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Now. On with the show. Let's do this! This is the Rich Eisen Show. I feel like I try to do my best at blocking out the noise.
With guest host, Tom Pilicero. When you get 100 text messages, keep blocking out the noise. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Earlier on the show. Good morning, football co-host, Jamie Erdog.
Coming up. NFL Network Insider Ian Rappaport. Plus, latest news and more. And. And now, it's Tom Pellicero.
Welcome back to the next one. To a Rich Eyesless edition of the Rich Eyes in Show. Tom Pellicero in for Rich once again, along with Chris Brockman, Mike Del Tufo, TJ Jefferson. Just had Jamie Erdahl in studio. Simply the best.
Love talking to her. Love having her over here. Ton of NFL stuff to tackle throughout the course of the rest of this show, including.
Something we talked about over the past couple of days here since Tua Tongavailoa's comments post-game, calling out.
Well, pretty much everybody, including everybody in the locker room, the coaching staff, everybody else. Who is actually supposed to speak around 12, 12:30 Pacific time, 3,3:30 Eastern today? Mike McDaniel, though, was asked once again. Regarding the process that Tua has gone through of Well, speaking with various people who might have been offended by comments about something that, to my understanding, doesn't even exist, an ongoing issue with tardiness or absence from Player-only meetings. Here's Mike McDan.
The first. Um last and only thing. Um if I have anything to say about it, and uh I did in in several meetings today, uh is the Cleveland Browns. And our focus Um within that regard, uh Absolutely. He communicated with his teammates.
Uh both in a Um and group and individually and there's much bigger fish to fry. Um and our team's opinion, in my opinion. Fish to fry, maybe not the best phrasing from the head coach of the Dolphins.
Well, the dolphin is a mammal. Yeah, the dolphin's not a mammal. Yes, it is. Tom. Yeah, it is.
Really? Wow. Yeah, but that was a joke of Teenage Finter.
Okay, just checking. Just making sure. But basically, Mike McDaniel has had enough. Three days of this. Which is precisely why we discussed this on Monday.
I said that the biggest upshot of this, besides the fact that no one in Miami knows what Tuo is talking about. is that you just created this firestorm for everyone else. Everyone. Most notably, accidentally, yourself. Yes.
It's bad enough. You're one in five. We all know what it looks like. You lost Tyreek Hill. Your offensive line is gutted.
Yep. choked away a win in the final minute, which by the way, that wasn't on Tua. Three interceptions were not great, but throws a go-ahead touchdown pass with 30-odd seconds left to Darren Waller. And then you go up a long kick return, and you can't get Justin Herbert or Lab McConkey on the ground. Um, But still, you follow that up by for some reason, he wasn't asked about any of this, brought up himself.
That We got to get these. The leadership has to do a better job. That's you. You're the captain of the team, and here we are on Wednesday, Mike McDaniel. who listen I I don't want to get in speculating about people's jobs.
There's no doubt though, anytime your coach Who is coming off a non-playoff season, and things are headed this direction in year and year four. There's a level of pressure. And you're facing a Browns team right now. that you can certainly argue is the worst team in the NFL. Pretty good defensively.
But overall They're one in five. The Dolphins are one in five.
Somebody is walking out of the stadium in Cleveland on Sunday going. We are really off the rails now. And you're hoping it's not the quarterback who is going to have to spend his press conference today. answering questions about literally everything but How are you going to beat the Browns? We talked, by the way, about the 40-something-year-old quarterback matchup on Thursday night, the novelty, as it was put to Aaron Rodgers.
How about the ever-rare left-handed quarterback matchup? You have Dylan Gabriel going up against Tuatunga Vailoa. That is not something that happens very often.
So A big game for both those teams. And Mike McDaniel Tuatanga Velloa trying to redirect the focus. We are also. Right now, 20 days out. from the trade deadline.
The Dolphins and Browns. The Browns are already dealing. They made two trades last week. Picked up a couple of fifth-round picks in pick swap. Type situations.
They now have 10 picks: two first-rounders, three in the fifth, three in the seventh. But you're having to make decisions about what direction the season is going to go. And there is a certain team. The TJ's lit a candle for over there in the corner. But still, as we discussed on this show yesterday, could at least make themselves believe.
That maybe we're a player away from really getting this thing going the right direction in Dallas. It's not just me. Jerry has been tantalizing us with this idea since literally the day after the Micah Parsons strike. The first thing out of his mouth was, We got to stop the run. Yeah.
How's that going? Rico Devil. I think it's still running. Yeah. I just, if you didn't notice, Rico Dallo ran behind you about five minutes.
That was him. Yeah. You missed him. You were talking to Jamie Erdo. I thought it was just somebody who had stolen Brockman's suitcase.
Oh, man. It was not. No, it's still right back there. I appreciate that you have the handle up and your coat on it so we can see it in the background of your shot. If there was any doubt that Brockman's leaving town, his coat is hanging on the suitcase.
I didn't do that on purpose, by the way. No. Should I change it? Should I move it? I know.
I'm just saying, I think it's a humble brag. Thank you. You're going to London. After the show, I'm going too, Tom. You keep saying, like, he's you're going.
I said that at the time. I mean, you're also going. You know, Feller's already there. Feller's got real stuff to do. You guys are going to go over there and have a few beers and show up and do the show.
Feller's got real work to do. You said the dark work is right, too. I mean, how dare you, sir? How dare you? True.
Jerry Jones, though, again, you're right. He does say a lot. A lot. He's on the radio a lot. He was on the radio yesterday talking about.
The possibility. That lingers. of the cowboys making a trade before the devil. Oh boy. We're in position to look at a trade.
That doesn't mean we're going to make one, but we've certainly had in mind. when we started this season. that we were going to have ammo. To be more flexible in terms of what we do with the roster as we move along this year, and of course, as we get into the next couple of years. All right, I come to our resident Cowboys fanatic in the corner, T.J.
Jefferson. If, all right. Tom, I just want to let you know real quick before you ask this question. I'm in the position to buy a Maybach. I'm probably not going to do it, but I'm in a position to buy one.
See how stupid that sounds?
Well, you've been saying you need a new car forever. And we need a new run system. It's like Jerry Jones saying we might make a trade. You keep saying you're going to buy a new car, then you throw one out there. And now, when you don't buy a Maybach, I'm going to be like, Put your damn act together.
Exactly. Thank you, Jerry. Let's take it at face value.
Okay. That all this is not just. And I said this the day after the Parsons trade: the way that Jerry was dangling, hey, we got all this capital. We could move up in the draft next year. We could move up for somebody right now.
We could go get a player. I said, Jerry has found a way. Regardless what happens this season for the Cowboys to be relevant, Extremely relevant all the way through the 2026 draft because of the additional capital they got in that trade. But I ask you, TJ, let's assume. That he's actually Referring to something tangible.
that there actually is going to be A Cowboys acquisition. Not a trade away, an acquisition. If that's true. What would you want it to be? Player Position What do you actually think would give the Cowboys a better opportunity from 2-3-1 in a division that is still pretty open right now to give them an opportunity to actually play not just relevant news-wise, but play relevant football at the end of the season?
I mean, look, our. Defensive backfield, our corners, our safeties. It's a mess back there.
So, yeah, you'd want someone back there to help shut down some of these receivers. But, like we just said, we cannot stop the run. There's not just one player. Who's going to, you know. fix what's going on right there.
You did give me hope, though. I will say this. You did remind me: yeah, we do have some extra picks. We have a lot of salary cap money, right, for next season. You're not paying Micah for the package.
You're not paying Micah the Packers up. We have that pick from the Packers, which will probably be 27, 28, or 29, probably. But I mean, look. There's not one player out there unless you get a Miles Garrett. You're not answering the question, TJ.
We are assuming. Jerry is serious. He's making a trade. Who do you want it to be? You want me to give you a player name?
A player or a position? We need a run stopper. I know we're supposed to have a run stopper, but we don't.
So bring in defensive linemen as well as defensive lineman, yes. But then again, trade for, let's throw in a name. All right. And I'm not saying the Jets are going to do this. I'm not saying the Jets.
Quinnen Williams is available. You'd trade for Quinnen Williams. Depending upon what it would take to get him. Yeah, Quinn Williams is what, 25 years old? 20.
Might be 26, 27 now, but still in his prime, absolutely. Still in his prime, an absolute monster. Respectfully to the Jets, 27. I don't. Think that they're going to be going anywhere either anytime soon.
So, yeah, if you had a chance to get a Quentin Williams. Absolutely, I'd be down for that, but I don't believe that's the case. I don't think that's going to happen. If I'm in Jerry's shoes, I'm absolutely active. I want to know what the opportunities are.
The position where I think a lot of teams are going to be looking for help come up to the deadline's wide receiver. They already made that trade. They gave up a third-rounder for George Pickens. And to this point, Looks like a pretty smart trade.
Now we'll see how it plays out. Over the course of the season, here we'll see how they handle things next spring. By the way, George Pickens' agent. Happens to be the same one as Micah Parsons' agent. And I'm worried about that, Tom.
Like, what happens? David Mulligetta is a professional. It's not going to impact anything. But to the extent that the Cowboys operate like this with everybody, with every agent. That could end up being a really tricky type of spot.
I mean, right now. There is no doubt in my mind. You are franchise tagging George Pickens. Yeah, you mentioned that yesterday. You can't let that dude out the door.
Yeah. No way. But if you're going to get a deal done with him in the top of the wide receiver market, is probably going to be 40 million. Right now, Jamar Chase, I think, is 38. If I'm George Pickens, I'm going.
Why am I not a 35 to 40 million dollar a year player? And if you've got the leverage, Even if you get tagged, you've still got the leverage. All right, you can play out one year. You can tag him again? I guess maybe it's possible.
But that's a postseason story. It turns out to me. I'm looking at every avenue of this, including trading players away. I just don't know that Jerry is in that mode. He's seeing an offense that is operating at a really high level.
And I give Brian Schottheimer credit for this. The way that that offense has stayed on track without CeeDee Lamb. With Basically their entire offensive line in and out of the lineup. The center's out long term. Tyler Booker's been out.
Tyler Smith has missed time. They've had all kinds of moving parts, but they've put up numbers. Jontae Williams is back. I mean, he's been amazing this season. They've done a really good job offensively.
Defensively, they just. They're not good enough. And so then the question becomes: all right, you've said, Schottenheimer has said. He believes in the scheme. He believes they have the players to run the scheme.
But you can always get. players that are better suited. It's not a, my flu scheme is not a corner. Dominant type of scheme. There's a lot of zone involved.
You can get by with different types of players.
So, is there a scenario where? Maybe there's a different corner that's a better fit. Maybe you're looking at...
Somebody want Trayvon Diggs. I'm not saying hey, this is going to happen, but I would be looking at critically if this is the direction you're going to go. Remember the last time that you had a new head coach, Mike McCarthy fired Mike Nolan after one year.
So I've got no reason to believe that's going to happen with Matt Eberflus. But realistically, the correct personnel in place. It's going to take some time. And you might have to think outside the box of, hey, let's bring in one player and sneak into the playoffs, and that's going to be enough. There were some injury updates, by the way, on that game on Sunday.
Cowboys Commanders, which feels like a big game, especially stumbling right now. Commanders put Noah Brown on injured reserve. He'd already been out for, I think, three or four games. He's now on IR, so at least four more games. Terry McLaurin, though, back at practice, which I said this on Sunday morning.
My understanding is like he thinks he's got a shot to play. They think he's got a shot to play. You know, we'll find out whether or not that happens. That quad kept him out for three games. This was kind of right around where they thought he'd be back.
That would be huge for them. And then with CeeDee Lamb, again, we'll see whether or not he can practice today. When I checked in over the weekend, I was told 50-50 that he's back this week, but it sounds like he's got a shot. Which then, the only concern I have about that Cowboys offense is when George Pickens isn't getting the number one type of touches, does that alter the dynamic that's really been working here? in recent weeks.
I mean, they put up 77 points over the previous two games. Then, even last week in Carolina, the offense was not the problem in that game. It'll be interesting to see how they navigate, but this, but this is the reality. of the NFL. at the one-third mark of the season.
When you've got, as we were talking about with Jamie, whatever, 11 teams with four wins, 20 teams. have at least three wins through six weeks. There's just not a lot of teams that are ready right now. To hit the eject button on the season. That's why, and who knows, we could have a trade today.
We've had no traits this week. We had several trades, no trades this week, and that's because there's a bunch of teams. They're sitting there going. We don't quite know. We think we know what direction the season's going.
Even in a place like Tennessee where I Fully expect them to be open for business. For Everybody except Cam Ward essentially to be available. It doesn't mean they're going to trade everybody. It's going to be high prices on a lot of guys. But you have to be open for business for them.
But even they're going. We got to make sure the quarterback's got something around him. We trade Calvin Ridley tomorrow. How hard are we making the job on your interim coach, Mike McCoy and Bo Hardigree, and everybody else? That's.
That's the dynamic that these teams have to. Navigate through. By the way, if Jeffrey Simmons is available, sure, I'd love to take him off there. Jeff Simmons, I don't think there's anybody except Cam Ward that would be completely off the table. If there's a second guy, though, it would be Jeff Simmons.
Last year it was everybody's available except Jeff Simmons. That was more or less the message the teams got. They ended up making, I think they made one or two trades, but it wasn't like a fire sale type of situation. It would be a very high price on Jeff Simmons. That is your core culture.
Cultured dude. That is the tone setter for everybody in the organization. Cam Ward being 1B in terms of that. But Jeffrey Simmons is the. He's the dude in that locker room.
You trade him? It's going to get that much tougher just to keep this thing together, not just for the rest of 2025. a season that's already sunk. But going into 2026 and beyond, it's going to raise a lot of questions about exactly what is the plan here in Tennessee. We got our Ian Rappaport going to join us in just a few minutes here.
A lot of injury updates around the league. When are we going to see Emeka Ibuka on the field again? Does not sound like it's going to be on Monday night against the Lions. We'll check in with Ian on that. And a lot more on the other side of this break.
Tom Pellocero in for Rich on ESPN Radio, presented by Progressive Insurance. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. As many of you know, supporting pediatric cancer research is something I care deeply about. That's why I'm proud to share what Hyundai is doing through Hyundai Hope on Wheels. For over 27 years, with every Hyundai sold, they've helped fund pediatric cancer research.
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and it comes standard. Visit HyundaiUSA.com and search Hyundai Hope on Wheels to learn more. Welcome back to the Rich Eisen Show. Thank you for watching on Disney Plus, the ESPN app and listening on ESPN Radio, presented by Progressive Insurance, rolling into week seven. Of the NFL schedule starting tomorrow night, or as you, Brockman, and you, TJ Jefferson, would call it.
Friday morning, London time, kicking it all off with the Steelers and the Browns. My guest right now, you can see, as part of the Prime video coverage, more importantly, you can see him co-hosting the Insiders with me on NFL Network. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Ian Rappaport joining the show. You got like a golf clap, which I think is enough. What you want.
It's sufficient for you. Let's start out here. Injury updates in Emeka Buka, one of the best stories in the NFL so far this season. Great guest, too, when we've had him on the insiders. Really cool kid.
Hurts his hamstring, which Bucks fans are looking at, and they're like, yeah, at this point, sure, why not? Everybody else is out, too. What is the timetable, realistically, that you're hearing on Emeka Buka being back on the field? I think probably the most important thing I heard was that he's not expected to play this week. And you know, hamstrings are weird.
We can get injury updates and we can get estimates. And reality is, like, is it major? Is he going to be out? You know, several months. No, this does not seem like that, or is it going to be out in a couple weeks?
Yes, this is what it seems like.
So it sounds to me like less bad than the Mike Evans, which was. Three to four weeks, but bad enough where they know he's unlikely to play this week. And, you know, remember, it's a Monday nighter, so you're not going to get an injury report today. You're going to get. injury reports Thursday, and it does seem like everyone's been a little bit closed-lipped about this, which is fine.
Like you don't have to give injury information. until you actually have to give it but Um You know, for the Bucs who might get Mike Evans back this week, at least back at practice, doesn't sound like they're going to have a Buka on the field. It seems like a rash of wide receiver injuries. And I'm speaking strictly anecdotally. I have no historical comparisons here.
But if we go look at that, we were just talking about the Cowboys Commanders game on Sunday. Noah Brown just went on IR. CD, I was told over the weekend, 50-50 chances back. We'll see if he practices today. Terry McLaurin is back onto the practice field today.
Just feels like there's a lot of moving parts to that position, which also might get a little bit of extra action around the trade deadline that's now less than three weeks away, too. Yeah, and I would see, you know, there's going to be several receivers who we're going to be talking about around the time of the trade deadline. I mean, you know, you can you can sort of go down the list of the teams that maybe are Not very good, or might have an extra receiver. You know, I think the Saints receivers, Rashid Jaheed, maybe Alave, would certainly be two to watch. We talked about the Jacoby Myers trade request.
We have not seen the Raiders You know, show any indication that they would move him. At least I have not as of right now. We'll see if that ends up happening, you know, Calvin Ridley's due a lot of money. Um, from the Tennessee Titans, would be surprised if he went. Um, but yeah, I mean, it's at the position, we have seen a A lot of hamstrings, a lot of You know, hip flexors, which is what McLaurin is.
Seen some calves. It's, you know, certainly seems like the kind of thing where if you're a team that happens to have a I don't know, let's just randomly take it a Back flipping, touchdown catching number five receiver, like maybe the Tempe Buccaneers, then. you're probably in luck. You mentioned Calvin Ridley in there, and he's part of a Titans team that my understanding has been, and I believe you've alluded to this on TV as well, over the next few weeks, they're going to be open for business. It's not a fire sale in terms of, hey, just get guys out of here.
We'll take whatever we can get. But certainly, they know they need a lot of picks. This is a ground-up rebuild. They got to get it right. They're obviously going to have a new head coach at Defiri firing Brian Callahan on Monday.
But at the same time, if you're trying to get this thing going with Cam Ward, try. Trading one of your running backs, trading your number one wide receiver, trading anybody else. There is a point at which it's like, all right, is this going to potentially put the quarterback even further behind as we move forward, which creates an interesting dynamic there for Chad Brinker and Mike Borganzi? Yeah, and it does seem like the interest from outside has come at on defense for them, not on offense.
Now, I did have a team ask about. their offensive lineman. And I would be surprised if they traded an offensive line, maybe a backup, but I'd be surprised if they traded a starting offensive lineman. Even though those guys are talented, haven't played great, but are talented, and probably would get some draft capital because, like, Part of what you're going to try to do the next. you know however many games is Try to get the quarterback better, right?
I mean, this is a. It should be a desirable job. I think Mike Berganzi is a really good young GM who is learning on the job. I think Trad Brinker's trying to do a good job of building that building out as far as analytics and infrastructure and kind of catching that place up from. you know, uh essentially where where it has been.
Um You know, but But to get Cam Ward playing better would certainly help that job's desirability. The other thing I think it does, like, let's say they trade some guys, like, let's say they trade, you know, Arden Key would be a good example of someone. Previous regime. Uh you know, making some money, probably someone they could trade.
Well, it's like If you're going to deal with a new staff coming in and having their own vision of players, you might as well give that group picks. To build with.
So, you know, certainly some trades would make sense for the Titans. We were live on air on Monday when the Titans announced via press release on social media that they had fired Brian Callahan. Obviously, you and I both know Callie. He's a great guy. You heard Chad Brinker talk about he's a good football coach, too.
This just, it wasn't working. They didn't want to do it this early. They just felt like something had to change right now to get the quarterback and the whole team showing more progress. But then the attention immediately turns to who is the next coach going to be. You certainly raised an interesting point here, which is the desirability of a job where there have been eight to ten major moves in the power structure on the football side in the past three years, but it's still 1 to 32.
Cam Ward's got a lot of fans within the NFL. If you are drawing up the perfect head coach to take over the Titans next season, what does it look like or who is it?
So First of all, I do think it's a desirable job, um, mostly because It is a job that's open, right? You know, that's a very good thing. And if you're a young candidate or even an older candidate and there's a job that's open. It's good because you could get it. Um and we've seen jobs that are you know Quote-unquote, not great places like the Chicago Bears, and then Ben Johnson comes in, flips Caleb Williams around, they tighten up the room, they improve the offensive line, and the Bears are actually maybe kind of good.
So yes. I would say If you want to look at where to go. It doesn't seem like there's a Ben Johnson in this mix. It doesn't seem like there's a can't-miss Kennedy. A couple Um you know, a couple that have meant they've been mentioned to me.
I would say Matt Nagy, who has a close relationship with Mike Berganzi, the OC, and with the Chiefs. You know, former coach of the year was a Good coach with the Bears until he wasn't. Yeah. gone back around and and Um you know, sort of use that experience at Tahibian name to watch. That would be one Arthur Smith, former OC in Tennessee.
Another former head coach didn't have a quarterback in Atlanta. Um you know, but someone who's done it and I think was a good head coaching kid and I think would be a good one. And then you have some other like really good coordinators like the Joe Brady of the world. Lou Anarumo is another one who done a really nice job in Indy. I think the main thing for me is Everyone's going to focus on who can fix this quarterback.
and who can get the quarterback playing well. There are plenty of examples of really strong defensive coaches Who have turned places around because they just hired good coordinators to build infrastructure around them. Like Dan Quinn is not a quarterback guru. But the commanders are doing just fine. Like, I would more focus on Leading and who can get the room better as opposed to who's the sort of quarterback guru.
And they had that guy, Mike Varable, obviously, for a long time. There were various issues, a lot of them generated by Variable himself, that ended with him leaving Tennessee and now going to New England, who, by the way, they go into. I remember that. They go into Tennessee. This Sunday to face Mike McCoy in his interim coach debut.
It is an interesting point, too, because there are not a lot of, just talking to people within the league, as I know you do, there aren't a lot of those clear, dialed-up, high. Hot candidates. You know, Joe Brady is probably the closest thing to a Ben Johnson, but Ben Johnson was the guy for three years. And then finally, last year was the first time he was like, okay, I'm really going to do this. He had a big offer from the Raiders.
He ends up choosing the Bears. You also mentioned Dan Quinn. The biggest hire he had was Cliff Kingsbury, who only became available because things went sideways in his contract negotiated with the Raiders, as you remember, to be the offensive coordinator. Cliff is an interesting one. Because if you think of where Cam Ward has had his success going all the way back to incarnate word, he was running the air raid offense.
It is a very similar type of a scheme to the one that Cliff Kingsbury runs. You could see him fitting in that town. I wouldn't rule that out. I also wouldn't rule out if you want to get back to just, hey, we got to establish a core competency here. Mike McCarthy is a guy who has done it in multiple different places, had a relationship with Chad Brinker going back to Green Bay.
It's just a matter of, you know, hiring a 60-year-old coach isn't going to be for everyone.
Some people want to hire the younger coach here. It's a really interesting thing. to navigate, but in terms of who the hot candidates are going to be. It's a short list, and I also wonder, as much as we can speculate in about what happens in some of these places, obviously, Miami has been talked about plenty through the course of this season. That's another one.
Whether or not the potential paucity of clear-cut head coaching candidates might make some of these owners go, you know what? Let's just give another year to somebody because we'll, you know, there's just not a guy who we are convinced is a clear upgrade. Yeah, and you know, I would say Two years ago, that kind of happened, right? Was it two years ago? When they're just like, I think it was ended up being Four or five, right?
Yes, yeah. And it's cyclical. It averages seven per year, but there's some years we have five, and there's other years we got.
So the hot candidate's an interesting one for me, right?
So, like, I would have said two weeks ago, Joe Brady, definitely getting a job. And then, you know, the Bills struggle a little bit, and it's like, okay, well, now he's sort of not as hot. I don't know that any of that matters, to be honest, because what we found. is that hot candidates really Sort of don't matter very much. I mean, Brian Callahan.
Was hired by the Titans. Because the Panthers were trying to get him on a plane. I'm pretty sure to hire him, or at least to give him a really good look. And the Titans were like, we're just going to do this, we're just going to hire this guy. And that's how hot he was because two places were kind of fighting over him.
Right. And he was the first, I believe he was the first hire in that first or second higher in that cycle. I'm pretty sure he was.
So that's now. That was the year That Burrow had the wrist, so I think they weren't in the playoffs, so he had a. kind of a jump on on people there if I remember the years correctly. Um But like Liam Cohn is an interesting one for me. I don't know how many people had Liam Cohen as a sort of hot candidate.
turned out at the end he was hot For one team. He ended up in dramatic fashion, which we broke, getting hired by that team and has proved to be like a really good hire.
So like it's really just and like I would say Dave Canaus, who a lot of people doubted would be really good, has like I don't know that the Panthers are perfect, but they're kind of playing some good football and maybe look like they could be a team that at least would push for the playoffs this year.
So, maybe that was kind of a good hire, too. And so it's like. The conventional wisdom doesn't always mean a ton, and the hot candidates sort of don't always work out.
So the fact that the Titans have like two months to figure this out is probably a good thing. Ian Rappaport, NFL Media Insider, is our guest, Tom Pellicero, in for Rich. The Liam Cohen thing, by the way, just on a quick aside. There's various reasons at times that we end up reporting something as spotted somewhere, spot at the airport, spot in the building. This was literally Liam Cohen, who was spotted in the Bucs building the same day or the day after he had, or excuse me, in the Jaguars, but the day after he had agreed with the Bucs, in principle, not signed anything, but they thought he was returning as the offensive coordinator.
And then all of a sudden, I think it was 24 hours later, he is. walking into the building and is seen by people who's like, oh, I guess he's now the Jaguars' head coach. That's the wackiness to the way that the process is set up. There's certainly, I think, fair criticism to some of the things in terms of how. This manipulates, even if people are not doing it intentionally, the spirit of the Rooney rule and the way that things are supposed to operate.
There are a lot of occasions where we have seen teams. Operate a certain way where you kind of go. They appear to know who their guy is and they're doing things a certain way here, but they've succeeded in slowing down. The league has the hiring cadence, but the way that these searches play out, it's just completely changed. Would you agree?
Yeah, and I think that's first of all, CD Lamb back at practice, Brian Schottenheimer just announced. We were talking about it earlier, so they said he was very involved in walkthroughs. 51%. Yeah, and well I mean About to play your rival, making sure they know how involved he was and walk through, and then he's gonna practice, like. We'll see maybe some gamesmanship here.
But anyway, it's a good thing that he's back practicing. Turpin also practicing.
So, anyway. I I think with the with the coaching hires, I don't know if it's good or bad, but almost nobody goes into it being like, well, we'll see how this goes.
Now, sometimes you may have like. A favorite? And You decide during the process that that's not the guy you want, or something happens to go against. Like, I would have called two years ago. Bill Balichek the favorite to get the Atlanta Falcons job.
I mean, would you have agreed, right? I mean, that seems with Arthur Blank twice, including once on his yacht, and then went through the car wash in the facility. Every indication was this is extremely real. And then all of a sudden, we took a hard left turn. In his case, it ended up in Chapel Hill.
Which has not gone great.
Well, we'll see how long that one actually ends up lasting here. You mentioned CeeDee Lamb and the Cowboys. Jerry Jones keeps saying, Ian. He keeps telling us. Hey, we got the picks.
I said it on the insiders the day of the Micah Parsons trade. I said, Jerry Jones has managed to make himself. Relevant no matter what they do or don't do, by virtue of getting an extra first-round pick next year and all the questions that raises. He has made them a centerpiece story in the NFL. Even if this team isn't particularly good, do you buy or sell?
We will see the Cowboys make a trade to bring in a player. prior to the trade deadline that's 20 days away. I do think that it is at least a little bit intentional to let everyone know. I mean, yes, it's about the media and to make sure that this segment happens. Make sure we talk about the Cowboys during this segment.
But I do think some teams. Like themselves being out there because like let's say you have an edge and I assume that's where it would be let's say you have You know, Bradley Chubb. I don't know. Just pick a random edge. Arden Key, King Zayanabari from the pack.
Like, if you have an edge that you might trade, you're going to call the Cowboys. You know now you're going to call the Cowboys.
So at least. What Jerry Jones has guaranteed is that they get a look at every. There he is right there. That's a good idea. That's a perfect Jerry Jones photo right there, by the way.
That is a man who's Young's talking about the Cowboys. They're 2-3-1. And we're talking about they're going to make a splash move at the gutline, Ian. Man. Yeah, and I don't even know that it would be a splash, but I could see them bringing in someone.
They love defensive tackles. They could use an edge. That would make sense. The only problem is, is that as an organization, Like They have done some trades. They sure have done some trades.
I think last offseason they did a bunch of trades. Um They are a team that collects picks. They have drafted very well. With the exception of Mozzie Smith and maybe a couple others. But they have drafted very well, so well that they keep having to pay their guys top dollar, which has sort of led to this mess.
To begin with, Um I could see them doing some trades, but I can't see them giving up a ton because they're not a team that likes to just. go all in Because there is no going all in in the NFL, right? I mean, it's. Collect the picks and make sure that you're investing and investing in your future and all that.
So I could see him doing something, I just don't know how. I just don't know that they're going to say, all right, we got an extra one for Micah. We're just going to trade that for whoever. The all-in or not thing is also interesting as it pertains to what the Jaguars are doing right now. Because obviously, James Gladstone and Liam Cohen were with Les Sneed and the Rams.
They saw the bleep them picks, Les Sneed. They also saw the, all right, now we, because we did that for a long time, we now need to get rid of all these expolder expensive players and get a bunch of draft picks and then have one of the youngest roster and kind of start the process. The Jaguars appear to be in bleep them picks mode. They appear to be willing, by virtue of giving up the next year's one to go get Travis Hunter, by virtue of a really Different deal, the Greg Newsome swap for Tyson Campbell, where they're going, we're going to get rid of the cost-controlled guy for the next several years who doesn't really fit for a guy on an expiring contract who we think. Does fit.
And I know this. I will say, James Gladstone has certainly been in contact with other GMs, basically letting them know: like, hey, Whenever you're ready, you got the ideas. Like, I want to talk trades. He told me that in August. He was like, I can't believe nobody's trading yet.
I'm like, it's August 7th, dude. Like, it'll get going. Don't worry. I would not be surprised at all if we see the Jaguars do something else before the deadline that makes us go. Huh, they really are going in to win right now.
Yeah, and I would say, you know, they have a couple areas of focus. I would say defensive line probably makes sense for them.
So. you know there's some There are some defensive linemen who certainly have been in focus and discussed. I could see them adding there, but you're right. I mean, they got a quarterback, and I think Trevor's playing.
well enough now for them to say like, all right, like We don't need a number one pick for a quarterback, and my theory. And who really knows? But my theory has been If you have a quarterback, you don't need a number one pick. You can use that for. whatever you want.
Whereas why like the Cowboys They traded Micah for a couple ones. I'm kinda like, all right. Are they Building up a stack of ones to go get a quarterback after Dak. Like, that was kind of my first thought when I found out about this trade.
So, I think if you're the Jaguars, you got. I mean, it's actually a pretty good team. You got a quarterback, you got all sorts of players at the skill spots, you have edge, you have some corners like. you can use picks to load up because you kinda don't Like, need anything, right? There's nothing where you're like, all right, we have to have a one for this.
So they actually have some picks to play with, and I would agree, like. They've made Two trades so far? I could see at least one more before this all stops. You got my wheels spinning. I think you got TJ smiling over there in the corner.
Can't you wait right now, TJ, for the storyline in the offseason when Dak Prescott wins the NFL MVP, the Cowboys roar forward and make the playoffs, and then they trade up to take his replacement in April. The most Jerry Jones sequence of events humanly possible. That'd be a very Cowboys. Make sure we keep your team in the headlines. That's how you do it.
I mean, that's. I mean, that's the staunch defender of the Falcons, and on Monday night at least for one night, it sure looked like that went great for Michael Pennix. I am the world's Kirk Cousins over two years, but I am the world's cheerleader of the Falcons' Michael Pennix movie. Nobody besides me. or more so than anyone.
I think that was a great move and I will stand by that. And the cousin situation emphasizes that and When this is a success, I will take all the credit. Uh and when it's not, I'll pretend that it never happened. Ian, great stuff. That is your M.O.
Absolutely. I appreciate the candor. Thank you very much for being here. I will see you tonight on the Insider, 7 p.m. Eastern Time NFL Network.
Boy, you were. I could see you. Every time the Cowboys came up, I just saw TJ straightening up a little bit in the chair. It was interesting. Look at an NBA jam shirt on there.
I was trying to see what he had on before he left, but. Yeah, that sounds great in theory, Tom, but Is that really any of that gonna happen with Jerry?
Well, I mean, the starting point is does Dak keep playing at a level. We had Chase Daniel on yesterday and he was saying he's playing quarterback better than anyone in the league. But even though thinking about drafting the next quarterback, do they really do it with Dak playing like this? I don't think you can, right? I mean, if the Falcons can give Kirk Cousins $100 million guaranteed and draft Michael Pennix six weeks later, moments after Kirk is waving a towel on the stage and getting all the Falcons fans excited, yeah.
I would say anything is possible. Still more to come here on the Rich Eisen Show. The Rich Heisen Show, the podcast. Welcome back to the Rich Eisen Show, Disney Plus, the ESPN app, and ESPN Radio. ESPN Radio is presented by Progressive Insurance.
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Worth every penny, right, right? Worth every penny. I had bad teeth.
Okay. We got the first mock draft of first one. Yeah, first draft of Middle East. Actually, that's probably not true. I bet there was some the day after.
No, there's been a bunch, but the first one on ESPN that I've seen, Jordan Reed, threw out his. First mock draft that's out, first round. We had Mel's big board come out yesterday.
Okay. Jordan's mock draft. Let's play the quarterbacks on me. Yeah, let's talk QBs. There are four.
four of them, okay. Fernando Mendoza uh from Indiana. Dante Moore. Uh from Oregon. You got um Lenora Sillers, South Carolina, and Ty Simpson from Alabama.
Now, are you curious? Where Our ESPN colleague has these quarterbacks where who's taken whom? Granted, in a mock draft that's been on the current standings, meaning things like the Ravens are drafted at number two. Sure. Ravens, number two, taking an Edrusher from Miami, which I'm sure they have no chance of actually getting.
And remember, last year at this time, no one was talking about Cam Ward as being the first overall pick. But right now, he's got Fernando Mendoza going number one to the Jets. Ooh. I mean, I I believe it. Fernando Mendoza, going back to Cal, he had all the offers around the country of where he could transfer.
He decided to go into the upstart Indiana program, which just last year, Curtis Rourke, if he hadn't played the whole year with a torn ACL, would have been a much higher draft pick. They run a pro-style offensively. Chandler Whitmer, right, is the offensive coordinator there, longtime NFL assistant coach. It makes. Total sense to me.
The Jets, two years and $40 million for Justin Fields. I think $10 million guaranteed next year. That's a drop in the bucket. He could be the backup. You could cut them.
They got to play better as a team, obviously. Last week was Justin Fields' worst game, but Jets taking a quarterback at number one, not a shock at all. And that's why I kind of put Kirk Signetti being in the NFL next year on Overreaction Monday on that. Because it has been noted. It has been noted.
Cleveland taking a quarterback. Dante Moore, another Oregon quarterback, goes to the Browns. Yeah, that wasn't. I have not seen, admittedly, a ton of Dante Moore. Last week was not the best showing for him or the Oregon offense losing to Indiana.
Played well at Penn State. Cleveland's in a spot.
Well, remember, they got two firsts. They got the Jaguars first-round pick, too. And this is precisely why they want to see Dylan Gabriel, they want to see Shadur Sanders. Did they luck into one? Not luck, but third, fifth round, it's a lottery ticket.
Did they happen to pull the right one? Right. That's what we'll find out. Yeah, Lenore Sellers, big guy coming into the season, talking about the South Carolina quarterback. Going number nine.
Mm-hmm. To the Raiders. I mean, Geno Smith has, I believe, 18 or so guaranteed next year. It's been a bumpy ride so far. Played better last week.
I was checking in because I wondered: could this have been the last Traff for Geno Smith? I was told there's been no serious discussion of benching him. Again, played better, still threw a pick. But the Raiders big picture. Tom Brady being hyper-involved?
Absolutely. The Raiders are a potential quarterback team in 2026. Yeah, and last one, Ty Simpson, the Alabama quarterback, which no one was really talking about coming into the season. He's played great so far now through six weeks into the college season. Go in number 30.
To the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers, depending on what happens with Aaron Rodgers, I mean, they could, if they run this thing off, they're 4-1. They win 13 games and Aaron decides to come back. Do you get one more view of Aaron Rodgers? The Rich Eisen Show Podcast.
Mm-hmm.
