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The Inner Circle is back for the first show of 2026 — and it’s loaded.

It's a wide-ranging, behind-the-curtain episode that hits the two biggest engines in football right now: the NFL postseason grind and the chaos of modern college “free agency.” First, AD breaks down the debate every contender faces in Week 18: rest vs. rust. Using the Eagles as the jumping-off point, he explains how players feel when coaches sit starters, why veteran teams handle it differently than young rosters, and what matters more once you’re “in the dance” — seedings, travel, or simply being healthy and ready to roll.

From there, the conversation turns to incentives and the uncomfortable reality that business decisions can clash with personal milestones. Todd details how those conversations actually happen when a player is sitting just short of a bonus, and AD adds a blunt, hilarious perspective on what changes when the incentive is truly life-changing.

Then it’s time for flowers: AD gives major respect to Myles Garrett’s monster sack season, including the nuance of doing it on a team that wasn’t winning, the “asterisk” talk around 17 games, and why he believes production is production in today’s NFL.

Finally, Todd takes listeners inside his wildest season: NIL + the transfer portal. He explains what it’s like getting flooded with calls from GMs, coaches, and staffers, why “NIL” has basically become college free agency, and how many reported deals are structured in ways fans don’t realize. Zach and Todd even play a rapid-fire “cost of doing business” game by position — from quarterbacks to edge rushers to offensive tackles — and Todd makes it clear: the real numbers can be jaw-dropping.

Plus, a fascinating look ahead at the NFL Draft pipeline: training facilities, combine prep, speed work, interview prep, and what prospects don’t know until they live it.

Appreciate you being part of the Inner Circle family and thanks for listening!

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ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit (“Herbie”) joins The Inner Circle for a wide-ranging, funny, and surprisingly personal conversation about what it really takes to stay elite in sports media for three decades and why preparation is still his “superpower.”

We open with a full-circle moment: Aaron Donald brings up the Herbie trophy Kirk sent him after AD’s monster 2013 season at Pitt, and the guys have some fun reliving it—before Matt Ryan jumps in with a classic gripe: “Hold on… when did these Herbies start? Because I never got one.”

Kirk breaks down his non-stop grind—Saturday night ABC primetime, quick turnaround into Thursday Night Football prep, then back to College GameDay and another ESPN/ABC marquee game. It’s Zooms with coaches, film study, producers asking for tape, and a constant mental switch between NFL and college—because if he’s awake, he’s preparing.

Matt digs into the craft: studio analyst vs. game analyst, how you compartmentalize prep, and why there’s an art to being critical without being malicious. Kirk gets real about the direction of sports TV—how loud, clickbait culture has changed the industry—and draws a hard line: he’ll never tear people down just to go viral. Instead, he explains how to critique a QB who threw picks by telling the truth through the lens of what the defense did.

We also get college-football-tour gold: Kirk compares NFL vs. college energy, shouts out towns like Athens and Oxford, and shares some favorite “off-the-beaten-path” GameDay stops (hello, Fargo). The episode closes on a warm note with Matt sharing why Kirk’s support during his twins’ birth meant so much—plus a holiday sign-off from the whole crew.

Happy holidays and much love from the Inner Circle!

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This week on The Inner Circle Podcast, the crew hits on the real stuff that defines an NFL season: timing, health, and the thin line between “next man up” and “everything just changed.”

We open with the brutal injury news rocking the league — headlined by Patrick Mahomes’ torn ACL and Micah Parsons going down at the worst possible time. Aaron Donald and Matt Ryan break down what those losses do beyond the stat sheet: the immediate hit to a locker room’s confidence, the ripple effect on coaches trying to adjust a game plan overnight, and the pressure it puts on everyone else to “do a little bit more.” Todd France adds the roster-building reality from a GM/agent lens — how depth gets tested, how teams actually evaluate medical timelines now, and why a clean ACL today is viewed differently than it was a decade ago.

Then the conversation turns into a fascinating “could he really?” debate: Philip Rivers coming off the couch to play — 1,800 days after his last start — and what that says about relationships, terminology, and having the right plan. That sparks Todd’s question for Matt: could he do it for one game? Matt gives an honest, hilarious, and surprisingly human answer about the difference between being in shape and being game-ready.

We also dig into the league-wide rash of major injuries — ACLs, Achilles, calf issues — and whether it’s just football being football or something bigger. From cleats to surfaces to data tracking, the guys pull back the curtain on what teams are actually doing to keep players healthy (and why the sport still demands a physical price).

Plus: a funny, relatable detour into memorabilia and family life, where game balls and helmets somehow end up as kids’ toys — and AD tells the story of the “touchdown” that got taken away… even though the ball still lives in his house.

Tap in, hit like and subscribe, and join the Inner Circle fam. Thanks as always for the live and taking the time to listen

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Dan Lanning went from grad assistant chasing Aaron Donald around at Pitt… to one of the hottest head coaches in college football. In this episode of The Inner Circle Podcast, the guys pull him inside the circle for a brutally honest, funny, and surprisingly emotional conversation.

Lanning kicks things off with the real AD origin story — including the scout-team quarterback whose collarbone paid the price for a new zone-read scheme. From there, he explains the one mistake he made last year getting Oregon ready for Ohio State in the Playoff and how he’s fixing it this time as the Ducks prep for James Madison.

The guys dig into how Lanning structures extended Playoff prep, why you can’t give players two weeks of over-coaching, and how he uses Tony Dungy’s Super Bowl approach to keep things fresh. He also opens up on reinventing himself at every stop – Pitt, Arizona State, Georgia, Oregon – and why empowering his staff (instead of micromanaging every decision) changed everything.

Then it gets real: Lanning shares how his wife’s cancer battle and moving his kids across eight states reshaped his goals, why “NFL head coach” came off his mirror, and why he’s determined Oregon will be his last job. His new scoreboard? Passing Mike Bellotti as the Ducks’ all-time wins leader and finally bringing a national title to Eugene.

Of course, this is Oregon, so there’s sneaker talk: Nike perks, favorite Jordan 3s, Grateful Dead Air Force One's, and why he still rides daily in Cortez’s.

Later, the crew pivots to the wild world of NIL and the transfer portal — money vs. fit, real development vs. chasing the biggest bag, and how bad advice from the wrong “agent” can wreck a kid’s career. AD and Matt share how money would’ve changed them at 18, and why hard work and the right situation still print the biggest checks.

Plus: Daniel Jones’ brutal injury in Indy, AD shamelessly recruiting Matt Ryan out of “retirement,” and Aaron’s search for a truly dominant interior D-lineman as he crowns Jeffery Simmons (again) as his Player of the Week.

Lock in, hit follow, and step inside the circle.

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Weight checks, trash talk and playoff dreams collide on Episode 14 of The Inner Circle Podcast for an hour that feels like hanging in the locker room after a win.

The guys open with the scale – literally. AD reveals he’s back near his playing weight on a one-meal-a-day routine, triggering a hilarious deep dive into NFL weigh-ins, “golden gobbler” Thanksgiving awards, weight clauses, fines, and the very real mind games players have with that number on Tuesday mornings. Matt explains how veterans earn the right to play at “their” weight, while Todd breaks down how contracts and guarantees quietly shape those decisions behind the scenes.

From there, they pivot to the field: Dak’s Cowboys, statement wins over the Eagles and Chiefs, and whether momentum is real or just talk. Matt and AD take listeners inside a short week in the NFL — the walkthrough pace, IVs, cold tubs, late-night installs and why Thursday nights feel so different when the lights finally come on.

The crew then dives into Adam Thielen’s late-career bid to chase a ring after being waived by the Vikings: where loyalty ends, business begins, and how vets quietly line up landing spots before asking out. That leads seamlessly into “the art of trash talking” — from Spitgate, “I’ll take your mom to seafood dinner,” and Jeffrey Simmons’ fury, to what really happens at the bottom of piles and why the best chirps never leave the field.

They close on playoff positioning, why nobody’s terrified of the No. 1-seed Bears just yet, AD’s bold Micah Parsons Defensive Player of the Year call, a Chicago vs. New York pizza fight, and a running bit about everyone’s “official” show weigh-in. Football, ego, pain and comedy — all in one episode. Thanks for the love and we appreciate your support!

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Super Bowl–winning head coach Jon Gruden jumps into the Inner Circle for a no-BS masterclass in real football. At 62, he’s still living like an NFL coach.. in the office early, two servers full of tape, grading quarterbacks on feet, decisions and every throw. and he’s not shy about what’s gone wrong with today’s game.

Gruden and Matt go deep on what truly separates great quarterbacks from the rest: protections, communication and timing. They tie Rich Gannon’s late-career breakout in Oakland to what we’re seeing now from Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones — and why fit, coaching and system can either bury a QB or unlock him. Gruden breaks down his famous R-C-E mantra (Recognize, Communicate, Execute), trashes lazy pass protection, and explains why he hates wristband quarterbacks and RPOs being labeled “play-action.”

Then it’s Aaron Donald time. Gruden calls AD’s Senior Bowl “the greatest I’ve ever seen,” compares him to Reggie White and Warren Sapp, and jokes teams should call him “Burger King” because “he has it his way” with offensive guards. AD answers with how he studied formations, exploited tendencies, handled double and triple teams, and why the game slowed down once he mastered film.

AD also pulls back the curtain on Sean McVay’s arrival in L.A. — accountability, every detail buttoned up, the standard for stars and rookies exactly the same. Matt counters with how switching his footwork in Atlanta helped fuel his MVP season and why learning the pass game under center still matters in a shotgun world.

Plus: leadership, healthy friction between great QBs and demanding coaches, and an instant-classic Bill Cowher beer story from a military trip to Iraq. Football junkies will live in this episode.

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From Pittsburgh to pure chaos across the NFL, this episode of The Inner Circle is a ride.

We open with Aaron Donald going home: Pitt rolls out the red carpet, his jersey hits the rafters, he jumps on College GameDay, and yes… the shirt comes off. AD gets real about being overlooked in high school — only three offers, Pitt, Toledo and Akron — and what it felt like seeing that banner drop: “I never dreamed that big… it all came from just working my ass off.”

Then we pivot hard to the moment lighting up the league: Jamar Chase spitting at Jalen Ramsey. The crew doesn’t sugarcoat it. “You don’t spit on anybody,” and “that’s the ultimate disrespect,” AD says, while Todd breaks down how a one-game suspension plus per-game active bonuses turns that loogie into hundreds of thousands of dollars lost.

Matt and AD take listeners onto the field with a brutally honest grass vs. turf debate, reacting to the futuristic hybrid surface in Madrid and explaining why Mondays hurt a lot more after turf games.

We hit Lane Johnson’s injury and what losing an elite right tackle really does to an offense. Matt ranks O-line positions, explains why tackles are king, and how game plans quietly shift to protect a weak link.

Plus: Shador Sanders’ zero reps with the ones, why that’s actually normal in today’s NFL, the accountability message behind benching CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, AD’s “I’ll tell you when you’re bad and when you’re good” apology to the Dallas defense, and his Defensive Player of the Week love — including an ode to Rams punter Ethan Evans as a secret weapon.

As always, please comment, share, 'like' and tell a friend. Much love and thanks for your support... The Inner Circle

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For the first time ever, The Inner Circle Podcast welcomes a guest — and it’s a big one. Super Bowl champion and MVP frontrunner Matthew Stafford. Stafford gets into the reality of having Sean McVay in his ear, especially during TV timeouts when the clock isn’t running and the coaching points won’t stop. He explains the subtle “cut it” signal he flashes when it’s time to roll, and why he ditched kneeling in the huddle after an MRI showed a season-long bone bruise on his kneecap. He tells the day-two Rams practice story that forced guardian caps on teammates after Aaron Donald dumped a lineman in his lap and Stafford banged his surgically repaired thumb. He laughs about the viral touchdown sprint that looked faster than any designed run, then admits the strength staff sets a yearly over–under on his longest rush and he still takes the under.

He rewinds to API pre-draft training, stepping on the scale at 232, cutting to 225 by draft time, bulking to 230–235 when the rules allowed quarterbacks to be planted, and why year 17 now lives around 212. He details Mondays with “the body guy,” the choice to completely downshift Tuesdays, and how the newer protection rules helped extend careers. He opens the Starbucks playbook — venti blonde roast with almond milk, one cup ideally, a couple more on install days — and shrugs through kid cameos at home.

There’s real football nerdery. Matt breaks down why long, technical play calls paint the picture in his head better than wristbands, how cadence and tempo from a play caller change everything, and why he hates hearing staff debates bleeding into the headset. Stafford cosigns. They swap war stories about co-ed hoops in Atlanta with their wives and the night Matt took a bloody nose after someone fouled Sarah. The two-minute drill wraps it, what Stafford means to Detroit and Los Angeles, why the Rams are in a sweet spot, and a quick salute to AD’s jersey retirement weekend at Pitt.

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