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Hey, everybody. Can't get enough of The Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck. You can find us everywhere. Watch us weekdays on Disney Plus from noon to 3 Eastern.
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Now, on with the show. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Are you ready? With guest host, Bobby Bones.
So I got to go and spend a whole day with Jerry Jones. I don't have time to have a bad time. It isn't on my schedule. The Rich Eisen Show. Earlier on the show.
Co-host of NFL Stock Exchange, Trevor Sycama. Coming up. BarStool sports host, Brandon Walker. Comedian, Howie Mandel. And now, sitting in for Rich, it's Bobby Bones.
Here we are We're gonna talk to Brandon Walker who Like, I love this guy, but only after I hated him for a long time and taught college sports. But call us 844-8444. 204 Rich. Watch us on Disney Plus and the ESPN app. Listen to us on ESPN Radio and SiriusXM Channel 80.
And so Brandon Walker is a diva. I like to say that up front. Let's bring him on now. He's a massive diva, and I love that about him. And oh, look how tan he is.
Why are you so tan? It's summer. Fair enough.
So the guy's also very vain, and he shouldn't be. You know, physically, fair, he has great hair, great beard. But last time he was on, because anywhere I go, I love to have Brandon Walker on. You got to understand, I'm in love with him. I'll just say it, I'm in love with him.
And he took issue with the photo that we used on his YouTube clips here. I want to show everybody the picture we used last time that he cried about.
Okay. Oh, wow. Yeah.
So that's the picture. And you were like, I'm sad. You didn't use the picture of me that made me look good. Anything you'd like to say about that picture first? We all change as human beings.
That was a long time ago. But now, as I get in my late 40s, now maybe I'm clinging to that picture more than I was a couple of years ago.
So I think I've softened in my old age.
Well, I haven't.
So we've picked a few pictures that you should choose from.
Now we're going to let you choose. Number one here: arms crossed, Mississippi State Jersey, angry. Thoughts? Pretty solid. That's about what I need to look like.
I think you look better now. Fair enough.
Let's go to number two. No, that one's no, I smell a fart there. Yeah, that is definitely nose crinkled.
Someone. Oh, what the hell? Oh, my God. Oh, God. What is that?
That is Steve Jobs. What are you thinking with your mouth open like that? I don't know. There's a hot dog in the room?
Okay, fair enough. How about the thinker? You're the thinker right here. That goes against everything I stand for? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And you're an accountant. Yeah.
Full cowboy outfit. Go ahead. I'm good.
Okay. Why would I be Luigi? Luigi. Luigi. Why would I be Luigi?
Are you Mario? I would be. If we were together, I would be Mario. You would be Luigi, yes. Can I say something?
Our relationship has gotten to the point, I don't think you should keep having to add the qualifier. I used to hate him first. You can just see. I have to. You could just say I like the guy.
You don't have to qualify it every time. He's got a point. No, no, he doesn't have a point. I'm going to tell you why.
Okay. Because if I bring Brandon Walker on, I get heat. Why would you bring Brandon Walker on? We can't stand him.
So if I go, oh, I'm like you, everybody out there, I used to hate him, but now what I hated, I actually see as the beauty of him. He's the smartest guy that I know talking sports, period, in the history of sports.
So you're trying to flip some of the haters. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, I get it. I see what you're doing. What are you like?
Somewhere fancy? Yeah, I'm in Dork County, Wisconsin, on the shores of Lake Michigan. Oh, fair enough. Did they rename that one yet? No, no, no, this one stays.
Okay. We keep this one. Yeah.
All right, let's talk college football. By the way, you can't curse. You know we're live. I'm aware. I've already, my wife is watching me off screen.
She's so happy about the no-cursing rule. Thank you.
So What do you think the biggest thing college football fans have convinced themselves of th this year that could be wrong?
So I think it's the same as every year. I think polished football fans as a whole have convinced themselves that if a coach or a team haven't broken through in recent years, they can't do it. If I were to sit here and pick Texas to win the national championship, somebody on the internet would say, Texas, Steve Sarkeesian, they can't do it. Oregon, Dan Lanning, they can't do it. Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame, he's never won the national title.
How could he do it? But we conveniently forget: had Indiana ever done anything before they did it? Had Ryan Day broken through at Ohio State before he did it two years ago? Had Kirby Smart beaten Alabama consistently to show he could win a national title before he did it two years in a row? No, no, no, no.
And I think people will go into a season saying certain teams can't win it because they never have, and they miss the whole picture that yes, they can. Hey everyone, you check out the Brandon Walker College Football Show. It's my show. It's my college football show that I watch and I love. What preseason ranking did you see whenever they released the first official and think, Nah, that ain't true.
So there's an obvious one, but then I want to dig a little deeper, Bobby. I want you to dig with me. I'm going to give you a shovel. We're going to dig in a second. But the number one preseason ranking that I think is going to end up looking foolish is Texas AM.
Last year, they got to the playoff Their first seven SEC games were against teams ranked 10 through 16 in the SEC as a statistical anomaly that will never, ever, ever, ever happen again. As soon as they played Texas, they lost. As soon as they played Miami, they scored three points. I don't think with the offensive line, defensive line turnover, I don't think they're going to be there this year. They're a top 10 preseason team.
That will not last. But. If you look at Ohio State, you look at Texas, two teams ahead of them. Scheduling is so key in this day and age of college football, and we don't mention it. Ohio State and Texas right now deserve their rankings, but Texas plays Ohio State in week two, and they both have nasty, nasty, nasty schedules.
I believe Ohio State plays seven top 15 teams or something like six top 15 teams in the preseason poll. They play Oregon at home, they play Indiana on the road, they play USC on the road, they play Texas on the road.
So.
Somebody in the top five is going to fall out, and I think it's going to be because of schedule. Indiana's at sixth.
Now, let's just say Georgia had won the national championship, or let's just say Alabama had won the national championship. Are they starting sixth? No, they're starting number one. And it's something I when when I heard the first question, One of the things I thought was people have convinced themselves Indiana can't go back to back. And the more I think about it, why?
They have an organization, a coaching staff that figured out this era of college football better than anybody in the world. They get veteran, experienced guys, keep them in the program. They have offensive, defensive coordinator, continuity throughout every season. They got the same guys, the same coaches, the same development, and now they're bringing back. 90% of their defense from last year.
They're changing from Fernando Mendoza, number one pick Heisman winner. It's our natural inclination when you lose a guy like that to say, well, they can't be as good. They got him off the transfer portal buffet. Why can't they go back to the buffet and get another delicious quarterback? That's what a buffet is.
You keep going back and getting food. And I think Josh Hoover is somebody that can be a delicious quarterback for them. Interesting. What do you think the greatest buffet restaurant ever is? Oh, my God.
Probably. Probably you ever get the Louisian platter? Probably Pap's Country Style Buffet in Ackerman, Mississippi.
Okay, so you're going to do that?
Okay, then I'm going to go to Brown's Country Store in Benton, Arkansas. If we're just going to go and pick our favorite home places. Why wouldn't we, Bobby? Why are we beholden to national change? Why can't we shout out Pat's Blaze Mackerman, Mississippi?
Great point. You know who got a hold of me? Big Buffet, like Big Pharma. Big Buffet got a hold of me there, and I must admit my faults and flaws. Are buffets coming back, by the way?
I've seen some buffets on this trip where I felt like after COVID, we went a couple of years where buffets were down. I think they're back up. I feel the buffet stayed in places like where we grew up in Mississippi and Arkansas because we didn't have COVID where we lived. And I feel like that, you know, it all stays when you go to like the big cities. Like I'm in LA.
I drove around. You know what I didn't see in L.A.? A buffet.
Well, a lot of people think they're better than Buffet. And now, Bobby, you've got all this money. I feel like you've kind of lost your Buffet Roots. Me, I never lost my Buffet Roots. Yeah, I have a chef.
Oh. Yeah.
Okay. All right. Money bags. Yeah.
But I still occasionally drive by a buffet and remember the good old days. Oh, buffets were amazing too. Says are amazing.
Okay, back to football. What's one program Do you think people still feel as a powerhouse because they won for a long time and now they're not that anymore?
So, you're just poking me with the Alabama stick, aren't you? You're just poking me with the old Alabama stick, saying, go ahead and do it, press the button. And I'm going to do it. And it's not that Alabama coming in this year isn't a good football team. It's that the signs around the football program after two decades of saving and being on top of the sport are impossible to continue like that.
Last year, they lost to Florida State to open the season. It's very depressing when a team like Alabama walks into the season not ready for it. And then at the end, Indiana beat them thirty eight to three. Did you ever think you see a world where Alabama laid down to Indiana? They end up making the playoff in that spring in year two, but in year three, they're going to have a freshman quarterback.
The lines of scrimmage aren't as strong as they've ever been, as Alabama football always was. And while they are still a respectable top 15 program, you can't look at Alabama and say this is a slam-dunk, no-doubt, national title contender. In fact, if you rank them in the SEC, You do Texas before them, you do OMS before them, you do A ⁇ M before them. Georgia before them, LSU, maybe. Like it takes a while to get to Alabama, and people still act like they're this powerhouse sitting on top of the sport, and that is hanging on by a thread.
You're right. They were run by Indiana, but a lot of people were.
So I will. Were they no Bobby? Like Ohio State lost 13-10. I'm talking about the elite of the elite of the elite. I'm not talking about the Northwesterns of the world, but Ohio State lost to them 13-10.
Iowa made them win in the last second. I believe, excuse me, not Iowa. Penn State. Penn State. Thank you very much.
Penn State made him win in the last second. Oregon tested them a couple of times, and Oregon's an elite team, but Alabama's supposed to be an elite team, too, and they lost 38-3. Here's a thought in Alabama. I'd like for you to just, you know, take and do what you do. They couldn't run the ball last year, and that was weird.
It's very weird. There's a number of college football superpowers that have forgotten how to run the ball. LSU hadn't been able to run the ball, Oklahoma hadn't been able to run the ball. But Alabama's the number one team. When you think of Nick Saban, you think of giant, ghastly linebackers that get off the bus just hitting everybody and making life miserable for your team, and then running backs who in the fourth quarter nobody wants to tackle.
Where is it going? Where is it? And that's when Kaylin DeBoer coming in. Maybe Keelan Russell can throw, and maybe he can throw to Ryan Williams, and maybe he can do these things. But until they can go in the fourth quarter of a game against.
LSU or Georgia or AM and pound the rock. I can't believe in this team, and they can't do it. As a coach and then as a person. How much do you trust Lane Kiffen? Oh boy.
Oh boy. As a person, as a person. What's the point? I'll never find myself in a position where I need to trust Lane Kiffin, and thank God for that. I say that.
As a coach, I trust him. Implicitly. I think as a program builder, What did he win? 10 games four times at OMS, a place that hadn't won that level ever in the history of the program. He won 10 games four times.
Like, as a coach, I trust him implicitly. He's going to have great quarterback play. He's going to have great offense. He's going to have great organizational skills. He's going to hire well on the defensive side of the ball.
And I think that's what he is and who he is. I think he's a top-five coach in this country. Is he a top-five human being in college football? Maybe, maybe not, but he doesn't have to be. He's paid to win football games.
And LSU has shown very, very clearly they are interested in winning football games. They don't really care about anything outside of that.
So you are a Mississippi State guy. You obviously are not an Ole Mist guy. You're anti Ole Mist. But if I were to ask you to describe what the environment will be when land goes back to Ole Mist this season, how would you describe that? Your absolute chaos on a stick.
It will be the most. It will be the most electric environment, not only of this season, probably of the last five or six years. I remember when Tennessee finally beat Alabama a couple of years ago, 2022, maybe. Uh, in Nealon Stadium, and you had the field storm, and what was that game 52 to 49? I just remember thinking this right here, if you could bottle it up, this is college football.
And I think that's going to be turned up to 10 this time because not only does it have all the elements of college football, it has two top 15 teams, it has some of the great players in the sport, but it has a level of visceral hatred that's almost dangerous. And that's what's going to be present in Oxford, Mississippi. Brandon Walker is on with us. You should definitely check out the Brandon Walker College Football Show. Please.
Please, he needs it. I don't. He does need the money.
Okay. All right. Yeah.
eight four four four two oh four rich if you want to hit us up it's bobby bones in for rich eisen.
Okay, so why don't we roll now to a guy named Bill Belichick? What needs to happen to and for him this year? That's so, oh, what a wonderfully worded question. What needs to happen to Bill Belichick this year? What needs to happen for Bill Belichick is the plug just needs to be pulled.
And now we're sitting here two days away from. We're not in life, by the way. I'm not saying kill Bill Belichick. That's not what I said. But as far as the college football experiment of North Carolina and Bill Belichick, it has turned very quickly in a year and a half.
Nobody has hope for it. Nobody looks forward to it. Everybody thinks it's a disaster, and nobody wants to see an all-time break go out like this.
So let's just act like it never happened. Put him back in an NFL, let let him be an assistant linebackers coach for the Seahawks or something, and let's just restart this whole thing. That being said, as a college football media personality, it is uh it it is very helpful to me to have somebody like Bill Belichick in the sport that every I can point and laugh at. I think you said that wrong. I think you should have said as the college football personality.
So I'd like to talk about that. Thank you very much. Rapid fire, and just don't talk a lot here because you do that. And it'll be like, give me one word, and then you go 10 minutes.
So don't do that here.
Okay. You know, for somebody. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, no. You already talking too much.
You're talking too much. Nope, you're talking too much.
Okay, there's a quick rapid fire. Here we go. Most overrated team. Facts is AM. most underrated team.
Louisville. Oh, okay, I want you to talk a little more. Louisville with Lincoln Keenholtz coming over with the coach is also a program builder, one of the great running backs in the country. They're a consistent program. They opened the season on a Sunday night against Ole Miss in Nashville, Ole Miss with huge expectations.
Louisville plays Ole Miss in SMU in the first three weeks. By week three, they could be almost a lock for the playoff because their schedule falls off after that. Best quarterback. Trinidad Chambus. Oh, does that hurt to say?
No, it doesn't because Brandon Walker is a truth teller. Brandon Walker is somebody who sees the landscape and says he will tell the truth. There's no, there's no, I'm not overridden by passion here. It sucks. We are going to use the cowboy picture when we do the thumbnail for you, though, on the side.
I think talking with you now, I like the cowboy picture. I'm a big fan of the cowboy picture. Not sure who on the Rich Eisen Show production team decided I needed a cowboy picture, but God bless him. No, your wife sent me that. She's the only one that has access to the Cowboy files.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Coach, under the most pressure. Wow, that's uh I think it's Sarkeesian. I think it's Steve Sarkeesian of Texas because with the roster they have and as much money as they put into it, if they miss the playoffs, he might be gone. He might go 9-3 and get fired.
And that's a lot of pressure. What about DeBoer, though, at Alabama? Like, what does he need to do not to get fired?
So, you know, the playoff perf last year helps a lot. I think 8-4 would be rock bottom for them. They might make a move at 8-4, 7-5. They certainly would make a move. He just needs to be 9-3, 10-2, and be in national title conversation late in the season.
And his schedule isn't nearly as daunting as Steve Sarkeesian's schedule is. Best home field advantage. LSU, Tiger Stadium, it's the best. You know, this is kind of a wonky question, Bobby, and I should have expected it from you. But when you say best home field advantage, what you're really saying is like best team.
Like, I have Georgia fans coming out and saying our stadium is the best because we never lose at home. You never lose at home because you've been the best team for a decade. But all things being equal, Tiger Stadium is the best in college football. Funniest possible national champion Mississippi State, Arkansas national title game is off the table here, I assume. That would be funny.
Funniest possible national champion?
Okay, we just saw Indiana go from the worst program in the history of cost football to winning a national title. What if Purdue did it this year? Remember when the Purdue AD a couple of weeks ago was like, if you want to win championships, you come to Purdue. It'd be hilarious if they actually did it. I can agree.
I remember whenever the Vanderbilt head coach I'm I'm friends with was at the SEC media days and it's like, I came here to win the national championship and everybody looked at Clark Lee like, you're insane. Vanderbilt. even compete for a national championship, and now he's got that place turned around. Here, let me pick up that name you dropped. I'm okay.
That doesn't hurt me. I drop names like crazy because people like to hear that. People like to hear names. Yeah.
You're a national champion. Oregon ducks. Bye guys. Best roster in football. A lot of guys came back that didn't need to come back, could have been NFL first or second-round picks, making a lot of money right now.
They chose to come back. The defensive line is scary. The level of athlete across the field is scary. And they've gotten on the green a couple of times. They've been to the playoff a couple of times and had a couple of disappointing results to end it.
They lost Ohio State a couple of years ago when they were not ready to play that game, lost to Indiana when they weren't ready to play that game. But you keep getting on the green, the puck will eventually fall. Oregon is following the track of a team that breaks through and wins a national title. Quickly, two teams I just want you to comment on. One is the Lincoln Riley-led USC Trojans.
I just can't fall into it every single year. Every single year in August, we're like, this is the year the defense turns a corner. They got the good quarterback. They got the good athletes. And this is the year they're tough.
And as soon as you say that, they go to Illinois at the end of September and lose 34 to 32. It's every single year with this team.
So if somebody's going to be left holding the Lake and Riley back, it is not going to be me. I just can't get behind them. All right, final one and go Penn State. Penn State is very, very interesting this year because I've talked about schedules so much. It's the least talked about thing that needs to be talked about more in college football.
Schedules can get teams to the playoff. And from there, whatever happens, happens. Penn State has such a manageable schedule this year. They miss Oregon. They miss Ohio State.
They miss Indiana. They miss Iowa. They miss four of the top five teams in the Big Ten. Therefore, Matt Campbell, who's bringing the Iowa State roster with him, basically, the quarterback and everything else, he's a very consistent coach. If they can just be consistently pretty good, they're going to be in the playoff this year in the first year of Matt Campbell.
Now, are they a top 12 team? No, but the schedule might get them there. There he is, the great, the wonderful. Go listen and watch his show. It is Brandon Walker from the Brandon Walker College Football Show.
Go back to your vacation. We love you. Thank you, man. Cowboy up right there. All right, there you go.
Good job, Brandon. Good job, Brandon. Yes, sorry. Good job, Brandon. All right.
I'm Bobby Bones. We're coming back with Ryan Silverfield next. Rich Eisen here. Running a small business means every hire matters. A bad hire costs time and money, but the right one helps your business grow.
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The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. We have Coach Ryan Silverfeld on. It's Bobby Bones filling in for Rich Eisen here in LA. And if you guys want to call us, 844-204-RICH, I'm always curious about when coaches move to a new school and he's in the SEC now. And you coached Memphis last year, and you beat the crap out of us at Arkansas.
And I bet that felt good, huh?
Well, I wouldn't say beat the crap. It was a hell of a game, but I think it gave the opportunity more so for anything, the Razorback fans to see the type of team that we're going to bring here to Northwest Arkansas, to Fayetteville, and to this entire state. I think the biggest thing is we're very fortunate, had a lot of successful years at Memphis, and I appreciated my time there. But I think hearing Arkansas fans say, man, we just love the way your guys played. They seemed disciplined.
They seemed tough. They played for all four quarters. And ultimately, right, that's what we want to see here year in and year out.
So I think that was the biggest thing moving forward. When I was a freshman in college, we did this thing where all the new freshmen got together and we did like trust games and it's like get to know name tag games. You got 80 new people there. Do you guys do that? Like trust fall, do the chair challenge?
What do you do? Yeah, you know what, believe it or not, right, a lot of teams will go do the old, hey, let's go to Dave and Busters and Bill Camaraderie. But we've done a numerous things, right? We one of the things we did this past offseason, instead of just doing basic winter conditioning, we actually chose teams. We had captains that selected guys.
All different position groups, different ages, and then built their teams. And they kind of had fun with competition with that and accountability throughout that. Then we did some true kumbaya, right? Like some campfire bonding. A bunch of guys, different groups, different ages, and kind of tell their life stories, kind of talk about their why, and that's been good.
But then ultimately, right, those guys taking care of each other in the locker room and making sure we get to know who one another are. I think that's as important as anything we've done ultimately.
So we have a great team. Do you feel like your age is important, that you've been able to do it the old way, but you're still young enough to really embrace the new way? Because I feel like you're right there. Like we're the same age. Like I had no Internet and I had Napster and now I'm living on TikTok.
But the same way with you and how this is working, is that an advantage to you? Bobby, I think you're exactly right. I think that's the, you know, 28 years of coaching.
So I've done it the old school way. The, hey, this is the way it's always been. And, you know, believe in some of those things that I learned all the way in the late 90s. But then also, right, you've got to be able to evolve. I think any head coach that takes over a program or any head coach nowadays, you're going to get run over if you're not evolving or staying ahead of this thing.
And so I think that, whether it's youth or just, you know, not letting my ego get in the way, this is what we need to do. This is how we've got to prepare. These are some of the things we have to do in college football at Arkansas in order to give ourselves a chance. But then there's that old school approach on the field. Hey, this is the blue collar.
This is what we're all about. Still believe in accountability. You know, I know the day and age before there was such a thing as NIL.
So that accountability piece is still strong. I'm buddies with Jared Allen, and Jared Allen Viking's great. And as soon as you got hired, he's like, hey, this dude. is is amazing, dude. And I was like, cool, he won't text me back, but that sounds cool, Jared Allen.
And then he's like, I'm going to go up and I'm going to work with the defense.
So first of all, have you got Jared to come up yet and work with you guys? And what is you guys' relationship? Yeah, first off, no, Jared needs to get his butt over here. Came to visit me in Memphis and hung out and stayed a couple nights at the house. But Jared and I go way back, obviously, our time with the Vikings.
I was actually an assistant D-line coach and worked a lot with the defensive end.
So Jared and I, you know, I had to prove myself. You know how it is when you're sometimes coaching guys around your age, just saying, hey, this is a tool I can give you. This is something that may help you. And, you know, first, you know, Jared, right? He kind of looked at me like, what the hell am I going to learn from you?
But our relationship grew, the trust grew. And then, you know, in the NFL, right, you can actually be friends with the guys you're coaching.
So it was just that trust factor. And, you know, I don't take any of the credit for obviously his Hall of Fame career, but maybe I gave him one or two things along the way that allowed him to have a little bit of success. And then our friendship grew from there, you know, whether it was going to his wedding, just getting to know him whenever we'd be in each other's towns visiting with one another, him coming to visit us last year. It's been great. Him and I still keep in touch, but no, we need to get Jared out here.
Bobby, I've got some stories on him for another time off. I'm sure you do.
So, okay, so you're in Fayetteville now. You know, you obviously make a bunch more money now. Have you bought anything cool? No, there's no time for anything, right? I'm a father of young girls and a head football coach in the SEC.
There's not a whole lot of time, right? Not even enough time to swing the golf club.
So I have not bought anything cool at all. That's not really my style. I think most people look at me and say, you know, did you actually get rid of stuff on your way? But that's just the nature of it. My daughters will be just well off.
They'll be fun. What'd you do with all your old Memphis clothes? Like when that happens and you have all that purple or blue, I don't even know what color that is. What do you do with all that? Yeah, so 10 years at Memphis, you can imagine the accumulation of stuff.
Six years as a head coach there.
So, probably over 300 pieces of Memphis gear are at the local homeless shelter.
So, there's a lot of people walking around the streets of Memphis with some Ryan Silverfield nice Memphis coaching gear. Like, seriously, you feel like a baller walking around town now, right? Like, we worship you. I'm from Arkansas. Like, that's what we have.
We don't have Pro. We have the University of Arkansas. And if we see the guy, that's the guy. It's gotta be pretty cool and also maybe a little weird to be like. That's the dude everywhere you go, right?
Well, listen, it's humbling. I understand this position, and I'm grateful for that. There's certainly, as we've all seen, there's some head coaches that let that go to their head. I put my head down. I work, and listen, I'm grateful for that.
We've got some amazing fans, Bobby, and I'm so appreciative of that. But that's the least of my concern. But I also understand who I represent every time I take the field. with everything I do, all my actions. But yeah, listen, it's been fun.
I've enjoyed interacting. I've been told that I probably get out and about more than some of the people previously. And so it's been enjoyable to get to meet and see so many of our great fans. Two final questions. It's Bobby Bowens filling in for Rich Eyes.
And today we're talking to Ryan Silverfield, head football coach at Arkansas. Question number one is. we're now waiting three or four years generally in college football. Not me, but we've seen that things move different and faster because of NIL and Transform Portal. Like what do you think a fair expectation is for a coach when he comes to a new program?
Listen, no one's going to have higher expectations for this Arkansas football program than myself and probably you, right? You know, but ultimately, I want to see us improve every single week. You know, we're going to obviously be judged on our wins and losses, but are we improving? Does this team play better disciplined football than we have in the past? Are they playing with relentless effort?
Are we handling the controllables? It's my job and our staff's job to put together the best roster we can. And we're making headway and doing things financially to continue to make this place better. But, you know, this year, when you put on the tape or Bobby, you're in the stands. You sit there and say, man, that looks like a much improved team.
And I think if we do that, we're heading in the right direction. Coach, you said it wrong. I go in the suite. I don't go in the stands. Come on, Coach.
I go in the stands. The food. Yeah, that's final question. And so this is be totally truthful with me here. How many phones do you have?
And if you do have a second burner-ish type phone, is that the number that I have? Yeah, I've got truly have one phone. I still have the same number from the Vikings, gave me a cell phone. They said, hey, at your age, you should probably have a cell phone.
So that number that you have is still that same Minnesota number. And then I've got another one that this university gave me that has never left my desk. Yeah, don't be typing in that one. They'll go in Freedom of Information Act. And next thing you know, who knows?
Coach, really rooting for you. You know, I have so many friends that know you personally and vouch for you as a dude. Excited to see what happens this year.
So I really appreciate the time. And you will not find a louder, more heard, passionate hog fan than me. And so I'm excited for this year. Bobby, man, I really appreciate it. Look forward to seeing you on the Hill this fall and grateful for all you're doing, all your support, man.
There he is, Coach Ryan Silverfield. Thank you, Coach. Thanks, man. Yes. All the best.
Boom, boom, boom. I'm going to go NFL. I'm going to do top five quarterback rooms likely to get weird. Are you ready for this? I love a weird room.
I stay ready so I don't have to get ready. Weird room. Let's go, number five. Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, Drew Aller. They're all in that room, right?
Now, why will it get weird?
Well, Rodgers is the starter. There is no controversy right now. The weird part is: what's next? Pittsburgh could keep four quarterbacks on with all of them. Both Will Howard and Drew Aller are sitting there as possible options.
Now, Rogers is forty two and And Howard and Al are both trying to prove they're the guy. But Are they? Are they investable? You know, Rogers is just here for a minute. I think that room could get weird thoughts.
Four quarterbacks. That's a l yeah. That's and the coach said like he'd keep more than that if he seven.
So, I don't understand what the point of that is because, obviously, by keeping quarterbacks that you know are not going to see the field, you're taking away from another position that you could have players actually contribute to the team.
So, yeah, that is weird to me. Fell two vote. I think that's crazy because TJ put it perfectly well. You have players, if they go down and you need another one, three is like a that's like to me a max. You need a starter, backup, back up to the backup just in case your starter goes down.
I get it. But you can always get another quarterback if you need to down the line. But at saying that, I think that's insane. To me, this is an interesting situation because obviously Rogers is the guy, and Mason Rudolph is. Hey.
serviceable backup at times. He's had to start enough games that you know.
So you would go, well, just cut him. But if Rogers goes down, Mason Rudolph can't actually win games, especially with the defense. But then if you actually think Will Howard or Drew Aller is the guy, you what you. How do you cut one of them now? Yeah.
I think, like, I was thinking about this the other day. I mean, Mason Rudolph's been there for years now with the Stillers. And like I talked about, Justin Gabriel and Shador earlier, Bobby, maybe it's time to maybe let him go on and find another route, another path to extend his NFL career because he's had the chance there. They haven't committed to him.
So maybe he's not in the right spot. Maybe it's time for him to go and kind of see where he can land and maybe make a... more of a contribution to the team than he is right now. And number four, and this one is getting less weird by the day, especially after last night's game, but Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza. I mean, this is the classic setup.
It's like established vet who's made a billion dollars. Kirk Cousins, very likable. After his injury for a second, wasn't good, but then got kind of good again. But Mendoza is the guy eventually, right? There is no doubt that that's why it's all happening.
So, you know, when does Kirk Cousins get his feelings hurt if he's taken out? Mm-hmm. I don't think he does. Even if it's week two, even if it's happened to him before, so I don't think he does. I think he knows that Mendoza is going to start.
Like, it's going to happen. Yeah, I agree with Mike. Yeah, week two, though, feels early for a guy like Kirk Cousins, who is good again and they're paying a decent amount of money too. I would say they probably wouldn't make a week two change because if you were going to do that, then why even start him? Why even give him the job to start with?
Week two? You're in the switch already? Unless he goes out there and completely poops the bed. Yep. Which, you know, I don't think he's going to do.
Kirk Cousins is a hung around long enough and made as much money as he had, not because he wasn't. Good at his job, you know.
So I think week two would be way too early, and it would be like, what's the point? And number three, Kyler Murray, J.J. McCarthy. Obviously, Kyler is the number one quarterback. But, I mean, that room is weird.
I don't know. That's another weird one. That's just another weird one. Because McCarthy was supposed to be the future, and Kyler's playing on a one-year deal. And McCarthy's going to sit there for another year, and we're going to try this again.
Which is weirder that. Kyler plays badly, or Kyler plays really well. I'll be honest, I think Kyler Murray is going to have a really good year this year. I agree. I think so, too.
Why it is kept. I mean, look, he was in a tough division, right? And yeah, there was all this stuff about him, you know, with the video games and the practice habits, but. Justin Jefferson, let's not forget, just because the stats haven't said so, my cousin, by the way, Justin Jefferson, because the stats last year didn't say so. He's still a premier weapon in this league.
He's still top of the food chain when it comes to wide receivers. And then also you have Jordan Addison and I don't know. I think Kyler Murray is going to surprise people with his play this year. Two left, Atlanta Falcons. We got the two lefties, Tua and Pennix.
Now, Atlanta. I like Pennix. Pennex is working his way back after the surgery. Tua has had a chance to win the job and hasn't exactly run away with it. I mean, remember, at number eight, when Pinnex was drafted, it was like, what is happening here?
The new coaching staff also inherited him. And that's always weird when it ain't your guy, right? Even though that's a guy. He's the guy from the guy. Yes.
If Tua wins the job, do we start going, Does Pennex even have a future in Atlanta? And to be honest, based upon what we've seen out of Tua, I don't know that that's going to be the case. Because Yeah, I know we say like preseason doesn't matter, but in this case, it didn't look great. I thought the job was his because Pennex hadn't been playing, he was out with injury, right? Recovering.
I don't know, Bobby. Hot take, hot take. Ready for it? Cooper Rush plays at least four games. He didn't even get mentioned in that, but he's a third, and that he can win some games.
They brought him in for a reason, right? He wasn't there to start with.
So, who knows? You might not be off. I take that back. It stinks because you've got Bajon Robinson, right, who is one of the most gifted players in the league. He's kind of going to get stuck in that role.
There were a lot of great running backs back in the day who were just like great running backs on so-so teams. I'm afraid that might be the case here with Bajan. We don't know what we're going to get out of Kyle Pitts. Like every year we're thinking, all right, this is going to be the guy. And then until last year, he never really was.
So I don't know, man. It's. Good luck to it, man. Yeah, good luck to them. I like that.
Number one, it's Deshaun and Shadur and Dylan Gabriel. And I'm also going to say Taylor Green, who I know it's preseason, but I don't know if you've been watching him run like crazy. Also, he did play at Arkansas, but he has had a heck of a preseason.
So, I mean, if they were to move Dylan Gabriel, they do have a good three at Taylor Green, who's coming in as a rookie. But man, that's got to be a weird run. That's the weird run. Totally. That's the weirdest room.
Yeah, also, Bobby, like it's weird when you, and I know that players do this all the time in all sports, but it's got to be weird too when you know the guy sitting right next to you and the guy you're spending the most time with, you and he, the two of you are competing for a job, right?
So, doesn't that make it tough to stay cordial? You know, or it's when he goes out there and drops a dime, are you really sitting like, Yeah, great player? You like, crap, man. Yeah, it's like this is not good. I don't know how these guys do this.
You know, what's going to be odd is. Whenever Deshaun gets benched and Shader goes in, if Shadeur also plays bad, I just feel bad for Browns fans. Yeah.
They just have been served a poop sandwich and they got to eat it. Eat your sandwich. And they go to games and Cleveland fans. I mean, look, I get crap all the time from my team, but man, at least I've seen some type of success to never. You know, I know.
Uh, okay.
Well, I do want to hear from you guys. Uh, let's do it. Hit us up next segment, 844-204-Rich. We do, we do have a lot. I'm Bobby Bones, In for Rich Eisen.
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You can watch us on Disney Plus and the ESPN app and on ESPN radio. And we do love and want to talk to you guys. I want to go try Terzo and I'll go one more time. For the second time. Terzo, hello.
Yeah, what's up, Bobby Bones? Hey, sorry about that, guys. I was walking the dog coming back in the office here, and there's a little bit of a dead spot. And I must have caught her as soon as you guys went to me.
So sorry about that. You're alive now, baby. What do you want to say? Sure. Hey, yo, so real quick.
TJ, last week, whenever I was talking about my awesome chili that I make for the Carls draft, you said that you're not a fan of chili? I don't like chili, bro. Beans. Don't worry about it. I'm with TJ too.
That is shocking. It's a staple food. What's the reason behind it? You know, here's the funny thing. I can remember being a kid, probably like three, four years old.
My mom made chili, and I wasn't, you know, when you're a kid at that age, you're not trying to eat. And I remember her kind of forcing me to like, you know, eat the chili. And it was just, I don't know if it was defiance on my part or the fact that I just didn't like the chili, but I ended up throwing up. And ever since then, I don't think I've ever eaten a bowl of chili since that day. That'll do it.
If I I once we used to be on like government food, and we had a big thing of pudding, and we would go get these puddings. They were kind of like meals ready to eat military. We'd stand in line to eat government cheese and pudding, and I ate the whole thing of pudding, and I vomited the pudding all out, and I can't eat pudding to this day.
So I feel you right there. Yeah.
Let's talk about your team there. What are you 49ers in this? Yes, I'm a huge Niner fan. Last night, it was kind of nice to see that defense apply some pressure to Mendoza last year. Obviously, you guys have talked about it on the show.
We had the fewest sacks in the league. And our pressure on the quarterback was extremely low as well, too.
So that I had things kind of led to our downfall plus the injury.
So it was good to see that. Good to see that we have some depth because obviously this Niners team needs it because that substation just could continue to tear down the team. I'm joking about that, but you know, or are you how team feel? Are you turning? Yeah, I think you might not be joking.
Yeah, I don't necessarily know. You joke about what hurts. That's what I always do.
Well Well, I wasn't going to make a joke about anything that happened in Ohio, so we can kind of just keep moving forward from that one. What do you think? What's your ceiling? Oh man, I think I think what I I think my win loss I had is at eleven. and eleven and seven when I did the win loss.
Um it I think that that's kind of where we should be. We do have a difficult schedule just given our division. But I do be I do believe it's manageable. The unfortunate part that I think we run into is we travel like thirty seven thousand some odd miles over the course of the season. And obviously, we're a team that struggles with injury, so just another hurdle that we're going to have to go over.
So, I think if we if we get to a um 11-7, I think we have a good opportunity, 11-6. If you don't mind, I'd like to say a few things about the 49ers, and I knew you were going to talk about them, so I started to jot down my thoughts here. As far as the floor, I mean, this is a really interesting team to me because it's a pretty wide range. I think they could go 8-9. I think they could go 13-4.
I mean, thinking back to last year, again, they were so injury-produced. Not prone. They were just crushed by injuries in general. And that's why the whole story came out about the power plant, too. Why is everybody, why are their legs dying?
It must be some radiation from.
So they went 12-5 last year with a win in the playoffs, despite getting crushed by injuries. And Fred Warner, who he was making some cool ninja videos, even after he was getting started, he never came back. He did make cool ninja videos, but he should be ready to go. I mean, Nick Bosa. And so.
It's the Brock Purdy, Kyle Shanahan situation. How do you feel right now? And we're in Brock's got a real contract now. Shanahan is obviously the guy if he's healthy. How do you feel about that relationship with those two and what's going to happen with that this year?
I think it's a great relationship, to be completely honest with you. When Purdy was drafted, I was extremely excited that we got him. And I remember calling back into the show that offseason saying that I was happy that he made the roster, and I thought that we had the best quarterback room. Uh Just overall, just given its depth with him as number three, and I turned out to be right when the fact that Garoppolo and Lance both went down. I think them paired together, they both know what is expected of each other, especially with the limitations that Brock does have.
But he also has a lot of talent, and he's got a lot of gumption, and that kid can stay in the pocket. He can move around it and out of the pocket and make a lot of tough throws. And so if we can stay healthy and that offensive line can protect him, I think he can be right there where he was two years ago when he was in the MVP conversation. Mike Evans is going to be interesting. Yeah, he's older, but man, he is consistent.
And we've said he's older for a long time, and he still catches the thousand. I mean, Mike Evans is probably going to be that dude, especially in that offense. But you're right. When you came on initially, you were like, hey, I wanted to see the defense. And they were dead last in the NFL last year with 19 or 20 sacks.
It was some low number.
So, I mean, I think. That to that to me feels Uh like if there's growth there, you would feel a lot better generally speaking. Especially with Bosa coming back and actually applying pressure. He's the guy that we need the most on that defense for that factor. Because Fred Warner can get everybody in position.
He can do so much there in the middle of the field. We just have to get pressure on the quarterback so then our DVs aren't sitting out on an island for so long. I felt that. Terzo, I appreciate the call. Thank you, man.
Good luck to the Niners. Appreciate you guys. You guys have a great weekend. All right, brothers. With the Niners, for me, it's not even that I'm.
worried that the forty niners are good enough. Mostly it's the worry is Will the best players be on the field together at the same time? Uh so because I feel like if you give Kyle Shanahan seventeen games with Purdy and McCaffrey and Kittle and Bosa and Warner, like that's that's an NFC team that can do it. Trent Williams is getting real old, but he's still the man. Yeah, yeah.
That's what we're talking about old players that make us still feel good. Trent Williams. He's one of them. Yeah, he's one of them. Still tossing people around.
We do have High Mandel coming up a little bit. Yeah, I almost forgot. Yeah, I'm excited. Oh, yeah, for sure. I ain't going to touch him physically.
What's that? You can't touch him. Don't touch him. Oh, yeah, I know about that. Yeah, because you know, he doesn't want to be touching.
Give him an elbow or a. I'm not going to do that. All right. We're going to be back in a second. Thanks for listening to the Rich Eisen Show Podcast.
You can watch and listen to The Rich Eisen Show live weekdays from noon to 3 Eastern on ESPN Radio, Disney Plus, and on the ESPN app, The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast. Close your eyes, exhale, feel your body relax, and let go of whatever you're carrying today.
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