We’ve got Doc Walker, the K9 alert master, in our employ, but G&D got a chance to sit down with THE K9 in the radio industry, one Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, on Radio Row Tuesday – and what does Russo make of the Commanders’ last week?
“I’m very surprised they hired Dan Quinn – why the fascination with him? His team blew a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl, and he was 43-42 in Atlanta,” Russo said. “He goes to Dallas and they never responded defensively in postseason play. They just fired Rivera, who was a defensive coach, and I know Ben Johnson turned them down, I understand that, but I was very, very surprised.
They have the young GM from San Francisco and the No. 2 pick, I would not have hired Dan Quinn – and if I was a Commanders fan and you told me that Dan Quinn was my coach, that would not excite me in the off-season.”
A lot of folks in DC do feel that way, maybe because of the Johnson thing, and Russo could only ask “well where’s Bobby Slowik?” when GP mentioned that all but two candidates the Commanders talked to were defensive-minded coaches.
“I wouldn't have done that. I know the defense stinks, but you just had a defensive coach,” Russo said. “I think if you're asking me from afar, I'm not like you guys who are living it day-to-day, but if you ask me, that’s a bad hire. I could be proven wrong, but I gotta give you the opinion now, not in five years.”
Okay, great, but what about the No. 2 pick? Would Russo consider trading up for Caleb Williams now that Kliff Kingsbury is in DC?
“I don’t know if I’d give up that much to go up, but you can’t take Drake Maye, because you cannot take another North Carolina quarterback after Sam Howell, who I had a lot of high hopes for but did not finish well,” Russo said. “I don’t think it’s all his fault, but obviously it sounds like they're moving on, and I would not draft May, so they’re in a tricky spot. I have Gary Danielson on every week and he loves Daniel, so that’s something I would consider. Williams turns the ball over an awful lot, so I am not sure if he is as much a home run as everybody thinks. Plus, you never know with these quarterbacks anyway – look at Young and Stroud.”
A lot of Commanders disdain, but we did finally get the answer to an age-old Grant & Danny question: what WAS Dog trying to refer to with the infamous ‘microphone glass’ clip we love to play?
“What was I talking about? It must be for eyes, so it must be a magnifying glass, but when did I say that?” Russo laughed. “That’s why people listen, I’m a goofball! I come up with goofy things all the time and that's what people like.”
Take a listen to Dog’s entire segment above!