3 & Out - NFL Wild Card Monday: Matt Stafford and LA Rams DESTROY Sam Darnold and Minnesota Vikings

Summary

Podcast Summary: "3 & Out - NFL Wild Card Monday: Matt Stafford and LA Rams DESTROY Sam Darnold and Minnesota Vikings"

Podcast Information:

• Title: The Herd with Colin Cowherd
• Host/Author: iHeartPodcasts and The Volume
• Episode: 3 & Out - NFL Wild Card Monday: Matt Stafford and LA Rams DESTROY Sam Darnold and Minnesota Vikings
• Release Date: January 14, 2025
• Description: The Herd with Colin Cowherd is a thought-provoking, opinionated, and topic-driven journey through the top sports stories of the day.

---

1. Game Overview: Rams vs. Vikings

The episode delves into the NFL Wild Card game where the Los Angeles Rams, led by quarterback Matt Stafford, decisively defeated the Minnesota Vikings and their quarterback Sam Darnold. The victory highlighted the stark contrast between the Rams' stout defense and the Vikings' faltering offense.

Key Points:

• Final Score: LA Rams 27, Minnesota Vikings 9.

• Sam Darnold's Struggles: Darnold was sacked nine times resulting in a loss of 82 yards.

  Quote:

  "They sacked Sam Darnold nine times for a loss of 82 yards. What a performance."
  [02:00]

2. Quarterback Performance: Sam Darnold vs. Matt Stafford

Colin criticizes Sam Darnold's performance, emphasizing his inability to adapt under pressure and his excessive reliance on passing, even when the team held a substantial lead.

Key Points:

• Excessive Passing: Despite holding a 10-3 lead, the Vikings continued to pass, leading to further sacks and deteriorating the game.

• Darnold's Decision-Making: Dropping back to pass invades his weaknesses, especially against a robust Rams' defense.

  Quote:

  "Sam Darnold couldn't stop getting sacked and the game unraveled."
  [02:30]

3. Coaching Critique: Kevin O'Connell's Strategies

Colin critiques the Vikings' head coach, Kevin O’Connell, for his staunch commitment to a pass-heavy offense, likening his style to other overly simplistic offensive strategies that fail under pressure.

Key Points:

• Pass-Heavy Offense: O’Connell’s addiction to passing left the team vulnerable against the Rams' aggressive defense.

• Lack of Adaptability: Failure to incorporate a balanced run game or adjust play-calling when the team was leading significantly.

  Quote:

  "Kevin O'Connell is addicted to passing. Anytime that he calls a run and it only gains a yard or two, no more runs that series."
  [02:45]

4. Mike McCarthy and the Dallas Cowboys

A significant portion of the discussion revolves around the Dallas Cowboys' decision to part ways with head coach Mike McCarthy, exploring the potential reasons and future implications for the franchise.

Key Points:

• Termination Details: Unclear whether McCarthy was fired or if his contract was simply not renewed.

• Potential Replacements: Speculation centers on high-profile figures such as Deion Sanders or other seasoned coaches.

• Impact on Team Dynamics: The departure of McCarthy raises questions about the Cowboys' offensive strategies and future performance.

  Quote:

  "Mike McCarthy is free to go, interview and interview he will."
  [03:50]

5. Deion Sanders as a Potential Replacement

Colin explores the possibility of Deion Sanders stepping into the Cowboys' coaching role, assessing his fit and the broader implications for the team.

Key Points:

• Coaching Credentials: Sanders' recent success with other teams and his dynamic presence could invigorate the Cowboys.

• Team Dynamics: Integration with existing staff, especially defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, would be crucial.

• Franchise Direction: Sanders' approach aligns with the Cowboys' need for a transformative leadership style to propel them back into playoff contention.

  Quote:

  "Deion Sanders had a phone call with Jerry Jones. We will discuss that."
  [04:15]

6. Sean McVay and the Rams' Defensive Dominance

Colin praises Rams' head coach Sean McVay for orchestrating a game plan that leveraged the team's defensive strengths, effectively neutralizing the Vikings' offensive threats.

Key Points:

• Defensive Strategy: McVay's emphasis on controlling the line of scrimmage prevented the Vikings from executing their passing game.

• Player Performances: Standout performances from Rams' defensive players like Jared Verse and Fisk played pivotal roles.

• Future Playoffs: The Rams' strong defensive performance sets them up favorably for upcoming playoff matchups.

  Quote:

  "Sean McVay just wins another playoff game. What a coaching clinic of controlling the line of scrimmage offensively and defensively."
  [05:30]

7. Sam Darnold's Future and Contract Considerations

The discussion shifts to Sam Darnold's contractual situation, debating the viability of his continued presence with the Vikings given his recent performance.

Key Points:

• Franchise Tag Implications: The $41 million franchise tag reflects the team's acknowledgment of his potential despite recent struggles.

• Potential Trade Value: Questions arise about Darnold's market value and whether teams would invest in a long-term contract.

• Performance Under Pressure: Darnold's ability to perform in high-stakes games remains a central concern for the Vikings' future.

  Quote:

  "You could feel the pressure getting to him. And he was holding the ball tonight."
  [06:10]

8. Rams' Offensive and Defensive Personnel

Colin highlights the Rams' balanced team composition, with strong performances from both offensive and defensive players, contributing to their playoff success.

Key Points:

• Offensive Adjustments: Despite the Rams' offense struggling for a month, their defense kept them competitive.

• Key Players: Matt Stafford's leadership on offense and the defensive prowess of players like Jared Verse and Fisk.

• Draft Success: McVay's effective use of draft picks to strengthen the team, particularly on defense.

  Quote:

  "Their defense is so physical and they deserve so much credit that when Aaron Donald retires, you don't replace an Aaron Donald."
  [07:25]

9. Future Matchups and Playoff Predictions

The episode concludes with predictions for the Rams' upcoming playoff games, emphasizing their defensive strengths and McVay's coaching acumen as critical factors for continued success.

Key Points:

• Upcoming Games: Rams set to face the Philadelphia Eagles and other strong contenders.

• Playoff Readiness: The Rams' ability to dominate defensively positions them as formidable opponents.

• Coaching Legacy: Sean McVay's track record suggests a high likelihood of further playoff success.

  Quote:

  "Sean McVay, his buddy Chris Shula absolutely dominated tonight. What a coaching clinic."
  [08:00]

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

1. Sam Darnold's Performance:

   "They sacked Sam Darnold nine times for a loss of 82 yards. What a performance."
   [02:00]

2. Critique on Excessive Passing:

   "Sam Darnold couldn't stop getting sacked and the game unraveled."
   [02:30]

3. Kevin O’Connell's Offensive Strategy:

   "Kevin O'Connell is addicted to passing."
   [02:45]

4. Mike McCarthy's Departure:

   "Mike McCarthy is free to go, interview and interview he will."
   [03:50]

5. Potential of Deion Sanders as Coach:

   "Deion Sanders had a phone call with Jerry Jones. We will discuss that."
   [04:15]

6. Sean McVay's Defensive Coaching:

   "Sean McVay just wins another playoff game. What a coaching clinic of controlling the line of scrimmage offensively and defensively."
   [05:30]

7. Sam Darnold's Contract Future:

   "You could feel the pressure getting to him. And he was holding the ball tonight."
   [06:10]

8. Rams' Defensive Strength:

   "Their defense is so physical and they deserve so much credit that when Aaron Donald retires, you don't replace an Aaron Donald."
   [07:25]

9. Playoff Predictions:

   "Sean McVay, his buddy Chris Shula absolutely dominated tonight. What a coaching clinic."
   [08:00]

---

Conclusion

In this episode of "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," Colin offers a comprehensive analysis of the NFL Wild Card game where the Los Angeles Rams overwhelmed the Minnesota Vikings. He critiques the Vikings' quarterback Sam Darnold and head coach Kevin O’Connell for their ineffective offensive strategies, while lauding the Rams' defensive prowess and Sean McVay's coaching. Additionally, Colin discusses significant developments in the Dallas Cowboys' coaching staff, pondering the implications of Mike McCarthy's departure and the potential rise of Deion Sanders. The episode underscores the importance of strategic adaptability in coaching and the critical role of a robust defense in securing playoff success.

Transcript

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And Sam Donald clearly was during the headlights again and he just kept passing the ball obviously in the second half when you're down big, I get it. But at one point in time it was 10 to three in the first half and he just couldn't stop passing and Sam Darnold couldn't stop getting sacked and the game unraveled. So we will dive into that situation. Sean McVay just wins another playoff game. And then the big news of the day non on the field was the Cowboys and Mike McCarthy going their separate ways. I don't know if he was fired, contract not renewed. That's technically what happened to me once upon a time. I just didn't get my contract renewed. Mike McCarthy is free to go interview and interview he will. The Saints where I'd forgotten, but he worked way back in the day. The Chicago Bears were obviously division in which he coached for a long, long time. Could Mike McCarthy become the head coach the Chicago Bears? But I think the big headline with the Cowboys is that Jerry Jones, Deion Sanders had a phone call. So we will discuss that. And if you listen on the on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe to Three and Out. Obviously all of our stuff's on YouTube and let's talk some football. We do need to start with Minnesota because anytime and I thought Troy Aikman summed it up pretty well. When you have a great regular season and Minnesota had an awesome regular season, to win 14 games with Sam Darnold as your quarterback is a great accomplishment. It really is. And it's winning you your division. I feel like if you win 14 games, you're going to win your division nine out of 10 years, 95% of the time, maybe even more than nine. So it's. They had a, they were awesome start to finish this season, but the last two weeks was pretty alarming. And everyone blamed Sam Darnold last week, rightfully so. He was not good. He was missing guys constantly all game against the Detroit Lions. And I think where it was so glaring is who is Detroit rolling out on defense? I know they got Anzalone back, but it was full of a lot of random practice squad guys, you know, mixing in and they had not been playing well. Well tonight is a real defense with an awesome front and a well coached unit because the Rams had not been playing well offensively, minus the Bills game for well over a month. They have looked like a shell of themselves offensively from the version that we saw last year heading into the playoffs that were rolling. They have been carried by their defense, which has been fantastic. And they nailed their draft pick in Jared Verse. Fisk, his teammate from Florida State has been awesome. They got other good players on the front. They're just a fast, physical defense. Well, what do you think they were going to do coming into this game? They knew last week Sam Darnold, when you got pressure on him, kind of crumbled like a cookie. And it was clear early on that that game had carried over the pressure of trying to. And listen, the talk of him getting a huge contract, I think we can throw that out the window. And honestly it was probably up in the air even before this game started. But he's still playing. The franchise tag for a quarterback is $41 million. And in the NFL, your game tape is your resume. Look at all these teams that desperately need a quarterback. So there is still a ton of money to be made by playing good football. And you could feel the pressure getting to him. And he was holding the ball tonight. And early on in that game, the Rams came out swinging, score a touchdown, immediately take a 10 nothing lead. Kevin O'Connell, who if, if you just listen to the media and listen, I got Nothing against Kevin O'Connell seems like a nice guy, but he is treated by the football media like he's Bill Walsh meets Mike Shanahan meets Mike Holmgren. He has played in three big games in his career as a head coach. Two years ago in the playoffs, he won the division, won 13 games. They hosted the New York Giants. Daniel Jones, he lost last week to get the number one seed against the Detroit Lions. He Got worked tonight as a favorite on the road, kinda. The Rams were displaced from la. Had to move their entire family. I've lived in Arizona for about three years now. There are a ton of Vikings fans. That was a Minnesota home game. He was a favorite and he's calling games like you or I would on Madden. He is addicted to passing. I looked it up. Sam Darnold was 8 in the NFL this year in pass attempts. A little less than 20 behind. Wait for it, Caleb Williams. A team who was down in every fucking game they played. So they're constantly passing. Check Minnesota's record. They were winning in a ton of them. This guy can't stop passing. And listen, I'm pro the forward pass. But sometimes in a game like this, when your quarterback is struggling and show signs from the previous week. Because with Kevin O'Connell on the night, it's not about what's going to happen at the combine or during free agency. Our decision on Sam Donald. It's about trying to beat the rams and Shula McVeigh's buddy and college roommate who is coming out and kicking your ass. Your offensive line is completely overwhelmed right now and pressure is coming from every angle. And your quarterback looks rattled. He's holding onto the ball too long. Call a run. It's one thing in the second half when you're down by 50. I get it. You gotta pass. When it's 10 to 3 though, and you have had Acres bust a big run. You have had Aaron Jones, whose resume speaks for itself, had a 13 yard run. So you had a guy with a 30 yard run, you got the 13 yard run. You had busted some long plays, but a guy that loves passing, like Kevin O'Connell, anytime that he calls a run and it only gains a yard or two. No more runs that series. Pass, pass, punt, pass, sack, punt. Like Sam Darnold in the first half tonight, got sacked six times. Some of those are on the quarterback 100%. But it's also on the coach to see that again. He is not trying to define the guy's career and give him a contract or wipe the contract away, tonight he is literally trying to win a game, which would be his first playoff victory of his career. And while the media tells me over and over he's the greatest coach since sliced bread, meanwhile I look and kind of see like the James Harden of coaches. Awesome during the regular season, but get put in these big spots and like his quarterback melted down and everyone and Chris Carter once said, you got to find a fall guy. Everyone is going to Crush Sam Darnold. Every single human is going to shit on him. And listen, would I give him $150 million after these last couple weeks? I'm not acting like you should break the bank for the guy. Would I even question giving him the $41 million franchise tag? Yes, it's part of the job. These conversations need to be had. But to think that a coach that is addicted to passing is going to start. J.J. mcCarthy, who looked like he weighed 185 pounds last week when we saw him in the Lions game, whose entire college career was predicated on handing the ball off, literally played a game last season against Penn State where he did not throw a forward pass in the second half. Kevin OConnell is not a run game guy. He does not want to hand the ball off. He wants to call pass place. And obviously they're missing their left tackle, but the rest of their offensive line is more than questionable. And they were getting throttled and they were calling blitz after blitz, corner blitzes, guys coming from all angles. And he was just overwhelmed. Well, what's the easiest way to neutralize that? Call a run play. You are literally just trying to win this game tonight, but he can't because he's not wired like that. He's wired. Former quarterback wants to pass the rock. And listen, he's got two great wide receivers. Justin Jefferson could argue is one of the most talented guys we've ever seen in the NFL. I want to throw him the ball, too. Jordan Addison, if that's your number two, I mean, good luck trying to stop this offense. Tight ends a stud. Hell, Naylor's awesome, but like in this individual game, that clearly wasn't going to work. And this is a league and Belichick said it for decades, you're either coaching it or allowing it to happen. And he's the play caller. It's not like he's Tomlin over there. Mr. CEO. The offense is his baby. But pass play after pass play after pass play. It's like, Kevin, the score is not 30 to 3 right now. You are down a touchdown to an offense that hasn't been good in a month. Your defensive coordinator now fell apart as the game went on. Has been excellent all season. Take a deep breath, Slow the game down for the quarterback. That is your job. And he couldn't do it. And everyone, and I mean everyone, is going to take a massive dump on Sam Darnold. And like I said, he didn't just play like Joe Montana. He got worse as the game went on. But how does the coach going to get a pass? How are we just going to act like, yeah, the coach is doing a great job, calling great plays. Meanwhile, there are three free rushers coming from the left and the right. But I get it, he's got a lot of friends in the media. This was the same guy that two weeks ago, before the big second biggest game of his life against the Lions, story comes out in the morning. Jay Glazer. He clearly wants a race. Don't blame him. He's probably, I would say, one of the lower paid coaches in the NFL, given it was, I wouldn't say out of nowhere when he was hired by the Minnesota Vikings, but it's not like he had much leverage. So let's say he's making six, seven million dollars. And in his mind, you start rattling off multiple double digit win seasons, time to pay me like 12 to 15 million. And when the story comes out, which, listen, I don't know that he was behind it, his agent was behind it. Maybe he had nothing to do with it, but if I did have nothing to do with it, you bet your ass I'd want my players to know I'm not going to get traded no matter what. I'm going to stay here. I would have released a statement through someone in the media like, that's bs, that's not true. But he didn't. And if you think it's a coincidence that something like that happens. Bill Parcells used to do this shit all the time. Then he quit on his team and he comes in after, like I had know nothing about it. Well, since that report came out, your team has looked like shit two weeks in a row. And it's funny how these coaches always preach to their players. Team the team, the team. Focus on the team, the team. Don't worry about yourself. And so many of them do the same shit that players do. Worry about their money, worry about their contract. Why we're all humans. But that would have been an easy one even if his camp leaked it, to be like, that's not true. No matter what, we're being loyal. Even if it's not true that he might want to get traded because he thinks the Vikings are going to lowball. And if I'm the Wolves, like, listen, he's been an excellent regular season coach, but he's discussed like he's Kyle Shanahan or Sean McVeigh. Wake me up. When the guy wins a big game, please wake me up. I mean, and listen to be like, well, who's Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold I've seen Kyle Shanahan win games with Jimmy fucking Garoppolo. So. And you know why? Because you just run the ball, slow down the game. Instead we're getting into an NFL blitz style, slinging around nonstop and it's like, that's not going to work tonight. It's evident. My mother could see like, hey, you keep calling these pass plays with your quarterback holding the ball a little long, you're going to get throttled. And what happened? Hey, another pass, whatever the long play call is sack, call the play in another sack, it's like, what are we doing? It was coaching malpractice. It really was. And you watch every former player, everyone on the, on the Twitter streets, they're all going to blame Sam Donald. No one's going to mention to Kevin O'Connell if you watch that game and you think it was the play calling had nothing to do with it. I don't know. We're not watching the same game. And you know, I think Sean McVeigh came into this as an underdog after his team. Who knows how many players were impacted by, you know, the crazy fires in the Los Angeles area. They basically pack up a flight on Friday or Saturday to fly to Arizona, which obviously came in clutch to allow them to play here. And you saw Michael Bidwell the night sitting with Roger Goodell because one, you just couldn't have played it in Los Angeles. Two, just because the fires alone, let alone that their dome situation is not a closed true dome. It would have been smoky in there. So it's obviously the right move. But it then becomes a home game for Minnesota. So we're an underdog now. We win the division, we got to go on the road. That neutralizes the advantage of us winning the division. You know what, we don't give a shit. We're going to come in because I am a big game coach. I am a guy who's been winning big games now for over half a decade and we're going to kick the shit out of this team. And that's exactly what happened. Sean McVay, his buddy Chris Shula absolutely dominated tonight. What a coaching clinic of controlling the line of scrimmage offensively and defensively. Stafford playing under control and it's crazy. I mean, I kind of got cold feet. I like the Rams last week when the schedule was kind of announced pre the fires. But once the fires happened, it was clear that they might have to displace. I just thought one, I respected the Vikings and their coaching staff, the talent on Their team. And then once it comes here, it's like, that's a big advantage for Minnesota, given how many Minnesota fans are going to be there. Sean McVeigh did not give a shit and beat the living crap out of him because. And now you see a Minnesota operation under Kevin O'Connell. 02 in the playoffs. And that's Sean McVeigh. Like I said, eighth win. And now he gets to go on the road against Philly. Another easy motivation spot. There's a team that earlier this season, beat the crap out of them. No one's going to pick the Rams. And the crazy thing about the Rams, and this is what good coaches do, his offense had not played well forever. They've been winning games like 12 to 6 against the 49ers, 21 to 7 against an awful Saints team. I mean, they look so terrible down the stretch. And tonight it's like, oh, that's a real good Rams team again. That's what good coaching is. Through adversity, through chaotic situations. Rally the team, get them together and coach well and put your players in situations. Succeed. And Shula on defense had guys flying all around. That was, what a performance by the defense. I would imagine Sean McVay is going to hand out game balls not only to the defensive line, to the defensive coordinator, to just the starting defense in general, because they set the tone in that game early and often. And if you're going to keep calling pass plays when you can't block their front, it's going to be a long night. Like, I'm sorry, you can't just put nine sacks. It can't just all be on the quarterback and even on the offensive line, like, the coach bears responsibility to that period, point blank, end of story. So now we get our final matchup, Rams at Philly to go with Detroit and Washington. But what a performance, really. I mean, that was. That was really cool to watch. And one thing the Rams have had under Sean McVay, all their good teams have a physical element. Their defense is so physical and they deserve so much credit that when Aaron Donald retires, you don't replace an Aaron Donald. He's one of the greatest players we've ever seen. Yet they were able to draft two guys that were teammates, and both their style resembled him a little bit. Even the two of them don't equal Aaron Donald. But Jared Verse, year one Pro bowl, and you watch his power move immediately translates to the NFL. Fisk, the defensive tackle from Florida State, I remember when Derek Ray, my guy, that's a gm there Described him. His playing personality is like Max Crosby of just never giving up and playing his balls off to go along with Turner and some of the other guys they have on their front. It really stands out. And throughout the season, when the Rams have played well, their front kicks ass and take names and defense back. Wise, Witherspoon, Akela Witherspoon, once upon a time was on the 49ers. He's been on Seattle like, I never thought he was that good. And now you watch me, he makes like a play every other game. Remember a couple of years ago when they got rid of Jalen Ramsey? People were like, what are they doing? It's like, yeah, they haven't skipped a beat since. I mean, they haven't even thought twice since he left. So you give this team some draft picks and remember last year is the first, first rounder that Sean McVeigh had ever had as a head coach. Think about that. His entire career as a Rams head coach. He got the job in 2017. Jared Verse is their first pick. Now, obviously they made some two crazy trades, right, for. For Matt Stafford and they. When they got Jared Goff, they had traded up, but they also made countless trades, you know, for guys like Brandon Cooks, for Sammy Watkins, for Jalen Ramsey. I mean, they use those picks to be really, really aggressive. And now they figured out like, you know what, maybe we should just save some more picks. We're pretty good at drafting, so extremely impressive win. And God, I think we just need to pump the hype fest on Kevin O'Connell. And obviously, I think big picture, just to put a bow on the JJ McCarthy thing, to think that you're just going to implement a guy that has never been relied on to carry the load as a passer and be able to compete for a playoff spot in 2025, to me, seems a little crazy. Does Sam Darnold ceiling come into question now? Of course it does. But he still put you in position to go to the playoffs. Does J.J. mcCarthy make them a playoff team in 2025? I don't know how you could think that, especially with the way that their coach calls plays, which we're going to rely on your arm nonstop. This isn't Jim Harbaugh. We're not just going to call runs every other play. We're going to pass the ball a lot. We're paying Justin Jefferson $100 million. Jordan Addison is going to want a big contract here in a couple of years. We got Hawkinson. Let's throw that pill, kid. He's like, hey, Man, I just. My knee just hurt. 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Hey everyone, it's Katie Couric. Well, the election is in the home stretch, and I'm exhausted. But turns out the end is near. Right in time for a new season of my podcast. Next Question. This podcast is for people like me who need a little perspective and insight. I'm bringing in some foks friends of Katie's to help me out, like Ezra Klein, Van Jones, Jen Psaki, Asted Herndon. But we're also going to have some fun, even though these days fun and politics seems like an oxymoron. But we'll do that thanks to some of my friends like Samantha bee, Roy Wood Jr. And Charlemagne the God. We're going to take some viewer questions as well. I mean, isn't that what democracy is all about? Power to the podcast for the people. So whether you're obsessed with the news or just trying to figure out what's going on, this season of Next Question is for you. Check out our new season of Next Question with me, Katie Couric, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jon Stewart]

Jon Stewart is back in the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. The Daily Show Podcast has everything you need to stay on top of today's news and pop culture. You get hilarious satirical takes on entertainment, entertainment, politics, sports, and more from John and the team of correspondents and contributors. The podcast also has content you can't get anywhere else, like extended interviews and a roundup of the weekly headlines. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Adnan Virk]

What's up, everybody? Adnan Burke here to tell you about a new podcast from iHeart podcast in the National Hockey League. It's NHL Unscripted with Virgin Demers.

[Jason Demers]

Hey, I'm Jason Demers, former 700 game NHL defenseman turned NHL Network analyst, and boy, oh boy, does Daddy have a lot to say.

[Adnan Virk]

I love you, by the way, on NHL Network, we're looking forward to getting together each week to chat and chirp about the sport and all the other things surrounding it that we love.

[Jon Stewart]

Right?

[Jason Demers]

Yeah, I just met you today, but we're going to have a ton of guests from the colliding worlds of hockey, entertainment and pop culture. And you know what, tons of back and forth on all things NHL.

[Adnan Virk]

Yeah, you're soon going to find out we're not just hockey talk. We had all kinds of random stuff on this podcast. Movies, television, food, wrestling, even the stuff that you wear on NHL.

[Jason Demers]

Now you wish you could pull off my short shorts, Ferkie.

[Adnan Virk]

That's sure to cause a ruckus. Listen to NHL Unscripted with Burke and Demers, the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Commercial Announcer]

Consider this is a daily news podcast and lately the news is about a big question. How much can one guy change?

[Jason Demers]

They want change.

[Commercial Announcer]

What will change look like for energy? Drill baby, drill schools. Take the Department of Education. Close it.

[Adnan Virk]

Health care better and less expensive.

[Commercial Announcer]

Follow coverage of a changing country. Promises made, promises kept. We're going to keep our promises on. Consider this from NPR. Listen on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. The other big story of the day was the Dallas Cowboys. And obviously Jerry Jones went viral a couple weeks ago for his performance in Landman. I watched the season finale last night at one point in time, no spoilers, but I thought Billy Bob was going to get killed. Somehow he lived. And it was fantastic season, just your classic, just extremely entertaining. I don't even know how true half the stuff is, but you tell me you get oil man guy driving a truck all around fields with the cartel, guns, sex, like a little football mixed in. I'm in. And excellencies. But one thing I don't get about Jerry Jones, I get he likes being different and likes beaten to the, you know, to the beat of his own drum. But there are certain protocols that it's just like, makes it easier on everybody. The Dallas Cowboys were eliminated from playoff contention a long time ago, right? It's not like they went into week 18 with a chance to make the playoffs if they won a game. They had been eliminated for weeks. Honestly, it was pretty clear even when they were winning some games under McCarthy, this wasn't a playoff team. That Dak Prescott was up in the booth with his 17 ice teas. I mean, talk about what. I don't know if they pay him for the marketing of that. Whatever that drink is, the leaf drink. I've never had one. But when I saw, I think the last game of the season when he had all those iced teas in front of him, it made me walking around Safeway. I looked at it, I thought about buying one. I'm just not a huge iced tea guy. But Dak Prescott sure likes it. If you're going to drink five of them. You must really, really value the flavor in those drinks. But why didn't Jerry Jones do this last Monday? And I'm sure we're going to find out in depth reporting from a lot of people around the Cowboys over the next 24, 48 hours, what was really being discussed, like the details of the last five, six, seven days? But how could you not have come to the conclusion at the end of the season? And I put a little this on Mike. It's like, fire me or keep me, but let's make a decision immediately. I just can't quite comprehend what was going on over these last several days. But that is the Dallas Cowboys. They literally never do anything like anyone else. Look at how they treat their massive contracts. They always wait till the last minute. They always pay the most humanly possible, Even when the guy's a great player. It's like this. Probably didn't have to be like that. And maybe there's an element to Jerry. Stock market's been ripping. He holds out as late as possible to put that money in escrow. But the more and more I thought about it, I just do not understand the point of making this decision a week after Black Monday, when we basically knew coming into the season this was a make or break season for the coach, given he didn't have a contract. So I don't know how they're going to try to justify it. I'm sure they will. And I put some of this on Mike. He could have drawn a line in the sand. Maybe he thought that it might be tenable and they could work this out. But it just. I'd be hard pressed to understand the rationale behind this now. Who is going to be their next head coach? They discussed, you know, Jerry Jones and Deion Sanders have talked. Obviously, if Jerry Jones offers Deion Sanders the job, Deion is as good as gone from Colorado. See ya. I'm out. Now, do we know for a fact that he's going to offer him the job? Who knows? What are his options? Couple college coaches. Dion. I think if Bill Belichick was available, they definitely would talk to him. I read The Dion's buyouts $8 million. We know Belichick's buyouts $10 million. Way less crazy. If Jerry wants Dion, he just made Colorado beyond relevant. With Shador and Travis Hunter, they won nine games. If Deion left Colorado, everyone would just do cartwheels for how awesome that experience was this year. The Belichick thing would be pretty ugly. But Belichick's done a lot of Shit, that's pretty cold blooded. Like I would say, Belichick's NFL career non game day is defined by being pretty ruthless and having no heart and doing things that most people would be uncomfortable doing. So to think that if he did want the Cowboy job and Jerry Jones wanted Belichick, that Bill would worry about. Well, I've only been here, you know, a month and I promise I would stay. In what world, watching his career do business, thinks that he would give a flying fuck how many people he'd piss off at North Carolina? I don't. Here's the thing with Deion though. He's got a couple things going for him. They just brought back Mike Zimmer to be their defensive coordinator. And by the end of the year when they had a lot of guys healthy, they clearly looked a lot better on defense. Do you know who one of Deion's favorite coaches of all time was? Mike Zimmer. Go to Mike Zimmer's Wikipedia page. Who was the DB coach in the mid to late 90s? Zimmer. That's his guy. So you go, well we can keep Zimmer, we can add Deion to be the CEO head coach and listen, I'm not the biggest Pat Shermer guy, but Deion does have an NFL coordinator as his OC because if you're Jerry, the big question would be like Dion clearly relate to players. You can lead a group, you keep Zimmer. We're all on the same page. But what about the offense? Like if Dion just had some random college coordinator. I wonder if you're Jerry and those guys, you feel a little uncomfortable. I can bring Pat Shermer who has been an offensive coordinator countless places and once upon a time in Minnesota with Case Keenum had one of the great coordinating seasons in recent memory. They were in the NFC championship and lost that Nick Foles team. So there are boxes that check for Deion. Now I think a lot of people assume that if Deion Sanders gets this job, he would want to kick Dak to the curb and go after Shedeur. I actually think it'd be more likely they're drafting 12th just to keep build up the team and coach Dak Prescott. Now if Shador fell to 12, then yeah, I could see the Cowboys draft them. Do I think they would trade like three first rounders to get up to like two or three to draft Shador and do whatever with dak and eat $100 million in dead cap? I don't see that coming. So if there is a world where Deion Sanders is the head coach. I believe Mike Zimmer would stay as the defensive coordinator. And I also believe that Dak Prescott would stay as the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. And I don't think it's that crazy. And I think part of it is like, Jerry, you're over 80. You go out with a bang. Let's make this the ultimate marketing machine. You talk about Dion, bright lights, everyone talking about you. And listen, what Dion did this year was pretty impressive. Colorado was a joke before he got there. Two years later, they won nine games. And honestly, we're a half away from going to the Big 12 championship game. Now, I think it turns out Arizona State was better, but, like, they were pretty good this year. And the other thing is, like, they were pretty well coached, definitely on defense, which is Dion's side of the ball. And clearly Deion can relate to young, talented players. I mean, they're recruiting really, really well. Now, you could argue in college football, a huge part of that is because of nil, which I hate the word nil. It's just called pay to play, but it's just a salary. I'm just paying you to play. Like, what are you actually. And I heard Dion actually say this, like, what commercials are any of these guys on? Like, what billboards are these guys on? They're just getting paid $300,000 to play DB. They're not being paid $300,000 to go on TV and promote sunglasses. That's not happening. But I also think the other name to keep an eye on if Deion doesn't happen, if Belichick doesn't happen, would be Kellen Moore. A couple years ago, Jerry was, well, or outspoken about how highly he thought about Kellen and how he viewed him as a future head coach. And the other thing with the Cowboys is they are indebted when it comes to the quarterback position for hundreds of millions of dollars, like Dak Prescott, they just gave him so much fucking money. So you almost have to double down in that situation. If you are going to fire Mike, who made Dak look really, really good. You have to be, like, leaning to be inclined to hire someone that is also going to make Dakota look really, really good. And Kellen Moore was not only his quarterback coach, but was offensive coordinator. And clearly they have a really good relationship. And I think Jerry can also look at it like, well, who am I hurting if I hire Kellen? A guy that I view like, I created and I put on the map even though he didn't. Chris Peterson, Boise State did But from an NFL coaching standpoint, I hurt the Eagles, right? I mean, the Eagles, let's face I haven't seen the line. My guess would be six, seven point favorite against the Rams. I would say five and a half as the smallest. So if we assume they win that game at home, Kellen Moore will be coordinating a team in the championship game with probably a pretty decent chance to win. And if you don't think that that matters to him, not only getting his guy back, but hurting one of his biggest rivals, that has to mean something. So I would say the Dion things clearly real, like 100% it is and it makes a lot of sense. But if for whatever reason it doesn't happen to me in Belichick, which I would have thought last year or if he wasn't at North Carolina would have been a real, I don't know. I wouldn't say that he's he's going to be loyal to unc, but the way Lombardi has openly talked about how I would say entrenched they are at Chapel Hill, maybe you got to believe them. I don't know. But I do think that Kellen Moore, I think those would be the three names. Deon Belichick, Kellen Moore. I'd be stunned if it's not one of those three guys coaching the Dallas Cowboys in 2025.

[Katie Couric]

Hey, everyone, it's Katie Couric. Well, the election is in the home stretch and I'm exhausted. But turns out the end is near, right in time for a new season of my podcast. Next Question. This podcast is for people like me who need a little perspective and insight. I'm bringing in some foks friends of Katie's to help me out, like Ezra Klein, Van Jones, Jen Psaki, Asted Herndon. But we're also going to have some fun, even though these days fun and politics seems like an oxymoron. But we'll do that thanks to some of my friends like Samantha bee, Roy Wood Jr. And Charlemagne the God. We're going to take some viewer questions as well. I mean, isn't that what democracy is all about? Power to the podcast for the people. So whether you're obsessed with the news or just trying to figure out what's going on, this season of Next Question is for you. Check out our new season of Next Question with me, Katie Couric, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jon Stewart]

Jon Stewart is back in the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our Ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition Podcast the Daily Show Podcast has everything you need to stay on top of today's news and pop culture. You get hilarious satirical takes on entertainment, entertainment, politics, sports and more from John and the team of correspondents and contributors. The podcast also has content you can't get anywhere else, like extended interviews and a roundup of the weekly headlines. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Adnan Virk]

What's up everybody? Adnan Burke here to tell you about a new podcast from iHeart podcast in the National Hockey League. It's NHL Unscripted with Firkin Demers.

[Jason Demers]

Hey, I'm Jason Demers, former 700 game NHL defenseman turned NHL Network analyst, and boy oh boy, does Daddy have a lot to say.

[Adnan Virk]

I love you. By the way. On NHL Network, we're looking forward to getting together each week to chat and chirp about the sport and all the other things surrounding it that we love. Right?

[Jason Demers]

Yeah, I just met you today, but we're going to have a ton of guests from the colliding worlds of hockey, entertainment and pop culture. And you know what, tons of back and forth on all things NHL.

[Adnan Virk]

Yeah, you're soon going to find out we're not just hockey talk. We had all kinds of random stuff on this podcast. Movies, television, food, wrestling, even the stuff that you wear in NHL.

[Jason Demers]

Now you wish you could pull off my short shorts, Virky.

[Adnan Virk]

That's sure to cause a ruckus. Listen to NHL Unscripted with Burke and demers, the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[NPR Host]

The Indicator is a podcast where daily economic news is about what matters to you. And we're guessing most days that's money.

[Katie Couric]

Workers have been feeling the sting of.

[NPR Host]

Inflation, so as a new administration promises action on the cost of living, taxes and home prices, the S&P 500 biggest post election day spike ever. Follow all the big changes and what they mean for you.

[Commercial Announcer]

Make America affordable again.

[NPR Host]

Listen to the Indicator from NPR on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get podcasts.

[Commercial Announcer]

Okay, let's do a little Middlekop mailbag at John Middelkoff at johnmittlecoff. Is the Instagram fire in those DMS? Fire in those DMs. Get your questions answered here on the show on middlekopf. Instagram DMs wide freaking open. See if I can find those DMs. We'll start with Sean with the packers lost to the Eagles. Do you think it's time to place lafleur on the dreaded hot seat. I'm not saying fire him now, but I'm saying that this season we went 1 in 5 in the division. God, that's not great. We're a block field goal away from being oh and six as well as 06 against the top three teams in the conference. I'd be more okay with it if those losses were a bit closer, but we never came out of the gates and fell down two scores in every game to the Bears. I feel like we've been complacent and content with just winning 10 plus games, but the ultimate goal is Super Bowl. LaFleur has proven he can A minus get there and B minus get his team to show up for big games. Feels like we're in a similar boat as Pittsburgh with Tomlin where we're winning but our ceiling isn't high enough AKA the Super Bowl. Personally, I'd give him another year two max and see if it changes. I hear what you're saying and I understand the frustration. I think he's proven, you know, last year you guys won a playoff game on the road. He won. He resurrected Aaron Rodgers career he made. I know Jordan Love's been all over the map this year, but he took a quarterback who had never really played beside one game and turned him into a competent starter, a guy that you can make the playoffs with. Honestly, some of his work with Malik Willis was really, really impressive. I think one concerning part for the packers is like they have 10 sweet wide receivers but it doesn't feel like any of them just kind of rose above the next right. Christian Watson clearly now with a torn ACL and let's face it, he was underwhelming. This year is the expectations were higher. Jaden Reed, very talented player, but I think the expectations for him were higher than the way it played out. Let me just so jaden Reed had 55 catches, Tucker Kraft had 50, Dobbs had 46, Wicks had 39. I think you were kind of hoping one of those guys would be like, okay, this guy could be a top 78 wide receiver in the NFL. And the season ended, we're still left like who's the best dude out of them all? And clearly, you know, Reed looked like he hurt his shoulder bad. Obviously Dobbs with the head injuries already wearing the concussion cap. I haven't really been online today, but I would guess, I don't know, maybe Leflore said this last night, I mean get another concussion. So I just think that you need some of those guys to step up. And defensively, you guys actually felt like you were better this year than years past. He's got a couple more years, man. I mean the division thing would be a little concerning to go one and one and five and like you said, easily could have lost the one Bears game to go oh and six. Like that's a problem. And to lose the Eagles twice. So basically if you take like and you said it, the Lions, Vikings and Eagles, the three best teams in the NFC record wise, you're owing six against and then to lose to the Bears when, let's face it, you're trying to win. Question for the bag McCarthy out as Dallas coach. Should the Cowboys trade for Mike Tomlin? He needs a fresh start and the Cowboys definitely need his toughness. You know, if you look at recent memory, I guess they had Wade Phillips. I'm trying to think if there was like a consistent theme, but they had parcels, Wade Phillips, defensive guys, Jason Garrett, McCarthy offensive guys. I don't know if Jerry has necessarily a consistent theme. You know, Campo was a defensive guy. But yeah, I mean I we have to see their options. You know, it's. They're going to be some stories coming out, I would imagine the next couple days the way this plays out. But also are the Cowboys in a position to trade for Mike. For Mike Tomlin? To me, if you're going to get Mike Tomlin, you might as well just keep Mike McCarthy. So Albert Burr said they're basically the same guy. One just coaches offense and one is coach defense to me and I talked about this earlier on the podcast portion, on the video portion. I did it on the reaction video to Monday Night Football. But you're paying Dak Prescott all this money. You're going to hire an offensive coach. Like you're not going to go like firing Mike McCarthy when Dak and the quarterback is kind of his baby. I have a hard time thinking they're going to go defense. Honestly can't see it and I don't think it makes much sense. And we'll see. You know, I beside just the initial reaction and the Jerry Jones statement thrown out there, I would imagine we'll learn a lot more over the next 24, 48 hours about the details of what exactly happened. Like why didn't this happen last week? Don't quite understand that Chargers fans still recovering. I would imagine we move on from Bosa and Mack is retiring. It seems Cleo Max retiring. Didn't he just have. I thought Khalil Mack was fantastic this season. I maybe I maybe I'm just out of the loop. I'd be a little surprised if he retired I mean Khalil Mack it feels like could still garner even if they were to tell him they don't want him I don't know why they wouldn't I would think that the Chargers would want Khalil Mack means a Pro bowl level guy this year and like legitimately earned it He I felt like he had more than 6x played in 16 games 6x this doesn't feel right. I thought he had I thought he had more than that. Maybe he did. I don't know. Maybe I maybe I thought a season was better Never mind I thought he was pretty good but guess the sack total wasn't as high Everybody wants to talk about how we are going to trade sign a big time wide receiver but to me Harbaugh doesn't really do that. What about acquiring Miles Garrett? You think that's in play? The discourse on Herbert is infuriating people so quick to forget how well he played against Denver that we needed him to clinch a spot or versus Las Vegas last week and it was the difference of the 5 and the 7 seed O line couldn't stop a nosebleed offense as a whole was horrendous. This is not all on Herbert. I don't know that Greg Roman is the right guy. Some of his play calling baffled me. JK just carried the ball nine times. There's a reason he was out of a job for a while. The hardballs are very loyal to Greg Roman. I mean he's worked for Jim, then he worked for John and now he's working for Jim again. They freaking love the guy. I don't know him personally seems like a nice guy but he does. I would say he's not known as the greatest pass game guy. As a run game coordinator he's good at that. But when it comes to scheming the pass I don't think Greg Roman's the first guy you think about. No one's confusing him with O'Connell, McVeigh or Andy Reid. But Jim Harbaugh loves him. I'm here yeah on the discourse with Herbert the thing with Miles Garrett is you'd have to trade a lot and I have a hard time seeing them trade a lot for an older guy even if that player is big time. I feel like the packers or a team like that is more likely to make that move than or even I've seen the Arizona Cardinals like some desperate teams. You know the Chargers they were ahead of schedule this year. So I'd be stunned if you know, that's if Miles Garrett and the Chargers forgiven. I mean this is a guy that could easily put I know he's older and he needs a contract extension, but two ones at his age would be pretty bold. But I think he would definitely garner a one and two twos. I mean still an elite player. It's just his age and you have to give him another 100 plus million dollars. Been an avid fan for a long time. I'm reaching out because I listened to your podcast last night with Colin and I appreciated your in depth conversation about California versus other places we've long entertained. Heading to the Phoenix area ourselves. How has the transition. Transition be or been? Are you enjoying it? Any other insights you can share? I know you're busy. Probably get a million of these. I don't even know if this was a mailbag question necessarily. Maybe just wanted a personal response. I learned a long time ago, you know, I've lived in Philadelphia, I've lived in Kansas City, I've lived in Fresno, the Bay Area. You kind of do what you do once you become an adult, right? My life for the last 20 years has really Monday through Friday, you know, Monday through Sunday, if you work weekends, revolves around work, food, gym. Like that's a pretty consistent theme of mine on most work days where I just tend to work a lot. So whether I lived in Alaska or I lived in Dallas or Arizona or California, like I do the same things. I'm a pretty big creature of habit. So to me it was just about being in a place that I wanted to be. Because my life today is not any different than it was three years ago or four years ago when I was living in the Bay Area. In terms of my routine, I do think bang for my buck. And from a tax perspective, it was a gigantic game changer coming from California to Arizona. And I don't just mean on your income taxes. You know, I had a condo in California, for example, that was. I paid like 500 grand for it. Which most places in the country, if you don't live in California and looked at the condo I own for the price I paid for it, you would think I was on drugs. And it was just, I mean it was going right. If you wanted to live for that, that area, you had no choice. But my property taxes because in that area I pay more property taxes for that condo than I do for a house that's worth, I don't know, well over double of what the condo was worth. So you just save money in so many different places, which, as I'm starting a family, it just, it matters. So I factored all that in. And to me, there's an element of one thing about, you know, I don't live in Phoenix, I live in North Scottsdale. And it was an area when I first started coming here more consistently, like four or five years ago. I fell in love with, and I like golf. And the other thing is, like, I grew up in the heat where I grew up in Davis, which is basically 10 minutes away from Sac, unlike the Bay Area, which can be very cold and even during the summer it doesn't get that hot. Where I grew up, it was 105 to 108 degrees for a couple months a year. So I was used to the heat. And then I lived in Fresno for a long time. Like, I like to heat. So if you don't like the heat here, it can be a problem. I mean, for a couple months stretch, it is really, really hot. But in terms of cleanliness, in terms of things are new, like the one thing with the Berry, everything was old. It's like you're paying an ultra premium for just old and shitty. And it's like, why? And I come here and everything's new, everything's clean. I just, I love this area. I. I've loved it for, for years. It's exceeded my expectations. Obviously, you know, I'm getting married here, so she's been a huge part of it. But overall, I would say this, your life doesn't change that much place to place. Once you get to be of a certain age, and I'm, who knows, maybe you're older than me. I think you would agree. It's just about what are the benefits of leaving? You know, whether you have young children, the schools are better, obviously the pay is better in terms of what you get to take home, the bang for your buck of what you get for what you pay for in terms of a home. The other thing is I just looked at it simply like, if these were stocks, I love the stock market, I would short where I was coming from. I'm like, this is not sustainable. This is not going to keep working out. They're at a breaking point. And I looked at Vegas and I looked at Arizona, Scottsdale, I'm like, I would invest heavily if these were publicly traded companies. And obviously Vegas and Scottsdale are booming and mainly because so many people from California are moving to those areas. And so you look in 20, 30 years, you buy now what it's going to become. I don't even. I mean, I would die on this hill. I feel pretty confident of where things are going and mainly like companies are going to more and more are going to start here, you know, forever. That was a huge point of difference for the Bay Area. Silicon Valley company started there. Like, I wouldn't bet on that happening for the next 30 years. Not saying it won't happen on an individual basis, but at the rate in which it was happening. So I just saw, I was like, I'm out. And it's probably the best thing I've ever done. First off for the bail bag Big Eagles fan I often find myself conflicted watching Jalen. I know he does not have the arm talent of the top five guys, but I can't help but wonder while watching him this year that he is being told or coached to be overly conservative with the ball and that is making him look even worse. Clearly everyone in the building knows that if he doesn't turn the ball over, they almost always win. And he just seems to be playing to that at times. It just makes it look so much meh as a passer. I think if he let it rip a bit, he may have a few more picks, but he may look more like 2022. Jalen, yeah, I mean, I can't speak to what he's being told on a weekly basis about how to play, but I do think it was pretty clear as the season went on that he is less likely to just sling that pill around unless it's pretty obvious. And I would say, yeah, maybe he's being told that, but you would think that A.J. brown knows that and it doesn't feel like he likes the vibe of this whole thing. I think as a whole, Jalen has always struggled for the guys that make a lot of money to pull the trigger. Definitely within the pocket, he will scramble to throw, but you know, when he sits in the pocket, that's not really listen, he's a better player than Tua, but just in terms of snap getting the ball out, Tua is getting rid of that football. That's Jalen's kind of the opposite. I just think he's a bizarre player. I think that's part of it. He's a bizarre player because I heard someone say, well, he wins a lot. And I think I saw the stats of his some of his NFC playoff wins against the Giants recently, against the 49ers and obviously the game yesterday. It's like he's thrown for many yards. So part of that is he benefits from Being on a really good team and we've seen him in a big moment against the Chiefs, throw for a lot of yards, but it almost feels like that game was more of an outlier. He's a great runner. Great runner to be strong. He's a really, really good runner. He's a unique runner. He's. He has a very instinctive running style and he's a good playmaker outside the pocket. But if you can keep within the pocket like you watch Jaden Daniels last night, Jaden will sit in that pocket and throw a strike over the middle of the field. Now he's a little taller. Maybe it's easier for him to see. But yeah, I, I don't know. I think Jalen has always been a pretty head scratching player. I think that's part of it. He's. Because he's better than so many guys. But you watch him like how good is he? And he's clearly not in the same universe as the elite guys. But you can win a lot of games with them. Because how he's such a good GM and they have such a loaded roster. I'd have a hard time just saying though, strictly because the coaches are telling him not to throw the ball. I mean, they're paying their two wide receivers a boatload of money. I think they entrust me the Eagles, Jeffrey Lurie, they like throwing the football. Like you said, it might be time for Tomlin and the Steelers to part ways. How would you feel about a trade or if he was hired by the Cowboys? I don't think it's entirely on Tomlin. I think it's more of an offensive talent issue that the Cowboys don't have that much of an issue with that. When the Cowboys are good or at least in the playoffs, that's good for the NFL and I feel like their fans would be in the position that the Steelers are in every year. The Cowboys already have really good defensive pieces. Tomlin would have to just Change the culture. P.S. even after the shit show, my take is Love takes the number five spot in the top five quarterbacks. His peak is insane. And he actually won a playoff game. Maybe this is before the game yesterday. I'm not sure what that PS Was about. My thing with. We talked about it earlier is just the Dak Prescott paying him a lot of money. And you would think you'd want your head coach to be involved in that scenario. I mean, part of Mike Tomlin, the number one question is like, who's the, who's the oc? Who's the Guy calling the place. Like, at least you knew when it was Jason Garrett, Kellen Moore, Kellen Moore, McCarthy. I mean, these are all offensive guys in. Part of the problem with Tomlin is, like, what's going on with his defense? Why does it look so atrocious? Think about this. The Cowboys down the stretch as they got guys back, I felt like their defense, for the most part, looked better than the Pittsburgh Steelers down the stretch. Love the podcast. It's the only break I get from studying from my board exams. Also, love the new guy. Intern Jackson, baby. Great addition to the pot. How was Burrow not an All Pro? He was clearly the best quarterback in the league. Plus, he was better than Josh Allen in every category. I'm kind of in agreement with Colin on this. I don't get that caught up. All Pros, Pro Bowls, MVPs. I simply don't give a shit. And you know, in a weird way, like, Joe Bro makes $55 million a year or $50 million a year. He just threw 45 touchdowns or whatever. Clearly wasn't his fault his team didn't make the playoffs. The defense screwed him early in the season. Like, does it even matter? Like, Joe Burrow is on a path to the hall of Fame whether he was an All Pro this year or not. I do think it's difficult to make him an All Pro when the other two guys like the Bills are very, very Josh Allen reliant. Like, if he. His stats weren't as good as Burrows, but you take him off and you put an average quarterback, they win like three games. Same thing with the Bengals. So it's like no difference. His importance. And his team was the 2 seed in the AFC. What are you going to do? Not put Lamar on there? So I think it was more of a product of those two guys. Their teams had really good seasons, and they're clearly their team's best player.

[Katie Couric]

Hey, everyone, it's Katie Couric. Well, the election is in the home stretch and I'm exhausted, but turns out the end is near. Right in time for a new season of my podcast. Next question. This podcast is for people like me who need a little perspective and insight. I'm bringing in some foks friends of Katie's to help me out, like Ezra Klein, Van Jones, Jen Psaki, Asted Herndon. But we're also going to have some fun, even though these days fun and politics seems like an oxymoron. But we'll do that thanks to some of my friends like Samantha bee, Roy Wood Jr. And Charlemagne Tha. God, we're gonna take some viewer questions as well. I mean, isn't that what democracy is all about? Power to the podcast for the people. So whether you're obsessed with the news or just trying to figure out what's going on, this season of Next Question is for you. Check out our new season of Next Question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jon Stewart]

Jon Stewart is back in the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. The Daily show podcast has everything you need to stay on top of today's news and pop culture. You get hilarious satirical takes on entertainment, politics, sports, and more from John and the team of correspondents and contributors. The podcast also has content you can't get anywhere else, like extended interviews and a roundup of the weekly headlines. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Adnan Virk]

What's up, everybody? Adnan Burke here to tell you about a new podcast from iHeart podcast in the National Hockey League. It's NHL Unscripted with Perkin Demers.

[Jason Demers]

Hey, I'm Jason Demers, former 700 game NHL defenseman turned NHL Network analyst. And boy, oh boy, does daddy have a lot to say.

[Adnan Virk]

I love you, by the way, on NHL Network, we're looking forward to getting together each week to chat and chirp about the sport and all the other things surrounding it that we love. Right?

[Jason Demers]

Yeah, I just met you today, but we're going to have a ton of guests from the colliding worlds of hockey, entertainment and pop culture.

[Commercial Announcer]

Culture.

[Jason Demers]

And you know what, tons of back and forth on all things NHL.

[Adnan Virk]

Yeah, you're soon going to find out we're not just hockey talk. We had all kinds of random stuff on this podcast. Movies, television, food, wrestling, even the stuff that you wear on NHL.

[Jason Demers]

Now you wish you could pull off my short shorts.

[Adnan Virk]

Virky that shirt of Kazar Ruckus. Listen to NHL Unscripted with Burke and demers, the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[NPR Host]

The Indicator is a podcast where daily economic news is about what matters to you. And we're guessing most days that's money.

[Katie Couric]

Workers have been feeling the sting of inflation.

[NPR Host]

So as a new administration promises action on the cost of living, taxes and home prices, the S&P 500 biggest post election day spike ever. Follow all the big changes and what they mean for you.

[Commercial Announcer]

Make America affordable again.

[NPR Host]

Listen to the indicator from NPR on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get podcasts.

[Commercial Announcer]

I'm currently a junior in college studying accounting, but I love hearing you and Colin talk about the front office side of the NFL. I would love to get an internship. I can't even speak today. An internship. I've been talking a lot. Obviously I mean podcasting, but I just feel like in general, do you have any advice for who to contact? I would say one advice I have. In this modern world we live in, go to LinkedIn and find people that work for teams. You know, I mean, you're young, you should understand how to, you know, use that. How to search by. Search specific teams and then search for people in their business development office and then connect with them and shoot them. DMs, you know, the message service. When I was in college, none of this shit existed. There were no such thing as direct messages. There was no such thing as LinkedIn. I had to send handwritten letters to these teams and keep my fingers crossed. Someone responded. That was the only way I could get involved. And you have so many avenues now to. And some of them might not see it, some of them might not respond, but if you LinkedIn connect with 50 people in the NFL on different teams, I'm talking total. And shoot them all a message. Couple of them will respond. That's what I would do. LaFleur for Tomlin. Who says no? The Packers. I would not trade Lafleur for Tomlin straight up. No chance. 2025 question. Do you think Lamar or Josh could be top 10 running backs in the league if they couldn't throw? I mean, Josh Allen's 6 foot 5. So I would say based on his size, 6, 5, 2, 40. If he was just in the backfield like Derek Henry, would he look the same as being a quarterback? I don't think he would. I do think Lamar. I don't know if he'd necessarily be a running back. I think he could be like a hybrid player, assuming he could catch and he could definitely be a star offensive player. You know, give him some end arounds. If he could run in the slot, I think Josh would probably have to play tight end, but again, I would have to assume both those guys could catch. Lamar's style is more natural as a runner to me. Part of Josh. And I would put Mahomes under this as well. Herbert too. Obviously Mahomes, the worst runner of that group is when you're a quarterback and dropping back to pass. And then I decide to run. There is. I. There's an element of that version of my running ability where you guys, half the guys are defending against the pass that when I play the run it's just, it's not apples to apples, you know, like Lamar, they do so much in the run game where it's truly a run. Look, obviously Josh does some as well, but I clearly both are high end NFL athletes. I think Josh could be. I mean, why couldn't he be like a slot tight end and Lamar kind of be the skinnier version of like Debo Samuel? I'm an avid listener. I was wondering how you got into scouting. I currently play Division 3 football and I'm interested in working in the football space. I was wondering if it's more about connections. I get this question a lot. You're already playing college football. I think the number one thing you should do is try to get involved in college football. So you're in D3. How do you parlay that into a graduate assistant job for Division 1 program? And now with these programs running like NFL style personnel departments, you can work in the scouting department for a college and be in the recruiting world. That's how I got my start. I started working in recruiting at Fresno State. Hell, I did it at Cal Poly when I was an undergrad. But that's what you should try to do in all these programs. Power 4 and even non Power 4 are going to have these positions. So that's the I would say route I would take. My question is about JJ McCarthy. Everyone this year is talking him up and how he is better than anyone in this upcoming draft, which probably is true. I don't know if they're saying he's better than anyone. They're just saying he was a better prospect coming out of college. But he was the fifth quarterback taken last year and I could have sworn the concern was he wasn't asked to do much at Michigan, which was why Minnesota taking him was the ideal spot because they could develop him into a younger cousins. So with only bad teams looking for quarterbacks, will he trade for him actually work out? I just don't think he's getting traded. What's the incentive for the Minnesota Vikings to trade him? I'm recording this part before the game, but regardless what happens tonight, I just don't think he's a tradable player if you're them. Unless you're going to give me a top 15 pick. And I have a hard time seeing anyone giving them a top 15 pick for JJ McCarthy who's already been injured and already wasted a year of his rookie contract and couldn't practice all year. So his value from when they drafted him to sitting here today is diminished. I think they put him on the trading block. I do not think they get a first round pick for him. Got a question? Lifelong Steeler fan, despite knowing how the wild card game would go, I still found myself disappointed and frustrated. It's the way life is. Sometimes we know the outcome of a situation and still once it happens, we find ourselves being angry or bitter at the situation even though we knew going into it how what the outcome would be. At this point I want to see Tomlin either fired or best case scenario traded. At this point it's clear we are unable to compete with the big dogs of the afc. Do you think it's time to blow everything up from scratch? Trading away pieces like Minka, TJ, et cetera for better positioning in the draft so we can secure a young franchise quarterback. My pushback to that would be because if you just, if you just had a fire sale you would be able to get a lot of ammunition for all these guys, including Tomlin. But from a player standpoint, who in college right now do you think is some lock superstar quarterback? I'm not even talking about this draft with Cam and Dion and Chador, but who do I see next year like Carson Beck? I'm still baffled by Miami, who is a much worse football program than Georgia, whose defense is atrocious, giving Cam Ward 3 or $4 million when he has a surgically repaired and not necessarily repaired. They literally just did the surgery and he has like a Barry Bonds level thing on his elbow on his throwing arm. Exactly what Brock Purdy had. Well, Brock Purdy couldn't really do anything up until training camp and even then they had to be very careful with him during training camp. So Carson Beck's going to get no off season and then come back. You're paying him 3 or 4 million. He's not a better player than Cam Ward. And Cam Ward carried you to 10 wins. Like I think there's a chance they win like seven or eight games with Carson Beck, but that's he's returning. Let's say Quinn yours returns. We have no clue if Arch Manning is any good. Riola was terrible last year and he's not even draft eligible. So you just think, you look around the country like who are these can't miss high end quarterbacks? Some will surely the cream will rise and we'll get a couple guys that excel. But as we sit Here tonight and today and going into the off season even come the combine and free agency in the draft, you could not feel great about the next couple of years because there is a great unknown. There's no one in college with the hype of Caleb Williams or even back to like Baker Mayfield. I think there's just a lot of question marks with a lot of different guys. Big fan of the pod. Listen to multiple times per week Big Niner homer. That being said, how on earth can anyone justify paying Herbert 55 per year after this? And question Brock getting his Herbert is.02 in the postseason and incredibly bad. Brock is 4 and 1 with very solid performances including a Super bowl appearance. Herbert finally got the right coach and talent around him. The contract is unacceptable. Can't believe there is not big question marks around this. I think a lot of people question question how good Justin Herbert is. I think a lot of people do. But he played on an offense this year where his best two players was a rookie, Ladd McConkey and J.K. dobbins. So when you look at Justin Herbert this year, he threw three three interceptions, 23 touchdowns and three interceptions. Brock Purdy threw two interceptions. Let's see down the stretch he threw two picks against the Lions, one against the Dolphins, one against the Rams. All in must win spots. He was atrocious. So yeah, like what you did a couple years ago. Awesome. I could talk to you all day about the success I had in 2013 or 17 or 20. Who cares? 20, 25. So next year who would you rather have Justin Herbert or Brock Purdy? Every human being I know would take Justin Herbert over Brock Purdy. I'm pretty confident that Kyle Shanahan and John lynch would as well. Being said Brock Purdy's had success. He played on an absolutely loaded team. Jalen Hurts just won a playoff game yesterday. He'd have to do shit. He didn't have to do anything. Like think about this. Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts and Jaden Daniels all won playoff games. Did Jalen Hurts have to do the same as the other three guys? Not even close. So when we just say playoff wins, obviously they matter, but we have to put it into context. And listen, Brock's made some big time plays in playoff games, but he's also done some questionable stuff as well. And I like listen, I don't like paying anyone $55 million if their name's not Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes. But if you want to pay Brock Purdy $55 million I think you can build a team and he can carry you. Like, that's just not going to happen. Can you win games with Brock Purdy when his team's good? Yes. Can you build the team when his team's not good? I don't know. Or can you build the team around him when his team's average? That's why I said going into this offseason, like they're going to pay him. I don't know what the number is going to be, but he's going to get money this offseason. Okay, you better hit on these first round picks. I guess you only have one first round pick. You better pick. Hit on pick 11 and pick 43 because I know you hit on the late round picks. Do it all the time. Can you go get your Micah Parsons or your Tristan? Worse, because you got pick 11. That better be a fucking home run. And pick 43 better be an immediate starter. If it's not, they're going to have problems because we saw Brock Purdy when it kind of got tough and it's like, well, all these guys were injured. Well, yeah, just will be to a victory. I want to hop on your back and you carry me. You cannot throw a pick in the second half of a tight game with the season on the line. And he constantly did. And it made me concerned. I can handle losing, but it's like, why'd we lose? Well, Brock through devastating interceptions game after game after game. I can live with an interception or an awful performance in one game. Does it happen a lot? And that's what it felt like it was happening with Brock Purdy. Lions game, shootout. We cannot turn the ball over. Jared Goff could not afford to turn the ball over. Brock turns over twice, stares down safeties. I like the guy. I'm not anti Brock Purdy. I like him about $35 million. Well, what about his comp? What about this? I don't care. He's just, he's. He's not talented enough for me ever to have him put me on his back. He's not as talented as Baker Mayfield. Baker Mayfield is a better arm and every bit this good of a runner. Like Baker Mayfield, like, can give me 40 touchdowns. Is Brock Purdy ever going to be a 40 touchdown thrower? Too many times this year in big spots. Like his average arm strength came into play. But yeah, I mean, they'll probably give him a ton of money and then the pressure on him is going to be immense because I can't have a year where he was 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions and he was 65%. That's the other thing. Like with Brock Purdy skill set, I need like 70%. I need a much higher completion percentage because I'm never going to get a 40 touchdown season. So if you're going to be like 25 touchdowns and 10 picks, can I get like 71% completion percentage? That's part of what made Drew Brees so awesome. He was so accurate. Sometimes Brock's not that accurate and sometimes he is, but it's just you never know what's going to come. As a Texans fan currently watching us beat the Chargers, Slowik clearly has an awful feel for the game. Despite winning. Thanks to CJ's improvisation, the defense and special teams unit, the play calling is poor. What makes winning teams choose to make a coaching change? How often does this happen? Do you think Houston will make an offensive coordinator change this spring? Crazy thing is they look so bad in that game until that final drive. And honestly it was the play where the ball, the missed snap with CJ picks it up, scrambles, makes the play and then he just, he turned into 20, 23. C.J. stroud. I remember watching last year though and feeling like Bobby Slowik had a decent feel for, like he was a good offensive coordinator. And this year, for whatever reason, it just, it, it feels clunky. I'm with you. To me, I think there can be several reasons that a coach, an assistant coach is fired. One could be the owner. Like the owner just goes like you got to fire this guy. We're firing the coordinator. So you figure out how you want to tell him, but he's not coming back. The other could be the head coach and the assistant coaches don't see eye to eye, which would be a little shocking given that they've been boys now for a while. They've now won multiple playoff games together. So like they've fallen out of favor. I would say those would basically be the two options. The owner wants them or the head coach wants them gone. Yeah, I would say it's just really that simple. But there's not like a checklist. You know, we went from this statistically to this. Right. I think you have a pretty good feel. Like are the players not buying in? Does your quarterback question him? Do you think that him and the quarterback have a diminishing relationship? Do you think that he wasn't as he's getting worse. So yeah, I mean there's probably been in the history, just the modern history, the last 20 plus years of Assistant coaches getting fired, you could probably find an example of literally everything. I just don't like you. The owner wants you gone. My quarterback doesn't like you. We had a blow up and there's no responding to it. It's one of those situations like a relationship where you get into an argument and some things are said and you can just never take it back. Maybe you don't listen to me, almost like a malcontent. Like I want you to do X, Y and Z and you do A, B and C. And so football philosophically, we're not on the same page. I think that could be. That happens a lot for sure. I mean I hear situations of that happening all the time. Like I wanted. I kept telling you to run the ball more and you passed it. Or vice versa. Maybe you think you have a young up and coming coach who's better and basically I want to fire you to keep that guy around so he doesn't get an offensive coordinator job somewhere else. Yeah, I guess that's the probably the best way I can describe, at least from my knowledge of the stories I've heard over the years of why things happen. Appreciate everyone listening. We will talk to you soon. Adios. Have a great day. The Volume.

[Jon Stewart]

Some people just know they.

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[Jon Stewart]

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[Katie Couric]

Affiliates Northbrook, Illinois hey everyone, it's Katie Couric. Well, the election is in the home stretch right in time for a new season of my podcast. Next Question. I'm bringing in some foks friends of Katie's to help me out like Ezra Klein, Jen Psaki, Asted Herndon. But we're also going to have some fun thanks to some of my friends like Samantha Bee and Charlamagne the God. We're going to take some viewer questions as well. I mean, isn't that what democracy is all about? Check out our new season of Next Question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jon Stewart]

Jon Stewart is back in the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition Podcast Join late night legend Jon Stewart and the best news team for today's biggest headlines, exclusive extended interviews and more. Now this is a second term we can all get behind. Listen to the Daily Show Ears Edition on the I Heart Rich radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Adnan Virk]

What's up everybody? Adnan Burke here to tell you about a new podcast. It's NHL Unscripted with Virgin Demers.

[Jason Demers]

Jason Demers here. And after playing 700 NHL games, I got a lot of dirty laundry to air out.

[Adnan Virk]

Hey, I got a lot to say here too, okay? Each week we'll get together to chat about the sport that we love.

[Jason Demers]

Tons of guests are going to join in too. But we're not just gonna be talking hockey, folks. We're talking movies, we're talking tv, food, and Adnan's favorite wrestling. It's all on Le table.

[Adnan Virk]

Listen to NHL Unscripted with Virk and Demers, the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[NPR Host]

The Indicator is a podcast where daily economic news is about what matters to you. And we're guessing most days that's money.

[Katie Couric]

Workers have been feeling the sting of.

[NPR Host]

Inflation, so as a new administration promises action on the cost of living, taxes and home prices, the S&P 500 biggest post election Day spike ever. Follow all the big changes and what they mean for you.

[Commercial Announcer]

Make America affordable again.

[NPR Host]

Listen to the Indicator from NPR on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get podcasts.