WEBVTT - The Season with Peter Schrager: Richmond Flowers III 0:00:07.266 --> 0:00:09.706 The Season with Peter Schreeger is a production of the 0:00:09.786 --> 0:00:24.546 NFL in partnership with iHeartRadio. What's up, everybody, It's this 0:00:24.626 --> 0:00:27.066 Peter Schreger. This is the Season with Peter Schreger. I'm 0:00:27.106 --> 0:00:29.506 smiling because we're having a blast here on a rainy, 0:00:30.506 --> 0:00:35.026 rainy New York City day here in Gotham. Gotta go 0:00:35.106 --> 0:00:37.226 Taylor Swift, and we got to discuss it. You could 0:00:37.226 --> 0:00:39.866 turn off the microphones, you can shut off the podcast, 0:00:39.866 --> 0:00:42.106 you could fast forward five minutes till our guests. That's fine, 0:00:42.106 --> 0:00:43.546 but I just have to address it because I have 0:00:43.586 --> 0:00:45.266 different takes and everyone else, and you got to hear 0:00:45.306 --> 0:00:49.306 from the authority me. I got a tip Sunday morning 0:00:49.466 --> 0:00:53.106 that Swift might be at the game. I didn't do 0:00:53.146 --> 0:00:55.386 anything with that tip, because what's the report. I go 0:00:55.466 --> 0:00:58.426 on Fox NFL Kickoff and I look into the camera 0:00:58.466 --> 0:01:01.626 with a serious face. I mean talking about CJ. Gardner 0:01:01.706 --> 0:01:04.866 Johnson injury news that Taylor Swift might be at a game. 0:01:05.426 --> 0:01:08.586 I kind of love how it was revealed. Rich Russo 0:01:08.746 --> 0:01:11.786 is the lead director for Fox Sports and a good 0:01:11.786 --> 0:01:15.826 friend of mine. Like an awesome dude, Jersey guy originally 0:01:15.826 --> 0:01:18.506 from Long Island, like a legend in the in the 0:01:18.506 --> 0:01:21.986 broadcast industry. This wasn't a big thing. It was just like, 0:01:22.026 --> 0:01:24.786 all right, game opens and they shoot to the box 0:01:24.826 --> 0:01:27.186 and there she is with Kelsey's mom and it says 0:01:27.186 --> 0:01:29.706 like twelve time Grammy winner, like she had a stat 0:01:29.786 --> 0:01:32.306 I'm like, all right, And then it was just pandemonium. 0:01:32.706 --> 0:01:36.266 And for me, who fancies himself a pop culture guy 0:01:36.586 --> 0:01:40.586 and likes to consider myself like in the know, and 0:01:40.626 --> 0:01:43.466 then for Kelsey, it's like this is like for the 0:01:43.666 --> 0:01:46.786 for the NFL broadcaster who also enjoys like the Taylor 0:01:46.826 --> 0:01:49.506 Swift like pop culture world, and where she's at in 0:01:49.506 --> 0:01:51.586 New York, like this is the shaded part of the 0:01:51.666 --> 0:01:54.426 then diagram. Baby, Like this is like right in my wheelhouse. 0:01:54.986 --> 0:01:58.226 I come at this at a very what's the word, 0:01:58.706 --> 0:02:02.666 Pollyanna view. I like it. I think every time I've 0:02:02.706 --> 0:02:05.066 seen Taylor Swift dating one of these guys, some brooding 0:02:05.146 --> 0:02:08.306 musician like you, Aaron, and it's like some British guy 0:02:08.306 --> 0:02:10.826 who's in an indie band and she's and the guy's 0:02:10.826 --> 0:02:13.546 got the shoveled hair and he's like writing, like writing 0:02:13.626 --> 0:02:16.986 love songs about like misery or something. She's with the 0:02:17.066 --> 0:02:21.586 jock she's with the jock. She's with Travis Kelcey, And 0:02:21.866 --> 0:02:24.146 I was a little skeptical the whole thing. The whole time, 0:02:24.186 --> 0:02:27.306 I'm like, what's the play here? Because of the way 0:02:27.346 --> 0:02:30.306 it was unveiled and there is there a pr element 0:02:30.346 --> 0:02:34.586 she's got. I'm like, what here? I love young love. 0:02:34.986 --> 0:02:39.026 What if after all her trials and tribulations she fell 0:02:39.066 --> 0:02:41.386 in love with a guy who I have fallen in 0:02:41.386 --> 0:02:43.586 love with as a player and a personality in the NFL. Like, 0:02:43.666 --> 0:02:46.906 you can't not like Travis Kelsey. He might be you 0:02:46.946 --> 0:02:49.146 might think he's corny, you might think he's cheesy. He's 0:02:49.186 --> 0:02:51.706 a good dude, he's a champion. He's maybe the greatest 0:02:51.706 --> 0:02:54.266 tight end to ever played. Don't tell Gronk. And furthermore, 0:02:54.546 --> 0:02:58.506 he's like positive, he's likable, he's fun. Uh, this is 0:02:58.546 --> 0:03:00.946 a cool match to me. I like it. I'm not 0:03:00.986 --> 0:03:02.986 obsessing over it. I don't think it's worthy of that. 0:03:03.226 --> 0:03:06.466 But my favorite thing was what came out yesterday. So 0:03:07.266 --> 0:03:09.826 the chiefs guys told me that they beefed up security 0:03:09.826 --> 0:03:12.546 a little bit. They got worried that she was there 0:03:12.586 --> 0:03:14.106 and like they didn't want a crowd or all the stuff. 0:03:14.106 --> 0:03:16.386 She came with her backup dancers. She had a couple 0:03:16.426 --> 0:03:17.586 of friends in there, and it was like in a 0:03:17.666 --> 0:03:20.746 regular experience. But I don't know if you saw this, Aaron. 0:03:21.786 --> 0:03:25.946 There were hundreds of fans outside the suite and they're 0:03:26.026 --> 0:03:28.986 waiting for Taylor Swift to leave the suite so that 0:03:29.066 --> 0:03:31.946 they can, you know, get a picture or take a photo. 0:03:32.546 --> 0:03:34.986 And she never left the suite. You never saw her. 0:03:35.026 --> 0:03:38.306 And yet later you'd see Jared Payton, who is Walter 0:03:38.346 --> 0:03:40.986 Payton's son and the two thousand and four Rose Bowl MVP, 0:03:41.266 --> 0:03:44.466 and he's got a video of Taylor Swift and Travis 0:03:44.546 --> 0:03:47.506 Kelcey leaving the stadium together. And then there's this amazing 0:03:47.506 --> 0:03:50.346 shot of them in a convertible, a Camaro that's just incredible, 0:03:50.386 --> 0:03:52.866 and they like dripped off into the sunset like it's 0:03:52.906 --> 0:03:56.106 like you know, the movie Grease or something. But she 0:03:56.226 --> 0:04:01.266 never left that suite. Well, there's some next level stuff here. 0:04:02.026 --> 0:04:05.386 We've got friends who are Philly folks, and yesterday we 0:04:05.426 --> 0:04:08.866 spent some time with them. And our friend Dana is 0:04:08.946 --> 0:04:12.826 a hardcore Swifty and a hardcore Eagles fan, and she 0:04:13.546 --> 0:04:19.026 notified me of when Taylor Swift leaves her concerts, they'll 0:04:19.026 --> 0:04:21.706 often put her in a custodial closet of sorts, and 0:04:21.746 --> 0:04:25.266 they'll wheel her out in a custodial closet. There'll be 0:04:25.266 --> 0:04:29.146 like a broom attached to this giant structure, and then 0:04:29.146 --> 0:04:32.946 the fans don't see her. There is video of a 0:04:33.146 --> 0:04:36.866 giant metal box with a big bag of popcorn on top, 0:04:37.346 --> 0:04:41.706 leaving the suite and being wheeled out of Arrowhead Stadium 0:04:41.826 --> 0:04:45.066 suitet level. There is one video that's out there of 0:04:45.106 --> 0:04:48.106 a fan saying, at the top of her lungs, oh 0:04:48.106 --> 0:04:50.786 my god, that's Taylor, Oh my god, that's her. They 0:04:50.826 --> 0:04:54.066 wheeled her out in a giant popcorn box. They put 0:04:54.106 --> 0:04:57.306 a giant metal box she slid in like the movie 0:04:57.346 --> 0:05:03.426 The Prestige, or like the Trojan Horse, shout out to Homer, 0:05:04.666 --> 0:05:07.906 and they wheeled her out in a giant steel box 0:05:08.466 --> 0:05:10.666 with a popcorn bag over it so the fans wouldn't 0:05:10.666 --> 0:05:13.706 see it. This is why you listen to the season. 0:05:13.786 --> 0:05:16.306 You want to know what's really going on. I can't 0:05:16.346 --> 0:05:20.066 confirm it, but I think Taylor Swift crouched, put her 0:05:20.106 --> 0:05:24.626 six foot body into a metal box. They dropped a 0:05:24.786 --> 0:05:27.346 bag of popcorn on top of that thing. They had 0:05:27.386 --> 0:05:29.946 two people wheel it out. They went down the elevator. 0:05:30.186 --> 0:05:33.706 She comes out of the box. Hello, cuckoockachew here I 0:05:33.746 --> 0:05:38.106 am Piekaboo. She pops out, she sees Kelsey. They're not 0:05:38.186 --> 0:05:41.226 holding hands. They go off. Now the next level to this. 0:05:42.146 --> 0:05:45.346 Kelsey wore a shirt called I think Bedroom Painting? 0:05:45.466 --> 0:05:45.666 Was it? 0:05:45.986 --> 0:05:49.706 The makers of that outfit which is honestly just a 0:05:49.946 --> 0:05:53.066 crazy outfit he was wearing, and I give him credit 0:05:53.066 --> 0:05:55.946 that he could pull it off. They changed the name 0:05:55.986 --> 0:06:00.506 of the outfit from bedroom Painting to nineteen eighty nine 0:06:00.786 --> 0:06:03.986 bedroom Painting, so that when anytime anyone searched it, you 0:06:04.066 --> 0:06:06.266 get the cloud of the tailor swift stuff to it. 0:06:06.666 --> 0:06:11.466 One more thing. Michael Rubin, the godfather of fanatics and 0:06:11.586 --> 0:06:15.106 the man who's actually running the world. He tweets out 0:06:15.106 --> 0:06:19.386 the numbers that Kelsey's jersey sales are up four hundred 0:06:19.386 --> 0:06:22.586 percent and it's the number one selling jersey in the NFL. 0:06:23.186 --> 0:06:27.386 And everybody is winning from this thing. Now are they 0:06:27.426 --> 0:06:30.906 going to be doing this week now? Rob Hyland is 0:06:30.946 --> 0:06:34.786 the producer of Sunday Night Football's Game. It used to 0:06:34.786 --> 0:06:38.866 be Freddie Goodelli. He moved on from NBC. Rob Hyland's 0:06:38.866 --> 0:06:40.626 the guy now I text with Rob here and there. 0:06:40.626 --> 0:06:43.106 I like their production. They do a nice job. I 0:06:43.146 --> 0:06:44.946 already hit him up on like Tuesday morning. I'm like, 0:06:44.946 --> 0:06:46.586 have you gotten word if Taylor Swift is going to 0:06:46.626 --> 0:06:48.066 be in the box at MetLife. He's like, I have 0:06:48.146 --> 0:06:51.586 not gotten word yet. We will monitor the situation. But Aaron, 0:06:51.746 --> 0:06:54.626 I come at it with a I mean, I love 0:06:54.706 --> 0:06:58.466 my wife, we had a storybook romance. We were meant 0:06:58.466 --> 0:07:02.626 for each other. These things are possible. Aaron. Are you 0:07:02.786 --> 0:07:07.826 in on Swift and Kelsey or are you a p miss, jaded, 0:07:08.546 --> 0:07:13.146 miserable New Yorker who is so against everything and she 0:07:13.186 --> 0:07:14.906 should be with a poet? What's your thought? 0:07:15.426 --> 0:07:17.826 Uh? Well, first of all, I just want to say 0:07:17.866 --> 0:07:19.306 how thankful I am that I get to work on 0:07:19.346 --> 0:07:22.226 a show where we can reference Christopher Nolan and Homer 0:07:22.586 --> 0:07:24.386 all in the span of five minutes. 0:07:26.186 --> 0:07:27.706 We're gonna nothing but go on, go on. 0:07:28.506 --> 0:07:31.146 I think my feelings around it are wrapped up entirely 0:07:31.226 --> 0:07:33.946 on the coverage of it and not about them at all. 0:07:34.226 --> 0:07:35.306 Media critique. 0:07:35.506 --> 0:07:39.586 Yeah, I'm very happy with the build up to this 0:07:40.026 --> 0:07:43.826 rumor of Kelsey and Taylor Swift. It was fine, And 0:07:44.506 --> 0:07:46.866 you know what, I bet he seems really happy, like 0:07:46.906 --> 0:07:49.706 his brother seems happy when he talks about it. I'm 0:07:49.746 --> 0:07:51.946 all in on that. That's great. And like you said, 0:07:51.986 --> 0:07:53.946 she's been with kind of a host of guys who 0:07:54.026 --> 0:07:59.266 like Matt Healey, Yes, John Mayer, the Jonas brother, the actor. 0:07:59.346 --> 0:08:01.826 She was with a guy from Tom h No No, no, no, no, 0:08:02.306 --> 0:08:06.826 in between Hidelstein, Hidlstein. He's been bar Mitswa Hilstein, in 0:08:06.866 --> 0:08:10.986 between Hittelstein and and the Matt Healey from the nineteen 0:08:10.986 --> 0:08:12.346 seventy five. There was a guy she was with for 0:08:12.386 --> 0:08:12.946 a long time. 0:08:13.066 --> 0:08:13.346 I don't know. 0:08:13.706 --> 0:08:16.666 I think he's an actor, but again, brooding long hair, 0:08:17.346 --> 0:08:19.306 I'm just throwing arrows and darts here. 0:08:19.466 --> 0:08:23.506 No no, so yeah, I think that that's the two 0:08:23.506 --> 0:08:27.626 of them. If they're that's great. My gripe specifically, was 0:08:27.746 --> 0:08:31.546 last night watching the Steelers game and the announcers go, 0:08:31.826 --> 0:08:33.986 and I bet Taylor Swift would be happy with the 0:08:34.026 --> 0:08:36.186 play right here because she might have been at the 0:08:36.226 --> 0:08:39.626 Chiefs game. But Taylor Swift is a self proclaimed Steelers fan, 0:08:39.746 --> 0:08:42.666 and it's like, she's not here, what do we need her? 0:08:42.746 --> 0:08:44.946 Breathings? 0:08:45.346 --> 0:08:45.706 Last night? 0:08:46.026 --> 0:08:46.186 Yeah? 0:08:46.226 --> 0:08:49.746 Sorry sorry, yeah, like about. 0:08:48.826 --> 0:08:51.066 And it's like, what are we bringing her up for 0:08:51.386 --> 0:08:53.626 in this game. I mean that just it just seemed 0:08:53.666 --> 0:08:55.266 like I know, I know, but then there were so 0:08:55.426 --> 0:09:00.426 many like for yes, like bringing her song titles inside 0:09:02.386 --> 0:09:07.306 wash my god, that's what I Garrett the hour. I 0:09:07.346 --> 0:09:10.706 don't I don't need that. Yeah, if they you know, 0:09:10.986 --> 0:09:12.946 I love that she's there. I think it's awesome. We 0:09:13.026 --> 0:09:15.426 love when celebrities are at games, and like the Rob 0:09:15.506 --> 0:09:18.826 Low NFL hat Bradley Cooper's there in the Stanley. I 0:09:18.866 --> 0:09:20.506 think it's great that she was there. It was so 0:09:20.626 --> 0:09:23.386 fun to see, like her sitting next to Kelsey's mom. 0:09:23.626 --> 0:09:27.226 Loved all that. I just don't want like suddenly like 0:09:27.266 --> 0:09:29.546 how many Taylor swift lyrics can we work into the 0:09:29.546 --> 0:09:31.706 broadcast and then it's just gonna be that. I don't know. 0:09:31.746 --> 0:09:34.426 That's that's my one take. It's nothing against her. It's 0:09:34.466 --> 0:09:38.706 simply about like how she suddenly consumed the coverage. Also, 0:09:38.786 --> 0:09:41.186 like Usher was announced. 0:09:40.946 --> 0:09:44.386 Who cares done? No, Sorry, I'm employed by the NFL. 0:09:44.426 --> 0:09:46.226 I might use my job for saying that. But like 0:09:46.466 --> 0:09:49.426 that last you know, I think you got like four 0:09:49.466 --> 0:09:53.546 hours in the Kardashians, like you know, you know she's 0:09:53.586 --> 0:09:56.866 dating Odell. No one cares like all other News took 0:09:56.906 --> 0:10:01.026 a back seat. What's her name? What's her name? Who's 0:10:01.026 --> 0:10:03.746 saying Carrie Underwood was in the truck for NBC? No 0:10:03.786 --> 0:10:06.866 one cared. It's like, it's what's it's Taylor Swift. It's 0:10:06.866 --> 0:10:11.226 done all right. So there's multiple sides to the negative 0:10:11.266 --> 0:10:12.906 on it. Now, there's that side. There's a lot of 0:10:12.986 --> 0:10:15.866 critique of why did Rich Russo and the Fox cameras 0:10:15.946 --> 0:10:18.426 go to her so many times? There's a lot. I 0:10:18.426 --> 0:10:20.786 think Chris Russo was very vocal saying she could have 0:10:20.866 --> 0:10:22.906 been nude in the botto. I don't need to see 0:10:22.946 --> 0:10:25.866 her that many times. I won't go as far as 0:10:25.906 --> 0:10:27.666 I would say it's forty one nothing. You've got a 0:10:27.666 --> 0:10:30.826 pop culture moment. They're showing her as much as possible. 0:10:31.266 --> 0:10:35.346 Second critique, which I gotta say, guilty pleasure. I love this. 0:10:35.506 --> 0:10:38.346 Kelly Keegs on Barstool did you ever follow her? No, 0:10:38.826 --> 0:10:43.706 she's a Taylor Swift obsessive, but like she she's got takes, 0:10:43.986 --> 0:10:47.826 and her take is that Travis Kelcey's corny, and like, 0:10:48.386 --> 0:10:51.506 you build up Taylor Swift so much and like here's 0:10:51.506 --> 0:10:55.186 this corny guy that like all his content, she rolls. 0:10:55.626 --> 0:10:57.986 If you want to go with that take. That's an opinion. 0:10:58.106 --> 0:11:01.546 I'm for that. It's the it's the stuff that I 0:11:01.546 --> 0:11:05.026 hat just like, she would never I don't like it 0:11:05.346 --> 0:11:07.426 she would never fall in love with him, Like why not? 0:11:07.626 --> 0:11:08.546 Kelsey's great dude. 0:11:08.626 --> 0:11:13.786 Yeah, yeah, and he's he has so much energy. He's fun. 0:11:13.866 --> 0:11:15.546 He seemed I mean, you've hung out with him. I've 0:11:15.586 --> 0:11:17.466 never hung out with him. I feel like he would 0:11:17.506 --> 0:11:23.186 be like just NonStop joy. He just seems like a 0:11:23.226 --> 0:11:23.626 great guy. 0:11:23.706 --> 0:11:24.066 Yeah. 0:11:24.146 --> 0:11:28.546 I have interviewed him. I'm not exaggerating. Probably a dozen times. 0:11:28.586 --> 0:11:31.546 He's in my phone. I text with him. I'm that famous, Okay. 0:11:33.026 --> 0:11:39.266 I didn't really get the Kelsey experience until this past summer. 0:11:39.746 --> 0:11:45.106 Paul Rudd and Wriggle and Sedekis and Stone Street and 0:11:45.546 --> 0:11:49.426 Heidi Gardner do this thing called the Big Slick Charity Classic, 0:11:49.506 --> 0:11:51.746 and they invite all different people from all walks of 0:11:51.746 --> 0:11:54.866 life to come play in a charity softball game. Then 0:11:54.906 --> 0:11:57.786 we visit a children's hospital the next morning, which is incredible, 0:11:57.826 --> 0:11:59.786 and then there's like a big event at night where 0:11:59.906 --> 0:12:02.946 people perform. And Kelsey and Mahomes were a part of 0:12:02.986 --> 0:12:05.546 it this year. Last year they were not. When I 0:12:05.626 --> 0:12:07.066 my first time, but I got to go this year 0:12:07.266 --> 0:12:09.666 and I was with Kelsey for much of the night. 0:12:09.746 --> 0:12:14.386 He's wearing a cowboy hat and cowboy boots and this 0:12:14.466 --> 0:12:17.746 guy is a sweetheart. And he's talking to everyone, and 0:12:17.786 --> 0:12:20.226 he's talking to the parents of children with cancer, and 0:12:20.266 --> 0:12:23.266 he's talking to Darius Rucker, and he's talking to the 0:12:23.266 --> 0:12:25.306 people who work at the stadium and people who work 0:12:25.346 --> 0:12:30.066 at the hospital. Kelsey is an awesome dude. He's got 0:12:30.106 --> 0:12:33.426 just tons of joy and positivity. And oh, by the way, 0:12:34.306 --> 0:12:37.666 if not the greatest, the second best player at the 0:12:37.666 --> 0:12:39.786 tight end position in the history of the sport. It's 0:12:39.786 --> 0:12:42.626 not like he's some nobody who's like trying to get caught. 0:12:42.746 --> 0:12:46.186 He doesn't need this for celebrity status. He hosted Saturday 0:12:46.226 --> 0:12:47.226 Live last year. 0:12:47.146 --> 0:12:49.586 Right, and he did well too. I mean, like, you know, 0:12:49.706 --> 0:12:51.906 his SNL s get He had the one with Please 0:12:51.906 --> 0:12:55.306 Don't Destroy where he throws them around and beats him up. Yeah, 0:12:55.346 --> 0:12:58.226 he was good. I you know, as much as he's 0:12:58.386 --> 0:13:01.106 you know, caused problems for the Bills throughout his career, 0:13:01.826 --> 0:13:04.226 especially the last few years. I like him. He's great, 0:13:04.786 --> 0:13:07.786 you know. Yeah, I'm I'm all on board with the 0:13:07.826 --> 0:13:10.266 two of them having a great time and if it's 0:13:10.626 --> 0:13:13.586 a long relationship, amazing, and if it's not, that's okay too. 0:13:13.746 --> 0:13:16.146 Although I do hope that he can survive the fallout 0:13:16.146 --> 0:13:18.106 because I do know a lot of time that's okay. 0:13:18.226 --> 0:13:21.986 Her ex boyfriends tend to get punished online by her falling. 0:13:22.026 --> 0:13:25.266 But he's not okay a we're not one hundred percent 0:13:25.386 --> 0:13:27.546 confirmed that they're an item. She went to a football game, 0:13:27.586 --> 0:13:30.946 they weren't holding hands. The TMZ stories that they rented 0:13:30.946 --> 0:13:33.426 out a place called I think bar so Seal or 0:13:33.466 --> 0:13:35.986 Kansas City so Seal. They rented out the roof and 0:13:36.026 --> 0:13:38.066 a couple of guys. But Mahomes is talking with Aaron 0:13:38.146 --> 0:13:41.226 Andrews and Aaron's like, what did you think of Swift's 0:13:41.346 --> 0:13:45.306 He's like, I haven't. I haven't met her, haven't met her, 0:13:45.506 --> 0:13:47.786 so like it's not like they've been like hanging around 0:13:47.906 --> 0:13:49.826 and you know, Kelsey Malmes are tight and like, it's 0:13:49.866 --> 0:13:53.346 not like they So the word is that Kelsey gave 0:13:53.426 --> 0:13:56.386 the Chiefs heads up that she might be coming on Friday, 0:13:56.986 --> 0:13:59.866 told the players, and Mahomes said it in that interview. 0:13:59.906 --> 0:14:01.786 He's like, I don't you know, okay, or like maybe 0:14:01.826 --> 0:14:04.226 said postgameling. I didn't think anything of it, like Travis 0:14:04.266 --> 0:14:06.786 says things like I have no idea, and then Sunday 0:14:06.866 --> 0:14:10.506 warning like Chiefs building security in the Chiefs Organization was 0:14:10.546 --> 0:14:12.386 given the heads up that yes, Taylor Swift will be 0:14:12.386 --> 0:14:16.026 sitting in a suite with Donna Kelce. The whole thing 0:14:16.106 --> 0:14:19.946 is fun. And in a season where we lost Nick 0:14:20.026 --> 0:14:23.746 Chubb but we lost Aaron Rodgers, I'm watching teams lose 0:14:24.266 --> 0:14:27.626 seventy to twenty and forty one to nothing. Hell, I'll 0:14:27.626 --> 0:14:31.226 take some fun that seventy to twenty is a good, 0:14:31.626 --> 0:14:34.946 good little intro for our guests. I think you're really 0:14:34.986 --> 0:14:36.866 gonna dig this. If you're not familiar with him, you're 0:14:36.866 --> 0:14:40.226 going to hear his story. And I don't know, We're 0:14:40.266 --> 0:14:41.986 going with a different route here for this guest. This 0:14:42.106 --> 0:14:45.346 is Richmond Flowers, the third one of the top coaching 0:14:45.466 --> 0:14:48.626 agents in the NFL, but also a guy with quite 0:14:48.666 --> 0:14:54.266 a story to tell himself. Here on the season with 0:14:54.306 --> 0:14:57.066 Peter Schrager, we like to have the most interesting guests, 0:14:57.066 --> 0:14:59.986 the most connected guests, and give you the story behind 0:15:00.026 --> 0:15:02.466 the story. And for this week, after putting up seventy 0:15:02.546 --> 0:15:05.866 points in a ballgame, my immediate thought was like, let's 0:15:05.866 --> 0:15:07.506 get Mike mcdael on the show. Then I was like, 0:15:07.546 --> 0:15:09.826 all right, I know, Mike, We'll get him on in 0:15:09.826 --> 0:15:12.146 the off season when he could be truly candid. Who 0:15:12.226 --> 0:15:15.506 is the closest person to Mike McDaniel that I can 0:15:15.546 --> 0:15:17.346 bring on? Who is someone who knows his story from 0:15:17.386 --> 0:15:19.626 the very start, and who is someone who has as 0:15:19.626 --> 0:15:21.826 connected in this league as anybody when it comes to coach. 0:15:21.906 --> 0:15:25.626 Isn't that person? He's the founder of Collective Sports Advisors 0:15:25.666 --> 0:15:30.466 and the QB Collective. He's one of the premier identifiers 0:15:30.506 --> 0:15:33.546 of Scout of coaching talent but also quarterback talent, and 0:15:33.666 --> 0:15:36.626 I just think he's a fascinating story. Guys, you might 0:15:36.666 --> 0:15:38.986 not know his name off it, you will love this guest. 0:15:39.106 --> 0:15:42.466 And he is with me now Richmond Flowers the third Richmond, 0:15:42.506 --> 0:15:43.186 how are you man? 0:15:43.506 --> 0:15:44.746 I'm good, Peter, how are you doing. 0:15:44.986 --> 0:15:48.306 I'm doing great. So I'm watching McDaniel pour it on 0:15:48.546 --> 0:15:50.586 and then take call off the dogs, and then the 0:15:50.626 --> 0:15:52.226 backups come in and they're pouring it on and he 0:15:52.266 --> 0:15:53.906 tries to call the Eventually they had to take a 0:15:53.986 --> 0:15:55.946 knee to end this thing, and I'm like, what a 0:15:55.986 --> 0:15:59.826 story for Mike Mike was an assistant for Shanahan all 0:15:59.866 --> 0:16:03.906 these years, waiting his turn, waiting his turn, blocked interview here, 0:16:04.026 --> 0:16:07.066 blocked interview there. Finally gets an opportunity to interview for 0:16:07.106 --> 0:16:10.106 the Dolphins head coaching job, gets it. There are skeptics. 0:16:10.106 --> 0:16:11.826 They go to the playoffs last year and now it's 0:16:11.866 --> 0:16:14.826 like he's the toast of the town. When did you 0:16:14.906 --> 0:16:17.226 first meet Mike McDaniel, And then we're going to tell 0:16:17.226 --> 0:16:20.186 the story of your connection with him to where you 0:16:20.226 --> 0:16:21.186 both are right now. 0:16:22.026 --> 0:16:26.746 So I had been calling Mike Shanahan and Kyle for 0:16:26.786 --> 0:16:29.426 about two to three years. At this point it was 0:16:29.506 --> 0:16:34.466 twenty ten. I had just had my first child. My 0:16:34.546 --> 0:16:38.626 wife was still in the hospital, and you know, after 0:16:38.706 --> 0:16:40.866 again two years of calling Mike Shanahan, trying to be 0:16:40.946 --> 0:16:43.866 ready if I could get an opportunity. So anyways, fast 0:16:43.866 --> 0:16:47.346 forward twenty ten, Mike Shanahan calls me up. We're in 0:16:47.386 --> 0:16:53.986 the middle of running around Cedar Sinai and Mike Shanahan says, Richmond, 0:16:54.026 --> 0:16:55.826 meet me at the Combine and Mobile. 0:16:55.746 --> 0:16:57.506 And so I jumped on a plane. 0:16:58.946 --> 0:17:01.386 Kind of felt kind of bad for my wife at 0:17:01.386 --> 0:17:03.426 the time, knowing that she was probably going to find 0:17:03.466 --> 0:17:05.586 out what it's like to be a coach's wife very quickly, 0:17:05.946 --> 0:17:08.026 and so I go down to Mobile. You know, my 0:17:08.146 --> 0:17:13.026 interview was pretty seamless. It was Richmond, You're hired, and 0:17:13.106 --> 0:17:16.266 Mike was there the whole time. Mike was there, you know, 0:17:16.306 --> 0:17:18.466 he was in the Alliance at the time, you know, 0:17:18.506 --> 0:17:21.946 I think the Sacramento team, and he was there around. 0:17:22.026 --> 0:17:24.266 Kyle had been with him at the Texans obviously, and 0:17:24.346 --> 0:17:27.426 he was running around. He had his sort of a 0:17:27.546 --> 0:17:30.946 presentation and PowerPoint that he had done where he had 0:17:31.026 --> 0:17:33.746 charted the run game efficiency and the correlation between the 0:17:33.746 --> 0:17:36.706 playoffs and passing game and the run game and the 0:17:36.746 --> 0:17:37.946 efficiencies of the system. 0:17:38.026 --> 0:17:39.786 And you could tell he was super smart. 0:17:40.026 --> 0:17:43.786 And he was down there the whole week and we 0:17:43.786 --> 0:17:44.866 were hanging out for a little bit. 0:17:45.426 --> 0:17:48.586 This is Mobile, Alabama Senior Bowl. You're interviewing for a job, 0:17:48.626 --> 0:17:52.586 and for the listeners, you had a prominent college career. 0:17:52.586 --> 0:17:54.506 We remember you on Hard Knocks. You tried out for 0:17:54.546 --> 0:17:57.906 the Cowboys. You didn't have a long NFL career, but 0:17:57.906 --> 0:17:59.546 you were like, I still want to get into the league. 0:17:59.626 --> 0:18:01.906 So you end up being a coach and when you 0:18:01.946 --> 0:18:04.226 interview for the job, there's what twenty five year old 0:18:04.226 --> 0:18:06.746 Mike McDaniel with his glasses interviewing you how's that going down. 0:18:07.346 --> 0:18:10.266 Mike was the you know, he was Kyle's ace at 0:18:10.306 --> 0:18:13.786 the Texans. Widely documented he had some issues, so did 0:18:13.826 --> 0:18:16.626 Gary Kubiak send him on a hiatus, and then Mike 0:18:16.786 --> 0:18:19.666 was still at the the Sacramento team at the time. 0:18:19.706 --> 0:18:22.466 When I did walk in there, again, I'd like to, 0:18:22.506 --> 0:18:24.586 you know, tell you that I had some extensive interview. 0:18:24.586 --> 0:18:29.226 But again, I was really Kyle's buddy from college that 0:18:29.306 --> 0:18:30.986 played in the NFL and that would go home with 0:18:31.066 --> 0:18:34.506 him back to the Broncos and Mike Shanahan's house in 0:18:34.546 --> 0:18:36.506 college and trained with the Broncos. 0:18:36.546 --> 0:18:37.866 So I'd been around him. 0:18:37.906 --> 0:18:40.826 We were super close and the trust factor was there. 0:18:40.866 --> 0:18:42.706 So I think the fact that I played in the 0:18:42.826 --> 0:18:45.426 NFL meant that like he could get away with hiring. 0:18:46.066 --> 0:18:48.226 In my case, I'm probably the one guy who was 0:18:48.266 --> 0:18:51.706 like he did hire his friend. 0:18:52.266 --> 0:18:54.466 I played with Kyle at Duke, and I became the 0:18:54.506 --> 0:18:55.146 coach with Kyle. 0:18:55.826 --> 0:18:58.386 I was I was the I am the guilty party 0:18:58.426 --> 0:19:01.186 there when it comes to like Kyle hired his frint, 0:19:02.026 --> 0:19:04.746 but you know, he knew I'd get out there and 0:19:04.746 --> 0:19:06.226 and and kind of fight and figure it out. 0:19:06.266 --> 0:19:09.506 So you're coaching with Washington. Who's in that room in 0:19:09.546 --> 0:19:10.666 twenty eleven. 0:19:10.626 --> 0:19:14.026 In that room is Sean McVay was the other quality 0:19:14.026 --> 0:19:18.906 control coach with me. Matt Lafleur had his first quarterbacks 0:19:18.946 --> 0:19:19.586 coaching job. 0:19:20.906 --> 0:19:22.306 You had obviously, Kyle. 0:19:22.906 --> 0:19:28.706 You had Chris Furster, You had John Embrey, Bobby Turner, 0:19:29.426 --> 0:19:30.266 great running. 0:19:29.986 --> 0:19:31.746 Backs coach, legendary running backs coach. 0:19:31.826 --> 0:19:32.146 Yeah, right. 0:19:33.146 --> 0:19:36.586 And you had Chris Morgan who's currently the offensive line 0:19:36.586 --> 0:19:40.306 coach of the Chicago Bears. He had come from working 0:19:40.346 --> 0:19:44.746 with Tom Cable and became Chris Furster's assistant. And Keenan 0:19:44.826 --> 0:19:48.946 mccartal j mc cardle. Actually, you know, he tracked back 0:19:48.986 --> 0:19:50.946 to all the different times before even I was a 0:19:50.986 --> 0:19:55.146 coaching agent. But Keenan and I were at the Jacksonville 0:19:55.226 --> 0:19:59.346 Jaguars together, and you know, he was a savvy vett 0:19:59.586 --> 0:20:01.906 and so I kind of walked up to Keenan at 0:20:01.946 --> 0:20:06.026 the Senior Bowl that during that exact same time and said, hey, Kyle, 0:20:06.026 --> 0:20:08.346 you needed me. Keenan he's the hell of a wide receiver, 0:20:08.506 --> 0:20:11.826 knows the position. Good dude, talk to him. Kyle hires him. 0:20:13.106 --> 0:20:18.386 So as Keenan, John Embry, Bobby Turner, Chris Furster, Sean McVay, 0:20:18.506 --> 0:20:22.066 Matt Lafleure, Kyle myself, and I like to say, like 0:20:22.106 --> 0:20:24.626 I walked into the building, and you know, it doesn't 0:20:24.666 --> 0:20:26.706 take very long to realize that because you played in 0:20:26.746 --> 0:20:29.066 the NFL, that you're a little bit behind and that 0:20:29.106 --> 0:20:29.586 you've got a. 0:20:29.506 --> 0:20:30.026 Lot to learn. 0:20:30.266 --> 0:20:34.826 Yeah, Sean, I really couldn't probably turn on the copying 0:20:34.866 --> 0:20:36.986 machine and Sean could take it apart and put it together. 0:20:39.226 --> 0:20:43.786 So the McDaniel thing, you guys start coaching together, when 0:20:43.826 --> 0:20:46.346 do you make the change to say I don't want 0:20:46.386 --> 0:20:48.346 to be an NFL coach, I want to actually be 0:20:48.346 --> 0:20:50.506 an NFL agent and represent these guys. 0:20:51.226 --> 0:20:55.866 You know, the truth is my dad's remain college was 0:20:56.386 --> 0:20:58.866 Jim Bates, so I'd grown up around Jeremy. We went 0:20:58.906 --> 0:21:01.866 to the Johnny Major's football camp growing up, and you know, 0:21:01.986 --> 0:21:04.506 I actually almost transferred to Severe County High to be 0:21:04.506 --> 0:21:05.266 his wide receiver. 0:21:05.346 --> 0:21:07.466 Tells your kind of family come from where you're like a. 0:21:07.506 --> 0:21:10.226 Guy who moves up lives in Severe County alone to 0:21:10.226 --> 0:21:13.466 catch footballs. So I was super close to tracked his career, 0:21:14.066 --> 0:21:16.146 tracked Kyle's career. I think at the time, I was 0:21:16.186 --> 0:21:21.066 slinging apartment buildings at LA for Howie Roseman's brother in law. 0:21:21.106 --> 0:21:26.066 Actually, Mindy's brother is who you were working for. 0:21:26.586 --> 0:21:28.706 They have all these brothers, and one of them went 0:21:28.706 --> 0:21:29.226 to Duke with me. 0:21:29.306 --> 0:21:31.146 So I got connected to Matthew Friedman, and I was 0:21:31.186 --> 0:21:37.346 slinging apartment buildings, sitting in a cubicle after selling luxury 0:21:37.386 --> 0:21:40.066 real estate for Roger Staubach when the market tanked, And 0:21:40.146 --> 0:21:43.466 so I'm sitting there going I'm pretty sure I need 0:21:43.466 --> 0:21:45.426 to get back to what I know and love in football, 0:21:45.626 --> 0:21:48.106 and I hate this desk and I just want Son 0:21:48.146 --> 0:21:48.986 to hit me in the face. 0:21:49.026 --> 0:21:50.346 I got to get the hell out of here. Even 0:21:50.346 --> 0:21:50.786 though the. 0:21:50.666 --> 0:21:53.986 One profession that I always kind of knew that I 0:21:54.026 --> 0:21:56.506 wanted to stay away from was coaching. To be honest 0:21:56.506 --> 0:21:58.706 with you, as a player, that's all I ever wanted 0:21:58.706 --> 0:22:02.426 to do is play. I really never saw myself as coaching. 0:22:03.346 --> 0:22:07.146 But I think sometimes it takes losing foot all, leaving 0:22:07.306 --> 0:22:09.546 what you love and losing kind of a focus of 0:22:09.626 --> 0:22:11.546 being around the thing that you really love and know 0:22:11.986 --> 0:22:15.586 to really want it back. So really my strategy was 0:22:15.666 --> 0:22:18.466 to go check it out, get thrown in the middle 0:22:18.466 --> 0:22:19.866 of it all, it was obvious that you were going 0:22:19.906 --> 0:22:22.226 to kind of be in the path of progress, and 0:22:22.306 --> 0:22:24.626 so the opportunity to get down there and be around 0:22:24.666 --> 0:22:27.066 Mike Shanahan and Kyle and all those guys, it was 0:22:27.146 --> 0:22:29.226 more of a I believe I could be a really 0:22:29.266 --> 0:22:31.986 good agent, and I know that I'll be a better 0:22:32.026 --> 0:22:34.706 agent if I'm thrown into the middle of whatever Mike 0:22:34.746 --> 0:22:36.986 Shanahan's going to do next. And so I kind of 0:22:37.026 --> 0:22:39.986 had a hunch walking in. I figured out my path. 0:22:40.066 --> 0:22:44.226 But ultimately you recognize what you're really good at and 0:22:44.226 --> 0:22:45.946 what you can be really good at, and then you 0:22:45.946 --> 0:22:47.906 know you have to be honest with yourself and assess 0:22:48.346 --> 0:22:50.466 if you have a ceiling or not. Good things would 0:22:50.466 --> 0:22:53.746 happen if you throw yourself into the middle of something 0:22:53.826 --> 0:22:56.106 led by Mike Shanahan. I had so much respect for 0:22:56.226 --> 0:22:58.506 him and had known him for a really long time, 0:22:58.506 --> 0:23:01.426 and Kyle was really my best friend time who was. 0:23:01.426 --> 0:23:04.026 Your first client. When you leave coaching and you say 0:23:04.026 --> 0:23:05.786 I'm going to be a coaching agent, I know that 0:23:05.826 --> 0:23:08.346 there's you know, titans of the industry, whether it's Jimmy 0:23:08.346 --> 0:23:11.826 Sexton or Bob Lamont. These guys have a stronghold on 0:23:11.866 --> 0:23:14.386 all these head coaches and there's legends told about them. 0:23:14.626 --> 0:23:18.066 Here's this young gun coming from being an active coach 0:23:18.146 --> 0:23:19.426 to now I'm going to be an agent. Who was 0:23:19.466 --> 0:23:21.866 the first client that said, I'll jump on that wing 0:23:21.946 --> 0:23:22.186 with you? 0:23:22.906 --> 0:23:26.346 I mean, the first client was Mike McDaniel, because we 0:23:26.426 --> 0:23:28.826 really sort of sat in the room together for two 0:23:28.906 --> 0:23:31.226 years and we would just talk about all this stuff. 0:23:31.386 --> 0:23:33.986 I mean, you know, we would talk about the vision 0:23:34.026 --> 0:23:36.386 for our careers. We would talk about the build out 0:23:36.586 --> 0:23:39.706 of collective and what it means and the importance of it. 0:23:39.746 --> 0:23:41.826 We would talk about where we're going to go. 0:23:42.146 --> 0:23:44.746 I had I'll be the first one to tell you, 0:23:45.106 --> 0:23:49.066 because I think Mike's story is all about people needing 0:23:49.066 --> 0:23:51.266 to see it before they can believe it, you know. 0:23:51.346 --> 0:23:53.986 And I'll never forget one of the first times I 0:23:54.026 --> 0:23:57.066 met Mike. Doesn't take it very long to show you 0:23:57.146 --> 0:23:59.146 his resume, and at the top of his resume, it's 0:23:59.146 --> 0:24:00.706 going to say I'm going to be a Super Bowl 0:24:00.746 --> 0:24:01.866 winning head coach. 0:24:02.146 --> 0:24:04.986 And you know I and so I remember. 0:24:04.946 --> 0:24:07.786 Wait a second, I'm the resid. It has that statement. 0:24:08.106 --> 0:24:11.546 It doesn't say Yale undergrad and coaching Texans. It says 0:24:11.986 --> 0:24:13.426 I'm gonna be a super bowling head coach. I mean, 0:24:13.586 --> 0:24:15.186 that sounds awfully arrogant to me. 0:24:15.786 --> 0:24:21.906 It's absolutely arrogant. Didn't you see the play callers? That's Mike, 0:24:22.386 --> 0:24:25.746 you know, I mean it, it's that belief in self 0:24:26.346 --> 0:24:29.506 that separates him. I mean, but that is honest to gods, 0:24:29.506 --> 0:24:33.986 truth went to Yale, you know basically that. I mean, 0:24:34.026 --> 0:24:35.706 that's what it says at the top of his resume. 0:24:35.786 --> 0:24:39.266 And I remember at the time thinking, all right, you know, 0:24:39.706 --> 0:24:42.546 just like I said, Mike came in the second year. 0:24:42.586 --> 0:24:45.466 And the funny part of that is Mike has probably 0:24:45.506 --> 0:24:48.826 me to thank for coming in the second year, because 0:24:50.826 --> 0:24:53.026 I was if you were to write down what I 0:24:53.186 --> 0:24:55.426 was probably really not very good at, it would have 0:24:55.466 --> 0:24:57.946 been the job description of the quality control that I 0:24:57.986 --> 0:25:03.826 would have. And so, like, Kyle's tough, and I've experienced 0:25:03.826 --> 0:25:06.306 a firsthand, well he's a lot tougher when you're his 0:25:06.466 --> 0:25:11.026 buddy and you get hired. So my job was to 0:25:11.066 --> 0:25:13.466 look at one picture and find it the little small 0:25:13.506 --> 0:25:16.066 detail that was the mistake and then fix it. 0:25:16.146 --> 0:25:17.786 And I'd bring it to Kyle. 0:25:17.506 --> 0:25:19.826 And then he'd be and sitting back down the hallway, 0:25:20.346 --> 0:25:22.906 and so like he made me enough that had opened 0:25:22.946 --> 0:25:24.786 the door for Mike, and I think by the end 0:25:24.786 --> 0:25:27.746 of year one, we should probably bring Mike in here. 0:25:27.866 --> 0:25:29.826 Now we're not going to let him take Richmond's job. 0:25:29.986 --> 0:25:32.546 And so that's when he created himself into a run 0:25:32.586 --> 0:25:35.106 gurgle because he went with Chris Furster at the O line. 0:25:35.586 --> 0:25:38.546 So yet Mike as a client, what year is that? 0:25:38.586 --> 0:25:40.786 Because it doesn't happen overnight for Mike McDaniel. He's an 0:25:40.786 --> 0:25:43.266 assistant for Kyle for a long ass time before he 0:25:43.266 --> 0:25:44.986 finally gets an interview to be a head coach. 0:25:45.586 --> 0:25:46.066 Yeah. 0:25:46.226 --> 0:25:50.066 So first my two first clients were truly it was 0:25:50.146 --> 0:25:54.026 Mike McDaniel and then Vic Fangio and that's another story. 0:25:54.066 --> 0:25:59.266 But twenty eleven, Mike comes in there, and for me, 0:25:59.986 --> 0:26:03.626 it's all about perspective and your experiences, and when you 0:26:03.706 --> 0:26:07.346 have you gain a perspective by being in this one 0:26:07.346 --> 0:26:10.466 of a kind environment and having experiences next to each other, 0:26:11.106 --> 0:26:14.426 it changes you. And so like for me, I had 0:26:14.426 --> 0:26:18.186 the perspective of getting to see Keenan mccartal come in there, 0:26:18.346 --> 0:26:21.306 and then next year Kyle brought an Ike and I 0:26:21.346 --> 0:26:23.826 think that that just like anything, when you get your 0:26:23.866 --> 0:26:26.466 opportunity to be a coordinator. Kyle's kind of finding his 0:26:26.506 --> 0:26:28.866 way and figuring out the dynamics of his staff and 0:26:28.866 --> 0:26:31.586 what works and what doesn't and the importance of it. Man, 0:26:31.626 --> 0:26:35.306 when Mike came in, you see this unassuming guy that 0:26:35.786 --> 0:26:38.506 doesn't immediately strike you as this is the next Vnce Lombardi. 0:26:38.986 --> 0:26:41.946 But as a former player, I had so. 0:26:41.986 --> 0:26:45.626 Much appreciation for the way that somebody could kind of 0:26:45.626 --> 0:26:48.426 distill in their mind how to teach a position, the 0:26:48.426 --> 0:26:53.506 progression recall from plays that really aren't as hard to find, 0:26:53.586 --> 0:26:55.546 because when you love something so much, you know how 0:26:55.546 --> 0:26:57.706 to just piece it together. But Mike was so organized 0:26:57.706 --> 0:27:00.826 and he had been collecting edits and building a library 0:27:00.866 --> 0:27:04.186 to teach from. So I remember when I saw him 0:27:04.186 --> 0:27:07.306 on his Exos computer one day and I walked over 0:27:07.346 --> 0:27:09.626 there and he basically showed me how he breaks down 0:27:09.666 --> 0:27:14.586 the wide receiver position. And I'll never forget I really 0:27:14.706 --> 0:27:19.066 learned more in that discussion than I had learned in 0:27:19.106 --> 0:27:21.706 the previous two years. But as a career trying to 0:27:21.706 --> 0:27:24.826 be a professional wide receiver, because of the way that 0:27:24.946 --> 0:27:27.866 he broke down the opponent, he broke down the different 0:27:27.866 --> 0:27:30.466 techniques of the starting at the line with press coverage, 0:27:30.466 --> 0:27:33.146 whether it's soft shoe man or it's cloud, how to 0:27:33.186 --> 0:27:36.946 attack it, the different techniques, the minute detail when you're 0:27:37.026 --> 0:27:39.306 running a route, whether you know how you're standing at 0:27:39.346 --> 0:27:42.186 the line, whether you're you know, opening up to break 0:27:42.226 --> 0:27:45.306 it down and then you know a false acceleration, and 0:27:46.306 --> 0:27:48.186 the details of how you come out. 0:27:48.026 --> 0:27:49.866 Of your breaks and catch the football. All of it 0:27:49.946 --> 0:27:50.586 was right there. 0:27:50.706 --> 0:27:53.026 And the way that he organized it gave me this 0:27:53.186 --> 0:27:56.946 picture and it was like, holy, okay, I now you know. 0:27:57.466 --> 0:27:58.586 I just learned so much. 0:27:58.866 --> 0:27:59.106 Yeah. 0:27:59.186 --> 0:28:03.146 It was that experience combined with Kyle walked into my 0:28:03.146 --> 0:28:07.066 office one day when I was the pictures and basically said, Richmond, 0:28:07.986 --> 0:28:09.626 you got a chance to be a Rian receivers coach 0:28:09.666 --> 0:28:10.466 one day, but you got to. 0:28:10.426 --> 0:28:11.466 Get these pictures right. 0:28:11.546 --> 0:28:12.066 Yeah. 0:28:12.146 --> 0:28:14.666 And then and he wasn't probably thinking at the time 0:28:14.746 --> 0:28:16.986 that Mike was going to become the wide receivers coach. 0:28:17.506 --> 0:28:20.866 But when you're in the meeting. 0:28:20.666 --> 0:28:23.226 Room and you're watching the players and the way they 0:28:23.266 --> 0:28:26.386 respond to him, and you have a comparison, and then 0:28:26.466 --> 0:28:28.706 he walks in, this unassuming. 0:28:28.226 --> 0:28:30.306 Guy who's super authentic, who's put. 0:28:30.106 --> 0:28:32.466 All this work in and has been staying up all 0:28:32.546 --> 0:28:34.706 night long and can stay. 0:28:34.506 --> 0:28:36.866 Up all night long and you know, stay focused on 0:28:36.906 --> 0:28:37.266 the task. 0:28:37.826 --> 0:28:37.946 Man. 0:28:38.066 --> 0:28:40.106 Every word that he said, those guys listen to. 0:28:40.186 --> 0:28:43.226 They hung on everything he put them in a position 0:28:43.546 --> 0:28:44.546 to succeed. 0:28:44.906 --> 0:28:45.946 He would give him tips. 0:28:46.226 --> 0:28:49.906 It was Pierre Garsan and Leonard Hankerson and Santana Moss 0:28:49.906 --> 0:28:52.746 and those guys were so attentive, and you realized, I 0:28:52.746 --> 0:28:55.586 don't care what anybody says, this guy is going to 0:28:55.666 --> 0:28:57.306 be a good receivers coach. 0:28:57.346 --> 0:29:00.026 He's going to be a great coach, because. 0:28:59.706 --> 0:29:03.586 What is more important than the players just listening to 0:29:03.626 --> 0:29:07.386 your every word, believing and knowing that investment that you're 0:29:07.386 --> 0:29:10.186 making every time you walk into that meeting room. I mean, 0:29:10.226 --> 0:29:11.826 and that's second to none. 0:29:12.106 --> 0:29:14.506 I met Mike when he was with Cleveland for that 0:29:14.586 --> 0:29:16.226 year and then he was with Atlanta, and it was 0:29:16.266 --> 0:29:18.466 always this. I was always tight with a lot of 0:29:18.466 --> 0:29:20.466 those guys. But he had the flat brimmed hat. Always 0:29:20.506 --> 0:29:22.626 before it was cool, he'd wear the giant hat. He'd 0:29:22.626 --> 0:29:25.226 have his sunglasses on and before the game. He was, 0:29:25.466 --> 0:29:27.826 you know, twenty something year old guy. And let's call 0:29:27.866 --> 0:29:31.866 it like it is, unassuming, gangly guy with glasses coaching 0:29:32.026 --> 0:29:35.226 elite NFL wide receivers, and yet they would respond to 0:29:35.306 --> 0:29:36.666 him in such a way where it was like, Oh, 0:29:36.706 --> 0:29:39.346 this guy's got swag, He's got something to him. Did 0:29:39.386 --> 0:29:41.186 you know that right away when he walks in the 0:29:41.266 --> 0:29:43.706 room that oh, immediately like he passes the eye test 0:29:43.746 --> 0:29:45.346 of this deal. This dude's the real deal. 0:29:46.226 --> 0:29:49.866 I became friendly with Andrew Hawkins, and it's widely documented 0:29:50.146 --> 0:29:53.506 how much he respects and loves Mike, and I mean, 0:29:54.026 --> 0:29:57.906 you know, yes, absolutely, I mean, at the time, the 0:29:57.946 --> 0:30:01.786 truth is, Mike was the only run game coordinator wide 0:30:01.786 --> 0:30:04.746 receiver that probably ever existed in the NFL. Yeah, for 0:30:04.786 --> 0:30:08.146 the Cleveland Browns, which it makes sense because you know, 0:30:08.346 --> 0:30:10.986 Kyle was hired late and so there were some other 0:30:11.026 --> 0:30:13.826 coaches on the staff, and you know, it gives you 0:30:13.866 --> 0:30:17.106 a little insight into the importance of staff continuity. And 0:30:17.346 --> 0:30:20.386 you know, it's also widely documented how what a great 0:30:20.466 --> 0:30:23.866 job Kyle's done keeping his staff together and how he's 0:30:23.906 --> 0:30:28.146 fiercely fighting for his people because you know, that investment 0:30:28.186 --> 0:30:32.106 that you're making in the coaches on your staff, man, 0:30:32.106 --> 0:30:35.146 this system is teaching you to look at the world differently, 0:30:35.386 --> 0:30:38.546 not just the game, you know, because you're building based 0:30:38.546 --> 0:30:41.426 on what you don't know, and I feel like, you know, 0:30:41.506 --> 0:30:42.106 one of the. 0:30:42.026 --> 0:30:44.426 Things that became real apparent. 0:30:45.026 --> 0:30:46.986 And I was so fortunate to be around so many 0:30:46.986 --> 0:30:49.346 people with a lot of great experiences in the league, 0:30:49.986 --> 0:30:52.666 but you know, a bunch of young guys that felt 0:30:52.666 --> 0:30:55.306 like innovation was the norm and everything everywhere else is 0:30:55.426 --> 0:30:59.306 like this, which is not the case, really, not absolutely 0:30:59.346 --> 0:30:59.826 not the case. 0:30:59.866 --> 0:31:00.026 Now. 0:31:00.066 --> 0:31:02.186 I don't think those guys ever stopped to realize that 0:31:02.226 --> 0:31:04.546 other places aren't like this. So it's a benefit to them, 0:31:04.906 --> 0:31:07.146 but for me, not sure if I wanted to coach. 0:31:07.386 --> 0:31:09.546 I was kind of looking for the next thing in 0:31:09.546 --> 0:31:14.626 my path. And so when Chris Burster would always say, Richmond, 0:31:14.626 --> 0:31:16.106 I've been in the league for a long time. I've 0:31:16.106 --> 0:31:18.546 worked for Denny Green, I've worked for Tony Dungee, and 0:31:18.586 --> 0:31:21.946 these are all amazing coaches, but this is different. This 0:31:22.026 --> 0:31:24.546 is such a football focused environment. It's all about the 0:31:24.626 --> 0:31:27.426 right things. You're getting empowered here. You're not just being 0:31:27.426 --> 0:31:29.626 told what to do. You're serving with a real purpose 0:31:29.706 --> 0:31:34.826 and the experience and how everybody was prepared to have success, 0:31:35.386 --> 0:31:37.466 you knew. And so when Chris would say that to me, 0:31:37.946 --> 0:31:41.346 I started thinking, wait a second, so we're learning something 0:31:41.386 --> 0:31:43.706 super rare that you know, ninety eight percent of the 0:31:43.706 --> 0:31:47.466 other organizations and staff probably aren't doing things exactly like. 0:31:47.426 --> 0:31:48.066 We're doing them. 0:31:48.346 --> 0:31:49.986 And that just kind of meant that I was building 0:31:49.986 --> 0:31:52.906 equity in something by the time I left. 0:31:53.666 --> 0:31:55.866 I mean, you you know, when. 0:31:55.706 --> 0:31:57.426 You're a part of a one of a kind environment, 0:31:57.706 --> 0:31:59.666 I mean you just know it, you feel it. And 0:31:59.666 --> 0:32:02.786 that was exciting to me because I didn't know exactly 0:32:02.866 --> 0:32:05.706 where things would go, but I knew whatever was happening 0:32:05.826 --> 0:32:08.346 was special and you and you just had a gut, 0:32:08.466 --> 0:32:12.146 so did everybody else. But ultimately, you know, when Kyle 0:32:12.186 --> 0:32:15.026 brought Mike to Cleveland, that's so important to have someone 0:32:15.066 --> 0:32:17.506 who's lived it, who's been there, who can teach the 0:32:17.546 --> 0:32:20.426 other coaches and set the standards and you know, and 0:32:20.786 --> 0:32:23.266 so that was a really big deal. And I think 0:32:23.346 --> 0:32:25.266 Kyle would have brought some other people along with him, 0:32:25.986 --> 0:32:27.586 but he was hired a little late. 0:32:27.906 --> 0:32:30.346 So Kyle then goes to Atlanta, brings Mike with him, 0:32:30.346 --> 0:32:32.266 and then Kyle gets the head job in San Francisco, 0:32:32.386 --> 0:32:34.346 brings Mike with him, and then for years Mike is 0:32:34.386 --> 0:32:38.226 on staff and then finally finally a head coaching opportunity, 0:32:38.506 --> 0:32:41.546 it's him or Kellen Moore. I'm not solving any secret. 0:32:41.626 --> 0:32:44.026 You will know that what was the interview process for 0:32:44.146 --> 0:32:47.386 Mike McDaniel at Post Brian Flores going into Miami And 0:32:47.386 --> 0:32:49.106 how did you prep him for that? That meeting with 0:32:49.346 --> 0:32:51.466 Steven Ross, who could be a pretty intimidating guy. 0:32:52.306 --> 0:32:56.106 You know, Mike had had actually had an opportunity to 0:32:56.306 --> 0:32:59.066 basically have a kind of a virtual interview, and they 0:32:59.066 --> 0:33:00.386 had a little exposure to him. 0:33:00.786 --> 0:33:02.146 I'll never forget. 0:33:02.826 --> 0:33:07.386 I got a phone call from Brandon Shore and Mike's 0:33:07.466 --> 0:33:10.466 journey special to me because it did take him five 0:33:10.546 --> 0:33:14.066 years And do you know if that's exactly how long 0:33:14.106 --> 0:33:15.546 it took, But the bottom line is it took him 0:33:15.586 --> 0:33:18.186 longer than it should have. And I think the timing 0:33:18.226 --> 0:33:21.106 worked out, and everything you know in life is about timing. 0:33:21.266 --> 0:33:23.466 And you look at kind of the situation of the 0:33:23.506 --> 0:33:27.226 Miami Dolphins and the way they were transitioning, Mike became 0:33:27.266 --> 0:33:29.346 the perfect fit kind of what they were looking for 0:33:29.386 --> 0:33:32.946 at the time, and so like, it's probably not a 0:33:33.026 --> 0:33:36.106 team in the NFL that that I hadn't spoken to 0:33:36.146 --> 0:33:38.346 over the past five years or person to talk to 0:33:38.386 --> 0:33:40.706 him about Mike and this was it. 0:33:40.786 --> 0:33:41.746 This was the opportunity. 0:33:41.746 --> 0:33:43.226 This was the one team that was going to believe 0:33:43.266 --> 0:33:45.786 in him, and they were like, hey, Richmond, we're taking 0:33:45.786 --> 0:33:46.586 a serious shot here. 0:33:47.106 --> 0:33:48.946 We mean business were interested. 0:33:49.666 --> 0:33:54.346 And the culmination of everything that's happened for Mike's been amazing. 0:33:54.386 --> 0:33:57.866 I mean, you look back at Atlanta and I remember 0:33:57.946 --> 0:34:00.386 even you know, you kind of look at Mike and 0:34:01.066 --> 0:34:03.386 how you go from being this quality control coach or 0:34:03.386 --> 0:34:06.226 this unassuming guy. You know, I used to say, look, 0:34:06.546 --> 0:34:08.866 Mike's trajectory's pointing up. The guy was in the broom 0:34:08.866 --> 0:34:12.506 closet at the Falcons and h and you look at 0:34:12.546 --> 0:34:15.226 I got a phone call one day from Tom Pelliasero 0:34:15.586 --> 0:34:21.346 and we were talking and and you know, Mike's alcohol 0:34:21.466 --> 0:34:25.866 issues are also widely documented, and I think that this 0:34:25.946 --> 0:34:28.026 is a league that it can be difficult if you 0:34:28.106 --> 0:34:31.706 if you make certain decisions and you have some roadbumps. 0:34:31.146 --> 0:34:32.266 Not everyone makes it back. 0:34:32.666 --> 0:34:35.026 I think it's a testament to Mike and his focus 0:34:35.066 --> 0:34:38.986 and and his drive. But ultimately, you know, that was 0:34:39.066 --> 0:34:42.866 lingering over Mike, rightfully so, and I think that there 0:34:42.986 --> 0:34:45.546 was this moment where he needed to get that behind him, 0:34:46.186 --> 0:34:48.746 and he was in this amazing place and I was 0:34:48.786 --> 0:34:50.466 talking to Tom and I kind of just said, you 0:34:50.506 --> 0:34:52.746 know what, Tom, you need to talk to Mike. You 0:34:52.746 --> 0:34:56.066 need to to spend some time with him. You know, 0:34:56.106 --> 0:35:00.146 he's going through some he's been through some interesting moments 0:35:00.186 --> 0:35:03.226 and times and and he's growing. And and I kind 0:35:03.226 --> 0:35:05.426 of left it at that and put those guys in 0:35:05.506 --> 0:35:09.106 touch so they could talk, and Mike opened up. 0:35:09.506 --> 0:35:11.706 And and you look back. 0:35:11.586 --> 0:35:16.146 At the Super Bowl when the Falcons played the Patriots. 0:35:17.266 --> 0:35:19.226 You know, Tom was at USA Today at the time, 0:35:19.546 --> 0:35:22.906 and and and that's when he put that article out 0:35:22.946 --> 0:35:25.706 there where Mike talked about his problems. And I think 0:35:25.706 --> 0:35:30.226 he became, you know, a real guy then and and 0:35:30.426 --> 0:35:33.386 you know, human, and and a little bit more eyes 0:35:33.426 --> 0:35:35.706 were on him. And then you know, the reality is 0:35:36.106 --> 0:35:39.026 the talent is undeniable, and the amount of work and 0:35:39.066 --> 0:35:42.626 the relentless nature is there. And I think, you know, 0:35:43.706 --> 0:35:46.266 the one element of when you think about Mike, you 0:35:46.306 --> 0:35:47.706 think about what do. 0:35:47.746 --> 0:35:48.426 The players say? 0:35:49.186 --> 0:35:52.746 And those players they're not being asked to say anything, 0:35:52.746 --> 0:35:55.586 they want to say something because they build a special 0:35:55.626 --> 0:35:58.826 closeness and appreciation for those who can help impact their career. 0:35:58.946 --> 0:36:01.866 Between Kyle and Chris Furster and Mike and and all 0:36:01.906 --> 0:36:04.946 these guys that just invest in the development of those players. 0:36:05.066 --> 0:36:07.066 Those guys are singing his praises and you ask them 0:36:07.066 --> 0:36:09.706 and it sounds different, and I think it's it was 0:36:09.746 --> 0:36:12.626 really easy once a team actually decided. 0:36:12.426 --> 0:36:14.666 You know what, we're really going to take a real 0:36:14.706 --> 0:36:15.106 look here. 0:36:15.146 --> 0:36:18.026 We're not worried about what some people say, or we're 0:36:18.066 --> 0:36:20.546 not worried about that, Oh, you know, Mike can't hold 0:36:20.546 --> 0:36:21.266 a room, can he? 0:36:21.666 --> 0:36:21.826 Uh? 0:36:22.186 --> 0:36:24.986 You know all these things that you're seeing that Mike's 0:36:24.986 --> 0:36:27.666 special qualities and what people are you know, all the 0:36:27.746 --> 0:36:30.146 rage about you know, those were the elements that were 0:36:30.186 --> 0:36:31.666 people were afraid to pull. 0:36:31.506 --> 0:36:34.626 This of course, you know, and eccentricity, if you will, 0:36:34.666 --> 0:36:38.146 like sprinting from the steadycam guy on the Sunday night 0:36:38.186 --> 0:36:40.586 for the most of Stark interview or with me last 0:36:40.626 --> 0:36:43.106 year in Buffalo and we're having this like ridiculous interview 0:36:43.186 --> 0:36:45.946 mid game and people are like, he's goofy. I'm like, 0:36:46.106 --> 0:36:49.706 he's authentic. He is who he is. He's not trying 0:36:49.746 --> 0:36:52.746 to impress anybody with like some like cliche or something 0:36:52.786 --> 0:36:55.906 like Mike is funny as hell, but he's also smart 0:36:56.066 --> 0:36:58.306 and he also is authentic. I think the players respect that. 0:36:58.666 --> 0:37:01.466 Well, there's no doubt, and you know he was a 0:37:01.466 --> 0:37:04.306 part of that that situation. I mean, you look at Tua, 0:37:04.746 --> 0:37:06.906 and you look at what he's doing with Tua, and 0:37:06.946 --> 0:37:08.906 then you ask yourself, and as long as you're honest 0:37:08.946 --> 0:37:11.106 with yourself and you say, who wanted that job at the. 0:37:11.066 --> 0:37:12.946 Time and who was ready to take on Tua? 0:37:13.746 --> 0:37:16.066 Well, I mean it's widely documented that many people were 0:37:16.066 --> 0:37:18.266 not ready to take on Tua. There were people who 0:37:18.306 --> 0:37:20.106 wanted to bring in Tom Brady, there were people who 0:37:20.106 --> 0:37:23.826 wanted to figure out other quarterbacks. Mike not only embraced 0:37:23.866 --> 0:37:26.826 Tua but made it the centerpiece of his candidacy with 0:37:26.826 --> 0:37:30.306 the Miami Dolphins and spent hours upon hours upon seeing 0:37:30.346 --> 0:37:34.426 something that probably very few could see, found it knowing 0:37:34.506 --> 0:37:36.586 not only the importance that he needs to sell this team, 0:37:37.106 --> 0:37:39.146 but the importance of needing to sell Tua, that he 0:37:39.226 --> 0:37:43.106 has someone who fully believes in him. And Mike just 0:37:43.146 --> 0:37:45.306 knows the power of that. Why, Well, he's walked the 0:37:45.306 --> 0:37:48.306 shoes of somebody that no one's ever believed in that 0:37:48.746 --> 0:37:50.786 you know, that grew up with this vision for where 0:37:50.826 --> 0:37:54.666 he wanted to go, and so much of Mike's career 0:37:54.986 --> 0:37:57.706 has been preparing for it since he was, you know, 0:37:57.746 --> 0:38:01.346 this kind of lonely kid raised by a single mom, 0:38:01.426 --> 0:38:04.546 and you know, and then those experiences, whether it was 0:38:04.586 --> 0:38:07.106 starting and building with Kyle and Houston and then having 0:38:07.186 --> 0:38:10.026 it taken away, and then going back to Washington being 0:38:10.026 --> 0:38:13.506 a part of this year in twenty twelve where all 0:38:13.506 --> 0:38:16.626 these young, driven coaches, you know, at the beginning of 0:38:16.666 --> 0:38:20.026 their careers were given the task of building a system 0:38:20.066 --> 0:38:21.946 around the quarterback that. 0:38:22.026 --> 0:38:23.186 They didn't know how to use. 0:38:23.506 --> 0:38:28.746 And I think that Mike articulated it so amazingly when 0:38:29.106 --> 0:38:32.346 we were preparing for his interview. That experience shaped them 0:38:32.346 --> 0:38:37.066 all And it's really an extension of what's happening with 0:38:37.146 --> 0:38:39.306 Tua is that they had been through, that they had 0:38:39.306 --> 0:38:42.386 experienced it, they had come together in a really collaborative 0:38:42.386 --> 0:38:46.866 way and shaped a system that allowed a player to 0:38:46.946 --> 0:38:50.266 excel that other people weren't sure if he was fit 0:38:50.306 --> 0:38:52.186 for the NFL. Well, Ta it is no different. And 0:38:52.426 --> 0:38:56.146 Mike walked in and probably sat down with the Miami 0:38:56.186 --> 0:38:59.306 Dolphins and you know, and told him that this was 0:38:59.346 --> 0:39:01.586 a great investment. And then for them to see and 0:39:01.666 --> 0:39:07.066 understand Mike, he's an innovator. You know. In this league today, 0:39:07.666 --> 0:39:11.306 so many coaches pull up the big playrail and they 0:39:11.346 --> 0:39:14.906 look at what's working. There's nothing wrong with that. I mean, 0:39:14.906 --> 0:39:17.626 what invitation is the best form of flattery. But ultimately, 0:39:18.066 --> 0:39:20.906 you know someone's creating, and there's other coaches that are 0:39:20.946 --> 0:39:24.906 creating in this league. But there's no question that Mike 0:39:25.106 --> 0:39:29.906 probably you know, was pretty confident in letting those that 0:39:30.106 --> 0:39:32.866 organization know that he's going to bring innovation, he's going 0:39:32.946 --> 0:39:35.706 to bring a culture, He's going to bring exactly what 0:39:35.786 --> 0:39:38.226 they were looking for at the time. And it was 0:39:38.346 --> 0:39:42.986 an amazing kind of one of those moments when you know, 0:39:43.306 --> 0:39:47.026 I think in my career, you set these north stars 0:39:47.586 --> 0:39:49.266 and things that you want to happen. 0:39:49.346 --> 0:39:51.986 That's how you well, you love what you do. 0:39:52.266 --> 0:39:56.226 And I actually didn't start by building a coaching agency 0:39:56.546 --> 0:40:01.266 per se, because at the time, when you get into 0:40:01.266 --> 0:40:03.786 this industry, one of the things that I noticed is 0:40:04.506 --> 0:40:07.546 you would ask coaches about an agent, and most of 0:40:07.586 --> 0:40:09.666 them really said the same things, Yeah, I have an agent. 0:40:10.866 --> 0:40:13.306 I don't really talk to them that often. Oh no, 0:40:13.346 --> 0:40:15.626 they didn't help me get this job, and I'm not 0:40:15.666 --> 0:40:16.666 really sure why I pay them. 0:40:16.906 --> 0:40:18.866 And so at the time I thought to myself, well, 0:40:18.906 --> 0:40:21.186 that's one profession I'm going to stay away from I 0:40:21.186 --> 0:40:23.106 don't think it has that much upside for my family, 0:40:23.626 --> 0:40:27.026 And then was it was thinking about that and then 0:40:27.066 --> 0:40:31.106 also having this great appreciation for living in the shoes 0:40:31.146 --> 0:40:34.746 of a coach and commanding environments, and you know, just 0:40:34.866 --> 0:40:40.026 realizing how much more opportunity that these coaches could provide 0:40:40.386 --> 0:40:43.226 outside of just their day to day jobs. And you know, 0:40:43.426 --> 0:40:46.026 Mike was such a big part of helping me build 0:40:46.466 --> 0:40:48.866 some of the things that we did to build the agency, 0:40:48.706 --> 0:40:52.986 the events outside to network with coaches, knowing that ten 0:40:53.066 --> 0:40:55.026 teams would want to run that system in the next 0:40:55.026 --> 0:40:59.626 five years, and so all the video and interviews and 0:40:59.706 --> 0:41:02.706 things along the way, thinking. 0:41:02.746 --> 0:41:04.746 Man, one day, this guy is going to get an opportunity. 0:41:05.146 --> 0:41:07.826 Yeah, let's sell. You've got Mike as your first client, 0:41:07.866 --> 0:41:10.306 and obviously he's your north star and it all but 0:41:10.506 --> 0:41:14.026 for the listeners, just to name a few, you represent 0:41:14.746 --> 0:41:19.346 Brandon Staley, You represent Robert Sala. You mentioned ever, Oh, 0:41:19.506 --> 0:41:24.826 you've got a very deep client, right, So is there 0:41:24.826 --> 0:41:28.146 a recruiting process of Hey, I'm identifying these talented guys 0:41:28.146 --> 0:41:30.866 because you've been with Sala for a long time and 0:41:30.946 --> 0:41:34.226 he was also a quality control guy in Houston. 0:41:34.826 --> 0:41:37.826 You could argue Sala was also my first client. It 0:41:37.866 --> 0:41:41.026 was kind of Mike and Sala and Dan Geo. I 0:41:41.146 --> 0:41:43.346 left after those three years in Washington and went to 0:41:43.346 --> 0:41:47.946 the San Francisco forty nine ers. And that's always when 0:41:47.946 --> 0:41:50.946 you're able to look back on. You know, you go 0:41:51.066 --> 0:41:53.466 somewhere and you think one of two things, I'm super 0:41:53.466 --> 0:41:56.226 prepared or I'm buying the eight ball. And I got 0:41:56.266 --> 0:41:59.146 there and thought to myself, I'm super prepared. I went 0:41:59.146 --> 0:42:01.346 from being what was probably the worst guy on the 0:42:01.346 --> 0:42:04.066 staff to like elite NFL knowledge in my own mind. 0:42:04.586 --> 0:42:08.106 But also I experienced an offensive staff who really didn't 0:42:08.106 --> 0:42:11.586 want to hear my perspective even though we were trying 0:42:11.626 --> 0:42:16.146 to engineer plays for Colin Kaepernick. Watching Washington Redskins film 0:42:16.346 --> 0:42:17.906 and it struck me that. 0:42:17.946 --> 0:42:20.146 Chris Furster, this is what he was talking about. 0:42:20.826 --> 0:42:23.786 And you know, you knew at the time then that like, 0:42:24.346 --> 0:42:26.986 I need to stay connected to all those guys because 0:42:26.986 --> 0:42:30.946 something's really special. And I realized kind of two things. One, 0:42:30.986 --> 0:42:32.586 it was obvious what I was going to do is 0:42:32.626 --> 0:42:36.506 build a coaching agency, but only build with rules that 0:42:36.546 --> 0:42:40.266 focused on the spawn of the coaches that came out 0:42:40.306 --> 0:42:42.866 of the Shanahan Tree. And then when I went to 0:42:42.946 --> 0:42:44.786 the forty nine ers, I realized that that was a 0:42:44.786 --> 0:42:47.626 little close minded, because there was a guy on the 0:42:47.626 --> 0:42:49.986 defensive side of the ball that reminded me of a 0:42:49.986 --> 0:42:52.106 guy who would have been a perfect fit at the 0:42:52.186 --> 0:42:57.066 Washington Redskins in Vic Fangio. And you know, Vic and 0:42:57.066 --> 0:43:00.746 I became close without really knowing each other. I think 0:43:01.186 --> 0:43:06.346 there's this like unspoken relationship that says, well, the best 0:43:06.466 --> 0:43:10.106 defensive mind knows what the best offensive coaches are doing 0:43:10.146 --> 0:43:10.746 and who they are. 0:43:11.146 --> 0:43:14.466 That's his job. And so there was a great appreciation, and. 0:43:14.426 --> 0:43:16.746 I think he knew that I came from a place 0:43:16.826 --> 0:43:18.986 that kind of had a pretty good sense of what 0:43:19.066 --> 0:43:22.586 good offense was, and so we had a great relationship. 0:43:23.306 --> 0:43:25.946 I think it was probably around that same time that 0:43:25.986 --> 0:43:28.746 you started seeing, you know, articles being written left and 0:43:28.826 --> 0:43:31.506 right about from Shawn and Matt and Kyle about how 0:43:31.546 --> 0:43:36.946 defense you know, Vic Bangio's best defensive coach that ever lived, 0:43:37.106 --> 0:43:41.066 and and ultimately I became really super close with him, 0:43:41.346 --> 0:43:45.626 and you know, to just be really honest with yeah, 0:43:45.666 --> 0:43:48.226 I mean, you're around him and all your thinking is 0:43:48.266 --> 0:43:50.506 that this guy's a head coach, and you look at Stamford, 0:43:50.546 --> 0:43:52.546 and you look at forty nine ers, and you look 0:43:52.586 --> 0:43:54.426 at the Bears, and you look at the Broncos, and 0:43:54.466 --> 0:43:56.626 you look at the experience, and there's this thing that 0:43:56.626 --> 0:43:58.906 binds a lot of these people together is especially the 0:43:58.906 --> 0:44:01.986 guys that we represent, it didn't happen for them overnight. 0:44:02.586 --> 0:44:05.906 And I think that that gives you a perspective and 0:44:05.906 --> 0:44:10.386 an appreciate And what I kept hearing from different general 0:44:10.426 --> 0:44:13.506 managers throughout the league, he's just a defensive coordinator. 0:44:13.506 --> 0:44:15.506 He's the best, but he's not a head coach in 0:44:15.506 --> 0:44:17.626 my mind, Well, I mean, if you've got a defensive. 0:44:17.186 --> 0:44:19.426 Coordinator who gets you to number one every single time, 0:44:19.706 --> 0:44:22.906 every single season, essentially within two to three years, I mean, 0:44:22.946 --> 0:44:25.706 that's a head coach. And so you know, Vic ended 0:44:25.786 --> 0:44:29.106 up making a transition and became one of my first 0:44:29.106 --> 0:44:32.946 clients and I learned a lot from him, and really, 0:44:32.986 --> 0:44:35.106 you know, he was the first guy became a head coach, 0:44:35.146 --> 0:44:38.746 and it was super rewarding because you kind of, you know, 0:44:39.346 --> 0:44:41.786 just like any other coach, you need someone to believe 0:44:41.786 --> 0:44:44.786 in you. Yeah, you know, you just need someone to 0:44:44.826 --> 0:44:48.306 believe in you. And then it's that two way street 0:44:48.586 --> 0:44:51.786 working together with a commitment once you just see it 0:44:51.946 --> 0:44:54.466 as long as it it means as much to both 0:44:54.466 --> 0:44:56.666 of you. You know, it's super cool to watch Vic 0:44:56.986 --> 0:44:57.986 get that opportunity. 0:44:58.146 --> 0:45:00.506 But you know, all right, so you got Vic as 0:45:00.506 --> 0:45:03.186 your veteran guy, You've got Mike McDaniel as as your 0:45:03.266 --> 0:45:05.226 junior guy, if you will. But one of the things 0:45:05.266 --> 0:45:07.386 I love that you put together that always comes out 0:45:07.386 --> 0:45:10.546 online in the offseason. You'll put all these guys together 0:45:10.666 --> 0:45:13.026 and they're coaching what high school and college kids and 0:45:13.066 --> 0:45:16.026 there's these like seminars and I'm watching in action Mike 0:45:16.106 --> 0:45:17.866 McDaniel coach because you guys are filming it and the 0:45:17.906 --> 0:45:20.706 QB Collective stuff. If you can't find this online, guys, 0:45:20.746 --> 0:45:24.586 go look it up Mike McDaniel coaching or Sean McVay coaching. 0:45:24.826 --> 0:45:26.986 You'll inter And I remember Hackett this summer was like, 0:45:27.266 --> 0:45:28.906 got to go out to Vegas. I'm doing this thing 0:45:28.946 --> 0:45:32.466 for Richmond. The Quarterback Collective, Like what is it? And 0:45:33.306 --> 0:45:35.146 where was the genesis of that? Where you get all 0:45:35.146 --> 0:45:37.826 these coaches together and then you film them actually coaching, 0:45:37.826 --> 0:45:40.506 which ultimately leads to great content because we don't see 0:45:40.546 --> 0:45:41.786 that on a day to day basis. 0:45:42.226 --> 0:45:44.386 Yeah, I mean that came as a result of my 0:45:44.466 --> 0:45:47.426 experience as a player, and then combined with the experiences 0:45:47.426 --> 0:45:50.466 in Washington Man. After those three years, all you could 0:45:50.506 --> 0:45:53.546 think of was, God, I wish I had this stuff 0:45:53.546 --> 0:45:54.826 as a player when I was a kid. 0:45:54.986 --> 0:45:55.906 I wanted it so badly. 0:45:55.906 --> 0:45:57.306 I didn't know where to find it, and I didn't 0:45:57.306 --> 0:45:59.986 know it exists because it didn't. And you knew whatever 0:46:00.026 --> 0:46:02.066 you learned and the way that you saw the world 0:46:02.186 --> 0:46:03.946 at that point in life. It was too late for 0:46:03.986 --> 0:46:05.866 me as a player, but it wasn't too late to 0:46:05.866 --> 0:46:09.546 figure out, how, you know, to realize that this would 0:46:09.546 --> 0:46:11.746 have changed my life, would have given me an opportunity 0:46:11.786 --> 0:46:14.426 to have been half as talented and played twice as 0:46:14.466 --> 0:46:18.586 long by having this access to this knowledge. And so I, 0:46:18.666 --> 0:46:20.706 like I mentioned, it was a one of a kind experience. 0:46:20.746 --> 0:46:22.666 I wanted to give that to someone else, and that 0:46:22.706 --> 0:46:26.506 you knew that you needed to. If Chris Burster said 0:46:26.506 --> 0:46:29.426 that no other staffs like this, and then you believed 0:46:29.466 --> 0:46:31.786 that you were going to build out of the lineage 0:46:32.266 --> 0:46:35.666 that would grow in the future. You also then at 0:46:35.666 --> 0:46:39.066 that point know that, huh wait, a second Senior Bowl. 0:46:39.106 --> 0:46:42.426 Combine that's two events, and if you don't go to those, 0:46:42.546 --> 0:46:43.386 you're out of luck. 0:46:43.426 --> 0:46:45.306 And if you do go to them, if you're lucky 0:46:45.386 --> 0:46:47.546 enough to grab a beer next to someone, that'll be 0:46:47.586 --> 0:46:48.946 the catalyst for the rest of your career. 0:46:48.986 --> 0:46:50.386 Could that could be the reason you get hired. 0:46:50.426 --> 0:46:53.146 So it wasn't very hard to get people hired, and 0:46:53.466 --> 0:46:55.826 you needed an event where you could bring people together 0:46:55.946 --> 0:46:59.826 that was had the context of what we experienced in Washington, 0:47:00.306 --> 0:47:02.666 because you knew that was really powerful, so even if 0:47:02.706 --> 0:47:06.026 you could get a taste of it, it could impact. 0:47:06.546 --> 0:47:09.346 And so what we did is really just started building. 0:47:09.786 --> 0:47:12.906 Brought in the top quarterbacks in the country, brought back 0:47:13.026 --> 0:47:16.146 you know as a favor, Sean, Kyle Matt, We had 0:47:16.386 --> 0:47:18.026 Kevin O'Connell's there the first year. 0:47:19.066 --> 0:47:20.746 You know, a great group. 0:47:20.546 --> 0:47:24.346 Of people, and then you know that these parents and 0:47:24.386 --> 0:47:26.626 these coaches, these are the market experts. They've been taking 0:47:26.626 --> 0:47:28.266 their kid all over the world to go see all 0:47:28.306 --> 0:47:31.586 these events. They just needed to see this product. And 0:47:31.666 --> 0:47:35.546 coaches were not impacting in that space. Private coaches were, 0:47:35.666 --> 0:47:40.906 and people with social media were essentially exploiting parents and players. 0:47:41.386 --> 0:47:44.986 And so in my mind, this was how you could 0:47:45.266 --> 0:47:48.546 look at agency differently. Insert these coaches at the top 0:47:48.586 --> 0:47:51.666 of the food chain and allow them to then insert 0:47:51.746 --> 0:47:54.066 leadership into a space that really had none. 0:47:54.266 --> 0:47:55.026 That was the hunch. 0:47:55.266 --> 0:47:57.346 The only way you find out if you're onto something 0:47:57.466 --> 0:48:01.506 is that you get those guys there, let him, let 0:48:01.586 --> 0:48:04.546 them run the event, and then watch and these parents 0:48:04.546 --> 0:48:06.746 and these coaches and everybody. It was almost like the 0:48:06.826 --> 0:48:09.266 parents have found the founta of youth and they were 0:48:09.546 --> 0:48:11.226 so excited and they. 0:48:11.106 --> 0:48:12.106 Were hanging on every word. 0:48:12.106 --> 0:48:15.066 We focused on the classroom versus the field because that 0:48:15.226 --> 0:48:18.026 was something that you really couldn't get and see, and 0:48:18.266 --> 0:48:20.906 it was just this amazing experience that kind of confirmed 0:48:21.346 --> 0:48:25.826 that to a certain degree. Picking up on what Verster said, 0:48:25.866 --> 0:48:27.626 if this was so rare, then we needed to build 0:48:27.666 --> 0:48:30.106 the VIP room of coaching. We didn't need to tell 0:48:30.146 --> 0:48:32.346 people that. We said it's the QB Collective, but it's 0:48:32.346 --> 0:48:37.586 a development pipeline for coaches and quarterbacks to identify develop 0:48:37.706 --> 0:48:41.266 represent led by the brightest minds in the NFL. 0:48:41.466 --> 0:48:44.106 It's cool. It's like the Avengers. You watch these videos 0:48:44.146 --> 0:48:45.706 and I hope we have the right I mean, Aaron, 0:48:45.746 --> 0:48:48.866 can I toss to a some sound of McDaniel from 0:48:48.906 --> 0:48:51.586 this we' got the approval right there. Richmond there we go, yeah, 0:48:51.706 --> 0:48:53.866 and we'll play it. But like you hear mcdannil's talking 0:48:53.906 --> 0:48:55.706 to high school kids, but he's really talking to the world. 0:48:55.746 --> 0:48:58.186 Because this is a rare opportunity, and you guys smartly 0:48:58.226 --> 0:49:01.146 turn the cameras on and we get an opportunity to 0:49:01.186 --> 0:49:03.626 listen how these guys actually coach, not just their press conferences. 0:49:03.866 --> 0:49:07.346 We show and then right when you get to the 0:49:07.466 --> 0:49:08.866 to the Mesh Foyd. 0:49:11.066 --> 0:49:12.906 Google Tom Brady play action, you'll. 0:49:12.826 --> 0:49:15.346 See aggressive snaps that Ryan was awesome. 0:49:17.866 --> 0:49:22.626 So three s'soo all right, so we hear McDaniel there, 0:49:22.666 --> 0:49:24.746 Well we hear McDaniel there, like, that's what it's like 0:49:24.786 --> 0:49:25.826 being in the quarterbacks room. 0:49:26.466 --> 0:49:30.706 Yeah, oh man, I mean, and then you know, getting 0:49:31.546 --> 0:49:34.106 all those guys. And the truth is, when we first started, 0:49:34.106 --> 0:49:35.586 I didn't know exactly why. 0:49:36.666 --> 0:49:37.106 I knew. 0:49:37.306 --> 0:49:41.346 I truly did know. You did know that these guys 0:49:41.346 --> 0:49:45.106 were all going somewhere. You knew that this system would 0:49:45.186 --> 0:49:48.426 catch fire. You also knew that it would grow so 0:49:48.586 --> 0:49:52.066 fast that the traditional way of building a coaching staff 0:49:52.586 --> 0:49:54.706 was out the door because it was going to grow 0:49:54.746 --> 0:49:57.266 so quickly that people were not going to hire people 0:49:57.306 --> 0:50:00.906 they had actually worked with before, and so could this 0:50:01.106 --> 0:50:04.706 event replace having worked with someone on a staff by 0:50:04.746 --> 0:50:07.426 spending three days with them in the right kind. Absolutely, 0:50:08.066 --> 0:50:10.906 and so you know, to a certain degree, you know 0:50:10.986 --> 0:50:14.826 you're you put this forward knowing that let's capture it all. 0:50:15.226 --> 0:50:17.106 In my mind, there was like maybe one day this 0:50:17.146 --> 0:50:19.306 will turn into kind of the last dance the yeah, 0:50:20.146 --> 0:50:22.586 you know, as the as the whole entire league goes 0:50:22.586 --> 0:50:26.186 through this like transformation, at a bare minimum, will be. 0:50:26.186 --> 0:50:28.746 A footage of something yeah. Yeah. 0:50:28.786 --> 0:50:30.546 And then then you would go back and you would 0:50:30.586 --> 0:50:33.626 look at this stuff and you would see Sean you know, 0:50:33.826 --> 0:50:36.426 spitting fire to young kids that happened to have Caleb 0:50:36.466 --> 0:50:39.706 Williams and Bryce Young and dj Angalele and Tanner McKee 0:50:39.746 --> 0:50:43.386 and Matt corral Uh and and all these guys Year 0:50:43.466 --> 0:50:48.466 one in twenty sixteen. Because that event was focused on development, 0:50:48.626 --> 0:50:52.866 not trying to capture marketing opportunities as they enter college. 0:50:52.906 --> 0:50:54.386 It was truly about development. 0:50:54.626 --> 0:50:57.906 It was a truly authentic environment, and these coaches only 0:50:57.946 --> 0:51:00.786 knew one way all in and so over time when 0:51:00.786 --> 0:51:03.346 you would look at that content, you know, you didn't 0:51:03.386 --> 0:51:06.746 realize that you were building equity by listening to coaches, 0:51:07.546 --> 0:51:09.826 but at the same time you were starting to see. 0:51:09.626 --> 0:51:11.066 Like, God, this guy is so good. 0:51:11.586 --> 0:51:14.066 And when you're watching these guys back to back to back, 0:51:14.386 --> 0:51:15.986 you know, you just kind of take a mental note 0:51:16.026 --> 0:51:20.386 and build a library of you know, the immense talents 0:51:20.426 --> 0:51:21.746 of some of the best teachers. 0:51:21.946 --> 0:51:23.746 If I'm a parent of a high school kid who 0:51:23.746 --> 0:51:25.226 I think has a shot, like, is it one of 0:51:25.226 --> 0:51:26.866 those deals where I can sign him up and he 0:51:26.866 --> 0:51:28.546 could be a part of the Quarterback Collective or is 0:51:28.586 --> 0:51:31.066 it you guys send invitations. 0:51:30.906 --> 0:51:34.706 It's invitation only, you know, I think long term, I 0:51:34.746 --> 0:51:38.146 always viewed the QB Collective as the central nervous system 0:51:38.146 --> 0:51:40.906 of intelligence and the sport of football to grow into 0:51:40.946 --> 0:51:43.066 the future, and so that would be. 0:51:42.986 --> 0:51:44.706 Something and we've toyed with it. 0:51:44.746 --> 0:51:46.906 I think two years ago we ran forty six camps 0:51:47.186 --> 0:51:48.866 and they were all sold out, and that was sort 0:51:48.906 --> 0:51:51.186 of available to everyone. But I felt like it was 0:51:51.186 --> 0:51:53.626 diluting the brand, and we needed to focus on this 0:51:53.826 --> 0:51:58.186 high end invitation only a network of private coaches that 0:51:58.226 --> 0:52:00.346 could kind of allow us to bring the best of 0:52:00.426 --> 0:52:03.506 the best into an environment and then even make it 0:52:03.546 --> 0:52:07.706 smaller and bring the future and really tutor and train 0:52:07.786 --> 0:52:11.626 and develop and give these guys a perspective that shows 0:52:11.666 --> 0:52:16.426 you very quickly that the value proposition is unlike anything 0:52:16.466 --> 0:52:19.386 that they've ever experienced in that space, because it truly 0:52:19.426 --> 0:52:22.026 would change their lives. When you get an opportunity to 0:52:22.106 --> 0:52:24.426 work with you know, you're sitting there in high school 0:52:24.426 --> 0:52:26.746 and it's Ben Johnson and then at Jiro is giving 0:52:26.786 --> 0:52:30.026 you the perspective of the defensive coach, and Mike McDaniel 0:52:30.106 --> 0:52:34.226 and Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay, and they're not just there, 0:52:34.386 --> 0:52:35.746 they're investing in coaching. 0:52:36.106 --> 0:52:36.826 They're coaching. 0:52:37.146 --> 0:52:39.506 My last question as we wrap this up, I used 0:52:39.506 --> 0:52:41.586 to get sent to the Senior Bowl for Foxsports dot 0:52:41.626 --> 0:52:44.386 Com when I was a writer, and I'd say early 0:52:44.426 --> 0:52:46.906 two thousands, and I have told the story in the 0:52:46.906 --> 0:52:49.186 podcast before. I knew I was never going to be 0:52:49.266 --> 0:52:51.146 John Fox's guy. I knew I was never going to 0:52:51.146 --> 0:52:53.146 be Rex Ryan's guy. I knew I was never going 0:52:53.226 --> 0:52:54.786 to be Sean Payton's guy. Those guys were of a 0:52:54.826 --> 0:52:57.866 different generation. But I saw young coaches that's in and who 0:52:57.866 --> 0:53:02.066 they were. So I would look at the staff of 0:53:02.106 --> 0:53:04.186 each team and try to find the youngest coaches and 0:53:04.186 --> 0:53:06.226 one of those guys was Sean McVay. Who was a 0:53:06.266 --> 0:53:09.506 twenty seven year old tight ends coach with Washington, and 0:53:09.826 --> 0:53:13.306 I emailed him literally like Sean dot McVeigh at Redskins 0:53:13.346 --> 0:53:15.986 dot com and was like, Hey, I'm thirty or twenty seven, 0:53:16.066 --> 0:53:17.946 let's get a beer. I'm gonna be in Mobile. He's like, yeah, sure, 0:53:18.026 --> 0:53:22.106 let's do it. How just stress how important that Mobile 0:53:22.146 --> 0:53:23.866 Alabama Senior Bowl thing is if you want to be 0:53:23.866 --> 0:53:25.226 a coach or if you want to be immediate, if 0:53:25.266 --> 0:53:26.866 you want, that's where you go. You don't go to 0:53:26.906 --> 0:53:28.386 the Super Bowl to meet people. You go to the 0:53:28.426 --> 0:53:29.066 Senior Bowl. 0:53:29.306 --> 0:53:30.226 There's no question. 0:53:30.346 --> 0:53:33.466 I mean that can be a pretty depressing environment as well, 0:53:33.506 --> 0:53:36.306 a bunch of coaches walking around with their cell phones 0:53:36.346 --> 0:53:37.266 and resumes. 0:53:37.306 --> 0:53:41.066 But coach Shanahan and Kyle the way that they. 0:53:40.986 --> 0:53:43.866 Picked that staff, and that's where I look back and 0:53:43.906 --> 0:53:46.186 it's kind of like, gosh, it don't talk about it 0:53:46.306 --> 0:53:50.986 enough for Mike Shanahan to allow, you know, a bunch 0:53:51.026 --> 0:53:53.546 of young guys and twenty something to come together like 0:53:53.586 --> 0:53:55.746 that that they knew what he knew what he was 0:53:55.786 --> 0:53:56.266 looking for. 0:53:56.426 --> 0:53:59.186 And I met Sean down there and the Yeah. 0:53:58.946 --> 0:54:01.546 The Senior Bowl is an amazing place, opportunity to meet 0:54:01.586 --> 0:54:04.266 a bunch of people. But whenever you mentioned just Sean, 0:54:04.306 --> 0:54:07.066 I mean, like the that's not a who figured it 0:54:07.066 --> 0:54:09.826 out later in life. That's a guy who also knew 0:54:09.826 --> 0:54:11.666 exactly what he wanted to do, how he wanted to 0:54:11.706 --> 0:54:13.706 go about it, was preparing for it since he was 0:54:14.066 --> 0:54:17.226 in probably fourth grade. Went to the Miami of Ohio 0:54:17.266 --> 0:54:19.746 because it's the cradle of creda. Yeah, he helped me 0:54:19.866 --> 0:54:22.906 so much going in there realizing how little I knew. 0:54:23.186 --> 0:54:25.426 I mean he literally started from scratch, did for me 0:54:25.546 --> 0:54:27.946 probably what John Gruden did for him. He was training 0:54:27.986 --> 0:54:31.066 me to draw x's and o's and the importance of 0:54:31.106 --> 0:54:35.106 the detail. And and you know, again it doesn't take 0:54:35.226 --> 0:54:40.506 very long when you're around all those people that it 0:54:40.666 --> 0:54:43.746 just took these amazing individuals and then put them on 0:54:44.106 --> 0:54:49.226 an accelerator that was looking at football differently and looking 0:54:49.306 --> 0:54:52.386 at more because when you're building, you know, you've heard 0:54:52.466 --> 0:54:55.506 the adage in football and coaching like. 0:54:55.986 --> 0:54:57.426 We're not really worried about what they're doing. 0:54:57.466 --> 0:55:00.186 We got answers for it, you know, And and that 0:55:00.426 --> 0:55:02.986 was not this this was open minds. 0:55:04.746 --> 0:55:05.186 Figure it out. 0:55:05.386 --> 0:55:06.986 We're going to we're going to figure out we're gonna 0:55:06.986 --> 0:55:09.106 build based on what's being presented, and we don't know 0:55:09.146 --> 0:55:11.786 what's gonna happen, and then what happens forces you to 0:55:11.826 --> 0:55:13.626 think in a way that you didn't and so really 0:55:13.666 --> 0:55:14.586 you're seeing more. 0:55:14.946 --> 0:55:17.186 And I think that really that's sort of a good. 0:55:17.066 --> 0:55:19.586 Way of packaging up and saying, you know, how did 0:55:19.626 --> 0:55:22.226 all these guys from the same staff have so much 0:55:22.226 --> 0:55:26.426 success so fast? Well, those experiences and then coming together 0:55:27.186 --> 0:55:29.066 and challenging one another. 0:55:28.786 --> 0:55:31.466 To build and create and one up the other guy. 0:55:31.826 --> 0:55:34.706 I think they were looking at things more deliberately, you know, 0:55:34.946 --> 0:55:37.586 ten X, learning on a day to day basis, and 0:55:37.626 --> 0:55:39.986 then over time, when you get your opportunity, you do 0:55:40.346 --> 0:55:42.626 go to that next spot and you go, damn, I'm 0:55:42.666 --> 0:55:47.066 super prepared. Sean was an amazing example of that. And 0:55:46.746 --> 0:55:49.226 uh and it's always been pretty amazing the way that 0:55:49.266 --> 0:55:51.946 he's support didn't come on out to our to our events, 0:55:51.986 --> 0:55:54.426 and you know, he'll probably be sitting in your chair 0:55:54.546 --> 0:55:57.226 one day, so he's probably learning from you. 0:55:57.306 --> 0:56:00.026 Maybe maybe I know that that almost happened a little 0:56:00.066 --> 0:56:03.666 earlier than expected. Richmond Flowers the third we didn't get 0:56:03.666 --> 0:56:07.106 into your family's history of football. Incredible. You're a good man, 0:56:07.146 --> 0:56:09.186 You're a busy man. I appreciate taking the time and 0:56:09.666 --> 0:56:12.826 specifically giving us a little window into the beautiful mind. 0:56:12.826 --> 0:56:17.266 That's Mike McDaniel absolutely in closing. This is not a brand, 0:56:17.866 --> 0:56:20.626 like you must ask. I'm asking because I think there's 0:56:20.626 --> 0:56:23.106 actually a cool story behind it. I see. You know, 0:56:23.146 --> 0:56:24.626 if you're watching the video here, you're wearing a shirt 0:56:24.666 --> 0:56:27.826 that says your Bay plant based energy, and I'm like, 0:56:28.306 --> 0:56:29.986 half of me's like, all right, just let it go. 0:56:30.026 --> 0:56:32.906 Half of me he's like, why is Richmond wearing a 0:56:32.946 --> 0:56:35.026 shirt with a brand? And then you start talking to 0:56:35.066 --> 0:56:37.066 you about it, and there's like there's a cool story 0:56:37.066 --> 0:56:38.346 to be told, all right, So this is not a 0:56:38.346 --> 0:56:41.706 brand product placement, but it kind of is explain why 0:56:41.746 --> 0:56:44.346 you're wearing a shirt called your Bay and then let 0:56:44.346 --> 0:56:47.106 the listener decide whether this is a roll your eyes 0:56:47.226 --> 0:56:47.906 or this is okay. 0:56:47.946 --> 0:56:50.746 That's interesting, well interestingly enough. 0:56:50.826 --> 0:56:53.906 You know, first of all, a lady named Didegar who's 0:56:54.266 --> 0:56:56.266 the head of sports and Entertainment at Goldman Sacks. She's 0:56:56.306 --> 0:57:00.146 been there for thirty nine years. We're super close. She's 0:57:00.426 --> 0:57:03.586 like immensely respected in the industry. She came out to 0:57:03.586 --> 0:57:05.066 one of our events and it was the right event. 0:57:05.186 --> 0:57:07.746 It was Mike McDaniel's and fire with Chris Furster and 0:57:07.786 --> 0:57:10.426 Frank Smith next to him, and Brandon Staley in the background, 0:57:10.426 --> 0:57:13.786 and Questiadolpho Mensa sitting on the fringe with Mike Silver 0:57:13.906 --> 0:57:18.946 and Jordan Rodrick and Nikki Jababala and all these creator 0:57:19.026 --> 0:57:22.266 reporters and some of the young future of coaching, letting 0:57:22.306 --> 0:57:26.386 Mike McDaniel hold court. And she saw that and it 0:57:26.466 --> 0:57:31.026 was super impressive. Fast forward two years and we'd built 0:57:31.026 --> 0:57:33.706 a great relationship. She called me up and said, hey, look, 0:57:33.826 --> 0:57:35.746 you were looking for a sponsor for your event, and 0:57:35.786 --> 0:57:37.666 she introduced me to the founders of a company called 0:57:37.746 --> 0:57:41.026 your Bank. Said it was an energy drink. Didn't think 0:57:41.106 --> 0:57:42.546 much of it. She put me in touch with them, 0:57:42.826 --> 0:57:45.866 and it was very clear that they were already engaged 0:57:45.946 --> 0:57:50.986 on the value of coaching. And so now that's what 0:57:51.026 --> 0:57:54.986 Collective represents is the innovative, brightest minds coming together. 0:57:55.106 --> 0:57:56.466 I'm the doorman so that. 0:57:56.466 --> 0:57:58.266 We can help the coach does not have them pick me, 0:57:59.146 --> 0:58:01.186 and then it's like have them in there, and then 0:58:02.026 --> 0:58:03.306 what's the best use for that? 0:58:03.946 --> 0:58:06.306 And in my mind when we got started, it was. 0:58:07.946 --> 0:58:12.586 Emerging technology brands using virtual coaching, and they're the new 0:58:12.626 --> 0:58:15.786 influencers in the NFL. So we looked at this as 0:58:15.786 --> 0:58:17.946 an incubator, and I was always sort of looking for. 0:58:17.906 --> 0:58:20.626 The right product fit, because it's got to be right. 0:58:20.786 --> 0:58:23.986 You looked at the product fit healthy energy, plant based energy, 0:58:24.746 --> 0:58:27.786 you know, the crap that's in those other energy drinks, 0:58:28.146 --> 0:58:31.386 and more importantly, then you thought to yourself, hold on, 0:58:31.426 --> 0:58:31.986 this could work. 0:58:32.026 --> 0:58:32.986 Coaches are always going. 0:58:32.986 --> 0:58:36.226 To be low and they're always going to be feel 0:58:36.266 --> 0:58:39.106 fine with having an energy drink that's healthy for you 0:58:39.186 --> 0:58:41.586 and it's plant based, et cetera. And so for us, 0:58:41.626 --> 0:58:44.386 what this really was about was let's see if we 0:58:44.426 --> 0:58:47.706 could partner up with a company like this that said 0:58:47.706 --> 0:58:50.346 we don't do sponsorships, and so wow, that was the 0:58:50.386 --> 0:58:50.866 real test. 0:58:50.946 --> 0:58:52.466 Would coaches invest. 0:58:52.106 --> 0:58:54.546 In a product because they really believed in it, because 0:58:54.546 --> 0:58:58.506 they saw the product fit. And coaches will have a 0:58:58.546 --> 0:59:02.426 certain appreciation for getting that opportunity because they don't do 0:59:02.506 --> 0:59:06.026 sponsorship deals. They don't think they're worth you know, they're 0:59:06.066 --> 0:59:09.906 not thinking about anything besides we believe and we like 0:59:09.946 --> 0:59:12.666 the way it tastes. And the truth is, you went 0:59:12.706 --> 0:59:15.946 and introduced yourself, you know, I introduced them to Lincoln 0:59:16.026 --> 0:59:19.186 Riley and Kyle Shanahan and and uh and and this 0:59:19.266 --> 0:59:22.186 amazing group of coaches, and they immediately all said the 0:59:22.226 --> 0:59:22.586 same thing. 0:59:22.586 --> 0:59:25.346 We like the way it tastes. We believe in it. 0:59:25.546 --> 0:59:28.826 They hadn't invested in other products, but they invested in this. 0:59:29.306 --> 0:59:31.426 And the truth is what we're doing as a company 0:59:31.626 --> 0:59:36.386 is we've got these amazing coaches. But ultimately, can coaching 0:59:37.186 --> 0:59:40.026 move the needle on emerging brands? Can coaching move the 0:59:40.066 --> 0:59:43.906 needle on a publicly traded company through influence at the 0:59:43.986 --> 0:59:47.146 highest level because they truly believe in the product and 0:59:47.186 --> 0:59:50.466 we'll find out if So that's kind of where I also. 0:59:50.346 --> 0:59:53.466 Open the doors to the next thing, a running shoe 0:59:53.666 --> 0:59:55.786 or if he a headset or whatever it is. 0:59:55.866 --> 0:59:58.426 So I like, hey, so maybe it's not a placement, 0:59:58.466 --> 1:00:00.226 but at the end of the day, we felt like 1:00:00.626 --> 1:00:01.906 just deserved the opportunity. 1:00:02.186 --> 1:00:05.346 What's the word we use with McDaniel, it's authentic, that's it. 1:00:05.346 --> 1:00:07.546 It's not like you're out here promoting an underwear brand 1:00:07.546 --> 1:00:09.786 because they're giving you a couple hundred thousand dollars. You're like, no, 1:00:09.866 --> 1:00:12.066 this is the product that these guys drink. Let's try 1:00:12.106 --> 1:00:14.346 to do someone with it. I respect that. I respect 1:00:14.346 --> 1:00:16.226 that your mind is always working that way, and I 1:00:16.266 --> 1:00:17.586 respect that you gave us all this time. 1:00:17.706 --> 1:00:19.706 Richmond, Thank you, bro, thanks for having me on. 1:00:24.346 --> 1:00:28.946 Interesting guests different Aaron, Like, Richmond's a character, he's smart 1:00:28.946 --> 1:00:31.866 as hell, and his roster is as good as anybody 1:00:31.906 --> 1:00:33.426 as far as coaches go. But like, I just wanted 1:00:33.426 --> 1:00:35.786 to get a look inside the new the I guess 1:00:35.786 --> 1:00:37.466 the origin story of Mike McDaniel. 1:00:37.706 --> 1:00:42.066 Yeah, I mean it was really cool hearing Mike's interview process, 1:00:42.146 --> 1:00:45.306 and you know, like you said, he was a guy 1:00:45.306 --> 1:00:48.306 who hadn't who had been up for jobs, hadn't had 1:00:48.346 --> 1:00:51.306 the interviews, and then went in and he was he 1:00:51.346 --> 1:00:53.586 said it later in the interview too, the right guy 1:00:53.786 --> 1:00:56.386 for that job at that time. And clearly that's working 1:00:56.426 --> 1:00:56.986 out for him now. 1:00:57.066 --> 1:00:59.226 No imagine, imagine you're an owner and you draft to 1:00:59.306 --> 1:01:01.066 a fifth overall and everyone comes in and says, well 1:01:01.066 --> 1:01:03.226 two is not your guy. I got plans for Tom 1:01:03.226 --> 1:01:05.146 Brady or we've got to draft someone else. So there's 1:01:05.186 --> 1:01:07.586 and then McDaniel comes in, as I've already driven, I've 1:01:07.626 --> 1:01:09.786 already drawn up the entire offense around TUA, and this 1:01:09.826 --> 1:01:11.946 is what's gonna work you'd like, all right, I'd like 1:01:11.986 --> 1:01:13.306 to take the benefit of doubt, and I'll have to 1:01:13.306 --> 1:01:16.266 start all over again. That was cool. That was different. 1:01:17.146 --> 1:01:20.306 We'll see how the Dolphins finish out. But I figured 1:01:20.306 --> 1:01:21.666 it as a three and oh team after just putting 1:01:21.666 --> 1:01:23.586 seventy points up. If you can't get McDaniel, let's get 1:01:23.586 --> 1:01:25.946 his closest friend and the guy who represents him in 1:01:25.986 --> 1:01:27.826 his business affairs real quick. 1:01:27.906 --> 1:01:30.186 Not to call us out, but the three and old Dolphins, 1:01:30.186 --> 1:01:32.706 who I think neither of us picked for Let's stop. 1:01:32.746 --> 1:01:34.946 What are you doing? We move right along. What's the 1:01:35.066 --> 1:01:39.066 Kevin James meme? Like Peter, you didn't pick the Dolphins 1:01:39.106 --> 1:01:41.026 to make the playoffs. And then that's the picture of 1:01:41.066 --> 1:01:43.186 me with my hands in my pockets making that the 1:01:43.226 --> 1:01:47.186 fetching look that Kevin James has. In closing, I did 1:01:47.186 --> 1:01:51.146 want to hit on two little things. One Thursday night 1:01:51.186 --> 1:01:55.626 football Lions versus Packers. I will not be watching live. 1:01:55.706 --> 1:01:56.426 Can I tell you why? 1:01:57.146 --> 1:01:59.746 Because you'll be I don't know. 1:02:00.386 --> 1:02:05.106 Melissa Ethridge, die hard Kansas City Chiefs fan, sent me 1:02:05.146 --> 1:02:08.386 an invite to go to the premiere of her one 1:02:08.466 --> 1:02:13.306 woman Broadway show that is premiering Thursday night and I 1:02:13.426 --> 1:02:17.306 said yes, so I'll be in the house. I don't 1:02:17.306 --> 1:02:18.586 even I don't know what it's called. I think it's 1:02:18.586 --> 1:02:20.546 called like come to my window or something, but like 1:02:20.826 --> 1:02:24.866 it's Ethridge. She did an off Broadway one Woman's show 1:02:24.946 --> 1:02:29.066 this past spring. I think it got rave reviews, it 1:02:29.106 --> 1:02:31.546 got picked up to be a Broadway show. And I've 1:02:31.586 --> 1:02:34.586 known Etherage since she started watching Good Morning Football. We 1:02:34.706 --> 1:02:36.986 DM We texted all this stuff. I get this lovely 1:02:37.026 --> 1:02:38.586 invite from her, like, why don't you and your wife 1:02:38.626 --> 1:02:40.866 come to the premiere. I don't know if this is 1:02:40.906 --> 1:02:42.946 winning any Tony's. I don't know what I'm in for. 1:02:43.146 --> 1:02:45.666 And this is a story that I come in pretty 1:02:45.666 --> 1:02:48.186 blindly on. She's had some real tragedy in her life 1:02:48.226 --> 1:02:51.186 in the last couple of years. She also was a groundbreaking 1:02:51.266 --> 1:02:53.346 musician in a lot of ways, and I love her. 1:02:53.426 --> 1:02:58.586 So I will be attending Melissa Ethridge's One Woman Broadway 1:02:58.706 --> 1:03:00.706 Show Thursday night. If you want to talk about a 1:03:00.746 --> 1:03:03.986 podcast that really hits all culture angles and the truth 1:03:03.986 --> 1:03:06.906 of the matter is long before Taylor Swift was a 1:03:06.906 --> 1:03:10.626 pop star repping the Chiefs, I go day one with Ethridge. 1:03:10.666 --> 1:03:14.906 Okay, I love it, so Homer Christopher Nolan most etherwards, 1:03:14.946 --> 1:03:17.186 there we go. We got our trio right there. 1:03:17.026 --> 1:03:20.586 At it come to my window and you know what, 1:03:20.626 --> 1:03:24.466 she's not gonna sue us. She's not because we're friends. 1:03:25.586 --> 1:03:29.106 And the last thing, you know, the travel story that 1:03:29.186 --> 1:03:32.186 my friend Jay gave last week, like the responses were 1:03:32.226 --> 1:03:34.906 through the roof. But I'm tapering it back. I don't 1:03:34.946 --> 1:03:36.866 want to be a complaining podcast. I don't want to 1:03:36.866 --> 1:03:39.266 be a podcast that just makes you feel anxiety. I 1:03:39.306 --> 1:03:40.986 don't want to be a podcast that suddenly we have 1:03:40.986 --> 1:03:43.866 our niche and it's just a guy who gets paid 1:03:43.866 --> 1:03:46.586 to fly and travel. Handsomely, it is about travel the 1:03:46.746 --> 1:03:51.266 entire time. However, I sent you guys, and Jason English 1:03:51.346 --> 1:03:53.306 is here from Iar. I sent you guys a photo 1:03:53.706 --> 1:03:57.146 that was like the sneakiest photo I've ever sent Aaron, 1:03:57.466 --> 1:03:59.706 did you see anything in the photo that I sent 1:03:59.786 --> 1:04:01.626 or was it too blurry food to even see what 1:04:01.706 --> 1:04:03.226 it was going on? And I sent you a photo 1:04:03.266 --> 1:04:06.026 Saturday morning from my delta flight. 1:04:06.946 --> 1:04:09.226 There is no amount of blurriness that photo could have 1:04:09.266 --> 1:04:13.546 had to hide the two bare feet on point. 1:04:13.666 --> 1:04:20.466 I'm seated next to a cretan, a caveman of a man. 1:04:21.346 --> 1:04:24.426 I get seated in a seat and it's one of 1:04:24.426 --> 1:04:27.106 those where you're sitting next to somebody. It's just a 1:04:27.146 --> 1:04:29.386 two of us and I sit down and it's seven 1:04:29.386 --> 1:04:31.466 in the morning and flying out to LA from New York. 1:04:31.586 --> 1:04:33.186 All I want to do is close my eyes and 1:04:33.226 --> 1:04:36.986 go to sleep. Well, I sit down, I start to 1:04:37.266 --> 1:04:39.226 doze off a little bit, and I notice out of 1:04:39.226 --> 1:04:43.346 the corner of my eye a toenail. In my vision. 1:04:44.466 --> 1:04:47.066 This man might have been in his sixties seventies, and 1:04:47.306 --> 1:04:50.146 I would say he is like a hippie type. And 1:04:50.186 --> 1:04:52.306 when I say hippie type, he like kind of had 1:04:52.346 --> 1:04:54.666 like free flowing gray hair. He thought he was like 1:04:54.666 --> 1:04:56.706 a silver fox of some sort. I hope he's listening. 1:04:56.746 --> 1:05:00.146 I didn't get his name. And he immediately sits down, 1:05:00.786 --> 1:05:05.706 slips off his loafers, and he just is rocking barefoot. 1:05:05.826 --> 1:05:08.506 So what would one do in the situation? Sit and 1:05:09.666 --> 1:05:15.146 fester and be grossed out the entire No. I spoke up. 1:05:16.026 --> 1:05:17.866 I said to him, sir, and he looked at me, 1:05:17.866 --> 1:05:19.746 shocked that someone would even address me. Go, do you 1:05:19.746 --> 1:05:22.426 mind putting on some socks or some slippers? This is 1:05:22.466 --> 1:05:24.466 a long flight and I can't be looking at your 1:05:24.466 --> 1:05:26.826 feet the whole time. And he said to me, excuse me, 1:05:26.866 --> 1:05:29.386 I said no, in all honesty, I have my things, 1:05:29.426 --> 1:05:31.866 and one of them is I am grossed out by 1:05:31.866 --> 1:05:34.226 bare feet. If you don't mind, would you either put 1:05:34.226 --> 1:05:36.386 a blanket over your feet or put on some slippers. 1:05:36.866 --> 1:05:40.106 And he put on some slippers. Oh, I fell asleep. 1:05:40.586 --> 1:05:44.386 I fall asleep. I hear some rustling. I see this 1:05:44.506 --> 1:05:50.186 gentleman walking in the aisle to a bathroom on a plane, barefooted, 1:05:51.826 --> 1:05:55.906 use the bathroom, and then come back slide into his 1:05:55.986 --> 1:06:00.786 seat right next to me, still barefoot, and I just 1:06:01.306 --> 1:06:03.146 I just closed my eyes and I said, I already 1:06:03.146 --> 1:06:05.306 had my one. I spoke up. I'm not gonna do 1:06:05.346 --> 1:06:05.666 it again. 1:06:05.866 --> 1:06:08.746 So he has slippers on and then intentionally took them up. 1:06:08.746 --> 1:06:10.506 I think he was waiting for me to fall asleep 1:06:10.506 --> 1:06:12.626 so we can get those darned slippers off, Get those 1:06:12.746 --> 1:06:15.586 get those mittens off my toes, let them be free. 1:06:15.906 --> 1:06:18.986 And its feet were not well pedicured or manicured, whoever 1:06:18.986 --> 1:06:21.866 the term is. It was disgusting. I mean, hairy toes 1:06:22.026 --> 1:06:25.906 the whole thing. Just another week of travel, my friend. 1:06:26.026 --> 1:06:28.106 I mean, frankly, from that story, I'm not too concerned 1:06:28.146 --> 1:06:30.026 with what was on top of his feet. Now I'm 1:06:30.066 --> 1:06:32.746 worried about what was on the bottom of it. Right 1:06:32.746 --> 1:06:33.546 into the bathroom. 1:06:33.666 --> 1:06:36.546 Didn't care, doesn't know what's been going on in that bathroom. 1:06:36.586 --> 1:06:37.266 Just barefoot. 1:06:37.466 --> 1:06:39.906 Also, we've had some stories from flights in the past 1:06:39.986 --> 1:06:41.746 month of disasters. 1:06:41.866 --> 1:06:43.986 No, my flight was smooth. I took off on time, 1:06:44.146 --> 1:06:46.306 I got home on time. Everything was great. The airlines 1:06:46.306 --> 1:06:48.866 did wonderful, Delta and Jet Blue, little combo deal. Delta 1:06:48.906 --> 1:06:50.546 in the on the Saturday out, jet Blue on the 1:06:50.546 --> 1:06:52.506 Sunday home so I can watch the games. All baseful. 1:06:53.226 --> 1:06:56.746 You can't control who's flying your planes. Again, not gonna 1:06:56.786 --> 1:06:59.146 go big on it. Don't want to complain. I'm paid 1:06:59.146 --> 1:07:01.986 to fly. It's great. I had a lovely flight. The 1:07:02.066 --> 1:07:06.226 in flight meal was delicious. Just a disgusting barefoot man 1:07:06.586 --> 1:07:08.226 to me. And that's just lucky to draw sometimes. 1:07:08.266 --> 1:07:10.946 And just for clarification, this is because Jason's sitting next 1:07:10.986 --> 1:07:12.866 to you barefoot right now, right here's. 1:07:12.626 --> 1:07:19.986 My guy, Jason. Jason, your feet are always welcome. Guys, 1:07:20.706 --> 1:07:23.866 different kind of podcast, that's what we want. Thanks for listening, 1:07:23.946 --> 1:07:27.586 Tell your friends, subscribe, write a review. If you hate this, 1:07:27.706 --> 1:07:29.666 write a review if you like it, write a review. 1:07:30.386 --> 1:07:32.266 I'm pretty proud of the work we're doing over here, 1:07:32.426 --> 1:07:35.226 and I want to keep it rolling. So this Season 1:07:35.266 --> 1:07:37.426 with Peter Schrager, let's get into one of those top 1:07:37.506 --> 1:07:41.106 ten playlist things on Apple or Spotify or whatever it is. 1:07:41.386 --> 1:07:43.626 Let's go up there with the New Heights podcast or 1:07:43.666 --> 1:07:45.826 all the rest. We want to be the best football 1:07:45.866 --> 1:07:48.106 podcast there is. I certainly know we're giving you the 1:07:48.106 --> 1:08:07.586 most unique content. All Right, guys, thank you. The Season 1:08:07.666 --> 1:08:10.386 with Peter Schrager is a production of the NFL and 1:08:10.466 --> 1:08:14.266 partnership with iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the 1:08:14.306 --> 1:08:18.746 iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.