The Inner Circle

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The Inner Circle

Aaron Donald, Matt Ryan, Todd France and Zach Klein

17 episodes

1 week ago

Send us a text ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit (“Herbie”) joins The Inner Circle for a wide-ranging, funny, and surprisingly personal conversation about what it really takes to stay elite in sports media for three decades and why preparation is still his “superpower.” We open with a full-circle moment: Aaron Donald brings up the Herbie trophy Kirk sent him after AD’s monster 2013 season at Pitt, and the guys have some fun reliving it—before Matt Ryan jumps in with a classic gripe: “Hold on… when did t...

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All content for The Inner Circle is the property of Aaron Donald, Matt Ryan, Todd France and Zach Klein and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

Send us a text ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit (“Herbie”) joins The Inner Circle for a wide-ranging, funny, and surprisingly personal conversation about what it really takes to stay elite in sports media for three decades and why preparation is still his “superpower.” We open with a full-circle moment: Aaron Donald brings up the Herbie trophy Kirk sent him after AD’s monster 2013 season at Pitt, and the guys have some fun reliving it—before Matt Ryan jumps in with a classic gripe: “Hold on… when did t...

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Episodes (16/17)

The Inner Circle

Mahomes and Micah Injuries: Real Talk on Depth, Leadership and Survival

Send us a text This week on The Inner Circle Podcast, the crew hits on the real stuff that defines an NFL season: timing, health, and the thin line between “next man up” and “everything just changed.” We open with the brutal injury news rocking the league — headlined by Patrick Mahomes’ torn ACL and Micah Parsons going down at the worst possible time. Aaron Donald and Matt Ryan break down what those losses do beyond the stat sheet: the immediate hit to a locker room’s confidence, the ripple e...

5 days ago

44 minutes

The Inner Circle

Dan Lanning - Oregon Ducks Head Coach

Send us a text Dan Lanning went from grad assistant chasing Aaron Donald around at Pitt… to one of the hottest head coaches in college football. In this episode of The Inner Circle Podcast, the guys pull him inside the circle for a brutally honest, funny, and surprisingly emotional conversation. Lanning kicks things off with the real AD origin story — including the scout-team quarterback whose collarbone paid the price for a new zone-read scheme. From there, he explains the one mistake he mad...

1 week ago

52 minutes

The Inner Circle

Trash Talk, Short Weeks, Chasing Rings and Who Really Scares the NFC

Send us a text Weight checks, trash talk and playoff dreams collide on Episode 14 of The Inner Circle Podcast for an hour that feels like hanging in the locker room after a win. The guys open with the scale – literally. AD reveals he’s back near his playing weight on a one-meal-a-day routine, triggering a hilarious deep dive into NFL weigh-ins, “golden gobbler” Thanksgiving awards, weight clauses, fines, and the very real mind games players have with that number on Tuesday mornings. Matt expl...

2 weeks ago

48 minutes

The Inner Circle

Jon Gruden joins The Inner Circle

Send us a text Super Bowl–winning head coach Jon Gruden jumps into the Inner Circle for a no-BS masterclass in real football. At 62, he’s still living like an NFL coach.. in the office early, two servers full of tape, grading quarterbacks on feet, decisions and every throw. and he’s not shy about what’s gone wrong with today’s game. Gruden and Matt go deep on what truly separates great quarterbacks from the rest: protections, communication and timing. They tie Rich Gannon’s late-career breako...

3 weeks ago

50 minutes

The Inner Circle

Spit, Suspensions, and What Crosses the Line in the NFL

Send us a text From Pittsburgh to pure chaos across the NFL, this episode of The Inner Circle is a ride. We open with Aaron Donald going home: Pitt rolls out the red carpet, his jersey hits the rafters, he jumps on College GameDay, and yes… the shirt comes off. AD gets real about being overlooked in high school — only three offers, Pitt, Toledo and Akron — and what it felt like seeing that banner drop: “I never dreamed that big… it all came from just working my ass off.” Then we pivot hard to...

1 month ago

41 minutes

The Inner Circle

Matthew Stafford joins The Inner Circle

Send us a text For the first time ever, The Inner Circle Podcast welcomes a guest — and it’s a big one. Super Bowl champion and MVP frontrunner Matthew Stafford. Stafford gets into the reality of having Sean McVay in his ear, especially during TV timeouts when the clock isn’t running and the coaching points won’t stop. He explains the subtle “cut it” signal he flashes when it’s time to roll, and why he ditched kneeling in the huddle after an MRI showed a season-long bone bruise on his kneecap...

1 month ago

59 minutes

The Inner Circle

Run the Ball, Scout the Refs, Fix the Defense

Send us a text The crew opens with Jayden Daniels’ late-game injury and a debate about whether coaches should keep their star players in when the game’s already out of reach. Matt and AD share the player’s mindset of never wanting to come out, and when a coach has to protect his guys from themselves. From there, Matt gives fans a rare inside look at how NFL teams actually scout referee crews each week. He explains how coaching staffs know which refs call the most holding, pass interference, o...

1 month ago

57 minutes

The Inner Circle

Coaching changes, Contracts and Crushing the QB (Myles Garrett!)

Send us a text It’s Halloween week on The Inner Circle as the guys open the show debating the ultimate Halloween candy draft.. Reese’s vs Snickers vs Peanut M&M's and the proper etiquette when it comes to handing out the big bars. From there, the group discusses the weekend’s biggest surprises: Miami’s blowout win over Atlanta. Matt breaks down how Mike McDaniel and Tua Tagovailoa completely flipped the script, using a physical inside run game and perfectly timed screens to find rhythm. A...

1 month ago

59 minutes

The Inner Circle

Trades, Trick Plays, Tension & Touchdowns (overturned)

Send us a text AD steps into the broadcast booth for a hilarious on-air simulation gone wrong, while Matt shares what it’s really like when producers talk in your ear mid-broadcast. The guys break down Patrick Mahomes’ trick play magic, TJ Hockenson’s overturned touchdown, and Baker Mayfield’s outburst over officiating. Todd takes us inside the business of stat appeals (did you know you could do such a thing?) fines, and the politics of NFL trades, including a wild story about a deal that fel...

2 months ago

1 hour

The Inner Circle

Bijan’s Breakout, Cowboys’ Breakdown: Dak Deserves Better

Send us a text It was one of those weeks in the NFL where everything flipped. Bijan Robinson officially arrived with a national breakout performance that had the whole crew buzzing. Matt Ryan called it Bijan’s coming-out party. Aaron Donald broke down exactly how he’d try to stop him — from film study to reading his hips — and Zach Klein said what every Falcons fan is thinking: this team runs through Bijan now. Meanwhile, in Dallas, Dak Prescott played one of his best games of the year and st...

2 months ago

59 minutes

The Inner Circle

NFL Pregame Tunnel Trash Talk Masterclass

Send us a text We go inside the Eagles’ locker room drama and the growing tension that’s turning teammates into rivals. Aaron Donald opens up about being a sore loser on and off the field... including the day he benched himself after his son’s game. Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield steals the show with a pregame tunnel trash-talk clinic only he could deliver, and agent Todd France lifts the curtain on how deals really get done in the NFL. Matt tells us how long play calls are h...

2 months ago

53 minutes

The Inner Circle

Bookkeepers & Ballers: How NFL Fine Money Became Feast Night

Send us a text The guys kick off Episode 5 with locker-room fines and how players keep each other in check, before diving into Micha Parsons' return in the Cowboys–Packers game. AD thinks Dak Prescott is playing MVP ball. He also breaks down the grind of facing double teams week after week, while Matt explains how devastating it is for a young QB (Jaxson Dart) to lose his top weapon (Malik Nabors) so early in the season. Todd pulls back the curtain on how contracts, bonuses, and i...

2 months ago

58 minutes

The Inner Circle

#97 is Retired, Sacking Stafford 6 times, Cowboys Culture and Curling Your Wife

Send us a text Episode 4 of The Inner Circle Podcast hits every corner of the NFL week with Zach Klein, Matt Ryan, Aaron Donald, and Todd France. Aaron relives the surprise and emotion of having Pitt retire his No. 97, while Matt pulls back the curtain on CBS’s NFL Today 50th anniversary show, including the hilariously awkward on-air moment with Brent Musburger and the mad dash into character minutes before going live. The crew digs into Philadelphia’s unbeaten start and the belief that fuels...

2 months ago

55 minutes

The Inner Circle

Burrow’s Turf Toe, 0–2 Chiefs, Tush Push Debate & Dolphins Drama

Send us a text We open with Joe Burrow’s turf toe and Matt Ryan (who’s had it twice) details why it’s worse than it sounds, why surgery signals severity, and how second opinions actually work. Todd has a story about a second opinion that could have saved a life! Would the Bengals chase a short-term QB like Kirk Cousins, or ride Jake Browning? The crew weighs cap math, timing, and locker-room dynamics. Next: the 0–2 Kansas City Chiefs. Mahomes is still Mahomes, but the WR room is thin and the ...

3 months ago

53 minutes

The Inner Circle

Aaron Donald & Matt Ryan on Dak Prescott, Jalen Carter, and what players Wish they can say postgame

Send us a text Episode 2: Spit, Fines & Real Talk with Aaron Donald and Matt Ryan Week 1 delivered chaos—Dak Prescott vs. Jalen Carter, New York Giants Head Coach Brian Daboll hedging on QB1, Titans running back Derrick Henry flattening defenders, and Aaron Rodgers gets revenge. But the biggest headline in this episode is the debut of our new segment: Real Talk. This is where Aaron Donald and Matt Ryan stop translating for the cameras and say what players actually mean. When Fa...

3 months ago

47 minutes

The Inner Circle

Inside The Inner Circle - Welcome to our world where we have every corner covered - Episode 1

Send us a text In our very first episode, The Inner Circle Podcast goes behind the curtain of the NFL with voices you won’t hear anywhere else: Aaron Donald (3-time Defensive Player of the Year and 10-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle), Matt Ryan (NFL MVP and 4-time Pro Bowl quarterback), Todd France (NFL super agent with more than 25 years of experience and nearly $7 billion in negotiated contracts), and Zach Klein (Murrow Award and 5-time Emmy Award-winning sportscaster) come together to cove...

3 months ago

1 hour 21 minutes