Hot Seat Meter (Hour 2)

So my biggest fear is there's going to be sneaks in the toilet. We're all afraid of that one strange thing. I'm Larry Mullins, the host of a new short 10-minute podcast called Your Weirdest Fears. We unpack where these fears come from. A rat climbed into my toilet.

And learn how to manage them. Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. What makes your skin crawl? No matter how absurd, I want to know.

Tails without fur on them, such as rats or opossums. I'm Larry Mullins, the host of a new podcast called Your Weirdest Fears. You send me your fear.

I'm just so weirded out about the texture and how they can just move around and flop. And then I go to the experts to learn how to overcome them. Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts from.

Rocket Mortgage could help you get there for home loan solutions that fit your life well. Rocket can. Hickey, you got some music for me. I feel like we need some football music here because we're about to talk about people's jobs and how many coaches could potentially be getting fired. Panthers open, the Indianapolis Colts open, Steve Wilks, the interim head coach, and then Jeff Saturday.

I want to know the lone undefeated coach in the NFL this year. I see you guys are hyping that up a little bit. That's how you've been promoting that podcast of yours. This raise the banner. Oh, raise the banner. You can't get about that. What do you mean?

I can't get like banners for just breathing. Exactly right. So winning his head coach in Colts history, winning his head coach in F.L.

history. Raise it. Let's go before they lose the Eagles. And then it's there. There goes that record. Yeah. Jim Erce will be doing if they lose to the Eagles, he could be doing a video.

I'm so happy. You can't hear him right outside of the jet. Is he going to be released in a video now each and every week or only when his team wins? Well, the good news is if you want to video this week, since they're at home, I'm assuming there's no private jet.

That's true. So that means no jet engines blaring, but he probably helicopter somewhere after the game or something. Probably order one in just to go to the airport, crank it up and then see the video and then go home.

Yeah. You can't do videos anymore if you're Jim Erce. Unless if it's in front of a private jet at this point, because no one can even hear what the guy's saying.

It's his brand, like your brand's hot take, Kiki. Jim Erce's brand is putting out videos in front of a jet when no one can actually hear what you're saying. I'm shocked he didn't fire Frank Reich that way.

Like just release a video in front of the front of the plane. We have come to the decision to fire Frank Reich. Yeah. Just kind of shocked me. All right.

What do we got here? Let's go. Give me the job. Give me the team. And I'll tell you on a scale one to ten, one, their seats freezing cold. Ten, their seats on fire. Let's start with a layup here. Nathaniel Hackett.

9.5. So you're saying there's a chance. I expect him to get fired. I don't think they're even going to win this weekend to the Raiders. I don't think there's hope there.

I just don't know enough about this new ownership group and what's going to happen with them being in Denver. So that's why I give a half percent chance of maybe, maybe him coming back. But I think it's almost a lock that he's done. So can I even ask you about Josh McDaniel's at this point? Yeah. Like, is it worth even putting him on the meter?

Okay. Joshua Daniels. This is going to seem crazy, but it's a four.

And I think four may be high because the report that came out today is something that I've been saying for the last two weeks. And Hickey's like, no, no, no, McIdiot, McDuffus, you got to fire him. I hate the guy. So I'm not going to listen. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Because that's what you do when you get so stubborn about things, you dig your heels in so deep. And then when someone brings up a valid point, you're just like, well, that's what I think. That's what I think. That's what I'm saying. You think what you're thinking. I'm thinking what I'm thinking.

And you don't even have a conversation about it. But as I told you, Mark Davis may be looking at the soup kitchen next week for some of these reports, because right now they're not in a good financial spot. And I know they settled with Gruden, but you're paying him. Are you really going to pay two coaches not to coach the team and then a third coach who actually will be coaching the team? No, I really do think McDaniel's will be back. I'll put it at a four. And maybe that number being so high as just to appease Raiders fans. Four because Mark Davis is too poor? Pretty much.

How about Lovey Smith? By the way, didn't I have a great breakdown of you when it comes to McDaniel's? No, I disagree. You were laughing. It's logic. It just makes sense. But here's the thing.

If you're too poor, then bring someone else in that can afford it. I wish I was as naive as you. Like, I would love to be as naive as you. You just think what is right is what's going to happen. You don't think about the finances. You don't think about the dirty part of this business.

You don't think about the money part of this. You don't do that for college football. And you don't do that when it comes to the NFL as well. Let me tell you this. I would never be the commissioner of the NFL because those owners would not appreciate the truth I'm about to bring.

They would hate you. If Jerry Jones wants to fight Roger Goodell, not give him a contract extension, you would have no shot. Dan Snyder, see you later. Mark Davis, you're too poor. Get out of here. It would be the day of reckoning would come, that is for sure.

Speaking of which, day of reckoning, how about Lovey Smith? What's his hot seat meter? Three. He's not the long-term answer. Can you fire back-to-back coaches, first-year head coaches knowing back-to-back years?

I would say no. No one when they hired him thought he was the guy. And Lovey Smith's been a good coach in this league. But when they made that hire, everyone was like, what?

Who said no? Oh, you couldn't hire Brian Flores because he's suing the league? You wanted to hire Josh McCown, but the optics of it would have looked bad, so you didn't do that and you passed once again. And Josh McCown's still not coaching anywhere on his staff this year, so he even knows if he actually wants to coach, or if he just wants to waltz right into a head coaching job. I would think he's back for year number two, but year number two will be his last year. How about Matt Leflore in Green Bay?

Two. I think the only way, and I said this a few weeks back, the only way that Matt Leflore is not back next year is if Aaron Rodgers pouts at the end of the year and he goes, guys, it's either me and you get screwed, my dead cap hit, I retire, or you get rid of Matt Leflore. I would think though a guy that went 13-3, 13-3, 13-3, and he is overrated because he has Rodgers and this year doesn't have all those answers because they don't have Devante Adams anymore and Rodgers isn't playing that great. I would be surprised if he's not back. The only way he's going to be out, because Gudekunz likes him a lot, is if Aaron Rodgers forces that hand. So I'll put it, you know, I said two, I'll go minimal, one.

All right. How about Dennis Allen with the Saints? It should be like an eight because that team, I know they've been injured, but it makes no sense that they're starting Andy Dalton. Like, did you see what he said about Jameis Winston today? He's never going to be 100% this year, but he's healthy enough to practice and he's healthy enough to be the backup. That's one thing, Ryan, that I never get about the NFL, where a guy could be healthy enough to be active. He could be healthy enough to be a backup. And I get it like a one-time thing, emergency situation, you don't prefer to play him. But at this rate, if I'm Jameis Winston, even if I'm 75%, 80%, I'm saying, bleep this, get me on the field. Because at least it's an opportunity and you don't want to see any more of Andy Dalton. Like, Jameis must be horrible in practice.

Or Dennis Allen just can't stand Jameis Winston. That's true. I don't know. I don't know which one's more true.

Actually, both probably could be true. I would say, because that's not an attractive job right now. And he's through one year, he's been at organization for a while. Is he a long-term answer? Absolutely not.

You haven't seen like a hit piece come out. So we don't know if there's a lot of like drama going on in that locker room. I would say a three. But if it was up to me, I'd get rid of him and find an actual good head coach. How about another first year head coach, Todd Bowles?

One. The only way that guy's out is if Brady says, oh yeah, I actually want to come back. But then get Todd Bowles out where Brady may have already forced Bruce Arians out. I think they go with Todd Bowles for another year. And I don't think Brady's back next year, but he's on the hot seat right now. How about Cliff Kingsbury?

What's his meter at? Six. I think there's a chance he gets fired at the end of the year. And I would not have said that a few weeks ago just because of the contract. And maybe the financials do factor in here and they give him another year and I could see them at the end of the year saying, oh, the first six games of the season, we didn't have DeAndre Hopkins.

Now you lose Zach Ertz with an injury. There could be some excuses there. But if you don't win some games down the stretch, Michael Bidwell may have to hold his nose, even though he just extended Kym and Kingsbury through 2027 and cut the fat. But I think it's out of six. How about Mike McCarthy?

That's a good one. This is going to be unfair because he has coached well so far this season and lost Dak Prescott for a few weeks and only had one loss with Cooper Raj. It's going to be the same number as Cliff Kingsbury.

Six. Because for McCarthy, there's not really much he could do in the regular season that could win you over. Last year, he won over so many people in the regular season. Wow, look at the Cowboys. The Cowboys were at times being called the great team. And in the postseason, he admitted after that game and the loss of 49, his team wasn't ready to go. He sensed nervousness from his team. And they couldn't execute the final play, which was horrible. They couldn't get the snap off in the final, what, 12 or 13 seconds, whatever it was. I would say it's a six and it's not because of anything he's done this year. It's just my lack of belief in the Dallas Cowboys, even in a wide open NFC this year, probably getting to an NFC championship game because I think he needs to get to an NFC championship game to be back.

Or you'll have Sean Payton if he wants the job or Dan Quinn, maybe as the head coach next year. What is Brandon Staley's hot seat meter at? I did hack. It was a 9.5, right?

Yes. Game 0.5 chance for next year. They have cheap owners.

Spanos, like Mark Davis. I would say seven because that team still has everything right in front of them. I could see them making the playoffs and I think they'll make the playoffs and they make the playoffs. He's probably safe, but if Sean Payton says, I want that job and you look at all the potential jobs that are open, that could be open, the two right now, Indian and Carolina, I don't have to work out a trade with the Saints too. You then look at Denver, you look at a job like the Chargers being open, the Cardinals, the Chargers are the most attractive because Justin Herbert's good. Austin Eckler's a stud. Keenan Allen, if he's healthy, is really good. Mike Williams is really good.

And you got a lot of talent on that defensive side of the ball. So if Sean snaps his fingers and reports are that he would love to get that Chargers job and says, I want that job, even if Staley makes the playoffs, if it's not convincing, if it's not like leaps and bounds, wow, this guy really showed us he could be the guy, especially with his peculiar approach when it comes to going for situations deep in his own territory, I do think the Sean Payton and his own incompetence of one Brandon Staley could do him in. Two more here. How about Kevin Stefanski? Is he in the hot seat at all?

That's a great one. I would put it at like a three. I don't think so. I think he gets one year of Deshaun Watson. Now Watson clearly has a ton of power, which is like crazy to think, but he does. And if he doesn't like Stefanski down the stretch, maybe that number could go up. But I would think if we're talking about what's fair here, he has not done a good job this year, but you're starting Jacoby Bressett.

They didn't go out and trade for Jimmy G to weather the storm. I would think that Stefanski gets at least a full year with Deshaun Watson. But since you gave him that guaranteed contract, Deshaun Watson, and he's now back in the facility and able to practice and comes back in week 13 because they had that bye week in week 12, I think, if the final few weeks of the season, Watson at the end goes up to the Haslams and goes up to the general manager and says, yeah, Andrew Berry, I don't really like Stefanski. Then Stefanski could be in trouble. I think he'll be back next year.

So I put it at like a three. And finally, how about Dan Campbell? I think the last two weeks saved them. Beating the Bears, more importantly, beating the Packers. Not high expectations to begin with.

You've never had a franchise quarterback with the Detroit Lions. The players are believing in them. They play tough for him.

They're just not ready to win consistently. But when you're able to go beat a Green Bay who's having a down year, and the Bears are up by 14, you come back at Soldier Field in the in the fourth quarter, I think that little win streak, as long as you find a way to win another game or two, keeps you safe. So if you would ask me this a few weeks ago, I'd probably say it's like 50-50.

But now I'd probably knock it down a few pegs and like put out like a two or three. So that's the hot seat meter right now, as we're about to enter week 11 in the National Football League. College Football Playoff rankings came out last night. Georgia 1, Ohio State 2, Michigan 3, TCU 4, Tennessee 5, LSU 6, USC 7. Can USC be a one loss Pac-12 champion in the college football playoff? We'll also recap the bad performance by Oregon against Washington, the controversial Dan Lanning decision, and UCLA not showing up against Arizona last week as well.

And we'll go around college football Heisman Trophy with, of course, coming up next, Yogi Roth on the Zach Gelb show. Don't go anywhere back in five. Is there something really absurd that skeeves you out? Getting a paper cut on my eyeball. A fear you can't shake. I'm going to leak ocular fluid down my cheeks.

It's going to go into my mouth and I will perish. Whatever scares you, I want to talk about it. Join me, Larry Mullins, on my new podcast, Your Weirdest Fears.

Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from. Throughout the 60s and 70s, cops hunted down key figures of the Dixie Mafia, including its enigmatic ringleader, Kirksey Nix. I'm in a rush to making money.

I'm not in a rush to hurt people. 15 years into Kirksey's life sentence, the Dixie Mafia was practically folklore, but that would soon change. I'm Jed Lipinski. This is Gone South, a documentary podcast from C-13 Originals, a Cadence 13 studio. Season two, The Dixie Mafia, available now on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Throughout the 60s and 70s, cops hunted down key figures of the Dixie Mafia, including its enigmatic ringleader, Kirksey Nix. I'm in a rush to making money.

I'm not in a rush to hurt people. 15 years into Kirksey's life sentence, the Dixie Mafia was practically folklore, but that would soon change. I'm Jed Lipinski. This is Gone South, a documentary podcast from C-13 Originals, a Cadence 13 studio. Season two, The Dixie Mafia, available now on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. You're listening to The Zach Gelb Show. Zach Gelb Show, CBS Sports Radio.

You can think around the auto parts where your car care needs, get guaranteed low prices and excellent customer service from the professional parts people at O'Reilly Auto Parts. Sometimes you can have a thought on a game and then you see the spread and you go, ooh, that's not the way that I expected it to go down. This weekend, and I know that they were doubted last week, where Texas was a seven, seven and a half point favorite against TCU.

I don't know. Have you seen the number yet, Hickey? Because I have the number on TCU Baylor. Have you seen what the number is yet in that one?

I have not, no. If you had to take a guess, TCU going to McLean Stadium in Waco, Texas, what do you think the spread is, TCU Baylor? What do you think the spread is? I would say TCU minus five. It's TCU minus two and a half. So that's once again, Vegas trying to tell you, we don't really love TCU, but that's what we said last week. Oh yeah, it makes no sense that Texas is a seven and a half point favorite.

And then the next thing, you know, a lot of people are minus to the seven, seven and a half, and then TCU wins that game. And the other spread that I think you need to really look at is the USC game too, because USC now is the pick in the Pac-12, right? If you want to have a chance to go to college football playoff, you're going to need USC to be a one loss Pac-12 champ. UCLA coming off the loss last week, they're a two and a half point dog against USC. So I could see UCLA winning this weekend, I would probably plus the points.

And for TCU, see I bet against them last week, so I'm not going to bet against them this week, I'll probably lay the two and a half. Let's go out to the hotline right now, new college football playoff rankings out, we'll chat some Pac-12, do everything around the landscape of college football with Yogi Roth. Yogi, appreciate the time as always, how you been? I'm doing well, how are you? Well, I'm doing fantastic.

Let me start you off last week with Oregon Washington. First off, a great victory for Kalen DeBoer in your number one with the Huskies, but the Dan Lanning decision to go for it on his 34 yard line, fourth and one with under 90 seconds to go. In the moment, I didn't like it, how about yourself? I know it didn't work out for him. Yeah, you know, in the moment I was calling a game and then I had to go back and watch it, you know, the next day in terms of the context of the game flow. And I think, you know, he kind of referenced afterwards, like there's some calls that or decisions he would have back, I think probably want to use a timeout there instead. I often wondered, like, was it an automatic give? Meaning like Ty Thompson was the quarterback at the time, like, did he have the option to pull it?

Because if he did, it's a walk for a first down. But I think overall for me, having tracked his teams, that's their DNA. Like they are going to live aggressive. So I don't know, if they got it, we'd be applauding what a decision, kind of like we did the onside kick against UCLA, our other fourth downs where he's gone forward in the season and we didn't, we light him up or, you know, can criticize. But I'm down when teams lean on their DNA throughout the entirety of the season and kind of live and die by it.

But I think that Dan Lanning, as we track his young careers, had coach move him forward, as he gets to those types of situations, I'm sure we'll see a variance of calls by him. This weekend, USC has UCLA. USC is the lone hope for the Pac-12 to still get into the college football playoff. They were ranked seventh by the committee last night. How do you think that game will play on out?

I can't wait for the Pac House. Over 16,000 students will be at the road goal for UCLA. They're going to get the best UCLA coming off a loss. I'm stoked for the Trojans because, you know, number one, what a turnaround under Lincoln Riley. And then when you look at their path, I think we've seen, you know, them get lit up regarding like, hey, they haven't necessarily beaten anybody other than Oregon State who's a ranked team.

And I understand that, but if they're able to beat UCLA, able to beat a ranked Notre Dame, and then beat possibly Oregon or Avenger game against Utah or who knows how the title game will shake out, I, to me, think they've got an incredible argument to get in the playoff when you just look at the style in which their one loss was, one point on the road. And they're going to be healthy in this one, right? Sounds like Eric Gentry, they're all everything that a linebacker will be back, who I think impacts the game more than anybody, a middle linebacker in college football at six foot six with a seven foot six and a quarter inch wingspan. Sounds like Jordan Addison, Mara Williams will be back at full strength.

So it'll be best on best. And I can't wait to get through the most dynamic offenses in the country. Now you're talking about the case that USC has. What do you think needs to go right for them to get in? Because I kind of think last night the committee kind of showed you once again they're leaning towards putting a one loss Tennessee team in because you know either Ohio State or Michigan's going to lose next week.

Yeah, I'm not that worried about it in that situation that you described. I've done a mock committee selection before where you fly to Dallas and you sit on the committee, you know, and the year that I did it I got to pretend I was the chair who at the time was Rob Mullins, the athletic director at Oregon, and you learn that they really value wins versus, you know, did you value losses? And I think for USC to the point of what they have in front of them versus two not ranked teams that Tennessee has, they're going to have at the end of the year just more quality wins. And they, when it's close, they value either comparative outcomes, clearly Tennessee and SC haven't played each other, and they value strength of record and they value conference championships in no specific order. And nine conference games, Rice has a chance to make it into a bowl game. Fresno State is tops of their division right now in the Mountain West. Like SC I think has a good enough argument, especially when you look at if you do value losses, a one point loss on the road versus in Tennessee getting rolled by Georgia, that's a reality. You know, so I just think when it comes down to it, the committee is going to value nine conference games and a conference championship versus just an SEC conference that we often give the benefit of the doubt to. For TCU, you have Baylor and Iowa State still up and then the Big 12 championship game. Do you think they'll be undefeated when it's all said and done?

Yeah, I don't know. I kind of hope not, just because it gives a cleaner path for the Pac-12. But I'm also a big Sonny Dykes guy. He was a Cal. He was incredible to us, offered such great access.

And you look at his quarterback, Max, like what a story of resiliency for him, just hanging in there over the years. So I'd like to see him. I'd like it to often be as challenging as possible on the committee and for Sonny, I'd like to see him get that done. He's clearly one of the leaders in the clubhouse for Coach of the Year in all of college football.

So I don't know, I kind of go both ways. Like as long as the Pac-12 gets in, if he's undefeated, perfect. But if there's a debate there, I'm not about it. And let's see if Pac-12 will get in. Talking to Yogi Roth right now. Hey, circling back on UCLA, Chip Kelly's done a really good job of that program right now. At eight and two, the last two seasons, we started to see some results. We know that they're off to the Big Ten along with USC in a few years. How would you kind of describe Chip Kelly right now as a head football coach? You know, at times I felt like I've been on an island defending him, but I'm a huge fan.

And I think, you know, to your point, a lot of people are seeing that now. You know, it was a total rebuild in his way when he took over from Jim Moore, right? He was, you know, he valued a different type of culture, a different type of team. Every head coach usually does. He saw a lot of, you know, atrophy on that roster. You know, year one when they're playing SC, I think they had 48 scholarship players available at the end of the year, right?

They're rolling in with a full 85 this weekend for the most part in that rivalry. And so I think it just has taken him time to build. And I think it's a great lesson for, you know, even ADs from the country of like, the rebuild, yes, can happen suitably overnight to certain programs because of the portal now. But when you're really building a culture and he had to do that, you got to do it with great purpose. You look at the people he's brought in in the portal, they've only missed on one. Like, there's only one guy that they got in the transport that didn't start, right?

Ended up transferring again. Like, he nailed it. And he's taking action from Alabama, from Notre Dame, from, you know, Harvard, from really thick Duke, really successful programs, Michigan and Zach Charvenet. And I think he's just got a way about him. You know, he may not, you know, win the recruiting battle and, you know, be that team that glotted in an early signing day of having the number one class and star rankings, but every player that they bring into that program fits the DNA of it.

And I think that, to me, is showing this season for him and his team. And they got a huge stage on Saturday to put themselves in a position to go to Las Vegas for the title and, you know, quite possibly play at home in the actual Rose Bowl in a matter of, what, 40-some days or so. Was he ever close to getting that Oregon job this offseason? Because that was always a hot rumor that was out there. Yeah, you know, I don't know, to be quite honest with you.

I know this. I'd imagine all UCLA fans are excited that he didn't or he chose to remain UCLA and glad he got the extension that he did because I thought it was warranted when you really got to get underneath the belly of that beast and see how he was building it. And it seems really about books and ball. Like, they got over 20 guys in grad school. You're not just going there to, you know, take basket weaving and play football. Like, he's really in the development of his players. And I think that's an incredible model in this era of college football because less than 2% make it in the NFL.

Like, you're going to have to have a job someday. And I love how Chip has really leaned into that narrative within his program. Have you heard anything about the Arizona State job? I hear a lot about the Arizona State job, to be quite honest with you.

I'm curious to see which way they go, right? There's the Kenny Dillingham name was often often being referenced with that. I think he would thrive there. He was a guy who grew up in that community, would love to have that job, I'm sure. I look at guys like Brent Brennan at a San Jose State who began his coaching career in Tucson and Arizona under Dick Tomy, who was recruited in the Pac-12, coached in the Pac-12, and done a hell of a job at San Jose State, which not many head coaches can say they've done a hell of a job at San Jose State. So I'll be curious where they net out. I will say this, that with UCLA seemingly departing the Pac-12, I think if you are a West Coast athlete and you want a metropolitan community with warm weather, there's one school, right? And that's Arizona State. So I think they got a great opportunity in front of them.

It's often described as like a sleeping giant. I think it actually can do that as the playoffs expand. And I'm looking forward to seeing which direction they're going after the Herm Edwards era. I feel like when it gets to the Heisman Trophy, Yogi Roth, the winner of the Ohio State-Michigan game, if it's Ohio State, it's going to be CJ Stroud. If it's Michigan, it's going to be Blake Corum.

But then you look at another name like Caleb Williams, definitely in that conversation as well. If USC can be the Pac-12 champs, how do you kind of evaluate the Heisman lay of the land a few weeks out? Well, I'll say this to my fellow voters. Let's not do what happened in 2015. In 2015, Christian McCaffrey should have won the Heisman.

He went for over 400 total yards in the Pac-12 title game. The problem was, man, and you may be aware of this, is that 15% of the voters voted prior to that game. So I think right now we see... It drives me nuts. Like I really think the system should be once the games end, you just go online, you have a password and everything, and then that's when you vote, not a few weeks before. Yeah.

I mean, I don't know. Are you a voter too? No, I'm not. Got it. So yeah, we get this link and I'm always like, why are they even sending it? Just send it Saturday night at midnight or whenever the last game ends, and you can avoid this entire thing.

And you force people to watch. Because they say that of like, I'm going to Washington this weekend. I'm calling the UW game. And you reference their win over Oregon. Michael Pennock Jr.'s leading the nation in passing. If they win their next two games, which they could, and if they get some help, they might play in the Pac-12 title game.

Like they might play with... There's a way with a bunch of losses and a bunch of ties with two losses in the Pac-12. And if he had that stage, shouldn't we be talking about the nation's leading passer who NFL teams continue to ask me about?

I just say that. I'm like, we have these front runners and then we pick them apart all season long. Then we think we have our finalists here in mid-November. And it's like, will you play a whole season for a reason? Like, let guys play, whether it's Dorian on the West Coast, whether it's Caleb on the West Coast, whether it's Bo Nix. Like, Bo Nix out of hell in the game.

He can win. I mean, they had almost six or yards of offense. And if he was out to two, it may have been different. Yeah. So I go back to the definition of the award. The definition of the award is not best team, best player. The definition is excellence with integrity, and which player displays that.

So maybe I'm just not an island, but I've talked to a bunch of voters that I think feel the same way. And hopefully all of us just wait until the games end. But Caleb, to your point, is 100% in the dialogue. If I could take one player today on my team to lead me in a huge game, I'd take him at all the guys in America. And there's a ton of talent. CJ, Bryce, Bo, Drake. There's a bunch of elite players, but haven't seen every snap of Caleb this season. He's just a unique dude.

What is it for you? Because I think a lot of people would say Bryce Young. What is the separation there from Caleb Williams to Bryce Young in your opinion?

I mean, you could flip a coin for both of them. To be honest with you, I've known Bryce and Caleb since they were in high school with the Elite Eleven. I often call him the Steph Curry, kind of a point guard, dealing, dishing. He's got a way of bottom of the field in the pocket.

Clearly he's played and thrived on big stages. Caleb, same deal. You look at him, different body structure, body type, a little bit thicker of a quarterback in that regard. But both of these guys are going to lead NFL franchises. So I'd be fine if he gave me either one of them.

But to me, for Caleb, I think you've got to, ideally, I value when the chips are stacked against him. No Jordan Addison, no Mario Williams. Now, no Travis Dye.

Didn't have his best defensive player the last three games. He just said, all right, come on, on my back. Come on.

Just jump on, I got you. He's just done that time and time again. He's truly, to me, shown those type of unique traits.

So that's why I choose him. Last thing I'll ask you, Yogi Roth, I just want to get your thoughts on Drake May, because I was talking to Mack Brown two weeks ago, and that probably should be another guy that's a Heisman Trophy finalist in Drake May. And Mack said, you're waiting all year for a freshman to have a freshman moment, and you mean that in not a good way. And he just hasn't had that.

He's really had a sensational year. Yeah, he's been fun to watch, man. And I love just what that program has done and what Coach Brown stands for. I think he said it, I think over the summer, he said college football is about two things, the players and the fans. And I think often in college football, we talk about so many other things, right? Whether it's the playoff or media rights deals or all these things, sometimes we can forget the players and we can forget the fans. And I just think when you can play for a guy that totally gets it, has been around the block, like he allows you to play free. And that's what I see when I watch Drake May play. He's just a guy who's competing really free, really confident.

And part of that is clearly instilled by his head coach. Yogi Roth, great to catch up with you. Appreciate the time. Thanks so much. Bye, bro. Later. There is Yogi Roth joining us on The Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio. We'll come on back with a news brief.

Get your podcast from. Is there something really absurd that skeeves you out? Getting a paper cut on my eyeball. A fear you can't shake. I'm going to leak ocular fluid down my cheeks.

It's going to go into my mouth and I will perish. Whatever scares you, I want to talk about it. Join me, Larry Mullins, on my new podcast, Your Weirdest Fears. Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from. What makes your skin crawl? No matter how absurd, I want to know.

Tails without fur on them, such as rats or possums. I'm Larry Mullins, the host of a new podcast called Your Weirdest Fears. You send me your fear. I'm just so weirded out about the texture and how they can just move around and flop. And then I go to the experts to learn how to overcome them.

Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from. Ron, you did it. Taylor Heinecke announced as the starting quarterback for this week for the Washington commanders, we are commanders bump, bump, bump, bump, bump, bump against the Houston Texans. Carson has been cleared to start throwing. We haven't designated him for return yet to practice.

He was working on the side. Well, actually, he's working down on the field with the training staff today, but again, he wasn't designated for return. So we will start Taylor this week. Oh, man. I didn't hear that announcement yet. I just saw that. Oh, Taylor Heinecke is a starting quarterback.

Hickey, you know what that is when he says it that way. That is we got to be careful. We got to put on the floaties on Carson Wentz and deal with them with delicate care. Because if we annoy Carson Wentz with how sensitive he is, he'll quit on us and he'll be a malcontent in that locker room. Which is that actually happens again. You're the coach and you don't want to just kind of alienate one player that you traded a lot for.

And the owner really likes, but I mean, of course, once it gets put out, wait, hold on. This is the same coach that a few weeks ago said the quarterback basically sucked. The difference in the NFC East play was quarterback. He said that and then walked it back and got very emotional though.

I was in that Thursday night after the outrage. Carson was probably in his office. What are you doing, coach?

Stop, stop. He knows. He knows which QB to play.

Yeah. Let's play a little game here. When will Carson Wentz start next for the commanders? They play the Texans this weekend. You know, Taylor Heinecke is starting the next week. It's the Falcons. And you got to think the commander's win this week. So you can't bench Heinecke after a win.

A team would revolt. They'd be five and five, right? At that point, they're five and five right now. Six and yeah, you can't bench Taylor Heinecke. That's six and five. After the Falcons game, they play the Giants.

Don't hate the matchup for commanders. Chase Young is getting healthy. I think they would have Heinecke there playing. Bye week coming out of the bye Giants again.

Starting them once, then you start them again. San Francisco. That could be ugly, but I think you could blame a lot of places before quarterback for that loss. Browns. And Heinecke. Last game of the year.

Cowboys. Are you saying Taylor Ham Heinecke is going to be the starting quarterback for the rest of the season for the, we are commanders. Barring injury, I think so. This team likes him too much. Think there'd be a revolt if they say Carson went to the starter. Well, that's if Heinecke continues to win. This team gravitates towards him.

He's not exactly playing great either. They do. They like him. Even going back to that playoff game against Tampa a few years ago, where Chase Young was pointing to the back of his uniform. This is our guy. Put some respect on his name. You know me, there's nothing more in the world that I would like to see than Taylor Ham Heinecke be the starter for the rest of the year.

I'm not ready to go there. I'm week by week. I'm in the week by week conversation. He deserves to start this week. We'll see if he deserves to start next week.

Now I'll tell you this. I'll place a wager on the commanders minus three points this week. Taylor Ham Heinecke, you better not let me down.

You let me down. I'll be calling for Carson Wentz. I was just going to say, we're going to start Monday's show with Carson Wentz and needs to start.

Who do you think feels worse about themselves right now? Carson Wentz or Baker Mayfield? Like now Baker starting this week, but he was benched. Well, he got hurt. And then PJ Walker kept that job for a while.

Then PJ Walker got hurt. So it didn't look like he was getting his job back in Baker Mayfield. Is it a more of what the bleep moment for Baker Mayfield that he had to wait to get his job back and at least get that opportunity? Or is it Carson who's probably ready to come back, but now they're going to delay it and make some up some phony excuse because Taylor Ham Heinecke is happening. I would say Wentz because it's now the third time he is going to get either the boot either the boot or get passed over. Okay, Ron Rivera on if Carson Wentz could serve as the backup on Sunday. We'll see how it goes, you know, but again, the one thing is, you know, you want to get him if that's going to be the case, you want him to get back and be the backup.

He's got to get prepared and get ready for it. So as of right now, you know, we'll listen to what the trainers tell me tonight or tomorrow. So this isn't necessarily your I told the team decision that this like just kind of putting it right to your question.

Yes. Yeah, it's not yet. Rob Rivera also says Taylor Ham Heinecke playing well makes it easier to ease Carson Wentz back. We have time. I mean, that's that's that's a really good thing that this is on our side. I mean, he's done some good things and we'll see how it happens this week. But you know, to me, it's part of having to make a decision.

I mean, you got to be realistic. You got to watch you got to see and that's what we've been doing. We've been paying attention to it. We've been paying attention, not just an individual, as much as it affects the unit and a team. And so, you know, having the situation is a pretty good one. It's a good problem to have.

Yeah, he's being careful with every word that he says. Aaron Rodgers on the Pat McAfee show says beating the Cowboys alleviated some concerns with this team. We've been dealing with a lot of frustration and I'm sure there's been a ton of criticism outside the locker room and some guys probably read that and take it to heart maybe more than other guys. And it's nice to quiet that down a little bit. I'm sure for us. It's just a confidence builder and that we're not out of this thing. This thing is not over. We're not scheduling off season plans. Yeah.

Yeah. You could say that now you got to then go win on Thursday. If you lose on Thursday to Tennessee, all the air gets let out of that balloon. Baker Mayfield on his goal. Now that he is the starter again for the Carolina Panthers, I expect to win. I expect to go out there and do everything I possibly can to put us in a position to win and do it at a very, very high level.

I don't think there's much to it. That's what I expect out of myself. That's what I expect out of our group too. Next up, we have the Broncos and the Raiders this weekend. What a wonderful matchup that is. You're going to be glued to that matchup, right, Hickey?

Locked in, can't wait. Now this is the Daniel Hackett describing the offense. Is that good of an audio clip? I think it's pretty funny. Yeah, because I'm looking at that. I haven't heard it yet.

And I go, that sounds like a funny audio clip. Here's the Daniel Hackett describing his horrible offense. It's not a good one. It hasn't been a very successful offense. And we have a lot of things that we want to get better at. And we want to be sure that we continue those opportunities for the guys and continually get better options for the guys. And for us right now, a lot of improvement to be able to gain that identity.

Really? Has there ever been a coach that sounds more in over his head than the Daniel Hackett? He sounds lost. What's the identity of your offense? Yeah, not a good one. And we're hoping to improve it.

I should respect the honesty. I think he's more lost if he's saying we're one play away, just, you know, whether it's the balance of the football or the health, you know, we're so close, guys, I promise you. He's like, we have no identity. It's a bad identity. We suck.

We need a lot of work to get back to the identity we want to have. I will give him credit. He's honest. But when you can't even describe your offense, that's not good. But you're right, he is honest. And he's basically saying, yeah, guys, like, I know it, you know, and we all know it.

I'm a dead man walking. We suck. Like that's pretty much what he said. I haven't heard this one either courtesy of inside the NFL. Saquon Barkley in the huddle on Sunday mentions Daniel Jones new nickname. So he's no longer Danny Dimes is what you're telling me.

Go ahead. Did he say vanilla Vic? Vanilla Vic. I like that better than Danny Dimes. Danny Dimes seem real cheesy. Vanilla Vic. That's a good one. Nice job there.

How to say Saquon Barkley. Maybe they actually have humor at Penn State. They teach that. That humor class did not rub off on you, any of that knowledge. I'll tell you that.

Well, I know I'm not funny. College football playoff chair Boo Corrigan discusses why the committee has ranked USC number seven, this courtesy of ESPN. They've continued to win games. They have the one loss at Utah in a two point conversion.

I believe it was 43 42 in a really emotional game. If you remember back to that game at Utah and again, that's the one loss that they have the one blemish they have. They got the win over Oregon State and have continued to win, continued offensively, scoring 40 points, 40 plus points a game, having over 500 yards a game.

And that really drove the day for them to be number seven. So Hickey, if it's all about winning, shouldn't USC then be in front of LSU just for starters? Because LSU has eight wins and USC has nine wins. I mean, you think according to their own criteria, yes. But because Kennedy makes no sense and they change it by the week.

No. For USC to get in, this is what's going to have to happen. They're going to have to A win the Pac-12 championship, one loss Pac-12 champs. They're going to need TCU to lose because I think Tennessee is getting in. The winner of Ohio State, Michigan gets in, Georgia gets in. If TCU doesn't lose, there's not a spot. If TCU does lose, then there's a spot open for USC.

So that's what I think is the road. But you always have the big brand of USC and sometimes the eye test gets used and watch. The committee will say, oh yeah, they were seventh, but then the eye test, we further evaluated them and then we elevated them into the conversation.

You never know what the college football playoff committee. What makes your skin crawl? No matter how absurd.

I want to know. Tails without fur on them, such as rats or opossums. I'm Larry Mullins, the host of a new podcast called Your Weirdest Fears. You send me your fear.

I'm just so weirded out about the texture and how they can just move around and flop. And then I go to the experts to learn how to overcome them. Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from. What makes your skin crawl? No matter how absurd.

I want to know. Tails without fur on them, such as rats or opossums. I'm Larry Mullins, the host of a new podcast called Your Weirdest Fears. You send me your fear.

I'm just so weirded out about the texture and how they can just move around and flop. And then I go to the experts to learn how to overcome them. Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from. So my biggest fear is there's going to be snakes in the toilet. We're all afraid of that one strange thing. I'm Larry Mullins, the host of a new short 10 minute podcast called Your Weirdest Fears. We unpack where these fears come from. A rat climbed into my toilet. And learn how to manage them. Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.