Pass It Down

While filming an NFL Network feature on Bills owner Kim Pegula in 2016 (and gathering information for an accompanying NFL.com profile, “The Queen of Buffalo”), Mike got to know her daughter Jessie, who at the time was an injury-plagued tennis player battling to stay on the satellite circuit. She’s now the world’s 33rd-ranked player and is coming off a quarterfinal run at the Australian Open which coincided with the Bills’ first AFC championship game appearance in 26 years. We hear about Jessie’s journey from five-year-old ball-smacker to her recent run of excellence, learn how intimidating it is to face Serena Williams in a final and break down the grunting that occurs on the tour (and in friendly matchups with mom). We also get into star quarterback Josh Allen’s impending contract extension and discover which member of the Pegula family “always believed in” him, even during his early struggles. And everyone makes fun of Mike and his frequent verbal sparring partner in political discussions: Jessie’s father, Terry.

After an unconventional scouting career during which he camped in a VW Van between college visits--and a Skype interview for the Atlanta Falcons’ vacant general manager job in 2008 that reflected his underdog status--Thomas Dimitroff surprisingly landed the gig and ascended to the upper echelon of his profession. During his 13-season tenure, which ended with his firing last fall, Dimitroff built the Falcons into a consistent winner and took the franchise to the verge of its first championship before an unfathomable Tom Brady comeback spoiled Atlanta’s Super Bowl LI experience. In Part 2 of a wide-ranging conversation with a journalist he knows well (and that journalist’s counterculture-embracing daughter), Dimitroff describes an epic (and possibly wine-fueled) zip-line mishap that took place a few nights before Super Bowl LIII, tells us who the 49ers and Falcons might draft (respectively) with the third and fourth picks of the 2021 draft and reveals which two personnel executives damaged his property on their way out of his driveway.

After an unconventional scouting career during which he camped in a VW Van between college visits--and a Skype interview for the Atlanta Falcons’ vacant general manager job in 2008 that reflected his underdog status--Thomas Dimitroff surprisingly landed the gig and ascended to the upper echelon of his profession. During his 13-season tenure, which ended with his firing last fall, Dimitroff built the Falcons into a consistent winner and took the franchise to the verge of its first championship before an unfathomable Tom Brady comeback spoiled Atlanta’s Super Bowl LI experience. In a wide-ranging conversation with a journalist he knows well (and that journalist’s counterculture-embracing daughter), Dimitroff takes us on a journey that includes a Hole In One at Augusta National, an epic (and possibly wine-fueled) zip-line mishap and the infamous “counseling sessions” that bridged the relationship divide between Kyle Shanahan and Matt Ryan.

Shortly before the start of his freshman year at UC Berkeley, Vic Tafur showed up for a meeting hosted by then-Daily Cal sports editor Mike Silver and volunteered to do a wheelchair-tennis story. Thirty-four years and many beers later, Tafur has survived his friendship with Silver to become a highly accomplished journalist, providing cutting-edge coverage of the Las Vegas Raiders and all things NFL for The Athletic. From Jon Gruden’s Plan C to Derek Carr’s future to Nelson Agholor’s late-season tirade, Tafur takes us on an all-access tour of Raider Nation--and cracks us up with soccer-dad stories, Twitter takedowns and an unvarnished explanation of why he can’t cheer the success of Cal’s Pac-12 rivals.

A few days after being fired as the Cleveland Browns’ head coach in 2018, Hue Jackson posed with Mike Silver and two oversized sangria-filled glasses as a satirical statement on a disastrous professional endeavor. In this wide-ranging conversation about his otherwise impressive coaching career, Jackson talks about why he was destined to fail from the start in Cleveland, why he believes ownership viewed him as disposable and what he hopes to gain by speaking out. We also learn who helped stage the infamous sangria photo (hint: she co-hosts a podcast), how Jackson finally convinced Browns management to draft Myles Garrett and what he thinks of the Bears’ signing of Andy Dalton.

In 1968, Michael Zagaris was a young law student and Bobby Kennedy campaign staffer who witnessed the Senator’s assassination. That horrific event set him on a path to personal fulfillment that, after a hashish-fueled conversation with famed rock guitarist Eric Clapton, propelled him into an unforeseen profession: He became one of the great rock n’ roll--and sports--photographers of alltime. In Part 2 of this captivating conversation, the longtime 49ers and A’s photographer talks about touring with the Rolling Stones during their heyday in the early ‘70s, getting caught in the middle of a dark dispute between Led Zeppelin and rock impresario Bill Graham, and tripping so hard after dropping acid with T-Rex frontman Marc Bolan that it caused the cancellation of a show.

The UCSB Gauchos are in the NCAA basketball tournament for the first time in a decade, and Natalie’s younger brothers are relishing the ride. Greg, a senior, has been calling games for the campus radio station while Robbie, a freshman, roots on the Big West Conference champs while adjusting to campus life in the time of COVID. And what better sherpa for their journey than UCSB alum Josh Elliott, Mike’s former Sports Illustrated compadre who went on to become a major television personality (Good Morning America, NBC Sports, CBS News)... and who gave the 2014 commencement address at his beloved alma mater. Among the highlights in this rollicking episode: a vicious assessment of the racially insensitive postgame speech made by the head coach of UCSB’s first-round opponent; a story about one of Josh’s college buddies hooking up with a fellow Gaucho who become an A-list actress (it didn’t end well); and how tortilla-tossing became a thing at UCSB sporting events.

In 1968, Michael Zagaris was a young law student and Bobby Kennedy campaign staffer who witnessed the Senator’s assassination. That horrific event set him on a path to personal fulfillment that, after a hashish-fueled conversation with famed rock guitarist Eric Clapton, propelled him into an unforeseen profession: He became one of the great rock n’ roll--and sports--photographers of alltime. In Part 1 of this captivating conversation, the longtime 49ers and A’s photographer retraces the pivotal moments of his journey, from the fateful night of RFK’s murder after winning the California primary to the Northern California Folk Rock Festival at which Doors frontman Jim Morrison drunkenly vomited over his shoulder.

After 11 seasons as an NFL quarterback, Sage soaked up enough football knowledge to justify the name his free-thinking parents (who apparently don’t like being referred to as “hippies”) bequeathed him. He shares more wisdom in Part 2 of our conversation, reflecting upon the infamous “Rosencopter” game with the Houston Texans and the surreal 2009 season as Brett Favre’s backup with the Minnesota Vikings. An outspoken critic of Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and other right-wing zealots, Sage also talks politics, revealing that he’s been recruited to run for the U.S. Senate (in his home state of Iowa) and Congress (in his current state of Nebraska).

After 11 seasons as an NFL quarterback, Sage soaked up enough football knowledge to justify the name his free-thinking parents (who apparently don’t like being referred to as “hippies”) bequeathed him. We hear about his alternative upbringing in small-town Iowa, his intellectual enlightenment under then-Texans offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and his surreal 2009 season as Brett Favre’s backup in Minnesota--with equal parts insight and humor. He also tells us why he sympathizes with star quarterback Deshaun Watson’s desire to get the hell out of Houston.