They around the NFL podcast release that takes cractly from the Chris Westley podcast studio. Everybody wants it. Why won't you just get the people what they won't don't have it? It's around the NFL. I am Dan Hansa, Scott Heroes here, Greg rosehal Mark Sessler, and back in the fourth chair the dude, Patrick Clayban. What's up, Bud? What's up? Guys? Good to be here. That good to be here with you.
It's great have you. Connie was supposed to be back this week, but she got pulled into a type of nefarious park Avenue event.
I mean, what did she She's hosting some sort of mysterious event in the big up.
If it's if it's costing our show at Connie Fox Wednesday, it's farious to me it's not costing it.
What Well, sure, we've got a whole different show Clay on Wednesday.
Well let me transition to that. So, mister contrarian, Yes we don't have Connie, but the fact that we can have Patrick here is even got a blessing. Not that you were a backup, but we announced previously Collin would be here, so it'd be weird. Just all of a sudden, Patrick is here instead.
We've got an incredible stable and we're just reversatile and Patrick.
We keep it pretty tight in terms of who's in the regular fourth chair. It's a it's a hollowed spot. It's clay today is Patrick's.
Patrick theme song. I think it's time.
Do we have any? Have any been sent in? Do we have any? Patrick?
Patrick put out a formal request.
Here's a formal request our vibrant Gmail account. Ye, what is the Gmail account? Is it?
Is it the ATM? It's the ATM podcast. Let me you know what I should probably know.
There's literally like an abbey road of patri just being sent to the wrong email. All right, Well, while our producer Eric works on that, we have some breaking news that landed just as we're about to start. And that's the way I like it, because too many times we got banged the other way. We finished recording and then oh, Pete Carroll got fired. Well not this time. The Seattle Seahawks are moving on from Pete Carroll as they're head coach,
reported by the Pell Raiser and elsewhere. He as of right now, the way it's being spun and there's a press conference coming up later today. Carol will remain in the organization, but not as the head coach. So Pete Carroll, who has had an incredible run in Seattle fourteen years, which you know in the NFL you might as well say one hundred years, one hundred and thirty seven and eighty nine and one record. That's an over a six
hundred winning percentage. I coached nineteen playoff GAMESO went to the Super Bowl back to back years, very nearly, we don't need to litigate this, but very nearly went back to back Super Bowl championships. But that was one of the most memorable teams of this century, the legion of Boom Seahawks with Russell Wilson and that incredible defense. He is now seventy two years old. Greg Rosenthal and you had been kind of poking around on this one for
a week or so. Cecler and I were trying to figure out who's texting with with those thumbs.
I mean, it's a short list of candidates, right, We didn't know probably Ian.
But Greg, you say, because I had mentioned it again this before we start taping to you was common sense there was. It was more about putting a puzzle together on that was that I had no information.
I was trying to find out what people would say behind the scenes.
What do you think Ian? By the way, when he gets a greg text, what is Ian's first.
Reaction, He's absolutely overjoyed because it's it's the connection is very rich, it's very story.
I think he has no feelings whatsoever, just like all of his others correction.
And I love him for it.
He's a defensive coach in the defense has been bad for seven years. They're stuck in this middle ground where you could argue, well, their floor is very high with Pete Carrible. Maybe they're ceilings very low with Pete Carroll, and that the things he said he's gonna solve year after year like aren't getting solved. He's been cycling through defensive coordinators. He's putting a lot of resources in that,
and who knows. I love that they are announcing it as an amical agreement that his role will quote evolve to remain with the organization as an advisor. We maybe aren't going to get the full story on that or no, And I don't really care. Like they're both grown ups
here and he is walking away with class. He's going to have a press conference afterwards, which is not always the case, certainly with a coach they'll let go and he's a legend there and he deserves to be treated, and maybe he really is just wanting to walk away. There was some whispers about that too. I'm curious, like,
who is making this decision exactly. Obviously it's Jody Allen to start with, but I think if John Schneider, the GM who has been there as long as Pete Carroll and also as a Super Bowl title, is still there to help hire the next head coach, and if that the next head coach is Dan Quinn, which about seventeen different NFL insiders have already put out there is the prime candidate, and that maybe this is part of it, is that they feel like they're in a window here
where the coach that they want is going to be available.
We want to take them before he goes anywhere else.
If Schneider's still there, that will tell me maybe it is a little bit more of a pushout situation. But either way, one of the best head coaches I've.
Seen in the NFL, and I guess, like you know, if it came down to some version of a power struggle, a soft power struggle. I mean Pete Carroll won the power struggle essentially over Russell Wilson, and that was the last big sort of battle there. You know, if you're working coach in GM for this long as long as they did, and they made it work, it's natural that a relationship's going to start to wear down some point professionally.
And so I mean it was.
Pete Carroll that just a couple of days ago said pretty clearly I want to come back and coach this team. So something changed over the PA last couple of days. But he's not a young guy, although he seems his energy's very young, Like you know, maybe this or natural part of Pete Carroll that's open to this next step. But he's also very good with the media, and I don't interview to coach that I liked better honestly.
Oh yeah, I love Carrol too. He's incredible. I remember being on the rooftop in downtown LA for a charity event the year they drafted Russell Wilson, and I'll never forget like he was very nice dude and open about how much he loved Wilson. And and my mom obviously is a big fan of Pete Carroll right Gampac to his jet's days. But he said it. He thinks he's hot. She thought he was extremely He's okay with that. He's very secure. My father is very secure about yeah, the marriage.
But Pete is, yeah, it's good. They don't exist in the number one competition, right, Let's just hope my dad doesn't want Pete coming east. Put it that way. But when Pete says Patrick the other day is like, oh, yeah, I'm not worried about anything. Like Pete knew what was going on behind the scenes, and he was that was just the answer he gave.
Well, And I also think it's it's one of those situations where he's telling you before everybody else tells you that if something changes regarding my coaching status with the Seattle Seahawks, it was not a decision of mine. Right when he says like, I love my job, I love his team, he did acknowledge that he needed he said
he needed to do some things better. I get it's a similar question with a lot of these coaching changes that the Chicago Bears are better on third down, on offense and defense on Sunday, are the Seahawks still making a change with the head coaching position at the end of the season. Well not this week, right, But is this like a scenario where it's like, ah, you know this has to be it with Pete Carroll, the direction doesn't.
Right If they don't lose the tie break, they literally have the same records as the Packers.
So again, it's it's one of those things like is this a is this a real long term decision? But as Greg pointed out, there have been long term problems in trying to get solutions to them, and Pete hasn't made able to find them.
So like, what's what's changing and get those Here's what I'm fascinated by the idea of, Okay, if he's going upstairs and into some type of nebulous role or an active role, I don't know what it would be. But if it's more like a Bruce arians with the Bucks type situation, is Pete ready to go into the sunset? Now he's seventy two and he's the oldest coach in the league, and obviously you don't see many coaches go this far. But you know, listen to the President of
the United States is eighty one. Does I wonder what his market would be if indeed this went in a different direction. Are there teams that want Pete Carroll? Would he be a hot in demand name, whether it was this year or maybe a year from now. That is interesting.
I mean you can pull like an al Pacino end of any given Sunday and wind up somewhere else because his age, to me, has nothing to do with the Pete Carroll that we know.
Like, I don't care that he's seventy two. I mean, check out that. What was that dramatic win they had what week sixteen in primetime? The guy looks like he's forty eight years old. He's so chipper and said by and he loves what he's doing. I just something that that doesn't compute about this, that he's going upstairs.
Yeah, I'm with you, because, yeah, if that Cowboys game had gone a little differently, if that Rams game, which I really feel like was the turning point for both those teams. Not a memorable game, but a game that the Seahawks really outplayed the Rams and kind of stepped stubbed their toe at the very end coming out of the Rams by I think they got the Rams to like four and six, five and six, and the Seahawks that started their tailspin because their schedule got so much harder,
they could have made the playoffs. He's still a very good head coach. It's interesting to look back on his at his run. He doesn't get the pub Mike Tomlin does because he did have that seven to ten season in Russell Wilson's last year. But otherwise they've had a
winning record every year since twenty and twelve. And you think, while they never got back to those heights when they made those back to back Super Bowls, but they did win ten games, ten games, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, they sneaky underperformed in the playoffs, which is very frustrated when you're a very good team. And like Mike McCarthy's Packers
know this too. Ten playoff appearances, seven divisional round appearances, but they actually never made it back even to a conference championship after that lost Super Bowl to the Patriots, So it was a lot of one and done or win a wild card and lose. And I think where he strikes me as young, you know, emotionally, but maybe not as young in terms of, like schematically, is he keeping up with what you needed to do defensively and offensively to stay at the top.
I think the place Pete can add value the most might not be in Seattle anymore. Like they've already told him that, hey, we would like you to do less right, And I think we just saw Bob Myers go over to the commanders, like if you can bring in Pete Carroll in a situation to say, hey, how do we go about this process? How do we construct the team? How do we align the general manager and the head coach. I think Pete Carroll could do that somewhere else better than he can in Seattle.
Also, it should be stayed he was fantastically successful in college as well. Is that a world he would like to go back to, Although that's even kind of more work with the recruiting and all that you mentioned the other thing, Greg, except for the last Wilson year, also doing it in the NFC West, There's been some juggernauts in that division through the years, and to be able to continually be in the mix, you know, it's gonna another guy that's gonna be hard to replace.
I totally agree, But I also think that was part of the reason they were started to probably think about this because McVeigh and Shanahan have owned this bocks offensively for five years, so it's like, why are we going to expect this to change?
That's pretty tough though, because I get two best minds in the sport.
I get it.
It's just that probably led to it that we're like stuck.
In well third, there is another team in so far that is currently looking for a head ouch.
If oh, Pete.
Would love it down here, I would hire him as just like a guy to be around the team. Because one thing, Mark Sanchez was really good talking about this, But then I started listening to Seahawks players talk about this too, like no one made you feel better and gave you more confidence that you could do any that you could be your best self, essentially than Pete Carroll like he Sanchez and Gino's talked about this too. Makes you feel like I'm gonna do it, like and you want to play for him.
And I think this is a.
Bad news for Gino, their starting quarterback, and makes me think it's more likely that they That was Gino's biggest support everything. I think he really loved Gino. I think that it went both ways. He believed in Gino in a way that who knows if the next coach is going to be, so there could be a lot of changes, all.
Right, So Carol, there's a bombshell right there. Another bombshell on Tuesday, when the Tennessee Titans fired Mike Vrabel, rap sheet reported it, and then it was confirmed in a statement from Amy Adams Strunk that Vrabel, the coach of the Titans for the past six seasons, leading the team to a fifty four and forty five record and two playoff victories, including an AFC title Game appearance, is out.
And a lot of questions about why this happened, why it wasn't a trade, why the Titans would disconnect from, you know, one of the more successful coaches of the past decade. And it's only fitting, gentlemen, if we're gonna be talking a little titoons in a big spot, that we bring in a Hall of Famer, Hall of Fame producer. He's on Mount Rushmore. Do I need to say his name? How about I just play the drop buddy. Justin Graver
joins us from Parts Unknown. Well it's actually his office, and there it is my favorite, the rotating Titans helmet that's going just a little too fast, what's up, buddy?
Have you been I've been great, guys. How are y'all doing. I'm over at Fox Sports producing the NFL on Fox podcast nowadays, but I miss you guys every day.
Wait, the NFL on Fox podcast. That's right.
We didn't know your Yes, we thought you were just doing baseball, all right, and it.
Was nice having justin on the show until next time, all right. Great for Tacre, that's great because you are obviously wonderfully suited for anything evolving NFL coverage. You have your Titans podcast which is called What the Music City Audible, so make sure you check that out. And I am sure you had an emergency episode to break this down. What were your initial thoughts when the news went down
the vrabel was out. How surprised were you and what do you think about the state of the organization in general?
Yeah, I think it was a bit surprising. I would give my I would put it at like a seven out of ten surprise rating because there's been a lot of smoke surrounding what verbel possibly being traded to the Patriots, I think, dating back to him being inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame, we've seen a lot of reports that the Patriots would want to go after him. Would
might Verbel want to force his way out? The Titans don't want to move on from Mike Brabel, but would he want to force his way out and move on himself? And it seems like maybe some of that was overblown, And we've heard a lot of about stuff about a rift between Rabel and general manager Ran Carthon. Ran Carthon dismissed all of that in his press conference yesterday's. Naturally, rabele were on great terms, of course, right, what else
is he going to say? He's going to help Rabel land the next job and not kick his buddy while he's down. But I did find it very interesting that it seems this all has come more from a rift between he and ownership, between he and Amy Adams Strunk. We have Nashville media members citing blow ups between Rabel and ownership that are very interesting, and I think all of this is more about what's happening behind the scenes
than anything Vrabel did on the field. And granted six and eighteen in his last twenty four games, one in five in the division this year. Those are things that can get a head coach fired. But I think that Mike Brabel proved himself to be a great coach to always sort of play above the level of talent that he was working with, especially the injury ravaged twenty twenty
one season. So for those reasons, it is a surprise because we thought Rabel was a good coach for the Titans, but Amy Adams Strunk cited a wanting an innovative, fresh approach at the head coaching position, and there's been a lot of talk that Rabel didn't align with the vision
of the future of this team. And I don't really know what that means because ran Carson was asked multiple times what is the vision, and he said, we'll tell you when it's time to tell you, And Amy Adams Strunk said, we're not going to define that vision right now, but we do have one, and it all feels a little bit messy for sure, But I do think, you know, on the positive bias side, this could play out well
for the Titans. If you look at some of the quicker rebuilds in the NFL over the last two years. You know Sean McVay turning the Rams around quickly, Dan Campbell in Detroit, Mike McDaniel in Miami. But then there's a flip side the Brandon Staleys that you're really excited to hire when it happens, and three years later everyone's calling for his head. So I think this could go
okay or it could be a major disaster. And if it proves to be a major disaster, I think you have to point to ownership making a rash decision here.
Yeah, I'm a little worried about Strunk here.
You know, there was that whole season where Malarkey made it to the playoffs. They said they were going to keep him, and then they met. They they literally said, we talked contract with him, and then they met, and then they fired him. And then they gave Robinson and Rabel an extension after twenty one, and then they fired Robinson ten months later, which led to Carthon being thrown in here. And I did wonder all season, like why are these reports coming out? And sometimes it's hard not
to connect the dods. Rabel has more friends in the media than any coach I feel like since Jeff Fisher, and it felt like maybe that was coming from his side, that maybe he wanted to get out, and from her side of it, you can't look at it like he seemed to have some issues with two gms, and that's part of the job, is like.
Being on the same page.
And he clearly wasn't happy about the aj Brown trade and that was the old GM and now the new GM. So maybe maybe even though he is a good coach, and I think he is a good coach, you'll get a job, Like maybe it was time because it wasn't happening.
There a lot of drama. Yeah, there's some of that. And there's a connection here cestag between of Rabel and Belichick, and Belichick is connected to Parcels. And I bring this up because when Parcels left the Patriots, it was if you want me to cook the dinner, you got to let me shop for the groceries. I think Rabel feels like at this point in time that he should be the guy running the operation, and clearly Strunk was going
in a different different direction. The fact that you had a GM and an arranged marriage that clearly they didn't hit it off, and ownership seems decided with this GM, who hasn't succeeded at all, hasn't had much of a chance yet, whereas Brabel has. That's where I would get a little noivous as a Titans fan about the decision making.
Yeah, in Graver, I mean, I'll never forget the night when we were in Las Vegas during the draft and the bombshell came down as Greg mentioned that A. J. Brown was traded and you immediately started to do a live feed about the whole thing. But you you were shell shocked by that move, and I think cresfallen and that dates. That's to me, the origin of the offense falling apart. They never found and to the point of getting groceries and helping for Abel succeed. The offense has
been a disaster for two seasons. They aren't dynamic the way that other teams are in the AFC. And it's like he I feel like the frustration that he showed that night and the frustration he's felt since that makes sense that he's behind the scenes blowing up and.
Not getting his way.
And I think a parting makes is less surprising when you start to put all those pieces together.
Grave Degy, I just want to thank you again. You've you always kept us young on our show. A very zoomer move to go into a live stream during the middle of art I'll never forget that.
Yeah, well, just to you know, clarify what happened there, Ricky started the live stream and shove the phone in front of my face and said, talk checks out. Well, but yes, that was a fun, fun night for Titans fans.
No, it's crazy.
You look at the Titans offenses that didn't have Aj Brown under Mike Vrabel, they all finish twenty seventh best or worse in terms of like scoring offense. So is Aj Brown.
That big of a piece of the puzzle.
There is there some I think part of this whole new direction that Amy Adam Struck wants to go. And this vision is sort of to get away maybe from the bullie ball style of football that Mike Vrabel preached, and you know, we're gonna outphysical you as opposed to
out scheme you. Is maybe a little bit old school mindset and looking at some of the most successful offensive coordinators in today's scheme today's football, yeah, they're running schemes from the late nineties, the Shanahan scheme, but they're doing so in a way that sort of attacks their opponent's weaknesses. And I always felt like the Titans under Mike Vrabel
shied away from that. It was more about we're gonna play our style of ball, like we don't care that the team we're playing against has a top ranked run defense and a bottom ranked pass defense. We're going to establish the run so we can run play action off of it, and sort of ignoring the more new school ideas of like you don't necessarily need to be successful on the ground to have a strong play action game,
like you ate that action in the backfield. Linebackers are going to flow downfield whether or not you've been gashing them.
And I think that's where some of this is going again, not necessarily like him as a coach, as a developer, as a person who can connect to players, because I think he is all of those things, but when it comes to being more innovative and fresh minded and not trying to get a lead at halftime and then sit on it, but put your foot on the throat of your opponent, keep scoring points the way that the teams like the forty nine ers and the Dolphins do when
they're having success. I think that's where this all sort of stemmed from. Was did Verybole want more control. There's conflicting reports that he did other people are saying that he actually asked Amy Adams Strunk to hire someone a general, a football like a football operations president type of person that will be above him and ran karthon that they would both answer to one person as opposed to answering to the owner. So I don't know if he necessarily
did want more control. He might have and that, you know, that could be a false report out there, But I really think this is about Adam Strunk felt Mike Grabel wasn't gonna win a Super Bowl. She wants something young and innovative. She looks around the league and sees these exciting offenses. The Titans haven't scored thirty points in a football game since late in the twenty twenty one season.
They went over two full calendar years, and it's going to be, you know, two and a half by the time we get to September without scoring thirty points in a game. So I think they just wanted a fresh approach and it could end up being a mistake. You know, if Mike Rabel goes to New England gets to draft a quarterback at number three and has instant success, it's going to look really bad on what the Titans have
done here. But on the other hand, if they get their guy and they have success next year, you know, with Will Levis and a lot of draft capital and a lot of salary cap space this offseason. I think
that was another part of it. If the vision wasn't aligned, if Mike Rabel wasn't on the same page, are you going to let him have a big say and how you're going to spend that cap space this offseason on what you're gonna do with the seventh overall pick this year, and then turn around if it doesn't work, fire him next year, and you sort of waste this important offseason. I think that all played a role in this.
Justin Graver, you've said it all, by the way, ironic that if you added a czar in there, you would go from Vrabel saying I want to cook and I want the ingredients. Then you have too many chefs. Potentially you don't have too many cooks either, So a lot, a lot of stuff to figure out with the Titans. We know you got a lot to do over there at Fox and uh, let's hit him with another grave digger.
Has he missed that job? I missed that man, And you look healthy and happy and uh, you know we miss you, Bud.
Thanks, I miss you guys too. Great to see you. Thanks for having me on.
All right, good to see you.
Love your Graver, see it up, Love you guys.
Iconic Hall of Famer Patrick, your thoughts on the situation.
Well, and the one thing that I really want to try to figure out from not just Graver, but from the Tennessee Titans, because the earlier in the week it was, well, we're not going to do the end of the year news conference until later this week, until after coach has this conversation with ownership and management. It's like, oh, okay,
what's what's going on there? And I just wonder, is there where the conversation ends and Mike Rabel is still the head coach, Because if that's the case, then that signals a major problem to me that you're just making these decisions in the spur of the moment based on a conversation right at the end.
Of the flight.
The malarkey thing too, which I know.
Which is which sets up, but it's still a pattern, right if you if you go from these coaching decision and it's like if these higher fire decisions are coming down to one conversation, then what are we really deciding?
Right And there was also a report literally six weeks ago that said Mike Rabel is going to be safe in twenty twenty four and beyond that was from Diana Rossini of The Athletic and that felt like it came straight and beyond that, you know, something like that doesn't come from like an assistant coach, that comes from the top.
And you can almost see you can connect the dots because the Titans put it out there or we found out from Diana on Monday as well that they didn't want to do the trade potentially for Mike Rabel because it could take a long time and they just didn't want to get stuck in that process and they wanted to get going with possibly hiring the new coaches.
And then I watched this video.
This is I'm not going to say it's like Kremlin like, but it did remind me of a very strange situation. It was a five minute video from the Titans with Strunk and a reporter I guess from the team.
Had a bit of a PBS like public television vive to it.
Actually, but I know and I'm not speaking for this one. In particular, but I've heard of ones like this. Those those she knows what questions is coming. That's basically like a press conference without being a press compan She's going to hit the button she wants to hit to get the voice out there to the fans.
Which is fine, that's her right. I don't think it's crazy.
But one of the things she stressed in that one was that exact same point that she didn't want to go through the whole trade thing. She basically went through everything Justin was saying there and.
I don't want to go through the trade thing like that that it would take bring value to it, It would take too much.
I don't think that to be fair.
I don't think the trade would have happened anyways, because like Mike Rabel has to go along with that and it could be a big process. I don't know if he's gonna They would drama. It just was all very all, very interesting. This is not a team that people thought of having great ownership with her father or was it her father in law. I forget Bud Adams, but either I think it's her father.
It was a fun window. Though I liked that Titans team. I like the window is kind of kind of ending the Brady Pats era. Was it who had to pick six? So Logan Ryan, Logan Ryan to getting to the AFC title game like that. That team was kind of fun to watch, even though they weren't the traditional type of aired out attack. You had Derrek Henry as the lead and Ryan Tannehill is a really good veteran quarterback. And that window closed and now they're into the great without Rabel as well.
Yeah, changes were already coming to the roster, especially on offense, but I can't really think of an AFC team that is set for a bigger tone shift than the Titans because they were very much Mike Rabels creation.
Yes, and the players love him.
They played hard like He's a tough one to figure because I don't think he's ever shown he provides any particular schematic advantage, Like the year he was a defensive coordinator in the Texans, they were kind of a terrible defense in one of the worst defensive league.
Like even in Tennessee.
Like the numbers didn't say it, and yet you can see it on the field that they're greater than some of their parts.
They're tough, they they play hard.
There I think that the moment they'll look back on is that Bengals loss forty one seed AFC Championship.
For the next year they follow it up with the one seed.
That game was very winnable and they just couldn't get any pass protection and that essentially continued for the next three seasons.
That was that special Cincinnati season. All right, let's move on more to get to some head coaches who are safe but their assistant okmark no, Yes, some of the coaches that are okay, but they are changes beneath them. The bye, the Buyers, the Bears fire offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, as well as four other offensive assistants. So there was a I mean so much Claybahn of intrigue around the Bears right now, palace intrigue. And the idea is Matt
Eberflu's going to get a third season. Well, it certainly looks like he'll get year three, but they're gonna do it with a whole new staff. Of course, remember defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigned from his role earlier this season. Very murky scenario there. So, while Rappaport reported that Iberflus
is likely to remain the team's defensive play caller. He's expected to hire a true defensive coordinator, per source, and this is all set against the backdrop of the biggest quarterback decision in the history of the organization.
Yeah, there's a lot of different places that the Bears could go at this point, and I guess the Getsy thing seemed like it was somewhat inevitable. Is the question was was Eberflus going to join him? And now if somebody else is coming in to bring over the defensive play calling, and then somebody else is going to be, of course calling the offense. It's one of those things where we're watching league wide, it's, oh, you got to get the play caller. The play caller has to be
the head coach. Otherwise, how are you going to get this guys? How does that match with the idea that we're going to have either a quarterback or this is justin fields and in a must make it situation.
I just don't think.
It sounds great for the current head coach of the Bears as of right now, considering the position he's in.
Yeah, I think he's he's he goes into next year because there's hope in Chicago that there's pressure on him, and I guess like you when you go and look around at the available play callers out there, it is a bit of a like what are you telling that oc Like behind the scenes, look at we're sticking with Justin Fields and we need someone who can design an offense around Justin Fields and make him special, or we might be going and drafting Caleb Williams or Drake May
and we need someone to con flexibly go to line offense around that because if you go and gets like a Greg Roman type person to make Justin feels the center of the universe, that guy can't go do.
The thing you'd want if you had Kayleb Williams.
So it's like it's a very intriguing selection on who you pick here.
You probably keep your cards so close to the vest because you don't trust anyone yet even if you have a feeling and they probably don't have a final answer, although you would think Ryan Poles, in his heart of hearts, kind of knows which way he's leaning. But yeah, I think you pick a coordinator based on the expectation that you're going to have a rookie. The thing that has to be so frustrating for Bears fans is like, this is the exact same setup that has failed them multiple
times before with this ownership in a row. So you kept John Fox one extra year after he was absolutely terrible three and thirteen, they draft Mitch Trubisky, You fire John Fox. Then it's like a coach in Matt Maggie
that didn't have blah blah blah. You were thinking about maybe firing Naggy with Trubisky, you keep them one extra year, you draft justin Fields, it doesn't go that well, you fire Matt Naggy, and then it's field starting over again with a coach that didn't happen and the most likely outcome here because Matt Eberflus hasn't shown to be a huge difference maker. It is a good roster and maybe they will win. But if they don't, Matt Eberfluss will not be here next year, and it'll be a coach
who didn't draft. It's just like they're never synd up and it's always the same thing.
In other news, the Jaguars melted down down the stretch of a regular season, missing out on the playoffs. Usually when something like that happens, heads roll and I it's not the head coach, it's the people right below. That's what happened here. The Jaguars fired defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell and multiple assistants on Monday. The team announced Doug Peterson had said earlier Monday that he was still quote processing the disappointment, disappointing end of the season. It was going
to take some time before making changes. Well he didn't need much time. In addition to they also fired d line coach brentston Buckner, passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach Deshea Townsend, insound linebackers coach Tony Gilbert, safety's coach Cody grimm Grim, senior defensive assistant Bob Sutton, and defensive quality control coaches Te Mitchell's and Sean Kalina. So they kind of clean out a lot of the staff and not a surprise.
Not a surprise, but they had different options. It was interesting listening to some of the local covered John Shipley does a great Jaguars podcast that I've listened to, and like they were like, are they going to change the offensive coordinator because the offense got a lot worse and was more disappointing, whereas this season the defense which is mediocre,
did improve from where it was a year ago? Or could the GM Trent balk be in trouble Because I think if you were like doing a blame pie, he might have.
The biggest one.
But Doug Peterson's an offensive coach ultimately, and it's sort of the cleanest, easiest thing to dis blame it on the defense. And their defense certainly struggled in that Week eighteen game, and it was kind of sloppy with mistackles throughout the season.
It was a total team implosion. It was on both sides of the ball, but the defense certainly. I mean, it's interesting as Doug Peterson, one of the reasons that he ended up, you know, breaking up with the Eagles was in that final offseason they asked him to do this exact same thing, which was make major coaching changes, and he showed extreme loyalty and wound up leaving the
Eagles for that reason. But in this case, you're right, it's not his side of the ball, and there was there was clear evidence the change needed to come.
Yeah, especially well down the stretch they go through that run. There's the Jake Browning game. The Bengals scored thirty four points, and they lose to the new look Flacco Browns, which everybody did. And they lose to the Ravens, which everybody did. But that the twenty eight points against the Titans were a few weeks ago. They blew out the Titans. It was thirty four to fourteen. It just looked like a
functionally different situation. And like Christian kirk Hertz, but it was tough to defend the Jack's defense, like the way that they played the entire season. They made some key turnovers in some spots, but you go back when you're examining the schedule, it really just wasn't.
A good defense.
Offense seemed really poorly coach though, too, But that's you.
What are you gonna do? You could switch coordinators, but it's ultimately Peters. They just got to button that up. All these interceptions where the receivers don't know where they are, they can't get a short yardage play.
They it stuck out more too to me, the offensive code.
Think about that Chiefs loss where there were like multiple drops in the end zone and it seemed to plague them all year. And I mean, I think the whole thing about Doug Peterson. It's Trevor Lawrence, and it like he took a step back. I know he's banged up, he played through a lot of injuries, but it's like, there was this incredible promise that Trevor Lawrence was becoming the top five quarterback and we saw a lot of the old mistakes.
Stop up the reel that popped up this week on Twitter of near touchdowns from Trevor Lawrence. It's like, I mean, we're talking what ten, yeah, twelve touchdowns that are plays that could be or should be made. And you know, that's why not be surprised if with some tweaks to what they're doing and it has a healthy year that he's a monster next year. I'm not. I'm not out on Lawrence as a monster.
Everybody's gonna overreact, like Dak has some picks at the end of last season. It's like, oh God, it's it's over for Duk, Like I think Trevor will be fine. My question because for folks who didn't watch the game, of course, if you look at the highlights, it's Trevor Lawrence pulling the ball back on fourth and goal where he almost had a chance to score, but on third down they lined up with three guys in a row and ran this like spin out pass that had no hope and it's just like.
What what was the what's the plan?
But on that, on that one like failed sneak by Lawrence, like they there was other tapes showing that linemen were, you know, because he changed the call he changed into that play call that it didn't go deep enough where line were doing.
It on his own right, he's done that before, but doing it that was on him from.
The and he took accountability for it too. And I'm with you, Dan, like there's no reason to not believe in him at this point.
But it was just like.
Luck, And this is true of all these firings, like luck is an uncomfortable portion of why any of this happened.
Just like that, you had some bad breaks.
If I had to call and execute that third downplay, I would have tried to yellow it myself too.
Hell yeah, by the way, nice some nice melodrama. Speaking of palace intrigue with the Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale. And this bummed me out when I heard this right before we started. They've mutually agreed to part ways, the team announced Wednesday earlier today. The story was that and the background was Brian Dabele, I believe, came out and said early Monday, I expect Wink to be back. Then they have a meeting that same day that they had
a conversation. And that's a nice way to call it, Wink and Brian Dabele, And it ended with Martindale cursing out his coach, and it was all about the Giant's decision to move on and Dabele's decision to move on from outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins and defensive assistant Kevin Wilkins both had come over with Wink from Baltimore, and Drew was like Wink's right hand man, and the Post reported that Dabel was adamant about getting rid of Drew
and by associal association, Kevin because there was quote a feeling in the building that Martindale and Drew Wilkins were creating their own fight them ffeed them one of my favorite words within the coaching staff at times, bypassing Dable and believing they had to answer only to each other
and ultimately ownership. So Dable like sniffs this out or he perceives us, whether it's true or not and says hell no, And it ends with Dabel cursing out Dable, excuse me, Wink cursing out Dable storming out of the facility. And then Mike Jeez were on the Insider Show on NFL Plus today and he's saying the Giants are in a weird spot because he just stormed off and went to far and never technically resigned, and they also didn't fire him, so they were kind of handcuffed.
A look him three million dollars and.
It was going to cause a problem for the Giants. So my disappointment is that as a man who loves mellow drama, but I can't talk right now that's all over because they mutually agree, and Wink, you're upset that it's been resolved. I like it's fun and I wanted I want him more, the more dysfunction. But Wink's gonna get a job somewhere. But also like the head coach that hires him is like, damn, do I want these Wilkins boys with me?
Oh, It's it's so funny because like got reminded me of that book Collision Low Crossers that we all read, where a big part of the drama between the Jets was that the offensive staff.
Oh I drank. Every time Mark still brings up cli costs.
I literally actually like had a long talk with Collision Low Crossers with Pete Carroll way back in the day.
I mean he and he drank, I'll have to say. But anyways, like that.
People should check it out. There are not enough to check out what collision look around.
Aren't enough books like this.
I did order and I have that book on my coffee table and it does mark Collision Low Crossing.
Because Marcus referenced so much. I literally bought it two weeks ago.
There's more books like this, Greg because they the author, they embedded someone with the Jets for like a year plus and like you learn number one, everything that happens to a football team the minute the off season starts, and what the coaches do.
But it got so soiled because.
The offensive staff and you had Sanchez and things were up and down obviously, and the defensive staff were they weren't even speaking to each other and they were openly at odds and I think, like bad teams, this is what starts to happen. And it's like this year's Jets and this Year's Giants, where you've got defunked quarterback play and you've got a defense trying to hold down the fort and wing Martin Dale's no, Wilton Flower.
I love it.
I'm with you, Dan. I'm sad this having other I don't like dables move here. It just seems cowardly. Well, you you have a press conference, you say Martin Dale's gonna back. Obviously there's some issues here. Glazer reported on it three weeks ago or whatever it was a month ago that the two of them weren't getting along. You say he's going to be back, then you fire his two closest assistants without having a conversation with at a time.
So that's odd.
That to me is you're firing with Martindale because you know what's gonna happen to just fire with.
I heard this through my reporting. Wink went into the office, He's like, where's Drew Joe? He did not keV Drew and keV Wilkins boys, no, no answer. They were gone.
And then yeah, Brian actually Bride Dabell goes in just from the hallway.
Big gone.
Hey God, you're right though, Greg, Like it was a roundabout move that like this was the Coach of the Year a year ago.
Well, and there are some reporting too, like the Kafka is unhappy with how Dabel has minimized him. He's the offensive coordinator. So then you do I like I like Dabel, but there just seems.
To be just like, wow is strong by the way, Isn't that part of this? This stuff happens all the time, doesn't it. We hear about this all the time, and firing assistance that are connected to people. And then I only have so many resigns. I only have so many principles.
But I do feel like within the most important principle is just be forthright in important matters with people around you. So that just seems like you're you're kind of taking the easy way out.
Don't have a loud, passionate screaming match on national television with somebody and then come out and be like, hey, you know, everything's fine. You know, we hang out, we have tea in the afternoon. Like no, like we had a disagreement. We're not necessarily seeing eye on on on a certain issue.
But the market Patrick like he's trying to put that out because anything you say is going to be sure.
To not just like handle it with Martin Dale, you know, person in person, are.
They gonna Are they gonna get rid of the defensive meeting rooms? Sure?
It seems like Drue as a fiefdom, right because I had to look it up. It's an area over which someone exercizes control in the manner of a feudal lord. So are we gonna say, like anytime the defense is meeting? Like, wait, what are you guys talking about? I don't necessarily trust you. Table's like, hey, wait, you want to have a conversation real quick? He's like no, I'm actually just about to grab jew and get so.
Much it was like, nah, now you know you will not be having lunch with Yeah, he won't be finding Drew. You're just gonna find out the office, all right. And finally in the news, all quiet in New England for the time being. So Vrabel's out held, Carol's out, Carol coach the Pats once upon a time. Putting that together, bo,
I'm just saying, that's that's history. But a couple of days now, after Bill's end of season press conference and him mentioning that he was under contract to the Patriots and all the speculation connecting him to multiple teams, including the Atlanta Falcons. No updates. I do have the atn Media insider. I did get a quote from Bill. I know this is going to be surprising, very surprising, because you know what what Robert Kraft wants. Craft wants Bill to quit and and then he he looks good and
then they start over. But Bill wants to He's putting the heat on Craft to make the move. Uh, here's what Bill told me exclusively, if you want to stop me, you're gonna have to kill so emotional. So he's starting to open up a little bit, and that's good. I think that's good that Bill is being honest with the media, just like Dable. We don't want to be cowardly. Yeah, so cathartic. Yeah, was it easy to get him to go on record one on one week? I got him very drunk.
You do you do wonder? Yeah?
Is is Robert Kraft making Jonathan Kraft be the bad guy here?
They did?
They did, by the way, not enjoy that Pete Carroll experience the first time around. That was their welcome to NFL ownership, was that it.
Was like forty two e ons ago. Yeah, that Pete Carroll is a different person.
Carroll thing.
I fully expect Bill Belichick to not be the head coach of the Patriots in a week or whenever. It's going to be Tom Curran, who I really trust more than anyone there. Has said repeatedly, do you trust more Tom Kerrn or your own father?
Quick?
Quick, quite quick about the Patriot No?
No, no, no answer my father.
But I just he's been operating like they made this decision. The decision is made, and it does make sense to me that there would be some I think they want to have it be as kumbaya as Siaks have with Pete Carroll. Now I don't think that's it's not going to be that cool, but I think they're trying to to just manage it, and that change is coming, it's just not hasn't come in the forty eight hours after.
This and the and you look at Tennessee with Rabel and they decided not to pursue the trade route. And it does make sense when you kind of break it down that obviously that Craft would love to turn this into a trade, but Bill has no reason to make it a trade. And if Bill puts it back on crime, it's like I'm not agreeing to anything like that, You're gonna have to fire me. You can't keep me, like you if you if you don't trade me and you
don't fire me, then you got to keep me. And meanwhile the Patriots are trying to start over, and it's like, what is this gonna wrap up? Is the question?
Tom also believes it. Bill wholeheartedly really with lot wants to stay in New England. That is his like, he loves it there, he's been there forever. He believes he can turn it around, and so yeah, he's got to go out kicking and screaming. He is not assuming that this is a FATA company and you never know. Maybe he could be persuasive, but I don't think so. I also don't think any team is waiting around for Bill Belichick or Mike Rabel for that matter, around these trades.
It's like Rabel was six and eighteen, like, yes, they would give up something potentially, but it's not Mike Rabel three years ago off winning the Coach of the Year, And it's not Bill Belichick ten years ago or anything.
Can you're saying and that's somebody who Weiser was the same thing. I think Belichick is tremendous like, I think he's gonna have a big market.
I do too.
I just don't think teams are gonna wait around to send like a valuable draft pick for him. And if it's their wady around to get like a fifth round pick, It's like, what are we doing?
It'd be embarrassing to be trade rounded for a fifth round.
I'm just saying like, I don't think anyone's giving up a first for Bill right now.
We're like going through the hassle of it.
And who do you call? Like, how do you make a trade for Bill Belichick? I guess the other Bill you have to.
Well, true, yeah, you've called got a circle circle around Bill Belichick.
But crafts, Yeah, that's yeah, you're gonna have to kill me. That's interesting. All right, that's what's happening in the news. Eric circling back to the Claybon theme song.
Yes, any Claybond theme songs or anybody theme songs for that matter. We got that Mark Sessler one just got dropped in our lap. Didn't really ask word.
It's a banger. The ATM podcast at Gmail. You have that, you have that if you're gonna mention it, will play it just to give you an idea of the creativity that we expect. If you're going to if you're gonna submit,
don't waste our time. I want actual musicians. I want real production values, because anything less than that is a slap in the face of Patrick Clayban, which is fine, like you could and we're not gonna go the dable route with with Drew, where we want to treat the man with the respect he deserves.
You know.
So the themes that we've had for Colleen and who else has base Wish has a ton by the way, Whish before we did here's the Mark theme by the way, and Bar Curtis sent everybody can't get enough? Can't you just picture Mark in a club in Berlin with Pierre Nipples, just dancing every one of those all aspects of that story.
I could see him at the DJ table spinning this track like with the crowd going rolling out of his mind.
Now I'm going to the dance for the Pierce nipples.
Paisley open shirt not not a like a button down but not no buttons, just nobody's touching.
A lot of slow motion. Here's so anyway, before the wife submissions came in, we we actually spoke with wises like what do you want? And he talked about his wife uh D's background Jamaican background, I believe it is, and we get like kind of something with a little dancey calypso vibe Caribbean, like what what would a clayband song? Oh, are you gonna hate my answer?
No, because if somebody's taking the time to make make a track about me, just just feel it whatever I have never said that means something to you or any no.
Boundaries, just just make you don't need a particular style.
I'm not going to put anybody in a box. So you're saying, lyrically, go wherever you want. But musically, is there a genre that perhaps you would I would prefer I would prefer control over the lyrics more than the music. We can't offer you that we can't off you that we can't let you shop for the groceries. Okay, someone's shopping for the groceries and making the meal here. Yeah, but you'll have multiple to pick from it, because no, I didn't. I got one. But that's fine. I really
enjoyed it. I mean that's one out of one. Yeah, if you.
Want to, if you want a rolling sweaty glowstick track like marks like that's fine or you could.
Doesn't feel right though, I don't know what it is, like Patrick, there's something. Uh, people are gonna get the essence. They're gonna you know, you know, I don't want to they know they know him through the I was gonna offer my opinion on it, but I'm just gonna let the people feel it out. Yeah, well, musical people have patrick beautiful face. Just stare at it and what does it bring to you? Like and creatively? How does that get the juices flowing? It could be a sultry song.
We don't try to control yourself. Look at it PA's photo.
I don't know if Patrick is like a huge music guy.
Yeah, but he's the other people making the song, That's what I'm saying. That informs why he doesn't need a specific genre.
He I also don't know enough to like because musical genres kind of getting the weeds a little bit.
I just remember having a conversation with you one yeah, with about me and You're like, I don't know that much about music, and I was like, Okay, that's interesting.
What about something with a bit of like a hoopa stank vibe, like more of the reason or crawling like dark the reason whoa. Okay, you're trying to project onto him what he had to share it for some reason, like the reason I'm the reason I'm more crawling in the dark than I am the rest. Okay, there you go. There's just one direction you can go. And I mentioned looking at the pictures of Patrick. Be respectful, that's all. Yeah, it's hard. Be respectful. All right, let's take a break.
Oh did we do we say the name of the email? Yeah, that's the ATN podcast at gmail dot com. Send him in, don't disappoint us. We believe in you, and uh we will send you a signed autograph photo of Mark Sessler in the Levi jacket. Uh for the anyone that submits a song that we use on the show. How about that? That means we got to send Mark back for another photo engagement.
No, no, I'll take it out in the wild and I'll take it. I'm not taking in the corporate office.
Yes, we're gonna get you. Yes, it's gonna be like one of those yearbook photos where they take you outside and put you up against the oak church. That photographer was brought here for that window of time. She does not. She's not just downstairs. She's part of the photo team. Bud, you gotta plug in on this office. No, they we outsource that team. Plug in into the office. We're gonna have you come in on an off day too, get your makeup done. I will literally drive to Canada before
any of that happens. Let's take a break and we'll be right back. Bloody dumdeed dumb Awards season has calm everyone. Awards. Why the can't we have them too? So vustly it is time for the Aten Awards not to be confused with the Avian Awards. Certainly not. I mean one's more fun than the other. Yeah, and it's not this one all right now? You see it everywhere. I weirdly, we've never done this, and that's kind of something we had to rectify. We have never gotcha. That one got a
Joe Koi over here. Pat's been too many an A Vien Awards, that's why he's co hosted them. You had a memorable pattern with a Brianna Banks back in O two. I remember, Yeah, who can forget? All? Right? Now, let's get into it. It is time to share our picks and what we did we did is a collective a voting system that mirrors what the Associate depressed us with the MVP Award, which is a voting that breaks it down. You get five votes and a first place vote is
ten points. Second place vote is what five points? Was it? Yeah? And three to two one? And for the NFL the official awards which are announced at the honors and all that stuff. That is just for the MVP, but we did it for the other major awards as well, So let's go through them all. And we had a nice voting body this year. It was the three of us.
Claybond was with us as well, Nick Shook, who's another member of the ATN Hall of Fame, the Sunday Night Man, and beyond the Pipe you have Colleen Wolfe also turned in her ballot. Also behind the Glass, Big Funk and Eric Roberts.
Wow, that is streets are talking like, should the producers combine to have one producer vote?
You know?
Have they they earned a totally separate, separate and equal vote. I would have just bullied Randy into taking my votes.
Okay, okay, I know you're gonna stand up for yourself, and honest they deserve it. But of course we do, okay, But if it would have been one vote, I just would have tooken the vote. That's fine, okay, I got developing news.
By the way, I'm glad we learned more about your dynamics between the two of you.
That was fascinating.
On ha ha. My mom has made a statement on the changing of the guard in Seattle. Oh okay, mom says forward statement, but incredibly powerful. Football just got uglier. Wow, this crush has been decades decades old, right it started in the Pete was one and done with the Jets. Yeah, in ninety four, so thirty years. And yeah, she's been married almost fifteen five fifty years.
A fair amount of Maybe that was a sneaky key to his college success, you know, going in those I don't know how sneaky recruiting and pressing the moms. Okay, unbelievable. That's salt and pepper hair will take you far. All right, let's get to it now, MVP. And it isn't wait. My dad also has now replied to his statements. I put Keith and Deb on the thread. Any phone call home is also they're always both on the phone.
Oh absolutely, same with my parents always together Keith has chimed in directly after my mom, another jet coach that failed. Hey man, it's a little competition there, sounds like to me, he doesn't seem too concerned. No, all right, let's get to it, MVP. It is a runaway. My only concern with this, and I shared this with producer Eric, was that we're gonna be a little too chalky as a group to what everyone else is gonna say. But you know, we can do it right way.
We can get into how we disagree if we want.
Sure of it. I hope we disagree, because that makes for good podcasting, all right. The MVP of the league in a landslide, Lamar Jackson, who got first place votes from everyone except for Shookie Nick Schook, gave his first place vote to Christian McCaffrey. Lamar got seventy five what do they call points? I don't even know how they do it votes. Seems like a point points whatever, you can call him whatever you want. Second place a little bit of surprise, I thought, but narrowly edging out Dak.
Christian McCaffrey got twenty seven points, Dak twenty six, fourth place Rock Purty and then fifth place Tyreek Hill so pretty it's sixteen points Tyreek, Cattleven and Mark. I really do think I think I think Party might do or I'm almost certain Party will do better in the AP voting. But I think it just goes to show you there was that lingering idea of where Purdy's talents stack up
to everything else that's going on around him. But also I think that stage on Christmas Night flopping essentially and his change.
Yeah, I went Lamar number one and Party number two. Colleen also had Party number two. I think it was like a really unique year for MVP, where like they all seem to square off and duel against each other down the stretch. And I think that you know, Lamar passed every test, he passed every test and did stump he you know's there was no real second place to me.
Well, also, there's another forty nine er that outvoted you know, Party in this voting, And I think that that's part of it is that reasonable minds can look at that team and think McCaffrey is the most important guy on it, especially this year, and I think reasonable minds could go purty one.
My big takeaway from.
Doing all these awards is there are no awards, maybe the exception of Offensive Rookie of the Year, but we could even get into that with the season Pooka had that that seemed like there's bad choices, Like I don't think Dak or Purty are bad choices here, Like it's not it's completely reasonable to vote for them first over Laura, I voted Lamar first, CMC second, So I ended up chalk with what we ended up with.
But like even Josh Allen's like not that crazy.
He ended up six then ours like I wouldn't be surprised if he gets in the top five in the In the final voting.
I had Dak. I gave him my second place vote and Party my third place vote. But I could have easily went the other way on that, but it was a very clear Luay Lamar closed that he deserved it, and the Ravens are sitting on a buy right now as a result, in large part because of Jackson's incredible.
You didn't mention the votes at the very end Stafford. I gave Stafford a fourth place vote.
I like that. Somebody like it's usual a local beat guy and yeah, we're in Los Angeles.
I like Miles Garrett got a fourth place vote. I don't know who that was.
And TJ Star got a fifth place vote. And then, in a total stunner, Colleen voted your mom.
Yeah, she got whose mom is? She pointed to your mom. I guess it's just it applies to anyone, anyone, and you know what, moms don't get enough credit. So I think that was a great one.
That's a great voter. She's sort of quietly voted for millions of people. Yeah, that was at least probably more than millions.
Eric not only voted Josh Allen third, which I think is very reasonable, he made Randy put him on the ballot too, so that was where those votes came from.
Twisted his arm violently. All right, let's move to offense, Jordan love Guys, it's like a fifth place Offensive Player of the Year now, this one it made me think, if, if, how did the voters do with this, because hypothetically, if you vote, you know, quarterbacks and the MVP rankings, do you just eliminate them from this entirely or do you put them? But I did. I took them out.
I had the same questions like, why wouldn't I take like the second best quarterback that I voted for an MVP and just make them offensive play of the Year, but I went zero quarterback strategy.
Sometimes quarterbacks have won both.
I remember Peyton Manning did it, for instance, and that's why I've always been annoyed by this award.
That then your two nebula and if.
You vote, well, it's also like if you voted them second, then I'll vote for the quarterback first. I'd say it's most valuable non quarterback.
All right. With that said, here is the Offensive Player of the Year, and it's deserved. It is the running back of the forty nine ers. Christian McCaffrey was sixty five votes. If you're watching it on YouTube, we got some really nice graphics. Was that big funk on the graphics? No, that was me, guys. Not only it was funk, but Roberts twisted taking votes from funking now taking credit to CMC got first place votes from let's see everybody except for Claybon who went with Tyreek Hill, and I gave
CD Lamb some love. You know, I'm in a love affair with CD right now. But it was CMC finishing first, Tyreek Hill distant second thirty eight points, CD third twenty eight points, Josh Allen fifteen points, Dac with six points, which tells you, yeah, the quarterbacks are kind of floating in another world. Why Tyreek over CMC Patrick.
I was just looking at who stood out the most among their peers, and I don't think you could say anybody came even close to what Tyrek did as a wide receiver this year and especially those past cuple when Tyreek was not one and he was still dominating in many aspects of the game, like he hobbles back on the field to make a game winning play.
Uh. That just that just kind of sent me over the edge.
Not necessarily that, and I knew Christian was going to get some votes and maybe there was some vote chachinery. Uh with leaving Christian off of my Offensive Player of the Year.
It took them off entirely. Wow, it didn't. It didn't help.
It did not ultimately matter. And that's a strategy though.
Yeah, it's it's one of you know, weird people do it all the time and never acknowledge it. I will acknowledge it as trash. But I tried and I failed.
Oh that's interesting. Does that actually happen? Oh? Yes, yeah, especially ridiculous all right, let's move to unless anybody knows something out there.
I like that we both me and you gave Kira and Williams some love as a fourth place pop.
What what a year? What a difference maker for that offense in Los Angeles? All right, Defensive player of the year. And now this is a wide open year because I thought Miles Garrett obviously was a leader early on, and then he gets banged up and production the production dip, so that opened the door? Could anyone walk in that door? Here is the winner with sixty eight votes. I don't like same points for some reason, it doesn't have the same votes.
Make sense.
Rave toss sixty eight votes. Miles Garrett wins it. Mark congratulations TJ. Watt, even though he picked up a couple of sacks there before going down with the injury. In Week seventeen thirty eight thirty eight votes. Maker Parsons thirty three votes. Max Crosby got seven who I forgot about Max? Sorry? But and Doron Bland with seven, who had all those pick sixes. You know that happens too, it does. I mentioned I missed the I missed Zay Flowers too.
Eric knows that I was working on this toiling right up to the final minutes, and there were were there edits.
I don't. I don't know how much he wants me to pull out what happened, how many edits, what it called.
I didn't understand the assignment out of the gate in terms of going five deep with everyone.
So he gave me the winner, and then he gave me the top three, and then he gave me the top five. It was like a reveal.
Yeah, but yeah, I wanted to make it at an element of showmanship. Brahma to it and they see it.
That's an next level showmanship when it's just you and the producer, privor he wasn't asking for that. How did Colleen do with the assignment?
By the way, great want Yeah, one email and an extra your mom in there.
So she was let's see the way this broke down. Miles got first place votes from Sestog, Connie Shook, Claybahn, Randy, and Eric. I gave Greg. You gave him a second place vote, and I gave him a third place vote.
You went TJ Wyt, I went Michael Parsons again. I don't I think those three are all really strong. I tend to think Miles Garrett will win, but wouldn't I think TJ. Watt as a as a real chance.
I think it will be closer. Yeah, I think it'll be closer than they actually know because they don't do the MVP style voting for anything other than MVP, so this is just one pick and doe.
But even then it could. I believe when TJ won it before, I could be wrong. That was one of those years, like he had less than twenty votes, but he had the most votes, and something similar could happen. Parsons passes just my I think he's the best, and then there is some good numbers for it, like he does have way more pressures than anyone in the league. His pass rush win rate is significantly better than anyone. Miles Garrett is a strong number two there, and then
it's a pretty big drop to number three. Parsons faces the most amount of double teams in the league. He's beaten double teams the most, and so just trying, I think TJ. Watt would be a good vote. I think Garrett, who was my second place, would be a great vote too. But just like pulling them apart. Once I saw those sort of news things, I was like that was enough for me to just back what my gut tells me.
Which is, by the way, why I threw Aaron Donald a vote, because his pop the hood metrics are all still dominant. He's always commanding all those double and triple teams and still uh you know he sat he was setting the table for your boy young Kobe this season. You think he's been better than Miles Garrett this season.
He voted the bottom of the part place, but I gave him a vote.
Okay, I had Garrett third. I think I think they really any of those three.
It does come down I think also just like the experience of watching football and the player itself, because it's like I completely hear your argument for for Michael and also for TJ. But if I think like Garrett has been at a defensive player of the year level throughout his throughout the last couple of seasons, and this was just a little bit more of a special performance on a special defense.
I like, I do actually like rewarding him like it was one reason why I had him second versus third versus It's like what's already won one. I do think that's okay to take into account, Like James Harrison won one, and he was very deserving a couple of times, and I and he kind of won it. It was like Pacino winning for Sense of a Woman order. He won it in the year that I didn't think he should have won it, but I was like, it was good that he won it.
I thought it was good. So I think that's okay for Miles Garrett.
Well, in terms of my ethics, I give it to the best man. Yeah, outright.
It's kind of like a makeup call in with Jenson's you have two bat calls instead of one.
Yeah, but if they're all like if you're just like breaking ties or whatever.
You were talking about your personal level of integrity when it comes to being forthright with people. Earlier, I wrote that down for myself. By the way, I want to tell you best man for the job. That's my credo. That's where I stand. Mark your next Later in the show, I believe Myles Garrett was the best player. No, I want something more like a personal stance. Yeah, on integrity, that trying to cook one up.
I'm saying with big life decisions like firing a man, Yes, I was saying that an important decision.
I'm not questioning with you. Let's go. I'm just saying I was sharing. Yeah, some ethics, best man, we've all we're all the better for it. Dan, all right, let's move to where are we at now? Offensive Rookie of the Year. This one was surprising. Hit it hit the uh what is that called again? It's a drum roll? Now, It's timpany, That's what it is. It's the timpany Timpani. By the way, someone sorry, somebody on Twitter gave me something really something to chew on that. I loved it. Oh,
here it is from Hugh Robertson. People were wondering, those people being me, what do you call it when you're strumming the harp? I would say strumming, But that's what I thought too well. Hugh Robertson tells us that this Hugh Robertson tells us that flourish on the harp, leading into new horizons money is called a glissando. That's a word, a cascade of notes rippling into each other, not unlike the woe is currently befallowing the Philadelphia Eagles. What a
beautiful tweet, heed the call, great tweet. Let me hear that again. This year a Glissando. That was multiple. That was Glissando, Glissandos. When there's two, it's Glissandos. All right, now give me the timpany because it's time to announce the offensive Rookie the Year. This one was closer than I thought it was going to be. But with sixty five votes, you know it's the quarterback of the Houston Texans.
He's getting ready to knock out Marks Brown. CJ. Stroud the Offensive Rookie of the Year for Around the NFL, just narrowly edging out Puka Nakua by ten votes, sixty five to fifty five. First place votes for CJ from Zuzzar, Greg, Mark, Colleen and Shook, second plays votes from claybon Funk and Eric first plays votes to Puka For those last three names, Mark, it's Stroud, though Stroud wins it. Yeah, I got a
landslide for us. It was Pukah has been incredible. He broke a record dating back to nineteen sixty and from wire to wire he was a fascination. I mean, for me, it's a degree of difficulty, like c J.
Stroud coming in and right away doing things that you'd expect a quarterback to do in year three and four and looking like a potential, like I thought at times a possible MVP CABET candidate, and like Shook gave him an MVP vote, and it's like Stroud has completely changed the organization. And I just think I gave that a little bit more value than wide receiver.
I Yeah, I struggle with that because I would want to give it to a receiver if he was that exceptional as a receiver, he has a case to be made. Maybe not All Pro because the only but second team All Pro the top four wide receivers in the league.
But Stroud, to me, was a top six quarterback in the league.
So like, if Stroud wasn't this exceptional, then I would have gone Puka. Like you look at some of the previous winners, Pooka would have won it over Garrett Wilson, Jamar Chase is close, Herbert would have been close.
Kyler.
I would have said he would have won it over Saquon Camara, maybe not Dak. That was an incredible rookie year, Like it had to be a really special rookie year to beat up Pooka, But I think Stroud had that year.
Yeah, I think you're right. This is one of those you look back and wow, quarterback who hit the ground running as a star, and then you can understand why people are tossing drinks in Charlotte because you had a chance and passed on that man. By the way, I threw Bijon a vote, and I was surprised to see that. You know what, Greg, you had mentioned that. I think he finished over fourteen hundred total yards and it was a lot of incompetence around him.
You had a fifth place vote.
Yeah, in the play calling, and I just almost a nod of appreciation that I still see you as a potential super stars, So thank you for doing your best and trying circumstances.
At the bottom of the list was more mixed up.
Sam Laporto was a strong third, and yeah, he would have been a good candidate in a lot of years. Jayden Reid and Jamiir Gibbs were tied for fifth.
Tank. I assume that's not Tank Bigsby.
I don't think so. That's Del Tank Del. Yes, I don't know why I had Tanks Biggs beyond their brain. Jordan Addison gets a little vote, eight, Chen gets a vote. Z Flowers gets four.
There we go, all right, let's move to this Defensive Rookie of the Year. This one I struggled with, but here we go, Defensive Rookie of the Year. The winner is just like the Jets last year, the Texans sweep the category. Will Anderson, the defensive end winsor was sixty three votes. We have Jalen Carter, the Eagles defensive tackle, thirty eight votes, and then Witherspoon of Seattle gets twenty five. That's the top three. Young Kobe just misses out on
a medal twenty four points twenty four votes. Excuse me, I struggled with this one. Guys. For instance, I gave Will Anderson a third place vote, and Greg, I say, you gave him a second place vote, and then everyone else gave him first place vote except for excuse me, Shook, who gave his second place vote as well. Mark, what was your thinking on this one?
I think Will Anderson is the kind of player that helped the Texans in every aspect of what his position is. He was good against the run, he's a good pass rusher. He hit the ground running looking like the guy from the start. And for me, I thought Jalen Carter and the whole Eagles experience probably tinge my thinking there a little bit.
But I think the Houston Texans best draft class around.
If there was a more cohesive and consistent defensive not just planned but effort from Philadelphia might have changed things. But to watch Will Anderson playing hurt towards the end of the year and like still impact the games, whereas the Eagles defenses.
Yeah, I see. I was the only one that gave Carter first place vote because I was kind of looking at some of the production and then the analytics.
And his past fresh win rate and everything like that.
His ranking is not amongst rookies. He is already one of the very best defensive tackles in the league in terms of all the generating pressure and just being a cog in the middle of that defense. He's already a star. And I think I didn't want to penalize him because the rest of the defense has completely fallen off of.
Yeah, I thought those three players and I would put Kobe Turner in there were so close that I actually, you know, I put some I tried to figure out there is almost nothing separating these three guys. You could make different arguments. I think for all of them. I think I voted Kobe Turner first. The producers didn't give me in a fifth place vote. Once again, I just wonder about handing them this much.
Oh that's why he was.
I mean, I didn't know.
I even Pace gets third place and we we can't get Kobe Turner. And uh, Kobe Turner plays interior defensive line, so he only had eight or nine less pressures than Will Anderson. He was in the top ten of all defensive tackles in terms of interior pressures. Now, Jalen Carter actually was like slightly ahead of him even too, And I thought, okay, is Aaron Donald setting him up? And then you think, like, has Aaron Donald ever have a
defensive tackle literally, have any stats next to him? No, So that didn't seem like it's a really strong argument. There wasn't much separating all these guys. They all were very good in terms of their past rush win we Will Anderson was probably the best run stopper.
But I gave it to.
Turner, give him a little extra love. Clayon didn't give him anything either. Yeah, Yahdabi gets a fourth Why.
I thought, No, I like that one.
I like that. That's fine. That Yeah, Yeah, disappointed Greg Yeah, it's Jevin Witherspoon that Greg hates. No.
I put him fifth.
He came, well, it's Brian Branch.
I put Branch okay, So then leave me alone.
All right. Finally we gotta let's bring this thing in for a landing. The Coach of the Year. It's the Coach of the Year. Very competitive this season. Demiko Demiko Ryans wins it surprising do we have the voting grid on that one? With sixty eight votes? Stefanski, who is my first place pick, comes in a kind of a deep second. Only you and I voted Stefanski first, and then Kyle Shanahan gets twelve points, Shane Steike in eleven, Dan Campbell's seven. That's the top five. Okay, Clay Bound,
who did you have first? I had Tomko first?
Tell us and we don't have to go back too far where there's like a Prosperity Gospels slash comedian guy like surreptitiously recording meetings in Houston. They fire back to back coaches. There's all sorts of stuff happening, and then Demiko comes in. They have a candidate for Offensive Rookie of the Year, Defensive Rookie of the year, they're in the playoffs in a division that we did not think the Texans would win.
I think considering all of that, Dimiko was the coach of the Year.
I really struggle with this one because it's my second one. I think he fits, he checks every box. I think the thing about Stefanski that outweighed everything else for me was if you knew any team going into the year would have five quarterbacks. It's an obvious argument, but like, to survive all that and like, really have bad quarterback play through eighty five percent of the season and stay
afloat that's good coaching. Like, and I think that he also is someone his demeanor after so many years of wreckage in Cleveland, Like he's just got this calm, cool demeanor and he's now won it twice and he's been the same guy the entire time.
Well, we'll see if he wins. This makes me think maybe Tamiko ryans.
Well, if he's wanted here, it's a dope. Yeah. Uh, that was why we went over over unders the other day there. The Watson thing was so overpowering that I thought that got in the way of like looking at the roster and that there was talent on both sides of the ball, and they got the coaching. The defensive coordinator was looked like an upgrade, and but what ended up happening was you lose Watson even even though he
wasn't playing at a high level. You lose Chubb and for them to somehow not only the offensive line, the line, you know, for them not only to survive. It's it's not like they snuck into the playoff at nine and eight. They had eleven wins going into the last week of the season and then rested their starters. And I just
think Stefanski deserves so much credit for that. And you know, with the Flacco magic, like Flacco deserves obviously the most credit, but Flacco was for the Jets and anyone else the last five years a very hit or miss proposition, usually a miss. And now he's playing like an All Pro and Stefanski is an offensive dude, and I just I think he does. I think this is his award. I'd be very surprised if Demiko actually gets it.
I think Tomiko has a chance just because you know, they won six games in the last two years and that's that's a big deal. Yeah, And I think it goes into what a what are you rewarding for the whole job of coaching. I think Stefanski did that exceptionally as well, because you're not judging him on his offensive production that was that's one little ding against him. Is as well as he's done making them competitive, especially late
in the season. They have your twenty seven to twenty eighth and like Epaver playing, he's an offensive coach, but he was good at hiring Jim Schwartz and getting everything together. But I think Demiko Ryan's there is something that's that you can't even calculate. And I think Kyle Shanahan that's why I had him so high too. I think I had him second or third, and I can't remember who I had between Stefanski ands Shanahan.
But uh, like the everything that.
Goes into it, not just calling the play, is hiring the coaches, like helping to bring in the players. Everything in Ryan's changed that culture, but Stefanski has to, and so the either one would beget Yeah.
I feel like this award has been relative to the expectations for a very long time.
Mike Smith won it multiple times. Come on, It's like the expectations were low because Mike Smith was the coach.
And Tinnis Allen's gonna win next year. Baby, all right, good stuff, those are our awards. You'll get the actual well, these are the actual awards in my mind, but the ones that are seeing as gospel you have to wait till NFL honors a few days before the Super Bowl. We're gonna be back on Thursday with the preview of Super wild Card weekend. I think it's gonna be one of the most competitive and compelling ones ever. So thank you for listening so far this week and more to come.
And Patrick, you've said it all. Anything to add, Yes, if the Saints started Jamis Winston next year and he lost every single game and had one tie, he and Dennis Allen would have the same win loss record percentage wise. So there it is. Okay, that's good.
That's a fact.
Wind, that's a fact. Jack, all Right, till Thursday. Heed the call.