Colin Cowherd Podcast - NFL Top 100, Pay Aiyuk? New Kickoff Rule, Olympics Resurgence

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and things I don't. We have a series of people. You're a football guy and a golf guy, Like everybody has sort of a lane, and it's worked that way. And I've seen that most of my life in corporate America and in corporate America. When you have problems is when people think you know, a sales guy suddenly comes up and wants to talk to me about content. ESPN was famous for that. Here, I've got a segment I think could work well for a car dealership, and I'm like,

I'll create segments. If you can sell them, you sell them. But iHeart Fox has never asked me to do a segment because they found a sponsor. Like, that's not the way it works. It shouldn't work that way. So Belichick, prime example, got into trouble. He took over personnel. Pete Carroll and Seattle got into trouble. He and John Snyder. Once John Snyder the last couple of years took over personnel.

Seahawks had back to back great drafts. They had several where Pete had influence where they just kept missing on first round picks. Rashad Penny, the running back, is a great example where like everything was a reach. So when the players vote in the NFL Top one hundred, it's illuminating. It lets you look into what matters to players. They love athleticism. Lamar Jackson is the voted the number one quarterback over Patrick Mahomes because he's viewed as hyper athletic.

This is the NBA players a majority thinking Westbrook's better than Steph Curry, despite the fact they're both guards. One can't shoot and has bad hands, like the two most important things for a guard, like.

So in the days that you were working for the Eagles, I look at the top one hundred. I'm not offended by it, but it illuminates how players view the world. Hyper Athleticism is viewed on a grand scale for players.

Bill's mind. Andy is not asking Patrick Mahomes, you know his for his draft board, right or in free agency. Now, when a player plays somebody, if you play Lamar Jackson and he kicks your ass and you go, that was really good? Like that, there's something to be said. But in the NFL, you don't play every team. So in the NFC, only four teams in the NFC played the Ravens last year, right, It rotates every four years, So

half the league is not even playing this player. And then there are teams in the AFC that aren't playing them either. Colin this ranking, which I honestly have to fake even caring about, I do not care about this, and the Madden rankings which had Lamar and Patrick Mahomes right here, Josh Allen is a better player than Lamar Jackson. He's a better player. Yes, the Chiefs feared Josh Allen. They just played him both back to back playoffs on the road. They feared Josh Allen. They were excited to

play Lamar. Again, that's not saying that Lamar's not good. They knew they could handle Lamar. Josh Allen has kind of owned them. This is in the playoffs. The reason the Bills haven't won was Sean McDermott the defense, not Josh. To me, there is a gap again, Lamar's regular season in the playoffs hasn't been remotely the same. No, no, and that's a big problem for a team that at this point in time, Like we're not judging the Ravens on twelve wins, thirteen wins, like who cares? Like, yeah,

I expect the Ravens to be in the playoffs. He's getting judged on those couple of games, just like Mahomes. And that's the thing with Josh. He hasn't won, but I think we all go not totally his fault, right. They were Peyton manning games early when I remember being in like early in college in high school, and I love Peyton, and I was like, this doesn't look like the same guy I have just watched for sixteen weeks and that's how Lamar felt. In the big games were Mahomes.

He's like he's like a chameleon. He's morphed. He was like one point in time he was throwing like Dan Marino. Now he's like became a game manager this year because of his team. It's like he can do it all.

heard they have asked mahomes opinion on wide receivers. Well, if you ask his opinion, he says, I like this guy, You're not gonna avoid that guy. If he's available, you're probably gonna And it's the one position where they've been really immature. Tony immature, Rashi Rice immature, Xavier Worthy, I think that's his name out of Texas.

For the most part, Andy kind of embraces it. And I'm not saying like, and that's the Tonys even Tyreek early on, Kelsey was a character guy coming out of high school. So I think Andy feels pretty comfortable that he can mold that. But overall, the quarterback ranking. You can not have an NFL quarterback ranking and not have Josh Allen second. And I take you seriously, you can't do it. I think he's the second best quarterback and honestly, like I have more faith in him winning. It's on

the organization. But because I've seen him be awesome in the playoffs. I mean, say what you want about you know the Bengals, who the owner's been cheap, they have proven over the last twenty years. They've had moments with Marvin Lewis and Carson Amerson, really good teams with Marvin Lewis and the Andy Dalton teams, like they can build a team. Joe Burrow benefited two years ago. Their team was talented.

but next two to three days. Well, nothing has transpired. So and it's funny because I've said this before. I didn't second source it. That's why I didn't make it into a big topic. I put it on Twitter. I had one source. I tried to get a second but it was somebody that through the years has been just tremendously accurate for me, and I don't hear from often, but he's led me in the right direction virtually every time. So I haven't talked to him yet, so I'm kind

of waiting for it. But give me an update. Because they do have cap space. It's fascinating for all the stars they have because they're paying pretty You know what a cashier makes at costco. I mean he makes nothing by NFL relevant relative to NFL standards. Where are you on IU? Their cap space and the rumors you hear.

to terrify them. So to me, that is priority. Like the moment Trent Williams did not show up, it went Brandon Ayuk, You're no longer priority number one, and he already was really emotional like, I don't think Trent's that emotional about this. It's like, hey, guys, we all agree I'm the best left tackle. All these guys are now getting twenty eight twenty nine million dollars, that's what I need.

It was kind of like what McCaffrey did right this offseason, Like, listen, I'm not going to make a big stink of this, but I'm no longer playing for ten to eleven million dollars. I'm not asking for forty a year, but we better get this number round twenty thing without you guy. I just think it's really complicated because he won. He's very emotional. I give him credit for showing up. Yeah, Kyle's good at this. Kyle often goes like, listen, there's a lot

of stuff flying around on the outside. I know these guys really well. Actually, my offensive guys, I'm very close with them. I played wide receivers. They know how much passionate I am about that position. I've been around these guys from day one. I'm the only coach they've ever had here, so I in a weird way, the Niners

got more shit going on than like the Cowboys. Yeah, and they're just kind of numb to it, and I think this speaks to you know, John Lynch, he's a pretty rare operator and one he's not your typical GM. He was already rich when he took the job, and he's a natural leader. But these are not easy situations. And this goes back to you know, Jerry rides it out and then ultimately I'll just pay my own guy the most. Whatever. R the Niners in Parrague, Jed's money

guy who has led them. They bought a team over in Europe and soccer they have been I mean, the Levice Stadium changed the wealth of that family. Like Eddie de Bartolow was rich and his family was, but the Yorks were not on the same level and they were not going to be able to sustain in Candlestick and that thing changed everything. But they don't just hand you this is George Steinbrenner, here's three hundred million dollars for

you know, some star player. That's not the way. Look at last year with Nick Bosa.

nineteen fifty for him. But do you want him showing up week you know, ten days before week one that has pulling a hammy or something written all over. I don't care what he's doing. He's still in pads out there moving around and the ayuk thing, like how does he he can work out all he wants with the trainers and stuff in the weight room. It's just not the same and you need I mean, these are two of their high like they're probably the Chiefs to me, are the only team that can really go Super Bowl

or bus. It was a disappointment, But I do think there's a group of three or four teams, obviously the Bills and the Ravens with Lamar and Josh, and probably the forty nine Ers that anything less than a Super Bowl berth feels like a devastating blow. And so to me, if you're the forty nine Ers, like the number is not going to come back to you. He's not just all of a sudden go like, hey, I turned twenty six million dollars what three months ago? But now more

guys have gotten paid. Now I'm good with it, but I also get the Niner spot, like we don't think you're as good as DJ Moore. We just don't think you're that good. That's right, And that's where I have a hard time with NFL markets and stuff like whatever happened to this is what we think you're worth. And you're still under contract. This is not like you're just some free agent out there. So do you want to play on fourteen million or do you want to take

our seventy five million dollars guaranteed? Historically the guy usually cracks, but it does feel And I had Jake Rosenberg, who was a longtime contract negotiator for the Eagles, on the pod last week and he said, like, let's face it, these player empowerment in the NFL. It's not the NBA, but it's definitely amped up a little bit. Yeah, and you see it all around the league. These guys are like, I'm not doing well shit.

back to back Super Bowls without Tyreek Hill. Fact, and I've said this about Tyreek Hill. I'm not a believer at all in dominant number one receivers, especially with a Brock Purty, because Brock Purdy is not getting paid. If you have a star receiver getting paid a lot, you do have there's sort of a psychology like I got to feed this guy. This guy's got to eat. I remember Dak broke into the league with Dez Bryant left, and you lose that nine touchdowns a year, but Dak spread.

Dak to grow, had to spread the ball around and see the entire field. And I do think with Mahomes and Tyreek it became sort of a he's always open and it's forced over the last few years, Yes, but it has forced Mahomes to throw underneath, to take what the defense gives you. I think Mahomes has actually all argued, has grown as a quarterback without Tyreek Hill. Tyreek Hill made his job much easier and he's obviously naturally gifted.

So if you want a young quarterback to grow, everybody's fearful of Stefan Diggs and Josh Allen, he's still a little bit in the growing curve where he's got to take more of what the defense gives him. So that's my knock on Tyreek Hill. Yes, he's fast, but he's a deep threat with a quarterback with a big deep threat arm, So he's flashy, he's exciting. I could think of ten quarterbacks in the league where Tyreek Hill would be a better fit than Tua and I don't. And

I again, I think he's a terrific player. I don't think he's the most the best player number one like the players do in the league, but I think he's very, very valuable. But I am not a believer in this. If you're asking me the Niners, I think their DNA is Shanahan, Trent Williams, Deebo and McCaffrey and Kittle somewhat. I think Ayuk's just really talented. I think there's this bubble now with wide receivers. Where show me all the playoff wins for Tyreek and Justin Jefferson and Devonte Adams.

really bad. You want to make it look good. I do think the forty nine ers already kind of showed their hands. It was like, ah, they got some needs. You know, Trent Williams getting older, you know, you can always go defense. And they took a wide receiver at the end of the first round. And now big picture, maybe they already thought that, hey we get Auk. That's Debo because he's more of an over the middle, he

could break tackles. He's what Kyle likes. And ultimately, you can't have like this is not sustainable for the forty nine ers. Now. Part of it is that guys are older too. But in the next two years, all these guys are not going to be on the team. And this is what the Chiefs did. Listen Beach, It's an all time move trading him. What were the chief last year a defensive team? How are they a defensive team? Well, Trent McDuffie became a superstar. Karloscis, they were able to

invest in Chris Jones. Now they had less on offense, but their quarterback had become like Tom Brady in terms of game management, and their defense was so great they felt comfortable winning twenty to seventeen or seventeen to thirteen. And the forty nine ers are going to have to pivot off Kittle, Deebo. One of these guys is not going to be there. I trust thirty five, thirty six years old.

To me, there's questions. I know Perdy got hurt in the playoff game, but for the most part, like Stafford's health, given the way he plays, given his fearlessness and his age when he's I was thinking about this the other day because I want to do something I haven't quite figured out what to call it, but some ranking of the quarterbacks, and I got to like five and six, and I'm like, I haven't even thought about Stafford, and he's better than everyone I'm about to name, Like his

high end it is through the room. Deniable's Josh Allen. Yeah, Patrick Mahomes, and he played like that down the stretch. It's why he took a team full of kids, with Cooper Cupp being a shell of himself, toe to toe with the Lions who had the Niners on the ropes. So yeah, I think both those teams are locked playoff teams.

But the Rams had to pivot and the Niners are going to have to pivot over the next eighteen months with younger players a lot like the Chiefs did, especially once you pay the quarterback.

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of Fame game. Seventy three percent of kicks last year went through the m zone or touchbacks. You get an extra play about six to seven times a game. There were only like four balls kickoffs taken for touchdowns last year. It almost never happens, don't Yeah, I mean like it may happen. It basically in the NFL happens every six weeks. It happens once. You don't even get that many. I mean, if a guy gets a midfield or the other team's forty, it's considered a huge return. So the NFL basically said,

we just want more plays. So I said this on the air, is that the NFL constantly adjusts Baseball did when it had to. I mean, Fox basically went to Baseball and said, we're not really interested in signing you to another deal. Speed the game up. So Fox literally told him how to tweak their schedule, speed the game up. ESPN, by the way, has no interest from what I've heard in resigning baseball Lachlan Murdoch, it's pretty clear in our building,

it's not like baseball's a priority. Baseball has changed when it's fundamentally had to, or networks just don't want to do business with them, and they have sped the game up. But it's a different time, and it does still feel like it lacks juice and energy and pacing. So but the NFL in a leadership role. I always said this about Tiger Woods, number one golfer in the world, number

one and change clubs. Oprah Winfrey had the number one ratings and she literally changed her show to more of an ethereal, you know, quality of life, elevation of life show. She was number one. Tiger and Oprah changed. NFL does this number one pulling a way and makes changes. That's different from somebody going, John, if you don't quit smoking, you die. I'm not going to give you a ton of credit for quitting when the option is you're dead

if you don't start exercising and stop smoking. So baseball is a little bit like change or we're just not interested in re signing you to long term deals. So I guess my point is on the preseason thing. People can fight it. But John, I watched it, and I'm like, it's I It was the first time I can remember watching every kickoff.

one if we see different things. Because Sean Payton mentioned this, and I do agree, there's a lot of moving parts with where the ball could end up. And he's like, it's hard to follow. It's hard for us the coaches. It took us a while. The fans cannot follow this, like if one goes out of bounds, if one goes through the end zone, and obviously if you don't get it to the front square. There are different yard lines. I think one's twenty five, one's thirty, and one's forty

might be thirty five. He's like, it's too confusing. His Sean Payton's pushback was I'm totally cool with this change of the formation, but just have one or the other right. If you kick it out of the end zone or kick it out of bounds, it starts at the forty and if you kick it, if you don't kick it to the square, started at the twenty. But you can't have too many complications, and I agreed with that. The one thing I think again, it was preseason game, the

Hall of Fame game. You could even have that in his own category, like there's preseason, then there's whatever the hell that is. I know it's rained out or whatever, but I meet the people playing. I thought there would be more just open lanes and I'm not trying to take too much away. It felt like the offensive players because this guy gets a running start five yards, I do have to back up immediately, and I in the old rule I had more space so I could back

up and then attack. There's not really that much space, and there were a couple of times when everyone just went by him and the offensive guy was swallowed. So and I assume the opposite. I was like, you're only

gonna have to make a guy or two miss. It's why like Deebo Samuel's like I want in because in theory you think it's gonna be easy, but then you watch it in practice, you're like, maybe it's not gonna be as I would say offensive as you it's gonna be harder than and who knows, maybe we'll see all

sorts of stuff. But Sean Payton said this, He's like, if the average if you're kicking in the square and the average where they end up with the ball is at the thirty eight yard line, over like a two or three week period, every coach is going to kick it in the end zone, start at the thirty. Right, we'll just play the numbers, which would be bad, which

would negate everything they're trying to do. And the league obviously understands this, so they're trying to They want it to be a play, right, they want it to be a you know what I think?

you don't have enough time to screw it up. You really don't have enough time to Some of these rookies are running full speed, they get out of their lane, and you'll and whenever you see a kickoff return for a touchdown, you look at the replayer, like Jesus, you had two guys that were twelve yards out of their lane.

The NFL gets it right, and baseball makes the most money off it, and so baseball's always been money obsessed, like that's all they care about, the ownership, just making money. So for them, you know, any change is something that they don't want to, you know. I mean, obviously baseball with the iPhone should take off forty games per team, one hundred and twenty games, end the season in seriously last week of July and be done by September. Twentieth.

Season over before the NFL gets rolling. It's over now between college the Big Ten explosion in the SEC, adding Texas Oklahoma with the NFL. If you don't have the right October matchup, that shit's over. Like a usc is opening with LSU and Michigan, I'm in. I'm out of baseball, unless it's the Phillies, Dodgers, Yankees, I'm done. So baseball has always been one of those sports where they will

vary slowly make change. And I think what's happened in the last several years the networks like Fox in the FPN have come up and said, guys, you know these games. They're creating, these all Star games, the Game in the Cornfield. They're fascinating games. They're events which you know, Philadelphia Phillies going to London. Baseball would have never done that on their own. They were basically told, guys, you got to

get some ratings here in the regular season. So when people confuse the two football in a power position, and I love this is just rolling the dice constantly and I love it well.

else and that could be like Week three. I mean, they are not afraid to make hardcore changes, but I was pretty adamant in my mind, like I think we're gonna see a ton of touchdowns, and then watching it, I understand it's Houston and the Bears four string players, but like, maybe it's actually going to be more difficult and maybe you will be less inclined if the defenders are able to break free pretty consistently to put a Saquon Barkley Christian mcaffick, because my thought was, like, put

one of those guys back there. It's much more like a normal play. It'll just speak like a one on one. You'll get tackled. But I wonder if it actually might be more violent, so you're more likely to put your backup running back or backup safety that has some moves like if this guy gets hurt, whatever, I am not risking Deebo Samuel back there on a four on one in the corner and have him get destroyed.

And this quarterback said, man, when you come into this league, and this quarterback spoke from experience, he goes, I had a defensive coach first, it's a different language. He said, bow Knicks and JJ McCarthy are getting a master class level coaching experience that Pennix isn't getting with a coordinator Caleb's not getting, he said. This guy said, it's just he goes, and he said this, he goes. People bang on Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson for not winning playoff games.

He said, if you gave Josh Allen to Andy Reid, do you think he'd have a super Bowl? And his thing was, of course he would. So it's just interesting is that we every year in this draft, John, there's a quarterback drafted below the star. Very rarely is the first quarterback taken the guy c J. Stroud two Bryce YOUMP. So I'm not just saying now, c J. Stroud got a great coach, a great coordinator, Tank Dell Nico Collins. They hit on draft picks. But your take on because

Kevin o' connell is highly respected. I mean, the tall Sean McVay. Sean Payton, I spent a lot of time with Sean. Shawn is way too smart to be broadcasting. He has to be coaching. I think the best over bet in the league is Bnecks at five and a half. Like the old line's pretty good. If the Franklin kid from Oregon works with Mims and Courtland Sutton, they have

workable tight ends two backs. I think they're capable. What do you make of that that the first year rookie quarterback, the two with offensive coaches who are deeper in the draft could be the hits.

down the field and that is the game plan. So I think the way that he talked about this guy in the press conference was a lot of love. I think he is really really high well. I think he liked his like his rookie class. The way he was talking, I think he's pretty excited about his team. This did not feel like, you know, I think a younger Sean Bill Parcells guy. If he's not happy, you can feel it. He looked pretty excited with the group he has. Doesn't

mean they're gonna win eleven games. I'm kind of out on Washington this year. Not because I don't think Jayden Daniels isn't really talented, but they're not that good. They haven't been. They got rid of multiple d linemen. Now you could say Chase Young's a little overrated, Monte Sweat is not. So they lose talent there. They just are not as talented as obviously the Eagles are the Cowboys. That division's hard. The Giants have some players, and day

Ball you have like he has been coaching. Now he's calling the offense. I could see the Washingt just having a rough season, and that's where you know big. Of course they should they've been bad. They're resetting. But when you're a quarterback and you don't have your play caller and then all of a sudden, there's are offensive play caller good enough, Cliff Kingsbury. You see a lot with

defensive guys they start getting pressure. Well who they point the finger at the offensive play caller when shit goes wrong, it goes to Kyle Shanahan or Andy Reid or Sean Payton or Kyle Shanahan and they go, we'll fix it, and you go, yeah, they will, They'll figure it out. And that's where it gets difficult. I mean New England they feel a little bit like a shit show right now. Yeah, you know, no team in the league has spend less cash. I've read this and heard people say this over the

last decade than them. I mean that's that speaks one to the brilliance of Tom Brady and Belichick building a team. But also I think there's a knock on the craft can be a little cheap. They like to do the most with the least amount, where I think a lot of teams, like the Niners of the cowb they'll spend

whatever it takes to try to win. Like he's always it wasn't just Belichick being cheap, you know, it felt like could kind of a mandate you have this rookie head coach who's not that far removed from being a player. You got this defensive star player who's underpaid that they had a kick out of practice. It's getting weird. Diana Russini says, you know they've made an offer to Matt Judon that he's saying bullshit. It's just there's a lot

going on the quarterback situation. They have this major project. We've seen a million times what history doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes. I've seen Jacoby Brissett in a scenario on a bad team thirty times in my life. We know exactly how this goes. The record's terrible before Halloween right around there, it's like, we can't take this anymore. Throw the kid in. The team's awful, and it can Jared Goff go the wrong way and they got lucky.

McVeigh came in the next year and saved everything. But it goes the wrong way with a situation like that, like Dared Mayo ain't calling the offensive place, you can just see how it gets ugly. Even again, Dan Quinn,

he did inherit Matt Ryan. It's a little harder with a young quarterback who Let's face it, Malik Naghbors looks like a bigger thicker Odell Beckham from eight years ago, and the other wide receiver went in the top twenty five, and Brian Kelly got a pretty good history of developing offensive players at Notre Dame, at Cincinnati and now here. So I don't know. I mean dan Quinn and I like dan Quinn. He did get a job with Matt Ryan and Julio Jones on the roster, so it's just

they were kind of a little more. They were already good. Matt Ryan had already been in the playoffs, it was a star. It's a lot more difficult. And I was thinking about this today. If you know in that Giants dock when they tried to trade up from three to six and Elliott Woolf essentially at the end of the day said no unless you give me some godfather offer,

not going to entertain it. If I told you Drake may was with Da Ball, who spent the four years you know, with Josh Allen, you would like that scenario.

Could Pete Carroll's team beat the Niners? And it was like, yeah, I mean a lot of people would argue, I don't know. They got about fifteen first rounders and this Niner team struggled to win like four games, and Alex went there and it was his career was an embarrassment. And then he got real coaches and what happened. You're like, alexm it's pretty good. Yeah, And he's as mature and smart of a quarterback that is coming to the league last twenty five years. It is really really hard to overcome

negativity losing a coach who's not really comfortable. So I guess that's a long winded way of saying, like, I think it's so much easier when you're when you're head coach, is the guy pulling the trigger on the play call. He impacts the game. I'd never quite understand, like Sirianni, like what really is he doing on games? Yeah, not calling a play, you know, toughness, Like is he say this about Dan Campbell, Like obviously he's adding an element

of toughness that. Yeah, they're they're in a different category. But there are some guys, you know, is Dan Quinn calling the defense? Is Drive Mail calling the defense? So if they if they take that part away. So it's why when Robert Sala gets the Jets job, he immediately goes, I'm not gonna be the coordinator. It's like, well, what the fucking I hire you for? Just to give raw Ross peaches. I mean, you've had two good years as a coordinator and now you're giving up the asset in

which I hired you for. Part of being the head coach is you gotta lead, you gotta you gotta motivate, you gotta run practice and ideally call one side of the ball. That's what all these coaches do. There's a rare group of people. Harbaugh is a great example, who can dominate Bill Parcels. Most guys have to be pretty hands on in this modern day of football, right, the games. This is not nineteen eighty seven. Well, I can win most of my games seventeen to thirteen. If I got

the toughest guys, I can beat the shit out of you. Yeah, well, you know it.

San Trope, Paris. You know Stan Steve Kaime's a buddy of mine and worked for Michael Bidwell, and he won't bad mouth him publicly, but you know, we've had a few cocktails and the stories are I don't It's not a work environment I could. I couldn't handle. I wouldn't have the ability to handle it. I just don't have the emotional DNA to deal with a lot of people don't.

Bidwell and Mara than they are Stan Kronk. They're really really rich guys. And I know Dean a little bit and that they're not. They're real estate guys. They're not tech guys or you know Jerry.

I said, Dean, it's like a rubicon. You guys burst through it. You literally went to a place you've never gone, where you're gonna have one of the two or three highest paid coaches. And he told me, he said, it's changed our building. He just he goes, there's no negative to so far. He just elevate the optimism, the wisdom. And it's interesting because I look at the Chargers and people kind of lament their wide receivers. But John, I

think we talked about this. San Francisco was Crabtree and a bunch of guys Michigan just want a natty with Colin Wilson. They didn't throw the ball. If you look at everywhere Harbaugh has been, I mean you can go to Stanford, Doug Baldwin. They've never been right on the perimeter offensively. His teams have always had one shortcoming, not a great group of wide receivers. I don't think it's crazy to suggest the Chargers are gonna be a top three seed in the AFC. I don't think it's crazy.

can win double digit games. And listen, I think there are a lot of people with the Chargers. Over the years we put out clips and podcasts. I've been hard on them. Yeah, probably don't like me, and I am not anti Charger, but like you said, you can't be taken seriously as a real organization and constantly try to hire the cheapest coach. Yes, and Anthony Anthony Lend's a nice guy. People love the guy. He should not be your head coach. Brandon Staley. I mean, I made it

very clear where I stand on that one. And even before Mike McCoy, who had a little moment but then it was like, you can't beat Andy Reid and these guys and Belichick with this guy, you got no shot. And part of it was they were never fishing on that part of the pier, right, they were only kind of messing over there, and whether they got lucky regardless of how this ended up happening, obviously Jim California guy had coached in San Diego, it was it worked out.

I give them credit for making this and making him your head coach because it can change the franchise. But like part of this now is and I think Andy has really got Clark Hunt, who obviously Andy and Mahomes, they've made him a lot of money over the last six seven years. Right, Historically he was known as a really cheap guy. And I would say the Hunt family is not Kronky or Paul Allen or what just unlimit money. But now they've gotten a lot more aggressive, clearly with

paying Andy and Veach even stuff like that. And to me, that's the next level of the Chargers of like you can cut these checks because you can get players, you can fudge the salary cap however you want. Yeah, And like you said, I wonder if we did a research project at Jim Harbaught the player just thinking of thinking in my mind, I wonder if some of the good teams he was on as a player, it didn't feel like they were running out Randy Moss and Jerry Rice

a wide receiver. So philosophically, the way he's played and coached, we know it works. And now it's on, Like there really are any excuses with the Chargers now right. The knock has really been for the last ten years, Like, look who you're rolling out of, coach, We know you can get the players, Joe Ortiz from the Ravens. It's pretty scary, though, Colin, this is something I've never missed.

You know, in the profession you were in law before me, we have so much more control, Like I control how successful we are, how many people listen, like by my content, how consistent I do it? Like I in football, even as the head coach guy breaks his leg in the middle of practice and he's a start player, It's like, I get you get numb to it, but you don't get numb to certain players getting injured and that's all of a sudden he's got He's in a boot for

two weeks. That just rattles you. Even if it's like, oh it's Planni Fasciatis, not the end of the world. I can't imagine it just sa chills up with everyone in the Chargers. They're like this, we have pretty high hopes this season to be competitive and be a wild card team, and just are we sure? Because part of it I heard Daniel Jeremiah maybe even run him a little more, play him a little like Josh Allen. And

you start getting feet injuries just freaks me out. I was gonna bett a lot of money on them over under Colin. This is one of those guy misses. You know, two weeks in a boot for this. What if it crops up again and all of a sudden you got to miss three weeks in a stretch where you're playing the Chiefs, Ravens and the Cowboys or whatever their schedule is. You know you'd be screwed.

changed and forever. You know, when I was growing up in the nineties, the main suite teams Miami, Nebraska, whoever was good in the PAC twelve or Pac ten at the time, like their television presence. UCLA was really good when I was a kid. They were on TV all the time. Yeah, and it was a huge, you know, kind of game changer. And then as everything kind of changed in the two thousands and now it's all about money,

and they were taught. They had an ACC guy on and he was like, you know, SMU and a couple other teams went into the ACC and they're like, we don't even need a share, we don't even need money. And SMU and I saw the Baylor coaches were wearing this, we pay players some of these programs, you know, like UCLA in theory, You're like, oh la, a bunch of money. They couldn't even dream of investing the money SMU or Baylor.

Ohio State. And I do wonder if over the next couple of years we would because of the last fifteen years, put certain teams all the time in the playoffs, and I wonder if we could see some curveballs, because I know we can't do pay to play well bullshit that's happening. And so if SMU has an unlimited checkbook like Dan Lanning or Ryan Day, they're gonna have a seat at the table because that's getting you players now. And maybe one of these SEC programs like does Alabama have the money?

Did some of these other programs Not really they don't, So it's so it could change. And you know, well, Nick Saban clearly wasn't losing the step because I didn't think his team was that talented and almost beat Michigan at the Rose Bowl. I wonder if he realized I'm not gonna be we still gonna have the funds. I'm out. Yeah.

Bryant's son. There's not this depth of income. There's like three guys with Arkansas. Actually, Arkansas, the state has more money than Alabama because of they have three huge huge Now surprisingly, Walmart like the Waltons don't give to Arkansas. People think they don't, they really don't.

But I always had this theory that because of Silicon Valley, all those graduates that went to Washington, Stanford, UCLA, Cow, it takes one guy to just say I'm going to give I'm going to give twenty eight million dollars a year to col now Stanford because you have Stanford and Cal are hard to get into, right like, so I don't know what you could do. But I've thought about that before, is that maybe tech guys aren't big football fans. But I thought when the NIL started, I thought, well,

this is going to help the Pac twelve. It's not gonna help rural Alabama team. It's gonna help and listen USC. The biggest collective is Oregon with Phil Knight, which is basically unlimited. USC's i've been told is thirteen to fifteen, and I think that they've done. Jen Cohen, the new Athletic director who I talked to recently. We had to sit down. They've really done a good job as a university. The university deserves credit the big boosters. There's two or

three really excellent, smart savvy boosters. Usc collaborative, you know, don't you don't have this power, need for constant power and validation. So Jen's really happy with their collective group. But UCLA they got nothing. They don't have any money.

of high level finance guys. I mean you're talking guys worth hundreds of millions of dollars, And you're right. All it takes is one individual to go to one of these programs and just love football to go, hey, I'm worth a couple of billion. I start the next in

the video or whatever, and I do that. And that's where the old school oil money in Texas like they got that built in because those guys love football, they love being part of the program, they love being talked about as part of the program, and they got so much damn money. It's you know, giving them an extra fifty teen million dollars a year is a line item that they don't even notice on their tax return. So I do think get ready for we're going to see

some teams they're like, God, what happened to that? It's going to change the landscape because recruiting, it's what is being a good recruiter anymore. I think every college coach would tell you it come the majority of them come down to the checkbook and now with a transfer portal, even if you'll land a guy, you don't land a guy. It's like, there's just so much craziness that the big money teams and some of them that haven't been able to flex their muscle because who cared how much money

SMU had before even Baylor. It's like, well, who's to say they can't get a seat at the table. Now all of a sudden, they're getting some five star defensive lineman because they're willing to pay. You know, SEC's given them six hundred grand. They're like, hey, we'll double it. You do that enough times, word gets out, you start funneling guys to a certain place, word gets out. That's how it happens.

to change what we do. We actually have parodies. Small markets when bigger than big markets, bad teams Houston can turn around with just the right two employees, a quarterback and a coach. And this executive was saying college football has always been have and have nots. He said, it's going to get so much worse, he said college and I said worse than Clemson, Ohio State, and Bama being in the National Championship literally every year for a decade.

And he said he thinks what's going to happen. It's going to be about eight schools and worse being a feeding frenzy. Oregon's going to remain in there as long as Phil knights there. I think on the fringes. USC will be there from the west, but it'll be Texas, Texas A and M if they can get the right coach. Ohio State, I think Michigan. I think Notre Dame Georgia for sure.

down to eighty five. BAMAA put up the biggest dynasty ever is that the truth is there are just some brands and schools that care more and there they may have stretches, but I mean, if I said to you the eight best college football programs ever, one of them's sc They have a great collective now and Lincoln Riley Oregon in the last thirty years because of Phil Knight's

been an excellent program. Ohio State, Michigan just want to Natty Notre Dame relevant, Georgia, Alabama, LSU had Brian Kelly, and you know, Clemson, er of Florida State have always been in the running. Things really haven't changed. I would argue Oregon is the only new blood that's a blue blood. Of all the college football powers, Oregon in the last thirty years is the new blood. And that's they had their t Boon Pickens except Phil because of sports apparels, such a die hard sports fan.

Fort Worth. But my take is the nil the transfer portal. Guess what BAMA, sc Ohio State, Notre Dame, Georgia, LSU, Oregon now with film that they're all going to be in that playoff every year.

great coaches have retired. I mean there's still a couple, but for the most part, the legendary guys are gone and we don't get to know the players because I was thinking about this watching the Olympics. I feel like the Olympics in the nineties was incredible, like Michael Johnson, some of the big moments, and then I felt like it dropped off a little bit. And then I think the way we consume everything. Obviously, football benefits the most

from this, the scarcity. Every event feels big, college or pro, every game matters, and they got stars. Is like this Olympics has a lot of star power. I don't care. I don't know nothing about gymnastics. I know who Simone Biles, don't I like swimming a little bit for a workout, But beside Michae Phelps, I don't care at all. But Katie Ladecki like, I'm kind of checking out. Scottie Scheffler wins the Olympic gold Yokovic and it just felt really, really big. I saw the NBA when they played Yokich's

team did eleven million people? Eleven million people never watched the NBA finals this year. I think this Olympics. I think the Olympics is on the comeback trail. At least this you know, just stars. No, I think easy for women and men to watch. It's just it's an easy watch.

Trump obviously drives numbers. But everybody keeps telling me TV's dying, and I'm like, yeah, but the industry we're in owns all of it. So if cable loses, goes from up FS one, goes from ninety million subs to sixty four, they're all now true sports fans, or you've gotten rid of cable. The only reason to keep it now is calledege football, college basketball. So I look at it. So when you when I look at the Olympics, if you have a TV in America, you have it for one

reason only sports. That is little you used to have. People used to pay for cable for thirty years nobody watched it like it was the biggest con. It was the biggest grift in TV. ESPN built an empire. Half the people paying them didn't consume their product. It was like grift. So, like I think about what's happening with the Olympics now is television. People have been telling me

newspapers were going to go under for thirty years. A year and a half ago, they sold The Athletic to the New York Times for four hundred and fifty million dollars. The New York Times has never made more money. The Washington Post has never been more relevant. Forbes the summer Olympics, I.

of time on Peacock watching. I mean, they give you every option, you can watch whatever you want, Like I enjoy Peacock, I think. But again, I think there's Olympics. Not that I care about any of these sports really beside golf and basketball, I have been glued. I mean, I'm watching handball, and I also think that some of these sports that you go this kind of stupid wis is there? You do need more inventory for an event everyone's watching. You can't just have one relay race and

everyone goes home. They're only going to add sports right football going in. That's probably smart business. This is when everyone's watching. Nothing is going on right now, I.

get a couple of Thanksgiving. But I'm glued to the TV. Those are big football, college and pro games. And I said to them, I said, after the NBA finals and we don't have the NBA, I never would it Fox. I said I could take July and August off and I don't think it would affect anything. And my bosses said take it, and I said, well, I have radio, so at this point in my career, I'm not going to take July and August off. But if I only signed a TV contract John, I would do TV and

I would do this. And if I just did television in the volume like I you can take I mean, Fox would be like take it off. We don't care. And for the record, we have the Olympics, we had COPA, we had the Euros, and we had the Caitlin Clark story. Next year three of those four were gone, and we may not the buzz around Caitlin Clark may not be as magnificent. So this has been this, This has been

to me like the rare great summer of viewership. I think we're moving into a time that if it's not an Olympic year or maybe a COPA year, we're a ten and we are. We are so dynamic as a country for ten months now, there's so much money in everything that July and August are take. It's it dies. This may be one of the last great July August sports of Now again we'll have the Olympics again. LA Olympics will be big in twenty eight. That'll be a

great year. But you're gonna get every You're gonna get these two year periods where it's just nothing happening.