Bears Need To Keep Justin Fields (Hour 3)

What's that sound? That's the sound of Downy Unstoppable's scent beads going into your washing machine and giving your clothes freshness that lasts all day long.

There it is again. It's like music to your ears. Or more like music to your nose. That freshness is irresistible. Let's get a Downy Unstoppable's bottle shake. And now a sniff solo. Nice.

Get six times longer lasting freshness plus odor protection with Downy Unstoppable's in wash scent beads. Alrighty, way to go. Hour number three of our radio program.

That's right. It is the Zach Gelb show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. The Chicago Bears, in a big part to the incompetence of the Carolina Panthers and my best friend David Tepper, which I'm being sarcastic.

I can't stand that petulant brat. Have secured the number one overall pick. So the Bears are on the clock. And this now creates a very, very, very intriguing decision for the Chicago Bears.

Where I only think there's one wrong answer. And that's trading Justin Fields. You want to tell me you want to trade the pick? I'm good with it. You want to keep the number one pick and you want to draft Marvin Harrison Jr. at number one and have a core next year of Fields, DJ Moore and Marvin Harrison Jr.?

I'm all good with it. But Justin Fields has played too well down the stretch where not only does he deserve to be the job and have the job next year as the Bears starting quarterback, but the fan base now wants him as the starting quarterback. And if we would have talked about this in September or October, it would have been this is a big year for Fields, but probably the preference would be Caleb Williams or probably the preference would be Drake May. I don't think right now I need to have Caleb Williams or Drake May if I'm the Chicago Bears. And Chicago has never had a quarterback. And now when finally someone started to move this team and play himself into being the quarterback of the future.

You're going to get rid of him. And I'll tell you this, you trade him, you trade Fields and let's say you take Caleb Williams one, you take Drake May one as well. Fields you'll get a first round pick for. That is how well Fields has played. I really do believe the Bears want to trade Justin Fields. They would get a first round pick for him. I would have said four or five weeks ago, you would have got a two for him. But if Josh Rosen is going for a two, if Sam Darnell was going for two and then some, Fields, in what has been a bad destination for quarterbacks, has put it together this year when slightly getting more help.

And also, even though sometimes I come off as someone that is irrational, I am someone that I believe in logic. Like when the Cardinals extended Cliff Kingsbury and Steve Kahn. Before that, I didn't think Kyler Murray was deserving of a of an extension. But when you extend the guy that drafted him and the guy that coaches him, even though you shouldn't have, once you do that, you then needed to reward Kyler Murray with an extension and you also lost all the leverage.

Now, I know that didn't work out. Now Kyler Murray is playing fine football, but Kime is out of a job and Cliff Kingsbury is out of a job. So the report that I read over the weekend for me in Rappaport is that he believes Eberflus is going to be back next year.

So let me get this right. Ryan Polls is probably going to be back as the GM. Matt Eberflus only came in two years ago.

Matt Eberflus is going to get another year as the head coach. So why would you get rid of the quarterback? And I know everyone could tell me, oh, Caleb Williams is this generational talent and Drake May is not that far behind him. When it comes to the quarterback position, I don't move on from someone that's working. Because how many times have we done shows here at CBS Sports Radio or we had experts on that just slobber all over these quarterbacks? Like we were told for three years Trevor Lawrence was going to be the next Peyton Manning, right?

That's what people told us. Now people are extremely critical of Trevor Lawrence because he had one bad year, one good year and one underwhelming season with a bunch of injuries. I don't think Caleb Williams is going to be Trevor Lawrence. I don't think Drake May is going to be Trevor Lawrence. I think Trevor Lawrence is better than both those guys. And look at the way that we're talking about Trevor Lawrence now. How many people told me that Sam Darnold is going to be a great quarterback?

So this stuff happens where because everyone wants a quarterback, we all overrate these quarterbacks. And I think Caleb Williams is a good player. I think Drake May is a good player. I think Michael Penix Jr. is a good player. Jayden Daniels, good player. But I don't think there's anyone that I need to have right now where I draft that quarterback and get rid of fields.

And let me tell you this. This is a developing situation because in September I would have agreed with everyone that said draft Williams and get rid of fields. But as the season has played out, fields has something. And you don't need to give him a new contract yet. He still has two years left on his deal when you factor in the fifth year option, which they'll pick up. So for an organization that has never had a quarterback, when someone starts to play well and he has won over the fan base, he has won over the locker room, you're going to go draft somebody else?

It just doesn't make sense. Like if you were getting rid of the GM, if you were getting rid of the head coach and you were going to blow this entire thing up, OK, I could listen to it. But as long as the GM and as long as the coach are coming on back and it appears that they are, why would you get rid of the player who is playing well enough and it's still not even an ideal situation in Chicago?

I think you do nothing here. You do not extend Justin Fields. You do not give Justin Fields a new contract. And you let this play out and you need to assure that you put him in the best position available to succeed.

And I threw this out there last week. And after seeing what happened this weekend where Arizona stunned the Philadelphia Eagles, I had the Cardinals plus 12 points, I did not think that Jonathan Gannon was going to win the game outright. But the Cardinals are the one team you need to circle because the Bears know that the Cardinals, if Marvin Harrison Jr. is available, is going to take him. So Chicago could actually get the best of both worlds where they keep Fields, they get draft capital and they're also still able to draft Marvin Harrison Jr. Because Josh Harris is looking to make a big splash. Robert Kraft may have a new head coach or trying to save Bill Belichick, they're looking to make a big splash and both need quarterbacks. So Chicago could fall back to two, Chicago could fall back to three, still get some future draft capital, keep Justin Fields and get Marvin Harrison Jr. That's what they should do.

And guess what? If you feel like moving back is going to cost you Marvin Harrison Jr., I would take Marvin Harrison Jr. one. And I wouldn't hesitate that if I can't ensure that I will get him at either two or three. But assuming that someone moves up to one and you still, and we'll see how the final draft order does shake out, and you're still in front of the Cardinals, you should be able to get Marvin Harrison Jr. I'm not telling you Fields is going to be great, I'm not telling you Fields is going to be generational, I'm not telling you Fields is going to be their quarterback for the next 10 years.

I'm not. But I'm not as sold that Williams is going to be this generational talent or Drake May is going to be this generational talent. And I don't sit here and compute out the answer that, oh, I need to have one of those guys 100% certainty over what I have right now in Justin Fields. Because Justin Fields, even though he hasn't always played great, I do think his first two years struggling was more so of a product of the Bears messing him up than Fields being the biggest reason to the problem.

And he's now looking like the solution, and he has a good relationship with DJ Moore. Now imagine what that offense would look like, because who would have thought the Bears would be falling out of the top 10? But they have a second first round pick, and that's their original first round pick.

They're now 7-9, and they're at the top 10. No one in their right mind thought the Bears were going to be a 7 or 8 win team this year. And that's a credit to the quarterback. You know, we had that little run of Tyson Bajan and all that, but Fields down the stretch has been really damn good.

And I don't get rid of someone that's been really damn good hoping that someone else is going to be the guy. Because like, for example, look at Andrew Luck. And I understood why the Colts did that. Peyton Manning was coming off a major surgery, major injury, and he was older. You have Fields still in the prime of his career.

And as great as Andrew Luck played on the field, he didn't have this long career in the NFL because injuries derailed his time in the league and forced him to retire. So when a locker room loves someone, when the fans love someone, and he has won over that city, you're going to get rid of Justin Fields? It's not the time to trade Justin Fields.

And you could say, oh, well, you know, his stock will never be higher, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, OK, you got to like the Falcons would be stupid not to offer a first round pick for Justin Fields. Heck, I would give up a pick for my team in New England for Justin Fields.

Because this guy is showing that when he just gets a little bit of a better situation, he was the player a lot of us thought he could be. And I've never got the Justin Fields disrespect. Like, you go back to that draft class. You had Trevor Lawrence go one. You had Zach Wilson go two. Then the next quarterback off the board was Trey Lance three. And then Fields fell to the Bears, where they traded up to go get him at, I believe, 10. And then you had Mac Jones go 14 or 15. I thought that I was I was imploring the Patriots on this show in that draft process to go get Justin Fields.

I remember they had me do it was right during Covid in 2020. They had me do a prediction video. I was like, oh, the Pats will get Justin Fields a trade up to go get him. And it was the Bears that ended up doing that. So Fields, who got off to a bad start to his career, is now turning around and you're going to bail.

And you know what? If Fields was in this draft class, how would he rate? Like, let's say if Fields was coming out of college, would he rate higher than Caleb Williams? Would he rate higher than Drake May? I don't know.

But he's in the conversation. So you could potentially get picks and you can get. Marvin Harrison Jr. to surround them around Fields. That's the plan. That's what you should do. And I said it last week that I was buying it on Fields. And I said they need to have Fields in however way they want. Fields, Marvin Harrison Jr. and DJ Moore.

And now I will double, triple, quadruple down on it the rest of the way. It would be a mistake to get rid of Justin Fields. I really do believe that.

And you know what? If you want to disagree. I think you will fall in line with a lot of people because our biggest flaw as talk show host and fans, we do not know how to evaluate the quarterback position. We don't.

And when we think we know how to evaluate the quarterback position, we end up being wrong. So I'm not dealing in this potential. I'm not dealing in the draft. I know what I have right now with Justin Fields and I want to see more of it.

It feels like you should see more of it. And I wouldn't bail now because I look around all these trades in the NFL. Look at the hot quarterbacks are on the move. Russell Wilson goes to Denver. His career is now over. Deshaun Watson goes to Cleveland.

You know, take out what happened off the field that you know is impossible to do. But just talking about it from a football decision, everyone's like, oh, wow, that's only quarterback. That's a great quarterback. Deshaun Watson barely played last year because of the suspension.

When he did play this year, did not look good besides one game. And now it's a make or break year for a next year. And Joe Flacco comes off the couch and is playing great football. And I'll even give you Green Bay. We tarred and feather the Packers for two to three years.

Gouda Coons, are you an idiot? How do you move on from Rogers? How do you draft his replacement? Jordan Love looking pretty damn good right now. And we all knew throughout this year, Jordan Love was going to have good moments and bad moments. And I said it the entire season. I don't give a rat's ass what the Packers win total is at the end of the year. I don't care if they make the playoffs, they missed the playoffs. Does not matter to me.

All I care about is at the end of the year. Did you see enough to suggest not know, but suggest that Love could be the guy? And guess what happened? Love is doing enough at the end of the season to show that he could be the guy. Remember Lamar Jackson? Oh, Lamar Jackson.

Yeah, guys like Bill Polian, a Hall of Fame executive said he needed to change positions. He fell to the 32nd pick in the first round. And Lamar Jackson is now going to win his second MVP. We do not know how to evaluate quarterbacks. So we could all have our jaws drop when we watch Caleb Williams and Drake May play.

We could all do it. But I don't know how they're going to be as NFL players. It looks like they could be really good NFL players. But Justin Fields right now is showing you in a new start in Chicago that he's a really damn good player.

And I'm not getting rid of Justin Fields whatsoever. Zach Gelb here with you on CBS Sports Radio. We will take a time out when we come on back. Could the Eagles say goodbye to Nick Sirianni whenever they go out in the playoffs? And also is one really damn good coach potentially going back home this offseason? We'll tell you more about those two coaches next. We'll be back in five. Zach Gelb shows CBS Sports Radio eight five five two one two four CBS eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven. All right. This is Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio.

It's weird. I think I have a love hate relationship with Nick Sirianni. Because the first year when he did that flower speech and that flower analogy, I was like, oh, this guy ain't gonna make it in Philadelphia. Then he started winning games, started running the damn football. They make the playoffs. They get blown out by the Buccaneers. But that was the Tom Brady.

All right. They had something. And last year they hit every button the right way and it led them to blot almost every opponent.

And then they got to the Super Bowl where they blew a 10 point lead and they lost. I would never have thought when we sit on the second day of January in the year twenty twenty four. I was going to utter these words on a national radio program, especially when the Eagles are ten and one. But I don't believe in Nick Sirianni anymore. I don't. And I don't think it's crazy to suggest that he could get fired after this year.

I really don't. And I'm not saying you go through all of next season then firing. I'm saying after this current season, because my biggest problem with Nick Sirianni is you need to be a players coach in this year. But there's a difference in being a players coach and then a doormat. And when you're wearing your players jerseys.

I don't think. You could be a players coach that isn't a doormat. And I do believe there's a communication problem. And I believe that there is a locker room problem now in Philadelphia.

And I don't say that just very freely. Like, I don't say that easily because I was in that Eagles locker room at times last year. And that Eagles locker room, it was as if all 53 players operated under one heartbeat and one mentality. And this year, you see a lot of frustrated players. Two weeks ago, even in a win up against the Giants, you have Devante Smith and Hassan Reddick yelling at the coaching staff because something was wrong. And those aren't guys that usually yell at a coaching staff. So that's when it's alarming. You have Jason Kelce after the game.

And I'm talking about the one they just lost to the Cardinals. Basically be speechless. That guy is a great talker. That guy has a great podcast.

And that guy has dealt with the media in Philadelphia for a long time. And he had no answers. A.J.

Brown. You could call him a diva. You could call him selfish. And some of that is warranted. You see the frustration visibly. On his face and the guy wears a visor.

I like you could just see it. And there's just sloppy communication. There's sloppy play calling.

And there was a stretch. Merrill Reese and Mike Quick have been doing Eagles games for years. Mike Quick is a Hall of Famer. Merrill Reese is a pros pro as a broadcaster, one of the best to ever do it. Even they were criticizing the team with some of these.

Just design runs where you knew that the play wasn't going where the way that they wanted it to run. And then you saw that. That was the lady was probably like 40 years old or something. I should never really guess a woman's age, but she's even screaming.

What the bleep are you doing in that sequence? Because everyone knew. What the Eagles coaching staff was doing was wrong. And, you know, I know Eagles fans wanted to run Jonathan Gannon out of town. Jonathan Gannon knew the whole Eagles offense. And Shane Steichen, right?

You lose a nice offensive mind, but Sirianni will figure it out. And you already had Sean Desai. I know he didn't get fired, but get replaced by Matt Patricia. And then the new offensive coordinator Johnson. I know he had the relationship with her to the quarterback coach last year.

He's been miserable, too. And that falls under who? The head coach, Nick Sirianni. And I know it may feel like deja vu for Eagles fans because once Doug Peterson, who won a Super Bowl, lost Frank Reich. A lot of people are like, oh, that's why you have problems with the Eagles.

And I thought that was a joke at the time. But I think there's merit to that argument. And this year, I know it's sometimes tough when you have a team that loses in the Super Bowl. The entire goal is to get back to the Super Bowl and right a wrong. But outside of the coordinating changes, there hasn't been that many drastic changes with the Eagles this year. On paper, they still have a great offensive line. You can make a case that they upgrade the running back position like Miles Sanders. I know he had great numbers last year.

It was overrated. You still have A.J. Brown. You still have Devante Smith. You survived the Dallas Goddard injury. Julio Jones had two touchdowns over the weekend.

I'm not saying he's from the fountain of youth. That's a pretty damn good number three wide receiver. On defense, Bradbury is regressed.

Darrius Slay is not as good as the way that he talks. I know he's been hurt. You lose Hargrave. But you still have a lot of guys on the defensive side of the ball.

You draft Jalen Carter. So the Eagles, who were once 10-1, and they had some problems, but they were still winning games, they have fallen off. And they don't know how to win anymore. And that's a problem. And you have articles coming out about the quarterback, how he's losing the locker room, too. This is a dumpster fire. And that's a reflection on the head coach. Because a lot of people believe with some of the issues, even after winning that Howie Roseman and Doug Peterson had, the Nick Sirianni hire was made because that's a coach that Howie Roseman could basically control and be the puppet master to.

This is what happens when you hire a puppet. There could be some good moments. But when you face and are met with adversity, how do you respond? And year one, he responded well. Year two, there was no adversity. Year number three, you got off to a 10-1 start.

And you have not only declined, you have bottomed out. You'll lose to the Cardinals. Even with all this problem, you were still in line to win the NFC East. And have a home playoff game. Now, in all likelihood, unless Dallas chokes up this opportunity, you're going on the road wild card weekend. I thought I would have an easy drive down to Philadelphia, you know, get a credential, go cover these games, go have some fun. We have a few Eagles playoff games, home playoff games at the link. Stuff my fat face with some cheesesteaks.

Go to Mama's, go to Del Sandro's. That's what I thought I was doing. And it could be an Eagles home playoff game. And quite frankly, I don't even care who the opponent is like the NFC South sucks.

Atlanta, the Saints, Tampa, whoever. You know, the Eagles are going to be a favorite. I don't know how you wouldn't plus the points, even though they would be a road favorite. I don't know how you'd plus the points with the home team right now. Because in all likelihood, they're going to be the five seed and they're going to be going to whoever wins the NFC South. And even though the Eagles are by far and away more talented team than whoever wins the NFC South, I can't pick the Eagles right now. Because even when you have a ton of talent, if you don't have team chemistry, you don't got anything. Because we've seen some really talented teams just be a disaster because they can't get on the same page. And how do you fix this?

How do you save this? You know what? I'll give you an in the moment take. Jim Harbaugh wants an NFL head coaching job. I think that's been pretty damn clear. He's won an NFL head coaching job the last three hiring cycles. Jim Harbaugh can be as selective as he wants.

He is the hottest name on the market right now. Hotter than Johnson with the Lions. Heck, even Bill Belichick becomes available. Jim Harbaugh right now is the most attractive next potential NFL head coach. He's had success in the NFL, three NFC title games, a Super Bowl appearance. He's been a stud at Michigan.

Right. He was great at Stanford. Everywhere Jim Harbaugh goes, he wins to some capacity. So I know most of us are just saying, oh, well, the Chargers should hire Jim Harbaugh. What about the Eagles? Like the Eagles still have a good roster. But the Eagles don't have the right coach right now. And the Eagles are sloppy in the locker room. And the Eagles have no order right now. And the Eagles are a mess. The Eagles right now are the Titanic. And they are slowly sinking. And not everyone's going to get on the life raft.

And you've got to make some cuts. And it's not time for the Eagles to fire Nick Sirianni. Like let him coach out the rest of the season, even if they win Wild Card Weekend, which I don't think they are right now.

They'll lose in the divisional round. But they have too much talent to be this bad. And I know Howie Roseman wants control, control, control, control, and Harbaugh would be the antithesis of that. But you would have an instant upgrade at the head coaching position if you brought in Jim Harbaugh. And I usually do not advocate for guys to get fired after they go to the Super Bowl the year before.

But that is how bad this has gotten in Philadelphia. You go from 10 and 1 to a passionate, loyal fan base now having zero confidence in you. And I know sometimes people say, oh, Eagles fans are crazy.

Oh, they're ridiculous. At least they're going to the playoffs. No, Eagles fans are right. This team went from a likable team last year to now they are unlikeable.

And it's actually painful to watch this team. So I would seriously contemplate moving on from Sirianni. And I would seriously contemplate begging, imploring Jim Harbaugh to come join the Philadelphia Eagles. Now, from that to the future and the mixed emotions that I had this weekend. I got really excited about who could potentially be the next Patriot head coach. I do think it's time to move on from Bill Belichick because I think it's time to rebuild. And with Belichick's age, I think it's tough to rebuild the 71, 72-year-old head coach. Now, let me be clear. If Robert Kraft wants to bring back Bill Belichick, I think there needs to be some changes.

But I'm not totally against it. But I heard Mike Lombardi, who as Jason Kelce once said, some clown named Mike Lombardi. He teased me this weekend. And I'm not a big fan of Mike Lombardi because he once hung up on me on a radio interview where he only gave us seven or eight minutes. And he was like, man, you know, I've been on for a long time. I've never done a radio interview this long. I got to run. Back when I was working at Stu and I's favorite radio station, 920 AM, New Jersey, back in the day. Now, I guess I could say back in the day.

Man, I am getting old. This isn't good. But Mike Lombardi, I think he was on his podcast or wherever it was. He said that Mike Vrabel is in the final year of his contract. Today, Mike Lombardi and the speculation was that maybe Vrabel was going to go to the Patriots and replace Bill Belichick.

That was speculation, which I'd be good with that. Vrabel's a really good coach. He's young.

He's got a lot of life left in him. I think that would have been the perfect transition to go from Belichick to Vrabel. And then Lombardi today makes a tweet and he goes, I misspoke. He actually has two years remaining on the contract.

And like when I first heard it, I'm like. I don't want to believe Lombardi because I don't like Mike Lombardi. But he is plugged in right. You would think you would know the information. And I remember looking up when this happened over the weekend, like Mike Vrabel's contract. He just signed the extension like a year or two ago for five years or something like that.

Maybe it's two years ago, whatever the numbers were. But Lombardi is claiming that he was in the final year of his deal, which is like, oh, perfect timing. Lombardi tweets out today, I misspoke.

He had two years left of the contract. So this idea of Belichick out Vrabel in, I loved it, but I don't see how it's going to happen. Now, Lombardi take everything that he says with a grain of salt. He says that Vrabel's already having problems with the new GM. So maybe they are going to a divorce this year. But I can't take anything from this conversation from Mike Lombardi in a serious matter now.

But Sampda, like that would be great. Like I would even give up a draft pick to go get Mike Vrabel as the next head coach of the New England Patriots. I mean, it feels like they're just grooming Gerard Mayo to be the guy. So if Belichick does leave. So if you had to choose between former Patriots stars, because obviously Vrabel has the history.

But I mean, I love Gerard Mayo. He's been there. He knows that team. He he has the relationship with Kraft.

Don't you think that there's kind of like, well, I hate to say it. What is I know he's been there for longer than just this stretch of a poor play, right? He's been there good times as a player, good times as a coach. But as a late, there's no one on that staff that I need to have.

There's no one that I need to have with what that has become in the last two years. As much as I think Gerard Mayo can be successful, he was practically an extension of the coaching staff when he was playing. But Mike Vrabel has won with less in this league. Mike Vrabel had Ryan Tannehill in an AFC championship game. I mean, Ryan Tannehill is legit NFL quarterback. OK, when you say legit NFL quarterback, you are not wrong.

But you say that with the bleep eating grin, knowing that you would never call him a top 10 quarterback. So is he competent? Is he better than people make him out to be?

Sure. Does anyone say, oh, Ryan, even when Tennessee was going to the AFC championship game and they were down nine or ten points right at the game against Kansas City, no one thought Ryan Tannehill was playing in a Super Bowl. So Ryan Tannehill is above average. He's solid. I wouldn't even say above average. He's average.

You just said he's legit. Now, can you make up your mind here? You're driving me crazy. Average. Average is fine. OK.

If you're if you're at the if you're in the middle of the pack, then you're fine. You will agree though. You could win a Super Bowl by being an average quarterback. I will agree, though, what Tennessee did in that two, three year stretch was more of a product of coaching than it was them having this great roster. It was a product of Derrick Henry being unstoppable than anything else. But yes, definitely more coaching than it was Ryan Tannehill. Running the ball, though, with a good head coach.

That's not a 2023 2024 formula for success, but Mike Vrabel showed that he could win with less. I'm not excusing Henry. Henry was a stud. I'm a big Vrabel fan. Love him. And I love him as his personality, too. Him and like Dan Campbell had that come from that same cloth.

Yeah. So I love Vrabel. I just feel like Jerrod Mayo has earned his stripes. He's been with the Pats since 2019 as a coach. He was he was a player for years. He has that relationship with Kraft.

It feels like it's just kind of like they're grooming him to be the guy. That's fine. Now, I can't get Vrabel, let's say. I'm good with making Jerrod Mayo the next head coach. But if I could get Vrabel, it's the same thing like the Justin Fields situation, where I think Justin Fields has done enough to get the job for next year. He has showed me enough. I know what I'm getting. So, yes, you could have this hope, this potential.

You could tell me someone's going to be great, but until I see them do it, you don't know. And I would like, you know, Vrabel has been a better coach than Fields has been a quarterback. Let's be clear about that. But I do think the Patriots should explore every potential option in getting Mike Vrabel back home to one Patriot place. And oh, yeah, by the way, Vrabel went into the Patriot Hall of Fame this year. I've never seen a coach on his bye week go to another team stadium.

I know it's different. He's getting honored. And sit in the owner's box for the entirety of the game. So, I know we live in this world where, oh, you shouldn't tamper, blah, blah, blah. I would imagine there were some conversations that weekend.

That would just be a guess, right? It's the NFL. What do we think now? The NFL, they do everything the right way?

We just had an owner throw a drink at a fan this weekend. And that's what we at least see. We know a lot of other stuff goes on behind the scenes that the NFL would never want to see come to light. Update time. Here he is, Rich Ackerman. Alrighty, wrapping up shop, it is the Zach Geld show on CBS Sports Radio. So, the biggest story from now until the national championship game is going to be Jim Harbaugh's future. I do believe Jim Harbaugh is back in the NFL next year.

Regardless of the outcome on what transpires between Washington and Michigan on Monday night. As long as Harbaugh, and that's the big thing, he's got to be offered a job. But as long as he's offered a job, I think he's gone.

Now, two years ago, he was very selective. He interviewed with the Vikings. He had that 12-hour interview. And they ended up not going with Harbaugh. And they hired Kevin O'Connell. Now, last year, it seemed like he was begging. And I think had a conversation with Carolina. There was some speculation about Denver, too. And nothing ever came out of it.

And Harbaugh, every time he comes back, he goes, this is where I want to be. This will not be a yearly occurrence. And that's after the decision has been made. But I got to think, when you look at all these potential openings, that someone is going to give him an offer. Like, how many openings do you think we're going to have? AFC East.

Probably just one. And that will be the Patriots. I don't think Salah should be back, but I think he will. And, heck, Woody Johnson even already said it. I think McDermott is safe, too. AFC West, you have the Raiders that are already open. You have the Chargers that are already open. You know the Chiefs and the Broncos aren't making a change. AFC North, everyone's going to be safe there. Tomlin is not getting traded. AFC South, maybe Vrabel was some of the speculation, but I would still be surprised. And then you go into the NFC.

Commanders will be open. You know, even though I just said Sirianni should be fired, I still don't think he will be. I think McCarthy's safe, and I think Debo is back. The NFC West, everybody's safe there. Gannon's having a good first year. We know what Pete Cowell could do. Sean McVay is a phenomenal coach, and Kyle Shannon's Kyle Shanahan. The NFC North, we thought the Bears would be open, and it appears that Ibra Flusto is coming on back.

You know, this is wild. You know, I saw a report today, Dennis Allen is probably going to be back. Todd Bowles is probably going to be back. We know the Panthers are already open.

And I do think the Falcons should move off of Arthur Smith, and that would be a good landing spot for Harbaugh. You know, eight weeks ago, let's guesstimate there, we would have thought ten jobs would have been open. I don't think ten jobs are going to be open. And that's already knowing that the Chargers are open, the Panthers are open, and the Raiders are open. But if the Raiders don't get Jim Harbaugh, they should hire Antonio Pierce.

Maybe six or seven at most are going to be open? And, like, you're trying to make a big splash? You're a new owner in Josh Harris, why wouldn't you hire Jim Harbaugh? And that's the thing, what is Harbaugh going to prioritize? Is it who has the quarterback right now? If that's the case, it should be the Chargers. Who's going to give them the most control? Well, it could also be the Chargers, because they also got rid of their GM and Tom Tolesco.

The commanders are going to be cleaning house. They could hand over the entire organization. You know, I think Terry Fontenot is going to be back with the Falcons. But if they get rid of Arthur Smith, I don't think Terry Fontenot will get in the way of Jim Harbaugh. So he's going to get an offer. He will get an offer this year.

And I think that's what he's been wanting. Because once he beat Ohio State, he had an out at his university, a place that he does love. And then he beats Ohio State, wins a Big Ten championship, doesn't get the Vikings job, comes back, does it again. And now this year it was, oh, you can't win a college football playoff game.

Well, he just did that yesterday. And now they're 60 minutes away on Monday night from winning a national championship game. So he could stay and get a $125 million contract. But you don't want to have to deal with the NCAA who were coming after you for not only one infraction, but now this whole overblown sign-stealing scandal, too.

So you're probably going to have two punishments. I think Jim, I would love to have Harbaugh stay. I think he's great for college football. And college football, right, same as college basketball, we know these teams based off their coaches. Like there are legendary coaches in both college basketball and college football. The coach is the CEO of the program. It would be great with what Harbaugh brings to keep him there at Michigan.

But he has been begging for an offer now for two years, and he does enough to get a second job in the NFL. And he'll get one. Here is Jim Harbaugh when asked about his future at Michigan after the Rose Bowl victory to send Michigan to the national championship game. I wonder if you can tell me what the chances are that the championship game might be your last one at Michigan. My future consists of a happy flight back to Ann Arbor, Michigan. Can't wait. There you go.

Now, I'm not an expert. And I'm like, you see the video of Harbaugh after the game screaming the I'm proud to be a Michigan Wolverine song and all that. Like, you know he loves Michigan. But it doesn't mean he doesn't love the NFL.

And it's an easier lifestyle, too, to be an NFL head coach compared to being a college head coach with the transfer portal now and NIL and all that. And you have done everything and have exceeded expectations and you have brought Michigan back. And the last thing to do is to win it all Monday night, which that's going to be a great game. Oh, that's going to be a phenomenal game. And ultimately, I do think it comes down to what Michigan does best. Can they do that in the big game, which is going to be run the football at Blake Coram and Donovan Edwards and keep Michael Penix Jr. off the field?

That's how they're going to win the national championship game. But I'd be very surprised if we're sitting here in three, four weeks from now and Harbaugh's still the coach at Michigan. Because it means someone didn't offer him a job. I don't care how he spends it.

It means someone didn't offer him a job. And if you don't want to offer Jim Harbaugh a job in the NFL, then I question everything about your organization, especially if you have a vacancy. Alrighty, that will do it for a Tuesday edition of the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Big thanks to each and every one of you for kicking off the new year with us.

We'll say it one last time, get out of the way. Happy New Year to everyone. We're going to have a wonderful year here on CBS Sports Radio with our brand new lineup. Started the morning with Maggie and Perloff, then Bill Ryder, the legendary Jim Rome, then us from 3 to 6 p.m. Eastern. You got JR coming up in a matter of moments on many of these same CBS Sports Radio affiliates. Heard the debut of Bart Winkler last night. Love me some Bart Winkler and then Amy Lawrence as well. And then all the great weekend programming that we have. So fired up to beer each and every afternoon. Big thanks to Moist Mike and also Stuart Kovacs.

I guess we'll see Stu next week as Stu has the greatest vacation schedule in the world. And a big thanks to Greg McElroy for joining us. We'll be back tomorrow at 3 p.m. Eastern, noon Pacific. Big thanks to each and every one of you one more time. Happy New Year. We out. Bye-bye. Peace.