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Charles McDonald
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Bomani Jones
Experian Foreign. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Right Time A Wave original. My name is Bomani Jones. Thanks for listening wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for watching us on YouTube. Subscribe, like, rate us, review us, give us five stars. You only give us four stars. I'm inclined to believe you are a hater. It is that time of week where we have a guest join us. Check them out on yahoo. Sports. Charles McDonald. What's going on?
Charles McDonald
Nothing much. It's a week in black history this week. As you know, Mike Tomlin. The Steelers split, we got Baltimore, the Ravens owner going absolutely loco. So I, I was talking to Ryan before, uh, we got on. I was like, usually like this week and a half is a little quieter, like where you kind of focus on the playoff teams. You got your fires in the background. But no, we had like a seismic shift in the NFL that unfortunately has caused this week to be really a week and a half to be a lot more work than I'm used to it being at this time of year. But I was like, look at Charles.
Bomani Jones
Setting up the whole show. And then I realized it all came back around to him.
Charles McDonald
That's right.
Bomani Jones
This was not about the television show. This was about him thinking about how he thought he was going to be chilling this week.
Charles McDonald
Yes, I did think I was going to be chilling this week. I thought because this is the best part of the year as like a national writer where you cut down on the amount of games, you know, so you go from basically every team playing every week and now we got four games. This weekend is perfect. But unfortunately the NFL decided no, we have to go through like an era defining shift in our head coaching talent. I just pray for those guys who take those jobs because, all right, I.
Bomani Jones
Have a quasi black history moment that has happened this week and it is not about football. I don't want to delay. You're supposed to get to the show at the top of the show. Right. But I want to put a pin in this, because I want to talk about it right. Right before the break. It is a very simple observation, but somebody don't let me forget about this. Anyway, Mike Tomlin. I did something on YouTube. Those of you who are audio listeners, we do YouTube exclusives. A lot of times, if something hot happens, we turn that thing right back around fast on YouTube trying to get that money. You understand what I'm saying? And so, you know, you might want to jump on the 21st century and head over there every now and then and see what we got going. Plus, I be looking good on a. So Tomlin, to me, this made sense. And it sounds like I said there that I didn't think the Steelers were that upset that he decided to go. But it doesn't sound like the Steelers were very happy that he decided to go. Right. Like, it seems truly. Or maybe they just really love that man enough that we gonna ride this story out for real. But they seem really despond or not. That was not their plan. It was Tomlin's idea. Tomlin walked away from $16 million a year, which I'm going to be honest with you. You got me fucked up. Y' all gonna have to fire me in front of Everybody. Right? Like $16 million. I will take a little bit of embarrassment. But also, it was time. Right. Shout out to him if that was Demonstrate. If it was a demonstration of a measure of shame. I give him all the credit in the world because you get fired for what happened on Sunday. Right. The only reason that we wouldn't think that he would get fired for that is because he works for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Charles McDonald
Well, yeah. And I. I have to imagine that the more I sit with it, it does seem like it was kind of on his own accord because he seems like he's already got some TV stuff set up. Yeah. Which, you know, that doesn't happen, like, from Sunday night to Monday morning or Monday morning, Tuesday morning, whenever. Whenever that game was. We have seen reports about maybe he wants to get into tv. Kind of rumbling this season. And now, boom, Mike Tom is done, and he's gonna go to. Seems like he's gonna go to CBS for, like, at least a year and then get back into it. So salute to Mike, man. Like, you got to go out on your own terms. Like, unfortunately, it was a brutal way for your. Your term to end with the Texans just kind of running all in your backyard in the second half of that game. But, like, 19 years of no losing seasons. I think now that, like, it's over, like, we should Be able to kind of step back and say that is insane because they have trotted out some crap out there basically, since Ben Roethlisberger had to retire. And the fact that you never dipped under.500 for all those years, even though I understand, like, fans getting tired of, like, man, like, we're getting to the wild card, nothing's happened. We're, we're, we're clearly not in a good, the team, as our, as our record says. But the fact that he got to go out on his own terms is great. And now we get to see without, like, you know, sadness of him leaving what the hell this looks like without him there. Because that's like, maybe the most interesting part of this to me. How much, like, was he dragging whatever they had assembled to the playoffs? Like, how much of that was his coaching acumen? How much of that was. Was the roster assembled? Because I, I, none of us believe in them when they get to the playoffs, even though they're scraping and fighting their way there. I don't think anyone picked them to be the Texans. You know, no one's picking them to beat like the Chiefs when they run into them, you know, earlier towards the end of Ben Roethlisberger career, and now we get to see someone else get to try to do this. I wonder if it was a situation where they kind of wanted to rebuild and I can understand not wanting to do that because, you know, once you decide to take that plunge to the bottom, there's no guarantee you're going to be back. So the fact that he got got to keep that record, have a respectable season and win the division, I think that's cool. Like, salute to him for, for pull that off. And now it's time. I. It was definitely time for both parties to move on, but like, this and Baltimore, it's like, it's like the closest thing you can probably get to, like, Tuscaloosa in the NFL just given, like, the stakes of what's going on, probably more so than Baltimore because they have a quarterback. But those Steelers fans, like, they're not going to tolerate, like, if you start going 3 and 14, 5 and 12, that's not going to be cool for that long.
Bomani Jones
So that's going to be interesting because they. I'm 45 years old. They've never been terrible in my life. Right? Like, just flat out terrible. Right. A2 and Bill Belichick put up a terrible season on the way out the door in New England. Right. This franchise over the span of three coaches. And it's also Impressive when you consider. And this is the thing that people don't know. Prior to Chuck Noel, you could make an argument that the Pittsburgh Steelers were the worst franchise in the NFL. Right. The original Rooney running the team was a little bit more concerned with his primary business, which was the rackets to be talking about the football team. Right. The 1970s came around, and the Steelers were relatively early adopters of. Of two things. HBCU talent and supplements. They, they. They got in early on these things, and they've never been bad after that. They have not always been as excellent as the rhetoric would have you believe. They had a four. A run of four Super Bowls in six years. That kind of gives us it's. I mean, look, it was what it was like. The 1970s were incredible. The 1980s were not. And the 1990s were pretty good. I think it's probably the fairest way that you could characterize this, but they've never been terrible. And so for Tomlin, A who wants to be there while we just gonna be sorry for a couple years because they still gonna blame like after a while. It's like any other relationship, man. It's got tired of his after a point. It don't mean he a bad dude necessarily, but they get. Look, man, I've been hosting this podcast here for eight years. I've been talking into microphones for 25 years. Some of y' all can finish my sentences, right? Some of y' all ain't here no more because you just got a little sick of my shit, man. We don't see things. You know, things are a little bit different. You start criticizing me for everything that I do. It happens because these are the nature of human intimate relationships. And the relationship between Pittsburgh Steelers fans and the Pittsburgh Steelers coach is an intimate relationship. So if he were to go to 3 and 14 after they got sick and tired of 10 and 7, bruh.
Charles McDonald
Yeah, that's not.
Bomani Jones
That's not an option. If y' all gonna do this, somebody else gonna have to be present for. For the bottom out. Right?
Charles McDonald
Agreed.
Bomani Jones
But do you, like, how exactly does that work for them on the bottom out? Cause truly, and you tell me if I'm wrong here, because you pay attention to this on a much more granular and molecular level. Is. Are they like. How are they. They're. They're not simply a quarterback away. So. Quarterback plus what? Away?
Charles McDonald
Ooh. I mean, I think the. The game. I know they beat Baltimore, but the game, the two games where DK missed, yo. They do not have a whole lot of like offensive firepower in general, which, which is what kind of made some of the stuff that they did so impressive this year. Because there were streaks where, you know, over fairly over the, the first like 10 or so games where like points per drive, yards per drive, they were a top 10 offense. Even though it did not look like it, it did not feel like it. You know, every little piece is drug, like drugged in the mud and you're really fighting for your life to get like, you know, five or six yards. That's not really a sustainable way to live. I mean, we, we saw like the Chiefs last year where you know, we have like a, an offense that is like good down and down, but there's no explosives. Then eventually you kind of get dragged in the mud to the playoffs. He's like, no, no, no, we actually need someone to come in here and actually make some big plays for us to make this a little bit easier. They, they don't have that. I see. Like, what I thought was interesting about their offseason was when they traded away George Pickens because I thought that, hey, if you're going to do this Aaron Rodgers thing, why not just throw DK and George out there? Maximize this, give it the best shot you got. Because if you don't want George, then his contract expires anyway and you'll still get the third round comp pick on the back end. So they kind of just made the George Pickens trade a year early, which I thought was a little strange for, for having a 41 year old quarterback. I know it's George. I know it's George.
Bomani Jones
I will simply say that they knew him better than anybody else. They were like, yeah, right, I've had enough.
Charles McDonald
And, and look, if Mike Tom is saying, I've had enough of this, then I, I got to take him for his word because that guy put up with some bullshit and people. Yeah, and yeah, this is big threes like A.B. leon, big bad. But there's guys past that on that team who were some cantankerous personalities.
Bomani Jones
And those are just the famous ones, right?
Charles McDonald
Those are just the famous ones. Exactly right. So if Mike Thomas said, I, I'm good on this George Pickens stuff, I gotta take Mad's word for that because he has, he has buckled down through some, some real lunatics. But man, it just never felt like they had a real chance. And, and it kind of like I, I think this year was the best iteration of the post Big Ben slop that they put together because when I was covering the jets in 2019, the Steelers came to New York and they played Duck Hodges. Yes. At quarterback for a full game. It was Duck, I think it was Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges played quarterback in that game. Remember, they never went under.500 during the stretch. So I say all this to say good luck to the next person that steps in there, because I, I, I think Steelers fans don't understand, like, how high the standard that Mike Tomlin actually set, because I feel like if I put this, like, if I were to take this group of players and I stuck them, like, with, like, the Falcons supporting cast or coaches out from last year, like, hey, I don't, I don't think we're going to win 10 games. You know, some of these other guys that got fired, like, I don't think we're going to win 10 games, but that's what the expectations set. And I mean this, like, I don't mean this, like, disrespectfully, but, like, Steelers fans, like, they kind of have like, a little cult thing going on where it's like, this is the oracle and it's the best, and it's always been the best, even though, you know, haven't always been the best. They were the best a long time ago. You, you kind of got to get that right. Like, I don't even know where that, where they go from here because it's been so long since they've had to do a coaching search, since they've even contemplated one. And now you still have Omar Khan there, who is in charge of putting together this roster that we don't think is very good.
Bomani Jones
Right.
Charles McDonald
Who gets.
Bomani Jones
So that's right.
Charles McDonald
Who's going to pick the next head coach, it seems.
Bomani Jones
Well, my Pittsburgh question, and I've never had a great answer for this because I had a decent answer for it early in the tenure, but I personally didn't know that much as it went, which is exactly how much power does Mike Tomlin have in that building? Right. Because the roster, very often, if not in most cases, the coach has the final say on the rosters. The other guy, like Kyle Shanahan, has the final say on that roster. In San Francisco, it's John Lynch's job to go get the guys that he wants on the roster. But quite often that's the case. Even examples of guys that you don't. I mean, Kyle Shanahan obviously is like, a luminary at this point, but, like, Kevin o', Connell, for example, gets to say so on the roster. So whose fault is it exactly that they've had the guys out there that they've had. I've never had a great answer personally for how much of that to attribute to Tomlin or how much of that is above you? Because I was thinking about what the coaching job is at Pittsburgh, and on one level, Dominique and I were having dinner last night and it's like, yes, Dominique and I did have dinner. For those of you who listen.
Charles McDonald
After.
Bomani Jones
Like, that is the best coaching job in the NFL, right? Like that is. We have that conversation about college all the time because there's so many different factors that go into what a particular college job is. But I think history has demonstrated with us this is the job where they'll give you a chance to work yourself out of a bind. Right. But it's also a job where through the years it's been very top down in what they have wanted. Chuck Snow won four Super Bowls and upstairs is still telling him to fire Tony Dungy as his defensive coordinator.
Charles McDonald
Right.
Bomani Jones
Like they, they, they give you. You're still going to get that. Mike Tomlin came in as a defensive coordinator from the Tampa Bay School of defense and ran a 34 for two decades in Pittsburgh, even though it evolved later into something more of Tomlin's vision. But they got ideas about how they should play football as a franchise. But they're going to give you time to figure this out. Like, if you're young, you take, obviously you take this job if they give the opportunity. I am just very curious to know who's going to be the guy that they decide to take, because with Tomlinson, they got the word on the street that he had had a great interview with the Miami Dolphins, who unfortunately believe Mike Tomlin was a little too hip hop.
Charles McDonald
Mike Tomlin to hip hop.
Bomani Jones
Well, hold on, think about it this way. I talked about this on the YouTube video. The dolphins were like, too hip hop. But the Pittsburgh Steelers, yeah. Were like, no. Sounds okay to me, right? Like, we're not, like, we're not talking about, like, he didn't go to the Dolphins and he went and Coach Grambling, right? No, that's not what we're saying. He went to Pittsburgh and they were like, I have no idea what those guys are talking about.
Charles McDonald
I still don't like when I hear him talk, I'm like, like Mike Thomas, he seems to be like the guy who knows more soul music than he might know rap songs. I don't know.
Bomani Jones
Well, so. So I'll tell you a similar story on this. When I was doing the show for hbo, you know, one of the cool things about doing that was like, I was in very consistent communication with, you know, pretty high level people there. Like, it was a. It's a, It's a different game when you're the host of a show in the world. They're in there or whatever. And so I was talking to by a showrunner one day, and HBO had no idea that there was this corner of the Internet, those not just who observe sports, but specifically who observe sports media and just flat out hate my guts and think that I am like, I'm going, I'm about to burn it down with the revolution at every turn that I'm just, that I'm. The people at HBO were like, did you know that there were these people who felt they just couldn't believe it? They're just like, are you talking about the same guy that we talked to at work? Like, he seems pretty cool from what I can tell. Like, what are these people's problems? And that is how the Steelers felt immediately off of that.
Charles McDonald
That's funny too. I was potted with, with a friend, Jason Goff, last week, and he was, he was kind of on the same vein telling people, like, hey, you know, you see Charles get slandered by all this ador stuff on the Internet, but I want to tell you, like, he actually does like black people, you know, So I, I can relate to that. I can relate to that because. Because I've been fighting for my life for these past few months, man.
Bomani Jones
But like, at least in that case, Golf understood, even if he disagreed, why it was that they felt that way. The Steelers were. Tomlin were probably like, I mean, I guess, yeah, right. Like, how about the Steelers found that out way later. They were like, huh, ain't that something?
Charles McDonald
It's so strange. And the Dolphins, I mean, look what they've been involved in since Mike Tomlin was hired. Nothing.
Bomani Jones
Absolutely not. The Dolphins, what they've been involved with. Maybe this is the lesson for the Steelers, what the Dolphins have been involved with since they decided that don Shuler going 9 to 7 wasn't good enough. And look, they knew who they were going to hire. Like, they didn't just do that and be like, oh, we're going to see what it is. They went and hired a dude who won two Super Bowls. And as much as we all think that Jerry Jones is a fool and Jerry Jones doesn't know what he's doing, the case against Jimmy Johnson as a Hall of Famer is that he went to the Dolphins and never got it cracking right. Jerry's argument is anybody could have done it here. Yeah.
Charles McDonald
I've grown on my feelings on Jerry, I guess over the past few years, only because they're never bad in the same way with the Steelers. I think it gets lost when you have these teams that are relevant all the time. We're talking about them all the time. How hard it is to be relevant all the time. I mean we talk about the Steelers. They won nine games with, with the Duck, Hodges, you know, Mason Rudolph combo. Kenny Pickett was drafted 20th overall because the old general manager, Kevin Colbert, he said, hey, basically he said, oh wow, you know how Ozzy, Ozzy Newsom left the Ravens. Lamar Jackson, I'd like to leave the Steelers a quarterback too. Here's Kenny Pickett. They still won, you know, nine games, eight to 10 games. That. That is really, really difficult to do. And I think, I think we kind of get so used to these characters being around and being subjects of discussion that you start to lose like respect for some of the work that they've done and they put together. I mean, you can look at Jerry Jones. Cowboys are probably one of the best drafting teams over the last two decades. I mean. Yeah.
Bomani Jones
And we don't. One thing we don't do with the Cowboys is when they make a pick that we think is silly. Like that guard they took from Tulsa who's like a Pro bowl level guard.
Charles McDonald
You could play left tackle too. Yeah, yeah.
Bomani Jones
And it's like a couple other those where they make these picks that we think are silly and then it's like, oh, look at that.
Charles McDonald
Yeah, yeah. And, and oh man, I'm.
Bomani Jones
They got a 10 year starter at a quarterback in the fourth round.
Charles McDonald
Yeah. That they didn't even want. Really. That, that one I'm not giving them as much credit for because they, they try to get.
Bomani Jones
I'll just say that they've been quarterback for the last 20 years.
Charles McDonald
Yeah.
Bomani Jones
With have their shortcomings, don't get me wrong.
Charles McDonald
Yeah.
Bomani Jones
But the last 20 years they've been quarterbacked by an undrafted free agent and a fourth round pick. And there weren't a lot of teams that would trade their quarterback situation for theirs.
Charles McDonald
Right. And you knew immediately that Dak was good. You knew pretty immediately that Tony Romo was good. And the idea that you can just kind of like just come in and someone else is going to do it to the same degree. It's tough, man. Like I. Like you said before, you got to take these jobs if you get offered them. But can you imagine walking into Baltimore right now as the New head coach.
Bomani Jones
Oh, the heat.
Charles McDonald
He is a pressure cooker. Pressure cooker. Yeah.
Bomani Jones
So let me ask you this about that. Cause that raises an interesting question. We feel confident because of the last three hires that the Steelers have made that they're going to look for somebody in their early to mid-30s and hope that they're making a two decade higher. Right. I don't think Baltimore can afford to think like that. Like, I feel like they are on a much more win now clock with the roster they have. And I think it's worth noting. I don't think that you can assume a 17 year career for Lamar Jackson. Like it's, it's, it's a different skill set. It's involves taking a lot more hits. He's not Cam Newton, where he has been running QB power for all these years and Newton had the arc of a running back. It's not that necessarily, but you know, couple things start slowing down physically and the decline could be a little bit bigger based on that. You got to get this while it's here.
Charles McDonald
Yeah, in a weird way, the, the back half of the season, it kind of made me a little more positive about like what Lamar could look like long term because like basically the first month of the season when he was healthy, I mean he was on track to throw like 40 touchdowns again, like all his numbers were top three in the league. And then since that Chiefs game like week four or five, he barely practiced the entire season, wasn't really healthy, wasn't doing the bare minimum just to get to game days when he could. And as the season goes along, like obviously he's physically diminished, but man, the arm talent was still there. Like the ability to throw down the field was still there. Like we saw it in the Steelers game, saw it in a couple of games before that. To close the season where you're like, okay, maybe even when he can't move, like he's just developed in such a good thrower that your window there will be a little longer. But it was a little harrowing sometimes to see like when he's like out there hobbling and you're like, man, like I don't, I don't, I don't even want to think there because I don't want those people who back in the day to be right. But they're not right. I mean they're not right because he's one, two MVPs, right.
Bomani Jones
Like he's so much better than anybody truly thought that he was going to be. And I think he's better than he gets credit for even with the two. Two plus MVPs. How about we start calling it three time first team, all pros, three times first team. Because they did that thing. You remember when they did that thing. He's so good. And look, those postseason moments, hey, they matter. They're a thing. They've been an issue. I do feel like this year would have been interesting because he's gone a long way toward rectifying that. Right. Like, that was how I felt about it. But, hey, hey, you better get it done now, like, as soon as possible.
Charles McDonald
Yeah.
Bomani Jones
Well, before we go into this break, I was going to talk about this black history thing. It's kind of sort of black history, but it's not really black history. But I saw something very interesting that I didn't know. And so there's an interesting thing about the NFL, which is the NFL now. It's kind of like a golden age of black agents. Like, it's a lot of black agents. I think that most of us would say the number one agent in the game right now is David Mulgetta. He's, you know, you got him, you got Nicole Lynn, you got other people. It's enough of him that we ain't got to know everybody name. Right? And I did remember seeing once Mo Getta was on Twitter and somebody asked something about why all his clients were black, and he said, because the white guys don't hire us. Right. I know Nicole Lynn represents Bailey, Zappy, H Town, you know what I mean? But they're like, yeah, we can't. We can't get no audience with them white dudes. The NBA is a little bit different. And I saw something interesting that I just wanted to find a way to get into the show, and this is where I'm doing it.
Charles McDonald
Okay.
Bomani Jones
It's not really black history, but you'll still feel me.
Charles McDonald
I'm following you.
Bomani Jones
Okay. So did you see this thing with Rich Paul? He. He does this podcast with Max Kellerman that I don't understand for any of the parties who. Who are on camera, like, either, talking.
Charles McDonald
About all these podcasts.
Bomani Jones
Yeah, but I don't. It's. It's. It confuses me on many levels that this podcast exists, but the podcast is there. And Rich Paul be out here giving these takes, man. And, I mean, it's not a big deal except for the fact that you're. You're an agent. And he'd be talking about what's going on with the teams of his clients. And his number one client is obviously LeBron James. And now granted, we know they ain't really got a whole lot of clout over there and maybe this is his way, right. Of trying to flex or exert anything. But he did this pod the other day where he was talking about how they should trade Austin Reeves. Like, and it was in the name of how you build around Luka Doncic. But he's just, I think he wanted to send him to Memphis. Like, I mean, yeah, he'd be the.
Charles McDonald
Highest played player on Memphis or some shit. I was like, shut up, shut up.
Bomani Jones
Yeah, but like he's trying to move to Memphis.
Charles McDonald
Okay, for what though? Why?
Bomani Jones
I don't know. Like the details don't matter because you're not going to get me to listen to Rich Paul talking to Max kellerman about the NBA. I just, I just. 24 hours in a day. I don't, I don't, I don't have it. Right.
Charles McDonald
Agreed.
Bomani Jones
But I saw something very interesting. That Austin Reeves agent was at Staples center before Tuesday night's game and he pulled up on Rich Paul to have a conversation.
Charles McDonald
Oh no.
Bomani Jones
And apparently it was a five minute conversation. And the difference between the NFL and the NBA is that Austin re agent is a brother named Reggie. I don't know anything about Reggie.
Charles McDonald
I don't need to know anything about Reggie.
Bomani Jones
I don't, I don't. Clearly I don't know Reggie's last name. Right. I have to say though, I started to look at Austin Reeves a little bit differently when I found out he had an agent named Reggie. But it made me wonder, was it a case for him where, you know, white people got low self esteem when it comes to basketball. The only a brother named Reggie would be able to see and recognize his talents that the white folks, it'd be a brick wall to the white folks. They wouldn't be able to get it.
Charles McDonald
I, I don't know. But the whole, the whole thing, I, I don't even like knowing who these agents are in the first place. You know, it's just like, so why do you have it? Why, like why do you have this podcast where you're talking about your client's team? Why is another agent pulling up on you at a game like this has become a little bit too self involved. Guys like you guys supposed to be in the background, you know, like, like this is an extension, extension of the insider trend that's drove me crazy where it says, oh, you know, so and so assigned with so and so, so and so of this agency. I'm like, dude, I don't even know all that. I don't need to know any of this stuff. But also Reeves shout out to Austin Reeves for putting money back in the community. You know, I mean, look, really, some of that these days.
Bomani Jones
I mean, I'll still note that Austin reeves wears number 15 because AR now to be fair, Anthony Richardson used to do that too. But at the same time, Austin Reeves, I mean like, you know, you got you a Reggie or Reggie got you. I'm not sure which. We'll be back every Friday from 6 to 7:30, it's NBA happy hour on FanDuel. Your pregame for the weekend. We're talking limited time specials you won't want to miss. Boosts, bonuses, surprises all dropping in the app during happy hour. So before tip off, check the FanDuel app to see the week special. Then make your move before the shot clock expires at 7:30 Eastern. It's the perfect way to start your weekend. A little basketball, a little action and a whole lot of Friday energy. That's NBA Happy Hour. Every Friday from 6 to 7:30pm Eastern only on FanDuel. Official sportsbook partner of the NBA 21.
Charles McDonald
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Bomani Jones
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Charles McDonald
This close for today.
Bomani Jones
Hey, man, I'm sorry. Hey. So. All right, I'm g. Just talk about this right quick. You saw the mistake Stephen A. Made on Tuesday.
Charles McDonald
Oh, yes, yes.
Bomani Jones
I was watching live as it happened, and it was. Unfortunate situation, man. He was talking about Christian Kirk, wide receiver, and he accidentally called him Charlie Kirk. And of course, the Internet, particularly those who believe that Stephen A. Has betrayed them in some form or fashion, went to town on that. And I'm like, for the grace of God, there goes I. The difference between me and him is I just started laughing about it. I immediately. But, I mean, I've been calling Justin Jefferson, Jordan Jefferson for years on this show. I don't feel like I don't have the right to judge a man under those circumstances. But damn, tough break, homie. Tough, tough break.
Charles McDonald
Yeah, that was one of those. That was the moments where I was like, man, when I was younger, I might have tweeted something that would get me in trouble right now.
Bomani Jones
But yeah, yeah, hey, man, he's go. He's going through one of those patches, man. I mean, maybe it's one of those things. He gets himself out of it. He's going through it. Look, sometimes you. The person that the whole school made jokes about, right? Like that it happens so easily that you become the person that everybody doesn't like. You know, the wisest thing I think that Stephen A. Did that week, at least it appeared to be. It sounds like he is a little too busy with politics to wade into that situation y' all had with that woman at the Jaguars press conference.
Charles McDonald
That situation has blown my mind.
Bomani Jones
All right? And so right fast, I want to explain this to people who don't know what's going on. Okay. I will not give you an opinion on it. I will just tell you what the situation is. So Liam Cohen was doing his press conference after the Jaguars loss, and a woman named Lynn Jones, who works for the Jacksonville Free Press, which is the black newspaper in Jacksonville, gave him a very, very, very heartfelt, encouraging message to keep his head up in spite of defeat. And it looked like he was really emotional in that moment. And it led online to a couple of discussions, one of them being about just general decorum in the press room and, you know, certain rules for behavior we'll put it that people have there on one hand, and then on the other hand, it was about black people and stuff. Is that the broadest way for me to describe it?
Charles McDonald
I think that's the broadest way to describe it. And, I mean, I don't even really have an opinion on this.
Bomani Jones
Yeah, I would recommend that you don't, brother.
Charles McDonald
No, no. My opinion on this is we are really stretching the bounds of, like, what needs, like, intense discourse, you know, like. So I watched that video. I was like, okay, that's, you know, that's unusual. I've been. A lot of press conferences. Don't normally see stuff like that. But the fact this has been explosive for, like, multiple days now, like, whoa, this is.
Bomani Jones
This is something that journalists need to understand or media people more broadly need to understand. We. We overpopulate the sample on Twitter, specifically. Right. And the people who are not us follow a lot of us.
Charles McDonald
Right.
Bomani Jones
Like, this is. It's a. It's a great place to share media. Historically, it has been. All right, now, I think it's a terrible place for everyone thing. But everybody. I use everybody very broadly, but on the Internet often has this misunderstanding, especially people who don't have big followings that everybody can see what you're talking about. So your message may be intended for your colleagues, but everybody can see it. And they don't necessarily know the rules that you and your colleagues have or what it is that you're talking about, but you need to understand everybody can see what it is that you're saying. And that's probably why you shouldn't. Right. All right. Unless you're ready for people from all these corners bringing everything they have into a conversation that you are trying to have, particularly if you're trying to not just have it not just directed to a specific set of people, but a conversation that you're trying to have within that set of people. You got to Go to the private Facebook group for that. You got to go to the group chat for that. Yeah, that out there. That's not how that's going to go for you.
Charles McDonald
No. I mean, I don't use Twitter anymore, so I didn't really see much outside of what people sent me. And, man, I'm seeing, like, soliloquies and long ass, like, thought out, man. I'm like, yo, keep it in the group chat. Because first of all, these people don't like us, you know, and as. Of course. And to see people complaining about, oh, you know, this lady in this press conference is not going to resonate with your audience, man. It's never going to resonate. They don't care. They don't like us. So keep it. Keep it offline.
Bomani Jones
Again, I'm amazed by people who at once love the attention, but also forget that other people are looking. Yeah, because, like, once other people are looking, it may not sound the way you think that it's going to sound. Right. It might not land the way you think it's going to land. But anyway, so I thought is out here. As we detour back into the other stuff, I am told that you have a pro, Nick Sirianni take. And I want to be clear, I don't think it's appropriate me. Appropriate for me to pretend as though there's something so crazy about having a take in support of a man with a Super bowl ring and a career record of 59 and 26, however the hell you talking about right now, bro.
Charles McDonald
No, okay, okay. I. Let me start this off by saying I don't know what this man does. Okay? Like, I don't know what he does. Well, here. But you just read it off. There's the con. Maybe this is like a little contrarian part of my brain. It probably is a big contrarian part of my brain. Just considered. No one else is really saying this in defense of Nick Sirianni, but The guy, he's 59, 26, two Super bowl appearances, he's a hair away from winning the first one against the Chiefs and then obviously blew him out the water in the second one. In the second one. He's got to be doing something right. Like, he's got to be doing something right because we. He's got a 70% winning percentage over five years in the goddamn NFL. Like, something has to be going right here. And look, try to put this delicately. I've never been the highest on Jalen Hurts. So to me, like, the fact that you're winning all these games is even a little bit more impressive. And I know that they have, like, the All Star talent around, and they have one of the best super bowl, one of the best defenses in the history of the league. Last year, that gave Patrick Mahomes the worst game of his career, like, probably up until this season. He's got to be doing something right. Like, the football guy in me. I can't look at all of this resume and say, no, you're just worthless. Like, you don't do anything. You're a loser. But also, I don't know what he does either, because when he was in Indianapolis as offensive coordinator, he wasn't the play caller. Obviously, he's not the play caller. In Philadelphia, he cycled through OCS, you know, cycled through some DCs, too. But you hit on Vic Fangio and boom, you're a Super bowl champion. Maybe it's like the ability to just kind of cut through all the nonsense where these guys are bickering with each other. But, like, he'll be bickering back at him, too, so I don't even know if that's true. I like my. My Nick Siri. My Nick Sirianon take is he's gotta be doing something right, man. Something has to be going well here because you just. You don't win this many games. Like, how could you be a loser and win, like, 70% of your games in the NFL? That's the part that I can't fully get myself out there.
Bomani Jones
I say the same things about Barry Switzerland.
Charles McDonald
See, that's a little too old for me. I don't know that much.
Bomani Jones
No, I'm just saying Barry Switzer with the Cowboys, we said the same exact thing. Switzer won a Super Bowl, NFC Championship game, You know what I'm saying? Had really good players. It's a. Everything you say. And you said before we got on that it was a contrarian take, and I disagree. I think that it's a very logical take. It is a. What's. What's the homie's name? Oam. Icam. Occam. Whatever. Your man. Your man. That be cutting Occam's razor. Yeah, yeah. There you go. There we go. Hey, that's one of those. You just always read it. You'll never hear nobody say it out loud. Right? It all falls in line with what you are saying. It does. Comma, however, he gives clown. And that's saying. It's hard to say he is a clown, but he gives clown. He gives. We're counting down the days till we Fire this guy.
Charles McDonald
He does.
Bomani Jones
And guess what? Might win a Super bowl before that happens.
Charles McDonald
Dude, it might get back. Like, this is still a really good team. Like, the framework, at least. Like, obviously you have some, some, some serious issues to figure out on offense, but, I mean, you look at.
Bomani Jones
Well, I mean, you got issues to figure out on offense, a lot of which have to do specifically with the quarterback.
Charles McDonald
Yeah, that's, that's the part that we still haven't, like, quite gotten to, because they don't. I'm, I'm, I'm. I think one, that one of the most fascinating things about Jalen hurts to me, like, as a player is I, I, I'm not sure, like, people have caught on to the fact that they've, I think Kevin Moore is a perfect example, but they've run through all these different offensive coordinators over the past few years. The offense ends up at the same spot basically every single time. Now you have, you have, you have years, like, where, where the efficiency of the offense, like the first year they made the super bowl and they pushed the Chiefs to the brink, like, that offense was great, but, you know, ultimately, like, it's the same core concepts. Like, you're running a lot of four verts, a lot of inside zone, a lot of RPOs, and no matter who the OC is, no matter who the play caller is, like, it always kind of gets whittled down to that. And I think Kellen Moore is like, the perfect example to, to look at this lens through, because, like, that guy, he was the OC for the Cowboys with Dak Prescott, he was the OC for the Chargers with Justin Herbert. Now he's a head coach for his own team with New Orleans Saints. You've got three different examples that show you that how he called that offense last year for Philadelphia is not how he likes to run things. You know, he's a much more traditional, like, pro style. Like, if you go back and look at some of, like the, the, the early Dak Prescott stuff, when Scott Lanahan was an offensive coordinator, like, that's where Kellen Moore is kind of cutting his cloth. So to me, it's kind of like, it's like the Russell Wilson conundrum, right? You can run through all these OCs, but ultimately, like, the offense is going to play out the same way. Like, we're going to have to take our deep shots and we're going to have to play, like, around Russell's limitations. But the problem here is, I think, like, Russell was a much more talented and skilled player than Jalen hurts is like, you're always like going to be kind of bogged down to a degree, just like from like a throwing skill point. Now, it's not to say like he's a bad quarterback or, or a bad football player or anything, but it's kind of telling to me that, that no matter who's calling your plays to different, like, levels of success, like, you still end up kind of running like this pretty simplistic offense. And if you have, you know, one of the best defenses in NFL history, like you did last year, or you have Saquon Barkley rushing for more yards than anyone has, like in the total course of a season, regular season and postseason combined, then yeah, like you could win a Super Bowl. But where people lose me, I guess, is like the idea that he is like the driving force for the winning just because he's the quarterback. Because at this point, like I've watched the past two seasons. It's not just this season. It was last season too, when Kevin Petullo was not the OC and AJ Brown gave that sassy ass answer. What's wrong with the passing game? The passing. They had eight games last year where it's like, like, you know, average, below average efficiency. This is supposed to be a franchise, 50 million dollar quarterback. Why are we not holding them like, to that standard sometimes? I know that the super bowl helps a lot, but man, if I was an Eagles fan, like, I would want a little bit more from Hertz, honestly. Because you're hamstring, you're hamstrung sometimes.
Bomani Jones
But Hertz has the other thing in common with Russell Wilson, which is the whispers of how his teammates feel about him, which is an interesting discussion of the button up, highly professional. Do everything you're supposed to do. Black guy does not receive the same level of baseline respect as the white dude. And I want to be clear, it sounds like it. Be your own people. Okay? Like, I'm not, I'm not blaming this on. I'm noting the noticing, noting the difference between how the white guys and the black guys are treated. I'm not talking about who it is that's doing the treating, right? For whatever reason, those guys. And maybe it's just these two, right? To be fair. But you don't hear when it's a guy like, like you don't hear anybody talk about. They don't like Kirk Cousins. He seems to be the same type.
Charles McDonald
Of guy, you know, I know, I know what I'm getting with Kirk. I don't, I don't don't have to talk too much to him, you know.
Bomani Jones
So, yeah, I don't know. But. But, you know, it's. It's an. It's an interesting part in this. I said last year, and people got really mad at me about it, but it's the truth, and it's still born out. Super bowl notwithstanding, every team that Jalen Hurts has quarterbacked since he left high school has been held back by his shortcomings as a passer. And this was Alabama. Alabama had to bench him at halftime in the national championship game. This was Oklahoma, where he finished second in the voting for the Heisman Trophy. So it's. It's. It's always hard and difficult to explain with him, but they're going to have to figure out at a point where. How much higher do we need the ceiling for our quarterback to be? Or how long can we consistently expect that we're going to have the best roster in the NFL or one of the two or three best rosters in the NFL because the system is designed for you to not be able to continue to do that.
Charles McDonald
Right. And I think some of their struggles this year is where you've just seen. I don't feel like guys take a step back, but really, guys just getting older, you know, this NFL forever, you have small windows. And also that's like, dude, sir. Yeah, has been winning for five years. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Maybe he's okay. Maybe he's figured something out. I don't know. But these windows are so small that it's the idea that you've even been able to maximize. This is such an incredible triumph to me. Right? Like, I'm. We're one of the fascinating disconnects to me. Like, and it's not just Jalen Hurts. There's a lot of quarterbacks. Like, we watch these games, right, where they're on national tv and we see the poor throw for the. For this example, we see the poor throw that Jalen Hurts made to close out that game against the 49ers, where he threw in the triple coverage to a completely covered Dallas Goddard. And you watch him make that decision. You know, he's a franchise quarterback. And then you immediately go, Petullo the O.C. like, hip hop. His fault. Hey, you know, that is gonna come back next year because it was there the year before, too. Like, these are trends that you can follow. So what I get worried about with the Eagles, and you know how he's been so good at this Maybe this concern doesn't even matter is like as you start stripping pieces, you know, as A.J. brown continues to read more books on the sideline and decide that this ain't for him, you know, maybe Devonta Smith, we've seen him get frustrated sometimes too. You know, the offensive line is, is getting a little bit older at tackle with Lane Johnson and Jordan. My lotta, he, you know, he's not, he ain't Walter Jones, you know. So it'll be interesting to see what happens there as like the pieces start to get stripped away. Because I think there's some real fear that if it's not the Monstars around them, if it's not like all these, you know, Pro bowl level players because this is what it looks like when they're there. And like A.J. brown, DeVonta Smith, those guys are still in their prime, they're still in their 20s. Man, if this is what it looks like now, what's it going to look like three years from now? And I think that's where I kind of get concerned for the Eagles because he is not a load bearing quarterback. He's good enough for what they had for what they have, but that's not always going to be the case like that they have this or they continue hit at this rate.
Bomani Jones
I kind of wish that football was a little bit more like a regular job. Cause can you imagine like in some other job, the equivalents or the analogs to AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith and then 5 o' clock come and they get off work and they pull up to that bar, they loosen up that tie, they undo that button and they ask for a double and then they just sit there and they just start complaining, you know what I'm saying? Just start unloading.
Charles McDonald
He's like, man, this dude today, these dudes today. But it shouldn't be this frustrating, you know, it shouldn't be this frustrating. Like you, you have a, you have a supported cast that any quarterback would kill for. And this place like this is all about like right place, right timing. Like this is not a slight against Jalen. Hurts that he's here, but I mean how many quarterbacks could you put in that offense? Like just one for one swap. And you feel like you can blow the roof off of, off of anyone basically because that's me is one of the most interesting thought experiments that obviously that you can never do in the NFL. If we could just swap quarterbacks like one for one, one for one, what would this stuff look like? And I feel like I know enough about the supporting cast and what I've seen over the past few years to know that they're not being maximized. BO2 games this year they had a full half with zero completions. 0, 0. Like, and, and going back to last year, even like they have these halves where like they can't throw the ball at all. And like I, I don't understand like why, why you can watch someone miss a throw and then you have to say, well, no, he's actually like one of the seven to eight best quarterbacks in the league. No, he's just, he's in a good spot and it's been fun to watch. And that's, that's about it to me.
Bomani Jones
It's difficult to answer. But I'm asking you one more question before we get out of here. Who going to coach the Falcons, bro?
Charles McDonald
Man, I think they want John Harbaugh. That's what it seems like.
Bomani Jones
Okay, so who go coach the Falcons.
Charles McDonald
Okay. Oh, man, I, look, I want my, my top choice is Kevin Stefanski. Because I, I, man, I, you just.
Bomani Jones
Want the Shador people to never get off your neck.
Charles McDonald
I mean he's a two time coach of the year. They had the best screen game in the NFL last year. They were doing a lot of cool stuff. I don't think that that guy's forgot how to coach because the two quarterbacks that they picked didn't pan out for them last season. So that's my number one. But who will they pick? Probably someone a little bit underwhelming. I mean this Matt Ryan stuff, I gotta say, I, I, I am very thankful for his time as a Falcon. He's obviously, you know, one of the greatest players in franchise history, but like, yo, you're really just gonna let him run the whole thing? Like, the whole thing? When, when is he coached? Like any scouting, front office, like management stuff really, he just gets to be in charge of all of it that fast? I don't know, because it seems to me like his only qualification is knowing the owner, which is, you know, in being Matt Ryan. Being Matt Ryan. Right. Like, he's, he's, he's, he's probably the best player, you know, not, not the best player. To me, Julio Jones, that's, that's, that's number one. But as far as like Mr. Falcon, like you're probably looking at Matt Ryan for that.
Bomani Jones
He's the most important player in the.
Charles McDonald
History of the franchise by far, by far. But man, like that's, that's a lot of decision making. But luckily, you know, it's the Falcons, so I ain't gonna be too many people expecting that much from you. Like, if you, if you mess up, that's just kind of another day. But, man, I don't know who's to be coaching, but I know I'm probably not gonna be happy with it. Like, I, I could see them doing like, I, I, I, I want, I want, I, I want Stefanski. I would take Harbaugh because I know he's probably going to build a good staff. The one that's scary to me is like, Clint Kubiak because, like, nobody's a little concerned that two years in a row, two different spots, your offense just kind of hit the wall mid season and like, you can't really do anything. Like, to me, he's running. When you watch Kubiak, Clint Kubiak, it's like, it's like a. Now that's what I call Shanahan's offense album. You know, it's just like the greatest hits, but it's not actually like, like strung together in a coherent way. And that's kind of why they end up in these ruts. It's like, oh, we have another play action pass to jsn and, well, let's do that, let's do that. But, you know, I got more questions there. Like the idea that he's the sure fire candidate. I'm not quite buying that one, bruh.
Bomani Jones
I saw something with Diana, had tweeted after Harbaugh left Baltimore that maybe Baltimore would be excited about Cliff Kingsbury and what he could do with Lamar Jackson. Yeah. And I'm just like, wow, we are going to keep doing this, huh? We are going like, he is a college offensive coordinator. I think that he could be very good as a college offensive coordinator, but he stay getting fired if people want to give him better jobs. It's amazing.
Charles McDonald
I was a little surprised that Cliff got fired this time because I did not think that he was necessarily the problem.
Bomani Jones
What were they going to do this year?
Charles McDonald
I mean, someone should have just manned up and fired the entire coaching staff. But that's a, that's a problem for probably next year that we're going to run to. Man, Cliff as your head coach. We already seen that. We already seen that. And that, that, that is one of those, like, well, you should have just kept John harbor at that point and just run it back.
Bomani Jones
Yeah.
Charles McDonald
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Bomani Jones
You can't come sail to the people.
Charles McDonald
No, you can't.
Bomani Jones
You can't do that on the offense. I might Be inclined to listen to that. But I thought of Cliff. Just because you mentioned your offense hits the wall.
Charles McDonald
Yes. Yeah. And that's what happens. And you know what? What can't happen with Lamar Jackson right now because he might explode. Like you running out of ideas on offense. Yeah. Like, see, that's another piece of this. Like, the bar has been set so high for this job. Todd Monkin, who basically was the savior post Greg Roman and revolutionized that offense. It got them throwing the ball in a more like, professional manner. He said at the end of this season when John got let go, I guess I didn't coach Lamar well enough. Bro, you got him an MVP. You helped him do 41 touchdowns, four interceptions last year. If that's not good enough, then, dude, that job. It's Alabama. It's Alabama they can't afford.
Bomani Jones
You just go get a young guy.
Charles McDonald
No, no. Like the youngest person you could probably get that the city and the team would buy into. Which I actually think it's kind of a good idea. Be like Brian Flores, depending on what's going on with him, because that dude has no business being a defensive coordinator still in the NFL. I don't. I mean, I know what's going on there, but, hey, someone's going to have to bite the bullet and make them.
Bomani Jones
Do not. I do not recommend hiring that man.
Charles McDonald
But he's already got the quarterback. You know, he was right about Tua. He was right about Tua.
Bomani Jones
He was right about Tua. I don't think hiring that man is a great idea. Some people are really, really good defensive coordinators.
Charles McDonald
Okay. Right.
Bomani Jones
There are parts of interacting with other human beings that make me say I would none of those Belichick guys. I want that. That's the thing with me. I am out on all the Belichick guys. But Brian Florence, none of them have worked. He won the game. Closest to working out is Bill o'. Brien. And what's his issue? Interacting with human beings.
Charles McDonald
Well, okay, I, I, I floors to be Brian Daybo.
Bomani Jones
What's his issue? Interacting with human beings.
Charles McDonald
Angry little elf. Sometimes.
Bomani Jones
Yes.
Charles McDonald
Brian Flores. Like, the thing that, that's kind of fascinating to me is when he got the job, like, they were so bad that I'll never forget this. Dominique was going on TV saying that it was unethical. Like the roster.
Bomani Jones
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He did. He did a great job.
Charles McDonald
They won 10 games year two.
Bomani Jones
Yeah.
Charles McDonald
And nine games year three. And you know what they've done since then? Like, they've gotten worse since he left. Basically. Or they plateaued.
Bomani Jones
I'm just telling you or asking you, where's the person from that Miami time with a good thing to say?
Charles McDonald
I don't know.
Bomani Jones
Who are the coaches that worked with him who have a good thing to say?
Charles McDonald
Oh, probably not many. Probably not many. But this is.
Bomani Jones
All I'm saying is I. If you decide to hire him, I don't blame. I understand why you might. I would not hire that man.
Charles McDonald
Look, I. I would be interested to know what he's learned in the past four years since he left Miami because he's been with Tomlin, who, you know, pulled him out the ashes and basically resurrected his career and let him call plays for the Steelers. Made a really good defense that year. Goes to Minnesota with Kevin o', Connell, who I still think is one of the brightest offensive minds and, you know, does the same thing there as a defensive coordinator where, like, dude, they won a game with three passing yards against the Lions. Sorry to bring it up. To close the season on. On Christmas, I would be interested just to know what he's learned, at least in an interview, because it's so hard to just find someone who you just. And for, like, the Ravens, like, this is their. This is their biggest problem to start the year. Like, someone who. You just plot them in and, you know, oh, my defense is fine because, like, who's the best player in the Vikings defense? I don't know, but they're good. Like, they're really good.
Bomani Jones
He's an excellent.
Charles McDonald
He's so good that you might think about saying, if we already have Lamar, we need to fix our defense. Maybe we just throw him the shoes.
Bomani Jones
Maybe. Maybe we hire him as our defensive coordinator and pay him lots of money.
Charles McDonald
That is true. His contract is expired, so he's. He's a free agent, you know, hey.
Bomani Jones
Man, there's something to be said for the guy that you can make the head coach of the defense, which is not the same thing as the defensive coordinator. You know what I mean? Like, those guys are. You just like, okay, that's your. That's your side of the room.
Charles McDonald
Not even talking to you about it, you know?
Bomani Jones
Yeah, yeah, whatever. Whatever you say we going to do. All right, cool. You ain't even really got to come to these other meetings. Like, if you can just send me an email, that would be fantastic.
Charles McDonald
Yeah, yeah, that's. I got to ride for flow, though, especially this year where there's nine head coaching openings. Come on. Someone's got a bite. Someone's got a bite. I mean, it's. It's the.
Bomani Jones
No, they don't. You know damn well they don't.
Charles McDonald
He's only 44, bro. What if. What if things have changed? What if they've changed?
Bomani Jones
They don't have to do anything.
Charles McDonald
He apologized in a press conference to TUA when he was the coach of another team.
Bomani Jones
That's. That's okay.
Charles McDonald
That actually might be enough to say. I know, because that's. That was strange to me.
Bomani Jones
One is obligated to do anything. And we ain't even talked about the fact that he's suing them.
Charles McDonald
I know, I know. That's.
Bomani Jones
We ain't even get there.
Charles McDonald
Yeah, well. Cause I think if he was suing them, he would have been hired, like, probably like last year or something like that. Just with how.
Bomani Jones
I'm not as sure of that as you are.
Charles McDonald
This is. Maybe. Maybe I'm off on this. But I just feel like the results have been so overwhelmingly good.
Bomani Jones
I think that he has done an excellent job as the defensive coordinator.
Charles McDonald
No interest. No interest in seated.
Bomani Jones
Again, not for me. Not for me. That is Charles McDonald, by the way, ladies and gentlemen. Check him out at Yahoo Sports. Covering the NFL, my brother.
Charles McDonald
I appreciate you gonna put a headline up. Imani Jones doesn't want black men to respond.
Bomani Jones
Don't do this.
Charles McDonald
Don't do this.
Bomani Jones
Don't do this. Don't.
Charles McDonald
I got you.
Bomani Jones
Brian somebody. Yeah, yeah. So that. So that's your plan, huh? Try to get them off the Shador hunt?
Charles McDonald
That's right. Start and just okay, this black man from Honduras. That's my guy. That's gonna be my. My beacon out of this.
Bomani Jones
I see. Charles McDonald, ladies and gentlemen. Thanks so much for joining us here on the Right Time. We do this four times a week. Ryan Brumley handled everything behind the scenes. Thank you, sir. Hit the voicemail line. 323-59-67767. Remember, follow the right time. Subscribe like, rate us, review us, give us five stars. You only give us four stars. I'm inclined to believe you are a hater. We'll talk to you guys in a couple of days. Take it easy.
Episode: "Charles McDonald on Mike Tomlin & Steelers future, Rich Paul's bizarre podcast, defending Nick Sirianni"
Date: January 14, 2026
In this episode, Bomani Jones welcomes NFL analyst Charles McDonald (Yahoo Sports) to dig into major NFL headlines: Mike Tomlin’s surprising exit and its implications for the Pittsburgh Steelers, shifting coach outlooks in Baltimore, the social-media weirdness around Rich Paul’s podcast, and a provocative defense of embattled Eagles coach Nick Sirianni. The pair also riff on sports culture moments, navigating discourse on social media, and what the NFL’s shifting landscape says about team building and leadership.
“Tomlin walked away from $16 million a year, which I'm going to be honest with you. You got me fucked up. Y'all gonna have to fire me in front of everybody.”
– Bomani Jones [03:12]
“Steelers fans, like, they kind of have like, a little cult thing going on where it's like, this is the oracle and it's the best, and it's always been the best… They were the best a long time ago.”
– Charles McDonald [12:00]
“When I was doing the show for HBO... They just couldn’t believe it—are you talking about the same guy that we talked to at work? Like, he seems pretty cool from what I can tell. Like, what are these people's problems?”
– Bomani Jones [16:01]
“Cowboys are probably one of the best drafting teams over the last two decades.”
– Charles McDonald [19:49]
“The only a brother named Reggie would be able to see and recognize his talents that the white folks, it'd be a brick wall to the white folks. They wouldn't be able to get it.”
– Bomani Jones [26:24]
“He gives clown. And that's saying — it's hard to say he is a clown, but he gives clown. He gives, We're counting down the days till we fire this guy.”
– Bomani Jones [40:09]
On Mike Tomlin’s departure:
“Tomlin walked away from $16 million a year, which I'm going to be honest with you. You got me fucked up. Y'all gonna have to fire me in front of everybody.”
– Bomani Jones [03:12]
On Steelers fans and franchise myths:
“Steelers fans... kind of have like, a little cult thing going on where it's like... it's always been the best, even though, you know, haven’t always been the best. They were the best a long time ago.”
– Charles McDonald [12:00]
On media perceptions:
“Your message may be intended for your colleagues, but everybody can see it...”
– Bomani Jones [34:11]
On Nick Sirianni:
“I don't know what he does. Well here. But you just read it off... 70% winning percentage over five years in the goddamn NFL. Like, something has to be going right here.”
– Charles McDonald [36:54]
On Jalen Hurts:
“Every team that Jalen Hurts has quarterbacked since he left high school has been held back by his shortcomings as a passer.”
– Bomani Jones [44:25]
This episode is an all-encompassing look at seismic NFL coaching changes, with sharp cultural and historical context, plus inside perspectives on team building and job politics in America’s most popular sport. Bomani and Charles offer the definitive balance of honesty, skepticism, and deep NFL knowledge—always delivered with trademark wit.
If you’re curious about the coaching carousel, NFL organizational culture, or how personalities shape football’s biggest decisions, this is a can't-miss installment.