Pete Carroll and Seahawks Part Ways (Hour 1)

Live from the play show yet not overly ostentatious studios of CBS Sports Radio here in beautiful New York City, sitting on top of the 10th floor of 345 Hudson Street, welcome on in to a Wednesday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all of our great local CBS Sports Radio affiliates, Sirius XM, Channel 158, the free Odyssey app, and of course streaming live on YouTube, youtube.com slash CBS Sports Radio.

855-212-4CBS is numbered to jump on in, 855-212-4227, you can always get at me on the good old cesspool of Twitter and on Instagram, where I'm always straight flexing, at Zach Gelb, that's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B, got Moist Mike, Stuart Kovacs, rocking and rolling with me, as we take you all the way up until 6pm Eastern, 3pm Pacific. We had this guy scheduled today, even before the show did start, and even before the massive news that we got, so sometimes you just get lucky. But he's always a great guest, KJ Wright, the former Seahawks linebacker, is going to stop by at the top of the hour, and then Bills linebacker and special teams captain Tyler Medekevich will join us at 5.20pm Eastern, 2.20pm Pacific today, and let's start with the big news, not even an hour old yet, and there's sometimes when you're in Sports Talk Radio, and there's a story, you're like, okay, I can see that coming, and then there's other times in the newsroom, which is just outside of our studio, where we all get ready for the show, where news happens, and then it's like one domino falling after another, with just reaction of shock, chaos, and really just a look of awe in people's eyes. And that's what happened less than an hour ago, when you had Ian Rappaport, Adam Schefter, whoever your favorite NFL insider is, take to social media and report that Pete Carroll is out as the head football coach of the Seattle Seahawks.

Now, let's just go how it's being reported, and I'll give you my reaction. He is being moved to an advisory position, so however they want to dress it up, that's one thing, but logically, I think Pete Carroll was told, we don't want you to be the head coach of this football team anymore. And I don't understand why that would be the case, because a year ago, he was one of the great stories in the NFL, where everyone was praising Pete Carroll, and everyone was ripping his old quarterback in Russell Wilson, and Pete Carroll, along with Geno Smith, led that team to the playoffs, where they lost in the first round in the wildcard to the San Francisco 49ers. Now, this year has been disappointing for Seattle.

It wasn't like they were a disaster, but they should have been a playoff team, and they were on the outside looking in. Now, I know Pete Carroll is, what, 71, 72 years old. You would think with what he accomplished in Seattle, and also getting to two Super Bowls and winning a Super Bowl, and without Russell Wilson having one really good season, and one season that was disappointing, but they never bottomed out, they were still a solid football team, you would have thought that as long as Pete Carroll wanted to continue coaching this team for next season, that he would have been afforded the opportunity, but that is not the case from our understanding of how this whole process went down, with more information probably still to come, since this story isn't an hour old. And I know the Seahawks may try to tell you, and they may try to sell it to you, that they have all the respect in the world for Pete Carroll, and this is not a decision that was forced upon him, that this is an amicable decision. Whenever I hear that there's an amicable decision in sports, I roll my eyes, I hit the floor, and I start rolling over, and I start laughing.

Because there's not usually, or there's rarely any times, there is a healthy divorce, or there is an amicable divorce when it comes to sports. And I gotta think that we probably haven't seen the last of Pete Carroll, now he's not a spring chicken, but he doesn't come off as someone that's 71 or 72 years old, he's still really sharp, he's still in good shape, and the guy's still a coach. So, I don't know, like, let's say that there's a team in the playoffs that bows out quickly, could they have interest in Pete Carroll? I guess that's possible, and I still believe that he wants to coach.

And the reason why I believe it is not just, oh, that's something that I think, it's because it's backed up with facts. On Monday, Pete Carroll went on a Seattle radio station in a weekly spot that he does, and he said that he plans to be coaching the team. I told you, I love these guys, that's what I would like to be doing and see how far we can go. And I remember this conversation, and I think we even played the audio earlier in the week, and I said, that's bizarre.

Like, why would that even be a question? Now, as a talk show host, I guess you have the coach on in a weekly spot. You know, maybe there's some retirement speculation, but I never thought that would be rooted in the possible idea or the possible end outcome, where, let's just call it what it is, even though Pete Carroll's still in the organization, he's been fired as the head football coach. So I got to think with what Pete Carroll said just as recently on Monday, and what the end result here is on Wednesday afternoon, that Pete Carroll was asked to no longer be the head coach, and this is just how they decided to dress it up in Seattle, where we'll move you into an advisory role, and maybe teams come call him, maybe teams are interested in Pete Carroll, or Pete Carroll will transition to the next phase of his football life, which would be assisting John Schneider, the general manager, who he has a great relationship with, I think, maybe that's changed, I don't know, forever he wants. And also, even though I don't like this decision by Seattle, maybe this is Seattle recognizing, because we do this all the time with players, sometimes you say with players, it's better to get rid of them a year or two early rather than a year or two late. Maybe this is Seattle saying, we have a good core with guys like DK Metcalf, with Jackson Smith and Jigba, with Tyler Lockett, two running backs that I like as long as they can stay healthy, and Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet, they do have some young pieces in the secondary as well. Maybe this is Seattle saying, let's get a younger coach, we don't know how much longer Pete Carroll was going to coach, because I was reading this article on NFL.com, his contract was only through the 2024 season.

So there was a year left on his contract, and then there was an option. I'm assuming it was a team option, because I've never heard of a coach having an option, but I'm assuming it was a team option for the 2025 season, so maybe this was Seattle saying, alright, this is probably his last contract, we could kind of go year to year, where we could have him be the coach for 2024, then decide if we want him to be the coach for 2025, but ultimately, I think Seattle said, we don't see him being the coach that much longer, so now we can reset, and we could shape potentially the next, what, five to ten seasons of Seattle Seahawks football, where we do have a good foundation from all the resources that you got back from the Russell Wilson trade, and all the young players that you've been seeing over the last two years have success even without Russell Wilson being their quarterback, and also, ultimately, you're going to need to find a new quarterback, because I don't think anyone in their right mind, even with how great the Geno Smith story was a year ago, believes that Geno Smith is the franchise quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks, so the Seahawks now become fascinating because the face of their organization for the last decade plus has been Pete Carroll, when it was with the L.O.B., when it was with Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch, that has been the face of the organization has been Pete Carroll, and in college, usually you see the coach be the face of the organization. In the NFL, there's not a lot of times where the coach is the face of the organization, because usually that goes to a star player, whether it's a quarterback, a stud defensive player, like in Pittsburgh, right, the face of that organization is T.J. Watt. In New England, even with all Bill Belichick's success for all those years, the face of the organization was Tom Brady, but Pete Carroll was the first person that you thought of when you thought of Seattle Seahawks football.

So it is stunning today, even with this age, it is surprising today that they're moving on, but that this is not on Pete Carroll's terms, because that's the way that it feels. It feels like this is a decision that was forced on Pete Carroll by the Seahawks, and now they're going to reset their organization with the good foundational, with some good foundational pieces on the roster. And I would say right now, if I'm a betting man, I've seen Schefter turn out this name, but this is my first thought, whether it's because he has a really good agent, or there was actually just really good interest, and Dan Quinn decided to remain patient, I would right now put the betting favorite, if I was Vegas, on Dan Quinn to be the next head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. He has ties to that organization when he's on the defensive staff and also the defensive coordinator. We know he was a successful head coach with the Atlanta Falcons, even though he choked away that Super Bowl 28-3. There's been a lot worse head coaches in the NFL than Dan Quinn, and it seems like he's ready for his next opportunity, but I do think this Seahawks job is attractive. Like, I don't look at this job and say that it's like Tennessee where there's not a lot of attractive pieces, or the Panthers when you have a toxic owner and you don't really have much around your young quarterback in Bryce Young. Yes, Seattle still needs a quarterback, but I do believe that the Seahawks are going to be very attractive, and Dan Quinn could find himself in a good spot, because what happens at the Cal— I don't think the Cowboys will lose to the Packers this weekend, but if they do, you could pick up the intensity on the hot seat of Mike McCarthy, and there's a lot of belief that Jerry Jones maybe one day will make Dan Quinn his next head coach, but that's just as long as Dan Quinn is there. Like, there was a belief for a while in New England that Josh McDaniels was going to one day take over for Bill Belichick, and eventually another team came calling, unfortunate for Stu, in the Las Vegas Raiders, and Josh McDaniels ended up being the Raiders coach for, what, two seasons? If not even that, and yeah, not even that, he didn't even make it through two full years, and I could see Dan Quinn saying, okay, I know Seattle, I know it's a good organization, I know it's a respected organization for the last 10, 15 years, that would be a job that would be good enough for me to get my next opportunity to be a head coach and leave the current spot where I'm at that's a very good job as the Cowboys defensive coordinator.

Sam, let me ask you this. How shocked were you when this news did come down, and also, are you with me that this felt like this is Pete Carroll getting removed as the head coach, rather than Pete Carroll no longer wanting to coach this team? I wasn't that surprised. I had read a few things throughout the year that Pete, more so on his terms, might just want to, you know, he was the oldest coach in the NFL, he'd been doing this for a long time, might just want to, you know, hang them up.

So I wasn't shocked. I'm a little bit more surprised that this was more the Seahawks decision than it was his decision. It makes me wonder now, does he still have the itch to coach? Could he be coaching somewhere else in the NFL next year, as opposed to taking on this quote-unquote advisory role? And then the other question is, I mean, now that he's not the oldest coach anymore, Bill Belichick is, but Belichick might be gone. I put out a poll on CBS Sports Radio, would you rather have Pete Carroll or Bill Belichick as your head coach next year? 72% right now say Pete Carroll.

Interesting. Right now, 72% say they would rather have Pete Carroll than the GOAT, Bill Belichick, in 2024. I think it depends where your franchise is. Like, if I am a team like the Commanders, I'm not hiring Belichick or Carroll, because that's a total rebuild, and I don't know how much longer either will end up coaching. But if you're a team like the Chargers looking to win now, I would trust Bill Belichick, and I might say I like Carroll a lot. I thought Carroll heading into the season was, what, a top five, top seven coach still in the NFL.

I just believe that Belichick needs more talent, and he has a chance to get more talent this offseason. And I'll make this pretty clear right now, because I got a text today from Hot Take Hickey, Ryan Hickey. No, well then, whatever he says, we're going the opposite direction.

Exactly. He thought it was laughable when I pointed out yesterday that Mike Vrabel could be coaching the Patriots next year, and Mike Vrabel maybe wants to coach the Patriots. He texted me, when out of his way to text me today, 0% Vrabel winds up in Foxborough. Now, I think Vrabel will be the next head coach of the Patriots. I think when he was going to the Patriot Hall of Fame in October, and he was at the Patriots game and he was the head coach of Tennessee on his bye week, I think that was Robert Kraft already laying the foundation for Mike Vrabel to be his next head coach. So I do believe ultimately, and it's weird that it hasn't happened yet, and maybe it's because the sensitivity with what Belichick has done for 24 years, how they have now had meetings and they've gone over multiple days, and we still don't know if Bill's going to be back or not, I believe ultimately Belichick will be out in New England, and you will have Mike Vrabel landing in New England as their next head coach. But right now, Jim Harbaugh is available for the NFL. You have Pete Carroll somewhat available if he wants to coach again. Mike Vrabel just became available yesterday. The NFL offseason, we still have games.

Wildcard Weekend is this weekend, and you know what they want me to call it Super Wildcard Weekend? I'll call it the Super NFL offseason, because this is already an incredible start with Vrabel, that speculation, now the speculation with Jim Harbaugh, and now Pete Carroll becoming available, and in all likelihood, Bill Belichick becoming available as well. And possibly Mike Tomlin also. We heard Schefter saying that Tomlin could potentially walk away. But the other question I have is we've had so many guests on talking about Bill Belichick, about how his old school approach and his hardcore Patriot Way thing might just not work in today's NFL with these younger players.

It works when you win. If you win, but just like in a vacuum, if you're just talking about what kind of coach do you want, it seems like Pete Carroll, even though he's older than Bill Belichick, He's more player friendly. He comes off as younger. It feels like he can connect with the younger players better than Bill Belichick can. So even though I think Belichick is probably a better coach, not probably is a better coach, all-time for sure, if I'm taking a team this year or in 2024, maybe Belichick is less equipped than Pete Carroll to handle this age of players.

And maybe Pete Carroll is the better option. The reason why I would still say no, and I think the Belichick classification and the definition of Belichick and the way we talk about Belichick gets grossly misportrayed at times. Like the Patriots have a young team right now. The Patriots don't have a good roster. That's why they didn't win this year. But those players never quit on Bill Belichick.

They were not blown out of a game since the Saints game, and that was back in week five or week six. And Belichick is demanding, but you hear a lot of his former players, like outside of Ahsante Samuel, still talk very positively about Bill Belichick, but you do have to work. That's why I keep on throwing the charges out there for Belichick. Because when something doesn't work out with one team, I think you need to go completely the other way. And Brandon Staley was a player's coach, but he was a doormat.

And he was also more obsessed with analytics than actually using his gut and coaching football games. I think Bill Belichick would be the perfect fit for the Chargers, because Belichick needs talent, and the Chargers need a coach that actually knows what he's doing and is going to hold players accountable. And that's why I see it, Chargers plus Belichick just equaling a perfect match. Alrighty, we're off and running. We'll take your reaction to Pete Carroll being out. Coach, would you rather have Belichick or Carroll as your next head coach if it was between the two? 855-212-4CBS, 855-212-4227. What the heck are the Chicago Bears doing?

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That's Stamps.com code PROGRAM. So Pete Carroll is out as the head football coach of the Seattle Seahawks. He will be moved to an advisory role, and that's just a nice way of saying pretty much he was fired as the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. And since he's a franchise legend, we're going to move him upstairs and ultimately have a decision to make.

Do you want to go through and be in that advisory role? And that's the next, what, five to maybe 10 years, most of your professional career with him already being in his early 70s? Or when a team comes calling or wants to be interested in the services of Pete Carroll, maybe Pete Carroll goes elsewhere.

Here's the other part of this conversation, Samter. Just because of his age, like you usually don't think he would take a year off and then get back into this a year from now. But do you think that's on the table? Because contractually and like with him getting moved to the advisory role, he's still under contract for this season. And then after this season, an option would happen. So does Pete kind of look at this as, I'll have an advisory role, like how Bruce Arians was riding around in a golf cart in Tampa Bay that year where a lot of people believe that Tom Brady got him fired or whatever did transpire there. And Todd Bowles ended up becoming the head coach. And then some people think that Bruce just wanted to walk away and he already got the Super Bowl and hand the keys over to Todd Bowles. Does Pete look at this as, this is what he wants to do moving forward? Or let me recharge the batteries for a year and probably him knowing he has three to five more years to coach, I would imagine, in his life. Then he really could become a free agent a year from now when his contract expires with the Seattle Seahawks. I mean, obviously, I don't know Pete Carroll personally to know what his mind is, but I have seen enough situations of guys who left the coaching ranks to get into media or do some sort of front office role or whatever it is.

And they realized that they were making good enough money and their lives were just better. And that they planned to get back into it. Bill Cowher is a great example. There was always rumors about him coming back into the NFL. He just had a cushy job, much less work, and he's like, why would I ever need to... Jon Gruden, there was surprise that he ever came back because the money that they gave him, but he almost never came back either. So I think that where Pete Carroll stands today, whether he wants to coach or not, and where he's going to be next year, I think are two different conversations because you just don't know how a year away he's going to change his mind about where he wants to be in his life coaching or not. So maybe right now he might be thinking, I'll take a year off and then I'll come back. Or maybe I just want to get right back into coaching.

But maybe in six, eight months, he might say, you know what? I kind of like where I'm at and making good money. I'm happy. I don't need to get back into coaching.

Quality of life is better. I'm good. And Tony Dungy is also another name. And Tony Dungy once told me, I think I had him in studio when I was filling in. It may have been for Tiki and Tierney at the time in this time slot on CBS Sports Radio. Who are those guys? Yeah, we see them every day.

They're just down the hall and you only hear them locally in New York. But I had Tony Dungy in and I said, were you ever close to coming back and coaching? Because you had to get phone calls when you've won a Super Bowl and you've been considered a great coach in this league. And we know Dungy is in the Hall of Fame. And he said the only time I actually considered it was when he got a phone call from the Detroit Lions, actually.

So it happens. But Cower is probably the best example. When Cower got out of coaching, I know there was a lot going on, obviously, in his personal life. You would have thought that Bill Cower would definitely be back on the sideline. But then you get involved in TV and it's totally different with Cower because he's older than any of these other guys were at the time when they walked away or got fired, whatever have be. And for Cower, he kind of realized, man, I only really have to work one day a week, you know, maybe two max. I still get a nice paycheck, which I'm imagining is a few million dollars.

And I could live a stress free life and really focus on my family. And I've already done everything. Right. He eventually got into the Hall of Fame. He already won a Super Bowl. At some point, I know there's that addiction of coaching that you have to fight and you have to get rid of. But there are ways to find that football fix.

And a lot of people do find it in TV. So I got to think for Pete Carroll, I don't want to say never say never, because even though he's 71, 72, he doesn't come off as someone at 71 or 72 years old. I would got to think if he's coaching again, he would be coaching next year.

But I can't say I'm shocked if he takes a year off, recharge the batteries. Right. You put a bow on this legendary career in Seattle. And then a year from now, you really hit the ground running to find your next three to five years of your football life in the NFL.

All right. Let's get to the Bears. I don't get what the Bears are doing. And here's been my take from the start with the Chicago Bears.

And I understand you could fine tune some pieces. But I think the Bears should run this back. Now, we know Ryan Polls is not going anywhere. We do know today that their head coach, Matt Eberfluss, is being brought back. Justin Fields, we still do not know what's going to happen. That's going to be one of the biggest stories of this NFL offseason from now until the NFL draft. Will the Bears trade fields? Will the Bears keep the number one pick? Will the Bears trade the number one pick? But I don't like this start to the offseason for the Bears already because you're bringing Eberfluss back. But are you bringing him back with the intention that he's actually going to be your coach next year? Now, I know he's only in on on this team for two years and I don't know how long his original contract was.

But next year is number three. Like, if you really believed in him, wouldn't you just extend his contract to show that belief? Or are you just bringing him back and saying, yeah, we want to give this another run?

Because there are better options out there. Like, I don't know if Jim Harbaugh wants a job. You know, Pete Carroll now could be available to. Belichick may be available. Mike Vrabel is available. Like, I think for the Bears, if you're going to make a move from Eberfluss, you need to bring in an experience name that has worked.

Not another one time or a long time coordinator that ends up having success or maybe being a failure in the NFL. So for the Bears, it's just confusing what they're doing, because ultimately, even though I think they should bring back fields, I don't trust the Bears to make the right decision. And I'm going to guess that they're drafting Caleb Williams.

So this is why it's crazy. So since January, they have fired their offensive coordinator. They did so today in Luke Getze. They've also fired their quarterback coach, receiving coach, their running back coach and their assistant tight end coach. So they're telling you the offense right now is a problem. So if you're telling me the offense is a problem and you're bringing back Eberfluss, who I get is a defensive minded head coach. Who's hiring the next offensive staff?

Is it Eberfluss? Is it Ryan Polls? And also this new offensive staff that you're bringing in because you're basically gutted the entire current offensive staff. Who are they coaching?

Is it Fields or is it Caleb Williams? And Samter, what I think is just going to happen here. And I'm not saying this should happen, but this is what I think will happen.

And there's a big difference between what I think should happen, what I think will happen. I think the Bears made it clear today they're bringing back Eberfluss. They basically gutted this entire offensive staff. I think they're going to trade Justin Fields this offseason and then they're going to draft Caleb Williams. And then a year from now, because it's so tough, not everyone can be the Texans. Where you have a new quarterback, a rookie quarterback and CJ Stroud plays at this historical rate for a rookie quarterback and changes the direction of this franchise around instantly. But I really do believe a year from now, the Bears will have Caleb Williams, but they'll fire Eberfluss and they just bring a new offensive coordinator now. So you will already have by this time next year, a few weeks after this year, because you have to have the hiring cycle play out, you will already have your new quarterback with a new offensive coordinator and a new head coach for the second time in his career. Like that's where I think this thing is going with the Chicago Bears. That to me would be insane. But that's the Bears. Yeah, but like that makes no sense.

So either A, you're bringing... But that's the Bears once again. That's why I think it. There's just some teams where you expect them to mess it up and you expect them not to follow logic and I give them no benefit of the doubt to do the right thing. I mean, listen, if that's the case, then everybody in Chicago needs to be fired. Front office, owners need to sell.

I mean, that's ridiculous. To bring in a new offensive coordinator knowing that you're going to fire your head coach and OC and bring in a whole new crew. Either you fire Eberfluss now and bring in a whole new crew with Caleb Williams now or...

I agree. You bring in an OC for next year because you believe in Eberfluss and most likely you're bringing a new OC because you think the problem wasn't Field. The problem was the offensive coordinator and the play calling. Therefore, you bring in a new OC to help Field develop. You're not keeping Eberfluss... By the way, we've seen this before in Chicago. This is not the first time where they've had a new quarterback and they had a new offensive coordinator and they've had a new head coach a year after drafting another quarterback.

Like, that has happened before in Chicago in recent memory. And it hasn't worked. So, like, if you haven't learned your lesson, then shame on you. Because fool you once, shame on me.

Fool you twice, shame on you. But the definition of insanity is doing... Is that it? Whatever.

Whatever you said sounds good to me. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. There are just certain teams. Stu, sorry, your Raiders are one. The Bears are one. That they do the same playbook over and over and over and over again and then their owners are sitting there or their presidents are sitting there and they're saying, Well, oh, how the heck are we in the same spot year in and year out? There is no doubt in my mind that they are drafting Caleb Williams, they are trading Justin Fields, and that a year from now they'll have a brand new head coach and another offensive coordinator, and now Caleb Williams will be on his second NFL head coach and his second offensive coordinator. There's no doubt in my mind. The Bears are dumb.

I can't imagine they're that dumb. So I'm willing to put a show bed on it. Okay. What do you want to bed here? A second dinner that I'm not going to pay up on? You know what? Here's the thing.

Dessert at that dinner? I don't want to have to be like Tony Soprano and have people come get their collections and everything. I'm not letting you make another bet until you pay off your first bet because I care about your well-being. I don't want to have someone walk over to you and maybe chop off your kneecaps when you start not paying off your first bet. Hold on. They're chopping off my kneecaps or they're like hitting my kneecaps?

No, I'm friends with Dan Campbell. I'm going to get him to get one of his players to come on over and literally chop or bite off your kneecaps. Okay.

That's interesting because I mean, I've heard of like, you know, enforcers coming with like a bat and hitting your kneecaps and breaking them. Yeah. No, chopping off. Yeah. So they're going to keep the rest of my legs just going to chop off the kneecap area? Yeah. That's going to be really interesting. Yeah. We're going to have to super glue Elmer's Glue.

They'll be a sponsor to glue your body back together. By the way, I did think about you yesterday. Very early, early, early, early in the morning when I only got 90 minutes of sleep. Oh, are you? Yeah. Oh, that was already told to you? Yeah.

I'm walking off the plane. I'm on the phone and I see acts like best friend. You guys went to college together, right? Your roommates? Yep.

And summer camp too. You got to read the book. No. You got to buy the book. And Kenny Albert. Yeah. The book is in the airport. A Mike for All Seasons.

You need to buy it and read it. Yeah. I would love to have Kenny to come on and talk about it, but I don't think MSG would allow that. No.

I already tried that. Yeah. So I did think about you yesterday. A Mike for All Seasons.

It's in bookstores and Amazon everywhere. There you go. So I love Kenny. There was also somebody else in the airport. Did he tell you about that? Oh, see, I, was it Wink Martindale?

No. Oh, see, here's the thing. This whole Wink Martindale thing happened yesterday, which now they have parted ways, which basically they fired him. But he stormed out, was all annoyed with the Giants and Brian Deball and he went to Newark Airport and I looked at the time of the tweet and I was like, I was in Newark Airport just then. So I was wondering if Kenny Albert saw Wink Martindale when I, because I was on the phone and I saw Kenny and I was like, hey Kenny, how are you?

Blah, blah, blah, blah. And then I was trying to get into the Uber, so I didn't like really stick around and talk and Kenny was talking to someone too. So I didn't want to really disrupt his conversation, but who else was there? It was a member, or I should say a relative of the Harbaugh family. Oh, who?

Somebody you would know. Was it John Harbaugh? No. Oh.

Tom Kreen? Yes. Ah, how about that? I don't know why he came here though. I don't know, I don't know either. Maybe there was a connecting flight somewhere.

Yeah. I don't know where he was. Was Tom Kreen on my flight? He might have been.

He could have been. I actually got a text from Jim Harbaugh this morning. There you go. I congratulated Jim Harbaugh. Would you leave me alone? No.

Actually, quite the opposite. I congratulated Jim Harbaugh on winning the championship and I don't really have much of a relationship with him at all. He got back to me and it was a nice text and he thanked me for not being a hater. Not being a Michigan hater. So how about that? Jim Harbaugh thanking yours truly for not being a Michigan hater as he should because I've been blasting that dope Tony Petitti and everybody else that just keeps on going after Michigan. I would have thought the other statement that would have come out of my mouth was he thought it was somebody else's number he was responding to.

No, it was a very nice personalized text from Jim Harbaugh. So how about that? Handle the victors.

And look at that. Let's go. A talk show host revealing a conversation with the head coach that's not going to spark a controversy. There you go. Unlike when Joe Benigno texts with Robert Sala. And then it turns out to be front page news.

Alrighty. Zach Guilp show CBS Sports Radio. Where should Pete Carroll land next? Do you agree or do you think where I am with the Chicago Bears?

They're going to find a way to mess it up. Phone lines open for you eight five five two one two four CBS eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven. When we come on back, I have a destination that no one's really talking about for Mike Vrabel. But first up with the latest CBS Sports Radio update. Here is the Ackman, Rich Ackerman. Introducing Allbirds new wool runner to redesign to redefine comfort.

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O'Reilly Auto Parts. Let's go to Oliver in Philly. Next up on CBS Sports Radio, Oliver, what's happening? Hey, Zach, honor to talk to you. How you doing? Doing great.

What do you got? So I got two points for you. And first, a quick one with Penn State, because I mean, you're living in Philadelphia or not Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

I go to Westchester University. You get a lot of Penn State fans over here. And what I see with the Penn State fandom is, oh, well, Jim Harbaugh didn't do nothing. Jim Harbaugh is a fraudulent.

It's like, go up. You know what I mean? Yeah, well, they're just jealous. The Penn State fans are jealous because they have their fraudulent coach in James Franklin, who's incapable of winning a big game. And Michigan played old school football and it won them a national championship. So you know what? Tell Penn State fans to keep on crying because you won't keep on winning. Right, right.

Yeah, I'll buy him a Kleenex. And and here's my Eagles point. You're talking about this Pete Carroll guy. Pete Carroll, in my opinion, is I mean, you rank him a top five coach if you include college and the NFL. Do you agree with me on that?

Currently right now? Yeah, I would say top 10. But yeah, you could make a case for top five. Well, who cares? Top eight, top nine.

Yeah. The point is, the Eagles sitting with a theory and sitting with a mascot, a head coach just barking his way about flowers and talking about all these different emotions. He's made the playoffs three times and got to a Super Bowl last year. Are we going to pretend that he's on Pete Carroll's level? No, he's not.

But here's what I think your point is a good one. I'm not going to interrupt you, but one in five in the last month and all you get is Nick Sirianni saying, well, we'll be OK next week. Yeah, he wants Carol. Well, Sirianni is a player coach, but there's a difference in being a player's coach and then also being a player's coach. That's a doormat.

And thanks for the phone call and the nice words, Oliver. But I would agree with your point that I'm OK with letting Sirianni go at this year, because I do think there's a chemistry problem in Philadelphia. But it's not to let Sirianni go to get an unestablished coach in there. So you're telling me fire Sirianni, you get Pete Carroll or fire Sirianni, you get Bill Belichick or Jim Harbaugh?

Yeah, that's an upgrade. That is an upgrade for the Philadelphia Eagles. But you got to remember who's running the Eagles.

It's Jeffrey Lurie and it's also Howie Roseman. And I think they want a puppet that they could control as their head coach. But the Eagles have too much talent this year and they are too good of a roster to go from 10 and one to only winning one game down the stretch. And no one has confidence in the Eagles this week going up against Tampa Bay. Not like I'm saying I have a ton of confidence with the Buccaneers, but this game is truly a toss up.

And on paper, it shouldn't be a toss up. The Eagles should win this game. But there has been a chemistry problem and a locker room problem with the players, the coach, all throughout the final two months of the season. Alrighty, let's get to Mike Vrabel now. And I said this before, I think Vrabel is coaching the Patriots, right?

I said that to start the show. I believe Vrabel is going to be the next coach of the New England Patriots. But with that being said, I think the Ohio State Buckeyes need to do something. And I'm not sitting here and saying they need to fire Ryan Day, even though I don't like Ryan Day.

Even though I think Ryan Day is a fake tough guy. And you saw that after they beat Notre Dame firing back at Lou Holtz when you were lucky to win that game. When you had an interception that should have been thrown by McCord and it was dropped. And then Marcus Freeman only had 10 guys on the field on the final play. When you scored a touchdown, you guys were lucky to win that game.

But sometimes you'd rather be lucky than good. But ultimately, the Ohio State team got exposed and this Ohio State team went from dominating the Big Ten and embarrassing Michigan year after year after year after year. It was superior up against inferior. And now, under Ryan Day's tutelage, this has totally done a 180 and it's flipped. Where Jim Harbaugh and Michigan are dominating Ohio State. And Ohio State has no answer for it. And think about this year. Ohio State bitched and complained and cried and crying Day was wah wah wah wah wah.

All the sign stealing. Harbaugh wasn't even on the sideline for the Michigan-Ohio State game. And you got out coached in that game.

More was more aggressive than you. And you lost once again to the Michigan Wolverines when everything was even. So the Ohio State fan, even before this year, was getting tired of Ryan Day. And you look at him in a five-year period, he only has eight losses.

But look at some of the talent that he's had. Justin Fields, C.J. Stroud, Chris Olave, Marvin Harrison Jr., Garrett Wilson. Like you can go on and on and on about the great wide receivers and the really talented quarterback play that he's had at the Ohio State. But it hasn't translated into another national championship. And the last three years after having C.J. Stroud for two of them, in two of those three years, and look what C.J. Stroud's now doing in the NFL. You've seen Michigan just dominate Ohio State.

So I will just throw this out there. Ohio State, in all likelihood, will keep Ryan Day as their coach for this upcoming season. I do think his seat starts to get warm because for those fans, it only matters if you beat Michigan. But it doesn't mean just because you intend to keep one coach that you can't do your due diligence and you can't play the game behind the scenes.

It would be really a certain level of incompetence. And it would be malpractice to not at least pick up the phone, even though it's not the most ethical thing to do when you still have a head coach that's employed. And you've got to call Mike Vrabel. Mike Vrabel, who was an Ohio State football player. Mike Vrabel, who was also on the coaching staff for a bunch of years at Ohio State.

And just say, Mike, are you interested? Mike, would you want to become the next head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes? And I think that's the only name right now that you fire Ryan Day for and not allow him to be the coach of this football team next year, if and only if Mike Vrabel responds with a resounding yes. He says, yes, I want to be the coach. Ryan, don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you. Go cry out the door. You're fired.

Bye bye. And you welcome in Mike Vrabel as the next head coach. Personally, I don't think Vrabel would say yes, but because it's his alma mater, maybe he would consider it. But when it comes to an NFL coach or a college coach in the lifestyle now, especially with NIL and the transfer portal to and how recruiting is. Mike Vrabel, I think, is going to stay as a NFL head coach. But you know how people feel about their alma maters? And when your school comes calling and they offer you or want you to be the next head honcho at Ohio State and the CEO of the Ohio State football program, you dangle that carrot in front of Mike Vrabel, maybe takes a surprising bite out of it and says, all right, the NFL, I'm Bolton, I'm leaving and I'm going back to college.

All right. This is that Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. The biggest story of the day is K.J. Wright, who's going to join us next to talk about Pete Carroll. Pete Carroll, of course, that's the biggest story of the day. He is now out as the Seattle Seahawks head football coach. And he's moving into an advisory role. And I think a lot of us roll our eyes at that and say, OK, Pete Carroll was ousted. And he was outed as the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, where just earlier this week on Monday, Pete Carroll said he still wants to coach his team and he will coach this team next year. And then somehow, some way now he's getting moved upstairs and won't be coaching the Seahawks in 2024. K.J. Wright joins us next on the Zach Gelb show.