick up

immediately this year. I thought the win against Miami, they won it with defense. Even Carl Anthony Towns, who I understand the criticism of, a lot of fight, more fight from him. If you look at Anthony Edwards' stats, the shooting from three is up. He's at 34%.

Rebounds are two more a game. Assists are up. Block steals are up. Points are up. He's playing only four more minutes per game, but there's something beyond the stats with him where I see when he sees possessions going poorly, he's like, all right, I got this. There's a thing with him that's, and this is why we get players right and wrong or why we get so many wrong, I think, is that it's just so hard to project how your personality adapts to you now being a pro athlete in competitive circumstances

with all these other factors rolling. You have to decide at some point if you're going to be special that, okay, whatever else is going on and all this stuff and get my numbers and the money and bullshit and all that. I want to see you then.

I'm not telling you Minnesota's going to start winning a ton of playoff games here, but in his second year, a player who when I watch at Georgia, I'm like, I don't know. I would just go, okay, athletically, I get it, I get it, but shot selection's terrible. He's not making any of these threes. He's just, what is he doing on some of these pick and rolls?

He is figuring things out that are beyond the stats, and I believe in the times I watch Minnesota, there's a part of his personality that was weird. He just looked goofy, the flip phone. Every interview, we kind of were like, what's up with him? Teams are a little worried, but then it was like, does he just have this great personality? It's awesome. Whatever it is, all of it, I'm all in now. I'm just in because I love these things that I'll see from him that aren't just a made three or a crazy dunk. There's just some little awareness things from him that I'm excited about. Now, what I don't like with Minnesota is that fourth quarter offense. Because I went through Jim Peterson, who's their analyst, who I'm as big a fan of him as any guy doing on a league pass, because he's very honest. He's just good at it, but he's very honest about the team. We all know I'm not a huge D'Angelo Russell guy, but Russell, he was pointing out the other night, I think it was, okay, yeah, it was the Pacers. All right, so same thing was happening. Offense starts getting ISO heavy, started getting stagnant. I'm getting ready to

blame D'Angelo Russell, which I think is fair. But Russell this year, he pointed out, he goes, you know, Russell's actually got the best numbers in the fourth quarter. He's been technically the most clutch member of the Timberwolves. I don't know if those are some of the more traditional numbers, just field goal percentage and points the last six minutes, clutch time or whatever, last five minutes within five points, whatever, because I don't think he's a great decision maker. But Russell has been better. He has been a little bit better here. But then I started looking at individual offensive efficiency in the fourth quarter for Minnesota. And here's what we had. D'Angelo Russell was number 276. Where's your guy, Antho Rosillo, number 308. Where's Carl Anthony Towns, 314. Well, that leads us to one conclusion

that Minnesota is not a great fourth quarter offensive team, which is why that Miami win was so impressive because their offense completely shit the bed. And yet their defense was locking everybody up in that game. And we've seen that happen a few times with them defensively. I also thought, you know, the Pacers game was impressive there at the end. So I'm going, okay, well, let me do this. Let's see how bad this is. Where does Minnesota, where do they rank in offensive efficiency in the fourth quarter? Well, there's number 30 and we got 30 NBA teams. They're at 98.8 points per 100, which is last in the NBA in the fourth quarter. So there you go. Last thing here, here's a number that'll blow your mind. Denver started nine and four. We know the injuries. We know that part of it. But I remember

at nine and four and I would sort and I'd go, all right, where's Denver right now? Who I don't think any of us ever look at is go, Hey, you know what I think of first? I think a defense first, we should be thinking maybe Yoko MVP first. Um, but Denver defensively, when I would look at is go, hey, you know what I think of first? I think of defense first. We should be thinking maybe Jokic MVP first. But Denver defensively, when I would look at their nine and four numbers, so that's the start of the season till November 14th. They were the number two team in defense. You don't see that with Denver. Number two. I'm like, man, Denver's defending this well. Well, then they lost a bunch of games. They went to 9-10. They did beat Miami at Miami, so they're 10-10 now.

But from that 9-4 record to now being 500, they're 30th on defense. This is a massive drop, just not from 2 to 30. Think of it this. When they were the number two defense, they were giving up 101.3 points per 100 possessions. Since that break point, they've been giving up 121 points per 100 possessions. So they're giving up 20 more points per 100 since that 9-4 start.

And they're 5 points worse per 100 since that nine and four start that's and they're five points worse per 100 than number 29 portland so that you know i i get the injury part of it but that's i mean that's so bad there's no way like that can happen but to be 20 points worse than we were and then also five points worse than the second worst defense since that point of uh i think i sorted it at November 15th. Alright, that's Talking Hoops. Just want to shout out the Jokic brothers too real quick. Taking over Miami. Tough look for the Miami Mafia culture

chatter people. That's all I have to say. Yeah. Miami guys talk a lot of shit. We'll leave it at that. He is a guy we've had on the pod. This is a big historical day for us. Chris Long.

We haven't had him in a long time. So what's up? Also the host of Greenlight Pod, Kaz Network, and I think does as good of a job with interviews with athletes as anybody doing it in the game right now. So check out his podcast network.

What's up, man? What up, dude? I like the Cardinals hat. I like the sleeveless shirt. When do you ever wear sleeves? It's a vest. This is a vest. It's a sleeveless vest.

I mean, you don't have a shirt on under your vest. I think you lead the league in FaceTiming me shirtless, and so anytime you call me i'm kind of careful about picking up in public yeah but i don't understand why anybody like when i answer the facetime and i don't have a shirt on people are like oh and just go well what what do you mean he's very you're very trapped out you're very trapped out it's aggressive and uh and good on you right but that body dysmorphia is real because I'll have days I wake up and be like, all this work, look at you. I'll catch my arm at the

wrong angle. I'm like, you're pathetic. You're weak. You're soft. You're getting softer. You're terrible. Your back's hurt. I told people on my podcast if they see you at the gym to ask you about your back. Sorry about that. Yeah, that'll be awesome. Yeah, a little scared actually.

A little scared actually a little scared but we're gonna get through it we're just trying to isolate the areas around it and then um we'll find out and we'll keep no one posted i'll let you know i here before we get to the nfl stuff i actually want to i open the podcast with the brian kelly topic and it is very simple to me and i actually think we do agree on this one where I don't know how people want this transaction to be done. This is kind of the way it's like. Here's a funny story. I remember being at ESPN where Cal Heard, I think it's 2015, and his contract was up because his contract was up right when my contract was up.

And at that point, we become friends. Cal Heard buys a house in Manhattan Beach and then does his radio show remotely from the 710 affiliate in L.A. for like two or three weeks right as his contract's about to expire. And one of the upper managers, who I wasn't that close with, but had to know specifically like what Cal Heard was doing, goes to me and he's like, hey, you think he's going to leave ESPN? I'm like, you know, there's a couple clues that tell me he might be gone. He bought a house and he left. And then when he left, they were like, well, he could have handled that differently. I don't know that anybody likes how anybody handles the exit. And with this case of college football, I'm not telling you that Brian Kelly's everybody's favorite human being.

I'm just not sure the way people expect it to be done. Well, first things first, these guys committed to play for Notre Dame. I mean, you heard Kyle Hamilton talk about that on, I think his podcast is like, we committed to play for Notre Dame, the brand, not necessarily all Brian Kelly. The second thing, and the most important thing to me is like, if you have a pet tiger and the pet tiger bites you in the face, like that's kind of on you. Same thing with when you commit or you send your kid to play for Brian Kelly. There's like a whole laundry list of Brian Kelly stuff that even by the

standard of like, you know, this is the MO of a coach leaving a program. It's kind of fucked up. If it's me, Ryan, and I'm Chris long head coach of a college football program, I'm probably going to be just really transparent with my kids. Now, I also know that people use

that in recruiting against you. So when things get out, you don't want that getting out ahead of your interview. But maybe I have a text drafted before the ink hits the paper that goes out to avoid this whole thing. Because Brian Kelly, the one thing that I call bullshit on is that he thought he was going to get back for an in-person meeting and that they weren't going to get this. He knows how this works. He just didn't prioritize it. But it is funny how we try to manufacture outrage over everything when this is just kind of how it goes in college football.

The only reason I feel okay about it, Ryan, now more so than when I used to is now players can come and go. So it's a little bit more of a business for both parties and that's okay for me. Yeah. Right. And that's, that's how I felt because, you know, I remember like coach is saying, well, if we just remove all transfer restrictions, I have to recruit my, my players all over again. I have to recruit my own guys. And it's like, you know what? Mad Men line. That's what the money's for. If average annual salaries are going to jump from four to seven and now $11 million for the top coaches in college football

and you have to re-recruit your own guys, then okay, sorry. Yeah, heavy as a head that wears a crown. It's funny that back in the day, I would have thought college coaches, the only thing college coaching as a lifestyle had on, uh, you know, pro coaching because pro coaching is actually kind of easier in a lot of ways, other than the fact that you might bounce around more and you're at the mercy of, you know, the hiring and firing cycle,

which happens every year is now like, you don't have control over these little fiefdoms anymore. Like, so you lose the control. I think it'll be interesting to see how this money incentivizes guys to stay in college because some of that control factor is gone now. Yeah.

Who was Al Groh, your guy that recruited you? Al Groh was my guy. And honestly, I had Bill Musgraves was my recruiting coordinator. And I, when he left to go somewhere else, I was like, kind of like, damn, this is how it goes. Huh?

But when I talked to a couple of the other kids or like when I talked to my dad or like, you know, it's just like, get used to this. This has been the way it's been for a long time. It's like guys that lead you to the water, then leave. I mean, that's, that's the way it goes. And it's college football and it's a business. But Ryan, I never told you the story about when I actually flipped the script and told a coach that he was leaving. So in 2010-11, we were doing one of our one in 15 years. And I don't want to name the coach, but when you have exit meetings, usually

it's after week 17, we go up to Seattle, get our asses kicked. We've been out of it for a while. So you're always tipsy from the flight home. And so these exit meetings are these kind of like your brain's not working, you're tired, you just want to get to the Caribbean or wherever you need to go. And you go down the hallway and you say goodbye to all the coaches until the offseason. Well, I told one of the coaches because I just wasn't thinking. And I thought, man, we went 1-15. It's been a pleasure working with you and I'm one of the coaches because I just wasn't thinking. And I thought, man, we want to, we went one in 15.

It's been really, it's been a pleasure working with you and I'm wishing you the best of luck. And he said, Chris, they didn't fire us. We'll see you in April. So, uh, yeah, I've actually done, I've actually done the opposite. Me and that coach have remained friends, but it was a long day. It was a long season. So you just assumed everybody was getting blasted out. I don't know. I think it was a Freud day it was a long season so you just assumed everybody was getting blasted out i don't know i think it was a freudian slip i never would have said that uh i'm not stupid i think it just slipped out dude okay did you did you ever happen and i didn't even get to this in the open but you

know one of the things i remember when i was when i was baseball rye i you know a guy get traded the trade deadline and then it was always you know they didn't even tell me and you go okay you know what like i found out on the bottom line ticker you go okay but like it's not always going to work that way it's not always going to work that way i know it'd be great if you get a call from the gm but like some of the other times too and i'd be like if you were a gm of a basketball team you can't be like hey Hey, we had a call about trading for you today. But I said, no, just want to keep you in the loop. Like it's just impossible. So like as a player, am I wrong on that one? Cause I, I still don't think it can be handled the way the world outside of the world wants it to be handled. I don't think you bat a thousand. I think the media

has made it impossible. I mean, like I remember I signed my deal in St. Louis and it was on TV before, and this was St. Louis. It was me signing a deal in st louis like and it was on tv like that and i remember looking at jeff fisher and being like i didn't say anything and he's like i didn't say anything either and um you know because the agents to interrupt though but like well you would agree the agent wants the currency of information with the person that they're occurring favor with, with the, Hey, I'm giving you a little heads up here and whatever.

Like that's the game, right? Yeah. That's the game. But also there's people in the locker room. So like, Hey, Chris signed his big deal.

He read up, like, let me hit up my guy. Like that's a little bit of information. Like the unnamed sourcing, all that stuff. It's just made it impossible to do anything, you know,

in the light of dark or in darkness. And, you know, it's just like, if to do anything in the light or in darkness. If you're a player, you have to understand that it's a business. But if you're a coach, you have to understand that you at least have to make an effort. And if coaches have a track record of being real guys, I think for the most part, even if I was undercut or that coach was undercut by a media member and I heard about it that way, I think I would understand if I have the right relationship with that coach how the business works. Anything else? Any other stories?

Transactional, Chris Long? I don't know, man. I don't know, man. I never played somewhere like Notre Dame where people made a big deal about anything that went on. What about recruiting? It wasn't a lock that you were going to go to UVA, right oh it was a lock because i didn't think i was good enough to go other places like yeah but other places wanted you like i even talked to the lsu guys that were still there

when you came in with howie because you and i would always joke that you actually wanted to go there but you didn't i wanted to go to lsu but you didn't think you were good enough well uh my dad didn't think the coach was going to be there long. It turned out that he was there a while. And on top of that, like when I look at like Florida State or I look at some bigger school, I didn't think I was athletic enough. When you have a dad who's like, he's a real grounding guy. And I don't just mean he grounded me a lot. Like he definitely grounded me six months one time. But I would say he keeps you grounded because not only does he have a gold jacket, but he's really honest.

Like he told me my junior year and we still argue about this because he says he didn't say it, but he said it. Like you really should start working on your guard sets. I think like you could be a really good college guard. And so, you know, I wasn't like, yeah, let me let me see what's up with Florida State. Missed that in the third. So I stayed home. I took the first offer I got and I opted for the laundry and the home-cooked meals, man. I love that you don't think you were athletic enough.

Were you assuming something about your appearance that was almost... Right. Is it possible to be racist about yourself? I don't know, man. I don't know. But I just... Yeah, I kind of... And also, I was a know, man. I don't know. But I just, yeah, I kind of, I kind of, and also as a private school kid,

I was smaller school. So you read things and you kind of, you kind of like, oh, well, maybe I'm not, you know, but Al Groh was, you know, Al Groh, who remains one of my best friends, you know, was a guy that developed me to be ready for the next task, which was surviving eight years in St. Louis.

And I'm really glad that I had Al. Okay. Let's talk some NFL stuff then. That was really good though. I could do that all day long. Mack Jones and this Pats team. I get in a, I've mentioned this already, arguments with all my Pats buddies. They're like, this team's winning the Super Bowl.

I'm like, I don't know about that yet, but I'm incredibly impressed with what the defense has done um the guys that they've brought in and then it really comes down to like what for me at least it comes down to like what mac jones can do in a game where it may have to get a little loose where it's it's it's drive after drive we were trying to keep pace with somebody else what do you see right now when you watch them well you asked me the other day was i surprised i want to point, so I have some equity in this, that I did buy the overwind total on the Pats. What was it? It was like 9.5 or 9.

I'm not even sweating it anymore. Maybe I should not say that out loud, but I'm sweating the Vikings underwind total a little bit more. I go Lions this weekend. The Pats, to me, have the highest floor in the AFC. I knew this was coming, that they would be competent. But we saw their floor Sunday. The thing that I did not know about the Pats

was that the Bills were going to be relatively down, that the Chiefs would sputter, that the AFC was kind of all over the place. And they've taken advantage of that by being solid. I think my biggest concerns for them, and they're two like very un-New England boogeyman type things that might sneak up on them, is that run defense, which reared its ugly head.

The nose play wasn't great on some of those long runs. They were kind of getting hit in the B gap. Not really Bill Belichick points of pride. Also, their red zone offense. I thought that was the biggest disappointment because you can survive a lot of stuff, but if you're kicking field goals against a team that's better than the Titans

and is running the ball for 270 yards on you, that's going to come back and bite you. And Mac Jones has been really good, but when they get down in the red zone, and this includes Sunday, he missed some big throws. He missed a big one to Hunter Henry up six. Before the half, coming out of the half, he

sputtered damn near through a pick. These are the things they have to work on offensively when they get down in the red area being better. Other than that, I think it's all about matchups, right? In the AFC, Kansas City has got to be scared shitless of a New England team. And on the other side of things, New England's about...

Can I interrupt you there? Why is what New England does a bad matchup for Kansas City? I mean, they played more man in the last couple years. They play more zone now. But look at what they did with Brian Hoyer at Arrowhead. Look at the way they had basically a death grip on these guys and we thought that Kansas City got the monkey off their back when they won week

17 a year or two ago up there in New England. You're like, okay, the power struggle is over. I don't think the matchup problem goes away. The Pats have gotten better rushing the passer. In the past, the Pats have had to, at times, post Chandler Jones,

by preference or by necessity, have manufactured pressure. Now you've got Barmore. Now you've got Judon. Now you've got these guys that can actually win. And they've hit it out of the park in free agency and in the draft. So you pick up guys like Stevenson in the draft. You pick up guys like Kendrick Bourne in free agency who made two big plays on Sunday. I just think they're better. Now, you talk about

matchups. I'm going to give you one. Colts. Colts slide in. You think the Patriots want to see the Colts? It's all about matchups in the AFC to me. If you look at their streak, there's one quality win. It's the Chargers. I don't know what to make of them, but I think their floor is very high.

I think they're going to be a team that not a lot of people want to see, but it depends on the matchup. On the quality win part, you're talking New England. Yeah, I'm talking New England. You think the Chargers is the only one that jumps out at you? In this win streak. I mean, to the Chargers. You think the Chargers is the only one that jumps out at you? In this win streak. I mean, to you, you see anything? I mean, they've handled bad teams.

The Browns are a mess. The Titans aren't even close to being the same team. And by the way, they beat a Titans team without both receivers and Henry. And since Henry's been out, we're getting the worst version of Tannehill in Tennessee by a mile. And more importantly, they've won games. I mean, they won that L.A. game without Henry effectively, right? I mean, he was out early. They've won games without him.

The guy that really hurts is if A.J. Brown's not healthy. I mean, A.J. Brown gives you so much, you can turn a slant into an 85-yard touchdown. Yeah, I mean, they muddied things up. And I think Vrabel and that OC there should get a lot of credit because, yeah, they got their asses kicked, and that's why the Patriots are so good because that's their floor. But they muddied that thing up,

and they ran the ball right down their throat, and they were in it the whole game. And they were in it with running backs that I pass up on the waiver wire in fantasy football. Like, I don't even know who these guys are. No disrespect. They're wearing funny numbers and they're running for like three bills. But the thing about New England is the last thing I'll say is if you're ball aware, you're in every game.

And I don't think it's turnover luck. They do that well. They do it every year. In the red zone last week, you get J.C. Jackson on a pick. It's Devin McCourty just putting his hand up. It's Kyle Vannoy surviving second down with a PBU to create that opportunity. It's J.C. Jackson running down a run that goes for 30. That's what they do every week, and it keeps them in ball games. I want to get on the Bills, and then I got to pivot to the Rams and Donald and some of the

NFC stuff, so we still have a lot to do here. Give me a little bit on Steve Belichick. because i from the outside and it's funny too because if it were ever going wrong people in boston would be like hey what the hell we just let his kid be the dc uh but you years ago you know through our friendship i would go what's up and you were always like hey i like steve i like steve so give us a better understanding and why you know you got to look past the last name and realize he's pretty good at his job listen, there's a lot of guys that have probably come and go through that building that were entitled coaches that thought, I'm coaching with the hoodie,

I'm hot shit. There's probably still a guy or two there like that. I mean, for sure. I mean, there's an aura there. But the guy that built that building, his son, is not one of them. I mean, Steve is a hardworking, energetic, like I know energy is not what he exudes on the field,

but like he's a guy that's great in the locker room. He's a guy that's great in the meeting room. And he's a guy that's kind of bided his time and waited behind certain coaches that got opportunities. And I'm really happy he's making the most of it. And by the way, he has great lettuce. And he used to give me lacrosse shorts. He used to give me lax shorts.

I still have them. So I got my Steve Belich used to give me lax shorts. I still have them. So I got my Steve Belichick semi-pro lax shorts. He's my guy. I like Steve a lot. Yeah, and he's good at it too, though. You're not just saying this because you wouldn't. Well, I don't know what I don't. I'm not comfortable saying like I know if it's 60-40 him, if it's 70.

I mean, like Bill's the straw that serves the drink. But I think he's a really good coach. I really do think that. And I don't think there's any. I mean, like certainly people are always going to, you know, look for nepotism, but, um, I think when it comes to Steve, he's really earned his stripes and having a voice in that building, you know, and that's, and that's all I'll say about Steve is he's just, he's a guy that players respect. All right. Bills. Um, this is a stretch where I don't know if this is telling us everything or maybe it's telling us nothing because I've looked at, and I mentioned this, I don't know, a couple of weeks ago, like formation wise, there were some numbers where it's like, well, when they're in this formation, this is when they've been losing games and all these different things.

We always knew the offensive line wasn't really much of an option with the run game. They just didn't care about it, but it didn't matter because we thought their ceiling was really special. What is it like when you're a team that still has big aspirations? We're talking about getting to a Super Bowl here, as I think is what Buffalo is thinking of

when they look in the mirror, where you're just going to have that kind of stretch where you're like, things aren't right. What is that stretch when it's just a blip versus it's derailing who you are?

Well, I think there's certain things about the Bills that scare me. I mean, you go through an entire season and every month we have a different... Like each month, if you ask me to pick a Super Bowl, I'm going to give you a different answer. I'm like, big fucking whoop. Everybody's like, well, your answer changed.

I'm like, well, the teams are changing. I mean, like, holy shit, I'm not Miss Cleo. Like, that's not what you... I'm coloring... Yeah, I'm coloring in the football analysis, and right now this is what I see. The Bills, to me, have some fatal flaws, and one of them just popped up last week

in that they're number one corners down. So they're going to rely on this guy. I think his name is Dane Jackson. He's been targeted five times. You're going to need that guy to step up. But more importantly, offensively, I think with the offensive line issues and with the running back issues, I mean, when you go down to Jacksonville and you go nine for 22, Singletary and Moss, you have a problem.

And that problem's not going away. You know what I mean? And so it's a chalky answer, but if their run game's not going away. You know what I mean? And so I just, it's a chalky answer, but if their run game's not right and people make Josh Allen matriculate the ball down the field, like it's been kind of a cliche that you can play too high against Patrick Mahomes,

you play too high against Josh Allen. That's what they did in Jacksonville in that like nine to six ball game. But like, it's true. These two guys are aggressive. And I mean, like part of the deal is that if you play josh allen and you force a turnover the bills are 500 like they're 500 so uh if you force him to be patient and to not you know and to beat himself he's probably eventually going to do it so those two things is the impatience that's created by the fact that people can sit back there, keep

things in front of them. You want to play zone against these guys. You don't want to play man. And by the way, the Patriots are playing a lot more zone this year. So this matchup for them is monumental. It's not just monumental in the standings. It's also

monumental in the macro, from the macro perspective. Because if you're a Bills fan, you're like, holy shit, ding dong, the witch is dead. It's over there in New England. Yay. I know, right? And then you do all these great things up front to accentuate or create a skill where there was a weakness and you're trying to beat the Chiefs. And then it seems like the target moves. And now the team you got to beat is New England again. So I don't know what to make of this team. I'll never count them out because they can get hot.

They got Josh Allen, but he's turned the ball over more and they can't run the football. NFC, who's better, Green Bay or Arizona? I know Green Bay won the head-to-head. I admit watching that game, I left it feeling like Arizona was better than them and should have won that game. Green Bay's going to win the Super Bowl. I mean, I'm not just... I've said this for a few weeks now, so it's not like I'm just reacting to a Rams win.

I'm not. I mean, listen, the Rams... I told a kid in a Green Bay beanie Saturday night, I was like, your team's going to win the Super Bowl, and then I bet the Rams Sunday. So like, go fucking figure. But I don't think the Rams are that good. It's not why I'm saying this. I'm saying this because I like their defense. I'm saying this because the thing that kept me from respecting that team as a contender the past two years, I mean, when you've got a jugs machine that runs 17 miles per hour, you've got one of the best multi-purpose backs in the league, you have the best receiver in the league, your offensive line, you've figured out a way to get that third string guy to block Leonard Floyd,

and you've weathered the storm with some of the injuries. The concerns I've always had have been on defense and their physicality, their attitude. The last two years, if you came with an attitude, you could kick their ass defensively. And one of my favorite players in the league is Adarius Smith. They're going to get him back. They're going to get a few guys back. Shire's coming back. I mean, he's a stud. Kenny Clark has always been a bona fide dog.

But I wanted to see if dudes around him would step up and be physical. And the new coordinator has done a good job of setting that tone. There were two games for me. One of them, you mentioned the Cardinals game, they stepped up defensively and then, you know, playing Seattle, um, where they had to keep the points down. They did that and they were wounded and they got through that a year or two ago, they wouldn't have gotten through that. And I think they're more physical now. Rashawn Gary's coming, uh, making some plays. He stepped up big. And Rasul Douglas, who I played with in Philly, they basically were like, we got nothing

for you. He's been on six teams. He's been one of their best playmakers. And the guy, like, every time I bet against the Packers, he burns me. He used to take my money playing pool in Philly, and now he takes my money as a retired player. Okay. That's bold.

I had no idea Aaron Donald was such a MacGruber fan. Can I say this, though, before we get to the throat-rip thing? I don't want to, because I know Cardinals fans are sitting here like, listen, the number one reason I said that so effortlessly is because Kyler Murray, as electric as he is, and I said this early this year, this guy, if he figures a couple things out, could have a Lamar-like run of dominance where you're like, this is his league. But a couple weeks ago, he runs out at the sticks and turns his ankle or whatever it was. And I remember thinking, damn, every little limp you see with him, you have to

worry that it turns into a couple week thing. And that's not his fault. It's just the way it is. And last year against Seattle, he dinged his shoulder. And the rest of the year, they couldn't use him running the football as much and they kind of cratered. And I worry about what it looks like when they come back. Now, kudos to Cliff for not rushing him back. But the variability of this team because of that one position is so big to me that I'm going to take the Packers. Yeah, that's, I think, a completely fair assessment because, I mean,

that ankle turn when you watched it, you're like, oh, you know, he got rolled up a little bit from behind and the adrenaline's going, the injury's fresh, so he closes out the rest of it. But you saw something was wrong and then you're like, wait, we're going to miss this guy for a month? And I would say his ceiling is beyond Lamar's ceiling. Yeah, definitely. From a throwing standpoint.

The coming back thing is always kind of weird. This is my take on the Russell Wilson thing. I believe that Russell Wilson wanted to come back to prove that he could come back. And that had more to do with him than it did the team. I had Trent Dilfer on Monday where I talked about Baker going, dude, watching Baker run around right now is rough. And he goes, who cares? You got to play.

He goes, you get paid all the money. You're the starter. You're the high pick. You're always going to be better than the backup. He's like, you're just going to go out there and play, you know, and Dilfer be the guy running around out there without an arm. I do think that there's also a thing of like, hey, look at me. I came back, which I

think Russell Wilson's all about. I think he's about Russell Wilson more than he's about anything else. We all have to be sorry. We all have to be fucking competitive because at the end of the day, if you're like, well, I'm hurt, so it's not the best thing for the team, your teammates are still going to look at you sideways. Fans are going to look at you sideways. Coaches, if you're like, well, I'm hurt, so it's not the best thing for the team, your teammates are still going to look at you sideways.

Fans are going to look at you sideways. Coaches, when you're hurt in a building and you walk through that building, you feel like a marked man, dude. When I came back from a high ankle and shot my ankle up every week, I couldn't walk during the week, my contract year. We were 2-14. I don't think anybody gave a shit if I was gonna play or not I don't think anybody was like oh he's gonna help us like I was coming back for me and for my respect and that's part of being a teammate so it's like there's a big crossover in the Venn diagram between being a teammate and having pride in yourself so I totally get sometimes putting yourself first a

little bit as a football player because the pressures are there to do so. Yeah, because then on the other side, to be fair to Russell Wilson, you'd be like, well, what if you just said, hey, I'm going to milk this until every last moment? Then how would people feel about that kind of thing? They'd be mad. Yeah, they'd be mad about that too. Okay, so let's get back to ripping throats.

Aaron Donald in that play, I mean, the fact the ump was kind of okay with it as he was grabbing the packers now for those that didn't see this replay aaron donald who and i'll get to your scouting report on him goes up into one of the offensive linemen's throats and it's just grabbing at his throat the lineman's like waving his hands like i'm enough enough enough and the ump just kind of cool with all of it so i don't know if if he saw something else there. But you are on record every day of your life as saying that Donald isn't just the best player. You're actually scared of him. You would be scared to fight Aaron Donald.

And everybody should be scared to fight Aaron Donald, correct? Yeah, there's a reason they make weapons and things. And it's for people like Aaron Donald. Here's the deal. When I like Karen Donald, uh, like, uh, here's the deal. When I saw that Sunday, I was like, why 62, did you do whatever you did to, to create this situation? And you called it a McGruber throat rip. Uh, and yeah, like there's a series coming out soon. So that's great. It's timely. Uh, I want to get, I want to get Forte on, but I want to interview him as McGruber. I don't want to interview Forte. I want to just do it as McGruber, but you know, I feel like that line's going to be long. We'll see. I feel like you're

testing, you're testing the waters on this, this, uh, strategy. And so people know, you know, what it'll end up happening is big cattle get them because I just said it and big cat will do him as McGruber. Yeah. So, um, anyways, like, yeah, I said this on my pod the other day. I was like, can you imagine being number 62? And by the way, it was more Darth Vader to me than MacGruber. It was like when Darth Vader just picks the guy up and he didn't have any control. And the ref,

by the way, one of my favorite still shots from that whole video is the ref with his hand up like, what the fuck, man? Of all the assignments he was like he was like the security guard at the palace the other night when the Isaiah was there

Isaiah Stewart like went nuts and he was like I didn't fucking sign up for this like 62 can never make a pro bowl you realize that like 62 can never make a Pro Bowl. Do you realize that? Like 62 would be the first player in league history to turn down a Pro Bowl.

Because if you go to the Pro Bowl, you got to stay in a hotel with Aaron Donald for a week. Think about that. It's like the worst AU trip of all time. And there's the biggest, baddest kid that you pissed off last season. And now you're on his team uh-uh dude 62 is never going to a pro bowl now are we do you not know his name or are you doing like a little bit of a harvin marison thing here i'm bad with names i call everybody by numbers

okay um what's the what's the kid's name might as well be john doe i'm just trying to look at the depth chart here now uh because i don't i don't know i i got i got no idea he can't tell you his name he can't speak after that i mean his windpipe is all sore aaron donald hit him you know the guy who's gone viral recently for having all the self-defense techniques that look really easy to get out of? You just have Aaron Donald teach the class. Just grab a guy by his fucking esophagus. Oh, I've been on this for a long time. The guy has a 9mm in his head in the car, and he's like, and now all you need to do is this.

I can imagine, just because of the way it works like there needs to be a documentary done on on the generation of people that just were like getting guns pulled on them and they're like i got this yeah i just it's that simple somebody comes up behind you they carjack you just you just tap you just tap and then you pull the barrel and then it's like yeah that that's what the guy's into man i don't buy that shit yeah like well I've watched seven reels on this. I got it. Seven reels. Oh, wait. So is it Lucas Patrick?

Yeah. Finally. I had to go down the depth chart to find him. Duke guy. So that's why you're not naming him. No, that's not it. Also, RIP. Well, not RIP. I don't want to say that because people might think he died.

But David Cutcliffe, he had a great run. He did. No, I'm saying good self-edit on the RIP. I don't want to say that because people might think he died. But David Cutcliffe, he had a great run. He did. No, I'm saying good self-edit on the RIP. But yeah, Duke got you. Not dead, just not the head coach. Now, this guy, 62, who I forgot his name already, John Doe, he's dead. He's as good as dead. Don't go to the Pro Bowl, buddy.

I don't think we have to worry about the pro bowl part of this the best is a couple of his friends are going to hear this and be like dude i don't know he may it might be i might be fucked now why because we talked about no you're good i got you remember we met aaron and i you no not aaron i'm not worried about aaron i'm worried about 62 now because i mean he's he's only five years out of school 300 pounds like that's a lot for me to deal with i'm not worried about we know aaron donald no aaron donald likes me i'm what i'm saying i'm not worried about anything with 62 because we know aaron donald there you go there you go problem solved uh what else do we have on the on the topic list today because i'm not letting you go yet robots fucking what else i

think we kind of ran through this whole thing lincoln riley uh his dogs are named boomer and sooner did you catch that i did yeah what do you do lane kiffin named his kid knoxville so no here's what you do lane he was lane was drunk when he did that but like like lincoln riley if you're lincoln riley is an easy opportunity to be like you know guys i intended to be here a while you know like you could spin this into i intended and i also need to know what kind of dogs these are these like the here for a good time not a long time dogs like the big ones or are they like 12 14 year old dogs what kind of dogs are they how poorly would it have gone over if lincoln was like you know what just just show

that i'm a good guy i'm gonna leave the dogs behind at the meeting at the meeting where how about how we haven't heard anything about his meeting what was his meeting like i don't know but i i love that ke Kelly's meeting went from 11 minutes to two minutes. Oh, dude. Listen, man. I mean, I'm not going to that meeting. I'm not mad at Brian Kelly, but don't fuck up my sleep. And people were like, oh, but you're probably in there at 8 a.m.

Anyways. I'm like, I need the hour. And that's what I said. Okay. But that's what I said. I said, there's a good chance that they were probably at the facility in the morning anyway.m. anyways. I'm like, I need the hour. Okay, but that's what I said. I said there's a good chance that they were probably at the facility in the morning anyway. Maybe hour. There's nobody more tired than a college football

player. Maybe on the planet. Yeah. You guys need to sleep. Matt Bayless is their strength coach. You know who Matt Bayless is? Yeah, I saw a video of him today. He was our strength coach in Virginia. I've never been so jacked, bro. This guy, he's got

these guys tired as hell, but they love him. They need that extra hour of sleep. What's going on with you jacked-wise right now? Not. What's wrong? Too much podcast. Sounds like an excuse. No, it's not an excuse. Two kids, too much podcast. I'm not a bachelor, dude.

You know, there's a lot of responsibilities that are keeping me about 248. So you're 248 right now. And let's also address it because there was some I've I've checked every single midlife crisis activity off. Like I've checked them all off and I'm fine. I'm actually pretty good spot right now. It's not a midlife crisis. I think I had that at 27. I had mine early. I get it out of the way. Well, so did I'm fine. I'm actually pretty good spot right now. It's not a midlife crisis. I think I had that at 27. I had mine early. I get it out of the way. Well, so did I play football. So mathematically. Yeah. Right. Right. So you were talking about hobbies. Where are you with the hobbies and

maybe the Brazilian jujitsu stuff? Cause we had talked about some different activities because once we got out of COVID, I remember thinking like, all right, I got to start signing up for stuff. I was even looking at not signing up for sending in a $35 check, but I was looking at the community flyer. You know how you get a little bit older and your grandmother always kept it around on the kitchen island and you go. Oh, I know what you're talking about. Yeah. What's going on in the community today? No, listen, man.

I tried Brazilian jiu-jitsu for a while. It was awesome. Like dudes were just slamming me on my back. It was cool. It was awesome. Dudes were just slamming me on my back. It was cool. I was learning, but then the whole pandemic and vaccination stuff, I don't want to get into it, but I'm like, maybe it's

not the best socially distanced activity. I've almost learned a bunch of skills over the years. I've been so close to learning about seven skills, guitar, how to fix cars, all types of shit. I've tried to get into the NBA regular season. After football, it's hard, Ryan. So hats off to you.

But there's just no time, not in football season, just my kids in football. Kids in football. Okay, so like dressing deer? No, dude, I haven even like been out in the woods enough dude football has totally fucked my life up what about hunting you do you not want to hunt are you no i hunt i hunt i turkey uh in the spring which my wife calls it turkey watching because uh i have a hard time uh bagging birds but it's a fun it's a fun kind of way to be out in the woods at

six in the morning and i'll wake up up for that, but not a Brian Kelly meeting. Are you Bo? No, not a Bo. Benelli. Oh, you got a Benelli? Yeah. That's a nice Italian brand. All these guys are doing it how their ancestors did it and all that stuff.

That's cool. That's great, man. i want to shoot the bird i guess we're i guess we covered it yeah i think we have most of it yeah most of it we got your vest your sleeveless vest um yeah i don't really have much else going on my life is pretty fucking boring right about now oh i, I did after the Virginia game, I had a... I puked in my bathroom. That's the only funny thing that happened to me last week. We lost the Commonwealth Cup on a third

and nine. You guys thought you were going to win that one, too, against Tech this year. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. The background is we lost 15 straight games to these guys over a span of obviously 15 years. I was four of them. We got the monkey off our back. And then this weekend, we dialed up a O-lineman throwback with no throw option in the red zone on third and nine with the game on the line.

So that was a tough, tough look for your boy. Did you just snifle a sneeze? No, I just kind of wiped my nose. It was gross. Kids are all sick. Everybody's sick? Yeah, everybody's sick, coughing in my face. It's awesome. Yeah, you should get some kids, Ryan. It's awesome. I love kids.

No time for hobbies. The whole thing. No, kids are cool. I've heard kids are great about hobbies being like sorry i can't do that right now i have a hobby well waylon loves you he still loves you he asks about you and uh you got to come and visit us all right sounds good stay out of way look for me and uh we'll talk again soon and please subscribe and check out chris long's podcast green light podcast uh he is terrific. Please do it. Please. It's my guy out here in Manhattan Beach, Matt Leiner, USC legend, Fox Sports, big new kickoff.

Great show. Great on all the coverage. Okay. So we've been texting a little bit the last couple of days. How excited are you about this? Because it seems like this is beyond even for a guy that's a storied alum like yourself at SC. and Brandon. I got to know them pretty well the last couple of years. So I trusted that they were literally doing everything possible to get the best guy. I just did not think Lincoln was the guy or was going to be available. So, um, dude, I'm so fricking pumped, man. Like it's USC has been, it's been the perception. It's just been bad for a while. They can't fill the Coliseum. They're not getting the big recruits that are 20 minutes away. It's just, you know, the perception of that is reality. And Lincoln immediately changes that, you know, he makes us relevant. He's going to put, you know, I was saying earlier, the Coliseum will be sold out next year, you know, so fans are excited. And I do want to just give a

ton of credit to the leadership at USC. It's been an issue in the past and they stepped up to the plate. They hit a home run. He's one of the best coaches in college football. He's proven that, you know, in his time at Oklahoma. And there's no doubt, man, like he is going to bring us back. There's no doubt about that. How much involvement do you have? So I, I, I, I've been pretty active.

Obviously not with that particular hire, but over the last year. So I've been very active with the leadership there as far as just, hey, what does USC need to be great? And what are some of the things that we can do? And how can we enhance the fan experience? And how can we reach the former players? Just almost as an ambassador, but I've gotten really close with those guys and a lot of candid conversations about where, uh, now where we were as a program to where we need to be and what we can be. And, um, so there were a lot of conversations.

There were a lot of names thrown in the mix that we talked about. Um, at the end of the day, again, this was a surprise to me. I had no involvement in that whatsoever. I don't think anyone knew that was going to happen until the 24th hour, but I've really grown to admire, I'm telling you, they're good. They're really good. I mean, this was going to make or break their tenure at USC. And I'll tell you what, man, it's a splash. I know you and I obviously follow you and throughout the years of this being frustrating and it felt like Clay Hilton might be out years ago. And then it's kind of one of those deals like,

hey, let's bring them back again because of the buyout worked and a little bit there. And I wouldn't exactly put USC at the top of the list of schools that just didn't care about the money part. And clearly with this investment, this is a bit of a turn, but you're basically investing in what we think is the right guy. How weird of a line is that for you? Because I think you became more and more public because you represent the university.

You're a guy that's still in the area. People are coming up to you complaining about the USC football program. There's things that you don't necessarily like, but yet you're still attached to it. So you don't exactly want to like call out this guy that's still the football coach. Like I felt that that was a very delicate balance for you. It was really hard. And you know, my job, and as you know,

just being in this world, you got to be objective. And it's hard for me just because I am so close to the program. And it was really hard for me when, when Sarkeesian, you know, got let go with the issues that he was dealing with. And, and I remember like, I was saying like, listen, I'm not gonna, you know, I don't feel comfortable talking about these things. Cause that, that's a, that's a really good friend of mine who, you know, who's, who's dealing with some other, some other stuff. So, but you know,

over the last five or six years, you know, I do have a voice for usc because of the platform that i have at fox and the show that i'm on and um i as many as much as the fan and and alumni and players want to see usc get back to what i know it can be and i think everyone knows it can be and i really it became i don't want to say it became easier. Um, but it became, it was, it was a listen. It was like the product we're putting on the field is not great. There needs to be change. Um, and I, and I, and listen, I, I have nothing but respect for Clay Hilton. He took over a program that was dealing with a lot of sanctions and all that. And he

righted the ship to some degree. Um, but there were also a lot of things that weren't done. I think that really couldn't could have made USC great again. And, um, I said that on air and I was very, I was okay saying that at that point. Um, I think the hard part is just the players, you know, the players go out there, they work hard. Um, you know, it's not their fault that they're not necessarily being maybe developed like they should be. But that was always a challenge for me. And my job is just, you know, these are 18, 19-year-old kids, man. Like, they want to just go play ball. You know, they can't control the conversations around the coaches.

And, I mean, guys, look what's happened last week. And, you know, Brian Kelly going to LSU and Lincoln. Like, players don't have a lot of control. They're getting more of a voice now which i think is great but um so that was always the the part for me is walking that line of kind of not talking about the players but more talking about kind of the lack of structure that's going on within a program and what needs to change did you talk to lincoln at all is there anything that you have with the conversation with him that's very specific that either made you excited or gave you a better perspective on who he's about as a guy? Because now it's basically family now. And we had some conversation Monday, and it was really more just like,

can you believe this? Like, you know, it was just more excitement. So I didn't really get a chance to have an in-depth conversation with him. But I'll say this, knowing him and knowing what he's like, like there is no doubt that he will come in and change the culture of that place. Like now, like he's already doing it now. So he's a family dude, man like he's already doing it now. So, um, he's, he's a family dude, man. He's, he's very much about football. Like he's, he's all football. Um, and that's what I love, you know, and, and he's a hell of a coach, man, offensive mind. Uh, I love some of the staff

he's bringing. Um, he's bringing some good, some good coaches over there. And, um, look at just USC with the talent base that's around here and the pac-12 and the path and all those things like it's it's it's an it's a i don't say it's easy but it's it's an easy place to fix with the right guy how do you fix the recruiting part of this um because that i think is the biggest thing especially with the quarterbacks all the california kids everywhere else putting up huge numbers competing for you know it's just been so frustrating now that i've lived out here for a while listening to guys being like so wait we're sc and we lose all these guys now i would also tell fans that i think there were other parts geographically around the country a little bit

more aggressive with the recruiting than sc was comfortable going to but now that shouldn't really be a factor um for a bunch of different reasons for the opportunities of somebody who maybe wants to take advantage of the LA part of this. So how do you fix what's been happening if you're Lincoln? And you do exactly what Pete Carroll did. Pete Carroll, his motto was, I am going to dominate my backyard. And anyone out of California, he has to be a first-round draft pick. That's what he said. I am going to only get first-round draft picks out of the state of California because I got enough dudes here that I can build a team around. And look at some of the out-of-state players that we got.

that I can build a team around. And he, and I mean, look at some of the out-of-state players that we got. Brian Cushing, Mike Williams. I mean, McKnight, Mike Williams, Keith Rivers. I mean, that's just four right there that were all big time players. I'm telling you, it is so easy.

One, Lincoln has already had a lot of success recruiting the West Coast. He already took, you know, my high school, modern day. He has the running back there, Relique Brown, who was already going to Oklahoma. He's the number two running back in the country. He's, he's going to flip. He's going to go to USC. Malachi Nelson, the kid from Los Al, who just flipped the five-star he's flipping. It's I'm telling you, he's, we weren't, we didn't recruit. Like that was the problem with Clay and the staff

is they didn't recruit. They had coordinators that didn't want to recruit to go on the road and they just kind of were ho-hum about it. Like I've heard stories from Bryce Young's family. I've heard stories from DJU's family, like, like kids that loved USC growing up, homegrown, that just felt like they weren't getting recruited enough, you know, and those are good kids. You know, those aren't these kids that are put up on a pedestal. They were really good kids. Um, and they were just right down the street. So Lincoln will stop all of that. There's zero doubt. Like he, and he, I told him and I told some of the guys that were there at the press conference

and staff, I said, dude, you just got to go down the street, man. And you're going to like, you just got to keep these kids here and you're going to build a team that way. And, um, I'll, I'll say this when, when urban was on our show, he told me, he's like, Matt, like when Pete was there and you guys were rolling, we didn't even step foot in California. Cause we knew we wouldn't get those guys. Like we would go to South Florida. We would do all that Georgia,

but we would not go to Southern California because we knew we were up against him and we weren't going to win. Pete left and it was like sharks in the water. And he told me that. He's like, once Pete left, and look at what's happening, man. Like everyone's coming in and they've been doing that now for a decade,

but they come in, they're plucking these guys because USC wasn't winning. They weren't winning championships. They're not developing players. And that to me is all changes with this hire because he's proven that. He's done that. Friday night football, all of our assistants, you are assigned to go to every one of these places. And it's not even to dig on Clay and that staff, but I guess I can't imagine not being competitive enough. How could you allow yourself to get your ass kicked in your own backyard? And I get that you get a family, you don't want to go on the road all the time. Recruiting sucks. You got to

suck up to 17 and 18 year old kids. I get that all part of it. But if you want all the cool shit, you want the money, you want the salary, you want to be able to come out of a tunnel, a place that means a lot and all the gear and all that stuff you don't get to get all that stuff while also basically telling your fan base you don't have enough respect for them to make sure that the talent is coming in and that when the talent does get there that it's developed and it's actually it's a real downer and look i'm not attached to it emotionally so i don't care as much as you care and you know if but if i'm an se fan and i'm hearing that going so you liked all the cool stuff but you didn't want to put in all the work the parts that are harder because you just didn't want to and that's just bullshit sorry yeah and and no

i told and that that was the problem and i think bruce feldman um wrote wrote the article my colleague and good buddy about about when Clay got fired, about behind the scenes of a lot of different people talking about what happened there. And I got to be honest, it was eye-opening for me. I was like, are you shitting me, man? This is how that was run? I had known a little bit, but then you hear former coaches say,

well, this happened. And to your point, you're like dude this is usc man like like you like you better like respect the brand you better respect the family you better respect the tradition and what it means to be the head coach at usc football and from you know it was run a lot more like a country club you know it was run like with zero accountability, and players walked all over those coaches and didn't care. And as you said, you have to go recruit and get those top players right down the street and build USC because that's what it means to be the coach there, and that's what it means to be a player there. And that's what we expect as alumni fans. I'm a fan.

I'm an alumni. I'm all those things, former player there and that's what we expect as as alumni fans i'm a fan i'm alumni i'm all those things former player and that didn't happen and that and that's when i was telling you earlier like is it hard for me to talk about it became easier because it just became so disappointing you know it's just like really disappointed in how this has gotten to this point and it seemed like there wasn't i don't want to say there wasn't a care but it just felt like they didn't really like you said i didn't really care i'm want to say there wasn't a care, but it just felt like, eh, they didn't really care. Like you said, I didn't really care. I'm going to go out there. I'm going to give it my all and all those things. And that's what really, I think bothered me and bothered everybody. Like, I mean, I get a million texts a day about what are we doing? Why are we so bad? What is this? I'm like, guys, like I'm in the same boat, man. Like, I don't know, dude,

but it's, it's rough. So look at the end of the day, the great thing is, is like, like we just hired a guy that erases all of that now. Like, that's the best part about this is like, I was a little worried, like, Hey, we're going to get, you know, maybe we get an NFL coordinator who doesn't really get people excited. Maybe he's great. Maybe he's not. Or we get, you know, our fourth or fifth option in college. Like, I was a little just nervous because, you know, these jobs are filling up and, you know,

but then obviously Lincoln comes out of nowhere and that just erases everything. Like I really, like he is so good. And USC is a place where with the right leadership and vision, it's a place where you can just, all you giving me these resources? And I'm going to put a championship team on the field. And that's, I'm telling you, that's, what's going to happen. Like it's, it's awesome because it will happen. All right. While I have you here, what do you think of Kelly to LSU? Um, I mean, a hundred million dollars. I mean, look, I, I think,

I think there, there's a way, there's a way to be more tactful and tasteful in how you handle these things. And I would just compare this. I would say, um, Lincoln talking about Oklahoma at his press conference and I was there, he got emotional. Um, he actually, he got choked up and got emotional. I just knowing him, like it's genuine, like he genuinely loved Oklahoma. And, and you just know that. And I know Bob Stoops really well. And Bob told me the same thing. Like coach is like, he loved it. Like this was a difficult choice, but you see the opportunity in a new place and maybe some other decisions in there. But with Brian and I don't know Brian very well. And, and, you know, I don't know exactly how it all went down, but you know, I think, went down, but I think you're in a recruit's house, right? That's the story that came out. And then the news breaks right after your staff is recruiting. You hold that two-minute team

meeting. I think it could have been done in a better fashion. It is what it is. You're leaving, you're taking the money, you're going to LSU you know it might be a better job for him to have a better chance to win a championship that's for sure but um you know that's the problem is is in college athletics especially football is and that's why there's such a gripe with the players like nil you get paid but man these coaches can get up and walk and it doesn't there's no consequences though the guys who suffer the players you know so so, um, thought it could have done been done better, but again, a hundred million dollars LSU SEC recruiting, all those things.

Like, I mean, I'm not mad at it. And I can say that as an older guy, as a, you know, I understand business. I understand those decisions, but it's hard when you're a 19 year old. It's funny. I didn't even expect you to go over that because I had done that in the open and did it with Chris a little bit. I've just been from a football standpoint, but I'm glad you shared that. Well,

from a football standpoint, look, I think he hit his, I mean, the weird thing is, is like Notre Dame has a real path to get into the playoff. Like they need, like they need Baylor to win.

They need Alabama. I mean, they need a few things, but like, those are all very realistic. Like this college football, I mean, anything can happen. So you're sitting there like you're leaving a team that's probably potentially making a college football playoff that that was strange. But, but if you're just speaking like, Hey, LSU, Notre Dame, I mean,

LSU, the kids you, you can recruit there. They just won a championship two years ago, um, with Eddie O, um, the SEC, like, like that's a place he could win and he can win a national championship. So from a football standpoint, I get it. Like he hit his ceiling with Notre Dame. He's one, he's one of the best coaches there is in college football. There's no doubt. Um, so I think he'll be great at LSU. I really do. So from a football standpoint for him, if that's, if he wants to go try and win a national championship, then I'm not mad at the decision at all. Okay. Let's talk a little ball then. I've watched Bama and watched Georgia much like you have. There is nothing I've seen from Bama this season that tells me that they can handle Georgia's front. There's, there would be no film

that would give us any evidence, but it's really hard to quit Bama. How open are you to an upset here? You know, the funny thing is I actually thought potentially probably Ohio State was the best matchup for Georgia just because of the playmakers and all of that. And clearly we're not going to see that. I don't know. I felt like Ohio State and Bama,

like when Ohio State beat Michigan State the way they did, and then it was the week after, it's Georgia, Ohio State, and everybody else, I go, Ohio State and both Bama, I'd hate to see them against Georgia's front, especially after what we just saw with Michigan. I'm with you, but as far as playmakers, and again, obviously the front in Ohio State's defense wasn't great.

But I just thought those, I mean, if you look at it, those are the two teams that could probably beat Georgia on a Saturday. I mean, I don't know if Cincinnati's beating Georgia. I don't know that. As far as that game, I'll say this. I think Alabama's offense line is very average this year. Bryce Young hides a lot of their deficiencies because, one, he just gets the ball out quick. He is so freaking good.

And he's used to it. And he's used to it by now because, I mean, that A&M game. Dude, he's been getting crushed. They get off to a slow start offensively in that A&M game because he's kind of like, wait a minute, what the hell? And it's like, look, well, you're dealing with Neal, you're dealing with Clemens, you're dealing with a bunch of shit out here that's a little different, so go ahead. Well, that game, I mean, that game exposed Alabama big time, and ever since then, I mean, it

hasn't been hard to at least get pressure on him. So I'm with you on that. Bryce can move, he can run, he doesn't run a lot, but he can move, so that can help a little bit. I mean, look, it's still alabama man like it's still saban like it's not their best team but you know do i think they can beat georgia i do like i don't know if they will but i definitely like i wouldn't be shocked if they beat them i

just think you still have you still have big time players there you have will anderson who's freaking awesome um you know their defenses i mean again, like on paper, and you look at like, man, no, they don't stack up. But I'm not like I'm not sold on Georgia's offense. And look, Stetson Bennett's done a good job. And I give that kid credit. But like, I'm just not sold on them. Like, and maybe it's kind of the same feeling that I've had for Michigan. But like, they just keep answering the bell every single week.

So maybe that just is what it is. But I wouldn't be shocked if Bama wins that game. I probably wouldn't pick them, but I wouldn't be shocked. And then, yeah, I mean, the other matchups, like, I wouldn't be shocked if Iowa beats Michigan this weekend. Like, I just, like. I'd be floored. I wouldn't.

I'm telling you. Like, Iowa defensively is very good. They're awesome. They wouldn't. I'm telling you. Iowa defensively is very good. They're awesome. They're terrible on offense. They're horrible. What happens here is plus four in turnover and Michigan a complete emotional flame out for 30 minutes post-Ohio State

and finally beating them. Which could happen. You just never know. But yeah, I think Michigan will win the game. The one to me is Baylor, Oklahoma state. And I think that one, that one holds a lot of cards, man, because I think Oklahoma state's in if they win. And I think they would need, I think the way, you know, Georgia wins, then you have Georgia, Michigan, Cincinnati and Oklahoma state. Um, but Baylor is really good, man. Like, they're just – like, I just – I saw them firsthand against Oklahoma. That defense is legit offensively. That's just going to be a – that's going to be a tough, like, 28-24 game. So that'll be the interesting one to see kind of what happens.

But I'll say this too, though. I don't think Oklahoma State's on Georgia's level. I'm not going to say that obviously, but Oklahoma state's defense. I don't know if you've had a chance to like, Oh yeah. If you, if you watch a little film on them, like they are fricking like,

like to me, they're the second best defense in college football and they got all seniors. They're all like 21, 22 years old. Their scheme is tough. Like they are really, really good. Like they'll give any offense they play in the playoff if they get in a fit.

I just don't know if their offense is good enough, but it's, it's fun, man. Like this is, this is, this is kind of this year of college football has been so kind of just surprising that the, you know, the upsets every week, I George has been the constant, but after that, like there's not, there, there's, there's not like a clear-Clemson to the wire. It's anyone's season, I think. I shared this number on Monday.

I'm going to do it with you. I'm not doing this to put you on the spot, but there's two Power 5 teams that average more than seven yards per play on offense. One is Ohio State. George is the second one? George is number two yeah he says i'm with you when i watch him i feel like i'm underwhelmed okay i know what you're gonna say you're gonna say look at the schedule they've beaten everybody by like 35 points it okay i get that but look i

mean you don't like kentucky's front kentucky tennessee Tennessee Florida is abysmal this year Missouri like like like I don't know like Alabama's good I love Kiff and Ole Miss they're good I mean are they are they like great great no but they're good they're dangerous A&M is good like there's three good teams on Georgia like so like you look at at that and I get it. Top to bottom, the SEC is the best conference. Look, they have not been really, really challenged. Again, they might not even be

challenged in the playoff, given who may get in there. I'd pump the brakes a little bit. I go back to week one, and I know it's week one. They barely beat Clemson. They beat Clemson on a pick six. They won that game 10-3. That offense scored three points against Clemson.

That offense scored three points. It's a very good defense. So, again, week one to now, things are all different. Teams are different. I mean, Clemson's a lot better now than they were, obviously, at the start. Well, Clemson's defense all season long has been one of the best units in college. Imagine if they had an average offense. Dude, I know.

Look, Georgia's the best team in college football. There's zero doubt about that. I get that. But I just think if they get in it, they could be challenged in the playoff. And I think they're going to be challenged this weekend for sure. Matt Leiner, a happy Trojan. Good to see you, man.

And we're wearing vests today, dude. Big vest day. It's in the high 50s out here. Got a vest on. I was going to say, dude, you don't live in Connecticut anymore, man. Come on, dude. It's 58 degrees and sunny outside. This is a retrofit.

I was wearing it with you along. I do like the old school color right there. I'll send you a link. All right, man. You want details? Fine. I drive a Ferrari 355 Cabriolet. What's up?

I have a ridiculous house in the South Fork. I have every toy you could possibly imagine. And best of all, kids, I am liquid. So, now you know what's possible. Let me tell you what's required. Life advice is lifeadvicerr at gmail.com. I have my own. I just want to talk to you about chicken, the product.

A lot of us were doing great with chicken breasts for a really long time. You know, 20-something years for this guy. I like chicken breast. I like chicken. I don't know that I'm Wade Boggs level, but this chicken thigh pivot, I'm 100% out. I couldn't be more fucking out. You can tell me that it has more flavor. The flavor is

dirt and gristle. Ordered a huge salad and some skewers at the end of the night. Thighs on thighs. The texture sucks. It's inconsistent. I was doing fine with chicken breast and rice. I was doing fine with chicken breast on top of a salad. I was doing fine with some sort of skewer deal.

But everybody's on this thigh kick now. And I remember ESPN's calf started doing it with some of their sandwiches. And you can tell me I'm not a real one but I'll be the fakest motherfucker in the game then if that means that you know if I have to like thigh meat I'm out I'm out just if you're gonna do thigh meat tell tell the customer hey we're doing thighs now we We're all thigh meat. You know what? Then I'll be out. I'll be out.

It's happened twice this week, and I'm out. Surprise thigh meat. Not great. It's slimy. I'm with you. I actually think I'm... And it's cheaper. That's why people use it, I think. Isn't it cheaper to buy thigh meat than it is?

Well, that's what's going on. Yeah, so we're cutting costs here. Not a political observation. We have some supply issues, and poultry is taking a hit. All right. Wow. We can't even have an open mind about COVID one way or the other on some of the times it's come up with guests. And then it turns into like, actually, you know what?

We're pretty down the middle on a lot of this stuff. It's like, how could you be down the middle on health? All right, fuck off. We're just going to talk about relationships here. All right. Nice shirt is the topic. 28, six feet, 190, D3 college, lax. You sounds like a slew guy.

Transferred to a real school after realizing how much work it was and not even close to being worth it. So he wasn't super into lax. I went out with my new girlfriend's friends for the first time. For the first few hours, everything was going well. I was firing on all cylinders. Everybody was laughing at my jokes. I ended up having a ton in common with them.

After feeling good and having maybe one too many drinks, a dude walked by us at the bar with the same shirt on as me. Without thinking, I blurted out, nice shirt, and did the stupid finger thing pointing at both of us. He loudly goes, oh, so you're that fucking guy? What? That's aggressive. And rolls his eyes as he walks by and everybody heard. Everybody immediately took my side and was saying what an asshole he was.

But secretly, I agreed with the guy. I went along with everybody, just brushed it off saying he was a dick. But I didn't have the heart to tell everyone that it was a super lame thing to say, meaning what he said. And normally, I would never say that. It kind of threw me off my game for the rest of the night. I'd never been in a situation where somebody was a dick to me. But I secretly agreed with them and didn't know what to say. How would you have handled it?

Thanks. I think you're right, and I think he's wrong. Did you do more than what you're admitting? Because that's a pretty direct, I would say, bordering on unnecessarily harsh. Did you jump off a stool and do the double finger point like rapid bullets? He said he was feeling himself, so it's possible. Yeah. Yeah. I mean mean because i actually

think that's decent like you might say something different you know little like hey good looking guy over there you know you just because you got to own it i mean it sucks when you're the same shirt guy it happens to everybody at some point you just got to own it i had one of my buddies that happened at a i think a rehearsal thing um and it was like they were dressed and so he just stood next to him he just owned it he leaned into it for hours like instead of having it be like oh shit he's wearing the same exact same outfit i have on he would just stand next to him and then anytime he was taking a picture he'd be like hold on let me get in here and so then it ended up becoming kind of his move was almost almost like his carrot top prop comic

routine where he was then you know what it worked out for move. It was almost like his carrot top prop comic routine where he was standing. You know what? It worked out for the guy. He just was like, all right, I got to lean all the way in here. So I'm not saying go ahead and do that to strangers because this was a social affair. I wouldn't call it fat, but you know what I'm saying? I think that guy overreacted. And now you're in your own head about it.

And I would just let it move on. And I wouldn't bring it up again. Just if, I mean, if it's that big of a deal or you lean back into it where, you know, you order a round of drinks, you're with the friends again, you let people get maybe on to drink number two, you loosen up a little bit and then you go, I like this shirt, but I'm afraid somebody else might be wearing it tonight. And then everybody goes, Oh, good one. Yeah. Yeah. You brought it all the way back. And then you just let it go and then it's dead forever. So you get some joke equity out of it later on, reference it, and then move on. But this is one of those things. They're definitely not thinking about this even remotely as close to the amount of time that you've spent thinking about it.

And I don't know that I entirely believe your presentation here for him to get that kind of reaction. that I entirely believe your presentation here for him to get that kind of reaction. But I don't like when somebody, and I would do this when I was younger, you get older and you realize, hey, you know what? I'm trying to make fun of everybody in the room all the time because that's what we all did to each other in college. We all made fun of each other nonstop. It took me a little while to kind of remove that part of my scattering report. That guy, that's a big, big reaction for just going, Hey, nice shirt, Kyle.

So, I mean, there's, there's two parts of what I would say is a, I mean, you're right. That's, that's, that's three parts actually. And one is a, you're right. Two, I don't know if it's me personally or also the world. I just think there's less and less connection points. Like I think the world that we just, a lot, there's a lot more shit out there to be into and there's just less and less stuff. And then personally, even as you get older, it's like, you know, we're not all watching

married with children at six 45 in the morning while you're waiting to leave for school anymore. There's just less and less to have in common. We're not all thinking of clever, clever, uh, AI aim screen names or whatever. There's just less and less shit. So if there's a guy walking in the same place as you, that's got the same shirt, I mean, yeah, I mean, yeah, I'm going to address it guy. So I think, I think fuck you if you have a problem with that.

And you know, I just think that, um, the world's a big place and there's a lot of stuff to be into. And if you're into the same shirt, fuck yeah. Hug him even, I mean,

COVID, but yeah, COVID and assault, but, uh, you may not want to hug a stranger who's this is good life advice don't derail it's good life advice what i'm saying i'm just saying you're right and um there's a really good chance this other guy sucks like he thinks he killed it because he's like oh you're that

fucking guy and rolls his eyes like he's so cool he's probably a clown unless you went totally overboard and you're not really you're not really sharing the full start giving him the aggressive massage or something, like, hey, dude, nice shirt. Yeah, yeah. Ugh. All right, maybe that happened. He jumped into his arms, dirty dancing style.

And he was like, what are you doing? And he just was like, I left that part out. Do you have anything to add to this, Rudy? No, I think maybe the guy was having a bad day because it is an overreaction, but I also kind of think there is some good self-awareness here from the emailer because it isn't the most original thing in the world to be like hey dude nice shirt and think it's like a hilarious joke um but you're the thing you said

is right ryan like he doesn't nobody else is gonna think about this it doesn't matter you're actually the cool guy in the situation because that guy overreacted and you look like a better person because of that so you're actually the winner here yeah yeah i really i wouldn't worry about this one too much i mean if there's one thing you should ever take away from any of this life advice that we're doing um almost all the things that you kind of like especially after like a weekend of drinking or whatever you know when you're younger and i think there's some science behind it too i remember i went to this place i bartended there was this cocktail waitress who was actually like a genius not to say that cocktail waitresses can't be really smart. Um, but she was studying something. We

were talking about it. She was like, no, no, no. There's this weird chemical deficiency thing, which again, I know this is not news to a lot of people. Um, but there'll be like some other thing that leads. She's like, we studied it. And it was like this weird thing where all of a sudden you just start thinking that everybody is like thinking about you. Yeah. And it's on top of anxiety, depending on whatever kind of hangovers you have. But there is definitely some science behind it. And it was fascinating. We were sitting there counting out our tips and she like gave us the whole like 10 minute breakdown on it.

I was like, this is amazing. And it's one lesson to always carry with you. And it doesn't look you don't have to be hung over to learn this lesson too is that whatever thing that you're sort of worked up in your own head about there's a really good chance that no one is thinking about it like even one percent below i mean unless you just walked into a family reunion and lit a car on fire and left like people probably going to talk about that a few times but the minor things are not uh as obsessed about as as you probably are obsessing about all right let's do one more here because i think this one's quick yeah yeah okay hey guys early 30s from dublin ireland 5 10 190 down from 225. Alright. Looking for advice on my relationship

of almost two years. Met a girl late 20s from the UK. Former model. Alright. Sweet, dude. 5'11". Tough sitch with her being taller, but that's why the good lord invented lifts. Ha ha. No way. You're not wearing lifts,

dude. I don't know, man. People do it different. Good joke. No way. People do it different in different countries, Kyle. You're not wearing lifts, dude. I don't know, man. People do it different. No way. People do it different in different countries, Kyle. You know that. All right. Do Irish men wear lifts? He's only five. I mean, I shouldn't say only 5'10", but 5'10", 5'11".

Like, that's not. Although she's in heels, you're screwed. Of course, somebody 5'11", she's probably wearing huge heels the whole time, too. So if she can wear lifts, those are technically lifts if you think about heels. So I'm all for this guy wearing lifts. She worked in Ireland and was over here a lot. Met her on social media.

How about this guy? Just DMing a model. Good for you. She was over in Ireland for work every week but lived in the UK but it wasn't an issue as we were working things out as to who would move where but 40 minutes on a plane to see each other on weekends isn't a big deal and things started getting serious then COVID

happened. We saw each other less. I'm vaxxed. She is not. Okay, so travel's an issue for her. No shit. Ireland, I think even for vaxxed people there for a stretch when I bolted overseas, that reminds me of a time when I was in Luzerne. I think Ireland was like one of the, you can't even roll in if you were vaccinated. I don't know,

whatever, look it up. So we saw each other less. We talked FaceTime daily, but face-to-face visits got less as the country's locked down. So we had to miss work to isolate after traveling. Then she began struggling with health issues, and physical left work so i've been supporting both of us for rent travel everything uh since the start of the year i've had to take out a few loans to do this but she has bonds maturing in february she assured me so i wasn't sure or i wasn't worried as i knew they could be cleared oh man have you seen them hopefully yeah right i mean i would i mean i know it's kind of a tough thing to do but i'd be like why don't we pull up that old fidelity account and uh see what kind of number we got and then let's actually see what that number means

not uh cashes out in 2052 it's a 50 Yeah, make sure you didn't get it from the crown prince of Nigeria, Michael Scott style or something. When the prince of Nigeria reaches out to you directly, you help him. That's right. God, there's so many brilliant lines from that show.

All right. All right. So our man here has taken out loans to cover his English model girlfriend who's taller than him, who has an apartment that he's paying for. But she assures him that the bonds are maturing in February. She hasn't worked. And a friend has moved back in with her to help out with the bills, etc., which I then found out was an ex-boyfriend. But she assures me nothing to worry about. They're just friends like brother and sister.

Now, I trust her, so I try not to worry, even though I know for a fact he wants her back. The longer this COVID thing has drawn on, I'm starting to wonder, am I making the right choice? Am I being messed around? Should I cut bait? Should I stick it out until February until hopefully the finances sort themselves out? I'm still supporting her as we speak or am I just overreacting? Love the show. There's a 5% chance that this is going to work out. I'm sorry, man.

I think you're getting played. And maybe you're not. Maybe you're not. But it's just that the story gets worse every single time. Okay? You're paying for her rent. You're taking out loans. You don't see her.

Her ex-boyfriend moved back in with her. Like, you got to figure it all out and figure it all out quickly to alleviate yourself from any further financial responsibility here. That's it. I mean, ask her about the bonds. Make it uncomfortable because you know what's really uncomfortable? Ask her how she would feel if your ex-girlfriend moved in and she was paying for it. Ask her, hey, how long would it last if this was reversed? Would it last?

So, you know, it's if you've never I don't know what your dating history is or any of that kind of stuff. And when it was right, it probably felt awesome. Maybe it was a little, you know, above the rim for you. So there's some stuff decisions that you would make that you wouldn't normally make, but you, you need to immediately address whatever it is now. Cause whatever it is now, the quicker you figure out the truth of this, then, you know, another six months of paying for all this stuff and this thing's going in the wrong direction like this can't keep happening. So, I mean, look, is there a small chance that everything's fine? Those bonds are maturing and this guy's just a buddy, you know, helping out around the house

here. I mean, it's not it's not impossible, but it's, uh, it's unlikely. This is, this is what you want it to be. Um, I would say the only thing you could do is, like I said, I've been watching a lot of judge Judy. It's about the text. You got to have acknowledgement in the text. Like you don't have to get aggressive, but I would just say, you're going to have to have those texts where it's acknowledged that, you know, she's waiting for X, Y, Z to happen.

And she knows she owes you money. Like, I just think that's at this point, Y, Z to happen and she knows she owes you money. I just think that's, at this point, that's a number one. I don't know how it works between Ireland and the UK and how that works, but it sounds like it's enough money that it might be actually worth, when it all falls down,

shout out to Kanye West, is when you have some recourse maybe. I think that's the number one focus right now because that's the part that's going to hurt more, I, you know, you have some recourse, maybe I think that's, that's the number one focus right now. Cause that's the part that's going to hurt more. I don't know for me, at least I can't be you. I'm just saying like, that's the part that would hurt the most after it's all said and done. And you're like now dealing with loans. Yeah. I'm still following her on Instagram. Yeah. I, you know, I never quite understood for whatever, you know, relationship things I have where it's, you know i never quite understood for whatever you know relationship

things i have where it's you know after a little while though the person goes so this is kind of it huh like yeah that's pretty much it like nothing really changes like nope this is kind of my deal this is it oh okay great i was never one that got caught up in the finances now granted i didn't have any money for a really long time so it wasn't much of an option but i had buddies i'd be like what's going on with her i'd be like oh you know we're off and around again but you know i'm paying her car what the fuck are you paying for her car for like well you know i said i would so some guys that's you know we all have different things that motivate us in the relationship and some guys i'll even admit this too i think there's some guys that'll'll have this control thing where they like to have money in play, where they are lending money or they are covering bills because then in a fucked up way she doesn't care i mean look this is this is a shitty situation and i i don't like

your chances on this one i like i like any of these i could be totally wrong on it and it could work out and it's a really weird thing to say hey i need you to start sending me some pdfs of your yeah i want receipts i can't think of any Irish banks, you know, but, you know, what's your Deutsche Bank login? You know, so I don't...

I don't know. I don't know what to do here other than start getting some answers really quickly. No, what you have to do is you say, what would I do if she wasn't a 10

and wasn't a model? And that's your answer. Well, there you go. There you go. All right. That's life advice. We don't need to add And that's your answer. Well, there you go. There you go. All right. That's life advice. We don't need to add to that. Thank you to Steve and Kyle.

Please subscribe. We had an awesome, awesome year. And thanks so much for letting us know you're in your top whatever podcast from the Spotify link. That's always kind of a cool thing towards the end of the year to see those numbers. So we'll be back on Friday. Thank you.