Cooper Kupp and AJ Barner Are Super Bowl Champs & Drew Brees Talks Hall of Fame | EP 179

Gotta get to the question everyone wants to know. Have you slept? Has it just been a nonstop f***ing party? His eye's not working, Travis. You already went over this. His eye's not working, so his sleep hasn't been great. Come on, now. I woke up this morning at 6 o'clock, wide awake. I'm in a great place. I mean, I've got so much gratitude for this journey, for what this year's been, and to be where we are. King of the castles. King of the castles. You just can't have a meaningful moment with him. You know what I mean, Jason? Yes. I'm hearing you. Welcome back to New Heights. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages, of all over the world, the 92 percenters, we love you, and we can't wait to get into this post-Super Bowl Sunday conversation. New Heights is a Wondery show brought to you by Xfinity. We're your hosts. I'm Travis Kelsey. My big brother, Jason Kelsey, representing the U.S. of A. Subscribe on YouTube, Wondry Plus, wherever you get your podcasts. And follow the show on all social media. At New Heights Show with one S for fun clips throughout the week. Jason, we have one of my favorite shows of all time. It is the end of the season. It is the end of the NFL season. Today should be one of those made-up holidays that you absolutely hate. But can you just tell the people what we have coming up? Well, it's kind of crazy, Trav. This is actually the first year we've done this show where the Eagles or Chiefs haven't won the Super Bowl. That's fucking crazy. How nuts is that? That is fucking wild. That's insane. So, because neither one of us are in any way a part of our teams winning the Super Bowl, we have decided to invite two of the Super Bowl 60 champions on this show today. That's right. Cooper Cup and A.J. Bonner are on the program today, and we're going to get into everything else we got into in San Francisco, as well as get into an incredible conversation with first ballot Hall of Famer, Drew Bureen. What? All righty. It's an absolutely stacked episode. But before we get into any of that, we're going to get into what we always get into. And that's a little bit of that new news. New news. New news is brought to you by American Express. How about it, man? We got some scheduling updates for you guys. That's right. 92 percenters. We got a lot of guests coming up. We have been hot. We've been working. We've been working. That's right. We've been talking to all the people we've always wanted to talk to. and we're looking forward to bringing those conversations to you guys. We have a short little break, but the episodes will be coming out. Don't worry. We've got some doozies. We've got Troy Aikman, Randy Moss, Jon Hamm, Chris Stapleton, The Workaholics, AJ Brown. We're going to let you know when all of these guest episodes are releasing. And if you still need more Kelsey in your life, Travis finally appeared on Not Gonna Lie. That's right. Kylie Kelsey's podcast, Not Gonna Lie. Trav, how was it? Not Gonna Lie. It was kind of more fun talking to her than you. I'm not going to lie. I understand why you married her a long time ago, but she asked me one question that was like, I sat there and I thought about it and I wish I would have answered it better than my first impressions of her were that she was such a sweetheart. And I said this at your guys' wedding when I, when I did the wedding speech, but I was like, she's such a sweetheart. She's so nice. She is. But I was like, you don't just win Jason's love and you don't win him over in terms of like doing things, getting him to do the things that you want him to do, like be a like respectable human being. You don't do those kind of things by just being a sweetheart. So I knew there was an underlining like toughness to her that I hadn't. And then we went to the shore and she started talking about butter. she's talking water she started talking i can't even fucking do the philly accent like like it needs to be done but i saw her in her element and that's where i knew i was like oh she's got him wrapped up around her finger this dude is lost in the song he doesn't know anything but kai and from that point on it's just been that and i've loved having her as a as a sister-in-law and it's been so cool to see her take off in her own right and uh not gonna lie it was a fucking blast dude that's awesome yeah i do the episode turned out great you and kai's chemistry and anything that you do you just like have like a i'm serious you guys have a child man the second child's the best dude no doubt we relate we relate well you also admitted that you have never read a rundown which i'm sure the producers of the show love that they were very appreciative what's a rundown already kylie also adopted an otter in your name apparently something i didn't even know Uncle Travis over there in the Philly Zoo, man. We got to get over there, man. I got to meet this. I think it's a wild or like a great river otter. I forget the actual name of this otter. It's not the otter that's in my dreams, but it is an honor to be a part of the Philly Zoo like that. So I got to get over there and say what's up. We'll get over there next time you come into town. That'd be a great out of the house segment. We also got to talk about Travis dominating in front of thousands of people over at the waste management. Dominating. I mean, at least on whole 16, we don't need to look at all the other stuff. The biggest hole in the whole freaking thing, the part three in front of the grandstands, thousands of people's eyes are on Travis Kelsey. It felt like I was walking into the Coliseum. There's like a little tunnel and I got a cool video. Chris Pearson was kind of following us around and he got a cool video of us like walking into the dude it is such an epic like you have to do it golf lovers everywhere you have to go to this hole the 16th hole or at waste management and the phoenix open is unbelievable it's such a unique like experience and honestly it's not just the 16th hole it's the 17th and 18th is the is how you finish it off it's like nothing i've ever been a part of in my life but you walk into of that 16th hole it's an arena it's an arena of just people that will either boo you or get high or get excited over like you getting close to the fucking pin i was in my element you give me a bunch of drunk people with an opportunity to get them fired up i feel like that's like my that's like my home that's like my home and i felt very comfortable i will say this though my god my caddy patrick bacon he's taking a lot of credit for this i went last everybody that went had the number was short they all went short and i'm looking at this too and i'm like questioning in my mind should i club up or should i just trust my strength over theirs like i'm whole i'm in my head about this and patrick bacon comes up to me and says hey what do you got in your hand you should probably rethink this and go get a club and not that i wasn't already thinking that but he gave me the reassurance so i'll give patty bakes the the whole he called he called me off and told me to club up i'll give him the compliment there but he's uh he's taking full credit for it yeah he's not shying away from talking about it which he should which you should that's what caddies do you know i mean they're part of it's a team game well i don't think a lot of caddies do take credit but bacon does for sure It was a 150 shot or 155, whatever it is, and I went from holding a pitch, a pitching wedge, to holding a nine iron, and the nine iron stuck two feet from it. And when I tell you, I stood over the ball for I don't even know how long. Somebody sent me a video, and I was like, I was staring at the ball this long. I don't remember doing that. It's intimidating. It really puts it into perspective for these guys like Rory and these guys making these putts to win the entire tournament and way more at stake. That's got to be crazy. That wasn't even the hardest part. Oh, what was the hardest part? Standing over the two-foot putt. That was the hardest part. Dude, when I was back there holding the nine iron, I'm like, I'm just going to give this thing a fucking run and throw it up there. And that thing fucking drew over. I felt like I hit it further up in the air than I hit it further in distance. That thing went high. That thing went so fucking high in the air. The first thing, the guy on the mic that was doing the entire 16th hole, he was introducing everybody as soon as i hit it he was like whoa look at that thing went high up in the air everybody's like like waiting for that thing to fucking come down and then it just stuck it didn't do much after uh after it hit and it was perfect man so are you saying you probably actually hit the wrong club you probably hit it a couple grooves high which made it actually the right club it was the perfect club all right all right all right i didn't catch any grass that thing was teed up just a little bit and i hit it smooth and it was it was so much fun just being at that event though i got to hang with scotty scheffler i got to hang with brooks kepka shout out to brooks for for being such a good dude and being back into the madness and scotty he was over they were with his kid and it was such a fucking unique event and these pro-ams are so fucking cool and i had that as a bucket list item in my mind of like yeah there's unbelievable courses all over the world but if i could ever get a shot at the 16th hole at waste management i can't pass that up i was still intense like no sweetie i have to go i'm sorry i have to do this this is the mecca this is like reaching the super bowl of like golf world and um and it was and it didn't disappoint waste management crowd is so fucking they're so lit and so excited and so there for those moments that it didn't disappoint man it was so much fun well that's awesome brother it was an incredible shot i loved watching every bit of it where do you think it ranks in your athletic achievements of all time i mean it's number one in my golf achievements for sure there's nothing that even comes close that was the closest i've ever gotten to a hole in one like that was it was like the perfect shot for the perfect time that that i'll i'll live through forever i'll be able to watch those videos forever i had jim nance talking about it during the fucking friday broadcast or the set the saturday sunday broadcast if jim nance is talking about my golf i'm doing something right there you go all right well once again new news is brought to you by american express let's keep this thing moving let's get to some bold topics super bowl edition how about a bold topics is brought to you by Pepsi. One of our favorites. We were a Pepsi household growing up. I'm a Wild Cherry Pepsi fan myself. Big guy Kelsey likes a nice little diet Pepsi. But shout out to all the Pepsi out there. Seahawks are your Super Bowl 60 champions. And we love the old Northeast Ohio ball player, Mike Vrabel, and a lot of the Patriots over there. But the Seahawks, they had the juice going into it, man. And they defeated the Patriots 29-13. I'm not going to lie. I kind of imagined this would happen. and it definitely was a good game. And there was a point there when Drake Bay started getting the fucking juices going in the late third, early fourth. And they started to make a run at it. But, man, the Seahawks just had too much, man. With Kenneth Walker, with our guy A.J. Barner and Cooper Cupp, man, they just had the juice. And I couldn't be happier for the guys over there because a lot of the guys are guys you can root for, man. Yeah, I mean, listen, it's the Super Bowl. Both of these teams are very good. Both of their defenses had been playing out of their minds all postseason. And Seattle is just loaded across the board. It's a team that really doesn't have a weakness, which is kind of why I thought that they would prevail. It felt like they were the more talented group across the board. But you never know. I mean, the Patriots were such a good team, so well coached. Yeah. By Coach Vrabes and Josh McDaniels. All year, they just had been overachieving. and yeah, Seattle just proved to be a little bit too much, man. They're unbelievable on the defensive side of the ball. Offensively, they didn't make the mistakes that they had kind of been prone to, right? Like Sam Darnold had a bunch of turnovers in the regular season, doesn't have any in the postseason and he didn't do that by being conservative. He was still taking his chances. He was still being aggressive through the air. But you got to give some love to the kicker. How about this? We're giving love to the kickers. Pinning some guys down inside the five. Making field goals. I am! Jason Myers. I mean, through the first half, it was only field goals. This guy was nailing everything. This guy went over with Pat McAfee trying to kick a field goal, and all of a sudden he has appreciation for the kicking game now. I mean, listen, it's the biggest game of the year. They're freaking nailing kicks. Those are huge. Trailed for one minute and 35 seconds total this entire playoffs. How fucking insane is that? That is crazy. So they just got off to the jump and just freaking were leading all the way. I mean, they blew out San Fran. Then the big one was the Rams game. which that was the team they had struggled with and had the closest battles with all season. So yeah, I mean, it is surprising. I mean, they were the best team in football this year. The reality was like, if you look at it across the board, it was really them and LA, those two teams in that division were the most consistently great teams all season long. And like, yeah, the Patriots had an incredible season in the AFC, so did the Broncos. But I thought that those two teams in particular were the best all year. They continued that throughout the playoffs and they continued in the Super Bowl. And it's a credit to Sam Darnold for where he's come in his career, all the ups and downs, and being with five different teams. Cooper Cup gets cast out in L.A., comes back. Resurgence in Seattle. It's just a remarkable story of a team that was assembled. It really is, man. And how great they ended up being across the board. It reminds me a lot of our 17 season. I mean, a lot of Super Bowl teams, but you get just the right group of guys that all come together, man. And it feels like everything's clicking. The chemistry's there. I mean, Sam Darnold is now, everybody's talking about him being a star, but certainly not while the whole season was happening. It doesn't have that star-studded MVP quarterback. I mean, I think Leonard Williams is unbelievable. It doesn't have the Aaron Donald or the Miles Garrett. They're just all really, really good across the board. They were a great team, and it's an incredible year for that city and that franchise. And Mike McDonald in his second year in Seattle. How about that, man? Mike McDonald's the same age as Jason Kelsey. We just hired an offensive coordinator that's 33 years old. It's nuts, man. I mean, teams keep hiring these younger coaches, and I think it's for a reason, man. I think these young guys come in, and they're very smart, but they have a mindset that's open. They're eager to prove themselves. I mean, listen, the old ball coaches have great strengths and whatnot too, a lot of experience, but I think it's interesting that it appears that, you know, the league keeps going younger and younger with a lot of these coaching hires. Congrats to Mike McDonald. He finally gets to see his son. Nice, man. All right, you've heard enough of our thoughts on the game. Let's get to someone who actually played in it. Oh, yeah. Please welcome back to the two-time Super Bowl champion and the first ever in NFL history to lead two different franchises and receiving yards in a Super Bowl win, Mr. Cooper Cupp. Thank you, guys. Coop. congrats big guy thank you that was a hell of a game how are you feeling yeah you know uh net positive we're in a net positive state right now let's go yeah it's been incredible tordell still still hanging on right now or what yeah we're doing great we're doing great over here there we go yeah you know my left eye is not working great it's been you know not a whole lot of sleep the last couple days. But it's been fantastic. It's been fantastic. As it should be. Is the left eye not working a result of the game or not sleeping? It's just not sleeping. It's just not. It's a commitment to partying. Way to go, Koo. This is the thing, guys. Way to go. Fuck seeing. I'm partying with my boys. I wish I had a great story for you guys, but this is what happened. Our boys, you know, I got three little boys. And when I'm with the family after the game, they had a long day they were pumped they were out there screaming their their lungs out they started crashing around 12 o'clock you know and started so so it was really what the issue was getting them ready for bed you know i was i'm we're changing diapers we're getting pajamas on pajamas have holes in them which obviously aren't going to work they're not going to work you gotta get those yeah i gotta get different pajamas that was it was it's the family stuff That's the family stuff. Life goes on. You win a championship, you win a Super Bowl, all this stuff, but man, life goes on. It is funny because I was fortunate to win one in 17 before I had kids, and it was a nonstop party for like four or five days. And then the Super Bowl, we lost the Super Bowl, so that was part of it too. I mean, I was with my family the moment the game was over, and you're just like basking in that. So I'm sure you've experienced it a couple different ways at this point, right? Like pretty awesome. Yeah, it is. It's amazing. And that's what, I mean, you have your moment in the locker room with the guys, and that's such a special thing. But then it's like, how quick can I find my family, be with my boys, be with my wife? And that was, I mean, sharing this, it was like, when we're not jumping around the room screaming, it was just like the silence of just being able to hold my boys, have my wife right next to me. That was all I wanted. That's awesome, brother. Congratulations. Thank you. Congrats again, brother. The two-time Cooper Cup. The first time is always the sweetest, man. The second time has to be fucking epic for you right now, especially because it's with a team that it seemed like you guys just had the fucking, like, you guys just had the juice, man. And it's such a unique thing when you see the team loving each other like it was. Like, you told us the stories last week, and it was just, you could tell how close you guys were. Yeah. Mike McDonald, your coach, after the game even said, Cooper is an absolute force multiplier, an absolute stud of a person, stud of a teammate. Have you been called a stud this many times in your life? It's a lot of stud. It's a lot of stud. There we go. It's a net positive guy. Yeah, exactly. Can't look past this, though. This should cement him in the Hall of Fame, in my opinion. Super Bowl MVP, two-time champion, all-time great teammate. the guy was just loving you up at the end of it man it just shows how close you guys are man yeah and we got we got a great group real quick you gotta plunge that plunge that french press for me I was yeah plunge the french press for me yep there we go pull yourself up this man is dialed you just okay in the future you just a nice slow nice slow press is that too fast it was a little fast but it's okay in the future yeah there we go look at that Look at that. Ooh, that's a good color. Yeah, that's a good-looking cup of coffee. But, yeah, this group, it was so much fun to be a part of. I can't talk with you. This is unbelievable. It's still going out. But, yeah, this group was so much fun. It was so much fun to be a part of this team. And, you know, I've appreciated working with Mike. He's been unbelievable. And, I mean, all those things he said, you don't get, you don't go to the Hall of Fame for being a great teammate. But you don't go to the Hall of Fame for winning six Super Bowls either, we just learned, right? So, I mean. Ooh. That's a tough bit. What do you go to the Hall of Fame for at this point? What exactly are the credentials to get me in the Hall? Yeah. It's up for debate right now, apparently. But you'll be in. You'll be in. Sorry, that one just popped in my head as I was talking. I feel like you've only had coaches under the age of 40. yeah which is insane like what is the everyday like because i've literally only been in a building where it feels like my football dad or like my fucking like uncle is like looking at me like you need to pick this shit up and it's like there's like an authority figure that's like there that's like has like the years of wisdom through like the like brett farve and like the the legends that we grew up playing like i only have that understanding through yeah through that like what is it like playing for a guy that's like young high energy like not to say that andy's not but go ahead oh yeah no i mean it is it's that that's all i know so um you know i've had young coaches yeah basically my entire life i mean same thing in college so um i don't know any different energy and all that stuff is is fantastic and there's no there's never been an issue in terms of the like wisdom piece or the authority piece i was gonna say yeah like lack of lack of wisdom yeah but i i think what i've appreciated is there's a there's there's like from mike there's been a humility that i think is is really special and um you know i think the accountability is a big part of that being able to admit that you don't know everything and that's a that's a huge part of being a leader that is you know undervalued and you know if you think you know it all it's tough to it's tough to collaborate and and collaboration is where football lives you know and so um you know he's been he's been awesome about that and uh yeah so i've really enjoyed being with mike dude i can't agree more like i've had young coaches i've had old coaches and don't get wrong andy reads a 101 trav but yeah i find a lot of the times these young coaches that are hungry and really trying to make it do have this growth mindset just inherently like they're they want knowledge they're trying to grow as much as possible and they don't think they have everything figured out and that's certainly one of their advantages yeah uh and as far as like leading anybody like don't get me wrong if you've done something before it's you get that initial buy-in easier but at the end of the day players just if you as a coach or a leader as a player in the team if i feel like you genuinely want me to be a better football player not for any ulterior motive of like career furtherment or like whatever other bull crap gets in the way like if you genuinely i can tell that you just watch what's like me to be the best version of myself i can be dude i will follow that guy like wherever like he's honest or like authentic all that stuff and it feels like mike has that in spades obviously you guys had that like incredibly all year round you could feel the tightness to this team yeah let me let me get this back to the game though is this how the game was expected to go like what what did you guys think as the game was going around yeah i mean we expected to go out there and win the thing you know but there's but you know you're playing against a really really good football team you're not in this you don't get to the super bowl regardless of all the storylines around like they had to navigate the storylines about you know whether they deserve to be there all this stuff and that's just it's all it's all baloney right it's all nonsense they are in the super bowl for a reason they're a good football team they're well coached there's good players over there um so you know you're playing against the best in the world it's the best in the world like you're in the nfl you're playing it's the best in the world but the expectation was to go out there and win and i thought they had a really good plan early on i thought offensively you know we were uphill on a lot of plays early on where it's like man they've they've got a good feel for stuff they're they're putting their players in really good positions and um and we were making some mistakes that didn't allow us to finish drives and luckily you know jami was unbelievable finishing drives and field goals for us but then what i'm end of the day the the defense just played lights out and that's that gives you so much confidence offensively when those guys are just like stop after stop after stop and you just know that hey guys some some of these drives like like an eight played drive that eats up clock and flips the field is a win offensively at this point in the game, right? Right. It's crazy, man. We play this game. We just do the things right. We don't need to play outside of our own stuff. They've got a good plan for us. Let's make some plays. Let's finish these drives. The defense is going to get us into a short field, and we're going to go finish it, get scored touchdown, and put the game away. And I thought as the game went on and that became clear, this is a game that we can be in that space. up we did a good job adjusting and being able to be in a place where it's like hey we can just we can grind this game out where it's not even a chance you don't give them a chance to do anything amen brother and you guys did just that yeah do you have any idea what's what's in store for the future have you thought about that are you still in reflection mode at least for the next foreseeable few days i mean yeah i think you take a couple days and enjoy this um it's it's the nfl you know This team that we had this year is not going to be the same. And I'm enjoying, you know, we got today, tomorrow's the parade, and we get our last two days to be with this team and what this 2025-26 CLC Hawks team was about. But then it's going to be looked forward. And, you know, I love to be a part of this organization and what these guys are doing and what's being built here. And then the goal is then like, hey, you've got six weeks until, you know, six weeks until, or it's eight weeks until OK start. So how are we going to start building for what this organization is going to do for the next year? And it doesn't stop. Time keeps going on. And we got like Seattle Seahawks of 2026, 27. It technically starts now, you know. And so we're already, we're behind. I love it I love it Isn it crazy you win the freaking Super Bowl and then immediately you already thinking about what do we have to do to get back there That doesn stop That why you have to enjoy I have to say you have to enjoy the journey The journey is everything, because if you're if you're living for this, if you're living for this week, like this is one, this is one week. You get to enjoy the game, your family reflect on it. The parade happens and it's like you got to move forward. And this is you're not going to find everyone's everyone here is going to be like, man, it hasn't hit me yet. it's not going to hit you it's not it's not like a moment that's like oh suddenly it's going to happen it's like no what you're going to remember is you know some of this some of this week but what you're going to remember is you know the training camp like the grind of things and being like man i i remember the when we were exhausted so the conversation we had in the locker room guys are are so tired that they're laughing they're like giggling because they're just so delusional you know but it's like man those are so those moments it's all this all those things that are going to be so valuable all the adversity that you deal with all those things how how low did we go how all these moments that were like man you're at the bottom that make the top feel so much better and you're going to remember that journey and and that's that's what's the most valuable piece of this whole thing dude you're gonna be fucking fired up right seriously i'm good goosebumps that shit's epic man we do gotta wrap i got one more question parade tomorrow what what are we rolling with for the parade you got an outfit selected you I'm talking to the costume. I'm actually talking to the outfit. I want to do something. I want to do something cool. You know, I want to do, I've had thoughts like, do you get an Ichiro jersey? Do you do like a King Griffey? Do you do something like that? You know, there's, I don't know. Listen, Jason, if you've got an idea, you send it over to me and we can maybe make some difference. If it aligns, we make something happen. You know what I mean? All right. Okay. You let me know. let me i'm gonna get this coffee in me and then these ideas just start flowing that's how it works going to grow up some ideas we got our guy aj barnard pulling up after this let's go so pumped for barnyard man and that play was almost a disaster it was almost a disaster how oh we were we were all i there look there was a there was a problem i think it was on the wristband but we called the play jackson is out at the time he's going through his protocol to get back out the call ended up being like the formation was backwards to what the play call was and so we end up like me and Rashid end up on the same side I'm like dude we're like no you're on the other side but then the formation is backwards I see AJ running towards me I'm like oh my gosh I'm about to run the wrong route so I'd change it on the fly we almost had a let's go we got done ball player unbelievable teammate decision making when it needs to happen I love it man way to go that's so epic man we got him up next that's a fucking banger I was about to ask you what should we ask him but you just told us everything I can't wait to tell him I don't know if he'll I don't know if he'll even be aware of it but he doesn't even know what you did he might not even know I almost ran right into him because i was about to run the wrong route and actually at the snap i'm like oh i have to fix it that was a great play too whoever whoever fucking put that together that was an awesome fucking play oh no no no we lost him just come back come back what an electric story though that's epic the ethernet sword has been found we're in business coop i believe you were talking about the play, A.J. Barnard play, and you're saying he might not know, might not even have a clue? Yeah, he might not be aware of what was happening on the outside and the consternation that was happening between me and Rasheed, knowing that we were told the play was being run the opposite direction, you know? Yes. Yeah, but who knows? Maybe he's so dialed in out there that he was aware and was going to make it happen, you know? So did you go from like running like a backside dagger to like a hitch? No, I went from running a backside basic to a take-two post. Ooh, take-two. You cleared it out for him? Yeah, but I don't know that the coverage really... My job on that job... At the end of the day, I just need to get out of the way. The coverage we got was perfect. I just had to get out of there. But it would have been bad if I was running a basic. If I was running a basic, there's a chance I'm just collisioning AJ coming out of the out of that wing spot. Who knows? Just a ball player, man. Just a ball player. Either way. That's why it pays to have smart players, man. That's what it pays to have guys that work with the QBs at 6 a.m. and are in the fucking Blitz meetings. Exactly. That's right. We had said, if this ever gets called backwards, remember you guys got to be very interesting. All right. Coop, we're not going to keep you any longer, man. We appreciate you coming back on. Of course. Congrats again, brother. thank you guys so happy for you man enjoy the parade enjoy being a champion king of the castle king of the castle this is the favorite saying of the day saying of the day all right thank you to our presenting sponsor xfinity xfinity knows that a lot can change in five years so they created xfinity five-year price guarantee oh how about that xfinity members you don't have to worry about their internet price changing. That's right. Get one price for five years. Guaranteed. No contracts, no commitments, just reliable Wi-Fi. All at the same price. Five years from now, who knows where we'll be. But Xfinity members, they'll know one thing. That's right. They're still going to be paying that same internet price they locked in today. Get it now at Xfinity.com. Xfinity. Imagine that. Restrictions apply. Select plans only. Thank you to our partner, American Express. All right now, 92%ers, question for you. What's the number one most stressful part of traveling? I mean, it's got to be the airport, right? Bingo. You could have it all planned out, then find yourself running through the terminal, coat half on, phone at 3%. It's chaos. But after years of constant travel, I've learned something very important, Travis. Here we go, Jason. Hit him with that veteran wisdom. Rushing to your flight isn't the play. You gotta find an escape inside the airport That's where American Express Platinum card comes in handy Yes, because when you're a card member You can step away from the chaos And into the comfort of a lounge Who doesn't love a good lounge? I love a good lounge With Amex Platinum, you can enjoy access to over 1,550 airport lounges Through the largest global lounge network As compared to other credit card companies as of July 2025 You walk in, it's calm, relax, enjoy a top-notch meal maybe. It's a destination before the destination, if you're catching what I'm saying. Yeah, I'm catching what you're saying. That's right. It makes airports more enjoyable. That's the bottom line. And that's a veteran move. If you travel a lot, you know award-winning service when you see it. That's right. And it's true what they say. There's nothing like platinum. Terms apply. Learn more at AmericanExpress.com slash with Platinum. Thank you to our partner Raising Canes. Coming off the big game in San Francisco, we wanted to give a big shout out to Raising Canes and founder Todd Graves for coming out to the New Heights party. Good food, good times, two things Canes and Todd know a thing or two about. That's right. We had some chicken fingers, some cane sauce all at the party. Goddamn, those things are good. All right, now, and this week, Canes is hosting a fan event that Seahawks' Sam Darnold is going on a Super Bowl quarterback shift at Canes. That's right. He's going to be working at registers, serving up box combos in the kitchen, making Canes sauce. I didn't even know they made that sauce. I thought that sauce was already made. And obviously, he's going to be celebrating a championship with the fans. Well, this is going to be a fun partnership, Canes does, and we can't wait to see it. Shout out to Todd Graves and shout out to Raising Cane's delicious chicken finger meals. Well, that wraps up Cooper Cupp's interview. Let's move it on over to our next guest. Our next champion. Oh, man. I can't wait for you guys to meet old Barnhouse. Hey, there he is. Cleveland boys. What up? The champ is here. Come on. Jason, I never met you, bro. AJ, good to meet you. Good to meet you, AJ. Always good to meet a fellow Northeast Ohio guy. Yes, sir. We stick together, dog. Just a ball player. Let's go. We just play ball. Rain, snow. Parking lot. Cement. Turf. Super Bowl. Don't matter. Pick the place. I'll be there. Let's fucking go. And you got a toddy in the game? Man. You kidding me? Needed that. You kidding me? Yeah, man. Needed that. Well done. Well done. All right. We're going to do an intro and then we're going to get right to it. Sounds good, AJ? Sounds good. All right, 92%ers, we are not done. We've got one more world champion Seattle Seahawks for you. Our next guest is 6'6", tight end from Aurora, Ohio. He's won a national title at the University of Michigan, and now he is a Super Bowl champion with the Seattle Seahawks. 92%ers, please welcome to the show, SWAT champ, AJ Barnyard. Let's go! This is the Northeast Ohio ball player. Yeah, baby. Getting the tutty in the Super Bowl, dude. Did you black out before you hit the fucking autumn, dog? Man, you know how it is. Just, yes, blacked out, slow motion. Everything just becomes slow motion, and then just all the boys find you, and it's just like, it's hard to collect yourself after that and be like, all right, let me finish this game and be ready to go make another play. Dude, so epic, dog. And it was a big-time touchdown, the only touchdown, man. Oh, yeah. We had Cooper on this thing talking about how he heard the play might have been flipped or there might have been just like a little bit of like a miscommunication on where. Yeah. Did you know that that was going on? I just caught wind of that. And like, you know how this is. I heard yada yada. Why scissors? I'm like, all right, bet. I know the play. Like, I know where to line up. You boys line up. Let's get this damn play called. Yeah. That's so fucking good, dog. You came through. So it's a great fucking play design, by the way. Fucking awesome. I'm sure you guys had ran the run to that where you're helping out to the outside zone to it and everything. I've ran that play once or twice in my day from the backfield. Being from the backfield or running a corner, the hardest part is getting through the linebacker coming to meet you. and you just fucking slid him. Just a little bro. If he fucking wrecked, like if he collisions you, that play is a completely different play. No doubt. Walk us through it, man. You saw him coming through the fucking hole or what? Hold on. We got it on tape. Let's play it and then do you want to talk over it if you want, AJ? Sound good? Let's hear it. Bring out the broadcast in the guy. Let's go, man. Let's see what brings down the tape. I'm about to have this at TEU next year. you're going to be on the fucking drawing board dude facts i was going to bust your balls a little bit i was going to say man like people people don't say that trav blocks trav does block for sure but some of the dns be working with trav a little bit like i don't know what we're gonna do but they show love a little bit good union work you already know yeah you good all right all right but uh so we run out we run the shit out of outside zone This is Zorro concept, but I'm sure you guys know Zorro. Yeah. And like this combination is two tight ends, Zorro blocking and end big to like usually the corner, the safety who's down, who's this guy who's down next to the linebacker. Yep. Yeah. So obviously we're going two for two there. We've ran the hell out of it. And like Trav said, pre-snap, like I'm looking over there. I guess the formation was messed up and I'm trying to get a peek. Like, all right, who am I going to have to navigate here to get out? um and again like it's like i feel like the route is what it is on the paper but it's like all right like how can i get out and just get free get free yeah if you run it just navigate it out of there and as soon as i seen kub clear i was just off his hip and then could have been a little bit smoother but could have been smoother what are you talking about you got a touchdown in the super bowl no bro are you kidding me no no no for sure for sure Maybe could have stayed up, but I'll get out of here. I'm just like running. Bro, when you got through second level clean, were you like, I'm open. I'm open. I'm open, bro. The way the mind works is just like. Yeah, yeah. It's like, where's this ball at? I'm trying to find it, track it. I know it's coming. And you know how it is too. Like I'm looking for the quarterback. Yeah. I'm trying to find the quarterback's eyes and like where he's at in the pocket. You see it in the air, the trajectory of it. Finally, like once you locate the quarterback and then it's just like, all right, let me go glue this. There we go, baby. And then boom, the world stops. Slow motion. Yeah. But I feel like you live those moments out before they happen. Like the only reason I wanted to play this back is you guys do such a good job of selling this. The backers actually run through, right? Yeah. And that's why I want to give a Darnold some props here. He stands there and delivers this with the, he knows he's about to get crushed. Oh yeah. Linebacker is coming down right on top of him. Yeah. Yeah, so it's like right in front of him. Doesn't bat an eye, knows that you're going to be there. Sammy's a dog, man. Just well done by both of you guys. Sammy's a dog. Physical cat, too. Played linebacker in high school. So if you're playing ball for the Seahawks, you better be able to lower some pads. You just spoke to Jason's soul when you said he played linebacker in high school. Damn straight. Damn straight. Oh, yeah. Well, how you feeling, bud? super bowl champion feeling really good feeling really good uh our team's a little like we got some vets on the team on our offense i'm definitely a young cat swag champ though baby you already know you bring the juice yes sir you bring the juice for the old cats dog you already know you got to somebody's got to do it somebody's got to do it i'm gonna enjoy it for sure but quite honestly i'm trying to take it all in i'm so happy for you have you slept yet yeah bro after the game i was honestly just with the fam like we were in san jose like way outside the city um so we got after a little bit but like you guys know how it is too like the peak is that confetti falling down like is the club in san jose gonna do it for me after that like probably not probably not but eventually i'm gonna celebrate in the right way well you better be you You got a parade tomorrow, right? For sure. You geared up? You know what you're wearing? I might channel my inner Jason on the mic. Let's go, baby. Can't wait to hear this. Hell, yeah. It's going to be awesome. Have you thought about what you're going to say? If you're going to get on the mic? No. No. Let's let it go. I'm one of the guys, too. Let's get Coop on the mic. Let's get Sammy on the mic. I'll vibe with the crowd. I'm going to live life and just enjoy the moment and see where it takes me. are you are you more of a a beer or liquor guy what are we going here for sure if i could tell you one advice midwest beer if i could give you one bit of advice dude if you stick with the light beer you're gonna be good good right the moment you start pouring the shots down everybody's oh we want to do yeah no yeah i want that you're gonna be bad you gotta it's a marathon yeah no doubt you know when the beers are uh when the beers are starting to kick yes and uh the liquor the liquor will hit you out of nowhere sneaks up on you yeah give you that right hook for sure this guy's won a title before how does this feel compared to to when you won it at michigan i just feel like when you have a team like the ingredients are there like y'all have won championships before like there's a lot of similarities between championship teams and i felt that with this team and i'm a little bit spoiled because like i've had the confetti and reached the pinnacle at that level obviously it's different um but to have the experience just two short years ago um it's been incredible and obviously like the super bowl is a whole nother level but like quite frankly i feel like the vibe that you get with this team is like we just kind of expected to be here and now it's happened and it's like holy shit like we did it you know so i think uh it's just going to continue to settle in and be better and better but you know we're going to enjoy it and then shit next year is going to roll around and we'll have a target on our back that's how it goes baby well you'll definitely have the target on your back but that's what you want it's it's good to have the target on your back yes it's an honor to have the target on your bat man it's the best ever facts bro facts well in your first year do you have a you have a welcome to the nfl moment i mean this is winning the street ball that's a hell of a man all right man i've been um saving this story for a great podcast and let's go let's go please bless us please bless us here and i got look at my guy rich here because i've been saving this one and we'll see where it goes but okay so cooper cut mentioned that like i'm like uh you know just so you never know what you're gonna get of course and coop had mentioned to the media this story about me being captain hook so many different directions so many different directions but if you know me like i'm gonna have fun always but like i'm always be in control and that's besides the point but but y'all will figure that out but anyway okay all right week six jaguars away yes yes pull up to the stadium normal routine y'all know how it is like gotta go to the bathroom before the game and you know that bathroom's got to and you know that bathroom is going to be a nightmare the longer you wait in multiple ways so i get up in there i get up in there i'm one of the first people to get in locker i'm like bet i'm gonna go do my thing whatever yeah man do my thing dude aj you're hilarious get down to the bathroom big big guy big guy y'all know how it is in the stall i go to lean forward and sit back crack my head on this hook that's like on the back of this ball bro yeah and it's one of those moments where like you you kick your dresser like something in the house and you're like, mother, like, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, I sit down. I sit down, blood rushing down my head. No! I'm like, yo. So I get up. Don't do my business. I get up, and, like, my teammates know me. I'm like, fuck, where's the training room? Like, the fuck? I just split my head open, bro. I'm like, look around the training room, bro. Finally make the training room. I get up in there. they're obviously like, bro, what just happened? And I'm like trying to elaborate to them. I'm trying to get ready for the game. There's blood rushing down my face. The next thing they hit me with is, we're going to have to cut your hair. I'm like, not the lettuce, bro. Anything but the lettuce. I just got it trimmed. Are you kidding me? Yeah, yeah. They cut out this little patch, which I still low-key have a little bald spot. No stitches, thank God. Thank God, no stitches. We put a piece of gauze in it. I wear a skull cap. I go back to that same stall. I finish my business in that stall just to let that stall know it's not going to have power over me. Assert my dominance. You had to let that stall know who the fuck is. I had to let it know. Captain Hook. I had to let the stall know the barnyard was there. and then went out, won the game, had my season high in receiving yards basically off one catch. Let's go! And we won the game, and I cracked my head open, and that's it. Captain Hook! Captain Hook, there we go, baby. Crazy. That's so crazy, dog. But y'all can only imagine, like, just getting in that frame of mind for the game, and next thing you know, you just cut your head open and just blood. I was like, bro, like, what are we doing? So it was epic. I've only known one story from that in college. We had a guy, I won't say his name, everybody from the university will know him, but he would bash his head through the drywall right before the game. We'd all assimilate in this one area. We all know that one guy. Yeah, and he would bang it, and there were just holes in all the walls. We go to the bowl game in Canada, the International Bowl. And my guy goes to do it again, and he hits a stud, and gags is the time you're hanging. No way. He couldn't play. Couldn't play the game. He didn't play? Couldn't play. Yeah. Dude. I figured that would be the guy that would be like, hey, I'm still playing, but not. Well, I think he wanted to. They didn't let him. He definitely wanted to. He definitely wanted to. Everyone knows that guy. Yeah, exactly. You need one of them on the team. And if you're from Cleveland, you may or may not have been that guy. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. There you go. I've been there before. I've been there. All right. One more. One more before we let you go. We got to ask about this quote blocking for Kenneth Walker. Grind meat, carry water. We get it done in the trenches, baby. All right. Now that's a fucking anger. Where did this come from? This sounds like some model like Keanu Reeves. This sounds like something I would have heard in like the replacements or something like that, bro. Like you guys said, sometimes the boys need a little pick-me-up on offense. I play tight end. I'm next to the O-line. I kind of got my cred for being a blocker, even though I get after it in the trenches. I love my O-line. I love running the rock. I play to Michigan, and we run the piss out of the ball. When you're wearing on a team, you're grinding freaking meat. When it comes down to the end of the game, you need a four-minute drill, grind meat. So it just became like some of the guys at first, you know how some of the guys are. I'm like, man, let's grind this meat, grind meat, carry water. So it just became a thing. Like the old line loves it. For 60 minutes of your life. We're about to fucking grind this goddamn meat. God damn it for the fucking Superbowl. I love it. We're about to grind meat and just run the piss out of the ball and just, bro, like, yeah. So that's what it became. And I feel like everyone knows the saying like chop wood, carry water. So it just became grind meat, carry water. and that's just the mentality that the Hawks play with. Like, we play bully ball. We want to get after it in the trenches, and that's what it is. I love it. I love it. I'm stealing it, too. I love it. Grind meat, baby. Grind meat. Dude, AJ, not enough time with you, dog, but we're going to let you go, bro. I know you got some celebrating to do, bro. It's such a fucking honor to be able to get you on the pod. You already know. Northeast Ohio ball player, bro. Since I met you, dude, I knew you were going to fucking keep doing great things, man. so happy for you bro. I appreciate that. Bro we gotta tap in. I just wanna pick your brain on some ball and obviously you know talk ball and all that so great to meet you too Jason appreciate you guys having me on here man. It's been an honor and got a lot of love for you guys man. Honor's all ours. Congratulations brother. Appreciate you guys. Captain Hook. Alright Captain Hook. Ladies and gentlemen. Alrighty thank you to Cooper Cup and AJ Barner. Let's hit on some non-football Super Bowl stuff. How about that Travis? I just fucking love those dudes man both of them a1 people ball players god damn it's got to be a fun fucking team to be on right now i can't wait to see the parade tomorrow oh it's gonna be epic we got out of the house san francisco at the super bowl this week yes we did what was the best party the fucking new heights party it was the it was the best dude and i may be biased because new heights is new heights but we had everybody that i could have ever wanted to come through we got to play some fucking arcade games i never get around arcade games enough like i left that like i left that party being like man i wish i could just play a few more games why did they have to just end the night like that you're right everybody that was there there were so many incredible people i don't even want to start listing them just because it's like where do you stop and where do you start but uh it was it was star-studded it was a ton of people that helped put the show on shout out to everyone in the new heights production and with Wondery and Amazon and it was just a it was awesome on every single level and we had a blast oh best place you chugged a beer dude you were all over the place listen I like going to places whenever we get into these cities and checking things out and getting a good feel and doing the tourist thing and had an idea to I'm gonna drink a beer at all these places like that I've always wanted to visit and be at and have a beer at so you know we avoided getting any fines for open containers because I just drink them as fast as possible before the cops can show up And then it you know so we just having a good time All right man This jacket that I wore to the night party is from a store called Love on Hate Got to shout them out over in the hate district of San Francisco, where the hippie movement basically started with the grateful dead, Janis Joplin. Yeah, man. A lot of freaking awesome. Oh, yeah, man. Pretty cool. It's a tie-dye shop. Apparently will always be a tie-dye shop. I love some good tie-dye, man. The thing is epic. San Francisco was an awesome city. probably drank about 60 to 70 beers throughout the week so i'm gonna recharge it had a blast did you dj anywhere no i'm not i'm not a dj quite yet but i am a i am a like proud supporter of djs everywhere i am a big big music guy and i'll go everywhere i saw two of my favorites over in loud luxury at the tight ends of friends party with george and claire and hung out with the chain smokers saw my guy disco lines did you see shibuzi i did i dapped up shibuzi you came over to the hotel i was like i was just with your brother i'm like oh okay so it was like a drive-by dap up man love you yeah you're the best yeah and kept it moving man but shabuzi is fucking awesome dude yeah it was a i felt like that was that's 90 of my conversations at the super bowl i never get a fucking good like hang with anybody even if i've known you my entire life it's always just like a quick like how are things well there's yeah great we gotta catch up i gotta keep moving and it's the worst there's a lot of yeah yeah but it was uh it was awesome to see them and um i ended up catching a stapleton live man that was the coolest performance i think i've ever seen at a super bowl seeing stapleton in person in a venue like that it was very i won't i don't want to say it was intimate but the whoever's event that was which i just showed up because as Chris Stapleton, but whoever's event that was, was fucking, they played it perfectly. Stapleton went up there and fucking rocked the stage as he always does. It was just such a vibe, man. Kylie and I have been to a number of Stapleton shows at this point. I mean, he does not disappoint in any venue, but there is something. We saw him last year's Super Bowl, and it was a similar environment where it's not like small, small, but there's something about it where it's like intimate. He's like right there, and he's just got so much character and feel to his voice and the songs. Well, we got the interview coming up with him that we got that we'll be releasing at a later date. But Chris is the man. Best show I've ever been to still. Like, love going to his shows. Shout out to Stapleton. Shout out to San Francisco. Awesome. Did a great job hosting that Super Bowl. It's the second time I've been to San Fran for a Super Bowl, man. And both of them were so much fun, man. The only negative is like how far the stadium is away from the San Francisco, like, city area. Like, you're driving to go to it. But most of the stuff throughout the week is centrally located in San Fran, which isn't that bad. We grew up in an era of, like, fandom. And Cleveland did this, too. Cleveland had all sporting events in one located area. The Gateway District in Cleveland was that. It was the—you had the tribe. You had Jacobs Field. You have Gundarina. You had— Gundarina. You know what I mean? They kept it all downtown right there. And it was just—it made it easy, and it made so much sense in our minds. The owners, they get so much more opportunity getting to the outskirts of the city. And it's hard to argue with those opportunities. And we're dealing with it right now in Kansas City. Like, we're going over to Kansas. But at the same time, it's like, if you look at that deal in terms of an owner, like, that's one of the greatest opportunities you could ever get as an owner. And I think it's going to be unbelievable once it's finally set in stone, but it is going to be kind of heartbreaking knowing that the Chiefs are going to move away from Arrowhead and that side of like the Missouri side of Kansas City. And it's just a part of the old, you know, professional sports. You know, it is a business at the end of the day. And I think a lot of circling back to the San Fran deal, man, it was still awesome to be around the city of San Francisco, feel the culture, feel the excitement that was going on all week inside that city. And then it's still a beautiful stadium that they played the Super Bowl at. Well, listen, I hear what you're saying. And if I was an owner, I might feel differently. But fuck that. Keep those stadiums in the cities. I know you guys want to make all your money and you want to have your shows and you want to do all this stuff. I hear you, man. The fans pay a lot of the money for you guys to have all these things and for the NFL to exist. and I just, I don't like the stadiums moving. I don't like the Cleveland's moving out of Cleveland. I don't like that. Well, the Arrowhead's already outside of Arrowhead, so I don't really care that much, whether it's in Missouri or Kansas. But like, I don't know, man. These cities, there's something awesome about going downtown into the heart of Cleveland to go see a Browns game. And they could figure out a way to build a new stadium downtown. Like you could build a big, beautiful stadium right down there. And you can do the same thing in Kansas City. You can do the same thing in all these places. and then it wouldn't be an hour and a half drive out there. I get that these owners want to make money. Yeah. But at the same time, I don't know why I don't like it. I don't like it. I hear you, dude. I hear you. That's all I got. We're both on the same train in that regard. It's just kind of how we're built, man. Once again, Bold Topics is brought to you by Pepsi. Let's move on to some Stamps of the Week. Stamps of the Week is brought to you by Raising Cane's. Yeah, buddy. Our friends over at Raising Cane's threw a bunch of fucking parties. I met Todd Graves for the first time. Nice. You actually got to say what's up to him? He's at the New Heights party. Nice, man. I don't need to read any other nominee. I know where I'm going. Stand up of the week goes to Jeff Stoutland. Listen, Jeff Stoutland resigned from his post with the Philadelphia Eagles. This past week, you know, after 13 years as the offensive line coach, I mean, just coached a ton of incredible players. Jason Peters, Todd Harriman, Evan Mathis, myself, Lane Johnson, Jordan Mollata turned him from a rugby player into an all-pro left tackle got Cam Juergens do a Pro Bowl last year Landon Dickerson do some Pro Bowls Isaac Sayumalu like he's just he's done such an incredible job within the Philadelphia Eagles organization and he's been such a mainstay throughout multiple head coaches at this point you know it just sucks to see him go selfishly as an Eagles fan and as somebody who played with him and somebody that I still goes to the you know still goes to facility I still go to NovaCare on a regular basis, and I'm not going to be able to see Stout anymore. And that's just, you know, it's frustrating for me. And I think frustrating for a lot of people in that building because he was a personality that was, you know, a lot of people gravitated towards. And, you know, this is the reality of the business. Coach, I love you. I don't know what's next, but whatever it is, whether it's coaching or whatever, I know you're going to be great at it, as you always are. and you know I get that the team is trying to move forward and really embrace this new system and you know really redesign what this offense is I wish Stout could have been a part of that but sometimes it doesn't work out that way and anyways love you coach couldn't be more happy to have been coached by and 27 Pro Bowl linemen were with Stout over that 13 years wild you already know man We got so much respect for him. And he's one of those guys that you meet in crossing just because you were playing for him. Or I got to meet in crossing just because you were playing for him. And he's one of those guys that you would fucking just know you'd love playing for, man. And it's across the board. Anybody that runs into him knows you're going to get everything this guy has. And on top of that, he's going to be real about it. And we're going to get shit done. one of the best ball coaches that I've known from afar. And could it be more proud to say congrats on, you know, everything that your career has gotten to this point, Coach Stopp, man. We love you over there. And at the same time, if you ever want to come on a podcast and talk some ball with some old has-beens, man, come on over, dude. Always welcome. We love that. Always. All right, what else do we want to get into? Who do I want to give a shout-out to? the quarterback of the Super Bowl Sammy Darnold man you get my fucking stamp of the week stamp of the year man we're so fucking happy for you man and the world is happy for you you've weathered the storm perfectly to where everybody's fucking rooting for you and I'm so fucking I'm so just you know ecstatic for you dog stamp of the week because you fucking fought through the bullshit and you're the fucking crown champion man you're at the top of the fucking mountain couldn't be happier for you man and that wraps up stamp of the week brought to You buy Raising Canes. Get to your Raising Canes. Enjoy some chicken and some toast. Some toast. Don't forget the toast. Thanks to our partner Expedia. When we travel, we like to keep things simple. Of course we do. Expedia is the all-in-one travel shop. When planning trips, flights, hotels, vacation rentals, cars, activities, you name it, it has all of it right there. It does, and that's easily the best thing about using it is that it is all right there. You don't have to go to 15 different sites and yada, yada, yada, bada, bing, bada, boom. You can package it all up in one bundle on Expedia. That's what I've always enjoyed about it. And listen, especially when you're doing it with a big family trip or a trip with the guys, it gets complicated if you're having to go to all these different things, right? So that's where it really comes in handy for me. With Expedia, you can book however you want, lock everything in at once or book it piece by piece, flight by flight, and then house by house and then car by car. You can just do it by your needs. And when you bundle on Expedia, you can save up to 30%. It just makes sense. One place, everything you need, no bouncing between apps. Expedia, the one place you go to go places. Members only. Savings vary, and see the site for details. Thank you to our partner, Pepsi. Oh, I love a good wild cherry Pepsi. Over the weekend, you probably saw Pepsi's new spot with the polar bear doing the Pepsi challenge. And look, we got to talk about it because it's actually kind of wild. It is. It's the Pepsi paradox. Basically, when you take the labels off and just go by taste, people choose Pepsi every single time. Everybody knows this. They brought back the Pepsi challenge. And get this, two-thirds of people said Pepsi Zero Sugar tastes better than the competition. And Pepsi Zero Sugar won in 100% of the markets they tested. That's not just winning. That's dominating. Break out the brooms. because that's what I call a clean sweep. Don't trust us. Find Pepsi Zero Sugar near you and let your taste decide. Because you deserve taste. You deserve Pepsi. Thank you to our sponsor, Allstate. Checking Allstate first could save you hundreds on car insurance. That's smart. Not checking the weather before a work trip. Not smart. Nothing says professional like shivering on the sideline. Yeah, checking first is smart. So check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. Potential savings vary. Subject to terms, conditions, and availability. Allstate, North American Insurance Company, and affiliates in Northbrook, Illinois. Let's get to the Hall of Fame portion of today's show. That's right. First ballot Hall of Famer, Drew Brees. We had a chance to talk to him over in San Francisco, and it did not disappoint. Get ready. Oh, quick shout out to Chase Daniels. Sorry in advance. It was not us. our guest today is a former walk-on quarterback from purdue he is a five-time all pro 13-time pro bowler two-time nfl offensive player of the year nfl comeback player of the year the second most passing yards in nfl history super bowl champion super bowl mvp and also now officially a first ballot hall of famer please welcome drew breeze i mean cheers to that baby Drew you're the man brother thank you so much for coming on thank you I guess we got to start with the hall of fame it just happened yeah it's fresh Dan Fouts that's how you found out yeah yeah he that knock came about three weeks ago it was a great setup supercharger himself I know so I share a birthday with my oldest son Daylon so he's born on my 30th birthday so we we had a birthday weekend it's always Martin Luther King weekend so really the weekend's about him just doing whatever he wants to do so then Monday rolls around and my daughter who's 11 is like the light of my life just says dad I want to take you out to eat I'm like oh nice oh this is the greatest so my wife my daughter they're ready to go five o'clock be ready we're going to take you out to eat so I'm ready and the boys are messing around doing something upstairs I'm like boys let's go you know Rylan wants to take dad out to eat let's go and they're messing around so now I'm starting to get a little fired up I'm like yo Rylan said five o'clock we're leaving the house I'm like about to get in the car and leave and leave them all right and then all of a sudden here's the knock a door and i'm a little i'm like who's knocking the door now we're trying to leave you know my daughter set this up i just want this to be special for her and then there's mr supercharger dan fouts himself in the gold jacket that is incredible welcoming me into the hall of fame so it was they had me it was a good setup what what happens when you feel that like do you like think about your career like you think about like i don't it's it's got to be crazy in that moment right yeah it was uh like i said like my mind was totally elsewhere so it was such a it was such a shock and i mean obviously cameras you know and nfl films and everything too and then all of a sudden it is it's the rush of emotion and um just thinking about getting to that moment and just everything that's transpired and i immediately look at my family and i mean honestly i i played so much longer than i ever thought i would and in many cases i did it because i wanted my kids to remember what dad did so cool man and then i'm looking at them and you know i see their eyes welling up and just you know lost it that's awesome brother so beautiful family walk on to hall of famer brother not not many can say that dog i only know one that may have a chance you shut up so what's the process now have you already thought about like what picture you're going to use for your bust like are you who's going to introduce you i know who's going to introduce me you know I can't say it because I want to make that special. But yeah, it's you start thinking about those. I mean, literally each moment since then has gotten me a little closer to reality. You know, at that time, it's still so surreal and you just want to pinch yourself and you're not sure if this is just a dream. But I'd say yesterday before they announced it at honors, a couple hours before all our class of Hall of Famers, you know, got into a room. So Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Keith, the Adam Vinatieri. yeah roger craig they're all good trav you gotta tell us we're sitting there we got a front row seat to the whole thing yeah and we're we're seeing everybody come out you're the last guy and he taps me on the arm i was like dude this is a great class i'm like yeah jason it's the hall of fame did you expect to not know anyone they were saying but how many first ballot guys like i don't know it does feel like a special i would say this i don't know the last time you actually went and looked at each class of hall of famers it's been a while since they started doing this yeah okay but literally every class it's almost like each one is like whoa that was a great class whoa like that was great i mean every one of them it just makes you realize just how elite it is and and i think that the feeling last night after we were called on to the stage and then all the hall of famers start matriculating out of the crowd and coming up on stage i mean it's like this It's indoctrination, like, welcome. Yeah. I mean, it's like, wow. Man. So do you go in, I know you retire as a certain franchise usually. Do you go into the Hall of Fame as a specific one? Organization? Yeah. Oh, I mean, it's Saints, obviously. No question. That was the one thing that was like, so nothing against Fouts, but that was a little thing that was surprising to me. Is there like a personal connection there? Like, why Chargers and not like a former Saint? So he was one of the first guys that I spoke with when I was drafted, was Dan Fouts. obviously his legendary status did he tell you to just throw to the biggest guy on the field or what exactly he had like the beginning of like this era of tight oh man charlie joyner and chandler and um they were they were some dudes you know he was he's been great to me um ever since i signed you know first signed in in the league and um and obviously a charger legend ironically that coriol offense was one that we ran when i was first in uh that's san diego yeah so there was a connection there too. Awesome. So that was pretty unique. Giving you all the ins and outs, man. That's awesome, dog. You're going in with a division rival, Luke Keekly. Did he give you as many headaches as he did to me trying to freak you? Listen, I love my kicks. He was calling out our plays. Like, I'm like, are you stealing this? How are you this good at knowing what we're about to do? I'll be honest. I think, again, and you never know how the class is going to shake out, but especially Larry Fitzgerald and Luke Keekly. Like, I've always had a real special bond with Larry. He's the best, dude. Funny because, you know, you see each other from afar. I know he was never going to get out of Arizona, and I was certainly never going to leave New Orleans. The only time we had a chance to play together was in Pro Bowls. I mean, how awesome are Pro Bowls? You have a chance to be with these guys that you just have so much respect for. I sure remember you calling out the mic at one of my Pro Bowls. I'm like, I'm figuring Drew Brees is out of here. Hey, bro, you're wired, man. I only know one way. I'm like, we're trying to win, too, right? Yeah, I know. He's like, where are we sliding? I think Jason, just take it easy, man. I got this, bro. You got it. You got it, Jason. You know, Lee, Ray, Lee, let's go over here. We'll get you a double on Aaron Donald over here real quick. So, like, my first Pro Bowl touchdown pass was Larry Fitzgerald. We've had a bond our whole career and really leaned on each other for a lot of things. And then, honestly, Luke Kuechly, best defensive player I've ever played against. Seriously. And he was in the division, obviously. And, like, so when I truly say, like, an iron sharpens iron, guys that just make you better. Like, because you have to be. Like you knew going into that game, like I have to be my absolute best against this dude. Yeah. And so he just brought out the best in me and us. Yeah. And so I really appreciate that about him. Such an unbelievable competitor. But like off the field, like the most genuine dude, like I've spent more time with him over the last 24 hours. Cincinnati. I'm like, dude, I love this guy. Those Ohio ball players, man. There's something about him. I know exactly, right? Cincinnati, you know. I like my Ohio ball players and my Texas gunslinger. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? You already know how it goes. Texas Cabin Ranchers. The biggest surprise with Larry Fitzgerald to me was that he found a pair of corduroy pants that fit him. I mean, that thing, he is thick on the bottom half now. I guarantee you he can move to the tight end room right now and still go for fucking a thousand yards. Solid genetics. Solid genetics. No, Larry's the man. I still remember my first college experience was Larry Fitzgerald playing Notre Dame over in Pitt. Yeah, making freakish catches. watching him in like uh just like routes on air or pack and go and i'm just sitting there i'm like man this dude is the fucking man it was before it same thing exactly yeah it was insane it was just like man this dude's different got it different but even honestly the play that i remember the most from his career which is stupid that he probably will hate that i say this the james harrison interception oh the effort yes yes he is like completely out of the play yeah Running out of bounds, like over woods and tree trunks and doing anything you can to try and make this tackle. I'm just like, dude, that's amazing. Like that is the effort and like what makes somebody different. Like who is going to give that amount of effort? And not just like a special teams guy who has to kind of do that to survive. A Hall of Fame level, like best receiver of all time. Actually, when the class was announced, I started just reflecting on all the plays that I could remember all these guys making. Obviously, that Super Bowl stood out. And like, we've all had those moments where, look, you're in a game like that. There's a ton of exceptional players on the field. Yes. But then there's those times where like one just rises above the rest. And you're just like, for this entire game, that is the best player on the field. That game was a moment like that. Yeah. Where you, like that play. And then the one where they took the lead at the end before the Steelers went down. It's like two men and he beats the corner inside on like just a little delay route. Splits the safeties and gone. And you're like, this dude is the best player on the field. Seriously. Right? It felt like he had one of those every year. He was still young in his career. I mean, it was only like year five maybe, right? Yeah. Or eight? Something like that. Yeah. He was young. What a guy, man. So we did have a potential Hall of Famer come out of retirement this year. Oh! Was there a call when Bo Nix went down? You had to have had a few. Dude, I would say I've had some conversations. And I've had some moments. Yeah. I've had some moments. Yeah. I would say this, like my body feels great. My mind sharp as ever. Shoulder, wrist, not having it. And like to the point where there was a moment this year where literally I was drinking a tequila and something happened where I thought there might be a chance I would play that week. And I literally switched to water and I started thinking about going to bed early and getting up the next day and like get my body nice and loose and going out and throwing to see if I could even pull it off. Yeah. And boy, I was like so mentally right. Got up, got the body loose, went out there, grabbed a ball, drew a couple. My 13 year old son was catching for me. Let's go. And it was just like, I would have been able to like break that glass 10, 10 feet away. You got to take the torrid off first. the good stuff is not in the system yeah right good stuff is not in the system but no i it's honestly look i would i just i really think i'd still be playing if if i if the shoulder and the wrist wouldn't have wouldn't have started to let me down sure um i just i started to lose quite a bit of pop you know and it's one of those things where you know where to go with the ball but can i get it from point a to point b and the amount of time that needs to get there in order to be effective and unfortunately fuck yeah that left man oh man um dude you played with some fucking legends in the tight end room obviously tonio jimmy graham the years that i was turning into a tight end in college where you and jimmy just going absolutely nuts man and that really changed those years with like gauge jimmy being those basketball guys and like really being able to be that mismatch and then you obviously gronk you throw into the fold do you feel that jimmy I don't know I don't want to say this the wrong way I feel like he's never gotten the true respect that he deserves at the tight end position I want to give Jimmy some love because what he's done to change the game I don't think is talked about enough okay I agree and thousand percent Jimmy was so rare I mean here was a guy who played four years of basketball in Miami right had a fifth year of eligibility and it was just like ah you know I played a little high school football I'll go out here and see if I can, you know, run some red zone fates, you know, which I think he caught 11 balls, seven tutties is senior year, fifth year, senior year. And at that point, look, I credit, I credit Sean. I credit our scouting department. Like those guys had a knack for seeing like some raw talent. And, but even seeing through that to like this guy, once we polish him up and like get him in this system and he's going to be exceptional. So we brought Jimmy in as a third round pick in 2011. We had Shockey. Oh, yeah. That was Travis' favorite. Dude, you already know, man. You want to talk about attitude, man. Yeah. And we were doing some interesting things with Shock that honestly, like we did with Gates in San Diego, but it was kind of like this, at any time, just displace them, split them out to the single receiver side. We had this whole system of signals. You know, we try to get, we try to do it in man situations. So we got some favorable matchup and then we just go to town over here, right? Yeah, I can relate. That became Jimmy's thing. But man, Jimmy was just a gazelle. He was just kind of, he was a deer at first. It was like, man, he could run. But he had attitude coming out. No, no, no. Yeah, he had an edge. He had something to prove, like chip on his shoulder big time. But it was a great first year opportunity for him because Shockey was the guy. And then Jimmy was kind of like the bring him in in certain situations and just bring him along. And by the time 2011 came around, it was like he was ready. And then that was his breakout year. It was both, yeah. Him and Gronk. Him and Gronk. Bro, you already know. Going into that last season, that last game, we were playing Carolina. I can't remember who New England was playing, but they were fighting for, I think it was most yards by a tight end. And touchdowns. And touchdowns, right. I think they both ended up with over 15 that year. It was crazy. But literally, like, from drive to drive, it was – I'd come over to the side and be like, where's Gronk? Like, oh, he's 10 yards ahead. Okay, well, let's run this high corner to Jimmy, right? That's a good teammate right there, baby. Unfortunately, our game ended first, so Gronk got the record. But literally, it was one of those, like – I wonder if they were doing the same thing. Oh, totally. You know they were keeping track of it, right? Exactly. For sure. That's the best, man. Honestly, the most unfortunate thing, and literally when I say, like, Jimmy and I cried on the phone together when we traded him. Man. Cried on the phone together. He was with us for five years. And could you imagine what five more years would have been like? Right. You know, at a point where we were just so, like, the chemistry was so strong. Right? You guys created a whole new play. Like there was like the goal line fade. And then there was the Jimmy Graham just fucking throw it to him. This dude would literally just go and post up like in the paint. And it was like it was a fade, but it wasn't a fade. It was more just like a jump ball. We had five different back shoulders. That's crazy. It's crazy. It was the DB's here back shoulder or I'm just going to stand in front of him and you throw it up. There's the bottom line is if you're 6'7", 270, there is nobody. A dude could be standing right next to you. There's still a place I can throw the ball to you. Man my 270 looks way different than that 270 This does bring up something to me that I do want to I have never understood why like why doesn every team just have one guy that a monster that is a guaranteed touchdown Like think about like the tush push, right? It's a guaranteed first down every time you're first. There are so many goal line stands throughout a year that happened inside the five. If you could all, every time, no, you got a six, 10, like just get an NBA guy that wasn't quite good enough in the NBA and just throw him a jump ball. I don't know. Is it, is it harder than that? Am I making this? Yes. It's way harder than what you're making it. Are you kidding me? Okay. Well, I don't, that's why I'm asking. I'm asking two guys that would know. I don't think it looks that hard. And maybe have him rush on kick block too, so he can be, you know, he's got a little special teams value. There you go. That's all you need. Just bring Shaq out of retirement and throw him the ball. He's still going to catch it, right? To your point, I think there was, like, I think Gates revolutionized the game in a lot of ways. I mean, really before that, Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Jimmy Graham, right, these kind of basketball guys that came over and applied a lot of that skill set to what they were doing as tight ends. Jimmy was all heart, man, all heart. And I really wish we could have had five, seven more years together. Yeah, I know. I had to show him some love, dog. Yeah. Yeah, appreciate that. So Hall of Fame, but it wasn't always roses, right? It wasn't always the easiest thing. Mentioned earlier, walk on at Purdue. Early in your career, like a lot of turmoil, coming from the Chargers to the Saints. What was that like? Like a lot of people, you had the injury and, you know, what's going on with the shoulder, all this stuff. What was that like for you at that moment? Uh, the, the injury was devastating in San Diego. Um, because I, I really, there was a moment where I thought I wouldn't play football again. Um, I mean, I, I had been through a lot with the charters. I got drafted there in the second round to back up Doug Flutie, which was the best thing that ever could have happened to me. Cause Doug Flutie was my style of quarterback. We were both undersized, right? He was five, nine and a half a buck 80. Right. But the guy had played 22 years professional football right four different leagues he was mahomes before mahomes from the perspective of like the niftiness magic and just making it happen outside and we would do a lot of under center stuff because it was kind of a bit more pro style two back i backfield running power running different uh weak lead schemes and got lt right and lorenzo neal as our fullback right low low yeah man and doug flutie at times would backpedal a seven step drop from under center when's the last time you saw that this is like fran tarkenton stuff you know but like he was just an old school dude yeah he did push-ups sit-ups ran hills and played basketball that was his that was his like strength and conditioning program and just threw the ball just played ball it was he was like backyard ball but he was he was the epitome of oh i got to get the ball out a little bit sooner than normal just put a little air under it right so that little ball man right just lay it over the wheel in front of the safety to that end cut before he's out of the grate. So like his level of timing and anticipation was second to none. So I learned so much just from observation and watching him. Had a chance to compete against him my second year, won the job. And then he backed me up for three years after that. Now I was benched three times in those three years with Marty Schoenheimer. The first one, I deserved it. The second one, kind of. The third one, I didn't think I deserved it. And I was pissed. And had a knockdown, dragout, screaming match with Marty Schoenheimer on the sideline in December in Pittsburgh and then in the hallway after, and then in his office the next day. Holy cow. At the end of the day, I knew this. Marty was always making decisions that he thought were in the best interest of the team, even if I didn't agree with him. But I love the man. And he developed me in so many ways, character, leadership. But I love and respect that man so much. But finally kind of got to the point where through those ups and downs and through that adversity, I'd earned the starting spot, made my first Pro Bowl in 04, kind of team goes to the playoffs. Even though they drafted Phillip Rivers, Flutie was still there. Like I was the guy and I'd kind of established myself. And then last game of the season in 05, going into an off season where I didn't have a contract, but I was hoping to get like that long-term commitment. And I go down with a dislocated throwing shoulder, right? Literally arms stuck like this, walking off the field. I get to the sideline, they pop that thing back in and I'm just going, man, I'm probably never going to put a Chargers uniform on again. And it's like, I'm going to play football again. Some doctors told me I had a 25% chance of coming back and playing again. So like just absolutely devastating. And yet, I mean, tested me in so many ways, but also I think strengthened just my faith and in the unseen and unknown that, uh, you know, God's got a plan for me. And it may not be in San Diego and that's okay. I just have to trust it. And that's, that's how New Orleans, the New Orleans opportunity came along. No doubt. Sailor from there. I, uh, dude you very do you think the the qbs in today's game are are on a real short leash does it feel like that or do you think it's fair still that you know you gotta you gotta show up when when you're called upon i think we do most of them a disservice um i mean look there's high expectations right and i think it's the coaches are on short leashes um you know the the fan bases you know want a winner now yeah um i mean you look at sam darnold and everything that he's overcome i think It's a highly inspirational story and journey. And there's a few others like that. Baker Mayfield, kind of a similar situation. I think there's so much to play in this position, as you know. That's why I got out of there, dude. Former Q. Exactly. Always ready for the double pass. Whenever. Always ready for the double pass. Like you said, I don't know if I can get it there anymore, so I'll just ladder it. I can still pitch at five yards. I'm good. Yeah. I think there's, in most cases, too, these high draft picks are going to teams that obviously have a lot of holes to fill as well. Yeah, I think, who was it? Aikman was saying that a lot of these organizations are failing these QBs more than they're failing the organization. Yeah, it's true. I mean, when you play the game long enough, you can pinpoint it. You can see which ones that are, you know, maybe getting that disturbance that you're talking about and others that are just, you know, need to make those strides. I would say this. I mean, look, I sat for a year behind Flutie. So valuable for me. Mahomes sat for a year behind Alex Smith. I'm sure so valuable for him. Brady sat for a year behind Bledsoe. Aaron Rodgers sat for three years. Jordan Love sat for three years behind him. There is something to sitting for a period of time because you will glean a ton. And then when it is your time, a little more of like feeling like you've earned it too, and this is my opportunity. I've been preparing for this opportunity. Here we go. as opposed to if you're going to throw a guy in the fire right away, man, there's going to be ups and downs. You just got to be ready for it and you got to be patient with it. No doubt. And I think it's also like when you go into a room with a guy that's been doing it for a long time, so many of these guys, like the coach is one thing, but seeing a player playing the position and how they prepare. Like I do remember this vividly. When we drafted Carson Wentz, they purposely went and got Chase Daniels because he was with you in New Orleans. and like they were doing is like showing Carson how you prepared. Yeah. He's like, we're going to get in at 6 a.m. We're going to do this. This is how Drew prepared and like all that. Like it's so important to have that perspective of it for some of these young Qs as well. I have two theories around when a quarterback is going to be ready. Yeah. Number one is having a great veteran backup or veteran starter who starts in front of you for a period of time before you then have the opportunity, which is kind of what we just talked about. The second is, I think you need roughly 50 high-level starts before you are really there and ready. Those high-level starts could be college. Plenty of times we've seen this potential drafted, but they only had 15 college starts. Well, if that's the case, it's going to take them three years before they're ready. I'm just telling you. Then start looking at the guys like Brock Purdy. Brock Purdy, a undersized, all these things, like 50 college starts at Iowa State. So I can tell you, most of the times when they step foot on the field, they were the underdog. Yeah, bitch, won't ball. He was having to play. He was doing a lot of balls, too. They were having to punch well above their fighting weight. Oklahoma, Texas still in the conference, everything. Right? You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? So he comes in and you're like, okay, he's got some experience. Like he's got something to him. Hence why maybe this success happened a little bit quicker. And he's playing for a really good team with some good players, right? There's some other examples of that um but yeah i i think it's the number of starts really has a lot to do with their readiness yeah i think to step into that role too okay i like it what i got chase daniels making a hell of a fucking living in the nfl huh i love chase lives down the street for me i gotta bless chase balls i think the last stat i saw the most money earned per snap in the nfl than any man in history. I've heard that same stat. I think it's got to be accurate. Chase, well done. Well done. Hacked it. Hacked the system. Hey, but to his credit, always fucking ready. Always ready. Always prepared. First one in, last one out. Dude, you talk about like chip on the shoulder. I messed with Chase. I'm like, dude. Him and Mizzou was fucking fun to watch. Him and J-Mac. Yeah. I was like, I've never seen a quarterback in the NFL shaped like high school nose guard, bro. But you did it. No, you did it. You made it. Oh my God. You're here. You did it. That's great. That is great. Chase is better. I love you, Chase. That's so good. Back to your career. You go from the Chargers and you end up in New Orleans. First of all, how close were you to ending up in Miami Dolphins? Miami, yeah. Close. I mean, on paper, that was an obvious decision. It was Miami all the way. Miami had Nick Saban. They had just come off a 9-7 season where they won the last seven in a row. So they kind of had it figured out. Defense was lights out. Zach Thomas, Jason Taylor. Oh, yeah. Same baby. Their offense, I loved all their coaching staff. Mike Malarkey was the OC. Jason Garrett, quarterback coach. Hudson Hough was our O-line coach who had been our O-line coach the year before when we had won the division. Love HUD. They were running the same offense that we were running, like Miami Dolphins. I'm sitting there eating dinner on Wayne Huizinga's yacht. He's there at dinner talking about, hey, we're going to go play golf in Scotland every summer with Dan. I got a helicopter over there. We're just going to hop around. No state income tax. I'm like, dude, this is wallpaper. Miami, here I come. And then on the flip side, you got New Orleans, right? Six months post Katrina, some unknown head coach named Sean Payton, right? Who's this guy, right? And ironically, five years previous when I was being, when I was being like in the draft, Tom Condon, my agent, I had probably 15 teams that I thought might draft me. And he's like, we're going through that list leading up to draft day. And he's like, man, you got all these great possibilities. He's like, man, you know, honestly, the only one I would really not want you to go to is of New Orleans Saints, like kind of dysfunctional party town, this and that. Like, so I had that ringing in my head as well. Right. So again, on paper, it's like, this is so obvious and I'm not leaving anything to chance. I'm going to go and I'm going to give each one like it's fair opportunity. And like the Miami trip was amazing with the exception of, they put me through the ringer, like six hours of these medical testing. Cause I was only two, like eight weeks post-op on an eight month rehab. So I was nowhere close. I mean, my arm, you know, I'm still kind of in a sling, you know, and I can't do anything. And there they do the, uh, you know, the saline solution, the contrast MRI. So I'm like in an MRI too, for two hours, just aching. Right. I get out of that. They stick these big needles in my shoulder to test nerve endings. They're, they're, they're wanting to test everything. So I just, I got this feeling of like doubt, like they don't really. And, and then their doctors were the ones who told Saban, we think he's got a 25% chance of ever coming back and playing again. And I go to New Orleans and it's like, you are our guy. Like Sean Payton, Mickey Lemus, you're our guy. We're building this offense around you. They did everything they could to kind of roll out the red carpet, despite all the circumstances. I mean, New Orleans was still destroyed. And the epic story is Sean Payton, after this great visit there gets lost in the Lakeview neighborhood and we're driving through there and houses are off of foundation, Chevy truck upside down a living room. All of a sudden car stops. There's a tugboat in the middle of the road. And I'm looking at my wife like, are you seeing what I'm seeing? But it was also one of those moments like, man, this is so much bigger than just football. Like we get to be a part of one of them, you know, the resurrection of one of America's greatest cities. Like this is God's calling in our life. And so that was the determining factor. There's so much beauty down there that got restored through you guys bringing that happiness to them and fucking kudos, brother. that's amazing that's a crazy story though you went from literally being like that's what free agency is like you get to go on yachts and like yeah you're told you get to golf all over the world with everyone to like sit in an mri for two hours that's crazy man you end up with sean payton yeah what are your first impressions of sean what was it like to be coached yeah i i would say this i there were moments and look this this stayed true for 15 years where i thought bill Parcells was standing in front of us. Really? I would say his biggest influence is John Gruden, Bill Parcells. When he would get up and start installing offensive football, you know, it was like John Gruden, right? But then when he would get pissed off and try to go toe-to-toe with somebody or challenge somebody or get confrontational, dude, it was Parcells, man. Yeah. It was all Parcells, yeah. In fact, there were those moments where I could tell he would get up in the team meeting, I could just watch him walk in. I'd be like, ah, shit, he talks about himself. He's going to be one of these. I could feel it, you know? And we were going to get it, you know? But it was good. I mean, it was always just, it was wisdom. You see him and Bo Nix's relationship and see a little bit of the beginning stages. Oh, yeah, man. There's some fire. Yeah. There's some fire. Bo throws it back at him, too. Dude, absolutely. And I think Sean appreciates that. That's what I was going to say. I was going to say the same thing. We had Howard Mudd early in my career in Philly. Oh, yeah. And I felt like he used to sometimes just yell at you to see what your response would be and i think that sometimes it's like more even mental like he they want that like fire out of a guy and like if you're willing to answer that you're willing to stick up for yourself like no coach i think that this is what you told me and i'm you know i mean that goes a little bit with those guys what i appreciated so much about sean was um he had an ability to order the chaos like to to to block out all the noise and just give you a very key into a very defined like keys to victory. And narrow it down to the point where, hey, man, this is our vision. This is the path to get there. And now let's go execute. He instilled confidence in guys. He had a way to motivate guys through kind of humor. You know, his coaches just have a knack. I'll give you an example. It was like we had a safety one time who was getting all kinds of interceptions, but he wanted to bust his balls in practice just to kind of keep him honest. So he's like, hey, you know, DB, he's going to intercept it, but we got to block everybody because he's slow. He's slow as molasses. They're going to hawk him before he gets to the end zone. So we got to block everybody in order for him to get in. He would just make comments like that. Just in case you started feeling pretty good about yourself. He'd just keep you honest, hold you accountable. So he had a knack for that. And then I would say just his open and honesty to you. He was always open door policy. Come see me anytime you want. If you want to talk about anything, you may not like what I have to tell you but i'm always gonna be honest with you come on now so guys come up there i'm not happy about my playing time or this and that he's like okay well let me tell you why but now let me tell you how we can rectify that or how we can fix it how we can get better than that and he would give you that path and that vision and he was amazing at that that's awesome the kind of guys you want to play for man i gotta ask this too like very opinionated guy offensive genius sean payton yeah hall of famer one of the most brilliant minds in the game yeah What was it like game planning with you guys? Like there's like, who's, are you getting plays? Like, how does that go? Was it full trust or were you throwing in your, your input on, on the Mondays and Tuesdays getting up to the Wednesdays? I'd say, I mean, it was very collaborative. It's funny. I went back and looked at a 2006 call sheet, which was our first year. And this in 2020, I was like, Hey, pull up at 06 call sheet. And bro, it was like third grade compared to where we had evolved to 2020. A lot of that, though, was because we had been together so long that it's not like you really eliminate. You just kind of like add little layers to everything. Oh, yeah, little wrinkles of everything. It's just little wrinkles. His ability just to walk in and be like, hey, you remember in 2010, we're playing the Eagles and we're down there in the red zone. And it's like, oh, yeah, coach, like, it's amazing the recall you have. I can't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday, but I can recall a game 15 years ago in the red zone. I can recall more of the times that it didn't happen, though. So if somebody says, oh, because those are the ones I sit there and I think about for the next three days on how to defeat it if I get it again. Yeah. So those are the ones that just get like implemented in my brain. It's trauma. I've thought about this a lot. It's literally like you have these traumatic experiences on game day because it's either something that was like a disappointment that then just lingered and you just like hyper analyzed for the next week. Dude. right or it was kind of like one of those like a bit of fear and it was like some chemical reaction in your brain that just like seared it i'm getting goosebumps right now thinking about this yeah yeah seriously yeah for sure but i like that no staring at the ceiling why didn't i go left outside release this oh yeah that's it that's all i had to do no but you're right there i wonder what it would be like as a then a young quarterback coming into a system though that was literally like a 15 years worth of, you know, PhD work to get it to that point. Right. And then all of a sudden it's like kind of having to go back to, you know, square one. Right. Cause we did evolve so much and there was such a level of trust. Like it got to the point where I knew what he was going to call when, how, why, right. That whole play callers intent. I mean, we were just so much on the same page. And then the communications on the sideline were awesome. Like fourth down, you got to play. You're like, hell yeah, coach. I got one. All right, let's go. That's awesome. Hell yeah. It's the best kind of moments, man. Right. We got to ask you this. We've been asking this a little bit. Fill in the blank. People forget that blank was a problem. Kind of like somebody that, like, we already kind of did it a little bit with Jimmy, but he's not really that forgotten, I guess. Yeah. Listen. I'm going to get a plug for my guy, Jory Evans. Jory Evans. Jory Evans. You know, you got to teach us a little something. Jory. Right, Jory. You don't know who Jory is? Yeah. Tell me, dude. Top 15. I always thought it was Jory Evans, so I'm sorry, Jory, but yes. Future Hall of Famer. Yes. He was in the top 15 this year. He was top 15 last year. Yes. Philadelphia native. Philly native. Yeah. Exactly. Five-time All-Pro. I think for a long period of time, best guard in football. Well, it was him and Carl Nix, both of those guys. Absolutely. Having those two dudes. You want to hear a good Carl Nix story? Please. Please. All right. So we draft Carl Nix out of Nebraska, like fifth round, which was a steal, just because he was one of the most giant human beings you've ever seen, right? Like 6'4", 360 or something. so we uh we have a bunch of injuries all of a sudden he's starting at left guard this is 08 his rookie year like week two or three so like dude he's fish out of water and we're short now at o-line too because the guy had gotten hurt so we're hot practice outside new orleans and he's taking every rep first team second team so he's like 35 consecutive plays in and he's just dragging sucking air like it's thick outside and o-line coach doug marone is just on him on and on him and like I'm stepping up into the huddle again to call a play and Carl is just kind of bent over just sucking air and Marone just to kind of make a point he goes into the huddle to grab Nick's to like you know stand him up and I don't know what came over me but like I just have a rule that when I step in the huddle it's my huddle I want all eyes on me I'm leading this yeah and so when Marone stepped into huddle I I didn't even think about it I just reacted I grabbed Doug Marone and I threw him out of the huddle. Oh my gosh. And I said, I got him. Yeah. And I looked at Nick's and I was going to kind of help him up and be like, come on, big fella, let's go. You know, 10 more plays, whatever. Yeah. And Nick's just kind of stood up like bowed his chest down. He looked at me. He's like, man, nobody's ever going to touch you. Like you got my back, boy. I got you for life. Awesome. Holy cow. That's great. And then four years later, highest paid garden football. That's right. Unfortunately, one with us, it went to the Bucs. Both of those guys together were awesome. Oh, they were a problem. That's badass. We always end it with one question. We've got to take it back to the early days, dog. What was your welcome to the NFL moment? Oh, dude, I'll tell you, the hardest I've ever been hit was Zach Thomas. 2003 in Miami. Again, one of these trauma moments. So we run like this little fake counter week, play-action play. You know, the line is slamming it down. Here comes the guard to kick out the end back, just kind of chipping off the edge out in the flat. And then you have some, you know, exotic down the field route concept. And so here's Zach Thomas. He reads this guard pull. So he just kind of comes over here and I come off this play action fake and my eyes are trying to look down the field, but I see it was like the parting of the Red Sea. And then it's me and Zach Thomas, but he's like 15 yards away. And it's zone, it's zone. Zach you're supposed to be like deep metal or like hook over here right but it's one of those like oh nobody's accounting I see it and he just starts hauling ass and it's one of those like oh no I mean like I got time he's got to take like 15 steps to get to me right he closed that gap so fast and I had to cut this ball loose so much earlier than I wanted to and I just felt like this is going to be bad and i threw it and just kind of tried to like spin turn he hit me so hard like i think i did like a double back flip landing on my head now they did throw the flag because he did he hit me square in the side of the head yeah dude like i under throw the ball by like 15 yards it gets picked sam madison or one of those guys and but they throw the flag so we get the play but i was just like oh my god like is that how hard these dudes hit yeah that's crazy that's amazing I do want to ask you. Darren Sproles. We didn't talk about him at all. What was Sproles? I mean, one of my all-time favorite teammates. All-time favorites. So first thing I'd say is, like, you know, leadership comes in all shapes and sizes. Oh, right now. Seriously. And that dude did not have to say a word. Right. Like, you just watch the way he works and watch the way he approached his craft. Like, every rep was a Super Bowl rep, a full-speed rep. Like, I love that dude so much. He was my workout partner in San Diego forever, like just in the off seasons. And actually the story goes, 2011 is the lockout year. I start to get the feeling as we're working out that off season that Reggie's going to get traded. Right. And we're all on our own. Like we're not back at the facility. So there's a lot of just craziness. And right before the season start, we trade Reggie to the Miami Dolphins. And in the meantime, like I'm calling Sean Payton and I'm like, we have to get Sproles. Like I'm sitting here throwing with him every day. And he was having a little riff with the Chargers. And I was like, if we're trading Reggie, we have to get this guy. So sure enough, that happens. We have him for three years. Like we were together. He was drafted to the San Diego Chargers in 05 when I was there. So our running back room was LaDainian Tomlinson, Mike the Burner Turner. You remember Mike Turner? Hell yeah, I remember Mike. Big Mike T. And then Darren Sproles. And Darren Sproles was our little scat back. But he's a generational player. Hell yeah. I think if you're going to watch like a choice route reel, like how do you just arc release out of the backfield, set a linebacker up with a vertical stem, and then break out cross face, hook it up. It used to drive me crazy. Anytime we would get, and this is before they started doing the five-man fronts with the running zone. Every other time they'd been a bare front, it was man cards. I'm like, why the hell are we not just throwing it to Darren Sproles? I'm dead serious. It used to make me mad. Nobody's going to guard this dude in space. Just throw him the ball. Who's going to tackle him? I was furious. Here's my other Spolze story. We're on a two-minute drive, 2013, against the Niners. The Niners defense was stout, right? So here you are, Navarro Boehm and Patrick Willis. Studs. We're kind of approaching midfield. All we need is a field goal. So they start trying to light us up, right? And I remember at one occasion, I know it's going to be man. And here are these two guys who are lined up in the A-gaps. And they're going to hit it. And I know I got Jimmy Graham matched up on the matchup I want. But I also know we're going to have to hold up for a second. So I remember just like looking over at Sproles. And I just be like, it's going to be like, you know, Navarro Bowman. I'm like, hey, bro, just bow up just one time. Please. And Sproles, he gets in there. He was an underrated blocker, man. I know. Seriously. Like this low center of gravity. Yeah. He was freaking all heart, man. He was all heart, all effort. I love the dude. Like he would step up and do that whenever you needed. He was a stud. One of my all time favorites, man. That's awesome. Drew, you're the man. Thank you so much. Thank you for the story, bro. Yeah, bro. Congratulations. Have a good one, man. Thank you. The legend, dog. All right. That wraps up another episode of New Heights. Thank you to Drew Brees. Oh, my love. Yeah, Drew. He's so much. He's so electric. Did not disappoint for one second. Oh, it's the best. It's incredible. Oh, let's also not forget about A.J. Barner and Cooper Cupp, Super Bowl champions. Can't wait to see what you guys do in the big parade tomorrow. Thanks for coming on the show. Reminder, we are off next week, but we will be back with fresh New Heights starting February 25th. Make sure you subscribe to the New Heights channel on YouTube and follow New Heights in the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes of New Heights ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Once again, New Heights, a Wondery show. and brought to you by Xfinity. Xfinity's got a crazy five-year plan where you don't got to pay a dollar more throughout the entire five years. It's crazy stuff. You guys should look into it. Follow the show on all social media at New Heist Show with one S for fun clips throughout the week. We're going to have a bunch for you after this one. And thanks to New Heist production crew for always making us look way better. And thank you guys for throwing a hell of a fucking party, hell of a fucking Super Bowl week. We love you guys. And also the 92% for always tuning in. You guys make this thing possible. So we got a bunch of fun stuff coming up, but I'm going to go get some sleep. I love you guys.