Hour 4: Justin Pugh on Tom Coughlin, the Boat Trip & Geno Smith

**Craig Carton** (0:00)
5 o'clock, 2 hours away from Jets football tonight. MetLife Stadium, the NFL is back.
You know how we do. The barbecues are cranking up, traffic sucks.
But Jets football is back tonight. Giant football back tomorrow afternoon. And this is the best time of year. Justin Pugh is coming in right now. Former New York Giants and of course Syracuse University graduate, like all the great ones are. What's up, pal? How are you doing? Let's have them all set up there. Mr. Italy now too, if I have that correct. We'll talk to Justin just once I get your calls as well. Turn his mic on there if you don't mind, Pete. How are you doing, pal?

**Justin Pugh** (0:56)
I'm good. I didn't know Little Wayne was a fullback.

**Craig Carton** (0:58)
Little Wayne was a fullback. Little Wayne was a fullback. Which is hard to believe.

**Justin Pugh** (1:00)
What are the odds? I love your response. You're like, fullback.

**Craig Carton** (1:04)
What? You see Plaxto goes with Plaxto? He's like, you played for fullback.

**Justin Pugh** (1:07)
This is a wing tea.

**Craig Carton** (1:08)
Exactly. I called it a wing tea. How are you doing, bud?

**Justin Pugh** (1:11)
I'm good. I was just walking down the street. Pete texted me, said you want to come hang out for the show.

**Craig Carton** (1:14)
Yeah, why not, right? I heard you're going to play the wheel in a half hour too.

**Justin Pugh** (1:18)
I grabbed a couple boxes of pizza.

**Craig Carton** (1:20)
From across the street?

**Justin Pugh** (1:21)
No, this place, Ceres, Ceres, C-E-R-E-S.

**Craig Carton** (1:24)
Oh, that's the new hot place. Can't get in there.

**Justin Pugh** (1:27)
Vodka slice, 10 out of 10

**Craig Carton** (1:28)
Well, I would know. Awesome. I would know because... My new favorite guest.

**Pete** (1:32)
Everyone else in the back end.

**Justin Pugh** (1:34)
You got to earn it first.

**Craig Carton** (1:35)
Thank you.

**Justin Pugh** (1:35)
You got to beat me in the wheel.

**Craig Carton** (1:37)
Oh, I host the wheel, so I can't beat Jack. I can't beat Jack the Wheel. Well, how much weight have you lost since you played?

**Justin Pugh** (1:43)
A lot, like...

**Craig Carton** (1:44)
80?

**Justin Pugh** (1:45)
70 pounds from Tom Coughlin's New York Giants.

**Craig Carton** (1:48)
Yes, yes, yes. 70s is that much?

**Justin Pugh** (1:51)
Yeah, 25 from Cliff Kingsbury's Arizona Cardinals.

**Craig Carton** (1:54)
Not just because Cliff was the coach, yeah. That nothing to do with actually playing.

**Justin Pugh** (1:56)
Cliff said, hey, we're going to run, we're going to go fast.

**Craig Carton** (1:59)
Yeah, but he hated running, didn't he? Wasn't he all about just high-octane offense?

**Justin Pugh** (2:02)
He likes to get guys open.

**Craig Carton** (2:04)
Yeah, I like Cliff Kingsbury offense, by the way. Not you?

**Justin Pugh** (2:06)
Awesome guy. No, I love Cliff.

**Craig Carton** (2:07)
Good dude, right? Plus, hot girlfriend for a while there, too.

**Justin Pugh** (2:11)
Cliff's a legend, and if you would walk out after the game, Cliff was hanging with the guys, he was just...

**Craig Carton** (2:17)
He was one of these, like, relatable?

**Justin Pugh** (2:19)
Relatable, but he's a football mind. I don't know if there's anyone at getting people open.

**Craig Carton** (2:23)
Really?

**Justin Pugh** (2:24)
As good as Cliff.

**Craig Carton** (2:25)
He did a great job with Jaden Daniels in that first year before Jaden got hurt, and I thought he was a lock for a head coaching job.

**Justin Pugh** (2:31)
What I'll say is he's gonna go to McVeigh, and McVeigh has that whole system out there in LA. It's almost like coach purgatory. Cliff's gonna get a head job coming out of LA.

**Craig Carton** (2:40)
Yeah, I think he's...

**Justin Pugh** (2:41)
Maybe not a head job, OC and then head coach.

**Craig Carton** (2:43)
Yeah, but he'll get a head coach job again, because I think people look at ours and they go, listen, that's where coaches go to die.

**Justin Pugh** (2:49)
They're revamping everything out there. They've overhauled the whole business side of it. They split up business and... Because you got to remember, a lot of these owners have owned these teams. They've been in the family since 1925 I will say Michael Bidwell has overhauled the business of the Cardinals, separated the church and state businesses in their own place.

**Craig Carton** (3:06)
Oh, is that right?

**Justin Pugh** (3:07)
Yeah, I am high on the Arizona Cardinals.

**Craig Carton** (3:10)
Feed the future.

**Justin Pugh** (3:11)
Whole new facility, the State Farm Stadium, that place is great to play in.