Colin Cowherd Podcast - Lane Kiffin Bolts For LSU, Cowboys Defense BETTER After Parsons Trade, Ben Johnson Best Young Coach Since McVay

Dec 1, 2025

Colin chats with John Middlekauff, a former NFL scout and host of the '3 and Out' podcast. They dive into Lane Kiffin's surprising move from Ole Miss to LSU, calling for better governance in college football. The duo evaluates the Bills' win over the Steelers and the future of Pittsburgh's QB situation. Colin argues the Cowboys' defense has strengthened after a trade involving Micah Parsons. They also discuss Matt LaFleur's adjustments in Green Bay, the impact of Ben Johnson on Detroit, and why he’s a standout young head coach.

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INSIGHT

Calendar Creates Coaching Chaos

College football's coaching market is now unregulated capitalism with coaches moving freely before playoffs.
Colin Cowherd argues this calendar gap creates major ethical and competitive problems for programs.

INSIGHT

Big Programs Garnish Coaching Talent

Bigger programs hold recruiting and staffing advantages that attract top assistants after hires.
John Middlekauff notes coaches at LSU, Georgia, and Ohio State can more easily recruit support staff.

INSIGHT

Offense Solves Problems Faster Than Defense

Offensive coaches adapt faster in‑season than defensive coaches.
Colin Cowherd argues offensive minds like McVay consistently solve problems midseason while defensive staffs often need an offseason.

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Colin is joined by John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” to break down all the week 13 NFL action & top stories from college football.

They start with Lane Kiffin leaving his highly ranked Ole Miss team for rival LSU ahead of the college football playoff & explain that while they feel for Ole Miss fans… this is a calendar issue that needs to be addressed that college football may need a president to oversee the entire operation (3:00).

They move to the NFL and start with the Bills beating the Steelers in a game where a bloodied Aaron Rodgers exited early. Colin highlights that the Steelers have no quarterback of the future and they debate what should be done with both Mike Tomlin and Sean McDermott (13:00).

They revisit the Thanksgiving Day action and Colin argues that the Cowboys defense is actually improved after the Micah Parsons trade now that they’ve shored up their interior defensive line & have more flexibility (28:00).

They move to the Packers beating the Lions on Thanksgiving and Colin lauds Matt Lafleur for fixing the Packers broken passing attack and argues the Lions are MISSING Ben Johnson and will get worse before they get better (35:00).

Staying on the topic of Ben Johnson, they discuss the Bears taking control of the #1 seed in the NFC after beating the Eagles and Colin argues Johnson is the best young head coach since Sean McVay (40:30). They also discuss the limitations of the Eagles passing offense and why Nick Sirianni is incredibly dependent on his coordinators (45:45).

They recap the 49ers win over the Browns and Colin argues the 49ers deserve “coaching staff of the year” after going 9-4 despite a rash of injuries(54:15), and believe you can’t take too much away from the Rams stepping in it and losing to the Panthers (59:15).

After another quarterbacking disaster from the Vikings against the Seahawks, Colin argues they should trade for Mac Jones and move on from J.J. McCarthy (1:06:15).

Finally, they move back to college football and Colin explains why Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin looks like a future franchise quarterback in the NFL (1:18:30) and they credit Arch Manning for overcoming the noise and finding ways to play well late into the season (1:24:00).

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