Let's Draft...with LA Rams General Manager Les Snead (Part 1)
42:34 Share

So I have some big news for vegans and vegetarians everywhere. It's Hellman's plant-based mayo spread and dressing. Made for people with a plant-based diet or anyone really who wants to enjoy the great taste of Hellman's real without the eggs. Hellman's plant-based is perfect for sandwiches, salads, veggie burgers, or any of your family favorites.

To celebrate, Hellman's is sharing some easy, delicious plant-based recipes at hellmans.com. Hellman's Plant-Based Mayo Spread and Dressing. Same great taste, plant-based.

Safety info found at FreestyleLibre.us.

Maybe you've noticed that when it comes to business, the people who succeed tend to be the people who seek out partners with skills or knowledge that they don't have. And that's what Lenovo's free online membership program, Lenovo Pro, can do for small businesses. If you're not a tech expert, that's where Lenovo can help. So you can add Lenovo's team to yours and then lean on them for all your tech questions.

This is Let's Be Clear with Shannon Doherty. Hi, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Let's Be Clear with Shannon Doherty. So I have...

Somebody really interesting on the podcast today. He's a friend of mine, but he's also sort of, in my opinion, and most people's opinion, a sports legend at this point. Les Snead, the general manager of my favorite team, the Los Angeles Rams. Hi. How's it going? I don't know if I'm a legend, though. I think that's... You're a legend. Let's stick with friend. Okay, you're... There's legends. I don't know... You're my friend, but you're, I think...

Everything that you've done with the Rams, particularly this last season. Right. I personally think it puts you into legend category. Is this season better than the Super Bowl? No. I mean, but that was obvious, right? That's the thing, right? Super Bowl 2022. Yeah.

But so explain to people, because not everybody understands that how a draft works and where where you are in a draft lineup, how teams get to pick first, second, third, fourth, fifth, all of that kind of stuff. Can you explain that? So the NFL is engineered right to try to have everyone have a fair chance. So if the better you are as a team, the later you pick teams.

In each round, there's seven rounds. So there's 32 teams if you're the best team. If you're the Chiefs this year, you pick 32. Then the next round, you pick 64. The next round, 64 plus 32 is about 96. The worst team picks first, and then it's somewhere in between there for the record. Now, what we had done in the past to probably compete for that Super Bowl is trade away a lot of our first round picks. So we've spent probably...

seven years not having a first round pick, but living in the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh round. And what round were you for the 2023 season? We were in the second round. And we did the draft house.

And like, I didn't even understand the concept of a draft house and how extensive it is. There's computers everywhere. You've got some people in this room, some people in that room, you know, you're floating around, you're checking in on everything. And I was kind of blown away by,

by the entire process. And then watching how you picked people was incredibly interesting to me and being able to actually get them. You have a board,

Get a board. You have a board. You have a whole system. For your listeners, if you've ever played a sport in the backyard, in your hometown, did you ever play kickball or something? Or you're at school and you go, you know what? I was an athlete growing up. All I did was be on teams. It's very similar to being in your hometown and you're going to play a pickup game of basketball and you go, you know what? I'm picking Shannon first. And then somebody else pretty knows. That's a smart move.

They pretty much know that they're going to pick someone else second, and then you flip a coin and who gets the first pick. But it's very similar. You have your board of how you rate football players.

And at that point, when the chaos begins, other people get to pick. You use that board to help make your help. Remember all the preparation that went into that draft. So you think about draft is in late April. It's over three days, Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday, probably afternoon, Saturday.

So there's probably 365 minus those threes. There's 362 days of preparation for those three days. But the board represents in a concise manner all the work that went into each of those individuals. And as you know, humans are very complex people. Some of them are very skilled at football. But because of that complexity, you really, really want to know the person as well before you make that pick, before you draft them, before you

Bring them on to help the Rams for at least four years and hopefully beyond. I remember you telling me that at the draft house and you were really explaining that, you know, you could have somebody who's performing exceptionally well, but you're

how important it is to know the person, what their longevity is, what their mindset is. Are they somebody who's going to crumble under pressure eventually or not? And it gave me a lot of pause because I don't know if a lot of other teams view it that way. And your categories, if I'm allowed to talk about some of your categories. I can tell you this for the last 365 days.

what you came into the, if you call it our draft house, our draft room and noticed, we've discussed that for 365 days, probably. Not everyone, but the people that heard it go, oh, would Shannon like to date this person? So you can go from there. Okay, well, we're going to get into that in one second because, yeah. We'll get into the category. Yes. That's a tease for the audience. Yeah. We're getting there. We're getting there. We're getting there. So I would say,

you picked some diamonds in the rough or maybe to the outside world, you picked some diamonds in the rough, but because of this board, perhaps they weren't diamonds in the rough to you. Like Puka, for instance, was he a diamond in the rough? Considering where he was drafted fifth round. So again, seven, seven rounds, he's five. There's only two left in the draft. And for him to go and basically say,

break all the rookie receiving records. Based on the results he had during his rookie year, he would be considered a diming in the rough, not necessarily for the Rams. And I can even say this, every team in the NFL knew about Puka and they probably had him somewhere on their draft board. Now, at the end of the day, we can get into why it was a

A really, really successful first year of marriage for us with Puka. But I'm not going to say no one knew about him, but all 32 teams, including us, chose not to pick him in the first four rounds. We chose to do it in the fifth. Now, I'll give you this nugget and we can go from there. He went to the combine. So the combine's in Indianapolis, and that's where these college kids go once a year. And they do non-football drills. So there's no pads. There's no helmets whatsoever.

There's no route to run, no defender trying to cover him. So if you know Puka, Puka's a very big, strong human being at receiver. So he is better. Since we're in L.A., Lakers, he's one of those guys that the way he gets open is almost like a basketball player, like a Laker, like Shaquille O'Neal, bodying up someone and getting a rebound. Yeah. So point being is he goes to Indianapolis, and they, just think about this, they're going to run Bucs.

basically a race where you're going to get a blue, red, or yellow. He's not the fastest in a race for 40 yards. So because of that knowledge and over the years of knowing that, the slower receiver is usually the later he goes in the draft. But because of that, we knew we probably could pick some other players before him, but we definitely wanted to pick Puka at some point. Now, based on the way he played, should have picked him earlier.

Should have at least picked him in the fourth round. Right. I mean, he did insane things. But you also picked, you know, other what I would perceive for diamonds in the rough. Like, I don't know. When I saw the team put together, I was like, wow. Like, that's a really interesting rookie team. Yeah, I would say the cool thing about that rookie group, Kobe Turner drafted in the third round, Puka in the fifth. They both finished, let's call it,

second for an individual award to two players who were picked in the first round. So they both finished offensive rookie of the year, Puka second to CJ Stroud, who was Houston's QB, and Kobe to Will Anderson, who was also Houston's outside linebacker. Point being, both of those players were probably picked in the top 10 players of the draft. So usually those guys are expected to probably win those type of awards.

But so it is neat that those two players being, you know, where they were picked, if you want to call it diamonds in the rough, came in and said, wait a minute, look at me. Remember me. I can play football too. So it was really cool. And they did. I think the entire group of rookies that you had did an exceptional job in this season for the most part. Obviously Puka stood out because our mutual friend, Christy. Oh yeah. Like just loves him, loves him, loves him, loves him. So it was adopted, adopted him. Like,

Started making him food. What are the... The Hawaiian dish. Oh, yeah. The Hawaiian dish. Basically sushi made of spam. I mean...

The moment she made Puka that. Yes. Christy and Puka bonded over their spam sushi thing that she made him all the time. We can get into Christy, but that's Christy being Christy. But Puka really appreciated it. I can say this, and we can get to it. It's the neat thing. Football is very similar to life. We've got a lot of veteran players, a little bit older in life. And end of the day, right, when you play into year 7, 8, 9, 10,

you've pretty much made it, gotten a second contract, maybe even a third. Different levels of, let's call it football money and wealth, but set for a lot of families. But the neat thing is, just like life, those players, they're veterans now.

They got a lot of noise in life, right? Based on going through stuff that happens in life, you know, relationships that come and go. And let's call it parents that may come and go. So they're just going through stuff, even though you look at them on Sundays and go, oh, they're football players. They're having fun. But these rookies, it's like, wait a minute. They had made it. They had reached their dream.

So it's probably similar to your business where you could be a first time actress. You've kind of made it. It's the first time you're on set with this. It's exciting. 20 year actor, actress, but maybe there you're like, wow, why are they not as excited about me? They're calm. They don't have a lot of nerves. They're used to it. And I'm I'm like the hungry young buck that's like so stoked that I'm even there. Yeah.

that maybe I try so much harder versus now. So I get what you're saying. Like the veterans, they're used to it. It's routine. It doesn't mean that they don't have passion for it still, but they've seen a lot. And by the way, the older you get, the more prone to injuries you are. I would imagine for me, there would be a little bit of fear sometimes

there that I know that the veterans must have to sort of psych themselves out of, of like, oh my God, you know, I don't want to get injured. I don't want to get sacked too hard. I don't want this. I don't want that. Because then if it's a serious injury, it puts them out of their career. They're done. Whereas the rookies, are they even thinking about stuff like that? Or are they, they're like, there was this, there was this energy that was very contagious and ignited.

It ignited us to have a, let's call it overachieve from a season standpoint. Yeah. And it was pretty cool to see. Take what they did on the field. That's important. But kind of what they brought, you know, in what we call the locker room, right? Where, you know, there's 53 men from a lot of different places, a lot of different sociological backgrounds, ages, the whole deal from all over the United States. I think Jason Kelsey, and we won't, I mean, he just had a great retirement speech, but he said the NFL is like a place where

A guy who went to Stanford can basically line up beside a guy who basically went to Kilgore Junior College in Texas and partner with each other for however many years. And be equals. Be equals and work together. It's a cool thing, but that's what I remember about this rookie class. That's pretty cool.

Maybe you've noticed that when it comes to business, the people who succeed tend to be the people who seek out partners with skills or knowledge that they don't have. And that's what Lenovo's free online membership program, Lenovo Pro, can do for small businesses. They have the resources and expertise to help you make big tech decisions. As a small business owner, you understand more than anyone that any decision can make or break your business. That's where Lenovo Pro can help.

especially if you're not a tech expert yourself. They can keep up with the latest tech trends like AI and help you save money on the smartest tech solutions for your business. And by joining Lenovo Pro, you can enjoy a long-term partnership focused on helping your business take advantage of every tech opportunity in the future. So you can add Lenovo's team to yours and then lean on them for all your tech questions for free.

So to join Lenovo Pro, visit Lenovo.com. That's Lenovo.com. And unlock new AI experiences with Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon, powered by Intel Core Ultra processors.

Here, look.

I can track Allison and we can message back and forth. She gets her independence and I get my peace of mind. That's exactly what I need. I've been resisting giving Jackson technology. I guess I just needed a TikTok 5. It's the safest way to introduce it. Save big with the back to school sale. Get $35 off right now. Rock back to school with TikTok 5.

Discover more at mytiktok.com. That's T-I-C-K-T-A-L-K. That's T-I-C-K-T-A-L-K.

Time is a luxury for us, especially if you're a mom. That's why we need a skincare routine that's easy, fast, and gives us results. Plus, one of your products had thousands of five-star reviews. Were natural and affordable? Well, say hello to Dime Beauty. Dime Beauty is clean, high-end skincare that is affordable. And it really works. Not sure where to start? I highly recommend the Work System.

It's everything you need in one powerful package. Take out the guesswork with a proven routine that includes a gentle yet effective cleanser, a super skin toner, two incredible serums, and two luxurious moisturizers. See what everyone is raving about. Dime has over

2 million happy customers and their product reviews are literally 5 stars. And right now through Monday, it's the Dime Anniversary Sale. Get 25% off site-wide. Go to DimeBeautyCO.com for 25% off every product on the site. That's DimeBeautyCO.com for 25% off. But hurry, the Dime Anniversary Sale ends Monday. Go to DimeBeautyCO.com. I mean, you have experience because you were a football player. Yes, not a legend.

But that's the... I don't know. Weren't you really good? The answer was probably maybe in high school. Then you get to the next level of the video game and you realize you're not as good. A lot of times people in my job or coaching, we weren't really good enough to play in the NFL, but we still had a passion for it.

for football. And here we are doing this. So usually the better players play. And then some of us who play, we kind of get weeded out and it's time for you to hang up the cleats and helmet. And so then you became a scout, right? Right.

So how did you go from being a scout? And I think you were a scout with two different teams. The Jaguars, maybe? Jaguars was first team. Jacksonville Jaguars. Okay. And who was the second team? Then Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta Falcons. So how did you go from being a scout to a general manager? You know, two things. Probably a lot of luck. And I mean that. Obviously, there's a lot of people in the NFL who are probably...

have the potential to be a general manager. And then when I get into luck, is you're fortunate enough to be around a collective that at that moment is succeeding. I often say around...

And lucky enough to be a part of a team that has a really good quarterback. So in Atlanta, we had Matt Ryan. Now, I was a part of selecting Matt Ryan, things like that. But at the end of the day, because of his success, because of our success in Atlanta, what ends up happening is other NFL teams who aren't as successful in that moment in time

They want to replicate success. They're not having as much success. So they start looking at teams that have had success. And is there anyone in that organization, right, that can come to our organization, maybe ignite it? So I humbly say in so many years in it, you realize how lucky you are, even though like the old adage is when you get that break or you get that lucky opportunity, it's best to have prepared.

So that you have a chance to maybe interview for one of those jobs. And if you actually win that job, actually have a chance to be successful. Right, because luck only lasts so long. Luck always sort of runs out. And what you have to, you have to back it up with knowledge and talent and ability, which you obviously did.

because you've been doing it for a bit. Yeah, I think it's interesting. It's one of those, it's probably one, it's a very niche career to go into. A lot of times, right, if you want to get in your business, you're going to start as a no one. So there is a lot of, wait a minute, I'm not going to go to law school

and take that type of path, which probably there's a little bit more structure to it, right? You go to a law school, you come out, you go to a law firm if you actually work hard and good at what you do. There's a bit more stability as well. So now you're really like, wait a minute, I really, for some reason, love doing this version of art and you take a risk. There's not a lot of money involved.

early in it because a lot of times in the football ecosystem, instead of waiting tables and trying to memorize lines and win a job for a role on television or a play or a movie, there is a little more structure in football, but what they call, there's kind of these entry-level jobs, which do not pay a lot. But at the end of the day, if you pay your dues, if you work hard, persevere, and persevere to gain the experience. At the end of the day, once you have

have this subset of experience, right? You grow up playing football. In my case, grow up playing football. At one time, I was thinking about med school and a lot of people will ask, how do I get into football? How do I become a GM, right? And I'm going, you know, I say, you got to get a PhD in football. But at the end of the day, I'm not sure I would recommend that because

You could get a PhD in something and usually there's kind of a structured job. There's a job. On the other end, they may pay different levels. But at the end of the day, if you go to med school and you probably become a doctor, you get a PhD in football, where does it lead? It's definitely a... It can be a crapshoot. Definitely a crapshoot. Yeah, you're gambling. But you're gambling on yourself, which to me, I think that there are certain personalities. I always say to people that...

10 out of 10, I'm going to gamble on myself just because I know that I know my ambition. I know my drive. I know my work ethic. And I, I think the same of you. And we have a lot of, we talked about this. We have a lot of similarities in our personalities. And I feel like you're the guy who, who's like, yeah, I'm going to gamble on myself. Definitely. Here's what's really neat where it probably ties together early in your career and late.

You're betting on yourself young. Neat thing. You're probably not married. You probably don't have a family. There's not a lot of mouths to feed. You can live off not much, but you're betting on yourself. So fast forward that 15, 20 years later and you are not to become a general manager. But now you have the responsibility of a team that's in Los Angeles that was coming back to Los Angeles that.

Wow, it was going to be really neat for the NFL for after so many years of not being in Los Angeles, coming back and succeeding here, whether it's somewhere coded in your DNA probably is a little bit, whether it's those experience of betting yourself, betting on yourself early when there was really you didn't really know if there was a pot of gold on the other end of the rainbow. You know, you're not really sure if you're going to be successful or not, but you're definitely responsible for.

for the Los Angeles Rams being successful. So I think that really those early days, middle days that lead to here kind of make that pressure, that responsibility probably feel a less, less heavier than, than some would think. Right. Like you and Sean McVay, the coach of the Rams, you guys seem very tight and very much a team. At what point did you two meet and form that bond? Well, it was really during the, uh,

when we were interviewing him to become our head coach. So you were already general manager. I was already general manager. And we had been in St. Louis. We relocated to Los Angeles in 2016 too. And we didn't succeed. 2016 was a bad year. And at that point in time, I was very fortunate. Their ownership allowed me to, they saw enough of me to go, we're going to give you a shot

to be a part of continuing with the Rams and help hire the new head football coach that you were going to partner with. So that was really the, the first time we met. Sean's really one of those whiz kids in terms of when we hired him to be our head football coach, he was 30 years old. That's pretty young. I mean, that is young and, but he was really good at what he did in terms of calling offensive play. So he's the guy in charge of, if you watch football, right. Uh,

The offense has the ball and they run a play. They go back to the huddle and someone calls a play into the QB and they go run another play. But it's all basically a chess match, some version of a poker match where there is a lot of strategy involved. And he was really, really good at that. And that's normally how you get your shot to be a head coach. You're either going to be really good at being an offensive or defensive coordinator. He was one of those. But the neat thing is, wow,

at 30 years old, you could tell. I've often said we either, I know we changed your life for the better, but we might've ruined it because you could probably have a different story. But a lot of us in our 30s didn't have that type of pressure and responsibility. I mean, you kind of got to live your 30s like- I wish. I had nothing but pressure in my 20s and 30s, but yeah. You signed up for it. That's what you- I did. I signed up for it. So that's where you could probably relate to Sean for sure, right? Being-

that young, but also caring, right? Having the responsibility of helping a television show be really, really, really successful. Like I never see him on the sidelines getting really worked up. And I watch a large majority of the games and I've never really seen him like lose his shit. I do know some coaches. You don't know him well.

I doubt. Just kidding. It's probably, you know. You're exactly right. On the sideline, in the heat of pressure, he is very, very skilled to be able to be that poised, be that calm, be able to assess what's going on in real time and

right call the right plays. But you're the same way. I am the same way, but his job's going to entail, let's call it quicker decisions when there's a lot of chaos going on. My job, and it's one of the reasons why we partner so well. My job, it's more, let's call it assessing, analyzing. There's probably more time to

make decisions. So very, very interesting how the two skill sets are similar but different. I guess we call it we're both highly confident people, but we really don't allow our egos. I'm pretty sure we have them.

I know we do, but we don't allow our egos to. And that's what happens a lot of times in really good partnerships. Right. I'm sure you've seen it in your world was like, wait a minute. I want to be the star. I want to be the co-star. Wait a minute. I want to be the star. So we work together. I don't want to do his job. He really doesn't want to do my job, but we both need each other. We both have to be on the same page to do each other's job. So it's a it's a cool bond where I'm about 20 something years older than him. So we have a very good.

big brother, little brother relationship. And we're really close. You know, we can, we can punch each other out, not literally, but right. You know, and come back five minutes later and it's really cool. Okay. So this is for the listeners. You guys, I've now known less for a couple of years. I know his wife and I personally have never met someone so incredibly level-headed and

and humble and kind as you in your position. There's obviously a lot of people out there that are humble, kind, and all of that stuff, but you're the GM of the Los Angeles Rams. That to me is a huge, important job.

And you don't have social media, but you must hear to some extent, some of the fans grumbling at times or angry or because they only see, and I, and I know this from my experience and also watching it happen to you and just the Rams in general, the fans don't know all the particulars. They don't know the inside of what's happening. They don't know that what's happening with this player at that moment or why you made that decision.

they just know that maybe that decision failed or maybe that play was the wrong play because they're passionate and they love the sport and they love the team. And because you don't have social media, you must be somewhat insulated from all of the noise. But at the same time, I know you do hear some of the noise. What is that like? It's a little bit old school, but very intentional with the social media, not having it just because at the end of the day,

It's not just to avoid the noise, but it's also probably to avoid the noise of the world. And there's times I will obviously go and go, okay, you'll intentionally spend time to, okay, let me look at world news and see what's going on. But I think if you're in my position, if you're responsible for leading a sports franchise, it's awesome that the fans care. I've often wondered about us in football. Would we do this if no one cares?

watched or cared. You would like to think so, but you often wondered, would you? So that's interesting. I would, but I wouldn't do it if I wasn't getting paid. Now that's interesting, right? Because you, because they help you get paid. So number, that's the, you have to approach it with the awareness from 30,000 feet that,

OK, they do care. Like you said, they don't necessarily know the nuance of every decision. I'm sure our fans, like some of the free agents we signed, some we didn't, wish we'd gotten this player or not. Right. You can appreciate what they won't desire. But at the end of the day, I know this. They really desire a winning football team. So it kind of all comes together during the season. And if we're winning, you know what? We're all jacked and we're all doing it together. So that's how you got to approach the fans in terms of their passion.

they're passionate and it's cool to hear their voice.

Maybe you've noticed that when it comes to business, the people who succeed tend to be the people who seek out partners with skills or knowledge that they don't have. And that's what Lenovo's free online membership program, Lenovo Pro, can do for small businesses. They have the resources and expertise to help you make big tech decisions. As a small business owner, you understand more than anyone that any decision can make or break your business. That's where Lenovo Pro can help.

especially if you're not a tech expert yourself. They can keep up with the latest tech trends like AI and help you save money on the smartest tech solutions for your business. And by joining Lenovo Pro, you can enjoy a long-term partnership focused on helping your business take advantage of every tech opportunity in the future. So you can add Lenovo's team to yours and then lean on them for all your tech questions.

So to join Lenovo Pro, visit Lenovo.com. That's Lenovo.com. And unlock new AI experiences with Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon, powered by Intel Core Ultra processors.

Introducing the TikTok 5 smartwatch for kids 3 and up with safe in-app messaging, video calling, GPS location tracking, no social media, and no games. It's tech-powered peace of mind. Now that I'm all done with school shopping, I feel like I can relax. I don't think I'll ever be able to relax since Jackson is starting 5th grade and walking to school now. Have you looked into TikTok? TikTok, the TikTok 5 smartwatch. Here, look.

Look, I can track Allison and we can message back and forth. She gets her independence and I get my peace of mind. That's exactly what I need. I've been resisting giving Jackson technology. I guess I just needed a TikTok 5. It's the safest way to introduce it. Save big with the back to school sale. Get $35 off right now. Rock back to school with TikTok 5.

Discover more at mytiktok.com. That's T-I-C-K-T-A-L-K. That's T-I-C-K-T-A-L-K.

Time is a luxury for us, especially if you're a mom. That's why we need a skincare routine that's easy, fast, and gives us results. Plus, one of your products had thousands of five-star reviews. Were natural and affordable? Well, say hello to Dime Beauty. Dime Beauty is clean, high-end skincare that is affordable. And it really works. Not sure where to start? I highly recommend the Work System.

It's everything you need in one powerful package. Take out the guesswork with a proven routine that includes a gentle yet effective cleanser, a super skin toner, two incredible serums, and two luxurious moisturizers. See what everyone is raving about. Dime has over

2 million happy customers and their product reviews are literally 5 stars. And right now through Monday, it's the Dime Anniversary Sale. Get 25% off site-wide. Go to DimeBeautyCO.com for 25% off every product on the site. That's DimeBeautyCO.com for 25% off. But hurry, the Dime Anniversary Sale ends Monday. Go to DimeBeautyCO.com.

And you really get locked in. Like, you get so locked in. Yes. During the season, you are, and even preseason, like, when is the draft house coming up? The draft house is end of April. We're about to really hit full throttle draft preparation where, as my wife says, I have no life skills at all during that time. Probably a lot of the year in football.

Yeah. Didn't your wife let us know? Like, well, she let me know that you canceled Christmas at some point. That's a good one. Listeners can appreciate this. And I go through this still today. So I canceled Christmas on, I think it was a Christmas Eve game. I was with the Falcons then. And at the end of the day, it was Christmas Eve. And the winner of that game is going to go to the playoffs and the losers not.

So probably a four o'clock Eastern kickoff, Christmas Eve game goes in overtime. I think, I think we're, we're down. We score late in the game to put the game in. We kick off to Tampa Bay and they fumbled the kickoff. So at the end of the day, they fumbled the kickoff probably inside their 10 yard line. So they pretty much gift us in those days. Overtime rules are different, but we kick a field goal. We win the game.

We go to the playoffs. We get on the plane, go home. We celebrate Christmas. So we set up for basically a field goal. What would be an extra point? It's the thing that happens after a touchdown where everyone goes and goes. They have six points. And when I come back, they'll have seven. Right. It's basically a gimme field goal.

Tampa Bay ends up blocking our field goal and walks it off for a touchdown, game-winning touchdown. Or they ran it all the way back. We stopped them, but they kicked the field goal to win it. They go to the playoffs. We don't. Our season is now over. Losing, I feel like it's the most excruciating pain you can go through, right, without it being some real-life tragedy. Right. You're basically devastated.

and get back on a plane, fly back to Atlanta. At that point in time, have two little ones, and the next morning's Christmas, but not in the headspace, not emotionally. We're canceling this. Now, how can you do that to your two kids? So there's, they got to open presents and things like that. But I was definitely not present. I was not having any of this, you know, Santa Claus is not real. Why are we, this is,

losing that game yesterday is real. Santa Claus, who cares? There's no Santa Claus, kids.

I know you're only three and one, but you need to learn that now. I can what age 53 now, I think we can still be going through. Let's just say we had a tough two or three games. And it's pretty cool when you find a local coffee shop and eventually whenever you go normally get coffee or whatever, you're going to end up meeting people and the kind of the regulars there.

But right here in Malibu, there are definitely times when I go, you know what? I can't go face them. We lost. We've two game losing streak. I'm miserable. I got to go to another coffee shop where no one knows me and I can go in and just get coffee and get out of there and.

Or you have people like myself and Chris, who take you for hikes. Yes. Instead, day of the Super Bowl this year. Get your head away from it. It's interesting. Most people watch the Super Bowl, right? Most watch entertainment event of the year, usually. And I rarely watch any of them because I've been a part of being in three of them. So, wasn't born for all of them. So, I've basically...

you know, seeing about three Super Bowls. Now I can say this. I, there's times I've kind of watched a half here or there, but usually I try to avoid it like this past Super Bowl where we went hiking and there's a lot of PTSD there. I understand that. There's a few jobs in my life that I've lost to another actress. And,

I haven't been able to watch the movie. That's cool. I can relate. Yeah. I mean, I'll give you like Heat, for example, the Michael Mann. I really wanted that movie. Obviously, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, like, you know, Michael Mann. And Ashley Judd got the part instead of me. And I couldn't bear to watch the film. I eventually watched it. But I had to give myself a couple of years before I could watch it because I just...

there are certain jobs that you audition for that you care so much about. Like everything is perfect about it. Yes. Everything. And, and you walk away from your audition and you're like, I nailed it. This job is mine. And you're so confident that you're going to be in that movie. And when you're told that they pick somebody else, it's devastating. It's really, really, really hard. So then to all of a sudden walk into the movie theater and see somebody else, um,

doing the job that you know you were like born for is incredibly hard. Now that, you know, the other side of that is that she was born for it too, right? She did like a phenomenal job and we're totally different actresses and we come with, you know, a different set of skills and everything else. So what she did was different than what I did. And obviously they liked what she did better. That's why they picked her. And years later, when I sat down to watch the movie, I was like, wow,

damn it, she's really good at it. It was like having to admit that they made the right decision, essentially. But yeah, I just need to, it took time, right? Yeah. It took years and maybe a little more maturity, but I'm sure the years experience, whatever football is like anything there's, there's times, right? You're it's interesting. The emotional dynamics you go through of only two teams are going to be in the super only one's going to win. But it's like, if it's a really arrival, if it's, if it's competitive, you, you,

really, really, or let's call it good friends with. And then you go, man, I'm pulling for that person. But then there's that element of like, I'm still jealous. And then there's, there's times where you're like, Oh, I'm a bad human being. I'm really pulling for this person.

Right. This movie to just bomb. You know what I mean? But that's you go through that. We laugh. But you make a good point. Now being in my role, Sean's role, and we're going through it now where a lot of our players contracts expired. So if you're drafted, you got four years basically. And then after four years, a contract expires. We either sign you back to second contract. Another team could come in and sign you or we actually say to you,

We would rather have someone else. We're going to sign. So it just made me think that Sean and I talk about it's such a hard call to call. Out of respect, go, okay, can we at least explain to someone who we've worked with for four years and go, this is why.

This is the reason you deserve to hear that. Probably not getting a Christmas card that year. But at the end of the day, to people like yourself who didn't get that job that are talented, the reality is you're probably going to get another one. But just not that one. Are you the one who calls the players and lets them go? Yes. And a lot of times Sean and I do it together.

We like to do it, going back to our relationship, we're partners in this. He's a very relational person. It's probably one of his superpowers, but it's also something that is very exhausting for him in that he really gets to know his players. He really cares about them. He has high demands, high standards. He wants them to be the best football player they can be, and he wants them to play quality football, and he's going to push them to get there along with the staff. But

In those moments, it's so exhausting for him, but because he truly cares, he wants to be a part of the hard conversations. But we do like to make those cuts together. Is that draining on you? Because I would imagine you now know these players. Sean definitely knows them. You know that they have families. You know that they have mortgages. But your job is...

to do what's best for the team overall. Your job is to win and succeed. And if a player isn't playing their best or, you know, maybe, maybe things have just the dynamic on the team has shifted with some of the rookies or whatever. And you know that this player is no longer gelling. And I'm not talking about personalities like play style. It's just not gelling. So, you know that you have to get rid of them. But in the back of your head, I

I would imagine that it would be incredibly hard to let someone go because you do know everything about them. It's very hard. It weighs on you. But we are a team. We are the Los Angeles Rams. We're a collective. It's our responsibility to, as we say a lot of times, is have the most competent collective as possible. And that does sometimes mean you got to look someone in the eye and say, we think we would be more competent basically without you. So that is... So you make a good point, though.

Sometimes I have found it when you're doing that with a player. Let's say a player has been with you maybe eight years. That player's successful, good family, will probably get a chance to play again. You've probably been a part of a lot of good times with that player, even from a financial standpoint. Sometimes you find that a little bit

They're tough because those are the relationship. But those relationships you're usually going to be in a year or two, you're still going to be close with that person. I found it so hard when you, let's call it, have a young rookie who is just out of college and all that person's been doing is playing football. And all of a sudden, it's like you cut him and drop him off a cliff. Their life just got shattered. Where this veteran...

Right. There's an element of stability already. They've also seen it probably throughout their career. So, but there are times that you just don't, because obviously the question may come, well, do you think I have a chance to play? But you really don't know because a lot of times, right, their skill level is, let's call it the left side of the bell curve. So there's a lot of people on the planet like them. So mom, dad, God didn't give them some genetic traits that, okay, yeah, you're always going to be in the,

the NFL, right? You're, you're right on the line. So it's those players sometimes where you go, wow, that was, that was hard. Yeah.

Well, because they're young and all of a sudden you've given them the chance of a lifetime. And they think my life has completely changed and this is amazing. And then it changes yet again. They've usually been the best player in high school, college, or one of the best. And now all of a sudden you're cutting them. Often these, the guys we're cutting usually weren't cut. You know, they didn't, they didn't go through the trauma of,

The Michael Jordan story where I got cut by my eighth grade basketball. Not many of them, you know, most of them. Yeah, but they're also now playing in a much larger arena with, you know, hundreds of guys who are also the best. So, you know, there's the weeding out process that has to happen at some point.

Maybe you've noticed that when it comes to business, the people who succeed tend to be the people who seek out partners with skills or knowledge that they don't have. And that's what Lenovo's free online membership program, Lenovo Pro, can do for small businesses. They have the resources and expertise to help you make big tech decisions. As a small business owner, you understand more than anyone that any decision can make or break your business. That's where Lenovo Pro can help.

especially if you're not a tech expert yourself. They can keep up with the latest tech trends like AI and help you save money on the smartest tech solutions for your business. And by joining Lenovo Pro, you can enjoy a long-term partnership focused on helping your business take advantage of every tech opportunity in the future. So you can add Lenovo's team to yours and then lean on them for all your tech questions for free.

So to join Lenovo Pro, visit Lenovo.com. That's Lenovo.com. And unlock new AI experiences with Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon, powered by Intel Core Ultra processors.

Introducing the TikTok 5 smartwatch for kids 3 and up with safe in-app messaging, video calling, GPS location tracking, no social media, and no games. It's tech-powered peace of mind. Now that I'm all done with school shopping, I feel like I can relax. I don't think I'll ever be able to relax since Jackson is starting 5th grade and walking to school now. Have you looked into TikTok? TikTok? The TikTok 5 smartwatch. Here, look. I'm going to show you how to do it.

I can track Allison and we can message back and forth. She gets her independence and I get my peace of mind. That's exactly what I need. I've been resisting giving Jackson technology. I guess I just needed a TikTok 5. It's the safest way to introduce it. Save big with the back-to-school sale. Get $35 off right now. Rock back to school with TikTok 5.

Discover more at mytiktok.com. That's T-I-C-K-T-A-L-K. That's T-I-C-K-T-A-L-K.

Time is a luxury for us, especially if you're a mom. That's why we need a skincare routine that's easy, fast, and gives us results. Plus, one of your products had thousands of five-star reviews. Were natural and affordable? Well, say hello to Dime Beauty. Dime Beauty is clean, high-end skincare that is affordable. And it really works. Not sure where to start? I highly recommend the Work System.

It's everything you need in one powerful package. Take out the guesswork with a proven routine that includes a gentle yet effective cleanser, a super skin toner, two incredible serums, and two luxurious moisturizers. See what everyone is raving about. Dime has over

2 million happy customers and their product reviews are literally 5 stars. And right now through Monday, it's the Dime Anniversary Sale. Get 25% off site-wide. Go to DimeBeautyCO.com for 25% off every product on the site. That's DimeBeautyCO.com for 25% off. But hurry, the Dime Anniversary Sale ends Monday. Go to DimeBeautyCO.com.

Let's talk about the board. The board. Let's talk about the board. That was an early tease. It was a really early tease. And women, some of the women listening are like, okay, what's the tie-in? They're wondering. First, the tie-in is that I've always been a football fan. My father was a big USC fan. As you know, we've had this discussion. Oh, yeah.

And I grew up going to SC games. So I've always been into football. And going to the draft house was the most exciting thing ever for me. And if my dad were alive, you know, he would have been over the moon. Seeing this board,

And somebody had talked to me, I think it was Christy or maybe it was your wife who had talked to me about sort of what your process was. And I kind of equated it to the only thing I could think before I saw it for myself was, you know, the movie Moneyball.

I was like, okay, is he doing something like they did in Moneyball? And in a way. In a way, there's a lot of Moneyball. Yeah. Not as much in football than baseball, but we do. I mean, you saw the computer screens. I think that analyzing is what's similar. Obviously not the financial of it, but how much analyzing goes into it. So as somebody recently said on my podcast, they said, you know, Shannon, your picker is broken.

And it really hit home because I've known it for a long time. I got a few boyfriends here and there that I was very lucky with. It had nothing to do with my picker. It's just they ended up being amazing guys. I pick girls.

The wrong men for me. I pick men with red flags like all over the place. I see a red flag and I charge towards it. I don't run away from it when I should be running away. So when I saw the buyer beware category on your thing, I was like, oh, that's all the men in my life came from that category. Buyer beware. And I dove right into that category. These four categories we'll talk about right now. And that's what you notice are.

It's four categories, and they're probably going to be where you draft your first round pick, your second round pick. So a first round pick in the dating world wouldn't be, you know what, it's a random Saturday at a club, and you're just going to, you know, that's not first round worthy, right? That's just, that may be later in the draft. Like, you know what, Saturday night, I meet this guy, we go hang out. So there you go. So these are important categories.

let's call it decisions to make. So what you saw is we have math changer. So math changer, let's, Hey, we, if you're a Laker fan, think LeBron James math, it probably takes two people to guard him and not one. Right. So he changes the math on the court. There's not many of those, especially in the draft. And then, then there's this, I call it reliable starter. And what's interesting about the reliable starter, probably in the dating world would be, Oh man, is that,

a little bit boring but stable right maybe like oh he's a you know what he's a lawyer but you know what i mean it's kind of a little boring stable not not a math changer i don't know what a math changer math changer probably changes in your in the dating world right depending on where you're at and where you're at in your life right but and then there's the oh this guy has probably some math changing capabilities reliable starter capabilities but

not as consistent. There's a buyer beware element based on something. And it could be intangibly, it could be a physical trait to like, maybe in football, we like tough players. So maybe more finesse than tough. There's something there that you go, you know what, if we're going to

Pick someone to date long term. It's like it's like the person your dad warned you about. But, you know, if your dad, it's like, but maybe I don't want to give them the dad, but maybe this guy has got really, really good abs. But he's got some red flags, as you said. So he's like, do you really? So that's that's probably your three categories. So what's very interesting as we draft, because we are.

betting on this player for four years, that's at least dating him or living with him or marrying him for four years. Is it better to go with that reliable start? A math changer, if he's there and he's got a clean profile, that's easy. Not many of those. So usually you're having to pick between kind of the little, the more boring, but stable or a little more exciting, but less predictable red flags.

So that puts it in context. We can get into the other categories, but I think that's where we're at. So I understand. I have an 18 going on 19-year-old daughter. So I understand the buyer beware category. And I've been young before. Are you going to do a board for her? You know what? Here's what I always do is I'm well aware who she's dating, what bucket I have them in. Again, at 18 to 19, maybe...

Maybe they don't even, I don't even know if you can be a math changer as a 19 year old. I mean, yeah. I mean, if it is, I don't want to know why they're the math changer, especially if you have a 18 or 19 year old daughter, but you see what you kind of can visualize. Okay. That that's a buyer beware. Okay. So for me, my pickers broken tempting. So you're going to do the board for me and that's how we're going to pick.

Maybe you've noticed that when it comes to business, the people who succeed tend to be the people who seek out partners with skills or knowledge that they don't have. And that's what Lenovo's free online membership program, Lenovo Pro, can do for small businesses. If you're not a tech expert, that's where Lenovo can help. So you can add Lenovo's team to yours and then lean on them for all your tech questions. For free.

for free. So to join Lenovo Pro, visit Lenovo.com and unlock new AI experiences with Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon powered by Intel Core Ultra processors.

So I have some big news for vegans and vegetarians everywhere. It's Hellman's plant-based mayo spread and dressing. Made for people with a plant-based diet or anyone really who wants to enjoy the great taste of Hellman's real without the eggs. Hellman's plant-based is perfect for sandwiches, salads, veggie burgers, or any of your family favorites.

To celebrate, Hellman's is sharing some easy, delicious plant-based recipes at hellmans.com. Hellman's Plant-Based Mayo Spread and Dressing. Same great taste, plant-based.

You know that feeling when you walk into your home, take a deep breath, and feel new? Well, that's what it's like to use Clorox Scentiva. Because Clorox Scentiva smells like coconut, cleans like Clorox, and feels like energy. It'll elevate any cleaning routine to not just clean, but also make every room smell like a tropical coconut getaway. Discover how Clorox Scentiva's powerful clean and refreshing scents can transform your space.

Get yours in coconut or other fabulous scents at a nearby retail store.