Richard Sherman reacts to a chaotic NFL Black Monday as teams across the league make significant coaching changes, including the Las Vegas Raiders firing Pete Carroll after just one season and the Cleveland Browns parting ways with Kevin Stefanski, a two-time NFL Coach of the Year. Sherm analyzes the Raiders’ ongoing dysfunction and the Browns' reset once again and explains why the Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants, and Tennessee Titans face very different levels of opportunity for new head coaches. He also examines the Arizona Cardinals moving on from Jonathan Gannon, the Falcons firing Raheem Morris and GM Terry Fontenot, and perplexing roster decisions by front offices — from Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr. in Atlanta to Kyler Murray’s uncertain future in Arizona. Sherman and Mitch discuss Max Crosby’s frustration in Las Vegas, the Browns’ quarterback situation with Shedeur Sanders, and which top coordinators (Brian Flores, Jeff Hafley, Mike LaFleur, Clint Kubiak, and others) are ready for interviews. A comprehensive breakdown of every firing, every opening, and the real story behind the NFL’s Black Monday coaching chaos.
All lines provided by Hard Rock Bet.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to the Richard Sherman Podcast, and I just
want to say this, in twenty twenty six, my new
Year's resolution is to give you outstanding content. But I
want you to be able to see it. So please
hit that up button. Do me a favor. I want
your comments, I want your concerns. I want to hear
from you because I want to be the best in
(00:21):
this field and give you what you're looking for every
single time. So please join your boy week in and
week out, because I'm bringing it as best as I can.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
All love.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Welcome back to the Richard Sherman Podcast, Mitchell, and today
Black Monday, we gotta talk about these firings and potential hirings. Ah,
these raiders, these raiders, Mentchell, Look, they can't get enough
of a bad thing. They love paying people that don't
play for them, don't coach for him.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
And I know Mark, and I.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Can't wait to talk to him about this because I
don't know many people that pay as much as he
does for people not working for him anymore. But you know,
those are the kind of relationships he has and I
don't know if I want to be a part of that.
But some of these are really good jobs. I think
the Atlanta Falcons is a good job. I think there
can be an argument for the Arizona Cardinals job for somebody,
(01:22):
not me, not me per se, but the Tennessee Titans, Richard.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
I'll say this, Pete Carroll talk about a heck of
a retirement plan for him. Man goes over coaches one
year with the Raiders, makes his earnings that year, and
gets a cool sixteen million.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
Dollars to set out in the retirement. Man.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Let's get into some of these your guy, Pete Carroll
fired after one year by the Raiders, Kevin Stefanski gets
kicked to the curve, Jonathan Gannon fired by the Cardinals,
Rahie Morris by the Falcons, Brian Callahan obviously in season
by the Titans, Dayball and season by the Giants, Richard,
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of each
one of these openings, what is your favorite opening? If
(02:02):
you were a head coach, who would you Which team
would you most want to land at.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
If I was a coach, I'd probably want to land
either with the Falcons or the Giants. I just feel
like the Falcons have a lot of weapons offensively. We
could talk about Bajon Robinson. We could talk about the
guys Pierce and the guys they have defensively that they
drafted this year. I think this was a fantastically underrated
draft class that they had. The quarterback situation, you're gonna
(02:27):
need to bring in a veteran is Pennick's going to
be the guy who knows. Thank goodness, you guys kept
Kirk Cousins. He played really well in some of those
games and gave him a chance to win those games
at the end. And I thought they did enough to
say Raheem Morris's job, but obviously not. And the one
thing I do like about this is that they didn't
just blame Raheem Morris because I don't think it was
(02:47):
on him. I think he deserves another, deserved another year.
I thought his team was fighting for him. They hadn't
given up on him. They were ready to going in
next season with a momentum winning that last game of
the season.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
And you fired a coach.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
I thought, I don't think that's the right decision, but
you fired Terry Fonto, and I think the reason you
fired Terry fin No is what we talked about. One
of the most head scratching moves in the NFL in
a number of years, was you pay Kirk Cousins fifty
million coming off from achilles injury, and then you draft
a quarterback in the top ten, A move that doesn't
make sense in terms of roster building. Now, there were
(03:22):
some other moves that he made that made a lot
of sense. That this draft class I thought would have
been enough to save his job, but that the quarterback
is such an important position, and he tied up so
much money in Kirk Cousins and so much draft capital
at the same position that if it doesn't work out,
it's going to cost you your job. And I'd said
that when when when it first initially happened, and look,
(03:43):
look what happened. It didn't work out. He got fired,
and you get your head coach fired. And I think
that's the most frustrating part for me, is you get
Raheem Morris fired. And it's not necessarily his decision, but
I have to live with the decisions a GM makes.
That's why I don't think a lot of the coaches
are gonna be excited about this Giant's job because I mean,
(04:06):
Joe Shane, You're not gonna go into that job trusting
that he's gonna make the right decisions. He has, He's
made some good decisions, He's made some obvious decisions, and guys,
you got a draft, but letting sakuon Barkley walk and
just all the footage of surrounding it, it's gonna be
a bad look for years to come and any coach
coming in. There aren't many established coaches that are gonna
(04:28):
come in and be like, so, he's he's making all
the decisions, he's making.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
All the calls.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
I don't have any say so, no, I'm not taking
this job. And so it's gonna limit their field. So
I'm interested to see how that coaching search goes because
I can't see an established coach saying, hey, I'm gonna
go in here and yeah this this hierarchy works for me,
maybe a young desperate coach, but not a great one.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
What is your least favorite job opening, because obviously there's
a couple that stand out the Titans, the Browns, the Raiders.
Obviously a couple franchises that have been dealing with internal battles.
You know, you got a lot of questions in Cleveland
with who's going to be the quarterback? Is it should
or do they go a different direction? Do they keep
Dylan Gabriel and have a QB competition? The Raiders, which
are a complete mess. They're turning through coaches like it's nothing.
(05:12):
And then obviously the Titans. I mean, ever since they
fired Mike Vrabel, got rid of A. J. Brown, Derrick Henry,
the franchise has been in the dumps. But let's talk
about this Las Vegas Raiders, because I have a feeling
you're going to go that direction. Richard, your thoughts on
your boy Pete Carroll getting dumped after one season? I mean,
we knew it wasn't going to be a long term
(05:33):
higher for them with given his age, But did you
see this coming after one season?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
I didn't see it coming.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
And the reason I didn't see it coming because I
didn't think they would be that impatient, Like, sure, this
was a rough year. Obviously, Chip Kelly wasn't the guy
they thought he was he was. I didn't think he
was the guy for the job when they first hired him.
He's shown that his system doesn't necessarily work in the
National Football League. It works in college, and it works
well in college, and that should be celebrated, but not
(06:00):
working in the National Football League, So it's odd that
Pete would have hired him when he's played him, we've
played as an opponent and we've had a lot of
success against that system. So I thought they would give
him another chance another year to continue to establish the culture.
Also knowing that they're paying other coaches, your previous coaches
(06:22):
a lot of money, and now you add another coach
to that. They're paying now Antonio Pierce eight million dollars,
Josh McDaniel ten million dollars, John Gruten ten million dollars,
Pete Carroll sixteen million dollars, and Chip Kelly six Who
signs up for that, like, you don't That's why you
don't fire him. If nothing else, you don't fire him
(06:42):
because you don't want to be paying another coach to
not coach for your team. And I think that's the thing.
The issue that I have with all of this is
what are you guys doing? How do you think anybody's
ever going to have success with this if you don't
give him more than a year. And it just looks
like malpractice in terms of running an organization in every way,
(07:05):
because sure, if you keep Pete, you're gonna have some
some rumblings and rumblings the all season about Hey, is
he the right guy? Is he gonna hire the right coordinator?
But there's so much impatience in this world. It's such
a microwave society. Hey, we don't get wins right now.
We need to change that has not worked for you.
That didn't work when you fire McDaniels, It didn't work
(07:27):
when you fired Pierce, It didn't work when you fired
Pete Carroll. It's not going to work. Stick with somebody right,
wrong or indifferent. Give them a few years to figure
it out. And if you're not giving Pete Carroll like
after a while, it seems like it's you. Menchell, it
seems like it's you. When it keeps happening and you
keep firing guys, then it might be a Raiders problem
and less.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Of a coach's problem.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Like it's a reason you keep doing it, and you're
not going to have success doing that. I think that's
a lot of what's wrong in today's society that, Hey,
things don't work out immediately, players don't work out, in media,
cut him, fire him, transfer like I'm uncomfortable, Like be
comfortable and uncomfortable. There's so many things that have become
great because guys were patient and they worked on it,
(08:10):
and they gundered at it, they stayed at it. If
you gave up every time seven didn't work out immediately, Mitchell,
we wouldn't have anything in this week.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
You know what, Richard, I appreciate that rant because we're
seeing it right now this week as a transfer portal
is open in the college football world and there's four
thousand players in the transfer portal. They said that thirty
three percent of college football players are in this portal,
and from what I saw, it was like only sixty
percent or forty percent of those players will end up
playing D one football next year.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
I mean, it's absurd, Richard.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
I know this is an NFL podcast and we only
talk NFL, but you got to talk to me about
this college football transfer portal because to me, it's getting outrageous.
I saw a kid is getting paid. I believe it's
from sincey. You're getting paid to go to Texas Tech
making something like five million dollars next year. He's gonna
get paid more than a first round draft pick. Would
(09:02):
How ridiculous do you think this is or do you
like this new era of college football?
Speaker 2 (09:08):
I like that. I like them getting paid. I don't
like them chasing the money.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
I don't like people being able to transfer after one
year because you're uncomfortable because you didn't get the.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Starting job that you didn't deserve.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
I don't like kids just saying, hey, I don't want
to have to fight for anything, and if you're not
gonna just give it to me on a silver platter,
I'm walking away, Like what does that build? What does
that building these young men? And that's why I like
what Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos did because this
last draft, they said, hey, we're not drafting guys that transfer.
(09:37):
We're drafting guys that played over forty games for their
for their respective teams.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
And they stayed put and they fought through it.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Hey, they got through what they need to get through,
because in the National Football League, you're not going anywhere
for three four years.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Not good players.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
If you're a good player, great player, all pro player,
you're probably not leaving. You're not leaving for five, six,
seven years. You're gonna see a couple contracts if you're
really great. And if you're telling me every guy we draft,
nobody stayed anywhere more than two years, three years, then
how can we expect them to stay here that long?
How can we expect to be able to keep them occupied?
(10:14):
And so I think it's creating a problem in the
National Football League. But you also give credit the Denver
Broncos are drafting right, developing right, and look at him
number one seed in AFC with a very young team.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Young quarterback. Obviously, both Nicks is a different story.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
He drafted bow Knicks and he transferred and played about
twelve years in college. So clearly the draft strategy has
it is adjusted and evolved. But I think there has
to be some kind of rule. Like back in my day,
you know, feeling like a old guy in the Pac ten,
you couldn't transfer without sitting out a year, and it
(10:49):
deterred a lot of that. You could not sit if
you transferred, you're sitting out a year. And if they
put a rule like that, hey, if you transferred, you
can't transfer again for a year, I think it would
change the entire portal. If they said, hey, if you transfer,
you gotta stay for at least a year, at least
two years, I think it changes the whole game. And
(11:13):
if they they're gonna have to do something to fix it,
because this is giving guys too much of an easy
way out. And then some guys are leaving callus and
never coming back. They're never getting picked back up.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
You think the grass is greener, and then you end
up without grass.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
You're on the streets, concrete as fault under your feet,
nowhere to go. Now you're looking dumb, trying to call
back your old school. Man, I want that whole thing back,
but they don't want you field your spot, baby, Like
that's the world we live it in. Kids don't be
so quick to go nowhere because you might end up nowhere.
Speaker 4 (11:46):
Preach, Richard, preach.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
They need you on a soapbox somewhere, Richard. I'm with you, man,
I see these kids transferring it every day. You just
gotta wonder, what do they think? Grass is not always greener?
On the other side, what happened to the days of
old where you're you're staying in school three years, you know,
you're a red shirt junior and you're finally starting Like
that's when the DNA of these teams really starts to
take over. It's a shame because I think the true
(12:11):
college sports and the pride of being an alumni of
these universities getting sucked away when you're rooting for guys
that you don't even know you're and you're out. But
that's enough on that topic. Let's get back to Pete Carroll. Richard,
we talked about it last year before he got hired
on with the Raiders, when he was let go by
the Seahawks. What do you think's next for him? I
got a proposition for you, Richard. You need an in
(12:32):
week co host, and I would love nothing more than
to have Pete Carroll be your in week co host.
You guys, we love you guys, We love our listeners,
are subscribers. If we can, please get it some bandwig
and some momentum behind getting Pete on this podcast routinely, Richard,
that's me putting my.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
Voice out there for this to happen.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Hey, I would love for that to happen.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
He's a great football mind, a great football human, a
person that loves the game and has been with this
game and part of this game for a very long time.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
I would love to be a part of him, be part.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Of this show and continuing to educate the fans about
what's going on in this league. His thoughts and I'm
sure he would have something to say about how things
shook out in Seattle and with the Raiders.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
So I bring my up mom there for that before
we leave the Raiders. Richard, there's one other question. Max
Crosby was a little ticked off, to say the least,
that they did not let him play in the last game,
in fact, that he walked out of practice. Do you
think the time is up for Max Crosby in Las Vegas,
especially seeing what we're seeing with Miles Garrett in Cleveland.
(13:38):
You know, I know the guy's gonna get paid. He's
already gotten paid. I know he's gonna get paid a
lot more. But something tells me Max wants to win.
Do you think it would make sense for the Raiders
to trade Max Crosby given the state of their franchise
right now, it.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Would make a lot of sense. I don't think Max
Crosby's gonna go. He's a quintessential Raider from from the heart.
He's what they desire when about a Raider. Al Davis
would be very proud that he's a Raider, and so
I don't think he's going anywhere. He doesn't want to
go anywhere, and they don't want to trade him, So
I don't think that's much of a talking point. He's
frustrated because he's a ballplayer, a true old school guy.
(14:14):
I want to play every snap.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
I don't. I don't.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
He's not a guy who would take rest days, Mitchell.
He doesn't seem like a guy if he was in
the NBA where he's taking the vet days and he's
taking the rest days. Oh, back to back, I'm playing
every he's playing eighty two. So I think that's just
his personality. But I don't think he's going anywhere. I
think it cooler heads will prevail. He'll be a Raider Richard.
You know what, you know where he went to college?
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Where do you go, Mitchell?
Speaker 4 (14:36):
In my home state, Eastern Michigan University. Man, he was.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
He was an Eagle from Eastern Michigan University. And you
know what, he don't need so much money to the
school that they named the field after him. So that
goes to show you the type of player that he is.
He played in the MAC he rows above everything all
this adversity. Unfortunately, my Detroit Lions did not recognize the
talent in their own backyard.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
But kudos to the Raiders.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Man because he's a hell of a football player, someone
I would love to have on my team, no question
about it. Let's turn the page to the Cleveland Browns.
Kevin Stefanski, two time Coach of the Year, gets the
boot in Cleveland.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
A lot of people saw this coming.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Who do you think is happier Cleveland fans to see
him go or Kevin Stefanski do the heck out of there.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
It's probably it's probably mutual mentor this is one of
those mutual partings where I think the it had run
its course. This was not a microwave decision. They gave
him time, multiple Coaches of the Year, he did some
good things in Cleveland. I think both sides can walk
away saying, hey didn't go exactly like we planned, but
we had some good times. Remember our good times. We'll
hug and we'll walk away. Cleveland's a tough place to win.
(15:39):
You can tell by the record in the history of
the franchise. It's a tough place to win. You can
tell because people because Bill Belichick felt like it was
where he should send his players when he didn't want
him anywhere. It's a tough place to win and so
but they do have talent. They have a talented defense.
They gave everybody hell and you can see Denzel Ward
he wants Jim Schwartz to be the head coach because
(16:02):
they hed they have played great defense. I don't care.
Every offense that walked in there to Cleveland would would
tell you and give them a lot of respect. It's
a tough out.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Now.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Offensively, we'll be be nice and say they're figuring it out.
They got to figure out who the quarterback is gonna be,
what the system is gonna be, what the identity is
gonna be. But they got Judakins. I think he's a
good player. I think Fanning is a good player. I
thought Chador showed some flashes. I think they still got
(16:33):
really good offensive linemen and they can always use more.
You can never have too many good offensive linemen. But yeah,
I'm not sure I think Chador should be the starter
going into the season. But it's clear that they're gonna
change a lot of things going forward. So we'll see
if the next coach feels the same way.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
And you already you already touched on the Falcons and
you listed them was one of your favorite spots. But
at Terry Fotto and I know we talked about it briefly,
but going back to that heads scratching decision with Kirk
Cousins being signed and then ultimately drafting Michael Pennix Junior,
you know that's going to be the Achilles shield that
finally snapped with this relationship.
Speaker 4 (17:11):
Seeing what this season came down to.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
There's a lot of weapons in Atlanta, and like you said,
this team, they technically tied for first in their division, Richard,
the NFC South, one of the best divisions in football.
They tied for first, man, So you know, we got
to see what happens in Atlanta.
Speaker 4 (17:28):
I agree with you.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
I think that's the best spot for any aspiring head coach.
But what do you think about these Arizona Cardinals. You know,
that was one that I was more surprised to see.
I know Gannon didn't have the best run there, but
I mean he obviously dealing with Kyler Murray. That's not
a hand that he was necessarily happy to be dealt
and especially with that injuries there. But do you like
Arizona's chances? Do you like that position at all for
(17:51):
a head coach.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
I'm going to address that in a second, but you
all right, Mitchell.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
I'm good.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
What did I say?
Speaker 1 (17:57):
You just called one of the best visions and football,
So I just wanted to make sure what you got
in you come over there, Mitchell.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
What hey, I'm drinking some spark I'm drinking some sparkling water, Richard.
But I stand by that man. The NFC South, this
is the first team the first division have three, you know,
first place teams technically, if you think about it.
Speaker 4 (18:16):
So I'll think about some places, Mitchell.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Some places in Mitchell, first place in last place don't
look that much different. But that's the story for a
different day, in a different night, in a different fight.
But Arizona Cardinals job is not a job I wouldn't
want either. They're trying to figure out how to get
out of Kyler Murray's contract. They found a very creative
way to tell him to sit, sit down, and go home.
(18:40):
The offense runs better when you're not here. So what
do you do when a new coach comes in? Kyler
Murray is still under contract. He's gonna expect to come back.
You drafted Marvin Harrison really high, so you hold him
in high regard. But Michael Wilson is the best receiver
on that that football team, and so there's some things
(19:02):
that are issues with that team. A lot of talent.
I think there's talent on both sides of the football,
but the way things are perceived by the outside world
versus the actual on the field, who's the best player,
Like you need to draft a quarterback.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
You clearly you can't win with Kyler.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Like Kyler's had some good games, He's had some success
in the National Football League, He's either answer in Arizona.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
I don't think so, and it's for a number of reasons.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
But I also think forcing the ball to Marvin Harrison
Junior when you have better receivers on the football field
is also an issue. But you have to force it
to him because you've drafted him so high. So I
think so many things like that are gonna have to
be an issue. So you got to get a coach
with a pedigree and with his own resume to be
able to come in here and say, hey, best men
(19:48):
play and we're throwing the ball to whoever is the
most effective on this football field, and then we can play.
Maybe Marvin Harrison becomes the best receiver out there for
that team, but he's not right now. So it's not
a job I would sign up for. The NFC West
is really tough football. You got two of the best
coaches in the National Football League. There are three of
the best coaches, honestly, and Kyle Shanahan, Mike McDonald, Sean McVay,
(20:10):
you stepping in the murderers row.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
In terms of Kyler Murray, do you think he's a
guy that there would be a market for if they
open up a trade for him.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
I'm sure there would be in market for him somewhere
because he's a serviceable NFL quarterback. I think he can start,
he can win some games. He's exciting, he's dynamic with
the ball in his hands, but he's also shown a
propensity to lack the leadership that you expect at the position.
(20:40):
There's been concerns about his preparation going into games and
things like that in question marks that he'd have to
answer for another organization. But I'm sure right now if
the Jets don't get the guy they want to draft.
I mean, some of the guys they put at quarterback
this year, I don't know are starting for the JV
team out in Texas, but you know, whatever.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
And before we leave this subject, Richard who are some
of the the the guys to keep an eye on here,
the prospective offensive coordinators, defensive coordinators that were vying for
these head coaching positions.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
My guy, Jeff Hafley is gonna be a name that
gets a lot of love. Lafloor, Mike Laflour, not the
Matt Laflour that you guys all love in Green Bay.
It's gonna be Weaver out of Miami. Uh Stefans. He's
gonna get some love. He's gonna get some some conversations,
(21:38):
no question about that. Chris Shula out out in l A.
I'm missing. I'm missing. Who am I missing? I saw
Matt Naggi's getting an interview. I'm not one hundred percent
sure about that, but he's getting an interview.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Dave Bo, Brian dabol will get interviews. I'm missing some
of these offensive minds. Help me out here.
Speaker 4 (22:06):
You think Robert Salah gets another look at all?
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Richard, Oh, Salah would definitely get a look. I think
he'll he'll get a look, but he'll be very selective
with where he goes. He has his he has his
eyes on certain places, and I'm sure he could be
very selective. We'll say with Kubiak. Yep, Clint Kubiak is
getting interviews out of Seattle. So there's a number of
(22:32):
guys that that that really have a chance, and we'll see.
Everybody wants the next offensive genius. Everybody wants the next
great offensive mine, and we'll see how that works out. Oh, Flores,
Flores is getting a lot of a lot of love,
a lot of attention. We're hearing his name in a
lot of places. So we'll see maybe maybe Flores gets
(22:52):
the Raiders job and turns them into a defensive juggernaut
and has some fun.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
Well, Richard, a sad day for a lot of former
head coaches, but you know, exciting times, I guess for
all these teams looking for new head coaches. It kicks
off Black Monday, as they call it. Richard, it's been
a heck of a time talking about this with you.
I will let you sign us off, my friend.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
As always, we appreciate you guys joining us. You could
be anywhere in the world, but you hear with us,
and we surely do appreciate it. We'll see you next
time for this playoff preview. It's gonna be a lot
of fun to talk about these teams can't wait hit
that's up. But if you
Welcome back to the Richard Sherman Podcast, and I just
want to say this, in twenty twenty six, my new
Year's resolution is to give you outstanding content. But I
want you to be able to see it. So please
hit that up button. Do me a favor. I want
your comments, I want your concerns. I want to hear
from you because I want to be the best in
(00:21):
this field and give you what you're looking for every
single time. So please join your boy week in and
week out, because I'm bringing it as best as I can.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
All love.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Welcome back to the Richard Sherman Podcast, Mitchell, and today
Black Monday, we gotta talk about these firings and potential hirings. Ah,
these raiders, these raiders, Mentchell, Look, they can't get enough
of a bad thing. They love paying people that don't
play for them, don't coach for him.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
And I know Mark, and I.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Can't wait to talk to him about this because I
don't know many people that pay as much as he
does for people not working for him anymore. But you know,
those are the kind of relationships he has and I
don't know if I want to be a part of that.
But some of these are really good jobs. I think
the Atlanta Falcons is a good job. I think there
can be an argument for the Arizona Cardinals job for somebody,
(01:22):
not me, not me per se, but the Tennessee Titans, Richard.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
I'll say this, Pete Carroll talk about a heck of
a retirement plan for him. Man goes over coaches one
year with the Raiders, makes his earnings that year, and
gets a cool sixteen million.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
Dollars to set out in the retirement. Man.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Let's get into some of these your guy, Pete Carroll
fired after one year by the Raiders, Kevin Stefanski gets
kicked to the curve, Jonathan Gannon fired by the Cardinals,
Rahie Morris by the Falcons, Brian Callahan obviously in season
by the Titans, Dayball and season by the Giants, Richard,
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of each
one of these openings, what is your favorite opening? If
(02:02):
you were a head coach, who would you Which team
would you most want to land at.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
If I was a coach, I'd probably want to land
either with the Falcons or the Giants. I just feel
like the Falcons have a lot of weapons offensively. We
could talk about Bajon Robinson. We could talk about the
guys Pierce and the guys they have defensively that they
drafted this year. I think this was a fantastically underrated
draft class that they had. The quarterback situation, you're gonna
(02:27):
need to bring in a veteran is Pennick's going to
be the guy who knows. Thank goodness, you guys kept
Kirk Cousins. He played really well in some of those
games and gave him a chance to win those games
at the end. And I thought they did enough to
say Raheem Morris's job, but obviously not. And the one
thing I do like about this is that they didn't
just blame Raheem Morris because I don't think it was
(02:47):
on him. I think he deserves another, deserved another year.
I thought his team was fighting for him. They hadn't
given up on him. They were ready to going in
next season with a momentum winning that last game of
the season.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
And you fired a coach.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
I thought, I don't think that's the right decision, but
you fired Terry Fonto, and I think the reason you
fired Terry fin No is what we talked about. One
of the most head scratching moves in the NFL in
a number of years, was you pay Kirk Cousins fifty
million coming off from achilles injury, and then you draft
a quarterback in the top ten, A move that doesn't
make sense in terms of roster building. Now, there were
(03:22):
some other moves that he made that made a lot
of sense. That this draft class I thought would have
been enough to save his job, but that the quarterback
is such an important position, and he tied up so
much money in Kirk Cousins and so much draft capital
at the same position that if it doesn't work out,
it's going to cost you your job. And I'd said
that when when when it first initially happened, and look,
(03:43):
look what happened. It didn't work out. He got fired,
and you get your head coach fired. And I think
that's the most frustrating part for me, is you get
Raheem Morris fired. And it's not necessarily his decision, but
I have to live with the decisions a GM makes.
That's why I don't think a lot of the coaches
are gonna be excited about this Giant's job because I mean,
(04:06):
Joe Shane, You're not gonna go into that job trusting
that he's gonna make the right decisions. He has, He's
made some good decisions, He's made some obvious decisions, and guys,
you got a draft, but letting sakuon Barkley walk and
just all the footage of surrounding it, it's gonna be
a bad look for years to come and any coach
coming in. There aren't many established coaches that are gonna
(04:28):
come in and be like, so, he's he's making all
the decisions, he's making.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
All the calls.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
I don't have any say so, no, I'm not taking
this job. And so it's gonna limit their field. So
I'm interested to see how that coaching search goes because
I can't see an established coach saying, hey, I'm gonna
go in here and yeah this this hierarchy works for me,
maybe a young desperate coach, but not a great one.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
What is your least favorite job opening, because obviously there's
a couple that stand out the Titans, the Browns, the Raiders.
Obviously a couple franchises that have been dealing with internal battles.
You know, you got a lot of questions in Cleveland
with who's going to be the quarterback? Is it should
or do they go a different direction? Do they keep
Dylan Gabriel and have a QB competition? The Raiders, which
are a complete mess. They're turning through coaches like it's nothing.
(05:12):
And then obviously the Titans. I mean, ever since they
fired Mike Vrabel, got rid of A. J. Brown, Derrick Henry,
the franchise has been in the dumps. But let's talk
about this Las Vegas Raiders, because I have a feeling
you're going to go that direction. Richard, your thoughts on
your boy Pete Carroll getting dumped after one season? I mean,
we knew it wasn't going to be a long term
(05:33):
higher for them with given his age, But did you
see this coming after one season?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
I didn't see it coming.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
And the reason I didn't see it coming because I
didn't think they would be that impatient, Like, sure, this
was a rough year. Obviously, Chip Kelly wasn't the guy
they thought he was he was. I didn't think he
was the guy for the job when they first hired him.
He's shown that his system doesn't necessarily work in the
National Football League. It works in college, and it works
well in college, and that should be celebrated, but not
(06:00):
working in the National Football League, So it's odd that
Pete would have hired him when he's played him, we've
played as an opponent and we've had a lot of
success against that system. So I thought they would give
him another chance another year to continue to establish the culture.
Also knowing that they're paying other coaches, your previous coaches
(06:22):
a lot of money, and now you add another coach
to that. They're paying now Antonio Pierce eight million dollars,
Josh McDaniel ten million dollars, John Gruten ten million dollars,
Pete Carroll sixteen million dollars, and Chip Kelly six Who
signs up for that, like, you don't That's why you
don't fire him. If nothing else, you don't fire him
(06:42):
because you don't want to be paying another coach to
not coach for your team. And I think that's the thing.
The issue that I have with all of this is
what are you guys doing? How do you think anybody's
ever going to have success with this if you don't
give him more than a year. And it just looks
like malpractice in terms of running an organization in every way,
(07:05):
because sure, if you keep Pete, you're gonna have some
some rumblings and rumblings the all season about Hey, is
he the right guy? Is he gonna hire the right coordinator?
But there's so much impatience in this world. It's such
a microwave society. Hey, we don't get wins right now.
We need to change that has not worked for you.
That didn't work when you fire McDaniels, It didn't work
(07:27):
when you fired Pierce, It didn't work when you fired
Pete Carroll. It's not going to work. Stick with somebody right,
wrong or indifferent. Give them a few years to figure
it out. And if you're not giving Pete Carroll like
after a while, it seems like it's you. Menchell, it
seems like it's you. When it keeps happening and you
keep firing guys, then it might be a Raiders problem
and less.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Of a coach's problem.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Like it's a reason you keep doing it, and you're
not going to have success doing that. I think that's
a lot of what's wrong in today's society that, Hey,
things don't work out immediately, players don't work out, in media,
cut him, fire him, transfer like I'm uncomfortable, Like be
comfortable and uncomfortable. There's so many things that have become
great because guys were patient and they worked on it,
(08:10):
and they gundered at it, they stayed at it. If
you gave up every time seven didn't work out immediately, Mitchell,
we wouldn't have anything in this week.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
You know what, Richard, I appreciate that rant because we're
seeing it right now this week as a transfer portal
is open in the college football world and there's four
thousand players in the transfer portal. They said that thirty
three percent of college football players are in this portal,
and from what I saw, it was like only sixty
percent or forty percent of those players will end up
playing D one football next year.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
I mean, it's absurd, Richard.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
I know this is an NFL podcast and we only
talk NFL, but you got to talk to me about
this college football transfer portal because to me, it's getting outrageous.
I saw a kid is getting paid. I believe it's
from sincey. You're getting paid to go to Texas Tech
making something like five million dollars next year. He's gonna
get paid more than a first round draft pick. Would
(09:02):
How ridiculous do you think this is or do you
like this new era of college football?
Speaker 2 (09:08):
I like that. I like them getting paid. I don't
like them chasing the money.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
I don't like people being able to transfer after one
year because you're uncomfortable because you didn't get the.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Starting job that you didn't deserve.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
I don't like kids just saying, hey, I don't want
to have to fight for anything, and if you're not
gonna just give it to me on a silver platter,
I'm walking away, Like what does that build? What does
that building these young men? And that's why I like
what Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos did because this
last draft, they said, hey, we're not drafting guys that transfer.
(09:37):
We're drafting guys that played over forty games for their
for their respective teams.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
And they stayed put and they fought through it.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Hey, they got through what they need to get through,
because in the National Football League, you're not going anywhere
for three four years.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Not good players.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
If you're a good player, great player, all pro player,
you're probably not leaving. You're not leaving for five, six,
seven years. You're gonna see a couple contracts if you're
really great. And if you're telling me every guy we draft,
nobody stayed anywhere more than two years, three years, then
how can we expect them to stay here that long?
How can we expect to be able to keep them occupied?
(10:14):
And so I think it's creating a problem in the
National Football League. But you also give credit the Denver
Broncos are drafting right, developing right, and look at him
number one seed in AFC with a very young team.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Young quarterback. Obviously, both Nicks is a different story.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
He drafted bow Knicks and he transferred and played about
twelve years in college. So clearly the draft strategy has
it is adjusted and evolved. But I think there has
to be some kind of rule. Like back in my day,
you know, feeling like a old guy in the Pac ten,
you couldn't transfer without sitting out a year, and it
(10:49):
deterred a lot of that. You could not sit if
you transferred, you're sitting out a year. And if they
put a rule like that, hey, if you transferred, you
can't transfer again for a year, I think it would
change the entire portal. If they said, hey, if you transfer,
you gotta stay for at least a year, at least
two years, I think it changes the whole game. And
(11:13):
if they they're gonna have to do something to fix it,
because this is giving guys too much of an easy
way out. And then some guys are leaving callus and
never coming back. They're never getting picked back up.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
You think the grass is greener, and then you end
up without grass.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
You're on the streets, concrete as fault under your feet,
nowhere to go. Now you're looking dumb, trying to call
back your old school. Man, I want that whole thing back,
but they don't want you field your spot, baby, Like
that's the world we live it in. Kids don't be
so quick to go nowhere because you might end up nowhere.
Speaker 4 (11:46):
Preach, Richard, preach.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
They need you on a soapbox somewhere, Richard. I'm with you, man,
I see these kids transferring it every day. You just
gotta wonder, what do they think? Grass is not always greener?
On the other side, what happened to the days of
old where you're you're staying in school three years, you know,
you're a red shirt junior and you're finally starting Like
that's when the DNA of these teams really starts to
take over. It's a shame because I think the true
(12:11):
college sports and the pride of being an alumni of
these universities getting sucked away when you're rooting for guys
that you don't even know you're and you're out. But
that's enough on that topic. Let's get back to Pete Carroll. Richard,
we talked about it last year before he got hired
on with the Raiders, when he was let go by
the Seahawks. What do you think's next for him? I
got a proposition for you, Richard. You need an in
(12:32):
week co host, and I would love nothing more than
to have Pete Carroll be your in week co host.
You guys, we love you guys, We love our listeners,
are subscribers. If we can, please get it some bandwig
and some momentum behind getting Pete on this podcast routinely, Richard,
that's me putting my.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
Voice out there for this to happen.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Hey, I would love for that to happen.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
He's a great football mind, a great football human, a
person that loves the game and has been with this
game and part of this game for a very long time.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
I would love to be a part of him, be part.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Of this show and continuing to educate the fans about
what's going on in this league. His thoughts and I'm
sure he would have something to say about how things
shook out in Seattle and with the Raiders.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
So I bring my up mom there for that before
we leave the Raiders. Richard, there's one other question. Max
Crosby was a little ticked off, to say the least,
that they did not let him play in the last game,
in fact, that he walked out of practice. Do you
think the time is up for Max Crosby in Las Vegas,
especially seeing what we're seeing with Miles Garrett in Cleveland.
(13:38):
You know, I know the guy's gonna get paid. He's
already gotten paid. I know he's gonna get paid a
lot more. But something tells me Max wants to win.
Do you think it would make sense for the Raiders
to trade Max Crosby given the state of their franchise
right now, it.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Would make a lot of sense. I don't think Max
Crosby's gonna go. He's a quintessential Raider from from the heart.
He's what they desire when about a Raider. Al Davis
would be very proud that he's a Raider, and so
I don't think he's going anywhere. He doesn't want to
go anywhere, and they don't want to trade him, So
I don't think that's much of a talking point. He's
frustrated because he's a ballplayer, a true old school guy.
(14:14):
I want to play every snap.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
I don't. I don't.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
He's not a guy who would take rest days, Mitchell.
He doesn't seem like a guy if he was in
the NBA where he's taking the vet days and he's
taking the rest days. Oh, back to back, I'm playing
every he's playing eighty two. So I think that's just
his personality. But I don't think he's going anywhere. I
think it cooler heads will prevail. He'll be a Raider Richard.
You know what, you know where he went to college?
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Where do you go, Mitchell?
Speaker 4 (14:36):
In my home state, Eastern Michigan University. Man, he was.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
He was an Eagle from Eastern Michigan University. And you
know what, he don't need so much money to the
school that they named the field after him. So that
goes to show you the type of player that he is.
He played in the MAC he rows above everything all
this adversity. Unfortunately, my Detroit Lions did not recognize the
talent in their own backyard.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
But kudos to the Raiders.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Man because he's a hell of a football player, someone
I would love to have on my team, no question
about it. Let's turn the page to the Cleveland Browns.
Kevin Stefanski, two time Coach of the Year, gets the
boot in Cleveland.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
A lot of people saw this coming.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Who do you think is happier Cleveland fans to see
him go or Kevin Stefanski do the heck out of there.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
It's probably it's probably mutual mentor this is one of
those mutual partings where I think the it had run
its course. This was not a microwave decision. They gave
him time, multiple Coaches of the Year, he did some
good things in Cleveland. I think both sides can walk
away saying, hey didn't go exactly like we planned, but
we had some good times. Remember our good times. We'll
hug and we'll walk away. Cleveland's a tough place to win.
(15:39):
You can tell by the record in the history of
the franchise. It's a tough place to win. You can
tell because people because Bill Belichick felt like it was
where he should send his players when he didn't want
him anywhere. It's a tough place to win and so
but they do have talent. They have a talented defense.
They gave everybody hell and you can see Denzel Ward
he wants Jim Schwartz to be the head coach because
(16:02):
they hed they have played great defense. I don't care.
Every offense that walked in there to Cleveland would would
tell you and give them a lot of respect. It's
a tough out.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Now.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Offensively, we'll be be nice and say they're figuring it out.
They got to figure out who the quarterback is gonna be,
what the system is gonna be, what the identity is
gonna be. But they got Judakins. I think he's a
good player. I think Fanning is a good player. I
thought Chador showed some flashes. I think they still got
(16:33):
really good offensive linemen and they can always use more.
You can never have too many good offensive linemen. But yeah,
I'm not sure I think Chador should be the starter
going into the season. But it's clear that they're gonna
change a lot of things going forward. So we'll see
if the next coach feels the same way.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
And you already you already touched on the Falcons and
you listed them was one of your favorite spots. But
at Terry Fotto and I know we talked about it briefly,
but going back to that heads scratching decision with Kirk
Cousins being signed and then ultimately drafting Michael Pennix Junior,
you know that's going to be the Achilles shield that
finally snapped with this relationship.
Speaker 4 (17:11):
Seeing what this season came down to.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
There's a lot of weapons in Atlanta, and like you said,
this team, they technically tied for first in their division, Richard,
the NFC South, one of the best divisions in football.
They tied for first, man, So you know, we got
to see what happens in Atlanta.
Speaker 4 (17:28):
I agree with you.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
I think that's the best spot for any aspiring head coach.
But what do you think about these Arizona Cardinals. You know,
that was one that I was more surprised to see.
I know Gannon didn't have the best run there, but
I mean he obviously dealing with Kyler Murray. That's not
a hand that he was necessarily happy to be dealt
and especially with that injuries there. But do you like
Arizona's chances? Do you like that position at all for
(17:51):
a head coach.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
I'm going to address that in a second, but you
all right, Mitchell.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
I'm good.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
What did I say?
Speaker 1 (17:57):
You just called one of the best visions and football,
So I just wanted to make sure what you got
in you come over there, Mitchell.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
What hey, I'm drinking some spark I'm drinking some sparkling water, Richard.
But I stand by that man. The NFC South, this
is the first team the first division have three, you know,
first place teams technically, if you think about it.
Speaker 4 (18:16):
So I'll think about some places, Mitchell.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Some places in Mitchell, first place in last place don't
look that much different. But that's the story for a
different day, in a different night, in a different fight.
But Arizona Cardinals job is not a job I wouldn't
want either. They're trying to figure out how to get
out of Kyler Murray's contract. They found a very creative
way to tell him to sit, sit down, and go home.
(18:40):
The offense runs better when you're not here. So what
do you do when a new coach comes in? Kyler
Murray is still under contract. He's gonna expect to come back.
You drafted Marvin Harrison really high, so you hold him
in high regard. But Michael Wilson is the best receiver
on that that football team, and so there's some things
(19:02):
that are issues with that team. A lot of talent.
I think there's talent on both sides of the football,
but the way things are perceived by the outside world
versus the actual on the field, who's the best player,
Like you need to draft a quarterback.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
You clearly you can't win with Kyler.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Like Kyler's had some good games, He's had some success
in the National Football League, He's either answer in Arizona.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
I don't think so, and it's for a number of reasons.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
But I also think forcing the ball to Marvin Harrison
Junior when you have better receivers on the football field
is also an issue. But you have to force it
to him because you've drafted him so high. So I
think so many things like that are gonna have to
be an issue. So you got to get a coach
with a pedigree and with his own resume to be
able to come in here and say, hey, best men
(19:48):
play and we're throwing the ball to whoever is the
most effective on this football field, and then we can play.
Maybe Marvin Harrison becomes the best receiver out there for
that team, but he's not right now. So it's not
a job I would sign up for. The NFC West
is really tough football. You got two of the best
coaches in the National Football League. There are three of
the best coaches, honestly, and Kyle Shanahan, Mike McDonald, Sean McVay,
(20:10):
you stepping in the murderers row.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
In terms of Kyler Murray, do you think he's a
guy that there would be a market for if they
open up a trade for him.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
I'm sure there would be in market for him somewhere
because he's a serviceable NFL quarterback. I think he can start,
he can win some games. He's exciting, he's dynamic with
the ball in his hands, but he's also shown a
propensity to lack the leadership that you expect at the position.
(20:40):
There's been concerns about his preparation going into games and
things like that in question marks that he'd have to
answer for another organization. But I'm sure right now if
the Jets don't get the guy they want to draft.
I mean, some of the guys they put at quarterback
this year, I don't know are starting for the JV
team out in Texas, but you know, whatever.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
And before we leave this subject, Richard who are some
of the the the guys to keep an eye on here,
the prospective offensive coordinators, defensive coordinators that were vying for
these head coaching positions.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
My guy, Jeff Hafley is gonna be a name that
gets a lot of love. Lafloor, Mike Laflour, not the
Matt Laflour that you guys all love in Green Bay.
It's gonna be Weaver out of Miami. Uh Stefans. He's
gonna get some love. He's gonna get some some conversations,
(21:38):
no question about that. Chris Shula out out in l A.
I'm missing. I'm missing. Who am I missing? I saw
Matt Naggi's getting an interview. I'm not one hundred percent
sure about that, but he's getting an interview.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Dave Bo, Brian dabol will get interviews. I'm missing some
of these offensive minds. Help me out here.
Speaker 4 (22:06):
You think Robert Salah gets another look at all?
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Richard, Oh, Salah would definitely get a look. I think
he'll he'll get a look, but he'll be very selective
with where he goes. He has his he has his
eyes on certain places, and I'm sure he could be
very selective. We'll say with Kubiak. Yep, Clint Kubiak is
getting interviews out of Seattle. So there's a number of
(22:32):
guys that that that really have a chance, and we'll see.
Everybody wants the next offensive genius. Everybody wants the next
great offensive mine, and we'll see how that works out. Oh, Flores,
Flores is getting a lot of a lot of love,
a lot of attention. We're hearing his name in a
lot of places. So we'll see maybe maybe Flores gets
(22:52):
the Raiders job and turns them into a defensive juggernaut
and has some fun.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
Well, Richard, a sad day for a lot of former
head coaches, but you know, exciting times, I guess for
all these teams looking for new head coaches. It kicks
off Black Monday, as they call it. Richard, it's been
a heck of a time talking about this with you.
I will let you sign us off, my friend.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
As always, we appreciate you guys joining us. You could
be anywhere in the world, but you hear with us,
and we surely do appreciate it. We'll see you next
time for this playoff preview. It's gonna be a lot
of fun to talk about these teams can't wait hit
that's up. But if you
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Two Guys, Five Rings: Matt, Bowen & The Olympics
Two Guys (Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers). Five Rings (you know, from the Olympics logo). One essential podcast for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Bowen Yang (SNL, Wicked) and Matt Rogers (Palm Royale, No Good Deed) of Las Culturistas are back for a second season of Two Guys, Five Rings, a collaboration with NBC Sports and iHeartRadio. In this 15-episode event, Bowen and Matt discuss the top storylines, obsess over Italian culture, and find out what really goes on in the Olympic Village.