Lorenzo Neal, Former Chargers Fullback

All right, it is that Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio, the biggest story of the day. To no surprise, Brandon Staley fired as the head coach of the Chargers. The Chargers also say goodbye to their GM, Tom Tolesco, as well as they lost to the Raiders last night, 63 to 21.

I still can't believe that final score. Let's go out to the guest line right now and welcome in a legendary Chargers player, a guy that I think should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was a great fullback, and that is Lorenzo Neal, kind enough to join us. Lorenzo, how you been, my friend? Great, Zach.

How are you? Thanks for having me on. I'm sorry I'm in my car, you know, but I said, hey, I got to talk to you.

Anytime you call, I'm going to answer, brother. Well, I appreciate you doing that and saying that. So just before we get to Staley's firing, to see the performance last night by the Chargers, they quit on the coach. I think that's clear. But as a former player who was aggressive, who gave it his all, how did you process that one last night? I couldn't.

I got a text last night and someone asked me to come on the show and I said they quit and guys' heads should roll. And that's the difference because you've got to have leaders of men. And I know that, you know, you look at coach, you talk about Staley, who he is, you know, won a Super Bowl with the Rams. So people think, hey, there's young and up and coming coach. There's a lot of coaches. And I personally, I like Staley.

I've had many opportunities to meet him, sit down and talk with him. And it's sad because, you know, he has a family and all these other things. But this is a business and this is the right now business. When you have a franchise quarterback, you have your window of opportunity is to win. And the money that the Chargers went out and spent in free agency and bringing in guys, it hasn't yielded the ROI, the return on investment. And like you just talked about, it was appalling to watch grown men that we all played with, grown men playing a kid's game, getting the king's ransom. And to perform like that 49 to nothing in the first half was, it's something that you can't even fathom. They quit. They weren't prepared. And here's, I'm not saying they weren't prepared. They weren't prepared mentally.

Because let me tell you, when you go out there like that, you're not prepared mentally, fumbling the ball over and over again. You saw a Raiders team, fast forward and rewind that had a coach that was in the same situation and got fired. But he's was, you know, a great coach.

But was he a leader of men? You see how the guys now they didn't perform for him. But now you can get to let's go and you can get the Raiders coach and put them in a room. I would bet on to let's go far as knowing X and O's far as just knowing football. But you see the way those men perform for the head coach, because coaching is not just X and O's. It's about having gravitas and having the ability to lead men and make them want to play not only for you, but for themselves, and that you had two teams. The Raiders last week only scored six, but they're competing and fighting hard for themselves and coach. And that's one thing that to let's go loss. He didn't have those guys fighting hard enough that I think that you choose that the guys choose to do some kind of way.

There was a disconnect. And this is the thing with Brandon Staley. The last two years, there's been so much negativity and so much conversation. And I remember last year after the playoff game, we had you on and we were both told me, go get Sean Payton, get rid of Brandon Staley. And every time I've talked to Chargers players, I would ask about Brandon. So I'm like, you tell me why he's the right guy.

And what they were saying you knew was a bunch of BS because when so many people are telling you he's not the guy, and we're able to see that from the outside, I really wonder how bad it was on the inside. Yeah, and here's the thing what I do know, I know that the guys liked. And just like when you have a children, and you know, they love mom, kids, your kids, they love mom, they will do mom says okay, the kids love mom and mom, but guess what, when dad comes, they love us, but they also fear us.

sense of respect and not that no take anything away from women because I think women are the unbelievable creators of life. And, and so know where I'm going. This is just you know, the way life is. It's I was with my mom. I'm like, Okay, mom, whatever. When she said, wait to your dad get home.

I'm like, Mom, that's just the difference. And Staley didn't have that part. So if you don't have a guy that you still respect, Allah and they say, Well, can you lead like that? Yes, look at Tony Dungy. Look at Jeff Fisher. There's a lot of coaches that you can lead with a bag.

You know, I tell people sometimes it's a it's a book that I read and said, just leave for God's sake. And a guy was leading one had he had a bag of money. And other hand, he had a hatchet. And the bag of money is like, Hey, if you do this, I'll give you this.

How long does that work? And then you can have a hatchet and say if you don't do this, I'm gonna you know, I'm gonna get you in pretty soon. If you can't get the mind and the heart, you lose. So you can't lead with just here. I'm gonna give me this because kids would make up their bed one day. All right, I want more money.

Okay, you know, the hatchet you get to a certain age and fear doesn't work. That's the thing about coaching, you got to have the ability to lead in both facets. Do you want Bill Belichick coaching the Chargers next year? I think Bill Belichick would be an unbelievable he will change the culture and I don't think Bill Belichick is going to be the Chargers coach.

I don't mind. But I just think the way that Bill Belichick is. I don't know if that style of football coaching works anymore for this generation. And let me explain what I'm saying is Belichick no X's and O's. Heck yeah, but you have realized we live in a society now that you can't just talk them in any kind of way. I'm saying it's my with and have guys walking on pins and needles.

That style does not work. The only way it works is you got to have a guy like you know who the greatest quarterback that ever played Tom Brady. See, you have Jimmy G who was under him. But if Jimmy G see if you it's a difference between a thermostat and a thermometer. See a thermometer. It just measures temperature.

A thermostat regulates temperature. If you don't have your trigger man that the coach and him are not on the same page, and he can't win. Guess what guys won't follow Lorenzo Neil here with us former great charger fullback played a bunch of stops in the NFL on the other side, right?

You have a lot of guys on the other side. You have a similar situation where you had a coach that got fired and Josh McDaniels. Now the interim comes in and Antonio Pierce is three and three.

We saw a few years ago. The whole Gruden situation happened. Rich Versace ago seven and five and Mark Davis didn't hire rich Versace in a full time basis. Do you believe that Antonio Pierce should get the permanent gig in Las Vegas next season? Not only do I believe that, but I think that Mark Davis made a mistake. I think he should have kept Versace when you think about what he did as a special teams coach.

See everyone wants all the flash and what everyone's saying. Oh, because he's a special teams coach who cares? That's what and that's where that's where Davis has to understand he's going to be pulled on and he's going to be tugged in and he's got to close down his circle.

I can look at a place and you know where I'm going with this in Baltimore. Who's the head coach there, but think about him as a special teams coach. He's not no great exes and old guy. He was my coach, but it was a way he respect you, but you knew he meant business. I love hardball.

I love the hardball boys, but if you think about I've had both of them as friends and as coaches. He's you still respected him and you knew, hey, learns if I wasn't doing my job. He's like, you're not coming back. You're not going to play and that's that.

That's not personal. That's just making business decisions because hardball gets it, but he'll laugh with you. He'll joke with you, but he's going to push you. And so when I say that, I think that Antonio should be the head coach. I think he's earned that and you have to realize they don't have the quarterback. I don't think the quarterback is on that team. And that's why last week you only gave you only couldn't score anything and you only lost six to nothing.

So you played well enough to win that game. So not no disrespect to the quarterback bowler up hammer down. I love the young kid, but the Raiders are pretty good team if they get the right trigger, man.

I'm telling you, they're not far away. Lorenzo Neil here with us. If you had an MVP vote right now through 14 weeks, who would you vote for the NFL MVP? Wow. That is very, very tough.

But if you give you say, Hey, who is it? It's two guys for me. Herdy and Josh Allen. Josh Allen does not get enough. Josh Allen does not get enough credit for what he's done and what he has to do. Buffalo bills has struggled and struggled immensely this year.

You think about what they did to Philadelphia. Josh carried that team. You have to realize you think about the system and everyone talks about previous system quarterback. I don't think he is. I think Purdy has shown that he can operate the system because Jimmy G couldn't do it.

You know what? Trey Lance couldn't do it, but you look about these systems. Look, look over in Miami, same type of system.

Okay, let's go a little further than that. Look in Chicago, same system. If you look at these coaches and some of these offenses, quarterbacks, they operate the system. Two is, two is not a great quarterback, but in that system, he's good. Brock Purdy has an it factor that separates him. So I like what Brock Purdy is doing, but I do have to be careful because you look at what happened when Trenton Debo wasn't there and what happened. And that's the thing that I think that's going to hurt him. But I'm telling you what Josh Allen has been able to do with that team. And yes, he's stolen interceptions, but he has to do more for his team to win.

So I like him a lot. Don't sleep. One last one. Don't sleep on the Bengals and got my team over there now that I'm losing new Green Bay Packers. I think the seal, the Cincinnati Bengals, even not having a great quarterback, they're going to find a way in the playoffs and they're going to make some noise. I think it should be a quarterback this year. I think it should either be Tyreek Hill, who's closing in on 2000 yards.

We'll see if he plays this weekend and then I'll stay in the Bay Area. If it's not Tyreek, I think Christian McCaffrey should be the MVP too. I love it.

I absolutely love it. And I think that you're absolutely right. I think that Tyreek and McCaffrey doesn't get enough credit and don't get enough thought process in that. But it goes to show you, even look at the Giants. Look at these quarterbacks now. Everyone said you can just plug in a running back and they can just run the ball.

You can plug in a receiver. They don't have to be great. Lyman, all the quarterback positions, the only position they say, well, you got to can't miss in the draft and got to look at now around the league. How many backup quarterbacks? You look at Purdy, look at these guys, what they're doing. Look at Cincinnati quarterback position.

Are we going to start viewing it different now? Because now you don't have to necessarily have the face of the franchise. Just give guys opportunity so you can say that for every single position. But I totally agree with you. What McCaffrey has done and what he means to the Niners and what he means to the league. And so about Tyreek with the Miami Dolphins. Hey, I'm with you.

Same church, St. Pew. Let's give it to someone else. Last thing I'll ask you. So you talk about how everyone just goes quarterback, quarterback, quarterback, clearly for the Hall of Fame, more than just quarterbacks get in the Hall of Fame. But when it comes to the fullback, there is not really an appreciation for the fullback. You were one of the all time great fullbacks. What would you say to a Hall of Fame voter to try to make your case on why you should one day be in Canton, Ohio?

Well, thank you for the opportunity. I think that there should be a fullback. And I'm not going to sit here and say it's me because I know that there's guys that's worthy. But I think it's a shame when you think punters now, pillow kickers, guys are in there. And we talk about Franco Harris and those guys, they were not true necessarily fullbacks.

I look at a guy like Larry Sanders. People don't talk about that was the best catching fullback in the league, caught 100 passes in one year. He taught me showed me how to be a great chip blocker. If you go look at what what Moose Johnson did, you know how great a blocker that he was. There's another guy, if you think about Mike Alstott. If you talk about just a running fullback, Mike Alstott was the greatest running fullback probably in the league, one of the top. So when you think about there's guys that Moose Johnson, Mike Alstott, you know, there's guys that deserves being in this conversation. You look at what Seattle did and Mike Strum and what he did, you know, Alexander, I think there's definitely some fullbacks should be mentioned. And there should be a fullback, a true fullback in the Hall of Fame. It's not me, Moose Johnson, you know, like I said, Mike Alstott, Larry Sanders, there should be a fullback in the Hall of Fame.

I'm with you. Lorenzo Neal, always appreciate the time. You'll be well. No worries. Cheers.