NFL Covers Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin is a production of the NFL and iHeart podcast.

It is NFL Cover zero, the Divisional Playoff Round.

Matt Jones, Drew Franklin Ready to go.

Here.

It's a day late.

It's on a Thursday.

But you know, it's hard to get Billy's schedule.

He's really busy, so it's hard to get him in for all the days we need to do.

And so Drew, we're here and thanks to Billy for showing up and we're ready to go.

I'm just kidding.

It wasn't Billy, but Drew.

Nice to have you.

Being a day late means we were one day close to the actual football.

That's all right.

And if we had taped this yesterday, I don't think we would have known the news about John Harbaugh.

This is the most important story of the week for the NFL.

John Harbaugh is the new coach of the Giants.

The first of eight coaching vacancies to come filled is John Harbaugh.

I think it was well.

It was first reported by like Marty Mush I believe on Barstool Sports.

He's He's the first person I saw I don't know if he gets official credit or not.

Chefter I think confirmed it this morning.

I have thought the Giants was the best of the jobs for the long term future.

It's in New York.

I can totally see why John Harball would want to do it.

I think it's the Giants best shot to have a good, uh, you know, a good coach for the future that won't fail.

John Harball, you know won't fail.

So I like it.

What about you?

I like it too.

Kind of assume they'd be where you'd go.

The moment he left Baltimore, my Titans were in the mix.

I dreamed a little.

I won't lie.

Knew we're second on the board in terms of yeah.

Well, on that he was going to do an in home interview, he wasn't gonna go to Nashville for a good time.

Well, I played out in my head they invited him.

He's like, look, I'm grilling hot dogs.

Y'all can come by.

Just come in.

You can talk to me for I'm you're not willing to go to the city you might move to, then you're probably not moving to that city.

He's like, listen, I had family and we're watching a movie.

If y'all want to come by, I'll talk for a few minutes.

That's where we were.

However, not to make it about the Titans, but him having them second maybe makes the job look more attractive for others.

That's interesting.

So like you're like the school that loses the recruit but gets the hat on the table.

Yeah, we're moral victory teams.

You'r a hat on the table.

But there was no doubt that he was going to the Giants.

Well, I will come back to the Titans Giants, So I think he'll do well, Jackson Dart.

I think the fans and the media will like him.

He'll be the coach.

You know, They've had a lot of guys over the years that have had some good resumes, but really Tom Coughlin's been the last time they've been successful.

There Are we going to see the Giants in a meaningful playoff game?

I think so they.

I mean, I feel like they've had twenty coaches since Tom Coughlin had some success.

There a lot of guys for just a couple of years.

Harbball is not a couple of year guy.

And with the youth they have and already some good pieces to the fan base, or tradition.

I think all that matters.

I don't know.

If Harball will take him to the Promised Landry, then crazy because he won't have him.

He doesn't have a ton left anyway, but he'll have them in the playoffs and he'll be a successful higher.

And it puts him in the opposite conference of his brother, like they actually they couldn't be farther away.

He's like, I want to get as far away from my brother as possible.

Could they meet in the super Bowl again?

I mean no, but I mean but it's I guess it's plausible, but I think it's unlikely, but I do.

I think he will do a good job.

And then you know, as far as development, he has over the years been able to win with a lot of different kinds of people.

Lamar, but also before Lamar, a number of players who's there?

What how long is he there?

I mean Tomlin was in Pittsburgh for nineteen and he was there for eighteen and that was, in my opinion, the best rival where he'd watched during that period.

It's kind of an end of an era, right.

It is just also, I mean, Lamar was the star.

They've had some stars, but just the toughness you associated.

With the Ravens.

I mean a lot of that goes back before him too, but he maintained that and he's been a well respected coachh pretty much as long as he's been there.

That's why if you're the Giants, you see that news, you're like, wait, we can get Harball.

Oh that's the greatest, Like, you know, isn't that the greatest thing that could fall in your lap?

Of all?

Yeah, even if you were.

One of the few people who wanted to give day Ball a little longer, you like someone else, the moment Hardball is available, throw away the sheet of Canadates.

We have our candidate, Go get him.

I Brian Billick was the coach before Harball.

Billick and Harball.

Whatever happened to him?

Like, he won a Super Bowl, He did a little TV for a b He was a very charismatic, seemed very likable.

What did he just decide to disappear off the planet.

Yeah, I'm not sure why I'm looking at you like you would like, I'm like, Billy, why is Brian Billick not in my life?

I kind of feel like that's what I'm doing.

You know, I don't remember what Brian Billick's up to But I do know he played the Giants in the Super Bowl.

Okay, that's a fact as a Baltimore coach.

But I mean his Wikipedia pulled up here he's been doing last decade.

I'm worried about.

Well, there is a fifteen year gap from the year two thousand and seven to the year twenty twenty two.

But in the year too, twenty twenty two, just three four years ago, he was the advisor to the head coach at Arizona State.

That's a made up job, That's what it says on his advisor to the head coach.

So that wouldn't that mean you just can call you and be like, Brian, what do you think?

Yeah, that sounds like he just took the job.

I thought.

Okay, So that means if he finished coaching in two thousand and seven, this says he's seventy one, So that means he basically at fifty four or fifty five, was like, yeah, I'm out done.

Why do more people do that?

I would, I definitely would.

The guys that want to I want to do this forever.

I want to do it till I'm eighty.

Not me, y'all can have it.

I'll be on my couch watching.

Do you don't think you get bored?

That's what I mean.

No, I would get bored in that I would want to go find new things new.

But it doesn't look like Brian beliks found anything.

Also really has no There's no historical record of him except occasionally he gets lunch with Kenny Dillingham.

Well, actually I knew a new detailed suit emails are emerging.

Okay, so he was the advisor head coach in twenty twenty suit.

Kennedy Dillingham took over in twenty twenty three, so so he was advised.

Yeah, he advised HERM on the way out.

I guess he got a year with HERM advising the first season.

Let me be clear, I love herb were pro HERM, but the advice couldn't have worked.

No, hern was only there for one more year, so he advised HERM one year.

HERM didn't need it.

I listen, I die interview HERM every Sunday.

He didn't listen to anybody.

So he came out of his cave after fifteen years to advise HERM.

HERM got fired and he went right back in.

Wow, well maybe we could get him on the show.

Can we get herm on?

I love her?

I love her too, Yes, I could get herb to do anything.

Well, he's Hern's adviser, so that we have the contact there, HERM can get his Billick.

Would you rather have herm or Billick?

Is that an insult to call herm and ask if we can get from Billick?

He's my boy?

Okay.

Herm said, I was invited the cookout.

Oh really?

Yeah?

Nice?

Herham said, I could come to the cookout.

I've never met him, but he does seem like a genuine awesome guy.

I I've never met him in person, but I just on the radio every Sunday for three straight years, and I love the guy.

He's great and he really we give each other a hard time.

He genuinely, though, believes he could play in the NFL and still get interceptions.

Today.

President said, oh good, he said confidence.

He said if he played now, he said, I wouldn't be one of the best players in the league, but I could get mine.

That was his direct quote.

It says Ron Bill gonna be advisor to the cornerback.

Does he need his help on that too?

He could get his, so anyway, good for John Harbaugh.

Good for Jackson Dart and congratulations.

If the Giants fans, they've got to be pretty happy.

You got a coach with a ring on his finger.

They couldn't have expected that after having what was that one guy, Joe Jonas, she was.

The coach before behind day Ball.

No, before that, they were Joe so Judge, Joe Judge, not Joe Jonas.

He might have done a better job, Bob something when they're a Bob.

Yeah, They've had a lot of a lot of a lot of forgetable guys.

Now they have a guy with a Super.

Bowl and they got Skataboo and neighbors.

Yeah, and they got a great defensive line.

I mean the Thibodeaux and all those pass rushers.

Ben McAdoo, that's the one I'm trying to think of.

Not Bob Oh.

Give me the Giants head coaches since uh since Tom Coughlin.

Pat Shermer was another one.

We could do this all day there.

I bet they're all two years with Coughlin.

Okay, Coughlin was four to fifteen.

Then you had Ben McAdoo, Steve spag Spagnola, Pat Shermer, Joe Judge, Brian Dabole and.

That's a who's who of who's not.

Were they all there exactly two years?

No, Spagnola was one, Joe Judge Spagnola, Shermer, uh Ben macaoju Bat McAdoo, and Day Ball.

I still think Dave Ball can be a good coach.

I think I think he It did work out for him there, but I feel like he at some point will be deserving him another job.

I don't think any of those other people were.

Oh, I completely agree.

I think we'll see him again.

I think he get he gets should get another chance.

One Day wasn't any coach of the year his first season there.

I think he was.

He was.

I think he was, and he always looked to me.

I thought he was a good Giants coach because it looked to me like he could also be a New York fireman.

Yeah, or if he need to go over to Jersey, you talk to Tony and the boys, he'd fit in there too, I think.

And by the way, you know, I spend a decent amount of time in New York.

When you walk by their various fire state they're always just sitting there and they just look at you, know, what's up?

What's up?

Man ahead on you?

Think there's any place in America where people respect an institution like New Yorkers respect the fire department.

I don't know, especially in that city anywhere else.

I think if you, you know, if you were going to be in enforcement, I don't know if they're fire men or exactly law enforcement, but if you're going to be in some job, I think you you'd be more respected as a New York fireman than almost any.

Even I own an fd N Y shirt.

I met fireman who was part of the nine to eleven, was one of the survivors.

He's got a little charity thing.

He gave me one of the T shirts.

I'm not even from there, and you do feel like a ya.

I've been to the the World World Trade Center fire station, the one that was technically four and uh, you know, there's memorials everywhere, and when I walked by this was just a few months ago, go like, people were out there taking pictures with the fireman.

So they're almost like little celebrities.

I think mine was Dwayne Street.

Is what my shirt says, Dwayne Street wherever that is.

So buy to Brian day Ball, Hello to John Harball and Brian Billick.

Show yourself show.

All right.

The other news since we came on, Mike Tomlin resigns after nineteen years with the UH With the Steelers, he did not retire.

Reports are he wants to coach somewhere warm, which I thought was kind of a that's retiring.

That sentence says you're retiring.

That's a retirement, So they didn't sayone to coach.

You think he wants to be an advisor to your weather.

You're retiring, maybe you should advise her Mike Tomlin.

People either are one of two ways with Tomlin.

They either take the view of he's a lot better than he gets credit for, or there's people who say he gets too much credit for just being mediocre.

Where are you on Mike Tomlin?

I think he's still great.

I'd take him if he wants to come on back.

I don't know how the weather is in Nashville compared.

To what he wants.

Yeah, I know, he say he's going to.

Take a year off.

I get why the Steelers part of ways they needed a reset, he needed a reset, But I still think he's a very good coach.

You don't coach somewhere in the NFL for almost twenty years and not knowing you're doing, whether you're part of a bigger institution with a great defense and tradition, all that whatever.

Throw it out to coach.

As long as he didn't have the wins he did.

He's a good coach and he still has it.

Even though it probably was the right time in Pittsburgh for both parties.

I think it was the right time.

That's the key is it was the right time.

But I would hire him if I had a job, I would hire him in the.

Instant, the moment Harball and Tomlin after the Tyler woopfield goal and they became available.

That's one and two all on my list that I would be writing if I were any of these teams.

Yeah, I'm with you.

So what do you do?

Let's go, we've been through some of these jobs.

What do you do with the Pittsburgh job.

Have they been reported to be leaning any direction?

They seem like a place to go.

Get Mike McCarthy.

I don't know if he's on the list.

Well, but I mean they've only had three coaches fifteen six years, fifty six years, so they're not.

But all three of those coaches, if you think, came in as coordinators.

They've never had a head coach with experience before.

And I saw a picture of Tomlin that popped up on the internet when he first got hired.

Looked like a kid.

He feels like a guy that had an age.

But seeing one that's truly eighteen nineteen years ago when he was coaching for the Bucks back in the day, well this was he has the Steelers gear on, but he's brand new.

It looks looks like babyface.

What do you think?

What?

What do you who would be?

Do you think they go for a coordinator?

Do they continue the same the same trajectory that they.

Had, depends on what they want to do with Aaron Rodgers right?

Do you think he sticks around for another year?

Because if so, maybe Arthur Smith is that higher.

He's offensive.

Smith has been a coach before.

Yes, I want to find somebody.

I want to figure out that they feel like the kind of place where Liam Cohen would have gone, or someone like that.

I wonder if there's someone out there that they sort of look at like that.

I don't know what they're looking for, but as an outsider, it feels like Steelers are always going to have some defense, and if they're going the coordinator out the shoe low with the Rams is a hot name right now on the defensive side of the ball, so I would assume he's on their list if that's the direction we're going.

I've just always everyone associates Steelers with good defense, and I think they'd stick to that identity and go get a defensive guy, and he'd be high on the list.

I think you're probably uh, you're probably righting his name's popping up.

Would you want that job with no obvious quarterback?

Can I still do cover zero?

I wouldn't want to leave you guys.

I mean they're letting Troy Aigman's do it.

No.

No, I actually like the no obvious quarterback because but they're not going to have a draft pick to get one.

That's what I mean.

If Rogers I linger another year without committing to anything, because this class outside of Mendoza only.

Expect here's the heart thing about that job.

They're going to be just good enough to not really get a good quarterback, you know what I mean.

I don't think the Steelers want a team that has had nineteen straight winning seasons.

They don't want to bottom out and get a top five quarterback or top five pick.

So they're always going to kind of be middle of the first round, or at least that's probably what you hope, and you can still get your guy there.

They got Ben Roethlisberger there in the middle of the first round.

But I do think it's less obvious to get it there, and it's rare for a playoff team to have a coaching search.

So your point about not having a good draft position, it is it shows your rosters good enough to get in the mix, but you still weren't happy enough.

But being the Steeler, there are a few teams and it's why I had the Giants at the top BYLL list, just with the tradition and just being known for a successful organization.

I would happily leave coach the season.

It's gon be something like Malik Willis will be the quarterback there next year.

He came to mind.

I thought, you're gonna ask me who could they go out and get it?

I mean, he'll be that kind of guy.

But again, it's not who you want forever.

At some point they'll have to nail a draft pick.

I mean, if you look at the playoff teams, with the exception of Sam Donald, who's a unique situation all these guys were either like drafted by their teams or in the case of Matthew Stafford, it was a trade where a guy you drafted had some value so that the trade made sense.

Oh yeah, No, they're gonna have a question.

That Donald is a very unique situation of a guy that you would sign that conceivably could go win you a Super Bowl.

Usually you're gonna have to draft one.

Yeah, you can't go hand pick of Sam Donald because teams are throwing them away because they think he's done, and then he goes and has we'll come back.

You can't.

No one can spot that, all right, So Mike Thomas says he's gonna sit out you and I would agree with.

But he I think would have a lot of chance of jobs.

So let's talk about who is being talked about for jobs.

Your Tennessee Titans brought in Mike McDaniel.

He flew in in a suit way to be incognito.

Mike, why not just where like you?

He dressed better on the flight to Nashville than he dresses for the games and the press conferences in Miami.

Why would you do that?

You think this is nineteen fifty four and you have to dress up to go on a plane.

You gotta you gotta be careful talking about potentially my future coach.

Oh God, I'm starting to prepare myself.

Say I'm preparing myself they hire him, because that will give me good jokes because I never thought he was I mean, i'd actually feel bad for you because I think he is a is a goober, and I think him being a goober with you would be funny.

I got it.

But you would talk yourself into it.

I've alreadys talked myself into him.

He's not my top pick, but I think you'd be doing tiktoks with it.

If he's my coach, I will happily do tiktoks.

You're talking to the guy who named his Peloton account after Mike Vrabel here, So yes, if he wants to TikTok, I will TikTok.

But with the names I've seen, I kind of meant.

I had a moment last night where I'm like, if I think that'd be the best of the girl, I think, what are the types?

I don't know what there are?

Other choices are?

Who are they?

Any mightn't get Uh, We've said a lot of the names.

They're hopeful, like Robert Sola is one of the hottest names.

He's probably my top pick.

Even though he didn't do well with the Jets.

I feel like he would fail there too.

It's the Titans.

I'm prepared for any of them to fail where I mean, none of these are going to be a guaranteed friend.

What about like a Mike McCarthy.

I can't do it.

I cannot do it.

A lot of people want him.

I just the Cowboys are a second team.

I just went through the Mike McCarthy retreat experience with them.

I did not enjoy it.

I can't now do it again.

With my Titans.

Okay, there are a lot of Titans fans and accounts that want him, so I'm clearly I'm not in tune with the whole fan base, but I would rather have uh maybe even Mike.

McDaniel's crazy, that is to say of the Mics.

All right, well, he as goofy as he is with cam Ward, and we have some rookie wide receivers and some offensive weapons that could grow.

He is a good offensive mind.

I would have to get used to the Louisvuitan stuff in the and the genres pull up to his knees.

But I would got get excited about his offense.

So what are some of the names and people that are really that are up for some of these jobs?

You have Brian Flores Vance out of him and awhere where is Brian floor is?

Now?

Was he Vikings defensive coordinator?

Okay, but he's had a job before.

Yes, Vance Joseph.

Vance Joseph is another on I thought him other titan I'll take.

I will also take Stefanski.

I know he just got fo so that yes, I forgot to mention him, you'll have a job when this all comes through.

Yes, I would take him.

Vance Joseph.

I'm shot he's on the list because I do I not remember that his tenure in Denver was really bad.

Right, it wasn't great for my memory?

And he's the defensive coordinator for the Broncos.

Now okay, Well then maybe he wasn't the code?

Was he not the head coach of Denver at one point?

Sounds familiar.

I think he did have a coach.

No way he This tells you how prepared I sometimes I am for assistance.

I don't follow them enough to know.

But Vance Joseph was Bronco's head coach from seventeen to eight, and it's the defensive coordinator and has been the Broncos DC since twenty three.

I always think that's.

Weird when you guys would have to be hard walking to a different office than the head coach's office.

Yeah, and then like people do it?

Bobby did it?

Huh?

Well, his defense has been really good in Denver, so maybe very good.

No, that'd be another n maybe Steelers looking to him.

All right, what were the other ones?

Chris Shula, the defensive coordinator for the Rams.

They literally they just belt out Shoela's whose kid is this?

Is?

This?

Is this?

Mike's kid?

Doesn't say here, but McVeigh assistants go like, so you got Don and he had a kid named Mike, and I think another kid named Biff.

Uh, there's a lot of them.

He's the son of Dave Day.

There's a Day.

So this is this is a Shoela grandson.

Now, none of the Shoelas have been good except Donald, but you just kind of keep giving a Shoela Chad Blood to do?

What go five hundred football?

Okay?

All right, so who else?

Jeff Halfley, the defensive coordinator for the Packers that won him.

Matt Naggi, the offensive coordinator.

He's also on our list him.

Joe Brady, the offensive coordinator for the Bills, famously with the LSU Tigers and Joe Burrow when they won the national championship.

So Joe Brady's interesting because he's had a lot of success in the NFL, but he kind of got run out of college to go and then did really well with the Bills, So that would be an interesting one.

And then who else Robert Salah as we mentioned Jesse Mentor, the defensive coordinator for the Chargers.

Is that Nuclear Mentors on?

I don't know.

I think do we make have we talked about this from having deja vu because I've been calling Jeff Nuclear not knowing anything about him.

A little Kentucky connection.

There, jesse Mentor how many Mentors?

Uh?

Well, okay, who else?

He is?

The son of Nuclear Rick Mentor?

His family is just like coming like Nascar, everybody's a boat on.

There are names where if you have it mentioned four names that have family members, Well, here's another one, Clint Kubiak another what in the world is happening?

Like, come on, they've they've got Okay, then it's gonna be Frank Walsh.

They just keep you keep coming here with this stuff.

Bob Belichick.

Another name you haven't said you have, Billy.

I don't know if you gonna get to it.

But Jason Garrett's name is still floating around.

Jason Garry.

I mean, can I make the case for Jason Garrett?

What's he done wrong?

He won for you guys, so he didn't And I met him at airport at six am when no one wants to talk, and he wanted to talk so much.

Me and my wife couldn't get away from that's really stuck with you.

You you bring that up a lot.

You, I think, have some Jason Garrett.

Why not make him your time?

I just mean him friendly.

I mean him from a friendly way.

A lot of people will be like, hey, hey, nice to met just six Sam, don't talk.

No, he's like, what do you think of the Derby this year?

Who's your horse?

And so?

Just a very friendly guy.

But so have.

Nuclear Mentor's kid.

We have Kobiak who is the next one?

Is that all for this list?

All we have left is Arthur Smith and Kevin Stefanski.

So those are so for me.

If I have a team.

I'm going all in on Kevin.

If I can't get Mike Tom and the coach, I'm going all in on Kevin Stefanski.

I oddly kind of like Joe Brady as a possibility.

And then maybe it's time to give advanced Joseph another ride.

You and Broncos liked him enough to bring him back in the building.

Says a life.

Someone will rehire you.

Yeah, that alone, watch you back in the building.

I am a let me tell you what.

I'm of the belief you're gonna hear this theory as we get closer to the NFL Draft in April.

My NFL Draft theory, and I'm gonna test this out this April.

This is gonna be a scientific test, and we're gonna play out.

It's gonna take years to play out, but we're doing it the same.

Okay, what happens if you interview No One and you watch No One play, and you just pick based on the rankings.

Okay, you've heard me say this before.

They spend all this time, they have everybody sprinting their undies, and they have everybody lift weights and pick up cones and throw them at each other, and then you interview them, and you ask them you know what happened when your mom didn't give you a Warrios?

And then you try to act like you know who to pick.

And I've always had the view, what if we just ignored all of that and I just took Todd McShay and mel Kiper and Mike Tannenbaum's ratings and I just use that, and that's how I picked.

And I never talked to any of these people.

Save you a lot of money, save you a ton of money, and I'm going to go further.

I think you would be as successful, if not more successful, than the mean.

So we're just copying homework.

Yes, you all do the homework.

Well, why do I need to do because when you watch the draft, it generally follows, you know, not exactly, but the ballpark of the mock drafts, right, yeah, casual surprises, but nothing major use of the surprises don't work right.

Likely Usually they'll pick like remember when the Raids picked the fat guy from Alabama on the offensive line, like three rounds too early and it didn't work right.

Where every time the Titans draft, I would say, do a draft where all you do is copy Todd McShay and mel Kiper's homework.

So then when it was my turn, I just looked and said, he feels like the right guy.

Or and then in five years, let's see who has the best draft class.

Well like NFL dot Com during the draft will have the best available.

I just I just pull up my phone.

I'm like, well, let's see who's the best fake I draft my fantasy take.

Oh you want an auto draft the actual draft.

I think there's an argument that the only thing I would do is I was looking at my roster and see what I need.

Okay, so I might say, okay, even though that guy's higher, I don't need that position.

But then kind of auto draft or look and go at the end of the day, McShane knows more about this than we do.

What does he think.

I genuinely believe you probably wouldn't end up with the best draft class, but I bet you wouldn't end up with the worst.

I love the idea of auto drafting.

When it happens in fantasy, everybody gets mad because the clock goes all down.

Yeah, you're upsetting all your your competitors because you're on the whole clock.

You're like, oh, Pittsburgh and April can't make it.

Sorry, y'all draft without me, I'll be auto.

You and I were in the war room.

If you and when they go to the war room, you and I would be like drinking playing video games some gms that already do that.

No, but I mean like you and I would make it very clear we're not paying attention.

Oh we're up.

I didn't know we're up.

No.

I would just go, Jeeves, Jeeves, we're asking Jeeves.

You tell me one minute before and I'll quickly look and see he feels good.

I bet you, billy, you would do better than most teams.

I think.

I think it's all a waste of money.

The NBA is even more like this.

The NBA hires these old men to travel around the country and watch basketball games.

They get the same stats I can hold, and by the way the game's on TV, I can see it all right.

I said by some of these scouts that most of them are just there for the free food, not a lot of scouting getting.

And then they have one pick, you know, I have like the six pick in the draft, and they'll go, I'll pick the guy from Duke, And then the whole scouting staff collapse and I'm like, none of you people, all of you are stealing money.

Sounds like as an owner, you would hire AI as your GM.

I would just pick it.

Well.

I wouldn't want to get blamed, so I'd have you as the fall guy.

So the problem is some of these gms, they get the job and they want to out smart.

No one's out no one's smart.

Like Bill Belichick was supposedly the best at this and in North Carolina he has a team that can't beat anyone, which just shows everybody's the same.

Now.

I do think, by the way, there's difference in coaching, but when it comes to picking the draft, now, I will say there's talent and like the undrafted players and all that, like, that's different.

But if you're just talking about the first three rounds of the draft, Todd McShay, well, Belichick's hit rate wasn't great in the draft either.

I mean, besides thank you, their they're brilliance was they'd find the guy who played it like East Potato State and bring him in.

I will grant you they'll do that better than me.

But when it comes to top guys, I'm of the boy you've watched who wants to be a millionaire.

I have not recently, but I have what is the best uh thing?

You have?

No asking to ask the auto It's always correct.

The collective intelligence is always smarter than the individual.

Well, my phone friend is gonna be Todd McShane, Todd, we'll be picking.

So so we're gonna test this at the draft.

We're gonna drive of a hat and I'm gonna have the team that's mine, okay, And every time we come up on the clock, I'm gonna go, alright, we need to running back.

Hey, Todd, we've got Yeah, it's he's good, the guy from bit There you go.

We'll wait five years and we'll see and in five years we.

Will compare my draft class to everyone else.

Have a first round pick?

Where are seventh that we need an offensive tackle?

All right?

One second?

Nfl dot Com best field tackle, Go on that one.

I'm gonna go with him, all right, see on two days.

Don't care what his mom did it toatorios away.

See that's where care if he knows what seven times seven is that.

There are scientific studies.

This is not just you're looking at me like I'm crazy.

There are scientific studies that show that companies do a better job interviewing people hiring people with no interviews because when you and I talk, my biases come into place.

So like there's a whole field of research on this that, like, you know, we tend to look for people like us just because we think we're awesome, and we skip over other candidates that are not like us because we can't relate to him.

So you see it, like with race and gender and etcter, like people will a white person might not hire a black it because they can't relate to him, even though that person would be better than the white candidate.

But you just happened to seem yourself in them.

Does that make sense?

It does.

Like I walk in with my NFL hat.

You're a big fan of the NFL, so you might hire me more than the other person.

But that's a stupid analysis.

But yeah, but the point would be just you wearing that hat doesn't mean you're good at the job.

So the point is that a lot of companies are taking the view don't interview anybody, just go on the objective measurements, and you got a better chance of being successful than if you start trying to talk to people.

But to Billie's point, if I worked for Liberty Mutual and I'm an NFL fan.

He comes to the interview wearing that hat, naturally, gonna, well, it's.

Time for the victory bundle presented by a Mutual.

No, it's not time yet.

I just wanted to felt like a good teese.

It was an ad tease.

So anyways, tick around.

Well, that's our coaching updates, and good luck to all the candidates.

By the time we come back next week, I'm dressed like Mike McDaniel.

You think any of these people are working on Kurt Signetti.

Oh, because it's weird that no one's hired their coach.

Yeah, any week and a half, and you know, the only one fit that it's been hired is the most obvious case when the Raiders do that and then get Mendoza.

I think any team should try it, outside of if you can't get Hardball or Tomin or maybe Stefansk.

I would hire Kurt Signify.

Why not?

He was smart and he clearly wins with just random guys.

Why couldn't Why not?

Well, the only hiccup would be the the way he coaches and the random guys.

Would that work with the millionaires?

Google man?

But he is he has millionaires?

Now google him.

It's true Google.

Have you googled?

Oh, I'm not against it.

I say give it a shot, and if I'm somebody like the Raiders, then I definitely do it.

I might go all in you on that.

And you have to worry about him getting distracted in Vegas.

That doesn't look like a guy you're gonna catch.

Vega's not going to be at the strip club.

He might go to the some of those five PM residency shows.

And back to the film.

We wouldn't go see Wayne Newton, Wayne.

Newton, who's the big, the big George Wallace comedians, he's still around.

Yeah, he would go see George Walla noon because they have a free book, The Amazing Jonathan.

But I don't think he is gonna do anything like obviously it was a distraction to Pe Caroll Gino Smith.

That didn't work.

Sig would be locked in.

You think Carroll was out he went to the nine PM George Wallace.

Oh dude, you can't do that.

That's way too late.

Yeah, all right, that's what I would do.

All right, let's go to the playoff games Saturday.

Your first game, I believe is it?

Is it the Buffalo game.

It is Buffalo versus Denver.

I actually think this is oddly it's odd to mean this is the first game.

Is actually think this is the best game.

I'm shocked this is the four thirty Saturday, but I like it.

I think it's gonna be a battle.

I think the winner of this game wins the AFC.

So who's it going to be?

This is also the closest spread of all the games, too, shows that the Desert thinks this is gonna be the better game too.

I picked against the Bills in Jacksonville.

I'm not now, Josh Allen.

This is the Yeah, there's no Mahomes, there's no Lamar.

You knocked off Trevor Wallace, Go knock off Bonnicks.

There's ever been a path.

Even though these guys have had great seasons, this is your year to get it done.

Trevor Wallace, Trevor Lawrence.

Justly true.

I'm still caught on George Wallace trying to think of who is Trevor Waller.

George Wallace is still but I mean, of all the years, even though these are good teams, you're having to go on the road.

This isn't the stars that have been in front of you.

The last couple of years.

Picked Bills and Rams to start the season.

I'm not getting off the ship now, Bills and Rams in the Super Bowl.

I'm going to be the first person in the history of sports to get their Super Bowl pick right.

Never been done, did you know that?

Never?

It's a surprising stat but never.

Do you remember?

The New York Times ones tried to predict the final score of every football game, and they Hunter S.

Thompson, you know, yeah, of course he was.

He wrote for esp not Hunter as Thompson.

Excuse me, the guy whose brother was a federal judge.

Well something never mind.

On the old ESPN page two, they had this guy Easterbrook and he would write Sunday Morning or Monday Morning Quarterback, and he was kind of a smart, funny guy, and he kept tabs for ten years to see if the New York Times ever got the score actually right.

And they never did, not once, not once, not ever had they did they ever get because they would pick the NFL exact score and they never got it right.

And his point was, why do they do this?

They never one time gotten the score correct?

Why do they do this?

And I think that's true.

The Super Bowl.

No one's ever gotten a right.

My favorite part of about the New York Times when is like the scores were rarely.

Divisible three or seven.

It would be like twenty six to four.

It's going to be the score.

How are they going to even get to that?

Like they rarely had like a twenty eight to twenty four or a common football finish.

And then one time I remember gives Greg Easterbrook was his name.

One time it was within one point and he said they should stop printing the newspaper because they would never be that close.

To shut down the New York Times.

But I'm sticking pointed as I'm sticking with the Bills.

Josh Allen showed me last week why I'm picking him comes down to the final possession.

He goes and drives and get the touchdown.

Trevor Lawrence tho was the interception.

That's why I'm picking Josh Allen.

Same thing will happen.

And I agree with you completely.

Nick hasn't been great.

I feel like these young guys have to take their lumps.

Josh Allen has plenty of losses, plenty of heartbreak.

I think it was his experience in the play offs and the hunger of getting so close to being in the conversation every year, they gives him the edge.

Forty nine Ers and Seahawks.

Yeah, I mean the first two games in this series have been very good.

I don't know what to do here because I don't know which of these teams I trust less.

I don't trust both.

Excuse me, I don't trust brock Perty totally, but I also don't trust Sam Donald.

I'm gonna pick the Seahawks just because I think the forty nine Ers are so banged up that that will make Sam Darnald get to the championship game.

So I will take the Seahawks.

I'm big on the Seahawks here.

Forty nine Ers.

It's been a great run to get to where they are beating Philly last week.

With the injuries they've had, I mean, they're just pulling people out of the park a lot and asking them to go make plays.

I think they hit the end of the road here, even though they've had two good games with the still entries.

Big Yeah, Seattle's defense, will they hold them to like a field goal just two weeks ago?

As much as Darn's exciting and Jackson Smith and jig Ben that offense.

The defense has really been answering the bell lately, and I think that's what we'll carry them.

All right, let's go to the next one.

We've got what you did?

You pick the Seahawks two?

Yes, oh big big Patriots and Texans.

Texans.

What a bizarre game Monday night.

Five fumbles still dominate the game.

Can you win?

This is the conversation we've always had, Can you win a title with defense?

Billy's answer is no, yes, Tampa Bay Buccaneers two thousand and two.

But Brad Johnson was good that year.

It's got to be the hair.

Uh.

The Texans are putting that to the test.

Who do you like in this?

One?

Might be a snowstorm, by the way, early weather reports say, could be a snowstorm.

Will you get a snowstorm?

I'm room for snow.

I didn't think the Texans would get it done in Pittsburgh, mistakenly bet on the forty two year old.

I think they go out here.

The defense is awesome, but they just need more the offense to get over this next hope and into the conference championship.

Will Anderson's beast, he's incredible.

What is the spread New England?

Minus three, I'm seeing it's a good spread.

I'm betting that it's a good spread.

Land the points.

Nintriots have only beaten like two teams with a winning record this year.

I'm taking the Texans.

I think c J.

Stroud has maybe a notch below Drake Mayb, but I think that defense is excellent.

If you can play as badly as they did against the Steelers and still win and dominate, then what if c J.

Stroud just doesn't fumble the ball?

Fight?

Yeah, there is something to get in your bad fluky game out of the way, because that is an out liar and they're not fumbling five.

They could have They could have scored forty points in that game if they had just hailed on the ball.

Definitely.

Hey, we don't know about Nico Collins though, right, yes it's not a practice, not his practice as of Wednesday, But they have not said that he's out yet, correct, so that may mean it's close.

I'm going to take the Texans.

Why not?

And now let me say this, it's snowing hard that I'm flipping to the Patriots.

Yeah, Dome team Houston going up there and all.

That snowing hard, I'm flipping this to the other way.

I'm still just a little better.

After a great weekend, Monday let me down a little bit and I was excited as in my seat.

And this game was like seven to three in the third quarter.

Fourth quarter blew up a little bit, but it didn't pack the punch at the other games of the weekend.

I did enjoy the fourth quarter.

It was Peyton and Eli and Roethlisberger on the Maning cast, and they really just talked football like it was almost a straight football talk and it was really really good like they I thought they all balanced each other well, and I actually thought it was really really good stuff.

I've check that out.

You know.

Big Ben's another one we don't hear much from since he's been gone.

He had completely disappeared.

He may have had reasons.

Yeah, he's from my wife's home town.

He's a big celebrity.

Washington Courthouse, Finley, Ohio.

It's big Ben country, big mural.

Why did I think you were from Washington or she was from Washington Courthouse.

I don't know the Ohio home of Big Ben.

Yeah, well, I mean, you know, Ohio, Washington's town.

I don't think you made up all right.

Lastly, Bears and Rams should be awesome Sunday night under the lights.

Caleb Stafford, this could be the highest rated playoff game of the world.

I'm gonna take the Rams.

Well, let's me say your super Bowl pick verse your I mean, I get it.

I want to be the first person ever get the Super Bowl correct.

But I'm still pulling for the Bears.

But I just I think the Rams are are better and I think, you know, Bears have had a lot of good fortune, and I think at some point it has to run out.

I really liked you.

I love both these teams.

I wish they weren't playing each other.

I wish they were separated and this were our NFC championship.

That's what I really want, because I also we're on the Rams before the year, and I've been loving.

Your Bears for a while now.

I'm also going to take the Rams, though I thought about it seeing them Carolina playing it close.

That offense has too many weapons.

I give the slight edge to Stafford, but.

I will be rooting for your Bears.

I'm on, I'm rooting for him as well, but I do not think they are going to win.

Unfortunately.

Can we get some can we get some cold weather and some snow in that one.

It's night game.

I think it's old.

I don't think it's in snow if I if I saw correct, I.

Know they're not playing the Packers, but I hope they bring out the cheese graters again.

That was just a big part of the experience.

Just keep that going.

They could take a ram horn and just whatever.

Just keep your happiness going on.

I want to see your nails, so I'm going with bears here.

That's right, you patron nails are going to be painted if we make the Super Bowl.

And I have a Sean McVay stat for you.

Oh, Billy, I love this one.

This is on my note.

This is mcvay's fifteenth playoff game.

It is the fifteenth different team that he will be facing.

Hmm.

That's a good stat.

Almost impossible for him to have that stat.

Yeah, because he's only been to two Super Bowls, right, which means he's played thirteen of the sixteen NFC teams in the playoffs.

That's kind of amazing.

I can't play yourself.

Yeah, well, only two more than he doesn't do that.

That was my.

Favorite stat of the weekend, and that popped up.

I truly couldn't believe.

I had to run to the computer in confirm.

That's a great staff.

All right, it's time for our victory Bundle, presented by Liberty Mutual.

Drew and I agreed on three games, so we'll make those the bundle.

Will you pick the Seahawks.

We picked the Rams and we picked the Bills, so we will make it the Bills, Seahawks and Rams.

That is the Victory Bundle, presented by Liberty Mutual.

Start your quote at Libertymutual dot com.

All right, let's do our quarter our touchdown picks.

What was the five on total last week?

Was three three zero?

None of us hit on the Monday night game.

So Drew gut zero right because he didn't have Kiren Willis.

Also I had I had two and you gave me zero.

I had Loveland, who scored for the Bears.

I went back and researched this.

I had Kyen Williams and Colston Loveland.

Both of them had touchdown.

I remember Couston Loveland scoring.

Did you have him?

Yes?

And Karen Willis.

No.

I had Karen Williams, but I think you know you had Rico and Nico because we made a bit out of it.

Let's give him one, so it's three.

I'll take one made up zero three three one because because if he had Loveland, I think he so I'm going to play put the clip on times I think you had likes.

Well, No, we have an Australian listener who wrote me and reminded me that I got kyd Williams.

I just said Rico o'dowdell didn't even have the right team or the right running back.

Since Rico didn't even play for the Panthers.

It was two over all.

Right, so let's go with this game.

I'll tell you what, since he's doing so poorly.

My score in the Packers game, Okay, I'm such a stop questioning my stats.

My big one is Kyen Williams.

Hold On, Coleston Loveland did not score in the damn game.

Okay, I'm not.

Actually hold On looked me in the eyes.

Didn't look me in the eyes to my game.

He looked me in the eyes and say, I didn't have Karen Williams.

You did not have Kyen Williams.

After this, I'm going to Twitter and I'm going to put you under the table with the actual audio.

Actually, I'm gonna take a picture of you look at me in the eyes.

This is Billy saying I didn't have Karen Williams, and I am going to social media.

I might go live on TikTok and get random people to come here.

How wrong Billy was.

Just for the record, the anger with which Billy realized there was no Colston Loveland.

He had big catches, didn't have a touch.

I can believe that, and I didn't remember that Williams.

I said, trust Billy because Billy's clearly proven to be one hundred percent accurate so far, I drew back to fourth.

Let's let's let Drew go first for the first game, which I guess is what Bill's broncos.

Uh, Drew will let you go first.

So I can't pick the one I want because Billy's not gonna give me credits.

I'll write it down right here.

I'm gonna go with.

Dalton Kinkaid, and I'm gonna hope you write down Josh Allen, Doug.

Kink K's good pick.

I was gonna go second.

I'm gonna go Josh Allen.

So who do you want, Billy?

Uh?

Yeah, this is tough.

I think I'm gonna go James Cook we're gonna go on.

No one's picking.

No one's picking a Bronco.

Okay, so James Cook, those are all good picks, all right, So let's go the next one.

That is that night forty nine Ers, uh and Seahawks.

I guess I will go first, and I will take McCaffrey.

Who do you want, Billy?

Uh?

Give me Jackson Smith and Jigba Okay.

True, I will go Kenneth Walker, but not just any Kenneth Walker, the third in the lineage of Kenneth Walker.

If Kenneth Walker the second scores do not give him credit for that, he does not.

He wants the Kenneth Walker.

They see you write it down.

I can't wait to put this clip on Twitter.

All right, Patriots versus the Texans, BILLI you get to go first.

Give me Woody Marx.

Woody Marx is the is the pick for Billy?

All right, Drew, I'm gonna stay with my long shot picks, and I will say, yeah, Diggs is a long shot.

I'll be about plus to it.

I'll say Diggs, all right, Well, then I'll go with Drake.

May you all have given me Alan McCaffrey, and may I feel pretty good?

About it.

I don't get credit for him, so I gotta go see him.

No, now, I'm worried about my team.

All right, we'll go to the final game Packers or not.

Excuse me, Bears and Rams Drew, you get to go first.

Colston Lovelin obviously, wow Bold stick with me, stick from my pick.

I'll take Pooka.

No, wait, give me Kyen Williams.

What am I doing?

Can I both see?

This is what happens?

Yeah?

So which one do you want?

Do you want?

No?

Well, I don't get credit for Williams, so I'll stick with love one.

All right, Then give me Pooka.

Give me Karen Williams, Man, I got no diversity.

Every player I have is very unlikely to get a touchdown.

So you got and you got Kyen Williams.

Yeah all right.

So just for the record, everyone keeping score it home.

Karen Williams, I'm claiming it.

If he scores, I'm coming in here.

I'm coming here Sunday, Karen Williams, Jersey.

All right, So there you go.

Those are your touchdown picks.

All right, well, looking forward to the games.

We'll go live.

Although you won't be able to know, you'll know when it comes out, but we will do the show after the game on Sunday Night, and fellas, thank you very much.

NFL Covers Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin as a production of the NFL and iHeart podcast.

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