3 & Out - NFL Kicking off on a Wednesday, Latest with Puka Nacua, Final Four Picks

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd – "3 & Out: NFL Kicking off on a Wednesday, Latest with Puka Nacua, Final Four Picks"

Date: March 26, 2026
Host: John Middlekauff (with Daniel Cormier)
Podcast Feed: iHeartPodcasts and The Volume

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the major sports headlines of late March, with John Middlekauff and Daniel Cormier exploring:

• The NFL’s international kickoff in Australia and its ripple effects on the 49ers, Rams, and NFL scheduling
• How the new NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) era has fundamentally changed college sports and coaching
• The current situation and concerns surrounding Rams star receiver Puka Nacua
• Updates on quarterback situations including Patrick Mahomes’ recovery and draft prospects like Ty Simpson
• Quick takes on Final Four picks and a lively mailbag segment covering NFL team strategies, sports business, and more

The tone is direct, opinionated, and engaging, mixing detailed analysis with personal anecdotes and sharp humor.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. NFL Season Opening in Australia – Logistical Headache and Brand Expansion

• Context: The 2026 NFL season will open with the 49ers and Rams playing in Australia at 10:30am Friday local time, forcing other schedule shifts, including a Wednesday opener for the Seahawks.
• Key Insight:
  • The NFL wants to grow globally but this Australia game is a logistical “fiasco” for teams and fans.
  • “To me the issue is taking two teams who are a 45 minute flight away from each other… and sending them 17 hours away for a game at 10:30am local? It’s insane.” (John Middlekauff, 06:49)
• NFL’s priorities: The league is prioritizing TV and streaming windows (especially with Netflix, Apple, Amazon deals) over the experience of players and fans.
• Impact on coaches: Middlekauff argues that 49ers’ Shanahan and Rams’ McVay “have the juice” and should raise more objections.
  • “If I were those two guys… I would cause a huge stink over this.” (John, 09:55)
• On the fan experience:
  • “Are you as excited knowing you gotta take the day off work to go to the stadium at 10:30am?” (John, 11:50)
• Bottom line: The NFL’s international push is driven by money and global TV, with little concern for the actual game day experience or team fairness.

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2. College Sports in the NIL Era – A Money Game Now

• Big Theme: The show sharply critiques outdated narratives around tradition, coaching legacy, and legacy recruiting in college sports.
• Key Insight:
  • “In 2026, none of that shit matters… How much will you pay me?” (John, 16:02)
• Changing job values: Coaching jobs at places like Indiana or North Carolina depend almost entirely on the NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) budget—history and legacy are distant seconds.
• Examples:
  • “Indiana could have got Matt Campbell—no problem. You know why? They have a big budget to pay the players.” (John, 16:53)
  • “North Carolina in basketball, just like Ohio State under Ryan Day… it’s because they have one of, if not the highest budgets to pay the players.” (17:38)
• On recruiting and transfers:
  • Players now move “not because they care about history, but because they paid $7 million.” (John, 17:42)
  • “USC just had the #1 recruiting class… It was simply because in the state of California you can give high school kids money before they show up on campus.” (20:04)
• Conclusion:
  • “Whenever I see these people talk about these jobs, Alabama is no longer the same Alabama under DeBoer as it was under Saban… If you’re willing to pay for it, you’ll get whoever you want.” (23:03)

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3. Puka Nacua’s Fork in the Road

• Situation: Rams WR Puka Nacua is under scrutiny for off-field decision-making and rumored drama, apparently facing a make-or-break moment.
• Key Insight:
  • “For whatever reason, Puka Nakua’s decision making over the last six to eight months feels really shitty… Figure your shit out.” (John, 33:03)
• On trust and team confidence:
  • “Until they pay him [a big contract], that’s the only thing I have to go off. But as of right now, he’s not someone you could trust giving $120 million guaranteed to.” (John, 34:04)
• On player choices:
  • “I believe, and I’m not trying to be Stephen A. Smith, he’s kind of at a fork in the road… draw a line in the sand or keep going down a bad road.” (34:26)
• Advice: Nakua is surrounded by high-character veterans (Stafford, Devante) and needs to learn from their example to avoid career derailment.

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4. Quick Quarterback Updates and Draft Takes

a. Patrick Mahomes Recovery

• Observation: Video shows Mahomes throwing three months post-ACL surgery.
• Team confidence: “I think it’s fair to say… I would be prepared for Patrick Mahomes to play week one. I wouldn’t go there yet, but that’s how fast it’s moving.” (John, 37:23)
• Takeaway: Chiefs will have a “chip on their shoulder” this year after roster changes.

b. Draft: Ty Simpson & Evaluation Controversy

• Debate: Is Ty Simpson really a 1st-round pick, or is he getting hyped due to agency connections (CAA and media figures)?
• Key Quote: “Those type players for me are guys that are drafted after pick 100… [But] there are people in the league who think he’s a first-round pick.” (John, 38:28–40:33)
• On scouting:
  • “Most players, you can argue ‘til you’re blue in the face… It’s not really how it works.” (John, 41:30)
  • “If everyone in the room is thinking the same way, you’re probably in the wrong room, and you’re probably going to get to a bad decision.” (John, 44:05)

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5. Change of Scenery: Joe Flacco’s AFC North Odyssey (44:41)

• Talk: Flacco nearly played for every team in the AFC North, but ended up back with the Bengals.
• Take: “At 41, you can just basically throw deep balls and check it down. But I appreciate his chip on his shoulder still.” (John, 46:07)
• Fun note: “Would’ve been really cool to see him complete the four corners… the completion of playing for every team [in the AFC North].” (John, 46:38)

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6. March Madness / Final Four Picks (49:55)

• John’s Picks: Arkansas, St. John’s (Johnny’s), Nebraska, Michigan.
• Reasoning: Not about tradition, but NIL funding and “who’s got the money now.”
• Quote: “Arkansas has a chance to not only make the Final Four… not because Nolan Richardson and Corliss Williamson in the 90’s… It’s because Tyson Chicken and the NIL behind that program is big time.” (John, 50:47)

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7. Mailbag Q&A – Insights and Hot Takes

(Timestamps: 51:46–67:11)

• Podcast topics if not sports? John says he’d do food (“I do love to eat”), not politics or travel.
• Young teams like the Packers: Youth can “get brought up to speed immediately” with good veteran presence. “When you have established people on the team, they bring you along quick.” (Daniel, 55:13)
• Could GM John Schneider get equity in a Seahawks sale? Unlikely; “Typically rich people aren’t just big on handing out equity… Especially when it sells for $10 billion.” (John, 56:35)
• Should billionaires buy NFL teams? “Might be a pain in the ass… everyone’s on you. If things go bad, everyone thinks you’re an idiot.” (John, 57:27)
• When do bad teams give up? Not really until deep in the season. NFL is cutthroat and “players get evaluated very, very thoroughly every single week, win, lose or draw.” (John, 61:59)
• On first-round draft strategy for the Ravens: Pass rush is a bigger need than interior O-line. “Defensive line would be an area they could go—like Makai Lemon kind of feels like a Raven.” (John, 66:41)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments by Timestamp

• On the Australia game and NFL priorities:
  • “I would be like, fuck you. This is insane.” (John, 10:17)
  • “They don’t give a shit about the kickoff time for the fans in Australia.” (John, 07:54)
• On college sports:
  • “In 2026, none of that shit matters. How much will you pay me?” (John, 16:02)
• On Puka Nacua’s crossroads:
  • “Figure your shit out. It’s time to look in the mirror, have a little introspection, and be like, what do we need to change?” (John, 36:52)
• On youth in the NFL:
  • “You can go to a job and not really know what you’re doing, but if you have a good mentor… you turn the corner quick.” (Daniel, 55:13)
• On the Ravens’ draft:
  • “Defensive line would be an area in which 100% they could go.” (John, 66:41)

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Notable Segments with Timestamps

• NFL Australia game and international scheduling: [02:33] – [12:53]
• College sports NIL transformation: [12:53] – [24:25]
• Puka Nacua’s career crossroad: [29:26] – [36:52]
• QB injuries, Mahomes, Ty Simpson, and draft chat: [37:00] – [44:32]
• Joe Flacco’s journey & "change of scenery": [44:41] – [47:05]
• Final Four picks: [49:55] – [51:46]
• Middlekauff Mailbag: [51:46] – [67:11]

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Summary

This episode offers a lively, opinionated tour through current NFL drama, the financial realities of college sports in 2026, and pointed commentary on player and coach behavior. Middlekauff’s takes are blunt—and often funny—making this a valuable listen for anyone interested in the business and cultural trends driving sports today.

Useful for:

• Fans curious about NFL scheduling, team dynamics, and the business of global football.
• Anyone trying to understand how college sports have changed in the NIL era.
• Those interested in draft strategy, team-building, and athlete career management.
• College basketball fans hunting for a sharp take on March Madness and the new economics behind school powerhouses.

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End of content summary.

Transcript

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

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[John Middlekauff]

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first purchase the volume.

[John Middlekauff]

What is going on my people John Middlekop three now podcast happy sweet 16.

[Daniel Cormier]

Let's go Arkansas and the Johnny's. I'll actually pick my final four a little bit later, but we got a. We got a busy, busy show because I, I, I need to dive in on the Australian game which is kicking off at 10.30am on Friday in Australia for the Niners and the Rams. I a take with college sports that is driving me nuts. I want to dive into Puka Nakua. Feels like the guy's kind of life's at a fork in the road.

[John Middlekauff]

Ty Simpson.

[Daniel Cormier]

That argument just continues.

[John Middlekauff]

There's video of Mahomes.

[Daniel Cormier]

We will we'll do a little change

[John Middlekauff]

of scenery today and when with a

[Daniel Cormier]

couple mailbag questions at John Middle Coffee. Is the Instagram fire in those dms. So yeah, that'll, that'll kind of do. We got a lot going on. I'm fired up for today's show. You guys know the drill. If you listen on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe to three and out. If all of our video, all of our video up on Netflix, go check that out. I'm actually recording this before the Giants Yankees which is also on Netflix. It's weird. I mean I grew up a die hard Giants fan but I of enjoy

[John Middlekauff]

the Yankees in a weird way because

[Daniel Cormier]

I don't think the Giants are going to be any good. I'm going to root for the Yankees this year. Maybe not tonight but I'm excited for a little regular season baseball on in the background. But let's dive into some football. I do want to start with the

[John Middlekauff]

news that because of the dates and

[Daniel Cormier]

their rules with high school football that the NFL can't play on Friday during a certain stretch of the year. And because this year the first week falls under that, that that time frame,

[John Middlekauff]

they were not going to be able

[Daniel Cormier]

to play on Friday. So they're pushing Seattle, which the defending champs always host the opening game on Wednesday because the 49ers and Rams, which we've been talking about are, you know, it's well, I mean well known now

[John Middlekauff]

are playing in Australia and because of

[Daniel Cormier]

the flight, you know it's going to take them, you know, a day and a half to get there. They can't do it just in a random weekend. It's got to be week one, right. And I, I want to start overall like I understand the mindset between international football like trying to grow in other

[John Middlekauff]

markets, especially when you're going to get in bed with people like Netflix, which

[Daniel Cormier]

we love being in bed with them here. Apple plus, you know, Amazon Prime I

[John Middlekauff]

would imagine is international.

[Daniel Cormier]

I can't, don't quote me on that one. Just never tried.

[John Middlekauff]

But I do understand the desire to

[Daniel Cormier]

try to grow your business and I

[John Middlekauff]

think these games in The UK in Germany have set up pretty well because they could kick them off here at 9:30am Eastern. But they were prime time for those guys. So when they were playing the game it was like playing a five o' clock or depending on where you were in the country, a night game on Thursday, Sunday or Monday for the players like they, they had the rhythm to the day on game day of playing a later game, non morning or afternoon. But the prime time window if you're playing like Sunday night football. I think the problem with Australia, which let me say this, it is a great sports place, they are a very, very passionate group of people when it comes to athletics.

[Daniel Cormier]

I, I mean I'm a big golf guy.

[John Middlekauff]

Liv has gone there for a couple years now and it has been a raging success. It has kind of been the defining moment of the Saudi store.

[Daniel Cormier]

You know, obviously rugby is massive there. I mean these are people that like a violent sport. So it makes a lot of sense. It's obviously football is different than rugby,

[John Middlekauff]

but like these people like athletics. So I get it. To me the issue is taking two teams who are a 45 minute flight away from each other. If you get on a plane in

[Daniel Cormier]

Sacramento to go to Los angeles, it's like 55 minutes.

[John Middlekauff]

If you get on a plane in San Jose, like a little under 45 minutes, you, you can't be any closer. There probably aren't that many games where you have to hop on a flight in the National Football League or in college where you're in the air for less time than when the 49ers and

[Daniel Cormier]

the Rams play each other and you're

[John Middlekauff]

taking these two teams and you're taking them international, which if you were taking them to the UK I'd be like, okay. But there's a 17 hour time difference. And the reality is in growing this business, which the NFL and, and specifically Raj is, and I'm sure the owners are obsessed with, I mean, I mean they are just, they, they go from six to midnight when they think about some new fans in some of these international markets. Yet they make all their money here because the television window in which they build this game around is a night game. 8:30 Eastern Time, 5:30 out here on the west coast. Here's the problem for Kyle and Sean McVeigh. They have to get their team ready to kick off at 10:30am Pacific Time. So what the league has told you is they don't give a shit about the kickoff time for the fans in Australia. That that's not a normal big event. 10:30am On a Friday morning. No sport in America does that. None. Now, some events that go several days, maybe like a golf tournament, has golf going on on Friday, but the main event of a golf tournament is Saturday and Sunday. No different than, let's say, tennis, right? You obviously have a bunch of tennis matches early on in the tournament, and as you get down to the quarters, to the semis, to the finals, you start putting that bad boy in a primetime window. So when the league has gone international in the UK In Mexico, in Germany, they have tried to situate it in a great time slot for the people there attending the event and then manipulated it over here, I. E. The early morning kickoff. The problem is the time difference in Australia is so extreme, they don't have a choice because they would never, not in a million years, kick off Rams 49ers at 10:30am in the States. Roger would jump off the Walt Whitman Bridge before he even. I mean, he would fire anyone that broached that idea to him. But to get this game on in prime time and play it, that's what

[Daniel Cormier]

they have to do.

[John Middlekauff]

Now, I get it that Kyle and Sean coming off training camp are going to have to manipulate.

[Daniel Cormier]

You know how they do things.

[John Middlekauff]

I'm sure they go over way early, but here's what I know, that Sean

[Daniel Cormier]

McVeigh and Kyle Shanahan are made men in their organizations.

[John Middlekauff]

They are more important.

[Daniel Cormier]

Like, obviously, the owner can't. Is not gonna fire himself, but they

[John Middlekauff]

have so much juice that they can off the owner, and there's not much

[Daniel Cormier]

the owners can do. Their specific owner.

[John Middlekauff]

The owner's meetings is right around the

[Daniel Cormier]

corner here in Arizona.

[John Middlekauff]

If I were those two guys who probably have the most juice in the

[Daniel Cormier]

younger crew, I would cause a huge stink over this. Now, I'm sure they've known about this. Maybe it just kind of came to our attention when they've really done the

[John Middlekauff]

math and the time zone difference. But these are two of the best teams in the league. These are two of the most important

[Daniel Cormier]

coaches in the league.

[John Middlekauff]

These are two of the biggest brands

[Daniel Cormier]

in the league nationally. I would be like, fuck you.

[John Middlekauff]

This is insane. What are we. Do we have to play week one a massive, massive divisional game? I mean, these games can be the determining factor of who gets the one

[Daniel Cormier]

seed and who gets the five seed.

[John Middlekauff]

When the dust settles in early January and we're kicking off In Australia at

[Daniel Cormier]

10:30am Eastern, that means our players have to get to the field at 7:45

[John Middlekauff]

when the buses arrive.

[Daniel Cormier]

What are we doing here?

[John Middlekauff]

This Isn't big.

[Daniel Cormier]

Noon kickoff. Illinois versus usc.

[John Middlekauff]

I would be if I were those

[Daniel Cormier]

two guys beyond furious. And I'm sure they have been because they've known about this with the math much longer than it kind of came to all of our attention when we really looked at it today. But that's absurd. And I'm not, I've come around like, I understand it. I get you're just creating new revenue streams. I, I'm all for that. We try to do that here. We all got bills to pay, expenses grow, inflation. Like, I, I'm not on them for having these new ideas, right? Like expansion in the NBA. You're like, listen, the majority of your league stinks, is unwatchable. You're going to expand.

[John Middlekauff]

It's like, yeah, we're going to charge us 7 billion a team.

[Daniel Cormier]

That's 14 billion that we split up 30 ways.

[John Middlekauff]

So yeah, I, I'd vote for two

[Daniel Cormier]

if I was on their side. You know, I, I, I, I'm not

[John Middlekauff]

one of these radical media members who

[Daniel Cormier]

just despise all this. Like, I, I understand it, I get it.

[John Middlekauff]

But to me, to put this product

[Daniel Cormier]

and these two teams in that spot feels really, really unfair and feels kind of ridiculous. Now, I know people that, a lot of you guys that DM me that are Australian, you know, either, you know people that have moved from the States or people that just like football down there and you're excited for it and I get it. But are you as excited knowing that, like, you got to take the day off work, like you go to the stadium at 10:30am what other events in the sporting world have that take place? I just, I really don't get it. So I think it's ridiculous. And it'll be interesting to see if Kyle and Sean kind of throw up a red flag here in a couple of days and obviously nothing's going to change. This game's going down no matter what. But kind of do cause a stink because I, I know if I were those two guys and had the juice, I would 100% cause a sting. I would go a little Belichick. Let's piss some people off. Let's ruffle some feathers. Quick college take.

[John Middlekauff]

And we, we talked about this.

[Daniel Cormier]

I don't even know when over the course of the last week or so

[John Middlekauff]

is I, it feels like people are just copy and pasting the way we

[Daniel Cormier]

talk about college sports in the nil

[John Middlekauff]

era, from the pre nil era. It's like, guys, what happened in I,

[Daniel Cormier]

I think about this in the business, I Work in.

[John Middlekauff]

I. I can't even relate to the

[Daniel Cormier]

2015 me, a guy that was working on radio and that's a decade ago.

[John Middlekauff]

And the things that have dramatically changed

[Daniel Cormier]

in my industry and hell, what I'm

[John Middlekauff]

doing now, I could have moved anywhere in the world and done my show

[Daniel Cormier]

and been every bit as successful.

[John Middlekauff]

It did not matter. That wasn't even possible that long ago. I mean, seriously, I think about this from a. From the fact that over the course of the last 24 hours, I ordered a baby seat for the stroller so

[Daniel Cormier]

we can go on walks and he looks out.

[John Middlekauff]

I ordered gas drops so it got kind of breaks down the milk in his stomach.

[Daniel Cormier]

Any parents know that, you know, you get burpee and gassy and these things help.

[John Middlekauff]

And I ordered air conditioner AC filters for my house because I realized I

[Daniel Cormier]

hadn't changed them in a while. And as the heat's coming in, you don't want old filters and, you know,

[John Middlekauff]

dirty air by the press of a button. Ten years ago, I would have had to get in my car and probably go to three separate places.

[Daniel Cormier]

Ace Hardware, whatever, the baby store that has this stuff, and Safeway to pick up the three items. It would have been a pain.

[John Middlekauff]

Now I literally just go to an app called Amazon and order everything. I can always need new toothpaste, press of a button.

[Daniel Cormier]

Thank you, Jeff Bezos.

[John Middlekauff]

If I would have told you that 10 plus years ago, you'd be like, what?

[Daniel Cormier]

That's not possible. No, not doing that.

[John Middlekauff]

No, that's what we do. Amazon. You mean the bookstore? No, this is actually. They deliver everything. Literally every. Anything you need. Hell, I got new outdoor furniture for the summer.

[Daniel Cormier]

I needed things because we've had crappy outdoor furniture before.

[John Middlekauff]

We didn't have any covers.

[Daniel Cormier]

And anyone that knows if you live in a sunny, warm place, the sun destroys outdoor furniture. Before, we had cheap furniture, it didn't necessarily matter, but it brutalized them this

[John Middlekauff]

time around, got a little bit nicer furniture. It's like we need to have, especially

[Daniel Cormier]

if we leave for a couple weeks

[John Middlekauff]

in the summer or just we're not using it covers.

[Daniel Cormier]

What did I do? Went to Amazon, pressed a button, delivered. They all fit. That's how much life has changed where we live in 2026.

[John Middlekauff]

You can moan about it.

[Daniel Cormier]

I enjoy it. Makes life a lot more simple.

[John Middlekauff]

And the one thing about college sports is before it was like history really mattered. This is where so and so played. This is where so and so coached. This is. This program has won this many titles. This program has this Practice facility and these cool things in the locker room. And look how big their weight room is in 2026. None of that shit, I repeat, none

[Daniel Cormier]

of that shit matters.

[John Middlekauff]

How much will you pay me? The nil budget or the budget to pay the players, Whatever that revenue, I don't even know.

[Daniel Cormier]

It's kind of ever fluid is the

[John Middlekauff]

number one thing that matters. If Kurt Signetti had just left Indiana

[Daniel Cormier]

a couple months ago to be the

[John Middlekauff]

head coach of the Raiders, Indiana was the losing his program in the history of the sport.

[Daniel Cormier]

Two years ago, before Signetti got there,

[John Middlekauff]

it would have been a job that

[Daniel Cormier]

would have been looked at like, that's a terrible job. Do not touch that.

[John Middlekauff]

If Signetti had just left, they would have had the pick of sweet coaches. They would have easily got Matt Campbell, who went to Penn State.

[Daniel Cormier]

And historically, Penn State's one of the top destinations. Obviously, they.

[John Middlekauff]

James Franklin was a big get. Bill o' Brien was a big get. Now Matt Campbell was a big get.

[Daniel Cormier]

Indiana could have got Matt Campbell, no problem.

[John Middlekauff]

You know why? They have a big budget to pay the players, and they pay their coach

[Daniel Cormier]

a lot of money. And obviously their assistance, that's all that matters now.

[John Middlekauff]

So when I see that North Carolina fires Huber Davis, all I see is like, this is a des. The history Michael Jeffrey Jordan played there.

[Daniel Cormier]

Guys, I'm 41 years old. I was born in 1984. That's the year Michael Jordan got drafted in the NBA.

[John Middlekauff]

You think Michael Jordan playing at North Carolina impacts any of these top basketball players? What about the history? All the championships? Once Roy came there, he rattled off multiple championships. None of these players care at all. AJ Dubonsa went to byu not because

[Daniel Cormier]

he cares about John Smith or because

[John Middlekauff]

he loves the mountains, because they paid him $7 million. North Carolina in basketball, just like Ohio State under Ryan Day, has not been dominating because they have their historic program, because they were great with Trestle, because they were great back in the day with Woody Hayes against Bo Schembechler. None of that matters. It's because they have one of, if not the highest budgets to pay the players and pay the coaches in the country. In football, unlike basketball, your coordinators really matter. So part of Indiana success is he's got two sweet coordinators and now he's paying them both millions of dollars. Ryan Day has literally as to every NFL coordinators. Matt Patricia, who makes like $4 million, and Arthur Smith, who now makes like 2 mil. He's paying his coordinators $6 million total. North Carolina plans on paying a basketball coach like 6 or 7 million, which

[Daniel Cormier]

is a lot in basketball.

[John Middlekauff]

But when I see, like, will they get the Michigan coach? Will they get the Arizona coach? Well, yeah, if they're willing to say we will pay whatever it takes for nil to buy players, because none of it matters. On the logo on your shoe, the Carolina blue, all the championships you've won back in the day, that Vince Carter and Rasheed Wallace, no one cares. Literally nobody. It's the reason Bill Self has been getting Darren Peterson. They paid for it. The reason Duke's landing all these guys. Obviously, Boozer went there because they paid for it. If you're willing to pay for it. You know, I just got a question the other day about Dabo Sweeney going on the rant about losing a player. Do you think that guy 20 years

[Daniel Cormier]

ago, who would you rather play for,

[John Middlekauff]

Dabo Sweeney or this guy Pete Golding,

[Daniel Cormier]

who's coached two games in his career?

[John Middlekauff]

Dabo Sweeney's won multiple national championships. I get the programs down a little bit. But he didn't leave Clemson because he

[Daniel Cormier]

didn't like Dabo, because he didn't like the program.

[John Middlekauff]

Ole Miss literally recruited him when he was on campus. And what are you making? He said X.

[Daniel Cormier]

He said, we'll pay you. Why? That's why he left.

[John Middlekauff]

The game's very simple, which, honestly, I kind of appreciate. It's not as emotional. It's not about, like, I'm going to usc. USC just had the number one recruiting

[Daniel Cormier]

class in the country.

[John Middlekauff]

Reggie Bush, Matt Leinert, and the Pete Carroll era was completely irrelevant for the execution of that. It was simply because in the state of California, you can give high school kids money before they show up on campus, which a lot of other states do not allow. So usc, who has been very underwhelming since Lincoln Riley got there, got the number one recruiting class in the country because they bottom, honestly, college sports now, watch blue chips, all that was illegal.

[Daniel Cormier]

Now it's all legal.

[John Middlekauff]

So when I see the conversation around Will, so and so go. And personally, I have a theory. In college basketball, if you can be like a 1, 2, or 3 seed,

[Daniel Cormier]

you know, be a top 10 consistent

[John Middlekauff]

team in the country at a football school, that is a better job than living in the fishbowl of Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina. It's like, would Dusty May leave Michigan? Well, he. He's been a number one seed. This is a program that's been to

[Daniel Cormier]

multiple national championships over the course of the last decade.

[John Middlekauff]

They clearly have good nil. But at the end of the day, like, he doesn't take as much shit as the football coach, even when the football coach is not some dude that's banging everything walking around the street. Which it still boggles my mind when

[Daniel Cormier]

I've seen some of these clips of

[John Middlekauff]

Sharon Moore in the. In the courthouse and his wife is there now. Again, I never judge anyone on what they're doing when the doors are closed behind the. Their home. You know, inside their home. We all do different stuff. I just know the relationship that I'm in. My current wife and my current child. They would not be supporting me in the courthouse if that was my situation. And I would imagine many people listening can relate to that as well. I would not get some loyal ride or die in the situation where I

[Daniel Cormier]

was bending over my assistant in my office. But that's a conversation for a different day.

[John Middlekauff]

But Alabama, Michigan, these coaches that are having success at football schools, that to

[Daniel Cormier]

me is a great gig.

[John Middlekauff]

Get to fly under the radar a little bit, get to make a ton

[Daniel Cormier]

of money, and obviously they give you

[John Middlekauff]

leftover nil, which is still great for the basketball team. Now, I like. One thing I saw too was like,

[Daniel Cormier]

could they steal Arizona's basketball coach?

[John Middlekauff]

Well, as someone tweeted at me, Arizona this year is like a top three

[Daniel Cormier]

or four roster in terms of payments.

[John Middlekauff]

They are paying for the players. He's not just coaching these guys out of thin air. He's not rolling out the ball and saying, middle cough. You go run the point guard for my team.

[Daniel Cormier]

They're paying premiums for these guys.

[John Middlekauff]

So I just think that whenever I see these people talk about these jobs, Alabama is no longer the Same Alabama under DeBoer as it was under Saban.

[Daniel Cormier]

Saban, obviously is one of the greatest

[John Middlekauff]

coaches in the history of sports, but he had a big advantage once he got the momentum.

[Daniel Cormier]

That's where people wanted to play a

[John Middlekauff]

little like Calipari at Kentucky or Coach K at Duke. The reason John Shire's having success at Duke, they have the number one nil in the ACC. Not because Coach K, 25 years ago was running some cool program. None of that matters. So, like, Indiana is now one of the best jobs in the country.

[Daniel Cormier]

Why?

[John Middlekauff]

Because they spend money on the talent. If that is not the number one thing you say about a job. And listen, maybe North Carolina gets the pick of the litter, but the reason it will is because that coach will

[Daniel Cormier]

go, what's my budget to pay the players?

[John Middlekauff]

And they will either say it's this or it's unlimited. Because if they say it's unlimited, then everyone will run Right there. So I just think these conversations around college sports feels a little archae. It feels outdated. It's like, guys, do you know how much has changed in the last couple years? You know, I Netflix once delivered DVDs to your house.

[Daniel Cormier]

You know, now I'm doing a podcast on it. Like, things change and they change really, really fast. And it's usually because of money. And that's exactly what happened to college sports. It changed dramatically, basically overnight, and we haven't looked back since.

[John Middlekauff]

And these jobs aren't really what they once were, though they can sustain it.

[Daniel Cormier]

Ohio State in football, Duke in basketball.

[John Middlekauff]

As long as they're willing to pay whatever it takes. If they're not, it doesn't matter about

[Daniel Cormier]

what they did years in the past.

[John Middlekauff]

Can I tell you my friends at Hard Rock Bet, my wife looks at

[Daniel Cormier]

me the other night and she goes,

[John Middlekauff]

why are you rooting so hard for Arkansas? You would have thought that Coach Cal was my dad. I said, 50 to 1. I got the Razorbacks to make a freaking run. Duke, bring it on, baby. Today she's like, why are you rooting so hard for the Johnnies? I said, rick Patino, that's my guy. Let's make a run. Got to take down some one seeds. But that's the thing. Even if your bracket is busted, if you gamble, if you bet on these teams, it makes a tournament so exciting. So Hard Rock Bet, they have daily boosts, they have parlay profit boosts every single day. More ways to shoot your shot and get cash with boosted odds. And if you know these heart stopping, zero on the clock moments, now they pay. Hard Rock Bet is giving out $25 bonus throughout the tourney. If a team you bet to win or cover hits a buzzer beater. That almost happened. I've got Nebraska, who looked like a team of destiny was about to go home.

[Daniel Cormier]

But they're going to the sweet 16,

[John Middlekauff]

so don't sit on the bench. Download the Hard Rock Bet app today

[Daniel Cormier]

and let's get the party started, baby.

[John Middlekauff]

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[Daniel Cormier]

How do you beat that? You don't.

[John Middlekauff]

Head to FactorMeals.com John 50 off and use code Johan 5050 off to get 50% off and free breakfast for a year. Eat like a pro this month with Factor New subscribers only varies by plan. One free breakfast item per box for one year while subscription is active. Life moves fast. Work, family, friends, weekend plans and somewhere in between, you find the moments that really matter. That's why Toyota believes people are the destination. It's not just about where you're headed, it's about who's beside you. From early mornings to late nights, from packed schedules to spontaneous adventures, the Toyota RAV4 is built for real life. Whether you're heading to a game, meeting friends for a watch party, or chasing the next big moment, it gives you the space and comfort to enjoy the ride no matter what the day brings. When people are the destination, ordinary drives become shared memories. Learn [e-mail] and find the vehicle that fits your people. This episode is brought to you by Reef, and if you've ever worn anything from Reef, you already know Comfort is their lane. They've been doing it since the 80s, and their everyday men's shoes, like the Shoreline Del Mar carry the same mindset into a clean, casual sneaker you actually

[Daniel Cormier]

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[John Middlekauff]

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[Daniel Cormier]

mother in law this when she's a stud, we fly her out and she comes, helps the baby. It's, it's, it's incredible. I mean, that. That's. To have a babysitter for a couple days and get a good night's sleep. I mean, she. She could have charged me a hundred grand, I would have cut her a jack. You know, the sanity and the mental clarity it brings to my household is priceless. It truly is. So found out I got invited to play in a member guest at a golf tournament. I said, hey, would you.

[John Middlekauff]

Would you be willing to come back? I said, I'd love to.

[Daniel Cormier]

Said, boom, but you tell me when I order your flight yesterday.

[John Middlekauff]

But I was telling her when I

[Daniel Cormier]

picked her up from the airport a couple days ago, we were talking about something, and I said, I. I can

[John Middlekauff]

only speak for guys, but I think a lot of us get to a point and it happens in our 20s, and it could be early 20s, mid-20s,

[Daniel Cormier]

or late 20s, where if we're going

[John Middlekauff]

down a path or doing something we

[Daniel Cormier]

don't want to do, we have. We make a pivot, we make a change, and we go, this.

[John Middlekauff]

This is not who I want to be.

[Daniel Cormier]

This is not what I want to do. This is not what I want to be about. And you go in a different direction and you pretty. You do it dramatically.

[John Middlekauff]

And I said, the older you get, I think it becomes much more difficult. It doesn't mean it's not possible, but as you get in your 30s, your 40s, I'm not saying you don't mentally

[Daniel Cormier]

grow and you don't mature as a

[John Middlekauff]

human being, but you don't change that much, or it's much more difficult to make dramatic life changes.

[Daniel Cormier]

I truly believe that.

[John Middlekauff]

And I think for a lot of

[Daniel Cormier]

young men, I was just watching the Red Hot Chili Peppers documentary, which is really, really good. It's crazy. I mean, the amount of bands in probably the 70s and 80s and even early 90s, I mean, people that are still alive today that became like historic musicians that probably easily could have died. And one of the members of the. I'm not going to give it away. If you like the Red Hot Chili Peppers or just kind of that version genre of music, I'd check out the documentary. Very organic, how they came about. But life's about making decisions. And those decisions could be as simple as, like, do you stay up super late? Or you guy that kind of goes to bed early and get your rest so you're ready to roll every day, you know, are you complaining that you're kind of fat? Well, what are you putting in your body, right? Being disciplined on what you eat, what time you go to Bed, how you treat your body. I mean, are you a binge drinker? Are you not? And these are just personal health questions to then you single guy who you run around with, what, what type. What type of women, what type of girls? And the more famous you are, the more money you have. Like, these are decisions that become much more important because you're gonna be around situations that the average guy's not. And these situations can go well and they also can go really wrong. And also, like, I always thought about this because my dad said the one crazy thing is I can do a lot to like, raise you and teach you the right things to do and how to live and how to operate. But I. I don't really get to choose your friends. Like, that's kind of on you, on who you hang out with from when you're a young kid to when you go to college, throughout life, you know, who do you gravitate toward to? And listen, we've all probably ran around with people that you're like, yeah, probably

[John Middlekauff]

wasn't the best idea that could have gone really bad. And for some people in that situation that maybe they would have changed.

[Daniel Cormier]

It goes bad and they get into a situation that they. They not only regret that might change their life.

[John Middlekauff]

And for whatever reason, Puka Nakua's decision making over the course of the last

[Daniel Cormier]

six to eight months feels really shitty. And let's be. I mean, really kind of. You know, the Mormon wife situation that happened to the bachelorette, it feels like a cage cat got out. It got out of Provo and just doesn't know what to do with himself and became really famous. And it's not handling it well now. I'm not pointing fingers and saying anyone did anything. I just know this like one headlines like, listen, you had nothing to do with it. A great guy. Like, there's been enough smoke. Now it's like, bro, figure your out.

[John Middlekauff]

And we talked about this the other day.

[Daniel Cormier]

It doesn't matter what the Rams say. It doesn't matter what Les need and Sean McVeigh. And Sean, I think talks at the owner's meetings here in a couple days.

[John Middlekauff]

The words that come out of his

[Daniel Cormier]

mouth mean nothing to me.

[John Middlekauff]

Me.

[Daniel Cormier]

We'll judge on the actions because JSN just got a historic contract. Are they copy and pasting that or are they going, absolutely no chance. We're paying him that right now. We do not trust them. And until they pay him, that's the only thing I have to go off of. But it does feel like Puka Nakua

[John Middlekauff]

who is one of the more fun

[Daniel Cormier]

players I remember watching in the, in my life. He is just a badass on the field but as of right now he's not someone that you could trust giving $120 million guaranteed to and I think the Rams every day that goes by showing you they agree. I, I, I believe and I'm not trying to be like Stephen A. Smith here, but he's kind of at a fork in the road.

[John Middlekauff]

It's like time to either draw a line in the sand and be like,

[Daniel Cormier]

I, I'm getting away from all these people who are putting me in bad situations and then through them I'm putting

[John Middlekauff]

myself in bad situations or I'm just

[Daniel Cormier]

going to be a slappy.

[John Middlekauff]

And we see a lot of NFL guys with a lot of talent get

[Daniel Cormier]

down a rut and never been able to get out and you look back what could have been. And I do feel like he's kind of in a fork in the road right now. And he clearly has a bunch of high level guys around him. I mean devonte from just a work ethic standpoint, married man, kids, Stafford family. It's like you got guys in your

[John Middlekauff]

own meeting rooms, in your own side

[Daniel Cormier]

of the bowl that are just high

[John Middlekauff]

level cats, mature dudes.

[Daniel Cormier]

And I get it, you're young, you are, you know, the, the one of the toast of the, of not the town because I don't think LA necessarily gives a But of the league. You got a lot, you know, heavy is the head that wears a crown. Right.

[John Middlekauff]

So when things are going really well,

[Daniel Cormier]

more people are paying attention and there's a lot of pressure on you to do the right things. And it's easy for me to say like I, I never got, I mean I probably got lucky a lot when I was younger but by the time I got to college, like drugs didn't interest me. I found out pretty quick like I'm not a club late night guy. Not saying I don't like to booze a little bit, but I'm not, you're not gonna find me up. I get too tired at like 2 in the morning, you know. So I, and listen, there are probably some women in my single days. It's like, yeah, that could have gone wrong, that could have gone bad. I think a lot of people could say like I'm glad that we just kind of got through that period of my life. But I also didn't have 120 million dollar contract waiting for me in my mid-20s. And it does feel like he's got an opportunity to really fuck this thing up. So I just know that these headlines and going to deny him. It's like, how many headlines are we going to get now? Because I look around like, I don't see any headlines with Jamar Chase or Justin Jefferson or Devonte Adams. It's like, it's one thing. Listen, it doesn't bother me tweeting about the refs, but when TMZ is tweeting about you, it's. It's drawing the lines. You know, line in the sand time. It's okay, let's. It's time to look in the mirror, have a little introspection and be like, what do we need to change?

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

What do we need?

[Daniel Cormier]

How do I need to pivot? Because if you don't, this all could get away from you really fast.

[John Middlekauff]

Couple quick quarterback things. There was video of Patrick Mahomes.

[Daniel Cormier]

I had the video on mute because he was. The baby was sleeping earlier today, but he was throwing now, you know, three

[John Middlekauff]

months out of ACL surgery.

[Daniel Cormier]

I know when I was at the combine, I was told by very reliable sources they feel very confident about the pace in which he's making. So I think, I think it's fair

[John Middlekauff]

to say as we sit here on March 26, like, I would be prepared

[Daniel Cormier]

for Patrick Mahomes to play week one.

[John Middlekauff]

I don't even think it's insane. I wouldn't go there yet.

[Daniel Cormier]

Still got a long way to go that, like, by the start of training camp, he's ready to go.

[John Middlekauff]

Even if he was, they would probably ease him in. I. I'm pretty sure, even if he

[Daniel Cormier]

does some limited stuff during OTAs, they're going to work with Justin Fields a ton and let Patrick Mahomes ease into this. But this gets back to, they're going

[John Middlekauff]

to get a motivated guy.

[Daniel Cormier]

They're going to get a guy that,

[John Middlekauff]

let's face it, did not have a good season.

[Daniel Cormier]

And they're going to have reinforcements.

[John Middlekauff]

They have a great opportunity, pick nine, pick 29 other picks in the draft

[Daniel Cormier]

to really change this thing around. And they clearly know it.

[John Middlekauff]

He clearly knows it.

[Daniel Cormier]

And I. I'm telling you, I think the Chiefs, not saying they're gonna win the super bowl, but they're gonna have a chip on their shoulder. They're gonna be coming, they're gonna be bringing it.

[John Middlekauff]

The other thing is Ty Simpson is

[Daniel Cormier]

not a first round pick for me.

[John Middlekauff]

I didn't see it when I watched him.

[Daniel Cormier]

I used his comp of like. I think there's some similarities with Purdy.

[John Middlekauff]

Purdy was A seventh round pick. Those type players for me are guys

[Daniel Cormier]

that are drafted after pick 100. Now I get it.

[John Middlekauff]

With quarterback inflation, Orlovsky's getting shit on his connection with caa, who also represents Ty Simpson, which I think we really benefit from. Like in 2026 we kind of know what's going on and if we don't know what's going on, we eventually find

[Daniel Cormier]

out what's going on really quick.

[John Middlekauff]

I've always said this about my parents. They grew up in an era that, you know, after World War II and in just some other international conflicts.

[Daniel Cormier]

When they grew up, like in junior

[John Middlekauff]

high and elementary school, they would do

[Daniel Cormier]

bomb drills where they hid under the desk prom.

[John Middlekauff]

It's like, did no one raise their hand and be like this makes no sense, like what are we doing here? But no one did and they just hopped under the desk. It's not really the times we live in. Like we kind of have a bunch of information. You could argue too much. But I, I do think it's fair to say like when you're represented by the same people. And Orlofsky's like, well, I pay them. Yeah, it's like we all know my guy Ethan Strau. Been writing about this for WO Woes used to destroy coaches who weren't CAA and then guys that were. He would protect kind of the game, kind of the world. They help place you in these spots, they help make you a lot of money and negotiate. Whoever you're in business with, you are going to have, you're going to be

[Daniel Cormier]

more cognizant of the relationship, let me just say. Especially people that make you money.

[John Middlekauff]

Right?

[Daniel Cormier]

So listen, I'm very protective of the relationship I have with Colin and the

[John Middlekauff]

operation that has changed my life professionally, financially, the whole thing. That's usually the way it go for

[Daniel Cormier]

anyone with a fucking brain.

[John Middlekauff]

That being said, I've texted a bunch of different executives and scouts and some people are in agreement with me. No way. I text a buddy today who's a future GM lock in the next three or four years, maybe even less, was

[Daniel Cormier]

like, I think he's a top. I think He's a top 32 pick. I think he's a first round pick. He agreed with Dan. Maybe not necessarily he was the best quarterback in the draft, but he thinks for sure he's a first round pick.

[John Middlekauff]

That's kind of draft talk. That's kind of what these draft meetings are. You get into a meeting, there is going to be someone in that room potentially, you know, for guys Like Jeremiah Love. You would look like the village idiot.

[Daniel Cormier]

If you raised your hand, you're like,

[John Middlekauff]

I don't think this guy's that good. You know, I think this guy thinks

[Daniel Cormier]

I hate him, Which I don't really personally have any feelings toward him, but

[John Middlekauff]

Ryan Grixon once had a second round

[Daniel Cormier]

grade on Von Miller.

[John Middlekauff]

It's like, yeah, I'd keep that one to yourself. Yeah, I wouldn't say anything about that.

[Daniel Cormier]

In the room.

[John Middlekauff]

It's like, this guy's not only a top five pick, it's pretty clear what he does is going to translate to the league.

[Daniel Cormier]

Fifteen years later, the guy's going to hall of Fame.

[John Middlekauff]

But most players, you can argue till you're blue in the face because most guys are not just like, this guy's

[Daniel Cormier]

a future hall of Famer.

[John Middlekauff]

That's not you.

[Daniel Cormier]

Really how it works in the draft.

[John Middlekauff]

So when you look at a guy

[Daniel Cormier]

like Makai Lemon or Omar Cooper from Indiana or Bain from Miami or whoever

[John Middlekauff]

in this draft, you could argue like, yeah, I don't know.

[Daniel Cormier]

I'm not comfortable with this pick.

[John Middlekauff]

And there are going to be guys

[Daniel Cormier]

in every single draft room arguing both sides.

[John Middlekauff]

So they're going to be people that

[Daniel Cormier]

don't like Fernando Mendoz. They're going to be people that don't like Ty Simpson.

[John Middlekauff]

I think the problem for Dan

[Daniel Cormier]

is

[John Middlekauff]

his argument goes about Fernando. It's like, the biggest games are the most important games. And when he played Ohio State and on the first play of the game, he got hit like you would get hit in the NFL from Miles Garrett or Micah Parsons. And it looked like he broke ribs, got a concussion, and it was like, his season is over. And two plays later, he shook it off and came back in the game. That's the NFL. That is what the NFL is. So when I see Ty Simpson doesn't have a run game, a lot of

[Daniel Cormier]

bad teams in the NFL don't have a run game.

[John Middlekauff]

How are you going to figure it out? That's part of playing football.

[Daniel Cormier]

That's part of playing in the NFL.

[John Middlekauff]

It's like, well, they were down seven points going into the fourth quarter. Welcome to Sundays. So what, what he showed in the stretch of games which were the most important games were the games everyone was watching and against the best competition outweigh some of the bad games or the bad moments that he had. The other thing is how you react to bad plays, which are inevitable in the NFL. Peyton Manning threw a pick six in the Super Bowl. Tom Brady has thrown pick sixes in playoff games. And I'm pretty sure the super bowl as well. Part of the deal comes with the territory. How do you react? What am I supposed to judge a guy throwing three or four touchdowns, beating

[Daniel Cormier]

the shit out of you? That's not normal in the NFL.

[John Middlekauff]

The Chiefs a couple of years ago went to the super bowl, won it. They went 15 and two. Like most of their games were one score game in the fourth quarter. That's Sunday football. So I like my issue isn't like

[Daniel Cormier]

I have no problem with people having different opinions. We need more people with different opinions that are like, yeah, it's just the way it goes. If everyone in the room is thinking the same way, you're probably in the wrong room and you're probably going to get to a bad decision. Right.

[John Middlekauff]

So I, I have no problem with

[Daniel Cormier]

him thinking that though I disagree And I'm on McAfee side about that stretch of games that is like I know what I watched and I know the teams and the talent in which he was playing like that was impressive. Now that's also being said of like Fernando Mendoza is not some like all time prospect, but in my mind, in my opinion he's a much better prospect than Ty Simpson. But there'll be people in the league

[John Middlekauff]

that disagree with you really quick. This segment is change of scenery sponsored

[Daniel Cormier]

by my friends at Toyota. Now here's the thing.

[John Middlekauff]

Joe Flacco have the opportunity for an

[Daniel Cormier]

incredible change of scenery.

[John Middlekauff]

Now it takes two to tango. If the Steelers, who don't really have

[Daniel Cormier]

quarterbacks right now and who knows there

[John Middlekauff]

in Rodgers needed a backup plan and

[Daniel Cormier]

last year I know Tomlin's not there, but Tomlin thought he was like Joe Montana meets John Elway.

[John Middlekauff]

He could have done what probably rarely happens. A guy plays for every team in a division.

[Daniel Cormier]

He's obviously he just resigned with the Bengals where he signed last year before he was traded after he was traded from the Browns.

[John Middlekauff]

That would have been really cool to see a guy play, start his career for the Ravens, end up playing for the Browns, traded to the Bengals and

[Daniel Cormier]

then end his career playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

[John Middlekauff]

I think Joe Flacco, who I thought five or six years ago wasn't just

[Daniel Cormier]

shot, this guy's out of the league. Just he's going to be coaching high

[John Middlekauff]

school football, hanging out with his family. Somehow he has dusted off whatever, you know, cobwebs were on those cleats and that shoulder and that elbow and he's actually been a pretty functional backup. And the in the Bengals sign him back and he's pissed off. He's saying it's dumb that most people in the league don't think he can start. It's like, Joe, you're 41, you can't move.

[Daniel Cormier]

You can just basically throw the deep

[John Middlekauff]

ball and check it down. But I appreciate his chip on his shoulder. Still, at this day and age, with the amount of money he's made and why is he doing this? Like, what is the point of this? I'm not quite sure, but I'm really, really mad because I think it would have been really cool to see him complete the four corners and just have the NFC or the AFC North.

[Daniel Cormier]

The completion of playing for every team

[John Middlekauff]

and obviously ending his career on the rival to the team that kind of made his career, the Ravens.

[Daniel Cormier]

But we didn't get it. Now Joe Flacco is back on the Bengals, which he didn't really start on

[John Middlekauff]

because last year he got traded in the middle of the season from a divisional foe. Just bizarre situation. So Toyota reminds us that when people are the destination, it's not where you're

[Daniel Cormier]

headed, but who you're headed there with.

[John Middlekauff]

Learn [e-mail] and find a vehicle that fits your people. Life moves fast. Work, family, friends, weekend plans. And somewhere in between, you find the moments that really matter. That's why Toyota believes people are the destination. It's not just about where you're headed, it's about who's beside you. From early mornings to late nights, from packed schedules to spontaneous adventures, the Toyota RAV4 is built for real life. Whether you're heading to a game, meeting friends for a watch party, or chasing the next big moment, it gives you the space and comfort to enjoy the ride no matter what the day brings. When people are the destination, ordinary drives become shared memories. Learn [e-mail] and find the vehicle that fits your people. This episode is brought to you by reef. And if you've ever worn anything from Reef, you already know comfort is their lane. They've been doing it since the 80s, and their everyday men's shoes, like the Shoreline Del Mar, carry the same mindset into a clean, casual sneaker you actually

[Daniel Cormier]

want to live in.

[John Middlekauff]

The Shoreline Del Mar is built to be your default, the one by the door. The one you grab without thinking. The breathable knit upper keeps things cool even on long days. It's lightweight and flexible, so it never feels clunky or stiff, and the elastic laces make getting out the door stupid easy without looking sloppy. Inside, you got the signature reef cushioning, soft, supportive and comfortable enough that you forget you're wearing them on your feet entirely. Check out the Shoreline del mar on reef.com and score 15% off your first purchase.

[Sophie Cunningham]

Hey guys, it's Sophie Cunningham from Show Me Something. So Arby's just dropped a deal. That honestly feels a little unreal.

[John Middlekauff]

Yeah, it's the new meat in three

[Arby's Advertiser]

box for 7.99 and it's loaded with Arby's favorites in a way that does not feel like a 7.99 situation.

[Sophie Cunningham]

So here's the setup. You choose your sandwich. A classic roast beef, crispy chicken or the crispy fish sandwich. Already a very strong start.

[Arby's Advertiser]

But then it keeps going because you also get melty mozzarella sticks, crispy curly fries, and a peach cobbler roll, which is a little sweet treat and so good. You genuinely need to try this.

[Sophie Cunningham]

And there's a small drink in there too. So even though it's called meat in three, you're actually getting five items for just $7.99. That's kind of wild.

[Arby's Advertiser]

Pick the sandwich you want, make it your own and get it your own way.

[Sophie Cunningham]

Available for a limited time at participating locations. While supplies last prices may vary. Get your meat in three box at an Arby's near you today.

[Daniel Cormier]

Okay, before we do a couple middle cuff mailbag questions, I do want to pick my final four hard rock bet. I told you guys the two teams I hammered. I did three. I did Kansas and St. John's because I knew they were going to play each other and whoever won that game was going to have a lot of momentum. And Patino didn't just win that game. It feels like that walk off. He calls the dude big balls Bell. He's won national championships before. I'm just listen, it's going to be very difficult, but I'm taking the Johnny's to make the final four. I also got to stick with my guy John Calpari, who I think is

[John Middlekauff]

tailor made for the nil era.

[Daniel Cormier]

Tailor made for the nil error.

[John Middlekauff]

And the reason Arkansas has a chance

[Daniel Cormier]

to not only make the Final Four

[John Middlekauff]

this year, but be a dominant team moving forward is not because Nolan Richardson

[Daniel Cormier]

and Corliss Williamson in the 90s, it's

[John Middlekauff]

because Tyson Chicken and the nil behind

[Daniel Cormier]

that program is big time. So I'm going the Johnny's going Patino. I'm going John Calpari.

[John Middlekauff]

After Nebraska, his son hits the game winning layup. Then the dude misses the half court

[Daniel Cormier]

shot which was in the basket.

[John Middlekauff]

I feel like that same bounce 10 times.

[Daniel Cormier]

It goes in like eight.

[John Middlekauff]

Might just be A team of destiny. They had never won an NCAA tournament

[Daniel Cormier]

game until this year.

[John Middlekauff]

Now they're in the Final Four. You look at the bracket like, I don't think it's impossible. This one's a little bit more of

[Daniel Cormier]

my heart than what I would bet on.

[John Middlekauff]

But I'm taking Nebraska to make the Final Four. And last but not least, Michigan feels

[Daniel Cormier]

like they've been in the Final Four a lot over the course of the last 15 years. They're just good. I'm going Arkansas, the Johnny's, Nebraska and Michigan.

[John Middlekauff]

Let's do a little middle coff Mailbag.

[Daniel Cormier]

At John Middle Cop. At John Middle Cop. We'll just lend it with a couple questions. We'll start with Alexander.

[John Middlekauff]

If you were to podcast on something beside sports, what would it be? Politics, travel, life stories, etc. Well, my wife gets very angry at me.

[Daniel Cormier]

She, I mean she could, I feel like, could travel non stop.

[John Middlekauff]

Not a big travel guy. Not that I don't like traveling.

[Daniel Cormier]

Like, I, I've been other places and when I'm there, I enjoy it.

[John Middlekauff]

Chicago last year with Colin was cool. Got married in Nashville. Love that place. I love it when I'm there. I just, I'm not one of those guys who, who's, as my wife says, my cup gets full when I know I got a trip on the books. That's not necessarily me. Again. Been to Europe 20 plus years ago, was awesome. If you told me I never went again. I like Italy and Lake Cuomo. Looks as cool as anything online. If you tell me I never go there, I'm not going to lose much sleep. So I probably wouldn't be the guy for the travel podcast. As someone who's trying to change my diet dramatically, I, I kind of am a fat ass at heart.

[Daniel Cormier]

So I, I would say I could

[John Middlekauff]

do a pretty good food podcast because I do love to eat. I'm not necessarily a foodie because I

[Daniel Cormier]

kind of will eat anything, but I, I do think that would kind of

[John Middlekauff]

work, like all sorts of genres, nice stuff, crappy stuff, hole in the wall, you name it.

[Daniel Cormier]

But I, I gotta get better at what I put in my body politics. You just get too angry when, you know, you talk about it. I know I do, but people do.

[John Middlekauff]

I also think none of us have

[Daniel Cormier]

any impact on anything. Like one thing I've learned, besides being

[John Middlekauff]

able to move you or your family

[Daniel Cormier]

to an area that kind of fits with what you want out of life,

[John Middlekauff]

like, we don't really have that much juice.

[Daniel Cormier]

So I just try to focus on my business and my family and I guess friends and nothing else really matters. When I see people online getting so caught up, it's like, bro, you have no influence over any of this shit. How are you?

[John Middlekauff]

Is this all fake?

[Daniel Cormier]

Because there's no way you could actually be this mad. Like, I don't think this is. You're actually acting like this offline, which I kind of believe none of them really are. Especially like the rich, you know, celebrity, powerful people. I don't think they actually care. Once they click off, they just go lead their life. So I don't know. I mean, I. I do a football

[John Middlekauff]

podcast, do a golf podcast.

[Daniel Cormier]

I try to interweave my takes in those. So I haven't really never crossed my mind to do, you know, call her daddy.

[John Middlekauff]

Call her daddy. Pretty big pivot.

[Daniel Cormier]

I tried to describe it to a

[John Middlekauff]

buddy the other day. I'm like, yeah, she got famous off talking about blowjobs.

[Daniel Cormier]

Like, he's like, what? I'm like, no, I'm dead serious.

[John Middlekauff]

Like, the gluck luck. The blowjob is not what just put

[Daniel Cormier]

her on the map. I mean, it made her a rocket ship. I started listening. I'm like this just because I was fascinated.

[John Middlekauff]

It's like this podcast went from zero to like one of the most popular

[Daniel Cormier]

things in America, and now it's like interviewing Oprah.

[John Middlekauff]

You know, it's like, it's a hard pivot.

[Daniel Cormier]

But listen, got to do what you

[John Middlekauff]

got to do for that cash. With how young Green Bay packers change

[Daniel Cormier]

the back to football.

[John Middlekauff]

With how young Green Bay packers are, is that actually an advantage in today's NFL with cap flexibility, or does youth still show up as a weakness in big time playoff moments?

[Daniel Cormier]

With Jordan Love and his surrounding cast, I think youth could be a little overrated. You know, I mean, the Chiefs got Carloftis and Trent McDuffie and they started going to Super Bowls and they got ready to Tyree kill. So to me, youth can get brought up to speed immediately. When you have established people on the team, when you have established winning veterans, they can bring you along really quick. It's like you can go into a job and not really know what you're doing, but if you have a good mentor or people you're working with to kind of show you the ropes, you can turn the corner quick. Now, if you go to a place like you get drafted by the jets and no one knows what they're doing, like, it can be a problem. That's the reason they don't win many games. But I think, like, when you look at a lot of good teams. Nature of the beast. Like, you're just going to have some young players.

[John Middlekauff]

And the other thing with young players,

[Daniel Cormier]

like, they get better.

[John Middlekauff]

You know, old players can get worse. Do you think John shy John Schneider could get an equity position from the

[Daniel Cormier]

sale of the Seahawks? That's a good question. I mean, I. I'm sure he'd want it. I just. I would doubt that would happen. I don't know if there are NFL rules, but if I was him, I'd be like, listen, you can pay me

[John Middlekauff]

whatever my salary is.

[Daniel Cormier]

Cut that thing in half and give me. If I stay for the next 10 years. Every year is a. Is a tiny, tiny percentage, and maybe it adds up to whatever a percent or two. I mean, do the math. So I'm sure he would tell his agent, but I don't think that's the way it works. Should they give both those two guys a little. A little dabble again? I don't know the rules on that. Typically, rich people aren't just big on just handing out equity, though, especially with. It's one thing to get equity in a startup worth nothing. It's another thing to give out equity in something that sells for 10 billion.

[John Middlekauff]

Interesting. Who's going to buy it? Right?

[Daniel Cormier]

I mean, that's. I think a lot of people think Seattle Bezos. Does he want to own a football team? I don't know. But again, like, 10 billion to him probably isn't that much. So maybe it's like, yeah, I'll just buy a football team.

[John Middlekauff]

Whatever I'm in, my take would be, if you're super rich, buying a football

[Daniel Cormier]

team might be a pain in the ass, because if things go bad, everyone's on you.

[John Middlekauff]

And then just human nature, you would

[Daniel Cormier]

try, like, if something was going bad, you. You would have to try to respond, right? So if, like, okay, we gotta fire this guy, we gotta do that, and it can just keep going bad. And then everyone just starts saying, you're a village idiot. You're like, well, I just paid $10 billion in cash for this. I must not be that stupid. Created this thing called Amazon that you guys are all using, but all of a sudden, if Seattle went the wrong way, everyone would be all over his ass. You know, Jimmy Haslam was just a rich guy printing cash until he bought the Browns. Now everyone thinks he's the worst owner ever. David Tepper was just one of the greatest stock traders of all time, until he heaves that. That vodka soda at that chick at the Jags game and Then everyone's been talking shit ever since. So I, I don't know, I, I, I might just stay rich and just leave me alone. If I want to watch football, just watch it on my couch.

[John Middlekauff]

Question for the bag. At what point do bad teams really start mailing it in? For example, when a team starts one in five or zero and six next year, do they start making changes? Quarterback, D line. It's probably pretty rare.

[Daniel Cormier]

Like the Chiefs, they didn't view themselves a six win team in training camp. And then things, you know, hit the skids.

[John Middlekauff]

I, I think like when the jets, the Dolphins, the Cardinals, the Browns, there are gonna be some of these teams in training camp that aren't going to

[Daniel Cormier]

go, okay, we're going to be really good.

[John Middlekauff]

So you have an idea?

[Daniel Cormier]

I, I think you start talking about in training camp as the season goes, let's try to work these guys in. And then obviously if you start really like 07, that happens.

[John Middlekauff]

But the thing in the NFL, you can be 6 and 2 and if you ain't getting it done, you will get benched. This is a league that win or lose, you have to play well, because if you don't, you will get replaced. Now quarterback, a little more sensitive, let's

[Daniel Cormier]

face, they're just treated differently.

[John Middlekauff]

But all these other positions, you cannot get smoked every week just because the team's good. And you're a linebacker missing tackles, you're a safety blowing coverages, you're a guard getting smoked, you will get replaced. I think that's what makes the NFL

[Daniel Cormier]

so relatable to society.

[John Middlekauff]

Like in basketball, you're just kind of a made man. Like, I'm making $40 million a year. What are you going to do to me?

[Daniel Cormier]

And the answer is nothing really. I mean, you just probably just keep playing, right?

[John Middlekauff]

In football, it's like, oh, I paid you a lot of money, you just not getting it done. See you, I might just cut you, but winning teams cut players. So I, I think you say losing teams. I think every team thing with football, the first thing coaches do, right, let's

[Daniel Cormier]

just say a home game, obviously you're flying home. Some of them watch the tape, some of them might just have a beer and relax.

[John Middlekauff]

But definitely Sunday or Monday morning, right?

[Daniel Cormier]

So you play Sunday, let's say you have a home game at noon, you know, you win or you lose, you shower, whatever, after the game, as a player, as a coach, go home with your family, go to dinner, you're back

[John Middlekauff]

in the office pretty early.

[Daniel Cormier]

Some coaches are nuts.

[John Middlekauff]

They're there like 4, 35.

[Daniel Cormier]

Some coaches maybe work their way in

[John Middlekauff]

at 6, 7, get a workout. You typically have some sort of staff

[Daniel Cormier]

meeting before lunch to go over the grades of the tape.

[John Middlekauff]

Because probably like eight or nine, you

[Daniel Cormier]

watch the tape, you've watched it individually and then you watch it like offense, defense. And maybe the head coach, if he's an offensive, defensive guy, is in there

[John Middlekauff]

with you and you're going through it

[Daniel Cormier]

and grading it and evaluating everybody. So if you're the offense, the OC probably has, or the head coach has the clicker, the wide receiver coach, the align coach, the tight end coach, the

[John Middlekauff]

running back coach, quarterback coach, they're all in that room, you know, with their already grades kind of going over it. So over the course of a month,

[Daniel Cormier]

like in September you could be four and oh, but like, hey, man, our fucking right tackle is not getting it done. Do we need to trade for one?

[John Middlekauff]

Do we need to claim a guy?

[Daniel Cormier]

Do we need to start competing the backup in practice?

[John Middlekauff]

That.

[Daniel Cormier]

So that's the thing with football, I think most jobs, I mean, unless you're like, Justin Jefferson could have a bad month, you know what I mean?

[John Middlekauff]

The majority of players, though, are getting

[Daniel Cormier]

evaluated very, very thoroughly every single week, win, lose or draw. And that's what I think makes the NFL so intense.

[John Middlekauff]

It's why when you see these players, these former players, talk about the anxiety every week, all these team meetings on Wednesday, because it's just an intense environment. It doesn't matter if you're 10, 0 or 2 and 8, you gotta have your head on a swivel. No, good team, like, has a complacent environment. And then bad teams, even if it has a bad environment, everyone's on edge

[Daniel Cormier]

because you know at any moment you get cut, fired, traded, whatever. So good teams, everyone's kind of like, hey, we gotta. This isn't good enough. We gotta keep. People are coming for us. Bad teams, everyone thinks like, this could be my last day. This is football.

[John Middlekauff]

Listening to today's podcast, I found it funny that one of the ads is

[Daniel Cormier]

for a pet er. I love that fugazi rant.

[John Middlekauff]

Some people hit me up on rant on. On some of the ads, the automated ads, they're called programmatic ads, are typically,

[Daniel Cormier]

which that is funny, are sometimes locally driven.

[John Middlekauff]

Someone's like middle cop. You got this political ad. Well, if you live in a certain

[Daniel Cormier]

area, you know, I heart. We just buy these ad platforms. Like the guy that lives in Florida

[John Middlekauff]

is going to get a different ad

[Daniel Cormier]

than the dude that lives in Minnesota or in Seattle. So some of the.

[John Middlekauff]

Now some of them are national, right?

[Daniel Cormier]

Like McDonald's or something. But sometimes some of these ads are locally driven, which is the power of what we do is, you know, it's. It's based on where you are. That's why radio's fucked.

[John Middlekauff]

Also, a listener gave you an idea for the fans of the show. It's stupid, but you could call your fans the Eagles since they're all obsessed

[Daniel Cormier]

with three and Out. I don't think Howie would like that joke, but that's a pretty good one.

[John Middlekauff]

Yeah, we just gotta. When you know it, it's like, if

[Daniel Cormier]

I ever hear it and I go, that's it.

[John Middlekauff]

I've just never heard one.

[Daniel Cormier]

That's like, that's it.

[John Middlekauff]

Who knows? Like, knowing what I know now, would

[Daniel Cormier]

I name the show three and Out? I don't know. I just. I remember needing a football name. I wanted something kind of generic. I remember Daniel, Jeremiah, Move the Sticks. I'm like, that is just a great name. Move the Sticks. The certain names just. Just work, right? Pardon my. Take certain names. Just call her daddy. I mean, there's just certain names like, that was a genius name.

[John Middlekauff]

Three and Out. I would. I have renamed it, like after I

[Daniel Cormier]

started doing it, who knows? But they were too deep in and out of change.

[John Middlekauff]

Question for the bag Ravens fan, how

[Daniel Cormier]

do you think the team should approach the first round?

[John Middlekauff]

I still have major concerns with a pass rush while Trey helps. Unless Matabuque is healthy and Mike Green takes a major step, I struggle to see this unit not being a weakness again, considering no one had more than five sacks. I have similar concerns with the pass catchers. Zay as Zay and an aging Mark Andrews are their only proven guys. I see mock drafts having us take an interior offensive lineman, but that seems like a reach on a position the Ravens have had success drafting in later rounds.

[Daniel Cormier]

Well, you're in kind of the sweet spot because I don't know if there's a wide receiver worth taking there at 14, one of the pass rushers could definitely drop. I think you would have to think long and hard about that.

[John Middlekauff]

I mean, Trey Hendrickson's coming off a

[Daniel Cormier]

major injury where he played seven games and he's an older player.

[John Middlekauff]

So, like, what's his.

[Daniel Cormier]

What would you say is over under sacks is next year? If I said ten and a half,

[John Middlekauff]

like, to me, if you tell me he's healthy for 17 games, like he's

[Daniel Cormier]

getting double digit sacks, would I bet on him playing all these games? I don't know if I would So I think they're very, very invested in him.

[John Middlekauff]

We've seen some older pass rushers recently,

[Daniel Cormier]

like kind of get banged up. So you know, when they change teams, I think you would 100% take a guy if it's worth taking. In fairness to them, they draft pretty well. So you know Kyle Hamilton, Zay Flowers, Ronnie Stanley, Times they've had, you know, higher picks, they've nailed them. So I, DaCosta may be kind of a dick, might not have been, you

[John Middlekauff]

know, the most nice guy to me,

[Daniel Cormier]

but I respect their franchise and how they draft. So now he's got his pick back.

[John Middlekauff]

No Max Crosby.

[Daniel Cormier]

I would, I would say defensive line would be, would be an area in which 100 they could go like Makai Lemon kind of feels like a Raven a little bit. Could see that, I guess. Remember Greg Cosell did not like him. I liked him when I watched him.

[John Middlekauff]

But in a perfect world I would

[Daniel Cormier]

draft receivers in the second round. I, I would be much more inclined to take Lyman wind on that.

[John Middlekauff]

Adios.

[Daniel Cormier]

See you tomorrow. Peace. The Volume

[John Middlekauff]

the best moments aren't always about where you're going. They're about who's with you on the way. That's why Toyota believes people are the destination. The Toyota RAV4 is built for busy days and spontaneous plans from practice runs to last minute road trips to and everything in between with space, comfort and flexibility. It helps turn everyday drives into quality time. Because when the right people riding with you, every trip matters. Learn [e-mail] and find the vehicle that fits your people.

[Sophie Cunningham]

This is Sophie Cunningham from Show Me Something. Okay, Arby's just casually pulled up with a deal that feels a little too good.

[John Middlekauff]

They've got this new meat in three

[Arby's Advertiser]

box for 7.99 and honestly, it's stacked with Arby's quality favorites in a way that feels kind of ridiculous.

[Sophie Cunningham]

For that price, here's what you're getting inside. You pick one sandwich, the classic roast beef, the crispy chicken sandwich or the crispy fish sandwich.

[Arby's Advertiser]

Then it just keeps going because also comes with melty mozzarella sticks, crispy curly fries, and a peach cobbler roll, which is a little sweet treat and so good.

[Sophie Cunningham]

And you get a small drink to round it all out. So yeah, it's called meat and three, but you're actually getting five items all for only $7.99.

[Arby's Advertiser]

Pick the sandwich you want, make it your own, and get it your way.

[Sophie Cunningham]

Available for a limited time at participating locations. While supplies last, prices may vary. Get your meat in three box at any Arby's near you today.

[Verizon Advertiser]

Think Verizon is expensive? Think again. Anyone can bring their AT and T or T mobile bill to a Verizon store today and we'll give you a better deal. So bring us your bill. Walk in, run in, Pogo sticking, teleport if you can, ride on the back of a rollerblading yak or fly in on the wings of a majestic falcon. Any way you can bring your AT and T or T mobile bill to a Verizon store today and we'll give you a better deal on the best Network based on RootMetric's best overall mobile network performance US 2nd/2025 all rights reserved. Must provide a very recent postpaid consumer mobile bill in the name of the person redeeming the deal. Additional terms, conditions and restrictions apply.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

At cvs, it matters that we're not just in your community, but that we're part of it. It matters that we're here for you when you need us, day or night, and we want everyone to feel welcomed and rewarded. It matters that CVS is here to fill your prescriptions and and here to fill your craving for a tasty and, yeah, healthy snack. At cvs, we're proud to serve your community because we believe where you get your medicine matters. So Visit [e-mail] or just come by our store. We can't wait to meet you. Store hours vary by location. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.