REShow: Bruce Feldman - Hour 2

This is the Rich Eisen Show.

I want to remind you. This is the Rich Eisen Show. With guest host, Suzy Schuster.

And one last thing on Rogers while I'm just on a roll here. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. I hope he's coming back.

I heard, you know, overheard him say that he told Dermot James, give me a few weeks. Earlier on the show, senior writer for The Athletic, Joe Vardon. Coming up, Fox Sports College football insider, Bruce Feldman.

Pro football hall of famer, Marshall Faulk. And now, sitting in for Rich, it's Suzy Schuster. Our number two of the Rich Eisen Show underway.

Suzy Schuster in for Rich Eisen who joins us momentarily from Berlin, Germany. And Rich, I have not burned down the show yet. Not yet. There's still two hours to go. Not yet.

Plenty of time to destroy everything you've ever built in your legacy. But that's just, you know, that's just in the side. That's just your office. A casual way of saying, hi Rich, how are you, honey?

And oh, by the way, I've totally cleaned your office when you get home. It is almost unrecognizable. Rich, she said that she threw stuff out. Look at the face.

The face says it all. I may or may not have found some fun stuff that we could talk about. Did you tell him this already?

Of course. You're not talking about it on the air, are you? Rich, I said we will not bring this up.

That was me. Oh, sweetie, I just miss you so much that I just thought I'd welcome you back by saying I've cleaned your office. It's unrecognizable. And oh, by the way, we have to talk. Hey, how is Berlin? How was your tour today?

I'm so proud of you. Oh, everything's good. How is everybody doing? How is everybody doing?

Nobody cares about us. Tell us about the bikes. Yeah, we want to know about the bikes. And pretzels.

How's the bread stuff, Rich? You don't want my, wait a minute, you don't want my power rankings? Not first. Not really.

We'll get to that later. Not really. All right, so, I'm not too bright, am I? Am I really bright here?

You're a little, you're a little, you're a little, you're a little bright. Let me get some mood lighting. There we go. Oh, yeah.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Hold on. There we go. That's better. That's better.

That's a little bit like, it's a little bit like the jaundice light they put on babies right there. I know, hold on a minute. Let me get a little lighter. There we go. Hi, everybody. All right, so here's the deal. All right, so here's the deal. You know, again.

Still dancing to Mike's music, sorry. So let's let's discuss the bike tour here, because, again, not my first choice, as you know. But you, Suze, have been constantly for, you know, ever since we've known each other, trying to get me out of my comfort zone.

And you're always kind enough to keep pushing me in a certain direction. And you're like, hey, if you're going to be in Berlin, you should get a tour. And then you went out and found a guide. And then there was an odd word in front of the tour and the word was bike. And I didn't really, you know, expect a bike tour in my future. And, you know, yesterday yesterday mentioning it, I got a smidge special there that that's what came up with as the thumbnail for the video.

I believe I wrote down the the terms. I think it's like if you see basically somebody unsteady on a bike in Germany, it's just rich eyes. And that was basically the headline of the bike video from yesterday where I talked about, hey, I'll do it.

And everybody in the studio made fun of me, except Siciliano, because he you know, he climbs mountains, bikes, nothing for him. So he just wants to be in the chair. That's all it is. He's just trying to stay in the chair.

OK, so all kidding aside, I showed up for the bike tour today and they say to me, OK, let's go get your guide. And he'll be out in a second. His name is Oleg. And out came a Russian national speaks fluent English.

He's been here in Germany and Berlin for decades. There he is right there. There's Oleg and me. And you'll see a lot of photographs from this tour without the helmet on because I thought I looked like a total idiot. But Oleg wearing a Chargers hat. It looks like almost like no, no, no.

He's just wearing a blue hat. That's Oleg. And so interestingly enough, the first thing that Oleg says to me, I say to him, hey, this is what I kind of want a World War Two feel to this tour. He goes, I know what you want. I thought to myself, did I say this to to the people when I actually called for the booking? He then says, no, I saw your video on YouTube.

Wow. Hey, that's what he said. And he said, so I know you're not really sure about this. And I know a lot of your mates were making fun of you. That's what he said to me.

Oleg, my man. That's how we started the tour. And I was blown away. I'm like, OK, I guess, Suze, that's it's an international empire that we're building. Long story short, he saw our exchange from yesterday. I didn't ask if he saw Smitch's thumbnail of me in some sort of like German helmet splayed out on the ground with a bike that's fallen down. But at any rate, we went on the tour and it was amazing.

Suze, you were spot on. As I told you, you know, when I spoke to you earlier this morning, got to see so much of this remarkable city and learned so much of its history. And I would never have been able to go and see everything that I saw if I wasn't on a bicycle. And that's me on the left in front of the Berlin Wall on the right. That's the Reichstag. And then in the middle, when it started to rain, Oleg took me into some coffee shop and we had a pretzel and he had a little bit of an apple dish.

That's my bike helmet. That's there. And and we went all over the place. Did he have a strudel?

Like a strudel? I think he did. I think, you know, of course, you know, it was on me. So, you know, we we we then we rode around it again. It was just amazing where we rode a lot was on the bike path was essentially the path for the East German guards in between the inner and outer walls of the Berlin Wall. And the fact that I was just riding a bicycle through where there was so much history and also awfulness and angst and heartache and, you know, decades of Cold War battles that would go on and actual awfulness.

It wasn't lost on me that here I am, you know, a 54 year old Jewish man just riding a bicycle through these portions of Germany. One day, by the way, before tomorrow is the anniversary, 34 years since the wall first came down. I will be in Berlin tomorrow when the Berlin Wall came down. It was totally moving. We went all the way around the city and wound up in front of the Brandenburg Gate, which is another one of the spots that's very famous, certainly for the city for centuries, but in particular with the Berlin Wall. This is where on the western side of the wall that Kennedy delivered his famous speech, Ich bin ein Berliner.

And then on the other side of the wall were Eastern Germans and were standing there. And it was very moving what he was saying to me. But, you know, the tour was ending soon and I did want to go to a couple of other spots.

And he just says to me, hang on a second. There's one last thing I want to show you here. And he had all of these photographs on the back of his bicycle in a knapsack that he would take out throughout the entire tour of showing me what things went down, what it looked like decades before. Now here's the building the way it looks now. This is what it looked like during the Cold War. This is what it looked like during World War Two. And I thought to myself, what photograph could he possibly be taking out right around the Brandenburg Gate? Put it up, Hoskins. Here it is.

It's Oleg holding up the photograph of Michael Jackson hanging his baby out the window, pointing at the hotel that T.J. brought up in the video yesterday. This guy watches our show, man. How about you? How about you?

I have never seen a tour guide. Let me tell you something. Let me tell you something. No language barrier and no barrier.

No barrier here. You know, it was we we had each other. You had me.

Hello, T.J., I swear to God. He's like your friend said it was the hotel. So he had to pay his eyes. Oleg, Oleg last night was watching all these videos and was like, hold on, I need to get to a color printer so I can print out a picture. There it is.

He couldn't have been happier. Like I thought like what World War Two photograph, what Berlin Wall photograph is it? No, there's the hotel. I love that. That is amazing. That happened today. And so then we went around, we finished up and, you know, so one last one on how he watched videos, he said to me about a half an hour later, after we went through a very moving memorial that that remembers those who have, you know, who died in in at the at the hands of the SS and some awfulness that's gone down.

And by the way, Berlin does not hide from their history at all. They put it right out there. And he turns to me at one point and he goes, oh, so, you know, I was kind of wondering, how come you're not wearing any branded material today? And I'm like, what is he talking about? He goes, you know, with your show logo on it. And I'm like, my God, how much how many videos did you watch? This guy is my hero.

Can he call in? And he said to me, like his accent, I did my homework is what he said. That's what he said to me.

I did my homework. I love we love Oleg. Great job, Alex Preston. He really hooked you up. This is a great, great, great job.

He did. And it's called Berlin on Bike. And they wanted me to give a shout out, which I'm very happy to do. It was just remarkable because there were tons of tours with different tours of people from Amsterdam.

15 people were private or that I I wanted to arrange. And so in case you're wondering how it went and how I did, here is an exclusive post bike tour one on one with Oleg. I'm done with the bike tour. I'm in one piece. And I thought it went really well. I took it, you know, one monument at a time, one one stage at a time. And I think it worked out.

But don't take my word for it. I'm with Oleg right now, my tour guide from Berlin on Bike. Oleg, how would you say I did?

Rather good for being a new and a beginner. Yeah. OK. Yeah. In terms of just right. And was there any complaining? Was there any whining on my part? It was.

It was the beginning. I was actually thinking of dumping you somewhere. OK. All right. OK. But in terms of in terms of my interest also in your stories and the tour, I was focused, right? You were one of the best listeners. I appreciate that. This guy is really he knows to ask the right questions. Thanks Oleg.

He shows some interest, which I think was honest, wasn't it? I was very honest. You were awesome. I thought it went really well. Out of 10. How was my performance?

Nine and a half. Thank you. That's OK. Room for improvement. Yeah.

All right. Oh, that's Oleg from Berlin on Bike signing off. Oh, my God.

That's amazing. I mean, we got to send Oleg some gear, right? I think we did. Yeah, we did.

We got to send Oleg some gear or whatever. Brandon Deere. Yeah, there you have it. I got to be honest. I love how you were like, oh, like, how did I do? How did I do? Suze, I got to be honest. You've you've you've gone on bike rides with me. I was a little wobbly in the beginning.

It was a little wobbly in the beginning. He took me right into traffic. I think he threw me in the deep end of the pool. And that's when he gets nervous. I'm not going to lie.

Riding through the rough streets of Nantucket with Rich, he gets very concerned about it. I did. I did have to leave my hand on the side of a truck that was at the same red light as me at one point. No. But there you go. That's my bike tour coverage of my coverage of my bike tour today. Honey, you were brave.

You put yourself out there. But it's such a great way to see the city, isn't it? I mean, it's kind of awesome. Yeah, it really was great. And, you know, it was raining in the morning. I thought I fought through that adversity and then, you know, got a little sunny later on.

I thought Oleg and I began a vibe right around hour two and there's room for improvement. I think, again, next time we come here, Suze, I think, you know, you'll be here. Hopefully it'll be it'll be great. So I can't wait. And great restaurants in Berlin, by the way.

I mean, great food, great people. It's super fun. I don't know if I'm going to see that. All right. All right. I've got my power rankings because I know you got Bruce Feldman coming up.

And I'm keen to know what he's got to say. All right. Hit it. Hit it.

Hit it. Power rankings. Power rankings. All right, here we go. Lots of lots of action in week number nine. There's let me see, we count five, no changes and one new one on the list. And let's get to the new one right away. I have been I've been holding off on this.

I've been brave, hard holding and they keep charging. They keep charging with this defense. And a running game that keeps on chugging despite the injuries that that have beset it. I'm putting the Cleveland Browns on my on my power rankings list for the first time.

I'm now currently ranked 10th. Miles Garrett is just the total complete beast. Amari Cooper.

I'm sorry, TJ. How much better would the Cowboys be if they held on to him? Obviously, the Browns don't care talking about that. But the defense, if Deshaun Watson can actually start staying healthy and get better and get back anywhere near the realm of his Texans tenure. This is going to be a very difficult team to face. And them versus the Ravens this week. I'm all in on this one.

This is going to be great. Number 10 on my list of the Browns. Number nine. I just can't quit him. I can't quit him despite the number of times that they've been blown out lately. They're down two spots.

I'm putting the Seattle Seahawks. I'm keeping them on this list right now. Why? I hear you. I hear you.

Why? Because they got a really good defense and a really good running game. They got a really good defense.

They gave up 37 points. I know because look, man, the Lions are still on this list, too. I think we're learning how good the Ravens are and that if you go to their house, you're going to get blown out. You know, and that's why I can't wait to see the Bengals in Baltimore in a couple of Thursday nights.

So proof will be in the pudding right there. But the Seahawks are still one of the best teams in the NFC. I still think they make the playoffs. I know that Geno Smith hasn't played played well of late.

I'm just going to chalk it up to a speed bump or two for him. I really like this defense. I really do. Even though they got torched, I get I get it. They're still on my list and they're above the Browns because they beat them a couple of weeks ago.

Down four spots. I can't take the Dolphins out of my top 10. They have one of the best offenses in the league, despite obviously running into some trouble against the best defenses in the league. Their defense is really good. They they kept the Chiefs. They kept themselves in a game against the Chiefs when the Chiefs defense was marauding. And as a matter of fact, the margin of difference was a Chiefs takeaway on that lateral. That was insane.

I still can't believe I saw that in my own two hours and I got a chance to call that for nine million plus people. I saw that number two dolphins down four spots. They're number eight on my power rankings list. Up one spot, seventh ranked Lions. I'm keeping the Lions pretty much right where I've kept them. They're going to get David Montgomery back. I really love this team. I think that they're going to win this division despite Josh Dobbs doing what he recently did. They're up one spot and now a bunch of no changes. I'm keeping the Cowboys right where they were sixth, even though they lost this game against Philadelphia, Philadelphia. You'll find out where I I place them in my power rankings and how I covered their abilities above the Lions. I still think that right now I went back and forth. Do I think the Lions are going to win that game?

I think it's one of those. I don't know. We're going to find out later in the year. But right now, this is where I kept them because they were just, you know, one silly exchange of, you know, of time management away of beating the Philadelphia Eagles. I'm keeping the Jaguars no change at five coming off the bye week. I really like where they are.

I think that they're a terrific team. I know tomorrow we're going to have a half season awards. I'm thinking of putting Doug Peterson as my coach of the year right now.

I'm really toying with that idea. That's where I place the Jaguars at five up five spots. The biggest movers on this list. I'm putting the Cincinnati Bengals right here. Yeah, man.

I'm popping them up and I'm I'm going for it. They are to as you said on our overreaction Monday pod healthy. Joe burrow is the best quarterback in the league. I said that that was not an overreaction. The defense is balling out. Now T Higgins is kind of like now guys are beginning to really crop up one by one on this team with burrow being healthy.

It just makes the difference and then the rest are no changes. I'm keeping the Chiefs right there at three after what they did right here in Germany. The Kansas City Chiefs coming off their win against the Miami Dolphins. Then I'm keeping the Ravens right where they are at two and then still at number one, the only team with eight wins right now in the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles, and that from Berlin, Germany are my power rankings. And in case you're wondering, the Buffalo Bills have fallen off the list. And there is my list right here. And this is my list. I did not vet it with Oleg, my Berlin on bike friend. He just trusts my ability as he did all day.

And I think it was just a symbiotic relationship. So those are my power rankings for week. Does Oleg have a favorite team? Is he a football fan?

I didn't really ask him actually right now. He's he's at some pub somewhere because Berlin is playing in a Champions League game. Please go right now and hang out with Oleg the rest of the night. Seriously, I think you should go out.

Go out with Oleg, go get a stein of beer and go hang out, walk out and see where the night takes you. You know, my wife is sitting right there, right? I mean, Chris, what do you care?

He's exactly around the world. He can't do that, Chris, because he could come back minus a kidney. That's what happens over there.

Let's not do it. Oh, it's just watch them. Watch them open the pour the beer into the stein and then hold it the whole time. Berlin's a freaky deaky city.

I'm just saying they know how to party. Could you bring me a hot potty? Just stick it in your bag?

Yes. All I'm saying is that, TJ, the gift you have received is that you have been heard internationally by Oleg who specifically had I'm assuming he doesn't have that photograph always ready to pop out on a bike tour for Berlin on bike, you know. But he heard you and and kept that one. He kept that one. He didn't say at all that he had that one in his back pocket.

Look how happy he is. I always knew I was internationally known. And Oleg just confirms it.

That's right, from Monaco to El Segundo and back to Berlin. So there you have it. All right.

I was going to have a bad joke, but I thought, you know, it may be because of the Roku guys. I'll just keep it keep it quiet. That's a good idea.

I'll wait until the commercial break. Oh, OK. Hey, have fun. Maybe you should go meet Oleg.

Seriously, go, go out, go, go experience. Tell Oleg we said what up. Have a beer with Oleg. I know that you're tired and I know you have a game coming up.

Yeah, I'm just trying to be professional. Go experience some Berlin nightlife. And then FaceTime us with Oleg. Looks like you're getting a hall pass, Rich. Get out of the room. Go find Oleg.

Have a shot. Auf Wiedersehen, darling. Auf Wiedersehen. Guten, guten, whatever. Guten tag. Auf Wiedersehen. Sprechen Sie Deutsch.

Ein bitte. Go see Oleg. Thanks.

Call you soon. Go see Oleg. Oleg. Oleg. Oleg. Oleg. Oleg.

How does Bruce Feldman top Oleg? I just gave him a hall pass to go out. And by the way, they are freaky deaky people. They go out late.

That's what I'm saying. I went to Berlin a long time ago and it was like, do you want to go potty? And they really said, somebody actually said to me, do you want to go potty? It's 3.30 a.m. Yes. Are you kidding me? I'm going to bed.

All right. Bruce Feldman. Poor Bruce coming on after this. And by the way, like, let's ask Bruce if he likes to potty. When do you come back? The football season is underway and Believe podcasts are talking about it. When he went home and went to sleep, Michael Parsons was just terrorizing him.

Believe has podcasts covering all 32 professional teams and many of your favorite college teams too. And to be only producing 15 points a game, that's something that is definitely disheartening. Side line to sideline. End zone to end zone.

As a quarterback, I would expect him to be acting like that. Take the accountability. Put that on yourself. Don't put it on your teammates.

Search BLEAV podcasts wherever you listen. Justin came in and took it down like two points because of his rating. That's the time we started getting death threats. Yeah, I'm not surprised.

People worship that movie. Putting on airs. The podcast is on YouTube and wherever you listen. Bruce Feldman joins us now as he does every week. And poor Bruce comes on after, I mean, that was quite an interview with Rich coming in from Berlin. He had a bike tour. I don't know if you caught that.

I did. I think Oleg's going to get his own segment next week. And he should, right? So it's like only the goal he's been replaced by Oleg the biker. Absolutely.

By the way, that's a pull. Remember only the goalie? Oleg the goalie. Olaf Kolzig. Yeah, there you go. Thank you for knowing that.

He played minor league hockey in Portland, Maine, and then he went on to the caps. Bruce is like, why am I sitting here? No, I'm sitting there going, what information do you not know? Because you know that. Because he's so weird. I'm sadly like that, too, where somebody will be like, how do you know he went to high school there? I'm like, because I don't remember who the third president is.

And it's like that kind of useless information replaces probably stuff that grownups know. Third president is James Madison, right? I don't know.

Thank you. Jefferson. Washington Adams. Look it up. You got a computer in front of you.

Madison was fourth. Do you know that Jeremy Shapp can recite the kings and queens of England from William the Conqueror on October 2nd? Is he waiting to get picked for Jeopardy?

It's so weird. It's the greatest bar trick that you've ever seen in your life. He can sit there. Maybe I'll have him come on tomorrow and do it. I think I had him do it like 10 years ago. He's done it a few times on here.

Every time he comes on, we ask him. Is it hard stop? Don't do it? No, no, no. I think it's funny every time.

I think it's great. I mean, what a weird thing to be able to do. I don't remember my name. I mean, the fact that you can remember that much. I don't like whenever guys are like, oh, yeah, remember that in like 2001, third quarter, fourth and one.

And I'm like, what? Was I there? Oh, yeah, I did the broadcast. Oh, totally forgot.

Whatever. I mean, it's just we're a little bit all over the place today, Bruce. It's one of those days because we're trying not to spend our entire lives overreacting. And we'll welcome in the radio audience in a second. But my God, it's like all we want to talk about is the same thing. He and I are both tired of Michigan. So but that being said, you know, Bruce Feldman joins us here on The Rich Eisen Show. And we're laughing and joking about the fact that all anybody can talk about is what's happening in Michigan.

So I will ask you right off the bat as you head out on the road. What the heck is happening? What's the latest? There's so much going on around the Big Ten now. Yesterday at the Athletic, me and my colleagues did a story about another version of signal stealing. A lot of this, though, from our sources, was gained the normal way it is in in college football.

But then it was put together and we obtained documents of what they look like in terms of what the signals were, what they translated to. And I think for Michigan fans, there's an aha moment going, wait a minute, how is this different? It was advanced, you know, ahead of time scouting as opposed to the actual advanced scouting, which in terms of like for Connor Stallions to allegedly have gone or sent people to places to scout in person when Michigan is not involved is seen as different.

And that is seen as breaking the rules. And now the commissioner of the Big Ten, Tony Battitti, who's, by the way, the new commissioner of the Big Ten, is getting a lot of pressure from the conference coaches and some ADs to act and jump in before the NCAA does and to trigger into this sportsmanship clause. Michigan, later in the day, we think will issue some kind of response.

And then we're going to find out exactly what the Big Ten is planning on doing, whether that means does Jim Harbaugh get suspended for three games for the rest of the season? I know Rich and I discussed that last week. It feels like a month ago, by the way. We discussed that last week. A lot's happened in the last week. Yeah, Rich was not happy with me or Brockman in that.

He's never happy with Brockman. You, you're fine. It was the first time I felt a lot of angst coming my way from that desk.

Welcome to my life. I bet. I bet. So we're going to see how they decide. We're also going to see what the pushback comes back from Michigan. I think there's going to be, I think, attorneys who are going to look for some kind of injunction if they can get it to keep Jim Harbaugh on the field with his team. And to back one step, why is everybody, why is this people so fascinated and fixated on it? It's because it's Jim Harbaugh.

It's because he is so polarizing. It's also because it's, you know, a team that has a really good chance to win the national title. If this was a team that was seven and three, if this was what Notre Dame is now, were there? Yeah, they're in the top 25 or there, but they're not, you have no chance to win the national title.

Yeah, there would be a tension on it because it's a high profile brand, but it's not like on top of it. Wait a minute, this team went from being really bad in the COVID year and winning two games to all of a sudden now they're dominating the Big Ten. And it is, this story has almost everything for it. It has the seam, seaminess that goes with college sports. It has the dysfunction that goes with the NCAA. It has big personalities. It has huge brands, especially Ohio State and Penn State, but especially Ohio State.

And then obviously Michigan on the other side of it, it is quite the train wreck. How can Tony Petitti make any decision now? So on one hand, he's got a championship. He's got a great team that could go all the way that would look great for the Big Ten. And on the other hand, he doesn't want to look like he's weak, right?

So he wants to look like he's in a place of strength. But how can they possibly get the claws in play when there's no smoking gun, when there's no text connecting Harbaugh? You know Harbaugh. I mean, I don't know him well. I know him well enough to know that sometimes you're talking to him and he's completely laser focused.

And other times you're wondering if he's even hearing, because you know his brain is thinking of something else. How can they make any judgment now without having all the information? This is a big question I think Michigan's attorneys are going to push back and try to drill down into. From the NCAA bylaws, it is now, and it wasn't like this a long time ago, but it is now written this way where he is responsible for the people underneath him. And it doesn't help his cause that there's another investigation with the NCAA that he's already been self-sanctioned and suspended for three games. And the NCAA is still dealing with that.

It's not like that case is done. And so what you hear from other coaches, including guys who were on that head coaches call about a week ago, was when are they going to punish Jim Harbaugh? And why, like, if we don't punish somebody for doing this, you're basically telling coaches, it's OK to do this. But they all do it.

That's the whole point. They don't all do that part, the part that was the Connor Stallions, to go send people to scout people in person. Now, I've been told some coaches have done it. Do they do it to the elaborate extent that it seemed like Connor Stallions in Michigan were doing as it's been reported? I don't think they do it to that degree. But if they still do it and do it for a couple of games or key opponents, you know, is is any of that ever going to come to light in the way that it does here? There's a story I'm working on now that will probably come up in the next day of another coach kind of venting about about saying, hey, we complained about something pretty nefarious to the NCAA and it was brought up and the NCAA did nothing about it.

So why why why would you do nothing there? But you care about it there because of Harbaugh, right? Just because of who it is and maybe the organization that it is. Yeah, I think there's like I said, there's a lot of layers.

It's because Michigan is because Michigan as a top five team, because Jim Harbaugh is in their crosshairs for other stuff. And and honestly, there's big schools that are that are aggrieved here, you know? And so I think it's a very I don't want to say it's a complicated story.

I do think it is complex, but I think when you lay it out that way, I just think you look at it and go, OK, I can see why Tony Petitti has a huge problem on his hands and he's not going to be able to please everybody in his constituents here. I get it that and I'm not blind to Harbaugh again. I didn't go to Michigan. I'm not a Big Ten person. I just I just feel like there are so many instances in sports where there's a renegade person who wants to impress people.

I feel like it's taxi driver only not. But I feel like it's there are so many people that basically run off the rails. And this guy seemed to have lofty ambitions of being involved in the Michigan program all the way up to being a head coach. I mean, that's the problem. That's the problem with having any decision coming down. I understand about the morality clause.

I get it. But what concerns me and this is what I said at the beginning of the show. There are these kids who are playing their heads off and their legacies depend on how they play this year. And to penalize a coach for something that you're not 100 percent sure that he may have been involved with may or may not. These kids lives and their performances and their history and their future at Michigan are at stake.

Yeah. And you have with this team in particular, you had all these guys decide to come back for one more year. I suspect I mean, I don't you know, and this is not attached to the NCAA, this part of it. But like, do the any of the kids you think they had any knowledge of any of this? They're not they're not engaged in with coaches to that degree. And so that's the part that I think when people look at what is an apt punishment, you know, because a lot of times you have people, you know, who are doing what we do, who are who are in the sports media business or in the media business in general, who are opining on stuff saying they will come down with a harsh punishment and say, hey, they should be banned for the postseason. And it's you sit there and go, OK, did J.J. McCarthy or or did, you know, Mike Sainer still, would they actually have knowledge of this?

I mean, they didn't. Right. So the the part that and again, this is what I talked about with Rich last week, because this is where I thought it was going and where I heard it might go was the Jim Harbaugh suspension, because that to me at the time felt more plausible in this regard. You know, at the time, Connor Stallings was a suspended analyst for Michigan. Now he's now he's not on staff anymore, but he had been suspended. And Jim is responsible for him.

And Jim is tied to the other stuff. Do I mean, this is a question anybody can have an opinion on. Do I think if Jim Harbaugh is not the game coach on Saturday against Penn State on the road or the following Saturday against Maryland or the following Saturday after that at home against our travel Ohio State? Do I think Michigan could still win? I do.

Would it be harder? I would imagine. Absolutely.

But to me, that is the most manageable, workable thing. If there's going to be some kind of discipline handed down by Tony Petitti, I don't think doing a postseason ban to the players, especially if you're scrambling to do something that the NCAA cannot get in front of at this point. By the way, like how the NCAA interviews, it's not like the Big Ten and Tony Petitti has its own investigative arm. It doesn't. So it's relying on whatever it's getting from other places.

And how are they corroborating this? You know, there's a due process piece of this. I get that the Big Ten has its own bylaws and it's and its own, you know, what it thinks it can do under the sportsmanship policy. Just as somebody who's like watching this play out and talking to people.

This is why it's such a fascinating story, I think, because it's the raw shot test of however you look at it, you have a different view of it. So as you head out, Bruce Feldman to Happy Valley, what are you expecting? My gut is that Jim Harbaugh may not be coaching on Saturday.

I don't know that. We're going to find out probably in the next 18 hours, I would say, which is which is a weird spot to be, because it's like, you know, the how the football schedule works over the course of a week. I mean, we're basically it's already Wednesday afternoon, you know, in the Big Ten. And the uncertainty of how this is going forward is still a big TBD. And if he's not the head coach, the it's a tough place to play. It's a really talented opponent. If he's not there now, look, they did have three games where he wasn't there.

They were they were cupcake games relative to this. I just don't know what what the pushback piece from Michigan is that can you get a a TRO or, you know, just to to block it, to keep him on the field. I mean, I'm not an attorney. And even if I was, I wouldn't be that familiar with their with their case at this point to know what may be coming out. You know, what are we missing in college football that no one's paying attention to because everyone's so fixated on this story?

Good question. I think we are missing the end of a lot of stuff that's, you know, last week, Bedlam, the series between Oklahoma, Oklahoma State pretty much came to an end. And Oklahoma State, which it's really struggled in that series, you know, they won.

That's a huge win for that program. We're seeing a lot of stuff. The Pac-12 is going to go away, right?

We're seeing some really cool stories that are playing out there. I think a lot of us, especially out here where we live, have got caught up in the shiny object, which is USC and its struggles. But we're like kind of missing, you know, what's going on with Arizona. And they have surged from from the ashes and turn out to be a really good program. They have a bunch of wins over ranked teams. We're seeing, you know, a terrific, you know, a couple of programs in the Pacific Northwest and Washington and Oregon. And to some degree, that has gotten overshadowed by what's gone on in the last two weeks. I get why it has.

I mean, you got you just have like a lot of cool stories that are kind of kind of getting squeezed a little bit by kind of the seaminess of the sport or kind of the the flip side of it. Since you mentioned USC with Lincoln Riley, do you think this is the pressure to make changes? He's not used to it doesn't seem like working with these booster types who, as you know, only two at USC have a lot of influence. So I wonder what it's been like that you think from the inside for him to make these decisions. I think this has been probably eye opening for him and that he's really not struggled much as a head coach.

Right. And when you're in Oklahoma, I think you were the biggest show in town. And I'm not saying he didn't get questioned by anybody, but he took over for Bob Stoops. And Bob really had a program there that he built up and had a lot of resources and really good staff that that Lincoln took some of those key pieces and kept them, which was smart on his part. They were bad on defense.

They got a little better. And then ultimately he made a move, which I think was a hard move for him. And it was a hard move for his family in that he became a villain to a lot of people around Oklahoma where they really bought into Lincoln Riley. That is not easy for anybody.

And then he moved out here and with a bunch of support people and assistance and those families. And it was good last year. Right. Because they were so bad when he took over and Caleb on a Heisman and there was excitement. But then this year it was like, you know, I felt like they they are almost they were making it harder than they needed to be.

But you had a lot of self-inflicted stuff there. And, you know, one of the things that I think is hard is, you know, Lincoln is out here. They had an AD change and the AD got forced out at USC. And now he has, I think, a much better AD in Jen Cohen. She came from Washington. She's really well respected in the sport. And I think she will be good for USC.

But I think right now, I think this is a program that is is still trying to find its identity right now. We know Lincoln is a great play caller and a great offensive coordinator. But to win a national title to get where USC is, it requires something different. It requires you need to be a great head coach. And I'm not saying Lincoln can't be that, but it's that's the part that was, you know, you still have to take another big step forward. Now they're going to the Big Ten next year. You have these other programs in Washington and Oregon who are really going at a high level.

UCLA is good and UCLA is not great, but UCLA is not not struggling mightily either. So you're going in to a much tougher dynamic. And I just think there's a lot of stuff that I think he's got to figure out going forward in terms of like, how do I manage a transfer portal again? You know, 3.0.

How do I recruit in high school here? And I have to do all this pretty fast because now I have to get a defense coordinator in because, yes, there's a lot of people who are really down on Alex Grinch who got forced out and fired last weekend. But I don't think that was the only problem. There was a lot of other issues there that that they need to fix. And I think Lincoln knows knows a lot of that. I just think it's like this is the harder part than, hey, I'm you know, the X and O stuff and the things that, you know, play really well on social media and the highlight shows.

And yeah, it's great. You've you're a really good quarterback coach who can, you know, lure Heisman talent and develop Heisman talent. But, you know, for him to get to where USC people want and where Lincoln wants to get, there has to be a lot more that has to go on. And I'm interested to see how he tries to remedy that, because that's going to take some growth.

Few more questions for Bruce Feldman. Who might he get for Decord? You know, the big name, I did a story on the athletic on on Sunday night, Monday about this, a big name out there, Jimmy Leonard.

Obviously, you know that know him well. He did a great job at Wisconsin. Really good secondary guy. That's the that's a big issue for that team right now.

They're really bad on the back end. Would Jim Leonard want to come out to Southern California and work with Lincoln Riley? I don't know the answer to that. I don't think money would be an issue. It's just when he's at Wisconsin, your complementary football is a different thing. You know, it's I don't say it's a lot easier to be a defense coordinator in the Big Ten.

But in that Big Ten, yeah, I do think it is, as opposed to working for somebody who came from the air raid system. Now, it's not to say Lincoln Riley is exactly now like what Mike Leach was, but that's a different dynamic to work as a defensive coordinator. There's other guys, Tony Gibson, who actually has been an area defensive coordinator with Dana Holgerson. He's now at NC State. Very well regarded.

Tony White, who played at UCLA. He's done a really good job in Nebraska and he has spent a bunch of time on the West Coast. I think there are some some interesting candidates, but how they do relative to, you know, if if they to make this move. I don't think it's as seamless as it is when they work for different head coaches who maybe don't go attack the offense quite to the degree Lincoln does.

Last question. And I actually hate to ask it, but I'm curious about your thoughts. What is the point of Caleb playing at this point? Like if he's not going to be a return Heisman winner, if they're not going to win the national championship, we don't even know about conference at this point.

With all he's done, he's got enough tape to show any NFL scout or team what he can do. What's the point? I think the point is for your for your teammates, to be honest. And it's not to say like we saw those videos of him being very generous for the stuff he's given through his NIL to his teammates.

But look, you're around them all year round, workouts, you know, live with them, games, obviously. Without Caleb, this team is probably a 500 team. But every time he goes on the field now, he could get hurt. He could.

He could. But I think it's like, you know, you're preaching about finish and all these other things that go with it. When adversity hits, look, if he decided and his family decided, you know what, we're just going to get ready for the draft.

I would understand it, you know, but at the same time, I think. You know, everything we hear and look, coaches are going to be guilty of this, too. But everything we hear is when adversity hits, you got to you got to finish and you got all these things that go with especially the football mentality.

I would say this. The most memorable thing I saw in the USC Washington game, as wild and entertaining as it was, the most memorable thing I'll take from it was seeing Caleb jump in the stands with his mom and covered his face. And you could see his body kind of shaking. And I just was watching that.

Not watching it, you know, on a plane as I'm coming home from wherever we were, Austin last week. And I'm just thinking this is not like anything you would ever see in the NFL. You know, on one hand, you look at Caleb, you look, he looks like he's an NFL guy now.

You know, a lot of facial hair. You know, he's not a skinny kid. He's, you know, strong, developed kid, you know, very well-spoken, very thoughtful. He seems like he's since for like three years, he's carried himself like almost he's ready for the NFL.

And I'm not saying he's not emotionally or physically, certainly. But you watch him and you remember there's still a kid here. And that was very real to me. I was like, and I hopefully it was a reminder to a lot of us. It was like, you know, yeah, there's NIL, there's all this other stuff and all this visibility in their commercials and everything. But at the same time, you know, if you showed me that clip and it was Jordan Love up in the stands or, you know, whoever, like you pick the player, Zach, you know, Zach Wilson or whoever, it would it would really surprise me. Just could never imagine it like, you know, Jets quarterback running in the stands.

But this is this is kind of the reality for these guys. And so I don't know what, you know, like what's in his head. If you if how much he thinks about, like, do I want to risk an injury or how much do I feel like do I owe for the team?

Do I just just part of me is burning to be like, I'm not going out this way. You know, at USC, I think only he can answer that. And it's you know, it's we're in a different place now than we were five years ago. And Lender Fournette or 10 years ago and Lender Fournette and Christian McCaffrey decided not to play in a bowl game. You know, those are running backs and they know injury is a real thing. Caleb's I'm sure he has insurance policy, but, you know, that could that could still be a game changer for him. Safe travels.

Thanks again for your time. And I want to share my thoughts on that when we come back from this commercial break. Where did you take in the Super Bowl this year? Were you in were you in Minnesota or you were not? No, I had the opportunity to go to Minnesota, but we were in production on the series. And I was still healing from a broken leg last last summer.

So it seemed a little arduous, especially with the cold. And I like watching in the comfort of my home. I feel like you can analyze the game better live.

It seems to go by so quickly. And I like to know the intricacies and nuances of who's hurt, whether they're coming back into the game, all of those things that you kind of miss when you're when you're there watching it live. And so what was what did it mean to you?

I mean, who would you call? What I mean, what did it mean to you? I was sitting with my 14 year old son watching the game throughout with only a couple. I didn't want too many people because I didn't want distractions. I wanted only people football minded, focused people talking Brock Brockman's language.

I'm not going to one of those parties where you're explaining the game to casual fans or like, you know, people don't understand the importance, you know. And so I watched it in my theater. And even with the broken leg at the end of the game, I'm jumping. I have video of that. And I left the ground.

I was like two feet off the ground at the end of that game. And it's unforgettable. And also to have your son right there with you. And then we got on the phone with my dad back east and FaceTiming with him. My dad's got tears and he's not the type of guy to cry, but he's been waiting for this moment for 70 years.

You know, it's really special when when it does happen. And the most emotionally affected I got was watching the parade. And Jason Kelsey's speech was unbelievable.

His mummer's gear. Even before they got to that, seeing the people of Philadelphia, knowing what it meant to the mentality of the city, to the, you know, the future of the city in some ways that the that really struck me. Just knowing how desperately the people wanted it. You look like you're getting a little choked up.

I could if I talked about it. By the way, he's got a little bit of a touch of the Vermeil right here. A touch of the Vermeil. A touch of the Vermeil.

I'll take that. Welcome back to the Rich Eisen Show on the Rich Eisen Show radio network. I'm sitting at the Rich Eisen Show desk furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry. Grainger's got the right product for you. Call clickrainger.com or just stop by. I want to take a minute to talk about Caleb Williams and about him jumping into the stands into his mom Dane's arms after the loss to Washington.

And then I read the next couple of days. Maybe he's weak. Maybe he's soft.

Maybe he can't lead. This is a kid, people. This is a kid who just realized that his season is over, that his chances of repeating it are over.

And I want to talk about this from the perspective of a mom. This is a kid who just wanted to go to his mom and then, of course, go to his dog Super later because and that makes me love him even more. But when did that become a sign of weakness?

When did him need to be comforted, become a sign that he's soft? Kid's a hell of a player. Bruce Feldman even mentioned, you know, you don't think of Zach Wilson jumping into the stands or maybe any athlete, a pro athlete. But every time I interviewed a guy in my 30 years in sports, they talked about their mom or they talked about their grandmother. And they talked about how they want to buy their mom a house or their grandmother a house because of the sacrifices that that person made so that they could be a professional athlete or a college athlete. How many athletes do you know, Tom Brady included, that take the time to say hi, Mom, when they're interviewed after a game?

So I just want to say I think it's great that he did that. I don't think he's soft. I don't think it's toxic that he had to go see his mom. This is a kid hurting. And as a mom of three, I know that is why I go to games with my kids and I'm a New Englander and I'm salty and I don't play it soft. But if my kid needs a hug after a bad game or a disappointment, that's OK. If they need an attaboy or pick me up or Taylor needs it after a rough game.

That's what I'm there for. I don't think he's soft. I think he's going to be a great leader. I think we've seen that this kid can ball with the best of them. But for all of you out there who are saying that there's something wrong with this kid because he needed a hug from his mom.

I'm here for a day and it just means that you've been a great mom and I salute you on behalf of all of these moms out there. We've seen the relationships, the Chunky Soup ads. We've seen the Kelsey brothers with their mom. We get it.

Moms play a role. And I'm OK with the fact that he needed that hug right then and there. Marshall Falk will join us on the other side of this break. We're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, we're going to talk to the Hall of Famer about how many beignets he's put away today. And I hope it's been a lot.

That's all I had right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Looking forward to our number three with you and call in 844-204-RICH. You know the number. So, yeah, guys, I mean, I'm just saying that was great.

I'm glad that you did that. Well, I think that a lot of this is from keyboard tough guys. Yeah. A lot of losers who have never done anything in their lives and will never do anything in their lives. And they just want to punch down on a kid. A kid had a bad day and a rough moment and got real for a second. And I think that's all it is. I thought it was awesome. I didn't look down on him.

It made me appreciate him more and made me want him on my team even more. And I bet a lot of people felt that way as well. And also, Susie, I mean, we did speak about this earlier in the week. And I brought up, if you are fortunate enough to be able to hug your mom, you better do it. You better get as many as those hugs in as you can. So I personally and I think these guys agree.

I don't have any problem with it. You know, it is what it is. You need a comfort. And there's only one person who can give that to you at that moment. That's right.

Your mom, your mom, your mom, my mom, Rich's mom. I mean, that's that's the truth of the matter is. And we know your mom's watching. So we have to say hi. But yeah, I'm all about it. These guys bleed like everybody else does. You know, these guys, everybody else does. You know, yeah, Mikey, we're thinking about people that are get mad at that. I don't even want to talk.

I don't even want to talk to him. I'm like, what are you doing? That's amazing that he was able to do that. Yeah, I thought I would give to be able to do that.

Yeah, exactly. Are you kidding me? My mom said she liked my shirt today. So it's like I love you, mom. Saying hi to me.

All right. Our number three, the Rich Eisen Show. When we come back with Marshall Faulk. In Stone Music now, wherever you listen.