Robert Saleh: Evolving the Jets

Steve Wyche and Jim Trotter are joined by the ne were joined by the new head coach of the New York Jets Robert Saleh, and no topic is off-limits. Before Saleh joins the podcast, Steve and Jim discuss the lack of diversity hires in the NFL - citing Super Bowl offensive coordinators Eric Bieniemy and Byron Leftwich as potential future minority head coaching candidates (2:17). Then Saleh joins the program (14:19) and describes his first days in New York, including his early assessment and projections for quarterback Sam Darnold (28:54). Saleh goes on to provide an interesting take on the lack of diverse head coaching candidates in the NFL (32:22), discusses the Jets culture (45:26), and sets expectations for the level of emotion he plans to display as a head coach (49:31). Plus, Steve and Jim take a few moments to remember NBA reporter Seku Smith, who recently died from Covid-19 (1:00:31). Huddle and Flow is part of the NFL Podcasts Network.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:13):
All right, welcome everybody to the Huddle and Flow Podcast,
presented Body into It the probabmakers of Turbo Tax, QuickBooks
and the Mint. I am Steve White, joined by my
guy Jim trotter Um and Jim. We are without our
ace producer Thomas Warren this week. He has taken care
of some family business. So shout out all love and
respect to Thomas. But Jim, this is gonna fantastic show.

(00:35):
We know who's gonna be playing the Super Bowl. We
know we're gonna getting ready to have an offseason and
crazy quarterback movement. And Jim, we got Robert Sala, the
new head coach of the New York Jets. He will
be joining us for this fantastic episode. So we are
locked and loaded as the NFL gets ready to wrap
up it's twenty twenty season. Yeah no, it isn't strong show.

(01:00):
You know. Robert Sali is such an impressive guy and
the success City at in San Francisco now moving over
to take over a franchise that I think we know
over the last decade one winning once, one winning season,
one postseason appearance. Um. I think in three of the
last four years, five or fewer wins. But that's a
franchise that's hungry for success. That's a franchise you know

(01:22):
that fan base, Steve Um, they don't like playing second
fiddle or that other franchise in the same area code there.
So Um, I think he's gonna be that guy that's
gonna bring some stability to that that that organization. There's
been a lot of dysfunction there in recent years. And
if you know Robert Sale, you know how steady he is,
you know how focused he is, how disciplined he is.

(01:45):
So I expect that if out of any of these
candidates who had been up for these jobs this year,
I think that he's a perfect fit there. He's just
so impressed him and you know, one of thing you
shoud and we've seen it in a couple of spots
where guys have been to come in and get their
arms around just a crazy situations. And we saw Ron Rivera,
which Asian right Washington do it this season with everything

(02:07):
and they went through to kind of just calm the
waters a little bit. So you know, they're hoping they
can get that going with the Jets and steadily stacks
and wins on that. But Jim Let's let' let's get
to the super Bowl coming up. We have got the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the first team to host a Super
Bowl TV twelve, against the Kansas City Chiefs, um who

(02:28):
just looked like an unstoppable force, especially with offense and
the timeless, timeless of the plays that defense makes. But Jim,
I just can't get beyond the simple fact we look
at all the matchups and everything of Eric b Enemy
and Byron Left, which the two black offensive coordinators in
the NFL facing off in the Super Bowl, and it's

(02:49):
is in your face as it can be at something
we talk about. We know Eric is interviewed for several
head coaching positions Left which has not hit that cycle yet.
But just what about I mean, I don't want to
call this necessarily historic, even though that it is um
but just the fact that, yeah, you know, people of
color can do this, right, they can do this during
the Super Bowl. Here's your prime shining example. Yeah, I

(03:13):
think number one. What it does more than anything, it's
going to continue the dialogue. You know, for all of
those who have questioned why aren't diverse candidates getting head
coaching jobs, and in particular, why aren't black men getting
head coaching jobs. I think this week is gonna gonna
elevate that conversation, particularly because Bruce arians of the Bucks
has an all black coordinator staff. When you talk about

(03:34):
Todd Bowles, Byron left, which um, you know, and then
Keith on so UM. So that's something that that's going
to get a lot of play this week, and it
should because, as you and I have talked about repeatedly
on this show, there are more than a few capable,
qualified black candidates or diverse candidates have head coaching opportunities.

(03:58):
And I do believe the fact that Eric the enemy
it appears, is going to be shut out again UM
just speaks to the glaring and equity that's taking place
right now and the fact that Byron left, which doesn't
even get an interview, but we know other coordinators with
one year as a coordinator have gotten interviews or even
gotten head coaching jobs. So UM. For me, that's what
I think it's going to be one of the positive

(04:20):
storylines this week, as if people are going to um
have discussions about this with those those coordinators there and
left calls place. By the way Byron left his calls place,
he designs the offense UM, so let's check that excuse
off the books right now, just to prepare everybody for
the hiring cycle. UM next year. UM, you know, Jan

(04:42):
we all see you know, we talked about the coaching
hires going on right now, so we've seen all of
them filled except for the Houston Texans. All of these
are guys who haven't been head coaches in the NFL.
With Urban Meyer of course, was a head coach at
Ohio State, Utah, Florida. So when you kind of look
at some of these situations here, and let's include Robert

(05:04):
Sala in this besides kind of the lack of diversity,
take here, what what is? What is kind of your
thought when you see that, you know, Brandon Stately is
going to the Chargers, Nick Sirianni's going to the Eagles,
just kind of your your thought process of what we've
seen so far. Well, my thought process is, again, it's
just how unfair, Um, this process is. And I realized

(05:27):
trying to use the word fairness as it's associated with
the NFL or even hiring practices. UM, it's kind of
silly on my part, But ultimately that's what I come
back to. You know, as as you talk to these
diverse candidates who do not get opportunities, and you hear
the anger of the frustration and hopelessness. Um, it just
comes back to me, just all you want is fundamental

(05:48):
fairness in this process, and I don't think that's what
we're saying. The other thing that I would say to you, Steve,
is how it's interesting to me how the target continues
to be moved. You know, a couple of decades ago,
you had to be on the defensive side of the
ball to get head coaching jobs, or at least your
odds were increased if you are on the defensive side.
Then we're told they're looking for young, creative, offensive minds,

(06:10):
and now lately we're hearing, well, excuse me, they want
the CEO type. And each time they do this, I say,
number one, there are diverse candidates who fit all of
those categories. So it's not like we should be excluded.
So when you say they're not being hired for those reasons,
that simply doesn't wash with me. So look, a handful

(06:32):
of years ago, Brandon Staley is coaching on a D
three level. You know, he's got one year as a
coordinator in the NFL, and yet he's hired as a
head coach. Nick Sirianni, I would say this to you.
I would I would use this exercise to illustrate my point.
Let's do blind resumes, okay, and let's take the resume
of Nick Sirianni, and let's take the resume of Pep

(06:53):
Hamilton's take their names off of it, just put them
on a screen and ask the audience which of the
resumes would appear to be more qualified for a head
coaching opportunity. And unless you know who those resumes belong to,
I think you would have to say Pet Hamilton's resume
shows that he's more deserving of at least an interview. UM.

(07:16):
If not the job, then say Nick Sirianni got And
I'm not dumping on Nick Sirianni. I hope he succeeds
in Philadelphia. I don't want anyone to get that twisted.
I'm just saying I keep hearing about qualified and capable
and fairness, and I'm just saying to you, then let's
be fair about it, let's be objective about it. And
if we do that, um, I think we would see

(07:38):
why people like you, people like me continue to speak
out on this issue. And and look, this is one
thing I'm glad you said it. We're not wishing anything
what success for these people who are getting high. It
is not Dan Campbell's fault that he got hired by
the Detroit Lions, right it is. It is none of
these guys fault. It is their good for and that

(08:00):
they were hired by these clubs. I will tell you
to tell you this. The one takeaway I have which
is a little different, and it will segue into kind
of our next discussion. Is the Detroit Lions, of course,
to hire Brad Holmes as their general manager, the former
Rams director of college scouting, a black GM. He immediately
goes out and gets John Dorssey to come in and help,

(08:21):
and then to hire Ray Agnew to help out in
the personnel department. He comes over from the Rams, could
not be more respected, former player, great man. That is
a huge, huge loss. And then they go about saying,
Matthew Stafford and us, we're gonna part ways. So they
make a decision right now, they let the fan base
know this is going to be a rebuilding process. We're

(08:44):
gonna go out and draft a quarterback, right I think
right now the Lions are seven they're gonna be able
to move up if they have to to get their quarterback.
And then they go about hiring probably the most first
staff all of their coordinators are black. They go out
and they get Allrey Pleasant, one of the best DV
coaches in the NFL, to come in and get Jeff
Okuda going um and so they set a plan in place.

(09:08):
It's been full disclosure of what they're gonna do, and
I just kind of like, I don't know if they're
gonna win or whatever, but I like the fact that
they've been decisive. They're not hiding in hyper hyperbole and
the and they're they're they're about here's how it's gonna be.
So now you heard me mention Matthew Stafford. Yeah, parting ways.
And you know teams are lining up right now to

(09:29):
make that trade because there's gonna be a ton of
quarterback movement Stafford, if Shaun Watson becomes available, they're gonna
be the most sought after two people out there on
the open market, at least right now. When you look
at this QB movement, what are some of your thoughts,
because I mean, immediately I think it comes to both
of our minds is Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch. They
are coming up with all kind of formulas to get

(09:50):
somebody to the forty Niners. Yeah, I do believe that
the forty Niners are gonna be players in the in
the quarterback market without question. Um. The other thing here
and I realized it, it's it makes for great theater
to talk about some of these things. Number one is
Mark Murphy said, where the Packers. Aaron Rodgers isn't going anywhere,
so let's take him off the board. Number two, when

(10:11):
it comes to Deshaun Watson, I think a lot is
going to depend on who is actually hired there and
just talking to some people on background and whatnot. If
Leslie Fraser is a hire and having an idea of
who he wants to bring in as his coordinator, UM,
I believe that there would be an opportunity for Deshaun
Watson to stay there. So in my now this is

(10:32):
just my math. So I'm taking Deshaun Watson off the board.
If Leslie Fraser is hired there, So who does that
leave That leaves stafford Um, potentially Sam Donald Um. Would
San Francisco have interest in either of those? I think
I think I would say, uh, if I were in
their shoes, yes, I would have some interest in that. Also,

(10:54):
what's going to happen in Atlanta? You know, are they
tied to Matt Ryan going forward or do they say,
know what, We're going to go through a rebuild process
here and maybe it's time to to to move Matt
and increase our draft capital and whatnot and start to
rebuild this thing. We know when Matt Ryan did with
Kyle Shanahan when they were together, they went to a
Super Bowl and Matt was m v P. So that's

(11:16):
why this offseason is gonna be so intriguing to me.
But I don't think some of the names that we're
talking about are necessarily going to be on the move anywhere.
It makes for great discussion, makes for great theater, but
at the end of the day, um that so often
happens that let's say the trade deadline things don't don't
actually come to fruition that that we spend so much

(11:39):
time talking about, Yeah, yeah, they're gonna be you're gonna
QB's on the move, me, Jimmy Garoppolo were expecting him
to hit the market. What's going on with Sean McVeigh
and Jared Goff and the Rams very interesting. Wait wait, wait, Steve,
let me address this one because because this one is
kind of a I don't want to see a sore
subject with me, but I think it it's worth discussing.

(12:01):
So so many of these owners now are looking for
the next Sean McVeigh, right, young, gifted, offensive mind and whatnot. Well,
if Sean McVeigh is really the quarterback whisper and he's
got a player who was the first pick in the draft,
and he's been with him for several years now, and
yet as the general manager, less need comes out this

(12:22):
week and says essentially we're not committed to him beyond
this year. Then I'm saying, and this is not to
in any way to dump on Sean McVeigh, but what
I'm asking is, if he's that dude, that quarterback whisper,
then why can't he get Jared Goff to play up
to the level of expectation that they have for him.
And ultimately, what it comes back to for me is

(12:45):
that the NFL is a player driven league, and I
don't care how good of a coach you are, if
you don't have the players, you're not going to win.
And That's why I think some of the diverse head
coaches have been hurt in the past. And I go
back to a Steve Wilkes who was fired after one
year in Arizona, right and then he and then when
he's fired, the new coach comes in and he has

(13:06):
the number one pick in the driving. He gets to
go out and get the franchise quarterback to Steve Wilkes
never had. So Ultimately, in the end of the day,
I think owners have to look at the fact that
it ain't always the head coach, it's the people who
are bringing those players too, and and does that roster
have enough person you know, the personnel to actually win with.
So then I'm off my soapbox on that, but I

(13:27):
just had to ask that question. And again I think
Sean McVeigh, it's fabulous. Man. If you're a quarterback whisper
and you've got the number one pick in the draft
and you've had him for several years now, why is
it that you can't get enough out of him to
do what you want to do and go where you
want to go. Well, in defense of that, every other
position group on that offensive stepped up running back, stepped

(13:49):
up wide receivers. Are their old line played well through
some injuries. Quarterback is one position that was on a treadmill.
So is at the head coach Orge at the player.
So again, Jared Golf, so are the super Bowl? So
that this is interesting? Um, but you mentioned Sam Donald
and on that note, let's bring in Robert Sale and
let's ask him if Sam Donald is his guy or

(14:10):
if he's someone who could be in that mix. And
the Jets with a second pick could be on the
market on that draft day to get themselves a quarterback.
All right, Jim, Now we're joined by someone we know well,
someone we're hoping he's about to have a ton of
success up there with the New York Jets, Robert Sale. Robert,

(14:32):
good seeing you man, Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
Congrats coach, Thank you very much. It's it's uh surreal,
but it's it's it's been awesome so far, so so far.
It's it's so your two weeks, your two weeks on
the job, Robert would have been what what has that
been like? Because we had Tony Dungeon a couple of

(14:53):
weeks ago, and he was saying, like his first couple
of weeks on the job. He's trying to assemble his staff.
He's got people asking what type of hotels and stuff
do you want to stay? And he's like, man, man,
let me, you know, let me put these pieces in
place first. No, there's so we're putting the staff together,
we're meeting, trying to meet with Joe and his staff,
and uh, just you know, I think coach Kubiak said

(15:15):
it best, just it'll get done. Just take small bites.
If you try to get all done on one day,
it's not gonna you'll you'll realize you're gonna get overwhelmed.
And so we've been just taking one day at a time,
chopping off one block at a time and uh or
chopping down one tree at a time. Uh, but it is.
There's there's a lot of a lot of things happening
in these first couple of weeks when you're trying to

(15:35):
still assemble a staff and trying to still take a
look at the tape and see what you've got with
regards to players and and and personnel and all that.
So there's there's a lot of moving parts. Coach, how
do you divide your day when you're dealing with that
In terms of putting together a staff. In terms of
evaluating your personnel, Um, can you lay it out for us? Yeah,

(15:56):
you know, there's first and foremost, the two coordinators that
we have here with Mike Lafleur and Jeff Albert are
two guys I trust immensely. The assistant coaches. Obviously, they're
they're doing a really good job. They they're very well
connected to the schemes that we're trying to implement, so
they know exactly what we're looking for, they know the language,
they know how things work, and so there's a trust

(16:16):
factor there with regards to how they look at stuff. Um.
As for myself, you know, just just taking time where
I can in terms of making the phone calls I
need to make making sure I'm communicating with Joe and
his staff, and making sure that I'm still staying connected
to the UH to our staff, to the football staff,
and then being able to sit back and watch a
couple of hours worth the film. So it's it is

(16:38):
a NonStop day. Um. It's funny. My wife actually texted
me at six o'clock this morning. She was like, what
do you have to do in the office that you
need to be there at six o'clock in the morning
in the off season. I was like, a lot, it
starts really end late. She's not new to me. She's
got to know. It's seven man, you know what. She

(17:01):
she's new to this part of it. So she's just curious.
You know. It's more of a of a question. She
knows that we we we worked many many hours, but
she was just curious in this road. She's just you know,
I feel like she's been here since we flew out here.
She's been looking for a home. So she was just
she's you know, she's kind of learning at the at
the same right, she was just curious. So it's good conversation.
She hasn't seen me in a couple of days, so it's, uh,

(17:23):
I guess she was trying to have conversation. Hey no, no, Hey, Jim,
here's the deal with that. Robert is married. Man. We
know that she just wants to make sure you're away
so she can pick the house that she wants without
any of your input. You know, man, I have no
idea what house is gonna get picked out, but I
know it's gonna be something beautiful. So it's uh, I'm

(17:45):
just gonna close my eyes and just say right to check,
just take it. So I love to hear those words.
She deserves she she deserves everything, and I mean that sincerely.
When she's UM, she can have whatever the heck she wants. So,
you know, Robert, there'll be a lot of coaches, UM,

(18:07):
aspiring head coaches watching this, this interview, and I wonder
if you could take them inside an interview process in
terms of I know you've had a couple of years
of interviewing and whatnot, but what is it about the
process that maybe you didn't know that once you get
in it, you can you can advise these guys on
of what to expect or how to prepare better, prepare
for these opportunities. For sure. You know there's UM you.

(18:34):
For me, it was about uh being myself UH and
making sure that I wasn't trying to play up to
what I knew what the expectations were with regards to
fan experience, feedback, perception. Uh. You go into these things
knowing what each organization is ideally looking for, UM, but

(18:55):
you just stay connected to yourself, UH and you lay
out your plan. You lay out your plan with confident, UM.
I have a plan. That's that's the biggest thing and
understand that. You know, these the people doing the interviewing,
they're they're very very experienced in terms of building an empire,
if you will, you know, I mean there's the uh,
these owners oft on these teams because they've been able

(19:16):
to build something special and they've had plans to do
it and it didn't just happen by luck. And so
just having the plan, being yourself, having conviction uh in
what you're talking about, and just being very very clear
and concise it's uh and you know, whether it's a
match or not is obviously up to the people you're
speaking with. But but those those are the two biggest things.

(19:37):
Is having a great plan and being yourself. Was there
ever a moment you were kind of caught off guard
where you said, I didn't that was something I didn't
prepare for. I couldn't prepare for. Um. You know, each
each interview process is a little bit different, so you know,
you go through and uh uh you know, they're some
teams are very intimate in terms of having more of

(19:59):
a family atmosphere with regards to having more people involved.
Some teams are most teams have a pretty standard way
of doing it. And then you know, some teams just
come right at you and ask you some really honest
questions and where it feels like you're you're bobbing and
weaving and so there's UH, you know, just be be
prepared for everything. That's why I say that's just be yourself,

(20:21):
have conviction and who you are. Believe that there's a
reason why you're sitting in that chair and there's a
reason why they're asking you questions. It is because you're
the best at what you do and have connection to
yourself and UH, and be yourself and have confidence that
no matter what they do throw at you, you'll be
able to bob and weave and answer the questions that
you need to while laying out your plan and UH

(20:42):
and revealing who you are without stumbling because you're connected.
Hopefully I'm making sense, and but I just believe that
when you when you're fully connected to yourself and you
know who you are and you're not trying to be
someone just to fit what molder, what the mold is
that they're trying to create, capture, It's it's much easier
to be authentic and true because you're you're just letting

(21:03):
them know who you are. You're not afraid of of
what they might think Robert as a defensive coordinator. I mean,
how was it, because we know all these teams, it
seems like they want the hot offensive guy. How much
did you have to say, hey, look, I know offense.
First off I played offense in college. I coach against offense.
You know, I coach against offenses. I know what to see.
Was there a level of convincing that you said you

(21:26):
could just tell the seems like, don't worry about this,
this part is going to be fine. You know. I
don't know if there was convincing, but there was definitely
a plan for that side of the ball. I've been fortunate, right,
I've I've since I gotten to the NFL, I've I
think ten of my ten or more seasons have been
with Kyle Shanahan and that Shanahan system and Gary Kubiak,
and so I have an intimate, uh connection to that,

(21:49):
to that system. So having a plan for that side
of the ball um and laying out that plan was
obviously important to a lot of the owners, especially coming
from the defensive side. But um, so, I don't know
if there was convincing as much as it was just
kind of relieving releasing the plan and just giving them
an idea of how I saw things. Who I thought
would be able to run the install the scheme is

(22:11):
to the best of their ability and the way in
the vision that we wanted and um and like I said,
I think it was it was pretty easy, uh, from
that regard to show that there's still going to be
a connection to the offensive side of the ball despite
myself being a defensive mind. You know, Robert Um two
years ago, you guys in San Francisco and you're in

(22:32):
San Francisco were loaded defensively. That goes without saying. You
go to a Super Bowl and whatnot. You come back
last season, you lose the Forrest Buckner also goes down early.
You've got fourteen different starting combos in the secondary. I
would argue that that was your best coaching job in
your four years in San Francisco. Would you agree with that?
And and sort of what did you learn about yourself

(22:54):
or previous experience that allowed you to have success with
that union despite all the injuries. You know, there's um
when the greatest thing about having continuity is that the
players grow with you as a football coach. You grow together.
And so when when we came in, you install the scheme.
We had a small bump from what we took over

(23:15):
the second year. Obviously there it was met with some resistance,
but there was still another bump with regards to what
we what we were able to accomplish. But as everybody
was kind of connecting to the scheme and really understanding
what we were trying to get accomplished on a playing
and play out basis, we're able to inject it with
those pass rushers and we got UH. You know, we

(23:36):
brought Sarakin and he really took our d line to
another level and we're able to really mold the back in.
Fred Warner started coming to his own and um and
because of it, we had a record setting defense for
a majority of that year before we started having injuries
during the Super Bowl season. Fast forward to last year.
A lot of credit with the UH, with with the

(23:57):
coaching staff, the players and understand name Like I always
tell people that you know, if you when there's an injury,
I want somebody to look at that backup and tell
him that he's not a starter in this league. I
promise you he'll look at you cross side, because every
player in this league believes that they're starting there. They're
starting caliber players. It's just a matter of giving them

(24:17):
the opportunity to go do it. And because of the
continuity in the in the years and reps and time
that we've all invested in one another with regards to
the system, those guys were able to step in and
still play at a very high level. And there's a
lot of moving parts so that there's the continuity and scheme.
There's assistant coaches who did a great job preparing guys constantly,

(24:37):
and then of course the players to constantly stay connected
and understanding that even though they are backups, there are
no wasted reps. It's not like we're reinventing the wheel
every week. So they to overcome all those injuries were
able to step right in and play off one another
and still keep that level of standard that that we
always talked about, Robert. So you you are with the

(24:59):
Jets right now, think, of course, the big question for
Jacks fans and around the league is Sam Donald. I
mean is he your guy? And when you came into
interview with the Jets where you mandated where they did
they tell you, Hey, Sam Donald's gonna be here or
or or how is that going to work. So you know,

(25:19):
it's the same thing that we've been talking about. You know,
we just got here. Um, we're just starting to watch
all this tape. Watch the personnel. The personnel that's here, quarterback, receiver,
O line, d line, linebackers, DBS. So you're going through
that entire process. What I can tell you about Sam
is that he is an unbelievable talent. There's a reason
why he was the third World pick. It's very clear.

(25:40):
Just watch the tape. I get production aside. Just watch
the player. Uh, he's got tremendous mobility, he's got armed talent,
he's fearless, he's smart, he's quick, he's a good, precise
decision maker. Uh. He's loved in the locker room. People
adore him around this building. So he is a there's
a reasonable why he's the third old World pick. And

(26:01):
he's I mean, let's be really, he's twenty three years old,
so he didn't even scratched the surface of life yet. Uh.
So there's there's a lot to Sam. But there's so
many discussions that need to be have two and so
many moving parts with regards to the rest of the
roster and the whole entire building, the draft, free agency,
all of it to to give an answer on where
we are at that point, there's just Joe and his staff. Um,

(26:23):
there's just a lot of discussions that have to be had.
But at the same time, with Sam, I I'm not
hiding behind the veil or anything. The kids very very talented.
Uh and it shows on tape when you really just
watch it. Results aside, you just have to watch his
tape to really see how talented the young man is.
So with those trades, does he fit into that Shanahan
Kubiak system that you were just talking about, Oh, yeah,

(26:44):
they do. It's um, I mean just the arm talent.
If you look at it, he would he would instantly
become the most mobile quarterback that the system has really
ever had. I mean it's um aside from maybe Jake
Plumber back in the day, it was Jake Plumber when
when he was back with Denver Um it was yeah. Yeah,
So just from a mobility standpoint, you know that he

(27:05):
had to be able to create off schedule the way
he does, he'd probably be one of the better ones
that the system has ever had. A lot of the
you know, you traditionally you see Aaron Rodgers, you see
who's having a renaissance, Matt Ryan's best years. Uh, even
Jimmy at San Francisco, Jared Golf, Tannehill, They're they're not
the the there they fit into a mold. But Sam's

(27:28):
got the ability to create off schedule. Again, his arm
talent on the run is up there with the best
of them, and so he's He's got a tremendous talent
to him and he would definitely fit because of his
ability to process information and get the ball and not
of his hands in a timely manner, and that at
the velocity and the accuracy at which is able to
do it. You know, Robert, we used to see young
quarterbacks at the bench for a year or two and

(27:51):
now they come in and they play right away. In
your mind, is that a positive or is it unique
to each individual? Well, it depends as unique teach individual. Um.
You know, there's two ways to look at it. You
can say, all right, um, we're gonna we're gonna draft
a rookie and he's gonna grow with the roster. Or

(28:11):
you can look at it the way Seattle did, where
the roster was already built and then Russell came in
and the roster was able to carry Russell until he
was comfortable to take the team over. Um. And so
there's there's two ways to look at it, and it
is it depends on where you are, depends on the
talent of quarterback that's available, and whether or not it's
time to go grab that guy. There's just there's there's
more than just oh, here's a great quarterback. It's all right,

(28:35):
can he handle the roster at its state versus a
this roster is really really strong and it can handle
his growing pains because of how strong the rest of
the roster is. So there's there's a lot of different
ways to go about it, you know, And it's uh
to answer your question. It is to answer your question
unique to each individual in each scenario that gets created.

(28:56):
That real quick. There's a quarterback who's just who has
been linked to you guys. He's he's not on your
roster right now, but um, you guys do have the
number two overall, pick three overall pick I think it's
six in the first. So, um, he's a mobile guy,
he's got armed talent, put up some of the best
numbers in the NFL this year. Would you guys and

(29:17):
discussing some of this be open to possibly exploring scenarios
to say, bring in a quarterback from another team who's
thrown to guys like DeAndre Hopkins and guys like that.
You know, it's uh, it's well, we'll never talk about
a player from another team. That's first and foremost. But

(29:39):
it goes back and we talked about when you do
talk about you know, we talked about all guests, no
break right, and we talked about it being a way
of life and and and doing things to the best
of your ability at all hours of the day, finding
a way to go to bed better than when you
woke up. Um, whether you're a coach, whether you're in ticketing,
whether you're in the meal room with you're in the

(30:00):
equipment room, weight room, player, it doesn't matter. We're always
trying to find ways to get better and uh, and
so all those discussions, there's there's a lot of time,
there's a lot of time before April to to have
a million different discussions and wherever those discussions lead are
where we're gonna go in terms of making the best
decision to get our organization better. He's a head coach already, Jim,

(30:20):
he's a head coach already, man, good answer, all right
and well trained. Speaking of that, Robert, I wanted to
transition for a second into this whole coaching Um, this
hiring process in the NFL, and we all know that
right now there are only four diverse head coaches in
the NFL. And I'm gonna put you on the spot here,

(30:41):
but UM, I think you're you handle yourself well enough,
You're Bob, and we to be able to handle it.
As you said, but why is the NFL having such
a hard time hiring capable, qualified, diverse head coaching candidates. Um,
you know what I know. The results not what everyone's

(31:03):
looking for, that's clear. But what I do know and
you just see it the league office, the owners, it
is important. They're implementing as many rules as possible. They're
bringing in all these different incentives. They're creating ways to
get more minorities FaceTime with the with owners. UM. And
I would imagine that after this year, there's gonna be

(31:24):
more rules, there's gonna be more UH areas where we
can create more FaceTime. And that's the whole thing, is
getting FaceTime, good quality FaceTime where those things can happen,
um to where we get it to where we want.
You know, there's why the results not happening. I don't
have that answer, but I do know that the league
is relentlessly working to try to get it right. Uh.

(31:47):
And I do know that just talking through these interviews
and going and having different conversations with these owners, um.
And I forget how many interviews I did, but uh,
each one of them it was at the forefront of
their mind. It was very important to social justice, having
those conversations and going through all those different things, and
so I know it's important to them. You can see
that it's important to the League office. And there's there's

(32:10):
no doubt that eventually it's gonna get right. It's just
it's maybe it's not happening as fast as everybody wants,
but you can just see that people are putting in
the work. Well, what's interesting to me is, like Steve
and I focus on this a lot in terms of
trying to level this playing field and create and make
sure that people who are qualified and capable get opportunities.
And people say to us all the time, why do

(32:31):
you guys talk about race so much? And we say,
we would rather not talk about race. But the reality
is these coaches can't speak up for fear of retribution,
and so could you, as a diverse coach, speak to
maybe these conversations you have with your your colleagues about
the frustrations that they feel, maybe the anger that they feel,

(32:52):
or even in sometimes conversations I had the hopelessness that
they feel about this process. Knowing that even a guy
like Eric b Enemy, whose resume seems to say he's
more than qualified and his and his earned an opportunity,
but can't get it, looks like he's going to be
shut out in this process. Can you speak to these
fans out here to the public and say what these
coaches are feeling and what those conversations are like. You know, Um,

(33:18):
that's a good question. Um it it's I can I
can imagine the frustration we all can. Um. The biggest
thing is to just remain confident and faithful and faith
and have faith and what's unseen. So I've always I've
always believed that there's there's two types of people. That
there are those who believe and there are those who

(33:39):
have faith. People who believe need to see things happen
before it happens. People who have faith know what's going
to happen. And you look at guys like Eb he's
gonna be a head coach. Uh, he's too talented. There's
no freaking way, um that he won't be. And maybe
it's not this year, but it's gonna happen, um, And
there's gonna be movement, there's gonna they're they're starting to move.

(34:02):
Minorities are starting to move up in terms of position,
coaching jobs, coordinator jobs, all that stuff, and uh, even
at the quality control levels. So very confident that that's
going to happen. I get that it's frustrating, but you
can't ever let your frustration boil over to negativity. It's
you've got to have a positive mindset and still really
have appreciation because at the end of the day, we're

(34:23):
still very blessed to be where we are. Um. And
at the same time, just continue to do your job,
be the best that you can possibly be, and just
know that eventually your talent will rise at the top.
And that's you know, the cream always right to the top.
And Eric being one of them, h we've got we've
got four diverse head coaches now, but when we look

(34:46):
at their staffs coordinator positions. There are no minorities there,
and so the question becomes, if we won't look out
for our own, how can we expect someone else to
look out for us? And I know that's an own question,
but I did to put into no absolutely because, um,
when you get the biggest thing, uh, when you talk pipeline,

(35:12):
all right, when you talk pipeline and you talking about
things at the quality control level, the most intimate relationship
that's made between coordinator and coaches at the quality control level,
that's where that that that relationship happens. And to be
able to get those quality controls in position to have
those relationships, they're the ones who talked with the head
coach in the in the quality and the coordinators the most.

(35:35):
And so when you look at these guys who are
ascending pretty quick, I'll use the Mico Ryans at San Francisco.
He came in as our as our quality control. He
and I had a tremendous relationship. He bumps to linebackers coach,
our relationship gets even stronger, his relationship with the head
coach gets even stronger, and we I get this opportunity here,

(35:57):
which is a blessing and then the MICO slides right
in and so from a from a level of trust
and the level of pipeline, if you talk pipeline and communication,
the quality control level, it might take two or three years,
it might to really get to where we want to go,
but that quality control level, getting minorities into those spots
so they can build that intimate relationship with their coordinator,

(36:19):
with the head coach. That's where the rapid growth happens
and where you're able to from the ground up build
a resume with regards to networking, the foundation all of
that stuff. And so when you look at UH for
us here, we're trying to do that here with the
with the quality controls that we've hired here and trying
to give them opportunities to build those relationships so they

(36:41):
can continue to grow and go up the pipeline. UH
in a way that's that that we know that they
can step right in and build a build a system.
Robert thinking that you say that because Doug Williams and
Shack Harris and guys like that have have really been
trying to to push the league and push teams have
started the quality control because that's usually the nepotism um

(37:01):
is right. The sons of the coaches or the uncles
or whatever, the nephews, that's usually the jobs they get.
Next thing, you know, they're up on the pipeline and
they're the play callers. You were at the Quarterback Coaching Summit.
Um was virtual, but you saw the diverse talent that
was there. I mean, you know from you know, guys

(37:22):
who who have who have gotten jobs or coordinator positions
to whatever, what about you know, experiencing that and just
seeing you know, the Garret McGhee of the world and
guys like that who you know are super smart and
and now can network to get in positions like that,
established relationships as to where it says, okay, hey, I
might lose a QB coach in a year, I want

(37:42):
to have this guy in that pipeline that you're talking about.
You're right, So that goes back to what I'm talking
about with regards to relationship and trust. And so there
are a million there there. That QB summit was phenomenal
in terms of the amount of men and uh diverse
Candida it's that were that were readily available. Garret McGee
now uh notwithstanding uh, he's phenomenal, um, but when you're

(38:07):
coming in as a new staff and you're trying to
piece together put together pieces, there is slightly a comfort
level because of the relationships. One that we're built to
the understanding of how you operate as an individual. Three
the scheme understanding the scheme part of it. And so
there's a seamlessness because you don't have much time to
get it going. Now as you go uh do you

(38:29):
uh and people start moving. That's why I'm getting back
to this quality control spot in terms of building those relationships.
So when people do get promoted and you do have success,
they're the ones sliding in. They're the ones moving up
to that next level of UH. From a coaching standpoint,
and then then you're able to start pulling in once
once you've established you can start pulling in from from
the outside to allow your organization to grow in a

(38:51):
different way. But UM, from an initial get uh and
just from a relationship standpoint, that quality control and you
already hit it, Steve. But that quality control, I don't
think people give enough credit to how important it is
with regards to just the overall relationship that's built UH
in terms of getting that creating that fast track pipeline

(39:11):
UM up to the position that that we all desire.
I just want to ask you if UM were the Jets,
you know, we we know the struggles that they've had
the past couple of years. What is what is the
process now in building? Because you went through with the Niners, right,
remember those first two years you talked it was a
slow burn, slow burn, and then there was the spike.

(39:32):
Is that kind of the timeline or at least a
process you're you're trying to establish there to slowly build credibility,
slowly build the culture, and then boom, Well you never
know when it's going to explode. Uh, next year, two years,
three years from now. But what I do know just
just from past experience, UH and just my opinion. But

(39:53):
when you look at Houston with Gary Kubiak and Rick
Smith and the success they were able to build in
a couple of really good playoff runs. You go to
Seattle with UH Snyder and UH Pete and what they
were able to build, and then obviously San Francisco with
Kyle and John. The common denominator in all those buildings
was the collaborative communicating effort. That's the collaborative effort between

(40:17):
general manager and his staff, head coach and his staff,
and just the vision of what we were trying to
accomplish on both sides, on all three sides of the ball,
and obviously with regards to scheme and vision for what
type of players that we coveted. And so just having
that constant communication is what really created that that culture
and how those teams were able to flip by year three,

(40:39):
if you will, um and so you know that to
give you a timeline, I don't know what that timeline is,
but going through this interview process, having those conversations with
Christopher and Nowwoodie UM and then UH Joe and and Himie,
there's no doubt that this is a very collaborative mindset.

(41:00):
There's no doubt that they were looking for a partner
in their head coaching search. That's how it felt. That
was a communication and everything through these first two weeks
are proving that, UH and and there's there's no reason
to think that it would be anything else. And so
one thing I will tell you is it's it's the
communication and the collaborative effort that UH, in my opinion,

(41:20):
is needed to build a strong winner is definitely happening here.
And to give you time. I don't know, but I
do have tremendous amount of confidence in the fact that
Wolin championships here. You know, Robert Um we hear some
less the word culture. How do you define it as
it relates to a football team. Um? So culture, everyone's

(41:41):
culture called I'm with you, you hear that word. The
best coach teams are the teams that coach themselves and
so always respecting the name on the front of the
jersey first, and what type of person are you trying
to bring in, not just player wise, but on your staff, um,
in the business side, on the scouting sidelight, what does

(42:02):
this person represent when you look at the name on
the front of the jersey and bringing those people in
constantly because you trust that at the very least, you're
gonna have a character that's gonna overachieve based on their
talent level at all levels. And I'm not just like
I said, not just talking about players. And so if
you bring in enough of these people that represent the

(42:22):
name on the front of the jersey, you trust that
the culture will eventually take over because they'll start policing
it themselves. And when they start taking that ownership in
the organization and they start believing that they actually have
and and they do when they understand that they are
every part of what the result is on the football
field is um anyone else. And they feel that ownership

(42:44):
and they feel that investment and all of that stuff
gets reciprocated. It becomes very personal. So I believe that
culture is very personal. I think it's uh. I think
culture is about investment, and I think that when everybody
is invested in one another, you create that mindset of
that that personal atmosphere where people just want to do
more for one another. And and then it goes back

(43:05):
to when that starts happening, the team starts coaching itself.
You know, one of the things you said during your
press conference that really struck stuck with me was sort
of following your passion. And the back story is that,
you know, you played in Northern Michigan, you go into
the financial sector. Um your brother is actually in one
of the towers during um or or was working down

(43:27):
in Lower Manhattan during nine eleven. There's that fear that
he was in one of the buildings. Thankfully it was not.
And after that you decided to get out of the
financial sector and follow your heart and go into football
and seeing now how much you love this game, Um,
why not go into it right away, you know, when
you came out of college as opposed to going into

(43:48):
the financial sector. Yeah. So my brother wasn't that. He
was in the second tower, sixty first floor, Um and
managed to get out. But UM, that is a good question,
it um. It's it's that um, young youthful wanting money
for the first time in your life. Uh. Uh, opportunity

(44:12):
to get into the world of making money and owning
your own car and owning your own place and and
kind of being independent free of your parents finally and uh.
You know, so that was the initial burst to was
to to do what everyone else does when they finish college,
and that's going to the business world, make money, move
out to your parents house and move on. And Um.
Thankfully for myself, I had such a great support system

(44:35):
with my mom and my dad, my brothers and sisters. Uh.
I was able to take a risk on myself and
and make six fifty a month and and try to
make ends meet while I pursued my passion. Uh. To me,
that's so strong, I think because everyone has a purpose
in life, and I don't know that you can fully
be happy if you're not following whatever you feel that

(44:57):
purpose is. So it comes through and what you're doing now,
and so I think it's a positive lesson and a
powerful message for young people out there as well. Not absolutely,
you know, when when you when you love what you do,
it'll love you back. And and that that goes with
with everything. If you love your wife, she'll love you back.

(45:18):
If you love your kids, will love you back. And
so if you do things with love, it'll love you back.
And so that's always always. If you don't love what
you're doing, our promise, it's gonna be a negative aspect
in your life. So do what you love and love
what you do, and you'll have the enthusiasm and passion
to do it. So right on, Hey, so okay, so Rober,
let's have a little fun here. So you know, a

(45:38):
lot of the public has seen you, you know, with
when your defense makes a big place. Roh, you know
you're giving it up like this on the sidelines. Can
you can you do that as an eighth see now?
Or you have to be like the stoic uh you
know dude right there, like I can't you that anymore?
Because I'm the guy in control. I'm not gonna lie
to you. There's no way I'm not gonna have enthusiasm
on the sideline. Now. I am very aware of what

(46:00):
I'm that you know, as a coordinator, I know that
I don't have to worry about fourth down. I don't
have to worry about time outs or red flags or
anything like that. So, UM, I know I'm gonna have
to quickly transfer. But one thing I do know is
I can control my emotions. Um and uh, and I will.
I will show emotion on the sideline, but it's it's
not gonna be the I know I'll be able to

(46:22):
give myself back quickly to make sure that I'm always
making the best decision for the team and keeping myself
and engaged. So um, it's hard. I mean when you
get on game day and you've put in all that
work during the week and um, and you're seeing these
young men go out there and play their butts off
and sacrifice their bodies and and play this game or
every collision is like a car accident, and you see

(46:43):
them make a play that can only help their future.
You can't help but let out joy. I mean, it's
your I don't know how you're It's hard for me.
I can't speak for anyone else. It's hard for me
not to express that outwardly. Um and so I I
know that's still gonna come out. But but like I said,
I'm fully aware of all the different responsibilities that a

(47:04):
head coach might have. So I'll have to get pulled
back in pretty quickly, so I'll be good. It caused
me authentic. I think you said it earlier. Be yourself
the authentic, you know, no doubt, no doubt. Taking over
the Jets is one of those special franchises I think
in the NFL, going back historically and whatnot. Have you

(47:25):
felt that in your short time now as head coach already,
whether through anything you've heard from the fan base or
anyone in the organization, that it's it's it's crying out
and I don't have to tell you it's so hungry
for success. Has there been something that that that reminded
you of just what you've stepped into there in that franchise.

(47:47):
You know, the uh, the media obligation already, but with
the fan base, the fan base is so passionate, you know.
So I went to Michigan State, got my masters from
there have a strong connection in the Michigan State Go Green,
right and uh. When you look at Michigan State fan
base versus Michigan fan base, it's very similar to what
you see in New York. If you think about it,

(48:09):
you know, there's Michigan's more. You know, we always make
fun of Michigan for kind of being more of the
the uppity ups sit in your hands, where the Spartan
fans are a little bit more rambunctious, a little bit
more passionate, a little bit more they're louder. Like we
always say that the loaded stadium and East Lansing is
a hell of a lot louder than the loaded stadium
at the Big House UM. But at the same time,

(48:32):
so when you get here, you just feel that when
we've played the Jets in the past versus you know,
the Giants, no disrespect to them, and they're absolutely a
phenomenal franchise, but the Jets fan base has is a
lot more feels more invested, I should say, they feel
more invested in the way they are just so passionate
about their team and UM and so to be a

(48:52):
part of this is is like it's like home for me.
I mean it's um uh, it's it's what I feel like.
I've always been a part of everywhere I've been with
regards from my high school and the passion that they have,
the people in the community have for that school, uh
college and all that stuff. So excited to be a
part of this thing and excited to get this thing
moving in the right direction. Jim don't laws has a

(49:14):
loaded fan base in Landsing and a loaded fan base
in ann Arbor. I think those college students definition of
loaded might be a little bit different than right now.
They so so rob okay, so so so so. So
here's one because I remember we spoke. I think it
was before you guys had a playoff game against New
Orleans a couple of years ago, and you're running just

(49:35):
two steps you do pregame. You had the playlist in
at that time, you had like a Latin playlist, right
you were getting like, you know, some some salts to
going in the blood before you you were getting there.
Do you have a consistent playlist when you do that,
because I know on my workout list, I've got about
a hundred and eighties songs and it just it shuffles.
But I know the songs that are on there. Do
you have a consistent or do you mix it up?

(49:56):
You know, I do have one that I feel like
I've had. I gotta I gotta updated. Maybe maybe I'll
get an updated this time around. But I've been doing
you know, I'll mix in some eighties music. I've got
my saltso music. I mix it up, but there's one
that I always go back to that's just kind of
eclectic and that it It hits almost every genre that
you can possibly imagine. So all right, we got that,

(50:19):
all right, now, Jim, here's the one thing so I did.
I did a piece last year on Robert before the
super Bowl, and Kyle Shanahan just could not get off
this van Robert had specially built. Okay, he's got Okay,
so Robert's got six He's got six kids. Number seven
is on the way, all right, and you you were
you were telling us affair that it is. It is

(50:39):
en route to Flora Park. But it's like a batmobile, right,
Oh yeah, it's it's just a big black band. My
wife feels like people look at her like she's a
creepy stalker. And uh, but I love the kids love it.
They all got their own plush seat back there and
big old TV. They're lucky. I mean, I'm trying not

(51:00):
to spoil my kids too much. I'm trying to I'm
trying to get them to kind of go the way
we did when we were younger. We had to go
the hard way and walk to school and ride our
ride our bike to the part to play baseball or
whatever it was. But it's a different, different world. Man,
it's not gonna happen. It's not gonna happen. We always spoil.
We always spoil our kids because we want them to

(51:21):
have more than what we have. And then there's personally
you look back on after you say yeah, yeah, I
say because my dad looks at us and say, man,
you guys were spoiled. I'm like, I had cardboard boxes
to play with. What are you talking about? But I
look back at it and kids in suare foot house

(51:42):
when he was younger, and so living in a basement practically,
So I recognize that. And we you're right, Jim. You
you do things for your children, and hopefully your children
can pick off, pick up where you left off and
do more for their children, and so on and so forth,
and eventually you hope they move up the uh you know,
they continue to build the family, you know, absolutely, But

(52:04):
tell me that, Robert, tell me, is what are the
freaking tussles like with six kids in the house? I mean,
do they rumble? Are they like real rambunctious? Are they
Are they like solid kids? Oh? Yeah, they're They're definitely
solid kids. You see. The funniest one is um our
three year old. He doesn't realize yet that he's that
there's an off there's a no hit uh rule on

(52:27):
our three year old Mikey, so no one's allowed touch him.
So he just goes around hitting everybody, beating up on everyone,
and they all understand the rules, like no one's allowed
to hit Mikey yet, but that that that halo is
about to be removed because he's about turn four and
at four he's free game. So he's, uh, he has
no idea what's about that happened to him? But the

(52:50):
other three, the three oldest boys, they get after each other,
but it's all in good fun. I always tell him
keep it below the nick about the ways you guys
have fun. But they always the one thing they did
they do understand as they take care of each other
to the fullest, and especially the two little girls. They
got her back. And as long as they understand that,
I don't care what they do to one another, because

(53:11):
as long as they got each other's back, they'll be
all right. Always coaching, man, always coaching. You got you
gotta love, Hey, Jim, he's gotta. She wants them in
their corners, just watching TV on their ipedals, like, get
them out of the house, school, go play football, bass
and do something. Beat up on each other. I mean,
it's their kids. I remember me. My brother would fight

(53:33):
every day, but there's nothing I wouldn't do for him.
So you gotta you gotta You got a lot of
Roberts like strike zone. See what you hit? Head up?
You know, don't don't have the head down. He's gotten
coached up already. Hey, well, Robert man, you know how much.
You know how much Jim and I respect you. We
wish wishing the best of luck and turning things around
there and getting everybody on the same page. We appreciate

(53:55):
you taking it take some time in joining us here
on the huddling flow. No, thank you guys so much.
It was awesome. I really appreciate it. Jim, Steve awesome. Now,
wishing you all the success man. So you've earned it
and got a lot of people rooting for you, so
we're pulling for you. Now. I appreciate you. It's uh,

(54:16):
we're gonna win here. There's no doubt in my mind
we're gonna win here. So it's gonna be. It's there.
It's there's too many good people here for a not
too what an impressive guy, Steve. I think that's why.
And I hate to even bring this up, but when
you saw a report that he's that Robert Sale struggled
in an interview, I just laughed to myself. Not anyone

(54:38):
who has talked to this man knows. If there's one
person who is not going to struggle to represent himself
and what he is about and his vision, it's Robert Sala.
And I do believe that the Jets made the right
higher in this one because for an organization that has
had so much turmoil in recent years or the last decade,

(54:58):
I do believe he is a stabilizing presidents who has
a vision, um understands what his purpose is and we'll
bring people along. So um, I know we're not supposed
to say we root for people in this business and whatnot.
But I do root for Robert Salo to be successful.
And do we know him well. I mean we've known
him through the years and we've seen his rise. Right

(55:20):
remember after year two with the forty nine is people
like is he the guy? And Jed Yorke and John
Letz like, oh no, he's the guy. We just got
to get him some more players because he's on that move.
And we both talked to Richard Sherman about the Sherman
was with him in Seattle when he was like a
defensive quality control coach and he's like, man where he is.
What he's taken over the past years and learned and

(55:41):
learned and then applied is gonna be so good for
him becoming a head coach because he's always a guy
who's going to adapt. And I think that's absolutely fantastic.
I think sala is gonna be just such. I think
the teams that that passed on him are gonna last
couple of them are gonna gret it because he's gonna
be a guy who's gonna bring some stability to the organization. Uh.

(56:05):
And you know what, Jim bless his wife's heart, blessed
she talked about she's she's got that van unless you
got the gangster batmobile. Uh, you know she's out shop
and she's got those kids. Um. He always speaks so
highly of her because he knows how important she is
to his success to raise and helping him raise those

(56:25):
kids and to allow him to kind of fulfill his dream.
So Mrs Solid, shout out to you and everything you
got going on. Um and Jim. Before we tease our
our next guest, who's a former NFL player who's made
a hell of a transition and to life, I just
want to say just a quick blessing uh and sorrowfulness

(56:47):
and everything. A dear friend of ours and new community
Sakhu Smith, who was at NBA dot Com NBA TV,
a dear friend and a longtime colleague of mine, especially
for those of us who covered the NBA. He passed
at forty eight UM on Tuesday because of COVID. It's real, people,
it's real, Um, mask up. This is still with us.

(57:10):
We know the vaccine it's coming, but this is still
with us. It impacts lives. This is crushing right. So again,
we all want our rights, we all want to walk
around without a mask. But let's just keep doing what
we have to do until it feel safe because this
this hits hard, uh to a lot of us. And
again shout out to Heather, his now widow, their three kids,

(57:34):
and loved all the brothers and sisters who who have
wrapped their arms around that family in this real tough time. Yeah.
I did not know him personally. I only knew of him,
but just reading some of the tributes from you and
others who have covered the NBA UM speaks to what
kind of man and what kind of person he was.
So definitely UM aunt some prayers with his family and friends,

(57:56):
you know. And as we get out of here, Steve again,
you know, I wanna, I wanna let our our one
third of the Howard Mob, Thomas Warren no our producer
that UM, we're thinking about him. We're thinking about his
family and praying for the best. So with that, Steve,
let's do this, you know. UM. To all of you listening,

(58:18):
all of you watching me, thank you, UM. Please continue
to subscribe to the podcast, leave us messages on what
it is you would like to hear, who you would
like to hear from the topics you would like us
to discuss in that way, we can give you more
of what you're funking for, and that's right, Jim. And

(58:40):
on the Health and Flow, we're also a cup coming
NOWMDI Asoma, the former Oakland Raider who's now transitioned into
the acting world. Sylvie's Love is still one of the
best movies I've seen during our pandemic streaming stream streaming,
watching spree um so absolute fantastic. So we're looking forward

(59:01):
to that. But why do you think Robert Salo for
joining us? And we also want to think into it
are proud sponsor, and we know into it that the
proud makers of Turbo Tax, QuickBooks and Mental we want
to thank them for supporting us and keeping the Huddle
and Flow rocking and rolling here where you listen, where
you watch. And again shout out to Thomas Warn one

(59:22):
third of the Howard Mob for Jim Trotter. I'm Steve
White and we are out