After breaking the Ben Johnson news, BMitch & Finlay opened up the phone lines for what turned out to be a bit of a Bleep U Tuesday, letting callers vent about the news that Johnson was staying in Detroit.
And then, after that and some more time to ruminate, it was their turn to give some thoughts.
Brian reiterated he got the same report dam Schefter had that Johnson’s asking price was too high, and again gave the brass dap for just not paying what Johnson wanted.
“I tip my hat to those in charge over there, where they're not gonna just let you come in and dictate to them,” B said. “They know what they wanna do and they knew what somebody’s expectation or asking price should be. And if you come in and you blow it out the water, they'll do something else. You have to give him credit for that.”
JP referenced a Josina Anderson Tweet from December about that, noting that even if the number wasn’t right, the sentiment was there…and now we move on, and BMitch had a nice soliloquy lauding Josh Harris and company for walking away (or seeming to) if that was the case.
“I'm not shocked at everything going down, because you never know what can happen in this situation,” Brian said. “I'm just still on the mindset that whoever they hire, it's gonna be somebody that fit what they think, and be within their plan and their budget. We are very good at telling people how to spend money when it's not ours to spend, but as successful as they have been, that whole group, you have a game plan of what you wanna do. Just like we don't wanna spend all our money on one player, it shouldn’t be one coach either. I know Sean Payton got $18 million and I'm sure Harbaugh is somewhere around there, but I would suspect if you're asking for something in that neighborhood and they felt you don’t have the same level of expertise and experience that they have, you have to applaud them for that. There are probably people out there who are highly pissed right now because they didn't pay him what he wanted – but you’re not supposed to just pay what somebody wants. Sometimes you gotta have a game plan and learn how to stick to it, and I respect that.”
“What happens next is obviously the question,” JP replied. “Johnson has now told a bunch of folks thanks but no thanks – the Panthers, Commanders, and Seahawks – and it was easy to be dismissive of Carolina, but it’s a stunner that he just turned it down.”
Yes, but maybe not, in B’s mind.
“You gotta be careful too, just like just like players that stay in college and play and bet on themselves – some of them get hurt,” Brian said. “You can go next year and you probably don't end up 11-6. What if you go 6-11 and your offense don't play well? You're not gonna get higher than what you could have gotten this year, so that’s the game you play – but you have to respect Ben Johnson, as well, to say, look, this is what I believe I'm worth, I'm gonna go show y'all and I'll try it again. Better make damn sure your players and everything is good with you too.”
So now, Mike MacDonald moves to the top of BMitch’s list, at least, and his connection to new Commanders analytics guru Eugene Shen becomes more of a story – and again, a BMitch rant on the narrative of needing an offensive coach.
“They discussed that we don't care, offense or defense, we want the best person to lead people. Ben Johnson was shut down by Mike MacDonald, who shut down all the top offenses, and let's be real: they lost Sunday, but only gave up 17 points,” Brian said. “So if the offense did what they were normally do, score 24 points? I don't know if he wasn't the best candidate out there, but we are so offensive-minded, that the defensive coaches that are successful in this day and age are probably better than some of those from the days of the past. With all they have to deal with, if you could shut down the best of the best, you're a damn good coach.”