All 10 NFL Head Coaches Hired Reaction Part 1: John Harbaugh $100M DEAL to Giants, Steelers HIRE Mike McCarthy

Summary

Nightcap Podcast — Episode Summary

Episode: All 10 NFL Head Coaches Hired Reaction Part 1: John Harbaugh $100M DEAL to Giants, Steelers HIRE Mike McCarthy
Date: February 4, 2026
Hosts: Shannon Sharpe (“Unc”, referred to as Joe), Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson (“Ocho”)
Theme: Instant reactions and candid breakdowns of the major 2026 NFL head coaching hires, with analysis of team fits, quarterback situations, and management moves.

---

Overview

In this episode, Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson break down the flurry of new NFL head coaching hires, focusing on the most notable contracts and team fits for several major franchises. The podcast delivers unfiltered perspectives on what these changes mean for the teams, especially regarding quarterback situations and organizational control. The hosts mix football analysis with playful banter and personal anecdotes, maintaining their signature “barbershop talk” dynamic.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Atlanta Falcons Hire Kevin Stefanski (03:13–06:26)

• Headline: Kevin Stefanski, twice NFL Coach of the Year, becomes the new Atlanta Falcons head coach.
• Analysis of the Hire
  • Ocho expresses uncertainty about Stefanski’s fit, specifically pointing to the significance of the quarterback situation:
    “I think if the quarterback position is solidified… he can do something with Michael Penix Jr. But he’s gonna want some security. Michael Penix Jr. is injury-prone.” (03:13)
  • Both agree Kirk Cousins will remain as insurance:
    “I don’t think they’re going to allow Kirk Cousins to leave… he’ll be that backup and that security blanket for Stefanski.” (03:43)
• On Stefanski’s Play Calling Decision:
  • Sharpe speculates that Stefanski promised to call plays as a hiring contingency (04:32–05:50).
  • Ocho recommends Stefanski act as an overseer rather than hands-on OC, but Sharpe counters that the job opportunity was likely tied to him calling offensive plays.

---

2. New York Giants Land John Harbaugh (06:26–07:47, 15:45–30:05)

• Headline: John Harbaugh agrees to a whopping 5-year, $100 million contract with the Giants—granting major control over staff and roster.
  • “Harbaugh is expected to be worth five years, a hundred million. Excuse me, yes. Five years, a hundred million dollars. Twenty million per year.” (15:45)
• On the Giants’ Appeal:
  • Sharpe: The Giants’ quarterback situation is the best among open coaching jobs—vital for attracting a veteran like Harbaugh.
  • Ocho questions if the Giants had the most talent, raising concerns about receiver injuries, but Sharpe insists:
    “It doesn’t matter how much talent you got, you better have a quarterback that can pull the trigger.” (22:18)
• On Harbaugh’s Control:
  • Both discuss how coaches with a long career (Belichick, Tomlin, Reid) are only effective when granted increasing control over rosters and staff.
    • “When you’ve been in that position… it’s hard for you to go to another situation and have no control, right? Especially after you’ve been at the job for an extended period of time.” (27:06)
• Why Not Another Team?:
  • Analysis of other vacancies (Tennessee, Arizona, Jets, Falcons, Miami), noting those teams typically lack a solid QB situation or have major roster holes.
• Notable Takedown:
  • “If Green Bay was available, I’d tell him to take his ass to Green Bay.” (24:23) — Sharpe on ideal coaching destination.

---

3. Green Bay Packers Retain Matt LaFleur (06:31–11:13)

• Headline: Matt LaFleur stays; focus shifts to roster tweaks and continuity.
• Sharpe and Ocho discuss the team’s strong trajectory, but note injury concerns at key positions (QB Jordan Love, WR Christian Watson).
• Ocho: Urges Green Bay to keep backup QB Malik Willis for insurance, hinting at his starting-caliber potential.
• Sharpe: Discusses importance of sacks from the DeMarcus Ware perspective, emphasizing consistency over flashy stats.

---

4. Miami Dolphins Hire Jeff Hafley (34:40–39:17)

• Headline: Dolphins tap Green Bay DC Jeff Hafley to break their 25-season playoff win drought.
• Hafley’s lack of head coaching experience is addressed:
  • Ocho: “Mr. Hafley, boy… he got his work cut off for him. For one, you have no head coaching experience.” (35:48)
• Main concern is the quarterback situation, with Tua Tagovailoa’s future unclear and the need for instant results:
  • “If you don’t have a quarterback, I don’t give a damn what division you in. You ain’t competing.” – Sharpe (37:17)
• Discussion about possible QB options: Malik Willis vs. Kyler Murray as targets for Miami.
• Ocho starts polling the chat about which QB Dolphins fans would want, noting:
  • “We saw a small sample size of Malik Willis… but you saw what he did when Jordan Love got hurt.” (38:38)

---

5. Tennessee Titans Finalizing Robert Saleh (46:49–53:07)

• Headline: 49ers DC Robert Saleh to become Titans head coach, focus on defense but offense is key challenge.
• Saleh is praised for his defensive acumen and AFC South experience:
  • Ocho: “Robert Saleh is a great, a great addition, a great head coach, a defensive mind and I'm sure he’s going to get those boys playing up to par.” (47:38)
• Both stress Titans must support young QB Cam Ward with more weapons, protection, and another reliable receiver, especially with Calvin Ridley’s injury.
• Concerns about offensive line, noting Ward was sacked 55 times:
  • “You ain't gonna make a living… you ain’t gonna play long, you keep getting sacked 55 times in the league.” – Sharpe (51:41)
• Sharpe reflects on coaching carousel, Jets legacy, and the difficulty for coaches to land a second head coaching job after struggling with the Jets organization.

---

6. Coach Control & NFL Team Building Philosophy

• Sharpe and Ocho recurrently circle back to the core principle: Quarterback stability and coach autonomy matter more than supporting cast depth.
  • Sharpe: “Without a quarterback in today’s game, the way they have it structured… you can’t win.” (29:28)
• Discussion on team patience: Owners want “instant gratification,” but winning is tied to structural support for coaches and better players on the field (55:06–55:56).

---

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the Coach-Quarterback Marriage:
  “It doesn’t matter how much talent you got, you better have a quarterback that can pull the trigger.” – Shannon Sharpe (22:18)
• On the Realities of Coaching Interviews:
  “You oversell to get the job… then the owner’s like, ‘You said you could, what happened?’” – Sharpe (56:15)
• On Sacks as a Performance Metric:
  “I suck 59 plays, I just need to be successful one, because if I get one sack every game, that’s 17 sacks.” – Sharpe, citing DeMarcus Ware (12:38)
• Ocho on Dressing with Confidence:
  “It’s not about buying expensive stuff, just knowing how to put stuff together to make it look like it costs money.” (42:15)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Falcons Hire Kevin Stefanski: 03:13–06:26
• Giants Hire John Harbaugh (Deep Dive): 15:45–30:05
• Packers Retain LaFleur Discussion: 06:31–11:13
• Dolphins Hire Jeff Hafley: 34:40–39:17
• Robert Saleh to Titans: 46:49–53:07
• On Sacks & D-Line Philosophy: 11:28–13:28
• Coach Control Philosophy: 27:06–31:46
• NFL Owners & Instant Gratification: 37:44, 38:27, 55:06
• Chat/Pant Banter & Light Moments: 41:14–44:09

---

Tone & Style

The episode is lively, conversational, and full of playful teasing—both about league moves and personal style. Sharpe and Ocho offer accessible, real-talk sports commentary with a sprinkling of fan interaction and locker-room anecdotes, making it engaging for hardcore fans and casual listeners alike.

---

For Listeners Who Missed It

This episode gives a rundown of the new NFL coaching landscape, focusing primarily on coach-team fit, quarterback stability, and the urgency of franchise turnarounds. You’ll get both practical football insight and a feel for the colorful personalities of Sharpe and Ocho, as they debate which teams “got it right,” which still have work to do, and how much coaching success really depends on roster control and quarterback play.

---

End of Part 1: More instant reactions to other NFL head coaching hires coming soon.

Transcript

[Sleep Number Announcer]

Why choose a Sleep Number Smart Bed?

[Joe]

Can I make my site softer? Can I make my site firmer?

[Ocho]

Can we sleep cooler?

[Sleep Number Announcer]

Sleep number does that cools up to eight times faster and lets you choose your ideal comfort on either side your Sleep number setting. Enjoy personalized comfort for better sleep night after night. And now during our President's day sale, take 50% off our limited edition bed Shop now for a limited time only at a Sleep Number Store or sleepnumber.com.

[Stugots]

Stigatz here I have a podcast empire that I have brought here to iheart and I'm also hosting a daily live radio show from 3 to 5pm Eastern called Stegat's Co. Live, which is available in podcast form right when the show finishes every single day you can expect a lot of laughter, great guests, a ton of calls and a lot of fun. Listen to Stewgots Co. Live and our original podcast Stugots Co. And God bless Football and you can check all of those out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[Nav Green]

This show contains information subject to but not limited to personal takes, rumors, not so accurate stats, and plenty more. What's up man? This your boy Nav Green from the Broken Play Podcast? Look, it's the end of the season. The playoffs are here. But guess what? It ain't the end of your season. You can always tune in with Broken Play Podcast with Nav Green on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Not a team who ain't going to the playoffs. The Chief it's time to rebuild. Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast.

[Joe]

Hello, it's your favorite sports unc here. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button to join the fastest growing community on YouTube. Remember, Nightcap doesn't happen without you, so please subscribe or you're gonna make OO cry. The Atlanta Falcons finalized the deal to hire Kevin Stanski is the new head coach. The two time NFL Coach of the Year flew to Atlanta today and now they're still on the Falcon head coaching job. Now I read that he invited him over to his home for dinner and he was going to have, you know, a steak and potato bar. But it's been reported that Mr. Blank cooked the ribeye himself. Said reiterated Matt Ryan will be leaving interviews for the team's head coach and general managers open. Both Matt Ryan and Kevin Stefanski have Philly ties. Ryan grew up in the Philly suburbs and Attended William Penn Charter before starting at Boston College. Stefanski is a Philly native who played at St. Joseph Prep and stayed home for college at Penn. Question. Obviously you drafted quarterback two years ago with the number eight over pick Michael Pennix Jr. And you have first cousins, Kirk Cousins still in the roster although that he might be transitioning to get that Matt Ryan role at CBS as an analyst at the desk. Do you believe Kevin Stefanski is the right guy? Because at the end of the day anybody could coach this team but for Michael Jr. Because I think that that is the key.

[Ocho]

Hey that's tough. That's tough. I'm not sure based on what I've seen. I know at one point Kevin Fancy with two time coach of the year. I, I think if the, the quarterback position is solidified and any, any can do something with Michael Pinning Jr. If he feels Michael Pinning Jr. Is the future which I, which he draft you know so if he come back healthy but I know he's going to want some security. You're going to need, he gonna need a security blanket because Michael Pitting Jr. Is injury prone. So I'm not sure what that looks like. I don't think they're going to allow Kirk Cousins to leave because he will have, he will at some point if things don't go the way they should he will be that backup in that security blanket for Stefani because if you don't have a quarterback on, if you don't have a quarterback he's going to be right back in the same situation he was back in Cleveland.

[Joe]

I agree.

[Ocho]

Now here he does have a much better supporting cast offensively he has a much better supporting cast defensively so I think they will. Well no, not, not much better. Let me, let me take that back. Defensively in Cleveland he had a much better defense but offensively he has so many weapons at his disposal to work with. I think he's going, I think he's going to be okay.

[Joe]

Do we anticipate Stanski calling plays? Because remember he gave up the play calling at mid season and turned those duties over to someone else. I'm assuming that he's going to call the plays. I think that probably was probably one of the contingency. The plans of why he got the job is that you call the plays. He's an offensive mind. They need to get that offense. I don't know who they're going to hire as defense there. I'm sure there's some great coordinators out there. You can find a great coordinator but head coach is A little bit more difficult, especially right if your expertise is on the offensive side. Well, head coach is a little more difficult because you have more things to worry about. You got to worry about the totality of the team. As a coordinator, all I'm worried about is the defense. I ain't got to worry about special teams. I ain't worried about no offensive line. I'm. As a matter of fact, I got position coach to have everything. I'm just gonna die. I'm just gonna call a. This is what we doing right. We're gonna teach him this. Go ahead.

[Ocho]

You think he wants to take on that role? Why not just be the overseer of defense, offense, special teams as well and have an officer coordinator that is also an offensive mind and allow him to do everything. So you can just be the head coach and oversee.

[Joe]

Well, you told you. You probably told Matt ryan and and Mr. Blank that you were gonna call plays. That's one of the reasons you probably got a job.

[Ocho]

Right.

[Joe]

And oh, I can fix it. I can get him up to speed. You see what I did with Baker Mayfield. You saw that. Hey, Joe Flacco. We was in the playoff with Joe Flacco. Yeah. So Atlanta. So two jobs have been filled. The New York Giants hire John Harbaugh. The Atlanta Falcons hire Kevin Stefanski.

[Ocho]

Well, you know Harbaugh hasn't signed his deal yet. They still still working on finally signed it.

[Joe]

He's basically get a situation where he deal directly with ownership and the general manager deals directly with ownership because the hiccup was he wanted to hire his own. As you remember, he wanted to hire his own general manager and he's used to reporting directly to ownership. Right. So they kept that in place. Also the Green bay keeping Matt LaFleur as their head coach. LaFleur had one year left on his contract extension. He signed in 22. Well, he signed a multi year contract extension that ESPN said is not a prove it deal but a real commitment. The two sides met early in the week to discuss the future direction of the organization. It was the first major decision by new team president Ed Policy who take. Who took over in July for Mark Murphy. It was Murphy who hired LaFleur in 2019 to replace Super bowl winning coach Mike McCarthy. You like you like this. Also there was reported that they were working on extension for La Flor and Brian Guin who was the general manager. So look that would be. They got. Look, you got the quarterback, Micah. Let's see how soon Michael can get back. You got a boatload of receivers.

[Ocho]

Yeah. Good receivers.

[Joe]

I think they need a corner, though. The corner to just. So. So is it mixing or Nixon? One of them get all he does get penalties.

[Ocho]

Nixon, Valentine. I can't think of the rest.

[Joe]

I like McKinney. Safety. I love him.

[Ocho]

McKinney, but McKinney. Nice. He just led the NFL interceptions, what.

[Joe]

A couple of years ago. Not too long this year. And I don't know what happened to. We had him on the show. Ocho.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Oh, Rashawn Gary. The man went like 10, 11 weeks without a sack.

[Ocho]

Yeah. I don't know what happened. It's hard to get him sacked. Boy, Adam Sacks hard to come by now.

[Joe]

They shouldn't be. But look, I. I like this. I like this for Leflore. They shouldn't have lost this game. They should have put them away when they had an opportunity, and that didn't happen. And that's why they're. They're. You know, they've got to keep. They got to keep Love because he gets nicked at some point in time every year. Be it concussions, be a hand. Be it something.

[Ocho]

They got to keep Malik Willis. That's who they got to keep. Because when Malik came in, when Jordan Love had to go out.

[Joe]

Somebody gonna pay him. Go pay him starting money. Maybe it's Pittsburgh.

[Ocho]

Well, I like. We. Oh, I like the way you think now. I like. I like the way you think. I like that.

[Joe]

Somebody. Somebody I believe. Somebody gonna play him, start his money. I like the way you think.

[Ocho]

When you say start the money. When you say start the money, we'll be talking.

[Joe]

I mean, that. That's Sam, Donald, Baker Mayfield. 33 million.

[Ocho]

Okay, okay. Okay. That's team friendly right there. Friendly.

[Joe]

So that's. That's. That's what I think is going to happen with that situation. But Green Bay got pieces, you know, they got. They can run the football. The receivers just keep Christian Watson healthy. The other. The guy they got from Texas with the guy from Texas, Golden. Matthew Golden. Y' all gotta give him some chances, man. Y' all gotta give him opportunities.

[Ocho]

And stop that gadget with him now.

[Joe]

Let that man get down the field now. You're probably gonna lose. I mean, you're gonna lose some of them. I mean, you can't keep everybody. You got Reed, you got Romeo Dobbs. Yeah, you're gonna probably lose a couple of those guys. But Christian Watson, if you can just stay healthy, I do believe Matthew golden will get better in his second year than he was his first year. They got. They got to make it for something special. Remember, they laugh. They lost Kraft. The tight end with knee injury. He'll come back. He's a very reliable receiver. One of the better titans in the league. So I like, I like Green Bay. But it's puzzling to me that Rashawn Gary, with Michael Parsons on the other side, I mean, he got up to that great start. Oh, yo. He had like seven sacks and I think seven. Seven and a half. He ended the season with seven. Seven and a half.

[Ocho]

Yeah, that, that, that. That tells you. That shows you just how difficult it is to get those sacks. Even with Mike on the other side and even with Michael Mike and his absence on how difficult he is, they get.

[Joe]

No, because like, like a D. I was talking to DeMarcus where. And he's like, look, if I play 60 plays, I can suck 59 of them. All I gotta do is get one sack. If I get one sack every game, that's 17 sacks. Name a season. I'm not gonna make the Pro bowl with 17 sacks. Name a season that I'm probably not going to be a first or second team. All probably. So that's the, that's the thing, Ocho. I can suck. He's like, I suck 59 plays. I just need to be successful. One, because I asked them. Gary Zimmerman, he was offensive tackle for five, 93. Five years, all decade. Two different decades, 80s and the 90s. I like, man, he just like. He would just be beside himself if he gave up a sack. He like sharper. You don't say. He says, I only want the guy to touch the quarterback. I only want the quarterback. I only want my guy to pressure the quarterback. He said, because that joker suck. He can suck all day long. And if he gets one side, he'll hero. Yeah. And I don't want to be a hero on my watch, you know?

[Ocho]

You know, it's funny when you explained the way DeMarcus Ware explained it, sucking 59 plays and just getting a sack once. If I do it 17 games, just one time, it's 17.

[Joe]

That's 17 sacks.

[Ocho]

You see how us saying it like that or the way he said it, how it sounds, but how difficult it is to actually achieve and attain something that sounds so easy. Because if it was that easy, everybody have 17, you know, but man, just.

[Joe]

Like pass catching is an art form, rushing the past is not for him. Yeah, because I mean, you doing things, but I'm doing things, but I'm saving something because I know I'm gonna get you out. Okay. You think I'm just gonna speed Rush you all the time now. Okay. Do I bull you now? Do I hit you with the freedom? Do I put you in the spin cycle like Dwight Freeney?

[Ocho]

Mm.

[Joe]

Do I post you? So. But it was. It. It was. It was. I think Green Bay. Look, I think Green Bay had to get this. I mean, of all the coaches out there, like, now it's being reported that Mike Tomlin is going to, you know, be out of coaching in 26. Well, if that. Because if you go back and think about oo. The coaches that left Pittsburgh, they never coached again. Yes, Chuck. No. Never coached again. Coach Cow. Everybody had these speculations about Coach C was coming back. He never came back.

[Ocho]

Yeah, I don't think. I don't think he wants to coach anymore. I. I don't think he wants to come back.

[Joe]

I mean, he walked away from 16, 17 million dollars a year. Hey, it's a lot of responsibility. I mean, if the player. Think about what you got. But just think about what you got, because I got to worry about you 53 knuckleheads and I. And. And really, no, I only got to worry about like, three or four of y'. All. For the most part, the guy's gonna do the right thing. Yeah, it's one or two that I got. Can't sleep. My phone on silent. I can't. Hotel.

[Nav Green]

I can't.

[Joe]

You laughing. I can't.

[Ocho]

Man, that's every. Every team is always. I mean, four is a bit much.

[Joe]

I say maybe you got one or two. Three maybe.

[Ocho]

Maybe.

[Joe]

And the one or two probably cool with each other.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

So. So now we got the Giants a job field. We got the Falcons. John, Phil. We still got Tennessee. That's open. Still got Arizona. That's open. You got Pittsburgh. That's open.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Somebody else is open, too. Arizona, Tennessee, Pittsburgh. We got Giantsville, we got Raiders. Raiders are still open.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Y.

[Ocho]

And you. You got to think those teams also, man, those teams you go to. You understand the issues that they having right now. You got you. I mean, you got to go in there with a plan.

[Joe]

Oh, yeah, for sure.

[Ocho]

You got. You got to go in there with a plan. Because if you don't have a plan, what at least is going to be short.

[Joe]

Yeah, you got to go in. That thing is Bob the Builder man. The breaking news overnight, Joe, that John Harbaugh was in talks and made his decision. It is the new New York Football Giants. Jordan Schultz reports Harbaugh is expected to be worth five years, a hundred million. Excuse. Yes. Five years, a hundred million dollars. Twenty million per year. What the reports were he was looking to get that 20 million PER. He was looking to get 10 million for his staff and he wanted total control of the roster. I don't know what all he got, but the reports are it is a five year deal worth an estimated $100 million. I don't know if he got the 10 million for his staff support. I don't know if he has total control of his roster. But 10 years is a is is. I mean, excuse me, $100 million is a lot of money. I think only andy Reid is $20 million per year. Eight years ago, John Gruden signed a 10 year, $100 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders, which raised eyebrows. According to Connor Hughes.

[Stugots]

Stagats here I have a podcast empire. It continues to grow and I have brought it here to Ivar. I'm also doing a live radio show from 3 to 5pm Eastern because my wife wanted to kick me out of the house. It's called Stugac company Live, which is available in podcast form right when the show finishes every single day. Some of the biggest names in sports, a lot of phone calls.

[Joe]

I love you guys show. It's one of my favorites.

[Stugots]

A lot of independent interaction. Guys not taking themselves too seriously. Those are just some of the things that you can expect from Stugouts Co. And Stegotson Co. LIVE. So listen to Stegotson Co. LIVE and our original podcast. Please subscribe, rate and review Stugatson Co. And God bless Football. Taylor's livelihood depends on it. Do it today and you can check all of those out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Nav Green]

This show contains information subject to but not limited to personal takes, rumors, not so accurate stats, and plenty more. What's up man? This your boy Nav Green from the Broken Play podcast? Look, it's the end of the season. The playoffs are here. But guess what? It ain't the end of your season. You can always tune in with Broken Play podcast with Nav Green on the Black Effect Podcast Podcast Network. Another team who ain't going to the playoff. The Chiefs.

[Joe]

What's a rap?

[Nav Green]

It's time to rebuild. Who your MVP right now then Drake.

[Joe]

May up there, Josh Allen up there still. Oh my boy Matthew Stafford. Where did Bo Nicks at? He ain't too far behind. He did all this talking. What Matthew Stafford is doing statistically bro is crazy.

[Nav Green]

Bro, you know I ain't no Josh Allen fan, but Matthew Stafford got better weapon.

[Joe]

Caleb Williams hey, he should be in.

[Nav Green]

That conversation in what conversation he should be in it. Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or whatever. You get your podcast and the winner.

[Stugots]

Of the iHeart Podcast Award is.

[iHeart Podcast Awards Announcer]

You can decide who takes home the 2026 iHeart Podcast Awards Podcast of the Year by voting at iHeartPodcastAwards.com now through February 22nd. See all the nominees and place your vote at iHeartPodcastAwards dot com Audible is.

[Sleep Number Announcer]

A proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks and podcasts and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free [e-mail] of.

[Joe]

SNN in the days before telling the Giants he was going to take their head coaching job, John Harbaugh sought out and contacted positional coaches from Brian Dabon staff to pick their brains on the state of the roster. Several of the coaches had never spoken to Harbaugh before and they told SNY they talked for about 30 minutes about the ins and outs of the team when we when, when Harbaugh was fired. Well, whatever the case may be, Steve Machadi when he was fired, relieved of his duties.

[Joe's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Joe]

I felt someone of his, of his stature was looking for a team that had a quarterback that is the quickest way. Look at Chicago. Yeah. Ben Johnson took that job. What did they have in place a quarterback? The New England Patriots, who Mike Braven took that job. What did they have in place to the quickest way to get to the playoffs to get on the winning track is to have a quarterback. They believe they have their quarterback. John Harbaugh, more importantly, believes they have their quarterback. That is why he took this job so quickly. Joe, what do you think? You like to hire?

[Joe's Co-host]

I, I, I, I like to hire. But I'm wondering what har do you think that was the best quarterback situation? You think that's the real reason why he took that job? I mean obviously they paid him what he wanted, but I mean I think.

[Joe]

Honestly I think he could have got that from anywhere.

[Joe's Co-host]

But that's, I mean if he could have got that anywhere, it's a lot of enticing jobs out here, man with a lot of talent versus, you know, he got scatterable and the receiver, them dudes coming out with extremely, you know, unfortunate injuries. You know what I mean?

[Joe]

Yes.

[Joe's Co-host]

I'm wondering from a talent perspective, do you think this, do you think that was the best team that he probably could have went To.

[Joe]

Okay, here are the teams. Arizona, they don't have a quarterback. They're going to move on from Kyler Murray. They have Jacoby Brissette. The question is the Tennessee Titans, they have Cam Ward. But he, it seems to me he believed that situation with that roster. You look at the defense, Brian Burns, you look at Dexter Lawrence, you look at Abdul Carter, who they took very high. They had one Wandell Robinson, that came off a great season. I get what you're saying about Malik Neighbors, but he should be up to speed because that injury happened so early in the season. He should have a full recovery. Scatter boo. We don't know about that. We'll see how that thing. It seems like it's progressing now. They do need some offensive line because the problem is they. He took the before, before Jackson. Dart got in there. He was taking a lot. Russ was a quarterback.

[Ocho]

Right?

[Joe]

That's act a lot. Now you're gonna have to protect Dart and Dart's gonna have to protect himself from taking unnecessary hits. You're not a running back. You're not Derrick Henry. So you need to get that thought out your head. You need to be smart. Don't be afraid to run out of bounds. Don't be afraid to get on the turf. Sometimes you have to know when the journey is over. But if you look at the jets, you like the jets, they don't have a quarterback.

[Joe's Co-host]

No, no, no.

[Joe]

And that, that, that franchise is in disarray. It's dysfunctional. The Giants has been, have. Has been dysfunctional for a period of time. But all things being equal, I trust the Giants in that situation. And I don't know what. Maybe it's just I'm hoping the Giant situation more than I trust the Jets. Okay, The Falcons, I think, me personally, I think the Falcons have more of the talent, but they still have undecided issues at the quarterback position. So you look at the teams that have, that have, have openings. I think the Giants have the best quarterback situation. Do they have more talent than Atlanta? I don't believe they do now, but they have a quarterback. And it doesn't matter how much talent you got, you better have a quarterback that can pull the trigger.

[Joe's Co-host]

Right? Okay, I, I understand that part. I just feel like it's a lot of other teams, like especially when you look from the defensive side. Oh, I know. You got to have a quarterback. You got to have guys at skill positions. You got to put points on the board. Well, if you can't stop nobody, man, you're going to be in trouble. I don't know how great the Giants defense was. So, you know, that's probably what more I'm looking, I'm looking toward, you know, I'm like, okay, what, what are they? What is their defense like?

[Joe]

Well, if you, you could predict. The best way if your defense is subpar is to keep them off the field. If you got a quarterback that's turning the ball over, if you can't run the football, that is the quickest way to put your defense back on the field. Right now you could be just porous and not be scheme schematically or don't have the pieces in place. A lot of Cowboys. Cowboys offense is sensational.

[Joe's Co-host]

What you trying to say?

[Joe]

The Cowboys offense is sensational. It's your defense whether it's schematically. Now, look, you've had a history of this, Joe, for the last decade. You've gone through a ton of different defensive coordinators and with the same results. Your offense is in the top five, your defense is in the bottom five. That's not a good recipe, but I'm looking at just the coach just now. If Green Bay was available, I would tell him to take his ass to Green Bay.

[Joe's Co-host]

Right, Right.

[Joe]

Because they're going to get Michael back at some point. Now, I don't know if he's going to start Week one, but there's a chance he's going to. He's going to play at least. Let's just say for the sake of argument, somewhere between 11 and 12 games. If he stays healthy, they might start him on the PUP list and then he'll have to miss the first four games. But you look at them defensively, you look at the offensively, their quarterback, they got Jordan Love. They got receivers, they got a running game, they got a nice. They got a nice offensive line. But of the position that were available, Miami. You like Miami. Their defense isn't that good. They don't have no quarterback. They're going to move on from Tua, it seems like. I like Ed Chan. I love him. He's sensational. But they need offensive line help. They got waddle, so we'll see. I like Darren Waller at tight end. He showed me enough that he still has juice in the orange. And he should be. He should come back. But I'm just looking at it from a standpoint of teams that have available coaching positions. The Giants have the best quarterback situation based on what I saw this year. Now, that could change. Cam Ward could come back and have a stellar sophomore season. Yeah.

[Joe's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Joe]

And we don't know I, I don't think it's, I don't think it's bad. Maybe if they had five or six more games, maybe he missed a game and he comes back. But of the, the coaching, the coaching vacancies that available. I like the Giants, I like the Falcons overall, but I like the Giants quarterback and like I said, I think I laid out pretty good chat. If you look at the team, look at, look at where the, the Patriots were last year. Well, look at each coaching. Now they're in the division around the playoff. Look at the Bears.

[Joe's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Joe]

In the division around the playoff. Both teams playing at home now they did go out. They signed, the Patriots signed Stefan Diggs in free agency. They got big Milton Williams. They, they brought some guys in and so you like, okay, and you can do some things. I think the Giants are going to do that and I don't know where they are cap wise but they definitely need some offensive line help to make sure they can protect Jackson Dart. But I, I, I like this hire. He, It's a, it's a proven commodity. Ain't no guesswork. What I wonder is if he can do. He's never been a head coach. The man was just a head coach for the last 18 years.

[Joe's Co-host]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Joe]

So I think he, I think he's a proven commodity.

[Joe's Co-host]

Yeah, I agree. It's, I think it's, it's a great high for the Giants. Obviously you want to be able to keep Jackson Dart on the field. Hopefully, you know, he's starting to, he starts to be a lot smarter going in year two. But I mean he, they, they got to put, they got to get a defense that can help the offense. Obviously like you say, you want, you want the offense to stay on the field so the, so the defense don't have to work as hard. But for the most part, it looked like Harbaugh wanted more control than anything.

[Joe]

Yeah. Look, when you've been in that position, Joe, and you've had some control, it's hard for you to go to another situation and have no control. Right. Especially after you've been at the job for an extended period of time. He's been on the task for 18 years and to go in most coaches, that's the hardest thing. I mean when you look at Coach Belichick and Coach, Coach Belichick has had total control. For me, it's going to be hard for me to see him going somewhere where he has little to no control. Right?

[Joe's Co-host]

Absolutely.

[Joe]

Because it was so I think that's the thing and look the reports Are Mike Tomlin's not looking to coach. But I like Mike Tomlin in Atlanta.

[Joe's Co-host]

Oh, man.

[Joe]

Do you know I like Mike Tomlin in Atlanta, man.

[Joe's Co-host]

You know how these people embrace Mike Tomlin. If he came here to Atlanta.

[Joe]

Oh, we.

[Joe's Co-host]

He gonna have to find him a quarterback though, huh?

[Joe]

Yes, for sure. For sure. And I think, I think I. I think as far as there's no question in my mind of the team, the openings that's available. They have the best talent, man. They got better talent than the car. Now, I like the Cardinals. Now look, you look at what the Cardinals got. They got McBride, who. Who are arguably the best tight end in football, right? They got Wilson, who. Who came on and showed like gangbusters. Marvin Harrison Jr. A got Nick this year, kind of regressed a little bit, but I think he's talented. You get some offensive line, you get, you know, plug a few pieces in defensively, but they don't have what Atlanta has. Oh, so you look at Bijan Robinson, you look at Drake London, you look at Kyle Pitts, you're going to have to sign him back. They have pieces. And defensively, oh, my goodness. F. They, they, they. Yeah.

[Joe's Co-host]

Man, that defensive line they got is a monster, man.

[Joe]

Yes. And I like. But at the end of the day, Joe, look at. We're going to talk about this. Look at every quarterback that's in the playoffs. Only one was drafted outside of the first round. You got number one overall pick, Matt Stafford. Number one overall pick, Caleb Williams. You see number three pick and number two pick and CJ Stroud. Number three pick and Drake May.

[Joe's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Number three pick and Sam Darnold. You got to have a bad boy back there. Bo Nix, Josh Allen, all those number one picks, only one quarterback was outside. If you don't have that, I don't give that what your defense look like.

[Joe's Co-host]

Right.

[Joe]

Because sometimes your defense is going to have to overcome bad play. They will now. CJ Stroud can't play Sunday like he played Monday. They're going home. You for sure, because he gonna put his defense in harm's way. They're not gonna have to drive the football very far. And they have more weapons than they're able to run the football and they're able to protect better than what the Steelers were able to do. So he can't have the type of game that he had. But without a quarterback in today's game, the way they have instructed, the way they set it up, you can't win without a quarterback. And so I like this. I like this higher for the Giants.

[Joe's Co-host]

Hey, but I like it too. Well, with these, with these coaches, with these vacancies and let's say you a head coach going into a situation, don't you kind of have some say so? Like if you go into a situation like Atlanta, you know, you need a quarterback and they, they, they ask you to be the head coach, don't you kind of got some say so some guys who you think you may want.

[Joe]

To bring in, if you're Mike Tomlin. Yes. If you're John Harbaugh. Yes. But sometimes you're a first year coach, you don't have a whole lot of say. John harbor had to build up to get that. Mike Tomlin had to build up to get that. Coach Belichick had a lot of control, but he built up and got even more. Andy Reid got some control, but he built up to got more. As they started winning, you coming in and you haven't been a head coach before or you don't, you haven't won, you want to do. You said what, there's only 32 of those positions available, Right?

[Joe's Co-host]

Right.

[Joe]

So you're happy to have one of them. Now if you win, you'll get more just like Ben Johnson. I believe he'll get more, more say. Mike Vaughel is going to have more say. But they, Mike was a head coach. He took a team to a championship. He, you know, he's, he's coached in big games before. And so with this situation, you turn that around, you go from 4 and 13 to what, 13 and 4. Ben Johnson, I mean Chicago, you know what they were over the last several years.

[Joe's Co-host]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joe]

But now that you got that quarterback position solidified, they're going to have a little bit more say. Now mind you, those quarterbacks were already on staff. It wasn't like, you know, Mike Vrabel selected.

[Joe's Co-host]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Joe]

It wasn't like Ben Johnson selected Caleb Williams.

[Joe's Co-host]

Absolutely.

[Joe]

So it definitely helps if you've got a quarterback already on staff.

[Joe's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Now you can build out your roster how you want and, and have some success doing that. So it's gonna be very, very interesting. But congratulations, John Harbaugh on the job.

[Stugots]

Here. I have a podcast empire. It continues to grow and I have brought it here to iHeart. I'm also doing a live radio show from 3 to 5pm Eastern because my wife wanted to kick me out of the house. It's called Stigots and company Live, which is available in podcast form. Right when the show finishes every single day. Some of the biggest names in sports, a lot of phone calls.

[Joe]

I love you guys show. It's one of my favorites.

[Stugots]

A lot of interaction, guys not taking themselves too seriously. Those are just some of the things that you can expect from Stu Gatson Co. And Stu Gotts Co. Live. So listen to Stegots Co. Live and and our original podcast. Please subscribe, rate and review Stugots Co. And God bless football. Taylor's livelihood depends on it. Do it today and you can check all of those out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast.

[Nav Green]

This show contains information subject to but not limited to personal takes, rumors, not so accurate stats, and plenty more. What's up man? This your boy Nav Green from the Broken Play PU podcast? Look, it's the end of the season. The playoffs are here. But guess what? It ain't the end of your season. You can always tune in with Broken Play Podcast with Nav Green on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Another team who ain't going to the playoffs? The Chiefs.

[Joe]

What's a wrap?

[Nav Green]

It's time to rebuild. Who your MVP right now then Drake May up there.

[Joe]

Josh Allen up there still. Oh my boy Matthew Stafford. Where did Rabo Nicks at? He ain't too far behind. He did all this stuff talking. What Matthew Stafford is doing statistically bro is crazy.

[Nav Green]

Bro, you know I ain't no Josh Allen fan, but Matthew Stafford got better weapon.

[Joe]

Caleb Williams hey, he should be in that conversation. In what conversation?

[Nav Green]

He should be in it. Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast.

[Stugots]

And the winner of the iHeart Podcast Award is.

[iHeart Podcast Awards Announcer]

You can decide who takes home the 2026 iHeart Podcast Awards Podcast of the Year by [e-mail] now through February 22nd. See all the nominees and place your vote@iheartpodcast awards.com Audible is a proud sponsor.

[Sleep Number Announcer]

Of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free [e-mail].

[Joe]

Miami Dolphins have a new head coach Ocho the Green Bay packers defensive coordinator The Jeff Halfley as the next head coach. Dolphins signed Halfley to a five year contract. He joins new general manager John Eric Sullivan, whom the Dolphins hired to replace longtime GM Chris Greer this month. Sullivan and Halfley overlapped for the past two seasons together in Green Bay. The Dolphins have not won A playoff game in 25 season, the longest such drought in the NFL. The Miami Dolphins last wanted playoff game December 30, 2000 against the Indianapolis Colts. Halfley was a senior at Sienna. Before his two years at the DC at Green in Green Bay. Happley was head coach at Boston College where he went 22 and 26 in four seasons. Happley is the eighth straight head coach hired by the Dolphins who had no previous NFL head coaching experience. The last Dolphins head coach with previous head coaching experience with Dave Wotat in 2000.

[Ocho]

Hey, I remember Dave, huh? I remember Dave.

[Joe]

He was a DC at Dallas. No championship team for, for the long. Yeah.

[Ocho]

Hey, but listen, Mr. Hapley, boy, he. He got his work cut out for him, huh? He got his work cut off him for one. You have no, no head coaching experience. Now you do have experience in general being around the atmosphere and, and being coordinator.

[Joe]

You call plays on the defensive side and I'm sure that's what he told Mr. Ross, that I'm going to call plays on the defensive side. Go ahead.

[Ocho]

But at least calling, calling players on the defensive side is not the problem. What you gonna do on the offense? Who's going to be the quarterback? Who's going to be a leader at the helm? That's, that's the issue right now. You look at, you look at the goddamn AFCs. You got Drake May playing all world out his mind. You got Josh Allen. He's not going nowhere no time soon. Now the jets is probably a team you don't have to worry about as of right now because hell, they ain't got no goddamn quarterback either.

[Joe]

Nope.

[Ocho]

So at some point, somebody pulling up the reel, who is going to be. It's either gonna be the Dolphins or it's gonna be the Jets.

[Joe]

Until we find a quarterback pulling up the real. Let's just say somebody gonna be coming in last place that's pulling up the real.

[Ocho]

Huh?

[Joe]

Are you sure?

[Ocho]

Well, if you're pulling up the rear, that means you in the back. Am I saying something wrong? Oh, you don't like the way it sound?

[Joe]

Yeah, yeah, that, that just sound, you know.

[Ocho]

Oh, my bad, my bad, my bad. Okay, my bad. I got you. My bad. I'm bad.

[Joe]

But that, but you're right. You. If you don't. If you don't have a quarterback, I don't give a damn what division you in. You ain't competing. You're not competing.

[Ocho]

No joke, you're not. He got two years, huh? You hear me?

[Joe]

Oh, happily, yeah, man.

[Ocho]

He got two Years. Boy. Maybe. Yeah, Maybe not even that. You know, when he signed the five.

[Joe]

Year deal, they just didn't. They just signed McDaniel to an extension.

[Ocho]

Exactly. Exactly. That's why I said what that mean. He just signed a five year deal. What that meant. What? These owners want instant gratification. They want instant success. Because the same way they run their businesses, when they want their businesses to work and they want to see. They want to see return on investment really fast, they just pour my money into it. That's not the way the game of football works. You can't pour money. Well, actually, you can pour money into it, but there's a thing called a salary cap which doesn't allow you to do like. Like the Dodgers do. You can't be like the goddamn Los Angeles Dodgers. Yeah, because if you could, who the top teams. They'll win every goddamn year.

[Joe]

I don't know. You like Malik Willis to the. The Dolphins. You like.

[Ocho]

Hey, now we talking. Now we talking some business. We making some sense. See, I had to get up out my seat, man. Malik Willis to the Dolphins. I saw enough. I saw enough of him when Jordan Love went down with the goddamn Packers. Now the problem is you have to understand the supporting cast that was around him as well. Now right now, he doesn't have that same support. There is no Watson. Now.

[Joe]

We.

[Ocho]

We got a Jalen Waddle.

[Joe]

Got Waddle.

[Ocho]

Nope. We got Washington. You know, Darren. I'm assuming Darren Waller will be back. He was loaded with receivers over there.

[Joe]

Let me ask you this. Would you rather have Malik Willis or Kyler Murray?

[Ocho]

Oh, hold on. Let me. Let me. Let me. Let me. Let me go to my. Let me go to my thoughts.

[Joe]

Okay?

[Ocho]

Hey, you know what? That's a good one right there. That's a good one. Now you got me stumped right there.

[Joe]

You got.

[Ocho]

Matter of fact, I'm a. I'm a revert to the goddamn chat. Chat. If. Even if you're not a Dolphin fan, who would you like better as a quarterback? We saw a small sample size of Malik Willis, obviously in Tennessee. That doesn't count. But you saw what he did when Jordan Love got hurt with the Packers. He looked goddamn phenomenal. We've seen Kyler Murray. We know what Kyler Murray can do. We've seen a bigger sample size of him even though things didn't work out in Arizona. Now, the Dolphins, we are in dire need of. Of someone at the quarterback position. Yes, disrespect the Quinn eras or tua.

[Joe]

But I'm just saying, I think Two is gone. I think you need. You need to start thinking about someone else other than Tua, Right, because the reports are that the quarterback did not have to be married to Tua, which means there's a ocho. You don't bench a quarterback the last three games with the anticipate. Now, look, this is a different coaching style, right? So they might come in and have a different philosophy or different thought process on tour. That could be the case.

[Ocho]

I don't think so.

[Joe]

I don't either. I'm just trying to look at it from.

[Ocho]

Yeah, hey, I know. I understand. You're trying to be great. You're trying to be gracious. But when a new coach of staff comes in, they're gonna want. They want to want a fresh start. They're going to want it. Yeah. They're going to want their guy. Hey. Somebody making fun of what I'm wearing? Y' all so rude. Why y' all being so mean to me? Like I got feelings. Yeah, I'm wearing. I'm wearing a sporting lisbon for those who, you know, watch soccer. Sporting Lisbon jacket. And I got some. Some cheetah pants I bought off shine. And, you know, you shop on shine.

[Joe]

I don't. No, I don't.

[Ocho]

You like my. You like my pants?

[Joe]

I mean, I like them on you. I would. I mean, that's not me. I couldn't wear something like that. Oh, okay.

[Ocho]

They were 20 on sheen or shine. I don't even know how to pronounce it.

[Joe]

I don't know if they could give them. They couldn't get them to me. But.

[Ocho]

No, I mean, look, you know, it's 40 degrees in Miami, right?

[Joe]

Oh, I believe it.

[Ocho]

It's. I don't know what the hell was going on today. I didn't have this on all day. It's cold as hell outside.

[Joe]

Yeah, Shine.

[Ocho]

No, you know, it is. It is Shine. S H E I N. It's like. It's like. It's like an affordable site. Like. Like, not forever 21. What's the one for men?

[Joe]

Timu.

[Ocho]

No, not team. No, not Teemu. The other one. Like, they have. They have a man's line and a woman's line.

[Joe's Co-host]

Damn.

[Ocho]

No, no.

[Joe]

You know Ross Marshalls?

[Ocho]

No. They online fashion.

[Nav Green]

Nova fashion.

[Joe]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Ocho]

So I. I think shine is, like, in. In that realm of, like, you can get good pieces if you know how to dress. If you know how to dress. It's not about buying expensive stuff and just knowing how to put stuff together to make it look like it costs money.

[Joe]

Yeah. But I. I mean, me, I mean, I.

[Ocho]

Hey, you want me to get you a petties?

[Joe]

No. No 57 year old should be in no leopard print. Unless you Mick Jagger.

[Ocho]

Unc. You Unc. You stylish, man.

[Joe]

Jagger is the only one that should be wearing leopard print.

[Ocho]

Nah, a print. Print is a part of print. Print and fashion in general, is it?

[Joe]

Not for me.

[Ocho]

It's an expression of yourself.

[Joe]

I. I choose to express myself in other ways.

[Ocho]

Okay, I got you.

[Joe]

I don't got no problem with a. A man or a young man or wearing leopard print. To each his own. That's just not for me.

[Ocho]

Yeah, you should. I. I look good in it though, you know?

[Joe]

Hey, I can kind of get maybe a jacket. Yeah. Could I wear a jacket? Yeah. Okay. Wearing no pants.

[Ocho]

I got you. My bad, my bad. I mean, I just. Oh, now they calling me ashy, man. Damn. Hey, why would I have on lotion in the house? Who wears lotion in the house? I ain't got nobody to impress.

[Joe]

No, but that's the new thing, man. I. I mean, look, I ain't never. I didn't know. Huh? I didn't know that so many men watch what other men wear.

[Ocho]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. It'd be on that head.

[Joe]

I'm like, well, damn.

[Ocho]

Yeah, it'd be on that heavy.

[Joe]

If I was trying to impress you, you would have a legitimate case. But I buy clothes for me, right?

[Ocho]

Same.

[Joe]

I buy what I like.

[Ocho]

Yeah, yeah. And you. You really have to be a wolf, really, not to care what nobody else think when most of everybody else is.

[Joe]

You know, they sheep. Did you see my pitch? I tweeted today.

[Ocho]

Yeah, with the kids.

[Joe]

Yes.

[Ocho]

I like that. I like that picture in the back, boy.

[Joe]

Oh my. Yeah.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

I had an ex that brought me that for my birthday.

[Ocho]

But that, that was nice, boy.

[Joe]

Yeah. That's one of the nicest birthday gift I've ever received from anybody.

[Ocho]

Yeah, that ain't got nothing to do with money either.

[Joe]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I had no. I had no idea. I'm like, what the hell is this, man? When I saw that.

[Ocho]

Yeah, I bet you. I bet you was crying.

[Joe]

I almost teared up. I did.

[Ocho]

Yeah, that's.

[Joe]

That's a good gift there, boy, because that's. That's what. That. We had buried my grandma in that pink hat.

[Nav Green]

Man.

[Joe]

It was. Yeah. My boys were asleep when I come home. Mocho. They. That's it. Oh, except Thanos. He. He was running. He was.

[Ocho]

He'd be all over the place.

[Joe]

Yeah, but that was. That was two weeks ago without, like, last week when I came home. And then, man, who took that picture? That must have been Michelle. That must have been like, damn, everybody else take a picture until everybody take a picture. And don't nobody get asked, when Jay Z and Beyonce take a picture. Ain't nobody else who took that picture home take a picture. And who took that picture?

[Ocho]

I'm like, well, damn, you know, they be wanting to know, man. You know they be wanting to know. They, you know, they want to know. You know.

[Joe]

Hey, it might have been Cookie for all y' all know.

[Ocho]

Who was Cookie? Huh?

[Joe]

Don't worry about it.

[Ocho]

Oh, from the old stories.

[Joe]

The old stories, it was. It was not Cookie.

[Ocho]

You found out.

[Joe]

No, I haven't seen cookie in 30 years. You might.

[Ocho]

You might want to be.

[Joe]

Hey, I don't, you know, hey, you.

[Ocho]

Want preheat that oven? Huh? You know what happened when you put a cookie in the oven? You preheat it, huh?

[Joe]

I don't eat cookies. Cookie or cookies.

[Ocho]

God damn.

[Joe]

I just want to make sure. I want to throw that out there because you a. I know. You didn't say nothing about no cookies. Singular, right? You said cookies. But you might eat cookie. I mean, yeah, yeah, yeah. I know where you're going. I know you.

[Nav Green]

No, I won't do that.

[Joe]

Yeah, you will. You sleep. You're real slick with your mouth.

[Ocho]

I wouldn't even think it like that. Huh?

[Joe]

Yeah, you was.

[Ocho]

I wasn't thinking like that.

[Joe]

You were.

[Ocho]

I promise you I wouldn't.

[Joe]

No, I gotta stay. I gotta stay. I gotta stay on mine because I already know you always on some bull job. You always. Run that back one more time. Oh, run that back one more time. Would you say that? No. No. Oh, y'.

[Ocho]

All.

[Joe]

We have news the Titans are working on to finalize a deal to hire 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Salah as their next head coach. Salah spent Monday in Tennessee with the Titans, and the two sides impressed each other enough to move forward. We knew something. It was trending in this direction when they moved it. They said they pushed it back because he was supposed to do the interview via Zoom on Sunday. They pushed it back to Monday because they wanted to do this in person. That was the first hit. They were kind of leaning towards Robert Sala, so I'm not surprised by this. I think he'll do great defense, but everything is predicated. Who's you gonna be your offensive coordinator? Who's gonna be in your young quarterbacks here? Yeah. Cause we Know, he can play, he can dial up defense and he's got a linchpin and he's got a guy that you can build a defense around. And that's Jeffrey Simmons.

[Ocho]

Yeah, I mean, listen, you know, I've played around with just the thought of Jeffrey Simmons, you know, being down in Cincinnati, but I think that shit might have sailed right now. Yeah, I don't think the Titans are letting Jeffrey go. But, but Robert Sala is a great, a great addition, a great head coach, a defensive mind and I'm sure he's going to get those boys playing up to par and up to speed on the offensive end. Cam Ward being the future of that organization. Calvin really coming back. I still think they need some more weapons. Pollard is good, but I'm sure they can use someone else, you know, back there in the backfield. But they need another receiver, they need another, another dog to go. Calvin Ridley, who's coming off of injury, so we're not sure what he's going to look like. They need another security blanket for, for Cam Ward out there. So I mean the Titans are doing what they need to do. I'm sure Robert Salah going to, I'm not sure how much control and say he has in, in, in the roster and then. And wants, you know, to pick as far as the draft and then offseason acquisitions goes. But they, they can make a change. They can make a change. They might be the team similar to this year's Carolina and Bears. You know, Bears, you know, choices that I went before the season started on team to look out for. It could be Tennessee next year depending on what they do in the off season and what they do in the draft.

[Joe]

Robert Salah would now be joining his third AFC south team of his career. His first job was with the Texans from 2005 to 2010 and he also spent time with the Jags from 2014 to 2016 as the linebackers coach and now he's the Tennessee Titans head coach. Texas head coach d' Amico Ryan's and new Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Sala Both were former 49ers defensive coordinators. Are now head coaches in the same division and will square off twice a year. They came the Shanahan staff, they were all on staff. I don't, I don't know if, if the Miko was on the staff with Kub Kubiak when he was in Houston because Cool was the head coach at Houston and Kyle was his, his, his officer coordinator. But a lot of these guys was with, with Kyle when He was in Washington, Sean McVeigh, Mike McDaniel, Raheem, all those guys. So I like this. So do you believe Robert Sally is the right hire for the Tennessee Titans?

[Ocho]

Oh, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, he's a defensive mind. And like you did say they, they can build defensively, great, because you, you have that nucleus down there in Jeffrey Simmons. I, I'm more focused on what they do offensively. Huh? I am more focused on what they do offensively. And so in.

[Joe]

Yes, I agree. I'm with you.

[Ocho]

Yeah. And surrounding Cam Ward with more weapons. More weapons. He could work with Cap. With Calvin really coming back off injury, we don't know what Calvin really we're going to get. So I'm. The offseason acquisitions that they do bring in and what they do in the draft is very, very important for the growth of Cam Ward. Defensively, I think they're going to be fine. Especially when you get a coach like Robert Salah coming in, coming in that building. I think they're going to be okay.

[Joe]

Yeah, I, I, I agree. I think they probably need some offensive line help too, because Cam Ward was sacked a lot. Where did Cam Ward finish as far as sacks? Because I, I, I don't care who your offense coordinator, you can't protect the quarterback. You can't win in this league. Yeah, it's hard, it's really hard when your quarterback getting, getting, getting punished. Robert Salah, he was tied for the most sacks in the NFL. So that's where you start. Ocho. Yeah, he got sacked 55 times. And remember he missed the game. Right. Whether, oh, he got hurt the last game of the season. Okay. So, yeah, 55 sacks. You ain't gonna make a living. Yeah. You ain't gonna play long. You keep getting 55 times in the league.

[Ocho]

Yeah, I mean, so I was right. I was right. I was right.

[Joe]

Okay. Solid Jet tenure. He had Zach Wilson, he had Aaron Rodgers. But I think he needed this year to rehab his, his image. Right. Because it's hard to go from the jets head coach and just go get another job. Yeah. Most of the time when people leave the jets, they, they ain't really going too many other places.

[Ocho]

Not at all. But I, I think everyone deserves a second chance. If you have to coach at the jets, if you got the coaches of jets and that organization that hasn't done anything worth the damn in a very long time, you deserve a second chance.

[Joe]

I think Parcels, Parcels left the jets and ended up going to coach the Cowboys. This was, this was before Coach Belichick was going to be the head coach because he was supposed to take over Coach Parcels, but he didn't want to do that because he knows the jets was on some bull jive and they ended up having to trade a first round pick to get Coach Belichick to go to New England, which was the best first round draft pick the Patriots have ever spent. That is the best draft pick that they, they've used and it wasn't for a player. It was to get Coach Belichick and.

[Ocho]

It worked out perfect, bro.

[Joe]

Yes. Get some old line. Get some old line, some old lineman to protect. Cam, I agree. You need another receiver to go opposite of really. Hopefully he can come back to what he was probably. You get your running back, Ocho, probably in the third or the fourth round.

[Ocho]

Yeah. Got some good ones out there now.

[Joe]

And, and you got to get some defense. You got to get somebody to go along with Simmons.

[Ocho]

Hey, Legerious Sneeze should be healthy coming off, coming, coming back this, this year, huh?

[Joe]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Ocho]

We. You get him to playing like he played when he's at Kansas City, you know, get him, get him back. Right? Man, they. They should, they should be fine.

[Joe]

Oh, yeah. Rex Ryan went to the. Rex Ryan went to the. Of the Bills, but Rex. Rex has success. Rex, what Went to back to back AFC Championship games because remember that year he knocked out Peyton and he knocked off a Tom, huh? And they ended up losing to Pittsburgh.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Hey, that's the AFC Championship game.

[Ocho]

That's when they had that crazy defense over there with the Jets.

[Joe]

Oh, yeah, they had Crow and Rebus, Bart Scott. I think they had Mohammed Wilkinson.

[Ocho]

Hey, that front, that front four they.

[Joe]

Had there, I think Calvin Pace was on that team, too. Boy, David, what was the linebacker? David, Was it David Baker? David, how they had a linebacker number 52?

[Ocho]

I don't remember.

[Joe]

They had some. They had some. They had some thumpers. They had some thumpers and they could get up, they could get after the quarterback.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

They would run the football with Thomas Jones and those guys and Damian Woody and Mango, rest his soul. They did a great job of mauling people. But the Giant, the Jets, do we know who the Jazz Eyes. Oh, oh, Eric Glenn is still there. He's still there. He can't have another season like he had last year, though, okay?

[Ocho]

No, no, he can't because, you know, you know, the lease is short. You know the least. The lease is short. You see what happened with Raheem. You see what hell, McDermott. I mean, Harbaugh and they want Instant gratification. They want instant success. And that's not what you're going to get. I mean, those owners over there, especially with the jets, you got to learn patience. You got to learn patience because in order. In order for the head coach to have success, you. You got to have the product on the field.

[Joe]

Right?

[Ocho]

You know, you think about all these coaches that are having success and winning all these games, and I mean, you say, oh, it's coaching, but coaching. You can only coach so much. You still need the. You still need the players to be able to perform. You still need the players to be able to execute the X and nose. The better. The better the players you got, the easier it is to goddamn implement a game plan. And when it's time to play somebody.

[Joe]

I agree.

[Ocho]

Now, you got players, you gotta. You gotta. You got to do certain things to help them get open. You got to hide. You got to hide their weaknesses, and that's difficult, man.

[Joe]

Yeah.

[Ocho]

Then you get exposed as a coach because. But look what I'm working with. And the coach can't say that.

[Joe]

It'S. But I think the thing is, Ocho, is that you oversell to get the job. You make all these promises, I can coach this guy. I can get so much better than this, and blah, blah, blah. And then the owner's like, what happened? You said you could, bro. I was just saying that. I was selling you. I was selling myself to you. I really couldn't do it. Not with what you got.

[Ocho]

Hey, you know that. That's how it be when you first meet somebody, huh? You know, you're not meeting the actual person. You meeting their representation. I'm trying to put my. I'm trying to put my best foot forward to make sure I don't lose the opportunity. I want this job as a. Jeff.

[Joe]

Actually, that's your agent. They meeting your agent. Cause that person is telling you everything. What's so great about the person that you really haven't met yet?

[Ocho]

Come on now.

[Joe]

We gonna have this conversation later. They die. But I'm just saying, when you meet somebody, that's the agent.

[Ocho]

Oh, that's it.

[Joe]

Cause you know how an agent sell.

[Ocho]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Whether. Whether you. In Hollywood, whether you are football, basketball, baseball, or whatever the case may be, your agent will always tell you great things about said individual that's looking to get this job.

[Ocho]

And it's all about rep. Hey, it's all about representation. And anytime you meet someone new, you are meeting a representative. Always.

[Stugots]

Stigatz here. I have a podcast empire that I have brought here to iheart and I'm also hosting a daily live radio show from 3 to 5pm Eastern, Gulch de God's and Company Live, which is available in podcast form right when the show finishes every single day. You can expect a lot of laughter, great guests, a ton of calls and a lot of fun. Listen to Stugots Co. Live and our original podcast Stugots Co. And God bless Football and you can check all of those out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Nav Green]

This show contains information subject to, but not limited to, personal takes, rumors, not so accurate stats, and plenty more. What's up man? It's your boy Nav Green from the Broken Play Podcast. Look, it's the end of the season. The playoffs are here. Guess what? It ain't the end of your season. You can always tune in with Broken Play Podcast with Nav Green on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Not a team who ain't going to the playoffs. The Chief it's time to rebuild. Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or whatever. You get your podcast and the winner.

[Stugots]

Of the iHeart Podcast Award is.

[iHeart Podcast Awards Announcer]

You can decide who takes home the 2026 iHeart Podcast Awards podcast of by [e-mail] now through February 22nd. See all the nominees and place your vote at iheartpodcastawards.com Audible is a proud.

[Sleep Number Announcer]

Sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free [e-mail].