After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 2

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There's a lot to listen to, so get started and download the free Odyssey app today. Hey, hey, another college football season in the books, and it jives perfectly, right? Because we crown a champion in the college game, and now we begin the sojourn that, well, sojourn's not right. It's not really a rest.

It's a journey, not a sojourn. We begin the journey to crowning a national champ, haha, in the NFL. A world champ or a national champ?

It's funny because you hear people use those two terms. Sometimes, and I kind of think national champ fits better, actually, because as much as we like to think that our sport is the biggest in the world, I wish we'd stop sharing it with the world. It certainly is not the most popular sport. In other countries, when I travel, they don't understand football, Americana. They just, they don't get it. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

You can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio, also on our Facebook page. Largest margin of victory in a bowl game in college football history. It made me feel like I was watching an avalanche. Duggan from the two will throw it all the way across the field. It's picked up by Bullard. Bullard got it again. Bullard picked it and then tumbled. He had a touchdown, would have had a big six, but after the interception, he tumbled down right around the 15-yard line. Jevon Bullard's got two interceptions in the game. From the 22, second and 10 for the Dawgs.

32 seconds to go. Bennett to throw, right angle, one-on-one coverage, and caught, I think. Yeah, touchdown, Mitchell.

He's still fighting the guy. TCU ended up with the ball when they came out of the pile, but the officials say touchdown. Bennett takes the snap and the shotgun, throws for the corner. Brock Bowers one-on-one, caught, touchdown.

He ate him alive. Falls down into the end zone. Six more for Georgia. Bennett to throw, lobs it to the right corner.

There's McConkie. He got on his donkey and made a sliding catch in the right corner. Touchdown. George is going to get back on the line and go quickly. Handed off to Robinson straight ahead from inside the one.

Did he break the plane? The officials are running in. Yeah, there's the signal.

Arms go up in the air. Touchdown, Branson Robinson. Oh, it was like a playground for the Georgia Bulldogs. 15 more wins this year added to the 14 last year, back-to-back national championships and college football after not winning for 41 years. Congratulations to Kirby Smart and of course to Stetson Bennett and all of the dogs.

It wasn't just the offense, it was also the defense that was dominant. Attending the game, covering the game at SoFi Stadium in LA, our friend Michael Duarte from NBC LA. Michael, generally you're covering pro sports. How did college football and its big stage play at SoFi? That's a great question, Amy.

And first of all, a long time no talk. So happy new year to you. I hope you're doing well. I do cover college sports. I cover USC and occasionally UCLA. I just came back from the Cotton Bowl recently with that crazy two-lane USC game with two lanes.

Great comeback there at the end. But yeah, this was the first obviously big college football game I've seen at SoFi Stadium and the atmosphere played perfectly. Pre-game energy, excitement level was off the hook. Both bands were competing from opposite sides of the field. From my perspective, which was the corner of the end zone and TCU's end zone if you were watching the game as far as the painted purple and their logo there, it was a completely divided sea of red and purple throughout the stadium with the purple starting behind TCU's bench and kind of going all the way over to that corner end zone where the press box was.

And then that sea of red picking up going all the way across the other side. And it was divided and there was delirium going on early in the game and by the end of the game it was silence and just a sea of red because the purple had all evacuated the building and headed out into this horrific rain we're having here in LA. But I thought it was a perfect environment and atmosphere for a college football game. And the last thing I'll say, Amy, is SoFi Stadium got a lot of gruff early on when they decided to build a roof saying this is LA. Why does the stadium need a roof?

And it worked out perfectly today. Well I'm glad you mentioned the fans evacuating. That's the perfect word because I was in the car listening on the radio so I didn't see toward the end of the game what the stands look like but I wondered if TCU fans left early not only because of the score but because of the notorious LA traffic.

At what point did the mass exodus begin? I started to see the max exodus around halfway through the third quarter. I'm not sure if Mattress Mack who lost his 3 million bet on TCU was part of those unhappy fans heading for the exits.

But yeah, I'd say right around midway through the third quarter I started to see a purple wave leave SoFi Stadium and head out into the rainy night here in Los Angeles. So I was wondering if there would be a lot of LA sports fans, casual fans, people that just wanted to be part of this type of a huge event at SoFi. It certainly didn't seem that way though and maybe there were some of those corporate tickets but it felt much more like the fans that were there as you say were divided and took ownership either of Georgia or TCU. Yeah for the most part as I walked around the stadium it was just like I said a sea of red and purple but I did happen to see some fans wearing Rams jerseys and Rams hats and UCLA jerseys and then other people just representing their own universities.

Ohio State for one. I saw a couple of people wearing Alabama so some of that but for the most part I think fans got the memo because you know with Georgia you could wear red or black I suppose and with TCU you could maybe go purple or gray and it was just red and purple throughout that stadium. It seemed everybody got the notes to wear those two colors and it was just looking perfectly at least from my vantage point in the press box. According to Michael's Twitter 72,628 the official attendance in that sea of purple and red so as it started out and I loved the national anthem with Pentatonix that was phenomenal. Oh my goodness I hope that you could hear it and that it played well there like in person but the way that it started with all the fanfare and the excitement and as you say to end up with just Georgia fans there is quite the contrast from beginning to end but what stands out to you about watching Georgia in the way that it dominated? Yeah and there was a lot of excitement and I did get to hear the Pentatonix national anthem and it was great listening to that especially kind of almost the barbershop quartet way they kind of sang it which I really enjoyed but you know Georgia rolled over TCU like my dog rolls around the carpet after being in the rain Amy and I know your dog Penny probably does it too and that's how it felt my takeaways early and a couple things I told your producer James before going on.

This was the second easiest story I've ever had to write in my career. Obviously it being the biggest, largest margin of victory in the history of not just college football championship games but college football bowl games period. And poor TCU back in 1920 in the Fort Worth classic bowl game got beat by center Kentucky 63 to 7 so now they're part of two of the biggest bowl game largest deficits they've ever been in the history of college football. But this just was one of those situations and I'll give you a little insight into just kind of how when I write stories that need to be posted on NBC's national sites and throughout the apps across the country in a game like this I'll tend to write some notes on both sides and maybe a couple lead paragraphs in the opening regardless of the outcome. So in this example I would maybe write a couple paragraphs if TCU were to win and a couple paragraphs if Georgia were to win. This was the first time I just had a gut feeling early on that I should just write if Georgia wins and as soon as they went up 17-7 I never looked back I just wrote as if Georgia was going to win and it worked out well for me.

Doesn't always though right? I'm sure you've been at those events where you've started to write you feel like you've got your game cap and your story and your angle and then something crazy happens at the end and all of a sudden it all goes out the window. Yeah like I mentioned that that Cotton Bowl with USC Tulane I thought when it was USC had a 15 point lead with a little over 3 minutes left I thought it was over I started writing as USC was going to win and it was a massive rewrite there at the end.

So yeah I've had it go the other way before as well. Michael Duarte is with us from NBC LA was at SoFi for this national championship first major college football event taking place at the stadium and yes worth noting that the roof was very helpful otherwise it would have been extremely messy. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. I don't think there was a close up of Stetson Bennett the entire broadcast that he didn't have a ginormous smile on his face almost as if he knew the secret and the rest of us were just about to see it play out but that he knew this was going to happen. They looked so comfortable they looked so confident and it really wasn't a bold and brash type of an attitude I mean there's there's swagger there obviously when you're a national champ but it was much more about we just know we just know that when we play our game it doesn't matter who is on the other sideline there's no stopping us. Yeah I'm so glad you brought that up and first of all wouldn't you have a smile on your face as being part of this game if you were Stetson Bennett Amy Stetson Bennett was deep in his bag in this game like there was fries at the bottom. He had the highest passer rating in a college football championship history to twenty six point nine.

I don't know if that will ever get beat. A couple other stats I pulled out for you here Georgia had 64 plays total in the game. They had 65 points every time they snapped the ball they were going to average over one point per match. Their offense also averaged sixteen point eight yards per play. So just think about that every time they snapped the ball they were going to get a first down plus seven more yards every play. That's just how dominant the offense was and obviously it could have been worse it could have been 72 to seven they let up there at the end to run the clock out. So I was just kind of looking to see how many records they would break in this game as far as just the magnitude of his blowout 17 total records were broken in this game. But Amy a couple of things on Stetson Bennett there first of all Kirby Smart said he will be the goat in Athens Georgia for the rest of his life.

And I think that was apropos for him especially a kid. You know if you watch the Heisman Trophy ceremony which I got to watch this Caleb Williams here of USC was in it. And another interesting factoid Amy Caleb Williams after Lincoln Riley left around this time last year thought about transferring to Georgia and Georgia was trying to get him which meant Stetson Bennett thought about leaving and potentially going into the NFL draft and going pro after last season's championship. But Amy Caleb Williams ultimately ends up falling Lincoln Riley to USC paving the way for Stetson Bennett to come back and have this historic run. And Stetson Bennett said something after the game he said for the last three to four months we've been out there waiting to see if any team in the country could beat us and nobody could.

And I thought that was just a great great impressive line by him. And the last thing I will say to kind of tell you what I witnessed and observed out there and something that Kirby Smart told me. After Georgia found out after they beat Ohio State in that that amazing semifinal game and they found out you would be their opponent obviously they probably watched and beat Michigan earlier their scout team went out for the next several days and just studied T.C.U. 's offense perfectly and made sure that like backup quarterbacks on Georgia and different players on offense literally did what T.C.U. and Max Duggan does on offense better than T.C.U.

does themselves. And that is why Georgia was so prepared for the game so confident for the game and I'm sure everybody does it but that's what they attributed to it. They knew if they stuck and executed the game plan as you mentioned before the game Kirby Smart knew they would be aggressive and they'd be able to attack and they would have wide open guys because that was just the study and being able to put it in practice throughout the week ahead of the game.

So wide open so wide open. Michael I have to tell you I'm slightly disappointed when you're one of our favorite guests of course one of our top friends here on the show and I was really looking forward to asking you if you had the chance to talk to Ugga or to meet Ugga. But unfortunately Ugga did not make the trip to L.A. because the plane flight was too long for him so I know there are other celebrities there I saw some of your photos it doesn't matter Ugga is the only one that I would have asked you about your encounter with. Correct yeah I wanted Ugga to be there too he was not only the Georgia Bulldog mascot that I get to meet and I also got to meet the Horned Frogs mascot Jason Kidd Dallas Mavericks coach and Luka Doncic were both on the sidelines I ran to Lincoln Riley on the sidelines. One of the biggest of course was Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford who was a Georgia alum who Texan Bennett said he was the GOAT for him growing up playing at Georgia. He made an appearance I got to see him on the sideline and say hello to him too and he told me Amy for anybody who questioned whether he would retire he will be back next season with the Rams regardless of Sean McVay's decision to either stay with the Rams or leave so Matthew Stafford's coming back L.A. if you're listening. Well segue perfectly of course you read my mind Michael because yes Matthew Stafford was part of the coin flip he was out there Lydanian Tomlinson was representing TCU and earlier in the day they had their exit interviews quote unquote and once again we want you to hear well not you you've already heard it but the rest of our audience here's what Sean McVay had to say about 23.

We're going to take the next couple days to really be able to kind of reflect obviously a lot of conversations with various people that will dictate and determine the decision that's best for me my family the Rams and a lot of people and that's kind of where we're at with that. What factors go into Sean McVay deciding whether or not he returns to the Rams. That's a great question Amy if you had told me a week ago that Sean McVay would not be back with the Rams next season I would have thought you were crazy. But now after hearing Jay Glazer's report yesterday Sunday on what he was hearing inside the Rams facility and the thoughts from people with inside the organization is that he's more likely to leave and not return then come back and then hearing his postgame press conference today and his news conference today that to me sounded like a man who's burnt out and is leaning towards if he had to make the decision right now towards walking away.

And that just surprises me for a 36 year old Super Bowl winning coach who has his core of his team intact. I think for him the decision is probably mostly family based. He got married in the off season to his wife Veronica whose family is in Ukraine.

That has to be a very high stress scary situation for him. I know they want to start a family they want to have a child. And I also know Sean McVay lives eats breathes and sleeps football and his wife and I might not like that if they want to start a family she might want him to spend some more time at home and then take a little bit of a break so they could build this family. And then he can go back to coaching at a different time maybe in his career because he is still young. But I do know what's weighing on that decision outside of that part which would lead me to believe maybe he's thinking about leaving is the impact it would have on his coaching staff inside the organization the players he's talked about Aaron Donald said the only reason he came back and didn't retire was for Sean McVay. And his staff had echoed similar sentiment so I think the ripple effect if he were to leave what it would have on the organization his coaching staff the people that he built this family over the last six years with I think also is going to factor into his decision because he knows if he leaves a lot of those people will be gone too and without a job and it may have even more longer term impact on the Rams on the field so I think those are the two things will be weighing here in the next couple weeks.

And I hope regardless of his decision he finds peace and clarity regardless. Before I let you go it would take two sets of hands all of my fingers all of your fingers on our hands to count the number of significant injuries that the Rams suffered this year in finishing five and 12 certainly not what they expected in attempting to defend their Super Bowl championship. What's another reason that it was such a year of complete opposite from their championship. Well you nailed it and that's really what you point to is just they were absolutely decimated by injuries but looking, you know, at what happened. Obviously you need things to go your way and in that Super Bowl run they got a lot of breaks they got a lot of luck, not only just on the health side but you know a ball bounces your way, a couple times with the Rams a ball was fumbled and it landed into the team who fumbled hands instead of in the Rams hands which could have, you know, change the outcomes of multiple little sucker that ball.

Exactly. They don't pick up a first down here or there. It leads to, you know, one loss in Tampa Bay that I was at earlier this year that I can point to. So the luck that you need and the ball to bounce your way to win a Super Bowl championship we saw that with the Rams, you know, in the 2021 season and that Super Bowl earlier in 2022. And then this season they just didn't have it they seem to have all the bad luck and then all the breaks not go their way but, you know, they didn't address the offensive line in the offseason last year and they didn't address the secondary a lot of pieces walked away or retired like in the case of Andrew Whitworth, and they loaded up their money on the front end and their big stars and Aaron Donald and Matthew Stafford and Cooper cup.

They all got big massive extension instead of spreading that money out to get more depth on the places they needed it, which was offensive line in the secondary. And once the injury started to fall like dominoes, you saw the impact on the Rams. I think if I'm Sean McVay and knowing his pride, I guess this is not how he wants to go out. So I hope for the sake of Rams fans and for this core unit that's still here that he does decide to come back or makes a decision somewhat quickly because you know another Sean's out there and Sean Payton that that might be a good fit for the Rams as well.

So we'll see what he decides. I do hope he decides to come back and ride it with this unit because this is not a situation where the Rams are in like a complete rebuild. They still have that Super Bowl core intact and they still have a window here to win a couple more championships. It's a lot of information there. I've also heard Sean Payton connected to the Cardinals, too, who are looking for a new head coach in the wake of letting Cliff Kingsbury walk. So we'll see how this plays out.

But yeah, the Rams have got some work to do. I definitely miss seeing Vaughn Miller and Cooper Cup, though. You can find Michael Duarte on Twitter at Michael J Duarte. We missed him as well. Yes, it's been a while, which is why I just want to point out you were my first choice. I had to know whether or not you were going to be at SoFi.

And once we found out, I told producer J to make sure that he asked you first. We always appreciate your time, your insight. Happy New Year to you. Good to talk to you again. Thanks, Amy. You, too.

Enjoy the rest of your show. Good stuff there with Michael about Sean McVeigh specifically, right? The factors that will go into this decision and as a head coach, as a leader of that group of coaches of that brain trust. Yeah, it's not just about you. It's about the guys that either you brought on board who might be left without jobs or the players to the athletes who you've planned with and you've worked with and you feel like you have an obligation to even if that's not necessarily the case. So a lot. I mean, if I'm Sean McVeigh, those are definitely factors that are weighing on me, my responsibilities and the people that I brought on board.

What happens to them? So make sure you find him on Twitter. Great stuff. I ask him sometimes. I'll text him.

When do you ever get a break? Because he covers everything. Absolutely everything. So he's a great follow. If you're big into L.A. sports, he's an L.A. native. Really good talker, of course.

Great guy all around. Find me on Twitter, a law radio, also our Facebook page. We will pivot into some NFL because, yes, Cliff Kingsbury is out of a job and the coaching interview requests.

Well, they're fast and furious over the last 24 hours in the pro ranks. It's After Hours here on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours podcast. What's the strangest thing you're afraid of? Tails without fur on them, such as rats or possums. I'm Larry Mullins, host of the podcast Your Weirdest Fears, where we dig into the crazy things you're afraid of. Everything from animal people, hybrids. You know, people who get surgeries to look like an animal to giant statues. If I ever saw one of those giant statues, I probably would poop my pants.

Listen and subscribe on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from. What's the strangest thing you're afraid of? Tails without fur on them, such as rats or possums. I'm Larry Mullins, host of the podcast Your Weirdest Fears, where we dig into the crazy things you're afraid of. Everything from animal people, hybrids. You know, people who get surgeries to look like an animal to giant statues. If I ever saw one of those giant statues, I probably would poop my pants.

Listen and subscribe on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from. What's the strangest thing you're afraid of? Tails without fur on them, such as rats or possums. I'm Larry Mullins, host of the podcast Your Weirdest Fears, where we dig into the crazy things you're afraid of. Everything from animal people, hybrids. You know, people who get surgeries to look like an animal to giant statues.

If I ever saw one of those giant statues, I probably would poop my pants. Listen and subscribe on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from. Some folks don't stop searching till they find the truth. And if you've got the eye of a detective, June's journey is the game for you. Play as June Parker in a gripping murder mystery adventure as you find hidden objects to help solve her sister's death. You'll hunt for clues in hundreds of beautifully illustrated scenes set in the Roaring Twenties. With more than a thousand scenes filled with clues, there's always something new to discover.

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Find your first clue by downloading June's Journey today. Available on Android and iOS mobile devices, as well as on PC through Facebook games. Finally, Baker Mayfield throws us one. From 32, can Myers win this one in overtime for the Seahawks? There's the snap, there's the spot, the kick is away.

And the kick is good! The Seahawks win the game! The final regular season game of the year. They win it at home against the Rams. And now the playoff chances still live for the Seahawks.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. And we now know, fast forward Steve Rabel on Seahawks radio, that yes in fact the Lions did the Seahawks a solid and they were able to punch their ticket late on Sunday night once the Lions had rallied past the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. And so as the dust settles on week 18 and we start to look ahead to wild card weekend, there's a lot of reaction to the Seahawks getting in. I've seen some of your posts on our Facebook page, how excited you are. But also some trepidation about going toe to toe with the San Francisco 49ers. Hottest team in the NFL, certainly the best team in the NFC West that clinched that division title going back, what was it, a month ago.

You can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio, on our Facebook page too. After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Amy Lawrenceberry says, hi Amy that game was a nail biter, couldn't believe Myers missed. He hit the goal post on a field goal and if you were watching the game then you know that Myers did have an opportunity to end the game as time expired. So LA had gone three and out, this is the Rams in Seattle, had gone three and out late in the game.

The time's expiring and so the Seahawks are able to get into position for Myers to try a 46 yarder but he hits the goal post, it's no good. Then they had to go through overtime and Barry goes on to say, finally cheering for the Lions, what a day, go Seahawks. Well Pete Carroll and his team, a lot of them were still at the stadium. In fact we had spoken to Greg Bell of the Tacoma News and he said a lot of people were hanging around, the media was still in the press box waiting to see what happened with the Lions on Sunday night.

Okay let's keep playing football. It's really a great reward for our guys who have been working so hard and you've been hearing us talk about it to have this opportunity to keep going. And we're all excited about the fact that the way the day turned out yesterday just so sunk into being Lions fans man, we love the Lions. Coach Campbell did a great job with his crew and they played a fantastic football game to get the win to give us the chance so we're going to try to do something with it. We love the Lions man. Pete Carroll is a hoot and he still has such great energy and great enthusiasm and yes it's contagious but also don't for a second think that it's all hot air or that it's just a bunch of bouncing around and chewing gum vigorously.

It's a bunch of crap. This guy knows football obviously and this may be his best coaching job considering the transition for sure from Russell Wilson to Geno Smith, the one that he had picked, the one that he believed in going back to spring OTAs. But not just that, Bobby Wagner on his way out and so a lot of the veterans, well the remaining veterans from the teams that went to the Super Bowls, we've got a couple of guys there, Tyler Lockett, right? I mean you're not talking about a lot of guys who even remember that era of the Seahawks but even coming out of it now they're not only trying to get younger but they're having to restock the talent at various positions and not only do they have a high draft pick coming up in a couple of months because of that deal that traded Russell Wilson to Denver but now here they are with a taste of playoffs. And as long as you're in, there's an opportunity.

There is a chance if you can just get on the stage. Crazier things have happened. If last year's playoffs are any indication where we had so many games that were still hanging in the balance in the final few seconds, games that went into overtime, the types of twists and turns that you had to see to believe, well we should know. This is the NFL postseason and we should buckle up.

I'll see if I can find this for our next segment. But I was, I saw, I don't want to quote them without looking at it, but NBC released the numbers for Sunday Night Football and they're really just a great precursor. And remember the Packers-Lions wasn't a great game at the beginning. It really wasn't. The first half was all field goals. It was 9-6 at halftime.

There were a lot of missed opportunities there. But the numbers for the game, again I'm going to have to look so I don't quote the wrong numbers, but it's just an indication of how many people go all in. Everybody's in the pool for the NFL playoffs.

And I don't mean a betting pool. You don't have to have a solid interest, a rooting interest, to enjoy the NFL postseason, which is why it drives the bus in our business because people all over the country care and are so invested and have opinions or if they're not informed opinions, they're at least hot takes. And so it's incredible the amount of traffic that we're seeing on our Facebook page, that we're also seeing on Twitter, and we're really excited about this time of the year. And of course we're kicking off our 11th season here at CBS Sports Radio, 11th playoff season here at CBS Sports Radio, which is exciting too. I always feel kind of a sense of accomplishment to get back to the playoffs because we survived a regular season, but also because when we went on the air in 2013, January of 2013, I just remember thinking, that's brilliant of the bosses to start a network right before the NFL playoffs kick off because so many people aren't paying attention. All right, this is a show that starts with college football. We're going to work in some NFL now. You've seen the schedule for the wild card weekend.

It's got urban sprawl, starts on Saturday, runs through Monday, so a little bit like this past weekend, only not college football on Monday. We know that Cliff Kingsbury is available if you know a team that needs a coach, though he will continue to get paid by the Arizona Cardinals. And also the other teams that are starting to request interviews and yet still technically have interim head coaches. It's kind of a weird thing, Colts.

I'm looking at you. There are teams that haven't made decisions yet, and so we'll kind of give you the lay of the land, what we know about the coaching carousel moving forward. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. The listening you love is on the free Odyssey app. Your trusted local radio stations, coverage of your favorite teams, live news from your hometown, and millions of podcasts on demand. Best of all, you can completely customize your listening experience.

Follow topics you care about, like leagues and teams, pause or rewind your local sports and news, and add shows to your queue to catch up later. There's a lot to listen to, so get started and download the free Odyssey app today. The listening you love is on the free Odyssey app. Your trusted local radio stations, coverage of your favorite teams, live news from your hometown, and millions of podcasts on demand. Best of all, you can completely customize your listening experience. Follow topics you care about, like leagues and teams, pause or rewind your local sports and news, and add shows to your queue to catch up later. There's a lot to listen to, so get started and download the free Odyssey app today. The listening you love is on the free Odyssey app. Your trusted local radio stations, coverage of your favorite teams, live news from your hometown, and millions of podcasts on demand. Best of all, you can completely customize your listening experience. Follow topics you care about, like leagues and teams, pause or rewind your local sports and news, and add shows to your queue to catch up later. There's a lot to listen to, so get started and download the free Odyssey app today.

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Available on Android or iOS devices and on PC through Facebook games. As a coach, you learn along the way each and every step. I think there's things that I'll take from this and be a better coach moving forward, but you have to go through a season like this to try and make those changes moving forward.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Cliff Kingsbury will have to make those changes elsewhere because he is no longer welcome as the head coach in the desert. The Arizona Cardinals make a change on Black Monday as it is often called, relieving Cliff Kingsbury of his duties. You look at the trajectory of the season, it wasn't quite as drastic as last year when they started out with what was 7-0, 8-0 record, something along those lines, and they were the last undefeated standing in the NFL. This year, it wasn't smooth at the beginning and then off a cliff at the end, and it was tough sledding the entire season. The injuries that they had even before Kyler Murray, but also the fact that the defense and the pieces that they put together on defense, an aging defense in some cases, those moves that they made didn't manifest into improvements on the field.

And then you think about how they finished. With seven consecutive losses, having to start and use multiple quarterbacks throughout the season, and then ultimately Kyler Murray ends up with a torn ACL. But beyond that, because those issues don't fall on Cliff Kingsbury, injuries don't fall on Cliff, what about the rumors, the speculation, even some of the interactions that we saw that would seem to indicate that the relationship between Kyler and Cliff Kingsbury had soured? How much did that have to do with this change being made? Even though, I'm not sure if you remember this, 10 months ago, Cliff Kingsbury was given a contract extension, which means the Cardinals still owe him a bunch of money. And yet, Michael Bidwell, the Cardinals president, he makes this change and he explains his reasons sort of on Monday. I don't know any coach that has worked harder than Cliff Kingsbury. He has put in countless hours and we had a good long conversation today in which I told him I'm really sorry because this is a tough decision.

But at the same time, it was a decision that needed to be made. The search has started for both the general manager and for a head coach. We're going to cast the net far and wide. I'm doing it differently than we've done it in the past. I've already been on the phone setting up interviews and speaking with people I respect around the NFL.

So again, that's the voice of Michael Bidwell. They've already launched into their request for interviews and their homework and trying to figure out the right fit. But I dare say it's going to be someone who can work with Kyler Murray and can get the best out of Kyler, whatever that happens to be. But they've got to give it the old college try here, right, because they also just signed Kyler Murray to a massive extension. And similar to the Denver Broncos, the wagon is hitched to these quarterbacks and their stars.

There's no way around it unless you want to suffer massive financial penalties. And most teams can't afford that because then it takes away from the amount of money that they can divvy up elsewhere, the money under the salary cap that they can spend to fortify other positions. Now, one of the popular candidates, the name you're going to hear a lot, this is actually pretty cool for you Lions fans, specifically offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. He and Jared Goff have had this pretty productive connection this year. And so even as you see what the Lions were able to do and how they were able to get the best of their running back tandem in Jamal Williams, who has got 17 rushing touchdowns, just set a new franchise record. DeAndre Swift and his versatility.

But not just that, Amenraa St. Brown and his rise this year. The way that they were able to use all their pieces, and obviously Jared Goff taking care of the football and playing some of his best football since, say, the Super Bowl season with the Rams, the Lions finished fifth in the NFL in scoring. I know they were on the outside looking in when it comes to playoffs, but they had one of the top and most productive offenses all year long. I mentioned this on last night's show, but I think it's worth repeating because a lot of this goes back to coaching and having your quarterback prepared for whatever he's going to see out there on the field as much as possible. Jared Goff did not throw an interception in the last nine Lions games.

It's not a coincidence that the Lions also won eight of their last ten. Cutting down your turnovers is one of the top ways to ensure not only that you have extra opportunities, but you're not handing your opponents either cheap touchdowns or short fields, and that you're able to maintain the ball control. For years I looked at that Lions offense, well, mostly when Matthew Stafford was there because he was there for over a decade, but one of the things I kept saying about the Lions is they're asking too much of Stafford. He's got a big arm, really smart, plays hurt regardless, very tough, good leader, but if they never get a complimentary run game, he's going to continue to get crushed. If they never get a complimentary run game, this is never going to be a viable offense, one that scares anybody around the league. Well, that's what's happened with Ben Johnson, and he and Jared Goff have this really nice relationship. So a resurgent year for Goff, one of his best statistical seasons, and in addition to being in the top five in scoring, they were third in rushing touchdowns and fourth in, get this, I love this, third down efficiency. That's a sign of a killer offense. It's also a sign that you're generally in third and short, and you're not putting yourself in third and long, which means you're making good use of first and second downs, not a lot of wasted snaps. So Ben Johnson, Lions offensive coordinator, right now being thrown out there, being touted as one of the top coaching candidates in this carousel. But he's not the only one, actually.

This is kind of funny. Aaron Glenn, now he's a name that you may know from his time playing in the NFL, spent 15 years as a player in the NFL and has 41 career interceptions. He's a quarterback, pro bowler. He just wrapped up his second season as the Lions D coordinator. And even though they statistically weren't that good, remember, at the beginning of the year, didn't the Lions have the top offense and the top scoring offense and the worst scoring defense? They're also very young, one of the youngest units in the league.

And the way that they finished, but I also really appreciate, again, they weren't perfect, a lot of points scored on them, but I appreciate how tenacious they were when it came to the nose for the football. A lot of turnovers, a lot of takeaways. And so Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson, the two coordinators for the Detroit Lions, are right now two of the top candidates in the coaching carousel. There are other teams that may, may need to look for new head coaches. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. We talked about Sean McVay earlier in the hour with Michael Duarte of NBC LA. McVay's going to take his time and decide whether or not he can put his whole self in. It's like the hokey pokey. Can you put your whole self into another season as an NFL head coach?

Or are you half in and half out? Cooper Cupp, who's rehabbing from injury, missed seeing him on the field. He was responding to the speculation about McVay and potentially not coaching next year in LA. I want the very best for him. I want the best for him. I know how much he loves his game, how much he loves the guys in this locker room, how much he loves the coaches that are here. So regardless of what his decision is, I know how much he cares about this organization, the people here. At the end of the day, I just want the very best for him.

Therefore, whatever he ends up deciding to go with or whatever is going on, whoever he's processing, just wishing the very, very best for him. It's weird to think about him at 36 years old walking away because that feels so young. Of course, he got into the league so young, and he's already got a ton on his resume, and he is one of those people that puts his whole self in. So we don't know about Sean McVay, but we do know about Matthew Stafford. He is returning. He's continuing to get healthy and to rehab his injuries, but he said in his mind not only does his family want him to play, but he doesn't anticipate a situation where he won't return to the Rams in 2023. Elsewhere in the NFC, the New Orleans Saints, will they look to replace Dennis Allen?

He doesn't think that's a good idea. I don't think there's any need to discuss that any further, and I'm certainly going forward with that anticipation. That's the indication that I've been given, and I'm excited about it. Look, again, 7 and 10 is not where we want to be, but we're not as far off as maybe some might think, but there's areas that we have to improve on. I don't know why it fascinates me so much that in the NFC South, the Buccaneers finished below.500, of course.

They won the division title and will host the Cowboys Monday in Wild Card Weekend, but that the other three teams, including the Carolina Panthers, all finished 7 and 10. So Carolina's definitely looking for a new head coach, unless they give Steve Wilks the job. Now, I feel like the guys in that locker room played hard for him, and I hope he's given the opportunity to formally interview, but we know that David Tepper has already reached out to multiple candidates to do interviews. Saints, will they look to replace Dennis Allen?

Remember, he was supposed to be keeping the seat warm for Sean Payton, but it appears Sean Payton's going to be elsewhere. Halfway through, it's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. There's a lot to listen to, so get started and download the free Odyssey app today. The listening you love is on the free Odyssey app. Your trusted local radio stations, coverage of your favorite teams, live news from your hometown, and millions of podcasts on demand. Best of all, you can completely customize your listening experience. Follow topics you care about, like leagues and teams, pause or rewind your local sports and news, and add shows to your queue to catch up later. There's a lot to listen to, so get started and download the free Odyssey app today. The listening you love is on the free Odyssey app. Your trusted local radio stations, coverage of your favorite teams, live news from your hometown, and millions of podcasts on demand. Best of all, you can completely customize your listening experience. Follow topics you care about, like leagues and teams, pause or rewind your local sports and news, and add shows to your queue to catch up later. There's a lot to listen to, so get started and download the free Odyssey app today.

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