Michigan celebration continues with Desmond Howard and Troy Polamalu talks Steelers and hair

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Limitations apply. You guys are going to go back in time. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Joining me here on the Rich Eisen Show, the new head coach of the University of Michigan, Jim Harbaugh. Go Blue, Rich. That's it.

The Wolverines have won a national championship. The Rich Eisen Show is better than you right now. Earlier on the show, co-host of Bussin with the Boys podcast, Taylor Luan. Coming up, Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu.

And now I can't believe what just happened. It's Rich Eisen. Yes, indeed. Our number three of the Rich Eisen Show is, in fact, on the air. We're live on the Roku channel.

844-204-Rich is the number to dial. Have a conversation today with us. We've already had chats with Blake Coram, who is fresh off of the national championship field last night, beating the University of Washington for the University of Michigan, one of the best Wolverine running backs ever, and that's saying a mouthful.

And then we went right from him into Taylor Luan, former Michigan Wolverine, and we were on the air with him live when we all learned together that Mike Vrabel was fired by the Titans. If you missed that, we re-air right away. As soon as this hour is over on the Roku channel, there's also our podcast.

All three hours, listen to it every day. Hit us with a follow. We greatly appreciate that. Also, you can listen to the What the Football podcast with Suzy Schuster and Amy Trask. Albert Brea will join. And maybe he's got some information as to why the Titans said, sure, there's the door, coach of the year of 2021, and how that might affect the Patriots decision making with Belichick.

OK, and that will be later on as soon as this show is done. Bill Burr, the comedian, he's a Michigan fan, and he joined us in hour number two. That was great.

Overreaction Monday on a Tuesday. We just finished that. Troy Polamalu, Hall of Famer, is going to join us in about 18 minutes time.

What a day. And the way I started the show, I was so emotional talking about how, you know, once upon a time, a kid from Staten Island fell in love with the school that I went to in Michigan and fell in love with the football program. And then when I now I'm one of those guys who comes back and I'm an alum. And I'll tell you, when I left campus in 1990, Bo Schembechler retired and in my first year or two as an alum, following the team after leaving campus, the person who got me understanding that I was going to love the team just as much as an alum as I would as a student on campus is kind enough to join us right now. Honestly, this is the guy who made me just keep loving football for the University of Michigan right away. And here I am now celebrating a national championship with him from ESPN College Game Day. Super Bowl MVP Desmond Howard also back here on the Rich House. How are you Des? Rich, it's hard to put into words. I just landed.

I had my twins with me out in Houston. And, you know, it's man, it's incredible, brother. It's just incredible. And it's incredible for, you know, beyond them winning a championship because the journey to get to the championship was such an unconventional one. It was such a tumultuous journey, so to speak. And to see this group be as resilient and as steadfast and as focused on the mission as they were from week one to the championship game is just amazing to see.

I mean, it's just so much I can say about this group. But, Rich, I remember speaking to Mike Hart early in the season when this whole thing was swirling around about the NCAA wanting to suspend hardball because of what amounted to someone there at NCAA's feelings being hurt. And they wanted to bump up whatever the infraction was from a level two. They wanted to bump it up to a level one and suspend him for four games. And those kids, once the suspension was agreed upon as a three-game suspension, they came out with the T-shirts that said, free hardball.

And I asked Mike Hart, you know, what's the temperature there? Like, what's the mood of the team? He said, these kids, they understand the mission, Desmond.

What do you think that meant? That their whole mantra was, we want to get to the national championship and win it all this year. We know we have the team to do it. We got all the pieces in place, and we have the work ethic. We've put in the work during the offseason. You know, we got this bitter taste in our mouth from what happened in the TCU game in that semifinal. But we are about to never let that happen again.

So we're going to get there, but this time we're going to win it all. And I think that was their mindset, their mentality, and even more so, Rich, what made this group special. And, you know, I've heard this from, like, Herb Street and from other people who has been around them because they've called Michigan games, just the unity of this group and the genuine love they actually have for one another. So, Rich, it's almost like a lethal combination when you have a group that have so much love for one another.

They don't have any selfishness. It's just togetherness. And then on top of that, you have this added element of they feel like they're being, not only that they're being disrespected, but more so their coach is constantly being disrespected.

And that just galvanizes that group. And, you know, the product is what you see in the 2023 season and this 2024 national championship game that we just saw last night on January 8th. Well, and before we get to the team, Desmond, I mean, you've mentioned multiple times about the suspensions and, you know, what the team was able to place aside and focus on the mission. And I'm sure people hear you talking and I'm sure they've watched you on ESPN be the voice of Michigan nonstop amongst, you know, frequent stories and a lot of drip, drip, drip. And the sense is, again, is all of this adversity was self-created, Desmond. I mean, honestly, that's what I keep hearing. You know, there was even a tweet that I had texted to me last night that Michigan in the second half would have to do what they did all season long, which was overcome self-inflicted wounds, you know? And so how do you respond to that?

What do you say to people saying all this adversity was all them creating it themselves, Des? Well, I would say that I think that that's an exaggeration because the punishments were exaggerated. That's why.

That's why I would say that. If you punish every program or every coach in college football the way that the NCAA chose to punish Coach Harbaugh at the beginning of the season, like I said, don't forget, let's go back. It's something that happened during COVID that they said amounted to maybe a level two infraction, which is like a slap on the wrist. But because they didn't like the way he cooperated or whatever happened there, they wanted to turn it from a misdemeanor now to a felony.

Now, in fact, the deed didn't change. Whatever happened that deemed it a level two infraction didn't change. But since they felt as though that they have the authority because they didn't like what was said or however it transpired when they communicated with Coach Harbaugh, then they took it upon themselves to knock it up to a level one infraction and wanted to impose four games on him.

So if they don't understand that, then I can't have conversation with them. The second part is the commissioner of the Big Ten. He chose to leapfrog the NCAA investigation and punish him from what I was told from all these reports that came out because Coach Harbaugh's opponents told him he should. The other teams, the head coaches from other teams, they say it was a big Zoom meeting. And the coach was like, what are you waiting for? Why haven't you punished Michigan?

What's going on? And they made it seem like he caved to that type of pressure from a Zoom meeting with coaches and a separate Zoom meeting with athletic directors. But Rich, all he had to tell them was something to the effect of, if this was your program or something happens to you in your program in the future, do you want me to let the NCAA investigation play itself out and we have proper due process? Or would you want me to just bypass the NCAA investigation and punish you the way I deem fit because I want to punish you? Do you want me to treat you under the same circumstances the way you're telling me you want me to treat Coach Harbaugh? So that's why, when they say those things, you have to understand that the punishment did not fit what was going on at the time.

Two different entities chose to do things to an extreme level because they felt as though they could do it. Desmond Howard, Heisman Trophy winner, ESPN college game day analyst, Super Bowl MVP. Amy Trask, she's in the back. She wants me to say, oh, former Raider right here on the Rich Eisen show. So we haven't really spoken about JJ McCarthy a lot.

I had Blake Corum on before. He's 27 and 1 in his Michigan career, Dez. I mean, truly remarkable. And I understand wins as a quarterback stat is kind of potentially skewed. But the kid's a winner. And I'm wondering what you think his prospects are. Dez, what do you think? Well, Rich, I think that JJ McCarthy is a special kid.

I believe he's very talented. And you look at quarterbacks, and you want to look at their statistics. And he's not going to have the statistics that will blow you away, especially compared to some of his peers, because it's just not Michigan style of football.

But like you said, Rich, he's a winner. And he's being groomed by a winner in Coach Harbaugh, a guy who knows how to coach the quarterback position. And to me, you want a guy who's going to be selfless, who wants to do whatever it takes to help the team with him, even if it's sacrificing his own stats. He couldn't have been comfortable not throwing the ball a whole half against Penn State, even if he was a little banged up.

I mean, you could just give him some easy throws. But because of the circumstances of the situation, he's the type of guy who's selfless. He wants to do what's in the best interests of the team.

And he's very intentional. He's mature and extremely intentional on how he goes about his craft, which I think once GMs and personnel people start to dig into who he is as a person, I think it's going to impress them, because there's a lot of substance there with JJ McCarthy that I think is going to appeal to a lot of NFL teams. All right, a couple of minutes left with you, Desmond Howard here on the Rich Eisen Show.

Let's just assume Jim is going to go chase that Lombardi Trophy, as we all expect, right? What do you think? Is it a Sharone Moore gig? What do you think? Is that who you think?

I think that he had the best audition. I can't. I've been doing this for almost two decades, Rich. And I can't think of a situation or circumstance that was as difficult as the one that Sharone Moore found himself in when the plane landed in Happy Valley. And then they just got word that Coach Harbaugh was not going to coach in the biggest game of the year at that point and that he was going to have to coach them. That's a lot to take in in less than 24 hours to know, OK, I got to coach this team. And he did an extraordinary job. And not only that, the next week against Maryland with a banged up JJ McCarthy, he did another great job. And of course, here he is against Ohio State coaching against one of the highest paid coaches in all of college football. And went out there and coached like he's a 10-year bet. Didn't coach scared. He coached to win as opposed to some coaches coach not to lose.

And out coached Ryan Day in Ann Arbor that day. All right, last one for you. We're going to play a little game here, Desmond. Guess who said this quote.

You ready? Guess who said this quote. Quote, an offering congratulations to Michigan. I don't know if I've ever been more wrong about anything in my entire life.

This is truly remarkable. I don't want to be wrong about something. You never want to be wrong. But if you're going to be epically wrong, I think Jim Harbaugh has silenced all those who doubted him.

Some of us looked at him like he was old fashioned. And we thought this wouldn't work in today's college football. But I forgot something. I forgot what a great coach he is, end quote. Who said that, Desmond Howard? Who said that?

You want to guess? Man. It's somebody who you've spoken with on live television quite a bit lately. His name is Paul Feinbaum.

Einstein said that? Yes. This is making the rounds. I have to see the audio.

I can't go by print. I got to see the audio. This is what I've seen. I got to hear the audio. You got to hear it?

This is what's making the round. I shouldn't say something that's just seen on social media and then sent around by all my Michigan buddies. But this apparently is the case, Des. No.

Rich, I know if you brought it up, then it's good. I don't know. I guess I shouldn't say that. But if this is true, you need to see it? Is what you say you need to see it and hear it in order to believe it? Is that what you're saying?

I'll tell you this. After the Alabama game, he did start to go back a little bit on the comments that he made about Harbaugh. Because it was impressive. He actually said, if I'm not mistaken, that he out-coached Nick Saban on the biggest stage, which was huge for Paul Firebomb to say that. I mean, I have a lot of respect for Paul, don't get me wrong. I mean, he's built himself a nice following with this big radio show in the SEC in that part of the country. But it's just that sometimes he seems to go so overboard when he talks about Michigan, when he talked about Harbaugh. It was like, personally, I just couldn't take him seriously because he never used that type of hyperbole with any other program or any other coach.

But I have a lot of respect for Paul. I think he knows what he's doing. He knows how to get clicks. And he's been doing this for quite some time. And for him to say that, I think he's big enough that he can admit when he's been dead wrong. So yeah, maybe he did say that.

Because he did say that Harbaugh out-coached Nick Saban in the Rose Bowl. Dez, I do not take our friendship for granted. The fact that your plane gets delayed, and you're flying, and you're working, and it does sound like you were doing some cheering last night. And for you to get off the plane, and immediately first thing you do when you get home is you put that skinny M hat on, and you zoom into this show to chop it up with me. And I get a chance to chat with you on this special day. I do not take it for granted, Desmond.

No, man, come on. You my guy, Rich. I love you, bro. Anytime you need me, I'm here for you. And it's always an honor to do your show. Absolutely, Dez. Thanks for the call. Appreciate it. Yes, sir. You got it. Go blue.

Go blue to you. Desmond Howard, everybody, right here on The Rich Eisen Show. That looked like his Heisman portrait behind him as well. Because I think they have portraits when you win the Heisman Trophy, right?

I believe you're right. It's funny. I was sitting with Marshall Faulk last night, and the Heisman House commercial came on. And I'm like, you should have been in that house. And he came up with the idea on the spot of maybe doing an almost Heisman House and texted Peyton Manning on the spot saying, what do you think?

Did Peyton respond? Yeah. Oh, the runner's up.

Wow. That's really funny. The almost Heisman House.

Wouldn't be bad. But it's like a run-down apartment in Van Nuys. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

I don't know, man. The names in that house are pretty damn nice. I mean, yeah, there's some good guys in that house.

There is some really great players in the almost Heisman House. That almost Heisman House is on the north side of Sherman Oaks in Ventura, both the north side of Ventura. I don't think that's a bad house.

That's a really bad house. No. If you think about it.

But it was funny. There's Marshall Faulk sitting on my couch. The Heisman House commercial comes on. And I'm like, you know, you should have been in that house, man. And I'm like, do I see Gio Toretta in the window? Is that what I got? Is it only guys who came in second? Because I'm going to come up with a list.

So I'm looking at it right now. Why not? I'm just going back to 2000. Ooh, Rex Grossman in the house.

2000, you got it. I don't know if Marshall would have Rex in the house. I think Marshall would be in charge of who's in the almost Heisman House. Larry Fitzgerald in the Heisman House. Is he in the almost Heisman House? Yeah. Dude. He was second in 03.

We're going to review this. Adrian Peterson. John Elway is in the almost Heisman House.

I'm telling you. Steve Young's in the almost Heisman House. Vince Young in the Heisman. Troy Polamalu is next on the Rich Eisen Show. And then your phone calls to wrap up our show.

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Learn more at discover.com slash credit card. Limitations apply. Back here on the show, in a couple of minutes, we'll bring in Troy Polamalu when the radio audience returns. In the meantime, I'm overhearing what's going on across the way.

And you spent the entire commercial break, Chris. Trying to get Mike Del Tufo to agree to do what? We're going to Vegas for the Super Bowl. Of course we are. Obviously, we're going to be there for a few days doing the show.

Yes, we are. I want the Friday show. Yes.

I want Mike to dress up as Elvis. Not a chance. Why? It's not happening. Don't you think America would want to see that? Yes.

No. Well, I don't want to see me dress up as Elvis. I said you guys had text a month ago.

As did Marshall. And you both were like, no way. You do things for the people. As your show watching partner last night said, I'm uniform.

I wear my uniform. That's it. I don't know what he's talking about.

Remember Marshall said something about, it's my uniform, the way I wear the same stuff. Last time he was here maybe. Oh, I see.

A little more information. You weren't here. Were you here?

I was here. I didn't, you know. Yeah, he said I wear my uniform. Yeah, but why not? Elvis is not my uniform.

It's not part of my. Mike, we're in Vegas. It's part of the theme.

You had Miami Mike. Like, he's not asking you to dress up as Siegfried or Roy. Right. I mean.

Or a showgirl. Do I have to dye my hair black like Elvis? No.

Do I dye back, back? Do we give you a wig, you get sideburns and the glasses and the laser suit. And then we get somebody. Can you marry somebody? If we get somebody to, can you.

Oh my gosh. Yes. Is it possible that we can get you somehow ordained in time? So I can be ordained minister by the Super Bowl so I can marry a couple?

As Elvis. I would do that. It's like a 15 minute class online.

It's really quick and easy. Oh, look at that. Would you, if we found a couple saying, would you like to get married by Mike Del Tufo in the Super Bowl experience at the Super Bowl with Mike Del Tufo dressed as Elvis. Don't tweet it out. We need to, we need to, we need him to get ordained and then we'll ask.

I just wanted to put it out there so people can get ready. Just for the virility of it. Is that a good, that's not a word?

That is not, virility means you're manly. Virality, virality, you know. We'll work on, we'll work on you getting ordained and then the proper language, back on the Rich Eisen Show radio network. I'm sitting at the Rich Eisen Show desk furnished by Grange with supplies and solutions for every industry, Grange has the right product for you.

Call clickgrange.com or just stop by. This was the first pro football hall of famer, I believe, inducted that I covered his entire career as an NFL network host. This was the first of that for me, which makes me feel old. But the man who was drafted in 2003 by the Pittsburgh Steelers and is a hall of famer of the first variety, joining us courtesy of the Taste of the Super Bowl, Frito-Lay commercial and campaign. This is a pro football hall of famer. Good to see you, Troy Palamala. How are you? What's up, Rich? How you doing? It's great to see you as well. It is good to see you.

Now, I just, first things first, I'm sorry, Troy, to just go here in the first direction. I'm only seeing you front on. You haven't cut your hair, right? Can you give me a profile? Okay, good, okay, very good. Cause the way it looks right here, like it looks like you, cause I haven't seen you in a while.

Okay, so we're still the way that I remember you, is what you're saying, right? Okay. Yeah, you know, I can't get rid of my moneymaker quite yet.

Okay. Your bust is truly one of my favorite busts in the hall of fame. Did you have that full on conversation as to how you wanted your bust to look, hairstyle, Troy?

Yeah, you know what, man, I'm so sorry. I forget his name at this moment, but he's an amazing person, actually flying in there. He's a true artist when it comes to sculpting. So if you actually go and look, the bust is actually a very small part of his sculpting.

So you never tell an artist what to do. Actually, a funny story regarding the bust is his wife, like I'm sure most wives, like my wife is highly critical about our work, comes in and looks at my bust and she's like, man, that head is too big. That nose is too big. It's a weight, everything looks too big.

And quite honestly, I was thinking the same thing. It takes the caliper and he like measures it. And it's just like, everything's perfect. The nose is perfect.

I'm like, damn, it's got that big of a head, I guess. So he actually truly is an amazing sculptist. So definitely left it up to him. Yeah, Blair Buswell is his name.

So Blair does all those- Yeah, Blair, Blair, Blair, yeah, Blair. Yeah, I know. Oh my gosh. And it's so cool, Troy. So did you get, who called you on your draft day? Was it Cower? Was that the first guy who you spoke to on your draft day out of USC, Troy?

It was. Quite honestly, I didn't want to leave California coming out of USC. So when I got this 412 area code, I had no idea where it was from. I knew it wasn't Oakland.

I knew it wasn't San Diego and I knew it wasn't LA or anywhere in California. But yeah, I talked to Coach Cower and I'm not a big follower of the game. So I was calling it like Heinz Field. I was calling it Three Rivers, which had already been changed over several years into it. I didn't even know Coach Cower was still coaching. So there was a lot of things and even the NFL once I started playing in it. Now, right, I'm sure.

And now you're such part of the fabric of the city as well. What can you tell me about Mike Tomlin, Troy, that maybe folks might not know? Certainly now that he's in the playoffs again, but a lot of folks in Pittsburgh to be straight up want to see banners, not just winning seasons. What can you tell me about Tomlin from your career? Well, to be honest, I think what makes him very unique is what you see is what you get. There's no secrets about him.

He's very authentic. He's a man of integrity. I did an interview earlier talking and they were talking to some crazy things about him not being the coach. I think it's insane for him not to be the Steelers coach next year. He's a Hall of Fame coach.

He's, to me, one of the three. I've had Coach Cower. I've had also Coach Carroll. So those three are three of the best coaches I've ever been around.

They're all equal to me. So I think Coach Carroll should always remain the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach. It'd be crazy not to be. Well, I think that way, but many Steeler fans thinks he's kind of set in his way and that is something that trips him up sometimes. And that's why, but set in his ways is something that players kind of dig, right?

Cause he's consistent. Yeah, there's obviously culture evolves. I feel that Coach Tomlin always was able to connect with our generation of players including this younger generation of players.

So I think that I can understand the argument about putting up Super Bowl rings. We're a city that's driven by championships. So there's also, I think a few different internal changes. We have Omar Convy in the first year as a general manager and that partnership continue to evolve. You've got the shakeup in the scouting department. So I think there's a lot of things that are changing within the organization that are building towards what I think is the most important thing that the Steelers have that builds championship is culture. And once you start building it from, it has to be built from within.

And I think it takes a little bit more patience. I think Coach Tomlin should see our evolution through that as being a championship coach, as well as evolving into another one. Troy Palomolo here on the Rich Eisen Show. And what's your favorite Pete Carroll story from your college days?

Oh man, I don't know if some of them are, I'll say this. So we were a team that had a lot of talent and we had a lot of first round talent, but we obviously weren't playing at a very high level at USC before we'd gotten there. So Coach Carroll had heard that we, there was a lot of internal turmoil within our team.

People fighting against each other, offense, defense not getting along and whatnot. So he tells us to meet at the Coliseum at midnight when he first became coach. So we all meet in the Coliseum at midnight. There's a rope in the middle of the field.

He has offense and defense playing tug of war and all the lights are off and of course it's empty. And we played tug of war and I forget who wins, but the message was if we're all pulling in the same direction, nobody could beat us. And what we did is we all came together and we got really, really tight and he made us turn around.

And I'll remember the date too. He says on November 17th when we play UCLA, we're gonna meet in the middle after we win and this whole stadium is gonna be full of people cheering for us. And it's exactly what happened. And to me, that was one of the many special moments I've had with Coach Carroll through our time together. Wow, what a story, Troy. So that's what he told you?

Like, hey, this place is gonna be filled. He mentioned UCLA in specific. November 17th and we shut him out and we won and we all met in the middle of the field. We turned around and it was exact as he said. Wow, what a story that is.

Yeah, Pete's unlike anybody. And again, my wife, Susie, who covered the teams back in the day and she would always tell me when you started playing in pro ball about your stories, is it true you and your wife will pay the bill of somebody in the restaurant who looks like they're having a nice night, like their husband and wife and they're in love and you pay their bill without them knowing and you just slip out? Is that true, Troy? Do you do that? You know what?

I love that this room has even reached the Rich Eisen Show. Yeah, honestly, I love how these rumors are passed around but as long as the legend's still passed around, let's keep it going. Okay, all right. Then let's talk about your, we'll leave it at that. We'll talk about the taste of the Super Bowl commercial.

Are you, what is this about? So partnering with obviously a very classic brand like Frito-Lay's, I think it's also great working with Gronk and Marshawn. Those guys are amazing people and characters. So it was just a great opportunity to eat good while we're watching the Super Bowl to enjoy a snack that I and I think most people love as well. Okay, and the Frito-Lay chip strip.

Fans will have the opportunity to try their luck at the Frito-Lay snack pot, take a seat. I'll be out there putting some time in on the strip. Okay, all right. So I'll be just walking down the street and we'll see you.

You could take your hottest ride on the strip and feel the love at the Cheetos Chapel. The real me. Okay, the real you.

The real me. Okay, you'll let your hair down is what you're saying. Oh, I don't know about that. We'll see about that. Okay, hey Troy, let me ask you this question again.

I don't know how locked into the current game that you are. Who do you think is somebody in the secondary whose play impresses you? That you think this kid or vet is worthy of praise from the great Troy Palomano? Honestly, so I do help a couple NFL players, Tui Tupelo, Tui Ntala, Nolo Hufanga. So I've helped them a little bit in college as well as in the NFL. So there are two players, of course, that I critique and break down quite a bit.

So I admire their game, of course. But I think Derwin James is somebody that I really admire. You know, who I actually get a lot of information from is Ryan because I get it more in a condensed version. Ryan Clark, I'm sorry.

And more of a condensed version. So he's always, I always bounce things a lot off of him and the people even that he trains. But to me, him, the guy in Seattle, Jamal Adams, somebody, Tyron Matthew, these guys are people that admire just the diversity of the traits that they have and they're able to provide for a defense, I think, or things that I admire about their game. What do you think of that kid, Kyle Hamilton in Baltimore, Troy?

Absolutely. Him, obviously Minka. I mean, those two guys are best in the game as well. You know, I just, I remember even, I think Kyle went to Notre Dame as well, if I remember correctly. So I've been a big fan of his as well. So there's quite a few guys out there, man, that are playing in the game that quite honestly is evolving into something that's making them have to be better athletes. And they're a little thin in that position right now in Pittsburgh, Troy, they might need you for a few snaps in Buffalo coming up on Sunday.

What do you think? Man, what's so funny is I remember playing and I would look back at like Carnell Lake and then and Rod Woodson, I was like, man, dude, you guys could play. They're like, no, man, I know now how they feel. So although the show may look good, I appreciate that.

The internals don't function the same. That said, Troy, you and I both know Mel Blount can give snaps this weekend. Oh yeah, man, absolutely.

I love people's first, like, you know, their face. You tell them like, yeah, that's Mel Blount. He was the cornerback. It's incredible, he's incredible. Yeah, I'll never forget the first time I laid eyes on Mel Blount at a pro football hall of fame ceremony. And you know, your head just goes up and it keeps going up and then up and then up.

And then you see the cowboy hat and then it goes even further up. Oh my God, no, I always think to myself, that's why they changed the rules. This looks like a human being that would change the rules because of his play. Yeah, you know, it's funny there are some freaks within our game that we consider, you know, there's Megatron and some of these guys that are just like abnormally huge and freakish in their positions and the traits that they bring.

And then you still go back though. And they're like, oh my gosh, there's so many guys like Mel Blount and all these guys that are just as maybe even bigger freaks. And in terms of just athleticism, it's incredible, man.

That generation is unlike any other. And I think Patrick Peterson is learning the position right now, right? Isn't that what he's basically doing in Pittsburgh?

He's trying to figure out how to play some safety. And you know, it looks like TJ Watts out for the weekend. That's unfortunate, but the Steelers are in though, Troy. Right, they're in. So you gotta be in.

Listen, man, I just, to me, one thing that was really beautiful about being part of that culture is like if you just get a ticket to the show, you know, to me, it's like the crazy uncle that's just gonna act out. So as soon as we get into the show, I think, you know, you see the best thing of what our organization, what our team can actually provide. So I think our playoff chances are really great. I think the more adversity that you pour onto our team, the more it's gonna crystallize our culture and make us better. And for me, I hope that it shows out on when they play against the Bills.

All right, and last one for you. Where were you on the play where Harrison returned it for the touchdown? What was your perspective on that moment, Troy?

In the Super Bowl? Well, you know, I hate to say this, but I made the key block in order to score that touchdown. So James actually owes me a lot to this day.

And he does give me a lot of things. But no, I actually, just like everybody else, man, I was running from my life trying to get in somebody's way. And I was so exhausted after that play. I knew that it was a touchdown. So I just went straight to the locker room and I actually watched the whole call from the locker room. That's what you did.

So you, again, by the way, I know you're a sweetheart, but you don't have to hate to say it. I mean, yes, you performed a key block for Harrison. And so you're saying, by the way, your fellow future Hall of Famer and liner Fitzgerald, he damn near made the tackle. So you're saying you do this play, this play happens, and the first thing you do after you catch your breath is you go back to the locker room and you watch it back?

That's how you spend part of halftime? Yeah, I did. But the truth was I didn't make the key block. It was his teammate that made the key block because I pushed them into his team. I was like, I don't know. So note to everybody on the sidelines and all the strength coaches, listen to them. Back up, get off the white, get off the white. It's like, was that right? So they were on the white, you took somebody and threw them.

Okay, look at you. You're watching it back right now, Chris. Is that what you're saying? Yeah, Troy was on the backside of the play. So he was running clear across the field and then bam, he throws a guy in and there's a big collision. And then James kind of takes the rest of the way.

Whatever you gotta do, right, Troy? The guy he threw was Larry Fitzgerald. He pushed Larry. Oh, no, I didn't see that.

I pushed them out of bounds into his team. Oh my God. Troy, what a pleasure to chat with you. I do hope to see you in Las Vegas. Thank you so, and congratulations. You know, I'm M Go Blue.

That's right. You know my father-in-law, he was down there celebrating the victory last night. So congratulations. I'm very happy to be, you know, part of your celebration the first day back. Troy, that means the world. Thank you so much.

Cause you know what it's like to be the champions of the world, man. So for sure, thanks for the Zoom. Appreciate it. M Go Blue, thanks for it. There you go. The great, and I say fight on. Right back at you. Okay, there you go. See?

Troy Polamalu right here on the Rich Eisen Show, two times Super Bowl champion and Pro Football Hall of Famer in all world human being. I was worried he cut his hair for a second. No, that's right.

That's my first thought, cause he's straight on and it looked like, you gotta give me a profile. Do you guys just fast forward through commercials? You're not watching Head & Shoulders? No, I don't know. You never know.

Did they film those? I don't know. He ain't cutting his hair. He's not cutting that hair. No way. It's like Samson, dog. No way.

He could play right now. All right, let's take a break. 844-204 Rich, phone calls.

We'll empty the phone banks as we head out of Dodge on this Tuesday. Welcome to Talkville, the ultimate smallville rewatch podcast. Karen, what you got?

Hi guys, Karen Appelmann from Australia with a quick question for season three talisman. That knife wound he was in was so powerful. Tom, what was it like to do that scene with John as your director? It's great that I was with those people because when your eyes are closed and someone is supposed to gonna stab you in the chest, you have to really trust that they're not gonna hurt you. So I was in good hands with John. Jump in now or catch up on any of the past seasons of Talkville on YouTube or wherever you listen. What was going through your head when David Baker appeared all of a sudden?

Bill. You know, I had absolutely no idea. And an ironic part of it was that I sat down that morning with my wife Veronica, you know, and I talked about it. I said, I don't think I'm gonna get in and I'm okay with it. I almost put some closure on it and that was okay. You know, when I came in, no one really said anything.

We weren't discussing. I thought, well, that's being pretty professional. I appreciated them kind of like giving me my space from it all. And I was getting ready to do an eye vision with Phil Stens and talking about Lamar Jackson. Then next thing I turn around and I see David Baker and we all know what he stands for. And it just was a lot of things to try to process at the time. It's kind of why I thought this is the way I thought this was gonna be. I thought I was gonna get a call and say, you know, you were close but you can't get in.

And we'd all find out on Tuesday night or something because it's gonna air on Wednesday. And yeah, it was almost surreal. And it's so funny. I sat back and watched Jimmy Johnson.

Same thing happened to him on the halftime of the second game on Sunday after he got home. And I know exactly what he was dealing with. As a matter of fact, I had to put out a tweet and the first thing I thought about is, you know, did Adam Stanley really know that he had two future Hall of Fame's players watching Bobby Boucher in the water park?

And Jimmy Johnson and I were down there and I remember Jimmy and I, this is like 1997, 98, whatever it was. And Adam actually, I think, has since been retweeted. And I said, but we're talking about Bobby Boucher and he's saying it's like Zach Taylor. I go, no, he's like Greg Lloyd.

He goes, whatever. So it's gonna be really, really kind of fun to kind of get reunited with Jimmy over that little one. That's fantastic, Bill.

I mean, that is just great. YouTube.com slash Rich Eisen Show for everything that you need. Don't go anywhere else or, you know, stick around on the Roku channel.

Back here on the Rich Eisen Show, 844-204-RICH is the number to dial. GameTime tickets, make sure you grab your phone or your mobile device. If you're looking to buy tickets for any event, music, sports, comedy, what have you in your area. If you're traveling to another area, make sure you get the GameTime app and create an account.

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Guaranteed. Pat in Florida has been listening to the entire show, I think, on hold. What's up, Pat?

Not much. I'm a die-hard Buckeye, but I am here to congratulate. Thank you, Pat.

Michigan on their national winning and upholding the tradition of the Big Ten by winning it. I appreciate that. That is old school, Pat. It sounds like you're old school like me. Well, I got 23 years your senior. OK.

So that definitely makes me old school. OK. I hear you.

OK. I miss the old days of the Big Ten and the Packet. I really miss it. Well, I mean, and that's kind of last night you get a sense of watching this. This is kind of like the last way. It's kind of funny, the last 10 years of the college football playoff, that's going to be viewed as old school. You know what I mean? Because it's changing right now. The world's changing. And these guys, I'll tell you, when we went to school, it was four years and you were gone.

Now the quarterbacks are playing six years before they get out. Yeah, I know. I know. And thanks for the call, Pat. And I really appreciate it.

It's very kind of you to hold on as long as you held on to offer congratulations. Albert in Boston, you're here. No, he's not calling to congratulate me. But he's going to be on Susie and Amy's pod.

I went to look. Later on. Did Albert double down and say that he hated them last night?

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I think it'll be a while till we hear from Buckeyes of his hilk. James Palmer, did he text you? I saw James Palmer in Denver Christmas Eve. He was part of our broadcast. Nice chap. Great hair. Very much so.

Yeah, he's part of the great hair. Steve in New York, you're on the Rich Eisen Show. What's up, Steve? Hey, Rich. How are you?

First of all, I'm so blessed, so blessed to be a part of this lovely celebration. I graduated in 85. Right, OK. And I arrived in 86. Well, do you remember, I'm sitting here as the archivist of all my friends and some very significant ones. I'm sitting here with a copy of the Michigan Football Dodge from 1993, November 20th. I don't know if it's Demetrius Brown that's on the cover or if it's Mercury Hayes' number.

But that game against Ohio State Michigan was the game that launched us into the Rose Bowl 30 years ago that we played, end up playing Washington and beating them. And I also have a copy of the Bank of America. Do you remember the little cards they used to give out? With the schedule?

With the schedules on them? Well, on that card, the 93 schedule, there's a picture of Tyrone Wheatley. And in the background, there's a bunch of Washington Huskies chasing him. So it's incredibly profound and prophetic to see this. I am so blessed. And what we've been talking about and everyone's been talking about is gratitude. That's the one thing about Michigan football is that there's so much gratitude about this learning institution, about this school of just such tremendous prowess. I'm a New York City kid, and I went to Michigan. Got to know what it's like to be in the Midwest, got to know what it's like to be around people from different walks of life in the United States, not the same place. Yeah.

Oh, yeah. There's so much pride, and so much pride. So it runs so deep with what happened last night, which was, in my estimation, the most important college football game in the history of college football. Well, I mean, obviously, we feel that way about Michigan.

Obviously, others would feel differently about it, the most important game in college football. But quick question for you, Steve. Were you like me in your first Thanksgiving home after your first year at Michigan, going back to New York and forgetting that people in New York don't stop for you just because you're trying to cross the street and nearly got hit by a car? Did that happen to you?

Because that happened to me. It definitely feels that way. Yeah. In the early days, when cell phones weren't always there, we were actually walking and paying attention once in front of you. That's right. Thanks for the call, Steve.

Appreciate it. That's what happened to me, because you step a foot in the street in Ann Arbor and cars will just stop. I did that in New York. Somebody pulled me back by the nape of my neck and then saved my life. Uber ZJ, back on the air from Los Angeles. How are you, Uber ZJ? Hey, can you guys hear me?

We are on. Hey, hail to the victor's valiant. It's great to be a Michigan Wolverine. That's the way I feel today, too, sir.

Oh, my goodness. So my routine is to watch a Michigan victory and immediately check the internet for your reaction. And you're always the perfect representation of how all Michigan Wolverine fans do.

Thank you. Whether we're talking about alumni or we're talking about just general fans, people from the state, you do an amazing job of expressing how we feel. I love the tattoos, the tattoos reference.

I had a tattooed t-shirt about Trestle back in the day. And it's just, you know, and I want to give a, I don't think many people are talking about Donovan Edwards and what he did last night. He just is like the Mike Tyson of the team. Like a couple of years ago in Columbus, how he just had those knockout blows. He's the man. He's an absolute man.

I love Quorum. But Donovan Edwards, I was watching the game early and I was like Mullins was in and I love Mullins. But I was like, where's Donovan Edwards? Then he got in and scored two straight touchdowns. Well, and those were the, those two touchdowns, thanks to the call Uber ZJ, those two touchdowns were enough. Who knew?

Yeah. That that was enough. Cause the Huskies never got more than 13. Those two Donovan Edwards touchdowns turned out to be enough. Brockman texted me, Donovan Edwards, who knew?

And I texted you back 2022 Ohio state. Yeah, I thought that was the same guy. Same guy. House calls. That's all he does.

Yeah. And that was enough. Obviously didn't feel throughout the rest of the night that that would be enough, but it turned out to be enough. And I want to thank today's guests for chiming in.

Blake Coram. We didn't have any guests this morning, pretty much other than Troy Polamalu booked. That's right, just Troy. I want to thank Blake Coram and Dave Lavaloff and his great staff at Michigan for throwing a phone in his hand. I want to also thank Taylor Lewan, who found out that Mike Vrabel was fired while we were on the air live. I want to thank Bill Burr for joining us, Michigan fan. I want to thank Desmond Howard for getting off a plane and zooming right away.

And of course, Troy Polamalu and everybody calling in. And I want to thank everybody who have been giving me kind, well-wishes today. And it was a nice, warm and fuzzy today. That will change tomorrow. Why's that?

Oh, the chest arrives tomorrow. You love Lala Kent on Vanderpump Rules. Now get to know her on Give Them Lala. I'm obsessed with the fact that GQ has named Kim Kardashian Man of the Year. You're upset about it? I suggest you do better then. If there were a Cosmo Woman of the Year and it was a man, how would you feel? Well, that would just be lies. Name a man who's doing better than women right now and you can give him Woman of the Year. But until I see that, watch what Lala is talking about on YouTube or search for Give Them Lala wherever you listen.