REShow: Tom Pelissero - Hour 2

And now back to the Rich Eisen Show. The hiring has begun in the AFL. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. The New York Jets fired the first shot today to hire as an offensive coordinator. The man who will come to New York, Nathaniel Hackett.

You could already hear the howls. I kind of like to hire. Earlier on the show, NFL on Fox analyst, Greg Olsen. Coming up, NFL Network insider, Tom Pelissero.

Plus, latest news and more. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Our number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air. Greg Olsen of Fox is calling the NFC Championship game of the Super Bowl.

We had a great chat with him in our number one. We're set for Super Bowl weekend in a couple of weeks from now. We're going to take the show to Arizona for three days.

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Same thing with our YouTube page, youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show. Brockman Del Tufo in their spots. Del Tufo's weather report later on.

Everybody's looking forward to that. It's raining sideways. Two more outdoor games. Outdoor games, Mike. Get high.

TJ Jefferson. Good to see you over there, sir. Good to see you. Oh, careful. I would like you to turn your mic on.

Mike, you got to turn your microphone on. I've just started carrying a pocket watch, Rich, so I just want to let you guys know that. That's my new thing now. You're going to wear a top hat and, you know, tell me I can't pass go.

Hey, you just never know. I might have to start walking with a cane. You can't pass. Seriously. Mr. Peanut.

Mr. Peanut. I'm going to start watching Peaky Blinders, man. I'm going to set it up. You should. Great show. Next thing you come in with a monocle. All right, I'm googling.

Don't think I won't. Most famous people with pocket watches. Very good. Brilliant. That one came out of nowhere. Okay, so, hey, Tom Palacios is going to join us shortly. Can't wait to ask him about all these coaches openings. There was some coaching news yesterday, as we all know. Frank Reich hired by the Carolina Panthers. He was the first ever quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, don't you know? Oh, I forget. Okay, very good. So one story that, you know, one piece of coaching news that happened yesterday.

I set off my spidey sense where something just doesn't add up. Look, when you interview as a head coach in this league, it is a process, okay? It's a process. And if you interview multiple times, I can't imagine, like you're going through the same thing. You're saying the same lines, you know, over and over again. And if you're interviewing with the Denver Broncos for the second straight year, you're kind of glad that there's a new ownership group because they haven't heard your stuff yet. You know, I always think when coaches use their lines, you know, like the end of Officer and a Gentleman, when Lewis Gossett Jr. is using the same lines with just different recruits, right? Yeah. It's a process.

You got PowerPoints, you got Zooms. And if you're a coach who's interviewing for head coaching jobs, when you are still coaching for a team that's not going to be coaching for a team that's in the playoffs, I mean, you got to find a window. You can't just say, oh yeah, I'm available when you need me. No, no, no.

You got to tell them I'm available here. So clearly you're interested in the job if you're taking the time out of preparing for a playoff game as a coordinator to be a head coach. And if you've done it two years in a row, you clearly want to be a head coach in this league. Certainly if you've previously been a head coach in this league, taking a team to a Super Bowl, you've got that taste in your mouth. Certainly if you've lost it, that's all I keep hearing about my coach at Michigan. Oh my gosh, he's got that resume that he needs to have, you know, filled with a Super Bowl ring because he didn't get one when he was with the Niners and Jim Harbaugh. That's why he just can't focus on being a Michigan coach with that Super Bowl still out there.

So what about Dan Quinn? Does he not want one? He's an HC? The situation's not right again for him in Denver? Situation's not right for him wherever he interviewed? For him to go back to Dallas, as he announced yesterday, because there's unfinished business as a defensive coordinator for the Cowboys.

Now last year I was like, okay, so he just wasn't into these other opportunities and he pulled back. And if you recall, we had Mike McCarthy on this program after Quinn stayed, then after everything played out with that, and after a story appeared on DallasCowboys.com with a quote from Jerry Jones saying, coordinators like to stay with us because they all know in the history of me owning this team, they've got a shot at the real job at the HC. And everyone's like, huh, so does that mean Mike McCarthy's on the hot seat?

No, no, no, that does not mean that at all. And McCarthy even came on here and said he had to have a conversation with Jerry Jones about that and with Dan Quinn saying, come back, I'm cool with it. With the speculation being that you're sticking around for my job since Jerry Jones pointed out that is a blueprint that is in the mind's eye of the assistants who stay.

I mean, these are all facts uttered by the owner and placed on the internet by the team's own website. So the second straight year, Dan Quinn's sticking around? Why not? Come on, because he wants to see it through at Tank Lawrence? Come on, man.

Being the head coach, there's so much more responsibility. Dude, he interviewed for the second straight year. He went through the circuit for the second straight year and he took time out for the second straight, for this time around, out of preparing for the 49ers he's interviewing because he was just dipping his toe in the pool again? My spidey sense is going crazy about this one. Why? Why? Because something is up in Dallas.

You know it and I know it. Look, man, he's got a great gig. Maybe he's happy where he's at. He's enjoying what he's doing.

Come on, man. He said he doesn't want to be a head coach in the NFL again. For two straight years, he's now checked it all out and he's staying put in Dallas. So what do you think, he's being blackmailed, like Jerry's got pictures or something? No, because he gets a sense he could be the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, that's why. And I don't know if he's gotten that sense from, I don't know what. I don't have an answer for that. But I'm just telling you what everybody's thinking.

My texts are blowing up. Why is he staying for second straight year? To be a defensive coordinator? When he used to be in the HC, took a team to the Super Bowl, was up 28 to 3 in it. This is a damn good coach who, by the way, you should celebrate. You should be a Cowboy fan saying, why shouldn't he stay?

I'm not saying you shouldn't celebrate. You got- And by no stretch of me, I don't think any Cowboy fan's going, why is he staying? Like, we're all happy he's staying.

Of course not. Why would you sit there and think, why is he staying? I didn't want the guy to go. The 31 other teams are going, huh, I think I know why he's staying. And certainly those who offered him the opportunity to interview for their head coaching job. And then before it all is up, he's like, yeah, I'm staying put. I mean, there's still jobs open. Now he can get the sense he's not in the running for those gigs and he's pulling back before he doesn't get them. And he's beaten everyone to the punch. So he still has that feel about him as being wanted elsewhere.

That could be it too. But man, I just laid out for you how it all was set up last year. And McCarthy did do a good job this year, losing a tackle on the line, losing his quarterback for five games.

He did a really good job, but why is Dan Quinn sticking around there? My spidey sense is going off. That's all I'm saying. My spidey sense is going off.

That's all I'm saying. Okay, Peter Parker. It's just going off like haywire.

It's going crazy. Tim and Phoenix, you're here on the Rich Eisen Show. What's up, Tim? You there, Tim? Hey, Rich, thanks for taking my call. You got it. Quick comment and a question.

What's going on? My comment is Purdy has the it factor. Yes. He's actually one of the best high school quarterbacks I've ever seen play. Unfortunately, Jeff Jordan is probably the best high school quarterback I've ever seen play, but he never had the it factor. And my question is concerning the Colts. Is Jim Irsay actually turning into Robert Irsay?

That's a question that a lot of people are having in Indianapolis, for sure. Frank Wright getting hired in Carolina. I thought Steve Wilks did a terrific job, but if they wanted to go in a direction of a guy that's coached in a Super Bowl with a quarterback that got better because of him and you feel that he can come in and he's got a history there, being the first quarterback there, and you want to convince yourself he's the better choice over Steve Wilks or anyone else, I can understand that. I still don't understand firing him impetuously in the middle of the season and going and getting somebody who he said he was thankful was available when basically the only reason where he would be unavailable is if he was out of range with his cell service like Einstein. I don't understand it. I don't understand what happened this season. I think a lot of it is self-inflicted and they have a chance to get it right with their next hire here. And it could be Saturday.

And thanks for the call. I mean, his teams didn't give up. I'll tell you that. His teams were plucky enough to have leads that they couldn't hold on to.

And he's a terrific leader and he's very positive. And I just don't know. Could you imagine they go through a two, three week long process and interview a whole bunch of people and come back and say, we're just taking the interim tag off Jeff Saturday? Not going to go over well.

I think it's entirely possible by the way. Tom Pellicero on all these fronts. Jeff and Detroit, how you doing Jeffrey? What's up Jeff? Uncle Rich Fellows here. Listen, you just brought up an interesting point.

I wonder the same thing. How can they go back to Jeff after this year? But stranger things have happened. I mean, here in Detroit, we fired a winning coach.

DJ, I hate to say this, and this is just me personally. As long as a big fella is running the Dallas Cowboys, nothing is going to happen as long as the boss man is there. I mean, you figure like this, Jimmy Johnson can't get in the ring of honor and he's the only person that gave this man hardware.

So you don't put him in the ring of honor. It's kind of like, let's say having a top five or a top 10 defense in the NFL and getting rid of the defensive coordinator. And I guess my question from this point on is, what happens with the Buffalo Bills? Because we don't look at them kind of like we look at Dallas or anybody else for the last couple of years. The only thing that I've always heard was Josh Allen is going to be an MVP. It looks like the Buffalo Bills might as well start printing up a Super Bowl tickets.

And for all of that, they have about as many Super Bowls as the Detroit Lions. And what's uh, what's Uncle Rich's, I know you clairvoyant at some time, what's that Monday headline that nobody is seeing? Something that just might peak out. I know you come up with interesting tidbits. You guys have a great weekend. Been loving the show this week, man.

I'll talk to you guys later. Monday headline coming out of championship weekend. Is that what he meant? Headline on Monday that we're maybe not seeing right now. Headline on Monday we're not seeing right now. I don't know. Chad Henny wins the AFC Championship game. Shocking.

What's another one? Dan Quinn picture surface in Dallas. Dude, I don't know why you've got your head in the sand on this one. It is in the sand.

I mean, it is in the sand. I mean, honestly, I mean, you, you as a Cowboy fan don't have to think about this and you shouldn't. You're excited. You got the defensive coordinator, maybe one of the best and most, you know, um, uh, experienced hand at that. Players love him. He loves them. Fact that he's saying I've got unfinished business. Micah Parsons will run through a wall for him.

Which is why I sit there and then break out of magnifying glass and try to look for because that's my job. I'm not saying you should. Yeah, but the calls are coming from within the house for Mike McCarthy fact, even though Jerry just more or less said that if you like to have him for another 29 years, great. And if Sean Payton is still sitting out there next year, McCarthy better win 13 games and get to the NFC Championship game. And that may be unfair to say for him, but I think he sees the writing on a wall too, man.

We couldn't have been nicer and more open when he called into the show last spring on that front. Well, the way it's working out where it's last year, we lost in the first round. This year we lost. So next year we're going to lose in the, in the conference finals. And then the year after that, we're finally going to get to super bowl and lose there. Last year, the Jets were terrible this year.

They almost were, you know, um, mediocre. So that's great. So next year, next year we'll be good and we'll make the playoffs for the first time since 2010. That'll be great.

Or you could win the super bowl if you get the right signal card that you don't want. Wait a minute. Sauce Gardner said something about that, didn't he? Oh yeah. Let's hit that. Jets and Aaron Rogers.

Okay. They hire Nathaniel Hackett. Aaron loves him. Why wouldn't Aaron love New York?

Some great tea houses, right? Diverse. Why wouldn't he want to go join the Jets? Why wouldn't he want to just, uh, you know, join a completely new team and take them to someplace that Favre couldn't? You don't want it.

It's so funny. I do want it. Of course I want it. I don't think he wants it.

No, you don't. Why would he want it? Because people like challenges. Yeah.

You just roll your eyes at everything that people would like. This guy wants to stay. This guy might want to challenge your role in your eyes.

He already answered the challenge. Can he turn Christian Watson and Romeo Dobbs and these guys that he really doesn't have much of a connection to because they're truly some of them are half his age almost. Can he turn that into a viable threat towards the end of the season?

The answer is yes. The challenge is to turn that into another 13 win team and him an MVP quarterback again in a spot that he knows all about and they love him and accept them for who he is. You're talking about Dan Quinn or Aaron Rogers. I'm talking about Aaron Rogers. All right, here's Sauce Gardner on the subject of Aaron Rogers, maybe coming into the Jets.

Practicing against Aaron Rogers. How great of a quarterback did he seem to you and what was your thoughts on the quarterback position? I mean, he's definitely great. He's definitely elite.

He's been doing it before I was born. So, you know, I can't discredit nothing that he do, you know what I mean? Because I've seen him do so many good things. So he's a great quarterback for sure.

Would you want him on your team? I mean, you know, I wouldn't mind that. I want what's best for the offense, but at the same time, I got to just focus on my job and focus on what we got going on on the defensive side. That's on Fitz and Harry on ESPN radio. We appreciate that.

All right, if it's good enough for Sauce, definitely good enough for me. That's your guy. Oh yeah.

Now that's the culture changer. That guy right there. Quentin Williams and him. Let's go follow him to freedom. I have no idea if Aaron Rogers is anywhere remotely in the neighborhood of interested here.

But if it's good enough for Sauce, good enough for me. Let's take a break. So much to ask Tom Pelosaro about.

Is Rogers possible to go to New York? Yeah. What is Sean Payton's deal?

What is he looking for? And is TJ's head completely in the sand? That's coming up. This is it. The putt to win the tournament. If you sink it, the championship is yours.

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Start season two on YouTube or wherever you listen. Oh my gosh. My buddy joining us here on the Rich Eisen Show, a frequent guest host of this program, NFL media groups, Tom Pelsaro here on the Rich Eisen Show. What's up?

How are you, Tom? You guys are having a blast over there. It's good to hear. This is great. This is great. I mean, we've gone loopy covering ankles, man.

Yeah, we have. Gone loopy. What's the injury report for this weekend? Anybody that is Avanti Maddox back for it? Any concerns about Lane Johnson? What do you got for me on the injury front for championship Sunday, Tom?

It seems like Lane Johnson is going to drag his body through this no matter what. I mean, he did not look between plays like himself. He seemed fine when the game was actually going on, but he's playing with us. I mean, a serious injury right now. You know, the other ones, I know that Zach Taylor ruled out a couple of his offensive linemen again and Jonah Williams for this weekend. That's going to be significant going up against the Chiefs and maybe the shocking part of this entire deal is the fact that Patrick Mahomes, according to the Chiefs, has fully participated, taken every rep that he normally would in practice despite a high ankle sprain. We know the history, but Patrick Mahomes, he has played through a lot of different injuries, including a high ankle in the week one of 2019 that didn't stop him from throwing for 443 yards and four touchdowns a week later against the Raiders.

He does some superhuman things, but you just have to wonder, are you getting Mahomes at full tilt or are you getting something like from the Holmes we saw in the Super Bowl a few years ago where you just knew he was trying to do a lot and the body wasn't able to answer the bell quite like it normally would? I don't think people are talking about the Bengals offensive line against Frank Clark and Karl Loftus and Chris Jones enough, so they're going to have once again some reparations to do up front and I, you know, that Bill's front seven and what he did can bring, not the Chiefs, the Chiefs have a better front seven. I mean, we've seen that throughout the season.

That's pretty big, Tom. No, absolutely, and the Chiefs are really disruptive. They play that attacking style under Steve Spagnolo and I think that you're certainly going to see them try to exploit those weaknesses. I mean, it's amazing the job the Bengals did last week. Correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think they gave up a sack in that game with several guys who had started zero or one games previously in the course of the season.

You have to give credit. I know that we talk, there's been a lot of talk recently about the Bengals coaching staff and the job that guys like Luanna Rumo has done, which has been unbelievable what he's done with that defense. Other than being a defensive coach, it's hard to imagine why he's not getting head coaching interviews right now.

Brian Callahan, Zach Taylor with that offense. One of the key hires that Zach made, and he has not made that many staff changes. If you go back, he's never changed out his coordinators. He's made very few physician coach changes, but one he made a couple of years ago is getting Frank Pollock in as the offensive line coach. When you watch the job that they're doing with all those different combinations, it's fairly remarkable. I'm sure that Frank and Zach and Brian will have a plan for how they're going to try to neutralize those guys, but make no mistake, you're right. They are a very disruptive front for that Chiefs team.

Tom Posero here on the Rich Eisen Show. Let's talk coaching fronts. Why Frank Reich?

How did he land in Carolina? It's interesting Rich, because when the Panthers set out on this, and you could see it just based on their interview slips, they clearly were focused on can we get the next Sean McVay? Can we get the next Matt Lafleur? The next up-and-coming offensive coach? Somebody who's really smart, fix the quarterback, fix the offense, and go from there. And certainly there was a high degree of interest in the Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Ben was supposed to be on a plane, I want to say it was last Thursday at 6 a.m., and he called David Tepper or Scott Fitter, one of those guys at like six o'clock the night before, and called the other teams too and just said, I'm not ready. I'm just not going to be able to do it. I got to go back to Detroit.

I want to be there. We're building something special. There were some family dynamics to that too. But really that was a pivot in the Panthers' plans. Then they spent time trying to figure out exactly what they were going to do from that point. They continued doing interviews. They eventually got Kellen Moore in for an interview.

And that was the only thing really that gave them pause at the last second. They really liked Frank Wright. They liked everything he brought to the table. He's based out there. He played quarterback there. He loves that franchise. And it kind of was one of those situations where it was the right place at the right time for Frank Wright, who also had strong interest from the Cardinals. And even though Frank doesn't qualify in the young category at this point, he is pretty sharp with offense. He'll have a plan on that side of the ball.

That's something they've been wanting is now they try to once and for all find that franchise quarterback. What about the spot that he left or was told to leave? Is Jeff Saturday the front runner in Indianapolis?

I've seen reports around. I don't know if any of them are from you, Tom, but what are you hearing about what's happening in Indianapolis there? Jeff Saturday is a candidate, always has been a candidate for that job. Jim Mersey likes him a lot and wanted to see him get a fair shake through the interview process. I would say, Rich, I would be surprised if Jeff Saturday ends up being the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. They're bringing through some really good coaches this week.

Ejiro Evaro had an interview yesterday that went for something like 12 or 14 hours. The Broncos defensive coordinator who's really impressed everybody, all these other teams that he's spoken with through the process. They got Raheem Morris there today. They got Wink Martindale tomorrow, who took the place of Dan Quinn in that slot. And they still might bring back some more candidates, guys like Eric the Enemy, Brian Callahan, Shane Steichen, who are currently in the playoffs and can't have a second interview until next week. This could easily go into next week.

It's the most thorough search being run by anyone. You never say never because, again, Jim Mersey just has a high degree of belief in what Jeff Saturday can be. But do I anticipate Jeff Saturday being the coach? Do I believe that he is the front runner?

I would say not as of now. Tom Poisero, NFL Network insider here on the Rich Eisen Show. You mentioned Dan Quinn's spot or slot interviewing with the Colts was taken up by Wink Martindale. Why did Dan Quinn tap out of this for a second straight year to go back to Dallas?

I think he had two different situations, Rich. Last year when Dan pulled back, it was after the Broncos had hired Nathaniel Hackett. And I want to say he might have been in Chicago when they were hiring Matt Eberfluse, who was around that same time.

And Dan just kind of got to that point where he just didn't want to move forward. This year, he was a strong candidate. I mean, there's a real chance, Rich, that Dan Quinn would have been the coach for the Arizona Cardinals. And if he did not get locked up by the Cardinals by today, there would have been a real chance, I believe, that he would have been the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. So this was not a case where Dan Quinn looked around and realized he wasn't going to get a job. Dan Quinn looked around and realized he probably was going to get a job. And he had to weigh out some of the historical challenges in a place like Arizona and some of the questions about the Colts process, knowing that they were interviewing a ton of people for the job and also thinking about what he had back in Dallas. He really loves, and his wife loves, that area. He loves the Cowboys. He wants to be a part of that. I mean, I was told he went in to see Mike McCarthy yesterday and delivered the news to him.

And they undid out, had a big bro hug, and were celebrating it. I mean, they really have a good thing going. And Quinn's really been a big part of building that culture on the defensive side.

Now, Jerry and Stephen also have a high degree of closing power that they tend to exert. I'm not aware of any contractual changes for Dan Quinn this time around, but safe to say they make Dan Quinn feel real loved. And when it was put up against, quite frankly, an Indianapolis job where you don't know who the quarterback is going to be, and you don't know exactly what direction that process is going to go. And in Arizona, you got questions about the quarterback there as well, including the fact that Kyler Murray's in all likelihood not going to be ready for the start of next season.

It was that in totality, but it really boiled down to you, Rich. He loves Dallas. He wants to help finally bring a Super Bowl there, and he'll get another crack at it in 2023. What about the elephant in the room that Mike McCarthy was kind enough to come on this show and say that was openly talked about with Dan Quinn, and he also with Jerry Jones, and that Quinn and him are totally cool. I totally understand and get and believe, not to say what you say is not believable, that they do hug it out there, that Quinn and McCarthy are fine with each other. McCarthy couldn't be happier that the defensive side of the ball is handled by Dan Quinn.

I would be doing cartwheels on that. But the elephant in the room is he's a coach and waiting. I mean, even Jerry said in a DallasCowboys.com article about around one year ago at this time, I think it was a Senior Bowl article, where he was quoted as saying, coordinators like to stick around because they know that's the path to the ultimate job here.

So what about that? I thought it was interesting that Mike McCarthy and his press conference yesterday provided just a little bit of a window into the relationship with Jerry Jones, where he mentioned the, you know, Jerry said that he wants me around as long as Tom Landry. You know, McCarthy made a face because, you know, three years down 26 to go, Mike will be in like his mid 80s by that point. So obviously, it's not, you know, that's hyperbole. However, there's not as much as, you know, we talked about it so much in the media, as much as it's talked about so much with the fans. I do not get the sense that it's ever really a topic in the building. And the Jerry is sitting there with his hand over the button saying, if we lose this game, Mike's going to be out.

Absolutely. Jerry envisions a future where whenever Mike walks away, listen, Mike's 59. He's not going to do this forever. If you came to that time that Mike walks away or they decide to make a change, then Dan would be the guy that they would want as the coach. But Dan's not sticking around solely for what might happen in a year or two years or three years.

I mean, think about it. He interviewed for jobs this year. If he thought, hey, Jerry's guaranteed me on this date I'm going to be the head coach, he'd leave.

He'd just take a job. But yes, somewhere down the line, he probably ends up being the head coach if he doesn't get the perfect opportunity elsewhere. Is that going to be this week?

Is that going to be in nine months? You know, it's tough to say, but there's just, there's not that discussion within the building, within the leadership about Mike McCarthy's job the way it is every place else. I've got Tom Pozzaro here on the Rich Eyes that shows so much to get to you, get to with you right here. Let's jump in with Denver and Sean Payton, if you can mix the Denver situation in with Sean Payton's and what happens there and with Coach Payton.

What have you got for me? So what we know as Sean Payton as of now, and this is, this is a lot of moving parts here Rich, because you know, you're talking about the trade and the contract and other candidates. He interviewed with Carolina. I know that there had been some rumors that David Tepper was going to throw everything at him.

I never understood that to be the case. They spent time with Sean Payton. He was not the target of their search. The Cardinal spent time with Sean Payton yesterday. They of course lost out on Dan Quinn. So you cannot entirely rule him out there. The Texans is a job that some people close to Payton feel like he would like.

I don't, again, never say never. I don't get the sense that he is the frontline candidate right now in the Texan search. And then the Broncos have not operated with any type of urgency regarding Sean Payton, in part because they probably don't believe that they're battling it out with anybody right now for his services. And none of that is casting aspersions upon Sean, who is a very good coach, has won a Super Bowl, had a ton of success, great with offense, all those things. But you've got to remember, you're talking about he wants, based upon all indications, all reports, a sizable amount of money to take a coaching job. And the Saints, as much as Sean has said, well, mid first round pick, what teams have heard from Mickey Loomis is we want what John Gurdon fetched. We want what Bill Parcells fetched. We want two first round picks or something up in that neighborhood.

That's a lot. And if you're a team that's got needs, does Sean think that this is all going to line up and it makes sense for him too? So again, never say never until all these jobs are filled. I will believe, Rich, when the last job is filled and when nobody makes an aftershock change, like last year when Sean stepped down and Bruce Arians stepped down and all hell broke loose in March and April, I will believe that Sean is not coaching the NFL in 2023 only then. But as of right now, there's not movement toward a spot, but keep an eye on a place like Arizona that just had their plans changed.

All right, so D'Amico Ryans lands where, right? We all assume that he's going to get a gig, but I guess we should never assume anything when the NFL coaching searches, but what about him? Where is he a front runner? I believe, I know that he is certainly a frontline candidate for the Texans as well as for the Broncos, the two teams that got to interview him. The Broncos spent time with him a week ago out in California.

They really liked him and the Texans also got a chance to spend time with him as well. Now remember, those teams cannot do second interviews until next week, but anytime that you have a coach that is in demand by multiple teams, even though they are still playing, it is certainly a possibility that something can get done anytime. And so what I am trying to say to you is I think that there is a realistic chance that D'Amico Ryans has a head coaching job somewhere before the playoffs are over. He is absolutely one of the top candidates for multiple teams.

I would lean right now toward Houston. There's a lot of history there. There are family ties for him there, a place he would like to be.

There are a lot of resources as well, but keep an eye on this in the coming days and hours and minutes here, Rich. Last one for you, Tom Pellicero. The Jets hire Nathaniel Hackett as their offensive coordinator. Woody Johnson came out and said a couple weeks ago that he's willing to spend whatever it takes for a game-changing player. And so those two things add up to 12 in Green Bay for a lot of Jets fans.

What's the scoop? Aaron Rodgers to the Jets. Is that in the realm of reality?

What do you think? It's definitely in the realm of reality here because there's different scenarios where Aaron Rodgers, he holds the cards here. He's used $60 million fully guaranteed. A large chunk of that is a $58 million option bonus that's fully payable by September 30th, I believe.

He can, in essence, say I would like to move on. And the Packers, based upon the conversations they've had, have made, if not in writing, a commitment that if he wants to go someplace else, they will work with him on a trade. They also have obviously made a commitment to Jordan Love. They've developed him. He has gotten on the field and showed this year, albeit in limited action, I believe it was in Philadelphia where he played well and kind of showed what he can do. The Packers, at this point, even though, based on my understanding, they would like Aaron Rodgers to be back, they would like him to be their quarterback, but if he's ready to move on, they are also ready to examine their options and they have the next plan ready to go. Meanwhile, Rich, if you notice that I was talking really slowly on the D'Amico Ryan's topic a moment ago, it's because I was buying time until Rappaport tweeted what he just did from the two of us here, which is that D'Amico Ryan has emerged as a top candidate for the Texans. He's expected to be with Houston at some point next week after the game. There's mutual interest and if all goes well, he could be their next head coach. That is the Texans target is D'Amico Ryan. The Broncos have also been targeting D'Amico Ryan. This is going to be very interesting heading into next week, but it certainly sounds like everything is lining up for D'Amico Ryan to be the Texans head coach. Okay, that's terrific and I appreciate you breaking news here on the show, but Aaron Rodgers to the Jets, really?

Would he consider that? I mean, really? Really? Tom? I thought you'd be entertained that I was reading Ian's text. No, Tom, I'm spellbound.

Your talent spellbinds me as you know, but this is serious business we're talking about here. Really? Really? Aaron Rodgers will be open to if he decides to play. Right. That's one thing I can tell you is that Aaron Rodgers has not told the people that he's close with that he can guarantee anyone that he wants to play. Now he has 60 million reasons for us to believe that he will play and if he does, the Nathaniel Hackett factor can't be overstated.

It's not a guarantee. Of course, you know, Hackett went to the Broncos last year. Everybody connected those dots. They ended up with Russell Wilson and Nathaniel Hackett is now the Jets offensive coordinator. They got Nathaniel because he has a relationship with Robert Sola. He had play calling experience. He knows the system that they want to implement and that they already have pieces of in place. And so, you know, there's a lot of reasons that Hackett headed to New York, but I mean, this is a guy that Aaron Rodgers was very close with that when Hackett was up for the Falcons head coaching job a couple of years ago, Rodgers reached out to the Falcons and said, you should hire him as your head coach.

So these two have a great deal of affection for one another. If it comes to that point, there's several steps here, Rich, but if Aaron Rodgers says, I want support, I want to play. And if the, he decides I want to play someplace else.

And if the Packers, as I would expect, work with him on that trade, I would certainly anticipate that the Jets would be one of the teams that would be interested and that Hackett's presence among other things makes it possible that that could be a possibility. Oh my goodness gracious. Thank you, Tom. Greatly appreciate you reporting and reading and tweeting and texting and conversing.

Well done. Thanks. Greatly appreciate it, Tom.

Thanks for having me, Rich. Tom Pelsaro, right there. Later, Tom. Old TP, just taking off.

Dude. Old Pessy. What's your nickname, Mike? Pessy. Pelly. No, T.P. Old Pelly. T.P. Old Pelly. Old T.P. Dude.

William Pelly. Hold on. Get ready, Rich. Oh. I can't go there.

We have a Jets 12 jersey over there with your name on it. It's Nameth's. But that's your name.

It's his eyes on it. I understand it. Joe didn't give it to me like he said he would give it to Roger.

He would, though, because that's your boy. I can't. We're not going there yet.

Come on, Rich. Allow yourself to believe. No. No. All right? No. Why? No.

It's so fun to just speculate. This is not the Rich Eisen who was saying it with his chest from last year. I'm fine. You're reverting back. I don't want you to revert back, man. I'm all good. I want that to say it with his chest, Rich. All right.

The confident guy. We got all next week for that. Let's take a break. 844-204-rich.

Nameth Adal here on the Rich Eisen Show. I have got one player who needs to have a huge game. A, if you will, monster game to move on to the Super Bowl. That's next.

And your calls. Back here on the Rich Eisen Show, you can listen to the NFC and AFC Championship games on Westwood One, because every NFL broadcast streams live for free throughout this postseason. Every single game has been on it. This weekend's game, Super Bowl 57 will be on it as well. Catch all the action on the Odyssey app on WestwoodOneSports.com via Westwood One Station Streams or by asking Alexa to open Westwood One Sports.

844-204-rich, Nameth Adal. If you're on hold, please stay on hold. All of our threes for us, us being you, anybody out there watching on the Roku Channel for free, anybody listening, anybody just checking us out. Hour number three is for you and for us here in studio. What's more likely coming up? I've got my top four Super Bowl matchups that I'd like to see based out of all four options for us. We also have Mike Del Tufo's weather report. It's going to be great.

Hour number three is going to be awesome. And then we pick the games. 844-204-rich, Nameth Adal.

We have a couple of phone lines open. The Monster.com Player of the Week. Who needs to have a big time game, if you will, monster game? Monster.

There's so many people that you can look at. Obviously, in Kansas City, who was the one? It was Louis Riddick. Chris Jones has got to dominate the game. He says, if Chris Jones doesn't dominate the game for Kansas City, he's got to wreck the game, then the Bengals are going to win. He said that. We also can take a look at secondary help.

We can do that. To me, the game for the NFC Championship game is Lane Johnson and Nick Bosa. It really is. If Lane Johnson is at his best, and when he's at his best, then the Eagles line is invincible. And to use a Philadelphia phrase, and also they can run the ball and they can throw it.

And protect hurts and then hit you in the mouth downhill. And they're going to really test him out. On the other side, though, for me, and this is where I'm going to go.

This is where I'm going to eventually land here. Um, is can the Eagles go ahead and put the pressure on Brock Purdy to make him turn into that pumpkin in front of the whole country on Sunday? Will they do that? They can do that for sure, because they have the number one pass defense.

So Purdy is going to have issues. Greg Olsen said earlier. The speed may get him that the Dallas Cowboys are a very fast defense that can get after you and also cover, but the Eagles are faster.

Perfect example in terms of what that means in terms of the speed of the game. Marshall Faulk tells a story all the time to me about Peyton Manning when Peyton Manning was a rookie and he threw 27 interceptions that rookie year. He said that Peyton Manning would say the same thing to him, trotting off the field after the interception, saying, man, I didn't think that guy would do that.

Meaning the receiver was open when he let it go. And boom, the guy who he didn't think could get there was the interceptor. And then Marshall said, he said that a few weeks in a row. And Marshall finally said to him, Peyton, it's the NFL. They can all get there.

That's what I mean about the speed of the game. Purdy knows they can all get there. I believe by this point in time, doesn't need that somebody to tell him, but does he know how fast this defense is?

You won't know until he's there. And Marshall, so Marshall's a hall of famer I've worked with, who I listen to. Warren Sapp's another. He says the defense, the front end and the back end work together.

So what helps the number one passing defense is that pass rush. Hassan Riddick is a guy that everybody's talking about. I'm talking about my Michigan man, Brandon Graham. He's my Monster.com Player of the Week for Championship Weekend. He's the guy that's going to go after Brock Purdy, I think.

He's the guy that's going to go after Brock Purdy, I think. And if he could affect the change and he can put on the pressure in the same way as Hassan Riddick, you take a look at his numbers since the Eagles lost their first game. After that Week 10 loss, look at how he's turned on the Jets. He had 18 weeks the first 10 weeks, 19 cents. Four tackles for loss first 10 weeks, eight cents. Three sacks through the first 10 weeks, nine cents, including the postseason. Purdy will become the third rookie to ever face a number one passing defense in the playoffs. The previous two loss, Mac Jones last year got boat raced.

Flacco and the OA AFC Championship game, zero touchdowns, three interceptions. If Purdy is the guy to break that streak, he's going to have to sit in that pocket and find the guys and not get rushed by somebody like Brandon Graham. And Graham can say, I'm changing the game.

I'm changing the game. He is my Monster.com Player of the Week. And this segment, sponsored by Monster.com, of course. Monster.com can help you tackle the job search and make your next career move. It's time to get off the sidelines.

Go to Monster.com and win the job hunt. That's the Monster.com Player of the Week for Championship Weekend. Nice.

844204, which is the number to dial here on this program. I've been told there is footage of Mahomes practicing. We can't quit it, we can't quit it. So just when you think we're out of the ankle watch, pull you back in. All right.

Oh, roll them ankles. That's coming up in hour three as well. Gosh, I'm glad there's a full hour coming up. Now I got to turn my back.

Here we are on the Roku channel still. So here's what we got. Let's just talk about how the sausage gets made. I haven't written it all down here. We got a big third hour.

What's more likely? Big third hour. Game picks.

Weather report. You're a sneaky good game. Sneaky good. Okay. Oh, my top four. My top four Super Bowl matchups. There's only four of them. Bone calls. And me just dropping ad libs all hour.

Well, that's why people tune in. You know, Rich, could I talk to you about the Dan Quinn thing really quickly? Well, you have to. We only have a minute. Yeah, no, we have a minute. You know, I just kind of put myself in certain situations. You know, you always talk about when you weren't sure if the show was going to carry on once.

Yes. Once audience network left. So, you know, AT&T kind of had us in limbo. I had this opportunity where I had a job interview because we didn't know what was going to go on here.

I got offered a social media job for a company, right? I never knew that. And I had to like to weigh into it. Like it was comparable money, but I'd have to work in Burbank. I lived over here. And then I just had to boil it down to the fact that like that was going into something new.

I didn't know those people. I didn't really know the situation or stay here with you guys who I loved working with, who I loved coming here every day. And for me, it was like, if you're saying there's a chance that this ship can keep running, I'm going to ride it out with you.

And that's basically what I did. So I guess maybe I'm looking at the Dan Quinn situation like that. He's in a situation he likes.

Ship is running. He's happy. TJ Jefferson, the Dan Quinn of this program.

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