Transcript

Colin Cowherd REACTS: John Harbaugh to Giants + NFL Playoff predictions, Bills, Seahawks | THE HERD

From The Herd with Colin Cowherd · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 59 min · 11,091 words · 127 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Colin Cowherd REACTS: John Harbaugh to Giants + NFL Playoff predictions, Bills, Seahawks | THE HERD", an episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd published January 15, 2026 (59 min, about 11,091 words). It mentions 13 people, works and ideas, including NFL, Super Bowl, College Football National Championship, Houston Texans, Cleveland Browns.

What this episode is about

Colin Cowherd discusses the New York Giants' decision to hire John Harbaugh as their head coach, emphasizing the importance of hiring top-level coaching talent to transform a struggling team. He critiques previous coaching choices in the league and highlights the need for strong leadership and cultural rebuilding to achieve success beyond mere tactical expertise.

Key takeaways

  • The Giants finally stopped the coaching carousel; they hired Harbaugh, a proven culture architect, not just a scheme shop.
  • Hiring a coach like Harbaugh is the NFL's hidden 'restart' button—get it right, and others will want your assistants.
  • The Giants have the pieces to go from 4-13 to playoff contender; it's like discovering the cheat codes in Madden.
  • Steelers fear of bottoming out overlooks NFL's truth: sometimes you need to rebuild to become a champion, not just survive.
  • Being under .500 four times isn't failure for Shanahan; it's a flexible blueprint for success in a cutthroat league.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: NFL, Tom Coughlin
  2. – 10:00: Houston Texans, Albert Brewer, Andrew Thomas, Brian Burns
  3. – 15:00: Super Bowl, Houston Texans
  4. – 20:00: Reggie White, Super Bowl, Emanuel Sanders
  5. – 35:00: College Football National Championship
  6. – 45:00: Super Bowl, Emanuel Sanders
  7. – 50:00: Super Bowl

Notable quotes from "Colin Cowherd REACTS: John Harbaugh to Giants + NFL Playoff predictions, Bills, Seahawks | THE HERD"

  • And that's where we begin today. If you want to go from a bad team in the NFL to a good team in the NFL, there's only one thing you can absolutely control.
    about NFL · at
  • The last time the Giants were good, it was Tom Coughlin who coached at Boston College at the time, beat Notre Dame.
    about Tom Coughlin · at
  • Jim Harbaugh. This is a job that needs not Superman Harbaugh man. And they got him. Here's Albert Brewer yesterday on Harbaugh on the Giants.
    about Albert Brewer · at
  • Losses last year. This isn't basketball, football. It's not it's not any other sport. It's the NFL. Go look at the Houston Texans recent history. Go look at the New England…
    about Houston Texans · at
  • If Josh Allen was to win a Super Bowl, listen to this, Journey. He would have beaten the Jags on the road, Jags number eight defense. He would then have to beat Denver on the road, cross country,.
    about Super Bowl · at
  • Consistent. They were at home. Trevor Lawrence wasn't making mistakes. Emanuel Sanders, a former teammate of Josh Allen, talked about him yesterday to close our show out.
    about Emanuel Sanders · at
  • Coaches largely make the players. Now, I think that is to a degree true. I think Lawrence Taylor, Aaron Donald, Reggie White, Calvin Johnson, Josh Allen would win anywhere in…
    about Reggie White · at
  • The show is just flying by on a Thursday. Saturday, NFL, Sunday, NFL, Monday, the College Football National Championship. 2717. I like Indiana, but I think Miami is a live dog…
    about College Football National Championship · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Albert Brewer — Person · Referenced expert (reporter/analyst clip) · 1 mention · first at
    Provides an external evaluation of the Giants job attractiveness and roster pieces, reinforcing the coaching-hire discussion.
  • Reggie White — Person · Referenced expert · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as an example of a player who succeeded regardless of coaching.
  • Andrew Thomas — Person · Referenced expert · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in the context of NFL team strengths.
    Jackson Dart. That said, they have a lot of other things with the Giants. Like you said, franchise left tackle and Andrew Thomas, franchise receiver in Malik Neighbors. On the…
  • Brian Burns — Person · Referenced expert · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in the context of NFL team strengths.
    You said, franchise left tackle and Andrew Thomas, franchise receiver in Malik Neighbors. On the defensive front, my goodness, Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, Dexter Lawrence, you…
  • Dexter Lawrence — Person · Referenced expert · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in the context of NFL team strengths.
    You said, franchise left tackle and Andrew Thomas, franchise receiver in Malik Neighbors. On the defensive front, my goodness, Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, Dexter Lawrence, you…
  • Emanuel Sanders — Person · 2 mentions · first at
  • Tom Coughlin — Person · 1 mention · first at

Companies & orgs

  • Houston Texans — Company · Business focus · 2 mentions · first at
    Discussed in the context of team performance and strategy.
  • Cleveland Browns — Company · Business focus · 2 mentions
    Mentioned in passing in the context of NFL teams.
  • Indiana Hoosiers — Company · 2 mentions

Concepts & topics

  • NFL — Concept · Core topic · 1 mention · first at
    Central theme of the episode, discussing teams, coaches, and strategies within the NFL.

Places & events

Full transcript with timestamps

Welcome to the Herds official YouTube channel. Make sure to like and subscribe. Don't forget to check out the Colin Coward podcast, all of our NFL instant reactions, and more football content. Here we go. It is a Thursday. Tom Brady stops by live in 20 minutes. This in Chicago is the herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening, thanks for making us part of your day. John Harbaugh five-year deal is going to be the head coach of the New York Giants. And that's where we begin today. If you want to go from a bad team in the NFL to a good team in the NFL, there's only one thing you can absolutely control.

Hire the best coach on the market. Whatever it costs, whatever it takes. You can draft a quarterback top five, he could stink. Players get hurt. Coaches don't. John Harbaugh is the best resume and is the best culture builder on the market. And the Giants smartly hired him first, meaning they'll get the best pick of the assistant coaches and coordinators on the market. There's very little you can control in the NFL. You can control hiring the first coach, getting the best assistants, and hiring the best resume. Yes, I know New York is a tough market. The media's scary, but that's not why the Jets and the Giants have been hazmat spills for a decade plus. They have been because they went cheap and experimental at head coach.

The last time the Giants were good, it was Tom Coughlin who coached at Boston College at the time, beat Notre Dame. who was number one and went to Jacksonville. There was no experimenting. He was a leader, a culture builder, successful. I look at Aaron Glenn and the New York Jets. You're not asking him to coach. You're asking him to fix a completely broken culture. And I don't think Aaron Glenn's good enough. And clearly all the guys after Coughlin weren't good enough. These nine coaching openings in the NFL now eight. They're not looking for scheme guy. They're not looking for guy that's good in the white board. They're looking for CEOs, okay? Harbaugh. This is a job for a Harball like Jim to the Chargers, John to the Giants. This is a job for a Harball. The Giants didn't need an offensive coordinator. They needed a crisis coordinator. And similar to Mike Frabel in New England, the day you hire

John Harbaugh, he is immediately the best coach in the division. Say it out loud. Nick Serani, Brian Shottenheimimer, Dan Quinn, John Harbaugh. In a couple of those instances, it's not even close. And the Giants have a lot of pieces. So, for four years in a row, I have picked a team successfully, four for four, pat in the back, that would double their win total. The New York Giants this morning 4 and13 this year or minimum double the win total next year. My guess they get the 10 to 11 because like when Brady went to Tampa and Tom Brady could have chosen any team, but he chose that Tampa team that was about 500 that had a star receiver that had really good pass rushers like the Giants.

Had a pretty good old line. Left tackle was good, but they needed a right tackle. And the Bucks drafted Tristan Worse. Well, what do you know? The Giants need a right tackle and it is an unbelievably good edge rusher and offensive tackle draft. Sometimes you get lucky. The Giants need what this draft provides. In fact, they could move down a couple of spots, accumulate more picks, and perhaps still get one of the two best tackles on the market. Weapons, they've got him. winning coach. For the last several years, the Giants have been hiring Bellich tree guys, finger crossers, coordinators. None of it works.

Harbaugh's proven competence, proven culture builder. And I know you don't want to hear this. I know you're looking this morning down at the New York Jets, but the Giants are the Jets since Coughlin with a trophy room, with better archive footage. You have been the Jets. You don't really Now the Jets are still trying to dig their way. And the Jets seemingly keep grabbing a shovel and digging deeper. But the Giants officially didn't get a scheme guy. They got a culture guy. Vrabel Jim Harbaugh. This is a job that needs not Superman Harbaugh man. And they got him. Here's Albert Brewer yesterday on Harbaugh on the Giants.

The Giants job, how attractive it is is largely dependent on what you think of Jackson Dart. That said, they have a lot of other things with the Giants. Like you said, franchise left tackle and Andrew Thomas, franchise receiver in um in in Malik Neighbors. On the defensive front, I mean, my goodness, Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, Dexter Lawrence, you have a chance to be dominant up front, right out of the shoot. And this is why like the last couple of years, I felt like they were the team right on the edge. But if you love Dart, I think it's got everything that you'd want. Stable ownership, all of that.

All right. Now, let's talk about a team that is still looking for a coach. And whereas the Giants bottomed out, they didn't want to for all these years, the Steelers keep saying, "We're not bottoming out." The Steelers have this under 500 phobia, which is remarkable because there's four times evidence right in front of them. Think about this. Four division winners. I'm not talking just playoff teams. Four division winners. Bears, Patriots, Jags, Carolina. Lost 12 games last season. This isn't the NBA where you're drafting 18 and 19 year olds. They're not even mature enough, old enough at [clears throat] the hotel bar to have a cocktail. This isn't baseball where there's nobody you can draft out of college that comes into your Major League Baseball team and changes outcomes. This is the NFL where it happens all the time. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, always talks about this that people overestimate

the downside to risk and failure. It's never as bad as you think. Kyle Shanahan four times in San Francisco has been under 500. Think about that. Is he a failure? Four times. Would you rather beat San Francisco or the Steelers since 2017? I don't think it's close. For the record, the Texans bottomed out the next year. They had double digit wins. That's the team that just beat you on Monday night. And also, nine of the 14 playoff quarterbacks are top 10 picks, right? You can get a Lamar Jackson. Maybe you're lucky and Aaron Rogers falls out of Cal, but 70% of the playoff quarterbacks were top 10 picks. Meaning it it's okay to have a bad year. It's not the NBA and baseball. It doesn't take years. NBA makes trading impossible.

The NFL encourages it. So, the Steelers have convinced themselves their house is charming. Yeah, maybe we'll fix just, you know, one of the guest rooms. It's like, "No, you've got turquoise tile in three bathrooms in the kitchen. You see your house as charming. A lot of other people see it as outdated and weird. It's time to take a swing, Pittsburgh. They've fallen in love with the house. And the house isn't just a couple of screws there, a cabinet shelf there. You got turquoise tiles all over the place." Art Rooney on the rebuild.

Standard is try to compete to win a championship every year. I'm not going to say, well, you know, we're going to take a couple years to figure this out and then we'll then we'll try to compete. So, uh I think you try every year. I mean, you know, and as I said, some years you have the horses to really get there. Some years you don't, but you try every year.

Yeah. You got four examples this year, division winning teams that have 12 losses last year. This isn't basketball, football. It's not it's not any other sport. It's the NFL. Go look at the Houston Texans recent history. Go look at the New England Patriots. It takes about one year to be bad. That's about it. One year at 6 and 11. You compete your butt off. You lose some close games. 6 and 11. You get the eighth pick. But if you start looking, we put it up for the TV audience where they draft. you you may lock into Lamar Jackson, but it's much easier to get that quarterback or at least the starting point top 10 11 12 pick. Then you don't have to give up the entire farm to get to four. So the Texans were three and 13, had the number two pick. CJ Strad, do Ryan, what do you know? 10 and seven. It just it I don't know what they're afraid of it. It's the under 500 phobia. I don't get it. I never have. There's major evidence that

one, remember the Rams won the Super Bowl, then they thought we're too expensive, we're too old. We're going to have a two-year rebuild. It didn't even take two years. I think they were five and 12 one year. The next year, they've been a playoff team since. So, the Rams, and I had talked to people in the building, they thought it was probably a two-year deal to get younger, less expensive, and rebuild around Matt Stafford. It took a year. That's all it took. They're a playoff team. the next year and have been since.

Uh Tom Brady's around the corner. Jmack, I [snorts] know you don't love Big Blue, but John Harbaugh, this is a job for a Harbaugh.

Yeah. Jim West, John in New York, it feels like it's going to work. Get the right tackle. You got the rush ends Burns and Abdul Carter. You got the Weapons and Scataboo and Neighbors and the left tackle. Jackson Dart stay out of the blue tent. Um, I'll call it right now. 10 and seven.

Okay. So, it's interesting. I just looked up their opponents for next season. Are you ready for this? Now, we don't have the schedule order, but we have the opponents.

Okay. All right. I know you're terrified. By the way, before we get into it, do I get the Dallas Cowboys twice?

You do get the Cowboys twice. Yes. And Washington as well. But you have the AFC South Jacksonville Houston Indie and Tennessee. Two of those teams made the playoffs. But then the tough one, the NFC West, Colin Rams, Niners, Seahawks, Cardinals. They have two trips as of now to the West Coast at Seattle at the Rams. They also have to go to Houston

for the record. And they have to go to Detroit as well. For the record, Stafford will be 38 if he's the starter.

And um the Rams almost lost to Carolina twice this year. They did almost. Um by the way, so eight of the Giants 17 opponents are playoff teams this year.

Half. What's the big deal? That's That's a brutal schedule, my friend. I I'll push back against the 10 wins, that's for sure.

Well, I mean, you you the schedule people always go, uh, their schedule is easy. Well, couldn't I argue Brock Pury and the Niners have an easy schedule. That's why it's successful. You still have to win the games. Well, New England schedule is I don't know. I watched them in a playoff game. You got to win the games. I don't care how easy your schedule. It's not college football. There's not, you know, a committee on this stuff. San Francisco had an easier schedule. I watched the Niners play this year when they lost all those players to injuries. How easy was it? Didn't didn't look that easy to me and they were still banging on people. So, I think you got to win game. Everybody, oh, New England schedule is I watched them last weekend dominate a playoff game with against Jim Harbaugh Herbert. I think they're good.

We got a lot of stuff. Uh Tom Brady is around the corner obviously. Uh, Saturday it's Buffalo and Josh Allen at Denver. Think about this. If Josh Allen was to win a Super Bowl, listen to this, Journey. He would have beaten the Jags on the road, Jags number eight defense. He would then have to beat Denver on the road, cross country, number three defense. He could eventually face the Houston Texans on the road, number two defense, and then eventually could face the Seattle Seahawks neutral sight, the number one defense. If he wins, it is an alltime list. This with a wide receiver room that's down to three active players.

Brandon Cooks is one of them. He arrived week 13. Keon Coleman's another one. He appears to be a bust. It'll be a slot receiver and cross your fingers. So this journey is this this is an alltimer. Now the good news is if you look at the quarterbacks remaining there's a lot of talent but there's one old guy that doesn't move around and a lot of inexperience. Bo Nicks, Drake May, Sam Darnold doesn't have much of a rich playoff history. Caleb Williams, Brock Pury. It's pretty clear when you look at that list who's got the most firepower.

Here was Bo Nicks this week on facing Josh Allen. He's incredible. He's a you know, MVP of the league for a reason. Um, you know, he continues to make play after play when um when sort of the game's not necessarily looking like he can make the play. He just goes out there and um you know, does superhero stuff. It's uh one of those things where he he can do it all at a at a high level and it's uh it's always been fun to watch.

You don't want to say now or never, but now would be a good time because Mahomes is probably back into it. Uh Justin Herbert probably going to have both as tackles next year. Uh my guess is Joe Burrow or Lamar or both will be back in it. It's not a now or never, but um I mean it's going to be a big lift. It's a lot of the best defenses. his wide receiver group is breaking down and Josh is probably 80% to this point. I was really surprised by how they played at Jacksonville. I really was I I I thought I mean I watched Jacksonville play parts of every game and three to four full games and I thought they were more consistent. They were at home. Uh Trevor Lawrence wasn't making mistakes. Um, Emanuel Sanders, a former teammate of Josh Allen, uh, talked about him yesterday to close our show out.

He's 6'5 and just just a machine. Um, and then just a rocket of an arm. He was one of the best teammates that I had. Uh, I truly enjoyed being around him. It was always light energy, like always having fun. Yeah, when we get in the game, he would turn it on, but it was always fun to go out and and compete with him because you know that he was he was he was going to give it his all. And that's why I always respected Josh and um you know the success that he's having is it's no surprise because he wants it and I know how bad he wants that Super Bowl too.

Yeah. And and Emanuel talked about by you know, you tend to think players make the coaches, but Emanuel said really the coaches largely make the players. Now, I think that is to a degree true. I think Lawrence Taylor, Aaron Donald, Reggie White, Calvin Johnson, Josh Allen would win anywhere in in professional football. Now, at Wyoming, he didn't win, but he didn't have, you know, he wasn't as good as he is now. Obviously, there are a handful of players who aren't really reliant on systems or coaches to be successful. Now, you may not hoist a trophy without the great coach, the Jimmy Johnson, you know, without the without the the Bellich, the Andy Reid, but Josh is one of those players uh that kind of falls into a Lawrence Taylor, uh Calvin Johnson, Aaron Donald, Reggie White. It doesn't doesn't really matter where you put him.

It doesn't matter. You give offensive coach, defensive coach, less than stellar coordinator. They're just different. He is just different. By the way, Brady was one of those. He won with Charlie Weiss. He won in Tampa with Bruce Arens. Uh, you know, he he won with Josh McDaniel. Some guys are just going to succeed. But to get to the trophy room, that's generally when you really need somebody to accompany you, a kingmaker at some level. Uh, but if you look at the potential journey for Josh, Jags defense, Denver defense, Texans defense, Seahawks defense, three neutral or three road, one neutral. That is a that is a lift. Uh Joel Clatt around the corner.

Kane's hooers Monday. Greg Coell today as well in Chicago. It's the herd. All right. And with that, Joel Clatt, who watched plenty of Sam Darnold was at USC, is now joining us. So, a lot of people are saying this and I don't think they're wrong. Uh Indiana's a eight point favorite over Miami. I do think it's going to be in the trenches. Miami can disrupt some of the offensive flow for Indiana. I think it's going to be a really good game. People have said, I mean, does does Indiana have a weakness? Can you identify anything about Indiana where you're like, well, they're not great here? I I don't see anything they're really bad at, but is there a way to attack them or a way to slow down the offense where they're not as efficient?

Yeah, it's a it's a great question and premise. I think in in the games where uh let's just start with the games where they were close you because I I mean obviously they're undefeated. They're beating teams badly. Penn State was a close game. Iowa was a close game. Oregon was a decently close game. And then Ohio State in the Big 10 championship game. Um, the one through line to to some of those matchups, Colin, was the ability maybe not to stop completely their running game, but certainly control their running game.

Yeah. Because I think the the secret sauce to Indiana is that even though they have uh Mendoza, who's going to be the first pick and is playing at as high a level as we've seen since maybe M. Jones and Joe Burrow at this stage of the season, he's playing at such a high level. They're still a run first offense. In fact, if you look at their play selection, now granted, they've had the lead and and they're going to run clock, but Colin, they've run the ball 90 times to only 36 passes in their two playoff games.

Wow. That that's that's a staggering percentage, you know, and so you have to start with the premise that you can't let them control the game on the ground. The thing that they do best, better than anybody else in college football, is get themselves into manageable third down situations. it what it's what makes them the number one third down offense in America and and it's it's the premise of being on schedule on schedule on first down on second down and it starts with their ability to run the football. So that's why I would start to try to hurt them. You also ask like well where where aren't they good? I to be honest I can't find it. They're good on special teams.

They tackle well. Let's just put it to you this way. If you're going to measure a team's um soundness, how well they're coached, you would measure things like miss tackles, penalties, turnovers, field position, right? All all these things that you feel like you can control. They're one of the best teams in the country in every one of those categories. And so I it's it really is wild. And

I I think Miami is going to have to play nearly flawless, certainly mistake free in order to win this game.

Yeah. I remember watching the Penn State game and I had missed the first quarter of it and I started watching and I'm making lunch and all of a sudden I'm watching Penn State with a backup quarterback march up and down the field against Indiana. I'm like, "Oh my god, we got an upset here. What is happening?" And that's one of the only times all year where I felt Indiana was reeling a little bit. It was like they were on their heels a little bit and Penn State was just moving at eight yard chunk, eight yard, six yard, eight yard.

So I mean their kids and Penn State ran it really well that day. Yep. you know, and so I think you've got to be which listen that leans into Miami. Mark Fletcher has been outstanding during the course of this playoff.

Yeah. I think he's averaging I I want to say what do I have it right here? 136 per game on the ground. I mean like he's he's been outstanding for them and it's allowed Beck to play like Mendoza in third and manageable. Like Beck hasn't had to be in a ton of obvious down situations and and to the benefit of of that team. And if they can do that against Miami, then you know they'll have a chance. But the play that you're showing right now, if if you're watching on FS1, it was it was the wrong play. They don't throw the ball down the field. Their big plays are generally catch and run like Malachi Tony at the line of scrimmage.

Yeah. He's, you know, Beck is 1 for 11 in the playoff on balls that are thrown 20 or more yards down the field. So this is going to be at or near the line of scrimmage. This is the type of game that it's going to be for them.

Yeah. The um SEC was 2-8 against non-conference opponents in the Bulls in college football this year. This week I offered something. I put it on the screen. I called it best 10 in the next 10. I said all things considered NIL transfer portal. Three Texas schools Texas&M Texas Tech will be in the 10. Phil Knight, Oregon, Signetti, Mark Cuban, Indiana, Michigan, Notre Dame because of endowments, Ohio State's totally committed. Then I said 10's not Georgia. I said 10's USC cuz I just watched them spend

30 million bucks to buy the number one recruiting class. Now you So, so here's my take. Okay, but here's my take on Georgia

and the SEC. So clearly Alabama is not what they were three years ago. I think that's clear. Yeah. Josh P told me this yesterday. He says, "People look at Georgia and think, oh, they get that Coca-Cola money and that Delta airline money." He goes, "No, they don't. Atlanta's never embraced it. The big money in Atlanta does not give to Georgia." So, I guess my takeaway is we have a chance for a third straight Big 10 team to win a natty, not even playing an SEC team. My question, if you look at the top eight quarterbacks in the country next year, you can argue six are in the Big 10. Is it possible the gap is widening, not shrinking?

Um, I think if if you So, I did this on my show as well. Talked about the exact same thing in a little different way, you know, in in terms of this idea of conference supremacy. Let me start with the premise that I think it's bad for college football that we constantly have this conversation. I really do. I think that it is it it is a narrative that needs to die because part of the problem in college football call and from an overarching perspective is that all the decisions are made in silos and everyone's just making decisions that that benefit them. There's never been a time in college football where the powers that be, whether it's conference commissioners and or presidents, have come together and made a a decision that's better for the whole like the NFL owners did years and years and years ago. And we obviously see the product that we have on the field with with the National Football League. Okay. So when

we when when we continually argue about the silos and which one is better, then the whole motivation of the people within those organizations is to be considered the better silo. So, as long as we continue to breathe life into the narrative of like which conference is better, which conference is better, then we're going to continue to get decisions in college football that that fracture us and make us more fragmented. So, that's that's just a like an overarching argument. And and I'm not saying that this isn't a fascinating discussion and we shouldn't maybe have this discussion.

Maybe maybe I am, but I I would tell you this. If you look at the last three years, an SEC team has not competed for a national championship in now three straight years. Uh Georgia hasn't even been in the in the semi-finals in three straight years. Maybe to your point, although USC is not, you know, playing at the top end of college football and not even near it quite frankly right now. Um 0 and4, that's the SEC's record against the Big 10 in the last two years in the playoff when it matters most. So you can't argue like, oh, it's just bowl games. and some blowouts. Like blowouts

and some blowouts. That's exactly right. If you look at the draft and and that was kind of the last

argument of of the folks that really hang on to this SEC deal is is that the draft was all filled with SEC players. Yes, there's a lot of SEC players. That's that margin is basically gone now. You look at the last couple of drafts and and you know the the players are spread out. And then I would offer this as as my last kind of thought on this exact topic. Um, it's just a question. Let me just pose it. Was it really an entire conference that dominated college football or was it the greatest singular coach that we've ever seen in the history of college football? Was it the SEC or was it Alabama that owned college football?

Now granted, there's a few other years. Yes, LSU was phenomenal in 19 and Georgia rose up in in 21 and 22 and

yes, you know, Cam Newton rose there there are individual instances just like we have littered throughout college football and every other conference where a team rises and falls and rises and falls.

But the narrative of the SEC really was on the coattails of Nick Sabin in Alabama. It was

and now that they don't have that, you know, maybe it's over. But my eyes don't fool me. Last year, Ohio State humiliated SEC teams physically at the end of the year.

Yes, Indiana is humiliating SEC teams. My eyes aren't deceiving me. The SEC is not as fast. It's not intimidating. It's just a conference.

Let's spread out. Let's just spread out. And and you know, those that are really um I mean, and you and I have said this, you know, for years, the the the thought was that the SEC was under the table. And I don't know how many programs were or not. I know that there were some. Yeah. And it wasn't exclusively in the SEC, but there is a thought within coaching circles. I'm not talking about fans or media within coaching circles. And I've had these conversations or coaches that are not in the SEC and have not been in the SEC look at me and they say, "Well, we're finally all paying players." A little different now, isn't it? I think that's, you know, I that's that's a real thing.

Okay. So, I think we both know Dante Moore going to college is good for Dante, good for Oregon, good for everybody. Tai Simpson said, "I'm going pro and he would have made a lot of money in college." How do you view I mean, Ty Simpson to me, he's got an NFL arm. No question. He doesn't move. I don't think he's Mendoza as a prospect size. I don't think he's Dante Moore the mover. Maybe I think Tai's an NFL first second round prospect. That's what it looks like to me. Do you view him? Uh, how do you view him?

So, I I think he's a really talented thrower of the football. He makes some some big boy throws. He really does. And

got a good arm. Um, really good arm. Now, he's not a big guy. He's not a big guy by any stretch of the imagination. And

when you're not big, I get a bit worried about your ability to stay healthy unless you can move, you know? So, if you if you bring up like, "Well, Joel, there's a lot of small quarterbacks." Yeah. Okay. Kyler is quick as a hiccup, you know, and and he's still banged up and yet he's that elusive. Uh Bryce Young has some elusiveness. Russell Wilson had a ton of elusiveness in particular at the peak of his career. You know, uh Baker is elusive. He's not a a huge guy and Simpson doesn't really have that. So, I'm a bit nervous about his size, but when it comes to just his pure ability to read the defense, stand in there and make big throws, he has that ability.

There's no doubt. And as it always comes down to, unless you're a generational talent, which I don't know if Tai is is that, it matters where you go. And so now it's all about fit, coach, city, GM, owner. That's his entire NFL career, at least early at his first location, is going to be determined about uh in in terms of where he best fits and and if he gets into that spot.

All right, Indiana 27, Miami 17. That's what it feels like to me. Indiana cannot run the ball consistently, but in the end, um I think they're a cleaner team. They make fewer mistakes, fewer penalties, fewer drops. And I think Miami can be harder to coach because I think they have so much length and speed and explosiveness. And Mario to beat Indiana needs to be aggressive. They need to make a play or two like like over the top play defensively, block a kick. So my take is the cleaner team will win, but it won't look like most Indiana wins. It's not going to be Indiana Illinois Indiana Alabama Indiana, Oregon twice. I think I think it's a a lot of trenches, a lot of mid30 around the 30 yard line stuff. My take, yours?

I I think I'm actually absolutely in line with this. I I think that it's going to be a frustrating game for Indiana. As much as they get frustrated because I think that they're find Listen, they they didn't lose their mind against Ohio State in the lowscoring affair that that was a difficult game and Penn State the same. Iowa was the same. Um, but I do think it's going to be a style of game like that where it's close and then it becomes about mistakes and which team is losing the game and not winning the game. And there's one thing I know about Indiana and that is they do not make mistakes and I can't say the same about Miami. So, I'm going to go the same direction. I I think I had something along the lines of like 35 24. You know, Indiana scores late and and kind of takes a two- possession lead. And I would expect the way Indiana plays, their turnover margin, I think Beck is going to make a mistake in this

game. And I think that's going to ultimately be the the difference. Joel Clatt, can't wait to watch it. Say what you want about Carson Beck. Third and he's in. So he's got you're not going to be jittery. Imagine

he's experienced. Yeah. Been in a ton of these games. Uh can't wait. Last team to go 16-0 or go undefeated in college football. I think it was 16-0. Uh I looked it up. I hadn't heard of a lot of their players was Yale in the 1800s.

Okay. So, so maybe Yale did. I don't think modern college football has never happened. We've had a couple of these 15 and0 obviously in in recent vintage, but man,

uh to do it in this era of of more parody and to do it at Indiana, they were the losingest program in history to start the year. And there it's it's wild. It blows my mind.

It's unbelievable. Uh Joel Clatt, great stuff, my man. Thanks, bud. Have a good day. You too. Yeah. It's uh some 1800 Yale team apparently was just knocking the socks off people between the drama club and their football team back then. Everybody was afraid of Yale. It was great stuff. Oh, did they? The staff just told me this. They invented the forward pass. Yale did. I don't know. I just You know, you live and learn. Uh, I drove by, what's that what's that bowl that Harvard and Yale played at? I drove by that a few times.

It's like legendary. It's this legendary field they play at. And uh 16-0 just I mean again, it's not 16-0 in the Mountain West. It's 16-0 in the Big 10 in the playoff. Greg Kosell next hour. Tom Brady first hour. Joel Clad, all sorts of stuff we're talking about today. What What a The show is just flying by on a Thursday. Saturday, NFL, Sunday, NFL, Monday, the College Football National Championship. 2717. I like Indiana, but I think Miami is a live dog, physically can impose their will, may be able to run the football a little and slow down Indiana's run game, which slows down their play action passing game. Here's Jmack with the news.

NO. NO. TURN ON THE NEWS. THIS is the Herdline news. All right, let's go to that Bears Rams game. Bears are going to have to win on the ground, Colin, and they haven't really done that. Last two games just a buck 60 rushing the football. Ben Johnson says that's got to change.

It feels like it's dipped a little bit. Um not something that that we certainly want. Uh certainly late in the season, we wanted that to pick up. uh playoffs, uh [snorts] weather games like this, um you certainly want to be able to lean on your run game. So, those are some elements we're looking at. What can we do to help um ignite that is is both efficient runs to stay on track and ahead of the chains and also explosive runs as well. Where can we find a few of those?

Yeah, their best bet's going to be to keep the Rams offense off the field. And that's going to be a lot of manungai swift

tall order for the Bears. Cole KT. Yeah, it's it's going to be cold. It's going to be cold.

And down your left tackle as well. Yeah, I worry about losing Edwards. Um Yep. It it's I mean, you saw Jordan Love in that first half. It's kind of going [snorts] up and down the field. I mean, and they were fooling Chicago. Uh the tackling wasn't great. It was it was a pretty ugly first half. So, I mean, that's what the Rams are looking at. Can they manipulate veteran quarterback? Um they're it's not a great defense to begin with. When you lose one of your playmakers, uh it's rough. Yeah, it's just I I know people don't want to hear it in Chicago, Colin. They got lucky. I mean, look, they there's no way around it. That was one of the biggest comebacks in the fourth quarter in playoff history. You You said the Packers kind of moved the ball. Their first three drives were touchdown, touchdown, touchdown. Yeah,

there there's like no, they couldn't do anything. And the Rams have a better offense than the Packers with a better head coach. So, I I it's just a tough I'm surprised this is sitting on three and a half. I was I was praying for a three. That's when you empty the bank account on the Rams. But um yeah, I don't know. I I if the if the Bears pull this off, I I don't even know what to say at this point. You run out of adjectives for Ben Johnson and these guys. Uh all right, let's move on to the 49ers. The game Brady talked about earlier. 49er Seattle. Very tall order for San Fran. They are seven point underdogs. Even though the team split the season series, Brock Perie, he knows about the injuries. He says, "I'm not worried."

At the end of the day for us, it's like, you know, we just focus on ourselves, man. And we watch the film against Philly and and all of us were all so eager to get better from that. And then obviously to, you know, we're in the playoffs now, so it's you know, we stay we stayed alive and we're alive right now. So for us, how can we just go and find a way and um you know, play together and play our standard of ball as the 49ers. So uh that's how we look at it. Good luck.

Put you on the spot here, Colin. Um better head coach in this game. Well, they're both great.

It's fine. You could just You could be truthful. One's better offensively, one's better defensively. How about that? They're both Why does it always have to be better?

Well, I'm trying to get to uh I was giving you a softball, Shanahan. Obviously, nothing against uh the other guy. Who's the better quarterback in this game?

Well, who's more talented? Sam Darnold. I didn't ask that. Not what I asked, sir. I said, who's the better quarterback

last two years? Sam Darnold. Okay. I mean, wins, yards, completions, touchdowns, and healthy. Doesn't get banged up.

Does it feel like this is house money for Brock Birdie? No. What? What? What do you mean? It went into Philadelphia. He threw two picks and they still won the game with a game-winning drive by birdie.

I mean, I think I think this game feels 13-10, middle of the third. I think Seattle pulls away late. I think it's a very close game. 13-10 could be San Francisco leading middle of the third. I think Seattle will be a little conservative. Deeper roster at home favored. Let's not put ourselves in the crosshairs of trouble. I think San Francisco will play inspired. Nobody says they can win. They're a live dog. They've got a great coach. San Francisco to me is going to lead this game at some point and it could be middle of the third. I do think at home Seattle's defense Brock Pur's on occasion when rushed can make a mistake and that wither spoon I mean that that that Seattle defensive front is just it's like Tom Brady said dude they're just they just rotate guys it's just I mean they got six guys that are in and out they're fresh late into games I I think defensive lines decide games like this [snorts]

speeding up quarterback Darnold's clearly going to have more time to throw than Brock Pury over the course of three and a half hours. I don't think we could deny that that Brock Perie will probably be he'll probably be a little more rushed on average over the course of a game. That tends to be an advantage for the quarterback that's not rushed.

I know Seattle boxed him in San Fran a couple weeks ago, but if McAffrey doesn't drop the inter the the pass inside the five falls in the hands of the Seattle guy, it's a one-sore game and we're it's interesting, right?

But he does and now it's like, oh, Seattle killed him. The NFL's just the margins are so thin. Let's go to the final story and that is Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots. Boy, that game against the Texans. I'm excited for this. Look at that line, Colin. Three and a half point favorites. Wow. I'm stunned. Especially after what the Texans did to Aaron Rogers and they sent Mike Tomlin into retirement. Uh here's Vel talking about the Houston defense, which is nasty.

Is this the best defense you've faced? Yeah, of course. You know what I mean? They uh they have great talent, great scheme. They play hard and respect how hard they play and they're just not only talented, but they uh have a play demeanor that I can appreciate. There's talent, length, you know, effort, you know, they don't if [clears throat] they get blocked, they don't stay blocked long. They play hard against the run. It's not just if you run the ball that they're they're taking plays off. Phil,

two really good uh, you know, bookends. Yeah, I like what he said there when you I length. They don't stay blocked long. They're like a really good recovering. Good defenses recover quickly because you can fool people. You know, you there's no question you fool people. They Seattle and Houston when you fool them, they course correct, catch up very quickly. So you don't get a lot of big plays because there's not a lot of big gaps. Like last weekend when the when the Packers fooled the Bears in the first half, there were huge huge openings, long tarmacs, long runways.

You don't get that against Seattle and Houston. If you fool them, there's it's like they're playing with an extra dude. You you know, you get about four yards to run, then there's a host of guys around you. remember you I think you had the point on Tuesday that on that opening for drive first second drive the Steelers had a couple plays and Rogers was like

oh my gosh he was very excited and animated and then after that they just shut everything down. It was like they just turned the water off that's enough you're not doing anything.

Yeah. I mean Aaron came in you could tell Aaron knew we got a couple of plays that are going to work. They did and when they had the punt it's like Aaron knew that's trouble because there's not a lot that fools these guys. Patriots have a rookie left tackle in Campbell. Um going up against one of the one of the allp pro edge rushers. You know that kid Petri in the secondary dude. He is a missile. He is hitting so hard. He's got the big helmet which is kind of deceptive because those guys are usually, you know, like not wanting the contact. He wants all the smoke. And I just

I I'm I'm kind of in love with this Texans team. I know we have a Houston homer on staff. I I think they win this outright. But then again, I picked against the Patriots last week and look like a fool. Yeah.

Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by. The herd live.

I thought this was uh informative and interesting. Apparently, when Mike Tomlin informed the team, the Steeler team, uh that he was going uh to step away, it was really emotional. I mean, players one by one were coming up and and and giving great gratitude and humility and thank you, coach. Kind of the opposite of what happens in college football because of the calendar. You're always like leaving town on the midnight train as a college coach. And in the NFL, it's usually ugly because the the coach gets canned or even Bellichic leaves and it's sirly and the the owner and the coach are are mad at each other.

Players have always, especially veteran players, have always loved Tomlin. In fact, I called the GM yesterday and I said, "Why um why doesn't Tomlin have a coaching tree?" We called it yesterday a coaching cactus. There's no tree. And he said, "Because Tomlin doesn't have a hot shot young ascending McVey on his staff or a Shanahan. He likes older players and older staffs. He's very old school." And I think what that gives you is a higher floor and a lower ceiling. You don't have the ascending hot shot offensive coordinator on your staff.

That's just not what he does. He likes his players older. He tends to be old school in his ideology. He likes his staffs to be a tad older. And that's okay. That avoids implosion, but you don't get fresh ideas and you don't see things, you know, a new set of eyes. So, but I will tell you this. Um, he is more than a coach. He he connects with players on a personal level level. Emanuel Sanders talked about this yesterday. The moment that I got there, he was like a father figure to me. Uh, the things that he taught me in terms of investing my money and the way to think. And that's what type of player coach he is.

He's always going to give it to you real raw u authentic uh and and you know depending on how you take it, you might not like it, but you know that he has your best interest. And that's why I always love it, man. He was one of those guys that truly was a blessing for me to get drafted with him because he just changed my whole mindset in the way that I was thinking about going about my business.

Yeah, it's Mike Tomlin highly respected. Um, you know, the NFL's gotten younger and Tomlin's a little old school. And that's why I said I think it's time for a for a, you know, reset. Take the year off. Do a Shawn Peyton, do some TV, hang out with family, reset. Kind of modernize how you view certain things. You don't have to break it all down, but, you know, kind of modernize it. But players hold him in incredibly high regard. Monday on Fox, four of women's college basketball's best tip off in the Ketta Scott King Classic. At noon Eastern, it's TCU Ohio State. Then at 2:30, fifth ranked Vanderbilt takes on eighth ranked Michigan. It all begins Monday only on Fox. Greg Kosell coming up next hour. Uh Tom Brady was fantastic. 20 minutes. If you didn't hear it, put it on the podcast. He was unbelievable today. Uh broke down all the games, all the thoughts. Um, I mean, listen, I I I put the chart up earlier of all the

quarterbacks left in the playoffs and you've got an older pocket quarterback in Stafford and then you got a lot of inexperienced guys who don't have a lot of long runs in the playoffs. It's Drake May, it's Bo Nicks, it's Caleb, uh, CJ Strad. So, and and Brock Pury. So th this really feels like next year Mahomes Burrow Lamar could be back in. Justin Herbert's going to have both of his tackles back with the Chargers and they'll probably readress the offensive line. Um you know I mean this is a it's not a now or never year but now would be a really good time year. Uh Tom Brady on on moving forward for Josh toward a Super Bowl.

This is the game for him. I mean, there's a lot of career definfining games for quarterbacks and when you're a veteran quarterback and you're not dealing with Patrick Mahomes anymore and that's been kind of a bit of a kryptonite for the Bills over the years. This is a time for you know who they feel Josh one of the best quarterbacks in AC to go out there and have his year. He won the MVP last year. He's got a great chance to go on the road. I know he's a little bit underman. It's hard to not love the Buffalo Bills and this story. And, you know, I think it would be just incredible for their fan base who have been, you know, so uh enthusiastic about this team to finally get over the hump and then make it to, you know, a championship game. What's really interesting about this weekend and Saturday specifically, so the first game Saturday, we think the player is amazing, Josh Allen, but we don't know

if we love the rest of the parade. We We love Josh. We know Josh is good enough to win a Super Bowl. Uh, is the coach right? Is the defense right? Are the weapons right? And then there's the Seattle game. Seattle. Oh, we love this new coach. We love this Seahawk roster, but I don't know if I trust Arnold in Buffalo. We know Josh is good enough to hoist a trophy. We worry about the staff. We worry about the roster. We worry about I mean, can Keon Coleman make one big play? Can the defense stop the run? In Seattle, it's different. You love the new coach. You love the run game. You love the speed of the defense. We don't know if we we don't know if we trust Darnold. Right. So, here's Tom Brady on staying aggressive for Sam Darnold looking for that first playoff W.

When you get to these big moments in big games, whether that's, you know, certainly playoffs or some of these games that happen at the end of the year determining whether you're going to get in or not, the margin of error when you play good teams is just very small. So, that's where the fundamentals come into play. You have to, you know, in order to throw the ball accurately, okay? And if you throw it accurately and make good decisions, you're not going to throw a lot of interceptions. It's over time you need to refine your techniques so that when you get in these big moments, you're as accurate as you can possibly be because you have the least margin of error.

The one thing I think you really get this weekend, you don't get all eight for eight great quarterbacks or eight for eight offensive lines. Buffalo's old line's good. Seattle, it's probably a weakness. What you do get is B+ at minimum coaching. I mean, if you if you look at the one common thread this weekend, it's great coaching. And and the truth is Shawn McDermott may win a trophy. I mean, I've said Shawn McDermott to me has sort of a Marty Shottenheimimer, Chuck Knox feel. You know, he's capable. You know, he's a good coach.

Is he the coach that gets creative, get you over the hump? Sean McDermott's absolutely a good coach. I mean, listen, Robert Salah hasn't had near the success. I think Solid deserves a second chance, right? Brian Flores hasn't had nearly as much success. I think Brian Flores deserves a second chance. Shawn McDermott's a B+ coach. But generally, historically, it's the Bellichs, the Reeds that have on average high percentage have won the trophies. But I mean that that may end with a win. I find it hard. I mean, I understand you love your your local team. I think if you ask the country who they were rooting for, they're rooting for Buffalo. And I think their offensive personnel is better than I give it credit for. I mean, they have a star quarterback, star back, really good tight end, star left tackle, really good O line. They just don't have I mean, listen, receiver is the hardest position

to draft in the first round. If you go to the last 20 drafts, and I don't remember who has this, apologize. Somebody listed the top last 20 drafts. The percentage that busts the least and the percentage position that bust the most. Wide receiver is the biggest bust position. And by a long shot, it can be a temperamental position. It's it's it's, you know, skill over maturity. You're just looking for a guy that breaks the huddle and can beat people down the field. And there's a lot of so it's hard for me to hold it against Buffalo. A lot of these wide I mean Bill Bich could not draft a first round wide receiver to save his life. Pretty good coach. Kansas City's GM Brett Vch about as good as any GM in the league. Uh he's missed on some wide receivers. Sky Moore of Philadelphia Howie Roseman. Remember a few years ago first round took a wide receiver from TCU. Did not work. Here's our playoff schedule. Uh if I if I had

to guess right now I I've told you I've stopped doubting Buffalo. Um, I'll I'll say Buffalo wins close. Seattle wins by a touchdown.

God, that this Patriot Texans game is rough. I don't I don't know. I like the Rams over the Bears. Texans Patriots to me, you know, again, the Texans were so turnoverprone. I don't think they will be this weekend. I don't know where I fought. Listen, I said Patriots, Chargers, stay away. Patriots, Texans, you probably take the home team. I think they have a much livelier offense. Uh, but I, you know, Drake May has got to avoid the implosion and that is easier said than done. You saw the struggles Aaron Rogers had. This, the longest drive for the Steelers in the second half was 23 yards and Pittsburgh beat New England this year.

Yeah, we got an update on Bills Broncos. Not great news. Uh, Maxwell Haristen, the talented rookie quarterback. Remember, he flashed well against the uh Chiefs earlier this season. He's officially been ruled out. So Jordan Puyer out, Haristston out. That's two in the Buffalo secondary down against Denver. We're waiting on Ed Oliver who would be a big get back on the line.

Yeah, that Yeah. Yeah. All right, Greg Coell next hour. Show is flying by. So her it is playoff weekend, divisional round. Margins thinner, stakes higher, four teams. By the end of the weekend, we will know the two teams in each conference battling. We've been doing this a long time, several years. His track record is very strong. Did not have a great last weekend, which means it is bounce back Saturday, Sunday for J-Mack. We call it tomorrow's headlines today. We start with the first game of the weekend, Saturday, Bills at the Broncos. This is really interesting, J-Mack.

Yeah. Well, we actually added a fifth. We're going to do the natty as well cuz I need to round it out and I need to bounce back after last week's 1 and four. So Buffalo visits Denver rematch from last year in the playoffs. Colin, remember pretty good start for Bo Knicks. Then it went south quickly. The headline this weekend for Buffalo Denver will be excuse me Bo bumps into mafia boss. And that would be one Josh Allen. Uh listen, picking a side here is tough. I did bet the under. I don't think we'll see a lot of points, but ultimately I got to ride with my guy Josh Allen. He's fun to watch. Colin, I'll just say this.

They have three healthy wide receivers right now going into this game. That's it. And one of them is Keon Coleman, who was a healthy scratch multiple times this year. The other's Brandon Cooks, who's 32 and joined the team like 10 weeks ago. However, why Jason, why are you betting Buffalo here again? I just don't know what what to make of this Bow Knicks situation. I know you love him and you love Payton. Colin, I was doing some digging. So, did you know Payton and McDermott, they have a history going back to the NFC South when the New Orleans was playing Carolina many times?

And wouldn't you know it, McDermott has a history of bottling up Drew Brees. He knows how to play that too high shell, clog the middle of the field, keep everything in front of you. And historically, Payton has not excelled against McDermott's defenses. This Ed Oliver situation's big. Will he return for Buffalo? He's been practicing this week. That would be huge because their run defense is leaky. I do expect Josh Allen to kind of put on the Superman cape. Buffalo's defense is good, but it's not great. Did you notice last year in the playoff game, so Vance Joseph loves to play heavy man, heavy blitz? He was worried about Josh Allen, so they went a little more zone and spied Josh Allen. He still had a bunch of yards on the ground. I don't think they can stop him. I'll go low. 1716 Buffalo or thereabouts.

Wow. Tomorrow's headlines today, Seattle a big home favorite. What say you? You know, us gamblers sometimes we get in trouble going with our heart over our head. Colin, I'm not making that mistake here. The headline for San Fran at Seattle will be Seattle death do us part. One that got away makes some pay. I'm sorry. I got the Seahawks here, Colin. I I I can't I I just I cannot make a case for my guy Brock Pury. I think the pretty Shanahan combo, like you said, can keep it interesting and close, but man, I I just don't know what this defense, we saw this game two weeks ago. They couldn't do a damn thing. Now, Seattle couldn't either. And I do think there's a world where your where your boy Sam Darnold kind of vomits all over himself and is rattled in this playoff game. McDonald's first uh playoff game as a head coach. He's a great coach. I read an article about him about how he's such a smart, intelligent human being. I

love those guys. I uh I think San Fran keeps it close. I'll take Seattle in a in a close one.

Um, tomorrow's headlines today, Texans and that defense in New England against the Patriots. What do you got?

Well, I went against the Patriots and their fans let me know about it. Anything different this week? The headline for Houston at New England will be parting of the Straouds. OLD PLAYOFF PERSONA LEFT BEHIND. Oh yeah, CJ Strad, baby. I'm rocking with the Texans. Listen, they came through for me Monday. It took a little while, but they finally got there. Yes, there's a concern about Straoud, but Colin, I look at this Houston defense. They match up great against the Patriots. I mean, again, Stingley on the outside, Lacier. These are elite quarterbacks. Petri in the secondary. They don't give up much. The one thing is this Drake May scrambling ability. I did just come up with a stat.

He had the most uh scrambles in the NFL. More scrambles than Josh Allen, Herbert. And that's where they have to watch him. Now, I'll say this. You know, watching Houston a lot this year. Those guys are head hunters. Okay. The linebackers, the safeties may better get down or we're looking at something dicey. Um, and I do think there's some numbers that show Woody Marks, as you said, and the running backs out of the back field have given the Patriots problems. Yeah.

Um, I like the Texans to win this outright. Tomorrow's headlines today, the Sunday nighter, Rams at the Bears. One for the ages here potentially.

Yeah, I hear you're going to be there with like two winter jackets, four scarfves. Yeah.

Um, it should be a cold one. I don't know what the Bears could do to win this. The headline for Rams Bears will be the cold man in the sea. Hot routes, warm reads, old man Matthew Stafford delivers. Colin, uh, we're talking about the best deep ball thrower in the league in Matt Stafford. I know Drake May was great. It's Stafford with two awesome receivers playing against a defense that gave up the second most deep ball touchdowns in the league.

That's their best linebacker. Yeah, they just hemorrhaged stuff on the back end, Colin. Unbelievably, Dallas gave up the most deep ball TDs. Dallas, who we laugh at, the Bears were second. Okay. And you're, like you said, the linebacker out. I think the Rams score at will here. If you want to get exotic, their team total is 26 and a half points.

I take the over. I would take the over on that. I just listen. Caleb is magical charm season. I know Bears fans love when we pick against them. I don't see the Rams blowing this. If Mc blows it, that would be a shocker.

Rams over under 26. That's interesting. Yeah. All they have to do is score 27 points. I mean, that that's happening, right?

Finally, headline for Monday, the natty Miami against number one Indiana. Colin, you know, this line was 5 and a half and it's soared up to eight and a half.

We don't see that normally. No. So, the headline for Hooers Hurricanes will be 2 and a half. Mendozas. The U loses all its sheen. I'm sorry, Miami. I don't think you get it done here. Indiana has to be the side. They're going to win this. Now, interestingly, Colin, uh there are some numbers that show, and I think Clatt talked about this, uh this Miami defense is going to keep it close. Do not expect another blowout like that Alabama game, uh like that Oregon game. By the way, the Oregon game was weird. Did you see that they uh had three touchdown drives under 20 yards because Dante Moore kept turning it over. There was the block punt. This will not be a blowout. Miami will keep it close. How about this stat? Three playoff games, Miami has given up 75 carries. One explosive in 75. That's it.

You can't really run on this team. So, I'm curious how Mendoza handles the pressure. You got two pros coming off the edges. This is going to be a great game. I think it's a lot closer than the experts think. That eight and a half, you got to take the points with the Hurricanes. But I think Indiana um wins the title and congrats to Mendoza who goes to the Raiders then where he's not winning anything for a decade.

When Nico Collins missed a game against the NerS earlier this year, it's very interesting. CJ Strad. Houston won. CJ Strad was 30 of 39. So, I like Straoud and and I he was a little out of sorts against Pittsburgh, but um I think he's like Herbert. You know, we keep waiting for this massive playoff success. But both CJ Strad and Herbert just the way the ball comes off their hand. They're really accurate. Both have had offensive line issues. Both have had kind of receivers can't stay healthy issues. I think CJ that New England game like it's like a little bit of a magic carpet ride for New England.

You're like, you know, when when does it because I really still I really believe of all these teams in the playoff,

one of them is still in a rebuild. New England. I still think they need offensive line help, another tight end. Um like I not that they're in a total rebuild because they had so much free agent money, but I still think I mean this is Vrabel's got one draft behind him. I think they need more depth. I think they need another tight end. I think they need help on the offensive side. I think they probably need another corner. The whole league does.

Yeah. So, I mean, everybody else, I feel like they they should be here. I think New I thought New England was going to be the most improved team in the league. I had them as a wild card team. Them winning this weekend, being in the conference championship, that's way more than I thought. That's that projects way faster turnaround. All right. Great stuff. Tom Brady was amazing. We'll put him on the podcast. Joel Clatt money too. Greg Kosell Jmax picks. It's the hurt.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Colin Cowherd REACTS: John Harbaugh to Giants + NFL Playoff predictions, Bills, Seahawks | THE HERD"?

Colin Cowherd (Host), Tom Brady (Guest), Albert Breer (Guest), J-Mack (Guest), Greg Cosell (Guest), Joel Klatt (Guest).

What is "Colin Cowherd REACTS: John Harbaugh to Giants + NFL Playoff predictions, Bills, Seahawks | THE HERD" about?

Colin Cowherd discusses the New York Giants' decision to hire John Harbaugh as their head coach, emphasizing the importance of hiring top-level coaching talent to transform a struggling team. He critiques previous coaching choices in the league and highlights the need for strong leadership and cultural rebuilding to achieve success beyond mere tactical expertise.

What is mentioned in this The Herd with Colin Cowherd episode?

13 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including NFL, Super Bowl, College Football National Championship, Houston Texans, Cleveland Browns, Albert Brewer. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Colin Cowherd REACTS: John Harbaugh to Giants + NFL Playoff predictions, Bills, Seahawks | THE HERD"?

The episode runs 59 min; the transcript is about 11,091 words in 127 timestamped sections.

More from The Herd with Colin Cowherd

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.