March 23, 2021 • 45 mins
The Arizona Cardinals general manager joins Steve and Jim to talk about everything from football to fashion. Keim talks about the team looking to be in “win-now mode” by signing veterans like defensive end J.J. Watt, receiver A.J. Green and center Rodney Hudson (06:21). It’s not all roses, as Keim talks about losing cornerback Patrick Peterson (13:00) and waiting to hear whether future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald will return for another season (15:29). We hear why Keim says his franchise QB Kyler Murray is just scratching the surface of his talent (22:45). We also hear about when a contract extension could come for pass rusher Chandler Jones (34:05). Plus, Steve and Jim highlight the importance of the upcoming HBCU Legacy Bowl (41:09).
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
I'm Calvin Johnson Jr. And you listen to the Huddle
on Flow podcast. Well, all right, we're here at the
(00:23):
Huddle Flow podcast, brought to you by Into It, the
Problem makers of Turbo Tax, Mint and Quick Books. I
am Steve White here with my brother Jim Trotter. We
are two thirds of the Howard You Mob our producer
Thomas Warren on the ones and the twos. He completes
the puzzle and sim we got we got a real
interesting show today. Our guest Arizona Cardinals g M. Steve
Kim been a little busy, Been a little busy signing folks.
(00:48):
Now some people think he's signing people who also have
that a r P card that David Culley, the Houston
Texas head coach, said that he flashes, but he's still
got some productive players. We're talking about guys like Matt Pray.
You're in a J. Green and J. J. Watt and
Roddey HUDs. Those are guys who can still play. Yeah.
The thing that stands out to me about what they're
doing as well. People say they're all in now, but
(01:10):
you know, I can tell you a guy like Steve
Khm is all in every year you know you want
to win, and particularly when you've gone five straight years without,
you know, reaching the playoffs. But if you talk to
them privately, the way that they evaluate each of these
individuals um in terms of how they fit, what they
can bring, and why they will be successful, stands out
(01:31):
to me. They're not just signing a name, and they're
not just signing someone based on necessarily past production. They
are truly breaking down how that person fits. So I'll
give you for instance, with A. J. Green, people say, oh,
he's lost a step, he's not as productive, can't get
off man as well as he used to. And the
(01:51):
way that the Cardinals look at it is every receiver
or every player over thirty starts to lose a step
at some point. As we know further time is undefeated.
But you have to remember Adrian Green was also typically
messed up on a number one corner. Well in Arizona.
He's not gonna be messed up on a number one
corner DeAndre Hopkins is. So now you have to ask
yourself can A J. Green win against the number two corner,
(02:15):
and they obviously feel very confident that he can. The
other thing is he's such a great route runner. In
his hands are so good that he can still make
plays even in tight coverage. Of that, and the other
thing we know about Arizona is that they take care
of their veterans. You know, you're playing warm weather on grass,
and they don't push those guys during the week. They
try and manage their bodies to make sure they're effective
(02:36):
on Sundays. So it's for some of those reasons when
I hear people criticize Arizona and then say they went
to these players with a p cards, I say, yeah,
they may be a little older, but these guys have
a specific plan on how these guys fit and why
they believe it can be successful. It wasn't just going
off of name or past accolades. At the same time, GM,
I do think the fact that they started out so
(02:58):
hot last year and then they really petered out two
and five down the stretch. You know, Kyler Murray hurt
that shoulder, and we're gonna ask Steve Kim about that,
because when I saw kylm hurt the shoulder and he
stopped running the ball, that's in their offense and and
just kind of their whole operations seemed to really slow
down a little bit. But eight and eight, I don't
know that's good enough. I mean, it's and it's tough
to make headway in this division. So I think they
(03:20):
are signing these guys for at least, you know, for
what they can do. But they've got to get to
short term bounce. They have got to try to make
headway into me the toughest top to bottom division the NFL,
no no questions. But but what I would say to
that as well is remember they lost eight games with
four of those were by a touchdown or less. Three
of those are by a field goal. So if they
(03:42):
make one kick and I forgot which game it was,
but if they make the kick, they're in the playoffs.
That's how close it was, instead of losing a tiebreaker. Um.
So from my standpoint, they are not that far away.
And early in the year when they were healthy, um
they were they were team that you had to deal with.
So I do think these guys that they've signed can play.
(04:04):
I do think that they will give them a bounce.
And that's what's gonna be so fascinating about this division.
As you say, it's arguably the best in football, and
I say arguably because I think you know, the the
a f C East has gotten a lot better this
offseason as well. Um, and we know that that in
the a f C North, when you talk about in Baltimore,
Cleveland and Pittsburgh, how that goes typically so um, but
(04:27):
that's the NFL. And the one thing I'll say is,
you know, Steve Kim is one of my favorite people
to talk to because he just gives it to you straight.
He does. He knows what he can say and what
he can't say. But he's not BS and you and
and and playing the deflection game and whatnot. If you
ask him a question, he'll give you an honest answer.
And I respect that about him. Yeah, and let's get
(04:49):
doing Jim, because you know, the one thing you know,
right like right now, we're we're seeing a lot of
these teams talk about, hey, they got to move up
to the top five or six. You get some of
these quarterbacks in the draft. You know, Jets may move
off Arnold or whatever. He's done it right, he had
to with Josh Rosean and Kyler Murray. So I'm just
really eager to hear his thought process about doing that.
(05:11):
Where we're seeing some teams kind of mortgage potentially mortgage
to the future for the unknown. So all right, let's
get to our guest, Steve con Alright, Jim, Now we're
joined by our special guest, Arizona Cardinals GM, Steve Kim
(05:32):
and Steve. You know you haven't been busy at all.
I mean about this past week. You've been sitting on
your hands. Uh, you know, not doing any transactions or anything.
That's right. That's right. What an honor guys are to
my favorites. So I appreciate you guys having me on.
Let's do it, Steve. Look, let's get right to it. Okay.
Everybody talks about being in when when now mode? Um,
(05:57):
and I find that ironic because our teams in that
mode every year exactly. That's a that's a great comment
because I've heard that before and you know he's going
for it. Shoot, I'm going for it every year. And
it's uh, you know, the players that we signed, maybe
that that's uh the presumption that people have. But I'm
in acquiring good players who have great leadership skills, and
(06:19):
that's what we feel like we did this offseason. But
at the same time, Steve, not at the same time,
like like you said, the players you signed, you know,
you see some of the big name signings J. J.
Watt and Matt Prador and Rodney Harris and A. J. Green.
They're in their thirties, Okay, so in in NFL players years,
they've got some some tread on the tire, so to speak.
Tread's coming off the tire a little bit. So is it, though,
(06:41):
is there a more of a sense of urgency because
maybe their careers aren't gonna be as long as Kyler's
at this point. Kyler's got ten fifteen more years. These
guys might have two, three, four more years. Is there
more of a sense of urgency with these types of signings.
I don't think so, I really don't, Steve. I think
I think it's it comes down to what we're our
off season goals, and that was become a more foot,
physical football team and to add more leadership to our
(07:02):
locker room. And I think that when you when you
watch all these guys, you know J. J. Watt is
still a disruptive player on tape. Uh. You know A J. Green. Uh.
People seem to think that maybe he's lost a step
and he's a guy that was targeted a hundred and
twelve times I believe last year thirty eight of them
were uncatchable balls. So, uh, he's a guy that to
me can play the Z position for us as great
(07:24):
character as you guys know. And I think he still
has some stuff left in the tank and to be
able to add more weapons to this offense, I think
is something that excites us. Uh. And then Rodney Hudson,
I mean, there's no doubt in my opinion that he's
still one of the best centers in the NFL, and
it's still playing at a high level. Yeah, but don't
overlook greater either. I mean when you look at it,
four of your eight losses or by a touchdown or
(07:45):
last three of them by a field goals. So that's
a pretty significant signing for you, I would assume. Is
that one you targeted going into free agency. Yeah, hundred
percent him, and it was you know, when you look
at it analytically and you see all the games that
are lost by three points are less and the way
we lost to those games last year. Here now, all
of a sudden, is one of the best clutch kickers
in NFL history with the leg strength to boot. So uh,
(08:08):
no pun intended, but he uh, he is a guy
that we we targeted early on and they're really excited
about Steve. Can you speak to the challenges of trying
to build for today but also build for tomorrow. I mean,
Steve said, when you look at those eight, I'm gonna
go with your top eight signings this year, all of
them this season are going to be thirty year older,
(08:29):
and a lot of people focus on age. How do
you balance that with trying to win now but also
not hurting yourself for tomorrow. Yeah, that that's a great question.
And and and want to reduced cap by about sixty
million dollars as well. So it's it's tough, but but
having a rookie quarterback on a rookie contract does afford
(08:49):
uh you those opportunities to be aggressive at other spots. Um.
But you do have to watch and particularly the way
you uh structure these contracts. A lot of times now
days we're doing avoided years, which creates dead space down
the road. Uh and hopefully you know in a year
or two where we're paying Kyler Murray the kind of
money that these elite quarterbacks are making. So it is
(09:11):
a tough balance, um. But at the same time, I
think with the way you allocate your money or the
way you structure these contracts. If you have guys who
are leadership or leaders and have great passion and and
and bring those sort of things to your locker room,
I think that you have to take those opportunities, um,
regardless of what your situation is. Steve, you've had a
taste of the Super Bowl, and um, the last time
(09:34):
you guys were in the playoffs was the NFC Championship game.
It's been five years since then. Can you speak to
what that emotion is of playing at the the pinnacle
and now not being in that dance for five years?
What is that emotion? Like? Yeah, it's it's tough, and
it's it's humbling. I mean, you know, my first five
years as the GM, we won over fifty games. You know,
(09:56):
hired Bruce arians Uh, we we traded for Carson palm Or,
which was I think somebody said equivalent to ham sandwich.
And you know, after the first couple of years, you
think I'm pretty good at this and then, like I said,
you hit this humbling point of your career. Word, Um,
not only you have to unfortunately let go a coach
and uh let go of Okay that you drafted with
(10:19):
the tenth overall, pick and and and and and reduce things,
so to speak. Um, it's not fun. And UM, you
know you can get down on yourself and it's challenging,
but you always got to continue to to to fight
that that deal, you know, internally, more than anything, just
you know, fight the the fact that it's easy to
get down on yourself. But um, you gotta have the
(10:41):
confidence and you gotta have thick skin in this business,
that's for sure. What do you learn about yourself during
that time? Um, you know, it's it's a great question,
and I thought about time after time. I think it's that,
more than anything, you have to really be honest with
yourself and self evaluation. You know, I think as as humans,
(11:04):
we tend to make excuses for ourselves or for example,
my kids. You know, you make excuses for your kids
because you love them and you care. Um, to be
honest with yourself is pretty difficult. And I think that
when you have the ability to look in the mirror
and be blunt and truthful about yourself, good or bad. Um,
that is the only way in life that you can
(11:25):
truly grow. And that's what I what I learned, is
to be honest with myself and and say this isn't
good enough and there's only one way to go, and
that's to fix it. So Steve, and also in all
your year years being a general manager, of course, it's
not just procuring talent, right, it's developing talent, developing culture.
You talked about the guys you signed because you wanted
(11:45):
to bring in some talented players, but also leaders. What
is the culture of your locker room though, to absorb
imported leadership because a lot of locker rooms are like, hey, bro,
you haven't been here. You can't come in here barking
like that. But you know, for your locker say hey J. J. Watt,
people can come in here and listen to J. J. Watter.
They're gonna come in here and listen to A J. Green.
(12:05):
Can you kind of explain balancing that dynamic? And why
do you think you're locker room was ready for that? Yeah,
and and and and that's you know, as I got
to to know A J or J j Um J. J. Watt,
that is he he's a guy that you know, you
guys have both talked to him. I mean, he just
exudes um confidence and passion and uh is got I
(12:26):
think in this game. Um. Leadership isn't an eight thing.
You have it in you. Um, it's natural. You know,
you've heard guys try to be leaders in the past
and it doesn't come off authentic. I think there are obviously, uh,
not as many leaders as you would love to have.
Guys that are just good football players and they come
(12:46):
to work and do their thing and go home. But
but then there are those guys that they come to
work and you feel their presence. And that's what we
felt with some of these guys, uh, in particular JJ,
and I know Rodney Hudson is another guy with great
character as well. Steve, How do you how difficult is
it when you have to part ways with a guy
like Patrick Peterson who has been everything for this organization
(13:10):
in terms of being a pro while he was there,
Um on the outside for us, you know, I want
to be general managers. It's easy because we don't have
the relationships that we're not there to day to day
with that guy. For you, what is it like to
have to part ways with a guy like that. It's
It's funny you say that because I was thinking over
the weekend. Uh. You know, we go to high school
and some of the our best friends or our guys
(13:31):
that we spent four years within high school or or
college those four years. So I went to high school
and I went to college with Pat Pat Peterson, so
to speak. So I have that relationship and and there's
no decision that's been more difficult for me than within
the first ten days of being the general manager here,
I had to release one of my best friends in life,
(13:53):
Adrian Wilson, who is you know, Ring of Honor and Jim,
You and I have talked about it. We both feel
like he's a he's a Hall of Fame um to
to have to tell him that his career in Arizona
is no longer going to exist with the background that
we had, I'm not gonna lie to you, man. We
were in tears on the phone, and to Adrian's credit,
(14:13):
uh man, this chokes me up when I think about it.
Adrian Wilson came out after we released him and he said,
I knew Steve Kahin was the right man for the
job because he was he was strong enough to release
a player like me when he needed to. And that
that that chokes me to think about that. What is
that now? Ri Wilson's character the town, which is why,
(14:36):
which is why I'm sure you're glad he's he's sitting
down next to you in your building, help and help
and build what you guys are trying to do there.
You're exactly right. Um. And why you know when you're
in when you're in the bunker, man, you gotta find
guys that you can trust and you believe in that
um sort of life that like that humbling part of
looking in the mirror and being honest with yourself. You've
(14:58):
got guys that that are gonna speak with conviction, uh
and and aren't going to sugarcoat anything. And um, it's
not trying to climb the ladder. It's just because they
love what they do when they're passionate and they're honest.
Do do you think of the cap if the cap
hadn't shrunk, that Patrick would still be there? Yeah, I
mean that it's hard to say. I mean, I know
it's a hypothetical question. Um, he had he had a
(15:20):
great run here and certainly one of my favorite players
that that that I've had a relationship with throughout the
years here and really fond of him, Steve. Everybody wants
to know what's gonna happen with your wide receiver. Mr
Fitzgerald tell us what's going on there? Well, it's funny
because I was telling Mark Dalton earlier that that I'm
(15:43):
sure you'd be the guy that gets the news first.
So you give me a shout when you find out.
All you gotta do is pick up that phone and
called him. Yeah. Now we we've text a few times,
but he hadn't said anything about his intentions. He's he's
keeping it tight to the vest. But uh, man, we'll
talk about a special guy. I know you guys both
have great relationships with him, and what he's meant to
(16:05):
this organization and to me personally, is he's special. Do
you guys want him back? Larry? Yeah? Are you kidding?
Do you think I want snipers outside my house? Oh?
It's for self preservation purposes. No. I told Larry this
um this year when he um you know, got tests
(16:27):
of positive for COVID and he wasn't in the building.
I think it was for about ten days. When he
came back, man, I gave him the biggest hug, like
he just not having him in the building felt so weird,
you know, because he's he's an icon here and not
only that, just the relationship. I mean, he he's the
most unique person that I've ever met. If somebody asked
(16:48):
me who is the most unique person, it's by far him.
I mean I'll get a phone call uh from him
out of the blue, and you know, think what was
he calling me about? And he's just calling to say,
you know, your son Brady on the phone because it's
just eleventh birthday? Like, are you kidding me? But do
you have somebody that sits beside you and says, now
call Trotter, now called White? You know, it's it's amazing.
(17:11):
He's got a memory that it blows my mind, the
stuff that he latches onto and doesn't doesn't forget and
will pull it out of the air from nowhere. So yeah,
I no, I agree with what you're saying. Um there, Steve.
I'm curious when it comes to team building, how much
of the move, how many of the moves that you
make are specific to two things you want specifically for
(17:32):
your team, versus having to match up against those teams
in your division In particular, as we all know, the
easiest way to the playoffs is to win your division.
So when you see a San Francisco or Seattle or
or a RAMS team, how many of your moves are
based on what they're doing as opposed to just maybe
what your philosophies are and what you want. Yeah, I mean,
I think that's another great question, and it's a balancing act.
(17:54):
It's UM. You know first goal was every year when
your division, take care of that? And for us, how
do we do that? And that's up the middle right now.
You know, when when you're facing teams like the Rams
and the forty Niners who have that interior presence that
they have. So to be able to acquire Rodney Hudson
via trade for me was huge because of his strength,
(18:14):
because of his intangibles, because of his smarts and his awareness.
And again, when you're going against guys like Aaron Donald
and and uh and those type of players, Uh, you know,
you've got to be strong inside. And I think that
will give Kyler even more confidence heading into his third season. Steve,
I wanted to just switch from personal just for a second. Though.
There's going to be a push next week at the
(18:35):
owners meeting our proposal that talks about UM limiting hiring
of head coaches until after I believe after the Super Bowl,
good or bad. What do you think about that? That's
another one that I've mauled over and over because you know,
you you want guys UH to have opportunities. Yet at
the same time, it's like UH in some respects, like
(18:58):
talking about a player under contra track, like you can't
you know you he's under contract, so you know you're
protecting your organization. But at the same time, again, it's
more of a personal thing that you're you're trying to
allow people to better themselves. Um, is it a distraction?
I don't know if it's a distraction or not. I've
gone both ways on that, so I know I'm not
(19:20):
giving you a great answer because I think that you
could probably argue both sides in some ways. What do
you think if you're end to vote on it, what
would you do? You guys are trying to make headlines. UM, no, no, no,
I'm generally it's not about making handlines. I'm generally generally
UM interested in whether you think that delaying the process
(19:40):
for interviewing people is really going to help level this
playing field a little bit where Um, because you know
what the numbers are from a diverse standpoint in term acquirings.
I'm just curious if you feel a little level of
playing field to do it that way. I think it's
it's like scouting players. The more opportunities you have to
see players, or the more opportunity that people have to
(20:01):
to talk to coaches, I think it certainly increases chances
because it's like the more you see players and the
more you have access to college colleges, the more you'll
probably like players. That's what I've always felt like, and
that's why I've always been disappointed when some colleges UM,
you know, restrict our access. The more I see them,
the more I know about them, generally, the more I'm
(20:22):
gonna like them, And and that could be uh the
same way with coaches UM. But we definitely have to
do a better job overall for certainly for for UM
diversity and that sort of thing. And I'm particularly proud
of this organization the steps that we've taken, and you know,
I think I think also you know, developing people like
(20:43):
we just talked about Adrian Wilson and Quentin Harris, who's
my vice president player personnel, two guys that I think
are certainly going to be general managers in this league
and have a great amount of talent in the personnel side.
Um we just recently, uh name both those guys vice
presidents and for me to sit and see how much
they've grown is really makes me proud. And we have
(21:05):
to challenge ourselves even more to pay it forward. You know.
One thing that I feel like you guys have asked
what I've learned about myself. You know, maybe earlier on
in my career as a GM, I maybe I was
a little more selfish. I don't want to be too
hard on myself from that standpoint, but I'm saying that
I've put more effort in emphasis and trying to develop
those guys and pay it forward because it's important to me,
(21:26):
you know, and I think that, uh, we all have
to do a better job in that area, and that's
something I'm proud of, is taking the time to spend
with them. And you know, unless you try to develop
these guys or put them in the pipeline, you'll never know.
Speaking of development, Steve, you know, Kyler Murray, we we
saw some of the growth, but then we saw what
happened on the back half of last season and watching
(21:47):
a lot of your games, to me, it seemed like
the shoulder really impacted is played a little bit in
terms of play calling, not running him as much and
things like that. How badly was he actually hurt? You know,
Kyler is a tough guy, so I don't I don't
think anybody would really ever know. I mean, obviously your
trainer gives you, um a report, but uh, Kyler is
one of those people that always wants to play. He
(22:08):
wants to play through any kind of bumps and bruises. UM,
I'm not sure. I I agree with you a little
bit that that you know, there was a point in
time where he definitely had to protect himself a little more. UM.
But I think he is just going to continue to
take off and ascend the more football he plays a
lot of times, you know, we don't talk enough about
how he really didn't have an off season in in uh,
(22:31):
in college he played baseball, so he didn't have that
development time at the college level, and he really you know,
you look at the extent of time that he played,
it's that year at Oklahoma. So he's just scratching the
surface to me and what he can truly be in
this league, Steve, what is an offseason going to do
for him? You know, I just think it's it's with
(22:52):
young quarterbacks in particular, the comfort level in an offense,
the command, and more than anything, processing and seeing the field,
you know, seeing NFL defenses, seeing him a mixture of
what they do schematically. Uh. And the more you see,
you know, obviously that will be in his role index
in his mind and he'll be able to revert back
to seeing different coverages and the way he reacts to things.
(23:13):
But but he he is a football junkie. He loves it.
I mean, you know, you get text from him about
guys in the draft, and I eat that stuff up
because it shows me how vest that he is and
what we're doing as an organization. He's such a quiet guy.
How many how much have you had to talk to
him in terms of leadership, connecting with your teammates and
(23:36):
maybe having a step outside of your comfort zone a
little bit. Um in terms of making those relationships we've had.
We've had a few discussions, and I think it's more
about um uh, instilling confidence in him to know, like,
this is your team. You know. Um Sometimes guys come
in at a young age and you have Larry Fitzgerald
(23:56):
and Patrick Peterson and guys who have been a fixture
in the building for a long time, and uh maybe
at times you take a back stat and let them,
uh sort of drive the bus, but wanted to let
him know that this is your bus, and uh, you know,
have the confidence that you can speak up and you
can uh do those sort of things as a leader,
(24:18):
because regardless of whether it's your first year in the
league or your tenth year in the league. Um, make
no mistake, you're running this offense. See one kind of
get to you now that the where you are, you're
in in in the draft, You're you're in the evaluation
process of these collegiate players. And just how different is
it when you're thinking this time last year you can't
(24:39):
get on campus, right, you're not having pro days in person,
you're not seeing this. And now you're actually getting eyewitness accounts. Right,
You're you're sitting there. You can talk to these guys,
you can get to the eye test on them. How
different is that and how important is it when seeing
that you know some some of these guys are COVID
opt outs or maybe didn't play against the great the
best competition because they played against teams that had COVID
(25:01):
opt out. So how important is I guess the the
year after the year later in terms of you finding
the proper players from what you guys want to do well,
you know last year, Uh, the obstacles that were created
because of COVID, Actually there were some things that you
know when you you know, I got I became open
minded about the process. Really we learned some things that
(25:24):
we continue to use, particularly with the virtual world UM
and the access that we can have the players through
calls like this. But there's no doubt when you see
them in person, you, as they say, smell their breath.
You're on campus, you can talk to the janitor, you
can talk to the secretary about the kind of person
they are, because that's to me what it's all about.
(25:46):
You know, these guys all have a skill set that
you can see on tape, but to be good or
to be great, the differences is their passion, their love,
their character and uh, you know, so to be able
to get out and see them in person, it's almost like,
you know, you went from not breathing to breathe. Thing.
I know that's extreme, but it's like you got to
have As a scout, I've always said, when you walk
away from that school and you have that intimate knowledge
(26:07):
and feel from the school and being there in person.
It's a lot different from me watching six games in
my office. Hey, real, real quick? Did we did a
virtual interview? And this is the question I wanted to
ask other people. Have you ever like, let's say you
call him a prospect whatever, and the dude is like
laying in bed, like eating the bag of like Derito's
or something, or were they always like on point ready
(26:27):
to rock and roll. I'm not gonna say who it is,
but I just had one a couple of weeks ago.
Guy was like like slummed down. He was like eating
peanuts and then he was messing with his hair, and
I was like the job interviews, like, do you guys
remember the It was a good, real hunting when Ben
(26:48):
Affleck put his legs up and it was like talking
to the guy about hiring him, and he told him
it was gonna take like eighty dollars in cash or
something like that. You pulling up these culture references on me, Steve.
You know I don't do those, So it's something I
do want to ask you about it, And it's more
seriously talk about the difficulties of the job when you
(27:12):
drafted Josh Rosen and then to come back a year
later and make that decision that you were going to
move on and we're talking about a top ten pick here.
Can you take the audience through how difficult a decision
that is knowing what you feel is right, but also
knowing what you had invested in the first place to
get him. Yeah, and a number of things. I mean,
(27:36):
number one, it's it's it's it's you having that struggle
with yourself saying was what was I wrong? You know,
that's a guy that we spent the tenth pick in
the draft on. UH, as well as your wallet. It
doesn't make a lot of owners happy when you're moving
on from a guy that you selected tenth overall the
year before. But at the same time, you know, to
(27:57):
to have um a guy like Kylin Murray, who I
thought at the time, you know, generational talent. It's kind
of like, you know, your if you took Clyde Drexler
with the first overall pick, UM, and then you know
Michael Jordan's there with the third pick, you know, do
you do not take him because he had Clyde Drexler
No disrespect to him, But if you think that that
(28:19):
that's truly in your heart of heart what you believe. Um,
you gotta roll with it, and that's man, it is.
It is a really tough decision. And Steve, tell the people,
this wasn't something that you went in saying right away.
Kyler's my god. I didn't want to like him. I didn't.
And I know I've told you this before. I did,
you know. I I delayed watching him until after um
(28:40):
the combine, and there was already you know, just because
the Cliff relationship and knowing him that long and what
he said at a college interview that there was already
a perception. I hadn't even watched him yet. So UM,
I just had to be honest to the process and
say regardless of what you see, because generally, if you
(29:00):
have that bad attitude going into it, it's probably not
going to be good. And I just said, you gotta
be honest. And this is a tough decision. I hope
I never have the number one pick again. A matter
of fact, if I have the number one pick, I
probably won't be making that decision. So, UM, you gotta
do what you think is gonna propel your organization. UM,
sort of the fastest and and that was an area
(29:23):
and I think it was the right decision. Oh, there's
no question. Yeah, yeah, that was the right well. And
also Steve props for the Clyde Drexler drop. I mean,
for all the old school Hooper's Clyde Drexler was that dude,
but MJ was really that dude. So that was a
very good uh, very good cop. Right there, Slammer Jamma
was that Sam him who beat him? Right? Wait? I
(29:51):
love Carolinas. There he goes, Derrek Whitberg. Right, that's right,
Jimmy V still looking for somebody to hug Man's having
looking for someone to hug Mans. You know, since since
you know, since we're kind of on it's like the
evaluating of young quarterbacks and we're seeing like right now
(30:11):
people saying, Okay, the Jets may move off of Donald
or Miami and TWA and then all these people may
trade up to try to get into the top five
to get the four quarterbacks who are there. What is
the hardest part about saying we're gonna take that risk
or we're gonna move off of somebody. You know, when
when you're seeing all of the stuff that we're hearing
(30:32):
about the top end of the draft this year pretty
much the top end of every draft. But again moving
off of a Sam Donald or someone like that to
get another young player where there's a little bit of uncertainty,
I mean, what are the what are some of the
decisions you go through in your head since you personally
got to been through it. The an exact science that
the NFL draft is, and that's just whether it's history
(30:54):
or analytic studies, it just tells you that that you miss,
we miss a lot, We miss a lot more than
then then you would like to admit. And to to
miss potentially a second time, it is catastrophic. Do you
think about it? If you want to move on from
a guy who was a first round pick a year
or two or three ago, whatever it is, and then
(31:16):
you take another one with the first pick in the
draft and that guy doesn't pan out, I mean, it's
it's catastrophic. It's it's it would set an organization back
I don't know how long one player. Also, well, a
couple of things I want to talk to a real
quick your d front. You know, we talk about j. J.
Watt and we talked about what he can do, a
Chandler Jones, but you guys brought back Marcus Gold, and
(31:36):
I don't think people realize like how impactful of a
player Marcus Gold in his bed. I mean, and then
you know you've got Isaiah Simmons from last year, Um,
kind of the hybrid role, but he really started to
settle in towards the end of the year. What do
you think that some of the personnel additions that you
guys have made and then like the experience of someone
like the Simmons can do for your defense to really
(31:58):
continue to to kind of grow and play up to
his potential, right. I think the great thing is there's
is a mixture of guys that play hard, to guys
with length and athleticism, and uh, the one thing that
that as you said, Marcus cold and he's so passionate.
I mean you love the way, uh he plays really
with a high motor and physical and then you throw
(32:19):
in Chandler Jones, who is so gangly and unorthodox. Yet
you know, I think since two thousand and twelve, the
two guys who have led the NFL in sacks is
number one Chandler Jones, and I think number two J. J. Watt.
So um, I think having those guys on the field
the same time is going to pose some problems. Now
you have a guy at the second level who can
not only blitz, he can cover, He can do it all.
(32:40):
And and Isaiah Simmons, you know, with his speed advanced
Joseph likes to call him and a racer, which is
an interesting um uh description of of what all he
can do, you know, for defense with his his his
ability to cover ground and close on the perimeter on
one run plays. And um again, just the flexibility that
he gives vans to do different things schematically. Steven, I've
(33:04):
got two questions for you, m number one. Where on
this team are you still looking? Are you most concerned
about what position are you most concerned about going forward? Well, well,
on on on on paper, it's easy to say corner,
I would I would think, you know, And and um
with Patrick going to the Vikings, you know, you're looking
(33:25):
at the guys on the roster right now, the Byron
Murphy who we draft in the second round, who I
think is an excellent player. The question is is you know,
is he a better inside player as a nickel or
or you know, is is he he can do it both? Really?
But you know you have to we we have to
add some some somebodies to that room. And the one
thing you gotta do is just say patient. You know,
(33:47):
we added Antonio Crimarti years ago, late in the process,
and he became a pro bowler that year. Opposite pat
Um certainly helps to have the rush that we'll hopefully
have and sort of what comes first a chicken and yeah, well,
the guys with their hand in the dirt certainly come first,
and it makes those guys on the back end job
is a little easier. Secondly, Steve, we both know these
(34:09):
TV deals are gonna kick in in a couple of years.
You have a guy named Chandler Jones's deals coming up soon.
Are they trying to slow play it? Are you trying
to get this done quickly before that many kicks in? Yeah, Taylor, man,
he is, um he is. He is a phenomenal player
and a great person. And again the statistics peak for itself.
(34:31):
So um, you know, it's good to have those sort
of problems. I told John Schneider years ago when they
won the Super Bowl, all those guys were trying to
get paid, and I said, man, you got champagne problems.
That's that's that's good. When Jason Light's going through it? Now,
how do I pay all these guys? You didn't ask
questions to have those problems. You know, you didn't answer
my question, Oh, are we trying to slow play it
(34:55):
or no? No, I know they probably would want to
slow play it. But are you guys trying to get
this thing done? So something and soon with Chandler ah man,
I swear I have not even had a chance to
come up for Errol to even point in that direction.
So I would say, you know, we'll start having some
conversations here in the near future. I got you all right,
better better better? Offseason mathematics. Buccaneers are Saints, uh in
(35:23):
terms of in terms of finding ways to get under
the cap resign guys, I gotta sick. That's my guy, okay,
and uh yeah, Mike Greenberger cap guys, those guys. Those
guys have had to become creative, that's for sure. And again,
problems I would certainly like to have. You know, the
one thing I gotta know from Steve before we leave, Man,
(35:46):
what are you wearing opening week? This is one of
the sharpest dressed dudes out there. It comes to GMS.
I gotta know what you're wearing coming from you too.
That's that's uh, that's a lot of love. I mean,
I think it's I've seen you guys both rock problem
a nice plaid or something. UM, certainly gonna have a
little red maybe some redness stitching the pops. You say.
(36:08):
You say that with so much gusto. I want to
I want to know how far out you planned your attire,
Steve for Sunday. Uh, And don't tell me you wake
up Sunday morning and just pull something out. Probably a
couple of days. Uh, Larry, Uh mess was messes with
me all the time because we have the same UM
(36:29):
girl Chandra who makes our our suits. And uh, he
always gives me a hard time with whether I'm either
the second or third best dressed in just the building
or then a couple of years ago he told me
I was the second best dress GM behind Thomas to Mitchroff. Yeah, nobody,
nobody was taking the crown from TV. Nobody was taking
(36:49):
I don't know, man, Steve's pretty clean. I think it's
his slender look just looks better than mine does in
a suit. I M I don't know. Whenever I walk
in that building, I see Steve it's like, damn, I
gotta help my game a little bit here. That's why
I was thinking actually on the way down here, when
Mark Mark brought me down, I was thinking, Man, I
(37:10):
don't have like a sport check it or something, because
I know my guys are gonna be clean. On the
other end, who do this? My friend? After this? It's
the one thing about COVID world, it's definitely relaxed. Some things.
I don't think. The supersess is one as well. Sup
makers are the ones who are probably hurting more than anybody,
any high fashion design folks. And we see, we know,
(37:31):
we know you got to get out of here. Um,
Jim will call you when Larry decides when he wants
to do perfect and uh and we'll talk after that
sounds good, man, You guys are wrong, man, But I
appreciate you always, Steve Man, appreciate you guys, appreciate work man. Guys.
(37:54):
You know Steve, Steve Come is one of those guys
that that again, I just love talking to m because
he shoots you straight. But you can have fun with
him as well as well. And one of the things
you said there that I think is so true in
terms of self reflection and whatnot. Um, you can you
can come with Steve and say, man, you know you
mess this up or how did you miss on this?
(38:16):
And he's not that guy that's gonna take it so personal.
Whereas some of these guys you know, um, you you
point out on a thong the stakes and they know,
they're like, they don't want to talk to you anymore.
Steve is like, if you come to them with an
honest evaluation, he's willing to have that dialogue. You know,
He's not so thin thin skin that he's gonna, you know,
put you on that list and you know, all of
(38:37):
a sudden you're blocked and and no more conversations. But um,
but I respect that about him, and I do mean,
and I do think, and Thomas de mitrof can get
mad at me about this. I do think Steve kind
of gives Thomas de Mittroff a run for the number
one best dressed executive in the NFL. He gives him
a run. And now it's now Steve, since Thomas is
(38:57):
out of the game for you know, for at least
this season. Um. You know, I really, Jim, I really
I really thought when you when you asked the question
about philosophically, what are you trying to do. He's like,
we gotta get better guard to guard, right, we gotta
get better on the offensive interior when you're facing guys
like Aaron Donald and the Eric Armstead of the of
the world, you know, who are coming at you. And
so he gets it. I mean that's one thing that
(39:18):
they you know, ever since Mikey Potty really they had
not addressed for a couple of years. They hit some
other spots. So now they're going there. And the fact
that they got to get a corner, which they absolutely do.
You lose a great player like Patrick Peterson. Um, they've
they've got a force and fortify something, especially now that
the Sean Jackson is in that Rams offense and we
(39:38):
when we know the smoke that the Seahawks are bringing
with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett on those sides as well. So, um, yeah,
I really really enjoy you know, Steve, And it's gonna
be answering to see how they they go about procuring
things and and they move and they move forward with
some things. I'll say this to you, Steve, the happiest
guy in the Cardinals organization in my opinion, is mass
(39:59):
Joe's it because when he first got there, they did
not have the pieces to be successful defensively. They tried
to add a little bit last year, got a little better,
and now look at what he has to work with.
You get a healthy channeler Jones coming back. J J. Watt,
You keep Marcus Goldston. You've got Isaiah Simmons who should
develop in year two. You got Buddha Baker, one of
(40:20):
the best safeties in the game at every level of
that defense. Now he should have playmakers. And if they
go out and they take care of themselves at corner um,
that's a unit that's gonna do some things and and
it's gonna have to do some things in the division
that it's in. So I'm willing to wager the best.
Joseph has a very wide smile on his face as
(40:41):
they head towards the draft. Yeah, you know, they enhanced
the physicality, and Steve talked about a little bit. They
had to get more physical because you look at the
defenses and the rams. I mean they got everybody trying
to break you off, right, I mean everybody on their
team comes at you head hunting. Seahawks still kind of
figure some things out there, they're they're hot, the cold,
but San Francisco, you know they're gonna be back, you know,
(41:02):
Damika Ryan's and then the players that they've added and
that they've they've been able to manage get you know,
coming are getting back from injuries. So they're gonna be back.
So so good for them, you know, so, Jim, we
also Steve is out you know, procuring talent and as
part of something we do here and trying to amplify
hbc US Black College Football Hall of Fame of which
I'm on the selection committee. Um, we're gonna be staying
(41:26):
in the Legacy Bowl the Saturday after the super Bowl.
And the only reason we see the Saturday after the
super Bowl is we're expecting it to be a seventeen
game season until the super Bowl date has not officially
been set yet. That's the only reason we're phrasing it
like that. But you know the reason why Doug Williams
and James Shack Harrison's guys felt that this was important
(41:47):
to get an all star game together, to get all
these scouts to come look at these guys before the combine.
There's a lot of these guys aren't gonna get invited
to the Combine. They're not gonna invited to the Senior Bowl.
But this is a way to find somebody who's maybe
a fifth round pick or seventh rond draft pick to
to help. And again, I think it's important, um that
people understand there's still some talent as these HBCUs as
(42:07):
we're seeing at Jack Estate with Dion Sanders just bringing
into town, um. But but to get them in front
of eyes, I think it's just so important, especially after
so many of these teams didn't have a COVID season,
you know, truncated COVID teason, and they didn't have spring
ball in for the scouts to come see them at
least in the developmental stage of their career. Yeah. For me, Steve,
(42:30):
it's about one thing in one word, and opportunity. And
that's all these players that were asked for nothing else,
just can they have an opportunity to be seen and
to make their way. And so I applaud Shock and
Doug and everyone else involved with the Black College Football
Hall of Fame UM in the NFL for helping with
this because it's just it's needed, you know, and these
(42:54):
young men have dreams as well as everyone else. And
if they can just get an opportunity, you know, you
run with it. You make it do what it does,
you know, or as Rich also saying, make it do
what it do, you know, make it, make it, make
it do what it do. You know. So uh so, no,
I think it's tremendous And props to those guys for
(43:15):
helping to get that off the ground. Well, we're gonna
continue to amplify hbc US, hbc U Sports, HBCU Athletics,
Women's Athletics. Thank you women of the n c A
a uh march madness for stepping up and and exposing
some of the inequities um to shame it had to
come to that. Proudy for stepping up and hopefully thinks
(43:38):
you can get better from here, because this is absolutely
kind of ironic. All right, Jim, let's go ahead and
get out of here. We're not done with the GM
train on the other floor this week. We're gonna have
Brandon Dean and the Buffalo Bills on a little bit
later in the week also because the Bills have a
real interesting proposal for the Competition Committee about slowing down
the head coaching hiring process, and we'll talk to him
(43:58):
about that, but is gonna be a busy week as
we kind of move towards the draft here on the
pult Float Jam. Yeah, that'd be a good one. I've
got some thoughts on it. We'll save it until then,
But for now, we want to thank you all for
continuing to subscribe, continuing to listen, and we implore you
to keep leaving us messages, letting us know who you
(44:19):
want to hear from, what you want to hear about,
and that way we can continue to give you more
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we get on I Heart, and we look at what
you're saying and we appreciate the love. I mean, it's
it's fantastic to see that we're actually giving you, guys,
(44:40):
something that you want that you didn't have. Um And
as Jim said the other day in the podcast, it
feels good to know that you were right when we
proposed this podcast a couple of years ago. And here
we are all right, uh. For Jim Trotter, for Thomas Warrnt,
I am Steve White with hud On Flow podcast brought
(45:03):
to you by into it, proud makers of turbo tax,
QuickBooks and mint. We will be back a little bit later,
but for now we are the h U Mob, and
we are out.
I'm Calvin Johnson Jr. And you listen to the Huddle
on Flow podcast. Well, all right, we're here at the
(00:23):
Huddle Flow podcast, brought to you by Into It, the
Problem makers of Turbo Tax, Mint and Quick Books. I
am Steve White here with my brother Jim Trotter. We
are two thirds of the Howard You Mob our producer
Thomas Warren on the ones and the twos. He completes
the puzzle and sim we got we got a real
interesting show today. Our guest Arizona Cardinals g M. Steve
Kim been a little busy, Been a little busy signing folks.
(00:48):
Now some people think he's signing people who also have
that a r P card that David Culley, the Houston
Texas head coach, said that he flashes, but he's still
got some productive players. We're talking about guys like Matt Pray.
You're in a J. Green and J. J. Watt and
Roddey HUDs. Those are guys who can still play. Yeah.
The thing that stands out to me about what they're
doing as well. People say they're all in now, but
(01:10):
you know, I can tell you a guy like Steve
Khm is all in every year you know you want
to win, and particularly when you've gone five straight years without,
you know, reaching the playoffs. But if you talk to
them privately, the way that they evaluate each of these
individuals um in terms of how they fit, what they
can bring, and why they will be successful, stands out
(01:31):
to me. They're not just signing a name, and they're
not just signing someone based on necessarily past production. They
are truly breaking down how that person fits. So I'll
give you for instance, with A. J. Green, people say, oh,
he's lost a step, he's not as productive, can't get
off man as well as he used to. And the
(01:51):
way that the Cardinals look at it is every receiver
or every player over thirty starts to lose a step
at some point. As we know further time is undefeated.
But you have to remember Adrian Green was also typically
messed up on a number one corner. Well in Arizona.
He's not gonna be messed up on a number one
corner DeAndre Hopkins is. So now you have to ask
yourself can A J. Green win against the number two corner,
(02:15):
and they obviously feel very confident that he can. The
other thing is he's such a great route runner. In
his hands are so good that he can still make
plays even in tight coverage. Of that, and the other
thing we know about Arizona is that they take care
of their veterans. You know, you're playing warm weather on grass,
and they don't push those guys during the week. They
try and manage their bodies to make sure they're effective
(02:36):
on Sundays. So it's for some of those reasons when
I hear people criticize Arizona and then say they went
to these players with a p cards, I say, yeah,
they may be a little older, but these guys have
a specific plan on how these guys fit and why
they believe it can be successful. It wasn't just going
off of name or past accolades. At the same time, GM,
I do think the fact that they started out so
(02:58):
hot last year and then they really petered out two
and five down the stretch. You know, Kyler Murray hurt
that shoulder, and we're gonna ask Steve Kim about that,
because when I saw kylm hurt the shoulder and he
stopped running the ball, that's in their offense and and
just kind of their whole operations seemed to really slow
down a little bit. But eight and eight, I don't
know that's good enough. I mean, it's and it's tough
to make headway in this division. So I think they
(03:20):
are signing these guys for at least, you know, for
what they can do. But they've got to get to
short term bounce. They have got to try to make
headway into me the toughest top to bottom division the NFL,
no no questions. But but what I would say to
that as well is remember they lost eight games with
four of those were by a touchdown or less. Three
of those are by a field goal. So if they
(03:42):
make one kick and I forgot which game it was,
but if they make the kick, they're in the playoffs.
That's how close it was, instead of losing a tiebreaker. Um.
So from my standpoint, they are not that far away.
And early in the year when they were healthy, um
they were they were team that you had to deal with.
So I do think these guys that they've signed can play.
(04:04):
I do think that they will give them a bounce.
And that's what's gonna be so fascinating about this division.
As you say, it's arguably the best in football, and
I say arguably because I think you know, the the
a f C East has gotten a lot better this
offseason as well. Um, and we know that that in
the a f C North, when you talk about in Baltimore,
Cleveland and Pittsburgh, how that goes typically so um, but
(04:27):
that's the NFL. And the one thing I'll say is,
you know, Steve Kim is one of my favorite people
to talk to because he just gives it to you straight.
He does. He knows what he can say and what
he can't say. But he's not BS and you and
and and playing the deflection game and whatnot. If you
ask him a question, he'll give you an honest answer.
And I respect that about him. Yeah, and let's get
(04:49):
doing Jim, because you know, the one thing you know,
right like right now, we're we're seeing a lot of
these teams talk about, hey, they got to move up
to the top five or six. You get some of
these quarterbacks in the draft. You know, Jets may move
off Arnold or whatever. He's done it right, he had
to with Josh Rosean and Kyler Murray. So I'm just
really eager to hear his thought process about doing that.
(05:11):
Where we're seeing some teams kind of mortgage potentially mortgage
to the future for the unknown. So all right, let's
get to our guest, Steve con Alright, Jim, Now we're
joined by our special guest, Arizona Cardinals GM, Steve Kim
(05:32):
and Steve. You know you haven't been busy at all.
I mean about this past week. You've been sitting on
your hands. Uh, you know, not doing any transactions or anything.
That's right. That's right. What an honor guys are to
my favorites. So I appreciate you guys having me on.
Let's do it, Steve. Look, let's get right to it. Okay.
Everybody talks about being in when when now mode? Um,
(05:57):
and I find that ironic because our teams in that
mode every year exactly. That's a that's a great comment
because I've heard that before and you know he's going
for it. Shoot, I'm going for it every year. And
it's uh, you know, the players that we signed, maybe
that that's uh the presumption that people have. But I'm
in acquiring good players who have great leadership skills, and
(06:19):
that's what we feel like we did this offseason. But
at the same time, Steve, not at the same time,
like like you said, the players you signed, you know,
you see some of the big name signings J. J.
Watt and Matt Prador and Rodney Harris and A. J. Green.
They're in their thirties, Okay, so in in NFL players years,
they've got some some tread on the tire, so to speak.
Tread's coming off the tire a little bit. So is it, though,
(06:41):
is there a more of a sense of urgency because
maybe their careers aren't gonna be as long as Kyler's
at this point. Kyler's got ten fifteen more years. These
guys might have two, three, four more years. Is there
more of a sense of urgency with these types of signings.
I don't think so, I really don't, Steve. I think
I think it's it comes down to what we're our
off season goals, and that was become a more foot,
physical football team and to add more leadership to our
(07:02):
locker room. And I think that when you when you
watch all these guys, you know J. J. Watt is
still a disruptive player on tape. Uh. You know A J. Green. Uh.
People seem to think that maybe he's lost a step
and he's a guy that was targeted a hundred and
twelve times I believe last year thirty eight of them
were uncatchable balls. So, uh, he's a guy that to
me can play the Z position for us as great
(07:24):
character as you guys know. And I think he still
has some stuff left in the tank and to be
able to add more weapons to this offense, I think
is something that excites us. Uh. And then Rodney Hudson,
I mean, there's no doubt in my opinion that he's
still one of the best centers in the NFL, and
it's still playing at a high level. Yeah, but don't
overlook greater either. I mean when you look at it,
four of your eight losses or by a touchdown or
(07:45):
last three of them by a field goals. So that's
a pretty significant signing for you, I would assume. Is
that one you targeted going into free agency. Yeah, hundred
percent him, and it was you know, when you look
at it analytically and you see all the games that
are lost by three points are less and the way
we lost to those games last year. Here now, all
of a sudden, is one of the best clutch kickers
in NFL history with the leg strength to boot. So uh,
(08:08):
no pun intended, but he uh, he is a guy
that we we targeted early on and they're really excited
about Steve. Can you speak to the challenges of trying
to build for today but also build for tomorrow. I mean,
Steve said, when you look at those eight, I'm gonna
go with your top eight signings this year, all of
them this season are going to be thirty year older,
(08:29):
and a lot of people focus on age. How do
you balance that with trying to win now but also
not hurting yourself for tomorrow. Yeah, that that's a great question.
And and and want to reduced cap by about sixty
million dollars as well. So it's it's tough, but but
having a rookie quarterback on a rookie contract does afford
(08:49):
uh you those opportunities to be aggressive at other spots. Um.
But you do have to watch and particularly the way
you uh structure these contracts. A lot of times now
days we're doing avoided years, which creates dead space down
the road. Uh and hopefully you know in a year
or two where we're paying Kyler Murray the kind of
money that these elite quarterbacks are making. So it is
(09:11):
a tough balance, um. But at the same time, I
think with the way you allocate your money or the
way you structure these contracts. If you have guys who
are leadership or leaders and have great passion and and
and bring those sort of things to your locker room,
I think that you have to take those opportunities, um,
regardless of what your situation is. Steve, you've had a
taste of the Super Bowl, and um, the last time
(09:34):
you guys were in the playoffs was the NFC Championship game.
It's been five years since then. Can you speak to
what that emotion is of playing at the the pinnacle
and now not being in that dance for five years?
What is that emotion? Like? Yeah, it's it's tough, and
it's it's humbling. I mean, you know, my first five
years as the GM, we won over fifty games. You know,
(09:56):
hired Bruce arians Uh, we we traded for Carson palm Or,
which was I think somebody said equivalent to ham sandwich.
And you know, after the first couple of years, you
think I'm pretty good at this and then, like I said,
you hit this humbling point of your career. Word, Um,
not only you have to unfortunately let go a coach
and uh let go of Okay that you drafted with
(10:19):
the tenth overall, pick and and and and and reduce things,
so to speak. Um, it's not fun. And UM, you
know you can get down on yourself and it's challenging,
but you always got to continue to to to fight
that that deal, you know, internally, more than anything, just
you know, fight the the fact that it's easy to
get down on yourself. But um, you gotta have the
(10:41):
confidence and you gotta have thick skin in this business,
that's for sure. What do you learn about yourself during
that time? Um, you know, it's it's a great question,
and I thought about time after time. I think it's that,
more than anything, you have to really be honest with
yourself and self evaluation. You know, I think as as humans,
(11:04):
we tend to make excuses for ourselves or for example,
my kids. You know, you make excuses for your kids
because you love them and you care. Um, to be
honest with yourself is pretty difficult. And I think that
when you have the ability to look in the mirror
and be blunt and truthful about yourself, good or bad. Um,
that is the only way in life that you can
(11:25):
truly grow. And that's what I what I learned, is
to be honest with myself and and say this isn't
good enough and there's only one way to go, and
that's to fix it. So Steve, and also in all
your year years being a general manager, of course, it's
not just procuring talent, right, it's developing talent, developing culture.
You talked about the guys you signed because you wanted
(11:45):
to bring in some talented players, but also leaders. What
is the culture of your locker room though, to absorb
imported leadership because a lot of locker rooms are like, hey, bro,
you haven't been here. You can't come in here barking
like that. But you know, for your locker say hey J. J. Watt,
people can come in here and listen to J. J. Watter.
They're gonna come in here and listen to A J. Green.
(12:05):
Can you kind of explain balancing that dynamic? And why
do you think you're locker room was ready for that? Yeah,
and and and and that's you know, as I got
to to know A J or J j Um J. J. Watt,
that is he he's a guy that you know, you
guys have both talked to him. I mean, he just
exudes um confidence and passion and uh is got I
(12:26):
think in this game. Um. Leadership isn't an eight thing.
You have it in you. Um, it's natural. You know,
you've heard guys try to be leaders in the past
and it doesn't come off authentic. I think there are obviously, uh,
not as many leaders as you would love to have.
Guys that are just good football players and they come
(12:46):
to work and do their thing and go home. But
but then there are those guys that they come to
work and you feel their presence. And that's what we
felt with some of these guys, uh, in particular JJ,
and I know Rodney Hudson is another guy with great
character as well. Steve, How do you how difficult is
it when you have to part ways with a guy
like Patrick Peterson who has been everything for this organization
(13:10):
in terms of being a pro while he was there,
Um on the outside for us, you know, I want
to be general managers. It's easy because we don't have
the relationships that we're not there to day to day
with that guy. For you, what is it like to
have to part ways with a guy like that. It's
It's funny you say that because I was thinking over
the weekend. Uh. You know, we go to high school
and some of the our best friends or our guys
(13:31):
that we spent four years within high school or or
college those four years. So I went to high school
and I went to college with Pat Pat Peterson, so
to speak. So I have that relationship and and there's
no decision that's been more difficult for me than within
the first ten days of being the general manager here,
I had to release one of my best friends in life,
(13:53):
Adrian Wilson, who is you know, Ring of Honor and Jim,
You and I have talked about it. We both feel
like he's a he's a Hall of Fame um to
to have to tell him that his career in Arizona
is no longer going to exist with the background that
we had, I'm not gonna lie to you, man. We
were in tears on the phone, and to Adrian's credit,
(14:13):
uh man, this chokes me up when I think about it.
Adrian Wilson came out after we released him and he said,
I knew Steve Kahin was the right man for the
job because he was he was strong enough to release
a player like me when he needed to. And that
that that chokes me to think about that. What is
that now? Ri Wilson's character the town, which is why,
(14:36):
which is why I'm sure you're glad he's he's sitting
down next to you in your building, help and help
and build what you guys are trying to do there.
You're exactly right. Um. And why you know when you're
in when you're in the bunker, man, you gotta find
guys that you can trust and you believe in that
um sort of life that like that humbling part of
looking in the mirror and being honest with yourself. You've
(14:58):
got guys that that are gonna speak with conviction, uh
and and aren't going to sugarcoat anything. And um, it's
not trying to climb the ladder. It's just because they
love what they do when they're passionate and they're honest.
Do do you think of the cap if the cap
hadn't shrunk, that Patrick would still be there? Yeah, I
mean that it's hard to say. I mean, I know
it's a hypothetical question. Um, he had he had a
(15:20):
great run here and certainly one of my favorite players
that that that I've had a relationship with throughout the
years here and really fond of him, Steve. Everybody wants
to know what's gonna happen with your wide receiver. Mr
Fitzgerald tell us what's going on there? Well, it's funny
because I was telling Mark Dalton earlier that that I'm
(15:43):
sure you'd be the guy that gets the news first.
So you give me a shout when you find out.
All you gotta do is pick up that phone and
called him. Yeah. Now we we've text a few times,
but he hadn't said anything about his intentions. He's he's
keeping it tight to the vest. But uh, man, we'll
talk about a special guy. I know you guys both
have great relationships with him, and what he's meant to
(16:05):
this organization and to me personally, is he's special. Do
you guys want him back? Larry? Yeah? Are you kidding?
Do you think I want snipers outside my house? Oh?
It's for self preservation purposes. No. I told Larry this
um this year when he um you know, got tests
(16:27):
of positive for COVID and he wasn't in the building.
I think it was for about ten days. When he
came back, man, I gave him the biggest hug, like
he just not having him in the building felt so weird,
you know, because he's he's an icon here and not
only that, just the relationship. I mean, he he's the
most unique person that I've ever met. If somebody asked
(16:48):
me who is the most unique person, it's by far him.
I mean I'll get a phone call uh from him
out of the blue, and you know, think what was
he calling me about? And he's just calling to say,
you know, your son Brady on the phone because it's
just eleventh birthday? Like, are you kidding me? But do
you have somebody that sits beside you and says, now
call Trotter, now called White? You know, it's it's amazing.
(17:11):
He's got a memory that it blows my mind, the
stuff that he latches onto and doesn't doesn't forget and
will pull it out of the air from nowhere. So yeah,
I no, I agree with what you're saying. Um there, Steve.
I'm curious when it comes to team building, how much
of the move, how many of the moves that you
make are specific to two things you want specifically for
(17:32):
your team, versus having to match up against those teams
in your division In particular, as we all know, the
easiest way to the playoffs is to win your division.
So when you see a San Francisco or Seattle or
or a RAMS team, how many of your moves are
based on what they're doing as opposed to just maybe
what your philosophies are and what you want. Yeah, I mean,
I think that's another great question, and it's a balancing act.
(17:54):
It's UM. You know first goal was every year when
your division, take care of that? And for us, how
do we do that? And that's up the middle right now.
You know, when when you're facing teams like the Rams
and the forty Niners who have that interior presence that
they have. So to be able to acquire Rodney Hudson
via trade for me was huge because of his strength,
(18:14):
because of his intangibles, because of his smarts and his awareness.
And again, when you're going against guys like Aaron Donald
and and uh and those type of players, Uh, you know,
you've got to be strong inside. And I think that
will give Kyler even more confidence heading into his third season. Steve,
I wanted to just switch from personal just for a second. Though.
There's going to be a push next week at the
(18:35):
owners meeting our proposal that talks about UM limiting hiring
of head coaches until after I believe after the Super Bowl,
good or bad. What do you think about that? That's
another one that I've mauled over and over because you know,
you you want guys UH to have opportunities. Yet at
the same time, it's like UH in some respects, like
(18:58):
talking about a player under contra track, like you can't
you know you he's under contract, so you know you're
protecting your organization. But at the same time, again, it's
more of a personal thing that you're you're trying to
allow people to better themselves. Um, is it a distraction?
I don't know if it's a distraction or not. I've
gone both ways on that, so I know I'm not
(19:20):
giving you a great answer because I think that you
could probably argue both sides in some ways. What do
you think if you're end to vote on it, what
would you do? You guys are trying to make headlines. UM, no, no, no,
I'm generally it's not about making handlines. I'm generally generally
UM interested in whether you think that delaying the process
(19:40):
for interviewing people is really going to help level this
playing field a little bit where Um, because you know
what the numbers are from a diverse standpoint in term acquirings.
I'm just curious if you feel a little level of
playing field to do it that way. I think it's
it's like scouting players. The more opportunities you have to
see players, or the more opportunity that people have to
(20:01):
to talk to coaches, I think it certainly increases chances
because it's like the more you see players and the
more you have access to college colleges, the more you'll
probably like players. That's what I've always felt like, and
that's why I've always been disappointed when some colleges UM,
you know, restrict our access. The more I see them,
the more I know about them, generally, the more I'm
(20:22):
gonna like them, And and that could be uh the
same way with coaches UM. But we definitely have to
do a better job overall for certainly for for UM
diversity and that sort of thing. And I'm particularly proud
of this organization the steps that we've taken, and you know,
I think I think also you know, developing people like
(20:43):
we just talked about Adrian Wilson and Quentin Harris, who's
my vice president player personnel, two guys that I think
are certainly going to be general managers in this league
and have a great amount of talent in the personnel side.
Um we just recently, uh name both those guys vice
presidents and for me to sit and see how much
they've grown is really makes me proud. And we have
(21:05):
to challenge ourselves even more to pay it forward. You know.
One thing that I feel like you guys have asked
what I've learned about myself. You know, maybe earlier on
in my career as a GM, I maybe I was
a little more selfish. I don't want to be too
hard on myself from that standpoint, but I'm saying that
I've put more effort in emphasis and trying to develop
those guys and pay it forward because it's important to me,
(21:26):
you know, and I think that, uh, we all have
to do a better job in that area, and that's
something I'm proud of, is taking the time to spend
with them. And you know, unless you try to develop
these guys or put them in the pipeline, you'll never know.
Speaking of development, Steve, you know, Kyler Murray, we we
saw some of the growth, but then we saw what
happened on the back half of last season and watching
(21:47):
a lot of your games, to me, it seemed like
the shoulder really impacted is played a little bit in
terms of play calling, not running him as much and
things like that. How badly was he actually hurt? You know,
Kyler is a tough guy, so I don't I don't
think anybody would really ever know. I mean, obviously your
trainer gives you, um a report, but uh, Kyler is
one of those people that always wants to play. He
(22:08):
wants to play through any kind of bumps and bruises. UM,
I'm not sure. I I agree with you a little
bit that that you know, there was a point in
time where he definitely had to protect himself a little more. UM.
But I think he is just going to continue to
take off and ascend the more football he plays a
lot of times, you know, we don't talk enough about
how he really didn't have an off season in in uh,
(22:31):
in college he played baseball, so he didn't have that
development time at the college level, and he really you know,
you look at the extent of time that he played,
it's that year at Oklahoma. So he's just scratching the
surface to me and what he can truly be in
this league, Steve, what is an offseason going to do
for him? You know, I just think it's it's with
(22:52):
young quarterbacks in particular, the comfort level in an offense,
the command, and more than anything, processing and seeing the field,
you know, seeing NFL defenses, seeing him a mixture of
what they do schematically. Uh. And the more you see,
you know, obviously that will be in his role index
in his mind and he'll be able to revert back
to seeing different coverages and the way he reacts to things.
(23:13):
But but he he is a football junkie. He loves it.
I mean, you know, you get text from him about
guys in the draft, and I eat that stuff up
because it shows me how vest that he is and
what we're doing as an organization. He's such a quiet guy.
How many how much have you had to talk to
him in terms of leadership, connecting with your teammates and
(23:36):
maybe having a step outside of your comfort zone a
little bit. Um in terms of making those relationships we've had.
We've had a few discussions, and I think it's more
about um uh, instilling confidence in him to know, like,
this is your team. You know. Um Sometimes guys come
in at a young age and you have Larry Fitzgerald
(23:56):
and Patrick Peterson and guys who have been a fixture
in the building for a long time, and uh maybe
at times you take a back stat and let them,
uh sort of drive the bus, but wanted to let
him know that this is your bus, and uh, you know,
have the confidence that you can speak up and you
can uh do those sort of things as a leader,
(24:18):
because regardless of whether it's your first year in the
league or your tenth year in the league. Um, make
no mistake, you're running this offense. See one kind of
get to you now that the where you are, you're
in in in the draft, You're you're in the evaluation
process of these collegiate players. And just how different is
it when you're thinking this time last year you can't
(24:39):
get on campus, right, you're not having pro days in person,
you're not seeing this. And now you're actually getting eyewitness accounts. Right,
You're you're sitting there. You can talk to these guys,
you can get to the eye test on them. How
different is that and how important is it when seeing
that you know some some of these guys are COVID
opt outs or maybe didn't play against the great the
best competition because they played against teams that had COVID
(25:01):
opt out. So how important is I guess the the
year after the year later in terms of you finding
the proper players from what you guys want to do well,
you know last year, Uh, the obstacles that were created
because of COVID, Actually there were some things that you
know when you you know, I got I became open
minded about the process. Really we learned some things that
(25:24):
we continue to use, particularly with the virtual world UM
and the access that we can have the players through
calls like this. But there's no doubt when you see
them in person, you, as they say, smell their breath.
You're on campus, you can talk to the janitor, you
can talk to the secretary about the kind of person
they are, because that's to me what it's all about.
(25:46):
You know, these guys all have a skill set that
you can see on tape, but to be good or
to be great, the differences is their passion, their love,
their character and uh, you know, so to be able
to get out and see them in person, it's almost like,
you know, you went from not breathing to breathe. Thing.
I know that's extreme, but it's like you got to
have As a scout, I've always said, when you walk
away from that school and you have that intimate knowledge
(26:07):
and feel from the school and being there in person.
It's a lot different from me watching six games in
my office. Hey, real, real quick? Did we did a
virtual interview? And this is the question I wanted to
ask other people. Have you ever like, let's say you
call him a prospect whatever, and the dude is like
laying in bed, like eating the bag of like Derito's
or something, or were they always like on point ready
(26:27):
to rock and roll. I'm not gonna say who it is,
but I just had one a couple of weeks ago.
Guy was like like slummed down. He was like eating
peanuts and then he was messing with his hair, and
I was like the job interviews, like, do you guys
remember the It was a good, real hunting when Ben
(26:48):
Affleck put his legs up and it was like talking
to the guy about hiring him, and he told him
it was gonna take like eighty dollars in cash or
something like that. You pulling up these culture references on me, Steve.
You know I don't do those, So it's something I
do want to ask you about it, And it's more
seriously talk about the difficulties of the job when you
(27:12):
drafted Josh Rosen and then to come back a year
later and make that decision that you were going to
move on and we're talking about a top ten pick here.
Can you take the audience through how difficult a decision
that is knowing what you feel is right, but also
knowing what you had invested in the first place to
get him. Yeah, and a number of things. I mean,
(27:36):
number one, it's it's it's it's you having that struggle
with yourself saying was what was I wrong? You know,
that's a guy that we spent the tenth pick in
the draft on. UH, as well as your wallet. It
doesn't make a lot of owners happy when you're moving
on from a guy that you selected tenth overall the
year before. But at the same time, you know, to
(27:57):
to have um a guy like Kylin Murray, who I
thought at the time, you know, generational talent. It's kind
of like, you know, your if you took Clyde Drexler
with the first overall pick, UM, and then you know
Michael Jordan's there with the third pick, you know, do
you do not take him because he had Clyde Drexler
No disrespect to him, But if you think that that
(28:19):
that's truly in your heart of heart what you believe. Um,
you gotta roll with it, and that's man, it is.
It is a really tough decision. And Steve, tell the people,
this wasn't something that you went in saying right away.
Kyler's my god. I didn't want to like him. I didn't.
And I know I've told you this before. I did,
you know. I I delayed watching him until after um
(28:40):
the combine, and there was already you know, just because
the Cliff relationship and knowing him that long and what
he said at a college interview that there was already
a perception. I hadn't even watched him yet. So UM,
I just had to be honest to the process and
say regardless of what you see, because generally, if you
(29:00):
have that bad attitude going into it, it's probably not
going to be good. And I just said, you gotta
be honest. And this is a tough decision. I hope
I never have the number one pick again. A matter
of fact, if I have the number one pick, I
probably won't be making that decision. So, UM, you gotta
do what you think is gonna propel your organization. UM,
sort of the fastest and and that was an area
(29:23):
and I think it was the right decision. Oh, there's
no question. Yeah, yeah, that was the right well. And
also Steve props for the Clyde Drexler drop. I mean,
for all the old school Hooper's Clyde Drexler was that dude,
but MJ was really that dude. So that was a
very good uh, very good cop. Right there, Slammer Jamma
was that Sam him who beat him? Right? Wait? I
(29:51):
love Carolinas. There he goes, Derrek Whitberg. Right, that's right,
Jimmy V still looking for somebody to hug Man's having
looking for someone to hug Mans. You know, since since
you know, since we're kind of on it's like the
evaluating of young quarterbacks and we're seeing like right now
(30:11):
people saying, Okay, the Jets may move off of Donald
or Miami and TWA and then all these people may
trade up to try to get into the top five
to get the four quarterbacks who are there. What is
the hardest part about saying we're gonna take that risk
or we're gonna move off of somebody. You know, when
when you're seeing all of the stuff that we're hearing
(30:32):
about the top end of the draft this year pretty
much the top end of every draft. But again moving
off of a Sam Donald or someone like that to
get another young player where there's a little bit of uncertainty,
I mean, what are the what are some of the
decisions you go through in your head since you personally
got to been through it. The an exact science that
the NFL draft is, and that's just whether it's history
(30:54):
or analytic studies, it just tells you that that you miss,
we miss a lot, We miss a lot more than
then then you would like to admit. And to to
miss potentially a second time, it is catastrophic. Do you
think about it? If you want to move on from
a guy who was a first round pick a year
or two or three ago, whatever it is, and then
(31:16):
you take another one with the first pick in the
draft and that guy doesn't pan out, I mean, it's
it's catastrophic. It's it's it would set an organization back
I don't know how long one player. Also, well, a
couple of things I want to talk to a real
quick your d front. You know, we talk about j. J.
Watt and we talked about what he can do, a
Chandler Jones, but you guys brought back Marcus Gold, and
(31:36):
I don't think people realize like how impactful of a
player Marcus Gold in his bed. I mean, and then
you know you've got Isaiah Simmons from last year, Um,
kind of the hybrid role, but he really started to
settle in towards the end of the year. What do
you think that some of the personnel additions that you
guys have made and then like the experience of someone
like the Simmons can do for your defense to really
(31:58):
continue to to kind of grow and play up to
his potential, right. I think the great thing is there's
is a mixture of guys that play hard, to guys
with length and athleticism, and uh, the one thing that
that as you said, Marcus cold and he's so passionate.
I mean you love the way, uh he plays really
with a high motor and physical and then you throw
(32:19):
in Chandler Jones, who is so gangly and unorthodox. Yet
you know, I think since two thousand and twelve, the
two guys who have led the NFL in sacks is
number one Chandler Jones, and I think number two J. J. Watt.
So um, I think having those guys on the field
the same time is going to pose some problems. Now
you have a guy at the second level who can
not only blitz, he can cover, He can do it all.
(32:40):
And and Isaiah Simmons, you know, with his speed advanced
Joseph likes to call him and a racer, which is
an interesting um uh description of of what all he
can do, you know, for defense with his his his
ability to cover ground and close on the perimeter on
one run plays. And um again, just the flexibility that
he gives vans to do different things schematically. Steven, I've
(33:04):
got two questions for you, m number one. Where on
this team are you still looking? Are you most concerned
about what position are you most concerned about going forward? Well, well,
on on on on paper, it's easy to say corner,
I would I would think, you know, And and um
with Patrick going to the Vikings, you know, you're looking
(33:25):
at the guys on the roster right now, the Byron
Murphy who we draft in the second round, who I
think is an excellent player. The question is is you know,
is he a better inside player as a nickel or
or you know, is is he he can do it both? Really?
But you know you have to we we have to
add some some somebodies to that room. And the one
thing you gotta do is just say patient. You know,
(33:47):
we added Antonio Crimarti years ago, late in the process,
and he became a pro bowler that year. Opposite pat
Um certainly helps to have the rush that we'll hopefully
have and sort of what comes first a chicken and yeah, well,
the guys with their hand in the dirt certainly come first,
and it makes those guys on the back end job
is a little easier. Secondly, Steve, we both know these
(34:09):
TV deals are gonna kick in in a couple of years.
You have a guy named Chandler Jones's deals coming up soon.
Are they trying to slow play it? Are you trying
to get this done quickly before that many kicks in? Yeah, Taylor, man,
he is, um he is. He is a phenomenal player
and a great person. And again the statistics peak for itself.
(34:31):
So um, you know, it's good to have those sort
of problems. I told John Schneider years ago when they
won the Super Bowl, all those guys were trying to
get paid, and I said, man, you got champagne problems.
That's that's that's good. When Jason Light's going through it? Now,
how do I pay all these guys? You didn't ask
questions to have those problems. You know, you didn't answer
my question, Oh, are we trying to slow play it
(34:55):
or no? No, I know they probably would want to
slow play it. But are you guys trying to get
this thing done? So something and soon with Chandler ah man,
I swear I have not even had a chance to
come up for Errol to even point in that direction.
So I would say, you know, we'll start having some
conversations here in the near future. I got you all right,
better better better? Offseason mathematics. Buccaneers are Saints, uh in
(35:23):
terms of in terms of finding ways to get under
the cap resign guys, I gotta sick. That's my guy, okay,
and uh yeah, Mike Greenberger cap guys, those guys. Those
guys have had to become creative, that's for sure. And again,
problems I would certainly like to have. You know, the
one thing I gotta know from Steve before we leave, Man,
(35:46):
what are you wearing opening week? This is one of
the sharpest dressed dudes out there. It comes to GMS.
I gotta know what you're wearing coming from you too.
That's that's uh, that's a lot of love. I mean,
I think it's I've seen you guys both rock problem
a nice plaid or something. UM, certainly gonna have a
little red maybe some redness stitching the pops. You say.
(36:08):
You say that with so much gusto. I want to
I want to know how far out you planned your attire,
Steve for Sunday. Uh, And don't tell me you wake
up Sunday morning and just pull something out. Probably a
couple of days. Uh, Larry, Uh mess was messes with
me all the time because we have the same UM
(36:29):
girl Chandra who makes our our suits. And uh, he
always gives me a hard time with whether I'm either
the second or third best dressed in just the building
or then a couple of years ago he told me
I was the second best dress GM behind Thomas to Mitchroff. Yeah, nobody,
nobody was taking the crown from TV. Nobody was taking
(36:49):
I don't know, man, Steve's pretty clean. I think it's
his slender look just looks better than mine does in
a suit. I M I don't know. Whenever I walk
in that building, I see Steve it's like, damn, I
gotta help my game a little bit here. That's why
I was thinking actually on the way down here, when
Mark Mark brought me down, I was thinking, Man, I
(37:10):
don't have like a sport check it or something, because
I know my guys are gonna be clean. On the
other end, who do this? My friend? After this? It's
the one thing about COVID world, it's definitely relaxed. Some things.
I don't think. The supersess is one as well. Sup
makers are the ones who are probably hurting more than anybody,
any high fashion design folks. And we see, we know,
(37:31):
we know you got to get out of here. Um,
Jim will call you when Larry decides when he wants
to do perfect and uh and we'll talk after that
sounds good, man, You guys are wrong, man, But I
appreciate you always, Steve Man, appreciate you guys, appreciate work man. Guys.
(37:54):
You know Steve, Steve Come is one of those guys
that that again, I just love talking to m because
he shoots you straight. But you can have fun with
him as well as well. And one of the things
you said there that I think is so true in
terms of self reflection and whatnot. Um, you can you
can come with Steve and say, man, you know you
mess this up or how did you miss on this?
(38:16):
And he's not that guy that's gonna take it so personal.
Whereas some of these guys you know, um, you you
point out on a thong the stakes and they know,
they're like, they don't want to talk to you anymore.
Steve is like, if you come to them with an
honest evaluation, he's willing to have that dialogue. You know,
He's not so thin thin skin that he's gonna, you know,
put you on that list and you know, all of
(38:37):
a sudden you're blocked and and no more conversations. But um,
but I respect that about him, and I do mean,
and I do think, and Thomas de mitrof can get
mad at me about this. I do think Steve kind
of gives Thomas de Mittroff a run for the number
one best dressed executive in the NFL. He gives him
a run. And now it's now Steve, since Thomas is
(38:57):
out of the game for you know, for at least
this season. Um. You know, I really, Jim, I really
I really thought when you when you asked the question
about philosophically, what are you trying to do. He's like,
we gotta get better guard to guard, right, we gotta
get better on the offensive interior when you're facing guys
like Aaron Donald and the Eric Armstead of the of
the world, you know, who are coming at you. And
so he gets it. I mean that's one thing that
(39:18):
they you know, ever since Mikey Potty really they had
not addressed for a couple of years. They hit some
other spots. So now they're going there. And the fact
that they got to get a corner, which they absolutely do.
You lose a great player like Patrick Peterson. Um, they've
they've got a force and fortify something, especially now that
the Sean Jackson is in that Rams offense and we
(39:38):
when we know the smoke that the Seahawks are bringing
with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett on those sides as well. So, um, yeah,
I really really enjoy you know, Steve, And it's gonna
be answering to see how they they go about procuring
things and and they move and they move forward with
some things. I'll say this to you, Steve, the happiest
guy in the Cardinals organization in my opinion, is mass
(39:59):
Joe's it because when he first got there, they did
not have the pieces to be successful defensively. They tried
to add a little bit last year, got a little better,
and now look at what he has to work with.
You get a healthy channeler Jones coming back. J J. Watt,
You keep Marcus Goldston. You've got Isaiah Simmons who should
develop in year two. You got Buddha Baker, one of
(40:20):
the best safeties in the game at every level of
that defense. Now he should have playmakers. And if they
go out and they take care of themselves at corner um,
that's a unit that's gonna do some things and and
it's gonna have to do some things in the division
that it's in. So I'm willing to wager the best.
Joseph has a very wide smile on his face as
(40:41):
they head towards the draft. Yeah, you know, they enhanced
the physicality, and Steve talked about a little bit. They
had to get more physical because you look at the
defenses and the rams. I mean they got everybody trying
to break you off, right, I mean everybody on their
team comes at you head hunting. Seahawks still kind of
figure some things out there, they're they're hot, the cold,
but San Francisco, you know they're gonna be back, you know,
(41:02):
Damika Ryan's and then the players that they've added and
that they've they've been able to manage get you know,
coming are getting back from injuries. So they're gonna be back.
So so good for them, you know, so, Jim, we
also Steve is out you know, procuring talent and as
part of something we do here and trying to amplify
hbc US Black College Football Hall of Fame of which
I'm on the selection committee. Um, we're gonna be staying
(41:26):
in the Legacy Bowl the Saturday after the super Bowl.
And the only reason we see the Saturday after the
super Bowl is we're expecting it to be a seventeen
game season until the super Bowl date has not officially
been set yet. That's the only reason we're phrasing it
like that. But you know the reason why Doug Williams
and James Shack Harrison's guys felt that this was important
(41:47):
to get an all star game together, to get all
these scouts to come look at these guys before the combine.
There's a lot of these guys aren't gonna get invited
to the Combine. They're not gonna invited to the Senior Bowl.
But this is a way to find somebody who's maybe
a fifth round pick or seventh rond draft pick to
to help. And again, I think it's important, um that
people understand there's still some talent as these HBCUs as
(42:07):
we're seeing at Jack Estate with Dion Sanders just bringing
into town, um. But but to get them in front
of eyes, I think it's just so important, especially after
so many of these teams didn't have a COVID season,
you know, truncated COVID teason, and they didn't have spring
ball in for the scouts to come see them at
least in the developmental stage of their career. Yeah. For me, Steve,
(42:30):
it's about one thing in one word, and opportunity. And
that's all these players that were asked for nothing else,
just can they have an opportunity to be seen and
to make their way. And so I applaud Shock and
Doug and everyone else involved with the Black College Football
Hall of Fame UM in the NFL for helping with
this because it's just it's needed, you know, and these
(42:54):
young men have dreams as well as everyone else. And
if they can just get an opportunity, you know, you
run with it. You make it do what it does,
you know, or as Rich also saying, make it do
what it do, you know, make it, make it, make
it do what it do. You know. So uh so, no,
I think it's tremendous And props to those guys for
(43:15):
helping to get that off the ground. Well, we're gonna
continue to amplify hbc US, hbc U Sports, HBCU Athletics,
Women's Athletics. Thank you women of the n c A
a uh march madness for stepping up and and exposing
some of the inequities um to shame it had to
come to that. Proudy for stepping up and hopefully thinks
(43:38):
you can get better from here, because this is absolutely
kind of ironic. All right, Jim, let's go ahead and
get out of here. We're not done with the GM
train on the other floor this week. We're gonna have
Brandon Dean and the Buffalo Bills on a little bit
later in the week also because the Bills have a
real interesting proposal for the Competition Committee about slowing down
the head coaching hiring process, and we'll talk to him
(43:58):
about that, but is gonna be a busy week as
we kind of move towards the draft here on the
pult Float Jam. Yeah, that'd be a good one. I've
got some thoughts on it. We'll save it until then,
But for now, we want to thank you all for
continuing to subscribe, continuing to listen, and we implore you
to keep leaving us messages, letting us know who you
(44:19):
want to hear from, what you want to hear about,
and that way we can continue to give you more
of what you're funking for. And don't think we don't
read those comments. We get on iTunes, we get on Spotify,
we get on I Heart, and we look at what
you're saying and we appreciate the love. I mean, it's
it's fantastic to see that we're actually giving you, guys,
(44:40):
something that you want that you didn't have. Um And
as Jim said the other day in the podcast, it
feels good to know that you were right when we
proposed this podcast a couple of years ago. And here
we are all right, uh. For Jim Trotter, for Thomas Warrnt,
I am Steve White with hud On Flow podcast brought
(45:03):
to you by into it, proud makers of turbo tax,
QuickBooks and mint. We will be back a little bit later,
but for now we are the h U Mob, and
we are out.
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