July 17, 2025 • 34 mins
Colin points out LeBron James remains in total control and rumors about his future continue swirl as he’s the only player in the NBA with a no-trade clause. He tells you why Nick Saban returning to coach in the NFL is a real possibility and 3-time National Champion Urban Meyer joins the show to explain why he agrees
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox
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Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Here we go. It is a Thursday. We are live.
It is the Herd. Lots of choices out there. Thanks
for making out a part of your day, wherever you
may be and however you may be listening. So there's
a lot of news out there, a lot of news
out there, some of it Herd generated, and we'll react
(00:50):
to all of it. Jmat I swear this is the
last time I'm going to talk about this story because
it's going to go away. I think it's going to
just like disappear and vanish into the about Lebron James
being traded with the odds have changed, so I want
to just say for them, I hope this is the
final time I talk about it. But something that's not
being discussed. I saw the athletic yesterday acknowledged Lebron James
(01:13):
in a buyout. Lebron James in a trade has not
been discussed by the Lakers. So this to me has
always been a nothing burger. It's July. It's slow bread
crumbs become stories, folks. Lebron has a no trade clause.
He's still in control here year twenty three. Michael Jordan
(01:36):
was not in control like this. Michael Jordan had a
bad contract its first ten years in the league, Bird Magic.
They weren't in control like this. I don't know if
Brady was until the end, right. I mean they drafted Garoppolo.
They wanted ab out sooner. Lebron's in year twenty three.
He's the only NBA player with a no trade clause. Now,
(01:57):
I would go to Dallas in a trade if I
could play alongside Anthony Davis again, rookie Cooper Flag and
Derek Lively. I'd go in a heartbeat with a better
coach and Jason Kidd. But Lebron's not going to get
traded unless he says yes. And where are you going
to put him? Where would Lebron outside of a Dallas lineup?
If he could play with Kyrie and Ad again in
(02:19):
Cooper Flag Derek Lively, they'd have to involve with a
third team. That's interesting. But because the Lakers were such
a circus when Lebron arrived in LA, they have been
caving to him and should be since day one. Again,
Jordan didn't have this kind of power. Brady didn't have
this kind of power. He was taking paycots. So honestly,
(02:40):
the Lakers for the last fifteen years, a lot of
them have been poorly run. I mean, if you look
at the five years before Lebron arrived in Los Angeles,
I mean, it's hard to get your arms around. They
had the worst record in the NBA, worse than the Wizards,
much worse than the Washington Wizards. And so the one advantage,
the one advantage of going to a poorly run business,
(03:03):
and that's what the Lakers were when Lebron arrived, is
you get a lot more power. I mean, Aaron Rodgers
with the Jets got him to hire Nat Hackett. Is
the OC overpay for Alan Lazard. You're not doing that
with the Ravens, you know, you're not doing that with
the Rams. I mean Matt Stafford didn't have that kind
(03:24):
of control when he came to the Rams this year
with the Rams and Stafford, They're like, here's the number,
this is it. But when Sean Payton goes to the
Messy Broncos Power, Lebron goes to the Lakers Ultimate power.
So and I think that's the one advantage. Now, generally
it doesn't work out well because the player takes advantage
of it. But Sean Payton didn't, Aaron Rodgers did, and
(03:48):
Lebron hasn't. I didn't like the Russell Westbrook move. Lebron
said it wasn't mine, but we all know what kind
of was. So, but just think about this. There is
one player in the entire NBA one, not your Kitch,
not SGA, not ant, not Steph Curry. There's one player
in the NBA with a no trade clause, Lebron James,
(04:09):
forty year old Lebron James. So people can talk about
this all day, want about He's going to go here,
He's going to go there. The Oklahoma City Thunder Sam
Presty runs the organization. One of the reasons Lebron left
Miami because pat Riley ran the organization. So Lebron has
largely been running this place for years and thankfully he
(04:32):
generally makes the good basketball decisions. He and Rich Paul
got Anthony Davis in here, and in the COVID year
they won the title. They're not going to win the
title this year. But this idea that there's going to
be a trade and there's going to be a buyout,
Lebron has a no trade contract, and I think the
only place that he would look at and go, all right,
(04:53):
that's interesting. I believe it's Dallas. If he could play
with a rim protector and Derek Lively, a phenomenal domestic
rookie in Cooper Flag and ad Again, I think he'd
have to sit down and listen to that one because
that team, I think, because Lebron's still a top ten
player and still in year twenty three, has more power
than any NBA player ever. All Right, speaking of power,
(05:15):
Nick Saban had a lot for a long time and
still does so. Greg McElroy a pretty smart guy. He
is a big radio star in Alabama, and he said
this week that people he trusts are telling him that
Nick Saban is going to come back and coach. He
is hearing that Nick Saban could come back and coach,
So I believe this is true. But it's not Alabama,
(05:39):
So let me squash the Alabama rumors. They're not going
to happen. Alabama doesn't have the money. They're struggling to
stay afloat in NIL. They can't compete with Texas and
Oregon and Ohio State in the NIL world. They'd have
to buy out Caitlin de Boor for about seventy million,
and Nick would cost him fifteen million a year. They
are I got news for her. They're a mid size bank,
(06:02):
and Ohio State, Oregon, Texas are JP Morgan, they're Deutsche Bank.
They don't have the money these days to buy out
Kaitlin de Boor fifteen million to eighteen million for NIL
and buy Nick Saban. They are a credit union where
Grandma still puts her money in. Texas is Rockefeller Capital
(06:22):
is Blackstone. So that's not happening now. As I talked
about yesterday, Nick Saban to the NFL, just to the numbers,
seven coaches annually on average get fired seven Okay, Secondly,
coordinators hit thirty percent of the time. And the other
(06:44):
thing to think about is, like Pete Carroll, Nick Saban
may be older, but he doesn't look, act or feel
old like Belichick.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Does.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
He's always been an innovator. I mean he literally when
he got that, it was all about defensive ends, defensive tackles,
linebackers and corners. Lane Kiffin shows up and from that
point forward, they were about wide receivers, left tackles, and quarterbacks.
A lot of old people age, well, Nick Saban is
(07:16):
one of them. Andy Reid's another one. And I told
you this, this is an innovator. He's not going to college.
Remember because of the NIL to buy out these coaches,
which used to happen all the time. You write a
forty million dollar check. Well, now coaches that check is
like sixty to seventy million, Lincoln Riley or Brian Kelly
(07:37):
or at Kaitlin Devor and you got to raise twenty
million dollars a year for the nil's stash. So and
you'd have to pay Saban fifteen. It's not happening. Bama
does not have those kind of boosters. They don't. Texas does.
And Nick Saban knew two years before he left college football.
He was grumbling about the money that Texas and Austin
(07:59):
was raised and their billionaire donors. The NFL thing with Saban,
I think he'll get frustrated with being an analyst. I
think deep down he's always felt he's every bit the
coach of Belichick, but we don't mention him as one
of the all time great coaches because he's a college guy.
(08:21):
Albert Breer yesterday on the always innovative, maybe old but
feels young.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
Nick Saban, the one thing about Dallas that people misunderstand is, yes,
Jerry's involved in football, but the coach is involved in
scouting too. Like the coach is involved in putting the
team together, and that's always been the way that it's
been run there. And in that like they've got a
really good personnel department.
Speaker 5 (08:45):
Will McLay does.
Speaker 4 (08:45):
A great job, but they've always involved the coach and
how the team is put together. If Jerry was going
to do this, part of it would be are you
willing to take a back seat and move away from
the spotlight for a little bit.
Speaker 5 (08:58):
To see if Nick Saban can come and do it?
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Okay, And the reason we talk Saban the Schottenheimer thing
is not going to work. Jerry's now eighty two. I
think he's much less patient than he was fifteen years ago.
And Saban and the Cowboys feels huge just think of
what Jim Harbaugh to the second most popular team in
LA felt like. Harbor to the Chargers changed their ticket sales,
(09:24):
advertising money, merchandise sales, changed everything. It felt, It felt
like a quake. It was huge. Saban plus the Cowboys,
just how does that right now? The Dallas Cowboys have
a problem. I mean they really do. For free agents,
they have a problem. They have a credibility issue. Like
(09:45):
free agents not that interested. Saban gives them instant credibility.
So Albert and I talked about this yesterday for over
ten minutes. I think Saban and I don't think he's
wrong here. I think Saban And for years and years
I said about Jim Harbaugh, Jim Harbaugh is as good
a football coach as the history of football has ever had.
(10:07):
But we mentioned Schulen, Belichick and Andy Reid. And that's
why Jim Harball wanted to go back to the pros
with a legitimate quarterback. Is that. I think Nick Saban,
like Harbaugh, feels like, yeah, I dominated college football and
if Drew Brees would have been given the physical, okay,
I would be viewed among the greatest coaches of all time.
But if you dominate college football. You can be Woody Hayes,
(10:29):
Bear Bryant. You don't get mentioned among the greatest coaches
of all time. You got to succeed at the highest
level of coaching. And I think Saban, like Pete Carroll,
feels ten years younger and thinks like he's ten years
younger than he is. A lot of old guys don't
age well. Saban does. I'm telling you, this is my
summer prediction. Katie to the Warriors, that was nuts too.
(10:52):
Belichick to North Carolina that was nuts too. Mavericks trading
Luca to arrival Lakers in the West that sounded nuts too.
This is my boldest prediction of the summer. You gotta
have one, and this is mine. I know, Jay macgri
you're not rolling your eyes necessarily because there are seven
(11:13):
openings annually in this league. And by the way, just
say it out loud. Saban to the Cowboys. Carry loves
his team being talked about on TV, Romo on CBS,
Aikman on ESPN, Michael Irvin forever on the NFL network.
He loves that. You can say what you want about Jerry,
(11:35):
but a lot of times there's been a criticism he
cares more about the marketing than the actual super Bowl winning.
He's got those, so I think it's in play.
Speaker 6 (11:42):
Yeah, Colin, I'll say that's a spicy take to start
the show.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
But what's the saying right Church wrong?
Speaker 5 (11:48):
Pew.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
I'm sure you've heard that.
Speaker 6 (11:50):
I do think Saban to the NFL makes sense, but
remember what happened in Miami.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
When he went to Miami. He wanted Drew Brees.
Speaker 6 (11:56):
He had Drew Brees locked in, and the doctors didn't
clear Breeze.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
To settle for Culpepper got the hell out of town.
Speaker 6 (12:02):
Quarterback matters for Saban, Colin, unless they go three and
fourteen and can get Arts Manning. I don't think that
Dak Prescott gets Saban to the Cowboys. But I think
the team to watch would be the Buffalo Bills if
they slip up in the postseason. They are favorites and
they want to run out McDermott, Saban plus Josh Allen
in Buffalo getting the Bills finally that super Bowl that's
(12:24):
been elusive.
Speaker 5 (12:26):
Think of that.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
It's really interesting. So Jim Harbaugh, why did there were
rumors about harrbad or the NFL for years? Why did
he wait for the Chargers justin Herbert right, because when
he came to the NFL, it was Kaepernick, it was
Alex Smith, and he could never really get the quarterback
position to be super elite consistently. So Harbaugh kept waiting.
(12:47):
He figured it out. I gotta have the right quarterback.
We've talked about this with Sean McDermott. I think Sean's good,
but he can't get pas like Mickelson and Tiger Woods
in his prime. Like there's difference, and I do think
I think that's out there. I think Dallas is out there.
Remember never forget this. Next year's quarterback draft class is
(13:10):
really strong. So if you're going to go to a Dallas, Okay, Buffalo,
you got the quarterback. If you're going to go get
a job. Next year is a perfect year. And I
do believe Dallas is a six win team this year.
I really do. I think they're a six win team
that puts them top ten. So you wouldn't have to
give up a ton of draft capital to get your
(13:31):
quarterback your choice. Is there a potential?
Speaker 6 (13:34):
This is a little goofy, but Cleveland Browns have no
quarterback this year.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Coach gets blown out, Hey, we.
Speaker 6 (13:41):
Got the first pick Arch Manning.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
I don't want to go to Cleveland.
Speaker 6 (13:43):
Well, what if Nick Saban goes to Cleveland?
Speaker 1 (13:46):
I think he spent some time there in the past.
Is there a world where save and.
Speaker 6 (13:49):
Says, I'll take arch Manning as my future quarterback in
the NFL if I can get him.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Well, the Mannings know Nick Saban very well. Yeah, I'll
just leave it at that. Hey, it's me Rob Parker.
Speaker 7 (14:03):
Check out my weekly MLB podcast, Inside the Parker, for
twenty two minutes of pipe in hot baseball talk, featuring
the biggest names and newsmakers in the sport. Whether you
believe in analytics or the I test, We've got all
the bases covered. New episodes drop every Thursday, So do
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(14:25):
Rob Parker on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get
your podcast.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon eastern nine am Pacific.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
All right, you are entering the No Bull Zone sponsored
by Credible Great Rates and none of the bull for
in Chicago today. So I missed Monday show. I couldn't
get out of the Northeast because of thunderstorms and flight
cancelations and delays, so punishment for that, the staff is
punishing me, forcing me to do a Shador Sanders story.
(14:57):
According to Mary Kay Cabot, he does think when camp
starts today that he has a legitimate shot to be
the starting quarterback. So in my life kind of being
around the NFL, thirty years of doing this talk show stuff,
covering the NFL, having sources and reporting on it, I
don't think there's ever been a player where there's a
(15:17):
wider variance of opinion between the media and NFL executives.
The media, myself included, saw him as a B prospect,
a good, solid in a very very weak quarterback draft class.
Certainly arguable first round prospect, maybe a second third round talent,
but you know, solid, good family DNA, moved well, historically, accurate,
(15:38):
a good kid, not a bad kid. Certainly a better
prospect than first rounder Kenny Pickett by far, I think,
a much safer prospect than Will Levis, who went second
round of the Titans. You know, again, I thought he
was a solid B prospect, crazy accurate, bad offensive line
in college, no run game and against good teams, was
(16:00):
always productive without a lot of mistakes, and yet he
slid to the fifth round, and there's an argument, I
don't know, sixth or seventh round or undrafted if not
for Jimmy Haslam, the impulsive and medaling Cleveland owner. So
how he is viewed by the NFL and the professionals
there who I respect and trust, and how he's viewed
(16:23):
by everybody else, it's an incredible gap. Bailey ZAPPI God
drafted higher. So it's like No mad Land that won
the Oscar and the public had no interest in watching it.
It made like three point seven million dollars, and not
every Oscar winner is Oppenheim Oppenheimer or you know, you
(16:50):
name your Oscar winner that gets big gate. But like
no Madland was Hollywood loved it, the public not remotely interested.
So I don't know what to make of I mean,
listen the fact that Louisville's Tyler Shuck, who is twenty
five going to be twenty six when the season starts,
he had a singular throw at the combine. That just
(17:10):
a singular moment, a singular throw, the one where he's
backpedaling side arms. It that to me, seventh round like
that play alone indoors no as rushed and he went
second round of the Saints. So I don't don't, I
don't get it. I'm really interested to watch it because
(17:32):
I think generally I'm within half a round of where
a guy goes. I saw Jackson Dart as more of
a mid second. He went late first. That's okay, Will Levis.
I thought I liked him initially, and then I've got
the third round. I mean, I get surprised from time
to time, but late first, early second falls to the
fifth and may have been undrafted. If you fall to
(17:53):
the fifth, you can fall further than the fifth. So
we'll wait and see. Mary kay Cabot, who have trusted
for years as nobody's blown anybody away. Here, nobody's blowing
anybody away.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in newon Easter nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Here we go, it's hour two. It is a Thursday.
It greats me back with you, and we're talking about
your last dollar. J Matt. Sports are cyclical. The best
college football team I've ever seen in my life was
Nebraska when they that the year they dismantled Florida. I
(18:38):
was actually there, the Steve spurriy Or Florida team, Fiesta Bow,
Lawrence Phillips, Tommy Fraser, their second team. We would have
been a high end Bowl team, tom Osborne. And they've never, ever, ever,
for a lot of reasons, been able to reclaim that glory.
(19:00):
Now I they're not. Matt Rule's done a nice job.
They're not. They're not the same. The sport outgrew it.
It happens all the time. When I grew up in
the seventies, the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates and
the Kansas City Royals had the best rosters in baseball.
The Pirates where I can go through the entire roster
of the Reds. Oh and I can go the Yankees,
(19:21):
by the way. We're the Yankees, by the way. We're
terrible in the eighties. But things changed with cable TV money,
and now the Royals and the Reds and the Pirates
they don't have any money. And I just saw this.
According to a recent poll featuring this is by on three,
it's a very very good company, very shrewd. If you
(19:41):
follow college football, they're excellent. According to a recent poll
featuring nil collectives, GMS, agents and administrators. Here's who's spending
money in college football. And that's what you got to
do to win. Texas number one. Texas Tech has a
billionaire donor. He went big this year. Ohio State three
or four A and M and Miami five, Michigan SC seven,
(20:04):
USC is about eighteen million now, Tennessee nine, Auburn ten,
SO four SEC schools in the top ten Nobama. So
Nick Saban saw this thing coming. Saban's like exit stage right.
Two years before he left, he was grumbling about what
was happening to college football. And I had a very
(20:24):
good source close to Saban saying he was like, we
can't compete with Texas. They got two billionaire donors. And
remember it was like two years before Saban left they
played Texas. Remember that game. I think it was in Tuscaloosa,
and you watched that game and you went, oh, snap,
(20:45):
Texas is way bigger up front and faster. Texas had
better players. Saban was still the better coach, but Saban
saw it, he knew the problems. And so I don't
buy that Saban's coming back to Alaba, Obama. I don't
think he's coming back to college football. I do believe
the NFL hires seven new coaches a year, and I
(21:08):
think he brings instant credibility to anywhere he goes. Remember
in Miami with the Dolphins, if the team doctor allows
Drew Brees to play, he never takes that Bama job
because he was getting things going there in Miami. And
with that Urban Meyer, three time national champions now joining
(21:29):
us live as we're getting fired up for the college
football season. So it's interesting. But just about Nick. Nick
is one of those guys who's older like Pete Carroll,
but he doesn't play old young dynamic. He's an innovator,
and I do think Nick and Belichick are tight. I
do think, like Jim Harbaugh, there's that little, that little scratch.
(21:51):
Nick's never failed at anything right, He's been good, and
that Miami things a little unsettling. I do think Nick
would take a call about an NFL job, do you Urban.
Speaker 5 (22:05):
You know I have not talked to him about this.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
I could guess because I know him fairly well and
competed against him, that it's not a little scratch.
Speaker 5 (22:14):
It's probably a pretty big scratch.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
That that's the one area that he is not you know,
you know, he was like, you said, he's getting things
going on Miami. I actually visited him when he was
down there. But I don't think he'd go back to college.
I don't see that fit. I think you're you know,
the whole idea that where the heck is Alabama? Why
(22:35):
are they not in the top ten and spending I
don't understand that one, and pushed the board. I'd be
asking some hard questions, say what's the problem here. We
can't compete, we can't pay our players. So I agree
with you.
Speaker 5 (22:48):
I would say very little to no chance.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
He would get involved in college, but I think he
would take phone calls from the NFL.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Yeah, I mean, let's talk Jim Harbor. Jim Harbaugh was
rumored for years to go to the NF and he
the minute Justin Herbert needed a head coach. Jim's like, yeah,
I like that one. As you well know, you can
win a national championship without a great quarterback in college.
But I would argue in the NFL, they're all bad
(23:16):
jobs if you're bad at quarterback. So I mean, to me,
I think I think Nick's gonna I mean, like, when
you look at the NFL, it almost feels like it's
a quarterback driven league, does it not, Well.
Speaker 5 (23:32):
That's kind of what got me, not kind of.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
I mean, I still think Trevor Lawrence will go down
as one of the great quarterbacks. I think he's gonna
end up having a great career. But that's so intriguing
when you see a player of that caliber. If Nick
Saban can get that kind of position where he he
believes that this is a Hall of Fame, future Hall
of Fame quarterback or a world champion quarterback. The more
(23:56):
I'm thinking I think he's going to take that call.
I really do, And I've not talked to him about that.
He's got to doing a great job on game day.
And I know Mark Ingram and him play golf together
and he has a great life. But he's a competitor
and I think he do very well.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
So we've been talking about JJ McCarthy. Full disclosure, I
liked bo Nicks better than JJ McCarthy. He'd had like
five college coordinators. He was good with all of them.
I watched him beat Justin Herbert as a freshman when
Herbert was at Oregon. He was a freshman at Auburn,
and I watched him beat him. So I thought bo
Nix was going to work. I think Caleb does. I
like Drake May, I love Jayden Daniels. Going into NFL.
(24:36):
I was hit and miss on JJ McCarthy, and my
criticism was, like an Alabama quarterback never trails, not asked
to carry a team, doesn't get hit much. Great coach.
I mean, this is one of the reasons Ohio State
quarterbacks haven't historically been great. They always have the better
coach and the better roll line and the better receivers.
(24:57):
I'm not a huge believer in JJ McCarthy because he
hasn't been he hasn't lived that NFL college life where
you have to throw to non NFL receivers and you
don't have protection and you play from behind. Where are
you on JJ? I know you may have to be diplomatic,
but where are you on him as a talent.
Speaker 5 (25:18):
No, I don't have to be diplomatic. I'd like JJ.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
I covered him in quite a bit on Fox Big Noon,
we had him all the time. I thought he was
a great game manager. To say he's going to be
a great NFL quarterback I got. I'm skeptical a little
bit because I think he's a tremendous athlete. He knows
how to distribute the ball. But he, like you said,
that last year, that Wolverine football team that he was
(25:42):
a quarterback, the national champions.
Speaker 5 (25:43):
They were loaded, They had a great defense, great offense line,
best offense.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Line in college football. He did not get hit much,
and if you remember his junior year, he had really
or his third year his had a hard time completing
the ball downfield. They were not a downfield throwing team
and he struggled with a bet. So I think if
they surround him with great players, I think he'll be successful.
But that's like all quarterbacks. But there's a lot of
(26:10):
question marks about JJ McCarthy because of what you just said.
Has he really had to bring the team from behind?
He has a skill set. The thing that I like
best about JJ McCarthy he's a competitor and he's a
selfless player. There was times they won games where he
threw the ball fifteen times and you never heard it
complain about it. So I'm a JJ McCarthy fan. I
(26:32):
like him, but there's some skepticism out there about it.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Okay, So I think the guy that two years ago
didn't work for me, and I think I think he
has a chance to be the best quarterback in college
Football's Drew Aller So. I watched him two years ago
and I thought he was a bit wild, and then
last year I watched him, he was defeat were better,
he was more composed, he was more accurate, and I'm like, Oh,
I'm like, oh, this guy can really play. Give me
your break. I think Penn State's going to play for
(26:57):
the national championship with Texas. I think this kid. The
difference between sophomore junior year or what I saw him
two years ago. In last year was like, oh, that's
a first round corp. What do you think?
Speaker 3 (27:11):
I think Night and Day very concerned about Dreelly is
actually from Ohio and I saw a high school tape
on him and then we covered him his sophomore year
and he struggled. Last year he was much better fundamentally.
But the question I have for Penn State, they have
two great running backs, they have one of the best
offensive lines in the country, certainly in the Big Ten.
(27:33):
Do they have this skill on the outside? Last year
they did not. That was not a typical Penn State
receiving corps. And I don't know if they made it better,
you know, I keep trying to research that and we'll
see him early in the season, but I'm hoping they
have better skill on the outside. I think everything about
Penn State is a national championship contender. My question is
(27:53):
do they have NFL draft picks on the outside like
they used to?
Speaker 1 (27:57):
You know, I was you know when, And this happens
lot in life, where you see something happening and you're
worried about it, but it actually plays to your benefit.
So when the NIL came out, I think a lot
of coaches like Dabo Sweeney, are like, I don't want
to pay my players. That's not what college football is about.
Here's where the NIL helps coaches. Because you spend so
much time raising money to pay the players. You can't
(28:18):
buy out coaches anymore. Alabama can't pay Kaylin Debori sixty
million and pay Saban more money and pay they don't
have the money. And so I do think coaches. I mean,
like Lincoln Riley, I know the number. He's not going anywhere.
There's no way they just spent three hundred million on facilities,
eighteen million in NIL. He's got an eighty million dollar buyout.
(28:42):
So I think NIL actually urban protects the staff. You
probably get a year or two more than you used to.
What say you?
Speaker 3 (28:53):
Every time I come on your show, you come up
with something calling, I'm like, what is he talking about?
Then this is one of those moments. I think you're right,
You're absolutely I never thought of it that way. But
how about the Wolverine is one of the best brands,
and biggest brands are expected at twenty seven dollars twenty
seven million dollars shortfall, teams are going to start I'm
(29:14):
worried about this start dropping sports. Where is this money
coming from? And what you just said? To go pay
off a coaching staff as the head coach as a buyout,
but then you also have to pay off all those
assistant coaches. So this is one of those moments calling
you got me again. I think you're absolutely right that
you're going to see that. The Texas A and M
(29:35):
paidoff coaches like they used to.
Speaker 5 (29:36):
I don't think you can do that anymore. There's not
enough money.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Finally, I think the best player in college football and
he won't be eligible as Jermaine Smith. I think Ohio
State's receiver agreed, and I'm trying. I'm trying to think
of somebody. I'd have to go back to Hugh Green
that played for Pittsburgh, where I literally saw somebody and
I thought, oh, he'd be an elite NFL player. As
a sophomore in college, Chase at LSU felt like that,
(30:01):
You're like, yeah, he's an NFL player plan on Saturdays.
He's way too good for college football. How do you
coach a guy that is so good and so gifted?
How do you keep him engaged? How do you keep
him focused? How do you keep him happy? Because he
didn't even look like a college player.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
I've had to I can't say I've had a Jermaine
Smith Jeremiah Smith, but I've had a couple that you
just got to constantly challenge him. The best thing that
Ohio State has is incredible defense, So his biggest challenges
a lot of times aren't necessarily the games on Saturday.
It's the Tuesday and Wednesday practice. And I felt that
when I had to Nick Bosa or I had Percy
(30:40):
Harvin or some of those guys who are just so
much better than really everyone else. A lot of times,
Baron verybe else should play until you get to those
big games. Then you challenge the heck out of him
in practice. And that's a good thing about Jeremiah Smith
and Ohio State his biggest you know, his biggest challenges
A lot of times are are going against each other
(31:01):
in practice. That's when iron charps is iron and I
dealt with that and I know that's what's happening in Columbus.
They got some good corners and that's one of his
biggest challenge to motivate him every day to.
Speaker 5 (31:11):
Go to work.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Jeremiah Smith, not German. I made a mistake, jeremih Smith. Finally,
Texas Ohio State play. In the opener, we all want
to see arch Manning. I want to see arch Manning.
What what will you need to see? How are you
going to view that game? I don't care a lot
about stats. I want to see what happens when he
(31:34):
faces pressure. That's what I want to see. This will
be the best front he faces. My guess is what
are you looking for from arch Manning?
Speaker 3 (31:46):
Really interesting to hear and I got a strong opinion
because I coached Tibo when after he won the Heisman
Trophy as a sophomore, he won the national championship as
a junior. His senior year, the scrutiny, the expectations, we'd
beat Tennessee by fourteen points, he'd throw the ball and
he'd be getting hammered by the media he didn't play
(32:06):
well enough. So I think this will be the player
with the highest expectations in the last decade. I put
it at the Tebow level, where is anything going to
be good enough other than a perfect game? And he
plays in the SEC. He's going to face SEC defenses
each week. He's placing the play Ohio State buckets early.
(32:28):
I think he's a tremendous talent.
Speaker 5 (32:30):
But Sark, I'm.
Speaker 3 (32:32):
Glad he's got a head coach like Sark that knows
how to handle pressure like this, because the pressure on
him will be immense, and it's going to be pressure.
I think it's we have a witness this kind of
pressure on a player. I'm saying since Tim Tebow's senior
year at the University of Florida, it was it was NonStop,
even we'd win to get We went twelve and zero
(32:52):
his senior year and nothing was good enough.
Speaker 5 (32:54):
And I worry about that.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
That wears on you, that wears on the staff, But
most importantly, it's going to wear our arch.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
So I did a national championship bubble yesterday. I think
there's five to six teams. Yeah, okay, So here I
have Clemson, Bama, Notre Dame. I don't know if Clemson
has the athletes they I don't know if they match
up with Ohio State, Georgia, Texas, Penn State. I just
don't know if they do. But I like their coaching. Quarterback,
Bama Notre Dame. I have to watch them play because
(33:22):
I don't know what they are at quarterback at Bama's
playing a guy who hasn't played, he's been there three years.
But they are five teams that I believe look different.
I love the staffs. I just they're different to me,
Like the backfield for Penn State is just different. It's
all NFL guys. Anything you disagree with here.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
No, I would probably throw one other team on the bubble, though.
I would throw that LSU team on the bubble. You know,
I think coach Kelly is the heck of a coach,
and they got a returning quarterback that I think is
just stud So I would throw one more out there,
and LSU's never would be short. They're the one team,
and I know you can't just stay a type of team.
They were the one team when I coached the SEC
(34:03):
them and Georgia came walking out of that tunnel, they
looked different.
Speaker 5 (34:06):
And that stadium is a tough place to place. I
like it.
Speaker 3 (34:09):
I'd like your tough five, but I throw one more
bubble team in there, and that's Lsu.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
Urban Meyer, three time national champion coach, is always you're
making time for us and we love that. Thanks, good
to see great to see you urban Meyer on our show,
which is you know, Fox Sports College Football hind Big Noon,
Big Noon. Things happen on that show from I from
what I hear, I read a lot and there's a
(34:37):
lot of stuff. There's a lot of moving parts on
that show. I'm not going to get into it, but
Big Noon Nurse things moving there. The wheel is spinning there.
That's what I hear. May want to pull up a
stool and sit down and read about it from what
I hear. Anyway,
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox
Sports Radio in noon to three Eastern nine am to
noon Pacific. Find your local station for The Herd at
Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live every
day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio
or FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Here we go. It is a Thursday. We are live.
It is the Herd. Lots of choices out there. Thanks
for making out a part of your day, wherever you
may be and however you may be listening. So there's
a lot of news out there, a lot of news
out there, some of it Herd generated, and we'll react
(00:50):
to all of it. Jmat I swear this is the
last time I'm going to talk about this story because
it's going to go away. I think it's going to
just like disappear and vanish into the about Lebron James
being traded with the odds have changed, so I want
to just say for them, I hope this is the
final time I talk about it. But something that's not
being discussed. I saw the athletic yesterday acknowledged Lebron James
(01:13):
in a buyout. Lebron James in a trade has not
been discussed by the Lakers. So this to me has
always been a nothing burger. It's July. It's slow bread
crumbs become stories, folks. Lebron has a no trade clause.
He's still in control here year twenty three. Michael Jordan
(01:36):
was not in control like this. Michael Jordan had a
bad contract its first ten years in the league, Bird Magic.
They weren't in control like this. I don't know if
Brady was until the end, right. I mean they drafted Garoppolo.
They wanted ab out sooner. Lebron's in year twenty three.
He's the only NBA player with a no trade clause. Now,
(01:57):
I would go to Dallas in a trade if I
could play alongside Anthony Davis again, rookie Cooper Flag and
Derek Lively. I'd go in a heartbeat with a better
coach and Jason Kidd. But Lebron's not going to get
traded unless he says yes. And where are you going
to put him? Where would Lebron outside of a Dallas lineup?
If he could play with Kyrie and Ad again in
(02:19):
Cooper Flag Derek Lively, they'd have to involve with a
third team. That's interesting. But because the Lakers were such
a circus when Lebron arrived in LA, they have been
caving to him and should be since day one. Again,
Jordan didn't have this kind of power. Brady didn't have
this kind of power. He was taking paycots. So honestly,
(02:40):
the Lakers for the last fifteen years, a lot of
them have been poorly run. I mean, if you look
at the five years before Lebron arrived in Los Angeles,
I mean, it's hard to get your arms around. They
had the worst record in the NBA, worse than the Wizards,
much worse than the Washington Wizards. And so the one advantage,
the one advantage of going to a poorly run business,
(03:03):
and that's what the Lakers were when Lebron arrived, is
you get a lot more power. I mean, Aaron Rodgers
with the Jets got him to hire Nat Hackett. Is
the OC overpay for Alan Lazard. You're not doing that
with the Ravens, you know, you're not doing that with
the Rams. I mean Matt Stafford didn't have that kind
(03:24):
of control when he came to the Rams this year
with the Rams and Stafford, They're like, here's the number,
this is it. But when Sean Payton goes to the
Messy Broncos Power, Lebron goes to the Lakers Ultimate power.
So and I think that's the one advantage. Now, generally
it doesn't work out well because the player takes advantage
of it. But Sean Payton didn't, Aaron Rodgers did, and
(03:48):
Lebron hasn't. I didn't like the Russell Westbrook move. Lebron
said it wasn't mine, but we all know what kind
of was. So, but just think about this. There is
one player in the entire NBA one, not your Kitch,
not SGA, not ant, not Steph Curry. There's one player
in the NBA with a no trade clause, Lebron James,
(04:09):
forty year old Lebron James. So people can talk about
this all day, want about He's going to go here,
He's going to go there. The Oklahoma City Thunder Sam
Presty runs the organization. One of the reasons Lebron left
Miami because pat Riley ran the organization. So Lebron has
largely been running this place for years and thankfully he
(04:32):
generally makes the good basketball decisions. He and Rich Paul
got Anthony Davis in here, and in the COVID year
they won the title. They're not going to win the
title this year. But this idea that there's going to
be a trade and there's going to be a buyout,
Lebron has a no trade contract, and I think the
only place that he would look at and go, all right,
(04:53):
that's interesting. I believe it's Dallas. If he could play
with a rim protector and Derek Lively, a phenomenal domestic
rookie in Cooper Flag and ad Again, I think he'd
have to sit down and listen to that one because
that team, I think, because Lebron's still a top ten
player and still in year twenty three, has more power
than any NBA player ever. All Right, speaking of power,
(05:15):
Nick Saban had a lot for a long time and
still does so. Greg McElroy a pretty smart guy. He
is a big radio star in Alabama, and he said
this week that people he trusts are telling him that
Nick Saban is going to come back and coach. He
is hearing that Nick Saban could come back and coach,
So I believe this is true. But it's not Alabama,
(05:39):
So let me squash the Alabama rumors. They're not going
to happen. Alabama doesn't have the money. They're struggling to
stay afloat in NIL. They can't compete with Texas and
Oregon and Ohio State in the NIL world. They'd have
to buy out Caitlin de Boor for about seventy million,
and Nick would cost him fifteen million a year. They
are I got news for her. They're a mid size bank,
(06:02):
and Ohio State, Oregon, Texas are JP Morgan, they're Deutsche Bank.
They don't have the money these days to buy out
Kaitlin de Boor fifteen million to eighteen million for NIL
and buy Nick Saban. They are a credit union where
Grandma still puts her money in. Texas is Rockefeller Capital
(06:22):
is Blackstone. So that's not happening now. As I talked
about yesterday, Nick Saban to the NFL, just to the numbers,
seven coaches annually on average get fired seven Okay, Secondly,
coordinators hit thirty percent of the time. And the other
(06:44):
thing to think about is, like Pete Carroll, Nick Saban
may be older, but he doesn't look, act or feel
old like Belichick.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Does.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
He's always been an innovator. I mean he literally when
he got that, it was all about defensive ends, defensive tackles,
linebackers and corners. Lane Kiffin shows up and from that
point forward, they were about wide receivers, left tackles, and quarterbacks.
A lot of old people age, well, Nick Saban is
(07:16):
one of them. Andy Reid's another one. And I told
you this, this is an innovator. He's not going to college.
Remember because of the NIL to buy out these coaches,
which used to happen all the time. You write a
forty million dollar check. Well, now coaches that check is
like sixty to seventy million, Lincoln Riley or Brian Kelly
(07:37):
or at Kaitlin Devor and you got to raise twenty
million dollars a year for the nil's stash. So and
you'd have to pay Saban fifteen. It's not happening. Bama
does not have those kind of boosters. They don't. Texas does.
And Nick Saban knew two years before he left college football.
He was grumbling about the money that Texas and Austin
(07:59):
was raised and their billionaire donors. The NFL thing with Saban,
I think he'll get frustrated with being an analyst. I
think deep down he's always felt he's every bit the
coach of Belichick, but we don't mention him as one
of the all time great coaches because he's a college guy.
(08:21):
Albert Breer yesterday on the always innovative, maybe old but
feels young.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
Nick Saban, the one thing about Dallas that people misunderstand is, yes,
Jerry's involved in football, but the coach is involved in
scouting too. Like the coach is involved in putting the
team together, and that's always been the way that it's
been run there. And in that like they've got a
really good personnel department.
Speaker 5 (08:45):
Will McLay does.
Speaker 4 (08:45):
A great job, but they've always involved the coach and
how the team is put together. If Jerry was going
to do this, part of it would be are you
willing to take a back seat and move away from
the spotlight for a little bit.
Speaker 5 (08:58):
To see if Nick Saban can come and do it?
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Okay, And the reason we talk Saban the Schottenheimer thing
is not going to work. Jerry's now eighty two. I
think he's much less patient than he was fifteen years ago.
And Saban and the Cowboys feels huge just think of
what Jim Harbaugh to the second most popular team in
LA felt like. Harbor to the Chargers changed their ticket sales,
(09:24):
advertising money, merchandise sales, changed everything. It felt, It felt
like a quake. It was huge. Saban plus the Cowboys,
just how does that right now? The Dallas Cowboys have
a problem. I mean they really do. For free agents,
they have a problem. They have a credibility issue. Like
(09:45):
free agents not that interested. Saban gives them instant credibility.
So Albert and I talked about this yesterday for over
ten minutes. I think Saban and I don't think he's
wrong here. I think Saban And for years and years
I said about Jim Harbaugh, Jim Harbaugh is as good
a football coach as the history of football has ever had.
(10:07):
But we mentioned Schulen, Belichick and Andy Reid. And that's
why Jim Harball wanted to go back to the pros
with a legitimate quarterback. Is that. I think Nick Saban,
like Harbaugh, feels like, yeah, I dominated college football and
if Drew Brees would have been given the physical, okay,
I would be viewed among the greatest coaches of all time.
But if you dominate college football. You can be Woody Hayes,
(10:29):
Bear Bryant. You don't get mentioned among the greatest coaches
of all time. You got to succeed at the highest
level of coaching. And I think Saban, like Pete Carroll,
feels ten years younger and thinks like he's ten years
younger than he is. A lot of old guys don't
age well. Saban does. I'm telling you, this is my
summer prediction. Katie to the Warriors, that was nuts too.
(10:52):
Belichick to North Carolina that was nuts too. Mavericks trading
Luca to arrival Lakers in the West that sounded nuts too.
This is my boldest prediction of the summer. You gotta
have one, and this is mine. I know, Jay macgri
you're not rolling your eyes necessarily because there are seven
(11:13):
openings annually in this league. And by the way, just
say it out loud. Saban to the Cowboys. Carry loves
his team being talked about on TV, Romo on CBS,
Aikman on ESPN, Michael Irvin forever on the NFL network.
He loves that. You can say what you want about Jerry,
(11:35):
but a lot of times there's been a criticism he
cares more about the marketing than the actual super Bowl winning.
He's got those, so I think it's in play.
Speaker 6 (11:42):
Yeah, Colin, I'll say that's a spicy take to start
the show.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
But what's the saying right Church wrong?
Speaker 5 (11:48):
Pew.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
I'm sure you've heard that.
Speaker 6 (11:50):
I do think Saban to the NFL makes sense, but
remember what happened in Miami.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
When he went to Miami. He wanted Drew Brees.
Speaker 6 (11:56):
He had Drew Brees locked in, and the doctors didn't
clear Breeze.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
To settle for Culpepper got the hell out of town.
Speaker 6 (12:02):
Quarterback matters for Saban, Colin, unless they go three and
fourteen and can get Arts Manning. I don't think that
Dak Prescott gets Saban to the Cowboys. But I think
the team to watch would be the Buffalo Bills if
they slip up in the postseason. They are favorites and
they want to run out McDermott, Saban plus Josh Allen
in Buffalo getting the Bills finally that super Bowl that's
(12:24):
been elusive.
Speaker 5 (12:26):
Think of that.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
It's really interesting. So Jim Harbaugh, why did there were
rumors about harrbad or the NFL for years? Why did
he wait for the Chargers justin Herbert right, because when
he came to the NFL, it was Kaepernick, it was
Alex Smith, and he could never really get the quarterback
position to be super elite consistently. So Harbaugh kept waiting.
(12:47):
He figured it out. I gotta have the right quarterback.
We've talked about this with Sean McDermott. I think Sean's good,
but he can't get pas like Mickelson and Tiger Woods
in his prime. Like there's difference, and I do think
I think that's out there. I think Dallas is out there.
Remember never forget this. Next year's quarterback draft class is
(13:10):
really strong. So if you're going to go to a Dallas, Okay, Buffalo,
you got the quarterback. If you're going to go get
a job. Next year is a perfect year. And I
do believe Dallas is a six win team this year.
I really do. I think they're a six win team
that puts them top ten. So you wouldn't have to
give up a ton of draft capital to get your
(13:31):
quarterback your choice. Is there a potential?
Speaker 6 (13:34):
This is a little goofy, but Cleveland Browns have no
quarterback this year.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Coach gets blown out, Hey, we.
Speaker 6 (13:41):
Got the first pick Arch Manning.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
I don't want to go to Cleveland.
Speaker 6 (13:43):
Well, what if Nick Saban goes to Cleveland?
Speaker 1 (13:46):
I think he spent some time there in the past.
Is there a world where save and.
Speaker 6 (13:49):
Says, I'll take arch Manning as my future quarterback in
the NFL if I can get him.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Well, the Mannings know Nick Saban very well. Yeah, I'll
just leave it at that. Hey, it's me Rob Parker.
Speaker 7 (14:03):
Check out my weekly MLB podcast, Inside the Parker, for
twenty two minutes of pipe in hot baseball talk, featuring
the biggest names and newsmakers in the sport. Whether you
believe in analytics or the I test, We've got all
the bases covered. New episodes drop every Thursday, So do
yourself a favor and listen to Inside the Parker with
(14:25):
Rob Parker on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get
your podcast.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon eastern nine am Pacific.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
All right, you are entering the No Bull Zone sponsored
by Credible Great Rates and none of the bull for
in Chicago today. So I missed Monday show. I couldn't
get out of the Northeast because of thunderstorms and flight
cancelations and delays, so punishment for that, the staff is
punishing me, forcing me to do a Shador Sanders story.
(14:57):
According to Mary Kay Cabot, he does think when camp
starts today that he has a legitimate shot to be
the starting quarterback. So in my life kind of being
around the NFL, thirty years of doing this talk show stuff,
covering the NFL, having sources and reporting on it, I
don't think there's ever been a player where there's a
(15:17):
wider variance of opinion between the media and NFL executives.
The media, myself included, saw him as a B prospect,
a good, solid in a very very weak quarterback draft class.
Certainly arguable first round prospect, maybe a second third round talent,
but you know, solid, good family DNA, moved well, historically, accurate,
(15:38):
a good kid, not a bad kid. Certainly a better
prospect than first rounder Kenny Pickett by far, I think,
a much safer prospect than Will Levis, who went second
round of the Titans. You know, again, I thought he
was a solid B prospect, crazy accurate, bad offensive line
in college, no run game and against good teams, was
(16:00):
always productive without a lot of mistakes, and yet he
slid to the fifth round, and there's an argument, I
don't know, sixth or seventh round or undrafted if not
for Jimmy Haslam, the impulsive and medaling Cleveland owner. So
how he is viewed by the NFL and the professionals
there who I respect and trust, and how he's viewed
(16:23):
by everybody else, it's an incredible gap. Bailey ZAPPI God
drafted higher. So it's like No mad Land that won
the Oscar and the public had no interest in watching it.
It made like three point seven million dollars, and not
every Oscar winner is Oppenheim Oppenheimer or you know, you
(16:50):
name your Oscar winner that gets big gate. But like
no Madland was Hollywood loved it, the public not remotely interested.
So I don't know what to make of I mean,
listen the fact that Louisville's Tyler Shuck, who is twenty
five going to be twenty six when the season starts,
he had a singular throw at the combine. That just
(17:10):
a singular moment, a singular throw, the one where he's
backpedaling side arms. It that to me, seventh round like
that play alone indoors no as rushed and he went
second round of the Saints. So I don't don't, I
don't get it. I'm really interested to watch it because
(17:32):
I think generally I'm within half a round of where
a guy goes. I saw Jackson Dart as more of
a mid second. He went late first. That's okay, Will Levis.
I thought I liked him initially, and then I've got
the third round. I mean, I get surprised from time
to time, but late first, early second falls to the
fifth and may have been undrafted. If you fall to
(17:53):
the fifth, you can fall further than the fifth. So
we'll wait and see. Mary kay Cabot, who have trusted
for years as nobody's blown anybody away. Here, nobody's blowing
anybody away.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in newon Easter nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Here we go, it's hour two. It is a Thursday.
It greats me back with you, and we're talking about
your last dollar. J Matt. Sports are cyclical. The best
college football team I've ever seen in my life was
Nebraska when they that the year they dismantled Florida. I
(18:38):
was actually there, the Steve spurriy Or Florida team, Fiesta Bow,
Lawrence Phillips, Tommy Fraser, their second team. We would have
been a high end Bowl team, tom Osborne. And they've never, ever, ever,
for a lot of reasons, been able to reclaim that glory.
(19:00):
Now I they're not. Matt Rule's done a nice job.
They're not. They're not the same. The sport outgrew it.
It happens all the time. When I grew up in
the seventies, the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates and
the Kansas City Royals had the best rosters in baseball.
The Pirates where I can go through the entire roster
of the Reds. Oh and I can go the Yankees,
(19:21):
by the way. We're the Yankees, by the way. We're
terrible in the eighties. But things changed with cable TV money,
and now the Royals and the Reds and the Pirates
they don't have any money. And I just saw this.
According to a recent poll featuring this is by on three,
it's a very very good company, very shrewd. If you
(19:41):
follow college football, they're excellent. According to a recent poll
featuring nil collectives, GMS, agents and administrators. Here's who's spending
money in college football. And that's what you got to
do to win. Texas number one. Texas Tech has a
billionaire donor. He went big this year. Ohio State three
or four A and M and Miami five, Michigan SC seven,
(20:04):
USC is about eighteen million now, Tennessee nine, Auburn ten,
SO four SEC schools in the top ten Nobama. So
Nick Saban saw this thing coming. Saban's like exit stage right.
Two years before he left, he was grumbling about what
was happening to college football. And I had a very
(20:24):
good source close to Saban saying he was like, we
can't compete with Texas. They got two billionaire donors. And
remember it was like two years before Saban left they
played Texas. Remember that game. I think it was in Tuscaloosa,
and you watched that game and you went, oh, snap,
(20:45):
Texas is way bigger up front and faster. Texas had
better players. Saban was still the better coach, but Saban
saw it, he knew the problems. And so I don't
buy that Saban's coming back to Alaba, Obama. I don't
think he's coming back to college football. I do believe
the NFL hires seven new coaches a year, and I
(21:08):
think he brings instant credibility to anywhere he goes. Remember
in Miami with the Dolphins, if the team doctor allows
Drew Brees to play, he never takes that Bama job
because he was getting things going there in Miami. And
with that Urban Meyer, three time national champions now joining
(21:29):
us live as we're getting fired up for the college
football season. So it's interesting. But just about Nick. Nick
is one of those guys who's older like Pete Carroll,
but he doesn't play old young dynamic. He's an innovator,
and I do think Nick and Belichick are tight. I
do think, like Jim Harbaugh, there's that little, that little scratch.
(21:51):
Nick's never failed at anything right, He's been good, and
that Miami things a little unsettling. I do think Nick
would take a call about an NFL job, do you Urban.
Speaker 5 (22:05):
You know I have not talked to him about this.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
I could guess because I know him fairly well and
competed against him, that it's not a little scratch.
Speaker 5 (22:14):
It's probably a pretty big scratch.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
That that's the one area that he is not you know,
you know, he was like, you said, he's getting things
going on Miami. I actually visited him when he was
down there. But I don't think he'd go back to college.
I don't see that fit. I think you're you know,
the whole idea that where the heck is Alabama? Why
(22:35):
are they not in the top ten and spending I
don't understand that one, and pushed the board. I'd be
asking some hard questions, say what's the problem here. We
can't compete, we can't pay our players. So I agree
with you.
Speaker 5 (22:48):
I would say very little to no chance.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
He would get involved in college, but I think he
would take phone calls from the NFL.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Yeah, I mean, let's talk Jim Harbor. Jim Harbaugh was
rumored for years to go to the NF and he
the minute Justin Herbert needed a head coach. Jim's like, yeah,
I like that one. As you well know, you can
win a national championship without a great quarterback in college.
But I would argue in the NFL, they're all bad
(23:16):
jobs if you're bad at quarterback. So I mean, to me,
I think I think Nick's gonna I mean, like, when
you look at the NFL, it almost feels like it's
a quarterback driven league, does it not, Well.
Speaker 5 (23:32):
That's kind of what got me, not kind of.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
I mean, I still think Trevor Lawrence will go down
as one of the great quarterbacks. I think he's gonna
end up having a great career. But that's so intriguing
when you see a player of that caliber. If Nick
Saban can get that kind of position where he he
believes that this is a Hall of Fame, future Hall
of Fame quarterback or a world champion quarterback. The more
(23:56):
I'm thinking I think he's going to take that call.
I really do, And I've not talked to him about that.
He's got to doing a great job on game day.
And I know Mark Ingram and him play golf together
and he has a great life. But he's a competitor
and I think he do very well.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
So we've been talking about JJ McCarthy. Full disclosure, I
liked bo Nicks better than JJ McCarthy. He'd had like
five college coordinators. He was good with all of them.
I watched him beat Justin Herbert as a freshman when
Herbert was at Oregon. He was a freshman at Auburn,
and I watched him beat him. So I thought bo
Nix was going to work. I think Caleb does. I
like Drake May, I love Jayden Daniels. Going into NFL.
(24:36):
I was hit and miss on JJ McCarthy, and my
criticism was, like an Alabama quarterback never trails, not asked
to carry a team, doesn't get hit much. Great coach.
I mean, this is one of the reasons Ohio State
quarterbacks haven't historically been great. They always have the better
coach and the better roll line and the better receivers.
(24:57):
I'm not a huge believer in JJ McCarthy because he
hasn't been he hasn't lived that NFL college life where
you have to throw to non NFL receivers and you
don't have protection and you play from behind. Where are
you on JJ? I know you may have to be diplomatic,
but where are you on him as a talent.
Speaker 5 (25:18):
No, I don't have to be diplomatic. I'd like JJ.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
I covered him in quite a bit on Fox Big Noon,
we had him all the time. I thought he was
a great game manager. To say he's going to be
a great NFL quarterback I got. I'm skeptical a little
bit because I think he's a tremendous athlete. He knows
how to distribute the ball. But he, like you said,
that last year, that Wolverine football team that he was
(25:42):
a quarterback, the national champions.
Speaker 5 (25:43):
They were loaded, They had a great defense, great offense line,
best offense.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Line in college football. He did not get hit much,
and if you remember his junior year, he had really
or his third year his had a hard time completing
the ball downfield. They were not a downfield throwing team
and he struggled with a bet. So I think if
they surround him with great players, I think he'll be successful.
But that's like all quarterbacks. But there's a lot of
(26:10):
question marks about JJ McCarthy because of what you just said.
Has he really had to bring the team from behind?
He has a skill set. The thing that I like
best about JJ McCarthy he's a competitor and he's a
selfless player. There was times they won games where he
threw the ball fifteen times and you never heard it
complain about it. So I'm a JJ McCarthy fan. I
(26:32):
like him, but there's some skepticism out there about it.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Okay, So I think the guy that two years ago
didn't work for me, and I think I think he
has a chance to be the best quarterback in college
Football's Drew Aller So. I watched him two years ago
and I thought he was a bit wild, and then
last year I watched him, he was defeat were better,
he was more composed, he was more accurate, and I'm like, Oh,
I'm like, oh, this guy can really play. Give me
your break. I think Penn State's going to play for
(26:57):
the national championship with Texas. I think this kid. The
difference between sophomore junior year or what I saw him
two years ago. In last year was like, oh, that's
a first round corp. What do you think?
Speaker 3 (27:11):
I think Night and Day very concerned about Dreelly is
actually from Ohio and I saw a high school tape
on him and then we covered him his sophomore year
and he struggled. Last year he was much better fundamentally.
But the question I have for Penn State, they have
two great running backs, they have one of the best
offensive lines in the country, certainly in the Big Ten.
(27:33):
Do they have this skill on the outside? Last year
they did not. That was not a typical Penn State
receiving corps. And I don't know if they made it better,
you know, I keep trying to research that and we'll
see him early in the season, but I'm hoping they
have better skill on the outside. I think everything about
Penn State is a national championship contender. My question is
(27:53):
do they have NFL draft picks on the outside like
they used to?
Speaker 1 (27:57):
You know, I was you know when, And this happens
lot in life, where you see something happening and you're
worried about it, but it actually plays to your benefit.
So when the NIL came out, I think a lot
of coaches like Dabo Sweeney, are like, I don't want
to pay my players. That's not what college football is about.
Here's where the NIL helps coaches. Because you spend so
much time raising money to pay the players. You can't
(28:18):
buy out coaches anymore. Alabama can't pay Kaylin Debori sixty
million and pay Saban more money and pay they don't
have the money. And so I do think coaches. I mean,
like Lincoln Riley, I know the number. He's not going anywhere.
There's no way they just spent three hundred million on facilities,
eighteen million in NIL. He's got an eighty million dollar buyout.
(28:42):
So I think NIL actually urban protects the staff. You
probably get a year or two more than you used to.
What say you?
Speaker 3 (28:53):
Every time I come on your show, you come up
with something calling, I'm like, what is he talking about?
Then this is one of those moments. I think you're right,
You're absolutely I never thought of it that way. But
how about the Wolverine is one of the best brands,
and biggest brands are expected at twenty seven dollars twenty
seven million dollars shortfall, teams are going to start I'm
(29:14):
worried about this start dropping sports. Where is this money
coming from? And what you just said? To go pay
off a coaching staff as the head coach as a buyout,
but then you also have to pay off all those
assistant coaches. So this is one of those moments calling
you got me again. I think you're absolutely right that
you're going to see that. The Texas A and M
(29:35):
paidoff coaches like they used to.
Speaker 5 (29:36):
I don't think you can do that anymore. There's not
enough money.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Finally, I think the best player in college football and
he won't be eligible as Jermaine Smith. I think Ohio
State's receiver agreed, and I'm trying. I'm trying to think
of somebody. I'd have to go back to Hugh Green
that played for Pittsburgh, where I literally saw somebody and
I thought, oh, he'd be an elite NFL player. As
a sophomore in college, Chase at LSU felt like that,
(30:01):
You're like, yeah, he's an NFL player plan on Saturdays.
He's way too good for college football. How do you
coach a guy that is so good and so gifted?
How do you keep him engaged? How do you keep
him focused? How do you keep him happy? Because he
didn't even look like a college player.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
I've had to I can't say I've had a Jermaine
Smith Jeremiah Smith, but I've had a couple that you
just got to constantly challenge him. The best thing that
Ohio State has is incredible defense, So his biggest challenges
a lot of times aren't necessarily the games on Saturday.
It's the Tuesday and Wednesday practice. And I felt that
when I had to Nick Bosa or I had Percy
(30:40):
Harvin or some of those guys who are just so
much better than really everyone else. A lot of times,
Baron verybe else should play until you get to those
big games. Then you challenge the heck out of him
in practice. And that's a good thing about Jeremiah Smith
and Ohio State his biggest you know, his biggest challenges
A lot of times are are going against each other
(31:01):
in practice. That's when iron charps is iron and I
dealt with that and I know that's what's happening in Columbus.
They got some good corners and that's one of his
biggest challenge to motivate him every day to.
Speaker 5 (31:11):
Go to work.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Jeremiah Smith, not German. I made a mistake, jeremih Smith. Finally,
Texas Ohio State play. In the opener, we all want
to see arch Manning. I want to see arch Manning.
What what will you need to see? How are you
going to view that game? I don't care a lot
about stats. I want to see what happens when he
(31:34):
faces pressure. That's what I want to see. This will
be the best front he faces. My guess is what
are you looking for from arch Manning?
Speaker 3 (31:46):
Really interesting to hear and I got a strong opinion
because I coached Tibo when after he won the Heisman
Trophy as a sophomore, he won the national championship as
a junior. His senior year, the scrutiny, the expectations, we'd
beat Tennessee by fourteen points, he'd throw the ball and
he'd be getting hammered by the media he didn't play
(32:06):
well enough. So I think this will be the player
with the highest expectations in the last decade. I put
it at the Tebow level, where is anything going to
be good enough other than a perfect game? And he
plays in the SEC. He's going to face SEC defenses
each week. He's placing the play Ohio State buckets early.
(32:28):
I think he's a tremendous talent.
Speaker 5 (32:30):
But Sark, I'm.
Speaker 3 (32:32):
Glad he's got a head coach like Sark that knows
how to handle pressure like this, because the pressure on
him will be immense, and it's going to be pressure.
I think it's we have a witness this kind of
pressure on a player. I'm saying since Tim Tebow's senior
year at the University of Florida, it was it was NonStop,
even we'd win to get We went twelve and zero
(32:52):
his senior year and nothing was good enough.
Speaker 5 (32:54):
And I worry about that.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
That wears on you, that wears on the staff, But
most importantly, it's going to wear our arch.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
So I did a national championship bubble yesterday. I think
there's five to six teams. Yeah, okay, So here I
have Clemson, Bama, Notre Dame. I don't know if Clemson
has the athletes they I don't know if they match
up with Ohio State, Georgia, Texas, Penn State. I just
don't know if they do. But I like their coaching. Quarterback,
Bama Notre Dame. I have to watch them play because
(33:22):
I don't know what they are at quarterback at Bama's
playing a guy who hasn't played, he's been there three years.
But they are five teams that I believe look different.
I love the staffs. I just they're different to me,
Like the backfield for Penn State is just different. It's
all NFL guys. Anything you disagree with here.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
No, I would probably throw one other team on the bubble, though.
I would throw that LSU team on the bubble. You know,
I think coach Kelly is the heck of a coach,
and they got a returning quarterback that I think is
just stud So I would throw one more out there,
and LSU's never would be short. They're the one team,
and I know you can't just stay a type of team.
They were the one team when I coached the SEC
(34:03):
them and Georgia came walking out of that tunnel, they
looked different.
Speaker 5 (34:06):
And that stadium is a tough place to place. I
like it.
Speaker 3 (34:09):
I'd like your tough five, but I throw one more
bubble team in there, and that's Lsu.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
Urban Meyer, three time national champion coach, is always you're
making time for us and we love that. Thanks, good
to see great to see you urban Meyer on our show,
which is you know, Fox Sports College Football hind Big Noon,
Big Noon. Things happen on that show from I from
what I hear, I read a lot and there's a
(34:37):
lot of stuff. There's a lot of moving parts on
that show. I'm not going to get into it, but
Big Noon Nurse things moving there. The wheel is spinning there.
That's what I hear. May want to pull up a
stool and sit down and read about it from what
I hear. Anyway,
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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