Colin Cowherd REACTS to Buffalo Bills hiring Joe Brady as head coach + Seahawks-Patriots | THE HERD

What this episode is about

Colin Cowherd discusses the Buffalo Bills' hiring of Joe Brady as head coach, questioning if he was the most sought-after candidate and reflecting on the importance of selecting top talent in coaching to turn a team's fortunes around. He highlights the success of teams like the Chargers and Patriots who have benefited from hiring elite coaches, suggesting that the trend underscores the critical role of coaching in NFL success.

Key takeaways

• The Bills' new hire, Joe Brady, lacks the buzz of this season's coaching superstars—will he prove us wrong?
• Shocking isn't a team with a great coach; it’s a mediocre team hiring a retread—Cowboys, looking at you.
• Super Bowl dark horses thrive on cheap quarterbacks; the Bills’ expensive Allen cap hits could be their downfall.
• Hiring the 'next big thing' often means the difference between playoff glory and mediocrity—choose wisely!
• Success is a formula: great coach + rookie deal QB = Super Bowl contender; the Giants seem poised for the upgrade.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Colin Cowherd (Host) · 33 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Ian Brady, Super Bowl, Buffalo Bills, Jim Harbaugh
2. 5:00 – 10:00: Mike McCarthy, Jim Harbaugh, Ian Brady, Josh Allen
3. 10:00 – 15:00: Josh Allen, Mike McCarthy, Ian Brady, Super Bowl
4. 15:00 – 20:00: Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Super Bowl
5. 20:00 – 25:00: Ian Brady, Jim Harbaugh, Josh Allen, Super Bowl
6. 25:00 – 30:00: Ian Brady, Super Bowl, Cleveland Browns, Jim Harbaugh
7. 30:00 – 35:00: Caleb Williams, Los Angeles Lakers
8. 35:00 – 40:00: Super Bowl, New England Patriots, Mike Vrabel
9. 40:00 – 41:11: Super Bowl, NFL

Notable quotes from "Colin Cowherd REACTS to Buffalo Bills hiring Joe Brady as head coach + Seahawks-Patriots | THE HERD"

• What did we learn this NFL season? Let's tie a bow on it as we go through all the coaching hires. Number one thing we learned, hire the best or second best coach on the coaching market if you want.

  about NFL · at 1:06

• Hire him. And immediately turned around Houston. So, that's the number one thing. Does Joe Brady of the Bills who's going to get hired this morning, does he qualify as that? I…

  about Ian Brady · at 2:10

• And is Josh Allen next year going to be really affordable on a team friendly deal? No, he's not. His cap hit is $56 million. That's why I have said the most I've done this four years in a.

  about Josh Allen · at 3:03

• But when you end up with a fourth or and he interviewed for a couple of jobs, but the number one coach in this cycle was John Harbaugh.

  about Jim Harbaugh · at 4:27

• From there, I want to talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers hiring Mike McCarthy. Again, I don't think it's a disastrous job, but I yesterday the Steelers owner said Mike McCarthy hire is about winds, not optics.

  about Mike McCarthy · at 7:32

• Today's show brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet, Florida Sportsbook. The big game matchup is set, Patriots, Seahawks. Hard Rock Bet going to be a lot of different ways.

  about Hard Rock Bet · at 13:30

• Front. Here's Drew Brees yesterday on the Darnold journey so far in his career. Sam Darnold wouldn't be the player or person he is right now if it wasn't for going through the…

  about Sam Darnold · at 19:15

• All right, let's move to Cleveland. Oh boy, the land. One of the many nicknames for the Factory of Sadness, Colin. The latest report about their head coaching vacancy is Jim Schwarz, the DC in.

  about Cleveland Browns · at 23:19

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Ian Brady — Person · Referenced coach (new hire / focal point of debate) · 15 mentions · first at 0:34
  Central figure in the segment: discussed as Buffalo's new head coach hire and framed as a 'comfort' rather than 'top-of-market' choice, with debate about whether he can elevate the Bills beyond being merely good.
• Josh Allen — Person · Referenced star quarterback (key constraint / driver of outcomes) · 12 mentions · first at 0:38
  Used as the main reason Buffalo will still win games, but also as the cap-hit constraint that limits roster building; his relationship with Joe Brady (QB coach/fit) is emphasized.
• Sam Darnold — Person · Referenced quarterback (case study on narrative vs performance) · 14 mentions · first at 2:34
  A major mid-episode case study: the host argues Minnesota's 'big games' critique is overstated, using Darnold's stats vs division and playoff teams to defend him and illustrate how winning changes perception.
• Mike McCarthy — Person · Referenced coach (example of 'comfort hire') · 8 mentions · first at 7:36
  Discussed as Pittsburgh's hire and framed similarly to Joe Brady: likely to win regular-season games but questioned as a ceiling-raiser in January/playoffs.
• Jim Harbaugh — Person · Referenced elite head coach (benchmark / 'top of market') · 11 mentions · first at 1:23
  Repeatedly cited as the archetype of a top-tier coaching hire and used as a comparison point to argue Joe Brady is not an inarguable upgrade-level coach.
• Mike Vrabel — Person · Referenced coach (model 'top hire' / culture builder) · 4 mentions · first at 1:25
  Presented as an example of a premium coaching hire (Patriots) and later quoted on fourth-down decision-making; also used to contrast 'upgrade' hires vs 'comfort' hires.
  To turn your fortunes around. That's what the Chargers did with Harbaugh, Patriots did with Vrabel, Bears did with Ben Johnson, Broncos did with Shawn Payeyton, Vrabel, New…
• Caleb Williams — Person · Referenced quarterback (example in roster-building framework) · 3 mentions · first at 2:32
  Mentioned as part of the 'rookie deal quarterback' blueprint for team-building and as an example of a mobile QB archetype contrasted with less mobile passers.
  Talented quarterback on a rookie deal or a very talented veteran on a very team-friendly deal, Drake May, Bo Nick, Sam Darnold, Caleb Williams, Matt Stafford. Last year, Jaylen…

Companies & orgs

• Buffalo Bills — Company · Business focus · 4 mentions · first at 0:16
  Discussion about the team's new coach and their prospects for the upcoming season.
  Your day. A story came down about eight minutes ago, nine minutes ago, Joe Brady, who's been with the Bills for several years, started as Josh Allen's quarterback coach, is the new hire for the Buffalo Bills.
• New England Patriots — Company · Business focus · 3 mentions · first at 3:24
  Discussion about the team's prospects for the upcoming season and their unlikely Super Bowl matchup.
  And so that's okay. Was he the hot coach on the market? Because that usually works. No. And I read a story this morning and it said the Patriots Seahawks is the most unlikely Super Bowl matchup by preseason odds in the last 50 years.
• Seattle Seahawks — Company · Business focus · 2 mentions · first at 4:06
  Discussion about the team's prospects for the upcoming season and their unlikely Super Bowl matchup.
  And so that's okay. Was he the hot coach on the market? Because that usually works. No. And I read a story this morning and it said the Patriots Seahawks is the most unlikely Super Bowl matchup by preseason odds in the last 50 years.
• Pittsburgh Steelers — Company · Business focus · 3 mentions · first at 7:32
  Discussion about the team's new coach and their prospects for the upcoming season.
  From there, I want to talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers hiring Mike McCarthy. Again, I don't think it's a disastrous job, but I yesterday the Steelers owner said Mike McCarthy hire is about winds, not optics.
• Cleveland Browns — Company · Business focus · 3 mentions · first at 23:28
  Discussion about the team's coaching search and their prospects for the upcoming season.
• Los Angeles Lakers — Company · Referenced expert · 1 mention · first at 31:44
  Mentioned in passing during a discussion about the NBA and its differences from the NFL.
  Pittsburgh's beyond that. So, Bills and Steelers went with comfort. Yeah, that's what I do at night when I sit down, I'm disappointed that the Lakers barely won against the…

Concepts & topics

• NFL — Concept · Core topic · 2 mentions · first at 7:47
  Central theme of the episode, discussing teams, coaches, and strategies within the NFL.

Places & events

• Super Bowl — Event · Key argument · 15 mentions · first at 0:55
  Discussion about the most unlikely Super Bowl matchup by preseason odds in the last 50 years.
  And so that's okay. Was he the hot coach on the market? Because that usually works. No. And I read a story this morning and it said the Patriots Seahawks is the most unlikely Super Bowl matchup by preseason odds in the last 50 years.

Sponsors

• Hard Rock Bet — Product · Sponsor · 2 mentions · first at 13:31
  Presenting sponsor of the episode, promoting betting on the upcoming NFL games.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 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 Tuesday. Welcome in. We are live in Chicago. Apparently, the Buffalo Bills have a new coach. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening, thanks for making us part of your day. A story came down about eight minutes ago, nine minutes ago, Joe Brady, who's been with the Bills for several years, started as Josh Allen's quarterback coach, is the new hire for the Buffalo Bills.

0:45 And so that's okay. Was he the hot coach on the market? Because that usually works. No. And I read a story this morning and it said the Patriots Seahawks is the most unlikely Super Bowl matchup by preseason odds in the last 50 years. I don't think it's shocking. And I'll tell you why. What did we learn this NFL season? Let's tie a bow on it as we go through all the coaching hires. Number one thing we learned, hire the best or second best coach on the coaching market if you want to turn your fortunes around. That's what the Chargers did with Harbaugh, Patriots did with Vrabel, Bears did with Ben Johnson, uh, Broncos did with Shawn Payeyton, Vrabel, New England, and oh, by the way, Mike McDonald was the hot young coach. Interviewed for six different teams. The Harbaughs raved about him. made the Ravens the number one defense. When we thought their offense had better players than their defense, he made him number one. He was

1:46 the McVey of that coaching cycle for a young coach who hadn't been a head coach yet. So, the number one thing we learned is if you want to be great, look at the last five or six coaches. It's a Ben Johnson. It's a Shawn McVey. It's a Mike McDonald. It's a Mike Vrabel. It's a Shawn Payeyton. Demo Ryan was a hot young guy from San Francisco. the everybody in the league was like, "Hire him." And immediately turned around Houston. So, that's the number one thing. Does Joe Brady of the Bills who's going to get hired this morning, does he qualify as that? I do not believe so. The second thing that we learned this season, either have a very talented quarterback on a rookie deal or a very talented veteran on a very team-friendly deal, Drake May, Bo Nick, Sam Darnold, Caleb Williams, Matt Stafford. Last year, Jaylen Herz, talented guy, only 5% of the Eagle cap, made the Super Bowl, won the Super Bowl.

2:42 Uh, the year before, yeah, last year, Jaden Daniels, really talented kid, got to the conference championship. Remember, it surprised everybody. So, ask yourself, is Joe Brady, is he the Mike Frabel of this cycle or the Ben Johnson or the Mike McDonald or the Shawn Payeyton or a Harbaugh? No, he's not. And is Josh Allen next year going to be really really affordable on a team friendly deal? No, he's not. His cap hit is $56 million. That's why I have said the most I've done this four years in a row. Four years in a row, I've given you two teams that'll surprise the league.

3:20 I've hit it four years in a row. I think this is four or five. This year I picked Seattle, New England. It's not shocking. It's a blueprint. Shocking is when you settle like the Dallas Cowboys did at head coach for Brian Shottnim or the Jets did at quarterback with Justin Fields. If the Jets met the meet the Cowboys in the Super Bowl in two weeks, that is shocking. That is profound. That doesn't line up. Shocking is not a New England team that hired the best coach on the market had a super talented young quarterback basically for free for the next four years and was the number one free agent spender. They never settled. They didn't settle in free agency. They didn't settle at coach and they knew they had an inexpensive great quarterback. Seattle upgraded at quarterback Darnold from Gino. Super aggressive. They were the number four spender in free agency and they hired the hot everybody wants him coach who

4:18 had interviewed for six jobs. So when I when I when I see Brady Joe Brady getting hired by Buffalo, it'll be fine. But when you when you end up with a fourth or and he interviewed for a couple of jobs, but the number one coach in this cycle was John Harbaugh. next year. Of the two teams I'm going to predict will double their win total, the Giants, I've already made that choice. I'm not sure who the second team is yet cuz not everybody's hired their coach. The New York Giants, I'm going to make it five years in a row. Are going to double their win total and make the playoffs next year. I did it with the Patriots and Seahawks this year and you called me crazy.

4:59 So shocking is when you settle and hire the seventh best coach or a coach that wasn't interviewing anywhere, Brian Shottenheimimer. Cowboys in a Super Bowl. That's shocking. Jets, we can win with Justin Fields. That shocking. But I mean, and I'll give you a great example. It doesn't even matter how talented your quarterback is. If they're making big money, you're in trouble. Patrick Mahomes. No run game, we go line. They pay him a fortune. Josh Allen, no Pro Bowlers on defense, not enough playmakers on offense. Dak Prescott, atrocious defensive personnel. Joe Burrow, battle O line, very thin talent on defense. I love Justin Herbert, but the Chargers are a receiver, a tight end, a running back, guard, center guard away from being a Super Bowl team. Justin Herbert makes a lot of money. So, um, next year, John Harbaugh, hottest coach in the market, Jackson Dart, quarterback, Giants, talented, not making anything.

6:03 That to me is a playoff team and a playoff team that could potentially win games because they're going to be able to add free agent players to their roster. So, as they hire as they hire Joe Brady, he'd interviewed for a couple jobs, but he's not Stfansky twotime coach of the year. He's not John Harbaugh. He's not even as hot as a Jesse Mentor right now as a guy people have been talking about for years. That was Mike McDonald. McDonald got Baltimore to the number one defense. Jim and John Harbaugh raved about him. He interviewed for six jobs. People said he's the defensive version of McVey and he has been. So, um I mean you can hire Joe Brady, but in recent history there is a blueprint and Seattle and New England followed it.

6:52 upgrade at quarterback or get a very productive team friendly quarterback and hire the hot or second best coach on the cycle in the cycle. Joe Brady, that's not him. Could be fine. Think he could be fine. Buffalo's done with fine. Buffalo's been fine forever. Buffalo doesn't want fine. And then Josh Allen, his cap hits too big. So they can't spend any big money on free agency. Their left tackle's expensive. Josh Allen's expensive. you know, they're going to have to start paying uh uh these tight ends. It'll be expensive.

7:24 So, I I don't think it's a disaster hire. It's not Freddy Kitchens, the Cleveland, but there there is a blueprint to all of this stuff. And so, from there, I want to talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers hiring uh Mike McCarthy. Again, I don't think it's a disastrous job, but I yesterday the Steelers owner said Mike McCarthy hire is about winds, not optics. Well, Mike Tomlin won. The NFL is not about just winning. How has Sam Darnold changed his reputation? Winning in January, right? It's not just about winning. Pittsburgh wins all the time. It's about winning in January. And I've always said this, you know, you have an elite coach.

8:06 You and I can argue about who how good your coach is. But when the Steelers with Mike McCarthy in the AFC, I won't even go to the NFC. Just in the AFC, I won't put him up against Shanahan, McVey, Ben Johnson, just in the AFC. Do you think if the Steelers in a big game late in the season go up against Vrabel, Andy Reid, Jim Harbaugh, or Shawn Payeyton? Do you think you have the best coach? You do not. Kyle Shanahan beat the Eagles, remember a few weeks back, with about 70% of their roster. Did you notice who the Eagles lost to this year? It was a lot of good coaches.

8:47 It was a lot of good coach. They lost to Shawn Payeyton. They lost to Ben Johnson, Kyle Shanahan, Harbaugh. They lost to other coaches. But coaching matters in this league. And when you settle or get a coach everybody is comfortable with, like Joe Brady in Buffalo, everybody's comfortable with him. Mike McCarthy in Pittsburgh. Everybody's comfortable with them. I'm not saying they're disastrous hires. I think Mike McCarthy will probably win games. And I think Joe Brady with Josh Allen are going to win 10, 11 games.

9:18 It's Josh Allen. But I mean, think about this. The Steelers have one playoff win in nine years. Excuse me. The Steelers haven't won a playoff game in nine years. Mike McCarthy has one playoff win in nine years. That was their big swing. They upgraded a playoff win. That's not what Seattle did and New England did. They're in the Super Bowl. Again, I don't think it's a bad hire. I don't think it's a disaster. But if you look at New England and you look at Denver, it's the top coaches. It's Mike McDonald. It's I mean, when the NerS hired Kyle Shanahan, he was the top coordinator. He made Matt Ryan an MVP, got Matt's job to a Pro Bowl, right? So, this stuff so far I I think it's interesting that Mike McCarthy got the Steelers job. It makes them comfortable.

10:10 Pittsburgh guy. And then Joe Brady 10 minutes ago gets the Buffalo job. It makes everybody comfortable. Okay. The good news for McCarthy, he doesn't have to pay his quarterback a fortune. If Aaron stays, he's still on a team friendly deal. That helps. But Josh Allen isn't. Matt Hasselbeck briefly had Mike McCarthy as a position coach. He talked about the Steelers hire.

10:36 This hire to me makes it feel like the Pittsburgh Steelers want to win right away. Like they want a sure thing that makes them super relevant right away. And they've been heavy on the defensive side and maybe a little bit light on the offensive side. Maybe that balances out just a little bit. But Mike McCarthy is as Pittsburgh as a person could possibly be. So, uh, I'm happy for him and I and I do think it's a good fit.

11:00 Yeah. I mean, if you look at the last four or five or six coaches left, Shawn Payeyton and Vrabel were were the big names, number one coach available. Giants just got that in John Harbaugh. Uh, Mike McDonald was the hot coach. De Ryan was the hot coach. Ben Johnson for like three years was the hot coach. Um, so it it that we have something that we know to be true. It's what we learned this year. Hire one of the best two coaches. Don't worry about comfort. Hire one of the best two coaches and you have to negotiate the best team friendly deal you can at quarterback cuz Mahomes didn't make the playoffs and Josh Allen got bounced and Lamar didn't make the playoffs and Burrow didn't make the playoffs and Herbert got bounced.

11:47 That's the real I mean I like Trevor Lawrence but he making a lot of money in Jacksonville. if he was still in that rookie deal, they'd have another elite corner, probably a a a first ballot hall of fame left tackle, and they probably win that close game potentially with Buffalo. So, that's where we are. All right, Joe Brady, Bills, J Mack, what is your initial uh kind of gut feeling on the guy in house for the Bills?

12:10 Yeah, obviously you want somebody that's going to vibe with Josh Allen, and that's clear that they've done that, but kind of uninspiring to me, Colin. again. We saw him in Carolina not really thrive. Was awesome at LSU with Joe Burrow. I don't know what we're going to get. I don't know how he's going to fix that defense. Um,

12:28 yeah, they don't have I think the Super Bowl window, I know people don't want to hear this. The reality Super Bowl window is closed. I called this on the Lions last year. I called this on the Chiefs. I'm just telling you, like you look at this Bill's roster, Colin, I both their two best linebackers are free agents. They're an old roster. They're like 28th in run defense. Like, you can't fix that stuff overnight. Josh Allen's contract expensive. Wide receiver room's terrible. I I I don't think they're an elite team in the AFC.

12:53 Yeah, I I think they'll be good. I think they'll be because Josh Allen guarantees that. Deion Dawkins, James Cook, the good tight ends. They'll they've got some talent on offense. They'll score some points. They have a weather friendly uh new facility now, right? A little less wind, little less snow. They're going to win games. But I think Buffalo's beyond that. I think Pittsburgh's beyond that. So, Bills and Steelers went with comfort. Yeah, that's what I do at night when I sit down, I'm disappointed that the Lakers barely won against the Bulls and I'll have some ice cream, some comfort food to make me happy, uh, you know, at night and that's doesn't always work good on the midsection.

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14:22 Rock Bet. Download the Hard Rock Bet app and make your first deposit today. Welcome back. If I ever want to win an argument with somebody, the best thing to do isn't talk. The best thing to do is listen and use their words against them. And here's a prime example. There's an article today, why did the Vikings move off Sam Darnold? According to the report, even though he won 14 games last year and led the Vikings to the playoffs, which shocked everybody, he struggled in quote several big games. their words. Minnesota's words. Several big game. Okay, let me ask you. When the Vikings play the Packers, is that a big game? Yeah, it's usually the biggest game of the weekend, regardless of whose quarterbacks. Darnold went 2-0 against the Packers, 75% completion percentage in two games, 326 yards a game. Ate him alive. It was 2 and0 in those. Are the Bears Vikings big games? Of course, it's a division game. 2-0 against the Bears.

15:36 average 286 yards a game. By the way, one of those was on Monday Night Football in a Vikings Bears game, standalone game on Monday Night Football. [snorts] Qualifies is a pretty big game. Went 4-0 Green Bay, Chicago. Darnold did in Minnesota. Their words, not mine. Several big games. All right. Well, let's go to division overall. Okay. It was 4-2 with a 96 passer rating. and the NFC North in 2024 had the highest winning percentage of any division in NFL history. So he swept the Packers, he sweeps the Bears, he goes 4-2 with a 96 pass rate just in division games. Well, Colin, Colin, Colin, what about the other ones? Okay, I went and looked at those against playoff teams in 2024. Those feel like big games. Darnold had a 106 passer rating. That's higher than Josh Allen, who was the MVP.

16:30 Higher than Mahomes and Stafford. Mahomes got to a Super Bowl. So, he he was great against playoff teams. He was perfect against the Bears and the Packers, but in several big games, he let him down. No, let's be honest. He stunk in the last regular season game, which was the biggest game in Detroit, arguably of my life. It was the biggest home game for Detroit with a chance to get the number one seed in my adult life. And they beat the hell out of him. And Sam didn't play well. Well, what about the Rams game the next week? Well, the Rams sacked him nine times. Minnesota could not protect Sam Darnold. He fell behind and was trying to make something happen.

17:17 So, if you want to say he struggled in two games backto back at the end of the season, that's one thing. But he did not struggle in several big games. Had a better passer rating than the MVP against playoff teams. Swept the Packers, swept the Bears. And for the record, Detroit gave him problems. Detroit's got a better roster than two years ago Minnesota did. So, I just I'll just say this. You want to win an argument, listen to the words the arguer uses. Boy, it's several big games. Sam Darnold in the last four teams he's played with. Carolina, San Francisco, Minnesota, Seattle has the highest winning percentage of any quarterback in the NFL.

17:58 Different team, different roster, different coach, different coordinator, different receivers, different this, different that, different that. He wins. So, and and and let's be honest about this. It wasn't about Sam stinking. And Sam was in the MVP race in week 14. It was about you went and got JJ McCarthy. JJ McCarthy can't stay healthy. Got a little better this past year, which is encouraging. Play it better, but you you you were interested in Sam Darnold. You didn't like the price. And the GM John Snider is like, "Yeah, I'll take the price." And they won. Sam moves back west where he's from. So I this but it's just interesting when you read the story. Why did the Vikings let him go?

18:37 Well, he struggled in a lot of big games. First of all, it's the NFL. I just watched Josh Allen lose to Denver and have what, four turnovers. This stuff is hard. When you get to the final games, the weather's bad, you're facing great teams, it's hard. This is a hard league even for the great quarterbacks. So, yes, I've always been a Darnold fan, but there is this there is this sort of just reflective or it's it the minute you say Darnold, it's wow, he's reckless, man. He's bad in big games. It's just not true. It is just not true. He just played flawlessly against the Rams, their great defensive coordinator, and a stacked defensive front. Here's Drew Brees yesterday on the the Darnold uh journey so far in his career. Sam Darnold wouldn't be the player or person he is right now if it wasn't for going through the adversity that he went through in New York and Carolina. Same with Baker Mayfield. I'm

19:30 sure he would say the same things. I've heard those guys talk about those things. I know it was that way for me with the San Diego Chargers. You know, I got people forget I got benched three times with Marty Shanheimr in 2003. That was not a good experience, right? That was like a shot to the confidence. And yet, it's also what helped the fire burn um you know, even even hotter as my career went on. Always feeling like he has something to prove. Chip on the shoulder and you just feel that with Sam Darnold, but he's handled it with a lot of class.

19:59 Uh he certainly has. So, as I Minnesota rolled the dice, Minnesota said, you know, we drafted this guy. We gave up a couple of picks for JJ. we're going to stay with him. I get it. I get it. But let let's not lay it on Sam that oh boy, in big games, you couldn't trust him in Minnesota. Until that last regular season game against Detroit, had he been great in that game, he'd gotten multiple MVP votes. Every quarterback during the course of the I mean, Patrick Mahomes hasn't played well for two years. Go look at his numbers. Jax's been on this for two years. Momes has not been great for two years. I could certainly argue he's been bad in a lot of big games, including the Super Bowl. That's not it. That that is that is just this immediate you say Darnold, you think reckless big games.

20:46 It's just not true. Rams had his number then this past weekend suddenly even they didn't. Jay Mack with the news.

20:52 NO. NO. TURN ON THE NEWS. THIS is the herd line news. Let's go to that Joe Brady news in Buffalo. He is only 36 years old. That's wild. I did not realize he was that young. Uh he's been on the Buffalo staff since 2022 after flopping in Carolina.

21:11 He was promoted to full-time OC in 2024 as he he was a finalist for the assistant coach of the year award.

21:18 Um Colin, you know, I love a good ranking. So there are three job openings left.

21:25 Okay. Would you put the of the people who have locked into their teams, would you put Joe Brady among the best three hires so far of this cycle?

21:32 Well, I think I just based on resume, you'd have to say John Harbaugh and Kevin Stfansky, two-time coach of the year,

21:40 agreed, are the top two hires. I would say Jesse Mter qualifies as sort of the Mike McDonald, McVey of this cycle, De Mo Ryan, where people have been talking about Jesse Mter for four years. They were talking about Ben Johnson for four years. So let's say Harbon Stfansky's resumes I mean you win in Cleveland. You win playoff games in Cleveland. You get Shadur Sedanders Shadur Sanders to a Pro Bowl in Cleveland. Say what you want. Stfansky's number two to Harbaugh who's got a trophy. I think three is the Jesse Mentor hire. Again talked about for several years as a guy that's going to be a and then at at four you can I think Robert Salah is better than people give it credit for. I think the Robert Salah hire is a very strong hire in my opinion. Tons of cap space. Salah is great defensively, can build a culture, has a really talented quarterback on a rookie deal. If I had to pick somebody beyond the Giants next year as my

22:36 surprise team, I'm not going to pick them yet, but Tennessee is in the running of four or five teams. So, I like it.

22:41 I think Joe Brady is fine, but there's two hires here that feel like comfort hires.

22:47 McCarthy and Brady. Doesn't make them bad. They could both win. In fact, I would argue they will both win. One because of Josh Elm, the other because he's a capable coach. But if I said to you, name the coaching hires so far that feel comfortable to the team. Buffalo Pittsburgh.

23:04 Yeah. Offense was never the issue this season with Buffalo, Colin. No. I mean, look at their final game. Would they hang on Denver? 30 something points. Yeah.

23:12 5 500 yards of offense. Like offense wasn't the problem. We'll see if the new voice changes anything. I'm uh I'm a little dubious. All right, let's move to Cleveland. Oh boy, the land. One of the many nicknames for the Factory of Sadness, Colin. The latest report about their head coaching vacancy is Jim Schwarz, the DC in Cleveland, is gaining momentum to be the new head coach. Schwarz, you may have remembered, was the coach of the Detroit Lions. He went 29 and 51. Yeah,

23:42 I I'm fairly certain those were some lean Stafford years, but they did get to the playoffs once and I'm almost certain they lost that game to Dallas. There was some questionable officiating if my bankroll remembers it correctly. Um

23:55 Schwarz has been with the Browns since 2023. I'll let you go first. You know, I I don't think um he was I mean, was was he the one of the top two candidates? No. Was he the hot young candidate? No. That's what's winning. Um, so he's not he doesn't qualify for either of those. He's not the top coach or second top coach on the market and he's not the young guy like Jesse Mentor. People are very excited about Jesse Mentor. The Ravens had him. He left the building. They got him back the minute they could. So I I don't think he qualifies as one of those two groups, but you know, Joe Brady and Mike McCarthy don't. And I do think Joe Brady will win double-digit games in Buffalo.

24:36 I I do. They just don't have any cap space because of, you know, because of Josh Allen's $56 million salary.

24:43 Yeah. Um I got I got a couple buddies in Ohio. They are lamenting this news, Colin.

24:50 Yeah. This is un like you said, uninspiring. Everybody wants shiny new things. There's a passing game coordinator that the Rams have who's hot. A lot of Cleveland fans were begging for Clint Kubak of the Seahawks. That's clearly not going to happen now as they're in the Super Bowl. Well, it just feels like this is kind of uninspiring.

25:08 Well, the the the Cleveland coaching search was odd. So, you let go of a two-time coach of the year, and according to reports, the Cleveland Browns wanted you as one of the least interesting jobs and least desirable jobs. They were demanding you write an essay on why you think, that's the story. I'm not making this up. That was the story. They wanted you to write an essay on what qualified you for the job, which is a strange ask when you're not that desirable a position when the Ravens is open, the Bills is open, the Giants is open. Atlanta with very good ownership makes the playoffs is is was open and Cleveland, I mean, and even the Raiders get Fernando Mendoza. So, that's very attractive, right? That's that's kind of attractive. You get a very talented number one pick quarterback, four years, you're not paying him anything. I I I just I I I I have pity in life for burn victims and orphans and

26:04 people who have gone through horrible things in life. I I struggle to feel bad for people

26:10 who kept stepping in it, keeps stepping in it. And I feel like Cleveland just keeps stepping in it, drafting Johnny Manzel and Freddy Kitchens and then letting Stfansky go. It's like I it's it's hard for me to have sympathy for Cleveland when they do this.

26:24 Yeah. It's weird the way you framed that about like the Browns are asking people to write an essay. I remember one of my first college job interviews right after college. I had to fly to a town called Bay City, Michigan. Have you heard of it?

26:35 No. Yeah. I It's super tiny. But I'm like a young guy and I'm looking around the newsroom. It's all these old people. I'm like, "What is there to do in this town?" You basically I'm asking them, "Can you sell me on coming here?" And they're like, "We want you. Here's an offer." And I'm like, "I I what am I doing? I'm not going here. I'm a young guy. I don't. It just feels like Cleveland and Hasslam, they continuously have bungled.

26:57 It's a very tough job. Yeah. Shadur Sanders isn't great, but he's popular. It's very T-Boses, although he's better than T-Bo. So, it's it's it's one of those situations where the quarterback's not really traitwise great, but he's really popular. And so, you've got to play that game and you've got impulsive ownership and the roster's not very good. It's a hard job. Oh, and you're in a division where, you know, Joe Burl plays and Lamar Jackson plays and the Steelers usually have pretty good personnel. So, I I just don't It's uninspire. Maybe he'll win a bunch of games. It feels uninspiring.

27:30 Does it feel like they didn't have a game plan when they fired Stfansky a little?

27:33 Yeah. Final story, Colin. Mike Verbel and the Patriots somehow made the Super Bowl easy schedule. Face Jared Sidum in the AFC title game. Unbelievable. Anyways, he had a pretty cool approach in training camp. He wanted each of his players to start with four H's. He wanted to know their hopes, history, heroes, and heartbreak. That's kind of nerdy, but also somewhat cool. Uh, several players say that starting this instead of diving right into the playbooks, it helped kind of develop team chemistry. Uh, wide receiver Kahan Booty, when you know what a guy beside you went through in order to be here today, it makes you want to play for them even more. It all started with Vrabel. No, I I like that idea and attitude from Frabel. Do you want to tell us your uh your heroes?

28:20 Not really. Norbre to be honest. Digs, tell me about your Buffalo heartbreak losing to the Chiefs every year in the playoffs. Not Not a bad strategy. Team building, baby.

28:31 I think Drew Brees talked about that yesterday on the show. You're hiring a CEO now, not a play caller. If you can get a CEO that can do a little play calling, that's great. But you know, I was thinking about that Buffalo situation. If I'm asking you today, who is the better coach today, Joe Brady or Shawn McDerman?

28:52 Oh, come on. That's obvious. Well, it' be for me. Sorry. For me, I I would take Mcderman. Sorry.

28:57 Okay. Who's better, Kevin Stfansky or Jim Schwarz? Stfansky. Isn't it interesting? Now, when New England hired a coach, who was better, Gerard Mayer or Mike Vrabel? Okay. So the point being is when you hired Vrabel, whether or not he was going to be the best coach in the league, it was a massive upgrade. That's why you get rid of a coach. There was nobody on the market that was going to be a massive upgrade from Kevin Stfansky. Now Baltimore can argue we think Jesse Mter is a cultural upgrade from Harbaugh 18 years. You know, a lot of the stories get old. That's what Seattle felt. Pete had been there. Players had heard the stories. You want to upgrade when it comes to a coaching sir? Do you believe the coach you are hiring is a notable and inarguable and not debatable upgrade over the last coach? Do we know that with Joe Brady? Do we know that with Joe Brady and Shawn McDerman? We do not. Did

29:53 we know what Gerrod Mayo and Vrabel? Yes. Did we know Matt Eber flew Ben Johnson? Absolutely. Nat Hackett and Payton? Absolutely. Just ask yourself who was the last guy here? Who's the guy you hired? Is it an inarguable upgrade? When the answer is yes, usually good things happen.

30:09 And and that's a great point because everybody wanted the Jets to fire Aaron Glenn. I don't think anybody would have been clamoring for this job. And so I don't know if it's an upgrade. I'm fine with keeping Glenn, but like Salah, huge upgrade over uh Callahan, was it Callahan? Whoever the young coach was. I think Robert Salah qualifies as a big up guy. That that's the one coaching hire that's getting no discussion, which I actually think if I today I told you I think the New York Giants are one of my two picks to double their win total and more. This morning I don't have a second Tennessee would probably be the leader in the clubhouse with Salah. I think Cam Ward's really talented and they got a lot of cap space. A lot.

30:49 I agree. Jack with the news. Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by the Herd Lie News.

30:56 Sometimes in sports or politics, we frame our debates based on how much we like the coach, the quarterback, or the politician involved. Is Shawn McVey of the Rams getting a little pass cuz we like him? That's next. The herd.

31:21 what I'm about to say I think is pretty true. Um, if you don't like like our current president, you just don't like his personality, then you don't want to hear about his policies. And that's always if you didn't like the previous guy, Biden, you don't want to hear about his policies. You don't like him for whatever reason. It's the same with athletes. A lot of you just don't like LeBron. He's arguably the best basketball player ever. I was in last night. And I went to the game, Bulls, Lakers. Second best player on both rosters, LeBron James. And for the first quarter, he was the best player. He's great. So, people love Shawn McVey. I love Shawn McVey. People don't like Shawn Peyton as much. A little cocky, a little snarky. I like I like Shawn Peyton, too. But it is interesting. So, one coach is getting hammered for a fourth down call. The other gets a pass.

32:11 So, let's talk about Denver first. I would have kicked a field goal, but this needs to be said. Denver was playing at home. Denver has the first or second highest rated offensive line. Shawn Peyton's an elite play caller and it was early in the game and all they had to get was one yard with an excellent offensive line. They're at home now. I didn't like the call at all putting it in the hands of Jared Stumm. Bone Knicks, I would go for it and I'd have no problem. If you're going to do Jared Stadum, do a run. Get behind your offensive line. Don't roll out Jared Stumm. But what's interesting analytically, it was kind of a coin flip. The analytics didn't overwhelmingly tell you field goal, although they preferred it slightly.

33:04 Now, let's go to the Rams going for it. It wasn't fourth and one. It was fourth and four. You weren't the home team. You were the road team. In fact, it's so loud in Seattle, Matt Stafford at midfield has to kneel down because he can't hear. What do you think it sounds like in the end zone, it's the loudest place in the league. It's not fourth and one, it's fourth and four. The Seahawks Dline is higher rated than the Rams O line. So, you don't have the Broncos O line advantage. It's not fourth and one, it's fourth and four. It's not at home.

33:38 It's on the road. And yet McVey total pass. Now analytics do tell you to go for it here. But it's not 9010. It's like 4638. It's like an 8 to 10% swing. You should go for it. I defended both coaches yesterday going for it. I just didn't like Shawn Payeyton's call at all. Don't put it in the hand instead of him. Bo Nick's rolling right's different than Jared Stumm rolling right. Right. Bo Nicks is really athletic. Jared Stumm's a guy. Right. So, but it is interesting the analytics. I I look at Shawn McVey. Remember the Rams had stopped Seattle on the previous drive. So, there's certainly an argument that let's just kick a field goal, get within one. We stopped him on the previous drive. I like how my defense is playing. You can certainly make that argument.

34:33 And even the analytics weren't overwhelmingly, you got to go for it. You're on the road. Not only on the road, you're in the end zone. It's the Seahawks defense. Oh, by the way, your quarterback Matt Stafford is one of the least mobile quarterbacks in the league. So, if the play design, the play call doesn't work, you're screwed. You don't get a second and third play like Caleb Williams, Josh, Lamar, Mahal. You don't get that. You are very much in a Jared Goff situation. The play a call has to work or you're screwed. on the road against Seattle. Not fourth and one, fourth and four. So, I defended both coaches because I don't like beating coaches up for play calling. I think these coaches, you got to get a lot of buy in from your players. And if you're always punting, for the record, it should be noted that compared to 15 years ago, coaches go for it twice as often on fourth down as they used to.

35:22 So, it's just the trend in sports. Dan Campbell's entire brand is going for it. But I think Dan Campbell going for it, he loves to hand that ball off to running backs or have a clever play. He didn't have Goff rolling out. Jared Stum rolling out is Jared Goff rolling out basically. I that's never going to be my call I like. But it is interesting. Denver's at home. Denver's got a great O line. It's only fourth and one. It's early in the game. It probably isn't going to decide anything, right? And that's considered horrible. And McVey is like, "Yeah, of course you go for it." I when I was sitting there, my take was I didn't have a bother a problem going for it, but I thought fourth and four in the end zone in Seattle against a great secondary. I'm like, man, that's a I didn't have a lot of confidence in it.

36:13 I'll say that. Here's Mike Vrabel on WI in in U Boston talking about Shawn Payeyton's decision.

36:21 I I don't mind being aggressive. uh you just I think the biggest thing is trying to predict the flow of the game and what that's going to look like and do how many points do you think that you're going to need to eventually win the football game? We've gone for it and gotten it. We've gone forward and not gotten it. Uh obviously when you get it, it looks like a great decision, but the other side of the court is that you don't get it and you know now the the reaction and the response of what happens after that.

36:49 Yeah. Uh, I I'm generally I think going for it is especially if I think the quarterback is good. Um, I just didn't like Shawn Payeyton putting it in the hands of a very marginally athletic Jared Stum rolling out. I didn't like that play at all. If he would have handed it off on fourth and one and a half and the the line got styied and hammered, the Denver's O line is like one of the best in the league. The Rams is good, but it's not as good as Denver's. So there you go. you know, fourth down to the other thing about analytics because I I it's I said this like analytics is very interesting. I went and watched the Bulls and the Lakers last night. No defense in the first half. A little bit of Laker defense in the second, none in the first half. So, analytics don't measure everything. And here's what they didn't measure last night in that game. Nobody cared. Nobody cares in January about playing defense

37:46 in the first half of games. I mean, the Lakers were shooting like 60some percent in the first half. I mean, they were just getting wide open shots. Analytics don't measure everything. We know once you get to the NBA playoffs, the mid-range game becomes much more important. And once you get to the postseason in football, analytics don't talk a lot about weather. One of the reasons I would have gone for it in Denver's case is they had to have some weather reports. Teams always do knowing the weather was going to get worse and it was already cold and a little windy.

38:18 There's another reason not to have just kicked Shawn Payton. I just kicked the field goal. Take a 10 nothing league. We could get ourselves into a windy, sloppy, cold, snowy second half where that field goal matters a lot. But it I I I do think it's often interesting whether it's presidents or it's coaches or players. Do you like the guy? you're much more willing to defend the guy and McVeyy's got a very good reputation and everybody likes him. So, there you go. Um Nick Wright showing up next hour. Um RG3 showing up last hour.

38:51 Can I can I ask you a quick question about that Lakers Bulls game? So, I I was watching it out here in LA and um

38:57 you know, Luca Donuch went for I believe 46 on like 24 shots or something efficient.

39:02 How is he not the MVP of the league at this point? He has eight 40point games this season. He's unbelievable.

39:08 Oh yeah. And how is he not the MVP? You know, you know my takeaway watching that game. The New England Patriots went from unwatchable to the Super Bowl cuz you can do that in the NFL because you can trade anybody you want.

39:22 The Chicago Bulls have been bad for a decade plus and they're a mile and a half from being great. They need four more high players. The NBA limits the trades you can make. There's only so much you can do. And in the NFL, where the Patriots draft 23y old men, five of their rookies, six of their rookies for the Patriots have been highly productive. In the NBA, you draft a 19-year-old kid who even if he's Wimby is going to be on a game restriction, a minute restriction, a value restriction. And so, I'm watching that game last night and my takeaway is, you know, Luca scored 46. Um, I mean, it it was it was the easiest 46 you've ever seen in your life. easy as relative to, you know, other games. They just like they didn't Chicago doesn't defend much, especially this time, January NBA season. But my other takeaway is if you want to know why the NFL is king, it's the league of hope. Is that you can be awful. You can

40:15 literally be the Bears and the Patriots. 6 months later, free agent, you hire the right coach, you get the quarterback elevated through coaching, you can play for a Super Bowl or get damn close to it. The Bulls have been bad forever. There's no way out. There's nothing they can do to get out of that. They're not close. Most of the fans last night were cheering for LeBron and Luc,

40:37 of course. Yeah. I mean, listen, essentially, you you don't want to say everybody that's mediocre should tank, but that's what you're looking at in the NBA. This draft is so loaded last night. I'm sure you watched Ka Pete at Arizona. You got the kid Debansa from BY. There's so many there's like a six potential stars and all it takes is one. Chicago just hasn't had that luck in the draft lately. They have Nick Wright is stopping by top of next hour. It is a Tuesday. Super Bowl is set.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Colin Cowherd REACTS to Buffalo Bills hiring Joe Brady as head coach + Seahawks-Patriots | THE HERD"?

Colin Cowherd (Host).

What is "Colin Cowherd REACTS to Buffalo Bills hiring Joe Brady as head coach + Seahawks-Patriots | THE HERD" about?

Colin Cowherd discusses the Buffalo Bills' hiring of Joe Brady as head coach, questioning if he was the most sought-after candidate and reflecting on the importance of selecting top talent in coaching to turn a team's fortunes around. He highlights the success of teams like the Chargers and Patriots who have benefited from hiring elite coaches, suggesting that the trend underscores the critical…

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

16 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Ian Brady, NFL, Super Bowl, Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, Mike McCarthy. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Colin Cowherd REACTS to Buffalo Bills hiring Joe Brady as head coach + Seahawks-Patriots | THE HERD"?

The episode runs 41 min; the transcript is about 7,502 words in 80 timestamped sections.

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