Colin Cowherd planted his flag in the bizarre “quarterbacks shouldn’t wear backward hats” debate years ago and he refuses to let it go.
Thursday afternoon, the Fox Sports Radio host again chided Baker Mayfield for lacking suitors in the NFL and he again criticized quarterbacks who wear their hats backward as a sign of immaturity that foreshadows a bad signal caller.
“Quarterback is different, you gotta be an adult – because, you’re the face of the franchise,” Cowherd said sternly on his radio show, almost as if he was scolding everyone who ever wore their hat backwards. “Turn your hat around at the podium every Wednesday. Be a grown-up. you’re not a fanboy. It’s OK for you fanboys to wear your hats on backwards. You’ll never be leaders, nobody will ever put you in charge of a $2 billion franchise. Do your thing.”
“Have some pride,” Cowherd continued. “Try to not be wrong over and over on the same thing. Teams are not looking for polarizing, snarky, ego guys at quarterback. Yeah, Aaron’s that a lot. Aaron’s a once-in-a-generation talent and even Green Bay…they would bail on him TODAY if Jordan Love could play. TODAY.”
I’m impressed. After years of getting roasted for this hot take, Cowherd has continued to double, triple, quadruple, etc…down on this debate. And not only is he reaffirming his stance, but Cowherd wants us to take the L? Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Matthew Stafford, and Patrick Mahomes are just a few examples of quarterbacks who have not been hindered in their careers for their desire to wear a hat with the brim pointing toward the rear.
They’ll never be leaders? Never in charge of a $2 billion franchise or company? Michael Jordan and former President Barack Obama have both worn their hats backward. I can’t remember seeing Elon Musk with a baseball cap pointing to the rear, but he’s definitely had some dubious hairstyles that resemble a backward hat.
There are certainly quarterbacks who entered the NFL Draft with questionable maturity levels which ultimately led to the demise of their football careers. But how people wear a hat is just a really bad judge of that. It’s tired, it’s disproven, and it just doesn’t feel like a hot take that fits 2022. But kudos to Cowherd’s defiance and ability to convince himself that he’s on the right side of this issue, despite constant examples of people who are successful in their careers while wearing a backward hat.