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: Jay Skersky covers the Buffalo Bills for the Buffalo News Beat writer for the Bills, Jay, when did you get word that the owner was going to show up at the press conference?

00:00:16
Speaker 3: That would have been the night before, so that would have been Tuesday evening, and the release was very generic, so we did not know whether Terry Pegula is going to take questions. That's something he has not done since twenty nineteen. So in in many ways, this was kind of a monumental press conference in the sense of Terry Pagoula answering questions from the media.

00:00:37
Speaker 2: Okay, but when did you realize that this might go sideways?

00:00:42
Speaker 4: Well, if you know.

00:00:43
Speaker 3: The history with Terry Pagoula and press conferences, you know that you know that the possibility is there. He public speaking is not his strong suit. I think there are a few different reasons that he does it very rarely. It was obviously the interrupting the question about Keon Coleman that it seemed to kind of get away from from Terry Pagoula. I think that was definitely the moment where he kind of stepped in it. During the press conference. I'm sure if he could do it again, he would have taken that moment back. But yeah, that was That was certainly the moment where it was like, Okay, this is getting a little hairy here.

00:01:20
Speaker 2: But he wasn't even asked about Keon Coleman.

00:01:23
Speaker 4: Yeah, no, he was not.

00:01:24
Speaker 3: Now the question was directed to Brandon Bean and it was about the wide receiver room in general and support for Josh Allen.

00:01:30
Speaker 4: It was a very fair question.

00:01:31
Speaker 3: It was a topic really throughout the season here in Buffalo, and for the owner to interject himself in that way, I think really created a mess for his general manager to try and clean up.

00:01:41
Speaker 2: But I'm trying to understand. He said that this was based on that game, the outcome in Denver. I don't know. Did he address Josh Allen's role in that game and how poor he performed.

00:01:54
Speaker 4: He did not know.

00:01:55
Speaker 3: I mean, he the only mention of Josh Allen that he made was just how devastated he was in the locker room after the game. And if you watch Josh Allen's postgame press conference you could see it. I agree with Pegoula, it was easily the most emotional, most devastated that I have seen the quarterback during his time in Buffalo, and listen, they've had some heartbreaking playoff failures here with Josh Allen. But the difference in this one, I think in many ways, and Josh Allen alluded to it, is that the quarterback feels like he cost his team the game because he did turn the ball over as much as he did. We're accustomed to Josh Allen playing terrific football in the playoffs, even if it doesn't result in a Bill's win. Unfortunately, in this game for the Bills against the Broncos, Josh Allen did not do that.

00:02:42
Speaker 2: I wondered, and I said this leading up to the game, if he was coaching for his job. Turns out that he was coaching for his job. Could he have kept his job without anything other than a Super Bowl appearance?

00:02:55
Speaker 4: I am skeptical of that.

00:02:57
Speaker 3: I asked Terry Pagoula that question, that very question yesterday. Had they won and lost in the ANFC Championship game or lost in the Super Bowl, would we still be sitting here today talking about Sean Sean McDermott being fired. Pagoula said he didn't want to speculate it. Speculate on that, but a non answer in that situation to me almost reads affirmative. I do think that he was coaching for his job and anything short of a Super Bowl this year was going to lead to a change.

00:03:23
Speaker 2: Anybody talked to coach McDermott, I have.

00:03:28
Speaker 4: Just through text.

00:03:29
Speaker 3: He was incredibly gracious, as you would imagine. I thought the statement that he put out was just pure class, which is kind of if you've been around Seawan and know Sean, the way that I do was to be expected, you know.

00:03:45
Speaker 4: I think that what's really interesting.

00:03:47
Speaker 3: Here, Dan is that I think a lot of people, over the past few years and the playoff failures, have sort of thought that, hey, maybe this is the route that the Bills need to go, that they need to change, you know, make a change that Sean McDermott has taken them as far as that he can. But when that change was actually made, the reaction amongst many of the fans has been overwhelming sadness and sort of you know, feeling for a guy who wanted nothing more than to bring a Super Bowl to Buffalo.

00:04:15
Speaker 2: I think the fans probably would may have been a I'm not gonna say joyous joyous, but if you had John Harball available, Mike Tomlin's not going to coach. But who's coming in and who is that person who takes you to the next level, Because if you're walking in, I'm expecting that that owner is expecting you to be the difference here, there.

00:04:40
Speaker 3: Is an immense amount of pressure on whoever takes this job. The expectation is win a super Bowl, and win it in your first year.

00:04:48
Speaker 4: I did some research on that.

00:04:50
Speaker 3: There have been seven coaches in league history of who have reached the Super Bowl in their first season.

00:04:54
Speaker 4: Four of them have won it.

00:04:56
Speaker 3: Falling anything short of that is going to be deem a failure and is going to be the question is going to be asked, well, why'd you move on from Sean McDermott in the first place if this new guy can't even get us, you know, to the super Bowl. So while the job obviously has its advantages, right coaching Josh Allen, one of the best players on the planet, makes it makes it an attractive job. It's got a rabid fan base, It's moving into a new stadium next year. There are a lot of positives to this job, but the pressure that it comes with, I think is unlike any job. Really in the NFL. The only maybe fair comparison is the Ravens opening.

00:05:32
Speaker 2: Do you think the Bills are going to regret this?

00:05:37
Speaker 3: It's a hard question to answer if I had to answer today, just because of that pressure, and you know what failure looks like for a new head coach.

00:05:46
Speaker 4: I think they very well could.

00:05:48
Speaker 3: I do want to point out that it can work out, right, We've seen changes like this have have been made in the past, and you know, maybe the best example is with Peyton Manning and the Broncos when John Elway replaced John Fox with Gary Kubiak the first season, they go on and they win it all. So it can work, but a lot of things have to go right. You have to nail the head coaching higher, and Brandon Bean has to do a better job building a roster around Josh Allen.

00:06:14
Speaker 4: I think that was when we.

00:06:15
Speaker 3: Talk about the fallout of McDermott being fired. A lot of people looking at this saying they fired the wrong guy because they don't think there was a championship caliber roster built around Josh Allen and that falls to Brandon Bean.

00:06:28
Speaker 2: Yeah, I thought they overachieved this year, and yes, I know the window of opportunity was there with the other quarterbacks, marquee quarterbacks who didn't make it this far. I'm guess I don't know. Does Josh Allen do an exit interview? Is he going to be available for the media?

00:06:44
Speaker 3: Yeah, that was the first sign that maybe something was a little bit off. We did not hear from him on Sunday, the day after the season ended for locker clean out we always have in the past. We were told at that time Josh Allen wanted a couple of days to sort of process the season. Knowing the emotion that he had Saturday night. I think we all respected that and understood it. I spoke with someone very close to Josh Allen last night. He expressed confidence in Terry Pegoula and Brandon Bean moving forward. I do not expect that we will hear from Josh Allen in a press conference setting or in a public setting until the Bills hire a new head coach.

00:07:20
Speaker 2: What is your question for Josh Allen?

00:07:24
Speaker 3: What was your reaction to Sean McDermott being fired? Is the first question, because without hearing from Josh Allen, and with the way that Terry Pegoula answered the question about was your starting quarterback on board with this decision, basically sidestepping the question.

00:07:39
Speaker 4: I think it does invite some.

00:07:44
Speaker 3: Cloudiness, some mystery in terms of how Alan really felt about it. I think the relationship with McDermott and Allen had really strengthened in recent years. And it listen, it's the only head coach he's ever known in the NFL, And so how.

00:07:58
Speaker 4: Is he taking this?

00:07:59
Speaker 3: Like I said, I spoke with someone very close to him who did tell me that he's not ready to speak publicly, but he is confident in Pagoula and being moving forward. But I think we need to fully kind of explore that idea and that topic with him.

00:08:16
Speaker 2: You bring up a tell though, when he doesn't do what he's done before. Yes, it's emotional. I'm guessing he's been really emotional with all of these playoff losses. But it's almost as if I'm not going to speak to you because I know what's coming. I know that my coach is going to get fired. I don't want to be talking to you on Sunday knowing he's getting fired Monday.

00:08:39
Speaker 4: I mean, you're not wrong in feeling that.

00:08:40
Speaker 3: I think there's certainly that sentiment is out there and the evidence would suggest. I would say, though, Dan, that the reality was that this loss did hit harder. Just seeing how devastated he was in that locker room was unlike anything we've seen. And listen, we've lived through thirteen seconds, We've lived through miss field goals. We've lived through you know, fourth and one being stopped in the AFC Championship game in Kansas City where it looked like you should have had a first down. I mean, he has been through it in the postseason, but there may be a part of Josh Allen, whether he knew Sean McDermott was getting fired or not, there may be a part of him that had that realization that we have gone as far as we can go together as a quarterback and head coach, and it's not far enough.

00:09:23
Speaker 2: Jay, great stuff, Thanks for joining us.

00:09:26
Speaker 4: Appreciate you having me, Dan, Thank.

00:09:27
Speaker 2: You, Jay Skersky. He covers the Buffalo Bills for the Buffalo News.

00:09:32
Speaker 1: Be sure to catch the live edition of The Dan Patrick Show weekdays at nine am Eastern six am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.

00:09:41
Speaker 5: Hey is Cabino and Rich from Fox Sports Radio Now. In addition to hearing US live weekdays from five to seven pm Eastern two to four Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. We're excited to announce a brand new YouTube channel for the show.

00:09:54
Speaker 2: Yep, that's right.

00:09:55
Speaker 5: You can now watch Covino and Rich live on YouTube every day. All you gotta do, sir, search Cove and Rich FSR on YouTube again. Go to YouTube search Covino and Rich FSR. Check us out on YouTube, Subscribe, hit that thumbs up icon.

00:10:11
Speaker 2: Comment away. Booger McFarlane, ESPN, NFL College Football Analyst and you can see him on NFL Prime with Chris Berman on ESPN Plus. How are you feeling?

00:10:22
Speaker 6: What the big fella? How are we doing?

00:10:24
Speaker 2: I'm good, I'm good. When are you coming down for Meat Friday?

00:10:28
Speaker 7: You know what, We've been talking about this Meat Friday thing for so long. I think I think what we're gonna do is this. I'll be in Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Jose, wherever the hell would it be at. I'm gonna put it on my schedule. If we're gonna do meat Friday for the Super Bowl, I'll be there.

00:10:44
Speaker 6: Okay.

00:10:45
Speaker 2: I gotta make sure that I plan the menu for you in mind, like anything off limits here.

00:10:53
Speaker 7: Uh, as long as you don't have squirrel and possum, I pretty much eat everything else.

00:10:58
Speaker 2: Uh. Seat and make sure we takes squirrel off the menu. I mean, I don't know if we could send it back. But okay, did you eat squirrel growing up when you grew up.

00:11:09
Speaker 7: In the country, DP you eat some everything I've eaten squirrel rabbit. Never ate possible or raccoon, but squirrel and rabbit definitely eat those.

00:11:17
Speaker 2: All right, Well, let's get to football stuff here. Sean McDermott was fired because.

00:11:21
Speaker 7: What I think, regardless of what the owner said, and you know that press conference and the debacle that it was, I think he was fired because when you look at it on the surface, they have the best quarterback in football, and I think over the last couple of years he's proven that and far that they have nothing to show for it, and Josh Allen is entering his prime. And when you have the best player in the sport, kind of like when the Warriors had Steph Curry when the Bulls have Michael Jordan, like, you gotta win something, you gotta show something, and maybe, just maybe Sean McDermott got them to the Precipice the way that Mark Jackson did the Warriors. But you need Steve Curry get him moved the hump. And so I think at his core, Terry Pegula is thinking that Sean McDermott got this guy to the precipice, but I need somebody else to get us over the hump. Now, the press conference and his reasoning for firing him, that's a whole nother story, because he made a bunch of excuses and a lot of finger pointed.

00:12:17
Speaker 6: But I think at the.

00:12:18
Speaker 7: Core the reason he fired him was because he couldn't get them over the hump.

00:12:23
Speaker 2: Best coaching vacancy right now is where.

00:12:30
Speaker 8: Man.

00:12:30
Speaker 7: I mean before yesterday I would have said Buffalo. I think it's Baltimore. I love Steve bushatty Man because like and how could you not After that press conference, Ozzie knew, some Eric DaCosta, what they're doing Baltimore, the facility, like just so many things.

00:12:47
Speaker 6: And on top of that you got Lamar Jackson.

00:12:49
Speaker 7: I think that core group, that culture of going to work at that place everyday DP to me would be the best. Also, book don't do snow in cold weather, So why the hell would I go to bok like, I'm not going way up there, buddy, No, there's a zero chance.

00:13:03
Speaker 2: Okay. So that press conference though yesterday made you have some trepidation about Buffalo.

00:13:09
Speaker 7: Because I saw two people who, you know, we want our leadership to take take advocacy and and and take ownership of the decisions that they make.

00:13:22
Speaker 6: There was there was seemingly no ownership yesterday.

00:13:25
Speaker 7: You know, Brandon Bean started to waffle, and then Terry Pegoula jumped in and basically said, hey about that key and Coleman pick. That wasn't on this guy. He was on the coaching staff. And then later he tried to come back and walking back. When you're in a position of leadership, when you're right, you tell people you're right. When you're wrong, you tell people you're right. You always you're always the guy that stands up there and takes all the bullets. Yesterday was a master class in evasion, in an evasive maneuvers based on the answers to the questions I think, if you're a head coach, why would you Why would you go into that situation and work for Terry Pagula or would you work for Steve Bushatti. I think the reason people are going to choose Buffalo is because of Josh Allen. But if it weren't for Josh Allen, that job goes I think goes behind Tennessee, it goes behind Baltimore. But because of Josh Allen and because of his greatness and him being the best player in football, I think somebody notable it is still gonna take the job.

00:14:24
Speaker 2: Chaka Booker McFarlane from the Mothership. Who has more pressure Jared Stidham or Jared Stidham's teammates.

00:14:35
Speaker 7: I think Jared Stidham because I think the expectations of what Jared Stidham's teammates has been established throughout the season. You know the defense is going to be stellar. You know that the offense is going to be ran by Sean Payton. I actually would throw another variable in their DP Sean Payton because Sean Payton has done something that I don't know if you guys have talked about. Remember when he was in New Orleans and Drew Brees missed those five or six games, Teddy Bridgewater came it went five to zero. So Sean Payton is proven he can win with the backup quarterback. Now, Jared Stidham is a better backup based on not my words, but based on Sean Payton's words. Because Sean Payton told us Jared Stidham is one of the best thirty two quarterbacks in football. So if that's the case, then pressure on you, Sean Payton. We've seen you do it before in New Orleans. Now can you do it again with Jared stilldem who you told us was a better player. So I think the pressures on Sean Payton. Everybody else can be themselves, but can Sean Payton coach a game that allows this quarterback to show the talent that you've told us that he has.

00:15:36
Speaker 2: How can you tell when a moment is too big for a player when you're facing somebody.

00:15:41
Speaker 7: When you do things that are uncharacteristics or your athleticism doesn't come out. Prime example, c J.

00:15:48
Speaker 6: Shroud. We've seen c J.

00:15:49
Speaker 7: Shroud complete every pass on the football field, but on was that Sunday, Saturday or Sunday, whenever the game was played. He was throwing balls in the dirt like he was throwing balls high in the dirt. He was trying to make heroic plays. That's when you know the moment is too big. That's when you know you're out of your comfort zone. It's no different than you.

00:16:07
Speaker 6: Dan.

00:16:08
Speaker 7: How could somebody tell when you're uncomfortable is because you would probably not be the seamless guy that you always are on the on the radio and television. You would start up blah blah blah blah blah blah, like you would start doing things that America doesn't normally see you do. It's the same way with a quarterback or any of the player. When you try to do things that you don't normally.

00:16:27
Speaker 2: Do, you're MVP as Hill.

00:16:32
Speaker 7: Drake May because I think he's done more with less. Matthew Stafford has pooking the corp at DeVante Adam, Sean McVay, what does what does Drake May have? Stefan Diggs coming off in a cl Josh McDaniel, Kai Shan BOUDI, you know those are the guys that he's got, and I think that you know, when you look at the weapons and look at what they've done, and look at the seed that they have, how could you not choose Drake May? Now, Matthew Stafford's numbers are going to be better, and they should be better. He's got a better receiving corps. He's got a better team. I think you got to look at New England and say, man, what Drake May's done? Man like the kid, especially in year two, and I think the sky's the limit.

00:17:14
Speaker 2: Explain to me, well, I don't know. Let me ask you who's your coach of the year and then we'll I'll have a follow up.

00:17:22
Speaker 7: Wow, Mike Rabel, because of the level of achievement relative to expectations.

00:17:29
Speaker 6: What did they win? Fourteen games? Thirteen games?

00:17:33
Speaker 7: And I think most people would have said they were gonna win three or four. So when you look at what they did relative to the expectations that we had, how could it not be Mike.

00:17:41
Speaker 2: Rabel, Well, we talk about culture now as a former player, like, what does that mean? When we talk about the culture in the locker room.

00:17:50
Speaker 6: It's.

00:17:53
Speaker 7: Your ability to make decisions based on where you are and the people around you that you work with, and the environment that you're in. When it's the off season and I am hanging out with my buddies and you know, we're deciding if we're gonna gamble on the golf course.

00:18:11
Speaker 6: That's one culture.

00:18:13
Speaker 7: But when I walk into work, I knowiately immediately when I walk into work. There's a certain way we do things. There's a certain way I carry myself. There's a certain level of decision making and decorum that I must have at my place of work, based on my co workers and based on my place of employment.

00:18:30
Speaker 6: That's culture.

00:18:31
Speaker 7: And I'm gonna do those things when nobody else is around. I'm gonna do those things when nobody else is watching. I always tell my children, I judge my level of parenting based on your level of decision making, not just when people are around, but when nobody is looking. I have to be a good enough parent where you make great decision even when no one's watching. Now, it doesn't always work out that way, of course, everybody's got kids that knows that. But I think you can get a level of the culture in your home, of the culture in your workplace based on the decision making that your kids and your employees made. And here's the thing, Dan, haven't you often heard of this? The best led teams are what player led teams. If the coach has to tell you everything to do, then the coach probably hadn't done a good enough job itself.

00:19:20
Speaker 2: I know you're proud to LSU alone.

00:19:24
Speaker 7: Absolutely, I love Lane Kiffin because I think Lane Kiffin is going to bring I know exactly where you're going, Like I've been talking to you for years. I know exactly where you're going with this. Lane Kiffin was the perfect person for LSU at the time.

00:19:36
Speaker 2: Now, where do you think I'm going with this? Where do you think I'm going with this?

00:19:39
Speaker 6: Okay?

00:19:40
Speaker 7: My idea was that you were going. Did I like the way it all went down of him coming from old miss LSU? Now did I get that right or wrong?

00:19:49
Speaker 4: Okay?

00:19:49
Speaker 6: I'm sorry?

00:19:49
Speaker 2: Go ahead, yeah, go ahead. It feels like this is the end of the SEC from the standpoint of everybody responding over reacting that the Big Ten has had three consecutive national champions and oh my gosh, they're spending money. And I saw where I think it was Matthew Berry does college football for the mothership. It was like LSU is the the final hope for the SEC. Like what happened here? That the SEC now hanging by a thread, and oh my gosh, look at what the Big Ten has done and what's the future of the SEC.

00:20:27
Speaker 7: I think we have recency, Boss, and we always have and we always will.

00:20:31
Speaker 6: The Big Ten is one three in a row.

00:20:33
Speaker 7: Right now, the Big Ten is the is the preeminent college conference in college football because they've won three in a row and they've done it with three different teams. I think when you look at most people, and Nick Saban said it best, this era of college football has been changed based on the nil.

00:20:50
Speaker 6: And transfer portal. And Savan said it best.

00:20:54
Speaker 7: It's hard to get keres from down south to go up north unless you're pay them.

00:20:57
Speaker 6: Well, guess what we're paying them now. And I know he said that tongue in I know.

00:21:01
Speaker 7: He said that tongue in cheek, but there's some validity to it based on the conversation you and I've had. I'm a Southern board like I enjoy going to New York to visit around the holidays and seeing the tree at Rockefeller cent and all that good stuff. But Buod like the South, baby. But I think because now because Mark Cuban and Indiana, because Ellison, I think I have his name right, the big Michigan Booster and all those guys like because there's so much money in these Northeastern in schools around the country, you're getting players that normally set in Tuscaloosa or set in Athens, or set in baton rouge and wait their turn. They're like, why would I wait and play two years when I can go play four years and make a million bucks? And so now the playing field has become leveled, so to speak. But all things are cynical, cyclical, but make no mistake about it. And I'm telling you and your cronies right now the same thing. The best conference in America is still the SEC. And if you don't believe me, just ask great, thank you.

00:22:01
Speaker 2: Oh do you think Greg Sankey would go? No, booger, it's the Big ten you you know better. It just feels like, hey, there's now everybody can pay. And as I was told, you either have tech money or oil money. And some of these schools in the SEC do not have tech money and oil money and these other programs. Indiana winning the national title would be like Vandy winning the national title.

00:22:28
Speaker 7: And Vandy won what ten games this year? So Vandy was close. Vandy was on the precipice. Yeah, because you know, to your point, all which would I rather have? I'd rather have oil money because oil money is pumping daily, It's coming out of the ground. So at some point the tech industry goes up.

00:22:44
Speaker 4: And down.

00:22:45
Speaker 7: We've seen that. Just go back and look at our stock market over the last forty years. Tech goes up and down. You know what's not going up and down that stuff that's coming out the ground.

00:22:52
Speaker 6: Because how many.

00:22:53
Speaker 2: Schools, how many schools do you have in the SEC Oklahoma and Texas that are pumping.

00:23:00
Speaker 7: Oklahoma, Texas, Texas, A and m Arkansas's got the you know, got Walmart money.

00:23:05
Speaker 6: That's pretty good money.

00:23:06
Speaker 7: Last time I checked, they got four billionaires that are you know, own Walmart, Tyson Chicken. I mean, it's a Here's the one thing that I've been amazed by DP and and maybe this doesn't amaze you because you're filthy rich. I have been amazed by the amount of money that people have in this country and people that got money you didn't even know about. Like there are people at these schools that have billions with a B that you have never even heard of. And they've come out of the woodwork since nil has become like the thing to be because they want to be like, they want to be known. They may not want the microphone, but they want people to know, Hey, I'm helping school school X, and I can do it because I'm a billionaire with the bee.

00:23:49
Speaker 2: Yeah, I know, they don't hold press conferences like Terry Pocula. They just said, all right, here you go, here's some money.

00:23:59
Speaker 6: Private question for you.

00:24:01
Speaker 7: Speaking of terryra Goole, here's a question for you, because I always have a question for you. If you're Keon Coleman and you just heard the owner in the GM basically said that we don't want you, how do you show back up to work in that building? Or do you or do you ask for a free How do you think the whole Keon Coleman thing works out?

00:24:17
Speaker 2: Well? I would lay low for a little while, but I would realize my days are numbered and I would say to you know, eventually, your GM, you know, can you find another location for me?

00:24:33
Speaker 6: Interesting?

00:24:34
Speaker 7: Yeah, I think ultimately that's the way it's going to go. But I just feel that I.

00:24:38
Speaker 2: Felt bad for the kid, though I agree with you, like like he caught strays, What did he do? I mean, I mean, I know he didn't play like they thought he was going to play, But who drafted him? And then they can't even agree on who drafted or didn't draft him, who wanted him, who didn't And he's probably going wait a minute. Why am I trending here?

00:24:59
Speaker 7: But guess what, He's different than any other player, Like most of the time in your first and second year, you're trying to figure it out. Like he's a young, snotty nose kid. He shows up late. Guess what I showed up late my rookie year. He's made some mistakes, but you know what you do. You you bet on the talent that you drafted. You coach him up, you give him three or four years, and you see what kind of player develop you get.

00:25:19
Speaker 6: And I think he could develop into a really good player.

00:25:21
Speaker 7: The problem is right now he's gonna walk into that building if he ever does again, and have zero confidence.

00:25:26
Speaker 2: Yes, and I would too, because everybody's gonna be wondering the same thing. How did you feel when you heard ownership and management talk about that he is Bucker McFarlane of the Mothership And you can catch him NFL Prime Time, which can be seen on ESPN following the NFC Championship game, normally on ESPN Plus. But you're on the mother Ship Sunday night. Look at you, big tongue.

00:25:52
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's gonna it's gonna be fun.

00:25:54
Speaker 7: I mean every now and they put me in Berman on TV and you'll get a chance to see it. And maybe you agree with this. Not I think he's the greatest, and this is no offense to you. I think he's the greatest highlight reader I've ever seen. Now, there's a bunch of you guys that are good you, Stuart, Scott, Van pelt Rich Eisen. I think Berman is the greatest ever. I don't know if you disagree or agree or where you think he ranks in there.

00:26:17
Speaker 2: I have no problem with that. Okay, yeah, no problem with that.

00:26:23
Speaker 6: He's phenomenal.

00:26:23
Speaker 7: And for me, it's been really cool to kind of watch him and pick his brain and work with him.

00:26:30
Speaker 6: And I can't wait for Sunday night.

00:26:32
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm glad that they brought him back. I actually went to management. I went to Jimmy Patarro and I said, you've got to bring Chris back. And you know, to Jimmy's credit, you know, he did bring him back because I said, he is the NFL Prime time there's nobody else that should be doing that. He's got the energy to do it. And when we I went back for the anniversary, I did talk to him and I said it, you know, it mean the world I didn't want Chris to disappear, and I thought he was disappearing and he meant too much to the place. He's the most important person who's ever walked in that building, and I said, name a building, have a statue, whatever, Just don't forget him. Him and Bob Lee tom Mes. Never forget them. They might disappear from the you know, the public eye. But I just didn't want that to happen to Chris because in large part I got my opportunity because I wanted to be there. I wanted to be in that environment, and Chris created that environment.

00:27:31
Speaker 7: Well, I'll definitely make sure he knows that you said that. Man, he appreciates that stuff. Thank you Booker. Good to talk to you about him. Have a good weekend.

00:27:40
Speaker 6: Always, man, look forward to you guys. Have a great day.

00:27:43
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.

00:27:54
Speaker 2: I saw this article and it has to do with the forty nine ers looking into everything that's gone wrong with all of the injuries. This includes an investigation into a viral conspiracy theory that the electrical substation near the training facility and the forty nine ers stadium is contributing to those injuries. John Lynch, the general manager, spoke yesterday, you have.

00:28:22
Speaker 9: To look into everything, and so our guys have been We've been reaching out to anyone and everyone to see does a study exist rather than a guy sticking apparatus underneath the fence and coming up with a number that I have no idea what that means.

00:28:38
Speaker 6: That's what we know exists.

00:28:39
Speaker 9: We've heard that debunked, you know, so yes, we will look into it. We have and will always be cognizant of things. I know that a lot of games have been won at this facility, you know, since it opened. But yeah, we aren't going to turn a blind eye, will look into everything.

00:28:53
Speaker 2: Well, the Washington Post has a writer who's been covering this, Sam forty, a who joins us on the program. Sam, how'd you get connected with this story?

00:29:03
Speaker 8: Tony? My girlfriend came over to me and showed me a TikTok and was like, hey, have you heard about this? And it was it was a tweet that had gone viral. You know, Google maps had a big circle and it had the stranger things music. It was very ominous, and I was like, come on like that. You know, conspiracy theories go viral on the internet all the time. But then during Niners Eagles, one of my coworkers, Albert Samaha, who I worked in the story with, texted our group chat and was like, hey, guys, this is really picking up momentum. And then I just thought to myself, Hey, it is not news that you know, someone has a conspiracy theory, but let's see if people are interested in this. So I, you know, I'm used to be an NFLB writer, So I texted you know, three dozen agents and like as much as anything that I've ever reached out to them about, people were hitting me back like, yeah, have heard of this. Players are talking about this, And to me, the news was whether or not this is real some players might be buying in.

00:30:00
Speaker 2: What experts did you talk to?

00:30:02
Speaker 8: We talked to several experts in EMF electromagnetic fields, and basically they explained that there's no scientific evidence to say this is possible. But two of them, two of the three that we talked to, you said it wouldn't hurt to study it more. This is a field that hasn't really been studying. People have been studying cell phone toowers more. But the people that we talked to are experts in this specific thing, the EMF electromagnetic fields that go from the substation allegedly to the practice field.

00:30:32
Speaker 2: Did your article debunk this.

00:30:37
Speaker 8: That the science was that there's no clear evidence for this. One of the experts we talked to you said, this is nonsense, it's ridiculous. One of them said it's quite unlikely, but we can study it more. And one of them said, it's theoretically possible, but we can study it more.

00:30:52
Speaker 2: But Sam, it feels like when you have the general manager of the Niners acknowledging this, it just keeps the story alive.

00:31:00
Speaker 8: When you have had the injuries that they have had. According to you know that metric that Aaron Schottz does adjusted games loss. The Niners have been the most injured team in the NFL over the last decade. And you can talk about luck, you can talk about turf offseason programs. Is the training staff incompetent, Does Kyle Shanahan practice too hard? There's a lot of theories here, and I think when it gets you know, it's been going on for a decade, I think John Lynch. You know, at some point you gotta be frustrated to say, okay, let's look at everything.

00:31:28
Speaker 2: The Niners led the league and adjusted games lost just over one hundred and forty one, so that dwarfs the other teams in the league. Did you talk to Niner players?

00:31:41
Speaker 8: We talked to some agents who represent Niner players. We talked to the Niners. They declined the comment, but certainly this is a concern even in the building.

00:31:49
Speaker 2: This is pretty wild. What did your how did your boss react when you said, Hey, I want to cover this story about the Niners and it has nothing to do with their games this year.

00:32:01
Speaker 8: He was a little skeptical at first, but when I said to him, hey, I've heard back from five agents in the twenty minutes I've been working on this that have said, hey, yes, like this is of concern, we are hearing about this, he was like, oh, definitely, Like keep pursuing that then, and you know, the science we the science was going to be murkier than it was. The science ended up being pretty clear that there's no and even you know the guy who went viral for establishing this theory, Peters's name. He's a software engineer, and alternative Science, alternative medicine health coach. Even he said, there is no studies that show a direct relationship between EMF and damage to tendons and ligaments and the soft tissue stuff that we're talking about. But you know, he said, hey, like this, this is how I came up with my theory. It was my own work. But my editor was like, once we had that. Once the science is pretty clear and we had people believing in it, players who they say it could affect free agency. He was like, I love that. I get it to me as soon as you can't.

00:32:57
Speaker 2: Sam, if you're a great reporter, you would sleep next to this power substation for a month and see how it affects your body.

00:33:05
Speaker 8: You know, that is something. I don't know if they want first person gonzo journalism, but I'm willing. I'm willing.

00:33:12
Speaker 2: Thanks for joining us. We appreciate it, Sam, Thanks for having me, Dan, I appreciate that. Washington Post writer Sam Fortier