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Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading

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Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth podcast, The Let's Let's Stay two give addition,

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Speaker 1: as we talked to the bengals longest tenured coach, Special

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Speaker 1: teams coordinator Darren Simmons about his decision to turn down

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Speaker 1: interest from other NFL teams and sign a contract extension

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Speaker 1: with the Bengals. We'll also hear from college football broadcaster

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Speaker 1: Sean McDonough, who called four LSU games this year, including

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Speaker 1: the national semifinal win over Oklahoma and the National championship

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Speaker 1: victory over Clemson. What does Sean think of Joe Burrow's

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Speaker 1: NFL potential and what did he learn about the possible

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Speaker 1: number one overall pick from talking to Burrow and as coaches.

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Speaker 1: That's coming up. Finally, i'll speak to the executive director

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Speaker 1: of the Senior Bowl, Jim Nagee. He'll share the latest

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Speaker 1: developments on Burrow's possible attendance and why Bengals fans might

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Speaker 1: want to consider a trip to Mobile, Alabama. All of

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Speaker 1: that is straight ahead, but first, here's a quick reminder

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Speaker 1: that you can have the latest edition of this podcast

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Speaker 1: delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer. By subscribing

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Speaker 1: on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or pod Bean. It's

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Speaker 1: the greatest thing since Kevin Harland's radio play by play.

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Speaker 1: This week, Kevin Harland was named the National Sportscaster of

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Speaker 1: the Year by the NSMA, the National Sports Media Association.

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Speaker 1: Kevin is great at anything he does, including NFL football

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Speaker 1: and college basketball on CBS and the NBA on Turner Sports,

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Speaker 1: but in my opinion, he shines brightest when doing NFL

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Speaker 1: games on the radio on Westwood One. As someone who

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Speaker 1: tries to do the same job, I am in awe

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Speaker 1: of Kevin's ability to paint a vivid picture of what

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Speaker 1: he sees, not only the action on the field, but

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Speaker 1: the weather conditions, the sights and sounds in and around

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Speaker 1: the stadium. Shoot, you can almost taste what's grilling in

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Speaker 1: the tailgate lots when Kevin calls the game. So kudos

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Speaker 1: to the best in the business on a well deserved award,

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Speaker 1: the incomparable Kevin Harlan. Now let's get to the Bengals.

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Speaker 1: There have been some changes on the Bengals coaching staff

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Speaker 1: since the end of the season. Braden Combs left to

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Speaker 1: become the special teams coordinator for the Detroit Lions. Linebackers

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Speaker 1: coach Tim Lucaboo is the new defensive coordinator at Boston College,

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Speaker 1: and ESPN's Ben Baby has reported that cornerbacks coach Toronte

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Speaker 1: Jones will not be back. On Thursday, the NFL Networks

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Speaker 1: Mike Garoffalo reported that the bengals new linebackers coach will

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Speaker 1: be Al Golden, the former college head coach at Temple

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Speaker 1: and the University of Miami. It appears that everybody else

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Speaker 1: on the staff will return, including special teams coordinator Darren Simmons.

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Speaker 1: He is universally considered to be among the best at

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Speaker 1: his job in the NFL, and Darren turned down opportunities

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Speaker 1: to go elsewhere before signing a multi year extension in Cincinnati.

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Speaker 1: I talked to him about staying and his hopes of

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Speaker 1: eventually getting a head coaching opportunity. Darren, I think the

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Speaker 1: Bengals have already retained one of the most important free agents.

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Speaker 1: When you agreed to accept a contract extension, why are

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Speaker 1: you coming back for an eighteenth season and beyond well,

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Speaker 1: I'm excited about the future here. You know, we have

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Speaker 1: a good, solid core group of young players. We just

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Speaker 1: got to get him all on the field. At the

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Speaker 1: same time, I think we've been a little banged up

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Speaker 1: for a variety of reasons over the past couple of years.

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Speaker 1: You know, it'll be it'll be good to get everybody

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Speaker 1: together and going again. You know, my h the Brown

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Speaker 1: family has been very critical to my family success here,

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Speaker 1: and that really resonates with me, you know, the nuity

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Speaker 1: of being able to keep my family in one place,

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Speaker 1: you know, for so long. It was also a big

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Speaker 1: part of I've got three kids and and you know,

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Speaker 1: two of them at least are gonna be able to

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Speaker 1: finish school here, to start school and finish school here,

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Speaker 1: and that was a huge, huge, huge part of my

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Speaker 1: decision to stay. Your job title is changing, and in

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Speaker 1: addition to being the special teams coordinator, you will be

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Speaker 1: the assistant head coach. Are there added responsibilities that go

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Speaker 1: with that. Well, I think that that's still getting worked

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Speaker 1: out a little bit. I'd like to think that I'll

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Speaker 1: have a voice maybe in helping take some things off

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Speaker 1: a Zax's plate. I think Zach's got a lot on

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Speaker 1: his plate. You know, he's trying to serve two roles,

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Speaker 1: being the head coach and being the offensive coordinator. And

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Speaker 1: I think that that takes up a lot of time,

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Speaker 1: so hopefully, you know, I can help him with ideas

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Speaker 1: in terms of scheduling, timing, urch just bouncing other ideas

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Speaker 1: off of you know, I've only spend here for the

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Speaker 1: longest I kind of the landscape of what's going on,

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Speaker 1: So you know, I trust Zach Uh. I'm excited to

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Speaker 1: maybe have my role expanded that way to become more

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Speaker 1: of an influence. We're visiting with Darren Simmons. You interviewed

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Speaker 1: for the head coaching job when Marvin was let go.

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Speaker 1: They elected obviously to hire Zach. It could have been awkward,

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Speaker 1: but you guys seem to have a great working relationship.

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Speaker 1: Why has it worked out so well? Well? I thinks

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Speaker 1: to respect, you know, I respect the role that he's

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Speaker 1: in UM, and I think that's a fantastic deal. He

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Speaker 1: also respects what I do. I think in this area.

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Speaker 1: I think he knows again that his plates are very

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Speaker 1: full with a lot of the things. And I think

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Speaker 1: it's probably reassuring to him to have an experienced guy

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Speaker 1: UM like me, or one who's been through it here before,

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Speaker 1: and he can kind of u not let me go,

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Speaker 1: but he can trust and I'm going to get this

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Speaker 1: or this side of the ball handled. Um. You know, obviously,

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Speaker 1: I'm very appreciative that he elected to keep me here.

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Speaker 1: Um again, I'm very excited to expand potentially my role

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Speaker 1: going forward and the fact that he trusted me enough

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Speaker 1: to you know, help me get this title. It's obviously

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Speaker 1: a tough year for the team, and yet the special

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Speaker 1: teams units as a whole. We're ranked number one in

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Speaker 1: the NFL by the website Football Outsiders dot com, which

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Speaker 1: is probably the most respected evaluator of that. Is that

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Speaker 1: especially meaningful in a season where the team went too

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Speaker 1: and fourteen? Yeah, I mean, I think if you you

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Speaker 1: try to look for any type of positive when when

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Speaker 1: your team goes too and fourteen or struggled the way

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Speaker 1: we did as a team, you know, I'm very proud

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Speaker 1: of the fact that we were able to do that. Um.

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Speaker 1: You know, I think it's a certainly a testament to

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Speaker 1: the players we had and the amount of work and

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Speaker 1: time that they put in, and the you know, the

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Speaker 1: degree of toughness that they showed to battle through and

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Speaker 1: and the togetherness that they showed. That's also another reason

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Speaker 1: why I decided to come back here. It's tough to

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Speaker 1: walk away from. But I would certainly give up every

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Speaker 1: single one of those Rankings mean nothing. Only ranking the

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Speaker 1: means anything is wins and losses, and I would certainly

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Speaker 1: give every bit of that up to change what our

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Speaker 1: record was. And because it really doesn't matter what we do,

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Speaker 1: it's about what our team does, and obviously we got

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Speaker 1: to get you know, we got to get more wins.

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Speaker 1: So again I would give every bit of that up.

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Speaker 1: It's it's great that that happened, it's a silver lining

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Speaker 1: to us. But again I would get every bit of

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Speaker 1: that up to get some more wins. Your top assistant,

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Speaker 1: Braden Combs, is leaving to become the special teams coordinator

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Speaker 1: with the Detroit Lions. Are you like a proud dad? Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I'm very I'm excited for Brandon. Braden's been here, you know,

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Speaker 1: a long time too, and he's worked hard in the

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Speaker 1: role that he's been in, and I think it's good

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Speaker 1: to see guys who have been in part of something

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Speaker 1: good here get the ability to spread their wings and

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Speaker 1: go on and do their own gig. You know, I

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Speaker 1: was part of that same deal when I left Carolina

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Speaker 1: and it was a great opportunity for me, you know,

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Speaker 1: coach Lewis took a chance on me as a whatever

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Speaker 1: it was, twenty twenty nine year old guy and in

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Speaker 1: the same thing with a Brown family. And again that

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Speaker 1: still has great meaning to me and I respect that,

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Speaker 1: and I know a lot of times guys, it's it's

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Speaker 1: about being in the right spot at the right time.

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Speaker 1: It's about opportunity. And you know, hopefully Braden will take

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Speaker 1: this thing and run with it. But I'm again, I'm

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Speaker 1: very happy for him and his family. It's a long

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Speaker 1: time coming and I'm sure you'll do great things. We're

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Speaker 1: talking to Darren Simmons. Let's discuss some of the individuals

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Speaker 1: on special teams from last year, Beginning with Kevin Huber.

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Speaker 1: He had a forty two point one net hunting average

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Speaker 1: that tied his career high. That matched his Pro Bowl season.

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Speaker 1: He'll be thirty five next year. He's got a year

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Speaker 1: left on his contract. Is he like a veteran pitcher

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Speaker 1: who doesn't have maybe his great fastball anymore, but he's

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Speaker 1: found a way to get guys out. Yeah. I think

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Speaker 1: it's a very good analogy. You know, he's become more

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Speaker 1: proficient and efficient, I think is what he's become. I

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Speaker 1: think we did. He didn't. You know, for whatever reason,

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Speaker 1: we didn't have as many of the bad hits this

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Speaker 1: year's we've had in the past. I think he was

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Speaker 1: more consistent. I think we covered better. You know, anytime

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Speaker 1: your net average is up there high like it is,

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Speaker 1: it's it's a result of many things. It's a result

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Speaker 1: of punting, it's a result of placement, but it's also

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Speaker 1: a result of coverage. And fortunate for us, we didn't

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Speaker 1: give any plays up in coverage, or do we really

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Speaker 1: give any plays up in protection? You know, the quickest

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Speaker 1: way to kill in net average to have a pump blocked,

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Speaker 1: and that didn't happen to us that year. Fortunately, knock

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Speaker 1: on wood and so you know, again, Kevin is somebody

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Speaker 1: that we haven't that I haven't an immense amount of

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Speaker 1: trust in um. He's an experienced guy, as a vetro guy,

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Speaker 1: he knows all about handling situations when he has to

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Speaker 1: speed up, when he has to when the ball has

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Speaker 1: to be placed in certain spots. And there's a certainly

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Speaker 1: a high, high level of trust that I have and

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Speaker 1: him knowing what to do and when to do it.

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Speaker 1: Randy Bullock also has a year left on his deal.

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Speaker 1: He made eighty seven percent of his field goal attempts,

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Speaker 1: only missed one Pat drill the fifty seven yard field

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Speaker 1: goal in the next to last game to set the

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Speaker 1: regular season franchise record. What did you think of his season?

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Speaker 1: I thought he had a very good, very solid season two.

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Speaker 1: You know, his first year with US was very good.

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Speaker 1: I think he had eighteen to twenty. Last year was

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Speaker 1: a little bit of a step back, you know. I

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Speaker 1: think he was a little a little above eighty percent

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Speaker 1: eighty one, two eighty three somewhere around. And I thought

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Speaker 1: this year he came back and had another good bounce back.

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Speaker 1: Yere Um. It was a little shaky at the beginning

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Speaker 1: of the year. I think he got off to an

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Speaker 1: average start. He was very very very solid through the

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Speaker 1: middle of the season, you know, and then he picked

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Speaker 1: the last game of the year to miss his first PAT.

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Speaker 1: But but but again, I thought he had a solid

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Speaker 1: season overall. You know. The one thing I think that

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Speaker 1: also gets overlooked is he kicked off pretty effectively for

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Speaker 1: US throughout the year, whether it was placement or distance

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Speaker 1: and hang time. That's a second second half or aspect

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Speaker 1: of his job too. And I thought he did a

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Speaker 1: good job that's over. I think it's a very solid season.

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Speaker 1: It's what you would expect to have a veteran guy.

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Speaker 1: You had the NFL leader in kickoff return average, and

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Speaker 1: Brandon Wilson he had the exact number of returns needed

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Speaker 1: to qualify for the league lead. What does a guy

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Speaker 1: like that do for the entire group? Oh, it brings

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Speaker 1: an immense amount of juice, I mean, I think, and

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Speaker 1: it's immense amount of belief. I think our guys felt that,

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Speaker 1: you know, when when he was rolling there to the

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Speaker 1: middle half of the year, that every single time um

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Speaker 1: that we had an opportunity to return it, we're going

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Speaker 1: to turn it for a touchdown. I mean, there's several

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Speaker 1: other ones if you watch the video and that he

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Speaker 1: should have had probably three or four touchdowns. He got

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Speaker 1: tripped up once in a Jacksonville In the Jacksonville game,

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Speaker 1: he he actually muffed one that he picked up and

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Speaker 1: almost came out of their own So there's there's at

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Speaker 1: least three that he should have scored on just off

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Speaker 1: the top of my head. But I think guys take

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Speaker 1: a great deal of pride in the fact that we

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Speaker 1: have a chance to affect the game from a field position. Standpoint,

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Speaker 1: that's a big deal for him. I think they love

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Speaker 1: that responsibility and I think they also view it as

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Speaker 1: viewed as a Another prideful part too, is that if

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Speaker 1: these guys that the opponent screws up and tries to

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Speaker 1: actually kick us the ball and will allow us to

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Speaker 1: handle the ball, that we're gonna make him pay. And

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Speaker 1: so I think it brings a certain level of confidence

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Speaker 1: to not only your group, your special teams group, but

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Speaker 1: also to the team. It's it's it's very neat to

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Speaker 1: have the rest of the players on our whole team

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Speaker 1: standing up on the sideline watching every kickoff, a turn

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Speaker 1: play and when the Brandon might break it. We're visiting

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Speaker 1: with Darren Simmons, the coaching staff is getting ready to

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Speaker 1: go coach in the Senior Bowl. What will you be

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Speaker 1: doing during the draft prep process. Obviously you look at

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Speaker 1: kickers and punters and you want to have the latest

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Speaker 1: intel on those guys, But what about Gunner's special teams

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Speaker 1: core guys all of that. Well, I think that's a

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Speaker 1: huge part about it. You know, that's where you find

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Speaker 1: guys that can really help you and affect you. Guys

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Speaker 1: like Brandon Wilson and guys like Clayton federally drafted in

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Speaker 1: the sixth and seventh rounds that can again affect our

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Speaker 1: team in a positive fashion. So I spend as much

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Speaker 1: time looking at returners, looking at core cover players, um,

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Speaker 1: you know, that have the traits that we want that

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Speaker 1: we've identified as the coaching staff or as a scouting

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Speaker 1: department that we want to have on our team. And

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Speaker 1: so again, like I said, I spend part of the

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Speaker 1: majority of my time looking at those guys as opposed

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Speaker 1: to just look at the punters and kickers. You know,

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Speaker 1: I feel confident, I feel comfortable with the three guys

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Speaker 1: that we have right now, Kevin, Clark and Randy you know,

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Speaker 1: we're always looking to get things better. That's it's no

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Speaker 1: sic get all three of those guys are getting a

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Speaker 1: little longer in the tooth, and it'll happen, you know

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Speaker 1: here at some point. I just don't know when that's

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Speaker 1: going to be. So, um, my focus doesn't change. I

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Speaker 1: still look every year, like uh, you know, for these specialists,

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Speaker 1: the punter, a kicker, and the snapper. Look for candidates there.

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Speaker 1: But again I can push a little bit of my

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Speaker 1: focus to other areas or my attention to other areas

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Speaker 1: knowing we have guys in place there. So, um, you

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Speaker 1: know that the draft process is a huge part of

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Speaker 1: building our team. I think that's been established here with

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Speaker 1: this franchise, that that the draft is the lifeblood of

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Speaker 1: our team. So we got very important that a we

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Speaker 1: get those players right and be we get him healthy

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Speaker 1: to the season. The Giants hired a special teams coordinator

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Speaker 1: to be their new head coach, Joe Judge. Ravens coach

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Speaker 1: John Harbaugh was famously a special teams coordinator. Bill Belichick

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Speaker 1: started out as an assistant special teams coach. Marv Levy

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Speaker 1: began his pro coaching career as a special teams coach.

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Speaker 1: When a guy like that Joe Judge gets a job,

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Speaker 1: is it a victory for all of the people that

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Speaker 1: do what you do? Yeah, it certainly is. I think

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Speaker 1: he also feels the pressure of holding the torch right

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Speaker 1: now too, of that that he better get it right.

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Speaker 1: And you know, Joe's a good friend of Mine's a

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Speaker 1: close friend of mine, and he told me that he

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Speaker 1: certainly feels the weight of that. And I expressed him

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Speaker 1: and said, you can't feel the way to that you

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Speaker 1: have to go. You're gonna be fine, just going and

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Speaker 1: doing what you do. I think that it's unfortunate that

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Speaker 1: more guys haven't got that opportunity. You know, the special

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Speaker 1: team's cord has been well documented. Is the one guy

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Speaker 1: that affects the whole team or has his hands on

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Speaker 1: the whole team other than the head coach, and has

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Speaker 1: the best feel for every player on the forty six

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Speaker 1: man roster on game days. I think it's also important

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Speaker 1: to know that the special teams coaches have a great

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Speaker 1: field for situational things, you know, timing situations and games.

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Speaker 1: So I again, I'm obviously very jaded in the fact

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Speaker 1: that I believe that more guys should get the opportunity,

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Speaker 1: but it is a very exciting deal for him. I'm

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Speaker 1: happy for him, and I'm sure he's gonna do something great.

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Speaker 1: What do you think you need to do? You obviously

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Speaker 1: are well regarded throughout the NFL for what you've done

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Speaker 1: as a special teams coordinator. Is it tied to teams success?

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Speaker 1: Does it depend on another guy like Joe Judge being successful.

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Speaker 1: I think it's probably a combination of both, you know.

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Speaker 1: I think the fact that I've been able to stay

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Speaker 1: here as long as I have, there's a certain level

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Speaker 1: of you know, distinction. Maybe I guess that goes with that, um,

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Speaker 1: if that's the right word or respect, I guess, um.

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Speaker 1: You know, I think that Joe going and doing well

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Speaker 1: will be a big factor going forward. Um. There have

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Speaker 1: been other guys who've been successful as special teams coaches

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Speaker 1: that have gotten interviews that just haven't gotten the head job.

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Speaker 1: Dave Tobe is one that comes to mind. It gets

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Speaker 1: a lot of interviews and for whatever reason, somebody's not

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Speaker 1: taking a chance on him, you know. And again he

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Speaker 1: is somebody who I who I also think would do

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Speaker 1: a fantastic job as a head coach. So I think

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Speaker 1: it's just a matter of you know, getting the right

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Speaker 1: opportunity at the right time, and having somebody, more importantly,

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Speaker 1: having somebody in an organization, an owner or a general manager,

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Speaker 1: believing in you and and taking a chance that way.

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Speaker 1: But but I do know that I think just no

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Speaker 1: different the way it was John Harbaugh. You know, it's

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Speaker 1: a little unique too. If you'll remember, John was a

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Speaker 1: special team's coach his whole career, then he went away

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Speaker 1: from that for one year and coach the DBS in Philadelphia.

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Speaker 1: Joe has been a special teams coach, but he also

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Speaker 1: was the receiver coach this year in New England. So

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Speaker 1: maybe I need to go coach another position for a

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Speaker 1: year to open up my pathways. But I know I

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Speaker 1: enjoy what I'm doing and I think, like I said,

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Speaker 1: Joe will be fine and just as long as it's

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Speaker 1: not against us. What other position would you coach if

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Speaker 1: there was one? That's a good question. I don't know.

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Speaker 1: I never really never really thought about it that way.

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Speaker 1: Trust me, I have my eyes set on just doing

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Speaker 1: a good job coach in the punt of the kicker,

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Speaker 1: L four on the kickoff team, the PP on the

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Speaker 1: punt team, the left gunner on the punt team, the

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Speaker 1: right safety on the punt return team. And that's trust

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Speaker 1: me that that's plenty for me. We've heard about how

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Speaker 1: guys prepare for head coaching interviews. They've got their practice

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Speaker 1: plan sketched out for an entire year. They have possible

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Speaker 1: assistant coaches planned out. Do you have a notebook like

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Speaker 1: that for the next time you have an opportunity to

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Speaker 1: interview for a head coach position. Yeah, I've begun that process.

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Speaker 1: I think you're naive if you don't, um you know,

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Speaker 1: I think I found out a year ago that sometimes

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Speaker 1: these things happened very quickly. Like last year was maybe

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Speaker 1: the two days after the season, I got the fortunate

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Speaker 1: opportunity to speak with the Brown family here about disposition.

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Speaker 1: So sometimes it happens pretty quickly. So, you know, I

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Speaker 1: think it's something that you you build a book towards.

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Speaker 1: It's more getting your thoughts down on paper so somebody

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Speaker 1: else can see them. I have in my own head,

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Speaker 1: but it's I think it's it's putting pinned the paper,

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Speaker 1: putting it to a computer and getting it on a

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Speaker 1: piece of paper so somebody else can see it too.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, that's been a process that I've been working

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Speaker 1: towards for you know, really my my whole coaching career,

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Speaker 1: you know, did it It was at the forefront earlier on, No,

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Speaker 1: the forefront early on in my career, just trying to

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Speaker 1: stay alive, just trying to keep my head above water

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Speaker 1: and trying to be a good coach and trying to

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Speaker 1: make our players good. You know, I think now that

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Speaker 1: I've been in this league for a long time or

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Speaker 1: been in this situation to spot for a bit, you know,

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Speaker 1: I can you know, help expand my reach or expand

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Speaker 1: my vision a little bit. And again I'm hopeful this

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Speaker 1: year with this new added title, maybe that I can

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Speaker 1: help Zach in some way that maybe, um, he wasn't

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Speaker 1: prepared for a year ago. UM, And so maybe we

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Speaker 1: can see things through the same eyes together, and you know,

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Speaker 1: we can pull this whole thing tighter. You'll had a

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Speaker 1: great head coach if you ever get the chance here.

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Speaker 1: Attention to detail as unmatched. It's great that the Bengals

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Speaker 1: were able to retain you as the special teams coordinator,

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Speaker 1: and I appreciate your time. Well, I appreciate too, Dan,

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Speaker 1: and I appreciate that all that you and Dave do

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Speaker 1: on on a weekly basis to our fans on how

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Speaker 1: good they got it. UM to have guys who are

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Speaker 1: as insightful and more importantly as knowledgeable as what you

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Speaker 1: guys are. So I really appreciate the chance to talk

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Speaker 1: with you. Now, let's turn our attention to the NFL Draft.

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Speaker 1: Let's face it, after throwing for four hundred and sixty

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Speaker 1: three yards and five touchdowns and then National Championship Game

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Speaker 1: and running for a sixth TD, it is widely assumed

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Speaker 1: that LSU's Joe Burrow will be selected by Cincinnati with

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Speaker 1: a number one overall pick in the NFL Draft. Here

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Speaker 1: in Cincinnati, one of the radio stations that carries Bengals

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Speaker 1: games has already started running humorous promos identifying itself as

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Speaker 1: the home of Joe Burrow. Premature, but funny. I thought

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Speaker 1: it would be interesting this week to talk to my

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Speaker 1: friend Sean McDonough, the ESPN and ABC broadcaster who called

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Speaker 1: both of LSU's postseason wins. Sean, Joe Burrow was incredible

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Speaker 1: in those games. Seven touchdown passes against the Sooners, all

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Speaker 1: in the first half, five touchdown passes against Clemson on

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Speaker 1: Monday night. Based on what you've seen, what do you

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Speaker 1: think of Joe Burrow as an NFL prospect? God, I

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Speaker 1: think he's a great prospect. I think he said an

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Speaker 1: amazing season, and we sit on the end of the

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Speaker 1: other night that it might be the greatest season and

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Speaker 1: the quarterbacks ever had in college football. I don't know

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Speaker 1: how you could be much better, if at all. May

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Speaker 1: he set the record for most touchdown passes in a season,

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Speaker 1: you know, and I know some of that is skewed

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Speaker 1: by the fact that these guys played more games now

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Speaker 1: than quarterbacks did years ago, but still he shattered these records.

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Speaker 1: You know, throw sixty touchdown passes. I think he had

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Speaker 1: the third highest single season passing yardage total of all time.

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Speaker 1: And the other guys were guys who played at Texas

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Speaker 1: Tech who were throwing the ball on every down. And

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Speaker 1: then you know, he came very close to the single

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Speaker 1: season completion percentage mark. When you throw the ball down

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Speaker 1: the field like he does and you complete seventy seven

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Speaker 1: percent of your passes from yere, that's remarkable. He spoke strong, tough,

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Speaker 1: as as good athlete as we saw. He can hurt

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Speaker 1: you with the run. He's a great leader that he's

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Speaker 1: a person of high character. You know, I don't know

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Speaker 1: what he's lacking. I think he's about his closest, the

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Speaker 1: closest thing to a sure thing that I've seen in quarterbacks,

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Speaker 1: you know, coming out, maybe since Andrew Law two years ago,

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Speaker 1: more than a few years ago. Now, how did the

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Speaker 1: LSU coaches describe him when you had the opportunity to

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Speaker 1: interact with them, Well, it's interesting is we met with

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Speaker 1: Steve Ensming or the offensive coordinator before the national semifinal game,

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Speaker 1: and he said, obviously he has a lot of great attributes.

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Speaker 1: Joe Burrow does. And I said, of all the things

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Speaker 1: that you appreciate about him, you know what stands out

429
00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:24,359
Speaker 1: the most or how would he raped them? And the

430
00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:26,480
Speaker 1: first thing that he said, there's his toughness and that

431
00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:30,159
Speaker 1: his teammates fed off his toughness. And he said he

432
00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:34,040
Speaker 1: really won the team over last season, his end of

433
00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:37,840
Speaker 1: his first season as their starting quarterback in the Festival

434
00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:41,400
Speaker 1: when they played UCF and he got really lit up

435
00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:46,120
Speaker 1: after during he picked six, he threw an interception they're

436
00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:49,800
Speaker 1: got returned by UCF for a touchdown and one of

437
00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:52,000
Speaker 1: the defensive linemen jacked him up and then kind of

438
00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:56,120
Speaker 1: stood old and flex and he always a hard, hardhead.

439
00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:58,080
Speaker 1: I've seen the video over a couple of times. And

440
00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:01,480
Speaker 1: he got up and got real mad and came back

441
00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:03,440
Speaker 1: in and I think they were down fourteen to three

442
00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:06,080
Speaker 1: at the time, and he led them back to a victory.

443
00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:08,199
Speaker 1: And a lot of the guys that we talked to

444
00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:10,200
Speaker 1: his team, they said that was really the day when

445
00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:15,160
Speaker 1: he won them over. So I think you start with toughness, competitiveness,

446
00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:17,879
Speaker 1: and then you know the football part of it, the accuracy.

447
00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:20,119
Speaker 1: You know, the one thing you hear Dan is he

448
00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:24,000
Speaker 1: doesn't have the rocket arm, but he has plenty enough arm.

449
00:23:24,119 --> 00:23:26,440
Speaker 1: You know, there might be guys who could throw it

450
00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:28,879
Speaker 1: with a little more velocity deep down the field, but

451
00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:31,000
Speaker 1: as we saw a year long, he has more than

452
00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:34,960
Speaker 1: enough arm. And I think the ability and process information

453
00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:38,120
Speaker 1: is so important today's football. He does that exceedingly well.

454
00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:41,200
Speaker 1: So I would give him nothing but the highest marks

455
00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:43,159
Speaker 1: based on what I saw, and I think that his

456
00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:47,320
Speaker 1: coaches more importantly agree with that. I know, if you're

457
00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:49,200
Speaker 1: a broadcasting an NFL game, you would have had the

458
00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:52,399
Speaker 1: chance to visit with Joe before one of those games.

459
00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:55,000
Speaker 1: At least. Did you have that opportunity before either of

460
00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:57,320
Speaker 1: these games? Yes, And we had a couple of their

461
00:23:57,320 --> 00:23:59,440
Speaker 1: games during the regular season. We actually had four of

462
00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:02,440
Speaker 1: their games over the course of the year, so talk

463
00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:05,280
Speaker 1: to him several times, and you know, I was impressed

464
00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:07,880
Speaker 1: by him. He's kind of a straight to the point guy.

465
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:12,440
Speaker 1: He's not in there spouting cliches. You know, he's honest,

466
00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:16,320
Speaker 1: and I think we saw a window into who he

467
00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:18,760
Speaker 1: is during his Heisman speech and I thought that was

468
00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:21,200
Speaker 1: one of the most touching things that I've seen in

469
00:24:21,280 --> 00:24:24,840
Speaker 1: a long time. And when he spoke so passionately about

470
00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:27,119
Speaker 1: the area in which he grew up, you know the

471
00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:30,040
Speaker 1: food pantry there in Athens, Ohio. A couple of days

472
00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:33,000
Speaker 1: ago there was a report that as a result of

473
00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:36,720
Speaker 1: Joe's Heisman's speech, they had received something like five hundred

474
00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:40,160
Speaker 1: and three thousand dollars in donations. So I think he's

475
00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:42,679
Speaker 1: a person a high character. I think he's very smart,

476
00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:45,920
Speaker 1: very honest. I think he's a team leader type. And

477
00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:48,720
Speaker 1: I think if the Bengals do select him, they will

478
00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:50,919
Speaker 1: be very glad that they did. As I said, I

479
00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:53,120
Speaker 1: think in all the years of doing this, there's very

480
00:24:53,119 --> 00:24:56,080
Speaker 1: few times where I've seen a quarterback where I thought, Okay,

481
00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:58,760
Speaker 1: this guy is guaranteed going to be a high level

482
00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:01,000
Speaker 1: quarterback in the NFL. As I said, Andrew Luck was

483
00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:04,480
Speaker 1: one of them. Obviously, Peyton Manning going back a lot

484
00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:07,080
Speaker 1: further when he was at Tennessee's one of them. And

485
00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:09,399
Speaker 1: I'm not saying this guy is gonna be Peyton Manning,

486
00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:14,080
Speaker 1: but I have a strong feeling he'll be at least

487
00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:17,199
Speaker 1: I think comparable to Andrew Luck. That's what reminds me

488
00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:19,760
Speaker 1: a lot of terms of size and his athleticism, and

489
00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:23,240
Speaker 1: you know, they'll knock on Andrew was that maybe the

490
00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:26,119
Speaker 1: rocket arm, but again, he had plenty enough arm to

491
00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:30,600
Speaker 1: be a terrific NFL player. So that's uh, you know,

492
00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:32,439
Speaker 1: that's how kind of how I feel about Joe. I

493
00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:34,480
Speaker 1: think whoever picks them is gonna be really glad he did.

494
00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:38,520
Speaker 1: The draft is less than one hundred days away. It

495
00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:43,080
Speaker 1: begins on April twenty third in Las Vegas. The Bengals

496
00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:46,080
Speaker 1: coaching staff has headed to Mobile, Alabama, on Sunday for

497
00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:49,439
Speaker 1: next week's Senior Bowl. The Bengals will coach the South

498
00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:52,840
Speaker 1: team on Saturday the twenty fifth, while the Detroit Lions

499
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:56,879
Speaker 1: staff will coach the North. Right now, the Bengal Senior

500
00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:02,679
Speaker 1: Bowl roster includes three quarterbacks, Oregon's Justin Herbert, Oklahoma's Jalen Hurtz,

501
00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:07,520
Speaker 1: and Colorado Stephen Montez. Will Joe Burrow be in attendance

502
00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:10,760
Speaker 1: even if he doesn't play in the game. I discuss

503
00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:14,000
Speaker 1: that and more with a man in charge. We are

504
00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:17,399
Speaker 1: visiting with Jim Nagie, the executive director of the Senior Bowl. Jim,

505
00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:20,560
Speaker 1: what will the Bengals coaching staff gain by coaching in

506
00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:24,879
Speaker 1: this game? It's it's really an incredible advantage dand to

507
00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:27,640
Speaker 1: not only you know, be on the field, coaching them,

508
00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:29,800
Speaker 1: so you know they're gonna they're gonna get to see

509
00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:33,760
Speaker 1: you know, who can take coaching, who can apply coaching points,

510
00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:36,120
Speaker 1: who bounce us back after a bad reve and who

511
00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:39,399
Speaker 1: doesn't all be on the field? Stuff are huge takeaways.

512
00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:41,720
Speaker 1: And then you know, the behind the scenes stuff is

513
00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:44,159
Speaker 1: really where you separate from the other teams that are

514
00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:46,359
Speaker 1: down here for the game. You know, seeing these guys

515
00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:49,840
Speaker 1: in a in a meeting rooms and a training table,

516
00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:52,480
Speaker 1: and who's showing up on time for stuff and who's

517
00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:56,120
Speaker 1: not and who's attentive at meetings and all those sort

518
00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:58,000
Speaker 1: of things. So there's so many takeaways. I do feel

519
00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:01,000
Speaker 1: like it's a it's a big advantage for the participating teams.

520
00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:05,040
Speaker 1: You are from a scouting background. How does this compare

521
00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:08,680
Speaker 1: to being around the guys at the Combine. Uh, It's

522
00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:11,160
Speaker 1: it's a lot more of a relaxed setting and it's

523
00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:14,040
Speaker 1: just so much more time. Um, you know, I think

524
00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:18,200
Speaker 1: the Combine schedule is a little more intense. There's there's

525
00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:21,959
Speaker 1: more packed into those players days. Um, It's really this

526
00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:24,000
Speaker 1: is a great place for the players and the teams

527
00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:27,320
Speaker 1: together to really really connect in like I said, more

528
00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:30,080
Speaker 1: of a laidback environment. Than there is an Indie And

529
00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:32,639
Speaker 1: again that's to me, that's when from a scouting perspective,

530
00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:34,679
Speaker 1: that's when you always felt like you were meeting the

531
00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:37,280
Speaker 1: real the real person, the real player. You know they

532
00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:40,160
Speaker 1: when they're when they're in Indie and some of the

533
00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:42,720
Speaker 1: scheduled interviews they have there, it's a little more intimidating,

534
00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:45,240
Speaker 1: it's a little more intense. Um, guys have their guard

535
00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:47,200
Speaker 1: down a little more down here, and you really feel

536
00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:49,159
Speaker 1: like you get to know them. We are visiting the

537
00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:53,000
Speaker 1: Jim Nagie from the Senior Ball as we record this conversation.

538
00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:55,720
Speaker 1: I have not seen a commitment one way or another

539
00:27:55,760 --> 00:28:00,000
Speaker 1: from Joe Burrow. Where does that stand. Spoke to Joe

540
00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:03,560
Speaker 1: last night and they are getting ready to board a plane.

541
00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:06,800
Speaker 1: They're actually on their plane to the White House right now. Um,

542
00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:09,080
Speaker 1: and we're going to talk again tomorrow, which is Friday,

543
00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:11,679
Speaker 1: and uh and talk more about it. We'd love to

544
00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:13,840
Speaker 1: get him, I told, I told Joe. I've met Joe

545
00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:15,720
Speaker 1: over the summer at the Manning Passing Camp for the

546
00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:18,640
Speaker 1: first time and then I get at SEC Media Days,

547
00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:21,040
Speaker 1: so we've got a little bit of a relationship. And uh,

548
00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:23,240
Speaker 1: you know, I've spoken to the dad mister Burrow a

549
00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:25,200
Speaker 1: couple of times and they'd know how bad we want

550
00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:27,680
Speaker 1: him here. But he's coming off, you know, a game

551
00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:30,600
Speaker 1: in the in the National Championship where he got knocked

552
00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:33,119
Speaker 1: around a little bit. So the important thing for for

553
00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:35,800
Speaker 1: the Senior Bowl, and I want to speak for the Bengals,

554
00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:37,399
Speaker 1: but the important thing with the Sea Bowl is just

555
00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:40,600
Speaker 1: getting Joe inmobile um. So then the Bengals can spend

556
00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:42,880
Speaker 1: time with him and vice versa. You know, he can

557
00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:45,480
Speaker 1: he can spend time with the organization and get a

558
00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:47,640
Speaker 1: feel for how they do things and how the staff is.

559
00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:49,760
Speaker 1: So to me, there's a lot of value and having

560
00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:51,560
Speaker 1: Joe here and we just hope he sees it the

561
00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:54,360
Speaker 1: same way. So even if he does not play in

562
00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:57,840
Speaker 1: the game, he should go there meet with the team's, uh,

563
00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:03,200
Speaker 1: work out, etc. Yeah, Joe's a unique circumstance, he really is.

564
00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:05,040
Speaker 1: You know, this is we're talking about guy that could

565
00:29:05,040 --> 00:29:07,040
Speaker 1: be the potential number one pick in the draft. So

566
00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:11,160
Speaker 1: again you have to take every you know, every circumstance

567
00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:14,000
Speaker 1: in case by case basis. And I think agents are

568
00:29:14,040 --> 00:29:17,360
Speaker 1: on the league and teams would understand, you know, if

569
00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:20,280
Speaker 1: anyone were sitting in my position that you do what

570
00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:22,640
Speaker 1: it takes to get a Joe Burrow to the event.

571
00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:25,040
Speaker 1: So you know, we'll work with Joe depending on how

572
00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:28,560
Speaker 1: he feels. Again, how unique is that that guys play

573
00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:30,239
Speaker 1: on a Monday and then are called up to an

574
00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:33,480
Speaker 1: Ullstar game. That's never happened before. That NAA pushed that

575
00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:36,160
Speaker 1: back this year, so we've never had this come up.

576
00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:38,920
Speaker 1: But yeah, the important thing is just getting Joe here

577
00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:41,040
Speaker 1: and let him spend time with the Bengals. A couple

578
00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:43,320
Speaker 1: more questions for Jim Nagie from the Senior Bowl. I

579
00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:45,600
Speaker 1: looked it up this morning. You can fly round trip

580
00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:48,440
Speaker 1: from Cincinnati to Mobile for three hundred and thirty six bucks,

581
00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:51,520
Speaker 1: so that's not bad. It's a ten hour drive, which

582
00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:55,480
Speaker 1: is doable. What would a Bengals fan get from going

583
00:29:55,520 --> 00:30:00,400
Speaker 1: to Mobile for the Senior Bowl. I'm so glad you asked. Yeah.

584
00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:02,800
Speaker 1: I was at the Draft last year in Nashville, and

585
00:30:03,280 --> 00:30:05,080
Speaker 1: the Draft is a great event and that's why I

586
00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:07,240
Speaker 1: got into scouting. When you know, watching the Draft is

587
00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:09,360
Speaker 1: a little kid but you know, really that event and

588
00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:12,560
Speaker 1: there were six hundred thousand people in Nashville. I promised

589
00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:15,600
Speaker 1: diehard Bengals fans that if they come to Mobile. Um,

590
00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:21,400
Speaker 1: they're gonna have an incredible, incredible experience, especially because their

591
00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:24,240
Speaker 1: team's drafting first overall, in their in their coaching staff

592
00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:26,920
Speaker 1: is coaching the game. So you know, you can stand

593
00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:30,080
Speaker 1: ten feet from these drills. You know, the Bengals drafted

594
00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:32,120
Speaker 1: six guys out of our game last year. You can

595
00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:33,680
Speaker 1: say you're the first one to see him and be

596
00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:36,840
Speaker 1: up close. You know that there's access to our players.

597
00:30:36,840 --> 00:30:38,840
Speaker 1: You can take sophies with these guys. You know, a

598
00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:41,520
Speaker 1: couple of years ago, Baker Mayfield's here, if Joe Burrows here.

599
00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:44,120
Speaker 1: I mean, these guys are really accessible. And then you know,

600
00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:46,440
Speaker 1: Mobile is a small town environment. You can walk up

601
00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:48,600
Speaker 1: in down Dolphins Street here, which which is our main

602
00:30:48,680 --> 00:30:51,720
Speaker 1: dragt through downtown m and walk, you know, pop in

603
00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:54,080
Speaker 1: and out of restaurants, in bars in the NFL's here.

604
00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:57,240
Speaker 1: If there's nine hundred, nine hundred NFL people, the league

605
00:30:57,280 --> 00:30:59,440
Speaker 1: kind of descends on our town for a week. And

606
00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:01,840
Speaker 1: you know last year, I use the example, I've walked

607
00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:04,440
Speaker 1: into a bar to meet an old friend of mine

608
00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:06,800
Speaker 1: from the league and there's three head coaches all sitting

609
00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:09,320
Speaker 1: at the bar together. And that's pretty cool. If you're

610
00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:11,320
Speaker 1: a diehard NFL fan. There's all these guys you see

611
00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:13,760
Speaker 1: on TV throughout the year and here they are just

612
00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:16,120
Speaker 1: you know, in a relaxed setting. So it's really a

613
00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:19,240
Speaker 1: unique atmosphere and we would encourage all the Bengals fans

614
00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:21,840
Speaker 1: to come. They will not regret it. They'll actually want

615
00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:24,200
Speaker 1: to come back next year. Whether the Bengals coaches earn

616
00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:27,080
Speaker 1: it or not. It's it's such a great event. One

617
00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:29,320
Speaker 1: of the players on the South roster that the Bengals

618
00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:33,960
Speaker 1: will coach is University of Cincinnati tight end Josiah Deguara,

619
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:37,040
Speaker 1: who played high school football with the Bengals first pick

620
00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:40,480
Speaker 1: in last year's draft, Jonah Williams. In addition to working

621
00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:43,480
Speaker 1: with the tight ends, Deguara will be taking some reps

622
00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:47,640
Speaker 1: at fullback at the Senior Bowl as well. That's going

623
00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:50,000
Speaker 1: to do it for this edition of a podcast. If

624
00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:54,080
Speaker 1: you haven't done so already, don't forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher,

625
00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:57,880
Speaker 1: Google Play, Spotify, or pod Bean, and if you have

626
00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:00,480
Speaker 1: a minute, please give it a rating or share a comment.

627
00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:04,920
Speaker 1: Those five star ratings help more Bengals fans find this podcast.

628
00:32:05,440 --> 00:32:08,760
Speaker 1: I'm Dan Horde and thanks for listening to the Bengals

629
00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:10,120
Speaker 1: Boot Podcast