SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
And now it's time for sports.
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SIMON: NFL conference championships, the coaching carousel turns into a twister and no surprises at the Australian open, but for how long? Sports writer Howard Bryant joins us. Howard, thanks for being with us.
HOWARD BRYANT: Thank you. I'm just awaiting the snowpocalypse (ph), Scott. How are you?
SIMON: Fine, thank you.
BRYANT: (Laughter).
SIMON: Same. Same, my friend. Look, Denver Broncos hosts the New England Patriots, but they'll have to do it without their young starting quarterback, Bo Nix - fractured his right ankle against the Bills. Howard, does Denver really have a shot with their backup quarterback, Jarrett Stidham, against the New England Patriots?
BRYANT: Yes. The former Patriot Jarrett Stidham. There's always a chance up there. Real Patriots fans know that Denver is the house of horrors for that franchise. Even Bill Belichick and Tom Brady never won a playoff game up there. Doesn't make a difference if the quarterback is Jake Plummer or Peyton Manning or John Elway, the Patriots - it's always going to be a struggle up there. But it's a big blow. This is supposed to be - this is a 1 versus 2 seed. The Patriots clearly have the advantage because they've got their full team. But once again, you go up there and you play in that altitude, and anything can happen.
SIMON: And later tomorrow, the Seahawks host the LA Rams - ticket to the Super Bowl on the line. Seahawks have the best scoring defense in the league. The Rams have the best scoring offense. They've played each other twice, split the series. What do you foresee, a tie and two overtime periods?
BRYANT: A tie and two overtimes. Well, just like the Patriots and the Broncos, this has been a great, great postseason in terms of rivalry. I mean, I know the Patriots and the Broncos didn't play each other this year, but once again, when you get these teams together who have these historic battles, or these historical battles, you really just never know what's going to happen. Seahawks in the Rams - at some - at one point during the season, Scott, I was convinced that the Rams were the best team in the NFL.
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: Then they slipped a little bit. And then, I don't - you know, then the Seahawks go up, and they go, you know, 14 and 3. And so these may very well be - I know the Eagles were the defending champions, but these are probably the two best teams in the NFL right now. And also, they split the season series. But I think the Rams have a little bit of the edge, even though they're on the road. Let's not forget the last time the Rams and the Seahawks played up in Seattle. The Seahawks had to come back. They were down 30 to 14 in that game. The Rams were...
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: ...Killing them, and then it was a great comeback. They come back. They win 38-37 in overtime. So when you've got a division game - it's the third time these guys have played each other - it's going to be a really good battle.
SIMON: And all the coaching carousel. Mike Tomlin departs the Steelers after 19 seasons. John Harbaugh, the Ravens, fired after 18 years there. Buffalo Bills got rid of Sean McDermott. After nine years, he only took the Bills to the playoffs eight times.
BRYANT: (Laughter).
SIMON: When has the NFL turned into the what have you done for me lately organization?
BRYANT: Yeah. There has been talk for decades about which sport has the most coaching necessity, and it's always been football. Football is the one where the coach really does make the difference for lots of reasons. One, incredibly complicated game. Two, you are running a massive operation. Basketball, you've got - it's a 12-player roster. Baseball's a 25-man roster. And football, it's like 70 players and very, very specialized - the whole thing. I mean, so you really have to have your hand, you know, on the leadership button. You have to really know what you're doing, and people have to respond to you in numerous different elements. And that really protected the coaches. And you could see the difference.
Look at a guy like Sean McDermott. As you just said, not only does he take them to the playoffs every year, they've won 10 games in the last seven, you know, straight seasons. But now, I think - with a lot of the analytics happening right now, I think that with the money going as high as it's going, the coaches are the most vulnerable - football coaches are the most vulnerable they've ever been in this sport. The owners aren't going to fire themselves, and they're not going to get rid of all their players. So suddenly, the firing of the coach has actually sort of become part of the DNA.
They even have a name for it now. What do they call it? Black Monday. In other words, it's part of the show, getting rid of the coach.
SIMON: Howard Bryant, thanks so much. Talk to you soon, my friend.
BRYANT: My pleasure, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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