Salty Dogs Podcast with Bruce Arians

Derek Bucks, direty touchdown, tamp a day, Derek Books, bub spariable player, You're the national football like there it is, Tuck Daggers in where you're gonna win the Super Bowl. We call them the Salty Dogs. Hello again, bucking your fans, we are back. I'm Scott Smith and I am Jeff Ryan,

and this is the Salty Dogs Podcast. And Jeff, we're gonna dispense with our usual fifteen minutes of incoherent rambling at the top because we've got to get right to the main thing, well us and we don't just want everybody to jump right to the middle. So we're gonna start immediately exactly. We're very excited. We're very excited to have the twelfth head coach and franchise history with us. Bruce arians Bruce Is, it's an absolute pleasure to have

you on the show with us. Thank you, It's fantastic. Been looking forward to it. And where you'll be an honorary Salty Dog. Now I'm all for that, brother. How pumped are you to be back in the game. It's

really hard to put in the words. You know, having been in broadcasting this year and going to games, how much you missed the locker room and the relationship with players and coaches and the arena and um, I mean it really got me fired back up and that I know, that's really what I want to do, and that's what I'm supposed to be doing. You know, you do a lot of relationships has been big in your life. You have a relationship with Scott Smith. He probably does not,

he doesn't remember. This is not the first time we've worked together. We were both with the Kind City Chiefs, Tony Dungee, the River Falls Days and Cheese League and all that. My son was a ball boy up there, right, Yeah, so yeah, with more money than I had. So so we went well when they hired me and ninety two, so then they decided to be good with Tony Dungee and ninety six and obviously that went well as well. So there you go. It's it's the six Ways to

Scott Smith. Speaking of hires, we got to announce yesterday. I know you're putting your staff together quickly. But the one they've already announced his Todd Bowls. Can you tell Buck fans a little bit about what to expect from a Todd Bowls defense, attack, attack, And we're not sitting back at reading and reacted. We're going after people, um, playing man to man. We're gonna do what our players do best. That's what Todd does. He does a fantastic job of matching guys up to win in a game plan.

And I've been around a lot of good teachers, but not none better than Todd. When you guys were together in thirteen and fourteen and went very well one defensively, would would I hear you have a very creative approach like he do? Yeah? Like I said, he's not gonna try to pound score pegs in around hole, you know, and say, this is our system. What can our guys do? What do our guys do best, we'll fit it around

that same thing offensively. Is that the first part of the job, when you actually get through all this and you sit down, is evaluating all of our players. Oh yeah, that's that's the biggest part. And uh, you know, trying to see who's available to improve. We want to improve every day and uh, we're never gonna stand still and stand pat um. So yeah, all our guys, and we're gonna have a large staff because we do a little

something different when we practice. We have two practices going on at the same time in the spring, so how does it work to practice? So we have a large staff. So we'll have forty plays and in O T A s and one fields will be one group and one field will be the other. So no one stands around and watches. You can't find a diamond in the rush stand around watch. And we have found more undrafted free agents make our team because they're getting forty snaps on

film every day. That's great. So that's how you maximize it because the NFL has all these rules now, the only so much time. That's awesome. Are you a big proponent of doing practices with another team? I love to if it's the right team because the one thing we never allow is fighting, because there's no place for fighting

in a football in the football game. Um So, if it's another coach that I know and it's just gonna be hey, let's get better, not see who's tougher and all that crap man fighting, that's there's no place for that in football. Have you had a chance to You probably haven't a chance to even putting anything in your new office yet, have you Have you seen? No, I just dropped my brief. He's coming. He's coming. He's been over my shoulder from I find thirty years about close

to forty now. I think it's fascinating that you work with Bear Bryant, and I got to believe that a lot of what you are as a coach came from him. Is that right? It really is? And uh, probably more so from Jimmy Sharpe, who was coach Bryant's offensive courtney for ten years and my head coach who got me coaching at Virginia Tech. You know, the last thing that it's always been my motto that Coach Bryant told me coach him hard and hug him later. So that's always

the way we've done it. Has it changed with the players? And and you say, coach him hard, hug him later. You've been doing this for a while. Both Scott and I have been around players for a while. We notice the difference in players in because of social media things that nature. So how do you approach that. If it's not perfect, we're going to correct it. Don't take it as criticism. It's coaching, um, and a lot of times I'll do it really ugly, but I'll go find the

guy and they look, it's nothing personal. This is we're just talking about football. This is what we need to do. We got to do this to get better and uh, you know so, yeah, that's that's the biggest part. And know that you truly care about them as a player, that I'm here to make you the best you can be. Have you had to adjust how you yea that they these younger guys learned totally different and uh there's more action. They can't sit still and watch the film or or

look at a playbook. They need to be moving around. So yeah, you adjust your teaching ways. Speaking of a young player. Um, Jamis Winston is the quarterback here and I know you've had good things to say about him. Are you excited about? What do you think he can accomplish? Oh, there's no doubt. I think we have that we have the major piece of the puzzle. As a head coach, you're tied to the quarterback, and I think we can

win a championship. There's no doubt about it. Well, being tied to the quarterback has worked well for you in your career. Obviously, help them work. And it's a different relationship the coach and you know, and even the play caller, which I won't be this time unless I need to be. But that relationship has to be built on solid trust. And don't tell me what you think I want to hear. Tell me what you saw out there and so that we can we can continually grow. When you say build

around a quarterback, what does that act? I mean people around a quarterback. Quarterbacks are different and UM, find their strengths. Um, work on the weaknesses, but build on the strengths. Build those pieces of the football team around him offensively to what he does best. Uh. Some guys don't have great arms, but they have great anticipation, so you're passing game changes. UM. Some wait to see guys open because they got a cannon,

you build it around him. Has that been a big part of your development as a coach through all these years, learning how to adapt to players. Yeah, I mean that. To me, that's coaching the guys that come in, Hey, this is our system, and look at the GM said, we don't have any players. That's really bad coaching. You do what they do, give him a chance to win. That's that's the job of a coach. You know. As a player, I've played in a drop back passing game. I wasn't very good. All of a sudden we ran

into wishbone I was. I was a starting quarterback and uh so that do what your players do best. A guy that comes to mind along those lines is Chris Johnson, who had their in Arizona. For a little while. It seemed like maybe his career was coming to an end, but he had a real nice year there. Yeah. Man, he had a couple of great years and it got injured. But um, when we had David Johnson and Chris Johnson, two totally different unning backs. Chris was a wide zone guy,

that's what we ran. David was more inside, get him outside on a toss, more of a receiver. So yeah, I just use build game plans around every guy. You got. There's there's a word it gets tossed around on every team and when there's changes in in an organization, and that word is culture. So to me, I have a theory what culture is. I would like to know what your theory is culture on a football team. It's very simple for me. There's three words, trust, loyalty and respect.

When you when you understand what those words mean, um, then we don't need rules. You know, we don't have any rules. Uh, just those three words. We'll talk a lot about those words, um as we get going. And so yeah, that that everybody likes to use that word chemistry. Yeah, what is To me? It's accountability. I got every decision I make affects you correct in our locker room. So that decision I make on or off the field has

to be about the cause. And the causes the ring and it ain't getting to us, so both winning it. So every decision you make as a player on and off the field, what you put in your mouth nowadays because of all the nutritions and things that we have to make you better, those decisions all add up to winning. He talks about the ring and he has one. He has one on to make that. I know it's great. I know it's a podcast, but I'm still in this one in Tampa. I don't wear that was too big? Wow?

What am It's too different? That's right. You have good memories of Tampa, yes, and in front of the pirate ship. Yeah awesome. So he has a coach for many years you you obviously because your coach, you've had to move a lot. And this will be the eighteen time. Do you know anything about this new area moving to Tampa. Actually used to recruit here when I was at Mississippi State Alabama back in the late seventies early eighties, and so we uh we ate it one of the famous steakhouses.

I used to stay in the hotel right across the street from Jefferson High School. And yeah, we really had a couple of young men come to Mississippi State from Jefferson. So, so your wife's name is super Christie. I'm good another one. I'm giving somebody else another one. Hold on? So she excited? Oh yeah, yeah she was. She was floored by the reception yesterday. And obviously this facilitious bar not no none better and uh so yeah, just even though Arizona looked like,

I mean, their stadium is really pretty cool. It she was never an Arizona. She's not a desert Uh but yes, so we we we have lived in Georgia to the lake for the last eleven years. But good for going back and forth. Yeah, I think I heard refer to that as forever. Did your year in broadcasting do anything for your analysis of the game. Yeah, I got to see so many practices in different ways. I'm not a music guy. The players are gonna have to talk me into this music, and uh I might give in. But

everywhere I went and it was music. And even Coach Belichick, who's maybe headed the longest nobody ever knew it. I didn't know that, and uh so I said, Bill, really, He said, man, we've had this stuff on Fridays forever. So you're not gonna play. I'm gonna whip your ass. We have I have to find that recording. Okay, I liked. I liked It's very strong. That was Coach Sharp's, that

was his the cap, the hat, okay, the theory behind it. Well, even as a kid, I wore one and once a ball cap or no, this type of this type of hat and Uh, I'm I'm from the streets of York. So uh. The as we got moving on and got the platform in Arizona, my wife has been a COSA quarter putt, a special advocate. She was early in her career a as she called it, broken family law attorney. And then I moved her after five bars and she said, I'm just volunteering, but I've watched her save these kids, UH,

one at a time. So we started the foundation in Arizona and we created the hats and rehat sold all the all the proceeds go. We have t shirts with no risk at no biscuit and they came up with this great logo UM out there and we'll bring it here and every every dime goes straight to the foundation.

And it's to help children who through no faults of their own or either in frostic care or need a need a kid's voice and uh and through the court system, and UH saying that actually talked a long time with Darcy last night and how we want to get it started. Here's already been u doing everything she can in in Hillsboro County already to to investigate it online. We're really looking forward to that. Yeah, we're looking forward to everything. That's gonna be fun. It's a pleasure we get you

back again, brother. Yeah, yeah, I used to have black hair. That's why I did well. Thanks again, Coach the Salty Dogs, and we're back here on the Salty Dogs for our next segment. That was great. That's a highlight. Right. Well I can say is I sure hope people hang in there for the next segment because after that first question, I like, I don't know if he knew what you mean, be like, we gotta put this up front and everybody's gonna skip our part. Yeah. I I I figured as much.

If you've got this go when you're probably washing the dishes or something and you just keep listening the rest now you listen, are the well the other side of the coin is you know your impression of him, that was my impression is the first time I actually shook hands with him and spoke with him, and I did that in the hallway and it was pretty cool. It was very relaxed. He's very relaxed. Yeah. It feels like it's going to be an easy work environment around here.

When we say easy work environment, what we mean by that is, um, the coach. The coaches, they don't make obstacles to what you're trying to do, right, and that's not a bad thing. Coach has their own I'm not saying that in a negative way, but some coaches want certain things, or want certain times or or or don't necessarily want to do something. And therefore, if I go through all the coaches, Um, Richard Williamson was pretty easy. He was one year Sam was an entertainer, so he

was really but this is before we did all this stuff. Yeah, yeah, well I was doing radio shows, that's true. So and then Tony Dungee was Well, what was great about Tony is everything was on time and um, if you asked the question, he would give you an answer, and I always enjoyed. Well, I mean that's not always. Sometimes you ask a question, they give you a fish yeah or no, they give you the stink I and go on, why are you asking me that question? So then then Groen

and Grooden you know he's another entertainers. Yeah, but you know what's funny with John is he he was very consistent and he uh you know, he did a radio shop, talked about this and he was easy to work. People think otherwise, but it's not true. I mean, he wasn't excited about doing a radio show because he's a football guy. When he got there, he did it. When the light went on, he he gave you the time that was there. Uh was falling. Raheim was a lot of fun. Fun.

Uh let's just get that one. I got nothing there. Um, love you, love you, love you. Business like. He was very business like. Um, exactly exactly. We should point out that, or at least from my point of view, I don't mean to put words in from out that we appreciate everything that all those coaches did with us. Yes, I mean sometimes you could tell they would rather be up,

you know, eating film, but they still did it. And I want to and and you know, just recently, I want to say thank you to Dirk Cutter because, uh, Dirk would talk to us at the half and sometimes he would give us a nugget. Um, you know you're gonna do two quick questions you and you're usually gonna be pretty surface pretty surface level. But you're you're on a walk and when and you're walking, and I will

say he gave us nuggets. He would he would you know, if something went wrong just before they went in, it'd be, oh boy, what are we going to get? Um. He was a guy that you needed to ask a question and it needed to be a good It had to be a good question. And he was also the less also, the less vague and the more football related, it was the better correct And he was really good after the game,

let win, lose, or draw. He would talk to us after the game, and he would talk to us for you know, we not that we were breaking stories, but other media outlets would be quoting what we did. So we'd like, we'd like to wish him well going forward, but unfortunately two games in lantoffs of corners, we can't for sixteen weeks. But yeah, and I can't even route that hard. I mean, we have a lot of friends

up there. Rich McKay's up there, and and you know, Dirk we got got to know and Raheim Raheem is there. Can you imagine Raheem and Dirk having a beer and talking about the Tampa days. I'd love to be a fly on the wall on that one. So back to our current head coach, Yes, like we said, um, that was the first time I met what you forgot something you're gonna ask? Yeah, what I wanted to ask him, if we're gonna do we call him coach? Do we call him be adn't find out let that happen organically? Yeah,

I called him coach when he was in here. He didn't see the mind. No, I don't think he might know. Whatever you call, that's what you are, that's what he is. It's been his life in his passion. Did you watch that of football Life? I did. I recommend that to anybody that has not heard about it. I've seen it yet. You can find it on YouTube. It it's fantastic. All

those of football lives are pretty good. I really I haven't seen a ton of them, but I watched all that one after we hired Bruce and it's so good, and it really tells you a lot about the guy. That's how we knew. That's how I knew that Bear Bryant was such a big deal. Damn. As an example, and Jimmy Sharp the other coach that he talked about, Um, so give that a look if you get a chance. But to get back to the main point that we started with here, it looks like it's going to be

a good work environment around here. Yes, we'll see we'll see. Well, it'll be interesting because he says coach him hard and hug him later, So he's not afraid to chew a guy out. So I guess it's possible if I mess up, I could be coached hard and then hugged later. Yeah, it's not personal. It's just was what we need to do to get where we have to go. I like this thing. I liked. Uh. Um. You know, he talked about chemistry, whatever that is. I thought that was pretty good.

I agree with him completely on that chemistry is an overrated word and it tends to be something you notice after your team is successful, and of course everybody's happy when your team successful, and it that seems like, oh, it's because there's such a great chemistry. There's something to that. There's there's obviously something to relationships. But chemistry is just such a broad word that people apply. So I liked his answer on that one, and I liked his answer

on culture. Yeah, that was good. Um good. We talked briefly with him about Todd Bowles um, and I didn't think that this was the right avenue. He hasn't even really had his own introductory press conference yet. To get into the xs and ohs of Todd Bowles. So you know, we basically just wanted the the overarching answer, and he give us that. It's attacking defense. It's it's gonna be an aggressive defense man to man coverage. I like that. I think a lot of Buck fans would like to

see our defense be more aggressive in general. So I think that's a good thing. But what's interesting about the Todd Bowles higher is that it could signal a change that has been changed to something that's been here for about twenty eight years now. Because if he goes to the three four like he's running his last two stops, uh, that is a big change for the Buckeers. I like the fact that he said he wasn't gonna go ahead and you know, take a square player and put it

in a round hole. And I know we're talking. You know, it's all gonna be. People are gonna speculate who's here, who's not here. I'm not talking about any of that. I'm just talking about the philosophy that I have a game plan and Okay, you're my guy, but you don't really fit. But I'm gonna try to make it right.

It just doesn't work. Yeah, That's why I brought up Chris Johnson because, um, he when he was in Arizona, Like I said, Chris, you remember Chris Johnson c J two care or whatever, when he was ripping it up for Tennessee and by the time you got to Arizona and was basically, you know, a backup. And then David Johnson got hurt. He had to be the guy. It seemed like his career pretty much on the down side.

And then he did some really good things there and apparently he went to the coach and said, listen, I think this type of play, like coach like to run it. Bruce arians like to run it downhill up the middle, and and Chris Johnson is like, I think I can succeed with more stretch plays. I think we should run more stretch players. And Bruce listened to him and he did that and it worked and that's exactly what you're talking about. And he also made that comment like about

quarterbacks listening to what works for them. How does this go? Um? Yeah, I mean he's a coach. He's a football coach. Not not to say that there weren't other football coaches here, but he this is what he does he's got a game plan. He he got to be a head coach late in life. You know, that's right, And so did Dirk and and they both appreciated it. And I noticed

the difference. There's a difference. Yeah, he definitely appreciates and and that's one thing you'll see if you watch that a football life thing is And that's why I didn't really bring it up specifically because of you know, it's it wasn't an original thought or anything, but uh, he according to what you're hearing that a football life documentary. One of the reasons it took a long time for him to get ahead job even though he was obviously having tons of success. He was he was a coordinator.

I mean, a successful coordinator usually gets interviews you see that, and he wasn't getting them until after his interim head coaching stint with Indianapolis, and that went so well. Was because, as his family members would say, he's like, he's not going to tell you what you want to hear. He's he's not going to do the political answer. He's not going to say what the owner is expecting to hear.

He's gonna say what he means. He's gonna do it his way, and so when he got now and when he got to be finally got that opportunity, it wasn't because he had given in and stopped doing it his way. So in the end, it speaks to what you were just saying, uh, getting the job later in life, but also getting the job without having to sacrifice what he believed in. And so I think that's part of the reason why he was a success as a head coach, and I think that's why he'll be a success here.

And I think it's a great hire for that reason. Um, you know, you want a guy who knows exactly who he is and knows exactly how he wants to get it done, and then you want to get out of the get out of his way and let him do it. And that and I will say this with this organization, they've always let each head coach run. That's absolutely true.

And that's the people on the outside will say differently, they'll think it's different, but having um been associated with the club for a number of years and then actually being inside, it's a different perspective when you're inside and um, yeah, here's here's the keys of the car. Go make it go. Now. I brought up Todd Bowles, and you didn't. We didn't stick to it very long. But if if we probably might fault if we switched to a three four. Most things that go wrong on this podcast or your fault

if we switched to a three four. I hope I hit record. Of course the podcast wouldn't start at all if you weren't here, because I don't know which buttons to push on that thing over there. If the Buccaneers switched to a three ft Now, obviously every team runs some three four, some four three concert ups. There's you know, over and under fronts can look like four threes and three fours. We know that. But there are teams that are more of a base three four or four three.

And the Bucks have not been a three four team since Richard Williams. The last year of Ray Perkins and then Richard Willinson took over, they switched to a for three and it's been that way ever since, and a lot of those years not just for three, but also a team that relies a lot on the cover two. Um changing to a three four defense. If that's what happens, and we don't know this is I think this is gonna be the one and more fascinating storylines of the offseason.

What is the defense and and if it is more of a three four style defense, what players fit? Now? I know what we just said about square pegs, and they'll play to their strengths. But the fact is certain defensive style is gonna need certain types of players. If you're running a three four, really really running a three four, you're gonna need pass rushing outside linebackers. Uh do we have that? Is no expense one of those? Could this be a good thing for him? That kind of thing.

There's gonna be a lot of questions. And Dona's if vita Va might be the perfect nose tackle on the three four, and that is one of the most underrated pieces of the three four all the great Pittsburgh defense has always had a great guy in the middle right there, and so, uh, it'll be it'll be fascinating. But also they're talking about the aggressive press man coverage on the outside. Is that that seems like it would be great for Carlton Davis. How good is that going to be for

Vernon Hargraves. I think he's actually better in in in man coverage um than in zone, So I think it's gonna be fascinating to see which players thrive if it becomes a different style of defense. Yeah, I've heard. I mean I was thinking. I think it was Dirk that that made a comment that there isn't a true three four. He said that a lot in the league anymore. It's there, but it's it's He would say that about a lot

of teams. But then every now and then we'd play a team like Pittsburgh and go, now, this is a truth three four. And of course Pittsburgh has always been a true three four and they've been fantastic at it forever. And they always find pass rushing linebackers like the second third of like twenty pick in the draft, like a T. J. Wat They always find those guys. If you're listening to this before the games on the weekend. And when I say that, I hope the second round, second round playoffs,

because watch the Indianapolis Colts game. Their defense is a variation of what Pittsburgh did. And they were really good against Baltimore, shutting it down. And it was an interesting thing he played in Houston. The Chargers shut down Baltimore. Oh maybe it was it was the Chargers that then, Now what the Chargers did. They were moving they it was the guy found that they played seven defensive backs

for all but one snap of that game. They played safeties at linebacker, partially because all their linebackers are hurt. Like remember when all our linebackers got hurt and all of a sudden, we're playing Andrew Adams is basically a

safety and the slash linebacker. All the time, they played all safeties as linebackers, had seven linebackers on or seven defensive backs on the field, because they wanted to combat Lamar Jackson's running and they wanted maybe it still as the Colts to night and yeah, well they had a great game. They were moving. They were talking about whoever their defensive coordinator is, he's new so, uh what he he went back into tape and found some Steeler tape.

I don't know, something like that. Hey, I think he got some head coaching sniffs and um, the way they were moving guys around on the front, I didn't see that game. Can't impress Well, okay, let me well, that's one of the great things watch all the games and in the show, and that's how you get out of this one. If they if they were really running a

three four. That's one of the great things about it if you're if you've got a good three four scheme, is you can bring pressure from so many different ways. It's very it can be very difficult to figure out where the pressure is coming from. That's it was just all this movement and I was like, dang, look at that, and you know, so, um, you know there there there is some other news we should probably get to before. Well, Mike Evans is going to the Pro Bowl. Yes, I'm

happy for Mike. Yeah, I mean I kind of thought he should would have happened because he was the first alternate, I mean the first the four that were voted in and were Davante Adams, Uh, Julio Jones, Adam DeLand, and Michael Thomas. Adam Theland and Michael Thomas had more catches and Julio Jones had more yards, and Davante Adams had more touchdowns. So there are reasons you could say those

were all valid picks over Mike. But I think Mike's entire line was impressive enough that he should have been one of the first four. And it's hard saying who to knock out. Maybe dealon I don't know. They're all great. I'm glad they're all getting recognized. Um, theland sort of tailed off a little bit towards him of the year, but of course the voting isn't right at the end of the year. Uh. Anyway, Mike had d twenty two yards I think, uh, which is a team record. It

was second in the conference. So you think that guy would be one of your two starters if he's second in the conference and receiving yards. Um, maybe it's because he didn't. He only had five touchdowns until he had three in the last two games. But he averaged seventeen point seven yards per catch, which is enormous number for guy that had eighty six catches. In fact, it's the third highest average any receivers ever had in a season

where he had eighty five catches or more. That's amazing and it's a bit of a function of our offense. But nobody else did it. I mean, he's still Yes, we threw the ball downfield, but we had to have a guy who could make that work. Hey wait, yeah, exactly. That's one thing that Bruce arians likes to do. Yes, he like when he sees that he's got a shot, he'll take it like if you're playing single high safety, don't spot, or if he's single high safety is like, okay,

let's send go routes on the outside. Uh. And you know how we know this is true because we were in Arizona in two thousand and seventeen and our defense was struggling with their communication, and boy did he take advantage of that. They would just lit us up down the field. It was demoralizing at the time, but now I'm now I'm having rosier memories of it because I can picture it in on the other side now for once,

after our offense has been bad. You know, I'd love a game where you know, it's forty eight to nothing and we're ahead, you know you would, Yeah, kind of like the New Orleans game the beginning of the year. We were up, it's funny whatever, whatever. Then it got really harry at that. It doesn't matter, that's the key. Did you know? This is an interesting note and I'll credit one of our staff members here, Jason Turner, for finding this out that when New Orleans won the Super

Bowl in the two thousand and eight lost against US. Yeah, so you have heard that they lost again Carolina and they lost against the win thirteen and three with losses against the Bucks, Panthers, and Cowboys. And that's exactly what happened again this year. So that means they're gonna win the Super Bowl, right, lightning strikes twice. I wouldn't. I wouldn't put it. I wouldn't bet against him. I would either. But I'm still, you know, the Rams. Still it's gonna

be thrilling with it. I assumed that Saints and Rams are gonna win in and meet the NFC championship and just watch, just watch the Cowboys. They'll get hot, just you know, things like that. I really hated losing to the Cowboys. I had a chance to win that game. Who turnovers? See, I didn't think they were that good, good enough to beat us? But they but I didn't think and I didn't think they were going to be

I thought the Gattle was to Seattle too. I would like to point out an amazing accomplishment I made this past way. How's your arm from patting myself on the back, Well, maybe you should let me finish before you said I was just with friends, not that as a gambling thing, just picking the games. I managed to pick all four games wrong. That's hard to do, man. Yeah, I had the uh, and I don't know why. I don't know why.

I picked the Ravens because I wanted the Chargers to win, and I thought they were gonna win when I started watching the game. But if I look back at I wanted written down and it was the Ravens. And so I picked Seattle. You just said you thought to Texans. I thought to Texas and that was a terrible pick because the Colts were hot. That was a bad, bad pick. Everybody one except Seattle. For me, that was the one I lost. I picked You picked the Chargers, and then

what was the other one? Uh? The Colts? The Bears? You picked Philly? Come on, no, no, you said everybody? Okay, I so all four of them except two? Yeah? Could I forgot about if you just got an F? Yeah? Math was not myself, although it's probably great in for grading on a curve and it's only you and me in the class got an A plus. Well, let's see how many did you get? Right? I got zero percent of them? Right, all right? And I got two better

than you are. You can't divide by zero, joke, you can, but you would get an A on the current in this day and age, you can do anything. Well. By the time everybody here's this that we have already had the press conference with Dirk, I'm sure that will be exciting. You know, I just said, Dirk, sorry, yes, we already have. You know. It's like when you It's like when a new year happens and you were still writing two thousand

eighteen on your checks for a month. You want to hear a funny story, right, You want to hear a funny course you do is you talk about that training camp over in Orlando. The first chief remember those years, first year John Gruden's the head coach. The first interview I'm going to do with Jon Gruden. He's coming off the field right, we're live on the radio, already live, we are alive. And I said, okay, coaches coming up here. We're gonna we're gonna get them real quick. And I

dropped the microphone. So as I dropped the micro on purpose, not on purpose, I dropped it, and I was like, oh God. And so he walks up and I grabbed the microphone and I went into automatic mode and I rock up and I went so tony, and he goes, he looks at me. He looks at me. He says, he said, Tony did a lot of good things here. So I will always say that Jon Gruden was very, very great. Sious did he did? He hold that over you though? To bring it up? He just he just

under he understood. But but I was like, are you kidding me? Yes, I live in fear of calling a player of the wrong name in the locker room, so I don't usually say anybody, hey, buddy, okay, are we good? So yeah, we're uh, we're gonna get question. Conference will be over. But otherwise I was just getting that, say what's coming up? We're gonna We're obviously gonna have a lot of head coach I mean assistant coach hires coming.

I think that's gonna come together quickly. There's gonna be a lot of them though, because as you heard Bruce say, he has a big staff. I can't wait to see that the two. That's a bit of will we will reset the table on that he talks about no one stands around. He has enough coaches he does to practices the same things. It's brilliant. I hadn't even thought of that idea. But you're right in and fans who don't

get to see a ton of practices. Should understand that it is true that there are usually a lot of players standing around when your first team offense is out there. The backups are just standing there and vice versa. So that is a way to maximize what you're doing, isn't it. But you have to have a lot of coaches. Gotta have a lot of coaches. And that's the reason why, because we have noticed he had a really big coaching

staff in Arizona, but weren't sure exactly why. And that and that'll be great for the fans during training camp because no matter what, there's no downtime. Good thing. We have a big building here with lots of officers, I know, not enough knocking down some way, maybe moving down when they came, I didn't say anything when they came for Jeff Ryan's office and then they came for my office.

They're gonna come for years. First Years is closer to football, but it's really secluded back there in the corner by the but they're gonna take that whole gated community out Scott's and Scott's is such a fancy place here at the Adventure Health Training Center. At the Health is one word. Yes, um he is. He's so special. He's in a gated community and we call it that because you cannot get in unless you use your key card. There's only one other office that has a key card to get into.

You know whose office that is? Well, well on the business side, on the business side, who owners. Oh, I like where you're going with this? Yeah? Like it? Um so yours is going. The real reason is because I'm right across from the server room. Yeah, they and they got locked up, but it sounded good. The great thing about being right by the I T guys is when something like the internet goes up, down or something, you

don't have to call. You just say hey, guys, and yes, people have already told turn it off, turn it back on. That's always the first step. All right, let's get two questions and wrap it up. Huh, I've got two of them. One of them you're going to recognize who it's from. Uh, it's our friend Rusty Rusty Cheney, who is a retired nurse, Happy Year and likes to listen to our show. She says that a lot. She's very complimentary. The other one

is a new from a new person. Okay, you can tell from this that she sent it before the coaching higher. It was a couple of days ago. There's by the way, there's a picture of a donut on the top and picture of coffee on the bottom, so she was probably sitting this during breakfast. Happy New Year, Jeff and Scott. Thank you. Happy New Year, Rusty. I hope you both had a fun and RESTful holiday break. I would say fun, not RESTful, but but you were missed. I guess it's true.

We have to admit we didn't. We didn't do a podcast the last couple of weeks just because of all the stuff that was going on. But you know, when you listen to this one, now you know why we didn't. We were saving it. Yes, and you're really gonna like this next partum because you're gonna feel justified. Alex Smith was an enjoyable guest on the last show, and Jeff really took me down memory lane with his referral to Smith Brothers. Cough drops. Jeff, I'm sorry, yeah, pay attention.

I know, I know, but this is business. She she she took her down memory lane with her with the Smith Brothers drops, which I laughed at. That was the best part of having a cold when I was a kid. I've never heard of this, But you touched the nerve, have you not? Have you never had a Smith Brothers? Its halls? Everybody just has halls. No Smith Brothers. We need to find out if they still exist and get

them to be a sponsor for this show. The Smith Brothers, two guys, the Salty Dogs, two guys with big long beer. My name is Smith. You've got a beard. I like it? Okay, Well, our last game was this is Her again. Our last game was another heartbreaker, and now the search is on for a new head coach. You'll probably have already announced who that is by the time you do the podcast. That's true. As a true fan, I will break good. I will embrace whoever we get and wish for more

success for him and his staff. Who decides what coaches assistance from last season stay on? Is it's only the head coach decides? Or do the Glazers or Jason Light say we want to keep Prince and Buckner or Mark Dufner for example, in some capacity. And I think at least in this case, it's it's a coach. Bruce gets to decide his staff, and I think that's something that

UM this ownership group has done. They've had coaches under contract where they are owed money whether they work or not, and because of a new head coach wanting to make changes, they have paid the contract out. Well that's what Jason Light said at the end of the season. He's like, UM, coach, whatever coach we hire will get an opportunity if he wants to to keep any of the staff, But we are also going to let those people interview elsewhere if

they didn't. Didn't Brinson Buckner go to Oakland? I think? I think so in any case, UM, and he out of all of our coach he was the one you would think, yes, because he was the only one under contract. Well, also he worked with Bruce Yes in Arizona. Yes, because everybody else, everybody else their contracts were ended, they were in an option year or so. That is one of those that's that's maybe I'm wrong about that Oakland thing, but I thought he went to Oakland. It's a tough life, Yeah,

it's definitely a nomadic life. Has been in radio. How radio was along these lines. If you again, I referenced that UM a football Life documentary. If you watch that, you'll see there's a point where he got an interview with Indianapolis after the two I mean with Chicago after the two thousand twelve season when he won Coach of the Year and who knows, you know, we only hear

one side of it, but his his kids. I think we're saying that he didn't get that job because he was insisting that he had to bring Todd bowls in Chicago didn't want to switch to A three four. Yeah, they were running a Tampa too, And then Arizona was the year you love he got fired, that's right, and then Arizona, Um, well, I love he set out for a year before. Okay, I'm sorry. Arizona was fine with that. And so that's why he took that job in Arizona, because they said yes to who he wanted to hire.

I I get that. If you're going in, I mean it's like any business you go in, you look around. If you're a new manager, you're looking to see who who's there, who's not square, a whole round hole, that type of thing. Um. I think that. I think that, Um, I think we will have a completely new Yeah. So the answer to your question, Rusty is it's it's Bruce

arians who will get to choose. And these guys that have been in the league for a long time, they all have a network of guys so they can make phone calls quickly and find out who's interested, who's available, and they know the system. And that's what has to happen that coaches have to teach it to the players, right And so anybody you've got that's already worked with Bruce and we've heard something, we haven't announced anything that

bowls yet, so we're not gonna name any names. And we've certainly heard some and a lot of them have connections to him in the past. And people sometimes have to understand the reason why we you and I cannot name names. If we say a name, it's like we're announcing it. We are because we officially worked for the team, so a buck spokesperson, you know, So we can't even though we've all heard the same names too. It's hard. Okay. She finishes by saying, hopefully you all will decide to

continue the show in the off season. We've talked about that. Yeah, sometimes just every week. Yeah, I think it's going to be for special occasions, I mean it, you know, maybe if if Todd Boyles come maybe you know, it would be great to get him more something like that, just to introduce him to to Buck fans. She says, I read your news every day, Scott, and enjoyed Carmen's columns and Casey shows with you and Alian Donovan. But there's nobody doing what you and Jeff do on the podcast,

splending current news with the memories. Thank you, Rusty, Thank you Rusty. She keeps finding new ways to say nice things to us. She wasn't she She was a nurse and nurse you well, so she has a people right bedsized bedside manner. All right, um, Scott and Jeff for this is the next question. We only have two today because we haven't. I don't think people thought knew were for having a show, so I'm actually kind of surprised

we even have these two. This one apparently was just britten yesterday or today, first time I've written in, he says, but I'm just really excited by the Bruce arians hire. Earlier today, I heard Scott and okay, so he he wrote this on Tuesday. Then, okay, what today is it? Today? Today's Thursday? Okay, so he wrote this on Wednesday. This guy's name is Mark and he lives in Brandon. Apparently, uh, because that's when Casey now we're doing our inside lives.

Earlier today I heard Scott and Casey talking about how it seemed like all the reaction and they had seen to the Bruce arians hire was positive. That's probably not completely true. I'm sure there's somebody out there was hoping for Chris Roe Shard or that Casey coordinator. He says, I don't want to look up how to spell his name, Eric the Enemy. Um. I always liked his um the nickname um Eric Sleeping with the enemy, Sleeping with the enemy,

Chris Berman. But I agree that everybody, But I agree that everybody I've talked to about it feels the same way, he says, positively, but and and anestally. Actually, it is true in that I said I hadn't seen any negative reaction. Everything I've seen was positive, and that's true. I the only things I've seen are positive. I agree there's somebody

out there who's not gonna like can't wait. Um. So my question is, how does this reaction compared to what's been like over other head coach hires, like how Pump were people's first, say Greg Siano, or Rahey Morris. I've been a Bucks fan since the mid two thousand's missed the Super Bowl then, and I really don't remember how

the other hires were received. Thanks in advance if you get to my question mark, I think I think it's interesting that most I would say all the hires were received, well, yeah, but I mean that's I mean, it's the time of optimism, right. It's like how everybody thinks they're going to the Super Bowl. And when you looked at Raheem, he was a young guy.

He was at that time. Uh you know, but you gotta put it all together there because that was a a surprise firing of John Gruden and me hiring of Raheem, And there were certainly some people who didn't think John should go, So that wasn't completely positive matter how people felt about Rahem, but he was he was considering an up and comer, Greg Schiano was. They weren't sure it was going to be interesting in a college coach coming in.

Then um, then we all know where that went. And then, love you, everybody was excelled pretty positive because it felt like a call back to back to the future. I think people felt pretty good about that one but I don't think it was as as over the top as this one. Uh we missed one in there, didn't Dar Dirk. Certainly Dirk Dirk was a you're not gonna get when

you hire from within, you're not gonna get the same pot. No, no, but I think what the buzz there was because of his relationship with Jamis and everyone was very excited about that. I remember at the time, I was hoping we would hire Dirk, and I was glad when we did, because they did do a little searching at that point and they and and in fairness, he you know he did. He did get nine wins in the first year, and

you thought, what a great building block. I can tell you the difference between two thousand and sixteen when he went nine and seven, six and eight, six and two down the stretch and the next two years three and oh in in three point games in two thousand and sixteen, two and eight in the next two years. Yeah, that's that is that. That was it. We just couldn't win. And you can you can check that however you want.

You could say bad luck, or you can say the Bucks didn't figure out how to win those games, and that's fair and that's what that's what in and and he said he knew that its results business. And in the end that's what happened there. Every year when it's over with, when when it's when the season ends and there's changes, you know, what else do you have? But

hope you're expecting change. You're getting change. Everybody's going to debate whether this is good bad, and you won't know until next year at this time, and then you're gonna go, Okay, that's what year one. Now. If it's good, you go, oh, great, building box. If it's not, you go, well, it's the first year, you know, got yeah, I gotta learn that in God willing in the creek, don't rise. You and I are still doing this, and we'll let you know how good if we still have offices, right, yeah, you

know it's I'll work out of the truck. It's a four year contract for Bruce with a fifth year option, so five years will be wonderful. I know people think that because Bruce was hired at the age of sixty six, that that might be the only five years, which is possible.

But even if that's true, that's fine. If you right this ship and have five years here I'll be happy with that if you if you look, Tony Dungee was here six years, John Green was here seven that's it because it's it's what have you done if you win a super Bowl? A perfect example, the only club and Green Bay. If you look at Green Bay, McCarthy was their thirteen years. He won his super Bowl early. So yeah, so he still had some and and and they were

generally successful. Yeah, and they they kept going to the playoffs if you keep going. But but in Tony's case, he kept going to the playoffs for whatever reason, didn't get over the hump. So um in in that aspect, I think that you know, tomorrow is not promised to anybody. So what I'm saying is, even if it is only five years, I still don't think that's a problem in terms of hiring and and and if he's sixty six,

his energy level is totally there. And I know that he didn't all fishes before, but he didn't look sixty six to me. No, I hope I'm sixty. He's uh. Certainly has a grasp on social media, certainly has a grasp on the new players. I liked his answer about um, you know, learning how they learned differently, and so there's a guy that that is making adjustments. And and if you're if you're, if you're out of it, you're not making those adjustments. So I think that's good. Yeah, and

this is exciting. Yeah, even if nobody's even if it's just me talking to you at this point, what everybody got all is awesome talking to Bruce. It really was, it is. I'm very excited. He came off exactly as he appears, is public persona, appears, no BS and that man, he's gonna know B S and B Alright, Jeff, al right, take us out, alright, since you did, Thanks for listening.