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August 20, 2025 • 32 mins

Colin reviews the new documentary on the Cowboys and why today’s version of America’s Team feels lost compared to when Jerry Jones first purchased the team in 1989. He discusses Aaron Rodgers not playing in preseason with the Steelers and why he might get off to a slow start in Pittsburgh this year. Legendary head coach Mack Brown joins the show to talk to Colin about Arch Manning and the pressures of coaching football at Texas

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox
Sports Radio in noon to three Eastern nine am to
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Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 3 (00:27):
Here we go, it's Wednesday. We are live. We're in Chicago.

Speaker 1 (00:30):
It is the Herd wherever you may be and however
you may be watching or listening. Thanks for making us
part of your day. John Middlecoff and I here again
in tow So. I sat last night. John and I
watched several episodes of the Jerry Jones Netflix special The
Gambler America's team, highly entertaining. Took a few notes. I

(00:54):
know that's dorky, but I had to take some notes
here and it is wild. First of all, it's another example.
We saw this with the Last Dance with Michael Jordans,
and we see this with Jerry. When you're when you're
creating something special, even if you're Michael Jordan or you
have Jimmy Johnson and Troigman.

Speaker 3 (01:13):
It's hard.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
It's really really hard for Michael Jordan all those years
getting tackled by the Pistons and the Celtics. But I
want to I want to start John with what was
and what is with the Dallas Cowboys.

Speaker 3 (01:24):
So let's start with that.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
So I read a story this morning Micah Parsons and
the Cowboys headed towards a divorce and a messy contract sagam.
So I'm watching that Netflix special last night, and what
is remarkable at Jerry Jones at that point it was
almost broke. He spent every penny on the Dallas Cowboys.
Jimmy Johnson told me that. I mean, he spent every

(01:46):
penny on the Cowboys and after the first year they
didn't know if they were gonna make it, was he
gonna have to sell the team. But he was so
aggressive and so decisive and had such a clear plan.

Speaker 3 (01:55):
Jerry Jones did that. It all worked.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
He would He got Apeman and Jimmy Johnson and Emmitt
Smith and Michael Irvin and Dave wants that. And he
was patient and Jerry's still patient, sometimes too much. But
what you noticed with that Jerry is the aggressiveness, the decisiveness.
He made strong, swift decisions the herschel Walker trade and

(02:19):
never looked back. That's not the Cowboys today, where the
Dak Prescott or Micah Parsons contracts in golf camp, in
golf the team. And as I was watching that, I thought,
you know what, you know who the Dallas Cowboys of
that era are. They're the Philadelphia Eagles.

Speaker 3 (02:42):
Now.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
The Eagles have a brand. The Eagles have the most
aggressive GM. The Eagles occasionally make mistakes, rarely with but
they're decisive. They don't look back. If they make a
move and they don't like it, they move off it.
Carson Wentz immediately, they move off coaches who win Super
Bowls if it's not a good fit today decisive push

(03:06):
push Saquon Barkley deal. The Eagles today are the Cowboys
in the Netflix special, Dallas now is reactive. Dallas then
was proactive. Philadelphia now proactive. They made a deal three
days ago. They're always making deals. And yet the Micah
Parsons contract saga appears it's not going to end. Well,

(03:31):
you knew he was an All Pro as a rookie.
Do what the Eagles do? Sign him early or trade
him and get a fortune. But the Dak I saw
a headline this morning. The Cowboys negotiating tactics have probably
cost them approximately one hundred million dollars.

Speaker 3 (03:47):
Think about this, Dak.

Speaker 1 (03:49):
Prescott's cap hit currently is bigger than aj Brown, Saquon
Barkley and Jalen Hurts combined. They don't get deals anymore.
Philadelphia gets deals. Philadelphia is always making moves. Philadelphia is decisive.
Philadelphia's got a running play they invented that used to
be Jerry Remember when he pushed back on the NFL

(04:11):
and like a Pepsi deal in the NFL wanted to
sue him, and I mean Jerry just he just didn't
herschel Walker move, Buy this oil, well, buy this football team,
fire tech, shram fire, the late great Tom Landry didn't pause.
That's business one hundred miles an hour. And Jerry knew

(04:32):
as an oil catter Maverick that you're not going to
go one hundred for one hundred.

Speaker 3 (04:37):
But it didn't stop him.

Speaker 1 (04:39):
Now there's video out there him acknowledging, Yeah, I don't
have the guts to do what the Rams did with
Golf and Stafford.

Speaker 3 (04:45):
I could not do that.

Speaker 1 (04:47):
Young Jerry, could I strongly suggest you watch it because
I just couldn't stop thinking those cowboys, that's the Eagles
now of the envy.

Speaker 3 (05:00):
Of the league.

Speaker 1 (05:01):
We all go like, gether a little crazy up in Philadelphia.
I don't know if Nick Siriani's the guy. That's what
they were saying about Jimmy Johnson first couple of years.
He's crazy. Jimmy Johnson, guy's crazy, crazy, smart. So I
mean it just it was amazing to watch how charismatic
the Cowboys were and how they lack an identity today.

(05:25):
I don't even know what they are. But but Jerry,
and he has always been a showman. His dad was cool.

Speaker 3 (05:32):
Story.

Speaker 1 (05:33):
He is on the red carpet for this show. For Jerry,
the one thing that remains a constant, he knows the
lights are on and he wants to perform.

Speaker 4 (05:47):
I do believe if we're not being looked at, then
I'll do my part to get a sliped at. Oh,
it's wonderful to have the great athletes, have the great
players shoot.

Speaker 3 (06:00):
But there's something more there.

Speaker 4 (06:01):
There's sezzel, there's emotion, and if you will, there's controversy.
That controversy is good stuff in terms of keeping and
having people's attention.

Speaker 1 (06:12):
Yeah, we're watching. You got our attention. We just don't
like the results, all right. So I haven't talked to
Aaron Rodgers for a few days. It's about time. It's Wednesday.
So Aaron Rodgers is not going to plan in the
preseason finale.

Speaker 3 (06:26):
I'm okay with it.

Speaker 1 (06:28):
He's sitting the preseason for second straight year.

Speaker 3 (06:31):
He's not played. But it's a little different this.

Speaker 1 (06:34):
Year because if you look at the early schedule for
Pittsburgh first game, Aaron Glenn defensive guy, Jets, next game,
Mike McDonald Seahawks third game, Mike vrabel defensive guy, fourth game.
Best defensive coordinator in the league in my opinion, Brian Flores.

(06:58):
And he's not taking a preseason snap. He had an
abbreviated offseason, so he's never taken a stap snap with
DK Metcalf, he's never taken a live stap with Arthur Smith.
PFF rates the offensive line at twenty first and for
whatever reason, blame who will you want? The Steelers have
not consistently run the ball for about six years, maybe eight,

(07:20):
and that's Aaron's reality. So I do think Pittsburgh needs
to get off to a hot start because in Aaron Rodgers' career,
there has always been one statistic. There has always been
one statistic that is hard to figure out. Aaron Rodgers
has the sixth most quarterback starts of all time, yet

(07:46):
he is tied for twenty fifth in fourth quarter comebacks.
Peyton Manning forty three, Marino Elway in the thirties, kiss
fewer than Derek Carr, Ryan Tannehill, Andy Dalton Well. His
teams didn't trail a lot, did Peyton Mannings, did Marino

(08:10):
in Elways? So why does Aaron need to start quickly?
Because I've always used that stat and it belies what
I've always thought to be true. Aaron's personality changes based
on the score and his performance in games. One of
the things I loved about Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck, Patrick Mahomes,

(08:33):
and Tom Brady.

Speaker 3 (08:34):
They do not give a rip.

Speaker 1 (08:36):
If they've got two pick six's in the first quarter,
They'll play their ars off. They are fox hole guys,
they are ballers. They don't care in game performance does
not change their personality. Sometimes I'd watch Andrew Luck or
Peyton Manning after a really bad pick and I'd be like, guys,

(08:56):
Meys scale back a little on the aggressiveness Pyton was.
That's not who Andrew Luck was. Aaron's different. Aaron gets dark,
he gets moody, his demeanor changes, his facial expressions change.

Speaker 3 (09:11):
He'll throw the ball away. He in game pouts.

Speaker 1 (09:15):
That's what describes in otherwise inexplicable stat twenty fifth all
time in fourth quarter comebacks. He's got the six most stars.
Is that if Aaron's not playing well, he's trailing late,
he kind of bails. And if you look at this schedule,
this schedule is defense, defense, defense, defense, elite defensive coaches,

(09:39):
and he's never taken a live snap with DK Metcalf,
Arthur Smith, it's not a good old line. So I'm
not saying he should play it. I don't have a
problem with him not playing, but I didn't love the
abbreviated offseason, and I don't love it forty one years old,
he no longer has the talent to bulldoze mediocre teammates,

(10:04):
and Pittsburgh offensively has got to mediocre guys. So Mike
Tomlin says he's totally comfortable with Aaron Rodgers not taking
a snap in the preseason.

Speaker 5 (10:16):
Uncomfortable with what I'm seeing out here. Obviously, if I weren't,
I would be playing. Everyone else is under consideration. They're
preparing as if they're going to play. There are a
lot of variables in it. Who's playing for Carolina and
things of that nature that might provide worthy competition. But
as I sit here today, all healthy outside of the
fort that I mentioned are preparing and scheduled to play.

Speaker 1 (10:38):
Forty one year old shaky o line, no run game,
never taken live snaps in the game with the OC
or DK metcalf And by the way, Aaron's a good
looking guy, and I have said before the league is
more interesting with Aaron Rodgers playing than not playing. I
don't think Pittsburgh is a good fit. I didn't necessary

(11:00):
the Jets was a good fit.

Speaker 3 (11:02):
Deep down.

Speaker 1 (11:03):
I was rooting for him to go to Minnesota or
San Francisco, but the Niners, like Brock Purty and JJ
McCarthy was drafted, so it didn't happen. But I'll say
one thing that cannot be the last helmet he wears.
If you're watching me on television, you see this picture.
That helmet is so outsized. I can see the shadows

(11:25):
inside the helmet he looks like a small plane parked
in a delta hangar. Somebody get that helmet fixed for
Aaron Rodgers. See that thing right behind me? That cannot
be the last picture of Aaron Rodgers. Tighten it up, Steelers.
You can't get the run game right, at least get
the helmet right for Aaron Rodgers. Okay, John I yesterday

(11:50):
we had some fun on the show where we took
the Bear schedule. I tried to be optimistic and I said,
life's about happiness, is about expectations. So if you really
look at the schedule for the Bears, if they go
nine to eight, you should actually come out of the
season and feel pretty darn good. That probably means you
split with your division. We're gonna do that with another

(12:12):
team today, and we're not gonna be as positive because
this is my going downhill fast franchise. So don't go anywhere.
We've got a lot going on today. In an update
with Caleb Williams and the Bears.

Speaker 2 (12:26):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon eastern nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.

Speaker 3 (12:35):
He's Mike Krmen. I'm Dan Bayern.

Speaker 6 (12:37):
We have a fantasy football podcast called I Want Your Flex.

Speaker 2 (12:41):
That's right, Dan.

Speaker 6 (12:42):
Every week we're gonna scour the waiver wire to find
the pickups to turbo boost your fantasy lineup, sit starts,
fantasy football players rankings to get you ready to dominate
the competition.

Speaker 3 (12:53):
Listen to I Want Your Flex with Mike Carmon and
meet Dan Byer on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast and
wherever you get your podcasts.

Speaker 1 (13:02):
All right, it's been reported Caleb Williams other Bear starters
will play in the preseason finale against the Kansas City Chiefs.
I am for that in most instances. I do like
young quarterbacks taking snaps. So going back to watching the
Cowboy Special last night, he just I mean, you just

(13:23):
forget how much patient we patients we used to have
with quarterbacks.

Speaker 3 (13:27):
Troy Aikman just.

Speaker 1 (13:28):
Got that, you know what, kicked out of him for
two and a half years his first two seasons starting
forget the fact that he was seven and nineteen, he
had twenty touchdowns and thirty six picks. And when he
played Philadelphia he was a pinata. I mean, they were
just beating on him, but you know what they knew
his talent, and they stuck with him. At one point

(13:49):
in year three, Steve Berline replaced him when he got
banged up, and I mean, you couldn't tell at the
time are they going to move on with Burlin?

Speaker 3 (13:56):
Was a Notre Dame guy.

Speaker 1 (13:58):
I think Burlin was kind of a fiery leader, and
Jimmy Johnson liked that, and Jimmy was cutting guys left
and right, and You're like, man, this thing could go
sideways fast. It wasn't until Troygman got an aquarium and
Jimmy came over with some Heinekens and they sat down
and talked fish and not the band.

Speaker 3 (14:18):
Talked actual fish. That they got along.

Speaker 1 (14:20):
So it was a different world and it should be
with seven on seven camps. The coaching is better offensively.
I think the Colts shouldn't move on from Anthony Richardson.
I respected Arizona and Steve Khime. Moving off from Josh
Rosen for Kyler Murray, I probably would have done the
same thing.

Speaker 3 (14:40):
I get that.

Speaker 1 (14:41):
The difference with Tayleb Williams, though, is a He's more
talented than those guys and b. Chicago's never had a
great quarterback unless you count like didn't Sid Luckman play
in Chicago. I think, yeah, if a guy's name Sid,
it was probably in the thirties or forties. So Green
Bay the Packers, just a train ride north, have twice

(15:03):
drafted a quarterback in the first round and sat him
for three years. So they're the ultimate impatience. But there's
an argument to be made that you just have to
make Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams work. There's an argument
that make it work because for the first time that
I can remember, the Bears actually got a coach that

(15:26):
other people in the league wanted. They usually settle at
head coach, and they usually overdraft quarterbacks. Now you can
look at Jayden Daniels and bow Nicks now, but a
lot of people most people at Caleb Williams number one.
So the two most important people in the NFL to

(15:47):
winning quarterback one coach two, and my entire life, the
Bears settled at head coach, mostly an overdrafted quarterback, and
this time they didn't. They didn't settle. They got the
coach everybody wanted. He was a hot shot, best offensive
coordinator in the league. Several years they got him. He

(16:08):
turned down other teams. The Bears got him an offensive coach,
and Caleb Williams has superstar potential. What transpires, we'll see.
But there is an argument that in a Josh Rosen case,
or in a Mitch Trubisky case, or in an Anthony
Richardson case, you should be more decisive than you used

(16:31):
to be in the Troy Aikman era, and I am
in that camp. But there's an argument just stick it out,
just make it work. There's gonna be bad days, but
you've never had a four thousand yard passer. Get it right.
Just figure it out, and we're gonna be patient for

(16:52):
the remainder of your contract. For Ben Johnson. Remainder of
the contract, Caleb, remainder of the contract. We're giving you
four years. Figure it out. We know stylistically you're kind
of different. We're sticking with it. We're going to be
the most patient team in the league. If it looks
rocky through two years. Albert Breer went to the Bears camp.
Here's what he saw with Caleb the day I was there.

Speaker 3 (17:15):
Caleb Williams looked terrible. There's no better.

Speaker 7 (17:17):
There's no sugar coating in what Ben Johnson and his
staff were trying to do with Caleb was let's feed
him through a fire hose in the spring and an
early in training camp, and let's see what he can handle,
and let's see what he's good at, and let's see
what he's not good at.

Speaker 3 (17:31):
And let's see how he learns.

Speaker 7 (17:32):
Let's see how he takes those early lumps and is
able to compartmentalize them. And then over the course of camp,
the hope was that they would get a more resilient
player who's playing faster, and as coaches, they would get
a better idea of what he was best at, so
they could build an offense based on that.

Speaker 1 (17:53):
Just saying they're playing against the Chiefs in the preseason,
they'll probably win, could be winning again like Buffalo decisive.
They need the snaps because they got to make this work.

Speaker 2 (18:03):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in noon eastern nin am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.

Speaker 3 (18:13):
Well, I've been looking forward to this all day.

Speaker 1 (18:15):
Mac Brown, the national champion head coach with Texas. I mean,
he knows, he knows where all the skeletons are buried
in this sport, and there's a lot of change and
I always thought Mac had the ability to teach and
coach in a joyful way. He love what he did
when he returned to Carolina, the players loved him. But
sometimes it's just time to move to the hill country

(18:36):
in Austin, Texas and enjoy life a little bit. And
Mac Brown is now joining US Live.

Speaker 3 (18:43):
Coach.

Speaker 1 (18:44):
You know, I was thinking about this everybody, And I've
said this before. I think I said years ago the
best job in football in America is coaching the Texas Longhorns.
And I said that and a coach texted me and
he goes. Listen, good job he goes, but has a
lot of drama. There's a lot of boosters. It's a

(19:05):
lot of stuff done Longhorn Network.

Speaker 3 (19:08):
And I love Sark.

Speaker 1 (19:09):
I really do love Sark, but I think it's one
of those jobs coach. It's a little harder than people think.
You know, in Alabama, football runs everything. But at Texas
it's a music town, it's a food town. When you
watch Sark coach, do you envy him or do you
understand sometimes what he's going through.

Speaker 8 (19:29):
I think it's a great question, Colin, but I really
think it's both ways.

Speaker 3 (19:34):
I love the University of Texas.

Speaker 8 (19:36):
I think it is the best job in the country
and especially within ale, because you've got chance, because you've
got people that are passionate in the care and the
only way you can manage it you got to take
their passion and it's really pride and it's not pressure,
and they want to win so badly, and you've got
to be able to handle all the outside No, he's

(19:56):
in Sark's coached at Washington, he's coached at USC, He's
done all this, he's been there, done that. I really
like him and I respect him, and he's doing a
tremendous job. But after you coach at Texas, it's it's
really tough because you really got everything you need. When
I first got there, I asked the Loss doutar. I said,
I'd like to buy this to does it fit in

(20:17):
our budget? And he said, coach, you don't have a budget.
Whatever you want. I said, we don't have a budget
and he said, no, man, you go through it. And
I asked the loss one time, as our athletics director,
how hard is your job?

Speaker 3 (20:28):
And he said, when you're winning, mine's easy.

Speaker 8 (20:31):
When you're losing, I don't have a job that's so good.

Speaker 1 (20:38):
They have Archs Manning, and the Manning family is classy smart.
I mean Archs Manning could have transferred not interested supported
Quinn yours. I maybe I'm worrying about something that doesn't matter.
Tim Tebow became like a celebrity quarterback Cam Newton in college.
Would you be worried about the burden the expectator, the celebrity,

(21:01):
I mean, you got Texas's program.

Speaker 3 (21:03):
The Manning name. Would you be a little worried about
that if you were start coming into the season.

Speaker 8 (21:08):
Yes, And and you have less worries because Archie Manning's
the granddad, and Eli and pateon their uncles, and Cooper's
been through this whole ride with all of them, the dad,
uh and this this family handles that they got class,
they got charisma, they got confidence, they have done all
of these things they need to do. And uh, I've

(21:29):
been around arch enough. He's just he's smart, he's uh
self deprecating. He'll he'll laugh, he he he'll he'll talk
about people that have said critical things of him and say, yeah,
I can understand that. It's just I haven't played a
lot yet. And uh so I'm I'm really excited to
watch him play. I watched Chris Sims go through this
with his dad winning a Super Bowl at.

Speaker 3 (21:50):
Texas, and that's right.

Speaker 8 (21:52):
Then I watched I watched Vince Young and his last
year going through.

Speaker 3 (21:56):
Is he gonna win the Heisman? Is? Is he better
than Matt Liner? You better than redg you Bush?

Speaker 8 (22:00):
And Vince has got a really good perspective on being
the quarterback here. But arch is really into the guys.
He's into that locker room and that's what's so critical
for a quarterback. And the thing Colin I think people
miss on Arch is Archie could run.

Speaker 3 (22:18):
Granddad. We all saw him.

Speaker 8 (22:20):
I played, Yeah, yeah, you run, Man and and Eli
and Peyton were they could run, but there were more
pocket quarterbacks.

Speaker 3 (22:27):
Arch can run, and that.

Speaker 8 (22:30):
Will give him a chance. They got four new offensive linemen,
so that's going to be difficult going to Ohio State.
But when you've got a quarterback that can run, it
makes those offensive blindmen look a lot.

Speaker 3 (22:40):
Better, you know.

Speaker 1 (22:42):
So Belichick takes your gig. It's interesting because usually when
a legend like you retires, they bring in a young
hot shot.

Speaker 3 (22:51):
Well they didn't.

Speaker 1 (22:52):
They brought in an old NFL guy who's who kind
of has a way of doing things. I think I'll
throw it to give you my take. I think and
I saves Bill. I don't think Bill would have succeeded
in the old way of building through high school players,
but the NIL is almost professional football. I think it
gives him a chance. But I also think Mac seventeen

(23:14):
hours Max, I mean, you don't get the hours. You
can't have a sixty hour week. Kids have more power.
There's a lot of stuff here where I'm like, I
don't know, give me your crystal ball. What do you
think Bill will handle effortlessly? And what could be something
that he'll kick around a little bit.

Speaker 8 (23:33):
The first thing Colin Chancellor Lee Roberts has committed the
football big time for the first time in North Carolina history.
They are really wanting football to be good, so they're
all in and that gives them a chance to be successful.
Bill is arguably the best coach of any sport. When
you win that many Super Bowls at whatever level, the

(23:54):
man can coach, he can evaluate because he had to
bring in all those kids at the Patriot's And now
administrators don't like to say it, but we have pro
football at some level in college.

Speaker 3 (24:08):
We no longer have amateurism.

Speaker 8 (24:10):
We have payment scales, we've got nil kids are asking
for money, they have agenciers negotiations. So I do think
the fact that we are much more like the NFL
than ever before will really help build with this transition.
The other thing is every coach wants his own players
and takes you two or three years to get your

(24:30):
guys in there. He's brought in seventy two new guys,
So you got money, you can evaluate and you can
bring in who you want. I think he has a
chance to win big and win big fast.

Speaker 3 (24:43):
We were talking about this.

Speaker 1 (24:44):
It seems like about every third year you get a
really really good quarterback class. And cade Klubnik is I swear?
Is he from Austin? He may be from Austin, Texas?

Speaker 2 (24:55):
Is he?

Speaker 3 (24:56):
Yes? Right Westlake High School? That's right? Yeah, So where
you're out from there?

Speaker 1 (25:00):
So I went back and I watched his high school stuff,
and I went I went deep diving a couple and
I saw him play a few times for Clemson. He
moves like arch Manning. He can move a little bit.
Now he's he'll four six five, he can run. You
faced him. I think twice at Carolina. I remember one
for sure twice. What when you after those games? Was

(25:21):
he better in person? Were there things he struggled with?
Give me a give me a little bit of a
If I'm an NFL GM and I call you, I say, Mac,
I'm thinking of drafting Cade Club, Nick, give me a
thumbnail sketch on him.

Speaker 3 (25:32):
What do you think of him?

Speaker 8 (25:35):
I saw him in high school. My son went to
Westlake High School. Todd Dodge was his coach, and I
knew Todd really really well. We recruited him and couldn't
get him to come. I think he's really really good
the two times that we played him. The first time
he was good, but okay, maybe a little cautious. Last year,
at the end of the year he got really confident.

(25:55):
He nearly brought him back in Austin in a huge
game playoff game. But especially for him at home. He's tough,
he can run, he can throw, he's accurate, he's confident,
and I think he gives Clempson the chance.

Speaker 3 (26:08):
To be really really good.

Speaker 1 (26:10):
Yeah, you know, Clemson hasn't done the nil stuff.

Speaker 3 (26:15):
You are a legendary recruiter.

Speaker 1 (26:16):
Belichick, Dion Sanders, Lincoln Riley, Brian Kelly, They're all in
on it. I worry that NIL erodes chemistry. That's what
I worry about. I feel like you don't know the
odometer on a used car. I like to know what
I know about. My guys have been recruiting since they
were high school sophomores. What did you make of NIL?
Does it? I mean, forget the pay in the players kid,

(26:38):
they obviously deserve some compensation, but what does it do
to a locker room? Does anything worry you about the
portal or nil.

Speaker 3 (26:46):
Colin?

Speaker 8 (26:46):
That's another great question. I do think the major programs,
the brand programs that are going to have the majority
of the money, it's going to ruin the competitive balance
in college football because we're going to have the same
fifteen playing at the end.

Speaker 3 (27:00):
And if you've got enough.

Speaker 8 (27:01):
Money to recruit high school players and keep them, then
in aile's not going to bother you when you bring
it in all the different guys. It's really hard. So
what we learned is if you've got money and you
buy a team, it doesn't mean you're going to win.
Number one. You got to buy the right ones. Number two,
they've all got a fit. Well in that locker room,

(27:22):
you've got to mesh together as a team, which is
hard in a short period of time. And number three,
they've got to be unselfish, and that's one thing we're
looking at right now. I saw Cedric Benson in the
locker room after we beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl,
sit there crying because he didn't want to take his
uniform off and he was a first round draft choice
and he just sat there and I said, why are

(27:44):
you crying? He said, this is the last time I'll
ever have this uniform on. And I'm not sure we're
going to have that loyalty at schools that are bringing
in all the transfers now as much as the one
like sarcle only brought in ten transfers ten eleven. He's
building it with high school g Clemson is building it
with high school guys. They bring in a few transfers,

(28:04):
but not many. So at the highest level, if you
can continue to bring in and develop the right guys
and you're recruiting the right guys, I think you're going
to have the chance to be the most consistent program
programs in the long haul through this Nile period.

Speaker 4 (28:20):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (28:21):
I like that.

Speaker 1 (28:21):
I like you know, I'm I'm kind of with sark
on that or like, if you're Ohio State and you
bring in like Caleb Downs, if you can bring in
a first round pick, go get him by all means.

Speaker 3 (28:30):
But I worry about that. Oh.

Speaker 1 (28:31):
By the way, I got to ask you about Drake
May So, I like. One of the things I like
about Drake may he was your quarterback for several years,
is that I like he comes from a family of
athletes and older brothers, and there is something about that
coach about the toughness, you know, playing with your brothers
buddies and you're getting thrown around the basketball court and
the football. Give me, did you notice that with Drake

(28:53):
Cause in the NFL as a rookie, they're gonna haze you.
They're gonna be on you, you're carrying luggage, They're going
ravel's a tough guy. What about Drake May? I pressed you?
Beyond the size the arm? What else did you like
about it?

Speaker 8 (29:06):
He said, when he was a kid, he had to
fight for food. He had all those brothers in there,
so everything he did he would have to compete and fight.
So they'd play pickleball and get mad. And one day
I walked in the player's lounge and there was a
broken ping pong paddle, and I said, who broke the paddle?

Speaker 3 (29:24):
And he's sitting over in the corner and they all
pointed to Drake. I said, Drake, why did you break
the paddle?

Speaker 8 (29:28):
He said, the tight end beat me in ping pong?
Can you imagine the tight end beat me in ping pong?
And I said, yeah, but I still think you can
keep the paddle clean without breaking it. But he is
so competitive, he's smart, he's got a great heart. He
is a wonderful team leader. He'll have that locker room

(29:48):
fighting for him in every minute, and I just love him.
I think he's a quarterback that's going to win.

Speaker 3 (29:53):
A Super Bowl. Oh that's great. Okay.

Speaker 1 (29:55):
Finally, Mack and I talked for a couple of minutes
before we went on the end, and he moved to Austin, Texas,
which is one of America's great cities. And I'm not
telling you where, but I know what golf course he's on,
and it's darn nice.

Speaker 3 (30:09):
I'll tell you that.

Speaker 1 (30:11):
And I told you during the break, I said, my
wife said you need to get a hobby, and I
could never find one. And then two years ago I
got oddly bizarrely into obsessed with golf, and I just crazy,
like you know, just I'm into it all the time.
And tell me a little bit about are you playing

(30:34):
golf regularly, Colin?

Speaker 3 (30:37):
I'm playing just about every day.

Speaker 8 (30:39):
I'm playing six holes, nine holes, twelve holes, and I
just love it. And as a coach, you played, but
you played with boosters. They were asking about the quarterback
or why'd you do this, or why'd you do that?
They told you you can play bad, but don't play
bad and slow.

Speaker 3 (30:54):
You got to play fast. You never practice.

Speaker 8 (30:57):
You're always shaking hands before you hit the ball the
first tea in a tournament. So I've never been able
to really play golf and enjoy it. And now I
am just absolutely loving it. So I'm I'm doing my work,
I'm doing some stuff, and then I head to the
golf course.

Speaker 1 (31:12):
And what is your You have a friend that told me,
I want I want you to share this with our
audience because it really is so true. What did your
You have a friend that's a golfer, What did he
tell you about golf?

Speaker 8 (31:24):
I was playing with my friend the other day and
he was playing awful. He was really struggling. So he
looked at me at the end of the match.

Speaker 3 (31:32):
And he said, uh, you know, coach, this is really
interesting golf.

Speaker 8 (31:35):
I said, wait, wait, talking about bud and he said,
it costs a lot of money.

Speaker 3 (31:40):
It takes all.

Speaker 8 (31:41):
Day to play four and a half five hours. You
hit a lot of bad shots and it makes you
absolutely miserable, and as soon as you get through, you
can't wait to get back on the plow. And I
think that's God.

Speaker 3 (31:55):
And it's expensive. I mean, it checks every bad and
when you get home, your wife's mad. Where have you been?
Did you have fun? Note it's awful. I had so
many bad shots. Yeah, it's so true.

Speaker 1 (32:09):
It's great to see you as owas great great American
sports storyteller.

Speaker 3 (32:13):
Mac. I love you, Thank you so much.
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Colin Cowherd

Colin Cowherd

Jason McIntyre

Jason McIntyre

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