Dan Lanning - Oregon Ducks Head Coach

Dan Lanning went from grad assistant chasing Aaron Donald around at Pitt… to one of the hottest head coaches in college football. In this episode of The Inner Circle Podcast, the guys pull him inside the circle for a brutally honest, funny, and surprisingly emotional conversation.

Lanning kicks things off with the real AD origin story — including the scout-team quarterback whose collarbone paid the price for a new zone-read scheme. From there, he explains the one mistake he made last year getting Oregon ready for Ohio State in the Playoff and how he’s fixing it this time as the Ducks prep for James Madison.

The guys dig into how Lanning structures extended Playoff prep, why you can’t give players two weeks of over-coaching, and how he uses Tony Dungy’s Super Bowl approach to keep things fresh. He also opens up on reinventing himself at every stop – Pitt, Arizona State, Georgia, Oregon – and why empowering his staff (instead of micromanaging every decision) changed everything.

Then it gets real: Lanning shares how his wife’s cancer battle and moving his kids across eight states reshaped his goals, why “NFL head coach” came off his mirror, and why he’s determined Oregon will be his last job. His new scoreboard? Passing Mike Bellotti as the Ducks’ all-time wins leader and finally bringing a national title to Eugene.

Of course, this is Oregon, so there’s sneaker talk: Nike perks, favorite Jordan 3s, Grateful Dead Air Force One's, and why he still rides daily in Cortez’s.

Later, the crew pivots to the wild world of NIL and the transfer portal — money vs. fit, real development vs. chasing the biggest bag, and how bad advice from the wrong “agent” can wreck a kid’s career. AD and Matt share how money would’ve changed them at 18, and why hard work and the right situation still print the biggest checks.

Plus: Daniel Jones’ brutal injury in Indy, AD shamelessly recruiting Matt Ryan out of “retirement,” and Aaron’s search for a truly dominant interior D-lineman as he crowns Jeffery Simmons (again) as his Player of the Week.

Lock in, hit follow, and step inside the circle.

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Transcript

Zach Klein (00:00)
how we doing everybody? Zach Klein here on the Inner Circle Podcast. Thank you so much for hanging out with us. Please hit the like and subscribe button. Coming up, we talk about the return of Matt Ryan. I mean, for numerous episodes, everybody's always talking about AD. Is Aaron Donald ever going to return? And this time we flip the switch. Aaron asks Matt if he's going to come back. After all, Philip Rivers, 44 years old.

going to the Colts, coming out of retirement. He's a grandfather. We have a fun conversation about that, plus 80s players of the week, but we begin.

with the head coach of the University of Oregon, Dan Lanning, the one mistake he made a year ago in preparing for Ohio State in the playoffs that he will not have this year. ⁓ One player he would love throughout his coaching travels to have with him at the University of Oregon. He's now playing in the NFL. We talk about the NFL. Would he ever go and leave Oregon, leave the Ducks to go to the National Football League? That more with a dear friend, an unbelievable head coach, a tremendous father and more. Ladies and gentlemen, Dan Lanning.

AD (01:02)
What up coach? Hey, you came a long way. I do, I do. You got solid gold behind you now. You you winning a lot of games. I see you all the time on TV. Hey, came a long way, man. I can see, I can see.

Dan Lanning (01:04)
You don't remember me.

Hey, it's been a while,

Life's been good, man.

You were a beast, bro. I was a GA, Zach, when this dude was there. I got some cool stories on AD.

AD (01:22)
Yeah

Wow. ⁓

Zach Klein (01:29)
Hit us with them, your

T$ (01:29)
well,

Zach Klein (01:29)
favorite one. We're

Matt (01:30)
Yeah, just, just start

T$ (01:31)
exactly.

Zach Klein (01:31)
not wasting your time.

Dan Lanning (01:31)
Favorite stories.

Matt (01:32)
coach. Just start.

Dan Lanning (01:32)
All all right. Let's see if Aaron remembers this. You remember Marco Pecora? Do you know the story that I'm about to tell? All right, all right. So I was in charge of the scout team. We had a scout team offense. And the team we were about to play, I don't remember who it was. We were about to play a team that's going to run zone read, a bunch of zone read. And this is when like, mesh in the quarterback kind of became popular.

AD (01:38)
Mm-hmm.

I don't know, let me hear it, let me hear it.

Dan Lanning (01:56)
Right? Where you would just, instead of trying to play the zone read and then somebody else play the QB, you just let your best player just run right through the quarterback's face. Right? So Marco was our backup safety. Right? But he was also, he was also our scout. He's our scout team quarterback. Right? So the very first time we run it, we go like it's, it's mesh read and Aaron just smokes Marco breaks our scouting quarterbacks collarbone in practice. Very first time we do you remember this?

AD (02:08)
do remember this. I do remember it.

Matt (02:21)
You

AD (02:26)
I did remember it. I did remember it.

Dan Lanning (02:26)
And I'm like, shit, who's going to be our scout team quarterback? He broke our,

I just remember in practice, we'd put him in an inside run and then we'd have to go over and take Aaron out of inside run. Cause he just screwed up the entire period. Cause it was just like tearing people up. It was a, it was a lot of fun, man. Watching the way this dude practiced. I tell stories about watching Aaron Donald practice all the time. Cause these guys think they know what it means to be great. And that dude.

AD (02:38)
Hahaha

priest

Dan Lanning (02:51)
But I felt bad for Marco. Marco's collarbone broke. It was awesome. Amen. Amen.

AD (02:53)
Yeah, remember that. You practiced the way you play. You practiced the way you play, Yes.

Yes.

Matt (03:03)
be honest, I've been that scout team quarterback before back in the day long, long time ago is a terrifying feeling. I never had a D coming at me, but had some pretty good guys and I wasn't a mesh read guy. So when I was running it, it was not pretty. No doubt coach. How's the prep going?

AD (03:06)
You

Yeah

Dan Lanning (03:17)
No No doubt.

Zach Klein (03:19)
Hey man, welcome.

Yeah, welcome to the fam, Inner Circle fam, Lanning We appreciate your time, man. I know you got a lot of stories about Lannan. I know Matt wants to talk some ball. Todd's got some sneaker questions. We all want to talk some shit. So we appreciate your time. Much love, man. And yeah, are you good? How things?

AD (03:24)
Yes.

Dan Lanning (03:33)
Yeah, life's great,

Life's great. Once you realize that this profession is chaos all the time and you kind of say like, my, my givership meter isn't very high. Like I care about what's really important to me. and doing it the way you want to do it with people you love doing it with. Like that's, what I think we've got going here. That's an unbelievable opportunity. You wake up every day and say, you know, how blessed you are to get to do what you do.

AD (03:43)
Yeah

Dan Lanning (03:56)
the chaos becomes really easy to deal with, right? And you realize that big problems aren't really big problems, they're small problems and it's all about how you attack them. So a lot of opportunities here for people in our organization. Obviously we're prepping for a playoff game. Yeah, it's all in front of us, man. It's really exciting.

Matt (04:13)
So you guys have like, what is it, 11 days, I think 11 days until y'all play. And so take me through, it's kind of like an extended, know, bye week, whatever that is, that prep period where you don't know who you're gonna see, what are you guys doing? What does the prep look like right now? And then when do you get into your normal game week?

Zach Klein (04:30)
Wait, you haven't opted out of this game, right? You haven't opted out, you're in? Like, you're good?

Dan Lanning (04:30)
Yeah, well,

AD (04:33)
I'm

sorry.

Dan Lanning (04:34)
we're in this bad boy. ⁓ One, we get to play football. So how awesome is that? We're going to take advantage of that opportunity. But I think this first week really is about us, right? And I'd be curious about Aaron's perspective, Matt's, your guys' perspective on this. I always remember reading Tony Dungy's book of whenever they got to Super Bowl prep time, how he would

Zach Klein (04:35)
Okay, good.

Dan Lanning (04:53)
Even though you had extended time, he would still say the prep's the same. We're gonna do a Monday practice here. We're not gonna go two weeks of practice, so the same thing. I feel like if there was a mistake that we made last year, the monotony of having 25 days between our game ⁓ against Ohio State, I felt like I didn't put enough focus on just us. Let's go evaluate what can we do better? What are a couple wrinkles we can add here or there? It really has nothing to do with the opponent. So this week's really more about us.

AD (04:58)
Mm-hmm.

Dan Lanning (05:19)
And then as we're a week out for our game against James Madison, we'll hop into really James Madison. And the coaches are certainly taking a look right now. There's some things that you know you have to go attack. for the players, I just don't know if it's fair for them to say, hey, I need two weeks of extreme focus on one opponent when the truth is there's a lot of things we can get better at that have nothing to do with who we're playing.

AD (05:39)
Mm-hmm.

Matt (05:40)
Yeah, for sure. I always felt like in the playoffs when you had, you know, whether you're one seed and you had to buy at the beginning of it, you're playing in a Super Bowl, you have that extra week, the Super Bowl a little bit different. But I always felt like when you got too far ahead as a player, you know, like too far in front of then you start chasing ghosts, you start overthinking things and you get out of the normal of what really matters.

AD (05:57)
Yeah.

All

Dan Lanning (06:02)
And the other piece of that for me is early you feel like you find a nugget and you're like, hey, when the right guard's hands on his hip as opposed to like elbow, shoulder, whatever, hey, that's a run pass indicator. You pointed out to your guys early, well now by next Thursday, you're still saying, all right, now what's this mean? And they're like, yeah, coach, we got it. You told us that 15 times. To me, you can give so much information that it becomes stale and it doesn't mean as much.

right when you walk into the game rather than when it's fresh on your mind and it feels like new information.

Matt (06:36)
All right, so I've always been curious from my end. So I graduated from college in 2007. And it was right at the time Chip was out there, that place was taking off. And at that time it was the new uniforms. was like everybody had this thing when you were playing college football at that time watching out there and being like, man, this place is cool. It's different, it's unique. And you've been there now going four years. And so I'm always curious like.

What is the coolest from your perspective, the coolest perk or the coolest thing about being at Oregon?

Dan Lanning (07:07)
Well, I mean, certainly the relationship with Nike is awesome. know, that's just I've got more shoes in my closet right now than I ever dreamed of. Like I don't have room. Probably Jordan threes. They're like all black leather. I know they have a name. I can't remember what the name is. But

Matt (07:14)
Favorite pair, favorite pair.

T$ (07:18)
Very jealous.

AD (07:27)
I

Matt (07:27)
AD likes them.

AD (07:29)
got them all black Jordan 3s too, man. I just had them on yesterday.

Dan Lanning (07:32)
Yeah, they got the definitely

like they're awesome, know, so that's probably my favorite. But we just did the Grateful Dead this year. So I got some cool Air Force's Grateful Dead kicks that I really like to but I wear Cortez's the most. I'm a Cortez guy. I love Cortez's man. That's that's my favorite shoe to wear. But

Matt (07:46)
Old school. I like it.

That's like the

most cost-effective pair they make, Yeah, I like it. I like it.

Dan Lanning (07:53)
I'm rocking them right now, man. I'm rocking them rocking the court

AD (07:56)
Hey!

Zach Klein (07:57)
Nice.

Dan Lanning (07:57)
as

is right now. It's like it's like my daily rider. That's what I go with but Beyond that like I knew that was gonna be cool coming in It's just the the mindset here at Oregon that we're gonna keep advancing We're gonna keep attacking like let's not get comfortable and I love that. I mean look out my window right now We're building a brand new building that's gonna be state-of-the-art for our player development for you know an indoor standpoint

T$ (07:57)
How?

Dan Lanning (08:18)
growth for these guys, what it's going to look like. And it's like, let's not just satisfy with being good, let's figure out how we can be the best. And that's probably the thing that has been a separator for Oregon since I've been here is it's, okay, we recognize that we've had some success, but there's more that we want to accomplish. Let's keep pushing the envelope. And that's what I really love about

AD (08:36)
Coach, for the past two years, I've been watching you on, I'm like, I know Coach, I know him from, his face look familiar. I'm like, I know you from somewhere.

I'm going down my research I'm saying, I knew I knew his face. I knew him from somewhere. He was with me at Pitt in 2011 with Todd Graham's staff, man. So like, to see where you at now, man, like to see all the things you accomplishing, you're going on, continue to accomplish, man. It's pretty cool to watch, man, cause.

I like I was with you from the beginning. You know, when you was here, now you up here, man. You sitting here with solid gold behind you. got your solid gold. So man, I'm proud of you, bro. I'm proud to see what you're accomplishing. Having a lot of success in four years, right? So just keep going, man. I would have never thought, but to see the full circle moment, man, it's crazy, bro. It is.

Dan Lanning (09:09)
Yeah

You know, it's crazy

that I never would have thought it either. think one of the best things that happened to me, remember Shep and I, team chaplain, we shared a locker at Pitt, right? And there's Bob Junko in that, in the locker room every morning. We see him walk around doing his steps, but like we were in that locker. And I remember whenever, know, coach Graham left and there was a transition, I'm trying to figure out how this is going to play out. And I remember

AD (09:30)
Yep, that's my guy. That's my guy. Yes.

Yeah, Junko.

Dan Lanning (09:47)
You they don't pay for GAs to move. So I went from being a GA at Pitt to a GA at Arizona State. And I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to get this U-Haul. And when I'm driving this U-Haul from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Phoenix, Arizona, the whole time I'm driving, I'm sitting here saying like, did I make a mistake? You know, like, am I doing this the right way? And on that drive, I made the decision like, hey, nobody knows me in Arizona. Like, I'm not going to be the same dude I was at Pitt. Like, all the mistakes I made, I wasn't good.

AD (09:58)
No.

Matt (09:59)
That's a long

drive.

Yeah.

Dan Lanning (10:13)
Like when I was at Pitt, was not, I was not, I worked hard, but I didn't know, I didn't know anything. And ultimately I told myself like, this is your chance to reinvent yourself. And kind of every single step for me and my career along the way, it's like, okay, what's my greatest weakness? How can I make that a strength at the next spot? Because nobody knows who you are. So when I'd leave Arizona state and go to Sam Houston state, it's like, all right, what were my weaknesses at Arizona state? Let me reshape who I am. Let me, and you gotta be true to yourself, but like there's stuff we can all get better at. And I feel like one of the best things

AD (10:17)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Dan Lanning (10:43)
in my career was that transition every time that there was a job change or a coaching change where I was in that transitions like I don't have to be the same dude I was in my first stop. I'm not that guy anymore. I'm somebody new and I think back to 2011 and how much I didn't know how much football I didn't know how ready I wasn't and now I feel like all those moments all those transitions, you know gave me great opportunities and the secret sauce at all of it is have great players. So being able to watch a guy like you work, you know made it special.

AD (10:53)
Mm-hmm.

Matt (11:01)
Yeah.

AD (11:08)
Yeah.

Dan Lanning (11:11)
for me.

Matt (11:12)
All right. So speaking of great players, if you could go back to one of those defenses, you were a part of along the way. You said there's that journey from pit and you keep going Arizona state, Sam Houston state some time at Georgia. Now at Oregon, you can't choose a D you can't choose a D, but you could take one player from any of those stops along the way on the defensive side of the ball. Who are you taking? ⁓

Dan Lanning (11:27)
All right.

I'm about to piss off a lot of people, man. it's messed up.

I'll tell you, I'll give you one that I got to see do some things last night that I was really proud of. Just because I had to be a part of his recruitment, I remember when we were recruiting him from Horn Lake, Mississippi. Kirby said, I'll kiss your ass if you get that guy to leave Mississippi and come all the way to Georgia. And that was Nakobe Dean. Nakobe, I remember recruiting Nakobe and him being like, coach.

AD (11:54)
and some good ball.

Dan Lanning (12:00)
Sorry, I got to hang up. got to work on this homework like kids like just the professionalism and the Kobe from High school at Horn Lake all the way to when he got to Georgia everybody recognized quickly like this guy's gonna be different and obviously he did some big things and is doing big things down the league But there's a lot of great ones. I've had we had my last year at Georgia We had five guys drafted in the first round off that defense, you know, it was just Jordan Davis quay walker and the Kobe Dean I mean there was a there was a lot of guys that

Obviously had a ton of success but Nakobe one that sticks out because the way he worked and he's not the biggest guy It's kind of like AD wasn't the biggest dude. He's not 6'2 You know, but he just was in the right spot at the right time He put in the extra prep, you know, worked really really hard. So that was one that I thought was a separator for sure

AD (12:32)
Mm-hmm.

Zach Klein (12:42)
You mentioned you took stops reinventing yourself, but at the Georgia level when you're Natties and you're thrusting the national scene I mean, everybody knows you. was there one part of you that kind of had to reinvent yourself when you went to Oregon now that you're the main guy or is it like everybody knows who I am? Like, this is me. Let's bring it.

Dan Lanning (12:59)
Um, you know, even when I got out here, it's probably a little bit of a difference. And like you go to Waffle House at Georgia, the D coordinator, someone's going to come up to you and say something like when I first got out here, it was like, that's kind of nice. I can go to the grocery store and people are bothering you. I mean, it was, uh, it was really refreshing at first. I don't feel like there's, um, a part that I hadn't necessarily reinvent myself, but I there was a part that I wasn't necessarily prepared for. Right. And when you first go somewhere like you can't, you're never ready for the job until you take the job and you start to figure out what the issues are. I remember.

getting to work really early thinking, okay, I'm gonna come up here and I'm gonna be able to do everything I need to do and not get bothered. And then, know, 545, somebody's knocking on your, hey coach, what color do you want this to be? And what do you want that? And I started to really appreciate people that could solve problems that didn't make it to my desk. And I think when you empower people and when they do it wrong, you don't undress them, you just tell them, no, this is how I want it done in the future. I think we've created a lot of success here because I've got a lot of go people here. Like they're gonna...

I'm not going to have to say, you know, I'm going to be saying, whoa, not go. And they start to solve problems. And then I communicate when it doesn't look the way I want. It doesn't mean like I said, I got to tell them, hey, you screwed this up. It just means this isn't how I want it. And we've got an organization now that, hey, coach, I made this schedule out. Does this look the way you want it? Hey, move this here, move this there. But now it's not, I'm starting the schedule from scratch. Like they have an idea of how I want it done. They know how we want to travel, what we want to eat. And the first year you're solving a lot of those issues, how I want it.

defense called or an offense called like just When you get everybody in sync and you got an organization that's working really hand-in-hand That's the part that I had to figure out quick of it's really important that I can communicate my vision but then it's also really important when people take initiative and they start to solve problems that you don't just Undress them when it doesn't go the way you want it, right? You have to communicate. Okay, this is how I need it done in the future And people start to figure out exactly how you want it, which is has been great

AD (14:45)
Yeah.

Matt (14:54)
So Dan, you talked about going to the Waffle House's DC at Georgia, and everybody knows who you are. I got drafted to the Falcons in 2008 from Boston College. And I come down here, and I went to a boys and girls club two weeks after I got drafted. And they introduced me, and the kids can ask questions. And so one of the kids is like, where did you go to college? And I was like, Boston College. And they were like, where's that? And I laughed a little bit, like, OK, yeah.

And they were like, well, even though you went there, are you a dogs fan? And I was like, no, I'm not a dogs fan. are you? It just, it's just the culture is so different, but I'm curious the difference of like recruiting in the Southeast. And you mentioned to Nakobe Dean from Mississippi and then recruiting up in the Pacific Northwest. And you've got the West coast, just kind of the difference in, in, your guys approach from maybe an SEC ski school and how you recruit and what y'all are doing up there in the Northwest.

Dan Lanning (15:54)
I think it starts with just where we're at location wise. We realized early that we're going to have to be able go everywhere in the nation to go sign players. And I feel like if I went and stood on Georgia's football field right now and got my baseball out, I could start throwing baseballs and hitting players that could play for you at the University of Georgia. You're have to travel to find guys here. I do think on the West Coast that there's a ton of talent, but it hasn't necessarily grown up in football with the after school football.

the work in the leagues that exist there where it's just from the day you born, that's what you're doing. So that piece is different. I think you can find not necessarily hidden gems, but products that aren't finished yet. Guys that are gonna have an opportunity for a lot of growth and development. But you still for us, that's part of what makes this locker room so great. And you talk about our culture and like how connected guys are. Everybody's from somewhere else. I might have five or six players from Oregon, right? But I've got guys from the East Coast, the West Coast, the South.

the islands. That's part of what makes this place so cool is it's all guys that made the decision, hey, I want to go somewhere, take an opportunity to grow and it's going to be a new environment. But guess what? You know, when the Seattle Seahawks draft you someday, guess where your ass is going to live? Seattle. You know, when New England Patriots draft you someday, it's not about being close or convenient. It's about, you know, being a place that's going to prepare you to be the best. And that's something that's been, you know, huge for us is, you know, guys willing to travel, willing to see something new, change their environment and become a really good version

AD (17:14)
So coach, a lot of success in those four years, man. A lot of wins, right? They're like a future NFL head coaching job with the right job of presenting itself. I know right now you still got a job to do. You got college football. Yeah, I know, I'm just saying for the future, like we all set goals for ourself in life, right? We want to be here, be here and be here one day. I don't know, maybe.

Matt (17:26)
Damn, AJ, he's trying to win a championship right now, man.

T$ (17:30)
We're trying to create controversy, AD.

AD (17:38)
Two years from now, do you see yourself as an NFL head coach? That's something that you want to pursue down the road potentially one day?

Dan Lanning (17:43)
⁓

I'm gonna pull up my phone. You guys think I'm not paying attention to you. So I'll show you something here. I've probably Shared this before me see if I can find it real quick. So this is this is my mirror when I'm at Arizona State Right and as all my goals I still put my goals in my mirror, right? And you know number one best father on staff best husband on staff man of integrity Christian five recruits So I wasn't making any money, right? I wanted to go prove that I could sign some players

Right? Full time, February 2014. I wanted to become a full time employee because I was a GA. I had three kids on EBT. Right? I like, I need to get a full time. And this is an, in fact, I got a job as on campus recruiting coordinator. said, damn it, full time coach. I want to be a coach. Right? Your goal is here. My next goal on there was head coach 35. Right? I wanted to be a head coach. And I thought that was really important to me. Well, I became the head coach at Oregon at 35.

AD (18:16)
Mm-hmm.

T$ (18:30)
Hahaha.

Dan Lanning (18:40)
Right, the next goal on there is NFL coach. That ain't on my goal board no more. Like what happens, it's off my board and it won't, it'll never be up there again. Like that used to be a dream, but dreams can change when you start to, and I would say that I was really selfish with my goals early in my career. Everything was really more about me than my wife and my boys. And that completely changed when my wife got sick when we were at Memphis, you she got diagnosed with cancer, ⁓ osteosarcoma.

AD (18:40)
Mm.

Matt (18:44)
Took it off.

Dan Lanning (19:07)
And now you're on your knees praying every night that, I just need this mom around my boys. And, and when we took this job at Oregon, know, some of my kids, two of my kids had lived in eight States. One of them lived in seven, you know, and you realize, dang, like, that fair to them? So we took this job. I made a promise to my kids that this will be, you you're going to graduate from the same high school. You're going to graduate from the same middle school.

AD (19:11)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Dan Lanning (19:31)
Like those things are way more important to me than getting the opportunity to coach in the NFL. I used to have that dream. That's not a dream of mine anymore. Like this is, I truly believe this will be my last job, right? The secret to that is I got to win, right? Now do I coach as long as Nick Saban did? I don't know about that. know, it's, I don't want to say the job's harder now than it's, than it's ever been. Cause it's

Matt (19:51)
I'll say it, I

think it is. I think college football coaching is impossible now.

AD (19:52)
That shit is definitely for college. Hell yeah. Shit.

Zach Klein (19:53)
We're saying it, yes.

Dan Lanning (19:56)
I'll say this, I did not have this many gray hairs when I got here. And it's changed, know, so like what you have to wake up every day with a newfound energy of like, this is a new challenge to go attack. I still have a lot of juice for that. But I don't see myself transitioning somewhere else because I worked so hard to make this and our staff worked so hard to make this really special. Now my goal, like my number one goal I'm here in my house now is help my people reach their dreams and goals.

Matt (19:59)
Yeah.

Zach Klein (19:59)
Hahaha.

Dan Lanning (20:21)
So like seeing a Will Stein get the head coaching job at Kentucky or Tash LaPoi get the head coaching job at Cal as alma mater, like that for me is rewarding. I want to help these guys get drafted. I want to see them get a degree. Like those are my goals now. And now all my selfish goals really involve Oregon. It's, know, Mike Bellotti's won 116 games at Oregon. He's the winningest coach in Oregon history. I want to win 116. I want to 117. Sorry, Mike. Right? Like that's the goal now. I want to...

Matt (20:43)
get them. Yeah.

AD (20:47)
Yeah.

Dan Lanning (20:49)
know, Bill won a championship here. You know, everybody always says, Oregon hasn't done that. Like, how awesome would it be to do that here in a place that's never done it? And just because somebody says that, they can't do it, like bull crap, like, let's go attack it. So, and that's growth. I mean, that's going to take a lot of work. It means your focus has to be here. So while that used to be a dream, it's not a dream for me anymore to go coach in the

AD (20:55)
Mm.

T$ (21:09)
had the gray hair and you mentioned all that. I'm with you on the gray hair with it from my clients, but two of them are on this podcast. the talk about like the things that are changing and stuff and your dream can change again, because that wild, wild west of the NIL world is just a whole nother, a whole nother world. And just curious from you, like, what is it that you would want an agent and all these agents out there? Cause now there's agents that are actually certified in the league, but then there's just

Dan Lanning (21:11)
Yeah.

Matt (21:14)
Yeah, there you go.

T$ (21:34)
everyone who becomes wants to say they're an agent's an agent. What do you wish these agents understood as it relates from a coaching perspective when it comes to NIL with these players and all that?

AD (21:36)
Mm-hmm.

Dan Lanning (21:43)
Well, mean, guys on this call dealt with it. I think part of it first is to be successful individually, you got to have a successful team. And that means there's going to be sacrifices made at times, right? I'm sure Aaron and Matt, like there were moments in your career where you could have gone and made way more money somewhere else, but you wanted to be a part of a great team. And there's some sacrifice involved in that. Every agent's job is to do the best job they can for a player. But we also know that making the most money isn't what makes you successful.

It's about being in a place that you're going to have success. I think just recognizing that if somebody's happy and they like where they're at and they feel like they're taken care of, don't paint the picture in their mind that they're not. Because I think the outside, just the opportunity to go look at somebody else's plate can create so much division and say, why is this guy doing that? Why is he getting that? One, half the time in our world, it's not the truth. It's something that's said. Just because it was on Twitter doesn't make it real.

Agents recognizing like, this guy's in a really good spot. They've done it. They have taken care of him. They've been fair. Like, let's not just go in here and poke the bear just to poke the bear, right? Let's recognize that this is a really good place for this kid. And, you know, sometimes you're going to lose kids because there's an opportunity for something somewhere else. But ultimately for me, think recognizing like, again, there probably could be an opportunity for me to go make something more somewhere else. Like, that's not going to bring me happiness, right? What's going to bring me happiness is building something special. And I think if players...

you know, would really learn to deal with adversity. It's the one thing that we've kind of eliminated, you know, with the the portal and NIL is it's like, ah, it doesn't feel good here. I'm going go somewhere else. Like, that's not how life works, man. That's not how life works. And if you never learn how to deal with adversity or grow where you're at, then you'll never become, you know, what you become. Now, on the same note, the portal has been fantastic for for some players to be able to say like.

AD (23:17)
Yeah, I hate that. That's what I hate about it. I hate that.

Matt (23:17)
Yeah.

T$ (23:19)
No.

Dan Lanning (23:32)
Maybe this guy isn't being used the best way. Maybe he does have an opportunity growth. So there's been some really positives out of it as well. But I think the part we miss is adversity shapes a man. Adversities shape me. And we're eliminating some adversity that these guys deal with. And it's not always sunshine and rainbows wherever you go. So when you have something good, recognize it and say, OK, all this means I've got to dust myself off and do a little bit more work. And the opportunity is right here if I attack it.

T$ (23:45)
No question.

AD (23:55)
Exactly.

T$ (23:57)
I agree, I mean, I agree a hundred percent. mean, look at my job is like you said, and get the player the most money, but it's unbelievable when you look at these kids and the schools they go to, every school leads with the money, money, money. I'm like, the kid's gonna get the money. He's a good player. Like talk about the situation and make him where it's gonna be a bigger thing because that money will come, especially if you're a good player and have a chance to go to the next level. I think situation is under-emphasized in the world of NIL. And I get it because the agent wants to either make money or just look good to the player.

AD (24:15)
Yeah.

T$ (24:25)
But I think the situation matters. I couldn't agree more. I like that.

Zach Klein (24:29)
Dan, we appreciate your time, and I know you're on a tight schedule. Well, we'll let you bounce. Thanks for everything. We didn't make you take off your shirt. We'll do that on the next show with you on the show. Didn't work. yeah, so we got you there. And then just, you know, hook me up with your contact because we're looking for the Inner Circle Jordan 1 Low Player Edition Nike shoes.

Dan Lanning (24:36)
It didn't work, man. We didn't win that game, so.

Matt (24:37)
Yeah.

T$ (24:38)
Ha!

Matt (24:46)
yeah. There we go.

Actually, we'll take the Cortez's man. We'll take the Cortez's.

Dan Lanning (24:48)
what I can do.

Zach Klein (24:50)
Yeah

Dan Lanning (24:51)
There

you go. Appreciate you guys. There you go. Have a good one,

T$ (24:52)
We'll just take an Oregon hoodie, we don't care.

Zach Klein (24:54)
Hey,

much love, man. Congratulations and go get it and we'll talk soon. Thanks, brother.

AD (24:57)
Keep doing your thing, Coach. Good luck,

Matt (24:57)
Good luck. Good luck, man. Appreciate you,

Dan Lanning (24:59)
Appreciate you all. Thank you.

T$ (25:00)
Thanks, Coach.

AD (25:00)
Yep.

Matt (25:01)
Dan.

AD (25:01)
All right.

Dan Lanning (25:01)
Appreciate you.

Zach Klein (25:02)
A legend man, good stuff right there. And you mentioned the grind. You're a AD, you breaking collarbones, you don't even remember the story?

AD (25:04)
That's crazy. That's crazy.

Listen, do now Marco, wasn't a, well, he was playing scout quarterback that week, but I think he is his position was, I think he was a defensive guy. We needed him for a scout team, for a scout team quarterback. And we wanted to run this play that we was going to be practicing. And they said, you run through the quarterback's face. So if y'all know, if I practice the way I play, you tell me that. And he's not really a quarterback though, Matt. He's not, he's a defensive guy that's playing quarterback for scout. So he could take a hit. He could take, he could.

Matt (25:26)
that's not right, man.

And like, of course I know zone reads coming. We put the safety in there

to run it.

AD (25:39)
He could take a hit, you know what saying? My job is to make sure if he pull that fucking ball, make him pay. And if he don't, still make him pay so they don't even do the play. Man, I remember that first play and I felt so bad. He was on the ground rolling with the collarbone. I said, oh my gosh, what did I do?

Matt (25:48)
Hey, so I.

I remember the head coach of the, or excuse me, the defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings is Brian Flores. We were in school together at BC and I was a scout team quarterback my freshman year. B-Flo was a fifth year senior and he was an overachiever. He was a good player, very good player, but an overachiever, right? So he was a, he was a hard try guy in practice. He used to fuck me up during practice, man. Just.

AD (26:19)
Hmm

Matt (26:21)
He would hit me nonstop in the pocket. It was like live Wednesday or Tuesday and Wednesday. I'm like, my gosh, man. Yeah. So every time I see Brian around the league, I'm like, dude, I've never forgotten. That was messed up, man. Messed up in practice. Why'd you have to do me like that?

AD (26:26)
That's college.

⁓ man.

T$ (26:35)
That's awesome.

T$ (26:36)
do think his, when he, you know,

he says like things change. I mean, I know a lot of people just this whole world of the NIL and the portal and the chaos that's going along with this. It's a lot in the calendar with it is all messed up in terms of when, you know, when new coaches are hired in the bowl season and the playoff season and when the portal opens and coaches getting fired, it's just a hodgepodge of stuff. Like, I mean, I couldn't even imagine how busy he is not only preparing for the playoffs, but at the same time.

they're having to redo and pay all their guys, worrying about which guys are actually leaving. We all know that tampering goes on with all these other schools calling the players, whether it's through player to player or through friends or coaches or high school coaches or whatever. It's just a lot of moving parts. And then also you're looking to see where you're deficient on your roster, because as he said, you got to get into the portal and try to go get some guys to come fill those spots. So it's just so many moving parts. It is a crazy world. it's, I know I live in it.

AD (27:04)
Yeah. Yes.

T$ (27:30)
⁓ I just, do know, I wanted to ask him that question about like, what does he wish agents know? Because there are agents that are NFL agents that are in the NIL space, but then anybody who is just a human being who likes sports, who has a connection to a kid is now suddenly an agent and starting their own agency. And I don't think, and they're not necessarily guiding the players in the right way, which I don't like to see because you know, we have, I can do this a hundred times over, but each of these players only has one chance to do it and do it right.

Matt (27:45)
Right.

AD (27:45)
Yeah,

that's what I hate about that,

Mm-hmm.

Matt (27:57)
Mm-hmm.

T$ (27:57)
And so I think the importance of an agent is really, really important to make sure that guiding these kids the right way, giving them the right advice. And if you're just a guy out there and you have the wrong sort of mindset and the wrong goals, or you don't understand the bigger picture, you're really hurting the player and his family. 100%, for sure.

AD (28:10)
and they're taking advantage of them. And you're putting the

kids in a bad situation. I feel like there's a lot of good things that come from that NIL and all that. But again, with the transfer portal and all that, like he said, there's some guys that need to get out of a situation that fit in a better situation. And there's guys that's just mad because a coach is yelling at them or some shit like that can just join the portal and just jump. I just think it creates bad habits. it's like that work, that grind, that like, fuck, I'm a lot back and I got to do more to accomplish what I want to accomplish instead of being like.

I ain't starting, ain't where I wanna be right now. I'm just gonna go somewhere else right now. Like, I don't like that part about it.

T$ (28:43)
I mean, AD and Matt,

do you guys think that when you guys were incoming freshmen, if you were given $2 million before you ever took a snap or before you ever took, do you think it would have changed your work ethic at all? Possibly? do you, mean, I know AD, you're rare because you're just a million miles an hour no matter what and 2 million wouldn't have been satisfying, but do you think it would have had any impact?

AD (29:02)
As a kid, I think it would've. I think it would've. I'm still a kid at that age. $2 million. I remember being a kid, saying I'm gonna make it to the NFL just to make $1 million. I thought $1 million would just change your life forever. You don't know no better. But I think it would've. But I don't know. But I wouldn't want that much money as a kid. I remember I got $5,000 Pell Grant I thought I made. I'm rich in college. I wouldn't even want that much money, man. I think it would.

T$ (29:04)
That's right. Yeah.

Matt (29:12)
All right.

Yeah, right.

AD (29:28)
like affect some way somehow could have slowed me down, changed my, altered my mind. Because when I was in college, I'm like, I had a daughter going into my senior year in college. I'm like, I gotta make it. Now I gotta provide for somebody. I gotta, just imagine if I had millions of dollars already, I'm like, I'm cool. a, you know, I ain't go, I ain't gotta watch as much film. You know, I ain't gotta do that as much extra work in the weight room. We got a good enough money. I'm playing decent football to make. You feel like you made it already. Yeah, exactly. So.

T$ (29:52)
because you feel you made it, because you feel you already kind of made it.

Matt (29:55)
Yeah.

AD (29:57)
I wouldn't want that. Just for me how I am. It's tough for them kids now. They're getting a lot of money, man.

Matt (30:03)
Yeah, I agree with like, I think I changed so much from 18 years old to 22 when I left, you know, like I grew up a lot. And then I grew up a lot from 23 to 3738 when I was playing too, right? Like I look back at some of the dumb stuff I did when I was, you know, a first, second or third year player. And I'm like, man, like that was stupid. ⁓ you know, and I feel like I had what's that?

AD (30:10)
Yes.

Yeah. Yes.

Mm-hmm.

Just young.

Zach Klein (30:28)
was the dumbest? What was the

dumbest?

Matt (30:31)
man.

That's a good question. What was the dumb probably some of the I had like so many tailored suits, like a ridiculous number of tailored suits that were so expensive that I wore like one time. And I was like, you know, like thinking back on it, I'm like, man, I didn't need like, I didn't need to spend as much money as I did there. And listen, were they catastrophic mistakes? No. You know, and, and, and did they change the course of my life? No. But like,

AD (30:46)
⁓ yeah.

Matt (31:01)
At the same time, you know, I just I just think 18 is very young to be coming into that much. And and the other thing I think you realize too is that, you know, not everybody has Todd France as their agent. Like you were saying, not everybody has this this really, you know, good hearted person, of course, he's going to do his job and do the best. And he's the best in the business. But he also

AD (31:07)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Matt (31:27)
Every decision we've ever made, Todd, and everything that you've been a part of, there's always been a ⁓ holistic approach to it, a 360 degree view of how any decision we make is going to impact our life in 20 different ways. so I think thinking about that when you're 18, I probably would not have been ready for that, no.

AD (31:40)
Yes.

Zach Klein (31:47)
No.

For sure. Yeah, you bring up a great point. think, you know, 37, 38, 40 year old Matt Ryan understands that, you know, wasting money on suits was a waste of money. You know, 22, 23 says, hey, man, I'm going to have another 10, 15 years and money will come. So, Todd, when you're navigating that, when you listen to what Dan says about. You know, his advice to these kids, you know, when the kids want it now and they're going from zero to 100 like that.

AD (31:49)
Not at all.

Zach Klein (32:13)
Right. It's happening like that. So what's what's the message? How do you not sell them, but how do you make them believe in the long, you know, holistic approach that, you know, Matt was talking about that? I know it looks really good right now, but be patient and trust the process. How hard is that? And what's the message do you these kids?

T$ (32:30)
Yeah, I mean, look, first of all, the grass isn't always greener. That's like the number one thing that everyone has to understand. Like it doesn't mean it's just like when a kid's going to stay or go, you hey, am going to leave and go to go to the draft or am I going to stay another year? Staying doesn't equal going higher. It could. It could also mean going the same or it could be going lower. You have to look at both sides of the coin. Everything isn't just look at the upside without looking and considering the downside. So I look at it as the grass. You got to look at it. The grass isn't always greener, but you got to evaluate the whole situation. What is the player situation?

AD (32:42)
Mm-hmm.

T$ (32:59)
Is the system changed? Does he not fit it? Does he fit it? Don't just chase the money because if you do the right thing and you get in the right place and you're in the right situation, the money will come. So you got to have patience. It doesn't mean that you don't leave money on the table per se, but maybe, you know, staying here for a hundred dollars instead of going there for a hundred and one dollars is a better decision. Yes, it's a smidget more or less, but in the big picture, it's going to, you're going to make more. So you got to look at all the whole, the whole picture and you got to tell these guys like adversity is real. That's something you're going to have to deal with.

AD (33:07)
Yeah.

T$ (33:27)
It's not going to be, how do you know you go there and the coach isn't the same way? Or how do you know the situation isn't the same way? And the other thing is, is what year are we talking about? Is the guy going to transfer and it's his contract year, quote unquote, his year that he could enter the draft. And so if he stayed put, maybe he was in the draft that year, but now he goes somewhere else. It doesn't work out exactly like he was promised or sold. Now he's stuck there for two years. There's so many things that you got to factor in. every situation is different.

AD (33:30)
Mm-hmm.

Matt (33:51)
a D like I'd be curious on this. I always felt like the money followed all that stuff, right? And you know, it can seem maybe a little out of touch, both a D and I played for a long time and signed big contracts during our NFL career. But like, that was always a byproduct of sound decision making of working hard of people around me being really good, having good coaches, having the right situation, having good players around me.

AD (34:09)
Yes. When you do that...

Yes. Yes.

Matt (34:18)
⁓ like all of those things factor into all of the other. Yes.

AD (34:22)
And that come with it. The body,

T$ (34:24)
You know what though?

AD (34:24)
hard work pays off. You do what you're supposed to do. You work your ass off. Don't even think about a dollar amount. Just work, just to be the best you can be. Chase whatever you got to chase. The greatness of whatever it is. All that shit's gonna come on the back end 10 times than what you even thought was gonna be possible anyway from just the body work you put in. So that's how I see it. That's how I always went about it. And it paid off for me like that. So I never chased a dollar amount. I never was like, want to make bang, bang. I would just say I'm a...

I'm gonna dominate, I'm gonna do my job, do everything I can to help my team to win on the back end of that. All that's gonna come with it. All that's gonna come with it.

T$ (34:58)
It's

we're all spot on and sadly, and I kind of said it to him, to coach landing, these colleges all lead with money. That is the thing that they're talking about on every player visit and everyone I'm talking to these players, cause I'm talking to more upper echelon players. Don't worry about the money. That's w we'll get that worked out. Find the right situation. Is this the right fit for you? Do you like, is it a geography thing for you? Is it a coaching? Is it a scheme? Is it the success at the position, putting guys into the league, whatever is.

AD (35:07)
Yeah.

T$ (35:27)
is our sort of criteria that we set. Measure the criteria, the 10 different points that are important to you, against apples to apples against all of them. Once we narrow it down, then we'll talk money. But they're all gonna be roughly the same if you're that type of a player. But it is shocking how these schools lead with the money, lead with the money. then it...

AD (35:42)
But you know why they do that?

Do that, Todd. Because a lot of these kids is coming from, they ain't got much and their families might be struggling, right? It's an opportunity to change their whole everything, right? So that's why a lot of these schools is doing that instead of telling these kids, you work your ass off, you do what you need to do. Anything you want, you can accomplish if you do it, right? And all that's going to come on the back end instead of saying, you come here, we'll give you an extra million dollars. You'll be able to do this for your family, do that for your family. You don't know a kid situation.

T$ (35:51)
Sure.

I'm

still saying they can say that. Like I would, if I was recruiting, I'd say, look, we are going to take care of you financially. That money's not going to be the issue. I don't want to spend my time talking about that. You're going to get paid by coming here, but I also want to explain why above and beyond that. It's also awesome. So then I can take that money you're going to be making here and make that even bigger the following year and even bigger the next year when you go to the league. I'm going to make sure they know you're getting money from coming here, but I'm not going to spend my whole time throwing numbers out and talking dollars and missing the other parts of it because

AD (36:23)
Yes.

Yes, Yup, exactly.

Yeah.

T$ (36:38)
You could pay someone a million dollars and be a one year deal and then have no success and then no one wants you. Or you could go somewhere else and get the money and then build on that money because the situation was right, the plan was right, the scheme is right, the situation was right and it grows. again, to your point, believe me, I know the colleges are talking, they're talking down to these kids, they're talking to their families because they think all they care about is money. instead of realizing, actually they're not so dumb and they're smart people and they're making good decisions and they're not just going to get suckered.

AD (36:53)
Talk. Yeah. Comment. Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Talk ball, man. Let me know what scheme, what's the scheme going, how you gonna use me? How's this position coach? Is he gonna help me get to where I'm trying to get to? What's the, you know what saying? Is that a dollar amount,

Matt (37:18)
was going to say like, what happened to also like, we're gonna have a chance to win. You know, you know, so like, we've, we've done all of these other things. And it's like, what about like going to win a national championship and like, go going to win a conference championship? Like, it's, yeah.

T$ (37:23)
for

AD (37:24)
Yes.

That shit's played out now, man. want it. ⁓ Yes. Yes, bro. That's crazy.

T$ (37:40)
And you guys both know like

AD (37:38)
2025, we're in the future, We're in the future, bro. Different times.

Matt (37:40)
That's right.

T$ (37:42)
winning does matter because you're ones who have to get up every single day and go to work and getting up and knowing you have a chance to win or being competitive or whatever is a lot easier and better to stay locked in and for six, seven months, I didn't mean that, sorry, six, seven months of work is a lot better when you're going into a building of winning and culture and a culture, right, for sure.

Matt (37:56)
Mm-hmm.

It's year round. It's year round in college.

It's year round and I'm with you. I'm with you.

Zach Klein (38:10)
Just looking up some stuff. Did you guys follow it all? Michigan State's booster donated $400 million to the school with some $200 million going to the athletic department. Texas Tech is ranked number four in the college football playoffs.

AD (38:17)
I seen that.

Matt (38:18)
Pfft

AD (38:21)
I've seen it.

Zach Klein (38:25)
They had a booster give 25. So I you know, you talk about the money and where $101 is yes, it's not that much more than $100 some school but I think we're gonna get to the point we're gonna have some big big fish in these small ponds, you know, thrusting their financial, you know, arms around and say, Listen, we're gonna separate ourselves so much at the end of the day, it's not going to be might not be $101.

It might be $1,000 to one school where everybody else is offering 100. And then Todd, that's the play Matt A.D. We're like, all right, I mean, yeah, I'm looking out for my family. I've gone from nothing. One school is offering me 100. The next school is offering 10X. That's a sound business decision.

AD (39:03)
Yeah.

Matt (39:04)
The thing those places have done too is make an investment in the coaching staff like organs done an amazing job of making the investment in quality coaching, right? So you can have all of that. And I think Texas Tech has done a great job with that. You look, I think it was a high school coach that was like a legendary high school coach down there. But listen, they're playing good football right now. The University of Georgia is doing it. Nobody's a better example of that than the University of Georgia here. And even my alma mater Boston College just making a full

AD (39:14)
Yes.

Yes.

Matt (39:34)
commitment to actually getting involved in this game, which I'm excited to see, right? We were playing basically with one arm tie behind our back last year because we couldn't compete with the revenue sharing of that part that everybody else was doing in the ACC. it wasn't me. It wasn't me. I feel like I've been good. I've been good to my school. That's for sure. For throughout the years, but we can't keep, I mean, you can't keep up with this now.

AD (39:44)
Yep.

T$ (39:48)
That was until Matt Ryan stepped in and made a huge donation.

AD (39:51)
Hahaha

Zach Klein (40:00)
No, you can't keep up with that. No.

AD (40:00)
You can't keep up with that.

Exactly. That's what I'm saying. That's what I gotta try to, I don't know. Yeah.

Zach Klein (40:03)
It's culture is everything. And I think

T$ (40:05)
That's my

It's got to be more than money. That's my thing. It's the money is a part of it. Absolutely. Of course it's part of it. mean, it's 100 % a main thing, the culture, the winning, the scheme, the facility, the training staff, nutrition, all the extras and cutting edge things that the schools have, all that matters.

Zach Klein (40:08)
for sure.

Matt (40:24)
The side effect that that I think is cool, Zach, though, is that you have stories like Texas Tech, or you have the universe or Oregon, which really started really back, you know, in the in the 2000s and what they did with that Nike money, but in investing in facilities and doing all the things that they did out there, I think there is the opportunity now for different places and the landscape, the landscape may look a lot different than it has, you know, the last 40 or 50 years, but

Zach Klein (40:24)
I thought Kirby, yeah.

Matt (40:53)
You know, you get good coaches, you get a good culture, you have good opportunities for this. Plus, you've got money on top of that. It's going to be interesting to see.

Zach Klein (41:00)
It's listen,

Let's talk a little about the NFL last week. Jones, man, you got to feel for him. Don't you, Matt? Guy leading his team. You've been high on the Colts all year long when he was able to do there. then the turf monster got him, torn Achilles rather, and looks like he's got a long road ahead of him.

Matt (41:16)
Yeah,

that was awful. I think from the players perspective, you never lose that right? Like you never lose this this just pit in your stomach that you feel for somebody when they go through something like that. And Todd, you can speak to it, you know, as well as anybody to and it's not just the injury. I mean, those are hard and you feel bad for guys. But Daniel was playing really, really well. He's coming off of leaving New York, going to Minnesota, then getting picked up on a one year deal in Indy.

AD (41:37)
Yeah, he was.

Matt (41:43)
He's got this team right in the middle of the AFC playoff picture. And probably more so than anything, we could talk about the money or whatever, but there's going to be long term stability there for him in Indianapolis. And then all of a sudden, boom, like that. And it got you when you see stuff like that. At least it did me. I was sitting there. I felt sick to my stomach.

AD (42:04)
Yeah, man, that was a tough injury.

T$ (42:05)
Listen,

as an agent, like the number one thing, the most frustrating thing about the business is injuries, because it's the only thing you feel like you can have no control over. Everything else you can try to help, you know, and have some control and impact on the contract, have some control and impact on the situation that he goes to, have impact on so many different things, but on the injuries, you're just helpless. And it's a very frustrating thing. And you know how hard these guys work. And yeah, sure, he's got coming into a big contract situation, but it's more than that, because that's not what he's thinking about. He's thinking...

You know, I'm a competitor. I'm playing well. I want to help my team. I've worked my butt off to get to this point. I've gone through some bumps and bruises to get here and now I got another bump and bruise to kind of overcome. So it's tough, know, and obviously that's why these athletes are as unbelievable as they are. They're not just athletes, they're professional athletes, but they've got that mindset to overcome it. And I've never talked to a player in the history of representing them that hasn't had a timeline when I've checked in on them on the rehab that hasn't said, end quote, I'm ahead of schedule.

AD (42:34)
Mm-hmm.

Zach Klein (43:00)
Hahaha

T$ (43:00)
I mean, and

AD (43:00)
Yeah

T$ (43:02)
I always say to them, just get back on schedule, right? We don't want any setbacks. There's no game coming up in the summertime. Follow the doctor's orders. But that's the mindset of these players, which is amazing and which makes players, you know, these professional athletes, amazing people that they are.

Matt (43:03)
Yeah.

AD (43:04)
Yeah,

Zach Klein (43:04)
Yeah.

AD (43:04)
yeah, yeah.

Matt (43:15)
mean, this dude was playing on a broken leg too. His other leg was broken and he's out there playing. Tough dude, feel awful for him. Feel awful for him.

Zach Klein (43:15)
A.D.

AD (43:20)
I know that was crazy.

I do, I

do too, but I do know the Colts is looking for another quarterback right now, man. I know my guy, man, I you been standing, shaking, looking good by the way. I'm just saying you looking real good, man. I don't know. Yeah, it looked good.

Matt (43:32)
Yeah.

T$ (43:34)
Did you see Matt in that insure commercial? Cause he was throwing the ball and doing some footwork drills. Zach, I think

you should cue that up because that shows that he's still got the footwork. He's still got the.

Matt (43:42)
I've...

AD (43:43)
Hey Matt, hey Ty,

you might need to have your phone ready for some calls, man. Coach need to give my guy a call, man. I don't know.

T$ (43:46)
please, Maddie, ice my knees. I know the deal.

Matt (43:49)
Maddie, I

said my name. Yeah, that's right.

AD (43:53)
Everybody always asking Aaron, you playing football again? is there a chance that the coach give you a call potentially? Is this something that you entertain it? Do you entertain it?

Matt (44:01)
think, listen, I think I'm pretty sure no, no, no,

T$ (44:03)
Matt gave him a different number.

Matt (44:07)
no, no, no, no, I'm pretty sure they listened to the pod last week and they heard us talking about our weights and weigh ins and, and that I'm weighing maybe only like 205 now and they're like, I don't think this is the right thing for us. the

T$ (44:13)
Hahaha!

AD (44:13)
Yeah

T$ (44:21)
But then their interest was peaked again,

because then they found out you were working out with me, and they're like, he must be having intense workouts, so maybe they thought you would be in good shape.

Matt (44:26)
It's, ⁓ it's,

Todd France. He's working out. ⁓ okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The arms good, man. The arms good. I gotta be honest. I gotta be honest with you though. I threw and I have, told this story before. I don't know if I've told this on here before, but I threw one time this summer with Matthew Staffer. We were on vacation. We were out in Montana and he was like, Hey man, can you come throw with me? Just catch. And I was like, yeah, no problem.

AD (44:27)
They don't care about the weight. They care about the arm, baby. That arm's still good. Let me see, let me see. Let me see it wind up.

Matt (44:51)
throwing it back, throwing it back, throwing it back. By the end of it, I'm like, dude, I'm feeling pretty good. Can you spot up for me and catch a few? So I fire a few back. I fire a few back. The next morning I woke up. My arm was so sore that I was like, that's it. That's it. That's the last time I ever go with full gas. I wasn't training. I wasn't doing anything. My arm felt like complete dog shit afterwards, but no, the Colts are not calling. They're not calling, but they're calling Philip rivers. What do we think about this?

AD (45:09)
you

I will call you before I will call Rivers. No shade, River, great quarterback, but I'll be calling you a little before I call Rivers.

Matt (45:20)
You

Zach Klein (45:26)
He's

he's 44 and he recently became a grandfather. Like, again, no shade, but you're telling me there's not somebody in their 30s or their 20s who's got some game just sitting there, maybe in Montana throwing the rock that can't come in. don't know.

AD (45:31)
That's crazy.

Matt (45:31)
This is

so good if he plays.

I have no interest. I'm gonna tell you right now. I'm like, a D I have zero zero interest. I'm drinking 40. Listen, though. I'm drinking 42 grams of protein with insurer after every workout. I'm not losing any of that muscle mass that you lose after the age of 40. I'm good, but I'm not playing.

Zach Klein (45:45)
I said somebody in their 20s. ⁓

AD (45:48)
I had to ask, man. I had to ask.

T$ (45:48)
That's...

Zach Klein (45:52)
Ha ha ha!

T$ (45:55)
Matt's over here rejecting us.

AD (46:02)
But your answer is, okay, I just had to ask, cause you know, I just had to see.

Zach Klein (46:04)
That's settled.

Matt (46:05)
Now,

no way.

Zach Klein (46:06)
So Todd, it's official. Half this podcast is still available for NFL tryouts. Is that what's what they're saying? Right.

Matt (46:10)
That's right.

T$ (46:10)
Listen, Matt's

AD (46:10)
Yeah.

T$ (46:11)
saying no, I'm over here going, we'll delete that, and I'm working the phones. ⁓

Matt (46:13)
Cut that, Zach, cut that.

Zach Klein (46:18)
Yeah.

T$ (46:18)
edit to be cut at least.

AD (46:18)
that.

T$ (46:20)
right.

Zach Klein (46:21)
never give away some free information in the public. That's it. Good stuff, man. AD, you got some players of the week? You, ⁓ lot of good defensive performances past ⁓ Sunday, Monday and

AD (46:29)
Yes, man.

Some good ball, man. But I've been looking for this, I've been for the league this whole season. I've been like, where's the dominant interior presence, the D tackles that's really been taking over games, man? I asked and they did. And look, you asked and you shall receive. I Eagles Monday night, Big Davis, Big 90 and that middle nose tackle. I think he been playing some good football. He's dominant in the run game. He been cashing in a couple of sacks, man. He been falling on watch.

I know the Chiefs lost this last week, but Chris Jones looked like the, you know, that's the Chris Jones I know, the guy living in the backfield causing havoc. One in a one on one, them quick wins, right? But my guy this week, I gotta say in the interior, man, D Tackle is Simmons with the Titans, man. He had him a day, man. He was all over the place living in the backfield, sacks, batting passes down, like causing a lot of havoc, man, so.

T$ (47:15)
Let's go.

AD (47:23)
⁓ I was asking for who was going to be the guy, interior-wise, was going to dominate. I'm talking about a dominant performance, like winning on one-on-ones, them quick wins, living in the backfield, causing havoc. And I got that this week with my D-Tac was playing this week, man. But my guy Simmons had a day, man. Let's clap it up for Big Dawg Simmons. Big wins, got their second win of the season too, man. So I think he put on a show, man. And it was fun to watch, man. Definitely was fun to watch.

Zach Klein (47:48)
Are you hyping him up because Todd's not getting any Matt Ryan commissions? So he's going to, you know, hype up the Simmons training. Is that what this is about here?

AD (47:53)
No,

honestly, bro, I promise you, I've been looking for like, I've been like, there's a lot of outside guys that have been rushing good. You get a couple of flashes interior, but I'm like, I wanna watch a full game when I see guys just dominate. you get the one-on-ones, you getting them quick wins, It's like third and short, you need a quick win. A guy split that double team, get in the backfield, make a tackle for loss. That's what I was seeing this week, man. Chris Jones was doing it, Simmons was doing it. Even Big Davis was just.

Matt (48:15)
Mm-hmm.

AD (48:19)
Stop holding them double teams, getting off them blocks, making a play. Like, I love that type of shit, man. So.

Zach Klein (48:24)
He's been a multiple

winner Simmons has of the AD player of the week. He's having a fantastic year. Yes.

AD (48:28)
It's the second one, but

Matt (48:29)
This is feeling

rigged, man. This is feeling like Todd's pushing you this information on Mondays and you can be bought. AD can be bought.

AD (48:30)
he had a day.

T$ (48:32)
is it's not it's not

AD (48:32)
Now I promise you, this, you couldn't miss him.

T$ (48:39)
Do not disrespect Erna.

AD (48:39)
He had the red sleeves. He had the red sleeves on his out there. He was playing some good ball. But he was dominant to me. He was dominant last week when he played the Browns, right? I think, like I said, there was times where it was like a short yardage play. can see him tilt his body. knew, and he'd get off. He split that double team and he'd get that big tackle for loss. Even when he get double team, he'd get off, get them hands up, tip the ball. And he was just.

Matt (48:41)
No, he's playing good. He's playing great, man.

T$ (48:47)
Agree. Agree.

AD (49:02)
And then he get out the stack. ⁓ He had Chase to play 10 yards, 15 yards down the field to make the tackle, man. he was just playing good ball. He'd been playing good ball this whole season. I think this, from all the games that I watched him playing from start to finish, that was probably one of my favorite games I watched him play this season. you know, I think he was dominant.

Matt (49:18)
fastest way

to wreck a game is an interior defensive lineman just dominating beating your center and guards in between there. I mean, it can shut the run day run game down. You end the pass game if you can dominate in those spots. It's it's tough to go against.

AD (49:23)
Yes, I agree. I agree with it. Yep.

See when I played, was like, if a quarterback was under center, I always thought in my head like, I'm gonna try to get him before he can even get two steps. You know what saying? I wanna get in the back. That's how fast I wanna get in the back for every single play. If he's in the gun, I'm gonna get the, but if he's under center and I'm right, I'm so close to him. I can smell this motherfucker. I wanna tackle him before he can even step back. They smell like ass. That's what they smell like. No. But you know what saying? That's how my mind, every time I played, I just wanted to make every single play in the back. I felt like every play was gonna be my play, right?

T$ (49:51)
Hahaha

Matt (49:52)
Smelled good. Smelled good, yes. Come on.

AD (50:04)
And that's the way I went about it. If I felt a good feel and I can feel like I can split this or shoot up fields and get in the backfield before the guy can even see me or like, you how many times I was in the backfield before the quarterback hand the ball off? I'm actually running back there. I'm looking at the quarterback door. I'm like, I can low-key just take the ball from the fucking quarterback. like, know, I'm not, no, no.

Matt (50:23)
But you didn't, you didn't, you never did. You never swiped one right from the handoff, did you? Only when you broke that kid's collarbone in practice.

AD (50:32)
That's fucked up. No,

I did a high school. I did a high school though. A couple of times, like three times in one game. It was pretty special, but.

Matt (50:35)
I love it.

my God. Could

Zach Klein (50:39)
a man

Matt (50:40)
you imagine having to play against Aaron in high school? That's not right. that's right. Toledo was impressed. Was Dan...

Zach Klein (50:40)
that

T$ (50:43)
Ugh.

Zach Klein (50:43)
No, that's what earning the scholarship to Torlito was that three performance...

AD (50:48)
Ain't nobody want me. They said

I was too small, man. Everybody said I was too small. Even though was getting fucking ahead. One game I had in high school, bro, I had two interceptions in one game. I picked off, they tried to do two screens on us. One was picked, they tipped it and I picked it and I ran it down for like 30 yards and I got caught like on a one yard line. I was so mad. And then another one, I break down on the screen, jumps, had two picks in one game in high school with like a sack and like.

So that's how my stats was in high school. again, they just said, I don't think you'd be able to do that in college. You ain't the biggest guy, you know?

Zach Klein (51:20)
Hey, if you were

a buck 68, you would have taken it to the house and not get caught at the one yard line.

Matt (51:27)
Hey, honest

AD (51:27)
I weighed that when I was 12, man.

Matt (51:27)
question. I should know this, but did you play offense in high school as well or just defense?

AD (51:33)
Just defense. So they wanted me to play offensive line, bro, but I can't, man. So this was the deal my senior year. I used to be mad. I don't like offensive line. don't want, the shit's just boring to me. So they'd be like, bro, just let's get one series. I'd be like, no, man. I gotta be rested for defense. So I would go two plays. I was just watching the old high school highlight and I got out there for two plays, block a guy, him to the ground.

Matt (51:35)
You're damn right they did, man. If I was your coach, I would have been like, hey man, we need you both ways.

AD (51:59)
And then I just set myself up like I ain't playing the officer lad no more. I just didn't like the position, man. I don't know. It just wasn't for me. I know, man. It sounds selfish, don't it? Sound a little selfish?

Matt (52:10)
It does sound a little selfish. Yes. As, as the quarterback of that team, I would have been pissed like, dude, we got the biggest freak I've ever seen on the other side of the ball. Let him protect for me.

Zach Klein (52:10)
No, worked alright.

AD (52:20)
Yeah, man, just, I'm not an offensive guy, You know what mean? I just couldn't do it.

Matt (52:24)
I hear you. I hear

you. That's all right. That's all right. It worked out for you. I think your decisions worked out.

Zach Klein (52:27)
that it is.

AD (52:28)
Yeah.

Zach Klein (52:29)
Gentlemen, thank you very much for Matt Ryan, Aaron Donald and Todd France. I'm Zach Klein. Thanks for hanging out with us here on the Inner Circle podcast, folks. Be good, be safe. We'll see you next week.