Game Over with Max Kellerman & Rich Paul

Episode: Thriller in Pittsburgh, Coaching Decisions, and Around the NBA

The Ringer, January 5, 2026

Episode Overview

In this lively and insightful episode, Max Kellerman and Rich Paul dive deep into the wild Steelers-Ravens regular season classic, coaching philosophies around the NFL, and key narrative arcs across the NBA. Rich shares candid moments from the Lakers’ locker room, the duo debates the proper valuation of NFL head coaches versus top assistants, and they discuss how legacy and branding intersect for sports icons. Basketball debates heat up as Brown vs. Tatum sparks fireworks, while the pair reflect on what makes a truly transcendent athlete brand.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens: An Instant Classic

[02:00-12:00]

• Max claims the recent Steelers-Ravens showdown was "one of the greatest regular season games in the history of football," setting the tone for a conversation on rivalry, legacy, and playoff stakes.
• The duo compares legendary American sports rivalries, ultimately agreeing that Steelers-Ravens is currently the NFL’s premier grudge match.
  • Max: “When you think about the biggest rivalries... What's the biggest rivalry in the NFL? It's Ravens-Steelers, really.” [02:11]
• Discussion of the playoff implications and the narrative tension: loser goes home, winner moves on.
• Rich and Max spar over Lamar Jackson’s postseason reputation, noting the pressure he faces due to team sport dynamics and historical biases toward Black quarterbacks:
  • Rich: “People want him to look a certain way. They want him to look like a quarterback… that’s the real issue he had coming in.” [08:35]
  • Max: “This is like the plight of the Black quarterback for decades and decades and decades.” [08:57]
• The two dissect how every play mattered in a low-scoring, defense-dominated affair—à la old-school football—contrasting it with current high-scoring trends that "devalue each score."
  • Max: “Every play was magnified because of how much each play meant, because of how precious each point was.” [06:22]
• Heartbreak for field goal kickers: sympathy for the Baltimore kicker who missed at the end. Rich invokes Ray Finkel and historic moments of missed kicks [07:38].

Coaches, Culture, and Consistency: Lessons from NFL Sidelines

[12:00-18:30]

• Max and Rich delve into why certain NFL franchises—specifically the Steelers and Ravens—set a standard for culture and consistency, often owed to the stability of their head coaches.
  • Rich: “What is the Steelers and Ravens’ common denominator? Culture.” [12:44]
  • Max: “The head coach’s job primarily is to make sure your team is competitive all the time.” [12:22]
• The duo critiques the frequent firing of head coaches, especially noting the Browns’ firing of Kevin Stefanski, and debate the merits of stability vs. the need for a difference-maker at head coach.
• A fascinating tangent on why positional coaches and coordinators should sometimes be paid head coach money to retain greatness:
  • Max: “If you have a defensive or offensive coordinator you think is excellent, pay him triple salary if you have to.” [15:50]
  • Rich: “If you pay me not to be a head coach—if you pay me head coach money…” [16:29]

NBA Check-In: Coaching, Strategy, and Honest Appraisal

[21:10–34:00]

• Rich recounts an in-game conversation with LeBron James about offensive adjustments, referencing recent commentary from coach JJ Redick. He details how LeBron and Luka Doncic can maximize roles in late-game situations:
  • Rich: “I like you and Luka in the pick and roll… You and 77 in the pick and roll.” [24:00]
  • Max: “If one dude is dribbling the ball to death… that’s not going to work.” [25:40]
• The Lakers’ prospects and limitations are openly debated. Rich (not as LeBron's agent, he insists) and Max agree the Lakers are not true contenders despite their star power.
  • Max: “This is Rich’s honest opinion about the Lakers... there are some teams better than them in their own conference.” [29:32]
  • Rich: “I still don’t think the Lakers are contenders.” [29:05]
• Both hosts praise Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Maxey, and Joel Embiid for their play, highlight the growing Knicks-Sixers rivalry, and question the Cavs’ developmental trajectory—especially regarding Evan Mobley. The ongoing challenge: patience versus rising expectations for young stars.

Team Building: Depth, Duos, and NBA Parity

[36:30–42:00]

• Rich maintains that franchise building is cyclical and influenced by chemistry, health, and momentum, pushing back against Max’s impatience:
  • Rich: “Yesterday’s scores don’t tell today’s game.” [37:03]
• Parity in the NBA is celebrated; multiple teams are described as "one or one-and-a-half moves away" from contention, using the Suns’ recent success as a case study for the power of the right coaching and the “4 E’s”: energy, effort, execution, and consistency.
  • Rich: “If you just do that, you’re going to be competitive and win some games.” [42:55]

NFL Draft Drama & AFC Quarterback Legacies

[44:10–51:12]

• Max puts the Giants’ ongoing dysfunction under the microscope, lamenting their perennial habit of sabotaging draft position via meaningless late-season wins:
  • Max: “The system is set up to punish the Giants. It reveals their incompetence.” [44:13]
• Lookup at the AFC playoff landscape: for the first time in years, Patrick Mahomes is absent from the postseason. Aaron Rodgers faces a gauntlet of young, legacy-hungry QBs; the hosts contemplate the narrative swings if any of them reaches the Super Bowl.
  • Max: “Our entire perception of football is about a change in this AFC playoff run right now.” [51:12]

The Brown-Tatum Debate: Duo Dynamics and NBA History

[52:29–61:59]

• Jaylen Brown’s 50-point outburst triggers a spirited segment about the fluid pecking order among Celtics stars and more generally the evolving nature of NBA duos.
  • Max: “Are we sure Tatum is better than Jaylen Brown right now?” [54:33]
  • Rich: “Comparisons are the thief of joy... I like them both.” [54:46]
• Max plays “joy thief,” ultimately making the case for Brown due to postseason reliability.
  • Max: “I’ve seen too many playoff games from Tatum… I didn’t feel like he was still Jayson Tatum... I’m taking Jaylen Brown.” [58:20]
  • Rich: “Don’t let ego or entitlement... stunts the growth of players all the time.” [58:52]
• Both stress the historical uniqueness of a pair this close in ability and warn against media-driven narratives that could split them before their era runs its course.

Athlete Brands: The Michael Jordan Effect

[62:10–83:57+]

• Responding to public reactions, Rich gives a passionate, visual whiteboard-led masterclass on why Michael Jordan’s athlete brand is peerless.
  • Rich: “No one has built the brand of Michael’s… Michael Jordan didn’t share the market. He controlled the market.” [67:13, 73:33]
  • Key factors: Nike Air, Gatorade’s “Be Like Mike,” hip-hop and pop-culture influence, the timing of marketing during the crack epidemic era, and cultural product seeding before social media.
  • Rich: “The first influencers were guys like Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. What shoes did he wear?” [71:02]
• Rich shares personal stories about the cultural cache of Jordans (“the i95 Gold Coast” for footwear), the lengths kids went to get them, and what made this athlete-product synergy indelible and generational.
  • Rich: “There’s been two mythological people. Michael Jackson and Michael Jordan.” [81:09]
• Rich takes a moment to advise young athletes on focusing on “the right partners” in branding, not simply chasing volume.
• They pivot to LeBron James, discussing how transcendent talent is the only real catalyst for such enduring, lucrative athletic brands.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Lamar Jackson and QB Criticism:
  “I think Lamar gets a lot of flack because people want him to look a certain way. They want him to look like a quarterback... and that's the real issue he had coming in.” — Rich [08:35]

• On Head Coach Value:
  “The head coach’s job primarily is to make sure your team is competitive all the time. The Steelers and Ravens are always competitive.” — Max [12:22]

• On Assistant Coach Salaries:
  “If you have a D or an offensive coordinator you think is excellent, pay him triple salary. If you have to pay him to stay in that role.” — Max [15:50]

• On Lakers’ True Ceiling:
  “I still don’t think that, that, that Lakers are contenders... when you have the names like a LeBron and Luka, there’s gonna be a championship expectation.” — Rich [29:05]

• On NBA Duos Not Splitting:
  “Oftentimes we allow our athletes...to say it got to be you... and that stunts the growth of players all the time... We've lost the ability to watch them play for several months.” — Rich [58:41]

• On Michael Jordan’s Brand:
  “Michael Jordan didn’t share the market, he controlled the market.” — Rich [73:33]

Key Timestamps

• [02:11] Steelers-Ravens rivalry and NFL’s biggest grudge matches
• [05:58] Max on scarcity and value in low-scoring, high-drama NFL games
• [08:35] Rich on the real reasons for Lamar Jackson skepticism
• [12:22] Max on what makes Harbaugh and Tomlin elite head coaches
• [15:50] Max on why top assistants should be paid like head coaches
• [24:00] Rich on Lakers’ late-game offense with LeBron and Luka
• [29:05] Rich flatly states the Lakers are not true contenders
• [44:13] Max’s epic Giants dysfunction/draft rant
• [51:12] The "changing of the guard" in AFC playoff quarterbacks
• [54:33] Max: “Are we sure Tatum is better than Jaylen Brown right now?”
• [67:13] Rich launches mega Jordan-brand explanation
• [73:33] "Michael Jordan didn’t share... he controlled the market."
• [81:09] “There’s been two mythological people. Michael Jackson and Michael Jordan.”

Takeaways

• Pittsburgh’s win over Baltimore exemplifies football at its dramatic, gritty best, and the NFL’s competitive culture starts with stable, elite leadership—as epitomized by Harbaugh and Tomlin.
• Rich Paul and Max Kellerman’s coaching philosophy: keep the best minds at any cost—even if not at the top. Don’t underestimate organizational culture.
• NBA depth and duo strength are at a premium. Patient team-building can pay off, while fans and media must resist quick judgements about young stars.
• Branding for athletes is about much more than statistics or even on-court greatness: timing, culture, product synergy, and influencer networks all matter. But talent is the true “moat.”
• The Brown vs. Tatum debate is a luxury not a problem—unique in recent NBA history.

Game Over continues to blend sharp sports insight with culture, history, and the business behind the scenes. The mix of candor, humor, and inside access makes it a must-listen for serious fans and armchair GMs alike.