Feb. 19, 2026
Full Rebuild or Contender? Breaking Down the NFL’s Wild Offseason
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The NFL offseason is officially chaos season — and Those Guys are breaking it all down.
Nick Ferguson and Alex Hardy dive deep into the biggest storylines shaking the league, starting with the Miami Dolphins’ decision to part ways with Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb. What does this mean for Tua Tagovailoa? Is this a full rebuild in Miami? And could Hill reunite with the Chiefs… or land with a contender like Buffalo or Baltimore?
The conversation shifts to Maxx Crosby and the Las Vegas Raiders. Should Crosby remain “Mr. Raider,” or is it time for a Lombardi chase elsewhere? With new head coaches across the league, including Mike McCarthy in Pittsburgh, Jesse Minter in Baltimore, Todd Monken in Cleveland, and Clint Kubiak in Las Vegas, the guys break down which situations are built to win now — and which are staring down major rebuilds.
They also preview NFL free agency, the NFL Combine, quarterback uncertainty in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, and what separates offseason hype from real roster building.
This episode is packed with sharp NFL analysis, AFC playoff implications, draft strategy, salary cap decisions, and insider perspective from a 10-year NFL veteran.
Subscribe to our channel: YouTube.com/@thoseguyssportspodcast
Alex Hardy (00:00)
We are those guys. Hey, you see those these guys over there? Well, don't forget about those guys. I'm Alex Hardy. Join as always Nick Ferguson, 10 years in the National Football League, member of the Denver Broncos, New York Jets, Houston Texans. We'll get to those teams, your teams as we continue to navigate the offseason. ⁓ Kind of a few, you know, news points ⁓ like current events that we'll get to as well as kind of a philosophical, hey, your team as a new coach.
How does the offseason look? first, Nick Ferguson, how's everything looking for you, man? What's going on?
@NickFerguson_25 (00:34)
Everything is looking ⁓ peachy over here because unlike some places, we're not getting overabundance of rain or we're not getting smashed by cold weather. So you would think that would be the opposite living here in Amalhah City, but no, the gods from the mountains have blessed us.
Alex Hardy (00:53)
That's right, the sun shines brightest when you're that much closer, a mile up in elevation. Yeah, we got the... We're just a couple of old dudes talking about the weather. Yeah, we got the rain here in Southern California. It was a great weekend for my wife and I to transplant some of the roses in the garden. So all's good here, man. Taking advantage of that rain.
@NickFerguson_25 (00:58)
Absolutely. ⁓
Wait wait a minute, wait a minute.
I mean, you're moving flowers already?
Alex Hardy (01:17)
Yeah, so the long and the short of it is we have plans to renovate our house. I know you'd love for me to be in a garage for the rest of the time as long as we do these. That's not the plan, but we had some roses that we have in planters now. So if we need to, you know, get on out of here with the house being done, we can move those roses easily because they're sentimental. Like a bouquet of flowers is nice, but I sort of got in this rhythm and routine. buying like roses that we plant in the garden.
@NickFerguson_25 (01:26)
you ⁓
Alex Hardy (01:47)
and then my wife has them to commemorate Valentine's Day or our anniversary, things like that. Because the bouquet dies three or four days later, whereas we have these in the ground and they are a constant reminder of what a great job I'm doing as a husband.
@NickFerguson_25 (01:52)
Okay.
Love to hear it.
Alex Hardy (02:05)
Well, it's just that, look, it's just, works for me, might not work for you, but just a thought to put out there into existence. We've got a couple of things that I think we should hit on, and I am excited to get to sort of Nick, your perspective and what teams are dealing with with, ⁓ you know, the games are obviously not being played anymore. We were last year following the Super Bowl, and there are some teams that haven't played since the end of December. How do their off seasons look, especially when they bring in a new coach?
versus teams that are just looking to run it back. But first, I think a couple of items that are worth bringing up off the top. Tyree Kill, officially hitting the open market, cut by the Miami Dolphins. They save $23 million in cap space, but meanwhile he's going to carry almost $30 million in dead money. They have a much bigger decision awaiting them with Tua Tonga Wailoa, but the first big piece for Miami to go out, Tyree Kill. Do you want to start with what that means for the Dolphins or kind of...
@NickFerguson_25 (02:43)
Yeah.
Alex Hardy (03:04)
Hey, do we want to start window shopping for some other team and free agency?
@NickFerguson_25 (03:07)
Well, let's start with the Mommy Dolphins and Jeff Halfley, because it wasn't just Tyreek Hill that they parted ways with due to ⁓ salary issues and Bradley Chubb, former Denver Broncos, Ed Rusher. They parted ways with him. He's definitely a guy who I think is probably going to end up maybe in Philadelphia or maybe in Baltimore. You remember, I mean, Bradley Chubb was in Miami with Vic Fangia, right? So there is some of the relationship there. So he may not be out of work long, but
Alex Hardy (03:18)
Yeah, that's another big one.
⁓
@NickFerguson_25 (03:37)
As far as the Miami Dolphins, hey, listen, man, it's a total rebuild. And Jeff Halfley is coming in and say, look, this is my first time as a head coach. I know based on places I've been, what I'm actually looking for. And it's kind of an addition by subtraction if you want to look at it, because you have to start parting ways with guys and their salaries as you start to build later on. And you have to figure by making a move like this, obviously talking to Steven Ross, saying, in order for
Alex Hardy (03:55)
Sure.
@NickFerguson_25 (04:06)
us to build what you hope to be a challenging team and the AFC, especially in the East, you have to tear some stuff down. You got to tear it down to the studs, but you don't want to rip it to shreds. So I mean, I don't foresee a chain going anywhere or Jaylen Waddle. Listen, I'll tell you this. The people here in Denver, they want Jayden Waddle because last season at the trade deadline, they were hoping to get Jayden Waddle then, but they're hoping that maybe the fire sale will continue in Miami.
Alex Hardy (04:13)
Yeah.
No, I don't know.
@NickFerguson_25 (04:36)
maybe they get lucky I don't think so. Now moving on to Tyreek Hill. ⁓ I would love to see Tyreek Hill kind of rejoin
You know, they can't see the Chiefs. know people here in Denver would not love to hear me say that, but he's coming off an ACL. Yeah, he's coming off, listen, he's coming off an ACL and those are always tricky. So, you know, that may be something later down the road that's not gonna be at the beginning when free agency starts, but he's definitely gonna be someone that's on their board that may be Eric Bieneme and Patrick Mahomes kind of try to go to bat for.
Alex Hardy (04:52)
Maybe. Yeah.
Yeah, maybe bring the band back together. I push back against a reunion with the Chiefs because obviously Terry Hill has his issues off the field. Kansas City knows that full well in part why he was a, you know, fell to the fifth round and such a success when he hit the ground running with Kansas City back then. But they have their own issues. mean, Rashid Rice and, you know, the details that come out about ⁓ an alleged domestic violence on top of the, you know, the outcome of the, ⁓
like the driving issue, like how else do you put that he, you know, put multiple people in harm's way and the chiefs, ⁓ you know, were fine and then he came back and like these things just sort of pile up and that inherent risk of bringing Tyree Kill may outweigh the kind of production that you'll get for a 31 year old receiver entering year 32 coming off of that ACL tear. So look, the reunion sounds like a nice way to go about it, but
I wouldn't be shocked if another team that was ⁓ a contending team in the AFC are looking to push their chips in, make a splash, get over the top. ⁓ I'd say let's start with Buffalo in desperate need of a playmaker, of a field stretcher, as someone who Josh Allen can rely on and Tyree Kill with an opportunity to play in the Super Bowl and maybe beat a Kansas City or another competing team in that conference. That just seems more interesting to me.
⁓ But I think if you're Buffalo, you should be looking at every single free agent wide receiver available and just do a better job than you had been in the past. Let's not throw in money at Curtis Samuel and Josh Palmer and ⁓ Trading Draft Capital for Amari Cooper. ⁓ They have not done a good job evaluating the receiver position, but don't worry. That was all Sean McDermott's fault. Brandon Bean is going to lead the charge and Joe Brady just they know exactly what they're doing. I'm a little worried.
But it stands to reason that not all 32 teams are going to be interested in a Tyree kill, but you just start with any number of those contending teams in the AFC, and it kind of makes sense for me.
@NickFerguson_25 (07:22)
Well, I mean, a guy of his caliber, when healthy, he would make any offensive unit better. I I merely thought, as you were talking, I thought about Baltimore, right?
Alex Hardy (07:34)
Sure.
@NickFerguson_25 (07:35)
Baltimore has tried to do exactly what Buffalo has tried to do. Go out and get these veteran wide receivers. They brought in new Hopkins. That didn't work. And with Buffalo, like you said, they brought in Amari Cooper, Stefan Diggs, Brandon Cooks. That didn't work. At some point, you would have to develop your own receivers, and that's something that those teams need to do that they haven't done well. In case of Kansas City, Kansas City has done a better job using the marginal talent that they have, bringing in veterans.
guys but also using their young guys, one of which who seemed to find himself in trouble more frequently than you want. I can see that that would be a reason why if you, Brett Veach, you may not want to bring back Tyreek Hill for that particular reason because knowing as though what Tyreek Hill has kind of gotten himself into from the off the field issue mixed with Rashid Rice may not be a great combination or it could because you could have a guy in Tyreek Hill who's known as though I'm
coming off an ACL injury, my career is winding down, who better to advise? I know as crazy as that sound, who better to advise Rashid Rice other than the guy who's been there countless times?
Alex Hardy (08:50)
Here's how you get caught less often than you've been getting caught. He's a cheetah for a reason. He can outrun enough of his problems. ⁓ Two more things. All I can do is go off of cheetahs' Twitter usage. Mike McDaniel did the chargers. Hmm, was something he posted. And he said, Patriots in the Super Bowl, happy for them. I'll just put those out there and just back away slowly. ⁓
@NickFerguson_25 (08:54)
Hey, however, however you want to spin it, right? It works. Right? Yes.
Yeah.
Alex Hardy (09:20)
Tyreekill is certainly an interesting name, but probably one of the best players that would be available for other teams, not free agency, hasn't been cut, but if you're willing to part with the draft capital, Max Crosby. The Vegas Raiders are in for another rebuild, that's all Crosby is known to this point, and I think the tenor has changed, not, you know...
Not entirely, although I will note that Max Crosby with Caleb Williams talking on his pod, he had mentioned the idea of hoisting a Lombardi trophy. I feel like in years past that was always mentioned in tandem with hoisting a Lombardi trophy, dot dot dot, for the Raiders. Max Crosby was the consummate Raider and he's at a crossroads where he can go and chase that Lombardi and there's a notion to it, right? He's pushed back against
@NickFerguson_25 (10:01)
Right.
Alex Hardy (10:12)
wanting to join somebody else. He's always wanted to put the Raiders in that position or can he become, you know, a Joe Thomas of his era, be Mr. Raider, be identified as, ⁓ you know, the best player for a team that just never really got their act together. I was optimistic for Josh McDaniels. I was optimistic for Pete Carroll and Gino Smith, but I'm optimistic for Clint Kubiak and Fernando Mendoza, which we're going to do plenty of draft coverage. The draft starts at number two.
As of February 18th, I know full well Fernando Mendoza is looking for real estate in the Henderson, Las Vegas area. So I think that's pretty much a done deal. I'm a little more optimistic. Maybe Max Crosby can be sold on it. I do think it's interesting that he's talked about, granted he's just having Caleb Williams on a podcast of his, but he's talking about winning a Lombardi and not necessarily winning that Lombardi with the Raiders. Personally, I think he should just be Mr. Raider.
@NickFerguson_25 (11:11)
Well, I don't want read too much into it, the whole idea, that's what you want your players to have that idea and that mentality that you want to win in Lombardi. Him not saying as though I want to win it with the Raiders. It doesn't take away from him wanting to be with the Raiders, but it does add a little.
question and a little leverage for him per se like hey I'm already developing connection then you have a guy in Kayla Williams who has a little more clout with Ben Johnson in that Chicago fan base that maybe he can go up right so maybe he can go up to you know Ryan Pace's office and say I'm did I get is is Ryan Pace okay or it's both Ryan Poles Ryan Poles
Alex Hardy (11:40)
Yeah. Right. And they wanted Ben Johnson in Vegas. Brady couldn't close the deal.
⁓ Ryan Poles, Ryan Poles. You're combining him
with the last Bearish GM.
@NickFerguson_25 (11:57)
Okay, so Ryan Pohl's. Now Caleb Williams can go up to his office and say, hey, we were right there on the precipice. You know what would go great with Montez Sweat?
⁓ how about this guy now that goes back to polls actually valuing the I guess input for Kayla was because we know how this works. Some teams say, well, they're going to give their young quarterback or their quarterback some input, but never really give him that much. So I think it was bloody brilliant by Max Crosby to do the podcast with Kayla Williams to kind of put that question mark in the air. What is Crosby thinking? Where does he want to go? And I know so many players say, you know, I want to be this particular
team for life. Like remember Miles Garrett? I out Cleveland until they gave him a bag and he was like, you know what? I think I'll stay. But Max Crosby is a dominating player. I know he would love to be a Raider for life, but when you look at the transition, the team has undergone over the past
Four years it doesn't seem like it's trending in the right direction and then look at the division that you're in the likelihood that in two seasons that Clint Kubiak would be able to turn that Raiders team around and then they're now contenders that's gonna be very difficult and when you look at you know Max Crosby where he is in his career. I mean at that point
You say, well, his best years are behind him. So that's something that he and ⁓ his camp need to start to think about. If I am going to get traded, I'm going to force myself out.
I have to force myself to a team that is a true contender. And I would think the Baltimore Ravens, right? Anthony Weaver, one of my former teammates, he's back there as their defensive coordinator. What better addition that you could have to the Baltimore Ravens than adding a guy like Max Crosby who fits that team's overall personality?
Alex Hardy (13:41)
Hmm.
Yeah, I, you know, the Raiders, I think it would behoove them to move Crosby to the NFC. And as of today, you know, upcoming for the 26th season, I think the path to the Super Bowl is a lot easier to go through the NFC. I say this knowing full well the Seahawks and the Rams were probably the best two teams in the league last year. ⁓ But that, that, that, that AFC is just an absolute gauntlet. You mentioned the West. ⁓ You know, I'd like to be optimistic that the Raiders kind of look at the Denver situation and go, here's a team that was staring
what, 75 million in dead money for Russell Wilson? They don't care. They draft a quarterback, they build that defense, and they overachieve. And now they put themselves in an AFC Championship game just three, two years into the Bo Nicks experience. Fernando may be that kind of guy. There are lot of holes around the roster. ⁓ And certainly being able to plug them with two, three first round picks and young talent would be the way to do it. But...
@NickFerguson_25 (14:28)
Yep.
Alex Hardy (14:54)
I just, Max Crosby is just that, that is the identity of the football team. He is the leader that the, that every other player can aspire to be. And you know, I think we're all nostalgic for the times of when players played for one team and they, ⁓ they were a consistent force. Like we're in the middle of college basketball season and the transfer portal era, you just don't see the rivalries that you're used to because the players change. And it'd be really great if the AFC West
You know, the best way to get after the quarterbacks you're facing when it's a Patrick Mahomes and a Justin Herbert and even a Bo Nicks is a good pass rush. Like, you could get all of these picks and maybe get a player as good as Max Crosby. Like, it's difficult, but I just, I say Raiders and he's the first person I think of. mean, it may be Tom Brady from here on out, but I'm thinking Max Crosby for now and I'd like to see him stay, but
I fully understand this isn't Tom Brady's decision. This isn't Mark Davis's decision. If Max Crosby wants to stay, he's going to stay. If he wants to go, he gave the first decade of his career to that team, did everything, above and beyond. I think the team should reciprocate and let him go.
@NickFerguson_25 (16:09)
Well, you would like to think that that would be the case, but this is the business of football we're talking about. I can let you go, but I'm let you go where it benefits me. when I think about what happened with Von Miller, when the Broncos decided they were going to part ways with Von Miller, very emotional for a guy who was drafted in the first round. By far, the best draft pick by John Elway. What did George Payton do?
Alex Hardy (16:21)
Right, out of the ASC I think was my first point.
@NickFerguson_25 (16:37)
He could have sent him to Cleveland and let his career die. But no, he traded him to Sean McVeigh and the Rams and he went on to win another chip. Right? So maybe what you're saying to kind of show Max Crosby, hey, listen, man, we appreciate everything that you've given to us. We're going to put you in a better situation. But I was thinking about something, See, there's a way that you can actually keep Max Crosby. Because like you said,
Alex Hardy (16:47)
Yep. Yep.
Mm-hmm.
@NickFerguson_25 (17:06)
I mean, when look at the Raiders, have the number one overall pick, which is probably going to be Fernando Mendoza. Now, they have a boatload of money. They have a lot of coin. And you're in the desert, where your coin goes longer. So they probably would be able to acquire other guys. They just have to get the buy-in from Crosby. And they have to sell it to them and say, hey, listen, we have money. Here's what we're going to do.
Alex Hardy (17:12)
I will be,
Yes.
@NickFerguson_25 (17:35)
by the way, you're talking about Clint Kubiak who was with the Seattle Seahawks. You know who the Seahawks are not going to put the franchise tag on? That's right, Kenneth Walker. So you get Kenneth Walker. You have Fernando Mendoza on the rookie deal. All on rookie deals. Come on, Alex.
Alex Hardy (17:49)
You have Gentie, have Brock Bowers, the wa- I- I- yeah, you know, I-
They just- they need big bodies. Like, they need to shore up the trenches, both sides of the football. I don't- I don't- I'm I'm not saying Walker isn't a bad idea, but then what was the point of spending the fourth overall pick on Ashton Gentie if you're then gonna spend 12, 13 million a year on a Kenneth Walker?
@NickFerguson_25 (17:57)
You can't, you still, you can get that.
But you know why? Because you didn't predict this. You didn't know that Pete Caron was going to fail.
Right? You didn't predict that, you know, hey, Clint Kubiak was going to go and win the Super Bowl, and Kenneth Walker was going to be available as the MVP. And then here's what it does for you. Like, if Kenneth Walker comes there, that gives you a one-two punch. And like I said, all those guys are on rookie deal. So you can sell it. And just so happens, if Kenneth Walker comes in and he becomes a guy, it gives you an opportunity to trade away, assingente. What?
Alex Hardy (18:43)
no, see that's,
Spy Tech is still there, like that's their guy. You know, this is, this is ⁓ the Falcons extending Tyler Algier and moving on from Bajan Robinson. That's the kind of behavior, yes it is.
@NickFerguson_25 (18:55)
No, it's not. No, it's not.
Come on, Alex. It's not the same thing. Bijan is extraordinary guy. Algier is just kind of breaking case of emergency. He is just reliable, but he's not like a game changer like Bijan. But once again, Jenti is extraordinary. You already know.
what Kenneth Walker can do, you're just waiting and you saw some signs of astringency, it at least gives you a one-two punch for at least two years before you have to make a choice and make a decision.
Alex Hardy (19:26)
If I'm gonna grade the Raiders free agency period, like if we fast forward and we're, you know, the veterans are all added, I don't want to look at the dollar value. I don't even want to look at, you know, their stats from last year. I'm just gonna sort it by weight and if the Raiders add three, four, five guys and their weight starts with a three big bodies, I'll know the Raiders did a better job. That's all I'm saying. They need to build, they need to rebuild those trenches both sides of the ball. And if they do that, that's the foundation. Okay.
@NickFerguson_25 (19:52)
That's gonna happen, Alex. Okay,
Alex Hardy (19:55)
Plus Kenneth Walker, I got you.
@NickFerguson_25 (19:58)
Let me tell you what it is that I know. The tree of which Clint Kubiak comes from, it is built on what?
Alex Hardy (20:00)
Okay.
@NickFerguson_25 (20:06)
The run game right here at John John Benson who was a coach in San Francisco when I was there He had Rick Denison who was a coach here when I was caught when I played for the Denver Broncos Rick Denison was also in Houston when I was there with his dad Clint Kubiak and by the way Rick Denison was with is with Clint Kubiak was with Clint Kubiak in Seattle so you have to figure that that group who understands the run game because they either coach with his dad of they coach with Mike Shanahan
They're going to make that a point of emphasis, especially if you are planning on drafting with the number overall pick Fernando Mendoza. You're starting with the trenches.
Alex Hardy (20:43)
Yeah.
I cannot thank you enough for just saying the same thing I did just much more eloquently. Like that is why you are who you are and I'm just teeing you up and ⁓ I'm not lobbing, I'm not throwing you meatballs, I'm literally just the T and you can swing that bat and just get around on one. ⁓ They just need the draft players that they're willing to play. It was a big problem that they spent early draft capital, second, third.
@NickFerguson_25 (20:48)
You don't believe me. You can't see it.
Hahaha
Alex Hardy (21:15)
think it's second or fourth round pick on receivers that didn't even play. You know, they're adding Tyler Lockett off the street. They're making ways of trying to get... This may be a Pete Carroll thing and hopefully it goes away and Clint Kubiak identifies the guys he wants to play. But it's like they're spending like rich draft capital on skilled players that didn't even make the field. So I'm... Let's just hope a different regime. Things turn for the Raiders. Not, you know, at the expense of your Broncos. I get it.
But let's just hope that Clint Kubiak and Fernando Mendoza and this identity of the Raiders is strong enough to keep that fan base rabid and to keep Max Crosby there. ⁓ We mentioned Kubiak, we mentioned the Dolphins. They are two of the 10 teams that have new head coaches and not all new head coaching situations are the same, right? We had ⁓ internal hires.
We did this a year ago with the likes of Brian Schottenheimer. We had the big splashes this offseason. Ben Johnson turning around the Bears. Mike Vrabel turning around the Patriots. Liam Cohen. Like how often is it that you have three coaches that come in and deliver double-digit wins in their first season? It's very, very rare. But we sort of get the impression that there are good teams that fill their head coaching vacancies and maybe we can recreate some of that success.
But I want to start with kind of an overall arching view, right? The Patriots, the Seahawks, ⁓ even the Broncos and the Rams, you know, they just wrapped up their seasons just a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, there are teams that, you know, they've been cooked, they've been done, they fired their coach and began a head coaching search in the year of our Lord 2025. So overall, Nick, the perspective of a team that's bringing in a new coach, and there are 10 of them,
and we can go case by case, maybe shine the light on certain situations. How does their process sort of begin and how do they get up to speed when they're bringing in a new coach, a new front office, and they're trying to do this all while other teams are keeping their infrastructure together as they prepare? We're coming up on the NFL combine, free agency is just around the corner, the NFL draft right after.
@NickFerguson_25 (23:32)
Well, the best way to look at it, all 32 teams, regardless of the two, 10 infusions of the new head coaches, they're all hitting the same reset button. Everyone is starting over at the finish line. Now, are there some advantages to some of the coaches who've been in place already? Absolutely. But they still have to endure the same challenges of the 10 new coaches. You have to assess your roster, who you keeping, who you letting go. Are you restructuring deals?
And then who are you looking to add? Can you afford those guys in free agency? And if you can't, can you go out in the draft and find some of those guys to fill those voids? But more importantly, add depth to the roster. So there's some coaches who are in better situations than some other coaches. Case in point, just think about this. If you're Mike McCarthy, you're going to Pittsburgh, you're following...
Alex Hardy (24:24)
Yeah, yeah, let's start there.
@NickFerguson_25 (24:26)
Yeah, okay, so you're following Mike Tomlin, right? And you look at the Pittsburgh Steelers. They've had over the past, I don't know,
Since the beginning of their franchise, I mean three head coaches who have had long tenures now McCarthy becomes the fourth coach Can he duplicate that same performance? But here's their problem. They have an agent team. They have an agent quarterback They're in somewhat of a division that guess what Baltimore now has a new head coach the Cleveland Browns now have a new head coach Could they overtake that division?
Alex Hardy (25:00)
The Cincinnati Bengals will have a new coach a year from now.
@NickFerguson_25 (25:03)
Well, I almost thought that for the first time in league history, we were going to have four new coaches in one division. We did not have it. But once again, the idea is that when you look at McCarthy in the position that he's in, someone can say, well, you know what? He's got a chance. But once again, there's too many uncertainties with the Pittsburgh Steelers right now.
Alex Hardy (25:11)
Nah nah.
I mean, Steelers fans got exactly what they wanted, right? Aaron Rodgers has run out, Mike Tomlin is gone, but they replaced Mike Tomlin with the 63-year-old Mike McCarthy. This isn't just an ageism, you know, ⁓ shout out Millennials or Gen Alpha or whatever. It's just that you're not going to have a 20-year entrenched Mike McCarthy when year one is 63 years old. Like this is breaking the mold of what the Pittsburgh Steelers do, but at the same time,
@NickFerguson_25 (25:27)
Yeah, how about that?
Alex Hardy (25:52)
They're just trying to keep the band playing on the Titanic as this aging roster is coming head on towards an iceberg. yes, there's a, the standard is the standard. Mike Tomlin made that, you know, his mantra for the last 20 years, but I just don't see how the Steelers kind of keep things together and LeapFrog, the other teams in the AFC that were better than them. They have a good program.
Mike McCarthy will kind of instill that he's going to look to call plays too, which is interesting. Should be better than Arthur Smith. We'll see. But they still just lack the overall personnel and especially at the signal caller where they can leapfrog the teams and the AFC that they are inferior to. They beat the teams they're supposed to beat and then they just get both raised in the first round of the playoffs. Like that has been the reason why they haven't won a playoff game in nearly a decade at this point. And, you know,
You can you can hear it. This is the exact same argument I made for Tyree kill like Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy didn't get along like why would he come back now? So they're gonna start over at the quarterback position and maybe overpay for somebody like Malik Willis or part with draft capital to get a Mac Jones none of those guys really inspire me to think that Pittsburgh can vault themselves into another AFC North title or ⁓
or a win in the playoffs, let alone the expectation of a deep run in the playoffs. They have the most expensive defense, they have the oldest defense, they have ⁓ ungodly cap numbers for guys like TJ Watt and Cam Hayward, and they have to re-up Nick Herbig. Like their pass rush and their run defense is the most important thing to keep this team afloat, and there are just too many question marks. But I understand that they may be a leg up given Mike McCarthy's done this before.
They have an established culture and an identity as the Pittsburgh Steelers compared to, you know, we mentioned the Raiders and the Dolphins. And another situation more like Pittsburgh's would be, you know, the teams that I'd say are better than them. Buffalo hiring from within, promoting Joe Brady and Jesse Minter going, switching Harbaugh's going to Baltimore. Like they're kind of in a similar boat to Pittsburgh and they both have better quarterbacks. So I'm more optimistic about them going into next season.
@NickFerguson_25 (28:11)
Well, I'm more optimistic about Baltimore. If you were look at all the 10 jobs that were filled, that's kind of the just add water and stir type of situation. Jesse Mentor has proven that, I mean, that's how he got into this position, that he understands, you know, football and he's willing to help Lamar. And I look at this situation, Similars is something that is close to you. When you look at the relationship between your quarterback
Tom Brady and Bill Belichick right and we say well when you have a quarterback you know you want these hot shot offensive coordinators but I'm like there's room for defensive court coaches as well because I look at that Brady Belichick situation.
When you know defense as well as you can, you can help set up your quarterback, be a rookie or veteran by taking them through the nuances. Okay, well, here's what I would do against you as a defense. What would you do to break our defense down? This is how you start that toolage and that football IQ, which helped out both Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. I'm not suggesting that Baltimore is gonna go on a 20 year run because looking at where Lamar Jackson is in his career, but I do think
with
Jesse mentor in the building and you bring him back Anthony Weaver who's familiar with that defense that's gonna help out and by the way you got freaking Derrick Henry right
Alex Hardy (29:39)
Ha
@NickFerguson_25 (29:40)
How many coaches out there can say that, defensively my unit is intact. I need to go do a couple of things here and there. Kyle Williams, Roquan Smith. And then you got Derrick Henry and you have Lamar Jackson. Only thing is, just don't screw it up. And the way that they help themselves out by adding some true wide receivers, that would be, or in my opinion,
one of the better jobs to take, but I still won't sleep on the other hardball who's with the New York Giants and that defense that they have. But if you had to twist my arm and you had to say which of these jobs were the better jobs of the other nine, I'm going to say the Baltimore Ravens.
Alex Hardy (30:20)
Yep, you know, John in New York, like you, he believes in Jackson Dart and he believe in that defense and he's, he's the culture guy, right? He's the CEO. He's not calling offense. He's not calling defense. so you just need an adult in the room, right? When Kam Scadaboo and Jackson Dart are taking their turns bashing their heads against the wall. You just need someone who's not willing to parade around in the blue tent like Brian Dayball did. and meanwhile, like the other,
teams that ⁓ like Robert Sala coming back with Tennessee, you your guy that it's a different opportunity and we'll hope that maybe the Titans organization will be somewhat more upright than say a New York Jets one ⁓ with all the meddling that that Woody Johnson is doing and has been doing. And then, you know, Arizona and Cleveland, I think we're both holding out on Clint Kubiak and neither got their guy.
and Cleveland's whole situation, they were looking for a coach that would agree to take on Jim Schwartz as the DC without really running it by Jim Schwartz because clearly bringing in Todd Munkin and him handing in his resignation, like Jim Schwartz wanted to be there, he had been there, and believed he should have been a coach over Todd Munkin. It's like, the likes of the Cardinals, the Titans, the Browns, teams that, you know, are all in difficult situations, that all kind of brought their head coaches in a little bit later.
⁓ you know, how do they sort of, not necessarily catch up, but how do they instill a different culture than the ones that have been permeating as they're trying to keep chase with, you know, we know what we're getting in John Harbaugh and Mike McCarthy.
@NickFerguson_25 (32:03)
Yeah, you know what you're getting in those particular coaches, but I'm not going to sleep on Todd Monkin like most people are. mean, just think, I mean, this is a talented coach and
Alex Hardy (32:13)
I mean the play
calling like, you know, MVP Lamar, ⁓ national championships with Georgia beforehand. Like I totally agree.
@NickFerguson_25 (32:16)
Yeah.
Yeah, and then you just look at some of the weapons he has in Cleveland. mean, their issue there is, OK, well, listen, you have Malzgarra, you have a decent defense, you're going to lose David and Joku. So I mean, you still have another town to tie it in on that roster. for me, yes. So for me,
Alex Hardy (32:38)
Yeah, love Harold Fanon.
@NickFerguson_25 (32:42)
The first thing that Monk is gonna have to address, the same thing that we talked about with Clint Kubiak, you gotta do something about that offensive line because I'm gonna tell you, their left tackle, my God, his technique was the worst, was the worst.
Alex Hardy (32:59)
Well that's fine because
I don't know the numbers or the statistics on this but all five starting offensive linemen are set to be free agents. Earlier today, ⁓ February 18th, Wyatt Teller, who's been hurt over and over over again, said, I'm not coming back to Cleveland. Well we already kind of knew that. But how often is it that all five starting free agents, all five starters on the offensive line are free agents at the same time?
@NickFerguson_25 (33:18)
They probably don't want your bag either.
It's
rare, rare.
Alex Hardy (33:30)
Yeah,
but it goes to show you just what they think of those guys and maybe they bring one or two of them back But you're right that they need to address out of necessity But really is Todd Munkin there to try to prop up Chaudhry Sanders and try to see if that's the thing or are they going after a quarterback this year with the ample draft capital that they got from moving down, know in the Travis Hunter trade like it is just so hard to know if now's the time for them to go get a quarterback or See if they can just
build something with Shador because he's there and let's see what else they can kind of do. I mean, that's what Monkin is tasked with.
@NickFerguson_25 (34:05)
Okay, listen, the idea of going out and getting another quarterback.
We've seen this movie before. mean, Night Shyamalan couldn't have written a better script for the Cleveland Browns in their quarterback situation. Some have this idea, if you don't have your quarterback, you keep drafting and too you do. To me, I think that's a stupid philosophy. I hate to use the word stupid, but it's not a very logical one because that tells me that you're not doing a great job in your draft preparation analysis and evaluation of guys, and that you're not doing a great job.
with the development of the quarterback by putting skilled players in an adequate offensive line around him. So I think if you were Todd Monkins, known as though Todd Monkins kind of joked with Shador Sanders when they first met, hey man, we try to get you in Baltimore, right? So that says, there is something there, even though Todd Monkins would not commit right now to Shador Sanders being the starter.
Alex Hardy (35:03)
And reportedly,
Shador didn't want to go to Baltimore.
@NickFerguson_25 (35:07)
Right, exactly. So I think that relationship is a little more solid than that of Dylan Gabriel. That doesn't mean that you don't have a quarterback competition in Cleveland. The idea is that Monkin is there to use his wits to make either of those two young quarterbacks better.
I think what they should do, roll with those two quarterbacks. Maybe you add a veteran just to kind of back up as a wingman. But there's so many other things that they can do to better enhance his team. remember, mean, Shador had a couple games where he looked good, right? And I mean, beat, I mean, albeit the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he still beat that team and he made some adequate throws. All he needs is a coach now in Todd Monkins who believes in him.
more than Kev Stifanski and who knows what can happen.
Alex Hardy (35:56)
Shout out Kevin Stefanski, you know, if it didn't quite work with Cleveland, we'll see how the exact same program is going to work in Atlanta. You know, bringing back Tommy Reese and Alex van Pelt and all these guys on the offensive staff, guys that he had worked with ⁓ in Cleveland and our guy Bill Callahan as well. Your guys, Jeff Ulbricht and ⁓ Tanner Engstrad, like it is going to be Cleveland Browns in the 404. ⁓
I didn't want to omit Kevin Stefanski because that's another weird opportunity that they're in quarterback purgatory as well, given all the setbacks with Michael Panek. He's Nick Ferguson. I'm Alex Hardy. just, you know, understanding the calendar and what these teams are up against, it'll help shine a light when we get to certain points, right? The combine right around the corner, free agency, NFL draft and training camps. Like we are going to have the perspective.
thanks to you Nick, on where some of these teams are at now, based on, you know, the new faces or some of the same people that are in the building. So, I'm excited to get out the stopwatch and absolutely vault somebody three rounds in the draft because they run four tenths of a second faster with their underwear on. Like that's really all that matters Nick, and as someone who was not invited to the NFL Combine, not drafted, pretty much how you show up in Indianapolis,
will define your entire NFL career. think that's pretty much, that's where I'm at. That's what I know to be true.
@NickFerguson_25 (37:29)
Well, for some that is said to be true, but as a player, I'm gonna tell you it's not always true.
Just because someone looks great in a t-shirt and short Olympics and you're thinking, okay, well, let's project them to be first rounders or even second rounders, that doesn't guarantee you success. You have to look at your roster. Where do these guys fit from a character standpoint? Where do they fit in our scheme? If you're going to draft a guy in the first round or the second round, you better have a plan for him. I don't mean just sitting there watching, the clipboard plan. No, you better have a plan for him to say, at some point in the season, we hope that
this player can be inserted into the lineup on the offensive defensive side and be an impact player because if you don't find any impact players or you think a guy's an impact player right away don't draft it.
Alex Hardy (38:19)
at nick ferguson underscore 25 I'm Alex Hardy we are those guys you see these guys over there well don't forget about those guys we'll be back ⁓ we're gonna do some some draft preview we're gonna do some combine there's gonna be other free agents on the move so ⁓ all the big and latest news you'll get Nick's reaction mine as well so until next time Nick what do have to say to the people
@NickFerguson_25 (38:44)
Well, this time of the year is just like approaching the summer. It is time for teams to shed some weight and show a little skin.
Alex Hardy (38:53)
sweat on.
We are those guys. Hey, you see those these guys over there? Well, don't forget about those guys. I'm Alex Hardy. Join as always Nick Ferguson, 10 years in the National Football League, member of the Denver Broncos, New York Jets, Houston Texans. We'll get to those teams, your teams as we continue to navigate the offseason. ⁓ Kind of a few, you know, news points ⁓ like current events that we'll get to as well as kind of a philosophical, hey, your team as a new coach.
How does the offseason look? first, Nick Ferguson, how's everything looking for you, man? What's going on?
@NickFerguson_25 (00:34)
Everything is looking ⁓ peachy over here because unlike some places, we're not getting overabundance of rain or we're not getting smashed by cold weather. So you would think that would be the opposite living here in Amalhah City, but no, the gods from the mountains have blessed us.
Alex Hardy (00:53)
That's right, the sun shines brightest when you're that much closer, a mile up in elevation. Yeah, we got the... We're just a couple of old dudes talking about the weather. Yeah, we got the rain here in Southern California. It was a great weekend for my wife and I to transplant some of the roses in the garden. So all's good here, man. Taking advantage of that rain.
@NickFerguson_25 (00:58)
Absolutely. ⁓
Wait wait a minute, wait a minute.
I mean, you're moving flowers already?
Alex Hardy (01:17)
Yeah, so the long and the short of it is we have plans to renovate our house. I know you'd love for me to be in a garage for the rest of the time as long as we do these. That's not the plan, but we had some roses that we have in planters now. So if we need to, you know, get on out of here with the house being done, we can move those roses easily because they're sentimental. Like a bouquet of flowers is nice, but I sort of got in this rhythm and routine. buying like roses that we plant in the garden.
@NickFerguson_25 (01:26)
you ⁓
Alex Hardy (01:47)
and then my wife has them to commemorate Valentine's Day or our anniversary, things like that. Because the bouquet dies three or four days later, whereas we have these in the ground and they are a constant reminder of what a great job I'm doing as a husband.
@NickFerguson_25 (01:52)
Okay.
Love to hear it.
Alex Hardy (02:05)
Well, it's just that, look, it's just, works for me, might not work for you, but just a thought to put out there into existence. We've got a couple of things that I think we should hit on, and I am excited to get to sort of Nick, your perspective and what teams are dealing with with, ⁓ you know, the games are obviously not being played anymore. We were last year following the Super Bowl, and there are some teams that haven't played since the end of December. How do their off seasons look, especially when they bring in a new coach?
versus teams that are just looking to run it back. But first, I think a couple of items that are worth bringing up off the top. Tyree Kill, officially hitting the open market, cut by the Miami Dolphins. They save $23 million in cap space, but meanwhile he's going to carry almost $30 million in dead money. They have a much bigger decision awaiting them with Tua Tonga Wailoa, but the first big piece for Miami to go out, Tyree Kill. Do you want to start with what that means for the Dolphins or kind of...
@NickFerguson_25 (02:43)
Yeah.
Alex Hardy (03:04)
Hey, do we want to start window shopping for some other team and free agency?
@NickFerguson_25 (03:07)
Well, let's start with the Mommy Dolphins and Jeff Halfley, because it wasn't just Tyreek Hill that they parted ways with due to ⁓ salary issues and Bradley Chubb, former Denver Broncos, Ed Rusher. They parted ways with him. He's definitely a guy who I think is probably going to end up maybe in Philadelphia or maybe in Baltimore. You remember, I mean, Bradley Chubb was in Miami with Vic Fangia, right? So there is some of the relationship there. So he may not be out of work long, but
Alex Hardy (03:18)
Yeah, that's another big one.
⁓
@NickFerguson_25 (03:37)
As far as the Miami Dolphins, hey, listen, man, it's a total rebuild. And Jeff Halfley is coming in and say, look, this is my first time as a head coach. I know based on places I've been, what I'm actually looking for. And it's kind of an addition by subtraction if you want to look at it, because you have to start parting ways with guys and their salaries as you start to build later on. And you have to figure by making a move like this, obviously talking to Steven Ross, saying, in order for
Alex Hardy (03:55)
Sure.
@NickFerguson_25 (04:06)
us to build what you hope to be a challenging team and the AFC, especially in the East, you have to tear some stuff down. You got to tear it down to the studs, but you don't want to rip it to shreds. So I mean, I don't foresee a chain going anywhere or Jaylen Waddle. Listen, I'll tell you this. The people here in Denver, they want Jayden Waddle because last season at the trade deadline, they were hoping to get Jayden Waddle then, but they're hoping that maybe the fire sale will continue in Miami.
Alex Hardy (04:13)
Yeah.
No, I don't know.
@NickFerguson_25 (04:36)
maybe they get lucky I don't think so. Now moving on to Tyreek Hill. ⁓ I would love to see Tyreek Hill kind of rejoin
You know, they can't see the Chiefs. know people here in Denver would not love to hear me say that, but he's coming off an ACL. Yeah, he's coming off, listen, he's coming off an ACL and those are always tricky. So, you know, that may be something later down the road that's not gonna be at the beginning when free agency starts, but he's definitely gonna be someone that's on their board that may be Eric Bieneme and Patrick Mahomes kind of try to go to bat for.
Alex Hardy (04:52)
Maybe. Yeah.
Yeah, maybe bring the band back together. I push back against a reunion with the Chiefs because obviously Terry Hill has his issues off the field. Kansas City knows that full well in part why he was a, you know, fell to the fifth round and such a success when he hit the ground running with Kansas City back then. But they have their own issues. mean, Rashid Rice and, you know, the details that come out about ⁓ an alleged domestic violence on top of the, you know, the outcome of the, ⁓
like the driving issue, like how else do you put that he, you know, put multiple people in harm's way and the chiefs, ⁓ you know, were fine and then he came back and like these things just sort of pile up and that inherent risk of bringing Tyree Kill may outweigh the kind of production that you'll get for a 31 year old receiver entering year 32 coming off of that ACL tear. So look, the reunion sounds like a nice way to go about it, but
I wouldn't be shocked if another team that was ⁓ a contending team in the AFC are looking to push their chips in, make a splash, get over the top. ⁓ I'd say let's start with Buffalo in desperate need of a playmaker, of a field stretcher, as someone who Josh Allen can rely on and Tyree Kill with an opportunity to play in the Super Bowl and maybe beat a Kansas City or another competing team in that conference. That just seems more interesting to me.
⁓ But I think if you're Buffalo, you should be looking at every single free agent wide receiver available and just do a better job than you had been in the past. Let's not throw in money at Curtis Samuel and Josh Palmer and ⁓ Trading Draft Capital for Amari Cooper. ⁓ They have not done a good job evaluating the receiver position, but don't worry. That was all Sean McDermott's fault. Brandon Bean is going to lead the charge and Joe Brady just they know exactly what they're doing. I'm a little worried.
But it stands to reason that not all 32 teams are going to be interested in a Tyree kill, but you just start with any number of those contending teams in the AFC, and it kind of makes sense for me.
@NickFerguson_25 (07:22)
Well, I mean, a guy of his caliber, when healthy, he would make any offensive unit better. I I merely thought, as you were talking, I thought about Baltimore, right?
Alex Hardy (07:34)
Sure.
@NickFerguson_25 (07:35)
Baltimore has tried to do exactly what Buffalo has tried to do. Go out and get these veteran wide receivers. They brought in new Hopkins. That didn't work. And with Buffalo, like you said, they brought in Amari Cooper, Stefan Diggs, Brandon Cooks. That didn't work. At some point, you would have to develop your own receivers, and that's something that those teams need to do that they haven't done well. In case of Kansas City, Kansas City has done a better job using the marginal talent that they have, bringing in veterans.
guys but also using their young guys, one of which who seemed to find himself in trouble more frequently than you want. I can see that that would be a reason why if you, Brett Veach, you may not want to bring back Tyreek Hill for that particular reason because knowing as though what Tyreek Hill has kind of gotten himself into from the off the field issue mixed with Rashid Rice may not be a great combination or it could because you could have a guy in Tyreek Hill who's known as though I'm
coming off an ACL injury, my career is winding down, who better to advise? I know as crazy as that sound, who better to advise Rashid Rice other than the guy who's been there countless times?
Alex Hardy (08:50)
Here's how you get caught less often than you've been getting caught. He's a cheetah for a reason. He can outrun enough of his problems. ⁓ Two more things. All I can do is go off of cheetahs' Twitter usage. Mike McDaniel did the chargers. Hmm, was something he posted. And he said, Patriots in the Super Bowl, happy for them. I'll just put those out there and just back away slowly. ⁓
@NickFerguson_25 (08:54)
Hey, however, however you want to spin it, right? It works. Right? Yes.
Yeah.
Alex Hardy (09:20)
Tyreekill is certainly an interesting name, but probably one of the best players that would be available for other teams, not free agency, hasn't been cut, but if you're willing to part with the draft capital, Max Crosby. The Vegas Raiders are in for another rebuild, that's all Crosby is known to this point, and I think the tenor has changed, not, you know...
Not entirely, although I will note that Max Crosby with Caleb Williams talking on his pod, he had mentioned the idea of hoisting a Lombardi trophy. I feel like in years past that was always mentioned in tandem with hoisting a Lombardi trophy, dot dot dot, for the Raiders. Max Crosby was the consummate Raider and he's at a crossroads where he can go and chase that Lombardi and there's a notion to it, right? He's pushed back against
@NickFerguson_25 (10:01)
Right.
Alex Hardy (10:12)
wanting to join somebody else. He's always wanted to put the Raiders in that position or can he become, you know, a Joe Thomas of his era, be Mr. Raider, be identified as, ⁓ you know, the best player for a team that just never really got their act together. I was optimistic for Josh McDaniels. I was optimistic for Pete Carroll and Gino Smith, but I'm optimistic for Clint Kubiak and Fernando Mendoza, which we're going to do plenty of draft coverage. The draft starts at number two.
As of February 18th, I know full well Fernando Mendoza is looking for real estate in the Henderson, Las Vegas area. So I think that's pretty much a done deal. I'm a little more optimistic. Maybe Max Crosby can be sold on it. I do think it's interesting that he's talked about, granted he's just having Caleb Williams on a podcast of his, but he's talking about winning a Lombardi and not necessarily winning that Lombardi with the Raiders. Personally, I think he should just be Mr. Raider.
@NickFerguson_25 (11:11)
Well, I don't want read too much into it, the whole idea, that's what you want your players to have that idea and that mentality that you want to win in Lombardi. Him not saying as though I want to win it with the Raiders. It doesn't take away from him wanting to be with the Raiders, but it does add a little.
question and a little leverage for him per se like hey I'm already developing connection then you have a guy in Kayla Williams who has a little more clout with Ben Johnson in that Chicago fan base that maybe he can go up right so maybe he can go up to you know Ryan Pace's office and say I'm did I get is is Ryan Pace okay or it's both Ryan Poles Ryan Poles
Alex Hardy (11:40)
Yeah. Right. And they wanted Ben Johnson in Vegas. Brady couldn't close the deal.
⁓ Ryan Poles, Ryan Poles. You're combining him
with the last Bearish GM.
@NickFerguson_25 (11:57)
Okay, so Ryan Pohl's. Now Caleb Williams can go up to his office and say, hey, we were right there on the precipice. You know what would go great with Montez Sweat?
⁓ how about this guy now that goes back to polls actually valuing the I guess input for Kayla was because we know how this works. Some teams say, well, they're going to give their young quarterback or their quarterback some input, but never really give him that much. So I think it was bloody brilliant by Max Crosby to do the podcast with Kayla Williams to kind of put that question mark in the air. What is Crosby thinking? Where does he want to go? And I know so many players say, you know, I want to be this particular
team for life. Like remember Miles Garrett? I out Cleveland until they gave him a bag and he was like, you know what? I think I'll stay. But Max Crosby is a dominating player. I know he would love to be a Raider for life, but when you look at the transition, the team has undergone over the past
Four years it doesn't seem like it's trending in the right direction and then look at the division that you're in the likelihood that in two seasons that Clint Kubiak would be able to turn that Raiders team around and then they're now contenders that's gonna be very difficult and when you look at you know Max Crosby where he is in his career. I mean at that point
You say, well, his best years are behind him. So that's something that he and ⁓ his camp need to start to think about. If I am going to get traded, I'm going to force myself out.
I have to force myself to a team that is a true contender. And I would think the Baltimore Ravens, right? Anthony Weaver, one of my former teammates, he's back there as their defensive coordinator. What better addition that you could have to the Baltimore Ravens than adding a guy like Max Crosby who fits that team's overall personality?
Alex Hardy (13:41)
Hmm.
Yeah, I, you know, the Raiders, I think it would behoove them to move Crosby to the NFC. And as of today, you know, upcoming for the 26th season, I think the path to the Super Bowl is a lot easier to go through the NFC. I say this knowing full well the Seahawks and the Rams were probably the best two teams in the league last year. ⁓ But that, that, that, that AFC is just an absolute gauntlet. You mentioned the West. ⁓ You know, I'd like to be optimistic that the Raiders kind of look at the Denver situation and go, here's a team that was staring
what, 75 million in dead money for Russell Wilson? They don't care. They draft a quarterback, they build that defense, and they overachieve. And now they put themselves in an AFC Championship game just three, two years into the Bo Nicks experience. Fernando may be that kind of guy. There are lot of holes around the roster. ⁓ And certainly being able to plug them with two, three first round picks and young talent would be the way to do it. But...
@NickFerguson_25 (14:28)
Yep.
Alex Hardy (14:54)
I just, Max Crosby is just that, that is the identity of the football team. He is the leader that the, that every other player can aspire to be. And you know, I think we're all nostalgic for the times of when players played for one team and they, ⁓ they were a consistent force. Like we're in the middle of college basketball season and the transfer portal era, you just don't see the rivalries that you're used to because the players change. And it'd be really great if the AFC West
You know, the best way to get after the quarterbacks you're facing when it's a Patrick Mahomes and a Justin Herbert and even a Bo Nicks is a good pass rush. Like, you could get all of these picks and maybe get a player as good as Max Crosby. Like, it's difficult, but I just, I say Raiders and he's the first person I think of. mean, it may be Tom Brady from here on out, but I'm thinking Max Crosby for now and I'd like to see him stay, but
I fully understand this isn't Tom Brady's decision. This isn't Mark Davis's decision. If Max Crosby wants to stay, he's going to stay. If he wants to go, he gave the first decade of his career to that team, did everything, above and beyond. I think the team should reciprocate and let him go.
@NickFerguson_25 (16:09)
Well, you would like to think that that would be the case, but this is the business of football we're talking about. I can let you go, but I'm let you go where it benefits me. when I think about what happened with Von Miller, when the Broncos decided they were going to part ways with Von Miller, very emotional for a guy who was drafted in the first round. By far, the best draft pick by John Elway. What did George Payton do?
Alex Hardy (16:21)
Right, out of the ASC I think was my first point.
@NickFerguson_25 (16:37)
He could have sent him to Cleveland and let his career die. But no, he traded him to Sean McVeigh and the Rams and he went on to win another chip. Right? So maybe what you're saying to kind of show Max Crosby, hey, listen, man, we appreciate everything that you've given to us. We're going to put you in a better situation. But I was thinking about something, See, there's a way that you can actually keep Max Crosby. Because like you said,
Alex Hardy (16:47)
Yep. Yep.
Mm-hmm.
@NickFerguson_25 (17:06)
I mean, when look at the Raiders, have the number one overall pick, which is probably going to be Fernando Mendoza. Now, they have a boatload of money. They have a lot of coin. And you're in the desert, where your coin goes longer. So they probably would be able to acquire other guys. They just have to get the buy-in from Crosby. And they have to sell it to them and say, hey, listen, we have money. Here's what we're going to do.
Alex Hardy (17:12)
I will be,
Yes.
@NickFerguson_25 (17:35)
by the way, you're talking about Clint Kubiak who was with the Seattle Seahawks. You know who the Seahawks are not going to put the franchise tag on? That's right, Kenneth Walker. So you get Kenneth Walker. You have Fernando Mendoza on the rookie deal. All on rookie deals. Come on, Alex.
Alex Hardy (17:49)
You have Gentie, have Brock Bowers, the wa- I- I- yeah, you know, I-
They just- they need big bodies. Like, they need to shore up the trenches, both sides of the football. I don't- I don't- I'm I'm not saying Walker isn't a bad idea, but then what was the point of spending the fourth overall pick on Ashton Gentie if you're then gonna spend 12, 13 million a year on a Kenneth Walker?
@NickFerguson_25 (17:57)
You can't, you still, you can get that.
But you know why? Because you didn't predict this. You didn't know that Pete Caron was going to fail.
Right? You didn't predict that, you know, hey, Clint Kubiak was going to go and win the Super Bowl, and Kenneth Walker was going to be available as the MVP. And then here's what it does for you. Like, if Kenneth Walker comes there, that gives you a one-two punch. And like I said, all those guys are on rookie deal. So you can sell it. And just so happens, if Kenneth Walker comes in and he becomes a guy, it gives you an opportunity to trade away, assingente. What?
Alex Hardy (18:43)
no, see that's,
Spy Tech is still there, like that's their guy. You know, this is, this is ⁓ the Falcons extending Tyler Algier and moving on from Bajan Robinson. That's the kind of behavior, yes it is.
@NickFerguson_25 (18:55)
No, it's not. No, it's not.
Come on, Alex. It's not the same thing. Bijan is extraordinary guy. Algier is just kind of breaking case of emergency. He is just reliable, but he's not like a game changer like Bijan. But once again, Jenti is extraordinary. You already know.
what Kenneth Walker can do, you're just waiting and you saw some signs of astringency, it at least gives you a one-two punch for at least two years before you have to make a choice and make a decision.
Alex Hardy (19:26)
If I'm gonna grade the Raiders free agency period, like if we fast forward and we're, you know, the veterans are all added, I don't want to look at the dollar value. I don't even want to look at, you know, their stats from last year. I'm just gonna sort it by weight and if the Raiders add three, four, five guys and their weight starts with a three big bodies, I'll know the Raiders did a better job. That's all I'm saying. They need to build, they need to rebuild those trenches both sides of the ball. And if they do that, that's the foundation. Okay.
@NickFerguson_25 (19:52)
That's gonna happen, Alex. Okay,
Alex Hardy (19:55)
Plus Kenneth Walker, I got you.
@NickFerguson_25 (19:58)
Let me tell you what it is that I know. The tree of which Clint Kubiak comes from, it is built on what?
Alex Hardy (20:00)
Okay.
@NickFerguson_25 (20:06)
The run game right here at John John Benson who was a coach in San Francisco when I was there He had Rick Denison who was a coach here when I was caught when I played for the Denver Broncos Rick Denison was also in Houston when I was there with his dad Clint Kubiak and by the way Rick Denison was with is with Clint Kubiak was with Clint Kubiak in Seattle so you have to figure that that group who understands the run game because they either coach with his dad of they coach with Mike Shanahan
They're going to make that a point of emphasis, especially if you are planning on drafting with the number overall pick Fernando Mendoza. You're starting with the trenches.
Alex Hardy (20:43)
Yeah.
I cannot thank you enough for just saying the same thing I did just much more eloquently. Like that is why you are who you are and I'm just teeing you up and ⁓ I'm not lobbing, I'm not throwing you meatballs, I'm literally just the T and you can swing that bat and just get around on one. ⁓ They just need the draft players that they're willing to play. It was a big problem that they spent early draft capital, second, third.
@NickFerguson_25 (20:48)
You don't believe me. You can't see it.
Hahaha
Alex Hardy (21:15)
think it's second or fourth round pick on receivers that didn't even play. You know, they're adding Tyler Lockett off the street. They're making ways of trying to get... This may be a Pete Carroll thing and hopefully it goes away and Clint Kubiak identifies the guys he wants to play. But it's like they're spending like rich draft capital on skilled players that didn't even make the field. So I'm... Let's just hope a different regime. Things turn for the Raiders. Not, you know, at the expense of your Broncos. I get it.
But let's just hope that Clint Kubiak and Fernando Mendoza and this identity of the Raiders is strong enough to keep that fan base rabid and to keep Max Crosby there. ⁓ We mentioned Kubiak, we mentioned the Dolphins. They are two of the 10 teams that have new head coaches and not all new head coaching situations are the same, right? We had ⁓ internal hires.
We did this a year ago with the likes of Brian Schottenheimer. We had the big splashes this offseason. Ben Johnson turning around the Bears. Mike Vrabel turning around the Patriots. Liam Cohen. Like how often is it that you have three coaches that come in and deliver double-digit wins in their first season? It's very, very rare. But we sort of get the impression that there are good teams that fill their head coaching vacancies and maybe we can recreate some of that success.
But I want to start with kind of an overall arching view, right? The Patriots, the Seahawks, ⁓ even the Broncos and the Rams, you know, they just wrapped up their seasons just a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, there are teams that, you know, they've been cooked, they've been done, they fired their coach and began a head coaching search in the year of our Lord 2025. So overall, Nick, the perspective of a team that's bringing in a new coach, and there are 10 of them,
and we can go case by case, maybe shine the light on certain situations. How does their process sort of begin and how do they get up to speed when they're bringing in a new coach, a new front office, and they're trying to do this all while other teams are keeping their infrastructure together as they prepare? We're coming up on the NFL combine, free agency is just around the corner, the NFL draft right after.
@NickFerguson_25 (23:32)
Well, the best way to look at it, all 32 teams, regardless of the two, 10 infusions of the new head coaches, they're all hitting the same reset button. Everyone is starting over at the finish line. Now, are there some advantages to some of the coaches who've been in place already? Absolutely. But they still have to endure the same challenges of the 10 new coaches. You have to assess your roster, who you keeping, who you letting go. Are you restructuring deals?
And then who are you looking to add? Can you afford those guys in free agency? And if you can't, can you go out in the draft and find some of those guys to fill those voids? But more importantly, add depth to the roster. So there's some coaches who are in better situations than some other coaches. Case in point, just think about this. If you're Mike McCarthy, you're going to Pittsburgh, you're following...
Alex Hardy (24:24)
Yeah, yeah, let's start there.
@NickFerguson_25 (24:26)
Yeah, okay, so you're following Mike Tomlin, right? And you look at the Pittsburgh Steelers. They've had over the past, I don't know,
Since the beginning of their franchise, I mean three head coaches who have had long tenures now McCarthy becomes the fourth coach Can he duplicate that same performance? But here's their problem. They have an agent team. They have an agent quarterback They're in somewhat of a division that guess what Baltimore now has a new head coach the Cleveland Browns now have a new head coach Could they overtake that division?
Alex Hardy (25:00)
The Cincinnati Bengals will have a new coach a year from now.
@NickFerguson_25 (25:03)
Well, I almost thought that for the first time in league history, we were going to have four new coaches in one division. We did not have it. But once again, the idea is that when you look at McCarthy in the position that he's in, someone can say, well, you know what? He's got a chance. But once again, there's too many uncertainties with the Pittsburgh Steelers right now.
Alex Hardy (25:11)
Nah nah.
I mean, Steelers fans got exactly what they wanted, right? Aaron Rodgers has run out, Mike Tomlin is gone, but they replaced Mike Tomlin with the 63-year-old Mike McCarthy. This isn't just an ageism, you know, ⁓ shout out Millennials or Gen Alpha or whatever. It's just that you're not going to have a 20-year entrenched Mike McCarthy when year one is 63 years old. Like this is breaking the mold of what the Pittsburgh Steelers do, but at the same time,
@NickFerguson_25 (25:27)
Yeah, how about that?
Alex Hardy (25:52)
They're just trying to keep the band playing on the Titanic as this aging roster is coming head on towards an iceberg. yes, there's a, the standard is the standard. Mike Tomlin made that, you know, his mantra for the last 20 years, but I just don't see how the Steelers kind of keep things together and LeapFrog, the other teams in the AFC that were better than them. They have a good program.
Mike McCarthy will kind of instill that he's going to look to call plays too, which is interesting. Should be better than Arthur Smith. We'll see. But they still just lack the overall personnel and especially at the signal caller where they can leapfrog the teams and the AFC that they are inferior to. They beat the teams they're supposed to beat and then they just get both raised in the first round of the playoffs. Like that has been the reason why they haven't won a playoff game in nearly a decade at this point. And, you know,
You can you can hear it. This is the exact same argument I made for Tyree kill like Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy didn't get along like why would he come back now? So they're gonna start over at the quarterback position and maybe overpay for somebody like Malik Willis or part with draft capital to get a Mac Jones none of those guys really inspire me to think that Pittsburgh can vault themselves into another AFC North title or ⁓
or a win in the playoffs, let alone the expectation of a deep run in the playoffs. They have the most expensive defense, they have the oldest defense, they have ⁓ ungodly cap numbers for guys like TJ Watt and Cam Hayward, and they have to re-up Nick Herbig. Like their pass rush and their run defense is the most important thing to keep this team afloat, and there are just too many question marks. But I understand that they may be a leg up given Mike McCarthy's done this before.
They have an established culture and an identity as the Pittsburgh Steelers compared to, you know, we mentioned the Raiders and the Dolphins. And another situation more like Pittsburgh's would be, you know, the teams that I'd say are better than them. Buffalo hiring from within, promoting Joe Brady and Jesse Minter going, switching Harbaugh's going to Baltimore. Like they're kind of in a similar boat to Pittsburgh and they both have better quarterbacks. So I'm more optimistic about them going into next season.
@NickFerguson_25 (28:11)
Well, I'm more optimistic about Baltimore. If you were look at all the 10 jobs that were filled, that's kind of the just add water and stir type of situation. Jesse Mentor has proven that, I mean, that's how he got into this position, that he understands, you know, football and he's willing to help Lamar. And I look at this situation, Similars is something that is close to you. When you look at the relationship between your quarterback
Tom Brady and Bill Belichick right and we say well when you have a quarterback you know you want these hot shot offensive coordinators but I'm like there's room for defensive court coaches as well because I look at that Brady Belichick situation.
When you know defense as well as you can, you can help set up your quarterback, be a rookie or veteran by taking them through the nuances. Okay, well, here's what I would do against you as a defense. What would you do to break our defense down? This is how you start that toolage and that football IQ, which helped out both Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. I'm not suggesting that Baltimore is gonna go on a 20 year run because looking at where Lamar Jackson is in his career, but I do think
with
Jesse mentor in the building and you bring him back Anthony Weaver who's familiar with that defense that's gonna help out and by the way you got freaking Derrick Henry right
Alex Hardy (29:39)
Ha
@NickFerguson_25 (29:40)
How many coaches out there can say that, defensively my unit is intact. I need to go do a couple of things here and there. Kyle Williams, Roquan Smith. And then you got Derrick Henry and you have Lamar Jackson. Only thing is, just don't screw it up. And the way that they help themselves out by adding some true wide receivers, that would be, or in my opinion,
one of the better jobs to take, but I still won't sleep on the other hardball who's with the New York Giants and that defense that they have. But if you had to twist my arm and you had to say which of these jobs were the better jobs of the other nine, I'm going to say the Baltimore Ravens.
Alex Hardy (30:20)
Yep, you know, John in New York, like you, he believes in Jackson Dart and he believe in that defense and he's, he's the culture guy, right? He's the CEO. He's not calling offense. He's not calling defense. so you just need an adult in the room, right? When Kam Scadaboo and Jackson Dart are taking their turns bashing their heads against the wall. You just need someone who's not willing to parade around in the blue tent like Brian Dayball did. and meanwhile, like the other,
teams that ⁓ like Robert Sala coming back with Tennessee, you your guy that it's a different opportunity and we'll hope that maybe the Titans organization will be somewhat more upright than say a New York Jets one ⁓ with all the meddling that that Woody Johnson is doing and has been doing. And then, you know, Arizona and Cleveland, I think we're both holding out on Clint Kubiak and neither got their guy.
and Cleveland's whole situation, they were looking for a coach that would agree to take on Jim Schwartz as the DC without really running it by Jim Schwartz because clearly bringing in Todd Munkin and him handing in his resignation, like Jim Schwartz wanted to be there, he had been there, and believed he should have been a coach over Todd Munkin. It's like, the likes of the Cardinals, the Titans, the Browns, teams that, you know, are all in difficult situations, that all kind of brought their head coaches in a little bit later.
⁓ you know, how do they sort of, not necessarily catch up, but how do they instill a different culture than the ones that have been permeating as they're trying to keep chase with, you know, we know what we're getting in John Harbaugh and Mike McCarthy.
@NickFerguson_25 (32:03)
Yeah, you know what you're getting in those particular coaches, but I'm not going to sleep on Todd Monkin like most people are. mean, just think, I mean, this is a talented coach and
Alex Hardy (32:13)
I mean the play
calling like, you know, MVP Lamar, ⁓ national championships with Georgia beforehand. Like I totally agree.
@NickFerguson_25 (32:16)
Yeah.
Yeah, and then you just look at some of the weapons he has in Cleveland. mean, their issue there is, OK, well, listen, you have Malzgarra, you have a decent defense, you're going to lose David and Joku. So I mean, you still have another town to tie it in on that roster. for me, yes. So for me,
Alex Hardy (32:38)
Yeah, love Harold Fanon.
@NickFerguson_25 (32:42)
The first thing that Monk is gonna have to address, the same thing that we talked about with Clint Kubiak, you gotta do something about that offensive line because I'm gonna tell you, their left tackle, my God, his technique was the worst, was the worst.
Alex Hardy (32:59)
Well that's fine because
I don't know the numbers or the statistics on this but all five starting offensive linemen are set to be free agents. Earlier today, ⁓ February 18th, Wyatt Teller, who's been hurt over and over over again, said, I'm not coming back to Cleveland. Well we already kind of knew that. But how often is it that all five starting free agents, all five starters on the offensive line are free agents at the same time?
@NickFerguson_25 (33:18)
They probably don't want your bag either.
It's
rare, rare.
Alex Hardy (33:30)
Yeah,
but it goes to show you just what they think of those guys and maybe they bring one or two of them back But you're right that they need to address out of necessity But really is Todd Munkin there to try to prop up Chaudhry Sanders and try to see if that's the thing or are they going after a quarterback this year with the ample draft capital that they got from moving down, know in the Travis Hunter trade like it is just so hard to know if now's the time for them to go get a quarterback or See if they can just
build something with Shador because he's there and let's see what else they can kind of do. I mean, that's what Monkin is tasked with.
@NickFerguson_25 (34:05)
Okay, listen, the idea of going out and getting another quarterback.
We've seen this movie before. mean, Night Shyamalan couldn't have written a better script for the Cleveland Browns in their quarterback situation. Some have this idea, if you don't have your quarterback, you keep drafting and too you do. To me, I think that's a stupid philosophy. I hate to use the word stupid, but it's not a very logical one because that tells me that you're not doing a great job in your draft preparation analysis and evaluation of guys, and that you're not doing a great job.
with the development of the quarterback by putting skilled players in an adequate offensive line around him. So I think if you were Todd Monkins, known as though Todd Monkins kind of joked with Shador Sanders when they first met, hey man, we try to get you in Baltimore, right? So that says, there is something there, even though Todd Monkins would not commit right now to Shador Sanders being the starter.
Alex Hardy (35:03)
And reportedly,
Shador didn't want to go to Baltimore.
@NickFerguson_25 (35:07)
Right, exactly. So I think that relationship is a little more solid than that of Dylan Gabriel. That doesn't mean that you don't have a quarterback competition in Cleveland. The idea is that Monkin is there to use his wits to make either of those two young quarterbacks better.
I think what they should do, roll with those two quarterbacks. Maybe you add a veteran just to kind of back up as a wingman. But there's so many other things that they can do to better enhance his team. remember, mean, Shador had a couple games where he looked good, right? And I mean, beat, I mean, albeit the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he still beat that team and he made some adequate throws. All he needs is a coach now in Todd Monkins who believes in him.
more than Kev Stifanski and who knows what can happen.
Alex Hardy (35:56)
Shout out Kevin Stefanski, you know, if it didn't quite work with Cleveland, we'll see how the exact same program is going to work in Atlanta. You know, bringing back Tommy Reese and Alex van Pelt and all these guys on the offensive staff, guys that he had worked with ⁓ in Cleveland and our guy Bill Callahan as well. Your guys, Jeff Ulbricht and ⁓ Tanner Engstrad, like it is going to be Cleveland Browns in the 404. ⁓
I didn't want to omit Kevin Stefanski because that's another weird opportunity that they're in quarterback purgatory as well, given all the setbacks with Michael Panek. He's Nick Ferguson. I'm Alex Hardy. just, you know, understanding the calendar and what these teams are up against, it'll help shine a light when we get to certain points, right? The combine right around the corner, free agency, NFL draft and training camps. Like we are going to have the perspective.
thanks to you Nick, on where some of these teams are at now, based on, you know, the new faces or some of the same people that are in the building. So, I'm excited to get out the stopwatch and absolutely vault somebody three rounds in the draft because they run four tenths of a second faster with their underwear on. Like that's really all that matters Nick, and as someone who was not invited to the NFL Combine, not drafted, pretty much how you show up in Indianapolis,
will define your entire NFL career. think that's pretty much, that's where I'm at. That's what I know to be true.
@NickFerguson_25 (37:29)
Well, for some that is said to be true, but as a player, I'm gonna tell you it's not always true.
Just because someone looks great in a t-shirt and short Olympics and you're thinking, okay, well, let's project them to be first rounders or even second rounders, that doesn't guarantee you success. You have to look at your roster. Where do these guys fit from a character standpoint? Where do they fit in our scheme? If you're going to draft a guy in the first round or the second round, you better have a plan for him. I don't mean just sitting there watching, the clipboard plan. No, you better have a plan for him to say, at some point in the season, we hope that
this player can be inserted into the lineup on the offensive defensive side and be an impact player because if you don't find any impact players or you think a guy's an impact player right away don't draft it.
Alex Hardy (38:19)
at nick ferguson underscore 25 I'm Alex Hardy we are those guys you see these guys over there well don't forget about those guys we'll be back ⁓ we're gonna do some some draft preview we're gonna do some combine there's gonna be other free agents on the move so ⁓ all the big and latest news you'll get Nick's reaction mine as well so until next time Nick what do have to say to the people
@NickFerguson_25 (38:44)
Well, this time of the year is just like approaching the summer. It is time for teams to shed some weight and show a little skin.
Alex Hardy (38:53)
sweat on.