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- [00:00]
Colin Cowherd
You can count on T Mobile to help keep you connected from big cities to small towns on America's largest 5G network. Switch the T Mobile keep your phone and they'll pay it off up to 800 bucks per line via prepaid card. Learn more@t mobile.com heap and switch up to four lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device, credit service port in 90 plus days with device and eligible carrier and timely redemption. Acquired card has no cash access and expires in six months Whether you're ordering wings for the game, whipping up a seven layer dip, or ordering pizza, there's something about football that makes me want to eat. And this football season, Uber Eats has the best deals for me on game day food no matter what I'm craving from two for one pizza to buy one get one Wings. Uber Eats. We'll be dropping new deals each week all season long. I'm in Uber Eats, the official on demand delivery partner of the NFL. Order now for game day. Terms and conditions apply. See Apple for details. Jon Stewart is back in the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition Podcast. Join late night legend Jon Stewart and the best news team for today's biggest headlines, exclusive extended interviews and more. Now this is a second term we can all get behind. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and noon to 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd@foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.
- [01:52]
J. Mac
Now let's get this party started.
- [01:54]
Colin Cowherd
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh we got a good Wednesday show today. Drew Brees, Greg Olson, Peter Schrager live in la. It's the Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, thanks for making us part of your day and thoughts and prayers for the people in Malibu and Pacific Palisades. I've never seen anything like it. I did not grow up in Los Angeles. I've been here almost a decade. It is apocalyptic in Los Angeles this morning. Dark clouds hover all over Los Angeles as fires and 100 mile an hour winds reportedly last night just engulfed Malawi. Boo. It's hard to see anything left standing so families, kids. So far it's been property and homes lost just just a rough 24 hours in Los Angeles. Pretty gutting to drive to work this morning. J. Mac is joining me as always. And again, we got a really good show today, but it's a pretty somber tone here in Los Angeles as we're watching friends and associates and neighbors and colleagues go through really, really difficult times. Some of the videos online that I watched for 30 minutes this morning, it's hard to wrap your brain around. It looks like an awful movie. So again, best everybody out there getting through in Los Angeles, an absolutely horrible, horrific, unspeakable tragedy with these very unique, bizarre 80, 90 mile an hour winds which are spreading wildfires all over the city. And we'll go from there and we'll start our show today. And listen, we got college football, the playoff tomorrow and Friday, great games. I mean that Ohio State Texas game is, is going to be one for the ages. And then we have, you know, NFL playoff action starts this weekend and you know, we talk are more willing to fire coaching staffs. So I'm going to play a game today called Defend the Owner and Blame the Owner. And let's start with the latter, Blame the owner. The Raiders fired Antonio Pierce. I would have not fired Antonio Pierce. They are now as a franchise paying four coaches. They're paying John Gruden, still Josh McDaniel, still Antonio Pierce, and probably in the next two days a fourth coach that'll be official. They'll hire somebody else. I assume they'll have another coach. And they've tried every path. The owner wanted to hire a legend who'd been out of the sport for a while. Jon Gruden didn't work. They tried to hire Josh McDaniels, the whiz kid from the dynasty. That did not work. And then they thought, well, we're going to do, we're going to keep the interim coach who's a former Raider and loved by players. And I didn't know if it would work, but I still would have kept him on. And Antonio Pierce got fired. So for the record, he was 9 and 17. But I thought the Raiders, considering their quarterback situation, played close games. I mean, they beat Mahomes and Reed in Arrowhead, in Arrowhead last season with Aiden O'Connell at quarterback. And they were a blocked kick away from beating Mahomes and Reed this year in arrowhead with Aiden O'Connell at quarterback. I mean, Andy Reid in his division with a better quarterback, Jim Harbaugh in his division with a better quarterback, Sean Payton in his division with a better quarterback. I mean, they were three and one in division last year. And almost all their games in division are close. He even beat the Ravens this year in Baltimore, in Lamar Jackson with Gardner muu. So I don't think it's an Antonio Pierce issue. But we all know being the Raiders head coach is not a job. It's a residency, 12, 15 months. Get some cash, be on your way. We are. This is a classic example where we are blaming the coaches and often blaming the gms. And that's not the issue here. You tell me the great candidate for this job right now, Ben Johnson, you think with this carousel of coaches, he's putting the Raiders on his list. And oh, by the way, I like Ben Johnson. This Detroit offense is like eight guys that could end up getting hall of Fame votes. There's a dozen coordinators in the NFL that could score a lot of points with the Lions. In fact, I'd argue the Lions most impressive coordinators. Aaron Glenn, the defensive coordinator who lost his best player, Aiden Hutchinson early in the year at one point had like 12 guys on the IR on defense. And yet week after week, I mean, it just made Sam Darnold look like he saw ghosts again. So who are the great candidates? The truth of this, I'm blaming the owner here. If they would have given Cliff Kingsbury one more year as the coordinator, he was offered a two year deal. Washington said, we'll give you three years if they'd have offered one more year. Kingsbury wanted to stay out west. Texas, college coach, Arizona, NFL coach, had done USC for one year. He wanted to stay out west. He wanted that Raider offensive coordinator gig and wouldn't give him to him. And if he would have gotten the gig, Cliff Kingsbury would have pounded the table, I imagine, for Jaden Daniels because he pounded the table to Dan Quinn. For Jaden Daniels, not Drake may, not J.J. mcCarthy, not Michael Pennix, not Bo Dix. And Jaden Daniels this year looks like the best rookie quarterback. So this is on the owner. You know, the, the Raiders owner keeps giving his coach spam and canned beans and he wants him to beat Bobby Flay and Wolfgang Puck across the street. Andy Reid with Mahomes, Jim Harbaugh with Justin Herbert, Sean Payton with a very good rookie, Bo Nix. And this is a guy that should have in back to back years beaten Andy Reed and Mahomes in arrowhead with Aiden O'Connell. So in this instance, to me, this is blame the owner. This is not blame the coach. I would not have fired Antonio Pierce. I'm a friend of the gm, Tom Telesco. Nobody knew if he would keep the job. I'm not sure he knew if he would keep the job. They kept the gm. I like that. I would have kept the coach. Okay, so that's. That's the first part of this, and that is blame the owner. Now I'm going to defend an owner. So Bill Belichick. This week, the legend weighed in on the New England Patriots firing Gerard Mayo. That shared vision between ownership and coaching and scouting, and that's when you can be successful. And I had that up until about the last four years in New England. And when you have that shared vision and, you know, everybody kind of pulling in the same direction, you know, you have a chance, you can get a lot done. When you're going in different directions, then that's. That makes it really hard to. To keep up with everybody else. So I think you look at the organizations, and you can kind of see the ones that are and the ones that aren't. No, Bill, it's. It's simpler than that. Tom Brady left New England, somebody you wouldn't have dinner with for 20 years, not one time, who struggled to give him a game ball. He had good years left, won a Super bowl in Tampa. And you built no coalition, no relationship with him. I watched the documentary. We all did. This isn't about Robert Kraft not sharing and pulling in the same direction. Robert Kraft didn't get dumb at 80 and decide, you know, I want to do business differently now. Quarterbacks are like filters on Instagram. They make everything pretty. Take them away. A lot of people look average. Take the Indianapolis Colts when they had Andrew Luck 11 and 5. 11 and 5, 11 and 5 with an average roster. Everybody loved Chris Ballard, Jim Ursay, strength, letting go of Peyton Manning. Now everybody thinks everybody in the building's dumb. And I like the roster more than I did with Andrew Luck, and I like Shane Steichen. But the quarterback position in Indianapolis is awful. I mean, go look at the Bills pre Josh Allen. They were going to move to Toronto. They didn't have a playoff win in 25 years. They've now won five straight division titles, and they literally own Miami, the Jets, and New England. This is not about pulling in the same direction. This is about a coach who made everybody bend the knee. And the minute Tom Brady, who bought into it for 20 years, took pay cuts, rallied behind the coach, did a local AM radio hit every Monday to have the same message as Bill Belichick the next week. I mean, it was all sacrificed by Brady until it was enough sacrificing and he wanted to have some say in the offense. Go watch the document, Henry. And then he left and won a Super bowl in Tampa, being that franchise's best quarterback, too. This is not about Robert Kraft. The minute Brady left, the filter was off Instagram. Bill hired a defensive coordinator to be offensive coordinator. He had a draft in which depict three offensive guards and two kickers. And they desperately needed speed. In fact, if you go back and look at the last 20 years, only one of Belichick's drafts at New England, one player, one skill player made a Pro bowl. Gronk won 20 years. Bill seized control, made everybody bend a knee. And that worked when you had that eraser in Tom Brady. And when he left, it all came tumbling down. And by the way, I think Dan Quinn's doing a great job in Washington, but Jaden Daniels erases all the mistakes. So after winning six Super Bowls, Robert Kraft did not get dumb. But as we know, in multiple books, Bill took more power. Brady was irritated, annoyed, defeated, and left. And that's when the problem started. Brady's last year, the year he would complain on television and the cameras caught him about yelling at receivers. Somebody get separation. They can't. They were Belichick's draft picks and free agent makings. So, you know, I think what happens is Brady hid Bill's inability to draft well, his grumpiness, his inability to create a progressive young staff. It's the same old retreads every time. And Brady hit all of it. Then he left, and it all came tumbling down. 20 years with Belichick mostly controlling the personnel. One skill player, Gronk, made a Pro Bowl. So the Raiders situation, that's an owner situation, the New England one, I don't buy that. Kraft suddenly, who wanted to keep Tom, who pushed back on keeping Garoppolo and keeping Tom, and they won other Super Bowls. I don't buy it's all craft. I don't buy it for a second. Ask yourself this. If it's all craft, why did Belichick get one legitimate interview for a job? Because a lot of people saw what I saw and what you saw. Everybody was going in the same direction, and Tom kept it all together. Colin, you're saying that because he works at Fox. I said it three years ago, I said it five years ago. It's the most lopsided divorce in pro sports history. Brady left and won in Tampa, literally. Belichick, who couldn't win in Cleveland, who couldn't win with Bledsoe, who couldn't win when Brady left, won one time with one quarterback Andy Reid's one with a bunch, Sean Payton's one with a bunch, Bill 1, Greg Olson, Peter Schrager and Drew Brees all stopped by today. Again, hearts, thoughts, prayers go out to the people in Malibu and Pacific Palisades, coastal towns here just wrecked over the last 24 hours. The winds continue to whip as I drove in this morning. Again, it was just a haunting scene. The hills on fire in Los Angeles. So you just, you cross your fingers. We got a lot of people in this building. I don't think we'll be evacuated, but we're not that far from the beach, you know, rough, rough day here in LA for a lot of people thinking of you. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartradio. Whether you're ordering wings for the game, whipping up a seven layer dip, or ordering pizza, there's something about football that makes me want to eat. And this football season, Uber Eats has the best deals for me on game day food, no matter what I'm craving from two for one pizza. To buy one, get one wings. Uber Eats will be dropping new deals each week all season long. I'm in Uber Eats, the official on demand delivery partner of the NFL. Order now for game day. Terms and conditions apply. See app for details.
- [14:33]
Katie Couric
Hey everyone, it's Katie Couric. Well, the election is in the home stretch and I'm exhausted. But turns out the end is near. Right in time for a new season of my podcast. Next Question. This podcast is for people like me who need a little perspective and insight. I'm bringing in some foks friends of Katie's to help me out, like Ezra Klein, Van Jones, Jen Psaki, Asted Herndon. But we're also going to have some fun, even though these days fun and politics seems like an oxymoron. But we'll do that thanks to some of my friends like Samantha bee, Roy Wood Jr. And Charlemagne the God. We're going to take some viewer questions as well. I mean, isn't that what democracy is all about? Power to the podcast for the people. So whether you're obsessed with the news or just trying to figure out what's going on, this season of Next Question is for you. Check out our new season of Next Question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [15:38]
Colin Cowherd
All right, welcome back. Greg Olson, who's just fantastic, is gonna join us in 20 minutes. Drew Brees. Also, Peter Schrager stops by. There's a lot of movement in the coaching area. We should know stuff here in the next six to seven days. The Chicago Bears are interested in Mike McCarthy and Jerry Jones in the last 1224 hours has denied the Chicago Bears the right to interview Mike McCarthy until his contract runs out. So my guess is they're working on extending Mike McCarthy in Dallas, and we can take jabs at Jerry Jones, but I think it's a smart move. So, first of all, there's not a huge list of proven candidates, and McCarthy is actually the guy that gets the most out of Dak, and that's a real thing. Since he arrived, this is hard to believe, but since Mike McCarthy arrived in Dallas, they have the number two offense in the NFL that is ahead of Reed Mahomes, Sean McVeigh, and Stafford. And boy genius Kyle Shanahan is ninth on that list, and that's with Dak Prescott. So once you decided to pay Dak Prescott 240 million in an extension, you got to find somebody that gets the best out of Dak Prescott. And you know who gets the best out of him? That guy. When Dak is healthy, they win 12 games, but remarkably, when Dak isn't healthy and doesn't play, they're still 500. And I think one of the things that really hurts Mike McCarthy is optics. There's two kind of coaches, everybody, including me, loves the slick, young, clever, lot of motion in the offense. Offensive guy, it's a lot of McVay, Lefleur. We like those guys. People like those guys. They're young, progressive, smart, clever, outthink people. Ben Johnson, now's that. And the other kind of coach we really wrap our arms around is the alpha, the presence as Mike Tomlin. That's Vrabel and that's Dan Campbell. That's Jim Harbaugh, a little bit of John Harbaugh. McCarthy's neither. He's not slick, young and clever. Just a good offensive coach. And he doesn't have a big alpha presence in the locker room, so. And a lot of it to me is optics. Those are the two kind of coaches we like. So. And. And I. I think Mike McCarthy, though, the one thing I will defend him on, if you're going to defend Mike Tomlin, who is a defensive coach and the offense feels absolutely outdated under him in Pittsburgh for about seven, eight, nine, 10 years, then you got to defend Mike McCarthy, because in an offensive league, because of rule changes and safety practices, he's on the right side of the ball. And none of us think Dak is Josh Allen or Lamar or Mahomes or Burrow. We think he's pretty good and he's winning 12 games a year when Dak Prescott is healthy with a pretty good quarterback. McCarthy's got a super bowl ring, he's effective, he wins a lot. And he wins with different personalities. Now that we've seen more about Aaron Rodgers and his, for lack of a better word, quirkiness. He worked with that. He worked with Favre, he works with Dak, he works with Cooper. Rush starters, legends, backups. He wins with all of them. So we can take all the jabs at Jerry Jones. But I will say, if you're defending Tomlin, you got to defend Mike McCarthy. He's got a Super bowl ring. He's worked with multiple personalities. He's one with stars and non stars, non legends and legends at quarterback. And he's on the right side of the ball. And I think right now Dallas saying no to the Chicago Bears is saying actually yes to an extension of Mike McCarthy. And I think they're working on one. J. Mac with the news. No, no, no, turn on the news.
- [19:17]
Greg Olson
This is the Herd line news stick in the NFL where the Eagles, they are the number two seed in the NFC playoffs. They will host the seven seed Packers. Last year everybody remembers the packers becoming the first seven seed to advance to the divisional round when they smoke Dallas. Eagles did lose to Tampa in the wild card. Obviously the Eagles don't want to repeat a history and Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio broke down what makes the packers offense special.
- [19:47]
Colin Cowherd
Well, they got a really good line to begin with, you know, I think their five 0 linemen have stayed, have been in there for every play. I think number one, number two, they have a great back. Jacobs has had as good a year as anybody and he's hard to tackle. Runs physical and they have the play pass game off of it, you know, so they have really good big play receivers that you're always worried about. And the combination of them being to throw it down the field and run it is a tough combination. By the way, Jalen Hurts will practice today. According to Ian Rapoport. Nick Ceriani says Jalen Hurts is practicing therefore in the concussion protocol. Now he's moved forward. That's what we talked about yesterday. I feel good about Philadelphia winning this game. This was the first day of practice for them, first day of eligible practice. So Hertz is out there. Hertz is playing and that means he'll play against Green Bay.
- [20:42]
Greg Olson
My guess Is most people who are looking at the packers here just remember that Dallas game last year.
- [20:47]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
- [20:47]
Greg Olson
And are like, oh well, you know, the end of the season wasn't great but they'll be fine. They're a playoff team.
- [20:52]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
- [20:53]
Greg Olson
I don't. I'm with you. I think Eagles will decide if, if Hertz is okay.
- [20:58]
Colin Cowherd
I think Green Bay is built now and think Green Bay staff deserves a lot of credit. We talk about this all the time. Doesn't matter if it's a business or a football team. What's your identity? And I thought last year their identity was Jordan Love ascension and all these great receivers and Aaron Jones sort of got lost. And then in the off season they said we're going to become a power run team and our off speed pitch is Jordan Love and the young receivers and tight ends. And so I think what they did a really good job of is here's what we were last year, young, ascending, a little bit reckless, very youthful. Now we're going to be an older team and more of a power run team first. And Jordan Love will throw 26 times, not 38 times. And I think they're a very good team. So I still think, I think this is a bit and I like green base personnel, but it's a bit of a personnel matchup.
- [21:51]
Greg Olson
Yeah.
- [21:52]
Colin Cowherd
I think, I think Philadelphia's got the best roster in football and Green Bay without Jair Alexander and Christian Watson and on the road and Jordan Love's got a semi groin injury. This just feels like they're just not going to have the ammo to go three and a half hours toe to toe with Philly.
- [22:10]
Greg Olson
So I think that if you look back at that Vikings game two weeks ago against the packers where the Green Bay could do nothing for three quarters, the Minnesota folks talked about they changed their defense up because Jordan Love destroys zone defense on the back end. If you play Z can find the spots. His receivers sit down but against man coverage his numbers are way down. Philly can play a lot of man because they got the two young corners.
- [22:32]
Colin Cowherd
Excellent.
- [22:33]
Greg Olson
I. I'm leaning toward the Eagles with you on the.
- [22:35]
Colin Cowherd
It's my favorite bet of the weekend. Favorite I like. I like.
- [22:38]
J. Mac
Wow.
- [22:38]
Greg Olson
Now that's a surprise.
- [22:39]
Colin Cowherd
There's a college game I like and I think Philadelphia is I. There's one underdog this weekend I like in the NFL.
- [22:45]
Greg Olson
The only reason to not love Philly, I'm telling you, lafleur versus Sirianni is a really lopsided matchup. One coach is awesome and then there's Sirianni, let's move on to the Chicago Bears. They got a lot of work to do this off season. Topic number one, obviously, for them, is finding a new head coach who can work with Caleb Williams. Caleb spoke to the media about what he's looking for in a new coach.
- [23:10]
Colin Cowherd
I would just say. I mean, just challenge me, you know.
- [23:13]
J. Mac
Whether it's, you know, pulling me aside, whether it's, you know, and saying whatever, or, you know, having talks consistently or maybe not, or maybe having, you know, a list of things that, you know, we want to accomplish, you know, myself first and then, you know, because that.
- [23:29]
Colin Cowherd
That helps. Helps team, and then, you know, from.
- [23:31]
J. Mac
There, you know, help find ways to, you know, set other goals and things like that. So however.
- [23:36]
Colin Cowherd
However it may work out, you know, just a challenge. Yeah, I. I've got more thoughts on that later. But, I mean, let me ask you, should he have a say in the coach?
- [23:51]
Greg Olson
I don't have a major problem with going in and saying, hey, Caleb, I'm just curious, what do you think about xyz? I. I don't have a problem with that. Asking for his input.
- [24:01]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
- [24:02]
Greg Olson
What's wrong with that?
- [24:02]
Colin Cowherd
The only downside of that, as I'm sure you could predict, is if he has a strong opinion and you'd go in an opposite direction.
- [24:10]
Greg Olson
Well, again, that's why I'm. I'm not saying, who do you want? I'm saying, like, hey, Joe Smith over here. Do you know him at all? You know, Mike. Mike Jones? What do you think about that guy? And I'm looking on the list. I don't see a lot of guys who have a history with Caleb.
- [24:24]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, I don't see a lot of guys that he is gonna.
- [24:26]
Greg Olson
You know David Shaw? Like, that's a surprise name. I don't. Would you be interested in David Shaw? Well, you're not giving him the keys to the. To the franchise, but he is the face of your team.
- [24:36]
Colin Cowherd
There is only one coach that I know would win on that list. Mike. Mike Vrabel would win games. I don't know how many, but Mike Vrabel would win games. Outside of that, it is coordinators, coaches who have listened. Like Brian Flores. He rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. So he's an intense guy.
- [24:56]
Greg Olson
We'll get to him later. Yeah, but, like, you see Joe Brady on the list. Okay, Joe Brady, awesome regular season. Can I see in the playoffs, by the way, Todd Monkett. You see what he dialed up against the Chiefs last year in that playoff loss? They looked. It was One of the worst game plans I've ever seen. Remember, they didn't run the football.
- [25:12]
Colin Cowherd
Remember?
- [25:13]
Greg Olson
And it's like, oh, Todd Monkett's on the list. Can we just see the playoffs? I get regular season success, but I want to see postseason success as well.
- [25:20]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, I agree.
- [25:22]
Greg Olson
I don't know, it just. It doesn't look great for Chicago. But it did like a month ago, didn't it? Things change quickly, man.
- [25:28]
Colin Cowherd
They change very quickly. If you, if you hired Vrabel tomorrow or even to me, Pete Carroll, I would be like, okay, this is interesting. You're going to win some games. But I, but I, I would say I said this yesterday on their show. Nine guys on this list aren't serious candidates for this kind of franchise and this kind of lift in that kind of division. I mean, let's just be honest. The Raiders have to hire a coach who goes up against Andy Reid, Jim Harbaugh, and Sean Payton. That's six of your games. Every year you're gonna go with a first time coach. You know, I mean that, I mean, to me, I'm. If Tom Brady's got to say, get on the phone with some hitters now.
- [26:08]
Greg Olson
It was early December when I mentioned Marcus Freeman or Notre Dame. I know Notre Dame re upped him. If Freeman gets the win over Penn State. Okay. Goes to the national championship. Do you have to revisit? Dude, don't you. I would say. I know some people are gonna think this is crazy. I would at least put in a call to Dillingham at Arizona State. The speed in which he turned that program around and the, the ingenuity that they have offensively, the creativity. I. I would at least see what he's got to say. I'm more intrigued by a couple college guys. Sark, as opposed to. No disrespect, but some of these guys on this list. I'm with you. It's like, what are we doing now? Final story. Colin, I. I love this. You and I both love takes. Okay, this is an outside the box, but Peter King has chimed in on a suggestion the Pittsburgh Steelers could do at quarterback next season. Are you ready for this? Here we go.
- [27:02]
Colin Cowherd
If I were the Pittsburgh Steelers, knowing that I've got Cam Hayward, TJ Watt.
- [27:09]
J. Mac
I got guys on defense with their.
- [27:12]
Colin Cowherd
Expiration dates not long in the future, you know, And I would want to come in and try to get a.
- [27:20]
J. Mac
Quarterback who could make me competitive with.
- [27:24]
Colin Cowherd
Baltimore and Cincinnati in 2025.
- [27:29]
J. Mac
And that guy to me would be Aaron Rodgers.
- [27:34]
Greg Olson
That is juicy stuff. You're not as intrigued.
- [27:39]
Colin Cowherd
I think Aaron's going to have a market. I, I think he should stay in New York. I don't think Aaron should be a bounce around the league guy.
- [27:46]
Greg Olson
That's where he is. My friend Brett Favre was a bounce.
- [27:48]
Colin Cowherd
Around the league guy until he got to the perfect spot. He got to a really good spot in Minneapolis with the Vikings, had some real good players. I, I again, I got Devonte Adams, my friend. I got a place there. I've got teammates I like. I've got a really good defense now.
- [28:06]
Greg Olson
The jets don't want him there.
- [28:07]
Colin Cowherd
Man, that, that feels like a leap. I don't know if that's true.
- [28:11]
Greg Olson
Gerald Wilson was on record. Well, I don't know if he's on record, but there was a lot of chatter that Garrett Wilson was like, get.
- [28:15]
Colin Cowherd
Me out of here.
- [28:16]
Greg Olson
Okay, Sauce Gardner, look at some of the social media stuff from him and DJ Reed. Like, Rogers rubbed people the wrong way, just like he did in Green Bay.
- [28:24]
Colin Cowherd
Well, he's going to do it in Pittsburgh. That's fine. Just do it in another locker room. I don't know.
- [28:29]
Greg Olson
How do you think he would fare in that division? That's a tough division.
- [28:33]
Colin Cowherd
I think Aaron at this point is about the 15th best quarterback in the league. And I think he would fare the same in virtually every situation. There's no place he's going to win the super bowl and there's no place he's going to go, you know, 0 and 17. I think, I think you're going to be looking at a guy in a really good situation. He could win nine games and a bad one. It's the Jets. He wins four or five. No, I do, I think naturally.
- [28:56]
Greg Olson
Does he work in Pittsburgh? Because I felt like it was oil and water in New York and it hasn't gone great.
- [29:02]
Colin Cowherd
Well, he worked in the smallest city in the NFL, Green Bay, and the biggest city in our country, New York.
- [29:06]
Greg Olson
So I don't work well in New York. Please stop.
- [29:08]
Colin Cowherd
Well, I think he said it's the best two years of his life.
- [29:11]
Greg Olson
His, the success is not there. The media's all over him. Like the owner.
- [29:15]
Colin Cowherd
It's, you know, I think, Aaron, we have to shift our expectations. I think he in a very good spot. He could win nine, 10 games.
- [29:23]
Greg Olson
I mean, Russell Wilson did that.
- [29:25]
Colin Cowherd
If he can't. Well, that's what Pittsburgh. That's what I'm saying is I don't think, I think you look at it and think, oh, he'd be an upgrade over Russell Wilson. Russell Wilson With Mike Tomlin beat the teams they should have and couldn't beat the really good teams in the league. I don't think you're beating Baltimore with Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson.
- [29:42]
Greg Olson
So would you bring back Russell Wilson over go for Aaron?
- [29:45]
Colin Cowherd
Well, I, I, I, I, because he wants money.
- [29:47]
Greg Olson
Russ wants money.
- [29:48]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, I, I think there's again, I can see the ceiling with Russell Wilson and Aaron, I can see the ceiling. Sometimes it's not about the ceiling. It's just, you know, it's just like Lamar Jackson, by the way, losing in the playoffs. It's not a ceiling issue. It's he gets all worked up issue and tense and he admitted that yesterday. But I think with Aaron and Russell, I think they're closer in ability than people think. I think Aaron's better from the pocket and I think Russell's better moving around. But I think in both instances, in a really good situation, they can win nine or ten games. No shot to win a playoff game in the afc. No way. There's just too many great players and great quarterbacks. Look at, look at how good the quarterbacks are in the AFC now. Mahomes Allen, Lamar Herbert, just right off the top burrow. That's five of the, I mean, there's an argument those are the five best quarterbacks in the league, all in the afc. Now Stafford's up there, Golf's very good, Jalen hurts. But there's an argument the five best are in the afc.
- [30:39]
Greg Olson
Don't forget your guy, Bo Nix. Of course.
- [30:41]
Colin Cowherd
Well, then the second tier is Bo Nix and CJ Stroud and they're not bad. So I just, I just think that you have to come to terms expectations and I think Aaron and Russell Wilson are closer in talent than anybody would want to admit. One's more popular than the other, or at least Aaron used to be more popular. I'm not sure what he is now. J. Mac with the news. Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by the Herd lie news. Greg Olson did such a remarkable job. It has to a remarkable job for us here at Fox Sports. He's going to join us around the corner. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific. Hey, it's Steve Covino and I'm Rich Davis and together we're Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. And of course, the iHeartRadio app. Why should you listen to Covino and Rich? We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world. We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture.
- [31:42]
J. Mac
Stories that, well, other shows don't seem.
- [31:45]
Colin Cowherd
To have the time to discuss. And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still.
- [31:49]
J. Mac
Work together, I mean, that says something, right?
- [31:51]
Colin Cowherd
So check us out.
- [31:52]
J. Mac
We like to get you involved too.
- [31:54]
Colin Cowherd
Take your phone calls, chop it up, as they say. I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio, maybe the most interactive show on planet Earth. Be sure to check out Covino and Rich live on Fox Sports radio and.
- [32:04]
J. Mac
The iHeartradio app from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific.
- [32:08]
Colin Cowherd
And if you miss any of the live show, just search Covino and Rich wherever you get your podcast. And of course, on social media, that's Covino and Rich. Whether you're ordering wings for the game, whipping up a seven layer dip, or ordering pizza, there's something about football that makes me want to eat. And this football season, UberEats has the best deals for me on game day food, no matter what I'm craving. From two for one pizza. To buy one, get one Wings. Uber Eats. We'll be dropping new deals each week all season long. I'm in Uber Eats, the official on demand delivery partner of the NFL. Order now for game day. Terms and conditions apply. See app for details.
- [32:46]
Katie Couric
Hey everyone, it's Katie Couric. Well, the election is in the home stretch and I'm exhausted. But turns out the end is near. Right in time for a new season of my podcast. Next Question. This podcast is for people like me who need a little perspective and insight. I'm bringing in some foks friends of Katie's to help me out, like Ezra Klein, Van Jones, Jen Psaki, Asted Herndon. But we're also going to have some fun, even though these days fun and politics seems like an oxymoron. But we'll do that thanks to some of my friends like Samantha bee, Roy Wood Jr. And Charlemagne the God. We're gonna take some viewer questions as well. I mean, isn't that what democracy is all about? Power to the podcast for the people. So whether you're obsessed with the news or just trying to figure out what's going on, this season of Next Question is for you. Check out our new season of Next Question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [33:51]
Colin Cowherd
Well, Greg olson played for 14 years in the NFL primarily for the Bears and the Panthers. He was a multiple time Pro Bowler. Now he's a great broadcaster for Fox Sports. He's now joining us live. And you know, there's the game of note on our network primarily as Packers, Eagles. Everybody will talk about that. It's interesting because you know, Green Bay did something in the off season I really liked. They identified and you know this, you're as good as your identity. And they were a little bit young and reckless last year, very dependent on Jordan Love making plays which he could do. But then in the off season they said, you know what, we're going to go get Josh Jacobs. We're going to be a little bit more of a power running team and Jordan Love's not going to throw 38 times. He's going to throw 26. And I like that version. But he's banged up. Christian Watson's out, Jair Alexander banged up. And I don't know, Greg, if they, you've seen both these teams, I don't know if they can go into Philadelphia and win. I mean it's, are they just outmanned here?
- [34:46]
J. Mac
Listen, I've been pretty clear the multiple games I've called for Philadelphia. I think the Eagles from top to bottom have the best roster in football. Now the caveat, by all measures, it sounds like that Hurts is going to be back out there at practice and take the next step in the concussion protocol. So obviously that's the big kind of question mark that lingers. But just overall, big picture, top to bottom, both sides of the ball, both coordinators, head coach play style. They're probably the best roster top to bottom in football. Now how does that always play out? Not always the case in the NFL that the best team wins. So in this matchup, more about the packers in the playstyle. I agree with you. Like that was a conscious effort by LaFleur to say, okay, we're going to put last, last year we put a ton on Jordan Love.
- [35:27]
Colin Cowherd
Yes.
- [35:28]
J. Mac
We put a ton on the youngest wide receiver core in football and they took it way longer than anybody imagined going into the season. We called that upset win over the Cowboys there in the wild card round. That kind of started the downfall in Dallas. But the biggest difference, remember now their only ability to play that run style with Josh Jacobs and be more committed to all that heavy run and not and take some load off Jordan Love is completely dependent upon how good are they playing on defense. Right. So every time everyone talks about, man, they've got this great run game, your ability to run the ball in the NFL is directly proportionate to your ability to play defense. If your defense can't get stops and Philly goes up and down the field, no one cares how good your running back is. Nobody cares if you run for 150 yards, because you're going to run for 150 yards, you're going to score 17 points and we're going to score 30. So, like, it's. That's been the biggest difference, I think defensively in Green Bay, they've played well. I think they've really. And that run game and play good defense and then make the plays with the young, athletic wide receiver Corn Jordan. Love that formula has served them well. The question is, against a team like Philly on the road, that with a healthy Jalen, Hurts, can score, can run, can pass, is explosive, and is one of the top defenses in football, can you keep the game close enough to allow Josh Jacobs and this really fun, kind of diverse style of run game that that LaFleur has concocted up. Can you play?
- [36:49]
Colin Cowherd
I gotta ask you about my. I said this a couple days ago about Detroit. When Dan Campbell gives these speeches sometimes I'm, you know, I'm a little bit of a cynical media person. I go, oh, they're a little. They're a little cringy, but they're not. To the players, you know, you guys are all. There's a brotherhood and a masculinity to football that I can't relate to. And one guy unravels a locker room if he's not on board. So I think Dan Campbell, I missed on that. I think he's a home run coach now. Sirianni can drive me crazy because he has assistance holding him back from players. He's barking at fans. But my brain goes to. Well, Dan Campbell is very emotional. I didn't see it. It works. Do you ever watch the Sirianni theatrics? As a player who's got a better feel of this than I do, do you ever look at it and go, nick, you're not a fan, or do you get the emotion in an emotional city? Philadelphia works because I look at it and I think this is going to unravel. You can't have your coach being held off by assistants. How do you view him?
- [37:53]
J. Mac
No, I think it's a great question. Right. And that was something we always preached in the locker room. There's a very. There's a difference between being emotional and being passionate. Right. Emotion sometimes can get away from you and be a distraction. Passionate Means like I am so committed to the goals and the objectives of this unit that I'm willing to do anything and everything when it comes to the emotion and the passion, whatever you want to classify it. In this case, on the sideline of these two guys, remember the advantage that they have is that they're not the play callers, right? So their team, their, their role on the team on game day is game day management, timeouts, end of game situations before half clock management. We got it. We got four downs here. Hey, we got to play for the touchdown. We're in field goal range. Whatever the game management. I think the two of these guys do it as well as anybody in football. I think that's their game day role. But they are not living and dying like Kevin O'Connell and Matt LaFleur and, and, and McVeigh where they're living and dying with their call sheet in every single play. I'm mad about first down. I'm mad about the offensive holding call. I'm mad, but I've got a call. Second and 20, right. So it's a little bit of an advantage that the non play calling head coaches have is they can really dive deep into messaging and vision and game day emotion and strategy and manage the team, manage the people, manage the relationships because they don't have to do the play to play first and 10, second and five, third and two for that's a whole different advantage. Kevin O'Connell can't be losing his mind getting into it with defensive players because the offense is on the field. So again, it's a different role. I think it's two roles that these guys have obviously done as well as anybody in football and I think, I don't think Sirianni gets enough credit. I think right now Dan Campbell's getting all the flowers and God, he probably even deserves more.
- [39:43]
Colin Cowherd
He's.
- [39:44]
J. Mac
What he's done there is remarkable Sirianni. All he has done is win. He's won with different coordinators on both sides of the ball. Obviously Harry Rose, they draft incredible, they develop. I think Sirianni doesn't get enough credit and I think to your point, it's a lot because of. Everyone sees the high emotion in the high, but as a player I love it. I don't mind my coach being into it because that's how I was like, I'm cool with it.
- [40:08]
Colin Cowherd
I love that. Okay, I want to give you some time for this one. We got about four minutes left. There are times that I see players in Major League Baseball, the NBA or Football, they have a ceiling and they get to the playoffs against the very best and they hit the ceiling. And then there's Peyton Manning or a Rod until the Yankees or Aaron Judge or Lamar Jackson, it's not a ceiling thing. They're clenching their teeth too hard. Lamar came out and said, I just get too antsy in these games. And, you know, and so like Aaron Judge dropping a fly ball. That's not Aaron Judge. That's not a ceiling thing. So how do you break through it? Bill Polian once told me with Peyton Manning, he said, peyton, you're a teeth clencher. Give yourself a break. You make me uptight being around you in playoff game. And Peyton got some wins and got through it. How does Lamar do that?
- [41:00]
J. Mac
Yeah, well, I think the last thing you just said, right, the Peyton example is sometimes in order to get through something, the only option is, is that's the way, right? The obstacle is the way. The only way through it is through it. So I think it's going to take one playoff win. I think it's going to get off. Get off to a fast start, right? And I think that's where coaches. I think Todd Monkin's done a masterful job there since, since Harbaugh bought him in. We talked about this in our game. We, we covered a couple weeks ago. We said that Harbaugh's done an unbelievable job surrounding Lamar Jackson with the right coordinator at the right time. And early in his career they built it around his run. And now with Todd Monkin, they've really. He, as a. He makes a bigger impact as a pastor than he does as a runner. And that's kind of crazy to say for a guy like Lamar Jackson. So the point being made is understand who he is, understand what he does well, understand the emotion, the character again, the relationship between coach, play caller, and in this case, the quarterback. Get him off to a really fast start. Call the plays that he loves, call the plays he's had success with. See completion, see the ball go into the hands of your player, get them tackled, run. All the things that are the magic and the beauty of Lamar Jackson, you know who he is as a person, you know the caliber he wants to play at and you know how much pressure he's putting on himself. You've got a coach around it. You've got to help him through that early in games, early in series, and let him settle into the first playoff game this weekend. And then you know what? One win turns into two. All of a sudden he gets that off of his back. And he's the Lamar Jackson that we've seen now for years and, you know, potentially could win another mvp. So I, I can't stress enough X's and O's and who can draw the best plays. We are seeing week in and week out all across the NFL. The coaches that understand the relationships and the motivations of their players playing to their strengths. Who are they as people? What motivates them? What scares them? Where are their weaknesses? Man, those guys that have a pulse of their players in their locker room are the reason you look around and they win the amount of games. That's Dan Campbell, that's Sirianni, that's Kevin O'Connell. That's Harbaugh. And so many of these guys, like, there is no question. Harbaugh, Todd Monkin, they know this. They know who Lamar is. They know the level of expectations he has for himself. They're going to do a good job settling him to this game this weekend and saying, hey, the better start we get, the more comfortable and the more pressure, the less pressure he feels. And when he feels no pressure, he's. He's Lamar Jackson. And we see the magic that comes with him.
- [43:26]
Colin Cowherd
Greg olson, Fox Sports. Three Pro Bowls, 14 years in the league. Credit to our industry. It's good seeing you as always, my friend.
- [43:33]
J. Mac
I appreciate it, man. Stay safe out there. Hope you guys are doing all right.
- [43:35]
Colin Cowherd
All right. One of the really good guys and really talented guys in our business, Greg Olson. Also today, Peter Schrager and Drew Brees stopped by. Yeah, it's, it's, it's interesting with, with Lamar, it's like, what, Kirk Cousins. Or for me, Brock Purdy, Kirk Cousins, Dak. I think, like, there are limitations certain times in cold weather or against great defenses, I see they've hit something for years. With Alec Rodriguez, it was just above the shoulders or Barry Bonds. And baseball, you know, is a little bit like that. Golf has that, where there's extended periods of inactivity and you get into your head, whereas hockey and basketball, there's another shot. You know, the game's going so fast. It's harder to go in slumps in the NBA and hockey, I think same with quarterbacks in the NFL, you get five straight passes, you get out of it. But I do feel with Lamar, it's a. He admitted this week, and I think this is growth and maturity. He admitted, Yeah, I get tight. I get all amped up. For the record, we saw it with Sam Darnold against Detroit in Detroit on Monday. Sam was all juiced up Sam was overthrowing everybody. Sam was missing throws he made all year. So these are human beings. They're young. They get amped up. They get all that testosterone, all that juice and the stadium's going crazy. And Sam Darnold, it just, it wasn't a ghost thing as much as it was. He just had, he had, he was all amped up. I was watching a clip yesterday, Belichick and Brady years ago. And Belichick on the sidelines is like, tom, settle down. Step into it. And they start arguing on the sidelines. Young athletes get amped up, means the world to them and sometimes it overwhelms them. Saw it with Sam, we've seen it with Lamar Jackson. Okay, Peter Schrager is around the corner. The very latest on the Bears coaching search in Chicago. Live in la, it's the Herd. All right, let's talk about Amazon Prime. It's not just one thing. It's a collection of services that help you get the most out of whatever you're into. Whether it's a hobby, sport or getting things done fast. Prime's got you covered. Like my hobby for all things sports. You can order sports supplies, listen to content like this podcast on Amazon music or watch content. You can do it all with Prime. Everybody loves the fast free same day shipping, especially as we kick off the year. But what about all the content you can listen to on Amazon music, music to podcast, fast shipping. What is not to love about this membership I'm in? Prime fuels your passions, makes everything easier. So whatever you're into, it's on Prime. Visit Amazon.com prime now. Whether you're ordering wings for the game, whipping up a seven layer dip, or ordering pizza, there's something about football that makes me want to eat. And this football season, Uber Eats has the best deals for me on game day food, no matter what I'm craving. From two for one pizza to buy one get one Wings. Uber Eats will be dropping new deals each week all season long. I'm in Uber Eats, the official on demand delivery partner of the NFL. Order now for game day. Terms and conditions apply. See app for details. 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 Initially podcast join late night legend Jon Stewart and the best news team for today's biggest headlines, exclusive extended interviews and more. Now this is a second term we can all get behind. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts.