It's hard, like we have to prepare ourselves. Like we get together, we say, hey, we're gonna we need to pray before we head into this. How much this episode because it hurts our heart. It hurts our heart watching what Michael Michael did to those four kids, But the episode all the other is so good. My name is Cooper Cup and I'm five foot four and one hundred and nineteen pounds.
Hi, everybody, if you're listening to me right now, you already know where you are. You are off the beat with your host. Yours truly, Brian Baumgartner. My guest today none other than the La Rams wide receiver Cooper Cup. Cooper, a true underdog story, was not even recruited to a Division one college out of high school, but his accomplishments now are numerous. After being a two sport athlete in football and basketball in high school, he went to Eastern
Washington University. He was the first freshman wide receiver to be named to a first team All Americans since Randy Moss in the nineties, and he is still currently the NCAA Division One leader in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.
That's all before he became pro now. Since joining the Rams after being drafted in the third round of twenty seventeen, he has played his way to two Super Bowls, won one ring, and was even named the Super Bowl MVP in twenty twenty because well, yeah, he's a very valuable player, the most valuable, some would say, I'm going to talk to him about growing up in a legacy football family, making his own way in the league, and now starting his own coffee company. What's that you say, coffee? Well,
let's find out here. He is the man with the beard Cooper cup.
Bubble and squeak. I love it, bubble and squeak.
I know.
Bubble and squeak.
I cook it every mole, lift over from the ninety before.
Well, well, well, how's it going.
It's great? Oh yeah, I expecting you to hit me with Uh that's three wells.
That's three wells. I didn't do six.
Uh.
Where are you right now?
I'm home. I'm home. We just had a little bit of tough time getting home. Yeah, at home in La.
Well, first off, thank you for joining me. I'm I'm a big fan of yours. You know you remind because because you remind me of me.
Yeah, yeah, I get that. I've heard that a lot.
Yeah, I mean the way that you run, route, your speed, your agility, the way you cut. I really it reminds me of me. So I appreciate your game very much, very much. How's a golf game?
You know, the golf game. The golf game is a work in progress. Yeah, it's like anything else. It's a I haven't played since we've had kids. You know, I've got a six year old to three year old and a one year old or soon to be six year old. And since we've got kids, golfing, I just don't get out as much. But right, you know, it's a fun game.
Just know this. I there. I could take you there. Okay, I don't.
I don't know about a lot of other places, but there I got you.
You know, I was. I was with you in Tahoe back in twenty twenty.
I think it was the COVID year, right, Yes, yeah.
I was there. I honestly I saw you sitting on the patio eating. I'm like, oh, I've got to go say hi. I just couldn't get myself to get up and get up and go do it.
I wasn't worth you standing up for us. What you're saying right now.
No, I was like, I just want to interrupt his lunch. Oh how did you play that? Did you? How did you play it? Tahoe?
That year was my best year ever, So maybe your presence helped me.
Well, yes, yeah, who knows, I could have thrown you off your game.
I was top third that year.
Yeah, yeah, and yeah, and I you know, I looked it up because I remembered you being there and and yeah I beat you.
So that's really all that matters.
Yeah, that's great, and I anticipate that. I also played my best golf there. So did you Yeah?
Oh yeah, I usually don't.
This is my thought. Well, because I you that year, there was no one, no fans, no one was around.
Correct thing.
Going into that year. When I first got the invite, I told my wife, I'm like, if I'm on the tea box and I pulled my driver out, I could kill somebody. I hit the ball hard. Like my issue isn't contact, Like I can make good contact, it's just directionally things. I have great control over where things going. But I mean I totally am like there's there's a chance,
like if I put my driver out. It was on these part five I've got clear this like for lawyers and tear things out because there's there could be some problems.
Yeah, well we're uh, we're we are uh less than a week away.
To this year. Are you are you going to grace us with your presence this year? No?
No, I couldn't do it. We had my son's birthdays, uh July third, and so we're gonna we're gonna do a little lake trip. That would be our summer break.
Nice.
Well, and I know I know you're about to start back to work, and uh, we will we will talk about that. But your story, I'm telling you, man, it is. It is one interesting and two inspiring. It really is. So I want to go back. This is actually crazy. Only five families have had three generations of of of folks selected in in the NFL draft. You one of those families. Your grandfather Jake and your father Craig both drafted played in the NFL.
Uh. You grew up in what is it?
Yakima, Yakima, Washington.
Yakima nailed it, nailed it, I you know, famously it is the Palm Springs of Washington. I'm told that that's what that's what the sign said as Anyway, I'm guessing now you you.
Live in l A. Have you been to Palm Springs.
I've actually not even been to Palm I mean, I was just thinking, you don't have to go to the Palms. I've got the Palm Springs of Washington my entire life. I just like the Palm Springs will just be let down.
Well, I was gonna ask you if you thought they were the same. I'm guessing they're.
Not, because it's so much better.
But you're well, I hey, listen, but I have never I have never been to Yakima. Uh so I can't say which is better. I'm just guessing that they're that they're different.
You know.
Look, you need to make a trip up to up to Ya, up to this great state of Washington. Yeah, all through there if you like, if you like beer, if you like wine, there's some great great beer and wine, really good restaurants. I'll give you all the good restaurant recommendations. Okay, Hamburgers people there will point you a certain direction. But I've got the inside scoop on where you were?
You got the inside scoop? Now, is this near a little place called the Homish.
Well Snow Homish is like over on the past. Okay, what do you do in?
I have some family in Snowholmish, And really what I love most about Snowhomish is saying Snowhomish. I really I really like the name of Snowhomish. I what was it like growing up there? So you love it there in Washington?
I have no complaints about growing up there. I mean that was home. You know, It's it's so many of the people there invested a lot in me growing up, and some of the coaches and just the friends I had there. So I've got you know, I obviously I I know that place. I know Yakima, I know the people there. I'm not sure that you know where what's right for me and my family and where we're going to be. I'm not sure, but but yeah, certainly have a lot of respect for for having grown up there.
Yeah. Are you do you enjoy Los Angeles? I do.
I do enjoy a lot of Angels. We're on the suburbs, like you know, we're in We're in in the valley basically where practice facility and everything that.
So I'm not like, what's your address?
Oh yeah, uh, I just want too busy. I like Seattle growing up, Seattle was too busy for me. I just don't like things get too too much. So it's nice out here.
What was football, given that your grandfather played, that your father played, Was football a big part of your childhood?
Yeah, so it was, I mean it was. It was never something that was pushed though. I mean, actually, my you know, my grandpa will talk about his days playing in the league and we ask him questions about it all the time, and my dad didn't talk about it as much, you know, so they did a pretty good job of just being you know, dad and grandpa growing up.
But it was something that you know, I think anytime as kids, as you know, as a faller now, when you have shared passions with your kids, I think there's just like doing those things where you both have a passion for it. I think those things are just there's more lesser, there's more meaning behind those those interactions and those experiences when you're sharing them with your with your kids. And so I think that was something that I grabbed onto.
I really enjoyed playing football. It's also something that I know when I'm out throwing the ball with my dad, I know, like we're both really enjoying doing this, and so I do think that kind of just helped, you know, push things along.
Because you had that shared experience that was something that attracted you to it. Did you think as a child, this is what I want to do?
Yeah?
Actually when I was, I mean I can remember remember vividly at nine years old, being like this is this is it? My first time stepping on the field to play football? And I had actually asked my dad. I just saw my saw my future Pop Warner team practicing out in the right field of my son of my little brother's, you know, coach pitch game, and I went out there and started watching, and it was like, da, I want to play. I didn't even know there was football going on, but like, why am I not playing?
And then you know, within the first practice, like man, this is this is it? This is what I want to do. It was very clear from there, you know, what my goals were and what I wanted to pursue.
Freshman year of high school.
Yeah, you well, I mean, I guess you're you know, you're basically the same size now. You were five to four one nineteen pounds. It's weird that you haven't grown since then. Your football team, your high school Davis High School had only had two winning seasons in the last in the previous forty years.
That's funny.
Before before, before you got there, did you think like still when you started fresh like this is what you wanted to do, and you were going to take this team to the next level that had never won and that you were going to you were going to continue to play football this There was nothing that was stopping you that. As a five foot four one nineteen freshman in high school.
No, I figured they had done left losing in the last forty years, that the tables had to turn at some point and we were just going to hit it big. No, we just had a good group of gods. We had a good group of like friends that were all going to the school. We kind of all decided together, like let's just go there and turn things around. Let's just try to be a part of the change. And so it was a big group over two years of classes that went to the school and tried to change things up.
And you know, we our best year, we were you know, six and four. I think we went to went to the playoffs one of those years and then got trounced, absolutely trounced, but well we did. I mean it was that friend group though did end up in our senior year we won state in basketball. We were you know, it was a really fun, you know group to be able to go through things with. And yeah, it was good. I mean actually that last year we had to play. I don't know how it's legal. I'm sure if people
would back. I think we played three football games in a matter of like five days or something. It was like a Saturday, we played a Saturday game in Oregon. We played a tiebreaker game on like Monday or Tuesday, and then we played a playoff game on Thursday. So by Thursday game, Thursday game, we was like it was done.
That's why you lost. This doesn't seem.
Right, that is that is why actually should we audit?
Should we go back and audit this.
I think what we do is we bring people back and we replayed the game.
I get what you're doing now.
Now I see what you're doing being relatively small when you started high school.
Do you think that that helps you in any way? I do.
I've looked back on it now as such an incredible blessing. There's so many guys that come in to you know, whoever's pop warm or eighth seventh, eighth, ninth grade, and they're just bigger, faster, stronger than everyone just because that's just how their bodies developed. No one's started working out yet, no one's done anything, but that's just how their body has developed. Those guys, I feel like they've like that's
all they know. Is like all I know is success and winning and being faster and stronger than everyone else. And me, I was the exact opposite. If I want to get on the field, if I want to do anything, I had to be technically and tactically so much better than the guy across from you, because I was so much slower, so much smaller, so much weaker. And you know, you said relatively small, which I was just small, Like
there wasn't no relative about how small it was. But but eventually I was able to work and do all this stuff, and I was able to you know, teach myself. You know, this is how this is what you can win, stilly, This is what takes to win when the when you're at a disadvantaged situation like I'm this this DB's covered me, But I know how to win because I know how to work leverage better than he does, and then eventually
put in the time. You build these habits of building up your body and studying the game, and eventually the body does come and you are bigger and stronger and faster. But those habits have continued on, and so I was able to at an early age, I was forced into developing the habits that would set me up for what I'm doing now. And a lot of those guys, it was it was a lot harder for them to set up those habits because they had no you know, they had no motivation to do it. R I had that
intrinsic motivation. I had to do that.
Did you. It's fascinating to me. Did you?
Was that a conscious thought even at that age, like that you had to work harder that you that you had to figure out how to beat these people that were bigger, faster, stronger, whatever.
Yes, it was a conversation I had with my dad Actually on my way to basketball seventh grade, I wore the little silicon bracelets everyone was wearing back in the day, and I just had once set hard on it and my dad was like, you know, you wear this every day, but I want you to know, like, if you want to do the things that you say you want to do, you have to work harder than every single person you're on the field with, you're on the court with it
just what it's going to be. At this point, I was already getting passed up by everyone, and you said, this is what you want. It's going to take heart and it's going to take a willingness to outwork every single person you see if you want to pursue this thing. And I just decided on the way in the car on that with Grats, just decided, I'm just not gonna get worked. I'm gonna find a way to do it.
I'm gonna believe that I can accomplish these things and if I work hard enough, eventually those things will come in alignment. And you know, still my freshman year, I was, like you said, hunder nineteen pounds. I had ankle weights on under my jeans, so it was really one hundred and fifteen pounds. I had two pound ankle weights my genes. But I believe. I remember telling my coaches like I'm
going to play running back at USC. Retchi Bush was one of my favorite guys to watch, like I'm I'm gonna play Wow running back at USC and no one's gonna tell me different. And you know, as like as high school progressed, you know, obviously that became less and less realistic, but the dream of still like, man, Okay, now I'm not playing running back, I'm playing receiver, But like, I still want to achieve these and I still want to go to USC. I still want to play in
the Pac twelve and eventually playing in the NFL. Like those things, those beliefs and those never changed.
That's incredible.
Yeah, I do want to talk a minute again, because you've talked about your diminished size. You played basketball, and you said that humbly. However, in basketball senior year for a state championship twenty three and two record. Fascinating story that I heard was in in the playoffs, you played against a guy by the name of Zach Levine, widely considered to be the top high school recruit. Now I'm told you held him to four points in the first
half and you guys just stomped him. All right, So what did that?
Was that? Again? Was that a mindset for you about working leverage even on the basketball court.
Yeah, so I was saying, you know, for basketball, I was kind of the the defensive specialists. Okay, let's call it that, which usually just means that you're not very good offensively.
Yeah, that you can't shoot as well as me. Okay, I've found something else I can do better than news. I can shoot the.
I was My shot was always a problem because I would I would lift all the way through basketball season and coming out of football. I just when it just was bad, it would just become a whole disa. It was a disaster. It's like pulling a lawn chair kind of situation. We're all back here and stuff. I just didn't have I'm good now, So if we want to go, if we want to sling up, okay, you know, gentleman's
handshake on it, all for it. But but yeah, so that game we were going up being Zach Lavine in the quarterfinals of state, and you know, he's averaging thirty something points a game, like we had. We we won state. We dunked zero times that entire year. We had a now single person dunked the basketball the entire year we
won state. We our tallest guy was like six to two, and we just ran the floor, full court press, run the floor and going to that game like okay, I know I'm gonna match up with Zach, and I just figured, you know, he shot the ball. He was you know, he was pulling up from so far beyond on the three point line, and you go out there and garden and then you drive and just jump over everyone. So I'm like, well, I'm just gonna stand out there and not let him shoot, make him drive, and we're just
gonna make him great help side defense. And I had I did have some the guys did really good job helping out. So I can't take all the credit that I just made sure he wasn't shooting threes. And then what I think I hel him to seven?
I don't.
I don't know, for I remember it being seven before before.
We got pulled. Wow, can you dunk? Now?
You know I haven't tried in in a while. It's just not worth it. I don't think I try. When am I proven to anyone?
Yeah? All right? Can you me?
Yeah?
No, I can't not even gonna.
I'm gonna pretend because if if somebody, if somebody asks.
Yeah, no, I can't.
I can't.
Don't you have no, no, there's no donkey, So we can we can we can play, we can play horse but no dunking.
No, yeah, we can do that up done, lay up. Of course you finish high school. You had no scholarship offers at that point, is that right? So are you thinking when at that point you would you had said what your goals were, that when you left the football field your last game of high school, that you were that you were done.
Yeah, so that was that was definitely the toughest time was, you know, stepping off the field after just like we discussed getting trounce in the playoffs right by like forty points and like, okay, well now I've got nothing on the table, no guarantees of you know, playing anywhere. Yeah, that that's tough, But there's still I mean, I think there's still this belief like, hey, we're going to find
a way to do it. You know, I was a decent student in school and felt like I could get you know, I was I would be able to get opportunities to go get into school and walk off. You need to do that, Okay, but that that's that senior year. I mean, I had Yale was the first school that showed any interest.
Okay, I had.
I was talking to their coach, coach Preston over and over a weekly like, man, this seems like this is going somewhere. First game, his dad, coach Preston's dad happened to be at the game for whatever reason up in Eastmont, w Nashi, and I've had you one hundred yards rushing, one hundred yards receiving through a touchdown, Like he had a great game, like all around, just was a really solid game. And I thought, for sure, like he's gonna
hear about this game. His dad's here, like he's gonna hear about this, and I'll get an opportunity from Yale. It's just kind of like, you know, not not quite solidified yet. And sure enough, he gives me a call and say, hey, let's talk. Give me a call. It lunch like Monday, after the game. So I get out, I got my notepad out. I'm like, I'm gonna write down all the details of what's going on here. I'm pumped.
And I get this call and he's like, hey, you know, we're just not uh we we think we're gonna go a different direction with our wide receiver recruitment. We think we want to get like a smaller, quicker slot receiver. So I just want to let you know just we were moving on basically. And that's how like my senior season, like I just played the best game of my life and lost the only interest I had from Wow, you know, the only university of showing me any interest. So yeah,
it was tough. But I I said, you know, if you have come out of this car like you're gonna find a way to play. But not having anything solidified that that was tough.
When did when did bo Baldwin offer you a scholarship at Eastern Washington?
It was it was probably middle of December. We're in there, it was you know, it was it was a little ways away, so you know, we end in November. It was a few weeks. I don't stay. Actually ended up being the first ones to come in. Eastern Washington said hey, we're in order, we'll give you a half. I don't State came in said we'll give you a full. Then Eastern called back and said we'll give you a full.
And those were my two offers and that ended up happening December, you know, December, early January.
Why did you decide to red shirt your first year?
Well, when I got there, I had there were three you know, all American receivers that were ahead of me, and so you know I didn't. I took the approach like, well, I'm not going to compare myself anyone. I'm just gonna try to be the best me that I can be, and whatever ends up happening, I'm gonna be okay with it. At the end of that, you know, fall camp Merceerier coach kind of asked me what I wanted to do. They kind of left it in my hands a little
bit of what whether I wanted to or not. And one of the All American receivers I was there, who ended up becoming my coach for the last two years while off my time at Eastern Washington was just like, hey, I just think you it's best for you to red shirt because you know his Mondy's like, I'm not coming off the field. Brand Coffin's not coming out the field.
Greg Hurt's not coming off the field. Ashton Clark was the other receiver who ended up being you know, my running mate my first year playing, and it's I mean, we had to have so many guys, it just makes sense to take this year and and learn, and so so I did. But it was it was so valuable it was. It was some of the best stuff I did. I mean that that year, the growth that I had, you know, physically mentally, it was a very valuable thing.
Your first college football game, you play in Corvallis, Oregon against Oregon State. Some might call it the Cooper Cup college football coming out party. You crushed it. One hundred and nineteen yards, two touchdowns. You guys beat Oregon State. How was that after sitting that year and working so hard to have that kind of game and to shock the world, if you will, and actually beat a ranked team at a very difficult place to play.
Yeah, that was.
That was really cool. I think, you know, I remember walking out into you know, into the stadium and just wondering, like thing myself, like, man, that first I knew what the flate first play was gonna be. It was coming to me. I'll hit her out into the boundary, and I was like, I don't know if I'm going to run off the ball, like I might just freeze, Like please don't freeze, Please don't like please just ling you out. But yeah, I was. I was so nervous going into
that game. And then once you start playing, it's like, hey, once you run out the field for the first time. Every everything else just goes away, all the butterflies, everything is like, no, this is just the same game I've been playing my entire life, and you just go out there and do what you've taught yourself to do over and over and over again, and you're you know, the you know, subconscious takes over and you're just playing ball. So that was really fun, though I actually started tramping it.
I didn't even play the second half of that game because it was so hot and so wow. It was brutal, So I have the entire second half. The team doctor was trying to get an IV in my arm. I'm just I'm sitting up there in our locker room, blood streaming down both my arms because we can't get the you can't get the IV set.
Oh my god. It was.
Yeah, it was a disaster, but it was a it was It was a pretty cool experience though, just being able to have some success there. And obviously Vernon Adams quarterback, had an unbelievable game, end up end up beating my feature teammates Sean Manyon and Bran Cooks down there in Corbellis.
Yeah, not only an unbelievable game, an unbelievable season for you guys. Eight to Zerine Conference eleven and three. You win the Big Sky Title, you personally unanimous first team All Big Sky Freshmen of the Year. You set FCS records for receptions, yards, touchdowns. You win the Jerry Rice Award. Basically, you crush it. I crushed tacos and uh yeah, the first freshman wide receiver to be named an All Americans since Randy Moss. I mean, as a you, no one
offered you a scholarship. Yeah, and you you know you're still five to four and one nineteen if I have that right at that time. I mean, this must be so gratifying to you as a kid who I assume have been told one way or the other, at least passively, know that this is not something that you're gonna do. And you finish that freshman year and realize not only can you compete in conference at Eastern Washington, but make an impact and a name for yourself throughout all of
college football. Eventually, junior year, you win the Walter Payton Award. Like this has got to be incredible for you. Yeah, yeah, it was.
I think the it's really hard for me to look back on things, especially in the present moment you finish the season and try to reflect on what the season was. I typically lean towards this mindset of being like, you know, that was, like what happened. There's so many things that have to go right, especially a receiver. There's so much that has to happen before you even get a chance
to have the ball thrown your way. And even then you have to have done your job well enough to be open to be in a position to make a play. And I think I everything they make the play. The mindset I've taken every year is, you know, there's so
much luck inball, like you got lucky. You have to work harder to make sure that you can do this again, that you like put yourself in, like give yourself a better opportunity, because if if I can win every single time, then when all the other stuff comes together, and the guys block up front, quarterback takes a good drop, makes a good read, the running back picks up his you know, his protection. If I'm open every single time, then we've got a chance. And you know, I've given myself a
chance to go and make a play. And so that's been my mindset all the way through. It makes it hard to ever feel like, uh, you look back and like, oh man, I have done so much or have accomplished so much. Account just feels like a there's more you can do, There's more you can there's a there's better out there as a player, you know, and that it helps me keep that keep that perspective and keeps me from becoming complacent. And you know, I just don't love
the I don't love being stagnant at all. Like the stagnancy thing, like guys get so comfortable with what they've done that they feel like that's enough, and that's never going to be my thing. And you touched on all the doubters and people that want to tell you one thing or another of like you've alluded to my entire life, it's been my goals were too high all the way through.
I remember I got to Eastern. Within within like two weeks of being at Eastern, I heard that a coach had shared that I was never going to play a down for Eastern Washington. And you know that was as as I had just arrived, getting ready to you know, go into that first year, and so even you know, all this stuff that it's just you know, tune all that stuff out and say this is I know what I've done, I know who I am, and I'm just gonna go out there and be the best version of
me over and over and over again. And that's gonna be good enough. I know that the work that I've done, things that I've done, that's gonna be good enough. And anything that's out, anything else is outside of my control.
You ended up not playing running back for the Trojans, but it sounds like everything else eventually worked itself out as you had dreamed early on when you're there at Eastern Washington, Like, at what point do you realize you have a you have a real shot to not just play but play impactfully in the NFL? Like, right, did you never like this is gonna happen from day one moment one? Or there must have been some time when you realized, oh wow, Like yes, right.
Yeah, I think there's there's there are probably two moments. There's like the dream, like I didn't dream about getting to the NFL, you know, Okay, for the moment that it was like I'm doing this. The dream wasn't I'm going to play in the NFL. The dream was like making the plays in the NFL. It was like doing the thing, like really doing the things as a kid, like you don't you don't dream about just getting to
the NBA. You dream about, you know, hitting the game winning shot in the you know, the finals, right, and so that's kind of like as a kid, like, no, that's what I'm going to do. Then there. I think there's a moment of when you are in the NFL of like the confirmation of like I can play at this level and the belief in yourself that you can play and do what you want to do. And I think that happens early and that's like you get out there and it's like, now I know who I am.
I don't know any of these guys that I'm on the field with at this point, but I know who I am. And within the first practice like, okay, no, this is the same. This is the same game that I've been playing my entire life. It's the same game I was playing in college, same while I was playing all the way back down to Pop Warner. The guys are just a little bit bigger, a little faster, little stronger, and I'm still five four one nine. Team.
Well, you had some pretty good folks there with you when you got to the Rams. Sean McVeigh as a new head coach. Jared golf is in his second year there. You've got Aaron and Donald. Tell me a little bit about your friendship with with Jared Goff. You guys, we were close, right, roommates early on in your career.
Is that right? Yes?
Because so when we got I trained down Orange County and we got when I got drafted, we were in Orange County. So then I got drafted, I just drove through La up to you know, a thousand Oaks, and Jared was nice enough to less basically crash at his house my wife and I until we figured out what we were going to do in terms of getting you know, renting a house or staying at the team hotel, which
is what we end up doing for a while. But you know, he was nice opened his home up to us, and he was my first intro into you know, the offense, into all the stuff around here in terms of just like, hey, this is just the area, showing me around. So really thankful for him and his you know, welcoming, welcoming me and my family with open arms, and and we were able to grow together, you know, because we were both there. That year was Shawn's first year, so everyone's learning the
offense at the same time. We're all figuring it out and and that was a fun thing to be able to have that whole crew be like, man, we get to we're building this all together and learning it all together. That was think a pretty valuable thing for a receiver and a quarterback.
Still close.
Yeah, we still talk. We still talk. He's obviously in Detroit and he's back and forth all over the place, but yeah, we still talk and actually owe him a dinner here, So I got.
I think after his new contract, he is you a dinner.
Now. I'm so happy for him. I'm think about think about what he I mean people, people counted him out. People and like you, yes, but i mean, really it's hard to do in the NFL when you get when
you're counted out like that. For him to go and do what he did in Detroit and earn another contract or have, you know, be be so consistent what he is and who he is, and show his preper to the point that this organization wants to invest in him again and say, you know, we're we believe that you're the guy and that's such a cool thing, and so I'm so pumped for him.
Yeah, he seems like a good guy, seems like a good guy.
He's a messy eater. I couldn't eat with him at lunch because he's he's a messy eater. I'm sure his I'm sure his fiance. He's gotten that figured out by now, Like I almost, dude, I can't eat you got you got eating chicken wings and it's like a Caesar salad and you've got Seasar dressing on your forehead. I can't eat anymore.
Twenty twenty one, your season we do. We call it historic, First Team All Pro, Pro Bowl, NFL Offensive Player of the Year. You lead the NFL in receptions, yards, touchdowns. It's Stafford's first year. Your buddy is gone, but it sounds like you got a new campadre there that, at least within the offense, elevates you and allows you to get those kind of numbers.
Now.
I know Matt, first off, he's an idiot. Okay, let's just get that clear right now. Yeah, and I'm better at golf than he is too. Regardless of what anybody, including him says, what was that like for you? I mean, getting that those kind of numbers. Now, I know you expect that of yourself and this is what you've been doing all of the work for. But everyone thinks that, right,
I mean to get that within that offense. Was there something specifically that he was doing within the offense that allowed that kind of change to happen?
Yeah, I don't. You know, there's probably a lot of more elegant ways to put this, you know, but it was kind of like, you know, it's life when Peanut Butter met Jelly. You know, it was just like Peb and Jay. Yeah, it's like Pambe's and Jim. It was honestly like it was like this is going to be good, you know, the way we're seeing things, the timing.
The way that you saw it right away.
Oh, right away. It was like this is going to be really good just in terms of the Yeah, like I said, the way we see the game. I don't know what you want to put the chemistry is what people say whatever that wherever the chemistry is. Uh, we just we had it and it's been it's been fun kind of growing in that, you know, because he he came in and he had obviously played such good football
and played so much. He you know, he's had so many different offensive coordinators, like he could he can show you what any team that like he's calling other teams plays out for him because he's had so many offenses that he's run and knows all the verbiage of all this different stuff. And it's like having that knowledge come into our offense now and watching him kind of be able to run with the things that we're doing, and you know he's his his saying, I'm I'm making sure
that we're putting up. We got a new facility going in. Right behind in the QB room, right behind Matthew's head on the wall is gonna be do something sweet because that's his Like his mo was like, you know I could have made that throw. I want to do something sweet and move this guy and no look at and
hit this you know, running out the back door. And you know that to me is the difference between most quarterbacks and what Matthew does is you know, his ability to dictate things and then he wants to hit you on the exact right spot where we can you know, we're maximizing plays and now we're not just catching getting tackled. It's catch and run opportunities and then it's a it's a lot of fun to play with a guy like that.
So Sean McVay is well many have called an offensive genius in terms of his scheme or whatever. But do you think when Matthew came in with his specific set of skills and experience in the league as you just referenced, that that was able to take it up to another level? Or do you think that Matthew was just the right quarterback within mcveigh's system.
I think Matthew, the way that Matthew processes things, I think it challenged Sean to be able to push the limits and push the boundaries of what's you know, what's realistic and what can this? What can you challenge and stretch the quarterback position to do? And you know, historically, I think the you know, the Shanahan tree, which is where McMahon McVeigh have came through, are pretty hard on
quarterbacks already. You know, what Matthew showed what he could do and his abilitiar process and all the throws that he's able to make and move people has opened up Sean's mind as so many other things that you know are possible, and his ability to innovate and tinker with things, and then it's just you know, being able to be free to say, hey, that was a mistake, let's not do that, and then also being able to collaborate with each other and be like you know, as a quarterback
communicating to a coach, a coach can communicating to the quarterback. When when those things, when communications go in both ways, it makes for some pretty special outcomes, pretty special plays.
I know you were just on my well friend of the podcast here Julian Edelman's show. You talked about the NFC Championship game against the Hated by me and I'm sure you forty nine ers the Games with Names podcasts. You broke it down your performance there eleven catches, one forty two and two touchdowns leading into Super Bowl fifty six where you have another monster game and you win
Super Bowl MVP. This is the culmination for you, right of all of that work, of all of that time, and you know, being I didn't look up how many wide receivers have won Super Bowl MVP, but I know not a lot, because you know, somebody does have to get you the ball. You have to be in position, and as you talked about before, everybody has to do their job, and you have to continue you your job to get in a position to then eventually make the play. You certainly made a ton of those. I'm sure that
felt great. I don't have to ask you that question. But after achieving that, specifically through that playoff run, that season, the season you had the win, what motivates you now to keep working hard?
Yeah? Well, I think that same thing I kind of touched on before. I mean, those moments of getting to that point of like winning a super Bowl, right like the pinnacle of what we talked about as little kids. You dream of winning that game, You dream of that moment and being able to achieve that thing, and then you're asking, you know what, what once you've done that,
what comes after that? And to me, I think, having experienced that, those moments, while those like memories are incredible and I'll always cherish the memories and like what it was like after that celebrating with all the guys with my family, that those feelings are so fleeting, They're so fleeting, and to chase after that would be such an empty
and hollow thing. To chase after these small like glimpses of these small moments of feelings like, you know, the next day, I'm giving my kids a bath, you know, at you know, seven point thirty, trying to get these guys to like calm down and go to sleep, you know, so they don't know any difference, Like that's just what
we're doing. And it's like it's back to life, you know, back to your your I'm dad, you know, I'm I'm a husband and so you know, for me, I look back on those moments and be like, it wasn't those
moments that I want again. It's that problem. It's that whole season, that whole like the work that was put in and the amount of collaboration, the highs the lows, like the amount of times we're in the office and you know, times are rough, and it's like, man, we can meet each other here and fix some problems and enjoy each other's company and you know, being able to walk alongside guys and that whole thing out. It's like, man, this whole package of memories of like moments of relationships.
That is what I'm like, Man, this is why I love to do this. I get to be I get to be impacted and impact so many people throughout the course of the season, and I love that I get to I look back on that. I want that instead of these tiny moments, these fleeting moments, no matter high, how high or how low they were, I want those moments. And you know, you get to the I don't like to use the analogy of the mountaintop. You get to the mountaintop, you look out, guess what, there's another mountaintop.
If you didn't enjoy the climb up to that thing, you enjoy toiling, you know, with with your guys to get to the top of that thing, you know, then you're not gonna want to go after that next mountain. But if you enjoyed that climb, if you enjoyed the relationships that were built and all the things that came from that that you know, process of getting there, you see that mountain top and you're excited because that's like, man, we get to do this again. We get to go
to another one. And you know, I kind of that's that's how I kind of take, you know, my approach into every one of these seasons.
Well, you know, of course, you want to win every year, but here here's the general reality. And I know that statistically, I know I'm right It's really hard to go back to back in a way because the NFL is cyclical, and the reality is is that once you have gotten to that mountaintop, you have you know, thirty other teams that are trying to that are they're literally scheming against.
What you're doing.
But with the coaches, with the preparation, with the specific players, it feels like you can make another run. Now, Matthew had some injuries, You had some injury issues last year, and it feels to.
Me like we're cycling back.
It feels like you got another exciting young player, Puka Nakua that you know. Unfortunately, you guys just weren't on the field at the same time a lot of the time. But I I I see some big things for you guys, and I know Big Matt wants to make another run, that's for sure.
Yeah, we've got we've got the we've got the pieces. And that's the fun thing about this point of the season is, you know, everyone's the excitement for everyone is like man, this we've got something here and we get to now get into camp and like, man, what could
this season be? But it is exciting and and you know, there's so much that comes into the involved the season that was staying healthy is obviously a huge part of it, just as collectively as a team we talking about twenty twenty two coming off of twenty one, we couldn't really even hold OTAs because we had so many guys on our roster after that long season that just weren't healthy
enough to be able to do a full OTAs. You guys were just beat up heading into that season, and uh, and then it obviously trickles in and like guys start going down. You know, we had I can't remember what it was, something your fifteen different offensive line variations. Uh, it was just like it was it was. It was nuts, But I do I'm I'm man. We've got such a good group of guys, young guys and guys with experience, and everyone's really hungry and excited to get after the things here.
I hear you're a pretty big fan of the Office.
I am a very big fan of the Office.
Really, do you think you're the I mean, it's too bad we're not still shooting. You know. I've been known to get people on the show who I.
Didn't know that you were the one that that was pulling those strings.
I got one of your competitors on and he'll admit it, so I can say it's been told before.
You got Aaron on.
Yeah.
Yeah, So if I had known, if I had known, you know, well, I mean I guess when we were shooting, wasn't really gonna happen. Maybe we'll go back, Maybe we'll go back for another episode or something, and I can get you on if you go.
If you guys go back and you don't at least ask, I might never talk to you again.
Ask you to be on the show, or to come visit and say hi.
Asked to be like if you have to run it by the producers and be like, hey, I'm not going to say I'm the biggest fan, because I know that there's some crazy people out there that are bigger fans. But you know.
Crazy crazy meaning good, crazy meaning good to yeah, go ahead.
And crazy meaning bad there. But I will say this, just like RAMS fans exactly. There's there's the good ones and the bad ones. Okay, them all the same. But we've watched it, my wife, and I'm not going to exact it. We've watched it from beginning to end at least seven times, so I've got pretty good that's just my wife and I so I sleeping. Like you know, we met in twenty twelve. There's time before that that.
We were rolling favorite episode.
So you know this is this is this might be this is a hot take. What's the what's the what's everyone's least favorite episode?
I hope you say something because I got a story for it. What what I would say that Scott's Tots.
Is everyone's least favorite episode? If you go back, it is so funny, Like every moment that.
I'm so glad you said this. I'm I'm shouting out. I don't do you know this. I just got something in the mail breaking news right now. I have not met him. He's gonna come. I've been told he's gonna come on the podcast. Here Donovan Mitchell, have you seen this? He has shoes Don's Tots. I just got them here. I would show them to you before we're done here, I'll go and get them. I'll I just took him out of the box yesterday. He's got sweatshirts.
So yours is Scott's totsy. It's hard, like we have to prepare ourselves. Like we get together, we say hey, we're gonna we need to pray before we head into this. Watch this episode because it hurts our heart. It hurts our heart watching what Michael Michael did to those poor kids. But the episode all the other is so good. It's so good, but it is I wasn't doing that one.
I go product recall because the opening for you know, product recalls is electric And that's the Bears beats Battle Star Galactica opening.
Yeah, you would get this. It is always attributed to Dwight Shrut, but Dwight never.
Says beats Battlestar Galactica.
Because his identity was stolen.
Because identity was stolen.
Identity.
That's so, that's that's your that's your favorite opening.
Yeah, that's my favorite opening, I'd say, But Scott's thoughts is like, and what should be my favorite opening?
That's fine, that's fine. Everybody has choices. Everybody gets to make choices. I mean, it's no, it's a great one.
Chilly one is awesome. The Chili one is so good.
It felt like you were No, I'm not that felt like I'm gonna be honest.
With you, patronizing you either on this. It's it's legitimately so I sent you, We sent you some coffee beans.
Yes, we're about to discuss the coffee Dodo coffee you've just started.
I know, I'm excited about it.
Did you Okay on a few from the box yet, But there's a note I.
Don't have it yet.
Oh all right, Well you can don't spoil a surprise, or you can, because otherwise it won't for you.
You know, you know a little reference to the to the to the beans in there you go. I was gonna go like I didn't want to. I didn't want to overdo the office references since you since you brought it up and started with a well well, well well.
I was told you were you were a big fan fan of the show, so I got I'm gonna this is either going to impress the world and your wife or not. You know I I when people tell me they're big fans of the show, when people pull the trivia card. I have one one question and one question only.
Are you ready?
Okay?
Are you ready for it? You're going to fail, I can tell you already.
I want to answer this question right so badly. Do you know what the question is about? I don't want to let you down here.
Yeah, it's the only question I ever asked, I heard it one time. You ready for one million fictional shoot bucks?
Yes? What is Gabe Lewis's middle name?
Oh, gave Lewis's middle name? I have no idea what gave Lewis's middle name is Gabe? What is it?
He says it? Gabriel Susan Lewis Susanna.
You know.
Me.
No, I would have never known that. It's just the question I ask, so now I know it. I would never have known that.
I'm so upset that I couldn't get that one for you.
Yeah, that's all right. Many many have failed. The other question. The only other question that I ask people is occasionally people will come up to me with a particular T shirt on.
Yes, the the.
Fun Run T shirt? Oh yeah, Meredith Palmer.
Yes, And so I ask them to their face do you usually wear clothes that you don't know?
What?
They say, and they're confused, and then I block them and I say, what does your shirts say? That's a zero percent?
That is no what has gotten?
And I couldn't do that right now either, By the way, Meredith Palmer memorial Michael Scott's.
Yeah Anyway, Fun Run for the Cure, Fun Run for the cure.
I think it ends with that. Uh you mentioned it, I'll mention it now, Dodo Coffee. Where did this come from?
This has been something that we've talk about in our family to do for a while, and the opportunity came up to just send.
It and we did.
And then as we started building up, it was going to be just like, hey, let's just do a little coffee shop to hey, let's roast her own coffee. Oh and then once we start roasting our dude, it's like, hey, I'm gonna figure out. He's a biology background. He's like, I'm gonna just figure out this roasting thing. First roast he does comes in grades at ninety two out of one hundred on the Q grade, which is a phenomenally graded coffee.
I don't know what a Q grade is, but ninety two sounds good good.
Ninety two is very good. Okay, So like, shoot, we've got something really good here. You know, I don't know if you knew this. So if you little coffee shop that roaster own coffee. Most coffee shops that are giving you the coffee that right the breist is giving you the coffee. They're giving you their lowest graded stuff their cheapest,
say because he's they're gonna sell their best stuff. It's it costs them more to give you the good stuff, because the latte costs six dollars whether they use the really good beans or their bad beans, right, but their good beans are gonna cost some more.
Wait, so you're selling that. You're saying, they they sell beans in the bag that are that are good, but they give me.
It will give you the lower tier of their coffee.
Why would they make lower tier?
This is standard practice? Well, just because you know, not everyone like they make a wide range. Like, hey, we're gonna sell this coffee that's you know, wherever twenty five dollars, we're gonna sell this one is twenty, this one's be fifteen. They're giving you the fifteen dollars.
Is it more expensive to make higher.
It's it's usually sourcing, like it costs more green beans. But at Dodo Coffee co. You come to our brick and mortar, you're getting the best stuff. We're not giving you anything less than our Dodo Blend, which is the highest, greatest stuff that we have. And you know, so that's a little bit different. We want to be like high quality. You want to give you guys, people come to our shops. You want to be a great experience. So Dodo Coffee co brick and mortars in northwest Arkansas.
And then why why in I saw that? Why why in Arkansas?
That's where my wife's family all live.
Got it.
Yeah, so that's that's where they're at. So that's the where the brick and mortar is. There'll be more coming. We're gonna strategically place them. You know, a few really cool spots around the country.
Like in my neighborhood.
Maybe where are you, where you're at, what's your address?
I'll give it to you later. That's incread. I love that story. Yeah, and so you're committed to doing it different. Yeah, we're doing We're doing different. And then we're gonna you know, we got a website coming coming up here that just launched. Got some good coffee coming out. We got some stuff from Hawaii.
We've got some stuff from the Dodo Blyn which is a Columbia Brazil combination of mix. We got some single origins from Mexico, from Guatemala, a single origin decaf from Columbia. And yeah, you guys should really check it out.
That's it. So do you have where where is your espresso beans? From?
The espresso beans are the Columbia and Brazil mix. That's the Dodo blend, which is which are leaned towards an espresso. If you like doing espresso, that's the ones that that would get. They also do great. It's a it's a great drip as well, but the Guatemala is specifically made for a drip. And some cold brew. We've got some good cold brew stuff. We have good, we have some options.
I mean, look, I'm literally drinking a coffee right now from my favorite I like to buy. You know what you this is what you need to sign me. You send me from your brick and mortar, because I promise I actually semi collect this. I like the I like the is espresso. So when I go to a place, I really like this one is. Uh.
I don't know why I'm suddenly giving them an ad Cobrick in New York City is my favorite place in New York City.
Uh.
I buy up, I buy up what do you call it? A glass to have it home? Yeah, and I and I collect them at home and it makes me feel like I'm there. Like the mugs, Yeah, a mug or a glass star. Yeah, I mean yeah, I mean you don't have to. I'm just saying I would appreciate. I don't know when the next time I'm going to be in Northwest Arkansas is, but when you put one down the block from me, boom roasted roasted nice?
Yeah.
Uh.
Dodo Coffee spelled d O d Ocoffee dot co. Or you can check them out at d O d O Coffee Co. On Instagram and the TikTok Are you making TikTok videos?
I'm a new TikTok star. I don't know if you've heard.
Yeah, I did not know. I'm not. I don't. I'm not a big TikTok person.
So, uh do you know when I became a big TikTok person? When I became a TikTok star like ten days ago. So that's that's why it started.
For me through what was your breakthrough a video?
Honestly, I don't, I don't. I don't underst stand it. I don't know. I have a new cookbook that just came out. Ooh, maybe we can make some stuff at at your brick and mortar there. I posted a video of myself making ribs and suddenly I seventeen million people watched it. Don't have any idea, don't.
Know through it. So is it all laid out in the TikTok video.
It's all laid out in the TikTok video.
I'm not going to go washing on therapy. Can you just tell me about it? What's your what's your.
Tell you about the video? Like, describe the video.
And what's your secret? What's like the there's good ribs, and there's something that you do that takes us to the next level?
What do you want to Honestly, do you want to know what it is? I mean, I can.
I can talk about my genius and I am a genius on the on the smoker there. But the biggest, biggest piece of advice, it's not about ribs. It's not about the sauce. It's about the meat. By high quality meat always for everything, especially for ribs, because really, you go to a you go to a chain restaurant, what are you getting? You're getting leather with a ton of sauce. And then when you're when you leave, what do you say. You don't say, oh my gosh, that meat was so
tender and juicy and delicious. You say, oh, I love that sauce. Yeah, I'm with you, right, No, that makes a ton of sense. I'm I'm a big barbecue guy. Barbecue is like my favorite. Oh so, if there's a pole pork sandwich on the menu at any restaurant ever, breakfast, lunch, or dinner, I'm ordering a pole pork sandwich, and then I'm ordering whatever I was gonna get, and I'm eating that pullpork sandwich.
It doesn't count. Doesn't count for.
My meal cole slaw on it.
Oh yeah, yeah, that's all right, half tabpoles.
I'm gonna I'm gonna send you.
I'm gonna send you one of my cookbooks because, by the way, it's a barbecue cookbook. I mean this, this relate. I'm drinking coffee, we're talking barbecue. This is the start of a beautiful relationship. When when are you inviting me to a game?
Whenever you want to come? What game? What game you want to come to? You let me know a game you want them to and we'll make it happen. You set up with my family.
I don't like I don't like bothering you guys. I don't like bothering you.
I would I was gonna say, let me know so I can minimize how much family because I don't want I said, we're an office family. I don't want you to get costed the well, we'll get a nice sweep for you, and you know it'll be it'll be a nice spot. You want to come to a game, you let me know.
All right, I would love to do it. Uh you you're watch this, ladies and gentlemen. Your office is probably the nicest office in the NFL, for sure, Sofi Stadium. It's a great place, great place to watch a game, very very lucky lucky man there. Uh congratulations, Oh you have you have you have the Packers coming to town this year.
You don't have to go out into the cold.
I know.
I heard McVeigh was complaining last year about that.
Look, I don't know what Matt Lafleur did make us go to Bay multiple years. We were in Green Bay for it's like four or five years in a row.
I know.
And for whatever reason, it was like the same week and I was always there. Oh did you see me sing roll out the barrel?
There?
No, I didn't one of your Uh yeah you were districted, you were actually working. I think it was two years it wasn't last year. You were there last year too. I wasn't there last year, it was two years ago. Gotcha roll out the barrel. Good luck on the season, Thank you so much, and good luck with Dodo Coffee. I can't wait to get the beans here. I promise you there and here here's here's the other thing you've
taught me. When I show up at my favorite coffee shop here before well, my favorite coffee shop now before Dodo opens up a place around the corner. I'm gonna this is what I'm gonna do tomorrow. I promise you this. I'm going to show up and I'm gonna I'm gonna order my latte and I'm gonna make them open up a pack kids of their bagged beans and see what happens good.
Stuff, and say, hey, don't give me, don't give me that stuff on the bottom shelf. I want the top shelves.
I want to talk. I want the top shelf stuff. Well, you know me, I'm always top shelf. H Cooper. We're gonna do it. We're gonna shoot some hoops, we're gonna play some golf. We're gonna drink some coffee and make some barbecue. And then check out a game. Have a great, great season this year. All right, I know you're back to work now, very very soon. Good luck this year so much.
I appreciate it.
Man. All right, thanks.
Cooper, so fun talking to you. Thank you for everything. Good luck this year. I expect the Rams to have a very successful season. And thank you very much for the coffee delivery. That's right, I just had a shot of espresso.
Listeners. The coffee's good. It's very good. I do recommend you try it.
Stay awake, stay alert, stay out of trouble, and until next time, everybody, have a great week. Off the Beat is hosted and executive produced by me Brian Baumgartner, alongside our executive producer lingg Lee. Our senior producer is Diego Tapia. Our producers are Liz Hayes, Hannah Harris and Emily Carr. Our talent producer is Ryan Papa Zachary, and our intern is Ali Amir Sahim. Our theme song Bubble and Squeak, performed by the one and Only Creed Brag