Latest / Best of the NFL Podcast Network / The Season with Peter Schrager: Bengals HC Zac Taylor + Brady Retirement Reaction

Transcript

The Season with Peter Schrager: Bengals HC Zac Taylor + Brady Retirement Reaction · Best of the NFL Podcast Network

0:07
Speaker 1: The Season with Peter Schrager as a production of the
0:09
Speaker 1: NFL in partnership with I Heart Radio. Welcome everybody to
0:24
Speaker 1: the Season with Peter Schragers a rare double dip. We're
0:27
Speaker 1: doing two episodes in one week, and we thought we would,
0:31
Speaker 1: uh would spend some time talking about Tom Brady's retirement.
0:34
Speaker 1: And it was easy enough to wait till next week
0:37
Speaker 1: and jump on and be like, hey, we're gonna do no,
0:39
Speaker 1: let's do it right here, right now. Tom Brady, it's Wednesday,
0:42
Speaker 1: just retired from the NFL in a video that he
0:45
Speaker 1: filmed on his own phone. That was such a departure
0:49
Speaker 1: from last year's whatever the hell was going on with
0:52
Speaker 1: you know, first a schefter report, then he retires, but
0:55
Speaker 1: he says he's not retiring, and then he un retires.
0:57
Speaker 1: It was just a mess. This year, Brady retires by
1:03
Speaker 1: just doing a simple, raw, honest video. Here's what he
1:05
Speaker 1: had to say to his millions of followers. Good morning, guys.
1:10
Speaker 1: I'll get to the point right away. I'm retiring for good.
1:17
Speaker 1: I know the process was a pretty big deal last time.
1:20
Speaker 1: So when I woke up this morning, I figured I
1:22
Speaker 1: just press record and let you guys know first, so
1:26
Speaker 1: I won't be long winded like you only get one
1:29
Speaker 1: super emotional retirement essay and I used my up last year.
1:33
Speaker 1: So really, thank you guys so much to every single
1:37
Speaker 1: one of you for supporting me, my family, my friends,
1:43
Speaker 1: my teammates, my competitors. I could go on forever. There's
1:48
Speaker 1: too many. Um thank you guys for allowing me to
1:52
Speaker 1: live my absolute dream. I wouldn't change the thing. I
1:58
Speaker 1: love you all. I'm not going to spend today's podcast
2:01
Speaker 1: going through all the Bradies accomplishments and listing all the
2:04
Speaker 1: amazing winds and moments. I'll just say the announcement of
2:07
Speaker 1: the news itself. Here's what I got. I have sources
2:10
Speaker 1: close to Brady and here the video was filmed days ago,
2:14
Speaker 1: So that wasn't filmed this morning. That was a video
2:16
Speaker 1: that he filmed days ago. He went to the eighty
2:19
Speaker 1: for Brady movie premiere last night in Los Angeles. By
2:22
Speaker 1: the time that he posted the video, the sun was
2:25
Speaker 1: not up, so in l A clearly that that would
2:29
Speaker 1: not be him on the beach Wednesday morning. All that
2:31
Speaker 1: will be forgotten um days from now. No one cares
2:34
Speaker 1: about it. But what that The big takeaway is that
2:36
Speaker 1: he's known for for some time now that he was retiring.
2:39
Speaker 1: Sources with the Buccaneers told me they found out this
2:42
Speaker 1: morning prior to the video being posted. They were giving
2:45
Speaker 1: a heads up that Brady was calling a quit. So
2:47
Speaker 1: think about the sequence of time here and his head.
2:49
Speaker 1: He's watching the games over the weekend, the decisions probably formulating.
2:53
Speaker 1: It is probably formulating for a couple of weeks, makes
2:55
Speaker 1: the decision. Films. The video flies to l A does
2:59
Speaker 1: this movie premiere thing? Is asked a million questions I'm
3:02
Speaker 1: sure um does on the red carpet, doesn't give any
3:06
Speaker 1: doesn't address it. How's the Jim Gray podcast? Somewhere in
3:08
Speaker 1: there where he tells Jim Gray He's not answering any questions,
3:11
Speaker 1: all that stuff. Um. But then a simple Wednesday morning,
3:15
Speaker 1: bye week, boom video out, no statement, no marketing video,
3:20
Speaker 1: no plug to the TV twelve brand, No, no, you
3:23
Speaker 1: know I'm promoting this movie. Nothing, A simple video Brady,
3:29
Speaker 1: a man in his thoughts, succinct message. I dig it,
3:33
Speaker 1: I appreciate it. Um. That was one piece of news.
3:37
Speaker 1: The other piece of news was Sean Phaeton. So on
3:40
Speaker 1: when we recorded this podcast yesterday, I said, screaming from
3:43
Speaker 1: the mountaintops. Please please do not listen to the reports
3:46
Speaker 1: that are saying that Sean Payton is not taking a job. Please.
3:48
Speaker 1: I knew something was going down, guys, obviously, and I
3:50
Speaker 1: was saying the orange tie that he wore on Fox, Um,
3:54
Speaker 1: it might not have been an accident, that's all. I'll say.
3:56
Speaker 1: He were a big bright orange tie on Sunday. Uh.
4:00
Speaker 1: Talks with the Bronchos were well underway on Sunday, and
4:03
Speaker 1: that was going on while we were filming our show. However,
4:06
Speaker 1: they need to figure out the trade compensation with the
4:08
Speaker 1: Saints that wasn't done yet, and they also need to
4:10
Speaker 1: figure out Sean's compensation as far as salary goes. The
4:14
Speaker 1: interesting thing to piece to this is Payton is gonna
4:18
Speaker 1: get a huge salary from the Broncos. And you might say, well,
4:22
Speaker 1: salary cap doesn't matter with coaches. We don't really know
4:25
Speaker 1: how much that money is gonna be. It doesn't have
4:26
Speaker 1: to be made public. There's no salary cap, there's no
4:28
Speaker 1: announcement of how much you better believe. In coaching circles,
4:32
Speaker 1: people start hearing what he's getting, and if he's getting
4:36
Speaker 1: a certain number, there's no stopping a Kyle Shanahan, A
4:41
Speaker 1: Sean McVeigh, a Zach Taylor. Any of these guys to
4:45
Speaker 1: go to their owners and say, well, why is Sean
4:47
Speaker 1: Payton making X amount more than me? That, to me
4:50
Speaker 1: is the storyline here. Does the NFL want the coaching
4:53
Speaker 1: salaries to go out of whack? Are the owners thrilled
4:56
Speaker 1: that a new owner came in and is paying Sewan
4:57
Speaker 1: Payton a certain number? I'm trying to give you the
5:00
Speaker 1: next level analysis here. Sean Payton comes back at the
5:03
Speaker 1: age of sixty one, says, I'm gonna coach the new
5:05
Speaker 1: the Denver Bronco. I need this number, and the Broncos
5:09
Speaker 1: owners match that number. Now, if all of these Super
5:13
Speaker 1: Bowl contending coaches are below him, did they go to
5:16
Speaker 1: their owners and say, we'll wait a second. If he
5:18
Speaker 1: got that, what's stopping me from stepping away from a
5:21
Speaker 1: year doing this. It's an interesting set of dominoes and
5:24
Speaker 1: it's the pretty side of all of this. And the
5:26
Speaker 1: owners in the league, I'm sure are not thrilled to
5:29
Speaker 1: to have Shawn pay and make a certain number and
5:30
Speaker 1: all the other owners say, hey, now I've got to
5:33
Speaker 1: pay my guy that last year to Shawn Watson got
5:35
Speaker 1: a certain number as a quarterback. All the other quarterbacks
5:38
Speaker 1: are like, I need that number. Guess what that might
5:42
Speaker 1: be coming after Sean pay and gets what he got. Um,
5:45
Speaker 1: that's the unsavory side of sports. It's the business side
5:48
Speaker 1: of it. There's also a football side of it. And
5:52
Speaker 1: scheduled long before Brady's retirement was this guest today. And
5:57
Speaker 1: if you're a Bengals fan, you're gonna love it. If
6:00
Speaker 1: you're a non Bengals fan, you're gonna wish this guy
6:02
Speaker 1: was your coach. I'll tell you what. Zach Taylor is
6:04
Speaker 1: the real deal. I've known Zach going back to his
6:07
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphin days when he was coaching on Dan Campbell's
6:12
Speaker 1: interim uh Dolphins team that Joe Filbin era back then.
6:17
Speaker 1: Zach Taylor bounced around from there to the University of
6:21
Speaker 1: Cincinnati at one point, to the l A Rams at
6:24
Speaker 1: some point, Um too, then of course, elevating to be
6:27
Speaker 1: in the head coach of Cincinnati Bengals. Two rough years
6:29
Speaker 1: to start his career, two amazing years the past two years,
6:33
Speaker 1: and he has been the same guy since day one
6:36
Speaker 1: that I've met him. Zach Taylor is a great NFL coach.
6:40
Speaker 1: He is a great podcast guest. He agreed to do
6:43
Speaker 1: the season with Peter Schreeger. He has not done any
6:45
Speaker 1: other media. Fresh off a heartbreaking a f C Championship
6:49
Speaker 1: Game loss, guys, sit back and enjoy Zach Taylor, the
6:53
Speaker 1: head coach the Cincinnati Bengals. Back to back trips to
7:01
Speaker 1: the a f C Championship Game, a Super Bowl appearance
7:04
Speaker 1: last year, and a fantastic season from the Cincinnati Bengals,
7:08
Speaker 1: were welcoming in their head coach and one of the
7:11
Speaker 1: best best minds in football right now, going, Mr Zach Taylor. Zach,
7:15
Speaker 1: welcome to the podcast. I appreciated Peter. Thanks from here on.
7:18
Speaker 1: I love having you on. Alright, so, just as we're recording,
7:20
Speaker 1: this is Tuesday. I'm sorry Wednesday morning, UM, Tom Brady
7:24
Speaker 1: put out a statement a video that he's retiring. I'm
7:28
Speaker 1: not sure if if you've been able to check all
7:30
Speaker 1: the tweets or whatever, but as we sit down and
7:32
Speaker 1: do this, you guys playing against the Buccaneers this year,
7:36
Speaker 1: obviously good comeback win for you, and of course you
7:39
Speaker 1: were the Big Twelve Offensive Player of the Year Player
7:42
Speaker 1: of the Year, Um, after Brady had already won three
7:45
Speaker 1: Super Bowls, so you put this whole thing together. Your
7:49
Speaker 1: reactions to Tom Brady finally calling it quits and this
7:52
Speaker 1: time for real. Yeah, it was an awesome career. Um.
7:55
Speaker 1: I grew up watching Tom Brady and Peyton Manning and
7:59
Speaker 1: so to coach against those guys interact with him is unbelievable.
8:03
Speaker 1: So again, hats off to him for a phenomenal career.
8:06
Speaker 1: It's it's that'll be tough to ever match. Did you
8:08
Speaker 1: exchange any words after that game? I guess it was
8:10
Speaker 1: December eighteenth, Bengals Buccaneers. Brady comes to midfield. You guys
8:14
Speaker 1: come back and win that game. Is there any exchange
8:16
Speaker 1: of like, here's my words of wisdom from Tom Brady
8:19
Speaker 1: or it doesn't go down like that? Oh? No, I
8:21
Speaker 1: don't know that I've ever interacted with Tom, you know,
8:23
Speaker 1: and I've always had a ton of respect for him,
8:25
Speaker 1: but but I've never interacted with him. Yeah. Um, we're
8:28
Speaker 1: seventy two hours now outside of the a f C
8:31
Speaker 1: Championship game, which I said earlier in the week was
8:34
Speaker 1: an all time classic that everyone will remember where they were.
8:37
Speaker 1: You guys, the season's done now, it's so fresh, it's
8:40
Speaker 1: so raw, and now that you've had seventy two hours
8:42
Speaker 1: to remove yourself not only from the game, but from
8:44
Speaker 1: the season. Uh, for Bengals fans, for NFL fans, you know,
8:48
Speaker 1: just your perspective on the season that was and really
8:51
Speaker 1: how far this team came. Yeah, I'm really proud of
8:53
Speaker 1: our guys, you know, and we didn't know what at
8:56
Speaker 1: the time, but on Hawween we lost the Browns on
8:58
Speaker 1: Monday Night football to go for and for and we're
9:00
Speaker 1: really playing playoff football ever since then. You know, we
9:03
Speaker 1: just didn't know it. And so to look up and
9:05
Speaker 1: be four and four and then turn around in your
9:07
Speaker 1: fourteen and four and you're on the run that we
9:09
Speaker 1: were on. It was a credit to our guys. We're
9:11
Speaker 1: just putting their head down and and focus on each
9:13
Speaker 1: week and finding ways to win. And the next thing
9:16
Speaker 1: you know, you're in Kansas City for the HC Championship
9:18
Speaker 1: and a couple of points away from going back to
9:20
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl. And just really proud of the effort
9:22
Speaker 1: of our guys and and the discipline to get to
9:23
Speaker 1: that point. Loss like that that's so heartbreaking and obviously
9:27
Speaker 1: it's so fresh. When do you put on the tape?
9:29
Speaker 1: Is that something a coach puts on Sunday night in
9:32
Speaker 1: the flight home. Do you in the tape and never
9:34
Speaker 1: watch it? I'm always fascinated. We know that. You know,
9:36
Speaker 1: when you win one, you don't want to linker too
9:38
Speaker 1: much on on the tape and you just want to
9:39
Speaker 1: take it to the next But when the season ends,
9:41
Speaker 1: like it just ended, Like when do you go to
9:43
Speaker 1: that tape and watch the All twenty two and break
9:45
Speaker 1: it down? Yeah? You watch it on the plane afterwards
9:48
Speaker 1: on the iPad and really, um, you know, and then
9:50
Speaker 1: the next morning you go through the game. You want
9:52
Speaker 1: to be aware of of what happened and be able
9:54
Speaker 1: to talk through it with conversations with the players and
9:56
Speaker 1: other people as you need to. And um, yeah, it's
9:58
Speaker 1: painful to watch. But um, you know again we we
10:02
Speaker 1: we played hard. Proud of the way that the guys played. Um,
10:05
Speaker 1: you know, wasn't wasn't like we were prepared. It wasn't
10:08
Speaker 1: like our guys and poor performances. It was just a
10:10
Speaker 1: great game against two two heavyweight fighters, and and unfortunately
10:13
Speaker 1: we came up a little short. You know. I said
10:15
Speaker 1: it on Twitter on Sunday night and it got about
10:17
Speaker 1: a billion retweets And I'm not usually that guy searching
10:20
Speaker 1: for the retweets. But I just said, how you handled
10:22
Speaker 1: the press conference after the game was was pretty classy.
10:24
Speaker 1: It took the high road. You didn't go through play
10:27
Speaker 1: by play when you know a lot of people online,
10:29
Speaker 1: a lot of Bengals fans were upset about certain things.
10:31
Speaker 1: What's your message to the team after the game. You
10:34
Speaker 1: guys get in the locker room and there were some
10:36
Speaker 1: calls obviously whatever it is, but you know that this
10:40
Speaker 1: is more than one game and one play here and there.
10:42
Speaker 1: This was an entire season that they should be proud of. Yeah,
10:45
Speaker 1: we gotta find a way to be proud of what
10:46
Speaker 1: we did. Um, this team should be tied together forever
10:49
Speaker 1: as a special team. And I want guys to be
10:51
Speaker 1: able to reflect on that and enjoy that. UM talk,
10:53
Speaker 1: moments like that is really where your characters tested. You know,
10:55
Speaker 1: what are you gonna be about when the when the
10:57
Speaker 1: emotions are raw and and uh, you know, And so
11:00
Speaker 1: I thought it was just important that we conduct ourselves
11:02
Speaker 1: the right way. And it was really proud of the
11:03
Speaker 1: way the guys handled that. Would you would you say
11:05
Speaker 1: to us I after a game? Obviously in the moment,
11:08
Speaker 1: everyone has their reactions, but then at the end of
11:09
Speaker 1: the day, you realize this is a kid who played
11:11
Speaker 1: his best game as a pro twenty two years old,
11:13
Speaker 1: is going to be a player for this team for
11:14
Speaker 1: a while. He didn't want to push, you know, Mahomes
11:17
Speaker 1: after the whistle. We know that. So what's the message
11:20
Speaker 1: from the head coach to the young man. Well, I
11:22
Speaker 1: think what's great about Joseph is is his passion for
11:24
Speaker 1: the game and his effort on every single play. And
11:27
Speaker 1: more times than not, that's gonna pay off in a
11:29
Speaker 1: really positive way for you because he's he's an effort player.
11:32
Speaker 1: He never gives up. He gives everything he's got on
11:34
Speaker 1: every snap and uh and and so again, he'll he'll
11:37
Speaker 1: learn from that. He'll be on that stage again someday
11:39
Speaker 1: they can make a great plays for us to help us,
11:41
Speaker 1: you know, and get to that next level. And I
11:43
Speaker 1: think he'll have a great appreciation for for what happened
11:45
Speaker 1: on Sunday when he gets to that point. What kind
11:47
Speaker 1: of kid is see, I don't think anyone in America
11:48
Speaker 1: knows second round pick young guy. But like we don't know,
11:51
Speaker 1: I don't. I wouldn't be able to identify his face
11:53
Speaker 1: if he walks by and now he's this name like
11:55
Speaker 1: it's already passed. But in the moment that was like,
11:57
Speaker 1: you know, a side, So what's he like? Give us
11:59
Speaker 1: a little light on the young man. Guy, very passionate
12:02
Speaker 1: about football. He's all in. Um, just wants to be great,
12:06
Speaker 1: eight wants to help the team. And uh really really
12:09
Speaker 1: did a great job growing in his role this year.
12:12
Speaker 1: He's fought through some injuries. Really was on I R
12:14
Speaker 1: last year as rookie because he got hurt in the
12:16
Speaker 1: Tampa Bay preseason game. Um, he's bought through injuries of
12:20
Speaker 1: the course of his career, and he was really starting
12:22
Speaker 1: to hit his stride at the latter point in this
12:24
Speaker 1: season and playing good football on Sunday, you know, he
12:26
Speaker 1: made some great plays for us and and so again
12:29
Speaker 1: he's got a really bright future for us. You know,
12:31
Speaker 1: I I watched the game back. It was on Monday night.
12:33
Speaker 1: I watched it back, and it's fourth and six and
12:36
Speaker 1: here's Burrow goes back and hits Chase and then there's
12:39
Speaker 1: the other pass this to Higgins to so many great
12:42
Speaker 1: young talents on this team. And as everyone wants to
12:44
Speaker 1: rush forward and say, well, the window might be closing
12:47
Speaker 1: on forget the window might be closing. Just talk about
12:49
Speaker 1: the youth and the core of this team, and you know,
12:52
Speaker 1: and why there's a reason for great optimism not only
12:54
Speaker 1: for next year, but for the future. Cincinnati Bengals football. Yeah,
12:57
Speaker 1: such a great balance of players on our team where
12:59
Speaker 1: we've got those veteran leaders that are really talented um
13:02
Speaker 1: and they roll in the past that wisdom down to
13:04
Speaker 1: some really special young players and and those young players
13:08
Speaker 1: are willing to take that information and become even better players.
13:11
Speaker 1: And so it's just a really good collaborative effort in
13:13
Speaker 1: our locker room. Right balance of personalities, right balance of talent,
13:16
Speaker 1: right balance of age. Duke Tobyn's done a great job
13:19
Speaker 1: in the draft acquiring these these guys with talent, and
13:22
Speaker 1: then we've hit on these guys and uh, the coaches
13:24
Speaker 1: have done a really good job developing that talent as well.
13:26
Speaker 1: And so it's it's a it's a really special team.
13:28
Speaker 1: I'm happy to be a part of it. And talk
13:30
Speaker 1: about the owner because you know, Mike Brown has been
13:33
Speaker 1: there forever and for years it was like the Bengals
13:35
Speaker 1: aren't investing in this team, and there was all those criticism.
13:37
Speaker 1: Now I look at this team, it's one of the
13:39
Speaker 1: best rosters in football, new facility coming. I feel like
13:41
Speaker 1: the narrative is should be changed. Absolutely. You know, my
13:45
Speaker 1: my experience in four years here has been on the
13:48
Speaker 1: were on the same page every step of the way
13:49
Speaker 1: with with Mike Brown and the rest of family. Um,
13:52
Speaker 1: I've got so much appreciation for him and what he's
13:54
Speaker 1: meant to be and how he's allowed me to grow,
13:57
Speaker 1: the wisdom he's given me. He's been around this league forever,
14:01
Speaker 1: he's seen it evolve. Um, He's got so much wisdom
14:04
Speaker 1: to share to me, and he's just been so encouraging
14:06
Speaker 1: and patient throughout the whole process. Um that I'm incredibly
14:10
Speaker 1: grateful for for Mike and the rest of the family.
14:12
Speaker 1: It's been a fun ride for Bengals fans these last
14:14
Speaker 1: two years, and it's only gonna continue. And it all
14:16
Speaker 1: starts under center at the switch when you guys were
14:19
Speaker 1: scouting Joe Burrow and when you guys were considering him
14:22
Speaker 1: number number one overall, did you in a million years
14:25
Speaker 1: envisioned this Now he would say, yeah, this is all
14:28
Speaker 1: what's been written and this is what I do like.
14:30
Speaker 1: But did you think it could be like this good?
14:31
Speaker 1: This fast? Yeah, He's a special person. I don't know
14:34
Speaker 1: that we ever had a timetable on on when we
14:37
Speaker 1: make it to the super Bowl. They're always hopeful that's
14:39
Speaker 1: gonna happen sooner rather than later. Um, But just being
14:43
Speaker 1: around him and watching him play on his college tape,
14:45
Speaker 1: he's he was a special player and he elevated everyone
14:48
Speaker 1: around him. He had great talent, no question, but um,
14:51
Speaker 1: he's certainly maximized those players around him and maximize his abilities.
14:54
Speaker 1: And that's what he's done for us as well. And uh,
14:57
Speaker 1: we're very fortunate to have him and and uh, you
15:00
Speaker 1: know it's it's we gotta keep aiding in his development.
15:02
Speaker 1: But man, he's he's an elite player right now? Does
15:04
Speaker 1: he bust chops? Does he funny? Like? I feel like
15:07
Speaker 1: he's got this steely glaze, he's got this amazing swag
15:09
Speaker 1: all the stuff that we see. And then he gets
15:11
Speaker 1: on the field and he never wavers. He's the same
15:14
Speaker 1: guy and does not get high, does not get low.
15:16
Speaker 1: But like behind closed doors, does he bust chops? Is
15:18
Speaker 1: he funny? Is he a wise ass? Like? What's he like? Oh? Yeah, no,
15:21
Speaker 1: he's great. You know, the quarterback room is a special place. Um,
15:25
Speaker 1: And and he the personalities in that room are great
15:27
Speaker 1: with him and Brandon Allen and Jake Browning and Dan Pitcher. Yeah,
15:31
Speaker 1: they got their own thing going on in there. Uh yeah,
15:33
Speaker 1: he certainly gives it as good as he takes it.
15:35
Speaker 1: And and uh yeah, he's a fun person to be around. Yeah. Um,
15:39
Speaker 1: we'll rap shortly because I just think this is it's
15:41
Speaker 1: awesome to get access to you, and it's it's unfortunate
15:44
Speaker 1: with how the season ended, and yet there's so much
15:46
Speaker 1: to be proud of. We go back to the Monday
15:48
Speaker 1: night game and I thought you showed your true character,
15:52
Speaker 1: but also we saw a lot of I guess, grace
15:55
Speaker 1: and the good of the league. Um in the way
15:58
Speaker 1: that entire situation was handled amongst two coaches. Talk about
16:01
Speaker 1: the bond that maybe you and Sean McDermott will have
16:04
Speaker 1: the rest of your way throughout your careers going through
16:06
Speaker 1: that traumatic event. Yeah, I always had a ton of
16:09
Speaker 1: respect for Sean and the way he operates and the
16:12
Speaker 1: way that he's built that team, and and a lot
16:15
Speaker 1: of respect for Sean and and in even more so
16:18
Speaker 1: in a lot of ways for seeing how the decisions
16:20
Speaker 1: he really made at the moment were. Um, you know
16:23
Speaker 1: the life of Damar is more important than what this
16:25
Speaker 1: game is. I need to be there for him. It's
16:27
Speaker 1: my obligation as a coach to support my players and
16:30
Speaker 1: be in the hospital. And um, that made every decision
16:33
Speaker 1: after that very simple and easy. UM And and so
16:36
Speaker 1: again I've got a deep appreciation for how he handled
16:38
Speaker 1: that stuff and um he had a great pulse for
16:41
Speaker 1: his team and and we're just all really fortunate to
16:43
Speaker 1: see the way that that Damar has come out of
16:46
Speaker 1: that given what we saw on Monday night to now, UM,
16:49
Speaker 1: I think was was not a prediction anybody would have
16:51
Speaker 1: been made that he would have been doing um as
16:53
Speaker 1: well as he is right now. And that's just awesome
16:54
Speaker 1: to see. I know he still got a long ways
16:56
Speaker 1: to go, but um Man, to see where it was
16:58
Speaker 1: on Monday night, it's it's special to see. Yeah. And
17:00
Speaker 1: and your team responded by Okay, there's a coin toss
17:03
Speaker 1: not gonna be relevant, there's a neutral game not gonna
17:06
Speaker 1: be relevant. From the coaching side of it, how much
17:08
Speaker 1: did you kind of use that stuff as motivation for
17:11
Speaker 1: the team or do you stay away and just let
17:13
Speaker 1: the headlines tell the story and let the players go
17:15
Speaker 1: from there. No, we we use as much as we
17:18
Speaker 1: can get. You know, I think it's good and this
17:19
Speaker 1: professional will take any edge you can get. And you know,
17:22
Speaker 1: you could argue, yeah, the players don't need that if
17:24
Speaker 1: they're both the right stuff, but but they'll take it,
17:26
Speaker 1: you know, and it's it's good anybody you can push
17:28
Speaker 1: to trying to motivate guys to get that little extra
17:31
Speaker 1: out of them. Um. I think our team has done
17:33
Speaker 1: a great job responding to that kind of stuff. Um.
17:35
Speaker 1: And then obviously get in the playoffs and win against
17:37
Speaker 1: Buffalo is historic and it's one way everyone assumes this
17:40
Speaker 1: offensive line is gonna be in tatters and they can't
17:43
Speaker 1: protect Burrow and they put on a perfect game. You
17:46
Speaker 1: look back on this season, you look back at that moment,
17:48
Speaker 1: what's the moment you're proudest of the two Bengals? True?
17:52
Speaker 1: I just think, um, you know that those games down
17:56
Speaker 1: the stretch for us, you know, it's it's uh, having
17:59
Speaker 1: to win both those Baltimore games, having to win at
18:01
Speaker 1: Buffalo on the road and one of the toughest environments
18:04
Speaker 1: and all football, and then you throw the snow on
18:05
Speaker 1: top of it, and um, just that that stretch I
18:09
Speaker 1: think was UM, a great testament of the character of
18:13
Speaker 1: our players. And it's a long season. At that point.
18:15
Speaker 1: We played seventeen games, and we need you to be
18:18
Speaker 1: at your best, and and we were able to beat
18:20
Speaker 1: some really good football teams down the stretch, and I
18:23
Speaker 1: think I spoke to the character of our team. This
18:26
Speaker 1: this story of the Bengals is one thing. The story
18:28
Speaker 1: of your rise as a coach is another. Um. You've
18:31
Speaker 1: told me this story before you and it was on
18:33
Speaker 1: the podcast A day was Sean McVeigh, I gotta retail
18:35
Speaker 1: for this one though. Eastern Washington a workout in twenties sixteen.
18:42
Speaker 1: I guess it was you were in the what was
18:44
Speaker 1: your what was your role with the Rams? You were
18:46
Speaker 1: the wide receivers coach at the time? Are you are
18:47
Speaker 1: the quarterbacks assistant wide receivers coach at the Los Angeles Rams?
18:52
Speaker 1: And you get an assignment You're gonna fly with Sean
18:54
Speaker 1: mcveighat Eastern Washington. Take it away from there, Zach. What's
18:57
Speaker 1: the rest? Yeah, So it was me Sean. Let's need
19:01
Speaker 1: Shane waldron Um and Matt before think about that. That's
19:05
Speaker 1: who's who. Like NFL offensive coordinators, head coaches and decision makers.
19:09
Speaker 1: I love it already and Eric Yarber, and it was
19:12
Speaker 1: probably about two weeks before the draft. We got on
19:15
Speaker 1: a plane and flew around the country. We worked out
19:16
Speaker 1: Evan Ingram, We worked out as A Jones, Taywan Taylor,
19:21
Speaker 1: Western Kentucky, Adam Shaheen, Gerald Everett, and then we finished
19:25
Speaker 1: with Cooper Cup. And so I was the arm I
19:28
Speaker 1: had to throw as least this receiver. Coachs all these
19:30
Speaker 1: guys over over three days and that the last one
19:36
Speaker 1: was Cooper Cup in Eastern Washington. And I mean halfway
19:39
Speaker 1: through the workout my arm was gonna follow which lay
19:42
Speaker 1: there was a quarterback there, you know at Easter Washington
19:44
Speaker 1: kid that was able to supplement some of my throws.
19:47
Speaker 1: But um, you know, Cooper was a special player. We
19:50
Speaker 1: connected on all of them except for one. We had
19:51
Speaker 1: a we had a back end line red zone round.
19:54
Speaker 1: Remember that over threw it almost his dad in the background,
19:57
Speaker 1: you know, But uh no, Cooper, Cooper was special players
20:00
Speaker 1: on the red trip. It was cold. It was in April,
20:02
Speaker 1: but it's kind of cold and wet and just kind
20:04
Speaker 1: of a miserable day. And but we fought through it.
20:07
Speaker 1: And uh you know, Cooper had made enough impact on
20:10
Speaker 1: the organization where they drafted in the second round. Think
20:13
Speaker 1: about that, that group that you were with on that
20:16
Speaker 1: on that journey. Of course you get Cooper cup I
20:18
Speaker 1: think it was third round actually, and probably didn't even
20:24
Speaker 1: have a first round pick if it's the Rams, if
20:25
Speaker 1: I'm not mistaken, that's usually how it goes um. But
20:29
Speaker 1: think about that group now and now everyone has spread out,
20:32
Speaker 1: and it's pretty cool. You've got a cool staff of
20:34
Speaker 1: your own. We know that coach Lou and Rumo and
20:37
Speaker 1: Brian Callahan are currently in the head coaching interview process
20:40
Speaker 1: for a couple of gigs. Lou with Arizona, then Brian
20:44
Speaker 1: still alive in Indianapolis and then Arizona. Now that you're
20:46
Speaker 1: the head guy and you're watching your coordinators get this opportunity,
20:49
Speaker 1: what do you tell them as they step up to
20:51
Speaker 1: the mic and try to interview in front of these owners, Well,
20:54
Speaker 1: that they're ready for it. You know, they they've um
20:56
Speaker 1: seen how we've we've done this thing every step of
20:58
Speaker 1: the way. And I think that's what special is having
21:00
Speaker 1: those guys here for four years, from starting at the
21:03
Speaker 1: beginning to all the way at this point, and so
21:05
Speaker 1: that they've seen it. They've seen a foundation be built
21:09
Speaker 1: the way that we wanted to build it and how
21:10
Speaker 1: the cultures transformed this team, and um, so you know
21:13
Speaker 1: they can just be from the heart and go interview
21:15
Speaker 1: these and and there's special guys, and I think the
21:17
Speaker 1: owners that interview them will see that and they're gonna
21:20
Speaker 1: have great opportunities to get these jobs. Selfishly, i'd like
21:23
Speaker 1: to run a back with Goot, but I also understand
21:25
Speaker 1: there's gonna become a point where they're gonna they're gonna
21:27
Speaker 1: get these opportunities, and that's awesome for them and their families,
21:30
Speaker 1: and we're very supportive of that. Would you make of
21:32
Speaker 1: this Bengals fan base the last few months just rallying
21:35
Speaker 1: around this team and they almost you, guys, wants this
21:37
Speaker 1: plucky underdogs to like these this incredible fan base just
21:41
Speaker 1: like who wants to face us let's go. Yeah. I
21:44
Speaker 1: think we're just intertwined as a team and as a
21:46
Speaker 1: as a city, um as an overall fan base. Um,
21:50
Speaker 1: they feel a part of what we're doing. We feel
21:52
Speaker 1: we feel that from them. It's it's not the biggest
21:55
Speaker 1: city and in America, and so there's a direct connection
21:57
Speaker 1: there where we interacted these fans all the time, and
22:00
Speaker 1: we're in the schools, where in the restaurants, were in
22:02
Speaker 1: the community. UM, I think they feel a strong connection
22:05
Speaker 1: to some great players that have great personalities. Our team.
22:08
Speaker 1: I think that's that's a really fun thing to have
22:10
Speaker 1: these personalities that these kids can um, you know and
22:13
Speaker 1: connect with. I mean exactly. I see the videos of
22:16
Speaker 1: you going into these bars after wins. I think there's
22:18
Speaker 1: something to that. It's pretty cool, it's pretty neat to
22:20
Speaker 1: be a part of, and it's kind of a tradition
22:23
Speaker 1: we we fell into. Um, there's gonna be a part
22:25
Speaker 1: of us forever. And just just happy to be able
22:28
Speaker 1: to connect with the fans that way. And um, I
22:30
Speaker 1: think it's worked out well for us. Uh. Two more
22:33
Speaker 1: questions And I like asking this to all the coaches.
22:35
Speaker 1: If you could sum up Cincinnati Bengal season with one
22:40
Speaker 1: offensive play, if there was a play that you're proudest off,
22:43
Speaker 1: there's a play that you're like, you know what, dig
22:46
Speaker 1: this one up? This is this tells a lot about
22:47
Speaker 1: our squad. We had Dan Quinn on last week and
22:49
Speaker 1: I said, give me a play, and he picked a
22:51
Speaker 1: random play of Parsons chasing down a tight end, you
22:54
Speaker 1: know from ten yards that didn't It wasn't as significant
22:57
Speaker 1: as maybe a game that put into the playoffs, but
22:59
Speaker 1: it was like that was our team this year. I
23:01
Speaker 1: hate putting me on the spot, but what's a cool
23:03
Speaker 1: play that you're proud of the air Like you up
23:04
Speaker 1: that tape, let's run it back and you could guest,
23:06
Speaker 1: you know, I think the first Kansas City game, um,
23:09
Speaker 1: we were We were able to show clips of every
23:11
Speaker 1: person on our roster making impact plays on that game,
23:15
Speaker 1: every single one of them, all forty eight guys that
23:17
Speaker 1: were active. And there were so many clips of our
23:19
Speaker 1: offensive line in that game, uh, just doing a great
23:23
Speaker 1: job helping each other, you know, against a great pass rush,
23:25
Speaker 1: against great front, great linebackers. And so I don't have
23:29
Speaker 1: the one specific on the spot right here. That's I
23:31
Speaker 1: do like the question I gotta put more thought. I
23:33
Speaker 1: was gonna say, give me some j P rod and
23:35
Speaker 1: it just rumbling and get it to me. Yeah, I
23:37
Speaker 1: mean I just finished it after contact down the field
23:39
Speaker 1: for some j In that game, there were just so
23:41
Speaker 1: many point Higgins catching a huge third down to put
23:44
Speaker 1: the game on ice at the very end, um Jamaar
23:46
Speaker 1: with so many guys fighting on second down, UM to
23:50
Speaker 1: convert first downs or a third down to where we
23:53
Speaker 1: didn't we were in a third one or fourth and one.
23:55
Speaker 1: That was really that first Kansas City game. We showed
23:57
Speaker 1: so many clips of some j and and Jama Chase
24:00
Speaker 1: getting that extra inch to put us over the line,
24:02
Speaker 1: and a lot of those drives continue and it's a
24:04
Speaker 1: lot of those plays stand out. So has huge shutdowns
24:07
Speaker 1: on third down in that game. I gotta spurst downs
24:09
Speaker 1: and extended drive some touchdowns. You know, I'm I'm a
24:12
Speaker 1: writer by trade. I love the story, so like the narrative.
24:15
Speaker 1: To me, there is like fighting for every extra inch.
24:17
Speaker 1: And that's kind of the symbol of this team this year,
24:20
Speaker 1: going through the Damar Hamlin thing from the other side
24:22
Speaker 1: of it, um, having to endure the same type of
24:26
Speaker 1: uneasiness of where is this going and then having then
24:28
Speaker 1: go play football. I think that's symbolic of what your
24:31
Speaker 1: team was. Uh last but not least, what now for
24:33
Speaker 1: the for the Taylor family. Do you get a chance
24:35
Speaker 1: to maybe put down the clicker of the All twenty two?
24:38
Speaker 1: Can you take some time to unwind? Do we play
24:40
Speaker 1: video games? Are we watching cartoons? What are we doing? Yeah?
24:44
Speaker 1: My my son's downloaded uh double as seven, the old
24:47
Speaker 1: Nintendo six Golden Golden Old, and we put in a
24:53
Speaker 1: good three to four hours last night grenade launchers. They
24:57
Speaker 1: were having a blast. It kind of took me back
24:59
Speaker 1: to my my high school days. Yeah, I don't think
25:01
Speaker 1: they enjoy it with all the technology they got now,
25:03
Speaker 1: but they love it. They've got their friends over today
25:05
Speaker 1: and um, so you know that that's that's been pretty
25:08
Speaker 1: cool to spend some time with them and be able
25:10
Speaker 1: to do some old school type of stuff. And when
25:12
Speaker 1: does it start where you're like looking at draft prospects
25:14
Speaker 1: and Senior Bowl craft, Like I cringe at the thought
25:16
Speaker 1: of you having to bring up that tape. Does that
25:18
Speaker 1: happen now? Like is it this week? No? Not this week?
25:21
Speaker 1: You know, I'll take two weeks off and and still
25:24
Speaker 1: be around town and and for meetings and things that
25:26
Speaker 1: will hop around here. But jump, I can that process
25:28
Speaker 1: before the combine starts to be prepped on those guys
25:31
Speaker 1: and do does a great job. They're already moving full
25:33
Speaker 1: speed ahead there at the Senior Bowl, and US as
25:35
Speaker 1: coaches will catch up sooner rather later. When I said
25:38
Speaker 1: it on on Good Morning Football last week, going into
25:40
Speaker 1: the game and we announced the finalists for Coach of
25:42
Speaker 1: the Year, and I know you're not one for look
25:44
Speaker 1: at me, and that's certainly not in your but I
25:47
Speaker 1: don't know. Man, start off the season oh in two,
25:49
Speaker 1: losing on Halloween, four and four, go through the Damar
25:52
Speaker 1: Hamlin thing right, alof tense, straight wins, win in Buffalo.
25:54
Speaker 1: I'd sell you had a pretty good year yourself. Neck well,
25:58
Speaker 1: we we we want to win championships. That's what drives
26:00
Speaker 1: us and UM to get those numbers on the wall.
26:03
Speaker 1: You know of Division champs. We wanted waves champs. Didn't
26:07
Speaker 1: work out for us, but those are the things that
26:09
Speaker 1: really motivate us. Hey, I appreciate you taking the fifteen
26:12
Speaker 1: minutes here and talk with me and wrap it up
26:14
Speaker 1: the season. Best of luck to you. I will see
26:16
Speaker 1: you Combine. I imagine the next time i'll see you,
26:19
Speaker 1: I'll be there for four days. Yes, so alive, so alive,
26:22
Speaker 1: my friend. We'll see each other at to Shake Shack
26:25
Speaker 1: or whatever they call it was that shaking shaking steak.
26:27
Speaker 1: You want shape, no way. If you want to go
26:29
Speaker 1: to different restaurant, I'll meet you there, but I'm gonna
26:31
Speaker 1: stay away from Zach Taylor, congratulations on a great season
26:36
Speaker 1: and thanks so much for joining the pod. Awesome thanks, Peter.
26:43
Speaker 1: Tremendous person, tremendous coach and a great, great ambassador of
26:48
Speaker 1: the game. Sack Taylor. Uh, just an awesome convo. I
26:51
Speaker 1: love the image of him playing Golden Eye for four
26:53
Speaker 1: hours with his family. I got Aaron Kaufman, um, my
26:57
Speaker 1: producer right here. Aaron, when you hear you're thinking Tahiti,
27:01
Speaker 1: you're thinking Hawaii. No, he's sitting in a basement playing
27:04
Speaker 1: slappers only with his kids. You gotta come away from
27:07
Speaker 1: that conversation. Love and Zach Taylor. Yeah, I would love
27:09
Speaker 1: to get a couple of rounds of Golden Night in
27:11
Speaker 1: with him, you know, play complex and Uh. I think
27:14
Speaker 1: he was saying they were doing Grenade launch, but yeah, tremendous. Um.
27:19
Speaker 1: That's the goal of this podcast, guys. One week we're
27:22
Speaker 1: gonna have you know, Dan Quinn as he's about to
27:25
Speaker 1: go interview for head coaching jobs. The next week we're
27:27
Speaker 1: gonna have Eric stone Street, a diehard fan, talk about
27:30
Speaker 1: the audition process in Hollywood and how heartbreaking that can be.
27:33
Speaker 1: And then the very next day we're gonna bring in
27:35
Speaker 1: Zach Taylor, who was in the Super Bowl last year
27:37
Speaker 1: in the a f C Championship Games seventy two hours ago.
27:40
Speaker 1: We love doing this podcast. It's a joy and I
27:42
Speaker 1: want to thank you Aaron as always uh so good,
27:45
Speaker 1: so nimble to to make these happen. I want to
27:47
Speaker 1: thank the great Jason English at I Heeart Radio, Matt Schneider,
27:52
Speaker 1: Jason Kleinman who has been awesome with the clips. Um.
27:55
Speaker 1: I'm getting nostalgia because the season's coming to an end.
27:57
Speaker 1: We got one more left before we wrap this season
28:01
Speaker 1: and we want to go out with a bank. So
28:02
Speaker 1: we have not booked our Super Bowl week guests yet,
28:04
Speaker 1: but I want to bring in a big one. Hopefully
28:06
Speaker 1: I can uh fulfill expectations. And until then, guys, enjoy
28:11
Speaker 1: the weekend, enjoy the Pro Bowl games. Person good by Verizon,
28:16
Speaker 1: and uh no doubt. I'll be back next week and
28:18
Speaker 1: we'll be talking more ball, Chiefs, the Eagles. It's here, guys.
28:21
Speaker 1: Enjoy the season with Peter Schrager is a production of
28:39
Speaker 1: the NFL and partnership with I Heart Radio. For more
28:42
Speaker 1: podcasts from my Heart Radio, is it the I Heart
28:44
Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts wherever you get your podcasts,