January 16, 2026 • 37 mins
Mark talks about SId killing the Flyers agains, and he and Tom talk about the Steelers coach search and the Steelers quarterback.
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 (00:01):
This is the Mark Mannon Show. Follow me on Twitter
at mark mann Next. One more time. Flyer, Suck Flyer, Suck, Flyer, suck.
Some breaking news last night at MLB. And you know,
I'm not one to say baseball is broken, but it
is because now the LA Dodgers signed Kyle Tucker for
(00:27):
sixty million dollars per season for four years. A salary
cap won't necessarily fix the Pirates, but it's absolutely necessary.
Tucker getting sixty million year. Oh, Tony getting seventy million year.
That's one hundred and thirty million for two players, two players.
(00:48):
The Pirates payroll ain't gonna get nowhere near that what
they're paying two players. It's projected at about ninety five mil.
But I bet it don't get that high. When the
dust settles, I want to talk some Penguins, because come on,
they beat the Flyers. What could be better? Chinnakov scored
(01:09):
again a dart from Enclose. Three goals in eight games
as a Penguin, A victory for modern communism. Forget about
the con artists. Maybe the pinball Wizard pulled one off
by getting Chinnakov. I mean third in the metro, but
like I said, less points than both wild cards. But
here's another zany nuance of the Penguins in the Eastern
(01:32):
Conference standings.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
They had the.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Second fewest regulation losses in the Eastern Conference. If them
some bitches could just do better in overtime and shootouts.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
They might challenge Carolina for first in the Metro.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
By the way, the Flyer stink, New York Rangers stink
even worse. Eight goals against, ten goals against was the
Starkin and goal. I thought Mike Sullivan couldn't get fired
on that long term big deal. I don't think you
will before the end of the season when shock me
if he ain't back next year. But they might fire
(02:09):
Chris Drury the GM in the interim Penguins were sloppy,
but Braso and Lozatte got goals in tight That Braso
has some sweet hands in tight.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Sounds like I'm talking about heated rivalry.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Like I said, Skinner made a bunch of says when
it was still three to one.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
He's very positionally signed, like if.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
You get him moving side to side, as a coach
may have mentioned after the game last night, you can
beat him, but we didn't. I mean, if you don't,
you know if he just sets up moving forward at
the top of the crease, he's pretty good and he's
pretty big, and sid just choose up the Flyers. He's
(02:54):
not just the Penguins all time leading score against the Flyers,
he's number one against the Flyers.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
And league history.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
And he got the absolute backbreak of the five to
one goal early in the third. We're gonna get to
the Steeler stuff, but not just the coach, the quarterback two. Also,
there's one Steeler, Tom and I will talk about this
in a bit. There's one Steeler who if he's not
(03:22):
overjoyed that Tom wins out, then he got to be
pretty dumb. I would think that's obvious, but you'll say no.
But if he ain't, he's pretty dumb. He's a team player.
He'd never be mad. Yeah, that's what he says anyway.
But the quarterback thing, come on, that's more important. Tom
and I are going to talk about the options at
(03:43):
quarterback and I were to calumn about that for today's
trip triplive dot com because they very likely ain't gonna
draft the franchise quarterback this year. So let's say in
twenty twenty seven, and who knows how long till that
time makes an impact. Who knows how long till they
(04:04):
have him start. If Tommy Maddicks hadn't got hurt in
Ben's rookie year, Ben Win has started as a rookie
and won all them games, because that's how the Steelers operate.
I gotta admit I'm wondered about Malik Willis. That's in
the column, but there's a lot of obstacles with that.
Like I said, Tom and I will have a big
quarterback conversation in just a bit.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
That that Tucker contract.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Not a lot of hut stove talk on the Old
Mark Madden Show when it comes to, you know, the
offseason for baseball, But that Tucker contract. I mean, you
can't blame the Dodgers. You can't play the Dodgers. They
got more money than anybody and they're being bullies. That's
like me at the Strip Club back when well that's
not true. I didn't have more money than anybody, but
(04:50):
I had a good eye for how much money it
took to impress a girl with shall we say, a
certain moral flexibility. But Skens might ultimately get I mean,
you look at that Tucker deal, sixty mili he might
get seventy five mil. When it's his turn, he might
get one hundred mili. He might be the first hundred
mil per season player. And that Tucker deal makes stars
(05:13):
and their agents determined to fight against the cap, the
installation thereof when the CBA expires after this next baseball season.
If the upshot of this is that baseball misses a
whole season or several seasons or never plays again, I
could live with that. But like we know, we know
the Stars and their agents run every sports union. That
(05:36):
cap would get more money like it has in every sport.
A cap gets more money for the whole of the players,
the entirety of the union, the rank and file, but
it don't help the Stars and their agents. We also
got a complete list of who the Steelers are supposed
to interview, In fact, those interviews start today. So look,
(05:57):
what is it white smoke or black smoke when they
elect the new pope? What about when they name a
new coach? I bet it's black and gold smoke. And
we got Tim Benson Charlie Betts. So it's quite a
show today. I like the notes of uh of who
should be happy on that roster that Tomin's gone there's
more than one, but there's one guy who should be
(06:20):
just overjoyed wetting his pants with joy, much like I
kind of did one five nine the.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
X I heard radio commanded the cream comes to the top.
I feel like I'm just bubbling over you pants for
you on the air, because I wasn't. Who told you
the exit?
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Now that Mike de Fabo lit the fire with his
excellent summation, his recreation of what happened in the Steeler
locker room when Tomlin told him that he was quitting
a lot of outlets, you're coming out with similar stories
like Jeremy Foler at ESPN basically rehashed the the Fable
stories kind of like you know, the Fable Light, kind
(06:56):
of like the dollar store version of what Mike wrote.
Work by the Fabo on that story, and it was
great that he came on yesterday. In the immediate aftermath,
Ray fait Depoulo the Post Gazette, who does a great job,
says TJ. Watt was and I quote frustrated as heck
with what went on with the Steelers. Uh yeah, okay,
but Steeler fans should be frustrated as heck. The Watt
(07:20):
was just mah all season, only one game with multiple sacks. Uh,
Wat should thank the fabo. His brother JJ was on
Twitter sparred with me a little bit. JJ thought that
the reaction Watt and uh Rogers crying and Porter hyperventilating.
(07:40):
JJ thought that should have been kept in the locker room.
I think TJ. Watt should send a fable with thank
you know, because that's one of the few times that TJ.
Watt via crying after tomlin quit looked human instead of
this meathead gym teacher uh.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
And we shouldn't forget, as the big Olebowski said, strong
men also cry. Strong men also cry. Ray also says that.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
It's fifty to fifty that Cam Hayward's going to retire Tom.
Let's start our Steeler discussion there. Cam had an all
Pro season. I can't I don't expect him to have
any more. I mean that sounds really crappy for me
to say, but I mean Cam's old and beat up
and in a way seemed to be having a great season.
(08:32):
Like I see him move out there between snaps and
he looks like he could, you know, just keel over
any setting. But he got the job done. What should
Cam want to do? What should the Steelers want Cam
to do?
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Let's start with the last one. What the Steelers should
want Cam to do?
Speaker 3 (08:47):
I think is a really interesting question because his contract
is really affordable and he was a second team All
Pro last year.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
But you put you're right, like, do you think you'll
hold in again? I don't know about that. That's a
good question. Third straight year that it would have to be.
I mean, I think who's a record.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Under a new coach too, that'd be something right there. Yeah,
But here's why I think they could use him back.
He's not a leader in the James Farrier or Alan
fanakmul from from back when, but he's the closest thing
they have to a leader, and with a new coach,
I think you want that influence in.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
The locker room.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
Yea.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
And if he's going to buy into that new coach,
then that's what you need, is the new coach for sure.
So I see that angle. And he's also their best
defensive lineman. Still, I agree with you that you can
kind of predict from this point on that he'll drop off.
I mean, it's just natural that he will. But he's
still their best defensive lineman. Harmon looks like he's going
to be a pretty good player, but there's value still
to Cam Heyward, so maybe the Steelers should lean towards
him wanting to come back. I think this would be
(09:38):
a great exit ram for him though, right, just walk
off with Mike Tomlin. I mean, second team All Pro
this year, Mark, that probably gets him into Canton and we.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Really deserve to make first team. Just he shouldn't play
every game, but he only got three and a half
sacks that probably held him out. Yeah, and not only
did that, you know, keep him from getting first team
All Pro, he'd got nowhere near his contract buses, which
we certainly hurt him frankly a lot about before.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Well, no, he never once he got the bonuses.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
He knew when to shut up because they placated him,
even though it was just kind of an oaky doke.
Now let's get to the big question, Tom, if there's
one Steeler, I mean you can name more than one,
but if there's one Steeler should be happy Tom Win's out.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Who should it be?
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Do you want me to spoil it and guess correctly
or should I build the suspense and guess like a
runner up?
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Just guess correctly, Tom, We get right to the point
on this show. That's really no doubt on that.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
I mean he got put on the no mindless yes
this past season, and that was an Aaron Rodgers call.
I have no doubt on that because I don't think
Arthur Smith, who has emphasized the tight end position everywhere
he's been an offensive coordinator. I don't think he suddenly said, Okay,
let's let's not not get the ball to Mooth, Let's
not get the ball to John whu who he brought
with him here after, you know, super serving him as
(10:52):
a tight end with targets in two previous stops. It
was all Aaron Rodgers and no tom Win means no Rogers,
which means good Friarmouth. I think some of John Who's
problems were of his own making. I don't think he
exactly did much out there. Then again, he got about
his little opportunity is uh Friarmouth. They treated John to
like a running back could do like that kind of
(11:13):
yeah tight end jet sweepy stuff, but not much else.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
See, you don't think there was a little bit of
a tag team here with Arthur Smith, Art Smith and
Aaron Rodgers when it came to pat Friarmouth. I think
they were both kind of giving it to him as
far as the doghouse is concerned. I think Rogers didn't
like to use him, and then Smith was with the
fat Kid, and Arthur Smith indulged that, and.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
So did Tom Loin because it got the jumbo package
and power football out of there, even though the Steelers
were as soft as baby crap on both sides of
the ball. Yeah, yeah, I mean it wasn't totally Tomlin,
but certainly he's the overseer, he's the CEO.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
And I think too that John Smith.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
It took us a while to figure this out, Mark,
but he became this year's cordero Patterson putting him in
the backyard. Arthur Smith just wanted to keep putting him
in the offense at every turn, and even when the
Fat Kid got out and it was like finally Pat's
going to be free, No, we decided to go with
Johnny Smith in the playoff game instead.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
It just I didn't like the way that all shook
down for Friarmouth. And I always thought that that the
fans overrated him a bit. I think that contract the
Steelers gave him overpaid him a bit, but that didn't
mean he should disappear. I think that hurt the team
and I don't think it was fair to him. Not
that that matters much. Now, do you think a new
coach guarantees that mouth gets put back near the top
(12:27):
of the totem pole when it comes to offensive game plan?
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Not a guarantee.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
But if they hire a defensive minded coach who brings
in a good OC or they go an offensive mind
to coach, he's your second best offensive weapon. I think
when you look at who you have at your disposal
before the draft or before free agency.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
So Tom, here's how he could get screwed a second
time in a different way.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
What if the coordinator they bring him.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
What if the shieldhouse guy, I mean, how big is
the tight end in the Rams offense. What if he
just decides he wants to go out and get a
couple more wide receivers and lean on them.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
You still need tight ends in the modern day passing game.
They still utilize them. He could still be a very
valuable and he's the best tight end they have on
their roster. He's to be the modern day passing game.
He could be a wide receiver. He could line up
in the slot for a guy like shilhas So and
you said that you know it wasn't overpaid for Firemuth.
I agree with you, they did overpay for him. But
could this be an actual circumstance where they may have
paid for what he's going to do for them instead
(13:19):
of what he has already accomplished. Except we didn't know
that this year because they just put him on the bench.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Well, I think when the Steelers signed guys the long term,
big money contracts, the best chance they have to succeed.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Is by accident. I mean, look at look at the
Wat deal.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Uh do you think the fact Kid disappears with with
the new regime. I think he was just kind of
something that Rogers and Tomlin in the Jumbo package and
all that stuff the Steelers pride themselves on with power football,
And now maybe that's not there for him.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
I don't know, because I think the rest of the
league kind of romanticizes that stuff too, and I think
that they kind of like it as well. But what
you were saying about shielhas a guy like that with
Pat Fryarmouth, like you know, a modern day offense where
you need tight ends to run up the field, like
Wildebeest's almost that's not Darnel Washington's bag. So maybe if
it's someone like that, he would get taken out of
the equation.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
What other player or players do you think are happy
Tomlin's gone.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
I think Roderick Jones is a good runner up. Yeah,
but I think it's too late for him.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
It might I think they screwed him so bad with
the veteran respect for Dan Moore and right tackle then
swing tackle, and when he got to left tackle was.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
The third year in and really that's not right.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
They traded up to get him to be the franchise
left tackle, then put him in a position to fail
out of respect for Dan Moore because at that moment
they thought Dan Moore was better, which goes to show
how they never looked past the next game.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Never thought about the big picture. And that's okay.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
But like we talked about yesterday that Frank Michael Smith
that the Steelers social media doesn't work for the Steelers,
but has a big Steelers social media presence. He pointed
out that this one of the Steelers' last twelve first
round picks has got a second contract, and I don't
think Jones is going to either unless he they'll they'll
opt out of his fifty and then maybe he try
(15:03):
to sign him up, you know, at.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
A cheaper deal like they did who they do that
with Arrell Edmonds?
Speaker 1 (15:07):
But thinks yeah, but but still that doesn't speak well
of them drafting him or developing Broaderick jokes.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
No, not at all. You might be right. It might
be too late for him.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
And they did finally make the move to left tackle
under my Tom, they screwed him, They screwed and just
dropped them in at left tackle right away. They're screwing
Roman Wilson. They're screwing Caleb Johnson. There's two guys, right,
they're rookies, but they should be pleased. And honestly, if
you're rookies, right, like you respect Mike Tom because you
hear about the legend of him, but like you've only
been under him for a year, it's like, gim me
a new coach now, right, Like.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
If I'm especially Roman Wilson, I would have been muttering
under my breath f you get the f out of
here while the other guys were crying.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
What would you do with t J.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Watt at that forty one million dollar deal? Would you
cut him, trade him. Nobody's gonna want him.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
You don't think anybody will want him, not at that deal.
Even if you absorb some of that, you might be
able to suck around.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
I be able to sucker a team that thinks they
can win if they get him, even if he you
know that they need him to come in and be
not the old T J. Watt No, but their second
best edge guy Detroit with whoever on the other side.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
I would target Detroit.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
I would try to get Detroit to bite on that
and maybe like a third round pick or something like that.
And maybe even if you go third round pick or
something light like that, you can get them to take
on a lot of that money. You probably have to
eat some of it though, and he'd be paired with Hutchinson.
Hutchinson's obviously the number one. Now that'd be good.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
And it makes sense with high Smith and.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
Her Herbig Sawyer. Sawyer is a playmaker. Every time he's
on the field, something happens.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
I think in terms of play per snap, this is blasphemy.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
I think Sawyer did better than walk this year. I
had seven sacks. That's that's crap. I don't know about that.
But herbig oh, seven sacks is crap.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
Oh, I didn't mean that part. I meant about the
Sawyer did better than what. I don't know if I
can meet you there on that one.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
As far as per snap basis, maybe herbig though before
he started to fade a little bit at the end
of the year.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
And Herbig gets hurt a lot, high Smith gets hurt
a lot. No, we don't know that Sawyer is not
gonna get hurt a lot.
Speaker 3 (16:52):
But boy, it's funny how well he's bigger though, and
Wat gets hurt a lot. I mean, you almost need
four guys you did this year? Need all four guys.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
I was thinking too about throwing herbig in there to
your question about guys who should be happy that Tomlin's gone.
But I think maybe they were managing him correctly the
entire time, like he might just not be able to
ramp it up enough consistently to stay healthy.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
I wasn't gonna say if they traded Wat to Detroit,
I would drive him to the airport or even to Detroit.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
But I wouldn't Tom because he had never shut up.
One oh five nine X It's The Woody Show weekday
mornings at six.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (17:23):
On one O five the x West Ruler here. Stay
up to date with everything happening in Steelers Nation. Join
me and Matt Williamson for the Drive weekday afternoons from
four to six. You're twenty four to seven Home of
the Black and Gold. It's the Mark manon Forge Show
on one oh five nine d.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
X double IM on the x uh Tom.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Even though the coaching decision, which we're gonna talk about
later in the show, interviews are in progress. Will tell
you who exactgated the Steelers have lined up to interview.
But I think the more important decision is who they
get to play quarterback because Aaron Rodgers obviously isn't going
to come back.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Who would you have to play quarterback next year?
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Because if you don't want to waste the year, then
you recycle an old guy. The best chance to win now,
contend now, like Art said, is always the goal, and
to do that would be dumb. But if they want
to contend, I mean they're not going to do it
with Mason Rudolph, who has nothing that you're left on
(18:28):
this deal. I would start Will Howard, do the Howard
gambit and start him and lose, and then you know,
tank for arts draft him in twenty twenty seven, But
what would you do?
Speaker 2 (18:38):
What do you think they'll do?
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Boy, it's really tough to decide what you would do
if you want to look at it through that lens
and believe what Art said that they want to try
to compete next year because your options just that.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
And I do believe that, because again, that's the way
Dad did it, the way granddad, well granddad tried, but
you get the idea.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
I mean, your free agency crop is just garbage this year.
Daniel Jones is at the top of it. I'm sure
the Holts will probably go back to him. He just
tore his acl too. You've got who you were talking
about in your column, Malik Willis.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
He's probably other than that.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
That's not recycling, No, it's not. But I would think
he'd get it'd get a better offer and better opportunity
with with better players to work with an offense somewhere else.
And here's why they won't go to Malik Willis, Tom a.
It's too much like justin fields and that didn't work.
Although maybe the new coach wouldn't take away Malik's mobility
(19:31):
the way, that's just the way Tom Win just ruined
justin Fields, never gave him a chance to succeed, made
him into a game manager. B. You'd need to go
semi long term to get Willis in pretty big money
because he's in demand.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
CEE.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
It'd look bad to get the guy that the Steelers
draft could have drafted instead of Picket in twenty twenty
two and got drafted two runs after Picket. The Steelers
do a lot of stuff based on optics and Dean.
This kind of goes back to something I said earlier.
Will just wouldn't want to come to Pittsburgh. I don't
(20:08):
think any quarterbacks gonna want to come to Pittsburgh, not
right now.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
I mean the new coach.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
I mean if he's a defensive coordinator that don't chase
quarterbacks away, and he might be a great coach. He might,
you know, if you get the Shielhas guy as the
offensive coordinator. Although that'd be a sideways move for him.
I don't know why he'd do it, but I think
that's what the Steelers are going to try to do.
If you made me predict right now what they'll do
at coach. They'll want Shoe Is the head coach and
(20:33):
bring Sheehoff wisdom as the coordinator. But but Willis don't
know what to believe or what to trust coming here,
so he'll go somewhere else. And honestly, I don't think
the Steelers would even make a run at him.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
Like you can't just assume though that, like these quarterbacks
wouldn't want to come here if they do make the
offensive higher or if they do get a really good
offensive coordinator higher with whoever the DC.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
I think if you heared a Kubiak and they're interview
in one Kubiak anyway, that's better than none.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
You'd attract these guys or sheelas Is the head would
absolutely no doubt about it. But I also don't know
if Malik Willis is that end all, be all guy
that you want to attract, Like it's not guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Yeah, but here's the thing.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
If you get him and he's only like a two
year guy, then you know, whoever you've drafted in twenty
six or twenty seven should be ready to go by
that because they will not rush probably the first ground
draft pick. No, they never do that with any first
ground pick, and they wouldn't have done it with Ben
at quarterback back when except Maddox got hurts, So, uh would.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
You go through the boy toy? He's available right now
on the market.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
I personally would guess just for the entertainment value the
reclamation project then, and just just.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
For the MILFs in town because he would like to.
I would bet he would like to. He's none up before.
But but no, no, I would not want want want
the boy toy. But but Malik could offer you, at
worst a bridge to whoever.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
The guy you draft is this year or next.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
And what if you draft another Kenny Pickett and Willis
does good, then he could be the long term guy.
My point is you're gonna draft what you think is
the long term guy. But Willis allows you to headge
your bet. But at any rate, I just I don't
see any scenario where he would come here where then
pay him or he would want to.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
And don't you think Willis, as I think you also
alluded to this, doesn't you think he's gonna want a
little more term than two years? Like he's gonna want
to try to strike while the iron's hot here, like
in a three or four year deal, like he.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Doesn't he might not be sold. He's the bridge.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
He could read that ru I'd give him a three
year deal to keep hit to get him, yeah, and
then see where the chips fall. Like I said, with
the guy you draft in twenty six or twenty seven.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
And you don't think there's any chance that they go
Rudolph Howard. Maybe draft somebody in the second or third
round in this really weak quarterback class, but just take
one that like Bleeds through to the mid round.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
I don't see the point of taking a second or
third round guy if you're gonna go with Rudolph and
Howard because at that point just got with Howard, not intentionally,
but you're well, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
I mean, I don't think Rudolph's ever got a fair chance. Uh.
He got them in the playoffs a couple of.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Years back, and his reward was, you know, not having
his contract renew That might be.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Their best option right now as far as like, let's
give it a good try to win. Go with Rudolph
changing the offense too, that's right forget So there's no
comfort new coach with him coming back in the playbook.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Now, I wasn't kidding when I said that that, you
know the what the FEBO came up with the Howard
gam But where you start him and and the fans
get behind Howard.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
I mean, they'd turn on him sooner or later.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
But then you finish poorly enough to draft arch Man
and who, by the way, would refuse to come to Pittsburgh.
He would pull an Uncle Eli and Finnagel's way somewhere else.
But you know what, that ain't all bad either, because
if you'll recall, who'd the Chargers get in that deal film.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Yeah, so you know that's what I would do.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
And I got to admit, even though I think Will
Howard is fool's goal that he he flatters to deceive
because he won the national championship of Ohio State. I
read a scott And report on him today tom NFL
dot com. So you can't get more official, right it.
It's said along the lines of the exact quote is
in my trip column. It said, looks the part has
(24:06):
only an OK arm and can't read the chessboard at
an NFL level, which I thought was was good writing.
Speaker 3 (24:13):
Dicky de Fables Will Howard gambit is hard to argue
off of. You know, the metal stand as the gold
medal winner for the thing that they should do this
season twenty twenty six. It really makes so much sense
in Mark, I know whar Rudy comes to the podium
and he says, we're always trying to compete, we always
want to win. I don't think I looked away to
see him. Just because he says that doesn't mean they're
going to exactly.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
And you could really pull the wool over a lot
of this fan base's eyes by rolling out Will Howard.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
They'll be into it for at least a couple of months.
They believe they'd be pulling the wool over their own eyes.
That'd be fooling themselves like sticks, you know, not renegade,
but but fooling yourself, and they're pretty good at that.
In this scenario though, they're playing Howard for the gambit though,
so that they do go like three wins, four wins,
so that they then go into the draft and get it.
So they would want to start him and trick the
fan base and being like, oh, we like this Will
(24:58):
Howard kid. He could turn into something and then the fan
will buy into it, and then they'll turn on him,
which is a big key in this around December, because
then you got to dispose of him for the new rookie.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
Bottom line, Tom is they went one in thirteen to
nineteen sixty nine, they got Terry Bradshaw. They went six
and ten in two thousand and three got Ben Roethlisberger.
If those seasons don't happen, they have zero Super Bowls.
And the last time they tried to shoehorn a quarterback
in in the first round, they got Kenny Pickett.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
You know, they always talk about how, oh the Steelers
always hire mid thirties defensive coordinator for their coaches. They
have a pattern, they have a type, right, why don't
more people?
Speaker 3 (25:29):
But you bring that up like that pattern that they
stink for a year and then they get their two
franchise Hall of Fame quarterbacks that delivered them the six
super Bowls.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Because they're all under the tent. Tom, That's one thing
I give to Fabo credit for. He's not under the tent,
and he is right now because that story the best
Steelers beat right out there, and he's only going to
get better because now he's figured out Well, actually I
heard the Steelers were very happy.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
With that story. How could they thought it?
Speaker 1 (25:54):
You maybe not? The players in humanize them. They're just
too dumb to know it. TJ what for sure too dumb.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Right, they're too gym teacher like. Oh, men don't.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Cry, they don't understand that. Strong men also cry. Strong
Men also cry. One O five nine the X.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
Tomorrow nights, the Pens take on the Blue Jackets. Game
time is seven. Our coverage starts at six here every
game and the best coverage right here on your home
of the Pens one O five nine d X.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
From the one oh five nine the ex Weather Center.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
It's gotta be generally cloudy to me. It's the Mark
Man Noon for on one O five nine d X.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Uh. The Steelers look like they're going to let the
whole coaching staff go. They've all been told they can
seek other opportunities, and Tom Danny Smith, the special team coach,
is doing that. He interviewed today with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
I wish Danny well, I just wonder will they make
him wear what? A pirate hat, a sword, maybe a hook,
a hand in a peg leg.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
I wonder what that's gonna entail. He interviewed for a
special teams coach, So I don't I don't think so.
Not mascot like here, No special teams coach there. It's
an upgrade there well, good luck to him anyway, Tom,
what do we got for the trifecta?
Speaker 3 (27:13):
I gotta Sid versus the Flyers trifecta. I think it's
worthy of it today. Sid all time for number three
in the trifecta against Philadelphia is fifty one, thirty two
and ten, and he is three and one in playoff
series against the Flyers, which is so sweet sending them package.
I thought it'd be better than fifty one, thirty two
and ten. That is a little bit surprising. But the
three fires stuff, I mean better, Yeah, the three and
(27:35):
one of the playoffs stuff rather exactly.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
That's the good stuff right there.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
I remember when they beat us in the playoffs because
Flowers just fell.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
Apart twenty eleven only one.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
Yeah, and and remember that idiot in Philadelphia said we
saw the baton pass from Crosby to Jeru as the
league's best player. Me while Sid is still a top
five player in the league and Derus like a third
line or in Ottawa.
Speaker 3 (27:55):
Top five player in the league, top five player of
all time in the league.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Yeah, what a terrible take.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
He's realistically still I'm not sure to say top five,
but I would say top ten and near the top
of the bottom half of the top ten, like six
or seven.
Speaker 3 (28:09):
Definitely one of the most freezing cult takes of all time.
There number two, though you mentioned this earlier. He's got
the most points against the Flyers of anybody ever. Also
the most goals, most assists too. It's every single major
scoring category he leads against the Flyers. I love that.
But number one. This was pointed out by the great
Bob Grove last night. Sidney Crosby has been held scoreless
just twenty one times against Philadelphia. He has had multipoint
(28:32):
games forty three times. It's more likely he steps on
the ice and gets more than one point than held
scoreless against them. That goal, too, Mark yesterday, did it
look like he held it just a little extra second
just to be like here it comes.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
No, no, no, no, that's definitely not true because that
I overheard him complaining afterwards. Somebody said nice goal, and
he said it was a muffin, which means he like
hit it soft, mishit it.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
Oh, it didn't look like that on the TV feed.
It looked like it was great.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
It looked like he too is like, hey, guys, look
who's here with the open neetang.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
Any one that goes in especially danced the flyers as
aok with me. The trifecta brought to us by Danny's
Peach and Hogies, a family owned and operated since nineteen sixty.
That's Danny's on Route eighty eight and Bethel Park, and
the first hour of the show as always, brought to
us by our good friends at Cendrorovich, Cendrorovich and Fisherman Tom.
One time in deck hockey, because I was quite a
player years ago, a genius coached since, but quite a
(29:21):
player in my ute, and we're playing overtime against the
team we didn't like.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Most of the teams we played we didn't like.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
And this kid who was a great player back when
Scott schaff o' Benny we called him. Who's actually a
shout out to him because he listens and he's recovering
from cancer. So good health going out there to Scott Schaffo.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
But he was great.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
He got the ball at the point and he beat
a guy down the right boards to his backhand, then
cut to the net and the goalie came out and
challenged him, and he rolled it past the goalie to
me literally in the blue.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Paint, literally standing with the empty net and I did.
I did.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Remember when William Mace Hayes got caught stealing at the
beginning of Major League come on, like I like wanted
to go in. I said, come on, and I rolled
it in the net. Everybody on their team hit me
at once. They had these brothers, the Stannic brothers. I
got hit by every member of the Stannic family. I
think I think Moms standing came out of the stands
and drilled me.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
And you know what, I couldn't blame him. That's pretty good.
I couldn't blame good to hit him with the come
on come on?
Speaker 1 (30:27):
Yeah, but but yeah, that that was a great game,
good crowd.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
The crowd was into it.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
Yes, uh, you know, Trevor Segres didn't do buppcus last night.
But I'm glad that him being a dink has kind
of restored some of the intensity of the rivalry because
you know, it not killed the rivalry. That's too strong
a phraseology, but the rivalry kind of didn't sizzle like
it did till we got Zegrets because the two teams
weren't that good for moll. Frankly, I'm not sure how
(30:55):
good they are this year, although I'm seeing the Penguins
more and more as a playoff team, and I'm seeing
the Flyers as not.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
Well, the way they're positioned right now in the metro
is very favorable. They're top three already and they have
two games in hand on Washington, who is the team
in the fourth spot in the metro right now, and
then Philly, of course is in fifth place. They just
beat them. Islanders aren't striking distance for the Penguins. It
also reeks a missed opportunity. Though you talked about this
a little bit earlier, overtime losses, especially the shootout losses,
(31:24):
you'd be right there. Let me tell you if they
don't sub shill offs out for shootouts, and they missed
the playoffs because of those points lost, because the shootout
deficit in points lost ports points earned is so huge.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
I was gonna say that that that falls unmused. But
no coach switches out the goalie. But but why can't
a guy in his first NHL season be groundbreaking?
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Maybe that's precisely why.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
Actually, yeah, I know it takes a lot of courage
to do something like that, But I think you'd be
proven right Like I think you would.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
I think Courage is a strong word, Tom.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
I think it takes courage to race into a burning
olding and save a baby. Here, you're just pissing off
some lat Vius goalie.
Speaker 3 (32:05):
A modicum of courage, yes, and pissing off a Laffean
goalie in a long, rich tradition of hockey.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
To be fair in an Olympic year, and he is
laugh Vius goalie. Very true.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
No, why's Latvius goalie? I think he's the only guy
there with Pats else. Yeah, no one else has bats.
Speaker 4 (32:20):
You know.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
I want to get back to a Steeler coaching thing
because I'm going to talk about the Steeler coaching candidates
in the next hour. But like I mentioned, I all
the assistants have been told that their employment is up
to the new coach. Seek opportunities out for if you like,
with which Danny Smith did today with Tampa Bay, although
we don't know if he's gonna get that job. And
(32:42):
that means Cyonora and that's good clean house. I don't
think they're going to change their philosophy, but I think
they're gonna bring in guys who while they may embrace
the basics of it, like if a defensive coordinator gets
hired to be the head coach, it's gonna be different ideas,
it's gonna be different voice. I think them firing the
(33:02):
coaching staff does not indicate an organizational reset necessarily, but
I think it's as close to one as Art's willing to.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
Get, you know.
Speaker 3 (33:11):
And I think a new head coach coming in is
going to embrace surrounding himself with an established DC that's
really good and established though.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
See that's really good, like depending on what side of
the ball the head coaches.
Speaker 3 (33:24):
Right exactly, because I think that you would want that,
because there's not gonna be like this crazy ego coming
into the job where it's like I'm right and everybody
else is wrong. Like I think you're gonna want a
lot job, sure of course, but you are right and
everybody else is wrong.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
That's that's well said.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
Now.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
I would love I Chris Jula comes in like a
Mike McDaniel, you know what I mean, somebody was a
head coach kind of established.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
Daniel interview with Cleveland, the interview with somebody as a
head coach. Yeah, I think he's gonna want a head
coaching gig or wait, did.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
An interview with somebody is I don't know. I gotta
look that up. Because he's an offensive genius.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
He's one of the he would be the top five
offensive coordinator, one of them in the league.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
It's like, you know, what does hold him back? We
joke about this. He looked and talks like a geek.
That holds him back. That I think that probably cost
him respect in that Miami room. Although to a too,
I mean, I know, the concussion thing, that's an excuse,
but he turned out to be useless.
Speaker 3 (34:11):
It looks like the Ravens just completed an interview yesterday
with Mike McDaniel for their head coach position. That running
game with that running game savant, that would be pretty scary.
Speaker 2 (34:22):
Well yeah, and you know him utilizing Lamar.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
Yes, we got to quote later a SoundBite rather that
from Mike Greenberg that Lamar has more power than any
player in the NFL. I don't know that's necessarily true,
but he did run Harbaugh out of time and Harball
was pretty embedded there. But I think any star player
that wants to flex is more often and not gonna
win because he sells the merch and the tickets, and
(34:47):
in Lamar's case, has gotten them not as far as
had been hoping pretty far.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
Yeah, I mean, and the owner pays Harbor a lot
of money, but he pays Lamar a lot more money too, Right,
He's got a lot more financial commitment tied up with Lamar.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
Nobody bought a ticket ever to see John Harben exactly right.
It's all about the two time MVP Lamar Jackson. So yeah,
it's I get what Greeney's saying, but you're right, like
just anybody in that position is going to be able
to wield a lot of power if they want to.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
Here's my one disclaimer about this whole process, which we're
going to talk about in a second.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
Tom.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
It's a leap of faith to do this higher the
traditional Steelers way. I eat the Rooney way because these
roonies ain't those roonies, and there's always, not always, not
always going to be a next Cower or a next
Tom Win. People are assuming, and I think the roonies
are assuming. But that's a lot to assume.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
And the way the league shifted, right because every other
time that you were in the coaching cycle, the league
was still you know, you could play great defense and
run the football and protect the football, and the blueprint worked.
But in between Mike Tomlin getting hired in two thousand
and seven and now this twenty twenty six coaching search,
the league just completely shifted as far as what is important.
It's about scoring and it's about being offensive oriented. And yeah,
(35:56):
there's still defensive minded coaches that are successful for of
the team, still have defensive mind to take coaches, but
they got great offensive minds on their staff. It's it's
gotta be all about that now.
Speaker 1 (36:05):
Well, I really hope that that Art and Danny and
Omar Khan really do what what Art says and have
an open mind, because if they're just gonna get like
if they hire even though I wouldn't mind Chris Shula
depending on who the offensive coordinator was, and I'd love Shielhas,
but I think he'd be dumb to make that move.
I think if he's only going to be a coordinator,
he should stay in LA.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
But it would be a.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
Promotion working because he go from passing game coordinator TOC
very marginal promotion. I agree with you McVeigh is the
one you want to learn at defeat there. Yeah, and
then by the way, Mike, Mike get a job as
the OC, and then you just get promoted to OC
in l A and then you get to be the
OC for Sean McVay.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
Yeah, And while it would not bother me if they
hired Chris Shula, in fact that if you made me predict,
who would you predict right now as a higher And
we have no right to do that because we have
no idea how these guys are gonna fit like and
what their interview like.
Speaker 2 (36:56):
But who would you.
Speaker 3 (36:57):
Say, one of the Rams guys Sheehas or Shula, probably Shula.
I think they're gonna pick from the McVeigh tree, and
I like that tree. I want to pick fruit from
that tree.
Speaker 1 (37:03):
I would pick. I would pick Schula. That's my prediction,
and I'm okay with it. But then I would just
presume that not as much as going to change as
I want.
Speaker 3 (37:13):
And then we'd have to see the next domino fall
the offensive coordinator higher. That would become a huge higher
than as far as Chris Shula's first move as head
coach of the Steelers, it'd be massive.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
That's tom Almark up next, going to go through all
the guys the Steelers are going to interview for their
head coaching job and try and figure it out. But
but again there's one guy they should be interviewing and
are not.
Speaker 2 (37:37):
That's a keys, but it's Stefanski. I mean, why the
freak aren't they talking to Stefanski one.
Speaker 5 (37:42):
Nine X Now here's your chance to win one thousand dollars.
Just as are this nationwide keyword on our website gold.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
That's gold. Answer it
This is the Mark Mannon Show. Follow me on Twitter
at mark mann Next. One more time. Flyer, Suck Flyer, Suck, Flyer, suck.
Some breaking news last night at MLB. And you know,
I'm not one to say baseball is broken, but it
is because now the LA Dodgers signed Kyle Tucker for
(00:27):
sixty million dollars per season for four years. A salary
cap won't necessarily fix the Pirates, but it's absolutely necessary.
Tucker getting sixty million year. Oh, Tony getting seventy million year.
That's one hundred and thirty million for two players, two players.
(00:48):
The Pirates payroll ain't gonna get nowhere near that what
they're paying two players. It's projected at about ninety five mil.
But I bet it don't get that high. When the
dust settles, I want to talk some Penguins, because come on,
they beat the Flyers. What could be better? Chinnakov scored
(01:09):
again a dart from Enclose. Three goals in eight games
as a Penguin, A victory for modern communism. Forget about
the con artists. Maybe the pinball Wizard pulled one off
by getting Chinnakov. I mean third in the metro, but
like I said, less points than both wild cards. But
here's another zany nuance of the Penguins in the Eastern
(01:32):
Conference standings.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
They had the.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Second fewest regulation losses in the Eastern Conference. If them
some bitches could just do better in overtime and shootouts.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
They might challenge Carolina for first in the Metro.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
By the way, the Flyer stink, New York Rangers stink
even worse. Eight goals against, ten goals against was the
Starkin and goal. I thought Mike Sullivan couldn't get fired
on that long term big deal. I don't think you
will before the end of the season when shock me
if he ain't back next year. But they might fire
(02:09):
Chris Drury the GM in the interim Penguins were sloppy,
but Braso and Lozatte got goals in tight That Braso
has some sweet hands in tight.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Sounds like I'm talking about heated rivalry.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Like I said, Skinner made a bunch of says when
it was still three to one.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
He's very positionally signed, like if.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
You get him moving side to side, as a coach
may have mentioned after the game last night, you can
beat him, but we didn't. I mean, if you don't,
you know if he just sets up moving forward at
the top of the crease, he's pretty good and he's
pretty big, and sid just choose up the Flyers. He's
(02:54):
not just the Penguins all time leading score against the Flyers,
he's number one against the Flyers.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
And league history.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
And he got the absolute backbreak of the five to
one goal early in the third. We're gonna get to
the Steeler stuff, but not just the coach, the quarterback two. Also,
there's one Steeler, Tom and I will talk about this
in a bit. There's one Steeler who if he's not
(03:22):
overjoyed that Tom wins out, then he got to be
pretty dumb. I would think that's obvious, but you'll say no.
But if he ain't, he's pretty dumb. He's a team player.
He'd never be mad. Yeah, that's what he says anyway.
But the quarterback thing, come on, that's more important. Tom
and I are going to talk about the options at
(03:43):
quarterback and I were to calumn about that for today's
trip triplive dot com because they very likely ain't gonna
draft the franchise quarterback this year. So let's say in
twenty twenty seven, and who knows how long till that
time makes an impact. Who knows how long till they
(04:04):
have him start. If Tommy Maddicks hadn't got hurt in
Ben's rookie year, Ben Win has started as a rookie
and won all them games, because that's how the Steelers operate.
I gotta admit I'm wondered about Malik Willis. That's in
the column, but there's a lot of obstacles with that.
Like I said, Tom and I will have a big
quarterback conversation in just a bit.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
That that Tucker contract.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Not a lot of hut stove talk on the Old
Mark Madden Show when it comes to, you know, the
offseason for baseball, But that Tucker contract. I mean, you
can't blame the Dodgers. You can't play the Dodgers. They
got more money than anybody and they're being bullies. That's
like me at the Strip Club back when well that's
not true. I didn't have more money than anybody, but
(04:50):
I had a good eye for how much money it
took to impress a girl with shall we say, a
certain moral flexibility. But Skens might ultimately get I mean,
you look at that Tucker deal, sixty mili he might
get seventy five mil. When it's his turn, he might
get one hundred mili. He might be the first hundred
mil per season player. And that Tucker deal makes stars
(05:13):
and their agents determined to fight against the cap, the
installation thereof when the CBA expires after this next baseball season.
If the upshot of this is that baseball misses a
whole season or several seasons or never plays again, I
could live with that. But like we know, we know
the Stars and their agents run every sports union. That
(05:36):
cap would get more money like it has in every sport.
A cap gets more money for the whole of the players,
the entirety of the union, the rank and file, but
it don't help the Stars and their agents. We also
got a complete list of who the Steelers are supposed
to interview, In fact, those interviews start today. So look,
(05:57):
what is it white smoke or black smoke when they
elect the new pope? What about when they name a
new coach? I bet it's black and gold smoke. And
we got Tim Benson Charlie Betts. So it's quite a
show today. I like the notes of uh of who
should be happy on that roster that Tomin's gone there's
more than one, but there's one guy who should be
(06:20):
just overjoyed wetting his pants with joy, much like I
kind of did one five nine the.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
X I heard radio commanded the cream comes to the top.
I feel like I'm just bubbling over you pants for
you on the air, because I wasn't. Who told you
the exit?
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Now that Mike de Fabo lit the fire with his
excellent summation, his recreation of what happened in the Steeler
locker room when Tomlin told him that he was quitting
a lot of outlets, you're coming out with similar stories
like Jeremy Foler at ESPN basically rehashed the the Fable
stories kind of like you know, the Fable Light, kind
(06:56):
of like the dollar store version of what Mike wrote.
Work by the Fabo on that story, and it was
great that he came on yesterday. In the immediate aftermath,
Ray fait Depoulo the Post Gazette, who does a great job,
says TJ. Watt was and I quote frustrated as heck
with what went on with the Steelers. Uh yeah, okay,
but Steeler fans should be frustrated as heck. The Watt
(07:20):
was just mah all season, only one game with multiple sacks. Uh,
Wat should thank the fabo. His brother JJ was on
Twitter sparred with me a little bit. JJ thought that
the reaction Watt and uh Rogers crying and Porter hyperventilating.
(07:40):
JJ thought that should have been kept in the locker room.
I think TJ. Watt should send a fable with thank
you know, because that's one of the few times that TJ.
Watt via crying after tomlin quit looked human instead of
this meathead gym teacher uh.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
And we shouldn't forget, as the big Olebowski said, strong
men also cry. Strong men also cry. Ray also says that.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
It's fifty to fifty that Cam Hayward's going to retire Tom.
Let's start our Steeler discussion there. Cam had an all
Pro season. I can't I don't expect him to have
any more. I mean that sounds really crappy for me
to say, but I mean Cam's old and beat up
and in a way seemed to be having a great season.
(08:32):
Like I see him move out there between snaps and
he looks like he could, you know, just keel over
any setting. But he got the job done. What should
Cam want to do? What should the Steelers want Cam
to do?
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Let's start with the last one. What the Steelers should
want Cam to do?
Speaker 3 (08:47):
I think is a really interesting question because his contract
is really affordable and he was a second team All
Pro last year.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
But you put you're right, like, do you think you'll
hold in again? I don't know about that. That's a
good question. Third straight year that it would have to be.
I mean, I think who's a record.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Under a new coach too, that'd be something right there. Yeah,
But here's why I think they could use him back.
He's not a leader in the James Farrier or Alan
fanakmul from from back when, but he's the closest thing
they have to a leader, and with a new coach,
I think you want that influence in.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
The locker room.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
Yea.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
And if he's going to buy into that new coach,
then that's what you need, is the new coach for sure.
So I see that angle. And he's also their best
defensive lineman. Still, I agree with you that you can
kind of predict from this point on that he'll drop off.
I mean, it's just natural that he will. But he's
still their best defensive lineman. Harmon looks like he's going
to be a pretty good player, but there's value still
to Cam Heyward, so maybe the Steelers should lean towards
him wanting to come back. I think this would be
(09:38):
a great exit ram for him though, right, just walk
off with Mike Tomlin. I mean, second team All Pro
this year, Mark, that probably gets him into Canton and we.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Really deserve to make first team. Just he shouldn't play
every game, but he only got three and a half
sacks that probably held him out. Yeah, and not only
did that, you know, keep him from getting first team
All Pro, he'd got nowhere near his contract buses, which
we certainly hurt him frankly a lot about before.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Well, no, he never once he got the bonuses.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
He knew when to shut up because they placated him,
even though it was just kind of an oaky doke.
Now let's get to the big question, Tom, if there's
one Steeler, I mean you can name more than one,
but if there's one Steeler should be happy Tom Win's out.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Who should it be?
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Do you want me to spoil it and guess correctly
or should I build the suspense and guess like a
runner up?
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Just guess correctly, Tom, We get right to the point
on this show. That's really no doubt on that.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
I mean he got put on the no mindless yes
this past season, and that was an Aaron Rodgers call.
I have no doubt on that because I don't think
Arthur Smith, who has emphasized the tight end position everywhere
he's been an offensive coordinator. I don't think he suddenly said, Okay,
let's let's not not get the ball to Mooth, Let's
not get the ball to John whu who he brought
with him here after, you know, super serving him as
(10:52):
a tight end with targets in two previous stops. It
was all Aaron Rodgers and no tom Win means no Rogers,
which means good Friarmouth. I think some of John Who's
problems were of his own making. I don't think he
exactly did much out there. Then again, he got about
his little opportunity is uh Friarmouth. They treated John to
like a running back could do like that kind of
(11:13):
yeah tight end jet sweepy stuff, but not much else.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
See, you don't think there was a little bit of
a tag team here with Arthur Smith, Art Smith and
Aaron Rodgers when it came to pat Friarmouth. I think
they were both kind of giving it to him as
far as the doghouse is concerned. I think Rogers didn't
like to use him, and then Smith was with the
fat Kid, and Arthur Smith indulged that, and.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
So did Tom Loin because it got the jumbo package
and power football out of there, even though the Steelers
were as soft as baby crap on both sides of
the ball. Yeah, yeah, I mean it wasn't totally Tomlin,
but certainly he's the overseer, he's the CEO.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
And I think too that John Smith.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
It took us a while to figure this out, Mark,
but he became this year's cordero Patterson putting him in
the backyard. Arthur Smith just wanted to keep putting him
in the offense at every turn, and even when the
Fat Kid got out and it was like finally Pat's
going to be free, No, we decided to go with
Johnny Smith in the playoff game instead.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
It just I didn't like the way that all shook
down for Friarmouth. And I always thought that that the
fans overrated him a bit. I think that contract the
Steelers gave him overpaid him a bit, but that didn't
mean he should disappear. I think that hurt the team
and I don't think it was fair to him. Not
that that matters much. Now, do you think a new
coach guarantees that mouth gets put back near the top
(12:27):
of the totem pole when it comes to offensive game plan?
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Not a guarantee.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
But if they hire a defensive minded coach who brings
in a good OC or they go an offensive mind
to coach, he's your second best offensive weapon. I think
when you look at who you have at your disposal
before the draft or before free agency.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
So Tom, here's how he could get screwed a second
time in a different way.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
What if the coordinator they bring him.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
What if the shieldhouse guy, I mean, how big is
the tight end in the Rams offense. What if he
just decides he wants to go out and get a
couple more wide receivers and lean on them.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
You still need tight ends in the modern day passing game.
They still utilize them. He could still be a very
valuable and he's the best tight end they have on
their roster. He's to be the modern day passing game.
He could be a wide receiver. He could line up
in the slot for a guy like shilhas So and
you said that you know it wasn't overpaid for Firemuth.
I agree with you, they did overpay for him. But
could this be an actual circumstance where they may have
paid for what he's going to do for them instead
(13:19):
of what he has already accomplished. Except we didn't know
that this year because they just put him on the bench.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Well, I think when the Steelers signed guys the long term,
big money contracts, the best chance they have to succeed.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Is by accident. I mean, look at look at the
Wat deal.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Uh do you think the fact Kid disappears with with
the new regime. I think he was just kind of
something that Rogers and Tomlin in the Jumbo package and
all that stuff the Steelers pride themselves on with power football,
And now maybe that's not there for him.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
I don't know, because I think the rest of the
league kind of romanticizes that stuff too, and I think
that they kind of like it as well. But what
you were saying about shielhas a guy like that with
Pat Fryarmouth, like you know, a modern day offense where
you need tight ends to run up the field, like
Wildebeest's almost that's not Darnel Washington's bag. So maybe if
it's someone like that, he would get taken out of
the equation.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
What other player or players do you think are happy
Tomlin's gone.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
I think Roderick Jones is a good runner up. Yeah,
but I think it's too late for him.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
It might I think they screwed him so bad with
the veteran respect for Dan Moore and right tackle then
swing tackle, and when he got to left tackle was.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
The third year in and really that's not right.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
They traded up to get him to be the franchise
left tackle, then put him in a position to fail
out of respect for Dan Moore because at that moment
they thought Dan Moore was better, which goes to show
how they never looked past the next game.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Never thought about the big picture. And that's okay.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
But like we talked about yesterday that Frank Michael Smith
that the Steelers social media doesn't work for the Steelers,
but has a big Steelers social media presence. He pointed
out that this one of the Steelers' last twelve first
round picks has got a second contract, and I don't
think Jones is going to either unless he they'll they'll
opt out of his fifty and then maybe he try
(15:03):
to sign him up, you know, at.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
A cheaper deal like they did who they do that
with Arrell Edmonds?
Speaker 1 (15:07):
But thinks yeah, but but still that doesn't speak well
of them drafting him or developing Broaderick jokes.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
No, not at all. You might be right. It might
be too late for him.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
And they did finally make the move to left tackle
under my Tom, they screwed him, They screwed and just
dropped them in at left tackle right away. They're screwing
Roman Wilson. They're screwing Caleb Johnson. There's two guys, right,
they're rookies, but they should be pleased. And honestly, if
you're rookies, right, like you respect Mike Tom because you
hear about the legend of him, but like you've only
been under him for a year, it's like, gim me
a new coach now, right, Like.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
If I'm especially Roman Wilson, I would have been muttering
under my breath f you get the f out of
here while the other guys were crying.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
What would you do with t J.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Watt at that forty one million dollar deal? Would you
cut him, trade him. Nobody's gonna want him.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
You don't think anybody will want him, not at that deal.
Even if you absorb some of that, you might be
able to suck around.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
I be able to sucker a team that thinks they
can win if they get him, even if he you
know that they need him to come in and be
not the old T J. Watt No, but their second
best edge guy Detroit with whoever on the other side.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
I would target Detroit.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
I would try to get Detroit to bite on that
and maybe like a third round pick or something like that.
And maybe even if you go third round pick or
something light like that, you can get them to take
on a lot of that money. You probably have to
eat some of it though, and he'd be paired with Hutchinson.
Hutchinson's obviously the number one. Now that'd be good.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
And it makes sense with high Smith and.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
Her Herbig Sawyer. Sawyer is a playmaker. Every time he's
on the field, something happens.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
I think in terms of play per snap, this is blasphemy.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
I think Sawyer did better than walk this year. I
had seven sacks. That's that's crap. I don't know about that.
But herbig oh, seven sacks is crap.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
Oh, I didn't mean that part. I meant about the
Sawyer did better than what. I don't know if I
can meet you there on that one.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
As far as per snap basis, maybe herbig though before
he started to fade a little bit at the end
of the year.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
And Herbig gets hurt a lot, high Smith gets hurt
a lot. No, we don't know that Sawyer is not
gonna get hurt a lot.
Speaker 3 (16:52):
But boy, it's funny how well he's bigger though, and
Wat gets hurt a lot. I mean, you almost need
four guys you did this year? Need all four guys.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
I was thinking too about throwing herbig in there to
your question about guys who should be happy that Tomlin's gone.
But I think maybe they were managing him correctly the
entire time, like he might just not be able to
ramp it up enough consistently to stay healthy.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
I wasn't gonna say if they traded Wat to Detroit,
I would drive him to the airport or even to Detroit.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
But I wouldn't Tom because he had never shut up.
One oh five nine X It's The Woody Show weekday
mornings at six.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (17:23):
On one O five the x West Ruler here. Stay
up to date with everything happening in Steelers Nation. Join
me and Matt Williamson for the Drive weekday afternoons from
four to six. You're twenty four to seven Home of
the Black and Gold. It's the Mark manon Forge Show
on one oh five nine d.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
X double IM on the x uh Tom.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Even though the coaching decision, which we're gonna talk about
later in the show, interviews are in progress. Will tell
you who exactgated the Steelers have lined up to interview.
But I think the more important decision is who they
get to play quarterback because Aaron Rodgers obviously isn't going
to come back.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Who would you have to play quarterback next year?
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Because if you don't want to waste the year, then
you recycle an old guy. The best chance to win now,
contend now, like Art said, is always the goal, and
to do that would be dumb. But if they want
to contend, I mean they're not going to do it
with Mason Rudolph, who has nothing that you're left on
(18:28):
this deal. I would start Will Howard, do the Howard
gambit and start him and lose, and then you know,
tank for arts draft him in twenty twenty seven, But
what would you do?
Speaker 2 (18:38):
What do you think they'll do?
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Boy, it's really tough to decide what you would do
if you want to look at it through that lens
and believe what Art said that they want to try
to compete next year because your options just that.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
And I do believe that, because again, that's the way
Dad did it, the way granddad, well granddad tried, but
you get the idea.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
I mean, your free agency crop is just garbage this year.
Daniel Jones is at the top of it. I'm sure
the Holts will probably go back to him. He just
tore his acl too. You've got who you were talking
about in your column, Malik Willis.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
He's probably other than that.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
That's not recycling, No, it's not. But I would think
he'd get it'd get a better offer and better opportunity
with with better players to work with an offense somewhere else.
And here's why they won't go to Malik Willis, Tom a.
It's too much like justin fields and that didn't work.
Although maybe the new coach wouldn't take away Malik's mobility
(19:31):
the way, that's just the way Tom Win just ruined
justin Fields, never gave him a chance to succeed, made
him into a game manager. B. You'd need to go
semi long term to get Willis in pretty big money
because he's in demand.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
CEE.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
It'd look bad to get the guy that the Steelers
draft could have drafted instead of Picket in twenty twenty
two and got drafted two runs after Picket. The Steelers
do a lot of stuff based on optics and Dean.
This kind of goes back to something I said earlier.
Will just wouldn't want to come to Pittsburgh. I don't
(20:08):
think any quarterbacks gonna want to come to Pittsburgh, not
right now.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
I mean the new coach.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
I mean if he's a defensive coordinator that don't chase
quarterbacks away, and he might be a great coach. He might,
you know, if you get the Shielhas guy as the
offensive coordinator. Although that'd be a sideways move for him.
I don't know why he'd do it, but I think
that's what the Steelers are going to try to do.
If you made me predict right now what they'll do
at coach. They'll want Shoe Is the head coach and
(20:33):
bring Sheehoff wisdom as the coordinator. But but Willis don't
know what to believe or what to trust coming here,
so he'll go somewhere else. And honestly, I don't think
the Steelers would even make a run at him.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
Like you can't just assume though that, like these quarterbacks
wouldn't want to come here if they do make the
offensive higher or if they do get a really good
offensive coordinator higher with whoever the DC.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
I think if you heared a Kubiak and they're interview
in one Kubiak anyway, that's better than none.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
You'd attract these guys or sheelas Is the head would
absolutely no doubt about it. But I also don't know
if Malik Willis is that end all, be all guy
that you want to attract, Like it's not guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Yeah, but here's the thing.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
If you get him and he's only like a two
year guy, then you know, whoever you've drafted in twenty
six or twenty seven should be ready to go by
that because they will not rush probably the first ground
draft pick. No, they never do that with any first
ground pick, and they wouldn't have done it with Ben
at quarterback back when except Maddox got hurts, So, uh would.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
You go through the boy toy? He's available right now
on the market.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
I personally would guess just for the entertainment value the
reclamation project then, and just just.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
For the MILFs in town because he would like to.
I would bet he would like to. He's none up before.
But but no, no, I would not want want want
the boy toy. But but Malik could offer you, at
worst a bridge to whoever.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
The guy you draft is this year or next.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
And what if you draft another Kenny Pickett and Willis
does good, then he could be the long term guy.
My point is you're gonna draft what you think is
the long term guy. But Willis allows you to headge
your bet. But at any rate, I just I don't
see any scenario where he would come here where then
pay him or he would want to.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
And don't you think Willis, as I think you also
alluded to this, doesn't you think he's gonna want a
little more term than two years? Like he's gonna want
to try to strike while the iron's hot here, like
in a three or four year deal, like he.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Doesn't he might not be sold. He's the bridge.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
He could read that ru I'd give him a three
year deal to keep hit to get him, yeah, and
then see where the chips fall. Like I said, with
the guy you draft in twenty six or twenty seven.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
And you don't think there's any chance that they go
Rudolph Howard. Maybe draft somebody in the second or third
round in this really weak quarterback class, but just take
one that like Bleeds through to the mid round.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
I don't see the point of taking a second or
third round guy if you're gonna go with Rudolph and
Howard because at that point just got with Howard, not intentionally,
but you're well, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
I mean, I don't think Rudolph's ever got a fair chance. Uh.
He got them in the playoffs a couple of.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Years back, and his reward was, you know, not having
his contract renew That might be.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Their best option right now as far as like, let's
give it a good try to win. Go with Rudolph
changing the offense too, that's right forget So there's no
comfort new coach with him coming back in the playbook.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Now, I wasn't kidding when I said that that, you
know the what the FEBO came up with the Howard
gam But where you start him and and the fans
get behind Howard.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
I mean, they'd turn on him sooner or later.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
But then you finish poorly enough to draft arch Man
and who, by the way, would refuse to come to Pittsburgh.
He would pull an Uncle Eli and Finnagel's way somewhere else.
But you know what, that ain't all bad either, because
if you'll recall, who'd the Chargers get in that deal film.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Yeah, so you know that's what I would do.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
And I got to admit, even though I think Will
Howard is fool's goal that he he flatters to deceive
because he won the national championship of Ohio State. I
read a scott And report on him today tom NFL
dot com. So you can't get more official, right it.
It's said along the lines of the exact quote is
in my trip column. It said, looks the part has
(24:06):
only an OK arm and can't read the chessboard at
an NFL level, which I thought was was good writing.
Speaker 3 (24:13):
Dicky de Fables Will Howard gambit is hard to argue
off of. You know, the metal stand as the gold
medal winner for the thing that they should do this
season twenty twenty six. It really makes so much sense
in Mark, I know whar Rudy comes to the podium
and he says, we're always trying to compete, we always
want to win. I don't think I looked away to
see him. Just because he says that doesn't mean they're
going to exactly.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
And you could really pull the wool over a lot
of this fan base's eyes by rolling out Will Howard.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
They'll be into it for at least a couple of months.
They believe they'd be pulling the wool over their own eyes.
That'd be fooling themselves like sticks, you know, not renegade,
but but fooling yourself, and they're pretty good at that.
In this scenario though, they're playing Howard for the gambit though,
so that they do go like three wins, four wins,
so that they then go into the draft and get it.
So they would want to start him and trick the
fan base and being like, oh, we like this Will
(24:58):
Howard kid. He could turn into something and then the fan
will buy into it, and then they'll turn on him,
which is a big key in this around December, because
then you got to dispose of him for the new rookie.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
Bottom line, Tom is they went one in thirteen to
nineteen sixty nine, they got Terry Bradshaw. They went six
and ten in two thousand and three got Ben Roethlisberger.
If those seasons don't happen, they have zero Super Bowls.
And the last time they tried to shoehorn a quarterback
in in the first round, they got Kenny Pickett.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
You know, they always talk about how, oh the Steelers
always hire mid thirties defensive coordinator for their coaches. They
have a pattern, they have a type, right, why don't
more people?
Speaker 3 (25:29):
But you bring that up like that pattern that they
stink for a year and then they get their two
franchise Hall of Fame quarterbacks that delivered them the six
super Bowls.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Because they're all under the tent. Tom, That's one thing
I give to Fabo credit for. He's not under the tent,
and he is right now because that story the best
Steelers beat right out there, and he's only going to
get better because now he's figured out Well, actually I
heard the Steelers were very happy.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
With that story. How could they thought it?
Speaker 1 (25:54):
You maybe not? The players in humanize them. They're just
too dumb to know it. TJ what for sure too dumb.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Right, they're too gym teacher like. Oh, men don't.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Cry, they don't understand that. Strong men also cry. Strong
Men also cry. One O five nine the X.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
Tomorrow nights, the Pens take on the Blue Jackets. Game
time is seven. Our coverage starts at six here every
game and the best coverage right here on your home
of the Pens one O five nine d X.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
From the one oh five nine the ex Weather Center.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
It's gotta be generally cloudy to me. It's the Mark
Man Noon for on one O five nine d X.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Uh. The Steelers look like they're going to let the
whole coaching staff go. They've all been told they can
seek other opportunities, and Tom Danny Smith, the special team coach,
is doing that. He interviewed today with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
I wish Danny well, I just wonder will they make
him wear what? A pirate hat, a sword, maybe a hook,
a hand in a peg leg.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
I wonder what that's gonna entail. He interviewed for a
special teams coach, So I don't I don't think so.
Not mascot like here, No special teams coach there. It's
an upgrade there well, good luck to him anyway, Tom,
what do we got for the trifecta?
Speaker 3 (27:13):
I gotta Sid versus the Flyers trifecta. I think it's
worthy of it today. Sid all time for number three
in the trifecta against Philadelphia is fifty one, thirty two
and ten, and he is three and one in playoff
series against the Flyers, which is so sweet sending them package.
I thought it'd be better than fifty one, thirty two
and ten. That is a little bit surprising. But the
three fires stuff, I mean better, Yeah, the three and
(27:35):
one of the playoffs stuff rather exactly.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
That's the good stuff right there.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
I remember when they beat us in the playoffs because
Flowers just fell.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
Apart twenty eleven only one.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
Yeah, and and remember that idiot in Philadelphia said we
saw the baton pass from Crosby to Jeru as the
league's best player. Me while Sid is still a top
five player in the league and Derus like a third
line or in Ottawa.
Speaker 3 (27:55):
Top five player in the league, top five player of
all time in the league.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Yeah, what a terrible take.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
He's realistically still I'm not sure to say top five,
but I would say top ten and near the top
of the bottom half of the top ten, like six
or seven.
Speaker 3 (28:09):
Definitely one of the most freezing cult takes of all time.
There number two, though you mentioned this earlier. He's got
the most points against the Flyers of anybody ever. Also
the most goals, most assists too. It's every single major
scoring category he leads against the Flyers. I love that.
But number one. This was pointed out by the great
Bob Grove last night. Sidney Crosby has been held scoreless
just twenty one times against Philadelphia. He has had multipoint
(28:32):
games forty three times. It's more likely he steps on
the ice and gets more than one point than held
scoreless against them. That goal, too, Mark yesterday, did it
look like he held it just a little extra second
just to be like here it comes.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
No, no, no, no, that's definitely not true because that
I overheard him complaining afterwards. Somebody said nice goal, and
he said it was a muffin, which means he like
hit it soft, mishit it.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
Oh, it didn't look like that on the TV feed.
It looked like it was great.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
It looked like he too is like, hey, guys, look
who's here with the open neetang.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
Any one that goes in especially danced the flyers as
aok with me. The trifecta brought to us by Danny's
Peach and Hogies, a family owned and operated since nineteen sixty.
That's Danny's on Route eighty eight and Bethel Park, and
the first hour of the show as always, brought to
us by our good friends at Cendrorovich, Cendrorovich and Fisherman Tom.
One time in deck hockey, because I was quite a
player years ago, a genius coached since, but quite a
(29:21):
player in my ute, and we're playing overtime against the
team we didn't like.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Most of the teams we played we didn't like.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
And this kid who was a great player back when
Scott schaff o' Benny we called him. Who's actually a
shout out to him because he listens and he's recovering
from cancer. So good health going out there to Scott Schaffo.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
But he was great.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
He got the ball at the point and he beat
a guy down the right boards to his backhand, then
cut to the net and the goalie came out and
challenged him, and he rolled it past the goalie to
me literally in the blue.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Paint, literally standing with the empty net and I did.
I did.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Remember when William Mace Hayes got caught stealing at the
beginning of Major League come on, like I like wanted
to go in. I said, come on, and I rolled
it in the net. Everybody on their team hit me
at once. They had these brothers, the Stannic brothers. I
got hit by every member of the Stannic family. I
think I think Moms standing came out of the stands
and drilled me.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
And you know what, I couldn't blame him. That's pretty good.
I couldn't blame good to hit him with the come
on come on?
Speaker 1 (30:27):
Yeah, but but yeah, that that was a great game,
good crowd.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
The crowd was into it.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
Yes, uh, you know, Trevor Segres didn't do buppcus last night.
But I'm glad that him being a dink has kind
of restored some of the intensity of the rivalry because
you know, it not killed the rivalry. That's too strong
a phraseology, but the rivalry kind of didn't sizzle like
it did till we got Zegrets because the two teams
weren't that good for moll. Frankly, I'm not sure how
(30:55):
good they are this year, although I'm seeing the Penguins
more and more as a playoff team, and I'm seeing
the Flyers as not.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
Well, the way they're positioned right now in the metro
is very favorable. They're top three already and they have
two games in hand on Washington, who is the team
in the fourth spot in the metro right now, and
then Philly, of course is in fifth place. They just
beat them. Islanders aren't striking distance for the Penguins. It
also reeks a missed opportunity. Though you talked about this
a little bit earlier, overtime losses, especially the shootout losses,
(31:24):
you'd be right there. Let me tell you if they
don't sub shill offs out for shootouts, and they missed
the playoffs because of those points lost, because the shootout
deficit in points lost ports points earned is so huge.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
I was gonna say that that that falls unmused. But
no coach switches out the goalie. But but why can't
a guy in his first NHL season be groundbreaking?
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Maybe that's precisely why.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
Actually, yeah, I know it takes a lot of courage
to do something like that, But I think you'd be
proven right Like I think you would.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
I think Courage is a strong word, Tom.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
I think it takes courage to race into a burning
olding and save a baby. Here, you're just pissing off
some lat Vius goalie.
Speaker 3 (32:05):
A modicum of courage, yes, and pissing off a Laffean
goalie in a long, rich tradition of hockey.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
To be fair in an Olympic year, and he is
laugh Vius goalie. Very true.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
No, why's Latvius goalie? I think he's the only guy
there with Pats else. Yeah, no one else has bats.
Speaker 4 (32:20):
You know.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
I want to get back to a Steeler coaching thing
because I'm going to talk about the Steeler coaching candidates
in the next hour. But like I mentioned, I all
the assistants have been told that their employment is up
to the new coach. Seek opportunities out for if you like,
with which Danny Smith did today with Tampa Bay, although
we don't know if he's gonna get that job. And
(32:42):
that means Cyonora and that's good clean house. I don't
think they're going to change their philosophy, but I think
they're gonna bring in guys who while they may embrace
the basics of it, like if a defensive coordinator gets
hired to be the head coach, it's gonna be different ideas,
it's gonna be different voice. I think them firing the
(33:02):
coaching staff does not indicate an organizational reset necessarily, but
I think it's as close to one as Art's willing to.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
Get, you know.
Speaker 3 (33:11):
And I think a new head coach coming in is
going to embrace surrounding himself with an established DC that's
really good and established though.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
See that's really good, like depending on what side of
the ball the head coaches.
Speaker 3 (33:24):
Right exactly, because I think that you would want that,
because there's not gonna be like this crazy ego coming
into the job where it's like I'm right and everybody
else is wrong. Like I think you're gonna want a
lot job, sure of course, but you are right and
everybody else is wrong.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
That's that's well said.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
Now.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
I would love I Chris Jula comes in like a
Mike McDaniel, you know what I mean, somebody was a
head coach kind of established.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
Daniel interview with Cleveland, the interview with somebody as a
head coach. Yeah, I think he's gonna want a head
coaching gig or wait, did.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
An interview with somebody is I don't know. I gotta
look that up. Because he's an offensive genius.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
He's one of the he would be the top five
offensive coordinator, one of them in the league.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
It's like, you know, what does hold him back? We
joke about this. He looked and talks like a geek.
That holds him back. That I think that probably cost
him respect in that Miami room. Although to a too,
I mean, I know, the concussion thing, that's an excuse,
but he turned out to be useless.
Speaker 3 (34:11):
It looks like the Ravens just completed an interview yesterday
with Mike McDaniel for their head coach position. That running
game with that running game savant, that would be pretty scary.
Speaker 2 (34:22):
Well yeah, and you know him utilizing Lamar.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
Yes, we got to quote later a SoundBite rather that
from Mike Greenberg that Lamar has more power than any
player in the NFL. I don't know that's necessarily true,
but he did run Harbaugh out of time and Harball
was pretty embedded there. But I think any star player
that wants to flex is more often and not gonna
win because he sells the merch and the tickets, and
(34:47):
in Lamar's case, has gotten them not as far as
had been hoping pretty far.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
Yeah, I mean, and the owner pays Harbor a lot
of money, but he pays Lamar a lot more money too, Right,
He's got a lot more financial commitment tied up with Lamar.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
Nobody bought a ticket ever to see John Harben exactly right.
It's all about the two time MVP Lamar Jackson. So yeah,
it's I get what Greeney's saying, but you're right, like
just anybody in that position is going to be able
to wield a lot of power if they want to.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
Here's my one disclaimer about this whole process, which we're
going to talk about in a second.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
Tom.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
It's a leap of faith to do this higher the
traditional Steelers way. I eat the Rooney way because these
roonies ain't those roonies, and there's always, not always, not
always going to be a next Cower or a next
Tom Win. People are assuming, and I think the roonies
are assuming. But that's a lot to assume.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
And the way the league shifted, right because every other
time that you were in the coaching cycle, the league
was still you know, you could play great defense and
run the football and protect the football, and the blueprint worked.
But in between Mike Tomlin getting hired in two thousand
and seven and now this twenty twenty six coaching search,
the league just completely shifted as far as what is important.
It's about scoring and it's about being offensive oriented. And yeah,
(35:56):
there's still defensive minded coaches that are successful for of
the team, still have defensive mind to take coaches, but
they got great offensive minds on their staff. It's it's
gotta be all about that now.
Speaker 1 (36:05):
Well, I really hope that that Art and Danny and
Omar Khan really do what what Art says and have
an open mind, because if they're just gonna get like
if they hire even though I wouldn't mind Chris Shula
depending on who the offensive coordinator was, and I'd love Shielhas,
but I think he'd be dumb to make that move.
I think if he's only going to be a coordinator,
he should stay in LA.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
But it would be a.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
Promotion working because he go from passing game coordinator TOC
very marginal promotion. I agree with you McVeigh is the
one you want to learn at defeat there. Yeah, and
then by the way, Mike, Mike get a job as
the OC, and then you just get promoted to OC
in l A and then you get to be the
OC for Sean McVay.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
Yeah, And while it would not bother me if they
hired Chris Shula, in fact that if you made me predict,
who would you predict right now as a higher And
we have no right to do that because we have
no idea how these guys are gonna fit like and
what their interview like.
Speaker 2 (36:56):
But who would you.
Speaker 3 (36:57):
Say, one of the Rams guys Sheehas or Shula, probably Shula.
I think they're gonna pick from the McVeigh tree, and
I like that tree. I want to pick fruit from
that tree.
Speaker 1 (37:03):
I would pick. I would pick Schula. That's my prediction,
and I'm okay with it. But then I would just
presume that not as much as going to change as
I want.
Speaker 3 (37:13):
And then we'd have to see the next domino fall
the offensive coordinator higher. That would become a huge higher
than as far as Chris Shula's first move as head
coach of the Steelers, it'd be massive.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
That's tom Almark up next, going to go through all
the guys the Steelers are going to interview for their
head coaching job and try and figure it out. But
but again there's one guy they should be interviewing and
are not.
Speaker 2 (37:37):
That's a keys, but it's Stefanski. I mean, why the
freak aren't they talking to Stefanski one.
Speaker 5 (37:42):
Nine X Now here's your chance to win one thousand dollars.
Just as are this nationwide keyword on our website gold.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
That's gold. Answer it
Popular Podcasts
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.
iHeartOlympics: The Latest
Listen to the latest news from the 2026 Winter Olympics.
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.