The Around the NFL podcast. We'll not say Super Bowl today. From the Chris Wesling podcast studio, it's Around the NFL. I am Dan Hans. It's got heroes here. Greg Rosenthal, Mark Sesler. And we will not say that word. All the other Basic Bro podcasts out there shrug their shoulders and say, Let's just dig. What is it? Today's Linebacker's Day. Snore.

Yeah. No. Lifeless.

There's more to the NFL than the big game, which is permitted. There's more to life. A lot more. You may notice that Mark and I are on the show today, and that is because the Sports Podcast Awards have made their announcement. The winner of the Best American Football Podcast. You know it, baby. Around the NFL. Thank you.

Wow.

What a moment. I think it would be good to... Chills. In case there's media outlets that need a quote, let's do a little pressure or an announcement of some kind. We want to thank the fans, of course. We want to thank the academy at the Sports Podcast Awards. We want to thank everyone who got out and voted to take out the fantasy footballer's first place or second place's first loser, as they say. Something called Night Cap came in third. Check you later. Smell you later. We win. We are victorious. So thank you to everybody. That's nice. It's been a while since we took home some hardware.

I would say this. We work with a number of people involved with a lot of the shows, and so we take special pride in selling them. Our Sky Sports friends. Yeah, we take special pride. It resets everyone's concept, expectations, and I think it goes on our resume. I don't know what, do we win something?

Eric, did we win anything? Physically, what did we get? Was it a Casprise or a Corvette?

We get that tweet. A trophy or something? But yeah, we had the fantasy footballers on our podcast I said earlier, it's nice to take them out. Pff, more like PF Humph. Yeah, I don't know.

I do feel like-Pro football fart.

We'll fix that in post.

I do feel like we areWe're like the 2014-Give him the music.Patriates.Go ahead. The Patriots had a lot of early success. We did, too. We famously took home a Stitcher Award in 2013. That's been our podcast. Our producer nominated for an iTunes Award for the best podcast. I don't even know if they had a winner.

I don't even know if iTunes exists anymore.

Right, or Apple Store. But it's been 10 years since then. Now that we've won another award in who've been recognized, feel like our producer that stole that first award and had it-Physically, the award. Yeah, had it sent to their house, and then we never saw it. They are like the Bill Buckner of our podcast. I forgive them now. I forgive them. It's okay.

I believe that this cements our legacy as the greatest NFL podcast that has ever existed. I already knew that. But having this award, there is no other way now. Just like hoisting the Lombardi Trophy on the day of the big game, you can no longer argue who's the best. The best there There was, the best there was, the best there ever will be.On.

A personal note.Around the NFL. One of the people that we took out, just cut them off at the neck, was someone that took issue with the fact that I was previously named along with you guys as a top Football Insider. That show is out.

Take a seat, Stugatz.

Here we go. We're going to see all these people in a week, and they're going to…

And they're going to… Twitter. I can't say that. I can't say that. He made it, Sesler. I mean, how about that guy? Who is that guy? I'll tell you who he is. He is a member of Around the NFL. The best. I think we've covered it.

Although I'm in a tough spot here because us winning, actually, I could view as an insult towards me that our listeners so badly didn't want a podcast just hosted by myself.

There was a window there for them.

We were actually trailing by a lot, and suddenly they heard that, and it just went crazy to avoid that.

Mark, you said it so many times inappropriately. This would be the time where you could mention they had an opportunity for a violent coup d'État. Right. And yet they stood down.

They were nonplussed by the concept of Greg taking over the show on a solo effort.

They put down their shields. Well, listen, that's a good way to start the show. If you could find out, Eric, if you could let us know.

We could end the show right there.

Yeah. Do we get something for it? Because I would like... I see that glass right there, right next to the football I got for helping Clemson, I believe it was.

You didn't help anyone. It's the most ridiculous thing ever.

I know, but the Debo Sweeni It says otherwise. It's signed by him. Helping out the underprivileged youth of Clemson, Greggy. We have that in the window for anyone who walks by, including Greg, right next to it. We should have something.

I'll reach out. I'll see what comes along with it. Maybe some DiGiorno Pizza comes with it.

Well, I think at this point, they realize who they're dealing with DiGiorno. It's like, let's start shipping product.

All right. With that said, we have a nice show ahead of us because we will not say it. In fact, if anyone says the name of the game, as it's popularly known, or even mentions the two teams, either the two teams. It is a, and this is going to be documented by our producer, Eric, a $5 fine. $5. It's not insignificant when it starts.

I remember when this show first started, the tradition, and I feel like Wes struggled with it. He would have owed a lot of money.

He's like, Oh, Yes, I do remember that.

I think the NFL should calm down on not letting anyone use that word. We can't use that word today. But driving into work, I did notice in our town of Inglewood, where Sofi Stadium barged in, Hey, we're taking over Sofi Stadium. It's the big game block party on Sunday. Can we give Inglewood a break at least? Can we give Inglewood? Yeah.

Can we give the city of champions rights to that certain phrase?

It only feels fair. We've essentially taken over that city with the stadium in our office.

We got bomber down the street building an arena, too. It's like, we're turning this into a vast playground. Can we at least give them the rights to the big name game's true name?

Wait, one technical question. If you say the name of the big game, you owe $5 to who? Where is it going?

It's going into a slush fund for the show for use at another Here's a great example.Let's make it interesting. You don't want someone to say it. Let's make it interesting. It's like a $10. We talked about... Well, I can't actually say what it is right now because it's something that's coming up next week. But there's a certain project, a creative project that we're working on that the fans are going to find out soon about that's going to need some type of capital to back it, revolving T-shirts, that it could go toward that fund.

Beautiful.

It's a slush fund, and you can't say it. Eric, it is so important that you legislate it because we might miss something. The worst thing is when everyone misses it, and then after the show, the listener is like, Oh, you did say it. It can't happen. Speaking of listeners, we're going to open up the mailbag. Again, it's a don't say, you know what, mailbag. No questions pertaining to the big game or the participants involved in it. But before we do that, let's hit the news. Damn, it feels good to be a winner. Got to have confidence in your team. You got to have confidence in yourself. If you don't have that confidence, you can't play football. We all felt we could win. We won. I asked Joe specifically, Joe, do you feel like you're king of the Hill. Joe, you're King of the Hill. No, we're King of the Hill. We got the team, brother. That's what a certain game, January 1969, and that Sal Marciano, who was a mainstay in New York sports coverage, who, as a young man, asked, Joe, king of the Hill, which is just one of the more funny, outdated ways of expressing yourself.

But I wanted to get some Joe in there during another trying era for his team. Let's get to the news, and let's start with the coaching carousel, which It's coming to a stop. Every head coaching spot is now filled. Today, we learned that the Washington Commanders have made their decision, hiring Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as their new coach. Quinn replaces Ron Rivera, who was hired by new owner, Josh Harris, one day after the season ended. So Quinn, who was the highest paid DC in the league for the Cowboys, they had some really successful defenses while he was there, even though maybe they disappointed a little bit down the stretch this year. Of course, he served as the Falcon's head coach in 2015 to 2020. There was a 28-3 comeback in...

2016, after the 2016 season.

What game was it?

Which one was it? It was a large sporting event that featured the Patriots as well.

I tried to get you. I didn't get you. I was trying to get the $10 going.

I'm too locked in.

Yeah, you're very locked in. Anyway, so he was the head coach of that team. Atlanta then let him go when things fell apart in the years after that. Now he gets his second shot at the job. It should be said, Greg, that we're going to talk about the new head coach of the Seahawks as well, because Quinn doesn't appear to be the commander's first choice here, but they do have a head coach.

No, he doesn't. Maybe it was going to be Mike McDonald. Maybe it was going to be Ben Johnson.

It sounds like he was the third choice of the commanders.

Ben Johnson, especially, was the guy that the insiders kept connecting. Everyone who seems to have good relationships with their new GM, Adam Peters, who's really well respected around the league. But man, he is getting pumped up as the GM Bell of the Ball. They kept saying he's looking for an innovative offensive mind. And you just got the feeling that Ben Johnson was his choice, and they were to be caught, a little flat-footed. And they wind up with Dan Quinn, who I think is a good choice to run a team a second time, that like Raheem Morris, he's had some time, not as long as Raheem Morris, but to learn from what happened. And more than anything, strikes me as a guy who can be a little Mike Tomlin-like, hopefully having a good idea of hiring the right people. He knows a lot of people within the league and having an overall idea Instead of him offering you crazy schematic advantages. I think he did a great job with Dallas, and he's shown that he's improved, I think, as a defensive play collar, and he brings that to the table. We'll see who he hires as his DC.

But it's probably not one in Washington after Ron Rivera that gets you as excited for this new generation. We'll see who he hires as his OC, which is big.

Yeah, it's easy to forget that early with the Falcons, before they went to the big game, that Quinn was correctly touted to someone that quickly developed his defense and young defensive players. On the flip side, you had Kyle Shanahan running the offense. Shanahan leaves, and the development of the defense stopped, and then the Falcons just started to become unwatchable. But Quin, I think, is a consistent guy. He's well-respected. It's not that it's a disappointing hire, but I'm with you that I think that the whole search committee they put together, and Adam Peters coming in as a very powerful general manager, thought Ben Johnson, with the number two pick, the most cap room in the league as a quarterback developer, would make the most sense and really galvanize a Washington fan base. It's been a long time. There were these reports that Ben Johnson was asking for too much money. We'd never really heard Ben Johnson or his people respond to that at any level.

But I think part of it- They did when that first report came out during the season from Josina Anderson that he wanted $15 million a year. And his agent did went on the record and say, That's not true.

That's just ridiculous.

Yeah, I mean more in this In this cycle, you're right. Adam Schefter threw it out there that you might have scared them away.

One thing, though, because I think if you're Ben Johnson and you realize if you have one more good year with the Lions, you get your pick of seven or eight teams. And do you want to come in into a team where the general manager is essentially over you and the owner. I think this isn't a hand-to-hand situation. I just think Adam Peters is a very powerful general manager and figure in that organization. It's all right for Quinn. I think Ben Johnson decided not to take this job.

I agree and disagree at the same time because Ben Johnson could have another really good year with Detroit. I don't think all of a sudden he's going to be this guy that can go watch around saying, I want full control of everything. He's Ben Johnson. The resume is nice, but he's not like an all-time guy or a Kyle Shannon type figure.

I just think something made him blanch at this situation. Something changed for him.

Sure, and maybe it is the money now. Just also, it takes some audacity for Ben Johnson, if that's true, that he was asking for 15 million because Jim Harbaugh, reportedly, is getting paid 16 million per year by the chargers, and that's a proven guy with pelts on the wall. I could understand why a team might take a step back if that was true. Now, we'll see. I know this is optimism season, and every head coach hiring is viewed as a success, and every new GM is seen as a big-time difference maker. I'm not going to dwell on it, but I wonder how we'll look this in a year or two. We made this big deal about, well, Bill Belichick wasn't even considered for this job, from what we understand.

Actually, now they did add some reporting from Diana Rossini that they talked to Bill Belichick. So they talked to Bill Belichick. I don't know if it was a formal interview, but they considered him that they spoke with him.

And early on, Belichick and the commanders, there was a lot of whispers around that.

It was deemed that the combined wisdom of Dan Quinn and Adam Peters, that's the way to go. Okay, we'll see. Let's see how this all looks in a year or two. Find out. Because now Bill is not getting a job because the other head coaching position with the Seattle Seahawks has been filled. It is Mike McDonald, the defensive coordinator of the Ravens, who obviously had a big year there with everyone else until they got to Championship Sunday. He is now the replacement for Pete Carroll, and it's a six-year contract. These contracts are huge for these coaches. Also, in general, isn't that wild? Six years?

Harbaugh got five.

But that makes a little more sense. That's a proven guy. Whereas McDonald, we don't know what he's going to be like in this position. He is 36 years old. They literally took Pete Carroll's age, divided it by two. This is a youth movement in addition to just changing the scenery and the decision making and the vibe of the organization The six years struck me, too, Dan.

That was one of the first things I thought about because I was like, Well, six is weird. It's usually four or five for a new coach. Six just makes me think, Well, Washington was probably in on this. That's how it works. I think they really love the idea of McDonald as our friend Mina Kimes called it on her podcast I did this week. You guys should check that out, too, the Shana Handler, which I like that. I want to steal that. Because he handled Kyle Shana Hand. Certainly, the Rams had some good numbers against him, but Houston and Bobby Sloick and all the different trees, the Shana Hand trees, the Miami, like They did a good job. It's as modern a defense as you can possibly imagine in terms of the disguise and getting everyone to understand holistically what they're doing on each play where the back seven was really connected. Because if you look at the Ravens, they had a lot of injuries, and I wouldn't say they were the most talented defense in the league, and they really got it done for two straight years.

I can't think of these coordinators that a couple of years... He was in Michigan before he went to Baltimore. He wasn't there for that long, but did an incredible job with that defense. His name in the last couple of weeks just bubbled up, and you start to hear all these... Rg3, who was with the Ravens for a spell, talked about Mike McDonald just coming in and just talking to players in general and just being this incredible connector. I think it's the person he fits Seattle, and it's a nice transition from Pete Carroll, but it's a new message as well. Their defense, you keep thinking they have a great defense. They were not last year, but they still have a lot of young players for him to work with. I think someone like Jamal Adams, check you later, but a lot of these other pieces, they could be a quick riser from where they were at the end of last season.

Rick Whelen, Devon Witherspoon, Quandry Diggs. That's a nice start to your secondary. I'm with you. They probably get rid of Adams. There's a lot They have free agents on the Ravens, and they're losing coaches all over the place here, but they could also lose players like Matabike and Queen and Clowny. We'll see. They have a lot to decide there, but I'm excited. I'm excited about a little Mike McDonald.

The one figure in Seattle, obviously, that I wonder about a little bit when you have Pete Carroll exit stage left and anyone comes in, including the new offensive coordinator and all that, a new system, is Gino Smith going to face competition or find himself somewhere else? Or is he going to have the organizational belief that he did before? Because I feel like the beating heart of that was Pete Carroll.

Wasn't part of this decision to move on from Pete Carroll, who's an accomplished guy who has been there forever, to change the status quo of the organization? I think Gino has been very good for them on balance, but is he the guy that gets you over the hub or they want to go? I would not be surprised, to put it that way, if they aggressively seek out another option beyond what they have in house with Julok.

I think it's more likely He's willing to be a rookie, but it wouldn't be shocking. He has some guaranteed money coming on February 16th, so it's early in the offseason. Gino Smith does, and I fully expect him to get that because his salary is manageable. But I think it's a negative for him that, look, Shane Waldron is already gone. I do wonder if they knew McDonald was going to be the head coach, whether they would have tried to retain Waldron, who I think did a good job. I have no clue what offense that they're going to be running there. Gino is pretty offense agnostic just because he's He's like a traditional pocket quarterback where he could maybe work in anything. But McDonald, I just love the way that Marlon Humphrey talked about how everyone in that defense, you hear a linebacker say, Oh, he knew what everyone else's role was supposed to be. But in this defense, everyone knew what everyone's role was supposed to be. It's just like, he's the youngest coach in the league. Jared Mayo only lasted for a couple of weeks.

This is one of these age things that's crazy. It's like they're both 36, but you go to... Sean McVay is still only 37 years old.

It's crazy.

Another spin the carousel again. We got a lot. By the way, the commanders were trying to call up McDonald as he was getting on the plane to go to Seattle. Hey, hey, hey. He has one more chance.

He was like, Please. That's where the... He just copied that text that they sent him to his agent, and then the agent copied that text to the Seahawks, and the Seahawks were like, All right, six years.

I also heard that they were essentially in route to Ben Johnson when he announced that he didn't want to take a job.

Yes. That's a sad flag. They interviewed Aaron Glenn there anyways, but they were in the plane and stuff.

All right. The Titans high Hire another Raven's assistant, Denard Wilson, as their defensive coordinator. The packers hire Boston College coach Jeff Hathley.

Yes, Jeff Hathley. He was BC's coach for four years.

As defensive coordinator. The Ravens, are you kidding me? They named inside linebacker's coach Zack Orr, their DC. That's a good position. That's similar to what's been going on in San Francisco in recent years, although I don't think Steve Wilkes is going to have the same success, but that could get you a job. Just got McDonald a job, or takes over that defense, and the Panthers do decide, or Canales decides, a Jiro, Averro, Evero will remain their defensive coordinator.

One thing, because the Jeff Hathley thing to Green Bay, that was such a huge hire after what's been going on the past couple of years. I was like, why did... He doesn't really know LaFleur very well, but he worked under Mike Petten in Cleveland. He worked under Shana Han as well, so there is some link with the floor. Where's Mike Petten at, by the way? He may be back in that cabin. He built that cabin on the Lake in Ohio.

Wasn't that right next to Brown's training camp, though?

No, that's where he lived.

Speaking of collision, low crossers, where's Petnatt these days? Go ahead, Mark.

Well, no, but there was reporting that Halfly decided to leave a head coaching job at BC because of the nonsensical nature of the transfer portal and the NIL. He was just like, I don't want to do this anymore. I go, I coach real football. I think it's an interesting, strange hire because unless you're deep in BC territories, he went 22 and 26 at BC. I don't know.

Right. I think being a college coach now is so tricky. It's the situation college football has given to themselves that essentially now coaches and players, you don't blame halfway, you don't blame the players, you blame that system. But he came into Ohio State, and the year he had there was incredible. But I think the packers, by all accounts, and the Rams, might have had a Jero Evero as their number one choice for defensive coordinator. And the Panthers had rights to his contract and just did not let him leave and wanted to see who they ended up hiring as a head coach, did not let him leave. Who knows? Maybe you work out a thing and you use a little David Tepper money there. Somebody asked Tepper, by the way, at Senior Bowl.

Is that where everybody is?

I think they were at a press conference today for their new head coach, Canales.

Tepperby asked a question about something pertaining to the Panthers, and Tepperby saying, he's like, I'm receding to the background. You're not going to hear from me. So Tapper be changing his profile or be attempting to.

Not great for Tapper be talking what we thought would be-So you would think that, but I have a feeling he's going to struggle to keep this stance.

But right now, Tapper be laying low.

Shout out to Zack Orr, by the way. First of all, we can use the Orr, are you kidding me? Drop more and we'll talk with Connor about it. He's 31 years old. I was like, Wasn't he just in the NFL? He is 31 years old. And I got to think they chose him over Denard Wilson, who got a lot of looks elsewhere and got that job in Tennessee, where he's going to run that defense.

Does anybody else see where this is going, by the way? What? Because now what's in vogue is you must hire a young hotshot. We're going to end up with some high school analytics genius, like some 17-year-old kid running a team.

Honestly, 25% of the people that we've talked about during this hiring cycle came from analytics, and half of them work for PFF, like Bobby Sloick, and there's others that just like, That's not unusual. It's like the Sean McVay's of the world that are hiring these guys.

But I mean, It's going to get to the point where somebody before they even have their learners' permit, is going to be running a team.

They just learned like-Look what we've done.

We're ahead of the curve. To your curve, I laugh at your curve. Look at my curve.

I'm a boy. They're crafting like, rise over run diagrams in their math notebook and suddenly they're running Niners defense.Dane.

Quinn is 53, so that should make you feel better. That's a coach that's older than all of us.

That's a great hire. I guess maybe I... I know I'm supposed to say every hire is amazing.I don't love it. You're not. No. Everybody's like, This is such a great hire. This is one of the great hotshot. We talk about how the sausage gets made with the insider. Insiders. We have to understand everybody is pumping up these guys as the most gifted future roster builder or a coach who truly deserves a second head shot. Let's see where all these guys are.

I think someone like David Canales, we have no idea.

I think you have hit on something that's true. For me personally, I found as wrong as we are every year, incredibly wrong about our preseason predictions of who's going to win and stuff. As wrong as I am of which free agents are going to work out. Sometimes I'm right, sometimes I'm wrong, but I'm very often wrong. I feel like there's nothing I'm more wrong about than knowing which coach is going to be good or not. At this point, it's just like, Okay, this makes sense, and let's see what happens. I have a hard time being like, That's not going to work because you just have no clue.

Mike McDaniel, for instance. Mike McDonald, that's going to be annoying, by the way, is this year's version of once upon a Time, Brandon Staley. Remember the flowers being thrown at his feet when he was hired? You don't know, but right now everything looks good.I.

Don't know about Quinn and Washington.It's like the one day where they haven't made a mistake yet. Okay, it's a one day. There should be a one day window, and then you can start to get.

The problem with Quinn is he's the most Ron Rivera-ish of all.Yes.

That's what really stick with me.

That wasn't their vision.

I feel for Commander's fans because obviously all the things they've gone through with the ownership, but it seems like it's taken time to get out of the mud here. Listen, Quinn, not to double back, but Quinn nearly won a big one. He had Kyle with him. We said, he needs somebody up and coming.

One thing, though, if you go back, one of the most-And a quarterback. One hiring that had people flustered and annoyed and thought it was completely failed when they hired him as a second head coach was Bill Belichick to the Patriots. His Q rating was low. The whole thing had happened with the Jets. There were a lot of people thinking they gave up too much for him. It was like Bill Belichick was not highly regarded, and he wasn't thought of as a guy that was easy to get along with.

There was a lot of grumbling going into the 2001 season 2 after one year.

You never know. I mean, Quinn, he's not a sexy pick, but he could be more reliably successful two years from now than any one of these other guys who are unknowns.

Yeah, I remember when it came out that Belichick was going to replace Parcells, I think a lot of Jets fans at the time were like, Okay, that sounds pretty good. But it wasn't like, Oh, my God, we're getting Belichick? Yeah. Then maybe it was when all the warring began with the Patriots about how things would end up, there was a feeling like, Oh, just let him go. It's not like it turned out he was somebody he would want, and now he can't get a job.

Well, maybe next year. A quarter century later, but yes.

I did put it out there into the world that we'd welcome him. I know he's going to do some media and a little fourth-chair action maybe on Wednesday, something like that, Belichick's corner.

Wait, replace Coleen?Not.

Wednesdays.not Wednesdays.

Really? He'd seek where that was going to be, though.

Thursday? How about on the preview show?

Maybe she won't listen to this one, though. It'll be okay.

Just throwing out a random- Greg was very hot on this when he thought you and I were no longer part of the show.

Did you watch a game on Monday?

It was actually me, Coleen, and Belichick.

Speaking of Belichick, I do not envy Zaddy because Jerry Jones keeps talking. Talking talking and talking. If you ask Jerry Jones about anything involving head coach and job security, he will not outright back his guy, really. He's always going to leave the door open. We have a quote here. Can you see this quote? Someone asked about whether he could work with Bill Belichick. Here's what Jerry Jones said via Yahoo Sports, I know him personally, and I like him. There's no doubt in my mind we could work together. None. I don't know why Jerry thinks he needs to say that. I have no idea. I have no idea. Now, his star defensive player, Micah Parsons, came out and got after the team saying they were the old, We were outplayed, outschemed. Did he say outcoach? That's usually what's said, too. So he was filled with frustration about that situation. And then also this week, Jara was pontificating about, Listen, we haven't put it. I think this is the metaphor. We haven't put it through the hoop yet, but we're right at the rim. We're right there. Jarra? We're right there. I thought we made a pretty good move for years ago when we hired Michael Carthen, and he's had some great end-season success.

Now, he's come up short three times, three times in advancements in the playoff. But I like the fact that he's hanging around the rim, and I like what the team has done to hang around the rim. I think what the answer that I would have is that I'm aware that we're hanging around the rim. We're not getting the ball in, but we're hanging around the rim. That's where you're. Let's don't discount hanging around the rim. Where we are right now with the players we've got, and I'm thinking about it from the whole look. Which is it's apt, the metaphor, because Mike McCarthy, he can dunk, by the way. Mccarthy, I know people are going to say, Oh, no, he's a bigger guy. No, that guy, he can cross you over, he can barrel down a lane, and he could throw down a a thunder bomb on you.

Football is completely different than basketball. Dan, when have you ever seen him do that, to collectively, what you just mentioned? My dreams.

But I imagine he can. That's all.

I love Jerry Jones. I'm starting to like him more and more because that was an utterly absurd soliloquy. You've got a coach who's lucky he wasn't fired. You've lost your defensive coordinator. Your quarterback has a $59 million cap hit, which means, do you have to extend him to that, or do you let 25% of your cap be eaten up by a quarterback and lose his playoff game?

If we could push the money, yeah, I think they will extend him.

He loves ball, though.

You got to admit, at this point in his life, he's there in Mobile. You could see he's wearing one of the lanyards. He shows up. I'm sure a press agent gets it for him, but he puts the lanyard on. The draft starts in Mobile. He's hanging out in Mobile for five days right after the season. He never gets... He lives He'll be in Indianapolis. He's on the cycle, but he knows what he's doing there with Belichick. He's sending a little message to his guy, Hey, keep us in your thoughts. Maybe he's even aware that there's been some rumors there down there at the Senior Bowl. I bet he is. Greg Bedard from Boston Sports Journal put this out there that there were some Eagles Belichick connections, that Howie and Belichick have a good relationship, and that maybe it was just a rumor mill, but that if things didn't work out with Siriani, if That meeting they had with Siriani didn't work out, that Belichick was maybe on line one, and we got Bill hovering over this NFC East as we enter 2024. That's interesting.

He could end up back at the Giants, by the way.

That's another one, too. That's what I would wish the most.

The New York Post has been writing about that, too. It's like everyone wants them.

All right, that's what's happening in the news. In case you just joined us, the news went down. We are the champions of the American Sports Podcast Awards. Is that what it is?

It's the Sports Podcast Awards. The category was the best American football podcast.

That's the lead news item today. What we have done, what we have achieved. I don't want to say nobody said we can do it.

I think a lot of people doubted us.

I don't want to say nobody believed in us, but I'm going to say it. I remember when we started this podcast, we had a boss who said, You guys can't even all be in the studio at the same time. We need one person in the newsroom for optics. I remember after a long road to get full-time employment with this company, another boss, no longer with the company, said to me, I know you think you're getting this job for that podcast, but it's not about the podcast. You know what I said to myself? Fuck you. It's about the podcast. This is an award that celebrates everything we've done. We went out and had a great dinner last night, the three of us, did a state of the Union conversation, had a few drinks.

We didn't even know this was going to occur when we had the dinner.

This was not item A on the conversation.

It wasn't.

It shows our humility, though.

After 11 years, the humility on display, I think, is impossible to miss.

I also want to just say that there's a technical department gentleman who, about seven or eight years ago, watched many of our shows from afar and confidently labeled us as podcast bozos. But we're now podcast bozos who have won the massive award, an international award.

In his defense, I think he liked the podcast.

I've never spoken to him about any other aspect of the show, but that's how we were labeled.

Watch us fly.

Bozos can fly, too.

You're not exaggerating. Is this a good time to check the sync on these podcast bozos?

Yeah, he sounds like he likes the show.

No, I've talked to him many times because we work together, and he always makes a joke about it. But you know who doesn't make jokes? You're not exaggerating about that first boss. There is no exaggeration that he thought this was a completely useless waste of time that he actively...

A visionary that man was.

Actively discouraged throughout the process and tried to break up on some and get me out of it, too. Like, What are you doing? You should just be managing.

The amount of time management...

That's right.

When he was the boss.

A million times, he literally tried to end it.

The amount of time's management, and current management is excellent, and we're very happy with all the Shadow of the League figures actively working with the show. But the number of times management tried to kill this show before it even began or just when it was gaining momentum. Give me my music again, please.

If you're just joining us.

If you're just joining us, we are the winners of the American football, Best American football podcast. They tried to kill us. They tried to say, You're not good enough. And we said, No, bro, you're not good enough.

Okay. Now, here we are, the winners of the Most Humble podcast 2024.

I think we're selfless. We're charitable.

The humility is so bright and shining, it's blinding everyone around us. All right, let's take a break. Definitely. We'll be right back. Hit the mailbag. In case you're just joining us, we are the winners. The others have lost, and they must live with that reality. Thank you to Henry Hotchson, by the way, over in the UK, our friend.

You know that he galvanized some voters into action?

He definitely reminded us to mention it on the show, which helped.

Although-i think he played a hand in us being nominated.

Oh. As I understand. That's true. We were not nominated the first three or two or three years. What a success story. We went right into To the wind. The problem is-Talk about Joe Namath. As Patrick Reilly would say, The disease of more. I've already gotten a text from one of our contributors, David Ealey, who says, Congrats, and then follows that up with, As a recurring guest, Do I get hardware? So Already people are-A shout out on the show, I think, is more than enough.

We spoke about him at length the other day. Probably not in a way that he would like to find him a wife. That's our next mission.

That could be a good offseason show.

That might take more than one offseason.

He's a great guy, though. He's a catch of, yes. All right. It is the Don't Say You No What. And so far, Eric, how much money has been raised?

Zero guys. We haven't even been close. This is too easy. There's one reference to San Francisco City.

Wait a minute.

Was it about the team? No, it wasn't about the team. I think it was Mark. He said, What's happening in San You know what?

Wait a minute.

What?let's do it.That's.

Not fair.

I'm going to check the tape on this.

Hit him with the buzzer. It's good to actually test to make sure this buzzer works in case.

I'm happy to contribute to a slush run. Typically illegal, but...

Yeah, I know. That's the one I've seen.

Do you want to throw the red flag? Because you can to challenge whether or not you owe the 10.

I mean, I need... Take it out of the sac. I believe if everyone behind the glass says that I did that, then I'll be happily contribute to the slush run.

Are you challenging it, though?

I I would like confirmation after the show. You only get one challenge. It's in a gray area. I'll challenge that and we'll leave it in a gray area, and I will not.

Well, I know you said San Francisco. You don't need to challenge it.

Oh, I had a new idea.

I'm just saying the reference. I was a little vague on whether or not... Because you didn't say 49ers.

You referenced... Oh, you did though. Oh, he gone. I got Ropa doped. Buz yourself. I got Ropa doped. Buz yourself and take out your dollars. I actually have a better idea. I'm just thinking of it now. Can you bring... Is Big Funk back there?

He's not.

No Big Funk. No. Shit. All right, I'm going to save it for next time because the Slush Fund actually had a better idea for what it's going to go toward. It involves funk. But we'll have to sit on that one. Just let them know.

You can Okay.

It's going to be something I think he would really appreciate, and maybe we get the listeners involved.

I can't wait to... Greg and I can't wait to find out.

I think I know.

I'd be very surprised if we knew, but don't say anything. I have an idea.Not.

A Fanny pack with cash.

I want to write a wrong around funk, and I want to use this show as platform. Can't get my music. I think our show, what we strive to do now that we have achieved what we have is to help others as I did at Clemson. How so? I'm not sure.

You keep saying underprivileged youth, and it was a business leadership conference, so you don't even know who you were helping.

It's so many different things. I'm helping so many people. My elderly neighbor, Sharon, she has a leak in her roof, and I helped clean her car the other day. Do you hear me talking about that?

Yes.

Because she just prompted me. You're challenging my bonafides.Wait a minute.As a good human. Yes.

The leak in her roof, and then you washed her car. Like her roof car. The roof in her car.

Okay. There's a leak in it.It was cute.

It felt like one thing was happening and you helped it.

I said, Sharon, you got a garage here. Let Let me help you empty the garage and get the car into the garage so this doesn't happen again. She says, Oh, no, it's fine. After the car is cleaned, she covers it with a plastic sheet in the driveway, and then we get destroyed, Los Angeles morning by a monsoon, and I'm like, Sharon. I'm upset about that. It was a part of my Saturday. Anyway, Greg, that's an example. A strong one. I want us to uplift now that we've become winners.

I like it, and I think I know what it is. You can confirm to me later, but let's do this mailback. All right. Let's do the mailback.

Let me see if you're right.

What did you- I slacked you. We are on air right now.

Yes, you're actually... See? It's a great idea, isn't it? It's pretty good. All right, let's open up the mailbag first. Question, don't say you know what. All right. Grasshopper84 asked, is Dan ready for year 2 of Aaron Rodgers. I am like when you watch a horror movie, and if it's well done in the first act, you're getting to know the protagonist that are many times doomed in some way or another. It's a well-written type horror film where you start to really feel and connect with those characters. Insert Jets fans. I feel terrible about year 2 of Aaron Rodgers and everything around it, and that Athletic, deep dive by Zack Rosenblatt and I think Diana Rossini was involved with it as well. It was interesting hearing the paranoia that's gripped poor Bob Salah and hearing how Zack Wilson, his feelings on Aaron Rodgers have changed now because Rodgers really didn't even connect with him after the injury. None of this is surprising necessarily.

Oh, wow. It was all phony. Yeah.

What a shocker. Exactly. And surprise, surprise. Hackett, according to some, wasn't even putting in the work in terms of scheming. And all those people are coming back except for Wilson. So am I really to expect this now to be all right because the 40-year-old quarterback is back from his Achilles tear. No, I feel this... Everybody, and I get it, I'm jealous because I know it's a good sport to laugh at the misfortunes of the Jets. They're funny. Get out your popcorn. It's going to be a great year in 2024. That's where I'm at right now.

It's tough when I feel for Jets fans for you, but we're months and months away from the business of the season and the Jets becoming better in certain ways. They're already exhausting. I don't want to blame the players working hard on that team and the coaches. Apparently, some of them are, but they're already an exhausting topic, not unlike the Cowboys to me. Right.

It's less about exhausting. If anything, the fact that I think everyone's going to be so down on the jets, maybe that's the one time.

We don't have to worry about the Hype machine. Right.

They could actually... Which is good.

That's good.

But, Rogers, it's just funny how much he pulled the wool over everyone's eyes, I think, during that hard knocks and stuff. That Wilson story, and we've just seen so many of them, I think just makes it very easy for me to root against that guy. That's all. I heard Larry David the Bill Simmons podcast. He refused to even talk about the Jets and Rogers because he just didn't want to say anything negative about Rodgers, and that's all he would have to say about Rodgers. He just doesn't like the experience. You could tell, but he just doesn't want it to be aggregated or even mention it because he's a Jets fan, but he can't even be honest about it because it's just like, I can't deal with it.

Because he then goes on McAfee and then gets asked about it and all that stuff. It's not good. It's not good, and it's, quite frankly, super depressing because after this happens, if it goes the way it feels like it's going, then they're starting over again. All right, next. Gm 1982. If you could go back in time and cover, be a beat writer for any NFL team you do not support for one season, which team season would it be? Mark?

I like this question. I came up with my own list, and it was like, It's obvious ones because it's when I became a football fan, but we grew up on the East Coast, and some of my earliest memories are watching Lozold, like Bill Parcell's Giants teams with my dad. In '85, you could see the team forming, and the The Marys went and won the Super Bowl that year, and the Giants got taken out in the playoffs. But the '86 Giants is the team that I pick because not unlike when the Stealers became a powerhouse after decades of darkness, and not unlike when any team suddenly, like the Lions finds light. That Giants team was one of the most celebrated. It's the same year the Mets won the World Series. The New York Tablets were going crazy. I would love to have been there to cover that from wire to wire because you got L. T. In there. You got Bill Parcells. Bill Parcells and Phil Sims didn't get along half the time. You had Phil McConkey. There were a lot of strange players that created this Super Bowl winning team that were trailing at halftime to the Broncos, then exploded.

Phil Sims had the game of his life in Sun Splash, California. It was absolutely the crowning achievement of a team that they went and won in '90, but that was a bit of a different team. It turned Bill Parcells, who was carried off the field. It was like your first Gatorade dunk and everything, too. I think that was a very special time for the NFL, but for New York. It was like back then, you only could watch one team, Jets and Giants, basically. Those two teams, that was it on my television.

The first one that came to mind for me was the Buddy Ryan era eagles. I don't know why. I was always been fascinating by that.

It's funny because I was thinking of the Buddy Ditka bears.

That would be fun, too. There's a great book. Maybe the best season in the life book I've ever read, it was by Eric Bowden, who also ended up writing books that turned into major movies. But it was called Bringing the Heat, and it was about the eagles. That team with Randall Cunningham and Buddy Ryan, Wade Phillips was in the mix at some point, and Reggie White and Jerome Brown, who was this crazy character, and Clyde Simmons, and the drama with Ryan and his coaching staff, and the way they interacted with the media back then. It just feels like the most wild East Coast time possible. An extremely exciting team that also was full of drama and personality from start to finish. They were like an open book. It seemed like a very fun team to cover in an insanely competitive media core. That That, to me, would be a fun era.

Buddy Ryan's a great one because you could point to multiple teams. You could talk that would be a fun team. The one where he punched Kevin Gilbride, that Oilers team. That West wrote about. Yes. The 85 bears, of course. He gets carried off the field after that game. We showed Joe. He said he was top of the world. What was the question?

King of the Hills. King of the Hills. You're King of the Hills.

You're King of the Hills.

See?guess who the DC of that Jets team was? Buddy Ryan. Wow. He had quite a football life, and then Rex and Rob followed, of course. I would say, give me the mid '90s Cowboys. That would be a lot of folks.

That was on my list, too.

A young, Jera, King of the Hill, Jera, Jimmy Johnson, not the Switzerland team, the Jimmy Johnson team, Akeman, Irvin, Emmett, set against the backdrop of the best... How about Jim Cowboy? Well done. Set against the backdrop of the best rivalry of the '90s, which was Cowboys, Niners, which was the only one that really, to me, approaches that would be cults, patriots in the '80s. But I would say that when I think about those NFC title games in the early '90s, they were the big game. It was whoever won that game was going to hoist the Lombardi.

That would be my pick. They also had Cowboys, Brett Farr, packers, too. There was a lot going on in the NFC. But I think the greatest and weirdest and most bizarre ending to a lot of that was that Barry Switzer comes in and replaces Jimmy. It's like, Barry Switzer, during the Pro Bowl, they showed him because they lost the NFC title game. When you're in, he's sitting there eating a hot dog. And today, no one cares about the Pro Bowl, but it was like, this guy is a whack job. And the reporting coming out of Dallas was like, Troy Akeman was beside himself. Post Jimmy Johnson was about as chaotic as it could get.They got one more.It was filled with... With Barry.

Shout out to the... I thought you were going to slip up there, by the way. What? You mentioned Pro Bowl, then you're talking the NFC title game.

I thought it was going to-I was out of my head, too. I wasn't even thinking about what the episodes about at this point.

The '70s Raiders or the '70s Stealers to me would be very fun because that, to me, is the birth of what we think of as the NFL in general. But it also, reading the books from back then, it's It was so much looser. The relationship between the media and the team and the fans, the business of it all was all turned down to such a degree that you really got to know these guys as character. They were all in it together, and they were just insane characters in a way that those teams seemed like they would be a lot of fun.

All right, next one. I think West would have thrown one of those teams out there. All right, here. Sam asks, Sam the Hobbit,_98. Everyone, what were some of your favorite non-football-related pieces of entertainment, books, movies, TV, concerts this past year. Okay. We've done a couple of things. Anybody want to start?

I'll start with a couple of books that are right off the top of my dome as my favorite. It's B-Sting by Paul Murray, who is an Irish writer, a family saga there. That's one of the best books I've read in the last 20 years. It is incredibly written. It's a bit of a doorstop, but it's like 600 pages, and yet it is incredible how talented he is. Then Chain Gang All-Stars, I think, would be a crowd pleaser, too, which is a lot of fun by Nana Kwame Adjija Brenya, which is a little science fiction-y, futuristic, where People in prison essentially choose to fight in these death-to-the-death matchups, and yet it's very literary and very well done. I liked all the Oscar movies this year. I feel like none of them were bad, almost. I like told over. I like May, December. I like so many of them, but my two favorites are probably American Fiction is just the most purely entertaining and funny and just the easiest watch. American Fiction is really good with Jeffrey Wright and Killers of the Flower Moon. It's probably just the best, best movie I've seen.

Yeah, I enjoyed that one a lot.

I liked May, December.

That was great.

I like Barbie.

I like Barbie. Barbie was there, too.

The new True Detective so far has been excellent.

That's on my list.

I I'm not saying this was a great movie, but I thought Air with Matt Damon and Jason Bateman was fun, very nostalgic, and they did a good job with it.

I didn't love Affleck as Phil Knight. I didn't love that.

Well, it just for me, I sat and watched it and was Totally. It was cool to see Damon and Affleck back together. I watched Maestro and hated it and yet couldn't stop thinking about it and then liked it. I was like, whatever. I just couldn't stop thinking about it for some reason. It's good performances, but I was just like, I don't know, something about it is getting it under my skin. Jason Zumwalt and I have been talking about a film that has been essentially like rereleased on Criterion with Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reid, directed by Ken Russell called The Devils. I took my child to the Exorcist a couple of weeks ago, and I would say that is one of the weirder cinema experiences to take a child to. But the devil-What is social services?

Where's the paperwork at right now?

He loved it. I don't know. In transit, but he loved it. He wanted to something scary. But the devil's, which is not a horror film, it is and it isn't, and it's also comedic and strange and dark, and it was made a long time ago. If you have access to this, I would not say it's a gather the family around the hearth film on any level. It was banned in many countries when it was released, but it is incredible.

It's a so Mark and so more.

It is like the mother of its day.

It has mother vibes to it a little bit. It truly does. But it also feels like something shotgun from 45 years ago, and it's pretty great.

When was it released?

I think the late '06. I will check that out. Oh, wow.

Interesting. I am currently finishing the... It's really sad and harrowing in different places, and especially after he passed away. But the Matthew Perry memoir about his life is really fascinating and, again, sad because he died, obviously, shortly the book came out, and so much of it is about his battle with alcoholism and various drug addiction. It's really crazy to get inside that world, especially when you're one of the most famous people in the world. I just watched that. What is the name of it? It's the documentary on Netflix that just came out on We Are the World.

We were talking about that last night. I want to see that. Absolutely.

It's called The Greatest Night in Pop, which is a great, great look at the recording of We Are the World, the USA for Africa, a song to raise aid for... There was a major catastrophe, starvation, millions dying in Ethiopia. They came together, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote a song on just a couple of days' notice, and then they got every big star in American pop culture and music the time to record the song in one night and shoot the video. It was the night of the American Music Awards in which Lionel Richie hosted and one, swept all the awards. Then he was leading the recording session with Quincy Jones. Quincy Jones has a big sign above the door. The biggest stars in the world, Check Your Ego at the door. Everyone did, except for Prince. Check out that documentary. Also, I It's a true detective. I'm really enjoying. Return to Form. A strange one. Jody Foster. Henry. Speaking of Henry, speaking of Henry, turned me on to this. I've been a little bit of a slump looking for a new music that I enjoy, but a band called The Smile. Which is comprised of Tom York from Radiohead, also Johnny Greenwood, the guitarist, and a different drummer.

It's not Radiohead, but if you like In Rainbow's Radiohead, which is my favorite Radiohead, the smile scratches that itch that came out. Then in concert, and I'm going to be able to get to see it in Vegas again as a long-time U2 fan, U2 at the Sphere. I went there with my wife in November, and that was an unbelievable experience, not just because I love their music, but the spectacle of it was very cool. I highly recommend it if you can make it. All right, good. Next. Let's see. Fenshield asks, I've long wondered what team Mark supported during the three years the Browns ceased to exist. He's long wondered that. Did he consider the Ravens? Please. Come on, Finshield, hold out hope for their return or move to the wilderness. This is Mark. I've known you for many years now, 14 years. I don't know if I've ever talked about this with you.

I have a definitive answer for this. What did you do? What's the alternative answer for this? Well, it makes me think of West because I was, obviously... There was news right away that Cleveland was going to fight to get a team back, but you knew it was going to take a while. That's a storyline. I didn't pick a new favorite team. But I was agnostic. I lived in Boulder at the time. There was this incredible sports bar that I'd go to with friends and watch everything. But it was the Brett Farr Packers from essentially '96, '97, '98.

Well, you got a title out of it. Hey.

Yeah.

Yeah, you can't complain.

You got your chip. I guess I did. I should have stopped complaining at that point. You're right. But it was just like every Sunday, Brett Farr was like Brett Farr being about as hard as you could possibly want.

Yeah, that was the good old days of Brett.

Well, right.

Three straight MVPs. I have this article that goes up every year, which is the best quarterbacks of all time. They call it the best Super Bowl quarterbacks of all time. But anyone, you had to have started a Super Bowl to qualify.

Oh, that's double.

That's $20 hit.

Ego. It started as five, I thought, before the show.

No, he doubled it. He doubled it.

It's a 10 for the kids.

It's such a good cause that I want to just keep saying it.

Go ahead. Keep it organic.

Mr. Moneybags. You don't know where to put Mahomes on this list.

He has so many jobs. He actually has at least 14 million in the bank currently. So yeah, you'll be good.

I have one other job.

Mahomes.

Mahomes. I had to decide where to put Mahomes or Brett Favre on this list. Because of course, Mahomes is going to end up near the top. But the idea is just it's just accomplishments, what you've done so far. And it's like, man, Brett Favre won three straight MVPs. For that, he had a shorter window than most. But for that window, it's right there with any quarterback that's ever played, maybe better than any quarterback that's ever played.

He's that dude. Everything that happened in recent years is terrible around far. But one of the great performances I've ever seen, and this comes after he had a one-year stopover with my team. But when he went to the Vikings and had that huge season, he was there two years, but the first year was awesome. Greg Williams and Sean Payton essentially put out a hit on Brett Favre in the 2009 NFC title game. He took as vicious a beating as you will ever see a quarterback take in that game. That son of a bitch got up every time. They were literally trying to injure him. There was money. Bounty cake. There was a bounty on basically killing Brett Favre, and Brett Favre knew it. Everybody knew it, and he kept fighting through it. Now, Vikings fans and anybody else who remembers the game will also say, Well, he also threw the interception below the game. I get that. But there were a lot of elements in that game. One of the more sneaky painful losses in the history of the Minnesota Vikings.

Yes, they should have won that game.

They outplayed the game. But I always had so much respect for Favre, the way he played that game.

The photos and images were released after what Favre's lower body looked like after taking those hits. I mean, it was like beyond medical science. You're right, during the game, never even showed.

Wait, did you?

It also gave Jordan love, like an inspiration of how to end this packer season. He's like, I'm going to be exactly like Brett Favre and throw that exact same path. Same throw.

When the Browns come back, and they stink because they're an expansion franchise, was it hard to let go of the packers? Now, it helped. I guess the packers are then starting to come down a little bit right when the Browns came back.

I will never forget the night that they were relaunched on Sunday Night Football in week one against the Cordell-Stewart, Bill Cauer-led Stealers. I went to that same Boulder bar with an empty notebook that was going to be my Brown's notebook for the year, and I was going to write dense notes, and I had a feeling that they were going to be at least interesting and special. And by the end of the first quarter, they were down like 21 to nothing. And I was like, this notebook can go into the circular file. There's nothing to write or see about. It was a disaster, but there was no conflict. I was all the way in. They never really got a whole lot better from that, but they made the playoffs in 2002 on the Rich Davis.

When you're born in-5 to 27, those first two years back.

It was rough.

That is tough. Tim Couch. What the hell was Palmer? Who's Palmer? Chris Palmer was-Who's the head coach?back then an offensive guru who had been with a bunch of teams. I will not go on about it, but the difference between the Jaguars and Panthers and expansion teams that were given a two-year lead up and given a proper time to hire, and they were given draft privilege. The Browns got really hosed, and it was a truncated process that I think helped those other teams in general to do a better job in any expansion team since. Cleveland got really hosed in every possible way.

His defensive coordinator was Bob Sloek. You know this league? Hey, man. There you go.Different one.It's a family. Romeo Cornell then took over for him the next year.

Pop quiz, Mark, who was the leading rusher of the 1999 expansion, Browns?

Oh, it's going to kill me when I hear the name because I used to talk about him all the time, but he was pulled from their little strange expansion draft. Terry.

Terry Kirby. Terry Kirby. All right, next. You have failed, sir. But that's a tough one. It's not like...

No, no, no. It wasn't Jim Brown.

No, it was not. Waffle House Hamlin asks, When will the pain from the Ravens losing stop? Now, that's interesting. Coming off the heels of the Browns' conversation. I will say this. It's an underrated fan pain. I've experienced it three times, personally, to lose on Championship Sunday. Because if you lose the AFC or Obviously, Championship. Obviously, it's one that you lose in the Super Bowl. Give it to me. It's for a good cause, and you'll soon find out. It's one thing to lose, but then at least you get there. If If you fall short in the title game, you get the two weeks of the hype and the excitement around that. Nobody remembers how deep most teams went in their conference playoffs, and it's just so empty when you're that close to making the big game, and then you don't.

I think also that game, particularly, coming out of it, it's like, Wait, why didn't Lamar Jackson... Why didn't they just unleash him in full fury? It's a bit of a what-if game where it's like, This isn't the Ravens team that we saw, especially in offense.

Did you see Odell? They had some good NFL films of him sitting next to Lamar as the game started to spin out. He's basically telling, Lamar, you could change the game. When you run, that flips the script. Everyone watching the game was saying the same thing. How many times was he just living in that pocket instead of making plays with his legs and changing the feel and dynamic of that game? Yes.

The answer is week one-ish. I mean, it's never going to leave you unless they make and win of the Super Bowl, but especially the next couple of weeks are going to be.

You two are spinning out.I.

Rememberi just said it once. I remember when we first did these, I was so focused on it, and it hasn't even crossed my mind to not say it.

I was like, How did I It's right out of the '86 Giants' conversation, Scott.

That's a good job. I think, though, it gets more painful the further you go. If you lose where the Ravens lost, that stinks for the next couple of weeks, and you always believe that you should have been there, and it's going to stink all offseason, all the coverage of it, especially if the Chiefs win. But it's even worse if you lose the next one. It keeps getting worse.

I've said this recently.

What happened there?

Chiefs.

Well, you can't say chief.

That goes like $140 at this point.

Are you down $150 right now? You're down $140.

No, I think it's $150.

That's a little bit of scratch. Anyway, if our teams ever get to the big game, we got to win it.Cannot.

Get there after all this time.No, they cannot.

All right, let's check a couple more. Guzzy Mayne asks, Seeing as how the Vikings will probably never be the team of ATM again. Well, you never know. Third time could be the charm. Are there any other teams that can't ever be team of ATM? That's a good one.Let's.

See.ever..

I would say...

See, Washington Washington would have been my answer until the ownership change, but now I'm open-minded.

New England would have been mine, but they're in a different world now.

Yeah, the Jets can't. We can't have more Jets talk on this show. No, I understand. That's just my Patriots' fandom, too.

Obviously, the Ravens can't because of Mark. I would say probably the AFC North. Well, the bangles, I think, are an exception there.

I'd sign up for that. Bangle's secretly, spiritually were for one season.

Other than that.

When you say ever, it's really hard to imagine the 49ers in this current iteration. Give me 10 more dollars there.

Or the team they're about to play. He getting dinged.

But you never know. If this show is lucky enough to still be doing it, I guess if you like, maybe if you look at where we are today, there's a handful of teams that I would never...

That's it.

Certainly, the team that plays at Arrowhead are never going to be the team of ATN. There's got to be a certain plucking spirit to them that the true Giants don't possess. All right, what's next? Dennis Kelly asks, What team would you most like to be a fan of in the next 3-5 years with an exciting future? And what team could you not be paid to be a fan to love in the upcoming years?

All right, easy for me on the first part. Texans. I actually love that they found a way to keep Bobby Sloak around. I'm sure money was involved there and who knows what else.

We didn't get a job offer. I think that's the number one Well, in general, that's one question the insiders on where they always make a big deal of like, he's coming back. He didn't get a job offer.

Well, just the fate that he didn't. Yes. Just the fact that if you're the defensive coach, you keep the guy that's running your offense. Them, for obvious reasons, couldn't root for? I don't know. A bunch of teams annoy me. I'd have to think about that one.

Well, you mentioned one in the previous show that you couldn't root for, the Chargers, which I think would be close to my list of the fun one, to root for for the next five years because it'd just be insane. Texans popped into my mind first, too, for a fun team. But I think the Chargers might be fun.

I was just saying the Chargers organization can't go crazy. I think it'd be fun to be a fan of them.

Okay. You know what strikes me right now is the Saints. Now, all this could get flushed out, but there's something-On the negative side. On the negative side. There's something about this group running this team in this current generation. I would not want to become a fan of this team.

I couldn't do Cowboys.

Two more. Steven Lee asks, We need to bring back #greglikesrap. He does.

But I like other music just as much as well.

But #greglikesrap. You're our rap aficionado of the podcast. With that being said, as a former New Orleans inhabit, That's an interesting way of putting it. Cash money millionaires or no limit soldiers. That's a big one.

I could be speaking out of turn here, but I feel like this question would only come from a non-New Orleans. It's not much of a competition. What no limit accomplished was great. They made the most with what they have. But Cash Money Millionaires, when I was there, which was when both these crews were coming up.

Late '90s, early 2000s.

They were like the Beatles in Liverpool. I mean, and they're just far more talented juvenile in a little way. Than the Beatles? No, than the No Limit soldiers. I mean, No Limit was fun, but come on.

I got to support Master P. I always do. I'm very anti Big Sean, very positive Master P.

He was fun, too. But I mean, how many...

He could ball, too.

How many bangers did No Limit really have?

No Limit. Remember all the album covers? They all had the same general esthetic.

They got it done. They got it done.

What was the esthetic?

It was very garish, bright colors. Was it animated? And then blown out colors.

It was great. They're coming back. People now are copying them. I love Master P, his commercial where he was selling his own phone, the no limit phone that you could buy that just ran nonstop in New Orleans is seared into my brain.

Yes. All right, one more. Last question. Good one, Greg. See? People wanted to hear. It had been too long. Chris, @Tienoilers, asked, Where does Kirk land? A little look ahead, and we could talk a landscape of some quarterbacks in general as we look ahead to the offseason. I thought we were a little bit, and we talked about some buyer beware with Cousins on Wednesday, but a little Kirk-a-sance, not just in how the public views him, but the Vikings. I felt like they were falling in love with Kirk again last year. Then to see what happened when Dobbs betrayed both us and the Vikings with his play, and then everything had happened after.

It's not like any of his successors fared any better, but yes.

But I would say the odds on My favorite would be him staying in Minnesota.

But I mean, to your argument from the other show is they also would have concerns, I think, fairly about what physical shape he is in post-Achilles.

Or that was Greg's Well, it's also like, is this the time for them as an organization to reset?

I think you're right, Dan, that they are the most likely destination. But for the sake of this conversation, I think it's fun to consider the Denver Broncos as an underrated team. I think he would fit well with Payton. I think they're very much in win now mode, and they have no quarterback. I don't think Russell Wilson is going to be an option there. And a real wild card here. Offensive staff is changing, but just Just throwing it out there. A ton of cap space, veteran team, the Tampa Bay Bucaneers. I don't know. I was trying to think of where he would be. I like him. I think Denver actually strikes me as the team that would pay the money for him, maybe.

I wish he would go to the Pittsburgh Stealers.

That'd be fun.

I like him just walking in there and saying, Can you pick it? Give me number 8 and get the hell out of here.

That's right.

You're gone.

He'd weirdly fit the Stealers, but I wouldn't expect myself thinking that. I can picture him in a Pittsburgh uniform.

That team, listen, careful what you wish for. You give them a proficient quarterback with the skill players there with that defense. The Stealers could be back in the AFC Championship game themselves very quickly. All right. Is that it? Yeah, that's it. Any other quarterbacks to throw out there, by the way, while we're here? Who else is... So Baker is obviously a figure of interest.

Russell Wilson.

Russ. Justin Field.

See, Russell Wilson, to me, seems like a stealer. The Falcons, I think, will be looking for one, and Cousins could fit that offense quite well, too.

I am very suspicious. Russell Wilson, a stealer? I'm a very suspicious of a team signing up for Russell Wilson as their starter.

Yeah, I feel like that would be... God, would anybody be excited?The fans would not.In Pittsburgh? No. I don't know if they would. I don't think he needs to... I feel like Russ almost has to do a baker where he needs to go somewhere and win a job and then try to reestablish.

I think it's safe to say Jameis Winston will be looking for a new job after how last season.

I'm curious. I am curious. I know this wasn't an overly popular take, but if he will have a slightly chillier market based on how the season ended.

His market was very chilly last year.

How many head coaches are going to be like, Oh, that's the guy I want in my locker room.

It was an upset he stayed with the Saints this season.

He didn't have a ton of interest.

Raiders got to find someone. Maybe Justin Fields in a Raiders uniform. I could see that.

Sure. Sure. Anything else? Good job. Good job, everybody. Thank you.Raised.

A lot of money. What a day.

Is this one of those days where this feels like a podcast we've done? It's a very podcasty podcast. Then we're just here in this studio with these bright lights, and this is going to air on fast, and there's all those people behind the glass, and I was like, Oh, wait. Does that really work?

Madison behind the glass. Who else is there?

Eric Roberts.

Josh behind the glass. Cynthia, and of course, Eric, the producer. Thank you. You guys all share in this award.

Equally.

So if you want to call up your moms and dads back today, we won. We share in this. Great success around the NFL. It's everyone else who attempted to defeat us, whether it's the fellow nominees or our old bosses.

Past lovers.

Or the past lovers or the enemies who have yet to reveal themselves. We are Brett Favre in the 2009 NFC title game, but there is no interception. Oh. Just touchdance. Everywhere. Come after us and heat the call.