Don, Hahn & Rosenberg – Hour 1: Glenn Fires Wilkes, Giants Lose Again

Date: December 15, 2025
Hosts: Don La Greca, Alan Hahn (Peter Rosenberg on paternity leave)

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into another turbulent week for New York sports, focusing heavily on the disastrous seasons of the Giants and Jets, including coaching firings, on-field struggles, and existential questions about franchise direction. Don and Alan dissect the Steve Wilkes firing, the Giants’ continued losing, and the increasing apathy among fans. The show balances sports analysis with authentic, sometimes exasperated New York tone—full of memorable rants and candid exchanges.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Peter's Absence & Setting the Tone

• The episode opens with Don joking about Peter Rosenberg being out for paternity leave:
  • “But good. Let him take advantage of what I just wasn’t told about when I had my twins.”
    (Don, 00:54)
• Don and Alan settle in for an old-school two-man show, vowing to “climb the mountain of sports radio” (01:28).

2. Weekend Recap: Socializing & Hockey

• Shout-outs to Long Island spots and listeners for recent live events.
• UBS Arena and the Islanders’ fleeting moment atop the standings, celebrating history with Pat LaFontaine while eyeing a possible playoff broadcast from Borelli’s if things go well in the spring.

3. Working Schedules & Team Overlap

• Don and Alan riff about their hectic travel and work schedules (03:43).
• Dialogue reflects the grind of New York sports media, entwined with family stories and memories of starting their careers near what is now UBS Arena.

4. NHL Trade & The "Quinn Hughes" Saga

• Analysis of the recent blockbuster trade sending Quinn Hughes to Minnesota, and the ripple effect around the league.
• Don breaks down why the Devils couldn’t (and shouldn’t) have landed Hughes now, citing, “They didn’t have a center of Rossi’s ability to give.” (Don, 08:43)
• Comparison to NBA trades:
  • “Is it Kawhi?” (Alan, 10:59)
  • “Yeah, that’s exactly what it is.” (Don, 11:00)
• Don asserts: “Devil fans are upset. Devils are depleted, man.” (11:43)

5. Jets & Giants: Dysfunction & Despair

• Don and Alan recount another Sunday with both teams losing—Jets to the Jaguars, Giants failing to capitalize despite a strong Abdul Carter performance.
• Steve Wilkes’ firing as defensive coordinator is dissected:
  • “He’s one and done pretty much everywhere.” (Alan, 13:23)
  • “They still haven’t [had] an interception in 15 games.” (Alan, 14:09)
  • The defense’s ineptitude—terrible tackling, blown blitzes—led to one of the worst performances in memory.
  • “That looked like a game somebody should be fired.” (Don, 17:16)
• Discussion on Aaron Glenn learning to be a head coach in real time, firing Wilkes to try to maintain authority and locker-room buy-in.

6. Jets’ Defensive Collapse & Glenn’s Accountability

• Don is careful not to pin all blame on Glenn for the failed experiments with Wilkes and QB Justin Fields, questioning the degree of true responsibility for those hires (15:20 onwards).
• Alan and Don agree the team’s culture and coaching staff are in urgent need of overhaul.

7. Giants’ Woes & Draft Dilemmas

• Despite individual bright spots, the Giants’ season is described as “an absolute tire fire” (Don, 37:52).
• Callers express utter frustration and numbness:
  • Tessa: "I'm just straight, like, hollow... They wear these beautiful, gorgeous, just sexy uniforms, and they keep pooping all over them every time." (Tessa, 36:30)
• The debate erupts: Should the Giants gut it all—from the GM down—and rethink whether Dart is the QB of the future if they end up with the number one pick?
• Alan: “We got a quarterback.” (47:54)
• Don: “If you're going to blow it up and you're going to bring in a general manager and that general manager says to you, I think I can do better than Jackson Dart... and you have the number one pick...” (48:14)

8. Coaching & Front Office Accountability

• General agreement that both head coaches and GMs might be clearing out.
• Don: “You can’t keep losing. Just can’t. So everybody’s got to go.” (Don, 28:07)

9. Knicks Update & NBA Cup

• Amid the football misery, the Knicks are headed to the NBA Cup championship, though fans’ excitement is muted by fear of mockery:
  • “They're gonna pick at the scab. Oh, this is the only cup you'll ever win. Or, oh, I believe you can't even win that cup. Like, so they're gonna go after you no matter what.” (Don, 24:38)
• Teasing of “Giannis intel” to come.

10. Miscellaneous New York Sports Notes

• Mets are rumored to be working on a trade with the Padres (“something brewing,” 35:00).
• A quirky subplot: Rangers' Mika Zibanejad suspended for being late to a meeting, even as his best friend Chris Kreider returns to MSG:
  • “...if they can bench Mika... One of the most important games of the year with his, you know, to his buddies returning.” (Don, 44:33)

11. League-Wide NFL Observations

• Alan and Don express envy and distance watching “real” competitive football around the league.
  • “When I am watching Red Zone, I feel like I’m watching another league.” (Alan, 33:34)
  • “It’s a different speed, different level, it’s a different league.” (Don, 33:39)
• Talk of devastating injuries, quarterback performances, and the gulf between local and national teams.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Giants’ perpetual misery:
  “All I did was... All right, let's see what it looks like. And what it looks like is an absolute tire fire. And everybody's got to go."
  – Don La Greca, 37:52

• Frustrated fan Tessa on the Giants:
  “They wear these beautiful, gorgeous, just sexy uniforms, and they keep pooping all over them every time, every... It's embarrassing.”
  – Tessa, 36:30

• On losing culture:
  “Winning doesn’t have—doesn’t not have lasting effects, okay? I always bring up: you’re never losing in a vacuum.”
  – Don La Greca, 23:10

• The New York football paradox:
  “This kind of, it just doesn’t it drive you crazy? Like, this is where we are, the jets and the Giants, the two things. And all we keep talking about is you got to get to the off season.”
  – Alan Hahn, 32:48

• Competing for the #1 pick—future of QB Dart:
  “If you're going to blow it up and you're going to bring in a general manager and that general manager says to you, I think I can do better than Jackson Dart... and you have the number one pick...”
  – Don La Greca, 48:14

Highlighted Timestamps

• 00:54 – Opening jab about Peter’s paternity leave and parenthood
• 02:31 – Islanders in first place and Long Island nostalgia
• 04:50 – Don reminisces on his media beginnings near UBS arena
• 07:58 – Recap and debate of the Quinn Hughes NHL blockbuster trade
• 12:31 – Setting the week in New York football: “Jets and Giants are going to lose on Sunday. Yeah, that happened.”
• 13:23 – Steve Wilkes firing and Jets defensive collapse
• 17:16 – "That looked like a game somebody should be fired." (Jets game reaction)
• 24:16 – Teasing Jets/Giants offseason competition and the “conversation nobody wants to talk about”
• 24:28 – Knicks NBA Cup bid; fan base skepticism ("They're afraid to win...")
• 28:07 – Don’s take: “You can’t keep losing. Just can’t. So everybody’s got to go.”
• 36:05 – Caller Tessa’s frustrated, poetic rant about Giants’ futility
• 44:33 – Zibanejad's suspension resonates through Rangerland
• 47:54 – Alan: “They got a quarterback” (re: Giants and Dart)

Conclusion / Listener Takeaway

The hour is a cathartic, candid, and wide-ranging lamentation of New York football’s current purgatory. Don and Alan do not shy away from the hard truths, calling for accountability in the Jets and Giants organizations and sparking open debate about the future—not just of coaches and GMs, but franchise quarterbacks. Around the frustration, there’s still wit, warmth, and some hope, especially for Knicks and Mets fans. As always, the tone blends world-weariness with the relentless, sometimes self-mocking energy of New York sports.

Next Segment Teases

• Deeper look at Jets and Giants offseason futures
• Potential Knicks trade/“Giannis intel”
• Mets hot stove news
• More on the NBA Cup and the Rangers
  [End of Hour 1]