The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Hour 2: Jason Stidham, Pablo Pascal, and a Muppet

Date: January 20, 2026
From the Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami

Episode Overview

This episode blends sports heartbreak, coaching controversies, and the show’s signature comedic riffing. Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, and company reminisce on the Miami Hurricanes’ devastating football loss, dissect the Dolphins’ unheralded new coaching hire, and run the emotional gamut from despair to absurdity, all while welcoming comedian Brad Williams and analyst Amin Elhassan. Notable moments include arguments over “short kings,” Broncos optimism in the face of Bo Nix’s injury, and several running jokes targeting both hosts and guests.

Key Discussions and Insights

1. Miami Hurricanes’ Heartbreaking Championship Loss

Context:
The Hurricanes suffered one of the most crushing losses in South Florida sports history—falling just short of a football national championship.

Breakdown:

• Immediate Reactions:
  • The group laments the loss, comparing its heartbreak to past Miami sporting tragedies (20:15).
  • The pain is amplified by how close the Hurricanes were—drawing parallels to Dan Marino’s lone Super Bowl loss (20:15–21:04).
• Historical Context:
  • Greg Cody: “It would have hurt less if Miami had lost by four touchdowns. It hurts less than that because you're right there… there's something cruel about that.” (21:04)
  • Mike Ryan: “If they lose a lopsided game, it's easier to rationalize... But the way they lost last night, that's going to honk Mario forever, I guarantee you.” (21:55)
  • The group collectively places this loss among the worst in Miami sports history, second only to the infamous 2002 Fiesta Bowl defeat (25:39).
• Shame or No Shame?
  • The mood is somber but not shameful—no one blames Mario Cristobal or the team:
    • Mike Ryan: “I think it would be cruel, literally cruel to blame the Hurricanes... I would feel a trust in Mario Cristobal to work the portal again. And I would feel like the U is back.” (25:02–25:39)

Notable Quote:

• Dan Le Batard: “You could feel a city a bit hungover, a bit sad from wanting to believe... daring to hope and then coming up, forgive the expression, that short.” (19:05)

2. The Miami Dolphins’ New Head Coach: The Non-Event

Context:
The Dolphins hired Jeff Hafley as head coach in a manner that the crew finds particularly uninspiring and “buried.”

Breakdown:

• Fan Reaction:
  • Dan Le Batard calls it the least-celebrated coaching hire in Dolphins history, upstaged by the simultaneous major football game (00:56–02:28).
• Behind the Scenes:
  • Mike Ryan explains the Dolphins’ hand was forced due to the Rooney Rule and a leak from another candidate; the announcement dropped during the game’s first quarter (02:28–03:37).
  • Zaz describes fan confusion: “It came off like a fart... my wife got the alert… dolphins hire Jeff How? Is that a coach? ...nobody really cares.” (03:47)
• PR over Performance:
  • Dave Damashek: “The thing that carries the day is who’s good at PR, who’s good in an interview. Belichick is not that... It’s loco that that would be the case.” (04:14)
• “Name Value” and Expectations:
  • Greg Cody and Mike Ryan debate whether Chris Shula would’ve been the more popular hire, noting Hafley’s greater experience but the Dolphins’ long history of whiffs (05:05–06:01).

Notable Quote:

• Greg Cody: “You absolutely win the offseason if you do the popular thing of going with the defensive coordinator who has a name that people have heard of.” (05:05)

3. The “Short King” Riff with Brad Williams

Context:
Comedian Brad Williams joins, sparking escalating (and good-natured) jokes about short men and football leadership.

Breakdown:

• Transition from Head Coaches to Height:
  • Discussion about Hafley’s stature morphs into Brad taking issue (06:05–07:09).
  • Brad Williams: “Every time I try to bring a little flavor, you guys just—oh, you guys with the short bit. If that joke was any deader, it’d be related to Dan.” (07:19)
• Ongoing Teasing:
  • Audio quality becomes a target—“you sound like you’re in a submarine” (07:55).
  • Brad plugs his podcast “Heightened Babble,” which is then mocked for possibly being called “Jesus Christ” per Mike Ryan (08:02–08:13).

Notable Quotes:

• Brad Williams: “You have me on your show, presumably for my great football analysis, and then you immediately go to short jokes!” (13:32)
• Brad Williams (riffing with Greg Cody): “He does not have me right next to him telling me the short joke. You have me, and you go right to the short joke. Lame comedy.” (14:17)

4. Broncos’ Quarterback Woes and Brad Williams' Hope

Context:
Williams, as honorary Broncos correspondent, reacts to losing QB Bo Nix and being saddled with backup Jared Stidham.

Breakdown:

• Personal Anecdote:
  • Brad describes euphorically doing a show after a Broncos win, only to find out about Nix’s injury immediately after (08:47–09:18).
  • Brad: “I thought someone died… and then I get off, and it’s much worse than that.” (09:19–09:20)
• Hopeful Spin:
  • Williams positions Stidham as a “comparable backup,” drawing parallels to Osweiler's sub-in for Peyton Manning in 2015 (10:02).
  • Room is skeptical; Dave Damashek calls Stidham “the worst starting quarterback in the Super Bowl era,” using historic comps (11:42).
• Level of Optimism:
  • Brad: “We’ve seen this before with Jeff Hostetler... with Nick Foles beating the Patriots... It wouldn’t be the craziest thing in the world, but yeah. Hope is not...” (13:02)
• Audience Interplay:
  • Brad’s plea for Tebow to “Mr. Miyagi” Bo Nix’s ankle (11:06).

Notable Quotes:

• Greg Cody: “Do you believe in Stitty?” (10:40)
• Brad Williams (on the immediate postgame emotional swing): “I don’t know anyone that’s gone that high to that low that quickly.” (11:06)

5. South Florida’s Most Painful Sports Moments: Ranking the Heartbreaks

Context:
Debate unfolds over the worst sports losses in Miami’s history.

Breakdown:

• The panel compares the Canes’ loss to other Miami heartbreaks:
  • 2002 Fiesta Bowl
  • Dan Marino’s Super Bowl
  • The Heat’s loss to the Mavericks
  • The divisional-round Dolphins loss to Kellen Winslow Sr.'s Chargers (26:34)
• Significance of “losing when you’re that close” versus being blown out (21:04–22:09).
• Mike Ryan separates championship losses from other hurtful defeats: “Last night was for everything. Last night was for history. And to be that close and denied, I think is a whole different level than anything that precedes it.” (26:59)

6. Amin Elhassan’s Weekend Observations and Muppet Moment

Context:
Amin delivers his “Weekend Observations”—a satirical, rapid-fire segment covering NFL oddities, NBA, and pop culture.

Breakdown:

• Amin laments having to move his segment: “Weekend Observations will be moved to another day… Only to find out about, oh, 20 minutes before.” (30:32)
• Observations range from the NFL playoffs (“Nothing says NFL playoffs like Jason Statham–Stidham”) (33:34–33:36) to Mims Jr.’s catch and the Hurricanes’ heartbreak.
• Sudden left-turn:
  • “Dave Damashek was born to be a Muppet.” (34:26)
  • Playful back-and-forth: “What in hell? What? ... I thought were enjoyable, and now this.” (34:31–35:00)
• Shout-outs and asides—African Nations Cup, Jesse Williams’ MLK basketball doc, “Who would win in a one-on-one: Obama or Castro?” (35:04–36:11)
• Adult-tinged jokes about a sideline cameraman zoom (“Pure Taboo, Kink University, and anal destruction 4”) (37:11); ribbing about not knowing adult actress Abella Danger (37:11–37:17).

7. Miami Sports History Deep Dives and ‘Back in My Day’

Context:
Greg Cody, as the resident historian, and Dave Damashek revisit 80s playoff formats, lost Dolphins odds, and bizarre trivia.

Breakdown:

• Greg Cody: “There’s actually a Back in My Day” (30:08).
• Banter over the 1982 “Super Playoffs” amid an NFL strike—why “Super Bowl tournament” made no sense (38:44–39:03).
• Damashek details Dolphins-Patriots and Dolphins-Chargers playoff lore—Mike Ryan and Greg challenge and add trivia (“Richard Todd. No one called him Dick Todd”) (40:04–40:13).
• Ralph Bancherska once hosted Wheel of Fortune (40:30)—trivia leads to giggles and inside jokes.

Notable Quotes and Timestamps

• Dan Le Batard on fan pain:
  “You could feel a city a bit hungover… and then coming up, forgive the expression, that short.” (19:05)
• Zaz on Dolphins coaching hire:
  “It came off like a fart… my wife got the alert… dolphins hire Jeff How? …nobody really cares.” (03:47)
• Brad Williams, on the “short joke” riff:
  “If that joke was any deader, it’d be related to Dan.” (07:19)
• Greg Cody, on what stings the most:
  “It hurts less if Miami had lost by four touchdowns. It hurts less than that because you’re right there… there’s something cruel about that.” (21:04)
• Amin Elhassan, on Dave Damashek:
  “Dave Damashek was born to be a Muppet.” (34:26)

Memorable Moments

• Brad Williams embraces his Broncos hope—and his new podcast “Heightened Babble”—despite short jokes and technical struggles. (06:41–15:17)
• Show-wide riff comparing sports heartbreaks, with everyone offering up their most soul-crushing Miami moment. (19:05–27:24)
• Amin Elhassan’s “Weekend Observations” derails into sports-adult star crossover confusion and the quick-crowning of Dave Damashek as a real-life Muppet. (33:34–36:11)

Segment and Discussion Timestamps

• Miami coaching hire news & fallout: 00:56–06:01
• Brad Williams & “short kings” segment: 06:41–15:19
• Ranking Miami sports heartbreaks: 19:05–27:24
• Amin’s Weekend Observations, “Muppet” moment: 30:39–36:11
• Deep Miami sports playoff history: 38:44–40:51

Summary

This episode blends humor, raw fan agony, and meta banter in a way only The Dan Le Batard Show can. From Miami’s devastating near-miss in the college football championship to the Dolphins’ muted head coaching hire, the crew processes heartbreak the only way they know how: with layered sports references, running inside jokes (especially at Brad Williams’ expense), and a willingness to both satirize and celebrate the absurdity of being a sports fan in South Florida.