THE HERD - Hour 1 - John Harbaugh is the Giants next head coach, Josh Allen path might take him to the Super Bowl, Tom Brady

Summary

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The Herd with Colin Cowherd — Hour 1 (January 15, 2026)

Overview

This episode centers on the latest NFL coaching carousel, specifically John Harbaugh's move to the New York Giants, and explores pivotal quarterback storylines heading into the playoffs. Special focus is given to the Giants' future under Harbaugh, the merits of organizational “bottoming out” (with criticism of the Steelers’ refusal to do so), and a wide-ranging football deep-dive featuring Tom Brady as guest analyst. Josh Allen's daunting Super Bowl path, rookie QB challenges, and the psychology around star QB retirements are dissected, blending Colin’s signature big-picture takes with Brady’s insider perspective.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. John Harbaugh to the New York Giants — Why It Matters

• Harbaugh's Hiring as a Franchise-Changer

  • Colin lauds the Giants' move: "If you want to go from a bad team in the NFL to a good team in the NFL, there's only one thing you can absolutely control. Hire the best coach on the market." (03:03)
  • Emphasizes that successful NFL turnarounds stem from proven leaders, not untested coordinators or scheme-specific hires.
  • Cites Harbaugh’s track record as a winning culture builder, declaring: “The Giants didn’t need an offensive coordinator. They needed a crisis coordinator... The day you hire John Harbaugh, he is immediately the best coach in the division.” (04:32)

• Comparison with Jets & Past Mistakes

  • Criticizes both NY franchises for historically going "cheap and experimental.”
  • Points out that since Tom Coughlin, the Giants are "the Jets—with a trophy room and better archive footage."

• Predicted Immediate Impact

  • Boldly predicts doubling the Giants’ win total: “The New York Giants this morning, 4 and 13 this year are minimum double the win total. Next year, my guess, they get to 10 or 11.” (05:35)
  • Draws parallel to Brady’s effect on Tampa Bay, emphasizing the Giants' ready-to-win pieces and draft positioning.

• Albert Breer on the Hire

  • Breer highlights Giants’ high-upside roster and stability: “They have a lot of other things... franchise left tackle... franchise receiver... defensive front... you have a chance to be dominant up front right out of the chute.” (07:47)

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2. NFL’s Rebuilding Philosophy: Learning from Failure

• Steelers’ 'Under .500 Phobia'

  • Colin criticizes the Steelers for refusing to bottom out, calling it "remarkable." (09:00)
  • Contrasts with successful franchises who intentionally rebuild: “Four division winners... lost 12 games last season. This isn't the NBA... In the NFL, it happens all the time.” (09:28)
  • Uses analogies (“You see your house as charming. A lot of other people see it as outdated and weird.”) to highlight organizational denial.

• The Upside of Tanking

  • Notes that 70% of this year’s playoff QBs are top-10 picks: “It's okay to have a bad year… It takes about one year to be bad. That's about it.” (10:40)
  • Urges the Steelers (and other ‘stuck’ teams) to embrace risk in pursuit of true contention, referencing the Texans and Rams’ quick turnarounds.

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3. Giants’ 2026 Outlook & Strength of Schedule

• Guest J. Mac pushes back on Colin’s Giants optimism, citing a tough slate: “Eight of the Giants’ 17 opponents are playoff teams this year. Half. That’s a brutal schedule, my friend.” (12:46)
• Colin disputes using future schedules as an excuse: “You still have to win the games. Well, New England’s schedule is... I watched them in a playoff game. You gotta win the games.” (13:10)

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4. 49ers-Seahawks Playoff Matchup: Tom Brady’s Analysis

• Pressure on Sam Darnold & Quarterback Mistakes
  • Colin: “There’s so much pressure on Sam Darnold to get that first big playoff [win]... How do you explain Darnold’s struggles with interceptions in big games?” (17:15)
  • Brady: “The margin of error when you play good teams is just very small... In order to throw the ball accurate... and make a decision, you’re not going to throw a lot of interceptions.” (17:34)
• Fundamentals and Coaching under Playoff Pressure
  • Brady emphasizes need for technical refinement and stress-resilience: “You need coaches that are stressing [players] in practice all the time... so that you learn to deal with the stress emotion that you feel when you need to perform at a high level." (18:20)
• Seattle’s Defensive Identity
  • Colin: “They close space as well as any defense in league. As soon as the ball’s caught, boom. There’s guys on them.” (22:23)
  • Brady praises their tackling and pass defense: “Their tackling is good. Their pass defense is elite. Their coverage schemes are really tricky for the quarterback.” (23:13)
• Game Management & Underdog Mindset
  • Colin queries how teams should adapt as underdogs, referencing his own Super Bowl runs: “You weren’t in this position a lot. They’re not as deep as Seattle and they’re on the road... Does it change the game plan?” (19:35)
  • Brady: “This is playoff football. There’s nothing tomorrow that’s guaranteed.... The Niners are going to have to keep it a low scoring game.” (20:30)

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5. Playing in Adverse Conditions — Lessons from Brady’s Career

• Colin (on Stafford playing at Chicago in -9°F): “How do you psychologically, when the environment’s not ideal, not let [the cold] affect you?” (24:45)
• Brady explains acclimatization: “It’s not just mental toughness. It’s also the team that has the advantage is the one that practices in it all the time... Over time you just learned how to deal with [the weather].” (24:58)
• An anecdote about Bill Belichick always making the Patriots practice outside, building the team’s cold-weather resilience.

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6. Josh Allen’s Super Bowl Path: All-Time Challenge?

• Colin: “If Josh Allen was to win a Super Bowl, listen to this journey... Jags on the road, Denver on the road, Houston [potentially] on the road, Seahawks neutral site — all elite defenses. This is an all-timer.” (40:48)
• Notes Buffalo’s depleted WR corps and Allen’s durability: “This journey... is this, this is an all timer — with a wide receiver room that's down to three active players.” (41:30)
• Bo Nix on Allen: “He just goes out there and does superhero stuff.” (41:43)
• Emmanuel Sanders (on Allen): “He was always fun to go out and compete with... he was going to give it his all. And that’s why I always respected Josh.” (42:59)

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7. The Value of Coaching to Player Success

• Colin reflects on Emmanuel Sanders’s remarks: “The coaches largely make the players… Now, I think that is to a degree true.” (43:17)
• Notes certain players — like Allen, Lawrence Taylor, Calvin Johnson, Aaron Donald — are system proof, but great coaches are needed to win titles.

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8. Rookie QBs vs. Elite Playoff Defenses

• Colin asks about Drake May facing the Texans: “Do you worry that Drake just hasn't faced anything close to this this year?” (31:42)
• Brady: “Drake is a really poised, composed kid... But this defense in Houston is ridiculous and they could put a lot of pressure on you.” (32:10)
• Emphasizes Patriots’ high confidence but notes Houston’s speed/athleticism is another level.

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9. Retirement Decisions: Inside Brady’s Process and Aaron Rodgers’ Future

• Colin asks Brady about the “moment” of deciding to retire (34:17):
  • Brady: "My last season was tough. I had a lot of personal... family issues. It was a challenge and it took a lot out of me... I always had a goal. 45 was 45 years old. I wanted to spend time with my kids... It felt like, okay, now it’s time to be at all my kids’ games. They’ve been to enough of their dad’s games.” (34:30)
  • On the grind: “Football is like a marathon... everyone loves to run the first four miles... but it’s those middle 20 miles that are hard.” (36:08)
• On Aaron Rodgers: “Aaron’s got his own decisions he’s got to make... It’s hard to give up football... Only Aaron can decide that for himself.” (36:34)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Colin on Harbaugh’s immediate effect: “The day you hire John Harbaugh, he is immediately the best coach in the division. Say it out loud.” (04:32)
• Brady on playoff QB performance: “The margin of error when you play good teams is just very small... That’s where the fundamentals come into play.” (17:34)
• Colin, poetic as ever, on team self-perception: “You see your house as charming. A lot of other people see it as outdated and weird.” (09:43)
• Brady’s retirement reflection: “When I got older, I almost enjoyed practice more than playing because playing... it was almost like a relief to win. Sometimes winning and not winning [felt] the same." (35:16)
• Emmanuel Sanders on Allen: “He was always fun to go out and compete with... you know that he was going to give it his all.” (42:59)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Harbaugh to Giants, coaching philosophy — 03:03–08:00
• Steelers’ rebuild critique & tanking — 09:00–11:45
• Giants 2026 schedule, playoff odds — 12:45–13:21
• 49ers-Seahawks preview w/ Tom Brady — 17:15–23:55
• Cold-weather playoff games / Stafford analysis — 24:45–27:00
• Josh Allen’s gauntlet / Playoffs preview — 40:48–44:00
• Drake May vs. Texans defense—31:42–33:30
• Brady’s retirement decision / Rodgers’ future — 34:17–37:47

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Tone

The conversation is dynamic and analytical, mixing Colin’s assertive, occasionally sardonic tone (“the Giants are the Jets with better archive footage”) with Tom Brady’s thoughtful, measured delivery. There’s deep knowledge, candid reflection, and locker-room insights — making it accessible to die-hard fans and casual sports followers alike.

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Summary prepared for: Those wanting a thorough, engaging, and timestamped breakdown of Hour 1 of "The Herd" (January 15, 2026), focused exclusively on substantive football discussion.

Transcript

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Tom Brady]

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Whatever it costs, whatever it takes, you can draft a quarterback. Top five. He could stink. Players get hurt. Coaches don't. John Harbaugh is the best resume and is the best culture builder on the market. And the Giants smartly hired him first, meaning they'll get the best pick of the assistant coaches and coordinators on the market. There's very little you can control in the NFL. You can control hiring the first coach, getting the best assistants, and hiring the best resume. Yes, I know New York is a tough market. The media's scary. But that's not why the jets and the Giants have been hazmat spills for a decade. Plus, they have been because they went cheap and experimental at head coach. The last time the Giants were good, it was Tom Coughlin who coached at Boston College at the time, beat Notre Dame, it was number one and went to Jacksonville. There was no experimenting. He was a leader, a culture builder, successful. I look at Aaron Glenn and the New York jets, you're not asking him to coach. You're asking him to fix a completely broken culture. And I don't think Aaron Glenn's good enough. And clearly all the guys after Coughlin weren't good enough. These nine coaching openings in the NFL now eight. They're not looking for scheme guy. They're not looking for guy that's good in the whiteboard. They're looking for CEOs. Okay, Harbaugh. This is a job for a Harbaugh. Like Jim to the Chargers, John to the Giants. This is a job for a Harbaugh. The Giants didn't need an offensive coordinator. They needed a crisis coordinator. And similar to Mike Vrabel in New England, the day you hire John Harbaugh, he is immediately the best coach in the division. Say it out loud. Nick Ceriani, Brian Schottenheimer, Dan Quinn, John Harbaugh. In a couple of those instances, it's not even close. And the Giants have a lot of pieces. So for four years in a row, I have picked a team successfully. Four for four PAT in the back. That would double their win total. The New York giants this morning, 4 and 13 this year are minimum double the win total. Next year, my guess, they get the 10 to 11. Because like when Brady went to Tampa and Tom Brady could have chosen any team, but he chose that Tampa team that was about.500, that had a star receiver, that had really good pass rushers. Like the Giants had a pretty good old line. Left tackle was good, but they needed a right tackle. And the Bucks drafted Tristan worse. Well, what do you know? The Giants need a right tackle and it is an unbelievably good edge rusher. An offensive tackle draft, sometimes you get lucky. The Giants need what this draft provides. In fact, they could move down a couple of spots, accumulate more picks and perhaps still get one of the two best tackles on the market. Weapons. They've got them winning coach for the last several years, the Giants have been hiring Belichick tree guys, finger crossers, coordinators. None of it works. Harbaugh's proven competence, proven culture builder. And I know you don't want to hear this, I know you're looking this morning down at the New York jets, but the Giants are the Jets. Since Coughlin with a trophy room with better archive footage, you have been the Jets. You don't really. Now the jets are still trying to dig their way and the jets seemingly keep grabbing a shovel and digging deeper. But the Giants officially didn't get a scheme guy. They got a culture guy. Vrabel, Jim Harbaugh. This is a job that needs not Superman. Harbaugh, man. And they got him. Here's Albert Brew yesterday on Harbaugh and the Giants. The Giants job, how attractive it is, is largely depending on what you think of Jackson Dart. That said, they have a lot of other things with the Giants, like you said, franchise left tackle and Andrew Thomas, franchise receiver. In, in, in, in. Malik Neighbors on the defensive front. I mean, my goodness. Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, Dexter Lawrence, you have a chance to be dominant up front right out of the chute. And this is why, like the last couple of years, I felt like they were the team right on the edge. But if you love Dart, I think it's got everything that you'd want. Stable ownership, all of that. All right, now let's talk about a team that is still looking for a coach. And whereas the Giants bottomed out, they didn't want to for all these years, the Steelers keep saying we're not bottoming out. The Steelers have this under.500 phobia, which is remarkable because there's four times evidence right in front of them. Think about this. Four division winners. I'm not talking just playoff teams. Four division winners, Bears, Patriots, Jags. Carolina lost 12 games last season. This isn't the NBA where you're drafting 18 and 19 year olds. They're not even mature enough, old enough at the hotel bar to have a cocktail. This isn't baseball, where there's nobody you can draft out of college that comes into your Major League Baseball team and changes outcomes. This is the NFL where it happens all the time. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, always talks about this, that people overestimate the downside to risk and failure. It's never as bad as you think. Kyle Shanahan, four times in San Francisco has been under.500. Think about that. Is he a failure four times? Would you rather be San Francisco or the Steelers? Since 2017, I don't think it's close. For the record, the Texans bottomed out the next year. They had double digit wins. That's the team that just beat you on Monday night. And also, nine of the 14 playoff quarterbacks are top 10 picks. Right? You can get a Lamar Jackson, maybe you're lucky, and Aaron Rodgers falls out of Cal. But 70% of the playoff quarterbacks were top 10 picks. Meaning it's okay to have a bad year. It's not the NBA. And baseball doesn't take years. NBA makes trading impossible. The NFL encourages it. So the Steelers have convinced themselves their house is charming. Yeah, maybe we'll fix just, you know, one of the guest rooms. It's like, no, you've got turquoise tile in three bathrooms, in the kitchen. You see your house as charming. A lot of other people see it as outdated and weird. It's time to take a swing. Pittsburgh, they've fallen in love with the house. And the house isn't just a couple of screws. There, a cabinet, shelf there, you got turquoise tiles all over the place. Art Rooney on the rebuild standards try.

[Colin Cowherd]

To compete to win a championship every year.

[Tom Brady]

I'm not going to say, well, you know, we're going to take a couple years to figure this out and then.

[Colin Cowherd]

We'Ll try to compete.

[Tom Brady]

So I think you try every year. I mean, you know, and as I said, some years you have the horses to really get there, some years you don't. But you try every year. Yeah, you got four examples this year. Division winning teams that have 12 losses last year. This isn't basketball, football. It's not, it's not any other sport. It's the NFL. Go look at the Houston Texans, recent history. Go look at the New England Patriots. It takes about one year to be bad. That's about it. One year at 6 and 11, you compete your butt off. You lose some close games. Six and 11, you get the eighth pick. But if you start looking, we put it up for the TV audience where they draft you. You may look into Lamar Jackson, but it's much easier to get that quarterback or at least the starting point, top 10, 11, 12 pick. Then you don't have to give up the entire farm to get to four. So the Texans were three and 13, had the number two pick, C.J. stroud, D', Amico, Ryan's, what do you know, 10, seven. It just, I don't know what they're afraid of. It's the under 500 phobia. I don't get it. I never have. There's major evidence that 1. Remember the Rams won the Super Bowl. Then they thought we're too expensive, we're too old, we're have two year rebuild. It didn't even take two years. I think they were five and 12 one year. The next year they've been a playoff team since. So the Rams and I had talked to people in the building, they thought it was probably a two year deal to get younger, less expensive and rebuild around Matt Stafford. It took a year. That's all it took. They're a playoff team the next year and have been since Tom Brady's around the corner. J. Mac, I know you don't love Big Blue, but John Harbaugh. This is a job for a Harbaugh. Yeah. Jim West. John in New York. It feels like it's going to work. Get the right tackle, you got the rush ends. Burns and Abdul Carter, you got the weapons and scatter boo and neighbors and the left tackle, Jackson Dart. Stay out of the blue tent. I'll call it right now. 10 and 7. Okay, so it's interesting. I just looked up their opponents for next season. Are you ready for this then? We don't have the schedule order, but we have the opponents.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay.

[Tom Brady]

All right. I know you're terrified. By the way, before I get into it, do I get the Dallas Cowboys twice? You do get the Cowboys twice. Yes, and Washington as well. But you have the AFC South, Jacksonville, Houston, Indy and Tennessee. Two of those teams made the playoffs. But then the tough one, the NFC West, Colin Rams, Niners, Seahawks, Cardinals. They have two trips as of now to the west coast at Seattle, at the Rams. They also have to go to Houston for the record. And they have to go to Detroit as well for the record. Stafford will be 38 if he's the starter. And the Rams almost lost to Carolina twice this year. They did almost, by the way. So eight of the giant 17 opponents are playoff teams this year. Half. What's the big deal? That's. That's a brutal schedule, my friend. I. I'll push back against the 10 wins, that's for sure. Well, I mean you, you, the schedule people always go. Their schedule is easy. Well, couldn't I argue? Brock Purdy and the Niners have an easy schedule. That's why it's successful. You still have to win the games. Well, New England schedule is. I don't know. I watched them. In a playoff game. You got to win the games. I don't care how easy your schedule is. Not college football. There's not, you know, a committee on this stuff. San Francisco had an easier schedule. I watched the Niners play this year when they lost all those players to injuries. How easy was it? Didn't didn't look that easy to me and they were still banging on people so I think you got to win game everybody. Oh, New England schedule is I watched them last weekend dominate a playoff game with against Jim Harbaugh and Herbert. I think they're good. Oh no, we got a lot of stuff today. Tom Brady is around the corner. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app.

[Colin Cowherd]

Fox Sports Radio is taking over YouTube.

[Tom Brady]

And you can be a part of it. Pay attention. Just go to YouTube and search Fox Sports Radio. Hit that subscribe button and smash that notification bell and catch all the videos from your favorite shows. Two pros and a cup of Joe Dan Patrick, Colin Cowherd, Doug Gottlieb, Kavino and Rich the Odd Couple with Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington, the Jason Smith show with Mike Harmon and the Ben Ma Show.

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Tom Brady]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Tom Brady]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Colin Cowherd]

Well, it's, it's certainly a problem, I think when you get to these big moments in big games, whether that's, you know, certainly playoffs or some of these games have happen, happen at the end of the year determining whether they're going to get in or not. The margin of error when you play good teams is just very small. So that's where the fundamentals come into play. You have to, you know, in order to throw the ball accurate.

[Tom Brady]

Okay.

[Colin Cowherd]

And if you throw it accurately, make a decisions, you're not going to throw a lot of interceptions. So like, you know, Aaron Rodgers is a great example of that. If your mechanics are a little off or you're not, you know, that accurate and you get late in the season, there's a little wet conditions, a little windy conditions. You're playing against a defense that's got a good rush and a good coverage scheme, so you're a little unsure where you're throwing. That's where all the problems come into play. So it's over time. You need to refine your techniques so that when you get in these big moments, you're as accurate as you can possibly be because you have the least margin of error. And then you need coaches that are stressing you in practice all the time so that you learn to deal with the stress emotion that you feel when you need to perform at a high level. So this is not a game where, you know, it's very hard to overcome turnovers in the NFL. Last week, I think was very much an anomaly. For the 49ers, they lost the turnover battle to the Eagles and still won the game. The Eagles played very poorly. We covered that game. The 49ers are going to have to play a great game against Seattle. This defense is entirely different than, you know, the ones that they faced. And you saw what happened in the Week 18 game with the Niners and the Seahawks. Niners just couldn't break any tackles. There wasn't much action in the past game. I'm really interested to see how coach Shanahan kind of devises a game plan that gives his guys the best opportunity possible. The loss of Kittle last week hurts, but everyone's been kind of writing the Niners off all year. They've won, I think eight of nine, which is ridiculous considering all their injuries. But I'm really excited to go up there and check this game out in Seattle. It's going to be so loud. This place is going to be rocking. This is going to be one of the great games of the weekend.

[Tom Brady]

You know, it's funny, they're going to go in as an underdog. Tom, you did not go in as an underdog very often. But I said earlier this week, I can see Seattle. And this is what. You went into games knowing you were the better team and being cautious. In fact, if you go look at your super bowl history, not a lot of first quarter scoring. You had a quarterback advantage. You quarterback, you had a coaching advantage. You often were at least as good, generally the better team. So my take is if I'm Seattle, I. My thing is Seattle is going to play kind of cautiously, thinking we got the deeper, better roster, we're at home. How do the Niners. And again, you weren't in this position a lot. They're not as deep as Seattle and they're on the road. And they come out of a physically exhausting game against Philadelphia when you were the rare underdog. Does it change the game plan, the mindset of how you attack it early?

[Colin Cowherd]

I think there's a part of the game where you realize this is playoff football. There's nothing tomorrow that's guaranteed. There's 60 to 70 plays left in this game. Look, with Seattle's defense, last time the Niners played them, they had like less than 50 plays. I think it was like 43 plays or something in the game. They lost the time of possession almost 2 to 1. So it's really interesting to see this game because how challenging it's going to be for these 49ers to go in there as the underdog coming off last week's game and then still having to emotionally get up for an environment that is really hostile to the. To the opposing team, the Niners can do it. They've been there before. They played the Seahawks a lot. It's not like there's going to be some intimidation. It's just, do they have enough firepower? Do they have enough. Can they just find a way through complimentary football, through what they've done defensively? I thought defensively last week they were just awesome. They play so hard. They have such a great play style. The Niners defense, if they can play that way again and buy it enough time. The 49ers have shown a little magic late in the season that they can figure out how to come back and win a lot of these games, even if it's really close.

[Tom Brady]

I remember you and Peyton Manning both faced that great Seattle defense. It got bad for Peyton really fast. But I do remember, I remember how you attacked it. And, yeah, you made sure when your receivers caught the ball, move forward, don't go sideline to sideline. They'll strip the ball. And I do feel Seattle has that because Witherspoon is so aggressive and so strong. The way to beat. I'm wondering if the way to beat this Seattle is a little like the way you beat them, which is, guys, five yards, four yards at a pop is fine. Don't try to get. I mean, I think this Seattle defense looks a little like the one you face, which is hyper aggressive, seeking turnovers super fast. Do you see any similarities?

[Colin Cowherd]

They close space as well as any defense in league. As soon as the ball's caught, boom. There's guys on them. There's linebackers hitting you. Ernest Jones been phenomenal. Reek Woolen's got tremendous speed. He covers up so much ground. Witherspoon's phenomenal. Even worry, the rookies insane. They've got this kind of swarming defense wherever the ball goes. It's like there's these, like, Scud missiles that are just flying in to hit the ball carrier. It's. It's a fascinating defense. And then they got one of the most underrated defensive lines in the league. I think the interior defensive line is phenomenal. They've got four edge guys they rotate in that are all kind of unique. They have different traits. They really challenge the tackles. There's a reason why they're the top scoring defense in the league. They just have really suffocated these offenses by taking the space and just making the field feel like it's so much smaller.

[Tom Brady]

Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

So they haven't allowed like 100 yard rusher in, you know, a season and a half or something like that. It's been insane. Their tackling is good. Their past defense is elite. Their coverage schemes are really tricky for the quarterback. You need a very kind of diversified set of weapons on offense in order to move the ball and they don't give up a ton of big plays. So you're going to have to drive the ball down the field. The Niners are going to have to keep it a low scoring game. Look at their week 18 game. It was 133 at one point and then the ball got intercepted when Purdy threw it to McCaffrey. Ball got batted up in the air. Could have been 13, 10, could have been very tight game. Instead one little mistake like that, one little batted ball and the game is over.

[Tom Brady]

So Matt Stafford, Texas, then he goes to Georgia, then he goes to a dome. Now he's in L. A. It's not exactly the harshest environments in his life. And now he goes and I've told you this before, I thought you were the best cold weather thrower I've ever seen in my life. But Stafford's whole career has been domes and warm weather and it's so fi. And Sunday's supposed to be feel like -9 for you, you know, Michigan, New England. But I remember I've told you before, I've seen pregame shots of guys you faced in Foxborough and I'd be like, oh, Tom's one. It's an hour before the game. Tom's one. How do you psychologically. How do you psychologically, when the environment's not ideal, how do you get out of that space and not think about it and not let affect you?

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, it's a great question, Colin. And it's, it's almost there. Yeah, There could be a mental part to it. A lot of it is there's a physical element to dealing with the cold. It's not just mental toughness. It's also the team that has the advantage is the one that practices, practices in it all the time. And when we were in Foxborough, we practiced outdoor. We had like a nice indoor facility. We used to look at it all the time and be like, man, why don't we ever go in there? It's kind of nice to actually maybe go in. And Bill would be like, we're outside, you know, and it's just your body acclimated over the course of a long season to, you know, the warm weather in the summer as it dropped through the fall and then into the winter you had to deal with 20 degree weather. 15, 15 degree weather with 20 mile an hour winds. And over time you just learned how to deal with. I knew exactly how many layers of clothes to put on per the. Per the temperature. And I was always going, okay, you don't want to be like Ralphie from Toy Story where you got so much damn clothes on you can't move the ball. So you've got to be still have just enough layers on to keep you warm, but not too much. Where you feel restricted in any way. You know, the big lineman, they got so much insulation, you know, they got a lot of body fat. So they're not going to be the ones that are cold. It's kind of the skill players that have, you know, got to use their hands and the gloves and all kind of the fine motor skills you need in the really cold weather. And Matt did play in Detroit for a long time and in that division you did go outside Chip to Chicago in Green Bay. It's not like he hasn't played in it. But I will say when I went to Tampa after my time in New England, it didn't take me very long to get very soft to the cold weather. And we ended up going to Green Bay in the NFC championship game my first year. And very fortunately the game wasn't that cold. It was like 30 to 34 degrees at kickoff. It wasn't minus nine. That is really cold. And that's a big advantage for Chicago because Chicago has played in these conditions now for the last six weeks. It's been terrible weather in the Midwest. They played against Cleveland in the freezing cold. Caleb looked like it was just like he was playing at the Coliseum in la. He was firing that ball over the field. He's a really unique player. They've got a really unique team if there's a team that can figure it out. And I've loved the Rams all year with their kind of their diversification of what they do in offense. Tight ends, receivers, run game, everyone touches it and that's the moving target. Sean keeps everyone off balance. This is going to be another terrific matchup. I'm so excited to see the winner of this game.

[Tom Brady]

Oh, same here. So Josh Allen, you know you can do. I remember an Eli team that went on the road and kept winning road games. Burrow got to a Super bowl with a bunch of road. It's hard. So you know Buffalo's already jammed up in the Northeast. Then they go down to Florida Then they're home. Now they go out to Mile High. And I'm thinking to myself, man, that. And now Josh is not 100%. They're down to three active wide receivers. And then part of me thinks, oh, that, that's. That's what Superman needs. Now's the phone booth. Go to your career. Was there a game where you're down two receivers? It's a second straight roadie. You mostly had Holmes and that you really felt, man, we are. This thing is holding on by a thread. I've got a slot receiver from Boise State. I'm crossing my fingers. James Cook's ankle doesn't go. Did you ever have a moment like that? And what did it play into it emotionally and physically, how it turned out?

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. Interesting. We 2013, we had kind of a rash, injuries in that season. Gronk got injured, we were down. We went to Denver in the championship game. We lost all our backs. We brought in Stephen Jackson to play. It was just a hard year. Losing backs, losing tight ends, kind of offensive line in and out. We're dealing with rookie receivers on the road in the championship game, and we still made it a game. It was really close. I mean, we really could have made some plays early in the game to kind of give us a little momentum, but because we didn't play very well early, I remember I missed the pass to Julian across the field on kind of. That would have gave us a lot of momentum. You just get behind, and when you get behind and you don't have all your weapons, it's really hard to dig yourself out of a hole. Like even a Niner game against the Eagles last week, the Niners have been very, you know, obviously so many injuries, they've been beaten up all year long. They go into the Eagles and they got off to a good start. They went down the field and scored right away, and I was like, holy cow, this is awesome. You know, we. I wasn't expecting that against that kind of great Eagles defense, but that just injects a lot of life into, you know, the visiting team and also deflates the crowd of the. Of the home team because they're like, oh, God. So right away you shut them up. So that's what I think Buffalo needs to do. I know they're depleted. Their past game has been a little volatile. This year they do have an incredible run game, a very good run blocking offensive line, and they've got a really challenging Broncos defense. They're going against another defense that's very similar to Seattle. Really unique structure. Of defense, really well coached. They're always on the details and nuances and then, you know, Josh has got a great opportunity to, you know, this is, this is the game for him. I mean, yeah, there's a lot of career defining games for quarterbacks and when you're a veteran quarterback and you're not dealing with Patrick Mahomes anymore, and that's been kind of a bit of a kryptonite for the Bills over the years, they're looking at like, okay, this is, this is the time for, you know who they feel. Josh, one of the best quarterbacks in ac, to go out there and have his year. He won the MVP last year. He's got a great chance to go on the road. I know he's a little bit undermanned, but, you know, that happens. And Denver may not have everybody or Denver could lose somebody in the first quarter of the game. You don't know how it's going to play out, but it's hard to, it's hard to not love the Buffalo Bills in this story. And, you know, I think it would be just incredible for their fan base, who had been, you know, so enthusiastic about this team, to finally get over the hump and then make it to, you know, a championship game. It's going to be a tough battle, but it's a just, again, another great game.

[Tom Brady]

Your former dynasty, the Patriots and the Texans. I think I'd feel better about it for Drake May if it was year seven. Famously, you had talked to Jake Laser at one point, it was in camp, and you said, you know, I think I've seen everything. I've got the answers to the test. You don't have that. Drake, Drake May doesn't have the answers to all the test questions. And Houston's defense, maybe it's not the Ray Lewis Ravens. Tom, you can turn the sound down. It just looks longer, faster and stronger than everybody in the league. It's, it is. Justin Herbert looked out overwhelmed. Do you worry that Drake just hasn't faced anything close to this this year?

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, it is interesting. I think the Patriots, you know, they haven't had, you know, I would say when you look at their schedule, the quality of competition hasn't been, you know what, some other teams may have it now, that doesn't matter because that's not the Patriots fault. You know, you play who's on the schedule and however those teams are playing, you know, they line you up and you got to go out there and beat who you're going to be. You're now into the final eight is the best eight teams in football. They've earned it. The teams that got the buy had the best seasons in their conferences. The teams, the other three teams that are playing per conference have already won a playoff game. They're riding high on confidence. They feel like, hey, we can hang with anybody. And I thought the Patriots played awesome last week, too. And the Patriots had a. Had a great game. I mean, this is going to be, you know, I'm not. Drake is a really poised, composed kid. The Patriot organization knows how to deal with these type of atmospheres. The fan base, they are. They've been waiting for this since I left. It's going to be rocking. Foxborough, it's a tough place to play. It's going to be cold. But this defensive Houston is ridiculous and they could put a lot of pressure on you. So I'm excited. I'm excited about how. What does Josh do to try to keep some of the risk, you know, mitigated from. From what Drake's done this year? And Drake's played phenomenal. I mean, he's thrown the ball so well, so accurate downfield throws are awesome. His escapability, his ability to move in the pocket, his relatability with his teammate. There's so much to love about him as a player and that's why the Patriots are in this position. So they, they're very high expectations in Foxborough. I mean, they're not, believe me. They don't think that, you know, they're thinking one thing, that they're going to go in there and kick some butt. But Houston's going to have a lot to say about that, too.

[Tom Brady]

Finally I remember. And I think it's hard because you were so good to the very end. Two years after you retired, you would still be the top six quarterback. Aaron, I thought, had a really good year, all things considered. He lost DK Metcalf. The O line was a work in progress. Not a consistent run game, more of a defensive culture. And I remember your retirement video. It was emotional. You were on the beach. You were sitting down by yourself. Did you. And so Aaron's in that space now. Did you have an epiphany? Was it a drive around the block? Did you wake up? Was it a dream? What got you to the. Yeah, I can still play and I could still win a lot of games and I could still make the playoffs. I'm going to call it a career. Do you remember the moment? Because I think Aaron could have a moment like that in the next three weeks.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, I Was, you know, my last season was tough. I was going through. I had a lot of, you know, just a personal, you know, family issue. And it was a challenge and it was very, you know, it just took a lot out of me in terms of, you know, my ability to continue to play. And I, you know, It's, I had 23 years of it, so I didn't feel like I was missing anything. Retiring. I felt like, okay, this time. I always had a goal. 45 was 45 years old. I wanted to spend time with my kids. I felt like, okay, you know, now it's time for me to be at all my kids games. You know, they've been enough to their, of their dad's games and, and Aaron's got his own decisions he's got to make. He doesn't have kids, you know, he's trying to navigate what he wants to do post career. It's hard to give up football too. It's a, it's something that we're really good at. It's something you love to do. You love being out there with your teammates. And I mean, I told a friend the other day, when I got older, I almost enjoyed practice more than playing because playing, it was almost like it was a relief to win. And everyone was out there. I was like, what's another win gonna do for people? You know, it's never satisfying even for me. You know, sometimes winning and not winning like you would expect. So I understood at that point. I probably in my last season, like, okay, this is, this is going to be my last time. I try to put as much as I could into it. I felt like I owed it to my teammates and coaches to give them everything I had. I wish it could have been a little bit better at the end, but it was just a unique situation, a unique year for me. And Aaron's got that too. I mean, Aaron's got his own ways that he deals with, you know, trying to find solutions and you know, I know it's, it's. He's done some different things in the past. I'm sure he's trying to figure out because football is like a marathon the season. Everyone loves to run the first four miles of the marathon and everyone loves to run the last two miles of the marathon, right? But it's those middle, it's those middle 20 miles that are hard because kind of the shine wears off after about a month. And now you got to dig deep into your preparation, into your, you know, into your body work your treatments, your, you know, you got to Dig deep with your team. And because it's such a long season, you need to work really hard over the course of the off season to kind of callous your body for what it takes to be an NFL player. So to me it's do you want to make the commitment year round? Because if you don't, well, then it's never going to turn out well when the season happens. In order to be a great NFL player, you've got to commit and be fully in and that's the only way your team's going to have a chance to win, especially when you're a starting quarterback and only Aaron can decide that for himself.

[Tom Brady]

Well, Niners at the Seahawks, the Pacific Northwest. I mean, honestly, it's just you can see the game, you can see the environment. You've had a great year at Fox and the world will be watching, my friend. Great job today. And I can't wait to watch.

[Colin Cowherd]

I can't wait to watch. I got the best team on the field. Our team at Fox, our whole crew, we love being up there. We love working together. We love kind of bringing our love of the game to the fans and, and where you're going to see us Sunday afternoon or, excuse me, Saturday night. It's going to be awesome. I'm bringing my earplugs. It's going to be loud. That environment is so cool. I mean, my ears are still ringing from the last time I played at that stadium and. And it's going to be rocking on Saturday night.

[Tom Brady]

All right, Tom Brady, seven trophies. Great seeing you, bud.

[Colin Cowherd]

See you, bud. I'll see you hopefully next week.

[Tom Brady]

All right. That was really good stuff. There's just a ton of good stuff there. Yeah, I mean Aaron's now married. I mean it's just there's a lot of different things that go into play. I don't know, but it's Tom at the end, when he retired was still a top seven eight quarterback. Like that's that. It's one thing if you're falling apart, but Brady didn't have a lot of injuries. You know, you just make decisions and it's life happens. Man, that, that 49er Seahawk game, that is one for the ages. I we get. How lucky did we get last week? I mean this games were incredible. In Chicago, it's the Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific. Everyone deserves to be connected. That's why T Mobile and US Cellular are joining forces. Switch to T Mobile and save up to 20% versus Verizon by getting built in benefits they leave out. Check the math@t mobile.com switch and now T mobile is in US cellular stores.

[Colin Cowherd]

Savings versus Comparable Verizon plans plus the cost of optional benefits plan features and taxes and fees vary. Savings with three plus lines include third.

[Tom Brady]

Line free via monthly bill credits.

[Colin Cowherd]

Credit stop if you cancel any lines.

[Tom Brady]

Qualifying credit required. Reggie, I just sold my car online. Let's go grandpa.

[Colin Cowherd]

Wait, you did?

[Tom Brady]

Yep, on Carvana. Just put in the license plate, answered a few questions, got an offer in minutes. Easier than setting up that new digital picture frame.

[Colin Cowherd]

You don't say.

[Tom Brady]

Yeah, they're even picking it up tomorrow. Talk about fast. Wow, way to go. So about that picture frame. Ah, forget about it. Until Carvana makes one, I'm not interested. Car selling made easy on Carvana pickup fees and anti Saturday on Fox. After dethroning the defending champs Christian McCaffrey leads the Niners against Sam Darnold in the top seeded Seahawks. The divisional round playoffs Presented by Intuit TurboTax Saturday 7:30 Eastern, 4:30 Pacific on Fox. Obviously Saturday it's Buffalo and Josh Allen at Denver. Think about this. If Josh Allen was to win a Super super bowl, listen to this journey. He would have beaten the Jags on the road. Jags number eight defense. He would then have to beat Denver on the road cross country. Number three defense. He could eventually face the Houston Texans on the road. Number two defense and then eventually could face the Seattle Seahawks neutral site. The number one defense if he wins it is an all time list. This with a wide receiver room that's down to three active players. Brandon Cooks is one of them. He arrived week 13. Keon Coleman's another one. He appears to be a bust. It'll be a slot receiver and cross your fingers. So this journey is this, this is an all timer. Now the good news is if you look at the quarterbacks remaining, there's a lot of talent but there's one old guy that doesn't move around and a lot of inexperience. Bo Nix, Drake May. Sam Darnold doesn't have much of a rich playoff history. Caleb Williams, Brock Purdy. It's pretty clear when you look at that list who's got the most firepower. Here was Bo Nix this week on facing Josh Allen. He's incredible. He's a, you know, MVP of the league for a reason.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know, he continues to make play after play when sort of the game's not necessarily looking like he can make the play.

[Tom Brady]

He just goes out there and you know, does superhero Stuff.

[Colin Cowherd]

It's one of those things where he can do it all at a high level.

[Tom Brady]

And it's, it's always been fun to watch. You don't want to say now or never, but now would be a good time because Mahomes is probably back into it. Justin Herbert probably gonna have both his tackles next year. My guess is Joe Burrow or Lamar or both will be back in it. It's not a now or never, but I mean, it's going to be a big lift. It's a lot of the best defenses. His wide receiver group is breaking down and Josh is probably 80% to this point. I was really surprised by how they played at Jacksonville. I really was. I, I, I thought, I mean, I watched Jacksonville play parts of every game and three to four full games and I thought they were more consistent. They were at home. Trevor Lawrence wasn't making mistakes. Emmanuel Sanders, a former teammate of Josh Allen, talked about him yesterday to close our show out. He's 6 foot 5 and just, just a machine and then just a rocket of a horn. He was one of the best teammates that I had. I truly enjoyed being around him. It was always light energy, like always having fun. Yeah, when we get in the game, he would turn it on. But it was always fun to go out and compete with him because you.

[Colin Cowherd]

Know that he was, he was, he.

[Tom Brady]

Was going to give it his all. And that's why I always respected Josh. And you know, the success that he's having is no surprise because he wants it. And I know how bad he wants that super bowl too. Yeah. And Emmanuel talked about by, you know, you tend to think players make the coaches, but Emmanuel said, really, the coaches largely make the players. Now I think that is to a degree true. I think Lawrence Taylor, Aaron Donald, Reggie White, Calvin Johnson, Josh Allen would win anywhere in professional football. Now at Wyoming, he didn't win, but he didn't have, you know, he wasn't as good as he is now. Obviously there are a handful of players who aren't really reliant on systems or coaches to be successful. Now you may not hoist a trophy without the great coach, the Jimmie Johnson, you know, without the, without the Belichick, the Andy Reid. But Josh is one of those players that kind of falls into a Lawrence Taylor, Calvin Johnson, Aaron Donald, Reggie White. It doesn't, doesn't really matter where you put them. It doesn't matter. You get offensive coach, defensive coach, less than stellar coordinator. They're just different. He is just different. By the way, Brady was one of those. He won with Charlie Weiss. He won in Tampa with Bruce Arians. You know, he won with Josh McDaniel. Some guys are just going to succeed. But to get to the trophy room, that's generally when you really need somebody to accompany you. A kingmaker at some level. But if you look at the potential journey for Josh. Jags defense, Denver defense, Texans defense, Seahawks defense. Three neutral or three road. One neutral. That is a. That is a lift. Joel Klatt around the corner. Kane's Hoosiers Monday. Greg Cosell today as well. In Chicago, it's the Herd.

[Colin Cowherd]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Tom Brady]

Guaranteed Human.