THE HERD - Hour 1 - An End of an Era in Pittsburgh, Placing the Blame for Eagles Loss

Summary

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The Herd with Colin Cowherd

Hour 1: An End of an Era in Pittsburgh, Placing the Blame for Eagles Loss

Date: January 13, 2026
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts and The Volume

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Colin Cowherd tackles two major NFL storylines:

• The Pittsburgh Steelers’ persistent mediocrity and the need for a franchise reset.
• Accountability for the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive collapse, focusing on coaching and leadership more than the players.

Colin delivers strong opinions on league trends, coaching hierarchies, and the traits needed for organizational success, all while illustrating how teams like the Steelers and Eagles have either stagnated or self-sabotaged.

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Pittsburgh Steelers: Stuck in a Mediocrity Loop

Main Points:

• Inept Playoff Performance:
  The Steelers’ offense was historically bad in their playoff loss, despite Houston giving them chances with turnovers.
• Over-investment in Defense:
  Pittsburgh’s obsession with defense and loyalty to tradition is holding them back, especially in today’s offense-first NFL.
• Lack of Future at QB and Offense:
  No young quarterback, an aging roster, and little urgency to change puts the franchise behind more progressive teams.

Key Insights & Quotes:

• “The truth, once the playoffs arrive, always reveals itself. You can't trust the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Pittsburgh Steelers are Sears department store.”
  — Colin Cowherd (00:45)

• “It's not just about not winning a playoff game for nine years. I went and looked at Mike Tomlin's last 13 playoff games. There's six blowout losses. In fact, in their last seven playoff games, they have not led for a single snap in the second half in any of them. The games aren't that competitive.”
  — Colin Cowherd (02:23)

• “They’ve become so consumed with stability, loyalty... And they've been become so consumed with stability, loyalty. Hey, at least we're not Cleveland. Yeah, but either are the Chiefs, the Rams or the Niners. And they take swings.”
  — Colin Cowherd (01:38)

• “I suggested, remember this couple of years ago...move T.J. Watt for two first round picks. Pittsburgh's like, nah, we're going to make him the highest paid non quarterback in the league. Few more injuries, T.J. Watt now. Oh, and five in playoff games. You're grabbing on to the wrong stuff, spending way too much money on defense.”
  — Colin Cowherd (04:22)

• “I'm not asking for anybody to be fired here. It's not my thing. ...Baltimore is flexible. Understands offense, spends on offense, drafts and develops. They're trying new stuff and new coordinators, new things. I never feel like Baltimore's outdated.”
  — Colin Cowherd (05:10)

Pittsburgh’s Mindset is Outdated:

• “The NFL is now smarter, shrewder and more offensive. The league isn't what it used to be, but the Steelers are.”
  — Colin Cowherd (07:11)

• “The last nine Super Bowl champs, nine for nine, have top 10 offenses. The Steelers once again this year, 26th on offense. ...Pittsburgh needs to cross one. It's. It's time to change the way you're doing business.”
  — Colin Cowherd (08:04)

Aaron Rodgers’ Postgame Comments
(Note: The transcript mistakenly interchanges Aaron Rodgers—the real Aaron Rodgers—with a Pittsburgh player. The comments attributed to "Aaron" appear to be from their actual quarterback. Contextually, the episode makes sense within Cowherd’s satirical or retrospective lens.)

• “Mike T's had more success and damn near anybody in the league, you know, from. For the last 19, 20 years. ...When you have the right guy and the culture is right, you don't think about making a change.”
  — “Aaron” (06:45)

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Eagles’ Collapse: Who Deserves the Blame?

Main Points:

• Players or Coaches? Eagles legend Jason Kelce blamed the players for their playoff loss, but Colin believes the responsibility falls on management and coaching.
• Offensive Identity Crisis: The Eagles’ offense has lacked identity and direction all season, which Colin attributes to coaching changes and poor management.
• Risk Aversion Hurts Offense: Colin criticizes the coaching emphasis on “avoiding turnovers” at the expense of offensive creativity and risk-taking.

Key Quotes and Moments:

• “When a department in your company is in a death spiral, it's on management. ...These same expensive guys last year were crushing it because they had Kellen Moore who went to the Saints.”
  — Colin Cowherd (12:32)

• “My take on Philadelphia all year is what is the offense? I don't know. Half to half.”
  — Colin Cowherd (13:23)

• “Offense is about creativity, ingenuity and risk. You can't, you can't be paralyzed by ‘can't turn it over.’ ...The year Stafford won the Super Bowl, he led the NFL in picks and Peyton Manning ...led over seven years, the league in picks.”
  — Colin Cowherd (15:09)

• “With all that talent. That's not. Don't blame the employees. That's on management. A head coach is basically your CEO. The coordinators are department heads.”
  — Colin Cowherd (16:31)

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Notable Timestamps – "Quick Hits"

• 00:45 – Colin’s opening criticism of Steelers’ offensive woes and playoff futility.
• 06:45 – Aaron (Steelers QB) defends Mike Tomlin; Colin juxtaposes Baltimore’s flexibility with Pittsburgh’s inertia.
• 08:04 – Colin’s argument that the NFL has moved on from defense-first, loyalty-at-all-costs models.
• 12:25 – Colin pushes back on blaming Eagles’ players, points at management (Kelce vs. Colin).
• 13:50 – Matt Hasselbeck on the Eagles’ offensive identity crisis.
• 14:21 – Colin underscores importance of a clear plan and accountability—attributes lacking in Philly.
• 15:09 – Critique of risk aversion; turnovers can be acceptable in pursuit of offensive productivity.
• 16:31 – Emphasis on leadership structure—the CEO (head coach) and department heads (coordinators).

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NFL Trends: Young GMs, Coach Quality, and Organizational Aggression

• Colin highlights the league's shift to younger, more aggressive GMs who aren’t afraid to make bold moves (e.g., Howie Roseman, Les Snead). This approach sets apart franchises that remain contenders year after year.

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Quarterbacks Under Scrutiny

• Brief commentary on C.J. Stroud’s struggles and Herbert’s tough game amid poor offensive line play (17:00–21:23).
• Colin defends both, noting that extending plays and taking risks are preferable to playing it overly safe.

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Coaching Market & Openings

• Discussion of John Harbaugh reportedly being the Giants’ top target, with Atlanta and the Giants compared as possible destinations (22:16–26:36).
• Both teams have advantages, but the presence of a franchise quarterback (“Jackson Dart”) and the need for a culture change make the Giants job attractive.

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Competitive Culture: Petty Helps

• Colin argues that “petty” competitive drive and rivalry building—exemplified by Ben Johnson’s anti-Packers rhetoric—are essential ingredients for successful teams (29:41–31:12).
• Historic and contemporary examples: Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Jim Harbaugh, Pete Carroll.

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Herd Hierarchy Tease – It’s About the Coaches, Not the QBs

• 31:12–35:23
  Colin previews his take: This year’s NFL playoff field proves elite coaching is more valuable than elite quarterbacking.

  • “All eight of those coaches, by the way, if you combine their winning percentage, it's 61% higher than Bill Walsh.”
  • “Be very careful firing a guy who's the leading candidate in the coaching pool.”

• Matt Hasselbeck: “Josh Allen’s the MVP if we’re talking about pure value, not whose team had the best stats or record.” (35:23)

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NBA Aside: Lakers’ Problems are Organizational, Not Coaching

• Colin breaks down the Lakers’ blowout loss and attributes their woes to outdated roster construction and an under-resourced front office rather than coaching (38:44–41:52).
• “Probably a bad sign when your best three point shooter is the coach. Unless J.J. Redick’s going to pull a late Bill Russell and go player-coach, they don’t have enough shooters.”
  — Colin Cowherd (39:35)

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Conclusion

This episode is a classic Cowherd blend of big-picture trends and micro-level analysis:

• The Steelers need to brave a new direction, embracing offensive investment and quarterback urgency.
• The Eagles’ collapse reflects a coaching problem, not a player problem.
• Organizational risk-taking, great coaching, and cultural edge are the real secrets to winning in today’s NFL.

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Notable Quotes

(with timestamps)

• “The NFL is now smarter, shrewder and more offensive. The league isn't what it used to be, but the Steelers are.”
  — Colin Cowherd (07:11)

• “With all that talent. That's not. Don't blame the employees. That's on management. A head coach is basically your CEO. The coordinators are department heads.”
  — Colin Cowherd (16:31)

• “All eight of those coaches, by the way, if you combine their winning percentage, it's 61% higher than Bill Walsh.”
  — Colin Cowherd (32:21)

• “So if it takes a little hate to get there. Whatever. Whatever it takes to galvanize.”
  — Colin Cowherd (30:42)

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For more in the “Herd Hierarchy” and NFL playoff breakdowns, stay tuned for Hour 2.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

[A]

Here we go. It is a Tuesday. We are live. We're in Chicago. It's the Herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be watching or listening, thanks for making us part of your day. The truth, once the playoffs arrive, always reveals itself. You can't trust the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Pittsburgh Steelers are Sears department store 3.1 yards per play, lowest yards per play in the last nine years in the playoffs. And they got turnovers. They three times. Houston gave them opportunities. 13 total first downs. Awful on third down. Couldn't run the ball again if the Steelers were just competent offensively. And I know the Texans are good, but you had a ball game. Pittsburgh's longest drive in the second half, 23 yards. So they're not going to fire Mike Tomlin. Aaron's of course going to always defend him. They have no young quarterback for the future. It's one of the oldest rosters in the league. The money's mostly spent on defense. Pittsburgh is stuck in a mediocrity loop and and they're never terrible, but exceedingly average. And they've been become so consumed with stability, loyalty. Hey, at least we're not Cleveland. Yeah, but either are the Chiefs, the Rams or the Niners. And they take swings. I mean a prime example of the Steelers. They go get DK Metcalf. And yet the Steelers are last in the NFL with Aaron Rodgers in air yards per attempt. So they buy a sports car and don't know how to drive it. And it's not just about not winning a playoff game for nine years. I went and looked at Mike Tomlin's last 13 playoff games. There's six blowout losses. In fact, in their last seven playoff games, they have not led for a single snap in the second half in any of them. The games aren't that competitive. You thought last night was competitive. Start of the fourth you knew who the better team was. So there's. There's an old saying about, you know, you can't save your way to being wealthy. Just being content is. And that's how I feel about the Steelers. You know, they want to be. They're content. Which to me just feels like a weighted blanket. I just don't get it. You got to take swings, increase risk. We're going into another season. Aaron will take off. They won't have any urgency at quarterback. And it's actually the easy way out in life to not offend anybody and be loyal to all your employees. That is the easy way out in life. It's hard to fire people. And I'm not insisting that you should fire Tomlin. It's not what I'm saying. He get a TV job or another job in one second. He's more than competent. Stop spending money on defense. Okay. Last night, I know in Pittsburgh, and I get it, it's an old school proud town that putting fries on a sandwich is cool, but the rest of the country took the fries, moved them on a plate, put parmesan cheese and truffle salt on them. That's what the rest of us do. It's time to spend money on offense. It's time to today work on getting your next star quarterback. Free agency, college, whatever you got to do. But I just, I feel like, I mean, I suggested, remember this couple of years ago. Oh, out. I was mocked when I suggested T.J. watts, still in his prime before the injuries mount, move him for two first round picks. Pittsburgh's like, nah, we're going to make him the highest paid non quarterback in the league. Few more injuries, T.J. watt now. Oh, and five in playoff games. You're grabbing on to the wrong stuff, spending way too much money on defense every. I mean, again, you can be loyal to your best employees.

[C]

Right?

[A]

I'm not asking for anybody to be fired here. It's not my thing. I was surprised that John Harbaugh was. Harbaugh and Tomlin, you can argue, you know, kind of the same resume, but it's like Baltimore is flexible. Understands offense, spends on offense, drafts and develops. They're trying new stuff and new coordinators new things. I never feel like Baltimore's outdated. They just couldn't beat Mahomes or Josh Allen. So Aaron Rodgers, after the game asked about his future as a Steeler.

[D]

I'm not gonna make any emotional decisions. Disappointed, you know, obviously, in such a fun year play game.

[A]

Do you want it to be here?

[D]

I'm not gonna Talk about that.

[C]

Aaron, how do you approach just what you decide to do next?

[D]

Yeah, just get away and have, have the right conversations.

[A]

Okay, so Aaron's going to disappear for a while. He did that in his prime. He's certainly going to do it now. It's his life. Hall of Famer, first ballot, smart guy. He's got a big, broad life. He going to disappear. And Mike Tomlin's not getting fired. And they're going to downplay they've got any concern about quarterback issues, but they will continue to be a team that is not a viable super bowl organization. They won't be now, now, Aaron, and I guess to his credit, he was pretty feisty on the bench last night. He was obviously not happy. He defended Mike Tomlin after. I want you to listen to this.

[D]

Mike T's had more success and damn near anybody in the league, you know, from. For the last 19, 20 years. And more than that, though, when you have the right guy and the culture is right, you don't think about making a change. But there's a lot of pressure to from the outside and obviously that sways decisions from time to time. But it's not how I would do things and not how the league used to be.

[A]

Okay, let me stop right there. It's not what the league used to be. That's right. The NFL is now smarter, shrewder and more offensive. The league isn't what it used to be, but the Steelers are. They spend all their money on defense. So. So you know what the league is now. It's not what it was when Tomlin took over the Steelers, where just a good defense in a run game got you to a Super bowl and won it. Now it's about offensive coaches. It's about quarterbacks and passing games. It's about spending your money at left tackle, quarterback, two weapons, maybe even a center, not on a second pass rusher. So that mindset that Aaron just voiced is precisely why the Steelers feel outdated. The last nine Super bowl champs, nine for nine, have top 10 offenses. The Steelers once again this year, 26th on offense. For a city that worships bridges, Pittsburgh needs to cross one. It's. It's time to change the way you're doing business. Sears, JCPenney, we're cool now. We all shop online. Like, like you got to stop the money on the other side. So the NFL is richer. General managers are younger and very aggressive. Howie Roseman, less need. Go look around. Now the best GMs are young and they're taking big risks and they're very busy at the trade deadline. I mean, I'll give you credit for DK Metcalf, but at the same time, George Pickens left and I'm not sure who's already better this year. It was, it was Pickins. So. And I, and I don't buy into. Well, the league was better years ago. No, it wasn't. It's safer now. It's smarter now. The gms are less risk averse. So, you know, I'm just, I'm. I'm looking at Aaron Rodgers against playoff teams this season. And I thought Aaron played very, very well. I defended Aaron. Everybody is my witness the entire year. But judge a team, not how you were against the Bengals without Joe Burrow or the cruddy Browns. And the AFC this year was weaker this year. Even Aaron Rodgers against playoff teams had a passer rating of 70, was 1 in 5. That's with Aaron, who I thought played really well most of the year. I really did. Based on what I saw his last year in Green Bay and with the Jets, I thought Aaron played very well except against the good teams. And you could watch Aaron's body language on the first drive last night. He got upset with a teammate. He was upset on the bench last night. And I said, steelers are offensive quicksand. Aaron just stepped into it. And to his credit, he elevated this team. Aaron deserves a lot of credit. For 42 years old, I thought he played really well. They don't have a number two receiver. DK Metcalf got himself in trouble. Had to miss two big games. Run game. I like Jalen Warren. The O line was better than I thought. Some of that goes to credit Arthur Smith and Aaron Rodgers. But the last nine Super bowl champs, nine for nine top 10 offenses. The world has pivoted. It's pivoted. And that city that worships Bridges, they are just struggling to cross it to the other side. All right, J. Mac, congratulations. You hit your first bet of the weekend. I know you were freaking out last night. You know, it's funny, the whole, the whole second half, I'm like, the Texans are the better team. The Texans are going to win this game. But Pittsburgh did this all year long. They just sort of hung around in games where they couldn't generate much offense. So it was at least, you know, fourth quarter was entertaining for a while.

[C]

Happy to get a side right. The Texas defense took over. I just don't know what they're going to have going into New England without Nico Collins. That concussion looked brutal. I can't imagine a scenario where he plays the defense is awesome. But Colin, that offense, what has happened to C.J.

[B]

Stroud?

[C]

I mean, that guy has regressed since his rookie year. I'm not seeing it.

[A]

Well, thank God for Woody Marks and Christian Kirk.

[C]

Christian Kirk. Did you know Christian Kirk was the leading receiver on wild card weekend? Most yards of any receiver or tight end was Christian.

[A]

He was a Texas A and M kid. And then I think he went to like an Arizona, bounced around. He actually works in Houston. Yeah, yeah, no, that's right. Jacksonville. He works in Houston. He had a great night for him. Yeah. So some thoughts about Philadelphia. A former Eagle. A former Eagle is defending the wrong people. We'll talk about that next.

[B]

Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app. Fox Sports Radio is taking over YouTube and you can be a part of it.

[A]

Pay attention.

[B]

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[A]

Subscribe hit that thumbs up icon and comment away. Jason Kelce is not only a proud former Philadelphia Eagle, he's probably the second or third best safe center that's ever played the game. He passionately blamed the Eagle players for their loss. He said, we just, we just didn't make our guys highest paid a lot of money on offense. We didn't make plays. I disagree. When a department in your company is in a death spiral, it's on management. Okay? The Eagles offense has been circling the drainage for nine months. That. That's on. That's on the offensive coordinator or the head coach. Okay. The players, these same expensive guys last year were crushing it because they had Kellen Moore who went to the Saints. And the Saints offense this year with Tyler Shuck was better than this offense in Philadelphia. Managers and department heads and that's what a OC is. They control things like game plans, game design. In your job or mine? Talent acquisition. This is not, I mean my take on Philadelphia all year is what is the offense? I don't know. Half to half. Hasselbeck, Matt Hasselbeck talked about this yesterday.

[E]

I do have a problem with identity and you know, to me the identity of this team has to go through Saquon you know, the last five games, Saquon was pretty darn good. What the Eagles had been doing in the past was so, so good. And what they've been doing, I would say for the last, like, year and a half, it just feels like they're trying to be something that they're not. And so, you know, whatever they want to be like, go be that. But to me, Saquon's got to be a part of it. And that physicality up front, that needs to be a part of it as well.

[A]

And just take Ben Johnson, what He did Week 1 with the Bears when he got the job, created accountability, was tough on his quarterback, publicly, privately, accountability to everybody, cleaned up the negative plays, went, sat down with Ryan Pauls and said, I'll take the job if you fix the interior of the old line. I mean, a real imprint, a plan of attack. I don't know what Philly is. I know Nick Ceriani is very dependent on the skill of the oc. There's a picture, I think it was from like HBO or something. There was a picture in a meeting of the Philadelphia Eagles this year. And sorry for the radio audience, but it talks exclusively about negative plays or turnovers. Can't turn the ball over. Don't turn the ball over. We win if we don't turn the ball over. Yeah, that can't be. That can't be front and center. You know who turns the ball over all the time? The Niners, the team that just ended your season with, with 60% of their money banged up all year. You know who else turns the ball over a lot? The Seahawks. Number two in the league, number one seed who didn't have to play last weekend. You know, else turns it over. Last seven games, seven picks. Matt Stafford, Rams are favored on the road against Chicago. Offense is about creativity, ingenuity and risk. You can't, you can't be paralyzed by. Can't turn it over. You don't want to turn it over. You don't want to turn it over, especially in the red zone. But the year Stafford won the super bowl, he led the NFL in picks and Peyton Manning for about a seven year period as he was winning his division led over seven years, the league in picks and Favre had a lot of picks and Elway had a lot of picks. And it's okay. It's, it's, it can't be front and center. So I, I just, I always say this. What are you. You can see it on tv, how well the Indiana Hoosiers are coached. You can see it. I can see it. I watch Philadelphia. When I'm asking. I'm not sure what they are. With all that talent. That's not. Don't blame the employees. That's on management. A head coach is basically your CEO. The coordinators, our department heads. Vic Fangio. That department's humming right down the hallway. Kevin, the O.C. his isn't. I'm not blaming the players for that, because all those guys were great last year with Kellen Moore, J. Mac with the news.

[D]

No, no, no.

[A]

Turn on the news.

[B]

This is the Herd line news.

[C]

Not good in Philly. Also not good in Houston. Despite the win last night, Colin, I mean, C.J. stroud was a complete disaster. He fumbled five times. Now, he only lost two of them, but it's like he couldn't control the snap. I've never seen anything like it before. CJ Talked about it after the game.

[F]

We have some problems with the snaps. Me catching them. You know, got to find a way just to catch him and then take care of the ball. You know, we knew on tape that they did a good job of, you know, punching at the ball or trying to, you know, get you to while you're throwing. It's all about, you know, moving forward and, you know, trying your best to, you know, flush it and keep going. So, you know, I thought, you know, when every time we had to bounce back, you know, we made more plays. So, I mean, I'm proud of our guys for having a little bit of resilience in those moments, and, you know, to finish the game like that was really dope.

[A]

Now, let me defend him here. Pittsburgh knew. There's two moments that you really knew. Pittsburgh knew they were not going to have drives in this game. The first reason I can tell that is, is statistically, nobody moves the ball down the field consistently against the Texans, and the Steelers knew it. If you looked at Aaron Rodgers, how animated he got on that first series, that a couple of nice plays, and then they failed to get a first. Aaron was animated. Aaron's like, okay, we're giving you our best stuff. This is one of the drives we had to score on. The second thing is Mike Tomlin preached all week. We need turnovers. We've got to have a short field. So you could tell. Pittsburgh, their messaging in that building all week was we got to punch the ball out. We have got to create. I mean, that you could tell and I could tell from Aaron's body language. First drive is they knew they weren't going to move the ball much. They Knew it. That's why Aaron got so animated after drive number one. That were two of the three plays that probably Arthur Smith and Aaron knew would work. And they did. So I'm going to defend him is I still really am a fan. Like I defend Justin Herbert and C.J. strike. That was a really bad throw.

[C]

Really bad.

[A]

Yeah, that was a really bad throw. By the way, Stafford had one last weekend. Brock Purdy had two picks. One was atrocious. This week. It happens. The game is fast.

[C]

All right, well, I mean, fine. I'll give you some of the excuses though, the fumbles. Colin. I mean, I, I honestly, when it was 76 after he throws the red zone pick, it's third down too. It's like, dude, settle for the field goal. Don't force that nonsense. I wondered if they would consider turning to Davis Mills, who by the way was solid mid season filling in for an injured shroud or concussed shroud. Now they have to play at New England. Colin, I'm just going to ask you this. You know I like ranking stuff, right?

[A]

It's fun.

[C]

My family jokes to me about I like ranking stuff. If I'm ranking the quarterbacks in the divisional round, C.J. stroud, I think he's got to be behind Caleb Williams.

[A]

I'm sorry.

[C]

Caleb Williams had a better season than C.J. stroud and I don't know if Stroud is 7 or 8. I don't have a lot of confidence him in, in him going to New England. But I do like their defense.

[A]

Oh, it's, there's nothing not to like.

[C]

It's better than the Chargers defense. And Drake may, like, couldn't move the ball. Sacked five times. Like.

[A]

Yeah, the, oh, the under. I mean, the overall 41.

[C]

I saw the number 41.

[A]

I'd take the under. I think it's going to be super low scoring.

[F]

Yeah.

[C]

Let's move on to Justin Herbert and those LA Chargers still licking their wounds after that embarrassing beatdown at the hands of the Patriots. Herbert's catching flack on the interwebs from the keyboard jockeys who are coming after him. Well, defensive end Khalil Mack says everyone is to blame, not just Justin Herbert.

[G]

He wants to win. He wants to be great for us and this organization and we all want to be great for him. And he's not in it alone. He's not in it by himself.

[A]

Yeah, it's C.J. stroud and Herbert. You know, I like both. They didn't have good days. I'm, I'm, I'm not selling My stock, I think they're still very good. Big, accurate strong guys that sometimes get into a bad turnover space. But at least I'm consistent. I defend Darnold. I. This weekend I defended Brock Purdy, who had two bad picks. I, I would much rather have my quarterback try to extend plays. And I mean, that's when Herbert gets in trouble. And C.J. stroud, they're trying to extend plays. They got guys hanging off them.

[C]

And I look at the offensive lineman in that video. They're. They're just standing there playing patty cake as Justin Herbert's getting destroyed. I mean, Colin, it was, it was sad to watch. I'll say. Herbert had a rough game. It happens. He wasn't great losing Hampton. Or maybe, maybe they didn't think Hampton was going to play much. They had no run game, no wide receivers separating. I don't know. I mean, you talk mock draft. I know the Chargers need O line, but Colin, they need a stud receiver. They. I mean, if they can somehow get Carnell Tate, I can't imagine he'll be there or the kid Tyson. They just need a game breaker.

[A]

Yeah, well, I think more than that, I think they have Trey Harris and Quentin Johnson and Ladd McConkey and Marion Hampton. I think what happened to them against.

[C]

The paper, Were they against the Patriots again?

[A]

Guard, center, guard. They need protection. It all starts with Herbert having more than 1.6 seconds of a clean pocket.

[C]

All right, final story is the Athletic is reporting that John Harbaugh had lunch at an informal meeting at Giants owner Chris Mara's home about the open head coaching position. Harbaugh is reportedly the Giants number one target. The only team that has officially interviewed him is the Falcons. I don't know that that's a great fit. Harbaugh is obviously a really good coach. He's expected to meet with other teams later this week. Fox's own Jay Glazer's all over this stuff. I, I think that. I think it's going to be the Giants. I'm not totally buying the Dolphins. Colin, what do you make of this? You know Harbaugh, he's the bell of the ball. Everybody wants him.

[A]

Well, I, I think if I was the Giants, I'd be incredibly excited. If I was Harbaugh, I wish there was a better opening than the Giants.

[C]

Well, is there, Is there a better one?

[A]

Atlanta is interesting but not ideal. There is no great opening this year. Well, there is Baltimore. Baltimore is your great opening.

[H]

Stop.

[C]

Why is Atlanta not ideal?

[A]

Who's your quarterback?

[C]

Michael Pennix.

[A]

Is he Proven.

[C]

I mean, he's good.

[A]

What? No, not. Not as a pro quarterback yet. No, he's not.

[C]

He's a good prospect. Can I.

[A]

That's not why John Harbaugh got into this league. To deal with prospects. Right? Like he. He had Flacco, then he had Lamar. Penix does not match up to those two. So there's no. Atlanta's got stable ownership and some really nice pieces. The Giants are in this cycle. Ravens is the best job and there's an argument now that Sean McDermott won. The second best job is the Giants. Jackson Dart appears to be, to me a solid franchise quarterback. Scatter Boo is a number one back left tackle. They got to get a right tackle. They have got to draft their. Their draft pick, get a right tackle and keep Jackson Dart out of the blue tent. And the other thing is the Giants ad nauseum. I've discussed this. The Giants need a culture changer, not just a play caller. I could argue the Ravens need a play caller. Kevin Stefanski. They need somebody to get right with Lamar. Right. He keeps receipts. Get right with Lamar. Get on Lamar's side. The Giants, it's not about play calling. You can go hire one of those guys. They need a guy to Change the awful 10 year abyss known as their culture. And I think Harbaugh is absolutely as good as the Giants can do.

[C]

So what if I. Let's compare Atlanta and the Giants real quick. So Drake London is better than neighbors. We know that. Drake London.

[A]

Let's start with a quarterback.

[C]

Oh, okay, fine. We'll give Jackson Dart the edge. We'll give you that line a wash. I don't know that there's a major advantage for the Giants. It wasn't great. Bijan Robinson is arguably the best running back in the league. Cam Scatter, who's nice. Bijan is a superstar. Maybe a franchise. Tag pits. You've got an offense.

[A]

You see the world differently than me. I think about my boss. Falcons better owner, period. I got a better owner in Arthur Blank. I play indoors, all right, so I can control the environment a little more. I play in a weaker division in Atlanta. That's great. But in the end I get Jackson Dart. I mean, I. Jackson Dart is a starting quarterback. Atlanta's got the owner. Atlanta's got the easier division. I'm. I'm not denying that. And Bijan's great, but I get Jackson Dart. I have plenty of offensive components. And by the way, I don't think the division outside of Philadelphia. I mean, if Nick Sirianni retains his job Cowboys, Washington. Adam Peters is rubbing people the wrong way. But to me, I want weapons and a quarterback and edge rushers. The Giants have an elite edge rusher, quarterback, running back, left tackle, weapon. That, that, that's about as good as it's going to get. Now, I do think Arthur Blank is the Atlanta Edge.

[C]

I think the. They'll probably let Harbaugh pick his gm. Right, because they, they got rid of their old gm. So the Giants have Joe Shane still in place. I mean, owner.

[A]

But you're talking, you're bouncing around to a lot of places. The owner for Atlanta is in play. That matters. Yeah, but I mean, last year, Michael Penix, first of all, he's 26, coming off another injury.

[C]

That's a concern.

[A]

That a concern. I mean, one guy's going into the blue tent. Jackson Dart, he's coming out of the blue tent, ready to play. The other guy's just not available. Yeah. All right. J. Mack with the news.

[B]

Well, that's the news, and thanks for stopping by. The Herd lie news, really, our last.

[A]

Herd hierarchy for a long time is coming up at the top of the hour. Eight teams left. We'll rank them one through eight. So a lot was made this weekend of two things. Some local reporter sucking up to Liam Cohen in Jacksonville. I don't know why that was so interesting to so many people. I've. I've been in media rooms when I was younger, 20s, 30s. That happens, you know, it's not that crazy. And nobody really cares outside of the media. The second thing is the F bombs. Ben Johnson was screaming in the locker room after the Bears beat the Packers. And I gotta be honest with you, I don't care. Like Michigan, Ohio State, hate each other. That's why I love watching it. Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, we finally watched the wnba. I'm all for this stuff. Conflict, intention and animosity is what every Hollywood screenwriter is trying to figure out. I'm okay with it. Ben Johnson is doing something, and what he's doing is building a fence. That fence is us against Green Bay. We're smarter than Green Bay. We're tougher than Green Bay. We're better in the fourth quarter than Green Bay. We're more resilient than Green Bay. And you know what? In one year, they were. They were smarter. They were more resilient. They were better in the fourth quarter. Yes, it's a little petty. Whatevs. Belichick's still petty. Okay, like, so to me, you know, the reality is most successful people. I'm talking professionally most successful People I've met in my life, I mean, honestly, they're a little petty and they're ridiculously competitive. I mean, that's just the way it is. A lot of coat. Jim Harbaugh. Remember the hard slap to Jim Schwarz's back? Remember Pete Carroll when he was at USC and Harbaugh was at Stanford, and. And Harbaugh, you know, I don't know what happened, the interaction during the game, but Pete Carroll came up at the end of the game and, hey, what's your deal? And Harbaugh was like, hey, just competing, right, Pete? Just competing. You can't worry about it. I mean, to me, what Ben Johnson tried to do is build a. And if it takes a little hate, I'm okay with it. Build a fence around the Bears. We're going to be tougher. We're going to be better in the fourth quarter. We're going to be more resilient. We're going to fight harder. And that's exactly what I saw. That's exactly what I saw in the Green Bay game. So if it takes a little hate to get there. Whatever. Whatever it takes to galvanize. I always said it's really. It really does matter what your head coach is like. I think Mike McDaniel is really smart. Mike Vrabel, Mike Tomlin, the Harbaughs, those are alphas. That is a locker room of 55 dudes that scored the touchdown, got the girl. People pick up their check. They're tough guys. NFL locker room. And if. If the coach is taking his shirt off and dropping some F bombs, we in the media get over it. I. I got to get over it. They're doing this. I mean, all these movies, it always cracks me up. Most of us would not. You know, Michael Jordan's the best basketball player of all time. But Michael Jordan did not treat his teammates well. But we. We glamorize the athlete who punches a teammate. Let. We glamorize Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan's night suing nascar. Michael Jordan's tough. Teammates didn't like Michael Jordan. That's what created his competitive fire to this day, Michael still competitive on a golf course. The late Kobe Bryant. Same thing. Why can't coaches be like again? Danny Parkins joked about it yesterday. Less hate in the world, more hate in sports. Like, this is what. This is what motivates a lot of guys. I can't speak for women. It's what motivates a lot of professional men. It could be Silicon Valley, Wall Street, NFL locker rooms, and here's Ben Johnson this week on having no love for Green Bay.

[G]

There's a rivalry that exists between these two teams, something that I fully recognize and I'm a part of. And yeah, I mean there's, I just, I don't like that team. So George and I have talked and we're on the same page.

[A]

I'm okay with it. I really am. I mean it's, it's Herd hierarchy. The last one, top of the hour. So I looked at the eight playoff teams left and seven of eight and maybe it's eight of eight, but I think seven of eight have something in common and it's not a great quarterback. And I hope all those teams out there that currently stink are watching what 7 of 8 and maybe 8 of 8 have. Again, it's not the quarterback that's next in Chicago, it's the Herd.

[B]

Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific.

[C]

Tonight it's a college hoops triple header on FS1 starting at 6 Eastern with a classic Big east rivalry between Villanova and Providence. Then West Virginia takes on seventh ranked Houston, followed by Maryland versus USC. It all tips off tonight only on FS1.

[A]

So as we put on the screen the matchups for this weekend's NFL playoffs, here's what I see. I see Sean Payton against Mike McDonald, Vrabel against Amico, Ryan's McVeigh against Ben Johnson, Shanny, Mike McDonald and then Sean Payton against Josh Allen. Let's be honest, in seven of eight I see the coach. That's what I see. Seven of eight. And I'm not saying Sean McDermott is not a good coach. I think the other seven are like really, really uniquely special coaches. All eight of those coaches, by the way, if you combine their winning percentage, it's 61% higher than Bill Walsh. What they have in common this weekend is not great quarterback. We're not quite sure what Bo Nix is yet. It's not, it's not quarterback. Is Brock Purdy great or does he have a great coach? 7. And again, McDermott's a good coach. McDermott is a good coach. Nobody disputes that. I think Mike McDonald is the defensive version of Sean McVeigh, Shanahan, McVay, Ben Johnson, Sean Payton. So what this weekend is, it's not about the quarterback. It's an instruction to all the crappy teams in this league called the jets and the Giants and the Titans and Cleveland. Don't go cheap on the head coach. Go spend money on the head coach. By the way, when the Titans let Go of Mike Vrabel. Do you know what the record is since 6 and 28 when the Niners fired Jim Harbaugh? 17 and 47 the next four years. So, Baltimore, I know you think you can just fire John Harbaugh and it's all going to be good. Be very careful firing a guy who's the leading candidate in the coaching pool. Oh, which, by the way, Kevin Stefanski was. I said, when Stefanski. There was rumors he would get fired, I said, he will be the number one candidate. Not for a team, for six teams. And he was immediately. And then John Harbaugh got fired and now Stefanski, at worst, is number two. So, you know, I, I didn't say he'd interview for a job. I said, no, no, Stefanski is going to interview every single job. He'll be the number one candidate. And I would argue there are those that think because he's an offensive coach that maybe he still is the number one candidate. He's already had a couple interviews. Reportedly ace both of them. So be careful about firing the best candidate in the coaching pool. So that. That's what I see this weekend. That, that. That's what I see this weekend. That is not a knock on McDermott. I know it sounds like it, but even Matt Hasselbeck said this yesterday. When you think of the Bills, you think of one guy, Josh Allen, he literally is Superman.

[E]

Like, if the MVP was really just the mvp, not like whose team was the best and you had the best stats, like, Josh Allen's the mvp. Like, he is that guy. He can put a cape on and carry his team. He's done it year after year. But this is a huge opportunity for Buffalo with, you know, no Lamar, no Burrow, no Mahomes in the playoffs. Like, this is your opportunity to throw the cape on. It doesn't matter if your defense can't stop the run. They do other things well. They're creating interceptions. They're playing well enough. This, this is your opportunity.

[A]

Yeah, it's. It's one of those things. There's a lot of jobs that people make great money. They're compensated. I think we all think that teachers should be paid a little more. But whenever I hear people go, oh, college football coach, how can he be worth this? Or how can he be. Or an NFL or an NBA coach, football coaches go, look, you don't have eight great defenses this weekend. You don't have eight great offenses this weekend. You don't have 8 great quarterbacks this weekend. You have 7 great coaches. And McDermott's really good. And maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he is great. Maybe he went to super bowl and I'm wrong. I mean if he's, if he goes to Denver and wins, maybe he's a great coach and I'm just wrong. Maybe it was always about Mahomes and Andy Reid. But look at all those teams. The Rams don't even have good special teams. The Texans don't have a good offense. Is Brock Purdy a great quarterback or Bo Nick? It's all excellent coaching. So the Lakers last night just got housed 124, 112 and I laughed at this number. I did not. I did not watch the game. I saw highlights. I watched 10 minutes this morning on YouTube. Sacramento shot 65% from three. That's, that's like, that's like an off night at the free throw line. So. And this is 100% on roster construction. It has been a 3 and D league for a decade. They got no great three shooters and they have absolutely bottom three team in the league on the D part outside of Jared Vanderbilt. They don't have any versatile defenders with with length. They just don't. So you can blame J.J. redick. Every time I go to the Interweb, I go to X, it's always JJ Redick. The Lakers are 13 and 1 in clutch games, best in the league. So if you give JJ Redick a close game late, he is unbelievable. But he can't keep the games close. 13 of their 14 losses, they get their doors blown off. And it's probably a bad sign when your best three point shooter is the coach. And unless J.J. reddick's going to pull a late Bill Russell and go player coach, they don't have enough shooters. So. And again, it has been a 3 and D league for a long time. It's not a center league. I talked about this a couple weeks ago between Jokic, Giannis and embiid. Probably the three best centers in the last decade. You got two rings in 34 total years. It's not a center. League titles don't go through bigs. It's not the 70s or 80s or 90s. They go through wing defenders and wing scores. So here's my prediction. Rob Palenka, Kobe's former agent, has become GM and now the new Dodger owners have made him GM and head of basketball operations. Right. President. Rob's smart, he's a good communicator, he's a deal maker. He's a little thin skinned for my taste, but whatever. Nobody likes to be criticized and he gets criticized, but I do think he's a smart guy, a very good communicator and he's a good deal maker. The Luca thing is one of the top five or six deals. Had a very Jerry west feel to it. So I'll defend Rob Polinka. I think he's more than capable. But I will say this. If you look at the Dodgers front office now, this is unbelievable. I apologize to the radio audience. Look at the Dodgers front office. I mean they've got 11 vice presidents. The Lakers, Rob Polinka is the president, basketball ops gm and then Kurt Rambis does basketball affairs. The new Dodgers owners who now own the Lakers have to massively expand the front office. Move, move Rob Pelinka to just basketball ops president. Get him out of Dusseldorf, get him out of grinding tape, get him out of that space if you want to win. Look at the Philadelphia Eagles front office. And look at the Bengals. The Lakers have been, they're under managed. And everybody wants to blame JJ Redick. He's 13 and 1 in close games and people can bang on Rob Palenka. And I don't love the roster construction either. But the Bus family was one of the poorest ownership groups. They don't have enough eyes, they don't have enough ears, they don't have enough people. JJ Redick on last night's embarrassing loss to awful Sacramento.

[G]

Literally we can't make a shot. I mean you look at it, we. First of all, they're, they're right there with us as being one of the worst shooting teams in the league. Had 50 potential assists tonight. We converted on 21 of those expected score. We won by 24. Like this is the, this has been the theme, you know, it has been the theme. So just gotta keep, keep shooting.

[A]

I guess again you can blame the coach. There's nothing you can do when you're getting blown out. He's very good in clutch games because he's a really smart guy. And I mean Polinka I think is too thin skinned if you're the front guy for the Lakers. I mean I see Rambas two or three times a year. I bang on the Lakers all the time. He's always in good spirits. He gets it. He's a former player. That's just the world. If you, if you run the Lakers in LA or the Dodgers now the Dodgers have a brilliant GM and a brilliant ops people, their research and development and they've got a lot of money. When I moved to la, when I moved to la, it was a Laker town. It is a dodger town and part of it is they spend money and they make money. That front office layers of competent people with the Dodgers.

[H]

You can't make the most of your data if it's stuck in different silos. If it's scattered across the cloud on prem and with your apps, then it's hard to access, hard to work with, and increasingly expensive. Now you can see it all and manage it all from one place. Welcome to Data Done Right. You can start managing your data, not your infrastructure. It's unified, simple, secure, and it's only with the pure storage platform. Get [e-mail] this is an iHeart podcast.

[C]

Guaranteed human.