Wrong show, but we've got a BEN JOHNSON ALERT!
The Junkies would be the first four to admit that as much as they can talk about candidates for the Commanders' head coaching gig, they're only really going on what they see in limited action and hear in the media.
That's why, for them, it's important to have others who know the candidates best give them some extra insight…and that's exactly what happened on Wednesday with Johnson and Aaron Glenn, as Mike Valenti, co-host of the afternoon drive show on our sibling station in Detroit and the "Kickoff with Boomer & Valenti" show each weekend, joined the guys to give a breakdown on Grant Paulsen's coach crush and his defensive counterpart.
But first, the Michigan State alum had a scathing rebuke on the idea of ANYONE hiring Jim Harbaugh:
"I would never in a million years hire him to run my franchise. He's crazy, and all you're getting is chaos," Valenti said. "Is he a good coach? Sure he is, but you're in a sea of good coaches. Do you really want that coming to your doorstep? They just won the Natty, but he's leaving Michigan in complete chaos; they're under dual NCAA Investigations and going to get hammered, and he left Stanford the same deal. The Niners, he burned every bridge he had. Will someone hire him? Maybe, because he's a good coach, but you're really opening a Pandora's Box if you bring him into your building."
As for Johnson, here's a snippet of his praise:
"The argument will be that if you draft good players, you can make any coordinator look good – but anyone who has come to Detroit to play for Ben Johnson has gotten better," Valenti said. "You're going to get really aggressive, good hard play-action on first down, and tons of intermediate shots and attacking routes. The run scheme is diverse, he uses everybody…he's really good. I think Ben Johnson's awesome; if you can land him, get him. The Commanders' skill players are there, and Ben's a stud."
And the biggest weakness?
"This year, the red zone play calling has been sketchy; there have been some things you question," Valenti said. "But, how much of that comes down o knowing he has four downs to use, because the Lions just refuse to kick field goals?"
And Glenn?
"Look, I don't want to be too hard on him; he's done an okay job, but there's not the talent there is on offense that there is on defense," Valenti said. "But when Aaron Glenn faces a good QB, it's like dropping a plate of dishes on the floor – what am I watching? Nick Mullens just threw for basically 800 yards in two games. I think he needs more talent to be evaluated appropriately, and I wouldn't put him anywhere near the Ben Johnson tier of guys - and it's an offensive league. I'd be very skittish on hiring a defensive coach."
Take a listen to Valenti's entire segment above!
