Head Coach of BC football, Bill O'Brien, joins the show!

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Head Coach of BC football, Bill O'Brien, joins the show! BC hosts Michigan State Saturday. Wiggy is in Miami signing "autograph"!
Transcript
00:00Austin College Football, Bill O'Brien. Talk a little college football. Hey, Bill.
00:06Hey, Greg. How you guys doing?
00:08Doing great. Wiggy is in Florida for an autograph signing and I'm using that in the singular.
00:22We believe there may be one person that is looking for the autograph.
00:25Bill, all it takes is one. If you need me to run by the
00:29Hurricanes facility and get you some film or some hand signals, I can do that.
00:37I never crush anybody on autographs. I have the worst autograph in the history of autographs,
00:43so I don't get into that with anybody. But, Wiggy, you'll have more than one
00:47asking for your autograph. I guarantee it.
00:49Kind of interesting how autographs change through the years. Like,
00:53the Tom Brady autograph changed a lot through the years.
00:57Oh, yeah. TB12 now, right? Is that right? Am I right about that?
01:01Yes, yes. Yeah, you can barely read his autograph now. I have his autograph when he first started.
01:06It was nice. You could see the number. Now you can't see a number or anything. It's like,
01:10is this thing even real? I remember when I was at the Patriots,
01:15some coaches would lay out stuff at Christmastime to have different players autograph. I never did
01:21that because I never wanted to be coaching a guy that I was asking his autograph for.
01:28There was a crazy story about Brady and Tampa that they had a vacant locker right next to him
01:33where everybody in the building would leave things for their family members for him to sign,
01:37and he would just do it over time. Yeah, I was not looking for his autograph.
01:42I was just trying to gain first downs and touchdowns.
01:45Do you stay in touch with him? Do you hear from him ever during the season?
01:49Mostly text, Greg. Yeah, mostly text. Just checking in. I went to the roast. I saw him at
01:57the retirement stuff, stuff like that. But no, just mostly text. He's a busy guy. A lot of us
02:02are busy guys. Bill, moving on to BC football, the loss against Mizzou, you guys held in there
02:09till the end, but looking at Castellanos and that turnover, how have you felt that mentally
02:14he's been able to recover, and do you think that he'll be good to go come this week?
02:19Yeah, he had a really good practice yesterday. We've got to do a better job of
02:25taking care of the ball. Look, there's some interceptions that are going to happen if a
02:30batted ball or bounces off somebody's shoulder pad, but when you force the ball into tight
02:36coverage or the wrong coverage, those are the things that we've got to stop doing. And if we do
02:42that, then we'll win games. I try to explain to these guys a lot, because in my experience,
02:50I really have learned over the years that it comes down to about eight to 10 plays, right?
02:54And if you execute on those plays and the other team doesn't, then you're going to win and vice
02:59versa. So we've got to really take care of the ball better.
03:04Go ahead, Curtis.
03:05Oh, no, it's Wiggy.
03:06Oh, sorry.
03:07Bill, I was just going to say, I know there's really no moral victories in football when you're
03:12a player or a coach, but I remember back in 01 when we lost to the Rams, we kind of knew like,
03:19okay, we could play with the best team in the league. Do you take anything away from saying
03:26we were able to go punch for punch with a team like Missouri that a lot of people expect to be
03:32right there in the mix? Do you kind of use that and say, hey, we can play with the big guys and
03:39we can make a legitimate run on the playoffs because we've shown that we can go punch for
03:45punch with some of the best teams in the SEC? Yeah, I mean, I think that's exactly right.
03:51And I think that that's what our guys have to understand. And again, going to Missouri,
03:58Missouri is a really good team. They've got a lot of good skill players. They're well coached.
04:02Their coach has been there for, this is his fifth year. He's got a good program going.
04:06And to go down there and hang in there with them and have a chance to win it at the end,
04:13even turning the ball over the way we did, that's got to show these guys something.
04:18Now, the issue is we've got to fix those things because every game is going to be tough. This
04:24Michigan State team is 3-0. They're very good. They're very tough, very physical, very well
04:29coached. The guy they hired, Jonathan Smith from Oregon State, he's a really good coach.
04:35And so they've got a well coached team. We've got to show up and play cleaner football because
04:40that's going to be our formula for winning. And so we've got to get back to doing that.
04:44We did that in the first two games, didn't do it as well in the third game. We've got to get
04:48back to doing that. Phil, we learned recently on this show that Wiggy was set to make 100
04:54grand coaching Brockton High School. Are you making that much at BC?
05:03When we got that job, I wasn't talking to Wig last year, but I was so happy about Wig getting
05:08that job because Brockton football, being from Massachusetts, there's such a massive tradition.
05:14I'm actually friends with Tommy Colombo and some of the guys that have played there
05:18over the years. And so I don't know what happened there, but man, Wig, that was a great choice by
05:26them. I wish he was still there. He needed an offensive coordinator. That's right.
05:30You know, it's growing pains. Bill, they got a great receiver down there. Take a look at him,
05:35Jayden Lopes Ribeiro. Great receiver. Jayden Lopes. All right. And then for a short period
05:40of time, I was available. So if he was still there, I would have probably thought about that.
05:45Well, there is a limitless budget at Brockton. I don't know if you've looked into it. They have
05:48plenty of cash down there. Well, they still owe me $85,000 then because they only paid me $15,000.
06:00We talked about it briefly last week, but I'd be remiss not in advance of the red bandana game,
06:04what this night has become. I have to say I am not always positive about BC. They make a lot
06:09of mistakes. Letting me in was one, but the way in which they have honored and celebrated
06:15and sort of incorporated the red bandana into student life beginning as a freshman,
06:20there really is no better representative for Boston College in service to others than
06:24Wells Crowther. Yeah, no doubt. You just said it really well, Curtis. I would say
06:29this morning we're going to show the Ed Burns narrated ESPN film to our team,
06:35you know, because a lot of guys, you know, we have a lot of younger players on our team that don't
06:38know as much about it. You know, and I was really fortunate and honored to be able to Zoom with
06:44Allison Crowther about a month and a half ago and really hear the story and the daily struggles that
06:49she goes through. But, you know, you think about what Wells did, right? He rescued people and he
06:56could have walked out and made it, but he went back up. He went back up to rescue more people.
07:00And I think that's really what it's all about. And we have to understand how important, you know,
07:05this game is to the B.C. community, to people. We have to go out there and play well in honor of
07:10Wells. I think that's a big deal. And you're right. B.C. does a great job, you know, with this with
07:16this game and the red bandana theme. It's really cool. Watching that the man in the red bandana
07:22is what it's called is Courtney recommended this year that you that every year, watch it every
07:27year. And I watched it again. It is so his story is so moving. And it's such a story of personal
07:34sacrifice for others. And, you know, I don't know about you, but I when I watch something like that,
07:40I'm always like, I wonder if I would have the courage that that he had. And so it's it's a it's
07:46an amazing story. And it is I'm certain going to be an amazing night on Saturday. So, yeah,
07:54I think about that a lot. It's a great point you make, Greg, because we actually talked about that
07:58with Bears yesterday, like, you know, like I said, like he went back up, you know, he let him down
08:02and then he said, I'm going back up to try to help more people. I don't know. You know, it's just hard
08:08to stay put in that position. Would you do the same thing? That's an incredible part of the story.
08:12Can you ask Bears if he's pissed that Matt Patricia has his job now? Like, I see Matt.
08:22I see Matt Patricia following Bill around for Monday Night Football. I feel like I feel like
08:28I feel like I am not I am not touching that. That's not what I'm going to touch right now.
08:38Well, you know, the they're both they're both offensive coordinators. So,
08:43yeah, but Matt, Matt Patricia, you can say something to him
08:47and he doesn't get offended because there's not much offense in there, Curtis.
08:51Hey!
08:56But anyway, yes, go ahead. Bill, Bill, when you look at Michigan State ahead of you, three and
09:02oh, physicality, that's what their team is talking about right now when it comes to your guys.
09:08It's going to be a physical game, both sides of the football. For you, how big of a test will
09:13this be in front of a home crowd? Big test. I mean, it's a Big Ten team, you know, having experience
09:19in the Big Ten when I was at Penn State, I know what that that, you know, that type of football is
09:24all about. And they do. They play a very physical brand on offense. They run the ball and then that
09:30sets up play action. They take shots down the field and then defensively. It's pretty amazing
09:34to watch their film because they really do get 11 guys to the ball on most plays. They swarm the ball
09:40and we've got to match that intensity and then some. And I think that's a big challenge for
09:44our guys. I think our guys have had a really good week of practice. They understand the importance
09:48of the game. I've said this all along. I really like, I love coaching this team. They show up
09:53every day and, you know, I'm looking forward to the game. But yes, it's going to be, you know,
09:58kind of one of those knock down, drag out type of games, no doubt about it. We talked a little bit
10:02about this yesterday and I'm just curious your opinion as a head coach in college football.
10:08Shador Sanders would not shake hands post game because of some trash talk that happened
10:15beforehand. How do you feel about that when, just in general, and that doesn't have to be
10:19specifically the player, but when your guys, you want them shaking hands afterwards?
10:24Man, we could be here all day on this stuff. I mean, I just think that, you know, the whole
10:31social media and, you know, everything that's out there now and these kids are always like
10:36scrolling on their phones and, you know, at the end of the day, it's about going out there
10:42and being a really good teammate, playing as hard as you can for your team, playing at a,
10:48at as high a level as you possibly can, which helps the team be good. And then at the end,
10:52you shake hands with the guy you, you played against. I mean, you know, there's always going
10:57to be with social media now, there's always going to be some back and forth and things like that.
11:01And, you know, that's just the way it is. But at the end, you have respect for the guy that
11:05you played against and, you know, just shake his hand. I don't understand all the, I don't
11:09understand all the yes talking, to be honest with you. I do get it a little bit. It's an emotional
11:14game, but like, man, at the end of the day, like, you know, it's really not what it's all about.
11:19It's about the competition. And it's a very, I just love the sport because of it's a, it's a
11:24violent sport. It's a physical sport. You lay it all out there. There's no sport like it. And at
11:30the end, you got to respect your opponent, you know, and vice versa. So that's just how I feel
11:34about it. I love that answer. And that's why we love having you on. All right, well, go get them.
11:40Have you two? Oh, last one for me. Have you tried the meatball in a cup yet over there at BC?
11:45I saw that sign. I haven't tried that. I, I, um, I got to get, I love, you know, I love meatballs.
11:51So I, I, I gotta try to try that. I didn't ever, I never heard that, that they had that here,
11:55but I'll, I'll probably try to get one tonight. Right. Yeah. Maybe get one, uh, send,
11:59send bears over to get one, uh, Saturday, mid game. And then he doesn't do that. He doesn't,
12:04he doesn't do that. He's not in charge of my diet. All right. Bill O'Brien as always. Great
12:12to talk to you. We'll talk to you again next week. Go get them on Saturday.
12:16Thank you guys. Appreciate it. All right. There he is. Bill O'Brien.

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