Mike Florio

The Hall of Fame needs to go back to the old 80% up-or-down voting system for each finalist

They should have forced the voters to say yes or no on Bill Belichick. And they need to go back to what's the easiest fix here. Go back to the system where the finalists each have an 80% up or down, yes or no vote like it used to be. It's fundamentally unfair.

17 NFL teams will be playing in domes within the next 10 years

Seventeen teams are gonna be playing in domes within the next 10 years. The way things are currently going, the Chiefs are moving into a dome.

The Browns will be looking for another coach within two or three years

I'm fairly confident they'll be looking for another coach within two or three years.

The Giants are 'all in' with Jim Harbaugh and have given him unprecedented leverage for a coach

Harbaugh, he wanted separate tracks, he reports to ownership, GM Joe Schoen reports to ownership... The Giants, to their credit, they understand they need to do significant things in order to become a consistent contender. So they are all in with Jim Harbaugh.

Jalen Hurts plays his own game regardless of the designed offense - the Eagles OC hire won't be someone with other options

There's a certain amount of frustration within the coaching staff and within the locker room because they designed the offense, they designed the plays, they call the plays. And then when it's time to go out there, Jalen Hurts the quarterback plays his game. Whoever the Eagles hire to be the offensive coordinator is not gonna be a guy who has other choices.

The Eagles' offensive coordinator job is unattractive for coaches with other options due to Jalen Hurts' power

Whoever the Eagles hire to be the offensive coordinator is not gonna be a guy who has other choices. It's gonna be a guy who says, alright, I wanna be an offensive coordinator and this is the place where they want me. It's clearly not great.

Mike Vrabel's coaching genius and attention to detail could be the biggest thing the Patriots have going for them in the Super Bowl

There's a genius to the way that Vrabel coaches. I think he's able to outsmart arguably any coach in the league right now. That's the biggest thing the Patriots have going for them in the Super Bowl. Little things like that. There's a genius to the way that Vrabel coaches.

The Bengals are the cheapest team in the NFL for failing to clear snow from stadium seats

If you would've been asked to guess which of the 32 teams would've been too cheap to pay for somebody to come remove the snow from the seats, anyone would've guessed the Cincinnati Bengals... The Bengals are the cheapest team. That's their reputation and it's well earned.

Joe Burrow is using a 'Jedi mind trick' to get the Bengals to trade him without asking directly

I think what [Burrow] is trying to do is make the Bengals decide to trade him so that he doesn't have to say, I want to be traded and get them to recognize he's not happy... I think he's trying to do the Jedi mind trick to get them to trade him without him having to ask for it.

The Arizona Cardinals are guaranteed to move on from Kyler Murray

They want to be able to move on from Kyler Murray and they're gonna move on from him. They're probably gonna have to release him. And then the question becomes who wants him?

AJ Brown will likely be traded by the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason

I won't be surprised if AJ Brown is traded in the off season. I think we're at the point where it makes sense for both sides for him to move on. They can find another receiver, they can make their offense go without him.

The Bills will face the 49ers in the Super Bowl in our fictionalized 2025 season

Let's say, let's say Bills coming out of the AFC and... there's a very easy path for the 49ers... win the division to get the number one seed... pick the Bills and the 49ers. Let's go.

Dak Prescott, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson have the most pressure in the NFL

I think there's a ton of pressure on Dak Prescott. He's making 60 million a year... how can you not say there's pressure on Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson to finally close the gap with the chiefs and finally deliver it.

The Lions will struggle this year due to losing both coordinators

I don't want to doubt the Lions because I think they feed on that. But when you look at last season... the Lions have lost both coordinators... How is it not gonna be a factor? It's just change. Continuity is so important in football and I think it may have reached a critical mass for the Lions and they're gonna have their hands full.

The Broncos and Chargers will give the Chiefs fits in the AFC West

I think the Broncos are gonna have their hands full. The Broncos look at how good that defense is. And we know what Sean Payton does with his offenses... Chargers... surprisingly good in the regular season. And and I'm never going to count out Pete Carroll... the Raiders are gonna get the Chiefs fits. I mean the Chiefs are gonna have their hands full this year.

The NFL will expand to 20 regular season games and 40 teams

There will be a Super Bowl played overseas at some point and there will be 20 regular season games. Okay. No preseason games. Okay. And 40 teams. That will happen.

The Dolphins, Browns, and Saints will be the three most disappointing teams

I would be very concerned if I was a fan of the Dolphins. I would be extremely concerned if I'm a fan of the Browns, I would find something else to do on Sunday if I was a fan of the Saints. Those are the three that come to mind.

The Chiefs will eventually beat the Eagles in a Super Bowl LVII rematch

I'll say Chiefs Ravens in the AFC championship and Eagles 49ers in the NFC championship... Eagles Chiefs in the Super Bowl [Round 3]... Better than we expect.

Bill Belichick will eventually coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I feel like Belichick has been eyeballing the bucks... The Buccaneers are willing to do kooky things if they think it's gonna make them better... It would make sense if you can hand him a talented team in a weak division where he could cobble together enough wins to get to the playoffs.

The Vikings will eventually start JJ McCarthy this season after he develops

I do agree with the approach of giving JJ McCarthy a chance to fully develop... I like the idea though, of giving McCarthy his opportunity to reach his ceiling.

The New York Jets are adopting a 'meat and potatoes' approach similar to the Detroit Lions

I like what the Jets are doing... They're trying to do what the Lions did... They didn't have a big splashy off season where they're in the middle of all sorts of discussion and hype... it was a very meat and potatoes approach.

The Seattle Seahawks will be the next NFL team sold

I think it'll be the Seahawks. One of these owners is eventually gonna wake up and say, shit, I'll take 10, 11, $12 billion.

The Vikings can't let Sam Darnold leave the building

You can't let this guy leave. Everybody's looking for a franchise quarterback. When you have a guy who's playing like a franchise quarterback, you can't let him leave. They can figure out whatever they're gonna do with JJ McCarthy... but you can't let him go when he's gotten as good as he's gotten.

The Vikings might consider trading JJ McCarthy if Sam Darnold is the guy

I think all options will be on the table if and when they decide Sam Darnold is the guy... if there's a team out there that's willing to make the Vikings an offer that they won't refuse, then you do it... I think the Vikings get a hell of a lot more for JJ McCarthy than the 49ers got for Trey Lance.

Tom Brady having a vote on NFL awards while being an owner is a conflict of interest

The idea that any owner of an NFL team would have a vote on league-wide awards, it's preposterous... It's an inherent conflict of interest. And I think after the season, the AP will find a way to clean it up. I think it just fell through the cracks.

Mike Vrabel would be the perfect fit for a New York NFL team

Rebel's [Vrabel] got the right personality to deal with the New York fans and the New York media. It's almost like Parcells where he just doesn't fuck around... he could be abrasive in a charming way... both of those teams need to be considering very seriously trying to make a run at Vrabel.

Aaron Rodgers wants the Jets to break up with him, not the other way around

I think Aaron Rodgers doesn't want to come back to the Jets, but he wants them to be the ones that break up with him. He's been needling Woody Johnson... I think he wants them to end it. And then he'll see if anyone out there really wants him.

Aaron Rodgers to the Steelers is a fascinating possibility

I'm fascinated by the possibility of him going to Pittsburgh. Remember that video of him and Mike Tomlin kinda making googly eyes at each other... I feel like that tracks with what the Steelers are currently doing at quarterback, which is, we don't know how to develop one. Let's just go find a veteran and plug him in.

Kirk Cousins might be done as a starting NFL quarterback

Look at Cousins. He's gotta like muster every ounce of energy in his body... his body eventually rebelled against him this year because he was compensating for the torn achilles tendon... I've talked to people who said, you know what? There's a chance it just never comes back for him. He could be done.

The Jets made a bigger story out of Aaron Rodgers' absence than it needed to be

Don don't think there's a problem. And I know that memes had some issue with something that I said last week because I saw the tweet and I had to send it to you Big Cat to get an interpretation like most people of my generation do. Hey son, what is this all about? I didn't get it. Here's the issue with Aaron Rogers and I think this is more about the Jets than Aaron Rogers. They fucked this up so bad last week. All they had to do was excuse his absence. That's all they had to do.

Fans should root for the NFL to lose the Sunday Ticket lawsuit

The NFL has always just kind of pressed forward and made as much money as they could from it. But this case is about what the NFL allegedly has done to protect the deals with CBS and Fox. And without getting too deep into the weeds, it's as simple as this. They required allegedly, but I think the evidence has proved this. They've required DirecTV to charge a certain price so people don't get it and they just watch whatever CBS or Fox has to offer. ... we should be rooting for the NFL to lose this because it will make it easier for all the fans to have cheaper choices and broader selections to watch outta market games on Sunday.

Tua Tagovailoa wouldn't get a massive contract on the open market

Tua I think goes into a different category as well. ... I don't think the Dolphins want to pay something that starts with a five. And you have to wonder, will they just say Tua go ahead because ask yourself that question. If Tua is available to anyone who wants him, what are they gonna pay? Yeah. What's it gonna get on the open market? And I feel like one of these days one of these teams is gonna draw that line in the saying.

Kirk Cousins could spend as little as one season in Atlanta if he struggles

Next year his compensation is only $27 million. So you could trade him. I know he's got a no trade clause. But if you wanna move on to Michael Penix Jr... [Cousins] will wave his trade. I think it could be as short as one year with Cousins in Atlanta.

The Steelers will surprise people because Mike Tomlin knows how to manage a room of difficult personalities

Steelers you got? Oh, Steelers. Okay... bringing Arthur Smith in there... Tomlin's superpower is to take a room full of guys that you would individually look at them and say, okay, and slap 'em all together and make it into a playoff team... He knows how to speak to the better angels of all these players and get the most out of them.

I would be surprised if Rashee Rice plays in Week 1 of the 2024 season

I'll be surprised if [Rashee Rice] is playing week one, he's either gonna be on the commissioner's exempt list or he will have pled guilty to one or more of these felonies and he will be suspended under the personal conduct policy.

The NFL will eventually face a massive gambling lawsuit over flawed injury reporting

I've been sounding that alarm... If you're gonna make millions from legalized gambling and you're gonna have an injury reporting system that is flawed, that is broken, that isn't enforced, and somebody eventually hides an injury... If I bet on the Bengals and the Bengals hid that information, that would be very relevant to me... they've gotta enforce that rule or they're gonna end up in a massive lawsuit. It's just a matter of time.

Bill Belichick will be the Commanders head coach in 2024

I think what'll happen behind the scenes, over the course of the next six, seven weeks, they'll work out a deal... Watch Bill Belichick to the commanders after the season. I believe it's gonna happen.

Bill Belichick's poor GMing is a bigger problem for the Patriots than his coaching

I would say that it's Belichick, the GM, that has been the bigger problem than Belichick, the coach. So do you put guardrails on his personnel authority or do you let him just run everything like he has in New England?

The NFL will attempt to suspend Jim Harbaugh if he returns to the league

The NFL might duplicate whatever punishment the NCAA imposes on Jim Harbaugh. That tells me the NFL's thinking about it... It wouldn't be on the NFL's network if they weren't thinking about doing it... I look at it as kind of a clumsy effort to blackball him.

Travis Kelce might surprise retire after this season to pursue stardom

I look the guy is thinking about his next career... you gotta know when to make the transition and when the window's open... and it may be that the window for him is never more open than it is right now, or will be after this season.

Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas are both safe for 2024 because of the Aaron Rodgers injury

I think Saleh comes back because of that. Joe Douglas comes back because of that. They're not gonna want to upset the apple cart. They're gonna go even more all in... hope [Rodgers] can stay healthy at 40.

Tom Brady's marriage issues began because Gisele was unaware he was flirting with the Dolphins

There's a theory in league circles... that the issues with Tom Brady and his wife blew up when the league announced the punishment of the dolphins because of the flirtation with Brady. Cuz she had, as the theory goes, no idea he was talking to the dolphins about playing.

Bill Belichick cannot hold his staff accountable because of nepotism with his sons

[Belichick] has got two kids working for him. And if one of those kids needs to be fired, he can't do it. And that makes it impossible for him to hold other people accountable. I think that's the root of where things kind of got wobbly... if you can't hold your kids accountable, you can't hold anybody accountable.

The Vikings will lose in the divisional round this year

This is a team that's gonna go 11 and six, maybe 12 and five... And they're gonna win in the wild card round if they're lucky. And then they get the shit kicked out of them by the Eagles or the Cowboys or one of the elite teams in the nfc because cousins is limited.

Tom Brady only returned to Tampa because he couldn't find a 'graceful exit'

I think he came to the conclusion he wasn't going to find a graceful exit from Tampa Bay and that if he was going to play this year, he'd better jump on now... there was at least some thought I believe from Brady to play for someone else.

Carson Wentz is a better choice than Kirk Cousins

I would go with Wentz over Cousins for one very important reason... The moment it goes to shit, Cousins can't do anything. Wentz has the athleticism to try to make chicken salad on the fly. That separates him from Cousins... and for what he's getting paid versus what Cousins's getting paid, I take Wentz.

Deshaun Watson should want to play for the Eagles over the Panthers or Saints

If I'm Deshaun Watson, I don't want to go to the Panthers. Cause Matt Rhule's on the hot seat... I really do like the Eagles as a destination because the division's not the strongest. The conference is weaker than the AFC top to bottom. I think that if I had to pick which team I wanted to play for, I'd say the Eagles.

Troy Vincent leaked false information to Chris Mortensen to create the Deflategate narrative

We outed the source for Chris Mortensen's report that 11 to 12 footballs were two pounds underinflated... That was false information that was given to him by Troy Vincent, from the NFL office. We report that in Playmakers.

The Buccaneers had no legal right to reclaim Tom Brady's 600th touchdown ball from the fan

I looked at the season ticket agreement. I looked at the general ticket agreement... there's nothing on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tickets that would give them the right to go get it... I don't think they'd have a leg to stand on if it would end up in court.

Mike Evans had 'apparent authority' to give the football away, making the gift final

He has the apparent authority to scoop up a football on a touchdown he scored and hand it to a fan forever done over, no give backs, no take backs. Once that transfer is committed from the fan's perspective, that fan's got the right to assume that Mike Evans has the authority to surrender that football.