December 5, 2018 • 42 mins
Colin thinks Aaron Rodgers has too much power in Green Bay and now even assistant coaches get fired for wanting to hold him accountable. He thinks there’s no debate that LeBron is the most impactful player of all time. Plus, Nick Wright of FS1's "First Things First" explains why Kevin Durant is being disingenuous and tells Colin why Baker is different than almost any other QB and that’s not a bad thing. Presented by Perky Jerky.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of Herd podcast. Be
sure to catch us live every weekday from twelve to
three eastern, nine to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Rudio
and FS one. Find your local station for The Herd
at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live
every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. This
is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowhern on
Fox Sports Radio on a Wednesday, This is the Herd
(00:25):
Wherever you may be and however you may be, listening
live in Los Angeles iHeartRadio, Fox Sports Rudio, and FS one.
Joy Taylor is joining me on a lively Wednesday. I
hate to break it to Skip. I think Skip knows this.
Lakers would in a trounce tonight They'll be fifteen and nine. Joy,
how are you good learning? I'm then great. We'll get
to the Lebron stuff in a minute. I want to
(00:46):
start with something. One of my favorite things about this
business is when you know, we broke a couple of
stories this week. But that's not my favorite thing in
the business because I'm not really you know, I'll break
three or four stories a year. Hey whatever, I'm not
a reporter. You know I'm mostly talking stuff and give opinions,
but it is fun when Joy and I talk about
something and we have kind of a kind of a
(01:06):
belief or a theory, and then the next day it
plays out, it makes you feel pretty smart. So yesterday
I spent a significant amount of time on the show
saying the problem with the Packers organization is they have
no owner. And because they have no owner, no other
team in pro sports has this. They have no owner.
So the star legendary quarterback Brett Farve or Aaron Rodgers
(01:28):
become too powerful. Nobody can hold him accountable. I mean
with Tom Brady, there's a billionaire above him. Drew Brees,
there's a billionaire above him. Eli Manning, there's a billionaire
above him. Carson Wanz there's a billionaire above him. Aaron Rodgers,
he's a richest guy in the state. He's a richest
guy in the town. He's the most powerful guy. I
think it's a problem nobody holds him accountable. So here's
(01:50):
a prime example yesterday, Winston Moss. He's an outside linebacker
coach for the Packers, not even the linebacker coach. We'll
just give you the outside linebackers, not a real powerful guy, right,
former player. He put out a tweet which is completely inoffensive.
I mean, it's nobody would be offended by this. So
(02:12):
he went to Twitter and he put out a tweet,
and the tweet says, ponder this what championship teams have
as great leadership period. It's not the offensive guru trend.
It's not the safe trend. Find somebody that's going to
hold number twelve and everybody in the building to a
Lombardi Stanford standard. That's all I said. That's it. Hold
number twelve and everybody in the building to a Lombardi
Stanford standard. And they fired him two hours later. They
(02:36):
ran him out of the building. You gotta be kidding me.
People are walking on eggshells. They did it was far
if they're doing it with Rodgers. And here's what's amazing.
Belichick has never cowered to Tom Brady. Remember a couple
of years ago, it was Brady's birthday. Somebody asked Belichick
about it, and Belichick said, yeah, yeah, it'll be that
guy's birthday tomorrow, and that guy's birthday tomorrow. He wouldn't
(02:57):
even celebrate Brady's birthday. Bell Check never cowers to Brady.
Cam Newton's coach called him out a year after the MVP.
Remember they said that he's got to stand in the
pocket more. You know, Cam Newton's gotta be more accountable.
Russell Wilson's coach, Pete Carroll called him out this year
he's playing too Lucy goosey. His teammates called him out
in the ESPN magazine, and John Gruden called out Derek
(03:19):
Carr a month after he got the job. Star quarterbacks.
Star quarterbacks around this league are constantly held to a standard,
have to be accountable, called out by their coaches, not
just any quarterback. Cam Newton, Derek Carr, Russell Wilson let
me called out by their coaches. I remember the former
GM of the Colts once called out Andrew Luck for
(03:42):
making too much money, and an outside linebacker coach says,
we got a hold number twelve, and everybody in this
building do a Lombardi stand standard ring ring ring, Hello,
you're fired. Why this reminds me of Westbrook and Okac
and Shack and Orlando. Sometimes you get superstars that are
(04:04):
so big in a small town that everybody is walking
around on eggshells. They call this relationship addiction. When there's
an uneven power balance in a relationship between a man
or a woman, and the woman or the man is
addicted to the relationship and will do anything to please
(04:24):
their partner because the relationships uneven. She doesn't she could
do way better, he could do way better, or whatever.
I saw it with Shack and Orlando. I see it
with Westbrook and Okac, and I see it with legendary
Green Bay quarterbacks far Van Aaron Rodgers. In Green Bay,
you're going to fire an outside linebacker coach after an
inocuous tweet saying we should hold number twelve and everybody
(04:46):
in this building do a Lombardi standard. That gets you
run out. I mean, I gotta tell you something. Whoever
gets this job, this head coaching job in Green Bay,
you better bring in a strong personality like Josh McDaniel.
If Joe Philbin doesn't have that personality, that's not an
(05:08):
even relationship. Philbin's just gonna try to make Aaron Rodgers happy.
In fact, my opinion yesterday is Joe Philbin's not strong
enough for the job. He literally fired that outside linebacker
coach because he didn't want to make Aaron mad. That's
the problem, not the solution. Somebody needs to make Aaron
Rodgers mad. Somebody needs to hold number twelve accountable. Okay,
(05:32):
Josh McDaniels screams at Brady Belichick doesn't coward to him.
Teammates and a coach call out Russell Wilson. The coach
calls out Derek Carr. I mean, come on now, this
is an unhealthy relationship between iconic quarterback and an ownerless organization.
(05:53):
And they ran off an outside linebacker coach yesterday because
of an innocuous tweet week. All right, tonight, the Lakers
are going to beat San Antonio, probably handily and go
to fifteen and nine outside of the Warriors overnight, there
is no number two in the West. Why not Lebroun.
(06:14):
So there's been some talk this week about Lebron doing
too much magic. Johnson will show you the quote here
on TV said this week, we're trying to make sure
that we watch Lebron's minutes. We don't want to run
everything through him, because you know, then it's Cleveland all
over again, and we don't want that. And then Kobe
Bryant talked about Lebron being too big of a part
(06:36):
of the franchise and Kobe Bryant came out and said, listen,
they were struggling. They got braun the ball, decided to
start planned point doing everything. That's not the recipe for
winning championships, but it's a recipe to keep your head
above water. And Lebroun responded to both Kobe and Magic saying,
we don't want to go too heavy into Lebron because
that's not gonna win his titles. It may win as games.
(06:57):
Here was Lebron understand and you know what Magic and
Kobe is saying, because we want to continue to grow
to young guys. Magic and Kobe know who I am.
I know who I am. They know that they don't
get out of me. I played a game seven in
the finals and then I'm damn played every minute of it.
Last year, I played every single game all right, So
(07:18):
tonight I just want to give people an understanding if
you realize what's going on. Because Michael Jordan went six
for six. The way sports fans are, you'll never give
Lebron the goat, but he is the most impactful player ever.
He is oxygen. Everybody else, including Michael Jordan, is calcium.
(07:42):
We could all use more calcium. Doctor never says less calcium.
We could all use more calcium, but you can live
with a little less calcium. Try living without enough oxygen.
I want you to think about this. So the Calvs
made the finals last year with Lebron. The Calves are
now five and eighteen without Lebron. The Lakers had the
(08:08):
worst winning percentage in the league for five straight years.
They are now on pace. Tonight to win their fifteenth
game fifteen to nine and went over fifty. Now, I
want you to think about this big picture. When you
think of all time greats and impactful. The word impactful oxygen.
(08:28):
Wilt Chamberlain is considered one of the most impactful players
of all time. Wilt Chamberlain, I want you to think
about this. Wilt Chamberlain left the Philadelphia seventy six Ers
in nineteen sixty eight and joined the Lakers. The Lakers
only won three more games when they added Wilt, and
the Sixers won sixty two with him and fifty five
(08:49):
without him. Kareem Abdul Jabbar left the Milwaukee Bucks. They
were thirty eight and forty four. With him, they were
thirty eight and forty four and actually made the playoffs
out him. Michael Jordan. Chicago Bulls fifty seven wins with him,
he left fifty five wins without him. The Cavaliers made
(09:10):
the finals. They are now the worst team in the league.
The Lakers were the worst team over a five year stretch.
They're now the second best team in the West. You
can certainly make that argument there has never been a
player like Lebron. Do you realize that North Carolina even
in college with Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan left North Carolina
(09:33):
the tar Heels the following year. They went further in
the NCAA tournament without Michael Jordan. He's great. Michael Jordan
doesn't have nearly the impact of Lebron James. Lebron James
has simply left the Eastern Conference. Ratings are down twenty.
(09:54):
He just left. He didn't leave the NBA. He just
left the East went to the West. The ratings are
down for all those exciting teams Boston, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Big Markets,
Right Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, Big Markets, Toronto, Oh downy, I mean,
Kevin Durant left the Thunder. They went from a three
seed with him to still a sixth seed. Gordon Hayward
(10:18):
and Kyrie Irving Stars for the Celtics, Gordon Hayward got
hurt in the first game, Kylee Kyrie Irving wasn't around
for the playoffs. They still got to Game seven of
the Eastern Conference Finals. The Great Janis has never won
a playoff series. The Great Anthony Davis has won one. Folks,
(10:42):
all these great players will Jabbar, KD, Michael Jordan, They're calcium.
We could all use a little calcium in our diet
a little more. Lebron is oxygen. You can't breathe without him.
So when the Lakers go to fifteen and nine tonight
and the Cavaliers finished with the worst record in the NBA,
(11:05):
remember those numbers with Wilt in the Sixers, Jabbar in
the Bucks, Michael Jordan with the Bulls in North Carolina,
KD with Okase, Anthony Davis, Yannis. There has never, ever,
ever been anyone even romotely close to Lebron in terms
(11:29):
of impact. Baseball has a stat called war winds above replacement.
Basketball uses it now. Lebron's one, MJ's two, and it
is a huge gap between one and two. One more herd.
The herd streams twenty four hours a day, seven days
a week within the iHeartRadio app search Herd to listen
(11:49):
live or on demand whenever you like. This is a
story now this week. A couple of weeks ago, we
broke the story in Urban Meyer. We told you was leaving.
We were right. We broke it done. Cliff Kingsbury, we
broke the story. Yesterday is going to USC I got
good college contacts on this stuff, with agents and stuff.
I'm not really a story breaker, but I will tell
you there's a story I heard yesterday from two different sources.
(12:12):
Jim Harball's put his name out for NFL teams. Now,
just hold off before you freak out. Chris Carter also
had that this morning on First Things First, Here you go.
I'm just going to tell you guys a name watch
out for Jim Harball, because Jim Harball potentially is trying
to get his way out of Michigan. All right. I
got good sources that are telling me not only Green Bay,
(12:34):
but also watch out for the Cleveland Browns. He likes
the quarterback situations there. And I believe that there is
front office people in Green Bay who are enamored with
Jim Harball and potentially trying to get him to come
to green Bay. I've heard the same thing that Harball
and Brian Kelly at Notre Dame have put their names
out there for NFL teams. Now, let me just stick
(12:55):
to Harball for a second. Here's what I think is happening.
Here's what I believe is happening. Nick Saban five years
ago lost a game to rival Auburn that he should
have won, and for the first time in his Alabama
tenure at the time, he got pushback some of the
boosters he was hurting here a little pushback, and Nick
(13:15):
Saban thought, hell, you're talking about you. Guys were a
train wreck before I got here. So Nick Saban sent
his wife to Austin, Texas to look at houses. He
called his agent, Jimmy Sexton, get the word out I'm looking,
and it freaked Alabama people out. And Nick Saban had
the most leverage of his career. He got his house
paid off, he got some investments paid off, and he
got a lifetime deal. The minute they doubted Nick Saban,
(13:40):
he went looking and freaked out the people at Bama.
So Jim Harbaugh similarly, everybody in Michigan loves him. They
really love him. This year and he loses ugly to
his rival Ohio State, and he's getting a little pushedback.
People in that Arbor big boosters, athletic director and Jim
Harbors like them out. You guys were a grease fire
before I got here. You don't you think you get
(14:02):
better than me? Harball puts his name out, story leaks out,
and the Michigan people are like, who woa wa wa?
We love you, we love you. We let wouldn't be
shocked if I saw an extension to Harbor Michigan. I
don't think he wants to leave Michigan, although I think
he worked in the NFL and he'd work again. He's
a lot better than about half the coaches easily in
this league. Maybe not Belichick, maybe not Sean Payton, maybe
(14:24):
not Pete Carroll. But he's a good football coach and
his style worked in the NFL. So that's what I
think is happening here. Do I think he'd be a
great fit in Green Bay. Well, he's certainly strong enough.
I'd love to see it. I'm rooting for it. I
think it'd be the greatest thing in the world. I
would literally I would put money in. I would pay
(14:46):
for it if I could I'd buy lunch for the
rest of his tenure at Applebee's in Milwaukee. For Jim Harbaugh,
I would die to see this happen. He and Baker
Mayfield be interesting too, But I don't think it's gonna happen.
But I think this has a Saban Field five years ago.
You lose to arrival, you get a little pushback, and
(15:06):
when these iconic coaches get pushback, they want to flex
and say, oh, you think you think you can do
better than me, You call your agent, or you call
somebody to make connections. You get the word out. Then
your university, you're eighty year fans, You're like, okay, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, Nick, Sorry, Jim,
let us crawl back. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Don't be shocked.
If here an extension for Harbo soon, be sure to
(15:28):
catch live editions of The Herd weekdays and noon Easter
nin a Empacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and
the iHeartRadio app. Nobody can be honest these days in sports.
Everybody's protecting their brand, everybody's protecting their money. I mean,
Aaron Rodgers came out yesterday and literally said I was
a shocked about Mike McCarthy as you. Oh good, hell
(15:52):
stop Kevin Durants, Like, yes, Lebron thing is a little toxic.
A bunch of fanboys in the media, that's fantastic. Let's
go to New York, Nick, right, my buddy. First things first,
be the Coward Global Satellite Network. Okay, Nick, you and I,
I mean we'd be way up there on the fanboy thing.
It's like he was taking a shot at us. What
(16:12):
did you make of these? Is this the second thing
Kevin Durant called me directly? He called me a blog
boy on Bill Simmons podcast by name a year ago,
and now I feel like he is saying this directly
to me. I know, I know Katie watches. First things first,
he's texted a guest on the show mid segment to
(16:35):
respond to some of the things we were saying. But
don't get bullied by Kevin Durant here, Colin. Don't all
of a sudden say oh well, I have been like,
hold on, and did you just say. One of the
things you respect about Kevin Durant is his authenticity. Yeah,
which fake Twitter account was he using when he was
being authented? I'm just curious, like, I don't know, I
(16:56):
missed that one. Kevin Durant doesn't want to be Oh,
all the band boys in the media, falling, the beat
writers fawning all over Lebron. Yeah. I can't imagine what
that would be like if the local paper once criticized
you and then printed a retraction the next day. Oh wait,
that happened to you in Oklahoma City. I can't imagine
what it would be like to have such a lion's
(17:18):
grip over the people covering you locally, to where the
day after you have a fallout with Draymond Green and
ask you a question about it, you can look them
in the eye and say, do not ask me about
that again, and they then do not ask you about
that again. This is Kevin Durant was being very authentic
and honest in that moment. Unfortunately that I have no
(17:40):
reason to believe the authentic, honest Kevin Durant that logs
onto the Graham later tonight will feel the same way.
But point taken, Katie, I get it. By the way,
we introduced the Lebrow meter yesterday and the Kevin Lebrant
meter yesterday, So our Kevin Lebrant meeter we're showing it
now is very low on Durant coming to Los Angeles.
(18:02):
You know, Magic and Kobe in the last week have
talked about Nick. They've talked about the workload, and Magic
and Kobe are They're smart dudes, they get it. And
then Lebron said, you know, my workload is what it is.
I played Game seven of the NBA Finals. Every minute
doesn't matter. What do you make about Kobe and Magic's
comments and about Lebron's workload right now? Okay, so I
(18:23):
think that the comments are very different. Actually, I think
Magic is talking about minutes and how and how much
he's actually on the court, as Lebron is averaging the
career low in minutes. Now. I wish people would listen
to Lebron. He has said for the better part of
a decade, it is not about minutes. It is about
(18:43):
games that his body feels the same if he plays
thirty or forty minutes. It's about getting himself ready to
play and actually playing. So for Lebron has told anyone
that'll listen, it's better for him to play high minutes,
but have five to eight games after the year, then
low minutes in play all eighty two. Now, of course,
(19:03):
last year he played high minutes and also played all
eighty two then twenty two in the playoffs, as he
averaged thirty three nine and nine and the greatest playoff
run in NBA history. But I digress, But that was
out of necessity. Kobe is talking about the offense running
through Lebron at the end of games, and Kobe, since
he's just on a total historical reinvention of his own career,
(19:26):
he is talking as if that's something that he thinks
is bad for teammates, and that if he were on
the team, he would give a damn what was bad
for teammates. But I'm also digressing once again. I understand
the concern that if everything runs through Lebron at the
end of games, is Brandon Ingram going to get the
crunch time experience? Is Lonzo going to get the crunch
time experience? But the reality is this The best experience
(19:50):
for those guys is the playoffs, and the best way
for the Lakers to make the playoffs is to not
blow games at the end of the way they were
the first two weeks of the season. And Lebron is Kobe.
He isn't Russ. As much as I love Rus, he
will look for you at the end of games. Their
last bad loss the lost to Orlando a twelve thirty
start time in Los Angeles on a Sunday couple weeks ago,
(20:12):
one oh four, one oh four. Late, Lebron drives and
kicks to an open Josh Hart. He just missed the shot.
It is he will get other guys the ball. But
Brandon Ingram was the number two pick of the draft.
He has scored more than twenty six points one since
he left Duke. Lonzo bow is the number two pick
of the draft. He has I think regressed slightly this year.
Their talent, their ability, is their responsibility. These games count now.
(20:38):
You cannot be sacrificing games to try to get these
guys going. These guys need to get themselves going. Lebron's
the greatest teammate we've seen of this era. He'll find
them if they get themselves going. By the way, so
an outside linebacker coach had kind of an innocuous tweet
got whacked in Green Bay. He said, listen got to
(21:00):
hold number twelve and everybody here to a Lombardi standard.
Losing his word sucks and he got run out of
the building. I've always said Green Bay didn't have an owner.
So whereas Belichick and Craft hold Brady responsible, where Russell
Wilson got called out by Pete Carroll and defensive teammates,
but Andrew luck got called out by a former GM
(21:20):
Derek Carr got called out by Gruden. Nobody really in
Green Bay holds far or Rodgers accountable. They run the
franchise and everybody walks on eggshells. So the story comes
out this morning from your Chris Carter about Harbaugh, who
doesn't walk on eggshells with anybody, and the packers potentially,
How does that land for you? Your thoughts? Listen, there's
(21:43):
an old clip from when I was filling in for
you one day that has been unfairly edited against me
of me saying I think Jim Harball is the best
football coach in the world. What that clip does not
include is that I am saying, if you're not telling me,
if you're gonna give me, if it's gonna be college
or pro, you just say he's got to coach football,
Who do I want? I said Hardball. I'll stand by that.
(22:05):
I think Hardball is excellent. Yeah, I think Harball would
do a good job in Green Bay. I also think
what happened to Winston Moss in Green Bay, would happen
in almost any environment anywhere. If someone who is a
not pertinent, not super important employee publicly calls out the
single most important employee in a negative way, you're going
(22:29):
to get run. You mentioned the who called out Andrew luck,
the former GM of the Colts, who called out Russell Wilson,
defensive players who are no longer on the Seattle Seahawks. Like,
you can't do this, Like maybe, like the president of
Fox Sports, Eric Shanks, could send out a tweet being
(22:50):
like Colin's opening monologue week sauce today, expect better. But
I'm telling you right now the like assistant marketing coordinator couldn't. Yeah,
you might not get them fired, but I have a
feeling there would be some phone calls from from people
it's AAA saying m James needs to go. And so
I like, I don't hold that against Kyle, against against
(23:12):
Aaron Rodgers. I just think that's kind of how office
politics work, even in the NFL. By the way, I
know you you like Baker Mayfield more than I do, right,
Isn't that like I think he's I really like Baker Mayfield.
Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield, the two future faces of
the league, also known as Colin Coward's personal hell go ahead, okay,
so okay so. Dak Prescott's won four straight games. Not
(23:36):
a peep, Deshaun Watson's won nine straight games. Not a peep.
Andrew Luck's having an incredible year. Russell Wilson maybe even better.
Not a peep. Baker Mayfield Yap yap, yap, yap. Yeah,
but he was winning this week, gets humiliated. Not a peep.
(23:56):
Isn't it look like Baker Mayfield is the classic roller
coaster guy, Dak Deshaan Mahomes ond own here anything when
they're on long winning streaks. Baker had two three nice
weekends against cruddy teams and became Howard Stern got his
(24:17):
ears box this weekend and didn't say anything. Doesn't that
worry you? You know the thing about roller coasters, Colin,
they're dope and fun as hell. I got no problem
with that. This is just a difference of philosophy, my friend.
He is not gonna be your typical quarterback. He told
us that, he told you that's sitting on the couch.
(24:39):
He told the media that week and a half ago
after when he was going good. I've got no problem
with it. I've got no problem with someone being their
authentic selves, and I think he can back it up.
And now you're right, a lot of these other quarterbacks
have been I don't know who their authentic selves are
because they are all ways Russell Wilson the quarterback, Dak
(25:02):
Prescott the quarterback, Patrick Mahomes the quarterback. I like that
Baker Mayfield is Baker Mayfield who plays quarterback. It will
never be the type of thing that you like you
you are. This is a very I don't know if
as degenerational differences philosophical difference between you and me, but
this is where we our sports philosophies always butt heads.
(25:24):
You want your point guards, your quarterbacks, you want them
to act a certain way. Yes, I don't think that's necessary,
and I'm again history says you're right. I think this
new generation is going to rewrite that history somewhat. I
think Baker's going to be one of those guys. And
one other thing on this, You're not supposed to talk
(25:46):
after he gets your ears boxed. It would be silly
if after he played the worst game of his career
he came out and said I was feeling really dangerous,
like dangerous, like a bomb that detonates in your own novel.
You don't. And so I don't aim him for not
talking when things aren't going well. I just think he's
a different type of cat. And I don't think that's
ever gonna sit right with you, because it's not what
(26:09):
you what you have always believed is what wins. We'll
see if it can win. Good stuff today. First things first,
Nick Wright made me laugh multiple times. I love having
you on, buddy. It's great seeing you. You're too great
to see you. Good to see you as well. Joy
talk to you guys, all right, what's up everybody? John
Middlecopp The Three and Out Podcast on Colin Coward's podcast network.
(26:32):
If you like Colin show, you will like mine. I
talk off football. Mike McCarthy fired. I have some opinions
on that. Let's face it, he had to go college
football playoffs. It wasn't really that difficult. In the Seattle
Seahawks they are alive and well and Russell Wilson's team.
The Three and Out Podcast with me John middlecop Wherever
(26:55):
you listen to your podcasts for our radio listeners, you
may be a little lost for our television listeners, you
may still be a little lost. I am dressed as
Aaron Rodgers, and there's a reason I'm dressed as Aaron Rodgers,
because I want to play Aaron Rodgers for this segment.
(27:16):
For the record, there were multiple mustaches available to me.
This felt a little French impressionist paint. So I got
rid of that one and we went with the one
that I think is more Aaron Rodgers slash Andy Reid.
But Aaron Rodgers had a couple of quotes yesterday about
the Mike McCarthy firing, and I thought they were ridiculous,
(27:40):
especially for a guy that's probably the smartest guy in
the league, Peyton Manning. For a long time, you were
like smartest guy in Aaron Rodgers really smart. So here
were the quotes Aaron Rodgers said yesterday. But nobody in
the right mind believes number one. I was as shocked
as you were. I hope I'm not the reason that
Mike McCarthy got fired. You gotta be kidding me, Aaron.
(28:02):
You ran him out. I get it, And by the
way I defended you, some relationships get old. It's time
to give Aaron a reboot. I defend Aaron. I've been divorced.
It's okay. Life moves on. Not every relationship lasts forever.
Pat Riley once said, after about ten years, you should leave.
Your voice becomes white noise. So I said today, I'm
gonna play Aaron Rodgers and I want to make this
(28:24):
feel like a press conference. And John and Joy are
gonna ask me pointed questions that if Aaron Rodgers would
have been totally brutally honest about this, would you think
less of Aaron Rodgers? And I'm gonna make an argument
you wouldn't. Have you read that quote. I was as
shocked as many as you were. I hope I'm not
the reason I think less of Aaron for that. If
(28:47):
you would have been brutally honest, I think we'd feel better.
So let's make it sound like a press conference. All right,
start the question. All right, Aaron, what are your thoughts
on your only head coach you've ever had, Mike McCarthy
being fired. Well, it's weird. I mean, when you're in
a relationship for like a decade, you don't know any
other way, so this is going to be different. Did
(29:10):
you have anything to do with the decision on the
firing of Mike McCarthy. I think, like any relationship, there's
highs and lows, and Mike's going to get another job,
and I hope I flourish from this point forward. But
I think over the course of the last two years,
Mike and I have had differences, and I think I
wore him out a little bit, and there are days
(29:31):
he wore me out. And I think we're both good
people and I both think will succeed going forward, but
we had an open line of communication with a general manager,
and I think it was time for both of us
to go a different direction. Aaron, what do you make
of the reports from former teammates that you frequently rolled
your eyes at Mike McCarthy's play calls. You know, I've
(29:54):
always believed, whether it's family or my football family, there
are discussions and moments that I'm not going to discuss,
I will tell you, and I think it was probably visible.
There are times I was frustrated. There are times I
look around the league and I think I wish we
did more of this. That's that, but again, some of
(30:17):
this is on me. I've got my way, I've got
my style on not the easiest guy in the NFL
to coach, so I don't want a finger point. Here's
what I know. Both Mike and I did everything in
our power to win in Green Bay, and we're good
people and I still have great respect for him. But
(30:37):
it wasn't easy, and I think sometimes I was a
little immature. Aaron, you leave the NFL and throwaways by
a mile. Were you purposely throwing the ball away because
you thought the play calls were bad? I came off
an injury joy, Thank you for the question. I throw
the ball away more this year, and I thought it
(30:59):
was a fairly obvious reason because I got injured, and
more than any year in my career. I've had two
shoulder surgeries and I got hurt again this year, and
I'm turning thirty five, and I threw the ball away
more this year simply because I'm going to take sacks.
I didn't want to get hit. Some of it was
just simply trying to preserve my career. The Cardinals are
(31:23):
a struggling, rebuilding team with a rookie quarterback and they
beat you at home? Did you sabotage that game to
get Mike McCarthy fired? Sabotage every moment of the week
between me and this team is about winning. We didn't
play well. I didn't play well at Frankly, I haven't
(31:43):
played well in a month. I have not played well
in a month, and I take full responsibility for that. Aaron,
the world wants to know what's up with the mustache?
Is it real? In this instance? It's completely fair. I
hope that was worse. No, this is not my real mustache.
I am playing a character, but generally speaking, if I
(32:06):
was Aaron, it would be real. One last one, Aaron,
what do you think of Colin Cowherd. I think he's
a fine broadcaster, one of the great voices of American sports,
and I wish everybody would leave him alone because I
listened to him every day nine to twelve Pacific, twelve
to twelve to three Eastern on FS one Egg, great
network for sportscasters. Be sure to catch live editions of
(32:28):
The Herd week days and noon eastern nine am Pacific.
I have no problem with dynasties in sports. I mean,
I think the Warriors, the Showtime Lakers, the MJ Bulls,
the Yankees in the nineties. I don't think dynasties are
bad for sports. As multiple teams try to knock off
the dynasty. I do think in college football you have
a problem. Now it looks like Alabama Clemson fourth year
(32:50):
in a row, you know, are going to be ending
up playing and I just don't think it's great for
the sport. The ratings have gone down in the National
Championship a little bit last couple of years. I think
there's a fatigue that it's the same kind of four
teams in the NFL. The parody is absolutely unbelievable. And
you know, I was thinking about this morning. I looked up.
Thirty teams are still eligible for the playoff and we're
(33:12):
going into Week fourteen. That's unbelievable. There's no Baseball's not
close to that. MLS isn't close, NBA's not close. College football,
college basketball. I mean, we all know Duke's going to
be in the final four Elite eight minimum Kentucky. NFL
thirty teams are still eligible. Only the Bay Areas, Niners
and Raiders are out. And of the nineteen of the
thirty teams I would call real teams, I'm talking about Ravens,
(33:35):
I'm talking about Patriots, I'm talking about Bears. You know,
you could see a team winning multiple playoff games, right
the big game this weekend. To illustrate the parody in
the NFL, let's take the Dallas Philadelphia game. Now. The
perception around the league. Now, the Wheels are sort of
coming off of the Eagles at six and six, they're
(33:55):
falling apart, and the Cowboys at seven to five just
beat the Saints extra time to prepare for this game.
They are humming. That is the perception. And think about this,
with four days extra rest and as healthy as they've
been all year, the Dallas Cowboys at home are just
a field goal favorite over the reeling, injured Philadelphia Eagles.
(34:21):
That's amazing. And to further give you an example of
the parody in the NFL, we sat down this morning
and we spent about thirty minutes on this. I said,
take the twelve best players in this game, and before
we show it to you, it goes before I put
it up there, before you put it up there, it
goes Eagle, cowboy, cowboy Eagle, Cowboy Eagle, Eagle, Cowboy Eagle, Cowboy,
(34:44):
Cowboy Eagle. We thought six and six right down the middle,
we said, the best player in this matchup Sunday's Carson Wentz.
He's a quarterback and he's an unbelievable talent. Ezekiel Elliott
and Layton vander Esh make out the top three. Then
it goes Fletcher Cox to Marcus Lawrence, zach Ertz, who's
(35:06):
having a record setting here at tight end, Lane Johnson,
Zach Martin, Jason Kelsey's rated as the number one center
in football, number nine linebacker of the Cowboys, Jalen Smith,
the Marii Cooper and Malcolm Jenkins. A safety six and six.
The first one's an eagle, the last one's an eagle.
As Cowboys and Eagles all through it. It's a three
point to three and a half point line, meaning if
(35:29):
it was in Philadelphia, NFL, Vegas is telling you it's
even because teams get three points for plan at home
most of them. I think New Orleans may get four,
LA may get two. Basically, it's a coin flip game.
And just think about this. If Dallas loses and as
seven and six in Philadelphia wins in a seven and six,
(35:51):
it will shatter all the momentum Dallas has. It will
take away all the equity built by the Cowboys with
the Saint twin. And this is why the NFL is
four times more popular than college football. A big part
of it is simply this, On any given weekend, a
(36:12):
team that is on fire, just beat the Saints extra
rest at home is a coin flip over the Super
Bowl champs, who finally have a winning streak, who are reeling,
who are a mess in the secondary, who can't get
the Golden tape thing right and have lost two running backs.
(36:32):
That is an incredible, incredible thing. And by the way,
when we all we did these listings, Fletcher Cox was
our fourth best player. He's the second highest rated defensive
lineman in the NFL, only behind Aaron Donald and DeMarcus Lawrence,
who's one spot behind him. Is the highest retted player
for the Cowboys. According to Pro Football Focus, Vander esh
(36:53):
leads the NFL and solo tackles. So we went down
and we looked at numbers Pro Football Focus, where do
they rank, and give or take us, that's the best
twelve players, six and six one more Herd. The Herd
streams twenty four hours a day, seven days a week
within the iHeartRadio app, Search Herd to listen live or
on demand whenever you like. Every sportscaster sees has a worldview,
(37:15):
and I am kind of a I don't like nonsense.
I like common sense. I don't like a lot of celebration.
I think there are positions in sports that require leadership skills. Now,
I don't think there's a lot of them, don't. I
do not think there's a lot of them. Like in soccer,
a midi or a midfielder, you're going to control the
(37:37):
pace of play. You can't get out of position. You
can't be too emotional. You have to be at times cautious,
then at times aggressive, but not too aggressive. Point guards
in basketball you control the tempo. Quarterbacks in football and
I people often say, oh, you pick on Baker Mayfield. No, No,
I pick on a certain personality in the NFL. I
was brutal on Manzil. I was pretty brutal Jamis Winston.
(38:01):
I've been brutal on cam and I'm brutal on Baker Mainfield.
They have nothing in common. Once tall, one short, I
mean one looks like a model. Well, I guess Baker's
an underwear model. The point is I pick on personalities.
And so Andrew Whitworth yesterday was talking about his young
quarterback Jared Goff. He is a tremendous kid. He really is,
(38:26):
and I have been just blown away at the humbleness
and just the attitude he has every day to just
come to work and be unmovable and you can't really
affect him. In games. There'll be moments where like I'm like, oh, no,
that's a bad, bad player, a bad situation, and like
he just like gets up and he's like all right, man,
(38:47):
let's go the next one. And you're just like, what
you know, for a young quarterback kid, I mean, he's
just it's unbelievable, and yeah, I mean he's a tremendous kid.
And this is what I go back to. Of the
twelve division leaders in the NFL, eleven have non chatty quarterbacks. Wilson,
(39:09):
DeShawn just don't talk, Brady Breese eleven one of twelve
current would be playoff quarterbacks are in the media a lot.
And that's Big Ben and six six to seventy transformational talent.
That's my knock on Baker Mayfield. Jared Goff's a star
(39:30):
quarterback in LA. Not a peep. Deshaun Watson's won nine straight,
not a peep. Russell Wilson's having his best year ever.
Not a peep. Andrew Luck reborn, not a peek. Brady.
Eight super Bowls, not a peep. Baker Mayfield had three
back to back good games against atrocious defenses Cincinnati, Atlanta,
(39:52):
Kansas City. He was in the news for three weeks.
He got clapper this weekend against Houston, and he goes
in hides. That is an inconsistent personality. That is my problem.
And by the way, here's I had this discussion yesterday
with somebody in our business and he said, you know,
like players don't respect fans because they know players know
(40:16):
that you'll always be there for him. And the players
don't like the media because we're critical thinkers and sometimes cynical,
and we ask questions. We're like the irs. We're not
built to be liked. We're built to audit right, We're
built to hold you in check. And but the truth
is is that the questions I ask about Baker are
the same exact questions every GM did. Okay in Cleveland
(40:39):
didn't have a history of getting the right quarterback. You
can overlook Jamis Winston's college weirdness, and you can overlook
Johnny Manzel's college ego. But the history is on my
side is that uneven personalities don't last twelve years. They
can win Rookie of the Month three But Andrew Luck,
(41:02):
Russell Wilson, Jared Goff, Brady Breeze, Watson Wentz, Patrick Mahomes.
I'll tell you another guy. The greatest example of this
is Dak. I like very little about Dak's arm. It's
not strong, it's not very accurate. I don't think he
throws guys open. Dak is a completely limited thrower. Baker's
(41:25):
not a limited thrower. He's got a better than average arm,
wildly accurate, perfect release, can set in the pocket and
throw twenty eight yard darts all day. This will be
interesting going forward. Watch Baker, who has tremendous quarterback skills
as a thrower, but I don't like his intangibles, and Dak,
(41:46):
who is completely limited as a thrower, but I love
his intangibles. I mean literally, he's been swimming with a
Zeke controversy, the Jerry stuff, Jason Garrett. You never hear
a peep from him. Baker is a significantly better quarterback
prospect than Dak Prescott. That is not arguable. One of
(42:08):
them simply throws a much better football. But I'm gonna
make a bet with you that over the next eight
to ten years, Dak's gonna win a lot more football games,
and Dak's not gonna be in narrative the trouble. I
googled Baker Mayfield this morning, not a peep, not a
single story about him talking when he was winning. Yap Yap, yap,
three picks hides. It doesn't work that way. Those guys
(42:31):
never last, They never ever do.
Thanks for listening to the Best of Herd podcast. Be
sure to catch us live every weekday from twelve to
three eastern, nine to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Rudio
and FS one. Find your local station for The Herd
at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live
every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. This
is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowhern on
Fox Sports Radio on a Wednesday, This is the Herd
(00:25):
Wherever you may be and however you may be, listening
live in Los Angeles iHeartRadio, Fox Sports Rudio, and FS one.
Joy Taylor is joining me on a lively Wednesday. I
hate to break it to Skip. I think Skip knows this.
Lakers would in a trounce tonight They'll be fifteen and nine. Joy,
how are you good learning? I'm then great. We'll get
to the Lebron stuff in a minute. I want to
(00:46):
start with something. One of my favorite things about this
business is when you know, we broke a couple of
stories this week. But that's not my favorite thing in
the business because I'm not really you know, I'll break
three or four stories a year. Hey whatever, I'm not
a reporter. You know I'm mostly talking stuff and give opinions,
but it is fun when Joy and I talk about
something and we have kind of a kind of a
(01:06):
belief or a theory, and then the next day it
plays out, it makes you feel pretty smart. So yesterday
I spent a significant amount of time on the show
saying the problem with the Packers organization is they have
no owner. And because they have no owner, no other
team in pro sports has this. They have no owner.
So the star legendary quarterback Brett Farve or Aaron Rodgers
(01:28):
become too powerful. Nobody can hold him accountable. I mean
with Tom Brady, there's a billionaire above him. Drew Brees,
there's a billionaire above him. Eli Manning, there's a billionaire
above him. Carson Wanz there's a billionaire above him. Aaron Rodgers,
he's a richest guy in the state. He's a richest
guy in the town. He's the most powerful guy. I
think it's a problem nobody holds him accountable. So here's
(01:50):
a prime example yesterday, Winston Moss. He's an outside linebacker
coach for the Packers, not even the linebacker coach. We'll
just give you the outside linebackers, not a real powerful guy, right,
former player. He put out a tweet which is completely inoffensive.
I mean, it's nobody would be offended by this. So
(02:12):
he went to Twitter and he put out a tweet,
and the tweet says, ponder this what championship teams have
as great leadership period. It's not the offensive guru trend.
It's not the safe trend. Find somebody that's going to
hold number twelve and everybody in the building to a
Lombardi Stanford standard. That's all I said. That's it. Hold
number twelve and everybody in the building to a Lombardi
Stanford standard. And they fired him two hours later. They
(02:36):
ran him out of the building. You gotta be kidding me.
People are walking on eggshells. They did it was far
if they're doing it with Rodgers. And here's what's amazing.
Belichick has never cowered to Tom Brady. Remember a couple
of years ago, it was Brady's birthday. Somebody asked Belichick
about it, and Belichick said, yeah, yeah, it'll be that
guy's birthday tomorrow, and that guy's birthday tomorrow. He wouldn't
(02:57):
even celebrate Brady's birthday. Bell Check never cowers to Brady.
Cam Newton's coach called him out a year after the MVP.
Remember they said that he's got to stand in the
pocket more. You know, Cam Newton's gotta be more accountable.
Russell Wilson's coach, Pete Carroll called him out this year
he's playing too Lucy goosey. His teammates called him out
in the ESPN magazine, and John Gruden called out Derek
(03:19):
Carr a month after he got the job. Star quarterbacks.
Star quarterbacks around this league are constantly held to a standard,
have to be accountable, called out by their coaches, not
just any quarterback. Cam Newton, Derek Carr, Russell Wilson let
me called out by their coaches. I remember the former
GM of the Colts once called out Andrew Luck for
(03:42):
making too much money, and an outside linebacker coach says,
we got a hold number twelve, and everybody in this
building do a Lombardi stand standard ring ring ring, Hello,
you're fired. Why this reminds me of Westbrook and Okac
and Shack and Orlando. Sometimes you get superstars that are
(04:04):
so big in a small town that everybody is walking
around on eggshells. They call this relationship addiction. When there's
an uneven power balance in a relationship between a man
or a woman, and the woman or the man is
addicted to the relationship and will do anything to please
(04:24):
their partner because the relationships uneven. She doesn't she could
do way better, he could do way better, or whatever.
I saw it with Shack and Orlando. I see it
with Westbrook and Okac, and I see it with legendary
Green Bay quarterbacks far Van Aaron Rodgers. In Green Bay,
you're going to fire an outside linebacker coach after an
inocuous tweet saying we should hold number twelve and everybody
(04:46):
in this building do a Lombardi standard. That gets you
run out. I mean, I gotta tell you something. Whoever
gets this job, this head coaching job in Green Bay,
you better bring in a strong personality like Josh McDaniel.
If Joe Philbin doesn't have that personality, that's not an
(05:08):
even relationship. Philbin's just gonna try to make Aaron Rodgers happy.
In fact, my opinion yesterday is Joe Philbin's not strong
enough for the job. He literally fired that outside linebacker
coach because he didn't want to make Aaron mad. That's
the problem, not the solution. Somebody needs to make Aaron
Rodgers mad. Somebody needs to hold number twelve accountable. Okay,
(05:32):
Josh McDaniels screams at Brady Belichick doesn't coward to him.
Teammates and a coach call out Russell Wilson. The coach
calls out Derek Carr. I mean, come on now, this
is an unhealthy relationship between iconic quarterback and an ownerless organization.
(05:53):
And they ran off an outside linebacker coach yesterday because
of an innocuous tweet week. All right, tonight, the Lakers
are going to beat San Antonio, probably handily and go
to fifteen and nine outside of the Warriors overnight, there
is no number two in the West. Why not Lebroun.
(06:14):
So there's been some talk this week about Lebron doing
too much magic. Johnson will show you the quote here
on TV said this week, we're trying to make sure
that we watch Lebron's minutes. We don't want to run
everything through him, because you know, then it's Cleveland all
over again, and we don't want that. And then Kobe
Bryant talked about Lebron being too big of a part
(06:36):
of the franchise and Kobe Bryant came out and said, listen,
they were struggling. They got braun the ball, decided to
start planned point doing everything. That's not the recipe for
winning championships, but it's a recipe to keep your head
above water. And Lebroun responded to both Kobe and Magic saying,
we don't want to go too heavy into Lebron because
that's not gonna win his titles. It may win as games.
(06:57):
Here was Lebron understand and you know what Magic and
Kobe is saying, because we want to continue to grow
to young guys. Magic and Kobe know who I am.
I know who I am. They know that they don't
get out of me. I played a game seven in
the finals and then I'm damn played every minute of it.
Last year, I played every single game all right, So
(07:18):
tonight I just want to give people an understanding if
you realize what's going on. Because Michael Jordan went six
for six. The way sports fans are, you'll never give
Lebron the goat, but he is the most impactful player ever.
He is oxygen. Everybody else, including Michael Jordan, is calcium.
(07:42):
We could all use more calcium. Doctor never says less calcium.
We could all use more calcium, but you can live
with a little less calcium. Try living without enough oxygen.
I want you to think about this. So the Calvs
made the finals last year with Lebron. The Calves are
now five and eighteen without Lebron. The Lakers had the
(08:08):
worst winning percentage in the league for five straight years.
They are now on pace. Tonight to win their fifteenth
game fifteen to nine and went over fifty. Now, I
want you to think about this big picture. When you
think of all time greats and impactful. The word impactful oxygen.
(08:28):
Wilt Chamberlain is considered one of the most impactful players
of all time. Wilt Chamberlain, I want you to think
about this. Wilt Chamberlain left the Philadelphia seventy six Ers
in nineteen sixty eight and joined the Lakers. The Lakers
only won three more games when they added Wilt, and
the Sixers won sixty two with him and fifty five
(08:49):
without him. Kareem Abdul Jabbar left the Milwaukee Bucks. They
were thirty eight and forty four. With him, they were
thirty eight and forty four and actually made the playoffs
out him. Michael Jordan. Chicago Bulls fifty seven wins with him,
he left fifty five wins without him. The Cavaliers made
(09:10):
the finals. They are now the worst team in the league.
The Lakers were the worst team over a five year stretch.
They're now the second best team in the West. You
can certainly make that argument there has never been a
player like Lebron. Do you realize that North Carolina even
in college with Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan left North Carolina
(09:33):
the tar Heels the following year. They went further in
the NCAA tournament without Michael Jordan. He's great. Michael Jordan
doesn't have nearly the impact of Lebron James. Lebron James
has simply left the Eastern Conference. Ratings are down twenty.
(09:54):
He just left. He didn't leave the NBA. He just
left the East went to the West. The ratings are
down for all those exciting teams Boston, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Big Markets,
Right Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, Big Markets, Toronto, Oh downy, I mean,
Kevin Durant left the Thunder. They went from a three
seed with him to still a sixth seed. Gordon Hayward
(10:18):
and Kyrie Irving Stars for the Celtics, Gordon Hayward got
hurt in the first game, Kylee Kyrie Irving wasn't around
for the playoffs. They still got to Game seven of
the Eastern Conference Finals. The Great Janis has never won
a playoff series. The Great Anthony Davis has won one. Folks,
(10:42):
all these great players will Jabbar, KD, Michael Jordan, They're calcium.
We could all use a little calcium in our diet
a little more. Lebron is oxygen. You can't breathe without him.
So when the Lakers go to fifteen and nine tonight
and the Cavaliers finished with the worst record in the NBA,
(11:05):
remember those numbers with Wilt in the Sixers, Jabbar in
the Bucks, Michael Jordan with the Bulls in North Carolina,
KD with Okase, Anthony Davis, Yannis. There has never, ever,
ever been anyone even romotely close to Lebron in terms
(11:29):
of impact. Baseball has a stat called war winds above replacement.
Basketball uses it now. Lebron's one, MJ's two, and it
is a huge gap between one and two. One more herd.
The herd streams twenty four hours a day, seven days
a week within the iHeartRadio app search Herd to listen
(11:49):
live or on demand whenever you like. This is a
story now this week. A couple of weeks ago, we
broke the story in Urban Meyer. We told you was leaving.
We were right. We broke it done. Cliff Kingsbury, we
broke the story. Yesterday is going to USC I got
good college contacts on this stuff, with agents and stuff.
I'm not really a story breaker, but I will tell
you there's a story I heard yesterday from two different sources.
(12:12):
Jim Harball's put his name out for NFL teams. Now,
just hold off before you freak out. Chris Carter also
had that this morning on First Things First, Here you go.
I'm just going to tell you guys a name watch
out for Jim Harball, because Jim Harball potentially is trying
to get his way out of Michigan. All right. I
got good sources that are telling me not only Green Bay,
(12:34):
but also watch out for the Cleveland Browns. He likes
the quarterback situations there. And I believe that there is
front office people in Green Bay who are enamored with
Jim Harball and potentially trying to get him to come
to green Bay. I've heard the same thing that Harball
and Brian Kelly at Notre Dame have put their names
out there for NFL teams. Now, let me just stick
(12:55):
to Harball for a second. Here's what I think is happening.
Here's what I believe is happening. Nick Saban five years
ago lost a game to rival Auburn that he should
have won, and for the first time in his Alabama
tenure at the time, he got pushback some of the
boosters he was hurting here a little pushback, and Nick
(13:15):
Saban thought, hell, you're talking about you. Guys were a
train wreck before I got here. So Nick Saban sent
his wife to Austin, Texas to look at houses. He
called his agent, Jimmy Sexton, get the word out I'm looking,
and it freaked Alabama people out. And Nick Saban had
the most leverage of his career. He got his house
paid off, he got some investments paid off, and he
got a lifetime deal. The minute they doubted Nick Saban,
(13:40):
he went looking and freaked out the people at Bama.
So Jim Harbaugh similarly, everybody in Michigan loves him. They
really love him. This year and he loses ugly to
his rival Ohio State, and he's getting a little pushedback.
People in that Arbor big boosters, athletic director and Jim
Harbors like them out. You guys were a grease fire
before I got here. You don't you think you get
(14:02):
better than me? Harball puts his name out, story leaks out,
and the Michigan people are like, who woa wa wa?
We love you, we love you. We let wouldn't be
shocked if I saw an extension to Harbor Michigan. I
don't think he wants to leave Michigan, although I think
he worked in the NFL and he'd work again. He's
a lot better than about half the coaches easily in
this league. Maybe not Belichick, maybe not Sean Payton, maybe
(14:24):
not Pete Carroll. But he's a good football coach and
his style worked in the NFL. So that's what I
think is happening here. Do I think he'd be a
great fit in Green Bay. Well, he's certainly strong enough.
I'd love to see it. I'm rooting for it. I
think it'd be the greatest thing in the world. I
would literally I would put money in. I would pay
(14:46):
for it if I could I'd buy lunch for the
rest of his tenure at Applebee's in Milwaukee. For Jim Harbaugh,
I would die to see this happen. He and Baker
Mayfield be interesting too, But I don't think it's gonna happen.
But I think this has a Saban Field five years ago.
You lose to arrival, you get a little pushback, and
(15:06):
when these iconic coaches get pushback, they want to flex
and say, oh, you think you think you can do
better than me, You call your agent, or you call
somebody to make connections. You get the word out. Then
your university, you're eighty year fans, You're like, okay, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, Nick, Sorry, Jim,
let us crawl back. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Don't be shocked.
If here an extension for Harbo soon, be sure to
(15:28):
catch live editions of The Herd weekdays and noon Easter
nin a Empacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and
the iHeartRadio app. Nobody can be honest these days in sports.
Everybody's protecting their brand, everybody's protecting their money. I mean,
Aaron Rodgers came out yesterday and literally said I was
a shocked about Mike McCarthy as you. Oh good, hell
(15:52):
stop Kevin Durants, Like, yes, Lebron thing is a little toxic.
A bunch of fanboys in the media, that's fantastic. Let's
go to New York, Nick, right, my buddy. First things first,
be the Coward Global Satellite Network. Okay, Nick, you and I,
I mean we'd be way up there on the fanboy thing.
It's like he was taking a shot at us. What
(16:12):
did you make of these? Is this the second thing
Kevin Durant called me directly? He called me a blog
boy on Bill Simmons podcast by name a year ago,
and now I feel like he is saying this directly
to me. I know, I know Katie watches. First things first,
he's texted a guest on the show mid segment to
(16:35):
respond to some of the things we were saying. But
don't get bullied by Kevin Durant here, Colin. Don't all
of a sudden say oh well, I have been like,
hold on, and did you just say. One of the
things you respect about Kevin Durant is his authenticity. Yeah,
which fake Twitter account was he using when he was
being authented? I'm just curious, like, I don't know, I
(16:56):
missed that one. Kevin Durant doesn't want to be Oh,
all the band boys in the media, falling, the beat
writers fawning all over Lebron. Yeah. I can't imagine what
that would be like if the local paper once criticized
you and then printed a retraction the next day. Oh wait,
that happened to you in Oklahoma City. I can't imagine
what it would be like to have such a lion's
(17:18):
grip over the people covering you locally, to where the
day after you have a fallout with Draymond Green and
ask you a question about it, you can look them
in the eye and say, do not ask me about
that again, and they then do not ask you about
that again. This is Kevin Durant was being very authentic
and honest in that moment. Unfortunately that I have no
(17:40):
reason to believe the authentic, honest Kevin Durant that logs
onto the Graham later tonight will feel the same way.
But point taken, Katie, I get it. By the way,
we introduced the Lebrow meter yesterday and the Kevin Lebrant
meter yesterday, So our Kevin Lebrant meeter we're showing it
now is very low on Durant coming to Los Angeles.
(18:02):
You know, Magic and Kobe in the last week have
talked about Nick. They've talked about the workload, and Magic
and Kobe are They're smart dudes, they get it. And
then Lebron said, you know, my workload is what it is.
I played Game seven of the NBA Finals. Every minute
doesn't matter. What do you make about Kobe and Magic's
comments and about Lebron's workload right now? Okay, so I
(18:23):
think that the comments are very different. Actually, I think
Magic is talking about minutes and how and how much
he's actually on the court, as Lebron is averaging the
career low in minutes. Now. I wish people would listen
to Lebron. He has said for the better part of
a decade, it is not about minutes. It is about
(18:43):
games that his body feels the same if he plays
thirty or forty minutes. It's about getting himself ready to
play and actually playing. So for Lebron has told anyone
that'll listen, it's better for him to play high minutes,
but have five to eight games after the year, then
low minutes in play all eighty two. Now, of course,
(19:03):
last year he played high minutes and also played all
eighty two then twenty two in the playoffs, as he
averaged thirty three nine and nine and the greatest playoff
run in NBA history. But I digress, But that was
out of necessity. Kobe is talking about the offense running
through Lebron at the end of games, and Kobe, since
he's just on a total historical reinvention of his own career,
(19:26):
he is talking as if that's something that he thinks
is bad for teammates, and that if he were on
the team, he would give a damn what was bad
for teammates. But I'm also digressing once again. I understand
the concern that if everything runs through Lebron at the
end of games, is Brandon Ingram going to get the
crunch time experience? Is Lonzo going to get the crunch
time experience? But the reality is this The best experience
(19:50):
for those guys is the playoffs, and the best way
for the Lakers to make the playoffs is to not
blow games at the end of the way they were
the first two weeks of the season. And Lebron is Kobe.
He isn't Russ. As much as I love Rus, he
will look for you at the end of games. Their
last bad loss the lost to Orlando a twelve thirty
start time in Los Angeles on a Sunday couple weeks ago,
(20:12):
one oh four, one oh four. Late, Lebron drives and
kicks to an open Josh Hart. He just missed the shot.
It is he will get other guys the ball. But
Brandon Ingram was the number two pick of the draft.
He has scored more than twenty six points one since
he left Duke. Lonzo bow is the number two pick
of the draft. He has I think regressed slightly this year.
Their talent, their ability, is their responsibility. These games count now.
(20:38):
You cannot be sacrificing games to try to get these
guys going. These guys need to get themselves going. Lebron's
the greatest teammate we've seen of this era. He'll find
them if they get themselves going. By the way, so
an outside linebacker coach had kind of an innocuous tweet
got whacked in Green Bay. He said, listen got to
(21:00):
hold number twelve and everybody here to a Lombardi standard.
Losing his word sucks and he got run out of
the building. I've always said Green Bay didn't have an owner.
So whereas Belichick and Craft hold Brady responsible, where Russell
Wilson got called out by Pete Carroll and defensive teammates,
but Andrew luck got called out by a former GM
(21:20):
Derek Carr got called out by Gruden. Nobody really in
Green Bay holds far or Rodgers accountable. They run the
franchise and everybody walks on eggshells. So the story comes
out this morning from your Chris Carter about Harbaugh, who
doesn't walk on eggshells with anybody, and the packers potentially,
How does that land for you? Your thoughts? Listen, there's
(21:43):
an old clip from when I was filling in for
you one day that has been unfairly edited against me
of me saying I think Jim Harball is the best
football coach in the world. What that clip does not
include is that I am saying, if you're not telling me,
if you're gonna give me, if it's gonna be college
or pro, you just say he's got to coach football,
Who do I want? I said Hardball. I'll stand by that.
(22:05):
I think Hardball is excellent. Yeah, I think Harball would
do a good job in Green Bay. I also think
what happened to Winston Moss in Green Bay, would happen
in almost any environment anywhere. If someone who is a
not pertinent, not super important employee publicly calls out the
single most important employee in a negative way, you're going
(22:29):
to get run. You mentioned the who called out Andrew luck,
the former GM of the Colts, who called out Russell Wilson,
defensive players who are no longer on the Seattle Seahawks. Like,
you can't do this, Like maybe, like the president of
Fox Sports, Eric Shanks, could send out a tweet being
(22:50):
like Colin's opening monologue week sauce today, expect better. But
I'm telling you right now the like assistant marketing coordinator couldn't. Yeah,
you might not get them fired, but I have a
feeling there would be some phone calls from from people
it's AAA saying m James needs to go. And so
I like, I don't hold that against Kyle, against against
(23:12):
Aaron Rodgers. I just think that's kind of how office
politics work, even in the NFL. By the way, I
know you you like Baker Mayfield more than I do, right,
Isn't that like I think he's I really like Baker Mayfield.
Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield, the two future faces of
the league, also known as Colin Coward's personal hell go ahead, okay,
so okay so. Dak Prescott's won four straight games. Not
(23:36):
a peep, Deshaun Watson's won nine straight games. Not a peep.
Andrew Luck's having an incredible year. Russell Wilson maybe even better.
Not a peep. Baker Mayfield Yap yap, yap, yap. Yeah,
but he was winning this week, gets humiliated. Not a peep.
(23:56):
Isn't it look like Baker Mayfield is the classic roller
coaster guy, Dak Deshaan Mahomes ond own here anything when
they're on long winning streaks. Baker had two three nice
weekends against cruddy teams and became Howard Stern got his
(24:17):
ears box this weekend and didn't say anything. Doesn't that
worry you? You know the thing about roller coasters, Colin,
they're dope and fun as hell. I got no problem
with that. This is just a difference of philosophy, my friend.
He is not gonna be your typical quarterback. He told
us that, he told you that's sitting on the couch.
(24:39):
He told the media that week and a half ago
after when he was going good. I've got no problem
with it. I've got no problem with someone being their
authentic selves, and I think he can back it up.
And now you're right, a lot of these other quarterbacks
have been I don't know who their authentic selves are
because they are all ways Russell Wilson the quarterback, Dak
(25:02):
Prescott the quarterback, Patrick Mahomes the quarterback. I like that
Baker Mayfield is Baker Mayfield who plays quarterback. It will
never be the type of thing that you like you
you are. This is a very I don't know if
as degenerational differences philosophical difference between you and me, but
this is where we our sports philosophies always butt heads.
(25:24):
You want your point guards, your quarterbacks, you want them
to act a certain way. Yes, I don't think that's necessary,
and I'm again history says you're right. I think this
new generation is going to rewrite that history somewhat. I
think Baker's going to be one of those guys. And
one other thing on this, You're not supposed to talk
(25:46):
after he gets your ears boxed. It would be silly
if after he played the worst game of his career
he came out and said I was feeling really dangerous,
like dangerous, like a bomb that detonates in your own novel.
You don't. And so I don't aim him for not
talking when things aren't going well. I just think he's
a different type of cat. And I don't think that's
ever gonna sit right with you, because it's not what
(26:09):
you what you have always believed is what wins. We'll
see if it can win. Good stuff today. First things first,
Nick Wright made me laugh multiple times. I love having
you on, buddy. It's great seeing you. You're too great
to see you. Good to see you as well. Joy
talk to you guys, all right, what's up everybody? John
Middlecopp The Three and Out Podcast on Colin Coward's podcast network.
(26:32):
If you like Colin show, you will like mine. I
talk off football. Mike McCarthy fired. I have some opinions
on that. Let's face it, he had to go college
football playoffs. It wasn't really that difficult. In the Seattle
Seahawks they are alive and well and Russell Wilson's team.
The Three and Out Podcast with me John middlecop Wherever
(26:55):
you listen to your podcasts for our radio listeners, you
may be a little lost for our television listeners, you
may still be a little lost. I am dressed as
Aaron Rodgers, and there's a reason I'm dressed as Aaron Rodgers,
because I want to play Aaron Rodgers for this segment.
(27:16):
For the record, there were multiple mustaches available to me.
This felt a little French impressionist paint. So I got
rid of that one and we went with the one
that I think is more Aaron Rodgers slash Andy Reid.
But Aaron Rodgers had a couple of quotes yesterday about
the Mike McCarthy firing, and I thought they were ridiculous,
(27:40):
especially for a guy that's probably the smartest guy in
the league, Peyton Manning. For a long time, you were
like smartest guy in Aaron Rodgers really smart. So here
were the quotes Aaron Rodgers said yesterday. But nobody in
the right mind believes number one. I was as shocked
as you were. I hope I'm not the reason that
Mike McCarthy got fired. You gotta be kidding me, Aaron.
(28:02):
You ran him out. I get it, And by the
way I defended you, some relationships get old. It's time
to give Aaron a reboot. I defend Aaron. I've been divorced.
It's okay. Life moves on. Not every relationship lasts forever.
Pat Riley once said, after about ten years, you should leave.
Your voice becomes white noise. So I said today, I'm
gonna play Aaron Rodgers and I want to make this
(28:24):
feel like a press conference. And John and Joy are
gonna ask me pointed questions that if Aaron Rodgers would
have been totally brutally honest about this, would you think
less of Aaron Rodgers? And I'm gonna make an argument
you wouldn't. Have you read that quote. I was as
shocked as many as you were. I hope I'm not
the reason I think less of Aaron for that. If
(28:47):
you would have been brutally honest, I think we'd feel better.
So let's make it sound like a press conference. All right,
start the question. All right, Aaron, what are your thoughts
on your only head coach you've ever had, Mike McCarthy
being fired. Well, it's weird. I mean, when you're in
a relationship for like a decade, you don't know any
other way, so this is going to be different. Did
(29:10):
you have anything to do with the decision on the
firing of Mike McCarthy. I think, like any relationship, there's
highs and lows, and Mike's going to get another job,
and I hope I flourish from this point forward. But
I think over the course of the last two years,
Mike and I have had differences, and I think I
wore him out a little bit, and there are days
(29:31):
he wore me out. And I think we're both good
people and I both think will succeed going forward, but
we had an open line of communication with a general manager,
and I think it was time for both of us
to go a different direction. Aaron, what do you make
of the reports from former teammates that you frequently rolled
your eyes at Mike McCarthy's play calls. You know, I've
(29:54):
always believed, whether it's family or my football family, there
are discussions and moments that I'm not going to discuss,
I will tell you, and I think it was probably visible.
There are times I was frustrated. There are times I
look around the league and I think I wish we
did more of this. That's that, but again, some of
(30:17):
this is on me. I've got my way, I've got
my style on not the easiest guy in the NFL
to coach, so I don't want a finger point. Here's
what I know. Both Mike and I did everything in
our power to win in Green Bay, and we're good
people and I still have great respect for him. But
(30:37):
it wasn't easy, and I think sometimes I was a
little immature. Aaron, you leave the NFL and throwaways by
a mile. Were you purposely throwing the ball away because
you thought the play calls were bad? I came off
an injury joy, Thank you for the question. I throw
the ball away more this year, and I thought it
(30:59):
was a fairly obvious reason because I got injured, and
more than any year in my career. I've had two
shoulder surgeries and I got hurt again this year, and
I'm turning thirty five, and I threw the ball away
more this year simply because I'm going to take sacks.
I didn't want to get hit. Some of it was
just simply trying to preserve my career. The Cardinals are
(31:23):
a struggling, rebuilding team with a rookie quarterback and they
beat you at home? Did you sabotage that game to
get Mike McCarthy fired? Sabotage every moment of the week
between me and this team is about winning. We didn't
play well. I didn't play well at Frankly, I haven't
(31:43):
played well in a month. I have not played well
in a month, and I take full responsibility for that. Aaron,
the world wants to know what's up with the mustache?
Is it real? In this instance? It's completely fair. I
hope that was worse. No, this is not my real mustache.
I am playing a character, but generally speaking, if I
(32:06):
was Aaron, it would be real. One last one, Aaron,
what do you think of Colin Cowherd. I think he's
a fine broadcaster, one of the great voices of American sports,
and I wish everybody would leave him alone because I
listened to him every day nine to twelve Pacific, twelve
to twelve to three Eastern on FS one Egg, great
network for sportscasters. Be sure to catch live editions of
(32:28):
The Herd week days and noon eastern nine am Pacific.
I have no problem with dynasties in sports. I mean,
I think the Warriors, the Showtime Lakers, the MJ Bulls,
the Yankees in the nineties. I don't think dynasties are
bad for sports. As multiple teams try to knock off
the dynasty. I do think in college football you have
a problem. Now it looks like Alabama Clemson fourth year
(32:50):
in a row, you know, are going to be ending
up playing and I just don't think it's great for
the sport. The ratings have gone down in the National
Championship a little bit last couple of years. I think
there's a fatigue that it's the same kind of four
teams in the NFL. The parody is absolutely unbelievable. And
you know, I was thinking about this morning. I looked up.
Thirty teams are still eligible for the playoff and we're
(33:12):
going into Week fourteen. That's unbelievable. There's no Baseball's not
close to that. MLS isn't close, NBA's not close. College football,
college basketball. I mean, we all know Duke's going to
be in the final four Elite eight minimum Kentucky. NFL
thirty teams are still eligible. Only the Bay Areas, Niners
and Raiders are out. And of the nineteen of the
thirty teams I would call real teams, I'm talking about Ravens,
(33:35):
I'm talking about Patriots, I'm talking about Bears. You know,
you could see a team winning multiple playoff games, right
the big game this weekend. To illustrate the parody in
the NFL, let's take the Dallas Philadelphia game. Now. The
perception around the league. Now, the Wheels are sort of
coming off of the Eagles at six and six, they're
(33:55):
falling apart, and the Cowboys at seven to five just
beat the Saints extra time to prepare for this game.
They are humming. That is the perception. And think about this,
with four days extra rest and as healthy as they've
been all year, the Dallas Cowboys at home are just
a field goal favorite over the reeling, injured Philadelphia Eagles.
(34:21):
That's amazing. And to further give you an example of
the parody in the NFL, we sat down this morning
and we spent about thirty minutes on this. I said,
take the twelve best players in this game, and before
we show it to you, it goes before I put
it up there, before you put it up there, it
goes Eagle, cowboy, cowboy Eagle, Cowboy Eagle, Eagle, Cowboy Eagle, Cowboy,
(34:44):
Cowboy Eagle. We thought six and six right down the middle,
we said, the best player in this matchup Sunday's Carson Wentz.
He's a quarterback and he's an unbelievable talent. Ezekiel Elliott
and Layton vander Esh make out the top three. Then
it goes Fletcher Cox to Marcus Lawrence, zach Ertz, who's
(35:06):
having a record setting here at tight end, Lane Johnson,
Zach Martin, Jason Kelsey's rated as the number one center
in football, number nine linebacker of the Cowboys, Jalen Smith,
the Marii Cooper and Malcolm Jenkins. A safety six and six.
The first one's an eagle, the last one's an eagle.
As Cowboys and Eagles all through it. It's a three
point to three and a half point line, meaning if
(35:29):
it was in Philadelphia, NFL, Vegas is telling you it's
even because teams get three points for plan at home
most of them. I think New Orleans may get four,
LA may get two. Basically, it's a coin flip game.
And just think about this. If Dallas loses and as
seven and six in Philadelphia wins in a seven and six,
(35:51):
it will shatter all the momentum Dallas has. It will
take away all the equity built by the Cowboys with
the Saint twin. And this is why the NFL is
four times more popular than college football. A big part
of it is simply this, On any given weekend, a
(36:12):
team that is on fire, just beat the Saints extra
rest at home is a coin flip over the Super
Bowl champs, who finally have a winning streak, who are reeling,
who are a mess in the secondary, who can't get
the Golden tape thing right and have lost two running backs.
(36:32):
That is an incredible, incredible thing. And by the way,
when we all we did these listings, Fletcher Cox was
our fourth best player. He's the second highest rated defensive
lineman in the NFL, only behind Aaron Donald and DeMarcus Lawrence,
who's one spot behind him. Is the highest retted player
for the Cowboys. According to Pro Football Focus, Vander esh
(36:53):
leads the NFL and solo tackles. So we went down
and we looked at numbers Pro Football Focus, where do
they rank, and give or take us, that's the best
twelve players, six and six one more Herd. The Herd
streams twenty four hours a day, seven days a week
within the iHeartRadio app, Search Herd to listen live or
on demand whenever you like. Every sportscaster sees has a worldview,
(37:15):
and I am kind of a I don't like nonsense.
I like common sense. I don't like a lot of celebration.
I think there are positions in sports that require leadership skills. Now,
I don't think there's a lot of them, don't. I
do not think there's a lot of them. Like in soccer,
a midi or a midfielder, you're going to control the
(37:37):
pace of play. You can't get out of position. You
can't be too emotional. You have to be at times cautious,
then at times aggressive, but not too aggressive. Point guards
in basketball you control the tempo. Quarterbacks in football and
I people often say, oh, you pick on Baker Mayfield. No, No,
I pick on a certain personality in the NFL. I
was brutal on Manzil. I was pretty brutal Jamis Winston.
(38:01):
I've been brutal on cam and I'm brutal on Baker Mainfield.
They have nothing in common. Once tall, one short, I
mean one looks like a model. Well, I guess Baker's
an underwear model. The point is I pick on personalities.
And so Andrew Whitworth yesterday was talking about his young
quarterback Jared Goff. He is a tremendous kid. He really is,
(38:26):
and I have been just blown away at the humbleness
and just the attitude he has every day to just
come to work and be unmovable and you can't really
affect him. In games. There'll be moments where like I'm like, oh, no,
that's a bad, bad player, a bad situation, and like
he just like gets up and he's like all right, man,
(38:47):
let's go the next one. And you're just like, what
you know, for a young quarterback kid, I mean, he's
just it's unbelievable, and yeah, I mean he's a tremendous kid.
And this is what I go back to. Of the
twelve division leaders in the NFL, eleven have non chatty quarterbacks. Wilson,
(39:09):
DeShawn just don't talk, Brady Breese eleven one of twelve
current would be playoff quarterbacks are in the media a lot.
And that's Big Ben and six six to seventy transformational talent.
That's my knock on Baker Mayfield. Jared Goff's a star
(39:30):
quarterback in LA. Not a peep. Deshaun Watson's won nine straight,
not a peep. Russell Wilson's having his best year ever.
Not a peep. Andrew Luck reborn, not a peek. Brady.
Eight super Bowls, not a peep. Baker Mayfield had three
back to back good games against atrocious defenses Cincinnati, Atlanta,
(39:52):
Kansas City. He was in the news for three weeks.
He got clapper this weekend against Houston, and he goes
in hides. That is an inconsistent personality. That is my problem.
And by the way, here's I had this discussion yesterday
with somebody in our business and he said, you know,
like players don't respect fans because they know players know
(40:16):
that you'll always be there for him. And the players
don't like the media because we're critical thinkers and sometimes cynical,
and we ask questions. We're like the irs. We're not
built to be liked. We're built to audit right, We're
built to hold you in check. And but the truth
is is that the questions I ask about Baker are
the same exact questions every GM did. Okay in Cleveland
(40:39):
didn't have a history of getting the right quarterback. You
can overlook Jamis Winston's college weirdness, and you can overlook
Johnny Manzel's college ego. But the history is on my
side is that uneven personalities don't last twelve years. They
can win Rookie of the Month three But Andrew Luck,
(41:02):
Russell Wilson, Jared Goff, Brady Breeze, Watson Wentz, Patrick Mahomes.
I'll tell you another guy. The greatest example of this
is Dak. I like very little about Dak's arm. It's
not strong, it's not very accurate. I don't think he
throws guys open. Dak is a completely limited thrower. Baker's
(41:25):
not a limited thrower. He's got a better than average arm,
wildly accurate, perfect release, can set in the pocket and
throw twenty eight yard darts all day. This will be
interesting going forward. Watch Baker, who has tremendous quarterback skills
as a thrower, but I don't like his intangibles, and Dak,
(41:46):
who is completely limited as a thrower, but I love
his intangibles. I mean literally, he's been swimming with a
Zeke controversy, the Jerry stuff, Jason Garrett. You never hear
a peep from him. Baker is a significantly better quarterback
prospect than Dak Prescott. That is not arguable. One of
(42:08):
them simply throws a much better football. But I'm gonna
make a bet with you that over the next eight
to ten years, Dak's gonna win a lot more football games,
and Dak's not gonna be in narrative the trouble. I
googled Baker Mayfield this morning, not a peep, not a
single story about him talking when he was winning. Yap Yap, yap,
three picks hides. It doesn't work that way. Those guys
(42:31):
never last, They never ever do.
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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