PMS 2.0 1588 - Andrew Hawkins, Shams Charania, Nick Saban, Peter Schrager, & AJ Hawk

20:53Pat McAfee:Yeah, so maybe the NFL shouldn't have that. Maybe. I don't think the weather should just be deciding games. Hi, my name is Bubba Gumpino. I'm a Miami Dolphins fan. That was his thought. I do not agree with that necessary sentiment. I, as punter in NFL, certainly wanted everything domed with, like, everything 75 degrees. But you're also getting no wind at your back in that time either. So, you know, obviously there's situations of that taking place. But when you're watching a game, I mean, that snow game in Cleveland, what was it, like last year or two years ago? James Winston against the Steelers.

21:24Pat McAfee:I mean, Buffalo has that absolute blizzard. They say, hey, come shovel your own way into this thing, and then we watch it. It's like those are a part of football, always have been a part of football. And I think the Chiefs fan base has been through. We were there. I played there on a frozen field. Yeah, you did. In Kansas City. Negative something. I forget what it was. frozen but bust my ass walking out there i go out there to do uh warm-ups frog shout out greatest equipment staff uh in all of sports frog t smack john boys team powers andrew oh it was a long time ago i haven't played for a while just trying to go through the entire room there make sure i don't leave anybody out somebody's gonna be pissed you said boys i appreciate you all their best but But Froggy comes up to me and he goes, Phil, it's Frozen, guy.

22:12Pat McAfee:You need to wear a flat shoe under, like a turf shoe. I'm like, I don't need to do that. I tell him, like, come on. I'm from Pittsburgh. I know what Frozen is. I can kind of handle it. I walk out there, first punt, back of the end zone, get a snap. There's probably 1 ,000 Chiefs fans that are in the building that early, like literally right behind us. And I take two steps, and as soon as I go to the ball, I just flat bump. I mean, wham, head down, so hard. Foot just slipped out from underneath me. Obviously a huge, yeah, this entire thing. A couple of the lads were already out there. Obviously I was getting mocked and ridiculed.

22:43Pat McAfee:And then I got a turf shoe thrown at me by Frog. Put it on. Told you. Kid, it was great. It ended up benefiting us because we got ahead early and then we just wanted to get the hell out of there and hang on. But that was a real place for a real Lambeau, Buffalo, Foxborough, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Arrowhead. Chicago, Baltimore. All these places were the places that provided these magical moments for the history of sport with the weather, and it feels like Kansas City, Kansas, is saying, we're actually going to provide a perfect setup. Now, still be shadows and everything because they put a glass ceiling on.

23:22Pat McAfee:I'll be intrigued to see how that all works out. I do like how the design, at least, of the end zone there looks the same. You know how they have that dip on both end zone sides of their stadium? I'm like, I think that is cool, but still, it's just different now. And Taylor can sell this out five times in the offseason. Sure. Everybody can go have a good time at a Taylor Swift concert, which I've been to before. I would recommend. Ladies and gentlemen, joining us now is an absolute stud. Played six years in the NFL. I believe he's won an Oscar, an Emmy. Yeah. I think he's in a video game world.

23:55Pat McAfee:The EGOT. I think he's on his way for it, especially if you had the video game one and two, which is what's that? The VR. The jerky, the... Oh, the E3 Awards? Yeah, E3 Awards. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, absolute sensation, big brain, wide receiver of the NFL, formerly of the Bengals and the Browns, also CFL Montreal Alouette. Oh, I didn't know. Bonjour. Ça va, Andrew Hawking. Yeah. What's up, fellas? What's up? What's up? What's up? Hey, how are you, Hawk? Thank you for joining us. What awards did I get wrong there? Of course. You got an Oscar. You got an Emmy. You got a... Yeah. What's the video game one?

24:34I don't really have a video game one yet. E3 is the video game one, though. We haven't gotten that yet, but that was deep cut. Proud of you guys for that one. That was dope.

24:43Pat McAfee:We have to have all these types of buckets of information, because we've got to earn our keep around here. We understand that, so we try to represent for everything and everybody. Hawk, thank you for joining us. We've got rookies reporting. Five more teams, rookies are reporting for training camp. Obviously, Panthers and Cardinals are already there for the Hall of Fame game. Your thoughts here as another season rolls around the corner, what do we need to look at here from the early days in your eyes, Hawk? Yeah, I mean, you know, it's a training camp. They're all the same. Nobody's super excited to go and just be away from their family all that time.

25:15But I think you guys already talked about it, but I'm seeing if AD is coming back to the Rams. Like, that's, you know, news broke here that it was even a thing. And, like, bro, I don't think people realize how dominant he is. If he comes back and he plays even close to the level he was before he left, he has a legit argument that he is the best football player ever. And I mean that sincerely because I think AD is something special there. And he always has been. Literally from day one, he's been dominant. Like O-linemen losing sleep for weeks knowing that they had him on the schedule. His brother played with me at Toledo.

25:50And I don't know if you guys know this. I'm a Johnstown native. You got to put that in the bio. I'm from Johnstown. so Archie played with me at Toledo AD is like 14, 15 years old when we were in Cleveland our starting guard was John Greco who also played with us at Toledo and we're like in pregame in the locker room and he's dead quiet I'm like Greco you good man he was like bro if I would have known that 14 year old was going to grow up to be Aaron Donald I might have killed him when he was a teenager and I'm like valid I get it man because he's going to terrorize you today. And he did. He definitely did.

26:28Shout out to Greg. Shout out to AD.

26:30Pat McAfee:Yeah, we had AQ Shipley. He went on to be a center for the Arizona Cardinals. So he had him twice a year, you know? And AQ just talked about like, yeah, right, man. Like, what are we? Because he's inside, you know? Everybody that's been as explosive and as fast and as strong as he's been has been on the outside. So the tackle's got to deal with it. Remember, the tackle's also avatars in their own world. These are a different species of animals that are out on tackle, okay? They're big, strong, tall, can set their pace. That's why the Goliaths battling with them out on the edge is such a big deal.

26:59Pat McAfee:And then Aaron comes down on the inside. He's doing outside moves on his inside guys, and he's also eating both double teams like a tackle would in the inside. It was like just a spectacle of an individual, and I think you, me, I think anybody that was kind of in the league whenever he was playing and heard the way people talked about him in the league, I think we're all feeling the same way about him and Myles Garrett being on the same fucking defensive line. I mean, I don't – Hawk, I genuinely don't understand. They're plus 550, the next closest odds to win a Super Bowl, plus 1 ,000. That is outrageous in a 32-team league, Hawk.

27:32Pat McAfee:It's like everybody's seeing the same thing we're seeing. And I think Aaron's seeing it too, though, Hawk. I think Aaron Donald sees it too. As he should. I mean, here's the thing. He retired, right? And, again, everyone kind of gets their feel and makes their decision when they make their decision. But for him, his whole career, he's double, triple teamed. Like, you know, everyone has these conversations all the time about AD. But now you're on a D-line with Miles Garrett. Even if he is a lesser version of himself, let's say he comes back 65%. I would argue he's still probably the best defensive tackle in the league because besides all of the speed, the quickness, the physical tools you talked about, people don't know how tough the dude is and how tough his family is.

28:11His brother was the toughest guy I've ever played with, and I played eight, nine years of professional football. And AD might be even tougher than him. His parents are like that. His sisters are like, they're just a tough family. They get it out the mud. And when you play football, I don't care how good you are, the tougher you are, it makes you better. And that's why AD is kind of like tailor-made for the game of football.

28:34Pat McAfee:Yeah, Penn Hills. We all understand what that means if we're from Western Pennsylvania. Yeah, we understand what that means. A lot of respect for Penn Hills. Obviously, we understand his family, his story. There was actually a special where he told his dad he was retired. and I actually like kind of cried a little bit just thinking about what his dad poured into him and they had this shitty ass weights in the basement of the house that they got after in Penn Hills. It was like, I've been probably in 10 of those basements before in my life in Penn Hills. But also like the way he's taking care of everybody.

29:03Pat McAfee:I love Aaron Donald's story. I love Aaron Donald, the way he plays football. I also like hearing the stories of people saying like interior defense alignment, this guy's calling out motions and shifts. He's calling like where the play's going. His football IQ from where he is is just outrageous. And then the thought of him and Miles Garrett standing up just in the middle like this. And the offensive line just being like, so, what are we, I think we, what do we do here? You know, what the fuck do we do? It's fun to think about, but I think it's going to be reality. If you listen to the way McVay speaks and the way everybody else is kind of talking, it feels like this is going to happen, and we just need to be prepared for that.

29:42Pat McAfee:Very similar to, you know, what's going on with LeBron right now. It's like Aaron Donald's putting together a super team. He's one of the greatest players of all time. And then LeBron's got a chance to put together a super team, kind of a greatest player of all time. I'm happy that we're doing it. We need some fucking answers, boys. We need some answers. We need an ASAP. Okay, let's talk about some other players. Obviously, we've got questions heading into the NFL season. Go ahead, Ty. Yeah, Hawk, I don't know if you saw Tyreek Hill put out a video that basically said, like, hey, I have no power in my leg that I got hurt.

30:11Very gruesome injury. Do you think that we're going to – I mean, it just looks weird, seeing him like this. We're obviously not used to it. I think we thought it was going to take him a while to get back to full strength this year. Do you think we'll see Tyreek Hill the same guy he was before he got hurt, or is he going to have to reinvent himself and become a different version of himself? It's hard, man, because look, Tyreek is maybe an inch and a half taller than me. When I was in the league, the moment my quickness and speed was equal to everybody else i was cooked it was a it was a wrap that was the advantage that i had now look i don't know if you know because again this is this is 2026 we're in the age of content you got you boys know that better than everyone else i don't know if he is truly has no power or this is a setup for a documentary and he's a lot further along than what he's insinuating But I will say this, as somebody his size in the NFL, if he doesn't have his speed and quickness very close to what it was, it will be impossible to see the same Tyreek Hill.

31:18There's not another version of a 5 '8 receiver that could be successful at that level.

31:23Pat McAfee:Yeah, I mean, he used to be able to get out of a phone booth, actually. You know, flag football in the NFL would not have been touched. Two-hand touch football in the NFL many times, Tyreek, would not have been touched with four people within three yards of him. I mean, it was, I put him as the number one punt returner in the history of the NFL yesterday. Well, Devin Hester's in his own lane, first of all. Devin Hester's in his own world. So we said that like 15 times. It gets tweeted out and ripped that we didn't have him. It's like, all right, and we need more fuel for people to bury us. You know, right now is the right time for all of that.

31:56Pat McAfee:But it's like, Devin Hester was in his own world, obviously. He's not even, doesn't even deserve to be on the list because he's fucking Devin Hester. He changed the entire thing. But Tyreek Hill, this guy, greatest returner I've ever seen live in person. I watch it, and it's because of how explosive, how quick he is. Just like we said about Aaron Donald, though, 80 % Aaron Donald's still like a 91 on Madden, right? Like, still like a 92 on Madden. 80 % Tyreek Hill speed is still like a 93. You know, like, there is still a different end. Now, granted, the 5 '8 thing, Hawk, that isn't it, because if you can grab him...

32:29Pat McAfee:It's tough, man. Yeah, if you can grab him... It's tough. You little guys get kind of snatched up, Not that I wouldn't. I would get snatched up as well, but I'm just talking about the young wide receivers or little wide receivers, especially with the new corners that we have everywhere. The new corners everywhere are just like shooting guards in the NBA, 6 '4", 6 '5". And it's like they're getting their hands on you immediately, Hawk. So that's why the Tyreek Hills is actually like the advantage. Like when I was coming to the league, there was no 5 '7 wide receivers. It was like 5 '9", you could find every once in a while.

33:02but it just wasn't a thing because earlier before that the prototypical corner size was like 510 that wasn't small that was like hey we need guys that can change direction and can cover but what happened was to your point as the receivers got huge and the calvin johnson's the randy moss the tl terrell owens they're like yo we got to get bigger dbs to stop them and so the the average side of the corner grows so now it's like like deon says they want 6-1 and 6-2 corners well how do you beat 6-1 and 6-2 corners who can't change direction and want to get their hands on you you beat him with Tyreek Hills with Tank Dells with like the shorter guys that can now be elusive so for him when you get to the NFL there's like typically one thing that you're like better than everybody else said for Tyreek it's speed it's elusiveness it's it's quickness without that it's going to be tough because he's not going to be a body position guy you're not throwing jump balls to Tyreek as good as he is and as as great of an athlete and a receiver as he's then you have the ability to take that one thing away from him, and that will make his job considerably harder, especially at the age.

34:04Pat McAfee:We just showcased the Chiefs, obviously, telling him they love him and everything like that. The thought of Tyreek Hill going back to the Chiefs, I think is on everybody's mind, could be an exciting development. We will certainly pay attention. Now let's also talk about an exciting development. Feels like quarterback room over there in Cleveland is getting long. I saw them at a place where I saw some clapping in the back going on, some good times happening, and the scanner, some more clapping going on over here. I'm like, all right, I like where we're at. I like what the boys are doing to build a little chemistry.

34:30Pat McAfee:But there's certainly a lot of questions. Go ahead, Tone. Yeah, Hawk, obviously you're familiar with the Cleveland area and being playing for them. And the quarterback situation last year, there was a lot of them. There was a few guys that cycled through. Now this year, Dylan Gabriel's still there. Shador's obviously still there. Deshaun Watson's still there. Who does the fan base want first and foremost? Who would they be most excited about? I assume it's Shador. And then who do you think the front office wants? Who does the team want? What's your read on the whole quarterback situation? Geez, man.

35:00I don't think there's like a consensus quarterback that everybody wants for a bunch of different reasons that we don't have to get all the way into here. But I would say –

35:08Pat McAfee:Whoa, it's July, brother. We got time. We get into all those. Shador, he was exciting when he came in there. And I think you also have a big piece of the fan base that thought Dylan Gabriel should get more time there. If you're asking me who I think is the day one starter, I think is going to be Deshaun Watson, just to be real, because it's not any indictment on anybody's ability or like what the young guys will grow to be, especially Shador, who had some moments and the things he presents sometimes aren't like you're not going to pull it on scouting reports. But I think with Deshaun Watson, as you go through an offseason, as you go through a camp, this is a guy who's played at an extremely high level.

35:50And typically you're just not going to beat a veteran like that out in the offseason and training camp. They do that kind of stuff in their sleep. And Shador will get there. Dylan Gabriel will get there eventually. But I think they open up with Deshaun Watson. And then when the real bullets are flying, then they're going to really have to make decisions on. All right. Is this giving us the best option or do we go back to Shador for some of that, you know, late game motivation that we saw him give the team last season?

36:20Pat McAfee:It was a nice spark, man. I mean, obviously, the stats were, like, so horrendous. It was like, because we were all seeing the same thing. We're like, Shador's winning games for Cleveland. Everybody loves him. Who cares? Put his ass in there. They've been looking for this. Let them learn. And then all the Shador haters came out immediately, like, he had three completions. Okay? Can we – it's like, well, he did something. Did he put him in the right spot, put him in the right mindset? Is that not what we're looking for? And you got to remember the Browns had Baker Mayfield win him a playoff game and kick him out of town.

36:50Pat McAfee:So who knows if any quarterback situation will end up being perfectly there. Deshaun Watson felt like if he wanted to play, he was going to get the opportunity to play. And that's all because of$230 million guaranteed dollars. Oh, yeah. So if Deshaun can stand up and he can take a snap and he wants to throw a football to a teammate of his or the other team, he's going to get the opportunity to do that. That is just kind of how business works, I think, in any field. but I love that nobody's talked about Dylan Gabriel. Okay. Dylan Gabriel's, you just mentioned Dylan Gabriel for the first time, I think on national television in forever talking about the quarterback.

37:30Pat McAfee:You think, cause he came in, played some good ball, but he's been in a, I mean, Kirk Cunningham gets drafted after RG three, right? Yeah. So that's a, that's a, not a great desirable situation. Dylan Gabriel may be in the worst situation, situation quarterback has ever been in before. He got drafted before Shadour. Third rounder, right? Third rounder. and then Shador is a fifth rounder and everybody's like, sweet, get the little guy out of here. And then you look at his college career, he got one. So many games. Guy could spin it. Is he just eager to get somewhere else? Is he... Good luck, Browns.

38:01Pat McAfee:Good luck, Dylan. No, just good luck to the Browns. Yeah, them too. Heavy on the good luck to the Browns. I do think, if you're asking me, Pat, which you're not, but I'm going to say, I think Shador has the highest ceiling. And I think Dylan is far along Shador just in the sense of like Like, you know, like I said, the undersized quarterback is like the undersized receiver, like the undersized anything. You got to do everything right. I think Shador is still learning, but I think that spark that you felt was a lot of the upside that you get with Shador. And he does take, I think he takes a leap in year two.

38:33Pat McAfee:So many people are mad at us for being pumped that Shador was winning, man. Shut up. I don't want to hear. I don't want to hear about this guy. It's like. Too bad. All right, man. You see what he did to Colorado? How about, did you see what he did to Jackson State? Jackson State. I mean, we did college game day down there at Jackson State. And what he was doing there. And he's remained the exact same, it feels like. Cut back on the content in the building, which we appreciate. Yes, for sure. Because that was getting, I think everybody was like, hey, if you want to be treated like a serious quarterback, we got to be doing like, you can't just be acting like a content creator inside of an NFL locker room if you're trying to be an actual serious quarterback.

39:10Pat McAfee:And I think he heard that. And I think they all were like, yep, let's do that. Showed up early, was in the community. we saw him at the ESPY's he looks like he's in great shape not that he ever didn't but like as he's continuing to mature he's getting into great I hope Shadour does good I hope the Browns win I hope they win who's their best player? the two of them it cancels out I think right? yeah you cancelled this out I think no no no no I doubled it I thought that doubled it up that cancelled it out alright we're going to just go on I think if you get one toe though I think if you do the toe So, I think if it's...

39:46So, two fingers in my back, then I double it. They got a lot of good players in Cleveland. Young, but they're good, I'm telling you. Young four. Oh, yeah.

39:55Pat McAfee:Judy's my favorite football player. He's the man. Schlesinger. I love Jerry Judy. Schlesinger player. Jerry Judy had no idea how to play golf. Stepped right up to a putting thing. What, you want me to put in this hole? Where am I putting this thing? Bang. I love Jerry Judy. He's the man. The internet's beating him. They need to be nicer to him. He's on the Bronx. Yeah. People need to remember. No offense. instead of the Browns, but he's on the Browns. It's not a... That's a tough slide number. I know. What's up, Paul? Come on, man. Don't get it. The Browns will be... Our time is coming. Watch.

40:26You got to be patient. Patient in Cleveland.

40:29Pat McAfee:I think you're going to have to get rid of that little poop elf. Yeah. Brownie. Brownie sucks. Brownie. I think the poop elf has got to go, I think, if you guys want to win. That's football history right there. That is like... The dog pound? Just like their team. Oh! All of it. Oh, come on. Maybe the new stadium will break up. Last question, last question. Hey, we would like to see the Browns fans and faithful have happiness. We would like to see that. I would like to see that personally. I don't know if it's this year, but I do hope it happens soon. Last question for you, Hawk. Yeah, on the up and up.

41:03But, Hawk, let's talk about a team that will definitely be in at the Buffalo Beals. They are the second highest odds. I think Diggs said it earlier at plus 1 ,000 to win the Super Bowl right behind the Rams. How do you feel about Joe Brady in his kind of whole entire operation? It feels like it never really works out when you fire a coach who wins 12, 13 games a year in the division over and over and over again, and then, you know, go to the offensive coordinator. But it feels as though no matter what or who the coach is for the Bills, they got Josh Allen, so they'll have a chance. What are your kind of expectations here for them?

41:36I think they have enough to go to the Super Bowl. Now, whether that happens obviously remains to be seen. My question is, is it enough of a change from Joe Brady to your point, getting promoted within the building to give people the spark that's needed to get him over that last time? I love Jim Leonard coming in as a D coordinator, play with Jim. Smartest football player I've ever been around. Like, know what you're doing three plays in advance. He was a D coordinator for Wisconsin, crushed it there. I think that'll be a real benefit to the defense. And I like that they got DJ Moore. DJ Moore is probably past the best years of his life.

42:08But what you need for a guy like Josh Allen, This is your all-world quarterback. Give him legitimate threats on each side of the field, and he will be hard to stop because if you play it honest, it opens up the run. He has one of the best running backs in James Cook. Khalil Shakir is now on one side. DJ Moore at right-sizes Keon Coleman. So the questions of whether or not he has enough weapons is always a thing going into the season post-Stefan. Now you have enough weapons. You have threats everywhere. If your defense remains near the top where they've been over the last five years on average, I think he'll have enough to get over the hump, and he should have enough to get to the Super Bowl.

42:41Pat McAfee:That's awesome to hear from Buffalo. That's another place. Heartbreak. And a miserable winner. I mean, end that thing, and then what do we got? Three more months of not being able to walk outside. Yeah. They're AFC San Francisco. 49ers, not Buffalo City. Okay, yeah. You're talking heartbreak after heartbreak. One half. That deep ball, Jimmy G. Right before half. Manny Sanders. If that's a touchdown, hold it from Bolgan. Where's Brock Purdy? Ladies and gentlemen, that's Andrew Hawking. Familiar faces in new places. Might want to take a look at this graph as training camp rolls in. Not just a reminder for you guys, certainly a reminder for us as well.

43:28Pat McAfee:Miles Garrett, oh yeah, he's a Ram now. Max Crosby, oh yeah, he's a Raider now. Remember? Yeah, there were a couple days he wasn't. Was it one day? What was it, actually? Was it a two-day period where nobody was speaking? I think it was multiple days because it came, like, so far after, and that's why I was like, what the hell just happened? But he was actually in their building one day. One day, yeah, yeah. And then he didn't meet with anybody, and he was kicked out, and then he was like, oh, I don't know what's going on. Ravens got shut out in free agency. They were like, oh, we can't give up all these picks.

43:56Let's fake an injury.

43:57Pat McAfee:And then Trey Hendrickson's coming. We're going to pay him a bunch of money. Yes. Yeah, allegedly that is what everybody said happened. Nonetheless, Max Crosby goes back to the most talented Raiders team they've had. I mean, it is unbelievable that they were able to keep their best player whenever they shipped him out of town, and now they have their best player and the best roster that they've had. And quarterback-wise, we think they got their best quarterback since Rich Gannon. And they got the two-back linebackers in free agency, too, right behind them. That's what I think. Go ahead. Nick, were you going to say something, or are you agreeing with the Rich Gannon?

44:27No, we're about to send you some news.

44:29Pat McAfee:Fernando signed his deal? Yes, sir. Boom! There you go. Boom! There we go. So no drama going in. Fernando has signed his rookie contract as rookie training camp kind of continues. He's got his four-year$57.27 million fully guaranteed contract with a fifth-year-old. Okay, so we don't know when that money's coming. Okay, so that fully guaranteed amount of money right there. Now, granted, he got paid a lot of money from Indiana. Not as much as other schools got paid. He got paid multiple millions of dollars. Nowhere near that amount of money. And he won the Heisman and the National Championship. So whenever we're talking about these college kids getting paid in college, they're certainly making good money.

45:02Pat McAfee:They're all millionaires. We're very happy for them. but the NFL contract is what you're trying to get to. And that one is just what he's starting with. His second one, yeah, right. He might be the first$100 million quarterback, second, third contract. Yeah. You know, with the way everything's kind of heading right now. They're at 60. It's going to get to 70. And then if we pick up another streaming platform and Roger Goodell adds another game in the new CBA and they got more primetime games on more networks, it's like we could see a$100 million quarterback within the six, seven years. That's insane.

45:31And that would be whatever he would be getting in there.

45:35Pat McAfee:Good luck, Fernando. That's all you got on the line. Yeah, exactly. That's all you got on the line. Throw that ball. Dexter Lawrence is now a Cincinnati Bengal. Who remembers that? All of us. Sexy Dex. He's going over to Cincy. Njoku, incredible tight end. He joins Justin Herbert. Linderbaum, big signing, 30 mil a year for the Las Vegas Raiders. Michael Pittman, hate, hate, hate that he's gone. Absolute dog. They're going to love him in Pittsburgh. A-chan is now a member of the Saints. Jalen Phillips, Eagles to Panthers, Eagles to Texans. They're going through some changes over there. But maybe they don't have the ass offense coordinator that everybody said they had last year.

46:13Pat McAfee:Yeah, exactly. True. They would have won the Super Bowl if it weren't for that guy. Probably. That's what they're saying. Well, you can say that because they had to fire him. So you can say that. People just buy into it. Patulo? Yeah, Kevin Patulo. I was trying to remember. So many paisans over there, honestly. So many. I know. Patula, though, I hope you get another opportunity, but it feels like you got a... They're egging his house. I mean, he got a tough draw there, but they did stink in comparison to what they were in the past. Trey Hendrickson, obviously a new place. A.J. Brown is a Patriot.

46:43Pat McAfee:That is not talked about. We talk about all the Eagles stuff and all the Eagles drama. A.J. Brown, their best wide receiver whenever they're going, is now a New England Patriot with Drake May. Mike Evans, staple of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the Niners. Kyler Murray, is he going to be a starter? We shall see. McDuffie, Waddle, Dobbs, Willis, Pacheco, Anzalone, Likely, Montgomery, Ricard, and Robinson all have new homes. And oh yeah, Stout, the punter from the Ravens, is now on the Giants. Okay. And he is a New York Giant. Ladies and gentlemen, joining us now is an NBA Giant. Senior NBA insider for ESPN, Shams Sharanya.

47:23Pat McAfee:Yay, Shams! Chomps, you're not a New York Giant. But you are senior NBA insider in the middle of all these stories. Honestly, Giannis goes to Miami. Jalen goes to Philly. Paul George goes to Boston. Now, Bron Bron's available. Draymond opts out. What's going on with Anthony Davis? Feels like the NBA has been alive for you and your job, but also for all of us. Right now, everybody's looking at LeBron James and his decision. And Rich Paul has told us, unless Sean says it, nobody's got it. Nobody has a clue what's going on. I respect him saying that about you. I appreciate that you have the inside track on all these things.

48:03Pat McAfee:You're the senior NBA insider. But can you tell me about a potential puzzle that's trying to be put together by Clutch Sports? And I know they've got the black SUVs that are potentially going to show up outside, but they might have the black SUVs showing up at Golden State. Is the thought here that we can put the superpowers together? Can we have a starting five potentially in Golden State of Steph Curry? What? Anthony Davis. What? Draymond Green. What? LeBron James. What? Kevin Durant. What? Nobody's mentioned Kevin Durant, obviously, if you said. I just got pretty excited. And then why not Clay Thompson coming back and splashing up there?

48:40Pat McAfee:Is there a chance that that's what's trying to piece up? And then Miami. Do we got Anthony Davis joining the Greek freak? Bam out of bio. LeBron James. What? Wiggin. is that what's going on is this are we waiting on other pieces for braun braun because that's a new rumor or what are we really waiting on here and how does this end up shaping up if you had to project it on july 23rd shams that on july 23rd we're literally just waiting on lebron james we're pissing in the way that's the way that's the choice his decision um you know the warriors conversation that was definitely alive uh right before free agency started that's why draymond green opted out he opted out of 27.7 million dollars that surprised the warriors that surprised everyone around the league but that was done to give the warriors the flexibility to try to get lebron james and anthony davis those conversations for ad have gone nowhere for the warriors from my understanding i don't sense any direction that they're picking back up in uh i don't think that's going to be a conversation because it's at a point now where if the warriors were to get in that ball game.

49:46They would have to give up multiple first-round picks, multiple draft picks, multiple swaps, all this other stuff. Then the question is just, do you want to give that price up? When I talk to teams around the league, it's like, if you have a chance to get LeBron James and Anthony Davis, you probably give up that price. But if you're the Warriors, that's the give and take that you have there. The domino effect, all that stuff that was in play before free agency started, now that we're 20 days in, there's nothing left. The teams are the teams. The information's the information. LeBron has everything he needs to make a decision.

50:21The conversations have happened. They're not, from my understanding, my sources tell me LeBron James, his agent, Rich Paul, that inner circle, they're not waiting for another domino right now. They're not waiting for Anthony Davis to get traded anywhere. They're not waiting for anyone else to move around anywhere. The teams, Cleveland, Miami, Golden State, Philadelphia, Minnesota, they're set. Those are the teams. Wherever he ends up, I mean, you're looking at minimum deals. You're looking at exceptions. The contracts are not going to be this grand part of this deal. LeBron James is very clear from the very beginning.

50:56This is going to be based on happiness in terms of chance to contend for a championship, a chance to compete at a high level, join a culture. That doesn't come from going to a team and then gutting that team from multiple different players. Now, listen, if during the first week of July, LeBron James and Rich Paul told the Heat or the Cavs or the Warriors, hey, we need you to do this and we're coming, those teams might have done that. But that message was not delivered. And so you just kind of have to read between the lines if some of these teams need to figure it out. But it's at a point now, July 23rd, it's really up to LeBron James.

51:34The entire NBA is waiting on LeBron James' decision. I feel like, Pat, we're having two different free agencies trade periods in the NBA. We had the one over three weeks where all those trades happened, like you mentioned, Giannis, LaMelo, Jalen Brown, Kawhi Leonard. And now we're three weeks into July, and you're going to have the LeBron James domino. And again, we'll see. Does LeBron James fall before your album or after your album? We're about to figure it out. I think it's going to be before, but we'll see. So once that happens, though, you're going to get a string of other things. DeMar DeRozan, he's a six-time All-Star.

52:13He needs to find a spot. Draymond Green needs to sign his deal. James Harden needs to sign his deal. Jonathan Kaminga, where is he going to end up? Is he going to be a Laker? Is he going to be Cleveland Cavaliers? Is he going to go to another team? Bradley Beal, he's a multi-time All-Star. There's a guy abroad right now by the name of Mario Hezonia, Pat. He's coming from the EuroLeague back to the NBA. He was a high draft pick several years ago. Finally. He is being held up by LeBron James. So LeBron James not only holding up business in America. Come on. He's holding up business abroad because Mario Hazonia is waiting.

52:48Because there's a few of these teams, whether it's a Golden State, whether it's a Cleveland, et cetera, that is just waiting on LeBron James to make a decision. LeBron James is very cognizant of that, I'm sure. And listen, these teams might be waiting. These teams might be getting antsy, Pat, but I'm ready. I'm ready. I don't care. LeBron can take all summer. We're locked and loaded, baby. We're locked and loaded.

53:09Pat McAfee:Yeah, Sean's down asleep. That's right. That ain't what I'm just waiting. He can make this in any time. I'm waiting. Before album, post album, during album release, whatever. I'm ready. I'm down. I appreciate you doing that. The Diary of a Polarizing Figure, available August 14th on all available streaming platforms, I think. We have not uploaded it yet, but we assume it'll be everywhere. I need new music. I need new music, Pat. I'm binge listening to this. Okay, Shams, I don't know what type of music you normally listen to, but I think I'll have something for you on there. I do think I'll have something for you on there.

53:39Pat McAfee:I feel really good about where we're at. Last night, I had a nice four-and-a-half-hour session here, just kind of going through the entire thing. One final time with somebody or two people who know music better than anybody I've ever met. So they come up from Nashville here. It's been a fun time. But on that note, August 14th, Diary of Polarizing Figures. I hate that guy! Man, I love that guy! Yeah, it's kind of the whole thing. You know, so I think people will be surprised by what comes, but I appreciate you doing that. Let's get back to a lot of the things that you said there. We apologize for stepping on your abroad business, abroad joke as well, because, you know, we heard that guy's name, Hanson Oney.

54:15Pat McAfee:What's his name? It's Hazonia. He's been waiting in the airport for like three weeks. Like Tom Hanks? Exactly. Terminal. I don't know exactly where he's going. Am I going to Golden State? Am I going to Cleveland? I'm waiting. But it's true. Okay, okay, okay. Forget that. Okay, Hazonia is good. Okay. You said something about contracts. So what? We're expecting him to just get like 10 million bucks. Like you said, he's not going to, the money's not going to be that crazy. You said vet men, but I think that was for other people. LeBron obviously knows his worth, understands his worth, has never played for something that is like super small.

54:44Pat McAfee:We watched Aaron Rodgers play for very small, and then we saw him play for like 10 million bucks. We've seen older legends do this at places because they want the money to go elsewhere, they want to build a team, or maybe the team doesn't have enough money left for them to go there. What are you projecting LeBron's deal is going to be? And is that already agreed to with all these teams, basically? Is that already figured out? Because everybody's saying the business is later. It's like, that feels like a pretty important part of this entire thing, especially with how it's all gone. And LeBron knowing he sells out every building he goes, he is the show.

55:12Pat McAfee:I mean, everybody understands that. So what does that deal look like? Because you just kind of said, this isn't going to be a tough thing to figure out business-wise. So they already have that figured out then? Is that what that sounds like? Yeah, for the most part, some of these teams that are involved, really they only have to give is veteran minimum or exception deals, whether it's something called a biannual exception that's somewhere between$5 million. The minimum for LeBron James would be around$4 million. But whether you're going to a Cleveland, a Miami, Golden State, Minnesota, Philadelphia, all those teams for the most part, that's the ranges of contracts that they have.

55:47You're looking at better minimum and exceptions, biannual exceptions, part of mid-level exceptions, potentially if you have. But taxpayer, that is, because all of these teams, they're high-spending teams. They're going to be teams that are going to be in the tax, teams that are spending top dollar to try to field teams because they're so top-heavy in terms of their salary. You think about Miami. You have two players on max contracts, and Bam Adebayo and Giannis and DeCumpo. Then you have Wiggins. You have a team that's pretty filled up salary-wise, but you have to get a player like LeBron James on a contract that's either a minimum or you're going to get part of the taxpayer mid-level, which will be somewhere around$7 million,$8 million.

56:26So, yeah, I mean, that's the range. And so wherever LeBron James goes, it's not going to be much of that conversation financially. But again, this is something that LeBron James made clear. This is about going to a team where you get happiness, championship contention, and competitiveness. Trust me. If LeBron James, during the first week of the agency, wanted to say, hey, I wanted to go here. You know, you need to make this type of money space for me. All these teams would be doing different things. but you have to try to build the best team you possibly can.

56:58Pat McAfee:That's Shamsrani. We're back on the other side. Be your friend, tell your friend something nice.

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57:50Every did you see that moment. What records are going to be broken this season? All of it right here. Lock in. It's the WNBA on ESPN. All season long.

58:08Pat McAfee:Sports. All right, the absolute greatest. We're so incredibly lucky and thankful that we get a chance to chat about it every single day. The Toxic Table's here at Boston Corner and at Ty Schmetai. Who do you gamble with, dude? DraftKings, baby. The one and only. Woo! Did we get a large supply of sweatshirts, and is it a little bit chillier outside so the Thunderdome might have dropped in some temps? And does that mean everybody's pulling out all their DraftKings swag around the Thunderdome? Maybe. Sue me. Incredible read of the situation. You know, what are you going to do? Yeah. And that is 100 % correct.

58:37But it's kind of nice because the last couple days you wake up in the morning, it feels like a fall Friday. It's like, oh, my God, we've got college football tomorrow. We've got NFL football on Sunday. It has felt like that the last two days.

58:49Pat McAfee:We were outside yesterday, and D-Butt, we were just kind of a couple sitting down, a couple standing, kind of quietly just basking in the hate that has been sent and the things that have been said. We're just kind of sitting out there, just kind of taking it all in. A lot of people saying a lot of stuff. We won't remember it. We'll forget about it as we go forward. Always do. And we'll see it all goes. We're sitting there, though, and D-Butt goes, football's in the air. and it was like It is, isn't it? Yeah. Almost wanted to crack open a little crackle of a log and have a little fire right there.

59:27Pat McAfee:Almost wanted to start it up. Foxy was actually walking around with a football yesterday saying, who wants to spin one with me here a little bit? Who wants to throw one with me? How many days are we away until college football? 48 days. Oh, until college football? We're 48 days at NFL football. I want to say college is about 37. Okay, I like that. We're getting close. It is in the air, and it does feel this way. I would like it to remain warm, though. It started getting a little bit too chilly for July. Don't worry. Don't worry. The August heat always delivers in August. Enjoy this now because we will get some hot, hot days.

59:59Pat McAfee:One half of the hammer. Dad. Cowboys AP Tony's here joining us live. The heat's back. Yeah, next week we got some scorters. Yeah. And we're going to be pissed when it's happening. Yeah. Let's remember once these stop, the sun leaves. Yeah. That's a caveat with football. And now that we're not turning the clock back, I like that. I like that. Got a lot of early worm folks being like, hey, we're going to be... We have sun for 14 minutes here in Indianapolis for about six months or so. So it'd be nice if we just stopped the whole song and dance. It's not doing anything. You're shifting it from one side to the next.

1:00:40Pat McAfee:Why do we all have to be... It's enough. It was like a routine. It was like a celebration I think we all did. They said it was for the farmers, but then the farmers came out and were like, Man, we don't fucking care. It's not real. It's not real for us. They don't want to start work until 9 a.m.? Farmers? They're working in the night, too. Listen, just because that rooster ain't up because the sun didn't wake the rooster up, that means the farmer's not up. Guess we can't send our kids to school. We're going to send them to dark. In where? 9 a.m.? In the United States. It's going to be dark at 9 a.m.

1:01:12Who says who? Yeah, who said that? I don't know. Let's just do the math, boys. Okay, if you shift it an hour and it gets light at 8 a.m. in the winter, and now it's going to get light at 9 a.m. in the center. That's pretty simple.

1:01:23Pat McAfee:So 8.15 a.m. darkness when people normally go to school anyways. Good. We'll see. Nine. Look, you can't do it. Listen, when all the kids are dying at the bus stop, that's on you guys. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Jason's bringing up this one thing and the reason it didn't pass. He's not giving any comments. They already tried to do this in the 70s. Kids were dying every day at the bus stop. In the 70s? They're still letting people drunk drive in the 70s. We still drunk drive. No, we don't. Some of us do. No, we do not.

1:01:58Nick Saban:I asked Tim McAfee about it. He said, I remember going to school for dark for like a year, and then they canceled it. Tim McAfee said that? Oh, yeah. I'm sure he did. Tim McAfee's in elementary school is the last time this didn't work. I think we can give it another try.

1:02:11Pat McAfee:Yeah, I mean, just I don't think I've ever really dabbled with who elementary school Tim McAfee was. But now that I'm kind of thinking about it, I mean, he does not remember any of that. Joining us now from Anatic in Ohio, ladies and gentlemen, a college football national champion, Super Bowl champion, Ryder Cup winner. We don't want any kids dying at school. Bust off. No, of course not. And neither is this guy. Hey, Jim and A.J. Hawk. Yeah. What was that? That was real politics right there. I'm a better person than you are. No, I'm a better person than you are. That's what he... Hey, it makes like...

1:02:44Pat McAfee:I don't know how many millions of people's lives just so incredibly inconvenient. It doesn't really change. And we're saying it's the farmers. And then you go, well, actually, kids would die. It's like, well, all right, I guess we keep it in then. I guess that's the play. AJ, thank you for joining us, AJ. Hope you were good. Man, how's life over there in Ohio?

1:03:03Nick Saban:Oh, doing great. I'm actively searching Amazon now for a bunch of blinking light things that my kids can wear at the bus stops so they'll get run over because they're just going to be stupid and run into the street because it's dark in the morning.

1:03:13Pat McAfee:Give him one of your splunkers you know whenever you're out there mowing the lawn at midnight this guy you remember this Foxy when this started coming into our live? He's got a Z turn at midnight go ahead and plow in a field splunking light bouncing all over the place AJ you're a special specimen man you really are joining us now is another special specimen this is the greatest transition into this guy that he's ever had. And I know that. Cannot wait to get back into this man's presence on a regular basis. Seven-time national champion. Eleven-time SEC champion. So that means at least four times they didn't win national championship.

1:03:56Pat McAfee:What a shitty football game. Yikes. This guy. Can he coach? We'll find out this upcoming season as he's yet again superstar of college game day. Future Hall of Famer for everything. Literally. car sales selling hockey owning football obviously baseball because I think he's got a good baseball swing speaking hosting speaking commercials acting ladies and gentlemen Nick Saban that's right that's right yeah yeah yeah oh yeah hey man it is so good to see you guys again every time a different face pops up I'm saying great to see these guys again great to see you Pat coach Coach, we love that. I want to let you know, we saw your ass on TV yesterday.

1:04:43Pat McAfee:We saw you on TV this morning. We know you're down there at SEC Media Days doing some Big J journalism. I saw you writing some notes about what Kalen DeBoer was saying so you could give proper analysis afterwards. Everybody in the Thunderdome, as soon as we saw you on TV, clapped, stand, and we said, he's back. Yeah, this guy's off a fucking golf course. He's off a speaking tour. This guy's off the beach. He's still with Miss Terry, obviously, everywhere, but they're out of the kitchen now and boom we're back into football how's it feel to get back into the swing of things here and uh what has it been like at sec media days as uh obviously being a king down there not that you feel that way but that is how literally every other human that looks at you down there feels you know i i really enjoyed doing this sec media day you know it when i was coaching when we had sec media day that was like the start of the season for me that was the reality of, okay, you got all these other coaches talking about how good their team's going to be.

1:05:41You're worrying about what your strengths and weaknesses are on your team. And now it comes to fruition and you got it about two weeks till fall camp starts. And it was the beginning. And I look at it the same way now, you know, from a media standpoint, this gives me a great opportunity to get familiarized with the SEC, which, you know, we do some of those games And, you know, it was the same kind of anticipation, and I love it.

1:06:06Pat McAfee:Kalen DeBoer, you were writing notes as he was speaking. He's got a lot of pressure on him. I mean, the way last season ended, now inevitably it was the national champion Indiana Hoosier team. I think it was tough for a lot of Bama people to potentially swallow the pill that the Indiana Hoosiers are the ones that are doing this to us. Bad taste in all their mouths going into the offseason. I assume you had to hear about it from everybody that you know. Your thoughts on Kalen DeBoer's kind of like, I don't want to say positioning, but kind of situation that he is currently in. He's got a lot of people pissed.

1:06:36Pat McAfee:This is the SEC. He's got a lot of people pissed at how last year ended. They're wondering if he's ever going to be able to live up to the guy whose name is on the football field in the area. How do you feel about Kalen DeBoer? How do you feel about their offseason? And how do you think he responds and his team responds this year? Well, you know, first of all, he knew what he was getting into. And I kind of have a lot of respect for him, knowing what the expectations are, knowing what the challenges would be. And in this day and age of football, to me, it's even harder when you take a job because they lost 26 players to the portal.

1:07:12So that's a whole bunch of guys to make up for. I think he's doing a really good job. Do I think it's an easy job? Hell no. And, you know, this league is a tough league and recruiting is tough. this culture that we have now where people are going all over the country based on the new economic situation players have makes it even more difficult but I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for him to take on that challenge and embrace that challenge and try to work through it and and you know build something special at Alabama and I've always been very supportive of them and I'm hopeful that they they're flying a little bit under the radar this year in terms of the kind of team they have and what they lost, what they have to replace.

1:07:58But I'm hoping that they do well and he comes out of this on top.

1:08:02Pat McAfee:I'll tell you what, Coach, you've been put in some really difficult positions with how Alabama has performed, you being on TV. Plus, you know, with some people on the set like saying like, yeah, tell us exactly how you feel. Tell us everything, you know, like you have, I think you have tried your absolute best to help Coach DeBoer succeed at Alabama. and you know we know that you understand who you are okay i know that you uh try to act like the same person you were and that is why you've had the success you are but anybody that was trying to hire a head coach was trying to hire somebody that had potentially been baptized in your waters okay everybody everybody every coach is like oh we want this guy we want this guy so for him to never coach for you or be in your umbrella and then come into your stadium actually your name's on it.

1:08:51Pat McAfee:You could have handled that a lot of different ways. I think you've been so classy towards Coach DeBoer, and I assume he is very grateful for that. I do hope that he has success down there, and I hope it ends up working out. But anybody that was coming in there after him, you had to have a certain level of... You had to have a big gut sack to go in there. I don't know if they're going to win it all, though. I think Lane Kiffin at LSU with five stars, being born in Louisiana right now, and then right now, and then a six-star just born right there. A D-end in the 2044 class has just been born down in Louisiana.

1:09:37Pat McAfee:Expectations. What should they reasonably be for him down there, you think? Obviously, you've coached at LSU. You know Lane. We are all a part of the entire experience of him ending up at LSU. Your thoughts on realistic expectations first year in a place, especially with how great he did in the transfer portal, because he's trying to temper some expectations. I think he's trying to let his team know, like, hey, it's not national championship or bust here. We've got to play this week. We've got to do that. But your thoughts on what expectations should be for the LSU Tigers, Coach? Yeah, well, I think that Lane did really well in terms of roster management, bringing 59 new players in and a very good recruiting class, but also a very good top-end bunch of guys out of the portal.

1:10:18They've got some really good players. Do they have enough depth on their team to be able to sustain the grind of playing the kind of schedule they have to play? And do they have a culture built to be able to do that? I don't think there's any doubt that Lane will be successful at LSU. I just don't know if it's realistic to think that turnaround is going to happen immediately. But I tell you what, Sam Levitt, if that guy comes through at quarterback, I think they've got enough pieces around on defense as well as on offense to really be a good team and be a contending team. So whether you like the expectations or not, I think, look, me as a coach, you know, people talk about expectations like they're a bad thing.

1:11:03You can coach at Kent State where I played and they have no expectations. Or you can be at LSU or Alabama where they have high expectations. I'd rather be in those briar patches where they have high expectations. And, you know, internally, you're going to do the best you can and put more pressure on yourself to try to make your team as good as you can make it because you want to win just like the players want to win, just like the fans want to win. So I think Lane's going to do really, really well there. I think LSU is a tremendous job. They've got a lot of good players in the state. Those players like to stay close to home.

1:11:39They love LSU. He's got a really good fan base. He's got a lot of support. I think the administration is aligned to help him be successful. And, look, he's been successful everywhere he's been, really. I mean, since he was at Alabama, we were successful, and he contributed to it. He went to Florida Atlantic or wherever. He had success there, turned it around, did a phenomenal job at Ole Miss. And I think there's more potential for success at LSU than any place he's ever been.

1:12:08Pat McAfee:Well, I'm excited to see how the Lane Kiffin LSU years go. Because I'm newer to college football world. They obviously always watch, but don't know the under the hood, if you will. During that entire Ole Miss LSU thing that was taking place, I was like, why the hell? This team could win a national champion. What are we even doing? They're going to build a statue there. Everybody that was around college football was like, you go to Louisiana if you can get to Louisiana, buddy. okay the anxieties of life are your roster okay that's transfer portal obviously and then recruiting recruiting wise you're good literally you just check the box there's enough guys in louisiana that'll want to stay at lsu that'll be a better recruiting class than everywhere else and it's like i didn't take that into consideration enough i don't think until what lane kiffin got down there and the guy that was waiting for him was the number one offensive lineman and then the next day was like the number one defensive end who grew up four minutes down the street and then this guy was there it's like he's got a real chance to do something special down there i think is what everybody's seeing let's go to golding now at old miss i love this guy i absolutely love this guy he he looks good trim hair good looks young but sophisticated and he's a talker this guy is a talker he's a yapper i like the way he handles and operates himself what do you expect from him at old miss because he's coming into a situation where obviously he's beloved but you lose some games why do we this is a feel-good sympathy hire why do we have i mean he's gonna have i mean it's sec football he's got a lot of pressure and expectations too i like the way he's handling what do you expect from him and from old miss they might have the best quarterback in the country in winnidad yeah well pete was an outstanding coach for us as a defensive coordinator uh he's a good teacher he's a player's coach players love him he relates well with them but But he also commands that they do things the right way.

1:14:00A lot of discipline. I think he's got some really good players. I think it speaks volumes that he took over a very difficult situation when Lane left and he's got a team that's in the playoffs. They won a couple games. He was able to keep, you know, Trinidad and the running back. And so that in itself, you know, you're talking about an offensive coach left. The defensive coach is able to keep the two best offensive players, you know, that they have on their team and in the program and two of the best in the country. And, you know, he's a defensive guy, but I think it speaks volumes for the player relationships that he was able to develop.

1:14:38And they brought some good players in, and he thinks he has just as good a roster as they had a year ago. Now, I don't think they're going to be as explosive on offense. I don't think they have as good of receivers, but they're going to have a really good team. And, you know, Pete's got a lot of pride in performance, and I think he'll do well there.

1:14:54Pat McAfee:Yeah, I appreciate him. The way he was speaking was very transparent, and he was pulling some great metaphors. I mean, he was deep thinking. Yeah, but on a highway, this is, as we wrap up the Ole Miss conversation, here is Pete Golding talking about, you talk about his relationship with his players, being able to keep the best quarterback in the SEC, best quarterback in the country, who everybody thought was leaving, and Lacey, the running back, thought he was leaving. He ends up keeping them. this is what he had to say via Pete Thamel's audio recording in a press junket off camera. I was like, dude, y 'all two in one season, right, created a legacy that's going to be hard for anybody to ever overtake.

1:15:34And for what's going on right now, right, for them to see Coach Kiffin to leave, just Google Elaine Kiffin. That's why I had both of them do in my office. It's like, Google Elaine Kiffin, a dude that they would have built a statue of here, right, three days ago. Google his name right now. They wouldn't piss on me if he's on fire. Right? And so they're going to do the same thing to y 'all two if you do what? But based on the situation, if y 'all two come out and say, you know what? No, no, no, no. I'm going to continue to build on a legacy that I created. Right? What that's going to do for you and this fan base and this alumni for the rest of your life.

1:16:08I don't give a shit. Where are you going? What they pay you will never amount to that much.

1:16:12Pat McAfee:That's a good sell, Coach. That's a good sell. Hey, listen, you happen to come back. You're good. Who do you learn that from? Who do you learn that from, Coach? You? Are you doing the piss on fire guy? Is that one of your isms? Yeah, well, we had a guy one time that had a bad rap that they sent me out to San Diego State to work out when I was at the Cleveland Browns, and we weren't going to draft the guy because he had bad character. And I sat down with the guy after I worked him out, and I said, look, your strength coach here said he wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire. And that's the work that we're getting.

1:16:53So if I go to bat for you and we draft you, you've got to make a commitment to me that you're never going to be a problem. And he says, I'll do it, coach. I'll do it, coach. And he was a damn good player, and we never had an issue with him. So sometimes when you're up front with players and they understand the circumstances, because sometimes players don't have a lot of foresight, especially when they're young. And I think Pete made a great point with those guys because they will be remembered forever for what they accomplished at Ole Miss, and they would have got killed if they'd have left.

1:17:27Pat McAfee:Yeah, and if they don't win it all at LSU, does any school really? Yeah, true. You know, and it's like they showcase their loyalty to Ole Miss. I assume the Ole Miss faithful will certainly be appreciative of that down the line. And I do like your leadership style. Hey, I'm going to tell you the truth. The guy that's with you the most, Strength Coach, I don't know if you know this, he told me directly that if you were on fire, he would not piss on you to save your life. That is not good, okay? That would be classified as not great news. What a good recommendation. But, you know, one record I'm going to relinquish, which I'm a little bit disappointed about, is when I went back to LSU after coming to Alabama, after being at Miami, and they hung me in effigy, burned me in effigy.

1:18:15The whole student section was there chanting FU Nick, you know, when I walked out on the field with two hours to go before the game, which usually there's nobody there. I told the players this is going to be the most unbelievable circumstance you've ever got yourself into when we ride in on the bus, and they were all like, no shit, coach, we'll handle this. And then we get in the locker room, and they say, that's worse than you told us. so that was a record for anybody coming back to a place that they'd been before lane is going to break that record when he goes back to Ole Miss this year that that will be blown away nobody will even remember that ever because this will be such a big thing and we're going to be there to witness it and I'm kind of looking forward to that

1:19:01Pat McAfee:college game day is going there is that what you just did right there because I remember there was time we weren't supposed to talk about that don't you remember that yeah i know but i think we'll end up there they won't be able to they won't be able to withstand the consequence of not being there yeah well that's a good way to describe that i was excited to see how you landed that plane that was the right way to do that yeah whenever we did the disney up fronts they're like we're gonna announce the first two weeks only the first two weeks it's like okay where are we going yeah i I heard that.

1:19:34Pat McAfee:Clemson, LSU, and Ohio State, Texas. Go ahead. If any of the boys there want to put a page around whether we're going to be there that week or not, I'm up for it. No, you're a gambling man now. Coach is a gambling man. But I said, why are we not announcing week three? This is literally the entire offseason. We don't know if now is the right time to announce because there was some shit going on, I guess, at the time. It's like, yeah, now would be the right time to announce it. And I go, Coach, are you going to talk about us going to Ole Miss week three whenever Lane Kivikos back? Coach goes, they told us how to talk about it.

1:20:09Pat McAfee:I go, oh, okay, okay. And then we roll out there. Reese goes, first week, Renee, this week, this. And week three. I literally chime in immediately. Coach, I appreciate how you handle my shit. You know, I do. Because you just, I feel like you understand I'm probably dragging you into something. Okay? I am dragging you into something. But it does feel like you are appreciative of that. So I'm very grateful for you. In that scene, I've been told the Grove, right? Is that what it's called? The Grove or something? Yeah. The Grove. I've heard that place is like the place is what everybody talks about.

1:20:45Pat McAfee:Like, hey, whenever it's buzzing, that is where we need to be. Game day obviously hasn't had the opportunity to go there since I've had an incredible opportunity to be a part of the program. And for that game to be happening down there, can't wait to get in there. It's going to be an absolute buzzsaw. Not that LSU isn't week one. Yeah. with Clemson going in there, Austin, Texas, Ohio State. First three weeks, we've got to absolutely see, and then college football will deliver the rest of the way. Ty has a question for you, Coach. Yeah, Coach, speaking of Texas, what do you think the expectations are for them this year?

1:21:13We had Herbie on yesterday, and although this might be one of, if not the best rosters in the country on paper, Herbie just couldn't – he wasn't ready to say, you know, I don't think they're going to win the national championship. But obviously those are the type of aspirations and expectations A lot of people have put on them, not only with Arch, but with some of the high-profile transfers and how much pressure is on Sark. What are your thoughts on Texas going into this year? Well, I think Texas is one of the teams to beat, you know, in the SEC, no doubt. But I also think Georgia is. And I think, you know, one of the things that in talking to Sark that they have to reestablish there because last year they couldn't run the ball.

1:21:55They didn't control the line of scrimmage. They weren't as physical as they needed to be. And, you know, there's a consequence for that. You know, you really can't practice the way you want to practice when you're not physical. And I think it affects your performance in the long run. But Arch has, you know, come of age at the end of last season. I think he will lead this team. I think they have a talented team. You know, that receiver from Auburn, you know, Cam is an outstanding player. I think they'll be better on the offensive line. I think they're making a commitment to be a more physical team.

1:22:30That's why they struggle with Georgia, because Georgia has just been more physical in the trenches than them, and they're going to have to eventually beat Georgia some kind of way if they want to get where they want to go. So I think that's the emphasis. That's the mentality. You know, Texas had 23 guys drafted the first two years Sark was there. They had six last year. So that was the youngest team he's had. And I think in this day and age of football, having a more mature team is beneficial because the guys are older that you play against than they used to be. Used to be everybody was three and out.

1:23:02Now people are still playing for five, six, and seven years. So 18-year-olds are playing against 25-year-olds. So if you have an older team and a more mature team, I think that's beneficial to you. I think that was one of the advantages that Indiana had last year. They had an older, more mature team. So Texas is going to have a more mature team, and I think that's going to help them. but I also think that they're going to have to be a more physical team and that'll help them be more explosive if they can run the ball, throwing the ball down the field, which they need to make more explosive plays, which is what Sark's always been known for.

1:23:34Will Muschamp on defense is going to help them, I think, because he's an old school guy and they'll play with more toughness on defense.

1:23:42Pat McAfee:I hope Arch Manning gets a chance to be everything that we thought he was. They might have been shell-shocked for the rest of the year after having to take on, what, a historic defense in Ohio State? Yeah. Ohio State gave up, like, four first downs over, like, a five-week period. Yeah, where they have, like, six guys on the starting 11 get drafted in the first round or something. And that is literally the first week. Like, hey, you get – in this seven-point game, by the way. Like, what we would learn about what that Ohio State defense was going forward, we didn't know at the time they were going to be what they were going to be, which is outstanding.

1:24:11Pat McAfee:It's like that might have been a confidence killer for that entire team for the first few weeks, and then obviously it carries on. maybe this year a fresh restart. I saw him TikTok-ing. I don't know. Yeah, not sure. I don't know, but we'll see. We'll see what that means in the modern age. Should I be judging a dance on TikTok more than I am? Or less than I am? We kind of see how the season goes, Coach. I see some of these TikToks come out of these locker rooms, Coach, and I immediately go, they're not going to win a national championship. But I might be wrong. I might be just too old now at this point.

1:24:40Pat McAfee:You know what I mean, Coach? Because sometimes people like to dance just like your old ass. You know, sometimes you got to two-step that thing a little bit. you know back in the day you still doing that you and Miss Terry still two-stepping or no we've done two-stepping if she'll dance with me I will oh god you guys love each I mean it is he's blushing right now he's blushing right now it's unbelievable shout out Miss Terry can't wait to see her on the road con man has a question for you about ASAC football yeah coach great to see you look better than ever speaking of Texas let's go to College Station Texas A &M was third in odds on that graphic that just popped up behind Georgia and Texas.

1:25:20And it feels like Texas A &M is bringing back enough guys with more experience, especially after last year making the college football playoff. Elko is basically saying, like, I keep the boys motivated because I go and show them the trophy case and there ain't shit in it. What do you think about them? Do you see Texas A &M going back to the college football playoff, making a run at the SEC title game? Where do you see them finishing, and how do you see their year going? Well, I'm a Mike Elko guy in terms of what he's done at A &M. They had 10 guys drafted. That's more than they've ever had. They've got some of the highest-rated recruiting classes, which they've never had in the past.

1:26:00Or when they did, they fell apart for whatever reasons. They've won more games. They're playing better defense. He's one of the best defensive coaches in the country scheme-wise, I think. And I think they've reloaded. I think they've got some good players coming back. I think Marcel Reed is a really, really good quarterback who puts a lot of pressure on the defense. And I think they did a good job in a portal, and they did a good job of recruiting. And I think they're going to be one of the teams that people need to contend with in the SEC, no doubt.

1:26:32Pat McAfee:I love the way Elko operates. Yeah. Coach, he don't care that that's – the shirt's getting bigger. It's so bad. We're in 2026, and he does not care at all. He just kind of goes with whatever. I mean, you can't be some skinny, weak guy when you're walking down the tunnel of power. You've got to exude power, so he just keeps – let that belly just keep going. No, Ty, I'm not talking about that. That's what I'm saying. That's why I love it. He's calling him a fatso, Coach. Ty just called Coach Oco. I don't like that. I'm not calling him a fatso. That would be the pot calling the kettle black. I'm not doing that.

1:27:07I'm just saying when I hear power now, I see Mike Elko.

1:27:13Pat McAfee:How about he starts mopping? He's a good ball guy. I'll tell you that. What's that? Players love him too. Players love him? He's super smart. He's a good ball guy and the players love him. And it feels like the team's only going to get better. I think we have forgot that Elko makes his teams. Like Elko makes his teams much, much better year over year. His head. Every part of that program is better every year since he's been there. that american flag though has stayed the same side they got big one they got the biggest american flag that i have ever these eyes have ever seen i don't know most on a stadium for sure yeah they got a thousand around and the windiest game i think i've ever no doubt about i've ever seen that game against miami that might have been 60 70 mile an hour winds actually do you remember that

1:27:55Nick Saban:aj on that sideline oh yeah change the whole game i mean people that weren't there think that the offenses didn't play well like no it was not possible to throw the ball in that win pretty much.

1:28:04Pat McAfee:That game day kick was kind of a... Yeah, that kid was screwed from the kickoff. He kicked better than a couple of the kicks that were in the actual game, but there was no chance he was making that. No, none. Shout out football guys by that. That was a million dollar kick. Yeah, bingo. No, it kind of affected the rest of the game. I wish he would have been able to turn that off and we will run that back. But yeah, that was a windy, windy game. All right, last question for you here, Coach Sabu. Yeah, Coach, I know you're at SEC Media Days and we've talked a lot about talking about the SEC, but the back-to-back-to-back national champions are from the Big Ten And how do you measure the SEC up against the Ohio States, the Oregons this year, who both have everyone coming back basically on the offensive side of the ball, Oregon on both sides of the ball.

1:28:42And then even Notre Dame, those are the top three teams right there who have a bunch coming back. And C.J. Carr was the talk of the town after the Manning Passing Academy. How do you feel about those top three teams up there? I think those teams are all going to be really good. I thought Notre Dame was really good last year. Ohio State's really, really good. I think the three teams from the Big Ten that have won were really good teams. I mean, Michigan beat us in overtime in the playoffs. That was a really good team three years ago. Ohio State, really good team. Indiana last year, really good team.

1:29:14I don't want you to guys think I'm a homer or anything, but the SEC is still a good league.

1:29:20Pat McAfee:Yeah, of course. That's good. Yeah, it's good. Is it? That made your league the best. It just means you had the best team in the country. It doesn't mean your league is the best. SEC had five teams in the playoff. Nobody was good enough to get over the hump. Nobody was good enough to get in the national championship game. And I think it's a little bit of a cultural thing right now in college football. You know, the Southeastern Conference has enjoyed the fact that the Southeast plays great high school football. And the high school is still the center of the community. Kids love to play. And there's a lot of good players.

1:29:56and they all used to grow up wanting to go to Alabama or Georgia or Florida or Texas A &M or Texas or wherever. Now they're going all over the country because the culture allows them to do that. And I don't think that's a bad thing, but I do think that that's helped some other conferences get a little better. And they were already damn good. So I have a lot of respect for the Big Ten. I coached in the Big Ten for 12 years, but the SEC is a pretty damn good league too. And if you look at the top 24 most difficult schedules, all 16 SEC teams are in the top 24, and nine out of the top 10 toughest schedules.

1:30:38Pat McAfee:Yeah, who came up? You came up the rankings of the schedule? Was it you that did that or Sankey? I know it was probably Sankey. I get it. I know it. It was probably Sankey that did that. Let me hire an independent party. Hey, you're the SEC. SES, your super extra stats. We need to know who's got the hardest schedule. Us, right? Thank you. All of them? Top 25? Yes, we're definitely doing that. And I'm not going to even act like I don't love the SEC. We – I think if you don't go to any SEC games throughout a season, you could certainly maybe say the SEC is whatever, whatever, whatever, and kind of have a negative feeling to it.

1:31:19Pat McAfee:Once you experience just one of these things, it's like, Holy hell, this is an entire state festival. It is a whole shit, and it's like the history, the tradition, the pageantry, the teams that used to win national championships. That's all a part of it. Way back. They're still the deepest conference coach. They just don't have the best teams at the top. Oh! That wasn't that big of a burn, I don't think. I took it as one. Yeah, Connor really thought that was a super burn. I can't wait to get down to LSU that first week. I mean, that's months and months and months and months of just, like, boiling.

1:31:58Pat McAfee:You got that thing on top of it. Yeah, insta-pot ready to explode. Start, and you just kind of go,

1:32:08How would you like to be Dabo going into that? Clemson's got no chance.

1:32:12Pat McAfee:Yeah, right. So, since I've been a part of game day, Clemson hasn't been the Clemson that, you know, everybody remembers. and there was a long time Dabo was like, I'm not doing transport for the good of football. I'm going to stick to it. And I think a lot of people are like, admirable what you were doing. We like what you're doing. But just like Pete Golden said, if you're on a highway and there's a lane, like everybody, you got to get your ass in that lane if that's what it's going to be. Dabo's adapted. I think Dabo feels like he's got a good roster, a better roster than he's had in a while.

1:32:39Pat McAfee:But going into LSU, I mean, he can get 50-piece down there. That could be a 50-piece for breakfast. I mean, that's your first game of the season. Fred's 11 and a half. What do you think about Clemson? What do you think about Dabbell? Because I haven't got a chance to experience. I would like game day to go to Death Valley down there in Clemson as well and do the whole entire thing. Hasn't happened. Do we think this year is a year where they're back, or is this just a Lane Kiffin showcase for week one? I think we'll see if they're back. I know they've got a lot of question marks too, whether it's quarterback.

1:33:11And they've got a lot of holes to fill. I mean, everybody thought they were going to be, you know, the class of the town last year, and it just completely disintegrated on them. So I don't know. I'm not ready to put my stamp on it. I have to see it first. But I think in that league, somebody better beat Miami because I think, you know, Mario's got it going down there, and they got some good players, and they're physical. And one thing about this, you can talk about who won the national championship and all that. But there's not a team that has won the national championship or played in the national championship game that is not physical.

1:33:51I mean, people talk about, you know, Fernando and Indiana, but they could run the ball. They were physical. They had balance. They were physical on defense. Michigan was physical when they beat us. And Miami was physical last year in the game, and Ohio State was physical when they won. So you better be physical. and is Clemson going to be physical enough to match up with those teams? I want to see that.

1:34:16Pat McAfee:Okay, we all do. And by the way, I'm pulling for Dapbo and Dabo to be a part of relevance in college football because he is a lightning rod. But it just hasn't happened over the last few years. It would be cool to experience. But I think LSU would like to get off to a hot star too. In that place, he's going to be alive. Last question here is a little bit about the NFL, but certainly your legacy as a whole. Go ahead, AJ.

1:34:36Nick Saban:Coach, yeah, we got the chance to watch John Harbaugh address the New York Giants for the first time, I guess, the first team meeting starting off camp. I'm just wondering, you as a head coach, how much time would you put into that first kind of meeting, the first time you would address the team maybe to start camp? We know, for us at least, it makes a big impression. It's like our first time seeing it. We saw Harbaugh was very giddy getting up there in front of the team. But maybe when you went to Miami or any time you were at the new team, what was like the prep for you when you stood in front of that team for the first time?

1:35:04Well, I think that's the most important thing you do because that's the number one thing you're trying to establish is the culture of how we're going to play as a team, whether it's intangibles that you want to talk about, discipline, toughness, overcoming adversity, situational football. I mean, you can come up with a thousand different things, but this is going to be the culture that we play with, and the players need to understand that, and then you've got to go define it for them and then enforce it to them so that they get it. And I think that's important. I mean, and that first meeting to me was the most important thing every year.

1:35:42I mean, even after being in Alabama for 17 years, I thought that first meeting was the most important meeting because every team's different and every team's a new team and everybody on that team's got to buy into the principles and values of the organization and you've got to establish what they are and everybody's got to buy into that standard.

1:36:01Pat McAfee:Feels like you were pretty good at this. Yeah, it felt like you were setting a little precedent there for us. And, by the way, this is our first time talking to you for the season, so we kind of need that a little bit. Yeah, we did. We needed that personally. I want to let you know that. I mean, we're all in a little bit better shape. Than? Going into the season. Absolutely. I kind of had to be. He's getting married. He's getting married this weekend, Coach. Yeah, Coach, I'm getting married. Do you have any wedding advice? Then send me a Ferrari, please, as a gift. Congratulations. Congratulations.

1:36:33but let me just give you an example i have a cup at home that says mr right miss terry has a cup that says mrs never wrong so she's never going to be wrong just remember that

1:36:49Pat McAfee:just remember mr right yeah you might be right but i'm just never wrong so let's go ahead have a good time you're the best coach thank you for that ladies and gentlemen the icon college game Teamday Emmy Award winner, I think, right? Yeah, that's right. Did he win? Yeah, he did. Yeah. Had to him. Ladies and gentlemen, Nick Saban. Yeah, Coach. He's the best.

1:37:17God, just seeing his little ass up there. You know what I mean? Just seeing him up there. Yeah, that makes you – that's like feeling the weather outside yesterday. It's the same type of feeling. It's like, oh, yeah, we're there. And you saw his little spot.

1:37:29Pat McAfee:He's giddy, too. He's been walking on these golf courses, just doing his entire thing, speaking at places, doing that. Football season comes around. That man going into that SEC weekend watched, I assume, so much film. Just locked in there. Still uses his office at the Alabama Stadium whenever he's there because he wants to watch film in the morning. And it's like, DeBoer's got to deal with it. I don't know how you do it, AJ. Honestly, with him just sitting there.

1:37:57Nick Saban:how would you not just be like hey coach how would you uh how would you play this like how you what do you do here how you gonna match up here you want to come talk to him kind of go through some stuff i can't really get the point across coach i'm trying to stand up can you please uh that'd be tough you can't do that good morning coach what should i tell him today

1:38:12Pat McAfee:all right sweet i'll see you tomorrow i'm gonna get out of here ted lasso meeting up with the owner you know bringing the biscuits yeah imagine caitlin deborah bringing some biscuits over to Coach Saban. Good morning, Coach. What do you think? Oh, more motivation. I thought I was going to kill him today. It's like Kalen DeBoer's chat GPT. Is Nick Saban up in his office? Ask him questions. What if he does have a direct line? Guy's pissed once more. Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, is a man who's an Emmy Award winner. His name is hot in the streets right now. As it should be, because he's so damn talented.

1:38:49ladies and gentlemen never played ball that's been made clear but he's certainly good at talking

1:38:56Pat McAfee:about it ladies and gentlemen peter schrager how you doing tregs good to see you brother oh it's great to see you that interview was awesome dude loved watching it coach saban's the best actually every time we talk to him and you know sometimes the tech is interesting because i think can he hear us can he not hear us is he waiting for us to finish does he not know when were finished you know that's kind of the first team meeting part of it all we're currently in the middle of that for some of these NFL teams for you obviously plugged in with the Rams we've been talking about Aaron Donald a lot let's stay away from that because it's kind of overkill we'll hit that at the end other storyline right now that you think is kind of uh relevant for the NFL season that we are currently living in I think there's a couple things that are interesting I had a really good interview and conversation with Liam Cohen um on my show this week and I thought he was really interesting talking about this Jaguars team and I know that's the 32nd team for some you say Jaguars Trevor Lawrence had an outstanding offseason their wide receiver group of Jacoby Myers and Parker Washington and Brian Thomas and Travis Hunter is really interesting and that's where I'm at at this point of the year it's like who aren't we talking about you know we could spend a lot of time on what the Rams are doing or the Giants have all this hype the Cowboys always have buzz but there are teams like Jacksonville and New Orleans that really ended the season strong.

1:40:19And you start looking at who is going to be that team. Because, Pat, last year at this time, no one had the Seahawks. No one had the Patriots. Both those teams went from not being playoff teams to going to the Super Bowl. So I look at teams like the Bengals. I look at a team like the Jaguars. I look at a team like the Saints. And it's which team's going to have that magic ride this year? because all 32, as we sit in camp, are telling themselves this is our year.

1:40:44Pat McAfee:I apologize for not looking at the entirety of the NFC South's odds. I just look at the Tampa Bay Bucs at the top, and they've got to figure some stuff out, of course. But the Saints being plus 265 to win the NFC South, good for them because they were in a little bit of cap hell for a while. Whenever Kelly Moe gets hired a couple years back, he's basically told, hey, we've got no expectations to win games. There's no reason that our roster and our setup with draft picks should ever be able to do anything for the next couple years. Let's go ahead and build this thing. Kamara wants to stick around.

1:41:13Pat McAfee:He signs a deal. They bring in A-chan. Obviously, Kelly Moe's offense is going to be good. I like that the sportsbooks are seeing the same things that Trey's seeing. And I'll tell you, if the Saints are back in contention, that place is awesome. That place is immaculate for the NFL. You know, Pat, they play a week four Monday night game in New Orleans. It's the anniversary of their game against Atlanta post-Katrina. I think that building is going to be rocking. I hope to be there for Monday Night Football. I'll tell you this. Tyler Shuck last year, and I'm going to give my colleague Louis Riddick a lot of credit because he was really high on him going into the draft, even more so than Dart and even Cam Ward at times.

1:41:49And Shuck exceeded expectations. This is a guy who had the most wins of any of the rookie quarterbacks. He also had the highest completion percentage. He also had the highest passer rating. And he did it in a relative anonymous way where no one was talking about Shuck. I thought he might have stolen the Offensive Rookie of the Year award the way he played over the last two months of the season. This is the kind of things that I look for when you're trying to get hyped about a team. It's who was ascending last year, and now who's had a full offseason to learn the offense and be comfortable and be that guy.

1:42:1926 years old, Tyler Shuck, you're talking about who's going to be the MVP, who's the dark horse. That might be asking a lot, but you better believe that's what they're thinking in New Orleans, that this could be a huge breakout year for that team. Shuck and shuck at Ganny.

1:42:33Pat McAfee:We became big fans of old Shuck last season. Kelly Moe's offense is going to be good if he's got a quarterback that can do it. Shuck certainly can. Are the New Orleans Saints back in contention? Peter Schrager, the man who predicted that the Detroit Lions would not make the playoffs last year, says maybe the Saints are the team to watch for here. Go ahead, AJ.

1:42:51Nick Saban:Yeah, Schrager, you're always good with predictions, I feel like, letting us know who may be a breakout team, who may not have such a great season. I guess what are some teams right now that we may be talking about you think may take a step back and possibly are there any teams that we aren't talking about that might take a giant step forward oh schrager prediction time it's great it's early and i like to see july and i like to see then august and i usually like to really dig in first week of september on this stuff but you look at this i mean when you have the eagles plus 1600 and they lost not only aj brown but they lost jeff stoutland who's the best offensive line coach in football They lost their defensive backs coach, Christian Parker, who I think might be one of the best defensive backs coach in all of football.

1:43:34He's now the Cowboys defensive coordinator. And you lose some guys, it's hard for me to say, okay, the Eagles are going to be just fine. I'd like to see what the offense looks like with Sean Mannion, a 34-year-old who will be calling plays for the first time in his career. I think that's fair. You look at some of these other teams, the odds that they have and where they're at, who's going to take the step back, who's going to take the step forward. You know, the Bears had this unbelievable season last year. It was this miracle ride. The Patriots had this unbelievable. Can they do it again when they're the hunted and not the hunters?

1:44:08Those are the teams I would circle and say, hey, I'm not putting in pen Bears, Eagles, Patriots, to just go right back to what they were a year ago.

1:44:16Pat McAfee:Hey, Shrags, remember the Patriots are going to have to play real NFL teams this year. Yeah, not that all NFL teams are real NFL teams, but it was an easy schedule. It was an easy schedule. Trust me. They hear it. They know it. And if you don't think Mike Frable, Josh McDaniels, and those boys are putting that in their back pocket and really peppering the guys with that this year, you don't know what motivates these people. So to discredit what was an unbelievable year, an incredible playoff run, and a runner-up MVP season out of that quarterback, I think all of New England in that building has been taking notes and hearing that all offseason.

1:44:49Pat McAfee:Yeah, it was really loud in the offseason as well up there, but we assumed Drake Mays is only going to get better. And, oh, yeah, they got A.J. Brown. So that's something that's pretty. Roger Gilliam. Yeah. The Patriots might be really doing it again, but there's a lot of great teams. That's right. A lot of great teams. Go ahead, Tone for Schrag. Yes, Schrag. Over the last few weeks, Aaron Rodgers' Instagram has provided us with some feel-good moments. He decided to skip the Tahoe golf tournament. He took the boys from the Steelers on the offensive side of the ball to Big Sky Country for his last rodeo.

1:45:18Pat McAfee:Or was it their last rodeo before camp? No, it's Aaron's. Okay. They were smoking darts. They were smoking darts. It was sick. He was riding horses. Yep. What a fit. Absolute awesome fit. And then, you know, he put out his family this week on Instagram as well. So, like, going into camp, feel good stories coming out of Aaron, you know, for his last ride potentially with Big Mike McCarthy as his coach, who was his coach for a long time in Pittsburgh. Obviously, Mike Tomlin's a Hall of Fame coach, but, like, it just kind of feels like there's a lot of good momentum for Rodgers and the Steelers going into the season.

1:45:51What's your read on them going into camp? The AFC North is interesting, right? You have three teams that have new head coaches and new coaching staffs, including Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and, of course, Cleveland. Cincinnati returns 11 starters on offense, a coaching staff, and added all this stuff on defense. Pittsburgh's been kind of lying in the weeds as far as what they've got. Meanwhile, they added Pittman. They added Jamel Dean. Their rookies last year all played pretty well when called upon. Yeah, and Rico Dattle can run. That is a downhill runner. So you look at this team and it's like, why are they getting no buzz?

1:46:27Well, Rodgers is 43. McCarthy, what are we getting? I don't know. I'm curious. But it doesn't hurt that Aaron seems to be in the best place mentally that we've seen in a long time. And I got to tell you, as someone watching from afar and knowing this is such a storyline in Rodgers' life, the fallout with his family and the whole stuff, I don't get into the personal lives. That was really great. It was great. And it just shows you that no bridge can ever be burned. And if he's mentally at peace and is ready for this last ride, which we think it is, let's ride and let's see what happens. Hell yeah.

1:47:00Pat McAfee:I would like to let a lot of people know, in my particular life, bridges can be burned forever. Sure. Can we build back bridges, Pat? In my world, no. But I am happy that, in some cases, but I am happy to see exactly what you're seeing with Aaron and his family. And AJ, I'm sure AJ has thoughts as well. I think AJ's probably super pumped about it. I think that was a good thing for all of us to see. Was it not, AJ?

1:47:23Nick Saban:Yeah, it's awesome. Especially, yeah, the older you get, you realize, like, of course, you need your family. Yes.

1:47:27Pat McAfee:And I don't know if he got a key to the city or a day or something up there that kind of brought this all together. He was speaking at a city council seemingly event of some sort of award show. Yeah, I know part of it was, like, maybe his, like, high school, going into, like, his high school hall of fame, like, that induction. But it might have been something like that as well. But in between the years, whenever it is all good, you know, that is certainly an indicator for playing football, I believe. So all of these things, you know, all of these things are potential. And he had his reasons for all of it, too.

1:47:55Pat McAfee:I think a lot of people just blame him. It's like, you listen to him, he's got his. So there had to be a lot of reconciliation happening there, I do believe. Get that out of your life. I think it does help you professionally, a lot of people say there, Shrakes. I think it's what people say. Yeah. Look, the toxicity in your head can be erased. and suddenly you could focus and not have all these things in the back of your head and say, no, I wish you wish that. AJ, he didn't do Accenture this year. He didn't do the Derby, I don't think. A different offseason for Aaron because those used to be mainstays, like, you know, tent poles in his offseason.

1:48:27Nick Saban:Yeah, I mean, you're right. I don't know. I mean, I think it's – he's dialed in. He's absolutely ready to roll for this year. So I think he's kind of like, here we go. I don't know if it's his – I'm not saying it's his last year. I know he said that, but I've always said if he can still sling it like he can, and he goes and has a good year, who knows how long the dude plays.

1:48:42Pat McAfee:AJ thinks Aaron's playing until he's probably 50 because AJ knows that Aaron, push comes to shove, has to make a decision to not play at some point, and he can still spin it. And somebody, he can maybe go get another Super Bowl, maybe do it. What else are you going to do is what AJ's kind of theory is, right? Is that not the case that you've been kind of looking at this? But personal life looks better than ever for him now.

1:49:02Nick Saban:It does. I mean, I'm sure I'll get a text from him. Oh, you idiot. What are you telling people I'm going to play three more years? He can send that text all he wants until he quits. I'm not going to say he will. He can still sling it. He's got the quickest release in the game.

1:49:13Pat McAfee:All right. Also, send a text to AJ whether or not you'll join us when we're live from Pittsburgh Steelers training camp on August 3rd. I love it. We will be out there. Breaking news. You know, I might be able to get some information. We had a blast there last year. It was so hot. So hot. Yeah. That's coming down the pipe. Yeah. That's training camp, though. That's training camp. Pass the dog day. That's what we need. We're going to see Mike McCarthy's training camp for the first time. Oh, yes, please. Cannot wait. Cannot wait. Just to hear the speeches, everything about how the boys are handling it.

1:49:45Pat McAfee:August 3rd will be at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. Can't wait, get started. That's sooner than it is later. That's sooner than it is later. Conman has a question for you. You know, McCarthy's there. Tomlin had been there for 19 years. McCarthy, he steps away. Steps away. McCarthy gets a job. Eight, nine jobs every single year, it feels like. And they're happening earlier and earlier. Go ahead, Con. Yeah, Shrags, it feels like there's a chance some of those teams you mentioned earlier, Bengals, some other of those guys might be on the hot seat right away. And not to say that, you know, they're already going to be talking about firing guys, but it feels like there are some jobs, Zach Taylor being the one that just comes to the forefront of my mind where it's like kind of a make or break year.

1:50:24I know he didn't get an extension just yet, but they've talked about something like that going into his final year. But what are kind of the teams where you see him as, hey, they kind of have to go out and prove something. I know the Jets, you could probably throw them in there, but seemingly every single move they've made this offseason seems to be the right one. What are you thinking as far as coaches going into this year? And also, the taco meat looks unbelievable coming out of your shirt, Traeger. I like that. It's a man. No, it's a compliment. No, it's a man.

1:50:55Pat McAfee:No, it's a compliment. Come on. Yeah, we're hairy around here. AJ shaves his arms because he's Jack, but we're hairy around here. Not bad. No, no, no. That's what we're saying. I apologize. It's good. What the hell? I'll say this. They had a record number of coaches fired last offseason. There's been a record number of head coaches. The security and comfort that these coaches have is as insecure and as little as it's ever been. So you look at teams that have not fired their coaches but have missed the playoffs in multiple years, and it's fair to say, hey, it's time. So some of those teams that you had mentioned are the Bengals.

1:51:39Now, I can't tell you if Mike Brown at 92 years old is looking to put him on the hot seat right now or not. He's survived, and there's actually a lot of excitement about Cincinnati. The Jets, Aaron Glenn's going into his second year, but they fired their entire defensive staff. They fired their entire offensive staff. You'd say, all right, how many chances do you get if it's another bad season? I look at all of these teams. I mean, I don't put people on the hot seat, and I'm not the one to say that, hey, keep an eye on this one before the season starts, but you can connect the dots. These owners, they're as impatient as they've ever been.

1:52:10And as you see record rises out of Seattle with a new coach, out of New England with a new coach, Chicago, Jacksonville, I don't think these owners want to sit on their hands and just say, ah, let's finish out the contract. They're willing to eat the cost and they're willing to move on. So you circle those teams that have missed the playoffs the last couple of years, hey, that's a bad thing.

1:52:29Pat McAfee:What if you haven't won the AFC South in 11 years? Are you all right? Are you okay? I think the Colts are going to win the Super Bowl this year. They're fucking better. It's been a long time. Sound like Joe Thomas old. We'll be celebrating the Indianapolis Colts tomorrow. I do a little bit, but I got faith. We're live from the NFL Flag Championships. Oh, that's cool. You're going tomorrow. We're live from here in Westfield, Indiana. I think there's over 300 teams, boys, girls, adults. competition. So it's boys 14U and then it's girls high school, right? And it's also adults. 8U, 10U, 12U.

1:53:10Nick Saban:I think it's a whole... What are the oldest? You say adults. Are there like 55-year-olds playing?

1:53:14Pat McAfee:No, I think Doucette's going to be there. Really? The pro teams. I think they're going to be there as well. This is supposed to be a showcase of flag football. We're going to be very thankful to be there. We'll talk to Kaelin Ursa tomorrow. We'll talk to her tomorrow about the state of the Colts, where she's at, how they feel. Obviously, the Indianapolis Colts and Indiana as a whole are very thankful and lucky they were hosting this. I got a chance to be a part of a Super Bowl commercial trying to launch girls' flag football as a high school sport in a lot of states. So we are pushing this heavily, especially as Mackenzie continues to be untackleable.

1:53:46Pat McAfee:You know, we would like her to have the opportunity. Schrags, we appreciate the hell out of you, brother. Have a good one. That's Peter Schrag. Love you, Dad. Love you, Schrags. Love you, Schrags. Love you, man. All right. We continue digitally as this particular linear program ends in SportsCenter. Picks up in three minutes. Be your friend. Tell your friend something nice might change your life. You're allowed to say nice things on the internet, too. Is Logan Paul still on the professional team? You're thinking of the other one.

1:54:10Nick Saban:We know who they are. No, Logan Paul was on the professional flag team.

1:54:14Pat McAfee:Oh, Jake's going to get into camp. That was the Fanatics flag football. But, yeah, one of the Pauls thinks he's – yeah, because all the NFL athletes are mid, so he's going to play, too. One of the Pauls. This guy was standing two feet from you. four days ago.

1:54:26Nick Saban:His dog Thor was right behind you, Tony. I don't understand.

1:54:29Pat McAfee:I do appreciate it. You read a tweet that said that one of these idiot goofballs. No, it came out of his mouth. No, I know that, but I'm saying you were saying one of the Paul brothers, like as if we don't. Jake was right here. You know his name, Tony. You know who Jake Paul is. You know who Jake is. Tony Giggs. This guy. Come on. On that note. I apologize. I don't love what Jake said. That was the one where I'm like, all right, Jay, come on. Come on. Come on. Fighting, boxing. He committed his entire life to it.

1:55:01Nick Saban:He didn't go out there and be a wide out.

1:55:02Pat McAfee:Yeah, and he said there's also mediocrity at the athleticism. This is actually the fastest.

1:55:06Nick Saban:Get him to camp. Get him to camp. I think he should. Someone should bring him into camp.

1:55:10Pat McAfee:Jay, everybody's running four threes right now. We are kind of at the peak of athleticism in the history of the NFL right now. Guys are 6 '5", 270, running 4 '4". I think that was the most egregious one I've heard out of Drake. In mine, it was like, Jay, come on, come on, come on. Not the right angle here. But I do like that he's trying to get into a camp. He's trying to put some pads on an NFL camp. And, hey, I'll be pumped for it, whatever ends up happening. And I think if you get him on a couple teams, there'll be guys that'll be like, I hate pads. I hate camp. I hate hitting people and wasting hits.

1:55:50Pat McAfee:But, yeah, I'll fucking do it, I guess, if we have to do it. And Jake, I think, is completely game for that. So I'm excited for that. But the mediocrity and athleticism in the NFL, it's like, oh, come on, Jake. Now is not the time to say that. Ten years ago, 15, 20 years ago maybe, whenever it was ground and pound football. 30. Good idea. But now it's like even the punters are dunking. And kickers, you know, like that. We're at a –

1:56:15Nick Saban:Everybody's pretty big. Yeah, go watch like a practice or a game in person. And you're like, oh, my goodness. These are the largest humans alive, and they move faster than anybody I've seen before.

1:56:24Pat McAfee:In college.

1:56:25Nick Saban:Yeah.

1:56:25Pat McAfee:Because they're 100 deep. Man. These fuckers. It's 100 deep of just, like, the biggest, strongest, fastest I've ever seen in my life. And then there's a couple, like, offensive linemen that are walk-ons whose parents are friends of the program, maybe, at the back. It's just like, boom, there's a couple, like, what it used to look like. You know, and then here in the front is now a whole new era of football player. With all that being said, we'd love to see Jake Ball in full pads at a training camp. He too. You should ask Kalen tomorrow. Hey, I got this new prospect. You should think about something.

1:56:59Former professional boxer. Yeah. He's got quick hands. Platinum jaw. Mm-hmm. He's going to sell jerseys. Yeah. More athletic pest stock. That's right. Tom.

1:57:13Pat McAfee:Selling like that. More athletic Tom pest stock? Yep. Done deal. Sign him. now. He's back. Yeah, he is. He is. Baron Corbin's back. Really? Bishop Dyer? Bishop Dyer? No. Bishop Dyer, very dead right now. Oh, no. Okay, so he's back under the Baron Corbin moniker. Actually, with that being said, Bishop Dyer. Yeah. Dang. Had a great run up there in Canada. I think did a couple, worked a couple territories. Up there in Canada, did a West Coast, Southwest, Weigh-Sang, Tax-Max Ray. Ran territory down there forward. Went up there with the Rhodeses in Atlanta. Stopped through Ohio. Did a death match up in Massachusetts.

1:58:01Pat McAfee:Oh, hell yeah, I remember that. Think he took on Nick Gage at some point. Ate a barbed wire bat to the face. Bishop Dyer's now dead. bum-ass Baron Corbin arise from the ashes like fucking Jesus Christ. That's right.

1:58:27Nick Saban:Rest in peace.

1:58:27Pat McAfee:What's wrong, AJ?

1:58:29Nick Saban:No, just how you said it. Just your delivery.

1:58:32Pat McAfee:It's just the truth of the matter. That him? That him.

1:58:34Nick Saban:Oh. Oh, my God. Oh, okay.

1:58:36Pat McAfee:Hey, what's going on? Boom. Yeah. Baron Corbin's back, baby. Bishop Dyer, dead. rest in peace to Bishop Dyer. We're all kind of following along. Bishop Dyer was beating people up in different places and then he's making some meat. A lot of steak. A lot of beef. Whiskey, tequila.

1:58:55Nick Saban:He's still collecting skulls. Yeah, in the ring.

1:58:59Pat McAfee:Oh, he's back, baby.

1:59:01Nick Saban:Well said.

1:59:03Pat McAfee:It's great to see Baron Corbin back in the square circle. It is. Not that we didn't see him in other squared circles but it was hard to find. Now we're going to be able to see him back in there delivering his golden gloves, boxing on. His old buddy out there,

1:59:19Nick Saban:there it is, Ezekiel, him and his whole family that was around the, I couldn't think of the name at first. You know, when the family was around the hospital bed when he was hurt. The whole family, they all kind of had similar resembled each other a little bit.

1:59:30Pat McAfee:You're talking about Elias.

1:59:32Nick Saban:Yeah, yeah, that family.

1:59:33Pat McAfee:And then Ezekiel. Are they still wrestling? I think, he looks really good on my... Elrod. Elrod. That was the kid. Come on.

1:59:43Nick Saban:It's the class of the town. I remember there's a grandma there.

1:59:47Pat McAfee:Yeah. Ellen. Yep. Class of the town was quite a drop there by Shregs. All right. If this ball goes in. It was. Oh, it's really flat. Okay. Huh? Oh, sorry, Coach Saban. Jesus, not Shregs. Fuck. That's so – Coach Saban, please. You didn't hear this. Nobody tell him. No. Shregs is getting his chest waxed right now. I mean, that was an actual compliment. He got very weird. And he made me feel bad about it. Yeah, but then when he lifted it up, he made it worse because there was just like three of those guys. Yeah, a couple of scragglers going everywhere. You should have just let it eat. Yeah, it was a compliment.

2:00:23Pat McAfee:You should be proud of that. You know, from here, Don, no hair. What's that? Leonardo DiCaprio in Wolf of Wall Street. Correct. The other guys as well. There was a little bit of a run for that.

2:00:34Nick Saban:Shaped. Yeah. You might think because of my beard, I'm really hairy all over. What's going on? Nope.

2:00:43Pat McAfee:Oh, shit. One in the box. All right, we're back tomorrow. Live from Flag Football. Hell yeah. It's going to be chaos. Game start at 11, I believe. Today? For people, yeah. Oh, today. Yeah, games start. I think there's games today, and then tomorrow there's games. I think it's kicking off today, maybe check-ins today. I'm not 100 % sure. But, yeah, we are excited to be there. To be honest, when it was offered up, we just said yes. Like, hey, we got a thing going on in Westfield. Will you be a part of it? Definitely. And then now we've gotten closer to it. It's like this feels like a pretty significant event for, like, the future of flag football as a whole.

2:01:20Pat McAfee:I think you've invited people from everywhere. There's people from Texas coming in. I think there's people from California coming in. I mean, it is. International. Yeah, Mexico. Yeah, like Mexico, some, like, some South American teams. Let's go. Yeah. For the good of all. It's going to be awesome. We're excited and thankful that we get the opportunity to be there. We hope you guys will watch. If you're there, I don't know if we'll be able to see you. We have no idea how the setup is. Just know that we'll be talking you up. Right. There's a game happening behind us, I think, while we talk. That's cool.

2:01:49Pat McAfee:That's great. Like TST almost. Yes, and we got a PTZ. Perfect. And we'll be able to follow along. Cannot wait to see Red Shirt just did a nasty whoopee whoopee. The escalator move for elevator. Oh, yeah. Oh, that's the penthouse. Oh, my God. Look at him changing the fire. That's the play, AJ. I know. Your knees would have never been able to do it.

2:02:07Nick Saban:No. Oh, my goodness. It's a different sport out there, how those guys can move.

2:02:10Pat McAfee:Yeah, and the NFL boys signed up for the Fanatics flag football thing against real flag football players, and they learned very quickly. Yeah. It was different. Hey, your physicality, your speed, your explosion, everything like that does not matter. Can you do this one right here? Can you do that? Can you do that? That's all you need to do. Can you do that? Because if you can do that, you can't get tackled. It's going to be hard. And then I think Luke Keekly. Keekly, yep. Just tackled it. Yeah, yeah. Keeley just said enough. I'm fucking sick of this. Fucking enough with the herky-jerky shit. I'm going to hit you right in your sternum, dude.

2:02:45Pat McAfee:I'm sick of this. And you did. And you got a penalty. Yep. And the flag guys stood up and started talking shit to a Hall of Famer. Yeah, we do, bitch. Bitch, this is football, baby. It's awesome. I think it's great for the sport, but it is a different sport than tackle football. And I like how young everybody's kind of learning it because obviously skill players are only going to get better and better. And I think tackling is going to have to get better because you've got to be so precise in it all. But I do fear that once some of them get introduced to some physicality, it's going to be a little bit of, oh, I'm not doing that because you hear a lot of NBA players.

2:03:19Pat McAfee:I played football like my freshman year. I went out there and then that wasn't for me, I don't think. I think that wasn't for me. Flag does lead to a lot of that, I think. But if we continue to build flag, it won't matter, right? Exactly. It was like scholarships for flag football. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Sure. Gold medal. Nebraska gave one out to a girl quarterback. I saw her highlights this weekend. Very impressive. Filthy. There was some real thought thrown. Diana Flores. Is that her name? Pool. That would be a pool from the Eskies last year. The Mexico quarterback. Yes. Diana Flores. Yes, that's her name.

2:03:55Pat McAfee:She's thrown. Well done. She's a great player. I mean, this is her right here. Diana Flores. Just so. She was thrown to spots. Like watching her, like, and then the way she was, it was, what a great sport for women to get into, by the way. And especially with the interest now, and I don't want to just give credit to one person, but Taylor Swift brought a lot of women into football. And it's like, now flag football, it's like, come on, this is a good thing. I'm excited to be a part of it tomorrow. Yep, absolutely. I don't think it would have been for me, flag football. I don't think it would have been for me.

2:04:31Pat McAfee:I don't know if my style of just being, I don't think I would have been able to. How about you, AJ? As a kid, maybe? I guess as a kid we would have been able to do. I don't know. It just feels like we played two-hand touch and it was just normally trying to tackle if we're playing on the street. And then if we're on grass, we're playing actual tackle. So we had physicality in every form of football that we had. The precision tackle of having to, I don't know if I would, to be honest, I don't know. That's what it turned into, though, in high school. In high school summers, to get ready for the year, you would play flag football in these all-day tournaments.

2:05:07They're super fun. And it would just turn into you play a certain school, and it would just be hitting. No, like shoulders. We played 7-on-7 tournaments during the summer. I can't remember if we were wearing flags or not, though.

2:05:19Nick Saban:You don't wear flags usually. And there's like the 7-on-7, those teams you see clips of them online. They're unbelievable. I've been to a couple of the tournaments. They don't wear flags. it's just that basically there's not a whole lot of run after catch they're playing on shortened fields and yeah it's less of like the elevator move up and down it's less of that and more of like hey i gotta win my one-on-one matchup and then if you just get touched it's over yeah

2:05:42Pat McAfee:okay interesting which i think builds bad habits especially on so there's going to be some ripple

2:05:47Nick Saban:effects that definitely does i brought my defenders i want them like coming to balance like tagging off like it's a real thing not just you know willy-nilly tapping them on the shoulder

2:05:55Pat McAfee:Yeah, because when tackle football happens, if that is your goal, I mean, flag football could potentially be your goal in this entire thing. Obviously, we've seen the USA team. I think this has been their trajectory for a long time, and they're able to do that. But if you're flag football, physical football, you can get God out there. You're going to have to get that base down. No, we ain't trying to pluck anything. No, no. We're trying to truck some things here. We ain't plucking, we're trucking. Hell yeah. But the plucking could lead to good trucking. That's right. and that's something well said be your friend tell your friend something nice it might change your life we're in this thing together AJ anything to say to the people nope not today well AJ won't say but we would like to say this thank you you for everything you do for all of us it's been hot in the streets boy they've been mean in the tweets but it's been nice to see all of you.

2:06:58Pat McAfee:Team on me. Team on three. One, two, three. Team. Goodbye.