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Speaker 1: Welcome to the Titans Amy and Coach Mac podcast. Prevented

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Speaker 1: by Farm Bureau Health Plans leave great healthcare coverage with

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Speaker 1: an affordable price tag. Farm Bureau Health Plans can coach

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Speaker 1: you through it. They've been protecting Tennesseeans for seventy five years.

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the Titans Amy and Coach Mac Podcast. I

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Speaker 1: am Annie Wells. Coach Mac of course is here. Mac.

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Speaker 1: How are you do great? Yeah? Great? Yeah, I love

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Speaker 1: doing this. I'm glad we're getting ready to do another one.

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Speaker 1: I'll tell you what we are rolling through. Our names

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Speaker 1: you need to know in the NFL series. It's not

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Speaker 1: a very catchy name, but it is an informative name.

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Speaker 1: And I think this has been an informative series. I

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Speaker 1: hope that everybody is enjoying it. We are definitely enjoying

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Speaker 1: bringing it to you. And at the very beginning, I

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Speaker 1: said that there would be some names you would not

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Speaker 1: know or be super familiar with, and there would be

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Speaker 1: some names that you would know and you would be

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Speaker 1: familiar with. And this is one that I think people

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Speaker 1: will have heard of this person before, because well, I'm

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Speaker 1: just not getting beat around the bush. It's Chris Mortenson

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Speaker 1: and my little blurb on him is pretty short because

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Speaker 1: he is a name and a face that is trusted

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Speaker 1: by NFL personnel, coaches, players and fans. Everybody knows Chris

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Speaker 1: Mortenson primarily for what he has done with ESPN in

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Speaker 1: his time there, but he is just a guy that

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Speaker 1: is so trusted throughout the league when it comes to

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Speaker 1: being a source of information mac when it comes to reporters,

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Speaker 1: is there really anyone in the league who is more

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Speaker 1: trusted than Chris Mortenson. Well, he was the pioneer in

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Speaker 1: all of this. You know, all of these guys now

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Speaker 1: that are the you know, are the breaking the hot news,

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Speaker 1: and the you know at the at the top of

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Speaker 1: the list, you know, the Adam Schifters and those types

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Speaker 1: of people. And mort was the original. And uh, you know,

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Speaker 1: you knew as a you knew as a coach in

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Speaker 1: the National Football League, you knew as an executive in

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Speaker 1: the National Football League, if Chris Mortenson called you and

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Speaker 1: and and and wanted to talk, or if you were

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Speaker 1: talking with Chris Mortenson, first of all, you knew that

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Speaker 1: everything was going to be confidential, uh, if you wanted

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Speaker 1: it to be. He was a pioneer of all of this.

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Speaker 1: The mort report was something everybody always always look forward to.

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Speaker 1: But Chris Mortenson has been a very trusted confidant and

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Speaker 1: a very accurate reporter for all of his career and

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Speaker 1: even and now to this day. I mean, he is

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Speaker 1: the dean and and he's got as you said, trust

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Speaker 1: is a great word that you use, because that's everybody

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Speaker 1: trusted Chris and and mort is, you know, as when

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Speaker 1: I first got into the league, you know, when I

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Speaker 1: was a very young coach, you know, when I got

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Speaker 1: into the league with the Bears, I mean, you know,

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Speaker 1: immediately you knew who Chris Mortenson was. And then he

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Speaker 1: was he was always available. And he not only was

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Speaker 1: he always available, he was always very very you know,

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Speaker 1: uh aware of what was going on with everybody's club.

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Speaker 1: He was also very aware of sensitive subjects. He was

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Speaker 1: also very aware of things that the fans wanted to

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Speaker 1: know and needed to know. And then also he was

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Speaker 1: very aware of some things that didn't quite need to

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Speaker 1: be disclosed until it was time to disclose them. And

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Speaker 1: so More again is a very very good friend of mine.

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Speaker 1: Uh I've trusted more and known More for a long time.

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Speaker 1: I was so happy that we were able to talk

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Speaker 1: with him, you know, during the during the Combine time,

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Speaker 1: because I mean that used to be his ground. That

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Speaker 1: was that was that was his ground, you know, the

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Speaker 1: combine was And so yeah, Chris Mortenson. All of these

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Speaker 1: guys now that have jobs and there's a million of

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Speaker 1: them now, you know that that always that have these blogs,

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Speaker 1: that have these podcasts, that are that are able to

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Speaker 1: put themselves out there as as hot tape guys. Well,

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Speaker 1: Chris Mortenson was never a hot tape guy, but they

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Speaker 1: all owe the beginning of this profession to Chris Mortenson

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Speaker 1: and the and the way he was. And Paul Zimmerman

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Speaker 1: that Sports Illustrated was another one, doctor z. You know,

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Speaker 1: these guys are the guys that were the foundation of

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Speaker 1: what this whole industry has evolved into. But mort is

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Speaker 1: a is a very very special person and I'm just

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Speaker 1: glad we got to be able to talk to him.

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Speaker 1: Mac As a head coach or any really coach in

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Speaker 1: the National Football League, how valuable is it to have

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Speaker 1: relationships with reporters and people who have a pulse on

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Speaker 1: the league as a whole, but also have that discretion

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Speaker 1: that you require you hit it, you hit it exactly

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Speaker 1: right on the head that's what you want. You want

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Speaker 1: somebody that's in the know, because looks as a coach

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Speaker 1: in the National Football League, you're concentrated on what is

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Speaker 1: going on with in your world. But everybody's world in

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Speaker 1: the National Football League is interconnected. Everybody's interconnected. That's just

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Speaker 1: the way it is. You know, it's a large enterprise,

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Speaker 1: but it's a small group of people, and so you

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Speaker 1: don't have time to be cognizant of what's going on

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Speaker 1: with every other club that maybe retained to what you

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Speaker 1: were doing, whether it's personnel wise, you know, whether it's

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Speaker 1: it's something that's going on that that is going to

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Speaker 1: change the fabri in the fabric of the league. I mean,

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Speaker 1: he always always had the respect of ownership, and so

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Speaker 1: a guy like this was valuable. And again as he

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Speaker 1: didn't just cozy up to everybody, he wasn't like that.

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Speaker 1: I mean, you know, he moret was not you know

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Speaker 1: some of these people in this league that do this

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Speaker 1: now or pollinators. I mean they just jumped from person

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Speaker 1: to person to person, getting any type of information they

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Speaker 1: can and then put it out there like it's theirs.

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Speaker 1: He was never like that. He was really first of all,

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Speaker 1: he loved the National Football League still does. But he

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Speaker 1: was someone that you could intimately trust with what was

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Speaker 1: going on. And if he and if he told you

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Speaker 1: something in confidence, you know, he expected you to keep

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Speaker 1: it in confidence. And if you ever broke that trust,

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Speaker 1: well then you just weren't involved anymore, you know. And

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Speaker 1: so he's he was a guy that you knew when

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Speaker 1: he called you ask your opinion, or when he called

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Speaker 1: and said are you aware of this? Or when he

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Speaker 1: called and ask you about something that was going on

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Speaker 1: within you within your team, well then you knew that

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Speaker 1: there was a reason for it. He didn't just do

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Speaker 1: it to get a hot take and to put the

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Speaker 1: mort report out there, you know, with a hot take.

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Speaker 1: He did it to generally break break news that was

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Speaker 1: really important to the National Football League. He never was

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Speaker 1: a guy that just broke news just to break news.

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Speaker 1: When you talk about the scope of your world as

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Speaker 1: an NFL coach, does that expand to all thirty two teams?

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Speaker 1: Like as a coach, do you care what's going on

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Speaker 1: across the league or do you kind of stick within

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Speaker 1: your division or kind of the teams that are on

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Speaker 1: your schedule from year to year? How wide is your

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Speaker 1: universe from season to season. Do you care what's going

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Speaker 1: on everywhere? Really? You absolutely do. You have to because

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Speaker 1: everything's connect. It's just like the draft. You know, to

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Speaker 1: say you're only going to be able to draft eight

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Speaker 1: or nine or ten players, Well, your zero hit on

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Speaker 1: those when you pick them, and then you're zeroed in

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Speaker 1: on those when you're developing him. But you have to

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Speaker 1: know what everybody else is doing too, because you may

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Speaker 1: you've only picked eight, nine or ten players, but there's

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Speaker 1: been two hundred and seventy five players picked they're going

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Speaker 1: to be in the league. So you have to be

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Speaker 1: aware of everybody of everything. And as I said, that

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Speaker 1: goes back to what I was a saying, this is

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Speaker 1: a major, major business, but the circle of people within

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Speaker 1: the business, when you start thinking about it, for the

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Speaker 1: job that you do, for the job that actually does,

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Speaker 1: for the job that I do here now, for the

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Speaker 1: job that I did as a head coach, there's only

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Speaker 1: one of thirty two. That's it. That's not very many humans.

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Speaker 1: There's more humans than that in the world and so

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Speaker 1: are yeah, and so that's it's a very small circle

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Speaker 1: in a very big enterprise. For someone like Chris Mortenson, reporters,

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Speaker 1: are you know, reporters, they report on what's going on,

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Speaker 1: but he's also been able to impact the league in

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Speaker 1: some ways because of his longevity, because of how well

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Speaker 1: he is trusted aout the league. What are some of

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Speaker 1: the ways that we see maybe the fingerprints of Chris

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Speaker 1: Mortenson throughout what we see now in the modern football era. Well,

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Speaker 1: I mean there there didn't used to be as many

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Speaker 1: as many NFL shows that are primetime shows on all

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Speaker 1: the different networks when Chris Mortenson started. When they when

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Speaker 1: they started, it was the more report. Yeah, that's what

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Speaker 1: everybody went. That's why you had ESPN. That's why you

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Speaker 1: went to ESPN to find that. So all of this,

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Speaker 1: all of these things came from the genesis of Chris

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Speaker 1: Mortenson and his his ability to be able to, you know,

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Speaker 1: to go from club to club to club to club,

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Speaker 1: to talk to people, to be able and then to

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Speaker 1: be able to report it in a professional manner, but

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Speaker 1: also in a manner that people were interested. You know,

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Speaker 1: people were being able to get a little bit of

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Speaker 1: a peak behind the curtains sometimes and some of what's

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Speaker 1: going on because you know, the curiosity of what goes

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Speaker 1: on twelve months out of the year in the National

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Speaker 1: Football League as a mens, it's it's great, you know,

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Speaker 1: and as I in this league over half my dult life,

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Speaker 1: I know what it's like and it's extremely important that

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Speaker 1: the people that are putting that information out are legitimately

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Speaker 1: putting out trustworthy and relevant and truthful information. What's happened

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Speaker 1: now is as many people as you have, you have

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Speaker 1: to be able to sift through all of the ones

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Speaker 1: that maybe not quite as reliable or not quite as truthful.

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Speaker 1: With mort you never had to worry. So here is

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Speaker 1: our conversation with Chris Mortenson, coach MATH. This next guest

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Speaker 1: is a personal favorite of mine. I am so excited

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Speaker 1: to have him on our show. Chris Mortenson from ESPN

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Speaker 1: is here with us today. Mart Thank you so much

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Speaker 1: for taking some time to chat with us. We are

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Speaker 1: we're excited to talk about you in your career and

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Speaker 1: some of the big stories that you've been able to

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Speaker 1: cover throughout your time at ESPN and especially with the

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Speaker 1: Nation No Football League. I mean, you are an institution

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Speaker 1: when you talk about sports. When people think of the

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Speaker 1: National Football League, Chris Mortenson is one of the names

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Speaker 1: that they think about, not only in the media world,

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Speaker 1: but in association with the shield itself. What does it

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Speaker 1: mean to you that that is the legacy that you

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Speaker 1: have been able to create? It means I'm old, or

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Speaker 1: like to me, it's it means you're ancient. You're old.

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Speaker 1: I have covered the league for a good bit and uh,

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Speaker 1: it's certainly, uh been an honor covering the league because

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Speaker 1: it's and Coach MC I could speak directly to him

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Speaker 1: in this matter, you would understand it too, Amy, which

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Speaker 1: is it's about relationships. We're covering a great game, but

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Speaker 1: along the path you just build relationships. Yes, I'm in

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Speaker 1: the in the news business, or they then they change

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Speaker 1: that the entire Basically, you're a reporter and you're an analyst.

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Speaker 1: Kind of have two hands, but you gotta be careful

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Speaker 1: about you not blur one with the other depending on

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Speaker 1: the story. But it's been it's been fun. And uh,

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Speaker 1: when you started asking about stories that I've covered that

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Speaker 1: I remember, I don't remember that, man, because every year

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Speaker 1: just it just moved so fast. It moved so fast, right,

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Speaker 1: you know, mort Amy's right, I mean, you are, you're

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Speaker 1: an icon in this business and the fact that you

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Speaker 1: really never have I mean when when I first came

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Speaker 1: into the league in nineteen eighty six. You know, I

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Speaker 1: was the youngest coach on Mike Ditka's staff. Of course

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Speaker 1: was fortunate enough to come in with a great football team.

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Speaker 1: But the thing that I always appreciated about you, and

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Speaker 1: then when our friendship started to form, is that you

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Speaker 1: treated everybody, whether it was a Mike Ditka or whether

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Speaker 1: it was a David McGinnis in his first even crack

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Speaker 1: at the National Football League. You always treated everybody coaches

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Speaker 1: with such respect and I think that's why the coaches

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Speaker 1: trusted you, and you were really one of the first

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Speaker 1: news breakers in this league, and I think with that

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Speaker 1: comes a lot of trust. What are some of the

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Speaker 1: things that you could you could impart to a younger person. Now,

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Speaker 1: internet and it's a different world. But just what you said.

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Speaker 1: I love what you said about relationships because that's what

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Speaker 1: it is all about. How did you learn that more? Well,

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Speaker 1: you know what, I had an advantage in that manner

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Speaker 1: and that Listen. When I started in this business, I

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Speaker 1: was a newspaperman out in Los Angeles at my hometown

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Speaker 1: newspaper and it was called the Daily Bridge. I think

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Speaker 1: about that. Yes, that means we were near the ocean,

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Speaker 1: but it was also near my hometown of Torrens, California.

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Speaker 1: And so I think when you cover high school football

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Speaker 1: I did for four and a half years, and junior

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Speaker 1: college football, you kind of forced to build relationships because

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Speaker 1: back then nobody was handing you anything, and as you know,

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Speaker 1: there were no cell phones and social media and texting.

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Speaker 1: You had to do your own work. You had to

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Speaker 1: build your relationships, yes, on hard line phone and a

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Speaker 1: lot of it in person. You had to judge the

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Speaker 1: sidelines on a Friday. I get to see people I

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Speaker 1: face to face. But the other thing is that I

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Speaker 1: didn't actually covered Major League baseball for ten years before

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Speaker 1: I crossed over to football. So, Amy, do you understand

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Speaker 1: how old I am and what I'm saying is the

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Speaker 1: advantage I had and doing that even though I'd covered

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Speaker 1: high school football and junior college football and played a

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Speaker 1: little high school football. When you take the league, I

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Speaker 1: asked at the end of ten years covering Major League baseball,

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Speaker 1: when I got married and my wife was pregnant with

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Speaker 1: our first child, I said, I got to figure out

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Speaker 1: what my life is going to be about, you know,

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Speaker 1: I got to find out what fatherhood and being a

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Speaker 1: husband's going to be about. So I actually went to

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Speaker 1: our sports hitter I was then at the Atlanta Journal Constitution,

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Speaker 1: and said, would you let me cover the Falcons this

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Speaker 1: year that was nineteen eighty five and get off baseball

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Speaker 1: so I can figure this thing out? And he was

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Speaker 1: banned the Ckenzie he's since passed away, but he allowed

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Speaker 1: me to do that. And the advantage I had Amy

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Speaker 1: and coach Mack that covering the Falcons and Dan Henning

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Speaker 1: was the coach. Then I knew I didn't know much,

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Speaker 1: so I would actually literally go to training camp. I mean,

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Speaker 1: I lived in Atlanta, but I went out there and

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Speaker 1: you know, stated what we called the Falcon Inn and

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Speaker 1: a piece of land that you know now has got

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Speaker 1: all kinds of houses on them and nothing else is

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Speaker 1: going on. And I asked Dan, and now Dan had

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Speaker 1: come out Joe gibbstaff coach Mac. Yeah, I asked Dan,

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Speaker 1: I said, Dan, I said, I don't know anything. You know,

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Speaker 1: if there's a sack, I mean, am I going to

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Speaker 1: just sit there and say it's it's it's on the

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Speaker 1: offensive line, it's just a bad you know, whatever it's.

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Speaker 1: And he says, he says, if you're willing to come here,

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Speaker 1: late at night every night on training camp. By the way,

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Speaker 1: this is all either myself or one of my assistant

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Speaker 1: coaches will spend half hour sixty minutes with you and

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Speaker 1: take you to the BA basics. So they're what am

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Speaker 1: I accomplishing. I'm accomplishing relationships, and then I'm also accomplishing

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Speaker 1: learning the fundamentals and basics of a game. Knowing that

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Speaker 1: I'm limited and I will always be limited because of

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Speaker 1: all the sports I have covered, the one that is

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Speaker 1: most complicated from you from a reporter standpoint to catch

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Speaker 1: up and kind of like learn is pro football, and

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Speaker 1: what it did for me was allowed me to I

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Speaker 1: would hope to right at that time. Just write a

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Speaker 1: better game story. Just do well. When I'm talking to

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Speaker 1: young journalists now, I always tell them, do the little

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Speaker 1: things each day. Do the little things sturb your readers.

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Speaker 1: It doesn't matter how many you have. It could be one,

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Speaker 1: it could be two million. Imagine that it's just one.

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Speaker 1: It's an audience of one. That is still the more

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Speaker 1: important audience. And go ahead and what this day was

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Speaker 1: all about. The stories build like that. If you go

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Speaker 1: on looking for big things, you won't find them, or

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Speaker 1: you'll mess them up. Do the little things right each day.

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Speaker 1: And what I did in that process you build your

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Speaker 1: relationships more. That story makes me so happy because that's

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Speaker 1: what coach Mack did for me when he started with

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Speaker 1: the Tennessee Titans as our color analyst. I said, hey,

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Speaker 1: I don't know much about the sport. I've never played

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Speaker 1: it before. Can you teach me? And Mac agreed to

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Speaker 1: sit down with me every day and make me run

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Speaker 1: the cowboy and watch tape with me and actually taught

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Speaker 1: me football real live xes and knows football that I

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Speaker 1: mean as a woman, I never would have had the

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Speaker 1: chance to understand. Nobody would if they hadn't actually played

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Speaker 1: the game. So it brings me joy that you had

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Speaker 1: someone in your life who did that same thing. Yes,

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Speaker 1: and there's great advantage to it, as I mentioned, And

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Speaker 1: even then you just learned that what a it's a

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Speaker 1: it's a great game. Now back the game has changed

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Speaker 1: and Coach Mac knows this. I was talking to my

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Speaker 1: good friend, probably my best friend, Tom Jackson earlier today

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Speaker 1: and Tom played Denver BRONC. He was thirty years with

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Speaker 1: ESPN and he's a special person in my life and

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Speaker 1: we were talking and we were talking about a couple

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Speaker 1: of his former teammates, like Randy bradish are a linebacker

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Speaker 1: who should be in the Hall of Fame. Yeah, but

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Speaker 1: it's not. And we were talking about, to be honest

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Speaker 1: with you, head injuries, and we were talking how football back,

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Speaker 1: as you know, we used to have two days in

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Speaker 1: training camps. You know, every practice was basically contact. And

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Speaker 1: I can remember standing on the sidelines of my first

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Speaker 1: Falcon's practice and Jill Wriggs ran past me on the

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Speaker 1: sideline and then somebody came over and I wouldn't say

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Speaker 1: I think he put his head down, ran over a safety.

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Speaker 1: And I remember thinking, my goodness, if people who were

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Speaker 1: up in the stands there at home watching television understood

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Speaker 1: the speed of physicality of these football players, they would

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Speaker 1: be frightened. But they would also be a great respect

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Speaker 1: for what these guys do, play after play, day after day,

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Speaker 1: week after weeks. So he gained a respect for the

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Speaker 1: game that is being played and the game coach, because

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Speaker 1: as a coach, you know what players want to be

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Speaker 1: coached for the most part. Coach mac im raw, Sure, no,

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Speaker 1: you're everything that you are saying is just striking such

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Speaker 1: a chord with me. And keep going more but you're

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Speaker 1: one hundred percent right. They what players want is to

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Speaker 1: be coached. And I mean when I first got to

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Speaker 1: the Bears, Mike Singletary first ballot Hall of Famer, you know,

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Speaker 1: I asked him. I sat down with him more and

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Speaker 1: I called him. I said, we need to go to

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Speaker 1: dinner because I need to know what I need to

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Speaker 1: do to earn you guys respect. I was the youngest

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Speaker 1: coach on the staff. We only had eight coaches. I

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Speaker 1: was dropped into a room with Singletary, oldest, Wilson, Wilber Marshall,

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Speaker 1: al has Yeah, Ron Rivera. I said, what do I

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Speaker 1: have to do? And he said, coach three things. When

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Speaker 1: we were at dinner, Always tell us the truth. Always

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Speaker 1: tell us the truth. Number two, if you don't know,

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Speaker 1: just say you don't know, and he said we'll figure

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Speaker 1: it out together. And number three is he said, let

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Speaker 1: us know from our hearts, just not from your mouth,

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Speaker 1: that you care for us as much as people as

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Speaker 1: you do that number on our back and he said,

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Speaker 1: if if you'll do that, we will get along fine.

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Speaker 1: Well that was some great bullet points for me because

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Speaker 1: thirty six years later, here I still am, and I

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Speaker 1: think that's what you're talking about two. You have to

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Speaker 1: make yourself it's not vulnerable. You just have to be true.

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Speaker 1: You just have to be honest. And that's one thing Amy,

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Speaker 1: I'm an embarrass Coach Mack here. Please, That's one thing

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Speaker 1: I've always appreciated about him, boss, honesty and to be honest.

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Speaker 1: You from a reporting standpoint, I may have told the story.

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Speaker 1: Have you told the story of the Chicago Bears and

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Speaker 1: your head coach? Well, I was head coach for six

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Speaker 1: hours and didn't know it for three more. And you

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Speaker 1: know I've been through it pretty deep, So go ahead

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Speaker 1: with your part. But yes, I've told it because it's

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Speaker 1: something that uh and you were one of the guys

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Speaker 1: that that contacted me and and said, you know what,

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Speaker 1: Coach Mac, I really I really appreciate and and I

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Speaker 1: recognize your integrity in this and I want you to

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Speaker 1: know that I stand behind you on this. Go ahead. Well,

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Speaker 1: it was just really it was the case of word.

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Speaker 1: You know, Coach Mack was the leading candidate to be

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Speaker 1: Bariss coach. In fact, they were going to basically they

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Speaker 1: hired him, or they thought they hired him until Coach

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Speaker 1: Mack arrived. I think with your agent, I can't remember

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Speaker 1: who it was, but all of a sudden it was like, oh,

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Speaker 1: you know, we'll have a prescott. But sure they come

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Speaker 1: on here and sign your contract. Oh whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

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Speaker 1: We talked about my contract, if I if I if

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Speaker 1: I recollect problem? No, you're recollecting right, And as I said,

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Speaker 1: and I will, you know, because I've told these guys

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Speaker 1: this story before. But for me to do that and

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Speaker 1: then to to get the affirmation from someone like you

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Speaker 1: in the league that called and said because look and

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Speaker 1: I and I said, I can't compromise my honesty, my integrity,

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Speaker 1: and my dignity just to take a job. And especially

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Speaker 1: in Chicago, you know, because you know they were hiring

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Speaker 1: me because you know I was an up and coming,

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Speaker 1: good young coach. I was one of dick because guys,

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Speaker 1: but the way I mean, and I would never have

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Speaker 1: any chance to last in Chicago. But when when I

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Speaker 1: got affirmation from the type of people as yourself in

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Speaker 1: the in the were the top of the sports world

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Speaker 1: in the media that said, coach Mike, you not only

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Speaker 1: did the right thing, we admire you for doing this thing.

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Speaker 1: And I got it from the league office too, that

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Speaker 1: meant the world to me. But it look, if I'd

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Speaker 1: just rolled over and taken that thing, I wouldn't have

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Speaker 1: lasted a year. Well, and our job in the media

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Speaker 1: is not necessarily to advise you. Yeah, I think as

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Speaker 1: you go to relationship and you're in the casual moments

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Speaker 1: to sit there and say, man, really respect you, and

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Speaker 1: you know, it's just my opinion you did the right thing.

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Speaker 1: And I know this much. Maybe who knows, maybe you

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Speaker 1: would have gotten a chance, but give you an opportunity

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Speaker 1: to become the head coach for one Pat Hillman, which

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Speaker 1: you will always remember as maybe one of the greatest

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Speaker 1: honors of your life. So doing things the right way

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Speaker 1: can lead to something unforeseen in your futures, to something

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Speaker 1: that is truly treasured. Now, listen, we have the same

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Speaker 1: things we do, think decisions on careers and when to

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Speaker 1: open the door, when the door opened, when not to

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Speaker 1: walk through. But you know, it's just it's and I

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Speaker 1: mentioned earlier, it's just people have asked me, honestly, like

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Speaker 1: what it were the big stories that you've done along

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Speaker 1: the path. I don't sit down and make a list

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Speaker 1: of the big stories that done. I'm just doing my

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Speaker 1: job on a daily basis, and I will say this,

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Speaker 1: I know a lot more than I've ever told That's

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Speaker 1: that's so great. That's so great. And that's why I

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Speaker 1: value our friendship so much, is because we can sit,

431
00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:46,600
Speaker 1: we can sit and talk. But the thing about it

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00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:48,720
Speaker 1: is more And I can say this, and I think

433
00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:51,800
Speaker 1: you will agree. I am the same way. I know

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00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:54,440
Speaker 1: much more than I talk about. But that's the reason

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00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:58,000
Speaker 1: people trust us, because we don't talk, you know, unless

436
00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:01,280
Speaker 1: it's a it's appropriate. And that's why I've always respected you.

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00:23:01,359 --> 00:23:03,520
Speaker 1: I mean, you've always known so much, and when you

438
00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:06,720
Speaker 1: wanted to know what was happening behind the scenes, I

439
00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:10,240
Speaker 1: would tell you everything, knowing that you would only say

440
00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:14,000
Speaker 1: what you thought would be beneficial or for what was real.

441
00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:16,440
Speaker 1: But you weren't ever in it for a hot take.

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00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:19,359
Speaker 1: And to be in your position all of these years

443
00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:23,480
Speaker 1: and not be a hot take person and one instant gratification,

444
00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:26,000
Speaker 1: I think these young journalists could learn a whole lot

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00:23:26,119 --> 00:23:29,240
Speaker 1: from that. Yeah, but Coach, we are now in the

446
00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:33,320
Speaker 1: era of the hot take. It's not the majority of

447
00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:37,240
Speaker 1: young journalists out there, and the frontier is so much different,

448
00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:40,719
Speaker 1: and I think it's more difficult. Where people were walking

449
00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:44,080
Speaker 1: into our business now because of the real time element

450
00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:47,520
Speaker 1: of say Twitter or whatever, Instagram. I'm not gonna sound

451
00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:51,240
Speaker 1: like coach Belichick can start making up names for social media,

452
00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:54,879
Speaker 1: but I think it's just more difficult right now. In fact,

453
00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:58,680
Speaker 1: you know, to be honest, I've used this analogy many times.

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00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:00,720
Speaker 1: You know, Adams Chapter is king of the hill right now,

455
00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:03,800
Speaker 1: he's king of the mountain. He's my partner at ESPN. Yes,

456
00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:07,320
Speaker 1: they hired him consultation with me several years ago. And

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00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:11,840
Speaker 1: I know this much, he and I. I'm just saying

458
00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:14,560
Speaker 1: this is a hypothetical. If we heard the same news

459
00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:17,720
Speaker 1: at the same time, he would have it typed up

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00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:21,400
Speaker 1: and tweeted two minutes or three minutes before I'd even

461
00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:23,920
Speaker 1: have a chance to tech the first letter. That's how

462
00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:31,199
Speaker 1: fastest thumbs are. That's pretty incredible. You've been able to

463
00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:35,280
Speaker 1: witness so much, whether it's the evolution of sports journalism,

464
00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:38,800
Speaker 1: but also the evolution of the NFL and the entity

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00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:41,439
Speaker 1: that it has become, not only as a game but

466
00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:45,440
Speaker 1: also as a business. What have you seen or noticed

467
00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:49,560
Speaker 1: is the biggest change in the National Football League now

468
00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:53,639
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty two. More than anything, I believe that

469
00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:57,000
Speaker 1: the business model drives every decision that is made in

470
00:24:57,040 --> 00:24:59,879
Speaker 1: the league. It's maybe a little bit of an overstatement,

471
00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:03,240
Speaker 1: and maybe that's the way I'm naive to think that's

472
00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:07,280
Speaker 1: the way it would not become. I mean, other words,

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00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:08,959
Speaker 1: you would hope that maybe it would be more like

474
00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:13,879
Speaker 1: eighty percent or seventy five percent. But look at the combine.

475
00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:17,159
Speaker 1: What did we hear about before the comrades certain players

476
00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:19,359
Speaker 1: agents were gonna hold out certain one hundred and fifty

477
00:25:19,359 --> 00:25:22,679
Speaker 1: players because they we're gonna have a bubble or whatever.

478
00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:26,359
Speaker 1: But the reason why the league or the combine folded

479
00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:30,080
Speaker 1: is because they put the combine on primetime television. In

480
00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:32,880
Speaker 1: terms of the on field workouts, and if you've ever

481
00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:36,760
Speaker 1: been inside the stadium, as this coach Max certainly has,

482
00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:40,320
Speaker 1: when those workouts they are going on, there's no energy there.

483
00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:45,720
Speaker 1: It's business. And that's kind of the way I like it,

484
00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:49,719
Speaker 1: you know. In other words, the reason why you know,

485
00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:53,800
Speaker 1: we had that dispute fold is because television talks. He's

486
00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:55,920
Speaker 1: never paying the dollars, said, hey, you know, we want

487
00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:59,120
Speaker 1: to keep this in primetime. I don't think it's necessarily

488
00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:02,359
Speaker 1: a good thing that the business model drives the majority

489
00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:05,240
Speaker 1: of decisions, and that makes me a little bit naive,

490
00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:08,800
Speaker 1: but not anymore. Well, Mort, as I say, and Amy

491
00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:11,120
Speaker 1: and I don't throw this around off and you are

492
00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:14,159
Speaker 1: truly an icon in this business. I consider you a

493
00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:17,560
Speaker 1: very good friend. I appreciate you. This has been just

494
00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:21,119
Speaker 1: valuable goal for us. Our listeners going to love this.

495
00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:23,399
Speaker 1: You know how much I appreciate you more. I'm going

496
00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:26,600
Speaker 1: to go to the USFL Games in Birmingham and hopefully

497
00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:28,959
Speaker 1: you and I can sit together again like we did

498
00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:31,879
Speaker 1: when the Alliance was in Birmingham. I'm looking forward to it.

499
00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:35,960
Speaker 1: I've always appreciated your friendship. Mort same hair coach, and

500
00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:38,720
Speaker 1: he was very good talking to you too, And I

501
00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:40,680
Speaker 1: hope you guys have a good rest of your week

502
00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:52,560
Speaker 1: and go get him Mac. Such a good conversation. I

503
00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:56,800
Speaker 1: was a little bit a neatle bit starstruck because he's

504
00:26:56,840 --> 00:27:00,399
Speaker 1: someone that I have watched and gotten information from for

505
00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:03,520
Speaker 1: so long. So it was just it was very cool

506
00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:06,719
Speaker 1: to have the opportunity to have a conversation with him

507
00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:08,720
Speaker 1: and get to know him a little better. What a

508
00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:11,199
Speaker 1: great human being. Yeah, that's I'm glad you said that,

509
00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:14,800
Speaker 1: because he is. He's always been in the top tier professionally,

510
00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:18,680
Speaker 1: but as a human being as a person the best Mac.

511
00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:22,800
Speaker 1: I think that this series that we have created here

512
00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:26,120
Speaker 1: is kind of legit. I think it's pretty good. I'm

513
00:27:26,119 --> 00:27:30,120
Speaker 1: just happy that then you said that we created We

514
00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:32,399
Speaker 1: created it because you got applause, you know, in one

515
00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:35,520
Speaker 1: of the segments that we did because you said the

516
00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:40,360
Speaker 1: great idea that I had speaking of Amy Wells. And

517
00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:43,880
Speaker 1: you did have the idea. But I appreciate you including

518
00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:47,280
Speaker 1: me in the wei. We have switched from a dictatorship

519
00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:51,159
Speaker 1: to more of a team like atmosphere. Glad to be

520
00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:54,560
Speaker 1: on your teams. As time goes by, I'm starting to

521
00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:58,160
Speaker 1: realize this is a team effort here, and I feel

522
00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:00,800
Speaker 1: it's important to let you write on my coattail. Thanks

523
00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:06,000
Speaker 1: so for Chris Mortenson, Coach Mack. Of course, I'm Amy

524
00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:09,200
Speaker 1: well Thank you for listening to the Titans Amy and

525
00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:10,440
Speaker 1: Coach Mac podcast