KSR: NFL Cover Zero

“Super Bowl is Set and Coaches Getting Hired”

Date: January 26, 2026
Hosts: Matt Jones, Drew Franklin, Billy

Episode Overview

This episode, recorded just after the NFL Conference Championship games, features Matt Jones, Drew Franklin, and Billy snowed in across Kentucky. The conversation centers on reactions to the just-announced Super Bowl matchup, the surprising playoff storylines, assessments of championship game performances, the latest NFL coaching hires, and a look ahead to Super Bowl festivities. The crew’s blend of sarcasm, football insight, and witty banter is on full display as they dissect a slate of “lackluster” games, muse on stadium trends, and riff on coaching rumors.

1. Weather Woes & Snowy Playoff Football

Timestamps: 02:10 – 05:45

• The hosts set the scene with icy, snow-blanketed conditions in Kentucky and across much of the U.S.
  • Matt: “All three, including Billy, snowed in... Not as much snow as they told us we were gonna get. They told us we were going to get ...like a foot. We got like six inches.” (02:15)
  • Drew: “Here in Lexington, we got the snow, then ice on top. ...So I just smacked it a few times and walked back in and gave up.” (03:11)
• Friendly debate about the value of shoveling (with concern for delivery drivers), and anecdotes about storm damage in Mississippi and Tennessee.

2. Super Bowl Matchup: Seahawks vs. Patriots?

Timestamps: 05:45 – 14:28

A Lackluster Pairing

• Matt: Voices disappointment in the matchup, calling it one of the least compelling Super Bowls in recent memory.
  • *“I can’t think of a Super bowl where I find the matchup less compelling, Drew, than this one.” (05:45)
• The crew bemoans the absence of the Chiefs and laments the Patriots’ uninspired advances:
  • “I hate the Patriots because they're not even good....No one should have won today. Both teams should have been required to quit.” (07:06)
• Analysis of Jared Stidham’s AFC Championship outing; the critical turnover and failed fourth down become focus points.
  • Drew: “No one expected [Stidham] to go out there and have four touchdowns and have an MVP day...That fumble, I mean, he’s backpedaling. He had plenty of time to get rid of the ball.” (08:33)
• The Patriots’ playoff path labeled “the easiest path” as the hosts reject claims to the contrary.
  • Matt: “Kay Adams...said, you could argue this is the hardest path ever....That made me like her about 1/100th less because that's ridiculous.” (09:24)

Notable Statistic

• Billy: “Nine of the last 10 Super Bowls have been either with the Patriots or the Chiefs.” (10:35)
• Matt: Points out today was the first AFC title game since 1999 without Mahomes, Brady, or Manning. (10:42)

Production Gaffe

• Laughter at the broadcast’s digital yard marker glitches in the snow.
  • Drew: “The punter just disappeared behind the 10-yard line. Didn’t know where he was.” (11:26)

3. Stadium Debate: Should Every Stadium Be a Dome?

Timestamps: 12:53 – 19:03

• Billy raises whether this snow-impacted game is “why everybody has a dome.”
• Matt: Argues against domes, drawing parallels to boring, uniform stadiums in baseball and NASCAR:
  • “The character of sports is the uniqueness of the stadium. And it’s nice when there’s a handful of domes, but when there are 20 domes...everyone is going to wish these games were outside.” (17:44)
• The weather “at least gave you something to look at” in an otherwise forgettable game. (18:43 – Matt)

4. Super Bowl Entertainment Tangent

Timestamps: 20:09 – 23:27

• Chuckles over Drake May’s “Super Bowl as a fan” backstory, which Matt dismisses as merely evidence of wealth, not football romance.
  • Matt: “That means he was rich. You don't go to the Super Bowl as a game unless you got some money.” (19:49)
• Discussion shifts to Super Bowl musical acts—Green Day and Bad Bunny—riffing on the generational mix and their SF ties.
  • Drew: “I'm ready for some Dookie.” (21:35)
• Billy claims even without speaking Spanish, he can “feel Bad Bunny’s emotions.” (23:10)

5. Seahawks-Rams Recap: Darnold’s Redemption & Key Plays

Timestamps: 23:27 – 29:15

Sam Darnold’s Big Day

• Drew and Matt commend Darnold’s perseverance and breakout season.
  • Drew: “Eat it, Minnesota. And good for you, Sam Darnold...he deserves to be there and had a hell of a season when everybody had given up on him.” (24:19)
• Praise for Jackson Smith-Njigba and the game’s offensive fireworks.

Pivotal Moments

• The critical drop by Rams TE Kobe Parkinson is lamented:
  • Matt: “That will—He walks into the end zone if he catches that...a terrible, terrible drop.” (26:08)
• The “worst taunting call” in NFL history is debated.
  • Billy: “There was maybe the...worst taunting call in NFL history.” (26:49)
  • Matt: “I actually do think...he did earn it...the question is, do you call it on a fourth down like that?” (27:15-27:43)

Seahawks’ “Twelfths” Branding

• The repeated references to Seattle fans as “the 12s” is mocked.
  • Drew: “It was really wearing me out with their branding of the Seattle fans.” (28:22)

6. Coaches’ Families and Work-Life Balance

Timestamps: 29:28 – 31:02

• Noteworthy exchange after Mike McDonald admits to only spending 30 minutes a week with his son.
  • Billy: “He’ll carve out about 30 minutes to spend some time with his son before he goes down in his man cave and grind more film.” (29:40)
  • Drew: Highlights McVeigh’s apparent counter-move, bringing his son to the sidelines pre-game.

7. Early Super Bowl Predictions & Legacies

Timestamps: 32:40 – 38:29

• Matt challenges his own "Super Bowl QB theory" with Darnold's unique career arc.
  • “He's not going to be a Hall of Famer and he's not on a rookie contract. He's been paid a lot of money so he's got a chance to ruin my theory.”
• Odds and quick picks: Drew gives the Seahawks the edge by virtue of balance.
• Both see the result as a likely one-off, not the start of team dynasties.
  • Matt: "I don't think we'll see either of these teams again next year. So now's the time to pounce." (35:29)

8. Hiring News: McCarthy & Minter

Timestamps: 38:59 – 44:28

Steelers Hire Mike McCarthy

• Hosts note he’s now led the Packers, Cowboys, and Steelers—the three biggest NFL franchises.
  • Matt: “That would be like, you only had three jobs in baseball, and it was the Red Sox, Yankees and Cubs.” (39:12)
• Both find the hire an odd fit, questioning his upside and the franchise strategy.

Ravens Hire Jesse Minter

• Minimal knowledge of Minter; hosts poke fun at his first name’s lack of gravitas.
  • Matt: “Jesse’s a terrible name for a coach...I just don't think that sounds like a coach.” (43:09)
• Skepticism about hiring a defensive coordinator as the hot “young guy,” especially amid Ravens roster/rebuild questions.

9. Rumors & Coaching Carousel Absurdity

Timestamps: 46:12 – 51:16

• Surprise Rumor: Buffalo Bills interview Philip Rivers for head coach.
  • Matt: “This has to be a joke interview...Nothing will ever top the Browns are interviewing Condoleezza Rice.” (46:21)
  • Drew: “And I hope he gets the job and I hope he wins. He's coaching a high school team right now…from high school to the Bills!” (47:21)
  • Matt: “I don't think the fact that you coached high school makes you...Why did they do this with Jeff Saturday, and that didn’t work.”
• Sarcastic banter about a full staff of NFL legends with zero coaching experience:
  • “If you just want to make the entire staff people who have never coached, and then maybe we'll find out, it's like Weatherman. Anyone can do it.” (49:19 – Matt)

10. Robert Kraft’s Legacy & “Brady/Belichick” Discourse

Timestamps: 51:23 – 53:20

• Billy asks if Patriots’ success changes the Belichick/Brady legacy argument.
  • Matt: “The Belichick/Brady debate is kind of a stupid debate to me because they're both obviously great.” (51:37)
  • Noting that Vrabel “kind of fell into Kraft’s lap” as a head coach, easy decision.

11. Heading to Super Bowl: Preview & Guest Wishlist

Timestamps: 53:23 – 56:46

• The crew will broadcast from Super Bowl Radio Row, contemplating an unusually large guest list for possible interviews (including Steve Largent, Marshawn Lynch, Sean Alexander, and Bill Simmons).
• Playful excitement about being on a real NFL set for the first time.
  • Drew: “The set will be very intimidating compared to what we normally have, but I cannot be more excited. Even if it’s not the two teams we want...” (54:36)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Matt Jones on the AFC Title Game:
  “No one should have won today. Both teams should have been required to quit. Like, they should have advanced both the Seahawks and Rams to the Super Bowl...and made both of these teams go away.” (07:06)
• On domes vs. open stadiums:
  “The character of sports is the uniqueness of the stadium...everyone is going to wish these games were outside.” (17:44 – Matt)
• On Green Day at the Super Bowl:
  “Are they...from San Francisco? ...I think the connection is, let’s have someone that they're, in theory, edgy, but like, actually it's middle aged dads that listen to them now.” (22:19 – Matt)
• On Mike McDonald’s 30 minutes with his son:
  “I don't think you should quantify 30 minutes.” (30:21 – Matt)
• On the Philip Rivers rumor:
  “It would be as if the CEO of Ford resigns and they go, why don't we go get Matt Kenseth? Like, no, just because he can drive a car doesn't mean he can run a car company.” (48:04 – Matt)

Key Timestamps

• 02:10 – Episode begins, snowstorm talk, shoveling debate
• 05:45 – Super Bowl matchup gripes
• 08:33 – Patriots’ offensive struggles and Stidham’s fumble
• 10:35 – Dominance of Patriots & Chiefs in recent Super Bowls
• 11:26 – Digital yard markers vanishing players
• 12:53 – Should all stadiums be domes?
• 18:43 – “At least the snow gave you something to look at.”
• 24:19 – Praise for Sam Darnold’s journey
• 26:08 – “Terrible drop” in Rams-Seahawks
• 26:49 – “Worst taunting call in NFL history”
• 29:40 – Mike McDonald’s parenting admission
• 32:40 – Early Super Bowl lines/predictions
• 39:12 – Mike McCarthy, “three most iconic franchises”
• 47:21 – Bills’ Philip Rivers coaching interview
• 51:37 – Kraft/Belichick/Brady legacy talk
• 54:36 – Preparing for Super Bowl Radio Row

Tone & Takeaways

The KSR crew approach the episode with their trademark mix of skepticism, self-aware fandom, sardonic humor, and sharp football analysis. Matt’s cranky pragmatism is balanced by Drew’s football romanticism and Billy’s factoids. There’s recurring focus on how “off” this year’s Super Bowl pairing feels, how much weather and stadium trends matter, and strong skepticism about NFL coaching fads.

While they’re not overly optimistic about the Super Bowl spectacle or coaching carousel, their banter is engaging, irreverent, and peppered with the kind of lines and stories that are KSR signatures. The episode closes with palpable excitement for their Super Bowl coverage—even if it’s not the matchup they hoped for.

For new or casual listeners:
This episode delivers current NFL playoff analysis with attitude, quirky regional color, and football barstool wisdom—with minimal sugarcoating.