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Now, on with the show. This is the Rich Eisen Show of Tunnel Vision. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Mike Toman of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I certainly can't seek comfort in the longevity of my career earlier on the show.
Prime Video Thursday night football analyst Richard Sherman. Coming up. NFL Network insider Tom Pellisero. Actor William Stanford Davis. And now, it's Rich Eisen.
Hour number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air here on ESPN and also the ESPN app and ESPN Radio. We're on linear app and radio all at one time. I feel like there's not enough of me to go around. And then there's the Disney Plus world that we're on every day between 12 and 3 Eastern Time. And then there's Sirius XM Channel 80.
And then there's you at 844-204-Rich Number to Dahl. Tom Pellicero, my colleague with all the information at NFL Network's going to join us in 15 minutes' time. We're going to have a whole big old. Hoot and Annie of a coaching carousel conversation. Mike McDaniel let go today, a day after John Harbaugh.
It's like a very rare to have back-to-back days of coaches being fired on a Wednesday and a Thursday after a final game is played in the regular season in the NFL. There's the wild card weekend. Is there a team that's out there? where a coach is playing for his job because John Harbaugh's out there now. Could a team that goes one and done in the playoffs hire John Harbaugh, who has apparently told everybody, I'm not talking till next week, which means he's waiting to see how Wildcard Weekend shakes out.
One would think And it only serves to for him to let things play out. and see what the landscape looks like. And Uh I I wish I didn't didn't do my top five uh Best coaching opportunities list. Earlier in the week. not knowing that Baltimore and Miami would be open.
Where would they slot? Oh, Baltimore's number one. Yeah. With all due respect to the Giants, they're on top of the list. And as you know, on the Rich Eisen show, I need to say with all due respect first.
First. You can't add Hocta with all due respect. Listen, what's better?
So the Ravens have an owner that is willing to let a coach be there for 18 years if the results. Match. They also have a two-time, could have been three-time MVP quarterback. They also have an insanely passionate fan base. They also have a defense chock full of players like Roquan Smith and Kyle Hamilton, who is one of my favorites in the entire National Football League, just to name two.
They got Derrick Henry. Yeah. The Ravens are at the top of the list. For sure. Um 844-204-Rich being the number to dial right here on the show.
Let's take a phone call. Let us go to Yvette in Flint, Michigan. What's up, Yvette? Hello. How are you?
I'm good. How are you? Well, Yvette, no pressure. You're the first phone call we've taken in the history of this show while being on ESPN.
So this is it. You know what I mean? Like you're on. Off of the food. You're on.
What's going on in your mind? Pardon me? What's going on with you? Um I've been sitting here waiting on you guys.
Okay.
Well, you got it. Waiting on you guys. It's a delay. I'm watching you live on my TV. Oh, see, now you got to turn your television down, Yvette.
You got to do that. There's a toy. There's a second delay. You go turn your television down, and we'll wait for you to come back right here. No, it's on mute.
I hit record. Oh, good. By the way. Very rarely am I fine with being muted, but you have the floor. Yes.
What do you got? Thank you. My question is, in my opinion, I'm just kind of confused as to why no one is really saying why Harbo got fired because of his mishandling and misuse of Derrick Henry for the last two years.
Well, Yvette, I don't know if there's any one thing other than the fact that it's an aggregate of. Um A lot, and that has to be one of them. We were talking about it yesterday: that when he was hardly run in the AFC championship game, and afterwards, it's like, yeah, we need to do a better job of that. It it it kind of Behooves a staff to recognize in real time something's up when you've got one more game to win before making the Super Bowl. Um so that that has to be part and parcel of it.
Yeah. You know, I guess another thing may just be, like I said, a time for a change on both sides, Yvet. Yeah. That's true. He's been there eighteen years and Yep, that's true.
But I was just kind of saying, wow, nobody's really saying anything about Derek Andrew.
Well, now you just did, Yvette. Thanks for the call. Yvette in Flint, Michigan, here on the Rich Island Show. Let's go to Adante in Modesto, California. We're all over the map.
What's up, Adante? Mr. Rich Eisen, how are you doing today? What's going on? First of all, I want to say congratulations on your last thirty years and TV and radio.
Thank you. Uh, I have a personal Uh, I want to talk personal. I met you 30 years ago in Raiden, California. Oh, boy. Oh, wow.
Well, that's where I got my TV start. Exactly. Yeah. And you came out to Shasta College. Yeah.
To do a report on our basketball team. And I came up and I introduced myself and I told you. Why are you in Reading? You're too good to be here in Reading. You need to be on ESPN.
You have too much flair and personality. And you say the twenty, you say that. Because I just sent them a tape and I'm waiting to hear from them.
Okay.
And I was like, cool, good luck, man. And then you came back to do another story, and you came up to me. And you say, guess what? This is my last story out here. I got the job at ESPN.
And we hugged it out, pounded each other. And you debut you said you said, I'll be debuting On the Thursday 11 p.m. show. And you debut with the great The word Scott. Though that was that was back in the day, Adante, for sure.
You remember that? I do remember all those days, and I do remember us having a conversation. I do, because I try to keep it real quiet. That it was happening, but the fact that you would say something like that, and it was in fact happening at the time, I felt that I felt comfortable sharing it. I do remember that at Shasta College.
I've been waiting 30 years to share it with you. That is awesome. And the fact that you shared, we're on ESPN right now, which doesn't happen too often. I was sitting here, and they said the Rich Isaac Show. And I was like, man, that's my dude.
And then it said, you could call me in. And like the young lady just said, I've been waiting for the whole hour. Thank you. Adante, thank you for the time. Let's call back, you know, and let's stay in touch.
Thank you. Oh, sure, sure. I would love that. I would love that. I appreciate that.
That's Adante and Modesto here. You know what? Let's.
Okay.
I'll tell this story. I don't tell it too often. Um but I I you know I was in Reading, California. Uh An ABC affiliate, KRCRTV. The uh spirit of the North State was our It was emblazoned on the side of the The White Ford escort fleet of White Ford escorts.
We were driving around so you knew who was on the scene. And um And I was looking for another job. I accidentally left my Resume in the copy machine. I did that. My news director found it.
Placed it on my desk with a post-it note saying you left this in the copy machine. Thankfully, I didn't lose my job on the spot. But I started sending tapes around to headhunters. And I got a call from a headhunter one day saying that there's a shop that's really interested in your That's interested in seeing more from you, send your best written material, your best writing that you do writing.
So I sent another um tape. And it was in fact My phone rings at work. And it was an agent saying that he heard I was one of the hottest up-and-coming sportscasters in America. Can I send my resume reel to him? And Uh I I I thought it was a joke.
Because I I had no idea it was ESPN that was interested in wanting to see another tape. Apparently, word had gotten out from ESPN amongst the community that they were interested in me. before I even found out ESPN was interested in me. Because this agent beat The next phone call to my desk Um to the punch by about 10 minutes. And in between, I called my brother.
To say, you'll never guess, I just got a call from an agent. And I thought he then called my friend to say, call him at work right now and tell him it's ESPN on the phone. You could really, you know, pull his leg. And it was a guy named Al Jaffe who was the head of talent. acquisition at ESPN at the time.
um called me up. And I almost MF'd him thinking it was fake, because my brother knew I was sending unsolicited tapes to Al for years. And sure enough, it was the real deal. and my life changed on the spot. But in between that moment and actually being hired, Um I was Flown out.
to Bristol for an audition. And I had to keep that completely quiet, obviously. And I'm really shortening the story because Tom Pellisero is going to join us shortly. But I didn't think I'd be sharing this story today, and it's only fitting because we are on ESPN and the caller just called in. Saying that I had let him know that ESPN was interested in me because he said, why are you still here?
You should be on ESPN. And I try to keep it completely quiet. Because The first time I try to get to Bristol for the audition and I was waiting weeks for it, I got as far as Chicago because I had to then turn around because of a massive snowstorm shut the East Coast down.
So I was looking forward to this audition forever. had to then not make it. Flipped out that maybe ESPN would hire somebody in between, and now I would lose my opportunity because of a snowstorm. And then went and auditioned a week later. And in between that moment...
and getting hired I met A Dante from Modesto at Shasta College. Wow. And I had not remembered that conversation at all until this very moment.
So cool. I do have to correct things. I had no idea what show I was going to do at all. and, you know, had never met Stewart before. But I did wind up with Stewart.
as we all know, at the end of the day. My first sport center was with Larry Beale.
Okay.
And I'll remember that too, because it was the first. My first sports center, I believe, was a Saturday of the round of 32 for March Madness. And I remember going down to the. Sports Center studio. Yeah.
Host that show with Larry. Having seen only one of about 12 highlights that I was slated to do. And I remember thinking to myself, I'm not going to see any highlights at all. I'm just going to have to do it all on the fly. at my first sports center in front of the whole country.
And I remember thinking to myself, I have two choices. I can either suck it up and do it. or I can pee down my leg. And I did both. Good question.
And here I am, 30 years later, far less hair. A dryer leg. Look at us. Look. And this show.
And you. It's an amazing story, man. I love that, Rich. That's the story. That's amazing.
Wow. Yeah, I try to keep it quiet. Trying to keep it quiet. But uh word got out. 844-204-RICH, number to dial.
Tom Pellicero is going to join us next. Tommy P in his usual spot with all the information right here on the Rich Rising Show on ESPN and Disney Plus and more. Rich Eisen here. The tax deadline will be here before you know it. And you just want to know your taxes are actually being handled.
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The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Back here on the Rich Eisen show is one big happy simulcast, ESPN cable, also the Disney Plus. Feed that we're always on the stream every single day live, 12 to 3 Eastern, same on the ESPN app and ESPN Radio. In his usual weekly spot, normally he's on Friday, but we bumped him up a day because there's so much going on and so much to talk about. My colleague from the NFL network and NFL insiders, Tom Pelis, what's up, Rich?
What's up to the boys in the studio? Hey, whoa! No. Good seeing you guys. How are you doing?
Great seeing you, man. Oh, he's got the Rich Eyes and Show Ma. We're all rowing in the same direction. Yeah. I like it.
Thank you. Stole it last time I was filling in hosting. Hey, listen, Tommy five-fingered Pellicero here on The Rich Eyes and Show. I'm security, ladies and gentlemen. I don't even know where to begin, but we got to start with the latest.
Why did Mike McDaniel learn today? What happened in Miami that caused the Dolphins to tell Mike McDaniel he is, in fact, out?
So, this was a product of a bunch of different discussions that have been going on for quite some time. Mike McDaniel met with Stephen Ross on Tuesday. He laid out, I was told, just a vision and the plan for where they were going to go in the future. It sounded like that meeting, from McDaniel's perspective, went well. He had had discussions with his coaching staff as recently as yesterday.
He was doing exit interviews with players and laying out the groundwork for the offseason, detailed enough that it was: all right, Quinn Ewers, you know, lead the throwing sessions with the skill guys in Texas during the break in the offseason. This was not a guy, Mike McDaniel, who thought he was going to come into the office today and be fired. But Stephen Ross gave it a lot of different thought. Ross had said at the end of last season that the status quo is not good enough. Certainly, Mike did everything he could down the stretch.
You look at the second half of the season, I think they went six and three. They rallied after the firing of GM Chris Greer. Miami, by the way, is in round two of their GM interviews. Those guys are in the building starting today. They should have a GM in place in the next day or two.
But Stephen Ross thought it over about where the team was going. He ultimately decided to go for the full organizational reset. It's not unprecedented. It is unusual to fire your head coach on a Thursday, but I would also say the events of the past several days have been unusual in many regards across the NFL. My personal belief, Rich, we talked about this.
On the insiders on game day morning on this show, was that the only way that Mike McDaniel was going to be out was if the Dolphins came to the belief that they could potentially get a clear upgrade.
Well, all of a sudden, you have the likes of Kevin Stefansky and then certainly John Harbaugh becoming available. This was not a linear, they've got a deal in place with John Harbaugh, and he's the new coach. It's not that. In fact, I talked to Brian Harland, John Harbaugh's agent, within the past half hour. He said he has not heard yet from the Dolphins.
He's heard from the other six teams that had vacancies when Harbaugh was let go. But the Dolphins' plan has been to hire the GM, then turn their attention to the head coach process for Harbaugh, who certainly wants to have alignment with the GM wherever he goes. We'll see exactly how that process plays out and how that potentially might impact the chances, if any, that John Harbaugh is the next coach of the Miami Dolphins.
So this was not. Harbaugh's free. Let's bounce our coach and start a search. Um, And he could still wind up obviously in Miami.
So you're saying this was not a Harbaugh-related decision from Stephen Ross at all? What about? Any involvement of the the new inner circle that involves uh a colleague at ESPN's in Troy Aikman. Tom, what about that? What are you hearing about?
Well, Troy Aikman has been involved with the GM search, and he was tapped a few weeks ago, had done a lot of research in terms of what the best people were to bring in from the best organizations across the NFL. And that's where they had it narrowed down to John Eric Sullivan, who's a highly respected executive for the Packers, Josh Williams, who's an up-and-comer out there in San Francisco, Chad Alexander, who worked in Baltimore and does have a connection. He's currently the Chargers Assistant GM. There is a connection there with the Harbaughs. And then Champ Kelly, the interim GM, is also one of the four finalists that's doing in-person interviews here.
But with regard to John Harbaugh, this is not down the line right now. I know that people may have doubts about the veracity of some of these things. And I would pump the brakes a little on this idea that 25 different teams all called and offer John Harbaugh the job within five minutes of him being fired by the Ravens. There's a lot of interest. There is no doubt about that.
And like I said, the other six teams that have head coaching vacancies. Have checked in in some capacity on John Harbaugh. And I fully anticipate that the Dolphins, who, of course, Stephen Ross, a Michigan man who was a big fan of Jim Harbaugh, but never wanted to poach the head coach from his alma mater, has a great affinity for the Harbaugh family. That maybe there is a connection there. There definitely is a connection there where he would be intrigued about John Harbaugh.
I would also point to this. John Harbaugh is a highly accomplished coach. He has won a Super Bowl. He's also 63 years old. This is, in many ways, a young man's league.
The oldest head coach in the NFC playoff field this year is Matt LaFleur. That's the makeup of head coaches right now. Of course, on the AFC side, Jim Harbaugh is in. Sean Payton, who is very similar in age to John Harbaugh, has done an unbelievable job in Denver. I'm not sitting here saying that John Harbaugh has somehow aged himself out, and the level of interest that he has certainly backs that up.
But every team is going to have different criteria for what they're looking to hire, which brings us to what are the logical landing spots. Before John Harbaugh. Yes, sir. I would say this: nothing is off the table. And again, I spoke to Brian Harlan a short time ago, John Harbaugh's agent.
He told me John is taking a few days to decompress. He's getting his daughter back to college. He wants to see what all the options are and be able to kind of think through what he wants to do next. I personally, speaking for myself, Rich, I don't see John Harbaugh as the next head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. That's not been their MO in terms of jumping out quick and paying top dollar for a top coach.
Arizona's never done that. Doesn't mean they can't. I don't really see it going that direction. I don't see him as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, beating in a division with his brother, as well as his mentor in Andy Reid. I don't see that being the fit for John Harbaugh.
The places that make sense to me for John Harbaugh, Miami is certainly one. Though, again, John Harbaugh is going to want to have alignment, if not be able to have a strong voice in his GM. Miami right now is moving forward as if they are going to hire a GM. That's their full intention in the next day or two. Atlanta makes a lot of sense.
Arthur Blank talked about it. Earlier today, saying they'd like to talk to John Harbaugh if he's willing to talk to them. But they are also pretty far down the line in terms of the interview process where they're interviewing a bunch of people for this president of football job that is widely believed to be Matt Ryan's job. And then in turn, they'll hire somebody else into the general manager role. That all could be done in the next 48 hours.
The other place that makes sense is the New York Giants. Joe Shane is running that search. New York has reaffirmed its commitment to Joe Shane. My understanding is Joe Shane has certainly, to say the least, been recruiting John Harbaugh while also interviewing other head coaching candidates. There's all kinds of reasons that New York.
At the center of this would appear to be the logical spot for John Harbaugh. But it is not a slam dunk. It is not a done deal. This is not waiting out, you know, them checking boxes and talking to other people. I mean, they've got other strong candidates.
Kevin Stefansky was in the building. I believe Raheem Morris is there today. Antonio Pierce is going to interview tomorrow. They've got some Zoom set up with guys like Vance Joseph and Mike McCarthy. Is coming in next week.
I'm told that he's going to be in there Monday night, have dinner and interview on Tuesday. If you do a blind resume, Rich, and I did this the other day and sent it to a few people just as a test. There are four coaches who are all hired between 2006 and 2008 to their first head coaching jobs. They all have one Super Bowl win. They've all won between 60 and 63% of their games.
And they've all been to the playoffs either 12 or 13 times. Those four coaches are Sean Payton. Mike Tomlin. John Harbaugh. And Mike McCarthy.
For whatever reason, Mike McCarthy's name comes up and doesn't seem to get the same massive response that John Harbaugh does. But Mike McCarthy's also the one guy out of that group, along with Sean Payton, who is a quarterback guy, who has worked with him. I think that Mike McCarthy is a completely logical fit for what New York wants to do.
So let's see how these processes roll out. There will be nothing precluding the Giants by even this weekend of hiring a head coach. But again, when I asked Brian Harlan, he said, absolutely not going to be, you know, all right, they check the Rooney rule boxes and they just hire John on Saturday. That's not going to happen. Potentially, you know, they'll regroup over the weekend.
He could take one visit. He could take two or three. This might be like an old school. Coaching search rich 20, 30 years ago, where it was: all right, you order those top three teams, and if you take the first visit and you don't get a deal done with them, see you. He's out of the building, he's going someplace else.
This could set up that way for John Harbaugh. Nothing is set right now, nothing is scheduled, but that first team well could be the New York Giants. We're just gonna have to see how exactly how this plays out. Tom Pellisero here on the Rich Eisen Show, and I appreciate you turning the page about what's next. And I guess that the fact that the Dolphins fired Mike McDaniel and there's already so much interest in John Harbaum, things move so fast, it's kind of crazy that my first question to you wasn't.
What happened? in Baltimore, right? I mean, so let's pause. Before we turn the page to the next. Steps again.
What happened? Tom? in Baltimore. I have spoken to a number of people very familiar with the dynamics in that building, both during the season and over the past couple of days. First of all, I think that it would be naive to sit there and say that in a locker room of seventy High testosterone, high-performing men, you're going to be 70 were in on John Harbaugh or 70 were out.
There were probably differing opinions like there are in every single building. But my understanding has been there was a general frustration. It was not all directed at John Harbaugh. There was a general frustration of a season that seemed to go sideways from gold. Week one, they've got that game one in Baltimore.
They looked like world beaters. They're future Super Bowl champions. Derrick Henry fumbles the ball. That game goes sideways. All of a sudden, you're off to a one in five start.
And everything after that, the emotional energy that went into trying to claw back from that weighed on people. There were times during the season that I was told Lamar Jackson, who had, I think, every lower body part plus his back by the end that was on the injury report. It was an ankle, it was a knee, it was a foot, it was his back. He was worn out. It got to the point, and obviously he missed some time during the season where there were times Lamar just.
felt like I don't Want to be out there. And that's not in any way to cast dispersions on Lamar, the competitor. It's more about he didn't feel like he could function at that level. There were injuries at every level of that team. And when you get to the end of it and you have that level of disappointment, where let's remember, we could easily be talking about the Ravens hosting a playoff game this week against the Texans if Tyler Loop, the hand-picked kicker that was picked by John Harbaugh, a former special teams coordinator, doesn't slice a field goal at Ackershire Stadium.
That's the thin margin between John Harbaugh being in the playoffs and John Harbaugh right now being out of a job. This was not a team that quit. This was not a team that was completely done. Were there certain players that felt like change was needed? I'm sure there were.
And I know that the team Bratz and Steve Baschati talked to some of those players, and I'm sure that they heard a variety of different opinions. But frankly, I got a text from John Harbaugh yesterday, and one of Things that he said. Was this actually one of his, I believe he said, most rewarding years, favorite years, because of the way that the team battled through adversity to give themselves a chance. You're one in five. You know, the statistics, the history of the NFL would say you're done.
They did, they did battle back, but there was always something that never felt like it was clicking through the course of the season. And a big piece of that was the two-time NFL MVP quarterback, whose mobility, his playmaking ability, his elusiveness, Did it look like the Lamar Jackson we've seen of old, that had a trickle-down effect on everything else.
So, Steve Basciotti made that decision. It was shocking enough to people involved that John Harbaugh, as recently as that day, was talking to his assistant coaches about what the future was going to hold for them. Staff members got called into a meeting with Eric DaCosta and the team president, Sashi Brown, in which they said, Steve made a change. We'll get back to you with more information. Everybody.
Was taken aback. There was always a chance, we all talked about it, Rich. You know, could something happen with John Harbaugh? Usually, though, after 18 years in a franchise, these are the types of organizational decisions. We had conversations and parted ways.
It was abundantly clear from the statement from Steve Bashati, the statement from John Harbaugh, John Harbaugh was fired. After 18 years in Baltimore, you look back at the number, I believe, four playoff wins since 2013 over a 13-year span, you understand some of that. You know, they've been a very patient and consistent franchise. Steve Basciotti's patience ran out, but it was with the overall program and the direction they were going. They felt like they needed a reboot, and that is going to be a highly coveted job in Baltimore.
Tom Pellisero here on The Rich Eisen Show.
Okay.
So now, with Harbaugh out there and on the market. And You know. The wild card weekend coming up. Are there any Teams whose coaches are playing for their jobs this weekend. Because I this this whole Harbaugh's gone and McDaniel is gone.
Now that Harbaugh's gone, but it's not really because Harbaugh is gone, is a two-day stretch of a. coaching carousel that's so unique, I I have to figure that we're not done. In some way, shape or form, Tom. Are there any coaches? Coaching for their gig this weekend, do you think?
There's a wise football man that I talk to a lot this time of year. whose phrase is always The owners are always watching the owners. In other words, when all of a sudden, let's say the Browns fire a two-time NFL coach of the year in Kevin Stafansky, the Falcons fire a coach who ended on a four-game winning streak in year two in Raheem Morris. Then John Harbaugh gets fired by the Ravens. There are owners who suddenly start to rethink their position and go, wait, They fired those guys, and we're keeping this guy.
That is a real phenomenon within the league. And that's where sometimes you see these ripple effect firings that don't take place on the proverbial Black Monday. We've had a Black Tuesday, we've had a Black Thursday this week, and there oftentimes is one more that comes next week. I don't think that it's any secret. Who potentially those teams could be, or at minimum, what has been speculated about in league circles.
You start with Pittsburgh. I have no reason to believe at this point, based on my understanding of how Mike Tomlin has proceeded about his business in recent weeks, the type of conversations that happen internally, the way that he's focused on this team. I have no reason to believe the rampant rumors that I get five calls about a day that Mike Tomlin is going to walk away and take the year off. He could do that. Mike Tomlin would have a TV job in about five seconds.
But does Mike Tomlin actually want to do that? I don't get that sense from people who are around Mike Tomlin on a daily basis. Could he go to Art Rooney and say, You know what? I want to go someplace else. I could certainly see Mike Tomlin being appealing to, let's say, a Miami Dolphins that have now made a change.
But is any situation going to be better than the one that Mike Tomlin has in Pittsburgh, where he's got authority over really everything? He's got the ultimate job security. I don't envision a scenario where Art Rooney is moving on from a guy who's never had a losing season and is in the playoffs for the 13th time in 19 years, albeit without a playoff win over the past nearly a decade here.
So for Mike Tomlin, he's going to make that call or he'll make none. And he'll say, Aaron Rodgers quite possibly wants to come back. We've really made strides down the stretch. We're finally playing the style we want to. Maybe I'll give this another run in twenty twenty six.
We'll see how that plays out. We won't know that unless and until the Steelers are out, which they don't play until Monday night against the Texans. There's certainly been speculation about Buffalo I would also say Sean McDermott is one of the fastest, if not the fastest, coach in NFL history to 100 wins in nine years. He's been highly successful in the NFL. But again, to use that theory of the owners watching the other owners, Terry Pagula is not blind to what's going on in other places.
If you. Are firing John Harbaugh because he's not getting over the hump with Lamar Jackson. Do you consider just, hey, Sean McDermott's a great and highly successful coach, but maybe we need a different voice? Again, there's nothing in motion at this time, but let's see what happens on Sunday in Jacksonville and then find out if we get another stunner. And then the other one that just is.
A topic because of the situation contractually is in Green Bay. Matt LaFleur. Is again the oldest coach in the NFC playoff field at age 46. He's in the middle of his career. He's got a long way to go.
But Matt LaFleur, if you just look at the market here, the market dynamics, Rich, and they exploded last year with coaching contracts both for veteran coaches and for first-timers. Matt LaFleur, objectively speaking, is a $15 million a year coach. in the NFL. The Packers are not paying them 15. I'll tell you that right now at this time.
If they decide, you know what, we're not willing to go there or we're not willing to commit long-term, then there's decisions that everybody needs to make. Does Matt say, I'm just going to coach out 2026? Does he say, all right, cool, if you're not going to pay me, then let's work out something with another team that was willing to make a long-term commitment. And, you know, maybe I can just turn loose my agent to go negotiate a contract and then work out compensation in a trade. Do they just decide to part ways?
I personally believe that that is unlikely right now. I believe that the Packers would be making, frankly, subjectively, to me, a huge mistake, letting go a guy who is not just one of the most successful, youngish coaches in the NFL, but also a top five play caller. In the NFL. That is not an easy guy to replace. All of which makes me believe, you know, Brian Goodekund's contract also has one year left, the GM.
It makes me believe they're going to find a way to work this thing out. But coaches are very aware of their value. You remember in Minnesota last year, Rich, there were rumors about, well, somebody tried to trade for Kevin O'Connell. What does the future hold there? The Vikings, if memory serves, had a deal done with Kevin O'Connell like.
Four days after the season, 10 days after the season, whatever it was, it was right after. It was in January. They immediately took care of business. I think the timeline applies. It's the same agency that represents Matt LaFleur, that represents Kevin O'Connell.
I have no reason to believe that they're not going to see if they can get something done. But if they can't, or if they're not on the same page of what Matt LaFleur is worth, then that opens up. Other possibilities.
So, right there, you've got three teams that, while it seems unlikely on paper that anything happens with any of those, we've already seen some unlikely things happen just in the past few days. All right, Tommy. In the just two minutes I have left, I'm going to go off the board and just go a little crazy here because I did mention. on Monday's show, if I'm a team in the NFL, I throw a dart in the direction of Bloomington, Indiana, and I just say, what do you think, Kurt Signetti? Is there any reason for us to even keep the door open?
Are you hearing anything on that front? Rich, I always know that you're fired up with a theory when you're actively texting me about it late at night, musings. I don't know. I have very little life, Tom. Is that what you're trying to say to the SPN audience?
No, I just always know what you're really interested in because they're the things you text late at night. That's when I can always tell. It's like at least it's about football. This is the rich part of things that I deeply enjoy. I mean, I don't think that it's completely out of pocket to say, why wouldn't you?
I mean, the question, we talked about this last week, Rich. It's who is going to fill these jobs? And I said at that time, this. Cycle will be defined. In part by who gets fired and becomes available for other jobs.
We're already seeing that take place. You still don't have a lot of dialed-up, the classic young coordinator candidates to get hired across the board.
So, you know, there were multiple teams. The Titans and the Giants at minimum did a lot of homework on Marcus Freeman. Ultimately, Marcus Freeman went back to Notre Dame. I anticipate he'll get a new deal there, but he'll be a name to watch in the future. Kurt Signetti doesn't fit any box, but Google him.
He wins. And that's what he's done his entire career. It would make sense for people to at least inquire. Signetti, though, also just got a new deal. He doesn't strike me as somebody who is chasing that extra $5 million a year, chasing the next level.
It's a unique situation because Fernando Mendoza, quite possibly, could be the number one pick. I think the more likely scenario, Rich, is that you will see NFL teams showing interest in other members of his coaching staff. Chandler Whitmer is one who is the quarterback's coach and co-offensive coordinator, who I know. that teams have some level of interest in.
So even if it's not getting Kurt Signetti, when you're drafting Fernando Mendoza and you are like with all young quarterbacks trying to build that nest, which is not one person, it's many people around him. Bringing in someone like Whitmer who can help bridge the gap between what Mendoza did at Indiana and what he will need to do in the NFL, I would say that would be a more likely scenario than Kurt Signetti making the jump. Also, Kurt Signetti is not a guy who is going to pull Lane Kiffen and just, you know, hit the eject button in the middle of a playoff run here. If anybody's going to make a run at Kirk Signetti, that's probably still. I don't know when they play again, but at least a few days, if not a couple of weeks away.
Yes, they play tomorrow night, and then after that, the 19th. And after that, the season's over, somewhat like this segment. Tom, thanks again. Greatly appreciate your time and your information. And we'll chat again very, very soon.
Thanks, Rich. College, I'm Sarah, NFL Network Insider, and I greatly appreciate the multiple sips of the Rich Eisen Show mug. in the middle of transitioning from segment to segment. And topic to topic. And yes, I do text him to make sure my ideas aren't totally out of the realm.
Nice. We used to text them, but then you put the kibosh on that. Yeah. What do you mean? You basically told us not to.
We were having fun, you know, making fun of fun of them and all that stuff. Ask him about A.J. Brown injury updates for fantasy, and you shut it down.
Well, I just, you know, Tom letting you know how the sausage is. He just gives you all the ingredients to the hot dog you might not like. That's right. Saying it. You just gave us the ingredients about what I do around here.
Well, we had fun with Tom, and you won't let us have fun with that. No, Tom. I've moved on from another subject matter. We'll take a break. Our higher register Thursday segment, where we go higher register to believe our takes.
That's coming up in a moment. New Year, same extra value meals at McDonald's.
So now get two snack wraps, plus fries, and a medium-soft drink for just $8. For limited time only, prices and participation may vary. Prices may be higher in Hawaii, Alaska, and California, and for delivery. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast. The SPN radio audience has just returned.
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314, if I'm not mistaken? Why would I. That would stick in my. Yeah. 314.
You're right. Because William Stanford Davis of Abbott Elementary just had a nice chat with him in our green room. He's from St. Louis, Missouri. Hey.
So he would have known that answer. He might be screaming it from the green room right now. He's coming up at hour number three of this program. We'll go down a little bit of a St. Louis sports memory lane.
with him. 844-204-RICH being the number to dial. We have a segment here called Hire Register. We do it every Thursday because, guess what? We began to realize in our daily lives: whenever you have a friend or a colleague or a family member that goes up here and says, Hey, you know, you look great.
They have to go higher register to believe what they're saying. I noticed that.
So we do a segment. Here are our wild card weekend. Higher register takes. Hit it. There's a chance.
The rich Eisen shows. But there could be. Hire register take of the week. All right, Christopher, what do you got over there? Go higher register to give me a take that you'll believe for the weekend.
All right, here we go. We got six wild card weekend games. That's definitely not higher register. And I'm looking at all of the matchups. And, you know, I pay attention to the spreads.
Maybe you don't, but it does give you an indication on where people think the final result is. Oh, my word. I look at all of them, TJ, and I think to myself, All the favorites are winning this weekend. Oh, really? I like every single one.
You're zagging when everybody's zigging. Or you're zigging when everyone's zagging. I think they're all going to do it. Buffalo's going to go to Jacksonville, and the Rams take care of business. How many road favorites are there?
How many home dogs are there? Home dogs, I think there are two. Jacksonville's a home dog, and who else is there? Carolina's a big home dog. Actually, there's three.
Chicago's a slight home dog. Chicago's a slight home dog. Point and a half.
Okay.
And Jacksonville, point and a half against Buffalo. Oh, it's a little coin flip, though, right? Yeah. What do you got over there, TJ? Stewart's home dog.
Well, like Chris said, there's a lot of great games. Coming up, and imagine my surprise when I just took a final look at the playoff bracket and I double-tripled, quadruple-checked, and I didn't see the Dallas Cowboys on there. And I was a little upset. Yeah, you're playing all the hits over there. But whatever.
Just give me your higher register.
So here's my higher register. I'm to focus on the Pittsburgh Steelers home, taking it home. And if the Steelers lose this week, Mike Tomlin should. Reach out to the Dolphins. Oh.
See if there's some love. Stay by your phone, man. I may need you.
Okay.
You know, no state income tax. A lot warmer in Florida than it is in Pittsburgh. I'd like to say that there's a lot of other teams he should be checking into on that front. Yeah, but Florida. I'm going to go with the wildcard matchup for you, Chris Brockman.
Hey, now. If I were you, and if I were my son, Cooper, my wife, Susie, and my in-laws, and everybody else that I know from the New England area, I would be quite nervous. Oh, weird you would say that. I'm serious. I look at this matchup, and I'm wondering if the Patriots are, in fact, equipped.
To take advantage of the weaknesses of the Los Angeles Chargers.
Okay.
And at the end of the day, I'm sitting here and I'm thinking. Maybe the Chargers do have a pretty good red eye flight home. on Sunday night. Maybe they're gonna have a happy red eye flight. And I've been on one of them all the way from Brazil.
Me and Canta Brazil. Indeed. I'm just wondering. I don't know. The Chargers are coming to town with Jim and.
The Patriots haven't seen a defense like them all year long. I don't know if I'm going to do that on game day morning. I'm thinking about my picks. I don't know if I will have the temerity to show a lightning bolt on Sunday morning. Why not?
I feel like you'd be lone-wolfing that. I think I would be. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know.
Because the Patriots are just such a great collective and have an MVP quarterback and a coach of the year. Yeah, but you love Harbaugh and you've never been. No, I know that, but I just look at the matchups, and it's a challenge that the Patriots have not had And they're better on the road. How does that sound? Undefeated on the corner.
The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Mm-hmm.
