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SportsTranscript
00:00Todd Munkin earlier today had an interesting exchange with the media,
00:04actually a couple, but I want to get to this one where he was asked about
00:07maybe not being in sync with the Browns over and Browns fans over to Sean Watson.
00:12My question is, does it bother you how the fans reflect on your decision to start?
00:20Absolutely not.
00:21Would I prefer the latter, like that we'd all be on the same page?
00:25Yeah, but that has nothing to do with my decision.
00:27Can't ever have anything to do with my decision is my decision's got to be
00:30what's the best for the Browns week one all the way through the season
00:34and as long as I'm the head coach here.
00:37So I appreciate that answer, and I think that's the right answer
00:40because if you give any other answer, I think it opens you,
00:44I think it opens up Pandora's box in a way that really just quite frankly
00:49isn't helpful to anyone.
00:51I do kind of want to push back on this idea that every single time of every single day
00:57the only thing any coach is ever thinking about winning.
01:00I know every time Coach Riz is on with us.
01:02Coach Riz likes that belief that winning is at the forefront
01:05and that's all they care about.
01:05And I get it.
01:06I get that that is a front that coaches have to sell.
01:11I followed NFL teams for the entirety of my adult life,
01:15and I do think there are certain coaches that play that way.
01:19I do think there are certain organizations that think that way.
01:22Coincidentally, I think those are the organizations that tend to actually win a lot
01:25in football, but I think trying to make – I don't buy it is what I'm saying.
01:31I don't think that just winning week one is the only reason that Deshaun
01:35is the starting quarterback.
01:38I think it's a lot more complex with that, and as a Browns fan,
01:42I have to be okay with the idea.
01:45Yeah, they might think they can win with him.
01:47This is also a lot about the last four years and trying to make sure
01:50he doesn't go to the Eagles next year and look like 2020 Deshaun Watson.
01:54Well, yeah, and I think that's obviously one of the big parts of this.
01:58That's one of the cases I've been trying to make about why he'll get more
02:00than a couple games is that idea.
02:02They need to make sure that he doesn't go somewhere else and that is awesome,
02:06and so they have to check that off.
02:07I do think that's why we also come up with other ideas of like, well,
02:11basically any reason you can come up with outside of just the obvious
02:16in trying to state why Deshaun would get the first crack at it
02:19because it's easier to go Deshaun than it is Shador.
02:21Sure, because of the first two weeks being on the road,
02:24little things people have come up with, and that's how you end up getting there.
02:27Now, I do think that was a relatively benign comment,
02:30but I've continued to hear the, you know, I'm doing everything I can to win,
02:34and I think he's doing.
02:35By the way, we should point out, I agree 100% with his thought process there.
02:39He does not have to cater to you and me.
02:40He does not have to cater to the fans.
02:41I think some fans got upset as if they think that this is some sort of poll
02:45you can put up on Twitter.
02:46Not going at your polls.
02:47I'm just saying in general, this is not a poll that you can put on Twitter
02:51and then it decides who the starting quarterback is of the Cleveland Browns.
02:54Like, this is his job on the line.
02:56This is what he's paid to do.
02:57And it's not audacious of him to be like, I know more than the fans.
03:01You're supposed to know more than the fans.
03:03That's why you're in the spot that you're in, and we're watching the games.
03:07So many of the things that I've seen from Todd Munkin, though,
03:10are things where, oh, two plus two equals four.
03:13This is the one that doesn't.
03:15And I think that's where my hang-up with this is.
03:18I, you know, I'm trying to give the grace till week one of, well,
03:23Deshaun's going to go out there whether I want him to or not,
03:26but he's got to play.
03:27Like, we can't be coming out of that being like, well, you know what?
03:30They lost the game.
03:31And Deshaun was probably the number two reason why they lost the game,
03:36but we'll get him next week.
03:37No, no, no.
03:37I mean, you've said this is a move about winning, and winning week one,
03:42I do think you need to win.
03:44I think there's a different sense of urgency that better be there
03:47with Deshaun's performance that I don't think would be there
03:51if Geno Smith were your quarterback.
03:52I think you're set up for a major letdown then.
03:55Oh, no, I agree.
03:56But I'm saying, like, if he says we're doing this to win,
03:59then you better look damn competitive week one.
04:02Maybe you need to dial that back then, because if people take that at face value,
04:06then I've got to feel – he's not going to be able to live up to that.
04:09And the problem he has is that the first couple weeks are not easy.
04:12They're just not.
04:13As far as the schedule is concerned, it gets much easier,
04:16but the first couple weeks are not walking the parks.
04:18You're going to be your five-and-a-half-point underdogs in week two
04:21and your seven-and-a-half-point underdogs in week one.
04:23You're not expected to win those games in the NFL.
04:25Now, we are, again, working to get Albert Breer here.
04:28We'll see if that happens this segment, next segment, maybe 6 o'clock, maybe tomorrow.
04:33We'll see.
04:34You never know with Albert.
04:34I mean, do you feel like Munkin should push back a little bit
04:37or maybe stop all the we're-doing-this-to-win-week-one mentality?
04:41No.
04:42I think that's what he – if that's what you believe, put it out there.
04:45But don't be surprised if people get really pissed if Deshaun looks like a broken toy week one.
04:50That's why it's easy right now for Munkin.
04:52It's easy right now to give off promises, half-truths, whatever you want to do,
04:55because you don't have to pay the piper for that yet.
04:57I understand that in order to get to whatever the next domino is,
05:01you have to clear the Deshaun thing.
05:03And I also understand that Todd Munkin is truly doing everything he can to win with Deshaun Watson
05:07because he's trying to breathe life into this guy no matter whether you think it's working or not.
05:14So I do think he is.
05:15Like, we talked about the, oh, I haven't watched Cleveland tape too much,
05:20which we can play in a minute here.
05:22I think that's a lot about breathing life into Deshaun Watson to be like,
05:25well, that doesn't matter because you're going to play winning football.
05:27I think he's trying to will Deshaun Watson to success.
05:30The problem is when you keep putting that out there, then people should expect results week one.
05:35Well, and then, so then what, for the rest of the time that he's the head coach,
05:37we're just trying to figure out when he's being Ted Lasso and when he's being the actual honest self?
05:42I mean, you're always trying to figure out something with a head coach.
05:44So we can't act like every head coach is always authentic every single moment of every time.
05:49No, but you understand how this gets slippery.
05:50If every time you get the excuse of, well, I was just trying to motivate Deshaun.
05:54I didn't mean anything that I said, I was just trying to use it as a motivational tactic.
05:58Well, then, all right, then I'm just trying to figure out when are you, Tony Robbins,
06:01and when are you actually being authentic about the whole ordeal?
06:03Yeah, I guess I don't expect my head coaches to be honest every second of every moment,
06:09and I think it's okay if they lie sometimes.
06:11I would rather...
06:12But you are saying you want to adhere and basically uphold him to what he's saying right now currently with
06:17week one.
06:18Yes, because he's putting him on the table for Deshaun Watson,
06:20and that was the one move that, quite frankly, I don't have much patience for.
06:24So if he had started anybody else, and that includes old Dilly Gabriel,
06:28if that includes Taylon Green or signing somebody else,
06:31and I know that wasn't just a Todd Munkin decision, that's an organizational decision.
06:35Yes, you have chosen the one guy who I refuse to have patience on or do the context thing.
06:41Nope, it's a did he play well enough to win, did you win, and did he look like an NFL
06:46quarterback?
06:47And if those three things, if all three things aren't cleared,
06:50I have real problems about Deshaun Watson starting week two.
06:55Now it starts with, can he get back to looking like a functional NFL quarterback?
06:59That's the first bar.
07:01And then it comes to winning, and then it comes to this, and that and the other.
07:04Through all of this, I don't know that I believe that Todd Munkin has this outstanding belief himself in Deshaun
07:11Watson.
07:11Then why is he starting Deshaun Watson?
07:13Well, we've talked about this before.
07:14I've told you before, I don't think that's Todd Munkin's call.
07:17I think it's coming from other parts of the organization.
07:20I think, I think, I just, no.
07:23I think Todd Munkin believes.
07:25I think Todd Munkin got the job based off of the openness and the willingness to go ahead and play
07:31a guy that a lot of these other coaches that they interviewed just weren't willing to go down that road.
07:34I definitely think part of his reason of getting the job was he's a thought partner on the Deshaun idea
07:41specifically.
07:41I'd love to know if he's telling him he didn't watch any of the Browns tape.
07:44I'd love to know what exactly in those meetings he was selling him on for this vision that he thinks
07:48he can get something out of Deshaun that Kevin Stefanski wouldn't.
07:51Maybe I would argue that's where he's obviously lying to us.
07:53Why don't we go ahead and play this from Todd Munkin talking about whether or not he watched Deshaun's Browns
07:59tape and trying to rebuild Deshaun Watson this year.
08:03I really, to be honest, haven't looked at it.
08:05To be honest, only from afar.
08:06People say, well, you had to look at it.
08:08Well, not really.
08:08I looked at it from afar when I was down the road, right, in crossover film or something.
08:14But I try to take everything at face value, what I see, right?
08:19It doesn't matter what the player is.
08:20I think we owe that to our players, guys that are on the roster.
08:24I want to go into it thinking every player we have is elite.
08:27And all they have to do is prove me right.
08:28But that's all they have to do.
08:30That's what I'm going to go into it.
08:31They're in an NFL roster.
08:33I expect them to play well.
08:34And I just want them to prove me right.
08:36And so I really haven't really looked at that.
08:38Different staff, different system.
08:40We'll let it play out.
08:41We'll see where it goes starting in a week from now.
08:44Now, what I think is interesting about that is that Todd Munkin is being roasted over the coals by several
08:52national media members,
08:53including Sam Monson, who we played sound of in the lead.
08:57I saw Frank Schwab getting after him, too.
08:59Yeah, and the truth is, I think this is a motivational thing.
09:05And, like, name me the coach that goes into week one, no matter the history of the coach, player, whatever,
09:15and the guy goes, well, he's played like dog bleep here.
09:18And quite frankly, I don't think he can do it, but we are going to start him week one.
09:22That's not what a coach's job is with 12 days to go to the season opener.
09:26No, it would be bad messaging.
09:28But then I think the right follow-ups do get to exist.
09:32How did you get the job if you just say you never watched any of the Browns tape from the
09:36Deshaun Watson era?
09:37How did you – like, what did you set – what was your vision for how you're going to fix
09:40Deshaun if you didn't watch any of the Browns tape?
09:43What's he going to say?
09:44Is he going to give you the exact play-by-play?
09:47Is he going to give you the exact thing of – like –
09:49I mean, it just seems – you see how this seems a little contradictory.
09:51No, of course he watched it, guys.
09:54Yeah, I think that has to be the assumption.
09:56The assumption is that he watched it to get the job.
09:57He had to have watched it.
09:59Yes, he's fibbing because the alternative is I watched it and I'm starting him in lieu of this.
10:06And, honestly, addressing any of Deshaun's failure previously is living in the past, and I think that's the last thing
10:13the Browns want to do with Deshaun Watson.
10:15Everything is about now.
10:17Everything is about going forward.
10:18And that's the only path they can take with Deshaun to try and get him in the right headspace and
10:24to have the right headspace around him.
10:25I think, quite frankly, I think the idea that people can't pick apart that he's clearly just not going to
10:32tell you the truth on this one
10:33and that this is a – there are deeper implications on this one.
10:37I think he is being needlessly taken to task for his comments.
10:41Yeah, this is part of –
10:41And it's not the first time he's said it either, by the way.
10:43And this is – no, but this is part of what happens when you get in bed with Deshaun Watson
10:47that way.
10:47And then you have to try to justify things that – it shouldn't be his responsibility to have to justify
10:51any part of Deshaun Watson's existence in a Browns uniform
10:55because he was with the Ravens at that point.
10:56It shouldn't be, but here he is.
10:58And this is that.
10:59Frank Schwab, by the way, so he quote tweeted that,
11:01I'm not sure buying – sorry, burying your head in the sand and saying you just blindly believe every player
11:06is elite when you arrive is what I do, but hey.
11:09And I think that's another angle on this, that in that comment that you played, that we played right there,
11:13is getting a lot of run.
11:14He just says every player – but he didn't do this just for Deshaun.
11:16He says every player he views as elite, and then he works his way from there.
11:20And this goes back to the idea that we want head coaches to say things,
11:23and we excorciate Kevin Stefanski for being king say nothing,
11:26and then somebody says something, and if it doesn't line up with our thoughts on a team or a player,
11:32we destroy them.
11:34Like, I do think – like, again, I think Frank's reaction to it is low-hanging fruit.
11:39I think Sam Monson's reaction to it is low-hanging fruit.
11:42I think that if there are tangible reasons why a guy is either lying or saying something that maybe he
11:48doesn't 100% believe is true,
11:50quite frankly, that is half a coaching.
11:53Coaches do not always tell the truth in the media.
11:55And so I'm happy that Todd says things that rhyme with the truth more often than not,
12:00and when he lies, I tend to think there's a good reason for it.
12:04And I think too often we reward coaches who say nothing and stand for nothing,
12:09and then a coach actually has a – honestly, this happened to Dan Campbell.
12:13Dan Campbell had a personality, and everyone thought he was the biggest idiot on the planet
12:18until he started winning games.
12:20And I'm sorry, like, there are so many coaches who say nothing and stand for nothing,
12:25and I'll say Kevin Stefanski, who then get rewarded for being vanilla personality,
12:31who, by the way, behind the scenes are the exact same guy who brings nothing to the table
12:36and gives you no chance to win by his relationship with the players.
12:39I'll take Todd Munkin lying to my face if it means he puts 1% more belief in Deshaun Watson
12:45even if I've got 0% belief on Deshaun Watson.
12:47Wow, so the hard part about that, and this is where it just kind of – this stinks, but this
12:51is our reality.
12:52If you have to lie and have to do all these things – and I do think he has to
12:55because Deshaun's just so mentally broke, but it really does expose the idea
12:58they're doing a lot of heavy lifting because they know Deshaun Watson is mentally broke at this point.
13:03Or they're just trying to give him every chance to do it.
13:06No, they watched him two weeks ago, mentally break at the podium, and they clearly understand
13:11that he needs some help as far as being convinced that he is not the same guy that he used
13:15to be
13:15and that there's something you can get out of this.
13:17I have to live in a world where I think they saw what they saw two Saturdays ago,
13:21and there's no denying that, while also thinking,
13:24what's the best way we can put Deshaun in the best position to succeed early?
13:29Even if I disagree with the decision, I can see that –
13:31There's been a pretty big push, though.
13:33You know, everything down from the idea of, like, them, again, reaffirming that
13:37if you just play good football, they're going to love you.
13:39If you play good football, no one's going to care about this.
13:41Like, there's been a pretty big push, and I don't blame them.
13:45I would, too, if I were him, because it does seem like their quarterback's mentally broke.
13:48This is what they have to do, but with that, then, comes moments like this
13:52where Munkin gets dragged through the coals because he's trying to help out a player.
13:55And I think the hope is that if you love the player up enough,
13:58and then he goes out there and has one good game, you can start to rebuild his confidence.
14:03And, again, I think you and I are as cynical as we can be that that's going to happen,
14:07but at least I can see the reason for why Todd Munkin answered the question the way he did.
14:12I think – and not here, because we have to, because we talk about the damn team every day.
14:17I think anybody responding nationally, I think, is just taking cheap shots because they can,
14:23because they don't like Deshaun.
14:24They don't like the Browns.
14:25I don't think anybody has anything against Munkin.
14:28I just think it's low-hanging fruit, their response, not necessarily the piece of sound.