The Best of The Dan Patrick Show

Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft’s handling of Jerod Mayo proves the “Patriot Way” is dead. And former NFL CB Devin McCourty drops by to talk about the mess in New England. Cowboys’ reporter Todd Archer drops by to talk about HC Mike McCarthy and his potential interest in the Bears job. And NFL insider Ian Rapoport stops by to weigh in on the upcoming NFL Playoffs and the Bears pursuit of Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox
Sports Radio.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
The Packers lost Christian Watson for the playoffs. Now I'm
watching this game, and I'm watching this in real time,
and you can tell when somebody gets hurt and they
know they're hurt, and it's not just hey, I got
banged up, it's this is serious. And you solved his
reaction and then I knew. I said, he probably tours

(00:27):
acl and that's what it turned out to be. This
is one of those Wow, to me, people aren't talking
about the Packers. The Packers have a good defense, they
can run. You got Jordan Love. Now you lose watching
that's a big loss, big loss, and it's probably being
underplayed here. But I think everybody's been focused, certainly on

(00:48):
the Lions, and I'm looking at point spreads, So DraftKings
sent me some point spreads. These are hypothetical matchups. The
Vikings would get three and a half against the Lions.
In a rematch, the Rams would get six and a
half against the Lions. The Packers would get three and
a half against the Lions. The Ravens would get one

(01:09):
against the Bills. The Vikings would get four against the Eagles.
Chargers four and a half against the Chiefs, Texans get
seven against the Chiefs, and the Buccaneers would get six
and a half if they face the Eagles. The Eagles
situation is also something interesting. This is being under sold
as well, and that's Jalen Hurts. He's been in concussion protocol.

(01:31):
And that's why I was all, for sake one Barclay
not playing in that last game. Would I'd like to
see him break the record. Sure, but you have to
have a bigger goal than an individual goal, and you
can't say, well, you can get hurt in every game.
You can't get hurt in a game you don't play in.
I want to make sure my quarterbacks in concussion protocol.

(01:51):
Is he going to be available to play? I don't
know that. But here's Nick Siriani being very evasive about
the health of his quarterback.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
As you put the game plan together, is it with
the intention of Jaelling is the starting quarterback this weekend?

Speaker 2 (02:05):
Yeah? I have no new information for you guys.

Speaker 3 (02:08):
Like I said yesterday, I was progressing through the protocol.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
Are you able to say if he's in the building today?
I got no new info for you guys here today.
I'm sorry, Wait, you can't confirm he's in the building. Yikes,
where's shifty when you need him somebody outside spying on
a grassy knoll to see if it is that hurts? Yes,
what is the huge benefit to holding back that bombshell

(02:33):
information unless he's not in the building and that he's
at a hospital or wherever you go for concussion protocol.
I think what Nick has done is he's made it worse.
I can't even tell you if he's in the building
or not now all of a sudden, I'm really curious.
But this is Nick Sirianni, who doesn't handle the media

(02:54):
very well. And in this situation, you know, if he's there,
there's nothing wrong with saying that he's not here today.
We expect him tomorrow. Like you can move around these things.
Sometimes these coaches try not to tell you something while
in the process really telling you something. All right, poll
question to start out first down? Or is going to

(03:15):
be what seeden most attractive opening? Right now? Wow, Bear's Jaguars, Jets,
Patriots sings. Okay, By the way, I had a source say, hey,
keep an eye out on the Colts Monday. They may
be blowing this thing up. Well, they didn't. They brought
back their coach and GM, but they fired their defensive coordinator,

(03:36):
Gus Bradley. I don't know if that's really detonating anything here,
but somebody had to pay the price, so Gus Bradley
was fired with the Colts. But the Jalen Hurt situation
that bears watching here practice coming up tomorrow will certainly
get a better indication if Kenny Pickett is going to
be the answer. You don't like the question if you're

(03:58):
a Philadelphia Eagle fan. North Dakota State they won the
FCS title. The Bison they win again. I think that's
ten national championships, and we were thinking, if you win
the national championship in FCS, can we schedule something where
you get to play the team that wins the national championship.

(04:20):
Let's say Ohio State wins and Week zero you get
North Dakota State against Ohio State. Now, it's not going
to be on a neutral site because Ohio State wouldn't
do that, but you get North Dakota State. Big moment. Now, granted,
the team that won the national championship won't be the
team that takes the field next year. That could be

(04:40):
a problem, but that'd be nice, because I'm all for relegation.
I think that would be awesome if we eventually get
to my playoff picture, my landscape for college football, which
maybe the top fifty schools, maybe sixty, split them up
in divisions, and you have an NFL style model. But

(05:03):
could you have that last day, that last game, those
last games where they mean something where you better win
or you're going to FCS or if you win, you're
going up to FBS. You get to play, and the
money is going to be a lot more. I think
it would be fun to watch that. I don't know
how practical it is, but I think if you had that,

(05:25):
just like with the Premier League, like sometimes you'll have
those last days where you're like, uh oh score differential,
gold differential, Oh my goodness, we're in trouble. Now you're
going to be relegated. No, not the R word, You're
relegated eight seven seven to three. DP show email address
DP at danpatrick dot com, Twitter handle it DP show

(05:45):
operator Tyler sitting by Yes Paul based off that.

Speaker 4 (05:48):
North Dakota State would be promoted to maybe the Big twelve,
and unfortunately this year Kent State would drop down to
FCS Kent State one NOBA.

Speaker 2 (05:57):
I think Kent State probably should be relegated, even though
there's no relegation. They lost every game, but I think
over thirty points like they weren't even they like winning
was a rumor for them. Maybe not even a rumor
for that. All right, let's see a couple other things here,
some facts that you might be interested in. Bo Nicks

(06:19):
is twenty four years, three hundred twenty two days, and
that will be on Sunday. That's how old he will be,
the second oldest rookie quarterback to start an NFL playing
playoff game. I could give you a hundred gains. I'd
give you a thousand guesses. You aren't going to guess
the oldest rookie to start a playoff game in NFL history.

(06:41):
It did happen in twenty twenty two. If that's a
hint for you, I'll give you his college, which would
probably give it away. I believe he played at Kansas State,
and he takers here, Michael Bishop with Marvin you were

(07:02):
going there, weren't I sure was Skuyler Thompson, Paul Tooley.
Just like Stat of the Day, Sat of the Day,
that past oat of the day stat of the day.
Here comes that what stand out of the day. Well,
all right, so the best opening, wes Devin mccordy. About that,

(07:25):
with the openings that we had, you had Robert Kraft.
I can't say this was a press conference. It was
just he addressed the media yesterday and he kind of
fell on the sword where he fired Drod Mail after
one year.

Speaker 5 (07:40):
This whole situation is on me. I feel terrible for
Girard because I put him in an untenable situation. It
was very hard because the personal relationship I feel for
Girard and the human being he is, and I felt
guilty I put him in that position.

Speaker 2 (08:03):
Okay, yes, you did. You know, everybody's a genius when
you got Belichick and Brady, and then when you only
have one, not everybody's a genius, including the genius. And
then when you don't have either, then it falls back
to who's running this team. And the Crafts have been
running this team, not Bill Belichick the last five years

(08:25):
and maybe longer. Okay, you have Gerrod Mayo who is
a coach in waiting. Now. Belichick didn't know apparently that
they had already put this in his contract that he
was going to be the coach in waiting. That's the
first problem. You have to let Bill know because and
Bill may say, hey, then I don't want to be

(08:46):
around and you may have to eat that one. But
you can't do that to Belichick. Where you go, We're
going to put this in the language in your contract.
You're the coach in waiting, and then tell me that
after five years being the coach in waiting, he's not
ready to be the coach after waiting five years. See,
that's embarrassing. Now. I think what this came down to

(09:09):
was not necessarily the performance on the field as much
as maybe handling yourself as a head coach. And I
think Drodmeyo failed with those responsibilities because I think he
wanted to be the antithesis of Bill Belichick. When he
went to a press conference, he was actually going to
say something. Maybe he was a little more confrontational with
his players, not that far removed from being a player himself,

(09:32):
and I don't think he handled himself the way maybe
the Crafts wanted him to handle himself as a head coach.
I don't know what they expected. Because you didn't spend
any money, you have a quarterback, you kind of have
a running back. You were supposed to have a really
good defense. The last part of last season, you were
one of the better defenses in the NFL. Now you're

(09:55):
going to bring in who Brian Flores, You're going to
bring in Mike Rabel, Ben Johnson. But I don't know
if you make that move unless you know, like what
if they whiff on Vrabel Ben Johnson. Let's say Brian
Floor is the defensive coordinator with the Vikings. Now what
are you going to bring in another inexperienced head coaching candidate,

(10:18):
Like you can't whiff Like they have to get their person.
They have to get Mike Rabel. It feels like Ben Johnson,
we don't know. As I've said many many times, not
every coordinator should be a head coach. Ben Johnson has
done a wonderful job in Detroit. I don't know. Once again,
you can be great at your job, but there are

(10:41):
other jobs that go with that. How do you handle
press conferences? It's really important. Is Pete Carroll going to
get a shot? It feels like there's some momentum that
maybe he gets a shot. I don't know why. Now
he's been available over the last couple of years. It's
one of the that it's like, you know, you find

(11:02):
out that some girls available and you didn't know she
was available, and you're like, well, what happened? I didn't
know that Pam Anderson's available? Well maybe Pete Carroll is
the Pam Anderson of the NFL. Nice, you know he's available. Okay,
And the Patriots got cap room. They have I think
over one hundred million dollars. Why weren't they spending that before?

(11:28):
If you're not going to spend it now, that'd be
my first question. If I'm going to be Mike Brabel
and I walk in and go, why do we have
one hundred million dollars that we didn't spend? Can we
can we buy a receiver? Can we can we buy
offensive line? Can we buy a running Could we have
gotten Saquon Barkley? Like, I don't know. You just asked questions.

(11:52):
Where why are you stockpiling all this money? Are we
going to spend this money now? I'm interested in the job.
If not, why would you take that job? Yes, you
got Drake May, but you need more than Drake May.
You're gonna win four or five six games? Okay, that's

(12:13):
not the Patriot. The Patriot way is done. Okay, the
Patriot way was Belichick and Brady. Let's be honest here,
it's not the Crafts, it's Belichick and Brady. Because once
the Emperor has no clothes, it's pretty freaking cold. And
that's what you have going on there. How did it
get here? And it happened right before our very eyes? Yes?

Speaker 4 (12:36):
Pulling that being said, even though it was an awkward
day for the Patriots, could it have been the right decision?
Because you have cap space and a quarterback that people like.
On a rookie deal, it's one of the more attractive
jobs financially, not so much talent wise, but financially you
have an open slate, Like if you're a new GM,
which I'll actually have a GM or a coach. It
seems like a blank slate.

Speaker 2 (12:58):
But I have to know if they're spending money, how
involved are the Crafts. That's what I want to know.
They got more involved, and I think to the detriment
of the team, you didn't spend any money. How do
you bring in a rookie coach and a rookie quarterback
and don't surround him. This goes back to what happened
with Andrew Luck. Every team should be reminded of that.

(13:20):
If you're going to bring in a rookie quarterback, get
an offensive line, give them a couple of skilled position players.
If not, then don't use the pick on a quarterback
if you're not going to protect him, Like Bryce Young,
Hey Bryce, go out there and be a savior. That's
not the kind of quarterback he is. Hey Bryce, sorry,
you got to run for your life. Hey Bryce, you suck.

(13:40):
Come on over. Andy Dalton's going You didn't help him,
protect him, and New England didn't do that with Drake Man.
And as a result, you get rid of Gerrod Mayo.
And maybe Mayo wasn't the right guy to begin with.
Maybe they made a mistake to put in the coach
in waiting. But now you got to get Mike Rabel.

(14:03):
His Rabel gives you a culture. And I know that's
one of those weird words, but Dan Campbell created a
culture in Detroit like certain coaches create a culture Rex Ryan,
you know, for the the good and the bad of
all of that. He had a culture with the Jet.
He's still trying to bank on that culture, saying I'm

(14:24):
the best guy for the job. We're not going to
let it be a country club atmosphere for Aaron Rodgers.
I go, okay, yeah, Paul.

Speaker 6 (14:31):
All right.

Speaker 4 (14:31):
Any chance of Rabel is the wrong choice because he
reminds everyone of Belichick. He'll probably walk in and say,
I'm going to do this like it was done five
years ago. Free agents didn't want to go play there,
especially towards the end. I don't know if Mike Rabel
be attractive to free agents with Alla Kaprum.

Speaker 2 (14:48):
Players didn't want to play for Belichick. They wanted to
play for Belichick and Brady because that meant you were
going to get a chance to play in a Super Bowl,
plain and simple, like the last four years. Did you
hear players go, you know what, before I retire, I
want to play for the greatest coach of all time. No,
they said, even defensive players, Hey, I'll put up with this,

(15:08):
but I want to go and play with Brady. I
got a chance Chris Long one year to play for
you play in a Super Bowl, and he won one.
They weren't going to play for the greatest coach in history.
They wanted to play for the greatest coach with the
greatest quarterback. The Patriot way.

Speaker 1 (15:26):
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Speaker 7 (15:38):
Hey, Steve Covino and I'm Rich David and together We're
Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You could catch
us weekdays from five to seven pm Eastern two to
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We talk about everything life, sports, relationships, what's going on
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about the stories behind the stories in the world of

(16:00):
sports and pop culture, stories that well other shows don't
seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact
that we've been friends for the last twenty years and
still work together.

Speaker 2 (16:08):
I mean that says something.

Speaker 7 (16:09):
Right, So check us out. We like to get you
involved too, take your phone calls, chop it up. As
they say, I'd say, the most interactive show on Fox
Sports Radio, maybe the most interactive show on planetar. Be
sure to check out Cavino and Rich Live on Fox
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any of the live show, just search Covin on Rich

(16:29):
wherever you get your podcasts, and of course on social media,
that's Covino and Rich.

Speaker 2 (16:35):
Devin mccordy, NBC Football Night in America's studio analyst. He
was on site with the Sunday Night Crew Vikings and
the lines worst loss you ever had in college was what.

Speaker 8 (16:48):
My freshman year we lost to Louisville fifty five toll
like five.

Speaker 3 (16:54):
We had a safety that was sprinkled in there. It
was something like that.

Speaker 2 (17:00):
Feel like.

Speaker 3 (17:03):
You hear the.

Speaker 8 (17:03):
Song that they play on kickoff a lot throughout the game,
and I still remember it was a young jeezy song
and they would always play Boom Boom clatt and we
heard that a lot that night, so you get used
to hearing that song where you get blown out.

Speaker 2 (17:21):
What was the atmosphere like in Detroit? Oh?

Speaker 3 (17:24):
It was awesome.

Speaker 8 (17:25):
You know, I think even in pregame warmups of each
kind of wave of guys that come out, you know,
first the returners come out, the crowd goes nuts, and
then the skill positions, and then ultimately Jared Golf came
out and they went nuts and What I loved though,
is every time somebody from the Vikings came out, it
was just NonStop booze, and I think like you could

(17:48):
feel it before the game started up. The impact that
crowd was going to have in the game.

Speaker 2 (17:52):
Well, that's what I was curious about. That they have
home field advantage throughout in the NFC, But how much
of an advantage is it to Detroit. Is there any
other place that compares like Kansas City that home field advantage, Yeah.

Speaker 3 (18:07):
Kansas City.

Speaker 8 (18:07):
I think Buffalo like those teams that, for one, your
fan base is intense, they're loud, But I think they
get an advantage too of playing in the cold depending
on who comes there, like we saw last year when
Miami had to go to Kansas City and play in
that historically cold game, but you don't have a shot.
And I think Detroit's advantage is being in that dome.

(18:28):
That dome gets loud and it gets rocking, and those
people are intense. I just talked to Mike Florio on
Pro Football Talk on the podcast they went and did
their podcast Monday morning, him and Chris Simps.

Speaker 3 (18:39):
They still could smell the.

Speaker 8 (18:40):
Beer, like those people had a great time in there,
so it's a tough place to play.

Speaker 2 (18:45):
What's it like to play in a quiet stadium?

Speaker 3 (18:49):
Yeah, you hear all the checks.

Speaker 8 (18:51):
You know, you think about, you know, defenses, and you know, honestly,
it's fun for defense when you're out there and you
can hear with the offense checks.

Speaker 3 (19:00):
You can hear yourselves usually like if you're.

Speaker 8 (19:01):
At home and those kind of big time matchups in
the crowds going crazy, making it hard for the offense.
You have to remember as a defense, you got to
get used to making your calls and stuff with that noise.
But when you're out there and is silent, the energy's
tough sometimes, but you get the advantage of really hearing
everything the offense is trying to check and get to.

Speaker 2 (19:21):
I guess there's usually one surprise firing every cycle. I
thought Gerrod Mayo was a surprise. I don't know how
you felt, but one and done in New England.

Speaker 8 (19:31):
Your reaction, Yeah, I got the opportunity to go up
to the press conference and I remember being in that
moment of how special it was a guy. I got
an opportunity to play with a guy that I think
for that franchise as a number ten pick came in
and did so many things and ultimately was a great
leader for the organization. So when he was named head coach,

(19:52):
I was so excited.

Speaker 3 (19:53):
I thought he would get an opportunity to really grow
into that role.

Speaker 8 (19:58):
Not much experience in coaching overall, but I thought he
would get the opportunity to grow and he didn't.

Speaker 3 (20:03):
And for me, it was a reminder.

Speaker 8 (20:04):
Of this league of I don't care how awesome the
story is, the personal relationships and all that. When you
get in and you're a head coach, they're looking for
a certain thing. They're looking for wins, they're looking for
the alignment and what the vision looks like. And ultimately
the Crafts felt like it wasn't there and they moved
on from Jiraw.

Speaker 3 (20:21):
But you know, I think down the end it didn't.
It wasn't surprising.

Speaker 8 (20:24):
But if I think back to the beginning, no way
I thought that it would even be a thought of
him being one and done as a head coach.

Speaker 2 (20:31):
But how can he be the coach in waiting for
five years but not be ready for this moment? According
to Robert Kraft, yeah.

Speaker 8 (20:39):
I mean you look at that press conferences and he said,
I think he has all the skills to be a
great head coach someday, and that to me was why
you named him head coaches. You thought somebody else would
get to take advantage of that, and they only give
him one year. I think it's really tough, you know,
And I think back to Jimmy Johnson spoke to our
team my rookie year and he said, the NFL is

(21:01):
not about fair. You're gonna get opportunity and that's all
you can ask for. And you know, honestly, it wasn't
fair for draw Mayo to think he would have everything
button up in year one. But that's the reality of
the NFL.

Speaker 2 (21:12):
Devin mccordy Football Night in America Analyst and wild Card
Weekend NBC and Peacock will bring you the commanders at
the Buccaneers. Better season turned in by Jaden Daniels or
Baker Mayfield.

Speaker 8 (21:25):
Oh, I think you gotta go Jaden Dails just because
a little bit of what Baker's doing was expected, you know.
I think Baker and Tampa has been a beautiful fit
and he showed that he can be, you know, one
of the top quarterbacks in the league. Jade and Daills
took over a Washington team that we thought, even with him,
they would struggle this year, and you look up and

(21:45):
they're in the playoffs. They're going to be in the
playoffs playing an opportunity advance that just wasn't expected. And
the truth is it's all because of Jaden Daniels as
their best player.

Speaker 2 (21:56):
The Eagles situation is interesting, and I think it's being
undersold that that is Jalen Hurts in concussion protocol. Here
have you ever been in concussion protocol?

Speaker 8 (22:05):
Actually, my first time being a concussion protocol, I don't
want to say it was the same, but it was
similar into what Jalen Hurst is going through of and
the process was a little different. But I had passed
certain tests so I was able to practice, but I
didn't pass a test yet to be able to have contact,
so I had got a concussion missed the last week

(22:26):
of the season.

Speaker 3 (22:27):
Then we had to.

Speaker 8 (22:27):
Play off bye week, so I didn't practice the last
week of the season, but the playoff bye week, I
was cleared to be able to practice, but.

Speaker 3 (22:35):
Still was non contact.

Speaker 8 (22:36):
And then ultimately to get out of protocol, I had
to get an MRI of my brain to be fully
out of the concussion protocol. So it was a whole process,
and more of a process than normal when we think
about concussion protocol. So I felt a little bit of
what he's going through.

Speaker 2 (22:54):
Now, if you were Mike McCarthy and you had an
opportunity to lead the Cowboys, let's say the Bears job
is legitimate, you know, he's going to be a free agent,
and I don't know if there's any rush for Jerry
to you know, sign him. They could have done this.
He's been a lame duck coach, but it's hard to
pass on being the Cowboys head coach. But sometimes you

(23:18):
want to get out from underneath Jerry Jones and that
that star.

Speaker 8 (23:23):
That Cowboys head coaching job is hard to turn down
until you've been in it for five years. And I
think Mike McCarthy knows exactly what it feels like and
what it is to be in that job. So I
think it'll be telling if he does want to go
on these interviews that he is seeking to see what
it feels like and what it could look like somewhere else.
And the Bears they had to see it firsthand when

(23:44):
he was coaching a Green Bay Packer, so there might
be a little bit of an infatuation of Mike McCarthy
and what he was able to do, and he might
want some breath in a room from being on that
kind of soap opera box that the Cowboys give you
every year you're in that position.

Speaker 2 (23:58):
We're going to have a road team, at least one
road team win this weekend. With these these games, give
me the surprise this weekend.

Speaker 3 (24:08):
The surprise, I would say, And I know it's a little.

Speaker 8 (24:12):
Harder because of Jordan Love's injury and Christian Watson being done,
but I just think the green Bay Packers they're one
of those teams that are a little inconsistent. You don't
always know what you're gonna get. But if they can
get hot and they can get going, they have a
Jeff hafleet or defensive coordinator, has different kind of looks
and disguises that they can give you. They're gonna play

(24:33):
an Eagles team that comes off a week where they're resting,
so they might be a little bit of a slow
start getting back into the field of things that I
think green Bay could surprise Philadelphia.

Speaker 3 (24:43):
I think Philadelphia is a better team and.

Speaker 8 (24:45):
Should win, but I wouldn't be surprised if Green Bay
could get it going at Philadelphia.

Speaker 2 (24:50):
Pittsburgh has problems with Baltimore.

Speaker 3 (24:53):
Why, I just ultimately, I think Baltimore is a better
football team.

Speaker 8 (24:58):
I think I think we fell in love with what
Russ was able to do took over Pittsburgh.

Speaker 3 (25:02):
That went on a little winning streak.

Speaker 8 (25:04):
But I think what we saw what Baltimore is able
to do over these last few weeks, that's their team
and I think they're playing their best ball right now.
And I think Pittsburgh they're just not the inabilities of
the offense to get the ball down the field consistently,
to be able to pick up short gains and drive
and have ten to twelve play drives, like, that's not

(25:25):
what they do well. So when you're relied on the
DP ball non stop, and if Pickens doesn't come out
and have a big game, then that just leaves you
so handicap that I think Baltimore has so much firepower
that you can't really play that way. But I will
say these two teams, they battle, and each time they play,
it seems like the game goes a different way. So

(25:45):
it's a scary game a little bit for Baltimore playing
a division opponent in the playoffs.

Speaker 2 (25:49):
What if Bill Belichick called you and said, would you
join me on my staff at North Carolina?

Speaker 8 (25:55):
I would ultimately think about it, and then I would second,
I would think about my wife killing me. So I
would have to say, Bill, I love you, respect you
so much, but coaching is just not going to be
about future.

Speaker 2 (26:06):
Okay. What advice would you give if Bill Belichick said,
come down and talk to my players. I'm not going
to be in the room. What would you say?

Speaker 8 (26:15):
I would tell them prepare for something that won't be easy,
but prepare for a chance to be one thing, a
champion in college, but ultimately an opportunity to be the
best football player you could be. And for some of them,
that's going to be in the NFL. You're going to
learn things about the game of football that are going
to travel with you far after your career. I mean,

(26:36):
I'm doing TV primarily because I sat in team meeting
rooms for thirteen years and heard the most brilliant mind
and Bill Belichick talk about the game of football. I
know about situations that I've never known offense, special.

Speaker 3 (26:49):
Teams, defense because of all the things he hit about.
You know, over my thirteen years in football and for
those young guys like that won't leave you.

Speaker 8 (27:00):
There's life lessons in there, There's everything. So I think
ultimately you want to be a winner and be the
best version of yourself. Get an opportunity to play for
Bill Belichick. That's going to give you that.

Speaker 2 (27:09):
Did you ever want to punch you?

Speaker 3 (27:12):
I mean, how many times have you be the question?
I remember we went my rookie year, we went nine.

Speaker 8 (27:18):
Straight days of full pads in practice in training camp.
Can't do that anymore, but that, like, that's what we
did my rookie year in training camp.

Speaker 3 (27:26):
We were ready to go. By some season started.

Speaker 2 (27:29):
Good to talk to you again, have fun in the postseason.
Thank you, Devin, Always talking to you, Dare Devin mccordy.
Football Night in America analyst in wild Card weekend, Commanders
and the Buccaneers, NBC and Peacock coverage will begin on
Sunday night at seven thirty Eastern. Football Night in America
kicks off at eight.

Speaker 1 (27:49):
Be sure to catch the live edition of The Dan
Patrick Show weekdays at nine am Eastern six am Pacific
on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio w APP.

Speaker 2 (27:59):
Todd Archer, ESPN, NFL Nation Cowboys Reporter joining us on
the program, and you got a lot to talk about.
You'll always have something to talk about here to write
about your reaction. When the Bears reportedly reached out asked
for permission to talk to Mike McCarthy.

Speaker 9 (28:16):
It certainly made it interesting for Jerry Jones to have
to make it, maybe make a decision sooner than he
would want to make. If he grants permission, does that
tell us that Mike McCarthy is not going to be
back If he doesn't grant permission, Does that tell us
he is going to be back? There are so many
different things he can come up with through this coaching search.

(28:36):
I go back expect anything when it comes to this,
because I go back to the last time Jerry had
a coach with an expiring contract in twenty nineteen, when
he interviewed Marvin Lewis and Mike McCarthy before making any
announcement on Jason Garrett's status. So that's kind of where
we are right now. Who the heck knows where they're
going to how long it can take. I would think

(28:58):
if it happens, it has to happen here soon.

Speaker 2 (29:00):
But why has Jerry left him dangling here? You either
want Mike McCarthy or you don't.

Speaker 9 (29:07):
Right, you should be able to operate on parallel tracks
during the course of a season and have a hypothetical
list available in your desk drawer to say this is
where I want to go when the season ends. We've
seen other teams already make moves either designed to keep
their coaching staff in GM or go out and make
this call. Jerry has a Netflix series coming out called

(29:28):
The Gambler, right, that's supposed to come out at some
point here in twenty twenty five. I don't know if
he's much of a gambler anymore.

Speaker 2 (29:36):
This is just not how he operates.

Speaker 9 (29:37):
He takes his time on things and doesn't make the
bold moves that everybody expects him to make. Maybe that
will come back here soon and I'll look like a
fool for saying that. But I don't know why that.
This wasn't a decision that could have been made yesterday,
certainly can be made today. It's hopefully by the end
of the week. McCarthy's contract expires DAN on Wednesday, always

(30:00):
having exclusive negotiating rights through January fourteenth. I would think
if I'm Mike McCarthy, I want to know by Wednesday,
because I want to know, should I look into the
Chicago thing? Should I look into these other jobs that
they that these people who might want me as coach?

Speaker 2 (30:15):
But Todd, you've been around this franchise a long time.
How much does Jerry love the attention? Like his team
stays in the news cycle constantly because he doesn't wrap
anything up. Michael Parsons contract won't be wrapped up quickly,
Dax wasn't, CDs wasn't. You're a head coach here. It
almost feels like I want you to keep talking about

(30:35):
my franchise.

Speaker 9 (30:38):
Yeah, and that's how you become ten billion dollar franchise,
I guess in some respect, right, because everybody's talking about it,
everybody good and bad. Right, it's the Cowboys. Fans are
going to be Cowboys fans, and people will hate the Cowboys.
Are always going to hate the Cowboys. So you have
so many eyeballs on you that you draw attention to you.
And I think Jerry he has said it, he loves
that attention that is on his franchise. At some point,

(31:01):
it's not conducive to winning football games, although he'll point
out that they e the fifth or sixth most winning
his team in the last five, six, seven years. But
ultimately Jerry bought the Cowboys in nineteen eighty nine to
win Super Bowls and they've not won one since nineteen
ninety five. So what are they in here just to
win games? Or are they in here to win Super Bowls?

Speaker 2 (31:20):
Is it a good job? If it's open.

Speaker 9 (31:24):
This is where I might differ with people who say
it might not be a good job.

Speaker 2 (31:27):
I will say it is a good job.

Speaker 9 (31:29):
The head coach of the Dallas Cowboys has the biggest
say in the franchise if they choose to be the
loudest voice in the franchise. Now we can go back
to nineteen ninety eight. I think chan Gaily didn't want
Randy Moss. The Cowboys didn't draft Randy Moss. You know,

(31:49):
there have always been some little hiccups along the way.
Bill Parcels didn't want to they still signed too. What
was the corollary moved to that they cut Larry Allen.
That was a guy that one round. So that was
one for one right there. But this is a good
job beyond because it's one of thirty two, because it
is the Cowboys, and this is a roster that really

(32:12):
was hit hard by injury. But you have a quarterback
that'll be coming back, you have a number one ride receiver,
you have Michaeh Parsons. You have other pieces in place
that can win with you at a quick turnaround. But
it's incumbent on Jerry to do more in the offseason
than he did last year, where their biggest free agent
signing was either Zeke or Eric Kendricks. They have to

(32:35):
do more than that to supplement this roster. They can't
just rely on improvement from within. But if the head
coach wants the power or I don't want to say power,
wants to say and it'll put the work in, he
can have to say to get what he wants the
majority of the time.

Speaker 2 (32:51):
But if you're a Cowboys fan and you hear, hey,
this is why I bought the team. I want to
be the GM. I want to run the team like
what Jerry Jones have fight Jerry Jones, Well.

Speaker 9 (33:03):
He hasn't done it yet, so I would say no,
I'll say and I don't want to come across like
I'm defending the way Jerry operates this. But in Jerry's mind,
the GM is the guy who cuts the check. So
that's why he keeps the title. The GM of the
Cowboys is really Will McClay. He's the guy that does
the work that of what a general manager does. And
if you look at how they've drafted since Will McLay

(33:25):
has been here since twenty fourteen, it's been among the
best in the NFL. So people we get hung up
on the title, but Jerry is not going into the
draft room and saying, who do you want?

Speaker 2 (33:37):
Who do you want? Who do you want?

Speaker 6 (33:39):
No?

Speaker 9 (33:40):
You guys want this guy. No, no, no, I want this dude,
and we're going to take that guy. That's not how
it works, and it's really not how it's worked here
for quite a long time. I'll go on my twenty
plus years of covering the team. It truly has been
a conglomeration of efforts to get the right get the
guy everybody wants. And we can plain to another example

(34:01):
of Jerry not getting what he want when they drafted
Zach martin twenty fourteen and not Johnny Manzel.

Speaker 8 (34:06):
Oh.

Speaker 2 (34:06):
I know I remember that because he wanted he wanted.
He likes that shiny object there, and I go back
that I think he wanted Connor Cook, and Connor Cook
was taken, and then they took Dak Prescott.

Speaker 9 (34:17):
Right, Yeah, and not just Connor Cook. They tried to
trade trade back into the first round and take Paxton Lynch.

Speaker 2 (34:23):
Oh.

Speaker 9 (34:24):
So those are two two moves that the Cowboys are
glad they didn't make, and they ended up getting Dak
Prescott with not only their their second fourth round pick,
a compensatory pick. It took a defensive end out of
Oklahoma with their first fourth round pick that year over
Dak Prescott.

Speaker 2 (34:40):
You go back to Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones that relationship.
Could it have worked.

Speaker 9 (34:48):
Longer than it had?

Speaker 2 (34:49):
Yeah?

Speaker 9 (34:51):
No, I don't believe so. I think Jerry wanted out,
And again that was before my time here. But haven't
talked to a lot of people that have been around
and talked to Jimmy about it and talked to Jerry
about it. I think Jerry wanted I think Jimmy wanted
to go somewhere else too. I think his time here
was done, and I think he realized there's only so
long of a shelf life a coach can have. Clearly
that he and Jerry had differences of opinion on who

(35:14):
did what and the separation of powers and things like that.
I think it lasted as long as both sides wanted
it to last, and it was time for them to
split up.

Speaker 2 (35:22):
But if you look in the history of the NFL
trades that were made, where do you put what Jimmy did.
I'm giving Jimmy the credit for herschel Walker deal. Now,
I'm sure Jerry gets credit to it. But the importance
of that trade compared to other trades in NFL history,
where does that rank?

Speaker 9 (35:40):
I mean, I don't know how it's not. I'm going
to say it's number one because I can't think of
another one that would top it, just because that was
the start of everything for the nineties Cowboys, and at
the time when they made that trade, everybody decided it
was for these players and didn't realize the pick element
of it, and then how everything kind of of that

(36:01):
team was built through that trade for a number of
years and the guys that they got out of that.
So they have a tour at the Star where the
people can come in, and it's famous, right because everybody
wants to take a tour of the Star and see
the players and things. But there's one segment of the
herschel Walker trade, So that tells you what the Cowboys
think of that trade and what it meant to them

(36:22):
in their history. So but yeah, without that trade, there
probably is not a Super Bowl run of the nineteen nineties.

Speaker 2 (36:28):
The Vikings don't have a tour where they focus on
the herschel Walker deal.

Speaker 9 (36:32):
Just their tour involves Randy Moss going to them and
not to the Cowboy.

Speaker 2 (36:38):
Percentage that Mike McCarthy is back is what if you
were going to put a number on this.

Speaker 9 (36:44):
Yeah, I talked to some people in the organization the
last couple of days, and before the game I think
the people that I spoke to said he will be back,
and it might have been a sixty five thirty five.
Talking to people after the game on Sunday and just
what hasn't come out of the organization or out of
the meetings with Jerry, it's probably closer to fifty to

(37:05):
fifty at this point, oh boy. And by the time
we in there our discussions, it might be back to
seventy thirty. He's staying because this is such an in
the wind. As Mike I told us yesterday, he's in the.

Speaker 3 (37:16):
Wind just like us.

Speaker 9 (37:17):
So the players really don't know what's going on. Here either.

Speaker 2 (37:19):
Thank you, Todd. Good to catch up with you again.

Speaker 9 (37:22):
Got it, Thanks Dan, appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (37:23):
Todd Archer, ESPN, NFL Nation Cowboys Reporter.

Speaker 1 (37:27):
Be sure to catch the live edition of The Dan
Patrick Show weekdays at nine am Eastern, six am Pacific
on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio w APP.

Speaker 2 (37:36):
He's Ian Rappaport NFL Network Insider. You can see him
tonight on The Insiders and that's its seven Eastern non
NFL Network. Good to talk to you again, Ian. Give
me the surprise coaching move, whether it was keeping a
coach or firing a coach.

Speaker 6 (37:51):
Well, I would say, I don't know what it's a
surprise now because basically what happens is everything, every different
possible outcome gets sort of rumored.

Speaker 8 (38:00):
Right.

Speaker 6 (38:00):
So it's like people say, can you believe that it's
like the Titans just fired Ran Carthon the general manager
after two seasons after giving him an extension last year.
You know, it's like, is that a surprise? Like, I
don't know that anything's a surprise that There have been
some rumors always, But to me, the one that I
was most unsure about was probably the Giants. Now, to me,

(38:21):
not that my opinion matters at all. But I felt
like if the Giants could just take a deep breath
and stick with people who they know are good, who
took them to the playoffs, they know Brian Daboll is
a good coach, didn't forget how to be a good coach.
You know. I think the Daniel Jones quarterback plummet probably
hurt them a little bit over the last couple of years.
If they could just take a deep breath and stick there,

(38:43):
I think they will benefit. I just you know, people
so often choose change when there's an option. Just people
want you to do something, just something, and so I
was sort of pleasantly surprised. I would say that they
decided to do nothing and stick with the guys they have.

Speaker 2 (39:03):
Of the openings now, in your opinion, the most attractive
job is where.

Speaker 6 (39:08):
It's all about the quarterback and it's all about how
quickly you can get in there and win. I mean,
that's that's to me. So it's like, you know, I
think the Bears is really really attractive if you think,
you know, if you think Caleb Williams is good, and
I think everyone thinks he's you know, it's not like
he was taking number one, and people like the Bears
were crazy, many many people would have taken him number one.

(39:32):
So to me, I think that's that's a really really
attractive job. Some of the others might take a little
bit of time, but that roster is pretty good. Offensive
line needs work, but I think all around. You know,
if if Caleb Williams can throw on time and take
care of the ball like he certainly did this year,
I think that's one where you could sort of flip
it pretty quickly. The other one I like is the Jaguars.

(39:55):
You know, like, is Trevor Lawrence going to be Patrick
Mahomes Like, I don't know at this point, maybe not.
Probably not very good viable quarterback locked in for a
long time, a lot of weapons, a lot of good
young players tied into contracts that have already started. That's
another place where it's like, I think you could hop
in there and win fairly quickly in a division that
has not always been at the top, top tier.

Speaker 2 (40:17):
What are the cowboys doing now?

Speaker 6 (40:20):
They're dancing? Cowboys are dancing. You know they're different, man,
And you know we know that cowboys are different. We
know they're a different animal. But situations like this really
show us how different. Jerry Jones does not like dead money,
and it feels like would rather have this uncertainty for
eight days or nine days or whoever long the last,

(40:41):
rather than deal with the dead money of let's say,
extending Mike McCarthy and deciding we do not want him here.
So the sense I get, the sense I get is
that they want him back. The sense I get is
that he would like to be back under the right circumstances.
You have other teams. You know, we're gonna have interest
bears I put in request. I would expect the Saints

(41:02):
to have interest as well. It's just can they get
together and figure out something that works for both of
them and for me. A lot of the biggest questions
are like what about the term of the contract? Like,
if you're the Cowboys, you know, maybe you say, oh, well,
let's do a two year deal. Cool. If we don't
we want to get out next year, we can just
fire him with you know, limited money. If you're McCarthy, like,

(41:25):
why would you do that? Just go somewhere else and
get a five year deal. So I think that's some
of the issues they need to work out.

Speaker 2 (41:31):
Do the Lions lose both coordinators.

Speaker 6 (41:36):
A pretty good chance. Yeah, I mean Ben Jonson's a
little bit of a different deal because he's been in
demand for a couple of years. You know, I don't
know that he would have gotten the commander's job last year,
but at least he would have been one of the
final guys they were discussing right that whole situation was
kind of weird. But he's in demand enough where I

(41:56):
think he's gonna have a chance to get a job.
And then to me, I mean Aaron Glenn And like
we all saw what the line's defensive coordinator did on Sunday,
that was a that was mean. He made things very
very rough for the Vikings. I've not seen that Sam
Donald in a couple of years. But that's not why
I think Aaron Glenn's going to get a job. It's
really about like culture and leadership. And to me, he's

(42:18):
the guy who's sort of like most an extension of
Dan Campbell on the staff. Like I think, I think
he's got a really good shot to get one of
these jobs as well.

Speaker 2 (42:26):
Talking to Ian Rappaport, NFL Network insider, I've said this
for many many years, not every coordinator deserves to be
a head coach that because of what goes along, Like
you know, Girod Mayo, I don't think he was equipped
to go to those press conferences. I think he was
trying to be the antithesis of Belichick and he just
he didn't handle it well. Now that doesn't mean he

(42:47):
can't learn how to do it. But we've seen a
lot of the Patriot coordinators Romeo Crenell and Charlie Weiss,
and they're coordinators, they're just but it's tough to say
that to somebody when somebody says, why doesn't that guy
get a shot? Well, you gotta be Pete Carroll at
a press conference, now, like you gotta be able to
handle these things, and you're a CEO. How do you

(43:10):
different Can you differentiate between somebody is just a great
coordinator and not a head coach.

Speaker 6 (43:15):
So specifically to the press conferences. I don't care that
that much about like Gerd Mayo kind of like stepping
on his foot or whatever at a press conference. I
don't care that much. But just because like if you're
not great at the media, like most people most when
Rod Mayo was coming up as a player, he did
plenty of interviews as a coordinator. He was a position

(43:38):
coach for a lot of it. He didn't do a
ton of interviews. Most of these guys have not, so
like you'll see, like I remember Nick Sirianni, who has
proven to be a very good head coach, was a
disaster his first press conference. You and I sort of
take it for granted. It's very very hard. I don't
care so much about that. What I care about is
a lot of times that press conference face or persona

(44:00):
or whatever is what you put in front of the team.
That's more important to me because, like you know, when
you're it's like, mess up in front of the media, Okay,
who cares, But if you mess up in front of
the team, they're gonna wonder if you're really authentic, are
you acting? Are you trying to be? And I think
that's where a lot of the Patriots coordinators under Belichick
have run into problems because they were trying to be something,

(44:23):
whether it's him, whether it's I'm definitely not gonna be him.
It's like players can tell when you're not just a leader, right,
and so like talk about coordinators being ready, Like Dan
Campbell was the coordinator, he was just the best leader
that the Saints had. So it's like sometimes coaches, you know,

(44:44):
it's like, I really don't think that the best play
calling head coach, the best play calling coordinator means you're
gonna be a great head coach. It's like, find the
best leader, but that guy in front of the big room,
not the small one, but the big room, and let
him go.

Speaker 2 (44:57):
Yeah, because you've got to create a culture. And I
I think that I don't know what Ben Johnson's personality is,
but is he going to be able to leave? Dan
Campbell came in and we were like, oh, who is
this guy? And then all of a sudden we realize
that that guy is that guy and those players bought
into that, and really that's the important part. You know,
the Cowboys they bought into Jimmy Johnson, Like you have

(45:19):
to buy into that. We may see somebody and go
that guy's corny or you know, that guy's quiet, but
you'll know when you're the feedback you get comes from
your players. That's the ultimate. That's the only feedback you
really need.

Speaker 6 (45:35):
Well, yeah, and like like for for me, like you know,
I've been doing this for thirteen years now, and I
get to know a lot of these coordinator candidates, a
lot of the young coaches, and it's really been educational
for me to as I talk about it and as
I talk to gms and owners and whoever you know,
whether publicly or probably about some of these candidates, because

(45:57):
it's like, what makes a good head coach, who makes
a good coordinator is almost almost has nothing to do
with each other, Like if you do the Venn diagram thing,
they may not connect. Like I remember so specifically. I
hate to even say this now, but kind of rolling
my eyes at the Lions excitement over Dan Campbell because
I'm like, what are they seeing that I am not seeing?

(46:21):
He's ever been a coordinator, Like, yes, he gave the
speeches in the Saints to the point like he's not
even a coordinator. And now, as I've learned, it's like
who cares like find the best leader? And it's like,
you know you talked about I was laughing as you
were doing the open talking about how bad the Lions draft,
you know, drafts were. It's like, what is Brad Holmes doing?

(46:41):
Don't they care about, you know, positional value? It's like,
find good football players, have them play on your team,
have a lot of good football players, you don't have
a better team. It's like same thing with coaches. Find
good leaders, let them lead, and then everything else will
sort of be fine.

Speaker 2 (46:55):
Finish this sentence. If the Steelers get blown out against
the Ravens, I.

Speaker 6 (47:02):
Will be surprised if the Steelers get blown out against
the Ravens. You're talking specifically about Mike Tomlin. I don't
think anything happens to Mike tom But I would say
if the Steelers get blown out by the Ravens, then
I will say they take another look at the quarterback
position and try to figure that out for next year.
I have thought, I have believed that their starting quarterback

(47:22):
for next year is on their roster. My sense is
that it was Russell Wilson. It has been very rough
the last month, very rough, so maybe it's not. But
I think we're about to find out.

Speaker 2 (47:32):
Let's flip it. If the Ravens lose.

Speaker 6 (47:36):
Yeah, I mean this is about as talented a Ravens
team as as we could have. You know, I would
be surprised if anything happens to Harbor. If that's what
you mean to.

Speaker 2 (47:45):
Me, he is It's probably perception with Lamar like this
is the ultimate kiss of death with him, whether it's
fair or not. But here we are home field advantage.
You had home field advantage last year. You know, no,
I get it, it's there.

Speaker 6 (47:58):
I get and last year was probably like you know,
I I would like to see the Ravens in the
super Bowl. It would be very fun. And they're such
a good team and I feel like they, you know,
deserve to. So last year was frustrating because it's like,
I don't know what else they have to do. And
then they got Derrick Henry. They sort of form their
identity even more. I think they're you know, good enough

(48:23):
on defense. I mean, this looks like a team that
should be should go deep into the playoffs and reach
the super Bowl. But again, like I don't think it's
a it's so freaking hard to get there. It's so hard.
And like you could say whatever you want about Omar
or Josh Allen, same thing. It's like, I get it,
but you got to beat Mahomes. So it's like sometimes

(48:46):
you're just Mahomes is gonna beat you. He's very good.

Speaker 2 (48:50):
Yeah, it's like Jordan. Yeah, it's yeah, the Jordan era
that there's no shame in not winning a championship. There.

Speaker 6 (48:58):
Look, Look, Mahomes is a good pitcher, like I've seen
I've seen the clips of him throwing. Like, if he
wants to go play baseball, he's still got a great arm.
If he wants to go play baseball, then I think
that really opens things up at AFC.

Speaker 2 (49:13):
I think he'd be maybe a better baseball player than Jordan.

Speaker 6 (49:17):
Yeah, I mean Jordan was not very good. But on
the other hand, like you drop someone into you know,
was it double was Birmingham double A? Drop someone into
double A? Like he hit two hundred. That's pretty good.
I wouldn't hit two hundred.

Speaker 2 (49:30):
Yeah, but you're not. You're not one of the greatest
athlete you know, in the world.

Speaker 6 (49:35):
It's offensive.

Speaker 2 (49:37):
I don't even know if you're the best athletic insider.

Speaker 6 (49:42):
Wow, that's really offensive. I was a high school baseball player.
I was pretty good.

Speaker 2 (49:47):
Are you more athletic than Adam Schefter?

Speaker 6 (49:55):
I think, I mean, I think skill wise, just pure athleticism.
Like think I have a better arm, you know, I
think if you psch you know, having a catch, I
think I would probably the.

Speaker 2 (50:08):
Combine.

Speaker 6 (50:09):
He might beat me in a race, and I think
he he is. I'm pretty sure he lifts. I think
strength wise he would probably get me. But hitting a baseball,
throwing talk about like golf, I feel like I probably
got him, just so be really depending on the events.

Speaker 2 (50:25):
What if Glazier was in the octagon with you.

Speaker 6 (50:28):
Well, if we're talking octagon, me and Schefter have no chance.
But you want to talk like golf, baseball, tennis. You know,
I did go to a nick voluntary week of tennis
camp when I was eleven.

Speaker 2 (50:42):
Saying my bad, I did not know that Fritzi. Will
you check his resume next time? Yeah, that's impressive stuff here.

Speaker 6 (50:51):
I was a college athlete, I was a rower. But still.

Speaker 2 (50:56):
Were you a rower or were you crew?

Speaker 6 (50:58):
I was? I was a was a rower, is a
lightweight rower at Columbia. I was very bad, but my
team was very good. So there you go.

Speaker 2 (51:07):
Uh were you were? You weren't the one who is
yelling like the no.

Speaker 6 (51:12):
I was actually doing the work. Okay, I mean not
the cosins don't do the work. They work very hard,
but more metal work there.

Speaker 2 (51:19):
He's one of the great athletic insiders in the in
the business. He's Ian Rapidport. Thank you, Ian, thank you.