Stewart Mandel: Jim Harbaugh hasn't signed a contract for a reason

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Learn more at Discover.com slash credit card. Limitations apply. Oh, my God, you guys are my favorite. This is The Rich Eisen Show. Rich Eisen. I know what I'm talking about.

That's the headline. The Rich Eisen Show with guest host Brian Weber. OMG. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.

Oh, my gosh. And now, sitting in for Rich, here's Brian Weber. It's another hour of the program and it's great to have you with us coast to coast.

However, you may be consuming this audio experience. The goal is to be interactive. 844-204-7424. Hit me up on Twitter.

I don't work for Elon. I have to say you got to X me. B.W. Weber, Weber with two B's. First hour turned out to be all NFL quarterback talk all the time. But that is a good strategy, especially for a fill in host. We had the breaking news after we foreshadowed the possibility game official Russell Wilson has been benched in Denver. Will not play this weekend against Chargers, nor in the regular season finale, primarily for financial reasons. If he got hurt in these upcoming games, a lot of guaranteed money kicks in for an injury possibility.

37 mil, to be precise, on the line. So we talked about the implications, but I realize the audience is always changing. And because I give out that phone number like a carnival barker, I was told early on in radio, we focus on the top stories at the top of the hour.

Although I don't think any of that applies anymore because people don't look at clocks. But I am stuck in 1994. So we'll talk a little bit more. Russell Wilson here.

Also, since quarterbacks make everything more interesting, does Josh Allen deserve more consideration in the MVP conversation? Coming up in 20 minutes, we'll keep this concise because I do have the tendency to get a little bit sideways with these monologues. Hopefully by now it's clear I am not reading.

It would take 19 writers working round the clock, plus too many big words that only I would be vain enough to throw out there. Going to talk to a smart observer of college football. Show's always better with intelligent people on the line. Stewart Mandel of the Athletic will get you set for the games that matter in college football, not this constant parade of unwatchable, meaningless matchups. And because Rich is a proud Michigan man, and it's Wednesday, and I'm here in Southern California with waves of Michigan and Alabama fans already here in town, proudly supporting their schools.

You got a lot of Maize and Blue, a lot of Cribson at all the malls, although why am I going to malls during holiday week? That's really on me. We'll talk about Jim Harbaugh. Is he using the NFL for leverage once more? Because there are reports that there's a massive extension already on the table from Michigan, better than $125 million reportedly, with one kicker. Harbaugh would have to commit in writing that he would not go to the NFL next year in 2024. So we'll try to figure out the professional path forward for Harbaugh when we check in with Stewart Mandel of the Athletic. If you're not tracking the overwhelming abundance of bowls, I can't blame you.

Four more coming up today. Military bowl, Tulane, no Willy Fritz. He bailed on them after jump-starting that program. Tulane, you'll recall, beat USC in the Cotton Bowl last year.

It is the green wave taking on Vatek. I may watch the Duke-Mayo Bowl just to see who's going to get drenched in mayonnaise as West Virginia takes on North Carolina. Of course, no Drake May. All the stars opting out. Texas Bowl, Texas A&M against Oklahoma State. Holiday Bowl with its rich tradition of wild finishes, although a lot of that goes back to, say, Steve Young playing for BYU at Jack Murphy Stadium.

Decades ago, they've moved now to Petco Park, still playing in America's finest city. USC, of course, no Caleb Williams. Taking on No.

15 Louisville, Jeff Brom, doing a marvelous job year one at his alma mater. And our thanks to Matt Linder for trying to join the program. Occasionally, there are some technical issues. So we had Gremlins on the line, and Matt was kind enough to try to be a part of the show. We could not make that happen, but we appreciate the effort. So as we've been talking so much about just a bizarre year under center, just think about how Brock Purdy ascended before some of you think we in the media have an agenda to tear him down. And let's just back up there. When I say we in the media, and I'm not getting political at all, especially as a fill-in host, folks, there is no convention or maybe I'm not invited to it.

Now, there are media gatherings, but in terms of topics, we don't get together in a large room and say, okay, we're going to glorify this Brock Purdy guy because it's an amazing story. Last pick in the NFL draft. He goes from being Mr.

Relevant to Mr. Automatic. We love that. So we're going to drive that story because it's good for Randings. But you know what the follow-up is? We're going to have another meeting, or at least a Zoom call, and then we're going to tear him down. It's not that organized.

Now, opinions do gain their own momentum, and the consensus builds. But I try my best, and I'm Brian Weber, in for Rich Eisen, 844-204-7424, the number to call in 15 minutes. We talk college football with Stewart Mandel. I try my best to be an independent thinker, and because Rich is so generous with these opportunities, I'm with you probably more than you would like.

But if I can put the Purdy timeline together as a guest host, and I work for other platforms too, so maybe you've heard me elsewhere, or you just follow me with my legion. It's a small group, but they're very passionate. Tens of people on Twitter, B.W.

Weber, Weber with two B's. My entire outlook for Brock Purdy heading into the season came down to one thing. I need to see more. Last year was unbelievable. If it becomes a movie, no one would accept the premise. You couldn't get that movie made. I wanted to see more specifically because we didn't see the ending. Because he only had the cameo in the NFC title game, and then the Eagles ferocious defense almost ripped his elbow off his body. It was that grisly, and you know what happened the rest of the way. So, I wasn't saying it didn't happen. I wasn't saying it was fake news.

I was saying I want to see more. It's a show me year. And Brock Purdy to his credit for the majority of the year. Now remember, when the Niners had their three game losing streak, he suddenly looked a lot more mortal, as anyone would. But especially when he struggled against Cleveland, although now looking back, we all should have been giving a lot more recognition to that Cleveland defense. In the year of the backup quarterback, now typified by Jarrett Stidham, taking over for Russell Wilson, the Joe Flacco story is sensational.

But let's tell it like it is. Joe Flacco is in position to make those plays because he has a steely, amazing defense on the other side of the ball. And that's what has held Cleveland together, as they're on the cusp of locking up a wild card.

After losing Nick Chubb to that gruesome injury on Monday Night Football, having a battered offensive line all season long, getting virtually nothing out of creepy Deshaun Watson. And remember, since we're talking guaranteed money as the motivation to sit Russell Wilson here, Cleveland's on the hook for a lot more dough because they gave him the worst contract in NFL history. And I'm not opposed to guaranteed money. In fact, I've had many soapbox arguments on this program saying the NFL of any sport deserves and deserves is a loaded word. But if we're talking about players who put their bodies on the line, don't football players deserve guaranteed money as much or more than baseball and basketball players? These guys walk with a limp, some of them, for the rest of their lives.

Or you can talk about CTE and everything else and I know that they will tell you, we know what we're signing up for. But it does not mask the fact that guaranteed money should be much more prevalent in the NFL. The reason it does not exist is the owners don't have to, as we saw with Lamar Jackson. And it's difficult for me to make that argument and then I have the counterbalance of what happened with Deshaun Watson because Cleveland gave it to the wrong person.

I don't know what happened in all those situations, but I know he was suspended for 11 games for a reason and I know he's done virtually nothing since Cleveland gave him $230 million guaranteed and a bunch of draft capital because Jimmy Haslam and the Browns have no self-esteem and they overpaid because that was the only way to get Watson to come to Cleveland. And I was talking yesterday about Lamar Jackson and Rich had an interesting observation on Twitter. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich Eisen. Wednesday edition of The Rich Eisen Show.

844-204-7424. Conversation never stops on Twitter. That's B.W.

Weber, Weber with two B's. In less than 10 minutes we talk college football, getting you fully lined up for the games that matter coming up when we check in with Stewart Mandel of The Athletic. Technically, and I don't want to get too bogged down in minor details, technically Lamar Jackson was a restricted free agent, but he was on the market. Now Rich made the argument the other night on Twitter and he is far more connected to the league than virtually anybody else.

Remember, he was the face of NFL Network from day one in 2003. So if Rich says it and it's linked to football, you should believe it. Rich made the argument that if you're trying to extrapolate why Lamar Jackson did not get a single offer, nobody was willing to even make an offer. Well, Rich was suggesting that they knew, and I guess it was a common secret in league circles, that Baltimore was never going to let him go because they had the ability to match plus now you're talking first round picks as compensation as a restricted free agent.

That is all valid and true. Still, it does not prevent a team at the time from taking a shot. Nobody wanted to officially extend Lamar Jackson an offer sheet. And to me, as Mike Florio pointed out in Pro Football Talk the other day, it just reeks of collusion because the owners were miffed that Haslam had potentially set the precedent with all that guaranteed dough he gave to the wrong guy, Deshaun Watson. The owners said, we're not going to do that again, even if you can make the argument that certainly Lamar Jackson deserved it.

So it was baffling to me, as I was with you during the summer months, that nobody wanted to kick the tires on Lamar Jackson. But as we circle back to the MVP conversation, it feels like a done deal. Lamar wrapped it up with that phenomenal performance, although if you watch the whole game, remember, it was a slow start.

One of five, one of six, something like that, and then he tumbled in the end zone when the poor umpire couldn't back up and had to take the safety for intentional grounding. Lamar demonstrated that he is clearly the front runner for the MVP, should win the award for the second time this year. Brock Purdy demonstrated that he is a middle of the road quarterback, and I am not overreacting to a single game. And I know all of his glorious numbers, but there's a reason why he was Mr.

Irrelevant. He is limited physically. He is the latest example of Kyle Shanahan coaching up a quarterback. Shanahan transformed Matt Ryan into a league MVP. Shanahan won with C.J.

Beathard and Nick Mullins. Shanahan and Garoppolo went to a Super Bowl. Nick Mullins, as we saw with that debacle against Detroit, is just the guy when he threw four interceptions.

Funny what happens when you move on from Shanahan and you're limited. Brock Purdy has had a very nice season. We saw what he looked like without the best supporting cast offensively in football around him with Kittle and Samuel and Ayuk. And let's find out as we get closer to game time coming up, as San Francisco tries to bounce back and take a step closer to locking up the top seed taking on Washington this weekend, if Trent Williams can't go, because he got banged up at the end of the game, everything changes for Brock Purdy in front of him.

But I'm not saying Purdy can't play. I'm saying that he's limited and four interceptions, albeit two of them on tip balls, raises the question, was he not ready for prime time? Because in the two biggest games of his career, he didn't make it out of the first quarter because of the injury. That's not his fault in the NFC Championship game. And he looked overwhelmed head to head against Baltimore as Jackson wrapped up the MVP, although it is worth tracking what Josh Allen does down the stretch.

Especially, I know it's an individual award, but the team dynamic kicks in. Buffalo, amazingly, can still win the division. In fact, it's not that illogical because Miami has to go to Baltimore this weekend. Ravens win. They clinched the top seed in the AFC. Could come down to the Bills taking on the Dolphins next week in the regular season finale. And remember, Buffalo destroyed Miami earlier this year. Josh Allen wins that division.

I would not be surprised if he makes the MVP race a little bit more competitive. Settles for second because, remember, Allen has accounted for a total of 40 touchdowns this year all-in because he's also one of the most reliable runners for Buffalo. Especially when Ken Dorsey was butchering the play calling and you saw everything change finally when they made the coaching change and Cook ran wild against Dallas a couple weeks ago. Here's the pushback on Allen. He's been a turnover machine. 15 picks this year, second only to Sam Howell who's been benched in Washington.

Sam with 17. Big reason why Jacoby Brissett will get the start this weekend as Ron Rivera's tenure is winding down. I'm Brian Weber. As we move along deeper into hour number two of the program, I can let you know what's coming up in the next and final hour. Looking forward to a conversation with a very entertaining fella. Spice Adams, former NFL defensive tackle, played for the Bears and Niners. He's now a host and comedian. I've heard Spice on with Rich in the past and he's got a lot of personality. So that will be entertaining when we get there, but in our immediate future, we're talking college football.

What does the football future of Jim Harbaugh look like as Michigan gets set to take on Alabama in the first national semifinal at the Rose Bowl coming up on Monday? We'll cover it all when we check in with Stewart Mandel of The Athletic, all part of a very busy Wednesday here on the program. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich.

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Limitations apply. Brian Weber back with you. Wall-to-wall football filling in for Rich here on the Rich Eisen Show. You can be a part of the program at 844-204-7424.

Hop aboard on the X. B.W. Weber, Weber with two B's. Let's turn our attention to college football with one of the best in the business. Stewart Mandel, longtime college football writer, now doing an outstanding job for the athletic. Stewart, Brian Weber with you.

I appreciate you taking the time and I love following you on Twitter for two reasons. Your insights and I love seeing that you're based in Sunnyvale because a million years ago I went to school in Palo Alto. It reminds me of better days on the peninsula.

How about that? I mean, obviously we're not too far from Palo Alto here, but probably things have changed a lot. This is the heart of Silicon Valley obviously, but yeah, I'm one of the rare people in this part of the country that knows what college football is. You're right and next year all my alumni brethren are going to have to figure out the ACC and before we get into the games that matter in bowl season because you do such a phenomenal job of providing context for casual fans wondering what to make of what's going on with Florida State and the Board of Trustees meeting and that figure of better than $500 million they projected would cost them to leave the ACC.

How do you see this all playing out? It seems to me to be a big muddying of the waters like I don't know that it's realistic, or even Florida State believes it's realistic to be let out of that grant of rights entirely, but they've just showed such discontent at this point. Like how can Florida State continue to be a member of the ACC for the long term when they're out there openly criticizing that conference all the time in that lawsuit they can mock the three teams that are coming in next year.

It's just not a tenable relationship. One thing that came out in there was that we thought that the ESPN deal was through 2036. It's actually coming up in 27 that ESPN has an option. And the more Florida State does this kind of stuff, the more I think it probably dissuades ESPN possibly from wanting to continue that relationship. So maybe that's the goal.

Get them to end it early and they can get out then. But I think all roads lead to Florida State leaving the ACC. The question is, A, where do they go? And B, if they're going, who else is coming with them?

Because I find it hard to believe it would just be them. So if we think potentially the SEC, although I've read your analysis that so far it looks like the SEC is not interested. Big Ten clearly willing to go from Seattle to wherever they can. Maybe Puerto Rico if need be. If they decide that the Big Ten would be the right fit, or more to the point the Big Ten is willing to take them, who else are we looking at potentially? North Carolina?

Virginia? What other dominoes could fall? Yeah, I mean, I think the Big Ten has to decide just how big are they going to go? I mean, it's already a pretty unwieldy conference, in my opinion, when you're going from East Coast to West Coast. And 18 schools, does 18 become 20, 22?

Are you basically conceding geography doesn't matter at all anymore and you're willing to span the whole country? You know, I think back when Jim Delaney was commissioner and he was a former UNC basketball player, he always looked very favorably at UNC. But by the way, I don't think the SEC and the court, I don't think that's an option for Florida State. So either the Big Ten or, you know, if the ACC comes apart, I mean, there's no scenario where they're going to make SEC or Big Ten money. It's not like if the ACC TV contract suddenly became available tomorrow that they would get that kind of money. But if you were able to take the top half of the ACC and cut out the bottom half, you could at least get a new TV deal that's higher per school, right?

Because you're not splitting it as many ways. Is there a possibility that Florida State is planting the seeds for a new football conference, because let's face it, the ACC is more a basketball conference, with just the most desirable football brands and what kind of money could that fetch? It's a fascinating time in college sports. And because I'm deeply connected to the Pac-12, I'm not thrilled with how things have evolved. But you point out every weekend, we don't have to appreciate how things are developing, but the game day experience is still magical. And it's easy for folks like me on the radio to take shots at these bowl games. But I have a Sun Bowl watch from 1996. I know how meaningful it is for the players.

That's Ed Stewart, and we're chatting with Stewart Mandel of The Athletic. Florida State has gone through a wave of opt-outs, understandably heading into the Orange Bowl against Georgia. How challenging could this game be on the field? It could be really ugly, because you've got all their best players basically have opted out. We already knew they were going to be without Jordan Travis.

Now Tate Rademacher, his backup, has entered the portal. And so the same freshman quarterback that struggled so badly against Louisville is going to be the quarterback against Georgia. And Georgia, by the way, does not have the bevy of opt-outs.

So I think it's going to be ugly. There's no other way around it. And I just hope people don't use that as a reason to say, well, see, they should have been in the playoff. Exactly.

He was right. It's not the same team. And that's, by the way, true throughout these bowl games. I realize it's unavoidable people are going to draw conclusions about the 2023 season based on the results of these bowl games.

But increasingly, and this is, I think, becomes more and more so every year, you have to consider it just kind of its own season unto itself, its own events. It's not marginally connected to the 2023 season at this point. The playoff teams are the same.

We've got that. We've got these four teams that are playing out the rest of their season. But in a lot of cases, we've got freshman quarterbacks making their first career starts in these games. Guys who didn't see the field much were suddenly going to play the whole game.

It's more like a sneak peek at 2024 than it is a reflection of 2023. I'm Brian Weber, Ian for Rich Eisen. We're talking college football with Stewart Mandel of The Athletic. You set up the nice transition to the college football playoff and two fascinating matchups. I'm in Southern California, and there's already a ton of Michigan and Alabama fans in town. Stewart, what did you make of Nick Saban hiring a former Michigan linebackers coach to be a special assistant for the Tide heading into the Rose Bowl? And what do you think the game could come down to? That's very Nick Saban. He's always looking for any possible advantage, and the hiring at the time that he's making it is definitely noteworthy. I mean, the thing is, you can debate whether Alabama should have been in the playoff or not.

I think a lot of people think they shouldn't have. But now that they're in there, it's Alabama, it's Nick Saban. Going back to the BCS championship games, they are 10-1 in these games where they have a month to prepare.

They're either BCS championship or college football playoff semifinal. And frankly, Michigan doesn't have that track record. So, you know, I think he will bring out, you know, they definitely had their ups and downs this season. I think you'll see the best version of Alabama in this game. And so it's going to be a real test for Michigan. I mean, they've obviously been the team in the Big Ten for the last three years, but haven't really shown it when it's come to certainly the last two years in the playoff. They haven't played Power Five non-conference teams in the regular season. Their dominance has been within the Big Ten.

This is a big moment for them to show that they can do it against the premiere program of the last 15 years in this sport. So much guessing about the future of Jim Harbaugh. Will he stay at Michigan? Does he want to get back to the NFL and finish up the business that he still has open because he fell short of winning that Super Bowl?

You have informed speculation. What do you make of Harbaugh balancing the pros and cons of staying or going? And do you think he'd be more likely to go to the NFL barring a win or a loss? How do you think things could play out depending on what Michigan does?

Let's just say it gets Alabama head to head. I'm operating into the assumption, and he hasn't really hit right. The last two years he has openly tried to get an NFL job. He even, after the first go-around with the Vikings, talked very openly about the drive to want to get back and win the Super Bowl. So I'm operating under the assumption that he wants to get back in the NFL, and we'll see if the opportunity presents itself or not. And if it doesn't, he's got this amazing, I think Ian Rappaport reported over the weekend, this enormous 10-year contract extension just sitting there waiting for him to sign. I don't think Michigan's going to pull it if he spends a month flirting with the NFL. I would be very surprised if they come out and announce the morning of the Alabama game that he's signed a 10-year deal. I think he wants to keep his options open. He hasn't signed it for a reason.

He wants to keep his options open. Jim Ashrud, we know that every step of the way. Final thought then on what I think is going to be a real entertaining game between UW and Texas. Plenty of star-powered quarterback with Michael Penix Jr. and Quinn Ewers. Stuart, I'm out here on the West Coast, so I've seen every Washington game this year and was disappointed with the defensive lapses starting with about midway through the regular season. So are you expecting a shootout in the Big Easy?

How high-scoring a game could this be? Yeah, I do kind of expect a shootout because, like you said, Washington's strength is not defense. My concern for Washington, I've covered both the Oregon games. I have nothing but admiration and respect for that offense and what Kevin DeBoer has done. You know, the Pacs Hall was a very good conference this year because of its quarterbacks. But they have not faced it. I mean, Texas's defensive front is one of the best in the country, if not the best. And I think Michael Penix is going to face a level of pressure he hasn't seen so far this season. Now, it may be that he's just invincible.

It doesn't matter. And he's got such great receivers. But, you know, probably realistically, he's not going to throw for 450 yards against Texas.

So they are. They're going to have to make some stops. Texas has great weapons on offense. They have a great running game. You know, it's a golden opportunity for Washington to prove that they can play in a game like this. It's been a long time, obviously. The only time they made it to the playoffs, I think they lost 24-7 to Alabama.

But I do think this is a much better team than that 2016 team, starting with the quarterback. Stewart, I enjoy your work. I am a subscriber to The Athletic. Really appreciate you taking the time. Enjoy the rest of the bowl season. And thanks for being generous with your time today here on the Rich Eisen Show. All right. Thanks for having me.

Stewart Mandel. Check out his outstanding work on The Athletic. And let me give you just an overview of where we stand in media circles heading into a new year. If you appreciate quality content, spend a few dollars. The Athletic is a reasonable subscription. And this was not contingent on accepting, oh, I have to do a promo for The Athletic. I am a subscriber. Now, it is my job, after all. But if you want more than just a fluff piece, if you want real analysis, especially with all the moving parts now in college football, we're talking about the fundamental change to the sport that I love most.

And I'll be totally transparent with you. College football and college basketball were my foundation professionally. I'm the luckiest guy in the world to jump into the industry at a very young age because I was affiliated with Division I college football and college basketball programs.

And I'm having a hard time going through. For example, I mentioned in passing I have a grad degree from USC. Nobody cares. Profoundly changed my life. I'm a guest host during a holiday week. And I would rather be no other place. I'm just trying to be self-deprecating. USC tonight, although it is an exhibition game, but technically this is the last time they will be a part of the dying Pac-12. And if you live elsewhere, I get it. You think, well, you West Coast people don't love college football the way we do here in the fill in the blank. I know in the SEC, quote unquote, it just means more, but I'm from New York. I am not somebody who grew up here.

I'm a transplant. And one of the reasons I selected my alma mater was because I wanted the big time college experience and a degree theoretically that could get me a job. And to see over a hundred years of tradition destroyed for no other reason than to make more money is disgusting. Now there was gross incompetence by many decision makers within the conference. I'm not letting them off the hook. But here we are now talking about Florida state and a quick aside, and I'm glad Stewart brought it up because it was on my notebook to get to as well.

And he went through the notable names. They're not going to play in this orange ball. When Florida state gets boat raced by Georgia and they lose by 28, don't go to social media and say, aha, Florida state was fraudulent.

They never should have been in the conversation. Look, we know why they didn't get in because the committee was concerned that no Jordan Travis met no chance. I understand. Use the cop in basketball. When Kenya Martin got hurt a million years ago for Cincinnati, the Barracats were penalized with their seating.

That's fine. But the other reason why Florida state got screwed as the first undefeated power five champion, not to get into the quote unquote final four is the power of the sec, because this is a television show. And this committee will start negotiating, not the guys in the room, but the powers that be within the college football playoff will be finalizing their new media deal for the new mega 12 team playoff coming up. They want a proof of concept with big numbers in the last semi-finals because in all candor, the semi-finals have been unwatchable. They've been beat downs. So this committee wanted the two most compelling matchups.

And you put Florida state in there and they lose by 28 international semi-finals. And that has a adverse effect on the bottom line. So again, it's all about money and I understand it. I am not living in some world of lollipops and unicorns. I get it.

I have a master's in business. Theoretically, I shouldn't do your taxes, but I can understand cash flow and those kinds of things. But it doesn't mean I have to appreciate that mean I have to like it. And if you want to watch these games, great. Would you rather watch a football game or a meaningless talking head show? I'm with you. But the problem I have is Stewart laid out in his normal expert fashion is if you want to watch, for example, a North Carolina game, I want to watch Drake May.

And I understand why Drake made the right decision. He's not going to get on the field, run the risk of injury in a meaningless exhibition. But I have nothing invested and I'm not a gambler in the glory that is the Dukes Mayo ball. Unless you're just starved for football, what's the reason to watch North Carolina against West Virginia coming up in Charlotte? Unless you're an alum or you care about the program. Still, these games get ratings.

They wouldn't exist if no one was watching. I think they're going to become even more relevant next year when we go to a 12 team playoff. But you want to have a friendly wager that the overall number will not be reduced?

41 bowl games this year plus a national championship. Why? Someone's watching and the ratings are robust. I'm Brian Weber delivering huge ratings whenever I fill in for Rich. That's the story I'm telling myself. 844-204-7424, my last show of the year.

So if you want to get interactive, pick up the phone or tweet at me. B.W. Weber, Weber with two B's coming up in the final hour of the program, scheduled to put comedy and football together.

I will not attempt that. I'll leave it to the professional, Spice Adams, former NFL defensive tackle, played for the Bears and the Niners. He's now a host in Chicago and he dabbles in the world of comedy and more to the point, he is an outstanding storyteller. Coming up, I will clean up a mess I made in the first hour of the program when I took a phone call and could not live up to my forward promotion. Plus, we had to spend the majority of that first hour talking about the Russell Wilson news.

Russell has been benched for the last two games of the Broncos season, primarily to avoid injury if he got hurt. Better than 30 million dollars would become guaranteed. We'll talk much more about his future as we continue and I'll get to just a little bit of NBA. Somehow, someway, one of these days, the Pistons are going to win a basketball game. Unfortunately, if you're a piston fan, yesterday was not that day. 27 consecutive losses now.

Plus, should somebody tell Kevin Durant to put his phone down and get off of social media, I'll give you all the particulars as we roll on. I'm Brian Weber, always having a great time with you. And for Rich Eisen, this is the Rich Eisen Show. All the time and love to. And then as I get older, I stopped. Why is that? I don't know. Maybe because I'm older. I was going to talk to you about that because you're 79. Yeah. How old do you feel?

11. Inside of you with Michael Rosenbaum, wherever you listen. Stacking Benjamins with Joe and his good friend OG not only has great financial insight, it's laid back with humor, too.

Joe talks with Stacking Deeds co-host Crystal Hammond. I've always been a fan of nosy neighbors. I want nosy neighbors.

They can tell you what's going on 10 times faster than you would know. Again, what's she talking about, Doug? We're repairing neighborhoods, but then we're into nosy neighbors. Find out more by searching the Stacking Benjamins podcast, wherever you listen. Brian Weber back with you. Thanks for spending part of your Wednesday with us during this holiday week here on The Rich Eisen Show. My last show of the year, although I do contribute elsewhere. So follow me on the X if you want to hear this act be very different. I assure you, as much as I think green, no recycling of content.

We would never do that as a guest host. My pal Dan Schwartzman in the rest of the week, back with you on New Year's Day. And then Rich and the fellas return on January 2nd, meaning I got to pick up the pace because I got an hour and 15 minutes left. And I want to make sure that I'm on the roster to be bellowing at you coming up on Memorial Day. Gonna talk some NBA presently.

I am an enormous Kevin Durant fan. I can appreciate somebody wanting to vent. I may tell the story recently of napalming a job via email, and I took extraordinary pleasure in doing it.

I wouldn't recommend it if you don't have a couple bucks in the bank or if you are in the formative stages of your career. But because the audience is never wrong, and apparently the way I'm giving out the phone number today is just that compelling, we're going back to the phone lines. We're going to match the two calls we took yesterday.

I haven't taken four calls in four years, but you guys have been terrific so far at 844-204-7424. Here is Paul in Michigan. Hey, Paul, happy holidays. You're on with Brian Weber. What's up? Hey, how are you doing?

Thank you very much. I just wanted to blow all the hype about the Lions. I am a long dead Lions fan, killed with a thousand cuts. You know, I watched them for years.

The basic concept, you talked about money, the basic concept was any blue collar Tom will support a losing team. And I looked up how much they spent on salaries about 10 years ago, and they were dead last. You know, the only thing the Lions are good for is for highlight films. So look at when buckets died, all the highlights of his career were against the Lions. And when I when I was when I was watching them as a kid, their only answer to third and long was a draw and a screen.

They never failed to disappoint. You know, it's about a Stanley Cup. And I don't think, you know, I know they're America's team, but, you know, somebody was talking after the Atlanta game how on the last drive they went for a tie instead of win.

And they had they said, you know, remember, remember who you are. Well, who they were, who they are was that interception in the end zone. And they would have blown the tie.

That's why they would they would have lost the game. Last time I liked the Lions was when football was playing. And I remember that he was a hero on Monday Night Football, the great Eric Hipple. Yep. And he got married, had kids, and then he settled down.

I mean, he was jumping into the end zone, sacrificing his body. Paul, let me jump in, because you and I could do an hour on what happened in the early 1990s. You can go further back. Are you least optimistic? Are you feeling good that the Lions have won their first division title since 1993? I don't think they deserve it. They won it on the field, Paul. Come on. You know, killed by a thousand cuts. Fool me once, shame on you.

Fool me 3,450 times, shame on me. I got it. Paul, I appreciate the phone call.

Happy holidays and thanks for taking the time to join us on The Rich Eisen Show. And that, my friend, and I really do appreciate Paul's historical context, because my whole bit, and I'm trying to get away from it because nobody cares about history. And I fully understand.

Look, the only reason I know these things as a kid, I had no life and there was nothing else to do. If I had 5,000 channels and some websites I should have been on at the age of 12, I would not know the curse of Bobby Lane. But that, coupled with one of my best friends being from Michigan, Paul and I could do four hours on the travails of the Lions and how the Ford family drove them, metaphorically speaking, into the ground. Still, this is not the time for that kind of conversation, because at last, they're relevant.

All I'm saying in terms of fair analysis, and don't you know, the NFL scriptwriters are the best content creators going. There's a real probability that the playoff matchup, when we get to the postseason that we all want, could come into focus. Matthew Stafford returning to Ford Field to play the Lions.

And then what do I do? Because I've been telling you that my concern for Detroit, while I love the story and I appreciate the decades of suffering, you could hear the pain in Paul's voice like Red Sox fans for decades. They finally win a bunch of championships while they're like everybody else now. I had friends from Boston who reveled in the misery.

It was like a religion, and I'm Catholic. I understand the whole mindset. My concern about Detroit is their defense, and I'm not just overreacting to what Nick Mullins did, then finally throwing that fourth pick. This has been building for the last six weeks at the same time. I have done countless hours telling anyone who would listen, Matthew Stafford is just a guy, and Sean McVay can coach up anybody.

He got Jared Goff into the Super Bowl, and I believe in the redemption of Jared Goff. Although if you've been paying attention, more turnovers as of late. Okay, I have to at some point actually nail down a tease. Here's three minutes on the NBA. Primarily, this is an observation, not even a strong opinion. How are the Pistons this bad? And I watch a lot of NBA. I'm the kind of guy who is spending a night on the couch riding NBA TV and looking ahead because we, I guess, all have this morbid curiosity. Pistons, now having lost 27 straight, new record to start a season. If they get to 28 in a row, that'll match the, here's a big word, igno mini of the trust the process Sixers 2014-2015. They drop 28 in a row over two seasons tomorrow at Boston on NBA TV. I watched a lot of last night's game against the Nets. Detroit up 10 early on.

You figure, okay, this is the night. If you know anything about the Pistons, they're not that bad. And I know that's a horrible contradiction. They're not as bad as 27 in a row would suggest.

I probably should clarify that. Look at the roster. They have some talent. This was not designed to be the tear down like the Sam Hinkey experiment in Philadelphia or that dreadful Sixers team that won nine games back in the day led by Fred Mad Dog Carter. Detroit spent a lot of money to get Monty Williams to come over there. Monty, highly respected, two-time coach of the year, was in the finals just a couple years ago in Phoenix.

He was not signing up for this kind of Cleveland Brown, thank you very much implosion. But man, you talk about the mentality of sports and that's my concern with Brock Purdy, whereas his confidence now, losing becomes a disease. And just watching that game, you could see the Pistons get tight and you saw their body language postgame.

Metaphorically, it was like they went through a death in the family. So this team should not be where they are right now. But it's back to why we love sports, even the painful aspect of it.

It's one of the few things in life that we don't know exactly what's going to happen. 27 in a row, you couldn't do that by design, unless you're the Sixers and that was the whole blueprint of the blow up. And it's, in retrospect, worked at least to get them back in playoff contention, although they have not won anything. One thought on Kevin Durant, by now you know this, he's far too sensitive. Now, he can do whatever he wants because he's a transcendent talent. You might have seen the report prior to the Suns' latest loss, came on Christmas Day. Bradley Beal, unable to go. Luka went off for 50 points. Adrian Wojnarowski on the pregame show on ABC said there are now murmurs within the Suns organization that Durant's not happy because Beal's never healthy.

And they have no supporting cast because they went all in to form their super team. Durant, of course, is not going to stand idly by. Went to the Gram and tapped out some stuff about this bleep is crazy, people can flat out lie. Kevin, you are a generational talent. You're better than this. I know you're venting, I know the satisfaction in going public, but just put the phone down. Just let it breathe and go out there and try to win another championship. Final hour of the program coming up, we're getting back to the Russell Wilson conversation. I'm Brian Weber, always a delight to be in for Rich on the Rich Eisen Show. And the room was dead. Watch what Lala is talking about on YouTube or search for Give Them Lala wherever you listen.