Colin Cowherd Podcast - Greg McElroy on Saban Pivot, Conference Realignment, Playoff Expansion

my beloved Pac twelve conference is circling the drain. That was fairly inevitable and predictable. Greg McElroy. In a few minutes, you know, I was thinking about last year's preseason exhibition season, and all the years I've been doing talk radio. It was the slowest preseason of all time Becausehaan McVay several years ago, as I've noted multiple times, stopped playing starters, and all these young coaches followed suit. So the only story we had last year in the preseason was Kenny Pickett,

who was a good college quarterback, not stupendous. He wasn't a hot Caleb Williams Andrew Luck Trevor Lawrence prospect, not even a Kyler Murray, DeShawn Watson, Baker Masonfield prospect. He's a solid guy who had a lot of college starts. And I remember thinking, after about two weeks of Kenny Pickett discussion, thank god he plays for the Steelers. What if he had played for the Jaguars. There was just no story. This year's preseason feels entirely different. First of all,

there's three first round quarterbacks. All could succeed, but I do think one of them's fascinating. Anthony Richardson for the Colts, not only because it's six five, two fifty five. He has big ben Cam Newton like Josh Allen like, where he will just be such a force, a productive force running the football with that new offensive coach Shane Stike and a brilliant guy who had Herbert and Jalen Hurts. So I think the Cultu are going to be a

fastating watch. I don't think they're gonna be a great team, but between Jonathan Taylor the running back and Anthony Richardson, I think they're gonna catch people off guard. I think they're gonna look like Cam's rookie year. Although he's not as polished as Cam, big Ben, a little Josh Allen, and a little Lamar Jackson. It's gonna be all of

that mixed into one. So I think that's fascinating. I think Bryce Young is interesting because Frank Reich is one of those coaches that didn't get a ton of credit because he had reclamation projects. He had to clean up Andrew Luck clean up Philip Rivers clean up Carson Wentz all three, three for three. Frank Wright did an amazing job. Now he gets a rookie Bryce Young, who I think was head and shoulders above the other quarterbacks coming into

this draft. I'm fascinated by that. Also in this preseason, Sean Paytons said, I'm gonna play Russell Wilson really interesting. My guess is Russell reverts to about seventy five to eighty percent of what he was at his prime. But I don't think he's as good. I think quarterbacks that move get hit more, quarterbacks that get hit more, age much quicker. I mean, big Ben got old fast, Cam

got old fast. I was talking to Michael Vick on FS one yesterday and it was about you know, year five or six that Michael Vick the fastest player in the league couldn't outrun Carolina is outside linebacker Thomas Davis. And that's when Michael realized, Okay, everything's changed. So I think this preseason's got a lot of stories. Not to mention,

I think Week one Buffalo and the Jets and Aaron Rodgers. Listen, man, you look at that Jet schedule and that's a tough matchup with Buffalo, very good front seven, very good pass rush. Jets start zero one to one. Fair not there's gonna be heat on Aaron Rodgers because their early schedule for six games is a gauntlet. So I feel differently about this August. I'm excited for it. Last year I felt

like I was just trying to fill space. But Anthony Richardson, Bryce young A, Russell Wilson all really interesting to me. And the other one I'd throw out there that I find myself kind of rooting for is Mac Jones the Patriots. I contend that Mac Jones is as good as Kenny Pickett, not as athletic, doesn't run as well. I think he throws a better football, and I thought I thought the

organization completely got in Mac Jones way last year. I think Mac Jones is going to revert to a good B quarterback, sort of a Kirk Cousins with maybe a little better arm. I think mac Jones maybe not quite as accurate, but a little better arm. And if mac Jones becomes Kirk Cousins, then Bill Belichick's back on track and can make the playoffs and win playoff games, maybe the division. So this preseason Pro football fired up well.

Greg McElroy was at the very early stages of the Alabama dynasty, and the early stages of the dynasty, quarterbacks got no f and credit. It was all defense. Now it's not about linebackers and safeties and corners. Now, Saban, the brilliant man that he is, has really pivoted in transitioned to more of an offensively dynamic dynasty. And Greg, I want to bring you in on this. The world changed and a lot of people, Greg, don't change with the world. And I got to give Saban a lot

of credit. About the time Lane Kiffin got there, he started really really upping his game with offensive players. When he started your years, it was McLain the linebacker, it was corners, it was right, and guys like you were like, well, Greg, just hands the ball off and I always feel like Greg actually played in the league. Greg was really good. But when you look at it now, there are some

remnants of it. But when did you notice that it really pivoted to more but USC fielding dynasty or you know, a Mac Brown dynasty where the offense is a sixty forty advantage.

needed to kind of start scoring some points. Auburn had just been to the National Championship in twenty thirteen on the heels of a high optane, high tempo offense that really created a lot of conflict for the defense. I think coach Sata started to realize and it's going to be really hard to win games twenty one to thirteen moving forward, So we're going to have to get real comfortable winning games forty two to forty one, which he's

had to do a couple of times. Now, I actually think Colin where it's starting to go back, though, because teams can now simulate with their scout teams the tempo, they can simulate the quarterback play, they can simulate the run pass options. But what they can't simulate is incredible offensive line play, a fullback that's coming at you one hundred miles an hour and blowing up the middle linebackers. So I actually think the pendulum starting to shift back

the other way. And we've kind of seen that with Nick Saman's hire of Tommy Reese because of Notre Dame, we knew what he was all about. It was three yards in the cloud of dust, right downhill until you liked it. So I wonder if you're sensing something similar in college football as well. Well.

can duplicate. They do remind me a little of Alabama early, where it's a defensive culture with very capable quarterbacks who are going to get drafted. You Aj mcceron. Maybe not superstars, maybe not like a Caleb Williams or a Vince Young, but it's a defensive leaning culture. I just think they recruit at a different level. And George has always been a sleeping giant. But you know, I've said this for years, even though I work at Fox and we have the Big Ten, and I said this for years when I

worked at ESPN. People sec dominants, recruiting, Draft Day and Saturday. Get over it. It's the best conference. Here's though, what's really fascinating by including Texas and Oklahoma, and I think specifically Texas, that's another game on the schedule that's going to be it's becoming an arms race. Texas money Texas coaching. I know the SEC fans thumps their chest, but do you really want to face LSU Georgia, Florida Texas in

one season? Is there anybody in the South that's going this isn't potentially and you're going to add Clemson in Florida State here in the next eighteen months as well. Could you become just too rich? You're the AFC, You're too powerful, there's too many stars.

where all miss resides. And they said, no, no, no, we don't want to play it. So I think for some they are a little bit not want to say intimidated, but it's they kind of acknowledge where they are at in the pecking order. But I also think too if players are going to flock to it and the money's going to be there. But we look at the big I mean, the Big ten is comparable. I mean I think I think Wisconsin's an unbelievable program with tremendous history

and success. We know what Michigan is, we know what Ohio State is. I've seen Michigan State at their best, even though they didn't have their best that day, but they were eleven to win Team ten twelve years ago, playoff team back in fifteen. SC is I think you reference Georgia is a sleeping giant. SC to me has been a sleeping giant for two decades because there was a time when I was fifteen years old when I

never thought I'd see him lose a game. I think UCLA is dangerous because chick Kelly, now in the nil era with his NFL pedigree, understands how to work that system. Washington is just getting started out or killing the Morse. I don't think there's one right now that is significantly more difficult than the other. I think the SEC bottom is better than the Big tenth bottom, but at the top you have very capable programs with tremendous resources at they're disposing.

have to play a summifinal game. If you were great and you beat your Oregon States, Arizona States, in Washington, you ended up playing for the national championship if somebody thought you were good enough. So it's a different time, and so I'm not that I'm not bothering. I'm bummed out about the PAC twelve, but I sure it was. It's a SEC big ten money is just greater. How is that viewed in the South? How do you look

at it? You guys always think we're soft out here anyway, But how is it viewed that the four best teams are basically going to join the enemy in the Big Ten.

I mean, Ohio State did beat Alabama at fourteen, has beaten the SEC teams came within a field goal a way of probably being the national champion last year, but those have been more few and far between, even dating back to the two thousand and six two thousand and seven, when the Big ten just had a difficult time matching up on annual basis against the best that the SEC had to offer. Why the SEC won every championship from O eight all the way up until twenty thirteen when

Florida State founally brought it home. So I think that will be kind of an interesting evaluation. It's going to be a tug of war. I mean, we don't like them, they don't like us type of mentality for Big ten fans and for SEC fans, some will pound their chest about the money or some will pund their chest about the ratings. Everyone's seemingly trying to find an edge, But at the same time, I still feel like the edge

is that both leagues are beyond delete. It's just whether or not now the Big Ten, which doesn't have as much talent density as the SEC, if they'll be able to go south and attract kids up to the north to play at some of those places with a few less Division IE level high caliber prospects that they would normally have at their disposal of the SEC. Like South Carolina goes down the street, they can get fifteen guys

that can play high level D one ball. Iowa might have to go two hundred and fifty miles in every direction and they might not find that many. So I think it's just a little bit more difficult when it comes to the recruiting pipeline. But if the identities are clearly at the Big Ten, I think they can play with anybody.

it's not even it's not fair. And my takeaway has always been that's a message. And my gut feeling was he's a little concerned about Texas, that the fact that Texas money is like USC can't compete with it, Phil Knight and Oregon can't compete with it. The Longhorns have two to three billionaire donors, and that when Nick talks about the NIL, my takeaway is he's doing some battles with Sark and some of these they're wrestling people away. I mean, they're getting great recruits. That's my take What

is yours? When he complains about the NIL, because Alabama's collective, I'm sure is just fine. Why is he doing that?

other stuff. He was basically saying, hey, look these guys, look at the recruiting class they were just able to bring home. You guys better step it up. That was a call to action for his own fan base, I think more so than it was being frustrated with the current system. I mean, are there as many billionaire donors in the state of Alabama as they are on the

state Texas. No, But I would be willing to probably go probably on the record and saying I'd be willing to bet that people to worth five or six hundred million are putting up a higher percentage of their net worth to make sure that Alabama succeeds. Then maybe in Texas or in California or other places. It just means a lot in this particular state. So I will be interested to see how that all unfolds and how the arms race really ends up working out. I'm really actually

more interested, though not as much in nil. But what would you do if you were one of those teams right now that is perceived to not have that war chest of nil at your disposal, if you're behind as far as as far as your approach right now in your television contract. I don't want to say Floridastate and Clemson because I think they have enough resources to be able to support them on the recruiting trail. Just look

at how they've fared in recent years. But what message would you send if you were one of those teams that was lacking behind and not a part of the Big two or hopefully en route to the Big two.

March madness. What is killed college basketball is one and done culture. The quality is not good. The playoff's not going to hurt college football because you watch LSU play Georgia. There's thirty four NFL players on the field. Because of the cultural reality of college football, you have to play three years. Most guys play four. You have grown men playing. People think by adding to the playoff it'll hurt college football's regular season. And I said this two days ago

on my show. Texas is playing Bama. You're not watching, really, George's playing LSU or Oklahoma. You're not watching. Really. USC's at Michigan. You're watching, and you're watching even though they made meet to get in the playoff. You're watching because Caleb Williams is going to be against their first round quarterback pick. It's Harbor and Lincoln Riley play end of the year. Playoffs don't kill the sport. Lack of quality has killed college basketball. Hell Victor Webbin Yama. He didn't

even play college basketball, Scoot Henderson, Jalen Green. So as long as you're forced to go to college, I'm going to watch Georgia Bama, LSU, Texas, Oklahoma, USC, Michigan, Ohio State. But I do think, Greg, to your initial question, the bottom part of that ten eleven twelve, that's going to be the area where in Oregon State can win that Mountain West. If that happens and they can get in, you're going to get four from the SEC four from the Big ten, one or two from the Big twelve.

But instead of getting like Cincinnati, and we argue about it, you'll get two of those. You get two of those. And so I think what will happen is we're gonna do twelve for about four years. It's gonna make everybody a fortune, and everybody's gonna go, all right, let's go to sixteen, and it won't hurt the sport. You're gonna watch Auburn Alabama even if you played a second time. Greg, you and I have watched march Mandess since we were kids.

If Duke and Carolina play in the Elite eight for the fourth time, we're watching, You're right, there's.

to a championship. But the Vince Young taking over the game against USC back in five, does it feel like it's as capable nowadays? Do you still think that Cinderella or a run like a Cinderella is possible in college football?

The game is is you know, if you go back Greg and go back to Nebraska when they were winning titles, they had one receiver wide, right, I mean everybody was jammed up on the size of my screen. The game is so fast and so wide, and so many young players now want to be quarterbacks or wide receivers that nobody, including Nick Saban or Georgia, is going to cover Marvin Harrison. You can't do it. And so I think the USC's and the Texas and the Notre Dames may need to

have a Caleb Williams or a Vince Young. Okay, they have to make up something, right, Stetsan Bennett's good. Caleb Williams is different. Trevor Lawrence beat s Bama. Those schools to beat the SEC king have to be better at quarterback and probably transcendent. You know a Trevor Lawrence that that's a different Caleb's a different kind of number one pick. I mean, Baker was a number one pick. Caleb. That's

not close. And I do think the field is so spread now and the offensive coaching is so good that if you have that superstar quarterback and you're eighty five percent of George's roster Obama's roster, you can win. I watched Tennessee last year. Drop A was like a fifty bigger on Alabama. They couldn't stop them with Hndon Hooker.

up with that? And I tried to do my best calling Calvert impression and said, if you put too much on the quarterback's shoulders, it's like the quarterback is the bicep and all you do are curls. Meanwhile, your triceps are atrophy, your pecks are atrophy, your legs are atrophy. If you put too much on that position, it's going to actually result in the rest of your team not

being as good. Now, it's totally opposite from what you just described, but I think there's a real analogy to be made at say Alabama, maybe even USC to a certain extent last year at Ohio State at times, especially on defense back in the end of the Urban Meyer era, herb early early era of what Ryan Day is doing, Dwayne Hasse, their defense fell off, I mean other things.

The run game has at times fallen. Do you think that there's a possibility that if you put too much on your quarterback, the rest of the roster actually won't be competitive enough to maybe win the national championship?

Marvin ebooks. I got to give this could not And I said, I feel like Ohio State is not a finesse team, asked Georgia. But there's a they're not they're not quite sure what they are. Simultaneously, Michigan has doubled down on physical play and running and now they've separated between the two. And another point on this, I said, this year's ago on the air, I said, the downside of making the NFL so quarterback dependent and all this greg is based on the CTE check the NFL wrote

for almost a million dollars. They change the rules. They literally now the middle of the field is offense. You can't hit anybody except the running back. And I said the downside to this sport. It'll be good for fantasy players and ratings, but if you don't have a star quarterback, we know you're done. And you look at the Super Bowl bubble, Malmes Burrow, Allen Lamar, Jalen Hurts, I mean Trevor Lawrence. That bubble used to feel like fifteen teams.

It feels like seven. I mean, Kirk Cousins is good, but in this day and age, he's simply not good enough. Dak's good, he's not good enough. And so I do think to your point of atrophying due to safety reasons, the NFL and college football to a lesser degree, is so quarterback reliant and driven. You don't want football that's Canadian football. You can only win with passing. We don't want that. I want defense. I like when Georgia rocks people.

Those Georgia Notre Dame games were physical and intense in lineup scrimmage. That's what separates us from the CFL. So I do think physicality is still huge. I mean, listen, the best offensive line wins most NFL games. If you have a competent quarterback and you control the clock, you win most games, at least to a sir.

teams do, even Mississippi State. Vanderbilt had a guy last year that was legit. Kentucky always has two or three big ten all Oile of State's got them, Michigan's got them, Michigan State occasionally has them, Penn State absolutely has them. We haven't seen someone at sc or. UCLA's got one, Washington's got two. But you don't see that down and down a great unbelievable defensive front to where your offensive line has to be rock solid or else your quarter

actually get killed. So I maybe it's coming down in that direction a little bit as the talent starts to separate. But I don't see the depth of defensive line talent in the college game that we do in the NFL.

I mean, like I say this, I had lunch with somebody today and he's a Californian and he lives in the you know, he lives in a different part of the country. He goes you as you coming back to California, it's like, does anybody eat out here? Like every He's like offensive linemen in high school are two fifty five. It's like, and so I just think other parts of the country they just, you know, the SEC produces more,

Midwest produces them. Northeast does I always you know, I just I kind of feel like this college football season, I'm really excited because I was known when I was at ESPN as a college football guy. Then I thought the sport got really insular and very southern, and you know, I would say the SEC is the best. But when you're a syndicated talk show host, you have to talk about national sports. I talk a lot of NFL. I'll talk at UFC Fight For about seven to eight, maybe

ten years college football. Once USC eroded, it felt like the sport was down to three teams, Ohio State and two SEC teams. I actually think Texas this year, Michigan this year in USC can play with anybody. Don't know if they can, but I think they match up. You know, Alex Grinch, the coordinator for USC, has got to prove himself. He's got three NFL bodies up front. They had none last year. So due to the transfer portal, they got

three Sunday guys. Because their corners and safeties are fine, they have maybe the best safety in the country, Kaylan Bullock. Their offense is exceptional. They've gone out and gotten NFL bodies on the old line. So I always feel like with a transfer portal, you can fix one side of the football per year. So USC fixed their offense last year, they went and fixed their defense this year. It takes

about two years without the transfer portal. It took Nick Saban a third recruiting class to get it rolling right, like you were part of that. Now it takes two years. And I think Brian Kelly first year got the offense kind of figured out. Now he's going to get the defense figured out. So I have Michigan facing LSU of the Championship, and I don't think LSU is the best

SEC team. I don't think they're the deepest, but I love the coach, I love the quarterback, and I looked at their schedule and I'm like, I think LSU is gonna. I think they're gonna, you know it's it's it's gonna be a lot of people knocking each other off. I like LSU a lot.

even look like they're by the same sport. So I don't think the SEC winning is bad. I think them dominating and suffocating teams is bad for the sport. So and I don't think we'll see that this. I think Quen yours Cabb, Caleb William the Michigan kid, I think those guys can move the ball in anybody listen Ohio State. I thought they outplayed Georgia. I did, I really.

lose any sleep. They love their football. They're not you know, they're not going to pretend they're this or that, not that universities don't matter, but they're all in on football. It drives the cultural bus and the and the revenue bus. I'm okay with that, you know what I mean. I lived down in Tampa. I covered the Gators. I love the passion. I think the Pac twelve got way too precious.

That's why they've unraveled. I mean, Cal football, Cal cares more about rugby than football some years, so I can't take them seriously. But I do think the Big Ten would love Notre Dame, and if Notre Dame came in, would consider Stanford. But I think some of their school presidents they view that themselves a certain way. And whether it's snoody or not, you may disagree, but I kind of feel that they think Washington and USC and UCLA fit their academic profile.

to the South. So it's really interesting. I think there's there's a mystique about the South and country music and college football. It's almost mysterious to kids out West, and I think people are very attractive to it. I know a lot of families, you know. I work out at a gym around the corner from my house, and Alabama is a topic all the time. During the football season, A lot of there's a lot of roll tied shirts in my little beachy California, jym So and a lot

of that Saban. It's the greatest dynasty ever and it's it's noteworthy, right.

but I'm not. I don't look like a TV guy. I'm a radio guy. There's nothing like connecting to a radio audience storytelling. It's the very best.