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Adnan Burke
You can count on T Mobile to help keep you connected from big cities to small towns on America's largest 5G network. Switch the T Mobile keep your phone and they'll pay it off up to 800 bucks per line via prepaid card. Learn more@t mobile.com heap and switch up to four lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device credit service port in 90 plus days with device and eligible carrier and timely redemption card. Has no cash access and expires in six months Consider this is a daily news podcast and lately the news is about a big question. How much can one guy change? They want change. What will change look like for energy? Drill baby drill schools take the department Education close it Health care better and less expensive. Follow coverage of a changing country. Promises made, promises kept. We're going to keep our promises on consider this from NPR. Listen on the iHeartRadio app or wherever. Wherever you get your podcasts Jon Stewart.
Jon Stewart
Is back in the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. Join late night legend Jon Stewart and the best news team for today's biggest headlines, exclusive extended interviews and more. Now this is a second term we can all get behind. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Adnan Burke
What's up everybody? Ad Nan Burke here to tell you about a new podcast. It's NHL Unscripted with Verkin Demers, Jason Demers here, And after playing 700 NHL games, I got a lot of dirty laundry to air out. Hey, I got a lot to say here too, okay? Each week we'll get together, chat about the sport that we love. Tons of guests are going to join in too. But we're not just going to be talking hockey, folks. We're talking movies, we're talking TV, food and EdNat's favorite wrestling. It's all on le Table. Listen to NHL Unscripted with Virk and demers in the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Bobby Bones
The volume.
Adnan Burke
What is going on everybody? How are we doing? John Middlecoft 3Now podcast hopefully everyone's having a great I think my game plan when the day started was just to do a mailbag and I'm going on with Colin after the Notre Dame Ohio State National Championship game. So I was just going to do a big mailbag today because we got so many questions. But right before I sat down at my desk to bang that out. Ben Johnson was hired as the Bears coach. So I said, well, we can't do a football podcast without doing some Ben Johnson to the Bears content. So we will talk about that off the top. Just kind of wrote down some of my thoughts. Obviously, it's. I mean, there's no way it's a great day if you're a Bears fan for what's been a rough time, but we'll dive into the good, the bad, the ugly when it comes to Ben Johnson, the hype, staying in the division, obviously. Ryan Poles looks like he's keeping his job. Those two working together, two young guys, the pressure on Caleb, the pressure on the team. Tom Brady, I guess, couldn't close the deal. And. And yeah, so we'll do some of that and then we'll do a mailbag at John Middlecoff, at John Middlekopf. Is the Instagram firing those dm dms? If you are the person that shot me the DM that said, I know a guy that knows a guy in the Bears organization. Ben Johnson will be the coach yesterday. So that would have been Sunday. You got some good connections. Couldn't run with it because I didn't know who the guy. I'm not a newsbreaker, but I was like, damn. And it came true. So you never know who's going to have a scoop in their back pocket. Other than that, I think the game plan will just be podcast this week. I mean, we should see a bunch of guys get hired, hopefully, so we'll have some storylines. Obviously, the two big games this Sunday, Washington going to the Philadelphia Eagles. Think about their owner in Washington who owns the Sixers as well. Who the Eagles are. The Phillies team for sure. That's the number one team. But the Sixers are a big deal and he's kind of turned them into a running joke. And it's one thing to own another team in the Eagles division when they suck. Now you're going to potentially block them from going to the Super Bowl. It's going to be an interesting week for Josh Harris. If he were to win the game, I think Eagle fans would demand he sells the Sixers, which is again, not going well at all. They are a disaster this year. And I think he's most well known for the owner that supported, created and wanted the process. And obviously, I would say the heavyweight fight. Many are going to think it's the Super Bowl. I would give the Eagles a chance to win the Super Bowl. Jalen's got to play better, but Chiefs Bill, that's a. That's a great game. That's a, that's a great game. Big moment for Josh Allen because Josh wins. He would. Joan, join Joe Burrow and Tom Brady as the guys to take down Mahomes in, in championship games. So we will, we will discuss that as the week goes on as well. So make sure you subscribe to the podcast if you listen on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe to the YouTube channel as well if you like our content. And other than that, let's talk some ball. And congratulations if you're a Chicago Bear fan in the simple fact that it the last 12 months, I guess the last 12 months weren't because you got Caleb, but I would say the post Caleb Eber flu season had to be as shitty as it gets. I mean that's just, I've been watching sports for 30 plus years, rooting, watching gambling, seen the ebbs and flows, seen it all. And that, that's about as low as you get that you talk about, especially when you come into a season with hype. So we'll just dive into that. I think that's the headline story here is that Chicago Bears have hired Ben Johnson. I started to believe again, like I'm not some insider here, just reading reports from insiders that Tom Brady was giving him the, you know, a full on pitch. And Ben Johnson was more than intrigued. It was like he was inclined to take the Raider job. And I told Colin on Sunday night that that's insane. They have no quarterback. I just saw a quote from Max Crosby that's like, yeah, I got no guaranteed money left. We got a lot to talk about. And it wasn't just like I want more money here. I think Max Crosby will inevitably be traded this off season. It's probably the right move, just blow that up, nuke the Raiders. But from a job standpoint, they got no quarterback. They have no direction to get a quarterback. And the reason you would have been taking that job was for Tom Brady who lives in Florida. So you'd be going into the job every day now. They started interviewing what we think was his buddy, Adam Peters, right hand man who has been in Detroit for 25 years. So you thought, well, if they hire him, Ben Johnson gets his gm. That's not what he gets here in Chicago. Like he has to work with Ryan polls. But clearly he just looked at it. I would rather take my chances to resurrect Caleb's NFL career. At least we have a quarterback under contract who was just the number one pick in the draft and widely considered fair or not right or wrong. The best prospect we've seen in a long time. I long time would be strong. I mean Trevor Lawrence was viewed really highly. Shows you what being the best prospect, you know, doesn't always pan out now sometimes Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning, John Elway, Matt Stafford. But I totally understand they got good defensive pieces and it's the Chicago Bears. I mean it's one of the biggest cities in America. It's a die hard sports city and the number one team in that city is the Bears and they have some historic teams. I mean the Chicago Bulls had a guy named Michael Jordan. The Chicago Cubs are just, I mean one of the more, more high, high profile baseball teams. I know they've been down recently but obviously when Theo and they won that World Series it was a really big, it's just a great sports town. And like I understand being intrigued by it if you're Ben Johnson clearly got a lot of money but it, you know this division really well. Like if you just think about like what's his advantage taking this job? It's like he knows this division like the back of his hand. Think about it. He's been calling, you know, offense. So he's been game planning against the Bears defense, which now is his defense, the Lions defense like every day in training camp for three years and seeing him every day in practice, obviously the, the Green Bay packers and the Minnesota Vikings. So his comfort level with the personnel in these six games honestly couldn't be higher. And not just his comfort level with the personnel, but his comfort level with the coordinators. He got to face Halfley twice this year. Obviously he knows Flores now. He's seen him a couple of years in a row. And regardless of who you know, we assume Aaron Glenn is either going to get the jets, the Saints, one of the Jags, one of these jobs he is going to know maybe not the next coordinator unless it's a guy that they elevate from the staff. But he's like they're not going to drastically change what they do. So he's going to be very comfortable there. And anytime you make the transition from a coordinator to a head coach, most guys and I, it's a little weird honestly. Like I don't blame them for doing this because when you looked at the landscape I didn't think any of these jobs were any good. The Jags, the Raiders, the Bears. But I do get staying. It's an easy comfort level. But like those are your guys. Like you've just been in the trenches with them trying to win A Super bowl for the last 12, you know, whatever. 12 plus months. Really? 18. And you got so close. You're the number one seed this year and now you just bounce. I mean, it's part of the gig, right? There's only so many jobs open, but oftentimes that guy like leaves the conference or definitely leaves the division. So anytime you get a divisional, you know, carryover like that from an assistant coach always adds like an element of intrigue. And so if I'm a Bears fan, one, just the simple fact that we got the number one guy. We got the number one guy on the market. The Raiders wanted him, the Jags wanted him. He didn't even interview with the Jets. They definitely would take him. If he said I want your job, they would hire him tomorrow. The Saints would obviously take him. I don't even know what Jerry's doing. That'll be a conversation for another day. But you got the number one head coach on the market. You celebrate, you celebrate this. And I think Lions fans had just come to grips with well before the last couple weeks, like this guy was gone. He was going to take a job. And if anything, you should be lucky that you got this extra season with them. And we'll dive into them in a second. But it's an overall great day day for the franchise which let's face it, has not had many great days in recent memory. You know, beside like the trade Ryan polls pulled off. But in terms of coaches, you know, the Eber flu situation this year was a coaching disaster from Eber flu is getting fired to them. Last year they fired a bunch of coaches during the season. They've just had a lot of weird shit going on. Obviously they elevated Thomas Brown. He's completely over his head. The team looked even worse. It was a sad state of affairs. And when you have like the NFL is very lucky right now that they're not beholden to these big markets, right? Like the Niners suck this year. Who cares? Doesn't matter. The Bears haven't been good in a decade. The jets, the Giants, they've sucked a lot recently. And the league just keeps on trucking along. Like last year the Saturday night game was Niners packers and this year it was the Detroit Lions and the Washington Commanders. Two franchises that have not been important to the league over the last 25 years. And a little less people watched than last year. I don't know, two of the most historic franchise in the league. But you're not beholden to you like the NBA, the major league Baseball. It's Dodgers, Lakers, Celtics, Yankees. You need those teams or you got no fucking chance. No one will watch the Oklahoma City Thunder. Hell, the Denver Nuggets, who have been really good people, just don't watch it. That's not the case in the NFL. And, like, if you can get, like, if Day ball could ever get the Giants rolling, if whoever gets the jets job can get it rolling, if Ben Johnson can roll with the Chicago Bears, you, like, become a legend. Like, I don't think people quite understand, probably outside the D.C. area, how big a deal it is for Dan Quinn and Jaden Daniels to resurrect that franchise. This isn't some random. This is not like resurrecting the Jags. It's just not, you know, so resurrecting that franchise and have them in a game is a really, really big deal. So the pressure, like, there's no disputing the pressure on Ben Johnson, for as cool as this moment is, starts pretty quickly. And this is not like you take over the Raiders job, there aren't really that many expectations immediately. Like, you're going to get a long grace period. Now, I would imagine he's going to have a long contract, so I'm not acting like he would get fired if he struggles. But the expectations, it's why Eberfluss and everyone got blown out. Because the expectations are going to be really, really high. They're going to go, we got a lot of good players. We said the number one overall pick in the draft, we got some cap space, time to roll. You don't. You don't need to win 12 games right away. But we have a better roster than the Commanders. Right. And the Commanders in year one were just credible coaches, people that knew what they were doing. A new GM with a lot of history that knew what he was doing are in the NFC Championship Game. We don't even want that. Can we just compete for a wild card spot? Can we just be like, the last couple weeks of the season, have a chance to make the playoffs, have a chance to get nine or 10 wins? That is a successful first season. But those are kind of going to be the expectations. There's no, like. Well, his first year, he went four or five wins because he's basically being hired, and rightfully so, to fix and get this quarterback good and this offense to not look as putrid as it did last season. The problem is, is when his offense was rolling these last couple of years in Detroit, their offensive line was elite. I mean, no team in the league played their six offensive linemen more than them. So you skipper. So their offensive line to protect the quarterback. Now, granted, Jared Goff is a lot different player than Caleb Williams, but like their offensive line with the Chicago Bears is. Was like embarrassingly bad. And part of it was Caleb holding the ball too long and the pressure on him to kind of get that out of them. Part of what they did in Detroit with this offense, like, here's the thing, Caleb, we're bringing my offense. Like, this offense works. So can you run it? Now, obviously you can't just be too stubborn as a coach. Like what type things Caleb likes you would be. I mean, you would not be doing your job if not only you. You ask him, but you implement some of that in your offense because he's a player than Jared Goff. He's just not as accurate. But there are going to be elements like we like snapping the ball, getting the ball out of our hands. That is what we do. One, because we're going to have to do it with the offensive line. And two, because like, that's how I play and that's what I want to do. And obviously running the ball was such a huge part of what Detroit did. That's something that this year with starting with Ryan Poles, I mean, they built a passing team. They built a team that was like, in theory, was trying to play like a dome team. And Dan Campbell built a dome team that actually was built to play outside. Obviously, the injuries took its toll on their defense, but in terms of offensively, they could play like the Ravens will run it 40 times in a game. Even though Todd Monkin in the playoffs never does that. He's obsessed with passing. But again, another conversation for another day. The thing that makes me a little nervous and all reports as of recording this is he's going to hire Dennis Allen as his defensive coordinator. Excellent defensive coordinator. The best part about the NFL, not everyone's meant to be a number one. We've seen Dennis Allen try to be a head coach. It's not for him. But the best part about being a great number two is it pays a premium in the NFL this Wall street on grass. Dennis Allen will make three or four million dollars being the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears. And he's an important guy for Ben Johnson, given that he's been a head coach, multiple spots and someone to lean on when you have questions about what to do things. Because anytime you go from coordinator, I've been saying this forever, go from coordinator to head coach. It changes, obviously financially, your life, but it changes the way you do business. Because every day is not just about sitting in a film room and drawing up plays for St. Brown, LaPorta and Jameer Gibbs. Like, you might have a player that gets a DUI that only plays on special teams. That's now your problem. You might have a coach who's kid sick and needs to leave on the defensive side of the ball. That's your problem. You might have something happen to the owner. He wants to meet with you out of the blue, that's on you. Everything Dan Campbell dealt with, now Ben Johnson has to deal with. And while Ryan Poles now has been a general manager for a couple years, I looked at their ages before I hopped on. Ben Johnson's 38. Ryan Poles is 39. So, like, these are two really, really young guys. Obviously Ben Johnson's never been a head coach before and you would say Ryan Poles, like, has been a little over his head at times being a general manager. So the pressure on these two guys that are under 40 in a division full of high level coaches, high level players, well run operations is going to be a big, big challenge. And back to what I said about like, this is a pressure job. This is a job where just a lot of people are talking about you. A lot of people are working, are just kind of looking at what's going on. And a huge reason for that is Caleb Williams. So, like, there's going to be a lot of eyeballs and a lot of people like, I don't necessarily care about the Chicago Bears. I'm going to follow them really closely. You know, this is a, this is a national team. The moment they got Caleb Williams, we're paying attention. We're judging them how we were judging them this year, not because of Matt Eberfluss. No one cares about Matt Eberfluss. He's one of the worst coaches we've ever seen. Good defensive coordinator, just over his head as a head coach. But in terms of the story with Caleb Williams, like you had to pay attention if you're in the football business. So I'm just fascinated to watch these two guys who, you know, Ben, Ben Johnson gets a clean slate. But there's like assuming Ryan polls keeps his job. Does he know what he's doing? Does he know what he's doing? Because Ben Johnson came from a place where we hammered home physicality up front, which is ironic because Ryan Poles, an offensive lineman, he blocked for Matt Ryan at Boston College, but yet he built his team like he was a wide receiver or db. Like we, we build it on the perimeter instead of building it in the middle. Right. Which most offensive linemen like. Why do you think Andy Reid over the years loves signing and drafting defensive and offensive linemen? Because he was an offensive lineman. Like, that's who he is. Dan Campbell, where did he line up the line of scrimmage as a blocking tight end? I mean, that's his baby, you know, Jim Harbaugh, which is all. We make fun of him. That and I remember reading an article in Sports Illustrated years ago that I think one of his teammates, either at Michigan or one of his teammates when he first got drafted, Chicago Bears, they said, you realize early on Jim Harbaugh was just a linebacker in a quarterback's body. And some guys are wired differently. And I'll be fascinated to see Ben Johnson's influence. You know, did he think like Dan Campbell or did he just call plays based on the players that Dan Campbell and the GM build? I don't know. But I'm not trying to poo poo any of this. This is an awesome moment if you're a Bears fan. Cool moment for the NFL, because this is a guy that. I think we've seen a short list of them over the years. Like, Kevin O'Connell was not as famous when he was hired as this. Sean McVay definitely was not. I mean, we have seen guys, some of them have flopped and some of them made it right. Shane Steichen had a lot of hype because he was the offensive coordinator on a team that was kicking ass and taking names in the super bowl, and he got the job. And he's clearly, it feels like by year two, a little in over his head. Josh McDaniels couldn't have been a more hyped, famous offensive coordinator over the years. Got his second opportunity with the Raiders and was an abomination. We've seen guys like Kyle Shanahan, ton of hype, same type, deal with Ben Johnson, have success. But the one thing Kyle did when he got the Niner job is he had a clean slate. There wasn't any pressure because the team had sucked and he got to bring in his gm. This is one of those, like, you kind of got to marry, like it's an arranged marriage with polls that you got the Kevin Warren factor and you just got like, let's talk about the elephant in the room here, Ben Johnson. If Caleb is not any good, it's not going to be Ben Johnson's fault. And if Caleb is good, he's going to get a lot of credit. So before it was like, Caleb's Going to save the Bears. Those days are over. Caleb is now in a partnership with Ben Johnson. And if we saw Ben Johnson last year, or. Excuse me. Well, we obviously saw Ben, but we saw Caleb without coaching was bad. I mean, was borderline unplayable. A lot of the games, like, it was like, you're going to lose if this guy's your quarterback. So now if he's good, like Ben Johnson is going to get, I mean, at minimum be a 50, 50 shareholder in this operation. It was kind of like Sean McVay when he got Jared Goff with the Rams. We saw Jared Goff as a rookie. He didn't even look like an NFL player. Then Sean McVay showed up, they started running the ball, and Jared Goff was a good player. Well, who got a lion's share of the credit? Sean McVay. That's going to happen here. And if you. If you're Caleb, like, if it goes well, you're glad to share the credit because that means your team's winning and everything's going well. If it doesn't go well, no one's going to be like, well, Ben Johnson doesn't know what he's doing as an offensive coordinator because we've seen him as an offensive coordinator with Jared Goff, who got kicked to the curb, be awesome. So I'm fascinated by the, you know, the dynamic of the conversation here because we talk about pressure. There's pressure on the organization. There's pressure now on Ben Johnson and Ryan Polish. There's a ton of pressure on Caleb Williams. And a huge, huge reason for that is Jaden Daniels just had the greatest rookie season we've ever seen. We have never seen a rookie quarterback who's been asked to do this much carry a team to the NFC Championship game. I want to say they got no shot against the Eagles, but I think at this point in time, you would. You'd be crazy to even utter those words. It might just be a stay away as a bet, right? But, like, I don't know. How would you not give him a shot? He's fucking good. Well, what would Howie Roseman do right now? Would he trade Jalen Hurts? Trade up for Jaden Daniels? What do you think? What happens if. Obviously, you can't during the playoffs, but I'm just saying, like, if that conversation happened at the combine, who says no? Obviously, there's one guy that says no, and it's Adam Peters. Harry Roseman's like, you want me to send him on a bus, or do you want me to drive him or do you want Big Dom to fly him? Like, how do you want me to get him there? I mean, what, that, That's. But that's what we're talking about. And you go, we've seen a lot of this. No, we've never seen this ever in the history of the game. Seen this. And let's face it, it's never been easier to play football. So, like, you're never a bad quarterback when you make a bad pass. Like, Jalen hurts threw a hospital ball yesterday to devonte Smith. And throughout the majority of my life, devontae Smith just gets laid out. It's an incompletion. And said now it's 15 yard penalty. So all the rules are for the quarterbacks. And I'm not trying to act like Jalen shouldn't have thrown the ball, but 10 years ago, no one cares that Devontae's just laying there buckling his chinstrap and hops back up and runs the huddle instead. Now seven flags come out. It's like, oh, is he okay? Is he okay? And I get it, the league doesn't want to get sued. They're making too much money. But let's face it, that's never how the game's ever been officiated up until recently. Because you just put your offensive player in harm's way. And now that's the big benefit. Why playing quarterback, what Tom Brady said is dead on the money. It's never been easier. The rules are on your side. So it's like, hey, Caleb, now you got an offensive coordinator. They drafted Rome. You got DJ under contract. You got cold cabat. Like, you got real players on offense. I mean, look at what Jaden's dealing with. You got Terry McLaurin then who? Like a backfield by committee, a McCaffrey brother who played like three different schools in college. You got Brown's not bad from UNC. Ertz is 38 years old. I mean, what are we talking about? And so it's like, hey, you were the guy that everyone was blowing, not this guy. The Bears didn't even bring this guy in for an interview. And Adam Peters got just barbecued for bringing in all five of them. It's like, isn't that his job to scout all these guys, ultimately pick the right one? Who cares if he took all five of them to top golf? You just get to know him. That's his job. It's pre draft process. So I think if Jaden just keeps playing, well, it's like, hey, this is a problem. Yeah, I'm just fascinated to watch this all play out. So congrats to the Bears. Got the number one guy. It's crazy. Like you see another I saw a headline the Colts have hired Lou Amaruno. Coordinator hires When a head coach hiring happens, you know, a head Coach is a 10 out of 10. A coordinator hire feels kind of irrelevant. Even though, like, that's a good hire. I think Lou Amaruno is a good coach and clearly the coat the Colts are desperate for defense. Congrats to the Bears, man. That's just, just a cool football moment that the story had felt like they had no shot who they're going to hire. 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Bobby Bones
Is a podcast where daily economic news is about what matters to you. And we're guessing most days, that's money.
Katie Couric
Workers have been feeling the sting of.
Bobby Bones
Inflation, so as a new administration promises action on the cost of living, taxes and home prices, the S&P 500 biggest post election day spike ever. Follow all the big changes and what they mean for you.
Adnan Burke
Make America Affordable again.
Bobby Bones
Listen to the indicator from NPR on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get podcasts.
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is back in the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. The Daily show podcast has everything you need to stay on top of today's news and pop culture. You get hilarious satirical takes on entertainment, politics, sports, and more from John and the team of correspondents and contributors. The podcast also has content you can't get anywhere else, like extended interviews and a roundup of the weekly headlines. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Bobby Bones
Hey, it's Bobby Bones. Join me and former NFL quarterback Matt Castle every Wednesday for our new podcast, Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle. Between us, we have over 17,500 passing yards, multiple New York Times bestsellers, and one mirror ball trophy from Dancing with the Star. So where else are you going to find a show with that much athleticism and football insight? Based in Nashville, we're more than just your basic NFL show. We talk sports, but we talk pop culture and music and a little bit of everything because we got lots to say. I texted you and you texted me back.
Adnan Burke
Back.
Bobby Bones
Now, I don't know if you have the update, but, like, all the little thumbs up and heart and stuff, like, it's all colored. They changed it and the heart's a little pink. It felt like I told you I loved you. I'm gonna be honest, it was a little pink.
Adnan Burke
There was something sentimental when you. When you send it. It was like, do I send the heart?
Bobby Bones
Now I don't like the color edition.
Adnan Burke
It's extremely pink.
Bobby Bones
Listen to Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.
Katie Couric
Hey, everyone, it's Katie Couric. Well, the election is in the home stretch, and I'm exhausted, but turns out the end is near. Right in time for a new season of my podcast. Next question. This podcast is for people like me who need a little perspective and insight. I'm bringing in some foks friends of Katie's to help me out, like Ezra Klein, Van Jones, Jen Psaki, Asted Herndon. But we're also going to have some fun, even though these days fun and politics seems like an oxymoron. But we'll do that thanks to some of my friends like Samantha bee, Roy Wood Jr. And Charlemagne the God. We're going to take Some viewer questions as well. I mean, isn't that what democracy is all about? Power to the podcast for the people. So whether you're obsessed with the news or just trying to figure out what's going on, this season of Next Question is for you. Check out our new season of Next Question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Adnan Burke
Okay, let's do a little thing we like to call the Mailbag at John Middlecoff at John Middlekopf. Is the Instagram fire in those dms? Get your questions answered here on the show. And yeah, let's. Let's talk because easiest way to get a hold of me, my Instagram dms fire in them. And we will start with Sam. How badass is this Eagles Rams game? I'm with you on winter football games. They're the absolute best. Just chilling on my couch, watching these two teams to see who's mentally tougher in addition to physically better. Can't beat it. I saw AJ Brown said that he wouldn't wish it upon his worst enemy to have to play in those conditions. I've told the story, I think, before, but it's not really even a story. You know, when you're a scout or what, you work for a team, usually on game day. And I would say the Eagles are probably more buttoned up in terms of, like, what our dress code was than some teams always jealous, like the packers in the Raiders, you kind of wear whatever you want, but, you know, you wear a suit to the games. Only had one at the time. And I remember when it first started getting cold, probably about November, and you show up in the suit and on the east coast. And for those of you listening that live there, you guys have those big overcoats, right? So you have your coat and then you have that long kind of like trench coat, thick, that just keeps you warm. Like, I didn't even know what that was. We don't. We never had those in California. You wouldn't even need them. At most we had, like, a ski jacket, you know, if you hunted, like a hunting jacket. But you wouldn't have those, like, nice kind of corporate coats, right? To either go to work or take your lady out for a night on the town. And I remember being on the sideline, getting there, like, two hours before game. I couldn't feel any part of my body. I had to go to the heaters because it was so cold. And that's the cool part about Philly is, like, it's the best part about the good teams in the NFL right now. The Chiefs, the Bills, the Ravens, obviously the Eagles. You just the packers forever. You just get conditions. And conditions don't always have to be snow or rain. It could just be, it's seven degrees. You cannot feel your body. And then you factor in the snow. That first scene when Saquon bust his first run and scores touchdown. And as he's kind of, he entered the end zone on the left side and then he kind of hung a right and ran down the end zone and the snow just started falling. I'm like, this is about to be badass. Cool moment for the Eagles to win that game in the snow. Awesome moment I thought too for the Rams to play like that in the conditions. Just a fantastic viewing experience like I like. And the Super Bowl, I'm recording this part before the national championship. Totally understand putting those things in a controlled environment. But playoff games, first round, second round, third round, give me the candidities all day long. Question for the bag With Ben Johnson becoming the new head coach of the Bears, do you think he'll be a success like McVeigh or be Adam Gase 2.0? I'd be stunned if he was Adam Gase 2.0. I mean, one thing with Adam Gase is he was Peyton's guy and Peyton was the guy like being his reference, calling everybody trying to get him a job. And obviously he's smart and had worked for Sabin. But Adam Gase clearly had some issues in terms of just the interaction aspect, like struggle with the media struggle. Just felt like he was just on the struggle bus with certain things when it came to communication. It does feel like Ben Johnson, if you would have watched his press conference a year or two ago, probably a little less confident than he was. I watched him a lot this season, felt like he grew into himself. And listen, he's 38, 39 years old. Three or four years ago, no one even knew who he was. So it takes some time. I would say Sean McVeigh, it'd be pretty tough. A Sean McVeigh is a one on one. Just his energy, his, his vibe. I mean, Sean McVay is an outlier. I would say best case scenario, he's more Kyle. The thing with Kyle is Kyle had been a, had been an offensive coordinator in the league for like 10 years before the Niners hired him. Had been calling plays for a long, long time and had been multiple places. So I, I don't think we're going to see Adam Gase But I could you see Matt Nagy just. It feels like this is not going that well potentially. If I was going to bet, is it going to be successful or fail? I would just bet fail. My favorite football podcast. If the Eagles lose this weekend, do you think Howie would swoop into the Ben Johnson sweepstakes? I'd love to see the Eagles have an offensive mind, start steering the ship. We let Shane Tsyken get away. Would love to see this. This was this morning, which clearly isn't going to happen. I think the moment they won that Packer game and we're just in the second round and he won another playoff game. Sirianni was coming back. Sirianni was coming back. Assume I want to see what happens with Kellen Moore. There was a report out today that Schottenheimer might get the Cowboys job, which to me feels a little crazy. But trying to keep track of what Jerry's going to do is like, what a waste of energy. So maybe Kellen, maybe he's trying to do that to mess with Kellen Moore. Kellen Moore is asking for too much. But I think in a perfect world, if you're Howie, you just bring back this entire team and both your coordinators, you're feeling pretty. Good question for the mailbag. Big fan, big Eagles guy from California. I understand Mahomes and Allen play a different sport than Jalen. There's no disputing that. But after this divisional round, they all had pretty much the same stat line. Yet Jalen gets criticized for not being able to throw, and the other two are praised for winning. Why do you think the media shifts in the way that these quarterbacks are discussed? Thank you. Well, I would say that their history as throwers is just a little bit longer. I mean, Mahomes could have a game where they win throws for 70 yards. Like. Like once you rattle off three Super Bowls, you've won a couple MVPs. Like, we've seen it. He doesn't have to prove anything anymore. Like, he's not in the prove it mode. He's in the win it mode. Start stacking up chips. Josh Allen is a pretty long resume of throwing a lot of touchdowns and being a dynamic thrower of the ball. So on an individual game basis, we're not going to ebb and flow with a take, you know, Josh Allen, I don't know, ran for multiple touchdowns and played awesome football in a game where his team, let's face it, probably isn't as talented as the Ravens. So, like, I'm just judging it differently. When you watch Jalen, I give everyone in that game a little bit of a pass because of the conditions. But I think big picture, we have to question, like Jalen is not the thrower of these guys. And I don't mean like when he's scrambling around and throws the ball down the field like he can throw the ball. I just mean as a consistent passer within the pocket. I think we have to acknowledge it's not really his game. Luckily he's on a team that's so fucking stacked it doesn't matter all the time. Love an intern. Jackson, the fact that he pestered you on the golf course and you gave him a shot. I. He had. I think he had picked my brain. I had picked his brain. He got. We had done some golf videos. My guy named Luis, who's camera guy, who he had. I had asked Jackson for some advice. People he knew that are kind of in that world because Jackson's. Follow him on Instagram. Jackson's hustling. And so he pointed me in a direction. He was just. He just came up to me. I was hitting some golf balls and I realized the guy was passionate. You could feel it. And hell, I was. I was once that guy. Just a lot of passion. This is a good question. Question. When you lost your hair, did you go through any period of grief or such as being anxious about it? How old were you when you committed to shaving it? Watching your content and hearing you discuss it in a matter of fact way really helped me get over losing my hair to join the bald brotherhood. I think for most men that are having some follicle challenges at any point in our life. I started losing my hair in college. I remember being at Cal Poly, not listening in class, probably reading the newspaper. The. The Cal Poly newspaper. Not like a newspaper. I don't even know if those exist on campuses anymore. And just looking down and seeing hair fall out. And I came from a family of bald men, so. And I think it comes from your mother's side. Well, her dad was bald and everyone on her side was basically bald. My cousins were bald. I knew I was in trouble. So yeah, I mean, I was insecure, anxious. You could use any way to describe it. For years, you hold on and then you just get to a point where it's like, what are we doing? And you just shave it. And you know, I think the thing you're most insecure about any young person listening to this that's kind of going through that, which I imagine is a decent amount, is you're like Especially if you're single, like, can I still get laid? Like, are girls gonna want to go out with me? Like that's probably your biggest insecurity. And just, am I going to look funny? Because like when I was in junior high and in high school, I had a buzzed head a lot of the time. I felt like. But you don't even, it's not even crossing your mind like how I look with this or without that. And then you get a little older, you grow your hair out a little bit and it just becomes, then you get, you know, in the professional world and you put some gel in there and all of a sudden it just starts going away. So you just, you don't really have a choice. Sometimes I mess with Maria, I act like I'm gonna get, go to Turkey and get the plugs. I've, I mean it feels like all the rage right now. Everyone flying over there getting plugs for like four or five thousand dollars. Really? And really, if you do it with them, I think they take care of you. I've heard it's very intriguing. But then I think, well, then I'll just be another guy with hair. So the bald's in right now. Especially in the podcast world, the number one podcaster is bald guy, obviously the rock. So I'm just, I'm just going to ride the bald wave. I, I shaved it with like a buzz basically, like a, like a zero probably for a couple years before I took, I took like the Mach 3 or 5 razor to it, which is now I do just shaved it today actually. Question for the bag. 26 year old dairy farmer from Wisconsin. Do you think there are a lot of NFL front offices that rather than playing for championships, are trying to play it safe and just be competitive to keep their jobs? Seems like big swings can win you a Super bowl or get you fired if they don't work out. I think there are a lot of guys who hesitate to put their nuts on the table and take a big swing because they are worried about losing their job. Yes. And they would rather just be a competitive 8, 9, 10 ish win team, compete for a wild card. They never have the upside of being a dominant, dominant team because if it backfires, it could be a disaster. And that's, I would say, making big trades. I mean, I mean, look, when McVeigh got to the Rams, they started taking big ass swings. They started swinging for the fences and it took a while for it to work, but it eventually did. Andy Reid's been taking big swings since he got the Eagles job. I mean, you go look back to Terrell Owens and he's never been afraid of that. And are they all going to work out? Of course not. But you cannot be afraid to mix it up. And that means that goes both ways. Trade for a player or trade a player away. And I think the younger and younger the GMs get, I do think the more inclined they are. One, the money's pretty big right now. So if I become a GM and I sign a four year contract at $4 million a year, you know, after taxes or whatever, I got three or four million dollars for sure in the bank. And obviously I, I, I've been an assistant gm. I'm a gm, I'm making a lot of money. So, like, even if I do get fired, I'm going to be okay. And my family's going to be okay. They can, my kids can still go to private school, we had a nice house, we're going to be okay. But if I make a swing and this works, I'm going to get it took balls. It's probably easier for Andy than it was for Veach, but I think Veech has been around Andy so long, when they traded Tyreek Hill, it's like, damn, man, this is, that's pretty ballsy. And it's the best thing that they've done, I would say, minus Patrick Mahomes of the run. And Feach was, you know, making seven figures at the time. But now he's going to make a lot of money. Contract extensions, huge raises because of what happened these last two years into now. So, I mean, look at Howie. I mean, people, whenever the Eagles go through tough times, you know, the finger gets pointed at him. Rightfully so. But look at how good he is. Like, anyone could add Saquon Barkley for like 30. It's like, okay, he wanted to go to the Eagles, true, but they were offering him $27 million guarantee. Someone could offer them 38, 40. Anyone in the top eight could have drafted Jalen Carter, Zach Bond. All these defensive coordinators watched him as a free agent. They could have been like, you know what, we should move in positions. Gotta have balls. I think once you're making a lot of money. I always do this in gambling, you know, like, If I have $100 bet and it's parlayed and it's gonna pay me like five grand, I always let it ride for the most part because I'm like, well, the high of watching this event is worth it for me. On losing $100, I'm basically paying $100 for the entertainment. And every once in a while they hit. It's an incredible feeling. But If I bet 10 grand and I have the chance and it's getting weird and I have the chance to cash out mid game just to get my money back. Sometimes I do that because, like, I don't want to lose. Not like I bet ten grand on games. Let's say biggest bets I usually make are like up to five grand. I bet $4,000 on Penn State. That sucked. But I should have cashed out there at one point in time when they were up. But I was like, I thought they were going to win. And then it backfired and I was furious for like 48 hours. I mean, that's lost a decent amount of money. I mean, I'm not just throwing around four grand on Penn State. I'm still pissed at them. Luckily I battled back this weekend and got about half of that back. But I think part of it is when you take a risk like what is on the line and forever, like losing this job. In the 90s, GMs weren't multi millionaires. So I was like, I want to keep this job for a long time. But you become a multimillionaire, it kind of changes. You got something to fall back on, so you might as well. I don't want to say go for broke because you don't want to make bad decisions. You don't want to be an idiot. But you also, like, what's the whole point of this? Try to win. Like, that's why everyone gets into this business, to try to win games or Super Bowls, right? Like, Borgazi leaves the Chiefs to go to the Titans. Probably a lot easier for him to make that move. It's like, well, he's got a bunch of rings. I mean, the guy's been to a lot of Super Bowls, won three rings. So even if he's got to pack up his office and leave before this season ends, it's easier to do it. When you've won three Super Bowls in the last five years. If you hadn't won one, you're like, well, I'm making a lot of money being Veach's number two. Is this the right job? You're like, well, I've already won three Super Bowls. We've been to another one. Like, is a fourth one really going to change my life? I'm making. Let's just pick a number. $900,000 is the number two. The Titans are offering me a five year contract at three and a half $4 million a year that's going to change my life. I get to. It's not like I got to go to some shitty city. I get to go to Nashville as a Super bowl champ and run the organization. So I think everything is based on timing. And if you're him, like, you've already won, you've made a lot of money now, you might as well. You don't have to do it right away, but over the course of like 24 months, you should have an idea. If something pops up that I think can be a game changer, I'm going to think long and hard about pulling the trigger.
Bobby Bones
The Indicator is a podcast where daily economic news is about what matters to you. And we're guessing most days that's money.
Adnan Burke
Workers have been feeling the sting of inflation.
Bobby Bones
So as a new administration promises action on the cost of living, taxes and home prices, the S&P 500 diggers to post Election Day spike ever follow all the big changes and what they mean for you.
Adnan Burke
Make America affordable again.
Bobby Bones
Listen to the Indicator from NPR on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get podcasts.
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is back in the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. The Daily show podcast has everything you need to stay on top of today's news and pop culture. You get hilarious satirical takes on entertainment, politics, sports and more from John and the team of correspondents and contributors. The podcast also has content you can't get anywhere else, like extended interviews and a roundup of the weekly headlines. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Bobby Bones
Hey, it's Bobby Bones. Join me and former NFL quarterback Matt Castle every Wednesday for our new podcast, Lots to say With Bobby Bones and Matt Castle. Between us, we have over 17,500 passing yards, multiple New York Times bestsellers, and one mirror ball trophy from Dancing with the Star. So where else you can find a show with that much athleticism and football insight? Based in Nashville, we're more more than just your basic NFL show. We talk sports, but we talk pop culture and music and a little bit of everything because we got lots to say. I I texted you and you texted me back. Now I don't know if you have the update, but like all the little thumbs up and heart and stuff, like it's all colored. They changed it and the the heart's a little pink. It felt like I told you I loved you. I'M gonna be honest, it was a little pink.
Adnan Burke
There was something sentimental when you, like when you send it. It was like, do I send the. The heart now?
Bobby Bones
I don't like the color edition.
Adnan Burke
It's extremely pink.
Bobby Bones
Listen to Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Katie Couric
Hey everyone, it's Katie Couric. Well, the election is in the home stretch and I'm exhausted, but turns out the end is near, right in time for a new season of my podcast. Next Question. This podcast is for people like me who need a little perspective and insight. I'm bringing in some foks friends of Katie's to help me out, like Ezra Klein, Van Jones, Jen Psaki, Asted Herndon. But we're also going to have some fun, even though these days fun and politics seems like an oxymoron. But we'll do that thanks to some of my friends like Samantha bee, Roy Wood Jr. And Charlamagne tha God. We're going to take some viewer questions as well. I mean, isn't that what democracy is all about? Power to the podcast for the people. So whether you're obsessed with the news or just trying to figure out what's going on, this season of Next Question is for you. Check out our new season of Next Question with me, Katie Couric, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
Adnan Burke
Very sad. Ravens fan. I agree with your take with Colin that Lamar played well. I think my take was he played better than he has in the past, right? In the past. He was atrocious. He was not. He was good in the second half. I mean, he was good on that final drive. He looked much more like himself at points yesterday than he has in previous games. But the turnovers were killer. You said it. With another coaching loss. So my question is, do the Ravens move on from Harbaugh and try to get a fresh voice in the locker room? I'm thinking about how the Eagles won after getting rid of Andy and if it would help. If not, what can the Ravens do to get over the hump? Thanks for the quality content. Yeah, I really thought yesterday was they had a little success on that first drive throwing, and I actually think that ended up being their demise because they stuck with the pass so much throughout the game where it's like, guys, hand the ball to 22, have Lamar keep it. Do the. Do the game plan that you just did against the Steelers, try to run it 50 times for 400 yards and win the game, even if the score is not as high. Win the game 24 to 20. But it was like, no, we got a pass, we got a pass and what happened? He made a killer mistake on throwing the pick. Now they ended up not getting points out of that pick, if memory serves me correct. But still, that ruined the possession and obviously the fumble. I watched Lamar after the game, who was obviously, I don't want to say, I would say Dan Campbell was distraught. I would describe Lamar as being pissed off and rightfully so. I mean, he knows what was on the line and he was really mad at himself and he took accountability and ownership. On the interception, he called it awful. Didn't look off the safety and throw it right to him. And he said on the fumble, he's like, it was an rpo. So I couldn't throw it because our linemen were downfield and I just tried to make a play and the ball slipped out of my hands. But that play slipping out of his hands, Von Miller picks it up. That did lead to a touchdown and it went to 14 to 7, which was a deciding moment in the game. So when I see these people arguing, defending Lamar, whatever, he was better than he has been in the past. But in that moment, this is where the coaching thing, why wouldn't you have just ran it nonstop? How about the two 2 point conversions? I saw Jon Gruden on a clip talking about like, listen in the, in the freezing cold, in that moment, the guy's exhausted. Obviously he should catch the ball. He's paid 14, 15 million dollars when he's healthy. Mark Andrews is, I don't know, I mean a top four or five tight end in the NFL definitely has been throughout points of time of his career. He's a really good player, he's a winning player. But like there's a margin for error there. We have seen that player, not specifically that player, but in that situation, falling back, dropped the ball, it's cold, it's harder to grip. How would they not run it twice with Derek Henry, who looks like he's in the prime of his career in this game. He was awesome in this game. It was like, keep handing him the ball. He's bigger than their defenders and he looked fast to me. The first two pointer where Milano tipped the ball and they didn't. That was crazy. They literally scored by just rushing it right down the field. And then they get to the two point, they call pass. It's like, well, the guy was open. Yeah, he didn't complete it. Because the ball was tipped. Hand the fucking ball off. I don't think John Harbaugh is going to get fired. I think John Harbaugh is good, but I think offensively I. What I don't understand about John Harbaugh, if that was Jim, they would have ran the ball 40 times and they would have won an ugly game. I don't know, understand like what's going on. Just run the ball. You just did it against Pittsburgh, your bitter rival, and you just bludgeon them to death. Why wouldn't you do that against the Bills? I don't get it. And I do think it gets back to. On that first drive when they score a touchdown with Lamar making some passes are like, oh, he's. He's going to be fine today. It's not about that. Just. Just win the game. That's why the Bills played like that. We're not going to turn the ball over. We're going to get into an ugly game. Once we got the lead, play smart. No picks, no fumbles. Hold on to the rock. I mean, why, why the Rams loose awful turnovers down the stretch? If you were Titans fan, what would you say they should do with the first overall pick in order to maximize their chance of getting back in the playoffs in the next few years? You know their new GM was with the Chiefs during the Patrick Mahomes draft time, right? He was there when they drafted Patrick. So he knows about the conviction in that office when it came to that player. Brian Callahan was in Cincinnati when they drafted Joe Burrow number one overall. So both these guys have seen quarterbacks change the lives of everyone around them. Brian Callahan is the head coach of the Tennessee Titans because of Joe Burrow. Mike Borgozzi is the general manager of the Tennessee Titans because of Patrick Mahomes. Obviously there are other variables there, but they'd be the first to tell you that Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes are the most important players in the history of their career as coaches. So as the number one pick, if you don't have 100% conviction to take Cam Ward, I would not do it. I would not do. If there are questions, I'm not risking it. Because for as awesome as Burrow and Mahomes and some of the. We have seen other guys destroy people's career and literally derail it. So I would have no problem. I don't care what the media says. I would just sell my owner on this. We don't like this guy enough. If we don't and if you do draft him. But to me that is the number one conversation. Do we take this guy number one overall? I don't think you could take Shadow or Sanders number one overall and I don't think he would go one overall. I think he's, I think when the dust settles he'll end up going somewhere between like 3 to 10. I think a lot of people struggle with guys like him who physically like, he's not Jaden Lamar athlete by any means. Hell, he's not even Bo Nix is an athlete and his arm is like, okay, it's like Jared Goff and again I'm a Shador fan. He's a good player. But when you take guys like that number one overall, it's, it's pretty risky. I'm much more inclined to take the trades guy number one overall. But again like I gotta like the guy. I had a scout text me the other day like I couldn't take Cam Ward in the top 15. So all these players, they're going to be people with second round grades on these guys. There were people last year with Penix and Bo Nicks that thought they were second rounders. So like you got to be cool if you also pass on them that like Cam Ward is going to go to another team and he could be awesome. So it's like, do you have enough conviction to do that and live with it? Hella 49ers and the Bears passed on Patrick Mahomes. How'd that work out? Not good. So I, I would, I would spend the majority of my energy over these next month of evaluating Cam Ward. I bet Borghazzi has watched him, but nowhere near like they were never going to draft him in Kansas City. So it's like, yeah, I've seen him on some cross tapes, maybe I wrote him up, but did I really study him? I'm talking about really studying. It's like Adam Peters last year when he went to Washington, I think he said during his introduction press conference like, yeah, I just, I need to really watch these quarterbacks because he hadn't watched them in San Francisco to the level in which you have to watch them. And then at the end of the day he made a decision. And that's the hard part about this year. It's like Jaden Daniels, Drake May, Caleb Williams, they all would go higher than these guys. With Washington going for the NFC title after revamping their entire franchise, top down, we now see how important the big four of football are. The owner, the gm, the head coach and the quarterback are all four pillars of football. And if you could pick your current fantasy big four, who would it be? Interested? Well, there's just not a better one right now than the Chiefs. I don't even think that's arguable. You know, for 20 years it was Robert Kraft, it was Bill Belichick, coach and GM and Tom Brady in right now, I think it's clearly Clark Hunt who I don't even know what he's necessarily doing, but it's. If the owner is just solid, he's not like he's not really influencing football, he can ruin football, but he can just be solid and stay out of the way. And that's what I think Clark does. A lot of the time, you know, it's Andy Mahomes of each. Is it even close? I think the Bill's really been underrated. I really do. With McDermott, Josh and Brandon Bean, like they've done a really, really good job. They really have. I mean they have been. This is their what, third AFC championship or second in 2020. They lost to the Chiefs in the AFC championship game in 2021. That's. They lost the 13 second game in the AFC divisional round last year. Obviously they lost in the divisional round. So this is the second time they have played the Chiefs four times in the playoffs since 2020. I said it to Colin, I'll say it again, like this is the new rivalry. Bills, Chiefs. Now it's been one sided. Can the Bills finally win? If you believe that you can get the Bills as an underdog. I've been telling my buddies to start listening to you. I like you, Steve. Question why did you ever get into scouting in the NFL? Seems like a well paying profession and would you ever go back to it? Just surprised because you seem really knowledgeable regarding NFL players. It's actually not a great paying job. It is once you start working your way up. You know, my buddies now that are in their mid-30s or early-40s are making good livings. But when you first get into scouting, you are not making much money. You know, I, when I first got hired with the Eagles, I made $25,000. My second year pro scouting I made 45. My third year I made 50 and you know, I was 27, 28, 29. My friends just in private sector, in sales, working in tech. I mean we're making hundreds of thousands of dollars at the same age. I mean it wasn't even, I, I was by far the poorest guy I knew of all the people I went to college with. Wasn't even close. So you make a Lot of money. Once you get to a certain level, like once you become the college scouting director, once you become the number two like an assistant GM, you make 7, $800,000. But I think the average scout, like just a college scout, I bet the average is low six figures, which again is not a bad living. But this is not a 9 to 5 job. So if I'm paying you $110,000 and you're 37 years old and you have a wife and a kid, it's not like you're home a lot. You're working non, you're working 70, 80, 90 hour weeks. You're going to games on the weekend all the time. Like it is a fucking grind. Even if you're making, let's say you're a longer tenured guy and you're making 150, 200 grand like relative to the time, like you are spending a lot of time, and I mean a ton of time, six, seven months of, of the year, I mean you're having 90100 hour weeks also gone. You know, part of that is you're driving or flying or traveling. Like it's, I bet most professions given, like working for these billion dollar corporations, given the time, if you work, if you did the same thing at Goldman Sachs or did the same thing at Tesla or whatever, you would be making 4x what you make working in football up until you get to a certain level. And even then like once you become the college director, okay, now you're making 400, $500,000, you are still working insane hours. That's the thing like coaches, it's like, okay, yeah, you work crazy hours. The quarterback coach is making 950 grand. The offensive coordinator is making two and a half, $3 million. You know, it's, it's the defensive coordinator, like Vic Fangios, okay, works 80 hours a week. He's making $5 million. Sirianni People question what he's doing. He's probably making seven and a half, eight. Kevin O'Connell's mad because he's making seven and a half, wants to make 14. You make a lot of money in coaching. Coaches make dramatically more than scouts. And I would say scouts don't work as much hour wise during the season because coaches hours are insane. But like if you're out of the playoffs right now, you're on vacation, like you get several weeks off. Scouts work January, work February, work March, work April, okay, they work. So they work basically double the amount in terms of months. Just standing up for my people. It's a Hard job. It really is. And then the other thing is, like, if you're a good coach, right, if you're a quarterback coach and you're making 750 grand and you're 32 years old and your quarterback starts balling, everyone starts interviewing you to become an offensive coordinator. But if you're like the SEC scout for your team like you do the south and you're awesome, like, you're like nine out of 10, like, you're a stud, like, you're like, you know what you're doing. Who, beside people on your team know? No one outside, like, on other teams know. So unless your agents kind of gassing you up or, you know, some people in the media, no one knows how good you are. It's a weird profession. But, no, I'm not going back. Well, like, doing this, this. This was my calling. And I just got into it randomly because I got, you know, I played high school football. I just loved it. I mean, I was terrible, but I just. Being with your friends, the sport, the practices, it was just. There was something special about it. And I love football well before I ever started playing it as a young kid. And then you go to college and you realize you've been playing sports your whole life and you kind of have this void. And I just kind of got back involved with the athletic department at Cal Poly, and I kind of got involved with the football program and just kind of, I would say, organically took off from there. Why are there only three teams running the Tush Push? The play is almost unstoppable. And now the Ravens have shown it can be run with a tight end under center to eliminate the injury risk to the quarterback. Well, okay, let's. Let's take the Chiefs because I guess you're saying that the Washington commanders do it with Mariota. The Eagles do it obviously with Jalen. The Ravens do it with Mark Andrews. The Bills, I would say, do variations of it with Josh. I think the Chiefs. Mahomes has gotten injured on the quarterback sneak before. And I'm sorry, like, I. I'd rather punt than have Mahomes get hurt. Who would do that for them? If you remove Mahomes, it's not really Kelsey's thing, you know, I mean, Kelsey's. Mark Andrews is just different body type, especially at this point in time. Could you have, like, Kareem Hunt do it? He's never done anything. I just don't know who on the Chiefs would do it. Could you just have. Could Chris Jones take the snap? Current graduate student from intern Jackson's alma mater, the University of Montana. Go Griz. I'm a lifelong Cowboy fan and as my dad grew up and filled my head with the stories of the good old days from the 90s, my whole life they've been mediocre. My question for the pot is this. Realistically, what are the incentives that Jerry and the Cowboys ownership has to get back into super bowl contender contention? He has brilliantly positioned them as being this relevant in the media world and always with the increased TV money, he is just printing cash. No matter who our next coach is, I seriously doubt Jerry's desire to bring us back in the Super bowl contention. P.S. tips for navigating waste management during the weekend Coming down with some buddies and we'll be on the course Saturday. Probably going to skip the 16th hole as we don't want to wake up at 4am but any tips? What holes to camp out at or the nightlife after the sun goes down. Something we can do best. I used to would have said the front nine, but I would say one thing. Over the last couple years, I feel like even if I'm just not even there and turn on the television in the morning, the front nine is packed. But I would say 9, 8, 7, 6. If you're able to get some passes into some cool situations. I mean it's hard to beat 17 and 18. That's it's already up right now it's like a, it's like one gigantic bar. But if you don't, you just have general admission. I think the front nine go like hole nine backwards. I think is tough to beat. 12 probably underrated par three and you can see them coming in on 11. Hitting into that green as well is cool. Hopefully the weather, it's not as, it's not as cold this year. I would say I think Jerry, like Jerry definitely wants to win a Super Bowl. I think every human being would agree that if you said hey Jerry, do you want to win a Super Bowl? When he says yes, he's not lying. So I take Jerry at face value of he wants to win a Super bowl, but he wants to it his way. Like look, look at who they're interviewing. Leslie Frazier, Brian Schottenheimer. What is this real life Robert Sala. What are we doing here? That's Jerry. He's going to do it his way and it doesn't work at the highest level. Like they've had successful seasons. Like you said, they're a well run business, they're a well run entertainment entity. But when it comes to will he do absolutely anything he can to win a Super Bowl? No, he won't. And I think if you're a Cowboy fan, you almost just got to write it out. You just got to write out this Jerry Dak era, which I think probably already peaked. I mean, do they have 12 games in them this upcoming season? I would say probably not. I think the big question mark this off season is would they trade Micah Parsons and would that be the right move to trade Micah Parsons for a couple first round picks? Like, would you trade him to the Detroit Lions for their two ones? Who knows? Maybe not. Would you trade him to an AFC team? Would you trade them to. I don't know. You pick a team that would be interested. I think you'd have to think long and hard about it. I actually think he makes some sense for, like, the Washington commanders, but I. I don't think if you're Jerry, you trade him there. He makes a lot of sense for the commanders, actually, but I just don't think you can do that. So I. I think you're kind of stuck in this mold of. Kind of is what it is. And there's a circus element to your team that years like this feel bigger than the actual team, which kind of sucks. But that's. That's kind of Jerry's M.O. it's like he's. It's almost like he's Martin Scorsese or Steven Spielberg, right? Like, he likes directing the show more than he cares about. Like, at the end of the day, what happens to the movie? He likes being in there, pulling some strings, making sure the picture looks like he wants to look like the picture, whether that's going to be a good movie or a bad movie. He just wants it to be an entertaining movie. And he will never give up that director's chair. He's never given up the GM spot. He's never going to be an absentee owner at this point in time. I remember when they first were on Hard Knocks. I think the Ravens were the first ever team on Hard Knocks and maybe the Cowboys were the second. And Jerry gave up a speech at the beginning of training camp that was essentially like, I could be anywhere in the world right now, but I choose to be here with you. I. I think that sums up Jerry very well. He likes telling you, like, I don't need to do this. It's a gap, Jerry. But you are doing it. Yes. You could be in Milan, you could be in Australia, you could be fucking wherever the hell you want to be, but you're always going to be by the Cowboys because that is at this point in time and up until you die. The identity of Jerry Jones and not just like, I'm the owner of the Cowboys. I control the Cowboys. When we make a signing, when we make a trade, when we make a coach hire is what I want to do. What happened to the reports early on when they fired McCarthy? Jerry's kind of going solo. He's just calling people. Can you just see Jerry in his office with like Stephen going, dad, let's just, can we just do something normal here? But anyone who's been around, I've never been around a billionaire 80 year old, but I've been around some successful older people, they usually get more stubborn. They don't usually lighten up and give in. It usually gets worse. If they're that hands on and it's, I think we have some examples in recent NFL history, it could get a lot uglier like that. Potential for that to happen is 100% on the table.
Bobby Bones
The volume.
Adnan Burke
Consider this is a daily news podcast and lately the news is about a big question. How much can one guy change? They want change. What will change look like for energy? Drill baby, drill school. Take the department Education. Jason, close it. Health care better and less expensive. Follow coverage of a changing country. Promises made, promises kept. We're going to keep our promises on. Consider this from NPR. Listen on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is back in the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. Join late night legend Jon Stewart and the Boy Best news team for today's biggest headlines, exclusive extended interviews and more. Now, this is the second term we can all get behind. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts.
Adnan Burke
What's up, everybody? Adnan Burke here to tell you about a new podcast. It's NHL Unscripted with Virk and Demers. Jason Demers here. And after playing 700 NHL games, I got a lot of dirty laundry to air out. Hey, I got a lot to say here too, okay? Each week we'll get together to chat about the sport that we love. Tons of guests are gonna join in too. But we're not just gonna be talking hockey, folks. We're talking movies, we're talking TV food and Adnan's favorite wrestling. It's all on le table. Listen to NHL Unscripted with Virkin. Demers in the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Katie Couric
Hey, everyone, it's Katie Couric. Well, the election is in the home stretch, right in time for a new my podcast, Next Question. I'm bringing in some foks friends of Katie's to help me out, like Ezra Klein, Jen Psaki, Asted Herndon. But we're also going to have some fun thanks to some of my friends like Samantha Bee and Charlemagne the God. We're going to take some viewer questions as well. I mean, isn't that what democracy is all about? Check out our new season of Next Question with me, Katie Couric, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Episode: 3 & Out - Ben Johnson Goes to Chicago, Why Did the Raiders Miss Out, Has Jerry Gone Rogue
Release Date: January 21, 2025
Host: Adnan Burke
Provider: iHeartPodcasts and The Volume
In this episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd, host Adnan Burke delves into the recent significant developments in the NFL, with a particular focus on Ben Johnson's appointment as the new head coach of the Chicago Bears. Burke provides an in-depth analysis of what this hiring means for the Bears, comparisons to other coaching changes in the league, and the broader implications for the team's future.
Timestamp: [02:20]
Adnan Burke begins by announcing the Chicago Bears' hiring of Ben Johnson as their new head coach. He expresses skepticism about the timing and implications of this move for Bears fans, considering the team's tumultuous recent history.
"There's no way it's a great day if you're a Bears fan for what's been a rough time... we'll dive into the good, the bad, the ugly when it comes to Ben Johnson."
— Adnan Burke [02:20]
Burke discusses the immediate impact of Johnson's hiring, including the potential pressure on him and the General Manager, Ryan Poles, both of whom are relatively young and inexperienced in their respective roles.
"Ben Johnson is going to get a lot of credit if things go well, but if they don't, it's not going to be his fault if Caleb is not performing."
— Adnan Burke [14:30]
Timestamp: [05:45]
Burke analyzes the strategic advantages Johnson brings to the Bears, given his familiarity with the NFC North division and his previous experience as an offensive coordinator. He contrasts Johnson's situation with other coaches who have faced immediate high expectations upon their hiring.
"He's been game planning against the Bears defense, which now is his defense... his comfort level with the personnel in these six games honestly couldn't be higher."
— Adnan Burke [05:45]
He emphasizes the challenges ahead, particularly focusing on the Bears' quarterback situation with Caleb Williams—a promising but unproven talent whose success is now closely tied to Johnson's leadership.
"Caleb is now in a partnership with Ben Johnson. If Caleb is good, Ben gets a lot of credit."
— Adnan Burke [14:50]
Timestamp: [09:15]
Burke draws parallels between Johnson's hiring and other notable coaching changes in the NFL, such as Sean McVay's tenure with the Los Angeles Rams and Josh McDaniels' challenges with the Las Vegas Raiders. He discusses the high stakes involved in transitioning from a coordinator role to a head coach position.
"Sean McVay is an outlier. The best case scenario is he's more Kyle... but we don't see Adam Gase 2.0 with Ben Johnson."
— Adnan Burke [09:15]
Timestamp: [12:40]
The discussion shifts to the expectations placed on Johnson and Poles. Burke outlines the high expectations for the Bears to perform well in their division, leveraging their improved roster and draft picks. He also touches upon the broader NFL landscape, where teams like the Eagles, Chiefs, and Bills are setting competitive standards.
"The expectations are going to be really, really high. We have a better roster than the Commanders... Can we compete for a wild card spot? That is a successful first season."
— Adnan Burke [12:40]
Timestamp: [23:50]
Burke compares Caleb Williams' performance to other prominent quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Josh Allen, and Jalen Hurts. He critiques media perceptions of Williams' abilities, arguing that while Williams shows promise, consistency remains a concern.
"Jalen gets criticized for not being able to throw, and the other two are praised for winning. Why do you think the media shifts in the way that these quarterbacks are discussed?"
— Adnan Burke [23:50]
He attributes the disparity in media treatment to the established reputations of quarterbacks like Brady and Allen, who have longer track records of success.
Timestamp: [18:30]
Looking ahead, Burke speculates on the potential trajectories for the Bears under Johnson's leadership. He discusses the importance of team chemistry, the integration of new coaching strategies, and the pivotal role of Caleb Williams in the team's success.
"If Caleb is good, Ben is going to be a 50-50 shareholder in this operation. It's like Sean McVay with Jared Goff and the Rams."
— Adnan Burke [18:30]
Burke emphasizes that the Bears' fortunes are now closely tied to the synergy between Williams and Johnson, and how effectively they can navigate the pressures of the NFL.
Timestamp: [28:10]
The latter part of the episode features Burke addressing questions from listeners. Topics include the effectiveness of Ben Johnson compared to past coaches, the media's role in shaping quarterback narratives, and the broader dynamics within NFL front offices concerning risk-taking and team-building strategies.
"I would just bet fail. My favorite football podcast. If the Eagles lose this weekend, do you think Howie would swoop into the Ben Johnson sweepstakes?"
— Adnan Burke [28:10]
Burke provides candid opinions on coaching effectiveness, organizational pressures, and the intricate balance between making bold moves and maintaining stability within NFL teams.
Adnan Burke wraps up the episode by reiterating the significance of Ben Johnson's hiring and the potential it holds for revamping the Chicago Bears. He underscores the delicate interplay between coaching, player performance, and organizational expectations that will define the Bears' journey in the upcoming season.
Notable Quotes:
"There's no way it's a great day if you're a Bears fan for what's been a rough time... we'll dive into the good, the bad, the ugly when it comes to Ben Johnson."
— Adnan Burke [02:20]
"Caleb is now in a partnership with Ben Johnson. If Caleb is good, Ben gets a lot of credit."
— Adnan Burke [14:50]
"The expectations are going to be really, really high. We have a better roster than the Commanders... Can we compete for a wild card spot? That is a successful first season."
— Adnan Burke [12:40]
"Jalen gets criticized for not being able to throw, and the other two are praised for winning. Why do you think the media shifts in the way that these quarterbacks are discussed?"
— Adnan Burke [23:50]
"If Caleb is good, Ben is going to be a 50-50 shareholder in this operation. It's like Sean McVay with Jared Goff and the Rams."
— Adnan Burke [18:30]
"I would just bet fail. My favorite football podcast. If the Eagles lose this weekend, do you think Howie would swoop into the Ben Johnson sweepstakes?"
— Adnan Burke [28:10]
This episode offers a comprehensive analysis of the Chicago Bears' latest coaching change, situating it within the broader context of NFL dynamics and offering listeners insightful commentary on what to expect in the season ahead.