Colin Cowherd: Super Bowl windows CLOSED for Josh Allen's Bills & Lamar Jackson's Ravens | HERD NFL

What this episode is about

Colin Cowherd discusses the diminishing Super Bowl windows for Josh Allen's Bills and Lamar Jackson's Ravens due to their significant salary cap hits, potential coaching challenges, and ongoing injury concerns. He argues that while Allen has a better chance to reach a Super Bowl, he would still face formidable competition from stronger rosters in both the AFC and NFC.

Key takeaways

• Josh Allen may be an underdog, but in the AFC, his cap hit is like running uphill in high heels.
• While ages rise, NFL QB wisdom shortcuts the learning curve; college coaching is better than ever!
• Drake May is poised to redefine youth as an asset—who knew 23 could be a Super Bowl starter?
• Cap hits are the NFL’s version of a double-edged sword: great talent with an expiration date.
• With stacked rosters in the NFC, Allen’s Super Bowl dreams may hinge on navigating a minefield of GMs.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Colin Cowherd (Host) · 27 min speaking
• Eric Manini (Guest) · 12 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Josh Allen, Drake May, Ian Brady, John Harbaugh
2. 5:00 – 10:00: Sam Darnold, New England Patriots, Zbiotics, Minnesota Vikings
3. 10:00 – 15:00: Sam Darnold, Eric Manini, Bill Belichick, DJ McCarthy
4. 15:00 – 20:00: Bill Belichick, Bo Nix, Ian Brady
5. 20:00 – 25:00: Sam Darnold, Mike Vrabel, John Harbaugh, Drake May
6. 25:00 – 30:00: Drake May, Colin Cowherd, Sam Darnold, Mike Vrabel
7. 30:00 – 35:00: Drake May
8. 35:00 – 38:54: Kansas City Chiefs, Ian Brady, Eric Bieniemy

Notable quotes from "Colin Cowherd: Super Bowl windows CLOSED for Josh Allen's Bills & Lamar Jackson's Ravens | HERD NFL"

• Welcome to the Herd's 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.

  about Colin Cowherd · at 0:00

• Going to get to a Super Bowl? My bet today would be no. I don't think he will. And I'm I'm a huge fan. And if I had to bet, will Josh Allen get to a Super Bowl? It would be…

  about Josh Allen · at 1:00

• Think the Patriots offense needs another draft, but I don't look at him as the problem against the Seahawks. here's Drake May talking about the experience with Vrabel this year.

  about Drake May · at 5:27

• Seattle's got at this point really I mean there's not a lot of holes with Seattle's roster but Greg Kosell came on yesterday and said people do not understand how good the…

  about New England Patriots · at 6:24

• Respect love Sam. couple calls and it's yeah, this going to work in Seattle big. So, the Vikings who let him go just fired their general manager.

  about Minnesota Vikings · at 9:05

• There was a report again by Shfter that over the last couple of weeks that Darnold's been getting these painkilling injections before the games so he can play. He's not practicing. And here's John Snyder talking about that.

  about Sam Darnold · at 10:22

• And with that, Eric Manini, Ghostbuster, who you gonna call?

  about Eric Manini · at 12:18

• Yeah. All right. I want to talk about the Bill Bellich snub. So, I would have voted him in. I would have slept on it, I do think. and you have direct knowledge of this. If you have multiple.

  about Bill Belichick · at 14:10

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Colin Cowherd — Person · Host / main speaker · 2 mentions · first at 0:00
  Drives the episode’s NFL commentary, quarterback/coach comparisons, and introduces the guest segment with Eric Manini.
• Sam Darnold — Person · Primary referenced player (QB) / discussion centerpiece · 11 mentions · first at 8:26
  Central to the segment about Minnesota letting him walk, Seattle acquiring him, and how his performance/health affected team decisions and narratives.
• Drake May — Person · Referenced young QB / key comparison point · 10 mentions · first at 1:17
  Discussed as a young, low-cap-hit QB with strong coaching (Vrabel/McDaniels references) and compared stylistically to Brady; central to New England vs Seattle framing.
• Eric Manini — Person · Main guest (NFL coach/analyst voice in interview segment) · 3 mentions · first at 12:18
  Provides insider perspective on Vikings/Darnold/McCarthy dynamics, Belichick ‘snub’ debate, and matchup analysis (Patriots defense vs Darnold/Seattle).
• Josh Allen — Person · Referenced star QB used for cap-hit/injury and Super Bowl odds argument · 4 mentions · first at 0:46
  Used as a foil to discuss roster-building constraints (cap hits), injury concerns, and likelihood of reaching/winning a Super Bowl in the AFC.
• Mike Vrabel — Person · Referenced coach / key figure in Patriots narrative · 4 mentions · first at 1:57
  Presented as a top coach and culture-setter for New England; discussed as underdog motivator and likened to a modern Belichick in temperament and approach.
  Think the Patriots offense needs another draft, but I don't look at him as the problem against the Seahawks. here's Drake May talking about the experience with Vrabel this year.
• Bill Belichick — Person · Referenced coach / Hall-of-Fame debate subject · 4 mentions · first at 14:10
  Discussed in a ‘snub’/voting controversy context, including Spygate/Deflategate-era reputational issues versus on-field accomplishments.
• Ian Brady — Person · Referenced legend / comparison anchor · 6 mentions · first at 0:40
  Used as (1) an example of elite longevity; (2) part of the Belichick success debate; (3) an ownership reference for the Raiders; (4) a stylistic comparison for Drake May.
  League's getting younger and I don't to me age is a number. I mean Aaron Rogers 42. He's not as mobile. Tom Brady 44. both those guys were really good in their 40s. Matt…
• DJ McCarthy — Person · Referenced young QB / roster decision catalyst · 3 mentions · first at 8:31
  Central to the Vikings decision to let Darnold walk; discussed as an uncertain/injured development project and a source of internal tension.
  So and my take is there was tension in the building. I think there was some JJ McCarthy couldn't stay healthy tension. Do you think you've been in this league that when Sam…
• Bo Nix — Person · Referenced young QB in coaching/conflict discussion · 2 mentions · first at 1:17
  Appears in two contexts: (1) low-cap-hit young QB with strong coaching; (2) conflict with Sean Payton over injury comments.
  Is just in the AFC. Forget the fact that Drake May and Bo Knicks both have a top five coach in the league, an established winning coach.
• Lamar Jackson — Person · Referenced star QB used for injury/Super Bowl probability argument · 1 mention · first at 0:49
  Used to discuss injury history and the host’s skepticism about his chances to reach a Super Bowl despite being a fan.
  And then here's the other thing. So, I if I had to bet today, is Lamar Jackson going to get to a Super Bowl? My bet today would be no. I don't think he will. And I'm I'm a huge fan. And if I had to bet, will Josh Allen get to a.
• John Harbaugh — Person · Referenced head coach benchmark · 4 mentions · first at 0:29
  Used as a standard for coaching quality and winning pedigree (playoff record, Super Bowl) in the discussion of whether new coaches can match prior success.
  Okay, that's that's really high. and John Harbaugh got a winning playoff record and a Super Bowl trophy.
• Shawn McDermott — Person · Referenced head coach benchmark · 1 mention · first at 0:17
  Used to frame coaching competence and stability (win percentage) and to question whether successor coaching situations will be better.
  Do we think Jesse Mitchell will be better than that? I don't know. Do we think Joe Brady will be better than McDermott?
• Eric Bieniemy — Person · Referenced coach hire (Chiefs OC) · 1 mention · first at 35:55
  Discussed as Kansas City’s offensive coordinator hire/return, framed as a ‘back to what worked’ move and debated as comfort-zone vs innovation.
  Although on this show, not so much. But they did add Eric Benemy as their new offensive coordinator. Now, it's technically not new because this is his second stint as the OC and Casey, right?
• Aaron Rodgers — Person · Referenced example of QB longevity/aging curve · 1 mention · first at 4:14
  Used to support the argument that age is ‘just a number’ for elite QBs, while noting mobility decline.
  Quarterback age or age in the NFL, the league's getting younger and I don't to me age is a number. I mean Aaron Rogers 42. He's not as mobile. Tom Brady 44. both those guys…

Companies & orgs

• New England Patriots — Company · Business focus · 3 mentions · first at 5:23
  Discussed in the context of NFL teams and their performance, particularly in relation to their roster and coaching.
• Minnesota Vikings — Company · Business focus · 2 mentions · first at 8:23
  Discussed in the context of their roster decisions and performance, particularly regarding Sam Darnold.
• Seattle Seahawks — Company · Business focus · 1 mention · first at 6:12
  Mentioned as a competitor to the New England Patriots, with discussions about their roster and performance.
  Region that likes the New England Patriots, but that line's getting up to five. That's a lot of points. Seattle is the second youngest team in the league.
• Kansas City Chiefs — Company · Business focus · 2 mentions · first at 35:50
  Mentioned in the context of their coaching staff and performance in the NFL.
  Although on this show, not so much. But they did add Eric Benemy as their new offensive coordinator. Now, it's technically not new because this is his second stint as the OC and Casey, right?

Sponsors

• Zbiotics — Product · Sponsor · 3 mentions · first at 7:04
  Promoted as a product to help with the effects of alcohol consumption, mentioned in an ad read.
  Morning. For me, that means planning ahead, especially if I want to have a few drinks. My simple trick, start the night with Ziotics Pre-alcohol. Ziotics pre-alcohol probiotic drink. The world's first genetically engineered probiotic.
• Ziotics — Product · Sponsor · 2 mentions · first at 7:04
  Mentioned as a product similar to Zbiotics, likely a mispronunciation or typo in the transcript.
  Morning. For me, that means planning ahead, especially if I want to have a few drinks. My simple trick, start the night with Ziotics Pre-alcohol. Ziotics pre-alcohol probiotic drink. The world's first genetically engineered probiotic.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Welcome to the Herd's 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. And I was thinking about this this morning. Both now are massive cap hits. Limits the roster. Uh both now have head coaches. It's very realistic. The coaches now they have are not as good as the last guy. I mean, Shawn McDermott won 66% of his games. Okay, that's that's really high. and John Harbaugh got a winning playoff record and a Super Bowl trophy.

0:36 Do we think Jesse Mitchell will be better than that? I don't know. Do we think Joe Brady will be better than McDermott? And both quarterbacks now not only have massive cap hits, we just saw Josh Allen in a boot and Lamar Jackson has been hurt several times. So, he's a little bit injuryprone. And then here's the other thing. So, I if I had to bet today, is Lamar Jackson going to get to a Super Bowl? My bet today would be no. I don't think he will. And I'm I'm a huge fan. And if I had to bet, will Josh Allen get to a Super Bowl? It would be yes. But he would be an underdog. And I don't think they would win because of his cap hit.

1:14 is just in the AFC. Forget the fact that Drake May and Bo Knicks both have a top five coach in the league, an established winning coach. But both Drake May and Bo Knicks have tiny cap hits for the next three, four years. So those Denver rosters, those New England rosters are going to be baked. They're going to be fantastic. Better than Buffalo for sure. And then my question is, if Josh Allen gets to a Super Bowl, will the NFC has many of the best GMs, Seattle and San Francisco and LA and Philadelphia and Detroit and the Rams and Tampa Bay and Green Bay. So if you get to a Super Bowl, you got to get past Shawn Payeyton and a stacked roster and Mike Vrabel in a stacked roster, Jim Harbaugh. Then you get to the NFC with more stacked rosters. Here's Josh Allen on the moves in Buffalo.

2:11 As much success we've had over the last, you know, eight to nine seasons, we still haven't been able to get get the main job done. Um so again, what does that look like? Um who's involved in those those uh decisions of of what it looks like, but I I truly believe in the direction of this organization um starting from the top. And I think that uh um again, whatever Joe needs from me, I'm going to do. and and I I think that it's it's the right decision for this organization.

2:39 Now, there's only two jobs left. Clint Kubak, the Seattle offensive coordinator, obviously has a Super Bowl couple Sundays from now. He is the leading candidate in Las Vegas reportedly and Arizona. I think Vegas is a better gig. Um I I Tom Brady's one of the owners. I like that. They've also got some interesting offensive people. I saw another story this morning. Drake May at 23 will become the second youngest quarterback to start in the Super Bowl. So, eight quarterbacks have gotten to a Super Bowl in their second year and four and four. So, I I two things are happening in society with age. Uh older people are living longer.

3:23 Boomers are are are living longer. There's been obviously health advances. Um, I mean there's there's there's more information on health. If you embrace it, you can live a little longer. People now living 79 and a half years. That's that's going up. Uh, the boomer generation is also the richest generation. So, that can help with healthcare. Uh, the second thing is happening. I believe this to be true. I think young people are savvier than I was when I was young. There's more transparency in society. Uh there are so many places to get information that you didn't get. Young people because their parents are boomers have traveled more than we that is kids. So I think older people are living longer and young people if they embrace it are uh a little savvier. Sometimes it works against them but they're a little savvier. And when it comes to quarterback age or age in the NFL, the league's getting younger and I don't to

4:14 me age is a number. I mean Aaron Rogers 42. He's not as mobile. Tom Brady 44. I mean, both those guys were really good in their 40s. Matt Stafford, I think he turns 38 here. Matt Stafford is going to win the MVP. And on the other end of the spectrum, youth Bo Knicks had 61 college starts. U I think Brock Pury, let me look it up here, had 46. Jaylen Herz had 42. These guys are starting a lot of games. College coaching is better. NFL coaching offensively has never been better. They're seven on seven camps. There's private coaching. I I don't think I mean Drake May maybe 23. Drake May is an excellent quarterback.

4:57 Probably be a little more refined next year. Josh McDaniel coaching for a second year, but I don't I don't look at him as a weakness in the Super Bowl. Is he going to put up Matt Stafford performances? Well, he doesn't have Puka Nua. Okay. And the offensive line for the Rams is better than the offensive line for the Patriots. I also think the Rams have better tight ends than the New England Patriots. I've said this. I think the Patriots offense needs another draft, but I I don't look at him as the problem against the Seahawks. Uh here's Drake May talking about the experience with Vrabel this year.

5:38 I think he uh he does a great job of kind of relating to us, relating to us being able to talk as a player and now as a coach of you know his experiences of his experiences winning Super Bowls, the experience of making the playoffs his first year um with the Steelers and remember we talked about in beginning of the season kind of talking about our stories and and what what kind of hopes we had and um you know our hopes were to to to win the big game and and win the Super Bowl and you know look where we're at now and kind of all those hopes are coming to a reality. It is hard to find anybody outside of the Dunkin Donuts region that likes the New England Patriots, but that line's getting up to five. That's a lot of points. Seattle is the second youngest team in the league.

6:17 Seattle will be a favorite. They can be at times a little reckless. They obviously Seattle's got at this point really I mean there's not a lot of holes with Seattle's roster but Greg Kosell came on yesterday and said people do not understand how good the defensive personnel is with New England. They spent a lot of money in free agency. I think New England's defense is excellent. I think their skill players backs tight ends are above average. With a big game coming up, we're all about enjoying the moment without paying for it the next day. Whether I'm hosting friends, jamming, cheering from the couch, heading to a watch party, I want to be fully present and still feel good in the morning. For me, that means planning ahead, especially if I want to have a few drinks. My simple trick, start the night with Ziotics Pre-alcohol. Ziotics pre-alcohol probiotic drink. The world's first genetically engineered probiotic.

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7:59 zbiotics.com/thed. Go there now. 15% off your first order if you use the herd at checkout. It's backed by 100% money back guarantee. No risk. Subscriptions also available for maximum consistency. Remember zbiotics.comthed. Use the code the herd at checkout for 15% off. So, the Minnesota Vikings had Sam Darnold in the building and they let him go after drafting JJ McCarthy. And John Snyder, to me, the sharpest GM in the NFL. Um, I mean, as good as anybody in personnel went and grabbed Sam Darnold. We told you on this show that is a major upgrade over Gino Smith. Everybody I talked to, every coach I talked to in the league said more athletic. Sam Darnold can play. He's finally gotten good coaching. This is great for Seattle. They were good with Jetto.

8:59 They're going to be exceptional. It's why I picked him as my surprise playoff team. Uh, I love Sam. The people who I respect love Sam. couple calls and it's like, yeah, this going to work in Seattle big. So, the Vikings who let him go just fired their general manager. According to Diana Rousini, Adam Shfter added this. Throughout the season, there was underlying tension in the Vikings building. It was ugly. And you know, you let somebody walk like this. You let Sam Darnold walk who since I' I'd said he got benched in Carolina and then he got to start again. First time in his pro career he was benched and when he was given that Minnesota that Carolina job, it was no late November of 2022. From that moment on, he went 4-2 there, 1-0 in San Francisco, 14 wins in Minnesota, Super Bowl this year. He has the highest winning percentage in the league. and they let him walk and they didn't have to pay him a fortune. I mean, Seattle's

9:58 paying him a very very teamfriendly deal, but Sam's like, you know, you drafted JJ McCarthy, who I I was not a fan of that pick. Uh I I kept reading, oh, everybody loves JJ's a winner. I'm like, nah, Darnold's better. Um, so anyway, they they fired him. And it's interesting, John Snyder was talking last night, a great quote about John Snyder. There was a report again by Shfter that over the last couple of weeks that Darnold's been getting these painkilling injections before the games so he can play. He's not practicing. And here's John Snyder talking about that.

10:41 He hasn't flinched. You know, it's kind of like like I think we were all more panicked, you know, than what was going on than he was. He was kind of like looking at us like we had three heads like what's everybody so worried about you know yeah so he's like I'll be good. So I haven't seen a lot of quarterbacks like not throw a ball and then go out and play like that you know and we've been blessed to be around some pretty damn good ones.

11:06 Yeah. He doesn't practice and he played his best game as a pro. So, I made a couple calls last night uh to uh let's just say some Hollywood insiders and uh there's a lot of talk about a story about an American hero and uh now that Darnold's made Michael Jordan's flu game look like the Sniffles, I am told there's a a bidding war. Casting directors are already working on it. Um one of the movies they're throwing around will be called Mission Very Possible, starring Sam Darnold. Oh, that's not the only one. I was told last night they're working on another movie.

11:53 The Salmonator. Yeah, Darnold Schwarzenegger. Oh, it doesn't stop there. Sammy Rocky Sammy. Yeah, you same steps just in the Pacific Northwest. The Lord of the Ring people in Hollywood are, you know, Hollywood they say is dying. Thank God for Sam Darnold saving it. And with that, Eric Manini, Ghostbuster, who you gonna call? Okay, Eric Manini is joining us live this tom foolery. Eric,

12:34 you may be a little early on those, Colin. You may be a little early. I may be six or seven days early on that. I let me start with this. Um I I'll even start with D. Let's just start with Darth.

12:46 So the GM of the Vikings just got whacked and so and and my take is there was tension in the building. I think there was some JJ McCarthy couldn't stay healthy tension. Do you think you've been in this league that when Sam leaves and crushes it, do you think that was part of the tension over the course of a year?

13:05 Yeah, it was definitely part of the tension. They could have kept him for $25 million. They didn't know how JJ McCarthy was going to a play because he didn't really play and how he was going to play coming back from an injury. So for $25 million to have that kind of insurance policy at the most important position, you you typically would do it. But I feel like they felt in the building if he was there then that would slow down McCarthy's development.

13:32 Yeah. It it would put a an impediment to it. But but in retrospect, you know, it probably was it definitely was the issue and and why he got fired.

13:42 Now, I'd say the way that the season finished in Minnesota allowed him to make that argument. losing the game to secure the number one seed,

13:51 then losing the playoffs like they did. Then it was, okay, he's he's great in the regular season,

13:57 but can he really bring us to a Super Bowl? Yeah. And then he plays his best game as a pro and beats the Rams and you're reminded that you're your offense struggled.

14:07 Yeah, that probably uh made the owner pretty angry. Yeah. Um All right. I want to talk about the Bill Bellich snub. So, I would have voted him in. I would have slept on it, I do think. and you have direct knowledge of this. If you have multiple gates on your resume and you've lost first round picks and been fine, the NFL does not like to take away first round picks. They don't like to do that. They didn't like in 2007 the Super Bowl week and Roger Goodell has to address the media and they're asking about Spygate for a week because that's the most coveted week of the year in the sport.

14:39 It's it's you know, so like I I get people um that were ticked off within the league. And by the way, I think most voters probably voted for him. And there's probably, you know, one or two that had they gone the other way, he would have gotten in. But what did you make of a snub? Let's start that, you know Bill.

14:56 Yeah. I I thought it was pretty ridiculous. There may have been multiple gates, but we're talking about three Super Bowls after that.

15:03 Yeah. And what did he go to? Six after that, and he's got a total of six. He's got two as a as a coordinator. And and you could say, okay, it's it's all Tom Brady. That That's not true. Look at Tom Brady early in his career. Tom wasn't the guy at the end of his career that he was at the beginning of his career. We scored two offensive or three offensive touchdowns in that first Super Bowl run. And one of them was from Drew Bledo. So, so to say it's, you know, all time, a lot of great coaches have had great quarterbacks. Yeah.

15:34 And not had that level of success. Now, look, I've had my challenges with Bill. A lot of people have. He's not Mr. Personality. the stuff that at Carolina I don't think has helped him. Um, and the end the way it ended New England didn't help him. But to look at his body of work versus other coaches and not say he's a first ballot hall of famer, that's that's it's just not realistic. And it's it's because you have some other issue with him that you want to play out, not based off of whether or not his accomplishments merit a first ballot hall of fame, which they obviously do.

16:12 You know, the league, the argument is, I mean, the league for seven years warned him, you know, they warned him for years and year. You know this, they warned him for years, years, year. I think at one point you've told a story where you called him and said, you know, stop stop taping, stop doing that. Could I make an argument if you would have been warned and stopped but you know it's like telling your kid don't do this and your kid does that over and over. That's when you get angry as a parent. Is is there an argument that you were warned for seven years the league was warning you to stop? By the way, there was a Spygate 2. There was a second Spygate where there was another third round pick taken. Is it maybe we're not talking about Spygate 2 cuz Deflate Gate which I never bought at all. I thought that was insane. But it but it what about the argument if you keep warning somebody about something and they don't listen,

17:00 that's where you get into trouble. Yeah, I I I understand that. But it's not like after that happened, he didn't have success.

17:11 Okay. He still had incredible success after that happened. So, so to to to pigeon hole the whole body of work under that one time period, it it doesn't make sense because there was incredible numbers after that, whether it was Super Bowl appearances, Super Bowl victories. I Yeah, I think it comes more to people have personal issues with him. He's not uh warm and fuzzy. He didn't endear himself to the media. you know, his whole thing was, I I don't care about the media because if I win, they can't touch me, and if I lose, they can't save me. So, it was never a big deal for him.

17:51 His thing was like, so what, you know, then and that that doesn't resonate with a lot of people, and the voters are are media members.

18:00 Um, listen, I I like Shawn Peyton. Sometimes he leads with his chin. And I've also said you have to be comfortable with conflict if you're a head coach. A head coach quarterback relationship's like a marriage. You're in trouble when you stop talking. I've seen I' I mean that's that's when you're in trouble. If you don't have disagreements, you're in a lifeless marriage in lifeless relationship. I argue with buddies. I argue with friends. That's the reality of relationships.

18:24 But Bo Nicks called out Shawn Payeyton for talking about his injury. What did you make of the whole thing?

18:31 Yeah, I didn't understand. I And I agree with you, Colin. You do have to be willing to have conflict, but you want the conflict to be constructive conflict and you want to be you want to disagree without being disagreeable ideally and and to call out Bicks and and to share the personal information. What did it really gain? Like what was what was the upside of doing that? Right?

18:54 And I understand why Bo Knicks then turned around and said, "Hey, that that's not the case." And wanted to state state his case. And when you look at the end of the season for Denver, does does any of that make sense to you? I mean, Shawn called the offensive plays, but then fired the offensive coordinator. Shawn decided not to kick a field goal and go for it on fourth and one. The difference is a field goal, and he fired the offensive coordinator. And so maybe he's looking for new ideas. There are other coaches that were fired, too. Objectively, the best thing they do in Denver is play defense.

19:29 Yeah. Yeah. Which is not his forte. So I the whole end of the season doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Maybe maybe you have a different perspective on it, but what's what's the um the goal of this, I guess.

19:44 Yeah. I think Sean too often leads with his chin. I like him, but he's polarizing for a reason. Um so I've said my staff was joking with me this morning that uh I've never owned an Android phone. I've always had an iPhone. And they said, my my my guys are kind of hipsters. And they're like, Colin, the Android's got way better tech than Apple, but Apple's got way better branding. News to me. And uh but I I said that's like Mike McCarthy. Mike McCarthy doesn't have good branding. He's got John Harbaugh's record. People go, Pete Carol could make the Hall of Fame. Well, he's got a better regular season record than Pete. He's been fired less than Pete and he has the same playoff record as Pete. My take is with McCarthy, his team score a lot of points. I mean, he won, remember the year they had Cooper Rush, play five game start, Dak got hurt. They had one receiver in the building you could trust. They were like top four in

20:39 scoring. Are is Mike McCarthy the classic better than you? John Harbaugh and him have almost identical resumes. We all love John Harbaugh. Mike McCarthy, everybody rolls their eyes at the higher. What do you make of Mike? I I was really surprised that Pittsburgh did what they did. It seems very off-brand for them.

20:59 Yeah. And then Mike McCarthy is a good example of someone who does have a good relationship with a lot of people who people

21:08 he's very likable. He's a he's a really nice guy and and he got a third opportunity to be a head coach

21:16 where Bill Bich didn't even get a sniff. There were nobody even talked to him. Think about how many jobs are open and and and what Bill could possibly bring to the table. He he got nothing. But with Mike, he's he's um he does have really good offensive production.

21:35 Yeah. Uh he's a likable guy. he's all those things in terms of leading your organization and and and I'm sure the the hierarchy in Pittsburgh saying, "Okay, this is a guy that can come in and and hopefully help us win right now and get over the hump, but it it just doesn't seem consistent with how the Pittsburgh Steelers have always done things. And and how many years do you anticipate him being there? I mean, Steelers coaches are there for, you know, 18 to 20 years. like I can't see Mike being there for 18 to 20 years,

22:07 right? Um you and I both love Mike Vrabel, you know, Josh McDaniel. Um I think Seattle's got a better roster. I think Seattle um but I think New England's defensive roster is underrated. I I just think Seattle offensively with JSN. Um I think Seattle's O line's a little better, especially on the left side. I think uh Darnold's got more experience, but I think there's no question to me is Seattle makes mistakes. It's a young team. Darnold can throw a bad pick. Wouldn't be shocked at all if New England won. I think what's happened here is New England was so bad last year that people just don't think it's possible they're that good. And I'm like, you guys understand the Chargers are good, the Houston Texans are good, Denver's good. Well, Drake May didn't play well. They won all three. Okay, they won playoff games. Not, by the way, Stafford and the Rams. I think the Stafford and the Rams scored 14 points

23:02 early in the season against the Texans. Everybody struggled with the Texans. Yep.

23:06 So, my takeaway is Vrabel's going to go for two weeks telling these guys, nobody believes in you.

23:13 Absolutely. And I think it's incredibly powerful. Your thoughts on New England? Vrabel, a guy, you know, facing a team as an underdog and nobody's given him a chance. Yeah, I I would absolutely take New England. I I love I love this story. It reminds me so much of our first run. The amount of guys that they brought in and this is very similar. We went five and 11 and the next year we bring in a bunch of guys. Vable was one of those guys. He was supposed to be a teams player. Ends up starting. They bring in a bunch of guys from all over the place. They've got a uh a rookie fourth round draft pick starting at safety. They've got another rookie free agent who's contributing as a pass rusher. and and you you know they have a secondyear quarterback. We had a second year quarterback. They have the the light schedule but the gain although that momentum we we were five and five through 10 games and then went on a on a

24:04 run. They they were much better than us throughout the course of the year. Then they go through this gauntlet of defenses, but it's really about New England's defense and and when you watch them play, they're going to create problems for Sam Darnold. No question. They match up, they disguise, they bring multiple blitzes, they they use everybody, uh they're playing the the tempo that they're playing with, the the the the energy, all that stuff. It's it's palpable

24:32 and it's it's fun to watch. And as much as you have the Hollywood movies set out where you had Ghostbusters, this is the team they saw Ghost against. And I know it's not Bill, but it's a lot of there's a lot of elements of that in this mix. And there's a lot of things

24:48 that he's going to have to sort through and people he's going to have to sort through

24:52 and this this could be problematic for for Sam for Sam Darnold. And outside of Jackson Smith and Jigbbo, which I think they'll take away, you know, they could potentially double him and and say, "Okay, the rest of this group is going to have to beat us." They can hold up in the running game. So they they they're going to create a lot of problems and they're selling the you know you saw the warriors uh you know walking in you see clanging the bottles from you know the mo the old movie was the ' 80s movie. Yeah great movie

25:24 like they're playing into that whole idea of yeah we're we're not supposed to be here. People are probably upset that we're here but we're here

25:33 and we're going to create problems for Seattle. Yeah. You know what's funny? I said this the other day because I spent 10 years living in the New England region and there is something about the New England region is that it's very heady. You know, MIT, Harvard, it's a highly educated area. It is not a flashy area. So I used to tell uh my wife Anna, I'm like for all the money here, you never see a Maserati. You don't see you don't see many Porsches. I'm like, there's so much money on our in this neighborhood, these suburbs, and people are not flashy and they don't show it. And Randy Moss was the rare, hot, flashy player for the P. It was a lot of I mean, even the stars, Gronk, Edelman were like tough guys, like tough. And I think Vrabel loves being the underdog. And I and I do think you become your region. There's never been a Laker team that's great that isn't flashy, right? Like that's

26:28 just LA. I think New England feeds off this. I I and I when you were I always feel like it's the smartest region of the country and they love being disrespected.

26:39 Yeah. It's it's it's a great motivator in sports and and and you you would see Michael Jordan, he would always look for some way that he was being disrespected as great as he was, right? And all the all the great teams want that, you know, that element of they don't believe in us. And and even Drake May kind of reminds you of Tom Brady in the sense that he seems like a great nice kid who

27:05 just is is happy to to be part of the team and play his role just like Tom was. And then you got all these other guys that were throwaways from their team or they didn't want to sign him as free agents or the and now they're all together and and to some degree so is Rabel, right? Tennessee got rid of him. He spent a year in Cleveland. Now he's got this other opportunity and they're all saying, "Okay, let let's see. Let's see whether or not you can hold up against us."

27:33 Yeah. As of today, if I made a Super Bowl pick, I said it the other day and and it can change. I have a right to change. It would be 2726 New England

27:44 field goal late. Tough game. Sam's imperfect. Drake May's not perfect. And it's just Seattle struggles to start a run game and they have to throw and the pass rush. There's a lot of pressure. And remember, I don't I don't think Drake May is Matt Stafford, but Matt Stafford had a lot of success against Seattle. Like a lot. And New England's receivers are better than people give him credit for. Again, they were so bad last year. If you don't watch the Patriot games, you don't understand. They they this Seattle defense, there are ways to attack it. and it's it's young. Um, so that would be that's kind of my take. All right.

28:23 Yeah, I'm with you, Colin. I think New England wins and I'm hoping it's close. I'm hoping that it's exciting. I don't know for, you know, a venitary type finish in in this one or not, but uh, you know, my player comparison with Drake May was Sam Darnold. you know, he just has the benefit of getting Josh McDaniels a lot early in his career that Sam Darnold got, you know, got with his sort of coaching men, not mentors, but at least the guys that were able to elevate him to to what his potential always was.

28:52 Yeah. Eric, good seeing you. Have a great weekend. Great seeing you, too, Colin.

28:56 Yeah. Yeah. Know, I've gone back and forth on this. I was telling Danny Parkkins, I I just have this feeling is that I and some of it was I lived there for 10 years and I watched every Patriot game. So, you just become kind of like fans of the culture and craft and how it was operated. And I mean, I think about the the Patriot dynasty. Same owner. This team has same owner, same offensive coordinator. The Patriots never had the most talent. Won a Super Bowl as a 14-point dog once. And Drake May shares so much of the gratitude and humility and size and arm strength of Brady. He's a little bit He's more athletic, but it's And to me, Vrabel is Bellichc. He's the current Bellich. Super smart, attention to detail, a little gruff at times, will fire back at the media. I I think he's a little more current. He's a little more player friendly. I think you have to be today. But I I think it's the I to me it

29:50 is. It's the start. And and what's so ironic is that the start of the first dynasty was the tuck rule game and the start of this one could be that Denver Blizzard. So I I don't know. I think it's really close. And I think um you know and Seattle could just be an avalanche and overwhelm them. But I Greg Kosell said this yesterday. People because they've played a lot of high-profile defenses like the Texans and the Broncos. Uh people are overlooking how good the defensive personnel is for New England. It is excellent. And Drake May had a really bad half. He didn't play very well against Pittsburgh if I recall.

30:30 And he had a bad half against Buffalo. I mean, it's so many games now. Um by and large, I kind of know what I get with New England. He's got a little bit of a fumble issue, but again, they've been playing in weird weather. Now they're playing in Santa Clara.

30:42 TURN ON THE NEWS. This is the Herdline news. Well, the Eagles announced yesterday that they have found their offensive coordinator, and he is, drum roll please, 33-year-old Shawn Manian. Yes, 33 years old. You probably remember the name. I'm fairly certain he was in the league in 2021. I mean, Colin, this is a super young guy. He will be replacing uh Kevin Patulo, who was a straightup disaster. Um, Sirriani is very excited about this hire and I think part of it has to do with some of the coaches that Shawn Manning played for. Are you ready, Colin? During his NFL career,

31:19 he just happened to be a backup with Shawn McVey as his head coach with Kevin O'Connell as his head coach with Matt Lafelur as his head coach. So, he comes from that McVey tree. Yes, it's unclear as of right now if he's going to call plays or not. This guy has two years experience as a coach. He was a quarterback coach last year. That's all he's really done. Colin, is is he too young for the job? Does he have enough experience?

31:46 I root for people, young people who get jobs. I've always said this. You probably in your first big job could be my kids. It could be this coach. Your first big job of your career, you should bail water for about six weeks. If you're ready for the job, your first job out of college or your first big job in your mid20s, late 20s, I mean, big job.

32:05 If you're totally ready for it, it's not a challenge. So, I I I am always rooting for people that go into jobs where you're like, I'm not sure they're ready. It'll all come down to this. How smart is he? Smart people learn stuff faster. That that I mean, if he's a smart guy, Philadelphia's whiffed on some coordinator hires. They've hit on some coordinator hires. You'll know by Thanksgiving. I don't expect him to be great in in, you know, he's not Shawn McVey. He worked he worked next to Shawn McVey. He is not Shawn McVey. Um, but I I we just don't know. This is one of these. He could be brilliant, but it is Shawn McVey. He's really become one of the coaching tree guys of note in this league and some of them have worked and Raheem Morris in Atlanta didn't work.

32:48 So, who knows? Yeah. Interesting. So, he went to Oregon State. I think you have an affinity for or for the Beavers.

32:54 Um, I do want to ask one of your theories that you like to say is, hey, if a coach hits the open market, how much interest is there? I I can't find a lot of interviews that Shawn Marian had this cycle, Colin. So, I don't know if this is a job that's maybe above his head. Like you said, bailing water for six weeks. Is that going to work on a team that just won the Super Bowl?

33:14 It is a high scrutiny job. Like Philadelphia offensive coordinator is probably the toughest coordinator job in the entire league. I'd argue it is.

33:28 Philadelphia is different. Yeah, you know, just it's even harsher than New York.

33:32 I would say it's a very boom bust because right now people coming in like what is what kind of

33:36 Sean Mc was a coordinator at 27. You can look that up. Shanahan was a coordinator at 28.

33:43 So I'm not going to, you know, again, I'm not banging on somebody because they're young. There's a there's brilliant 27, 28, 29 year olds all over the country.

33:52 Agree. Uh let's move on to the Tennessee Titans. They had a really strong coaching cycle, hiring Robert Salah as a head coach and Brian Dable as the OC. Salah said Dable's history of developing young QBs was the reason he wanted him on the staff, calling him the perfect man to match up with Cam Ward and maximize who he is. You and I both love this pairing. I I you don't want to go overboard and say Dable is going to take them to the moon, but remember Cam Ward was the number one overall pick. Slam dunk. There was no debate about it. It's very difficult. Listen, I mean, it's it's and I think most fans are pretty good about this.

34:30 When you don't have the right coach, coordinator or roster and and they're and it always feels like to me my I the last 10 years I always feel like Tennessee is like skilled players shy. They're like they they they get the defensive line right. They've had good offensive linemen. They've had star backs, good tight. I always feel like they're a receiver or three shy. Nothing nobody could have won last year. You could take a veteran quarterback and you would have struggled with this team. So Cam Ward's a kid. I I my take is this is this is How many games did Tennessee win this year?

35:04 Not many. Three and 14. Okay. This is the easiest bet the two easiest bets of teams in the league that will double their win total. New York Giants and the Tennessee Titans. Those are the two easiest. Now, the over under over Vegas total is probably going to be for the Giants about 7 and a half. Take the over. For Tennessee, it'll probably be six. I'd probably take the over. They're I don't think either is a 13- win team, but I can assure you Tennessee is going to double their win total minimum.

35:38 I don't I don't disagree. Interesting that Cam Ward is not in the Pro Bowl. He did have 15 touchdowns and seven picks. Better ratio than Shidur Sanders, who is in the Pro Bowl. I know. Let's move on to the final story. Let's go to the Kansas City Chiefs, Scotland. Oh, we love the Chiefs on this network. Although on this show, not so much. But they did add Eric Benemy as their new offensive coordinator. Now, it's technically not new because this is his second stint as the OC and Casey, right? Um he is very excited to be back with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid. Here's the enemy talking to the media.

36:14 If Big Red ever picks up the phone, that's the only person that you'll say, "Hey, you know what? It may be time to return home." Having this opportunity to come back and uh be put in this chair with Coach Reed, that was just something that it it's tough to pass up on. I'm just excited and fired up about the opportunity. I feel like a kid in a candy store.

36:35 Well, they got they got to fix their offensive line, but uh my guess is that that division now I mean, you got a stacked roster. the Charger in Denver. You got um Fernando Mendoza is gonna You say what you want about the Raiders. They're going to knock off those teams. They're going to they may finish fourth. They'll be feisty if they get Clint Kubak, Fernando Mendoza, uh Colton Miller, left tackle gets healthy. Keep your eye on the Raiders being interesting. Uh that that division is a handful. We've said this before, J-Mack.

37:04 LeBron, he kept getting to the finals cuz Toronto was the second best team in the East. Sabin dominated the SEC. Then Kirby Smart got the job at Georgia. Sark from Texas. Alabama didn't look the same. Part of being a dynasty, Tom Brady had a dynasty. Buffalo was a mess. The Jets were often a mess. I mean, Rex Ryan actually beat New England a couple times. It's part of being a dynasty is it's an easy runway. We thought Buffalo was going to have an easy path. Now they've got Drake Mayel, Josh McDaniel, cap space. like it can Kansas City could be significantly better than last year and not make the playoffs cuz you know the Chargers with Mike McDaniel and their tackles are going to be a different offense completely.

37:52 But does this kind of not feel like hey man um you know there was a they were dating before the Chiefs had behead me then they break up go in a different direction and then you break up for that relationship and you go back to your old girlfriend. I mean this is kind of the same thing the Chiefs had before. I I I don't want to say Andy Reid's running out of ideas, but Colin, at some point, don't you have to go outside of your comfort zone? Hey, we got Naggie. We got Benny, we got we got all our guys.

38:18 If something works, it's okay to go back to it. Didn't work last year. That's the problem. They went back to old stuff. It didn't work. I mean, I don't know, maybe I'm being too negative here. I know Chiefs fans get very passionate defending their team.

38:32 I think the Eric Benemy uh Andy Reid relationship was very strong. They won a lot of games. Five years ago, different time,

38:39 different roster, different everything. I think Mahomes and Andy Reed are still there. That's good.

38:45 Yeah. Yeah. No Kelsey, no Tyreek Hill to bail him out. We'll see. J for the

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Colin Cowherd: Super Bowl windows CLOSED for Josh Allen's Bills & Lamar Jackson's Ravens | HERD NFL"?

Colin Cowherd (Host), Eric Manini (Guest).

What is "Colin Cowherd: Super Bowl windows CLOSED for Josh Allen's Bills & Lamar Jackson's Ravens | HERD NFL" about?

Colin Cowherd discusses the diminishing Super Bowl windows for Josh Allen's Bills and Lamar Jackson's Ravens due to their significant salary cap hits, potential coaching challenges, and ongoing injury concerns. He argues that while Allen has a better chance to reach a Super Bowl, he would still face formidable competition from stronger rosters in both the AFC and NFC.

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

21 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Colin Cowherd, Sam Darnold, Drake May, New England Patriots, Eric Manini, Josh Allen. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Colin Cowherd: Super Bowl windows CLOSED for Josh Allen's Bills & Lamar Jackson's Ravens | HERD NFL"?

The episode runs 39 min; the transcript is about 7,214 words in 87 timestamped sections.

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