REShow: Steve Young - Hour 1

Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.

Ladies and gentlemen, the one and only. This is the Rich Eisen Show. What do you do when these penalties get called and they're not right?

And it affects, as Joey Bosa said, what ruins their whole season. With the gambling, we've got to get these things right. I don't understand what you're talking about. You know exactly what I'm talking about.

You've got to get it right. Today's guest, Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young. Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman. Plus, your phone calls, latest news and more. And now, it's Rich Eisen.

Yes, it is. Welcome to this edition of the Rich Eisen Show. We're live in Los Angeles, California, in the Friday of divisional playoff weekend. I'm live on the Roku channel and my sweater perfectly matches the color scheme of this show. And you can tune in and see it and just say, wow.

I mean, it really fits. And it's free. It's free to see it. Oh, I thought your sweater was free. You're just giving those away.

No, the sweater is expensive. But that's the way I choose to start today's program. Welcome to this show.

For those listening on the radio, I'll just paint you the words picture. It's great. And we're here live for the next three hours, and I want to thank Suze for sitting in the chair yesterday. And it was a fun show.

I watched a lot of the videos back. I'm so glad that Tom Pelissero came on. Kurt Warner came on.

Marshall Faulk came on. Lots of great conversations. I'm glad that Suze gave you not five, but six shows to watch in case you were turning off MILF Manor. It's really great.

That's why I love this program here on the Rich Eisen Show. Good to see you over there, Chris Brockman. What's going on, sir? How are you?

It's been a rough week in my house. Oh, gosh. All right.

Okay. You know, Cage is getting back on West Coast time. We're going to be like four o'clock. And then he was sick yesterday.

So, not a lot of sleep. All right. Well, I'm glad you're here.

T.J. Mikey D is in Deez Nuts. Good to see you. How are you? Good to see you.

I'm doing well now. T.J. Jefferson, you like the candle, sir. You like the candle.

We're all here together. Do you ever just trip sometimes when you start the show that you have a show with your name in the title? I don't take anything for granted.

Or the fact that, you know, I've got a fantastic better half who can sit in this chair and take care of business when I need. Don't get Wally Pipp, Rich, is all I'm saying. Don't get Wally Pipp.

I greatly appreciate that. It'll be the Suzy Schuster Show. We've got four great games coming up this weekend. What a dynamic weekend of football we're going to see starting tomorrow in Kansas City. The Jacksonville Jaguars first on the clock two years in a row. They're in the final eight. Trevor Lawrence has never lost on a Saturday.

We'll see what happens this time around. I love that stat. Pretty bleak. Looked pretty bleak last Saturday down 27-nothing.

Then he remembered it was Saturday. Kansas City Chiefs coming off their bye week. The Philadelphia Eagles coming off their bye week. The 2-1 seeds put it all on the line. Can they get one and done by the Jaguars and New York football Giants respectively? The Eagles are trying to take all three games from the Giants this year. So tough to sweep an opponent 3-0. And then Sunday, off the charts, Bengals at Bills, Cowboys at 49ers.

And that last game leaps off at the screen for many reasons. Obviously, Cowboys and 49ers have a history. And in that respect, we have not one but two Hall of Fame quarterbacks who have played in this game and against each other. Steve Young joining us in 17 minutes. Troy Aikman top of hour number three. That's how we roll. Boom.

That's how we do. On the Rich Eisen show. Young and Aikman. Three years in a row. Young and Aikman. Football was great back then. Back in the day.

And so here we go. Young of ESPN. Aikman of ESPN now. They're on the same team television wise.

Can't wait to chat about that with these guys. As I started the show on Wednesday talking about how the AFC for so many years it was Brady and Manning and Big Ben jumped in and Flacco jumped in on occasion and Rivers jumped in on occasion. And obviously we know Rivers never made it to a Super Bowl as Flacco did and Ben did jumping in on the party between Brady and Peyton Manning. And I remarked how now after all those years we were wondering who's going to take the mantle in the AFC from those guys. Now we're seeing back to back years of Mahomes, Allen and Burrow being in the Final Four of the American Football Conference. And that fourth seat last year was filled by Tannehill this year by a much younger higher ceiling if you will quarterback in Trevor Lawrence.

Here we go. And I'm now looking at the entire field of eight. And what we're seeing now is a rarity because I have my same list that I put together here of the Final Four quarterbacks from the AFC since NFL Network came on the air and started covering games. And I'm now looking at all eight and utilizing this list of the AFC quarterbacks I think this is the first time since the NFL Network came on the air in the last 20 years that we're seeing all eight quarterbacks of Divisional Playoff Weekend under the age of 30.

Talk about youth being served. You've got the OG, the old man in this group is Dak Prescott at age 29. After that you've got Mahomes at 27, Burrow and Allen at 26, Daniel Jones at 25, Jalen Hurts at 24, and the younger, the young guns, the babies of the group dropping their huggies in Divisional playoffs for the first time, Trevor Lawrence and Brock Purdy.

They're all under the age of 30. And Mahomes, you want to talk about how crazy this is? This is Mahomes' fifth straight year being in the Divisional round. Fifth straight year.

Okay? And he's 27. Peyton Manning didn't win his first playoff game until he was 27. That's how far in front Mahomes is of the curve. And Brady's still sitting back laughing saying, somebody's going to have to come chase me down with seven Super Bowl rings.

I think that's going to last our lifetimes and those of our children and maybe their children, quite frankly. But this is a young man's game at the position with Brady out, now Rodgers having not made it. Last year's Super Bowl winning quarterback, Matthew Stafford, didn't finish the season. Young man's game at quarterback. And this weekend, the amazing thing is the quarterback with the best team by the end of the day, by the end of the month, and by the end of this season, may be the one quarterbacked by the youngest of the group in Brock Purdy. I cannot tell you how many people have come up to me or tweeted at me or friends have texted me wondering what the story of the NFL season is.

And I spit back right at them and they all say, right? Isn't it? Brock Purdy is the answer. And it's unbelievable in this you can't make it up league that this kid spent the first two plus months of the season just earbudding it up, clipboarding it up, sitting there supporting Jimmy Garoppolo and at one point Purdy supporting Lance and Garoppolo that this kid comes in and hasn't missed a shot. He's not perfect. But what he is doing is unbelievable. It is the stuff of legend.

It really is. And he's in that position right now. And we're going to see him against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday after all the other games are finished, after the AFC Championship field is set, after we know if the winner of 49ers Cowboys visits Philadelphia or this game is for the right to host the NFC Championship game. We will already know all of that and have three games, six teams and presumably 12 quarters of football to talk about and ruminate and chop up. And Brock Purdy is going to step out there against the oldest of the group and Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys and say, not today.

This is a magic carpet ride that I am on. I honestly, I totally get the fact that we are a cowboy centric media. I get the fact that Burrow and Allen is a terrific matchup. And we also know what's going on between the Bengals and the Bills and what happened a few weeks ago and how that will be part of the proceedings in western New York on Sunday afternoon. And I get how Mahomes is the odds on favorite to be MVP this year.

And I understand that the Jaguars and themselves are a terrific Cinderella story out of, not Augusta, but TPC Sawgrass. You know, like I understand that Jalen Hurts had the MVP, I thought, right there in his hands until his shoulder gave way for two weeks, fair or not. And I understand that the Giants have their history of going from who really are they and can this quarterback really do it to picking confetti out of their hair, not just once, but twice. Nothing compares to the story of Brock Purdy.

Nothing. The only comparison is what happened to Brady years ago and Kurt Warner in ninety nine. And I know you guys talked to Kurt Warner yesterday. I really I can't believe, you know, what I'm seeing. And I understand everybody thinks he's going to trip up or that's going to be the trip wire for this season. But if this kid wins three more games.

It's stuff we'll be talking about for a long time, and that's the storyline I'm focused on. And how in this young man's game, could this. Kid who came out of. Truly nowhere. Take the San Francisco 49ers to the promised land. I see you kind of shaking your head over there. Would you disagree? Agree.

What do you think? You know, I'm just trying to think about it. It's one of those things like if Kurt and Tom Brady had a baby, right.

It'd be Brock Purdy kind of. Their stories, if they're like if they're like this, he's had a baby. The origin stories. Yeah, right. Because Brady six round and Kurt undrafted and, you know, obviously made a movie. You can make a movie out of Brady, too, I guess, if you want.

But I'm just trying to think about. Right. You know, he's only been playing quarterback in the NFL for like a month and a half. Which is why he didn't make the final three for Offensive Rookie of the Year.

It was Olave, Garrett Wilson and Kenneth Walker. So he can't win. He's not going to. I haven't broken that news to Cooper yet that he's not going to win Rookie of the Year.

Yeah, he called it. And I. I find that a mistake. I think, you know. But the story of the whole NFL season, it's like the roller coaster the Bills have been on. Yes, the Bengals kind of overcoming injuries and fighting back to get to the this is not final eight here is no disrespect to anyone. No, I know.

I'm just trying to, you know, kind of talk it through. And it's like, yeah, the 49ers is amazing. They started the year with one guy and then they go to the guy that they didn't want to have on the team at all. And then now here's this kid that no one's ever heard of. And he looks like Joe Montana. And that's at that's what's playing out against the Cowboys in such an important game for a franchise that hasn't been back to an NFC championship game since their last Super Bowl year. And I think that's kind of the icing, Rich. When you think about it, it's like he's not just playing against the Bucks or any other team.

He's playing the Cowboys. Yeah. On top of it. And that's what's at stake. How many arguments were you used to being in? Because I know you're more chill now, TJ. I get it.

You're a more you're a more evolved human refined. I got it. I drink with my pinky. How many arguments have you been in as a Dallas Cowboys fan for the last three decades? And the answer is you haven't been to an NFC championship game since nineteen ninety five season. End of story, period. And the same way as a Yankee fan. Oh, you ever won a World Series since two thousand nine?

You're so terrific. Like I'm in my second decade of hearing this argument. And it's it's kind of a conversation ender. You know, Richard, it's so much I had to put a velvet rope up last year. Remember, I know that that can end by the end of the night Sunday over when the varsity hits the field on Sunday.

Yes. That can be over. The answer to the question is over. And the team that would be in front of you, the team that would be in front of you to go back to the Super Bowl is a team that you know very well. And that you've beaten this year. Each of them. The Cowboys have a win against each of the teams that they might face to go to the Super Bowl if they win Sunday.

It's out of sight on Sunday. And my heart is literally starting to race. Why are you doing this to me? Because I am a professional communicator of what's at stake. And a storyline guy and a seasoned storyline arc and a narrative guy, I'm all about the narratives.

Not at all. Twenty two guy. I can look at film. That's not what we do. But what I am a professional at is narratives and storylines and arguments.

And what what people talk about and think about top five lists. Yes, exactly. I'm getting into that. I'm still a rookie, but I can't. That's what's at stake over the week.

And I kind of marry the two. The fact that this is a everybody's under the age of 30 at the quarterback position in this quarterback driven league. There's no OGs.

There's nobody going for, you know. Well, the only I was about to say no one going for their second, but obviously Mahomes is the only one. So Mahomes is going for his second. He is the OG, but not an age, not an age, not an age, but in success.

Correct. And and then comes the baby of the group. The guy Purdy, like, I mean, you want to talk about and reinforcing a narrative he shows up with a backpack on, you know, like he's going to home back, back, back, back, back.

He emailed his teacher for a meeting about the homework assignment. You know, I mean, like that's what home is. Well, I mean, it's a tell it's a hit television show.

That's true. So at any rate, so, you know, I can't wait. Let's take a break. Let's go. Steve Young will help us kick it all off. Troy Aikman will help us wrap it all up.

And then there's you in the middle of the second hour with what's more likely. What is going on in Baltimore, man? My spidey sense is going off.

But Steve Young, when we come back. This is it. The putt to win the tournament. If you sink it, the championship is yours.

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Call click Granger dot com or just stop by. We're going straight up the flowchart. Cannot get any higher to preview the Cowboys and the forty niners. Our number three, Troy Aikman, will join us. But right now, joining us from the worldwide leader in sports as well, Pro Football Hall of Famer and 49er great Steve Young. How are you, Steve? Richard, great. I remember the conversation.

We talked about Jim Rice and Fred Lynn at length. Oh, oh, oh. So, wow. My man. Wow. I mean, he's a lawyer.

So he pretty much remembers everything. He wasn't bothering you, was he, Steve? It didn't bother me. Look, I like doing two things at once. And I like the I like the stress. Like I loved my life was full of stress.

Yes. And now it's not as much stress. And so when people are under stress, I kind of like it. I like watching him under stress.

I was pacing around the suite with the mad man. Well, I remember that game, too, because that game between the Eagles and the Patriots, Steve, there was a Hail Mary Brady to Gronk in the air. I mean, it looked like maybe I was like, you've got to be kidding me.

Are you joking? This is going to this is not going to happen again. I remember that. The ball was in the air. I loved seeing the stress.

That's what I mean. It was awesome. I was like, I could care less who catches this ball.

I was loving the stress that everybody else was under. People forget, even if Gronk had caught that, they still had to convert the two point conversion to force overtime. I'm sure there must have been a New England special.

There would be right for that. There would have been something for for for the Eagles to deal with. All right, Steve Young, I mentioned Cowboys, 49ers, your memory. Let's empty the memory bank. What do you what do you recall from your days? I always say when I have to remember the 92 championship game, I throw up on my mouth. So I feel like that's the one that even today is the most painful thing that I've ever had to happen in my football life.

And for many, many reasons. And so the Cowboys, 49ers are the greatest thing that ever happened to me. Probably is the 94 championship game. So like it's guardrails of my career defined by games with Troy Aikman. And I think that's awesome. Right.

That's the best part of it. And I think that, you know, talking to George Kelly yesterday and interviewed him and he just, you know, John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan take everyone that comes into the 49er building and they give them a history lesson. Not because they want to pay it backwards and say, oh, these guys were great or anything else. They want to pay it forward. Trying to make sure that these guys understand what the spirit of what we're trying to get done here. What's the spirit of what how those guys did it?

How did they did it? Was it, you know, kind of a selflessness at the locker room and an idea that there's ideals that have always been a part of it. And I think they've done a nice job of creating that in this 40. One of the reason why this 49er team is going to be really tough to beat is that that spirit of selflessness that they have going with a lot of superstars.

There's not a guy on that offense that has much talent or more talent than anyone in the league from offensive weapons. And not one of them is that is the kind of person that says, I have to have the ball. I mean, you know, come back to the huddle, give it to me like they're all guys that just say, look, let's just go beat these guys. And it's like the Golden Golden City Warriors when they're winning championships from Kevin Durant shows up like, how's that going to work? And they all selflessly kind of teach Kevin, this is how we do it.

And that's why they're so tough to beat. So that way the 49ers come out. Well, and then the most unique aspect of it is I started my show with this, Steve, because no matter how many incredible storylines there are and worthy ones involving every other team that's in a divisional playoff weekend, the Brock Purdy storyline, if you will, his career arc and where it can end, nothing compares to it. It is the number one story in my mind to keep an eye on Sunday.

And if the Niners are fortunate enough to move on, what what can you tell me about this kid? Well, Rich, wait a second. I mean, we're burying the lead a little bit. Think about the Jimmy G arc to the Trey Lance arc to the Brock Purdy arc. It's insanity. It's like you're telling me that this is actually good.

Kyle Shannon and this organization can ingest all of this and do this? Like that usually crushes teams. And I think Brock Purdy is the final exclamation point on it. The idea that, you know, after all the things that happened with Jimmy and then come back and he can play and he's playing well, he's playing better than he ever has. Then he gets hurt and it's like, oh, dang, now what? And the kid that was the last pick in the draft, which is unbelievable. The second last pick in the draft wouldn't be a big deal. The fact that you're the last person. And the thing is, is that this shows you the true nature of trying to pick quarterbacks in the NFL.

The blind spots for the scouts, because what they do is they say, oh, he's too short and he can't throw every ball. But all of this stuff that I call the force, I use the Star Wars reference. When you're trying to describe something that you can't quite put words to, I say it's the force.

Like, you can understand that. Like, there's something special that you just have or don't have. And what I heard in the summertime when Brock showed up immediately was like, he has the force. And I was like, well, how is he the last? Quarterback is so demanding and everybody needs a quarterback and they're so desperate that why would you have a kid that you know has the force, which most college quarterbacks you have no idea. And you say that he has it, that he would be the last guy drafted. That's the insanity of our scouting, because we're always looking for 6'5", rocket arm, guy who can throw 55 yards off his knees and we're like, that's the guy. Does he have the force?

We don't know. But, you know, sign him up first round and Brock's the kind of guy that has it, maybe doesn't have all the physical skills, but you see an exponential, you know, force that he has with him that shows up after all the chaos of the 49ers a year. And this wasn't like after a game or two. It was like he came on the field, took the huddle and on they went.

And George talked about that yesterday as well. So you're right. The Brock party story is one, but we have to pay it off with the quarterback story for the 49ers over the last couple of years.

No question. I mean, as you point out, just for example, Titans, Jets, they had to play all three quarterbacks. You play, you get to quarterback number three.

That means your season is toast more often than not, and certainly not in the divisional round, and certainly not with, you know, with an arrow pointing straight up like the 49ers do. Have you met Purdy, Steve? Have you chatted with him? Yeah.

Okay. What'd you pick up? Not much. I met him, but not much. And we saw each other.

They had a little event for the 49ers about financial literacy and what to do in a close career. And saw him there, but very little. And look forward to spending time with Obi-Wan Kenobi's, you know, Yoda and all the other people with the Force.

You know, Luke Skywalker. And this is, and it's been, I love this because as a quarterback of not the highest stature, from a height perspective, trying to prove the league wrong all the time, and all the guys that have continued to prove the league wrong, I join in Brock Purdy proving all these, and even today, when you meet somebody that can move around, the position's way more dynamic. In many ways, the game has come to me now. And who I was 20 years ago was where the league is today. Brock Purdy is like, you know, he's a brother-in-arms, so it's cool. Well, I guess, Steve Young, I'm going to use your analogy here. It's kind of the weekend of the Force with the young Jedi Knights.

Everybody's under the age of 30, and everybody seems to have it, right? Allen and Burrow and Dak and Jalen Hurts and Mahomes, Trevor Lawrence, we've seen for so long. What'd you make of Daniel Jones' performance against the Vikings, Steve? I really appreciate quarterback coaching, I'll call it.

It's the same thing. People always say, because you see a coach on the sidelines with a headset, and they all look generally the same. They all have the scowl, and they all have a piece of paper in front of them. As fans, we really don't. Is anyone better than the other? I don't know.

How do I know? And I'm here to tell you that the rarity of great coaching for the quarterback position, and really for football, because if you have a great quarterback, you have a chance. The expansiveness of what those guys have done. Mike McDaniel, he might be young, just shows up all of a sudden. The Dolphins are juggernaut passing the football, and the spirit of what they brought.

You know, Kevin O'Connor shows up with, you know, Kirk Kirk has his best year of his life. And then Brian Daybal has a plan and tells Daniel Jones, look Daniel, you're leaking oil everywhere. Things are spitting out all over the place. We don't know whether you're coming or not going. And we're not going to do that anymore. We're going to calm everything down.

You have a brilliant mind. We're going to calm that down. We've asked way too much of you. And we're going to start from scratch. And we're going to ask you to do things that you're comfortable with, that make you relaxed, and your mind can now kind of be at peace, and we're going to build from there. And that's what they did.

And they said, we're going to play great defense, we're going to run the football, and we're going to ask you to do not as much. And as he calmed down and started applying his, you know, his way of, you know, when your mind is at peace, your body can now respond and all the athleticism can respond. We saw this whole year Brian Daybal hold him to this new philosophy, this new way that we're going to do it, and not get away from it, and let Daniel calm himself. And I think that's what's happened. And now you see the playoff game after, you know, 16, 17 games, Daniel Jones has started to grow into and started to build back.

And now the road that's been paved is paved with gold, like it's not going backwards. He's not going to, things aren't going to start flying all over the place. He's built into a better player, and that's because of coaching. Well then I guess, I know this has nothing to do with the playoffs, Steve Young, but I read the, there was a deep dive article in The Athletic today about Zach Wilson, the other starting quarterback in New York City, and how he reached out to you for advice in the middle of all of his troubles this year. What's your suggestion to the Jets to try and unlock him? I mean, you want to talk about coaching quarterbacks. They have a new offensive coordinator coming in, whoever that's going to be. What's your two cents having spoken to Zach, knowing him, and the situation there?

Actually the same kind of thing. Same kind of thinking is that you need somebody that can come in and calm it down. The expectations overwhelm them. And instead of having a big brother to come in, and who has years of understanding of what he's going to face and understanding what he's going to have to go through, you want somebody that can turn to you and say, look, you and I are tied, you succeed, I succeed. We're going down together, and I'm backing you. I believe in you. It's simple, in some ways it's simple things, but with a plan, like an idea that I recognize that you're overwhelmed. If he can't, Zach had a plan at the end of the season that at some point became more likely that he could convert a fourth in 18 than he could a first in 10 swim pass because things had gotten so haywire.

And so more than anything it's to calm the mind, get everybody to relax, get the things in, get the support. And you know what? That doesn't mean it's going to happen. How many times have we seen people come and try to climb this mountain and can't do it?

That's okay. I think Zach's going to be fine, but I want every opportunity to have somebody around me that supports me and gives me the best chance to succeed. He's got the talent. I think, again, it's coaching, and then Zach's got to go do it. He's got to rebuild and be able to make the commodity work of quarterbacking, the things that are very easy to do, easy again. Because the things about Zach is what's amazing about him is the things that are the hardest things to do on the football field from a quarterback perspective. That's what he's good at all the time.

What he's not good at today is the commodity work that should be rather easy to fix. So who was that guy for you? Who was that person for you back in the day? Well, you've got to remember, Rich, I was very fortunate.

I mean, you go back to college. Mike Holmgren's my college coach. I go to the USFL and the L.A. Express and Sid Gilman. I don't know if you know that name. Rich is probably old enough to remember Sid Gilman. Yeah, of course. I mean, Sid Gilman was the godfather of all quarterbacks.

Dan Fouts, the Chargers back in the day, Larry Coryell, and he's the first one to tell me, Bro, you're running around? It's crap. It's not going to get it done.

What do you mean? You've got to develop a sophisticated passing mind. If you're going to be any good in this game, you've got to be good. What he was saying, and I try to tell the same story to every dynamic quarterback, dual threat, weekend dual threat, whatever you want to call them, guys that can move around, that you need to emotionally, and even physically, he took a rope out one day. And he's like, give me a rope. And they got him a jump rope or something. They brought it out there, and he tied my feet. They go, I ought to tie these feet together.

You're not going to go anywhere. I'm like, this is stupid. He made a big scene about it, right? But emotionally, guys need that to happen because if they don't, they never truly do the work to become a sophisticated passer. And the funny thing that Sid knew, that everyone else around me understood, not everybody, but very few, I mean, I guess very few of Bill Walsh's as well understood, is if you can develop a sophisticated passer, you never forget how to move. You never forget how to run. You never forget how to get out of the pocket and get easy.

And the game back then was not nearly as free and open as it is today. When I say the games come to me, there are so many yards to go get, easy yards, first downs and touchdowns for quarterbacks, and that's why I say to Joe Burrow, Joe loves to be that sophisticated passer. You can see he has a little hubris around.

I'm not going to run because that's cheap, and I'm a media. He needs to get on his horse and go get those free yards. They're out there. And that's why Josh Allen goes and gets them. Matt Patrick Holmes goes and gets them. And if you don't have somebody, a young quarterback, Pat, I'm going to kick Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers off the table because they're sophisticated and they're in another place. But if you're a young quarterback that can move, you have to go get those free yards, and they're out there for everybody. And Sid Gilman's the one that told me, become a sophisticated passer.

You never lose the ability to go run, and then you become super dangerous. That's when a dual-threat quarterback truly is dual-threat. Steve Young here on the Rich Eisen Show.

A few more minutes left with him. So, okay, Steve, I just want to hit that way back machine one more time. I know you said that the 92 championship game makes you want to throw up in your mouth.

Thank you. No, no, I know that. But, I mean, so would you say that the Cowboys essentially helped define your career with the monkey off your back and then your monkey on your back and all that stuff?

100 percent. And it was true. It was the era of whoever won, won the Super Bowl. And it was life or death. Championship games that were life or death because we knew that the Super Bowl was not going to be highly contested. And there was the team that they were built. I mean, honestly, they were as great a team as you've ever seen, and we were the greatest team in the world. So it was like the Titans coming at it. And they came out of nowhere, to be honest with you, 92. They were coming. You could see it. Think about, Rich, what we did.

And people don't care about this, but I just can't speak to it because I have to throw up in my mouth, so I have to at least tell you what's wrong, what's A-wire. And that is we handed Charles Paley, a future Hall of Fame defensive lineman that was going to be one of the great passengers of all time, was a 49er. And before the 1992 season, we decided to let him go to the Cowboys. Just let him go. So thank you. Thank you for that. That's really a great memory. But you then got Dion, though, right?

You got Dion. I mean, can Norton switch back and forth? Fair enough. Fair enough. I mean, at some point... It wasn't all bad. There were some great moments. There were career-defining moments, no question.

But as with any athlete I think that you talk to that really has some elements of wanting to climb Everest multiple times, you remember the times when you didn't make it. And the clouds came in. Right. And then I got Aikman later on. And we all in the media talk about this quarterback against that quarterback. Was that in any way, shape, or form in your mind going into these games?

No, we were good friends. I mean, good friends go, but it doesn't... I'm not arm-wrenching Troy, but what I did... What you see is you go sit down to look at your films and the guy, you look at your tablet and you're checking stuff out, but you got an eye to watching the guy that's... They're so prolific and watching... Jerry Rice catches us flying in those 80 yards, and then that doesn't happen to us. And then all of a sudden Michael Irvin catches this plane, goes 80 yards, we're like, hey, whoa, what is this? And so you have an eye out for when you're playing those kind of games, because you know that it's... You feel like we got this one, we got this one wrapped up, and 95% of the times you do, and then against these guys, nothing's wrapped up. So it was tough. It was tough. It was tough for them, tough for us. It was awesome. It was the best of the best. Well, I mean, and then 94, you break through, and I remember you, after the game, held the ball up and kind of did a little bit of a lap around Candlestick Park.

You go underneath the goalpost and you passed by a Cub reporter from the ABC affiliate in Reading, California, recording it and almost knocked the camera over. Do you know how that person was, Steve Young? Was he wearing an angel's hat? It was me, sir. It was me.

I was just gonna say. It was me. I knew where you were going. I just wonder if you had the Red Sox ad. No, no. I didn't have... No. It wasn't... It was me.

I was there. You passed right by me. Did I not stop and shake your hand and say hello?

No. We didn't know each other. We didn't know each other.

I can't believe that I was so rude. It was just in your moment. You were in your moment. You finally got past the Cowboys.

You're going to the Super Bowl. You were in your moment, Steve, but that was there. I was. I was a little delirious, that's for sure.

That's for sure. Hey, look, Steve. Before I let you go, there's one last story I'd like you to tell, because I'm reading Jeff Pearlman's new biography on Bo Jackson. Your name popped up in it.

Yeah. So you met with Bo prior to his drafting in the NFL as a member of the Buccaneers. Is that a true story, Steve? That is a very true story. Hugh Culverhouse, the owner at the time, we had become friends.

I don't know that you had a lot of friends. Mr. Culverhouse had a lot of player friends, and he called me and said, hey, we're going to go to dinner with Bo Jackson. I need you to convince him to come here, because he wants to play baseball. And I said, great.

It's going to be awesome. And so we went to dinner, and he says, at some point, I'm going to get up and leave, and then you've got to tell him how great it is. And I don't know how great I'm going to tell him it is, but I'm going to tell him, we need you. I need some help. And so, Hugh, quite the appointed moment, Hugh Culverhouse excused himself from the table, and then I was up.

You know, I was like, I've got to convince Bo Jackson to come to Tampa. And I started to, I literally started to speak. I got maybe one word out. He goes, bro, don't worry about it.

I'm never coming here. That didn't happen. That's true. He said that too. Oh, true.

Absolutely true. And I was like, I didn't even, I was like, Bo, what? He goes, bro, don't worry about it.

It's not happening. I'll never be here. And it's never, you know, and he goes, I don't know how you, he goes, what are you doing here? I don't have a choice, bro.

All the drafts, all the work. And he goes, well, I got choices. So it ain't happening. And that was it. Did you break the news to Culverhouse later on that that's what he said? No, Bo, you know, I don't know if you know Bo very well, but Bo is the kind of guy, because we've become very good friends too.

And Bo is a, what I'll call a straight shooter. Yes. So he was like, so that's your over his hand back and he said, look, I'm not, I'm never coming here. And that was it. He told that to Culverhouse when he got back to the table? It's not happening. It's not happening. It's not happening.

Not happening. How awkward was the rest of the dinner, Steve? I mean, it was rough. It was rough. It was rough because I had to face the music of, but this is a tough place to play right now. It was tough. It was, you got some great human beings down there. James Wilder and Jimmy Giles, some great guys, and they were just pounding their head against the rocks. It was just brutal.

It was brutal in every, every direction. And, and, you know, knowing that Bo could come and help us and I was like, Bo's not coming. All right. Oh my gosh. Check please. Right. Check. We'll take the check.

Go get the car at the valet. Steve, thanks for the time. Always a cherish the chats. Thanks so much. Great to be with both of you. All right.

Take care, man. That's Steve Young, everybody. Pro football hall of Famer and hall of Famer in every regard. He's amazing.

How many stories? Literally, we could do three hours with him and his stories from the Bucks to the USFL to the Niners to what was going on with Montana to these stories about the Cowboys and yes, these games defined him. And this is kind of neat here. Yes, it's not the championship game, nor was last year, but this is back to back years. The Niners and Cowboys have played each other in the playoffs and maybe we can get something going here. It's not like the old days though. It is not like the old days where it's Young and Aikman and Rice and Irv and Emmett and the rest of the 49ers running backs, right? And Charles Haley switching teams, Dion switching teams and Ken Norton switching teams. All flip flopping. Oh, baby.

Jimmy Johnson, George Seifert, hall of Famers all over the lot. Maybe we find that out one day. This is what we're watching. But right now it's all on the line for the right to go to the NFC championship game and potentially if the Giants can upset the Eagles host it. Let's take a break. Eight four four two oh four rich number to dial. My juices are flowing and we're just two seconds into this three hour show.

And Aikman's coming up an hour three. Let's go. We try to be fair and balanced. Sure. If you're looking to change positions and get a new job, guess what? Monster.com is there for you. Millions of job openings on monster.com.

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Monster.com 844-204-rich is the number to dial. Jeff in Detroit. How are you, Jeffrey?

Good to chat with you. What's going on? We got a weekend coming up, don't we?

It's amazing. First of all, I would like to say thank you to the Fords for going ahead and giving Ben Johnson a couple of more dollars in his contract. Now, I got a couple of numbers for you guys. The 2016 Cowboys versus this year's 49ers. 13-3, 13-4. Okay, remember, it's an extra game. 7-1 at home, 8-1 at home. 6-2 on the road, 5-3 on the road. Of course, we know that Prescott ended up losing with the shootout against Ann Rogers, which was a spectacular game. And we're seeing Brock pretty go into this atmosphere where I'm trying to figure out what happens next year with this guy because this is truly extraordinary. It's no way that you can, you know, just think things are going to just remain the same.

I'm trying to figure out if you're going to adjust his pay rate or what can you do because this guy is a real football player, man. And it's wonderful seeing it. No matter who you root for, this story transcends sports almost. I mean, it's like my mom is like, who is this Brock pretty that everybody's talking about? Well, how you know about Brock pretty, mom?

It's a wonderful, wonderful story. I agree with you. I agree with you, Jeff, and thanks for the call. It's an interesting point that he said, that Jeff and Detroit just brought up saying, what about next year? I almost asked that of Steve Young about 15 minutes ago, and I thought to myself, it's kind of a waste to ask a Hall of Fame quarterback, despite his role currently also, as top analyst for ESPN in their football world there. About next year, when it's all about this Sunday, okay?

It's a week to week thing right now. It's all about this year. It's all about the now. It's all about every snap. It's all about living in the moment. And it's all about how you can meet the moment when you're living in the moment, when you're somebody like Brock Purdy.

It truly is. That said, it would be a little bit too early of a departure for the 49ers here when you're talking about the future. Because would you say it's fair to say that the Niners are still kind of evaluating Brock Purdy as he goes through all of this stuff? I mean, they've seen what he can do. I'm not saying that they need to see what he can do. You can see what he can do. And you've seen the plays that he's making. But the plays that he's making now in the playoffs are a totally different ball of wax, a totally different animal than, say, a Thursday night in his first road start against Seattle, which is its own crucible in itself for a regular season in a division that they wanted to win. And that's kind of when they essentially wrapped it up when they swept Seattle, when Brock Purdy went up to Seattle and won that Thursday night game. Short week, first road start too. What a road start. In division, at the 12s, loud spot. But you kind of want to see him one more time in a playoff game with a win and then see him one more time when you're going to make a decision on what you do.

And that's kind of an interesting crossroads that we are here at right now. Because he has only played six games. But if he goes on this run, in the same way that, you know, I always go back to my own personal experience. Michigan turned to Steve Fisher and he won six games. They weren't going to keep him.

He needed to win six games in a row for him to stay there. And then get the Fab Five and see how it goes. That, I don't know, does Purdy need to win all these to get the gig? It's a silly thing to talk about, admittedly, because it's Cowboys Niners for the right to go to the NFC Championship Game and maybe host it.

But if you are looking a little bit down the road, as our caller Jeff from Detroit just did, I'd like to see another game or two from Purdy this year. I'm good on that, personally. I know you're not. You'd like the evaluation to end. That's it. As this hour is about to end.

Coming up, hour two. But we're still here on our Roku channel. Hey Gary, what if Purdy has three picks on Sunday? You know what I mean? And that's why the playoffs mean so much. Again, last year the narrative was the Cowboys were what? Rattled going into that game by the Niners and their swagger coming out of the locker room? That was the conversation.

That was the conversation. Especially since they ended the game. I watched the way that they did by needing to get a couple of snaps to get in the end zone. And instead of throwing it to the sideline, even though it was well covered, they run right up the middle and don't get another playoff.

And I watched that game, that play over the last couple days again. I will admit this. That umpire was late running in. Yeah. Late running in. It's just like follow the play, sir. Get in there. Also, Suzy mentioned that you told her to watch that yesterday.

Yes. I said this. That takes a lot of heat for that, but I'm never going to get on someone for show and effort. He was going for it, man. And they all were. And we just ran out of time. And we were all over him.

And I was too. Like, hey, you can't spot your own football. You've got to hand it to the umpire.

You could teach them that in training camp. He was saying, Mike McCarthy wasn't on his p's and q's either. But the umpire was not there. He had to. He had to actually get out. He could tell the set linemen, get out of the way.

I need to come around you. So that's how the Cowboys season ended and how their offseason was formed. And narratives get solidified. And we'll see what happens Sunday.

That's playoff football for you. Over 40 years, Jim Ross has been the voice of wrestling. Nobody has stories like Jim Ross, and he shares his tales with cohost Conrad Thompson on Grilling JR. Vince McMahon was the top heel in the Attitude Era. It was a fresh character. It was new. It was material that we had not seen or heard to that date. We could have created a bigger or better heel. We wanted to make more heels and we tried to make more heels.

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