Don, Hahn & Rosenberg – Hour 3: Success After NY (September 16, 2025)

Overview

This hour dives deep into the paradox of New York sports figures and teams finding greater success after leaving the market, especially in football. The hosts, Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, and Peter Rosenberg, bounce between impassioned debates about the perennial struggles of the Jets, reclamation stories like Baker Mayfield, and the franchise-altering impact of bad ownership and impatience. Tangents on Oasis’s enduring hype seamlessly blend into listener calls about the misery and loyalty of sports fandom, and a spirited debate erupts about musical icons’ cultural impact.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Success After Leaving New York Teams

• Jets Regrets & the "Post-NY Bounce"
  The hosts reflect on ex-Jets coaches and players doing well elsewhere:

  • Baker Mayfield: Poster boy for "right situation, right results" after leaving Cleveland and now finding success (07:01–08:16).
    Quote (Don, 07:01):

    "You see the athleticism and he didn't have a great night, ... but he was getting beat up, made it happen ... Two and oh again."

  • Todd Bowles: Fired by the Jets after a rough record, now thriving with the Bucs. Quote (Don, 07:16):

    “Todd Bowles is doing a hell of a job in Tampa. Four straight years as the coach of the Tampa Buccaneers. They start the year two and oh..."

  • Sam Darnold & Geno Smith: Once failed with the Jets, they're now high-performing quarterbacks. Quote (Don, 08:17):

    "Sam Darnold, almost wins the MVP, signs a contract in Seattle...Geno Smith ... great years in Seattle, signed a big contract with the Raiders.”

• Jets' Recurring Issue: Leadership Vacuum

  • The cycle of impatience and quick firings is blamed for stunted development and lack of stable culture.
  • Ownership’s meddling and errors, not player or coach talent, fuel the “Jets curse.”

2. Jets’ Organizational Dysfunction: Where Does It Start?

• Rooting Out the Real Problem

  • Alan (09:21):

    “It always starts at the top. ... The guy at the top has got to stay the hell out of the way."

  • Bad GM/coach pairings, listening to the wrong people (e.g., Adam Gase hire), and ownership errors set up doomed regimes.

• Player Development Failings

  • The drafting of Zach Wilson over developing Sam Darnold is examined as a symptom of broader structural dysfunction. Quote (Alan, 11:14):

    "These are decisions that you're talked into because we all did it..."

• Impatience and Emotional Overreaction

  • The hosts discuss how impatience blocks growth, especially for coaches like Aaron Glenn, who need time to develop but are likely to be run out if instant results don't follow.

3. Are the Jets Cursed—Or Just Mismanaged?

• Debate: Curse vs. Incompetence

  • Peter (11:58) wonders if it’s more than just bad luck after decades of futility.

    "It's hard not to feel cursed."

  • Don counters it's not a curse, just consistent incompetence. Quote (Don, 20:22):

    "You don't get here on accident. ... There's way more evidence of incompetence and bad ownership and bad decisions..."

• A History of Futility

  • The franchise's lack of consecutive winning seasons and impactful leadership is contextualized as DNA-level dysfunction.

4. Athlete ‘Reclamation Projects’ and Comparisons

• Baker Mayfield’s Odyssey

  • Hosts compare Mayfield’s path to historical reclamation stories: Vinnie Testaverde, Steve Young, Kerry Collins, Jim Plunkett.

    • Peter (16:42):

      “He was a full on joke ... and then he really was solid here.”

  • Don recounts Mayfield’s miraculous Rams debut. Quote (Don, 18:47):

    “He signed with the Rams on a Tuesday ... they played a Thursday night game and he played in the game and played well. I'm like this kid. That's something.”

5. The Oasis Detour: Generational Music Icons & Hype

• Oasis’s Enduring Appeal

  • Unexpectedly, the show pivots to arguing Oasis’s cultural significance—triggered by recent reunion concerts.

  • Peter explains that for his generation, Oasis is seminal, on par with any classic rock band. Quote (Peter, 03:27):

    "It was a religious. Yeah, for people my age, it was like religious."

  • Listeners call in to validate the significance, with one describing the concert as a “religious experience” (27:24).

• Album Legacy Debate

  • The group ranks (What's the Story) Morning Glory? as a generational classic, drawing comparisons to Michael Jackson’s Thriller in terms of hit density (26:05–26:30).

6. The Pain and Therapy of Being a Jets Fan

• Fan Calls: Sports Therapy
  Listeners vent their frustrations about the Jets' cycle of hope and heartbreak.

  • Dave (30:07):, long-time friend and fan:

    "It's another year of therapy, right, Alan? ... I want to win, Allen. I'm sick and tired of these phone calls. ... The Jets just crushed me."

• Living Through Rebuilds

  • Alan: If Glenn needs time to grow, fans must accept pain first—a cycle NY is trapped in (34:19).
  • Don: Even if you fire the right coach, the wrong GM can doom the next regime (34:59).

7. Music vs. Sports: The Iconic Debate

• Which Is More Iconic? The Beatles vs. Stones, Tupac vs. Biggie
  • Lively debate over rock and hip-hop icons’ legacy and influence (44:20–47:18).
    • Don: Beatles changed popular music; Stones just a great band.
    • Peter: “Culturally ... Tupac’s bigger than Biggie—he’s Bob Marley … as a figure, Tupac is mythical.”

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Oasis as a generational band
  Peter (03:27):
  “This is a rock band that, like ... the band of that generation.”

• Don on Jets’ recurring franchise problems
  Don (7:21):
  "How frustrating is it ... that you have not gone to the playoffs in 15 years? The two biggest problems that you've had as a franchise is not being able to find your quarterback or your coach."

• Alan on ownership’s interference
  Alan (09:21):
  "It always starts at the top. ... The guy at the top has got to stay the hell out of the way. He can't help himself. He gets involved."

• On the perpetual state of Jets fans
  Dave, caller (30:07):
  “It's another year of therapy, right, Alan? ... I'm sick and tired of these phone calls. ... The Jets just crushed me.”

• On culture and leadership
  Alan (36:19):
  “There's franchises like the jets who desperately need one person, one voice, one standard. Everybody follow me. And the jets haven't had that.”

• On music nostalgia and the power of time travel
  Don (40:13):
  “Whenever I hear those bands, it takes me back to driving from North Jersey to Long island to go to Sports Phone every day ... dreaming that I'd be doing what I'm doing now.”

• Iconic music argument
  Peter (46:27):
  “Tupac's bigger than Biggie. ... He's Bob Marley. ... As a figure, Tupac is mythical.”

Listener Calls (Selected Highlights)

• Oasis Concert Fandom
  Chris (27:24):
  “Saw them at MetLife ... it was a religious experience. ... Everybody in the stadium was on their feet the entire time.”

• Jets Fan Lamentations
  Dave (30:07):
  “I'm sick and tired of being Sunday meals, being ruined ... I want to stay the course ... but I really am, man, ... I want to win, Allen.”

Memorable Moments

• Lizard Lick and Josh Grizzard (15:00)
  Comic relief as the hosts riff on the name of a football coach from “Lizard Lick, North Carolina,” imagining the “Grizzard from Lizard” as a cartoonish Southern football figure.

• Rock Band video game nostalgia (39:13)
  The hosts reminisce about late-night Rock Band sessions as a cultural time capsule.

• “It's another year of therapy”:
  The ultimate summary of what it's like to be a passionate, long-suffering NY sports fan.

Conclusion

This episode is a dynamic blend of embittered NY sports analysis, music nostalgia, and empathetic fan therapy. The central theme—why so many ex-New York athletes and coaches thrive elsewhere—anchors a broader conversation about leadership, patience, and the emotional rollercoaster of fandom. The hosts’ camaraderie shines, interwoven with memorable digressions and listener voices that echo the agony and hope of New York sports.