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Now, on with the show. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Peyton, thank you for generously donating your forehead for today's teleprompter. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Earlier on the show.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Chris Carter. Coming up. Dolphins head coach Jeff Hapley. Hosts of American Ninja Warrior Matt Eisman and Akbar Bajabi Amilla. And now, it's Rich Eisen.
All right, everybody, hour number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air. Great chat with Chris Carter, Hall of Famer. Uh and uh jacket presenter to Larry Fitzgerald, in our number one, Larry Fitzgerald, it was announced during almost, oh my God, how great would it have been if I informed Chris that they were retiring his number? It was announced. He was done, yeah.
All right. But they're retiring Larry Fitzgerald's number. Awesome. Jeff Hafley, the new HC of the Miami Dolphins, kind of have to step out of. Training camp for a bit to answer our questions and hang with us in less than 20 minutes' time.
It's Vikings Four Downs Monday. Overreaction Monday has already been cooked up and popped into your RSS feeds. Or if you listen to podcasts, you watch it, it's on our YouTube channel. It's going to be on ESPN2 later on today as well. 844-204-Rich is that number to dial right here on the program.
Akbar, Baja, BML, and Matt Eisman of American Ninja Warrior joining us later on in this program. Just let me unpack just my last stories on the Pro Football Hall of Fame weekend. Um hosting the jacket dinner is Pretty cool. It's an honor. Yeah.
And You know, it's my job to set a stage and you know, move things along. Have some fun with the audience or have some fun with them making fun of me because I'm a Michigan Wolverine and. you know sure enough step to the podium, they're like, Oh, you know, and My initial response was to basically say, I always love coming here to the Pro Football Hall of Fame so Buckeye fans can prove. That they can spell four-letter words. Oh, God.
And I'm like, I've got one I would love to say in response, but the commissioner of the NFL is sitting right next to me, you know, yada, yada, yada. It's great. And at one point, I did work in because they gave away a piece of jewelry at the end as an item that, you know, on page three of everybody's guide, there's a number, and if your number hits, You win the jewelry. And After the jackets are given out. And the class is introduced one more time.
They had them announce who wins the uh item After The Hall of Famers are introduced as one class with all their jackets. And I'm like, I actually called over the people who run the event because I can't help myself. I'm like, shouldn't that be the end? Shouldn't we give out the item and then bring up the Hall of Famers of the Canton class as constituted in their jackets one more time for a big clap, and that's the finish? Like, shouldn't that be the crescendo?
And they explained to me the reason why they do it differently. is to get the one hundred twenty five returning members of the Hall of Fame, the gauntlet members, out the door before there's a crush of everybody to leave the arena because some of the members of the returning class, the Hall of Famers, don't move very fast. I'm like, got it. Makes sense.
So I set it up in advance to basically tell everybody: when we give out, you know, stay in your seats. to find out who wins the prize I want to give them that heads up in advance, and I'm like, and it's going to involve page three on your program for those Buckeye fans. That's between pages two and four. Richard. At which point the commissioner of the NFL, after I sat down after that, Roger Goodell says to me.
Do you have security? And I said, I've got Steve Hutchinson. At which point the returning Hall of Famers are now introduced. Dan Fouts does that now, an expert job. They put an earpiece in his ear.
And each member of the Hall of Famer that's lined up in the tunnel, all the way around, you know, into. The concourse of the downtown Canton Civic Center. Um They all line up and they have their names on a card with a, I imagine. you know, a quick bullet point from their resume. And they hand it to an individual at a podium who's got a microphone that's clearly attached to.
Dan Fouts' ear. And Dan does this sometimes. He ad-libs it's off the top of his head. He says, He does it without fail perfectly every year. He's awesome at it.
But for some reason My Michigan caping pisses him off. He's an Oregon duck. You're like, hey, Dan, you have no. Big 10. Yeah, you have.
I get it, but. Not I mean New to the Big Ten, certainly not this rivalry. I don't know why he feels the need to insert himself.
So, Chris Carter was the first one out, and he goes. you know, from the Ohio State.
Sorry, Rich, you know. And he kind of gives me a little bit of the business. And at one point, then he brings out Orlando Pace and he goes. You know, another Ohio State guy, Rich, he goes, Are there really any Michigan guys here tonight? There aren't any.
At which point, I look at. And Hutch, who's sitting right there, he was one of the first people introduced. And I'd turn her. Roger Goodell, I'm like, Hutch is standing right there. And we both look, and you could read Hutch's lips.
He says, Oh And then Tyla comes out, and I turn, and Roger goes, There's another one. I'm like, Yeah, I know. Like, this is the exchange that we're having during the jacket dinner. But my job is to keep things moving and then to make things exciting. And then each member of the returning class I mean, each member of the returning Hall of Famers line up in a gauntlet that's surrat that, you know emanates from the center stage where everybody um Goes up to receive their jackets.
They start on the edges of the arena on a podium and then walk through one of the gauntlets to get to the stage. Larry Fitzgerald, I think, had a conversation and a hug with every one of them. It took him five minutes to get to the stage. Oh, man. He's very popular.
Everyone wants a piece of Larry, too.
So it's my job to keep things going. And the applause stops at one point, and you just hear music.
So I got to tell a fact or a story or whatever. Um And it's fun. There's nothing like it. That's awesome. And then you go to this.
You know, hang out afterwards. All the Hall of Famers are there in a party. And I told you in hour one that at one point it's me and Joe Green. Mel Blonde. Lynn Swan?
Lynn Swan sitting there and Jackie Slater. I mean, come on. Yeah. Come on. And I just like want to say, Can I sit down?
But I'm not a stealer from the Steel Curtain days, or Jackie Slater. You know? You know, and I was just like, want to ask, I'm like, all right, so, Jackie, what it was like to block him? As in Mean Joe Green. Come on.
Unreal. And then you just look around and there's just there's John Lynch and there's you know, uh Bill Cower and then there's You know, Warren Moon walking around, and then there's Yada and Yada and Yada. They're all there, Jim Kelly. You know, Thurman Thomas, Andre Thurman Thomas was sitting with Bruce Smith. And Tim Brown.
And Jerome Bettis. That one I sat down at just like to chit-chat with him because Thurman's coming on the show this week. And I'm like, wanted to confirm with him that he understood. And he's just like, I'm coming on this week. I'm like, yeah, you are.
And I actually showed the text from Erica, our booker, saying, Do you want Thurman Thomas this week? And my thumbs up emoji. I'm like, see? I approved.
So you now have to appear at Thermon. Oh, yeah.
Okay. Yeah. Fun stuff. Amazing stuff. There's nothing.
Like I said, like heroes and legends, and just the fact that I sit there and I think about the fact that you're so closely associated and tied with this, how cool. It is. Hey, man, I've been around a while, which I'm thrilled about, you know, and I'm honored to be. uh flight home, you know, got all screwed up, so I had to fly through Dallas. Um Cliff Harris crossed the aisle.
Drew Pearson right behind him. And at one point, Cliff Harris turns around and says to Drew Pearson, It's very rare that I'm in front of you. Or actually, no, pardon me, he says, It's very rare that you got behind me. That's what he said. That's what's funnier now.
And Cliff Harris then proceeds to tell me a story about how. Tom Landry used to give them Full computerized printout sheets. I imagine and the pixelated printouts, right? Dot matrix printers. Dot matrix printers, right.
Of the tendencies and the routes that would be run by the opposing team's wide receivers based on downs and distances. And he would then take uh a You know, colored marker, and first 10, first down routes were be like brown, and they'd be blue and red.
So he'd be able to study. what the tendencies were. Because Um He said Tom Landry would always preach anticipation. is better than reaction. That's how you win.
that you anticipate Other you might be able to react, but if you anticipate You'll be able to react faster. That makes sense. And it's what he said he would preach all the time. And he starts telling me about how he would be sitting in the opposing team, you know, in the hotel. Night before, studying all these printouts that no other teams had.
And mind you, this is the late mid to late 70s when this is going on, right? With classes. This is great. Tell are you hearing these stories just from But him turning to Drew Pearson is very rare that you got behind him. I'm sure Drew did not take well.
But Drew, it's just. There's the ADA clubber right there. Right. Who, by the way, said. Um that Drew Breeze was named after him.
I could see that. Breeze is named Drew because of Pearson. Wow.
Okay. I didn't hear that in the speech, though. And in terms of Breeze's speech, The thing that jumped out at me here The moment. You want to hear about the moments where somebody realizes they need. to do something to become great.
Or change something to become great. It's very rare where somebody gets up and says, Yeah, it was easy for me this entire time. I've never heard it. Right? I've never heard it.
I've heard speeches since 2003. Mm-hmm. Never heard one saying, you know what, I was born with it and it was great, and I got it. I got it from the beginning. What he said about Sean Payton.
you know about how He never wanted to let him down. And he thanked Sean Payton for letting him make both of them great. is what he said. I'm sorry. That's cool.
Thank you for letting me be great. And helping In whatever You want her to be great. Thank you. That guy for me. Mm-hmm.
But It was before he got to New Orleans that he had the moment where the light bulb went on, the epiphany. And interestingly enough, it involves your new head coach. of two years in Dallas. Brian Schottenheimer was Drew Brees' quarterbacks coach in San Diego. Cam Cameron was the offensive coordinator for Marty.
So Brian was his dad's QB coach. And This is what helped Breeze become great. Thank you to Coach Cam Cameron and Brian Schoenheimer, offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for the Chargers. I'll never forget a film session in 2003. I was coming off a tough game, and as we watched the tape together, They asked me the question: hey, why didn't you throw to this receiver?
He was wide open. To which my response was, I couldn't see him. The tape paused. There was a moment of silence. They glared at me and said, It's your job to see.
You reach a point in your career when you stop making excuses. It's usually a moment or an event. where you flip a switch or make a very conscious decision. and it becomes part of your being. They were right.
And never again would those words or thoughts come out of my mouth. I would need to find a way to play the game a little bit different. even if it was in a way that had not been done before. It would shape me for what came next. New Orleans.
And then the place went nuts because there were Saints fans everywhere in Tom Benson Stadium, by the way. And so I heard that and I'm like, oh, I did not know that. Wow.
That's awesome. Yeah, that's the moment where he just said, you know what? You know, I I know I've got uh I'm height challenged. And I just He told his coaches, I just couldn't see him and the coaches were like, too bad. Yeah, let's figure something out.
And he realizes, okay, I need to. Yada yada yada. He's a first Battle Hall of Famer with a gajillion records. No excuses. He figured out.
Which nobody saw. thought possible when he was You know. battling with Philip Rivers. Chargers definitely didn't think so because they chose Phil. Man, that moment hit me.
And then, you know, complete surprise. Had no idea Adam Vinatieri would tell everybody to tip their waitress by the steak. My man was on fire. Two-drink minimum speech from Adam Venetieri. Didn't see that coming.
As you said on air. I did say that. Yeah, Venetier. It's not like, hey, I'll be here all week. I'll be here for all eternity.
Tip your waitress. Try the veal buddy. Try the veal. Either order. Or whatever.
And first, first, I mean, he was. Find a way. You'll see his tie was a little bit open. I had no idea he was channeling Rodney Dangerfield. Hey, hey, hey.
I thought he had to. Look at me. Hey. I'm a Hall of Famer. I'm the leader in points of all time.
Hey, Bill Belichick got the first high and tight fastball to mix sports metaphors. Unfortunately, Bill couldn't make it here today. There's a lot going on at UNC right now. He may be on a recruiting trip right now looking for the next Lawrence Taylor. I thought it was because training camp had already started, but in truth, it's because he's judging its girlfriend's cheerleading competition.
No, no, no. Ha ha ha. Don't be. Was that necessary? Hey.
Hey, come on. Hey. What are we doing? What are we doing? Hey.
You pick on your friends. Oh, well, and then Brady got some next. Yeah, he did. Hit it. I was lucky enough to play with the greatest quarterback in Patriot history.
Unfortunately, he was unable to make it here today. Drew Bludsoe. Yeah. I had a few more Tom Brady jokes, but I was afraid that he'd run up on the stage and maybe give me a Will Smith like he did to Logan Paul last month. Hey, hey.
Hey. Even Will Smith got some, huh? He had like a Will Smith drive-by? Like, come on. Tony, he was on fire.
Oh, wait a minute. We're not done. But wait, there's more. He gave, did you not hear this? He gave Pat a shout out because Pat showed up, obviously.
Right. Remember, Pat told us years ago when he was a guest here, McAfee, that he lied to Poleyan about holding footballs. Vitatari said it was right. He sent him the holders' camp because he lied to. Napoleon to say uh of course I I was a holder in W West Virginia.
And now he had to hold for Vinatier. And Vinatieri is like, you got to figure this thing out, kid. And who knew that would lead to this moment in a Hall of Fame speech? Hey, Pat McAfee's here in the crowd today. Great to see you, brother.
The only person who enjoyed holding my balls more than my wife. I heard that I'm standing next to Kurt Warner and Lewis Riddick on the set. I'm like, whoa.
Now, he did follow that up, though. Yeah. Because Chris is like, wait, what? Yeah. Oh, he followed it up.
He followed up with his father. You know, his wife would hold for him in the offseason, whatever, which led Kurt to say on the air. He's like, yeah, because I brought up, you know, hey, two-drink minimum. And Kurt's like, yeah.
So, you know, our wives play, you know, significant roles for all of us in the offseason. And I just went on the air. I'm like, Don't think that was my takeaway. I don't think that was a takeaway from that comment. Adam Vinatieri, it's up and it's good.
And you saw Manning Peyton right before the winter. Oh, yeah, he went with a forehead joke about it. Yeah, he said, Oh, yeah, the prompt. Yeah, the prompter was going to be on his forehead. Man, everybody got that.
Everybody. Scoring points everywhere at Minotauri. Yeah. Well, I should That was the first. He just kicked off everybody.
Oh, my goodness gracious. Didn't see that one coming. Great weekend in Canton. Is it the headline? A so-fi personal owners helped.
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Terms and Conditions Apply, NMLS 696891. Jeff Hafley's the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Let's take a break and have him join us back on the program next. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Rich Eisen here.
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It was just not okay with him. It wasn't okay in a walkthrough. It wasn't okay in practice. It wasn't always okay in a one-on-one. And he was just going to kill himself to make sure that no one caught a football on him.
And I just, nowadays, it's like, yeah, I got caught a ball on me, tag off, a guy caught a five-yard pass on me, you know, do some kind of like I just strapped him down. Like, those guys didn't do that. Like, they just went out there and just. I don't know. It was just different up here.
So, really fortunate to be around guys like that. Jeff Hafley, Miami Dolphins head coach here on the Rich Eisen Show. Our radio audience has returned talking about some Hall of Famers that he's coached in other places before becoming the HC in Miami. And listen, I mean, Hall of Fame players wake up with the talent that's needed. And then.
Or many people wake up with the talent that's needed, let's put it that way. But Hall of Fame players add a burning desire to be great. to it. How do you coach that? Right.
I mean, how do you find those players? You know, you Starting out now in Miami trying to create a culture. But how do you? How do you Knowing what it looks like, try and instill that.
Well, I think you got to be demanding. I mean, and we're so young right now where it's actually a lot of fun. I mean, we have 23 rookies on the roster, and a lot of them are battling for jobs and getting a ton of reps, whether it's with the ones or the twos. And I mean, you can push these guys, show them exactly what it looks like. And you got to be relentless about it.
You got to hold them accountable. You got to be demanding. And now we got to love these guys up, and they're going to make mistakes. But just the way right now they're going about practice, and our coaches are coaching them. You know, it will take a little bit of time with these guys because playing as rookies is hard.
But I think we're in a pretty cool space right now to be able to do that and really get on these guys and teach them, teach them the right way, teach them what it looks like. And it's just all the little things and the details that's been fun right now. And in terms of. Bringing the players in, you know, you and John Eric Sullivan together now. uh from the Green Bay system.
Do you did you choose the players in the draft having already sort of kicked a tire to know that they're ready for that type of coaching? Was that part of the process over the last few months? I think part of the process is finding guys that love football. And I think Sully and his staff did such a good job. And then, you know, a big thing for me is when, you know, Sully and I constantly talk and you talk to the scouts and you talk to everybody in the draft room and what do they say about him?
Does he love football? And then to me, it's how tough they are. And it's when I watch tape, whether it's late in the game, how hard are they still playing? When their team's losing, how hard are they still playing? Do they celebrate with their teammates?
They do all the little things on tape that don't talk to me that you love football because everybody could say you love football, but I want to see things that show me they love football. You know, how physical a guy comes down and how excited he gets and the juice that he has with his teammates and how a corner might get off a block or a wide receiver straining down the field. Like all those little things. I mean, if you get guys that are made up the right way, you're going to have a pretty good chance. Jeff Hafley here on the Rich Eisen Show.
So how is Malik Willis? handling being the one. There in Miami in his first training camp and offseason. Yeah, he's doing a nice job. I mean, clearly, he's getting the reps, and I think that's new for him, right?
As a backup, you're kind of with the twos and you're rotating in, but he's getting the reps with the ones. And you see probably the biggest thing, his confidence. It's just his confidence is starting to grow. He's understanding the scheme more with Bobby Sloick. He's starting to lead more because he's feeling that confidence and understanding that, you know what, I'm going to take over this offense, not just as a player, but it's my time to lead these guys.
And you can start to see him vocally grabbing a wide out. Or the other day, he got the offense together before practice to kind of go over some stuff.
So It's been fun to watch and he's going to continue to develop and as he gets playing time. And in terms of evaluating him, Jeff Hafley here on The Rich Eisen Show, and in terms of evaluating Malik. Willis. Conversation you hear so many times when you build a team, certainly around a young quarterback who's doing it as a starter for the first time. is you got to surround him with the talent to see what he can do.
And Jalen Waddell gets sent to Denver and it's caused a lot of Confusion amongst people saying, Okay, so you're bringing this kid in, you're gonna give him this chance. But you send away a guy who Denver thinks so highly of and obviously your team thought so highly of as well. But you're sending him away. How do you respond to how you're able to evaluate him based on the roster that's around him? Yeah, I mean, one, I think you look at our whole line.
I mean, we've got some really good players in the offensive line. Brewer, I think, is, you know, one of the best leaders and one of the best guys on our team. And I think he's one of the best centers in the NFL. You know, we drafted Procter in the first round, and he's done a really good job at guard. You know, Jonah was a high pick last year.
I think his confidence is back, and he's doing a really nice job. Pat Paul, really good offensive tackle. I think he has a chance to develop into one of the better tackles in the NFL. And I just think that group is starting to gel. And I think it's important to protect him.
You know, we signed Han, and I think Han is one of the top backs in the league and probably doesn't get as much credit as he deserves, not only in the backfield running the football, but as a guy you can kind of spread out. And then we got a bunch of receivers right now fighting and getting better. You know, Malik Washington's had a really good camp. Greg Dulcich has had a really good camp. Caleb Douglas is a guy that we drafted and loved in the draft.
And, you know, he's had really good moments. And we got other guys fighting. You know, so. Malik's done a good job, and he's developing really good chemistry with the guys around, and we're going to do everything we can to protect him and his teammates the same way. What will you allow about the amount of touches Devon Achan is going to get?
there in Miami, what sort of heads up can you give The fans here. On that.
Well, I just gave A-chan a heads up this morning and told him you better be in good shape because I told him there might be some games where I have to pick him up and carry him back into the locker room because he's going to be so tired. And I told him I don't ever want to see one of these head taps all year. And he looked me right in the eye and said, You'll never get that head tap for me. I said, Don't worry, buddy. After you touch the ball 40, 45 times, I'm going to have to pick you up and I'll carry you back into the locker room.
I love the guy. I mean, you want to talk about. A guy with some juice and a guy with personality starting to come out, and a guy was starting to become a leader. I just like those guys who can kind of give it back to you a little bit and have some fun. And I think.
I would say this about him, Rich. He's one of the smarter players. When you talk to him, like today in a walkthrough, I was kind of like, You're not going to pick up this Blitz watch. And he's like, Yeah, we're going to do this and that. It's like, He's really a smart football player, and it's fun to go back and forth with him.
And he's got this fun energy about him. I think you just start.
Well, I I've watched many games in my days with Marshall Falk. Um I would watch him watch a guy get two, three touches in a row. And then do the tap of the helmet thing, and he would lose his mind. You know, he would lose his mind. Like, what are you doing?
Like, the offense is running through you. You're getting the touches because you're you're good at it. What what are you doing this for? And it would l he would lose his mind. Jeff.
Loser. Yeah, I'm going to. If HN starts tapping his head and you ever see that in the game, I'm just going to start doing this to him and start beating my head and give him the ball again. I'm not letting him tap his head.
Now, look, man, he's going to get tired. I mean, he can just kind of sneak off the sideline and look at me and wink or something, but he's not going to tap his helmet.
Okay, very good. I appreciate that. We will keep an eye appealed for all of that. Do you play the Nobody Believes in His card? Do you do something, coach?
Not yet. We we're just we're focused on building this the right way. Everybody keeps asking me that. And I read it, whether we're picked to win one game or zero games and how it goes. I see it, right?
You can't not, but I just don't think it's the time to start talking about that with the players. I mean, I want to build this foundation. We've practiced really hard, and we're trying to build this from the ground up, do it the right way, being very detailed, being very tough, being very physical. I mean, we went live and practice on, I think it was Saturday. I don't even know what day it is, but a couple of days ago, and the guys embraced it and loved it.
And it looked like a real football practice. We're starting to really gel together and have fun as a team. I don't know if our guys are too concerned with that right now. There'll be a time and a place if I ever feel a little low and I need to get them fired up for a minute, but what's that gonna do, right? Like me going to team meeting and say, look, people think we're gonna win one game.
It's gonna fire them up for 10 seconds and I mean, that's not real. We got to build this thing right, and it's got to come from within. And they got to want to do it for each other for the right reasons, not because what everybody else is thinking about us.
So maybe a good shot here or there, but not ready for it.
So, what is the right way? Again, that's what everybody's kind of hunting and pecking for: is philosophy and your roster building. I mean, the first three selections you had, you had two firsts because of the waddle trade. You went, um, Lineman, and then you went corner, and you went linebacker. And everybody's like, Where are the pieces for Malik here?
You know what I mean? Even though you did give him one up front, which may be the most important one. But what is the right way? What can you? Give people an idea of what that means.
Yeah, I think when you build a foundation, it's not being motivated from outside noise or outside sources. I just, I don't think that's real. I think even when you, you know, you get applauded from outside sources or from people from they're not an organization, I mean, that's great. But at the end of the day, I want this team to play for each other. One, these guys got to start believing in themselves first.
Like, and I've had that conversation with a lot of guys after hard days. Like, you got to believe in yourself, and then they got to start to believe in each other. And I think if you get a group of guys that do that, and the coaches believe in the players, the players believe in themselves, and the players believe in each other, and we go out there and we play harder than our opponent, and we play tougher and we play smart and we play together, and we continue to grow this thing and get better and better and better. And we see that process is working. And by the end of the year, we're playing good football and kind of have a feel for what this team is all about.
I mean, that's the right way because that's not going to be broken. I mean, the other stuff's not real and it's not going to sustain. I mean, the way we want to build this thing right now is we want to build it so it's right. And it lasts, not like this quick fix. Let's get all fired up and then it implodes.
Like, we got to go through some stuff together here and find out who we really are and who we can trust and count on when things get hard in that stadium. That's what camps got to be like, and that's what early in the season is going to be like.
So, I believe if we do that, I know I'm ranting right now and getting a little off the topic, but I think if we do that, that's going to be the right way. I don't think you're ranting. That's exactly what I'm looking for, man. I mean, like, and a lot of fans of your team are looking for. Like, what are they doing?
What are they building? And the question, the last one I have for you on this front is, you know, You know, it's down the road. Like, what does success for Malik Willis look like? For you. Because again, in this league, I mean, you'd The team did not sign him to some massive money deal that will force you into a.
A roster decision, And there's a large contingent of quarterbacks in next year's draft. A lot of people are wondering what. What the future down the road holds. And I know I'm asking that as you're building a culture and a team and a roster. But what does success in your mind for Malik Willis look like?
This year. And the confidence that I talked about. I believe in Malik. I believe in him as a person, and I believe in Malik as a player. And I watch him sit in the pocket and throw the ball well.
And I watch him use his legs and throw the ball and run down the field. And, you know, there's going to be some ups and downs. I mean, that's just it's going to be the natural. Occurrence for a guy who's really starting his first year. It's almost like a rookie year for him.
There's going to be his ups and downs. I want to see improvement and I want to see confidence and I want to see leadership and I want to see some moments where he's capable of taking over a game, which I truly believe that he's going to do. But it's going to be okay when he makes mistakes and I'm going to have his back because we're all going to make mistakes, but we got to learn from them or else they won't count.
So those are the things that I'm looking forward to seeing him do. And I am excited. I'm excited for everybody to see what this kid's capable of doing.
Well, last one for you. because the last time we spoke, you had just been hired. And you said you didn't really know your way around the building. Where have I found you here? Is this a conference room?
Is this an office of yours? This is a nice conference room, isn't it? You see that glowing light? Yeah, back there. That's where it is.
Yeah, it's beautiful. I mean, we got a nice dolphin's helmet. It looks like we got some decorations. Yeah, I don't know what those are. Those decorations, I have no clue what those are, but I don't want to criticize whoever's, you know, the interior.
I don't think you can criticize them, Rich. I think whoever did this room did an incredible job.
Okay. You know what's actually here? This is funny. What do you got? This is the room where I did my interview and got offered the job.
So, this is kind of like a nostalgic moment for me being on your show, sitting here thinking. Wow, this is where I got hired.
So, but you were brought into this room and you had no idea what was going to happen when you walked in, you had a better sense. To that or when I was hired. When you were hired, it wasn't like Pesci walking into that spot in Goodfellas, right? Like it was you knew something good was going to happen when you walked into that room. Rich, you never know on these interviews what's going to happen.
So, no, I mean, I walk in and there's a whole everything, every seat was filled. Oh, wow. Up, there's Marino, there's Aikman. I'm like, oh my gosh, where am I right now?
So, No, it was a cool moment. It's just kind of funny now that I'm sitting here again looking around. Talking to you. I'm very fortunate. Yeah.
Well, I appreciate the time. I really do enjoy our chats, and I do look forward to chatting with you during the season. You got your preseason game against the Commanders, right?
So, what's your philosophy for your first preseason game for ones, twos and things like that.
Well, we practice against them on today's Monday. We practice on Wednesday.
Okay. So everybody will be available to play on Friday night. I just. The practice is going to be really important to us, and I want to see how many reps each guy gets and how we come out.
So I'll base the reps played by how many reps we think each guy can handle within those that real three-day period. But as of right now, everybody who's capable of playing will play in that game. And what's it going to be like for you in Vegas week one when you're stepping on that field? Is the. Head coach of the Miami Dolphins, you know, with the, you're, you're, you're in the seat Shula once occupied, man.
You know what I mean? And also Wanstedt, who was your guy in Pittsburgh, if I'm not mistaken, who hired you there. Um pretty cool for you. What what's what do you think's gonna go through your mind, if you'll allow? Yeah, you know, you're probably the first person that's asked me that question.
You'd probably be a very. It would be a special moment. you know, obviously one that worked very hard for and Probably very humbling. You know, just uh I don't really think of myself often as the head coach. I just kind of go about my day and, you know, take a step back and think about all the people who helped me get there.
all the hard work, it'll Probably be a pretty emotional first moment until the ball's kicked off, and then I'll get back into coaching mode. humbling, grateful to everybody who've helped and I'm looking forward to it. Jeff, appreciate the time. You be well, coach. We'll chat again soon.
Okay, man? Thanks. All right, thanks. Thanks for having me on. Anytime.
That's Jeff Hafley, head coach of the Miami Dolphins, right here in the Rich Hansen Show. Like that dude. Right? Every time I speak to him, I'm like, I'm this guy. I know.
This season might be a little rocky, but I think Dolphins fans should feel good about who's in charge. They drafted. A lineman Okay. Yeah, not sexy. That's which is not none of their pixel.
You take a look at it and you're like, okay. Which is why Dolphins fans are like, oh, they probably wanted a bright, shiny new offensive toy for Malik Willis. And instead, they're like, nope. We know a way to build a roster and this is the way we're going to do it. I've been thought of get him Makai Lemon.
And then she said, Oh, wait a minute, we got the Green Bay people. Yeah. He's a wide receiver. This is the first round. Yeah.
Also for fantasy. Yeah. Purposes. Devin H.N., he basically said, Oh, did you hear that? Going to get the ball early and off.
Did you hear that? A lot. You made a point, so we just gotta market. Oh, yeah.
He's just like, I'll pick you up and take you off the field after your 40th touch. Yeah, had to write that down. I heard that one, too. Run tell that. Run, tell that.
That's why I don't like drafting before baseball. Yeah, because people draft during training camp. You need to learn. You need to figure this stuff out. Not like it's any surprise that they're going to give Devin A.
Chan the Chan the football. Just to hear the coach confirm. Yeah. Not just move them up. And then you heard Dan Campbell say, Gibbs, we're going to push him.
Yes. Push them real good. Good one. All right, let's take a break right here on the Rich Eisen Show, 844-204-Rich. Number 2: The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.
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So um did you see this over the weekend in Philadelphia The Phillies on the radio side of things had a substitute teacher calling in. I don't mean to just peg this man as just a substitute teacher, but apparently, according to the article, that's what he does for a living. His name is. Lewis Calb. And he called an inning for uh Philadelphia Radio 'cause he won it in a charity auction.
And um let's um Listen to what he had to do. Thank you, Scott. It's a thrill to be here. It's a lifelong dream to be in the Philly's broadcast booth.
So here we go. Painter with the first pitch to Ortiz. It's in there for strike one calm. You spent your life as a. What?
Firefighter? Police officer? Neither of those things. Just guessing.
Now delivers. Swung on a missed. He got him. Andrew Payter. Picks up the strikeout, and that'll do it for the Nationals.
No runs here in the top of the third. They go to the bottom half. Fillings laid it 2-1. Holy crap. These are all done.
Oh, that was so good. The Roy Hobbes. Yeah, it was awesome. He's been away, and he comes in and he crushes it. We were planning on talking about this.
But is is this is this the case here? Yes, sir. Line four. Line four, Lewis Kaub in Medford Lakes, New Jersey. Is this the announcer, Lewis Kaub?
This is the announcer, Rich Eisen. Wow.
You crushed it. This is great. Oh, thank you. Have you done it before? I've done some YouTube.
I go down to the local high school Shawnee and I record the games and a few of the highlights I'll add a little play by play in them, but other than that, that is my first Just Well, you got the pipes for it. And is it true you are a by trade substitute teacher? Lewis or no? A substitute teacher in the latter years. I actually was in radio, so I guess I should confess to that.
Back in the 80s, in the early 90s, in fact, I did do some reporting, including on WFAN's Javi Rose Mets Extra show.
So I'm not a novice, but I had done the play-by-play.
Well, it sounds like you definitely are professionally trained, I'll be honest with you, Lewis. But. Ma'am, what was that like for you to be in the business? You want to call a good game, you get one chance, you get one inning, you sit down in the booth, and you just hope you don't screw it up. And I thought it went pretty well, but the reaction afterwards-I mean, Rich, for four days, I've been all over the country.
Media hits here and everywhere, all of these stories written. You definitely didn't expect that. I love it. That's so great. And the other thing, too, is you knew you're like, oh, please don't give me a six-pitch inning.
You know what I mean? You know what I mean? You needed a pitch count to be racked up a little bit. I did. I did.
Now. I was hoping for a a home run, which I did not get. The Phillies went up. three up and three down. But the good news is that in a couple of my ESPN hits over the weekend, they actually asked me to recreate a home run call.
So I got to call both a Schwarber and Bryce Harper home run. That worked.
Okay. Now, did my my son, who just got out of camp, he's 15 years old, who knows everything about baseball, he told me, is it true that Harper's going to the outfield? Is that a possibility? He is in the outfield, in fact. I think it was one game before I took the mic when they picked up Luis Serais.
He wanted to play second. They needed to play him at second, so that continued to shuffle the infield, which was already in the state of flux.
So Harper went out to right field and they moved Stout over to third, and Alec Bohm became the first baseman. Look at you. All right. You can be our. How about you call in every now and then?
You'll be our Phillies reporter for us. Hey, I'm up for that. Let's do it. Let's do it, Lewis. You got our number, and we're, you know, Philly.
Phillies are definitely going to be in the mix. That is for sure. Congrats, Lewis, and I appreciate you sharing time with us. Appreciate it.
Well, thanks, Rich. You know, my second item on the bucket list was behind calling Major League Baseball to be interviewed by Rich Eisen. Mm-hmm. So, check that box. Check that box.
Check that box. Thanks again. Congrats. That was fun. Thanks so much, Richard.
That's fun. All right, Louis, it's fun. I mean, it made sense that he had some. He's sounding. He sounded incredible.
When I heard it, I was like, wow, it's just as good as the regular guys. I think it's safe to say that's not going to be his last game. Oh, he should call in. Because you know the Phillies are how the Mets doing? Who?
Uh-oh. They made this band, Rich, I'm hearing. Wow, the Red Sox actually lost two in a row. They actually lost the series. Yeah, I know.
You know why? Yeah. We have the answer in our house. Coop got out of camp. Go away, Cooper.
Go back to camp. He went into camp the night. They started their four-game sweep of the Yankees. Really? Wow.
And so he comes out of camp. They've lost two in a row. You're done, Brock. Welcome home, Coop. This is great.
I mean, I'll pay for a half. Can we go to a new camp? Keep it up. Leave it up. Summer camp.
Yeah. Oh yeah, it's cool start. You're wondering what happened why how do the Red Sox suddenly lose two in a row? Coops out of camp. I don't like it.
I do. It's great to have him back. Great to have Coop back. Fans back, Taylor returns midweek. We're going to be fully constituted.
Fully constituted. We are. We're going to be fully constituted. Five wide again. Full strength.
Let's go. Oh. Just light a candle. Fuck it. How did a candle?
Yeah, remember Susie asked Kylie Kelsey on Women's Sports Now last week, my kids are all coming back. Do I have to hang with them? And she goes, Nope. Nope. She said, No.
That's great.
Okay. So she's got Kylie Kelsey's permission. Yeah, whatever Kylie says. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. The right window treatments change everything: your sleep, your privacy, the way every room looks and feels.
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