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Now, now. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Show, show, show. And here to kick off Super Bowl Week, I'm excited. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.
Today's guests, Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman, NFL Network Insider Tom Pellisero, three-time Super Bowl champion Mark Schleren, Jaguar's Chief Strategy Officer Tony Kong. And now, it's Rich Eisen.
Well, hey everybody, welcome to this Tuesday edition of the Rich Eisen Show, our last one of the week here in Los Angeles, California. As soon as this show's over, we're just hopping a flight up. The coast to San Francisco, California, the home of Super Bowl 60 for the media. The players are all hanging out down there in Santa Clara, about an hour south near San Jose. We're going to be all over the map, basically, is what I'm saying.
We're going to be doing our show Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from our set in downtown San Francisco. Lots of good times coming up, but we've got a great show in store for all of us today here on Disney Plus and ESPN. The app, our usual streaming spots every single day between 12 and 3 Eastern. We're on ESPN cable right now.
So. What's up? And then we say hello to those listening on ESPN Radio and Sirius XM Channel 80. Troy Aikman's going to be joining us in about 18 minutes' time. We've also got another three-time Super Bowl champ, six rings today, basically.
Mark Schlereth is going to be joining us in hour number three. Tom Pellisero, Tommy P, is going to join us, I believe, from the Media Center to tell us everything that went down last night at Media Night and anything else that's going around the rest of the league. Head coaching Carousel has stopped spinning. There are still some coordinator spots that need to be addressed, and Tom's going to be hitting on all that. Tony Kahn, who wished his Jacksonville Jaguars, went on a nice run, so he'd be at the Super Bowl.
He's going to be joining us. He's always so generous when it comes to my run every single year. Donates six figures to St. Jude.
So Tony wants to talk about AEW and everything else going on in the football world.
So he'll be joining us in hour three. Good to see you over there, Chris Brockman. What's going on? Warriors. What's up, Jason Feller?
How are you, sir? Good to see you. How are you, TJ Jefferson? I was good until about three seconds ago. This man's never even seen the Warriors.
Like I said, this is going to annoy me. Frustrating. I know. Just starting. You don't know who Luther is.
You don't know about Ajax or Mac Collins. You know about Mac. Then let me take control of the show back over. You're wearing shoes, right? You're not going full, Mac Collins.
Sometimes he does go barefoot, though. Got to pay extra to see the feet. You know what I mean?
So. Yeah. We're on every possible manner of Disney programming. You just said that, right? You're aware of that.
This was your dream, right? I mean, I don't even know if there's a parcel of the Disney world in which we're not broadcasting on or to human beings, and you just said that, right? You're aware of that?
Sorry, Mr. I.
Okay, very good. I mean, he's got a point, though. All right. Guat costs extra. All right.
That's right. Guat is extra. That's right. So, listen, Media Night went down last night. Never used to be this way.
Never used to be this way. When I first started covering Super Bowls. In my day. Oh, man. Man, 20, 23 years ago.
You've been doing this, Rich. Uh, for a minute. Was Drake May born yet? Uh, Drake May, I don't know. Was Drake May born on the day that Tom Brady beat Jake Delome?
Because that was the first Super Bowl NFL. August 30th, 2022.
So he's a little baby. Little baby boy. Yeah, little baby Drake.
Okay, little baby Drake. They used to do this in the middle of the afternoon at the stadium. Yeah, right. You know what I mean?
Like, or. It was kind of, I mean, obviously. It's there for the media. Yeah. And let's be honest.
Every day is media day at the Super Bowl. There's a media center, there's a radio row. The players are made available every single day up until Thursday. The coaches have one last swing at it on a Friday, usually at a press conference where they put the Lombardi trophy in between them, and neither head coach wants to look at it because if they look at it too long, then it'll be like they're too thirsty, they're too hungry, and they don't want any piece of it. They might tempt the NFL gods.
And then finally, they stop talking. And at that point in time, everybody wants to stop talking. Because they're asked the same question over and over and over again. That's why at Super Bowl 50, when we were there for this show, we credentialed Snoop and sent Snoop into the final media sessions for the players on that Thursday when they are done. They're just basically sleepwalking through these media sessions.
But then Snoop shows up and everybody kind of sat up straight. It was really great. And now Snoop's more famous.
So, yes, we're taking credit. More famous? No. But the long story short is last night, a few years ago, I forget when it was, it could have been Super Bowl 50, as a matter of fact. When the league decided to have everything on a Monday night.
any spot And everybody comes from the media center. And this time it was all the way down in San Jose. Um And everybody starts talking, and they sit at podiums, and the entire media session goes down. And anybody who's got a pulse and can pass a security check gets a press credential.
So, in order to, I guess. have a little bit of fun with this. I have no idea what sound bites the Rich Eisen show Crackstaff has cut, all right? And I don't know who's who we grab sound bites of, and in order to. Just to have be completely random about it.
I have this. You notice this, TJ, because you're on the prizes, right? This is one of our favorite items that we have here: a little mini. Um price is right. Showcase Showdown wheel.
I did well at that. You did? TJ's property. And so an even number is a Seattle Seahawks soundbite. An odd number is a Patriot soundbite.
Only because you started in the oddest way for this purpose. All right, here we go. We're spinning it. We're spinning it. This is awesome.
And it stops at. Oh, I almost got a dollar. $90.
So it's an even number. I need a Seattle Seahawks soundbite. Who do we have? It's Sam Darnold on if he's dreamt of a moment like this. Yeah, I mean I I grew up dreaming of this moment.
So You know, I Grew up watching a ton of great football players and a ton of great football teams get to this moment and make great plays. And I feel like whenever that happened after a Super Bowl, I was always. You know, emulating that in my backyard, my front yard with my friends.
So, yeah, I always dreamed of moments like this. You know, and sometimes I feel, again, I've been through this enough, I'm a bit of a cynic. What if the players handle it like our buddy Damashek, who always asks the question every single year of the coach if this is a must-win game-win game and uses the coaches as dupes for his gad? Sure, sure. What if they like Sam Donald's like?
I dreamt of a Super Bowl, but come on. I've got other things to do. I had math homework. What am I doing? My hair's elite.
Yeah, I didn't just get to USC because of my arm. My grades got me in. I had homework to do. Actually, I wanted to play in the NBA. All right, here we go.
That's a nice little sound bite right there. What do we got next here? Spinning the wheel. I would love to have now an odd number. That would be really great if we could get the Patriot.
And it is. Oh, it's even again. Oh, even again. Hey, you could. By the way, fudge with the wheel.
Can we use this as a potential to see? See how the supernova is going to go? Yeah. Okay. I'm picking up.
Mike McDonald. Kept being asked about what play you really is this. He kept getting. Asked what play he would run from the one-yard line. Great question.
Oh my god, let's see how we handle it. Fourth quarter, 30 seconds left. You guys are trailing. You're on the one-yard line. Are you throwing it or are you running it?
Best play available. It's the fourth quarter, 26 seconds left. The second goal is one. You're down by four. Are you going to run the football?
Are you going to throw it? Is beast mode in the backfield? If you have the ball in the one-yard line with 30 seconds left, would you run it or throw a slant? I think the more important question is: how many times am I going to get this question over the next three days? This comes down to a one-year.
To a one-yard line with 20 seconds to go. I don't know. I mean, I'm kind of done answering this question. It's like, look. I'm going to keep answering only this.
To get the two Super Bowls in a row, an opportunity to win a second one in a row. That takes a lot of great stuff, and it takes a lot of alignment. For me to sit here and criticize any of those decisions or any of those players in that moment is a disservice to those people. We're really proud of our history. There's a lot of great people involved in that, a lot of whom are still in our building.
Well, can happen to you all once. I'm not I'm gonna we're gonna run the best play. Oh man, it started like a little busting with the boys' laughter, and then at the end, he's just because again, um. Yeah folks. The way it works is These players and coaches sit at the podium for a full hour.
and a bunch of reporters come cycling in and out.
Some of them may not know that the question they've asked has already been asked of the coach mirthfully. You know, with a wink and a nod. Did the business Boys surround him with. Did they plant somebody to ask the same question over and over again? Interesting.
Interesting. We got to ask those questions. Unclear, but I don't know. But again, that's the way it happens. And then, if you're the one who asks the question for the fifth or sixth time, and by the way, I do want to give Mike McDonald, he handled it with fun, and then.
With grace. Especially there too. Because, um Don't forget. I was also pounding the table here saying he was erasing the past there when he first got there to take down photographs of the P. Carroll era.
Um and I was wrong. that he was setting things up for himself while also still having a a toe, if not maybe a full foot and a leg, in the past. Um that he caped. for the previous administration years ago. And by the way, for an interview that I conducted with him for NFL Game Day Morning pregame show.
Um uh that's going to air Sunday. I did ask him where he was for the Super Bowl. For that Super Bowl in 2014, he was a Ravens intern. Hmm. at home with his family.
Um upset because they had just lost, as you remember. To your patriots. Um and they had just lost in the playoffs. And so He remembers it, and he's kind of, you know, I think he wears a little bit of a chip on that regard. All right, I need an odd.
I need to get a patriot here. Troy Aikman's going to join us soon. I don't know. I just spun it. And here we go.
Yeah. Flat nickel. I almost had a full dollar. Drake May on his shoulder. Drake May on his shoulder.
Hit it. Yeah, I threw a good bit. I threw as much as I would in a normal practice and felt great and looking forward to getting back out there on the Wednesday and Thursday for practice again and Friday. You're ready to get a normal week of prep. Is this buried?
Are we burying it? Done. Is it done? It's over. I know you'd like it to be.
I would like to be.
So let me ask somebody who has no skin in the game, if you will. Yes. Are we done with this? Are we done with Drake May shoulder talking about it? Absolutely not.
Oh boy. How could you be? It's a huge story. He's the starting quarterback in the Super Bowl, right? Yeah.
You know what body part you need to play quarterback? An arm and good shot. An arm and anything attached to it. Such as a shoulder. Such as a shoulder.
Yeah, that helps. Yeah. An elbow. Elbow. What other things?
Clavicle, it's kind of a tie. I mean, I mean, I want to become Slim Goodbody over here and start naming it. Slim Goodbody. Body parts. Who's that?
Yeah. Remember the dude he used to wear back in the 80s? She used to have a suit that's all the muscles. I think we're in Defcon 5. He taught kids about wait peacetime.
Non-issue. Non-issue. Done. Over. No war games going.
Nope. Nothing. Nope. All right. I'm with you.
Thank you. I kind of think like this thing's done. You don't, Rich. You don't.
Well, but, but, but. You put a pin in it. We put a pin in it. If he hits the turf.
Something goes down. He goes down, he comes up. Don't let him go to these things. Hey, Drake, this is what you do. You roll it forward and back.
If you're okay, you roll it backwards and forwards to give me sort of a tug of the ear saying it's not good. I'm glad we're on ES Pin so we get the full scope of our Uh You know, power here. Maybe he hears us. What's up? Hey, Drake.
Although, according to the Boston Herald, if it's a 20-minute period, Stephon Diggs is. Not around to watch. I heard Drake had to run into a wall. No, just the lead of the Boston Herald piece of behind the scenes is that Stephon Diggs is out of the mix for 20, 25 minutes every single day because he's taking care of business.
Well, he's got a lot of kids. Hmm. And down, land out. All right, here we go. Here we go.
Got time for one last one. Let's get a Patriot one. Come on, because let's even it out. Odd, odd, it is. I knew this was going to work out.
Oh, Vrabel was asked if it's harder to play in a Super Bowl or coach in a Super Bowl. How can he answer that? What a great problem to have. But he hasn't coached in a Super Bowl yet. Good point.
So, the proper question would be to prepare for whatever. Hit it. It's always more difficult to play. than it is the coach. Uh the coaching's Coaching's a little easier than planned.
You have to go out there and You have to get hit when you're playing and they don't hit me. And you have to throw the ball and you have to make tackles and all those things.
So it's always. I would say harder to to play than it is to coach.
Now the follow-up question is uh what do you mean? Coach, your lip was bloodied a couple of games ago. You gave blood. Yeah, Milt Williams head-butted your face. Yeah.
That's more on the coach, though, don't you think? He should have known to go in for a little bit of a moment with a guy with a helmet on and pads, might not see it in close proximity. Vrabel's done such an outstanding job, man. I think we're going to hear Screw it. I know I've been told not to do this, but I'll just do this here.
I'll do it. I'll do it. Oh, oh, I'll do it. What? This is what I think it is.
What is it? You're going to reveal your votes? For Coach of the Year? Yeah. Well, not for all of them, but Coach of the Year I voted for.
Bad boy. I did. I thought what he did this year was remarkable. And I know I'm not supposed to reveal it, but it's two days in advance, man. I couldn't keep it.
I'm not revealing any other.
So don't try and pull it out of me, okay? Hey, who'd you vote for it for? Stop it. He is just all that. Again, in this Boston Herald article, everyone should seek it out.
It takes you inside the way that this man runs his business. And I guess how Stephon Dix handles his business when he gets to work. I know. And not least. I just got what you meant when you did this.
Dude, Utah. Hang with me. You talk. Hang with me. Now it makes sense.
Right? What's Christian McCaffrey's number? Deuce Deuce. At any rate, pulling it back in. Wow.
Apparently, the offensive line group, according to this article, has been fining each other, which is, by the way, great. It's accountability within the locker room, which is a sign of great coaching, and that they're left to handle their own. business. And then um and then hold each other accountable. Great stuff.
Obviously that's not Uh any That's a sign of good coaching, but I'm sure that's the way it works in many other locker rooms around the NFL landscape. But apparently, one of the fines that you would receive is if you were called out by name by Vrabel in a meeting. Because clearly, if you're being called out by name, that means maybe you made a mistake and you're being called out in a film session or anything like that. And so it's a $100 fine and they were all grab the money is accrued so they can all go on vacation together after the season. And Vrable caught wind of it and then started calling Will Campbell out by name 11 times in the meeting just to haze him because he's a rookie.
Oh, come on. That's my variable for you, Matt. Love it. And this is our way of handling our our media and eye coverage through our Prices Right wheel right here. If there was only, we'll do it throughout the show.
I guess I should put it right here because there's no eight cents. There is eight, zero.
So the eight is coming up here. When we come back here on the rich eyes, did I also just put up Alvin Harper's number? Would that piss off Irv? Jeez. Who's having Troy Aikman coming on?
And I put up 80. All right, Troy Aikman, my friend and one of the best in the business at what he does, and is a Hall of Famer and three-time Super Bowl champ, a perfect guest for our Super Bowl week. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. As you know, managing maintenance, repair, and operations is never easy. But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Granger has your back.
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Back here on ESPN Radio and our SiriusXM station with our live stream and live feeds on ESPN cable and app and Disney Plus Troy Aikman here on the program. What do you think is going through Drake May's mind right now? Troy.
Well, I think it's an exciting time for sure. I was in my fourth year when I went to my first Super Bowl. Him, of course. In his second year, I think it's not only an exciting time for him, I think it is for all those players. But you have to, and I'm sure he did just like I did.
I remember when we beat San Francisco in the NFC Championship game, we were underdogs going into that one. A lot of people did not expect us to win. Probably a little bit like New England. But once you win that game, you go in the locker room, and especially for a quarterback, you realize that as great as this win is, and now we're going to the Super Bowl, none of it matters unless you actually win the Super Bowl. Nobody really remembers much about the teams that lose.
And so I'm sure that crossed his mind as. As soon as he was traveling back to New England after that win at Denver. But this is a great week. It's a celebration of what all they've been able to accomplish. And I'm sure he's locked down.
I mean, I think. Over the years, I've had quarterbacks reach out to me and say, Hey, how did you approach the week of the Super Bowl? And what I tried to do, and what I tell them is, try to make it as normal as you possibly can, and it's hard to do because you You've got media obligations, you're staying in a hotel, there's a lot of distractions, as you well know. But if you can get the support of the organization, as I did, and kind of make your hotel situation as much like what you had at home. Then I think the better off you are.
I don't know that there's many quarterbacks over the years, I would hope not anyway, that have gone and partaken in some of the activities that are available during the week of the Super Bowl. I know I had some teammates that were able to enjoy themselves, but. I figure if you win that game, there's a lifetime of enjoyment.
So that's the way I looked at it. I bet. And Sam Darnold is coming into it. in a way that that's rare. He is the third quarterback.
Chris Chandler was the last, and Earl Morrell of Super Bowl III was the first. And he is the third to play in a Super Bowl, having already played now on his fifth team. And he's twenty eight, man. And we all know what happened last year and what he's done this year. And what do you see when you watch Sam Darnold play where you think that that is a guy who could win a Super Bowl?
Well, I've been watching it now for the last couple of years. Rich, I. I could not be more proud of anyone, quite honestly, for what Sam has endured, his perseverance, his resilience. In the way that he's continued to battle. I mean, a lesser person could have given up.
a while ago, and yet he has been unaffected. I mean, it's one thing to say, yeah, well, this is his living and this is what you do, but when you talk with him and he's interviewed and everything I've watched, in fact, I just saw An interview with him just before coming on the air with you today. I'm just amazed at how optimistic and upbeat he's been. He's not jaded by the process. And he's been through a lot.
And I bet that he would tell you that having gone through what he went through in New York and in Carolina, it really helped get him to where he is now. I worked that draft, Rich. It's the only draft I've worked as an analyst, and that was a great draft. Of course, Baker Mayfield went first, and Josh Allen was in that draft, and Josh Rosen and Lamar Jackson, all those guys. I don't say this now.
I said it even when he was struggling with the Jets and with the Panthers: that he was the top quarterback that I had. Uh, on my board, I guess, and and and that's not sliding any of the others because they were all really good and obviously first-round picks. But I thought he was the most talented of the bunch, and we're now beginning to see it. And I understand as well as anybody, maybe better than most people, because I went through it my first two years in Dallas. There's so much that goes into being successful as a quarterback, and a lot of times, very little of it has to do with yourself.
It's about the organization and the people around you and the coaching. And all of that, and he's had it both now in Minnesota. And he's had it in Seattle. And so I'm thrilled for him and what he's been able to accomplish.
Well, let's unpack this a little bit here, Troy Aikman, because I had this conversation with Kurt Warner, a fellow bust gallery member of yours in Canton. And It's the and you just spent some time kicking maybe all four tires on roster building and things of that nature with your time with the Dolphins over the last few weeks here inside of a front office. How much time should a quarterback get? you know, and the patience that a a front office needs to Or coaching staff needs to ascribe to a prospect? What do you think?
Well, that's a fair question. I don't know if there's a real hard, concrete answer to that because it's a little bit like head coaches. I mean, we're quick to move on from head coaches as well. We've seen that. Typically, you have two years.
And once you have a losing season, regardless of how successful you've been, then you're in the hot seat going into the following year. And so it's a short leash, and it especially is on quarterbacks when they come out of college. That the organization, everyone is so desperate to find their franchise quarterback that as soon as they feel like, well, this isn't the guy or he's struggling, they're looking for a replacement. I believe, like coaches, And like people in prominent positions within an organization. You either believe in them or you don't.
And if you don't, you're not going to stick around when times are tough. And if you do, then you tend to hang in there a little bit longer. But there's a tremendous amount of pressure. And so there's always that. A quarterback coming in from college, you never quite understand.
Whether or not this guy is going to be the guy. And I think within a lot of organizations, It becomes even harder to figure that out because the organizations themselves aren't operating the way that they should be. That's what I say, and it's become a little bit cliche. Kevin O'Connell said it a few years ago. Former quarterbacks like myself have said it.
And I've been saying it for 20 years. I think there are so many quarterbacks that have come into this game and left this game. And Sam Darnold. Could have been one of those. He won't be now, but he could have been.
That you leave the game and you're regarded as maybe not even a bust, but many of them are referred to as a bust. Then some get labeled, well, they never lived up to their potential. And I challenge you to say that I think there's more. Organizations that haven't had the right people in place to allow that quarterback to have success. Take Sam, since we're talking about him.
In New York, he had no chance to have success. I mean, I could go through all the reasons why. In Carolina, he had no chance to have success. And then he goes to San Francisco. He doesn't play, but he's in a great organization.
He's able to watch and see how Brock Purdy does it and how they support a quarterback. Then he goes to Minnesota, has tremendous success. He has all those things in place. And then he goes to Seattle. He has all those things in place.
I had it my third year, beginning in my third year, when Norv Turner came in. That you have someone who knows how to coordinate an offense, knows how to put players in a position to have success. Michael Irvin, Emmett Smith. Both of those players, along with myself, Would tell you that Norf Turner is the reason that we're in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He's the reason that we won Super Bowls, he's the reason that we were able to do what we did offensively.
Not to take anything away from Jimmy, because Jimmy ultimately was the architect of those teams, and we wouldn't have accomplished anything without him. But had Norf Turner not have come in as the offensive coordinator, we would never have achieved the success that we had. He was that good.
Well, that's why, you know, again, I think Jalen Hurts gets unfairly criticized. He's had an offensive coordinator. change on him. Yeah. Almost ten times since he came out of high school.
From Alabama, and then obviously he went to Oklahoma on his own. Philadelphia with coaching changes and offensive coordinator changes. it's so difficult to do all of to continue to be consistent when you have somebody different in your head, which is why what Sam did this year is unbelievable and why Drake May is so lucky, right? I mean, he's lucky in the fact that That he did have experience of coaching change from year one to year two, but Vrabel coming in with Josh McDaniels and then the front office surrounding him, right? I mean, he seems to be that's the challenge.
That's the challenge for every defensive head coach. In a perfect world, you've got a great head coach who calls offensive plays. Because if you've got a defensive coach and you're having the success like Jalen Hurts has had, You know, whenever he's had someone who's been good for him. That guy has left and become a head coach. And then when he's had someone who has not been good for him, that guy has lost his job.
So that's why he's been through so many different offensive coordinators. And in New England, going back to Drake May, Will Josh McDaniels get another opportunity to be a head coach? He's been given two opportunities and it hasn't gone well for him. Maybe, maybe not.
So he might be one of the exceptions, Mike Brable, in that regard, in that. Here he is as a defensive coach, having a lot of success offensively. Drake Mays obviously had an MVP-type season, and yet Josh McDaniels may very well be his head coach throughout his entire career. You look at Seattle.
Well, Clint Kubiak is being named as the guy who is going to accept the Las Vegas Raiders' job.
So now all of a sudden you've got Sam Darnold, who's had this great year, and Seattle has, and Mike McDonald's going to be looking for another offensive coordinator.
So, you know, those are the challenges, and that's what makes it difficult. For a defensive-minded head coach. You mentioned my involvement with the Dolphins in their process. I think they've got an outstanding head coach. I believe they've got an outstanding general manager.
But if Jeff Hathley has the success that he hopes to have, There's a good chance then that Bobby Sloick Is going to be moving on at some point in time, and you've got to have a pipeline of coaches that can step in and take over. Interesting. Fascinating, Troy. No doubt. By the way, you know, I had Jeff Hafley on the show a couple of weeks ago.
Loved him. I'd never met him before. He seemed to be like the words that I use, emotionally intelligent.
Well, I think it's a good word, Rich, and I agree with you.
So, in broadcasting, obviously, I've been doing this a long time, 25 years, there have been. There have been coaches who, when I've gotten, when I've had production meetings with them who I didn't know. And as soon as I meet them, I've said, wow, this guy, he's not going to be a coordinator long. He's going to be head coach real soon. I thought Mike Brable was that guy.
I thought D'Amico Ryans was that guy. And I'll tell you, I felt that way about Jeff Hafley a year ago, back in 24, when we first did the Packers, our first production meeting with Jeff, I remember saying to our crew, this guy's going to be head coach real soon. And he already had been in college.
So I believe he checks all the boxes. I really do. But he does have the challenge. Of addressing the offensive side of the ball in an offensive league. Uh Not now.
I mean, he's hoping that becomes a problem, but like I said, those are the issues that all defensive coaches, head coaches, have to concern themselves with. Yeah, first-class problems for sure. Did you like doing it? Did you like being in the room where it happens, where decisions like this get made here? No, yes, I did, Rich.
I mean, I've said it many times. When I was playing, I think every franchise quarterback feels that they are equipped. and would have success in being involved In a front office. And for me, there's a lot of reasons we could take this whole hour talking about it. But for me, it didn't work out.
For personal reasons, and went the broadcasting route. And I figured that the time had kind of passed me, and then I got a call out of nowhere. From the Dolphins, and they were looking for somebody who could help them. They reached out to a number of people. My name apparently kept emerging.
And they reached out and asked if I would help them. My first concern was that I've always been asked about coaches, I've never been asked about general managers. And so I just wanted to be sure I could give them what they were hoping I could. And I talked to some people, did some homework on it, reached out to some folks, and not only did I think I could help them. I became very confident I could help them.
A lot.
So I decided to do it. It was a great experience for me. Loved getting to know Mr. Ross and his family, Danny Sillman. His son-in-law, of course, Tom Garfinkel, who I had a history with already, going back into some other businesses, Danny Marino and Brandon Shore.
And so John Eric Sullivan was hired as a general manager. They then asked if I would stay on and help them find a head coach, so I was involved in that process as well. And thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought it was. I thought we did, we were very detailed.
We Interviewed a lot of people. And I feel good that they hired two really outstanding individuals. Uh that will do well, but time will time will answer that question.
Well, and if it answers it positively, uh I mean, you're going to get more phone calls, I'd imagine. Maybe you can have eight incorporated where one one side makes the beer, the other side makes championship teams. You know? I mean Maybe. We're all in.
We're in for all of it, Rich. I mean, life is short. Might as well enjoy it. Why not? And then just cycling back to something you also referenced moments ago, Troy Aikman.
You said that you and. Irv and Emmett wouldn't be in the Hall of Fame if it wasn't for Norv Turner.
So I guess. Belichick needed to hire him as the offensive coordinator? Isn't it right? That's mind-blowing. I mean, uh.
You know, I was pretty diplomatic in my tweet after I got the news. Just said it was a sad day for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I wanted to say more than that, but I didn't want a week later to regret it. I thought it was a huge black eye. I still do.
I think the league, not the league, because Roger Goodell made it clear that the NFL has nothing to do with the voting process. And he's right in saying that. But how can what is arguably the greatest coach in the history of our sport not be a first-ballot Hall of Famer? It would be, in my opinion, It's the equivalent of if Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, when he's a. Isn't a first ballot hall of famer.
It just defies logic, it defies reason. And my guess is, Rich, you could talk to every one of those voters and you would not find one, let alone 11. You wouldn't find one that said that they didn't vote for Bill Belichick.
So it's an embarrassment. I just think the credibility of the hall, and I hate to say it because I am in the Hall of Fame, but It's a huge black eye for them, and I don't know what it's going to look like in August. At the ceremony, and unfortunately, it will reflect, not poorly, but it will reflect on this current class, and that'll be the cloud that hangs over this current class of 26. As they go in, and what is and should be really a lifetime of memories for your career. And such a great achievement.
Troy Aikman here on the Rich Eisen Show. Before I let you go, your Super Bowl 60. I guess, if lack of a better phrase, prediction or analysis. And I'll ask it through this prism, the 94 NFC Championship game in Candlestick that was a Donnie Brook, that was the one that got away from you and your team over the four-year stretch of the dynastic winning. uh was categorized as a de facto Super Bowl.
And there are many who are saying this Seattle Seahawk. Los Angeles Rams NFC Championship game is the same thing. Do you think so, Troy? I don't. I don't feel that way.
I really don't. I didn't feel that way going into the game. There were a number of years, probably over a decade, where the NFC just dominated the AFC and the Super Bowl, and so it became. The NFC Championship game, not just in 94, but for many years, you felt that if you were to win the NFC, then you were. Destined to be the Super Bowl champion.
But yeah, I understand it. I do. Seattle's loaded. I mean, they don't have a weak spot. They're well coached, great offensively, scoring a lot of points, great defensively, all those things that you've been talking about and will continue to talk about for the next five days.
But New England. I know the expectations weren't there coming into the year. They've just gotten better and better. And defensively, they're doing a lot of great things as well. Offensively, I know that.
You know, it was a low-scoring game, but I think Elements probably had as much to do with that as anything in the championship game. I think it's going to be a great game. I don't have a prediction. I don't get into that business, but like I do as a broadcaster, I hope it's a really great game. I believe that it will be, but I am not, and I don't even know what the spread is, Rich.
I'm not a gambler, but I do not sit here today, or will I when I sit down on the couch right before kickoff. think that Seattle Is going to run away with us and New England doesn't have a chance. Troy, you're the best man. Again, I don't take this for granted or the fact that you say yes, likely. I know you don't do a lot of this stuff, certainly when your season is essentially over.
So I greatly appreciate it. And I look forward to seeing you. I don't know when, but whenever it is, I'll be smiling and extending my hand for a handshake.
So I appreciate it. 8Beer.com, correct? 8Beer.com. 88Beer.com. Yeah, it's available in Texas and Oklahoma.
It's a better for you beer. You'll love it. And Rich, I'll see you in Malibu and Nobu one day. Yes, there you go.
Sold.
Sold.
And I'll be the one running away when the check hits the table. Take care of yourself.
Now, that's an idea. Thanks again, Troy. You're the best. You bet. You bet.
Thanks, Rich. That's Hall of Famer Troy Aikman right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Again, he was our first guest when we first started here on ESPN with the Rich Eisen Show. And What a great way to help us kick off our Super Bowl Tuesday and the rest of our week. We take a break, we come back, unpack what he had to say.
844-204-Rich is also the number for you to chat with us. The Rich Heisen Show, the podcast. Are we back on our radio side? I don't know. Oh, we're back.
Oh my god. We're back, hey. Oh, my God. Yeah. Oh, hey, ESPN Radio.
Hey, Suisse XM Channel 80. Let's go to the phone lines. I'm pradling on right here. Let's go to Donnie in New Orleans. What's up, Donnie in New Orleans?
What's going on? What's going on, Rich? My question is, do you think Tom Brady would be snubbed his first year eligibility in effects as a coach? That would be former owner or snap. Hands down, of course he is.
So will Gronk. No. The writing is on the wall. Get out of here with this nonsense. Petty, jealous voters, this is what's happening.
No, Donnie, that will not happen. How does that sound? The answer is absolutely 100% not, and I'll explain why to you right now.
Okay? How's that? I'm going to just come in. This voting method. where they're lumping in The owner Contributor is the category.
Coach and three members of the senior committee all together in one bucket, and you can only vote for three of them. is one hundred percent at uh you know, the culprit here. It's the methodology. There may be a voter here or there that is thinking. They need to punish Belichick.
Kraft is already. If that's the case, Kraft's already been punished enough. Over a decade.
Okay, but. The voting after Jerry went in in 2017 changed. I don't know if Jerry would have gotten in with the voting the way it currently is. That's got to be addressed, Donnie. But the way that Brady's going to get in.
Is just a conventional way where he's up, he's eligible, and it's him and the rest of the finalists. And Brady is absolutely going to get in. And thanks for the call, Donnie, and enjoy. What what sounded like Daddy Duty in the back right there. You know?
Yeah, I don't think so. It's the voting, Chris. That's the culprit. I know I went all in at the top of the next hour when we have more time. Um I'll jump into the craft aspect of it because Donnie was referring to Adam Shepter's report.
that Kraft also didn't get in. to this Canton class. And what I hope that does mean is we do see all three guys in the senior class up there. um or represented And LC Greenwood passed away. Right.
So we need to. That that better happen. is all I'm saying.
So you're not going to vote for Kraft and you're not going to vote for Belichick, and then also one of the you're not going to vote for one. You're like you'll pass on vote on giving the maximum of your three votes to somebody. I would say these electors have instilled very little confidence. That the right thing is. All three senior candidates either on the stage or represented by somebody.
In their family. That's all I will say on that front. But Yeah. it kind of stinks, especially since the Patriots are in the Super Bowl. But it would be, and I hope 100% I see Roger Craig on that stage.
in San Francisco. And when I do, it'll be either to my left or my right, because I'm I'm part of the NFL Honors presentation, which is an honor for me. Love that. And I can't say enough. Honors.
You have not been snubbed in that. I have not been, which I appreciate. It's my honor. Your Honor? Doctor?
All right, and end of hour one. Tom Pellicero coming up. And your calls as well. 844-204-H here on our program. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast.
Mm-hmm.
