This conversation does NOT start how you would think?

If you were with us at the very beginning of the show, the Introductory Press Conference, Frank Reich, introduced officially as the head coach of the Carolina Panthers, Bill Voth is the Senior Director of Content and Broadcasting for the Panthers, and he joins us from Charlotte. I appreciate your time, Mr. Voth, at panthers.com. There's a lot of cool stuff, including what kind of music, what playlists Frank Reich has.

One is, nobody has an iPod anymore. Can you give us some insight as to what the playlist might be? Yeah, that was right up your alley, wasn't it? Kiss and Nazareth and Boston? No. Not up my alley at all. Oh, please.

You were... I want to go... Are they hair bands? Are they headbangers and that? Are they something else? What are they?

My preferred playlist? No, those guys. Boston's not headbangers, are they? No, that's... Boston to me is bubblegum rock. It's a lesser version of Journey, which I also don't like. What's the difference between Boston and Journey? Is there a difference?

I think Journey's better than Boston, and I don't like Journey either. No, I'm a Steely Dan guy. Oh, gosh. Oh, gosh. That's a little bit harder than elevator music. Alright, it's nice talking to Bill Voth.

It's the shortest conversation. We're skewing really old white guy here, so... Look, David Crosby said that Steely Dan was his favorite band. The late David Crosby, RIP.

Everyone can make mistakes. Oh my gosh, I can't believe we're having this conversation now. Alright, Bill Voth, tell me your favorite thing about the new head coach. My favorite thing is all the unsolicited texts I've gotten since last week of saying just what a great person he is. And I also very much appreciate, since Thursday, when we've been talking to him, how he says that he's not gonna do this by himself.

This isn't a one-man show. I think Matt Rule in many ways, and sometimes it fits, sometimes it doesn't, was a college coach. And a lot of those coaches, CEO-type guys, who have control of everything, that's not great for a lot of people in the building.

And I think it works in college, but it's harder to make work in a professional organization. So from my perspective, and I think from a lot of people's perspective, them understanding that this is just one guy, does he have a lot of say? Yeah, he's got a lot of say, but he's gonna focus on the football, which he should be doing.

And the other people in the building could be focusing on what they do. Bill Voth is joining us here, Senior Director of Content and Broadcasting, panthers.com. We're gonna talk to Jim Zocchi about the football end of this in a minute. What is the, I know Frank is trying to connect with as many players as possible. He does seem like he's got a unique ability to do that. He does. I mean, he's a former player.

Right now, in these early days, he strikes me a lot like Ron Rivera. Where it's a world, he's kinda like, him and I have had a couple good conversations, but it's kinda like, listen, man, I know you're trying to get into our world, but you're not a former player. It's the fraternity that you and I, you know, the guys will talk to us. We can talk with these guys, but we miss a connection with them because we've never played the game. A lot of guys will say that in a condescending way, like, man, you wouldn't know you've never played the game.

Or there's people who really don't mean it in a condescending way. It's just they connect with each other better. So I think Ron was able to do that. And, you know, Ron was a players coach and it seems like that Frank Reich is like that too.

Now, of course, Ron was a defensive minded players coach and Frank Reich is an offensive minded players coach. So obviously I think, you know, there's a lot of feelings here for Steve Wilkes and how he connected with players. And while I think at least I'm personally, you know, I, I like Steve Wilkes. I think, OK, if they're not going to go Steve Wilkes for, you know, certain reasons, then then then I don't think Frank Reich is a terrible alternative as far as bringing a connection back with the players and back with the fans. I'm glad you brought it up.

I was I was going to leave it. Leave it alone, because I've talked a lot about Steve Wilkes, not only today, but in the past few weeks. Does it make because Wilkes definitely connected with players? Does it make Reich's job or the priority to connect with those players even more important and in some ways more difficult?

I don't think so. I think it'll naturally come. I think what's more important is in figuring out who staff is going to be like. That's that's first and foremost, if this guy can connect with players like he has in the past, if it'll come.

So I haven't talked to the players. I don't know how much disappointment at this. I think they will. They'll they'll move on.

They'll get past. And again, if this guy's like Ron. And again, it's a very early feelings of Ron and just how he understands players and how he connects with players.

And it's not forced. I think is it I think two things can be true, right? Like Ron, like Steve Wilkes was able to connect with these players. And that does. But I don't think that means that Frank Reich won't be able to connect with the players.

And I mean, it might take a little bit of time for some certain guys, but I think it'll it'll naturally come. Here's what's interesting is that when they made the announcement last week, when it was reported that Frank Reich was the head coach. My take was I hope that Frank Reich is as good as Ron Rivera and people took that as a negative.

And I'm like, no, that's not a negative. Ron Rivera was a good head coach. He took Carolina not only to a Super Bowl, but they had another twelve or twelve and four season.

They won a division, a bad division, but they won four straight at the end of the year to win the division at seven, eight and one. And my my appealing my opinion is if Cam Newton doesn't get hurt, then he might still be the head coach. And I think people would counter with would counter that by saying, well, if he didn't have Cam Newton at all, then he never would have had a good head coach. So I think that's OK. People's arguments. And we can say, OK, well, look what's happening with Belichick right now in New England here.

He doesn't have a court. So you can have these arguments and that's why you have hours worth of talk show. They'd be able to do things like that because we're not going to do that in a ten minute segment here.

But but I think what you and I are talking about is different things right now. We're talking about connection, connecting with players as far as X's and O's. If you want to argue, I don't think you can argue that Ron Rivera was able to connect with his players in a great way. Steve Wilkes was able to do that as well. And I think, right.

Frank Reich in his previous stop was able to do that. So there's that. So even though there's like this, well, he connected with the player, see what's going on with the players. Well, Frank, I could probably do that, too, just like Ron.

Now, the difference between those two is exactly right. Ron was defensive. This guy's offense. And clearly this is an offensive league. This is a franchise that's never thought offensive offense first. And if you if you watch any any of these playoff games, I mean, you've got to be aggressive. You've got to think offense. You've got to think how you're going to win games, not necessarily how you're not going to lose games. And a lot of times, a lot of those defensive guys think that the latter. See, I'm actually thinking about it in both ways, because in my opinion, the number one characteristic of a great head coach is basically relating to players, managing people. It's not the number one job of a head coach to me is not X and O. Can I argue with you for fun?

You can. Absolutely. Does Bill Belichick connect with players? He's a unique he is a unique being. And I and Bill Walsh is also a unique being. I think the if it's not him and Andy Reid is also an X and O guy.

But those guys are unique animals. Mike Tomlin is as good a head coach as as there is in the league. And nobody I'm not saying he's not good at X and O, but I think his strength is connecting and leading. And that was my favorite thing about Steve Wilkes. And that's what I think Frank Reich has those qualities to it. To me, that's the number one thing to be a be an effective head coach. I think we've we've moved to an area in football mostly where we're always looking for the the X and O guy and those guys keep getting fired.

You got to be a leader. Are we ready to say Sean McVeigh was a flash in the pan or is that too harsh? I don't think I think he's a great coach, but I think apart from being an X and O guy, I think he has the ability to connect.

He does have the ability to connect, but I think his thing. I mean, you want a Super Bowl. So, I mean, I'm really running my mouth.

I think one one and appeared in another. Yeah. So obviously, yes, I was being too harsh, but I just don't know if that's sustainable. So I think that's another question that your your buddy Darren Gett and I are talking over the last few weeks is, yeah, this is an offensive league. Obviously, this is all about offense. Well, yeah, but the pendulum is going to swing back eventually, isn't it?

I don't know. Maybe not. I don't know if it is or not, but I will say that I thought Kansas City's defense won that game against Cincinnati. And Philadelphia is, well, Philadelphia's defensive job was made much easier when San Francisco was rendered without a quarterback who could throw.

If a quarterback can't throw that whole thing. That's my fault. No, it's all right. Bill Volth, I appreciate your time, man. It's been too long since we have chatted. We'll do it again.

This has been nice. I'm glad to open for Zocchi. Jim Zocchi is next. I don't remember. I don't recall the guy you referenced here, Darren something or other. I'm not really sure who that is. I'm not bringing up the last. It's been so long since I talked to you. You were co-hosting the show and I'm not bringing up that person's name. Wow.

Bill Volth, my man, the director of content and broadcasting for the Carolina Panthers. We'll talk again soon, man. Thanks, Adam. Good to talk to you. You got it.