← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
3 & Out - Raiders fire Antonio Pierce, Tom Brady will interview coaches, Importance of ownership
01:09:50
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- [00:00]
John Middlekauff
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- [01:13]
Jon Stewart
In six months 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 John Jon Stewart and the best news team for today's biggest headlines, exclusive extended interviews and more. Now this is a second term we can all get behind. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [01:42]
John Middlekauff
The Volum what is going on everybody? John Middlecock 3 Now podcast how are we doing my people? We had some breaking news on about Tuesday around lunch. I actually just got out of a long sauna trying to sweat out this cold flu from hell. Not sure it's working. Saw on my phone that Antonio Pierce, the Raiders head coach, has been fired one and done and Tom Brady will help Mark Davis find a new coach and obviously influence the firing. So I want to dive in. I obviously have an experience, spent years around the Raiders when I worked in radio and just lay out some thoughts on that situation and I think a solution that can help Mark Davis, who let's face it, is currently one of the worst owners in the NFL, despite going from poor in Oakland where he played in the biggest dump you've ever seen. If you had ever been to the Coliseum, I promise you this, you didn't miss much to now an incredible stadium on the Strip in Las Vegas where money just flows. But it doesn't change the fact that the team can't win Anything ever. So we will dive in to the Raiders. There was also a general manager surprise. I guess not super dialed in to the Tennessee Reddit boards, but the Titans fired Rand Carthen who was just hired a couple years ago. From what I was told, he got a six year contract and was fired this morning after hiring a coach, I don't know, a year ago. So you just get some of these teams, man, these owners, it's really, I mean, can you imagine what like Andy Reid and Brett Veach are thinking today? It's just not a fair fight. So we'll dive into that. We'll do a little mailbag as well. At John Middlekopf. At John Middlekopf is the Instagram fire in those dms. I'm gonna have Jackson on tomorrow because we got a playoff game Thursday, we got a playoff game Friday, so we'll do some college football tomorrow. But obviously there's just a lot going on right now in the NFL. So I wanted to wanted to hit on these stories as they were breaking. Like I said, mailbag. Subscribe to the podcast if you listen on Collins YouTube page. Thanks. For everyone that's watching the YouTube page, we got that. Subscribe to that as well. All of our content is video and audio. We like being multi dimensional here. Like Lamar Jackson. We can run and pass. Before we get into Antonio Pierce. You know, I got to tell you about my friends, my partners in the official ticketing app of this podcast, Game Time. Here's the thing with Game Time. They're the best ticketing app I've ever used. They really are. It doesn't get any easier because what do you want to do? You want to go to an NFL playoff game? Do you want to go to an NHL game? Do you want to go to a college game? Do you want to go to a concert? Do you want to get outside, sing some songs, Take the. Take a loved one, take a friend, go have some. Just go have some fun on a weekend. They got you covered. It's the easiest app you'll ever use. You can search by venue, you can search by event, you can search by artists, you can search by team price points depending on the stadium or the arena. Cannot recommend it enough, so take the guesswork out of buying tickets with GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account and use the code johan for $20 off your first purchase terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem the code Johan for $20 off. Download the Gametime app today. Last minute tickets Lowest price guaranteed for a long time When I lived in the Bay Area, I was known as a Raider hater. And people thought that I have like a vendetta toward the Raiders and specifically Mark Davis. So I just want to lay something out when I, when I worked for the radio station in the Bay Area that I think is still alive, might, might have gone under. I'm not, not quite sure. But when I was there, they had the Raiders and we like, they were, we were the official radio station of the Raiders, so their games were on there. And by like my second year working there, I was hosting the post game. So I was going to all the games, hosting the post game shows during training camp. They used to have training camp in Napa and we were host shows, you know, from Charles Woodson to Seabass to Derek Carr to, you name it. Like, you'd have the players, the coaches, Mark Davis would come hang out and it was always, it was, it was awesome. If you love football, regardless, like, the team was really, really bad. But it's just really cool being that close up personal. You know, having. Coming from an NFL background, when I worked at a team to trans doing that, I really enjoyed it. Now the problem is when you do a post game show and the team really sucks, you just, it's hard, you know. And the guy I was working for at the time said, let it loose. Do not hold back. And what are you going to say when they're 3 and 13, you know, 4 and 12. This is at the time when they were playing 16 games. And the reality is, is when you host a post game show, especially a home game, the owner listens as he drives home. And I, you know, I get word that Mark would get mad over the things I would say. I know the president of the team got really mad at me a couple times for saying that, hey, they could go winless. At the time they were oh and 10. And I kind of laid out their last six games. I think they ended up going three and three down the, down the stretch. But they were. This was a road game. So I was back in the Bay Area and the dude called my phone and just. I didn't pick up, but lit into my voicemail about like how negative I am. Again, they're Owen 10 at the time and I think they had an interim Coach, Tony Sparrano, R.I.P. but it's, it's. People get very sensitive in that organization and I'm sure that's true in a lot of different organizations, but specifically with anything related to the, you know, the Raiders and the property revolving around their games, which can be difficult because they have consistently sucked for the majority of my life and definitely the majority of my adult life. Post Jon Gruden I think they've made the playoffs twice in well over multiple decades, and I think they've only had two winning records during that time. But I do believe this. I have no ill will toward Mark Davis or toward the franchise in 2025. My life has been dramatically better off ever since then. Right. So I, this is not personal. And I do think one, Mark's a nice guy. He's easy to talk to and bullshit with. And I do think he loves football. He means well trying to do this. He gives a lot of effort, you know, trying to make the Raiders right and filling in for his father, Al, who is one of the most legendary sports personalities in the history of American professional sports in just probably the history of American sports in general. Right. So it's. Those shoes are hard to fill. And if you're my age or younger, the Al Davis you remember, you know, the guy in the 2000s, his body was falling apart, it was really ugly. Is not the guy that helped define the sport of football and was one of the pillars of the guy that built the business that we all see and know now in anyone, especially of a certain age. Guys over 60 that have coached in the NFL for a long time, the Andy Reid's, the Bill Belichicks, those type guys, you get them talking about Al Davis, they revered the man and because of what he stood for and you know, the sport that he helped build up to create and give them a lane to make 15, 20 million dollars coaching football. And I think there's a powerful history behind the Raiders that when I was around and I'm a 49er guy like most people in California, like, it's heavily split. And I think a huge reason for that is over the last 30 years the Raiders have mainly sucked. And you know, the Niners when I was a kid were rattling off Super Bowls in Northern California. And then Even in the mid-90s, they won a Super Bowl. And then since they've made seven conference championships in the last 15 years and the Raiders have just sucked. So part of gaining fans over time is like winning Lance. The Patriots have way more fans now than they did 30 years ago. Right. The reason the packers and the, and the Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot of fans. They've been winning for decades. That's how you build up a fucking business. And the Raiders have struggled with that. And the old adage that money doesn't buy you Happiness. What was going on before they moved to Vegas? I'm going a long winded way before we talk about Al Davis or I mean, Antonio Pierce is like, their business was not sustainable in Oakland, just like Joe lacombs wasn't. Just like, obviously the Oakland A's was not that area. It's. They should take dynamite. All the teams are gone now. I would dynamite the whole thing and blow it up. They played in the worst stadium you've ever seen and they weren't making any money relative to these other franchises. So they make the move to Vegas and they are flush with cash unlike they ever could have dreamed of in the Bay Area. Partly because even if things were going well, the 49ers are like the Yankees. They. They take up so much oxygen and surround so much of the cash. The people with the money associate with them and funnel Jed the money. That was never going to happen to Mark. So going to Vegas was an incredible business move, but literally nothing has changed. Like I said, his heart's in the right place. He is a terrible owner. Since he bought the team or, I mean, since his father died and he took over. The Raiders are 68 and 111. And they run through coaches like, you know, you do a gallon of milk if you got a couple little kids. It's insane how quickly they go through coaches. When he tries to do the right thing, give John Gruden 10 years, $100 million. That blows up in his face when he hires Josh McDaniels, a coach that feel like he had rehabilitated his entire life, that blows up in his face when he listens to Devonte Adams and Max Crosby, who a year ago, most people would say two of the better players in the league. And they're like, we want Antonio Pierce to be our head coach. He's like, okay, I'll just, I'll lean with these guys. Six months later, devonte Adams is like, I don't even like this guy anymore. I want out. And mid season, Max Crosby's like, yeah, if this doesn't we don't figure this shit out, I'm going to want out. Good life lesson, don't listen to your players. This ain't the NBA. Like, hire the right coach because you believe he's the right coach. Don't try to right or wrong, because you probably regret not hiring Rich Passaccia. When Gruden got fired and he led you to the playoffs. This was not that. Rich had coached in the NFL for a long time. Antonio Pierce was coaching at Arizona State, a Couple years ago that was an absolute joke of a program when Herman Edwards was there. Such a joke that Herm Edwards coached in college football for five fucking years, gets fired, ESPN takes him back and they're like, yeah, we don't even, we don't think you know anything about college. The guy had literally just spent five years coaching college. I had been told the guy didn't even know half the rosters names of the players on his team. And listen, I'm not anti Herm Edwards, but like that operation was an embarrassment. Then Antonio Pierce goes from linebacker coach to head coach immediately. And I'd be lying if I watch much Raider football the last couple of years, but I follow a lot of people that cover and watch the Raiders really closely. It wasn't going well. Now would Bill Walsh have won 11 games with this team? Of course not. But can you keep Antonio Pierce. And this is, this is two sided, right? Like I think Mark Davis is just completely in over his head and I think it's a complete disaster right now. But I also think when you see Andy Reid, Sean Payton and Jim Harbaugh in your division, Antonio Pierce can't be your head coach. It just can't happen because you got no shot. It'd be like going on a SEAL Team six mission and you're going, and I hand you a Nerf gun. Everyone else is fucking locked and loaded with real weapons and I give you a Nerf gun. You get killed, you get wiped out. And that was going to happen if Antonio Pierce state. When you just looked at their division and last year, the bluster and everyone pounding their chest, smoking cigars after they beat the Chiefs on Christmas, like how'd that age? The Chiefs went on to win the Super Bowl. The Raiders stayed being a joke. Now here's the thing and I give Mark Davis credit for this. Mark Davis has always liked the players. He was always really good friends with the players. From what I've been told when he was younger and Al was the owner, he's always had a natural inclination when he took over like Marcel Reese, the Pro bowl fullback, when I first got around the team was like his good buddy. I was part of the team for a long time and obviously he leaned on Max Crosby and Devonte Adams. Now that blows up in your face. And I think he realized like, I just can't be listening to players. I need someone in my life that is not putting on helmets and a pad for my team because they're going to have a bias and an agenda. And Tom Brady, while a Former player, now is in business and now has an equity partnership. You know, for how big? 1%, 2%, half a percent. I don't have the financials in front of me, but he clearly owns a tiny little piece of the Raiders. And from what I had been told, Mark Davis is the one that made that happen. He went after Tom. He created that relationship because it's important to him. He wants to, like one, gain some positive momentum. He's really trying. It just. Nothing works. And it was reported by Schefter that Tom Brady is going to be part of these interviews, just like it was reported earlier this year that Tom Brady's going to start interviewing quarterbacks, like at the combine. Here's what I think big picture should happen. And if I'm Mark Davis, I would push for this. Listen, Tom, like Tom Brady, you're calling games, not because you want to call games. They gave you $37 million. They paid you $10 million. You would not do it. So we have to acknowledge you're doing it for the money. And listen, I'm pro. Tom Brady, he's not good at tv. He's not good at all. And he's no dummy. He has to know that he's not natural at it. It feels clunky. It just doesn't really work. And it's hard to give up a job that pays you $37 million a year. And he's under contract for nine more years after this year. He never made that much money a year playing quarterback in the NFL. So he's being paid an astronomical amount of money. I am as pro capitalism as any human. I understand why. It's like, even if this sucks, we all have a price. And we would do things that we don't want to do for a certain amount of money. We'd suck it up. But there is an opportunity here that if you're Mark Davis, why don't you just make him the football czar, grand poobah of the organization? Why don't you just give him, like a John Elway type role? Like, Tom, what is the price? It would cost us to make you the president of the team or the president of all a football operation. We have seen Bill Parcells do it before. We saw Holmgren do it before we saw Elway do it. Why don't you just do it? Because I already want you playing a role in who my head coach is going to be. I already want you playing a role in who my quarterback's going to be. I've proven that I have no Clue what I'm doing. Absolutely none. And I went from living the equivalent. And I've been there too. I've lived in some shitty apartments. I have lived in some really, really shitty apartments. Honestly, not even that long ago when I was in the Bay Area, when my buddy got married or got engaged, he's like, I was living in the city in this sweet apartment with him. He's like, hey, man, you gotta go. I started looking around, I started seeing the prices. I'm like, I can't afford any of these single bedroom. So I had to move outside the city. This one. The city was booming in like 2013 and just lived in this shithole. Now it's close to the water. So that part was cool, but it was a terrible place. And 10 years later, I live in a golfing gated community. But money doesn't change. Like, the way I feel every morning when I get up. Like changing homes. Like, I was happy many days in that really crappy apartment. Like, money does not change. If you're an unhappy person, you will stay an unhappy person. If you're a happy person, you will stay a happy person whether you got 10 bucks. Obviously there are some things that become easier in life, but just in terms of like your everyday operation, you are who you are at a certain time. And Mark Davis went from an NFL standpoint being broke to now being flush with cash in Vegas. And nothing has changed. Absolutely nothing has changed. They are still one of the laughing stocks of the league. They just happen to have this sweet stadium on the strip that's really cool. But their team blows. And the consumer, if you put them on after like week three, will watch another game. They're unwatchable, they're an awful product. And he has been the one consistent thing with this team for the last, whatever, 14 years. And to me, if you're him, this is an easy one. Tom, what can I do to make this worth it for you? What can I pay you? Do you need $30 million? Need $50 million? Can we do some sort of bump in equity? Because I know this for myself, I'm an incentive laced individual. When I have skin in the game, I work harder. If you just paid me a salary, whatever that salary may be. A million dollars, $10 million, 100 grand, 50 grand, whatever it is, after a certain point I would kind of get bored. But when I have incentives, when I have the harder I work, the more money I can make. I know most people in sales can relate to this. That gets me going. Even though the actual dollars that Come my way. Don't really change the way I feel. But if I'm Tom Brady, who clearly likes money, given the lifestyle he leads, like, can we bump up some of this equity that you have to make this. Hey, over the course of the next 10 years, if you hit these incentives as a team, maybe you get an extra couple points on the team. Like, why don't we do something? Like, what can we do to make it worth your while? Because I have proven I have no clue. I've tried to hire a former legend here. Blew up in my face. I've tried to hire the hot offensive coordinator. Blew up in my face. I hired the interim that my star players wanted. They couldn't stand the guy six months later. And one thing I heard with Antonio Pierce is that when he became the head coach, he changed a little bit when he became the full time, got a big head, got cocky, and I think that turned off some people. And listen, that's. It was a lot happening really, really fast. And clearly he grew up a Raider fan from Southern California. But it was a disaster. It really was. And this team now is a complete joke. It really is. Before, when I first was around them, they were a joke with no money. They were the poorest team in the NFL. Now they're no longer that, but they're still a joke on the field. So it's like you got your stadium figured out. You got your windfall of cash figured out. How do we just become competitive? I'm not talking compete for Super Bowls. How do we just compete on a yearly basis to be above.500, to try to make wild cards every year? How do we do that? And I'm not saying Tom Brady knows what he's doing, but every single person they hire fails. And I just think you gotta give a guy a chance that has seen winning at the highest level for multiple decades. And given his position, it was much closer to a coach, front office individual than it was just some random player on the team. Given the hours that he put in, given his dedication. And let's face it, Tom Brady's a football guy. He's a football junkie. He's trying to get his fix with this television gig. No chance. It's working. I listen to him, I hear him. It just sounds like he's trying his hardest. They're paying him $37 million to put a smile on his face. It's not for him. He's a smart guy. He knows it. He's not natural at that. It's not his gig. But, like Running a football team, being around football every single day, going to practice, dealing with the coaches, it's what he knows better than anything. So if I'm Mark Davis, I just beg Tom Brady and we try to figure out some sort of number to make this worthwhile and to leave the Fox situation and just do this full time. Because he's already dabbling and listen, he starts interviewing coaches. And this is also a problem. You got this guy. This is, you know, when we talk about these different connections of these owners being like, wait, Tom's a part owner of the Raiders and he's calling games. We have to let him in our facility. And now he's going to start interviewing our coordinators. You know, if they interview, let's say six, seven guys, they're only going to hire one. So he's able to pry some information out. Like, and that was a famous Al Davis thing, is he would interview a ton of people. He wasn't even interested in hiring half. He would just get notes from them. He would just use it as like, you know, a CIA mission to accumulate information. And I just wonder if these owners, like, if I owned another team and the Raiders wanted to interview my coordinator, I'd be like, especially if I'm an NFC team, if I'm like the fucking Lions, like, wait, you're just going to interview Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn and find out the way we do things, like, no, we already don't allow you into the building. Now you're going to bring this guy in and Tom's going to conduct the interview. Obviously the Raider fans are very loyal group. It's a passionate group I've always disagreed with. The league is better when the Raiders are good. Like the league has never been more popular and it's never gained more popular over these last. The Internet era and the Raiders have been irrelevant. So like that's just factually incorrect. But. But I do think there is something about the colors and the edge to the franchise that is just long gone. I mean, whatever we see in this operation is just bad football. It's unwatchable. It's an unwatchable product. And the crazy thing is over the last couple of years, like they've acquired good players like Devonte in his prime, Max Crosby, now Brock Bowers, they had Josh Jacobs. Like, they get good players here and there, but just nothing ever works. And some things bad luck. Like obviously Mark, you know, the, the NFL leaking all Gruden's emails that led to him getting fired is not Mark's fault. Obviously you could argue that Josh McDaniels had already proven who he was. Now I'd say that was like a decade in between each other. Just turns out he was just as bad and people couldn't stand the guy. And he's, he had one of the great PR campaigns of pretending he had changed when it turns out no, he was exactly the same. And I, I, they were in a tough spot when they hired Antonio Pierce and you got those two guys begging you. But I don't think any organization worth their salt would let the star player on the team determine who the head coach is going to be. And a year later, that clearly blew up in their face. The stadium's awesome. We know their practice facility. I remember Andy Reid said at the super bowl, he's like, this is the nicest thing I've ever seen. Remember Belichick was there for something and was blown away. He's like, this is, this is the most beautiful. I mean it's second to none what they're dealing with. But like I said, you can take, you take the gutter rat and put them in the high rise penthouse. It doesn't make that person no longer a gutter rat. And right now the Raiders are just like the gutter rats of the NFL. And I think the only way they could change is to make Tom Brady the lead dog on this run point run the organization. Obviously you have to financially make it worth his while, but given that he already owns a percentage of the team, albeit small, I think there is a deal there to be worked out. NFL playoffs. We're talking about the NFL playoffs. You bet. We are. Get in on the action at DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NFL. Scoring touchdowns is a key to winning in the NFL playoffs. And the key to you scoring big is betting on them at DraftKings, the number one place to bet touchdowns. Ready to place your first bet? Try betting on something as simple like a player to score a Touchdown. Go to DraftKings Sportsbook app and make your pick. Here's another reason to watch your favorite players crush it in the playoffs. New customers bet five bucks to get 200 in bonus bets instantly. 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- [28:05]
Bobby Bones
Hey, it's Bobby Bones. Join me and former NFL quarterback Matt Castle every Wednesday for our new podcast, Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle. Between us, we have over 17,500 passing yards, multiple New York Times bestsellers, and one mirror ball trophy from Dancing with a Star. So where else are you gonna find a show with that much athletic athleticism and football insight? Based in Nashville, we're more than just your basic NFL show. We talk sports, but we talk pop culture and music and a little bit of everything because we got lots to say. I I texted you and you texted me back. Now I don't know if you have the update, but like all the little thumbs up and heart and stuff, like it's all colored. They changed it and the, the heart's a little pink. It felt like I told you I loved you. I'm gonna be honest, it was a little pink.
- [28:48]
John Middlekauff
There was something sentimental when you, when you send it. He was like, do I send the.
- [28:54]
Bobby Bones
Heart Now I don't like the color edition.
- [28:56]
John Middlekauff
It's extremely pink.
- [28:57]
Bobby Bones
Listen to Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt castle on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [29:04]
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 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.
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John Middlekauff
You know, speaking of just ownership, I think one theme is just because you make money on your own doesn't mean you're going to know what you're doing when you run a sports team. Dan Snyder was a self made guy, was a billionaire by the time he was like 32 or 33. So like he was an incredible business story. And he's easily one of the worst owners we've ever seen in all of sports. And we have seen guys get handed organizations from their family and run good organizations. Like Clark Hunt didn't buy the Chiefs, Lamar did his dad. And he's done a really good job over the last decade working hand in hand with Andy Reid. Jeffrey Lur is born into money. You know, Jed York was handed the team from his parents and since he's been the boss, they've made seven conference championships. So just because you're an owner's kid or a rich guy's kid doesn't mean you can't function. But I think we've seen a theme of some of these kids that one, might not like football as much as their parents did and two, just be completely over their skis. Like the Tennessee Titans right now are run by Amy, the daughter of the former owner that passed away several years back. And I think it's clear at this point in time that she has absolutely no clue what she's doing. A year ago she fired Vrabel, who is the number one candidate on the open market. Two years ago she hired Ran Carthen from the 49ers and gave him a six year contract to be the GM. Two years later he got fired. I can't even imagine. I've been fired twice. One time my contract technically ran out. The other time I still had like, I don't know if it was six months or four months, but I remember the feeling of just like getting paid. I didn't have to do anything and I was making 80 grand at the time. I can't even imagine what it's like to be like, wait, I make $3 million a year and they owe me this for, they owe me $12 million more. So every two weeks they're gonna send me a check or put a direct deposit into my account and I don't have to do shit. Incredible feeling. Even though if you're ambitious, like it's not what you want. But listen, it could be way worse. I mean there are a lot of people struggling in society that would, that would die for that opportunity. So he gets paid to go away for years. But how could someone a year ago basically go, hey, we're going to go with this guy, we're going to get rid of Rabel and then a year later fire him? And I was texting some people that know him and I've, I don't know, ran really at all. We have DM'd over the years. Just kind of pleasantries, congrats and just BS a little bit. But from all accounts, I've never heard a bad word about the guy. And I've heard people think he's pretty good at his job and just really good, like people motivator guy. I mean, former player just kind of, kind of gets it. And by all accounts, he was the guy leading the Will Levis push, which obviously was a disaster. And sometimes, listen, you miss on a player, it sucks. And sometimes you miss on a guy like Will Levis that embarrasses everybody. So that might have been just a situation that I can't look at you the same because you were the guy banging the table for Will Levis. But regardless, what could have changed in the last year to go from, we're going all in on you. We're letting you pick the coach. He got to hire Brian Callahan last year. Think about that. He hired the coach last year to now go, we're going to fire you, we're going to keep the coach, we're going to hire another GM and everything's going to be off kilter. You can't run an organization like that. These teams have no chance. None. It's impossible. How do you compete with the Ravens who just every year? Eric Dacosta, Steve Buschati, John Harbaugh. How could the Chiefs just. Brett Veach, Andy Reid, Mahomes, Lamar. Like, how could you even dream of competing with them? It's impossible. It literally is not possible. And it's not random that they have the number one pick overall. Just like next year, if you had to go, are the Titans going to be any good? Probably not. Like, are the Giants going to be any good? Probably not. Are the Raiders going to be any good? Probably not. Are the Falcons finally going to win? Probably not. It's the same thing over and over and over again. And it starts with ownership. It's why when I hear people say the Bears is a good job. Bullshit. Working for the McCaskeys, a mom and pop shop that has like seven people that have direct lines to him and a president that you kind of have to answer to is not a good job. That's a terrible gig. We think we talked so much about good jobs. Like well, they got a quarterback. Do they got talents? Like do they got draft picks? They got cap space. Who is the owner, who owns the team and what do I have to do with that guy? Same thing with the jets, like got a lot of pieces. Okay, but Woody Johnson owns the team. Good luck dealing with that. The Jags, they got what an ownership that is consistently. Shepherd losing after losing, after losing teams, like all they do is lose under shot Khan. Every time you hear him, you're like, guy seems nice, guy seems impressive. Obviously self made, great American business story. Yet every time during the fall you watch his teams, they just lose. And then where do they draft really high all the time? It's like their team's full of top picks. Well, yeah, because they picked them because they always lose. So I think we spend so much time, what about this quarterback? What about this cap space? Who's the owner? And if you got a crappy owner, you got no shot. If Tom Brady didn't exist, I would say it is a lock that the Raiders are going to continue to suck. But like maybe he just passes it off a little bit and maybe they got a chance. Maybe they can't overcome that because maybe Mark's still involved. The Raiders ethos that comes from the Davis family is not something you can shake. And maybe that was really important pre Internet, but post Internet it's. They just can't overcome it. And I say the same thing with the Titans. For whatever reason, this lady like she owns the team. You got an uphill battle. It is going to be really, really difficult because clearly she's got people in her ear. Clearly she changes her mind all the time. And I'm not against changing your mind. I do it all the time with takes. Like information is fluid, but unless something crazy comes out, like you just went all in on this guy a year ago, what could possibly have changed? And now you have a guy who is doing interviews for the GM who used to be a scout, just. Just a bizarre, poorly run organization. And I think the parallels of a lot of these are kids that are completely over their head that have no clue what they're doing. They just inherit this 3, 4, 5, 6 billion dollar team. Everyone's watching you. It's not an enviable position if you're not just a football addict. Even if you were, it'd be really challenging. You become a public facing figure ton of pressure. You have a community or city, depending on you. You have millions of fans that, you know, I would say, invest a lot of energy and time into your successes, and I think it can overwhelm people. And I think we see a consistent theme that these owners, some of them are just completely overwhelmed and lost at sea.
- [37:49]
Bobby Bones
Hey, it's Bobby Bones. Join me and former NFL quarterback Matt Castle every Wednesday for our new podcast, Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle. Between us, we have over 17,500 passing yards, multiple New York Times bestsellers, and one mirror ball trophy from Dancing with the Star. So where else are you going to find a show with that much athleticism and football insight? Based in Nashville, we're more than just your basic NFL show. We talk sports, but we talk pop culture and music and a little bit of everything because we got lots to say. I. I texted you and you texted me back. Now, I don't know if you have the update, but like, all the little thumbs up and heart and stuff, like, it's all colored. They changed it and the, the heart's a little pink. It felt like I told you I loved you. I'm going to be honest, it was a little pink.
- [38:32]
John Middlekauff
There was something sentimental. When you, like when, when you send it, it's like, do I send the heart? Not now.
- [38:39]
Bobby Bones
I don't like the color edition.
- [38:40]
John Middlekauff
It's extremely pink.
- [38:41]
Bobby Bones
Listen to Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [38:48]
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 empty 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.
- [39:34]
John Middlekauff
Okay, let's dive into a little thing we like to call the middlekoff mailbag. Johnmittlecoff ohnmiddelkopf Is my Instagram fire in those DMs? Get your questions answered here on the pod. Question for the Bag. Should major sports leagues explore a tax mindful salary cap? For example, 25 mil in Tennessee and 25 mil in New York are very different numbers. So should the New York teams have a larger cap to Offset state taxes. Well, if you think about it, let's use, let's use the Jets, Giants, Rams and Niners against the Titans. They all get the same amount of money from the league. Right. The money that pays for the players is the television money. And when they get that money from the league, let's just, let's just pick a number this offseason. Say it's $400 million. Could be more, could be less. I'm just picking that number. Well, my salary cap's $250 million. So the money I get as the Titans and the money I get as the 49ers is the exact same. So I can't control my state income tax. Right. Federal income tax are the same. All these guys at the highest level pay like 37%, 38%. Obviously, when you're in a place like California or New York, that number then goes above 50%. But in Tennessee, that number zero. So it's an enormous swing. But the teams in the states don't control that and they don't pay that. The player does, AKA the employee. So why would they want to be like, well, let's say 20 million in Tennessee would actually be $30 million. Again, this might not be exact or $25 million for the 49ers or Rams. So I got to spend more money. Yet we're both getting the same amount of money for that person to then pay the government. There's a long winded way of saying the owners wouldn't want that because that would. Their expenses would be higher, but it wouldn't change anything. So I think I see what you're saying. And if I was a player, I would want that. But if I was an owner, I would not because the taxes don't impact like my profitability. Especially like the Niners and Rams are proving like they can win. Yankees are proven they can win. So I hear what you're saying, but I think that's something that's talked about on the Internet that is just not only not realistic. The people in charge would not want it because their expenses would rise, but their profits would not. So it would just be less money coming in. Right. And more going out. I listen to your take on Balky and how he is a good politician. What is your take on Telesco? As you said, Balky survived a bunch of coaches being fired with the Niners, but Telesco was with the Chargers forever and he is lasting with the Raiders. Now. Is Telesco a good politician? As a Charger fan, I always thought he was terrible and made no moves during the season to try and improve the weakness in the roster. I don't know him personally. I actually always thought he was pretty solid. I always thought the Chargers teams, their downfall was the coach, not the roster. And the coach was the Spanos family's choosing. I think if you gave Telesco Harbaugh over the last five or eight years, they would have won a lot. And I can't speak to this situation in with the Raiders. I had heard when he got fired from the Chargers that he was cool with, he had made a decent amount of money and just take a deep breath. You know that industry can wear you out. And what I had heard is that Mark Davis pays him a lot of money. Like offered him a job offered him that I'm sure when he got fired he didn't expect to get. You know, he got fired the day after he lost The Raiders like 70 to 10. And Mark Davis is, I think he's one of the higher paid GMs in the league. So you have year one, like one of the best players in the league. Last year Brock Bowers was his first pick. So I just wonder now, just because you survive when the coach gets fired does not mean you'll survive. We'll see who they end up hiring, what Tom Brady's role is. So I guess it's a long way of saying I have a better understanding of bulky than I do. I don't know much about Telescope. Besides just him picking players, what are your thoughts on this? Basically, should the Vikings look to trade JJ McCarthy for a first round pick this year? Why would I trade a first round pick for a rookie? That was a project to begin with with a torn knee. That doesn't make sense. Also, do you think he would be the first pick this year? I don't. Out of all the quarterbacks drafted last year, he was the worst one in the biggest project. Cam Ward and Shador both have bigger arms. JJ has a bigger arm than Chador Cams. I would say Cam Ward is a better prospect than JJ McCarthy. I would say most people would probably say JJ McCarthy is every bit as good if not better prospect than Shador. I'm talking about coming out of college this. You know they showed JJ McCarthy during the Vikings Lions game and I wasn't super locked in. Like obviously he had a big bushy hair, he looked like a surfer. And then the day after I saw on Instagram someone like took elongated video of what they, what they had shown on Sunday Night Football and I didn't catch this during the game, but he looks like he's lost 20 pounds. I got a what was his weight at the combine? My guess would be £215. He was just. When he came out of college for Harbaugh, I thought he was like big and strapped and looked good. So he was £220 at the NFL combine. I would guess off the video that I saw on Instagram of what they showed him on Sunday Night Football that he might have weighed 190 pounds. And I would imagine with a major knee injury, you know, lifting and eating and it's just his routine has dramatically changed. He did not look good. I do not think given his knee injury and given that video that I saw, that they could trade him for a first round pick right now. So I don't even think it's an option. And I've said over and over, the Viking, why would you trade him if you were the Vikings? Even if we end up rolling with Darnold, like, I still might keep him around. It's not like he's breathing down Darnold's neck. I'm a Bears fan and I don't know if you heard the reports that. I mean, the great part is about the Internet. You see all the reports. I don't miss much. There's a lot going on. You know, people are like, can you break down all the candidates, the teams? Like, I'm not doing that. It's hard to keep up with. There are so many rumors flying. There's so much going on right now, you almost got to let it breathe. And for me, it's not like I'm kind of just talking about it. All I do get like in an individual, if you're a Bears fan and you're seeing who we're interviewing or a Jets fan seeing who we're interviewing, it could just be a lot. Just because it's name after name after name. Now, the jets is probably different than most because they're interviewing GMs and coaches. The Bears are just going to be interviewing coaches. But Ryan Polls is urging the front office to go in a different direction than Ben Johnson for fear that Ben may force him out. My question for you is, if this is true, would you force Polls out in order to get Ben Johnson, or do you think the Bears should stick with Ryan and whoever he decides? There was a viral yesterday. When did I go to the gym? Probably early morning, like 9:00. And I was just, I just had to get my blood flowing. Hadn't worked out much in the last week, hadn't really done anything. I'd gone for one walk in a week, and on that walk, I was really far away from my house, and. And I had some serious stomach problems. And I was like, oh, my God, I'm in major trouble. And while there is a golf course, and because we're in the desert, these things called washes, it's the desert, so it's, like, not trees and, like, soft bushes. It's not really an area where I was in trouble. And I thought about calling Maria to come pick me up, but I wasn't going to have enough time. And there's this one, like, communal pool that basically has a spa. It's like a little park, but it has a little pool. It's nice. Has a spa that I think sometimes people use. They don't have spas in their backyard in, like, a barbecue area. And luckily people were there. And I walked in, the gate was open because I didn't have a key. The bathroom was locked. So I had. I was in such pain. I was just. I had no choice. It was very awkward. I asked the people in the spa if I could use their key to use the bathroom. Luckily, I did. And I timed myself because I didn't want to be in there, like, five minutes. These people like touching our keys, but I don't know how I got off. So I'm at the gym watching. I click on NFL Network, and it's Shot Khan and Trent Balky. Basically two boxes. You know, it looks like Trent's at the office. Shots probably at one of his 15 homes. And he's sitting at his house, and, you know, he has behind him. Clearly, he doesn't want everyone to see how rich he is or something. So it's all like, you know, the fake green screen where it's just nothing. And basically every question is just for Shot Khan. And Trent is just sitting there. It was extremely awkward. And I watched it for, like, 10 minutes. I'm like, this is. They're just asking him the same question over and over and over. Why are you keeping Trent bulky? Why are you keeping Tread Balky? Why did you fire the coach and keep the gm? And I missed this question, but I saw it go viral yesterday. Is someone asked Shot that if you hire a coach and that coach is the guy you want, but the thing he wants is for Balky to be gone, what would you do? And Shot was like, yeah, we probably have to listen to him. So he eventually said, like, if we hire a guy that doesn't want Trent. Yeah, fire Trent. It was just. And Trent's just staring there into the zoom. I think it is very, very difficult to make these weird marriages happen. And sometimes you just get a GM who is looking for a coach, right? Like, I'm just trying to hire a coach and have a coaching relationship with the guy. Right? That's what we thought last year when Rand Carthan hired Brian Callahan. Year later, he's fired, and now they're going to be in this weird spot. But it's like, if I'm a coach like Ben Johnson, and I get hired to Ryan Polls and I don't know the guy, and everyone in the city is asking for him to be fired, and it's like, is this a healthy way to go? And I just came from a team organizationally that believed in building the line of scrimmage, and this guy drafted a wide receiver over offensive lineman. What if philosophically, we don't even view football the same, but it's the Bears. I. I like Caleb and I want this job. Well, my question would be if I'm a McCaskey or I guess Kevin Warren is like, well, do you have a personnel guy? And if you do, who is it? Like, part of it is, I don't want to work with this guy, but I got to have my own guy. So are you bringing someone to the table or are you just like, I'm not comfortable doing this because all reports are the Jags jobs Enticing. I kind of call bullshit. It's enticing. I don't even. It's a good job. Not from my vantage point, but it's really negative when you got a factor in bulky. So it's like shots already acknowledged that if you bring someone else to the table, I'll listen. So if I'm Ben Johnson, am I better off just going to Jacksonville where I could bring my own guy and get Bulky fired, where the Bears are going to force poles on me? But again, all this stuff's job preservation. Most people listening right now. If you've worked in some sort of corporate office setting, you have worked around a ton of people, and money's all relative. Ryan Paul's making millions of dollars. You've probably worked around people that made 50 grand, 100 grand, 200 grand, whatever. Did do the same shit. What do I have to do so I don't get fired? It's actually less about how do we win. And I'm not even saying this is that story might be true, might not be. But if I'm Ryan Poles and I know that I hire somebody or if I. If I'm going to hire the best coach possible, and I've already got wind that that guy doesn't want to work with me. Well, why would I want to hire that guy when I'm going to lose my job? Then I. If I'm not. If it's not my job, I don't give a fuck about the Bears. I've already had to endure Kevin Warren and all this bullshit. I've had to deal with it. And who knows, you know, did he want Eva Flue? See, not. It's hard to get to the bottom of these stories with the Bears, but I do think it's just a basic human reaction. If you have a role and they tell you if you hire, you got these 10 options. If you hire two of those 10 options, they're going to want you gone. I think most of us, again, it's. Whether you're a GM or whether you're just a middle manager at a company would probably avoid that person if it, if it, like, 100%, like, ended your job. It's one thing. It's like, hey, listen, you're gonna have to learn to work with this guy. That's like a basic. We're all taught that at a young age in, like, school. Like, learn to get along with this person, be nicer to this person. You're going to have to have a group project with these three people. It's another thing. If, like, we hire this guy, you are fired. Like, I don't think most people are signing up for that. I also think this time of year, it's like a wildfire. These stories just gain momentum and it's like these big fires. It's like windows and trees, and it's just. It just engulfs and it's. You just can't see it. You don't even know what to believe in. Something like the Bears. This stuff is just. Just encapsulates you. There's not a story that could come out right now about the Bear situation that we wouldn't believe. Even completely false rumors. If I just told. If you're a Bears fan, and I said, I said, tomorrow there's going to be a headline. Caleb Williams demands a trade. Tomorrow there's a headline, Ryan Polls has resigned. Tomorrow there's a headline, Mike Vrabel reports he will take the Bears job, but he won't work for Kevin Warren. Like, all these things are believable. And that's. Ryan Polls does not want Ben Johnson because he'd Want him fired. And that's just kind of where we're at, I think with this coaching search in general. I mean, all these teams fall under that kind of umbrella. Since there is no salary cap in the NFL for coaches, could the Lions offer Ben Johnson head coach money to stay in Detroit? I'm sure his stock will keep rising with this team. Instead of trying to fix another franchise, just wait for the perfect fit. They could pay him more than Dan Campbell if they wanted. I think probably a decade ago, Jerry Jones did that with Jason Garrett. Remember, Miami wanted to hire him and at the time they were offering him like $5 million. And Jerry Jones matched it and paid him $5 million to be the offensive coordinator. I think a couple years ago, Josh McDaniels was making like $8 million to be the Patriot offensive coordinator. You do whatever you want, but part of Ben Johnson is if he takes a head coaching job, obviously the money factors in. But it's like, I want to be the boss. I want to be the guy given the team speech. I want to be the guy with the GM picking the player on the draft. I want to be the guy picking the guys in free agency. Ben Johnson's making millions of dollars right now. I would imagine Ben Johnson over the last three years has made $10 million, $8 million. Like he's a multimillionaire today and clearly set up. If he wanted to stay with Detroit, they'd probably pay him 8, 9 million dollars. If he became a head coach, he could make 12 to 15 million dollars. So he is going to be flush with money. That is not going to be his problem if he takes a head coaching job. He is just tired. You know, when you watch Hard Knocks in the coaching staffs in the meeting room and there's that long ass meeting table, you know, in like a. Just in one of those, you know, they call it like a staff room in football. But a lot of these, a lot of companies I'm sure you guys work for have the same. And there's just a meeting or a room where you meet that is equipped to handle a lot of people. It's basically like a long, long dinner table, but for work. And you know who sits at the head of the table? The head coach. You saw it in Hard Knocks. Who are the two guys at the head? The head of the table? They actually had kind of like a wider one. It was Ryan Poles and Eberfluss. Like, part of the ambition to be the lead dog is to sit in that seat and see what it is like like, can I get it done as the head man? That's, you know, this is a very, very ambitious profession, coaching. And I would say scouting executives, you aspire to keep working up the ladder. And you know, in coaching the pinnacle of the job, of, of a potential job is being a head coach. Obviously it pays the most, but it also like you get the most responsibility and you want to test your ability. Do you have it in the bag or not? And as we've seen, regardless how old you are, you've seen most people fail because it's really, really hard. And it like Ben Johnson knows scheme. Like I don't have any question marks. Like, can Ben Johnson handle developing a game plan? Can he lead a team? Can he build a team? Can he handle controversial shit like when a star wide receiver and his brother, I guess, you know, I don't know if I'd call Jameson Williams a star, but highly drafted receiver and his brother get pulled over with a couple loaded Glocks about 2 in the morning. Even though he's a receiver and he's the offensive coordinator. You know whose problem that is not? It's not Ben Johnson's. Dan Campbell deals with that. You know, when Jameson Williams throws the ball at the referee or the, the opposing player and the referee standing right there and they pull him out of the game and Antoine Randall and he starts screaming at each other, you know his problem? That is not Ben Johnson's. Campbell deals with that. And that's what's so hard about being a coach. Think of the shit that like Andy Reid and Bill Belichick for the last Tomlin and Harbaugh for the last 20 plus years, those guys have had to deal with separate from football. I'm talking DUIs, I'm talking bad injuries, I'm talking, I saw this year with the 49ers. Charvarius Ward's one year old daughter just died. Trent Williams wife miscarried, both twins. Ricky Piersoll got shot type stuff. Honestly, even in most industries you don't have to deal with, it's hard. You're dealing with young people with a ton of money, public facing, you know, individuals to challenge. So I, it's why I'm always hesitant. I'm always hesitant with draft picks. Last year with the quarterbacks, everyone's like, Caleb, can't miss. There's no such thing as can't miss. It does not exist. It never hasn't, never will. I was texting with a friend that works in the league today and we were, we were texting about Ran Carthen and he had a good line. He said, drafting, hiring a general manager, hiring a podcaster, no matter what it is, human selection is very difficult and imperfect. It's why the draft will always have a huge bust rate. You're dealing with human beings. It's why hiring head coaches will always have a huge bust rate. That's why people that just hire whatever company you work for, that hire people like, there's a lot of turnover in most jobs. In most jobs I was industries I worked in, in radio, in football, hell, podcasting. I've seen people come and go from podcasting. There is no direct correlation. If you do this, this and that, it's going to 100% work. Unlike if I just acquire, you know, a company and I just see your books. I got a pretty good idea. If we just keep doing this, we're going to keep making money. But when you hire an individual, whether it's a player to play a position, whether it's a coach, to be a head coach, a coordinator, whether it's a gm from being an assistant gm, you have absolutely no clue. You can accumulate the most information possible and try to, I would say, like, mitigate the percentage chances of failure. But when they hired Joe Shane and Brian Dabel, you would have been like, I don't know if the resume could get that much better. Brian Dabel had been under Belichick. Then he left to go work for Saban. Then he went a non Belichick, Saban guy and just went to work for Sean McDermott when they drafted Josh Allen and for years just started at the bottom, turned him into a star or was part of it. Colin plays, obviously Josh gets credit to. It's like he'd work for Belichick, understands that, work for Saban, understands that, and then just goes completely off and goes work for an Andy Reid guy and starts kicking ass. And I'm pretty sure Joe Shane, what his background was before Buffalo, I'm pretty sure he worked for Carolina and we're for Miami. So Shane's resume is not quite as good as day ball, but like that, that was his guy and you put them together and spent a complete failure. But how could anyone when those two guys were hired? Now, thinking like, that's a pretty good hire. You watch Joe Shane looks the part, skinny, good head hair, articulate, speaks well in front of a podium. And a couple years later, you're watching Hard Knocks, you're like, oh, my God, this is the biggest disaster I've ever seen. I watched those guys interact. I'm like, this is not going to work. They got no fucking clue what they're doing. But how would you have thought that when they hired him, it was like, this guy's been an executive in the league forever. This guy's worked for the best and the brightest and now just coached one of the biggest projects in the history of the league into stardom. Yeah, I probably would have hired him, too. Huge fan from Montana. Question for the mailbag. Football is my life, and I'm a Titans fan, so my life sucks. As they just fired the GM garbage franchise, do you think it's possible the coach is also in trouble? Because as soon as they got the number one pick, they decided to get the temperature read on Prime. Feels like they just do crazy shit and hope it works. Yeah, man. I think there are some elements to, like the jets and the Raiders, you just don't really know what you're doing, and you just kind of keep your fingers crossed. You make these hires and you just hope and pray. And. You know, Belichick, before he took the North Carolina job and he was doing all the media, he used to use the saying when he described Woody Johnson. Ready, fire, aim. That's what a lot of these franchises feel like. They're doing a lot of Ready, fire, aim. And I think the Titans, I mean, if they hired Dion, that'd be pretty nuts. And Shador. I also think it's one thing, Dion, Shador in the Big 12, that would have a chance. Like, it was really cool as someone. And I've said this over and over, like, I'm sappy when it comes to father son moments. And that final visual of those two guys. Shiloh, too. Like, listen, someone that lost their dad, that's. That's fucking awesome. As someone that wants to have children here relatively soon, it's a powerful relationship. And to get to coach your son in college and then have success, I would say the chances if they just got the band back together with the Titans, that it would go well. I think that'd be pretty challenging, but who knows? Maybe I'm just. I doubted them at Colorado, and it worked. I would say. I haven't read any rumors that, like, Dion's gonna go to the Titans, but at this point in time, when it comes to Tennessee, how could you? I would imagine everything's on the table. Started listening this offseason. Seahawks fan, I'm curious about your final grade take on McDonald. You've spoken highly of him this season, and I mostly agree. However, I'm sitting here watching this meaningless Week 18 game as the second string Rams are more or less having their way with the Hawks defense. As I typed this, the Rams just scored and went for two to tie the game in the third quarter. I may be spoiled by the lob days, but I expect more from this team and I've seen way too much over the season to be excited for our future with Mike. I'm hopeful but not excited. Side note Casey, second string is getting blanketed by Denver. Isn't that closer to what this highly rated defense team should be doing as well? The difference though is Denver had something to play for. Denver was playing to get into the playoffs. You guys were eliminated last weekend. So we talk about human beings. If I'm a human being on Seattle, this game means nothing. No one will ever Discuss Remember that 10th win you guys had? Or remember the year that you didn't beat the Rams and you won the nine games once you missed the playoffs and your season was where you were at. You were whatever, nine and you were nine and seven going into that game. The game honestly could not have meant any less. It was no different than all the teams that had absolutely nothing to play for with shitty records and you're playing their backups. So put yourself in one of those player situation. Your season you battled, you screwed up a couple weeks ago, cost you the playoffs, but you've had a solid season. You get eliminated from the playoffs and then Sean McVay like Monday goes, we are punning on this game. So if you're a player, especially a young player who's going to be on the team next year, do you think you gave the same effort on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as you did a month ago when your season was really alive? It probably had a little substitute teacher type feel to it. It probably had a little like I'm not going to be as focused as much. I might leave the office a little early. Basically winter break starting. So I I don't judge them on the Rams game at all. You went 10 and seven. Your quarterback's Geno Smith. The defense is a lot better, fired the offensive coordinator be interesting to see who he hires. So I would say I would be bullish on Mike McDonald moving forward. What do you think of Josh McDaniels as the offensive coordinator for the Bears if Rabel or Flores are hired as the head coach? The idea being that if it works out, there is little chance that Josh would leave to become a head coach given that he has done so poorly in the past. There's zero chance. Nobody, at least in the pros Maybe college. I wouldn't in college, but I'm just saying, the NFL, nobody's hiring Josh McDaniels. He's had two jobs. He did not make it to year two. And either in two desperate teams, they both ran him out of town. One of the great con jobs in recent memory, the Josh McDaniels PR team. A couple years before he got the Raider job. I bought it hook, line and sinker. I'm like, this guy changed, man. He looked in the mirror. He started writing a journal of positive thoughts. I remember reading like a Dan Pompeii article. I'm like, God, this is kind of got me. I'm like, josh, we've been there, man. Sometimes you just got to look in the mirror and make a change. Then it turns out he did not change. I've seen a lot of rumors that vrabel would make McDaniels his offensive coordinator. I can't speak to those two relationship. Same with Flores, obviously. And Josh worked together for a long time. I don't know. I would say Josh, beside I've seen him do some hits with Colin, has been pretty off the grid. So his work as an offensive coordinator was pretty good. Now, granted. You know, one thing I was thinking, it actually crossed my mind probably sometime in the last week, even if Josh changed, like became a better guy, maybe humility as he got older, wasn't as cocky or whatever. In theory, he could coach Tom Brady really hard. So he coached Tom Brady, which meant he could coach everyone else on the offense like it was 1968, 1975. He could be. And listen, the offense can be like, you go to a Niners practice. Kyle Shanahan isn't riding Purdy Debo in Trent Williams. Not saying he doesn't coach them, but it's like he's. He picks his spots. Sean McVeigh. I'm not saying these guys aren't hard on people, but you treat different people different ways. That is not the way New England operated. Tom Brady was the tip of the spear, and he got yelled at just as loudly, if not harder than other guys. It was intense. Well, most places, no one has Tom Brady. So you get to these other places and it just overwhelms guys. And that's where Vrabel. People use Vrabel as being a Belichick guy. Vrabel just played for Belichick. Vrabel coached for Urban meyer and Bill O'Brien. Mike Vrabel did not coach for him. He was not going to coaching meetings. He was not game planning Monday And Tuesday with the staff. That's when he was a player. So I think Mike Vrabel got the best of both worlds. He saw what it takes, like the intensity of practice. But then he saw other stuff as a coach where Josh. I mean, let's face it, the majority of what he knows as a coach is under Bill. And he's kind of proven that the only way he can coach is that way. Now it's a little easier to do that when Mike Vrabel is your head coach. The thing with Flores, and I think there's been, you know, could Flores because he's buddy with Ryan Poles. It's well documented, which I find kind of funny, how mean Flores was to Tua. And I think it stems from Flores did not think Tua could play, which, listen, Flores was wrong. It's not like two is great, but two is definitely way better than Flores thought. But Flores was a dick to him and the staff. Can you imagine? I've seen some funny memes. Can you imagine Flores to Caleb? One thing, one thing with Tua is like two played for Saban. One thing I respect about to it, like two is fucking mentally tough. Might not be good enough. But no one questions Tua's like, mental capabilities of like, handling some shit. I think that's a pretty big question mark with Caleb. And for most of Caleb's life, like, everyone's been on their knees giving him a reach around. You play for Saban, like, it was intense environment for Tua. Tua handed blind Flores and like, I would say, handled it relatively well. Caleb would never have experienced anything like Brian Flores. I don't think that would work. I don't see how Brian Flores could hold it in either. Like, it would be difficult. That feels like a. A bad marriage. That feels like a marriage did. I don't know. I'd have a hard. I don't think Brian Flores and Caleb. I just don't think Brian Flores could be nice to him. I don't think he'd be able to look at him after what he just witnessed on film. And the way Caleb kind of carries himself. Like, Caleb your don't stink anymore, buddy. Half the people that talk about football calling you a bust. Like, let's. Let's take a deep breath here. Let's relax. Floors come in like a drill instructor. He'd be in that guy 24. 7. Caleb might quit. He's like, I'm out. I'm just. I'm rich, nil. I'm done with this. I can see Caleb demanding a trade before, like training camp. Okay, we'll get out of here on that. And actually, that. That'd be awesome. I. I would pay to see that. That'd be an awesome Hard knocks. Even though they're just on Hard knocks. So you wouldn't get them again, would be Flores and Caleb Williams. Sign me up. Adios. Talk to you guys soon. The Volume.
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Jon Stewart
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Jon Stewart
Vary terms apply. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates, North Illinois 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 the second term we can all get behind. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.