Hour 1: Rodgers' Meeting

Summary

Podcast Summary: Don, Hahn & Rosenberg – Hour 1: Rodgers' Meeting

Introduction In the April 17, 2025 episode of Don, Hahn & Rosenberg, hosts Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, and Peter Rosenberg delve deep into the recent and controversial departure of Aaron Rodgers from the New York Jets. The episode, titled "Rodgers' Meeting," offers a comprehensive examination of the circumstances surrounding Rodgers' exit, the Jets' management decisions, and the broader implications for the team and its fanbase.

Aaron Rodgers' Account of the Meeting The centerpiece of the discussion revolves around Aaron Rodgers' firsthand account of his final meeting with the Jets' management. Rodgers shares his experience in detail:

Aaron Rodgers [06:01]: "So, what happened in this meeting that you had with the Jets that led to your exit? Listen, that was an interesting two years to say the least. But I figured that when I flew across country on my own dime that there was going to be a conversation... So, you can hear it in his voice too, that he [coach Aaron Glenn] will not give them the respect of saying their names, acknowledging them as men."

Rodgers describes a bewildering encounter where initial discussions appeared promising, only to abruptly shift focus:

Aaron Rodgers [06:01]: "He leans to the edge of his sheet and goes, so, do you want to play football? I was like, yeah, I'm interested. And he said, we're going a different direction at quarterback... I said, 'I don't give a shit about the message.'"

This candid recounting highlights the abrupt and perhaps unprofessional manner in which the Jets communicated their decision to part ways with Rodgers.

Hosts' Analysis and Opinions The hosts dissect the situation, offering varied perspectives on the Jets' handling of Rodgers' departure.

• Don La Greca [07:39]: Criticizes the Jets for prioritizing narrative over genuine football decisions. He argues that the organization sought to establish a "new sheriff" in Aaron Glenn to reshape the team's image, sidelining Rodgers as part of this rebranding effort.

  “Aaron Glenn told Aaron Rodgers to go take a walk... They knew that Rodgers would go on McAfee someday and tell that story. And right now there are a lot of Jet fans who are like, yeah, that's right. Aaron Glenn isn't taking any garbage.”

• Alan Hahn [10:17]: Emphasizes the importance of leadership and organizational control, suggesting that the Jets' actions reflect a broader strategy to assert dominance and eliminate internal dysfunction.

  “This was not about football, the decision, all that stuff. This is a Parcells influence.”

• Peter Rosenberg: While not directly quoted in the transcript, Rosenberg contributes to the conversation by highlighting the potential long-term consequences of the Jets' decision and questioning its impact on team performance.

Audience Calls and Interaction Listeners share their perspectives through calls, further enriching the discussion with diverse viewpoints.

• Caller Hollywood Han [28:31]: Expresses frustration with Aaron Rodgers, labeling him as a "nozzle" despite acknowledging his past contributions to the Jets.

  “He's a legend. I respect you. I love what you did with our organization... But I'm sorry, you're a nozzle.”

• Caller Benny [39:10]: Critiques the Jets' management, asserting that decisions are driven by personal biases rather than football merit.

  “How would the same old jets when this is the same guy, that if we were to call him on the phone and ask him not to come to Jersey, he would say we don't have the guts to say it to his face.”

These interactions underscore the polarized opinions among fans and the broader community regarding Rodgers' exit and the Jets' future direction.

In-Depth Discussion on Organizational Dynamics The hosts delve into the underlying factors influencing the Jets' decision-making process.

• Don La Greca [17:34]: Suggests that the Jets aimed to shift the narrative, portraying Rodgers' departure as a move towards a stronger, more disciplined regime under Glenn.

  “They wanted to change the perception of the organization, new sheriff in town, and that they felt that that was more important than keeping Aaron Rodgers.”

• Alan Hahn [32:34]: Highlights the potential misalignment between the organization's actions and professional sports standards, advocating for class and dignity regardless of personal feelings.

  “When do you get to the franchise where you just handle it with class and dignity? No matter what it is... You take the high ground here.”

Concluding Thoughts The episode wraps up with the hosts reiterating their skepticism about the Jets' handling of Aaron Rodgers' departure. They caution against prioritizing narrative over genuine team-building efforts, emphasizing that long-term success hinges on meaningful football decisions rather than superficial image changes.

Don La Greca [38:44]: “But the points that you are saying, most of them accurate... A lot of that’s on the Jets, too.”

The hosts agree that while the Jets may have their reasons for moving on from Rodgers, the manner in which they executed the departure has left lingering doubts about the organization's future decisions and leadership.

Key Takeaways

• Aaron Rodgers' departure from the Jets was marked by an abrupt and unsatisfactory meeting, leading to significant controversy.
• The Jets' management, particularly under Aaron Glenn, appears to prioritize organizational narrative and control over player relations.
• Fans and commentators are divided, with some supporting the Jets' direction and others criticizing their handling of a high-profile player.
• The episode underscores the complex interplay between sports management decisions, player relations, and fan perceptions.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Aaron Rodgers [06:01]: "He leans to the edge of his sheet and goes, so, do you want to play football? I was like, yeah, I'm interested."
• Don La Greca [07:39]: “Aaron Glenn told Aaron Rodgers to go take a walk... They knew that Rodgers would go on McAfee someday and tell that story.”
• Alan Hahn [10:17]: “This was not about football, the decision, all that stuff. This is a Parcells influence.”
• Don La Greca [17:34]: “They wanted to change the perception of the organization, new sheriff in town, and that they felt that that was more important than keeping Aaron Rodgers.”
• Don La Greca [38:44]: “But the points that you are saying, most of them accurate... A lot of that’s on the Jets, too.”

Conclusion Don, Hahn & Rosenberg deliver a thought-provoking episode that scrutinizes the Jets' management decisions surrounding Aaron Rodgers' exit. Through detailed analysis, listener interactions, and candid opinions, the hosts provide listeners with a multifaceted understanding of the implications of this high-profile departure on the team's future and its standing among fans.

Transcript

[Don La Greca]

There are people out there all across the country pushing boundaries to grow the game of golf. Like champion speed golfer Lauren Kupp, who plays faster than anyone else. And Will Lowrey, whose work in the golf community inspires more kids to get into the game. As a champion partner of the Masters, bank of America supports everyone determined to find out what's possible in golf and in life. What would you like the power to do? Bank of America. Bank of America. NA member FDIC. Copyright 2025 bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved. Don, you know what? Maybe they can go pee on each other. That'd be great.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Han, there's a lot of women out.

[Alan Hahn]

There that want you. Alan and Rosenberg.

[Chris Carlin]

Give me the porn. For God's sake.

[Don La Greca]

This isn't North Dakota. This is New York.

[Alan Hahn]

This is Don Hahn and Rosenberg.

[Caller]

The best threesome I've ever heard on.

[Alan Hahn]

880, ESPN and the ESPN New York app on a Thursday in New York City. Boy, do we have a lot to talk about. There's headlines galore, Back pages galore.

[Don La Greca]

I told you guys the thing I told you. Oh, my God, I feel like I'm doing radio in 1997.

[Chris Carlin]

The back page.

[Don La Greca]

What was on the back page?

[Alan Hahn]

What did the back page have?

[Don La Greca]

This? Yeah. My program director coming in is like, why didn't you open with this? The Post has this on the back page. A woman born with no nipples. Why aren't you opening with this?

[Alan Hahn]

This is what they're talking about. You got to talk about what the people talk.

[Don La Greca]

Headless man in topless bar. Why aren't you opening with that? Skipper.

[Alan Hahn]

But we all know what the back sports.

[Don La Greca]

Oh, but the back page, man, that's where it is. That's where it's all happening, Lad.

[Alan Hahn]

You good?

[Don La Greca]

Yeah, I got it.

[Alan Hahn]

You know what the back page is gonna be tomorrow, right?

[Chris Carlin]

Back page tomorrow.

[Don La Greca]

Oh, come on about.

[Alan Hahn]

It's the big story of today.

[Don La Greca]

Trying to. I know what the big story of today is.

[Alan Hahn]

You guys watch new Giant sports.

[Don La Greca]

I know you guys like sports. Oh, so, wow. Why are you going there? I'm trying to formulate the headline.

[Alan Hahn]

Give me it.

[Don La Greca]

What do you got cross country for this?

[Chris Carlin]

No, no, no. Something about Jet Setter. How about Jet Setter has to be in there.

[Alan Hahn]

No, JetBlue. Roger said about Jet's breakup.

[Chris Carlin]

Yeah, but if they've done that, you know they've already done.

[Alan Hahn]

You think they've done JetBlue?

[Chris Carlin]

Have to.

[Don La Greca]

Yeah, but not B, L, E, W. Because, like, blue. Like. Oh, yeah.

[Alan Hahn]

See, there's a visual together. This is what they do, by the way, you know this, right? They have, they have their editorial meeting and they come up with not just the major headlines, what's the back page? And then they start kicking around ideas for the back page headline. They want to get the best one. The one that's going to be the one that everybody's talking about, joking about the eye catcher. I think Don did it. I think Don won. Peter, can you come up with something better than jet blue? B L, E W Don.

[Chris Carlin]

Tell me this though. The more Alan talks about what they do at the tabloids, it does not exactly paint a great picture of day to day sports journalism.

[Alan Hahn]

No, listen, My first job was as a clerk. I was not a writer, not a staff writer, not a reporter. I was a clerk. My job was to answer phones, run paper like where. Cause computers were just becoming a thing. But add clips and all the different things. You have to run things around to different people. Photo. You have to bring the photos. That's right. And so you're a kid and you're involved, you're hearing conversations you probably shouldn't be privy to because you're invisible in a room like that. You take in so much. And so you would there and you'd listen to them coming up with headlines. Like the Arabu thing. Remember that back in the day, the fat pussy tote?

[Don La Greca]

Yeah.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh my God, that meeting baby, that.

[Don La Greca]

Was so we've talked about this before, Peter. I worked at the Fan that day. Like how do you write fat pussy tote?

[Alan Hahn]

How do you write that in a back page?

[Don La Greca]

You can, can. Because then it could. Then it means then it's something different. Then. Then the completely different changes the whole thing, context of it. But like guys were going around, how are we gonna spell this?

[Alan Hahn]

It was great.

[Don La Greca]

How do you spell pussy?

[Alan Hahn]

They didn't know what.

[Don La Greca]

Now I was doing updates at the time and I had to come up with a way because I was doing overnight. So by the time you get to like the 340 update, if I'm gonna spell it out the way it sounds, it might come out a different way in that like 3:40 in the morning update he called him what?

[Alan Hahn]

That's right.

[Don La Greca]

I remember then in the newspaper they used like it was a swear word because they didn't know how to spell it. Which people still assume that he said it that way. They put dash, dash, dash, dash. So like we did on the radio, we're like, oh, he just called him a fat pussy toad. Okay, that's not that bad. But if you read the article. Yeah. You know, a fat blank with the P dash dash dash y cat. You know, I was like, wait a minute. That's a whole nother thing he did.

[Alan Hahn]

There it is.

[Don La Greca]

See? But we'll get to that later because I got plenty of opinions.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Don La Greca]

On that stuff.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Don La Greca]

So the Rogers.

[Alan Hahn]

But the Rogers stuff is fresh. Not only is it fresh, it's also going to be the next big conversation. And a lot of it had to do with the Jets. Yes. It had to do with his future and all that stuff. Raise your hand if you give a rip about what Roger said about his future as a quarterback in the NFL.

[Don La Greca]

At this point, you don't.

[Alan Hahn]

You did until anyone Bueller.

[Don La Greca]

Oh, if you're a Steeler fan, maybe.

[Chris Carlin]

I have some interest, but it pales at this point.

[Alan Hahn]

Right. Okay.

[Don La Greca]

But if the Giants hadn't signed anybody yet. Okay.

[Alan Hahn]

But again, what we know now going into the draft, you know, this is a post draft decision that he's going to make, and if you care enough, we'll get to that eventually. But, boy, did he decide to let the world know. On Pat McAfee show today how he feels about the jets in this now what has become a very dramatic breakup. So, simple question. So what happened in this meeting that you had with the jets that led to your exit?

[Aaron Rodgers]

Listen, that was an interesting two years to say the least. But I figured that when I flew across country on my own dime that there was going to be a conversation. And the confusing thing to me, and the strange thing was, you know, when I went out there, I meet with the coach, we start talking, he runs out of the room. I'm like, that's kind of strange. Then he comes back with the gm and I'm like, all right. So we sit down in the office and I think we're gonna have this long conversation. I've flown across the country, and 20 seconds in, he goes, I mean, literally, I'm talking to the GM about something, and he leans to the edge of his sheet and goes, so, do you want to play football? I was like, yeah, I'm interested. And he said, we're going a different direction at quarterback. And I was kind of shocked. Now, not shocked because I didn't think that was a possibility. Listen, of course they want to move on. That's totally fine. But shocked because I just flew across country. You could have told me this on the phone if we're not even going to have a conversation. And this is verbatim exactly how it happened. So I said, huh? And he goes, we just want to Know how you want it released, the messaging. And I said, verbatim, I don't give a shit about the message. And I said, why? And then he said, I don't want to be up in front of the room saying something and have guys looking back at you. And I said, what does that even mean? Are you assuming that I would be in the back of the room during a team meeting undermining what you're saying? I said, you don't know me. And he said, you don't know me. And then I said, exactly, which is why I flew across the country to have a face to face meeting with you to talk about my experience with the jets and to hear your vision for the team. 20 seconds in, what I thought was going to be a couple hour meeting turned into like a 15 minute meeting and I walked out of there.

[Alan Hahn]

All right, There's a lot there.

[Don La Greca]

No, well, first. First things first.

[Alan Hahn]

All right.

[Don La Greca]

Crimea River. Nobody cares. You paid for a flight across the country on your own dime.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, those are the notes I just took.

[Don La Greca]

Right, right. That's the one. Let's get that out of the way. Okay, so there's a lot of interesting things that were said, but, you know, cry me river on that, okay? I don't think anybody is going to side with him on that whole thing. Guys, I have been on record for months. You know, this. This is all just Jet pr. This is all trying to build up the narrative of there's a new sheriff in town and he's Aaron Glenn, and he ain't taking no more garbage. Aaron Rodgers, there's the door. And that's exactly why they treated it that way. Because they knew that Rodgers would go on McAfee someday and tell that story. And right now there are a lot of Jet fans who are like, yeah, that's right. Aaron Glenn isn't taking any garbage. He's not Robert Sala, he's not Joe Douglas. He's not gonna have players walk all over him. New sheriff in town. Yeah, you tell that hall of famer, go scratch. You get out the door now, you go gank. And that's fine. Because you know what? The all gas, no break. All the stuff that ends up looking nice on T shirts don't mean anything. You got to really build up, like, legit stuff. And this is legit stuff. Aaron Glenn told Aaron Rodgers to go take a walk. And you know what? He made him fly across the. Oh, you love it if you're a Jet fan, because Rogers didn't win us anything. But is it the Right move? Is it the to sit down, forget about feelings and frequent flyer miles and all that stuff, guys. Was it the right move? Are you telling me Justin Fields is definitely gonna be better than Aaron Rodgers? You couldn't have a conversation of Aaron Rodgers coming back? No, this was an opportunity. Jet fans were in a way about Aaron Rodgers. They kissed his fanny. That whole previous regime was walked all over. That's why Glenn said, well, I don't need you turning around. Because he's trying to say, yeah, Sala let you do that. I wouldn't let you do that. Yeah, I really think, and I'm not saying it's not true. I'm just saying that that's the narrative they want out there, that there's a new sheriff in town that ain't taking any bs. And I think they use this opportunity to treat Rogers like this, to set up what is going to be a perception from fans that they may write the right decision on Glenn and that this is a new regime that isn't gonna be taken any garbage anymore. You saw a network, right? I'm mad as hell. I'm not gonna take it anymore. That's all this is, man. Was it the right football move? I guess we'll find out. But don't look at it beyond anything.

[Alan Hahn]

Other than that this wasn't about football. We all know this. This was not about football, the decision, all that stuff. This is a Parcells influence. I'm curious to see what you just said though, about how jets fans right now pumping their fist. So let's hear from you. 800-919-3776. But yes, him making sure the world knows I flew across country. He said it how many times? Three times. I counted on my own dime. He said once. As if anybody cares about you and your dime. But that's what he said. So it's like the jets didn't fly me in. Well, that should have been your first hint. Remember the jets flew to you when they begged you to come play first.

[Don La Greca]

Well, I think what he's saying is if you were just gonna.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, yeah, why make me go through this trouble and whatever, right? He also never says Aaron Glenn's name, never says Darren Mugi's name, never gives them the respect of saying their names. He said met the coach, the gm. Right. Came in the room. So you can hear it in his voice too, that he will not give them the respect of saying their names, acknowledging them as men. And that to me is also an example of why they are doing what they're doing. You're right. This is Aaron Glenn going. From what I've heard before I took this job, you're Eddie Haskell. You're nice to the parents, but behind the scenes, anybody. That's an old reference. I know, but people know that reference. And you are that guy that the parents think you're the sweetheart, but everybody knows that you're the first guy to start trouble. Like you're the IT stirrer in meetings. You're the. And the notion of him turning around and looking at players and making faces must be that he has done that before. Otherwise where would he get that from? But it's a bad optic. So as a Jets fan, I'm not. I'm not pumping my fist at this. I'm not fired up about this. I'm face palming right now because this is another moment of same old Jets. Here's why should they have moved on from him? Yes, we know what this is about. It was time to move on because they wanted to move on. Not about who was the better football quarterback to have. This was about we gotta get. We gotta reestablish control of this organization. We can't do it with a guy that, you know, likes to mess with leadership. This is just how he is. So that had to happen. We get it. But he's still a guy that's gonna be in the hall of Fame one day. He's still a guy that two years ago you looked at as the savior. To turn around and treat him this way is still not the right thing. Whether you agree, whether you like him or not, whether you hate him, all the things you want to say about Rodgers and your personal feelings, that doesn't matter. The jets can't continue to do things that make them look small. They look small here. Doing this. This was petty. So I don't like the optics. And what if he signs with a team and plays well and Justin Fields is meh. You know that's going to come back to haunt you. This will blow up in your face. That's why I don't like it. But they had. Did they have to do it? Moving on? Yes. How they treated him. I disagree. Have some class.

[Chris Carlin]

I just don't. Here's my question. What. Let's look at risk versus reward. What was the biggest reward possible for the jets by handling this this way? I would suggest the biggest reward you could get would be some sort of quote unquote victory in the court of public opinion. Maybe among. Among yo yos. Because let's be honest, the voice Don even does when he pretends to be someone who would actually care about this is a moron. Like, it's not an actual real important thing. Everyone knows Aaron Glenn is only going to win over this locker room, the city, this fan base, if they win football games and look competent. So how he handles Aaron Rodgers, frankly, is completely inconsequential. So my question is, Don, we know what the upside would have been to having a legitimate conversation about whether Rodgers could have been your quarterback and been a better choice than what they have. What was the upside to handling things this way? They just look like schmucks. There's no upside.

[Don La Greca]

No, I'm telling you that there's going to be. I would not be surprised if you ran it up the poll that the majority of Jet fans love this, love this, because they, they hate Rogers now. And the new regime isn't going to take it. And it's painting the picture, right? That and they let go of the coaching staff from last year. Both coaches are gone, Right. Ulbricht is gone. And obviously they let Saleh go and Joe Douglas is gone. So it strengthens their conviction of making that move. Because you're painting the picture that the previous regime is weak and now we've gone to a stronger regime. That's not taking like.

[Alan Hahn]

We're not like them. We're not gonna let you just run things.

[Don La Greca]

And listen, if you take a look at it deeper, Peter, listen. I worked for the jets doing jets pre and post for 16 years. I don't remember radio silence for a new coach. The way I've seen it with Aaron Glenn. And they rolled him out for the press conference, and that's kind of been him.

[Alan Hahn]

No, no, no. He talk. He's. He talked before Combine.

[Don La Greca]

He talked a little bit, but I.

[Alan Hahn]

I, I, I don't think it got a lot of play because of all the giant stuff he talked.

[Don La Greca]

But I. But not to the extent that you saw Solomon, though. No gas, no break. A lot. He's kept it.

[Alan Hahn]

No, no, I'm sorry. I will push back. We never used it, but I know there were shows we had on the.

[Don La Greca]

Page on that pressure duck in Indianapolis.

[Alan Hahn]

Not just that one. No combine, we could probably dig them up. But combine, he did speak and he talked about, like, you know, the way they want to play, the style, and he did get into that stuff. But it's a lot of stuff that Peter would be playing the exit music to. Cause it's all coach speak stuff. What it is, he's not doing the.

[Don La Greca]

All gas, no brakes, but that's the point is that I'm making is that a lot of it would be just fluff. Like when you say, no gas, I don't need. That's all talk. What you need are actions, right? This, what happened with Aaron Rodgers is an action that the fans can really sink their teeth into. Like, Aaron Glenn can say, hey, there's a new regime here, new sheriff in town, but if you don't do anything about it, then it doesn't matter. Right? Remember Robert Sala came on the Case show and said, I'm taking receipts. Well, you did nothing but lose. So taking the receipts, it ended up just being a phrase. You don't have to say, I'm taking receipts. We should be able to see by your team's play ended up being. You're doing that Costanza's wallet with all.

[Alan Hahn]

The receipts that finally exploded.

[Don La Greca]

So I guess that's my point. Point is that there's always a lot like if I just. In the history of every. It's always some, you know, you play to win the game with Herman Edwards, you know, it's always something that comes, some kind of rallying cry. That's just words that mean nothing. This was an action, all right? And if it's really how they feel, then more power to them. But I just feel like this was. We're just trying to convince our fan base that there's a new sheriff in town and they saw the opportunity to treat Rogers this way. And the one thing I disagree with you, you don't treat legends like that. I don't even care about that. What I care about is why not try to kick the tires and say, do we want to bring Rogers back? Would it work for us to maybe see if we can get a healthier Rogers in year three, two years removed from the Achilles and win us some games? I don't believe they ever wanted to do that.

[Alan Hahn]

I don't think Glenn would have taken the job.

[Don La Greca]

I don't want zero expectations. If you bring in Rogers, there are going to be expectations around that. I don't think I wanted that. And then to your point, I'm sure Parcels is in here saying, you better not let that guy back in the building. You know, that's why I don't think.

[Alan Hahn]

Glenn would have taken the job if that. If Woody Johnson had said, the caveat with taking this job is we want to keep Aaron Rodgers. We have him for another year. We want to get the most we can out of him. And I don't think Aaron Glenn would have taken the job. Okay, that's my personal opinion.

[Don La Greca]

That's fine. But I just don't know if it's the best football move to just say disregard Aaron Rodgers.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, who's the pressure on now though? Think about it. You take Aaron Rodgers out of the room and you have a strong stance like that. And the way Rodgers described that it was Glenn doing the talking, not Darren Muji, not the gm. It was not Woody Johnson. It wasn't the owner. He put this on the coach. In fact, he only called him, the coach, never said him by name. But that's the only thing that I feel like now is you're saying that this tamps down a lot of the expectations and the pressure. I think Glenn doing this, I think now it's all on his shoulders now.

[Don La Greca]

Well, only if Rogers goes someplace and if Rogers retired, then it's a nothing burger. And then you're just going to analyze the team, right, Peter, as what we have roster wise, Justin Fields and all that. But if Aaron Rodgers is in the room, well then there's going to be, hey, maybe he's going to help us win 10 games. Maybe we got a chance to make the playoffs. That's not going to be talked about this year. Even if you're high on Justin Fields. I can't imagine you're talking playoffs with Justin Fields as opposed to a healthy Aaron Rodgers. Go ahead, Peter.

[Chris Carlin]

I'm sorry. I just want to push back on one thing. I understand that the setup and the way the conversation was put, put out there by Rogers heaps everything onto Glenn. Guys, there's no world in which Glenn would have shown up here and if it wasn't, at the very least totally okay with Chris Johnson. And I understand Rogers loves Johnson and put him over in the interview, but it's not like Glenn didn't have approval on this. He didn't go rogue that day?

[Alan Hahn]

No, he didn't go rogue. No.

[Chris Carlin]

So like we can't put it all on him. We may have not liked his bedside manner but I mean honestly, Rogers just playing politics by keeping it super nice with what with the Johnsons who clearly were good with what they did.

[Alan Hahn]

But do you want to get a little couple more here from Roger? That's not the only thing he said. These are shorter but still. Let's get a couple more thoughts in on this. We got calls to get to it. 800-9193776 but this is, this is what I figured this would be. Which is a random, not random, differing opinions on this. So he was asked about pleading with the jets because, remember, there was a report that he actually was like, not. I don't know if begging was the word, but there was a report that said that he was really trying to keep his job. He was trying to convince the jets to keep him. He said that didn't happen.

[Aaron Rodgers]

There was no me pleading, like, please have me on the team. No, I don't want any part of that. It was already a debacle in some cases. Listen, that whole situation was crazy. And I think even that was a little rogue by the head coach because I talked to the GM later about it. Christopher Johnson called me. Chris is a fantastic guy. Anybody who's ever met Christopher Johnson says the same thing. He's a phenomenal dude. He's about the right stuff. He's a sweet human being. And I'm thankful that I got to meet him and Doris because their friendship was a big bright spot in the organization. And there's a lot of great dudes there. There's great players there, great humans, there's great guys in the equipment room, training room, Carmen and Maddie in the nutrition department, all the strength staff. There's a lot of great things, but there's obviously some things that need to get fixed over there.

[Alan Hahn]

I don't like that at all. If I'm Aaron Glenn don't like that at all. Because what he also told you just there is that after the meeting, Christopher Johnson almost ran to him saying, like, you know, we all didn't feel that way. I don't know why he did that. Like, that's not a good look either. And that sounds more typical jets again.

[Don La Greca]

But. But that also goes to your point that I do think completely on the new head coach, Aaron Glenn, because I think Glenn wasn't going to take the job if Rogers was going to stay.

[Alan Hahn]

No chance.

[Don La Greca]

And they wanted Glenn because he's the former Jet. That's the guy. They wanted to change the perception of the organization, new sheriff in town and that they felt that that was more important than keeping Aaron Rodgers. But I don't know if Muji felt that way. Clearly the Johnsons didn't feel that way, or at least Christopher didn't. If he's running after him saying, sorry.

[Alan Hahn]

Man, you gotta be unified front. This is what I mean. This doesn't look good.

[Don La Greca]

No. Now it's on Glenn, so. And that's Fin. He probably wants to take that responsibility and we'll see. Now if Rogers goes quietly into that good night, it's not going to matter if he signs with Pittsburgh and leads the Steelers to the playoffs and throws for 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns. And Justin Fields is clueless his completely blow up in his face. So they better be praying that Rodgers retires and then they can kind of get back to square one again. I've got no problem with any of this. If that's what they want to do, is set the narrative. There's a new sheriff in town, great, whatever. I'm not going to buy into it, but if you get a bunch of fans to buy into it after what's been a couple of miserable seasons, have at it. But I think Peter and I both have come from the stance going back to last year that I saw enough last year that I think he should have been part of the conversation of coming back. More so than using him as a prop to try to change the narrative of your organization. When I look at the landscape of quarterbacks, that's why, hey, and I'm coming from a Giant perspective, I would love. I would have loved Aaron Rodgers to sign with the Giants because I still think there might be something there. So that's what I'm arguing with Peter, is that. Why was that not even a conversation to at least bring him back. And if you've got the new sheriff in town, you shouldn't worry about him looking behind your back or talking to people because you're Aaron Glenn. You're not gonna take that, right? But we never even saw that chance.

[Chris Carlin]

The whole thing is, there's so much in here. I mean, also, I love Rodgers. Now, just casually, isn't it. Isn't it funny how we're just so accustomed to athletes lying constantly?

[Don La Greca]

Right?

[Chris Carlin]

So we just had to hear about everything over the last couple of years and then the second it's officially over, it's like, ah, I can admit everything was a lie. I mean, it was a nightmare.

[Alan Hahn]

That place is a joke.

[Chris Carlin]

I mean, that's basically what he's saying is like, I like the equipment guy, I like the medical staff. There's some good guys in the locker room, but that place is a complete dumpster fire. That's what he said.

[Don La Greca]

But this kind of, in a weird way, guys, kind of fuels changing the narrative because I think a lot of Jet fans think that Chris is a tool. So the fact that Aaron Rodgers loves them, they're probably like, yeah, another reason to get rid of the guy. The one person that we think's a tool, he loves chasing him out of.

[Alan Hahn]

A meeting and, oh, it wasn't supposed to go that way. I don't know why he did that. Come on, man.

[Don La Greca]

But Rogers, you gotta be unified, don't you think? Rogers saying that kind of plays in.

[Alan Hahn]

Yes to the whole thing, to the dysfunction.

[Chris Carlin]

Because, you know, I want to know though, Don. I want to hear. Fortunately, we have working phone lines. I believe we do.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah. Lots of calls.

[Don La Greca]

Yeah.

[Chris Carlin]

1-800-919-3776. I'm just curious throughout the day how many of the jets fans are the way you guys have described them? Because you guys have just painted the picture that there are going to be a lot of Jet fans who love that Aaron Glenn laid the gauntlet down. We don't play no games. This is a new jets team. I am curious whether the fans who at least pick up the phone to call us agree with that. I'm not 100% sure.

[Don La Greca]

Okay. That's why we got phone lines, baby.

[Alan Hahn]

Let's do it.

[Chris Carlin]

Now let me talk to you guys about something. The NBA playing tournament. Well, it's here and it's wrapping it up tomorrow. And by the way, guys, the first, let's just be honest, the first four games were basically like the first four out of the NCAA tournament. I mean, like it aired on a Wednesday night. You know what I mean? But anyways, this is the game. These two games on Friday are going to be awesome. And if you join FanDuel right now, you can get started with $250 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. From three pointers to steals to assists, FanDuel has so many ways to bet your favorite player props. Plus after the game tips off, you can even combine live prop bets into a same game parlay. For a chance to win big, just visit fanduel.competer to get in on all the NBA play in tournament action. FanDuel official sports betting partner of the NBA 21 and over and physically present New York first online real money wager only five dollar first deposit required. Bonus issued is non withdrawable bonus bets which expire seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See [e-mail] for help with the gambling problem. Call 877-8-HOPE and wire text open wide 467-369.

[Don La Greca]

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[Caller]

Rather be there to hear it live?

[Don La Greca]

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[Alan Hahn]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Chris Carlin]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Alan Hahn]

Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.

[Chris Carlin]

If this doesn't make you feel it on a Thursday, I don't know what does. A WrestleMania Thursday.

[Don La Greca]

By the way, what is this? I don't know what this is.

[Chris Carlin]

This would be a fantastic Red man and Busta Rhymes vehicle called the Goodness. It's a fantastic song. I think you'd enjoyed that.

[Alan Hahn]

I thought it was the Goodness.

[Chris Carlin]

It's not the Goodness.

[Alan Hahn]

Wasn't that. Wasn't that Michael K's way to pronounce it?

[Don La Greca]

Oh, my.

[Chris Carlin]

My God.

[Alan Hahn]

You guys. You guys both just completely blanked on that one.

[Chris Carlin]

I did not understand.

[Alan Hahn]

See, the further you get away, the more you forget. Wow. And you said I wasn't a P1.

[Chris Carlin]

Hey, by the way, speaking of things you forget about, you guys really got me going in the meeting. I'm told there was station on station crime against me.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, we'll get to it.

[Chris Carlin]

How long do I have to wait?

[Alan Hahn]

Well, you'll have to wait. Well, this is too big. We got a lot of. We have a full bank of calls we got to get to here on this topic. Aaron Rodgers. Trust me, Peter. We'll get to it. I promise. All right, because this is. This is feeling like one of those anchorman, you know, show on show rumble type situations. Yeah, it's getting there.

[Chris Carlin]

It was that nasty. Am I going to be offended?

[Alan Hahn]

We're going to find out.

[Don La Greca]

Wow.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah. But to the calls we go. David and Elizabeth will start us off talking Aaron Rodgers and his departure from the Jets.

[Peter Rosenberg]

David, all you guys got the right one today, gentlemen. Hollywood Han. Well, Don, Peter, Hollywood Han.

[Alan Hahn]

What's up, gentlemen here?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, let's get straight. Let's get straight into it. Hollywood Han. Please don't get upset at me. I agree with you, but I don't agree with you. I agree with you. They went about it the wrong way. But I'm gonna be honest with you, he's a nozzle. He deserved it. I love what Aaron, Glenn and Muji did. Christopher Johnson, not for nothing, I don't know why he did that. Like Don said, you shouldn't have done that. Like, yo, if we're through with him, we're through with him. The reason that I feel the way I feel is because he's always playing games like, yo, we don't have time for this. Here's a good analogy for you. I used to be 343 pounds. I'm 192 now. When I look at myself in the mirror, right, I don't see Fat Dave anymore. I see regular Dave. He sees himself as, oh, I'm still 27 year old Aaron Rodgers and I can still do this and do that. No, you're not him anymore, sir. You're not him anymore. And I'm tired of you hiking the ball and throwing the ball at my receivers and it hits their backs. Because as soon as you hike the ball, you want to get rid of it. Because the line either isn't helping you or you're just not, you know, mobile enough to move like you used to. Look, you're a legend. I respect you. I love what you did with our organization when you were there and you played. But I'm sorry, you're a novel. You don't respect people, you don't respect organizations, you don't respect people's time. I'm through with them. I don't want to hear about.

[Don La Greca]

There you go. There's exhibit A. I think that's going to be the majority opinion.

[Alan Hahn]

Thank you, David.

[Don La Greca]

They hate Aaron Rodgers and they're loving how he was treated. And again, I don't care how he was treated. This is the big boy stuff, all right? That he had to spend extra money to fly across the country and all that. What I'm saying is, is that, was it the best football decision or were they more concerned about the narrative of the new coach than saying, hey, let's, let's have a discussion here and let's see.

[Alan Hahn]

But when do you get to the franchise where you just handle it with class and dignity? No matter what it is, no matter how much you couldn't stand what he did and you could have done, you take the high ground here.

[Don La Greca]

But because they felt that was more important than high ground. You're right, they could have zoomed it. They could have just called him and said, we're moving on.

[Alan Hahn]

Hey, we don't want to waste your time, but listen, this is what we're doing.

[Don La Greca]

Isn't this story better for the caller? Now they're eating. I'm telling them they're going to eat this up with a spoon. This story is something that they really are going to love.

[Alan Hahn]

Let's see Mark in Queens. Go ahead, Mark, you're up next.

[H]

So, guys, first time, long time. So I'll preface it like this, right? Alan would know best. As NBA fans follow LeBron, I follow Rogers, right? But I'm a die hard Jet fan. At the same time, I feel like we're not even giving, we never gave the guy the right chance to even make anything right. So for four games in, he had no coach whatsoever. Nothing's working and everybody's, everybody's ganging up on him and calling him a nuisance at the same time. With, with this whole situation with Glenn, I don't think, I don't think anything that Rogers is saying is wrong because I think, don't get out of context, he's talking about a regular plane ride. I think Rogers actually flew his jet, if I'm correct, so that would be a lot more, maybe even millions to get there. Might as well have called him. And on top of that, I feel like this makes Glenn look soft because he's talking about the players looking behind him instead of, instead of at him. So we're in New York.

[Don La Greca]

I think we lost you.

[Alan Hahn]

No, he's just.

[Chris Carlin]

Now he dropped the mic.

[Alan Hahn]

That was the end of the. What he had to say, this is New York. He's saying, this is New York. Like toughen up. Like he's saying, it's on Glenn. Now. He, he made, made it clear at the beginning to say that he was more an Aaron Rodgers fan than anything else. So he follows Rodgers like basketball fans follow LeBron. Whatever team LeBron's on, that's the, that's the team I Root for kind of thing. So he admitted that's what he is. When it comes to Aaron Rodgers, there's always going to be two sides of it. That's that side of it. I never gave him a chance and all that stuff. I'm not buying any of that. I think the offense looked terrible early in the season. His chance was the guy he selected to be his offensive coordinator and it was not good. So I don't want to go on football stuff here.

[Don La Greca]

Okay.

[Alan Hahn]

But this is about a franchise that wanted to move on and have one voice and have leadership, that didn't have to worry about being undermined by a presence in the locker room that maybe in these two years was drawing players away. And you don't need to do that. You don't need to do that. You don't have to go here. The locker room politician. And that's what it seems like is going on. I just don't like the way they handle it.

[Don La Greca]

Right. But also that stuff can be going on. But it also, again creates the narrative of Rogers screwed this up. We didn't. Your first season with Rodgers was blown up because his Achilles one. I'm really honestly curious to see where that season was going to go.

[Alan Hahn]

I'm so with you. I hate that that felt right.

[Don La Greca]

The second season never felt right. Was not all on Rogers.

[Alan Hahn]

Correct.

[Don La Greca]

Now he did. Did he play well in the beginning of the season? No. But could that be explained away by the fact he was coming back from an achilles? He wasn't 100% played better in the second half. Listen, he's not what he was. But I still think in two I might my opinion. I think he can be a better quarterback in 2025 than Justin Fields can. But hey, listen, that's up for debate. That's not where I'm going. Don't make it seem like the jets season was derailed because he undermined you. He undermined Salah and Ulbricht. No, it was undermined by your owner firing Saleh and putting a neophyte in his head coach ruining your defense and putting somebody that didn't belong as the head coach, thinking that that was going to spark your team instead of derailed the team. They would have won at least three more games if he didn't get his fat hands involved and maybe things would have looked a little bit different.

[Alan Hahn]

Can't argue with you, Don. I'd love to fight you on it. I can't.

[Don La Greca]

If you want to blame it all on Rodgers, go ahead because that seems to be the case and I'm not saying Rogers isn't culpable here, but don't sit there and go ref failed in 2024 because of Aaron Rodgers. He's probably the third or fourth reason you failed.

[Alan Hahn]

Let's go to Randy in Cincinnati. Listening on the ESPN ESPN app. What's up, Randy?

[Caller]

What's going on, fellas? First, Alan, love you, but you're trolling today, man. This is not same old Jets. I think you're. You must have gotten blinders on what happened during the regular season when Aaron Rodgers chose his oc. Who's the worst oc?

[Alan Hahn]

But didn't I just say, by the.

[Caller]

Way, doesn't even have a job, Randy.

[Alan Hahn]

Didn't I just say that he doesn't.

[Caller]

Even have a job right now, Randy.

[Alan Hahn]

Didn't I just say that like three minutes ago? You probably listen. I just said that.

[Caller]

How would the same old jets when this is the same guy, that if we were to call him on the phone and ask him not to come to Jersey, he would say we don't have the guts to say it to his face. Everything's a problem for this dude, man. I'm happy with it. You're right. I don't care how we treat him. It's a big boy time. Suck it up. Go to Pittsburgh and go win nine games and not make the playoffs. But I'm fine with Justin Fields. And one more thing. One plus one doesn't always make two. Just because Rogers is on the team this year doesn't mean that we would have a better season than we would with Justin Fields. Because he is a better quarterback than Justin Fields. No doubt about that. But that doesn't mean that his toxicity in the locker room makes it a better team. It doesn't. That doesn't mean one plus one equals two.

[Don La Greca]

But all I'm saying is I like.

[Alan Hahn]

That'S a good call.

[Don La Greca]

No, it's a great call. And I'm not saying it's not true. But the jets are creating the whole toxicity thing and the fans are running with it because that's what they want to believe because they're Jet fans and they want to believe that Aaron Rodgers submarines their chances of making the playoffs. I'm telling you, that's not the reason they lost last year. And you can't find how many former jets or current jets badmouth this guy.

[Alan Hahn]

Nobody will publicly. But do you guys agree though, what.

[Don La Greca]

He says he's got now the whole organization is throwing him out with the garbage. So shouldn't there be Peter? Shouldn't there Be a line of guys telling you, oh, yeah, we love the fact they got rid of this.

[Alan Hahn]

Can't they. Again, he's popular in the room, but do you guys agree with what he said? He said something really interesting, that either way, the jets weren't gonna win. So if they said, you know what? Let's just get on a zoom. Let's just discuss this on a zoom. We don't wanna make you fly out here. Let's just keep this simple. Listen, we're gonna move on. We just wanna know how you want us to word things. What do you want? We wanna work with you on the right verbiage on how we're gonna part ways. And then his. What he said was. And all he would have said then was, oh, they didn't have the guts to bring me in and talk to me face to face. Well, do you think, like, that's it, they weren't going to win anyway, so to hell with it.

[Don La Greca]

Oh, listen. He could spin it any way that he wants to spin it, but he's spinning it in the way the jets want it to be spinning.

[Alan Hahn]

No, but do you think that that would have been it anyway? Like, either way, the jets weren't going to win if they didn't. If they didn't want to waste his time and his money and say, hey, don't worry about flying in. Let's just do a quick zoom here. Let's just. Like, he would have then used that. So no matter what they would have done, he would have found fault.

[Don La Greca]

From the. From the. He still complained about having to fly across the country. Instead, he would have complained about the fact.

[Alan Hahn]

Right.

[Don La Greca]

That they did. Here he is a Hall of Famer and he couldn't even bring me.

[Alan Hahn]

Right.

[Chris Carlin]

Probably true.

[Don La Greca]

But the information after that would have been. Because I don't think Rogers would lie. He might. He obviously will accentuate certain things he wants to accentuate. But he would probably say, yeah, they called me and said they didn't want me. They're going to move on.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, I just got a call.

[Don La Greca]

But the little things, like, I don't need you looking back at other players. Like, all that was what the jets wanted to get. That's why they said it to him. Because they knew that. Rod, the jets will never say any of this stuff. That's what makes it perfect. Because they don't have to say it because they knew Rogers was gonna say it. They used the tool against them. Like they knew he was gonna go on McAfee and tell the story. That's the story they wanted to be told. But they could have accomplished the same thing by just letting him go.

[Chris Carlin]

Peter Allen, are you having trouble, like, I am believing that this organization could have been that smart about even doing that. I don't know that they're that intentional. Don.

[Alan Hahn]

I love the theory. I don't trust it.

[Chris Carlin]

I know it's a really cool theory, Don. And if they were the San Francisco 49ers or the Philadel.

[Don La Greca]

What you're saying is as, as I'm kind of like killing them a little bit, that I'm actually complimenting them.

[Chris Carlin]

Right. Of something I don't think they're capable of.

[Don La Greca]

No, I, I. Because I do think the people that run this type of thing kind of get it. It's the football they're bad at. But this kind of stuff, I think they kind of get what a soap opera. And they know it's going to tell the story because they could have accomplished the same thing, guys, by sending an email. Thanks for the time. We're good.

[Alan Hahn]

An email.

[Don La Greca]

Right. Then Rogers would have been like, I can't believe they treat me this way. I can't believe they treated me. But there'd be no back and forth, there'd be no quotes, there wouldn't be no Johnson running out. There'd be no story. But the same thing would have been accomplished. But the jets wanted the story, so. And all we're, I'm telling you, we're going to get inundated all day with calls of Jet fans pumping their fists saying, let's see.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, baby, let's see. Benny in Coney Island. Benny, you're up next.

[Don La Greca]

Hey, how you doing?

[Caller]

Dnr. First time, long time.

[Don La Greca]

Just to let you guys know.

[Alan Hahn]

Wait a second, I'm. No, what? Yeah, you said Dhru. Yeah.

[Don La Greca]

I'm not mad at him because it.

[Alan Hahn]

Just is what it is. That's a different show, but go on.

[Chris Carlin]

It is close.

[Aaron Rodgers]

Yeah.

[Alan Hahn]

Can you guys now, the H is a big deal to me, boys.

[Don La Greca]

See where you started?

[Caller]

Shout out to dnr. First time, long time.

[Alan Hahn]

I appreciate you, Benny.

[Chris Carlin]

There you go, buddy.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, man.

[Caller]

I just wanted to fill in something real quick. I'm highly upset with the Johnson family. I kind of felt like Aaron Glenn should have never been put on the table. We should have ran it back with.

[Don La Greca]

Rex Ryan and ideally given Aaron Rodgers.

[Caller]

A third run at making the playoffs for the Jets.

[Alan Hahn]

You know what's funny about that, Benny, is we talked. Bart and I talked to. Speaking of old shows, Bart and I talked to Rex a lot last season and when all this was happening and early on when we were talking about Aaron Rodgers and like if you were the coach, what would you do and stuff. And he would say, I would sit down with him, I would say, listen, you're going to do it my way. And then towards the end he was saying, no, we would move on. So it's very interesting how his tone changed as well as he was trying to get the job.

[Don La Greca]

Yeah. Because I would say there was probably pre interview and post interview because I'm sure during the interview they're like, by the way, Roger's not coming back because we talk about Aaron Glenn saying it. The jets might have told everybody that interviewed just by the way, you're taking this job and Aaron Rodgers is not.

[Alan Hahn]

Going to be here.

[Don La Greca]

So it might not have been because we know that's how it worked. Because if you remember when Idzyg took the job as the general manager, he was told the first thing you're going to do is trade Terrell Revis. Remember, like they was just, you know, so that there, there is a history of that. So maybe it wasn't even Parcells in Glenn's ear saying, get rid of this guy. It may never even have got to that because the jets might have sat him down and said, start thinking about a quarterback that's not Aaron Rodgers. McDonald's meets the Minecraft universe with one of six collectibles and your choice of a Big Mac or 10 piece McNuggets with spicy nether Flame sauce. Now available with a Minecraft movie meal.

[Alan Hahn]

At participating McDonald's for a limited time. A Minecraft movie only in theaters.

[Don La Greca]

This episode is brought to you by Indeed. When your computer breaks, you don't wait for it to magically start working again. You fix the problem. So why wait to hire the people your company desperately needs? Use Indeed sponsored jobs to hire top talent fast and even better. You only pay for results. There's no need to wait. Speed up your hiring with a $75 sponsored job credit@ Indeed.com podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same Premium Wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to [e-mail].

[Caller]

Switch upfront payment of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month required intro rate first 3 months only then full price plan options available, taxes.

[Alan Hahn]

And fees, extra fee, full [e-mail] thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Chris Carlin]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Alan Hahn]

Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. The night's the night. Well, actually, Saturday night's the night. Game 1.

[Don La Greca]

Knicks and the Pistons about blank in time.

[Alan Hahn]

Right. We've been waiting.

[Don La Greca]

Well, because it's not even just the last game of the regular season. We've been waiting for this for what, like a month? As far as, like, we know they're going to be the three seed.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Don La Greca]

We know they're going to take on, most likely the Piston. What Was it like two weeks ago? Two weeks ago, it felt like 78%.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah. Yeah. So we do have to start discussing it tomorrow. By the way, my good friend Bernard King. You want a name drop? Go ahead.

[Chris Carlin]

Yeah.

[Alan Hahn]

Bernard freaking King. He's joining us tomorrow on the show.

[Chris Carlin]

Don, you understand where the name drop came from there, right?

[Alan Hahn]

I said my friend.

[Chris Carlin]

Exactly.

[Alan Hahn]

I've only known him for, like, forever.

[Don La Greca]

I know. Is it necessary? No, but good for you.

[Chris Carlin]

But that's who that.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah. Friends of the show. He hasn't been on the show.

[Don La Greca]

Forward, show, my friend. Forward you.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, okay.

[Don La Greca]

Right.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, I thought the show wouldn't be.

[Chris Carlin]

Friend of the show. Wouldn't be accurate yet, so he had.

[Don La Greca]

To go with the truth.

[Alan Hahn]

If I'm going to flex, I'm going to flex on the fact that Bernard King's a friend of mine now.

[Chris Carlin]

Good one.

[Don La Greca]

When you want to look at equivalencies, Bernard King to the Knicks is what Dom Mattingly is to the Yankees.

[Alan Hahn]

That's really good.

[Don La Greca]

You like that one?

[Alan Hahn]

Didn't spend as much time.

[Don La Greca]

No. But didn't.

[Alan Hahn]

But it's the same emotion.

[Don La Greca]

God loved him. You bring up Dom Mattingly, Yankee fans. The same Yankee fans who are like, aaron Judge hasn't won yet, but Donnie Baseball. Donnie Baseball.

[Alan Hahn]

Love him.

[Don La Greca]

And same thing, Nick. Fans that I know, you bring up an Art King and you just all of a sudden, they're kind of like. It's such a glance at the ceiling. And they shake their head like, oh, man. And the great.

[Chris Carlin]

And the cr. And the craziest thing about Bernard King is, is that I'm totally too young for most of his career. And yet the best career season of his career was when I was a kid and he was on the Bullets.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, that was his comeback.

[Chris Carlin]

I think he was like, second or third to Jordan in scoring. Yeah, it was absolutely insane.

[Alan Hahn]

Average 30 a game after ACL, which at that time was the death sentence.

[Chris Carlin]

Yep.

[Alan Hahn]

Incredible what he did. And he was like the first to really come back and play again and get to an all star game and. Right. And he did it in Washington. That is correct.

[Don La Greca]

When I was a kid, I worked at the pharmacy.

[Alan Hahn]

He's with us tomorrow.

[Don La Greca]

Lincoln Pharmacy from 1985-96. I worked there from my junior year in high school prime years right into when I started working with the fans through college.

[Alan Hahn]

You must have been so popular.

[Don La Greca]

No, no. They did let me count pills, mix creams and stuff. But I delivered and worked the counter. Bernard Kagan came in one day.

[Alan Hahn]

Really?

[Don La Greca]

It was pretty cool.

[Alan Hahn]

That's awesome. All right, well, you're gonna get to tell him that story.

[Don La Greca]

He won't remember.

[Alan Hahn]

Yes, he will. I guarantee you he'll remember.

[Don La Greca]

He won't. He might remember Lincoln Pharmacy. I don't think he's gonna be in there.

[Alan Hahn]

I remember 84, his series against the Pistons of legendary. And he's got great stories about that and more. So stay tuned for that for certainly tomorrow. We have your calls coming up though. We will get into some baseball. Mets and Yankees, not surprising on the back pages. How about that? Meantime, more on the Rogers stuff. Let's get your calls. Andre is in Brentwood on the ESPN app. What's up, Andre?

[Caller]

Hey, guys. Pleasure. Thank you for having me.

[Alan Hahn]

Likewise, Peter.

[Caller]

You did a great job on first take today, by the way. Great job.

[Chris Carlin]

Hey, man, thank you.

[Caller]

I appreciate it. No problem. I think it's real simple. It all comes down to Woody hates Aaron. Woody's big farmer. Aaron's the opposite. He hates him. The one condition of any coach that was going to come in was that they had to let him go. So I just think we're overthinking as to what happened. What? They treated him wrong the way they did it is wrong. But at the end of the day, it was a Woody decision. You noticed Woody with another name he didn't mention at the day with Pat McAfee.

[Don La Greca]

Right now, since we're kind of on the same page, it's true.

[Alan Hahn]

Thanks, trash.

[Don La Greca]

Since you believe in that, you let him go. Because I was going to ask him if he agrees with me because I've always said fighting back with Michael back in the day that Woody fired Saleh despite Rogers. Like everybody thought Rogers was the one that let Salah go. I think Rodgers went to bat for Saleh and that gave Woody even more reason to do it. Because.

[Alan Hahn]

Is that why they called each other? Is that why he called them the night before?

[Don La Greca]

I really believe that. Nobody has told me that, but if I had to guess, I would say they talked. And if anybody wanted to save Saleh, it was Rodgers. Because Rodgers understood. If we fire a coach in the middle of the season, we're done.

[Alan Hahn]

And they're gonna blame me, right?

[Don La Greca]

And they're gonna blame me. Everybody blamed him. No, I think he got along with Salah. He may not have paid attention to him or whatever. He didn't want him gone and then. And that why, that's why Woody did it. Because Woody was like, hey, listen, this is a guy that's got to be a dressed ambassador. He's like, this guy ain't running this franchise. I'm running this franchise and I'm going to show you that I'm the guy that's got the power. That's why Chris chased him down the hall, because Chris was probably like, you can't do that. What are you. What are, what are you doing? Come, Aaron, come back. Come back. He didn't mean it. He didn't mean it.

[Alan Hahn]

So weird.

[Don La Greca]

It's. I'm telling you, that's how it went down.

[Alan Hahn]

Esther and Edison. Hey, Esther.

[Caller]

Hey, guys. Thanks for taking calls.

[Don La Greca]

Always.

[Caller]

Okay, so on the Aaron Rodgers issue, I feel like there's a lot of like amnesia or like revisionism happening. So I just feel like Rogers is like, he's not a bad guy, but he's not a good guy. So like back in Green Bay, like all the drama he caused, how he wanted more control, he didn't really like that love was coming up. Fine gets shipped off. We have the whole like undermining teammates and leadership in the media or the Pat McAfee Show. We have the Sandy Hook conspiracy. We have calling out Mike Williams on the podium, which I play sports and if my captain did that, I'm leaving. I don't trust him. If I mess up, he's going to call me out. Never saw that before. Derek Wilson got iced out in the second half of the season. He's a great talent that I feel like we should keep. Devonte Adams, because of that old familiarity, became like the primary receiver even though he didn't contribute that much. He's a 40 year old guy and it's like, why is he going to change now? Why is he going to be humble? Why is he all of a sudden going to be mea culpa, come back, tail between his legs, hat in hand. He has no accountability, no leadership and has shown no remorse.

[Don La Greca]

Well, a lot of the things that you're saying, most of them accurate. Although he'll deny anything about the Sandy stuff. But I get what you're saying the same thing.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, he's already explained that part of it.

[Don La Greca]

But a lot of that happened before he became a Jet, and the jets still wanted him, like, so they knew what they were getting and they were willing to hand the keys to the franchise to him. Who do you want us to go out and get? You want Lazard, we'll get Lazard. You want Adams, we'll get Adams. Right. So a lot of that's on the jets, too. I mean, again, I'm not apologizing for Rogers, but, like, what would you do if you walked into a place and they said, listen, have at it. Do whatever you want, and then all of a sudden, you're the bad guy when it doesn't work out? So a lot of what he is, I don't think he's a good guy or a bad guy. He's a nozzle. I get it, but I don't think he's a bad guy. But everything that you're saying, we knew that when he came here and the jets salivated the opportunity to bring him in here, he tore his Achilles and everything went south. But did any of the things that you said derail his time with the Jets?

[Caller]

It's different when it's you, right? So there's one thing to be like, man, I dated a redhead and she was insane. Don't date redhead. But it's different if you date the redhead and you're like, oh, gosh, yeah, no, it's totally right. And it's like, yeah, we heard about Rogers. Just like we hear Don is crazy, or we hear Alan is super into the Knicks, or we hear Peter's. Whatever the heck people say about Peter. And it's like. But it's different if you meet them in person. It's different having that experience. And I feel like having him in your locker room versus seeing him in other locker rooms is not the same. Right. And the dynamic he had because it's a different environment made him take on a bit of a different image. And it's like, even if these things weren't true, just based on what he did last year alone is ground not to bring him back.

[Don La Greca]

No, but the point.

[Caller]

He's not apologetic.

[Don La Greca]

No, but that's.

[Alan Hahn]

Thank you, Ashley. We just have to go.

[Don La Greca]

It's top of the hour. But honestly, I don't even think it was like, wow, Redheads are crazy. I didn't realize. No, they realized everything. Rodgers was. They didn't care because they thought they'd win with him, and then they didn't. So now, all of a sudden, he's the bad guy. You knew what you were getting. McAfee. He went on McAfee before he became a Jet. He was on McAfee while he was making a decision to make a jet. He was on McAfee the whole year that he was out. Right. It was never an issue. Now, all of a sudden, he's a bad guy. Or did he just not win? And I don't know what's worse. Peter whatever he is, or Don's crazy. Peter, whatever he is or Don's crazy.

[Alan Hahn]

Or Don's crazy, we'll have to discuss. Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast. I don't want to know how the sausage is made, but I just want to know. It's good. Hear more of Don Allen and Peter weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app, and your smart speakers.