Hour 2 – The Mike McCarthy Era Begins in Pittsburgh, Ross Tucker

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Dan Patrick Show

Episode: Hour 2 – The Mike McCarthy Era Begins in Pittsburgh, Ross Tucker
Date: January 27, 2026
Host: Dan Patrick (with the Danettes)
Featured Guest: Ross Tucker (CBS Sports, Westwood One, host of the Ross Tucker Football Podcast)

---

Episode Overview

Hour 2 of The Dan Patrick Show dives into the biggest news in football: the beginning of the Mike McCarthy era as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The hosts and guests break down fan reactions, historical trends, and the "hot assistant vs. established coach" debate. Other topics include the ongoing analytics vs. gut debate in play calling, Super Bowl betting odds, the state of Rutgers athletics, and a lively visit from Ross Tucker sharing behind-the-scenes football insights, Pro Bowl commentary, and his own media adventures. The segment is filled with signature humor, sports analysis, and interactive cliche-betting games as anticipation builds for McCarthy’s Steelers debut.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Current Poll Questions and Results

• [02:44] Poll 1: Which wins more games: Gut feeling or analytics?
  • Gut feeling is dominating with over 70% of the votes.
  • Discussion centers on how analytics and gut often inform each other and play a role in decision-making, especially in nuanced game scenarios.
• [04:20] Poll 2: What do NFL fans prefer in a new head coach?
  • A “young, hot assistant” vs. an “older, established head coach”.
  • The crew humorously debates the term “hot assistant”, clarifies it's about coaching potential and trendiness, not looks (with plenty of playful digressions).

2. Approach to Head Coach Hiring – Potential vs. Proven Track Record

• [06:04] Dan Patrick highlights how fans tend to "fall in love with potential," wanting mystery and upside (i.e., young, modern coordinators like Ben Johnson) rather than proven but less exciting hires.

  “I think we like what we don’t know. I think that’s why we fall in love with potential.” — Dan Patrick [06:17]

• [07:21] Discussion shifts to Steelers fans’ muted excitement for Mike McCarthy—want of a new era vs. respect for a coach with a strong offensive pedigree.

3. The Mike McCarthy Steelers Era

• [07:54] Dan analyzes the Pittsburgh choice of McCarthy, noting the franchise’s tradition of hiring first-time HCs, but also their dire need for offensive improvement.

  “The problem is in the last eight years, you’re in the bottom five in offense. This is a guy who does well with quarterbacks, does well with offenses, and maybe that’s what you need.” — Dan Patrick [08:03]

• [12:22] The Danettes play the “Mike McCarthy Cliché Game,” betting on the first cliche in his introductory presser. Options include: “rich history of football tradition,” “culture,” “build upon what Mike Tomlin did,” “blue collar,” etc.

• [13:26] Sensitivity to respecting Tomlin’s tenure is discussed—how a new coach positions himself without slighting the previous successful era.

4. The Analytics vs. Gut Debate

• [10:44, 24:04-25:39]
  • Multiple callers and Ross Tucker provide opinions and stats (e.g., Broncos’ bad fourth-down analytics vs. kicker’s perfect season).
  • Ross Tucker emphasizes that analytics is essentially “probability,” not gospel, and teams have their own nuanced models.

  “Analytics is just probability ... The issue is, how much do they take into account that you have Jared Stidham as your quarterback, it’s going to snow, etc.? … It should really just be one of the inputs … not all the inputs are built into the analytical model.” — Ross Tucker [25:30-27:52]

5. Pro Bowl Selection Critique

• [21:16-22:50] Ross Tucker questions the logic of Shedeur Sanders making the Pro Bowl as an alternate and suggests a clear distinction between genuinely selected Pro Bowlers and late alternates.

6. Super Bowl Betting and MVP Odds

• [15:37-18:30] Discussion on Super Bowl MVP front runners (Sam Darnold, Drake May), betting odds, and passing yard projections.
  • Sam Darnold O/U: 227.5 yards
  • Drake May O/U: 224.5 yards
  • Vegas heavily favors Seattle players for scoring first.

7. Rutgers Athletics Financial Woes

• [18:30-19:40] Rutgers athletics now over $500 million in debt since joining the Big Ten, drawing sharp, comedic skepticism from Dan and the Danettes about the purported “New York market” benefits.

---

Memorable Quotes & Funny Moments

• On Hot Coaches:

  “Have you ever looked at a coach and go, man, he’s hot?” — Dan Patrick [05:16]
  “I thought he was handsome. There you go, dashing.” — Dan Patrick on Pat Riley [05:42]

• On New Head Coaches:

  “I don’t need a grooming coach.” — Dan Patrick [05:26]

• On Steelers Tradition:

  “I think he’ll say, ‘Today feels like coming home.’” — Dan Patrick, predicting McCarthy’s opening cliche [19:40]

• Rutgers Debt:

  “Nobody invests more in their student athletes than Rutgers.” — Paulie, satirical PR take [19:07]
  “This is criminal. Like, literally seems criminal.” — Dan Patrick [19:12]

• Pro Bowl Prestige Decline:

  “Anybody else is just a Pro Bowl games participant and it should be noted and not on your resume.” — Dan Patrick [22:05]

---

Guest Segment: Ross Tucker

Starts: [19:55]

Mike McCarthy to the Steelers

• “Imagine not only getting a chance to coach three NFL teams, but it’s the Packers, the Cowboys, and the Steelers. That’ll never happen again.” — Ross Tucker [33:08]
• Tucker says fans seem frustrated, wanting a reset or younger era, but the Steelers ownership values perennial competitiveness and stability.

Pro Bowl Critique

• “I have no idea how he was the next alternate up. … How is it: Drake May’s out, so Shedeur Sanders is in?” — Ross Tucker [21:37]

Analytics vs. Probability

• Explains the customization of analytics models, the importance of context, and why gut plays a role alongside the data.

Coaching Preference

• “My opinion is probably the older established coach ... everyone in life learns from your mistakes and gets better when you get a second opportunity.” — Ross Tucker [24:29]

Super Bowl UK Radio

• Tucker will call the Super Bowl for UK radio with Will Gavin ([28:06+]).
• “I promise you, as God is my witness, that is going to be an electric broadcast.” — Ross Tucker [28:48]
• Playful exchange about British accents and the oddity of American football early-morning radio audiences in London.

---

Other Notable Segments

• [38:03+] Callers continue the Mike McCarthy cliche game (“rich tradition,” “coming home,” etc.)
• [40:47+] Light banter about pinball machines in the studio, Frank Thomas commercials, and testosterone supplement ad humor.

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:44: Hour 2 poll questions introduced.
• 06:08: Discussion of NFL teams favoring the “hot assistant” coaching trend.
• 07:54: Steelers fans reaction and historical context of Pittsburgh coaching hires.
• 12:11: Mike McCarthy cliche betting game begins.
• 15:37: Super Bowl odds and MVP favorites discussed.
• 19:40: Rutgers athletics debt discussion.
• 19:55: Ross Tucker interview begins.
• 25:39: Tucker’s breakdown of analytics vs. gut in football.
• 33:08: What Mike McCarthy brings to the Steelers.
• 34:48: Comparing Indiana football and Patriots turnarounds.
• 38:03: Return to cliche game—callers offer more predictions.

---

Tone and Language

The show is conversational, playful, and sports-savvy. Hosts and guests mix humor, inside jokes, and light ribbing with candid takes on football strategy, coaching, and media.

---

Summary for New Listeners

This episode serves as a one-stop catch-up on the coaching carousel, the Steelers’ controversial new hire, the enduring analytics-vs-gut tension in football, and a look into fan culture and sports media. Dan Patrick and the Danettes keep things lively with games, interactive polls, listener calls, and expert guests like Ross Tucker, whose frankness about the league, media, and career is always engaging. If you didn’t listen, you’ll feel fully caught up, with more than a few good laughs along the way.

Transcript

[Dan Patrick]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Did you know Tide has been upgraded to provide an even better clean in cold water. Tide is specifically designed to fight any stain you throw at it, even in cold butter.

[Todd Fritz]

Yep.

[Dan Patrick]

Chocolate ice cream. Sure thing. Barbecue sauce. Tide's got you covered. You don't need to use warm water.

[Todd Fritz]

Additionally, Tide pods let you confidently fight.

[Dan Patrick]

Tough stains with new coldzyme technology. Just remember, if it's gotta be clean, it's gotta be tied. Hey, it's Joel and Matt from how to Money if your New Year's resolution is to finally get your finances in shape, we've got your back prices, they're still high and the economy is all over the place. But 2026 is the year for you to get intentional and make real progress. That's right. Yeah. Each week we break down what's happening with your money, the most important issues to focus on, and the small moves that make a big difference. Kick off the year with confidence. Listen to how to Money on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Todd Fritz]

What if mind control is real? If you could control the behavior of.

[Dan Patrick]

Anybody around you, what kind of life would you have? Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car?

[Todd Fritz]

When you look at your car, you're.

[Dan Patrick]

Gonna become overwhelmed with such good feelings. Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you?

[Todd Fritz]

I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused.

[Dan Patrick]

Can you get someone to join your cult? NLP was used on me to access my subconscious mind. A new podcast exploring NLP AKA Neuro Linguistic Programming. Is it a self help miracle, a shady hypnosis scam, or both? Listen to mind Games on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. How many potential customers are you losing to missed calls every time your phone goes unanswered? That's Revenue walking out the door. Introducing RingCentral Air, your AI powered receptionist that never sleeps, never is out sick and answers every single call. With professional expertise R Central Air will completely transform the way you work. It gives you built in AI across all your business conversations. AIR answers your incoming calls 24, 7 and can automatically schedule appointments with customers, text them important information, answer common questions seamlessly, transfer calls to your team when needed, and your video meetings have AI that takes notes instantly. It's like having a world class admin working around the clock, but at a fraction of the cost. With over 5,800 businesses already using air and 99.999% up reliability, you can trust Ring Central to keep your business connected, visit ringcentral.com air to get started today. That's ringcentral.com air. RingCentral, Voice of YOUR business. You are listening to the Dan Patrick show on FOX Sports Radio, Hour two on this Tuesday. Dan and the Dan eds Dan Patrick Show, Todd Seaton, Marv, Polly, yours truly, back room guys, Ross Tucker will stop by in about 20 minutes. Reggie Miller, little more than an hour from now. Stat of the day, as always, brought to you by the great folks at Panini America, the official trading cards of the program. Seaton, would you update the poll results from hour one? And what are we going with an hour two? Yeah, we got up there right now. Which wins more games, gut or analytics? Right now gut feeling is running away with that one. That's at about a little over 70% of the vote on that one. Yeah, that's a tough poll question too, though, because the analytics are dependent on a lot of different factors and the gut feeling is dependent on whose body that gut is in and whether you trust that feeling or not. Well, I think with the analytics, the analytics can provide that gut feeling that you're going to get data and then you have to decide do we kick the field goal or go forward on fourth and one. But you do have the information that's there. And if it's true that Sean Payton was if you kick the field goal, you're going with analytics, then he was going with his gut and going forward on that fourth and one. I just didn't like the play call to begin with and I would have taken the points with a backup quarterback and with weather possibly playing a role. I don't know what they knew and when they knew it. I'd be curious. I don't know if Sean Payton's doing an exit interview or if he just did it after the game. But what were you told about the weather? Because I would really want to know that. Hey, we were told at some point in the second half that it was coming. What were you told? What were the conditions going to be like? That's what I would be curious about. 8773 DP show email address [e-mail] Twitter handle @dpshow the hour two poll question. Seaton one from Paul which would NFL fans prefer in their new head coach, the young hot assistant coach? Why do we need to have hot in there? They always say the hot candidate. Oh, not hot looking. It factors in. Okay, well then this isn't going to make any sense because your suggestion is the more Rugged, older, established head coach. What is rugged, rugged good looks? Hello. I'm just kidding. Say that. Hello. The young, hot assistant head coach or the older, established head coach? Okay. I think it depends on the franchise. More of a salt and pepper grade. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Paul. So this is like a blind choice. What would a fan base want without a name attached? You could have the hot offensive coordinator. It's got to be hot. It doesn't have to be. They have to be hot. Like. Like Matt LaFleur. Han. Yes. Football hot. Okay. Bouldering hot. Bouldering. Okay. So the less experienced. Have you ever looked at a coach and go, man, he's hot? Yeah, of course. Yeah, you have. Or I said, like, that's a good looking guy who takes care of himself more so than hot. I think. I don't. I don't need a grooming coach. Like, I don't need somebody who. Matt LaFleur's part in his hair. It's razor like. I mean, Pat Riley, don't get me wrong. Back with the. The Lakers. Showtime. Lakers. So you thought a coach was hot? I thought he was handsome. There you go, dashing. So we're changing this to a young, handsome head coach or is it smoldering? I don'. How old? A young, hot assistant or a handsome older coach? So basically the theory is okay, if a coach is inexperienced, young, and the desired candidate. A hot candidate. Yeah. Like. Like everybody wants Ben Johnson. Exactly. Okay. Or the older coach who's been around a couple stops, so. Mike McCarthy. Yeah. And has had success, but maybe not the ultimate success. Success. Even though he's one. I think we like what we don't know. I think that's why we fall in love with potential. Like that guy right there. You know, what he is and what he can do. Okay. That guy. Yeah. And we did this with Joe Flacco. Like, you'd go like, oh, well, okay. But Joe Flacco was a money quarterback, a very good postseason quarterback, but he just didn't fit what we wanted. We wanted. We wanted a Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and, well, there's only, you know, one of each. And then you'd go, yeah, okay, well, we got that guy. We like what we don't know. Yes. Marv.

[Todd Fritz]

And it's also a copycat league after Sean McVeigh. Oh, he's part of the McVeigh tree.

[Dan Patrick]

He's 33. All right, let's try him. You saw that success. Well, that was the Shanahan tree, wasn't it? All of those guys, but a lot of that afterwards was, you know, he's.

[Todd Fritz]

Coach with Sean mcvan.

[Dan Patrick]

I know. You know, he, he delivered the mail to Sean McVeigh. Well, we should hire him now. Yes. Paulie, I'm curious if Steelers fans are excited today. I would say no. See, I think that's odd because it seems like they wanted a new head coach for a couple years now. They got what they wanted and their coach stepped down voluntarily. And now they have a guy who does have a history of reviving offenses. When he got to Dallas, their offense was ranked 17th. The next three years they were ranked 1 in the league. Fourth in the league. First in the league. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Like I think the, it's not the way that the words were intended, but I think that you nailed it. They wanted a new head coach, not a guy they retread through a bunch of different teams. They wanted a new head coach. Yes. Yeah. Somebody who doesn't have a proven track record as a head coach. It's like we, hey, Bill Coward didn't have that. Mike Tomlin didn't have that. Chuck Noel didn't have that. Okay, but you've been a defensive minded team for decades. The problem is in the last eight years, you're in the bottom five in offense. This is a guy who does well with quarterbacks, does well with offenses, and maybe that's what you need. What is what you need? But Mike McCarthy will be holding his press conference in Pittsburgh in a few hours from now. We'll get phone calls coming up. We're actually going to talk to an analytics expert coming up in an hour from now. Sam Schwartzstein, he works for Thursday Night Football. He's their analytics expert. He's a Stanford guy. So we'll ask him about the data that you get. And can you get data in, you know, in the middle of the game, can they update that, the analytics to factor in weather? Now, you've already factored in a backup quarterback, but now the wind, you know, snow's coming in, how well the opposition is playing. And as I've said before, with analytics. If we have analytics, shouldn't you have the same analytics as usual? Yes, Paulie. And this guy, Sam Schwartzein, he was with the XFL a few years ago and created the dynamic kickoff that the NFL eventually adopted. Okay, smart guy. So that'll be when he went Stanford, although Ross Tucker went to Princeton. But he says that he wasn't really smart. He just got into Princeton because he could play football. I'm okay with that. I'm not surprised he got into analytics. Given his history in running casinos. Sam Schwarzeneg, Sam Rothstein. Oh, Sam Rothstein. If you've seen Casino this. Oh, yeah, I did. Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone. It's a good movie. Yeah, I saw it. Doesn't end well for Joe Pesci. No. Or his brother. I know. God, that was bad. That is a bad thing. Holy. Because you know what's gonna happen. You don't want it to happen, you know, because you like Pesci. Sharon Stone was awesome in that movie. She was. She was unhinged, as they like to say. Yes. And as an old school baseball fan, I didn't like that they used aluminum bats. Wow. I wish I used maple on those guys. That's what I was thinking. Yeah, it had that familiar ping. Yeah. Like lsu. Yeah. Dennis in Long Beach. Hi, Dennis. What's on your mind? Good morning, gentlemen. With the analytics. The Broncos were only 50% during the season. On fourth down with Bo Nicks, and they ranked 22nd in the NFL. The Patriots were number two at stopping fourth down plays. And on the road, 27% of the time, the opposing team was successful. In the meantime, their kicker, this basically a point after kick, a point after touchdown, he was 39 or 39. So I don't know about those analytics, but they seem like a pretty good chance to me. And on the poll question, it really comes down to do you want Matt LeFleur or Andy Reid? I'll take the cheeseburger. All right. Thank you, Dennis. Tim in Green Bay. Hi, Tim. Hey, Dan. First time, long time. Love the show. 5, 10. 2. 10. Ish. First things first, my wife's name is Danette. She's a huge fan of the show. I want to. I want to give you the cliches, Mike McCarthy that you don't want to hear as a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Okay. The first one is we got to clean up our own house. That was a impersonation. A bad one. And the second one is.

[Todd Fritz]

We got.

[Dan Patrick]

To get back to the basics. All right, we'll keep an eye on that. Seaton. He. He decided we were going to play the Mike McCarthy cliche game of the first cliche that he says today at his press conference. Let's recap. Seaton. Mine is something about a long history of. Of like, excellence along history of football. Tradition. Yeah. Culture. No, I had Paul claims culture. Okay. All claims culture. I mean, they're sort of cut from the same cloth. Culture and tradition. Although I think Paul's talking about establishing a winning culture rather than I'm drawing on. He's going to point to the Steelers history, a great history of football tradition. Does he mention that he wants to build upon what Mike Tomlin did for so many years here? Does he mention Mike Tomlin early? I think he's just talking about it. This a blue collar town. We're gonna be a blue collar football team. This hard working city, hey, I know. I know what these fans are like. I was one of those fans growing up. Just football town is what it is. Yes. Todd, I was just gonna ask something along those lines because the more you.

[Todd Fritz]

Say what you're gonna do, you're kind.

[Dan Patrick]

Of not crapping on the previous coach.

[Todd Fritz]

But you're basically saying these are the.

[Dan Patrick]

Things the previous coach wasn't able to.

[Todd Fritz]

Do or couldn't do or didn't do. But I'm gonna do it. So how sensitive is a new coach.

[Dan Patrick]

To not using wording that makes it feel like the previous coach, out of respect, you know, screwed this up? We didn't do these things. Say I make you Mike McCarthy today and I introduce you and what do you say when you get up there? Ladies and gentlemen, the next head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Todd Fritz. It's great to be here. I'm very honored to be the new.

[Todd Fritz]

Head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

[Dan Patrick]

I know your previous coach did a lot of wonderful things here and I hope to take it even to the next level. That's why I'm here, to bring the seventh and hopefully beyond super bowl titles to the great city of Pittsburgh. I wouldn't make sure not to say anything that would sound derogatory or the previous guy couldn't get this done. But here I am writing in, I'm going to do the things that Mike Tomlin couldn't do. I wouldn't want it to sound like that. But you're already saying seventh Super Bowl.

[Todd Fritz]

Yeah, but I think you could, you.

[Dan Patrick]

Could cushion him, say, in a certain way tonight. Unlike Mike Tomlin, who couldn't win one playoff game. I'm going to get the seventh that Tomlin couldn't do for 20. That's what I want to hear as a Steeler fan. Yes. Seaton. I wonder if he tries to, like right out of the gate, draw on his, like, you know, I'm a local guy. And he gets up there and he's like, so how are Yin's doing? So I'm from here, so I say Yin's too. Just like you guys. We're all Yinzers, right? Yeah. Me, I'm one of us. Well, maybe he Brings an iron city light. Put a beer up there. Hey, how are yin's doing? Nate in Florida. Good morning, Nate. What's on your mind today? Hey, you guys. Six, three and a solid. Well, not so much solid. 550. I just wanted to give a big praise to my Seahawks for making it back to the game of games. And. And it looks pretty good for me. And being a transplant into Florida from Seattle, I've been taking a little heat down here, but I'm living through it because I got skin in the game still. So the big thing that I wanted to bring up to you guys was that I want to thank the AFC for making our job and the NFC so much easier by getting rid of all these great coaches and have them start over again for no apparent reason other than they just we need a change. So if that's what they want to do, then you know what? I will win the next three or four Super Bowls, no problem. All right. All right. Karma karma. Could go back, invite you there. Super bowl odds. Sam Darnold, Drake, May, Jackson, Smith, Najigba, Kenneth Walker Jr. III and then Stevenson, Shaheed, Stefan Diggs in there, long shots. But basically you have four players. Best odds to win MVP led by Sam Darnold, Drake, May, JSN and then Kenneth Walker Jr III. Vegas really feels strongly about somebody from Seattle scoring first in this game because Kenneth Walker and Jackson, Smith, Jigba, they are the two favorites, big favorites. And then Stevenson after that, aj, Barner, Hunter Henry and Stefan Diggs also on that list. But the line staying at four and a half. I don't think it's going to change unless there's any injury update. The over under is 45 and a half. I'm always, you know, curious about the over under, Pat. Okay, here, can I. You know what? I'll take a break and I'll come back. I got a couple of questions to ask you before we get to Ross Tucker. More of your phone calls as well. We'll take a break. We're back after this Dan Patrick show. Be sure to catch the live edition of the Dan Patrick show, weekdays at 9am Eastern, 6am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app. Hey, it's Ben, host of the Fifth Hour with Ben Maller. Would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking, what in God's name is the fifth hour? I'll tell you, it's a spin off of the Ben Mather show called hit overnights on FSR Why should you listen? Picture, if you will, a world where we chat with captains of industry in media, sports and more every week. Explore some amazing facts about human nature and more. Listen to the fifth hour with Ben Mather on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast. New year, new goals, and in this economy, a better money plan is more necessary than ever. I am Matt. And I'm Joel. We are from the how to Money podcast and every week we help you to spend smarter, save more, and make sense of what's going on out there. If you want 2026 to be the year you finally feel in control of your money, we're here to give you the tools and advice to help you make it happen. Listen to how to Money on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What if mind control is real? If you could control the behavior of anybody around you, what kind of life would you have? Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car?

[Todd Fritz]

When you look at your car, you're.

[Dan Patrick]

Going to become overwhelmed with such good feelings. Can you help hypnotize someone into sleeping with you? I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused. Can you get someone to join your cult? NLP was used on me to access my subconscious. Nlp, AKA Neuro Linguistic Programming, is a blend of hypnosis, linguistics and psychology. Fans say it's like finally getting a user manual for your brain.

[Todd Fritz]

It's about engineering consciousness.

[Dan Patrick]

Mind Games is the story of nlp, its crazy cast of disciples, and the fake doctor who invented it at a new age commune and sold it to guys in suits. He stood trial for murder and got acquitted. The biggest mind game of all, nlp, might actually work. This is wild. Listen to mind Games on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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.

[Todd Fritz]

The Chiefs. What's a wrap?

[Dan Patrick]

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

[Todd Fritz]

Josh Allen up there still. Oh, my boy, Matthew Stafford.

[Dan Patrick]

Where did Bo Nicks at?

[Todd Fritz]

He ain't too far behind.

[Dan Patrick]

He did all this talking what Matthew.

[Todd Fritz]

Stafford is doing statistically, bro is crazy.

[Dan Patrick]

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

[Todd Fritz]

Hey, he should be in that conversation.

[Dan Patrick]

In what conversation?

[Todd Fritz]

He should be in it.

[Dan Patrick]

Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green from the Black Effect podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or whatever.

[Todd Fritz]

You get your podcast.

[Dan Patrick]

On June 11, 1998, a deputy from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department went missing. It's an all out manhunt for John Awjay. Every search and rescue team in LA county has been called in to help. Within days, tips started flooding into the sheriff's department. The rumor around the drug scene was that a deputy was taken care of.

[Todd Fritz]

Is this the story of a man.

[Dan Patrick]

Who just got lost in the desert? Or of a cover up in the inside the nation's largest sheriff's department.

[Todd Fritz]

A homicide captain saying, detective, do not.

[Dan Patrick]

Find out if this guy's guilty or innocent. Who does that? Valley of Shadows, a new series from Pushkin Industries about crime and corruption in California's high desert. Do you have any advice for us while looking into this disappearance?

[Todd Fritz]

I wouldn't do it alone.

[Dan Patrick]

Listen to Valley of shadows on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. More phone calls coming up. Reggie Miller in an hour from now. Over under passing totals for the Super Bowl. Sam Darnold, over under. Anybody want to take a guess? Sam Darnold, over under. He is the leading candidate to be Super Bowl MVP. Todd, I'll start with you two. 27 and a half. Did you see this? I did not. Bloop, bloop, bloop. No way.

[Todd Fritz]

Is that the number?

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, yeah, Mr. Vegas.

[Todd Fritz]

I was going to say 223 and.

[Dan Patrick]

A half and then I changed to seven because that's my big number today. Okay, how about Drake May, over under passing yards. Todd.

[Todd Fritz]

212½.

[Dan Patrick]

Seaton, 215. Marvin.

[Todd Fritz]

180.

[Dan Patrick]

Paul, 256 ½. 224½. 224½. By the way, I saw this. Congratulations to Rutgers athletics. They've apparently. And I don't know how you do this, but they did it. Since moving to the Big Ten, Rutgers athletics is more than $500 million in debt. How about a round of applause for Rutgers athletics? Man, good thing you moved into the Big Ten. Yeah, but have you been to the rack? Yes, I have. I mean, come on. Worth it. I have been to that basketball arena yes, Paul. Dan, you have to skew positive like a PR person would. Nobody invests more in their student athletes than Rutgers. Yeah, this, this is criminal. Like, literally seems criminal. That 500 million. You joined the Big Ten. Yes, Marvin, but what about the New York market? Well, that's, you know, we got to get that New York market. We need Rutgers right now. Yes, Paul. I thought you were making up those numbers. No, no, it's 500. 500 million in debt. Is it supposed to be a benefit to join the Big Ten? And I've got the Mike McCarthy cliche. I've got it. Today feels like coming home. Okay. Yeah, okay. That's pretty good. That's pretty good. Today feels like coming home. Like coming home. Today feels like coming home. Dang, dude. Let's bring in Ross Tucker, CBS Sports, Westwood One analyst, host of the Ross Tucker football podcast. You got a Mike McCarthy cliche that he utters today?

[Todd Fritz]

No, but I kind of like Dan. You gotta, you got a decent Pittsburgh accent. You got, you got a decent, you do a decent Mike McCarthy. Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh. I've never heard that before.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, he just left football. That's all he does. He loved football. We're blue collar team, blue collar town, just like we love football. You went to Princeton and you tell us all the time, No, I don't.

[Todd Fritz]

I don't say it. You wear a Princeton every time I, Come on.

[Dan Patrick]

You got a Princeton Zip up 3/4 and you got your Princeton helmet behind you.

[Todd Fritz]

Yeah, it's branding, Dan. It's branding. I was not like some hall of Fame player, Pro bowl player. So how are people going to remember me? They're going to say, they're going to say, oh, yeah, he's the guy that went to prison. He's a smart guy. Hey, it's all branding. It's intentional.

[Dan Patrick]

You might have made the Pro bowl. Considering that Chador Sanders gets to make the Pro Bowl. You might, they might have said, we need, we need somebody. How about you, Ross?

[Todd Fritz]

That's actually a good point. In 2004, I definitely had a better season than Shador Sanders had this year.

[Dan Patrick]

Not at quarterback, no.

[Todd Fritz]

But back then, back then, they would actually, like, it was hard to make the Pro Bowl. I, I, I honestly, I talked about this this morning on the Ross Tucker football podcast, and forgive my ignorance, I legitimately don't even know how he was the next alternate up. Like, it was. Did he, I'm sure he won the, the fan vote, like, in a landslide. Like, how is it? Drake Mays out. So Shador Sanders is in A lot.

[Dan Patrick]

Of people had to say no, evidently. But I get it. This is a TV show that that's what they're doing. I understand you're going to bring him in. I mean, I'm okay with it. I don't value the Pro bowl designation like I used to. And my suggestion is that you have an nfc, AFC Pro bowl roster that you announce whether they can play in it or not. You're still the Pro bowl player at that position for that year. Anybody else is just a Pro bowl games participant and should be noted and not on your resume that you were a Pro bowl player.

[Todd Fritz]

I agree with that. 100. That seems like a fantastic way to go about it because there needs to be some distinction between the guys that actually earned it and the guys that were the fourth alternate and ended up. But I don't even. I honestly don't even know what they. It's called the Pro Bowl. They play like flag football. I really don't even know what they do anymore.

[Dan Patrick]

They have challenges and tug of war and, you know, okay, but let's be fair. Let's say you had a chance in 2004 and they said, hey, we would like for you to be an alternate for the Pro Bowl. Would you have done it?

[Todd Fritz]

Absolutely.

[Dan Patrick]

If you knew that There were like 20 linemen in front of you who declined going to the Pro Bowl?

[Todd Fritz]

Yes. You know why? Because if you looked at my Wikipedia, it would say Ross Tucker is a former Pro bowl offensive lineman from Y. Missing Pennsylvania.

[Dan Patrick]

It's like.

[Todd Fritz]

It's like I won. I can't remember. Oh, oh, I know what it is. I do Eagles preseason games, as you know, Dan, and I've been. I've been nominated or we've been nominated for multiple Mid Atlantic Emmys. Right. So you know what I am? I'm an Emmy nominated broadcaster. And that's legit. You can look it up. There's links and everything. I am an Emmy nominated broad. I haven't won it yet, but I've been nominated.

[Dan Patrick]

Seaton, would you give Ross the two poll questions today? Yeah. Right now we've got up there which wins more games, gut feeling or analytics? And then another one here from Paulie. Which would NFL fans prefer in the new head coach of their team? The hot young assistant or the older established coach?

[Todd Fritz]

Well, the second one is, are you asking my opinion or what I think people want?

[Dan Patrick]

No, your opinion.

[Todd Fritz]

Oh, my opinion is probably the older established coach. I don't know what. You know, I never immediately goes to Mike McCarthy, but I'm looking at More like Stefanski, John Harbaugh, Salah. Like, I think what these teams are doing by hiring guys and giving them a second chance or a second, I think that's smart. You know, everybody in life learns from your mistakes and gets. You would think, you'd like to think would get better when you get a second opportunity. You know, I certainly feel like I'm a better broadcaster than I was, you know, when I was starting out. So I give me the guy with experience because you're really rolling the dice with the guy that's never done it before. In terms of analytics versus gut, I will lean probability. I will lean to the numbers. I will lean analytics. But I think I don't like how that's phrased.

[Dan Patrick]

See, one of my ability probability is. Okay. When you say analytics, it triggers something in people.

[Todd Fritz]

A thousand percent. Great. And that's the thing, like analytics is just probability. And I. I know stink was on with you guys yesterday, and you have a lot of attention because he doesn't like nerds and all that stuff. You know, I know that any player that's ever played, the defensive coordinators pour over tape to try to identify what you're most likely to do in these situations. You know, when they're in this personnel grouping, there's 75 run to the right or 32%. What? What? I'm just making it up. Okay. All that the analytics are trying to do is allow you to know what the probability is of each decision you could make. The issue I have. Dan, let's talk about the Sean Payton decision. All right? And let's just say, because I saw where Greg Olson said the analytics said to kick, which surprised me, by the way. Fourth and one from the 14. That would surprise me. I'd like to talk to Greg about that and see where he's getting that information. But these are living, breathing games. Like, do the analytics, which you've created before the game, how much they take into account that you have Jared sit them as your quarterback, how much you take into account. It's going to snow in the second half. How about the fact that if you kick the field goal, you're going up by two scores. That's why I think it's really important that these coaches take into account what the win probability tells them, take into account what the analytics recommends, but then also use your own judgment. It should really just be one of the inputs that you're factoring into ultimately making the decision, because some of the other inputs you should be considering are not built into the analytical model. Which by the way, every team has their own. So when you see these like tv, these games are like the analytics say. Yeah, the analytics is not some bible that is like every team's reading from the same book of analytics. It's every team has their own model based on their own things that they value and don't value.

[Dan Patrick]

Ross Tucker, CBS Sports, Westwood One broadcaster and host of the Ross Tucker football podcast. He will be the color analyst on the super bowl for UK radio.

[Todd Fritz]

How about that?

[Dan Patrick]

How is your British accent?

[Todd Fritz]

Oh, I'm not going to try to do that. But you know the play by play guy is the, the red headed guy with the beard. Will Gavin, who went viral for some of his calls during the playoffs. He's play by play. I'm color. It's going to be electric. I have no idea who is going to be listening to the super bowl on the radio in London at 2am no idea if there's anybody. But I promise you, as God is my witness, that is going to be an electric broadcast. Will Gavin and me, if you happen to be listening to your radio on and what's it called, Abby, whatever the abbey things called, I don't even know 12, 12:30 to 4, we are going to be killing it. Are you the abbey thing?

[Dan Patrick]

Are you the John Madden of UK Radio?

[Todd Fritz]

I'm going to be for the Super Bowl.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay, I will.

[Todd Fritz]

In all sincerity, I'm going to ask Will this because I'm interviewing him today for my podcast. If you're in the UK and you're really into football enough that you're going to watch the game, that you're going to be part of the game from 12:30 to 4:00am local time. You're probably watching it, right? You're probably not listening to me. Although maybe they can watch it and, and mute the TV and then listen to me. People do that. That works.

[Dan Patrick]

You never know who's going to be listening. That's right. You never know. There could be somebody who hears you and they go, wow, you know what? I have that guy in mind for their, their. The director for Marty supreme, the Timothy Chalamet movie, was a big fan of Howard Stern. And Howard had a couple of his callers, regular callers that this guy put in the movie with Timothy Chalamet and one Marianne from Brooklyn is in a scene with Timothy Chalamet. And it's only because that one of the Safdie brothers said I want her in the movie. You never know that.

[Todd Fritz]

That's incredible. Almost as incredible as the fact that I'm familiar with who that actor is and I've seen him like courtsided the Knicks and. But I don't really watch television or movies like, other than like documentaries or football documentaries. Dan. I swear I thought his name was Chalamet. I had never, I never heard it pronounced before. I had no idea it was Chalamet. And Chalamet sounds so much better than Chalamet.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, Timothy Chalamet.

[Todd Fritz]

Timothy Chalamet is not from Pittsburgh.

[Dan Patrick]

No, he's not. He's from New York. His dad is French. Timothy Chalamet. The Rams lost because. Not dot done.

[Todd Fritz]

Because the kid muff the pun and their defense blew it. You know, I mean, those are the two things that jumped out to me. That's rough to have a guy that earlier in the game, he's a second year kid from Florida A and M Xavier Smith. He muffs it, Dan, but they recover it. So you could have made the decision theoretically to put Kyron Williams back there. The kid muffs another one, they get a touchdown, then you put Kyron Williams back there. That was obviously a huge difference. But I don't know what happened to the Rams defense. I mean, Clint Kubiak, that's a guy that should get a head coaching job. The OC for the Seahawks, he impressed me and they lit up the ramp. The Rams defense needed to be better than that. I mean, Stafford played unbelievable and they still lost.

[Dan Patrick]

The Broncos lost because.

[Todd Fritz]

Sean Payton got out coached and Jarrett Zidum did the only things he can't do. I mean, it felt like to me that. And I think Sean Payton's a good coach. But you got to kick the field goal there. You got to kick the field goal, you got to go up two scores. I thought that was. And that was not hindsight. I'm literally eating the press box food in Seattle. Ask Kurt Warner, name drop. Sitting next to Kurt Warner, hall of Famer. And we're watching the game and as soon as it's fourth and one from the 14, Kurt and I are both like, kick the field, go up two scores. And then Kurt even says he's going to run the running back into the flat, which was exactly the play call and it was totally covered. So they should kick the field goal there and then Stidham. I mean, if Stum just doesn't fumble that backwards pass or whatever calling it, the Broncos probably win the game. It's a screen pass that's not on Sean Payton. That's a safe play. Dirt the ball. Broncos probably win that football game.

[Dan Patrick]

What are the Steelers getting with Mike McCarthy.

[Todd Fritz]

You'Re tough, tough, hard nose. Pittsburgh football coach. He's just a guy from Pittsburgh, loves football, always has, always will. When I was working at Pitt, I would headed to the overnight shift on the turnpike collecting tolls. I, I actually love Mike McCarthy. I, I, I dude, imagine now and getting a chance to coach three NFL teams. But it's the packers, the Cowboys and the Steelers. I mean that'll never happen again. That'll never be a thing. I, it's funny because I have a lot of friends that are Steelers fans. They are very upset and I think the big thing is they kind of wanted a reset Dan, but you never know what the owner's looking for. McCarthy must have sold them on. I can get Aaron to come back. We can do one more run at this thing with Cam Hayward and TJ Watt and this core group of guys. And if you've noticed the Steelers, that's what they like. They, they like to be in the mix. They like to win nine or 10 games and make the playoffs and that must have been what, what they wanted to hear. But I mean he can do it for six to eight years and be competitive. It just I think Steelers fans were ready to, to go to a new era and I don't want to say rebuild, but they were ready for a young coach and a new young quarterback.

[Dan Patrick]

More impressive the turnaround by Indiana football or the Patriots this year.

[Todd Fritz]

It's a really good question. I'll say Indiana football just because they've been so bad for so long to go from there to, you know, to win the national championship in two years at the college level. And I know the portals change stuff in nil or whatever what, what Vrabel's done. And the Patriots are super impressive because I did a couple of their games on TV last year. They had the worst receiving core in the league. They had the worst offensive line in the league. But you could tell Drake May was the goods. You could tell Drake May was the real deal. So. And they were very, I think poorly coached. Probably last year coaching was an issue. So I'll still say Indiana's more impressive than New England's had. I mean Dan, think about New England's run to the super bowl here. They probably don't win that game unless CJ Stroud loses his mind. They probably don't win against Denver unless Peyton doesn't kick the field goal instead of them makes those decisions. It's funny because I just recorded the Even Money Betting podcast and my co host said they are limping to The super bowl. That might be a little bit of a stretch. I don't know if I go that far. But needless to say, the, the handicappers are not very impressed by how the Patriots are playing going in the super bowl, which is why the Seahawks are favored by as much as they are.

[Dan Patrick]

Ross Tucker, the voice of English football. Our football.

[Todd Fritz]

I like that, that I got to add that to the Wikipedia. The voice, the super bowl voice of English football.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah. We'll see you next week in San Francisco.

[Todd Fritz]

Yes. 6:00am Fritz. He's only texted me seven times about it so far. Seven times. Todd, there's a pretty good chance at 6:10am San Francisco time. Oh, Todd, I overslept. I can't make it. I really just want it. Like he's going to have a nervous breakdown. It's unbelievable.

[Dan Patrick]

If he was going to have a nervous breakdown, he would have already had it. Just saying. We'll see you next week.

[Todd Fritz]

See you guys.

[Dan Patrick]

That's Ross Tucker. Ross Tucker football podcast. And he'll be on the call. Super bowl analyst Talk Sport UK radio. Yeah, Seaton, have you seen the guy that does the, the like UK calls the football announcer. His name is like Will. Yeah, he was talking about. Yeah, Will Gavin. Have you seen his calls? No. He's spectacular. Oh, dude is unbelievable. Well, Ross will be a great foil for him. Ross. Ross will have fun too. He's great. He's really, really. All right, let's take a break. More phone calls coming up. We'll talk analytics at the top of the hour. That'll keep you. We're going to talk to smart people at the top of the hour about football analytics. Reggie Miller will stop by as well. We're back after this. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our [e-mail] and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to listen live. Dustin in Alabama. Hi Dustin. Morning fellas. Fantastic show yesterday. Just two quick things. One, I think it was a small missed opportunity for a best of this past weekend. What a fantastic name and showing by Blaze Brown, 18 year old golfer playing the final round with Scotty yesterday. I mean Sunday. And then regarding analytics, just from my experience and now becoming an avid listener of the DP Takes a Gamble show. Just do the opposite of whatever Dylan says and you'll be a winner. You're right, Dylan is a terrible gambler but he's very entertaining at being terrible. Dan Patrick Takes a Gamble podcast. Let's see Tom in California. Hi Tom. Good Morning, Dan. Dan, thanks for calling me back. Yep. The first time I called you a few years ago, I said I was in desperate need of losing £100. On my recent 73rd birthday, I clocked in at £101 lost. Not about. A round of applause for Tom. Yeah, Tom, how'd you do it? Plethora of content. I'll try to make this quick. Mike McCarthy cliche, rich tradition. Okay. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you, Tom. Rich tradition. I. I'm coming home. That's. That's. That's Mike McCarthy. Whatever. One comes first is your winner in the Mike McCarthy. I didn't know we were going to play the Mike McCarthy cliche game until I got in and Seaton goes, let's play the Mike McCarthy cliche game. I said, tell me what it is. He said the first cliche that he says at the press conference. Who's going to guess it? I feel like rich tradition is sort of in line with my thinking. Yeah, it is. Yeah. Yes. Marvin.

[Todd Fritz]

I think he mentions one of two names, Jack Lambert or me, Joe Green, about his growing up. He's about what's in his mid-60s.

[Dan Patrick]

So he was a kid for Terry.

[Todd Fritz]

Bradshaw, but he seems like a lunch pail guy.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, so was Terry. Maybe Chuck Noel. Maybe Chuck Noel. The rich tradition of great coaches here, Jay in Indianapolis. Hi, Jay. Hey, Dan, thanks for taking my call. 6 foot 190.

[Todd Fritz]

I think the very first cliche is going to be.

[Dan Patrick]

If you're writing the story of the NFL, you can't do it without starting it with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Wow. Okay. All right. Thank you, Jay. Josh in Tennessee. Hey, Josh. Hey, Dan. Little off topic. A little off topic here. I noticed you got pinball. I got what to your right over your right shoulder? Oh, yeah, I got pinball machines. Yes. Which ones have you got? And you guys flip on them. And who holds the high score out of the crew? I don't know if we played it. I just like the lights. I have a Dale Earnhardt Jr. One. I have an NBA one. And then I have. Actually this old school baseball one that I have. Is. Is pretty neat. But, yeah, I also have a Frank Thomas pinball machine. I don't know why I have it at home. I don't even know why I have Frank Thomas. I mean, who knew I could all of a sudden look up and say to my kids, see the guy there selling that thing to help your testosterone? That's him. That's. Yeah, that's him. That's the guy on the pinball machine. She'll Tilt, too. They call him the Big Hurt. She'll love it, too. That line is so creepy.

[Todd Fritz]

Like, how do you know my wife's gonna.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, exactly. The worst one is when they're at the driving range and there's the guy there with his girlfriend, but then there's another girl with him and his girlfriend, and Frank says, and she'll like it, too. And then they both look at him like, all right, this guy's doing some damage there. You know that, Frank? Yeah. None of your business, Frank. What do you know? How do you know she likes. Hey, Frank. Babe, please don't steal my girl. Big Hurt. Something you need to tell me here? Do you know, Frank? Just. Big Hurt my feelings. Did you spend time in Chicago? Yeah. Were you a White Hunt? You have a white Sox hat. Why is that? And she'll like it, too. Put your bat away, Frank. Whoa. Bat and cleanup. Yeah, we're in a gym here lifting weights. Why do you have a baseball bat with you, Frank? Can you put that away, please? Thank you. I'm sorry. I thought you meant something else. She'll like it, too, if you know what I mean. Hey, it's Frank Thomas and Doug Flutie.

[Todd Fritz]

Why wouldn't they be hanging out together?

[Dan Patrick]

Of course, at a driving range. And telling you that your girlfriend will like it, too. We're talking analytics coming up. Football analytics and Reggie Miller. Busy final hour in this Tuesday. This is an I Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.