Drue Tranquill Blasts "Silly Narrative" of Refs Being on Chiefs Side (Hour 3)

All right, we continue. This is Zach Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network. We're getting you set for the AFC Championship game with the Buffalo Bills going Arrowhead to go up against the Kansas City.

How about those cheese? So now joining us linebacker from the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl champion Drew tranquil kind enough to jump on board with us once again. Drew appreciate the time. How you been?

How are you? I know the first four years of your career. You love being with the Chargers, but we saw you win a Super Bowl last year and all the elation and appreciation that you had. How about just what this team has been able to accomplish so far and what you kind of seen out of them in year two with you being in Kansas City? Yeah, we got a great group of guys. Obviously great coaching staff and a great front office that's done a lot of historic things here when you look at what they've been able to accomplish over the last decade. And you know, we just try to keep stacking days and get better. Each day and it's been cool seeing guys come in the door and help us whether it was like cream up middle of the season, bringing in DeAndre Hopkins young guys stepping up, make it plays for us. And so we've had to find a lot of different ways to win this season, but it's been fun ride and we're one of the last four teams standing, which is what you always aim for.

You know, in this conference championship weekend, you know, winning is addictive and sometimes when you win, right? There's better business opportunities. You had an opportunity to leave Kansas City. Last season you elected to resign. What were you ever close to leaving this past offseason?

Or was it like, Hey, this is just so good right now in Kansas City. How the heck could I leave? Well, I certainly love to hear, you know, having three young kids and a wife, you know, you don't want to be bouncing around, but at the end of the day, business is business.

And I wouldn't say I was close to leaving. I think they put forth a good effort to bring me back. And I felt like it was the win win situation. We were able to get a deal done, but we're certainly super excited to be here. We love everything about it. Obviously love spags, love Coach Reed, love the guys here, Brad Beach, everybody involved, and love the Chiefs Kingdom, man. Our fans are one of a kind. I really don't believe there's a better place to play than Arrowhead. It's one of my favorite stadiums. And obviously I had played at Arrowhead a few times being in the division my first four years in the NFL, and it was always my favorite place to play. Like the energy, the excitement, the fans are rowdy, they're loud, but it's a cool, it's a good advantage for us week in and week out, especially on the defensive side of the ball when you can get the offense operating on silent count when they can't hear each other and make their checks.

It tips the scale in your favor a little bit, but it's fun, man. I mean, our fans love it. We love them. When you win, you create this culture that everybody kind of loves to be a part of.

And we have that. Drew Tranquil here with us of the Kansas City Chiefs. Just out of curiosity, your first four years in the league, you were a really good player, but the last two years, how do you think you've improved as a player being a part of the Chiefs? I mean, I'm constantly just trying to ascend, whether it's in the run game, in the pass game, in my coverage skills, in my blitzing. I feel like I've really kind of taken off as a blitzer over the last two or three years of my career. Just learning different techniques, learning what moves to put on what guys.

And so I'd say that's an area of my game that I've certainly tried to develop and seen growth in. And you've mentioned Spags quite a few times already in this conversation. I've made the case that he should be a Hall of Famer with all the Super Bowls that he's won, leading the way for those defenses in New York and now with Kansas City. Just what does Steve Spagnola mean to you with your relationship within the last two years? Well, he's a great mentor and a great person. We obviously know what he's able to do with the X's and O's, but how he forms relationships with his players, how he invests in his players and how he gets the most out of the guys week in and week out is special.

And there's only a handful of people in the world coaching-wise that can do that. Is it kind of crazy to you, Drew, that Kansas City is able to keep him? Because, man, I thought he would get another head coaching job. Didn't happen last year.

This year he's got some interviews, but there's only two jobs left in this cycle. It's got to be surreal when you can keep a staff like that together. That's one thing that surprised me with the Chiefs is just the continuity, whether it's the guys drawing cards for us, the assistant coaches, the position coaches, the staff continuity has been really special here. And they've done a good job of rewarding those guys for having success and performing just like they've done their players, the guys that have performed, rewarding them.

But we have many, many coaches on our staff that would be great head coaches, and we're certainly thankful to have them on the staff and keep them. So you got to see Buffalo again. I know you played them earlier in the season. You guys haven't lost many games this year. It's really your one true loss of the year because you guys weren't a full go up against the end of the season, the Denver Broncos.

But how do you kind of look back at that first matchup and what didn't go your way up against the Bills? Well, we know every game against them is going to be tough. It's going to come down to the turnover battle. It's going to come over, come down to things like how do you do on third down and how do you do in the red zone?

Can you make them kick field goals? Are they going to score touchdowns? I think you look at what they were able to do in that first game. I think they won the turnover battle. I think they were, I think, 50 to 60% on third down.

So both of those things, that's a losing formula for us. So we'll have to be, we'll have to be better in this game. We know Josh is a great competitor. He's got a great group of guys around him. He's had a lot of continuity on the offensive line this year. They've been able to stay healthy for the most part. And they got great coaches. I mean, you look at what Coach Brady has been able to do with the offense. Sean McDermott and staff on the defensive side of the ball. And so they're a complete team.

They play together. And so we'll have to play sound football, execute at a high level and go get a dub. You got the best quarterback in the league in Patrick Mahomes.

You don't have to prepare up against him. There's so many great quarterbacks in this league from Burrow to Lamar Jackson. And obviously, Josh, do you feel like Josh is the toughest quarterback to prepare for?

There's many. I mean, we've played all those guys that you mentioned this year. They're all tough in their own regards. Josh and Lamar obviously bring a different element when you talk about their ability to run the football. But Josh is, man, he's impressed me so much this year. His decision making, his ability to put the ball in a bread or put the ball in a bread basket down the field, deep throws, intermediate throws, short throws, his ability to extend the play with his legs. He's so hard to sack and get on the ground. He certainly protected the football. So he's a massive challenge.

I mean, he's one of those guys where you're circling him on a Monday and Tuesday saying we got to figure out a way to stop this guy. And he's a special player. They're lucky to have him. Drew Tranquil here with us.

Zach Elp here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. I know you're focused on winning this game and going to the Super Bowl, but this is such a legendary rivalry now. There's so many iconic moments the last five years or so between the Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills.

You've been a part of it the last two seasons. Do you understand it like in the moment? Man, like years from now, we're going to be talking about these games. Mahomes up against Allen, the Bills up against the Chiefs. Do you appreciate in the moment what eventually the historical significance will be?

Maybe not right now. I mean, I know. So from an outside, I watched some of those playoff games like I remember the the the infamous game that changed the overtime rules in the playoffs. I remember watching that on my couch. We were out of playoffs.

And I remember watching that we were at the pool and grilling burgers. But I remember watching that game and just being like this. That might be the single handedly might be the greatest football game I've ever witnessed with my own two eyes. And to obviously be a part of that divisional round win last year in Buffalo.

I'm in the cold fans throwing the snowballs, man. I mean, there's just a lot that goes into these games. It's two great programs, two programs that are really peaking at the same time. And obviously, two historic quarterbacks when you talk about what these two cats are doing. And so I'm I'm lucky to be a part of it.

And I'm excited for what's to come this Sunday evening. That's kind of crazy, right? You're watching that 13 second game at the pool burgers, dogs, and now you're a part of it like that. Like, could you have ever imagined that in the moment that you would have been playing for Kansas City one day? I mean, I wouldn't have imagined it just because I thought I was going to be back with the Chargers and God had different plans. And then I come here on a one year deal. A lot of times guys come on one year deals to kind of prove it and then they go somewhere else and free agency. And we were able to work things out and, you know, stay a part of Chiefs Kingdom. And so, yeah, there's a lot of uncertainties.

I think the the odds makers would have had a pretty low chance. But I'm here and I'm thankful. And I'm glad to be a part of this team.

Drew Tranquil here with us. All right, get into your defense. I think the world of Chris Jones, he's made so many iconic plays in these postseason games, one of the best defensive players in football. George Karloff, this keeps on getting better each and every year. We saw what he was able to do last week. Just how about the tone that those two guys really up front set for the rest of the Chiefs defense? What's the message that country preaches in all these big games, but especially as you get in the playoffs, it starts with the offensive and defensive line. And if you look at all the teams in the playoffs right now, like they've got good fronts and those two guys have certainly kind of set the tone on our defensive front. There's a ton of other guys to Sean Wharton, Mike Pinnell, Mike Dana, Felix Charles coming back has been huge for us in the pass rush department. Derek Noddy, who's been here a really long time and done a great job for us.

There's guys kind of all up and down that front that have done well and certainly made it easier for Leo. Nick and I plan behind them. And so what we hope, man, I think we had eight or nine sacks last week, man, if we if we have that many sacks this week, I like our chances. They've got a really good front as well.

It'll be a good battle in the trenches. I'll tell you, man, the linebackers, a lot more asked that of you guys this week, especially going up against the mobility of Josh Allen, the way that he runs. And you know it, Nick Bolton, he's always good in the regular season, but come postseason time, that dude's made a lot of big plays for the Kansas City Chiefs. He has. I still think he should have had two touchdowns in that one Super Bowl.

I don't know how they how they called that one. An incomplete pass. I guess he wasn't making a football motion, but he's come up critical for this franchise multiple, multiple times. We're lucky to have him as our signal, the caller and our leader.

Let me get to Travis Kelsey, right? There's so much conversation about him. And the last two years, people go, oh, he's past his prime.

Oh, he's slowing down. He's too focused off the field with Taylor Swift. And then come postseason time, he shuts everybody up.

Drew Tranquil, do you just laugh at some of the stupid comments that are made when it comes to Travis Kelsey? Well, who cares whether he's past his prime or not? I mean, when you could still put up one hundred yards in a critical divisional matchup. I mean, I'd still say you're playing pretty good ball. I mean, he's still one of the best in the league. What he's able to do to create space for himself, what he's able to do with the ball after the catch and what he's able to do for us in terms of energy and leadership.

You can't put a price tag on that. You know, I think he's the longest tenured chief and one of the longest tenure, maybe next to James Winchester. Him and James have been here a while. But I mean, Travis has done so much. We know what he means to the city, what he means to this team.

And he does. He's one of those guys that shows up in the biggest moments for you. I know that you're so focused when you're on the sideline because you get ready to go back on the field. But do you sometimes just get lost and just you're in awe on what Pat and what Travis are able to do? Because, man, that's an elite duo, one of the greatest duos of all time that we've ever seen in the NFL. I mean, once you make the corrections and you're kind of able to sit there on the bench and catch your breath and get ready to go back on the field, you kind of get to see some plays. Like last last week, that diving pass to Travis in the end zone, you think Travis was running the play right, according to some of the offensive guys?

I think he was just kind of doing his own thing. And somehow him and Pat are always on the same page and they're able to connect in another iconic play. You look back to Baltimore at the bank last year on that third down where a similar pass diving and Travis somehow extends and dives and converts that first down for us to keep the chains moving. Whether it's the divisional round against Buffalo last year, he scores that touchdown and throws the hard up to T. Swift and his brother up in the up in the sweet. I mean, there's just iconic moments with Pat and Trav and the rest of this team.

And hopefully we can create some more of those in Sunday. You look at the referees, right? That was a conversation after the Texans game.

They talk openly. They thought you guys were getting the calls and there's like a chief advantage. How do you kind of respond to that when the officials are getting associated with you guys and be kind of using as an excuse for the rest of the teams around the league? Yeah, I think it's a silly narrative that people just kind of start buying into and believe in and any call that that goes your way that maybe shouldn't have now just intensifies the narrative. I think if you look at any team when they had a historic run, the Patriots, like it was kind of the same deal, same conversation. So I hope that I hope the referees have a clean game and I hope they call it perfectly for both sides of the ball.

You know, I think that's what we all hope for as competitors. Do you have any idea how to hit the quarterback anymore? You just got to have a you just got to have a feel for it. I mean, once they release the ball, you got to do your best to just not smack them. I give it if it looks if it's a big hit, like they're probably going to pull the yellow flag out of their pocket.

It's just a different different game, different day and age. And so it makes it tough on the defender for sure in some scenarios. But especially on the sideline, when you get a big guy like Josh Allen and you're trying to be physical and not trying to make a tough tackle. And maybe he kind of acts like he's going to get a little extra yards and then goes out of bounds. I mean, I mean, all the great quarterbacks know how to use that to their advantage. And so we'll have to be cognizant of that.

He's a tough tackle, but we'll also have to not draw the personal foul either. Last thing I'll ask you before we let you run through tranquil and really appreciate the time is always getting you set for this AFC championship game between the Bills and the Chiefs and Arrowhead coming up on Sunday. I got to ask you about your alma mater, Notre Dame, when they lost in week two to Northern Illinois.

Hot take. I would have never thought that they would have made it to the national championship game. Got off to a great start. Then the game got away for them. They made it close at the end. But to see what Marcus Freeman and company were able to do this year. Just what are your thoughts on it? Yeah, Zach, I don't know that that would have been a hot take.

I felt the same way. But to see, I think the thing that impresses me most is what, you know, Coach Freeman, you look at Al Golden, you look at Coach Denbruck. What they were able to do from a strategy standpoint and how they said this is how we're going to play. We're going to run the ball.

We're going to use Riley's legs. Riley just developed and developed as a thrower. You see him making some big throws in that playoff. But they leaned on the run game and they leaned on their defense and the defense came up time and time again. You look at Coach Marty Biaggi and the special teams department and the number of critical plays that they had down the stretch and in the playoffs.

It seems like they really used that and I and I you lost to develop an identity. And I think that identity carried them like throughout the playoffs. If you look at how the games went. And unfortunately, the game got away for you. Look at the 18 play drive to start that game and you go, they're going to play the game.

They want to play in Ohio State responded, I think, with 28 unanswered points. And so you get down 28 to seven and you're not playing the game that you played all year long to get you to that point. But you look at the resiliency and I think it speaks to the culture and what Coach Freeman is doing with those guys. And kind of never stopping, never backing down.

And they're able to make it closer at the end. You get off the field on third and 11. Who knows what happens down eight. But credit Ohio State. I mean, they got hot at the right time.

Ohio State. They were they were a juggernaut. We were kind of banged up and lost two offensive linemen.

I know they had some banged up guys, too. We were missing some of our TV taxels, but I'm proud of a man. I'm I'm proud to be a fighting Irishman at heart. And I hope to make it back and see some of these games. Well, good luck, good health. Coming up on Sunday, we appreciate the time. As always, you drink. Well, we'll see you, Zach.

Thanks. Go, Chiefs. Zach's taking on the most polarizing issues in sports. Which side of the line of scrimmage will he end up on? Offside defense number 69. It's onsides, offsides with Zach Gelb.

Zach Gelb Show, Infinity Sports Network, onside, offside time. You just heard the big voiceover guy say it. Stu's got a few questions for me. I'll give you a few answers. Let's get it. Stu, what's cooking?

All right. Well, the Jaguars filled the fourth coaching opening with Liam Cohen, while the Raiders filled the fifth with Pete Carroll, leaving just the Saints and Cowboys as the lone teams without a head coach. Now, reports indicate that Dow's could be finalizing a deal with offensive coordinator Bron Schonheimer any minute now, far from the splashy names like Deion Sanders that were in consideration.

Onsides, offsides. Jerry Jones has made the Cowboys an undesirable place to play and coach. So 30, 40 years ago or even 20 years ago, you know, forget about what the Cowboys were. But I think there was value right playing in a big market, playing for a huge brand.

And I still think there is. But now with the individuals really being the brand and them having social media to highlight their platform, I don't think you need the huge market as much as what you once did. Now, with that being said, I think players also value a lot more personally these days. And you heard Dalton Schultz before in the past leave the Cowboys, go to the Texans and shred the environment of the Dallas Cowboys.

You know, Mike McCarthy and Dak Prescott, they're kind of immune, but it still impacts them. Probably if you ask them truthfully about having to deal with an organization and an owner that cares more about generating clicks and drama and having all the power rather than doing whatever it takes to win games. So when you say Jerry has made the Cowboys an undesirable place to play and coach, it's still one of 32 jobs right in the league, like one of one of 32 places. But I think there's a lot better options out there.

And where they used to be is very far from where they are now. So, yes, I do agree on sides that Jerry Jones has made the Cowboys an undesirable place to play and coach on sides. All right. In two weeks, we'll learn who won all of the NFL postseason awards, including MVP Defensive Player of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, as well as Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year. However, one position that always gets left out is offensive line and your buddy Dion Dawkins wants some recognition for the big guys up front. It's a beautiful thing for an individual that is a part of this league to be able to get an award for being great. And I'll circle back on, you know, offensive linemen don't have awards for being great. You know, there's not a protector of the year award.

I'm knocking at so many doors now to get this award going and I'm going to head spirit and make sure that this gets done before I'm done playing because there's so many greats. If we have great quarterbacks, we have great running backs, we have rushing titles, we have quarterback passing titles. All those titles are reflections of the old linemen, which are the protectors. So on all sides, the NFL should add an award for offensive linemen. On sides, we got to show more love to the big fellas up front.

And you know what? There's a great football saying, the game is one of the trenches. So it's time for us to reward the offensive linemen in this league. We try to just get all sexy with MVP, which always goes to a quarterback it feels like. Offensive Player of the Year, which probably goes to a running back or a wide receiver. Defensive Player of the Year obviously not going to an offensive lineman. Rookie of the Year doesn't go to an offensive lineman.

The linemen never win any awards. It's time to put respect on the big fellas' names. I am Zach Gelb and I speak for fat people all over the country. I'm a little less fat now, but you get the point. I want to reward the big fellas, the hog mollies, and the guys that do the hard work to produce wins on a football field.

We get too cute and we get all sexy. Quarterbacks, wide receivers, tight ends, running backs. What about the big fellas in the trenches doing the dirty work so everybody else can eat and get nice paychecks? Yes, the NFL should add an award for offensive linemen. And Roger Goodell, you're a disgrace as a commissioner until you add this award. I started to say nice things about Roger. I called him the best commissioner in sports these days. Behind Rob Manfred and Gary Bettman and Adam Silver.

But Roger, you got to do what's right. We got to reward the big fellas up front. Give them a damn award.

Give them something. Instead of all these like GQ head coaches and all these lovely offensive weapons. And oh, we got a slobber all over wide receivers and running backs and quarterbacks.

There's nothing better than a big fella just dominating and pancaking an opposing player in front of him. I want respect on offensive linemen's names. Put it on their names. Give them an award. Anthony Munoz maybe? I don't know.

I'm trying to think like the John Hogg Hanna Trophy. You could do something. You know. Just do something.

Whatever offensive linemen that you want. The Robert Gallery Award? Oh, yeah. That's a great award. Yeah. I'm sorry. Unbelievable. Could you give like one out for holding I guess if you win that award? All right.

Next question. Oh, boy, the numbers are in for the College football national title game. And while over 21 million people tuned in, that number was down 12 percent from the 25 million who watched last year. Some point to the matchup while others blame the presidential inauguration for the low viewership. The big question is we always got to blame the politics.

I have to. When in doubt, just blame the politicians. The big question is whether the new college football playoff format is the reason either with playoff fatigue or the game being held. So late in January around the NFL playoffs. So onsides, offsides, the low viewership was due mostly to fans fatigue with the playoffs.

I'm going to go offside. I'm going to say the biggest problem is the game got lost in the NFL calendar. Right. So I think the way that you meant this was fatigue with the college football. Yes. Yes. Yeah.

So I would go offside on that. I don't think there was fatigue for the college football playoff, especially with two huge brands. But when you add more teams.

Yeah. It gets, you know, a little watered down, especially in the first two rounds were underwhelming. But at the semifinal games are awesome. And yet these two enormous brands. So I was surprised that the ratings were that weren't that high.

But I look more so. And I was kidding about the politics. You know, I don't think there was a lot of foresight on that one. Inauguration Day, like, I felt like my Twitter feed and I was at the game. I felt like my Twitter feed was more Trump this Trump that Trump this Trump that, you know, maybe if Trump didn't win, would there have been that much social like there's still obviously be a big deal with Kamala Harris. But would there have been that much on social media compared to Trump winning?

Probably not. Especially because how polarizing Trump is and how much of a reaction Trump does cause. So I think Trump actually trumped the college football playoff.

And then you also put in from a reaction standpoint, like doing a show, right? We were in Atlanta. Of course, we talked about the national championship game. But you were coming off Chiefs and I mean, you're coming off the Ravens and the Bills that mega Sunday game and then also on Saturday at the Lions go down. And as much as I love college football, it feels like in the media climate still NFL is king. So the low viewership was due mostly to fan fatigue with the playoff. I'm going to go offside and I think there's other reasons.

All right. The NBA announced the All-Star Game starters yesterday with LeBron and Giannis garnering the most votes. However, fans were up in arms that sophomore sensation Victor Wambunyama wasn't voted a starter despite averaging twenty five points, eleven rebounds in a league leading four blocks per game. Onsides, offsides, you would rather watch WEMBE than any of the other starters.

I guess because they'll probably try, right? But is this something that I'm freaking out about? No. But would I rather watch WEMBE than any of the other starters?

Yes. Because he's also newer, too. So onsides and he's an alien when I watch him. I just think he's an alien. I'll never forget when Hickey and I, we went to his draft availability and we got a chance to talk to Victor Wambunyama and he came in in a jumpsuit and he was just sitting there at the dais in the I think it was a gray jumpsuit or green jumpsuit.

I forget. And he just kind of like blended in with the wall behind him. And he just looked like a floating head. He's so tall.

Seven, six. And he's just so skinny, too. And he just looked like a floating head. I literally thought he was an alien and not from this planet. I thought he was from Mars or something or Jupiter.

That's one of the most unique individuals on the planet, just in terms of the way that his body was made. That's crazy. All right. Next one.

All right. Let's take a look. Ichiro was a first ballot Hall of Famer, but miss becoming just the second unanimous choice by one vote. Yesterday, Ichiro spoke out saying he would like to invite the lone holdout over to his home to have a drink and a good chat. So on all sides, the baseball writers should make it mandatory that everyone reveals their ballots.

On sides. Why are we protecting these voters? And also way too many people have votes. But if you get like I always reveal my Heisman vote, I don't have to. But I always do. So I think if you're voting on something, you should have to say who you're voting for.

You know, especially when it comes to these awards, if you're going to vote for these awards and if people aren't okay with that, then you give up your votes. But I want to know the one knucklehead maybe go numb nuts here and numb nuts probably better. I want to know the one numb nuts here that didn't end up voting for Ichiro Suzuki and what is his reasoning was.

I don't think that name has come out publicly yet. And also, did you see when Ken Griffey Jr. surprised him, Ichiro's reactions are just awesome. The elation.

Right. Like this is Ichiro Suzuki. Like you don't think that he would be like a fat kid in a candy store jumping for joy just because another baseball player is on the screen. But when Ken Griffey Jr. popped up on the screen, you would have thought that he was like zooming with our show and like that was the elation and the look and how in awe Ichiro Suzuki was. And the question is, the baseball writers should make it mandatory that everyone reveals their ballots. Absolutely onsides. Now, I have an onside offside bonus question for you, Stu. So this comes from the YouTube chat. Oh boy.

Angel in the YouTube chat. You rarely mentioned baseball. I understand why. However, do you think what the Dodgers are doing is wrong?

Onside or offside? What the Dodgers is doing right now is wrong, Stu. I don't blame them. I don't think they're I just think they're taking advantage of a kind of a loophole with the deferred money. Yeah, probably something that shouldn't be allowed. But if your players agree to it, what can you do? Yeah. And it's not illegal.

So I guess I'll say onsides. But it's again, I don't really fault them for doing it. You may not like it.

You may think it's slimy. But if you were one of the other teams and you were getting these players, you would be two thumbs up. So I'm not going to be hypocritical here. I'm not going to be a salty Yankee fan like Stu is. And I'm not going to drop the ball on this question. And in my answer, like Aaron Judge dropped the ball in the World Series. Sorry, I'm just giving zingers on a Friday.

My bad. I'm going to go offside. Do I think what the Dodgers is doing is wrong? No. And if you say yes, you're just jealous. Stu's jealous. Jealous, jealous, jealous, jealous.

All right. Zach Gelb Show Infinity Sports Network. We got one more question to one more segment to get to. And the question that we're going to be asking is outside of Andy Reid. Which coach do you trust the most this weekend? Is it Nick Sirianni? Is it Dan Quinn?

Or is it Stu's favorite coach, Sean McDermott? You want to jump on at 855-212-4227, 855-212-4227. You can always follow us on Twitter and Instagram at Zach Gelb.

That's C-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. Update time first. Here's Zach. So I find this interesting. I'm sure most people listening will not give a rat's ass.

So it's like one of those things. Then why do you say it on a radio show? But it's my show. So that's what I'm going to say, even though we do the show for the listeners. I was just trying to find this during the break because we had Drew Tranquil on about 40 minutes ago for the Chiefs.

And the last time he joined us was last year. And when he joined us, it made Entertainment Tonight like Entertainment Tonight did at least an eight to 10 minute segment on our conversation with Drew Tranquil because he said something about Travis Kelsey and Taylor Swift and how they're maybe in love. And this thing got blasted all over the Internet. Like my friends, girlfriends were reaching out to me. And they were like, I just saw you on my TikTok feed interviewing some Chiefs player about Taylor Swift's boyfriend. And even still, memory serves you right, I think like Angie saw it, too, because you're the Swiftie algorithm. Yeah, she found she saw it on a TikTok as well in one of those whatever videos. Yeah.

Yeah, I could have eight minutes at least on Entertainment Tonight. So I found the clip. You know when the interview is from? Probably a year ago, January 24th. So there's something about January 24th and Drew Tranquil being on this show. And he joined us last year. And I texted him, you know, like we'll talk from time to time. And he's been joining us since his days with the Los Angeles Chargers. And when I reached out to him this time, I was like, oh, by the way, like you joined us around this time last year before the AFC Championship game. You know, maybe it's good luck and you come back on the show.

He's like, yeah, I got you. No problem. Come back on. I did not know, though, that that was literally a year ago when we had him on January 24th. It was after that Bills game, which was January 21st. And then we had him on the 24th.

And, you know, away we go. So I guess now every January 24th, we have to have Drew Tranquil on the Zach Yell show on the Infinity Sports Network if the Chiefs are playing in a in a big game. All right, it's time to answer Ask the Pros question of the day. It's brought to you by O'Reilly Auto Parts. James in Jacksonville says, Zach, how would you describe the Liam Cohen hire? It's interesting. You could submit a question by tweeting at INF Sports that are at Zach Geld using the hashtag Ask the Pros. Think O'Reilly Auto Parts for all your car care needs.

Guaranteed low prices and excellent customer service from the professional parts people at O'Reilly Auto Parts, O'Reilly Auto Parts. I think it's chaotic, right? Like Stu, you're laughing at the exact word I was thinking.

It's really chaotic. You had a coach that all right, the Jaguars, they could say, I hate when teams do this. I understand why they do it, but I hate when teams do this. We got our first choice. We got the guy that we wanted all along. Their first choice was Ben Johnson. Ben Johnson said, you're not getting rid of Trent Bulky. I ain't listening to you. I'll go flirt with the Raiders before I think about taking your job.

And then I go to Chicago. Shad Khan, though, his miscalculation in this and why he got embarrassed, even though he ultimately got his fans what they wanted or one of the names that they wanted, was he thought that Trent Bulky would still be there and Liam Cohen wouldn't balk at the opportunity of not taking the job because Trent Bulky is there, right? And when Liam Cohen said, yeah, I'm going back to Tampa and Tampa Bay then says, all right, in order for us to keep you, we'll make you the highest paid coordinator in the history of the league.

Yeah, I thought that was done and I thought that was finished with. It's like when me O'Brien joined this yesterday, I was like, alright, Bulky's out. You know, Shad Khan's incompetent. He's only won 30% of his games that NFL owner since taking over in 2012. He's now about to hire a six coach is Liam Cohen like he could, but is he really going to go back to this? Even though he got what he wanted with bulky being out and then not only does shot con say we'll get bulky out, but also we're going to give you a Ben Johnson offer. So ultimately Jacksonville got their guy, but how they got there, it was chaotic.

It was a mess and it was a roller coaster ride. Like I look at this now and if you're a Jaguars fan, yeah, I don't think you care how you got there, but how you got there, we could all acknowledge, even though you liked the Liam Cohen hire was extremely sloppy, but also Stu, this idea that they wanted, and I don't know if you feel differently, but this idea that Liam Cohen was their guy from the start, I'm not saying they didn't have him as one of their top candidates, like one of, but not the top. The top is clearly Ben Johnson and then Liam Cohen, I think was too, but when the report is that the Jaguars were offering him Ben Johnson money, I know that saying, all right, what the Ben Johnson salary is, that's what they're going to give him, but they had that money pretty much reserved for Ben Johnson, I would imagine, right? That's why it's kind of laughable to me that this is now getting reported on as Liam Cohen was the guy that shot con wanted all along. I would assume it was Ben Johnson and maybe even Vrabel too. I don't know, that was probably just so quick to the Patriots, they didn't even have really a chance at Vrabel, but I could have seen him as maybe someone they would have targeted, but definitely Ben Johnson. I feel like there were four teams at least that Ben was the first target for.

Now give Sean Conne credit for this. When they make a hire, they find a way to dominate the news cycle. Look at their last three hires. Urban Meyer dominated the news cycle, ended up being a disaster.

He kicked his kicker, right, and there was a lot of other things that went wrong there, like not flying back with the team and then getting a little handsy with someone at his Urban Meyer pint house or whatever it is after you had a game and everyone was flying back with the team and Urban Meyer did it and we saw that video that surfaced. Then the Doug Peterson hire, guy that's won a Super Bowl, respectable guy in the league. I don't think it had as much splash waves as either of these hires, but still it's a big name when you're bringing in Doug Peterson, and I'm not saying Liam Cohen is a huge name, but he was that second innovative offensive mind on the market, right?

I think it went Ben Johnson won. Then you had Liam Cohen too, and then Joe Brady, probably three of the innovative offensive minds that are out there that are available, but how they got there made this such a big splashy hire because we all went from yesterday shredding the Jaguars. Why did the Jaguars wait this long when we all told him to get rid of Trent Bulky?

And now it's like, I don't know how you feel about this, Stu. It's weird to praise the Jaguars today because yes, they got their guy, but as we were talking about, it's how they got there. And I'm sure Jaguars fans like, and this was used to, you'd only care if you end up getting the guy that you wanted or one of the guys that you wanted, but being a laughing stock for a day or really two and a half weeks when everyone told you to get rid of Trent Bulky and taking this long waiting until the 11th hour, right?

It was 11 59. The clock was about to strike midnight and then they said, okay, we'll get rid of Trent Bulky. That still has to be somewhat frustrating, even though you're satisfied as a Jaguars fan that Bulky's out and you're okay with the coaching hire.

The almost bittersweet. Like you got the guy, but at the same time it's like, uh, but I would still feel lack of trust with the owner in that organization. Definitely.

Now your organization you may think is in better hands with Liam Cohen, but it's still operated by Shahid Khan. All right, let's do this. I'll ask you this question.

I have my answer and I think it's a difficult question. You go with Dan Quinn, you go with Nick Sirianni or you could go with Sean McDermott outside of Andy Reid. So those three coaches, which coach do you trust the most heading into this weekend? That's really tough.

I think I'll go with Sirianni. I don't know. I don't feel good about it. I think I'll have a vegetables with dinner tonight. That's pretty much what you're like a kid saying that like I have to, but I have to give an answer.

It's not great though. I think I'll go Sirianni. I'll go with Super Bowl. I mean nothing against Dan Quinn. I need to see more from Dan Quinn as a head coach to pick him here. So for me it's between McDermott and Sirianni. I'll give the slight answer Sirianni. You got Brussels sprouts, you got asparagus and you got spinach. What's your favorite out of those three? Brussels sprouts. I actually really like Brussels sprouts. I like asparagus. The only problem with asparagus is then when you go to the bathroom, your pee smells a little funky.

There's no doubt about that. Cream spinach I like, but that's like not really healthy. The like regular spinach, I have to put spinach in things. Like you give me an egg white like frittata with spinach, I'm good. Like you put spinach in a smoothie, I'm good. Spinach just on its own. Nah, not that much. I like Brussels sprouts though.

I can do Brussels sprouts. I'm going to agree with you. I think it's Sirianni and like Dan Quinn, he's good. But then there's always that 28 to 3 thought in a big game, how do you manage a lead? Sean McDermott, there's just so many mismanagement blunders, even though he's done a really good job in Buffalo. But then you look at Sirianni, even though he could be a child on the sidelines at times, the guy has exceeded expectations in Philly. Last year was the one year where it got away from him, but he's won a ton of games. You know, this is a coach that first year they made the wild card round when they weren't expected to. Then they made the Super Bowl.

Yeah, they started 10 and 1, they were disaster down the stretch, only winning one game. But this year they've restored the ship and they are now 60 minutes away from going to a Super Bowl and they're 120 minutes away from winning a Super Bowl. I was actually impressed with that math there for a second. It's a good job by the way, I'll pat myself on the back here. So I will go with Nick Sirianni.

But this is a big drop off. Like Andy Reid, Philly Andy Reid, you didn't trust them. But Kansas City Andy Reid, because of Holmes, you trust them. And then trying to order those other three coaches on who you trust the most. It's like, yeah, I guess I'll have the Brussels sprouts as a kid.

That's how I guess I'll have the asparagus. That's what it kind of feels like. So here are my predictions one more time. A little disappointed that Maggie didn't give us a prediction on the game and she went with an over-under. And we're tied now in NFL picks on the year. So if I end up losing this because I took her bills and she took an over-under and she gets it right, I'm going to be very annoyed. But anyway, I'm going 27-23. The Bills make you want to shout. They get the victory up against the Chiefs.

And then I'm going 27-20. The Eagles take down the commanders. Big thanks to Maggie Gray, besides her last answer.

Nah, just kidding. Big thanks to Drew Tranquil from the Chiefs, Stu, Santer, Ack, and each and every one of you for tuning in. I'll be back on Sunday for Sunday morning football from 10 a.m. to noon Eastern on many of these same stations. And then we will recap everything you need to know for Conference Championship Weekend.

We will have a Super Bowl matchup set when we get back in the studio on Monday at 3 p.m. Eastern, noon Pacific time. Have a wonderful weekend, everybody. We out. Bye-bye. We'll see you next time.