REShow: Albert Breer - Hour 3

Coming up, this is The Rich Eisen Show. You're back. I'm excited. Live from The Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Pretty dropping back.

I can't talk enough about the boys and how incredible of a peak he's been for us. The Rich Eisen Show. I appreciate the time. At Fred underscore Warner on both Twitter and Instagram. Earlier on the show. Bengals running back, Joe Mixon. ESPN NFL analyst, Matthew Hasselbeck.

Coming up, senior writer for the MMQB, Albert Breer. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Hour number three of The Rich Eisen Show is on the air.

844204 Rich is the number to dial here on the program. Great first two hours right here with Joe Mixon in hour one. Matt Hasselbeck making us smarter in hour number two. We just broke down Patrick Mahomes' press conference talking about his ankle as only we can. Which is to legitimately follow every step he had when he went to his left off the podium.

It was confirmed by video that the reason why he went to his left is because that's where the door was. And so, we're parsing it all out because that's how we're... I mean, we have a lot of time between now and kickoff on Sunday. 844204 Rich is the number to dial. We're here live on the Roku channel if you want to watch us every day.

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We say hello to them. And as soon as this show is over, we re-air on the Roku channel. Channel 210 every single day. There's also the video-on-demand service through our relationship with the Roku channel. There's also our YouTube page, youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show. And joining us right now is my buddy from Sports Illustrated. He is the man who knows everything.

I'll just say that. What a great introduction. Our friend Albert Brere back here on the show. How you doing, Albert?

I'm good. I think there's an owner in the NFL who would call your coverage of the Mahomes podium session. They're circumcising the mosquito, right? Oh, yeah. That would be Jerry Jones, right? That was what Jerry Jones said?

Yeah. I didn't know he'd ever been to a breast, Jerry. That's one that suckled me. I don't know if Jerry's ever been to a breast before.

Never knew that. Look at you, TJ. Look at you.

Fantastic. Let's get right into this whole conversation about Mahomes' ankle. What do you know? What do we know other than he says he's going to play and it looks like it?

Yeah. I mean, I think he's certainly going to be limited. There's different degrees of this sort of injury. A high ankle sprain is probably, I would say, the most poorly named injury in football because a lot of people look at it and say, It's a sprained ankle. It's not.

It's ligament damage. It's serious. So, obviously, he's going to give it a go. I think the difference this time around versus last week, Rich, is that, A, last week you're playing off adrenaline a little bit, and B, the Jaguars didn't have a lot of time to adjust what they were doing to deal with the less mobile Patrick Mahomes on the fly, whereas now, the Cincinnati Bengals and, obviously, their fantastic defensive coordinator, Lou Ann Arubo, have seven full days to prepare for the possibility that Patrick Mahomes isn't going to be moving the shame in the pocket and the game plan in that.

And so that, to me, is what's going to be fascinating about it. He's going to play. I'm not sure what percentage he's going to play, but I think it's fair to say he's not going to be 100%. What about hurts his shoulder? Have we just not forgotten about it? Because it's overshadowed by Mahomes' ankle and the fact that the Eagles basically beat the Giants. I would say with one arm tied behind their back, especially since I saw Jason Kelce with a one-armed pancake throw down. So are we just not paying as much attention to this anymore with hurts?

Yeah, I think it's one of those things that has to be managed. And look, there have been quarterbacks who have had shoulder injuries in the past. Brady, I think, I want to say it was the year, the second time they lost to the Giants, so it would have been 11, was playing with his shoulder actually harnessed through the playoffs that year. He has a slightly separated shoulder.

I remember talking about it with you on NFL Network. So it's not unusual that quarterbacks have shoulder injuries or that have to manage shoulder injuries. There's not 100%. I talked to Nick Sirianni about this a couple weeks ago actually after their Week 18 game, and he actually said to me that the day he got hurt, and that was in Chicago, whatever it was, early December I think, he compared the effort that hurts, staying in that game, called it like a Michael Jordan type of effort in playing hurt. And then he went on to say he certainly wasn't close to 100% today. That's Week 18. Well, it wasn't 100% over the weekend either. So again, this is sort of one of those management things where Jalen Hurts isn't going to be 100% in these playoffs. And I think dealing with what he's dealing with, with the sprain there in his shoulder, it's not going to be something that is going to be fixed with anything but rest.

So they're managing it. Obviously, the better they run the ball, the better it is for Jalen Hurts. But I do think where there was a governor on him in Week 18 and the way that they managed him, that governor came off a little bit in the wildcard round, and I think he'll come off a little bit more in the Chief Bishop game. Albert Brier here on the Rich Eisen Show. Give me your favorite Joe Burrows story that you've heard that illustrates perfectly how spectacular he is and is becoming in the NFL.

This one's great. So I think the – and I would say this. I think a lot of people misjudge who Joe Burrow is because he doesn't pop physically the way that Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen do, right? I think it's fair to say that. And the reason I think the right comparison for him is Brady is because Brady suffered from that 15 years ago. I think there were a lot of people who didn't realize how great Brady was, you know, going back 04-05-06 because he didn't pop physically the same way. Well, the one thing those two guys have in common is how they have this talent for diagnosing everything and being able to see everything on the field at once, right? So that's what Joe has been able to do. And a lot of times things look easy to him out there because he's doing things to make them easy. Like on the touchdown pass to Jamar Chase last week, he was moving the defense with his eyes.

He was looking to his right, and that cleared out space to his left, which is why Chase was so open and why Chase had so much room to run when he got the ball. Well, I asked his dad about this, and I did a big story on it with Joe with Brian Callahan and with Zach Taylor over the summer. So I called Joe's dad, Jimmy, who still lives there in Ohio, and I asked him when the first time he'd ever seen this from Joe was.

And he said, it's funny you ask that. He's like, so when we moved to Athens, Ohio, Joe was eight years old, and he went and played youth football as his first time playing quarterback. And during camp of that year, getting ready for the youth football season at eight years old, the head coach of the youth team noticed Joe was really smart and saw the game really well. So he gave him this one piece of autonomy where he said, if the A gaps aren't covered, you tap the center on his side to let him know that you're just going to run the ball. You're just going to sneak it yourself to pick up the yardage. In his first ever youth game, Rich, he did that and ran for a 70-yard touchdown. Jimmy Burrow sent me the video to prove it. I mean, as an eight-year-old kid, and that's the best story I can give you on what's special about Joe and how innate it is.

At eight years old, his first game of organized football, his first game playing quarterback, he called an audible that resulted in a 70-yard touchdown. He is very much the same guy you're seeing now, obviously with a lot of hard work to get there in between. I mean, he is amazing. I mean, he has just been overlooked in so many different ways until what we saw in LSU. And even then, there was a conversation about Tua and Herbert. But then that went by the wayside prior to the draft, right? Like the Dolphins tried to trade up for Burrow, and the Bengals told everyone to pound sand, right? That's generally it with that story. Yeah, and I think the Dolphins, we all are actually in fact, I think, was the one who was really kind of like, hey, this kid's special, and they'd had him in.

We should do everything we can to go get the kid. Chris Greer tried, if you know what I mean. They called the Bengals, and they tried.

And yeah, I mean, I've talked to Zach a few times about this. They told everybody who called them to get lost, you know what I mean? So they obviously saw something, because if you're looking at your Cincinnati in that situation, you could have a bevy of picks to have Miami come up and get him, and you can still wind up with Justin Herbert or Tua, right? So at that point, Cincinnati, I think to their credit, saw the difference between Joe Burrow and everybody else and stuck to their guns and sat there and took Joe Burrow number one overall. So yeah, and I think the biggest thing, Rich, really, he's just a culture changer, you know what I mean? And it's not like LSU wasn't a powerhouse program before, but you remember what they were before, right?

No, no. Like defense, run game, they never, I mean, if LSU threw for 200 yards in a game, it was like, whoa, where'd that come from, you know? As good as they were, that's always what they were, just defense and run game. You know, when Les Miles was there, it was like Bo Schimbekler, Big Ten football, you know? And Joe gets in there, and his first year, they're okay, and then his second year, he throws 60 touchdowns. It's crazy. Well, it's also crazy, too. He's got Justin Jefferson and Jamar Chase, right?

Right, and that helps. Oh, my goodness gracious. I mean, just the embarrassment of Rich's. I've said this before, Rich, don't you think we're all going to look back and like, I think we're going to look back in like 15 years, and like our kids are going to ask us like, wait a second, who was on the same college? Well, I mean, it's two of the five current MVP finalists, right, Burrow and Jefferson, and then there's Chase, who's, you know, tremendous, and the Bengals have nothing but road in front of them. It's unreal, really, what's happening. Yeah, I mean, even like, you know, like you look at like that team overall, like Edward Dallaire was on that team, Grant Delpit, like what's the call, the El Patrick queen, you know, like that team was loaded, you know.

Albert Breer here on the Rich Eisen Show. Let's talk about, you know, the aftermath of the weekend, and, you know, the four teams that lost, it's like different grades, it's like different def cons, you know, where house money for the Jaguars and Giants, technically, right? And then the Cowboys were viable, which is what Jerry said he wanted to have as a successful season, but not, again, in the championship game, and then the Bills were the odds-on favorite in so many different places to win the Super Bowl, and they only win once.

So let's take the Bills first. What is the reason why you think they didn't go as far as the rest of the NFL media world thought that they would, me included? You know, I think there are a couple things. I think the first thing is, like, they were playing with such a large margin for error, you know, early in the year, and you remember how it started, the way they looked against the Rams, the way they looked against the Titans on that Monday night, and, you know, I just feel like there were a lot of games, like the Patriot game at the end of the year, the Dolphin game at the wild-card round are two recent examples of it, where their margin for error was so big that they could screw around and win games, and you sort of wonder if that caught up to them, you know, like where this team that had been blowing teams out all year or they've been, like, not playing very well and getting away with it, if that finally caught up with them. I also think there's something to be said for the fact that this is probably a pretty worn-out group, you know, and what they went through, you know, from, I mean, all the way back to the tragedy in their area, the top supermarket last spring to the two snowstorms that debilitated their area, the DeMar-Hamlin thing, you know, added on to, like, the football stuff, like the injuries, you know, the guys like Von Miller and Micah Hyde. That's the other part of it.

I just, you know, I do... It almost seemed like a team that was a little worn down and lacked spark, you know, on Sunday, so those are the two things that stick out, and, look, I think they have some work to do. You know, I think they've got some hard questions to ask themselves, you know, about the way that came, the way they coached that game, and then, you know, where they are at certain spots on the roster.

The good news for them is the hard part's taken care of. Like, they've got premier players at premier positions, and so they should be good for the foreseeable future. The question is, what's it going to take to get them over the top?

What does Dallas do? I mean, how... I mean, I was saying yesterday, Albert, like, if Jerry really wants to blow it up, the opportunity to blow it up, like, which he doesn't like to do. I mean, everyone is still informed by Jerry Jones and their mind's eye about what he did with Jimmy Johnson back in the 90s. He doesn't want to blow stuff up. He doesn't do it.

He doesn't. And I don't know if it was informed by the fact that he did do it with Jimmy and regrets it, and he saw what he did, and now that keeps him without blowing things up. But, I mean, the quarterback is there in Brady if he really wants to blow that up, and the coach is there in Sean Payton if he wants to blow that up, and he could just totally redo everything, blow it up, and deal with the aftermath, you know, in 2025, 26, 27, with Sean Payton getting another new quarterback at some point.

Like, what do you think happens here with Dallas, Albert? I mean, my experience being around that team, and I was on that beat 15 years ago, you know, I just, I think you're right, like, in what you're saying about, like, Jerry generally exhibiting more patience than people realize, you know, because, again, they have it in that head, in their head that he's, like, this gunslinger, you know, like, you know what I mean? Like, it really, he gave, you know, I mean, he gave Dave Campbell extra years all those years ago. He gave Wake Phillips extra years. He gave Jason Garrett extra years. And I actually think, like, on balance, Mike McCarthy did a pretty decent job this year. Look, they were without their quarterback for five games.

They went four and one, I believe, through that stretch. Oh, yeah, their left tackles, that was supposed to totally tear them apart? Their left tackle had a rookie ready to go, and they played great, you know, for their first-round pick. So I think there are a lot of things that they have going for them.

To me, like, the question going forward is twofold. Number one, if you lose Dan Quinn, how do you manage that? Like, because I think Quinn has been such a huge part of what they've done. And it was to Mike McCarthy's credit that he made the coordinator change after his first year in Dallas and went and got Dan Quinn. So if you lose Dan Quinn, what's the plan?

How are you going to replace him? Because he's been a huge part of their success over the last two years on that side of the ball, and developing guys like Micah Parsons and Trayvon Diggs. And then the second piece, I think, is just sort of who you are offensively. You know, I think because Dak Prescott's on the contract he's on, you try to become a little bit more quarterback-centric. But when Dak's been at his best, they've really been more of a team that's built around the running game and that, you know, I think manages games a certain way.

And so the question is, do you get back to being that? My guess would be that Zeke Elliott's probably gone after this year based on a number for next year. You know, then Tony Pollard's a free agent, so you've got that question there. Do they draft a running back? You know, I just think offensively there's like a little bit of a crisis of identity there where when things get really tough, where do we turn? And, you know, I think that that's something that they're going to have to figure out over the course of the off-season. So it's not that I think a lot of the personnel absent, again, the running back position, they've got to figure that out. You know, I think there are like a lot of the personnels in place. I think they just sort of have to figure out who they are and how to best utilize Dak Prescott because, you know, God, like there were points the year the Jaguar game where he threw the pick sticks, obviously he wasn't great against the Niners, where it just looked like when they leaned on him in a certain way, he didn't really respond the way you'd want him to. Albert Breyer, Sports Illustrated, the MMQB senior NFL reporter, a few more minutes left with him.

Does it seem like it's taken a long time for job openings to get filled, coaches? Yeah. What's going on there?

What's happening? I would say yes, and I think that's deliberate. The league wants that. The league wants these things to be drawn out and there to be more of a process. And, you know, part of it's the Rooney Rule, with coaches who are still in the playoffs, they've sort of typed all that up. And so I think the NFL wants this to take longer. If you notice, like the GM searches were taken care of pretty quick.

You know, there were two of them, Monty Austin, Fort Rain, Carthon, were in place last week. And a big part of that is because, you know, playoff executives aren't affected the same way playoff coaches are. So if the goal was to do less affecting the playoff teams and give coaches who are still in the playoffs a fighting chance at these, I think that worked. That's a part of it. I think the other part of it is Sean Payton sort of hovered over some of these.

And I'll tell you, Rich, I've said this from the start. I wasn't convinced at the beginning of this that he was going to coach in 2023. I'm still not convinced he's going to coach in 2023. Really?

I look at the situations that are out there right now. Does he want to marry himself to Kyler Murray? Does he want to marry himself to Russell Wilson? You know, is he willing to go to Houston?

Is he willing to go to Carolina? You know, I just sort of look at the landscape out there, and I know how much he likes living out there, you know, like in your neck of the woods out there in Manhattan Beach. You know, I think that the Fox gig is a comfortable one for him.

And, you know, I think that there's some merit to the idea of just waiting for the right one to come along and maybe the right one isn't there yet. I mean, you think about it, like, we always sort of thought of him as like the whiz kid he was. He's older now.

Like, he's in his 50s, you know? And so this next shot he takes is, you know, could be his last one as a coach. And so I think that's part of the reason why he's taking his time here and why I think it's a real consideration for him to go back to Fox rather than returning to the sideline. And I say this with all due respect to the coaches that are currently in their spots. Is it possible he could sit there and go, well, man, I would love Herbert, just weren't ready to make that move yet and they might not ever be ready to make that move. And, you know, Brandon Staley may go and take that, you know, team to the heights that they hope he can take them to. And, man, I would do Dallas, but, you know, they're not ready to do that. And they also don't want to flip the one to New Orleans. So let me get free of that contract.

I'll hang in Los Angeles for a while. And are there any other... Is that as simple as that? Oh, yeah, I mean, he's not going to say it. Mike McCarthy, you know what I mean? Like, pretty close friends with Mike.

He doesn't... I know... Like, I can tell you for a fact, like, he felt awkward about, like, how... And people aren't going to believe me when I say it, but I really believe it. Like, he felt, like, awkward about how he was sort of hovering over all these jobs over the course of the fall, you know?

So I do think, like... But that's the reality of it. You know, the reality of it is, like, could there be better jobs available next year? You know, and by definition... Like, here's the thing. By definition, 90% of these jobs aren't going to be great because, like, otherwise, the person who was in it would still be there, right?

Like, normally, like, most of the jobs that are going to come open are going to have serious problems that you're going to have to work through. But, yeah, I mean, I think that that's certainly something that's got to be in the back of his head. The opportunity to stay in Los Angeles and work with Justin Herbert is there a year from now. You know, is that more attractive than what's out there right now for?

Maybe. You know, like, could Sean McVay walk away in a year and offer him the opportunity to stay in L.A. with the Rams? You know, that could be something that could cross his mind. You know, and then, you know, like you said, like, the Dallas thing, obviously, he's been connected.

He's very kind of close to the Jones family, so, like, that's something to consider, as well. Yeah, so I certainly think, like, it's almost like a team taking, like, a two-year view of quarterbacks. Like, where, like, if you're a team that's in the market for a quarterback this year, you're going to look at Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud and Will Leviss, but you also might have your scouts take a peek at Caleb Williams and Drake May, and I'll give you this, J.J. McCarthy, next year, right?

Thank you. You might have your scouts take that look at the second year. You know, I think it's sort of that way if you're Sean Page. You've got to look at this with a sort of long-term view because you might only have one more right at the apple of coaching in the NFL.

Last one for you. This is a copycat league. The Bengals are back in the AFC Championship game for a second straight year. What's with the Bengals not getting any phone calls, asking for their D.C. and O.C., right? Yeah, I would say I had a better understanding.

I mean, like, I asked Zach about that on Sunday night, and I was asking about Lew, you know, in particular, and he was like, he's like, that one just doesn't make any sense to me at all. You know, like, and I think Brian Callahan's similar. You know, I think anybody who's had a five-minute conversation with Brian Callahan, the guy's got head coach written all over him. You know, like, both those guys are excellent tacticians. They've developed young talent. They've helped turn, you know, the entire image. I mean, we think of the Bengals differently than we did three years ago. The entire image of a franchise has been turned over. Those guys are a huge part of it. So, I wish I had a better answer for you, other than maybe their names haven't been in circulation for long enough, but I definitely think teams are missing the boat. Like, you know, Lew has got a ton of experiences, incredibly well-respected and connected in the NFL, and again, like, Brian Callahan, like, I mean, look, like, all you gotta do is call Peyton Manning and ask Peyton Manning about Brian Callahan.

You'll find out. You know what I mean? Like, I just, to me, it's like, Lew, you can pin it on the defensive thing, and I don't think that's totally fair either, but you say, okay, like, well, it tends to hire young offensive coaches.

With Callahan, it's like, like, how is he not, you know, with the Shane Stikens and Ben Johnsons and Ken Dorsies and all those other guys that are being talked about right now. Alright, I lied. I got one last one for you, if you don't mind. Interpret the Tom Brady response to his own podcast host, Jim Gray, you know, if I F-ing knew what I was going to do, I'd F-ing done it already. Did that sound kind of staged to you? No, I don't think so.

Everyone's talking about, like, if Brockley just shot up his shirt. No. No.

No, I mean. Brady's, like, tone sounded sort of wooden. It didn't sound, it sounded like forced, you know?

I don't know. It just sounded, just staged. Alright, so that's your interpretation.

My reaction, no, but my reaction is I take it at face value. I do think, like, I think he legitimately doesn't know what he's going to do, you know? And so, do I think he can still play?

Yes. You know, the question to me is not can he get himself in position to play 17 games. The question to me is can he dive all in once again? Because if he's going to go to a new team, there's a lot that goes into that. And you remember last year where, you know, he took a couple weeks off during training camp and, you know, like there was the, I think there was the, didn't he go to Robert Kraft's birthday party? On a Friday night. On a Friday night and didn't travel with the team to Pittsburgh, like, you know, you just sort of see these things and look, Brady's got the right to do whatever the hell he wants, right?

Like, I don't think any of us would question that. But, like, if you're talking about, like, locking yourself into playing a full football season and yet you were doing some of those things last year, I think that that's probably the biggest question, right? Is, it's not can I get myself ready to play on a Sunday. It's like, am I willing to make the nine month commitment that it's going to take to ramp up, to prepare to play with a new team and then actually playing the games and get myself through the season.

I think that that's the question that he's asking himself right now. But certainly, you know, I think, you know, depending on what happens in the next couple of weeks the light will be left on for him in San Francisco. I think Vegas has a very real interest in him already. Tennessee I think is somebody to consider. What about Miami? What about Miami? Miami's the other one. You know, like, Miami, look, like, you know, I don't know how many people know this, but he's got a very close relationship with their minority owner, Bruce Beale, who is a big Boston business guy. They don't have a first round pick because of it. They don't have a first round pick because of it, Albert. I mean, let's be honest, I mean, they tried before.

A hand gotten cookie jar. That makes sense. I mean, it makes total sense. Yeah, if you look at their roster, I mean, like, look, if he, if Brady considered a couple of years ago, like, hey, I want to go play for Kyle Shanahan. Well, Mike McDaniel is like the other side of Kyle Shanahan's brain. You know what I mean? Yeah.

Runs the same stuff. He's just as smart and you'd be thrown to Tyree Kill and to Jalen Waddle and you'd have a defense that's got horses on it now. Like, it's, and look, I think this is a factor, too. This would be a factor, too, is his kids live there, you know, and so I think that that's, I think all of that is, all that's important stuff to consider, especially when a couple of those teams are on the other side of the country.

We know three years ago, when he made the decision to go to Tampa over the Chargers, a big, big, big part of that decision was, he wanted to be closer to his son in New York geographically. Albert, you're the best. Thanks for the time, man. Let's do this again soon. Awesome. Thanks, Rich. Have a good one.

We'll be right back at you. Everybody should check out Albert on Twitter, at Albert in his career, all of his material on Sports Illustrated. He's awesome. Let's take a break. 844-204-rich, number it up. My top five list for Coach of the Year. Don't miss it.

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Can do it without you. We've got a great season two coming up. Catch up with season one or start season two on YouTube or wherever you listen. Back here on the Rich Eyes and Show from the Grainger desk with supplies and solutions for every industry.

Grainger is the right product for you. Call clickgrainger.com or just plain old stop by. Why don't you 844-204-rich number to dial here on the show. Weird stuff. This is a first here. Well, it's weird. It's weird wild. It's weird.

It's wild and it's stuff. So as you know, the Associated Press, which is the guardian of the league's season end awards decided to have what's called ranked choice voting. Finally.

What does that mean? It means like what you see for major league baseball's MVP or I guess does the NBA do it as well? The Heisman trophy does it. Okay.

Is that you get you vote and your first place vote gets a certain amount of points and the second place vote gets a certain amount of points and so on and so forth and then you add up all the points and you have not only your winner but a list of other finalists that you can announce as such. Okay. We've seen again the Heisman is a perfect example.

Thank you for that. So today the league announced the five finalists for the MVP and the MVP finalists are who you would expect. We kind of talked about Josh Allen all year long and we talked up until Jalen Hurts ascension and then Mahomes and Burrow and Justin Jefferson, right?

That was the conversation. Who which non-quarterback would have an MVP type season worthy of being named. Justin Jefferson and Burrow those are your five finalists right there for the award meaning that everybody who voted those were the top five point getters I guess? And then they also announced for the coaches the coach of the year five finalists Kyle Shanahan, Brian Dabel, Nick Sirianni, Sean Dermott and Doug Peterson and I decided you know what I've got that's five.

I was planning on doing this before the end of the season. Now that we know the five finalists let me just reorder the five finalists how I see fit how I would have voted and then an hour later the Associated Press makes an announcement is who the finalists for these awards are. They named the five MVP candidates that the NFL had announced but announced just three finalists for the coach of the year. Yeah and they are Shanahan Peterson and Brian Dabel and Sirianni and McDermott were not announced by the AP as finalists. And so I was just wondering why I was getting emails from the NFL assignment desk of Nick Sirianni talking about being snubbed when I saw the NFL announced him as a finalist.

It was kind of weird. But press on I shall and I need NFL films music and I need that to get me in the mood as I always do with my top five lists. Here are the top five coach of the year candidates for me and I'm going to start number five with the head coach of the New York football Giants and Brian Dabel and he's number five. I mean he was terrific and what he did with this team to turn them around was remarkable and I loved you know him putting his tables on the table in week one going for two in Tennessee and that kind of set the tone for much of the year. And the team did have a swoon you know around Thanksgiving into December but that win against the Washington commanders on a Sunday night on week fifteen I know commanders fans are still very upset about Terry McLaurin being called for not having lined up properly after Brian Robinson scored the touchdown to lead to a potential two point conversion to tie things and that that really changed the tide as to whether the commanders were going to make it or the Giants were going to make it and we all know what happened with the commanders but the Giants did a great job and I would have voted this way you know at the end of the season and you want to add what we saw in week one of the playoffs I mean Dayball was terrific but I would put him five on this list and then number four on this list I would put Doug Peterson I would put the guy who turned the Jacksonville Jaguars around and I'd have him on four on this list because part of the reason why he was successful is he already had the quarterback built in and another reason why he was successful is he's not Urban Meyer who is absolutely the worst coach that we've seen in my 20 years to take a job that is so promising and Peterson showed you exactly how much of a golden ticket it is if you are say not an a-hole and so he's not and he's also very professional and he turned the Jaguars around and part of that is also because of who he is and what he does and what he did and the Jaguars now I would proffer to say going into next year will be the consensus favorite to win the AFC South I would think and then again I would have voted this way going into the playoffs and we saw what he did with that comeback his perfect is his calm demeanor is exactly what was needed when Trevor Lawrence I mean the first half of the game was Trevor Lawrence with Urban Meyer and then the second half of the game was Trevor Lawrence with Doug Peterson it was kind of like a metaphor for the entire season for the Jaguars the entire two year stint since Lawrence came off the campus in Clemson so there you have it for the four and then number three I have to put Sean McDermott here I can't believe he was left off the finalist list I mean you want to talk about he could have won coach of the year it's how he handled Damar Hamlin on the spot that alone could give you coach of the year I mean what he did on the spot in the moment in the aftermath I mean and this team had Super Bowl aspirations and still you know could have won the one seed had we not seen what happened I mean honestly what McDermott has done with this team in the snowstorm twice he played two games in Detroit one is a home game you know and if the AFC Championship game they didn't choose Atlanta they chose Detroit instead it would have been possible he played three games in Detroit this year which is kind of crazy Rich have you heard the stuff this week that he maybe they should make a coaching change and that's the key to unlocking I don't believe it I think I think he's great for that area and I think he's great for the team and you know there's so many part of the reason why they might not have had enough gas in the tank at the end is all the emotion of the season that I thought McDermott expertly handled number two on this list is the guy who had a team that was undefeated the longest I think what Nick Sirianni has done in Philadelphia with Jalen Hurts is unbelievable and he has blossomed into some you know red ass Philly guy that I think everybody loves filled with personality he's like barking at refs he's barking at cameras you know what I mean but he's I think he's created a world there and it all started with him remember he was wearing Jalen Hurts on his shirt I mean he has built a program there that is unbelievable number one my coach of the year is Kyle Shannon I mean three quarterbacks honestly you play three quarterbacks you start three quarterbacks you lose you don't make the playoffs you don't you don't go into the playoffs with the head of steam and you don't you don't finish the two seed you don't you know Kyle and what he did with Trey Lance to Garoppolo keeping Garoppolo around and then have Garoppolo do what he did and then hand things off to Purdy and then Purdy looks just as good as the other two he looks better than Lance and on occasion he looks better than Garoppolo and you bring Christian McCaffrey in and you send Jeff Wilson out and you gotta share the football I mean we're not talking at all about whatever Deebo was pissed off about that was other than money you know so Kyle Shannon is my coach of the year for 2022 Do you think we need one more? Alright I'll give you one more you know I was thinking Dan Campbell was a guy that you could think of about what he did with the Lions I think you know you hear Lions fans saying why not Dan Campbell but I you know when you look at a coach of the year candidate you've gotta look at somebody who can show the way and lead certainly when something isn't going right communication is breaking down or you have somebody that can maybe have a veteran there that just only knows one way to do things and certainly thinks that he knows the way to do things and the coach just guides everyone through to success and that person for me is Cicely Strong I mean what she's done with Einstein is truly unbelievable I mean he had one way of knowing how to work his cell phone and his service and she basically told him you know like I mean we've seen it over and over again she told him you know that there's a better way and it's cheaper and even when she got her point across she tried to help him by reminding him that he's left his bike behind and it could be faster to get to where he needs to go so Cicely Strong is my other coach of the year candidate Brilliant! I legit thought you were gonna be like hey this team everyone thought was gonna struggle coming into the year they got a guy who hasn't played in like 32 years and injuries the running back position they gotta throw a rookie in there they get rid of their all pro alignment no not Pete Carroll Cicely Strong I mean the way she's coached up Einstein in just 30 seconds too or 60 or even a 15 each time you know there's a philosophy there's a plan it's well communicated actually communication works now both ways could be unlimited you know what I mean?

pull it! how long is this gonna oh it's not gonna end for a while how long is this? how many more until the Super Bowl? 25 maybe come on I'm a fool again I legit thought you were gonna do Pete Carroll that's why I set it up like that like I said I usually fast forward or turn during commercials so I think I'm lost with this whole Einstein there's something alright hey great job what do you think about Kyle though?

what do you think about Kyle? I think the way that you know they finished this season Purdie maybe had lost a couple of games or maybe struggled maybe it'd still be Dayball or maybe Peterson but I think it's Kyle it's funny my two and three are the two that were I guess the first two out now that we know who the five finalists were in the final three that were announced by the AP I don't know how much of a disaster Jacksonville was last year and then the Giants the last few years that's probably the big three alright we'll take a break the NBA made an announcement about their All-Star selections it kind of got me you know a little throwback to my days in high school what do I mean by that? I'll put it all together it's a tapestry I weave trust me Einstein has nothing to do with it thank god you can listen to the NFL and the NFL app on westwoodwonsports.com via Westwood One Station streams or by asking Alexa to open Westwood One Sports if it's the NFL it's on Westwood One so why did the NBA change the way that they're announcing the All-Star teams and who's playing on with who I thought they have LeBron and Durant on Turner with Charles and Shaq and Kenny and you know Ernie commenting in live time I thought that worked but did you hear what they're doing? they're gonna name the captains and then have all the players on the court on the day of the All-Star game and choose teams like that's way cooler way better idea way better because then you got someone who's gonna be standing around at the end like what am I on the pay no mind list I get picked last?

and that's hilarious why is that hilarious? cause Chris can understand what it's like to be picked last no I was always the captain excuse me let me give you my opinion on it sure, sure show I think it stinks why? that somebody reaches that pinnacle and is chosen last and the whole world sees that that player is chosen last you were the 20 best players in the world someone was picked last the way before either way someone's picked last I understand that but if it's done you know on a TV show that not everyone is seeing and now it's being done in front of an entire arena filled with people let me just say something it's like the playground this is great let me just say this I think I speak for everyone here when I say we like doing this show every day right? I do well I know that when you are here thank you sir for saying that I think I feel safe in saying that and part of the reason why this show exists and I'm very thrilled that people are interested in what I have to say or interested in anything that comes from my heart, my gut, my brain and part of the reason why I have that platform or have that opportunity is because you know of this stuff that I've done previously and part of the reason why I've done all of this stuff is because I realized at a very young age I could not hit the curveball I could not make the jump shot I could not sink the putt and in order to reach a certain level I would have to talk about it and I worked on that craft for years and part of the reason why I realized at an early age that I'd have to talk about it is because I was that last guy picked and it sucked and I don't care I heard this and I'm like that stinks it stinks and I know I was like just the worst one in the fifth grade or the fourth grade and these are the worst ones at the pinnacle of their profession worldwide but it still stinks it still stinks and somebody in that legal office who made the decision needs a raise no needs to check themselves needs to check themselves because if that player then balls out it'll be like well they were picked last so even in success the ultimate success if they hoist the MVP trophy at the end of the day it'll still be they went from being picked last to that I don't like it Chris Brockman you were picked last and you're the MVP of the game that's the American dream right there I want to get picked last now every year this is like Brock Purdy what are you talking about by the way you better have just texted me and said to tell you that this isn't kickball laughter that's funny that's another t-shirt this isn't kickball excuse me it's called Nukem it's volleyball but you catch the ball and you throw it over the net and you catch it we called that prisoner I don't know why that's what we called it back in the day excuse me I'm just expressing the other side of this coin and I think it stinks and I can guarantee you there's somebody in the league office who got picked last who came up with this idea and they're like trying to get revenge trying to get revenge for the way they feel let's get Lowry Markin and feeling like this I'll feel better about myself as Lowry pulls as Lowry pulls up to the game in his Bentley I think he'll be okay if it weren't for you we wouldn't know who the winners were you know what I mean and scene the show is in fact kapoot! that's it that's how I'm showing up to pick up our Emmy looking like that the rich Einstein show the rich Einstein show try to make more heels and we did but nothing compared to Vince