Transcript

What Colin Cowherd got RIGHT & WRONG: Broncos, Bears, Bills, Sam Darnold | THE HERD NFL

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

· 1 h 15 min · 14,661 words · 161 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "What Colin Cowherd got RIGHT & WRONG: Broncos, Bears, Bills, Sam Darnold | THE HERD NFL", an episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd published January 19, 2026 (1 h 15 min, about 14,661 words). It mentions 15 people, works and ideas, including Shawn McDermott, Bruce Feldman, Mark Fletcher, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos.

What this episode is about

The discussion analyzes Colin Cowherd's predictions regarding various NFL teams and players, focusing on the Denver Broncos' unexpected success, the dismissal of Buffalo Bills coach Shawn McDermott, and the impact of key injuries, particularly to Seattle Seahawks running back Zack Charbonnet. It highlights how Cowherd's evaluations reflect both accurate insights and misjudgments as the NFL playoff picture unfolds.

Key takeaways

  • Buffalo Bills' coaching carousel proves that greatness demands relentless perfection; just being very good won't suffice.
  • Injuries reveal the fragility of NFL depth charts: a single setback can shift playoff fortunes dramatically.
  • Josh Allen's turnovers underscore the cruel truth: even elite quarterbacks can crumble under immense pressure.
  • Patriots' resilience shines in a landscape where flash often trumps substance; they're tough competitors when it counts.
  • CJ Stroud's regression highlights the fine line between potential and performance; few mistakes allowed in the NFL's elite ranks.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 10:00: Shawn McDermott, Denver Broncos
  2. – 20:00: Shawn McDermott
  3. – 30:00: Bruce Feldman
  4. – 40:00: Jordan Whittingham
  5. – 50:00: Mark Fletcher, Bruce Feldman, Charlie Becker, Christian Gonzalez
  6. – 1:10:00: Shawn McDermott

Notable quotes from "What Colin Cowherd got RIGHT & WRONG: Broncos, Bears, Bills, Sam Darnold | THE HERD NFL"

  • Here we go. It's hour two, five minutes out from Matt Hasselbeck. He'll have great stuff. Shawn McDermott has been dismissed by the Buffalo Bills. I've said it earlier, John…
    about Shawn McDermott · at
  • Like it was a catch, but he was kind of bobbling it and then, the Denver Broncos came out with it. Not surprised by the call. I guess I would say I do agree with the call. Tough call though. Definitely a tough call.
    about Denver Broncos · at
  • Man, we got good stuff today. We'll check in. Indiana plays Miami tonight for the national championship. Bruce Feldman's in Miami. We are going to go to him live next hour.…
    about Bruce Feldman · at
  • Nobody disputes that. And Jared Vers, some of their defensive guys, but man, they get a ton. Yeah, that Jordan Whittingham, Lesne's son, played at Texas apparently told him…
    about Jordan Whittingham · at
  • Seattle's very healthy. New England, now Christian Gonzalez is playing.
    about Christian Gonzalez · at
  • Obviously, Fernando Mendoza, he's more of a running threat than what they had last year in Curtis Ror. He's played in an incredibly high level. Charlie Becker, that guy has…
    about Curtis Ror · at
  • They're more buttoned up and I think they are more to what Mario Crystal wants to be which is a bully. Mark Fletcher is a 6'2 230 lb running back and he ran all over. a really…
    about Mark Fletcher · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

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Full transcript with timestamps

Welcome to the Herds official YouTube channel. Make sure to like and subscribe. Don't forget to check out the Colin Coward podcast, all of our NFL instant reactions, and more football content. Here we go. It's hour two, five minutes out from Matt Hasselbeck. He'll have great stuff. Shawn McDermott has been dismissed by the Buffalo Bills. I've said it earlier, John Elway, they moved off Dan Reeves, who had been to three Super Bowls. when you have an all-time great quarterback talent, very good is not good enough. Also should be noted, Zack Charbanet, significant knee injury for the Seattle Seahawks. He's their number two running back after Walker.

He's going to need surgery. He is out for the rest of the playoffs. So, it dings up that running back room. Walker is very good, especially after contact. He had an about face run in that game where they handed it to him right. Uh Brady had a great call. So did Kevin Burkhart. We just pivoted left and went the exact opposite way. It was a field play for a running back. So Walker is really good out of Michigan State. But Charban is excellent. His depth provided uh he is now out. So you know that's not a position if you beat the Rams, you want the ball out of the hands of Matt Stafford. You want to run the ball, move the pocket, keep it away from that number one Rams offense. So that is something. And here we go on a Monday.

Colin right calling wrong. where Colin was right. Well, I picked Denver to upend the Kansas City Chiefs and win the AFC West and I said I thought they were with Bo Knicks good enough to get to a conference championship. Didn't know if they were a Super Bowl team and here they are. Listen, Bo Nicks was the leading rusher. He had a really bad month stretch in the season. I mean, he was egregiously bad, but Shawn Peyton never doubted him. Two for two on big balls down the field. outplayed in terms of efficiency. Josh Allen, I know there's a lot of haters, but I think we have come to terms with he had a spotty stretch in the regular season, but he's a franchise quarterback. Tough bummer.

He's out, but Denver and Bon Knicks are for real. Where Colin was wrong. Listen, Josh Allen's great. Probably the best athlete I've ever seen play quarterback, but you can't have four turnovers. He presses in key spots like before half. And the other thing he missed Doc Dawson Knox that tight end he missed him late in that game and you can't miss it. That that's why you have a veteran star quarterback. So again, whoever lost the turnover battle lost the game this weekend. And as much as I love Josh Allen, not one of his best outings

where Colin was right. There is no sports cer in America outside of the New England region who has been banging the drum for the Patriots. Between the free agent spending, Mike Vrabel, Drake May, I just think people want their playoff teams to be spectacular. And what they are is tough and resilient. They tackle well. They don't make a ton of mistakes. They're just a really good football team with a great head coach, maybe the best offensive coordinator in the sport. And like the old Patriots, they just make one or two wildly dramatic great plays like that catch by Kahan Booty when they need it.

Where Colin was wrong. I defend CJ Strad every time I'm asked, but he has regressed. And it's not just mistakes. It's the kind of mistake he's making. Throws that at this point in his career and with his contract you can't be making. Right. He's up for an extension. This game probably cost him an extension in the off season. Um it just again that should have been caught. They're not all on him, but this is a bad throw. And the weather wasn't even as bad at that point. So I think you know as much as I like him in two playoff games, he completed 52% of his throws and had seven giveaways.

And the mistakes are bad mistakes. where Colin was right. I picked the Seahawks to make the playoffs. They were my surprise pick in the NFL. I said, "If there's one team, the Patriots will double their win total. This will be the surprisingly good team." Why? I love their GM. I think Sam Darnold was a massive athletic upgrade over Gino Smith. And Mike McDonald is the Shawn McVey on defense. I think they have three things that are dangerous. a productive quarterback with a team friendly deal and they don't miss on draft picks. This roster is stacked

where Colin was right. I didn't buy into the Matt Laflur rumors he was in trouble in Green Bay. Come on. He's won 66% of his games. Are you kidding me? In the division last several years been very good. He is off to the second best start in league history through the first seven years of being a head coach. Do you know how hard it is to win 66% of your games in the NFL? You can't do a Cleveland. Let him go. And he's the number one candidate for almost every job on the market. His offenses are productive. He's player friendly but holds people accountable. Matt Laflure cannot be fired in Green Bay.

Where Colin was wrong. I said of the eight remaining teams, I thought Chicago in my herd hierarchy, I put him number eight, but San Francisco was outmatched and the Texans imploded. I I was so impressed with Dennis Allen's defense. Only only place I worried about Chicago. Their fourth down packages weren't great and a lot of that is just the Rams. But I was totally impressed when the Rams marched down the field, took a seven nothing lead. I thought, uh-oh, they came right back down the field. I think I think Chicago is in a great spot going forward and they earned their spot in that game and could have very easily won

where Colin was right. Kevin Stfansky, I said when Cleveland fired him, he's going to interview for every job and he's going to be the best candidate for every job available. And he was until John Harbaugh was available. Stfansky interviewed for Baltimore, New York, Atlanta. It looks like now in hindsight, maybe he should have waited. Nobody knew what was going to happen to McDermott, who is now the 10th coach dismissed. Ties for the most ever. Stfansky is, come on, two-time coach of the year in Cleveland. Say that out loud. It's hard to do

where Colin was right. Finally, despite every mock draft having Dante Moore going number one or two, I said the Oregon quarterback was going nowhere. Number one, Oregon pays its top players. Number two, they treat their players well. Three, Dante Moore needs another 12, 13, 14, 15 starts. And four, I think if you're smart, you look at the New York Jets situation currently, that is not a place any young 20-year-old quarterback would want to go. Colin Wright, Colin Wrong. And with that, Matt Hasselbeck, 18 years in the NFL is now joining us live. All right, let's start with Shawn McDermott. Um, I said this before is that sometimes when you have a star quarterback, you're looking for your Jimmy Johnson, your Bill Walsh, you know, you're looking for your homegrren.

You're looking for a great coach, not a really good coach. I'm okay with it. I think McDermott's going to get a job very quickly. How's it land for you?

Yeah, he's a great coach. I think he's a really good coach. I think this is uh, you know, a big surprise. I could just say this as a player who's been, you know, on teams where they fired the head coach. Man, do you feel guilty? Like you feel like, you know, you saw Josh Allen at the podium after the game and he's in tears and he's like can barely get through it. He's like, man, I feel like I let my teammates down. I can promise you it's twice as bad today. He feels like he let his coach down. And not only his head coach now, everybody in the building's probably gone. I mean, they did. When you lose a head coach, you flush out just about everybody. A new new head coach comes in, new regime, uh coordinators change, position coaches change. I mean, shoot, a lot of people in the building can change a lot of different support support spots. So, like I think as a player, you're going to see you're going to see a different

version of Josh Allen just because he's going to just like, you know, tighten the screws a little bit, you know, and sometimes as a great player, you know, you can get a little careless with the ball. And I think that's what happened uh, you know, particularly in this last game. But Josh Allen, I think, you know, if it was just talent alone, he's the MVP. Um, but this is going to be a, you know, a kick in the gut to him and he's going to take this one hard.

Uh, what did you make of the interception? Uh, I won't I won't have any confirmation bias. I'll just lay it out. What did you make of it as a former high-end great player?

I think that they had to go with whatever they called on the field. If you're talking about the Brandon Cooks interception, you know, where it looked like it was a catch, but he was kind of bobbling it and then, you know, the Denver Broncos came out with it. Not surprised by the call. I guess I would say I do agree with the call. Tough call though. Definitely a tough call.

Yeah. All right, Denver. Um, listen, you go to Jared Stdum, he's been in the program. What I would worry about is that he's not taken first team reps all year. You also lose Matt the Bo Knicks running element. I mean, Bo Knicks is an athlete. Um, so I to me it feels like you're going to a pocket guy who hasn't taken a lot of reps. I mean, I think STDM's been in the building. He knows the playbook, but to me, this is a big ask. Is it not for Denver?

Yeah. Listen, I I mean, I think Bo Knicks is unbelievably underrated. You know, I I really do. I think he's a very good player. Two years in a row, I thought he's a great player. Yeah. Uh Jared Sidum, though, if you if you remember, he was the guy drafted out of Auburn, played at Baylor, then went to Auburn, played at Baylor, played at Auburn, and was drafted maybe to be the air apparent to Tom Brady. I mean, he was kind of the guy going through and then they pulled Cam Newton out of nowhere, you know, like late in the year and said, "Hey, maybe we can build it."

You know, they were craving running ability after years of Tom Brady. I think they talked about like, "Oh, we'll be so much more dangerous if we can have a dual threat quarterback." But in a way, like StDam did a little bit of that, you know, in college. I don't think he's Bon Hicks, but he's he's also not a statue back there. Uh, no. But and I can also just say as a guy that like you know when you're a backup and you practice every single day for years and years and years and years and you never get your opportunity, this is what you're training for. And sometimes as a backup quarterback, the feeling is this.

It's like you you study for like a final exam, like maybe it's a paper and you do all the work all week and then Sunday comes and you give it to the professor and the professor looks at it and says, "Here, I'm throwing it in the trash. Thanks for preparing, but you we didn't need you today. thanks for doing all that work and it's years and years and years. So now here it is. He knows that that final exam that he's turning in it, you know, it's going to get graded and it's going to be graded hard and the expectations are high and it's a tough opponent, but uh the hope is that you're ready and you don't get exposed. The hope is that you seize the opportunity and take advantage of it.

All right, one more team that's gone. We we started with the Bills, Broncos, Bears, then before we get to the winning teams. Um, big picture, I did think, and I know people can glom on to the interceptions. I think Caleb looks so much more comfortable now than 6 to 8 weeks ago. I think he's I think he like people are saying, "Well, how come he doesn't run more?" And that may be because he's more comfortable and sees the field better. I guess what wrap your bow a bow around Ben and Caleb after this game in the season. Where are you with the pair?

night and day from last year. Caleb Williams night and day. Like last year, like didn't see it. I was like, this guy, I don't see it. I don't see success here, you know? I just don't see it. And this this year, he's gotten better each and every week. And I think one of the best things you can say about quarterback development is a team, you're developing your quarterback, your young quarterback as you're winning games. Yeah. And that's what they did. They found ways to win. They were the Cardiac Bears. Um, no. This is I think you got to be so excited and and I've said it like when you get the GM right, the head coach right, and the quarterback right, you know, kind of that triad, one heartbeat, one vision, we're all together. Um, and we all got each other's back. That's what Chicago has right now. Like I I think Ben Johnson, I I don't know if I can overstate how much respect I have for him as a leader and as a play caller and

like all the stuff that he brings to the table. We knew he was a great play caller. Like we we knew that part. But just like the the the leadership in the steadiness that he's brought to the sidelines, to the podium, to the franchise, and in lock step with your GM, I think that's um it's a big reason I think a lot of these guys are getting fired around the league is that they're saying like, "Whoa, look what this guy did in year one. We got to find another Ben Johnson. I just don't know if there's another Ben Johnson out there."

All right, let's talk Rams. They only had three drives. Here's what blew me away. No penalties, no turnovers, and Matt, they didn't have a dropped pass to take a to take a warm weather team to that environment. And again, it wasn't as spectacular as Chicago. They played about as clean a game in crappy weather as you I mean, we watched the Texans Patriots. They had eight turnovers. I was just kind of blown away by I know it's not a sexy ter the efficiency of the Rams. didn't make any mistakes. Your thoughts?

I think they're a great team number one and you talk about no penalties. I think you really shows up how you practice shows up how you play. You know, you know, I've played on teams where we let DBs get away with defensive pass interference in practice all the time and then we get to the game then they throw the flag and the DBs would be like, "What's what are you talking about? That's not a penalty." And we'd sit there and as teammates we'd be like, "Yeah, it is a penalty." And that's how you practice every single day. So like we're not surprised. you shouldn't be surprised either. So, I think the Rams practice well. I think they're really well coached. And you mentioned no drop balls. I there's a there's a phrase in quarterback rooms. It's called KYP. Know your personnel. And so, when you're throwing a pass to a fullback, a wide receiver, uh eligible offensive tackle, like whoever it is, KY. Know the kind of

throw that you can throw that guy. There's a difference between throwing a ball to Puka and then to a backup tight end. like it's it's the kind of throw you give the guy and I think Matthew Stafford is as good as they come that way. He's he's next level.

Yeah. All right, let's talk Seattle. Um, you know, it's a it's it's at the end of Pete Carol's era, I'm sitting here thinking, I just don't know what they are. They're not even good on defense. Two years later, I'm like, that's that's the fastest, longest, most dynamic roster in the sport. I mean, it's amazing what you can do in this league in short time, but I look at Seattle and I I'm not sure where, Matt, the weakness is. Like, I I don't know how you I mean, you tell me you the best defenses you played against. How do you attack Seattle?

I don't want to give that up, Colin. I'm kind of rooting for him this week. So, I I know what I would do. Uh but I don't want to give that up. But listen, you mentioned two years ago they weren't good on defense. They were atrocious. And you know, there's there's a lot that went into saying goodbye to Pete Carol. It's a big big deal. It's kind of a business decision. It's kind of a um you know, kind of a global like what are we going to be in the future decision. They go out and hire the youngest head coach in in football and you mentioned it.

He's the defensive version of Shawn McVey and what he's done coming in setting kind of like a new mentality. Um I think the biggest difference is this and this is what I think I was most impressed with in the 49er game. Poise. Like that's not something as great as those other Seahawk defenses were and offenses were. I don't know that I've ever seen the level of poise. The 49ers were as chippy as I've ever seen a team be. And guys, they just took it. Witherspoon, Devin Witherspoon, great player. He took it. JSN, he just takes it. And I just think like they're all about the mission. This mob mentality, mission over any BS. And that's what they are. They are sing they're sing sing sing sing sing sing sing sing sing sing sing sing sing sing sing sing sing sing sing sing sing sing sing sing singularly focused on one thing one mission and that's getting the win and it's putting the team first and I just

again this is a guy that was a great defensive play caller we didn't know how he'd be as a leader and a culture setter and he's been outstanding pair that with John Schneider and his free agency and his his draft picks it's no surprise this team's as good as they are

well you know that you're you're from that New England region I said earlier having lived there for a decade I said there's a lot of money in New England but It's never ostentatious. The people in that region appreciate smarts, discipline, efficiency. They're kind of relentless. You know, you're you're going to you're going to rake your own leaves and and get the snowblower out yourself. And New England, I always felt New England culture is the Patriots. They didn't have the most dynamic roster, but they were dynamic about twice a game on offense when you needed them to be. I honestly watch this team. It reminds me of the Bellichc Brady teams is that you end up looking up and thinking, "Oh, they beat us again. They just make enough splashy plays to beat you." But I when I started snowing, I'm like, "Oh god, they love this. This is exactly built for new. I think they're better than people think they are. Your

thoughts?" Yeah, I agree. Um and and I, you know, I take exception to the snowblower comment because I had my shovel out today shoveling. But u No, listen. I think they're a year ahead of where we all thought they would be. Yeah, you know, they they remind me a lot of the Seahawks last year, you know, and they're just sort of overachieving and they're playing great. They spent their money on defense and did a great job up front. Christian Barmore is back. Milton Williams, highest paid player in their team. That front four creates a lot of opportunity for the guys behind him, but they've got great cover guys and Gonzo and Carlton Davis III. But the real the real magic is what they've done with Drake May. You know, like I my my brother for like five years has been like Drake May is gonna be as good as there is in the game of football. And I think people were looking at him like he was crazy even last year. But Drake May

to me has been one of the top quarterbacks in the entire NFL and there's still a lot of room for improvement. That's that's what everyone's so fired up about. So again, you get like kind of the triad, Elliot Wolf, Mike Vrabel, you get the quarterback, right? And Josh McDaniels deserves a lot of credit, but like those early great New England franchises, like those those championship teams, the defense has kind of been leading the way while the young quarterback develops. At some point, it's going to be all on this quarterback. It's going to be his team and, you know, the best the rest of the league better look out. I want to pivot back finally to because the story of the day is Shawn McDermott a very good coach has been let go. Let's go back to that.

So I said I would not go with Jeff Hafley or Jesse Mentor. They've never been head coaches. I'm not experimenting. Mike McCarthy's good, but he feels a little Shawn McDermott where you were never quite buttoned up in the playoffs. People older guy people got a little frustrated. Brian Dable, however, has been in the building, offensive coach, very intense work with Josh Allen. That feels like guys in the building know he's a hard guy. He He is built for that kind of intensity and passion. Dable feels like a fit to me.

Agree or disagree? Yeah. Well, yeah, agree. Uh, one quick thing. Jeff Hafley was a a head coach as a college coach, but again, I think he's a defensive guy. So, I agree with you wholeheartedly that the Buffalo Bills will most likely be looking for an offensive head coach. Uh, somebody that is going to fire up that fan base and quite honestly maximize the potential of Josh Allen. And I will say this, Josh Allen when he came out of college, I the the improvement from him in college to what he did with um with Dball was absolutely incredible. He went from a guy that in my opinion didn't have his eyes in the right place as a young quarterback and all of a sudden he's one of the best quarterbacks I've ever seen in my entire life at deciphering the blitz and getting the blitz picked up and all that kind of stuff. So, uh, Dball plus Josh Allen has proven to be a successful thing. It wouldn't surprise

me at all if it ended up going that way. Um, in fact, I would say he's the leader in the clubhouse.

Would you be excited for a Seahawk Patriot Super Bowl? It'd be pretty cool. It'd be my old team against my dad's old team. It would uh it'd be pretty awesome. I'd be looking forward to that one. And quite honestly, like I think if you say like what do you most likely expect to happen? I think that's the most likely outcome. um doesn't mean that the Rams can't get it done. We've seen how those games have gone between Seattle and uh and LA, but um but I think if you're thinking just like the home field advantage, who's hot right now, who's rested, all that kind of stuff, uh I would I'd be kind of surprised if it didn't didn't go that way.

Yes. So, Seattle gets an extra day of prep and the Rams also played an overtime session, which is something. It's another, you know, 15 20 whatever snaps it is.

It's not it's not nothing. And you know, like there's there's also this idea of uh really knowing your opponent and playing somebody three times. And uh and there's there's like that's where I really feel like coaching is more important than ever. Like when it's a third matchup, now we're really saying, okay, who's got the better coaching staff in all three phases, uh defense, offense, and I think in this matchup in particular, special teams has been a huge factor.

Oh, huge big edge Seattle. For the record, we had a graphic, we can put it up again, that our staff put up, how close the Rams and the Seahawks are, and this will be the third matchup. And again, it's McVey against the defensive version of McVey, and one point separates these two uh after two meetings. Like you you're talking about they've scored the the same. They're I mean, they really And also, Seattle doesn't miss on its first couple of picks. I mean, look at this. Seattle scored 57, the Rams 58. The yards are separated by a single yard. I mean, did we were saying this earlier about week seven or eight. Wasn't this kind of what we thought we'd end up with as San Francisco was falling apart and Philly couldn't find their offense?

I listen, I think these are the two best teams in football. I've been saying it for a while. So, like, no offense to whoever in the AFC is representing in the Super Bowl. This is the Super Bowl to me. These are the two best teams in football this year. And, you know, like you mentioned special teams. I'm curious if the LA Rams are even going to let Seattle return a kick. Like Rasheed Shahed, are you just or are you just going to say, "Hey, you know what? We just we'll just give you the touchback. We'll just give it to you. We'll just like here you get the free yards. We're just not going to give up a big one."

Yeah. Uh so yeah, he he returned a punt for a touchdown against the Rams last time. Yeah. You to your point, like we don't want him to touch the ball, period. Exactly. And you do this like if you remember like I remember when I was playing Devin Hester was that kind of a guy. Yeah. Josh Cribs. There were some guys that were just like, you know what, we'll just give you all the extra yardage. We just can't we can't have you wreck the game. Steve Smith was that way. Just kick it out of bounds or just, you know, we need a touchback. We need a touchback. And I think Rasheed Shahed's been that kind of player for Seattle.

Great stuff, Matt, as always. Thanks, buddy. All right. See you. Yeah, I mean I I People are talking about scenarios. If you got Seattle and New England, uh, you know, it's just it's like New England's a little bit younger version of the great Brady teams. I mean, Drake May's obviously younger. It reminds me of a lot. I get Craft, I get I get the quarterback, uh, younger, but uh, I get the OC in Brabel's Bellich, just the more current version. That's pretty good. It's the herd.

Man, we got good stuff today. We'll check in. Indiana plays Miami tonight for the national championship. Bruce Feldman's in Miami. We are going to go to him live next hour. Albert Brer on the coaching carousel. 10 openings, a third of the league. Memo to all the teams that stress patience. Patience is a virtue. Virtues don't win playoff games. Think about this. One year ago, Chicago is a mess. Blow it up. Look at them now. One year ago, Gerard Mayo got a deal. Four or five year deal. Blew it up. Look at New England. Jacksonville bring in a new coach, right? Coach for now a veteran quarterback. First place. I mean, go go a couple of years ago. Nathaniel Hackett. Denver said, "Nope. One year out."

Shawn Payeyton's like, "Yeah, Russell Wilson out. Go with a rookie. Look at Houston 313 and one before Demo Ryan's." So, you know, Pittsburgh's, "Hey, we do not fire coaches in Pittsburgh." Well, the New York Giants are like, "Yeah, we do. We just got John Harbaugh." Atlanta's like, "We do. We just got an upgrade to Kevin Stfansky." So, like Buffalo has been playing this thing for years. They're being very, very patient. And patience is overrated. I mean, there is no such thing in the NFL as a five-year plan. There are five-year contracts.

There are not five-year plans. And I mean, it's just like in life. You can see awful or overwhelmed or great very easily. It's much harder when the margins shrink. Yeah, pretty good. I don't think he's quite good enough, but you can you can look at what's happened in the last couple years. pre Liam Cohen in Jacksonville or you know Nat Hackett or Matt Eberflu's in Chicago or you know David Cully was in Houston is I mean Chicago, New England, Denver, Houston. They needed to act quickly. They weren't real patient. Let's try something new.

And it worked. And and again you got to there are fiveyear contracts. Uh that doesn't mean there's fiveyear plans, you know. And I've also said this for years. My big takeaway in the NFL this season, the NFL remains the league of hope. Look at how bad, bad, awful the Bears were last year. Look at how unwatchable New England was last year and look at them now. I know. I mean, it's like you go to the end of the Pete Carol era two years ago in Seattle and you're like, man, I don't even know what we are. two years later be favored for the Super Bowl. Two years if you got if you you find the right coach, you upgrade and pivot off Gino.

Gino's good enough. No, he's not. No, he's not. Sam Darnold's good enough. So, um you know, and unlike the NBA, in the NFL, you're drafting 23 year old men who are ready to produce immediately. That's why rebuilds in the NBA take years. Even if you get like San Antonio every draft pick, right? NFL. Eight months later, you can be a number one seed. It is the League of Hope, one of the great strengths of the NFL. And here's Jack with the news.

NO, NO, NO. TURN ON THE NEWS. THIS is the Herdline news. All right, let's pivot to quarterbacks and start with CJ Strad. Uh 90 minutes into the show, we have not mentioned the quarterback who was the worst this weekend. I mean, Colin, I cannot believe how putrid CJ Strad was. Okay, four interceptions in the first half. That one right there nearly broke me, Colin, watching this game. I'm like, come on, Texans. And I I don't I just don't know what he was doing. Stra did take full responsibility uh after the game, but I don't know what that's worth. Here we go.

I just feel like I let people down and um you know, not not happy with that and um you know, it hurts um and I'm not you know um naive to it and I'm going just keep battling for you know um you know, if God before me, who can be against me and I'm just going to rely on that. Um, but yeah, I think, you know, even today, you know, just [clears throat] our team doing great, you know, our defense, you know, getting stops, you know, and I just being careless with the football. I got to, you know, get that fix and something that I know I can. So, I'm going to going to get that done.

Uh, for the record, my buddy John Middlecloff mentioned it this weekend. Who was CJ Straoud's comp coming out of college? It was Jared Goff. They said he's a pocket quarterback. He is a touchthrower. He's not a big cannon guy. He is a rhythm touchth thrower. Golf has struggled in bad weather. CJ Stout has really struggled on the road and in bad weather. He looked totally Jason out of sorts. I mean, his ball was lagging. It was behind. He just did not I mean and and the thing that you worry about he has an extension. He's available for an extension. He's not getting it this off this game. He's not getting it.

What do you mean not getting it? Come on. You're going to wait another year. I don't know about that. So, um, yes, he was putrid against Pittsburgh. He was terrible. Um, yeah,

yesterday, I mean, it was unwatchable. He killed him. And by the way, just to be clear, the Patriots were not good yesterday. They had like 250 yards. Drake May fumbled the ball away. This was a game into the fourth quarter. Stra just couldn't do a damn thing. And I I know we've seen this with other quarterbacks. Colin, I just want to remind people, I love Trevor Lawrence a lot coming out of college. He was not great in Jacksonville. And there was the same chatter. Well, I don't know about an extension. He hasn't he hasn't done anything in the playoffs. He had a four four interception game uh against the Chargers. They did win that. I you have to extend Stout. I think the bigger question is, and remember we touched on this earlier this season, nobody else is on this.

Straoud's agent is David Mulligetta. Muletta got his guy Micah Parsons out of Dallas.

Yeah. I I I know there's a lot of Houston fans that don't want to hear this. I don't know if Strad wants to be in Houston. remember he showed up in like baseball hats of other teams. That's a LeBron move. Okay,

we'll see what happens. I think you have to give him an offer. I don't think you give him a max money deal.

This is actually good if you're Houston. Hey, we're going to give you a friendly deal.

For the record, there have been rumors about the Rams bringing back California native CJ Stout.

I think we started them on this show and he would do great in the NFC West. Warm weather. You don't have to worry about

McVey. Everybody is their best football player with Shawn McVey. Have you ever noticed that? Like every they got I'll get into this later. They got more guys who are stars in this league that are fourth, fifth, sixth round picks. So like CJ Strad Ram, you're not get CJ Stout in Houston would not be CJ Strad with Shawn McVey. It's like Sam Darnold with the Jets and then you see Sam Darnold with Seattle and Minnesota. When it comes to quarterbacks and CJ Strad is still young. Who's coaching them?

Yeah. What what ecosystem are they in? CJ Strad with time throws a beautiful ball.

The the only big concern for him is Colin, you remember as a rookie, he was great. He was like, "Whoa, this guy's ahead of schedule."

Yeah. And I think Aman hit on this on the broadcast. Do you think CJ Stout has improved since his

rookie year? He has regressed. I I haven't seen it. Now to to defend him, and I know Mulligetta pays attention to the media closely. No, Nico Collins, his best receiver yesterday. Dalton Schultz had a big play early and then got hurt. The left tackle goes down. So, there was a lot of things working against him. Woody Marks, you know, taking up space in the blue tent as usual every week. Um, it wasn't a perfect setup and and the Patriots defense looked good. Yeah.

But, I mean, Colin, he was bad. He was he was bad. Um, all right, let's move on to the uh Philadelphia Eagles. Obviously, they moved off of OC Kevin Patulo last week and uh Howie Roseman is getting questions about AJ Brown. Now, there is a report and I had to ask our guy Zack, where's this from? Well, it's from The Athletic, a very credible outlet, and they're assigning blame to Jaylen Herz, who has been a source of much internal frustration within the organization. I told you during the summer I had a great not a good a great source inside very close inside that building that said Jaylen Herz was not wellliked that a lot of guys thought he was there's a little Russell Wilson thing here where he's not one of the guys he's not wildly popular I said this in August and this source has been great and this has been an impeachable person for me that has not missed. He said, "Keep your eye on Herz if they struggle. There's a

lot of push back in that locker room. He's not He's not You know, one of the great things Tom Brady did, maybe better than any great player ever at quarterback. Everybody liked Tom. There's never been a bad word from a player like young guys, old guys. Randy Moss leaves still loves Tom. There is value in just connecting with everybody. And there's a feeling. We've seen it with Russell. There's a feeling I love Jaylen Herz. I think he's a really good guy. I'm not in that locker room. But my source was pretty direct and said it it's not all roses in that locker room and Herz can turn some players off.

Yeah. So, they're looking at Brian Dable as the offensive coordinator. Here's the only problem with that. The Buffalo Bills job that just opened, you know, who led Josh Allen to becoming a superstar? Brian Dable. I think he's got to be a strong candidate, Jim and Joe Brady for that. And now, go ahead.

And the other thing is if he took the Philadelphia job, he'd be great. But that would just mean Sirani keeps his job.

And then Dable moves on in a year to the Jets or wherever, right? If Buffalo's available, you take Buffalo. Period. You I don't care what the money is. If Josh Allen and the Bills are available, new stadium, Josh Allen still in his prime. That you don't get jobs like that. That's like getting Green Bay Matt Laflur getting Aaron Rogers in his prime. Those jobs don't open up.

Yeah. This this is troubling for Herz. Uh he was so good last year. I know Saquon was amazing. MVP of the Super Bowl. I

I'm gonna just hold off on bashing him. I obviously not disputing your report because the Athletic coming out now saying the same thing.

Not great in Philly. Uh final story, Colin. There's a college football game tonight. Let me see the calendar. Uh January 19th and there's a college football game. What a world. Uh Indiana against Miami. Hooers have been incredible. Luckily, college football has Curt Signetti to keep a killer mindset. Here's an awesome quote from the Indiana coach.

Leading up to this game, there's been a lot of pro Indiana hype, a lot of rat poison out there. Now, I've [snorts] witnessed quite a bit of sentimentalism uh throughout the week from some of our seniors who we've been with quite a long time. Uh I think it's time to sharpen the saw now. Uh uh throw those warm fuzzies over out the door. Uh that sentimentalism. Uh, you know, it's time to go play a game against a great opponent. Uh, we got to have a sharp edge going into this game. And, uh, you know, you don't go to war with warm milk and cookies.

Love it. Yeah. Now, here here's the problem for the people upset that the natty is tonight, next year, January 25th, for the for the college football championship. So, they got to fix this thing cuz there's like not a lot of juice for this game, Colin. Right. NFL, you got coaching firings, you got everybody in there.

There will be tonight. This will get a massive It'll It'll get a big number. It'll be interesting. Um, by the way, I don't know if you saw over the weekend. So, this ballooned up to eight and a half. Yeah.

For Indiana. It has come down. I don't know. Uh, seven and a half. I think eight and a half's obviously way too much. This was 5 1/2 for Indiana before they smoked Oregon, right? So, then a big adjustment. I uh I think I I need Indiana to win by a field goal. But, um, I think Miami keeps this close. This, this should be a good game. I I would take the seven and a half. Anything from you?

I think Indiana wins. I think it's close. I think I think Michigan's going to Miami is going to ugly it up with their defensive front. M Miami's got great line play and this will be the third natty that Carson Beck has played in. You're not going to get some nervous quarterback. You know, he's winning them for Georgia. Now he's playing for Miami. So, I mean Miami Crystal Ball's been in big games. Carson Beck's been in big games. O line Dline for Miami. In these national championship games, O line and Dline dictates a lot of outcomes. It's not your receivers. It's not your backs.

Who dominates the line of scrimmage? Indiana's got their work cut out for them tonight. I like the Hooers, but I think it's really competitive.

Carson Beck can make himself a lot of money tonight. There's a lot of debate who's the second best quarterback, third, fourth. Carson Beck's in that mix. There's a big game for him tonight if he shows up and plays well.

Jack with the news. Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news.

A a remarkable piece of information from the weekend next. The most resourceful team of the four left in the playoffs. There's no disputing this. The most resourceful, getting the most out of the perceived least, is the Rams. I'm going to put this up. I'm not going to read it all. Sorry to the radio audience. The Rams have 12 players I will list that are either undrafted, third, fifth, sixth, or seventh round, and they get production from all of them. I didn't list both tight ends, also fourth rounders. Two of their tight ends are fourth rounders. Two of their tight ends. I mean, nobody in the league, especially of these teams left, has this much production. I mean, they've only had one first round pick in the last nine years. One. Now, they hit on it, Jared Verse. One.

Then, that is impressive. I mean, this this is this is buying a lot of $7 stocks. You look up and they're 24 bucks a share. They get a lot out of third, fourth, fifth, sixth guy. Their left tackle is undrafted. That's unheard of. Nate Landman went to Atlanta first. They got him for a song out of the Falcons. He's undrafted. I think he was a Colorado guy who was playing on a team nobody watched. I mean, Puka Naku is arguably, you know, your offensive player of the year. He's a fifthrounder. At the time, New England was def desperate for a wide receiver. They passed on him four or five times. So, uh, I mean, they just they, you know, again, Stafford's great.

Nobody disputes that. And Jared Vers, some of their defensive guys, but man, they get a ton. Yeah, that Jordan Whittingham, Lesne's son, played at Texas apparently told him, "Hey, dad got great leadership skills. They go get him in the sixth round. He made big catches." So, it it's they just squeeze every ounce of talent. Here's McVey again on the big win. Thought our defense was outstanding. Thought special teams made the plays that they had to make. And then offensively, um, man, I I I did not do a very good job for our group tonight, but I thought our guys were able to overcome it. I thought we were able to be at our best in the most important moments, be able to string together some drives.

Guys just kept battling. They kept believing. Um, and that's what it's about. You know, there's no style points. It's about being able to survive in advance, and we were able to do that in a tough, hostile environment. And it was cold today.

Yeah, it was. It it really was. So, uh, they just, you know, listen, for every team that gets here, you got to squeeze as much juice as you can out of your team. You know, you got like New England, by the way, had a great draft. New England's hit on four or five of the rookies for New England have been out of this world good. It should also be noted the Rams now are very healthy. The Seahawks are overwhelmingly, they're losing Charbanet, the running back. Seattle's very healthy. Uh, New England, now Christian Gonzalez is is playing.

New England is very healthy. Denver is except for Bo Nicks is out. So, you know, people talk a lot about, you know, injuries and there's, you know, there's some star quarterbacks getting hurt. What happens is when you have a star quarterback like a Lamar or like a a Patrick Mahomes, a lot of times when you pay him big money, your offensive line isn't as good. Your pass protection for Kansas City last couple of years has been bad and Mahomes is getting beat up. So, but it is um we're lucky. I I'll tell you I you I'm watching this game.

Very rarely do you lose a game and then the next morning you wake up and you feel pretty good about it. If you're a Chicago Bear fan, and this is rare, not only do you have a coach, he may be your last coach for a decade plus, not only do you have the right quarterback, how many teams in the NFL can say this if you're a Chicago Bear fan. We don't need anybody offensively for a couple years. Their tackles are young. Joe Tuni is so good. You can move him to left tackle and he's great. They didn't allow a sack and he's a he's a Pro Bowl guard, Nate, uh their their center, Drew Dolman from Atlanta. I mean, they don't they they could literally move one of their wide receivers and get more picks. Chicago's vision now is very clear. This draft, edge rusher, another corner, a linebacker that moves well.

Chicago set. And let's pivot to college football live in Miami. The Miami Hurricanes. You know, you'd say it's a little bit of a home game against Indiana, the favorite Hooers, but the the Hooers travel so well. Uh they don't play second fiddle to anybody. All right. So, you you tell me, we haven't seen it so far. I mean, I've seen one half this year at Penn State where Indiana looked a little vulnerable. Is there a way to exploit Indiana, Bruce? Do they have a weakness that can be exploited tonight?

I don't know if they have a weakness really, Colin. It's a really good team on both sides of the ball. They're much improved from last year in the trenches, especially on the offensive line. Obviously, Fernando Mendoza, he's more of a running threat than what they had last year in Curtis Ror. He's played in an incredibly high level. Charlie Becker, that guy has emerged in the last month of the season to be a big play guy. They already had a good receiving core. The biggest question mark here I think is Miami is really good on both sides of the ball in the trenches. Mario Crystal, old line guy, has a huge offensive line that's really physical.

We saw they they have run the ball in the playoff extremely well. Elite defensive ends. Both guys are probably first round picks. They can get after you. Can they get pressure on Mendoza? Can they force some mistakes? But the biggest thing I think is can the Hurricanes do to Indiana what they've done to everybody else in the playoff and that's run it down their throats.

Yeah. It's um you know Mario Crystal Ball for years and years people say well you know he's kind of a recruiter and I don't know like I I watch this team midseason you know lose to Louisville and then I watch him late beat Pittsburgh and then I watch them in the playoffs. Do you think to some degree, you know, we look at signetti, he has a very sabin feel, the way he even speaks, you know, the efficiency. Are you surprised the Miami team that you watch midseason, how surprised are you? And you know this program well, Bruce, they're playing for the natty.

I'm surprised in that they had a Carson Beck played a terrible game against Louisville through four picks. They lost that game.

I think later in the year they started to get momentum. And remember, this is the same team that beat Notre Dame. They're the only ones really shut down Jeremiah Love. So, they are really good on defense, and that's a big improvement from last year. But I think Colin, when you when you frame it that way, I think a lot of us felt like, hey, when they had Cam Ward, which was an even more explosive offense than what they have this [clears throat] year with Carson Beck, uh the defense let them down and they self and they imploded and they made a lot of self-inflicted mistakes and it cost them making the playoff last year. this team different defensive coordinator under Cory Heatherman.

They're more buttoned up and I think they are more to what Mario Crystal wants to be which is a bully. Mark Fletcher is a 6'2 230 lb running back and he ran all over. You know, a really talented probably the most talented defensive team uh that they faced so far was Ohio State. and they took it to Ohio State and they shut down Ohio State in the ways that honestly if you look at how they played I mean that was Indiana's toughest game. It was 13-10. Now Julian Sy can't run as well as Fernando Mendoza can. I think Fernando Mendoza is also more experienced quarterback. I think he's probably playing with a with a different level of confidence and I think they have a better running game than Ohio State did.

But on the Miami side, Mark Fletcher, the big running back, got healthy late in the year and he has run wild in the playoff. And sometimes when teams get on a roll, it's interesting what confidence can do. And teams, especially with these long seasons, can get a lot better or they can get a little worse or get banged up over the course of the year. I felt like Oregon was banged up by the end of the year. I felt like Alabama was kind of, you know, sputtering towards the finish line and and Indiana just abused both of those teams. Miami is a different challenge for them. I'm not saying, you know, I understand why Indiana's a favorite, but I could definitely see why Miami could win this game because when I talked to a lot of coaches who played both teams, the biggest thing they would tell you about Indiana is you have to be patient against them. Oregon wasn't. And you have to be comfortable trying to have

12, 13, 14 play drives. That's exactly what Mario Crystal wants to do at Miami anyway.

You know, Carson Beck has been in this game before. I think one of the advantages Miami is comfortable. They're closer to home playing in Miami. The second thing is Beck has been in this game a lot. Mendoza is a different level player. Mendoza looks like a franchise star right now. Uh Beck is, you know, he'll probably get drafted there. there's a spot for him maybe on Sundays, but let let's go to his big games. Do you trust Carson Beck tonight? If he had if he had to really play a great game, where do you land on him?

I I trust Fernando Mendoza more. Here's the thing I've heard from, you know, somebody a coach who played him this year put it, I thought very succinctly. He was like, "You can affect Fernando Mendoza. You can get him. You can get pressure on him. You can't rattle him." And what they mean by that is he can have a bad series, but when he comes back on the field, he's ready to go back to work. Yeah.

And I think that's the part that I think makes him a little different. Look, we we haven't seen Mendoza implode this year. We have seen that from Carson Beck. I don't think Carson Beck needs to play a great game to beat him. He needs to play a really good game. I mean, the guy you're looking at right now, Malachi Tony, is elite. He is just a playmaker who shows up in all sorts of ways, whether it's on tunnel screens or downfield or in the run game cracking safeties. He's a really good player. They have enough weapons to be dangerous. Again, I don't know what you're going to get from Carson Beck. I mean, the reason why I picked Indiana to win the game is because I trust Fernando Mendoza right now more than I trust Carson Beck.

No, I I I feel the same way. I I I do think Indiana will be there'll be some imperfections. When you play with the physicality and speed of Miami, you you just can't play a perfect football game. They put a lot of pressure on you. And so, um I I I got to, you know, it's it's just really interesting in this NIL world potentially tonight. Indiana is going to be the third straight Big 10 team to win a natty. And at least Ohio State and Indiana have bulldozed a lot of these other teams. Are you surpris if Indiana wins tonight? Has the power the paradigm shifted in college football, powers up north? Is it definitive if they win and and win comfortably tonight?

Yeah, I think you'd have to say that. You'd be a fool not to say it. I mean, look what has happened with the SEC, you know, the record, you know, in the postseason. It's not been good. Um, the closest thing they had to a team standing was Old Miss. You know, you see the drop off where Alabama is. I mean, there's good teams. I think Texas is, you know, loaded up in the portal. They got Arch coming back. They should be probably a top four team next year. Yes. But when you look at you look at how things are setting up. I mean, Miami is built like a old school SEC team. That's what he wants to do and that's how they built it and they have the resources to do it, you know, and I look at some of these other teams. I think Kyle Woodingham is a good fit for what Michigan wants to be. You know, Oregon has Dante Moore coming back. they're going to be super dangerous and they got a bunch of good Dlinemen and we know

that Dan Lanning knows what he's doing in in roster construction, you know, and so I think with that, um, I feel like the top of the SEC has fallen back. I mean, the the the league top to bottom is still really good. It's just it doesn't have the same kind of elite teams that it used to, and those were the teams winning the championships, whether it was Alabama, Georgia, or the 2019 LSU team.

[clears throat] Bruce Feldman, as always, appreciate you stopping by, bud. Always a pleasure, Colin. Enjoy the game tonight.

All right, Bruce Feldman live from Miami in Chicago. It's the herd. Albert Brerier is going to be joining us. Buffalo is looking for a head coach. Here is Jmack with the news. No NO NO NO.

TURN ON THE NEWS. THIS is the Herdline news. All right, Colin. Yeah, we're at 10 job openings this off season is staggering. Uh I do wonder Kevin Stfansky was just named the Falcons head coach. They announced him. I wonder if like you said that just a little bit of entered his mind where he was like, wonder if I can get to Buffalo. I I think the Atlanta situation's great. I think they've got an opportunity to be a real threat in the NFC next year. This is a good team, man. It just relies on Penn who I think Stfansky can fix. Stfansky under 500 in six seasons with the Browns was the coach of the year twice because he got Baker to the playoffs and I believe Joe Flacco filled in and somehow Stfansky made some magic happen there.

Your take on Stfansky of the Falcons? Yeah, I mean it's a winnable division. They've got good offensive pieces. Kirk Cousins could be their starter. They've got Penn. They'll do that for a year and then they'll go get another quarterback probably. We'll see what Penn does develops healthwise, but it's a good solid job. Arthur Blank is a better than average owner, top 10 owner in my opinion. So, you know, good game day revenue, winnable division. They've always got a little bit of money. It's an attractive free agent market.

Stfansky is a bright guy. I think it's a good fit. I mean, I think ideally if I would have known the Buffalo job was going to open up. I mean, I think most of us thought the Buffalo job McDermott saved it with a win against Jacksonville, but it was the way it unraveled. Five turnovers in Denver. Bo Nicks outplays him. Bo Nicks is up and down the field 300 plus yards. You know, it's just a Buffalo keeps finding ways to lose and I and I think that opened up. I think Stfansky, you know, if you could have Josh Allen. Yeah, you take Josh. I same with John Harbaugh. If John Harbaugh knew Buffalo was open, that would be wildly attractive. But, you know, it opened up late.

I'm curious that division next year moderately interesting. Saints showed some improvement with Kell Moore. Yeah. Bucks are regressing. Carolina got to the playoffs with Bryce Young. Yeah. Um I I'm gonna go ahead and I know we do this every year and lose money on the Falcons betting. I'll take the Falcons to win the division next season.

I think they've got the best coach in the division and Kevin Stfansky and I see you laughing. Uh because the Falcons always let us down. That's what they do. But uh is it too ah I guess we got to wait for you to see free agency. But are you as bullish on the Falcons as I am?

I'm I'm very bullish on Kevin Stfansky. Ownership's good. Stfansky's good. Weapons are good. Let's see what they do in the draft.

All right, let's move on to John Harbaugh. He's going to the Giants. So, I hosted with Rachel Friday and during the show, there was this weird moment where I was like, yeah, deal's not signed. There's some verbiage being worked out and it was like, hm, wonder if that's about Joe Shane. Well, according to Albert Brerier, one of the stipulations in the deal is that John Harbaugh will report directly to ownership

rather than going through the GM. So Joe Shane is essentially powerless. I that's this is going to be fascinating how the

told by a GM over the weekend is when you pay a coach 20 million, he'll make the decisions. Now Harbaugh is a guy that probably wants a little say in personnel. Andy Reed's never wanted it. Not every coach wants a say in personnel. Shawn Peyton liked a lot of say. Jimmy Johnson was good at it, liked a lot of say. Bellich was not good at it, wanted a say. So it just depends on the coach. But my take is when you're changing the culture, and I do think the Giants are not that far away, tight end, right tackle, another corner, make sure Jackson Dart stays out of the blue tent.

I think the Giants are going to be a 10- win team and a playoff team next year.

Wow. 10. So, who I can't wait for the offseason. It's fun. I was going to say, who are you pulling out of the playoffs? 10 10 wins.

NFC stats. Five teams a year regress. It's just the way it works. Stafford retires after losing to Seattle or beating somebody in the Super Bowl. All of a sudden, the Rams don't have a quarterback. You don't know.

That's a good That's a good point. Final story. Let's go to Major League Baseball. Kyle, some news late last week kind of sent shock waves around the league. Kyle Tucker lands on the Dodgers.

Um the Dodgers basically were favorites to begin with. Uh they're trying to go for a three Pete, but look at their World Series odds. This is a massive gap, a chasm if you will, between the Dodgers and my Yankees, followed by the Mariners, Blue Jays, and company. Okay, but the Dodgers are overwhelming favorites.

For the record, the Dodgers in game seven needed three or four miraculous things to happen to win the World Series. So, they have they have scuffed through some of their playoff opponents. Uh they've won two in a row, not five. Kyle Tucker, by the way, everybody in Chicago complained about him. He's not been a good postseason hitter. Now he goes to the Dodgers and it's totally unfair the Dodgers got Kyle Tucker. The Cubs ended up getting an upgrade. They got a Marlins pitcher Cabrera who's probably there too. Bregman at third base. There's no question the Cubs will be better next year. Also the Yankees got Weathers in their starting staff.

They'll be better next year. So the Yankees, the Cubs, and the Dodgers all potentially got better. Not bad for baseball. For the record, the low payroll teams like the Mariners, Brewers, and Guardians should again be very good. They've got excellent foundational pieces. So, we can stop whining about the little guy can't compete. Yes. At the end of a season, big money Toronto, big money Philadelphia, big money Yankees. For next year, by the way, the Cubs will be good, the Yankees will be good. I think the Red Sox will be good, the Dodgers will be good, the Padres's will be good.

If Houston can stay healthy, they'll be good. And there'll be plenty of small market. Seattle and Milwaukee were outstanding last year. Cleveland's got no money. Cleveland, didn't they win their division last year? So, this idea the little guy can't compete. Little guys aren't winning the World Series, but they're competing.

So, interesting story, like a second leg to this, Colin. So, you're on the ground, boots on the ground in Chicago. Yeah. Uh there are reports that um one of the reasons Tucker was driven to the Dodgers is because of the quote unquote character assassination. They were saying, "Does this guy love baseball?" And they were kind of blaming Tucker a lot for their foibless. One guy doesn't win baseball.

Well, here's the other thing. All they did in Chicago is complain about him. Yeah.

And the minute he goes to the Dodgers, Cub fans were like, "This is not fair. You complain about him the whole time you had him." And there's no guarantee he's going to be a great postseason player, and that's all the Dodgers care about. Oti couldn't hit in the postseason. There's no guarantee Kyle Tucker is going to explode. He wanted to go to the Dodgers. The the big money earners in this in the sport. The Yankees and Dodgers make the most money. The Cubs are third,

by the way. The Cubs are the third team in terms of annual revenue. San Francisco Giants, I think, are fourth. Uh if they had a huge year at the gate, San Francisco's kind of struggling to sell some tickets, I've been told. But the idea the little guy can't compete. Pittsburgh hasn't competed for 40 years. That's not a Dodger problem.

Yeah. Okay. Kansas City doesn't really compete. Cincinnati. Okay. Is that a Dodger problem? Nobody complained about this stuff 25 years ago when the Yankees dominated the hot stove league. Nobody complained about it. Now it's a real problem.

So it's interesting because you know Tucker in Chicago, the spotlight's on him. You go to the Dodgers, you're just another guy. There's no pressure on him. He probably will deliver. It's like Otani Betts. The big names get the focus. Tucker's not a huge name with the Dodgers. With the Cubs though, different story right?

Yeah, there's a lot of pressure on him. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news

and thanks for stopping by. The herd lie. I will tell you the the one thing watching the Bears game and again uh the the Rams didn't drop a pass, didn't have a penalty and and didn't have a turnover. They played like in incredibly clean considering the lousy, cold, windy, cold weather. But I will say this about Caleb Williams. I think he's so much better today than eight, nine weeks ago. Like people in Chicago get very they they have like you know uh media uh criticism syndrome like any criticism of Caleb Williams they get very very defensive. Listen he does complete a lower percentage of throws and he had struggled a lot early this year in like the first half. They weren't as good. He was heroic and great in the fourth quarter. A little bit of a Boone Knicks uh comp in that term. They're they're great late, not always great early. But I think one of the things watching him against the Rams, uh, he's not frenetic.

He's very comfortable. He doesn't get sacked. You know, he's just a different quarterback. I don't care what the numbers say. I don't care what the completion percentages show. Matt Stafford completed 50% of his throws. When you have weather like that, and Dennis Allen dialed up real pressure for Matt Stafford. Matt Stafford missed a halfozen throws in that game. Matt Stafford had some He didn't have a interception. Stafford had a lot of misses in that game. a lot and and Caleb always has some. He's got a lot of horsepower and he fires it too high. I think Caleb's a much different quarterback than eight, nine weeks ago.

I think he looks way more comfortable. And people say, "Well, how come he doesn't run more?" He doesn't run more because he's more comfortable in the pocket. He He is doing a great job pre- snap reading the defense. He is a different quarterback today than two months ago. I don't care what the numbers say. He is a much better quarterback today than two months ago. Here's Matt Hasselbeck earlier on his growth.

He's gotten better each and every week. And I think one of the best things you can say about quarterback development is a team, you're developing your quarterback, your young quarterback as you're winning games. And that's what they did. They found ways to win. They were the cardiac Bears. Um, no. This is I think you got to be so excited and and I've said it like when you get the GM right, the head coach right, and the quarterback right, you know, kind of that triad, one heartbeat, one vision, we're all together. Um, and we all got each other's back. That's what Chicago has right now.

Yeah, there there's I don't care about the data. More yards, more sensational, better time of possession, uh, a lot of big plays. Um, you know, they when you get into overtime in late fourth quarter, uh, you got to be spectacular and you also have to be super efficient. So, I don't know. I think Chicago's future is really bright. They don't need a lot. They can use an edge rusher. I think they need to be a little more athletic at linebacker. Everybody in the world could use another corner. It's a cornerback starved league. The Rams are going to draft a corner or two. Uh, Seattle's one of the rare rosters that you they don't really have a whole Seattle. Uh, Philadelphia is another roster. Not a lot of needs. Uh, although stories on Jaylen Herz rubbing people the wrong way. But, uh, in a salary cap league, you know, usually, you know, you got this you need and that you need.

Chicago's in a really good space. Albert Brer around the corner. Who's getting the Buffalo Bills job? Look at this. We got Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen need a coach. Jobs like that do not open up very often. They're both available today. Albert Brer around the corner.

Well, I mean, the idea that both Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson don't have a head coach, it's like a year ago we're like, you know, this league is unfair. If you don't have a Momes, if you don't have a Stafford, if you don't have a Josh Allen Burrow, you can't compete for a Super Bowl. Now Josh Allen and Lamar are looking for coaches. Albert Brer is now joining us live. 10 job openings. Stfansky Harbaugh locked in to Atlanta and the Giants, respectively. Brian Dable, let's start with this. How surprised were you? Many suspected the win over Jacksonville on the road saved McDermott's job when the news came down first 60 seconds. What was your thought?

Yeah, I was surprised. Um, you know, and and look look like I think Shawn McDermott was surprised. There wasn't a ton of internal discussion about this before the playoffs. Um, so it sort of felt like, yeah, if there's like a car wreck ending in the first round of the playoffs, then maybe something happens. But I'm with you. I thought once they got through Jacksonville, you know, you're going on the road to play the top seat at Broncos, you're a little nicked up. Um I I I figured he was probably going to be okay. I will say this though, there was a different feel in that building the last couple of months.

More tension, I think, more pressure on everybody. They realize what they've got in front of them, the opportunity that Josh Allen as a quarterback gives them. And I think some of that spilled out, Colin, after the game on Saturday with Josh Allen's emotion and with, you know, Shawn McDermott, you know, coming out against the referees and then circling back a couple hours later and doubling down. It just it felt like there was a tremendous amount of pressure on a lot of people in that building over the last couple of months. And so,

um, was there a sense that something could happen? Absolutely. Was there some sort of like longstanding conversation about it internally? Not that I know of.

Listen, Brian Debball seems obvious. He's got relationships in the building. He basically took this raw gangly kid from Wyoming and turned him into a superstar. Now, Josh would have gotten better eventually, but it happened very quickly. He'd have to be the leader in the clubhouse, right?

Yeah, I think Joe Brady will get a look. Um, you know, Brian Dall is an obvious one. He's a Western New York native, of course, spent time there, has a built-in relationship with with uh Josh Allen. So, that's certainly somewhere to start. I think what is pretty apparent is this going to be a Josh Josh Allen centric hire. And so, whatever it is that they do here is going to be about finding a way to maximize Josh Allen, to create some longevity for Josh Allen. I think back to what the Steelers did when they hired Todd Haley and really tried to coach into Ben Rothllessberger. If you want to have, you know, a second phase of your career, we're going to have to teach you to play point guard a little bit more. I could certainly see them bringing in somebody with the idea of doing that. I'd also tell you this, they have leverage like Baltimore and Pittsburgh do. You know, like they have the chance now to say, "We have Josh

Allen. We have one of the best jobs in the market, if not the best job in the market. we have a rare opportunity for someone to come in here and coach Josh Allen as he goes into his age 30 season um and really make his mark with Josh Allen and win a Super Bowl with Josh Allen. And so I think that gives them the opportunity a to be patient. They don't need to rush anything here the way some other teams are going to rush to hire guys. Like I think you you'll you'll see a little little bit of that over the next 36 to 48 hours. And then B, I think it gives you a chance to take your shot. And look, like I I'm not saying any of this is going to happen, but if you are them, don't you just call everybody to see if there's some situation that may have gone sideways somewhere in the le in the league? Now, the Rams and Niners aren't going to trade away Shawn McVey or Kyle Shanahan, but why not just just call him, you

know? So, if there's any sitting head coach in the league, I think you can call those teams. You know, you you could sniff around the college ranks, of course, but this is a job that is a a premium job. And the Bills may have one shot to get this right because yeah, if they're doing this again in four or five years, Josh Allen might not be the same player he is today based on the way he plays and the damage that's already been done to his body. And so, um, you know, I I I think they have have a lot to sell here and and we'll see what they can do with it. Yeah, I I'll tell you, my first take is that sometimes I mean the Raiders got very lucky. If they hired Shawn McDermott today with, you know, he's organized. Um there's no question Sean's a good coach. He's got eight playoff wins. I thought to myself, Mendoza, Brock Bowers, Ashton Genty, they got to they got to fix their offensive line. I mean, if I was the

Raiders and I wanted to organizationally improve, you can do a lot worse than Shawn McDermott, doesn't I mean, that to me feels like a natural fit, doesn't it?

Yeah, I think Arizona is another one that would be after him. Um, does Tennessee, you know, if if Jeff Affleck winds up accepting the Miami job this afternoon, does does Tennessee after um, you know, interviewing Matt Naggie and Robert Salah today? Um, do they say, "Okay, like we at least want to have a conversation with Shawn McDermott, their their general manager, Mike Borggoni, came from Kansas City, so he's got the relationship with Andy Reid. We know how close Andy Reid and Shawn McDermott are. Um, you know, I'm with you on the Raiders. I think that would make sense.

Tom Brady was in the division with Shawn McDermott for three years when he was the quarterback of the Patriots. So, she he's well aware of what Shawn McDermott pulled off um with a franchise that have been out of the playoffs for 18 years. And the other one that makes a ton of sense to me because I I think like you said, this is a credibility hire for somebody, right? Yeah.

Somebody who might be a mess right now can instantly give themselves credibility by hiring Shawn McDermott. Arizona makes sense, too. And you have some pieces in Arizona. You have guys like Paris Johnson and Marvin Harrison and Trey McBride and and Walter Nolan. And so maybe you feel like you've got a chance. You got some pieces there, but you need somebody to give you some credibility as you work through a potential de divorce with Kyler Murray and you're going to be going back into the the quarterback market at some point and you bring in the guy who can give you that credibility and help

start that quarterback process as he did in Buffalo with Josh Allen. So, um, I think Arizona was would be another one that would make a lot of sense for for Shawn McDerm.

So, the interesting one here, Pittsburgh doesn't ever look for a coach. They're not good at this stuff. So, the Giants do. They nab their guy. Atlanta looks for coaches a lot. They nab their guy. Uh, Buffalo through the years has done it, but the Steelers don't. And I'm hearing Chris Schula stuff and I'm thinking okay so Chris Schula if they beat Seattle I mean you're looking you could hire you could hire the seventh coach of 10. I Pittsburgh and also people say Mike McCarthy but he doesn't you know he and Aaron Rodgers I mean they can say stuff oh publicly kumbaya I don't buy that. They got tired of each other. What in the world is Pittsburgh do? How long are they going to sit around here and wait?

I think Pittsburgh's got again the the leverage to be patient and okay and and I think it's instructive with both them and Baltimore to look at their past and look at where they've been and what they've done. And so the last time those two franchises hired coaches was in 07 and08.

The Steelers in ' 07, everyone thought that they were hiring either Russ Grim or Ken Wizenhunt off Bill Cower staff. Yeah.

The Steelers said, "Wait a minute. We're going to go through a full process and those guys are going to be a part of it. We'll see where it takes us." and they go and hire a guy who had one year of experience as a coordinator and it was on the defensive side of the ball in Mike Tomlin at 34 years old. And you see how that worked out. The Ravens the next year again there were some hot names out there. They were after Jason Garrett who was the Cowboys offensive coordinator. They were after Josh McDaniels who was the Patriots offensive coordinator. Both those guys pull their names out and they go and hire a special teams coach from Philadelphia and John Harbaugh. And obviously that really worked out. And so I think you look at the history that that those two franchises have. The last time they were in this position, which was a long long time ago, they went through a very full process. They found

their own guy and they were able to do it their own way and they really benefited from going through that entire process. So both those teams have either talked to or are scheduled to talk to a lot of people. And I don't think that that's any sort of song and dance. I think it's it's a real intention to go through a real process. So, I can tell you right now the Steelers really like Chris Schula, right? I can tell you right now that the Ravens like Brian Flores, but it doesn't mean those guys are getting hired because they're going to go through the full process. Hey, by the way, we got all these teams left.

Uh, privately, I think New England's better than people think. I think Seattle's the best team. I think the Rams are the only team left that could go to Seattle and beat them. I think Denver's good. I think Sid put up a good fight, but he's not taking first team snaps. You don't get the runaround Bo Knicks component to the offense. It feels like a New England.

Listen, I I think the the fact that the Rams go to Chicago in that weather, no penalties, no drop passes, and no turnovers, we're going to look back at that if they end up in the Super Bowl. That's as clean a game as I've ever seen played in that kind of weather with a warm weather team. Do you have a favorite Seattle Rams? Is it right your your your opening thought? I mean, I I think Seattle's more complete.

Yes. But yes, the Rams have the Rams have the trunk card, which is Matthew Stafford. And I I think like watching that game last night, I I think really illustrates how this team has changed over the last three or four years. And and you can go back, right? There was a point when Kyle Shanahan really had Shawn McVeyy's number and Shawn analyzed it and looked at it and said, "What aren't we doing right here?" and he looked at what the Niners were doing and they had more physical training camps. They hit more. Yes. They had more injuries, but they wound up being more rugged when it counted most.

Yeah. So, he goes and hires Michael Fur who had been in San Francisco as offensive as his offensive coordinator. He hires a couple of New England assistants and Ryan Wendell and Nick Kaye. And it was all in an effort to get tougher and more rugged. They now have those backs and Kairen Williams and Blake Cororm along that defensive line. Look at who they got. Big tough guys, right? Like Braden Fisk and and and and Jared Verse and Byron Young and Kobe Turner. This is a very rugged Rams team and a really different Rams team than you had

three or four years ago. Not to say it's a better team, but it was on display yesterday, right? Like it was on display yesterday in those conditions. You need to be that kind of team to win. And so I think I see a toughness with the Rams team that's going to keep the game close against Seattle.

Yep. And it's just tough to bet against Matthew Stafford if this thing goes down and and it's 21-21 with five minutes left and the Rams have the ball. It's really tough to get to bet against Matthew Stafford in that circumstance. So again, I think Seattle has the most complete team in football right now. The most complete team certainly that's left in the playoffs, but the Rams have that trump card and and we'll see what it looks like. Obviously, they played an epic game just a month ago on that Thursday night.

Oh god. Albert Brer, great stuff. Monday morning quarterback. Thank you on late notice bud.

All right. Thanks, Colin. Um, yeah, it's that that is Listen, I think we all felt this in week seven or eight or nine, like the Rams and the Seahawks when you watch those games. I mean, you know, San Francisco, Kyle Shanahan can move the ball against everybody except we discovered Seattle. Can't move it at all with KD or without. Can't move it. The Rams have moved the ball and I I know I'm keep saying this. The Rams did not have a penalty or a drop pass or a turnover and they ran Kairen Williams I think had like 20 21 carries and they were just pulling at him and Puke had five or six catches and they're pulling at him. ball never hits the ground for a warm weather dome team or whatever we cate categorize so far semideome to go on the road and play in cold weather I stepped outside for 90 seconds I don't know that is that was impressive that the Rams may have only had three drives those came at the right time

their first drive one of their last drives and then in overtime that was impressive Impressive, impressive stuff. What a day. 10 coaching open. I mean, listen, good coaches. Sean McDermott's available. Kevin Stansky was available. John Harbaugh was available. I mean, I also think this morning is Mike McDaniel in Miami. I I think he's on the docket now. I mean, he's he's probably going to get another job. Anybody else getting fired? Stay tuned. We may have a new lead tomorrow.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "What Colin Cowherd got RIGHT & WRONG: Broncos, Bears, Bills, Sam Darnold | THE HERD NFL"?

Colin Cowherd (Host), Matt Hasselbeck (Guest), Albert Breer (Guest).

What is "What Colin Cowherd got RIGHT & WRONG: Broncos, Bears, Bills, Sam Darnold | THE HERD NFL" about?

The discussion analyzes Colin Cowherd's predictions regarding various NFL teams and players, focusing on the Denver Broncos' unexpected success, the dismissal of Buffalo Bills coach Shawn McDermott, and the impact of key injuries, particularly to Seattle Seahawks running back Zack Charbonnet. It highlights how Cowherd's evaluations reflect both accurate insights and misjudgments as the NFL…

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

15 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Shawn McDermott, Bruce Feldman, Mark Fletcher, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Jordan Whittingham. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "What Colin Cowherd got RIGHT & WRONG: Broncos, Bears, Bills, Sam Darnold | THE HERD NFL"?

The episode runs 1 h 15 min; the transcript is about 14,661 words in 161 timestamped sections.

More from The Herd with Colin Cowherd

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