Latest / AFR Saints / Gayle Benson Reacts to Saints’ 1-4 Start: Will New Orleans Make Front Office or Coaching Changes?

Transcript

Gayle Benson Reacts to Saints’ 1-4 Start: Will New Orleans Make Front Office or Coaching Changes? · AFR Saints

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  Speaker 1: was perusing the interwebs there during the top of the
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  Speaker 1: hour break. Gail Benson was a guest today and the
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  Speaker 1: featured speaker at the New Orleans Quarterback Club. Ken Trahan
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  Speaker 1: and the gang down there do a great job. They
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  Speaker 1: credit Crescent City Sports for posting the video. And Mrs.
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  Speaker 1: Benson opened her remarks with some comments about the current
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  Speaker 1: state of the Saints. I Candidly, in the nearly two
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  Speaker 1: minutes of her opening remarks about the current state of
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  Speaker 1: the saints, I'll just warn you, there's nothing really descript here.
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  Speaker 1: It feels like a lot of strongly worded nothing, but
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  Speaker 1: here's what Grandma Gail had to say.
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  Speaker 2: I want to address where we stand. We are one
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  Speaker 2: in four.
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  Speaker 1: That is not.
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  Speaker 3: Acceptable to me. And it falls short.
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  Speaker 2: What our fans truly deserve. I hear the frustration directed
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  Speaker 2: toward our team and our organization. It is not lost
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  Speaker 2: on me. Our fans invest their time and their hearts
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  Speaker 2: in the Saints. They are right to expect more than
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  Speaker 2: we have to live. As an owner, the responsibility does
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  Speaker 2: start with I will not make excuses, and I will
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  Speaker 2: not accept this level of performance as our standard. Our
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  Speaker 2: obligation to deliver better football remains very clear. To the
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  Speaker 2: coaches here today, you all know.
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  Speaker 3: What leadership requires. You can front the.
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  Speaker 2: Problems, make corrections, and hold yourself to the same standard
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  Speaker 2: and demand of others. That is what I expect. throughout
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  Speaker 2: our organization. To our fans, I hear you very loudly.
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  Speaker 2: I understand your disappointment, and I share your determination to
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  Speaker 2: see this team succeed. Your support deserves a response you
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  Speaker 2: can see on the field. We cannot change the results
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  Speaker 2: of our first five games. We are responsible for what
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  Speaker 2: we do best. I expect better. Our fans deserve better.
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  Speaker 2: And I am determined to see that we do it.
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  Speaker 1: Um, so there was a lot of verbiage there. She
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  Speaker 1: said she won't accept this as the standard. It's on
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  Speaker 1: them as leaders to identify problems, make corrections. She said,
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  Speaker 1: I expect better. The fans deserve better.
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  Speaker 2: Okay.
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  Speaker 1: Uh, A start of fixing problems is acknowledging a problem exists.
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  Speaker 1: So Mrs. Benson here is acknowledging a problem exists. Short
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  Speaker 1: of opening by saying our one in four record is
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  Speaker 1: what it is, and they won't accept that as the standard,
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  Speaker 1: she didn't identify any other problems specifically. We are led
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  Speaker 1: to wonder or guess what those problems may be.
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  Speaker 3: I think....
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  Speaker 1: I can name them as can you. My real question
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  Speaker 1: is how much teeth are into these words? How much
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  Speaker 1: bite is behind the bark? It's one thing to say
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  Speaker 1: it's on us to identify problems and make corrections. It's
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  Speaker 1: one thing to say you expect better. It's one thing
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  Speaker 1: to say you're going to hold people accountable. It's another
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  Speaker 1: to actually do it. So at what point do you
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  Speaker 1: do something about it? I can appreciate Gail Benson going
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  Speaker 1: to the New Orleans quarterback club, publicly making these remarks,
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  Speaker 1: acknowledging the failures, the shortcomings, and using strong rhetoric about
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  Speaker 1: identifying problems and making corrections and expecting better and all
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  Speaker 1: that sort of stuff. But then what do you do
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  Speaker 1: about it? Okay, what are the problems and how do
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  Speaker 1: you make those corrections? And if they're not made, when
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  Speaker 1: do you actually hold people accountable? That's what I want
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  Speaker 1: to see. Again, I can respect standing in front of
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  Speaker 1: a room and saying, we have these problems. You're acknowledging
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  Speaker 1: a problem exists. That's a good start. Now, what do
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  Speaker 1: you do about it? And if nothing changes, do we
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  Speaker 1: actually see any action on the back end? Do we
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  Speaker 1: actually see changes within the organization? Because to this point,
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  Speaker 1: Gail Benson, and I'm specifically talking about Mickey Loomis here,
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  Speaker 1: but let me be very clear. I'm specifically talking about
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  Speaker 1: Mickey Loomis because she has been unwilling, despite the fact
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  Speaker 1: that you have not made the postseason since the COVID year,
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  Speaker 1: Drew Brees' last season, you have not made the postseason
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  Speaker 1: since COVID-19, Mickey Loomis has only received praise from Gail Benson.
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  Speaker 1: She praised him for the Derek Carr situation and how
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  Speaker 1: they handled all of that. She praised him for the
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  Speaker 1: Sean Payton trade and getting the draft capital. She has
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  Speaker 1: only praised Mickey Loomis when you and I and everyone
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  Speaker 1: else is looking at him going, you built a crap
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  Speaker 1: roster and haven't made the playoffs in half a decade.
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  Speaker 1: You bombed on the Dennis Allen hire, and so far
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  Speaker 1: it ain't looking great on the Kellen Moore hire. So
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  Speaker 1: when do you actually do something about it? Now maybe,
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  Speaker 1: maybe this team gets hot. Maybe they get healthy, they
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  Speaker 1: go on a run, and all of this quiets down.
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  Speaker 1: That would be amazing. I would love to see that.
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  Speaker 1: Trust me, it's not fun to sit here every week
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  Speaker 1: and watch bad football and have to talk about bad
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  Speaker 1: football when all of you, rightly, are checking out. I'd
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  Speaker 1: rather them win. If that means keeping Kellen Moore and
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  Speaker 1: Mickey Loomis, great!
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  Speaker 3: It means they're winning!
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  Speaker 1: I just don't know how much faith I have in that.
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  Speaker 1: I've got a large enough sample size of Mickey Loomis'
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  Speaker 1: tenure to say there is way, way, way, way, way more...
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  Speaker 1: Jim Hazelate and Dennis Allen and Aaron Brooks and Derek
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  Speaker 1: Carr and Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston than there is
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  Speaker 1: Sean Payton Drew Brees. I don't have any confidence in
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  Speaker 1: him to get it right. Maybe he proves me wrong.
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  Speaker 1: I do not believe he will. To this point, I
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  Speaker 1: also do not believe Gail Benson will hold Mickey Loomis accountable.
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  Speaker 1: If one day I'm wrong, and she does fire him
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  Speaker 1: or reassign him and get someone in charge of Saints
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  Speaker 1: operations as the general manager who is actually competent and
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  Speaker 1: can bring some new voice and vision and leadership and
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  Speaker 1: direction to this organization, great. I just don't think I
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  Speaker 1: see that. She can stand up there at that press
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  Speaker 1: luncheon or the quarterback club luncheon today and use this
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  Speaker 1: strong nondescript but strong rhetoric. I need to see some
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  Speaker 1: action behind it if things persist this way. go lose
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  Speaker 1: to the giants, go lose in Paris, start one in
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  Speaker 1: six going into your buy. Like, are you spinning your wheels?
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  Speaker 1: What are you actually doing? Time will tell there. Uh,
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  Speaker 1: Kellen Moore met with reporters on Monday and was asked
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  Speaker 1: about the confidence. I mean, this was that you could
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  Speaker 1: tell this is where the line of questioning and the
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  Speaker 1: conversation around this organization is going. It's about like confidence
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  Speaker 1: with the team after a three game losing streak.
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  Speaker 3: I think our guys have the right mindset. Um, This
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  Speaker 3: is the NFL. No week's going to be easy. We've
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  Speaker 3: unfortunately missed three opportunities, and we have to respond the
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  Speaker 3: right way, which I know our guys will. I think
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  Speaker 3: we have great opportunities ahead of ourselves, and we have
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  Speaker 3: a great opportunity to focus on this Giants game and
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  Speaker 3: then move forward after that.
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  Speaker 1: Why do you think your guys will respond the right way?
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  Speaker 1: I don't believe your guys will respond the right way.
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  Speaker 1: That's not me being negative. I watched you blow a
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  Speaker 1: double-digit second-half lead at home to the Raiders and would think, man,
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  Speaker 1: they're going to be ticked. And Dome coming in that environment,
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  Speaker 1: this is going to be awesome. Here comes the avalanche
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  Speaker 1: of emotion and the bounce back. And you got clobbered.
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  Speaker 1: And after that embarrassing performance, I sat here on that
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  Speaker 1: Tuesday and said, if you have any pride whatsoever as
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  Speaker 1: a professional, you are going to pick yourself up and
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  Speaker 1: go give the best effort of the year against Minnesota
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  Speaker 1: after that embarrassment. What happened? You got smacked around on
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  Speaker 1: your home field by Minnesota. I'm not confident in this
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  Speaker 1: team's ability to show up, to bounce back, to give
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  Speaker 1: a great effort. They, they haven't, they've shown you and me,
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  Speaker 1: they've shown us the opposite. So why should I believe
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  Speaker 1: they're going to go to go to New York and
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  Speaker 1: put forth a great effort and go win a football
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  Speaker 1: game on the road? But this is the line of questioning. The,
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  Speaker 1: He was asked about, does he have any concern maintaining
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  Speaker 1: buy-in from the team right now?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think our guys are focused on sticking together
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  Speaker 3: and finding a solution together. I think that's what these
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  Speaker 3: NFL seasons naturally take, no matter the teams that go
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  Speaker 3: all the way to the end or the teams at
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  Speaker 3: every other level. And so, you know, you're going to
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  Speaker 3: go through these bumps. You got to stick together on it.
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  Speaker 3: You got to find the solutions together. I think our
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  Speaker 3: guys are focused on that. I like our plan. I
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  Speaker 3: like our focus.
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  Speaker 2: Okay.
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  Speaker 3: Words, words, words.
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  Speaker 1: Every time I listen to... Kellen Moore is starting to
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  Speaker 1: sound more and more like Charlie Brown's teacher. It's just noise.
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  Speaker 1: It's just white noise. I mean, I hear sounds coming
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  Speaker 1: from Kellen Moore. I don't believe he's actually saying anything
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  Speaker 1: Of merit. But Grandma Gail said she will not accept
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  Speaker 1: this as the standard. It's on them as leaders to
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  Speaker 1: identify problems and make corrections. And they all expect better
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  Speaker 1: and the fans deserve better. Okay.
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  Speaker 3: We'll see.