The Herd with Colin CowherdColin has major problems with the current NBA and commissioner Adam Silver finally admits they are going to have to do something about it. He discusses the Bears search for a new head coach and why there is clearly one candidate that should be the favorite to get the job. Plus, 2-time National Champion head coach Urban Meyer joins the show to talk about Bill Belichick's move into college football and why it could be the right fit considering where the sport is today
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This is the Best of the Herd with Colin cowher on Fox Sports Radio.
Here we go. It is a Wednesday.
This one is lined up to be a very good show live in Los Angeles. It's The Herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. I'll say it again. Listening on radio, you should turn to FS one R set. If this doesn't give you the holiday feel nothing will j macurban Meyer in one hour from now. Danny parkins later this hour on the Bear's Coaching Search. I'll get to that in five minutes. But last night, and we both love basketball, was the NBA. I'm not sure if you notice that they they turned the seats blue last night to hide the fact about half of them were empty. So it's very interesting. We'll start with this. I like the NBA congrats to the Milwaukee Bucks. They beat OKC last night, two very good teams. But Adam Silver was talking to the media. He acknowledged that television ratings have fallen on a cliff, but one of his lines was, listen to this, Well, we're at the point where our social media audience is at the highest of any league. Yeah, congrats for crushing Twitter and ig and TikTok. Ain't paying the bills, bra, Amazon, NBC, ESPN are your partners for the next decade? Twitter TikTok may not even be legal in six weeks. Who gives a rip about social media? You know what else is crushing on social media? Young people taking their clothes off. Congratulations, it's not paying the bills either. So my takeaway is, Oklahoma City, here's what I saw last night, shoot thirty two threes and make five. The game is repetitive and boring. Roger Goodell and Rob Manfred have taken a lot of heat for cultural changes they've made with a sport. A lot of old timers and purists have pushed back rule changes, and they've been right. Rob Manford two for two this last year. Goodell multiple moves almost always right. Adam Silver needs to change the game. The three point shot is boring and repetitive. Every team plays the exact same way. I've said before. I would move the three point arc into the bench, eliminate the corner, move it back afoot, make it part of the game, not the game. Last night you had seventy two threes. That's not good at the YMCA, and it's not good in Pro basketball. The most entertaining team in league history that had the highest ratings Michael Jordan, do you know what they should because they were athletic in high flying five threes a game. This year's Bulls average forty four. You might as well turn Michael Jordan's jumpman logo if he played today in the MJ with a fallaway twenty seven footer boring. It needs to be part of the game, not the game. By the way, Major Leig Baseball defensive shift, all the analytics proved you could get more guys out that way. You were right, But nobody wants to watch Bryce Harper and you know Sho heey O Tani and Milkie Betts lining out to a second baseman playing right field and then heading back to the dugout. You want him on television, and I've said this about tech before. You got to be more than just smart with tech. Google glasses the meta headsets for dorks. The consumers were like, yeah, it's smart. Who wants to walk around We're in a meta headset and be a huge dork. Packaging matter. Steve Jobs the greatest mind ever in Silicon Valley. He always understood packaging matters. It can't just be math. If the NFL, if the Philadelphia Eagles could get five yards of tush push, they would never have to do any other play and the NFL would outlaw. It's okay that they do it twice a game. If they got to ten times, the NFL would outlaw and should in packaging matters, how a game looks my entire life. I watched the NBA. All of our favorite players have been like MJ and Kobe and athletic players. There's a reason the dunk contest is usually more fun to watch than the three point shooting contest. The NBA has the world's greatest athletes, and Edwards now shoots ten.
And a half. Three's a game. Yuck.
I don't mind three. I want to see him drive to the basket. It can't just be about well analytics. Math isn't always good for sports. The defensive shift, yeah, got more people out. I want Mookie Betton, Bryce Harbor on base, not in the dugout. The three point shot now, it's just too repetitive.
It's boring.
Everybody plays the same. So these are all TV shows. I don't care that you're big on TikTok. Tech can't be just smart, and sports can't just be efficient with analytics.
It's gotta be entertaining. Aunt Edwards. You know, it's funny. I was telling a friend last night.
I said this idea that everybody has to shoot analytics, But what if you don't have good three point shooters? That's like saying, you know, all kids have to drink milk. What if you're lactose intolerant. I had a stomach ache for thirteen years. I was told I had to drink milk. It's not good for everybody. Three pointers were good for the Warriors, not bad for Milwaukee. When chet Holmgren's not playing, OKAC shouldn't be shooting them. Everybody chased the Warriors for years. One team was winning titles shooting a bunch of threes. The Warriors so Adam silver Do a, Rob manfred do A, Roger Goodell. Nobody cares about TikTok congrants dominating that. You know what the NFL cares about Fox, Amazon, Netflix, CBS, ESPN. That's what they care about their broadcast partners because that's that's driving the money in the league. Butts in seats and butts on their couch watching on TV. Okay, so here, I saw this story this morning from Like a Something link to Bleacher Report. Joe Brady is a strong candidate for the Bear's job.
No, he's not.
We know Joe Brady from two things, being the offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills offense with Josh Allen, not the biggest lift in the world, and also being the passing game coordinator for Joe Burrow at LSU with Justin Jefferson and Jamar Chase ha not exactly big lifts. Ed Ors, you're on one and Natty with that team. Love ed, but he won a Natty. Okay, the Chicago Bears can't be your first gig.
Can't be.
He's never been high school code. Can't be your first gig. And I'll give you an example. Everybody that works on the construction of a bridge is a great tradesman. Everybody is great at something, but about one or two people can lead the project. They're called architects and engineers. The Chicago Bears are a bridge project, but not just a bridge project. They're the Golden Gate Bridge. They're the biggest bridge project of the decade. They've never had a quarterback throw for four thousand yards. The packers are up around five thousand annually. Like this is the ultimate bridge project. You can't say, Hey, this guy over here, Joe Brady, he's great with asphalt. I can find those guys and they're good tradesmen and they deserve to be paid, but they can't lead the project. You've got oldest owners in the league, a loud and relentless and powerful media, a general manager who had a he's got a spotty track record, don't hate him, don't love it. And a president Kevin Warren who reportedly is and I've been told this can be very, very political. This is not a job for a coordinator or a job for somebody that's never even be a high school coach. This is the big bridge project. You go and you go, and you get the firm you don't have in the biggest murder case in a law firm. Have a junior associate on the case. You got some old guy with salt and pepper hair and it's his forty seventh murder case. This is a big job with a loud media. There's talent on the roster, but there's talent on the Jets roster. There are so many obstacles here. And again I'm not saying Joe Brady can't do it, but Mike Vrabel can do it. Mike Rabel was coached hard in the ecosystem of Belichick. Mike Rabel was in Tennessee and they've had plenty of dysfunction. He had to win a division without a great quarterback or an ascending quarterback. So the idea, I keep seeing all these coordinators for this job. You can't hire a guy who's good with asphalt to build the golden gate bridge. This is a grown up job. You need the top lawyer to handle this case. You need somebody that's been to a conference championship, that can deal with dysfunction, that can blow stuff up, start over and build a culture. That's what Harball was, That's what Dan Campbell was. You know, Dan Campbell had been interim head coach, but he'd been an interim head coach, and he had many people in the league, like the Bill Parcells at Jimmy Johnson's guys like that were on the phone saying this guy can do it, and they were right, he can. But if I hear another one of these coordinators, listen, Joe Brady can coach. But having Joe Burrow in college with the best receiving core collegiately in the history of the sport, and Josh Allen, that's a pretty light lift. That's not what Chicago is, not even close to what Chicago is, all Right, Danny Parkins, we'll talk about that in about thirty five minutes.
J Mack, you know, we bring a guy on this show.
Who I like a lot, Brian Baldinger, and he is very good at breaking down footage. And again he's not in the payroll for anybody he played in this league. He's an offensive lineman. Very interesting suggestion by Baldy today looking at film on what the Niners should do at quarterback. I'm not sure if you're gonna love this story.
I haven't heard it, but I have heard other people tell me that they should swap Rock Purty for a certain quarterback round.
Yeah, you love.
Hey, I'm America's honesty broker. I'm not taking sides. I'm just gonna present what Baldy says. And it's very interesting for a guy, by the way, as a former cowboy, he didn't give a rip.
Yeah, well, I mean, listen, if I'm going to buy a house and there's two houses, what's my number one? Location is the number one thing in real estate, but price point is next.
And if brock Berty won.
Sixty Mili, good luck in Tennessee or wherever you're playing next to you.
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Hey, Steve Covino and I'm Rich David and together we're Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio.
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And the fact that we've been friends for the last twenty years and still work together. I mean that says something, right.
So check us out.
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That's Covino and Rich set it before. Don't confuse a great story for a great team, a great coach, or a great player. So Brian Balding or Baldy, he played in the NFL for years, had played every offensive line position, great at breaking down the game. You'll see him doing that on the internet, so he said yesterday, when asked, he said, listen, if you're asking me Donald or brock Purty, Donald's been in that system. I'd take Donald, so would I if the price point is Sam Donald for three years at forty million and Brock Purtty for four years at fifty to fifty five million, which he wants, So they're going for it the Brock pretty camp. So Donald's bigger, more athletic, with a better arm. Now, both, in my opinion, have only flourished with a great offensive coach, and that may be the only time they do flourish. Purty and Donald neither has shown an ability to elevate average players, but both they're hyper productive when they have great players around them. So I'm going to take the better arm, the better athlete at a better price, and it's not difficult. Sam Donald, by the way, still in his prime twenty seven and and has double the starts, so he's a more experienced guy. But here's the thing. People love the story of Brock perty being drafted in the seventh round. It's a cool story. But of the fourteen teams currently in the playoff, twelve have firstround quarterbacks and Jalen Hurts is a second rounder. Here's all the first round quarterbacks in the NFL. You know, it's all the good ones. Josh Allen Burrow right now, Donald Doff, Herbert Lamar, Love, Patrick Mahomes, Baker, Kyler, Murray Stafford, CG.
Stroud, all first round talents.
Jalen Hurts, who most people who break down film say isn't great from the pocket, but I do think is a really good quarterback.
He's a second rounder.
And then there's Brock who has struggled when it's wet, who has struggled without Christian McCaffrey, and Trent Williams who can be reckless like Donald. But I don't get the upside physically arm mobility that I get with Sam Darnold. So people, I think have always confused the story with the truth. Yeah, Rock, Perty's a great story. And if you get a guy that starts in the seventh round, you don't have to pay him for four years. He's basically free. But don't make the exception the rule. The guys hoisting trophies are first round guys. Aikman, Bradshaw, you know that's them and net Well, what about Brady again, you're making the exception the rule. Tom Brady is the greatest player in the history of the NFL, and he was a six round pick. I acknowledge that, but in the current NFL, where you get far Brady would not last until the sixth round. Today, scouting is more sophisticated. Young players get more looks from more eyes from twelve years of age on. If you're I'm with Brian Boldinger, if you're telling me I get Sam at twenty seven. Both of these guys have shown they can be highly productive with a great offensive coach. Neither's ever proven they can elevate average talent. I don't even think it's tough. I'm going Sam Darnold.
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays and noon Eastern non a em Pacific Urban Meyer.
Fox Sports College analyst. He's joining us live. So the Ohio State Tennessee game is fascinating. Ohio State's got better players. Here's what I worry about. And you've had teams like this. The Tennessee d line, that's their strength. The Ohio State on line is arguably a unit that's always been a bit influx. If you went into a big game and you're like, okay, and you went into a few of these, Okay, we can't do this and they can. Does that concern you that the volunteer strength could be the liability of Ohio State.
Now, it's very alarming.
Anytime you get to December, that's really the number one place you look and all those years of game plan and the first thing you do is you, I mean, I would I remember for years and years and years you sit there and you just run back and forth the matchups on the offense line and defense line, and when Seth McLoughlin, the center got hurt. For Ohio State, this is right after their best performance maybe in two years at Penn State, and they didn't play very well against the Wolverines. Better of fact, they played poorly. It looked discombobulated, and a lot of that's because of those three injuries they had in the offensive line. So there's some answers, but that's the first play you checked out the obvious answers, culling, get the ball out fast. This is gonna be a this is gonna be a throw first game for Ohio State. It's gonna be cold, but there's you know, is what it is. It's gonna be a throw first game, which obviously that's not conducive to you know, a big time matchup, but it's gonna be a throw first game for Ohio State.
So urban this happened to you.
Vary infrequently, but if you lost a game in college and had a long layoff, that's different. Generally you win Ohio State wins, they get a month off.
Boy it is.
It is a lot of energy and a lot of smiling in the weight room, teams kind of trying to find itself for the next month. So it's about culture and it's about coaching. Does that concern you?
It does?
It does because you've been having to eat this damn thing now for three weeks and it's awful. I mean I was there in Columbus and that's you know, you lose to that team up north, you lose to the Wolverines, and Ohio is a tough place. Man, that's a high expectations. But I actually talked to coach to day. In the old days, you had to if you lost that game, you had to eat it for three hundred and sixty five days, go to some bowl game.
You wish you didn't. We're in probably, but you don't have time.
Now You've got an sec program, the team that's got a like you said, a very good d line coming in here. So to me, Colin, this is all about Those seniors came back for a lot of reasons.
One was to beat the team up north. They didn't do it.
However, they also want to go compete for a national title. To me, this is a locker room issue. If they come out and play well, that means they got a strong locker room. If they don't, that means they don't.
The two best college football coaches in my lifetime are probably Nick Saban and Urban Meyer. Both you tried the NFL. The fit was an ideal. I don't believe that all NFL guys go to college and it's easy. I don't think Belichick or Bill Parcells, they don't have a lot of charisma. I don't think they're built for college football. I think you're limited on number of hours. I think you have to deal now more than ever with donors and administration and nonsense. I thought college football was always going to be tough for certain guys. I think it's going to be. I think Bill's going to get tired of it really quick. He's built a pro model. You know Bill, we know he's smart. But Nick and you could turn it on. I know both of you. I've been with you. You have a good sense of humor.
You're light.
That's a big part of this thing. You the players are selecting you in college. In the pros, you just select them.
I'm in the.
Minority here, I think, Bill, I think the tedium of college football coaching could wear him out. Are you a little concerned that he's stepping into something that's gotten really difficult college coaching?
I know coach very well, went to many times up to the Patriots, and what amazed me was how smart he was, and he adapts and he can get things done. It's a much different game that me and you knew Colin that. For example, you know how many times the coaches are on the road the month of December in college. Now none. He used to be every day. You were gone for three weeks in the month of December in people's homes. Now you don't do that. Now it's simply they come to your campus, you find out how much they're being paid, and you give them where you don't give them. The days are gone when you have to write all the emails or not emails, text messages and handwritten notes and talking to the player's girlfriends, his aunt. You know, the high school social studies teacher the assistance strength coach is going to help you getting in in the school.
That's all gone.
So it's a much different You know, if there was a time for coach Belichick to go to college, it's now. I would say ten years ago, five years ago. It would be a real struggle because it's just something he's never done. It's probably something he's not very comfortable in. What you just said. Yeah, you're on the road in those high schools.
You don't do that now.
So it's simply how much is it Armacouiton, Colin Coward, I call you up, say, Colin, how much is it going to cost for you to come to North Carolina? You and your agent tell me your number, and we either go or we don't go.
And by the way, I'm not cheap. I've got very good hands. I'm not cheap. Okay, pretty gray here I might have recruited. So listen, I've been wrong more than a few times. I thought Lincoln Riley at USC would work. But there is a difference between being schematically very smart and building a program. And and I've always said USC California high school players a lot of quarterbacks, receivers and corners. You guys, sometimes you got to leave the state to get great linemen. He doesn't appear to love recruiting. He lost a lot of good players in the transfer portal. Is it possible I just missed on it. I'm just it's not gonna work. I mean, they're freaking out out here. What do you make of their situation right now?
I just worry. I like Lincoln Riley. He's always been very good to me.
I coached against him one of his early games, they beat us when he was a head coached Oklahoma. I love his offensive scheme. I'm saying all the right things because I believe it. It should work. Here's the problem, Colin. Once you lose momentum, it's hard to get back. And USC's lost momentum. I mean they had it when they hired him, and a lot of energy. They officially have lost momentum in southern California. What does that mean?
Normally?
It doesn't end well. I'm going to give him Benetta fitted out because it's not his first rodeo. He did a really good job at Oklahoma. I think you'll get it back. I really do. But the minute you lose momentum, you got to really turn up the heat. Now to get that momentum back, and that's got to be it. You got to get some prize, recruit you got to win some games, because if you can continue to lose momentum, this will end poorly.
Yeah, so I I guess. I mean, I think I've kind of said I picked Tennessee to win the Natty before the season, So uh good, I did. I think Josh Hipel. I liked them their D line and they always have good receivers. I mean, they have good backs and receivers in down years. It's just Tennessee. I don't know if they can beat Ohio State. So I'd feel much better if they didn't have to go to Columbus because I think the buck Eyes are gonna win. But I am just I look at Texas and I made this comment, and tell me I'm wrong. I know they've got a bunch of great players, but for some reason, offensively, they got Sark, they have the best left tackle. Why aren't they scoring more? I don't see juice Ohio State. I see juice. I see juice with their backs. I see juice on the perimeter. I watched Texas and I'm like seventeen against A and M struggling this week, struggling against Georgia. Is it just a Georgia thing, or maybe is Texas a little overvalued?
That's great.
I actually went back and watched them yesterday because I'm gonna do some commentary on the playoffs coming up here.
And I've been to Texas. You know.
I picked them last year. I picked them again this year to beat right there, and I think they will be right there. Here's what I think has happened. I don't see the same creativity that I usually see from Sark, and I'm wondering if he's just a game manager now.
That means he has an excellent defense.
I love the defense, yes, I think obviously one of the best defenses. And when you have a great defense, you have a tendency to kind of tighten up and just play to win the game. I think that's what's happened with Ryan Day a little bit. When you see your defense just smothering an opponent, and I've been there, what goes through your mind is don't lose this damn game something stupid and play to your strengths.
Pete.
The fans hate it, but you know what, at the end of the day, your job is to win that game. That's what I see when I watch Texas right now. That's what I see when I see Ohio State right now. I don't see the creativity. I don't see the balls to the wall, let the let it fly. And I'm not disagreeing with it. I've been there. I've won a lot of games where you're you know, you just don't feel great about your offense, and you play to the strengths, and that is do not turn that ball over field, play field position football.
And find a way to win the game. That's what I see when I watch Texas right now.
Okay, So you could make the argument, Ryan Day, if you took out Jim Harbaugh, we would have none of these big discussions. But Harbaugh is one of the greatest coaches ever. You lose three straight, then you lose this year, you're upset. I got to ask the tough question. They lose to Tennessee. It's a good game, it's close. Ohio State is the only SEC team North that fan base is I'm sorry, Talk Radio, it's different.
It's it.
I've always said, out of respect, it's an SEC team in the Big Ten. Even Michigan, you can lose you can lose to Ohio State, four losses to Michigan first round if they lost, is Ryan dan trouble?
Do you believe.
Not this year? I think they will not make the change. Uh, they will not do that now.
Okay, there's no chance to do that now because Colin, if you if you made that change, you lose your roster.
You know, you lose.
They can't do that. They can't do that now. I don't believe they do that now. It would just be that much more pressure, like for a coach Day and his staff next year and they have a tough you know, they open up with Texas right out of the jump.
So no, I don't believe they'd do it this year. Yeah, I wouldn't. No chance, I wouldn't do it.
But I'm you know, I see that message board crowd they get, you know, athletic directors read all that nonsense. So it's a I wouldn't do it, but you know, I'm a level headed guy.
You think that you think AD's watched the message.
Well, oh, come on, Urban those guys really. Oh I think owners listen to talk radio. How ridiculous is that? I'm not they listen to Colin Radiant Colin Coward, well again those takes are pretty solid. Yeah we know that, all right, urban Meyer, great scene you again.
Yeah, great seeing you always call him urban Meyer.
Good stuff,
