← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
3 & Out - Kirk Cousins signs with Raiders, Fernando Mendoza’s Pro Day, Fugazi Friday
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- [00:00]
John Middlekauff
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Today's podcast is brought to you by Ferguson Home. Whether you're a homeowner working on a remodel or a pro managing multiple projects, Ferguson Home is where great ideas become stunning spaces. Ferguson Home is designed for the way you want to shop. Experience today's top products by top brands like KitchenAid firsthand by visiting a Ferguson Home showroom where you'll explore stunning displays featuring today's latest products and innovations. Or browse video their extended selection of products online@FergusonHome.com
- [00:38]
Doug
and Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Even if it means sitting front row
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John Middlekauff
at a comedy show. Hey everyone, check out this guy and his bird. What is this your first date? Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird. Yeah, the bird looks out of your league anyways. Only pay for what you need@libertymutual.com Liberty, Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. The volume. What is going on, everybody? How are we doing? John Middlekop 3Now podcast. We got a lot going on. We got a lot going on. Cousins, Raiders. We got to talk about that. The contract with Kubiak backing up or starting over? Mendoza. Mendoza's pro day where he ran the thing like Mendoza ran the pro day. I have some takes on that. I texted a bunch of scouts who were there, some other stories. Obviously it's Fugazi Friday. I got a couple good Fugazi's today and you want to get in the mailbag. We're going to do a bunch of mailbags next week. So at John Middlekop is the Instagram fire in those DMS. Fire in my DMs. Get involved in the show and I'm going to bang out a bunch in the next, if not tomorrow, definitely Saturday because I'm in Los Angeles and I just, I'm not sure my schedule. So I. If you want to get involved in the show at least early in the week, fire in those dms and. And yeah, let's enjoy this weekend. I like, I liked Arizona, but now it feels like I was wrong about the coach. He's going to go to unc, so probably going to be an all Big Ten, I think national championship. I think it's going to be Michigan, Illinois. I think Illinois 4 to 1 as a future is not terrible. They're pretty good and pretty big. I know they lost in Michigan, but they're comfortable playing them. They're in the same conference though. Michigan. Whoever wins the Arizona Michigan games can be a heavy favorite in the Natty. Yeah, let's just, let's talk some football. You guys know the drill. Subscribe to the podcast. If you listen on Collins feed, don't ever miss a thing. Also Netflix hit get alert and you will never miss a video episode. It'll show up on your on your Netflix screen. And let's just dive into Cousins, you know, Matt LaFleur and specifically Sean McVeigh were I would say begging Kirk Cousins. And what you saw today is financially, you know, the, the, the Raiders made it too good for him not to sign the contract. And I think big picture when it comes to this situation is Kubiak had mentioned and I, I think most coaches would agree with this, that ideally you don't want to just be forced going into training camp knowing your rookie quarterback is going to play. Especially the Raiders have some hopes like they, they don't want to be drafting in the top five next year. Now they might not be a playoff team, but I bet realistically internally right now, especially if this draft goes pretty well, they'd be going, why can't we compete to win seven or eight games and just have a season as we go into December where we're just playing some meaningful football? I mean the last couple years have been an embarrassment. Last year couldn't have gone worse, right? It got worse every single week. And by the end you got Crosby storming out. I think they go, if some of these free agents hit in our quarterback situation is way better than the Geno Smith debacle, why couldn't we be a competitive team? Kubak's proven to be an excellent play caller. I, I, I do believe that they could be semi interesting question mark with the defensive coordinator who's younger defensive line coach Crosby's guide now elevated. But it also helps to now have Crosby still in the building who can kind of be the heartbeat of that unit and that's his guy. But you know, the one thing I was thinking about and we've talked a lot about this with quarterbacks is how situations matter. But I think that most of us leaving college don't have a 40, $50 million contract waiting for us. That, that would have been pretty cool. Not really even close. But it is really important as a young person to go into situations where you can look up to people. Now for most of our jobs, they're not other famous people, but there are people that go, I want to be like that or that is the type guy in my profession that I want to try to emulate what he does, because I want to be as good as that guy. And I can only speak for myself, like, I was very lucky out of college to go work at Fresno State. And Pat Hill was a well established college football coach. And watching how he conducted business in terms of work ethic, in terms of treatment of people, in terms of just energy and passion was something I admired. And I was very lucky as a guy that's 23, 24, 25 years old, to basically sit next to him every single day, because where my little office was, was literally connected to his big office. And it was in the meeting room where we watch recruiting film, where we met as a staff. And I was around him all the time. And obviously we had a bunch of other young coaches on the staff, couple work in the NFL now. One's now a head coach at Cal Poly. And I got to just watch these guys who were extremely impressive professionals every single day when I was young. And now, obviously, once you become a professional, there are things instilled in you from childhood through junior high, through high school that bring you. But there's a different level of a mindset when you're 23, 24, 25 in the real world and you have people to emulate who are right in front of you, that you sit next to or see every single day, that is a massive impact. And then obviously, when I went to Philadelphia, from Howie to Andy to the Sean McDermotts to Matt Nagy to Doug Peterson, to just what Brett Veach, Lewis, Riddick on television, watch guys that were just really, really high level and go, that's how it looks like. And that matters because the reality is, I've always hated the term fake it till you make it, because then it kind of sounds like once you make it, are you still gonna fake it like that? Terms always bothered me, you know, it's like there are certain terms in life that just, you know, it's like, not for me. That's one of those. Because it just feels so hollow. It does feel fake. But it is true that most times you get inserted into roles, especially in your 20s, you don't really know what you're doing and you need people to watch whether you're a young quarterback. Most people are not Peyton Manning. And even Peyton Manning asked him, like, set a record for interceptions. His team went 3 and 13. So it is extremely difficult for young people in low level positions, let alone that are just put at the top of the Food Chain. And then I can speak for when I got into the business of what I do now, talking for a living. I got a job pretty immediately at a radio station in the Bay Area. And I had one of the greatest voices in the history of, you know, professional sports in Greg Papa, hosting a radio show right after ours. And even before I became a full time radio host, I went on his show like three times a week. And I got to not just immerse myself around him, how he operated his radio show, but I got to hang out with him a lot. And it really impacted my career because one, at the time, they had one of the biggest radio shows in the Bay Area and we were on the second station, yet they were still being number one in the rating books because they were that good. And it was like, that's what I want to do, that's what I want to sound like. And I watch, you know, Greg Papa. There can't be many people in many markets that have called games for the professional basketball team, both professional baseball teams, and both professional NFL teams. He did every the Golden State warriors, the Oakland A's, the San Francisco Giants, the voice of the Raiders and the voice of the 49ers. I mean, I could be wrong. I'm not like a play by play historian, but it's pretty unique. Oh, and he also hosts a radio show. And for a long period of time, it was the cream of the crop. It didn't get any better. It was like Dan Patrick mixed with Dan LeBatard. I mean, you never knew what was coming. And even other guys like Tim Kawakami, who's the number one columnist for a long time, became a very close friend of mine. And one thing all those people had in common, that, like the way I was raised, taught, work hard, try hard, be the first guy there, do everything in your power. Doesn't mean you're going to be the smartest. Doesn't mean you're going to be the best. When you start something, you're going to finish it. And you watched all these guys like they're at the top of their profession and they're all the biggest grinders I've ever been around. So it's like, it's pretty clear. Everything I've done since has been with the mindset of, like, hard work is extremely important. And who knows, if I wouldn't have had the opportunity to get a firsthand glimpse at all these people near at the top of their profession, who knows where I'd be sitting today? I don't know because those people had a huge, huge influence on me. Hell, they still do. And you see some of these stories like when Patrick Mahomes got drafted by Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs, they had a guy who had been the number one overall pick who'd seen the dirt, the mud in Alex Smith and then resurrected his career and then for basically half a decade had established himself as a playoff starting quarterback. Maybe not a championship starting quarterback, but a guy every single year. If you did a good job building your team could get you 10 to 12 wins. That is something that brings you immediately immediate credibility. Oh, and he's a hard worker and he's really smart. So Patrick gets there from Texas Tech that no shot at the Leech crew, but that offense is not something that really happens in the league. He gets there, he gets to not just learn from Andy Reid, but he gets to just watch Alex Smith. And to this day he still credits Alex with being a huge influence on the course and the trajectory of his professional career. Even when you look at you, John Harbaugh and Lamar Jack. Lamar Jackson didn't start right away, sat behind Joe Flacco. Now I forget the exact week he came in. They Joe was kind of not playing well at the time, but he wasn't forced into action. And you get a big benefit not only not starting if you're quote unquote not ready and only the team and the player know and who knows who's truly ready, but just watching a guy every single day. This is what time he gets to the office, this is what time he works out on Mondays and Wednesdays. This is how he times his snacks, his breakfast, his lunch. Because this is not college football. This is not. Well, they can only have us 20 plus hours a week in the NFL when you're the quarterback, you might not be working coaches hours 100 plus hours a week, but you're working probably 75, 80. You're working way more than every single player on the team. When it comes to the mental stress you're putting of watching film, breaking down the game plan separate from even on the field and the workout stuff which is obviously really important. But what is asked of you off the field, there is no other player that can relate to you except the guy in your meeting room who has been a starter for a decade plus. And obviously the comparisons to Fernando Mendoza as a person have a lot of similarities to Kirk Cousins. So I there's a reason why all the all you notice all the guys who had been around Kirk Cousins, Kyle forever Wanted them. And then Jimmy Garoppolo fell in his lap. Sean McVeigh has Matt Stafford, who's going to the hall of Fame and was begging at the owner's meetings, talking into the camera at espn. Kirk, give me a call. We want you on our team. LaFleur was doing the same thing, also coached him in Washington. So the guys that have been around him value this guy at a really, really high level, especially for the role that he's now currently going to play. And the Raiders clearly put on, you know, quote unquote, overpaid. I mean, they essentially are giving him $11.3 million. We'll get into the details of the contract here in a second, but they really, really valued getting that guy around. Fernando Mendoza. And it would have been easy to say, well, Fernando, when it comes to smarts, character and work ethic, he's. He's like a Josh Allen, Trent Williams. Like, he's elite at those. You know, those are the least of the question marks. It's like, well, how good is the arm? All the. All the intangible stuff, all the boxes he checks with flying colors. Yet they still were aggressive to get. You need a guy to look up to because I don't care how talented you are, that helps. That matters. And I think that's 100 why the Raiders did it. Now, they also had a connection with him. Kubiak was in Minnesota for several years as the quarterback, coach, pass game coordinator with Kirk Cousins. So they're not going into this blind. They have a relationship with this player and in. In this scheme. So that's another thing. Fernando Mendoza is coming to the NFL. They are going to have different terminology, even if there are going to be some similarities, which I'm sure some of the pro style concepts. This is the Shanahan Kubiak offense. Well, who knows that as well as anyone in the league? Not name like Stafford, Jordan, Love, Brock Purdy right now, Kirk Cousins. So who can show and teach Mendoza the way Kirk Cousins. You also get him at a point where this is not two years ago when he signed that $100 million deal in Atlanta, where he viewed himself not only as a starter, but a guy that could be like a Pro bowl player. It's why he was so offended and taken back when the penic situation happened, because depending on where you were, where you're at in your career, if you're in the prime of your career and things are just humming and going well, and then all of a sudden someone brings in your replacement. If Coward called me up right now and went, you know, we got this other guy, he's an NFL guy, and we're going to give, you're not going to have to do anything on Tuesdays and Fridays, we're going to have Billy, this other former NFL guy, really knows his college football too. He's gonna record podcasts on those days on your, on your stuff. We'll put him on Netflix. We'll put him on your feed. I'd be like, that's, that's not good, right? That, that, that would take me back a little bit. And so completely understood it now. If I was in the swan song of my career, I'd be like, yeah, it's great. Go spend more time with my kids, can go hang out with my wife, can go relax a little bit more. And that's where they're getting Kirk Cousins. They're getting me at a point in time in his career where he understands, like, I'm no longer a lock starter anymore. Those days are over. My, my days of making 40, 50 million dollars a year, which when it's all said and done, I saw today that he's going to go down. He'll have made more money in his career than, than Tom Brady. Like, that's now part of that. It's like, yeah, Tom took major discounts for a long period of time. Time. If Tom would have taken market value, he would probably be worth $150 million more over the course of his career. And he hasn't even played in the last, like five years when obviously quarterback contracts have gone to insane numbers, but there were times when he was making $12 million when he could have been making 20. That's just the nature of his situation. But I, I, I like this move a lot and makes a lot of sense. And the guy that should like this move the most would be Fernando Mendoza. And there's, there was a story out today, not even a story. It was just reported that next Tuesday is when Fernando Mendoza is going to visit the Raiders. Because during this period of time, you get 30 visits as an NFL club, meaning you can fly 30 players to your facility and get them. I forget the exact number, but it's, it's a little bit more than a day. Right. Because travel time. So you basically, you know, fly them in at night. Sometimes I, when I was with the Eagles, I used to pick guys up, we'd go to dinner. I'd bring a couple assistant coaches with us, and the next day, starting at like 7am it'd be the trainers to the GM to the coach, the position coach, the coordinators, if it was a relatively high pick, talk with the owner, you know, it was a really big deal. Meet everyone in the facility and you know, for guys like Fernando Mendoza, who is going to go number one overall, it's, it's continued to establish the relationship with a lot of guys. Some of them that have got question marks off the field. You're, you're really talking to them less about football and more about human stuff. What's your deal, bro? And I do wonder if they will try to coordinate and have Cousins there on that, on that Tuesday and just kind of kick off that relationship, which I'm sure Kubiak gave Fernando or gave Fernando, gave Cousins his number. And they've already communicated because that's the key sometimes in these situations. You know, remember when Roethlisberger was there and they brought in Mason Rudolph? That was weird. Obviously Rogers and Roethlisberger and Rogers are way better players in their prime than Kirk Cousins. But my point is Eagles are egos and Cousins was extremely offended by Michael Penix. He never even played in Atlanta. So I think they're in a much better situation. Everyone knows the drill, but that's the question, like, what is the drill? Because going back to the Andy situation, Andy Reid, he hadn't won a Super bowl then, but he had won a shitload of football games. So it was extremely easy for him to go, Alex, you're going to be the starter still and Patrick, you're going to be the backup and Alex, you're not going to complain and Patrick, you're going to do everything to take notes and soak up everything this guy does and everyone just fell in line. But it's much easier for him to pull that off than it would be like Todd Monkin this year. Like, good luck handling that quarterback room buddy. I promise you, I'm probably betting against it. But in fairness, most first time head coaches, Whether they were 60 or whether they were 40, these quarterback rooms can be, it's just, it's just a hot button area. It's everyone, the media, the fans, the room people care about the most. And it's going to be interesting. Like I wrote down, how are they going to handle the situation? Because Kubiak's comments were like, ideally the guy doesn't start. So are you just going to name Cousins the starter? You know, is he just going to get the reps in OTAs and in training camp? Are you going to have a quote unquote open competition? Will you do one of those Situations where Cousins is going to definitely start early on, but the rep count in training camp is going to go back and forth. Here's the problem. You got guys like Max Crosby, you just signed a bunch of players. You, you got Bowers and Genty, you got this high price left tackle, you got guys that want to win. And the one, the group of people you can never fool. I actually don't think you can really fool the fans as much anymore. Obviously with quarterbacks, you know everyone's favorite quarterback when the team's bad is the backup quarterback. But for the most part, when you're watching a team week in, week out, you're like, why is this guy still playing? Like, what's going on here? How's this guy on the field? It's like, well he knows the defense, he really knows the route tree. It's like, well he can't catch and he can't get open. Like get a younger guy in there. And trust me, GM say the same thing. Sometimes these coaches drive people nuts. It's like, listen, nothing but respect for Bobby Wagner's career, Nothing but respect. Hall of Famer, one of the best linebackers of the last 20 years. But watching him this year playing for Dan Quinn, it's like, Dan, just use a practice squad, let someone else get reps. Your team sucks. This is, this is pointless. But Dan would say like this guy, this guy knows everything we're doing. All the checks was he can't move anymore. Like this is pro sports. But sometimes they value that. But the players, especially early on, like in training camp, if it's obvious, Cousins and this, this is the different part of the Alex Smith situation. Alex had won a lot of games with those guys, so he had the respect of the locker room. Even if as reports say, and I've never really talked to Veech about this, but clearly in the training camp practices in the, and just during the season, Mahomes was doing insane stuff in practice. But like they were winning games. Alex was good, it wasn't weird. But this is one of those situations like do you, how much equity do you have to go, he's not going to play at all, right? And this is not a one year wonder. This is a guy who's been a multi year starter, ton of reps. Hell, he just played a 16 game season. So I, I do think this is a tougher situation for a first time head coach because he doesn't have the equity in the locker room. They've just bought a lot of guys from other teams who have had Success around the league, their best player, who's their highest paid player. All he ever says, like I just want to win. Like that's Max's biggest issue. I just want to win. Not even the super bowl, but just have like a 10 and 7 year where we're the 7 seed would be amazing. Playing real meaningful games. Not some game against Houston. The middle of December where I'm chasing everyone around, I'm keeping it close but at the end of the day we're going to still get the number one overall pick. And that's where I think it can be kind of a slippery slope how they handle it. It's, it's not an easy situation. It's why I would imagine they won't make any like declarations. They'll just say, hey, we're going to be open minded on this. I said what I said. Ideally, you know, Mendoza learns from them. But what if Fernando's is better than him? My, I don't know if this is my first year. Maybe it was my first year having a radio show. We were at training camp every single day. The Raiders had signed Matt Shop who had just come off a bad season with the Houston Texans. He'd obviously been there for a long time with Kubiak and they had been one of the, they couldn't win in the playoffs but they had been a really consistent winning team. And Chop had this season where I, I sort of got. He had like 10 pick sixes. He, he had a game, if memory serves me correct, he might have thrown back to back passes that were pick sixes. Mean might still be an NFL record. But the Raiders signed him like a one year, $8 million deal. I mean this is 10 plus years ago. There's a lot of money. And then they drafted Derek Carr in the second round. Sh. Our quarterback. Derek's competing to be the backup by the end of training camp. Like my mom could see Derek's better in shop and he had no choice. So going into week one, he, Matt Schaub, who had been the starter the entire off season was told you're the backup and Derek, you're going to be the starter. And that's just one of those situations that can be very fickle because you got a lot of different opinions. You know what's best long term but you're also like trying to win. And this is not trust the process in the sense of like you got five years. That's not the way the NFL works. Look, look how many coaches. Mark Davis is fired over the course of like 24 months that did not make it to year two, year three. So I'm going to be fascinated how they do it. The comments that come out once Fernando is finally drafted, but I think they clearly feel much better about that situation with Fernando Mendoza and Kirk Cousins than they did last year with Geno Smith. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet, Florida's Sportsbook. Obviously we talk a lot of NFL and college football here, but we got four teams left in college basketball. Clearly the big favorite is going to come out of the Arizona Michigan game, but do not sleep on UConn and Dan Hurley. And if you want to bet on Hard Rock Bet, you'll get a live profit boost and a parlay boost for the games. And those heart stopping zero on the clock moments we've seen all tournament, they still pay on Hard Rock Bet. They're handing out a 25 bonus if a team you bet on Windsor cover hit a buzzer beater because when the lights are the brightest, every shot matters. If you haven't joined Hard Rock Bet yet, now's the time. Check in the game, baby. New signups can double their winnings on their first 10 bets. Gotta like that max $50. That means if you would've won a hundred bucks, you bet that is 200. So don't sit on the bench. 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Donald
Hey Donald, really flying on that treadmill.
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Doug
I'm trying to run as fast AS T mobile 5G home Internet, Zach.
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Really? How's this?
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Donald
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John Middlekauff
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Donald
Just walk it off.
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Doug
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John Middlekauff
last minute deals, you can save over 50 on your spring getaway. So whether it's a mountain escape with friends, a family week at the beach or sightseeing in a new city, the there's still time to get great discounts. Book your next day Now. Average savings $72 select homes. The Falcons cannot be happy because just a disastrous couple years from a personnel standpoint from the Cousins contract to drafting pennix8 overall who has a million injuries, who's currently injured which might make them start to a Tonga by loa a player that most people would agree you would not want on your team right now to the James Pierce first round trade which would be pick 13 and he's probably gonna go to jail. I mean the Terry Fontenot run over the last couple years gonna go down as one of the worst of all time. I mean seriously, pretty bad. Really, really bad. The Raiders kind of finagled this thing because at first, you know, Schefter tweets out it's like a four year, $170 million deal. Everyone's sharing. I, I post a picture on Twitter of, you know, Cousins is like the Warren Buffett of the NFL. Turns out the Raiders are paying him $1.3 million this year, but they're paying him a total of $11.3 million. The way that they set this up is they go, hey, we'll give you the vet minimum this year. The same thing Kyler Murray got. Because there's an offset in Cousins contract with the Falcons that if they would have given him $10 million just this season, the Falcons would have owed him nothing. So they went like, clearly we're competing for your services with other teams where it's pretty clear if you sign with the packers or the Rams, for example, if their quarterbacks are healthy, you will not play a snap. You will be 100 the backup and that's what you will do. And I would guess because of their financial situations, they were not offering Kirk Cousins $10 million. You can't pay Jordan Love, you can't pay Matt Stafford, right, whatever they're making combined and pay a backup quarterback $10 million. 90. Not the way it works. Last year, the 49ers give Purdy a massive contract. Who do they sign? Mac Jones, like a two year, $5 million contract. So typically you want your backup when you have a high price guy to be relatively cheap, right? And the Raiders were able to finagle this contract to go, we'll pay you $1.3 million this year, but we'll essentially pay you $11.3 million, which is probably an overpay. I would imagine most teams on the open market were not in the business of giving Kirk cousins over $10 million. But here's the thing. We're going to pay you the vet minimum this year to keep your 8.7. So it won't be 10, but we'll make up the difference. Of the 1.3. The Falcons will pay you 8.7, so you will get a guaranteed $10 million this year. We will give you a roster bonus next year that is guaranteed. That is $10 million. So from the Raiders, we're giving you over $11 million and the Falcons are giving you almost $9 million. You'll make a combined $20 million, but you're not going to be on our team next year more than likely because we did this kind of fake contract that if he is on the roster, he would immediately kick into a two year, $80 million contract, which clearly the Raiders are not going to do. But no matter what, we're giving you $10 million next year, and it's worth it for us to just cook the books a little bit. So I would imagine the Falcons are like, we just got fucked. We just got screwed. The Raiders, the, the money they're going to pay them, they don't even need to worry about till next fiscal year. Now, it's not ideal, like, they're going to carry Cousins money on the books next year, but who knows? What if Cousins goes, this is an awesome situation, and if you just give me a couple million dollars more, we'll redo the contract. So I just come back on the 10 million you're paying me and maybe three or four more, and I'm essentially like a $14 million backup. Now by that time with Fernando, maybe they're not in the business of doing that, but they're already in for 10 for cousins. So what, they're going to have to pay someone to be the backup anyway, so maybe they could give him a couple million dollars more to be the backup, especially if he likes the spot. And I just would imagine the Falcons are just like, how did, how did this happen? And it happened because the personnel decisions they made for a couple years stretch. It just doesn't get much worse. It really doesn't. And for having him now be on the Raiders and for you, still picking up the bill is the reason the GM got fired and it's the reason that Matt Ryan and now obviously Ian Cunningham, who is the gm, and I saw that they are appealing their Rooney rule draft picks, which they 100% should get. Matt Ryan has admitted he's running free agency. He's the gm. He's picking the players. Right. That is not my role. It's not. These, these picks are just created from scratch. It's not like you're taking these picks from someone else. So it's not like anyone else is arguing against them, but which I would imagine they end up winning, but I guess you never know. So the Raiders get them for the vet minimum this year to kind of show Mendoza the ropes. I texted a couple people about Mendoza's pro day because I saw Coward talking about it this morning. That one thing Fernando Mendoza did is typically when you go to these pro days for a quarterback, there is a quarterback coach, like their trainer that runs the script. So you see a guy with the script of the passes. There's anywhere from like 50 to 60. You go through the route tree, you do some mobility stuff, you do some play action stuff, you do some stuff that teams that are interested in drafting you, you know, they'd want to see. And you just go through the script and the coach tells the quarterback xyz, the quarterback and the wide receiver hear it, and they run the play. Yesterday at Indiana or two days ago. Now, Fernando Mendoza would call out the route to the wide receiver. He ran the pro day with his former quarterback coach, who's been in Indiana, who's now in Tampa Bay. So Fernando Mendoza was in charge of the pro day, and he had said the reason he didn't throw at the combine, which is something that has become more popular. But when he originally said, I'm not throwing at the combine, but the biggest reason I'm doing it is because I want to put a bigger emphasis on my pro day, where I got multiple wide receiver prospects in this draft that I want them to be showcased. They just helped us, Me. We just did it together, won the national championship. Those are my guys. So throwing to these random guys. And listen, the combine throwing's all over the map. You got short balls, deep balls. You don't know their speed. I was like, God, it makes a lot of sense. And then yesterday, when you watch some of the highlights of them doing that, you're like, damn, I don't even think I've ever heard that. So I immediately start texting around. I text spy tech, who was there. He hasn't taken me back yet, but text a couple other people who were also there said, have you ever seen that? And they said, spytech. I don't remember seeing that ever. He just text me back. I. I text multiple other people. I don't remember ever seeing that. I've never seen that before. This is something that does not happen. This is not one of those, oh, you're making too big a deal. I texted with a scout who's been going to Pro days for 25 years, who's been at the biggest pro days over the course of the last two decades with the biggest quarterbacks in the draft over those periods of time, from Johnny Manziel to Jamarcus Russell to Goff to, you name it, all the guys, big names, guys drafted. It doesn't happen. And he did it. So. And here's the other thing. I was texting with a guy who said, here's the thing about Mendoza. Athletic ability, really good arm, solid size, elite smarts, elite. You know what that sounds like to me? A Shanahan Kubiak type quarterback. They don't. Would they love Josh Allen, Tom Brady, you know, big arm, who's a Big Justin Herbert, of course, but they don't need it. I just use the example of Kubiak's dad with Matt Schop before he fell apart. One thing Kubiak's dad had Matt Schaub looking like a pro Bowler because accuracy, timing. Alex Smith with Jim Harbaugh and Andy Reid, Brock Purdy, Jimmy Garoppolo with Kyle Shanahan. Hell, Jared Goff, Ben Johnson, Sean McVay. You don't need to have a howitzer to excel in a specific offense, which is this one. And this is the thing with Jalen Hurts. We talked about putting the back to the defense. Well, part of putting back to the defense is it makes it easier with these great play callers to get guys open. Why? Because of the run fix and because of the boots and the play action. It's a huge part of this offense. Cousins has been doing it for a decade and he can help show Fernando Mendoza and get by on an arm. Cousins, a good example, never had a great arm. But what is Fernando Mendoza, unlike Cousins, a really good athlete. Not Lamar Jackson, not Kyler Murray, not Josh Allen, but, like, better than like half the league can move. So I think when you look at Fernando Mendoza and you look at the size and the intangibles, like, that's really important. And you go, well, he doesn't have the biggest arm, but he's accurate. You want me to list some guys that don't have the biggest arm but are accurate. Jared Goff, Dak Prescott in his prime. Kirk Cousins. You can be a playoff quarterback when you have that attribute. Brock Purdy. Now, like, you're like, well, he's not going to be Patrick Mahomes. No shit. Patrick Mahomes. Already like a top five quarterback of all time. He's not going to be Josh Allen. We've never seen a quarterback like Josh Allen. He's like John Elway reincarnated. Who cares if you tell me that Dak Prescott instead of on the chaotic Cowboys had just been playing for McVeigh or Kyle Shanahan probably would have more January wins under his belt, but he's got a ton of regular season wins under his belt. You can win a lot of games with those guys. Is he an all time great prospect? No. Is he the greatest player we've ever seen coming out of college? No. Is he damn good, though? And if I was a Raider fan, would I be really fired up and am I a big fan of him as a player? 100%. Because one thing I've learned is the intangible stuff, the smarts and the accuracy go a long freaking way in the NFL. And obviously the toughness and that's the other thing I didn't know if he was clearly, you don't play like Division 1 college quarterback and be a puss. So you got some level of toughness. But then there are levels of like, God damn, this guy's, this guy's a war daddy. When he got hit on that first play of the Ohio State game and two plays later he was running back on the field, I went, that was, that was big time. That was, that's the NFL. Because in the NFL you turn the corner and all of a sudden so and so is there. He's been to three Pro Bowls and he hits you right in the sternum. So I, I, I think Mendoza, this conversation, you know from Orlovsky, who listen, smart guy played quarterback. I, has he ever been in a draft room? Has he Talked to these GMs, like, what are we talking about here? I, to me, the gap between these two guys. Because I listen, I've heard this argument. Ty Simpson is closer to Mendoza than he is the third best quarterback in this draft. This is one of the worst quarterback drafts we've ever seen. So to me, that's not saying much. No one thinks Ty Simpson is some scrub. To me he's like a third round pick. There's nothing wrong with being third round pick Russell Wilson, third round pick Dak Prescott, third round pick Kirk Cousins, fourth round pick. You can go on to make hundreds of millions of dollars, Pro Bowls and play in the playoffs. Is the third or fourth round pick, but take him in the first round of me feels pretty bold. Today's podcast is brought to you by Ferguson Home. Whether you're a homeowner creating your dream space or a pro managing multiple projects, Ferguson Home is where it all comes together. Ferguson Home is designed for the way you want to shop. Experience today's top products by brands like KitchenAid firsthand by visiting a Ferguson Home showroom, where you'll explore stunning displays featuring today's latest products and innovations, or browser their extended selection of products online. Ferguson Home understands that every project is made up of countless decisions. And that's why their expert consultants are committed to helping homeowners, builders, contractors and designers bring all the details together. You can count on support from them start to finish, from choosing the right products to coordinating deliveries with your project schedule. Book a one on one consultation at your local Ferguson Home showroom or shop online at Ferguson Home. Whether you're working on a new kitchen, a new bathroom or a whole home remodel. You'll find the latest designs and technologies from the brands you trust at Ferguson Home.
- [42:23]
Donald
Hey Donald, really flying on that treadmill.
- [42:25]
Doug
I'm trying to run as fast AS T mobile 5G home Internet.
- [42:28]
John Middlekauff
Zach.
- [42:28]
Donald
Well you better pick it up because now T Mobile has the fastest 5G home Internet according to Ookla Speed Test.
- [42:34]
John Middlekauff
Really? How's this?
- [42:36]
Donald
T Mobile's faster than that bud. Speed up yo. Plus they've got a five year price guarantee. Come on. Faster.
- [42:43]
Doug
How can I go any faster?
- [42:44]
Donald
Channel the speed oft mobile 5G home Internet. Think hundred meter dash fast. Think drag racing fast. Think speed skating fast. Now let's bump up your speed a notch.
- [42:55]
Doug
Hey whoa whoa. That's too fast.
- [43:00]
John Middlekauff
You'll be alright.
- [43:00]
Donald
Just walk it off.
- [43:02]
Doug
Get on the fast track. T Mobile now has the fastest possible 5G home Internet. And for a limited time it starts at just 30 bucks a month with autopay and a voice line plus a five year price guarantee plus taxes and fees. Fastest according to Ooklev Speed test intelligence data. Second Half 2025 all rights reserved guarantee for monthly price of 5G Internet data on eligible plans. Find exclusions and details@t mobile.com My shopping
- [43:24]
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- [44:00]
John Middlekauff
Hit on just some NFL stories I I did see this article. I wanted to pull up the quote because we've been talking a lot about this is the difference between cash and salary cap. So I I pulled up the cash spending in heading into 2026 in the NFL the Niners were one at like $350 million. The Broncos, the Colts, the Bills, the Eagles, the Cowboys, all these teams are spending more cash. All above 320, 330, 340. The salary caps, what $300 million. So they are spending more money than the cap exists. And the athletic Mike Sando did an article on the AFC and he basically got unnamed GMs and assistant coaches and head coaches and guys just to give quotes on the stuff that happened. And there was, you know, different takes on DJ Moore And Max Crosby and Trey Hendrickson. But I found this really interesting because I listen, I think Jim Harbaugh is a star. I think he's one of the best coaches I've seen in my lifetime. And I think the Chargers are going to be a, a massive problem this year. I think they're going to be really good over the next couple of years. Years. But this, this executive brought up an interesting point. He says once you have owners who say, no, I want to go for it, it becomes really hard for teams who are passive to win big. If you're the Chargers or the Bengals and you're going to play this thing passive, yeah, you're going to compete with the Ravens right now and the Broncos right now. But in two years it's going to be different. Teams that have passed you, their quarterback is making $24 million in base salary this season and they're going to be the lowest cash spending team in the NFL, take advantage of this and go get good players, even if it's just on one year deals. So when you look at the cash spending this according to spot track, Miami has manipulated the books a little bit because they have traded away some guys. So technically they're dead last in $200 million in cash spending because a lot of their salary cap of that $300 million is going to be dead money, right? Tyreek Tua waddle. So their salary cap is going to go well. They're using up to $300 million. But the Miami Dolphins as of right now are only spending $200 million. Right above them at number 31 in the NFL is the Chargers at $230 million. Yet they want to compete against the Bills, the Broncos, the Ravens, who are all top eight teams, and the Chiefs who are not far away at 12. But it's only the difference of three or four million. The Chiefs are spending a hundred million dollars more than the Chargers. Now listen, I was in the car a couple days ago and I heard Joe Ortiz, actually this was Eric Sullivan talk the new GM for the Dolphins of like, you got to be careful in free agency because unless you're signing a Pro bowl player, you're overpaying for average to good players and it can get you in some weird spots. So I understand you got to be hesitant. But the Chargers invested all this money into Jim Harbaugh and the coaching staff. They brought Joe Ortiz from the Ravens if they're second to last in cash spending. And the only reason they're not dead last, because the Dolphins essentially are tanking and Traded away or cut all their good players or just high price players, I didn't quite realize that. And the world they're in, the jets, the Falcons, the Saints, Arizona, I mean, the group of teams they're in from cash spending is not good. It does show you though, if you pay or get the right coach, he can overcome stuff like this. Because the Spanos family who listen, they've been historically cheap. And like I said, to me, being frugal is a disease. It's something that you get young and you don't overcome. Most people who are cheap at like 24 are not like big tippers and big spenders and, you know, loose with their money at 55. That's not usually the way it works. Historically. Tiger woods and Michael Jordan, both billionaires, extremely cheap, well, guess what? When they were 18, when they were 24, they're no different than they were at 50 and 60 years old. It is something that is ingrained in your soul. And Dean Spanos probably gets it from his dad who came up in a world where money in the NFL was a lot different. I know the Chiefs and Andy and Veach have battled this with the Hunts because when you have been in this business back in the 60s, the 70s, the 80s, the money was not like today. And the Spanos family, who's been around for a long time in the NFL, you know, they struggle with some stuff. And to me, that quote, he if I ran a team that's competing for the super bowl against these other teams in my conference that are spending a ton of money in my own division, I'd be embarrassed. I, I really would. So good luck on them overcoming that. This segment is change of scenery sponsored by our friends at Toyota. I saw this interesting nugget that Brian Schottenheimer said, clearly, OSA Digazua, the pass rushing penetrator, was one of his favorite players on the team. Excellent player, just this interior penetrating pass rusher. Well, the Cowboys, whose defense was atrocious last year, are changing their scheme and OSA no longer fit. So they had to trade him. He's under a big contract. And the 49ers, like, here's the third round pick, we will take him immediately. And John lynch said that they were in on a couple guys like that they thought they had and fell through like they were being aggressive on veteran players using a trade. Brian Schadenheimer said when he talked to him on the phone after the trade, he cried. He wept. If you're another team and you trade for a player and that player's coach who has. It's not like the guy drafted him. How long Schottenheimer been there? Was there one year with McCarthy and then last year was the head coach. So he's been around him a couple years. I'd feel better. I'd be like, God, this, this is what I want. And the Niners are really fired up to have him. He's an excellent positional scheme fit for them who basically just have one gap, get up the field, chase the quarterback with their defensive line. But, you know, we talk a lot about these guys, make a lot of money. And it's no different with coaches. It's a bizarre profession. You know, for most of us, we. We just kind of get to live where we want to live. If we don't want to move, we can just say no. If someone tries to hire us or something and we're not interested, we. We don't have to do it. When you're in this world, you just. It's a, it's a nomadic lifestyle, which I, I'm not a nomadic individual. That. That is not something that, like, picking up and moving and changing houses is not something that I would be into at all. Like, I really respect. Listen, I might have got the Tommy Lloyd thing wrong. All signs point to Tommy Lloyd being the next head coach in North Carolina. I said a couple weeks ago, I'm like, why would you leave Arizona? Teams loaded. They had a bunch of nil money. Turns out Gottlieb said Michael Jordan called him. Maybe he doesn't love his ad and he's probably gonna leave. So I'm. I'll be on Cold Takes, Exposed or whatever. But that guy's led a pretty good life for 20 plus years. He was just with Mark Few and Gonzaga, and then one of the best jobs open and he went to Arizona for five years and now he's going to go to North Carolina where if he has success like he did at Arizona in North Carolina, he could be there for 20 years. You might look back and go, this guy's had three jobs in, you know, in 35 years. That's. That's pretty abnormal. Look at like click Kubiax. Go to his Wikipedia. It's like the Vikings, the Browns, the Texans, the Raiders, Seattle, the Saints is like flock. You know, I mean, they. Honey, we're moving again. And listen, I. These guys do well, so I'm not crying for them, but I couldn't do that. I couldn't. I have no interest doing that. It's not the lifestyle I would want. So It's. It's always cool to see guys get a little stability, but these people are humans, you know, and you get. You get the call. It's like, yeah, we got to trade this guy. We need to open up some cab space. He's not going to fit the scheme. It sucks. You know, it's just, is. Is part of pro sports. It used to not, you know, part of college sports, was like, kind of had your team, you recruited a guy, he was with you for three or four years, five years. Now. College is a lot like that, too. I don't know if many people cry in college. They just. People just bounce. There are still strong relationships in the pros. So Toyota reminds us when people are the destination, it's not about where you're headed, but who you're headed there with. Learn more@toyota.com and find a vehicle that fits your people. One other story I. I've seen a lot. I'm not like, you know, people get so worked up when they see people do things that they think they shouldn't be doing. Like, I. I'm less phased by that part of these big corporations. Like Nate Burleson on. On the college basketball main show he's hosting it. It's like, yeah, this was basic business. They're paying the guy probably an astronomical amount of money. If Nate Burleson's salary came out at cbs, people's jaw would probably hit the floor. So if you're paying a guy a ton of money and you need to fill a spot, you're not just like, hey, let's pay another guy $10 million. You just try to figure that out. Most of these executives aren't exactly like Belichick or Pat Riley when it comes to personnel moves. Most of them in the sports tv just see people under contract that make a lot of money are famous people. It's like, oh, Joe Montana retired. Put him in the booth. Lasted like a year. But when I was a kid, it was like, Joe Montana, Emmett Smith, Jerry Rice, the most famous guys in the NFL. They were all terrible. And then sometimes, like, Greg Olson, this decent tight end, I guess he was better than a decent. He was good tight end. It's like one of the best broadcasters, right? Just, you never know. Working in TV or podcasting or radio or whatever has, like, you're either entertaining. You're not like, Jon Gruden's entertaining, like, or good on tv. Not because he was a Super bowl winning coach, because he's legitimately entertaining. Like, that's just something he's Good at it. Comes naturally to him. Right. Trey Aikman's good at tv. He obviously was a great quarterback, but he's just good on television. Looks the part, handles it, gives strong opinions like talent. I don't remember Chris Collinsworth ever playing a snap in the NFL. Good on television. So ultimately, my point is, is when these networks now are paying these guys huge sums of money, they try to use them in a lot of different roles. And everyone freaked out because I saw today that Jason Kelsey, you know, ESPN and NFL now merged. So the NFL Network is owned by Disney, which is obviously owns ESPN as well. So under that umbrella, not exactly sure how this going to work. A lot of people still have questions. You know, rap sheet, Pelissaro. They got legitimate people. Hopefully they're able to merge it and just make a bunch of NFL content. We'll see how it all plays out. Right. I would imagine my guy DJ just replaces Mo Kuiper. Like they got a bigger roster for football, which obviously means a lot to him. But if you think about it, a lot of the international games have been on NFL Network. So when you wake up bright and early on a Sunday, you're watching the Germany game, the Madrid game, whatever game on Sunday morning, halfway across the world. It was on NFL Network. Rich Eisen and Kurt Warner. Well, some sources say that Jason Kelsey might fill that role because the NFL Network, those five or six games, I think it might be up to seven games, is going to be owned by espn. So espn, like, that's where that game's going to be. And ESPN for sure is putting that game either on ESPN or on abc. Don't think twice about that. They are going to make their money on that product, and Kelsey's doing that. But Kelsey became controversial because, you know, they put him on tgl. I think next week he's doing stuff at the Masters. And people like overexposure. If you don't like it, don't watch it. Like, it's just this is part of the deal when these companies pay people. Jason Kell, ESPN's probably paying him 10, $15 million. You think they're just going to use them once a week on a studio leading into Monday Night Football? No chance. They're trying to get their money's worth. So it's just. It's part of the gig. I mean, it just is. Now, if he annoys you, is a little overexposure. I get it. Kelsey's are a lot of places. Five, six years ago, they were just like two hall of Fame players now. Everywhere you look, they're kind of in your face. But I've always liked them. I enjoy them. Is he going to annoy some people at the Masters? 100%. But as Pat McAfee, I saw this clip went viral yesterday. He's like, everyone's pissed off. Well, at least we've been begging to go to the Masters for like three straight years since we've been a part of ESPN on the par three course. And every time Augusta tells him, get, you're not welcome here. So it's like, clearly someone at Augusta had to give the go ahead. Today's podcast is brought to you by Ferguson Home. Whether you're a homeowner creating your dream space or a pro managing multiple projects, Ferguson Home is where it all comes together. Ferguson Home is designed for the way you want to shop. Experience today's top products by brands like KitchenAid firsthand by visiting a Ferguson Home showroom, where you'll explore stunning displays featuring today's latest products and innovations, or browse their extended selection of products online. Ferguson Home understands that every project is made up of countless decisions. And that's why their expert consultants are committed to helping homeowners, builders, contractors and designers bring all the details together. You can count on support from them start to finish, from choosing the right products to coordinating deliveries with your project schedule. Book a one on one consultation at your local Ferguson Home showroom or shop online@fergusonhome.com whether you're working on a new kitchen, a new bathroom, or a whole home remodel, you'll find the latest designs and technologies from the brands you trust at Ferguson Home.
- [58:55]
Donald
Hey, Donald, really flying on that treadmill?
- [58:57]
Doug
I'm trying to run as fast AS T mobile. 5G home Internet, Zack.
- [59:00]
Donald
Well, you better pick it up because now T Mobile has the fastest 5G home Internet according to OOKLA Speed Test.
- [59:06]
John Middlekauff
Really? How's this?
- [59:08]
Donald
T Mobile's faster than that, bud. Speed up. No. Plus, they've got a five year price guarantee. Come on.
- [59:14]
Doug
Faster. How can I go any faster?
- [59:16]
Donald
Channel the speed of t mobile 5G home Internet. Think 100 meter dash fast. Think drag racing fast. Think speed skating fast. Now let's bump up your speed a notch.
- [59:27]
Doug
Hey. Whoa, whoa. That's too fast.
- [59:32]
John Middlekauff
You'll be all right.
- [59:33]
Donald
Just walk it off.
- [59:34]
Doug
Get on the fast track. T Mobile now has the fastest 5G home Internet. And for a limited time, it starts at just 30 bucks a month with autopay and a voice line plus a five year price guarantee plus taxes and fees. Fastest according to Ooklev Speed test intelligence data second half 2025 all rights reserved guarantee for monthly price of 5G. Internet data on eligible plans. Find exclusions and details@t mobile.com My shopping
- [59:56]
Amex Blue Cash Everyday Card Advertiser
style is more stay at home than try in store. So my Amex Blue Cash Everyday card is my go to accessory. When I shop it's easy to earn by getting 3% cash back on US online retail purchases. Each order brings me closer to more cash back. So go ahead, add the cart and shop the latest styles. Reinvent your look and reward yourself with Amex and try on the Blue Cash every day card. Learn more@americanexpress.com Explore BCE terms and cash back cap Apply.
- [60:30]
Doug
Foreign
- [60:32]
John Middlekauff
with Fugazi Friday again We're going to do a big mailbag multiple next week running mailbag at John Middlekopf Instagram firing those dms A lot of you guys have and I will answer your questions next week. But today a couple fugazis first and foremost, like most of you have done over the course of your adult life, dealing with insurance companies. And this isn't just an insurance company issue. This is a lot of different companies. But I will use an insurance example. There was some question with the insurance and my kid and he had to go to, you know, the pediatrician a day and we, we had to call the insurance to get. They just weren't on the same page and it was a pain in the ass. But I never understand when you call these companies, USAA does this, a lot of these companies do it and you get the automated service and all of a sudden they start asking your questions, right? What is your member id? What is your date of birth? What is your address? What is your Social Security? And there's no way to avoid it. So you just, you know, 10, whatever, blah, blah, and you just give it all. And then when you finally, probably 25 minutes later get a human being on the other end of the line that says, hey, welcome to Blue Cross Blue Shield Arizona. You're like, oh, thank God she asked you the same questions. So you have just listed the seven things that the automated AI services ask you to give. You give it, they verify it, they say, hey John, thanks for being a member here for four years. You know, the, the computer's talking back to you. Then when you get the human, you have to repeat the same information. And today I was thinking, because I had to do it twice, almost lost my mind. You know, sometimes when you're waiting on hold and, and that music in the background, I don't Know if they, they give that music at like, you know, in war areas, like POWs, but that can drive you insane. I, I was on the phone for like 40 minutes today. 28 of those were just listening to that repeat sound. It's like, I, I, I could go insane. And I'm on edge right now every minute that went by. But I had no choice. I had to wait because I needed some information. And then I just had to repeat the information that I had given 20 minutes ago, which clearly led me to this person. And she knew what I needed. I just, I don't quite understand that. And it happens everywhere. Banking, you name it. I mean, all these companies, what's the point? To verify me, then to verify me again? It's not like once I talk to the human, I give them some other piece of information that truly then verifies me. But it is what it is, and I'll end on this. I saw some viral clips this week of. Over the course of the tournament, Tom Izzo and Dan Hurley were both questioned in media availability sessions about if they thought their hard coaching style worked and was needed. And I wanted to throw up in my mouth. And both of them, you know, just, you could tell, tried to handle themselves. Both gave really good answers. And Hurley eventually said, like, I do this to push these guys because in the real world, no one gives a shit about you. It is cruel. It is cutthroat. And I started thinking to myself, the real world, relative to what these kids are experiencing as Division 1 athletes playing, you know, in the NCAA tournament, couldn't be more of a 180. You know, if you think about it as a college athlete, you get all your meals taken care of. Now with nil, you're making a ton of money. You got a great life, you got the pick of the litter on campus. You know, you get, you do whatever you want. I mean, nowadays, all classes are online, AKA you're not taking any. It's a joke. Which again, I got no problem with. I thought classes in college were, I mean, you talk about a fugazi, but for someone to have the, I don't even want to say the balls. The, like, it feels so out of touch with life because just dealing, like having a family, dealing with yesterday, my dryer just went up in smoke, essentially, like every day in life, I've been fired. I've lost parents, I've lost friends. Like it's a motherfucker. And the more and more people you can surround yourself with who can kind of teach you that and not Just kind of keep you in a little bubble in a cocoon and think there's some utopia out there. Because that's not the way it exists to ask two of. I mean, Tom Izzo is going to go down as one of the most successful coaches in the history of college sports. And Dan Hurley is currently on what has a chance to be non John Wooden, one of the greatest runs in NCAA basketball history. To ask is their coaching style is like too mean if they're not nice enough, if it was, do you think any of these guys would want to play for him just because they were getting money? They could get money anywhere. All these big schools are now offering money. Why would anyone go play for the quote, unquote asshole. Guess what, high achievers. People want to be pushed. And I can speak for men. Sometimes we like getting screamed at. Sometimes I like being humble a little bit, even if I disagree. Kind of keeps you on your toes a little bit. I would say most people I know worth their salt, whether they're athletes, whether they're businessmen, whatever they do, parents kind of like a little, you know, contention, kind of like a little anger and screaming every once in a while. You know what I call it? Healthy. You know what I call it? Real life. Because real life is not all skittles and rainbows. It's not all smiles. Not everything goes well. You get thrown curveballs every single day. There is no handbook for life like no one prepares you for. When you have a child, when you buy a house, when you get into business, you just kind of figure it out on your own. But the, the easier it is to figure out on your own is all the people when you were young that push you, that made you uncomfortable, that prepared you for these situations. Why do you think all these players, whether they became stars in the NFL or just, you know, didn't really play much after college, spoke so highly of Nick Saban, who was absolutely insane to play for. Because as you age, as life starts coming in your 30s and your 40s, you realize the things he taught you really, really mattered. And unlike pro sports, where, let's face it, it's much more black and white. I'll cut you, I'll get rid of you, I might become friends with you, but relationships matter less. We just have a goal. College, like you are around 18, 19, 20 year old people that are extremely impressionable. And the good college coaches, football and basketball and I'm sure a bunch of other sports, but those sports have a lot of money and eyeballs behind it, have the opportunity to really help. You know, a lot of these guys have, they've been shaped a little bit once they come to the program, but really put them in position to propel them to excel in life. I'll never forget being around Coach Hill at Fresno State, who was really intense, who would mfu, who would scream at you, who would ride guys. But I bet to a man, everyone that played for the guy at Fresno State for 13 plus years would say the lessons they learned playing for him, being pushed mentally and physically put them in position when they went into their communities, into different, you know, areas throughout, wherever they went to live, raising families, working for whoever, running a company, doing whatever they went on to do, change the course of their life for the better. And I just think sometimes, you know, the media's approval rating speaks for itself. It's never been lower. I just don't think they're that relatable to a lot of normal human beings. Some of these questions that get asked like that, because I think most people, wherever you stand in life would be like, you're questioning those two guys. Those are the two guys that you're asking, like, is this working? I just, I, I, it just made me, it baffles me. And you think at this point in time, like, it wouldn't even come up. Maybe the guy's trying to go viral. I, I don't know. But if they truly, like, believe that's a question that should be asked, like, I question that human being. But I also think this, like those of you that have been pushed throughout life and realized early on, whether through sports, whether through just some of the hardships in your life, the advantage you have against the people that can't have or don't have that capability is priceless because they have absolutely no chance, let me repeat, no shot to compete against you. Because in life, that's outside of the court, outside of the field, whatever. Most of us are in some sort of business, and a huge part of business is competing your competition for consumers. There are other people that you're going against who just don't have that wiring. And they're why? Because like Dan Hurley said, this world's cruel and it doesn't care about anybody. It truly doesn't. And it'll eat you alive if you're not ready. So props to those two guys, specifically Dan Hurley, who's just a maniac kicking ass and clearly for a reason. His works, The volume. This is an I heart podcast, guaranteed human.