Speaker 1: Be Around the NFL Podcast, Are Afraid of Killer Dolls?
Speaker 1: Welcome to another edition of the Around the NFL Podcast.
Speaker 1: My name is Dan Hansens. I come to you from
Speaker 1: a virtual room filled with some heroes. Mark Sessler, Greg Rosenthal.
Speaker 1: What's that boys? Little playoff Tuesday show? How about that?
Speaker 1: I feel like I needed that Monday to you know,
Speaker 1: we had some work to do. We all did, respectively,
Speaker 1: but I needed it to recover a little bit. Six
Speaker 1: six versus four games like that was it was like underrated.
Speaker 1: How much different that experience was. That was intense. And
Speaker 1: I mean, we know the NFL um that nothing's going
Speaker 1: to ever contract, It's only going to expand. So that's
Speaker 1: our life for the wild Card Super wild Card Weekend
Speaker 1: for the rest of the time. But more than ever,
Speaker 1: I think that my actual naming a bloated wild Card weekend. Um.
Speaker 1: There is an argument to be made that it was
Speaker 1: just a tad blows if you're working it, if you're
Speaker 1: working in it a lot. Like like we said, we
Speaker 1: were never consulted on this as creatives, but things can
Speaker 1: always change, you know. You we talked about the Super
Speaker 1: Bowl that was initially the a f L NFL championship
Speaker 1: game for the first two years until Jets Colts in
Speaker 1: sixty nine. So maybe we still have a window to
Speaker 1: get in on bloated wild Card weekend. I don't know
Speaker 1: if that's gonna fly. Almost their just gonna say it
Speaker 1: feels like it might have a critical connotation. I don't
Speaker 1: think it felt bloated. There were just moments for obvious,
Speaker 1: like just like a human being, It's like, hm, I'm
Speaker 1: feeling a little bloated at the moment um. I won't
Speaker 1: four hours from now when games are still raging on.
Speaker 1: But there were twists and turns that felt a little
Speaker 1: bloaty wild Card marathon that it's it's maybe not the
Speaker 1: league's fault, it's it's the Bears fault. If the Chicago
Speaker 1: Bears that game wasn't plopped in the middle of the
Speaker 1: Sunday schedule, things probably would have felt different. But anyway,
Speaker 1: we say this now, but come this summer in July
Speaker 1: or so, when we're cranking through shows trying to come
Speaker 1: up with ideas of things to talk about, we're gonna
Speaker 1: laugh at, you know, talking about playoff football not being
Speaker 1: up to snuff. I mean, we're gonna be looking forward
Speaker 1: to the preseason for Cripe's sake. Alright, good perspective. Tuesday,
Speaker 1: that's what. So I'm here for Mark Tuesday. Mark still
Speaker 1: floating floating on air. You can tell, you can see it.
Speaker 1: It's it's coming through. The Browns are one of the
Speaker 1: final eight teams, and we're gonna get into all of
Speaker 1: the playoff matchups in the Divisional Round, the best football
Speaker 1: weekend of the year on Thursday show. Uh. Today, we're
Speaker 1: gonna have a more traditional news show. We haven't had
Speaker 1: one of those in a while. We're gonna get through
Speaker 1: a lot of news. What's going on in the league,
Speaker 1: what's going on with the openings GM, we have another
Speaker 1: coach change that we're up to seven now, and then
Speaker 1: there's a lot of stuff going on down in Texans
Speaker 1: and Houston with the Texans as we know, we're tracking
Speaker 1: this with some of the decision making that organization is
Speaker 1: making and uh, Deshaun Watson being unhappened. We had to
Speaker 1: get Seth Payne back on the horn, who does great
Speaker 1: coverage and he works down there and he's been on
Speaker 1: our show before, to just give us a look into
Speaker 1: what's going on with the Houston Texans in a really
Speaker 1: important offseason for them. All right, But first, as I said,
Speaker 1: we have a lot of news to hit, so let's go.
Speaker 1: You know, a bad loss, but um, Browns gonna so
Speaker 1: it's all good. Still are still talking, Chase Claypool, uh
Speaker 1: saying that the Browns are gonna get clapped by the
Speaker 1: Chiefs this weekend. Mark your thoughts. I mean, I think
Speaker 1: there are maybe three or four people on the planet
Speaker 1: that when they speak about the Browns I listen or
Speaker 1: care what they have to say. Chase Claypool is not
Speaker 1: one of those three or four people. I think most
Speaker 1: people have been wrong about the Browns all season. Chase
Speaker 1: clay a Pool is uh saying that after they were
Speaker 1: beaten by Cleveland two times in a row. I think
Speaker 1: there might be better things for him to wax on
Speaker 1: about at this point. And Uh on the subject of
Speaker 1: the Cleveland Browns, Ricky, now his name is Keith, He'll
Speaker 1: doubt about it. Well, does he go to say that
Speaker 1: name to say? What? Does he go to say? Congratulations?
Speaker 1: Mark on the Cleveland Browns not only making the playoffs
Speaker 1: but destroying the Pittsburgh steel Is in Big Ben last night,
Speaker 1: I myself have never been a big fan of the
Speaker 1: steel Is and I know they've been your art rival
Speaker 1: for many many years and have been trashing the Browns,
Speaker 1: so I know it has to be particularly satisfying for you.
Speaker 1: Uh So, you're an inspiration for Jet fans. Good luck
Speaker 1: against Kansas City Gowns. There you go. How about that message?
Speaker 1: That is one of the three or four people I
Speaker 1: would listen to because the first time I ever met
Speaker 1: your dad at the Super Bowl. This is someone who's
Speaker 1: been tracking football for decades. He knows the game very well,
Speaker 1: and I my hope is that the same will happen
Speaker 1: for him and Jets fans too, because Dan's dad is
Speaker 1: someone who deserves a little bit of sunshine at this point,
Speaker 1: and he does it every year. He sent a text
Speaker 1: to me and my brother this morning on this date,
Speaker 1: fifty two years since Joe Namath rose the finger as
Speaker 1: he jogged off the field at the Orange Bowl after
Speaker 1: the Jets upset the Colts six to seven in the
Speaker 1: first Super Bowl Super Bowl three. Uh So, man to
Speaker 1: not get back to that game. It is cool how
Speaker 1: much um the Browns win. Like it's awesome to see
Speaker 1: how happy everyone is. Like I think people really identified
Speaker 1: like people were more into that game because of you. Mark.
Speaker 1: My friend Dave, who listens to the show sometimes said
Speaker 1: he was like so fired up, like after listening to
Speaker 1: the beginning. My dad was texting me during the game,
Speaker 1: fired up for you like you are? You are Mr
Speaker 1: Brown talking to your dad. Didn't send in a message
Speaker 1: then if you if you you know, I don't think
Speaker 1: they've ever spoken. Um, I mean so, I don't know.
Speaker 1: I could give him the number. It's true though, like
Speaker 1: the Browns represented hope to the hopeless. So if they
Speaker 1: could do it, if they could rebuild their organization and
Speaker 1: win in that type of way, Um, who can't. All right,
Speaker 1: let's get into it, uh, starting yes with the latest
Speaker 1: head coaching announcement. This one was percolating a little bit. Initially,
Speaker 1: Doug Peterson was safe after Week seventeen, and then last
Speaker 1: week there was a meeting with Jeff Lourie, the team
Speaker 1: owner that we were told in a report on Monday
Speaker 1: didn't go so well or on Sunday, and then on
Speaker 1: Monday the report or it is announced that the Eagles
Speaker 1: have parted ways with Doug Peterson, the coach that brought
Speaker 1: the franchise. It's only Super Bowl, Uh just what three
Speaker 1: years ago? So now he is out UH ending a
Speaker 1: partnership and we see what happens next with both teams.
Speaker 1: Lori had a video press conference to discuss this seismic
Speaker 1: move within the organization. Here's what he had to say
Speaker 1: at first allegiances, what will be best for the Philadelphia
Speaker 1: Eagles and our fans for the next three or four
Speaker 1: or five years. UM, it's not based on does someone
Speaker 1: deserve to hold their job or deserve to get fired?
Speaker 1: That's a different um bar. It's not about um to
Speaker 1: Doug deserve to be let go? No, he did not
Speaker 1: deserve to be let go. That's not where I'm coming from,
Speaker 1: and that's not the bar. Uh. In the evaluation process,
Speaker 1: a lot of Eagles players came out in defense of
Speaker 1: Doug Peterson, wishing him well. Greg. Was this the right decision?
Speaker 1: I think it was. I think they needed to make
Speaker 1: a change and either was either gonna be Peterson or
Speaker 1: Peterson and Howie Roseman. So, you know, I think it
Speaker 1: wasn't working. You could hear the whispers in the telecast
Speaker 1: that the front office and the head coach weren't getting along.
Speaker 1: You could, you know, see from Ian's you know tweet
Speaker 1: on Monday. You know Peterson was tired of being told
Speaker 1: what to do, and there's been more reporting that basically,
Speaker 1: the you know, ownership didn't like the idea of Peterson
Speaker 1: elevating Press Taylor to be his offensive coordinator. They had
Speaker 1: other ideas. And it's like, like, I get it from
Speaker 1: Peterson's perspective, if he's the head coach and he can't
Speaker 1: choose his offensive coordinator, then he shouldn't be the head coach.
Speaker 1: And they probably knew he was gonna take that stance,
Speaker 1: and it's time to make a change. It's unfair because
Speaker 1: he's the first head coach to get fired within three
Speaker 1: years of winning a Super Bowl since seventy two Don McCafferty,
Speaker 1: who won Super Bowl five. And it's not like the
Speaker 1: Eagles have struggled the last three years, Like they almost
Speaker 1: made the conference championship two years ago, and they made
Speaker 1: the playoffs last year despite a or in despite a
Speaker 1: ton of injuries. But I also think it's like better
Speaker 1: to get out um a year early than go on
Speaker 1: when it wasn't working between them two and Howie Roseman
Speaker 1: has earned some rope. I think that he can build
Speaker 1: up a successful team. He's done it a few times.
Speaker 1: I mean Harry Roseman will be onto his fourth head coach. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, he hasn't been in the same position the
Speaker 1: entire he's chosen well when he's had the you know
Speaker 1: what I mean he has and I think that, uh,
Speaker 1: a little bit of this might have to do. And
Speaker 1: if you listen to what Lori was saying, and he's
Speaker 1: I think Jeffrey Lori is one of the more UM
Speaker 1: straight talk He's a he's a straight talker, I think
Speaker 1: to some degree about what what he feels. And I
Speaker 1: think there was he talked about collective vision that Jeffrey
Speaker 1: Lori and the ownership were not on the same page
Speaker 1: with probably what needs to happen. Like the team's best
Speaker 1: players are over thirty. The only Pro Bowl player they've
Speaker 1: they've drafted since twenty sixteen is Carson Wentz. This is
Speaker 1: a team that needs to take, you know, a deep
Speaker 1: look at it, how it's built. Um, it's in salary
Speaker 1: cap hell heading into the off season, and I think
Speaker 1: Laurie is sort of saying we might not it's not
Speaker 1: a rebuild because owners don't say that. But uh, there's
Speaker 1: a lot that needs to happen here for the team
Speaker 1: to get back into UM the more on the model
Speaker 1: of a team that'd be successful for years on end,
Speaker 1: and Peterson would go into the year on you know,
Speaker 1: on the hot seat, I think already and wanting to
Speaker 1: do everything to keep the Eagles just sort of in
Speaker 1: this current mode where I think that he'd be in
Speaker 1: a tough position. Um, he's not seeing ida. I like
Speaker 1: he said, Greg with the front office and the owner,
Speaker 1: I think showed a little bit of self um awareness
Speaker 1: and and and in a realization about what where the
Speaker 1: team is right now. And there's probably a little bit
Speaker 1: of the Carson Wentz stuff going on to where the
Speaker 1: Peterson and Carson Wentz that relationship felt um ultra fractured
Speaker 1: at this point. I feel like Peterson escapegoatd here and
Speaker 1: ownership obviously sided with Howie Roseman and said that, you know,
Speaker 1: Roseman is not the problem, even though you just mentioned that,
Speaker 1: like how many Pro bowlers have been drafted into this organization. Uh,
Speaker 1: he's still Roseman getting the benefit of the doubt, whereas
Speaker 1: Doug he entered this year in a place of supreme
Speaker 1: job security. But and this is how it works in
Speaker 1: the NFL. The quarterback went in the tank. Uh, somebody's
Speaker 1: fault the quarterback wasn't seeing eye to eyewa Doug anymore. Uh,
Speaker 1: that's somebody's fault. I get Stug Peterson's fault. Get him
Speaker 1: out of here, and that will fix things. I just
Speaker 1: don't know if that this is going to make the
Speaker 1: Eagles better. And then you know I've been Yes, I
Speaker 1: would be too, And actually I might be relieved if
Speaker 1: I'm Doug Peterson because there might be some dysfunction behind
Speaker 1: the scenes with this organization. And I just wonder if
Speaker 1: the Eagles when they when the smoke clears here and
Speaker 1: they hire whoever they hire, is it gonna be a
Speaker 1: better solution than what Doug Peterson was And will that
Speaker 1: guy be inheriting a team that's kind of been a
Speaker 1: sneaky bad place right now? Well, what would you They
Speaker 1: are in a bad place. I think with the roster
Speaker 1: in the cap and everything and the act that Wentz
Speaker 1: is if they were to trade, Wentz would be very
Speaker 1: difficult to trade because of that contract. I guess my
Speaker 1: answer to you, Dan would be like, what else would
Speaker 1: you do? I think you could cut you could? You know?
Speaker 1: Not to answer my own question, like I think you
Speaker 1: could get rid of how he and Dug but it
Speaker 1: wouldn't make sense. It's not like you're gonna get rid
Speaker 1: of how we keep Doug and then have a new
Speaker 1: front office like you can get rid of Carson Wentz
Speaker 1: And maybe they still do that. But I guess they
Speaker 1: had to do something. I don't know what it was.
Speaker 1: I feel like trading Carson Wentz and moving forward with
Speaker 1: Jen Arts was was the move. But maybe maybe they'll
Speaker 1: end up doing multiple moves here as they try to
Speaker 1: change where they're going. UM, while we're on the subject,
Speaker 1: let's let's start spinning the carousel, the coaching carousel, hell,
Speaker 1: the GM carousel, because where are we at right now?
Speaker 1: We are seven openings at head coach, very creepy seven
Speaker 1: GM openings. So I'm just gonna spin through the latest
Speaker 1: what's going on? Will start Since we just mentioned the Eagles,
Speaker 1: the Eagles requested to interview Buck's defensive coordinator Todd Bowles
Speaker 1: for the team's head coaching vacancy. UM. Also, UH they
Speaker 1: want to interview Robert Sala, who's obviously high in demand
Speaker 1: UH and Arthur Smith the Eagles. In addition to the
Speaker 1: messiness of all this, they're playing from behind because every
Speaker 1: other team has already been working on this for a week,
Speaker 1: if not more. And speaking of Robert Salah, he is
Speaker 1: it was reported he's flying in for a second interview
Speaker 1: or has a second interview scheduled with the Jets, and
Speaker 1: it's reported that he's a finalist for that position. That
Speaker 1: makes a lot of sense. I mean, Jets fans would
Speaker 1: be over the moon if they got Salah. Also keep
Speaker 1: in mind, of course Doug Peterson, Joe Douglas, the ties
Speaker 1: there back in Philadelphia, UM, I would say, and who
Speaker 1: knows how this all turns out. The Jets ending up
Speaker 1: with either Peterson or Sala at this point, that would
Speaker 1: be uh to me, the two favorites to get that job.
Speaker 1: UM I personally would like Sala, but I want to
Speaker 1: be totally against Doug Peterson either. There I would love
Speaker 1: solid for the Jets. Um. If your dad wants something
Speaker 1: that he could be excited about. That Also, Robert Salo's
Speaker 1: best man at his wedding was Matt Lafleur and he
Speaker 1: is super tight with the floors, which includes Mike Lafleur.
Speaker 1: And he's also you know, attached to Mike McDaniel. These
Speaker 1: two coaches have been the secret sauce to San Francisco's offense,
Speaker 1: and they are the two names linked. One of them
Speaker 1: would probably be one of them that would go with
Speaker 1: Salad to the Jets to run that offense. That would
Speaker 1: be a new day. I I could not I would
Speaker 1: immediately feel very differently about the New York Jets if
Speaker 1: they pulled that off. To get him in there for
Speaker 1: the second interview, don't let him leave, don't let him
Speaker 1: out of the room. And that's when you have to
Speaker 1: trust ownership to get to get that done. Salad is
Speaker 1: everything Greg that gaze is not and was not, from
Speaker 1: whether you're talking about the optics, to his reputation in
Speaker 1: the locker room, to his demeanor to his ability to
Speaker 1: work with the media and be camera friendly. It's a
Speaker 1: totally different set up there. I I totally agree, and
Speaker 1: I think the number one quest in with all these
Speaker 1: guys is what staff are you gonna build? I think
Speaker 1: that's more important when you hire a defensive coach, because
Speaker 1: to me, offense is more important, and so you better
Speaker 1: have a good answer there. You better have someone you're
Speaker 1: excited about and in the names Mark said, I think
Speaker 1: you would be excited. I think that's perfect. And a
Speaker 1: second interview means you're ready to hire him, and they
Speaker 1: always say finalist and sometimes the second interview like okay,
Speaker 1: when okay, let's interview one more guy. But you don't
Speaker 1: how these things always go is you never bring the
Speaker 1: guy back a second time unless you're potentially ready to
Speaker 1: close that deal. Like you guys mentioned especially one during
Speaker 1: you know, they're trying to bring people in person. Every
Speaker 1: they are serious and I Dan, this would be huge
Speaker 1: for you, so they want to finish it or you know,
Speaker 1: they want to put pressure on him to say yes
Speaker 1: to potentially because he is a guy we don't know.
Speaker 1: You know, all these teams are interviewing the same guys.
Speaker 1: It's a little annoying, but it's like everyone's just it's
Speaker 1: like Arthur Smith Robert Sala, Like it's everyone's interviewing the
Speaker 1: same guys. So they're gonna be competing. They should do
Speaker 1: like a huge just a huge job fair. Why why
Speaker 1: are we doing this in individual just get everyone in
Speaker 1: the same giant can give given the climate, Getting everyone
Speaker 1: underneath a Jim Auditorium roof maybe a bit messy. But
Speaker 1: in other news, Coordinator news Dan Quinn, the dismissed Atlanta
Speaker 1: Falcons coach who made his reputation as the d C
Speaker 1: of the Legion of Boone Seahawks defense. Well, he's back
Speaker 1: in a d C position with the Dallas Cowboys. Uh.
Speaker 1: He was high in demand and now he's paired with
Speaker 1: Mike McCarthy, uh to try to coach up a defense
Speaker 1: greg that was woeful in Dallas under Mike Nolan. It's
Speaker 1: funny because I think there's personnel. They didn't change it
Speaker 1: that much. Fits with the dan Quinn defense, which isn't
Speaker 1: that different than you know, the Rod Marinelli type of
Speaker 1: defense um that they had two years ago. And this
Speaker 1: is where it Being the Cowboys does help. I think Quinn,
Speaker 1: you know, because they're to pay their coordinators more. Oh,
Speaker 1: kelln more. You want to go to Boise State, how
Speaker 1: about we pay you more than than Zach Taylor's making
Speaker 1: as a head coach of the Bengals. Dan Quinn, whatever
Speaker 1: you want to do, like, we'll put you on national
Speaker 1: TV and we'll pay you a ton of money to
Speaker 1: be our coordinator. Just just come on over. It seems
Speaker 1: like a great fit. I love it too, and I
Speaker 1: think he's some of these guys that you know, you
Speaker 1: go you find out his head coach that that job
Speaker 1: entails so much more. And I know that the defenses
Speaker 1: in Atlanta um were largely putrid and they didn't really
Speaker 1: develop players. That's a concern, but um, this is a
Speaker 1: high energy guy. I you remember that Wes and I
Speaker 1: uh felt for dan Quinn pretty hard after talking to him.
Speaker 1: With the Super Bowl. I do think the players really
Speaker 1: like dan Quinn, especially in the coordinator rules. So it's
Speaker 1: a it's a big step up from Mike Nolan for
Speaker 1: the Cowboys. It's funny, you guys give me a hard
Speaker 1: time about Matt Rule and you you think that I
Speaker 1: get upset about him not going to the Jets. It
Speaker 1: was dan Quinn that I was really upset about because
Speaker 1: it seemed like when they were going through the process
Speaker 1: of replacing rex Rye in b uh and they went
Speaker 1: with Bowls instead because Quinn was going through the Super
Speaker 1: Bowl and the Jets didn't want to wait. And I
Speaker 1: was worried that Quinn was going to be a decade
Speaker 1: plus a studded head coach. I mean, he got the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl uh soon after that, but now he's back
Speaker 1: perhaps where he is best at d C. Speaking of DC,
Speaker 1: Gus Bradley High is the Raiders defensive coordinator, formally replacing
Speaker 1: Paul Gunther, who got canned in December by John Bruden. Uh,
Speaker 1: Bradley has his work cut out for him. Obviously. This
Speaker 1: is a bad Raiders defense that allowed thirty points a
Speaker 1: game last year. My favorite part of this I mark
Speaker 1: let us know that they sent the announcement the Raiders
Speaker 1: did on Twitter with a picture of Ken Wizzen Hunt.
Speaker 1: And the problem is you know that there's um like
Speaker 1: a twenty three year old social media Uh you know
Speaker 1: lever Polo right there that made that mistake. And then
Speaker 1: where former chart your two? So he was a former
Speaker 1: Charger coach and coordinator. A nice strong jaw line on Wizz,
Speaker 1: we haven't seen him in a while. Doesn't really look
Speaker 1: like us right now, Gus has got a nice jaw
Speaker 1: line to you and Ken wizzon Hunt side by side,
Speaker 1: right in front of you, you would immediately be able
Speaker 1: to tell who was his stop. Of course, this one
Speaker 1: is bald. Yeah, one's bald. That helps and Ken Wizz
Speaker 1: and I've seen them both in person. Ken Wisenhunt's an
Speaker 1: enormous that's probably Wi Hunt. Oh I thought he was
Speaker 1: bald as well. You Wizzen Hunt's a good looking I mean,
Speaker 1: Gus Bradley, it's it's it's we're talking about two former
Speaker 1: legion of Boom play callers who are getting you know,
Speaker 1: they'll get work until the end of days. We got
Speaker 1: Nick Shook on this podcast. We have Chris Westling on
Speaker 1: this podcast. You seem to hint there that because Ken
Speaker 1: Wizzon Hunt had hair, he was a good looking guy. No,
Speaker 1: I mean, that's not what I'm hinting. That's what you
Speaker 1: would like people to I feel like that's where you
Speaker 1: were going with that. Mean, Nick Shook is a good
Speaker 1: looking man, so as us when he like coached the
Speaker 1: Cardinals to the Super Bowl. I remember covering that Super
Speaker 1: Bowl and thinking like this guy seems like a military general.
Speaker 1: That's Ken wizzen Hut, you know, like he commands it.
Speaker 1: And we mentioned Bradley and Quinn, both off the Seattle
Speaker 1: coaching tree. The Seahawks. They make him move all the teams,
Speaker 1: A quarter of the league nearly is looking to fill
Speaker 1: their GM post. They make sure John Schneider doesn't get away.
Speaker 1: He signs a five year extension through seven. Uh. This
Speaker 1: comes after the Lions sought permission to interview Schneider so
Speaker 1: the Seahawks satan and then then you stay right here,
Speaker 1: let's fly get that Microsoft money. What a great what
Speaker 1: that's a great organization to to work for. And Pete
Speaker 1: Carroll's like building like separate vacation homes that are like
Speaker 1: somehow attached to the facility, like he lives on the lake,
Speaker 1: and it's just like, oh, you just send this little
Speaker 1: report out and then you know, I know, Paul Allen,
Speaker 1: the Microsoft guy passed, but they still got that Microsoft money.
Speaker 1: I think it's just like, oh, no, you're not gonna
Speaker 1: go to Detroit. He here's here is like a truckload
Speaker 1: of cad that was never gonna happen. That was never
Speaker 1: gonna happen. But also I'd say Pete Carroll he already
Speaker 1: had that USC money. I mean, he's he's had going
Speaker 1: on for a long long time. It just seems like
Speaker 1: there is no ownership. They're quite right now. Um, it's
Speaker 1: just sort of like the Carol I think has more
Speaker 1: power than maybe any coach in the NFL, including Bill Belichick.
Speaker 1: He's as close to an owner as like a coach gets.
Speaker 1: I'm sure he didn't want Schneider to go either. And
Speaker 1: speaking of Bill, Belichick. Finally, in the news, Bill Belichick
Speaker 1: announced that he declines to accept the Medal of Freedom
Speaker 1: that was offered by the White House and Donald Trump.
Speaker 1: In a statement, he said that recently I was offered
Speaker 1: the opportunity to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which
Speaker 1: I was flattered by out of respect for what the
Speaker 1: honor of resents an admiration for prior recipients. Subsequently, the
Speaker 1: tread which is like, However, the tragic events of last
Speaker 1: week occurred, and the decision has been made not to
Speaker 1: move forward with the award. Uh. Bill got you know
Speaker 1: love um uh and a lot of angles of social media.
Speaker 1: Uh there, and I get it. His decision comes at
Speaker 1: a time when Trump faces near universal condemnation for his
Speaker 1: role in last week's assault on the Capitol and and
Speaker 1: Trump is facing his second impeachment in the past year
Speaker 1: as we record this. Uh So, Bill's getting praise for
Speaker 1: saying thanks, but no thanks Donald. Uh. But even Bill,
Speaker 1: a man who walks to the beat of his own drum,
Speaker 1: would understand the optics of heading over to the Rose
Speaker 1: Garden this week to get a trophy from Donald Trump.
Speaker 1: Can we please calm down with saying this is some
Speaker 1: type of brave move by Bill Belichick. It's the no
Speaker 1: brainer of the century. Well, especially when he is talking
Speaker 1: about those weekly social justice meetings that he had with
Speaker 1: his team, which which he mentioned actually at the the
Speaker 1: year end press conference, as you know, like he would
Speaker 1: lose his he would lose his players apparently, though, like
Speaker 1: a couple of golfers job, well, I don't know, I'm
Speaker 1: not so sure about that one. I mean, oh man,
Speaker 1: right now in this climate that I get a grip
Speaker 1: and grab with Donald, I don't know, right, I get it.
Speaker 1: But a couple of um, well, first of all, you know,
Speaker 1: we don't need to get too deep into it, but this,
Speaker 1: you know, the NFL had plenty of support for for
Speaker 1: in Belichick was you know, tied tied to Trump certainly,
Speaker 1: but a couple of golfers did take the the award.
Speaker 1: Apparently the day after they like they showed up and everything,
Speaker 1: and people, yeah, people were just like people are just
Speaker 1: like come on. You know what it reminded me of
Speaker 1: Dan though, is when when it was announced that Trump
Speaker 1: was going to pitch the opening day game at the Yankees.
Speaker 1: Because this news that Belichick was even getting this came
Speaker 1: out like Saturday night, out of nowhere, and immediately everyone
Speaker 1: was fired up and I and even at the time,
Speaker 1: I was like, oh, I don't I wonder if Felichick
Speaker 1: has like said yes, yes to this, because I think
Speaker 1: they're just like trying to put him in a tough
Speaker 1: spot and trying to like get some good pr I'm
Speaker 1: struggling why a golf why golfers are receiving the Presidential
Speaker 1: Medal of Freedom to begin with them? But what have they?
Speaker 1: What have they? Have you ever played golf? It is
Speaker 1: very difficult. I've attempted it once and I agreed that
Speaker 1: it's I don't know what that has to do with,
Speaker 1: you know, the core tenants of freedom, and it's a
Speaker 1: it's a total, totally fair question. Mark, I have no idea.
Speaker 1: And Mary by the White House, Roger Stabat got it
Speaker 1: once because Pelicheck's boyhood hero and that apparently had some
Speaker 1: meaning to him. But he's gonna have to see no grumble, grumble, grumble,
Speaker 1: I got screwed. All right, that's what's happening in the news.
Speaker 1: Let's now welcome in one of our favorite friends of
Speaker 1: the show. He is listen, you can say it, say it.
Speaker 1: He's he's royalty down there in Texas. He's co hosted
Speaker 1: the morning show on Sports RA six. Played ten years
Speaker 1: in the National Football League for the Texans and the Jaguars,
Speaker 1: went to Cornell. Ever heard of that? He is the
Speaker 1: great Seth Payne. Welcome back to the Around the NFL podcast.
Speaker 1: Thanks thanks for bringing me in after the presidential talk.
Speaker 1: But then also I only caught a little bit of
Speaker 1: the Handsome Coach rankings, and I gotta tell you that's
Speaker 1: kind of my wheelhouse. I know you guys brought me
Speaker 1: on for something else, but Kevin, Kevin Stefanski, a man
Speaker 1: who is very, very strict about mask wearing. I realized
Speaker 1: a couple of days ago that I didn't even really
Speaker 1: remember what he looked like, and I looked him back up.
Speaker 1: My god, ruggedly handsome son the same page there. We've
Speaker 1: heard about that inwardly for months. I mean, Mark Stons
Speaker 1: are like random texts at like three in the morning
Speaker 1: about how how handsome Stefanski is. It's you go. You
Speaker 1: go from Freddie Kitchens to Kevin Stefanski. Imagine if that was,
Speaker 1: you know, in another world somewhere you went. You from
Speaker 1: a dating angle, if you were a nice young woman
Speaker 1: and you started you go from Kevin from Kitchens to Stefanski.
Speaker 1: I mean we've we've wondered if he's potentially I'm a
Speaker 1: synthetic human and not real, Yeah, and wondered that. I
Speaker 1: also gotta you know, because he was in the news
Speaker 1: a lot last week obviously for the COVID and being
Speaker 1: in the basement, and as someone who watches a lot
Speaker 1: of Dateline on NBC, he looks like the guy that's
Speaker 1: been in every date line when the wife goes missing
Speaker 1: and there's some life insurance that hasn't been paid out. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but that's that's the bad boy appeal. Alright. But enough
Speaker 1: of that funny business. We we need you to help
Speaker 1: us out with what's going on, uh with the Texans,
Speaker 1: the Nikissario higher, Deshaun Watson unhappy. Uh, this this feels
Speaker 1: like catnip. If you're doing radio down there, what what's
Speaker 1: your over general general vibe of what's going on with Houston?
Speaker 1: Is that a total mess? Oh? It's a it's a disaster.
Speaker 1: And I know, I know this smile on my face
Speaker 1: would tell you a different story. But I know you
Speaker 1: guys have been recording and listen. I I'm so happy
Speaker 1: for Mark because you've been simpatico with me the whole
Speaker 1: time on this whole Jack Easterby scenario. And uh, and
Speaker 1: so Jack Easterby was the vice president of football operations.
Speaker 1: He's been kind of uh, he's he's been an intriguing
Speaker 1: figure since he's been here, and a lot of people
Speaker 1: would point to him as a reason for a lot
Speaker 1: of the divisiveness within the organization right now, So you
Speaker 1: guys have been on air or recording this podcast, Andre
Speaker 1: Johnson just tweeted out, if I'm Deshaun Watson, I will
Speaker 1: stand my ground. The Texans organization is known for wasting
Speaker 1: players careers. Since Jack Easterby has walked into the building,
Speaker 1: nothing good has happened in or for the organization, and
Speaker 1: for some reason, someone can't seem to see what's going on.
Speaker 1: Pathetic exclamation. So uh, there's yeah there. Look, Deshaun Watson
Speaker 1: is very, very unhappy. And I think the important thing
Speaker 1: to keep in mind here is that Deshaun Watson is
Speaker 1: not a male content. Deshaun Watson's not the guy that
Speaker 1: complains about stuff. If anything, he was criticized at times
Speaker 1: this year for being too positive and being too happy
Speaker 1: as all of as they're having such a two, such
Speaker 1: a hard season. So at the end of the year
Speaker 1: he says very simply on Monday after the Titans lost,
Speaker 1: we need a culture shift, that we need better leadership. Um.
Speaker 1: There are people who think they have the power and
Speaker 1: that they don't I'm paraphrasing on the second part there
Speaker 1: and and a lot of people pointed to Jack Easterby. Um.
Speaker 1: And at least at the very least when you talk
Speaker 1: about culture, this was a culture created by Bill O'Brien
Speaker 1: who came from the Patriots, Jack Easterby, who came from
Speaker 1: the Patriots and was supposed to be the cultural maven,
Speaker 1: you know, it was supposed to bring in all this
Speaker 1: positive energy and whatnot, and Deshaun wanted something different. When
Speaker 1: all of a sudden kl McNair hires Nick Cassario, it
Speaker 1: was very well qualified by every measure, but he's from
Speaker 1: New England. I think that Deshaun Watson, who had been
Speaker 1: promised to have some kind of input and that he
Speaker 1: would be listened to, he was caught off guard, as
Speaker 1: were a lot of other people in the Texans organization.
Speaker 1: And it really felt like there was like skullduggery at
Speaker 1: work here that somehow they had departed from the process
Speaker 1: where they were going to use a search firm and
Speaker 1: use one of those candidates. And there's a whole lot
Speaker 1: more that goes into it. But yeah, it's a it's
Speaker 1: a mess in Houston right now. I mean once so
Speaker 1: you know, Eric B Enemy's name just came up before
Speaker 1: we started recording this as a candidate that they can
Speaker 1: talk to when the chiefs at some point are eliminated.
Speaker 1: So Monday, Um, and you are Deshaun Watson? Does that?
Speaker 1: Would that settle him down? Because that was someone he
Speaker 1: particularly named himself. I have a second little question. Have
Speaker 1: you ever do you look out the window and see
Speaker 1: at any point sort of like a suspicious black sedan
Speaker 1: parked out there. You've been so vocal on Jack Easterby,
Speaker 1: I have to believe that um easter be a mysterious figure,
Speaker 1: might be having you tailed. I just to be concerned
Speaker 1: for your safety in the middle of this though. You know.
Speaker 1: The second part is something that came up in a
Speaker 1: Sports Illustrated article during the season. It's a big expose
Speaker 1: about Jack Easterby and this guy who was supposed to
Speaker 1: be incredible at creating the perfect organization. Whereas there are
Speaker 1: a couple of players quoted in there that thought that
Speaker 1: of the people in the building don't trust Jack Easterby. Um.
Speaker 1: And then one of the accusations a couple of players
Speaker 1: made was that they felt like they were being tailed
Speaker 1: at some point. Personally, I think I'm safe, Mark, because frankly,
Speaker 1: I am one of a cacophony of voices singing out
Speaker 1: raising our voices against Jack Easterby. I mean, uh, Andre
Speaker 1: Johnson now joins the mix. I have talked to a
Speaker 1: bunch of people since that Sports Illustrated article came out,
Speaker 1: and there's no reason to disbelieve any of the sources
Speaker 1: in that article. Um. All of it kind of fits.
Speaker 1: And I think that when it comes to the enemy, yes,
Speaker 1: Deshaun Watson admires Eric b enemy, but I think he
Speaker 1: would be really intrigued by hiring Eric Benny. But I don't.
Speaker 1: I never got the sense that Deshaun Watson wants to
Speaker 1: hand pick the coach. But I thought, I think that
Speaker 1: the owner told him that he would have input, that
Speaker 1: he would be listened to, and I don't think he
Speaker 1: necessarily feels like he's been listened to. And and especially
Speaker 1: because you know, I don't know how explicit Deshaun would
Speaker 1: have been and explaining what's wrong with the culture. But
Speaker 1: it sure feels a whole lot like that when you tell,
Speaker 1: when you're telling people and you're trying to say, hey,
Speaker 1: there's a problem with a culture here, and you just
Speaker 1: bring in the best bud of the guy that perhaps
Speaker 1: some people like Andre Johnson think is actually destroying the culture. There.
Speaker 1: He got peeved and a lot of other people, you know,
Speaker 1: the Jamie Roots, the team President uh is not on
Speaker 1: stable ground right now. A lot of people in the
Speaker 1: organization thought that the Texans were running an actual search,
Speaker 1: and it didn't look like they were. As far as
Speaker 1: Eric b Ennemy goes, look, nickis Sarrio, and this is
Speaker 1: where things get a litt nuanced. I like, I like
Speaker 1: the hiring of Nicko Sarrio as long as they're not
Speaker 1: trying to import the Patriots way because it doesn't work
Speaker 1: outside of Foxboro. Um. But he just started working a
Speaker 1: couple of days ago. I think it's now a matter
Speaker 1: of Nick Cassario getting on the same page with Deshaun Watson,
Speaker 1: working with him, trying to settle this thing down. It's
Speaker 1: January twelve, We've got time, you know, before any kind
Speaker 1: of trade would need to be executed. Do you think
Speaker 1: it will though? Like how you know when you see
Speaker 1: you know, Chris Mortenson reporting that Watson um sees Miami
Speaker 1: as a destination that he would be interested. And that
Speaker 1: was the first time that I thought, Okay, maybe this
Speaker 1: has legs because it's gonna be all up to Watson,
Speaker 1: how how serious he would be unwanting to force the
Speaker 1: trade if they can calm him down, um in the
Speaker 1: emotions of the season ending kind of wear away, like
Speaker 1: it would be insane to trade Deshaun Watson, Like I
Speaker 1: don't think any it not like Nick Serio I think
Speaker 1: would come in and want to do that. It would
Speaker 1: be insane, Like it would make first of all, you
Speaker 1: have dead money on your cap to be getting rid
Speaker 1: of one of the best five, you know quarterbacks in
Speaker 1: the NFL, like Entry his private literally that's there's never
Speaker 1: been a precedent for a trade like that, not for
Speaker 1: a quarterback that young. Uh, and that could so it
Speaker 1: would be insane. But do you think, like, how like
Speaker 1: much legs do you think it would have for Watson
Speaker 1: to like stay angry? I guess uh, that's that's the question. Okay,
Speaker 1: is this gonna be entrenched. Is it gonna take Is
Speaker 1: he gonna feel this way to three four months? I
Speaker 1: think it depends on a couple of things. One, I
Speaker 1: don't know how much Jack Easterby ways into Deshaun Watson's
Speaker 1: personal opinion about this. I know that Andre Johnson and
Speaker 1: other very just reputable guys that don't whine about much
Speaker 1: um have strong feelings about Jack Easterby. It might be
Speaker 1: as simple as the elimination of Jack Easterby. I don't
Speaker 1: know it's not gonna happen. I mean that there's no
Speaker 1: chance that's gonna happen. He just picked. He really just
Speaker 1: picked the head coach after Here's the thing about the
Speaker 1: easter By stuff. I know he's hitted a lot on
Speaker 1: this show, but basically everything that we were sort of
Speaker 1: bringing up as a supposed conspiracy theory came exactly true
Speaker 1: as recently as last weekend. Every single reporter, including someone
Speaker 1: on our network, who have expressed regret about it, was
Speaker 1: buying the whole idea that Easterby might not be on
Speaker 1: solid footing, he might not have any role in the organization,
Speaker 1: and that he's not even involved with the hiring. So
Speaker 1: then a day later, they hired the guy that they
Speaker 1: were hanging out at the Patriots Super Bowl ring party,
Speaker 1: and that they got accused of tampering with that's his
Speaker 1: best friend. So like no one knew anything. It's clearly
Speaker 1: easter Ban mcna you know, has McNab that you know. Yes,
Speaker 1: you see me waving my head in my hands and
Speaker 1: shaking my head emphatically. Look, guys, I smelled this a
Speaker 1: mile away when Jack Easterby was here within a few months,
Speaker 1: as soon as Brian Gaine was gone. As soon as
Speaker 1: Jack easter be got here, Bryan Gaine, an actual general manager,
Speaker 1: got a fire River native by the way. That's right,
Speaker 1: that's right, that's right. Um as uh, Rockland County. As
Speaker 1: so as there in pursuit hot pursuit of Nick Cassario,
Speaker 1: I've predicted at that time, you know, a year and
Speaker 1: a half ago, you know what Jack Easterby will be
Speaker 1: standing after Bill O'Brien has gone. It's that kind of
Speaker 1: a scenario. And people thought I was crazy. Excuse me
Speaker 1: of being a conspiracy theorist. But this is what he does.
Speaker 1: He he sidles up to very important people and gets
Speaker 1: them to believe things that just simply are not true. Um,
Speaker 1: and he creates this distorted version of reality as far
Speaker 1: as the Miami thing goes. Greg. To get back to that, UM,
Speaker 1: I think that it's important to note that DeShawn has
Speaker 1: not requested a trade. Deshaun, including you know, the people
Speaker 1: close to DeShawn, nobody has credibly said that Deshaun wants
Speaker 1: a trade. I think that he said he'd be amenable
Speaker 1: to a trade in Miami, like that would be an
Speaker 1: okay destination. But UM, it's not at that point yet.
Speaker 1: You can see not to keep any of it. You
Speaker 1: could see. Quickly after that, the Watson News came out,
Speaker 1: they interviewed the offensive corner, Tim Kelly, who he likes.
Speaker 1: That was like, hey, Deshan, look at this, and now hey,
Speaker 1: we're interviewing Eric bi enemy. Like I think they're gonna
Speaker 1: do everything possible to make it up. You know, commenting
Speaker 1: in life, you've heard about it, when couples are in danger,
Speaker 1: the relationships flaming out. Well, let's you know, do the
Speaker 1: band aid baby and it never works and it's not
Speaker 1: good for anybody involved. A band aid head coach seems
Speaker 1: similarly flawed, and do him for failure. Let me let
Speaker 1: me kind of my last thing to see you up
Speaker 1: on here, Seth, I'm gonna play Devil's advocate. Okay, Deshaun Watson,
Speaker 1: he's a Hall of Fame level talent, but the Texans
Speaker 1: and the wreckage of the Bill O'Brien era are so
Speaker 1: poorly set up for the future right now. Well, who's
Speaker 1: to say that trading Deshaun Watson for a quarterback like
Speaker 1: a Tua or a Sam Donald and let's say three
Speaker 1: first round picks, Greg, put your hand down. This is
Speaker 1: for Seth. This question is not actually, although popular opinion
Speaker 1: wouldn't be with you on this, and clearing up your
Speaker 1: cap and all the other stuff is not the best
Speaker 1: things for the Texans franchise that got as far as
Speaker 1: it could with the setup they had and now needs
Speaker 1: to reboot. I would say this, the Texans came into
Speaker 1: existence in two thousand two. Well, their first season was
Speaker 1: two thousand two. They found Deshaun Watson in two thousand seventeen,
Speaker 1: and you had to trade up to get him, and
Speaker 1: it was a spot in the draft towards not necessarily
Speaker 1: a slam dunkey. You feel great about it. Um, Nothing
Speaker 1: is worth something that might take another seventeen years to replace.
Speaker 1: It's just I mean, look at the Jacksonville Jaguars. How
Speaker 1: many times did they have to use draft capital on
Speaker 1: high picks and and and swinging with on it? So, uh,
Speaker 1: it's a It's a beautiful dream, is what it is. Dan,
Speaker 1: But you can't fall for beautiful dreams like Bill O'Brien
Speaker 1: and Jack east Be did trade after trade, signing after signing.
Speaker 1: If only, hey, remember how good these guys were in
Speaker 1: two thousand sixteen. That's all we need is for David
Speaker 1: Johnson and Randall Cup and Brandon Coach and everybody else.
Speaker 1: You can't fall for that line of reasoning, right, I
Speaker 1: mean Watson, Watson is the most important person in the organization.
Speaker 1: I mean he is more important than the owner at
Speaker 1: least two fans. He should be because like, you can
Speaker 1: get other owners. I mean you're not going to but
Speaker 1: like Watson is to me, you're a placeable And people
Speaker 1: act like they're in such a crazy tough spot. No,
Speaker 1: I mean you're missing a couple of draft picks. You
Speaker 1: got them next year. Like you've got some good players,
Speaker 1: You've got one of the best left tackles, and like,
Speaker 1: I mean you've got Deshaun Watson. I just The thing
Speaker 1: that Texans fans are worried about, which I understand and
Speaker 1: they're gonna stay worried, is the process to which you
Speaker 1: got to this point. If the process is super flawed
Speaker 1: and the people running that process are are flawed and
Speaker 1: how they got there, and I would put easter be
Speaker 1: you know, and ownership into that, then that makes you
Speaker 1: feel like it's doomed. But here's the thing. I'd still
Speaker 1: keep up, keep you know, Watson around for the next
Speaker 1: team that takes over in three or four years. If
Speaker 1: this thing blows up, He'll only be twenty eight years
Speaker 1: old then, and you still have Deshaun Watson. Yeah. And
Speaker 1: as far as the actual situation goes, you make a
Speaker 1: great point, Greg, because look, are there teams out there
Speaker 1: right now that would trade the Texans don't have a
Speaker 1: person a second round pick right now? Are there teams
Speaker 1: out there that would say, hey, we'll give you a
Speaker 1: first in a second round pick and we'll take on
Speaker 1: DeShawn Watson's contract. Uh it, We'll take that in a heartbeat,
Speaker 1: you know. And I'd say half the teams in the
Speaker 1: league probably would. So the situation is not as dire
Speaker 1: simply because you have DeShawn Watson. Alright, Seth, I hear
Speaker 1: an engine idoling outside your front door right now, my friend,
Speaker 1: keep up the good work down there, and he's gonna
Speaker 1: thank you for joining us. Always a pleasure. My kidnapping
Speaker 1: will be live stream. Thank you. Guys. There he goes
Speaker 1: the great Seth. Than give him a follow on Twitter
Speaker 1: and check out all this stuff. He's great. Um, you
Speaker 1: know that's it's a thing about all this that you
Speaker 1: feel for Texans fans because man, I just went through
Speaker 1: it with Jamal Adams. Who's safety when you become attached
Speaker 1: to a star player and he's like the face of
Speaker 1: your franchise and then you're just holding your breath every
Speaker 1: morning that the news isn't gonna see this thing spiraling
Speaker 1: further out of control with your star and your your team.
Speaker 1: So it's a time of moneys uh and Seth has
Speaker 1: it now, so we'll be I think one of the
Speaker 1: top storylines to track this office. I mean, it's gonna
Speaker 1: it's gonna haunt our podcast, um every single episode. This
Speaker 1: is a good one though, it's interesting, you know, Dak Prescott,
Speaker 1: Dak getting paid. That's gonna haunt out this one at
Speaker 1: least has some intrigue. I just feel for the Texans
Speaker 1: fans that aren't going to be enjoying the roller coast.
Speaker 1: This isn't a total parallel because the age of the
Speaker 1: two quarterbacks is so different, but you could kind of
Speaker 1: look at what Carson Palmer did, um, when he just
Speaker 1: got utterly frustrated with the Bengals. He said, I've made
Speaker 1: enough money. Um, I'm simply not going to play for
Speaker 1: them anymore and forced to trade. I mean, I agree
Speaker 1: with you, Greg that Deshaun Watts and if he really
Speaker 1: wants out, he has more power than anyone else. But
Speaker 1: if you're Nickkissaria, you think that you're forty five years old,
Speaker 1: you've took your first GM job, and your first headline
Speaker 1: move is to remove the team from Deshaun Watson. I
Speaker 1: think that they're gonna do everything they can to prevent it. Alright,
Speaker 1: good stuff, um, and thank you again to seth All.
Speaker 1: Right before we go, I did put out a prompt
Speaker 1: there to the fine listeners of the Around the NFL podcast, who,
Speaker 1: as always, they brought the heat, and you know I
Speaker 1: gave them about an hour. I got hundreds of replies
Speaker 1: for questions here and by the way, the A t
Speaker 1: N Subreddit, which is a fan rent run board, just
Speaker 1: past fifteen thousand members. And Ricky Hollywood, who does incredible
Speaker 1: work over on the A t N podcast on Instagram
Speaker 1: that's closed in it on twenty thousand. We want to
Speaker 1: get over that hump, so get on there. Ricky's always
Speaker 1: putting up a good junk for you to enjoy. UM,
Speaker 1: So thank you to the fans. Here's our thank you
Speaker 1: to you be involved with the show. Here we go.
Speaker 1: Greg Van popper Ring asks where will Doug Peterson land mark?
Speaker 1: This feels like to me again the unusual circumstances around
Speaker 1: head coach who wins the Super Bowl three years ago
Speaker 1: for a franchise that had never won in fifty years
Speaker 1: before that, and then gets canned in some type of
Speaker 1: power struggle, A guy that might land on his feet
Speaker 1: immediately in another head coach chair. Do you see it
Speaker 1: that way? There's seven gigs, here are six gigs for him.
Speaker 1: I mean they parted with Andy Reid, they parted with
Speaker 1: Chip Kelly, and both of those coaches got head coaching
Speaker 1: jobs right after. And I would argue that Doug Peterson, Um,
Speaker 1: there are different types of teams out there, There are
Speaker 1: different types of ownership groups. And uh, there's a lot
Speaker 1: to like about Doug Peterson. I believe if you're an
Speaker 1: NFL owner, Um, there's a little bit of a stink
Speaker 1: on him. But Dan, you like there are people that
Speaker 1: think the way that you do too, that he probably
Speaker 1: was a little scapegoated here. Um, I wouldn't put him
Speaker 1: at the top of the list, but I wouldn't be
Speaker 1: surprised to you got a job at all. Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 1: I think he's got a chance, and if not, he'll
Speaker 1: be back in the mix next year. It's not it
Speaker 1: may not be. Almost every coach always says they like,
Speaker 1: it's not the worst thing to take a year in between.
Speaker 1: You know, you can work on fearless too. Um, when
Speaker 1: I told when I told Eagles ownership to shove it
Speaker 1: or something, I don't know. I guess he can say
Speaker 1: fearless too for winning the Super Bowl with the Jets
Speaker 1: or the Chargers Falcons and they don't want to burn
Speaker 1: that title, you know, fearless to colon increasingly fearless. I
Speaker 1: kind of like that. Um. Josh Perry Big j Powski
Speaker 1: on Twitter asks how many fingers and answer this seriously,
Speaker 1: mark how many fingers would Mark? Sacrifice to guarantee the
Speaker 1: Browns win the Super Bowl this year? Would you give
Speaker 1: up a finger? I don't know. There's a lot of
Speaker 1: this going on, and it it Mike Rabel started this
Speaker 1: about cutting off a different body part of his um.
Speaker 1: I wouldn't sacrifice a body part for for things like this. No, okay,
Speaker 1: And for those that don't know, if you don't remember,
Speaker 1: Mike Rabel said he would sacrifice. I mean, I definitely
Speaker 1: wouldn't do that. But but as our friend Will Brnson
Speaker 1: said he'd do that, but he won't, you know, go
Speaker 1: for it on fourth and two other ways to get there.
Speaker 1: That's right. How about a picky toe? Mark? Sure? Oh
Speaker 1: I hate feet and they're like I don't. Yeah, in
Speaker 1: a minute, you would hate You hate your feet enough
Speaker 1: to mutilate them? Now that I mean, like, who sees
Speaker 1: my feet? Nobody? So if I had to cut off
Speaker 1: a toe, or if someone's like, why are you missing
Speaker 1: your pinky toe? And I was like, well I did
Speaker 1: it and ensured the Browns want So it's I'm wrong
Speaker 1: if I say I wouldn't remove a body partner, I
Speaker 1: have fingers. Though I've known you for a decade, Mark,
Speaker 1: I don't think I've ever seen your feet. I don't
Speaker 1: think I've ever seen your bare legs. You're you're a
Speaker 1: pants guy all the way. I mean I've I think
Speaker 1: I've warned. I don't think we've gone like swimming or
Speaker 1: to the beach together or something. So that's part of
Speaker 1: the raid in hotel rooms together, and in the same
Speaker 1: in my hotel room, I will there will be bare legs.
Speaker 1: I must have seen him. And when Mark and I
Speaker 1: went running by Anderson Cooper at Anderson Cooper sell them
Speaker 1: also so love going on there. All right, Uh, here
Speaker 1: we go this from Angus Bell. What do the Seahawks
Speaker 1: need to do to fix their anemic offense? Is Schottenheimer
Speaker 1: the problem? Greg, I think he's The easiest solution is
Speaker 1: to change out Schottenheimer. I did not like what I
Speaker 1: heard out of Pete Carroll that his takeaway from the
Speaker 1: end of the season was that they need to run
Speaker 1: the ball more and more effectively. They were pretty effective
Speaker 1: running it. Now the problem is they weren't effective enough
Speaker 1: throwing it. But that to me is a coaching problem.
Speaker 1: When you have players as talented as Russell Wilson, DK
Speaker 1: Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, Zachariah Lewis asks should the Bears
Speaker 1: reboot minus Matt Naggy head coach and GM Ryan Pace.
Speaker 1: This isn't the same apples to apples comparison to what's
Speaker 1: going on with the Eagles. But me, I hesitate, um,
Speaker 1: because the quarterback situation was so sloppy. Um for Naggy Pace,
Speaker 1: maybe do what you will with Pace. But throwing out
Speaker 1: Naggy because Mitch Drabinsky and Nick falls stink, I don't
Speaker 1: know if I feel good about that. I'd reboot the
Speaker 1: whole thing hardcore because I mean, well, look at let's
Speaker 1: just say, definitely Pace Pace. You can charge a lot
Speaker 1: of their issues charged back to Pace decisions. Mike Kavanaugh asks,
Speaker 1: considering how historically bad the Jets are at drafting, how
Speaker 1: many first round picks would Dan give to get Deshaun Watson.
Speaker 1: That's a very good question. Uh. I mean, you've gotta
Speaker 1: be stay within reason here, but I would give up
Speaker 1: to three first round picks to get a twenty six
Speaker 1: year old quarterback who's on a Hall of Fame trajectory. Um.
Speaker 1: I think there's almost no offer that I would say, Oh,
Speaker 1: no way in hell, Because Greg, as you point out,
Speaker 1: all the time, Like these first round picks are such
Speaker 1: a crapshoot to start with, There's nothing crapshoot or crappy
Speaker 1: about Deshaun Watson. Yeah, you could try to finagle some
Speaker 1: other trade where to get one of those, you know,
Speaker 1: get an extra first round pick, like you trade down
Speaker 1: from the two. I guess you probably have to include
Speaker 1: that number two overall pick. But yeah, three or four, whatever,
Speaker 1: whatever it takes. What like, what is the number where
Speaker 1: it ceases to be something that you would do? Greg?
Speaker 1: Ten first round picks for Deshaun Watson? Would you do that?
Speaker 1: I mean, it's just seems weird. I think the bigger
Speaker 1: thing I wouldn't want to do is like trade a first, second,
Speaker 1: and third for like three straight years. I mean that's
Speaker 1: the thing is like second, you know, the second round,
Speaker 1: your whole draft, right, are are almost as almost as valuable.
Speaker 1: But yeah, and I don't think the Jets draft history
Speaker 1: should matter here, Like, look, Joe d had a good,
Speaker 1: uh good thing, but at least I would give four
Speaker 1: at least Okay, there you go. Uh follow up question
Speaker 1: from Ryan worst case in parentheses realistic coaching higher for
Speaker 1: the Jets. That's Marvin Lewis who came in for an interview,
Speaker 1: and all due respect to Marvin Lewis, the respect that
Speaker 1: Mark has never afforded Lewis on this podcast. Man Lewis
Speaker 1: a co tight like higher for the fan base. So
Speaker 1: Marvin Lewis, I don't care how well he interviewed Johnson family.
Speaker 1: Do not do that. Uh. Jeff Yates asked, depending on
Speaker 1: who the coaches, which way do you think Detroit should
Speaker 1: lean in the matt Stafford situation? Should they build around
Speaker 1: him or should they blow that situation up? Mark Um,
Speaker 1: The problem with with with moving on from Matthew Stafford
Speaker 1: is that who's there. I mean, I don't think you
Speaker 1: start a new coach with, Hey, we're going to remove
Speaker 1: our franchise quarterback and by the way, it might take
Speaker 1: twenty five years to find another. So I want to
Speaker 1: know what you're getting in return for Matthew Stafford, and
Speaker 1: better be huge and pivotal. Um. I think Matthew Stafford
Speaker 1: wouldn't be opposed to a fresh start, though, Milo asks
Speaker 1: do you think Cliff Kingsbury, the Cardinal's head coach, should
Speaker 1: be on the hot seat now? I write a hot
Speaker 1: Buck column every August ahead of the start of the
Speaker 1: season and he is going to be, for me, a
Speaker 1: little higher up on the list. What do you think
Speaker 1: I don't. I don't think so because I still look
Speaker 1: at a team that won eight games in the two
Speaker 1: years previous and was in a really low place, and
Speaker 1: they won eight games last year. So I don't think
Speaker 1: you should be on a hot seat going into this season. Now.
Speaker 1: If they win four or five games next year, it's like, okay,
Speaker 1: then you then you're on it. But he's they've been
Speaker 1: on an upper trajectory. I'm glad they asked about Cliff, though,
Speaker 1: because of all these gutless punts that we've seen, I
Speaker 1: never got a chance to mention what I thought was
Speaker 1: the most gutless punt punt of the entire twenty season
Speaker 1: when Cliff punted, and I know it was fourth and
Speaker 1: twenty Cardinals fans, I know, but it was at midfield
Speaker 1: and the season literally ended with the punt. There was
Speaker 1: like three minutes left that he had one time out left,
Speaker 1: and he just decided instead of going for a fourth
Speaker 1: and twenty down eleven, I'm just gonna go to the
Speaker 1: off season. I've never seen him more gutless funt than that,
Speaker 1: Like I'll try to get a holding call or something
Speaker 1: defensive holding call, like do something. What's going on? Greg?
Speaker 1: I gotta I'm pushing back on that because that's bad,
Speaker 1: bad job by Cliff, and I think he deserves to
Speaker 1: be under some scrutiny right now. But Mike Rabel hunting
Speaker 1: on two at the Buffalo forty yard line or at
Speaker 1: the Ravens Ravens forty yard line with Derrick Henry on
Speaker 1: your football team, coming off two thousand yards season, with
Speaker 1: your season hanging in the balance, to me, it doesn't
Speaker 1: get anywhere Tomlins in that category. To come on. I mean, god, Dan,
Speaker 1: that was very bad too. I think it was worse
Speaker 1: because it was maybe he didn't know he only had
Speaker 1: one time out, which would be equally bad, but like
Speaker 1: it was literally just like okay, let's let's all pack
Speaker 1: it up. I would hate to be a head coach
Speaker 1: right now though we're everything you do. There are all
Speaker 1: these like whipper snappers on Twitter, all these like hyper nurse.
Speaker 1: Well no, but if everyone is like everyone knows better
Speaker 1: than the heck, I'm a first snapper. Yeah, hey you Greg.
Speaker 1: Two more questions, this one from Andrews Savory does earl
Speaker 1: Thomas ever sued up in the NFL again, and if not,
Speaker 1: does he make it to canon greg This one's interesting.
Speaker 1: Big expose on Earl came out this week. This guy
Speaker 1: is one of the great safeties of this century and
Speaker 1: he just seemed to have a personality shift that in
Speaker 1: in addition to his declining play, has taken him out
Speaker 1: of the league entirely at what age thirty one? It's crazy.
Speaker 1: I have that article insta papers. I want to read
Speaker 1: it still, but it reminded me like, oh, yeah, I forgot,
Speaker 1: I forgot Earl Thomas wasn't on a team. What the
Speaker 1: what the heck? I mean, Uh, it's insane. He played
Speaker 1: well last year too. It's not like he was a
Speaker 1: dog last year. I think people in Seattle will say
Speaker 1: maybe the personality didn't change that much. He was kind
Speaker 1: of on his own planet the whole time. But you know,
Speaker 1: when you're, you know, one of the best players in
Speaker 1: the league, he just allow. I think you insto the
Speaker 1: paper that and catch up on it. Great because some
Speaker 1: of these things you learn about that tenure in Baltimore.
Speaker 1: Why other teams, you know, you know, these coaches, these gms,
Speaker 1: they all talk. I think he makes the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1: By the way, sorry to interrupt. I do think he
Speaker 1: makes it. Yes. And finally, Mark Sessler a question for
Speaker 1: you from Drew Drew Smith. Does Mark intend to carry
Speaker 1: his Blue Jay's fandom into next season or was it
Speaker 1: simply a one and done for those that did not follow.
Speaker 1: Over the summer, Mark had had a stand office, almost
Speaker 1: combative relationship with Major League Baseball, but during the pandemic,
Speaker 1: got behind the Toronto Blue Jays franchise You're gonna run
Speaker 1: it back this spring. Part of it was that they
Speaker 1: were in Buffalo for the year. Um. But I went
Speaker 1: in thinking this could be an a venture that's over
Speaker 1: in ten days, ten hours. If it was too boring. UM,
Speaker 1: my issue with baseball is it it's on every day.
Speaker 1: It's like four hours long. UM, so engage me. And
Speaker 1: I found them to be quite UM. I think I
Speaker 1: picked the right type of team to latch onto. UM.
Speaker 1: I'm really in favor of how short that regular season was,
Speaker 1: so that I think the you know, the acid test
Speaker 1: will be am I ready for six months or seven
Speaker 1: or eight months, however long this season goes on for
Speaker 1: um of everyday observation, that will be a heavy test.
Speaker 1: But if I am rooting for any team and it's
Speaker 1: for them. Uh, that so TBD on the fence again,
Speaker 1: they could be back in. The Raptors are in Tampa.
Speaker 1: So the Canadians are are smart enough not to let
Speaker 1: any of us in at this point, and they're like,
Speaker 1: they might be back in Buffalo if if we're not
Speaker 1: in any better shape by April. Oh, man, I thought
Speaker 1: this stuff was all gonna be taken care of. How
Speaker 1: come that's not the case. That was faulty logical. Oh
Speaker 1: suddenly it's New Year's even the entire world will be
Speaker 1: fine by morning. Wouldn't that have been cool? Though? That
Speaker 1: would be cool? Yeah, I guess maybe January thirty one,
Speaker 1: when we hit to February one, everything is no doubt
Speaker 1: that that's how it's going to play out, all right,
Speaker 1: the schedule to come. Uh. In our podcast Thursday, the
Speaker 1: preview pod Divisional Round, we dive deep on all of
Speaker 1: those games. Already reached out to Nick Shook. I want
Speaker 1: to have him involved for the Browns preview um and
Speaker 1: then Friday, you could check us out on television the
Speaker 1: around the NFL broadcast, the television show that is airing
Speaker 1: nice cushy time slot there three pm. Is that three
Speaker 1: pm Eastern? Well, I'll take it either way, Okay, just
Speaker 1: checking it's three pacific. Um. I heard from someone very
Speaker 1: high up in the company that they were um in quotes,
Speaker 1: stunned by uh the ratings bump of our show, and
Speaker 1: it maybe it may not be the end of better
Speaker 1: time slots. We did a huge number last week. Um.
Speaker 1: And then if you are an overseas listener, I believe
Speaker 1: you can access that with your game Pass international UH
Speaker 1: log in and then we will be back, of course
Speaker 1: Sunday night for the flagship show, breaking down all the
Speaker 1: action and mark that game, the Browns game already check
Speaker 1: the schedule Sunday, the early game, so that will give
Speaker 1: good or bad. You'll have plenty of time to kind
Speaker 1: of process it before the show begins, because that was
Speaker 1: quite a challenge one I thought you handled very well
Speaker 1: on Sunday night, coming on directly after that game against
Speaker 1: the Steelers. This time, you're gonna have some process time.
Speaker 1: It's easier to handle. I guess a tough assignment about
Speaker 1: talking about football when the team wins. But um, we'll see.
Speaker 1: I think you know, like you mentioned a little house
Speaker 1: money vibe to it, I'm willing to accept whatever happens
Speaker 1: this weekend in a different way than I would have
Speaker 1: um A couple of day Steelers, Yeah, shout out and
Speaker 1: a happy birthday by the way to my on Walker
Speaker 1: sixth birthday today. Funniest guy now, the biggest, biggest football
Speaker 1: fan I know. Now he's he's addicted. He was just
Speaker 1: making lists before last weekend of which games he was
Speaker 1: most excited about, which teams he hated the most. Just
Speaker 1: a lot of rankings, a lot of lists, just like
Speaker 1: a Jack and Joe Buck scenario here. I can feel it.
Speaker 1: He's gonna seamlessly slip right in there for Greg. When
Speaker 1: Gregg decides to hang up, he thinks he's gonna be
Speaker 1: a player. But I haven't. I haven't had the heart
Speaker 1: to tell him there's not many like five five players.
Speaker 1: Let him find that out on his own time. Happy birthday,
Speaker 1: uh to the boy who will be king home? All right,
Speaker 1: that's it, just Dan Hanson signing out for a quiet storm.
Speaker 1: The old boss, Ricky Hollywood behind the virtual glass too.