← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Seahawks GM Schneider on acquiring Darnold & Milroe, trading Smith & Metcalf
01:03:30
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Memphis Bleak
This is an iHeart podcast.
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John Middlecoff
AI is redefining what's possible for your business. With more unique challenges to solve and higher stakes than ever, Microsoft helps you stay ahead. Our trustworthy AI tools and guidance can empower leaders like you to drive greater impact. And with Azure's simplified platform management, we're helping businesses go further, faster, unlocking up to 150% improved output. Or whatever challenge comes next, let Microsoft help you keep pushing forward. For more details, visit Microsoft.com challengers the.
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J.R. Martinez
Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration in the United States. Recipients have done the improbable, the unexpected, showing immense bravery and sacrifice in the name of something much bigger than themselves.
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Memphis Bleak
This medal is for the men who.
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John Middlecoff
Went down that day on Medal of.
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J.R. Martinez
Honor Stories of Courage. You'll hear about these heroes and what their stories tell us about the nature of bravery. Listen to Medal of Honor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
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John Middlecoff
What up y' all?
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Memphis Bleak
This your main man, Memphis Bleak right here. Host the Rock Solid Podcast. June is Black Music Month, so what better way to celebrate than listening to my exclusive conversation with my bro Ja Rule? The one thing they can't stop you or take away from you is knowledge.
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John Middlecoff
So whatever I went through while I.
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Memphis Bleak
Was down in prison for two years through that process, learn. Learn from it. Check out this exclusive episode with Ja Rule on Rock Solid. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search rock Solid and listen now. Why is a soap opera Western like Yellowstone so wildly successful? The American west with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th where we'll delve into stories of the west and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region. Today.
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John Middlecoff
Listen to the American west with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Memphis Bleak
The Volume.
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John Middlecoff
What is going on everybody? John Middleco three and Out Podcast hopefully you are doing well wherever you may be is the summer it's hot and today we have John Schneider, super bowl champion general manager of the Seattle Seahawks, who I was a big fan before but you give me almost an hour and it's not like I have a personal relationship with him just based on a text message that one of our behind the scenes guy, our stud audio guy Adam, who had his number from his radio days, he's like hey, would you want to come on the podcast? And he's like yeah, sure. How does next week work? We didn't go through a team or PR agency. He's like, yeah, I'll just, I'll be there. And he was here for about an hour. He couldn't have been any cooler. Big fan. Say it all the time as I've done this, especially now with the podcast. If you come on my show, like, I'm just immediately a fan, even if I wasn't a fan of you previously, which I was because I admire John Schneider, how good he is at his job. So if you're a Seahawks fan, you should be excited because your GM is a badass. Excited for the combo. And we will dive into that. Obviously, if you're listening on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe to Three and Out. We put everything up on YouTube as well. And before we dive into John, you know I got to tell you about my friends, my partners in the official ticketing app of podcast Game Time. Best ticketing app in America. What do you want to do this summer? I saw Shohei Ohtani made his first start throwing 100. Didn't last long, but what a stud. You want to go to a Dodger game? The jump. My Giants. My Giants. Haven't said that in a while. My guy, Buster Posey, wheeling and dealing. Big trade. Listen, baseball full swing this summer. If you want to go to a game, football's not that far away. Concert, seasons off and running, comedy shows, you name it, any event you want to go to. Get outside, go have some fun. Get out of your comfort zone. Go enjoy yourself. You deserve it. Sometimes we just got to, you know what? Saturday night, Friday night, I'm going to do something fun with my girlfriend, my wife, my buddy. I'm going to go enjoy myself. And that's where my buddies at Game Time Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account and use the code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase terms. Apply again, create an account and redeem the code John for $20 off. Download the game Time app today. Last minute tickets, lowest prices guaranteed. Let's dive into the interview. Okay. Very, very excited. I feel like I know this guy even though I just officially met him about two minutes ago. Followed his career really closely and, you know, I banged out John Spitek. Now I got John Schneider, the gm. I just need to get John lynch and we'll just make the Johns the GM of the John Show. John, how you doing? What's going on?
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Memphis Bleak
Yeah, thanks for having me, man. It's cool. Appreciate you.
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John Middlecoff
Yeah, very excited to have you on. Do you. I know you're a Midwest guy at your core, but you've lived on the West Coast a while. You know, as a fellow West Coaster. Are you one of us now?
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Memphis Bleak
I. I'm kind of. I'm kind of feeling that way, you know, like, we were here in 2000 for a year, the year we drafted Hutch and Corn and those guys, that class. And then. Then we went to the Redskins for a minute and then back to Green Bay. I'm from Green Bay, born and raised. And then, yeah, we've been out here for. We just finished our 16th draft. So super blessed to be able to, you know, be out in Seattle this long, raise our kids here. It's been awesome.
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John Middlecoff
That's pretty crazy when you think about. In a profession, just pro sports in general, as chaotic as it is. I mean, you look at your bio, I mean, you spent a lot of time in Green Bay, and now you've been the boss for a long time. Obviously with Pete, now with Mike, I mean, it's. It's pretty unique, you know, in your profession to be able to be in one place that long. Obviously, it speaks to you. Guys have won.
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Memphis Bleak
Yeah. Very, very, very blessed, you know, to have the one, you know, Mr. Allen, Paul Allen, Jody Allen, like just that one owner. You know, the stability there has been amazing.
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John Middlecoff
When you got hired in Green Bay, when you were really young, did you ever have visions that, you know, I mean, were you just trying to survive? You'd be a gm? I mean, what did you ever think back, like this. What a crazy life that this turned out to be?
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Memphis Bleak
Yeah, totally. You know, at the time, that. That group that we were. We were blessed enough to start with. You know, I know you work with. With Andy Reid in Philly and the group, and I didn't know at the time, just. Just coming out of college, it was like 1992, free agency was just starting, so everybody was hiring a new. Everybody's going to hire another, like, pro, you know, pro scout. So the timing was just unbelievable. And obviously, so it was like we prayed super hard on it, you know, and then worked super hard at it. But that group of coaches was like, you know, it was like Andy and John Gruden and the staff that Coach Holmer put together was, you know, ridiculous. Ray Rhodes, Sherm Lewis, Marty Morningwick, Steve Mariucci. And I didn't recognize it at the time because, I mean, I was just coming out of, you know, college and just starting out. We didn't have, like, you know, all these degrees they have now. Right. I get these resumes and guys are like, I have my doctorate in sports management. I'm like, well, shit, I would have never got a job now.
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John Middlecoff
You know what's funny? Sorry. Sorry. Keep going.
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Memphis Bleak
No, no, go for it.
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John Middlecoff
You know, I get asked a lot by younger people. You know, how do I get in? How do I get in? I'm like, well, I. I don't know. I just. I went to work for Coach Hill, and he knew Andy Reid. I got pretty lucky. And I was watching some videos on you getting ready for this, and you told a story how back in the day, you could just call someone's office and they would pick up. I mean, I know a lot of people that know you. I think it would be pretty hard for me to even get your office number. Do you ever look back? I mean, can you tell that story, how that all played out?
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Memphis Bleak
So Bob Harlan was the president of the Green Bay packers, right? And he had just hired Ron Wolf. And I. I knew I. I wanted to do this, but I didn't know how to get in, to your point. But so I was going to coach, so I was gonna. I was a, you know, to be a history and secondary education at the time, University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. And basically Bob hired Ron Wolf. And so I was reading all about him, and Ron was a history major, did an internship without Davis, and just. That's. That's how he found his way. And I was like, oh, shoot, maybe I'll just take a shot. Maybe he'll, you know, take a liking to, you know, like, small town, you know, like, same, same. Same town, Packer kid, you know, all that kind of stuff. And. And so I wrote him. I wrote him like a, you know, big letter, tell them about my story and all that. And then. And then, you know, I got the rejection letter. So, like, I wrote him another one, another one, and basically kind of stalked him for a minute. And I just. I just. It was Memorial Day weekend. It was like 91 or 92. I think it was 92, 1992. And we got rained out in northern Minnesota. And I was with, like, one of my best friends. And so we were camping and we got rained out. So we were back at that. At our place in St. Paul, and we. We had read about Bob Harlan and Ron, how they, like, you know, they would. They would answer their phone, like, randomly. Like, they would just. They. It wasn't, you know, below them, like, yeah, when they're. When their assistant was there, they. They would answer the phone for them. But if they were there on a Weekend. Like, it was like there was a story like in the group of Press Gazette or something. I forget exactly how it happened. And I got Ron's number through a family friend. And so my buddy's like, just, maybe just give him a call. And so I, you know, I think I'd had like two or three rejection letters at the time. And then I just called him and he was. He was in there studying on a Sunday afternoon, Memorial Day weekend. And we just started talking and it's a five hour drive, you know, from Minneapolis to Green Bay. And he's like, yeah, I know who you are. You're that freaking weirdo that keeps writing me letters. And. And I was like, yeah, I can. I can be there. And I'll be there in four. I'll go like 80, you know, I'll come down there. So I went down. I went down the following, like Tuesday or Wednesday for an interview with. With Ron and. And Ted Thompson. John Dorsey was there. Ted and John Dorsey had just. Just started. And Brian Broadus was. Was. He works with. I'm not sure if he's still working with Dallas, but he was there as well. So I interviewed with those guys and then, yeah, we just hit it off. And 175 bucks a week, and that's rip.
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John Middlecoff
You know what's crazy? It's safe to say scouting is, at least from the outside, viewed as a sexier profession in 2025 than back then. Probably much smaller staffs than the crew that you have employed. So probably an incredible opportunity. You just get in fav. Had just been traded. I mean, I was born in the mid-80s and I was a Niner guy. So that rivalry had really started taking off. But I don't remember the packers ever being shitty. I mean, they were not good before Holmgren, Farve and Ron Wolf and Reggie. Right. I mean, so you kind of came in. They weren't just this rolling machine at the time, were they?
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Memphis Bleak
No, Ron. Ron and Coach Holmgren really changed the whole culture with the Packers. And yeah, I'd actually gone back to school, so I was still in school. So my. We had like a J term thing, like six weeks, you know, in January. And so I had gone back and so went like a summer with them during an internship. And then I came back and that was the first year of unrestricted free agencies. So, you know, I remember writing a report on Marcus Allen that was like a page and a half and Ron read it and like he would critique our. We actually wrote them at the time, you know, and I remember him throwing it on my desk, he's like, hey, I don't know. He gives it back to me, he's like, I don't have time to read War and Peace. I'm like, okay, I get it. I get it. So that's okay. I need to condense my thoughts. I need to communicate in a more clear manner. And, like, so that. That really, he was super generous with his. His time to, like, teach us. So, like, like I said at the time, it was like John Dorsey, Ted, myself, and he really taught us how to write. And, you know, being a history major, you know, a ton of papers, writing a lot, that helped a lot. But, you know, on his staff at the time, his. His. His scouting staff, they were. They were three gentlemen. Ray Wyteka, Hoghaner and Red Cochran. And those guys were all on Vince Lombardi's coaching staff.
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John Middlecoff
Wow.
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Memphis Bleak
Offensive line coach, defensive line coach, running back coach. So often I'm like, throwing in these meetings with guys, you know, coach Bart Starr and Paul Horning. And it was just like. And there was a big gap. There was, like, young guys. I'm not sure if, you know, Sean Herrock and Scott McLuhan, because Herrick was.
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John Middlecoff
With the Raiders for a while right after. Yeah, like, we were.
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Memphis Bleak
Yeah, we were. We were. The young guys, they're all like, like, Scott's my age, Sean's a year older. But we all kind of came in at the same time. And then there was this big gap. Like, you know, these guys that had. Had coached and scouted forever. So we would just sit there and, like, like, listen to these guys tell stories. And, like, what a. What a blessing. Like, what a learning experience, you know, with all these guys. And John, that's like my first exposure to scouting and like, real football, you know, like, you know, it is like Division 3. You got Fresno with Coach Hill. I mean, that's. Yeah, that was. That was a big deal. What a learning environment for you, right?
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John Middlecoff
Big time. I mean, it was. I mean, you went in, you know, the NFL. I mean, when was the first year of free agency? Was that 94 or 93?
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Memphis Bleak
93, I think, because. Yeah, because the. I think the lawsuit was true. McNeil and Reggie White and Don Mikowski actually. And it was. He's actually in Minnesota. Judge Doty was his name. And they ruled, you know, they ruled in favor of the. Of the players. And so at that point, you know, there really wasn't guys switching teams. Was really. There was. There was a thing called Plan B. So pro scouting at the time was really more about, you know, trades, waiver claims, advancing opponents and then advancing. Yeah. And then. So, yeah, it was just. And then Ted Thompson and Ron, they both loved college scouting, so they would leave, you know, in the fall, during the week, and all of a sudden, like, I'm sitting there with Coach Fongren and all these, like, amazing coaches and, like, you know, working with the trainers and the equipment guys and, you know, setting up workouts and, like, it ended up like. Like, I wasn't running the office, John. You know what I mean? But I was like, like, okay, I. You better figure this out or you're gonna be out. You know what I mean?
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John Middlecoff
And there wasn't text messages or anything. So it was just you there with Mike and the crew. Was there a moment?
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Memphis Bleak
I. Memo, you know, the pink memo notes? Like, no, I put the pink memo note on your desk, Coach. Like.
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John Middlecoff
Was there a moment earlier in your career after you kind of just could keep your head above water and breathe and kind of realize, okay, I'm going to be here, where you're like, okay, I'm actually pretty good at this. Either through something with Ron Wolf or Mike Holmgren. I mean, Ron's in the hall of Fame. I think Mike probably could easily be, you know.
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Memphis Bleak
Yeah, yeah. I think. Yeah. I think probably, you know, when he. Ron would, you know, so, like, Reggie McKenzie and Sammy Seal. You must know Sammy.
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John Middlecoff
I know Sammy.
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Memphis Bleak
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So when. Again, so I'm, like, 22, and he kind of like, you know, I would read their reports and help them write. You know, they were ahead of me from, like, a. Just football knowledge and the NFL world and all that. But I was kind of helping them, like, condense their thoughts again. And, you know, writing that Ron had a specific, you know, report outline that he. We still do it. Like, we got guys interning, you know, interviewing for internships right now, and I take it. To take them through it. Right. And so I think at that point, like, when he allowed me to kind of, like, help those guys was kind of like, oh, wow, I could. Like, I'm on the right track. Is that kind of what you're saying?
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John Middlecoff
Yeah.
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Memphis Bleak
Specific players or. Because I started on the pro side. Right. So I went pro side. And I actually didn't do, like, much college scouting until I came here in two, 2000.
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John Middlecoff
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Memphis Bleak
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John Middlecoff
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Memphis Bleak
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- [23:24]
J.R. Martinez
Cancel CT mobile.com the Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration in the United States. Recipients have done the improbable, showing immense bravery and sacrifice in the name of something much bigger than themselves.
- [23:37]
Memphis Bleak
This medal is for the men who went down that day. It's for the families of those who didn't make it.
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J.R. Martinez
I'm J.R. martinez. I'm a U.S. army veteran myself, and I'm honored to tell you the stories of these heroes on the new season of Medal of Stories of Courage from Pushkin Industries and I Heart podcast from Robert Blake, the first black sailor to be awarded the medal to Daniel Daly, one of only 19 people to have received the Medal of Honor twice. These are stories about people who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor going above and beyond the call of duty. You'll hear about what they did, what it meant, and what their stories tell us about the nature of courage and sacrifice. Listen to Medal of Honor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
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John Middlecoff
You know, talking to my buddies that will see you out at college games. And you know, to my knowledge, you've been doing that throughout your entire career at G as a gm. And I would say that's not always normal. Right? I mean, some of these guys can just be in the office a lot. It's something. Is it? You take a lot of pride in. It's just something, you know, like you said, you just saw Ted Thompson and Ron Wolf do it. It's just. It's just the way you operate, I think.
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Memphis Bleak
I think guys like, like Jason and I, you know, now spy, you know, I think they would tell you it's like, they're. It's like your safe space. You know, it's like you're okay. I get to do what we do. Because being a general manager really is managing in a general fashion. You're doing like, it's. There's things that we're just not trained for, and, you know, there's an adaptive piece that comes along with it. And you're a leader, you're a communicator, you're a counselor. So I think, you know, being able to go to those games. I just love college football, too. I love the, the tradition, the pageantry of it. I just, I love the, like, you know, I love walking through the band. I love listening to the band. You know what I mean? I just love all that stuff. And then, you know, being able to see. And this is like a Coach Holman, Ron Wolf thing too, like, being able to see quarterbacks, how they conduct themselves in corners. Probably the biggest thing you can take, like, from. Away from a live look like that. And Seattle. Seattle's hard. You know, it's. It's. It's helped now with the, with the Big Ten coming out here. You know, we've seen like, Ohio State down at. In Eugene. Michigan was here last year. So that's helped a lot. But it's a, it's a. It's a difficult place to scout problem. So when we travel east, you know, we usually try to go early and hit a game. Maybe it's a Thursday night game or, you know, like, you know, a Saturday game, and then go meet the team somewhere else.
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John Middlecoff
Will you look ahead when the schedule comes out and try to map it during the spring or is that way too far ahead and you kind of get a better feel during the season?
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Memphis Bleak
Yeah, we map it out.
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John Middlecoff
We.
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Memphis Bleak
We're actually. Yeah, we're done with that. And now it's like, okay, whatever pops up, you know, during, you know, during the season, there'd be times where, you know, I, I'd be, you know, planning to go somewhere and then, you know, Pete and I would have a, you know, a fire to put out, or there may be something coming up at the end of the week that we didn't necessarily feel comfortable being apart from each other. So, you know, we need to, you know, you know, stick, you know, to be in a united front. So. Yeah, you said you set up your schedule and it's like, all right, I can make it. I can make it.
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John Middlecoff
You know. You got hired. Were you in your late 30s when you got hired with Pete?
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Memphis Bleak
Yeah, I was. I was 38. So, John, I was like this. I was like. Like I said, really blessed to start out early, and then was kind of like, like, on this, like, really fast track. Like, I was, you know, I went to Kansas City either to work for Coach Schottenheimer. Terry Brad Bradway hired me there.
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John Middlecoff
Mike's. Mike. His son Mike's a good friend of mine.
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Memphis Bleak
No way.
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John Middlecoff
I love Mike Bradley.
- [27:57]
Memphis Bleak
Okay, that's cool. That's really cool. It used to be. Play with, like, their little wrestling guys when I was there. Anyway, they make me feel even older again. But anyway, yeah, so when I went there, I was 25, and, you know, all of a sudden I'm sitting in across from Marty Schottenheimer, talking about, like, should we start Elvis Gerbach or Rich Gannon in the playoff game? You know, it's like, whoa, I'm not qualified to be doing this, you know, but, yeah, just. I think like that just. So I was like, on this trajectory, and then Coach Holmgren and Ted came out here, and then I came. So I came out. So we're Kansas. We were Kansas City. Tracing over in Kansas City from 90. It was like 97, 98, 99. So we just won the world championship in New Orleans against Patriots. And then so we picked up. We literally. So, yeah, we literally moved from Green Bay to Kansas City. We got married, went to Kansas City. Was there three years. Then we came out here for a year, and Marty Schottenhammer got hired in Washington to be the head coach and general manager. So now I'm 29, you know, working for, you know, I was like, you know, whatever, vice president of football ops or whatever, you know, working for Coach Schottenheimer and Daniel. Daniel Ster, you know, like, that's a whole different learning experience, too, right there. That was like. We were there. I think we were. I think we were in our house for eight months. You know, that was nine, 11. It was just a crazy year. But it felt like that. That experience right there was probably like. Like three years packed into one. It was. It was. It was a. It was. It was a crazy year. Just a lot there and then. Yeah. So then you get fired, you know, so now it's like, okay, well, you have to kind of like, you really. You have to kind of like. I don't want to say reinvent yourself, but like, you know, pick yourself up, you know, quit feeling sorry for yourself. I remember Sammy Seal being like. Because I went back to Green Bay, you know, and Sammy saying, like, at one point to me, he was like, hey, man, like, we need the old John back. Like, you need to, like, get your head out of your butt, you know, because you kind of feel bad for. You know, you're like, you're fired. It's like, whoa. I was on this fast track, and all of a sudden you're just. You know, it's a. So it was really. Green Bay was a great experience. They're going back. We were there for eight more years and then came out here. I was literally. We were playing Arizona and I was gonna. You know, I had my book for Mr. Allen and Tyler Wiki, and, like, it was gonna. I was. I was planning on hiring, like, whoever got this job was gonna be. Was gonna. Was gonna hire a head coach. So I had, like, 30 pages of my, you know, book of, like, all these head coaches we're gonna interview and get rocking on. And we were playing Arizona on a Saturday, so we're flying. I wake up, like, on a Friday morning, and this, like, thing comes across a ticker that the Seahawks hired Pete Carroll. I'm like, well, I guess we're not moving to Seattle, babe. You know, and they called me and they're like, no, like, we really want this to be this really cool. He doesn't want to be the general manager. He wants to have influence and who the general manager is going to be. So he's going to sit in on the interviews and, you know, we think this will be a great. And I. I'd been here for years, so I knew the people in the building. I knew it was a great organization. So we came out on a Monday and interviewed, you know, that. That Monday. And then I flew back to Green Bay. Came back, but, Yeah, I was 38. Sorry, that was a long answer. Sorry.
- [31:27]
John Middlecoff
That was great. I mean, you work with Pete for a long time, and obviously, you know, you have so many guys that come through. You guys have so much success. And then your task. What was it last year, last January, with hiring a new head coach, you know, especially in a division with. With Kyle and Sean, it is a little sexier, I think, to say, like, people want to hire offensive coaches. But your experience, you've seen both. I mean, Holmgren, obviously, Marty, Pete, you've kind of seen them all.
- [32:00]
Memphis Bleak
Yeah.
- [32:00]
John Middlecoff
Did you go in pretty open minded to that situation? Obviously, Mike's defense was. I mean, I knew a guy in Baltimore, his nickname was boy genius, so he's pretty highly thought of.
- [32:10]
Memphis Bleak
If he.
- [32:10]
John Middlecoff
If Mike was calling offense instead of defense, I mean, let's face it, the way he would be Talked about the way we talk about offense would probably be a little different. Just that experience going into that. Open minded. Was he a target, how that played out?
- [32:24]
Memphis Bleak
Yeah, you're on it. You're on it. He was, you know, kind of. I had the same experience that you did. You know, I heard a lot about this guy, read a lot about him. I wasn't able to hit Michigan the year he was at Michigan, but obviously we saw the result, you know. Yeah, I think, yeah, you're going into something like that. You're. You're extremely open minded. My, My background, let's say, you know, you lean towards the offensive coach, stability with, with the quarterback and that's legit. You know, Mike McCarthy's one of my close, closest friends in the industry. And so, you know, we were part of that hiring process with Ted Thompson in Green Bay, so I felt like I had a pretty good feel for like, where, where we were headed. But once we were able to speak to Mike, because he, you know, they had the, they had to buy and all the stuff with Pete wasn't. We didn't, you know, with ownership, coach Carroll, all that wasn't settled like, right away, early in that week. So whoever has to buy, you can interview that first week after the season. And we, we weren't, you know, we weren't approved by the league yet to get going, and so we weren't. There was a chance. You know, I was just, I remember being very nervous about, you know, the ability just to interview him because, like, do you wait through the super bowl or not? And, you know, the guys, you know, Chad Brinker in Tennessee, Dan Morgan In Carolina, Rich McKay in Atlanta, they had all interviewed him. And so, you know, I had a very close relationship with all those guys. And they're like, man, your personality used to be great. And he blew it. Like, you know, like, he was amazing in the interview. You know, I can't remember the Atlanta situation. You know, they hired Raheem pretty quick. There was a couple days where guys got hired pretty quick, but, you know, Carolina and Tennessee were going offense. And so, you know, we interviewed. It was basically, it was going to come down to that championship weekend. And so we were either going to. I remember, basically, this is so bad, but I remember going to church, basically praying on like, I really hope Detroit loses and I hope Baltimore loses today, the championship weekend. And they both did. I was like, now I gotta go talk to these guys and tell them I was hoping they lost.
- [34:48]
John Middlecoff
Is there a way to fix that? Because, like, you know, it's hard. It's hard because you've been in these situations where you're making super bowl runs and, you know, you want these guys to have success and financially it changes their life. But also it's like we're trying to win, you know, I don't know if there's a perfect answer for it. Is there?
- [35:05]
Memphis Bleak
There really isn't. We've discussed it over the years, league meetings, number of, you know, committees that we're involved in. There really isn't a perfect. I mean, I think we're constantly like, like we do every year. We're constantly trying to tweak things to improve the product. So I think that's something that, you know, we'll, we'll discuss as well as we move forward. But yeah, you know, we went through it with, with Gus Bradley, you know, Dan, you know, dq, it's like a, it's so interesting because you're kind of helping guys, you want to help them get ready and then you're playing in big time games, you know, so. And we, I think DQ went straight from here to Atlanta. Yeah, I did.
- [35:40]
John Middlecoff
Yeah. Do you feel a different pressure now with Mike, given that, you know, you're the veteran? I mean, literally, you've been in the league for a long, long time and he's young. It's almost flip flopped. Like with Pete and you when you were on boarded, I guess, back in 2010.
- [35:57]
Memphis Bleak
Great question. And yeah, yeah, it was. Yeah, I definitely feel like the older brother, much like he was with me. You know, I don't know if it's. Pressure is where every, every day is a. You know, you're just stacking to get better every single day. So that hasn't changed. But it's definitely more of a. You know, I could, I could talk to Pete about, you know, like studying Brett to your point earlier, like. Yeah, wow. You gotta have patience with quarterbacks. I mean, Brett was like, that was my first exposure, you know, a big time NFL quarterback. Like, there was a lot of interceptions. Yeah. But, you know, but whereas Mike's like, Mike's kind of like, what was Brett Favre? You know, you know, that sort of stuff. So the experience is different. Right. You know, like, we're getting ready to draft Russell Wilson here. He was targeted. And Pete and I are sitting on the phone, you know, talking to, you know, Coach Grant about Frank Tarkington, you know, like on the phone, like, lack of height, you know, great feet, moving around. You know, it's like, it's just different. You know, Pete, Pete's 20 years older than me. And I say, well, Mike's 38 and I'm 54. So, you know, we went from having the, the, you know, a partner with Pete in all that experience to a 38 year old guy that's, you know, brains on fire. And it's just a really clear, intelligent communicator.
- [37:28]
John Middlecoff
Clearly a tough part of the league is, especially in a program like yours where you have a bunch of success and have like legendary players, is either not extending them, cutting them, and you've had, since you've been the gm. I mean, it's just public because these guys are really famous. But when Pete was there, it wasn't like good guy, bad guy. It was like you guys were kind of lumped together. You know, Pete's pretty famous too, so it was like it was just on both you guys. Does it feel more now that, like, in a weird way now you have a young, I would say a little bit of a younger team now. So ideally it plays out where you have these tough decisions, but you kind of take on the role as the bad guy now in some of these tough situations. Because he's the head coach or is it just. Have you even thought, do you think about it like that?
- [38:13]
Memphis Bleak
That's it? No. Yes. I'd be lying if I said no. It's just the name. This is, it's the nature of our job, right? You know, the head coach has to get up front of the team every single day, you know, and project that leadership. And I got your back. And then, yeah, somebody, you know, somebody has to be. Somebody has to be the parent. You know, somebody was just asking me this the other day. Just a friend of mine was asking about it. You ever feel like the mom? You know, I'm like, wow, that's interesting. That's interesting way to look at it. Like, you know, at some point, you know, whether it's negotiations or, you know, rules or, you know, the decisions that we make, you know, it's. Somebody does have to be, you know, the bad guy, to your point. And that's the nature of this position. And I don't, I don't think that'll ever change. And you can't, you can't shy away from it. You know, Mike talks about it like, you know, going through, not around, like we're gonna go through it. So we attack everything, like head on. And I think it's a really cool way to look at things. And we've always conducted ourselves that way. So, yeah, you know, keeping it honest, keeping it real. That's, that's the responsibility of a general manager. And you know, you want to be able to take as much off the head coach as possible so that everything, that's the, everything that's put on the field, the players are like, okay, coach has my back. You know, they're gonna, he's gonna teach us. I'm gonna get better. We're all gonna have, we're all gonna have success together. And that's, that really is, like I said, that's, it's a cool partnership, but there's, you know, there's a, they're just to have this, you know. Well, you've seen it. It's just different roles.
- [39:50]
John Middlecoff
Yeah, I think, I don't know if it was the owner's meetings or maybe it was at your pre draft press conference where you just kind of came out because you were asked about the Geno trade and you said, hey, we offered them money, like we tried to extend them. And I was just thinking like, would you, 10 years ago, would you have been that candid in that situation or just kind of played the GM cliche role? Is it safe to say I mean this in a good way, like you give a shit level of like worrying about everything. You have more confidence now you've done this longer where it's easier to be open about a situation like that, or is that something that you would have been pretty transparent with no matter what because you're like, we like this player. I mean that was the reason we signed him. You know, I didn't try to just trade him for a third round pick for the hell of it.
- [40:34]
Memphis Bleak
Yeah, I think, yeah, it's basically. How would you describe it? Like any job, your confidence level is gonna. Just by the nature of the different experiences that you put together over the years you're going to have, your confidence level is going to improve. There's no question about that. But yeah, I think, you know, one, one of the coolest things that, that I learned from Ted Thompson, God rest his soul, and Marty Schottenheimer, God rest his soul as well, was that, that how you treat players. Both those guys were like, nowadays we'll be here like 53rd player every year worrying about making the team, really good special teams players. So how you treat, especially somebody that like never had like anywhere near the opportunity to play in the National Football League, how you treat the players with like clear honesty and integrity and understanding, like what they're truly going through and what the, what the locker room is going to look like. So I think that the Experience I had with Ted and Marty really helped me in terms of, like, you're not always going to like what you hear, but you're going to hear the truth. And we can disagree on whatever we're discussing, but I'm not going to be sitting here trying to BS you.
- [41:59]
John Middlecoff
You've been pretty open with the DK situation, too, about the lines of communication, you know, his unhappiness. You were honest with where you stood with it. You know, you're talking about a third contract guy. Do you think, looking back at some of your situations, you know, whether it's with Sherm or Bobby Wagner, those guys over the years make those situations easier for you to handle? Because it feels like that trade and that situation was relatively seamless, at least for the outside, for you guys with. I mean, I would say, I mean, you've had a lot of good draft picks in your career. That's got to be up there near the top. I mean, this was a pretty integral player for you and one of your crowning achievements as a GM, drafting a guy in the late second. Who. Who. What do you have 28 touchdowns for through his first three years of his career or something?
- [42:40]
Memphis Bleak
Yeah, yeah. I think, you know, every. Every situation, every individual is very different. And you can learn from. You know, there's situations that we've been through that for one reason or another, the community lines, communication, get jacked up or the timing's off or, you know, we've had several players that represent themselves, you know, Russell, Okun, Sherm, Bobby. For a while there, I felt like we were the testing ground for that, you know, but those. Those are. Those are always really difficult situations.
- [43:15]
John Middlecoff
And so is that you and him asking, like, he's just peppering you with questions about his contract, and you are talking like you would do an agent or do you have to massage that one a little different?
- [43:26]
Memphis Bleak
Yeah, you have to. You have to massage it a little different because it's like, no matter what you're, you know, agents, you know, they have. There's a. There's a buffer there, and it helps. It helps with, you know, a certain level of communication that goes into the seriousness of these talks. And so you're. When you're. When you're. You're constantly trying to adjust the way you're speaking because, you know, like, these are all, like, we've all been through negotiations. It's. It gets really personal. And you could say it's not, but it really. It is. It is. And so with. In regards to dk, you know, He. We had a ton of conversations last off season about, you know, like, his. His. His legacy, where he wanted to go, he stayed. You know, he. He wanted to be here. Once he met the new coaches staff, he was excited. And then, you know, this year, it just happened again. You can't change the way people think. As much as we love him and we want to have him here, you know, when. When. When people want to leave, it's. It's difficult to try to convince them to. To stay. So, yeah, we just had, you know, very honest communication, like, for probably about a month and a half. And I asked him, just take some time and think on it. And then he did. And then by the time we got to the. To the. To the combine, I say that in regards to, like, Bobby and Sherman Russell, because we. I had that relationship with him, so I was speaking more to him than I was his agent. And so once we got back from the combine, we had another real open talk. And then we just. We told him we were gonna. We would. We would. We would, you know, concede to his wishes and. And no promises, but we'll see where it goes. And Pittsburgh, Omar and those guys are really aggressive.
- [45:24]
John Middlecoff
Do you ever get numb or do you feel numb to the amount of money as the GM you're negotiating with, you know, just to these player contracts? And I would imagine you deal with coaching contracts, too.
- [45:35]
Memphis Bleak
Yeah.
- [45:36]
John Middlecoff
Where. You know, when you first got to Green Bay, I mean, what did. What did reggie sign for? 3,4 million dollars a year. Couldn't have been much.
- [45:41]
Memphis Bleak
Yeah, it was like. It was a total of. I think they had $24 million, like. Like in their coffers, and I think they gave them 14 of it or 17 of it. Right. Yeah, that was like.
- [45:52]
John Middlecoff
That's like. That's like a Cooper cup signing bonus now.
- [45:56]
Memphis Bleak
Yeah. Yeah, I've tried to. I've tried to surround myself with younger, talented guys. Like Joey Lane does our. Our cap for us now. And so, you know, he's like, okay, yeah, $10 million. This is what it means, John. And then it's like, okay, they can show me, like, every. Every. Every position, and that helps me, but, yes, you're right. It's like, whoa. And then when I see the. You know, when I see, like, the baseball contracts and NBA contracts, I'm just floored. You know, our ownership group. Jody owns the Blazers, you know, too. Mr. Allen, you know, ran the Blazers, and I was. I'd always pepper those guys and their GMs about, like, the guaranteed money, like, that just it floors me. But hey, at the end of the day, it's entertainment, right? It's entertainment business, and we're all blessed to be a part of it.
- [46:50]
John Middlecoff
Okay, couple quick scouting questions for you. Sam Darnold, you guys sign him. Obviously the connection with your new offensive coordinator, Kubiak, who's with Kyle, and they were with him. Do you go back, like, how much do you rely on him coming out? The information is that more character based, play based, and then evaluating the play over the course of his career and how Sam Darnold ended up as this starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks.
- [47:16]
Memphis Bleak
Yeah, really just preparing for, you know, what, that period of time right around the Senior bowl and, and the combine is really like a preparation for, like, what's the landscape going to look like and how quickly can we pivot. So, you know, if, if, if things are going a certain way with the negotiation, how do we, how do we pivot? So getting everybody on the same page. So relying on coops, for sure. Like the experience you have with Sam, Kevin o' Connell, you know, professional friend of mine, you know, Ryan Grigson is, is there now too, in Minnesota. Rob Brzezinski, you're relying on, on our contacts and like the character, the leader, everybody that's coached him over the years and then watching his progression and watching him improve, you know, we don't have NFL Europe anymore. And so these guys, they just, you know, the twos and threes, they don't, you know, they don't get the reps they used to. And, you know, we don't have as much time with them to, to develop these guys. And so talking to everybody, you know, that it's the same thing with Gino, like, all the coaches that had coached him, like my contacts over the years, like, talking to them about how he's, he's improving, he's proven this area, he's improving that area. And then to put that on film, too, to sit and study as a group, you know, to have like, you know, sit down with Kubbs and the offensive staff and Mike and, you know, work through the process of evaluating his progress and what that looks like and can we help him? Can we not? So, yeah, the character, it's all, it all goes in. All like, all the character, all the background that we've, you know, learned over the years from, you know, from my friend, like, Fit and, you know, Scott Fitter and Dan Morgan, those guys in Carolina. And then, you know, all the coaches have been around him with the jets and then Coops, you know, in, in, in San Francisco.
- [49:10]
John Middlecoff
Well, Gino and Sam, I think, are good examples, like everything you've ever heard about him. Great guy, great guy, great guy. And I'm sure you hear that when you're scouting a player like that or from other places. But like, when you're going to sign a guy, you extend a gene or first signed him, I guess, as the backup originally. But Sam, as your starter, at what point do you go, okay, I got 15 people telling me, like, I feel really good about bringing this individual because you can't just go off. Hey, Middlekop told me he spent the weekend with them. Awesome, dude. Like, you know, there has to be some sort of lines like, we're good with this.
- [49:42]
Memphis Bleak
Yeah, that's where, you know, that's, that's where, you know, we've made some of our biggest mistakes is just not taking as much time, you know, as we possibly should with all the contacts that we have. Right. So have we covered all of our bases? Have we checked all the boxes and making sure that we're, we're, we're signing, we're signing the appropriate person for our building because we, we think we have a. We love our, we love the people, whether it's, you know, our equipment, staff video, our trainer, sports science group's amazing. So how can we take care of these people and are we going to be able to support them? And so that, that's really the bottom line with it. And just where he's, where he's been going, seeing him, you know, having the, having Coops, Clint, you know, with him in a very, very similar system, it's, it's hands on. So. Yeah, it's, it's, it's all of it.
- [50:36]
John Middlecoff
Okay. A couple quick draft questions. You draft Zabel, the North Dakota State offensive lineman, felt like there was a lot of buzz those last couple weeks where you get hurt and you get nervous. Like way too many people are talking about this guy.
- [50:48]
Memphis Bleak
Yeah, yeah, we better draft them or we're kicked out of here, you know. No, yeah, we were, you know, we had heard whispers about Dallas. You know, I think Dallas was 12 right in there. 12 or 12 or 14 there. And so they were 12. 12. Okay. Yeah. So, you know, when, once Booker was like, whoa, okay, so now it's gonna start coming towards us. So, you know, we'd flirted with going back a little bit. We definitely, we really wanted to pick a couple of times in the second round. We really like the second and third round this year. So. Yeah, once to your point, once Booker was Taken. You know, we decided like, okay, like we can't. I want to say Minnesota was 24 or 25. So we were like, we can't get go past that area as we. We kind of felt like they would be looking for offensive lineup.
- [51:41]
John Middlecoff
Is there a point where you have to get to. To feel comfortable with a smaller school player drafting them really high? I. North Dakota State, you could argue is borderline like Boise State or something. So it's not like tiny, tiny, but it's relative to Bama, Georgia, Ohio State. It's definitely a gap.
- [51:57]
Memphis Bleak
Yeah, that's like Jim Nagy in the Senior bowl experience. Right? Like seeing him down there and being able to watch him. Drake talking about now like jumping in, stealing reps, left guard, right guard, center, right tackle. I mean, he was like, just like. If any of those offensive linemen were like, like just chilling in those drills, he was jumping ahead of them, excuse me. And trying to steal their reps. So watching him, watching you could see him compete against, you know, he's, you know, big time, you know, like to your point. Yeah, defensive lineman and the defensive line group was outstanding down there too. So that's where, you know, the comfort level and then just knowing that, you know, like their championship team, I think, you know, all those guys were like, start our starters in the NFL now. So, yeah, that, you know, seeing the background, the history, they're taught real well there. And yeah, being able to have that Senior bowl experience firsthand is, Is really impressive. And then, you know, Matt Berry is an offensive line expert here. Steve Hutchinson, you know, you know, hall of Famer has been working with us. So having those guys, their comfort level as well, and then having the coaches behind was, was. Was huge for us.
- [53:10]
John Middlecoff
Emin Worry, your second round pick? Yeah, I don't want to Compare him to DK, but I mean, athletically, 6, 3, 2, 24, 3 8, 43 inch vert, 20 reps. DK got him there, 27. But similar, just the explosion. I mean, got to be one of the better athletes you've ever drafted in your career.
- [53:31]
Memphis Bleak
Yeah, dk. Yeah, that's a really good point. Dk. And you know, the numbers are ridiculous. With Nick, you know, I remember, I think we were. We had left. I had to go do something at the combine, so we had left the dome and we were at a coffee shop or something and you know, they had, they had the combine on there and he ran and I was like, it showed his testing numbers. I was like, I was looking up at. I was meeting with. I was Looking. I was meeting with an agent down there and I was like, well, there he goes. We won't be able to draft him, you know, so, yeah, the numbers were crazy. And he's so young, you know, that's the thing. Like 21, you know, like three years really playing. They didn't know if they were going to play him at linebacker or safety at South Carolina. He goes there, they throw him in, you know, with the safety group. They lose two starters, like first quarter or first half, the first game, and he's here, he goes, he's starting. And it's really like that. Those three years go quick. I mean, I know you. You probably felt like that scouting too, like how fast that goes.
- [54:30]
John Middlecoff
Jalen Milroe, if you just watched that first half against Georgia, I remember sitting on my couch that night game, you could have argued he was the best player in the country. I mean, so he's shown in the highest level, brightest lights. Obviously he's had, you know, a coaching change, lot of moving parts, but the highlight plays. And again, you didn't draft him 10th overall. I mean, this was a third round pick. From a character standpoint, everyone seems to like him. Freak athlete. That, the process of evaluating him, when he came onto your radar and how that played out.
- [55:00]
Memphis Bleak
Yeah, Nolan and I saw him play live at. We flew to Madison and saw him play there. And. And it was, it was very impressive. You know, first of all, when you see him in person, you know, whoa, this guy's. This guy. This is the guy running 22 miles an hour right here. That guy, you know, he's. He's a, he's a physical specimen. But to be able to watch him interact with his teammates, you know, how he conducted himself on the sidelines, interact with the coaches, and then all the different people that have coached him over the years, getting their insight, their input about the work ethic, and that's really what stands out when you're seeing somebody like this, you know, And I go back to Brett again because Brett was like, they had those wow throws and then those whoa throws, you know, like, whoa, whoa, that was amazing. Or no, no, no. Yes, nice throw. You know what I mean? But like, there was a little bit of that with, with Jalen as well. And then Brett's work ethic, you know, I'm sure you've seen those videos where he didn't know what a nickel defense was, didn't know what a dime defense was. He was just a baller. And. But the work ethic on Brett was huge. And the Competitor. And so, you know, I hate like those, you know, comparing the talent levels and all that kind of stuff, but, like the makeup of the person. We had him out here on a, you know, a 30 visit, Jalen, and he really impressed everybody. And I'm talking, like I said, like our player development people, the equipment people, our cafeteria, the people in the cafeteria, everybody loved the person and. And then the competitor. Now we can see it out here. Excuse me. His work ethics, outstanding. You know, he's here at 6 o' clock, leaving at 7. You know what I mean? He's just. He is. Whatever he said about, about the worker and then, you know, the. He's been throwing the ball real well and then by the way, he can take off and score from like 70 yards, you know.
- [56:59]
John Middlecoff
Wow.
- [57:00]
Memphis Bleak
That just happened. That game, that game that you're talking about, it's like, did that really. What a crazy game, right? Like, wow.
- [57:08]
John Middlecoff
Oh, that, that. That was wild. It's. And it's not like Georgia has me and you playing on defense. I mean, right. I mean, they got, they got some. But back to the Darnold, the character, the maturity, factoring that in, when you're going to pull the trigger on taking a guy on the second day of the draft, coming from Alabama, the conversations, how did you factor that in? Yeah, we.
- [57:28]
Memphis Bleak
It was like, here he is. This is the spot. We're comfortable. These are, these are the. We're sticking with our board. And then, you know, we have the buy in and here we go. Like, he doesn't have to start like day one, guys, like, you know what I mean? Like, every. Everybody knows that going in. We have a plan, right? And so being able to be comfortable with that, okay, this is where he is. This is where we feel comfortable drafting him. And, you know, these, these are the positions we want to hit first, you know, and then. Yeah, it's interesting when you bring up Nick, you know, he, Nick, like, I don't want to say ran him down the other day in practice, but Nick was flying across the field and kind of shoved him out of bounds a little bit, you know, didn't shove him for the nflpa. It wasn't even shoveling.
- [58:11]
John Middlecoff
No, no, over there tapped him, right?
- [58:14]
Memphis Bleak
And. But our, our DB coach, Jeff Howard's like, we've seen that because we literally, like, Nick was the only guy we saw run them down in college. Like, you couldn't find anybody catching them. And so it's just like, when you watch them take off, you're like, it's just shocking. You know.
- [58:34]
John Middlecoff
So it's safe to say Seattle's got a little faster in this draft with those two guys.
- [58:38]
Memphis Bleak
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yep. It wasn't like a, it wasn't like a well, we need to get faster thing. It was like here they are and they're, they're good players and we love the upside.
- [58:49]
John Middlecoff
Okay, I know you're a busy man because I don't know you run an NFL team. So I'll get you out of here on this. The gemini.com? of the day. You can get crypto rewards every time you make a purchase. Gemini.com card. If you could give your 2122 year old self some advice. When you were getting hired by Ron Wolf and going to what turned out to be a legendary run with the Green Bay packers to the super bowl winning GM, that you're sitting here right now, what would you tell a young, hungry, bright eyed and bushy tailed John Schneider?
- [59:24]
Memphis Bleak
Yeah, have some patience, man. Slow down, slow down. Give yourself some grace, you know, and you know, like. Easy to say now. Right. You know, but we all have goals and ambition, you know, it's like wow, just like smell, sit and smell the roses sometime, you know, and yeah, that's a. That just the patience. Right. Like things are God's gotcha. Things gonna happen. Things are gonna happen for you for a reason, you know, Just have some patience and. Yeah, but things are gonna. Things are gonna go your way.
- [60:03]
John Middlecoff
Where are you headed this summer? Any more fun?
- [60:06]
Memphis Bleak
My niece is getting married in Florence. Yeah.
- [60:08]
John Middlecoff
Oh yeah.
- [60:10]
Memphis Bleak
Wow. Yeah. It's a big family trip. Yeah. So it's gonna be, it's gonna be exciting. Yeah. Gonna go see some family in Wisconsin. Some family and friends and. Yeah. Being here, John, at this time of the year is like when the sun's out. No, it's. It's gorgeous. Water, like here. Oh, I can't. Can I flip it here? I'll just go like this. I don't know if you can see.
- [60:38]
John Middlecoff
It's a decent office view.
- [60:40]
Memphis Bleak
Look at that. You know, and then you got to remind yourself of that when, when it gets dark at like 3:30 in November, you know.
- [60:47]
John Middlecoff
Is that the office you were. You told the story when you were gonna get the job that you were promised, the overlooking and then Pete took it. Did you steal that office back or is that.
- [60:56]
Memphis Bleak
Yeah, we, we ended up. We ended up switching after what, how many years? Right? Like we ripped all the carpet up in here and like. Yeah, we like made the change that Tim Rusko was down here and Coach Holmgren was at the other end and yeah, the guy that was giving me the tours, like, well, you know, Coach Holmer actually has a really cool office. It's huge. Like, yeah, I don't need a shower that, you know, handles a 65 coach Holmgren. You know what I mean? Like, but it was, it was fun, people. I used to joke about it all the time. It's like, wait a second, I think this was the one. So, but yeah, we, so this is the, this is the portion that like looks over the water and then the other ones that look over the field. But you can still see the water here. But it's, it's, this is a beautiful area.
- [61:39]
John Middlecoff
That's awesome. Well, thanks a lot John. I can't, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your time and how much I've just admired you from afar. So.
- [61:47]
Memphis Bleak
Well, same good job with all the stuff you're doing, man. It's fun listening to you guys.
- [61:51]
John Middlecoff
Well have, have a great summer and we'll talk soon. For sure. Appreciate you man.
- [61:55]
Memphis Bleak
Have a great summer. See you John. Blending Vice's signature dynamic storytelling with the high octane world of sports, Vice Sports brings an exciting and diverse range of programing that goes beyond the game catch.
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John Middlecoff
Action packed live events and exclusive sports documentaries and profiles.
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Memphis Bleak
Only on Vice tv.
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John Middlecoff
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Memphis Bleak
Here's your new iPhone 16 Pro on us. Thanks. And here's my old phone to trade in. You don't need to trade in when you switch to T Mobile. We'll give you a new iPhone 16.
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John Middlecoff
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Memphis Bleak
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John Middlecoff
It's our best iPhone offer ever. Switch to T Mobile, get a new iPhone 16 Pro with Apple Intelligence on us. No trade in needed. We'll even pay off your phone up.
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Memphis Bleak
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- [64:26]
J.R. Martinez
Cancel CT mobile.com the Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration in the United States. Recipients have done the improbable, showing immense bravery and sacrifice in the name of something much bigger than themselves.
- [64:40]
Memphis Bleak
This medal is for the men who went down that day. It's for the families of those who didn't make it.
- [64:47]
J.R. Martinez
I'm J.R. martinez. I'm a U.S. army veteran myself, and I'm honored to tell you the stories of these heroes on the new season of Medal of Stories of Courage from Pushkin Industries and I Heart Podcast from Robert Blake, the first black sailor to be awarded the the medal to Daniel Daly, one of only 19 people to have received the Medal of Honor twice. These are stories about people who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor going above and beyond the call of duty. You'll hear about what they did, what it meant, and what their stories tell us about the nature of courage and sacrifice. Listen to Medal of Honor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [65:34]
Memphis Bleak
The American west with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network. Hosted by me, writer and historian Dan Flores and brought to you by Velvet Buck, this podcast looks at a West available nowhere else. Each episode I'll be diving into some of the lesser known histories of the West. I'll then be joined conversation by guests such as Western historian Dr. Randall Williams and best selling author and meat eater founder Steven Rinella. I'll correct my kids now and then where they'll say when cave people were here. And I'll say, it seems like the Ice age people that were here didn't have a real affinity for caves. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6, where we'll delve into stories of the west and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today.
- [66:26]
John Middlecoff
Listen to the American west with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Well, that didn't suck. That I can't. That was. That was awesome. Two things though, before we get out of here, really stood out to me about John, observing him from a distance for a long, long time. He's always come off, how do I say it? Like a little different in the sense of he's not trying to have like corporate speak or worried about like looking and acting like the perfect gm. He just feels like a very authentic guy. And obviously when you have success in the position, it's easier to do that than maybe your first month on the job. But I do think it's important the reason you become who you became. When someone hires you for a big gig, whether that's in the NFL or that's someone listening right now, they just got a promotion wherever they work. It's because of who you are and what you've done. And I think sometimes, especially in these public facing jobs like being a GM or being a head coach or, you know, in the corporate world being a CEO or even some sort of management position, people just start talking like they think that it's supposed to sound like, I don't know James Gladstone at all. I've never heard anything bad about him. But the reason he got so heavily, I would say, laughed at during the Travis Hunter draft, that like couple day period, because it felt like he was talking like someone would want you to talk if you ran like Apple or you ran Facebook or something. You know, it's like, is this how you actually talk? And maybe it is. But when I watch, watch and talk and just listen to John, he talks and comes off like he does with me, like he does in a draft press conference, like he did 10 years ago when he was side by side in the peak of Legion of Boom's powers. And I think that's a quality. You know, it's hard. I mean, you got to be self assured, you got to have some success. But I think when you can stay true to who you are. That is a very, very powerful quality for success. And the other thing is, typically when you get hired in a big job, it's for a specific skill that you have shown that you have in the bag, right? Whatever industry it may be. And in football. John Schneider, once upon a time got hired with Pete Carroll in 2010 because people thought highly of him as a scout. Like, this guy can evaluate players. He knows what it looks like, he can pick them. And his ability to evaluate who can play and who can't play is what separated him over the course of his young career. I mean, he got hired at 38 years old. And he talked about in that interview, like, I love going to watch college players, and I can't tell you how many times my friends have been at a game. I remember a couple years ago, like, when Will Levis was coming out, and at one point in time, people thought Will Levis might be, like, I don't know, number one overall pick. Then it was clear as last year got a little weird. And obviously he shouldn't have been the number one overall pick. But John Snyder was just like a Kentucky game. Why? Because he wanted to see the top player or potentially. And he still goes to all these games. And he didn't get hired because he was a lawyer and a dominant negotiator. He got hired because he can watch football players and tell you who and who can't play. And ultimately, that's his. I mean, he has a lot of different hats as a gm, but his job, his number one job, the way that we all evaluate him on, especially his ownership and the fan base. And I'm sure he does a great job of. Because I've never heard a bad thing like how he interacts with the cafeteria people, how he interacts with the coaching staff. Like, all that shit matters when you're the gm. But it's like, can you pick good players? Can you build a team that consistently wins? And even the last couple years, like, Seattle's been a little out of the mix. It feels like they went 9 and 8, 9 and 8, 10 and 7. So even their weird low points aren't really that low. Imagine what, like, the New York Giants would do. John Morrow would sell his, like, left leg to be like, yeah, our shitty years are 10 and seven, miss the playoffs. But he knows that. And he said, because it's easy to be like, yeah, I don't really want to do this. Do I really want to go watch South Carolina play Georgia when I've been grinding my ass off during the week, family stuff. And then, you know, do I want to go out a day early from the team to make sure that I make that game? Or even I fly out the team because we're playing the Atlanta Falcons, and I immediately get into a car and drive to, to Georgia to watch this game at 8 o' clock at night. Like, is that what I want to do? Because I'll promise you that some GMs like, Nah, I'm not doing that. Let's go into my hotel room, have a snack, get a workout in, hang out, watch some games on tv. That fucking guy's at the games. I mean, I don't think it's random that he's successful. Like, anything you have to work at your craft. And that would be a position, once you start managing all these things, to be like, yeah, I don't need to do as much as I once did, right? Especially now. Like, at one point in time, when he first got hired, Pete was the boss. John was working for Pete, like the Mike McDonald, John Schneider. Like, John's one of the more powerful guys in the NFL, and rightfully so. He's earned that. But he could. He doesn't have to go to college games, does not have to do that. I mean, I can't tell you how many people, like, I posted a pic yesterday just like, you know, on Twitter and Instagram, and I had a couple buddies that are like, aspiring GMs, shoot me text messages like, guy's a badass. I want to be like that guy, be myself, not worry about the bs and just do the damn job that we all liked and love doing. You know, John Schneider got into this role in this job in the 90s when obviously the NFL was big. But GMs, making $10 million. The highest paid coach probably back then, was making a million dollars. It wasn't about the money and the fame. That's why I think, like Belichick and Pete Carroll and the Harbaugh brothers, I mean, these guys got involved in football when there was Andy Reid's first coaching job, probably paid him like $500 a month. You know, they got into for the game because they love football, not they didn't love what football provided. The money, the fame. And I think it's rare that you're able to kind of keep those kind of roots. And it does feel like he's able to do that. So like I said, I think highly of him from afar. I'm. It's gonna be hard for me not to root for John Schneider to keep having success. You come on my podcast, you aren't a fan, especially if you give me a lot of time and are cool as so hopefully he enjoys the summer and hopefully you guys enjoyed the the interview.
- [74:15]
Memphis Bleak
The Volume.
- [74:19]
J.R. Martinez
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration in the United States. Recipients have done the improbable, the unexpected, showing immense bravery and sacrifice in the name of something much bigger than themselves.
- [74:32]
Memphis Bleak
This medal is for the men who.
- [74:34]
John Middlecoff
Went down that day on Medal of.
- [74:37]
J.R. Martinez
Honor Stories of Courage. You'll hear about these heroes and what their stories tell us about the nature of bravery. Listen to Medal of Honor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
- [74:49]
John Middlecoff
What up y' all?
- [74:50]
Memphis Bleak
This your main man, Memphis Bleak right here? Host the Rock Solid Podcast. June is Black Music Month, so what.
- [74:56]
John Middlecoff
Better way to celebrate than listening to.
- [74:57]
Memphis Bleak
My exclusive conversation with my bro Ja Rule, the one thing that can't stop you or take away from you this knowledge. So whatever I went through while I was down in prison for two years through that process, learn. Learn from me. Check out this exclusive episode with Ja Rule on Rock Solid. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Rock Solid and listen now. Why is a soap opera western like Yellowstone so wildly successful? The American west with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6, where we'll delve into stories of the west and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today.
- [75:42]
John Middlecoff
Listen to the American west with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [75:50]
Memphis Bleak
I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season one, Taser Incorporated.
- [76:06]
John Middlecoff
I get right back there and it's bad.
- [76:10]
Memphis Bleak
Listen to Absolut Season 1 Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast.