Cohen's Corner

Michael is joined by San Francisco 49ers kicker Robbie Gould, who is now the longest-tenured kicker in the National Football League at 38 years old. A former walk-on at Penn State, Robbie entered the league as an undrafted free agent before catching on with the Chicago Bears in 2005. Over the next 11 years, Robbie entrenched himself as one of the best kickers in the league by making the Pro Bowl, being named an All-Pro, guiding the Bears to a Super Bowl appearance and finishing his time in Chicago as the franchise's all-time leading scorer. Robbie has continued to find success in San Francisco, where he made a career-high 39 field goals in 2017 and was named second-team All-Pro by Pro Football Focus. In total, Robbie has had 13 seasons with five or fewer missed field goals and ranks 11th all time in field goals made. Off the field, Robbie has raised more than $3 million for charitable causes through his foundation, The Goulden Touch.

Michael is joined by former Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions defensive end Cliff Avril, who developed into one of the better pass rushers in the league before a neck injury cut his career short in 2017. A former third-round pick by the Lions, Avril endured the ultimate high and ultimate low of life in the NFL: He won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks in 2013; and he endured an 0-16 season with the Lions during his rookie season in 2008. Along the way, Avril earned the reputation of a ball-hawking defensive end who finished with 74 career sacks and 30 forced fumbles across 10 seasons. Now retired, Avril and his family remained in Seattle where they spend much of their time giving back to the community through the Cliff Avril Family Foundation.

Michael is joined by former Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Tamba Hali, whose story ventures far beyond the confines of his sport. In football, Hali was an All-American defensive end at Penn State and a first-round pick by the Chiefs in 2006. He spent his entire career in Kansas City and developed into one of the best pass rushers in the league, evidenced by six consecutive trips to the Pro Bowl (2010-15) and two seasons in which he was named second-team All-Pro (2011, 2013). Off the field, Hali has focused his philanthropic efforts toward his native Liberia, where he helped create a clinic during the Ebola crisis and is now working toward the construction of a school. Hali also has his own record label, Relumae Records, where he showcases his own songs and also works with prominent artists and producers from Africa. 

Michael is joined by longtime offensive coordinator Norm Chow, whose remarkable career began as a high school coach in Hawaii and has spanned some 50 years. Regarded as an elite offensive mind, Chow won three national titles at the collegiate level (BYU, USC x2) and in 2002 he received the prestigious Broyles Award given to the country's top assistant coach. Chow has tutored three Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks — Ty Detmer, Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart — and also coached a handful more of the game's greatest QBs: Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Philip Rivers, Steve McNair and Vince Young, to name a few. His career featured stops at BYU, N.C. State, USC, the Tennessee Titans, UCLA, Utah, Hawaii (head coach) and, most recently, the XFL prior to the pandemic. Tune in for a rollicking conversation.

Michael is joined by ESPN and CBS play-by-play broadcaster Beth Mowins, who became the first woman to call a national NFL broadcast when she was part of the Monday Night Football season opener in 2017. Mowins earned her master's degree in communications from Syracuse University in 1990 and joined ESPN four years later. Her work at ESPN has included broadcasts of college basketball, college football, softball, soccer, volleyball and the NFL. A terrific athlete in her own right, Mowins was a D-1 point guard and 1,000-point scorer at Lafayette College.