← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Richard Sherman Podcast - Sherm at Seahawks camp with Darnold, Kupp, Woolen & Macdonald: "This team is different"
01:11:21
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- [00:00]
Cooper Kupp
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:04]
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- [00:35]
Richard Sherman
Parents of Tweens if you're familiar with far off drop offs.
- [00:38]
Cooper Kupp
Dad, stop.
- [00:39]
Richard Sherman
Stop.
- [00:39]
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- [00:53]
Richard Sherman
For most, HPV clears on its own, but for those who don't clear the virus, it can cause certain cancers later in life.
- [00:59]
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Embrace this phase, help protect them in.
- [01:02]
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Doctor Today about HPV vaccination brought to you by Merck.
- [01:05]
Ryan Seacrest
Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. Now through August 26th, it's back to deals time where you can enjoy store wide deals and earn four times points. Look for in store tags to earn on eligible items from Califia Farms, Pillsbury Crescent, Yoplait, General Mills, Prego, Bertoli, Heinz and Kraft. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event long savings. Shop in store or online for easy drive up and go. Pickup or delivery subject to availability restrictions apply. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details.
- [01:36]
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- [01:51]
Richard Sherman
Welcome back to the Richard Sherman Podcast. We got another great guest, the starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, Sam Darnold. Appreciate you joining me, brother.
- [01:59]
Sam Darnold
Thanks, man. Thanks for having me, man.
- [02:01]
Richard Sherman
You have had such an incredible journey from San Clemente High School to the Seattle Seahawks. You know, you've had your ups, you've had your, your downs. Just take me through. I mean, how it's kind of helped mold you as a person, a player. Because a lot of those moments, I mean, I could, I could be an old guy, be like kids these days, don't know how to get through adversity. But you've been through so much and shown perseverance, strength, grit, all those good things.
- [02:27]
Sam Darnold
Yeah, no, for sure. I think at the end of the day, you know, it really starts with how I was raised, how I grew up, my family, my sister, my older sister showing me the way when she was, you know, playing volleyball, the sports that she played growing up, and how she got through things mentally, physically, all that. You know, those are the people who kind of helped me get to that mindset of just, you know, never stopping. You know, no matter what happens on the field, off the field, life goes on. And as long as you have, you know, it's an old cliche, but as long as you have great effort and a great attitude, that can take you a long way. And that's kind of been my mindset throughout my life, really. Not just my career, but. And then, you know, along with family, I would say friends, having a really tight circle of really good friends that I can lean on in tough times, and friends that also bring me down, you know, they, they kind of keep me level headed when I, you know, have success as well. So, you know, I got great friends. And then, you know, obviously, you know, you know this, you know, as much as anybody, but just playing this great game, you get to know and you get to be around so many great people, coaches, players, the people in the building, you know, guys like Ek in the equipment room. And you know, there's just so many people, so many great people in this, in this industry, in this business. And you know, I'm just so, so, you know, grateful I think at the end of the day to just be a part of it. Um, so I think that mindset also helps kind of whenever you're going through tough times to be able to like, dang, man, like, I'm so grateful to be in this position that I'm in. So why not just give him my all every single day?
- [04:05]
Richard Sherman
Oh my God, that's. Can't wait to clip that. We'll make sure we have that because that's, that should be everywhere and be said to everybody because that's a lost part of it. You know, people don't appreciate just the ability, the blessing to get a chance to go out there and compete and be healthy and have a shot at it. I could say I would have dreamed of your scenario going to sc. Hometown kid, getting to be the quarterback, going, being a top pick in the draft. Walk me through your draft day. I know you've probably told the story a million times, but just make a million and one for me.
- [04:37]
Sam Darnold
The draft day.
- [04:38]
Richard Sherman
Yeah, yeah. Because I had to be cool, man.
- [04:40]
Sam Darnold
It was sweet. Yeah, it was a once in A lifetime experience that, again, like I just mentioned, I got to experience that with my family and my friends. And, um, guys that I did draft training with were also able to be in that same room. Guys like Josh Allen? Well, in our draft, not. Not at usc, but.
- [04:56]
Richard Sherman
No, that's what I mean, where you train it.
- [04:58]
Sam Darnold
Yeah. Josh Allen and Kyle Allen, they were able to be there. And Josh obviously got drafted by the Bills in the same draft, and so it was just a big celebration that night, and it was great. And then I was on a freaking early flight. Like, you know, I had to get up at 4:30 in the morning. I don't know how much sleep I got. Probably, you know, an hour or two of sleep, and was able to get out to New York and do that, that first press conference there. And that was for sure a blur to do that. But just that, that draft night and that experience, you know, with my family, grandparents, you know, high school and college coaches there, that was an experience I'll never forget.
- [05:37]
Richard Sherman
We're gonna. We're gonna just blur through the whole New York experience. You know, that's a chaotic environment in itself. But we get to Carolina now, and what's. It's hindsight is 20 20, and it looks so hilarious now that you're starting here. Baker starting doing great in Tampa Bay, but you guys both go to Carolina, and it's, like, crazy. It's crazy for what was that, 20?
- [06:03]
Sam Darnold
Yeah. So we played y', all, right? You're in Tampa. And that division was not good that year. And so we had a chance to go to the playoffs. I remember Baker started that year. I had actually gotten hurt in the preseason. I was out for eight to 10 weeks with a high ankle sprain. I end up coming back. The Baker thing happens the year that he goes to LA, and I believe you're on that team, right? In 22.
- [06:30]
Richard Sherman
Yes, I am.
- [06:31]
Sam Darnold
And so Baker goes to LA, PJ Walker gets a couple starts. I go in, and I think we end up going, you know, five and two or something like that the last seven games. And we actually have a chance to be in the playoffs if we just beat y' all in Tampa, right? And I think we were up like 24 to 10 going into the fourth quarter, and then bang, bang, bang, Tom Brady and Mike Evans, you know, I think two or three times. And all of a sudden we were down 10 with, like, four minutes left.
- [06:58]
Richard Sherman
Because we needed it to get into. We were on the edge. You're right.
- [07:01]
Sam Darnold
Yeah. So if we. If we beat y' all in Tampa, that, you know, second to last week, we just had to go to New Orleans that next week and beat them. And we were in. And so that was a huge game for us. For me, like, who knows what happens if I win that game and win the next one? We go to the playoffs. Like, you know, life is just crazy that way because, you know, I'm not sure if I would even be here if that, if that were the case. But, but those years in Carolina, man, to your point, what you said before, like, I'm so grateful for just being there and, and learning that system with Coach McAdoo that year, getting to meet Baker, who I'm still really close with to this day, PJ Wall, like all these guys that I met in Carolina, like, I just had such a great experience there in terms of, you know, getting to meet so many great people, play really good football the last half of the year and then I'm sure you're gonna get into it, but going to San Francisco that next year, learning a ton of great football. So it all just, you know, it all snowballs into, into a great thing.
- [07:58]
Richard Sherman
But it's a beautiful story. It's a beautiful, like when you, when you're writing stories, there's, there's cool if it would, if it went one way. That's a cool story. You stay in New York, have an illustrious career, play for 10, 15 years and retire. That's a, that's a cool story too. But I think it's always a better story when, you know, there's rarely a story or a movie you watch where you're like, something has to go bad. You know, it's not going to just be, oh, this is great, great. Everything's great, it's fun. And then at the end, happily ever after. You're like, something bad is going to happen. I wonder when it's going to happen. Like, he's going to lose, he's going to get injured, he's going to do something. And then the beautiful part of it, the part people love, is to come back and talking about your time in San Francisco. You go there, you back up Brock Purdy. That, that seemed like the, the end of Carolina seemed like you're sort of your ascension. You get to San Francisco, it's a, it's Kyle scheme. It's a great scheme. It seems like it's quarterback friendly scheme. I tell you what, you are one of the players he was most in love with during his time. I promise you, there was nobody else he talked about more that didn't Play for our team.
- [09:01]
Sam Darnold
Yeah, yeah. No, Kyle's a man again. Just, you know, happy that they able to bring me in. And, you know, we were unsure about Brock's elbow at the time. You know, I. I thought I could potentially maybe go there and. And start, you know, for, you know, two, three games, you know, depending on Brock's situation. Obviously very thankful that he was able to come back the way that he did. Super strong, lead us to a Super Bowl. Obviously didn't get the job done, but. No, just that year was incredible to. To be able to learn, you know, football from Kyle, from that entire staff that was there. Brian Greasy, the Kubiax, Kyle Clint, who obviously we're with now. But, you know, that was just a great experience. And being around those players, too, like some of those dogs that are on that team, like, getting to experience what they do every single day. Like Nick Bosa, I think lifts five days a week during the season, which is insane. And to witness that. And he lifts like he gets after it. He's squatting like 3:15 front squatting.
- [10:03]
Richard Sherman
They think his legs just accidentally got that pace, like. Oh, yeah, both. That's natural. No, it's not.
- [10:07]
Sam Darnold
Yeah, no. So, like, I, you know, always remember, you know, Saturday after the walkthrough, then he starts his workout after the Saturday walkthrough, where you're supposed to go chill before we go to the hotel for meetings. Bosa's in there working out. It's just. It was really cool to be able to see all those guys in the work and everyone does it different, you know, like, Bosa's working out. You know, you have Christian, Fred, like all these guys resting and doing their thing, getting their. All their fancy treatments that they did.
- [10:32]
Mike McDaniel
And.
- [10:33]
Sam Darnold
No, it was just really cool to see these guys work. And that was another cool part about being in that.
- [10:38]
Richard Sherman
And it's just interesting how Kyle runs meetings and things like that. He's, like, totally teaching the whole team the whole time he's doing it. He's explaining outside zone, and while the drift route is backside, it's wide open. You're like, yeah, the whole team's in here. Like, yeah, yeah.
- [10:54]
Sam Darnold
You've. You've sat in one of his meetings.
- [10:56]
Richard Sherman
We have to. He used to do it in team meetings.
- [10:58]
Sam Darnold
Yeah, it's pretty. It's pretty incredible the way that he can talk about run game.
- [11:01]
Richard Sherman
Right.
- [11:02]
Sam Darnold
For sure.
- [11:02]
Richard Sherman
He's a. He's incredible. Then you go to Kevin o', Connell, so who's another branch of this tree. There's an injury to the Rookie. Because it was. It was supposed to be rumored that there's a battle going on. He goes out, it's your team, it's your helm, and you have an unbelievable 14 win season and incredible run. Walk me through that because again, coming from off a Super bowl team, to go on another dream run, it had to be like, man, I'm floating.
- [11:26]
Sam Darnold
Yeah, it was, it was really. You know, obviously the thing with JJ was unfortunate, but to be. To be with that team and you know, for. Literally it was just us that believed in ourselves. You know, it was a classic. Like, no one's believing in us. We're just gonna go out there all alone and do it ourselves. And, you know, we started off that year five and oh, and everyone's like, let's go. You know what I mean? Like, why not us Kind of thing. And so it was really cool just to, to be a part of that last year with again, I keep reiterating it, but like, great people, you know, like great players, great coaches, great people in the building. It was just amazing to be able to work every single day with those people. Get in the routine and, and yeah, just. I think the. The football that we played was incredible as well. Like being with Kevin in that system, getting to see a different side of it. Because at the end of the day, like Kyle's system and Kevin's system, you know, it's. It's pretty similar. Like the McVeigh tree and Kyle's, like, it's similar, but it's a little bit different. And so just to. To see kind of the past game come together the way that it did last year, it was very eye opening to me and you know, it allowed me. And again, this is credit to Josh McCown, who is my quarterback coach, but it allowed me to play really fast and on time, which is, you know, it really changed my career.
- [12:46]
Richard Sherman
It seems like you're still playing fast and on time. You got here. Talk about the decision to come here. I know you spoke about it because you've been interviewed a thousand times about it, but it seemed like it. It worked out so perfectly, you know, with. With Geno and DK and all this. It kind of seemed like the COVID was bare and I didn't know what direction they were going. And obviously you had. You had conversations with Minnesota, so it seemed like there might be a chance you stay. And you know, Obviously they got McCarthy coming back, so nobody knew how that would go. Talk about coming here and the relationship with Kubiak and how that. That kind of went into It.
- [13:18]
Sam Darnold
Yeah. You know, I won't go into too much detail about, you know, free agency and stuff like that, because, again, like you said, people have heard about that, but just, you know, I knew there was an opportunity when I heard, you know, talks about the Geno trade and my agents, you know, telling me certain things, you know, just, hey, Seattle could be a potential spot now. And I was like, okay, cool. And, you know, the more that, you know, time. Kind of ticked. You know how free agency is. It just kind of. Do you know how free agency is?
- [13:46]
Richard Sherman
Yeah, once. I've already.
- [13:47]
Sam Darnold
Okay, one time. Yeah, that's. That's very awesome that you got it one time. Yeah, I've been dealing with it the last, like, three or four years, so it's been great.
- [13:56]
Richard Sherman
Yeah, you won't. You won't. You won't probably deal with it again. If you do, it'll be for a lot of money.
- [14:02]
Sam Darnold
No, but it was. It was crazy, man. Just like, everything. It happened so fast and. Yeah, just. I think that was it. You know, the. The Geno trade happened, and I could, you know, kind of see the writing on the wall a little bit. And then, especially with Clint being here, obviously, I knew how great Mike and his defense was last year going against them. Just the multiple looks. I can go on for days about his defense, their scheme, the way that those guys play, the great players we have over there on defense. But I was very excited to be able to work with Clint and get back in the system that we had in 23 with, you know, a few. Few wrinkles in it.
- [14:43]
Richard Sherman
Right.
- [14:44]
Sam Darnold
And our skill guys, you know, I'm very excited about the skill guys that we have. Receiver, tight ends, running backs. Got a couple fullbacks as well that have been playing really well. And our offensive line, I feel like the way that our offensive line has been able to play, you know, obviously in OTAs, but now in training camp, the way that they've, you know, put together a solid, like, three weeks in a row of, like, communicating on certain run games and, you know, pass protection, like, you know, if. If I can hear them making calls. And, like, it's awesome when you hear one guy make a call and everyone goes quiet, like, no one's talking after that. Like, the center makes his call, and everyone's like, all right, we're on the same page. And it's. It's very comforting as a quarterback when you. When you see all those things going on, you see it on tape, it's confirmed on tape. And I feel like I've. I Can feel pretty good about, you know, going into this season.
- [15:36]
Richard Sherman
That's. That's music to. To my ears. Music to the fans ears, because that was the biggest concern coming into this season. It was an issue last year, especially interior pressure on the quarterback. And, you know, Geno was under duress quite a bit. And, you know, it led to some. Some. Some tough plays. And he tried his best to. But it seemed like they solidified that. Then you talk about Abe. Abe getting healthy. Abe getting healthy. He's a freaking beast. You saw he played last week against Max Crosby, and Max Crosby was really going. You know, Max Crosby never not going.
- [16:06]
Tariq Woolen
Yeah.
- [16:07]
Richard Sherman
So it just looks like they've got the right pieces in place. Guys want to play for each other. Obviously. Charles Cross, you got the rookie in there at left guard, and he's doing well. He had a. He had a solid game. But that's music to our ears because now you can open up that run game and the run game has an identity. And you got two really good running backs in Charbonnet and K9. Talk about them and how cool it is for them.
- [16:30]
Sam Darnold
Yeah, I think you just said it, though. Like the run game, when you have a good run game and, you know, this playing defense, like when you have a good run game, that opens so many, so much up. I mean, you. You can keep her off of it. You can play action all of a sudden, then you can start dropping back and letting it fly over the top. Because now these teams are forced to play in single high. They need to, you know, drop a safety down and in the run game, maybe pressure, and you get some, you know, three deep, you know, three under kind of looks and, you know, that's really advantageous for an offense. And so I think for us, it's just like, you know, having that run game as an identity and then just building off of it every single week. Just stacking those weeks, stacking those days really, of really good practice and prep. But to actually answer your question, K9 and Charbonnet have been amazing. They are. I knew they're great backs, but to see what they can do outside of, you know, running between the tackles has been amazing. I feel like they've been such weapons so far in camp, just catching the rock outside of the. Outside of the. Outside of the tackles. And I'm excited about what they can do. You know, this year it was.
- [17:38]
Richard Sherman
It was a cool quote you said, and I want to get to my last question, but you were like, you. You had a check down that went for like 13 yards. And you were like, hey, earlier in my career, I'm not sure I would have gone for that.
- [17:47]
Sam Darnold
Right.
- [17:47]
Richard Sherman
You know what I mean? And just talk about your growth and your maturity. But now you got Cooper cup, you got jsn. Arroyo looks good. There's been a lot of guys showing up in this training camp. Horton has run some with the ones and you've been dropping dimes and talking about processing. I've been out there the last couple practices and it just looks like you know where you're going, you're moving guys. You're in such a great command. Is that just the off season, work with the guys? Is that just an understanding of the system and having answers and just being an experienced quarterback?
- [18:16]
Sam Darnold
Yeah, I think it comes with experience for sure. I think the system really allows, you know, me as a quarterback to be able to play on time and like, I can. Okay. Like, I know certain coverages, like, I'm not going to get my number one progression, but I don't want to move off of number one. I don't want to go to number two. You know, on the plant, you know, if I'm like, okay, three, plant to number one, hitch to number two, second hitch, number three. If I plant to number two, like, that's, you know, we're out of sync then and the receiver's not going to be ready for the ball. And so I think just the way the system's built, what Clint and the entire staff have been working so hard to do is make it seamless for us to be able to, you know, have that timing without having, you know, necessarily a ton of reps to be able to, because we're going up against guys like, you know, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelsey who have thousands and thousands of reps together. And so you gotta somehow have that timing in a system to where you can just go out there and expect a guy to be, you know, over the ball and I can get to him on my second hitch and it's like second nature. He's catching it, he's knifing up the field and getting eight yards on a first down play. So, yeah, it's, I think it's, it's system based, but we have, we spend a lot of time in the offseason together just throwing and catching and, you know, that's always great when you can spend time, you know, outside of the building with your guys.
- [19:38]
Richard Sherman
It's, it's cool for you to get to see you shine and get to see your talent flourish in the way the expectation has always been for you. It's really cool and I consider me a fan and very impressed and very happy for you. Thank you for joining me today. Appreciate you, appreciate you.
- [19:54]
Ryan Seacrest
Hey it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. Now through August 26th, it's back to Deals time where you can enjoy storewide deals and earn four times points. Look for in store tags to earn on eligible items from Califia Farms, Pillsbury Crescent, Yoplait, General Mills, Prego, Bertoli, Heinz and Kraft. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event long savings. Shop in store or online for easy drive up and go pickup or delivery subject to availability restrictions apply. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details.
- [20:25]
Gatorade Advertiser
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- [20:40]
Lenovo/Intel Advertiser
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- [21:13]
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- [22:11]
Richard Sherman
Welcome back to the Richard Sherman Podcast. We have an incredible guest, Yakima's very own Cooper Cup Brother. How does it feel to be back home?
- [22:19]
Cooper Kupp
It feels good man. I mean it's crazy going from, you know, you grow up here obviously playing football here and all stuff, but there's like, you know, seasons of life. Seasons of life. You know, you. I met my wife here, we got married here. But then we go to la and that's where we, you know, that's where our kids were born. That's where we create our family, our community and all that. So it's just such a. It's such a weird balance of those two things, but, man, really excited for this, for this next season in our lives.
- [22:46]
Richard Sherman
I bet. I bet. Just walk me through coming from where you came from, from Yakima was. Weren't highly recruited to being a Triple Crown winner. Like, talk me through that season and how incredibly rewarding it felt just to, to see all the hard work, all the hours of study and everything just come to fruition.
- [23:07]
Cooper Kupp
Yeah, yeah. It's kind of, it's interesting because, like, you, you don't. Like you. You go into every season expecting to succeed, expecting to win, right? You have these goals for yourself. Like, you wouldn't be doing all the work that you do in the off season if you didn't have those expectations. But it wasn't like that off season. I went into that and like, oh, this is like the one. Or like, this is going to be the, like, what it ended up being. But just the process of, like, I've just consistently done this. This is just what, like, this is what I do. And it started back like you said, like you touched on. You started back in high school, started back in middle school. Even in terms of that mentality, like daily, the daily process, it's like, man, just stacking bricks over and over again and like very small gains over a long time and, and I guess just built into this time with this place where like I was just ready to step into a moment when it was presented and obviously what that year was and you know how it is football, you are, your, your success is going to be a product of the people around you. The, the coaches, the certainly the players. And was all that stuff. I just felt like it prepared me for that moment. Just say, hey, we've got, you know, Matthew comes in, how he gels with Sean. What that offense ended up being, what that defense ended up being, what we were able to do collectively as a team. It just kind of was like, you know, just being ready to. Ready for the moment. Be ready for your guys, be ready for when your guys need you to step and make a play, go up and be prepared to step into that moment.
- [24:45]
Richard Sherman
I hate to pivot and make the interview disconnected, but I have to go here because it's a question I have. We're gonna talk about your wife, Anna, and the three boys. Cooper, Cyrus and Solas.
- [24:57]
Cooper Kupp
Yes, Cooper, Cypress and Solis, Cyprus and Solas. Yes.
- [24:59]
Richard Sherman
Okay. And they're all what, two, three years apart?
- [25:01]
Cooper Kupp
Yeah.
- [25:02]
Richard Sherman
That's freaking perfect, by the way. That's awesome. I know what you did there. I see what you're doing. How awesome is it for her to be able to come back and probably spend more time with family? The boys get to get to know you guys, Family more. How important was that in your decision?
- [25:17]
Cooper Kupp
Yeah, and, you know, it is. It was. It was definitely part of this whole thing is we were kind of figuring out what life was going to look like because it is like, you're coming up and everyone wants to focus on football, but we're moving our lives. You know, there's. There's people's lives and like, that. That is the. That's the tough part, you know, and there's also, like, there's a balance. There's a. There's, like, figuring out, well, hey, look, we are now around family more. We are around, like, there's people that, you know, may not have had the ability to come to games all the time now or wanting to come to games. And so it's like, well, how do you deal with tickets, right? How are you going to deal with, like, your house? Where it's like, hey, we. We operate a certain way. We. We do. We do family. Like, we don't get a lot of time during the season. How do we prioritize our time together? But also knowing that, like, man, we do have the ability to see family more often now, and how is that going to look? And so it was a conversation. It was an important conversation because we obviously are. As much as I love football, as much as my process and all the things that we do, even my wife, how we operate together to make sure that I can go out and be the best football player I can be. That all takes place in the midst of being the best husband and the best father I can be first. And so those are the conversations that happen before anything else. But we are so excited about that. And getting up here in the transition and all the challenges that that presented was a whole nother animal. But we were able to walk through it together. And, man, I'm excited about it. And the weather's been great.
- [26:44]
Richard Sherman
No Is welcoming you home in the right way. Your wife and you guys met when you're in high school, like you said, at a track meet, apparently. And you told your mom, you knew then that she would be the wife, your wife. That's. That's been incredible. And then to read about how, you know, she helped support you through college and she left Arkansas, that has, that helped, you know, obviously time and all that, but it just seems like you guys have been on the same page from the get go.
- [27:13]
Cooper Kupp
Yeah. And there was definitely, there was an understanding, I think, from the beginning. Like, man, this is just from the first time I met her. So many things, they're like, hey, this is like, like the boulders are in common, right? It's not like, oh, you like, you like Chinese food? I love Chinese food. No, it's like the boulders, the pillars of how you live your life. It's like, man, that's, that's important to me. And in the first 45 minute conversation, we, for whatever reason touched on like the pillars of our lives. And like, man, this is just, this is like, it just led its way to this place. Like, this is someone like that I vibe with, I don't know, like in my soul, you know, and so like, that was what led to this place of, like, man, this is who, like, this is what I'm looking for. This is who I want to marry. But that's not to say that there weren't, man, incredible challenges for us as we figure out what does life look like as a married couple? What does life look like now that we're, you know, moving into a new city, moving into a new profession, having kids, now our roles changes as, you know, husbands and wives. And now we're, now we're also mothers and fathers. We were sons and daughters and still are sons and daughters, but we're first husband and wife. And so there's all these things that change and we're like figuring all that out together. And even though the pillars were the same, which is what helped get us through it, ultimately, there's so many things around that, of expectations and ways that she was raised, ways that I was raised. Like, man, we had to have some hard conversations. And that was one of the things that her dad actually told me very early on when we were kind of preparing to get married was not to be afraid of having hard conversations. And we've had plenty of those. And they're not always fun, but they are so important.
- [29:02]
Richard Sherman
There's nothing in life worth having that isn't.
- [29:04]
Cooper Kupp
That isn't like that. Yeah, all the growth has happened through the very difficult things and the reconvening, the coming together at the end of it. That's what we've tried to prioritize. We are at odds, but we are going to. We are odds at each other, and we're having this conversation because we want to get back on track. And so that's been awesome for us. And Anna's just been such an incredible blessing to me, what she's done for me personally, who she is for our boys. She's. Yeah, she's just. She's changed my life.
- [29:36]
Richard Sherman
It's incredible to see women turn into mothers. It's one of the most incredible things I've ever seen in my life. It's like they have a switch soon as they get pregnant and they're in their stomach. And you're like, when did you learn to do that? I didn't see you go to any class to learn that skill, and you seem to already have it. And I'm. I'm over here reading books, so do I swipe up or. You sit down. Okay, I got you. I got you. Figured it out.
- [29:57]
Cooper Kupp
It is crazy, man.
- [29:58]
Richard Sherman
One of the things. Speaking of fatherhood, One of the things. I'm really curious, and it's question even the fans. You got Cooper Jameson, but you're Cooper Douglas. You didn't want to go junior, but you still went Cooper. What. What are we doing here?
- [30:13]
Cooper Kupp
I know. So I was. I had actually was against naming him after me, but that's.
- [30:20]
Richard Sherman
It's tough.
- [30:20]
Cooper Kupp
It is. It's tough. I. I was actually against this. We had some other names that we really liked, but I really liked. We just liked. We liked the name Jameson, and so we were kind of going that route. We had a first name picked out, and then it was Daniel, a month before he was born, and just came to approach me. He's like. It was meaningful to her. Like, she wanted to name our first child after me, and so we went with that. And I love the idea of. Even though he's not technically a full junior, I love the idea of meal call him June. And so that's where that kind of whole thing is. Like, I don't want to call my son Cooper. I need to have a name for him. I'm a big nickname guy, too. So I was the entire time in the background, I'm like, what's the nickname gonna be? Any first name is put out there like, okay, what's the nickname? But, you know, once it was like, hey, I can call. We can call our son June. I was like, oh, I'm. I love that. And incredibly honored. I mean, just for our first son, for my wife to approach me and have it be so meaningful for her. That's cool.
- [31:26]
Richard Sherman
That's awesome. My brother named his son a junior and he just calls him Junior. It's pretty cool. It works out that the one of the challenges for me when. When naming our son, he ended up being Raiden instead of Richard. We kept the same initials that me and my wife have the same initials as my daughter and my son. But it was just the unfair expectations of the world more than. More than me, you know, more than how hard I'm gonna be on him. It's just such a social media and very public facing that it's tough to really navigate the space or even be there to help them navigate a space that we never really had to navigate. You know, when I was a kid, we didn't have social media. We didn't have all this. My dad was famous. I probably wouldn't have known it, you know, Cause I. We had newspapers. But to have a dad who's done what you've done and you know, is going to continue to do great things both on and off the field. How do you navigate that space of being a father and trying to make sure that the kid understands, hey, there's no pressure on you to be who I am. Be who you are.
- [32:27]
Cooper Kupp
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, so, you know, June 7th now and yeah, it's a good question. And some of the Ann and I have talked about, certainly. But so much of that I think comes down to how we operate as parents and what are we making important. And I think, you know, as much as we. You can, like your kids are in your household and you know, we. We homeschool. Because a big part of that is because, like, we want more time. We want more time to be impactful to our kids. And if they see what's important to us, you know, we can also pass on. Well, this is. What's this? This I want to show you. Like, this is what is important. And we try to make sure that's clear that the things that happen in football, wherever the accolades are all different stuff. The success of work and the things that. The things that the earth and the world say is important is a lot of times not the important thing. And so that's been. If we can just be that and allow him just be ultimately, like, just be a kid. Like, go, go play. Go do be outside imagination. Go do it. You want. You want to rock climb? Let's go. You want to go learn, you go swim. You want to go whatever it is. Like, let's find some passions that you love. And let's go do it because you love to do it. And so trying to temper the idea of there being expectation of like, you need to do football, you need to do this thing or be. Or you even let like, you need to be really good at this thing. It's like, no, I want you to find something you love and go for it.
- [33:57]
Richard Sherman
Go for it.
- [33:57]
Cooper Kupp
Yep.
- [33:58]
Richard Sherman
And I support you every step of the way.
- [34:00]
Cooper Kupp
Yeah, whatever you need, man. I'm. I'm all in.
- [34:02]
Richard Sherman
All right, let's get to the heavy hitting Seahawks or question. Because, you know, they, they really wanted me to ask all these things.
- [34:07]
Cooper Kupp
Yeah, yeah.
- [34:10]
Richard Sherman
The decision to come here, we, we touched on that. But what about the relationship between Kubiak, you know, you've run this offense, you, some would call you a master of this offense. And even Sam Darnold, he's coming in, coming from Kevin o', Connell, every bit of it is like cousin. They're cousins of the offense, but they're not all universally the same.
- [34:30]
Cooper Kupp
Yeah.
- [34:32]
Richard Sherman
Talk about how that adjustment has been since you've gotten here. All I hear about is that you spend endless time in this building studying film and doing all that, being a great teammate, being a leader, doing everything you're supposed to be. How does it look from your end?
- [34:44]
Cooper Kupp
Yeah, yeah, it's. It's really cool. It's. I touched on this a little. I was talking to someone just recently, but like, like the, if you look back at the Washington coaching staff from 2014 to 2016, right, like, look at the names, look at the people that were on that staff, right? Like, so that's the Shanahan tree comes off of there. 2017 Shanahan. Kyle goes one way, Sean goes the other way. They draft George Kittle, Rams draft, you know, me and Gerald Everett, right? So like from there, from there, right, they're at that point, this very similar, same offense by the end, by the beginning of 2017, really, week three, four, it's like we're 11 personnel. You see where Shannon goes like, hey, you got George Kittle going. You're running your 12 personnel, you're on your 21 personnel. And then, then eight years go by, right? And like you have this like this divergence of, of people that's like, hey, you make the most of the people that are in your building. You, you make the most of the players that you have. And I like, sets this track of these two that go so different directions. And I, then I come here and it's like, man, it's so cool because I get to like, hop over and see. Well, this is kind of off. Are we off? Off of the. You know, that line that went this way. But there's a mix of the stuff that was going on in Minnesota. There's a little bit of a mix of the stuff that had gone on with 11 personnel. And so it's like, man, it's awesome to see how all these things, like, have grown and changed through the years, and I get to be a little bit part of all of it, but also know at the core where things were. And I remember all this stuff, so I can see where it all grew off to. It's been really cool to be a part of.
- [36:31]
Richard Sherman
And I saw an interview with you talking about just how defenses have adapted, because anytime you're good at anything, the whole NFL is studying you. Year after year after year, they're studying ways to defend it, ways to adjust, ways to manipulate coverage as you motion, hey, it's one picture, one way you motion it. Just like you're changing our picture, we're going to change your picture. Now. Talk about how your experience has helped you navigate that space and even help this coaching staff, you know, who, who's trying to implement this offense to a. To a new batch of players.
- [37:03]
Cooper Kupp
Yeah, and that's. I. I think that's. I mean, that's the coolest. It's the coolest thing about football is the way it changes and grows and moves and like, you know, man, the offenses are up one year, the defenses are up the other end. It's like, it's always changing and the emphasis is changing. We're passing, receivers are going off, then boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Defense, like, hey, no, we're taking that away. Running backs coming back now, like, there's all this stuff that's, like, moving and changing on so many different levels with players, with personnel, with schemes. I love it. But then you have guys like, you know, you come in here and you've got coaches that are so open to being able to hear ideas and like, hey, this is. They have a conviction to how things are done, but also being open is open to say, like, hey, we're not going to be afraid of the. Of asking why, you know, and they're not. And they're not afraid of us going and asking why and we're going provide an answer for it. And that's what it's been. It's been awesome being in there with, with Kubiak and with, you know, Rico, who's been in this offense for a long, long time. And you got Guys that have just been a part of it for so long, it's like, man, I can. I can go in and ask why and have a conversation, have a discussion, and hear exactly what the genesis of this was, why we do it, and why it makes sense, or maybe why it doesn't make sense anymore based on what defenses are doing, how defenses are matching us, and how defenses are, you know, personnel in different ways. And so I've really enjoyed it, and they've made it a joy to come in here and be able to have those conversations.
- [38:31]
Richard Sherman
That's great to hear. Last question. What can the fans expect from this season from you, Sam, JSN, K9 Charbonnet, and this incredible offense?
- [38:43]
Cooper Kupp
Yeah, well, I mean, I don't love to talk about expectations in terms of, like, the, you know, like, I'm not making any predictions. You know what I mean? But I will say this, like, in. In my time here, the respect I have for the way that guys go about their business, for the preparation they have, the conversations that are being had. And. And what is the most pivotal thing is the time between every NFL team has wherever it's 10 hours in a day, 11 hours in a day to do whatever they need to do, right? You're schedule your meetings, you're schedule your walkthroughs, you're gonna schedule your practices, your lifts, and all this different stuff.
- [39:18]
Richard Sherman
Stuff.
- [39:18]
Cooper Kupp
There's always five minutes to get from one meeting to the next. What are the conversations happening in those five minutes? Right? It's like the small edges. You come out of this conversation, come out of this con, out of this meeting. What are you gonna. What's that five minutes? How are you spending that five minutes? What focus do you have getting from one place to another? And the, like, those little conversations that can give you an edge, they stack up over time, right? It's five minutes, you know, three or four times a day for six weeks. And that builds into some really good, like, you know, progress in terms of, you know, getting to the point where when you get on the field, we're gonna be dialed in. We know what we got. And now it's just about going out there and executing.
- [39:54]
Richard Sherman
Brother, that was a great. That was a great interview. I feel like I feel better for it. I appreciate you joining us.
- [39:59]
Cooper Kupp
No, of course. Thank you, man.
- [40:00]
Richard Sherman
We got to get you later in the season once you're comfortable and you're on your way to another triple crown season.
- [40:05]
Cooper Kupp
That sounds great, man.
- [40:06]
Richard Sherman
Appreciate it.
- [40:06]
Cooper Kupp
Yeah, of course.
- [40:09]
Richard Sherman
Welcome.
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- [42:26]
Richard Sherman
Back to the Richard Sherman Podcast. We got a guest I've been waiting on a long time to have this conversation. Tariq Woolen what up brother?
- [42:33]
Tariq Woolen
What's up bro? How you doing?
- [42:34]
Richard Sherman
Another day in paradise.
- [42:35]
Tariq Woolen
Yes sir.
- [42:37]
Richard Sherman
Now we had many conversations your first year about adjusting to the league, about you know, the expectations and how to see the world. You have come a long way since then. Tell me how you've grown from year.
- [42:48]
Tariq Woolen
One to now, honestly, just for one, my mental state for real, just being a young guy coming from UTSA into now, you know, you really don't know what you're getting into until you actually get your feet in there. And just my mentality just from each season I see it's just getting better from hearing different things and way to cancel stuff out just because like in this game we play and it's a lot of people trying to pull you which ways, a lot of distractions and stuff like that. So really just my mental state for real, just make sure I protect it and make sure that I'm the best version of myself.
- [43:29]
Richard Sherman
That's all you can be. That's all you can be. They never made another one of you. They won't make another.
- [43:33]
Tariq Woolen
For real.
- [43:35]
Richard Sherman
This off season you talked about, you know, I want to ask you how you spent your off seasons before this off season, but what have you done this off season specifically? You know, you're a veteran, you know how things go, you know the expectations to get yourself prepared for the season.
- [43:51]
Tariq Woolen
Honestly, one thing I, I got like a new trainer. I still train at the same spot in Florida, but I had went to Houston and a guy that's in my agency, Kareem Jackson, you know the safety, he told me to come to Houston and try out gym he was at. And well, what I did there was a lot of body specific things to prolong your career, but also to make sure you stay healthy throughout the season and doing different body movements that I haven't done before and then putting my body in different positions that I didn't like just so it can feel comfortable. So if I overstepped on a cut, it wouldn't feel second nature. It'll just feel like I've been there before instead of being uncomfortable. And there's different things like that. And then also like to go back to the mental part, I spent a lot of time with my family. You know, I feel like guys forget that those are really the people that helped you get here. And I know in my situation it is so just spending more time with my family as well, you know, just being able to like find my peace with them and understand where I'm from and my grounding for real. And I can't forget where I'm from. So those are like two big things. I did this all season, you know, just to make sure I was just being a better version of myself.
- [45:01]
Richard Sherman
Speaking of where you from growing up in Texas football, from what I hear, you know, I'm A California kid. They say football is everything. It's different. How was your experience growing up in Fort Worth?
- [45:11]
Tariq Woolen
Honestly, it was a lot of fun, man. I enjoyed it. You know, I met a lot of friends, and Fort Worth, it has its ups and downs, and a lot of people hear different things about it, but I loved it. You know, I felt like my friends and stuff that I grew up with, they also helped shape the person I am, just because, like, you know, you will have friends, you'll have guys around you for different seasons and reasons. You know what I'm saying? And as you get older, you start to see that because your circle kind of gets a little bit smaller. For real. And, you know, those guys that I made friends with growing up, you know, I still talk to them now, and it is pretty cool because, you know, some people think you would change up and switch up, you know, coming from Fort Worth, but I'm really just the same person and that some people don't have the same access that they did before, so they think I'm acting new.
- [45:59]
Richard Sherman
But in certain parts, you gotta change, you know? I mean, you gotta grow and mature. It's like people get upset that they're in the same spot and they not growing and you growing, but you come back to see them and they're like, man, you don't. Don't think you better than us. I'm not better. I'm just different because I gotta go through different experiences. So that's cool that you. You get to get back, but you also continue to grow as a person. You still hooping? They say you used to be somebody.
- [46:22]
Tariq Woolen
I used. I used to. I had. I started hooping a good minute ago, man. I like to shoot the ball, but other than going in pickup game, nah, I gotta protect my legs. You know, that court. Have your knees hur.
- [46:33]
Richard Sherman
Your knees are. No question about it. No question about it. So we both spent the journey from going playing receiver, you know, at a high level, to. To playing corner. You got to talk to me about that transition, why it happened, when it happened, what went into it.
- [46:48]
Tariq Woolen
So I was in college, and I. I was getting a little PT at receiver, but it wasn't like my. Like, for me. It was my thing, but for the coaches, I guess it wasn't, you know, and. And I was getting less playing time, and we had a young guy come in, and he was a baller, you know what I'm saying? And you gotta put your best players out there. And that was like a mental moment for me. And one day, the coach Pulled me. And he was like, you athletic? You told we can use you on the team. Just might not be receiver. Have you ever played corner? And I was like, nah. I was like, nah, I never played defense in my life. And he was like, would you like to try to help out the team? And I was like, nah, I'm a receiver. You know what I'm saying? I've been playing offense my whole life. And he was like, just try it one time at practice today and you'll see that it'll help the team. And if you like it, you can keep doing it some more. And so I go to practice and I go to the receiver drills and he'll pull me down to the DB drills and I'll just be in DB drills. Like, nah, I'm a receiver. So after the DB drills, I keep trying to go to receiver Indian, he'll point back to db. And it was a practice where I was actually doing real good. And all I was doing just running with guys. And the coach was like, are you sure you don't want to play this? And I'm like, I mean, I could try. And I want to say that was before COVID had happened because it was 2019 and then Covid was that March of 2020 when stuff started to really happen for real.
- [48:07]
Richard Sherman
Make me feel like an old man, bro.
- [48:10]
Tariq Woolen
I'm telling you, Covid is crazy. And I played that last game, 2019 season as a corner. And then we got new coaches and they asked me that I want to play receiver or corner for the 2020 season. I just chose to play corner. And then from there I just start to buy in and shoot, I'm here.
- [48:26]
Richard Sherman
Now, you're here now, and you're on your way to getting what you need to get. Keeping on the path. Was there any inspirations? Anybody?
- [48:34]
Sam Darnold
You.
- [48:34]
Richard Sherman
You tried to mirror your game. I remember when I first moved to corner, I was just watching Dion videos and Charles Woodson videos non stop. I was just like, well, look, I think I could figure that, figure out how to play like this. Was there anybody that you looked for? I mean, they said you was watching mad playing mad and learning the coverages. I said, I know this boy wasn't no mad trying to look.
- [48:52]
Tariq Woolen
It kind of went both ways. Like as a receiver, you know how it is like a receiver, I have a cornerback that they go against a lot of times, or it'll just receiver that I like to end up will end up getting shut down. And also it wasn't too many tall corners at the time. So I would look at you, you know what I'm saying? And then I look at Jalen Ramsey, just because he was a taller guy and his press work was real good. And shoot, those, like, y' all two, like, really the first two guys, I was really watching a lot. Cause I didn't know who to watch or what to watch. I just knew that y' all were taller. Y' all played football real well. And those, like, the, like, y' all two people was. I want them out of my game.
- [49:30]
Richard Sherman
I wish I could have called you and told you to look at Brandon Browning. He's the only other six, four corner I ever seen just manhandle people. You came into your rookie year, you know, you. You weren't sure how it would go. You got a great opportunity. Started off the bat, started hot, made. You know what I mean? Six interceptions off the bat. Walk me through that season and your mindset, because you. Because we used to have conversations, but I didn't want to oversaturate you with information. I knew once you get out there, you get a feel for it. You had four picks in a row at one point. That was a smooth, smooth run right there. Talk about how that season helped grow your confidence.
- [50:04]
Tariq Woolen
Honestly, it started to grow just between each game. I tell people every time, my favorite play and my biggest play I will never forget, we played the 49ers, and I blocked the field goal, and it went for a touchdown. And that was like, my first play in the league. And it wasn't even on the defensive side of the ball. It was just the fact that I actually did something. And I'm like, damn, I did something. We scored on it, too. I was like, damn, it was nice. And then that ball. We played the Falcons, and I got my first interception. And then it was like, boom, three weeks in a row after that. And just being able to, you know, get better each week and, you know, just have a feel for the game. And it started to really slow down for me, for real.
- [50:41]
Richard Sherman
Now let's talk about your coach, because you got a defensive coach. You had a defensive coach when Pete was here, but Mike said a little bit different of a coach runs a different scheme. You're in year two of this scheme. Do you feel more comfortable? Do you feel like you have it down, packed and like, man, this could be a real breakout season for you? And just the defense as a whole.
- [50:59]
Tariq Woolen
Oh, yeah. I feel like it'll be a great breakout season, to be honest. You know, we already have a great defense, and we already have the pieces and we added new ones. We just got to buy in. And like you said, our second unit defense, so a guy is a little more comfortable with it and stuff like that. And as we still learn new things into the defense as well, you know, it still feels. And it's just crazy. Cause I took this the most I impressed before ever. And I mean, that's my skill set for real. So I like it. And as we continue to grow as a team, as we continue to go through camp and stuff like that and come to an end of installing everything, then I'm pretty sure that what we have put together, we're going to execute it real well. And I know our defense will be real fine.
- [51:41]
Richard Sherman
Look, look, I was always told, press until you can't. And from what I'm. The conversations I've had with Coach, Coach McDonald, that's what he wants from y', all, and that's a great way to play. You ever in doubt, go press and have him tell you to get off of him. But how different is it playing in this? I can't even say two because just too high safety look versus what you ran, you know, early on in your career, the one high, the single high, three one coverages. How has that adjustment been for you?
- [52:10]
Tariq Woolen
It's been smooth. Just because, like, since you got two safeties there, it's easier to trust that they gonna have you on post or like kind of deep breaking routes and stuff like that. And then also it just, you can be more tighter to routes as well. I feel like just because you kind of have that, that safety net back there and you can play routes a little differently. I know that most our stuff is a little bit more matchy as well. Compared to what it, what it was more clue, what I say clue. But loose thirds and more like of a true zone.
- [52:40]
Richard Sherman
You know, y' all played it, we played it more matchy, man. I don't know what he was coaching.
- [52:46]
Tariq Woolen
Like, I remember just the, the, the 49ers game in the playoffs my rookie year. And like, they'll keep running these deep digs or deep overs. And I'm like. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, but it was the fact that they were like, oh, the hookers and stuff like that. They can get it and stuff like that. So it was just that. But honestly, shoot, this defense, I, I love it. And I, I, I like the way that we play things around here, especially the mix and matches of different coverages and then the different fronts to make the D line eat. Because D line and secondary Go hand in hand. And if you have a great D line, make sure secondary look even better.
- [53:20]
Richard Sherman
Look, remember that around Christmas time is what the D line always told us. You know, look, they helping you eat. They say, hey, you know, a nice little gift here and there don't hurt nobody. But y' all ain't paid yet, so, you know, take your time with that. But. But that was something that people don't really understand is just how, you know, what's on paper about a coverage can look different than what's being executed on. On the field. Because people. We were running the same things y' all were running, but we just played it so different, and people were like, oh, man, you guys. You gu. Running. Running some complicated coverage. Like, no, it's cover three. But the reason it looks like this, because we know the place. Yeah, it's like the reason I'm running this dig for him is because I knew it was dig. He knew it was dig. I know he's not going to drop because he gonna sit for the check down, because we're not giving him the check down either. I'm gonna drive dig, and we're gonna get this play squashed altogether. But that just comes from, you know, years and years of playing in the scheme. But that's similar to what y' all doing right now in Mike's scheme, and what you. You're. You're making the scheme your own.
- [54:11]
Tariq Woolen
Yeah.
- [54:12]
Richard Sherman
You know, and so this season, contract, year, all that, it's. It's no different for you. Don't try to put more pressure on yourself. I think it's. It's a time for you to go out there and have fun, trust your teammates. Y' all got an incredible secondary. Y' all might have one of the best, most talented defenses in the National Football League, and they, you know, they might. You. You. You might be getting guys. More guys back as you're getting healthy. So what I would say is just have fun, man. Go out there and. And enjoy yourself. The ships are going to fall where they supposed to fall, and corners these days is getting paid. So just do your job, stay healthy as best you can, brother.
- [54:43]
Tariq Woolen
Yeah, sure. No, for sure, man. That's my goal, man. So, I mean, it's human nature. You see all the, you know, the corners and stuff like that, but all it is is playing ball for real. I know I put myself in a great position. I just got to keep playing ball, man, for real.
- [54:57]
Richard Sherman
On that note, because early on, it was, you know, the big conversation between you and Sauce, you and Saul who's better? You and Sauce? You know where I stand. The books is important to me. You got more books that, you know, it's hard. A hard conversation to have, but. Does that ever get into your mind? I mean, as a competitor? It would get in. It wouldn't get into my mind, like in a negative way, but it'd just be like, I keep tabs like, yeah, how they doing? All right. I'm strapping all in, boys.
- [55:21]
Tariq Woolen
No.
- [55:24]
Richard Sherman
All right. For sure. Do you ever. Do you ever find yourself doing that?
- [55:27]
Tariq Woolen
A little bit. You know, just because like I said in my class, I seen a lot of corners go before me even. I remember just being there with my family and just watching all these people get drafted. I knew I wasn't gonna be like no first round pick. I was utsa, you know what I'm saying? I had to really just go crazy just to do that. But I knew that I was able to be able to play and I knew that some people wouldn't be able to. Shouldn't be getting drafted before me, you know, but once we got here, all that erases and you gotta play ball. And whenever all that stuff was happening and I just would see it, I. I knew what type of world I'll be living in from there, but. But I knew that it was my race and I knew that I just had to beat Tariq Woolen. If I'm the best version of myself, I don't think anybody can beat me. So you know what I'm saying? And my stats actually show it, and my takeaways, my past defense, you know, just everything statistical, it shows.
- [56:20]
Richard Sherman
So I mean, and you just gotta keep putting it on tape and it'll.
- [56:23]
Tariq Woolen
Take care of you most definitely. So I just beat myself for real.
- [56:25]
Richard Sherman
Speaking of races, this is my last question. You're the fastest player ever over six foot in the combine. You know all that. Do you ever get any of these young guys coming in trying to try you?
- [56:36]
Tariq Woolen
No, not really. Just because, like, some of the young guys, they just be amazed that that, dang, we on the same team for real. And it'd be crazy because, like, when I was a younger guy, that's how I was. And I remember when I first got In, I seen DK&T lock and like, I knew I can VDK and run it, but it wasn't even that fact. It was just the fact like, damn, I'm on the same team, man. It's pretty cool. So I feel like that's how it is kind of the rookies nowadays like we all on the same team and nobody just really said they can just come and challenge me and beat me for real.
- [57:02]
Richard Sherman
If they had one in. Sorry, one more. If you had one of them races, would you participate? Because it was a while Tariq was talking about, oh, we gonna have.
- [57:08]
Tariq Woolen
Oh, trust me. Most definitely. I'm telling you, I hands down, you put me out there on going crazy. I'm for real. I've been, I've been wanting the NFL. Somebody said that. I'm telling you, fastest man competition. For real. I'm gonna show him. I feel like I'm the fastest.
- [57:22]
Richard Sherman
Hey you, you heard it here first. Fastest man competition. Y' all need to organize it. Reek is in it. Reek is in it. No question about it.
- [57:28]
Tariq Woolen
Most definitely.
- [57:29]
Richard Sherman
I appreciate you joining me, brother. It's been a long time and and we're gonna have you during the season to continue these conversations. I way good luck this year.
- [57:36]
Tariq Woolen
Yes, sir. No, I appreciate you for having me.
- [57:37]
Richard Sherman
Appreciate you.
- [57:39]
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- [59:55]
Richard Sherman
Welcome back to the Richard Sherman Podcast. Today I have an incredible guest, the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, Mike McDonald. Appreciate you joining me.
- [60:03]
Mike McDaniel
Yeah, honored to be on here, man. It's great to see you.
- [60:04]
Richard Sherman
Great to see you. So I want to start at the beginning of your journey. You had a fork in the road. You could have went into finance. You were summa cum laude and you decided to go intern for Baltimore. How did that.
- [60:18]
Mike McDaniel
Well, I didn't, I didn't decide for to go. Like, I didn't just pick Baltimore. They, they, they fortunately reach out to me. I think, I think it's, I think it's a, like a calling thing from God, frankly. It's just, how could you not, you know, like, that was a dream of mine to do it. And I had taken a job, you know, in the business world, wasn't fired up about it, but it kind of felt like it was time to move on. And, you know, the Ravens, they reached out and they had this whole process that Jay Harbaugh actually helped run define. And so I had an opportunity to go up there and talk with them and meet with everybody, and they chose me. And so that was just like a major blessing. And you're sitting there, I'm going to go work for the Ravens, and so I'm going to go try to take.
- [60:58]
Richard Sherman
Advantage of the opportunity on the practice field. You shared a story with me about, it's almost a full circle moment, 10 years to the day since you came in here and had a conversation with Dan Quinn and got to see him and how he coached and try to learn from him. Now you're the head coach of that same team. I mean, I mean, just take me through that journey of how we got here.
- [61:17]
Mike McDaniel
Yeah, it's funny that we're talking today. It was on my heart the other day, going through the locker room and seeing the guys. But, yeah, so the guy that I was working for at the time, our divisive coordinator, Todd Grantham, set up a visit. My sister was living in Kirkland at the time. So I was going to come up here and visit her in the spring. And so they had a relationship, DQ and Todd. So they set up a time for me to come in here and hang out with DQ for the day. And I think it was like, it was a low period. Not was in. But I'll tell you what, like, just walking through the door the first time, it just felt so much different than anything that I was used to, like, positive. We all know the culture that was here, the positivity, the energy, the connection that everybody had. And for DQ to take his time to just hang out with a dumb GA like me, you know, he's. I forget what he was talking about. He was. Whatever he drew on the sheet of paper, I would have thought it was gold. And. But then we walked around this. What I. What I. What I shared with Sherm was he goes in the locker room and. And like, I'm in there with him. And you were right there maybe finishing a workout or something, and like, you guys dapped each other up. It was like, you're laughing. There's, you know, he's like shadow boxing. You like. And I'm just like, man, this guy is so cool. And this place is so awesome, you know, and so that's one of those, like, core memories that you have as a coach of. Oh, this is what it could feel like, you know, And. And this is why. This is probably one of the reasons why these guys are so good. And. And.
- [62:38]
Tariq Woolen
And then.
- [62:39]
Mike McDaniel
Yeah. I mean, you look at the calendar again, I think it's a calling thing. You look. It's almost 10 years to the day from walking into the building. We're walking in there as head coach, so it's a pretty incredible story.
- [62:49]
Richard Sherman
And you talk about a rapid ascent. I mean, you're still one of the youngest head coaches in the National Football League. How incredibly blessed do you feel? And just privileged you get to do this for a job. You get to lead these incredible men. You came in, in your first season, win 10 ball games. I mean, there are coaches that have coached a long time that probably still haven't seen 10 win season, but that's a story for a different day.
- [63:12]
Mike McDaniel
Yeah, I think you put it the right way. Incredibly blessed. There's like a sense of responsibility of when you're around. Like today we were having not the best morning of all time. Some of the game plan meetings we had weren't really going the way that we wanted it to go, and it was a little frustrating. We got you Know, we were stuck in the mud a little bit. But you get to the team meeting, you see the guys, you're in the defensive team meeting and you come to life. And so anytime you're around the guys, you're just like, man, I love these guys, you know, and there's a responsibility there because they're putting on the line. They have so much at stake. And it's our football team, it's our city's football team, and that's huge. But these are the guys that were reacting, that we're interacting with on a daily basis. And that's what gets you going. I mean, that's the sense of responsibility you have. And I think, you know, I know I'm young, I've had a lot of great opportunities, been really lucky. I used to joke with Harbs and in Baltimore, you know, we'd have with some great coaches that move on to great opportunities. Like Spags was our DB coach in 2014. He became a defensive coordinator. So then I got to be promoted. Ted Monacino got a defense coordinator job. So, you know, opportunity was available. And then Dean Pease retired. I mean, Leslie Frazier was our DB coach at one point. He got promoted, he went to Buffalo. So I was always the young, cheap option to, you know, to kind of take the next step, responsibility wise, but just been around like awesome people, man. If you were to tell me when I came in to hang out with dq, I was gonna hang out with Dan Quinn, Jim Harbaugh, John Harbaugh, Ozzy Newsom, Steve Spagnolo, Dean Pease, Wayne Martin, I mean, the list goes on and on. It's just. And the guys we have here, I mean, we got some great coaches in the building. John Schneider, it's pretty incredible.
- [64:56]
Richard Sherman
It's really incredible. And you. And at least from, you know, 30,000 foot view, I can see elements of all those coaches, even how you ran your off season program. Certain elements. I can see Jim Harbaugh and how he does things and how, you know, how he knows that Callis built great football teams and he only built them by getting the reps. And he had this great simple saying that he would say more is more.
- [65:18]
Mike McDaniel
That's right.
- [65:19]
Richard Sherman
It has never been less.
- [65:21]
Mike McDaniel
That's hilarious. That's so funny. That's right. I was there.
- [65:26]
Richard Sherman
Who, who would you say is your biggest, like inspiration to your coaching style?
- [65:32]
Mike McDaniel
Oh, man, I think, I think you said it best is just when you're around these people, you, you realize, I mean, all the. All. I think that the common thread from all These guys is just, it's, it's true to them. You know, there's no phony, there's no phoniness there. God, that drives you crazy if someone's trying to act like somebody else. And I mean, I've been around John Harbaugh for a long time. I mean, he's a huge influence on me.
- [65:57]
Tariq Woolen
But.
- [65:57]
Mike McDaniel
Yeah, you're just taking bits and pieces. Oh, okay. I'm inspired by that. Well, maybe I would tweak it like this. I think that's kind of more my style. You're always kind of making those assessments as you go. Yeah, you talk about just our programming. I think the blend that I found is work that's like, true to us is, hey, like we say, old school principles, new school methods. So the callus is real. Like, hey, we're going to get after it. We're going to respect each other. You know, we're going to have integrity. You know, like, there's. I think, I think that you have to have that to have a solid foundation. But, you know, new school methods, like, hey, we're have fun. Like, we're going to, we're going to do cool stuff. We're going to chase edges on, like, on how we do stuff and methods, and we're going to use science and we're going to use analytics and we're going to study the heck out of what schemes and try to be on the forefront of that and, and how we acquire players. Like, all that stuff is. Hopefully it has a youthful, innovative feel to it.
- [66:49]
Richard Sherman
I think the coolest thing about you and about a lot of the great coaches now is your ability to pivot and be flexible. You're not rigid in your philosophy. You have your foundational pillars, but you also understand that each year is a new challenge. You have a new team and you have new individuals. Walk me through your changes or your evolution from year one to year two.
- [67:11]
Mike McDaniel
Man, we, it's, it's, it's pretty, it's pretty significant. You know, frankly, I think we, we finished last year and I know you take 10, win. 10 wins is awesome. It's great. But, you know, we have bigger goals here and, and frankly, it's high. We should have higher expectations for ourselves. And so we fell short and we have to be critical of what we're doing. You know, it's the same, it goes back to the same, same philosophy. Hey, we're still gonna be built on the right stuff, but how we're doing it, let's evaluate that. So as a head coach, where Did I fall short? Well, I can be better in these areas, like streamlining the message, taking more ownership of the team, being better in the team meetings, connecting the building better, having more, better relationship with our players. All those things was a priority. Hey, we can improve our off season program. It was a great program last year, but we can take it to another level. Level. And that could give us an edge going into the season. So those were all on the forefront and then we got great people around, like working with Ivan and Danny down there. Building our off season program was so much fun. They took it by the reins, made it come to life. It was awesome. All of our coaches, they just like, they make it come to life, man. And you really appreciate that because they're going to bat for you.
- [68:27]
Richard Sherman
I think it's really cool that offensively you guys have evolved and it seems like you guys are adopting some semblance of the. And I hate to use other coaches to name it, but that's the only way I know how to name these systems. The McVeigh, Shanahan, O', Connell, La Flores, West Coast, Bill Walsh system, which is, which is the, the top of the top at the league right now. Every, every great team is running some version of it. And defensively, I think you guys are at the forefront of, you know, your combinations, your, your exotic fronts, your disguise packages. Tell me about that evolution and what went into that. Because when you lost Geno and you lost DK and, and obviously that's a huge shift. You lose Tyler, you know, that's, that's two of your top three receivers. You lose your quarterback and it seemed like the pivot you guys made was so seamless. You go out to practice, you would never know that you, you really lost anybody. It's been smooth. On offense, you guys look like a well oil machine. You got young guys stepping up. The offensive line looks as good as it's ever been. Been. Take me through that.
- [69:29]
Mike McDaniel
Well make when. As I'm listening to, I'm thinking interview. When we were interviewing Clint, he asked about personnel. Like he goes something along the lines of, hey now, like, are all these guys, you know, are we expecting any changes? Or these like this is, like this is. We're going to have. Because, you know, I like these guys or whatever. And I'm like, yeah, like, you know, of course, going so I didn't know. It happened fast. And you know, he gets here and all of a sudden we have a completely new offense. John and I are like, hey, everything's gonna be all right, I promise. You know, know, and, but Clint's been awesome, man. He's just, he's, he's. First of all, he's a team guy. He's, I mean talk about all time greats. I mean, just, you know. I know, I know he's kind of like with Kyle and his dad have like building his own vision of his offense. But Gary's such a big influence on him. I think what's cool about our shared experience of like how we've built our systems is, you know, you think about, I mean, Clint's even been around Air Raid and so, so, you know, he's, and he's worked for his dad and he's worked for Kyle and then he's done it on his own. So same idea of, hey, I'm on these like awesome, these awesome systems and I'm learning the nuts and bolts of what makes it come to life. But hey, I'm, I'm. There's different ways to do it. And so I think his experience last year he really created, started creating a vision for how he wants his offense to run. And it's adaptable on personnel. But I think, I'm proud to say we have our own on our office. The Seahawk offense now, now we're based on west coast wide zone principles, all that, but you know, this is Clint's offense, this is our offense now, which is cool. It's same thing with us on defense. You know, we were talking before we walked in here and it's, we're influenced by so many great systems and coordinators in the past. But I think, you know, as a coach, it's your responsibility to kind of read the tea leaves and understand where the game's going. The game's so much different than it was, you know, in 06, in 08, even five years ago, you know, and so you have to kind of have a system that's adaptable and flexible enough that, and light enough where you can move and shake and keep it simple for the guys so they can go have success.
- [71:28]
Richard Sherman
Yeah, I think you're doing that and I, and I love that and I love your football mind. And we can, we're going to pivot a little bit because this is the important stuff. You had a son a little less than a year ago. Yeah. How has that journey been? Because you, you're having all this massive impact on all these other young men. But now you got your blood, sweat and tears.
- [71:45]
Mike McDaniel
I know.
- [71:46]
Richard Sherman
In your house.
- [71:46]
Mike McDaniel
Well, he's here right, right now. He's. I saw him. He's here before practice. My wife. The only time I can see him now is at practice. My wife brings him all the time. It's been. It's been. It's pretty. It's just been incredible. Like, I don't know if I had actual expectations about how I was going, but. Or how it was going to. Going to go, but when you have a kid in the middle of the season, it's kind of wild. And your first year, I mean, there's a lot of stuff going on last year, but I think. I think there was a light that went off in my mind, like in the off season, like, oh, you've been. You've missed a significant portion of your kid's life. Like, you got to kick it into gear as a dad, you know, that's not true.
- [72:26]
Richard Sherman
But.
- [72:27]
Mike McDaniel
But I, like, I felt it a little bit, you know, and. And my. And my wife's been so awesome with the whole process, and. But we're not, like, our family's not here. We don't have a lot of. We haven't have, like, a lot of people as a help and stuff, so. But it's been awesome. And now he's like, he's almost walking and, like, he's interested in stuff and he's banging on the table and. And we're trying to get him to say. We're racing to say dad or mom first. Yeah. You know how that goes. So, I mean, we're in that stage right now, which is awesome. And, yeah, I still can't believe he's like ours. You look at him and you're like, what are you going to look like? You know, like, what's your personality going to be? What are you going to say? You know, what are you going to be interested in? And so it's just. Yeah, it's really cool. Can't wait for. I mean, I love this phase. Can't wait for the other phases, but don't want this phase to leave. It's a great time.
- [73:10]
Richard Sherman
You're going to experience a lot of phases of that. What I will say as. As a. As another dad is it's. It. It feels that way. It feels like every second you're away, you're like, man, I missed this. And. And thank God for our wives and how superhuman they are and how incredible they are. Because I. I tried to explain this to other people, but you don't really understand it until you see it for yourself. It's like when they become mothers, it's like something clicks and you're like, God, oh, My God, I didn't even know how to do. How did you. How did you know to do that? Like, I never saw you. I've known you for a long time now, and I've never seen.
- [73:43]
Mike McDaniel
That's right.
- [73:43]
Richard Sherman
It's really well.
- [73:44]
Mike McDaniel
And they feed. I mean, they create the. They've created. They actually created the kid, which is insane. And you. They birth, and you're like, wow, that's. That's incredible. And then they're like, okay, I'm just gonna make his food now.
- [73:55]
Richard Sherman
Right.
- [73:56]
Mike McDaniel
Just naturally. And you're like, the body naturally knows what to do. And they turn it.
- [73:59]
Tariq Woolen
Yeah.
- [73:59]
Richard Sherman
It's like, can I help?
- [74:00]
Mike McDaniel
Incredible.
- [74:01]
Richard Sherman
Like, what do I do?
- [74:01]
Mike McDaniel
Yeah. And I'm like, nope, I can't. And yet, hey, we hold him for a second and he loses his mind, right? You're like, all right, I'll go try to calm him down.
- [74:09]
Richard Sherman
That's what. That's what I would say.
- [74:10]
Cooper Kupp
You.
- [74:10]
Sam Darnold
You.
- [74:11]
Richard Sherman
You appreciate the moments when they get old enough to know, and. And you can sit them in office and they're just sitting here on your arm, and you're like, hey, I gotta watch this table. At least you're right here.
- [74:19]
Tariq Woolen
And. Yeah.
- [74:20]
Richard Sherman
And you just appreciate the. The moments that, hey, I'm working hard for something. I. I said this to. To them a long time ago when I had my first son. We had just lost the Super Bowl. We had lost. And he was born three days. My wife was, like, getting contractions.
- [74:33]
Mike McDaniel
I forgot about that.
- [74:34]
Richard Sherman
Oh, my God. It was. It was. It was chaos. And it hits you in a different way. Losing is hard enough, but losing and then having your son at the game, you're like, oh, my God. So I was like, One of my biggest goals was to say, hey, I want my son to see me playing a Super Bowl. Like, and so it'd be so many moments where you're like, hey, he's got all these all pros. You got all these accolades, like, you could feel good about your career, but when you have something like that, that. And you see him every day, and you're like, hey, you're. You're pushing me to another level that I. I appreciate you helping me get to, because without you, I don't know if I'm getting there.
- [75:04]
Tariq Woolen
Yeah.
- [75:05]
Mike McDaniel
Heck, yeah. It's special. That's like. I mean, there's a lot of, like, existential questions you ask yourself, especially when you're. Become a dad, but you're like, what? You know, what are we really doing? Why are we.
- [75:16]
Sam Darnold
Why are we doing what we're really doing.
- [75:17]
Mike McDaniel
It kind of. It tests you, you know, like, it. It. You know, you gotta put your money where your mouth is on. On what you're about. And now. Now it's like, okay, well, your son's gonna see this at some point. Well, however this. Whatever way it goes, he's gonna see how. How you did what you did, and that's always in the back of your mind, you know, but it would be. I mean, I wouldn't. I couldn't. I'm, like, praying that he is old enough and to be able to experience this, you know, meet the guys, hang out, have a relationship with the guys, you know, be interested in the game, you know, all that type of stuff. He doesn't have to be a co. Hopefully, he's not hopeful. He's a, you know, astronomer or something.
- [75:59]
Richard Sherman
I'm gonna let you know something. It's the reason all these. These great coaches and you look up in their sons are, like, right behind.
- [76:05]
Sam Darnold
That's right.
- [76:05]
Richard Sherman
Talking about Kubiak right now.
- [76:07]
Mike McDaniel
That's right.
- [76:08]
Richard Sherman
You go, McVeigh, La Flores, like all these guys, and. Because it's what you've grown into. You know, if you're a great coach, you coach for a long time. And it's not like you're taking something away from your son because everybody's dad goes to work. I mean, not everybody, but for the most part, you see that. My dad was a trash truck driver. I didn't want to be a trash truck driver. But the lessons that it taught me about being consistent, being on time, being dedicated to your craft, doing being where you're supposed to be, and understanding that you have to. There's 85% of life is doing what you have to do to get to do the 15 of the things you want to do.
- [76:42]
Mike McDaniel
Yeah, that's right.
- [76:42]
Richard Sherman
And if you understand that and you. You're at peace with it, then you have no problem working your butt off to get to that 15%. It's like, I'm. Look, I know I gotta grind, and I appreciate the lessons, and I'm sure your son will appreciate the lessons that you're teaching and how hard you're working and the hours you're putting in. Because you also have a great wife who's letting her, letting them know, hey, your dad's out there making it happen.
- [77:01]
Mike McDaniel
That's right. It's funny. Listen to it reminding me. You know, today we're talking about our style to the team, and one of the words we use is relentless. And so. But AD Had A heck of a team meeting today, and I hope he doesn't mind me sharing this, but. But we talked about relentless, like, what it means as a football player, a team, all that type of stuff. And AD Was like, you know what he told the defenses. You know what I was thinking when I was listening to Mike talk was my mom. He grew up without a dad for the majority of his childhood, and she just worked away to make that opportunity for her kids. And you're just like, man, it's true. Relentless is one of those old school things that it comes to life and, and you can have she probably in those moments growing up, there's a lot of hard times, but the impact she's making is just really great. I mean, and then on the other side, like, what we're able to do, I mean, shoot, we're. We're coaching the NFL, man. Like, we got a pretty. This is pretty awesome. You know, like, people are. Have, like, real stuff going on right there. And I mean, you know, there's. There's challenges in our job, but you have to remind yourself that, I mean, we got a pretty dang good.
- [78:05]
Richard Sherman
We got a pretty dang good, and you're doing a great job at it. Anything you want to tell the fans because they're so excited and they got all these questions about all the prognosticators, got you ranked at the bottom of the NFC West. Is there anything you. You feel about that? Or is that bulletin board material? And it's like, I kind of know the answer, but I'll let you speak it.
- [78:25]
Mike McDaniel
You know, we don't use it as bulletin board material. I think one of those things we talked about going from year one to year two is, is let's just focus on us and become the team that we say that we want to become, and then the results will take care of itself. If we do we say we want or what we want to become, it's gonna. Like the results are gonna happen some form or another. And so let's focus on that. My. My. My response would be like, does.
- [78:53]
Richard Sherman
I don't.
- [78:53]
Mike McDaniel
What were the odds last year going at this time of the year?
- [78:56]
Richard Sherman
Right.
- [78:57]
Mike McDaniel
Or who had who? I don't remember. Nobody remembers.
- [78:59]
Richard Sherman
Nobody remembers.
- [79:00]
Mike McDaniel
It's. It's like I always say it's like up. It's like fairy dust, right? You know, it's just like Wolf of Wall Street. Like, it's a wazi, it's a woozy. It's just. It's stuff out there that people are interested in, which is cool, but it doesn't mean anything.
- [79:14]
Richard Sherman
It doesn't mean anything. You still got to line it up, put the pads on and see how it goes. That's the, that's the beautiful thing about football. Any given Sunday. I know it's a cliche thing, but really, that's how it goes. People are like, oh man, you got the hardest schedule or you got the easiest schedule. Like none of that matters. Last year really doesn't matter. We, we're going to str. Wrap it up this year and there's going to be some team that, that you expect to win every game.
- [79:38]
Mike McDaniel
That's right.
- [79:38]
Richard Sherman
That has struggles and there's going to be some team that worked their tail off this off season that you're not expecting to be great. That's going to just be there at the end. You're gonna be like, whoa, how did they end up here? Because these are grown men with ambitions and drive and they work their butt off. And I think you guys have put together a great OTAs offseason, a great training camp, and I'm looking forward to seeing the product.
- [79:57]
Mike McDaniel
Yeah. Thanks man.
- [79:57]
Sam Darnold
Love it.
- [79:58]
Richard Sherman
Appreciate you brother.
- [79:59]
Mike McDaniel
I appreciate your time. Thanks.
- [80:00]
Richard Sherman
Thank you.
- [80:01]
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- [80:31]
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- [81:02]
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- [81:31]
Mike McDaniel
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- [82:01]
Cooper Kupp
This is an iHeart podcast.