Maxx Crosby & Fletcher cox Join! (Hour 2)

The Sultan of Sizzle. The Titan of Toastiness. The Kingpin of Kindling.

These are the admired ones. Those who've created the prime place to gather. They don't just have a backyard. They have the backyard because they know a Solo Stove Fire Pit is more than just the ultimate smokeless fire pit. It's a place where friendships are forged, football is revered, and food is enjoyed.

Solo Stove, the perfect flame for the big game. This is the Zach Gelb Show. Alrighty, back inside a jam-packed Mandalay Bay Convention Center. It is the Zach Gelb Show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. Now joining us is a man that is a finalist for the defensive player of the year. This dude, each and every year, just keeps on getting better and better and better.

I don't even know what the ceiling could possibly be for this guy because he's just an absolute dog. And that is Max Crosby on behalf of the Las Vegas Raiders via Invisalign. Max, great to see you in person. How you been?

Absolutely. I appreciate the introduction. It means the world, man. I'm doing great.

Everything's great. I appreciate a lot about your story. Something that really stands out is just the love that you have for the Raiders organization. We know there's been a lot through the years. A lot of people could have taken the easy way out and said, I'm out.

I'm gone. I'm not going to be a part of this. Why do you just have so much love for the Raiders organization?

Honestly, they would only seem to take a chance on me. And at the end of the day, I feel like I was born to be a Raider. Being in another jersey or color doesn't even register in my brain.

It doesn't even sound like a thing. I feel like since day one I was meant to be here and be a part of the reason why we changed this thing around. I talk passionately about winning and what I feel like is best for the team. Obviously, I'm not the final say, but I put my body on the line and played through a lot to help this team win in every single way.

I show them, listen, I'm getting better every single year regardless of what's thrown at me. That's what I want everyone thinking like. I've shared my opinions.

People have had their certain concerns and thoughts on it. But at the end of the day, all my messaging is I want everyone to be thinking on the same level. How are we getting better? You mentioned every single year I'm finding new ways to improve in every single way, in every single category.

I'm finding that one percent. I want the front office. I don't care if it's the front office or the janitor or the equipment guys. I want everyone to be thinking like that. That's how you win. That's the only way you give yourself a chance to win a Super Bowl.

Everybody's got to be in the boat. So AP, he's the Raiders to the core. There's only one coach for the Raiders.

Everybody has these big names and everything like that, but there's 31 teams and only one Raider nation. I feel like AP is the man for the job. I stand behind him and I stand behind what I say. That's when I knew you meant business about AP. Clearly Antonio Pierce showed that he deserved to get the job. He got the job.

But with how much love you have for the organization, to basically say, hey, I may have to think about requesting a trade if you don't hire this guy, speaks how much he's impacted you and how much you've thought of him. No doubt. It's not just about me. I'm speaking for the guys. I'm speaking for everyone in that building.

Everyone wanted him to come back. So if I've got to take some heat and be that guy, that's what being a leader is. Standing up for what's right. At the end of the day, all I care about is winning. I want Mark Davis to have a damn Super Bowl, to win a Super Bowl. I want him to have success.

He's been the owner for 20 years and we've only been in the playoffs twice and only once in my five years. I want us to succeed. I want him to succeed.

I do it from the greatness of my heart because when I go to bed at night, I'm not worried about what people's opinions are or whatever because I know I'm coming from a good place. All I care about is winning for the Raiders, not anybody else. I don't give a damn about any other team.

But I'm not rooting for anyone in the Super Bowl. I don't give a damn about anybody. I care about the Raiders and my guys. That's all I care. I'll go to the end of the world for my teammates and they know that. And I'll play through anything if I can do it to be out there on the field and help us win. So I care about the nation and there's only one nation.

So that's it. We want an answer. Max Crosby here with us. Quarterback is always such a big thing, right? We know Derek hasn't been with the team now for a year in New Orleans.

I think they're going to make a move this offseason, whether it's in the draft, a trade, free agency. When you kind of go into this offseason, you don't know who your quarterback's going to be. I know you can only focus on what you could focus on the defensive side of the ball, but how challenging is that? I mean, just being real, the quarterback's the most important position in football.

There's only 32 of them in the world that start. It's a very rare and tough position to play. And people try to skip over this, but like Aidan O'Connell, at the end of the day, he was our guy. He stepped in. He helped us win a lot of games. There's growing pains. Being a rookie is hard enough being thrown in in the middle of the season when everyone's starting to figure out who they are as teams.

It makes it even more difficult. And the fact that he didn't blink, you know, we go to play the Vikings. We scored zero points.

He's getting murdered online. Everybody turn around in four days, we go out there and set the record for most points scored. That's just a testament to not only him, but the guys in this locker room. So quarterback's the hardest position to hit on. Everyone thinks they know who's the next this guy or the next Joe Montana or Tom Brady, but nobody really knows until they get on the field. Everything matters from your coach to the system and all that.

So I feel like at the end of the day, they're going to have to fight that out. We're going to probably bring in two quarterbacks. Aidan is going to have a chance to fight for that spot. He's started more games than anybody who's come in. If we bring in a vet, then at the end of the day, I don't know what other vets are out there right now. Kirk Cousins. Russell Wilson's going to be available. That's clear.

Potentially. But at the end of the day, Aidan has started for the Raiders. I know Aidan's not scared of competition. He understands the situation. Can he be a franchise quarterback in your opinion? Nobody thought I would be where I'm at after my rookie year.

Realistically, nobody expected me to be here. I believe in Aidan 100 percent. I believe in what this team, moving forward with AP and what we have now in Silesco.

We're going to make the right decisions and best decisions for the team going forward. Do you feel like you still get disrespected a little bit? Everyone knows you're a great player, but when they talk about the great pass rushers, I feel like everyone throws Miles Garrett up there, TJ Watt up there, Micah Parsons up there.

And then eventually people say Max Crosby, but I feel like you should be a little bit higher up that list. Yeah, I mean, I understand why it's like that. But yes, I take, you know, I hear, see everything, and I let it motivate me. You know, for me, I don't do it for the ones that doubt me. I've been doubted my whole life. I do it for the ones that believe in me, my tight-knit circle, the people that know what I do on a daily basis. So that's how I operate.

You know, I tell this to my brother all the time. We had this conversation recently, but, you know, it's like everybody in the NBA to recognize Nicole Jokic as the best player after eight seasons. He was doing it, putting up the stats, doing it every single year.

Nobody could guard him. He was most complete at what he did. Nobody was doing what he was doing, but they didn't really give him his respect till year eight when he wins the MVP, wins the NBA Finals. They're like, oh, he's the best player in the world. But they're like, look what he's been doing the last eight years.

I mean, it's undeniable. So for me, I know what I'm doing. I trust my work, and I trust the process, and I'm willing to run the marathon longer than anybody. That's why I play more snaps. That's why I put my body on the line, because I know in the end, if you put in the work that was also follow. So I live by that every single day, and it's not just, you know, playing on Sundays. It's the routine. It's 365 for me. We played the Broncos week 18.

I was up early rehabbing, meal prepping still every single day. It doesn't stop for me. So, you know, people are going to have their opinions, but in the end, I feel like we're going to look back and be notified. Notice is one of the greatest to do it. You know, I get what we do is we have conversations. We give opinions. We have fun. Max Crosby's here with us.

But this conversation with Brock Purdy, I'm just tired of it the last two weeks. You think he's a system quarterback, a game manager, a good quarterback? I don't care.

The dude's winning games right now, and that's all that matters in this league. A hundred percent. I mean, everybody, it's the same thing. You've got to do it over and over and over again. Just to be considered, you know, one of the best. You know, it's the same.

I've dealt with it my whole career. Brock Purdy, you know, he's young. He hasn't played a ton of games, but they're going to try to label you and put you in a box from day one. He's a little white dude from Iowa State who was undrafted.

He was the last pick in the draft. He's already going to take heat from the start. They're like, oh, well, he's not as talented. Oh, there's a reason why he went here. And he's proving to everybody every game, okay. He doesn't have to say nothing.

All he has to do, all that matters is the film. And that dude, if without him, they wouldn't have won that game versus the Lions. He was out there making all type of crazy plays. Not only throwing the ball, but running the ball. Like, it was crazy to see. So a guy like that, I love it because he doesn't let the BS on the outside affect what goes on in the locker room and on the field. So, I mean, he'll always try to put you in a box. They said I was a pass-rushing.

All he could do is a situational pass-rusher and a special team. I'm like, ah, so watch this. So that's, you know, I got a ton of respect for Purdy. Tell me what you're doing on Invisalign with Invisalign today. Invisalign, yeah. So, you know, they came to me with a great opportunity.

They got over 400 guys in the NFL right now currently. I didn't have braces growing up or anything like that. So I was like, might as well get the smile a little bit better. Do you feel good? Yeah, you know, I appreciate that. I'm not just saying that because I know you kicked the crap out of me. No, I appreciate it, man. I just started recently. I don't want to instigate you like my homes, all right. We don't have to do that. But yeah, no, Invisalign has been incredible.

I'm wearing them right now. And it's been, you know, it's been a good journey so far. One more thing that I want to ask you. Yeah. People are going to doubt the Raiders. People are going to say they can't get it done. Max is crazy.

Devontae Adams is crazy. Why are you guys going to get this thing right? I mean, I totally understand. They're going to doubt and doubt and doubt until we do it.

We haven't done it. It's simple as that. You can have individual success, but team success in the end is what solidifies your legacy.

You know what I mean? That's what matters the most to me. At the end of the day, like, I know I'm going to keep getting better because of what I do on a daily basis. I know I'm going to keep getting better as an individual, but at the end of the day, I want a Super Bowl and not just one, two, three, whatever, whatever that is.

I want to be able to be in those games consistently. And until we do it, we're going to be doubted. And that's simple. And we're the Raiders, you know, so that comes with some extra baggage. So it's part of the game. And, you know, I'm embracing it fully. All right.

Last thing, Max Crosby here on Invisalign. This is the multi-million dollar question of the week. It's all Taylor Swift.

It's all Travis Kelce. Do you think they will eventually one day get engaged? That's none of my business. That's none of my business. But some people are going to assume that that's a no then on your part.

I don't know. You know, I can't speak for Travis and Taylor, but I wish them the best. No doubt. You got it. Max, great to see you. Thanks so much. Thank you, brother.

Appreciate it. There he is. That's Max Crosby joining us on Radio Row inside the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

He's the head coach of the Zach Gelb show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. And that Raiders team, you know, I just can't wait to see where they are in the next two years because Josh McDaniels, when he was the head coach of the Raiders, you know, some guys are just good offensive coordinators and they're miserable head coaches. That's what we've seen now with McDaniels in two instances with not only the Denver Broncos, but also now the Las Vegas Raiders. But they were able to just get the right voice in there in Antonio Pierce.

And look what it kind of turned into. You have people now that wanted to be a part of this organization. And Max Crosby in Davante Adams that now they want to stay.

And now they want to be a part of this. But forget the rest of the AFC. Just look at the division right now.

It's Kansas City is all the way up here. And everyone else is chasing the Kansas City Chiefs. The Broncos don't have their act together. I think the Chargers now start to have their act together. When you have Jim Harbaugh, when you have Justin Herbert. But I'm really most excited to see the Raiders because it's just a great unknown.

There's a lot of ambiguity with the Las Vegas Raiders. Like we talked to Max. Max is sensational.

Max is one of the better players, not only on the defensive side of the ball, but one of the better players period in the league. So you have him. You have Davante Adams. I don't know what's going to happen with the status of Josh Jacobs as he's going to enter free agency in all likelihood.

But you need a quarterback. And this is a team right now that's sitting there with the 13th overall pick. You could start the speculation since Antonio Pierce was at Arizona State that maybe they try to find a way to trade up and go get Jayden Daniels. Like is that what's going to happen?

I don't know. And I don't believe the Bears are moving off the pick. I don't believe the commanders are moving off the pick. Maybe the Patriots. But I still think they're going to take a quarterback.

Because the Patriots are looking to splash. And I think it would behoove the New England Patriots to end up taking maybe a Marvin Harrison Jr. and you could wait on that quarterback. But I don't know if that's going to happen.

I don't. So like in all likelihood, you put a gun to my head right now, quarterback, quarterback, quarterback, one, two, three. That's what I think is going to happen in the NFL draft.

So then you have a team at 12 or 13 with the Raiders and it's like, okay, who are you going to get there? Is Michael Penix Jr. 13th overall pick in this draft? Is it a J.J. McCarthy?

Is it Bo Nix? I don't think those guys are going that early. I don't. So you may have to look at the veteran realm and I get what Max just said about Aiden O'Connell. Sometimes guys exceed expectations and they end up being a star when they weren't expected to be a star. I'm going to politely disagree with Max and I'm just going to say I don't think he's going to be the franchise quarterback with the Raiders. But then who are you bringing in next year? Could you get a Kirk Cousins? Is Russell Wilson, that would be a fun storyline. Could it go from the Broncos to the Raiders?

You know what? Justin Fields. If the Raiders go get Justin Fields, you put Justin Fields, you bring back Josh Jacobs, you have Devontae Adams, and you have Crosby on the defensive side of the ball, that may be their best option. But you need a quarterback, and this happens every year, and it's are there enough quarterbacks available?

And most times, the answer is no. And you could carry in the momentum from a positive voice in Antonio Pierce. Ultimately in this league, it's tough to get to where you need to get to and be looked at as a serious football team if you don't have a quarterback. I mean, look at the Niners. They've been close.

They've been really close. And the Niners have a much better roster, you know, obviously, than the Las Vegas Raiders. And even then, them not having a quarterback has made them come up short and maybe Brock Purdy is different this year and maybe Brock Purdy is going to get the job done coming up on Sunday. But this Raiders team, they need a quarterback. And sometimes when you need a quarterback, you pounce right away and you end up making the wrong decision. So when you select and you make that move, you better, you better find a way to get the right quarterback because if you don't, we've seen it fail many head coaches before. Alrighty, this is Zach Gelb's show on CBS Sports Radio.

Awesome, awesome show so far. If you want to see any of these interviews live in person, you can go to youtube.com slash CBS Sports Radio. Justin Jefferson. I love, love talking to Justin Jefferson. He joined us earlier.

Roma Dunze, Mark Ingram. We were just joined, obviously, by Max Crosby. And coming up in a few minutes from now, I'm really excited to talk to my next guest because I want to know what the hell just happened in Philadelphia this past year. They were 10 and 1, 10 and 1. They won one game down the stretch and they were on the outside or they made the playoffs and they quickly got bounced from the postseason. And they just had no life, no juice up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They went from Super Bowl favorite, potential Super Bowl champion to being a team come postseason time. I didn't even pick them to win.

I didn't pick them to win up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So we'll try to get some answers from a phenomenal defensive lineman, long time NFL defensive lineman, long time eagle and that's Fletcher Cox who's going to join us coming up in five minutes. Still to join us on the show after Fletcher Cox, we'll chat it up with Sean Alexander, Little Dicky will stop by and also Cowboys running back Tony Pollard. But let's take a time out from Mandalay Bay. This is Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio inside Radio Row and we're coming on back momentarily. Now back to the Zach Gelb show.

Back here on Radio Row inside the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Now joining us, man, this dude's just unbelievable for the Philadelphia Eagles star defensive lineman. And I'll tell you, when I covered the Eagles for a year or two and they did bring me in and obviously they won a Super Bowl and they could probably thank me for it even though I did grow up as a Patriot fan. Any time this guy would hold court in the locker room, it was always a show. It was always something. And you were right next to Chris Long in the locker, Brandon Graham as well, Jason Kelce.

Always learned a lot of stuff there. Joining us on behalf of Tide, of course, is Fletcher Cox. Fletcher, how are you? I'm doing good. How you doing?

I'm doing fantastic. So here's why I like Tide and here's why I like Philadelphia too. I attended Temple. I lived there for seven years.

I went through college in four and then stayed three years afterwards and did some local radio there. But Philadelphia respects the big fellas. And Tide does as well. My lot at Kelsey, you. You got to show some respect to the big fellas. Yeah, absolutely.

I think that doing that commercial with Tide early in the season right before camp with three big dudes, especially being under a pile of laundry, which everybody knows that obviously it was for Tide and there was a lot of work going into it. And, you know, I had a chance to partner with him, you know, and, you know, obviously, you know, it was a great thing. We're still continuing with that. So it's been a lot of fun. Are you playing next year? You plan to play, I'm assuming? Man, dang, we're going straight off the rip, right?

We're going straight for the guts. So one of my best friends, an Eagles fan. Oh, go birds.

That's all I can tell you. He wasn't all that happy going into the playoff game, but he kind of felt he goes, man, Brandon Graham's getting up there in age. You know, Fletcher Cox has been here forever.

You got Jason Kelce. There's all this retirement speculation. I'm just wondering if you're going to play next year. Let's just keep it all speculations. I'm just going to leave it at that, all right?

Everything is speculation these days. So, you know, there's nothing I've thought about. There's nothing that's crossed my mind. So I'm just taking this time to myself and just reflect back on, you know, number one, making sure physically, you know, I'm good and mentally, you know, that's the biggest part about it. You know, make sure I'm mentally good to go. So, you know, like I said, let's keep it all speculations and, you know, we'll see where we head to.

Well, you guys are warriors, right? And sometimes the way that athletes are covered, it's fair, it's unfair. But I do think what you brought up, the mental health side is big. Like, what do you do in the offseason to kind of decompress? And I know you got to focus on football, but kind of get away from football and kind of clear your mind. I go to my happy place.

You know, my happy place is obviously my, you know, I got a big ranch in North Texas. So then that's my happy place where, you know, I just forget about everything, right? I just forget about ball, forget about, you know, a schedule that, you know, that I got to stick by, you know. You know, I kind of get out of my routine things. Obviously, during the season you have those routine things that you do daily, you know, in and out. So I kind of get out of that schedule and just get into a totally different world.

And that's definitely, you know, has helped me a lot in these last, you know, six years that I've owned the place. So if I came over to the ranch in Texas, what are we eating? What's for dinner? What are you cooking up?

What are you serving? Oh, yeah, we only serve beef there. Oh, that's my type of place. We eat steaks every night, burgers, whatever you want. You know, we may throw, you know, a salad in there. Oh, I mean, that's your choice. If you want that, that's your choice. You get a salad, but I tell you what, the big man ain't eating no salad.

You know, just give me some beef and taters and I'm good. That's unbelievable. Fletcher Cox is here with us. What's the lasting memory for you from the Super Bowl, Super Bowl LII?

Oh, man, the lasting memory for me was, you know, obviously, it was probably the biggest play of the game, you know, defense. You know, obviously, you know, if you go in and if a lot of people, if there was a mic on me and I tell the story over and over, if there was a mic on me, you know, when I, you know, had this conversation on the sideline with BG about, you know, hey, man, like, you know, I'm going to go to the right, which I normally don't play the right side of defense. I said, you go to the left and I said, they're going to slide to me.

I need you to win a one-on-one. And he said, okay, I got you. And that's all I needed, you know, from him. You know, there was no reassurance.

Like, man, should I not trust him to go over there? Which, you know, he was going against a really good player, Shaq Mason. And I said, you know, BG, I said, man, listen, if I go to the right, they're probably going to slide to protection of me. And, you know, in a passing situation, so I need you to go win it. And, you know, he answered that bell and, you know, Derek got it. And, you know, it was good. And, you know, there was a lot of special moments in that game. It's the biggest play in Eagles history. And I know some people say it's the Philly special. But that game was an offensive shootout. But ultimately, defense wins championships. And that was the biggest play of the game to me.

Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, the thing is I talked to, you know, Matt Peay about that game. He was like, hey, look, you know, I was like, you know, we're both, you know, me and Matt, you know, we've become like really close over this past season. And, you know, we still talk about that thing, about that game. And, you know, our biggest conversation, look, you know, both defenses gave up 500 yards, you know, of offense. And, you know, the defense that got the last turnover is the one that won the game. And, you know, you got to believe in that. And, you know, I got a lot of respect for Matt Peay. Talking to Fletcher Cox right now. So from afar, you guys start out 10-1. You're humming. I know that some people are like, oh, they're sloppy victories.

It doesn't matter. You guys were 10-1 coming off a Super Bowl loss. You got off to a really good start. And then down the stretch, you know you only won one game. From afar, it feels like there were problems in that locker room. What was the truth on why you guys couldn't find the way to get the ship back moving in the right direction down the stretch? I mean, if you really go back and look at us, you know, early in the season when, you know, when we were, you know, winning games, you know, if you go back and look at every game, we willed our way to win all of those games. You know, I think the only game where… I was at the Bills game. Where we completely, like, dominated was when we played Miami, you know, where we dominated a team, right?

You know, you got to look at it. We went in overtime with the commanders. You know, we were close game with Dallas. And, you know, we willed our way to a lot of those wins. And, you know, that's what good football teams do. You know, and down the stretch, you know, it's just one of them things where, you know, you can't put your hand on what happened, you know, obviously. But, you know, it just, you know, it sucks the way that it ended. You know, I feel, you know, that, you know, I feel like as a team that, you know, and as a player, we probably could have done better. And, you know, obviously, you know, we went in the first round of playoffs and, you know, got eliminated. And that's not something that you want to do for a team that started 10 and 1. I mean, as a player, you know, you learn from those mistakes.

And you really try to still try to put your figure on what went wrong. Everyone's going to talk about Nick Sirianni. I think we spent a month talking about Nick Sirianni. I know you have defended him. You just tell me why Nick Sirianni is the right coach for this team moving forward. He's the guy. You know, there's no question about it.

I think he's the guy this year and going forward. You know, the guy, I mean, coach, you know, Nick has, you know, took the organization to, you know, three playoff appearance, one Super Bowl appearance in his few years there. And, you know, everybody, every great team, and I said all the time, every great team go through, you know, faces adversity. You know, some teams respond, some don't.

And that's the biggest thing. And no matter how good you are, you're going to go through that adversity. You know, I just take for example, you know, I take for, you know, the 49ers. You know, they lost three in a row in the regular season. And, you know, they're a really good team. I respect that team, right?

And they're a really good team, and they went through that adversity, but they dug their way out of it. Does it annoy you when Debo says that the Eagles and 49ers isn't a rivalry because you guys couldn't keep it close this year? You know, I respect Debo, you know. Yeah, he doesn't like me.

He hung up the phone with me this off-season. So, you know, I respect Debo, and, you know, you can definitely voice your opinion on anything. And, you know, I wish him luck.

And, you know, he's a great player, and, you know, he got a chance to play in this league for a long time. Who wins the game on Sunday? I mean, I don't care. It don't matter.

It don't affect me, you know. But the biggest thing is- You just want to see Jason Kelce ripping his shirt off, I'm assuming? Man, I just, you know, I'm really rooting for my Mississippi State guys, you know, all the guys from Mississippi, you know, like Chris Jones and Willie Gay and, you know, those guys that represent our state, you know, again, you know, in the Super Bowl. So you got to pull for your home state guys. Tell me what you're doing today on behalf of the Tide.

Just on behalf of the Tide, man, just tackling every pot, on and off the field, baby. You already know, if I trust him, you should too. All right, and here's the last thing I got to ask you.

It's our biggest question of the week. Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift, are they going to eventually get engaged? Oh, that sound like a them problem. That ain't a me problem. So you're like a maybe.

You're like a maybe. I mean, I like Travis. I respect him, you know. I think that, you know, he's found a love life and, you know, that eventually, you know, he'll probably feel the pressure and get it done, you know.

Well, he's focused probably on another ring, and that's what he can win on Sunday. Fletcher Cox, great to see you. Thanks so much for doing this. Yes, sir.

Thank you. There he is. Fletcher Cox joining us on Radio Row, and we try to get some clarity on what happened with the Eagles.

Still, clearly, he believes in Nick Sirianni, and it made it seem like it was more of a player and coordinator issue this past year. Before we take a break, and Sean Alexander is going to join us live on set, coming up in about 8 to 10 minutes from now. Sam, I got to use your producing mind here for a second, so I'm going to show you a picture right now, because I said something to you earlier today. I go, who the heck is this guy doing so many interviews? And he looked familiar, but I just couldn't put a face to a name.

Like, I could not come up with a name. So this is Rob Gronkowski. Phil Perry just tweeted this out. That's Rob Gronkowski in the NFL Network set. Do you have any idea who this person is to the left of him?

No. I could zoom in for a quick second. No, I saw him walking around. I thought the same thing, and I wasn't able to put a face to the name. So many people were talking to him, and I go, who the heck is this?

But I also thought to myself, he looks familiar. What do you think he does? You can't take a guess. What do you think he does? Actor. He's not an actor. He's a football player. A very well-known football player that we have talked about a lot that is getting set to enter the NFL draft. Do you have any idea who that is?

I was shocked. Sometimes you see someone without a helmet on, without shoulder pads on, you see him in person, you go, that doesn't look like the dude, the intimidating force that I saw on the football field this year. Okay, so intimidating force. No, I was going to say, like, Drake May or something.

No, no, no. Not a quarterback. That is Brock Powers.

Wow. How the heck is that Brock Powers? I know he's standing next to Gronk, but Gronk has cut a lot of weight.

But that... I mean, listen, he looks like he's in good shape, but he doesn't look buff by any means. Phil Perry.

Rob Gronkowski is hanging with the top tight end in this year's draft class. It's Brock Powers. I'm not kidding. If you would have asked me what this guy does for a living, I would have thought he's just a jacked UPS driver.

That's interesting. I thought he was a jacked UPS driver. He looks like a jacked everyday person, but not a football player. But listen, we saw Patrick Mahomes' dad bod.

Dad bod. So if Patrick Mahomes could look like that, then Brock Powers can certainly be that. It is the Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio. Sean Alexander going to stop by momentarily. We'll come on back from Las Vegas. Now back to the Zach Gelb Show. So we're inside the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. It is the Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio. And if you're not watching us on YouTube.com slash CBS Sports Radio, my back is turned to everybody else. So I have no clue who is walking behind me.

And I just feel as if someone's going to pop up one day and just kind of put me in a noogie or something like that. Oh, there he is. Oh, is that Sully? My guy Sully is here. Let me tell you. The Las Vegas Golden Knights game last night, Sully, he's the Don of Las Vegas.

Everyone walking around. Oh, you know Sully? You know Sully? You know Sully? The guy that basically founded Metallica last night sitting next to me at the hockey game.

First thing he says to me, oh, nice VG gear that you're wearing. You know Sully? And I go, of course I know Sully. Everyone knows Sully around here.

We're going out to dinner tonight with Sully. And I'm telling you, Sully's mad at me because I said Sully's favorite restaurant last week is Dank. I just said it's Dank. Dank to me means good. You know, sorry I'm young.

Sorry I am, I don't want to say hip into it. What's the word that I'm looking for here, Santa? What's the word that I'm looking for?

Let's get Santa's mic on here. Uh, crunk? No, that's not the word. But I'm just telling you, it's just like one of those words, Dank. If I say Dank, it means good. And Sully thought that that meant bad.

And he got all mad at me and all caught up in his feelings. But it's fine. We'll eat some good Italian food tonight. We're going to have Sean Alexander join us momentarily. It is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio.

Little Dicky is going to stop by coming up at the top of the hour. We'll also have Tony Pollard on set as well coming up in a little bit in about 40 minutes or so right here on CBS Sports Radio as this place is just an absolute zoo. CJ Stroud is going to join us tomorrow on the show. And I'm looking really forward to that conversation with CJ Stroud of the Houston Texans. And, you know, we got a chance to talk to Roma Dunze today. And you've seen how people are thinking about him. Justin Jefferson stopped by, right? Jefferson tells us four years ago when we had him on, he told us he was going to be the best wide receiver in the NFL.

Look at that. So it's cool when you sometimes get to know these guys a little bit younger and you see what they turn up developing and turning out to in the NFL. But I was really impressed with Roma Dunze. And a year ago, no one would have been thinking that CJ Stroud would have been one of the better quarterbacks in the league. But there is no doubt about it with what he has done. I already think he's, I think he's the fifth best quarterback and footballer in this season. And that is some big-time, high-time praise.

But that's just how sensational CJ Stroud was in his rookie year. And, uh-oh, look who's joining us right now. My guy, Sean Alexander, the former NFL MVP.

He should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And let's just do this right out of the gate as Sean Alexander joins us. Stand Together Foundation and Cafe Momentum. The floor is yours right out of the gate because I know what happens. When we talk, eventually the music's going to come on up.

They're going to be like, get them off the stage or take care of what you got to take care of first. Yeah, so of course I'm here to tell the great news of what's happening with Stand Together Foundation and Cafe Momentum. Stand Together Foundation is about 800 of some of the most successful businessmen and women and philanthropic leaders in the country.

They've put their money together and their think tanks and business people together to help some of the greatest foundations do some great things. We call it tackling some of the country's biggest issues and one of them is juvenile justice system. And Cafe Momentum is basically a restaurant that takes kids that are juveniles and instead of them going to juvie, they're actually making them come and volunteer and actually a paid internship at their restaurant. And we started in Dallas and we've seen kids go from, you know, I think recidivism is at 50, 45% in our country and with the Cafe Momentum, it's at 11%. And I told Chad, I said, Chad, we can put one of these in every NFL city. And so these kids are going through a year internship and we're seeing the, as I call it, the social work psychologists, we call them the aunties, the uncles, the big brothers that they need in their lives and we're just seeing these kids succeed.

They're actually gaining true identity and learning who they really could be and they're not going back to prison at the rate that it is. And so now we have one in Nashville, one in Pittsburgh, we're about to open Denver, we're about to open Atlanta. We've got the ground set for Houston, Miami, and Tampa and it's just exciting.

Sean Alexander here with us. I know we talk throughout the year. How many kids do you have now, by the way? We just had, in July, number 13. 13? Yeah, 10 girls, 3 boys.

It's pretty exciting to be around the house and watch a little. So the youngest is a newborn, how old is the youngest child? Yeah, the youngest is Judea.

Judea is now 7 months. Wow, and the oldest is? Heaven is our oldest and she is a sophomore at Liberty, she is 20 years old. Wow, that's 13 children.

Thanksgiving must be fun at your house. It is so live every single day and watching my oldest, my second oldest, Trinity, she actually runs track at Liberty now, so she's a freshman. And then Eden, who we love to brag about, she's a junior in high school, but she was a high school All-American in track. Them girls got wills, and then the boys come, so it's three girls first. I wonder where they got it from.

Their mom, who they got it from, their mom, you know. I know she's fast, it took me forever to catch her. Talking to Sean Alexander right now. So it's weird, every time I see you, and you know I love talking to you, I'm pissed though. Because I look around and I've been saying this now for the last two years, you should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame every year, the stinking results come out, there's not even a mention of you. You didn't play long enough, but you had 100 career touchdowns, you won an MVP, and you played in a damn Super Bowl. What is there to say anymore at this point?

Because it honestly annoys me that you don't even get a sniff. It's wild because the whole idea of not playing enough actually should validate that I should get in. So, you know, I just kind of watch everything. I try not to make it too big of a thing, but I just came from Mobile, Alabama, where they had the Senior Bowl, 70th anniversary, the all-time team, and the running backs are Curtis Martin, LaDainian, Thurman Thomas, and me. And we're all hanging out there, and they're all talking this and that, and they're all like, how are you not in the Hall of Fame? Like, you know, at one time, they get in there and you have to be the best player, and they're like, shoot, you was for like two or three years. And LaDainian's like, yeah, he definitely was, you know?

And you have to go out there and do something special, and I did. And I feel like some of it is kind of like how football's going today. On one end, I had a great offensive line.

You know what I mean? I had Walter Jones and Steve Hudson on my left side in their Hall of Famers, and sometimes it seems like, well, anybody can run for that. And I'm always like, yeah, but if you're the number one... You could have played anywhere.

Yeah, I could have. I'm not diminishing the offensive lineman. No. It's the most important thing for a running back, for a quarterback. You had great offensive linemen, but you could have gone anywhere and had a great career.

I think so. I think that it's one of those things like people forget that I was the number one high school player when they were talking about five stars. I was the number one in high school, and then I chatted all the Bama records. So when I got to the pros in Seattle, I was like, oh, okay, we're going to do it here, you know?

So I was shocked when they were like giving so much credit not to me, but I've just tried to always keep it humble. But I feel like some of it is in Seattle, we, our coaches made it a point to make sure that it was Mike Holmgren, the passing system, yada, yada, yada. And I think some of it was twofold, to help make them not have to pay me a lot as a running back and also because Mike was a passing guy. You know, he had Joe Montana, then Steve Young, then Brett Favre in Green Bay. So when he gets to Seattle, it's like, man, the best thing for us is probably the running ball, but that's not how you like to talk. And I feel like that's the curve that's going on with today now.

Running backs are not used a lot because they're always trying to throw it. And I feel like it's because coaches get paid so much now that they feel like I got to do something to earn my pay. And it turns into a nasty conversation, Sean Alexander, because Tiki Barber works right next to us. And I see Tiki every day, we get in the office at the same time, we leave at the same time.

And he was a semifinalist this year for the Hall of Fame and didn't get down to being a finalist. And I looked at him and I go, congratulations. And I go, but what about Sean Alexander? He goes, he should be right there. Nothing against Tiki. My producer Mike, he worked with Tiki for 10 years.

He'll meet the case for Tiki. I said to Tiki, I go, it's weird because I love you, Tiki, but I almost have to talk down about you to kind of prop up Sean. And that shouldn't be the case because you should both be Hall of Famers.

Right. And it gets weird when you have those conversations. And I feel like when I'm around all the other greats, they forget that I'm not. Because in their mind, I am. Jerry Kramer, who eventually got in the legendary Packers offensive lineman, would say the commissioner thought I was a Hall of Famer.

John Hannah thought I was a Hall of Famer. That's the weird part when the guy running the league or the guys that are legendary players in the league are so surprised. And that's what makes me mad. It makes me annoyed because no one even talks about it with you. Yeah. And I'm not just saying this because I like you and we're friendly, but a hundred touchdowns and you didn't play long enough. Yeah.

I mean, it should validate. You know, one of my good friends is from Detroit, from Michigan. And I always say he always talks about their greatest running back. And we always crack jokes because we're like, yeah, hey, that guy was amazing. But you know what's bigger than ninety-nine? One hundred. And so, of course, we're talking about Barry Sanders, who I like. He was like the goal. Like, OK, he had ninety-nine touchdowns. I'm going to try to get a hundred. And so like he was the benchmark.

So I would be playing games. OK, hey, let's go. Let's crank this thing up. So me crossing over the hundred touchdown mark was like a goal set by a person that, you know, is arguably one of the best ever.

You know what I mean? But if we were talking, I'd be like, hey, I scored more touchdowns than you. And for somehow that's not deemed as great.

You could drop the mic on that one. Sean Alexander here with us. Pretty cool. So were you more surprised about Pete Carroll basically getting fired from Seattle?

I know that they dressed it all up. He has some advisory role. He got fired as the head coach or Nick Saban retired.

And on the same day, I had so many people calling and asking, was I all right? You know, because both of those guys took over their jobs when I was retiring. And so, you know, Alabama always had open doors for me. And I only know it because Coach Saban was like, hey, you come in that you have free reign to talk to the guys. These are your guys, man. Like, you come low on these guys. So walking them, dropping little nuggets, calling guys from Bama.

That's how I've been like ever since I've retired. And then the same thing with Pete from Pete come in. He was like, hey, you know, Sean, this is your you built this facility.

You know, man, you come in any time you want. And so I was so loved by those coaches and they both were championship coaches and they did it right. Both their their styles are totally different. But but I really loved what they both did for the programs that I played at.

You're right. It was the same that we start the show. The first two hours was Pete Cowell, Pete Cowell, Pete Cowell.

And then at five o'clock, Mike gets in my ear. He goes, we have breaking news. I know. What's the breaking news? And it was Nick Saban. I was like crazy.

He's a young seventy two. Yeah. I never I understand NAL transfer portal.

It's all different. I never even thought that was a possibility. You know what we were talking about. We knew that it was a possibility to some of the people down the backside. We just didn't think he would pull the trigger. Like when when he made that decision, it was literally like that day he decided. Well, he was working right that day. And then he just said, oh, I'm it. I'm out. I mean, they were calling some coaches that I know and talking about coming in and working for them up under him. You know, you know, I'm over here talking to some friends of mine. They're like, yeah, I'm thinking about coming down there and taking the blah, blah, blah position in Alabama.

And I'm going to interview for it. And then he drops that. So he was working as if he was going to be back up until that moment.

You can see he knew he had to. But it's tough to want to walk away from that. What's your thought on the game? Who are you leaning towards? I'm trying to find someone that's going to take the forty niners this week.

Everyone's going Kansas City, at least the people we talked to here. I know people in the game are going to tell me things otherwise. Yeah.

You know, I usually vote with my heart and it never is right. And so so like, you know, I would tell people like Christian was a freshman at Stanford and his running back coach was Lance Taylor, who's now the head football coach at Western Michigan. He calls me up. Lance was a freshman at band when I was a senior because I'm says, bro, we got a kid here. I was like, really?

Yeah. He goes, man, love for you to text me messages to him. So I've been sending him messages and talking to him since he was a freshman.

So that would be hard. And then I got relationship with a handful of the other guys, all for the forty niners. So like, my heart wants to be like, come on, forty niners, let's go do it. I know what you're going to say. I just don't. You don't want to go against that defense.

You don't want to go against Patrick Mahomes. My boys, they're fourteen, twelve and eight. So I only have three.

So, you know, ten girls, three boys. Yeah. They're like Pachinko. And that dad, he's he's a bee runner. Yeah.

They're like the man animal dad. Don't go against him. So I just don't want to say the forty niners, you know. So, you know, so I want to, but I just can't because I can't go against that. Everything says like, man, them, them, them chiefs are going to do it. I think I have to run in the field on Sunday and just have a sign.

Sean Alexander should get into the Hall of Fame. Don't get tackled. Maybe get.

Well, I don't have the moves like you. Yeah. But maybe just get this campaign off the ground.

They're running because once again, it's a joke. Yeah. Yeah. Now it's going to be good, man.

I'm actually going to go to the game for the first time since the Seahawks didn't run the ball into one. Oh, that's. And the rest. Yeah. You got to run anyway.

He is Sean Alexander. We'll see you. We're coming on back from Radio Row after these short messages. Little Dicky's going to stop by coming up five minutes from now.