Super Bowl Stories: Nick Ferguson on His Championship Experience and More!

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Welcome back to the latest.

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I'm Alex Hardy, Nick Ferguson here with
me.

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Former NFL safety, so much more that he
does in the NFL media community out in

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Denver as well.

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Nick, what's happening?

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What's going on, my man?

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Nothing much man.

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I would say something about your Boston
hat, but I'll just leave it there for

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time's sake.

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Well, watch me turn to the side.

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It says world champions right there, Nick.

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It's been a while, but this is always a
concert reminder of what happened in that

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2004 ALCS.

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You know, we ought to talk.

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We ought to talk round ball once.

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Uh, once we kind of get the Superbowl out
of the way.

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I know, uh, you've got a trip to Vegas
coming up, but let's, let's finish the

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conversation that we began, uh, launching
this podcast in the first place.

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We were talking about head coach openings.

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And officially we have 32 head coaches,
the latest Dan Quinn being hired by the

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commanders, and we'll get into that
conversation so to speak.

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But we paid our 50 cents, or maybe two or
three bucks because of inflation now.

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We rode that head coaching carousel, and
we're officially getting off with one,

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two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight
new head coach openings.

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Now you had my New England Patriots.

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Hiring in-house with Gerard Mayo, the
Raiders doing the same, removing that

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interim tag off of Antonio Pierce.

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So you take those two jobs out of there.

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You have six new openings essentially
where the Carolina Panthers hire Dave

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Canales, the Chargers make the big splash
with Jim Harbaugh, the Atlanta Falcons

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bring back Raheem Morris after he was an
interim coach there years ago.

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I mentioned Dan Quinn to the Commanders.

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The Titans hiring Bengals.

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offensive coordinator Brian Callahan.

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Note that he's the first guy that I've had
to attribute where he came from because

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that was a name that not a lot of people
had on their radar.

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The Seahawks hiring Mike McDonald from the
Baltimore Ravens and just looking at those

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positions, those openings, Nick, did you
have any thoughts on maybe the best fit

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for a coach or maybe it was just the best
opportunity like despite who goes there or

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maybe now that you know who's there.

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the team you're kind of monitoring from
afar this off season to see maybe to pay

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off on some potential that's coming their
way.

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I'm gonna say Mike McDonald, the coach
from Baltimore Ravens who had that defense

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playing out of their mind.

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Just think about what he's going into.

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He's going into a Seattle Seahawks team
that already has a built-in culture from

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all those years with Pete Carroll and they
don't have any quarterback issues because

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they got that solved with Geno Smith.

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Could they go out and draft a guy to be
his heir apparent?

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Yeah, I expect for them to do that, but.

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Think about that defense.

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When you look at what they're trying to
get back to as far as the Legion of Boom

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2.0, they got two good corners outside.

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They have a good group of guys from a
court standpoint.

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On the defensive side of the ball, then
you have a guy who is showing that he is

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an excellent mind defensively.

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He walks into that building day one, even
without a game being played, Alex.

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And you have to think about the Seattle
Seahawks being in the playoffs just on

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that.

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Obviously, they're going to do some things
as offseason to make that team better.

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But for the most part, that is the one
coach of all the coaches who are walking

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into a situation where they're saying, you
know what, we're pretty good right now,

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but we have the ability to get much
better.

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No, and you just look at how well, and
again, players have to play.

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John Harbaugh is the head coach.

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But the point that I always look at is
with how well that Mike McDonald's defense

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has performed against those Kyle Shanahan
offenses.

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Beating Bobby Sloak in the Texans twice,
beating the San Francisco 49ers at the end

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of the regular season.

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Took over time to do it, but beating the
LA Rams with Sean McVeigh, it's a perfect

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fit in that NFC West knowing that Kyle
Shanahan.

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and Sean McVeigh are on the opposite
sideline for four of your 17 regular

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season games.

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I'll just spend a moment on Dave Canales.

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The Panther situation is one that, oh well
I'm not sure because ownership has this

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tendency to meddle and they've moved on
from multiple head coaches and multiple

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interims.

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But I'm kind of interested to see the
staff that Canales is building out and

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they're adding a bunch of their position
coaches.

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But the most important thing I think is...

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their search for continuity and having
everyone on the same page.

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Removing some of those coaches that were
hired by Matt Rule that lived on through

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Frank Reich's era, albeit short, they were
the ones that were voicing opinions and

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getting David Tepper involved.

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And I'm talking about the special teams
coordinator, then interim coach Chris

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Taber and the former offensive line coach
James Campin.

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Both of those guys were kind of
mouthpieces.

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for Tepper, it was a little obvious that
they were given the promotions with Frank

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Reich headed out and sort of cleaning
house and kind of starting from scratch,

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allowing a first-time head coach to build
out his staff, bring guys with him that he

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coached with in Seattle under Pete
Carroll, and certainly most recently in

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Tampa is something that clearly is showing
a new leaf for how David Tepper is

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allowing the coach to build his coaching
staff.

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So I think it's a minor, but a positive
step worth mentioning that obviously is

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going to keep NFL fans dry, not having
owners throwing cocktails on them for the

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upcoming season.

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It's not, you know, of all the things to
bring up and we can talk about Jim

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Harbaugh and we can talk about the great
opportunity that he Morris is stepping in,

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but it's just, it seems stable and totally
normal.

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what the Panthers have done so far and I
have to give them credit.

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We'll have to save this for another time
but just the reporting coming from the

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athletic Dianna Zrusini on your former New
York Jets, Robert Sala attempting to

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confiscate phones trying to figure out
where the leaks are coming from at one

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Jets place.

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That's the kind of stuff that used to
happen in Carolina.

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Excuse me but not anymore in Panthers
country.

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So I'm thrilled.

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Now we have 32 jobs filled.

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Two coaches that aren't going anywhere,
kind of surprisingly, shockingly, a guy we

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both advocated for and one of the hottest
coaching names two years running.

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The Lions under Dan Quinn are keeping the
offensive and defensive coordinators.

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Aaron Glenn staying and Ben Johnson
staying.

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Which of those two do you want to start
with?

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Because we got to talk about both of them
before we get to that NFC Championship

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game.

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Well, let's talk about Aaron Glenn.

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And it was great for Aaron Glenn to get
the opportunity to interview again,

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because here's what it does for not just
coaches, but minority coaches.

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Keeping in mind that a lot of minority
coaches don't get the opportunity to

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interview for jobs, but it puts you in
front of different owners, where they can

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really see who and what you are.

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And to be totally honest, Alex, when they
have these meetings, there's less X's and

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O's that are taking place.

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It's these owners trying to get to know
these minority head coaches.

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So it is great for Aaron to get this
experience interviewing again, he

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interviewed with the Broncos a couple of
years ago.

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But you know, it tells you where Dan
Campbell in that Lions organization has

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grown too.

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I mean, you go from being one of those
teams that everyone laughed about, to

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being one of those teams everyone was
talking about, talking about Dan Campbell.

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And not just the fact of what he didn't do
and what he should have done on 4th down,

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but.

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interviewing both your offense and
defensive coordinator.

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That speaks volumes to where they've grown
as an organization.

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So I'm sure, I mean, Aaron's gonna go
back.

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They're gonna do a great job again.

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Will they be in the situation they were in
this year?

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Probably not, but that still will give
other teams an opportunity to interview

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Aaron Glenn because we know every year
there's always five to six job openings.

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And again, a very talented roster that's
hopefully going to run it back.

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Dan Campbell made the point that some guys
aren't going to be here.

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This could have been their only shot and
we'll get to that.

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But Aaron Glenn as a coaching commodity,
but Ben Johnson, it seems two years in a

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row reportedly offered the Carolina
Panthers job a year ago, which again, at

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the time, it seemed as if he wasn't
allowed to be naming his coordinators.

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as far as we understand how Frank Wright
came in that position.

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And now this year, the reporting was sort
of leaked out where he was getting a

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second round of interviews, I'm sorry, a
third with the commander specifically,

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commander's brass with new ownership, Josh
Harris.

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I don't know if magic was getting on the
plane, but certainly Rick Spielman and

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maybe Bob Myers in between nationally
televised basketball games.

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But they were told allegedly that

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Ben Johnson did not want to be considered
for the position anymore as they were on

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route to Detroit.

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Now they still sat down with Aaron Glenn,
but they then hire Dan Quinn, his second

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head coaching opportunity.

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And look, he interviewed with Seattle
where they're fond of him, know him well,

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went with Mike McDonald instead.

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I'm going to believe that's because of the
merit that Mike McDonald has created.

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Now

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Ben Johnson taking himself out of
consideration and reports flying out, you

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know, this is just the modern media with
talking points coming directly from agents

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or teams themselves.

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Adam Schefter reporting that Ben Johnson's
asking price spooked some teams this time

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around.

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I guess.

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Does a coordinator.

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Is it sort of hmm.

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Is it weird that a coordinator doesn't
want to be considered to be a head coach

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two years in a row and if he's back out
there a year from now, is there a single

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owner that won't be making their first
question, why didn't you want to be a head

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coach sooner?

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Well, that question is always going to be
asked and hindsight is always 20-20, but

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you have to figure that Ben Johnson feels
as though he has an incomplete cycle there

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in Detroit looking at how far they were
able to get to.

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And he's thinking, look, if we keep our
core guys offensively and defensively

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intact, maybe we'll make another run.

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I'll have another opportunity.

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I already had two thus far.

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That's two more than some coaches.

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I don't care if you are a minority coach
or not, but maybe that's his frame of

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mind.

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But another thing that changes things for
coaches and more importantly for anyone is

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dollars and cents.

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And when Detroit Lions figures though,
hey, well Ben Johnson is a coveted coach

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and everyone's looking at him to be the
next hot thing, guess what that does?

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That builds that desperation that we don't
want to lose it.

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We don't want to lose it.

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You know, Alex, so what are you going to
do?

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See, that's where money talks and you know
what, walks the marathon.

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So the Detroit Lions say, listen, we know
what we've been able to do with you here

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as an officer coordinator.

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We would hate to see you leave, but we
know you have to do it within the best

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interest of your family.

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Oh, by the way, before you make a
decision, why don't we go ahead and look

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at extending and expanding your contract?

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And that'd change a lot for a lot of
coaches.

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Yeah, it could just be a negotiating
tactic.

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I think it's legitimate to ask, are you
just trying to get a raise from the

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Detroit Lions?

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But it's, is this just a testament to the
culture that Dan Quinn has built?

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Is Ben Johnson simply a knee-biter?

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Like is this just with how they, with how
things came up short in the NFC

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championship and we'll, we'll get into
that right now with how things kind of

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shook out in the NFC championship.

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Is the unfinished business more important
than there's no guarantees we're going to

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get back to this spot now?

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Dan Campbell the first person you'd think
of as someone defending nerds and

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Analytics is it just as simple as you know
the numbers were slightly in favor of

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going forward on fourth and two Going
forward on fourth and three when you had a

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two possession lead or when you're
attempting to tie the game

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I'm not trying to ask you Nick, you know,
what the numbers say.

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Is it more than just the numbers thing?

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Is this a Dan Quinn type of football
program and is it acceptable to do it in

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every single game and every single
opportunity with higher stakes in the

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playoffs?

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Well, I mean, for me, taking more gambles
and risk through analytics is great during

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the regular season because you have so
more games that you can actually win or

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you can lose.

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Once you get into that tournament and it's
when to go home, you have to be careful

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about what specific analytics that you
listen to.

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Because sometimes, I mean, they say men
lie, women lie, and numbers don't lie.

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Well, we've seen sometimes numbers can
lie.

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especially if you make that the basis of a
lot of your coaching decisions.

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And we've seen that a lot.

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It should be about your gut feeling as a
coach.

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And the question is, where did that go?

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Why was that pushed aside for analytics?

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And I get it.

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If you might be an MIT grad, you may be
one of those geniuses with numbers.

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But to me, at the end of the day, it's
about football.

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It's about what you're able to do on the
field.

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So.

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that's kind of that's my point though.

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Like this is maybe this is just Dan
Campbell.

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Maybe his form of football is being
aggressive and trusting one of the best

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offenses.

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Again, why is Ben Johnson coveted as a
head coach candidate?

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Because they have one of the best offenses
and they believe that with their guys on

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the field, they can beat your guys.

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That's football.

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That's not focusing on numbers.

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I'm wondering if it's if it's a Dan
Campbell thing as much as it is, you know,

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a point two percent.

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in favor of going forward on this down in
situation and you have to do that.

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Like this could just be who Dan Campbell
is.

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Like this is, you know, this is three
espressos in the morning.

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This is biting off kneecaps football for
him apparently.

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Is that, is that possible?

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if that works for you, hey, fine.

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And be totally honest, for Dan Campbell,
it's worked for him.

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This is how the Lions turned things around
in three years under Dan Campbell to get

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to this point.

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So to criticize him for making this
decision, hey, listen, man, it's what got

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you there.

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And they always say, dance with the one
that you brought.

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So sometimes it works, sometimes it
doesn't.

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But I'll say this, in some of those
situations in the San Francisco 49ers

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game, it wasn't that

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you know, Dan Campbell made a bad
decision.

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It was the play calling and execution that
ended up being the dagger for the Detroit

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Lions.

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So, hey man, do you at the end of the day,
but for some other coaches, they rely on

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that old school gut feeling.

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Well, if the numbers favor the gut, then I
guess you just have two birds in the hand

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and are sitting home and watching the
Super Bowl if you're a Detroit Lion.

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So I guess this brings us to our point of
a meeting of the minds.

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This is Nick before we split.

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And I know you haven't played in a Super
Bowl in your 10 NFL seasons.

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I know my New England Patriots denied you
of that at least a couple of times, but

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it's not about them.

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It's about you, Nick.

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So I'd like to know as we approach another
Super Bowl that you're gonna participate

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in from a media perspective, any your
fondest memories as a fan, as a player,

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and as a member of the media in the Super
Bowl, three Super Bowl memories, boom, hit

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us all quickly with some things you look
back on as a fan, as a player, and as a

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member of the media when it comes to the
big game itself.

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Well, I have to go back to Super Bowl 50
Denver Broncos the last game for the

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sheriff paid Manning and Just looking at
the defense and how they just turned up

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the volume because for me I never
subscribed to the idea that a team wins a

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Super Bowl by themselves and that
quarterback is the one that Moves

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everything forward.

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It was in that game that the defense did
it Von Miller MVP of the Super Bowl

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which solidified the whole cliche that
defense wins championships and they proved

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it in Super Bowl 50.

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Now I'll go back to last year, I guess,
Super Bowl for a little of looking at

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things from, I'll say, a coaching
standpoint and media standpoint.

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You had both Kansas City Chiefs facing off
against Jemyn Hurts and the Eagles.

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The one thing that was really
disappointing was

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the defensive play of the secondary of the
Eagles and how they never really taught

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themselves through certain routes that
Kansas City was presenting to them.

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And had they done that and executed, now
they emerged victorious in that game.

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And I still get frustrated going over that
game or seeing any plays relative to that

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for one.

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Another fun Super Bowl memory, I'm going
to go back to when Terrell Davis could not

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see and Mike Shanahan told him, listen,

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if you don't go back in the game, the
Green Bay Packers are not gonna think that

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you're going to get the ball.

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And Terrell Davis is saying, man, I have
migraines.

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I have migraines.

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I cannot see.

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And the coach said, man, get back out
there.

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And Terrell Davis got back out there and
it was a bootleg play with John Elway and

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John Elway got his first Super Bowl.

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So those three Super Bowl memories from me
that I take away.

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I was thrilled that you brought up Super
Bowl 50 because I thought it would be one

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of your fondest memories because we spent
so much time together there in San

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Francisco.

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But that's going to be for another time
and we have plenty more to get to.

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We'll be giving you another pod next week
ahead of the Super Bowl.

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We want to talk about that game, the
historic legacy that would come for either

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Patrick

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Again because quarterbacks are the only
guys that win football games for their

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teams Nick has made that point clear Ten
years in the NFL League you can follow

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00:19:08,429 --> 00:19:14,575
them on all social at Nick Ferguson
underscore 25 During the games man, you're

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cutting up and turning around Game tape
that would is just so valuable if it that

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that's something that you enjoy From this
game of football.

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So make sure you're following Nick

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He's Nick Ferguson, I'm Alex Hardy, and
until next time, what do you have to say

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to the people, Nick?

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Hey, drive safely and don't take any
wooden nickels.

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Ha ha ha.