Big Bill on the Hot Seat? (Hour 2)

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Do they have issues? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So I don't know who talked to Kirk Cousins, but there's this quote that's going viral. I did see that Dov Kleinman did share it and they did not attribute who was asking Kirk Cousins. Maybe it was just in a press conference setting.

I don't know if it's a charity event, something like that. It's in the Netflix documentary because that was all of last season. So I don't know where this is coming from, but this is, before I give you what Kirk Cousins said, let's just play the role on the reporter. You're Kirk Cousins. All righty. Kirk Cousins, I don't know if you saw this, Justin Jefferson had a top five quarterback list.

You weren't on it. He had Mahomes, Rodgers, Burrow, Hurts, and Allen. How do you think Kirk Cousins answered that? Yeah, you know, just grateful for everything, all the opportunities. You know, grace to God. Can't wait to get out there with the boys in the training camp, see how it is.

I appreciate Justin. He's a great teammate and everything, but he's going to go out there and work hard and go to the Super Bowl this year. You said go to the Super Bowl? The goal is the Super Bowl. Okay, gotcha.

He would never be that bold. Well, you're not that far off. I didn't even see it. This is the first time hearing about it. I forgot that they didn't see it. They always do that to you. Lie, lie. As a competitor, you'd always want that.

People have to be honest and share what they think, and I'm not going to tell somebody what they need to think. Hopefully in 2024, I'll be on his list. We'll see what we can do this year. Now, two things off of this. I think that's the appropriate way and the smart way for Kirk Cousins to manage that. You don't basically just lie down. You make somewhat of a claim next year.

Hopefully I'm on his list. Blah, blah, blah. I'm not going to tell people what to think.

Fine. The only part, though, that Kirk's in a no-win situation. So next year, or even Justin Jefferson in a no-win situation, if let's just say Kirk Cousins is back on the Vikings next year, which is not a lot because he's on a final year of his contract, and let's say some reporter goes up to Justin Jefferson this time next year and says, who's your top five quarterbacks? Kirk could have a really great year this year, but should not still be on that list.

If Justin Jefferson, though, puts him on that list, don't you think that's just Justin Jefferson, all I messed up last year and everyone Well, not everyone, just some people roasted me for it, so now he feels pressured to put Kirk Cousins on the list. He's going to have no option, right? If Kirk has a good year, he has no option. If Kirk is still on his team, because Kirk's a free agent. I don't think he's leaving, though. Again, we had the conversation yesterday. That's a whole nother, that's a can of worms you don't want to open every now. But yeah, he's going to have no option.

If Kirk has a good year and the Vikings bring him back, he has no option. Alrighty, let's get to the biggest stories in the world of sports with some audio. We call this segment The News Brief. Time for your daily news brief.

We get you caught up on the rumors, reports and reconnaissance from the day in sports. So this is Richard Sherman on his podcast, the Richard Sherman podcast. He had Antoine Winfield Jr. of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on and he asked him about this quarterback controversy, competition, probably the better word between Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask. This is Antoine Winfield Jr. Yeah, for both of them, you know, they're still competing for that spot. So um, you know, it's gonna be interesting to see how they do during this camp because you know, it's up in the air, it's it's really 50-50 between those two guys. So, you know, we're gonna grind it down camping, got to go with our best, you know, the best person to give us a chance to win these games. Now, you may be listening and saying, Zach, why are you playing an Antoine Winfield Jr. cut about Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask?

For two reasons. Number one, we are on a very powerful Tampa Bay radio station. So hello to our listeners in Tampa Bay. And number two, I never even thought this was much of a competition.

Like sometimes there's competitions, but you know what the end result is? I would be shocked, barring injury. If we get to game one of the season for the Buccaneers, I don't even know they're playing I'll look it up. And Baker Mayfield isn't the starting quarterback. I know that there were some people when he was up for getting drafted Kyle Trask, he said he could be a hard course to get into the first round.

I liked him at Florida with Kyle Pitts. But does anyone actually think that they're going to throw Kyle Trask out there after trying to to replace Tom Brady and they're not going to go Baker Mayfield week one, by the way, appropriate Minnesota in Minnesota with the Vikings skull skull skull Vikings are like six and a half point favorites now right maybe seven that is a little bit of a trap that right trap game. You take them at seven, they have a lead the entire game and then Baker comes down and has a nice fourth quarter and Kirk Cousins meltdown. But does anyone actually think this is a competition? And put it this way, if you want to say it's a competition, it's not a 5050 competition, bare minimum 6040 we are but we always say it's a competition like every coach always is all it's competition. But he's a player. There's no way Baker Mayfield is not gonna win the shop. He'd have to have a horrendous camp. He'd have to get hurt.

Yeah. The Buccaneers first two games of the season, Vikings and bears, not impossible games, then they get Philadelphia, the Saints an early bye week. If Baker doesn't get off to a good start, week five bye week, should they go to Kyle Trask? Who's the week six opponent or the week seven? Yeah, week six opponent. Detroit.

If it was an easy team, I'd say you could see you could see Trask there. Falcons. Tough. At the Bills.

Tough. Well, the Falcons. I think they're gonna be good this year. They have talent, but I'm not ready to say they're a tough team. Knowing that NFC South is a tough team.

But it's the visional game. At the Bills. At the Texans.

No, that's easy. Tennessee. At San Francisco. I'd say he plays there at the Texans. That's the first start.

Potentially? Yeah, that's why I say his first start. If things go south, I'm gonna say that schedule that we just read wasn't like Murderers Row. But I don't think that team's gonna be good. Yeah, usually you give the rookie a little bit. Baker probably will struggle.

He'll likely get hurt at some point. So they go 49ers week 11, at the Colts week 12, Panthers week 13, at the Falcons week 14, at Green Bay week 15, Jaguars week 16, and the Saints 17, and then Panthers week 8. It's not an impossible schedule with how bad that division is.

Well, you also gotta remember this. Last year, even though those teams were all bunched together, I think from a tie-breaking scenario, cause remember all three of those teams were seven and ten, the Falcons were the fourth team, seven and ten. So they get the last place schedule. Even though they all had the same record.

The Panthers and the Saints all had seven and ten. Yeah, I do, but everyone's starting to fall in love with them. That scares me. Yeah. Oh, well, sorry. We were talking about Atlanta, and I said Atlanta has the last place schedule. I gave you the Bucks schedule.

So that's the first place schedule. You know that feeling though? It happens every NFL season. There's a darling that someone falls in love with, and then everybody gets on it, and then it's like, ah, this isn't a good pick anymore. Yep.

All right. Let's hear one more from Richard Sherman. This is Richard Sherman, who may be the next partner with Skip Bayless, even though he can't stand his guts, but hey, if you get the money, you get the money. He was talking to Antoine Winfield Jr., Richard Sherman was, and Antoine Winfield Jr. said, ah, that TB12 fella, don't be surprised if he makes a comeback.

You know what? When he first said he retired, I really thought he was done. Like, I thought he was done, and then he surprised me when he came back. Ah, I think that, I don't know. To be honest, I don't know with him, because he might, you feel me?

He might be like, man, this is it. I had enough of a break. You know, I'm trying to come back and play, so I really don't know, to be honest with you.

Look, look, do you think they're going to work? Look, he could go back at the end of the training camp, and they'd be like, yep, Tom, get back with me. Most definitely, most definitely. I'm sure we're still reaching out to him, trying to see if he's trying to come back to the team. So, hey, it could happen.

Anything's possible. Nah, I know it's Tom Brady, but if you're Baker Mayfielder, if you're Kyle Trask, wow, that's Antoine Winfield Jr., a really good young player in this league. He has no confidence in this quarterback room. Here's your new teammate. It almost sounds like he's begging for Brady to come back.

Here's the thing, though. Brady's not coming back. No, he's done. Brady, even when he retired the first time, it didn't sound like he was actually retired. He retired the second time, and I think he went on with Colin Coward. He didn't even fully say it.

But then he did an interview with former CBS Sports Radio host, weekend host, Robin Lundberg. And that's when Brady said, yeah, I'm actually done. Because that's always a question you have Brady on. You're thinking about a comeback.

And you have that. You also have him doing the crying interview with Bill Belichick. Brady also in line right now to become a minority owner with the Raiders. You're not going to be able to play and return to the Bucs and then be the owner of the Raiders.

Also, that would kind of be funny. Because if you recall, I think it was Tim Brown who thought the Super Bowl was sabotaged back when the Raiders played the Bucs because Callahan and the whole Gruden relationship and all that. So that would be weird if you had Brady going back to the Bucs being a minority owner for the Raiders. You got this Fox deal lined up.

Brady's not going to be playing football this year. Let's listen up to Paul Pierce on not thinking the Heat will get out of the first round if they do acquire Damian Lillard. This courtesy of Rachel Nichols' new show.

I saw Tracey McGrady was on it too. Show basketball. I know they're going to have the right pieces around them. They're going to have that. But those three together? You put them together, they won't make it out the first round.

Wait, wait! You don't understand how they got to the championship this year. A lot of this had to do with their debt.

A lot of this had to do with their debt. And guys playing way above their pay grade. Caleb, Anthony, these guys was averaging 20 points on Boston.

We ain't never seen them do that. Then you had Duncan Robinson. So if you get dang, they gone. They already gone. But then you lose another 18 point 20 score.

Gone. You're going to have to throw in Robinson. You're going to have to gut that team out.

You don't think they're going to get out of the first round. They lost Vincent, Truce, Truce, Truce, Truce, Truce. Listen bro. I can't believe what I'm hearing.

What does Truce do? He shoot. He was killing. Vincent, 20.

Caleb, 20. A night versus the Celtics. Duncan Robinson.

These are four key pieces. Duncan Robinson wasn't doing it. He was killing.

I couldn't believe these guys. In the first couple series, Duncan Robinson didn't even play. He didn't play. Listen, Miami wasn't playing. You forgot that. No, I didn't forget that. And they made it to the chip.

Dang. This team won't make it out of the first round, but them three would know that. They're going to have that. Oh, one thing Miami is always going to have is some debt. I was going to say, did you know that Vincent?

Vincent gone, Truce is gone. Did you hear about that? Did you hear about that before?

You would not have said going into the playoffs. Those guys. Those guys.

You ain't going to just keep buying the D-League cast. That's what they do. So let me say this. We all know Paul Pierce hates the Heat.

So that's the factor into this. I happen to be a big fan of Paul Pierce. I loved watching Paul Pierce when I was a kid. But Paul Pierce now, he's turned into just the guy that gives crazy opinions. And you could tell he's just bitter about the teams that he's played against and still holds that against him. Like he says dumb things all the time about LeBron. He says dumb things all the time about the Miami Heat.

And also, this probably isn't right. But Paul Pierce, when he was fired from ESPN, I don't think he should have been fired from ESPN, but he's on Instagram Live with a bunch of strippers in the background and all that stuff. And then just a few weeks ago, he was on Kevin Garnett's show and he had no clue that he was live. And he had his sunglasses on. You could tell he was inebriated and he paid some lady to be with him there for the night and was telling everyone about it. It's almost as if now anytime Paul Pierce speaks, I'm just like, yeah, yeah, yeah, sure, sure, sure.

Just so you don't have to actually engage in the conversation. And Tracy McGrady and Rachel Nichols were both basically like he's crazy on this one. If you want to tell me that I'm going to win a championship, fine. But to not get out of the first round when this team was a playing tournament team with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, and then they add Damian Lillard, that's crazy to me. So Neil Brown, the head coach of West Virginia, he has gone five and seven, six and four, six and seven, five and seven. The Big 12 media days that happened the last few days, and when they went through the media poll to preview the season, Texas was one, Kansas State was two, Oklahoma was three, John McGuire's squad, Texas Tech was four, Sonny Dyke's squad at TCU five, Dave Aranda, Baylor's coach was in at six, Oklahoma State in at seven, UCF at eight, Kansas at nine, Matt Campbell's Iowa State at 10, BYU, their quarterback, Keaton Slova is going to join us coming up in a bit. They're at 11, Houston 12, Cincinnati 13, and then the Mountaineers of West Virginia 14. This is how Neil Brown with Big 12 Radio and Sirius responds to his team being picked 14th dead last in the Big 12 poll. It really pisses me off. There is some solace in the fact that the people that vote on the Big 12 media poll have never gotten it right. And I mean, I don't think it's never is a harsh word, but it's been a really long time since they got it right. And so there is some solace in that.

But I just don't believe it's accurate. And I think it's lazy reporting in a lot of senses, because to me, you always when you talk about football and you guys understand this is you build your football team through the interior parts of both both on both sides on the line. And we have 132 games started with our offensive line 132. And so I know that's the most in the Big 12.

I'm pretty sure that's really close to being one of the tops in the in the country. And we've got four guys that were that were freshman all Americans. We are start center Zach Frazier's two time all American.

Wyatt Milam, Doug Nestor, those guys are going to be NFL players. And so we're really good up front. We got a budding superstar and C.J.

Donaldson at running back. And we're going to be more athletic and we're going to have better quarterback play than we've had. And that's kind of been our Achilles heel a little bit offensively.

And then we've retooled our our receiver room. And then defensively, people tend to forget that we you know, last year we were not very good defensively. But the three years prior, we were really good. And 20, we were great on defense. And so with all six defensive starters through the portal going into the twenty two season, that's not going to be the case this year. We've got all all league defender at each each level. And Sean Martin on the defensive line, Lee Koba, Mike linebacker and Aubrey Burks at safety. And so we're going to be much improved on the defense side of the ball.

We return our long snapper punter and we bring a kicker in that started thirty five games. So, you know, I like our team and I like our chances and I don't feel like I'm going out on a limb saying we won't we will not finish where we were predicted to finish. I don't know what else he's supposed to say, but the weird part to me there, McKeon, is he goes, I just guarantee we won't finish last. Like not real convincing there from the coach, but I kind of respect it because everyone has this guy getting fired. So when everyone's just pouring criticism on you, you got to fight back and have some backbone. And that is your job as a coach to give your team all the confidence you can and talk them up as much as you can. But I mean, what a weird thing to ask him to answer.

So everyone thinks you're going to get fired and your team stinks. Your thoughts? I would ask that question. I have no problem asking that question. I think I displayed that this past week. I'm talking to Devo.

It feels like a hard question to ask someone. Here's Aaron Rodgers on being named the Hard Knocks team with the New York Jets. Hard Knocks is coming.

You see that camera? You're going to see a lot of them now. Hard Knocks is coming. Your thoughts? Listen to me. One of the only things I like about Hard Knocks is the voice of God who narrates it. Right.

Liev, I hope I get to meet him. But look, you know, I understand the appeal with us. Obviously, there's a lot of eyes on me, a lot of eyes on our team, a lot of expectations for our squad. So they force it down our throats and we have to deal with it. I love how the Jets are playing the victim card. Oh, we were forced into doing this.

So if Robert Salas does that, fine. But Aaron Rodgers, you love the attention. Stop.

You've become an attention whore the last four years. Here's Rory McIlroy on if you'd ever play for LIV Golf. If LIV Golf was the last place to play golf on Earth, I would retire. That's how I feel about it. So seriously?

Yeah. I'd play the majors and then. But yeah, I'd be pretty comfortable. I really respect that because he has been so adamant about hating LIV Golf and he's already lost because he could have got the bag. And then everyone who was criticized taking the bag no longer gets criticized because Jay Monahan made a deal with the Saudis. At this point, I understand his principle and he was the guy holding the PGA Tour flag and I respect him for that.

But if let's just say they said it's LIV Golf or nothing, you would be playing LIV Golf. Give it a rest, bro. We get it.

Like, we get it. I respect Rory McIlroy, but at this rate, you've already lost the fight. They used you and then they let you get knocked out. Don't try to stand back up and still continue to fight.

It's not good for you. We'd both be salty if we're in the same spot as him though, right? Oh, I'd be so annoyed. I was used. And I respected Rory McIlroy because at the time I just wanted players to be honest. Hey, they took the money. That's what it was. But I respected Rory McIlroy for kind of fighting back.

And Jay Monahan, the first moment he could get some money was like, Rory McIlroy, we just used you as a pawn piece. We'll stab you right in the back. Keaton Slovis, BYU quarterback, joins us now.

Touchdown Trojans. And we're counting down the days to kick off. Are we there yet? No. Are we there yet? I said no. Are we there yet?

What's wrong with your ears? Here is your college football fix only on the Zach Gelb show. Fifty days until the BYU Cougars kick off against Sam Houston.

And now joining us is a man who started his college career at USC, transferred to Pitt, and now is the starting quarterback for BYU. And that, of course, is Keaton Slovis. Always enjoyable to get Keaton on the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Keaton, appreciate the time. How are you? Doing great. Thanks for having me.

Well, thanks so much for jumping back on with us. So I was reading an article the other day about you. I didn't know this last time I talked to you, that Kurt Warner was actually on the coaching staff of your high school. What was that experience like, getting to learn from one of the game's best quarterbacks? Yeah, I was pretty fortunate to be able to be that young and learn from a guy of that caliber, a Hall of Fame quarterback, with such a great mind. And really just got lucky that he moved into the area after he retired. His kids went to our school. His son, K, he actually just signed as a UDFA for the Bucks as a receiver. And then his younger son, EJ, was younger than me, played quarterback. And then now he's at Temple. So I kind of just fell in the middle. So luckily I got the ability to have that relationship and to get to learn from him was pretty special.

No, we're well-versed with the Warner family. Kurt comes on all the time, and I'm a Temple graduate, so I'm pulling for EJ and loved what he did last year. What were you really able to learn, though, from Kurt?

I mean, just at that age, just understanding defenses and how to really read defenses and look at understanding concepts and how they worked and what they worked good against. And one of the coolest things about playing for Kurt was he was really invested in developing me as a quarterback, and it really kind of pushed me to, you know, he'd always say, I'm going to push more on you. And we're the most talented team ever, so he'd kind of say, I'm going to push more on you because we need it to win, but also it's going to make you a better player. So I feel like he always made the offense maybe more difficult than a traditional high school offense, but I'm forever grateful that he gave that opportunity. When you were getting coached by him at first, was the kind of the feeling, holy crap, this is a Hall of Famer coaching me up? Yeah, like for the first day or couple days, I think when you're a freshman, you're, what, 13, 14, and especially as an Arizona kid, the Cardinals were pretty irrelevant until Kurt came in and just took us to the Super Bowl, and I was a diehard Cardinal Saint growing up, so it was definitely pretty crazy.

But, I mean, that kind of goes away pretty quickly when you're working with a guy on a daily basis and just know his kids and family, and then you see other people kind of see him that way, and you're like, get it, know it, and you have to check yourself and be like, all right, I used to be that person too. So take me through some of your other favorite quarterbacks when you were growing up as a kid. Who did you really like? I mean, a lot of my family grew up in Michigan, went to Michigan, so I think Tom Brady was a big, you know, kind of forced upon me at a young age, and obviously he's the greatest. And I think if you, I mean, Breeze and Rogers, Manning, like all those guys kind of ran my childhood, but I'd say Brady definitely, definitely.

Brady Warner was like my two favorites growing up. Keaton Slova's here with us. So how has it been? This is now your third school. You've been through this before, having to transfer and make those relationships with new teammates. How's it been going at BYU so far?

It's been great, and, you know, I'm just so grateful for the opportunity to hear it. Sitting here, you know, in December trying to make a decision on what I want to do with my last year, I kind of decided to take a risk and go, you know, somewhere I didn't know exactly everything, you know, outside the building, but I knew they had good people on the offensive staff and that they were going to run offense to continue to develop me and help me get to the next level. And, again, the rest of it really fell into place, so I love the culture here, I love the staff, I love the players, and I'm just really excited to get to the season and play with these guys.

How do you look back at your time at the other two stops? Clearly USC is well-documented, and last year you spent a season with Narduzzi over at Pitt. Yeah, you know, it's all a learning experience. I think, you know, I'm super grateful for all my experiences and still lots of people and players at both places that I'm grateful for, and I think that's a tough thing. Sometimes certain things just happen, you know, your coach gets fired and you have to make a change, a scenery, and it wasn't like I ever wanted to leave USC and go through most of all you had to, and same thing, like I just mentioned, you know, I just wanted to give myself the best opportunity to, you know, throw the ball around, be in an offense that, you know, I want to play in and committed to. That's the crazy thing about this whole thing is Coach Roderick at BYU is the first coordinator I'll actually get to commit to and play for. So it's been a pretty wild ride, but I'm super grateful for it and, you know, I'm happy I'm ended up here because I'm really happy with BYU and I'm happy to be at Cougar.

Keaton Slovis here with us. You've been through this before, having new teammates and having to build those relationships. Is that difficult or is it, hey, I've done this before so it's a little bit easier? It can be a little overwhelming for sure.

Just because there's so many guys on the team, but I think as a quarterback it's kind of your job to do that, you know, and you have to embrace it and it's your job to lead, and I think that part comes naturally. It's just a matter of, you know, guys getting to know you and feeling comfortable, but I have to really give credit to the BYU guys. Everyone's asking, oh, is it easier this time around?

It's your second time. I was like, you know, it's more the same, but the kids here at BYU are so open. They're so excited. They're so eager to kind of have me and really embrace me as their quarterback and leader, and it's made everything so, so easy coming in. I think a lot of those guys, you know, maybe it's because, you know, the Mormon connection, all the kids going on missions and having to be meeting a bunch of new people, but I feel like they kind of understand what it's like to be in that situation, and actually I've been brought in with open arms.

It's been really refreshing and rewarding. Yeah, it's a unique situation at BYU. Why was it the right fit for you? I know you answered a little bit earlier in the conversation, but not everyone is fit to transfer to BYU. No, no, it's not a place for everyone, but I think the thing, and obviously, you know, there's a lot of value centered around the church, but I'm not a member of the church like you on the team.

They're not members of the church, and to me it's more a matter of what you value. You know, to me, if you're a good kid, you value working hard. You're humble. You're hungry. You love to learn.

You're selfless. You're going to fit in great at BYU because those are the values of the school. Frank, those are the values of the church, and those are the values that Kalani preaches every day, and I think the thing that's just so rewarding is to be able to fit in that program. I've never felt so aligned with, you know, the culture of, one, the head coach, the culture of the offense coordinator, the offense, and also the players and what they bring to the table and their values. Starting quarterback for BYU, Keaton Slovis here with us. Get into your head football coach like you just talked about in Kalani Satake.

I always love when he comes on this show, always an enjoyable conversation. What was your first impression when you're making a big decision like this, final year of eligibility, what was your first impression of coach? Coach is just such a good human being, such a great person. I think it's hard to kind of come by in college football sometimes, especially the head coach position. It's just so demanding.

There's a lot of it, and a lot of times you have to sell and be a recruiter. But for whatever reason, you know, we got a really good one, and I know him playing under Coach LaValle Edwards really gave him a lot of experience, and, you know, I know he leans on that screen a lot, but I've loved just getting to know Kalani more and more as I, you know, been here and playing for him in meetings, and he's a really great person, and also he pushes us to be better and he holds us accountable, which, again, I think I've always kind of wanted to play for a head coach that brought that to the table, but, again, I'm just so grateful to have the opportunity to play for him now. We've seen you on an enormous stage at USC.

We've seen you also at Pitt Takeover for Kenny Pickett, who was a first-round draft pick to the Steelers. Now there's this new chapter, final year of eligibility for Keaton Slovis at BYU. What do you want to show everyone this year?

You know, I think, again, just I'm not really focused too much on what, you know, other people want to see from me. Again, I think this, you know, talking to John Beck, my quarterback coach, a little bit about it, and he kind of mentioned like this last season is for you, and you get to do it on your own terms and go to the school situation, the offense you want to do, you know, play your last season of football in. And I think for me it's just been incredibly rewarding already before this season has even started to be in this situation.

And I think for me, you know, going to the NFL, I want to feel the most confident as I've ever been and hopefully have the best, you know, tape of my career going into this last season and, you know, going into the draft next year. So BYU is going to make their debut in the Big 12 this season. I know you're at Big 12 media days this week. Just what has kind of that experience been like as you're with the school for a year and they're getting ready to embark on a new chapter in their football program? Yeah, super exciting times for BYU, you know, and I talk to a lot of people who are familiar with the program.

You know, in years past they were talking about like it's almost too late. Like it should have been coming a long time ago and it's rightful that, you know, BYU is back in a big conference on a big stage. And, you know, we're just so excited for the opportunity and there's so many great programs and story programs and great players and great coaches.

You got to be there. I got to be there this week in Dallas and just to see all you guys who were, you know, watching TV last year and playing such big games and such great coaches, getting to meet Coach Dykes and Coach Sarrick, the BYU guy, it's pretty surreal. And, you know, you feel the energy in Provo, the fans, the players, the coaches, everyone's super excited. And I think for me too, talk about, you know, a place that fits me, you know, I kind of wanted to feel that energy and excitement and the push for the coaches, you know, going into my last year because I feel that energy, you know, to have a great first year in the Big 12 and last year for me.

So, again, even more alignment on that front too. I'll tell you, I look at your schedule. We know the Big 12 schedule is always going to be a problem, a lot of great teams. You also have Arkansas, so you get an SEC game in there. But I see West Virginia on November 4th, and I remember last year that backyard brawl between Pitt and West Virginia, that was an awesome experience probably to be a part of. Yeah, yeah, it was a pretty wild game and it's an incredible program. And, you know, that was a pretty good rivalry first game of the year.

And really didn't know a whole lot about it being a kid from Arizona. But they're a really good program. They play us tough and really all those schools. And you look at the Big 12, there's no gimmies by far. There's top to bottom, I think, maybe the most complete conference in the country because, again, I think any given Saturday a team can play pretty well.

Talking about West Virginia, like they played TCU better than, you know, probably anyone else in the country, and they're playing a massive change of game. So, again, I think you look at it and, you know, it's a tough schedule, tough to ask, but, you know, we're excited for the opportunity. I know you probably gave me the quarterback answer that every game is important, but is there one game in particular that you just kind of circle on that schedule?

No, there really isn't. Again, like there's a lot of games you probably circle on a schedule, just because, again, we've got so many cool programs and great teams coming to play us here, and we're going to so many, you know, cool venues as well and playing against some great teams. So, again, I wish I could give you an answer, you know. It's not like, you know, at USC you have like the two Robert games and such. And, you know, again, I feel like there's so many tough games and big games this year for us if you will. Last thing I'll ask you, and I'm sure you'll get asked this throughout the draft process, someone's going to say, hey, if I have a pick, why should I draft you? So I'll ask it to you this way, going into this season, why should people believe in Keaton Slovis and this BYU program?

That's a good question. You know, I think for me, I've had a lot of experience in the past four years just getting the opportunity to learn, you know, college football and have snaps and game experience, and to me you can't really pass up game experience for anything else. And, you know, it's the most prepared I've ever felt for a moment or a year in my entire life. And to me, I think, you know, when you look at Coach Rogers' offense and what it's been able to do in the past, you know, three years, it's done some incredible things. So, you know, again, that's why, you know, it's about the guys around you. We've got a great team too. We've got a great old line. I think we have a great receiving core who's super selfless and disciplined and does things the right way. And we've got some great tight ends and running backs too. So, again, when I think you look at it holistically, it's not even really about me. You know, it's about, you know, the whole product.

And I think we've got a really good squad offensively. Well, I always enjoy catching up with you. Good luck this year on this new chapter. And thanks so much for giving us a few minutes. Yes, sir.

Thank you so much for having me. I want to get into this Ben Volan piece. Now, anytime the name Ben Volan gets brought up, I feel compelled to tell a story about Ben Volan.

I'm not a fan of Ben Volan, or maybe I am now because Ben Volan did press Roger Goodell about how ridiculous the flake gate was at the Super Bowl a few years ago. But when I was in college, I worked at a college radio station. It was called WHIP. Now, I was in Philadelphia. So if you are familiar with Philadelphia radio, WHIP is the legendary professional station. So there was some story that we wanted to bring on Ben Volan that had to relate with the Eagles. I think it was when Darryl Revis was a free agent because there was rumors that Darryl Revis was going to be an Eagle.

There was rumors that he could be a Patriot. So we said, okay, let's tap into the Boston market and see if there's a lot of interest of Darryl Revis going to the Patriots. So he ends up going there. So I reached out to Ben Volan. And Ben Volan goes to me when I say, hey, can you come on WHIP? He goes, absolutely, but don't you mean W-I-P? And I go, no, no, no, it's WHIP. We're the Temple student-run radio station. And he goes, something along the lines of, I don't mean to be a jerk. And whenever you preface it that way, you're about to be a jerk. He goes, but I could only do it if you could pay me.

Now think about that. As a professional writer, and I'm a college student at the time, and he wanted a college student, me, to pay him to come on for an interview. Now let me remind you, when I was in college, we had Jim Nantz on the radio station, didn't ask for a dime.

We had Bob Costas on the radio station, didn't ask for a dime. Ian Eagle, Kevin Harlan, but Ben Volan wanted money. So I always had an axe to grind with Ben Volan, but he got back in my good graces, if he even cares, probably not. When a few years ago, he basically cornered Roger Goodell at that commissioner's State of the Union press conference where it's very tough to press a commissioner because they barely let you ask any questions. So anyway, my BFF, Ben Volan, he had an article out on the Boston Globe, and it said, Robert Kraft made it clear in March that he wants the Patriots to make the postseason and win a playoff game for the first time in five years.

He also paid Gerard Mayo handsomely to keep him off the coaching market and likely views him as the team's coach in waiting. And Belichick's friends have privately said they are worried that he is on the hot seat in 2023. So when I read that, McKeon, before we get into the conversation of is Bill Belichick on the hot seat, one thing sounds very fishy to me there. Bill Belichick is not the most, how should I say this, fun person. Bill Belichick is not the most gregarious person, is probably the best choice of words.

Not very sociable. So I'm not saying Bill Belichick can't have a good time. You talk to some players that played for Bill Belichick, a lot of players thought he was actually funny, and when the cameras aren't rolling and when he's not in front of the media talking, he's a different person. But if you're in the inner circle, like if you're considered friendly with Bill Belichick, what Brady would say, it's not as if Bill and I ever went out and had a beer together. So if you're actually in the inner circle of Bill Belichick, you think Bill Belichick's friends, and I've been there where I had people that are very well known, their friends reach out to me, give me information, things like that. But it does sound fishy, McKeon, to me that Bill Belichick's friends, and I can't imagine he has an enormous friend circle if you're going to talk about credible people, and it's very vague when you just say someone's friend, because how many times does someone say they're your friend and you barely even know them?

Yeah, well, put it this way. That was funny. Marcellus Wiley, he was talking about the Deebo Samuel interview, and he goes, My guy, Zach Gelb. I've never talked to Marcellus Wiley in my life. And then later on in the clip, he goes, I don't even know who this Gelb guy is, but I was your guy a few moments ago.

And then he sided with Deebo because he's just being lame. You know, I respect Shannon Crowder. Shannon Crowder defended me. Not that I need to be defended. I don't give a rat's ass if you like it or not. But Shannon Crowder goes, he said this best, you asked a football player something about football with things that he said and just followed up with it based off his answers.

That was the perfect answer by Shannon Crowder. So there's always people that say, Oh, they're your guy and you don't really have a relationship with them. So that smells fishy to me when Belichick's friends are calling up Ben Volan, who seems like he is just wonderful to hang out with. And he probably has a genuine relationship with Belichick's friends. And then Belichick's friends are giving a tell all to Ben Volan, the concern that Billy's on the hot seat.

Yeah. And you know, Belichick, too, the way that he's handled his whole career in New England, the way his whole head coaching here is, not a lot of stuff leaks out of New England a lot of times, too. So you think he's going to let it leak with his personal life? You think he's going to surround himself?

It's not by accident. That stuff doesn't really leak out of New England. He makes sure it's pretty tight-sealed there, you know? When you say, and Belichick's friends have privately said they are worried that he is on the hot seat, is that just their opinion? Like, hey, the team hasn't been good for a little bit, so I think he's going to get fired? Or is it because when you say it like that, you make it think, oh, Bill has confided to me that I think that he thinks he's in trouble and him and Kraft aren't getting along?

Like, that's the way when you report it like that that I at least register it to me. There's no, this is going to go down, the only way this can go down to me is they have another crappy year and Kraft says to him, maybe it's time they start the discussion and Bill's allowed to walk away. There's no way he's going to get fired from this job. I agree, and also, I can't see Belichick when, you know, has his dog Nike, and I don't think they're married, but his long-time girlfriend is Linda Holiday, and if they invite, like, a couple over, I can't see Bill sitting there saying, nice job, man. You know, Robert and I are not seeing eye to eye. Wow, your Belichick's really good. Can you pass the salt and the pepper? Alrighty, you know, we're on to dessert. We're on to dessert.

We're on to dessert. I can't see Bill Belichick. You have a really good Belichick. Yeah, I know.

It's really good. Well, I've listened to the guy speak for 20-something years, and I know how Bill Belichick's going to answer a press conference question. See, I was in a press conference setting with Bill Belichick once, and I knew how to get an answer out of Bill because I looked at the player and the roster. It was some safety.

I forget his name. It was like a third string safety, and he had a good game up against the Eagles, and I asked him about it because no one would ever ask about that guy, and he gave me like a minute answer, Belichick. So I kind of think I understand Belichick and no one really understands Belichick. I'm not saying he can't, that his seat is perfectly cool, but I don't think he's going to get fired after this year, even if they miss the playoffs, because I've said this for a while. If they miss the playoffs three years in a row, it's a different conversation, but they made the playoffs two years ago, missed last year, and then if they miss it again, that's two years in a row, and then next year it's a different conversation. But going into this year, I'm not saying that it's a lock that he's definitely back and that he's definitely safe because last year was a wasted year. They finally hired an offensive coordinator in Bill O'Brien that actually knows a thing or two about offense besides those two bozos that they had in Judge and Patricia, and you still got to get Mac Jones the number one wide receiver, but you are at a point with the Patriots where there's no direction that they're moving into.

They're directionalists right now. And look at their division. We've talked about it already. Our four teams getting in. To me, he's not getting fired from that job.

This feels like guessing reporting where... Yeah, exactly. It's... If Belichick ends up getting fired, Ben Volin, right, looks like a genius, but I don't actually think... That's hard. The math that made it two plus two equals four, the math is Ben Volin talked to Bill Belichick's friend, then another friend, and they said that he's concerned that he's on the hot seat. That's where I'll push back on. So, Ben, I would invite you on the show, but... No, thanks. I don't think I'm going to pay you, and I know our company will not pay for you either. It is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Five questions, five answers. When we return, we call this segment Onsides, Offsides. We do it every Monday and Friday for free right here on CBS Sports Radio.

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