January 14, 2026 • 54 mins
Colin Cowherd reacts to Mike Tomlin stepping down as head coach of the Steelers after 19 seasons. He discusses what the Steelers should consider when replacing him and why sitting out a season is a good thing for Tomlin before he returns to coaching
Colin also explains what this means for Aaron Rodgers at 42 years old and if it’s time to retire
Plus, NFL reporter Albert Breer joins the show to share who Mike Tomlin’s replacement in Pittsburgh might be as well as the other 8 head coach openings across the NFL
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.
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Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Here we go at Tower two on a Wednesday. Albert
Breyer in a couple of minutes, So Brooks Koepka, my
guy going back to the tour, not going to be
eligible for some of the money, but he can still
take all of it. The Masters, the US Open, in
(00:48):
the British Open. So I didn't have a problem when
he left for Live. I don't have a problem him
coming back. I like watching him play. The more he's
on my TV, the happier I am. So the way
I feel about Bryce and to Shamba and Rory Mack
Kilroy Tiger Woods in his prime, he're on my TV,
I'm happy. I don't care who you play for. I mean,
the PGA doesn't control my three favorite tournaments. My three
favorite tournaments, Masters, US Open, British Open FedEx. Cup's fine,
(01:14):
but I'm glad he's back, and I'm okay that he left.
All right, I do this, this will be I always
have about five or six teams in my Super Bowl bubble.
A lot of those teams like Kansas City or in
New England in their dynasty. We don't have that this year.
In fact, maybe the best team's Buffalo. We don't know,
and are they a super Bowl team? So eight teams left.
(01:37):
I'm gonna tell you how many teams I think are
capable of winning the Super Bowl. That's a lot of
wins from today. So we'll start with the Rams. Number
one scoring offense, number one total offense in the NFL,
and they are healthy. Okay, they're healthy, and that offense
(01:58):
is lethal. Matt Stafford's always been good in the playoffs
six and two with the Rams one oh seven passer rating.
I don't love their special teams. But one of the
teams that matched up very well against them, Philadelphia with
AJ Brown a problem for their corners. They're out by
the way, Carolina match up well with them twice. Two
(02:21):
big boundary of receivers. The Rams are a Super Bowl
Bubble team. The second one I would put in New England.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Folks.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
They've won fourteen in the last fifteen games, top five coach.
They also lead the NFL in yards per play, including
the playoffs. That's what the wise guys like. And I
said this yesterday. Here's where they remind me of the
old Patriots. A mature, tall, accurate quarterback, a defense, tough
(02:50):
guy at coach, Josh McDaniel, coordinator, Robert Kraft, owner and
those Patriot teams didn't have any major hole. They weren't
the best at a lot of things other than quarterback,
but they didn't have a lot of holes. I don't
know what the hole on the Patriots is. I do
think they have to continue to modify the old line, but.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
They don't have a lot of holes.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
They may not be great at anything, are they terrible
at anything? I have New England capable of gutting in
winning a Super Bowl. The third team I think can
get in as the Seahawks again. They won eleven of twelve,
only lost two points in a turnover play game against
the Rams, number four scoring offense. You can't run the
(03:35):
football on them, so they force you to throw. Well,
that can be problematic if you're playing in Seattle and
it's raining in January sideways. I think their coach is
the defensive version of Sean McVay. They can score early,
they can score late. Sometimes they're a little dependent on
JS Senate wide receiver. Okay, but again I don't know
(03:57):
where their hole is.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Well.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Darnold throws pick brock perty and Matt Stafford volks, so
did Peyton Manning. I think the Seahawks are an obvious
choice capable of getting to and winning the Super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
And my fourth and.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Final team maybe.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Is the Buffalo Bills.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Best second half team in the league. Josh Allen has
twice as many wins eight as the remaining AFC quarterbacks
combine four. Their offensive personnel is very good, Deon Dawkins,
James Cook, excellent tight ends, Kincaid Dawson Knox. Offensive line
is good. Defense worries me a little, but I think
(04:38):
they can go and win the Super Bowl. I've changed
my mind on this impressive win of Jacksonville. How about
the Chicago Bears. I can't put them in worst scoring defense,
worst total defense of the remaining playoff teams. They just
give up to many big plays Niners. Now that Kittle's out,
(04:59):
Bosa Warner out. I can't put the Niners in second
worst scoring defense. Saula's doing it with smoking mirrors. Okay,
Now my Denver Broncos, I can't held the twenty points
or fewer three straight games. I think they're the best
team potentially because they get a play at home, so
(05:20):
I think they're I keep your eye on Denver against Buffalo,
but they've played a very easy schedule. The Jacksonville loss
was kind of a whoe moment, and they are struggling offensively.
People got a lot of film now in bow Knicks
and the Houston Texans. I have changed my mind. Oh
in six divisional round all time. Jmax said it earlier
(05:42):
this week. Something's not quite right with CJ. Stroud missing
one of their best receivers. They are this is a
knock twenty fourth yards per play. I honestly, if Woody
Marks is out, I don't feel like they're viable. They're
thirtieth in the red zone. That was my knock on
them Monday Night. Settled for field goals, not touchdowns, rams
(06:04):
Seahawks Bills Patriots in by the ways, its feet.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Not even yards. Denver.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
I mean the coaching in San Francisco, the pass rush
in Denver, the defense in Houston, and the explosive late
game heroics of Caleb Williams. We're not saying they can't
win another game, but I think only four of eight
can get to and win the Super Bowl.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
With that.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Albert Breer is now joining US Live. You're a reporter,
not that you care any of those rankle any of
those you would strongly disagree with.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
I mean, Houston's defense is starting to feel to me
like twenty fifteen Broncos, twenty thirteen Seahawks, two thousand and
two Buccaneers, I shift, two thousand Ravens. Like just watching
them close on the ball that was the big thing,
because I think we all know, like how they can
(07:03):
cover on the backhand with the corners they have, how
they can get after the passer with Anderson and Hunter,
and then the depth that they have on the defensive line.
You know, one thing that really stuck out to me,
Colin was watching when Aaron Rodgers checked the ball down.
Speaker 5 (07:17):
And threw it over the middle on Monday night.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
Yeah, and how it seemed like there were three hats
on the ball like instantly on.
Speaker 5 (07:23):
Every single play. And it's just I.
Speaker 4 (07:30):
Saw what they did to the Bills and Josh Allen
earlier in the year, and the I mean, like it
is just I mean it legitimately looks like there are
thirteen guys out there.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
You know.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
I said that when you see a great defense, it
is as if they're playing with another man, either in
the pass rush or in the linebacking court.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Houston feels like they got an extra.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
Guy out there, right, So, like my question is, and
here's what so interesting about Houston to me? Right, So
you got kJ Stroud and I think we've seen it
at times this year. It just hasn't been consistent, right,
like what he was as a rookie. So you saw
it against San Francisco for example. I think he threw
for three hundred and fifty yards against them. That's a
good team. Like, I know they've had their injuries, but
that's obviously a really good team. I just like, to me,
(08:14):
it's like, what do their first year guys do, So,
especially if Nico Collins is out this week, right, Like
and we'll see on the concussion protocol, but their rookie
receiver Jayden Higgins and Jalen Noel, the rookie running back,
what he Marks, their rookie left tackle Arianta ERSII, their
rookie offensive coordinator Nick Kayley, who knows New England inside
(08:34):
now because he came up there.
Speaker 5 (08:36):
Like I just.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
I look at the amount of young people and first
year people, you know, not necessarily all rookies, but these
amount of young people that are relying on on offense
and the quarterback's part of that equation too, And can
they give them enough where that defense can can really
turn it on? And I think you saw flashes of
it again on Monday now, like there was the deep
(09:01):
ball to Jalen Knowle that was right on his numbers and.
Speaker 5 (09:04):
He dropped it, you know.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
So they're just little things that you see with them
offensively where it's like God, they're right there and this
team could be even better next year, you know. And
I just think the historic nature of the defense, we've
seen it before, right like so, and we've seen it
in this era like we saw it with the twenty
fifteen Broncos where they didn't have a lot offensively.
Speaker 5 (09:26):
So I'm really.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
Interested to see what happens when they come up to
fox spron play on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
We know the Ravens is the best job for a
lot of reasons, great owner, nice roster, a mix of
young experience, Pro bowlers, Lamar Jackson. Okay, let's start with
a number two job. I'm going to argue that we
I think the Giants is the second best job. I
go in with left tackle, by the way, great offensive
tackle draft my first pick. I can go get the
(09:53):
best tackle so I can solve That's like when Brady
went to Tampa and they got Tristan Wurse. That was
their big issue. Good Rows sure bad at right tech,
so the Giants can solve that right out of the shoot.
I think the Giants over the Steelers. Steelers don't have
a quarterback. Steelers spend a lot of money on defense.
They have a lot of draft things. But you'll be
very very young defensively next year. Now I know the
(10:15):
stability thing. We all know that goes without saying in Pittsburgh.
I think the Giants is a better job today to
me than Pittsburgh. They got Lamar in that division, Burrows
coming back in that division next year, they could get
an arch manning. Do you think the Giants is better
than the Steelers? Is the second best gig?
Speaker 4 (10:32):
I would agree, And I think what's so interesting about
this year's market, Colin is so many of the jobs
depend on your individual evaluation of the quarterback, right, because
we know how important having the right quarterback is. So
the Giants job, how attractive it is, is largely dependent
on what you think of Jackson Dart. Same thing with
cam Ward and Tennessee, same thing with Michael Pennix in Atlanta.
(10:54):
I mean, heck, you just hear the same thing about Vegas,
like what do you think of Fernando Mendoza and Dante
more Right, So I think the attractiveness of this job,
it's kind of a moving target with some of these
teams based on your own evaluation of the quarterback position.
That said, they have a lot of other things with
the Giants, like you said, franchise left tackle and Andrew Thomas,
franchise receiver in in maliite neighbors on the defensive front,
(11:17):
I mean, my goodness, Brian Burns, Abdulla Carter, Dexter Lawrence,
you have a chance to be dominant up front right
out of the shoot as a first year head coach.
Speaker 5 (11:25):
They've invested in their secondary, bringing in.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
Paulson Adebo and Javon Holland last offseason so they have
pieces and this is why, like the last couple of years,
I felt like they were the team right on the edge.
So I think I would agree with you. I think
a lot of it depends on what your evaluation of
Dart is.
Speaker 5 (11:43):
It's just as to just how attractive the job is.
Speaker 4 (11:46):
But if you love Dart, I think it's got everything
that you'd want, stable ownership, all of that. The Steelers,
I mean, I would just say this with the Steelers,
I think it's an attractive job because it's the Steelers.
It's a it's a it's it's it's a flagship franchise,
patient ownership. They're going to give you time to build.
But man, you got a lot of work to do
(12:06):
on that roster. They got eight guys and they're starting
twenty two right now that are thirty year older.
Speaker 5 (12:11):
Wow, So what do you do with TJ.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
Watt?
Speaker 4 (12:13):
What do you do with Cam Hayward? Does he retire?
What do you do with Jalen Ramsey, Aaron Rodgers? Does
he enter out? You don't have a lot of guys
in that roster where you look and say, yeah, that
guy's going to be here three years from now. Got
a couple offensive linemen, maybe a defensive lineman or two,
and that's it. And so you've got I think what
looks like a relatively lengthy rebuild there.
Speaker 5 (12:34):
That isn't the case with the Giants.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
For the record, the.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Job openings are fascinating. There are nine openings. Guys put
the graphic up. I said, I think there's better candidates
than we think. I think Tomlin's going to do a reset.
I think he's going to take a year off do TV.
He's not a TV guys like Rabel he could do TV,
he's not a TV guy. I think Hard Boss Tofanski, Tomlin, McCarthy,
(13:01):
those are very good options. I think Sola, Flores and
dabol deserve a second chance. If I had to, I'd
hire all of them. I think Njer Kubiak and Halflee
are certainly worthy of an opportunity. I think Kingsbury is
an OC. I don't think he likes conflict. That's why
he's bailing on DC. He felt bullied by Adam Peters
(13:21):
I was told. I also think Mike McDaniel's brilliant. I
think he's a vice president, not a president. I'd hired
him in one second to be my coordinator anything there
when you look at this teering, Am I missing something?
Is half lee considering? Yeah, I mean you tell me
what you make of that.
Speaker 5 (13:40):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (13:40):
So like the first thing I would say is like,
I'm looking at your second chance.
Speaker 5 (13:43):
Guys.
Speaker 4 (13:43):
I think Robert Sala has a chance because of his
ability to put together a staff. His ties are all
to the Shanahan tree. Could he bring Mike McDaniel, who
he's very close with, right right.
Speaker 5 (13:53):
To Tennessee with him?
Speaker 4 (13:54):
Or could he bring Mike Lafleur for the opportunity to
call plays if Sean mcday would let him leave the
call play, could he bring him to Tennessee with him?
And you know, Robert is not only going to have
that guy, He's also going to know who the next
guy is, so he can go to an owner and say, look,
this is our Mike mc daniels, our coordinator this year,
next year. And if he leaves, I got this other
(14:15):
guy coming with me from San Francisco who I think
is going to be the next coordinator.
Speaker 5 (14:19):
Right.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
So I think Robert gives you the chance to do that.
His ability to build a staff is really really solid.
Speaker 5 (14:24):
I look at the.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
First time, guys, and I think what's fascinating about this
year is that the best ones are on defense, right.
Jesse Mintro got requested by every single team with an
opening save for Pittsburgh. We'll see if that one comes.
Jeff Haffley has been a head coach before, has done
a fantastic job at green Bay, really good reaching people.
Anthony Campinelli and Jacksonville. I think things are going to
(14:46):
pick up on him a little bit. Matt Burke in Houston,
we see what he's been able to build there. Izia
ro Everro, You've got all these young guys. There's almost
like this backlog of young defensive coaches because everybody's been
mining the offensive pipeline for so long. So I think
there are a lot of good young defensive coaches there.
And then on the offensive side, if you're dead set
on getting one, it's just me you're going to be
(15:08):
rolling the dice a little right Like. So, Clint Kubiak,
I think is a really good young coach.
Speaker 5 (15:13):
Is he ready? We'll see.
Speaker 4 (15:14):
He comes off a lot like his dad, right, which
is a good thing, but you have to be comfortable
with like kind of that level, quiet, calm personality.
Speaker 5 (15:23):
Davis Webb's another one.
Speaker 4 (15:24):
Davis Webb's fantastic and is going to be a head
coach playing quarterback in the league.
Speaker 5 (15:28):
He's thirty years old. Is he ready?
Speaker 4 (15:30):
So on the offensive side, I think you'd be looking
at guys that are just dice rolls, you know, Whereas
on the defensive side of the ball, I think you
got more guys who are ready.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Aaron Rodgers I thought, I said, I thought he should
retire or go to the Vikings. I think he made
the most of it. I nominate him for Comeback Player
of the Year. I think the Steelers offense, I mean,
like I said this earlier, Mike Tomlin doesn't have a
coaching tree. It's a cactus like the oc sins Arians
just they don't they don't, they don't do anything.
Speaker 5 (15:57):
So I never heard that one before. It is I
think coaching tactic.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
So he basically Aaron did the best of what you
can do with a kind of a tone deaf offensive.
I mean, last seven years the Steelers have been bottom
ten in offensive spending. It's a tough lift, and I
think Aaron did a great job. I think Aaron steps
away and does traveling. I think he would listen and
(16:23):
go to Minnesota for a Viking. I think he would listen,
but my guess is, like he doesn't want.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
To bounce around. What do you think his future is?
Speaker 4 (16:34):
I know the people who are there with him in
Pittsburgh think that this is going to be it for him.
And like so I know, like people that were operating
under the impression that he was going to retire after
this year. Doesn't mean and I'm not saying he's told
anybody that, but like they were under the impression that
this was going to be it for him, regardless of
whether Mike Tomlin comes back or not. I also think,
(16:57):
like just what I know about Aaron, I do think
that this year gave him some closure, you know, because
I think what he was looking for in New York
at the end, he wanted to fall in love with
football again, right, and really like so much about him
had become about everything off the field, right, and all
the stuff that he does with the hyahuasca and everything else.
(17:18):
And I think by the end of New York he
was kind of like, I want to just be a
football player again, and because of the circumstances in that organization,
he wasn't really allowed to do that. And going to
Pittsburgh gave him that, and I think he truly did
love being there this year. He loved playing for Tomlin,
and I think he fell in love with playing football again.
So the question becomes, and I think most people who
(17:40):
know him would say, well, that gave him closure. Does
it make him want to play again? Like, I can't
answer that, but I think he's probably done. But if
the perfect situation came along with Kevin O'Connell picks up
the phone and says, look like, you know we talked
about this last year, would you want to come and
do it now? Maybe he would jump at something like that,
but I get the feeling that this is it for him.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
Okay, I gotta address Buffalo.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
And this happens all the time where I see something
and I can't unsee it. And Buffalo going to Jacksonville,
a red hot Jaguars team with a sharp offensive coach,
and really I felt like most of that game it
was Buffalo's game, and I was like, wow, I think
they're going to go to Denver and win. And I
did not feel that. I I and sometimes you know this,
(18:28):
this this league will give you these moments and you're like,
oh wow, Like when I'm watching Caleb Williams against the
Niners late in the year, and I mean, just it's volleyball.
It's just one great play, one fact and against SLA
and I'm like, man, Caleb is he's graduated to a
different class, whatever the class is, and then he does
it again against the Packers and half league. I mean,
(18:50):
I don't know what take it from here?
Speaker 3 (18:53):
What? What what do you make about with Buffalo?
Speaker 4 (18:57):
I think I'm gonna steal Kirby's Smart's line. I think
Buffalo is hard to kill. Like, I think that's what
they've become now, and like I and I think you
can see it like that was a pressure pack situation.
I mean, like if you go to Jacksonville and lose,
and that's a really good Jacksonville team, right, a really
(19:18):
good Jacksonville team that kick Denver's ass, Like, I like,
if you lose that game, there are tons of big
picture questions that are on the table, right, that's fair.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
Yeah, So.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
In that pressurized environment, look at Sean McDermott's decision making,
and I thought this was so interesting And this is
the day and age when everybody's got to go for
it and am fourth down all the time and everybody's
hearkeee jerky and panicky. Right towards the end of the
second half, on a fourth and four, he goes out
sends Matt Prater out there to kick a forty five
yard field goal. They get penalized, kicks it from fifty
(19:54):
yards anyway.
Speaker 5 (19:55):
End of the half.
Speaker 4 (19:56):
They punt on a fourth and four from the Jacksonville
side of the fifth and then on the first drive
of the second half they again were in position to
go for it on fourth and less than five and
send Prayeder out there for a forty seven yard field goal.
Speaker 5 (20:10):
Those were little things Colin that told me Sean.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
McDermott has the utmost confidence that his team is going
to pull this out in the end. He didn't need
this field, the need to build a big lead. He
felt like if he just played the game out, his
team would be able to get to the end of
the game and put its.
Speaker 5 (20:29):
Trump card, which is Josh Allen on the table. Right.
Speaker 4 (20:32):
And so this isn't the best Bills team of the
last five years, but I think it's the hardest one
to kill, you know. And I just think that this
is the Bills team where you look at it and
there's just a belief in what they're doing and if
we can get to the end of the game and
put the ball in the hands of our quarterback.
Speaker 5 (20:49):
We are going to win the game.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
And you see it over the last two months of
the season, the way they fell behind against the Bucks,
against the Steelers, against the Bengals, against the pay and
roared back in the second half of all of those games.
I just it just feels like this, and maybe it
sounds corny, but it does feel like there's a little
bit of an intangible quality with this Buffalo team that
(21:12):
didn't exist before.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
Okay, we'll do I'm gonna give you a team.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Can you just give me a name a leading candidate
in a sentence, we won't.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Go too long. I'm gonna say Tennessee.
Speaker 6 (21:24):
What happens.
Speaker 4 (21:26):
I think if Kennavin Sefanski doesn't wind up in New York,
I to see him winding up in Tennessee.
Speaker 5 (21:31):
If it's not Kevin Stefanski, maybe Robert Sala.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
Raiders.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
So I think it's either a conventional hire like like
Jesse Minter makes sense there with the Michigan connections with
Brady and John Spytech. Do they take a swing on
Davis Web Like, do they take a swing on somebody
like that.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
I don't think that that's impossible.
Speaker 7 (21:56):
Dolphins that Clint Kubiak, Clint Kubiak, Yeah, there's some carryover
system wise with Clint and Matt Lafleur and John Eric
Sullivan came from came from Green Bay and had been with.
Speaker 5 (22:17):
Lefloor and is going to be comfortable with Clint.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
Kubiak's vision and be able to carry out Clint Kubiak's vision.
I know one of the things they're really looking for
there is a collaborative environment, you know, in their new structure,
and so Clint would make some sense for them.
Speaker 6 (22:33):
One more.
Speaker 4 (22:35):
Steelers Chris Sula. Yeah, so I'm tempted to say Marcus Freeman.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
By the way, but by his camp says he's not interested.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
You don't buy that.
Speaker 5 (22:50):
Yeah, I just think it's the one.
Speaker 4 (22:52):
I think it's the one of all these like his
Like so, the Giants and Titans did pursue him, you know,
and did.
Speaker 5 (23:00):
To gauge interest and talk to them.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
And everything else, and that was right when he agreed
to stay at Notre Dame.
Speaker 5 (23:06):
I do think he has.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
Designs on coaching in the NFL, and let me ask
you this, Colin. If Marcus Freeman right now were the
defensive coordinator of say the Chargers, wouldn't he checked every
box as far as like a Steelers head coach, like
what they generally look for. Absolutely, like he carries himself
like a Steelers head coach. I think Chris Schule is
(23:29):
the same, by the way, but Marcus Freeman would check
a lot of boxes for the Steelers, just kind of
that battleship commander that they've always had. I think Chris
Schule if you look at his background, right, and despite
his last name, he's had to work his way up
right and check boxes along the way. And Sean McVay,
despite their relationship, really made Chris earn it there. And
(23:53):
I can remember like when they promoted him, like that
was not about like oh yeah, like you know, he's
just been here long enough, we ought to give it
to him, Like he really had to earn that job.
I heard Shula's name connected to this deals before any
of this happened, like two three weeks ago. And if
you think about like kind of what they've looked for
and head coaches, maybe not the guy everybody's looking at,
(24:15):
but somebody with a defensive background, who's got real presence,
who carries himself like a battleship commander, who can handle
the pressure of being Pittsburgh.
Speaker 5 (24:23):
I think Chris Shula, to me, would check a lot
of those boxes.
Speaker 4 (24:28):
And again, like, I think this is somewhere too that
having that last name probably doesn't hurt and not that
it like you think he's going to be the next
Don Shula, But this is a guy who's dealt with
expectations his entire life, you know, because of that last name.
Speaker 5 (24:43):
So I think he would be a really interesting fit
in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 6 (24:46):
Albert Breer Monday Morning quarterback. Great, see anybody all right?
Speaker 5 (24:50):
Thanks?
Speaker 6 (24:50):
Going, Yeah, there's some interesting candidates for sure.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
Colin.
Speaker 8 (24:59):
He dropped seven bombs there in that I'm over here,
Like what Marcus Freeman?
Speaker 3 (25:06):
Come on?
Speaker 8 (25:07):
You think The only scary thing, and I just texted
my two Notre Dame people who are close to the program,
is that the Steelers would give Marcus Freeman a huge
runway right, who cares old roster?
Speaker 3 (25:18):
No quarterback here?
Speaker 4 (25:19):
Each other talent.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Here's the other great thing about Marcus Freeman. They have
a first, a second, three thirds, two fourths. Who knows
college personnel. Marcus Freeman, just like Harball goes to the
Chargers back to back drafts. He knows he's recruited all
these top guys. You get a huge I mean, if
you go pure NFL guy, you don't get that. When
(25:42):
you hire Harbaugh, you kind of get that. You hire
Marcus Freeman. I guarantee it for the next two drafts.
Marcus Freeman's gonna ace it. You know, he knows the
odometer on guys, not just the Senior Bowl.
Speaker 8 (25:55):
That would be a bigger shock to me than Tom
Lennard Harball even combined.
Speaker 9 (25:59):
If Mark a streaming left.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Notre Dame, would you take?
Speaker 3 (26:01):
Would you take? You tell me Notre Dame are the Steelers?
Speaker 5 (26:05):
I mean Notre Dame is.
Speaker 8 (26:05):
Gonna be stacked next year. Their quarterback could be a
top five thick. I'm not going I would stay Notre Dame.
But the Steelers they're gonna be okay being terrible for
three years because the.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
Owners, They're not going to be terrible.
Speaker 9 (26:16):
Colin their roster is garbage.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
Dude, dude, dude.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
A first, a second, three threes, two four. With Marcus Freeman, all.
Speaker 9 (26:24):
You have too QB one that's.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
Away by the way, New England three hundred million in
cap space, seven draft picks, shocking, they had Drake may Well,
Drake on this one, you're not gonna be I mean,
I bet you everything I've earned. You're not gonna be
terrible for three years with Marcus Freeman. That roster is
going to turn over by the last but the last
weekend of April, you're gonna have seven new guys who
(26:47):
can play. And then and then, by the way, now
that you don't pay the quarterback, they're gonna have the
most money.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
In the league.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
They're not paying it. They're gonna happen what New England
did to their roster. Forget Drake may Look at their roster.
Last year the Patriots had the worst receiving core in
the league. Now it's like number three in big plays.
Why they had money and draft picks.
Speaker 8 (27:08):
The other thing Brier said, by the way, he said
Davis Webb as a head coach, I almost fell out
of my chair. I had to look up where Davis's web.
He's like a passing game coordinator for the Broncos. What
he was in the league.
Speaker 9 (27:19):
Like seven minutes ago. So Breer's onto. I love that stuff.
I love the rumors in the scuttle butt, Oh.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
Juicy in Chicago, It's third.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
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Speaker 3 (28:12):
Subscribe, hit that thumbs up icon and coming away.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
All right, I do this, this will be I always
have about five or six teams in my Super Bowl bubble.
A lot of those teams like Kansas City or in
New England and their dynasty that we don't have that
this year. In fact, maybe the best team's Buffalo. We
don't know and are they a Super Bowl team? So
eight teams left, I'm gonna tell you how many teams
(28:38):
I think are capable of winning the Super Bowl. That's
a lot of wins from today. So we'll start with
the Rams. Number one scoring offense, number one total offense
in the NFL, and they are healthy. Okay, they're healthy,
and that offense is lethal. Matt Stafford's always been good
(29:00):
in the playoffs six and two with the Rams one
oh seven passer rating. I don't love their special teams.
But one of the teams that matched up very well
against them, Philadelphia with AJ Brown a problem for their corners.
They're out by the way, Carolina match up well with
them twice. Two big boundary of receivers. The Rams are
(29:22):
a Super Bowl bubble team. The second one I would
put in New England folks. They've won fourteen in the
last fifteen games, top five coach. They also lead the
NFL in yards per play, including the playoffs. That is
that's what the wise guys like. And I said this yesterday.
Here's where they remind me of the old Patriots. A mature, tall,
(29:45):
accurate quarterback, a defense, tough guy at coach, Josh McDaniel, coordinator,
Robert Kraft, owner and those Patriot teams didn't have any
major holes. They weren't the best at a a lot
of things other than quarterback, but they didn't have a
lot of holes. I don't know what the hole on
the Patriots is. I do think they have to continue
(30:08):
to modify the old line, but they don't have a
lot of holes. They may not be great at anything.
Are they terrible at anything? I have New England capable
of getting in winning a Super Bowl. The third team
I think can get in as the Seahawks.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
Again.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
They won eleven of twelve, only lost two points in
a turnover play game against the Rams, number four scoring offense.
You can't run the football on them, so they force
you to throw. Well, that can be problematic if you're
playing in Seattle and it's raining in January sideways. I
(30:43):
think their coach is the defensive version of Sean McVay.
They can score early, they can score late. Sometimes they're
a little dependent on JS senate wide receiver. Okay, but
again I don't know where their hole is. Well, Darnold
throws picked, so does brock perty.
Speaker 3 (30:59):
And Matt Stafford votes, so did Peyton Manning.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
I think the Seahawks are an obvious choice capable of
getting to and winning the Super Bowl. And my fourth
and final team maybe.
Speaker 3 (31:12):
Is the Buffalo Bills.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Best second half team in the league. Josh Allen has
twice as many wins eight as the remaining AFC quarterbacks
combine four. Their offensive personnel is very good, Deon Dawkins,
James Cook, excellent tight ends, Kincaid Dawson, Knox. Offensive line
is good. Defense worries me a little, but I think
(31:37):
they can go and win the Super Bowl. I've changed
my mind on this impressive win of Jacksonville. How about
the Chicago Bears. I can't put them in worst scoring defense,
worst total defense of the remaining playoff teams. They just
give up to many big plays Niners. Now that Kittle's out,
(31:57):
Bosa Warner out, I can't put the Niners in second
word scoring defense. Saula's doing it with smoking mirrors.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
Now my Denver Broncos, I can't held the twenty points
or few or three straight games.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
I think they're the best.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Team potentially because they get a play at home, so
I think they're I keep your eye on Denver against Buffalo,
but they've played a very easy schedule. The Jacksonville loss
was kind of a whoe moment and they are struggling offensively.
People got a lot of film now in bow Knicks
and the Houston Texans. I have changed my mind. Oh
(32:37):
win six divisional round all time. Jmax said it earlier
this week. Something's not quite right with CJ. Stroud missing
one of their best receivers. They are this is a
knock twenty fourth yards per play. I honestly, if Woody
Marks is out, I don't feel like they're viable. They're
thirtieth in the red zone. That was my knock on
(32:57):
them Monday night. They settled for field goals, not touchdowns.
Rams Seahawks, Bills, Patriots in by the way, its feet.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
Not even yards Denver.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
I mean the coaching in San Francisco, the pass rush
in Denver, the defense in Houston, and the explosive late
game heroics of Caleb Williams. We're not saying they can't
win another game, but I think only four of eight
can get.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
To and win the Super Bowl.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
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 1 (33:38):
With that, Albert Breer is now joining US Live. You're
a reporter, not that you care any of those rankly,
any of those you would strongly disagree with.
Speaker 4 (33:50):
I mean, Houston's defense is starting to feel to me
like twenty fifteen Broncos, twenty thirteen Seahawks in two Buccaneers,
I just two thousand Ravens.
Speaker 5 (34:05):
Like just watching them close on the ball, that.
Speaker 4 (34:08):
Was the big thing, because I think we all know,
like how they can cover on the backhand with the
corners they have, how they can get after the passer
with Anderson and Hunter, and then the depth that they
have on the defensive line. You know, one thing that
really stuck out to me, Colin was watching when Aaron
Rodgers checked the ball down and threw it over the
middle on Monday Night. Yeah, and how it seemed like
(34:28):
there were three hats on the ball like instantly on
every single play.
Speaker 5 (34:33):
And it's just I.
Speaker 4 (34:37):
Saw what they did to the Bills and Josh Allen
earlier in the year, and the I mean like it
is just I mean, it legitimately looks like there are
thirteen guys out there.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
You know.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
I said that when you see a great defense, it
is as if they're playing with another man, either in
the pass rush or in the linebacking court, Houston feels
like they got an extra guy out there.
Speaker 4 (34:58):
Right, So, like my question is, and here's what's so
interesting about Houston to me? Right, So you got SKJ
Stroud and I think we've seen it at times this year.
It just hasn't been consistent, right, like what he was
as a rookie. So you saw it against San Francisco
for example. I think he threw for three hundred and
fifty yards against them. That's a good team. Like, I
know they've had their injuries, but that's obviously a.
Speaker 5 (35:17):
Really good team.
Speaker 4 (35:19):
I just like, to me, it's like, what do their
first year guys do, so especially if Nico Collins is
out this week?
Speaker 5 (35:28):
Right, Like and we'll see on the concussion protocol.
Speaker 4 (35:30):
But their rookie receiver Jayden Higgins and Jalen Noel, their
rookie running back, what he marks? Their rookie left tackle
Arianta ERSII, their rookie offensive coordinator Nick Kyley, who knows
New England inside now because he came up there.
Speaker 5 (35:43):
Like, I just.
Speaker 4 (35:46):
I look at the amount of young people and first
year people, you know, not necessarily all rookies, but these
amount of young people that are relying on on offense,
and the quarterback's part of that equation too, and can
they give them enough where that defense can can really
turn it on?
Speaker 5 (36:03):
And I think you.
Speaker 4 (36:04):
Saw flapses of it again on Monday night, like there
was the deep ball to Jalen Noel that was right
on his numbers and he dropped it, you know.
Speaker 5 (36:13):
So they are just little.
Speaker 4 (36:15):
Things that you see with them offensively where it's like God,
they're right there.
Speaker 5 (36:19):
And this team could be even better next year, you know.
And I just think the historic.
Speaker 4 (36:24):
Nature of the defense, we've seen it before, right like so,
and we've seen it in this era, like we saw
it with the twenty fifteen Broncos where they didn't have
a lot offensively. So I'm really interested to see what
happens when they come up to fox spron play on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
We know the Ravens is the best job for a
lot of reasons. Great owner, nice roster, a mix of
young experience Pro bowlers. Lamar Jackson. Okay, let's start with
a number two job. I'm going to argue that we
I think the Giants is the second best job. I
go in with left tackle, by the way, great offensive
tackle draft. My first I can go get the best tackle,
(37:01):
so I can solve That's like when Brady went to
Tampa and they got Tristan worse.
Speaker 3 (37:05):
That was their big issue. Good roster bad at right Tech.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
So the Giants can solve that right out of the shoot.
I think the Giants over the Steelers. Steelers don't have
a quarterback. Steelers spend a lot of money on defense.
They have a lot of draft things. But you'll be
very very young defensively next year. Now I know the
stability thing. We all know that goes without saying in Pittsburgh.
I think the Giants is a better job today to
me than Pittsburgh. They got Lamar in that division, Burrows
(37:32):
coming back in that division next year, they could get
an arch manning. Do you think the Giants is better
than the Steelers? Is the second best gig?
Speaker 5 (37:40):
I would agree.
Speaker 4 (37:41):
And I think what's so interesting about this year's market, Colin,
is so many of the jobs depend on your individual
evaluation of the quarterback, right, because we know how important
having the right quarterback is. So the Giants job, how
attractive it is, is largely dependent on what you think
of Jackson Dart. Same thing with cam Ward and Tennessee's
same thing with Michael Pennix in Atlanta. I mean, he
(38:01):
can you just say the same thing about Vegas, like
what do you think of Fernando Mendoza and Dante more Right?
Speaker 5 (38:06):
So, I think the.
Speaker 4 (38:07):
Attractiveness of this job it's kind of a moving target
with some of these teams based on your own evaluation
of the quarterback position. That said, they have a lot
of other things with the Giants, like you said, franchise
left tackle and Andrew Thomas franchise receiver in maliite neighbors
on the defensive front, I mean, my goodness, Brian Burns,
Abdulla Carter, Dexter Lawrence, you have a chance to be
(38:30):
dominant up front right out of the shoot as a
first year head coach. They've invested in their secondary, bringing
in Paulson Adebo and Javon Holland last offseason.
Speaker 5 (38:38):
So they have pieces and.
Speaker 4 (38:41):
This is why, like the last couple of years, I
felt like they were the team right on the edge.
Speaker 5 (38:44):
So I think I would agree with you.
Speaker 4 (38:46):
I think a lot of it depends on what your
evaluation of Dart is.
Speaker 5 (38:50):
It's just as to just how attractive the job is.
But if you love.
Speaker 4 (38:54):
Dart, I think it's got everything that you'd want, stable ownership,
all of that. The Steelers, I mean, I I would
just say this with the Steelers, I think it's an
attractive job because it's the Steelers. It's a flagship franchise,
patient ownership. They're going to give you time to bill.
But man, you got a lot of work to do
on that roster. They got eight guys and they're starting
(39:16):
twenty two right.
Speaker 5 (39:17):
Now that are thirty year older. Wow. So what do
you do with TJ. Watt?
Speaker 4 (39:21):
What do you do with Cam Hayward? Does he retire?
What do you do with Jalen Ramsey, Aaron Rodgers? Does
he enter out? You don't have a lot of guys
in that roster where you look and say, yeah, that
guy's going to be here three years from now. Got
a couple offensive linemen, maybe a defensive lineman or two,
and that's it. And so you've got, I think, what
looks like a relatively lengthy rebuild there.
Speaker 5 (39:42):
That isn't the case with the Giants.
Speaker 1 (39:44):
For the record, the job openings are fascinating. There are
nine openings.
Speaker 3 (39:53):
Guys.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
Put the graphic up. I said, I think there's better
candidates than we think. I think Tomlin's going to do
a reset. I think he's going to take a year
off to TV. He's not a TV guys like Rabel.
He could do TV, he's not a TV guy. I
think hard Boss Tofanski, Tomlin, McCarthy, those are very good options.
I think Sola, Flores and Dabol deserve a second chance.
(40:15):
If I had to, I'd hire all of them. I
think Menzer, Kubiak and Halflee are certainly worthy of an opportunity.
I think Kingsbury is an OC. I don't think he
likes conflict. That's why he's bailing on DC. He felt
bullied by Adam Peters I was told. I also think
Mike McDaniel's brilliant. I think he's a vice president, not
a president. I'd hired him in one second to be
(40:36):
my coordinator. Anything there when you look at this tiering,
Am I missing something?
Speaker 3 (40:43):
Is half Lee considering?
Speaker 4 (40:45):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (40:46):
I mean you tell me what you make of that?
Speaker 4 (40:48):
Okay, So like the first thing I would say is like,
I'm looking at your second chance guys. I think Robert
Sala has a chance because of his ability to put
together a staff. His ties are all to the Shanahan tree.
Could he bring Mike McDaniel, who he's very close to
Tennessee with him, Or could he bring Mike Lafleur for
the opportunity to call plays if Sean mcday would let
him leave the call plays, could he bring him to
(41:08):
Tennessee with him? And you know, Robert is not only
going to have that guy, he's also going to know
who the next guy is, so he can go to
an owner and say, look, this is our Mike mc daniels,
our coordinator this year, next year, and if he leaves,
I got this other guy coming with me from San
Francisco who I think is going to be the next coordinator. Right,
So I think Robert gives you the chance to do that.
(41:29):
His ability to build a staff is really, really solid.
I look at the first time guys, and I think
what's fascinating about this year is that the best ones
are on defense.
Speaker 1 (41:39):
Right.
Speaker 4 (41:39):
Jesse Mintro got requested by every single team with an
opening save for Pittsburgh. We'll see if that one comes.
Jeff Haffley has been a head coach before, has done
a fantastic job at green Bay, really good reaching people,
Anthony Campinelli and Jacksonville. I think things are going to
pick up on him a little bit. Matt Burke in Houston.
We see what he's been able to build there.
Speaker 5 (42:00):
Yio. Everro, you've got all these young guys.
Speaker 4 (42:02):
There's almost like this backlog of young defensive coaches because
everybody's been mining the offensive pipeline for so long. So
I think there are a lot of good young defensive
coaches there. And then on the offensive side, if you're
dead set on getting one, it's just me you're gonna
be rolling the dice a little right Like. So, Clint Kubiak,
I think is a really good young coach. Is he ready?
Speaker 5 (42:21):
We'll see.
Speaker 4 (42:22):
He comes off a lot like his dad, right, which
is a good thing, but you have to be comfortable
with like kind of that level, quiet, calm personality.
Speaker 5 (42:30):
Davis Webb's another one.
Speaker 4 (42:31):
Davis Webb's fantastic and is going to be a head coach,
playing quarterback in the league.
Speaker 5 (42:36):
He's thirty years old. Is he ready?
Speaker 4 (42:38):
So on the offensive side, I think you'd be looking
at guys that are just dice rolls, you know, Whereas
on the defensive side of the ball, I think you
got more guys who are ready.
Speaker 1 (42:46):
Aaron Rodgers I thought, I said, I thought he should
retire or go to the Vikings. I think he made
the most of it. I nominate him for Comeback Player
of the Year. I think the Steelers offense. I mean,
like I said this earlier, Mike Tomlin doesn't have a
coaching tree. It's a cactus like the oc sins Arians
just they don't they don't, they don't do anything.
Speaker 5 (43:04):
So I never heard of that one before.
Speaker 3 (43:06):
I cat this, so I think coaching cactus.
Speaker 1 (43:09):
So he basically Aaron did the best of what you
can do with a kind of a tone deaf offensive.
I mean, like last seven years the Steelers have been
bottom ten in offensive spending. It's a tough lift, and
I think Aaron did a great job. I think Aaron
steps away and does traveling. I think he would listen
(43:30):
and go to Minnesota for a Viking. I think he
would listen. But my guess is like he doesn't want
to bounce around. What do you think his future is?
Speaker 4 (43:41):
I know the people who are there with him in
Pittsburgh think that this is going to be it for him.
And like so I know, like people that were operating
under the impression that he was going to retire after
this year, doesn't mean and I'm not saying he's told
anybody that, but like they were under the impression that
this was going to be it for him, regardless of
whether Mike Tomlin comes back or not. I also think,
(44:04):
like just what I know about Aaron, I do think
that this year gave him some closure, you know, because
I think what he was looking for in New York
at the end, he wanted to fall in love with
football again, right, and really, like so much about him
had become about everything off the field, right, and all
the stuff that he does with the hyahuasca and everything else.
(44:26):
And I think by the end of New York he
was kind of like, I want to just be a
football player again, and because of the circumstances in that organization,
he wasn't really allowed to do that. And going to
Pittsburgh gave him that. And I think he truly did
love being there this year. He loved playing for Tomlin,
and I think he fell in love with playing football again.
So the question becomes, and I think most people who
(44:48):
know him would say, well, that gave him closure. Does
it make him want to play again? Like, I can't
answer that, but I think he's probably done. But if
the perfect situation came along. If Kevin O'Connell picks up
phone and says, look like, you know, we talked about
this last year. Would you want to come and do
it now? Maybe he would jump into something like that,
but I get the feeling that this is it for him.
Speaker 3 (45:11):
Okay, I gotta address Buffalo.
Speaker 1 (45:13):
And this happens all the time where I see something
and I can't unsee it. And Buffalo going to Jacksonville,
a red hot Jaguars team with a sharp offensive coach,
and really I felt like most of that game it
was Buffalo's game, and I was like, wow, I think
they're going to go to Denver and win. And I
did not feel that. I I and sometimes you know this,
(45:36):
this this league will give you these moments and you're like,
oh wow, Like when I'm watching Caleb Williams against the
Niners late in the year, and I mean, just it's volleyball.
It's just one great play, one fact and against SLA
and I'm like, man, Caleb is he's graduated to a
different class, whatever the class is. And then he does
it again against the Packers.
Speaker 3 (45:55):
And half league. I mean, I don't know it from here?
What what what do you make about with Buffalo.
Speaker 4 (46:04):
I I think I'm gonna steal Kirby Smart's line.
Speaker 5 (46:08):
I think Buffalo is hard to kill.
Speaker 4 (46:10):
Like, I think that's what they've become now, and like
I and I think you can see it.
Speaker 5 (46:15):
Like that was a pressure pack situation.
Speaker 4 (46:19):
I mean, like, if you go to Jacksonville and lose,
and that's a really good Jacksonville team, right, a really
good Jacksonville team that kick Denver's ass, Like, I like,
if you lose that game, there are tons of big
picture questions that are on the table, right, that's fair. Yeah,
So so in that pressurized environment, look at Sean McDermott's
(46:43):
decision making, and I thought this was so interesting. And
this is the day and age when everybody's got to
go for it and I'm fourth down all the time,
and everybody's hearkee jerky and panicky. Right towards the end
of the second half, on a fourth and four, he
goes out, sends Matt Prater out there to kick a
forty five yard field goal. They get penalized, kicks it
from fifty yards anyway. End of the half. They punt
(47:04):
on a fourth and four from the Jacksonville side of
the fifty and then on the first drive of the
second half, they again were in position to go for
it on fourth and less than five and send Prayeder
out there for a forty seven yard field goal. Those
were little things Colin that told me Sean McDermott has
the utmost confidence that his team is going to pull
(47:25):
this out in the end. He didn't need this field
of need to build a big lead. He felt like
if he just played the game out, his team would
be able to get to the end of the game
and put its trump card, which is Josh Allen on
the table, right. And so this isn't the best Bills
team of the last five years, but I think it's
(47:45):
the hardest one to kill, you know. And I just
think that this is the Bills team where you look
at it and there's just a belief in what they're
doing and if we can get to the end of
the game and put the ball in the hands of
our quarterback, we are going to win the game. And
see it over the last two months of this season,
the way they fell behind against the Bucks, against the Steelers,
against the Bengals, against the Patriots and roared back in
(48:09):
the second half of all of those games, I just
it just feels like this, and maybe it sounds corny,
but it does feel like there's a little bit of
an intangible quality with this Buffalo team that didn't exist before.
Speaker 1 (48:21):
Okay, we'll do I'm gonna give you a team. Can
you just give me a name a leading candidate in
a sentence? We won't go too long. I'm gonna say Tennessee.
Speaker 3 (48:32):
What happens.
Speaker 4 (48:34):
I think if Kennavin Sefanski doesn't wind up in New York,
I could see him winding up in Tennessee.
Speaker 5 (48:39):
If it's not Kevin Stefanski, maybe Robert Sala.
Speaker 3 (48:43):
Raiders.
Speaker 4 (48:46):
So I think it's either a conventional hire like like
Jesse Minter makes sense there with the Michigan connections with
Brady and John Spytech, do they take a swing on
Davis Web Do they take a swung on somebody like that?
I don't think that that's impossible. Dolphins that Clint Kubiak,
(49:13):
Clint Kubiak, Yeah, there's some carryover system wise with Clint
and Matt Lafleur and John. Eric Sullivan came from came
from Green Bay and had been with Lefloor and is
going to be comfortable with Clint Kubiak's vision and be
able to carry out Clint Kubiak's vision. I know one
of the things they're really looking for there is a
(49:33):
collaborative environment, you know, in their new structure, and so
Clint would make some sense for them.
Speaker 6 (49:40):
One more.
Speaker 4 (49:43):
Steelers Chris Sula wo Yeah, So I'm tempted to say
Marcus Freeman.
Speaker 5 (49:52):
By the way, but.
Speaker 1 (49:54):
By his camp says he's not interested. You don't buy that.
Speaker 5 (49:57):
Yeah, I just think it's the one.
Speaker 4 (50:00):
I think it's the one of all of these like
his Like so the Giants and Titans did pursue him,
you know, and did gauge interest and talk to them
and everything else, and that was right when he agreed
to stay at Notre Dame. I do think he has
designs on coaching in the NFL. And let me ask
you this, Colin. If Marcus Freeman right now were the
(50:22):
defensive coordinator of say the Chargers, wouldn't he check every
box as far as like a Steelers head coach, like
what they generally look for.
Speaker 5 (50:31):
Absolutely, like he carries himself like a Steelers head coach.
Speaker 4 (50:36):
I think Chris Schule is the same, by the way,
But Marcus Freeman would check a lot of boxes for
the Steelers, just kind of that battleship commander that they've
always had. I think Chris Shule, if you look at
his background, right, and despite his last name, he's had
to work his way up right and check boxes along
the way. And Sean McVay, despite their relationship, really made
(50:58):
Chris earn it there. And I can remember like when
they promoted him, like that was not about like oh yeah,
like you know, he's just been here long enough, we
ought to give it to him, Like he really had
to earn that job. I heard Shula's name connected to
this deals before any of this happened, like two three
weeks ago. And if you think about like kind of
(51:18):
what they've looked for and head coaches, maybe not the
guy everybody's looking at, but somebody with a defensive background,
who's got real presence, who carries himself like a battleship commander,
who can handle the pressure of being Pittsburgh. I think
Chris Shula to me, would check a lot of those boxes.
And again, like I think this is somewhere too that
(51:39):
having that last name probably doesn't hurt, and not that
it like you think he's going to be the next
don Shula.
Speaker 5 (51:45):
But this is the guy who's dealt with.
Speaker 4 (51:47):
Expectations his entire life, you know, because of that last name.
Speaker 5 (51:50):
So I think he would be a really interesting fit
in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 6 (51:53):
Albert Breer Monday Morning quarterback. Great, see anybody?
Speaker 5 (51:57):
All right? Thanks?
Speaker 6 (51:57):
Going, Yeah, there's some interesting candidates for sure.
Speaker 9 (52:06):
Colin.
Speaker 8 (52:07):
He dropped like seven bombs there in that. I'm over here,
like what, Marcus Freeman?
Speaker 9 (52:14):
Come on?
Speaker 8 (52:15):
You think The only scary thing, and I just texted
my two Notre Dame people who are close to the program,
is that the Steelers would give Marcus Freeman a huge
runway right, who cares old roster no quarterback?
Speaker 1 (52:26):
Here meets your talent. Here's the other great thing about
Marcus Freeman. They have a first, a second, three thirds,
two fourths. Who knows college personnel. Marcus Freeman, just like Harball,
goes to the Chargers back to back drafts. He knows
he's recruited all these top guys. You get a huge
I mean, if you go pure NFL guy, you don't
(52:49):
get that. When you hire Harbaugh, you kind of get that.
You hire Marcus Freeman, I guarantee you for the next
two drafts. Marcus Freeman's gonna ace it. I know he
knows the odometer on guys, not just the Senior Bowl.
Speaker 8 (53:03):
That would be a bigger shock to me than Tom
Lennon Harball even combined.
Speaker 9 (53:07):
If Marcus Freeman left Notre Dame, would you take?
Speaker 3 (53:09):
Would you take? You tell me Notre Dame or the Steelers?
Speaker 8 (53:12):
I mean, Notre Dame is gonna be stacked next year.
Their quarterback could be a top five fIF I'm not
I would stay Notre Dame. But the Steelers they're gonna
be okay being terrible for three years because the owners.
Speaker 3 (53:22):
They're not going to be terrible.
Speaker 8 (53:23):
Colin, your roster is garbage, dude, dude, dude.
Speaker 1 (53:27):
A first, the second, three threes, two four with Marcus Freeman, all.
Speaker 3 (53:31):
You have to come.
Speaker 9 (53:32):
Who's QB one?
Speaker 3 (53:33):
That's away?
Speaker 1 (53:34):
By the way, New England three hundred million in cap space,
seven draft picks shocking.
Speaker 2 (53:40):
They had drake me.
Speaker 9 (53:41):
Come on, drake me on this one.
Speaker 1 (53:42):
You're not going to be I mean, I bet you
everything I've earned. You're not going to be terrible for
three years with Marcus Freeman. That roster is going to
turn over by the last but the last weekend of
April you're gonna have seven new guys who can play.
And then and then, by the way, now that you
don't pay the quarterback, they're gonna have the most money.
Speaker 3 (54:01):
In the league.
Speaker 1 (54:02):
They're not paying it. They're gonna happen what New England
did to their roster. Forget Drake may look at their roster.
Last year, the Patriots had the worst receiving core in
the league. Now it's like number three in big plays.
Why they had money and draft picks.
Speaker 8 (54:15):
The other thing Briers said, by the way, he said
Davis Webb as.
Speaker 9 (54:19):
A head coach, I almost fell out of my chair.
I had to look up where Davis Webb.
Speaker 8 (54:22):
He's like a passing game coordinator for the Broncos what
he was in the league like seven minutes ago.
Speaker 9 (54:28):
So Breer's on time. I love that stuff.
Speaker 8 (54:30):
I love the rumors in the scuttle, But oh juicy
in Chicago, it's third
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
noon Pacific. 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 Fox Sports Radio
or FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Here we go at Tower two on a Wednesday. Albert
Breyer in a couple of minutes, So Brooks Koepka, my
guy going back to the tour, not going to be
eligible for some of the money, but he can still
take all of it. The Masters, the US Open, in
(00:48):
the British Open. So I didn't have a problem when
he left for Live. I don't have a problem him
coming back. I like watching him play. The more he's
on my TV, the happier I am. So the way
I feel about Bryce and to Shamba and Rory Mack
Kilroy Tiger Woods in his prime, he're on my TV,
I'm happy. I don't care who you play for. I mean,
the PGA doesn't control my three favorite tournaments. My three
favorite tournaments, Masters, US Open, British Open FedEx. Cup's fine,
(01:14):
but I'm glad he's back, and I'm okay that he left.
All right, I do this, this will be I always
have about five or six teams in my Super Bowl bubble.
A lot of those teams like Kansas City or in
New England in their dynasty. We don't have that this year.
In fact, maybe the best team's Buffalo. We don't know,
and are they a super Bowl team? So eight teams left.
(01:37):
I'm gonna tell you how many teams I think are
capable of winning the Super Bowl. That's a lot of
wins from today. So we'll start with the Rams. Number
one scoring offense, number one total offense in the NFL,
and they are healthy. Okay, they're healthy, and that offense
(01:58):
is lethal. Matt Stafford's always been good in the playoffs
six and two with the Rams one oh seven passer rating.
I don't love their special teams. But one of the
teams that matched up very well against them, Philadelphia with
AJ Brown a problem for their corners. They're out by
the way, Carolina match up well with them twice. Two
(02:21):
big boundary of receivers. The Rams are a Super Bowl
Bubble team. The second one I would put in New England.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Folks.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
They've won fourteen in the last fifteen games, top five coach.
They also lead the NFL in yards per play, including
the playoffs. That's what the wise guys like. And I
said this yesterday. Here's where they remind me of the
old Patriots. A mature, tall, accurate quarterback, a defense, tough
(02:50):
guy at coach, Josh McDaniel, coordinator, Robert Kraft, owner and
those Patriot teams didn't have any major hole. They weren't
the best at a lot of things other than quarterback,
but they didn't have a lot of holes. I don't
know what the hole on the Patriots is. I do
think they have to continue to modify the old line, but.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
They don't have a lot of holes.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
They may not be great at anything, are they terrible
at anything? I have New England capable of gutting in
winning a Super Bowl. The third team I think can
get in as the Seahawks again. They won eleven of twelve,
only lost two points in a turnover play game against
the Rams, number four scoring offense. You can't run the
(03:35):
football on them, so they force you to throw. Well,
that can be problematic if you're playing in Seattle and
it's raining in January sideways. I think their coach is
the defensive version of Sean McVay. They can score early,
they can score late. Sometimes they're a little dependent on
JS Senate wide receiver. Okay, but again I don't know
(03:57):
where their hole is.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Well.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Darnold throws pick brock perty and Matt Stafford volks, so
did Peyton Manning. I think the Seahawks are an obvious
choice capable of getting to and winning the Super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
And my fourth and.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Final team maybe.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Is the Buffalo Bills.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Best second half team in the league. Josh Allen has
twice as many wins eight as the remaining AFC quarterbacks
combine four. Their offensive personnel is very good, Deon Dawkins,
James Cook, excellent tight ends, Kincaid Dawson Knox. Offensive line
is good. Defense worries me a little, but I think
(04:38):
they can go and win the Super Bowl. I've changed
my mind on this impressive win of Jacksonville. How about
the Chicago Bears. I can't put them in worst scoring defense,
worst total defense of the remaining playoff teams. They just
give up to many big plays Niners. Now that Kittle's out,
(04:59):
Bosa Warner out. I can't put the Niners in second
worst scoring defense. Saula's doing it with smoking mirrors. Okay,
Now my Denver Broncos, I can't held the twenty points
or fewer three straight games. I think they're the best
team potentially because they get a play at home, so
(05:20):
I think they're I keep your eye on Denver against Buffalo,
but they've played a very easy schedule. The Jacksonville loss
was kind of a whoe moment, and they are struggling offensively.
People got a lot of film now in bow Knicks
and the Houston Texans. I have changed my mind. Oh
in six divisional round all time. Jmax said it earlier
(05:42):
this week. Something's not quite right with CJ. Stroud missing
one of their best receivers. They are this is a
knock twenty fourth yards per play. I honestly, if Woody
Marks is out, I don't feel like they're viable. They're
thirtieth in the red zone. That was my knock on
them Monday Night. Settled for field goals, not touchdowns, rams
(06:04):
Seahawks Bills Patriots in by the ways, its feet.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Not even yards. Denver.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
I mean the coaching in San Francisco, the pass rush
in Denver, the defense in Houston, and the explosive late
game heroics of Caleb Williams. We're not saying they can't
win another game, but I think only four of eight
can get to and win the Super Bowl.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
With that.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Albert Breer is now joining US Live. You're a reporter,
not that you care any of those rankle any of
those you would strongly disagree with.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
I mean, Houston's defense is starting to feel to me
like twenty fifteen Broncos, twenty thirteen Seahawks, two thousand and
two Buccaneers, I shift, two thousand Ravens. Like just watching
them close on the ball that was the big thing,
because I think we all know, like how they can
(07:03):
cover on the backhand with the corners they have, how
they can get after the passer with Anderson and Hunter,
and then the depth that they have on the defensive line.
You know, one thing that really stuck out to me,
Colin was watching when Aaron Rodgers checked the ball down.
Speaker 5 (07:17):
And threw it over the middle on Monday night.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
Yeah, and how it seemed like there were three hats
on the ball like instantly on.
Speaker 5 (07:23):
Every single play. And it's just I.
Speaker 4 (07:30):
Saw what they did to the Bills and Josh Allen
earlier in the year, and the I mean, like it
is just I mean it legitimately looks like there are
thirteen guys out there.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
You know.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
I said that when you see a great defense, it
is as if they're playing with another man, either in
the pass rush or in the linebacking court.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Houston feels like they got an extra.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
Guy out there, right, So, like my question is, and
here's what so interesting about Houston to me? Right, So
you got kJ Stroud and I think we've seen it
at times this year. It just hasn't been consistent, right,
like what he was as a rookie. So you saw
it against San Francisco for example. I think he threw
for three hundred and fifty yards against them. That's a
good team. Like, I know they've had their injuries, but
that's obviously a really good team. I just like, to me,
(08:14):
it's like, what do their first year guys do, So,
especially if Nico Collins is out this week, right, Like
and we'll see on the concussion protocol, but their rookie
receiver Jayden Higgins and Jalen Noel, the rookie running back,
what he Marks, their rookie left tackle Arianta ERSII, their
rookie offensive coordinator Nick Kayley, who knows New England inside
(08:34):
now because he came up there.
Speaker 5 (08:36):
Like I just.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
I look at the amount of young people and first
year people, you know, not necessarily all rookies, but these
amount of young people that are relying on on offense
and the quarterback's part of that equation too, And can
they give them enough where that defense can can really
turn it on? And I think you saw flashes of
it again on Monday now, like there was the deep
(09:01):
ball to Jalen Knowle that was right on his numbers and.
Speaker 5 (09:04):
He dropped it, you know.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
So they're just little things that you see with them
offensively where it's like God, they're right there and this
team could be even better next year, you know. And
I just think the historic nature of the defense, we've
seen it before, right like so, and we've seen it
in this era like we saw it with the twenty
fifteen Broncos where they didn't have a lot offensively.
Speaker 5 (09:26):
So I'm really.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
Interested to see what happens when they come up to
fox spron play on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
We know the Ravens is the best job for a
lot of reasons, great owner, nice roster, a mix of
young experience, Pro bowlers, Lamar Jackson. Okay, let's start with
a number two job. I'm going to argue that we
I think the Giants is the second best job. I
go in with left tackle, by the way, great offensive
tackle draft my first pick. I can go get the
(09:53):
best tackle so I can solve That's like when Brady
went to Tampa and they got Tristan Wurse. That was
their big issue. Good Rows sure bad at right tech,
so the Giants can solve that right out of the shoot.
I think the Giants over the Steelers. Steelers don't have
a quarterback. Steelers spend a lot of money on defense.
They have a lot of draft things. But you'll be
very very young defensively next year. Now I know the
(10:15):
stability thing. We all know that goes without saying in Pittsburgh.
I think the Giants is a better job today to
me than Pittsburgh. They got Lamar in that division, Burrows
coming back in that division next year, they could get
an arch manning. Do you think the Giants is better
than the Steelers? Is the second best gig?
Speaker 4 (10:32):
I would agree, And I think what's so interesting about
this year's market, Colin is so many of the jobs
depend on your individual evaluation of the quarterback, right, because
we know how important having the right quarterback is. So
the Giants job, how attractive it is, is largely dependent
on what you think of Jackson Dart. Same thing with
cam Ward and Tennessee, same thing with Michael Pennix in Atlanta.
(10:54):
I mean, heck, you just hear the same thing about Vegas,
like what do you think of Fernando Mendoza and Dante
more Right, So I think the attractiveness of this job,
it's kind of a moving target with some of these
teams based on your own evaluation of the quarterback position.
That said, they have a lot of other things with
the Giants, like you said, franchise left tackle and Andrew Thomas,
franchise receiver in in maliite neighbors on the defensive front,
(11:17):
I mean, my goodness, Brian Burns, Abdulla Carter, Dexter Lawrence,
you have a chance to be dominant up front right
out of the shoot as a first year head coach.
Speaker 5 (11:25):
They've invested in their secondary, bringing in.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
Paulson Adebo and Javon Holland last offseason so they have
pieces and this is why, like the last couple of years,
I felt like they were the team right on the edge.
So I think I would agree with you. I think
a lot of it depends on what your evaluation of
Dart is.
Speaker 5 (11:43):
It's just as to just how attractive the job is.
Speaker 4 (11:46):
But if you love Dart, I think it's got everything
that you'd want, stable ownership, all of that. The Steelers,
I mean, I would just say this with the Steelers,
I think it's an attractive job because it's the Steelers.
It's a it's a it's it's it's a flagship franchise,
patient ownership. They're going to give you time to build.
But man, you got a lot of work to do
(12:06):
on that roster. They got eight guys and they're starting
twenty two right now that are thirty year older.
Speaker 5 (12:11):
Wow, So what do you do with TJ.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
Watt?
Speaker 4 (12:13):
What do you do with Cam Hayward? Does he retire?
What do you do with Jalen Ramsey, Aaron Rodgers? Does
he enter out? You don't have a lot of guys
in that roster where you look and say, yeah, that
guy's going to be here three years from now. Got
a couple offensive linemen, maybe a defensive lineman or two,
and that's it. And so you've got I think what
looks like a relatively lengthy rebuild there.
Speaker 5 (12:34):
That isn't the case with the Giants.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
For the record, the.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Job openings are fascinating. There are nine openings. Guys put
the graphic up. I said, I think there's better candidates
than we think. I think Tomlin's going to do a reset.
I think he's going to take a year off do TV.
He's not a TV guys like Rabel he could do TV,
he's not a TV guy. I think Hard Boss Tofanski, Tomlin, McCarthy,
(13:01):
those are very good options. I think Sola, Flores and
dabol deserve a second chance. If I had to, I'd
hire all of them. I think Njer Kubiak and Halflee
are certainly worthy of an opportunity. I think Kingsbury is
an OC. I don't think he likes conflict. That's why
he's bailing on DC. He felt bullied by Adam Peters
(13:21):
I was told. I also think Mike McDaniel's brilliant. I
think he's a vice president, not a president. I'd hired
him in one second to be my coordinator anything there
when you look at this teering, Am I missing something?
Is half lee considering? Yeah, I mean you tell me
what you make of that.
Speaker 5 (13:40):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (13:40):
So like the first thing I would say is like,
I'm looking at your second chance.
Speaker 5 (13:43):
Guys.
Speaker 4 (13:43):
I think Robert Sala has a chance because of his
ability to put together a staff. His ties are all
to the Shanahan tree. Could he bring Mike McDaniel, who
he's very close with, right right.
Speaker 5 (13:53):
To Tennessee with him?
Speaker 4 (13:54):
Or could he bring Mike Lafleur for the opportunity to
call plays if Sean mcday would let him leave the
call play, could he bring him to Tennessee with him?
And you know, Robert is not only going to have
that guy, He's also going to know who the next
guy is, so he can go to an owner and say, look,
this is our Mike mc daniels, our coordinator this year,
next year. And if he leaves, I got this other
(14:15):
guy coming with me from San Francisco who I think
is going to be the next coordinator.
Speaker 5 (14:19):
Right.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
So I think Robert gives you the chance to do that.
His ability to build a staff is really really solid.
Speaker 5 (14:24):
I look at the.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
First time, guys, and I think what's fascinating about this
year is that the best ones are on defense, right.
Jesse Mintro got requested by every single team with an
opening save for Pittsburgh. We'll see if that one comes.
Jeff Haffley has been a head coach before, has done
a fantastic job at green Bay, really good reaching people.
Anthony Campinelli and Jacksonville. I think things are going to
(14:46):
pick up on him a little bit. Matt Burke in Houston,
we see what he's been able to build there. Izia
ro Everro, You've got all these young guys. There's almost
like this backlog of young defensive coaches because everybody's been
mining the offensive pipeline for so long. So I think
there are a lot of good young defensive coaches there.
And then on the offensive side, if you're dead set
on getting one, it's just me you're going to be
(15:08):
rolling the dice a little right Like. So, Clint Kubiak,
I think is a really good young coach.
Speaker 5 (15:13):
Is he ready? We'll see.
Speaker 4 (15:14):
He comes off a lot like his dad, right, which
is a good thing, but you have to be comfortable
with like kind of that level, quiet, calm personality.
Speaker 5 (15:23):
Davis Webb's another one.
Speaker 4 (15:24):
Davis Webb's fantastic and is going to be a head
coach playing quarterback in the league.
Speaker 5 (15:28):
He's thirty years old. Is he ready?
Speaker 4 (15:30):
So on the offensive side, I think you'd be looking
at guys that are just dice rolls, you know, Whereas
on the defensive side of the ball, I think you
got more guys who are ready.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Aaron Rodgers I thought, I said, I thought he should
retire or go to the Vikings. I think he made
the most of it. I nominate him for Comeback Player
of the Year. I think the Steelers offense, I mean,
like I said this earlier, Mike Tomlin doesn't have a
coaching tree. It's a cactus like the oc sins Arians
just they don't they don't, they don't do anything.
Speaker 5 (15:57):
So I never heard that one before. It is I
think coaching tactic.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
So he basically Aaron did the best of what you
can do with a kind of a tone deaf offensive.
I mean, last seven years the Steelers have been bottom
ten in offensive spending. It's a tough lift, and I
think Aaron did a great job. I think Aaron steps
away and does traveling. I think he would listen and
(16:23):
go to Minnesota for a Viking. I think he would listen,
but my guess is, like he doesn't want.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
To bounce around. What do you think his future is?
Speaker 4 (16:34):
I know the people who are there with him in
Pittsburgh think that this is going to be it for him.
And like so I know, like people that were operating
under the impression that he was going to retire after
this year. Doesn't mean and I'm not saying he's told
anybody that, but like they were under the impression that
this was going to be it for him, regardless of
whether Mike Tomlin comes back or not. I also think,
(16:57):
like just what I know about Aaron, I do think
that this year gave him some closure, you know, because
I think what he was looking for in New York
at the end, he wanted to fall in love with
football again, right, and really like so much about him
had become about everything off the field, right, and all
the stuff that he does with the hyahuasca and everything else.
(17:18):
And I think by the end of New York he
was kind of like, I want to just be a
football player again, and because of the circumstances in that organization,
he wasn't really allowed to do that. And going to
Pittsburgh gave him that, and I think he truly did
love being there this year. He loved playing for Tomlin,
and I think he fell in love with playing football again.
So the question becomes, and I think most people who
(17:40):
know him would say, well, that gave him closure. Does
it make him want to play again? Like, I can't
answer that, but I think he's probably done. But if
the perfect situation came along with Kevin O'Connell picks up
the phone and says, look like, you know we talked
about this last year, would you want to come and
do it now? Maybe he would jump at something like that,
but I get the feeling that this is it for him.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
Okay, I gotta address Buffalo.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
And this happens all the time where I see something
and I can't unsee it. And Buffalo going to Jacksonville,
a red hot Jaguars team with a sharp offensive coach,
and really I felt like most of that game it
was Buffalo's game, and I was like, wow, I think
they're going to go to Denver and win. And I
did not feel that. I I and sometimes you know this,
(18:28):
this this league will give you these moments and you're like,
oh wow, Like when I'm watching Caleb Williams against the
Niners late in the year, and I mean, just it's volleyball.
It's just one great play, one fact and against SLA
and I'm like, man, Caleb is he's graduated to a
different class, whatever the class is, and then he does
it again against the Packers and half league. I mean,
(18:50):
I don't know what take it from here?
Speaker 3 (18:53):
What? What what do you make about with Buffalo?
Speaker 4 (18:57):
I think I'm gonna steal Kirby's Smart's line. I think
Buffalo is hard to kill. Like, I think that's what
they've become now, and like I and I think you
can see it like that was a pressure pack situation.
I mean, like if you go to Jacksonville and lose,
and that's a really good Jacksonville team, right, a really
(19:18):
good Jacksonville team that kick Denver's ass, Like, I like,
if you lose that game, there are tons of big
picture questions that are on the table, right, that's fair.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
Yeah, So.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
In that pressurized environment, look at Sean McDermott's decision making,
and I thought this was so interesting And this is
the day and age when everybody's got to go for
it and am fourth down all the time and everybody's
hearkeee jerky and panicky. Right towards the end of the
second half, on a fourth and four, he goes out
sends Matt Prater out there to kick a forty five
yard field goal. They get penalized, kicks it from fifty
(19:54):
yards anyway.
Speaker 5 (19:55):
End of the half.
Speaker 4 (19:56):
They punt on a fourth and four from the Jacksonville
side of the fifth and then on the first drive
of the second half they again were in position to
go for it on fourth and less than five and
send Prayeder out there for a forty seven yard field goal.
Speaker 5 (20:10):
Those were little things Colin that told me Sean.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
McDermott has the utmost confidence that his team is going
to pull this out in the end. He didn't need
this field, the need to build a big lead. He
felt like if he just played the game out, his
team would be able to get to the end of
the game and put its.
Speaker 5 (20:29):
Trump card, which is Josh Allen on the table. Right.
Speaker 4 (20:32):
And so this isn't the best Bills team of the
last five years, but I think it's the hardest one
to kill, you know. And I just think that this
is the Bills team where you look at it and
there's just a belief in what they're doing and if
we can get to the end of the game and
put the ball in the hands of our quarterback.
Speaker 5 (20:49):
We are going to win the game.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
And you see it over the last two months of
the season, the way they fell behind against the Bucks,
against the Steelers, against the Bengals, against the pay and
roared back in the second half of all of those games.
I just it just feels like this, and maybe it
sounds corny, but it does feel like there's a little
bit of an intangible quality with this Buffalo team that
(21:12):
didn't exist before.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
Okay, we'll do I'm gonna give you a team.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Can you just give me a name a leading candidate
in a sentence, we won't.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Go too long. I'm gonna say Tennessee.
Speaker 6 (21:24):
What happens.
Speaker 4 (21:26):
I think if Kennavin Sefanski doesn't wind up in New York,
I to see him winding up in Tennessee.
Speaker 5 (21:31):
If it's not Kevin Stefanski, maybe Robert Sala.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
Raiders.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
So I think it's either a conventional hire like like
Jesse Minter makes sense there with the Michigan connections with
Brady and John Spytech. Do they take a swing on
Davis Web Like, do they take a swing on somebody
like that.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
I don't think that that's impossible.
Speaker 7 (21:56):
Dolphins that Clint Kubiak, Clint Kubiak, Yeah, there's some carryover
system wise with Clint and Matt Lafleur and John Eric
Sullivan came from came from Green Bay and had been with.
Speaker 5 (22:17):
Lefloor and is going to be comfortable with Clint.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
Kubiak's vision and be able to carry out Clint Kubiak's vision.
I know one of the things they're really looking for
there is a collaborative environment, you know, in their new structure,
and so Clint would make some sense for them.
Speaker 6 (22:33):
One more.
Speaker 4 (22:35):
Steelers Chris Sula. Yeah, so I'm tempted to say Marcus Freeman.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
By the way, but by his camp says he's not interested.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
You don't buy that.
Speaker 5 (22:50):
Yeah, I just think it's the one.
Speaker 4 (22:52):
I think it's the one of all these like his
Like so, the Giants and Titans did pursue him, you know,
and did.
Speaker 5 (23:00):
To gauge interest and talk to them.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
And everything else, and that was right when he agreed
to stay at Notre Dame.
Speaker 5 (23:06):
I do think he has.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
Designs on coaching in the NFL, and let me ask
you this, Colin. If Marcus Freeman right now were the
defensive coordinator of say the Chargers, wouldn't he checked every
box as far as like a Steelers head coach, like
what they generally look for. Absolutely, like he carries himself
like a Steelers head coach. I think Chris Schule is
(23:29):
the same, by the way, but Marcus Freeman would check
a lot of boxes for the Steelers, just kind of
that battleship commander that they've always had. I think Chris
Schule if you look at his background, right, and despite
his last name, he's had to work his way up
right and check boxes along the way. And Sean McVay,
despite their relationship, really made Chris earn it there. And
(23:53):
I can remember like when they promoted him, like that
was not about like oh yeah, like you know, he's
just been here long enough, we ought to give it
to him, Like he really had to earn that job.
I heard Shula's name connected to this deals before any
of this happened, like two three weeks ago. And if
you think about like kind of what they've looked for
and head coaches, maybe not the guy everybody's looking at,
(24:15):
but somebody with a defensive background, who's got real presence,
who carries himself like a battleship commander, who can handle
the pressure of being Pittsburgh.
Speaker 5 (24:23):
I think Chris Shula, to me, would check a lot
of those boxes.
Speaker 4 (24:28):
And again, like, I think this is somewhere too that
having that last name probably doesn't hurt and not that
it like you think he's going to be the next
Don Shula, But this is a guy who's dealt with
expectations his entire life, you know, because of that last name.
Speaker 5 (24:43):
So I think he would be a really interesting fit
in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 6 (24:46):
Albert Breer Monday Morning quarterback. Great, see anybody all right?
Speaker 5 (24:50):
Thanks?
Speaker 6 (24:50):
Going, Yeah, there's some interesting candidates for sure.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
Colin.
Speaker 8 (24:59):
He dropped seven bombs there in that I'm over here,
Like what Marcus Freeman?
Speaker 3 (25:06):
Come on?
Speaker 8 (25:07):
You think The only scary thing, and I just texted
my two Notre Dame people who are close to the program,
is that the Steelers would give Marcus Freeman a huge
runway right, who cares old roster?
Speaker 3 (25:18):
No quarterback here?
Speaker 4 (25:19):
Each other talent.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Here's the other great thing about Marcus Freeman. They have
a first, a second, three thirds, two fourths. Who knows
college personnel. Marcus Freeman, just like Harball goes to the
Chargers back to back drafts. He knows he's recruited all
these top guys. You get a huge I mean, if
you go pure NFL guy, you don't get that. When
(25:42):
you hire Harbaugh, you kind of get that. You hire
Marcus Freeman. I guarantee it for the next two drafts.
Marcus Freeman's gonna ace it. You know, he knows the
odometer on guys, not just the Senior Bowl.
Speaker 8 (25:55):
That would be a bigger shock to me than Tom
Lennard Harball even combined.
Speaker 9 (25:59):
If Mark a streaming left.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Notre Dame, would you take?
Speaker 3 (26:01):
Would you take? You tell me Notre Dame are the Steelers?
Speaker 5 (26:05):
I mean Notre Dame is.
Speaker 8 (26:05):
Gonna be stacked next year. Their quarterback could be a
top five thick. I'm not going I would stay Notre Dame.
But the Steelers they're gonna be okay being terrible for
three years because the.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
Owners, They're not going to be terrible.
Speaker 9 (26:16):
Colin their roster is garbage.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
Dude, dude, dude.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
A first, a second, three threes, two four. With Marcus Freeman, all.
Speaker 9 (26:24):
You have too QB one that's.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
Away by the way, New England three hundred million in
cap space, seven draft picks, shocking, they had Drake may Well,
Drake on this one, you're not gonna be I mean,
I bet you everything I've earned. You're not gonna be
terrible for three years with Marcus Freeman. That roster is
going to turn over by the last but the last
weekend of April, you're gonna have seven new guys who
(26:47):
can play. And then and then, by the way, now
that you don't pay the quarterback, they're gonna have the
most money.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
In the league.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
They're not paying it. They're gonna happen what New England
did to their roster. Forget Drake may Look at their roster.
Last year the Patriots had the worst receiving core in
the league. Now it's like number three in big plays.
Why they had money and draft picks.
Speaker 8 (27:08):
The other thing Brier said, by the way, he said
Davis Webb as a head coach, I almost fell out
of my chair. I had to look up where Davis's web.
He's like a passing game coordinator for the Broncos. What
he was in the league.
Speaker 9 (27:19):
Like seven minutes ago. So Breer's onto. I love that stuff.
I love the rumors in the scuttle butt, Oh.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
Juicy in Chicago, It's third.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
One more heard. The Herd streams twenty four hours a day,
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Speaker 3 (28:12):
Subscribe, hit that thumbs up icon and coming away.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
All right, I do this, this will be I always
have about five or six teams in my Super Bowl bubble.
A lot of those teams like Kansas City or in
New England and their dynasty that we don't have that
this year. In fact, maybe the best team's Buffalo. We
don't know and are they a Super Bowl team? So
eight teams left, I'm gonna tell you how many teams
(28:38):
I think are capable of winning the Super Bowl. That's
a lot of wins from today. So we'll start with
the Rams. Number one scoring offense, number one total offense
in the NFL, and they are healthy. Okay, they're healthy,
and that offense is lethal. Matt Stafford's always been good
(29:00):
in the playoffs six and two with the Rams one
oh seven passer rating. I don't love their special teams.
But one of the teams that matched up very well
against them, Philadelphia with AJ Brown a problem for their corners.
They're out by the way, Carolina match up well with
them twice. Two big boundary of receivers. The Rams are
(29:22):
a Super Bowl bubble team. The second one I would
put in New England folks. They've won fourteen in the
last fifteen games, top five coach. They also lead the
NFL in yards per play, including the playoffs. That is
that's what the wise guys like. And I said this yesterday.
Here's where they remind me of the old Patriots. A mature, tall,
(29:45):
accurate quarterback, a defense, tough guy at coach, Josh McDaniel, coordinator,
Robert Kraft, owner and those Patriot teams didn't have any
major holes. They weren't the best at a a lot
of things other than quarterback, but they didn't have a
lot of holes. I don't know what the hole on
the Patriots is. I do think they have to continue
(30:08):
to modify the old line, but they don't have a
lot of holes. They may not be great at anything.
Are they terrible at anything? I have New England capable
of getting in winning a Super Bowl. The third team
I think can get in as the Seahawks.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
Again.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
They won eleven of twelve, only lost two points in
a turnover play game against the Rams, number four scoring offense.
You can't run the football on them, so they force
you to throw. Well, that can be problematic if you're
playing in Seattle and it's raining in January sideways. I
(30:43):
think their coach is the defensive version of Sean McVay.
They can score early, they can score late. Sometimes they're
a little dependent on JS senate wide receiver. Okay, but
again I don't know where their hole is. Well, Darnold
throws picked, so does brock perty.
Speaker 3 (30:59):
And Matt Stafford votes, so did Peyton Manning.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
I think the Seahawks are an obvious choice capable of
getting to and winning the Super Bowl. And my fourth
and final team maybe.
Speaker 3 (31:12):
Is the Buffalo Bills.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Best second half team in the league. Josh Allen has
twice as many wins eight as the remaining AFC quarterbacks
combine four. Their offensive personnel is very good, Deon Dawkins,
James Cook, excellent tight ends, Kincaid Dawson, Knox. Offensive line
is good. Defense worries me a little, but I think
(31:37):
they can go and win the Super Bowl. I've changed
my mind on this impressive win of Jacksonville. How about
the Chicago Bears. I can't put them in worst scoring defense,
worst total defense of the remaining playoff teams. They just
give up to many big plays Niners. Now that Kittle's out,
(31:57):
Bosa Warner out, I can't put the Niners in second
word scoring defense. Saula's doing it with smoking mirrors.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
Now my Denver Broncos, I can't held the twenty points
or few or three straight games.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
I think they're the best.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Team potentially because they get a play at home, so
I think they're I keep your eye on Denver against Buffalo,
but they've played a very easy schedule. The Jacksonville loss
was kind of a whoe moment and they are struggling offensively.
People got a lot of film now in bow Knicks
and the Houston Texans. I have changed my mind. Oh
(32:37):
win six divisional round all time. Jmax said it earlier
this week. Something's not quite right with CJ. Stroud missing
one of their best receivers. They are this is a
knock twenty fourth yards per play. I honestly, if Woody
Marks is out, I don't feel like they're viable. They're
thirtieth in the red zone. That was my knock on
(32:57):
them Monday night. They settled for field goals, not touchdowns.
Rams Seahawks, Bills, Patriots in by the way, its feet.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
Not even yards Denver.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
I mean the coaching in San Francisco, the pass rush
in Denver, the defense in Houston, and the explosive late
game heroics of Caleb Williams. We're not saying they can't
win another game, but I think only four of eight
can get.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
To and win the Super Bowl.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
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 1 (33:38):
With that, Albert Breer is now joining US Live. You're
a reporter, not that you care any of those rankly,
any of those you would strongly disagree with.
Speaker 4 (33:50):
I mean, Houston's defense is starting to feel to me
like twenty fifteen Broncos, twenty thirteen Seahawks in two Buccaneers,
I just two thousand Ravens.
Speaker 5 (34:05):
Like just watching them close on the ball, that.
Speaker 4 (34:08):
Was the big thing, because I think we all know,
like how they can cover on the backhand with the
corners they have, how they can get after the passer
with Anderson and Hunter, and then the depth that they
have on the defensive line. You know, one thing that
really stuck out to me, Colin was watching when Aaron
Rodgers checked the ball down and threw it over the
middle on Monday Night. Yeah, and how it seemed like
(34:28):
there were three hats on the ball like instantly on
every single play.
Speaker 5 (34:33):
And it's just I.
Speaker 4 (34:37):
Saw what they did to the Bills and Josh Allen
earlier in the year, and the I mean like it
is just I mean, it legitimately looks like there are
thirteen guys out there.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
You know.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
I said that when you see a great defense, it
is as if they're playing with another man, either in
the pass rush or in the linebacking court, Houston feels
like they got an extra guy out there.
Speaker 4 (34:58):
Right, So, like my question is, and here's what's so
interesting about Houston to me? Right, So you got SKJ
Stroud and I think we've seen it at times this year.
It just hasn't been consistent, right, like what he was
as a rookie. So you saw it against San Francisco
for example. I think he threw for three hundred and
fifty yards against them. That's a good team. Like, I
know they've had their injuries, but that's obviously a.
Speaker 5 (35:17):
Really good team.
Speaker 4 (35:19):
I just like, to me, it's like, what do their
first year guys do, so especially if Nico Collins is
out this week?
Speaker 5 (35:28):
Right, Like and we'll see on the concussion protocol.
Speaker 4 (35:30):
But their rookie receiver Jayden Higgins and Jalen Noel, their
rookie running back, what he marks? Their rookie left tackle
Arianta ERSII, their rookie offensive coordinator Nick Kyley, who knows
New England inside now because he came up there.
Speaker 5 (35:43):
Like, I just.
Speaker 4 (35:46):
I look at the amount of young people and first
year people, you know, not necessarily all rookies, but these
amount of young people that are relying on on offense,
and the quarterback's part of that equation too, and can
they give them enough where that defense can can really
turn it on?
Speaker 5 (36:03):
And I think you.
Speaker 4 (36:04):
Saw flapses of it again on Monday night, like there
was the deep ball to Jalen Noel that was right
on his numbers and he dropped it, you know.
Speaker 5 (36:13):
So they are just little.
Speaker 4 (36:15):
Things that you see with them offensively where it's like God,
they're right there.
Speaker 5 (36:19):
And this team could be even better next year, you know.
And I just think the historic.
Speaker 4 (36:24):
Nature of the defense, we've seen it before, right like so,
and we've seen it in this era, like we saw
it with the twenty fifteen Broncos where they didn't have
a lot offensively. So I'm really interested to see what
happens when they come up to fox spron play on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
We know the Ravens is the best job for a
lot of reasons. Great owner, nice roster, a mix of
young experience Pro bowlers. Lamar Jackson. Okay, let's start with
a number two job. I'm going to argue that we
I think the Giants is the second best job. I
go in with left tackle, by the way, great offensive
tackle draft. My first I can go get the best tackle,
(37:01):
so I can solve That's like when Brady went to
Tampa and they got Tristan worse.
Speaker 3 (37:05):
That was their big issue. Good roster bad at right Tech.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
So the Giants can solve that right out of the shoot.
I think the Giants over the Steelers. Steelers don't have
a quarterback. Steelers spend a lot of money on defense.
They have a lot of draft things. But you'll be
very very young defensively next year. Now I know the
stability thing. We all know that goes without saying in Pittsburgh.
I think the Giants is a better job today to
me than Pittsburgh. They got Lamar in that division, Burrows
(37:32):
coming back in that division next year, they could get
an arch manning. Do you think the Giants is better
than the Steelers? Is the second best gig?
Speaker 5 (37:40):
I would agree.
Speaker 4 (37:41):
And I think what's so interesting about this year's market, Colin,
is so many of the jobs depend on your individual
evaluation of the quarterback, right, because we know how important
having the right quarterback is. So the Giants job, how
attractive it is, is largely dependent on what you think
of Jackson Dart. Same thing with cam Ward and Tennessee's
same thing with Michael Pennix in Atlanta. I mean, he
(38:01):
can you just say the same thing about Vegas, like
what do you think of Fernando Mendoza and Dante more Right?
Speaker 5 (38:06):
So, I think the.
Speaker 4 (38:07):
Attractiveness of this job it's kind of a moving target
with some of these teams based on your own evaluation
of the quarterback position. That said, they have a lot
of other things with the Giants, like you said, franchise
left tackle and Andrew Thomas franchise receiver in maliite neighbors
on the defensive front, I mean, my goodness, Brian Burns,
Abdulla Carter, Dexter Lawrence, you have a chance to be
(38:30):
dominant up front right out of the shoot as a
first year head coach. They've invested in their secondary, bringing
in Paulson Adebo and Javon Holland last offseason.
Speaker 5 (38:38):
So they have pieces and.
Speaker 4 (38:41):
This is why, like the last couple of years, I
felt like they were the team right on the edge.
Speaker 5 (38:44):
So I think I would agree with you.
Speaker 4 (38:46):
I think a lot of it depends on what your
evaluation of Dart is.
Speaker 5 (38:50):
It's just as to just how attractive the job is.
But if you love.
Speaker 4 (38:54):
Dart, I think it's got everything that you'd want, stable ownership,
all of that. The Steelers, I mean, I I would
just say this with the Steelers, I think it's an
attractive job because it's the Steelers. It's a flagship franchise,
patient ownership. They're going to give you time to bill.
But man, you got a lot of work to do
on that roster. They got eight guys and they're starting
(39:16):
twenty two right.
Speaker 5 (39:17):
Now that are thirty year older. Wow. So what do
you do with TJ. Watt?
Speaker 4 (39:21):
What do you do with Cam Hayward? Does he retire?
What do you do with Jalen Ramsey, Aaron Rodgers? Does
he enter out? You don't have a lot of guys
in that roster where you look and say, yeah, that
guy's going to be here three years from now. Got
a couple offensive linemen, maybe a defensive lineman or two,
and that's it. And so you've got, I think, what
looks like a relatively lengthy rebuild there.
Speaker 5 (39:42):
That isn't the case with the Giants.
Speaker 1 (39:44):
For the record, the job openings are fascinating. There are
nine openings.
Speaker 3 (39:53):
Guys.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
Put the graphic up. I said, I think there's better
candidates than we think. I think Tomlin's going to do
a reset. I think he's going to take a year
off to TV. He's not a TV guys like Rabel.
He could do TV, he's not a TV guy. I
think hard Boss Tofanski, Tomlin, McCarthy, those are very good options.
I think Sola, Flores and Dabol deserve a second chance.
(40:15):
If I had to, I'd hire all of them. I
think Menzer, Kubiak and Halflee are certainly worthy of an opportunity.
I think Kingsbury is an OC. I don't think he
likes conflict. That's why he's bailing on DC. He felt
bullied by Adam Peters I was told. I also think
Mike McDaniel's brilliant. I think he's a vice president, not
a president. I'd hired him in one second to be
(40:36):
my coordinator. Anything there when you look at this tiering,
Am I missing something?
Speaker 3 (40:43):
Is half Lee considering?
Speaker 4 (40:45):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (40:46):
I mean you tell me what you make of that?
Speaker 4 (40:48):
Okay, So like the first thing I would say is like,
I'm looking at your second chance guys. I think Robert
Sala has a chance because of his ability to put
together a staff. His ties are all to the Shanahan tree.
Could he bring Mike McDaniel, who he's very close to
Tennessee with him, Or could he bring Mike Lafleur for
the opportunity to call plays if Sean mcday would let
him leave the call plays, could he bring him to
(41:08):
Tennessee with him? And you know, Robert is not only
going to have that guy, he's also going to know
who the next guy is, so he can go to
an owner and say, look, this is our Mike mc daniels,
our coordinator this year, next year, and if he leaves,
I got this other guy coming with me from San
Francisco who I think is going to be the next coordinator. Right,
So I think Robert gives you the chance to do that.
(41:29):
His ability to build a staff is really, really solid.
I look at the first time guys, and I think
what's fascinating about this year is that the best ones
are on defense.
Speaker 1 (41:39):
Right.
Speaker 4 (41:39):
Jesse Mintro got requested by every single team with an
opening save for Pittsburgh. We'll see if that one comes.
Jeff Haffley has been a head coach before, has done
a fantastic job at green Bay, really good reaching people,
Anthony Campinelli and Jacksonville. I think things are going to
pick up on him a little bit. Matt Burke in Houston.
We see what he's been able to build there.
Speaker 5 (42:00):
Yio. Everro, you've got all these young guys.
Speaker 4 (42:02):
There's almost like this backlog of young defensive coaches because
everybody's been mining the offensive pipeline for so long. So
I think there are a lot of good young defensive
coaches there. And then on the offensive side, if you're
dead set on getting one, it's just me you're gonna
be rolling the dice a little right Like. So, Clint Kubiak,
I think is a really good young coach. Is he ready?
Speaker 5 (42:21):
We'll see.
Speaker 4 (42:22):
He comes off a lot like his dad, right, which
is a good thing, but you have to be comfortable
with like kind of that level, quiet, calm personality.
Speaker 5 (42:30):
Davis Webb's another one.
Speaker 4 (42:31):
Davis Webb's fantastic and is going to be a head coach,
playing quarterback in the league.
Speaker 5 (42:36):
He's thirty years old. Is he ready?
Speaker 4 (42:38):
So on the offensive side, I think you'd be looking
at guys that are just dice rolls, you know, Whereas
on the defensive side of the ball, I think you
got more guys who are ready.
Speaker 1 (42:46):
Aaron Rodgers I thought, I said, I thought he should
retire or go to the Vikings. I think he made
the most of it. I nominate him for Comeback Player
of the Year. I think the Steelers offense. I mean,
like I said this earlier, Mike Tomlin doesn't have a
coaching tree. It's a cactus like the oc sins Arians
just they don't they don't, they don't do anything.
Speaker 5 (43:04):
So I never heard of that one before.
Speaker 3 (43:06):
I cat this, so I think coaching cactus.
Speaker 1 (43:09):
So he basically Aaron did the best of what you
can do with a kind of a tone deaf offensive.
I mean, like last seven years the Steelers have been
bottom ten in offensive spending. It's a tough lift, and
I think Aaron did a great job. I think Aaron
steps away and does traveling. I think he would listen
(43:30):
and go to Minnesota for a Viking. I think he
would listen. But my guess is like he doesn't want
to bounce around. What do you think his future is?
Speaker 4 (43:41):
I know the people who are there with him in
Pittsburgh think that this is going to be it for him.
And like so I know, like people that were operating
under the impression that he was going to retire after
this year, doesn't mean and I'm not saying he's told
anybody that, but like they were under the impression that
this was going to be it for him, regardless of
whether Mike Tomlin comes back or not. I also think,
(44:04):
like just what I know about Aaron, I do think
that this year gave him some closure, you know, because
I think what he was looking for in New York
at the end, he wanted to fall in love with
football again, right, and really, like so much about him
had become about everything off the field, right, and all
the stuff that he does with the hyahuasca and everything else.
(44:26):
And I think by the end of New York he
was kind of like, I want to just be a
football player again, and because of the circumstances in that organization,
he wasn't really allowed to do that. And going to
Pittsburgh gave him that. And I think he truly did
love being there this year. He loved playing for Tomlin,
and I think he fell in love with playing football again.
So the question becomes, and I think most people who
(44:48):
know him would say, well, that gave him closure. Does
it make him want to play again? Like, I can't
answer that, but I think he's probably done. But if
the perfect situation came along. If Kevin O'Connell picks up
phone and says, look like, you know, we talked about
this last year. Would you want to come and do
it now? Maybe he would jump into something like that,
but I get the feeling that this is it for him.
Speaker 3 (45:11):
Okay, I gotta address Buffalo.
Speaker 1 (45:13):
And this happens all the time where I see something
and I can't unsee it. And Buffalo going to Jacksonville,
a red hot Jaguars team with a sharp offensive coach,
and really I felt like most of that game it
was Buffalo's game, and I was like, wow, I think
they're going to go to Denver and win. And I
did not feel that. I I and sometimes you know this,
(45:36):
this this league will give you these moments and you're like,
oh wow, Like when I'm watching Caleb Williams against the
Niners late in the year, and I mean, just it's volleyball.
It's just one great play, one fact and against SLA
and I'm like, man, Caleb is he's graduated to a
different class, whatever the class is. And then he does
it again against the Packers.
Speaker 3 (45:55):
And half league. I mean, I don't know it from here?
What what what do you make about with Buffalo.
Speaker 4 (46:04):
I I think I'm gonna steal Kirby Smart's line.
Speaker 5 (46:08):
I think Buffalo is hard to kill.
Speaker 4 (46:10):
Like, I think that's what they've become now, and like
I and I think you can see it.
Speaker 5 (46:15):
Like that was a pressure pack situation.
Speaker 4 (46:19):
I mean, like, if you go to Jacksonville and lose,
and that's a really good Jacksonville team, right, a really
good Jacksonville team that kick Denver's ass, Like, I like,
if you lose that game, there are tons of big
picture questions that are on the table, right, that's fair. Yeah,
So so in that pressurized environment, look at Sean McDermott's
(46:43):
decision making, and I thought this was so interesting. And
this is the day and age when everybody's got to
go for it and I'm fourth down all the time,
and everybody's hearkee jerky and panicky. Right towards the end
of the second half, on a fourth and four, he
goes out, sends Matt Prater out there to kick a
forty five yard field goal. They get penalized, kicks it
from fifty yards anyway. End of the half. They punt
(47:04):
on a fourth and four from the Jacksonville side of
the fifty and then on the first drive of the
second half, they again were in position to go for
it on fourth and less than five and send Prayeder
out there for a forty seven yard field goal. Those
were little things Colin that told me Sean McDermott has
the utmost confidence that his team is going to pull
(47:25):
this out in the end. He didn't need this field
of need to build a big lead. He felt like
if he just played the game out, his team would
be able to get to the end of the game
and put its trump card, which is Josh Allen on
the table, right. And so this isn't the best Bills
team of the last five years, but I think it's
(47:45):
the hardest one to kill, you know. And I just
think that this is the Bills team where you look
at it and there's just a belief in what they're
doing and if we can get to the end of
the game and put the ball in the hands of
our quarterback, we are going to win the game. And
see it over the last two months of this season,
the way they fell behind against the Bucks, against the Steelers,
against the Bengals, against the Patriots and roared back in
(48:09):
the second half of all of those games, I just
it just feels like this, and maybe it sounds corny,
but it does feel like there's a little bit of
an intangible quality with this Buffalo team that didn't exist before.
Speaker 1 (48:21):
Okay, we'll do I'm gonna give you a team. Can
you just give me a name a leading candidate in
a sentence? We won't go too long. I'm gonna say Tennessee.
Speaker 3 (48:32):
What happens.
Speaker 4 (48:34):
I think if Kennavin Sefanski doesn't wind up in New York,
I could see him winding up in Tennessee.
Speaker 5 (48:39):
If it's not Kevin Stefanski, maybe Robert Sala.
Speaker 3 (48:43):
Raiders.
Speaker 4 (48:46):
So I think it's either a conventional hire like like
Jesse Minter makes sense there with the Michigan connections with
Brady and John Spytech, do they take a swing on
Davis Web Do they take a swung on somebody like that?
I don't think that that's impossible. Dolphins that Clint Kubiak,
(49:13):
Clint Kubiak, Yeah, there's some carryover system wise with Clint
and Matt Lafleur and John. Eric Sullivan came from came
from Green Bay and had been with Lefloor and is
going to be comfortable with Clint Kubiak's vision and be
able to carry out Clint Kubiak's vision. I know one
of the things they're really looking for there is a
(49:33):
collaborative environment, you know, in their new structure, and so
Clint would make some sense for them.
Speaker 6 (49:40):
One more.
Speaker 4 (49:43):
Steelers Chris Sula wo Yeah, So I'm tempted to say
Marcus Freeman.
Speaker 5 (49:52):
By the way, but.
Speaker 1 (49:54):
By his camp says he's not interested. You don't buy that.
Speaker 5 (49:57):
Yeah, I just think it's the one.
Speaker 4 (50:00):
I think it's the one of all of these like
his Like so the Giants and Titans did pursue him,
you know, and did gauge interest and talk to them
and everything else, and that was right when he agreed
to stay at Notre Dame. I do think he has
designs on coaching in the NFL. And let me ask
you this, Colin. If Marcus Freeman right now were the
(50:22):
defensive coordinator of say the Chargers, wouldn't he check every
box as far as like a Steelers head coach, like
what they generally look for.
Speaker 5 (50:31):
Absolutely, like he carries himself like a Steelers head coach.
Speaker 4 (50:36):
I think Chris Schule is the same, by the way,
But Marcus Freeman would check a lot of boxes for
the Steelers, just kind of that battleship commander that they've
always had. I think Chris Shule, if you look at
his background, right, and despite his last name, he's had
to work his way up right and check boxes along
the way. And Sean McVay, despite their relationship, really made
(50:58):
Chris earn it there. And I can remember like when
they promoted him, like that was not about like oh yeah,
like you know, he's just been here long enough, we
ought to give it to him, Like he really had
to earn that job. I heard Shula's name connected to
this deals before any of this happened, like two three
weeks ago. And if you think about like kind of
(51:18):
what they've looked for and head coaches, maybe not the
guy everybody's looking at, but somebody with a defensive background,
who's got real presence, who carries himself like a battleship commander,
who can handle the pressure of being Pittsburgh. I think
Chris Shula to me, would check a lot of those boxes.
And again, like I think this is somewhere too that
(51:39):
having that last name probably doesn't hurt, and not that
it like you think he's going to be the next
don Shula.
Speaker 5 (51:45):
But this is the guy who's dealt with.
Speaker 4 (51:47):
Expectations his entire life, you know, because of that last name.
Speaker 5 (51:50):
So I think he would be a really interesting fit
in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 6 (51:53):
Albert Breer Monday Morning quarterback. Great, see anybody?
Speaker 5 (51:57):
All right? Thanks?
Speaker 6 (51:57):
Going, Yeah, there's some interesting candidates for sure.
Speaker 9 (52:06):
Colin.
Speaker 8 (52:07):
He dropped like seven bombs there in that. I'm over here,
like what, Marcus Freeman?
Speaker 9 (52:14):
Come on?
Speaker 8 (52:15):
You think The only scary thing, and I just texted
my two Notre Dame people who are close to the program,
is that the Steelers would give Marcus Freeman a huge
runway right, who cares old roster no quarterback?
Speaker 1 (52:26):
Here meets your talent. Here's the other great thing about
Marcus Freeman. They have a first, a second, three thirds,
two fourths. Who knows college personnel. Marcus Freeman, just like Harball,
goes to the Chargers back to back drafts. He knows
he's recruited all these top guys. You get a huge
I mean, if you go pure NFL guy, you don't
(52:49):
get that. When you hire Harbaugh, you kind of get that.
You hire Marcus Freeman, I guarantee you for the next
two drafts. Marcus Freeman's gonna ace it. I know he
knows the odometer on guys, not just the Senior Bowl.
Speaker 8 (53:03):
That would be a bigger shock to me than Tom
Lennon Harball even combined.
Speaker 9 (53:07):
If Marcus Freeman left Notre Dame, would you take?
Speaker 3 (53:09):
Would you take? You tell me Notre Dame or the Steelers?
Speaker 8 (53:12):
I mean, Notre Dame is gonna be stacked next year.
Their quarterback could be a top five fIF I'm not
I would stay Notre Dame. But the Steelers they're gonna
be okay being terrible for three years because the owners.
Speaker 3 (53:22):
They're not going to be terrible.
Speaker 8 (53:23):
Colin, your roster is garbage, dude, dude, dude.
Speaker 1 (53:27):
A first, the second, three threes, two four with Marcus Freeman, all.
Speaker 3 (53:31):
You have to come.
Speaker 9 (53:32):
Who's QB one?
Speaker 3 (53:33):
That's away?
Speaker 1 (53:34):
By the way, New England three hundred million in cap space,
seven draft picks shocking.
Speaker 2 (53:40):
They had drake me.
Speaker 9 (53:41):
Come on, drake me on this one.
Speaker 1 (53:42):
You're not going to be I mean, I bet you
everything I've earned. You're not going to be terrible for
three years with Marcus Freeman. That roster is going to
turn over by the last but the last weekend of
April you're gonna have seven new guys who can play.
And then and then, by the way, now that you
don't pay the quarterback, they're gonna have the most money.
Speaker 3 (54:01):
In the league.
Speaker 1 (54:02):
They're not paying it. They're gonna happen what New England
did to their roster. Forget Drake may look at their roster.
Last year, the Patriots had the worst receiving core in
the league. Now it's like number three in big plays.
Why they had money and draft picks.
Speaker 8 (54:15):
The other thing Briers said, by the way, he said
Davis Webb as.
Speaker 9 (54:19):
A head coach, I almost fell out of my chair.
I had to look up where Davis Webb.
Speaker 8 (54:22):
He's like a passing game coordinator for the Broncos what
he was in the league like seven minutes ago.
Speaker 9 (54:28):
So Breer's on time. I love that stuff.
Speaker 8 (54:30):
I love the rumors in the scuttle, But oh juicy
in Chicago, it's third
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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