The Best of The Dan Patrick Show

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

00:00:04
Speaker 2: We have another coaching vacancy in the NFL. Buffalo Bills have fired Sean McDermott. Stat of the Day brought to you by Panini America, the official trading cards of The Dan Patrick Show. You know, we talk about coaches sometimes coaching for their jobs, and it felt like that, it felt like that last year was Sean McDermott and this is where it's nine years and you go, is that the guy? Like how many guys can get you over the top? Andy Reid for a long time in Philadelphia, Hey, he can get you there. He can't get you over the top until he got to Kansas City and then he could put you over the top. But there are certain coaches that I think we give far more credit to, like Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh could be Hall of Fame coaches, could be Can they get you over the top? Are they just really really good regular season head coaches? Because it's a different DNA when you get to the postseason, Like what do you got, who are you? What are you going to do? Clock management, how you get your team ready? Like just so many things that stuff that maybe is not tangible where you think, but you have, you know, a team that goes out there and wins when maybe they're not supposed to win, or holds on comes up with a play when they need to, and Buffalo never did that. And when you think about this, the New York Jets have been in more AFC title games than the Buffalo Bills have in the last thirty years. Brought to you by Panadian America, the Official Trading Cards of the Dan Patrick Show. I always think about this, like John Harball, if you make the kick and you go into the postseason, does he still get fired? And I think if they didn't get to the title game, he was going to get fired. Now I don't have any information on that. That was just a gut feeling that I had. Did the Bills make their mind up about Sean McDermott now or last week? Did it matter what was going to happen? What if they won the game then you go to the AFC title game? What if you go to the Super Bowl? So you're coaching for your job and Sean McDermott paid the price nine years. We'll talk to Steve Tasker, the Buffalo Bill's announcer he'll join us coming up in an hour from now, Albert Breer, the Monday Morning quarterback. Following all the movers and shakers, and I did get information on this from somebody who said there is probably at least one coach who is coaching for his job in the postseason. Then we were talking about all the vacancies there, and I wondered, you know, if Matt Lafleur is not re signed extended in Green Bay, would John Harbaught have taken in that job. If Matt Lafleur doesn't stay in Green Bay, does he go to Pittsburgh? Is Mike McCarthy in the mix in Pittsburgh a Pittsburgh guy? What if Buffalo opens up because you got Josh Allen there? When you think about Lamar Jackson, two time MVP, Josh Allen, the reigning MVP, and they will have new head coaches next year. Robert Salah is gonna maybe get a run in Baltimore here, the defensive coordinator for the forty nine ers, might be coming back to be a head coach. And once again, there's a lot of talk, there's so many openings, who's going where? And then it feels like there's a domino effect happening. You know when Baltimore and now Buffalo is open. You know Stefanski's going to Atlanta hardball with the Giants. So there's a lot going on. And this is the NFL. But did anybody know think that Buffalo was going to come open? Now I know what people we're going to say, what about Mike Tomlin. I can only tell you what I was told last week that Mike there is no guarantee he comes back to coaching, and there's no guarantee he does TV. But there's a two year window here he doesn't. If he goes someplace, then you have to give a compensation to the Steelers, and he knows that, so does the team that would sign him, and so did the Steelers. But I don't see Mike Tomlin coaching again anytime soon, unless the person who told me this is off on it. I did get some information on college football, so keep this in mind. Friday, it'll be voted on if the college football playoffs will expand. So they had a meeting in Miami last week, and what they're trying to do is figure out are we going from twelve to sixteen or are we gone from twelve to twenty four. The Big Ten wants a three year commitment. The Big Ten wants to have sixteen, sixteen, sixteen, and then a commitment to go to twenty four beginning with the twenty twenty nine season. So once again, the Big Ten wants a three year commitment from everybody that would go from twelve to sixteen and then a firm commitment to go to twenty four teams beginning with the twenty twenty nine season. Let's see what else do I have. So this was the College Football Playoff Management Committee. So that's ten commissioners and Notre Dames athletic director and they have to decide by this Friday. If they don't decide by this Friday, from when I'm told, the college football playoffs will stay at twelve teams, a lot going on, a lot going on, and then you got the national title game tonight, it's actually two underdogs. When you think about Miami squeaking in, or at least we were given the impression Miami squeaked into the postseason, it's either Notre Dame or Miami, and then here's Miami playing for the national championship. Now, if you go back twenty five years ago, the you they were like UNLV in the nineties in basketball, like you had to deal with them, and they were usually on the winning side of those things. Now in the ACC and we're like, oh, Miami, kind of a nice story, and then all of a sudden, Miami's playing for a national championship. But there is no bigger Cinderella story than Indiana football because now they're the favorite now, but historically they're an underdog. Miami historically is a favorite. Now they're an underdog in this game coming up tonight, and I think Indiana is now favored by eight and a half Miami playing at home. But this feels like it's almost We would have been surprised if Indiana played for the national title. Now will be surprised if Indiana doesn't win the national title.

00:07:15
Speaker 3: Yes, Paul, it's been nine and ten days since the last college football playoff game. It feels a lot longer.

00:07:21
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, when you said it, when you go, do you know when you know they had a playoff game? I go, I have no idea. I thought two weeks ago it just felt like, but this is what they want to start the season earlier so they can end right around New Year's Now, they're starting in August already, but it feels like they want to start a little earlier. Now you have the President coming out and saying, hey, that second Saturday in December, that's Army Navy, and I'm not going to sign anything. You know, I'm going to make sure that I hold up the college football playoffs. I don't have the exact language of that. The President's decision. Army Navy gets its time slot, and as my source said, hey, it's great for Army Navy, and it's great for the NFL because the NFL will dominate that weekend they don't have to deal with any playoff games. But that's what college football is trying to do and trying to come up with a solution for next year. But Indiana football tonight favored by eight and a half. And it probably comes down to, you know what normal games come down to, who makes the mistake and when do you make that mistake? Who do you trust more? Carson Becker, Fernando Mendoza, How much pressure does Miami put on Indiana? Can Indiana do what it did to these other schools and dominate the line of scrimmage? So just some of the questions, but I feel bad that it's kind of like, oh, by the way, there's a national title game coming up, and if you're watching like the Mothership, you know there's conundrum. Hey, we are all in on the NFL, but hey, how about that national title game coming up tonight? They're sort of half in, half out. It's like a national title game. All right, we mentioned it. Hey, let's go back to the Bears finish there.

00:09:15
Speaker 4: Yes, ton It's pretty funny that Miami's playing on their home field at hard Rock, yet there the designated visiting team. They have to stand on the other sideline, and I think you use the visiting locker room facilities, which is wild.

00:09:25
Speaker 2: Didn't they crazy? Crazy? All right, let's get some phone calls in here. Best and worst of the weekend Chris and Syracuse once again, the Buffalo Bills who fired Sean McDermott.

00:09:35
Speaker 5: Hey, Chris, Hey, Thanks Sam, Hey got a best of worst in a comment? My comment is, and I hope I'm wrong, but I think Miami wins tonight. Indiana has been beating teams all year that have more talent, speed, size, strength, and I think it finally catches up to him. And my worst the Bear's passing up on field goals and going forward on fourth downs. Now in the NFL, kicking the field goal is not looked at as giddy three points. It's looked at his losing. It's crazy, and especially in the playoffs where weather factors and more and square and opportunities are at a premium. Yet take the points. Just like Bill Kower said on The Dan Patrick Show last week and a bittersweet best Todd FRISUS Broncos, maybe it will be like when Carson Wentz went down. If Doug Peterson can pull that off, certainly Sean Payton is capable. And here in Central New York, all the Bill fans have been saying is this is the year no Burrow, no Lamar, Noble Holmes. But in typical Buffalo Bill fashion, they still managed to find a way to get mixed.

00:10:35
Speaker 2: Thank you, Chris. The Bears went three for nine on fourth downs in the postseason. I just believe in getting points because okay, we have a chance to get seven or we don't get anything. I just don't like that risk reward. I saw that with Detroit a couple of years ago, and it feels like it's a regular season thing. Like, Okay, let's go after this, Let's have some fun. We got to play called for this in these big moments, it just feels like fourth and four that seems like an eternity and you got to factor in the weather, you got to factor in what's at stake. I just I know, three feels like you failed.

00:11:28
Speaker 3: Yeah, Paulie, I wonder if Ben Johnson and the coaching staff didn't have a ton of faith in the defense after what happened to Jordan Love and they thought we got to match seventh with Matthew Stafford, and they didn't think that their defense would be able to slow them down as they did.

00:11:44
Speaker 2: Chicago's defense held them in check. Man. I mean, that's a good enough performance by your defense to win most playoff games. And the Rams didn't play great, but you know, I got to give the Bears credit. They played well. Jeremy and Wisconsin and the play by Caleb Williams, I mean, that's fourth quarter. Hey, he's a different kind of guy. He's a different dude. Hey, Jeremy.

00:12:21
Speaker 6: Hey, greetings, greetings VP from the frozen tundra, where Packer fans will attest to the fact that field goals are and is always guaranteed either. But I have a best and worth and a quick comment that's of the weekend. Sorry, Paulie. Always great to see the Bears lose. Would have been a real kick to the groin seeing Johnson and that Caleb Williams get to the NFT Championship before love and the floor. But the worst is the girlfriend's on a cruise and I'm here a negative thirty win shill. That's not fun either. But I think Caleb Williams will be really good. He does make a couple of those decisions like Cutler always did where he'll give you two to three interception opportunities. But I think that's going to be a really great rivalry moving forward. So all the Beasts has spent a long time. Guys, hope you're doing well.

00:13:13
Speaker 2: Yeah, the Packers extended Matt Lafleor, and you know there's a going rate for quarterbacks. It feels like there's now a going rate for head coaches, Like he went from almost five million and he went to what thirteen fourteen million dollars a year. Quarterbacks are slotted like you're going to make this and then you're going to make that. Now it feels like if you're you know, head coach is good. He's making close to fifteen million dollars, Andy Reid making twenty million plus. It had to be difficult to extend Matt Lafleor had that conversation after a bad loss, because at halftime he could have renegotiated and got whatever he wanted. The problem was the second half against the Bay Yes, Marvin.

00:14:00
Speaker 7: Not even a bad loss of bad month.

00:14:02
Speaker 2: Yea, the last five games.

00:14:04
Speaker 8: Yep.

00:14:05
Speaker 2: Buddha in San Francisco.

00:14:07
Speaker 9: Hi Buddha, oh man, thanks to taking the call. DP salute the forty Niners, shout out to James. Happy Monday boys. Well DP, all good things come doing that, my man. I mean I was not surprised by my Niners getting molly wopped on Saturday. I mean, we overachieved this year, and as Trent Williams said himself at the podium, Dan, we talked about this last week. We were playing with house money. That's of the weekend DP watching Kayler Williams turning into a franchise QUV right before our eyes. Man. I mean he brought them back in the fourth quarter and had that ridiculous heroic throw twenty yards behind the line of scrimmage. I mean I thought he was throwing it out of bounds and like, I mean, it was just ridiculous. And more so, Dan, there's a certain decorum that, like a franchise quarterback will follow and take. I mean, you take your lumps, you know, with the losses, you stand the podium. He answer the hard questions and that's that's what he did yesterday. I was very impressed and Paully should be pumped. And worst of the weekend obviously my Niners DVP. But honestly, watching CJ shroud struggle yesterday was like, as my big Mama says, that's embarrassed. I mean it was cringe worthy. And Dan thinking about CJ consoling Caleb Williams midfield a couple of years ago after the game, Yeah, that's not aging very well.

00:15:29
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, thank you, Buddha.

00:15:31
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00:15:40
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00:15:53
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00:16:10
Speaker 2: Comment away. So the Buffalo Bills need a new head coach. Do not underestimate the importance of the head coaching decision given that the Bills will be in their new stadium next season. This happens occasionally with teams moving into new stadiums. And I don't know if you're shocked that the Buffalo Bills need a new head coach. I guess there's a surprise element with this. Steve Tasker, former Bills great and part of the broadcast team. This is our annual let's talk about how the Bills got eliminated from the playoffs, Steve. But there's a you know, interesting element added to this with Sean McDermott. How surprised were you that he got fired?

00:16:53
Speaker 8: Very very surprised. Yeah, in my of course, I'm one of those guys that played a long time in the league and paid in Super Bowl, never won a Super Bowl. So you can take this with a grain of salt because I don't know what it is to win a championship, but having a swing at it every year is pretty important. I think the Bills were right there, and most of the losses they've suffered during their tent during Shawn's tenure were almost so unique he almost had a name for him. It took a really incredible and let's say this on in the Denver game this last week, and the Bills didn't The Bills team didn't play well, Josh didn't play well, the defense didn't play well. You know, they just didn't play their best and almost still found a way to win that game. Yeah, it's a it's a tough It's tough because you know, particularly I'm I'm in the building every day, and uh, when you change, you know, so like Dan it's a little bit like the Dan Patrick Show. Losing Dan Patrick. There's a lot of people that are affected by it, and you can't take that for granted. It's going to be a big change in a huge transition for the organization. You don't know what's going to happen the next next few weeks. So we'll see. But can't underrest. You can't understate or overstate. I'm sorry, you can't overstate what he has meant to the franchise, what he did for him, the culture established, what he's meant to the community, the example he's been to his players. I know his players revere him. Yeah, it's going to be an absolutely enormous transition process.

00:18:32
Speaker 2: Was he in the building this morning?

00:18:34
Speaker 8: I do not know. I don't know. This is all and we have heard nothing official from the team yet. This has all been reported from outlets that we know to be and the not to be trustworthy. So and it's all over the radio obviously here in Buffalo as well.

00:18:51
Speaker 2: But you're in the building, but you haven't officially been told that Sean McDermott's been fired.

00:18:55
Speaker 8: No, No, I would imagine though, give and the sources that we've heard from and the somber nature of the building, that is probably true.

00:19:08
Speaker 2: Why did the Bills lose to Denver?

00:19:11
Speaker 8: Turned it over? That's always been the bugaboo with this team. You know, Josh obviously had a couple of bad turnovers. One you know, the sack strip fumble right right after halftime is probably not his fault, the fumble before halftime they gave Denver three points. Yeah, absolutely was Josh's fault. The long interception down the middle, that's an arm punt. You can kind of live with that, But you can't overstate the fact James Cook going in they were moving the football it will against Denver. Early on it looked like it was going to get a runway and if the Bills don't turn it over the whole game, it probably is a runaway win. But they did five times. That's too many, and they paid the price for it.

00:19:48
Speaker 2: But I wonder if because everybody made a big deal of no Lamar, no mah Homes, no Burrow, it's wide open. You guys should be going to the super Bowl. That raised the stakes here for Sean, certainly with Josh Allen, But Sean McDermott's the one who paid the ultimate price here.

00:20:06
Speaker 8: Yeah. Maybe, I still I don't think you get to this point of the playoffs and don't meet good football teams. Patriots played an outstanding game against a really good Houston Texans game Texas team. Certainly you can tell C. J. Stroud doesn't belong in the same conversation as Josh Allen. In my opinion, Drake May has got a solid coaching staff and a great roster around him and has played extremely well, very efficient all year. Stafford same thing. So yeah, that you can make a case that the deck was cleared from the quarterbacks position, but he still got to beat the entire team. And it's still not going to be easy for New England to go into Denver and beat Jarrett Stidham. Although in hindsight, I mean, man, oh man, you shake your head at the twists and turns of the season, and this last one certainly has got to be enticing for fans going in there with with Drake May, the MVP candidate, going against Jared Stidham, a New England draft pick back in the day.

00:21:09
Speaker 2: And I know this is still thresh this wound, but could you see a scenario where the Bill's brought back Brian Dable as a head coach.

00:21:19
Speaker 8: Yeah, I mean he's a Buffalo guy, I grew up here. I know he's well thought of in the building. I'm sure they're going to scour the landscape for the right guy. And I think even if it takes a little bit of extra time, one of the things that the Bills learned during the drought. It's not just about picking the right guys, about getting them to say yes as well. I think it's more important to get the right guy than to get the guy in the next week or two weeks. Even if it takes three or four weeks or a month, if it's the right guy, you'll be fine even in the first year. So uh yeah, Brian dabol would be on the list. I think there's a number of guys that are on the list. They may even they may not even go offensive guy. They may go leadership, may go like a Mike Tumlin or Brian Flores or something like that as well. There's some quality guys out there, really quality guys. But there's only thirty two jobs and you've got one of them, and you've got to make sure that the guy you get is gonna fit, not just the spot where you're at now, because there's a lot of guys that will fit with Josh Allen as their quarterback. You got to have a guy who's got a plan going forward.

00:22:37
Speaker 2: Help me understand ownership there. They don't strike me as you know, we're going to make a you know, he's a quick decision on firing Sean McDermott. I don't know if they're reactionary in that way. It'd been there nine years. But do you think this was in the works? Do you think he was actually coaching for his job yesterday?

00:22:59
Speaker 8: No, I don't don't think so. I don't think so. I think it's a little bit of exasperation and uh and I think they probably got some you know, there is a little bit even though each of these laws that I mentioned, it's hard to beat this team. I mean, they're a tough out. They're always there. Even during the regular season. They have to help you almost to get a tough out. But even that, that whole strength through the nine years that Sean was here, that became a little bit of the characteristic of the team. So maybe they to get out of that of having these massively unusual and weird and close last minute, weird official call, missed call, whatever you want to call them. That's the that's the trait that they're trying to change, and they and the head coach is probably that there is Their answer to is Terry Pagoula's answer to it. Brianon Bean's answer to it. They do have all the losses have had a quirky characteristic that is always there. They're trying to find a way to get around that.

00:24:05
Speaker 2: I think, tough day for you. I know, I appreciate you joining us, Steve.

00:24:12
Speaker 8: Yeah, I just tell I'll say this, Sewan, it was an incredible ambassador for Buffalo. I feel for he and his wife Jamie, and all the guys on the staff because all these guys, all these coaches go into limbo uh on. It's a little more personal for me maybe than it's ever been, because Shawn's been here for almost a decade. He's an outstanding human being. He'll be a little bit along the lines of the Mike Tomlin firing earlier this year. If he wants to work, people will hire him. But I'll say this, it's hard. It's hard to say goodbye to a place like this. It's hard for people in this building say goodbye to Sean and his family. They've been a big part of our lives and a lot of everybody in this building owes their job to him. Right. So it's a deeply personal thing. And I know that while we're we talk about it at at an armless linked level. It's a rough day here in the in Buffalo, no question about it.

00:25:07
Speaker 2: Thank you, Steve. Steve Tasker, former Buffalo Bill's All Pro and part of the broadcast team.

00:25:13
Speaker 1: Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to listen live.

00:25:24
Speaker 2: We bring in the senior NFL reporter for the Monday morning quarterback, Albert Breer, back on the program. I guess it turns out that Sean mcgermott was coaching for his John.

00:25:36
Speaker 7: Yeah, how's your Monday morning going?

00:25:39
Speaker 2: Still employed?

00:25:43
Speaker 11: Yeah, I would say I I'm surprised, but I think there were and I think he was.

00:25:50
Speaker 7: Surprised, but there were some tea leaves, you know.

00:25:54
Speaker 11: I think Josh Allen's emotional press conference. I think McDermott you can kind of c you know, with the criticism of the officials the first time and then coming back the second time. I think you kind of feel that there was heat on everybody there, you know, and that the window to win a championship, like the owners were feeling that and feeling the pressure of being within that. And you know, I think a couple of months ago, I used the Tony Dungee comparison with you, Dan, and I think it's an apt one, you know. I that's the way I see this is, you know, Sean McDermott did a ton of good in Buffalo. They had me been to the playoffs in eighteen years. You know, he was there for nine. They make it an eight of those nine years, seven in a row, five AFC's titles, two AFC Championship games, a franchise quarterback, like all these things weren't imaginable for the Bills when he got there. But you know, the same way it was with Tony Dungee when he rebuilt the Bucks. You know, the owners down there felt.

00:26:54
Speaker 7: This shrinking window with that team they had with you.

00:26:58
Speaker 11: Know, Derek Brooks and and and Lawn Sapp and John Lynch and Rendez Barber, And I think sort of the same thing with a quarterback in Buffalo. You know, there's a feeling like we're not going to get a million shots at this, so we need to strike while the iron's hot.

00:27:13
Speaker 2: So what's Buffalo do?

00:27:15
Speaker 7: Yeah, it's a great question.

00:27:18
Speaker 11: This is I think a once in a lifetime opportunity for a coach, don't.

00:27:21
Speaker 2: You Yeah, yeah, But Baltimore is as well.

00:27:27
Speaker 11: Right, I just look at like this with Josh Allen and the chance to do this and compete for a championship, Like if this job were to come open again in three or four years, with the amount of damage he's taken, like, we don't know that it's gonna be the same Josh Allen.

00:27:41
Speaker 7: You know.

00:27:41
Speaker 11: So if I'm the Bills, I'm taking full advantage of that.

00:27:46
Speaker 7: And that means you're going to interview all.

00:27:48
Speaker 11: The usual suspects, the names that we've heard, you know, over the course of the last couple of weeks. And there's some really good candidates out there, some of them on the defensive side of the ball, which you know, maybe the Bills shy away from that now because they just spend nine years going down that path with McDermott.

00:28:03
Speaker 7: But why not take.

00:28:05
Speaker 11: Big swings if you're Buffalo? Why not just see well, I mean, we'll call the Rams call. And I'm not saying those guys that be available, but you know, when you have that quarterback and you're in this situation and you might be able to entice something just to see how their situation is, why wouldn't you do it?

00:28:29
Speaker 7: I mean, I got it.

00:28:30
Speaker 11: This is the way I look at it right Like it's like if I'm if I'm Buffalo, I'm looking at this and I'm saying like we are in a once in a lifetime window. This is a really hard place to be. We got a quarterback who carried an incredibly heavy load this year, and we want to take some of that off of him.

00:28:48
Speaker 7: And we can offer somebody.

00:28:50
Speaker 11: The chance to do that and compete for championships right away with a roster that's still pretty good and has a lot of young pieces on it. I think you have to take advantage of that opportunity. And what that opportunity looks like. You know, it's gonna be in the eye of the beholder. But I mean, the one thing I can't shake is, like Josh Allen turning thirty this off season. There's the chance for someone to get in there and compete for championships right away and change the narrative on Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.

00:29:22
Speaker 7: And if you're going to make this.

00:29:24
Speaker 11: Bold move to get rid of a coach that accomplished that much over nine years, I think your higher has to be bold as well.

00:29:30
Speaker 2: Okay, but why wouldn't we say the same thing about Baltimore. They've got the two time MVP in Lamar Johnson.

00:29:37
Speaker 7: I'd agree. I just I.

00:29:40
Speaker 11: It's fair, it's a fair it's a fair thing to say. I just think if you look at Baltimore's success, it goes past Lamar, right, and they've always been so stable and able to build for so long. And they've got Eric DaCosta who was who was groomed by Auzie Newsom for the job, and this is this has been who the Ravens are for twenty five years. And they found John Harbob like kind of going an unconventional route, and so I think it's a little different. There's just some nuance there where, Like I think with Baltimore as good as Lamar is, and I think Lamar is great, you know what I think of Lamar. I think it's just a little bit of a different spot than Buffalo where you look at it and it's just so much has been built around that one player, you know what I mean. Where, Man, if we've invested this much to getting it getting it right with the quarterback, we need to get the coach right.

00:30:31
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think Baltimore is a better job.

00:30:35
Speaker 11: I think it's probably fair too, because of the stability to franchise and everything else.

00:30:39
Speaker 2: I think they're a better team. You know, Buffalo I didn't think was a great team.

00:30:44
Speaker 7: Are you worried about Lamar's injuries?

00:30:46
Speaker 2: Yeah?

00:30:47
Speaker 7: Yeah. And that's the thing is like, that's the thing you have to sort of assess, you know.

00:30:51
Speaker 2: But would you hire Mike McDaniel in Buffalo?

00:30:59
Speaker 7: I think about it.

00:31:00
Speaker 2: Would you hire Brian Dable?

00:31:02
Speaker 7: I think about it.

00:31:03
Speaker 11: And the reason why I just I look at like so many things, and Dave Ball's got the built in relationship with Josh, so that's a factor.

00:31:11
Speaker 7: Of course.

00:31:13
Speaker 11: Dave Ball's also from Western New York. He understands the market, like I think he'd be good in that job. Watching the Bills this year, everything looks like harder than it should be, you know what I mean? Did you get that sense to watching them? So they got to do something at receiver. I think they got to do something to give Josh. I can still remember this, and like with Ben Roethlisberger, right, So Todd Haley came in and this was when Arians left for the Colts in and twelve and so.

00:31:43
Speaker 7: Todd Haley came in and that was.

00:31:46
Speaker 11: After eight years of Ben Roethlisberger, right, and two Super Bowl wins, and he looked at Ben and said, he's not going to last if he keeps playing this way. And so, you know, they they had kind of assembled this young group of receivers that Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace and Emmanuel Sanders and you know, Todd Haley kind of taking the tack. We got to make things easier on this guy, and we gotta we got to create more layups on him for him, and we got to.

00:32:09
Speaker 7: Kind of transform who he is as a quarterback.

00:32:11
Speaker 11: And I think that that's going to be part of the job for the next coach, is like, how do we create like a second phase of Josh Allen's career where he doesn't have like in the playoffs, three different injuries on the on the injury.

00:32:24
Speaker 7: Report at the end of a playoff week, Right, how do we do that?

00:32:27
Speaker 11: And you know, I remember having a lot of conversations with Todd Haley about that, you know, back then, that was fourteen years ago now, but I think some of the same principles apply, where you know, you want to try to create a situation for your quarterback where you're you're making things easier on him.

00:32:42
Speaker 7: It doesn't look quite as hard anymore. And you know, you're you're almost generating a second phase of his career.

00:32:49
Speaker 2: Talking to Albert Breer, the Monday Morning Quarterback senior NFL reporter, are we close to any of these vacancies being filled?

00:32:56
Speaker 11: Yeah, I think Miami could be soon. I think Tennessee could be soon. You know, Miami's got a couple of guys in this morning. Jeff Hafley is going to be in this afternoon. He worked with their new general manager, John Eric Sullivan in Green Bay. He's been sort of the leader in the clubhouse for a few days now. Hathley's also got the opportunity to go to Tennessee, and I think whether or not he takes that trip, you're gonna hear.

00:33:19
Speaker 7: About that later today, you know.

00:33:21
Speaker 11: And I just think, you know, like it's it may come down to Hafley saying, I really want to take a look at the Tennessee job. Which one's better, or I'm gonna take the bird in the hand with a general manager that I know in John Eric Sullivan.

00:33:34
Speaker 7: Tennessee's accelerating their process as well.

00:33:36
Speaker 11: They were supposed to have Robert Sala the forty nine ers defensive coordinator for a zoom yesterday. They rescheduled that as an in person interview today. They're very interested in Sala. They've got Naggie back in for a second interview again. Hathley's supposed to come in tomorrow. And those are the three known finalists at this point. And you know, I think they like Athley quite a bit. They they like Saw, They've got the relationship with Naggie, Mike Borgonzi does from Kansas City, and what they're looking for in a coach's presence, you know, I think part of that is kind of maybe trying to re establish what Mike Vrabel had there over the years, you know. And then Cleveland has Jim Schwartz in for a second interview today. Nathan schielhas the Rams play a passing coordinator, and Mike McDaniel are both in the mix there as well. So you have some teams that are sort of coming down the stretch now, and it'll be interesting to see, like, you know, as some of these names, you know, like that people are less familiar with, Likeah Halflee, like maybe a Jesse mintor as these guys start to get second interviews with multiple teams, I think that's gonna gonda gonna create a situation where some of the dominoes are gonna start following.

00:34:46
Speaker 2: What about c J. Stroud's future.

00:34:50
Speaker 7: Uncertain?

00:34:52
Speaker 11: They have big decisions to make this offseason. He's eligible for a new contract for the first time, he has a f your option. They got to make a decision on that, and you know, I haven't looked up the number, but I think it's over thirty million dollars that would lock them in for twenty twenty seven. So you know, those are two big decisions that need to be made this offseason. And they went three and oh with Davis Mills in there, you know, so I think having seven turnovers and two in two playoff games and being in the window that they're in. I just talked about windows at Buffalo being the one being in the window that they're in with this just ridiculous defense that played really well for the most part, eventually crack but played really well for the most part in New England and obviously dominated in Pittsburgh. There's some big decision making that has to happen there. So I think his future is a little uncertain. I wouldn't be surprised if teams make calls just to see if he's available, But there are definitely some moving parts there and we'll see what happens.

00:35:55
Speaker 7: You know.

00:35:56
Speaker 11: Again, I don't know they've had the chance to sit down and fully assess everything, and they probably won't until they review the entirety of the season.

00:36:06
Speaker 2: Tell my audience everything they need to know about Jared Stidham.

00:36:11
Speaker 7: He's an interesting name.

00:36:12
Speaker 2: So he was.

00:36:14
Speaker 11: He was at the like coming out of high school, was one of the top players in the country, went to Baylor to play for Art Briles, and got caught in the caught up in all of that, Like not that he was involved, but like obviously you know, he was one of the players that kind of became collateral damage in that whole thing, and so he winds up transferring to Auburn, played in an offense that maybe wasn't all that suited to his skill set, and when he was coming out, a lot of people looked at him said, like, this guy still has like all the traits that you would want in a blue chip recruit, right, and so gets drafted by the Patriots. He may have started in twenty twenty in New England if it weren't for Covid wiping out like the entire offseason program. Obviously the shorter off season. The Patriots wanted somebody more experienced. They brought in Cam Newton that year, and then Josh McDaniels, who had Stidham in New England, goes to Vegas and they were together for three years in New England and trades for him, right, and so he trades for him as to be Derek Carr's back up in twenty two, and then tries to bring him back to compete with Jimmy Garoppolo for the job in twenty three. But Sean Payton now bids him as Russell will and brings him bring and Sean Payton brings him in as Russell Wilson Insurance. Peyton did a two year deal with him. Then he does another two year deal with him, So clearly there's something there, you know. I know, Sean really liked, you know, Sidham's ability to handle a very complex offense, you know, because he'd played for Josh McDaniels and they have a ton of confidence that he's going to be okay, played really well in the preseason. I think the question is going to be here.

00:37:53
Speaker 7: Dan Is Nicks was good, not.

00:37:57
Speaker 11: Great for three and a half quarters of a lot of games and then just made huge throw after a huge throw after a huge throw, and big spots. Is why he has so many fourth quarter comebacks this year, including the one against Buffalo on Saturday. Can still of make those plays at the end of the game if they can get New England into the fourth quarter and they're at home, can still of make the sorts of throws that Knicks was making it towards the end of games.

00:38:20
Speaker 7: I think that's gonna be the biggest question.

00:38:25
Speaker 2: What's the going rate for head coaches now as far as because Lafloor's up to whatever, maybe yeah, fourteen to fifteen million dollars?

00:38:35
Speaker 8: Is that? Where is it?

00:38:37
Speaker 7: Yeah?

00:38:37
Speaker 11: I mean well, I would say maybe even more than that. I don't have the number, but I mean I can give you this, Like you know, Liam Cohen got twelve million million of years a first time head coach last year in Jacksonville. Ben Johnson got thirteen million a year last year is the first time head coach in Chicago, and I believe he had a bigger offer than that, right, And that was part of where some of the questions were with Lafleura in Green Bay. It was never do do we want to bring them back? They always wanted to bring them back. The question was whether or not they be able to work out a new contract and whether, you know, if things went sideways in the negotiation, would some other team come in and offer something enticing like there were a lot of moving parts there. Obviously they wind up getting it done. But I mean, look, here's the thing. I mean, you have like second receivers, right, second pass rushers getting twenty million a year, So for an established head coach, it makes sense they're worth at least that much, you know, So.

00:39:38
Speaker 7: I think it's.

00:39:41
Speaker 11: There were some owners I would say suppressing I don't want to use a sword, but suppressing maybe salaries a little.

00:39:47
Speaker 7: Bit for a while there. But it certainly looks like the dams broke.

00:39:50
Speaker 11: And you know, one thing that contributed to was was all the TV money that's out there, you know, I know it was a factor in Sean mcvay's negotiation with the Rams, what he was getting on offered to go into network television, and you know, so certainly I think there's been a little bit of a correction and those numbers are way higher than they used to be.

00:40:08
Speaker 2: How did the reps do this weekend?

00:40:13
Speaker 7: Am I gonna get fined?

00:40:19
Speaker 11: Look like I I just think like public trust is an all time low, you know, and I I I.

00:40:26
Speaker 7: Agree with Sean McDermott. There needs to be more clarity and it.

00:40:30
Speaker 11: Can't be I mean, and I just think watching the games and you know, I.

00:40:34
Speaker 2: But how do you get clarity though, Albert.

00:40:36
Speaker 7: Well, I mean, here's the thing.

00:40:37
Speaker 11: So during the season, I don't get to During the season, I'm trying to watch everything, so really I don't get to watch like drill down on the commentary or even the pace of some of the games as much because I'm trying to watch everything right and see the primetime games of course, But you know, during the playoffs, one thing that sucks stuck out to me is like it's just, you know, sometimes you get this long drawn out expe sometimes it's like what the hell has happened?

00:41:03
Speaker 8: You know?

00:41:03
Speaker 7: In this case, Sean mcdermom is trying to slow it down so the.

00:41:06
Speaker 11: Head official can get a look at the at the Cooks play with McMillan there, with Jakawhi McMillan there, Like, I think that's a fair ask to have the head referee go over under the hood and take a real look at it.

00:41:21
Speaker 7: Who is making that ruling, who is in the referee's ear Like, there's just not a lot of clarity with it.

00:41:27
Speaker 11: And if there's not a lot of clarity, then there's gonna be a lot of questions.

00:41:31
Speaker 7: And in an era when the.

00:41:34
Speaker 11: NFL and its teams are taking money handover fists from all the gambling companies, I think having some clarity on the way these things are being officiated and the way certain players are being adjudicated is paramount. And so I've said this for a long time, like, I just think it's gotten so tangled up.

00:41:50
Speaker 7: They've done a bad job incorporating.

00:41:52
Speaker 11: The technology because they just keep kind of all, right, here are more points of emphasis, here's more technology, and it's.

00:41:58
Speaker 8: More and more and more and more.

00:42:00
Speaker 11: They've made it so much harder on the on field officials, and then they don't know how to communicate it to the public. I really think that they need to go in this off season and tear the thing down to the studs and take all the technology available, take the crews they have available, maybe add sky judges to each crew, and rebuild it all together because I just think what's happening right now, flat out isn't working in the eyes of the public, and the public trust is such an important thing for a professional sport.

00:42:30
Speaker 2: Fritzie is the commissioner on the phone to find Albert Breer. Yeah, we got them, Okay, all right, commission Albert, I know you're busy. Thank you for your time. It's always all right, Thanks Dan. That's Albert Breer, the Monday morning quarterback senior NFL reporter