Thoughts on the Dave Canales Hire
Thoughts on the Dave Canales Hire
Transcript
00:00:00 This is Desmond Johnson on the Believe in Carolina Panthers Podcast, here on the Believe
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00:00:50 Welcome into a brand new edition of the Believe in Carolina Panthers Podcast, brought to you
00:00:52 by Believe Podcast Networks, powered by BET Online.
00:00:55 I'm your host, Desmond Johnson, joined by All Panthers SI beat writer Skylar Callahan,
00:01:01 and the Panthers all-time lead and rusher, Jonathan Stewart.
00:01:03 We got a lot to get to today.
00:01:05 This will be our final episode until after the Super Bowl, so we've got a lot to throw
00:01:10 in.
00:01:11 Brand new head coach, brand new general manager since the last time you saw us.
00:01:14 We're going to talk about Dave Canales and Dan Morgan, their press conference from Thursday
00:01:21 morning.
00:01:22 We got some clips from there, so we'll respond and react to those.
00:01:24 The NFC/AFC Championship Games, we'll give our reactions to that.
00:01:27 We think might win MVP for the season, because the NFL Honors will be on before we're back
00:01:32 on.
00:01:33 And the Super Bowl.
00:01:34 Can anything on earth stop Pat Mahomes and Taylor Swift?
00:01:37 Because this thing is coming.
00:01:39 It's like a train coming down the track that the NFL and nobody wants to get in front of,
00:01:44 but everybody's complaining about it on social media.
00:01:46 So we're going to, of course, talk about that too.
00:01:49 It's open mailbag, so if you've got a question, a comment, you want to talk about what you
00:01:53 saw today from the press conference itself, you can do so here, of course.
00:01:58 And we'll be with you here until about the top of the hour.
00:02:01 Before we get into it, though, a quick word from our sponsors over at BetOnline.
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00:02:26 BetOnline, where the game starts and where we will begin is the press conference from
00:02:30 earlier today.
00:02:31 Shout out to Richard checking in with us.
00:02:34 Now imagine my delight.
00:02:36 I turned on the cast of my TV in my living room this morning so I can watch the press
00:02:41 conference and the very first thing I see is my boy Jay Stu sitting with Moose Muhammad
00:02:46 and a bunch of OGs and right in front of him is my man Skylar Callaghan.
00:02:51 I'm seeing them on the TV while I'm watching this press conference.
00:02:54 I'm in here geeking out like a little school kid.
00:02:55 I'm like, "Yeah, those are my people.
00:02:56 They're on the TV."
00:02:57 What was the vibe in there today, guys?
00:03:00 Because you both were there and I've got comments from Dan in just a minute where he actually
00:03:04 gave a shout out to Stu about the type of players they want.
00:03:09 Give me the vibe in there today.
00:03:11 How did it make you feel compared to how you felt three weeks ago, four weeks ago, the
00:03:18 week to 18 when we came in here to do the show?
00:03:22 Stu, I'll start with you.
00:03:26 To be honest, man, it was definitely a different feeling in there.
00:03:34 The word that I can use throughout this whole process, which I think should give people
00:03:41 a fresh breath of air, is authentic.
00:03:48 I think what it comes down to is I think as a fan, I'm learning how to be a fan of football.
00:03:55 I've obviously played for this organization, New York Giants, played in college.
00:04:05 The last time I was truly a fan of a football team was when I was a little kid.
00:04:14 I think as the years have gone by, six years now, five years, six years, I am learning
00:04:24 how to adjust my expectations.
00:04:26 I'm learning to understand what the fan is expecting.
00:04:34 I'm learning also how to balance that as far as a guy that's played this game and understand
00:04:44 the reality of expectations.
00:04:48 Coming into today, my expectations were low.
00:04:55 As they should be.
00:04:59 It's only from the standpoint of only time can tell.
00:05:05 Only time can tell these situations.
00:05:11 I'm listening to this as a Carolina Panther fan, a football fan.
00:05:17 If you're experiencing any transition within your organization, you have to be patient.
00:05:25 I know that has been the message and the tale of all time for the Carolina Panthers, but
00:05:35 you have to be patient.
00:05:37 I think one of the things that go hand in hand with that is you have to be patient with
00:05:45 the right coach.
00:05:48 I think that we've got our right coach.
00:05:51 Everything that he said today, and obviously only time can tell, but everything he said
00:05:58 today is everything as a player you would want to hear.
00:06:05 Not just what he said, how he said it.
00:06:08 It was with conviction, and it wasn't with this eager macho mentality of we're going
00:06:17 to do this and we're going to do that.
00:06:21 One of the things that I take away from everything about that setting was the environment, the
00:06:30 atmosphere, the culture.
00:06:33 Sitting in there, I felt like I left a better person a little bit.
00:06:38 Listening to Dave.
00:06:40 One of the words he kept saying was service.
00:06:49 If you think about it, man, this is what this industry is all about.
00:06:53 It's an entertainment service.
00:06:56 Football is a product that people come to see and watch.
00:07:01 The players' jobs and the coaches' jobs and everybody in the front office, their job is
00:07:06 to service the fans.
00:07:09 In order to get the best product, you've got to service the players.
00:07:14 Everything that they were talking about today was making the players better, getting better
00:07:19 players so that way we can win games.
00:07:25 The way he was talking, it was simplified.
00:07:29 Obviously there's variables and things that have to take place and alignment.
00:07:33 The words alignment, I love he continued to use the word alignment.
00:07:40 People were in there asking crazy questions about what do you mean by alignment?
00:07:45 You are unaligned.
00:07:46 >> Alignment is alignment.
00:07:47 >> What do you not get about being aligned?
00:07:50 >> They knew they were going to get some of those wild questions that they just didn't
00:07:56 want to answer.
00:07:57 >> They knew coming in, this is what we're saying.
00:08:00 >> He handled himself with so much poise.
00:08:06 That's one of the things that I think we haven't seen for quite some time.
00:08:11 As someone that's just authentically themselves, because at the end of the day, good football
00:08:16 players can sniff BS from a mile away.
00:08:20 I had the honor to talk with Moosa Mohammed, Mike Rucker and Luke Keekly the other day
00:08:29 at the stadium.
00:08:30 And one of the things we were talking about was you can't fool a guy in a locker room.
00:08:39 Guys know whether they're going to buy into something that's worth buying into.
00:08:44 And this is something that this hire and his qualification, his background, everything
00:08:52 about him says any guy in that locker room right now has bought in.
00:09:00 They're going to buy in.
00:09:01 And that's all you can ask for as far as having a guy leading a team in an organization.
00:09:09 You take Dan Morgan and put him and pair him with this head coach.
00:09:18 You got two guys that are just authentically themselves.
00:09:21 >> Yeah.
00:09:22 >> Just like- >> Different.
00:09:23 >> Different.
00:09:24 >> It's so different too.
00:09:25 >> But different.
00:09:27 And I love that.
00:09:28 >> Mm-hm.
00:09:29 >> Because you're going to get a guy that's maybe over the top on one thing and like,
00:09:33 I really like this guy.
00:09:35 And it's going to be like, well, this is what I don't like about this guy.
00:09:37 Why don't you like it about it?
00:09:39 So there's going to be a lot of good conversation about who they're going to draft, who they're
00:09:44 going to bring in, who's going to be their top free agent, who's going to make the roster,
00:09:49 all those types of things.
00:09:51 I love it.
00:09:52 And I love that they have history.
00:09:55 And just everything that Dan stands for and represents as a former player and now being
00:10:02 in this executive role, nobody deserves it more than him.
00:10:08 If you look at his journey to get to where he is as a football player, he's at the top
00:10:16 of his position.
00:10:18 And it gets stripped away from him because his health, literally, hey, this is not good
00:10:24 for you anymore.
00:10:25 >> Dan was a monster.
00:10:27 >> Seven years into his product on the field.
00:10:36 But then he gets this opportunity that just leads him full circle to be the head guy that
00:10:43 gets to bring in and make decisions of guys that he wants to revitalize this organization.
00:10:52 That's huge, man.
00:10:53 And if you're a Panther fan and you're thinking to yourself, man, we got to get back to the
00:10:58 old ways and this and that and this.
00:11:01 I mean, I've even seen people say we need Luke Keekly to be the coach.
00:11:05 >> I've seen that so many times.
00:11:08 >> You got Dan Morgan, and he is the GM and the president, so president of football.
00:11:15 So you basically have what you're asking for as a Panther fan.
00:11:23 And I love the fresh blood, man, with Canelas, man.
00:11:29 If I was still playing and I had a conversation with him like I did today, I'm running through
00:11:35 a wall.
00:11:36 >> Ready to go, you're ready to go.
00:11:37 >> Straight up.
00:11:38 And so going back, and I'll end with this and then we can move on.
00:11:42 But I think one of the things that the difference between last year and the year before, or
00:11:49 not the year before, but the coaching news conference.
00:11:54 >> Right, yeah.
00:11:57 >> With Ryke and Rue, I feel like people left not needing to be convinced.
00:12:05 And I'm not saying they won people over or they won, they, we're going to automatically
00:12:12 have success.
00:12:13 I'm not saying any of that.
00:12:14 But what I am saying is you left feeling comfortable.
00:12:18 You left feeling, okay, we're in good hands.
00:12:23 This organization's in good hands, a sense of pride to be able to walk in that stadium,
00:12:33 walk out of the stadium.
00:12:36 You should have a sense of pride right now going into this offseason.
00:12:40 And you should think to yourself, what does patience look like?
00:12:44 Because you're going to have to be patient.
00:12:46 Because this is, I think they're building the right staff, front office.
00:12:53 It's going to take time to get the right players.
00:12:56 You look at the 49ers 2017, right?
00:13:00 You look at how Shanahan and John Lynch came together, and it took them six years to reach
00:13:08 this point, right?
00:13:09 So it's going to take time, but it doesn't have to take six years either.
00:13:15 So Skylar, your thoughts on, because you were in there too, reporting for all of all Panthers
00:13:22 outside and you were in there last year when this whole situation was going on with Frank
00:13:25 Wright and everything.
00:13:26 What was the main difference to you today, sitting there listening to Dan and Dave talk?
00:13:31 I mean, I'm going to echo a lot of what Stu just said.
00:13:35 But I think he hit the nail right on the head there with the comfort thing.
00:13:39 Because when you left Frank's press conference, I wasn't there.
00:13:43 I actually got in about a month or two after Matt got the job.
00:13:47 So I wasn't there for that press conference.
00:13:48 But last year with Frank, you could see the vision somewhat because of the history and
00:13:54 the experience that he had.
00:13:55 You knew he had that experience as a head coach.
00:13:59 He's been a play caller.
00:14:00 He's worked with really good quarterbacks before.
00:14:03 And you just kind of felt like you were just going to have to bank on that and expect that
00:14:08 to carry over to here in Carolina.
00:14:11 Dave is almost the polar opposite in that he doesn't have that head coaching experience.
00:14:16 He's only had one year as an offensive coordinator.
00:14:19 But you left the room thinking, well, damn, that guy knows what his vision is.
00:14:26 There's no questions about it.
00:14:28 And it's the same thing with Dan Morian in that they know what they're going to do.
00:14:34 They understand that this team is not where it needs to be and that it is very far from
00:14:40 where it needs to be.
00:14:42 And it's going to take a lot of time to get to where it needs to be.
00:14:45 But it's not if it's going to happen.
00:14:48 For them, it's when it's going or when it's going to happen and what does it take to get
00:14:53 there.
00:14:54 And I think you could just tell by the way that they speak.
00:14:57 I mean, Dan, he still got that serious look in his eye.
00:15:01 He wants to play right now.
00:15:03 He wants to go play football right now.
00:15:07 Before I left, I just went up to him, told him congratulations and everything.
00:15:12 And you could just tell this is going to get turned.
00:15:17 You just had that feeling.
00:15:18 And I don't know that you had that feeling last year with Frank.
00:15:23 But with Dave, I didn't really know what to expect.
00:15:27 I've been told by our Tampa Bay publisher at SI, look, he's going to be someone that's
00:15:32 going to be very thoughtful in his answer.
00:15:33 He's not going to shy away from any questions.
00:15:35 He's going to tell you how it is.
00:15:37 He's going to go in very in-depth on questions that you don't even think are in-depth.
00:15:43 But that's just who he is.
00:15:45 And I mean, I've heard that kind of stuff before.
00:15:47 But you go to the press conference today and you're like, yeah, this is exactly who this
00:15:51 guy is.
00:15:52 He's like he's he's made for this.
00:15:54 He's made to he's he's he's made to lead men, people, women, boys.
00:16:01 He's made to like and you can almost like sense like.
00:16:06 When you have a guy that can just be honest and be himself and be an open book is basically
00:16:15 how he presented himself today.
00:16:19 You know, shedding tears like that, that that to me as a family man, as a as a dad, as a
00:16:25 husband, it means a lot.
00:16:28 You know, because what it what it does, though, it humanizes things and and it puts himself
00:16:35 out there in the sense that allows, especially in this world, in this in this NFL world,
00:16:41 this NFL business to be vulnerable like that, that that takes a whole different type of
00:16:48 person.
00:16:49 It takes a person that's confident and who him who he is, who his family is, where he
00:16:55 is and where he wants to go.
00:16:58 That's a guy that I can get behind and follow.
00:17:00 Yeah, like two.
00:17:02 I mean, I think with Frank, it was more so like when things started to go bad last year,
00:17:08 it was like they were searching for answers on the fly.
00:17:11 They didn't know what to do.
00:17:13 And I think maybe part of that had to do with the disalignment.
00:17:15 I can tell you that's what really came down to the quarterback.
00:17:21 They weren't all on the same page where Dave comes in and it's like he's already got the
00:17:27 answers.
00:17:28 He knows what he's going to do with price.
00:17:29 He knows what he's going to do to fix the offense line.
00:17:31 He already knows what he's going to do to find guys to help around.
00:17:34 I was surprised that he actually when they asked him about that with Bryce Young today,
00:17:39 that he was so prepared to basically say, look at that height that you can't just necessarily
00:17:44 see everything over the line.
00:17:45 So you got to do things and scheme them.
00:17:47 So he's got position to actually see some space.
00:17:49 And nobody's ever talked to him that way before, really.
00:17:51 Even though we all know it, it's all common sense, but no one's ever really said it out
00:17:55 loud and he said it.
00:17:56 And when he said it, I was like, oh, OK, he gets it.
00:17:58 He understands.
00:17:59 Boop.
00:18:00 Skyler, you're the journalist here.
00:18:04 So you're good at remembering quotes.
00:18:09 So what was the quote he had about Pete Carroll as far as like thinking ahead, always thinking
00:18:15 ahead, always looking ahead?
00:18:18 Oh, he was talking about, you know, don't just look at the quarter like don't don't
00:18:23 just look at the quarterback.
00:18:25 You got to look at where the routes are developing, like, you know, what coverages are happening,
00:18:30 like just like forward thinking.
00:18:33 And part of that forward thinking is when things suck right now, you got to look ahead.
00:18:37 You got you got that look ahead, but you got to you got to know that what's ahead is better
00:18:43 than what's now.
00:18:44 And that and if you're doing the things necessary, such as the mentality of winning every day,
00:18:49 like today was a win, man, like, come on, man.
00:18:52 This is messaging for not just football, but for life, little kids, little kids in school.
00:18:58 Like this is a guy that, you know, can go to to elementary school and kids will be like,
00:19:04 yeah.
00:19:05 And then this is a guy that can go speak in front of, you know, a Fortune 500 company
00:19:10 and people like, yeah, let's go.
00:19:12 I'm like, it's almost like he shows up everywhere he goes.
00:19:16 Like he's so.
00:19:18 But also, he's not selling dreams, though.
00:19:22 This is all like authentic and real tangible things that people can take and say, yeah,
00:19:29 I'm empowered.
00:19:30 So let's me let me go do my job.
00:19:32 And you know what the what Dave kind of brought to the table today?
00:19:36 And I didn't really expect it.
00:19:38 I've kind of noticed it over the last week or so since he's got the job.
00:19:42 But you guys can probably agree with this over the last six or seven years.
00:19:48 I think we it'd be fair to say that there's been a fairly major disconnect between the
00:19:53 fans and those that run the football team, whether it be the owner, GM or coach.
00:19:57 There's not been this.
00:19:59 We're all in this together thing, right?
00:20:01 There's not been that family type of environment that Stu, you and Cam Newton and Jerry Richardson
00:20:07 and that whole group that was in that building had.
00:20:12 Today it felt like that's starting to come back.
00:20:15 You have a guy who is a son of the Carolina Panthers and Dan Morgan.
00:20:20 You have Dave Canales, who who is engaging with the fans and doesn't take that that head
00:20:27 coach label as, oh, I'm so distant from you and I don't need to hear you.
00:20:31 I don't need to voice my opinions to you.
00:20:33 He's out on social media talking to the fans like, I love this.
00:20:39 What I think this organization desperately needed is they needed somebody that that could
00:20:44 connect with the fans, that the fans could rally behind and say, you know what, that
00:20:49 guy right there that's on the screen, that's our guy.
00:20:51 That's our head coach.
00:20:52 They haven't been able to say that for the last how many ever years since Ron left, right?
00:20:57 Yeah, really.
00:20:58 So my quick takeaways and we'll get to their their audio.
00:21:03 Number one, Dave Canales is one of those human beings that does not need an alarm clock.
00:21:08 You know what I mean?
00:21:09 Like he's the type of dude that his body naturally wakes up before his alarm goes off because
00:21:15 he can't wait to start his day.
00:21:16 He can't wait to get into his world and do whatever it is he's going to be doing.
00:21:19 You know, that's the energy for sure.
00:21:21 Yeah.
00:21:22 That as soon as I heard him talk, I'm just like, oh, he's one of those.
00:21:24 He's one of those folks.
00:21:25 It's like his alarm is at six fifteen.
00:21:27 His body is naturally up at five thirty.
00:21:29 Let's go.
00:21:30 Let's do this.
00:21:31 And he's got it.
00:21:32 He's it's infectious.
00:21:33 Like when you're when you're listening to him talk, just him having so much enjoyment
00:21:36 in what he does, it makes you want to kind of go along for the ride with him.
00:21:40 So that was my first takeaway.
00:21:42 The second takeaway after watching kind of most everything else and then seeing Twitter
00:21:46 and Joe Person talking about stuff going on after the press conference, it honestly feels
00:21:51 like the tempers are taking a step back.
00:21:53 It feels like they're not really as involved this time around in terms of picking the coaches
00:21:58 and how it's going to work, the dynamic and who reports to who.
00:22:01 It feels like they went back to the like the Matt Rowe method where Dave Canales, this
00:22:06 is your your staff.
00:22:07 You put it together and we've seen him start to put people on people he knows.
00:22:12 One of the things we didn't realize that all these coaches from last year, the with Frank
00:22:16 Wright, Frank hadn't really worked with any of them.
00:22:18 So this was doomed from the start.
00:22:20 Like we propped it up so large.
00:22:22 But if you just think about the basic parts of running a football team, it wasn't going
00:22:26 to work and it didn't work.
00:22:27 But this this feels a little different.
00:22:30 And now it feels like I saw something like Tampa Bay has like like half the team is free
00:22:36 agents or something like that.
00:22:37 So like they're talking about Mike Evans and a bunch of other dudes that might come over.
00:22:42 Mike Evans had glowing words for Dave Canales and Brad is the new offensive coordinator
00:22:47 who's coming over from Tampa Bay as well.
00:22:50 Maybe you start picking up some guys on free agency because of the strength of who you
00:22:53 hire.
00:22:54 And then finally, Dan Morgan, who I've got comments from him right here, had to pull
00:22:58 up when he was talking about the type of players that they want to bring in.
00:23:01 And he's very specific about it.
00:23:04 He was very specific about who gave him that idea.
00:23:08 Here's a here's Dan Morgan talking about the type of players they want to bring in.
00:23:13 You know, just kind of wanted to talk about, like the type of players that we want to bring
00:23:16 in here and just DNA wise.
00:23:20 First of all, we need to find those leaders, those competitors, as Jay Stewart would say,
00:23:26 those dogs like we need some dogs.
00:23:28 Like we got to get some guys.
00:23:30 I love football.
00:23:34 They want to come out every day and compete on the practice field in the weight room.
00:23:38 We need competitors.
00:23:39 We got to bring that back here.
00:23:40 We got to bring that back here to Bank of America Stadium to where people get excited
00:23:45 about coming to see our team.
00:23:49 We're super passionate about bringing a team that the fans can be proud of, that our, you
00:23:56 know, players can be proud of, like when they when teams drive up to the stadium, we want
00:24:03 them to fear that logo.
00:24:05 The logo has to be feared again.
00:24:08 That part when he was saying that stuff, that stuff was getting me hype.
00:24:11 I was like, OK, Dan gets it because this is the stuff that this is stuff I've been confiding
00:24:16 to both Stu and Skyler for months that I was worried was going to disappear.
00:24:20 Like I didn't want that aspect of Panther culture to go away because somebody came in
00:24:24 as the new GM and they're coming from Indianapolis or Miami or wherever.
00:24:30 And yes, we don't have a Super Bowl winning culture, but we do have a culture and it's
00:24:34 been cultivated for over 27 years.
00:24:36 And I don't want to lose it.
00:24:37 And Dan, like we said a couple of weeks ago, he's now the bridge.
00:24:41 He's the bridge from the past Panthers to current Panthers to the future.
00:24:45 And from his comments here, he understands that that's the big part.
00:24:48 He understands he's the bridge and he knows exactly what he needs to do, not just to make
00:24:52 this a good team, but to make this a team that Panther fans recognize.
00:24:56 And that's what I was wanting to hear.
00:24:58 And he hit it directly on the head.
00:25:00 He also went into terms about players like Guts, like Jake Delome.
00:25:06 Because right now it's not feared.
00:25:09 So we got to get that back.
00:25:10 But I think it starts with getting the right type of players.
00:25:14 And it's guys like you, like Thomas Davis, Jonathan Stewart, Hussein Mohamed.
00:25:19 We got to get those type of guys.
00:25:22 We want players with grit.
00:25:25 We want players like Steve Smith, play with a chip on your shoulder, no holds bar.
00:25:32 He's not taking any prisoners.
00:25:34 We need those type of guys.
00:25:35 Instincts and tenacity of Thomas Davis and Luke Keekly, guys like that that can make
00:25:41 plays.
00:25:42 We need playmakers out there.
00:25:44 >> And when someone, I think it was you, Steve, mentioned the thing about Luke Keekly.
00:25:50 Although he's never coached anywhere.
00:25:52 I swear, dude, I heard him on Up and Adams this morning with Kay Adams.
00:25:56 And he was talking about what you do to stop Travis Kelsey.
00:25:59 He sounds like a coach.
00:26:00 He sounds like a straight up defensive coordinator and a good one.
00:26:05 >> Luke Keekly is one of the best football minds that people that love and enjoy the
00:26:13 game of football will ever witness.
00:26:16 >> He's a damn computer.
00:26:17 >> Yeah, basically.
00:26:18 >> He's literally a computer.
00:26:19 >> I mean, some of the stuff he's saying, I'm like, I wouldn't even think that he was
00:26:24 like, you gotta watch his eyes.
00:26:25 >> Bro, I swear to you, bro, when we played the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving.
00:26:30 >> I remember, I remember that game.
00:26:33 >> It was basically like, hey, Luke, how do you stop Tony Romo?
00:26:39 Don't worry about it, I have it programmed in my brain.
00:26:42 >> Two interceptions later.
00:26:44 >> It's like, okay.
00:26:46 >> I need to address this before we go any further.
00:26:52 I don't know if y'all know, but my Twitter got hacked this past week by some kind of
00:26:56 crypto bot or something.
00:26:57 So my DZ_3505 is no longer under my control.
00:27:03 So it's- >> I might need to follow you there, cuz I
00:27:06 ain't trying to get hit with that.
00:27:08 >> Come follow me.
00:27:09 I had to make a new account.
00:27:11 It's DES_3505, DES_3505.
00:27:16 So if you've seen, so Stu, if I've been hitting you from that handle, that's actually me.
00:27:20 That's not someone pretending to be me.
00:27:22 The DES_3505 one is no longer under my control.
00:27:25 And to make it worse, it feels like there's nobody running Twitter, because I've actually
00:27:28 had to go in there twice to tell them, hey, look, thing got compromised, I can't get in
00:27:32 it, what can I do?
00:27:33 And they basically the first time told me, well, we can't prove that you are you, so
00:27:37 tough luck, you just got to make a new account.
00:27:39 That's literally the email I got back from him.
00:27:40 I'm like, what?
00:27:41 And then my friend decided to report it on my behalf.
00:27:46 I went in that way, and they let me put in my driver's license picture.
00:27:49 And I went in and looked, and I'm getting blown up, but people giving me messages like
00:27:52 Hunter here.
00:27:54 It's just putting Bitcoin info on people's breads or whatever.
00:28:00 It's like every minute, it's about something about Bitcoin, it's crazy.
00:28:03 So that is not me.
00:28:05 Please leave that account, come to my other account, DES_3505.
00:28:10 What made the job attractive?
00:28:12 That's been the one question that many people thought people wouldn't come to this job was
00:28:17 because of what was going on over the last couple of months of the season.
00:28:22 And I think it was David Newton.
00:28:25 David Newton asked the question, and this was, I thought, was an excellent response.
00:28:30 And secondly, what were your thoughts coming to an organization that had fired three head
00:28:35 coaches in five years?
00:28:37 Yeah, so first and foremost in Seattle, we never were anywhere close to touching the
00:28:42 first overall pick.
00:28:44 And the more that I got ready for this interview and started watching Bryce, looking at my
00:28:48 notes from his eval, I mean, that's just a year ago.
00:28:51 We're evaluating him as a player, as a person, and with all the information that we could,
00:28:56 I just got more and more fired up about the opportunity to have this amazing talent.
00:29:02 And he's the guy.
00:29:03 He's the right guy that we all talk about when we have that quarterback, that franchise,
00:29:10 face of the franchise type of player.
00:29:12 And that got me really excited.
00:29:14 And then just on top of that, I played against the Panthers twice, and the job that EJ Evero
00:29:20 did with the defense was really hard, really hard to deal with.
00:29:23 Great sound football, playing hard, some great players in some spots, and just the whole
00:29:28 thing coming together.
00:29:29 And then as it got to, Dan and I have some history, so then I thought, shoot, if you
00:29:34 look at some of the successful organizations, there's a dynamic relationship between the
00:29:38 head coach and the GM.
00:29:40 And then of course, as I've gotten to meet the Teppers too, to feel their competitive
00:29:45 nature, their passion for what they want here, what they want to see when they come out to
00:29:49 the practice field, and just kind of knowing I can be that without faking anything, without
00:29:53 having to make something up.
00:29:55 I just felt more and more like this was going to be a great home.
00:29:58 And I was really hoping, as they were sorting through the names, that I would come out as
00:30:03 one of the top candidates.
00:30:05 >> So come on, come on in here.
00:30:07 Let's get to work.
00:30:08 I mean, literally, he said everything I wanted him to say.
00:30:11 And when he was saying all of it, it made me go back to think about the Frank Wright
00:30:15 press conference from last year.
00:30:16 And it made me realize I made myself like Frank Wright last year because of the situation.
00:30:21 >> He's easy to get a like.
00:30:24 >> Yeah, I mean, Frank's easy to get a like.
00:30:26 But I think with Dave too, the thing that may get overlooked by a lot of people is his
00:30:31 ability to relate to the players today, because he is a little bit younger.
00:30:37 He's 42.
00:30:38 But I think too, it's also the calmness that he has in like, look, it's not gonna be all
00:30:45 sunshine and rainbows.
00:30:46 But if we go through some adversity, we're gonna be okay.
00:30:49 We're gonna find the answer.
00:30:51 It's not panic.
00:30:52 We're gonna freak out and go all over the place to figure out what's wrong or go talk
00:30:57 to somebody else about like, we are going to sit down, we're gonna figure it out.
00:31:01 And that's why I think if you're gonna put the future of a guy like Bryce Young in someone's
00:31:06 hands, this is who you want, right?
00:31:09 It's almost like the same thing like, you want someone that's nice and respectful to
00:31:14 date your daughter, right?
00:31:15 Well, it's kind of the same thing when you have that much invested in number one overall
00:31:19 pick.
00:31:20 And it's gonna make sure that they take care of them when you give them to them.
00:31:24 And I don't see how that this doesn't end up benefiting Bryce Young in the greatest
00:31:30 ways because I truly feel like he's going to pull the very best out of him.
00:31:34 >> He answered the questions too in terms of, it was the only interview he had.
00:31:39 No other teams have been questioned, asking to interview him or whatever.
00:31:41 So people took that as a detriment at first.
00:31:43 But look what happened around the landscape after this hire.
00:31:46 Ben Johnson went back to Detroit.
00:31:48 So we've been sitting around waiting on Ben Johnson and he went back to Detroit for a
00:31:51 second straight year.
00:31:52 You know how bad that would have looked like for the tempers and the franchise that we
00:31:55 got jilted at the altar again, and he didn't come in for a second interview again.
00:32:00 Bobby Slowick decided to go back to the Texans.
00:32:02 So he's not out there anymore.
00:32:05 It feels like the commanders got stuck like, what's the name, Duck Duck Goose.
00:32:10 Well, the only person that was left was Dan Quinn.
00:32:14 So they had to hire him.
00:32:16 Let's think about this, right?
00:32:18 Sean McVay, when he got hired by the Rams, was he highly sought out?
00:32:25 >> Nope, he was a up and coming young mind or whatnot, right?
00:32:30 >> Dan Campbell.
00:32:31 >> Yep.
00:32:32 >> He was an interim head coach for the Dolphins.
00:32:35 And then obviously the Dolphins didn't retain, but the Detroit Lions did.
00:32:41 What I think is happening, bro, is what you get the sportsology folks, right?
00:32:47 And I think you get people that if they're data driven and go and fix businesses and
00:32:55 companies and get them to where they can be a winning organization, you have to basically
00:33:05 think of it as an investment.
00:33:08 If Tesla went up, I don't know, 200 basis points tomorrow, right?
00:33:16 And everyone's like, yeah, cool.
00:33:18 And then the next day someone's like, man, Tesla went up 200 basis points yesterday.
00:33:23 So I'm gonna buy it today.
00:33:25 You're late.
00:33:26 >> Yeah.
00:33:27 >> You're late to the party.
00:33:28 >> Yep.
00:33:29 >> Because it might crash the next day.
00:33:30 You should have invested.
00:33:31 >> I'm a little.
00:33:32 >> You should have done a little bit more research about what Tesla was doing to where
00:33:38 you can actually be a part of the-
00:33:40 >> Be ahead of the curve.
00:33:41 >> The up and up.
00:33:42 >> I wish the owner of Tesla would get on the screen.
00:33:43 >> Exactly.
00:33:44 And what I think what we did was we saw a guy that nobody really knew about or knew
00:33:52 about, but just wouldn't take the chance, right?
00:33:57 And I think what everyone will end up having to do is looking at Mr. Tepper and saying,
00:34:03 you know what?
00:34:05 You did that.
00:34:06 >> That's where I'm gonna circle on this because I think he did it right.
00:34:12 I think he took the advice of the consulting firm and he said something today, Joe Person
00:34:17 tweeted it out after the main-
00:34:19 >> What would happen not to be-
00:34:21 >> So Joe said that somebody asked him, is he gonna talk again or something like that?
00:34:26 And Tepper just kind of smiled and was like, no, I'm in the background now.
00:34:30 And I thought that was so huge.
00:34:31 He only spoke for two minutes at the beginning of the press conference.
00:34:34 And for those who think he's power hungry, he needs to be in the spotlight and all this
00:34:39 stuff, I honestly feel like he took the advice of this firm and it's like, I'm stepping back
00:34:44 and if it blows up in our face, at least they can't point at me this time.
00:34:48 This is what we're gonna do.
00:34:49 >> It's kind of a mic drop moment to be honest with you.
00:34:52 >> Yeah.
00:34:53 >> I honestly think it sucks because I mean, obviously things have transpired and you can't
00:34:58 take things back and what's wrong is wrong, what's right is right.
00:35:02 But I think at the end of the day is like, you have a passionate owner who just is passionate.
00:35:09 He just wants to win.
00:35:11 And that's what you, and that at the end of the day, that's what you want.
00:35:13 You want an owner that wants to win.
00:35:16 You want a president of football that wants to win.
00:35:19 You want a GM that wants to win.
00:35:20 You want a head coach.
00:35:21 You want people that want to win.
00:35:23 That are passionate about winning because that means that everyone will go the distance
00:35:30 to make that happen.
00:35:32 And I think what we're seeing is everything is finally, hopefully, well, only time can
00:35:37 tell but I feel pretty good about what's happening in the sense of the direction we're going.
00:35:46 I mean, you talk about, man, I'm just excited about what's happening in that front office.
00:35:54 >> It's so different from where we were like a month ago.
00:35:58 >> I think that even just the scouting department right now, as far as under Dan's leadership,
00:36:09 the expectations of what you're looking at and who you're looking at are going to change.
00:36:14 You know what I'm saying?
00:36:16 You take a guy like Puka Nakua, right?
00:36:22 The Rams saw nine games played, 48 receptions, 625 yards, receiving five touchdowns and said,
00:36:32 that guy is going to be a baller for us.
00:36:36 You know what I'm saying?
00:36:37 >> It's a dude.
00:36:38 And when he had like fifth round, when he like a fifth round pick?
00:36:41 >> Fifth round pick.
00:36:42 Oh, he runs a 457, 40.
00:36:46 >> So I did it right.
00:36:47 >> Yeah, Jerry was running a 452.
00:36:50 >> Bench press, 15, pretty strong for a receiver.
00:36:55 But like, that's what I'm excited to see as we continue to move forward under this new
00:37:04 leadership as far as what are we looking for?
00:37:07 What type of player are we going to get?
00:37:10 Are we going to get- >> Who you believe?
00:37:12 >> Are we going to get the players that everyone's talking about?
00:37:15 Are we going to find the diamonds in the rough?
00:37:18 >> The next dudes, and that's where we're good is because the next dudes have stepped
00:37:22 out.
00:37:23 It's not like a bunch of dudes that used to be good, got better again.
00:37:26 >> It's the third and fourth and fifth round guys.
00:37:30 Clearly this year Brock Purdy is proving the last guy taken can make a difference.
00:37:38 >> I was gonna get Brock in about two seconds.
00:37:40 >> He always talks about the alignment thing and some people are asking why that's even
00:37:45 a big thing.
00:37:46 Just think about it like this, right?
00:37:48 When Tepper hired Matt Rule, he had a sitting GM in Marty Herney, who had been in the league
00:37:53 for a while.
00:37:54 He's been a GM and made decisions.
00:37:58 You go from that situation with Herney and Rivera to Herney and you bring in a college
00:38:02 coach, okay?
00:38:03 Who's never had head coaching experience.
00:38:05 He's only been in the NFL a year, a couple years or whatever it was with the Giants.
00:38:10 You're gonna give him all the power.
00:38:12 Matt Rule had all the power over a guy that had been in the league for a long time.
00:38:16 >> He was running the social media accounts even, he was running everything.
00:38:20 >> You go from that, that dynamic was never gonna work.
00:38:24 >> No, no.
00:38:25 >> You bring in Scott Fitterer, so Scott comes in, he gets his opportunity, but it's not
00:38:31 Scott's guy.
00:38:32 I mean, Scott could say, you know what?
00:38:33 Yeah, I could see how Matt Rule could build this thing and I could help build it.
00:38:37 But it's also an opportunity because GM jobs don't pop open nearly as much as a head coaching
00:38:43 job.
00:38:44 So if a GM job pops open, you're to really try and get it.
00:38:49 So that really wasn't gonna work, especially when Matt was still kind of in control.
00:38:55 You go and get Frank right, it doesn't work out.
00:38:59 It didn't seem like Frank was really set out, like I said, before we started recording it.
00:39:03 It just felt like he needed a year off after what had went down in Indianapolis.
00:39:09 And at that point, you just need to hit the reset button.
00:39:12 You need to hire a head coach and a GM in the same offseason and allow the GM to have
00:39:18 a say in that coach.
00:39:19 Because now what we're seeing with Dan and Dave is, look, these guys, they're not just
00:39:24 trying to get to know each other right now.
00:39:26 >> They already know each other.
00:39:27 >> Yeah, they've known each other for years, and it shows, you can tell.
00:39:31 >> Go and work.
00:39:32 >> So check this.
00:39:34 So I talked to basically the head of the historian for the Panthers today.
00:39:38 Check this out.
00:39:40 >> Dave.
00:39:41 >> Dave, yeah.
00:39:42 And so check this out.
00:39:44 So John Fox and Marty Herney.
00:39:50 Marty Herney was doing something in the front office, doing stuff, maybe contracts or something
00:39:56 like that for the San Diego Chargers.
00:40:02 And John Fox, I think he said was coaching DBs at the time?
00:40:09 >> Yeah, I think that's right, yeah.
00:40:12 >> For the San Diego Chargers, right?
00:40:14 You have a coach, you have a front office guy.
00:40:17 And then one day, they say to themselves, let's go bring some magic over there to the
00:40:23 Carolinas.
00:40:24 >> That's just- >> We know each other.
00:40:29 We know each other, so let's go make it happen.
00:40:32 That's how these things happen, man.
00:40:34 To be honest, everything today was authentic, and it was relationship oriented.
00:40:41 >> It wasn't forced.
00:40:42 >> It wasn't forced.
00:40:43 >> It felt like it was last year, yeah.
00:40:44 >> It wasn't like, yeah, it was like they're wanting to get back to the keep pounding.
00:40:50 But this is how you get back to the keep pounding.
00:40:55 You have Dan Morgan.
00:40:56 He embodies keep pounding.
00:40:59 He was coached by Sam Mills.
00:41:01 >> He was there when he said it.
00:41:03 >> He was there when he said it.
00:41:07 He was a part of the culture when it became the culture.
00:41:13 And so he knows what it looks like.
00:41:15 He knows what it embodies.
00:41:18 And then you have Dave Canellas, who comes in and embodies the energy to make that impact
00:41:29 and to deliver a message and a code.
00:41:32 And I love how he was saying just even being on alignment with messaging.
00:41:37 How are we talking to each other?
00:41:39 What words are we using every day?
00:41:41 >> That felt like a look towards what happened this past year in the building, and he was
00:41:45 witnessing it.
00:41:46 That kind of, to me, it was like a little jab, like, yeah, we're not about that.
00:41:49 We're not going to be doing the whole behind the back thing, going to the owner.
00:41:52 We're not doing that.
00:41:53 That's not how we are, and that's not how we're going to operate.
00:41:55 And I thought he did it perfectly.
00:41:56 So he really put out that there.
00:41:59 We've got a little bit of time left here before we get to the top of the hour.
00:42:02 NFC, AFC Championship game thoughts from this past Sunday.
00:42:08 Can anybody stop Pat Mahomes?
00:42:10 Did we pick the Ravens?
00:42:11 >> I didn't pick the Ravens.
00:42:12 I don't know who picked the Ravens.
00:42:13 It wasn't me.
00:42:14 >> Actually, yeah, someone can stop Pat Mahomes, but he's retired.
00:42:15 >> Who's that?
00:42:16 >> Tom Brady.
00:42:17 >> Oh.
00:42:18 [LAUGH] >> Good riddance.
00:42:19 >> Yeah.
00:42:20 >> Yeah.
00:42:21 >> You got some kids on the way?
00:42:27 >> Yeah.
00:42:28 >> That was such a dad joke.
00:42:29 >> I know.
00:42:30 >> That was such a dad joke.
00:42:31 >> Pat Mahomes and- >> I'm looking for him.
00:42:32 >> This is literally down to Pat Mahomes and Travis Kelsey.
00:42:33 And Travis Kelsey ain't even out here running routes anymore.
00:42:34 Have you noticed this?
00:42:35 He don't even run routes.
00:42:36 He just goes to the middle part of the zone and waits.
00:42:37 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:42:38 >> He's just waiting.
00:42:39 >> He's just waiting.
00:42:40 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:42:41 >> He's just waiting.
00:42:42 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:42:43 >> He's just waiting.
00:42:44 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:42:45 >> He's just waiting.
00:42:46 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:42:47 >> He's just waiting.
00:42:48 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:42:49 >> He's just waiting.
00:42:50 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:42:51 >> He's just waiting.
00:42:52 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:42:53 >> He's just waiting.
00:42:54 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:42:55 >> He's just waiting.
00:42:56 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:42:57 >> He's just waiting.
00:42:58 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:42:59 >> He's just waiting.
00:43:00 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:43:01 >> He's just waiting.
00:43:02 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:43:03 >> He's just waiting.
00:43:24 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:43:48 >> He's just waiting.
00:43:55 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:43:56 >> He's just waiting.
00:43:57 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:43:58 >> He's just waiting.
00:43:59 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:44:00 >> He's just waiting.
00:44:01 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:44:02 >> He's just waiting.
00:44:03 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:44:04 >> He's just waiting.
00:44:05 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:44:06 >> He's just waiting.
00:44:07 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:44:08 >> He's just waiting.
00:44:09 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:44:10 >> He's just waiting.
00:44:11 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:44:12 >> He's just waiting.
00:44:13 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:44:14 >> He's just waiting.
00:44:15 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:44:16 >> He's just waiting.
00:44:17 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:44:18 >> He's just waiting.
00:44:19 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:44:20 >> He's just waiting.
00:44:21 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:44:22 >> He's just waiting.
00:44:23 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:44:24 >> He's just waiting.
00:44:25 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:44:26 >> He's just waiting.
00:44:27 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:44:28 >> He's just waiting.
00:44:29 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:44:30 >> He's just waiting.
00:44:56 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:45:03 >> He's just waiting.
00:45:04 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:45:05 >> He's just waiting.
00:45:06 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:45:07 >> He's just waiting.
00:45:08 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:45:09 >> He's just waiting.
00:45:10 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:45:11 >> He's just waiting.
00:45:12 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:45:13 >> He's just waiting.
00:45:14 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:45:15 >> He's just waiting.
00:45:16 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:45:17 >> He's just waiting.
00:45:18 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:45:19 >> He's just waiting.
00:45:20 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:45:21 >> He's just waiting.
00:45:22 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:45:23 >> He's just waiting.
00:45:24 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:45:25 >> He's just waiting.
00:45:26 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:45:27 >> He's just waiting.
00:45:28 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:45:29 >> He's just waiting.
00:45:30 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:45:31 >> He's just waiting.
00:45:32 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:45:33 >> He's just waiting.
00:45:34 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:45:35 >> He's just waiting.
00:45:36 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:45:37 >> He's just waiting.
00:45:38 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:46:02 >> He's just waiting.
00:46:09 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:46:18 >> He's just waiting.
00:46:19 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:46:20 >> He's just waiting.
00:46:21 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:46:22 >> He's just waiting.
00:46:23 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:46:24 >> He's just waiting.
00:46:25 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:46:26 >> He's just waiting.
00:46:27 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:46:28 >> He's just waiting.
00:46:29 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:46:30 >> He's just waiting.
00:46:31 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:46:32 >> He's just waiting.
00:46:33 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:46:34 >> He's just waiting.
00:46:35 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:46:36 >> He's just waiting.
00:46:37 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:46:38 >> He's just waiting.
00:46:39 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:46:40 >> He's just waiting.
00:46:41 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:46:42 >> He's just waiting.
00:46:43 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:46:44 >> He's just waiting.
00:46:45 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:46:46 >> He's just waiting.
00:46:47 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:46:48 >> He's just waiting.
00:46:49 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:47:13 >> He's just waiting.
00:47:20 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:47:29 >> He's just waiting.
00:47:30 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:47:31 >> He's just waiting.
00:47:32 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:47:33 >> He's just waiting.
00:47:34 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:47:35 >> He's just waiting.
00:47:36 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:47:37 >> He's just waiting.
00:47:38 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:47:39 >> He's just waiting.
00:47:40 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:47:41 >> He's just waiting.
00:47:42 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:47:43 >> He's just waiting.
00:47:44 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:47:45 >> He's just waiting.
00:47:46 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:47:47 >> He's just waiting.
00:47:48 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:47:49 >> He's just waiting.
00:47:50 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:47:51 >> He's just waiting.
00:47:52 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:47:53 >> He's just waiting.
00:47:54 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:47:55 >> He's just waiting.
00:47:56 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:47:57 >> He's just waiting.
00:47:58 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:47:59 >> He's just waiting.
00:48:00 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:48:24 >> He's just waiting.
00:48:31 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:48:32 >> He's just waiting.
00:48:33 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:48:34 >> He's just waiting.
00:48:35 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:48:36 >> He's just waiting.
00:48:37 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:48:38 >> He's just waiting.
00:48:39 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:48:40 >> He's just waiting.
00:48:41 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:48:42 >> He's just waiting.
00:48:43 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:48:44 >> He's just waiting.
00:48:45 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:48:46 >> He's just waiting.
00:48:47 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:48:48 >> He's just waiting.
00:48:49 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:48:50 >> He's just waiting.
00:48:51 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:48:52 >> He's just waiting.
00:48:53 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:48:54 >> He's just waiting.
00:48:55 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:48:56 >> He's just waiting.
00:48:57 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:48:58 >> He's just waiting.
00:48:59 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:49:00 >> He's just waiting.
00:49:01 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:49:02 >> He's just waiting.
00:49:03 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:49:04 >> He's just waiting.
00:49:05 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:49:06 >> He's just waiting.
00:49:27 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:49:53 >> He's just waiting.
00:50:00 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:50:01 >> He's just waiting.
00:50:02 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:50:03 >> He's just waiting.
00:50:04 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:50:05 >> He's just waiting.
00:50:06 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:50:07 >> He's just waiting.
00:50:08 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:50:09 >> He's just waiting.
00:50:10 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:50:11 >> He's just waiting.
00:50:12 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:50:13 >> He's just waiting.
00:50:14 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:50:15 >> He's just waiting.
00:50:16 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:50:17 >> He's just waiting.
00:50:18 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:50:19 >> He's just waiting.
00:50:20 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:50:21 >> He's just waiting.
00:50:22 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:50:23 >> He's just waiting.
00:50:24 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:50:25 >> He's just waiting.
00:50:26 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:50:27 >> He's just waiting.
00:50:28 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:50:29 >> He's just waiting.
00:50:30 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:50:31 >> He's just waiting.
00:50:32 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:50:33 >> He's just waiting.
00:50:34 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:50:35 >> He's just waiting.
00:50:56 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:51:20 >> He's just waiting.
00:51:46 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:52:15 >> He's just waiting.
00:52:16 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:52:17 >> He's just waiting.
00:52:18 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:52:19 >> He's just waiting.
00:52:20 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:52:21 >> He's just waiting.
00:52:22 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:52:23 >> He's just waiting.
00:52:24 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:52:25 >> He's just waiting.
00:52:26 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:52:27 >> He's just waiting.
00:52:28 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:52:29 >> He's just waiting.
00:52:30 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:52:31 >> He's just waiting.
00:52:32 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:52:33 >> He's just waiting.
00:52:54 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:53:18 >> He's just waiting.
00:53:19 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:53:20 >> He's just waiting.
00:53:21 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:53:22 >> He's just waiting.
00:53:23 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:53:24 >> He's just waiting.
00:53:25 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:53:26 >> He's just waiting.
00:53:27 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:53:28 >> He's just waiting.
00:53:29 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:53:30 >> He's just waiting.
00:53:31 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:53:32 >> He's just waiting.
00:53:33 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:53:34 >> He's just waiting.
00:53:35 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:53:36 >> He's just waiting.
00:53:57 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:54:26 >> He's just waiting.
00:54:27 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:54:28 >> He's just waiting.
00:54:29 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:54:30 >> He's just waiting.
00:54:31 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:54:32 >> He's just waiting.
00:54:33 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:54:34 >> He's just waiting.
00:54:35 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:54:36 >> He's just waiting.
00:54:37 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:54:38 >> He's just waiting.
00:54:39 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:54:40 >> He's just waiting.
00:54:41 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:54:42 >> He's just waiting.
00:54:43 >> I'm not even talking about the middle part of the zone.
00:54:44 >> He's just waiting.
00:55:09 >> You want to know something about Patrick Mahomes though?
00:55:12 Everybody talks about this game manager stuff and playmaker.
00:55:16 I'll tell you what really makes a game changer is the ability to be the best guy on the team,
00:55:24 clearly, but the ability to understand when to manage and when to take over.
00:55:28 >> Yes.
00:55:29 >> Because that's what Patrick Mahomes does really well.
00:55:32 That's what he's crafted his game to, especially this year.
00:55:35 There's been times where nothing goes right in the passing game.
00:55:40 So you know what the game plan is?
00:55:41 Hey, Pacheco, I need you to go out there and run.
00:55:47 >> Yeah.
00:55:48 >> Open some things up for me, okay?
00:55:51 I'm a manager, we ain't going to score immediately, but we're going to end up scoring.
00:55:56 Just trust the system.
00:55:57 >> It's not a bad thing either to be called a game manager.
00:55:59 We have to say this every week.
00:56:00 The entire league is game managers.
00:56:02 There's only four game changers that even exist currently right now.
00:56:05 >> To some extent or else you're not a good quarterback.
00:56:08 >> Exactly, it's okay to be a game manager.
00:56:11 We're just saying game changers can do some things that game managers just can't.
00:56:15 And that's all it really is.
00:56:16 Pat Mahomes can throw a ball behind his back.
00:56:19 Pat Mahomes can throw a ball, a no look pass in football.
00:56:23 You know what I'm saying?
00:56:24 I'm saying things that don't make sense.
00:56:25 [LAUGH] >> [CROSSTALK]
00:56:26 >> Is the thing, you have to have a healthy mix.
00:56:32 >> Right, yeah.
00:56:33 I think Cam summed it up best, I think last week or so, where he was like, there were
00:56:37 times where he was like, I knew I was a game changer.
00:56:40 But there were times where I could have been a game changer more and I wasn't.
00:56:45 And looking back on it, I should have been.
00:56:47 Whereas a game manager can't have those thoughts because their game is not situated where they
00:56:53 can turn it on in the middle of the game and sense the moment and go after it like that.
00:56:58 They're wired to don't turn the ball over and get this play ran.
00:57:01 You know what I mean?
00:57:02 So there's a difference, but I ain't betting against Kansas City.
00:57:05 I'm sorry, I'm not doing it.
00:57:07 I've done it before.
00:57:08 >> We'll do it for you.
00:57:09 >> Okay, cuz I- >> All I know is that plus one, if you're
00:57:17 plus one in the turnover ratio- >> 82%.
00:57:20 >> That's 82%, baby.
00:57:21 >> Yeah, I love it.
00:57:23 >> And I wanna say quote, quote my man Dave Canelas, man, shout out.
00:57:31 I like him, I like him.
00:57:33 And I feel bad cuz my Steeler friends and other friends that aren't Panther fans, they're
00:57:38 like you're jumping back on that hope bus again, aren't you?
00:57:40 And I was like, I didn't wanna be like, yeah, cuz it was so soon, [LAUGH] at the end of
00:57:45 the year where we were all despondent and we didn't know what was gonna happen.
00:57:48 We didn't score any points.
00:57:49 And I can't help it, I am hopeful.
00:57:53 It sounds like they got it right.
00:57:54 And if they got it right, now the work begins.
00:57:56 Now we'll see what they're gonna actually do with the, filling out the roster.
00:58:00 >> Be patient.
00:58:01 >> Somebody asked about- >> The restart button exists.
00:58:06 So hit it as soon as possible.
00:58:09 So that way you can just be in it.
00:58:11 This offseason, you gotta think to yourself, look, I'm patient.
00:58:16 Whatever happens, my hands are an offering to being a fan, a committed fan.
00:58:27 I'm gonna die hard this thing out, because this is what it's about.
00:58:31 Because before the Carolina Panthers got the culture, they had to go through some hard
00:58:36 things.
00:58:37 >> Hard times like Dusty Rhodes would say.
00:58:40 >> And legitimately had to suffer and be around hard times.
00:58:45 Like Sam Mills, that wasn't an easy thing for that organization experience.
00:58:50 You know what I'm saying?
00:58:51 So when you talk about keep pounding, this isn't just like, yeah, football.
00:58:55 No, this is life, okay?
00:58:57 And so I think this organization's heading in the right path.
00:59:02 I think with the leadership that they're putting in place, we'll be able to chant keep pounding
00:59:10 on Sundays and Thursdays and Saturdays and Mondays.
00:59:17 With some emphasis behind it and some meaning, especially to the younger generation that
00:59:22 is taking fold into the fan world.
00:59:25 >> So I think we'll, actually, that's probably a good place to stop it right there.
00:59:31 Go rate, subscribe, Believe in Panthers, all major podcast platforms on the Believe Podcast
00:59:36 network.
00:59:37 If you want the video, you can catch it each week on Tobacco Road's YouTube channel, youtube.com/@tobaccaroadsportsradio.
00:59:40 Shout out to everybody who's been following us over the past couple of weeks.
00:59:47 Our print has been growing, so to speak, a little bit in terms of people recognizing
00:59:50 us and understanding what we do and everything else with the Panthers.
00:59:53 Steve has given us some compliments on some of the stuff we've done recently, so we really
00:59:56 appreciate all the support.
00:59:58 It's been a hard year.
00:59:59 It's been a hard four years to do this on Panthers, and somehow we've been able to pump
01:00:03 out content for you guys.
01:00:04 So thank you so much for being here.
01:00:06 I don't think we're gonna be on next week.
01:00:08 That's why we do the Super Bowl stuff into this one.
01:00:10 We're gonna enjoy the week off next week, go into the Super Bowl, and then probably
01:00:13 back right after to talk about the aftermath as Pat Mahomes holds up his third Super Bowl
01:00:19 ring in four years or whatever it would be.
01:00:21 >> Sure, not a ring.
01:00:22 >> Is that three and four?
01:00:23 Yeah, it would be three and four, wouldn't it?
01:00:24 >> No, three and five.
01:00:25 >> Brock, Brock, Christian McCaffrey.
01:00:26 >> I'll be happy either way.
01:00:27 I don't really have a dog in the fight, but I'm just saying, I can't bet against Kansas
01:00:28 City.
01:00:29 I just, but the whole Taylor Swift thing too, it seems like they were supposed to do this.
01:00:30 And then what if Travis Cousins proposes to her at the end of the game on the podium
01:00:35 as they're raising the Lombardi trophy, and then Travis gets down on one knee, they're
01:00:42 like, aah.
01:00:52 >> Hey Desmond, if the Chiefs lose, you gotta eat five scoops of mayonnaise.
01:01:02 >> What?
01:01:03 I wouldn't do that if it was the Panthers in the Super Bowl.
01:01:07 Five scoops of mayonnaise.
01:01:09 >> I can spend it either way.
01:01:12 >> Why do you have mayonnaise off to the side?
01:01:15 It's like ready to go.
01:01:16 >> It's terrible.
01:01:17 >> Yeah, I won't bet against them, but I won't put my life on the line for them either.
01:01:21 Like they ain't my team.
01:01:22 >> So you're saying mayonnaise is life threatening?
01:01:23 >> I draw the line at mayonnaise.
01:01:24 Five cups?
01:01:25 You said five cups.
01:01:26 You didn't say five tablespoons?
01:01:27 >> I said five, I said five cups?
01:01:28 I said five.
01:01:29 >> Yeah.
01:01:30 >> Five cups.
01:01:31 >> Five scoops.
01:01:32 How about five tablespoons?
01:01:33 >> Five scoops.
01:01:34 >> Five scoops.
01:01:35 >> Five scoops.
01:01:36 >> Five scoops.
01:01:37 >> How about five tablespoons?
01:01:38 >> Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip?
01:01:39 >> Mayonnaise, not Miracle Whip.
01:01:40 You know Miracle Whip tastes good.
01:01:41 Mayonnaise.
01:01:42 >> Let me think about it.
01:01:43 I'll think about it.
01:01:44 >> All right.
01:01:45 >> Do I have to do something like that on air or something just to get some?
01:01:46 >> No.
01:01:47 >> Do it on air, yeah.
01:01:48 >> Yeah.
01:01:49 >> Put it on a snow cone.
01:01:50 >> Before we give Stew any more ideas of random things for me to eat if the Chiefs lose,
01:02:03 we're going to get out of here.
01:02:07 >> It's a hot sauce moment.
01:02:08 >> Enjoy the Super Bowl.
01:02:09 We'll be back after that.
01:02:10 Follow us on all of our social media.
01:02:11 Believe in Panthers has social media accounts now on Instagram, Twitter, and, well, there
01:02:12 was a Facebook page, but Facebook took it down, so long story.
01:02:13 You can find us there.
01:02:14 For Skylar Collin and for Jonathan Stewart, I'm Desmond Johnson.
01:02:15 Don't go to that DEZ_3505 Twitter account.
01:02:16 They're trying to sell you Bitcoin or something.
01:02:17 It's not a good idea.
01:02:18 I don't know what they're doing.
01:02:19 I don't know what they're doing.
01:02:20 I don't know what they're doing.
01:02:21 I don't know what they're doing.
01:02:22 I don't know what they're doing.
01:02:23 I don't know what they're doing.
01:02:24 I don't know what they're doing.
01:02:42 about it.
01:02:42 [BLANK_AUDIO]