Welcome to NFL Daily, where this year it's more like partly cloudy Monday. I don't know. I'm Greg Rosenthal. I'm here in my garage and I'm talking to the only person I wanted to talk to on the day where NFL coaches traditionally get fired. But yeah, this year it didn't happen quite as much. It's our NFL national insider Ian Rappaport back on NFL Daily, what's up being.
I'm sorry there weren't as many firings as you would like. No, I don't how how many is like an acceptable number? You what were you rooting for?
I think it's great. I was going to ask you off the top now, Drod Mayo happened Sunday night. We had a couple in the season, and so it was just one head coach, Doug Peterson that lost his job today before I kind of go through a couple of different situations and just ask you your opinion. Do you think there is any league wide reason maybe for a little more continuity this year than most.
Yeah, I sort of do so. I think a couple of reasons.
One, I think owners they've always hated dead money, right, like dead money for players something something we talk about a lot, but dead money for coaches is you know, significant, and there was a time when you know, it was a big topic at the owners meetings, like in the room with owners of just like how much dead money they are paying? And like is that really worth it? Is that really the best way? Is that really the
best way to do it? And when you fire a coach and then maybe you fire another coach, there's a lot of dead money.
And like if you're you.
Know the Raiders, who as of right now, I mean they have Antonio Pierce. Seems like he said to come back. It's what he sounds like. We haven't that confirmed, that's what he sounds like, but you know he's they're still paying Dave Ziggler and Josh McDaniels. You know, if you're the Raiders, then you fire him and then it's like two staffs you're firing plus all the It's like it's
a lot of money. And so I think sort of that awakening or whatever for owners to be like how much in dead money are we paying probably affected some things. And then there are always trends, right like this year there were a couple of first time head coaches that really struggled, right Brian Callahan, Drive Mayo. I mean there's always there's always some obviously Jets five Robertshal he was a first time head coach. It feels like the trend
is shifting more toward veteran coaches. Like that's a trend and that basically is sort of what tends to happen.
But I also feel like.
We're shifting toward patients, like the Giants exhibited patients because there's been so much flux over the last couple of years. I think owners are like, let's just try to be patient and maybe that works this time, which I am for patients, I think there should be.
More of it, So maybe that's where we're going.
Just you just want to calm Monday, which I don't blame you.
I do want no I do want to come. I do, And I definitely root for my own I definitely root for my own self interests. But I also think that like like I think about this with coaches and quarterbacks, right, Like, you can look across the league at the quarterbacks who we knew for sure sucked, who are now starting for playoff teams, right like, from Sam Darnold to Baker Mayfield.
I mean, there's Jordan Love.
I think everyone watched his first the COVID start, and we're like, that guy sucks and he's really really good. Sometimes when you wait or you surround people with the right things, they become good. And like I think patients sometimes can show that and unveil that, and I wish teams showed more of it. So yeah, I mean, I root for my own self interest to have a calmer Monday, but I also think it's the right way of doing.
Okay, let's go through in one by one. Okay, Jaguars, they fired Doug Peterson this morning. That was not a surprise, right, And it's funny you mentioned about the continuity and not wanting to pay all the dead money. I think one quote got the attention of a lot of Jaguars fans. Shod Cohn, who is on a press conference on a strange looking zoom said, what is a complete overhaul? He asked, because they're asking, why did you not make a complete overhaul?
They announced they fired Doug Peterson. This will be the fifth head coach that con has had, and yet they've only had two gms or executives over all that time. And they announced they are keeping Trent Balkis, or that Trent Balki will be assisting in firing the new head coach. So you can put that together, shod Con says.
Quote, what is the hiring?
Not?
Sorry, yes, sorry about that. I mean though eventually that's what happens to Trent Balki's coaches. Hey, now this is what Con said. What is a complete overhaul? You look at it, health and wellness of the player's medical, stats, analysis, scouting, number of other elements. Are all those areas we've changed, We've improved. Got eighty five people working on that side, and you're gonna say I'm going to get rid of them and find eighty five new people better than that.
That's like s yourself in the foot. And my answer to that was no, you can keep most of those people or allow the new personnel guy to kind of form it his way. You don't have to keep every you know, you don't have to change all those guys if you fire Trend Balkis. Were you surprised that Trent Balki ends up staying here?
Definitely not. I expected this.
Now there are things that I expect that don't end up happening, right, Like I was, you and I talked about this offline, but as of three weeks ago, Jrowden Mayo wasn't going anywhere.
Then you know, look there's the on field. It's been a disaster.
So the fact that he was fired, I think, you know, I don't think it was warranted, but in the end at least I understand, Like, I get it, the product was not good, so but I expected Trent Balky to
be around. It's a good roster. It is one that I think is really talented, and you know, Trent pal Key has shown the ability to stick around, to stick around and to maintain you know, his status to be in charge and to me like, look, if this coaching staff isn't good enough, right, if this coaching staff is one that doesn't take advantage of the talent they have, then they should probably move on and keep the people
who put it really talented group of players. Like this is what Seaon Cohn is essentially forced to make these kinds of decisions, say is the right, what's the problem, and get rid of the problem and keep something that helps. Now, I think his quote is almost like like he's arguing something that wasn't asked, you know what I mean, like, yes, if you completely blow everything up like I guess, you would get rid of like the trainers. That's not what they mean. What they mean is why didn't you fire
the GM? And what he should have said was I don't think the GM was the problem. And you know this, the Trent Balkey situation has garnered a lot of discussion around the league, but most people believe the roster is good enough that if you take everything you knew about the GM away everything and you would say, should you keep the person who built this team? Most people have spoken with today said yes you should.
Wow, I don't know, I mean off.
Again, take everything away?
Just the gets of lines been a bit of a mess. You know, you got Brian Thomas here, but you sort of like swapped out, you know, one absolutely fantastic draft pick for you know what before was kind of a top heavy receiver group. They spent a lot of resources on the receiver room. So I hope that it would be good. Uh. They've had some injuries there certainly.
I mean, but but but think okay, I don't know.
Trayvon Walker over Aiden Hutchinson. They become a pretty good player though he's okay, like, you got a couple of good pass rushers. Sure, but he was there when Dave Caldwell was there, Balki, and this is it is a it's a lesson for people out there. It's a skill in life to be able to manage up. Your old friend Albert Beer from the old Patriots be a friend of me. Is that fair to say? No, he's friend friend?
Okay, he used, I don't like taking I don't like the term managing up, but go ahead.
There is a skill, I think to talking to billionaires. And ultimately, Trent Balki has the ownership's ear more than maybe the head coach does. And that's the case for a lot of general managers and personnel people and or executive vice presidents. And he's convinced him that it's a great roster. I don't know if I'm if I'm not convinced about that. And our friend John Shipley, who was on this podcast before the season, he writes for Sports Illustrated.
He talked to a coaching candidate who has been tied to the Jags who said, you know, as an unnamed source, like having Balki there makes them lesson interested in the job.
I get it.
I get it, But here's what I would say. I mean, first of all, there's only thirty two of them. So, like, you know, there was a time when Byron lef Wich was a hot head coaching candidate, and I don't know if he quote unquote turned down the Jaguars, but definitely made it known that he was not interested in proceeding and going further.
And I think that proved to be a mistake.
Like to me, you know, unless you know for sure, for sure, for sure that you are getting one, the thought of not taking one because of the reputation of a GM seems insane to me, because you just don't know if you're going to be in that position next year.
That's just that's just speaking in general.
Life is short though, too. And if you have a good situation, and maybe you're not only motivated by by the money and the power.
If you don't like money, I agree you should.
Right now, but not you know, if you're happy where you are, that there is a value in that. All right, let's go to the Giants. The Giants announce they're keeping Joshane and Brian Dable. John Mara, the owners, spoke to reporters. Let's just listen quickly to tomorrow on my I understand, believe me if that's not going to be the most popular decision in Giant Land, but you believe it's the right decisions for us going forward.
How long will it take to improve the product? John?
Better not take too long, Bruce, because I've just about run out of patients.
Shout out to Bruce Beck. Still getting it done. I mean he was getting it done twenty years ago when I first moved to New York.
Bruce Bec's sun was my camper when I was a camp counselor thirty years ago.
That's amazing. I think this is an example of what you were talking about about team that had gotten used to firing a coach every two years, and they literally have done that with McAdoo and Shermer and Joe Judge. And I can't say any of those firings were a mistake, but I do like that they're not splitting the two up. I have my doubts, but Mara credited the rookie class,
which was really good. That's absolutely a fair point to make, wanting to build on that, and then credited Dable as an offensive mine and that he's still the coach that was Coach of the Year a couple of years ago. So I don't hate it. I just think that expecting this team to be a playoff team next year is difficult. So they're going to be two and four or something like that. If that happens early next year, and the pressure, in the displeasure from the fans is just going to
be a ment. And yet I don't totally hate it, even if I'm not totally confident in the front office, especially.
Well, here's what I will saying. I hope this is the right move. I like a lot of those guys. I like Dayball.
I would say, I would say, yeah, I mean.
This is h hold on, it's a busy day.
It's a busy day. So I hope this is the right move.
I would agree if they start out badly next year, we're going to be in the same spot. But I think one thing that we've learned from a couple of different situations Commanders Texans, you get the right quarterback in there, things can flip pretty quickly. So if you believe in the coach and the GM and I don't believe Joe Shane was ever in trouble. But let's just talk about the coach. If you believe in Brian Daboll and you think you can turn this around, then you should do this.
And again, we're not going to know if this was the right decision. It's going to play out. It'll either be right or wrong, and it is what it is. But like, this is what owners should do. Stick to what you believe in, do all the research, trust the
people you hired, and keep going forward. Like I would agree unless lightning struck like Brian Dabele did not forget how to coach like so, I firmly believe he did not forget how It's not like he stopped giving efforts, he stopped doing so if you believe he is still the good coach you hired a couple of years ago, you should move forward with him and for them.
I hope that this is the right decision I feel.
I don't know if it was a bad at it, but watching Joe Sane on Hard Knocks made me feel like, you know, fans think that they could be a GM and it's just kind of a ridiculous notion, like I could do that, I could Watching that so actually made me think, actually, I think maybe I could, you know, I think it could.
You could not be a GM. No, let's let's I get it. So can I just say please? I get so annoyed with people.
Talking about how like you know that that hard knocks was negative, Like you know, no team's going to allow the hard knocks to be there, like for the Giants. Look, they did not make all the right decisions. I still agree with the decision to let Saquan go. I mean, I do not think he'd be the NFL rushing leader if he was on the Giants. And I think that, uh, you know, for where they were investing in the offensive line with money being finite, was a better choice.
I have no idea if I'm right or.
Wrong, but they had the opportunity to explain their decisions to all of their fans, for better or worse.
I think that was a good thing anyway, go ahead.
Although they spent you know, the same amount of money on like John running in Devin Singletary as Barkley, and it's just there's sometimes it's more than you're right, they would still be a bad team, and for the sake of the NFL, I'm really glad saquin Barkley left. I think the picks I.
Would wonder, and I would also wonder. Yeah, and I'll never know the answer to this if they match the offer, does he really stay? I will never I will never find out the answer to that.
My I don't know. I wonder, definitely the wonder.
Okay, that's fair and yeah, the trade for Brian Burns, he was solid, but they gave up a lot, paid a lot of money, so they'll want him to get better. Maras specifically mentioned the defense, so we're not sure if there might be a change of defensive coordinator with Shane Bowen. Will find out. You mentioned the Raiders. I do want to get to as many teams because I know you got to go fairly soon. He so. Anthonio Pierce held a press conference on Monday. We've seen this enough that
that doesn't necessarily mean he's staying. He had he had an interesting press conference. I watched some of it. He said he regrets not trusting his gut more often in his second year. Said he regrets his quarterback decision. Basically,
he wishes he started Aidan O'Connell from the beginning. Do you think he ultimately will be back because I'm watching that and I'm thinking this is weird, and Mark Davis is unpredictable, and Tom Brady's in the mix now, and it just wouldn't surprise me if next Tuesday or pick a random day, Ian Rap reports on NFL network and there is a change. It's just up in the air. I feel like too, even though he had that press.
Conference, well like anything else, until you get the official you know, word from Mark Davis or the organization or whatever, like, it's always up in the air. That's just, you know, teams sort of feel compelled now to announce or to have you know, Titans had a press conference and basically announced a press conference, and that was sort of the signal.
You know, that was a signal that.
Didnitely make a press release. So did the Dolphins, so did the Colts. Actually, you're right, it's kind of a new thing, that which is good.
I wrap it all up in a bow, you know, I think it's a good thing. A couple of things about Antonio Piers. You know, the vibe I get and I am no expert, but the vibe I get is early Dan Campbell, like they were so bad, they were one and seven. Like this guy sounds crazy. He's talked. I mean the clip that drives Tom Pelisero crazy is we talk about biting kneecaps.
It's like he's so much more than that.
It's like, yes, but that became a symbol of like this guy will do anything. That's the vibe I get with Antonio Piers. This team is so bad. They played so hard, They played so many young guys. You know, Aidan O'Connell obviously got injured this year and didn't start, but by the end was playing absolutely fine quarterback and they were in games. They won a couple, and we're in games. So like to me, as someone who likes people sticking with people, that is enough to where I
would say I would like to say more. Yeah, I would agree with you. We haven't heard the last of this because we haven't heard firmly. And finally, they played so many young guys and they're so bad that I think if they just take a little more time, they could actually be pretty good.
And I agree, I think they played hard. It was a credit to him all season. It's not a good roster. They're kind of the most they might right now along with the Titans. But the Titans have the number one overall pick. Be kind of the most forgettable team in the entire NFL, which is not a place you want to be, especially if you're a Raider. The Raiders, I just mean, like they're the Raiders, so they matter. But just watching the product every week and the players.
You mean, like who actually they are?
Yeah, just there, it's it's kind of a boring team. At least the Patriots, you know, they have they have a young quarterback. You know, there's different franchises have something that they don't have much going on there. I don't know, we'll see. Maybe he doesn't want to be paying five different staffs in Las Vegas either. Miami is one of those teams we talked about that did release the statement
Chris Greer is going to be back. Some people were locally were hoping maybe they would split, split the coach and the GM and maybe Greer, who has been there forever, would lose his job, but it's not going to happen. On top of that, Tyreek Hill changes his Twitter profile on Monday after having some statements about, you know, maybe exploring his options this offseason. After the game. We talked
about that a little on Sunday, Nights Show. But then on Monday, he made his Twitter profile his face poorly photoshopped onto Antonio Brown's body when Antonio Brown ran off the field in Tampa and was like, I'm out. I don't know, give me what you got on the Dolphins because I agree, patients kind of makes sense. Although Chris Greer has been there forever and it's going to be a big year for him and Mike mcdanner, and kind of where do you think the Tyreek Hill will go?
Well?
First of all, so you know, you say like it's gonna be a big year, like I guess, but this is sort of for better or worse. What it's always like, like they've been close at times, they have not gotten there. They have not won a playoff game in how long.
They were in it? What seven years ago, five years ago, It's been a long time. It's been over twenty years something, insane.
That's a long time.
And so like their team is okay, and they were close and they did not make the playoffs, and it's like here's the problem. Like I again, I don't know what the right move and what the wrong move is. It's so impossible to tell, which is why talk about like could you be a GM? Of course no, but I think about sometimes could I be an owner? I'm not rich enough, but could I be an owner? Because these are such unbelievably high stakes decisions and everyone comes after you if you're wrong, and.
There's no way to know.
Like Chris Carew has done good enough to have his team right at the brink of the playoffs, but they have not won a playoff game in forever. So it's like, at what point do you say, Art, we're just starting new, Like that's that's the problem right now. As far as the Tyreek Khill situation, here's what I would say. It's impossible to know what a player thinks right after the season. You missed the playoffs. Everyone's annoyed, everyone's frustrated, everyone's tired.
I wouldn't take anything that anyone says for sure, for sure, for sure, right after the season. But you know, Tyreek Kill making thirty million dollars a year coming off not his best year with a wrist injury at thirty something years old, Like, would somebody trade.
For him and pay him that money?
I have?
I for sure have some questions there.
Yeah, I don't think they would give up much. But even before this happened, I think it was a natural time to wonder if there was going to be a divorce. That it was a lot of ups and downs this year and he didn't play well, so I kind of expected him to I think if they would just take anything just to the salary, dump him potentially if another team was into him, although he just signed a new contract.
Signed a new contract, right, so it.
Makes it that makes it a little more complicated. Before you know, we had a bunch of coordinators that did lose their jobs. But I did want to get your opinion. And we haven't talked about this offline or anything, so I don't know what you think about it.
Okay.
Kevin O'Connell answered a question about the potential that other teams would be interested in Kevin O'Connell, who only has one year left on his contract after this year. Let's just listen to Kevin O'Connell. This is quick.
Yeah, I'm not really interested in kind of I guess I should say. Addressing the rumors or speculation. What I can't tell you is I love this team. I love everything about this organization, and this is where I want to be. This is this is where I want to keep coaching and leading.
Not a surprise. How how he answered that, What do you make of all this O'Connell stuff.
I don't know how much O'Connell stuff there is.
I mean, if you told me that, and I don't, I don't want to make could seem like I'm talking about someone else's report, because I don't like to do that, you know, because like there's plenty of my reports that someone could say stuff about. It's like, you know, would some team like to trade for the probable coach of the year? Like, yeah, I would think if a lot of teams had the choice, they would like to have the guy who's the coach of the year. I would
imagine he's a very good coach. If you say to me, would teams like to have this really good coach? I would say they probably would. We talk about coach trades every year. The Mike Tomlin rumors come up every single year. The only coach trades we've had in the last like two decades were a retired Bruce arians and a retired
Sean not a retired but a sabbatical Sean Payton. Right, unless I'm missing one, I don't know that anything involving a coach trade with a coach who's actually good is actual reality.
I do not believe that is reality.
And if you're the Vikings, why would you even consider anything that involves giving up on the coach of the year who has built everything.
It's just none of this seems real to me.
I agree, and I'm only speaking for myself, But just the fact that it went out there on broadcasts and Jay Glazer was the one who reported, and I'm speaking for myself here, not just the fact that it was out there, and don't I don't know how how it got out there or why it got out there, but generally I would guess that Kevin O'Connell hads like it didn't totally catch him by surprise that he got out there. Just the fact that it was put out there is
interesting to me. Now, whether that's leverage for money, whether that's leverage for power, I don't know. I don't know what it would be, but it's an interesting timing for it to happen right before the playoffs. All right, let's take a quick pause here. We'll be back on the other side with Ian talk more about the coaching careself. I know you've got to go. So I do want to get you on a couple of things in terms of the interviews that have been announced. Let's go through
a couple of them. Pats request Ben Johnson, that's all we've heard about, and he's going to do the interview. He's gonna interview with the Bears, and it's early. They can only do it remotely. Do you think which do you think of those two is more realistic?
Ben Johnson, the Bears of the Patriots?
Yeah?
I would say if I were.
Ben Johnson and you said to me, could you have the number one quarterback or the number three overall quarterback?
Like clear of what he wants?
You know?
I mean, I would like, there's Patriots are for sure not perfect now and the Bears are for sure not perfect, but they got both of them have quarterbacks that I think he could work with. So I would say that focus for Ben Johnson seems pretty clear to me.
Yeah, and there are Well would you ask which is more likely?
Is?
Would you yeah?
Which is more likely? Realistic?
I mean, I think like a lot of people that Mike Rabel is for sure the front runner in New England, So to me, the Bears is probably more realistic for Ben Jonson.
Okay, and yeah, they asked Robert Craft on Monday specifically about Mike Rabel, and he didn't really answer the question, which is fine. It's at this point in the process. The Bears also have Aaron Glenn, Anthony Weaver, Drew Petzig, and Mike Kafka on their interview list. I'm just going to read off the interview lists that's been reported for the Jets. This is a wild group. Josh McCown, Brian Flores. Nice to see he's not getting blackballed considering the lawsuit
with the league and all that stuff. Joe Brady, Aaron Glenn, Matt Naggi, Ron Rivera, who's already interviewed, Rex Ryan, who's going to Bobby Slowick, the Texans coordinator. Who are we sure that he's going to keep his job? Arthur Smith? And Mike Rabel. That is a long list between those two teams. And there's been a couple of Saints ones that have popped up to I guess I would just ask, like, which names catch your eye? What do you think is
an interesting match? Is there any like semi leaders in the clubhouse that maybe have a better chance than other guys that have been mentioned.
So I'd say for the Jets, I would not be surprised if they hired a coach who had previously already been a head coach. So I look at someone like Arthur Smith would be a good example. Did not treat the quarterback position properly in Atlanta led to really what they're in now. I mean thought he was gonna make it happen with Desma Ritter while building a strong team around him. It did not happen. They were close, but
it did not happen. He is really smart, he is very good at offense, He can lead, and he's been there before, so he you know, knows from learns from his mistakes, and he's been around Tomlin for a year. Like that's the kind of hire to me that for the Jets, which is a really really challenging job, Like, that's the kind of hire to me that would make
some sense. So I like, I don't know what Chuck You're gonna do, but if you told me they hired a veteran head coach or a former head coach, I would say that probably makes some sense to me.
How about the report and Jane Slater has it an NFL Network that the Bears have requested to talk to Mike McCarthy.
I mean that makes sense.
I would expect McCarthy to get a couple of requests. I mean why, like when a Super Bowl took a team to the playoffs many years in a row, Like I think Cowboys gonna let it happen.
I mean, I have certainly have some questions.
What do you think where do you think that goes? Because the Cowboys just open ended, like his contract is over. Obviously he's gonna have to figure that out first. Jerry Jones didn't sound on Sunday night like he was in a particular hurry, but.
They're not, like the Bears is going to be in a hurry.
Well, but the then he has to he has to answer this request essentially that he has to let Mike McCarthy not until interview or not?
Doesn't he eight days from now?
Okay?
Like Jerry, Like, I do not think anyone will bully Jerry Jones into accepting an interview request. So I no, I do not get the sense that they're in any hurry at all.
I mean, they have eight days.
So it's interesting you say the former coach thing in New York because of all those former coaches, Rabel. Rabel makes some sense to me with the Jets. If he wanted that job. We'll see Arthur Smith. I'm not I'm not to convince he brings much of a schematic advantage. Rex Ryan, don't think about it.
Schematic advantage. I'm sorry, right, okay.
Matt Naggi was another one there of all those guys that see.
Naggy is interesting to me too though, because like, look, Mitch, they made the playoffs right two years?
I think, right? Two out of four? Is that right?
Did they think they? Yeah? Because he got the m v P one year and the other one they had the double doink. I don't know if you remember that Nickelodeon MVP that Trubisky won, but it.
Was obviously classical. But so Managgi a really good example. Mitch Trubisky is, I think, at very most a backup. Naggie had us thinking he could be a starter or like a really viable starter in the NFL. Right did not end well, and I think by the end Naggie certainly lost himself play calling wise and leadership wise, Like did.
Not end well.
Right for any of them, I would be really curious to see what happened now that he's been back with any read what happens when he gets a second chance, Like I that to me is interesting, right.
Yeah, I was gonna say, of all those guys, hell, I almost would want to see McCarthy there with the Jets. But I don't think I have.
Not heard McCarthy with the Jets.
Yeah, I uh, that's true. Yeah, that has not been reported at all. I'll let you go. Ian. I know you got seventeen more hours of television to do.
I have twenty six text messages that I missed.
That's amazing. That's I mean, you wouldn't put it way, but I'm gonna go ahead and say, that's love. You know, that's how you show love.
Some ignoring text message as they say.
Did you happen to see while we were talking Jerry Jones. Jerry Jones on that Billy Bob Thornton show clip that has been going around. Treat yourself, just do it, Jerry Jones.
Possibly know what you mean by that?
Go to Mina Kimes's Twitter page and she she retweeted it. Today, he is on the New Billy Bob Thornton Show with John Ham, where he plays an oil man and he's got like a two minute scene with Billy Bob Thornton and John Ham and Jerry Jones axes ass off and you might even be moved. And I just finished people.
Just finish, and I'm going through it right now.
It's the same. It's the same. The same creator created this show.
Is it actually?
Yeah, it really is. There you go, Ian Rappaport, he does it all.
Thank you, Ian, thanks man. All right.
That was Ian Rappaport. I wanted to talk to him on this day, get as much as I could with him, but there was more that we didn't get to. And I'm just gonna run through it and then we'll send you on your way. Nice tight show today, and then we'll get everyone in the studio for QB Island season finale on Tuesday. I'm looking forward to that, all right. The coordinators were not safe, even if the head coaches were.
On Monday, the Bengals file fired lou and Aroumo, which makes a lot of sense based on how their defense played for most of the season. I thought the way they finished the year could potentially save him, but he struggled to develop younger players over the last few years, and sometimes even good coaches their run runs out in a certain locale. He will be a highly coveted coordinator in this hiring cycle, and the Bengals under Zach Taylor,
we'll look for someone new. Bit of a surprise for me was that the Seahawks fired offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. Mike McDonald was speaking on a radio hit this morning and said that his offensive vision was just different than
what he was seeing out of Ryan Grubb. And if you go back and you look at what they were saying before the season, what Dk metcalf was saying before the season, that they wanted to be a run first type of team that set up the passing game, and you think about the vision that Mike McDonald want as a defensive coach, I think it's their inability to really get that offensive line to be able to block for the run to run consistently at all was the difference there.
So they will have a new coordinator there. Gino Smith has had a new coordinator every year for a while now, and Mike McDonald was just a tad non comental when asked about Gino Smith on that radio broadcast, which is a change he's been so in Gino's camp. That might have something to do with the contract of Gina, which
is a little up in the air right now. He has one year left on it, but they could lower his cap number by extendium, so he might not have wanted to say anything that got him in trouble with that contract. But I have a feeling Gino Smith will be back. We'll find out who they hired. The Browns fired their offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey along with their offensive line coach Andy Dickerson. Not a surprise there that Dorsey, to me, was brought in to almost run a Deshaun
Watson style of offense. It didn't work. Some of the Browns players, including their offensive lineman Jack Conklin, even said after their final game of the season that essentially, we can't build an offense out of one person's talents. We got to do what we do well, and that essentially is saying we should have the play action under center type of offense that Kevin Stevanski has been great with and not try to make everything work for Deshaun Watson,
who probably will never play another snap again. These are my words, not Jack Conklin's words. There was a report or it came from the GM of the Browns that there was a complication in Deshaun Watson's recovery from a torn achilles when he came in for a physical. That raised my eyebrows a little bit. There there's been some news that Deshaun Watson had his contract reworked and that means they'll have a spot for him next season. I don't believe any of that. I think this is all theater.
I don't think Deshaun Watson will ever play for the Browns again. I personally don't think he'll even have a chance to compete again, and this injury almost gives them cover that we just won't see him for twenty twenty five, and they'll work out some way to either cut him in twenty twenty six or just get rid of him. And I have my doubts whether he'll play football again. We will see. So I just went through all the
coordinator firings, we talked about all the interviews. I didn't mention the Jets GM situation and which also has a diverse group of options. We had mentioned in the best Jim Naggy, the Senior Bowl Guy, got an interview there. John Robinson, the former Titans gm who used to work with Mike Frable interviewed. Lewis Riddick, who works for ESPN interview. Thomas de Mittroff, who now is working for Summer Sports, got an interview. He used to be with the Falcons.
Ryan Grigson, the guy who built the offensive line that helped Andrew Luck to retire, got an interview. Alec Hallaby, the assistant general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles forward thinking organization, was on Jordan rod Riegs the Playmakers podcast. You guys should check that out. That would be a good hire. Mike Greenberg, not the get Up host, but works for
the Bucks was another one. And yeah, one name I didn't mention just because the Jets coaching interview list is so wild was Brian Greese, the former Monday Night football commentator who's been a quarterbacks coach for the forty nine ers. I really get the sense that the Jets are just interviewing guys to like get information out of them. So we're gonna be tracking all these interviews. We'll see what happens throughout the course of this week. Some other minor
news are not surprising. Was out of Carolina, where Bryce Young was confirmed from Dave Canalis, it was good to hear him. Let's actually listen to Dave Canals.
Well, i'd say we'll take a week to week. We got no more weeks, you know. So yeah, Bryce is our quarterback.
You know.
I'm so proud of the way that he just took the challenge and he just grew every week. He just took new lessons, new things, applied it to his game.
So that that is Dave cadallis confirming without a shadow of doubt that Bryce Young is their guy. He's their franchise quarterback. And the other news there was that Giro Evro, who would have been a popular defensive coordinator option in this cycle despite a bad Panthers defense this year, they just don't have any players. He will be staying in Carolina, and Dave Canalis, who got to work with Evro as part of an arranged marriage, says he really likes ever
Roe and wants to keep him in the building. So that's all the hiring, that's all the firing. Unfortunately, we got some bad injury news for the Packers that Christian Watson will miss the playoffs. It's expected that he'll have surgery for a torn acl so that's really disappointing and changes how that offense looks. But we'll be talking about all the playoff games in our preview show later of
the week. As I mentioned on Tuesday, we're gonna tape it, trying to decide whether we put it out Tuesday afternoon or maybe overnight as we switch to the offseason. Get into that cycle. Let me know which you guys like. But either way, we got Weiss hopefully back in the building. We got Connie Wolf back in the building. We have Jordan Rodrigue of the Athletic Let's play the music. Eric I got a prep for some QB Island. It's gonna
be tough to choose. Yeah, thank you to Ian Rappaport once again, looking forward to getting back in this studio. Look when when Matt Naggy is interviewing for head coaching jobs and Trent Balkey is getting his coaches fired, you know football is back.