← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
3 & Out - John Harbaugh FIRED in Baltimore, Kliff Kingsbury OUT in Washington, Cowboys make a change
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This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human the volume. What is going on, everybody? John Middelkoff three and out podcast brought to you by my friends at Zone Pouches. Well, I recorded a podcast early afternoon, and then I was, as I was headed with my wife to this baby checkup appointment, I got forwarded a bunch of tweets that John Harbaugh had been fired. So I went to the appointment, came back, rerecorded the open, and reacted to the John Harbaugh situation because, let's face it, the biggest story of the day. And even though we had been talking about it and alluding to it a little on the podcast, a lot of you guys, DMs, it's still wild. When you actually read that he got fired. It was wow. So we'll dive into just my quick reaction to it as well as some other stuff that happened today. Eber flu's fired, Kingsbury fired. We will talk some college football. Some I saw on the Internet. Just like this place really is insane right now as well. Something I wanted to start doing like once a week. As someone who's about to have a child, I'm just gonna see a lot of things, observe a lot of things, have a lot of takes. So I thought, you know, let's, let's mix in the dad Diaries, and we're gonna try to do that with just, who knows, it'll change week to week. But I, I wanted to dabble today as well as a little mailbag at johnmittlecoffonmiddlekoff is the Instagram fire in those DMS and get your questions answered on the show. So make sure you subscribe to the podcast. If you listen on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel. I just got a text message. We got a Netflix marketing meeting later this week. So as I get information, I'll give it to you. We'll be live Friday. We'll be live Thursday, Saturday, Sunday. Obviously, college football, the NFL, we got, we got a lot of games coming and we'll be reacting to it, recording podcasts on the YouTube than we obviously do here on the audio. But let's, I guess, let's just dive into John Arbaugh. I mean, my first reaction, even though we had talked about it a little bit and it was on the table as a possibility, and I, I think I had said on Sunday night when they lost the game, which, I mean, they're a couple feet away from winning the game. Maybe not a couple feet, couple yards. It was bad kick, obviously. John Harbaugh would have been coaching this week, been there 18 years. There's no other reaction. When you actually see it, then, wow, right? Mike Tomlin or John Harbaugh, the two longest tenured coaches in the league. If one of them lose their job. We've been talking about Tomlin for years, but we never believe it's actually going to happen. Even John Harbaugh. I didn't expect John Harbaugh to get fired. So it's one of those things like, Jonathan Gannon got fired. No shit. Stefanski got run out of town. Saw that one coming. Pete Carroll, one and done. Seriously, they could have done that three months ago. This one is pretty crazy. I mean, it really is. He's a couple years removed. They had the number one overall seed. They were hosting the Chiefs in the AFC championship. They were statistically easily the best team in the league. The Chiefs ended up beating the Niners. They had played the Niners on Christmas and housed them. They were favored in that game. I know because I bet on them, which cost me five GS, which did suck a lot. But I had so much faith on that team after watching them on that Christmas night against a really good Niners team. And they treated him like a JV team. Couple years later, he's fired. And these are moments that, you know, firing Stefanski or Jonathan Gannon, like the owners like him, but it's not that big a deal for the organization firing Brian Dabo. He'd been there like three and a half years. Firing guy that had been there 18 years, who you've not only obviously won the Super Bowl a long time ago with, but had been the leader of one of the most consistent operations in the league, is a really, really big deal. So I. I think I speak for most people that I don't know how your first reaction wasn't, wow, they actually did it. And I. I just took some notes of just my initial thoughts. Obviously, there are a lot of rumors coming out that they wanted him to fire the oc and it's one of those, you know, if that's true, Prideful guy, like, I'm not doing that. So not saying it was Lamar versus Harbaugh, but it was a little like, yeah, we want to change for Lamar on offense. And John said, no. Which there's going to be more stories and more inside articles, I would imagine, written over the next week on some of the details with this Lamar situation, John Harbaugh's views on it, the organization's views on the offense. But right now, I. I don't know, I don't have any inside information, but it's clear. It in a roundabout way became Lamar versus the coaching staff's philosophy with offense. And listen, you watch that game offensively, it's just, it's been a little weird. The Derrick Henry thing was weird when he got benched. And the next week he runs for 200 yards. And it's just, it's been bizarre. There's no way around it. And let me say this, I'm not saying, you know, they're not justified in doing this. 18 years, a long time. Maybe it's time for a change. Maybe it's time to mix it up. Is it going to be hard to replace John Harbaugh 100% because more than likely statistics would show you you're going to downgrade. That's the way it works. Now, unlike his brother, they're probably not going to go to Jim Tomsula because the other thing I wrote down. And we'll get into John here in a second. This, this is twofold. He immediately becomes the best coach on the market by a country mile. I mean, it ain't even close. He is the number one candidate and there's not even, there's not even a gap between second. He can't even see the Stefanskis and the Solas and those fucking guys can't even see him with binoculars. The best deer hunting scope, you couldn't even find him. So he is the number one candidate by a mile. Schefter tweeted out seven teams in the first 45 minutes, called his agent. Well, there aren't seven openings. So there are going to be teams that would be firing their coach to hire John Harbaugh, which I've said it for Mike Tomlin forever. Like, those two guys, if they ever became available, run circles around the other candidates. They are immediate hires for all these teams. Hell, John Harbaugh, like, say some of the franchises out loud. Like, John Harbaugh would never coach the Arizona Cardinals. John Harbaugh would never coach the Tennessee Titans. Like, I can't even see John Harbaugh coaching the Atlanta Falcons, though. If I'm Atlanta, I'd be all over him. Like, let's face it, he feels like a New York Giant. And at this point in time, it'd be shocking if he's not the head coach of the New York Giants. And I also think the Baltimore Ravens immediately lap all these clown organizations are the best option by a mile. They're the number one job on the market. And it's not Even close. They have an established quarterback, they have an established culture. They have a consistency of drafting well with Dacosta and Ozzie. They have an owner that is stable and not like a lot of these clowns that have no clue what he's doing. He knows what it looks like. He will stand with you through thick and thin. I mean, 18 years, that's a long freaking time. I saw right now, Andy Reid's the longest tenure or Tomlin technically is right.07, assuming that he keeps his job. But let's, you know, who knows this week? What if they get blown out by the Texans? That Tomlin, and then it goes Andy, and then all of a sudden you're like Kyle and McVeigh. So this is a league that runs through these guys. Like, you know, I run through paper towels and guys like John Harbaugh, they are. They don't come often. And he's going to get a job. I listen, I understand the Rooney rule, and I mean, Mike Tomlin benefited from it because they just interviewed him and loved him and got the job. You should not have to enter. If I'm the Giants and I want to hire John Harbaugh to be my head coach, I've said this forever. There has to be some sort of stipulation, like, if you've won a Super Bowl, I don't need to go through and interview people just to interview people. If I want to hire him, I should be able to hire him yesterday. And I would say this. If I'm Joe Shane, that would be a problem because that would not guarantee your employment. If John Harbaugh has, like, the Ravens guys, one thing they're really good at is producing personnel. People Google Ozzy's tree is basically like the opposite of, you know, Belichick's coaching tree. So you see Joe Ortiz immediately go with John or Jim Harbaugh. He's good at his job, right? He's just. He's just good at his job. So if John's like, hey, I got a guy like, like Jordan, it wouldn't be Joe Ortiz, but someone like that that I want to bring with me. Joe Shane's getting the pink slip and he's done. It happens like that. And like, I, I don't think there should have to be some charade. Like, I, I get it. With most of these coaches, you have to interview like Robert Salas and Matt Naggies. Like, you have to follow the rules, right? But John Harbaugh, there should be no, I want to hire John Harbaugh. I'm Hiring him tomorrow, that should be allowed because if I was the Giants, like I'd want to be hired yesterday. And I think it makes a lot of sense with his personality, with that, that region of the country he's comfortable in. If I was a betting man right now, John Harbaugh would be the next coach in the New York Giants. And to go from the situation they've been in, if that comes to fruition, you should be like, think of the guy pat shermers and McAdoos and the table, the situation, the way that Joe Judge. I mean, give me a break. It would, it would. He's older, though. The Harbaughs feel a little younger. I mean, I think John's like 63 would be a pretty big game changer for the culture of the organization. It would have a Coughlin type vibe. So in the Ravens, I saw Daniel Jeremiah, who obviously works with all these, he works for the Chargers, does their radio play by or analysts with the play by play guy. Matt Money Smith, like Jesse Minter, you know, Mike McDonald, Jesse Minter were creations of the Raven operation. And by all accounts, Jesse Minter is a star. Well, if anyone's gonna know that, it's the Harbaugh family. Now, is it a little weird to replace John? I also think when you read John's statement one, you don't get fired in that statement on that, like Adobe Canva, like they've known this was heading that way potentially. But if, you know, so maybe there's not as much bad blood as there would be for most of us humans if we got fired or relieved of our duties. But I do think that Jesse Minter would be a name that. I'd be stunned if he's not one of their lead candidates and he doesn't end up as the Ravens job. But if I were all these guys that are sniffing around on jobs, that would be the number one job and it wouldn't even be close. Right? That's what's crazy about this situation is the guy you fired immediately the best candidate and your job is immediately the best job. And I think now it comes kind of puts a lot of pressure on this Lamar situation for, you know, because they're judged, the Ravens are judged on the playoffs at this point in time. That's. And that's is a difficult job, right? You get hired, you're expected to not only make the playoffs, but like, can we win a Super bowl now? Can we get back to the Super Bowl? And that's, that's not like you go to the Titans, you win six games, they gave you an extension. You went to the Giants, you went nine and eight back to back years. John Mara buy you a beach house, right? You, you, you go to the Cardinals. If you just beat McVeigh or Kyle once in a while. Jonathan, you know, Michael Bidwell buying you a golf membership here at Silverleaf. So that's not the case with the Ravens. You get hired, you're expected to win. You're expected to win big. And John Harbaugh went to the playoffs a lot, right? And he had some devastating losses. That comes with the territory. I would say none was a bigger pivotal moment in his career than that Chiefs lost at home a couple years ago. You know, I, I think, listen, we can make fun the butterfly effect of the kid missing the kick on Sunday night, which obviously was big. Now, if he refused to fire Munkin, and that was not gonna change, then he was probably getting fired no matter what. Unless he, like, won the Super Bowl. But that moment a couple years ago, he beats the Chiefs in that game. I, I just think they're winning the super bowl and you're looking at a two. Like, he's just, he's kind of untouchable. And this. The back and forth or the. At odds a little bit with the quarterback and the, the scheme and the coaches would have as much juice as him. And he doesn't right now. He simply doesn't. Right. So crazy moment. I mean, one of those stories that. It's just wild when you see it. And Tomlin would be the same thing. It just. Wow, seismic earthquake that just erupts through the NFL. And I think it gets back to the Schefter thing of him tweeting out that you have teams with coaches talking to him. Like, teams with coaches aren't like, can I interview Robert Sala? You know, and that's. I'm not trying to shit on Robert. I like Robert Sall a lot. But he's clearly going to be one of the top candidates this cycle. There are certain coaches. Mike Tomlin is one of those guys too. If they were available. Teams with coaches go, I want to get rid of my guy to hire that guy. And I, I don't even. I would imagine that could be the, the bucks. If I'm, if I'm Jason Light, like, I. Would you rather have John Harbaugh or Todd Bowles? I'm just trying thinking off the cuff, Jerry. Probably not. John's too famous. Who else would be the. The Bengals never would. Who are teams that missed the playoffs? Commanders where does Josh Harris come from? The NBA? What are you always chasing stars, big names of coaches? Look who he's hired at coaches. Doc Rivers, Nick Nurse, you know, champion type guys. He's looking at Dan Quinn. Would you rather have Dan Quinn or John Harbaugh? Would not shock me at all if the Commanders and Tampa Bay Bucks were two teams with teams that reached out. And I'm not Talking about their GMs, I'm talking with the owners. What did, what did the Glazers once upon an end do? Trade for Gruden? Look at Josh Harris, who he's hired as coaches of his NBA team. Look at what they've chased with their NBA team, with players. Look at today, they got rid of their two coordinators. Just see you get the out of here guys. Were the coordinators last year when they were in the NFC Championship game with the least talented roster we've ever seen make it that far. So this league's crazy. And today was truly one of those moments that we don't get enough of that that makes you go wow. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock bet, the official sportsbook partner of the AFC south champion Jacksonville Jaguars. Duvall is going to be jacked up this weekend. You know what I love doing with these standalone playoff games? Same game parlays, baby. Lock in one matchup at a time and stack your picks. Maybe a quarterback throws 250 yards, maybe a running back hits 100. Tight end punches in a touchdown. 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If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help call 1809 with it. Gambling problem. Call 1800. Gambler. Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. Let's dive into the previous recorded part of the podcast, but I did want to start with the Dallas Cowboys, and they fired Matt Eberfluss. Sent out a. A press release that said, we released Matt Eber flu like he's a player. No, no, Jerry, you fired Matt Eberflus. And I, I think this happens a lot in football when coaches don't have much juice. Probably happens in a lot of industries when you have more pull. Whoever you're working for or with let you do what you want to do when you don't have much pull and you don't have much leverage. We just saw it with Pete. Carol, you think Pete Carroll wanted to hire Chip Kelly? No, but Pete Carroll didn't have any leverage, you know, in 2025, so he had to work with him. And I, Brian Schottenheimer, probably had the least amount of leverage in, like, the history of the NFL. So think about this. Matt Eberfluss had worked for the Dallas Cowboys before he went to the Colts and then the Bears, right? Remember Josh McDaniels, when he turned down the job in Indy? Hired Eberfluss before he even got there. So Eberfluss was waiting in his office. He never showed. But I think the thing with Eberfluss is one, he's not very good. I've never seen it. You know, you watch the Hard Knocks. He comes across as no Jews. I don't know, something just off. You know, there's something. And you can overrate Hard Knocks all you want. There is a judgment on, like, oh, I feel this guy's presence. I. I see this right? You. You know, it. Knew it right away. Like, Bill o' Brien's presence, Dan Campbell's presence. You watch Matt Eberfluish, like, what is this? And the irony is he's a Saban guy played for Saban at Kent State. Like, they're. They're pretty close, and he just stinks. But here's the thing about Brian Schottenheimer, while their record isn't great, kind of proved to Jerry, like, I can be a head coach, and I definitely can run the offense because the offense was awesome. I don't know. I didn't even see the final stats. Sunday was such a joke. I mean, Dak Prescott, I guess he probably didn't because Stafford probably bypassed him, but had led the league in yards. Their offense for most of the year was really good. The defense was Atrocious. There is no way of Brian Schadenheimer had his choice. He would have hired Eberfluss. That is your classic. We're telling you who to hire. Happens all across the league when GMs have a lot of juice. When owners don't trust the coach, they force guys on their coaching staff. You know, it's something that it's rarely reported when guys are hired because you don't want to know, like, well, the owner forced me to hire this offensive or defensive coordinator. Definitely wouldn't have been my first hire. But you feel it when a guy's fired. And to me that shows that like Brian Schottenheimer kind of gained a little bit of juice. It's crazy to say because the Cowboys weren't that good, but I do think his offensive prowess and let's face it, handles himself, I thought, pretty well in kind of a weird circumstance to be like, this guy's got to go. And you could tell the way Jerry was talking like two or three weeks ago when one of his postgame press conferences like, yeah, Eber flu's came really highly recommended. It's like, Jerry, he worked for you like you knew him. So I just think sometimes these guys, the NFL, you know, has turned. There's a scam element to it that there, there always has been. But now with the money on the line, you know, I just saw, we'll get into Cliff Kingsberry, who is now being paid by three different organizations. Three different organizations. In the real world, like outside of football, you would get to the point where people start suing you, you know, and these coaches like Cliff Kingsberry, all time scam artist. I mean, I, I've never seen it with Cliff. And this is nothing personal. Like, seems like a great guy, hard worker, everyone likes him. Personally, I, I think his offense, I mean, makes me want to puke in my mouth. He's had a slight moment of brilliance for the Cardinals and two years ago, it's like they were touched by the gods. They were like 95% on fourth downs, which is never sustainable. And obviously they had a bunch of injuries. But he got ran out of town real quick. And no one has a better PR campaign than Cliff. Like a month ago people were like, oh, Cliff Kingsbury is going to be interviewing for head coaching jobs. You know why that came out? Because it was pretty clear Washington was going to fire him. You can tell me you mutually departed. Give me a break. That means fired. We've seen that for years. Jim Harbaugh once famously mutually departed with the 49ers a month later is like, yeah, they fired me. Of course they did. Cliff Kingsbury was just fired. Now I'd also say, like kind of chaotic. And this we just talked about Brian Schottenheimer. The one thing you get with Brian Schopenheimer and these two teams are in the same division, more than likely are going to be competing for second place next year behind the Eagles, is one thing you get with Brian is like, I know he's calling the offense. I know him and Dak and whoever you bring in. It's his scheme, it's his baby. That's his thing. Well, Dan Quinn's like this defensive guy, didn't even call defense until he took it over mid season. What's kind of why he got back in the good graces of everybody in Dallas. He was kicking ass, the defensive coordinator. And I think that also undid Eva flu because Jerry, a couple years ago saw what a great defensive coordinator looks like, making kind of random guys become really good players. Kingsbury, I mean, to me he's got a Chip Kelly thing. To him, the name is way bigger than the ROI you get. The name's really famous. And obviously Cliff's a good looking dude, but when it comes to offensive prowess, good defenses are licking their lips to play that guy. And you can tell me Jaden was banged up this year. And that is true. But if you want Cliff Kingsbury to be your offensive coordinator and call your plays, I will short your organization in the National Football League. I would say the same thing for Chip Kelly. And you know, clearly if you are going. And here's the thing with, with Cliff, like when you get a guy like Jaden who the question mark is now, it's like, we got to keep him healthy. We got to be careful with him. He can be a little reckless. What's the easiest way to keep him healthy? Run the football. Have a run oriented operation. And I would imagine Dan Quinn and this, Listen, Adam Peters had a front row seat for a long time for Kyle Shanahan. And you know that offense. And you just have to wonder like, you know, lafleur's not the Packer one, but the brother who's now Mike who was with the jets and who is now with the Rams under McVeigh. Like, I wonder if he will want to institute something like that, some version of that for Jaden. Why? Because it's not only quarterback friendly, it's keep your quarterback, you know, away from chaos, a lot of play action stuff. And obviously running the ball is paramount. But Washington, like I think Dan Quinn is immediately on the hot seat because this team was the oldest team in the NFL. Some of the guys like Debo Samuels, a free agent, you know, Bobby Wagner, who had to play all season long, all time, great player, legendary player, I mean, he had no business being on the field this year, couldn't move. And it's, it's a space league, so you're, you know, you're playing in the open field. And he just couldn't cover a soul. He couldn't change direction. It was, it was tough to watch. If it was just a run play downhill, he could make it. But most of the plays in the NFL get you going laterally, and you kind of felt bad watching it, but that's on the organization. And now you fire the defensive coordinator as well. Here's what head coaches always do. They start pointing the finger. And what's crazy to me is last year everything was great. And then this year, did these guys just forget how to coach football or are you kind of admitting, like, yeah, we never really believed in these guys from the jump. But listen, Washington, we thought had turned the corner when they hired Adam, when they hired Dan Quinn, they got this new ownership. This year was pretty chaotic, and now they're blowing out people left and right. So the owner comes from the NBA. In a sport that gets very used to firing coaches, the 76ers, they will not hesitate. Shit can of people. So he ain't afraid to pay people to go away. And the one thing in the NFL, especially when you have a young quarterback, stability. Well, Jaden Daniels, on his second offensive coordinator now in three years, and he's coming off an injury riddled year. So whoever they hire, whatever system that they implement, is going to be extremely important for the long term health of Jaden Daniel's career. Which is crazy because last year he looked like a superstar. And this year just fell apart every, you know which way from the jump, felt like he was injured from the jump and never looked right when he played. And last, on the ownership front, I watched some of Carly Ursay's press conference pretty clear. And listen, not everyone's a good public speaker. I totally get it. My brother, who can do so many things that I can't dream of doing, could barely speak at my wedding to give a speech. He was so nervous, couldn't even eat his dinner. And so it's like there are certain things I can't relate to Carly or say, not a great public speaker. But like, I've seen it. I like I don't judge you on that. Not everyone's comfortable speaking in front of people that doesn't make or break you as a quote unquote leader to be not comfortable in front of the press. And in 2025, owners rarely talk anyway. But I just tried to take away her words and she didn't really have any. Like she couldn't really justify beside, she likes Chris Ballard and she thinks Shane Psych is good at his job. And obviously Chris Ballard's gone nine plus years, hasn't won a division, hasn't been in the playoffs. I think I saw someone say it's seven years that was like Lux last healthy year playing. And I got an interesting text from a buddy in the NFL about the Colts. And I think their bigger issue is the team has a lot of question marks. You know, obviously the quarterback situation is, is a disaster. The guy that was going to resurrect their franchise just because he was competent has a torn Achilles and he has a broken leg. But so obviously Anthony Richton is not going to be on this team next year. There is. You even saw with Kirk Cousins who now granted he was older but not mobile. Cousins looked way better this year than he did last year. So to think that Daniel Jones, these guys, if they don't make the playoffs next year, they're just both getting fired no matter how much she likes them or not because there's too much fan pressure and you can tell they're putting out statements. She's trying to, you know, say all the right things. But people are pissed because this team just always sucks and not suck enough. Where it's like, okay, we bottomed out. We can get Fernando Mendoza like always kind of in the middle, like 7, 8, 9 wins just get going nowhere fast. And a buddy sent me this, he's like, they're in a tough spot. This is a guy that works in the league. Pitman has regressed. Taylor will want a contract. Latu decent but not huge impact. Buck and Grover getting older. And I look, Jonathan Taylor's contract, it was built. So if it had gone wrong, they could have got out this year. So the guaranteed money starts changing. So when you're a great player like him, it's like, well, I want my more guaranteed money now. And it's not well, well, we haven't been winning. They don't care. And I don't blame them for not care. You got to take advantage. That's the business you're in. But I, I think the Colts now the other thing that's scary is the Texans are solid, right? Casario Dico, their infrastructure, their young players, like they're going nowhere. But to me, the Jags, it's like, well, they don't feel like they're going anywhere either. So it's, it's like, are we sure Daniel Jones going to be ready to play? What if Jonathan Taylor wants, you know, $25 million a year? We don't have a first round pick. I forgot to mention that we do not have a first round pick for the next two years because of the Sas Gardner trade. And listen, if Sauce is healthy, it obviously gives us a really good corner, but ideally that was going to go with Charvarius Ward, who's also a good corner, would give us one of the best defensive backfields in the, you know, league when it comes to two starting corners. Tarvarius's dad, and I don't even blame him, wants him to retire. I think he got three concussions this year and he had a bunch when he was with the 49ers. Like, it's a problem. So you have the situation where you're all in on Sauce, you need him to be a star because you just trade the first round picks and the guy you were going to pair him with has a serious concussion issue. And there's, I mean, who knows it's his decision, but wouldn't shock anybody if he just calls or quits. So I, I think if you're a Colts fan, you go, listen, Jim Irsay was losing his marbles toward the end, was impulsive, but you have this, you know, his daughter now in this situation where she has a really close relationship with Chris Ballard. And Chris even said, I guess he told her, like last year, I don't ever want our relationship to impact your view on my performance. Which is easy for him to say out loud. Makes him seem like good guy. And listen, I've never heard a bad word about Chris, but most people get fired in his situation. And I think it's safe to say if Pops was still around, you know, in his, you know, before the last couple years, really fell off a cliff, I, I, I think Chris would have been done and he survived because I think it's fair to say she likes him personally. The transfer portal. I think this is fascinating. 25% of Division 1A football players are in the Portal. I heard a stat, there are enough players in the portal to fill every SEC roster. I'm not a huge, like, it's broken, it needs to change. I'm kind of entertained by it all. I just Talked to a buddy who I'm trying to help a guy's son land somewhere. Former big recruit who, you know, got four. You know, part of the transfer portal now is like when I worked at Fresno State, I remember Pat Hill, he. There would have been 12, 15 guys a year. He just would have cut, right. That were just, that wouldn't listen, that I'm not even talking because they were bad players and some of that as well. Like you miss on recruits, you could, you weren't allowed to do that really. Right. If they were in good academic standing, you kind of just had to stick with them and you couldn't just get rid of the scholarship, so you ended up keeping them around anyway. Now what happens? I just saw Arch Manning's roommate, a wide receiver. It happens all over the country. And I know someone personally that happened to the coach comes to you and it's typically a younger player and says, you're never going to play here. You are not welcome on the team anymore. Now legally they have to honor your scholarship. So they say you can stay on campus and we, you know, at Texas, at Arizona, at wherever and you can stay on scholarship and just go to school, but you are no longer on the football team. That is something over the last couple years that did not exist in college football. Maybe like Saban could push a guy out, you know, a big time coach could because a big recruit, like you're never going to play here and kind of force his hand, but not like now or just you can just legitimately tell a guy you need to leave. It happens in, in the NFL all the time. You're just, you're cut, right? We're cutting or releasing you. Kind of like Eber fl. We are releasing you. And it happens now. It happens in college football left and right. So a lot of these guys in the portal, some of them are going in to try to get more money. A lot of them, especially younger ones, are told you're not good enough, you're not welcome here. Also, we want to go in the portal and get an older guy. Rick Patino said this a couple years ago. High school kids are in major trouble. And it's no different in college football because if you're a college football coach trying to win in 2026, it's my thing with Lincoln Riley. It's like he's getting a lot of credit and he's got this new stud GM that has the number one recruiting class in the country. Historically, that's a massive deal. I, I'd say in 2026. It's never meant less. Ideally, you hit on a couple of those guys, but in like two years, if a guy's not playing or what, he might just leave. Hell, in a year, he can leave. So I, I, I think this situation is pretty crazy. But I will also say this forever. It's been like, my child just is not going to play college football. Just be realistic before he even pops out. But a lot of people that thought their child had a chance at college athletics, it was because they got free college, right? I want to get my son a scholarship, get my daughter a scholarship, so they go to school for free. Big deal. I mean, it saves you a lot of money. I don't blame anyone for thinking that even though a tiny, tiny percent of kids actually go to college to, you know, to get a full ride and then a tiny, tiny percent of those guys go on to play professional sports. Well, Chris Vanini, who covers college football for the Athletic, I saw he posted this tweet because he wrote an article that quarterbacks, now starting quarterbacks in the power four, on the low end are making a million and on the high end are making up 4 to 5 million dollars. I just talked to a college coach today, actually, and he was laughing. He says it's crazy that if you are, if someone tells you, like, yeah, you're gonna be a fourth round pick. Historically, a lot of guys, I'm leaving, I'm going pro now. It's like, I'm not taking a pay cut. And they stay. He's like, I bet da. I said Diego Pavio would play college football if he could until he was like 38 years old. He'd be like Aaron Rodgers of Vanderbilt in the sec. I'd never leave. I don't blame him. You start making seven figures, like, I don't want to give this, I don't want to take a pay cut, go into the real world. And quarterbacks, I mean, I just saw that Sam Levitt, I don't think he's officially signed, but there were rumors that go to Kentucky for $5 million. I saw a great tweet, like, there's never been greater proof that we printed too much money. I agree. And I'm not anti anyone making money. It seems like. I remember Jackson Arnold last year went to Auburn for like three, four million dollars. It's like, what are we doing? You know, edge rushers on the low end are going for half a mil, on the high end are going for 2 million offensive tackles, which obviously should, you know, go for a lot. Same Thing going up for $2 million and on the low end, 6 to $700,000. There has never ever been a better time to be a college athlete. And it's not even close. Obviously popularity for college football is at an all time high. Ratings are through the roof. The College Football Playoff. But forever, it was a really big deal. Like I played, we all know these people, I'm 40 years old, like, got a buddy, he played at USC with Pete Carroll. Got a buddy, he played it, you know, at Iowa for Kirk Ference. Now he runs a bank or now he's the number one sales guy for this medical device company. We all know these people, but nowadays if you just, even if you don't sniff going pro, you're going to make hundreds of thousands of dollars if you're playing Division 1 football. And let's face it, a lot of these guys, for every, you know, Bain or Caleb Downs or all the sweet players, even the good starters on the good teams, there are a lot of below average guys who are cashing in. And you know, for these parents that used to force their kid like lift weights, eat right, all that stuff, I think this stuff's only getting crazier. It's only going to get crazy because it's like, yeah, we don't even, who cares if we even go pro? If we could make several million dollars in our late teens and early 20s. I'm still kind of at a loss. What are these guys doing with all this money? Like, you spend so much time in the fall playing football meetings, practice, lifting, sleeping. I mean, you don't have that much time in the day and a lot of these towns are small. There wouldn't even be anything to spend a lot of money on. It's not like you're going to buy some, you know, million dollar house there. You're only there for a couple of years. I hope a lot of these guys, which I wouldn't have, I, I, I don't even know what I would have blown it on, but it would have been the dumbest possible. I, I, I mean I can't even like rent out a movie theater to play Call of Duty for the week with all my buddies. You can go. Unlimited food. I mean, you, you would just, you would just think of the stupidest stuff ever. Obviously on top of anytime you went out you would pay for everything. But these, these cats are living well, man, Most of us, we were in college drinking Natty Lights and you know, pop off vodka out of a plastic bottle. Not anymore. They are drinking top shelf Good stuff, eating well. I mean, the amount of college kids historically that eat just Chipotle and McDonald's and just whatever's cheap. These dudes are going to the steakhouse five nights a week. So props to them for getting the cash and props to some of these coaches that can, you know, I guess just get rid of guys. I did want to start something new as someone. I'm recording this on Tuesday, kind of a little after lunch, we have a doctor's appointment to find out if the baby is flipped. Right now, obviously the heads up. And for those of you non parents or non future parents are in the mix, I wouldn't even have known this either. The head's got to be down for the baby to come out naturally. If the head is up, you gotta open up the belly and take the baby out. Turns out my baby or future son has a 90% dome big head. I. I got a big head too. So I. I don't know, you know, if she, you know, she's only. She's like 5 5, so it's not like she's super long for the baby to move around. So pretty good chance next Thursday we will be having this baby. And I said, you know, as we transition to Netflix, got to mix it up and have a little fun. So I'm going to notice so much stuff with being a father. Doing stuff funny, serious things that piss me off. Everything around the kid, too. I'm not even specifically talking about the human being. I'm just talking about everything that surrounds the baby. We went to this pediatrician the other day of like another couple, and he was telling us all this stuff. It's just so much stuff that is not even out of your comfort zone, but you couldn't even fathom what you're getting involved in, which it's also fun. But I thought, let's just write down things that I think or things that I want to rant on and call it the dad diaries. Because a lot of you guys are fathers out there. Some of you have older kids that can relate to this. I want to start with this because I was born in 1984, and most people in my life up until about high school, we're all like, similar, like, I guess middle class, just normal and middle class back then. People making 30, 40 grand a year, like most people, all kind of on the same level. So whether you made 30 grand or 60 grand, like, everyone was kind of the same. I didn't know people that were multi millionaires. But the thing was that every kid looked the same if you just went around. Most of us had a couple pair of shorts, couple shirts, maybe a pair of shoes. Honestly up until I was like in high school I feel like it didn't have that many clothes. I would wear a lot of like my high school football teams T shirts that we got or I was on the golf team, like collared shirts they'd give us at a couple pair of shorts, pair of Nike shoes maybe, I mean a couple hats. I feel like most kids in my generation, like the 80s and the 90s, we all kind of look the same unless you were like, I don't know, like a Trump or some really rich person like dressed up. I, I felt like I wore the same clothes as everyone else I was around. Like I went to high school. You look back at some pictures, we were all wearing the same stuff. My unborn child, he has not even come out yet, easily has more clothes in his room. And I would say 80% we have purchased. My mother in law came down with two suitcases because like her cousins and some of our family members gave us a bunch of clothes. But obviously it's a little more difficult when you live in a different state than a lot of people, you know, to, to travel. It's not like I can just drive over and get the stuff. So it's like we're just purchasing it. And I think a big thing is this changed the game. And I would say this for myself as well. Even though I basically have a closet full of clothes, I wear probably 10% of them 365 days a year. I think I read a stat. Most human beings, unless you're in a certain industry wear like less than 20% of their clothes, which to me is very true. But this baby who is going to grow at a rapid rate probably has more clothes before he's even arrived than I had the first 10 years of my life. And I, she's not alone. Like I'm not putting this on her for doing this. I, I think this is a big thing with the Internet and the clothing industry. You could argue no industry has benefited more than, and I'm not even counting babies. I'm just out in clothing industry in general because the social media marketing like it works like that wasn't even an option. We, we just went over to places when I was like 7 or 8 or 10 and people just had the three ring binders of polaroids in a laminate and you're like oh cool picture, cool picture. And that's, that's, that, that was Our Facebook, that was our Instagram. And I just think the simpler times made it, I don't even know if it was good or bad. I, I just think we all look the same and every single person kind of wore the same. That clearly is not the my son. From jackets to corduroys to cool onesies, like I, I don't think I had any of that when I was a kid. And here's the other thing. We have more contraptions of bottle washers, three different strollers, trash can that has a special contraption to like get rid of the odor on the shits, to changing tables, to all sorts of stuff that again, I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer here because I'm excited and it's fun, but I told a buddy the other day, people have been having kids since the caveman days. And even if you just go back to like when my parents were born, you know, if your parents, in the 50s, the 60s, whatever, it's like people didn't even wear seatbelts. They just threw their kid in the back of the car. They just threw their kid in a crib. Now it's like kids wear a whoop. There are all these rules and I just wonder if we've over complicated this stuff a little. I, I, I just can't imagine that all these contraptions are necessary because I think back to, and again, it's not like I have that many memories from being, you know, obviously being one or two, but I, I kind of remember, you know, when my brother was born, when I was like four and a half, five years old, definitely when we shared a room. Up until I was probably like 10 or 11, we only had a two bedroom house. So by the time I was like, I got to junior high, I'm like, I don't want to live with Jeff anymore. So they put me in the living room. Before we kind of did this remodel and added a room, we only had two bedrooms. We put them in the living room. My dad got cubicles like you see in an office and just created a cubicle in the corner of the living room. And I lived there, I think for like a year. It was like my son is never going to have those type experiences, which I, I hated at the time. I'm not going to lie. I mean it sucked. But it did, did build a little character. And I, I just think these contraptions, I, I just remember when we just had a room, there was a crib and that was just kind of my room. And Then eventually Jeff came. We got me a single bed in the corner and then he just took the crib. I don't remember any contraptions. I don't remember like thousand dollar strollers. And we just, I don't remember like rules about blankets and whoops and obviously the video monitors. None of that stuff existed. And we're all just fine. We're all just thriving. Most of my friends, same thing. And we're completely fine. So I, I think the big baby business, which again, I don't blame her. You get pressure. All your friends are buying this stuff. You just, you just do it, I guess. But I, I wonder if we took a step back, how much stuff is unnecessary, but he's gonna have it all. And you know, potentially next Thursday your boy will have a new son on the way. What is going on, everybody? You know what time it is. Mailbag time. But first, subscribe to the channel. Share with your friends. Leave a comment down below in the comment section. Scream at everybody, argue, do whatever you guys do. I appreciate you guys. Thanks for coming along to ride. We will be live Thursday night after college football, Friday night after college football, Saturday night after the NFL, and Sunday night after the NFL. So and Monday, I mean, we got, we got a lot of football coming on, so buckle up. Very, very exciting. These games kind of matter, so it doesn't get much better. But today, mailbag at John Middlekopf is my Instagram. Fire in the DMs and get your questions answered on the show. Try to go rapid fire because I got a lot of questions. I'm going be answering a lot. I mean, we got, it's, it's a time of year where people are, got thoughts, got opinions and firing my way. So keep them coming. How much stock do you put into hiding play calls and coaches hiding the playbook week 17 or 18 against inferior opponents. As a Bronco fan, I hope to God this is the case, but I can't help but worry that our only hope to win a playoff game is a pick six and three field goals. It probably varies a little, team to team. You know, Sean, I, I saw Ben Johnson say that like we were trying to win this game. This wasn't just hiding our stuff. We tried to win that game like we coached all week to win that game. And people would be like, well, if they got the two, they knew they were playing the packers, they wouldn't want to show anything. I think the counter and I think Ben would probably reiterate this. We just had two kitchen sink games with Them within the last month, like, at this point in time, by, by week 17, 18, what are you hiding? Like, what type plays would you have or schemes that you would have that you like, been holding this one for round two? That's, that's not really how football works. I mean, you're throwing most of that stuff during the season. If you got it, obviously you can build off that in a playoff game, but I, I, I think that is a little overrated. That, that's what my gut says now in a certain situation, like when you're throwing the game like the Eagles, like, they clearly didn't care. The Chargers throwing Trey Lance out there and benching a bunch of starters, like, yeah, but like, I watched it looked like to me the Bears, all their starters were out there. I, I'd be lying if I said I was that dialed in on the Broncos game. I know Bo was playing, but like, were all your starters playing in that game? You kind of cruise. I, I wouldn't make that much of that game in particular, but I, I do think it's fair to be a little nervous going into the playoffs. Do you trust this team? It's weird about being a number one seed and not being that excited. That's what's crazy about the two number one seeds. If you're Seattle, you're on top of the moon. If you're Denver, you're like, kind of nervous. I think the best thing you got going for if you're Denver is the conference is kind of weird. But what if in that first game, let's say chalk holds? I mean, I think there's a decent chance Denver's playing the Texans or the Bills. So I mean, that's, those are tough. Either Josh Allen or the Texans defense, like, that's a tough first round matchup. I think if you could choose any team to play if you're the Broncos, you would want chalk to hold and play the Steelers. Do you think Jon Gruden will ever coach in the NFL again? As a Raider fan, Gruden was the last coach that seemed to have a plan. The team improved every year and went to the playoffs in his third year. I think it was his fourth year and they went to the playoffs once they fired him and that was also winning the last game of the season. So I like John from an entertainment standpoint, he's very entertaining. You know, doing his barstool stuff just on the Internet. I, I, I, he, he entertains me. I, I, I'm very entertained by Jon Gruden. I do think the Coach Jon Gruden, like the, the lore, the legend of it all when he was doing Monday Night Football, probably grew to disproportionate amounts. And I do think he's a little overrated. And he's also a terrible evaluator. He's not very good in the draft and he's kind of a power hungry guy. So I, I don't think he's ever working in the NFL again. I, I don't. And I'm not even talking about the suing. I just don't like who would hire him now. Especially a lot of these GMs. Like, they know he'll try to get rid of them. Do you think we'll ever get to the point where a top quarterback prospect refuses to play for some of these teams like the jets or the Browns? Obviously being drafted high financially changes their lives, but over the last 20 years, these organizations are clearly poorly run. So do you think in any way these guys start to say no to teams? You do have to wonder if the nil money like gives them a little more leverage. If I'm a starting quarterback coming out and I've made $10 million the last two years, it's a little bit different than just having no money. Going to the first place is going to pay you. I remember the first time I ever got 40 grand working for the Eagles was like, I hit the jackpot. So it's, and a lot of college people feel that way. Whether you're an athlete or whether you're just a normal kid, the first time you ever get a paycheck is a big deal. Now if you're a college quarterback, these guys are making four or five million dollars a year. Carson Beck, I think Carson, he's a bad example because he's not going to go high. But Carson Beck's made a lot of money the last couple years. So I, I would imagine it's going to happen at one point in time because I, I would not play for the Jets. How could you? How could you? The Raiders. I'm like, who's my coach? The Raiders. A little more enticing because like they're just going to be like, we're going to have you talk with Tom Brady constantly. I, I think that's going to be the draw and I don't feel Fernando Mendoza's doing that. Question, have you gone back and watched Tyler Shuck's last six or seven games? I have a life. The answer is no. I watched a lot of them live, though. I've watched probably three of his last five games, Three of his last four games. Where's the question? What impressed me was the situation. He was playing young, up, banged up offensive line, handing the ball to fourth and string running backs, throwing to a lava plus replacement level receivers. I know I'm biased, but did you view that shuck show down the stretch, given the circumstances? I got a text from a guy on their staff, I think after his first start that said, we got a guy obviously got a little bumpy after that, but down the stretch, the. The pick against Atlanta wasn't ideal, but honestly, if you're you. You would actually rather lose that game at that point for draft status. I. I think he looks really, really talented. He's got a lot of things going for him. He's big, he can run, he has touch. Like, that's the amazing part about him. You look at him, just you see his physical stature. You think when people are hyping him up, you think he's gonna have this, like, powerful throw 100 miles an hour. He's actually, to me, more of a touch thrower. Not that he has a weak arm, but it feels a little goffy. I don't know. He just. He just has a lot of touch on his ball. Very impressed. He's definitely the starting quarterback next year. Why is it that coaches fall off so hard when they get old? Obviously when players get older, their body starts to fall apart, but that's not really a factor for coaches. For instance, what about Pete Carroll changed in the last five years that affected his coaching ability? Just think about humans in your life. Think about, my dad's been dead for a while, but like, when they're in their 40s or their 50s, how vibrant they are. And then whether it's your grandpa, whether it's your father, whether it's just people in your life that as they get in their 60s, definitely in their 70s, you just slow down. You do not have the same juice. And Pete Carol is a good example. Like, even he's healthy, energetic. There is no way your pistons upstairs are firing at the same level combined with your physical energy, the same when you were 58 years old. Like the Pete Carroll that we saw in 2013. How could he match that in 2025? And he probably tried. He probably, in his mind thinks he's doing the best possible, but it can't be the same. It. It just can't. And the other thing I heard, I think, like, comedians say this. I forget who it was, what I was listening to, but it was like, that's a really good point. Like, think about belichick in, like, 2005, when Belichick woke up when that alarm went off at 5:15 in the morning or 5:30 or 5, whenever the hell he gets up, the first thing that crossed his mind was football. 100% was football the team, how he's gonna do whatever schematically or cut a guy or acquire a guy, and he was excited to get out of bed because he was doing football. There is no way those guys, Pete, Bill, when that alarm goes off, their fire for football is the same. At 75 years old with all that money in the bank. I. I just don't believe it. I don't believe. Especially when, like, what are you. I'm not trying to prove something that I already haven't done. So, like, Jim Harbaugh, for example. Jim Harbaugh's made a ton of money and is well established now. Jim Harbaugh is a really good coach, but he's in the NFL now. It's like, can the guy win the Super Bowl? So every single day when Jim Harbaugh's alarm goes off, like, I want to win the Super Bowl. Kyle Shanahan, too. I want to win the Super Bowl. A lot of these guys, like, I want to be a Super bowl winner. And I. I just think that that drive is something that these guys, when they get in their 70s. I'm sorry, they just. I. I don't believe they have it anymore. I. I don't just. I've known people that very successful, like, multi millionaire business owners that know people that work for them. They're like, yeah, some weeks I just don't see them. Or 10 years ago, it's like he was in the office every single day. You get a little older, you get a little more perspective. Maybe get grandkids. Maybe you just don't care as much anymore. It's called life. So I. I think it's less about, like, does Pete know how to run a team meeting? Does Pete know what defense is good against X, Y and Z? Offensive play calls. Same with Bill Belichick. Yes. Do I think those guys could talk football or Nick Saban at 74 years old with anybody right now? Of course, part of the reason Nick Saban retired. And clearly, if you look at him, he ain't coming back. Life's too good. It's funny, like, when people go, do you ever want to go back to the NFL? Do I ever want to go back to the NFL? You out of your mind? No, my life's too great. Plus, I I didn't like the one thing I'll never forget, and this is what Coach Reed has at the highest levels, his passion for football and people that I, I know a bunch of people that work for the Chiefs. I'll never forget after he won his first Super Bowl. Maybe it was the second Super Bowl. It would have been 20, 22. I was at the combine and one of my buddies on the staff, we were BS and he's like, you know, it's crazy. You just. Coach Reed's car in the off season, Saturday at the office. He just loves it. He's just addicted. One. One day, maybe it won't be the same, but as long as you have that pure addiction going and, you know, I think there's an age limit where, I'm sorry, it's. It's hard once you get over 70, I think, I just think it is when you're going against the Kevin Oconnells and McPhaze and Mike McDonald's and Kyle's. I mean, all these guys are under 50. Frable's 50. They just have more energy than you. They just have more stamina. If you're the owner of the GM of the Buccaneers, what are you doing with Todd? There's a real argument, depending on the Falcons higher, that he could be the worst head coach in the worst division in football. He's better than Canalis. Like I, I. You can't put Canalis above him. Canal is called a flea flicker in the rain. Made the playoffs at 89. Todd Bowles, like Todd Bowles, a big time defensive coach. I know his defense sucks now, but he knows defense. Todd Bowles a good coach. If there was an option for an offensive stud, I think you would fire him and hire that guy. I just don't think that guy exists. I think if they had a good replacement, they would fire Todd Bowles and replace him. But I just don't think that guy exists. So I, I think it's easy to say fire him. And I get it if you're a Buccaneers fan, but I just don't see who the replacement is. I. Obviously, if you could have a redo, you would. It's clear what you would do. Liam, you're in the big room. Todd, we love you, but you gots to go. But you didn't do that. And now look at the options. Is it a hot take to say the Bears are actually the worst team in the NFC North? They have the fourth place schedule. No, I mean, come on, guys. They won, they won the division. They, they earned It I, I, I, this is a bottom line business. I think that division is actually much closer. I mean the Bears easily could have lost the packers twice. Obviously the Lions beat him twice. They beat Minnesota. They lost in Minnesota week one. So what was their divisional record? Three and three. That division's tough man. It is the Lions. I mean let's face it, if the Lions play the the Panthers tomorrow, who picking Lions are good. If the Vikings just had decent quarterback play like they're pretty good too. And obviously the packers went healthier super bowl contender. We've seen offenses run more heavy sets this season and it seems like more good teams have three quality tight ends on their roster. The Rams miss Higby for six weeks and so three dudes, Knox Kincaid and Buffalo Comet and Loveland Chicago. From a scouting draft perspective, are there just more athletes that have that skill set? Seems like there are plenty of six, five white guys out there that can run and block. With the amount of good players in college in the NFL will be a devaluation of the position in terms of draft capital needed to acquire good tight end play. I think part of it is tight ends are a much bigger mismatch than just your run of the mill wide receiver. Because if I get Cole Commander Loveland who's covering that guy on the other team, My tight end is 6465 can run. Look at commit's the two point conversion catch. He had the, the body type, the red zone ability. They're like basketball players. So safeties aren't big enough corners while they're fast enough, they're don't weigh enough. It's just a physical mismatch. So you see a lot of these teams utilizing the tight end way more because especially if a guy can block, it helps the run game. And in the past game like they just can't cover those guys. So I, I think I, I think that's it. You just have these athletic tight ends that are 6:3 to 6:5 that you can have a lot of personnel or, or formation, versatility. I, I think that's a big key. I, I, I haven't looked at the draft class this year of how many good tight ends there are, but there are just a lot of good tight ends come in the league over the course of the last, I don't know, decade even just random guys. Cole Comet's a good example. He's just solid, you know, you know, Bowers, Loveland, Warren, I mean like high end tight ends are coming in the league. Last night in Lamar's press conference he said, I don't know what else we could do to win. After putting the season on the line with a young kicker, how do you think the Ravens and Lamar can go forward, especially with the other elite quarterbacks like Josh seemingly running past him? I wouldn't say they're running past him. Lamar just needs to stay on the field. He's one of the best players in the league. I would agree with them. They had a 45 or whatever, 43 yard field goal. They did everything they could to win. The guy I saw, DeAndre Hopkins, he's like, we're three yards away from playing the postseason. That's the thing with sports. You know what they say in basketball, make or miss league. It's. That's field goals. Guy makes it, he's a hero. They carry him off, he misses it. People are probably saying mean stuff to. On social media. I think they are because I saw a post like, yeah, that. That's. If you don't want that, just don't be on social media. Like, you can't get the best of both worlds. It's got gutter rats and it's got normal people that give you compliments, but people complaining about, like, oh, the vile things, like, yeah, welcome to the Internet. I mean, it sucks, but you can't take the good and not get the bad. That's not the way it works. That's the least shocking thing you've ever seen. That people are saying crazy things to him and his wife. Like, it's. It's just the sick thing that we call social media. I mean, it is what it is. So I. So many people are getting away. Like, we're trying to figure out again, we're a long way from this. But you know, kids with social media and screen time and it's easy to say with. Without it, you know, before you have one. But it's a major conversation for a lot of, you know, parents because of just how. I mean, I. I've lived through it. My business is through it. It's just. It just can be. It has great benefits, but it can be really, really ugly. And I think social media can create things like the Lamar discussion, like, is he really, like, on the trading block? Was that a real thing or is that just conversation that kind of grows on the Internet and it's not real at all? And I think there's. John Harbaugh's getting fired before Lamar Jackson's getting traded. I think the Ravens, end of the day, they're one of the best drafting teams in the league. Have been for a long time. They're a well run organization. They're not going anywhere. I bet on the Ravens way before I bet on the Bengals. This is about Pete Carroll coaching in college again. I that ship sale. Pete. Pete's done. Peonies is just, just, just be rich, retire, live like, bro, it's over. Give it up. Easy for me to say in like the prime of my career, but if I'm holding on and I suck at 75 and I have enough money to do whatever I want, that's on me. Like, I'm a loser. Pete's not a loser, but it's just like, bro, just let it go. Just, just go chill. NFL teams. The other thing, Pete's big advantage at USC back in the day is like they could land a player with 20 grand in a car. Those days are done. Even though USC is spending a lot of money right now to buy players, NFL teams need to give Kirk Cousins a big thank you for going five and three and beating the Rams. Because can we imagine what would happen if Sean McVeigh got a hold of a top five pick? I saw that today. What is 13th pick still pretty good pick. You know, I think the Rams would have done that. They got Ferguson, the tight end who clearly McVeigh likes a lot in the 13th pick. That's, that's a pretty good trade. It looked like it was going to be really good. Like at one point in time you're like, are they going to have the fourth pick in the draft? Clearly just Bijan Robinson. Their defense is too good, but they still got a pretty good pick. And the other thing, with The Chiefs at 9 and the Rams at 13, if those teams want to put their nuts on the table, they can go what about next year's one? And move up and get someone sweet. Like do the Rams have Bane to go with verse next year? Listening for a couple years. I'm going to the Phoenician with some buddies in a couple weeks for some golf and relaxation with high end restaurants and steakhouse. Would you recommend we check out in the area? What bars would you suggest for your mid to late twenties? Well, as my wife, I've never been there in my life, but it's called the Circle of Death which is where all the clubs are in Old Town Scottsdale, which for you younger folk can be a lot of fun. So just go to Old Town. The bars, they're pretty hard to miss if you want to go to high end steakhouses. It's hard to beat Mastros. I think Mastros is about as good as it gets. The Missions, kind of a cool, nicer restaurant down in the old town area. I was a sucker for Houston's. You're probably a little young for that. That won't be as fun. This. That's probably a little older crowd. That's the place where Biz, the hockey guy that works for TNT and Barstool fought off those, like, 10 Irishmen. That was like my. I used to live right down the street from there in Paradise Valley. Houston's has elite food. I'd never even heard of Houston's till I moved here. And I could have eaten there, like, five nights a week. But I'm also one of those eaters, like this one. My wife likes all these different foods and one night's chicken, one night salad. Like, I could eat chipotle five nights a week. I once I find like, a good, you know, taco salad or whatever. I'm trying to be healthy. I can eat that every single night over and over. I just go back. It's like I'm like a NFL offense, like off tackles, working again, again, again. I'm like Herb Brooks in Miracle again. I could eat the same. I could literally eat the same meal In a month, 25 days, you know, like an individual dinner and have be totally unfazed. It's like, well, we had chicken last night. Let's go fish and salad. It's like, let's go pasta. Like, I. I've never done that until I guess I got domesticated and civilized, and now I eat like, seven different meals a week. The other thing, for you single guys out there, when you order food or go pick up food, it's a lot cheaper when it's just you. I'll tell you that much. For those of you with big families, you know, it's like I'm sort of thinking, like, what if I have a couple kids and when they're like 10 and 12, especially they're boys, it's like, how many pizzas you got to order? I think back when I was young. Things were so much cheaper back then. Okay, a couple more. I think we got confirmation about who the problem is in Philly after yesterday's game. How can the starters and the backup score 17 points? Seems like the OC is the problem. Not strictly Jalen AJ the O line, or Sirianni. If we struggle against the 49ers, do we? Will Howie and Jeffrey finally get rid of Petula? I love Howie, and rightfully so. Is like, he's always right there with the owner, you know, like when you talk about the Cowboys, you're like Jerry with the Eagles, like Howie and Jeffrey, it's like they're a tandem. If they were to lose to the 49ers, he's 100% fired. He's fired. Monday morning, it would be so fast, your head will spin. The Eagles, I think of all the teams I might do this for Friday, I don't think any team has more pressure on them to win the game than Philly. I actually don't even think it's close because of the disadvantage. The 49ers, they don't have players, so. And the Seagulls team, like, why can't we win the nfc? Why can't we go back to back? That's, that's what they got to be thinking. I think there's a lot of pressure on the, the Eagles. Their defense is going to be fine. But offensively, if you can't score points in Washington's probably as shitty as the 49ers on defense, to me, the Eagles, especially if it's not raining, if it's just cold, the minimum should be like 25, 26 points minimum. I think you should be able to get 30 against the Niners. That's what was crazy about Seattle. That's why the game felt like such a blood. It felt like 30 to 3, missed a couple field goals, they went forward on a fourth down at the one yard line. I mean, it easily could have been 10 more. It could have been 26 to three. That's what the game felt like. Okay, last question. You said about a month ago that if Mahomes disappeared that Andy would be fine. After seeing them without Mahomes, do you still believe Josh Allen is the best player in the NFL? When I say Andy would be fine, I said if he disappeared, they could find another quarterback in an off season. Obviously in the middle of the season. If Mahomes disappears, you are. If you are a team like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, those type teams and I remove your starting quarterback, you're in major trouble. Herbert Drake may the drop off is Stafford is going to be catastrophic. If I give you an off season to find someone capable with a good offensive coach. Look at Shane Steichen, took Daniel Jones, started winning games until Daniel Jones body fell apart. They were fine. Kyle Shanahan like Mac Jones, I can just win games with Mac Jones. Kevin o', Connell, Sam Darnold, you know. So you don't think Andy Reid would just sign Sam Darnold if he didn't have A quarterback or something like that. Yeah, that. That. That was my point. Where other coaches, like, that's where the knock on the defensive guys like, can Mike Tomlin say the same? Could Dan Quinn say the same? Could John Harbaugh say the same? John Harbaugh was about to get fired until they bench Flacco and Lamar. If. If someone else had drafted Lamar Jackson, because, remember, they took a guy ahead of Lamar Jackson, Hayden Hurst, I think, and they just drafted some random quarterback. I. John Harbaugh would not be on the Ravens now. Lamar Jackson saved John Harbaugh's Raven career. Now he would have got another job for sure. But I. My point is that certain coaches, if they just had no quarterback in an off season, I think they could figure it out and find just some credibility there. Now, obviously, the guy wouldn't be as good as Mahomes, but. And he's proven it. He's won games with all sorts of quarterbacks over the years. That was my point. And do I believe Josh Allen's the best player in the NFL in 2025? I do. Obviously. Patrick Mahomes at times been the best player. Lamar Jackson's been the best player. I. I was thinking, like, who is the best player in the NFL this year? Because there's been a lot of arguments, and I don't really have a strong opinion on the mvp. I. I don't really care in. Especially in a year like this. Could you make the argument that Puka Nakua was the MVP of the league? I feel like Pukinakua was the best player I watched in the NFL start to finish. Feels like Stafford's gonna win it. Maybe Drake May wins, I don't know. But I feel like Pukinaku is the MVP league. I feel like he's the best player in the league. I feel like this year he dominated. It wasn't even a fair fight. Jackson, Smith. I mean, there were times we thought, like, is this the best player in the league? That's the thing with the mvp. It's like the Heisman. We don't even talk about other. It's got to be a quarterback. There's got to be a quarterback. Which we all agree quarterback's the most important position. But I don't know. Can any other position win the award? Can any other position just be in the conversation to win the award? Why does no one even talk about, like, could Puka win the award? It doesn't even come up. It's not even a conversation. It's like, oh, it's just one of the quarterbacks. I guess it is what it is. The volume. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.