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Hey everybody, Robert Mays here. We're sharing something different in the Athletic Football Show feed today because we think it's something that you're going to really like. And it's a great way to get smart about this week's big news about Bill Belichick taking the coaching job at North Carolina.
The Athletic launched a new NFL show this season called Scoop City, and we think you should really check it out. Twice a week, our own Diana Rossini and longtime NFL quarterback Chase Daniel share what they're hearing and seeing from an insider's perspective. And today...
You're going to hear them chop it up with The Athletic's Bruce Feldman about what people in the NFL and in the college game have to say about Bill Belichick taking a college job. If you like The Athletic Football Show, we think you'll be really into this. Check it out and let us know what you think. So I was traveling back from the league meetings and somebody in the NFL was on the same flight as me. And so we took an Uber over and I don't really know him.
And I said, hey, I just want to give you a warning. My friend Chase tells me that when I go to the airport, I'm a bit of a airport princess. And he's like, what is that? I go, well... I'm not going to do anything when we arrive. So if you wouldn't mind just like making sure my suitcase is there and that we get to the gate. And he's looking at me. The guy knew me for maybe an hour. He was like. What did I sign up for? Why am I stuck with you?
Scoop City is brought to you by Thursday Night Football on Prime Video. Hi, everyone. I'm the senior NFL insider, Diane Rossini. And I'm Chase Daniel. Played 14 years in the NFL. Chase, I spent the last few days in Dallas. My hometown. I'm aware. I looked up your address. I went back to your old home. Creep. Didn't do any of that, but I did think of you.
I thought of you because I made a horrible mistake in my travel plans, which I know you're shocked by. My hotel was basically like an old medieval times. It was like a medieval times turned into a hotel. Oh, sick. I love the medieval times in Dallas. awesome. Love. In fact, in the off season, let's do, I love it. I think it's, is that just our generation? Like, I don't, I can't believe people still do it, but I guess they do. Black and yellow night forever. Amazing.
That was like my dream to be the princess out on right in the middle, like on your birthday and you get to go out there. So you want to be the travel princess. Total travel princess. So I was out there being everything but a princess. I was at the league meetings where all the owners were coming together. to just discuss some league issues. But really, the story that was weighing over the entire day was the Bill Belichick news. It was...
Buzz was like you could feel it because the owners would be in meetings with executives and people would pop out, grab some water, coffee, lunch, whatever. And they'd be like, what's going on? Is he really going? You know, people were shocked.
I have the NFL side to it, like that version of how this all came together. And the athletics college insider, Bruce Feldman, he has like the college perspective in how this all came together. So he's going to join Scoop City in just a few minutes. So I thought it'd be good to just.
dive into this thing because it is a mammoth of a story in both the college and NFL level. And I think it's just because the sheer fact that no one saw this coming, which makes it awesome because no one predicted this thing. But first, let's just start with my reporter's notebook from the owner's meeting. Here's what I'm hearing around the league. All right. So with the season wrapping up here, at least the regular season and playoffs about to begin.
All the talk was actually this Lions-Buffalo-Bills game in terms of like football, like what was going to be on the field and just huge tests for Buffalo. And we'll talk about that later in the show and even just for Detroit to just see how they're going to... handle the challenge of Josh Allen. So outside that game, outside the Bill Belichick news, you had owners from all the teams there. And every team has their own issue.
Big picture topic. And obviously the coaching cycle is without a doubt the other big thing kind of weighing over these meetings as. We're waiting to see the teams that are going to be making their fires and the hires. And obviously, we know the three teams right now, the Northern Saints, the New York Jets, and the Chicago Bears, who all have interims. And we'll see what they decide to do if they wind up keeping those coaches that are in place or going out.
and finding someone new. So we're definitely going to have tons more information about that. I want to make it in San Francisco because that was one of the topics that a lot of people were chatting about of just the quarterback market. What San Francisco is going to do with Brock Purdy? Because, jeez, I don't know if you've seen some of the chatter over the last few weeks. There are people who are questioning.
whether or not the San Francisco 49ers should sign Brock Purdy. Who? I can't go through all the people on Twitter and on television that you work with. Oh, social media, Twitter. People on television? Not on our show. No Brock Purdy slander on our show. Oh, that's a good show. That's why people should tune in. Because they're smart, because they know what I know, which is nothing has changed for the San Francisco 49ers in terms of where they were a year ago in wanting...
to keep Brock Purdy and believing that he's the future. Nothing's changed from then to now. This is a guy that they want to have signed up. They believe in him. They believe in his ability, his talent in the system, outside the system, however way you want to describe it. But I think sometimes it's good to circle back on these type of topics because when people see that you're not winning at the highest level and we've seen.
the Niners struggle, mostly issues outside of Brock Purdy. Do you think San Francisco is making the right move here by, you know, most likely getting a deal done with him in the offseason? 100%. And I think they should do it fast and quick and not like... Let this contract roll on like they did with two other guys this past offseason. We saw how this handled, right? Trent Williams, Brandon Ayoub. Just get it done. Get it done quickly.
For me, when I watch San Francisco on offense, they're still one of the best offenses in the league. and they have a ton of injuries. They're without their number one receiver. Juwan Jennings looking like a pro bowler, and he's the number three receiver. Debo Samuel has been nowhere to be found. Last game, they finally got George Kittle going, 130-something.
yards. So, and he's doing it, guys. He's doing it. I said guys. Did you see what I said? I said guys, but I'm really just talking to you, but I'm talking to you like you're one of the boys. He is... doing it without their top two running backs as well. CMC's out. Jordan Mason's out. And so for me, when I watch him week in and week out, he is the reason they're winning these games. He had his best game.
of the year the Chicago Bears won the past week. But my biggest thing is like, as long as Kyle Shanahan is the head coach, In San Francisco, Brock Purdy is going to be his quarterback. He fits the system perfectly. And I know you can say, oh, look what he did with Jimmy G. And Nick Mullins has the most passing yards through 10 starts in NFL history.
I get that no one fits it quite like Brock Purdy. And it's a fascinating situation to me because he does this and he did this as a seventh string mystery relevant quarterback that was third on the depth chart. And he just worked himself up. And I felt like Kyle Shanahan had his guy.
even two years ago, so you can't let a bunch of injuries just completely get rid of the fact that they do have their franchise quarterback. Yeah, and I'm glad you brought up Kyle Shanahan because there was a little chit-chat out there on the streets that the San Francisco 49ers are open to. treating Kyle Shanahan and Kyle Shanahan wants out. All of that is...
Very untrue. It's all inaccurate. And Kyle Shanahan is staying in San Francisco as the head coach. He wants to be there and they want him there. So we can put that one to bed. The one that we can't put to bed is in Dallas. OK, so Stephen Jones was there and he always speaks to the media. Actually, Jerry Jones usually speaks to the media, but Stephen's chose to to address us. And the question of Mike McCarthy came up again.
And he continues to back him. He continues to be impressed by how he's been able to get this team prepared. able to win some bigger games here towards the end of the stretch here. He would not comment on whether or not they were going to move on because they have four games left. But I can tell you, there is definitely a sense you're feeling here that...
that it won't be shocking if they decide to stick with Mike McCarthy. That is the feeling around the league too, just from having conversations. Look, no one knows what Jerry Jones is going to decide here in the end, but it's now at a point where...
A month ago, Mike McCarthy was out, and now here we are, a few weeks left of the season, and there's a lot of people who think Mike McCarthy's going to be the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys next year. This makes zero sense. Why? Like, I'll give you my, I think he should remain.
the head coach, but just tell me why all of a sudden, a couple weeks ago when your star quarterback gets hurt and is out for the season, and then all of a sudden you win two games against not great teams with a backup quarterback, all of a sudden are you back in the saddle? I think there's a lot, too. I think, I think...
The Jones family is really comfortable with Mike McCarthy, right? There's just like, it's a good relationship. There's no issues. There's no drama. I also think sometimes you have to look around at who is available. Look at last year's game, right? If the Dallas Cowboys... Well, the Dallas Cowboys lost in horrible fashion against the Packers. We all know how absolutely angry Jerry Jones was after that loss. If there was ever going to be a time he was going to fire Mike McCarthy with...
Those coach candidates that were available, the Ben Johnsons, the Mike Vrabels, the Bill Belichicks, I would have thought he would have made that move last year to go after those guys. So those same guys. are still available not bill anymore obviously so it makes me wonder if in that building they're going well we don't really love our options like we like what we have here there's some good
They knew that going into the year, though. Like, why did Mike McCarthy not get a contract extension before the year? Because in my opinion... If they would have taken, if Mike would have taken them to the playoffs with Dak Prescott and lost another first round game, he was going to get canned because he didn't have a contract.
Now all of a sudden you're not even making the playoffs and your starters hurt, and all of a sudden you've not weaseled your way back in, but now you have a job again? That's what I don't understand.
Well, let's do the flip of it from a, you know, we always talk about the Giants on the show about the kiss of death. And the reason why we made such a big deal out of the vote of confidence that John Mayer was giving both Brian D'Abel and Joe Shane was because we've been doing this long enough that we know. The way you end the season is so impactful to the decision makers, whether they admit it or not. It's in front of them. The game doesn't even need to matter.
But it is so hard to fire a coach when your team is winning, even if it's just the last two games of the year and you've lost the rest of them. It's you're putting on something that makes them feel good, that it's hard to look at the whole body of work. Which, you know, Stephen Jones told me that. He said, I am going to look at the whole body of work before I make a decision. My argument, and I didn't say this to him, but I was thinking, how much body of work do you need?
Like, how much do you need to see at this point? 12 wins, 12 wins, 12 wins. We know. It's right there in front of us. There's no secret here. But they've got games, so he can't show hand yet. Do you think that... It has helped Mike McCarthy's chances from Dak Prescott speaking out to Micah Parsons speaking out to Troy Aikman speaking out who are all Dallas Cowboy royalty that they love and respect them. Do you think that's helped a lot?
It's a great question. And yes, I do. I think, I mean, look, look at the Raiders last year. Remember when their players were speaking up for AP? It was very hard to say, oh, we don't want to give. what the locker room wants. And if the locker room wants Mike McCarthy, that is a tough move for Jerry Jones to go.
I don't agree with them. I don't agree with my men. I don't agree with the players, the most important part of this organization. I know what's better for them. Now, does Jerry have that nerve in him to do it? Probably. But it makes it a lot more complicated when the team is this public. Chase, were you ever on a team where there was like an outcry, we'll call it, for a coach?
When, and it didn't work in his favor? Like, were you ever part of a team where, okay, were you ever part of a team where you knew the coach was trash, but you were to be asked about him and you would still sing his praises?
Not calling Mike McCarthy trash. The only coaching staff I've ever been a part of that's done that is Matt Patricia in Detroit in 2020. But he got fired halfway through the year and he had already spent two or three years like... being bad so he's sort of like writing on the wall um but no it's just everything's public yeah and you could just even tell by the way
Jerry and Steven are answering questions right now. They're just, just everyone is watching to see what they're going to do here. And I think it's a smart decision. Michael Parsons contract came up too. I asked him about that and it was pretty much, it's like unimaginable.
At this point, like the Dallas Cowboys can't. They want to make this work. They want Micah Parsons. They're going to get it done, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They feel really good about it. But look, to their credit, like they wait too long to do deals. And you got to figure with how vocal Micah is. Our Cowboys beat reporter, John Machoda, made such a great point because we were talking about the Micah situation and he's like, don't ever.
consider Micah being outrageous and loud and full of personality opinions as something to work against him in Dallas. Jerry loves these kind of guys. Oh, he loves it. No, he loves it. He always has. It's a great point. So we'll see how that turns out. And I'm sure we'll be discussing it tons in the offseason. The Cleveland Browns. Okay, so Jimmy Haslam was there. Interesting, man. He was asked.
about essentially what he thought about the season. And, you know, he was pretty candid about it, saying, you know, They were really good last year, and they're not good at all this year. We went from being 11-6 and making the playoffs to 3-10, so it's a little perplexing what happened. Perplexing is an interesting word, don't you think?
Well, I mean, it seemed like, to your point, like it was pretty bleak when the other quarterback, Deshaun Watson, was playing. Now Jameis is playing. I didn't think even a few weeks ago that Andrew Barry... And Kevin Stefanski, we're going to make it through the season. But has it changed a little bit now? Because of, I mean, they're winning games. I talked to some people in Cleveland, and they tell me that Andrew Bear and Kevin Stefanski are going to be safe.
They are going to come back next year. Why? What's changed? I think they realize that the problem that they're having has more to do with the quarterback than it does Kevin Stavansky. Right. I mean, if this was the best thing to happen. And look, Jameis is not perfect. Jameis has this. And the turnovers, Bruce Arians was on the show with us earlier this week. And he painted the perfect picture of like that. They got to get that under control.
But at least it shows that, like, they can do this. And, you know, when I referenced Dallas looking at what's out there, Kevin Stefanski is a type of... where I know there's a lot of teams that would be very interested in him. And I think Cleveland is looking at that going, all right, we actually have good pieces here. We have a good tandem. So look, it's...
Mid-December, they get the vote of confidence for Jimmy Haslam. I trust nobody. At this point, I trust nobody. But people I'm talking to that I do trust are telling me that this is going to shake out and they're going to stay. Say that they stay, Andrew Barry and Kevin Stefanski. Is there any world where Deshaun Watson is their quarterback or stays on that team next year? And if not, you got to re-sign Jameis, right? Yeah.
Chase, I think these discussions are happening. I don't think they know. I think we know from a common sense place in terms of what this financially means to this team. But I think it's okay that we're at a point right now where... They got to figure it out. They have to sort out how they want to move forward. Is it worth it to them? Is it worth taking this unbelievable hit to move this organization in a different direction?
You know, because even now, you know, I'm sure you saw on social media, just, you know, Deshaun Watson spending his off time. I guess it's his off time, but time away from the team. And, you know, he's getting criticism for that. Whereas, you know, you're sitting in Dallas.
Dak Prescott's got that. He's got the headpiece in. He's watching play. He's all around the team, you know, and it's you look at these two quarterbacks that are supposed to be the franchise and one is doing it in a way that, you know, makes you wonder how committed he is. And you have the other go, you know.
He wants to be with his guys. Have you been watching Hard Knocks? Because they just showed Jameis with his family and Hard Knocks. And I know Jameis personally. Jameis is one of the greatest human beings you'll ever meet. He's a little out there, a little quirky. but he makes it work. The talent is there. I feel like if Kevin Stefanski can get the interceptions away and out of Jameis' system, which I don't know if that's possible, but cut down on them.
They have such a talented roster, right? Yeah, I wouldn't say it's the most talented roster. I think they're decent. I thought they were going to be better. I still think they... They obviously have to make some improvements here. They're getting older too. They currently hold the eighth pick in the draft, by the way. They haven't had a pick in the first round since 2021. So that'll be interesting to see what they do there, obviously because of the trade.
Well, let me ask you this. Let me ask you this before you go on, because I think this is fascinating. You might not have an answer for it. Do you think that Deshaun Watson is done playing football? Like, do you foresee any team out there taking a flyer on him? Well, let me read. this to you to just remind you, his 2025 salary cap charge would increase from $73 million to $172 million if cut before June 1. Or...
$118 million after June 1. This is over the cap. So if they cut them, it's $118 million. Mm-hmm. So, but is there any way you can keep on the rosters? Like the backup or third? Like there's no way, right? You're using a roster spot. Can they get a roster exemption from the commissioner's office? Like what are we doing here?
They have a lot to start out. It's a fascinating situation. It is. And we will see. And I don't think eighth pick, I don't think there's any quarterback in the draft that is going to make sense for Stavansky. Like, I would go veteran. And, yeah, you say veteran, but who's available? Right? What? Jameis. You stick with Jameis? I think so. I think he showed flashes if Kevin Savancy can get the interceptions under control. I mean, you almost have to. You can't pay him a lot of money.
You're paying $118 million a guy that if you cut, like he's not even on your team. I'm so glad that you brought up the free agent quarterback market because I do think that that is a reason for some of the decisions that we're going to see made. Okay, so for example. the Carolina Panthers, okay? How different were we talking about this team two months ago? You want to talk about a flip of a switch, right? You've got a quarterback now who...
is playing really good football, who has shown ability to be the guy, to look like the guy, to look like they nailed this thing. And the buzz at the league meetings was... You know, they believe in Dave Canales, they believe in Dan Morgan, and they like what they see from Bryce. They just know they got to get him some pieces now. So I just, this just goes to show you how much can change.
We spent September crushing them. And now this team looks like they've got some... I love watching them now. They're actually one of my favorite teams to watch because... They're favored at home versus the Cowboys, Diana. In what world is that? God, I love that. Let me ask you a question. Why isn't Dave Canales getting more credit for what he's done with their number one draft pick when he didn't even draft him? No one...
In media, no one is talking about Dave Canales and the job he did not only with Baker Mayfield last year, which got him a $100 million contract, to what Bryce Young is doing this year. I just think what Dave Canales is doing. with Bryce Young. It needs to be talked about more. He's infused confidence in him. He knew what he was doing, benching him. And I know Andy Dalton came in and gave that.
Team a burst of energy, right? They've secured the offensive line, which I think is playing really well. They have to go out, like you said, get receivers. But what Dave Canales is doing, I know they're not winning. They've taken the Bucs. They've taken the Chiefs. They've taken the Eagles down to like the final play. Like you got to imagine that this is a really good, even though they're losing, a really good way to end the season for these guys. Yeah. I asked a DC who faced him recently.
to just let me know what he thinks. He said he's just more decisive with where he wants to go with the ball, as well as displaying just really improved pocket awareness and presence, proved by the fact that he's attempted 166 passes while only being sacked six times. He gets rid of the ball. He scrambles when he needs to. Just way more confident. He just looks confident. Just such a difference.
But my big question, can they handle being a favorite this week? Which, first time, right? So, like, for the first time in 33 games, bettors are expecting them to beat the Cowboys at home. The pocket awareness, whoever said that is genius because that's what I've seen. Like the pocket awareness for sure. You know I only talk to smart people. Bottom line, my takeaway from being around the Panthers at the league meetings was they've got some glow to them.
They know it's, look, they're not winning all these games. They're not happy with it. But this is a team that's showing some hope. They've got some of the juice now, some of the right ingredients. And now they just got to build on it. And they got the important things. They got the coach, the GM, and the quarterback. We'll see if they can continue moving this thing in a good direction for them. All right.
We got to get to the big story of the week. Everyone's been weighing in. I feel like basically if you even watched a game in New England, you have a strong opinion about what Bill Belichick is doing now being the head coach at the University of North Carolina. So we're going to have...
Bruce Feldman, our college football insider for The Athletic, joined the show to just give us some perspective what the college world is saying and give us some insight into Bill Belichick taking on a whole new role. Listen up, corporate types. It's me, Billy Idol. You might use Workday's responsible AI to future-proof your business. That doesn't make you rock stars. When have rock stars ever been responsible? Be a finance and HR rock star with Workday. day.
All right, back here on Scoop City. So Bill Belichick just wrapped up his press conference. Can you believe a week ago, Chase? The last thing I think we were discussing was the reality of this happening. I think. The reports were starting to happen. We were reacting a little bit about it. And people close to him just kept saying, this could happen. This could happen.
This time last year, it was Arthur Smith who was actually getting the initial interest, remember? And then it quickly flipped. So here's the thing. Because there's been so many layers to the story, so many tentacles and so much great information out there, I thought we would team up.
with our college insider. Of course, you guys all know him. Bruce Vellman here is joining Scoop City now. Bruce, we know it has been a wild seven, eight days almost now for you. So we appreciate you hopping on here. How are you doing?
I'm doing good, Diana. It's good to be on with you guys. It's good to see Chase. I remember when I first met him, he was a freshman at Mizzou coming out of a high school powerhouse. Not surprised he had a great career. Not surprised he's also doing this now. You could tell. I appreciate that. Good to have you on, brother.
Nice to hear that. And Chase loves to hear what a star he was. And I like to be reminded that my partner here was a superstar in college because he attends tons of Hall of Fames and we make fun of him here on the show about it. Let's get to the questions. The more credibility here. I wanted to start with just plain old reaction from the people that you're talking to in the college world.
Whatever level it is that you're talking to of those people, what have you been hearing about just Bill Belichick being a head coach for UNC? It's somewhat mixed, Diana, but I think one of the big things that comes through is... Does he really know what he's getting into right now? Because these people have, you know, he's the goat of coaching, especially in the NFL. Now, it's different in college. We've seen guys who have been wildly successful in college and bombed spectacularly in the NFL.
And so it wouldn't be surprising if it's coming back the other way where it doesn't translate. I think what's different, and I go back to this about a year ago at this time, Nick Saban. surprised a lot of people, including people in his own program, that he decided, I'm done. And when you talk to people who are on that staff, a bunch of them had said, look, he had done exit interviews with like 40 players on that team.
And they had, you know, basically voiced that, like, it was very frustrating to him to hear their message. A lot of the mentality was seemed to be very selfish. and didn't jive with what he was looking for and wanted to hear or had been hearing in all his exit interviews that he'd done in the previous years. Nick Saban is the goat of all college football coaches.
He is obviously very close, you know, knows Bill Belichick really well. They worked together a long time. But I think the fact that it kind of drove him out and he had just kind of had enough. And now here it is a year later. It's not gotten any more.
streamlined in terms of the NIL process, the transfer portal. You know, Bill Belichick, and I know this from talking to sources close to him, you know, he can think, oh, yeah, I know agents. I've dealt with a lot of agents and a lot of, you know, his relationships.
But these are not the agents he's going to be dealing with in college football. It's like in the NFL side, as you guys know, there's a process you need to be accredited and licensed. There's none of that. All you need to be an agent working in the college space.
is a cell phone and an internet connection. You don't need any certification. So that's a lot of the people who he's going to be hounded by and managing. And I get it. You have Mike Lombardi, who's going to handle a lot of that. The head coach, you know, I've talked to guys who worked for Belichick. who said twice a year at least he's going to hear from guys who are wanting to renegotiate. They're going to go to him. And I think those are some big headaches he's going to have to deal with.
as he gets into this job that I don't think as much time as he spent around Steve and around U-Dub. where his son is a defensive coordinator. He can be in the meeting. He was in the meetings and was around a bunch, but he wasn't around all the recruiting stuff. He wasn't on the recruiting weekends. He wasn't around official visits and dealing with all that stuff.
So I think he's been pretty shielded to that reality and all this stuff that doesn't happen on the field stuff. Those are the things that I think are probably going to drive him up a wall. College coaching, the more I'm around just some of the coaches that I know in college, it's a 365 day a year job. And more and more college coaches are not.
actually coaching their figureheads. They're dealing with their roster. They're dealing with NIL. They're dealing with now the revenue sharing, everything like that. With Bill, he wants the control. So don't you think that, in my opinion, He's sort of evolving and changing in front of our eyes because he's building the first pro-style staff in college. So he has a GM. He has a pro player personnel, which will now be the transfer portal. He has...
pro scouting, which is now high school scouting. So don't you think it would take some pressure off of him so he can just do what he wants to do? And that is just teach and coach and what he's so good at. In theory, it would. But like, there's lots of GMs now. Like Nick Saban had that model that he had cultivated and he had, you know, he had people in place.
Whether it was Jeff Allen, who was the trainer, who was with him the whole time, or Dr. Ginger Gilmore, who was basically an assistant AD who kind of could be the buffer for the players. And I don't want to say it was like good cop, bad cop around Alabama, but there was a lot of... layers to it and i get that but at the same time you're not entirely insulated from that and what you said chase is very true like when i go to the combine
you know, and see all the people on the NFL side, I run into a lot of college coaches, former college coaches that I, you know, maybe hadn't seen in a while or see just that once a year we get beers or something. And their quality of life is way better in the NFL because they'll say, you know, like if I'm, you know, by the pool with my family and in.
June or July or late in the spring, I don't have to worry about my cell phone. I don't have to come into the office because some kid has a baseball tournament in the area. Now he's going to take an unofficial visit and I have to be there. You know, it's great that the recruiting staff may be there. But the head coach needs to be involved in that stuff. You cannot be just that guy who's doing the drive-bys. And I think, you know, 72 is a real thing. Like, that's a...
You know, like this is not 52. It's way different. And I think, you know, people can say, oh, yeah, he's dating a 24 year old or whatever it is. So that's certainly a by choice thing. But all of a sudden now you're going to deal with all the other stuff that like when you're 72, you're going to have a lot of headaches that you can't delegate all of them. They're just going to be in his face. And I just think it's going to wear him down in a hurry. I'm not saying. You know, he won't be a...
His team, I think, is going to be incredibly well-coached. We see what Bill O'Brien, one of his protégés, has done. He got BC to 7-5. I think they can win eight or nine games. It's the ACC. He's not going in the SEC. Look what SMU has done in its first year. SMU's collective recruiting average ranking is 70th over the last five years. They made the playoff. It's not like he's going...
I think he can have a lot of success. I just think the fatigue factor of dealing with all the BS is going to wear him out. I know. And Chase and I were joking, our own fathers are in their 70s. I was telling Chase, my dad gets mad that the couch in my living room is too low to the ground. It's too hard for him to get up and he's healthy, you know, but he just is annoyed by that because it takes that much more effort to do it. So he can fight it. And look, I covered.
Belichick for years his endurance is tremendous when it comes to the work and the focus in fact anyone associated with New England that has come from That building on the coaching side specifically and even scouts, they're machines. They are machine-disciplined people. It's true, though. They're very different than others around the league who have their own styles of attacking. But the New England way always just were very almost militant. So I do think if any 72-year-old can...
can handle it, it will be Belichick. But you bring up some great points about just even in the NFL, how people look at the difference in coaching. I was at the league meetings in Dallas when this news broke. Bruce, it was wild. How many... executives and owners included did not believe it. They're like, there's no way, no way. They were so shocked by it.
I kept going, no, no, this is happening. Like this was like right before it really broke. And we all we all knew it was heading that direction. In terms of how you think college kids. who you're around, you cover them, you understand the locker room. Chase, you've been around it tons. You go back and you see these kids. How do you think Bill is going to be able to connect with them when he's never had to do it?
with players this age. Yeah, I think he's going to have a lot of currency just because, you know, whether he wears one or all of the Super Bowl rings around them, that'll get people's attention. You know, but the coaches I've talked to still say, yeah, but at some point they're going to go, yeah, and how much am I going to get? Like, are you going to pay me this? It still comes back to that, you know, like.
Nick Saban lost recruits. Nick Saban is the greatest college football coach ever. He lost recruits to other people. I'm not saying he lost bidding wars, but that's probably what happened. You know, it's the SEC. I think that... I imagine they will get on the right kids who fit for them and fit with them and not too many knuckleheads that are going to zap his energy. Because if your dad in his 70s didn't like the height of the chair because it's bad on his back.
How about if he's dealing with some knucklehead who just can't get right and is constantly on lists? You know, I'm sure that the staff will have ways to keep that headache away from Belichick. But still, you know, the. The way the recruiting process also works in this, especially when it comes to portal is these things happen really fast. And so you don't have like the draft recruiting process, draft evaluation process before guys were picked happens over months and there's way more intel.
And and here, I just think it's going to be a much more of a crunch to find out what you're getting. I just again, I think he'll be really good with a lot of things. I just think that dealing with. This version of 16, 17-year-old kids who are now coming up, now they've heard all the stories about what happens with NIL. The demands are crazy.
I'm telling you, the stuff coaches have told me this cycle, it has gotten crazier than it was two years ago. That toothpaste is not going back in the tube. It's only getting worse. Because the agents that most people have never heard of have either tried to set the market or reset the market. of what they're trying to get from people and shopping players around. Like it would blow your mind compared to like, you guys probably hear crazy stories about.
about NFL agents, but compared to this now, it is amateur hour and, and he's going to deal with that. And so one of the coaches I talked to was like, is he really going to give his cell phone out to like 216 year olds? I mean, is that really what's going to happen? You know, because you're talking about just that is the world he's going to be living in. Mike Lombardi can't manage all of that. It's got to be the head coach has to be involved.
Look, I don't think he's going to have a problem recruiting, especially the first few years, right? I feel like he's going to get recruits in. Obviously, from his Super Bowl rings, I think he's got eight in total. Or just the money. I heard it was upwards to $20 million in an NIL fund, which is absolutely bonkers. I don't know if that's true, but that's the number I heard. I don't think he's going to have a problem recruiting. However...
Can't you imagine the Patriot way going through now to the Tar Heel way and it weighing on these 16, 17, 18 year old players. And then after a year, they're like, I'm out. How is he going to keep those guys around? Because in a day and an age that it's the Wild West, I have no issue with you recruiting. I think it's going to be great. He's going to get the five stars. He's going to get those guys. But now...
They have a full football season. I'm like, oh, this is Bill Belichick. Peace out. I'm gone. Like, how do you see him handling that situation? I think for the kids who can't handle it, I think we'll be fine with it and we'll probably want them gone anyway. You know, like it's interesting because it's hard to find like a real precedent for this.
I mean, you see some parallels like Bill Walsh came back after he won three Super Bowls. He was in his early 60s, not in his 70s, but he had some success early on. And then he ended up like a 500 coach. And after three years, he was done. Pre-Portal, pre-NIL, obviously. But then you have, you know, we saw Charlie Weiss took the Belichick way.
you know, had some success early on at Notre Dame and then just fizzled out. You've seen, obviously, Bill O'Brien's done a nice job. I think Chip Kelly's tried to incorporate some similar, like he's tried to recruit off of the same model he once told me of how. belichick operates he had but he didn't have the nil war chest that we think north carolina because i've heard similar to what chase just said um and that's a big piece of it but i think also it's the
you know, how do they handle it and everything else? I mean, Deion Sanders to me is an interesting, you know, parallel because he's got the, he's got a high level NFL cachet. Now his personality is way different, but I think. how he relates to players and what they manage and even still you know if you could tell me bill is going to get a shador sanders who's like you know going to be that level of quarterback in college and a generational two-way player that can change
Obviously, he's not going to run it like it's a seven-on-seven team where they're great on the perimeter and really limited in the trenches. But I think... That kind of thing, I can see how you can make a big impact and a big splash early. It's just the retention piece of it. I think it's going to be a very interesting thing to monitor because he's going to make them grind. And I'm not sure how many of them stay on that. Well, he said he took the job.
to be there and not to leave. Everybody says that, Diana. I think that's such a farce. Do we ever trust anyone in a press conference? No. They're saying what they need to say. You know, the sense I was getting over the last few weeks in terms of the dynamic between Bill Belichick and the NFL anyways was he wasn't getting interest. This was a really smart move by him.
Because just in my opinion, I think he knew this would be a bad look if he was going to miss out again in an opportunity. Bill Belichick was not the number one head coaching candidate on the open market. It's Mike Vrabel. The younger version of him, we'll call it, in a different, they're not the same at all, but there's a lot of great qualities about both of them. And teams are going to want a 49-year-old.
not a 72-year-old, on top of the fact that Belichick comes with a lot more things that we've all heard about over the years. So the longevity of this, to me, is the most interesting part of it.
It's how long is he going to be able to do this? And is he going to be happy doing it? Is this going to be a movie he's going to look back on and go, that just was not the right fit. And even just talking to people around the NFL verse, you know, I've talked to so many people who see both, like everyone is so split on it. And the biggest question, and just in your opinion, it doesn't to be anything that you know for a fact, just the why, the why North Carolina when perhaps.
Other opportunities could have opened up or better programs, bigger programs, more of a spotlight, better conferences. Just from your observation, what do you think the answer to the why is there? I think start with this. There were no other. jobs out there this was a very unusual cycle in terms of like the last previous couple of years, it was crazy on the coaching carousel. This wasn't that year. I mean, this was basically the best of a really bad small crop of...
power for head coaching jobs. It was Purdue, UCF, which just became a power for program a year or two ago in North Carolina. I mean, it's not like. well, Belichick was going to go to Hattiesburg and be the head coach at Southern Miss or go be the head coach at Marshall. Like West Virginia just opened up. I, you know, it was like, there's not a great pool of coaching jobs. Now next year we think there will be.
It could be four big SEC jobs could come open, but he's 73 next year. Time is not on his side here at all. Now, part of me would say,
You know, I watch him on the Manning cast. I think he's fantastic on that. I learn a ton, you know, of just like these little nuggets that come out of him that he kind of grunts out in the course of this. You know, I think he's very, you know, I think he's... you know, both he and Saban, I think have been terrific additions to the TV sports broadcast world, you know, and I think because of that, but you know, it's, it's good for the viewer, but I think at the same time that didn't like.
You know, he said it himself today when somebody asked why he's still doing it. He goes beats working because I think at the end of the day, he doesn't want to wear a tie and sit in front of camera and have somebody put makeup on him. You know, I think he wants to be twirling the whistle. And I think that's what works for him. That's what he's best at. I mean, he can be really good on TV.
He's a football guy, man. He's a football guy. It's funny how we thought, remember we thought he was doing the Pat McAfee stuff in all 55. uh podcasts and shows because we thought that he wanted to connect with the college players coming to the nfl when in fact it was he's been trying to connect with the younger demographic the high school kids to try to draw them and perhaps other college kids right exactly look i don't
think anyone here is going to question the situational, the scheme, anything that Bill Belichick sort of bring on the coaching side of it. He can coach, he can teach. No one did more work on the college player. when they were a head coach in the NFL than Bill Belichick. So, you know, he's going to take advantage.
At a level of football where coaching matters and there's some bad coaching and there's some bad play. And he is going to maximize that. He is going to find ways to manipulate it. And we're going to say every Saturday or whatever games, whatever nights they're playing of. Because we saw the NFL where they're supposed to be the smartest. When you were saying that, Dinah, something I'm reminded of, there's a handful of like college.
defensive coaches I know, who are now, two of them are head coaches, one's back in the NFL, but like Dave Aranda, brilliant defensive coordinator, and now he's the head coach at Baylor, Manny Diaz, now going to be his arch rival at Duke, and also Jimmy Lake. who's now back in the nfl but those guys cult like belichick would sit with them and let them basically just be around and then he would pick their brains and download them um
about what they were seeing, what they knew about the, like, I think he loved that aspect of it. And I think those guys certainly, you know, love their time to be exposed to that and how his mind works. But what you're saying is sort of like, I mean, he's probably the ultimate football nerd. And I think all those things are like, you know, I mean, that. Again, I just think that's the world he's probably most comfortable in. So why not have your hands in the middle of it?
One more question before, this is my last question. You're obviously really well connected with college coaches. What are the reactions around the NCAA about Bill Belichick taking the job? Because I'm sure they are mixed. They are. I mean, I think the people I've talked to have a lot of respect for him, immense respect for him. But even guys like I texted with a guy who worked for him and is now.
is now an assistant coach. And he was like, I still can't believe this. Because it's like, how is he going to process getting hit up twice a year by the same kid on a negotiation? You know, it's that's the thing that like where these coaches are dealing with that reality. And that's not something that like five years ago was on anybody's radar. That's a new that's like a pretty new thing. And so, you know, it drives them crazy. And they're like, you know, 40 years younger than him.
30 years younger than him. So I think they're like, how is he going to, but they, you know, this one particular guy I, you know, was trading texts with earlier today. He was like, what he's, but he's the goat. I bet he'll be able to figure out. Yeah, no doubt. Well, I can tell you, as someone who had to sit in a press room my early years at ESPN as a new NFL reporter, I was assigned to the Patriots in the postseason.
And I would sit in that room scared out of my mind. He would give me the death stare if I asked any question outside of what the norm of what they wanted to just be asked. I'm actually just from an entertainment factor. I'm interested to see how he's going to handle the student media, the younger people covering the team, and how he's really going to handle a lot of what we'll call the sell job of the college sport, which is obviously very different.
the NFL level. Bruce, we could talk to you forever. You've been such a wonderful guest. Thank you so much. I hope maybe we're in the draft. We'll bring you back on and just kind of... Dip into that and you can share some of your intel and insight and all the stuff that you know. So thanks so much for hanging out with us. Thanks for having me, guys. Great seeing you. Thanks, man.
All right, we've got a big slate of games coming up here, and there's a lot going on this time of year, starting in the NFL with what you are going to be watching. I feel like we have some football stuff we're going to be watching, and then... I don't know about you, but I have been cruising Netflix and Lifetime because I... Really? Wait, Hillary doesn't watch those... Rom-com? She doesn't watch those holiday movies? She's begging me to ask or she's begging me to watch...
The Netflix Lindsay Lohan Christmas movie. It's so good, bad. Like horribly bad. Like rom-com. But good. She's so great. I love Lindsay. Like this, like resurgence. Maybe I should watch it. She looks amazing. I haven't seen what she looks like since her younger days. I have no idea. Yeah.
I think she got a little work. And if her doctor is listening to Scoop City, give me a call. Oh my God. She looks like the camera just eats her face. Like if you're watching this show here in Scoop City. Is that a good thing? You know the lens does not eat my face. It vomits on my face. So just the fact that she glows on camera. That's a TV term. A TV executive said it to me once. Never heard it. I was up for a job and I didn't get it.
And I followed up and I said, how come, how come I didn't get it? And he named the woman that got it over me. And he said, the lens eats her. The lens does not eat you. What an asshole. Thank you. I thought the same thing, but that's TV though. That's just like... The hell? That's just how it is. That's real life? Yeah. No one's ever... Well, you're a man. They don't do that in TV. In TV, if you're a woman, it's like a totally separate standard.
Different discussion for a different day. Speaking of high standard, Bill's Lions, baby. I saw the Bill's GM being in the lobby of the league meetings. And he's like... excited about this game, which I've seen him before in the past and I've covered the Bills for years, so I know his vibes usually and I've seen him nervous and anxious about games. He was like pumped for this game because I do think they just want to see what they are. They're not good on the road. I want to see what...
They are. They're not good against teams under 500 either. They're 2-3 versus teams with a winning record. They're 8-0 versus teams with a losing record. That is a huge deal. However, I would agree with you. I'm looking more so the Bills.
Lend through the bills lens on this game because the bills beat the best team in the AFC check If they can beat the best team in the NFC give Josh Allen the MVP right away Like it is locked away throw throw the key lock like locket throw away the key do all that stuff
Like, if you can beat the best team in the NFC, best team in the NFC, I know they've lost to some teams, right? Ravens, Texans, Rams. I get that. But this season has been just an overwhelming success for Josh Allen and the Bills. I mean, they clinched the division title like December 1st. Like, come on. Yeah. That, but also just the fact that he's been able to figure out how to...
continually just win games himself. And this isn't saying that he doesn't have teammates, but he's just become that type of elite player that... he is a complete difference maker, especially when coaches are trying to figure out ways to defend him. It's like, they're so annoyed by him. A little bit in like the Mahomes way of just like, there's just, you know, there's, and even Lamar Jackson, you're not gonna be able to stop them.
So you got to figure out something else because that's not going to happen. Slow down, yes, but not even that. Josh Allen's just Superman. It's unbelievable. What the heck is going on in Philly? You know, you... You mentioned the Bills-Lions games. This is the second time we talk about it. No one mentioned the freaking Steelers-Eagles. I think that's a fascinating game. I'm going to it. That's how good it is. Yeah. I'm going to go to the game. Let's go.
One, I want to see what is happening. Do you think it's real? Is this just like a wide receiver upset? I've seen AJ upset before in years past. Like it's kind of his style. The hell if I know what the hell is going on because it's... It is on another level of interesting. I'm sure, Diana, I'm sure there's beef.
Right? There's beef in every single NFL locker room I've ever been in. There's always drama of some sort. I don't care. The Chiefs, the Chargers, the Eagles, the Saints, there's always that. However, that beef doesn't get aired out publicly and on every national television show in America. That's what makes it a little different than I am. I think that AJ Brown, when he said passing...
What's wrong with all of it? Passing. What's wrong? Passing. I don't think it was all Jalen, but I think it was a lot Jalen. Because when you break down the film and you watch the film, I think he just got really frustrated. And I think it was one of those things where it's like, hey. He's missed four games due to injury this year, and then the games when he's back, he's not getting his targets. Pre-bye, the Eagles were 2-2. They were throwing the ball 37 times a game, so he was getting targets.
right? Now, post-buy, they found their identity, their identity, Saquon, and now they're throwing the ball 21 times a game, and he's getting 6.8 targets a game, which is not a lot for him. And it's not even the targets that he's getting. Jalen is not seeing the field well. And when Jalen doesn't see the field well and we break it down on film, stuff's wide open. There should have been two touchdown plays to A.J. Brown. So when you see that as a receiver.
You're like, just throw me the football. Like, there's definitely beef. Just don't air it out. Yeah. So, in other words, you're taking A.J. Brown's side in this. I mean, look. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Look, Eagles fans freaking hate me with a passion. And I think they hate me for a couple reasons. One, because I stole $12 million from them. And that's what they think. And number two.
That's just what they think. No, that's what they think. I threw one pass. I get it, right? And number two is that I'm one of the only guys that can be honest about Jalen Hurts. If he plays bad, I'm going to call it out. If he plays well, I'll call it out. They do not like when people speak about their quarterback. And I'm totally fine with that. Like, that's just how it is. But I'm always going to keep it real in what I see.
And just because I didn't play at a high level like Jalen doesn't know what the hell I'm talking about because I've seen it for multiple different aspects of on the field, played for 14 years, stuff like that. So I just think it's funny and I'm going to continue to be real. Well, I'm sure I'm going to get a lot of hate when I... attend the game at the link for my own reasons, but also for yours. So I will let them all know that you stole from them. So we touched on it really quickly.
Probably talked way too much about Lindsay Lohan on the show. I apologize to our listeners here. Really quickly before we go, do you do the Christmas movie thing before? Christmas here. Are you guys like in this zone right now? By the way, I saw your Christmas photos with your family. You guys are so annoying. Like you, it's so annoying. It's, first of all, your pictures are adorable. They're so cute. You guys did a great job with it. That's really sweet.
But I definitely saw it on the plane. I was like, I hate this. And there's a beach in the background. Yeah, I noticed. We definitely do the Christmas thing. Like my kids love Christmas. They always watch Home Alone. We've just introduced them to Elf. They like Elf. And they really like my favorite movie of all time, my favorite Christmas movie of all time, including my wife's, is The Santa Claus.
And we watched that like on repeat. It's one of my favorite. Cause it like, it almost made it real for me when it came out, you know, I was like, it was like, man, this is really, really cool. So they, they've got into it too. So we're sort of old school. Christmas movies like what we grew up on. Yeah. Home Alone's the best. We don't watch it like a million times during the holidays. We'll do it like one time. And...
All my kids are on repeat. All I want to eat is macaroni and cheese after I watch Home Alone. I want the Sunday. That or pizza. I want the Sunday. Oh, yeah. I guess it does look good, too. That was big. I was going to say, that was really big. Yeah.
I'm a big Die Hard fan during Christmas, which I know we're not going to do what everyone else does. Die Hard is not a Christmas movie. It is in my house. It is in my house. What the heck? I know. You're that person. We are that person. All right. That'll do it for us here on Scoop City. We will see you guys next week. Bye, guys. Tag me next time.