Making a list and checking it twice

There are lots of jobs still available in the NFL head coaching bonanza this month and the Baltimore Ravens continue their search for the fourth head coach in the 30-year history of the franchise. Luke Jones and Nestor discuss the second round of Ravens head coach search and the wants and needs of Steve Bisciotti and Eric DeCosta to lead The Castle in Owings Mills.

Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discussed the Ravens’ head coach search, highlighting the 15 candidates interviewed, including Kevin Stefanski, who is now with Atlanta. They debated the importance of Lamar Jackson’s involvement and the perceived value of the Ravens’ roster, noting potential weaknesses in the offensive line and defensive depth. They also discussed the potential impact of new coaches like Nate Shields and the importance of aligning the new coach’s style with Jackson’s. The conversation emphasized the need for a coach who can balance CEO responsibilities with offensive acumen and effectively manage the team’s talent and expectations.

• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Host the Maryland crab cake tour event ‘A Cup of Soup or Bowl’ at Fay Lee’s downtown on February 2 and appear at the event
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Distribute candy-cane-cash scratch-off giveaways at the February 2 event (bring and give away the tickets)
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Send breaking Ravens head coach search updates first via the WNST text service when available
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Attend the scheduled medical checkup (complete required forms) following the root canal appointment

Ravens Head Coach Search and Initial Thoughts

• Nestor Aparicio introduces the topic of the Ravens head coach search and mentions the Maryland crab cake tour.
• Nestor discusses the quiet month in terms of crab cakes and the loud month for coaching searches.
• Luke Jones joins the discussion, mentioning the divisional round, injuries, and the AFC Championship games.
• Nestor and Luke discuss the timeline for the coaching search and the transparency of the organization.

Candidates and Interview Process

• Nestor and Luke discuss the 15 candidates interviewed by the Ravens, including Kevin Stefanski.
• Luke explains that Stefanski is no longer in play due to an offer from Atlanta.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the perception of the Ravens as a good organization and the importance of timing in the hiring process.
• Luke mentions the game of musical chairs in terms of coaching positions and the perceived value of the Ravens job.

Perception and Candidate Evaluation

• Nestor and Luke discuss the perception of the Ravens as a good organization and the importance of Lamar Jackson in the hiring process.
• Luke mentions the importance of the new coach getting along with Lamar Jackson.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the candidates, including Vance Joseph and Davis Webb.
• Luke highlights the importance of not overreacting to recent performances of coordinators.

Backgrounds and Qualifications of Candidates

• Nestor and Luke discuss the backgrounds of the candidates, including Davis Webb’s education and experience.
• Nestor highlights Davis Webb’s qualifications, including his degrees and experience with various teams.
• Luke and Nestor discuss the potential roles of the candidates, including their coordinators and staff.
• Nestor mentions the importance of the new coach’s ability to work with Lamar Jackson and the potential staff.

CEO Coach vs. Offensive-Minded Coach

• Luke expresses his preference for an offensive-minded coach but acknowledges the importance of the CEO role.
• Nestor and Luke discuss the challenges of finding the right balance between CEO and offensive-minded roles.
• Luke mentions the importance of the new coach’s ability to manage the entire roster and coaching staff.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the potential impact of the new coach on the assistant coaches and the overall team dynamics.

Expectations and Talent of the Ravens

• Nestor and Luke discuss the expectations and talent of the Ravens roster, including players like Lamar Jackson, Kyle Hamilton, and Roquan Smith.
• Nestor expresses skepticism about the perceived talent of the team, citing the performance of players like Ronnie Stanley and Marlon Humphrey.
• Luke defends the talent of the team, highlighting the importance of coaching and the potential for improvement.
• Nestor and Luke discuss the importance of the new coach’s ability to get the most out of the current roster and the potential for future talent acquisition.

Impact of Coaching on Team Performance

• Nestor and Luke discuss the impact of coaching on the team’s performance, including the offensive line and the quarterback position.
• Luke mentions the importance of the new coach’s ability to improve the offensive line and the overall team performance.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the potential for the new coach to make a significant impact on the team’s success.
• Luke highlights the importance of the new coach’s ability to manage the coaching staff and get the best out of the players.

Final Thoughts and Predictions

• Nestor and Luke discuss the potential candidates and the timeline for the coaching search.
• Luke mentions the importance of the new coach’s ability to work with Lamar Jackson and the potential for future success.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the potential impact of the new coach on the team’s performance and the expectations for the upcoming season.
• Nestor and Luke conclude the discussion by highlighting the importance of the new coach’s ability to manage the team and get the most out of the current roster.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Ravens head coach search, Lamar Jackson, Kevin Stefanski, coaching candidates, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, quarterback whisperer, roster talent, coaching staff, Eric DeCosta, salary cap, player development, team expectations, coaching network.

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SPEAKERS

Luke Jones, Nestor Aparicio

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T. Am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We are Baltimore, positive, positively, getting you through the winter doldrums here and coaching search for the Ravens. And we’re going to be doing a cup of soup or bowl as part of our Maryland crab cake tour, beginning on the second of February at faid Lee’s downtown. The fishmonger’s daughter is not open yet, but I’ll be there soon. We’ll have scratch offs in the middle of the lottery to give away candy cane cash. These are like $3 tickets, so they had $100 winner. It cost this last time. I gave these away before the holidays. So it’s been little bit of a quiet month here, in regard to crab cakes, a loud month for coaching searches, and Steve bishati coming out, and obviously a big football month. Luke Jones joins us now. We discussed divisional round, we discussed injuries. We have AFC Championship games, but obviously the story around here is, who are they going to bring in first? Who’s the first person to bring that, because it’ll be a big deal whomever they bring in here, first, second, third, fourth, there’s going to be four or five candidates, according to bishati last week. When do you expect this? What is your timeline on this? And again, you know, if Chad steel were better equipped to put this out, or the organization wanted it, they would be on the front of it. What they’ve been doing is putting these glossy pictures that I think every Ravens fan has now stolen on their nano banana and done the head coaching. You know, interview thing, they’ve interviewed a lot of people, and it’s a lot of different kind of people. And to our point, all along, they’re picking the brains of the best brains and football and being transparent in the aftermath, as much as agents and all of this stuff is going on. But dudes, first time in 18 years, I don’t even understand the process of how Steve bishati is really going to do that this this time around. And then there’s Lamar involvement too, which was brought up last week, yeah,

Luke Jones  01:59

and we’re gonna, we’re still going to find out how exactly that’s going to work, whether Lamar will take part in it, and to see how it goes. I mean, they’ve through Sunday, and they even had some interviews over the weekend that they put out there via social media, 15 candidates. We know that Kevin Stefanski is the head coach in Atlanta, so you can cross him off the list. I I very much thought he was in play to get a second, second interview, but I think also probably apparent that they weren’t necessarily making it clear to him that, like, Oh, he’s our top guy. Because I think if that were the case, not that you would have hired him already, but probably would have put it out there behind, you know, behind closed channels that, hey, don’t, don’t, don’t, accept the job just yet we, we really, really, really like you, right? So I think Stefanski is someone who had some supporters in the building, but hey, he got an offer elsewhere. And there’s 32 jobs, right?

Nestor Aparicio  02:57

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Like the Browns are already into second interviews. The Titans are bringing people back, a little bit of that. And I don’t know if the Ravens identify who their person is, and they’re going to lose their person. To your point, hey, we’ll pay you more. We’ll give you more of this. We’ll get, like, stick around and wait. But that is part of these four teams all having candidates. All of these teams have real candidates in the job marketplace right now

Luke Jones  03:21

Well, and that’s why, and I even wrote this last week, and lots of people were writing this, yeah, within reason. Within reason, the Ravens kind of sort of have their pick right, at least in terms of perception, with most the candidates that are out there, the idea that Baltimore is considered a good organization, the idea that they’ve won, the idea that they have a two time MVP, a quarterback, I mean, all those different things at the same time. If you wait too long, yeah, coaches get candidates. Get nervous. There are only so many chairs. You know. Think of it as a game of musical chairs, right? You don’t want to be left standing without a chair to sit in. So in the case of Stefanski, I mean, Atlanta stepped up. They really wanted them. And I think even trying to look at the nine jobs that were originally out there, now it’s down to what seven openings, because har ball officially, officially official to the Giants and Stefanski and Atlanta, there’s Atlanta was perceived to be better than some of the other jobs in terms of the talent on the roster. You know, Michael pennix and Kirk Cousins. I mean, there’s something there. You don’t know exactly what it’s going to look like, but it’s not the same as a team that has nothing at quarterback or no one interesting at quarterback.

Nestor Aparicio  04:38

I thought the Matt Ryan things interesting for that organization and where they are, that’s a good that’s good for them. That’s good for them. Mammy Ryan, Matt Ryan, shines them up a little bit to me.

Luke Jones  04:48

Yeah. I mean, time will tell whether he can actually do the job. But perception wise, sure, no question in the same way that the Ravens have things going for them right now, that, hey, you have Lamar Jackson. Now, if they, if they have. Hire the wrong guy and he doesn’t get along with Lamar and like all that, then that’s a different story. Two years

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Nestor Aparicio  05:04

from I don’t think Joe flacco’s gonna come back and be Steve bas president of anything. Yeah, probably not.

Luke Jones  05:09

And I don’t think Lamar Jackson will do that either. I think I think those guys would, you know, when they’re done playing, they’ll be just doing their own thing. You know, they’ll show up every now and then, but certainly not working in a football, everyday football capacity, I wouldn’t think, but, but, yeah, it is interesting to kind of look at this, because, you know, you kind of go through the candidates right now. Vance Joseph was one of the earliest candidates. The Ravens talked to Denver’s in the AFC Championship game. You can’t talk to him till next week. Same thing with Davis Webb, their past game coordinator, their quarterbacks coach,

Nestor Aparicio  05:41

who, by the way, Davis Webb, he could be the biggest star of the whole interesting like, yeah, situation, you know, he becomes a superstar if they figure out how to win the AFC Championship game this week.

Luke Jones  05:53

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And that’s, that’s, I’m glad you brought that up, because that’s one dynamic. And I’m not suggesting that you’re saying this, but I do have to laugh a little bit at some of the and let me be clear, I think this happens everywhere. This isn’t just Ravens fan. This is this is just fans in general, when you’re trying to size up your candidates. So to speak, Robert Sala has been talked about a lot. I think Robert Sala is a candidate that, if he’s interviewed here, coming into Baltimore and interviewing in person, and he’s one of their five finalists, would not surprise me whatsoever. In fact, I he’d probably be on my list. That said, you look at the perception of the 40 Niners after the way they were flattened on Saturday night, it is funny to see some of the reaction, how fans are like, Oh, I don’t want that guy. But then on the flip side, you know, Chris Shuler and the Rams defensive coordinator Does, does a good job against the bears, I guess, albeit other than the fourth, the fourth down touchdown play, and suddenly, you know he’s He’s rising, right? So I think it’s important not to put too much stock into what’s happening in the present, like the the present, present with these coordinators, right? I think, I think that’s bad process if you’re going to view that as anything more than, you know, a little nugget here or there.

Nestor Aparicio  07:11

Well, Brian Billick, we go, I go back to releasing David modell’s whole list of and, man, you and I could just do a segment on that, literally, what Brian got hired on, all the talking points. It’s all up on my LinkedIn. It’s up on Facebook. It’s up at wnst as part of the Steve bishati letter I wrote two weeks ago. Although I actually found the sheet of paper today, I should hold the sheet of paper up because it’s all wrinkled and stuff, because it was in my purple rain notes. But the backgrounds of these people I’m finding interesting when, like, I don’t know anything about Davis Webb other than I sort of remember him as a player, like, sort of, oh, I remember him, right? And here’s a profile of a guy, and they’re playing this week, and he’s the toast of the of the world this week, right? He’s got a backup quarterback. He’s trying to figure out. Sean Payton’s trying to figure this out, but you know whose job it is to figure it out. Sean saying to Davis Webb, you figure it out. You helped me figure this out. We got to win a game this week, right? Yeah, six year NFL career, third round draft pick. So he wasn’t he was thought to be a smart guy who’s going to hold a clipboard right for the Giants. He was the 2017 drafts. So we’re going back. He’s lamar’s age. Dude. He’s two years old. For Lamar spent time with the giants in the Jets and the bills. So he’s been in giants jets and bills camp. So he’s been with McDermott. He’s been with Josh Allen in the early part 2020 21 since he joined the club, Denver’s banked in the top 10 in interceptions, touchdowns. Oversaw the development of Bo Nick, so he is the bo Nix whisperer, but here’s where I found it to be interesting. Bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech. He’s a Texas guy. Did a master’s degree. You ever get a master’s degree? Luke, nope. Why did you not get a master’s degree?

Luke Jones  09:04

Because I left teaching. You know why I didn’t

Nestor Aparicio  09:07

get a master’s degree? It’s really hard to do. Everybody I’ve ever known has got a master’s degree. Had to sort of drop everything else to get a master’s degree, right? It’s got a Master’s Degree in Public Health from Cal, Berkeley. So I, you know, I look at this guy, and I’m like, Okay, what do we know? The CEO, part of the student, part of the teaching, part of the Hey, I was a quarterback. It’s a really good quarterback. I get drafted in the third round. It’s pretty good quarterback. So, like, I don’t know, but that that was a different kind of suit for me than special teams coach, CEO, that’s quarterback whisperer CEO. Going to be a coach in the league? Can he be a coach now? Can we bring him in? Who’s his coordinators? He’s gonna bring Jim Schwartz in to run our defense? Going to bring, I don’t know, some guy he whispers along with, and then the Clint pubs. And the other young quarterback whispers, in addition to the defensive guys who’ve failed or learned lessons like Robert Sala, completely different kind of hires, as I see it, and I don’t, and they’re both probably going to be in the building in the next week or two, I would think, I would think,

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Luke Jones  10:19

yeah, I want to go back to something that you just said, and it’s gained a lot of traction, obviously, right in terms of what you’re looking for, in terms of what John Harbaugh was right, the perception of being the CEO coach. Now I’ve said, I’ve gone on the record as saying my preference, in a vacuum, would be an offensive minded coach in the Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan Andy Reid light that you then marry in lockstep with your quarterback no matter what happens with your offensive coordinator, whether he’s the play caller or not, whether he goes and gets another job or not, that head coach is going to be in place with your quarterback. He’s not going anywhere. So I valued that more in a vacuum, understanding, however, that, like this idea of a CEO coach has almost become like a four letter word as it pertains to Ravens fans perception right now. And I understand that, right? I understand that the idea is you’re not just hiring someone that’s going to be exactly like John Harbaugh, right? Or you would have just kept John Harbaugh. However, this is the part of it that for me is so difficult to handicap, because that part of the job still does exist, right? You’re not bringing in someone that only is working with Lamar Jackson, only is working with the offense only is working with the defense. You know the idea, I’m fine with an X’s and O’s coach that someone is going to call plays on their side of the ball. I’m not opposed to that. Let me be clear. However, that’s not to completely diminish those other things that a head coach must do if he’s going to be successful, if his team is going to be successful. So that, to me, is where it’s so difficult. That’s why I was kind of, you know, I talked about it, you know, and I said it in jest, but, you know, you had a lot of Ravens fans are saying, Oh, well, Robert, we don’t want to hire Robert Sala the 40 Niners. Their defense stunk on Saturday night, right? Or, man, I just moved Chris Shula to the top of the list because, as you see, what the Rams did in overtime against the bears and turning over Caleb Williams three times. No, you can’t,

Nestor Aparicio  12:30

like you can’t, by the way, Nate shield house. Throw him in with the Rams too. I’m fascinated with, well, I tell you what they are, too. And he is very young looking and like all of that stuff. But I tell you what, there’s another guy, bachelor’s degree in communication. Maybe you could put Chad steel out of business and bring back the Brian Billick days and a master’s in sports management, right? Big 10 Medal of Honor, four time academic, all. Big 10 honoree, right? So he was a quarterback for Illinois, right? So, and young and, like all of that, thing that would be different. And Steve could say, I’ve got my coach for the next 10 years. We hope that that would be the all in, because he hasn’t done it and but that guy fits the suit in the way that you’re talking about 30 something young, the Kevin O’Connell guy, I like, you know, that young quarterback guy that they can then surround with big staff. Because the one thing you always hear about bishati is that he has no problem spending money on big staff when John, when John needed Pagano, you know, bring him in whatever you need to do. John will do it. And Nate chill house is taking this job for 6 million a year, not 20 million a year. And by the way, I saw the wide variety of reported earnings on the head coach, it’s been that they look in line that cheaper organizations hire cheaper coaches the Bengals, right? They’re not going to get a $20 million dollar coach, like the Giants just did, right? And this is one of those areas where the Ravens can skimp on the coach, get away with a cheaper coach, the way they did with John. John was after price of Brian at the time. There’s a game he’s a third of the price of Brian at the time, literally, because his first gig happy to get it. Nobody else wanted to hire John Harbaugh. Boston College didn’t want to hire John Harbaugh. So, you know, and that was an $800,000 a year job at the time, which would have been up from his 450 or whatever he was making for special teams. So the money is important in all of this, and the seat and the role, but the ravens are going to save money by hiring Nate Sheila house, not Kevin Stefanski, to some degree, because Stefanski probably got 12 million a year, like probably so that is also because it’s a this is like shopping like David Rubenstein is saying, like, if he doesn’t know baseball Now, why does Ryan McCown? Will make that and Pete Alonso make that like it’s that out of whack for what John Harbaugh would get and what Mike Tomlin would get if he came back and coached, versus what the ravens are going to have to pay whomever they hire. Because it’s a wide variety of guys too. They have a couple of guys that are $12 million coaches, and a couple of guys they get probably four or $5 million and they chill house. Would be happy to take that gig for five years?

Luke Jones  15:21

Happy? Yeah. I mean, I don’t disagree with that. I would say in response. But look how much the Ravens spend on an analytics staff. Look how much the ravens are spending on sports science and their training and strength conditioning and all of that, because the Bengals go, look at the ravens, what they what they have in terms of an analytics department compared to what the Bengals have, you know? And, I mean, so you’re right, and, but, but on the flip side, and it’s not that the ravens are, oh, well, they can go cheap on the head coach. It’d be okay. No, we, we might do that because it’s an entry level head coach, but we’re also going to be paying our coordinators more than most teams do in the league.

Nestor Aparicio  16:02

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That would be my point. My point would be like, next year last we’ll pay you eight. Jim Schwartz is going to be our defensive coordinator because he wants to come home, and we’re going to pay him six. And that that’s the way we’re that’s the way Steve’s going to say we’re getting a young coach. I’m going to be involved in the coordinators because Steve’s going to be able to pull that back, because that’s what he couldn’t get back from John, and that’s what John demanded with the Giants. Held out for a day and a half because he didn’t want to hear from Joe shine. He’s like, no, no, no, no, no. I’m picking the coaches. I’m picking stuff I want the structure I had in Baltimore that worked for me and the giants like we don’t, not the way we do. The mayor family doesn’t do business that way. And that’s how weird all of these families are, and how weird these jobs are, and how different it would be if the Ravens look at as a budget line item, John Harbaugh being a 17, $18 million a year coach, that the next coach can be like we’re in love with Nate shield house. We only gonna have to pay him, 456, whatever we’re gonna pay the coordinators, whatever the plan is, but they’re going to have plenty of money in a way that other people don’t, but also the wisdom and the flexibility to get whatever bashadi wants. I keep going back to this. It’s whatever bashati wants. I mean, that was very clear last week to me, like he’s gonna take recommendations and stuff, but he’s gonna have to have the feel and the touch with the coach and to know everything the coach is doing, because I don’t think he’s going to trust the next guy as much as he trusted John,

Luke Jones  17:27

fair enough, I mean, but at the same time, he trusted John in year 10, way more than he did in years one, two and three. I mean, I checked out, but, but inherently, that’s just going to be the worst. You trust me more now than you would have in 2009 right? I mean, that’s just, that’s But

Nestor Aparicio  17:43

dude, the check in now is whoever he hires the Lamar thing that was broken last year that led to him, Steve, having to come out of his cave and do a press conference guy out there, like Steve’s going to be in on this, and anybody that says he’s not, and I’m checked out, and I’m just checking it. I’m not in on the zooms. I’ve had people. Somebody wrote to me over the weekend that Steve bishati has watched those zooms five times of all of those coaches already, like he wasn’t in on it, but, but somebody said to me he’s watched him five times because he’s pissed off. He’s back out of his cocoon. Making money is not really the gig for him. Spending money whatever it’s he doesn’t like the pie in his face of having the higher fire of the coach on the phone and have me questioning his intelligence and his awesomeness, his greatness.

Luke Jones  18:39

Yeah, well, and you know, when you and I kind of debated that, and not so much that I was saying this. It was a genuine question. I was questioning for these first round of interviews, right where they’re mainly most of them were video. Not all of them were anyone who’s available. Like, for example, Mike McDaniel did it in person because he’s no longer the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Guys, guys that aren’t under contract could come in and do it in person. But, you know, the question I had for you, but it was more so a rhetorical question was, how many owners around the league are sitting in and participating in the first round interviews? And, you know, to the point that you just made, yeah, when? When these are video calls, and there’s a copy of it. You can sit there and watch, and you can get feedback, and you can see it. And part of that is also, guess what he’s also doing there. He might not say it, and he might not consciously be doing it. Might not be as he’s evaluating his own people by the questions they’re asking and what they’re looking for, right? I mean, that’s not that, not that. That means, like, Eric’s under fire, per se. But how is there? You know, he’s evaluating, how is Eric doing, heading up, you know, being the guy in charge, the point person of these first round interviews, right? So, you know, because Eric wasn’t doing that the first time around, right? Or not first time around, but with John, right? I mean, Eric was not as high in the pecking order at that point in. Time. So the whole process is fascinating. I’m still not fully convinced, like, what they’re fully preferring here. I mean, they’ve cast a wide net. You have former head coaches, you have offensive guys, you have defensive guys, you have younger guys, you have a couple older guys, like Jim Schwartz, right? I do think of the 15 names that are out there that they have, quote, officially interviewed. And keep in mind, there could always be the proverbial mystery candidate, right? You never quite know they bringing Bill cower back, probably not him. I don’t think Bill Belichick, you know, but, but, but the idea, with some of these names, some of these guys, they probably have no interest in hiring as a head coach, but they might say, You know what that that guy is, an offensive coordinator, might fit perfectly with this head coach, or that guy as the defensive coordinator could be a really nice fit. In fact, if you look, I believe Davis Webb was at, want to say he was at Texas Tech. Cliff Kingsbury was his head coach there. So maybe, if Cliff Kingsbury is your guy, Davis Webb might be his offensive coordinator, right? I mean, you never, and that would be a promotion for him. So a lot of this, it’s a puzzle, right? I mean, yes, you want to identify the best head coach, the guy that you have the most conviction about. However, one of the first questions they’re asked, Who would be your offensive coordinator, who would be your defensive coordinator, who are your other assistants that you think would be a major part of what your staff is going to stand for and how you’re going to execute and get the best out of the defensive side of the ball, the offensive side of the ball. Yes, the quarterback, of course. And you kind of go through that. I mean, you might have, you might have a guy that, in a vacuum, is a great candidate, great candidate in terms of interpersonal skills, the idea that he’s an X’s and O’s expert on his side of the ball might have the CEO qualities that are endearing. But you know what? He hasn’t been at it long enough, and he hasn’t networked as well as some of the guys that have been at it for a longer period of time, that he might not have the coaching network that you’re comfortable with, right? And that might be the difference between hiring that guy to be your head coach or he’s an excellent defensive coordinator candidate or an excellent OC candidate, right? So, I mean, there’s, there’s a lot to it that as outsiders, whether we’re talking media or astute fans, right? I mean, there are plenty of fans that have, I’ve seen talk on social media and and make some really good points about some of these guys. You know, whether it’s something that you’d say is a point for someone, or something that you’d say might disqualify someone. I mean, there’s, but all of these perspectives are still going to be limited in scope until you’re actually sitting down with that person and you’re talking to them in a different context. And that’s why I said as much as Yes, I subscribe, and I agree with so many who talk about wanting a more X’s and O’s minded head coach, the CEO part is still part of that job. You still have to manage the entire 53 man roster. You have to manage a coaching staff. Coaches have egos too, right? I mean, big part.

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Nestor Aparicio  23:12

And I’m sure this happened opinions, yeah,

Luke Jones  23:15

I’m sure this happened inside the building with the Ravens. In fact, go back to bye week. I can remember, you know, during the buy in, and that was what week seven, right? They were one in five at that point in time. Go back and look at some of the comments, and I’m just using these guys as examples. I’m not this is not me accusing them of being this way. But you could go look at a couple comments that T Martin made, quarterbacks coach, or George warhop made the offensive line coach. And if you wanted to, you could interpret that as a subtle disagreement with Todd monkens offense in one shape, in some shape or form. My point in saying that is not that those guys are malcontents or anything like that. I’m not at all suggesting that point is when things start going bad. Everyone gets in cya mode. Everyone coaches and players, right?

Nestor Aparicio  24:09

They all got fired. In the end, 12 weeks later, they all got fired exactly, but they knew it. One in five, they were

Luke Jones  24:15

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in trouble all that. And one of the I don’t think we said this specifically, but I lump this in in my 12 ravens thoughts coming out of last week’s press conference. Man, if there was something that was abundantly clear as it pertained to their assistant coaches, it was George warhops not going to be back because of the way that Steve when Eric was talking about the O line, and Steve interjected, talking about the coaching there. Man, that was the safest bet you could make is that George warhop is not going to be retained to be the Ravens offensive line coach. I think that’s evident there, and I’m not trying to pick on him. I mean, most of the maybe one or two or maybe three assistants out of their entire staff might have a chance to be back, right? I mean, maybe Randy Brown stays because they say, Well, you know, Jordan stout. Had an All Pro year, and Tyler, Luke’s going to be in a second year, but he was John’s best pal, right? No, I understand, but I’m just saying maybe, but maybe he stays if he’s under contract, or maybe he joins John in New York, right? I mean, who knows? Right? But I just thought there was an example right there of when bashadi, I mean, he didn’t name more hop, he didn’t call him out individually, but when he chimed in about the coaching, when, when di Costa was talking about the O line that right there, said they didn’t think very much of what George warhop did with that group. And look, you look at that group who played better. I mean, even Tyler linderbaum, who made another pro bowl, I don’t think anyone would say he had his best season this past year. So, so you look at it there, but, but these are all considerations for this. So that’s why I kind of laugh when someone says, oh, I don’t want solid now, bad the 40 Niners defense looks Saturday night. It’s like that that has whatever percentage that would have on their search and consideration. I mean, it’s negligible, right? I mean, maybe something specific happened in that game that you might ask him about, but, yeah, he didn’t have his linebacker, Fred Warner. He’s missing like he’s missing all probe type players. So, so yeah, I mean, but that’s where I think, from a fan and from a media perspective. I mean, even media, you know you talk, you can talk to people, and you can make calls and text people and hear certain little nuggets about this guy or that guy, or which which coaches are connected to which other coaches. By the way,

Nestor Aparicio  26:33

Josh pines, our friend Josh pines, do you know he’s coaching?

Luke Jones  26:39

Yeah, he’s in Seattle. He’s in Seattle.

Nestor Aparicio  26:41

Yeah, that’s my dude. Yeah, I got a room for Seahawks now, you know.

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Luke Jones  26:46

And if you and I talking to Josh Bynes at some of our live shows six, seven years ago, whenever it was

Nestor Aparicio  26:55

you, if you would ask me, then would you be surprised if he’s a coach in five or six years? I’d say I’d probably be more surprised if he’s not a coach in five or six years. That’s the kind of guy is. But you know what? I would have said the same about Zach or regardless of unfortunately, not working out with him as their defensive coordinator these last two years. So yeah, but yeah, there’s a career thing there, like Anthony Weaver, another guy that came through here, that you know, aspired to be a coach. And, I mean, we see Mike Vrabel having this success right now, right So, and a lot of the names that I brought up are guys who were players. The only way you could be a quarterback whisper is there been a quarterback all these guys, Kingsbury down. I mean, even, even guys he recruited right or in the hopper now that that pathway is different than how much do you love the game, you know, like, does Lamar love the game enough to be a coach? Maybe, maybe not, you know, at this point, but you better make them love the game. You better. You better reign that part of it back into new relationships, new coaching, something that feels good, something that feels different than John, something that gets him in the building to be the guy you want him to be as a $70 million your quarterback, you know, to get whatever the potential out of Lamar is. And I keep going back to that, and that’s going to be my theme now, tomorrow, a month from now, after they hire the coach, after you send out the wnsd text service brought to by Cole roofing and Gordian energy after all of it, because if it doesn’t work with Lamar, this guy’s going to get fired. He’s not going to survive Lamar to pick eighth in the draft two years from now with Eric. Because Eric loves him so much, and Steve loves him so much. I just I don’t think a coach can survive this without Lamar doing great things soon. That’s a totally different job than the one David Moodle put in front of Billick, and totally different job than the one that Steve a shot he put in front of John.

Luke Jones  28:51

They didn’t have a franchise quarterback either of those times, right? I mean, Brian came in and Scott Mitchell was his first quarterback. John came in and, okay, they drafted Joe Flacco two months later, or two and a half, three months later, but they didn’t know that at the time. They’re, in fact, their objective at that point in time was, What in the world can we do to draft Matt Ryan, knowing that they were drafting, what eight that year, or whatever it was, and knowing that Matt Ryan wasn’t going to last, you know, wasn’t going to be on the board at that point in time. So, yeah, this is a different animal. It’s why the ravens are perceived as having the best job, because the opportunity speaks for itself. But yeah, you’re right, and it’s not just Lamar. It’s everyone. It’s Kyle Hamilton, it’s roquan Smith, it’s Ronnie Stanley. Go down the list of all the guys that, and I’m it’s not to suggest any of these guys quit, or any of these guys were malcontents, or any of these guys were not giving it their all or anything like that, but everyone was worn down this year. Everyone was tired, right? It goes back to that theme of like, it’s not that John Harbaugh became a moron or anything like that, but it had kind of run its course. And you get to the point, and you go back to Brian Billick, a. Citing Bill Walsh and talking about the idea of a shelf life. You know, a head coach, eight, 910, years. Maybe it’s a little different now, because rosters turn turn more rapidly than they did back then. But the idea that it was time and now whoever you’re going to hire, you want to rejuvenate everyone. You want to get everyone back to running through walls for one another and all that, and again, it’s not to say they weren’t trying, but you want everyone to believe, right? Get back to well,

Nestor Aparicio  30:32

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look at what happened Chicago this year. They believe. Look at Dan Campbell had the worst entry press conference ever, and got the city to believe Right.

Luke Jones  30:40

Like Sirianni had a bad opening press conference too, and, I mean, they still want to run him out of town, and he’s been to two Super Bowls

Nestor Aparicio  30:47

as much as you’re down on Zach Taylor. They’ve made a lot of money in Cincinnati that they didn’t make on the back end of the Super Bowl because he came in and took him to a Super Bowl and got people believing again, right? So I in any of these markets, especially where they’re not selling tickets, or they’re not the toast of the town. Jacksonville had their minute this year right where they’re sort of back where they need to be. The shimmer says daughters are running the Colts now and trying to figure that out. Bears are getting a stadium. Chiefs are getting a stadium. So some of these organizations, the stadium and the money and all of that, but look at the Houston Texans this year. We’re talking about the down and out and downtrodden that aren’t in the tournament anymore. But look at what the Texans have done this year. Look at what the Seahawks have come back to life. Look at the way the Patriots have come back to life. I mean, these are franchises that were on the skids, hiring coaches, Broncos. Oh, my God, the Broncos are three, four coaches into this. Vance Joseph be one of them. So and then there’s the Jets and the Browns that can’t get out of their own way. But for an organization like the ravens, this should feel like a rocket ship, not like anything that would be less than eight, nine in any way. Oh, if that were to happen, it would be devastating around here. I mean, short of

Luke Jones  32:10

not just Lamar, but other guys get, you know, other star players getting hurt, yeah. I mean, this is, again, to your point, there’s a lot of pressure. Or, I mean, this is a good job, but with a good job comes a lot of pressure, right? If it’s if the expectations are low, that’s when you ask, how good of a job is it now, in terms of keeping the job Sure? Maybe, like, if you go in and a team has no expectation, like, you know, Stefanski when he arrived in Cleveland, right? I mean, he was Coach of the Year twice, right? He did a good job.

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Nestor Aparicio  32:41

But what are the assets here? I mean, I’m being serious. Sell me the asset beyond Lamar, if you have to love Lamar, cost a lot of money organizations in the NFL, okay?

Luke Jones  32:53

The regardless of how you feel about the owner, the owner is perceived as being one of the better owners in the league, at least in terms of being willing to spend money, to the point that we talked about the staff analytics department. Think back to the NFL pa report card a few years ago, when they got dinged big time on that. Look at the changes they made, look at the technology they added in with player recovery. They hired, hired more strength coaches, they improved their weight room, like all those different

Nestor Aparicio  33:20

things, and it hasn’t led to success this year, at least it didn’t right this year, it

Luke Jones  33:24

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didn’t but, I mean, let’s, let’s also not just, let’s not be hyper focused on one season and still look at the body of work. I mean, Eric dicost is perceived as being one of the best general managers in the league. Ozzie Newsome is still in the building every single day. You you have, like I said, financially, you’re, there’s, it’s never been in question whether bishad is willing to spend money, right? So you go at all those things. You have a two time MVP at quarterback, you have a fringe defensive player of the year candidate and Kyle Hamilton. You have an All Pro linebacker. Whether he’s truly an All Pro caliber linebacker at this point is up for debate, but you have him, right? I mean, you go down the list. I mean, this is a team that’s a couple years removed from having 12 or 13 Pro Bowl selections. And I get it, the Pro Bowl is not, you know, the end all be all. But look at the I’m just

Nestor Aparicio  34:12

looking at the assets. For me at this point, I don’t see roquan as an as an ascending player. I Marlon Humphrey’s done. I have to like the corners that Eric is drafted when is they’re very talented, though, like the Matta BK thing, very you think they have 13 win talent after watching what they did? Let see, I don’t. I think that they’re mediocre.

Luke Jones  34:37

Then that might be then that might be a question. Then you should be saying, Why are they firing John Harbaugh? Then, if that’s the case, I mean, if you don’t think they were that talented, now

Nestor Aparicio  34:47

let me, let me pump. Overrated would be where I would have eight, nine, having looked at, having looked at Mark Andrews, the place.

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Luke Jones  35:00

Question. Go ahead, aren’t we talking but isn’t this in in relation to the other job openings right now, or are we talking about the 32 teams?

Nestor Aparicio  35:08

Because there’s a difference, though, take the job in Arizona this year. You’re not expected to win this year. Take the job here because you are perceived as having elite talent, elite 1213, win talent. That’s the perception. I’m not buying that. I’m not I’m not buying that because I watch them play, and I’m not buying that because, like, on the team, what’s on the team Labor Day, if you love Wiggins, if you love the young players, I mean, I love Hamilton, and I love Lamar, and I love say flowers for what he is. I think there needs to be more. So where is the talent Linder bomb, but I’m not sure about the money. I like the Travis Jones that we have that position solved.

Luke Jones  35:54

Are they a top 10 team in terms of talent?

Nestor Aparicio  35:58

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Bottom of the top 10? Okay, they’re not a top four Talent Team the way we would have perceived them to be this time last year. So how many? And the reason for that is Humphrey, Stanley, roquan, even Derek Henry, to some degree, to say, another year, a tread where, what is it going to be next year? Pat Ricard, Mark Andrews, like playing back the greatest hits, the greatest hits of the guys who were really great two or three years ago, 1415, one great two or three years ago, including roquan, including Mark Andrews, including Marlon Humphrey, I’m looking at the next level of that. Wiggins, Starks, the young players they’ve drafted. And say, do I love them yet? Are they Pro Bowlers next, or am I eating off of are we eating off of you and me together? No matter? Don’t argue with you. I’m looking at it and saying, Have we overrated the talent a little bit as it related to what John went through this year, but also another year. And to your point, linderbaum, we love him, but is he at $19 million I don’t know. Like that’s for them to figure out. I don’t know that the talent here at this moment, is perceived to be as great as maybe Ozzie and Eric are at picking the next group of players. I you know, Hey, I like the system, and I like that we can go get some more good players, but if I have to go play with this team, right here, right now, without Linder, we know with the salary cap issues that we have right and without the MATA BK question marks that Eric can’t even answer questions, no pass rush, no offensive line. But you know, go agent, running back, we go on and on and on about the shortcomings, and I don’t think it’s as stacked as and I’ll agree with all the Steve’s, the greatest owner, and they have the most money, and Ozzy’s, I’ll get into all of that, but the guys I got to go play with right this minute, I don’t think it’s as stacked as thinking this is really a 12 or 13 win team, as much as It’s, uh, we got some work to do. Okay?

Luke Jones  38:02

I was when I made the comment about it being a very talented roster, I was speaking more in the scope of the job openings. I’d much rather coach the ravens and the Steelers right now.

Nestor Aparicio  38:13

See what I think you can coach the Steelers and win six games next year with a new quarterback and pitch. Okay, I would say teams got to play an EFC championship game next year, but that’s a whole different gig that it is. And I look at and say, I guess maybe, but just as the greatest talented team in the world, I don’t see it that way anymore. I didn’t watch the play.

Luke Jones  38:35

I didn’t say they were the most talented team in the world. I said they were very talented, and I was again, speaking more through the scope of comparing it to the other eight teams that have job openings right now, I mean,

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Nestor Aparicio  38:46

but I’m thinking about in terms of a $20 million corner to $20 million left tackle and a $20 million aren’t that player anymore the way they were two years ago when they were winning 15 games. Okay?

Luke Jones  39:01

Um, sure. So. So what is their what is their win like? What kind of a team are they? Then, as far as their talent, are they 11 win team? Because that’s top 10

Nestor Aparicio  39:12

they think they are. And the new coach is going to have to make them that. And I don’t know how you make them that, if Ronnie Stanley’s not going to get in the fountain of youth, and Lamar is not going to really be great again, and that’s going to involve the offensive line. That’s going to involve a lot more personnel than what they went out and played with two weeks ago. That’s all and it was good enough to go beat Green Bay on the road. I’ll hear all of that, but I do think that they’re not an ascending Talent Team right this moment. Unless you really believe anything is going to get even better. Wiggins is going to take the next step. Star is going to take the next step. They’re going to find more of the that any of those guys on the offensive line file lately, any of those guys are going to, like, really be on the team? Rosengarten, I’ll give you him. But like, who’s really going to be on the team? Not this September, next September, because I’m signing up for that. Who are the players going to be on the 27 roster right now, and can I win the Super Bowl with that team right now without doing a whole lot of work? And I wouldn’t be taking this job thinking it has Super Bowl 27 talent on it right now, other than you really believe it, Lamar at 30 or 31 and and how you’re going to maneuver him at 30 or 31 that ain’t going to look like John running him into the Vikings 21 times on a Thursday or Sunday, you know. Like, that’s not going to happen anymore. So I I just temper the thought of, I will agree with great organization, big bones, big money, all of that. But I would look at the roster and say, got a quarterback, and I got a lot of expectation, but I look around the rest of the roster and I’m not seeing that team that maybe we perceived it to be last August for now,

Luke Jones  40:51

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and that’s and that’s fine, but I would still say it’s a very talented team compared to the other job openings, and that’s what I keep coming back to. And I mean, for the argument that you’re making there, I would kind of, I would say, I don’t want the head coach that wants to take the easier job then,

Nestor Aparicio  41:06

well, John found talent on the Giants roster, right? Yeah, sure.

Luke Jones  41:11

But I mean men, you think Lamar Jackson runs into linebackers? Mean Jackson Dart actually does run into linebackers, you know? And John thinks he can win 11 games next year without gonna find out. We’re gonna find out. I don’t know. I don’t know if John actually thinks he can win 11. I think maybe he thinks they can win nine or 10. And maybe that’s enough to be a wild card, right? NFC East is messy right now, even

Nestor Aparicio  41:33

they make the wild card, go to San Francisco and lose 37 to 23 he’s a hero next year, sure, but, but they make the wild card here, if you’re Jim Schwartz and you get your ass kicked because Lamar fumbles three times in the snow and buff Bemidji doesn’t matter where. You know, maybe the new coach can get away with that. You know what? I mean, maybe next year, just making the playoffs feels good after we did. You know, like,

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Luke Jones  41:58

I don’t know. I mean, I mean, I do think, I think you’ve got to reset expectations a little bit, right? I mean, this isn’t that team from three years ago. That’s my point. Roquan’s not in his prime. Ronnie Stanley’s not in his prime. They don’t have those guns. You better hope that Wiggins and Starks and Rosie, the next group becomes really good. That’s all. I understand what you’re saying, but I feel like you’re you’re gaging their roster against the other 31 teams, and I like, we’re having the exercise, I thought was, what’s, what’s the selling point for this job? And I thought I was giving you that because it’s a way more talented roster than the other job openings, beginning with having a two time MVP at quarterback and having one of the very best defensive players in the NFL, and Kyle Hamilton. I mean, you can kind of stop with those two guys, Fahrenheit. I mean, so, but I hear what you’re saying. And look, I probably between the two of us, I probably brought up more this enchantment as far as Eric, the job Eric Acosta did this past off season that I might have, I probably brought that up before you did. And not to say that, you know, it’s not patting myself on the back. Just that,

Nestor Aparicio  43:01

Oh, dude, every time people ask me why I don’t I’m not harder on the Costa like he and I are. Pub.

Luke Jones  43:08

I wasn’t saying that more so, but it was more so recognizing that, like, for example, from the time that our Darius Washington got hurt in mid May, I was saying they need to get another safety in here. And they waited until week five. They waited until they were

Nestor Aparicio  43:22

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already Why do you think that was? Who did he believe in that he shouldn’t have? I think Eric,

Luke Jones  43:27

first of all, fully recognizing there is such a thing called the salary cap. And I think he valued taking a swing on Jair Alexander more, whereas I think, I mean, certainly in hindsight, you know, he was wrong on this, because Jair Alexander was nothing. I mean, a Woozi a was a 10 times better signing for a quarter of the money. But, you know, I think, I think that I know from having talked to some people in the organization, that there were people internally that thought they needed a safety and, you know, look, they got you here. That was a splash. Louisville guy, Lamar, was happy, and it didn’t work out. And, you know, it was a $4 million contract. It’s not like they gave him $20 million and, you know, let’s be clear. I mean, same thing with, you know, as as terrible as the Cooper rush edition was, and the fact that Snoop Huntley was the best backup quarterback. You know, they didn’t give Cooper rush $10 million a year, you know. So understanding that these are relative criticisms, and understanding that, you know, you only have so many dollars to go around. But Eric, Eric didn’t have a great year. I mean, he didn’t. And you know, it goes and I agree with your overall point, no, the roster, for all the praise that they were getting back in July and August, that this was the best roster in the NFL, yada yada yada. Well, you can say what you want about their their strengths on their roster, but. Their weaknesses ended up being major weaknesses, right? I mean, you you’re never going to have a perfect roster. We all understand that. And those who’ve been especially critical of the offensive line, no, they’re not going to have the 1993 cowboys kind of offensive line. In this day and age, I don’t know if any team has that kind of offensive line. Even the teams that are perceived to have good o lines, don’t they usually have at least one guy, or you say, is he old? Is he overrated? Is he not that good? You know, I

Nestor Aparicio  45:29

see Morgan Moses still running around out there. So, so,

Luke Jones  45:32

so you’re going to have some of that, but, yeah, their offensive line regressed. But I will also say, and this is where I will defend Eric Decosta and I’ll defend the Ravens right now. I think they feel that the coaching is going to make a big difference, or they hope the new coach and the new staff coming in will make a big difference. Because how many times did we say over the course of this season and other, you know, in recent years when they’ve blown leads and, you know, the whole routine where things go wrong, and everyone goes down with the ship where coaching matters. And I think, you know, for the O line, I think they, they felt that Joe, Dallas Andres did a really good job for a long time, and then real life hit with that, and they lost them, and George warhop did an admirable job in 24 coming in in a really difficult position and manage that group, and they still played well enough. It wasn’t the best offensive line in the league, but it certainly wasn’t the worst or bottom five or anything like that. But then it regressed, and George Warhol didn’t do as good of a job, and Paul Layla didn’t do as good of a job, and Voorhees didn’t step up the way that they hoped he would. And Ronnie Stanley was a year older, even though I don’t think Stanley was awful this past year. You know, you know the go, look how many $20 million left tackles there are in the NFL now. It, it’s not the same as what $20 million left tackles? What that meant five years ago? I mean, they’re, they’re a lot, right? I mean, is Ronnie a little bit of a value concern, maybe with his injury history and age? Sure. Do I think they’re going to cut him this year? No, no, do I think he’s going to be their starting left tackle next year? Yes, I absolutely do. Whether they draft, you know, someone for the future or not, we’ll see. But, but, point is, with some of the shortcomings and some of the roster deficiencies that you just laid out that I don’t disagree with. I mean, I’m guessing if Marlon Humphrey is back, I’m guessing it’s absolutely going to be on a reworked contract. He’s not going to be making the money he is. I mean, heck, their solution for their third safety might be that Marlon upper he transitions to safety, and the way that rod Woodson did at a certain point in his career with the ravens, so but, but the point is that I’m trying to make here is a lot of what they laid out. You know, when dicostia and Basti were talking about their shortcomings in 2025

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Nestor Aparicio  47:54

Yeah, they thought their coaching left something to be desired. I know that you talk to people well connected former, you know, people that are either former players, people who know better. I talked to somebody who knows better and flat out sad, and I talked to people as well who said first thing this human offered to me was very well coached. Whom I respect. I don’t know. I can’t I don’t know that I respect anybody more than this human who came up to me six weeks ago and said their coaches aren’t good enough. And he probably said the same thing to the owner if he ever had the owner’s ear, and maybe he did so. And that’s where you look at it, and

Luke Jones  48:27

say, even if that, even if some of these issues weren’t directly John Harbaugh’s fault, it’s his staff. So that’s where you look at this, and that’s why the networking part of whoever they hire, it’s not just who they hire, it’s whoever they hire, who they know that can then come in and be different assistants and work out and be, build good rapport with players and get more out of you know, probably, you know, file Layla is a free agent. I you know, I’m guessing, I’m guessing he’s not going to be back. I mean, maybe not. In fact, I could see him being with the Giants.

Nestor Aparicio  49:03

It’d be interesting to see who John loved, or, you know, or who his coaches love. Oh, Eric didn’t believe in maybe you’ll, you’ll figure that out pretty quickly. Yeah.

Luke Jones  49:11

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I mean, like, like, one, someone who comes to mind right now, and I’m not, I’m not saying that this is, uh, you know, that he loves John and doesn’t like Eric, or doesn’t like the ravens, like, would you at all be surprised if the Giants prioritize bringing in someone like Pat Ricard to help their running game, you know, to block for scatterboat and and then hardball is talking about this incredibly physical running game that they’re going to have like that one surprised me now that said Ricard could be back. I’m not saying that he’s like that the Ravens don’t value him, but the Giants might value him more now, right?

Nestor Aparicio  49:45

That’s where you just look at how many people Joe Ortiz has taken out to LA to play for the Chargers. Right?

Luke Jones  49:50

Familiarity, it’s a thing, right? Bias, it’s a thing. We we all have our people that we’re going to gravitate. To, or people you’re familiar with, or any of that. So, yeah, I, I fully anticipate. I mean, it’s already been talked about if Todd monk, assuming Todd Monckton doesn’t get a head coaching gig or or another team doesn’t throw him making the highest paid off as a coordinator in football, the assumption is he’s going to wind up in New York with with horrible so they liked each other that much, huh? I mean, well, I think John looked at it through the lens of Lamar Jackson played fantastic football in Todd monkens first two years. Now we can talk about what happened in year three, and I still think a big part of it is Lamar got hurt early in the season, and I think that’s that that’s still going to be the biggest factor there. But Lamar Jackson, like Todd Monckton, helped take Lamar Jackson to another level. So if you’re John Harbaugh and you’ve got Jackson Dart, who absolutely is talented, let me be clear. You know, I’ve kind of been making these comments about him running in the linebackers and jest, I think Jackson darts talented. I think he’s got a chance to to be a good quarterback. I thought he did some nice things as a rookie, but he needs like Todd Monckton would be good for him, I think with teaching him the elements of the game that go beyond his athleticism, and hopefully teaching someone’s got to teach that kid to slide and run out of bounds. Because, I mean, when you’re getting checked for a concussion two out of three games, you know, every doing it wrong games. I mean, you’re not gonna last. I mean, you know, for all the Lamar narrative, that Lamar narrative over the years, and how much of it was true and how much of it was exaggerated, and everything, by and large, Lamar did have, like, you know, a sixth sense of avoiding. It’s incredible. Nobody squares them up. It’s right, yeah, so, but Jackson Dart has not shown that is my point. So it’s like you better teach that kid out a slide and Todd Monckton, I will wholeheartedly continue to say Todd Monckton did a really good job in Baltimore. 2025 was failure across the board, right? Everyone failed to some degree, but I guess, other than the punter, right, Jordan stout was an all Pro, and a couple other guys, but, but I think Monken first two years did a great, great job with Lamar Jackson, especially coming in at a time when two years of, you know, it was on the heels of two years of contract talk that that got heated, you know, not heated, but uncomfortable at times. I mean, to the point where he requested a trade and all that, and he came in a restrictive free agent, you know. So, you know, I mean, it’s, it wasn’t Kumbaya, man. So that’s my, you know, I think Todd moncken, well, wherever Todd monkin winds up, I I think he’s a good coach. I will continue to say that regardless of what happened in 25 how much of it was him, how much of it was Lamar, as is the case with anything, the truth falls somewhere in between. And ultimately, there’s a lot of frustration that everyone dealt with, and everyone was feeling that. So you know, we’re going to see how this plays out. But you know, whoever the new coach is coming into a good situation. But to your point, yeah, there’s some expectation that’s going to come with that. And you know what I would say, if a coach is going to balk at that, I don’t want that guy, if I were Steve rashadi, and I was a coach is going to balk at high expectations, and I probably don’t want that guy to be my head coach at the end of the day. And I think that’s a fair point as well. All right,

Nestor Aparicio  53:20

the job of the hour is out at Owens mills. If it happens, you’ll get it first in the wnst tech service. Brought to you by cold roofing and Gordian energy. Luke can be found at Baltimore, Luke, I can be found almost anywhere out there having some fun in social media. This week, we’re doing the Maryland crab cake tour and a cup of soup or bowl beginning of February 2 at Fay Lee’s downtown. It’s all brought to you by the Maryland lottery, conjunction with our friends at GBMC, I have the candy cane cashes to give away. We’ve also had the Harlem Globetrotters last week. We have the Olympic thing going on right now with the Maryland lottery, as well as our friends at GBMC who are keeping me alive. I’m going to have a medical appointment coming up. I’m actually, like, having, like, a checkup. I don’t even know what that is. I don’t even know what it entails. I think I have to fill have to fill out forms. That’s going to happen right after I have my root canal next week. I’m Nestor. He’s Luke. We are W, N, S T am 1570 Towson, Baltimore, and we never stop talking Baltimore positive. Stay with us.