Being “checked out” as Ravens owner but still calling the Big Shots

It was a rapid-fire hour of stream of consciousness for the media-reluctant Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, who hasn’t appeared in eight years for any local questioning about his $6 billion franchise. Our Luke Jones was in Owings Mills while Nestor observed the press conference on the internet and here’s what we learned, observed and heard from upper management regarding the search for a new head coach and the role of two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson in helping Eric DeCosta identify the right candidate to replace John Harbaugh.

Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discussed the recent press conference by Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, who acknowledged his reduced engagement with the team and confirmed John Harbaugh’s departure. Bisciotti expressed a preference for experienced coaches over young, untested ones, hinting at a potential hire of a veteran like Mike Tomlin. They also touched on the future of Lamar Jackson’s contract, with Bisciotti indicating flexibility in negotiations. The conversation highlighted Bisciotti’s candidness about his reduced involvement and the potential impact on the team’s future decisions.

• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Transcribe the Steve Bisciotti press conference in real time and produce a written record for the show
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Run the Candy Cane Cash giveaway at the State Fair event in three weeks (giveaway of cups/bowls tied to the promotion)
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Continue real-time coverage of Ravens head-coach search and publish hiring updates first on WNST when candidates are announced

Steve Bisciotti’s Press Conference and Initial Reactions

• Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discuss the recent press conference held by Steve Bisciotti in Owings Mills.
• Nestor mentions his community involvement and his State Fair shirt, highlighting local businesses and personal connections.
• Luke Jones reflects on Bisciotti’s previous press conferences, noting the last one was in early February 2018 during the Super Bowl week.
• Nestor and Luke discuss Bisciotti’s unpolished, straightforward approach and his acknowledgment of potential changes in team management.

Bisciotti’s Combativeness and Media Interaction

• Nestor describes Bisciotti’s demeanor during the press conference, likening it to a cage fight with the media.
• Bisciotti’s interactions with journalists like Jerry Coleman and Mike Preston are highlighted, showing his readiness to defend himself.
• Nestor contrasts Bisciotti’s current behavior with his past interactions, noting a shift towards being more combative and less community-focused.
• Luke Jones observes that Bisciotti’s responses were not rehearsed but rather spontaneous, reflecting his personality.

Bisciotti’s Acknowledgment of His Disengagement

• Bisciotti admits to being less engaged with the team compared to the past, acknowledging his disengagement.
• Nestor and Luke discuss the implications of Bisciotti’s disengagement, including potential changes in team management and decision-making.
• Bisciotti’s comments on John Harbaugh and his relationship with him are analyzed, showing a mix of respect and disengagement.
• The conversation touches on the impact of fan disenchantment and the role it played in Bisciotti’s decision-making.

Potential Candidates for the Head Coach Position

• Nestor and Luke speculate on the potential candidates for the head coach position, including veterans like Mike Tomlin and Jim Schwartz.
• The discussion includes the possibility of hiring a young, promising coach like Nate Sheldon or Davis Webb.
• Nestor suggests that Bisciotti’s comments indicate a preference for experienced coaches who have faced challenges and learned from them.
• Luke Jones emphasizes the importance of finding the right coach who can work well with Eric DeCosta and the current team setup.

Lamar Jackson’s Contract Status and Future

• Bisciotti discusses Lamar Jackson’s contract status, indicating a willingness to extend his deal but also acknowledging potential complications.
• Nestor and Luke analyze the potential structures of Jackson’s contract, including the possibility of lowering his cap number.
• The conversation highlights the importance of Jackson’s involvement in the hiring process and his influence on the new head coach.
• Bisciotti’s comments on Jackson’s future with the team are seen as a reflection of the organization’s commitment to him.

Final Thoughts and Future Steps

• Nestor and Luke reflect on the overall tone of Bisciotti’s press conference, noting a mix of honesty and disengagement.
• The conversation ends with a discussion on the next steps for the team, including the hiring process and potential candidates.
• Nestor emphasizes the importance of community engagement and the need for the team to reconnect with its fans.
• Luke Jones concludes by highlighting the challenges ahead and the need for a strategic approach to the team’s future.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Steve Bisciotti, press conference, John Harbaugh, Eric DeCosta, Lamar Jackson, coaching search, media interaction, ownership engagement, contract extension, Mike Tomlin, Jim Schwartz, Vance Joseph, Sean McVay, NFL coaching, Ravens future.

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SPEAKERS

Luke Jones, Nestor Aparicio

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T. Am 1570 tasks in Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive, positively. On the other end of like a once in a decade thing, Steve shotty came to Owings Mills and spoke. I’m going to be coming throughout the community, and I have my state fair shirt on because Catonsville was hit by some bandits over the weekend. My state fair family at Beaumont, at El Guapo in the basement, including Lou weincam, my dear friend at Franco’s, they got the best bookmaker in town. Even my cat loves the shrimp. But what happened over there? I had lunch at Beaumont on Monday. I want to give them some love. I don’t have a Beaumont shirt to wear, but I got a State Fair shirt to wear, so I’m going to do that. We will have the candy cane cash is to give away when we get the State Fair for a cup of soup or bowl in three weeks. Luke Jones was in Owings Mills in the afternoon. I heard you get one question in there, somewhere in the top 10, but not too high. You and I have not talked off the air. This is a shoot interview. You’re not even wearing your pizza John’s hat. You look like. You look respectable. You look like. Should I put it on? You know that might be your good guy bad guy hat, your Essex hat, or your reporter hat. You have your reporter Deacon Jones shirt on. Go ahead, man. I got a million thoughts on it. I’m transcribing it as we speak because we’re doing this in the immediate aftermath of it. So first reaction is, what for you?

Luke Jones  01:31

Yeah, I mean, I think it’s about what I expected. We know and I know this even though this had been the first time Steve spoken in this kind of a setting locally in eight years, you know, as we talked about at length for a long time, the last time he had taken questions in this kind of forum in Owings Mills in his building had been, what, early February of 2018 you know, the I believe you and I were in Minneapolis at that at that time, That was the Eagles patriots Super Bowl.

Nestor Aparicio  02:02

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I used to cue Kevin Byrne about so during Super Bowl weeks, he could keep us out, and then eventually they just, you know, who knows? It just went away, like, literally, you

Luke Jones  02:10

know, so and obviously that was such a strange time. I mean, that was the time where he acknowledged, you know, he at least gave a passing thought to parting ways with John Harbaugh. Then that’s when he acknowledged that 2018 was going to be Ozzie newsome’s last year as general manager, and they were going to officially pass the baton to Eric to Costa after that. And it was also a couple months before they drafted Lamar Jackson. So gives you an idea of just how long it’s been Steve’s never been polished in the sense that he’s going to sit there and have rehearsed answers he’s going to shoot from the hip. And you know, in that way, I’ve found him to be refreshing over the years, and that it’s not necessarily rehearsed to the point where he made Kevin. Kevin Byrne cringe a

Nestor Aparicio  02:59

few arms rehearse complete. Yeah, but it also felt like he didn’t even consider thinking about like, yeah. Like, not shocked by the questions, but like, never considered that. Nobody’s ever asked me that before. Never had to be accountable for that before. Let me think about it. Let me I and I don’t know, man, my wife came in and said, How was it? I said, it’s different for people in the audience. I know Steve. Steve’s been my home. I know Steve Well, in all sorts of walks of life. I know Steve founded that be kind of belligerent. That was the word I used, sort of like he, he came out looking for a cage fight with the media, and I wasn’t even in the room. I mean, scoffed at Jerry Coleman. Mike Preston gave the mike Tomlin thing, which dude at 205, I’m engaged in the screen of bishati, looking all angry, kept tapping on the mics and, like, ready to fight in some way, or defend his honor, defend his honor. But, I mean, it was just, was almost like me, sort of like demonstrative, like performative, but not that’s, is the way he is. He was not acting. I see John Harbaugh’s an actor. That’s Steve. What you got was what you got, sure, but I did feel like it was, wasn’t very happy, it wasn’t very recruiting of the community. It just was, I don’t know what I’ve come to know over him over the last 15 years, which is, like, sort of a little bit of an angry, nasty guy. And I don’t, I don’t get it. He’s a billionaire. He’s made a lot of money. And I get that, you’re firing the coach and, like all of that. I mean, I got some chuckles out of him, but it’s usually, it’s somebody’s expense. I mean, when they wide screened at the Costa, I don’t know how much you looked at the Costa, but when they pulled him onto the screen, it was weird. In the end, I just found all of it to be not the guy I remember from 18 years ago. You know what I mean, not the community facing dude when he fired Brian, that. Not that he has to be crying. I don’t want any of that, right? Just a little bit more like thoughtful in fans have 100 questions. Let me think of the first 50, and at least give kind of a, not a rehearsed answer. But I felt like it was kind of unprepared. And he said things like, I checked out. Just said things that like, sort of like, Yeah, I know you checked out. If you didn’t check out, Chad steel and Sashi brown wouldn’t be running the place. And I don’t know I I didn’t like it. I mean, I didn’t turn off. I learned, I learned that Steve is checked out. You know what? I mean, yeah, I learned that he cares less than he used to. I learned that he’s got more money than he’s ever had. He’s more arrogant that he’s been. And I just found that that not, that’s not the guy I met in College Park, 26, year, five, four, whatever year was 2000 2000 whatever it was, right? I’m just, I remember talking to that guy at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville one night for an hour in the press box, just about things in the community and die from Dundalk, you know, like, where’s that guy? Like, pub, there was nothing about that that made me want to be a bigger Ravens fan, or like he cares more. Felt like he cared less. And that’s weird to me. I don’t know, just on the face of it, it looks like he’s not happy owning the team. You know that that bums me out.

Luke Jones  06:25

Oh. I mean, I would say, in fairness to him, I mean, he flat out, said that John Harbaugh’s like a brother to him. And I’ll be, I’ll be totally honest with you, I didn’t get the your takeaway where he was combative with the media. I didn’t really take, take it that way. I don’t know. I mean, Steve’s what, what you see is what you get, right? I mean, he’s, you know, it’s not going to be polished. There are a lot of ums in the middle of it. And I’m not even saying that to, like, take a shot at his dick, but at His diction, or anything like relevant but no, but I’m just saying in the sense that it’s not like, it’s not like he wrote out a big master script that he was, that he was

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Nestor Aparicio  07:05

questions you guys asked, Were 12 of the first 20 anybody would ask? And I hear I was real, like, I had an opinion on all of these. He has strong opinions on everything. Let’s that’s very clear, right? I mean, really, um,

Luke Jones  07:22

I was very surprised. I will wholeheartedly agree with you. I was very surprised at just how forthcoming he was about being as checked out as he is now, compared to 10. I mean, he talked, he talked, you know, someone asked him about, you know, alluding to what his exit strategy is going to be. Is there an exit strategy, you know, have you changed? Have you revisited your original position was that you weren’t going to pass it down to, you know, in your family, you know? And he reconfirmed that that’s not his plan. And he kind of talked about, at one point in his ownership, when he was more involved with, you know, the competition committee and different things of that nature that, you know that he, at one point, did have a vision of a gold jacket one day, but he said, you know, circa 2010 1112, somewhere in that neighborhood, he kind of realized, like, oh, that involves working way harder than I want to. So, I mean, I thought that, I thought that was interesting. But again, I was, I was a little interested. I thought it was a little interesting as well. Like you said, at him acknowledging that, as much as he did that he’s not as engaged on a regular basis with it, you

Nestor Aparicio  08:30

know, he talked about, then, how can he know whether Sashi Brown is doing a good point, and

Luke Jones  08:34

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that’s fair, and that’s fair. So, you know, I thought his, I thought his answer on John, he acknowledged that this is something that had become a stronger and more distinct possibility, starting three four weeks ago, which certainly coincides with the back to back losses to the Bengals and the Steelers, as we talked about a lot, and certainly that, you Know, the Sunday night loss to New England. You know, he made it pretty clear that he had kind of come to his decision after Sunday night’s loss to Pittsburgh. Not Not that he was, not that he was 100% on that, but at that point, he said he was kind of falling on his instincts to make that move. I think he came across continuing to be very flattering of John, and very much made it sound like John was still in a good place with him, to the point where

Nestor Aparicio  09:29

I thought that the same way about Tomlin. Like, yeah, he did John a favor that, you know, John’s off the hook here. It’s all cool. John didn’t love it here anymore, either kind, you know, kind of sort of

Luke Jones  09:39

kind of felt like he was fatigue. I think you and I, and I think we’ve alluded to this, and we’ve, I mean, we were talking about this even a year ago, you know, even post AFC title game, I think everyone was just tired like that, I will say. And I’m not someone that tries to read someone’s body language too much, because you don’t know what’s on.

Nestor Aparicio  10:00

You’re different, you’re in the room with them, you know, are a different in that way, as much as you’re not the favorite like Jameson and Jeff’s Rebecca are and Mike Preston is number three. Of course, we found that I

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Luke Jones  10:10

was number seven on the question list, you know, because you mentioned that. Um, I will say this, and again, I’m not going to sit here and say, like, oh, I told you. So I knew this was going to happen. I up until Monday, I was still not convinced that they were going to make a change to this of this nature, to this magnitude. But I will say John seemed tired this year, like it seemed like and and it wasn’t even, I mean, I would say in terms of his dealings with the media, he’s had seasons where he was far less pleasant with the media than what he was this year, so it wasn’t

Nestor Aparicio  10:44

even so much that he didn’t even have the energy to be angry as much as, yeah, I mean, I he wasn’t nearly as cranky as he usually is, for every getting their ass beat as much. He wasn’t fire and brimstone for sure, right?

Luke Jones  10:56

And that’s not to say didn’t care. It’s not to say the players didn’t care. It’s not to say that anyone didn’t care like and and both Steve and Eric were very clear about making it like we’re not. This is all of us, like John’s the one who ultimately took the fall, but we’re all culpable here. So, but yeah, I mean, just to go back to John, it just, I don’t know, it almost felt and Steve alluded to this. It was kind of funny. He was asked about, you know, the fan, you know the fan disenchant disenchantment and seeing empty seats or fans leaving early or going oh and three and prime time home games, and you know what, what role that might have played. And Steve diminished that. But then he went on to say how angry it made him that John was feeling the brunt of that, you know, that John was taking way more bullets than anyone as he’s going to, he’s the head coach, and he’s talking every day, as opposed to the GM or the owner or the team president or the majority of the assistant coaches, right, other than the coordinators. And so he kind of gave an answer, saying that that wasn’t, you know, that wasn’t influential in his decision, but then he alluded to, there was part of him that almost felt like relief for John, that John wasn’t going to be in that position anymore, right? So, so that almost would lead you to believe that maybe the fans, maybe that influence was more than he alluded to, right? So there were a couple moments here and there and again, this is kind of what happens.

Nestor Aparicio  12:21

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Criticism, sure, no, but he’s a billionaire. No one talks back to him, which is why I’m so incredibly flippant, because I tell him shit he needs to hear. Like, seriously, he came in there ready to brawl. It felt like to me, like, what do you got? You know? And it’s like

Luke Jones  12:43

eight years I got a lot pal, I mean, a lot, I don’t know, I didn’t take it that way as much, but that said there were, there were some instances, and I just cited one where he’d say something, but then, you know what, how he go into it, and he go off on a tangent and, you know, kind of talking out of both sides of his mouth, a little bit in that way. I mean, I was, I famously think of Ed Reed, who did that once upon a time, who would would manage to have the same monolog where he would talk about retirement and wanting a new contract in the same paragraph, right where you just say, Okay, well, which is it so,

Nestor Aparicio  13:21

but we’re gonna work tirelessly. But I’m not getting on these goddamn zoom calls and dealing with the with them, with coaches. I mean, just bring me to five fly up and I’ll hang out. But I mean, you’re gonna be the ones working with them every day. I mean,

Luke Jones  13:35

like he said that, he said, you know, there was the comment that he made that he wants this to be much more. The choice of Eric Ozzie and Sashi Brown

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Nestor Aparicio  13:45

is Sashi Brown’s qualifications to hire a National Football League

Luke Jones  13:52

head coach. I don’t know. I mean, certainly, you know, I wouldn’t expect, I mean, Eric’s doing,

Nestor Aparicio  13:58

I gave Ozzy’s weights doing the team Sashi about a half of one point, the cost of maybe five points. And that’s how I get that’s how I get to my my rating system when it comes to that, because like and Ozzy is clearly a lot more involved than like anybody. Ozzy’s.

Luke Jones  14:14

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I mean, you and I have reported that, but no, I mean Ozzy. Ozzy’s at practice just about every day. Ozzy’s in the building every day. Now, I don’t know if Ozzy’s working like I would say. Ozzy’s probably not working 20 hour days like Eric does at certain times of the year. You’d be fine not to use Ozzy right now. I mean, Ozzy might be the most important asset. I mean, I would, I would imagine, even though Eric now is at what year seven, year eight, whatever it is for him as as the guy you know, 2019 was, I’m guessing, this process, and Eric equated it to basically trying to view this as, like a three week draft, like it’s more expedited, you know, certainly different than having a full year to evaluate players, or, in some cases, two years. Three years to evaluate some of these draft prospects. But I am guessing, based on what you just said and and what, even what Steve said, I’m guessing Eric is leaning on on Ozzy harder over these next couple weeks, and he has in quite a while that would just it would lend you to believe that, but be that as he as it may, and what, or what, Steve said. Then a few minutes later, he was asked about Lamar Jackson and his potential involvement in influence. And, you know, just, would he be involved? I mean, he talked about, you know, whether Lamar, he said, Lamar has an invitation to sit in on the interviews with the finalists, if they, if he wants, so chooses to do that. But he also made the comment after saying all that about being, you know, where he’s deferring to Ozzy, you know, to Eric, Ozzy and Sashi Brown, he made the comment about Lamar. He’ll have a say, but it’s my, you know, it’s my call. It’s still, you know, he’ll have influence, but it’s still my decision. So, so even there, Steve still made it clear, like he’s still the boss, right, whether he’s as checked it out, or whether he’s as dangerous

Nestor Aparicio  16:08

when you’re half checked out and you’re still in charge. I mean, it

Luke Jones  16:12

comes down to this. If they, if Eric and everyone that’s going through the first round, you know, which they’re talking you know, they’re already at, I think it’s 17 off the top of my head. As far as, like, reported names, you know, they’re up to eight now, I think it is, as we’re speaking in real time, that, as far as who they’ve conducted, assuming their final four or five, that they pick a right guy, as I’ve said to you, and I’ll continue to say it, I I wholeheartedly reject the idea that there’s only one candidate, and they have to, I think there’s two or three guys that they could say, hey, that’ll work out. That will be fine. That will it might look different than, you know, person A to person B to Person C, and each guy is going to have his strengths and his drawbacks. But I think any of those, you just have to make sure you pick one of them right. You can’t pick a wrong guy for the job based on, you know how Steve’s spoken. If Eric finds that guy, and they choose the right guy or a right guy, then I think the dynamics will stay fine moving forward. If not, then, yeah, based on some of what or what Steve has alluded to, as far as not being as engaged, yeah, that that can be a slippery slope. Then that’s, why, you know, my first question, you know, my one question to Steve was, you know, when you make a decision like this and you part with a longtime head coach, where is your evaluation with the general manager? You know, what are your expectations for Eric moving forward? And he was very complimentary, but it needed to be asked, right? I mean, you know, you don’t get to the point where, especially when you’re saying it’s not all John’s fault, then there’s questions for Eric, there’s questions for everyone else, right? And there’s going to be a different kind of accountability, right? I mean, so many fans, and this is something that you and I’ve talked about in passing. I’ve written about this plenty as well. You know there, when you have an 8/18, year head coach, that individual is going to have more influence on personnel than John Harbaugh, year one, year two, year three, right? We talked about that with the the assistant coaching debate as well. You know, as far as firing cam Cameron compared to Todd Monken, but you know, I think when you look at all of that, and now I’ve lost my train of thought, yeah, yeah. Well, just, you’re looking through the lens of, you know, I mean, it’s they need to make sure that everything is on the up and up here, as far as, like, Eric picking the right person. And if Steve’s not going to be as involved and engaged in the early round, you know, which he’s not, he flat out said because the rule would be, if he sat in on one zoom, he had to sit in on all of them, and he didn’t want to do that. I mean, he flat out admitted that. So, you know, they got to make sure they pick the right person, and if they do that, then that person will work as well with Eric as John did for the better part of the last, you know, X number of years, and until this year, really, I mean, and they’ll be okay if not, then, man, things start to get slippery, right? And especially when you’re talking about quarterback and contract extension, and everyone’s kind of, you eliminate a variable, then everyone else, you know, the the GM, the others in the front office, players, they’re all looking over their shoulder a little more. They say, Okay, well, we can’t blame John anymore. You know, we can’t blame John because, well, you know, we signed this guy and John didn’t want to play him like, you know, if you keep having those issues, then, then Steve’s going to look at you next. So, you know, it’s just interesting in that way. I mean not, I can’t say the most

Nestor Aparicio  19:43

interesting thing that happened was when Steve alluded to the fact that we may hire a quote failed head coach from somewhere else, that said to me that Steve views this way differently for the organization. Question in where it is now than where it was when they were still in search of a quarterback. Steve was in search of his Hall of Fame coach that wasn’t Brian and wasn’t the CEO guy, and Steve wanted to put his mark on it by not our ring an offensive coordinator or defensive coordinator. He liked this, this butterfly, and I think he felt like he could really, if there’s nothing else you get out of the press conference, Steve gets what Steve wants, always, right? So, like, that’s very obvious, and that’s been the story of the last 30 years of his life, as he’s gotten wealthier, certainly in the 30 years I’ve known him, because I’ve known him almost that long, right? Like, I’ve seen the whole thing change. But Steve, at that point, wanted to march to his own beat in regard to the special teams coach, because he saw something in John regarding management and regarding 18 years later not having to do it again, right, something that he clearly doesn’t want to do and doesn’t want to do it so badly that all of this information that Eric is getting on these zoom calls, Steve’s not even in on them. That’s kind of a shame that Steve’s not in on Jim Schwartz. Jim Schwartz does a zoom interview, and bashati is not even in on it. You start to think, how serious, how serious is this? Like this to me, and I’m I’m being honest with you, especially these guys that have sat with Steve’s other people in Steve’s room, in his his collection of billionaires. Like, it’s a little like, Dude doesn’t even want to meet me on the first zoom call f him. I’ll go coordinate somewhere else. I mean, like, I coached in the league for five years, six, years, eight, whatever the number is. But he did say, and they all know the arrogance they have to deal with that. You think the Ravens jobs the number one job? Steelers job is going to be number one job, buddy, because I saw their owner and I’ve had dinner with Mr. Rooney, Steelers job’s going to be more attractive, but from a quiet time standpoint. So I will say

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Luke Jones  21:59

they still need a quarterback, though, but go ahead. Well, this all led into Tomlin being available in the middle of the press conference. Right? Like, literally, when did you find out how far into the press conference was it when you found, I mean, I have you weren’t on your phone. Nobody was right. I was on my laptop, and I looked down. And keep in mind, as is the case with any of the local reporters, you have notifications turned on for your peers

Nestor Aparicio  22:28

that’s probably

Luke Jones  22:30

shot his phone. Well, no, no. I mean, I mean, my phone was silent, but I looked down and I had 68 notifications from ex Twitter, or whatever you want to call it. And then I happened to see something that wasn’t the direct news. It was someone talking about Tomlin in, you know, in a, you know, a nostalgic kind of way, you know, in the same way that, you know, I would have said, well, you know, Lamar Jackson was in the past tense. You know, Lamar Jackson was 11 years old when John Harbaugh was hired, right? I mean, like, you know, which I mentioned at one point last week, so I saw that. I’m like, Oh, I think something happened with Tomlin. And then then I saw, you know, whether a shift, or whoever it was, I mean, you know, Steelers put up.

Nestor Aparicio  23:08

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The interesting thing is, he became a candidate in the middle of the press conference, yeah. And he became the kind of candidate, likes the fans key, like Schwartz, like Vance Joseph, like Matt Nagy, like all of these guys, and they’re the ones they’re interviewing right now, for the most part, for the most part, and I think Steve has gone into them, and I think Ozzie and Eric, and he said to both of them, Eric, you’ve been here 30 years. Why do you want to deal with somebody who might not know what they’re doing? Think about somebody that failed somewhere because they didn’t have somebody as good as you, they didn’t have Lamar, they didn’t have these assets. And I thought Steve really went out of his way to pave the way that that is a direction to me. That’s something he said to Eric and Ozzie that he’s now sharing with the public, which is, let’s not be afraid to get the person that ran United Airlines for five years when they didn’t make a lot of money and they had a crash, and bring him over to run our airline. That doesn’t mean that he had a failed airline. It means that he learned things that he could only learn by failing, and we don’t want the next guy to have to learn it that way. And John, God bless us, didn’t have to learn it that way because he had Joe Flacco, Mike Tomlin didn’t have to learn it that way because he had been Roethlisberger and a bunch of bides Ward like, a whole bunch of things, whole bunch of assets. I thought that. I thought that was interesting. Me, Jim Schwartz has a chance to get the job, so does Vance Joseph, so like to and I said from the beginning, if it were me, and this is the 57 year old version of me versus the 40 year old version finding you 1716, years you know, like when I found you in my life to do the job that you do with me. Here, it’s very I hope we get along better than. The cost and Steve, but no, but honestly, I it tells me, I think that they would that their, their brain trust says, and Sashi Brown worked with Hugh Jackson or whatever, you know, whatever that was like, let’s get somebody in here who failed but has succeeded, and Schwartz would be a guy like that that won a Super Bowl, and, you know, the defense, like all of that. And even up Steve saying it doesn’t matter to me, defensive mind, offensive mind, that felt honest to me. Listen, I don’t think Steve’s dishonest about some things. I think he’s so he’s a salesman. He’s so honest about some things that when you that the things you’re on the fence with, you’re like, Well, he was honest about that. So, but again, I I find his wisdom, His aunt. You know, I don’t think he’s a dumb guy in any way at all. I think it sickens me when he plays dumb or wants to be dumb or wants to be lazy. I’m not going to sit in on that like that belligerence of arrogance. That means I don’t need to be too involved. But hey, I’m the boss. Yeah, you know, and I got that in one hour, and I said to my wife, I’m like, I’m glad I don’t see him after his third drink at the bar in Florida on a I’m just, I’m glad that, because the whole thing deteriorated from the night I went to dinner with him in New Orleans, 25 years ago, and him on my couch 20 years ago, to me and him and Jimmy, or say, 18 years ago, trying to get the Colts records back, like all of this stuff, and watching it via satellite, and watching him age and not look. Happy, healthy, adjusted, involved, energetic, joyous, happy to be the owner of the team, not burdened by it. Burdened by it there, I just said something that, I mean, he looks burdened by it, not proud of it, or happy with it, just more like it’s mine, and that’s what it felt like to me. So that’s, that’s first blush for me. We haven’t talked about it much, but that being said, I think they’ll hire a veteran coach, and I think that’ll be a good hire for them.

Luke Jones  27:20

We’ll see. I I’m not convinced of that. I thought that. I thought those comments were interesting. I don’t think that necessarily is a tell that they’re going to do that for one that would be a little unravens like to just flat out broadcast what you actually prefer. I also think you have to keep in mind who is doing the heaviest lifting for this search, and it’s Eric to Costa. I mean, Steve acknowledges much. I mean, Steve’s not even sitting in on this. I don’t think Eric needs to hire the next Boy Wonder, Eric, I put a Super Bowl next year, but I think to do I also think Eric, you could knowing the intellectual that Eric is and the way that he thinks outside the box. I also could see him thinking he wants to find the next Sean McVay who was completely outside the box. Really young. I’m not saying it’s gonna be as young, because I would

Nestor Aparicio  28:13

already have an idea who that is already in his mind. Like, maybe that’s why, once he identifies that he’s like, that’s why Kingsbury is probably in here early on, just because he’s a Lamar guy. You know, we need to make Lamar that had to be my guy, or Ozzy’s guy. It’s kind of sure Mars guy, here and now, here and now, for my legacy and all of that, my legacy is we need to win a Super Bowl with Lamar in the next 24 months. That’s that, I mean, and like, whoever can be the guy that does that is the right guy. That’s how I feel

Luke Jones  28:45

about it, and that’s fine, but, but what? But I would continue to push back and say, I don’t know if I have no i If John horrible wasn’t that guy, why am I to think Jim Schwartz is going to be that guy?

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Nestor Aparicio  28:55

Well, I’m not all that convicted about Lamar. No, no. Well, Mars Manifest Destiny, that he has to win a championship, or that Eric has to win a championship. I know it’s hard to do.

Luke Jones  29:08

Want to do it, right? Yep, so. But my thought would be, that’s where you kind of look at the names, and, you know, one of the names that’s there, just throwing it out there. I’m not saying he’s the favorite. I’m not saying I’ve heard this either. Nate, sheilhaus, the past game coordinator for the LA Rams, 35 years old. He’s the one out of all the names that you kind of and Okay, Davis Webb, I’d throw him in there as well, but for the most interview, but for the most part, everyone else is either a former head coach or a relatively established OC or DC, those are the two that kind of fit that other category. And now let me be clear, they might think Nate CHEO house is the guy that they’re going to throw money to to make their offensive coordinator right, depending on if they hire coach ABC or D, right. So I don’t know any

Nestor Aparicio  29:58

assistant head coach of A. Guy who, yeah, I mean,

Luke Jones  30:02

8

but, but my point, but my point with that is Eric being the type he is. And keep in mind, I mean, Eric, you’re talking about someone who has a friendship with Mike Elias and sigma Idell and is very much into analytics. I’m not necessarily convinced, believe me, what you just said. I’m not saying that just, I’m not disagreeing with you, but bashati sold that idea. There’s no question. I’m just saying, I’m not convinced that that’s the way they’re going to go, or even the way they should go. There’s merit to that. There’s no question about that. That’s why, to me, maybe the happy medium is Kevin Stefanski, who, you know, is a retread, but he brings Schwartz, you know, right? There’s that possibility,

Nestor Aparicio  30:45

there’s and then we’ll go get Kingsbury to run the like they’re thinking, that’s how they all look 25 years ago, when Marvin was running around to get a job and whatever it was, always, I’m going to bring dirt cutter from here. I’m going to bring this.

Luke Jones  31:01

I mean that. I mean, that’s those are some of the first things they talk about when they get on, when they’re on the zoom in the first round. I mean, Eric and, you know, they Eric said as much, you know, that’s a major part of the conversation. I’m just saying knowing Eric Decosta, the way we do and the way that he’s operated, and the way that he’s an intellectual and couple that with Steve’s first head coach hire, which was very much outside the box, even if it wasn’t his first choice. You know, Jason Garrett, pivoting to John Harbaugh, but that’s where I do look at Nate, she’ll house, and I look at Davis Webb and say, Look. And let me be clear, I’m not at all if you ask me to predict right now, I’m not saying that that’s going to be who it is. I’m just saying, I wouldn’t completely dismiss that just based off of what bashadi had to say. But that said, he also acknowledged, hey, you know, because he was asked, like, what what success look like here? I mean, obviously you want to win a Super Bowl, but understanding the challenge of that, if the head coach is on the right track, what does that look like? And, you know, he kind of joked, and he said, Well, you know, Brian won a Super Bowl in his second year. John wanted in his fifth so I guess I’ll give the guy at least to his sixth year. You know, so, and he was saying that, you know, tongue in cheek, but clearly, the expectation is they want to be back in the playoffs next year. They feel that their roster is there’s plenty there to work with. And I would agree with that, whether it underperformed this year or not, there’s they still have talented football players. They need better coaching. They’ve established that they need better coaching. I thought that was one thing, you know, Steve kind of went out of his way to to kind of dress down the coaching when it came to the O line and the pass rush. And I thought that was interesting. And I don’t think that was necessary. I don’t think that was a direct shot at horrible as much as just the entire staff, which obviously John’s responsible for at the end of the day. So, but I thought that was interesting. But I’m just saying I would not dismiss an out of the box, off the beaten path kind of higher just because of who Eric is and given Steve’s track record. But I am totally in agreement with you that the argument can be made that you don’t want, you don’t want to be going through the growing pains that most first year head coaches are going to experience. That said Ben John bears have done pretty well. Ben Johnson is a first year head coach.

Nestor Aparicio  33:15

Last five or 456, guys they bring, they’ll bring a young buck in who will be the one young boss, at least against Stefanski, or, you know, whoever the bettering guy you would

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Luke Jones  33:29

because portray them to be, because the retread is going to be perceived a certain way. So you better have the conviction that you freaking love that guy. If it’s just kind of, oh, he’s just kind of the best

Nestor Aparicio  33:39

Sean Payton and Mike Vrabel are smelling all right this week, right? No doubt.

Luke Jones  33:42

No doubt. Well, Pete Carroll, not so much, right? I mean, so, I mean, you don’t want to go the wrong way with it, right? Yeah, of course, no, but I under No, I believe me, I’m not being, I’m not saying another guy out there, right? I’m not, yeah, it was a genius until he told to say this much. I don’t, I don’t know how I’d feel about him being my head coach, but if he’d want to be my offensive coordinator, man him with Lamar Jackson in this running game. I mean, you’re talking about to be cooking. Well, that’s

Nestor Aparicio  34:09

8

the point with shiny is that these guys that were geniuses are perceived to be geniuses. Have they that they go somewhere for a bad owner, a bad team, a bad Ross whatever, he said, we’re given no chance to win whatever that whatever that

Luke Jones  34:25

means, yeah, yeah. And that’s, again, I’m not saying that that’s that you’re wrong. I’m just saying I didn’t, I didn’t come away from that convinced that that’s what they’re going to do. But he certainly left open the possibility. At the same time, I also think that they believe they’re smart enough that if they think they’ve talked to the next Sean McVay, just because he’s 35 and they’re not going to let him go for using shield house as an example here, there might be someone else they have fallen in love with, somebody young, because the young coaches are all schooled up to be falling in love with, right? And that’s kind of the love. With one of the young guys that whether they’ll pull the trigger on that or not. Oh, and that’s why I, you know, the follow up to my question to Steve was, you know, will you keep the chain of command the same way? Because I, I could see a scenario where they hire someone like that, and then that individual answers to Eric, to Costa directly and and that lends itself to the idea of Steve not being as engaged as he used to be, right? So, I mean, that’s why I asked that. It was, it was also information gathering on what Steve would say about that question, right? And he did not shy away from the fact that he’s not as plugged in and as engaged on a daily basis the way that he once was. So said, I checked out. Yeah. I mean, he flat out said it. I mean, he was honest, I suppose. I mean, you know, it’s not necessarily that that’s what

Nestor Aparicio  35:45

you want to hear. Literally, it tells me a lot. I mean, I knew that. But for him to say it, I’m I mean, I’ve said he’s checked out. All of his friends around just don’t see him. He’s checked out.

Luke Jones  35:54

He’s just not as visible. He’s just not as visible. I mean, like, you know, it’s not even being out of talking, out of turn, saying it like I have anyone who’s been at that. And I’m not not building every day, 365, you know, 12 months a year. There’s obviously times where, God, media aren’t there as much, but, but, yeah, he hasn’t been as visible. And, no, it’s the first time he’s done a season ending press conference in eight years, and first time he talked to any independent media whatsoever. And what, four years? I guess it was going on four years. So, so, yeah, so I, you know, he, he did not mince words about that. My final takeaway, you know, as we’re kind of just doing our reality, and I’ll keep this brief, I thought what he had to say about any more on this, yeah, I thought what he had to say about Lamar Jackson’s contract status is very much in line with what I said to you. Look, in an ideal world, you get a contract extension done that has a similar structure to this. This, this current one. It opens up the window for three years until you have to go back to the table again. And, you know, it’s kind of easy peasy, and he gets a little more money, you know, he becomes the highest paid quarterback in the league again for two months, or until you know whoever’s next in line. But he also acknowledged what I had said to you, that if, if that’s if it’s not that simple, and if it’s as complicated and as difficult as it was last time around, he flat out said, Look, we’ll, we’ll take a little bit of money and and kick it into void years, and will lower his cap number down to what it was this past year, and we’ll move forward. And I said to you, if you do have reservations about his health, or how much longer is Prime’s going to be, or any of that, and again, I’m I’m not inclined to be, you know, too extreme about those ideas. But if you’re not sure, and he’s not, you know the negotiations aren’t going as smoothly as you’d like you take, you know, whatever the numbers, you know, the base salary itself for 2026 is like 50, in the low 50s.

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Nestor Aparicio  37:51

By the way, they’re about to let him pick the coach too. You know what I mean? Like, no, what

Luke Jones  37:55

do you want? You know what I mean? I mean that’s, by the way, next guy that gets booed. Is him, if they don’t win, right? Like, that’s, that’s the name, and it could be in the minute, well, he’s either gonna win or he’s not. That’s that, yeah, I mean, I guess the scenario would be, if you complete, if you utterly failed to rebuild your defense, then, you know, maybe Eric under that scenario, I don’t know, but, but I just thought it was interesting that Steve kind of was like, matter of fact about it. He’s like, hey, we’d love for it to come together. Come together, but if it doesn’t, we’ll look we can lower his cap number. We’ll kick more money into void years. You know, those cap dollars can be moved, and we’ll move forward. But clearly that would be the optimal solution, because they can create the most cap space then, and sign other players and make their team better. But I thought it was, you know, Steve, I think, was being very, very direct there and saying, like, yeah, we want to do it, but Lamar has got to want to do it too. And we

Nestor Aparicio  38:49

got to, you know, my next coach next week, and come into Baltimore for a week. Let’s get a deal done. We start picking, it was funny, he said, a deal done too.

Luke Jones  38:56

8

Get on a plane and get to Baltimore for when we do the interviews, if you want to be engaged. So we’ll see. I mean, you know, we’ll see how that plays out. But I did find that interesting at the very least. And again, it just kind of confirms what I had been telling you, that there, this wasn’t Lamar has, you know, Lamar is going to be on a 74 No, there are middle, there are middle options here, not as, not as ideal as another extension that would make his cap number low for 2026 but there are ways to do this where it’s not going to be a $74 million poison pill that like you’re gonna have to cut players, just no they there are ways that they can do that without

Nestor Aparicio  39:35

having to strike. They had to know negotiating with Lamar was could be creative. Say the least. We’ll say contentious, even it was you know, see,

Luke Jones  39:43

we’ll see, I mean, I mean it’s, it’s once they hire a head coach and once they hire a staff. I mean, that’s going to be the next major headline. I mean,

Nestor Aparicio  39:52

final thing, are they going to interview Tomlin?

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Luke Jones  39:55

I don’t think for one thing. I mean, and you would be better versed on this than me, because. I’m real time, you know, full disclosures, you and I are talking. I got home, yeah, read about it, right? I hadn’t read anything about it. But isn’t the sense that he’s probably, you know, there’s there. I mean, I know Florio was talking about it. Others were talking about in the media that, that he’s got a, it sounds like he’s got a TV gig that’s pretty cherry, that, that he can do the Sean Payton thing, or, who knows, maybe he’ll do the his predecessor, Bill cower. I mean, the perception when power did that once upon a time was that was going to be him doing that for a year or two, and then he just said, Hey, this is great. I don’t have to worry about, you know, I don’t have to work the same hours, and it’s better family. I mean, Mike might, you know? I mean, Steve even said he wished that for John. He actually said ideally, he’d like for John to take a year off just for his own personal well being I thought that was interesting as well, too. But I’m guessing Tomlin is going to take he’s going to do the TV thing for a year, and then he’s going to re enter the coaching cycle next year, and who knows, will be available then? I mean, what jobs will be open? I mean, who would have thought? I mean, certainly back in like, September, we talked about Tomlin, we talked about John a little, a little the idea that the, I mean, Andy Reid might retire next year if the Chiefs don’t turn it around. I mean, maybe Mike Tomlin winds up there. I mean, that was the argument, maybe for John to sit out a year. Maybe he’d wind up in Kansas City in 2027, so who knows. That’s crazy, but I’m guessing, my gut tells me Tom little. I think this was even, even with the way they worded it, you know, him saying he’s stepping down. I that that to me, screams, taking a year respite, and then he’s going to reset and revitalize him, you know, rejuvenate and and and go, go fix another team, or try to anyway.

Nestor Aparicio  41:44

Luke Jones is fixing us. We’re fixing the baseball team, the football team. We have had the Steve bishati press conference. It’s in the audio vault at Baltimore positive. Hope you go check it out. Now. We’re going to continue. It’s not the end, it’s just the beginning. They are going to be bringing in more candidates, hiring a head coach around here when there’s purple plumes of smoke, you’ll get it first on the wnst tech service, as always, as advertised, as brought to you by friends at Coal roofing and Gordian energy. I am getting a cup of soup or bowl out. That’s three weeks away. We’re going to be doing some good stuff here, telling some good stories, as we’ve done the last couple of years as well. And you know, this is, this is a kind of a good week to exhale. Get ready for some more football this weekend, four games, then two games, then one game, and a bunch of empty seats for head coaches. It’s a wild time right now in the NFL. I’m this. He’s Luke. We are W NST AM, 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We never stop talking all the more positive we.