The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Episode: “Hour 1: The Big Stinger Guy” (feat. Dave Dameshek)
Date: January 9, 2026

Overview

Broadcasting from the Elser Hotel in Downtown Miami, Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, and the crew—including special guest Dave Dameshek—dig into the fallout of Miami’s high-profile football victory, fiery debates over NFL weekend matchups, and the undervalued impact of offensive line play. The hour is packed with signature banter, Miami pride, a critical look at football narratives, and plenty of side conversations (including a comic retelling of Dan’s own physical misadventure).

Key Topics and Discussion Points

1. Miami’s Dominance and the “Fraudulent” SEC (00:00–00:50)

• Dan and Tony’s Miami Victory Recap: Miami’s recent win against top SEC teams sparks commentary on the SEC’s supposed dominance.
  • Dan: “The SEC 1 and 8 versus Power 4 teams. What a fraud conference, man. The whole thing just fraudulent.” (00:01)
  • Tony: “Miami's just mauling them…physically mauling them. You can't be running 17 yards a carry. Everything second and two.” (00:34)
• Theme: Celebratory Miami bias and challenging the prevailing college football power narratives.

2. NFL Playoffs Preview with Dave Dameshek (00:52–03:12)

AFC Landscape: Jaguars, Texans, and Coaching Hot Seats

• Dameshek’s Take: AFC South dominance, Jaguars & Texans are “the two best teams in the AFC”.
  • Dameshek: “It's obvious to me...the two best teams in the AFC are both from the AFC South. Jacksonville Jaguars...and the Houston Texans.” (01:32)
• Coaching Futures: Sean McDermott’s seat in Buffalo, Mike Tomlin’s in Pittsburgh.
  • Dameshek: “If they lose this game, I think McDermott's out.” (01:43)
  • “Just because the Steelers survived the Ravens...does not mean Tomlin's in the clear.” (02:25)
• The “Jenga Theory” and Eagles’ Health:
  • Jalen Carter (defense) and Lane Johnson (offense) as the Eagles’ “Jenga pieces”: if missing, the whole structure collapses. (01:50)
  • “That equals not just a victory over the diminished 49ers, it equals a visit to Santa Clara for Super Bowl 60 with a shot at repeating.” (01:59)
• Playoff Pressure and History: The slim probability for today’s QBs to amass multiple Lombardi trophies, with a shoutout to the new “super sophomore” quarterback class.

Notable Quote:

• Dameshek: “Right now there is no math that allows for Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes to get another one, at least one more before he goes on. And Brock Purdy and C.J. Stroud...” (04:11)

3. Most Interesting NFL Matchups: The Jacksonville-Buffalo Debate (05:11–08:41)

• Dan vs. Dameshek: The group splits on whether Jacksonville or Buffalo deserves the “AFC’s Best” crown.
  • Dan: “The most impressive convincing thing...was the Jags going to Denver and dragging that defense.” (05:11)
  • Tony: “Jacksonville seems...fairly obvious [as] ...better than anyone in the AFC.” (05:44)
• Dameshek picks Buffalo, admits it’s a “gut” call, despite stats and recent performances favoring Jacksonville.
  • Dameshek: “I am going with the gut. I think Buffalo survives that one.” (05:54–06:32)
  • Admits Jacksonville is less familiar to fans, suggesting public hesitancy to recognize their rise.

Liam Cohen: OC Innovators vs. Retread Coaches

• Dameshek champions hiring young, innovative offensive coordinators—pointing to Liam Cohen in Jacksonville.
  • “Instead of a retread, go and get yourself one of these clever OCs like Liam Cohen. He was a punchline because of his press conference a year ago.” (07:41)

4. The Underrated Importance of Offensive Linemen (09:15–11:41 & 16:58–21:03)

Lane Johnson’s Superiority

• Dan’s Riff: Argues right tackle Lane Johnson is as critical to the Eagles as Trent Williams to the 49ers, if not more.
  • Dan: “Every time Lane Johnson plays, [the Eagles] win and win the championship and when he doesn’t, they stink and they lose.” (09:15)
• Why Don’t More Fans Get It?
  • Tony: “If we're going to make Jason Kelsey famous, how have we...not understood [Lane Johnson’s] excellence?” (09:51)
  • Dameshek admits the difficulty for casual fans to evaluate O-linemen.
    • “Most civilians cannot correctly identify a good offensive lineman versus a mediocre one...That being said, I completely agree with you about Lane Johnson.” (10:18)

Lineman Historical “Comp” Debate

• Search for comparables to Lane Johnson’s dominance ends hilariously inconclusive.
  • Dan: “I don’t have one...I believe this person should be a lot more famous than he is.” (17:52)
  • Tony: “Give me the historical comp for an offensive lineman that gives off that…” (17:42)
  • Dameshek: “I think it's...unsatisfying for us to try and celebrate offensive linemen, because deep down most of us understand we don't get it.” (20:26)

Fun with Names

• Conversation transitions to football-perfect names: Lane (offensive line), Gainwell (running back), Chase Brown.
  • Jeremy: “Is there a better first name for an offensive lineman than Lane? You create lanes.” (18:42)
  • Dan: “Chase Brown is...telling you from the back of his uniform the verb you have to do to catch it.” (18:58)

5. Miami vs. Ole Miss: Coaching, Scheme, and Physicality (22:08–37:57)

Reactions to the Game

• Miami’s defensive performance and the rarity of such physical domination.
  • Dan: “The biggest advantage Miami had last night was defensive line.” (22:48)
• Scheme discussion: How Ole Miss used a quick-passing offense to nullify Miami’s pass rush.
  • Chris Cody: “Ole Miss is very good at getting rid of the ball quickly...That’s just been quick.” (21:55)

The “Stinger” and Football Pain

• Stinger Banter: Banter over what exactly a “stinger” is—comically confused, loaded with inside jargon.
  • Dan: “That’s not how Stingers work? No. Like, I don’t know how Stingers don’t work.” (23:47)
  • Tony: “A stinger is low on the list...If it happened to me I'd be a coward.” (24:23)
  • Tony: “It’s not because I’m a stinger guy. It’s because you sound like an idiot.” (24:40)

Jacksonville Jaguars and NFL Nostalgia

• Lavish humor on listing Jags legends (“Maurice Jones-Drew! Tony Boselli! Keenan McCardell! Mark Brunell!”) and the bizarre blue-tongued Jaguar logo.
  • Damachek: “The team whose logo is a jaguar with a sick blue tongue…What disease does that jaguar have?” (25:32)

6. The Dave Dameshek Experience: Love/Hate & Managing the Chaos (28:10–29:48)

• Running Gag: The crew desperately tries (and fails) to get Dameshek to stop talking and leave the segment.
• Meta-Podcasting: Discussion on Dameshek’s strengths and irritating habits—he has judgment issues, but occasionally delivers gold.
  • Tony: “You can’t get him to shut up. But sometimes he’s got good stuff to say...But he doesn’t know which is the 10 [percent] and which is the 90. He doesn’t know the difference. It’s the problem. He’s got a judgment problem.” (28:23, 28:46)

7. Space Mountain vs. Thunder Mountain: Disney Sidebar (31:23–33:39)

• Side trail comparing two classic Disney roller coasters, with a tongue-in-cheek debate over their similarity and importance of doubling down even when wrong.
  • Jeremy: “It does say there are some track similarities, but they are not the same.” (33:07)
  • Chris Cody: “If you say, hey, Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain are exactly the same. You gotta own that thing till you die.” (33:10)

8. The Economics and Coaching Strategies of College Football (34:17–37:04)

• Miami’s $20M Success: The “cheap” rise of Miami’s program compared to blue bloods.
• Coaching Praise: Unexpected admiration for Ole Miss’s DC Pete Golding; Miami’s ability to physically dominate.

9. Miami’s Botched Last Minute and Coaching Judgment (37:04–39:42)

• Analysis: Miami nearly squanders a dominating game due to coaching miscues (penalties, play-calling, discipline).
  • Tony: “What you saw at the end of that game last night was an apocalypse of defensive coaching. An apocalypse that if they'd lost that game, any coach in America would have been run out of town.” (38:44)

10. Comic Interlude: Dan’s Bike Stunt Gone Wrong (41:13–42:27)

• Dan: “The punchline is me falling off of a bicycle and retrieving it with blood on my face...I’m in a local park with ketchup on my forehead...” (41:32)

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On the AFC South Takeover
  Dameshek: “The two best teams in the AFC are both from the AFC South. Jacksonville Jaguars...and the Houston Texans.” (01:32)

• About Lane Johnson’s Underrated Greatness
  Dan: “Every time Lane Johnson plays, [the Eagles] win and win the championship and when he doesn’t, they stink and they lose.” (09:15)

• On Football Fans and Offensive Linemen
  Dameshek: “Most civilians cannot correctly identify a good offensive lineman versus a mediocre one...We can tell the bad ones because you can see the guys running by them.” (10:18)

• The Stinger Debate
  Tony: “A stinger is low on the list...If it happened to me I'd be a coward.” (24:23)

• On Dameshek’s Rambling Brilliance
  Tony: “He’s got a judgment problem…he doesn’t know which is the 10 [percent] and which is the 90. He doesn’t know the difference.” (28:41)

• Miami’s Coaching Miscues
  Tony: “What you saw at the end of that game last night was an apocalypse of defensive coaching.” (38:44)

• Dan’s Bike Antics
  Dan: “The punchline is me falling off of a bicycle and retrieving it with blood on my face.” (41:32)

Episode Highlights by Timestamp

• 00:00–00:50: Miami’s win, SEC-bashing, the “Underdog Tale”
• 00:51–03:12: Dameshek on NFL playoffs, AFC South, McDermott/Harbaugh/Steelers future
• 05:11–08:41: The Buffalo-Jacksonville debate, rising OCs
• 09:15–11:41: Lane Johnson's overlooked greatness, O-line evaluation problems
• 16:58–21:03: O-line comps and name jokes (Lane, Gainwell, Chase Brown)
• 22:08–24:53: Miami-Ole Miss coaching, “stinger” banter
• 25:32–29:48: Booting Dameshek, NFL nostalgia, meta-commentary
• 31:23–33:39: Disney ride debate interlude
• 34:17–37:57: Miami program economics, coaching discipline, Golding praise
• 37:04–39:42: Miami’s dicey finish, defensive coaching breakdowns
• 41:13–42:27: Dan’s bike crash tale and on-air antics

Tone & Takeaways

• Classic Le Batard blend of irreverence, deep football geekery (especially with Dameshek), and Miami localism.
• Playful, at times antagonistic, but always insightful—analysis is balanced by celebration of sports weirdness and acknowledgment of fan ignorance.
• The crew’s banter provides comic relief from the heavy sports discourse, never letting the conversation feel too self-serious.

For Listeners Who Missed It

If you didn’t catch this episode, you missed a raucous and insightful hour: Miami’s gridiron glory at the SEC’s expense, sharp NFL playoff opinions, the timeless struggle of making offensive linemen famous, and the never-ending search for clarity (and comedy) within the chaos of football and podcasting.