← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
THE HERD - Hour 2 - Tom Brady joins The Herd, Bears vs Packers, the future for the Eagles
00:41:34
Loading summary
Transcript95 lines
- [00:00]
Tom Brady
This is an I Heart podcast.
- [00:02]
Colin Cowherd
Guaranteed human Whether you want to maximize your performance or form healthier habits this year, knowing what your body needs can help put you on the right path. With Quest, you can buy your own lab tests online@questhealth.com no doctor visit required for purchase. Quest has a huge selection of tests, including the new Elite Health Profile, a panel made for men and Women and tracks 85 plus health markers affecting the heart, liver, kidneys, hormones, metabolism and immune system, delivering a ton of insights in one snapshot. For a limited time, save on select lab tests@questhealth.com with code herd10. That's herd10 at checkout. Terms apply. Thanks for listening to the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports radio at noon to 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific 11. Find your local station for the herd at foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartradio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.
- [01:07]
Rob Parker
Now let's get this party started.
- [01:09]
Fox Sports Radio Announcer
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
- [01:14]
Colin Cowherd
Here we go. Hour two, Miami, an Ole Miss tonight. I like the Hurricanes. Keep your eye on Trinidad Chambliss, though, kids. Crazy, crazy fun. You're gonna see some really good quarterback play. Carson Beck, Trinidad Chambliss. Then tomorrow night, Dante Moore, Fernando Mendoza. That's some good quality college quarterback play. Very excited. You know, it's interesting is that sometimes, and I understand the attractiveness of this, that there's an outlier or an exception or an anomaly. Like when, when Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time and you look where he gets drafted and then Brock Purdy's playing. Everybody's like, oh, you can find quarterbacks everywhere. Twelve of the 14 quarterbacks were drafted in the first round that are in the playoffs and Jalen Hurts was top of the second. Oh, by the way, the three teams that just missed the playoffs, you know what those are? Detroit, Tampa Bay, Baltimore. Their quarterbacks also taken in the first round. So. And Brock Purdy. Let's be honest, between George Kittle, Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey, those are all first ballot hall of Famers. He's got generational tech. George Kittle's the top three tight end ever. Top three or four tied to, he's still great. Trent Williams, top six, seven left tackle all time. McAffrey's the third best running back I've ever seen behind Peyton and Barry Sanders and the quarterback whisper. So I think it's a great story. Tom Brady would not be drafted in the Sixth round, if he came out today, he led the Big Ten in completion percentage. I mean, J.J. mcCarthy was a game manager. He went in the first round. So I think these are great stories. I understand everybody loving the. Oh my God, you can get quarterbacks everywhere. 23 of the top 25 offensive tackles left tackles in league history or first round. The planet only makes so many guys at 6, 7, 3, 20 with great feet. They go in the first round. So there's always been this feeling, oh, it's just you don't know what you get. No, there's a lot of misses in the first round, but you're great quarterbacks. You know, Tom Brady's not going late rounds now. People say, well, what about Dak Prescott? How many conference championships he been in? He's really good, but he went in the fourth round. Kirk Cousins, where are all the, where are all the Super Bowls? The great ones go early and yes, Kurt Warner to me is, you know, bagging groceries. That's all time crazy. But, but, but it's like the, the movie Hoosiers is based on a true story. The movie Miracle is based on a true story. I mean, Kurt Warner is the amazing story. Right, but that's not the rule is you get your, you get your left tackles and you get your quarterbacks. I mean, you look around the NFL right now, you look Miles Garrett. Well, there's a first round guy. So you know, Brady led the Big Ten incompletion percentage. So he would. He, he not. He's not going later round does. I mean, you take guys now in the first round. I mean, Josh Allen didn't. And Mahomes didn't have winning records in college. But I mean, Tom is 6, 5. Well, he wasn't a great athlete with Jared Goff. Jared Goff went number one from Cal. Was he a great athlete? It's just, it's, it is. And people say, well, Brock Purdy, why did he go last? The Niners skipped on him six times. Again, why did Kurt Warner not get drafted? There are absolutely exceptions to everything. There's there, you know, in the NBA, I do think it really helps to be strong, physical with a great vertical jump and hyper athletic. But you do realize who led the NBA in scoring in the 1980s. Alex English. Who? I'm not sure if I fold this paper, he could have jumped it over that. Jumped over that. I mean, I loved Alex English, but he played in the right system in Denver with I think Doug Moe. They scored, they had, you know, it was Issel and Fat Lever and Alex English. Alex English led the NBA in scoring in the 80s. He was not dunking. He a little bit of an SGA feel to him. I mean, look at SGA right now. He's your NBA like scoring guy. SGA doesn't fit the profile of wildly dynamic jump over Michael Jordan guy. There's outliers to everything. And I just think the scouting right now is so good. Every game is on television. It's just, I mean I, I mean I like right now Mendoza and Dante Moore, if they come out, those are really good quarterbacks. You know, guys transfer now. So they're not only identified in the NFL, they're, they're identified. I mean Kurt Signetti identified Mendoza at Cal. So there's much better coaching, much better offensive coaching today. Tom Brady would not be a late round pick when he led the Big Ten in completion percentage. He would not fall to that, that slot today. And with that, Tom Brady is joining us live. He'll be doing the niners Eagles game 7 time Super bowl champ. So I went and looked, this is funny, Tom. I went and looked at your highlights this morning of your first NFL start. Tom scampering for a rushing touchdown, playing in the, you know, playing in. I lived there for 10 years, New England weather. Were you nervous? First start? Go back to it. What were you like emotionally?
- [07:04]
Tom Brady
It was actually such a great day for football. When you see that there's only few kind of games in your career where you have that type of weather. I remember going out there and pregame warm up and it was like six inches of snow on the ground. I thought, okay, the pass rush isn't going to be too tough today. So kind of me plowing through the, the snow and diving in there for the touchdown, that was one of the memorable moments in my career. And I never played in a game. There was maybe one other game where I had that type of weather conditions, but for so many reasons I still can remember the way the snow was falling in pregame and you know, I have these visions of kind of, in a weird way I can kind of go back to that day and, and relive it in my own mind when I see these highlights. So thanks for bringing it up. There's a lot of great memories. Probably not for the Raider fans or from my boy Charles Woodson who still, you know, literally, I think every time we see each other in some form or fashion, you know, some type of fumble or non fumble event comes up, but it was a really special first playoff start for me and it was, it was I think the last game in that stadium as well. So it was a lot of great memories.
- [08:09]
Colin Cowherd
So let's talk Eagles 49ers. I was saying to the staff yesterday, we were thinking of questions and I said, the Eagles are the opposite of your Patriots. They're loud, there's drama, they're uneven, they have half, they don't complete passes. I'm not exactly sure what Sirianni is, but he's a winner. Your Patriots. I always said this. You guys were like the brilliant accounting firm. I knew what I was getting every Sunday. The weather didn't matter, the opponent didn't. I knew exactly, when I lived in Connecticut, what the game would look. You'd have maybe one game a year where it unraveled. I. I don't even know series to series, what I get from Philadelphia. You've done their games. How do you explain their success when they're this uneven, this loud, consistently?
- [08:52]
Tom Brady
Yeah, you're right. But let me go back. First of all, famously, New England isn't known for drama. I think we had more gates than Logan international airport for 20 years. There was always some sort of drama happening with our team over the course of the year. And I think it's the product of having a lot of successful moments too, where, you know, I look at Philly and they got a top media market and in the Northeast in general, I think there's always these environments that are a little bit tougher for the fans, for the players. You know, it's a tough city, It's a hard nosed city. The fans, they expect a lot every year. So they've had success, obviously in the Super Bowl a few years ago, then they won it last year and, you know, now it's like, well, we should just win every game. But the reality of the NFL is you don't win every game. The competition's really tough. And then when you cover the team, you. You're always looking for little chinks in the armor. And I think that ends up kind of feeling like, you know, there's distraction or drama because A.J. brown doesn't get every target, or Saquon's not rushing for 2,000 yards again. But understand, in some ways those are anomalies. You know, that season Saquon had last year was an anomaly. He's a phenomenal player. He's going to be a Hall of Famer. But no running back rushes for 2,000 yards every year. So when it's less than 2,000, we all make a big drama that it's not two, but the reality Is. It's probably closer. You know, this year is maybe a little down for him for a number of different reasons, but he's still a phenomenal player. The Eagles, they still got a great football team if. If their drama and they're sitting in the position they're in. I'm sure Coach Sirianni would take the drama every single week, the way that he ends up approaching his management to the team, but I think they're as dangerous as a playoff team as there is alive right now.
- [10:44]
Colin Cowherd
So there's an interesting stat with Kyle Shanahan, and I love Shanahan. I think he's the great play designer of generation, like Andy was for years or Bill Walsh. But there is a weird stat, and I think it does point to it. When a stat gets too weird. I said last hour. It's usually a personality thing. He has the best place sheet in the league. They use the most motion, but he doesn't come from behind. There's a remarkable number with Shanahan, like if he trails by seven plus points at half, they don't win. My knock is that he is a little tied to the play sheet that I think a coach should be more, way more than Google Maps. You gotta kind of go with the flow, right? Go with the flow. And I want to go Back to Josh McDaniel because you, Sean Payton, Bo Nix, Ben Johnson, Caleb, you were a guy. Elway was this. Sometimes you rip it up and start over. Give me some examples. In the playoffs, are there times, maybe those Baltimore games, Tom, when you went into it and said, guys, this isn't working, we have got to change. I mean, did you have like dramatic halftime moments like that?
- [11:51]
Tom Brady
I don't know if it's dramatic, but I think when you have the continuity that we had over a period of time in the playoffs, you could quickly adapt, you know, because you. It's hard in the playoffs if you get down early in the game. And, you know, we. I had a few games this year where teams were, you know, Chicago, for example, like, Caleb had six yards passing in the first half, then he comes out in the second half and he rattles off 200 plus yards and they win the game. And it's a dramatic kind of come from behind win that the Bears would have. But in the playoffs, it becomes much more difficult to come back by 10 points or more against a very good football team.
- [12:22]
Fox Sports Radio Announcer
Right.
- [12:23]
Tom Brady
So I would just say, though, the important part to realize in all this is every team is built a specific way. The 49ers have always been Built to run the football, to play good defense and use a lot of play action pass to get explosives. The strength of their team isn't the wideout position this year, you know, with iuk's situation, they kind of brought in some, some, some, you know, receivers that Juwan Jennings I like, Bourne I like. But at the same time I would say the strength their team is throwing to the halfback, throwing the ball to the tight end and it's not kind of maybe what we see at a traditional Kyle Shanahan offense. It doesn't mean they can't come back. I do think it's difficult with some of these systems though that are built on the run game and play action pass to come back. You know, I was a part of more, I would say a drop back passing team where our passing concepts were very detailed, very methodical. Our protection schemes very methodical and detailed. I probably had 20 to 30 different protection schemes. I would say the west coast offense has maybe half of those. So there are things that that west coast offense has done with some of these coaches they can do that are tremendous when they play in their style and I think when they get out of their style, ultimately that's what you're trying to do. When you're playing good teams, you're trying to get to play, you're trying to get those teams to play left handed. You're taking away their stars, you're minimizing their strengths and you're maximizing their weakness. There's always a formula to win. I think the 49ers, they're going to win this week. They better get out to a lead, they better play from ahead and they're going to need to create some issues for this Eagles offense to get them off track a bit too because they play so well and they have performed very well in the biggest moments.
- [14:06]
Colin Cowherd
So one of the similarities with you and Mahomes is that you both had great success early in the playoffs. So you never had this thing hanging over your head like, oh, they can't win those close ones. Well, Buffalo's over its last eight playoff road games. Josh is owing five. Usually golf and baseball, there's downtime. The sport can get into your head. Hockey, football, basketball, you don't have prolonged slumps. You got a series coming up. But I do think, Tom, it's tied at 24 late. Buffalo's got the ball. I can't believe they. I think all the pressure in the world's on Buffalo. Of all the teams this weekend that's got to play A little psychological part, does it not?
- [14:53]
Tom Brady
Yeah, well, I think it's very psychological, very emotional. When they've been in these situations, they haven't played the type of winning football needed in order for them to advance. And they've. Sometimes they've gone against, in my opinion, Patrick and the Chiefs team, which has been, you know, the team that everyone's always aiming for, and you get caught up in those games against, you know, the Chiefs, they've been a tough out for a long time. Now they're out of it this year. So can Buffalo find it within themselves to play their best football in the biggest moments? And look, some weeks they've looked great. The passing game looks great. Obviously their runners, one of the top backs in the NFL. And the way Josh plays when he's playing his rhythm, you know, he's virtually impossible, MVP caliber season last year, and I thought he played very well this season. So the good part about the playoffs is it's not where you play, it's not who you play, it's how you play. And if it's really interesting, the playoffs this year, how you play in these games is going to determine who moves on. The team that doesn't turn the ball over, controls the line of scrimmage, plays well in situational football, makes the stops in the red area or, you know, or it goes the opposite way. And that's why I think this playoffs more so than what I can remember in the past. And the NFL's done an unbelievable job this season with the parody in these games. And it's been so fun for me to cover them for Fox from my vantage point. I'm sure it's been very fun for the fans watching at home.
- [16:16]
Colin Cowherd
So, Bears, packers meeting for a third time. Would you rather have familiarity in the playoffs, a constant rival or opponent, or did you like the element of surprise? They don't know you. You don't know them, your tricks. I mean, I don't. Which side do you like playing a team for a third time?
- [16:38]
Tom Brady
I would say that's pretty tough. Look, if you're in the playoffs, it shouldn't matter. You know who you're playing, where you're playing. Again, this is all about like, you're in. You've got a shot, you got an opportunity. Now what are you going to do with that opportunity? I've called five Chicago Bears games this season. Nobody thought they would have the type of season that they've had. We had them in Green Bay, where Caleb threw a kind of an interception at the last play of the game to Keyshawn Nixon which sealed the victory for, for the Packers. Then all of a sudden this crazy comeback, which was America's game of the week, where they recover an onside kick and they go to overtime and Caleb hits the bomb downfield and it was, this is what you love about it. These two teams know each other so well. Guys are coming out of, you know, some unheralded receivers from the Bears have made some plays late in these games. So it is a super tight matchup for this game. This is one of the most intriguing games of the weekend. I can't wait to see how both teams played. And look, they know each other so well. So now it really does come down to the fundamentals and possession of the football and knowing your assignments, details. These are really tremendous programs this season. Great coaches, you know, we'll see if who's the most prepared when they take the field.
- [17:50]
Colin Cowherd
So it's such an offensive league now. 12 of the 14 quarterbacks are first round guys. I, if I was Seattle, if I was Seattle, I would not want to buy. I think they're young, young, hot. I'd want to play. Same with Denver. I, I don't, I'm not a big buy fan. Now again, you, you played in the division, you had a lot of those. So I, I, I, I, I do wonder. Seattle and Denver aren't playing. Did you like the extra time or did you just want to keep playing?
- [18:23]
Tom Brady
Yeah, so it's a great question. It is not a week of rest. Let me say that. It's a week of preparation.
- [18:30]
Colin Cowherd
Right?
- [18:30]
Tom Brady
And it's a week of preparation for what is going to be the most difficult game of the season. Because it's, whoever you play will have won a playoff game. As you approach that game and that week, they're going to have tremendous confidence. Whoever you're going to play, they're like, man, we're already in the playoffs. We want a game. These guys have been sitting there, not preparing, they're rested. But to me it was like, what can we get done during this week that's going to give us an advantage for the following week? So to actually have the week off, to really take inventory this late in the year, what you're good at, what you're not good at, I always thought was really important. I felt like I was really fresh going into the divisional round. I'm sure with the, you know, there's some great coaching. Obviously Sean Payton with, with what he's done and you know, young Mike McDonald is a coach and kind of the valuable experience that he's gained from last year into this year. Seattle's been tremendous on defense. Their defensive line is one of the greatest, you know, D lines in football. Probably the best D line in football. They're suffocating on defense, and that goes a long way. If they, you know, get a turnover to going to Seattle and trying to win with that crowd noise, that is a very, very tough out to try to get Seattle out of the playoffs.
- [19:43]
Colin Cowherd
So I'm a Stafford over Drake May. Mvp. And the reason being, I think even the NFL uses strength of schedule in tiebreakers and staffer schedule. He beat number one, Houston defense, number two. Seattle was great against the Jags. Defense played Philadelphia. This is not a knock on Drake May, but they had the weakest schedule in 26 years. I do think there is. I think schedule has to matter when one team has the weakest in 26 years and the other has an excellent schedule. I don't know if you voice this publicly. I. I think you're leaning Stafford, are you not?
- [20:16]
Tom Brady
Yeah, I just said I. Look, I love Drake May, what he's done in his second year working with Josh McDaniels, who's another tremendous coach and done such a great job kind of understanding what Drake's capable of. And Drake's taken advantage of every opportunity that he's got. And I don't know, I always think in these awards, when you say one thing that's positive about someone means you're saying something negative about the other. It's not like that.
- [20:37]
Colin Cowherd
All.
- [20:38]
Tom Brady
They both had incredible years. I just see Matt Stafford as a Hall of Fame level quarterback that has played his best season of football. And he's done it against, you know, in any conditions, 46 touchdown passes. He's just been incredible. And I just love that, the way he leads his team and, you know, there's no bad choice at this point. You're talking about some of the best players in the league. But Matt has, in my opinion, he's just really exceeded everyone's expectations this season. And what an incredible quarterback. What a career he's had.
- [21:10]
Colin Cowherd
Let wrap it up with this. There's a. There's a famous clip where you go to the sidelines and Belichick says, settle down, Tommy, settle down. You're like, I am. The guy ran the wrong route. So Drake may first playoff game. Caleb Williams. That crowd's going to be electric. First playoff game. You know, Jalen Hurts has been around the block. Josh Allen. So how did you. I mean, even at the end, you get to Super Bowls.
- [21:36]
Tom Brady
Like, yeah.
- [21:37]
Colin Cowherd
How. How did you control emotionally that first pass, that first series? Because it's just playing at the Masters is different than the Buick Open. Playing a playoff game is different than week 12. How do you control it?
- [21:52]
Tom Brady
Yeah. So I guess the point, Colin, is first of all, that clip with Belichick, I always think, funny, because he would never come up to me at the first quarter of first series of a game and tell me to settle down until I realized he was mic'd up. And then that came out and I was like, oh, God, now I got it. But it's a good exchange because I actually can sink back into that memory as well. And. And we had such a great rapport, actually. Always am in touch with him, and he's been a great mentor for me, and he was always trying to get the best out of me, which is like what a lot of these great coaches in the playoffs are doing with their quarterbacks. And how do you prepare these quarterbacks for playoff football? You put pressure on them every single week to be their best, and you don't wait for the playoffs to go. All right, guys, well, now it's playoffs. Let's do something different. You've been preparing them all off season since April so that they can be at their best when it. When it matters the most for their team. So I just felt like the pressure to succeed on a daily basis in great organizations and to not let your teammates down prepared you for the biggest moments of the season when everybody's watching, and that's when you need to play your best. The margin of error is the smallest because you're playing the best teams. So you need to be at your best. And the only way to be at your best on these days is to think about over the course of the entire off season, you need to be at your best every day. And that's the reality of professional sports. That's what the great athletes do. That's what the great quarterbacks do. Constantly putting pressure on themselves to succeed regardless of the moment. And that prepares you for these big moments that they're about to face this weekend.
- [23:26]
Colin Cowherd
You know, we have so many interesting offensive stories, and a franchise that doesn't get any attention is Jacksonville. And I think you and you probably like Trevor Lawrence at Clemson. We all thought, yeah, but he was kind of turnover prone. And then he gets Liam Cohen. And this will be my final question. What is Liam doing to create clarity? I always felt Trevor got lured into bad picks, and now he doesn't. Is it scheme? Is it tempo. What is Liam doing that we get the real Trevor Lawrence now?
- [24:01]
Tom Brady
Well, it's a lot of things, and I think Liam's done a great job. Even when he was at Tampa last year, he has a couple opportunities to, you know, really kind of take the skill sets that he's learned from other coaches that he's been around and then morph them into a system where they have a lot of good skill players. And Trevor is, you know, coach has got to get the players a lot of layups. Good ocs get. Get their quarterbacks layups. You don't have to thread the needle on every single throw. You got guys that are wide open. Great. There's a big margin of error on a big portion of the passes. That's the goal of an offensive coordinator. It's to. How do we create through our scheme either the route concepts or run concepts. How can we give our players a little bit of an advantage? Because the reality is if you don't give them an advantage, I'd liken it to a golfer. Would you rather hit a three iron or four iron into a green or would you rather hit a pitching wedge right over time, the more pitching wedge you hit when your opponent's hitting three irons or four irons, the more of an advantage you have. And the good coordinators like Liam and I know he's a head coach, but he calls the plays like a Kyle Shanahan, like a Josh McDaniels, like a Sean Payton. These guys are hitting sand wedges in the greens and that's what you want to do. And then ultimately the quarterback needs to play a part of that. As you mature, you get older, you start to, you know, give your. Your coordinator. Okay, these are the things I really love. This is what I'm really confident you become an extension of the coaching staff and that's when you really start firing on all cylinders. That's what I did. That's what Drew Brees did. That's what Peyton Manning did. We had our own imprint on what the game plan should be. We were totally confident in everything that was being called, which allowed us to go out there and execute at our best.
- [25:41]
Colin Cowherd
49Ers Eagles Sunday, 4 Eastern on Fox. That it's. There's going to be some records broken. That is going to be so intense. Two huge NFL blue bloods. Tom, as always, I appreciate you stopping by.
- [25:58]
Tom Brady
Hey, thanks for inviting me back. I know Shanks and Zager had to call to try to get me on, so eventually, you know, you'll just invite Me, yourself. But I'm glad we were able to make this work, certainly as we go into the playoffs. Thank you.
- [26:08]
Colin Cowherd
Tom Brady, seven time super bowl champ. Yeah, he is. You know, I don't like to, I don't like to bother people. You know, maybe I'll just get on the phone and, you know, make things happen. That last answer is fascinating. It's a really great way to put it. The more times you can hit a pitching wedge instead of a three iron, the better the golfer. No matter how well you hit the three iron, if I get to hit the wedge or my nine or my eight and you're hitting fairway woods over the course of time, I'm going to win the round. That's a great way to put it. You got to create some layups. You got to give these guys. Not everything. Hey, Trevor, just go be unbelievable. I always said this about Michael Jordan. Michael mastered the mid range jumper and about three times a game Michael would put the tongue out, switch hands in midair and you'd be like, oh, okay, that's Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan's career was 91% 16 footers. 16. But you get the highlights and you're like, oh, that's. No, it wasn't. You know, it's the same with Mahomes. Mahomes just doesn't miss any layups. You go to the Super Bowls with Mahomes, he always has one huge scramble late in the fourth quarter of super bowl wins and there's probably a cup. There's a left handed throw or there's a red zone. Player like okay, that's insane. You get about three of them of his 34 drop backs. That's it. It's the herd.
- [27:35]
Fox Sports Radio Announcer
One more heard. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.
- [27:45]
Colin Cowherd
Hey, it's Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington from the Odd Couple on Fox Sports Radio.
- [27:50]
Rob Parker
And in addition to hearing us live weeknights from 7 to 10pm Eastern on Fox Sports Radio, we are excited to announce brand new YouTube channel for the show.
- [27:59]
Colin Cowherd
That's right, you can now watch the Odd couple live on YouTube every day.
- [28:05]
Rob Parker
All you got to do, search Odd Couple FSR on YouTube again.
- [28:09]
Colin Cowherd
YouTube.
- [28:09]
Rob Parker
Just search Odd Couple FSR. Check us out on YouTube and subscribe.
- [28:15]
LifeLock Advertiser
The new year brings new health goals and wealth goals. Protecting your identity is an important step. Your info is in endless places that could expose you to identity theft leading to lost funds. Lifelock monitors millions of data points per second. If your identity is stolen, LifeLock's restoration specialist will fix it, guaranteed, or your money back. Resolve to make identity, health and wealth part of your New year's goals with LifeLock, save up to 40% your first year. Visit LifeLock.com sports terms apply.
- [28:46]
Mike De La Rocha
A new year doesn't mean erasing who you were. It means honoring what you've survived and choosing how you want to grow. It means giving ourselves permission to feel what we've been holding and knowing that it's okay to ask for help. I'm Mike De la Rocha, host of Sacred Lessons. This podcast is a space for men to talk openly about mental health, grief, relationships, and the patterns we inherit but don't have to repeat here. We slow down. We listen, we learn how vulnerability becomes strength and how healing happens in community, not in isolation. If you're ready to let go of what no longer serves you and step into the year with clarity, compassion and purpose, Sacred Lessons is your companion on your healing journey. Listen to Sacred lessons with Mike Delarocha on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Follow Sacred Lessons with Mike Delarocha and start listening on the free I iheartradio app today.
- [29:50]
Colin Cowherd
Big story out there. Miami Dolphins have fired Mike McDaniel. Keep your eye on John Harbaugh at least over the weekend, watching what happens in Buffalo, watching what happens through the NFL playoffs. But the New York Giants, I felt, had the number two job opening to Baltimore yesterday. But the Giants have a gm. Miami does not. And Harbaugh, if he takes that job, he'll get the pick at gm. Harbaugh's history. They like personnel, say extensive personnel, say J. Mac with the news.
- [30:31]
Rob Parker
No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.
- [30:33]
Fox Sports Radio Announcer
This is the Herd line news.
- [30:36]
Greg Cosell
All right, Colin, a couple weeks ago there was a report about a potential coaching swap. Remember, there was a Stefanski for McDaniel trade. We kind of laughed it off. Like, come on, that stuff doesn't happen. Well, interestingly, Mike McDaniel was fired today. Stefanski had previously been fired by the Browns. Is there a world where the coaches end up in the opposite teams? According to a report from Browns beat writer Mary Kay Cabot, that could happen. Mike McDaniel is a guy that the Browns want to interview for their head coaching job. I didn't think there was any possibility this do you think McDaniel is clamoring to coach either Dylan Gabriel or Shador Sanders?
- [31:19]
Colin Cowherd
I think Mike McDaniel is one of those guys. If he took a year off, is that first of all there's going to be seven job openings next year in the cycle. Is that his resume over time will wear well. You, you will forget his last year. That was a mess. You'll go back and go. He got, he got two into the playoffs twice with a bad gm. So I think sometimes and coaches aren't good at this. Take a deep breath. I mean Mike Vrabel took a year off. He had more power a year later.
- [31:54]
Greg Cosell
Well, he had done a lot in Tennessee. They were the number one seed. You know, has McDaniel done enough to warrant another head coaching job?
- [32:01]
Colin Cowherd
He made the playoffs for an organization that doesn't make the playoffs much.
- [32:06]
Greg Cosell
So I would ask you what's the, what's the primary difference between say Cliff Kingsbury who made the playoffs with Kyla Marie in Arizona and Mike McDaniel in Miami? Are they similar? Just offensive guys who maybe can't be that alpha in the locker room and be that Dan Campbell pounding the table kind of.
- [32:22]
Colin Cowherd
I think there's some similarities. No, I think there's probably some similarities. They're great play designer play callers. They're not necessarily great culture guys. And I, I think the legends of the game are mostly culture guys. Andy Reid, you know, Brady talked about this. Andy Reid is, is an exception. Shanahan's an exception. But you know, a lot of guys are just their walk around guys. They walk around, they coach the coaches. So. But I mean making the playoffs twice, I mean if you're going to fire Stefanski, who I think is considered two time coach of the year, a better version of McDaniel, why would you do that? Why not just keep Stefanski?
- [33:04]
Greg Cosell
Right. So, so which leads me to my next question, Colin. If you're advising Mike McDaniel and you're like, hey man, Brown's job opening, do you want it? You could be the head coach or you could go be the OC of Jaden Daniels in Washington or the OC of Jared Goff in Detroit. Is that more attractive than head coach of the Browns with like no quarterback, Like a kind of a bad quarterback situation? That's a tough one. I don't know what you'd advise them to do.
- [33:30]
Colin Cowherd
I think Arizona and Cleveland and are not good jobs.
- [33:34]
Greg Cosell
Or Tennessee, I'm sorry, Tennessee. Is that a good job?
- [33:37]
Colin Cowherd
Can be a little bit political. Everybody that leaves Tennessee, you ever notice they flourish? Derrick Henry, A.J. brown, Kevin Byard. Have you ever noticed that everybody that leaves is great? It's got a little bit of a Jets feel to it. Why, why, why aren't they as good in Tennessee. Why does Vrabel leaves immediately? I mean, look at. Vrabel leaves. Home run AJ Brown, Kevin Byard, Derrick Henry. What? Why is that, that everybody. It's a pretty good, pretty good idea that things aren't right when people leave your company and elevate.
- [34:14]
Greg Cosell
It's a fair point.
- [34:15]
Colin Cowherd
You know, for years and years people left New England and they didn't. They disappeared. Randy Moss is the greatest player. He leaves. It's like, where did Randy go? Like the Dion Branch wide receiver. You're. Oh, a guy's amazing. He leaves. Tom. Well, not quite the same receiver. So it's. I think. I just don't think Tennessee's wired right.
- [34:37]
Tom Brady
Okay.
- [34:37]
Greg Cosell
All right, let's move back to the John Harbaugh story. He left the Ravens or the Ravens dumped him after 18 seasons after that brutal Week 18 loss. I'm just curious, Colin, do you think he's still coaching? If Tyler Loop makes the field goal and the Ravens advance to the playoff.
- [34:52]
Colin Cowherd
Pittsburgh has shown no indication they are comfortable with changing coaches in the last 30 years. That's just not what they do. Chuck Noel, Bill Cower, Mike Tomlin. It's almost by league standards. It's nuts. Yeah.
- [35:05]
Greg Cosell
You wonder if things would have been flipped. But anyways, Mike Tomlin went on the Rich Eisen show and talked about his guy Harbaugh and their relationship.
- [35:14]
Rob Parker
Our stories will forever be, you know, interwoven this rivalry we've been fortunate and honored enough to be a part of. I just got so much respect for him and how he's gone about his business. And we've certainly had some legendary battles over the years, you know, in terms of him being let go, unfortunately, I just think it's a component. Component of today's sport culture.
- [35:38]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. And somebody, people, some people push back and they said, well, he was there for 18 years. Yeah. But Tomlin's right there. You wouldn't even have considered firing him 15 years ago because he has an off season when Lamar's hurt. I do think these owners are now multi billionaires and they're more impulsive and more willing to write big checks to get rid of an entire room of high paid employees.
- [36:02]
Greg Cosell
Yeah. I mean, it's not sexy, but it's. Oh, it makes sense to say, listen, Harbaugh had run its course in Baltimore. He's going to work somewhere else. It just, it had gotten stale there. I mean, clearly something happened with him and Lamar. I'm waiting for that story to come out, Colin, because like you don't really leave Lamar Jackson a contender, do you?
- [36:21]
Colin Cowherd
Well, it sounds like Steve Buscati and his front office disagreed, but Steve Boshati made the call. What I read yesterday is the guys around the office, the executives were like, I, we should keep him. That's not the issue here. And Bishadi overruled his front office. Steve Bishadi is actually very involved. I've been told this for years, very involved in Baltimore. But he's smart enough, unlike Jerry Jones, to not make it public how involved he is.
- [36:49]
Greg Cosell
Now listen, you and I agree on this Harbaugh stuff. There are some people who are saying, listen, man, you talk about blown leads and Shanahan never coming back. I mean, look at Harbaugh's history of blown double digit leads in the fourth quarter the last couple years. He's got this deep analytics team and does he listen to them?
- [37:04]
Fox Sports Radio Announcer
I don't know.
- [37:05]
Greg Cosell
The Derrick Henry not carrying stuff.
- [37:07]
Colin Cowherd
No. They've had some weird game plans in big spots.
- [37:09]
Greg Cosell
How about that Chiefs game in the AFC title game at home a couple years ago? I mean, I remember because I lost money on them. But you came in, you watched the game plan. You're like, what are you guys doing? What was happening? And you can't always blame the OC. Anyways, final story. Con. Let's go to Mike Vrabel who orchestrated an amazing turnaround in New England from 4 and 13 to 143 win the AFC East. I think you kind of sort of called this. But he does not want his team to be satisfied. Satisfied with just the playoff berth. Here he is talking yesterday.
- [37:39]
Tom Brady
We need to embrace the preparation and I want him to continue to enjoy, you know, the execution, everything that goes on with us. I'm excited, I'm excited for these guys to prepare. I'm excited to coach them. So. And I, I hope that we're locked in every week and I'm imagining we'll, we'll get everything we can out of them.
- [38:01]
Colin Cowherd
You know, we'll see. It's the, it's the last game on Sunday and then Monday you got Steelers, Texans. It's my last. I don't know if I can pull the trigger. It's a number. Numbers. Three and a half. I will take the Chargers because I do think it's going to be low scoring, very low score. 23:20.
- [38:18]
Greg Cosell
I can't tell what my favorite game is. It should be Eagles Niners.
- [38:21]
Colin Cowherd
Oh, that's my favorite game.
- [38:23]
Greg Cosell
I want it to be. I just, I'm worried about my guy, Brock Purdy, you remember he, by the way, he got hurt at the very end of that Seattle game. He's laying on the field writhing in pain. Now he's got to face Jalen Carter and company. A little nervous for Brock.
- [38:36]
Colin Cowherd
It seems to get dinged up a lot.
- [38:38]
Greg Cosell
I need to fix that offensive line.
- [38:39]
Colin Cowherd
Okay.
- [38:40]
Greg Cosell
All right.
- [38:40]
Colin Cowherd
J. Macle the news.
- [38:42]
Fox Sports Radio Announcer
Well, that's the news, and thanks for stopping by the Herd line. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app a new year doesn't.
- [38:56]
Mike De La Rocha
Mean erasing who you were. It means honoring what you've survived and choosing how you want to grow. It means giving ourselves a permission to feel what we've been holding and knowing that it's okay to ask for help. I'm Mike De La Rocha, host of Sacred Lessons. This podcast is a space for men to talk openly about mental health, grief, relationships and the patterns we inherit but don't have to repeat. Here we slow down, we listen. We learn how vulnerability becomes strength and how healing happens in community, not in isolation. If you're ready to let go of what no longer serves you and step into the year with clarity, compassion and purpose, Sacred Lessons is your companion on your healing journey. Listen to Sacred Lessons with Mike De La Rocha on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Follow Sacred Lessons with Mike De La Rocha and start listening on the free iHeartRadio app today.
- [39:56]
Greg Cosell
Saturday, it's a Big 12 showdown as 22nd ranked Kansas takes on West Virginia at noon Eastern only on Fox.
- [40:06]
Colin Cowherd
We were talking earlier today about how The San Francisco 49ers and the numbers are just like so crazy since Kyle Shanahan took over the Niners, they're just not good. Trailing by a touchdown, just a touchdown at halftime, they just don't win. And they absolutely worst in the league don't win. Trailing by a touchdown in the fourth quarter. I mean they're, they're, they're below Tennessee and they're below Arizona and Carolina. Trailing by seven plus points in the fourth quarter since 2017. Just think about that. Worse than Cleveland, the worst. Worst than the Jets. And I asked Tom Brady about that sort of random stat. What does it speak of?
- [40:52]
Tom Brady
The important part to realize in all this is every team is built a specific way. The 49ers have always been built to run the football, to play good defense and use a lot of play action pass to get explosives. The strength their team is throwing to the halfback, throwing the ball to the tight end and it's not kind of maybe what we see at a traditional Kyle Shanahan offense. It doesn't mean they can't come back. I do think it's difficult with some of these systems though that are built on the run game and play action pass to come back.
- [41:25]
Colin Cowherd
For the record, that's what the Seahawks are built on. It's that run game. And Darnold's a very effective play action pass quarterback. So what did the Seahawks do? J. Mac at the trade deadline? Rasheed Saheed a deep threat. That's why A.J. brown's still around in Philadelphia, the deep threat. So if you do trail late, you have the home run hitter. So it's like having power in baseball. You're not going to get to the World Series because you have the most home runs, but if you trail late in the World Series and you're facing elite pitching, there is one way to score three runs quickly and that's a couple of guys on and somebody Darren Judge Jackson. So I think Seattle is a prime example. Seattle is closer offensively to what the Niners do than what the Rams do. And so what Seattle did at the trade deadline is we need an over the top threat. He may have two targets a game, but punt return, kick return over the top and I think San Francisco. That's why Brandon IUK not being here is a problem. IUK was the problem solver for them late in game.
- [42:26]
Greg Cosell
By the way, that Shahid punt return against the Rams, that was massive. It felt like game over at that point. I'll add one. Jacksonville went out and got Jacobi Myers. He has totally transformed that offense. They stole him for peanuts. Travis Hunter goes out and Jacoby Myers is a beast. They've now got like a three headed monster receiver. Jacksonville, similar vibes. Like if, if, if I told you the super bowl would be Jacksonville and Seattle, you would say makes sense.
- [42:54]
Colin Cowherd
And, and two quarterbacks, first rounders who were really doubted until like now five minutes ago. Yeah, I mean Sam Darnold until last. Even Sam Darnold last year was doubted. Nobody really bought into it. Now this year you're kind of stuck saying okay, he's pretty good. Yeah, if you're a Sam Darnold denier at this point, I mean two staffs, two teams, two different receiving groups and he's been great.
- [43:17]
Greg Cosell
Now listen, Lawrence had his chance in the playoffs a couple years ago against Patrick Mahomes and it was, you know, it was a middling close game, but the Chiefs were just too good. I think there's A chance. He outplays Josh Allen in this game. Josh Allen has to do everything for Buffalo to have a chance. The defense stinks. He's got to do offense, running, passing. Trevor Lawrence just has to convert some third downs against kind of a bad defense.
- [43:37]
Colin Cowherd
It's one of those games. I think there are two teams. Buffalo has lived off second half comebacks. Yeah, that is really hard in the playoffs because the problem with that is Jacksonville's got a two headed run game and the Bills struggle versus the run game. So I lead, I lead 17 to 7 and a half. I get the second half kickoff. We're going to run the football. We're just going to milk the clock. So that, that's the issue with Buffalo is when you are a slow starting team and you struggle against the run and you're on the road with versus an effective run team. You can see Jacksonville, you know, get that second half kickoff with a lead and just say, guys, we're screening it, we're running it, we're just going to play. Keep away.
- [44:28]
Greg Cosell
I, I'm with you. Jag's first half, I think is, is the great bet. I don't know what's going to happen with Josh Allen in the second half. Does he put on the Superman cape?
- [44:35]
Colin Cowherd
Well, that's what he does and you.
- [44:37]
Greg Cosell
Know, that terrifies me.
- [44:38]
Colin Cowherd
You got to cover every blade of grass. It's hard. He's going to make plays. All right, Greg Cosell moved to the final hour. Breaking down all these playoff games next. Whether you want to maximize your performance or form healthier habits this year, knowing what your body needs can help put you on the right path. With Quest, you can buy your own lab tests online@questhealth.com no doctor visit required for purchase. Quest has a huge selection of tests, including the new Elite Health Profile, a panel made for men and women and tracks 85 plus health markers affecting the heart, liver, kidneys, hormones, metabolism and immune system, delivering a ton of insights in one snapshot. For a limited time, save on select lab tests@questhealth.com with code herd10. That's herd10 at checkout. Terms apply.
- [45:34]
Tom Brady
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.