Aaron Jones: It Means A Lot To Be Back In Playoffs

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Limitations apply. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Robert and I, after a series of discussions, have mutually agreed to part ways. This is the Rich Eisen Show. All right, Chris, what are you thinking today?

So many great memories. But look, I think we knew this was coming. I think it was one of those things I was saying it last year.

It was just time for something different. Earlier on the show, NFL Network insider Tom Pellicero, senior writer for Sports Illustrated, Chris Mannix. Coming up, Packers running back Aaron Jones. And now it's Rich Eisen. Hour number three of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air. Great chat with Tom Pellicero and hour number one talking about the coaching carousel. Just to, I guess, sum it up, you can read the show rears as soon as this hour is over on the Roku channel so you can watch it. And there's also our podcast. You can listen to all three hours of this show whenever you want. And certainly there's a lot of time over the weekend in between football games. Maybe you can catch up on things.

And that's where all podcasts can be acquired or heard. Tom basically said don't sleep on the folks in Seattle not having Pete Carroll there in the front office. That if Pete, if a job comes up, he'd take it.

That he likes a lot. Also, there's a lot of questions about where Belichick might wind up. And also, well, I don't want to paraphrase too much of what Pellicero had to say.

Just stay where you are. If you want to watch us once again when this hour is over, you can do that. Aaron Jones of the Packers will help us take you to Super Wild Card Weekend. He's going to join us in our final segment of the show.

I will preview all six games best I can for you. But joining us right now from New England is one of our friends from NBC Sports Boston, Tom Curran back here on the Rich Austin Show. How are you, Tom? Tremendous, Rich. How are you?

I'm doing well. What a, I can't believe we now live in a world where it's a post Belichick world in New England. And we live in a world where Bill Belichick's a free agent head coach to be signed. How did we get to this point, Tom? Well, I mean, we spoke in August and you asked whether or not Bill Belichick was on the hot seat. And I said, yes, he is. And you expressed some disbelief at that point. I mean, I think that when we look at the arc of the ultimatums that were levied by Robert Kraft throughout the last three years, and certainly in the offseason, it indicated the bill had to produce in 2023 and that Robert Kraft wanted a contending football team.

And he didn't just not get the improvement, he got a cratering that he didn't expect. And as a result, this is where the Patriots are. And so how did it, what's the, if you will, clock tick tock of the week? What happened once the Patriots, remarkably Belichick's last losses to the Jets, which is maybe the unkindest final cut for him. What happened after that to the point where they stepped to the podium on Thursday and did that? Well, the decision was made fairly long ago, as I reported in December after Germany.

I had conversations when the Patriots returned from that game and you and I spoke and I also spoke to Jason McCourty soon after that game that you guys both did. And it was made very clear to me that a decision had been made at that juncture and that the two sides will be parting ways at the end of the season. It wouldn't happen during the season and parting of the ways would be the way that it was phrased. So when they sat down to hear Bill's side of things or his pitch, it was more Bill would have to somehow change the Kraft's minds. And I don't think that anything that really happened between that juncture when I learned of the decision and the end of the season was enough to flip them. Now had the Patriots gone 6-0 from that juncture and Mac Jones had thrown for 20 touchdowns and two picks and they just missed or squeaked into the playoffs. Maybe it would have been a different discussion, but certainly it remains status quo.

They went two and four from that point on. So this conversation that occurred this week was more devoted to how do we amicably move forward? And I think that the Kraft family certainly, and to a large degree, I think Bill were able to get to a point where they could amicably stand in front of the media and speak directly to New England about where things were. So while I don't think that there was a great charge on to change minds, nor could they be changed, the conversation was had and then the rest of the time I think was spent figuring out how do we proceed. And we still don't know how they proceed.

I mean, I would have liked to have asked, is there, and you don't ask about money, but we got to do that, is there a financial component that exists still with the Crafts? Is Bill still under contract and the Patriots have to pay him? Is there offset language or was it a clean split that the Patriots gave him?

So all of those things we don't know right now. Is there, what about the idea that if, you know, you're saying that because again, in Germany, Bob Kraft really wanted to win that game. I mean, for real.

And I know that may sound absurd to many, but the Patriots have had a foothold in the German market for a long time and more than any other team in the NFL. He really wanted that W. And that's when I turned to McCordie when we were at that walkthrough in the stadium the day before and Kraft spoke to the team and I turned to Jason. I'm like, does that usually happen?

He says, no, not really. And Kraft even said that, you know, I very rarely speak to the team and I did, he wanted them to win that game in the worst way and they didn't. So it makes complete sense that, and the way that they lost it, too. I mean, Mac Jones got benched, Bailey Zappi with a fake spike for the last interception to seal it. So that's a long winded windup to say if that was the chasm and the split, then Belichick must have known that was it. So wouldn't he have, you know, beaten the sticks to see where his next opportunity would go? Did he really make a play to try and stay in New England this past week?

What do you think? I don't think there was any conversation had. I actually am certain that there was no conversation had with Bill Belichick between he and the craft said it's going to be over in a few weeks.

Right. I don't think the craft wanted to pollute Bill with that thought. You know, Bill is a proud man and to be told, you're a lame doc, just keep coaching, buddy, who was not going to cut it. So did Bill read the handwriting on the wall and start to make moves?

I don't know. It's certainly judging by his conversation on Monday with the media. He sounded like a guy who wanted to stay here, said he would keep coaching until he was told otherwise and doing his job. So my belief would be that his intention was to make a case to stay here in New England, but he's not naive.

So where he is laid the groundwork, I do not know whether it be in Atlanta, which Michael Barty has indicated, whether it be anywhere else. I mean, he has spoken so glowingly of the Jones family that despite all of those wonderful things that Jerry Jones has said about, you know, wonderful things that Jerry Jones has said about the coaching staff this season, it still does beg the question. There's a difference between Mike McCarthy and Bill Belichick. And if the Cowboys flame out, do they go after Belichick or do they look at it and say, man, it's a guy who's just, he just went four and 13.

Do they say rich? Yeah, but he went four and 13 because his personnel was horrible. He's not in charge of personnel here. He'll be in charge of coaching the football team. All of those things would enter into any owner's mind right now is who am I getting if I hire Bill Belichick?

Tom Caron here on The Rich Isaac Show from NBC Sports Boston. And before we just return to Belichick's future, Gerard Mayo is the new coach. And, you know, Bob Kraft, when he did meet with the media, says we're going to move relatively quickly.

And it appears the fact that they're able to move that quickly is, is that it was already in Mayo's contract. So Belichick probably knew that too, right? I mean, was that a dynamic playing out behind the scenes that he knew is the next coach was right there, Tom? Whether he knew it was written into the contract or not, Rich, I cannot, I can't say, but the fact that I can't say it because I don't know, but the fact that Robert Kraft referred to Gerard Mayo as an heir apparent in March at the owner's meetings. The fact that he sent out a press release, which was unprecedented, saying that we are working on renegotiating a contract with Gerard Mayo to keep him here long term. And then when the title that he got was just linebackers coach, there were a lot of reasons to understand that Gerard Mayo was the person that they wanted to succeed Bill Belichick.

And there are a lot of reasons to recommend Gerard Mayo as the next head coach, whether it be his personality, his charisma, his ability to lead, his knowledge about football. Or the simple fact that the Patriots defense under Gerard Mayo and Steve Belichick was frigging lights out all year. I mean, Bill's spending his time primarily in offensive meetings and with the offensive line. The defense was not something he was coaching on a day-to-day basis.

It was absolutely his blueprint. All those guys know everything they know about NFL with defense and coaching because of Bill, but it was that defense is Gerard Mayo and Steve Belichick and the players this year executing what Bill's blueprint was. So, yeah, long story short, Bill probably certainly understood.

And I think that there were times, I know there were times this year where the dynamic was extremely awkward between them. So, it's funny, Rich, do you think that Gerard was, do you think it was a misstep? What do you mean? By the craft?

To do what? Do you think it was a misstep by the craft to put that language in Gerard's contract because they didn't want him to go elsewhere? No, I think it now proves if they wanted him, if this entire time they're like, this is the guy. They've seen it. They hear how players react to him behind the scenes. They see how he reacts to them. He sees how, they see how he handles things and they love him.

It makes no mistake for them to put it in there because it allows them to strike quickly. The question, I think, and then we'll see if it's a mistake based on how he's actually the coach. And I do want to ask you a couple of questions on what things might look like with Mayo at the helm, but it does beg the question, Mike Vrabel's sitting out there. And I'm sure there's a ton of folks up there where you've parked your car to have this conversation, which I greatly appreciate, are going to be like, wait a minute. We know you love Mayo and we know he's there and we know him, you know, we know he's been a Patriot forever, but Vrabel's free.

You gave him a red jacket. Was there no consideration of Mike Vrabel because this language is in the contract, Tom? They didn't deviate. They've been extremely methodical in everything they've done. And the indications I got this week after Vrabel became available is we love Mike Vrabel. But the direction that we'll be going in will not be impacted by the presence of Mike Vrabel. We've been methodical in what we've done and we intend to go through with this the way we intended to. Now, had it not been written into the contract, would that be different?

There's no way of really knowing. I will say this, the intention in signing Jerrod Mayo to a two year deal in the offseason and signing Belichick to a two year deal at some point this past offseason was that the two guys contracts would expire at the same time. And then Mayo would elevate. That was supposed to happen after 2025.

God willing that Bill was going to break Shula's record. But no one and that's the thing is nobody saw four and 13. I didn't see it. You didn't see it.

Nobody saw it. A bad Patriots season means seven wins, not four, not two wins after 12 games or whatever it was. So what does it look like with Jerrod Mayo in charge? I mean, again, what does everything look like with anybody not named Belichick in charge, right? I mean, this has been one way of doing things for 24 years in that building and in that organization. What's your best guess on how everything looks, Tom? Much more collaborative, Rich.

You're not going to be able to see that on the outside. But as Robert Kraft said yesterday, you need his managers. And he tried to not make this about Bill, but he said, look, every good manager needs some doctor knows around them, people who will say this isn't a great idea. This isn't something that we ought to be doing, who will give pushback and feedback unfettered. And over the course of 24 years here, everybody's brain was formed by Bill relative to football, whether it be personnel or coaching. So some guys, even if they pulled at the reins a little bit, it's hard to go against Bill and his authority. So you'll see a more collaborative approach here. I think, I think the tenor of the organization will change fairly drastically, you know, from being kind of the Kremlin to, I don't know if it's, you know, a new day in America continue with, but it's morning in America, right?

That's it. But it's, it's going to change in that way as well. But the bottom line is if Gerard Mayo and whoever is in charge of personnel can't get the quarterback, right, and can't get the offense to a point where they don't score six times offensively touchdowns. I mean, they had six games where they didn't score a touchdown. If they can't improve that, then Gerard Mayo will be out like Bill was out. I would imagine he'll get a little more time because he's taking over an expansion level offense.

But this is critical that you get the right players. Any idea what number three overall is going to look like? You don't have any idea. Nobody does. No, I don't.

I don't. Because, you know, so many things can happen even on that night. Say Drake May drops to three, now Jayden Daniels and Drake May are sitting there and somebody's taking Marvin Harrison and there's a team behind you that says, my God, we need to have Drake May. Well, all of a sudden that third overall pick can set you up for not just this draft, but the next draft. So the Philadelphia Eagles were able to execute that a few years ago. They manufactured a loss against the New York Giants. They went from like 11 to six, traded again, went down, got Devante Smith. And the next year they got, I can't remember who it was, but it was a talented defensive lineman from Georgia. So it's hard to say who you'll get.

Yeah, it's Jordan Davis. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hear what you're saying. Do you get the quarterback before you put the foundation in or do you get the foundation first? And knowing that you're probably, God willing, not going to be up in the top five again if you start to get things right. And I don't think you have a crystal ball in your glove compartment, but if you do have one in your glove box, what's Belichick 2024? He is what? Fall of 2024, Bill Belichick is, and you can choose anything on TV and the coach of fill in the blank.

What do you got for me, Tom? I think TV is the best move, believe it or not, even though he is a septuagenarian. I think TV would be a great move for him because it gives him an opportunity to go, bounce his grandkids on his knees, assemble a staff the way that he wants to, catch his breath, and pick the location that he wants to be in.

And really figure out how long will it take me to get 15 more wins? Because the last two years, he got 12. So what does he want to do?

And I think television would make sense, but that would be, as Bill has said in the past, like the treadmill stopping while you're still running on it. And I think that he'll most likely go coach. And again, I trust Mike Lombardi and he says Atlanta. So he doesn't say Atlanta like it's going to happen, but just that they should come hard for his services. And I believe that that makes a lot of sense. Why?

Ownership. Do you want to go to Carolina and work with David Tepper, who seems to be extremely involved? They've already hired Adam Peters in Washington. Do you want to go cross country to work with Justin Herbert?

It's enticing, but it's not what we would call a deep pocketed ownership group. Chicago's not going anywhere. Who am I missing?

Well, you're missing Vegas as well. Tom Brady, not calling him up saying, come here, you know, and there's that. Yeah. You'd have to have a short memory, Tom, with if he brings them out there. Tennessee, but or obviously the mother lode you're talking about is if Dallas makes a move. I just find that one hard to believe, Tom, but everything else has been hard to believe. I mean, I do, too. You know, I mean, the bottom line is Bill Belichick's a four-time Bill Belichick's a free agent head coach. And I never thought I would be saying that into this microphone after after our last year. And I was right.

I was a naysayer in August, but I see it now. Tom, thanks for the time, brother. You're the best.

How did I do keeping the phone steady? You're great. Incredible.

I mean, you've been phenomenal. There you go. That's the Duncan and you're right there.

The full, that's a full fuel Duncan right there. Thanks, Tom. You're the best. Thanks, brother. Take care. The great Tom Connor. You bet right back at you.

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Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. When we come back, some interesting facts about next year's schedule. This weekend's wildcard Aaron Jones of the Packers still to come. Rich Eisen here. If you love football as much as we do here and want to be in the game every day, there's something the guys on my show have been enjoying. Prize Picks Daily Fantasy Sports, the number one daily fantasy sports app. Brockman, tell everybody about prize picks and your strategy this season. Rich, it's fun and easy. Pick two players or more based on their stats and place your entry.

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Visit prizepicks.com for restrictions and details. Welcome to Talkville, the ultimate Smallville rewatch podcast. Karen, what you got?

Hi, guys. Karen Appleland from Australia with a quick question for season three talisman. That knife wound 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 going to stab you in the chest, you have to really trust that they're not going to 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 is it like when you're back there? You know, you're going to get it the eight in the box or nine in the box that you see knows you're going to get it. Yeah. And you know, you're going to give it to them.

Yeah. And they know you're going to give it to them. What is that like for you? I just I just love the game. I love having a ball in my hands and I love making plays. And I don't know, I just it's just the game and like that feeling when when everybody knows and I can't stop it, it's just it's an indescribable feeling, man.

And that's just speaking for like us as a team. And, you know, I just I just love the game. I know you're smiling. You're just smiling as you're saying this.

It is just it must be an amazing feeling to have that ability. Derrick Henry here on the Rich Eisen Show. Did you hear what Earl Thomas said before the divisional playoff game in Baltimore, saying that the Patriots didn't want to tackle you, but they were going to have a different. Oh, yeah, I've seen that everywhere. Everybody was sending it to me. Everybody was showing it to me. Yeah, I've seen it.

OK, so now later on, you're in Baltimore, you get the ball, you're on the edge. Did you know that was Earl Thomas that was coming for you? Did you give him a second show because it was Earl Thomas? Yes.

I was wondering because you gave him you gave him one in the front and you gave him one slightly unnecessary one in the back. But what's so funny about that is I also focused on giving him another sub that I ran myself out of bounds the first time he kind of turned around. Yeah. And I could have turned up field, but I also focused on this, like, give him a sub that I ran myself out of bounds. But yeah, but yeah, I definitely did that because of that. So then the last question is, was it worth it to run yourself out of bounds?

I think it was. Fun stuff on our YouTube page, youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show. Back 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 has the right product for you. Call clickrainger.com or just stop by. Josh in Washington, D.C., you're here on the Rich Eisen Show. What's up, Josh?

Hey, Rich, how are you today? What's going on, Josh? I just want to give a shout out to TJ Brockman and Mike. I love the show, guys.

Love to listen. Jay's here. Jay's here. Mike's got Jay's shout out, brother. Got a shout out, Jason. Mike. Mike tapped out today. It's all good.

I just want to make sure it's not awkward. Yeah, Josh. The first thing I want to say was congratulations on Monday. This coming from a Michigan State alum. Wow. That's nice of you. Thank you. You might not recall, Rich, the last time I called into your show is October of 2021.

The week Michigan played Michigan State and Kenneth Walker ran for five rushing touchdowns. I recall that. The only reason I say that is throughout this whole cycle we've seen so many ups and downs and to see you so joyous has been infectious. Thank you. That's very nice of you to say that, Josh. Thank you.

I appreciate that. I just want to see some of that joy for my Lions this Sunday. A big theme of the week that you guys have been talking about so far is the guy after the guy.

Here's a guy after the guy Jared Goff. Right. We have our ex-girlfriend coming to town, Matt Stafford, on Sunday.

Ex-wife. Really. And we're excited and frankly I'm nervous and we could just use a little bit of that Michigan magic that you get on Monday, Rich, for hopefully a Lions playoff home win on Sunday. And that's what I want to talk about. I appreciate you saying that, Josh. I send my best to you out there and appreciate that. And thanks for the call, Josh. And hopefully Josh just showed you as a Michigan State fan calling in to wish me congratulations on Michigan.

Hopefully Josh sets the standard by showing how you can be classy in the face of your rival winning. And that's how I welcome in somebody who's been hiding after being reinstated here on this program. My poker friend, Murph, from Wisconsin, now here in Los Angeles, back here on the Rich Eyes and Show. How are you, Murph? You calling in? Good morning.

You made it. Good morning. Yeah. What's up, Murph? What's up, Murph? I only had to wait 28 minutes, but that's okay. You know what?

I'm here. You know, it's kind of like Jerry. He doesn't just let you get a table of sugar fish, does he, Murph? You know what I'm saying? No, you got to... You got to wait. Even if you got a piece of the action like you do. You know what I mean?

You still got to wait. Murph hasn't even jacked it. That was a hell of an intro. Very good transition there, and I'm calling to say congratulations. It was not only a great national championship, but you guys killed it all year. Thank you, Murph.

I appreciate that. It's hard for me to say because I grew up hating Michigan. Bo Schembechler used to run the score up on us poor Wisconsin Badgers back then.

As you know, the only team I don't root for in the Big Ten. But I have to say, I have to say, you guys killed it. You killed it. Well, does this... I mean, is a little piece of you dying right now?

No, no, no. You know what I'm excited about, Rich? What are you excited about? I'm excited about my Green Bay Packers being an underdog in a playoff game that we probably shouldn't have been in at the youngest team in the NFL ever to get the playoffs on the youngest team in the NFL this year. It's exciting to watch.

It's really fun. Well, we've got Aaron Jones coming up in 13 minutes. I know. I know. I heard that.

I heard that waiting. I got to listen to him. He's awesome.

He's provided the difference in the last three or four games. I mean, we got to have him. Hey, man. And the bottom line is, you know, Gudekunst has put together a team again, and the Packers appear to have gotten... Again, you can't say this about Love is Rogers, just like Rogers turned into Favre, and by that I mean a Hall of Fame quarterback, but the kid has got a head on his shoulders and a cannon for an arm and an uncanny ability to extend a place to look in downfield to find these receivers who combine to make $7 million a year. You know, I don't know, man. You've got a shot this weekend, Murph.

I know. Well, I mean, can you imagine Jerry Jones' face with his veins popping out on national TV if we win? I mean, when they shoot up him in the suite and then the McCarthy thing, I mean, you know, the going back and going against the former coach. But you know what I'm most excited about is I don't have any expectations for the first time in a long time.

You know, with Rogers, you always have expectations because he's so good. And then, of course, came all the drama, and it's just so refreshing this year. There's no drama, and it's like all these young guys going out to win. It's just been fantastic. Murph.

I mean, they make mistakes, but it doesn't matter. It's like they got to the playoffs, and they probably should know. So I'm just excited. House money. Murph's playing it right now. The rest of the Packers.

Thanks for the call, Murph. House money. Good for you.

House money. And by the way, I have just two last points, Rich. Number one is you should have trusted me. You didn't trust me. What do you mean? I didn't trust you.

What do you mean? Last night, you didn't trust me. What do you mean I didn't trust you? Oh, yeah.

I thought you had the better hand, Murph. What else? What else?

What else? Second thing is I don't want to bring this up because it's kind of a sensitive subject, but you said the word D-A-M-N on the air about 15, 20 minutes ago. Yeah, way worse than your four-letter word, pal.

Way worse. I got banned for a different word. Yeah. I'm just saying you got to clean it up, my man. Thank you, Murph. Thanks, Murph. Ladies and gentlemen, Murph.

Reformed on-air profaner as he was identified on his. Murph's got a graphic. I was covering it on the dump bucket. Murph's got a graphic.

Yeah, but be careful with him. Potty mouth, Murph. You know, I pounded the table for Murph to be real. I know you did.

For years, you know, had a little free Murph. Guys, the NFL just announced next year's home and away schedule for each team. Oh, nice. What do we got? And again, I don't know how they decide who's home and who's away. Do they flip a coin sometimes? Again, you know which division your division is playing next year, and you know which division your division is playing in the other conference next year. And you know who the 17th game, again, we're going to have to stop referring to that, is going to be.

That's all, you know, in the cards. And now when you finish in a certain place, you know who you're going to be playing as well based on you play that same team that finished in the same spot in the other divisions in your own conference, as well as that 17th game. Everyone was saying that the 17th game for the AFC East was supposed to be against the NFC North's finishing places. So what I meant, like, so when you're seeing that the Packers were languishing and the Jets were languishing, a lot of people were saying it's possible the Jets can play the Packers and thus Rogers would get a shot. But as we all know, the Packers did not finish in the same place as the Jets.

So these are the things I'm just throwing out there. Now that we know who's playing who, and I've got a couple of interesting ones for you. The Bills are going to play Kansas City and San Francisco at home. Yeah.

How about that? So if the Bills, let's just say, take on the Niners in the Super Bowl, there's a rematch in Buffalo and then Kansas City, you know, they may get Kansas City in a divisional round finally in their building. They're definitely getting Kansas City in their building in the regular season. They're also at Baltimore. If that is an AFC championship game, right? We're going to get that rematch.

We already knew that, but it's at Baltimore. And you and Del Tufo will have to figure out who's taking Mike Hoskins to Bills at Rams next year. Hey, all right. Hoskins, I'm taking care of you right now, pal.

You take care of me. Let's just say Belichick takes the job with the Chargers. Chargers are at the Patriots next year.

Falcons are not on the Patriots schedule at all. Let's say Jim Harbaugh takes the Chargers job, which a lot of people are saying is going to happen. The Ravens are at the Chargers next year.

A Harbaugh out here in Los Angeles is possible. 49ers Chargers, former team? The Chargers, are they playing the 49ers? Good question, Chris. The Chargers are not playing the 49ers.

Okay. So that's an interesting one. The 49ers, however, are at Kansas City.

That's an interesting one. The Cowboys are at San Francisco again, pal. So if that is an NFC championship game, they'll rematch it again in San Francisco. At some point, you're going to have to go to San Francisco and win a game is what I'm saying to you. The Eagles are going back to Tampa Bay. So if they win, I mean, if they lose, they're going back there again. The Lions are at the Rams. So Stafford's going to have his former team here. Nice.

That's an interesting one for you. Atlanta. Let's just say Belichick takes the Atlanta job.

Okay. They are playing the NFC East next year. So all of them, all the old hits and Atlanta is taken on Pittsburgh. So we might get one more Tomlin Belichick out of it. If that happens. Belichick versus Rabel.

Belichick versus Rabel. Nice one. Just some interesting facts right there. Cool. And hey, look, who's going to be getting the Alabama job. It is Kalen DeBoer.

And this is amazing. If he gets, it looks like he's on the, Pete Thamel says he's on the cusp of getting it. Yeah, they're finalizing. He had an appearance on the Westwood One station, KJR up there in Seattle that I called into on the national championship day. To have a conversation, it was canceled. He wasn't, his appearance was canceled today. Doesn't look like he's going to be making that appearance as the Washington, as a Washington here, if he's the Alabama head coach, when Nick Saban took the job in Alabama, Kalen DeBoer was in Sioux Falls. Yeah, Division Two school. He played there. He played wide receiver there.

And then he became the opposite. And then he became the offensive coordinator and wide receiver coach of Southern Illinois. He was the head coach at Sioux Falls when Nick Saban took the job in Alabama. And then he became the OC in Eastern Michigan down the road from the University of Michigan in beautiful Ypsilanti. Then he became the Fresno State coordinator. Then he was Indiana's coordinator before taking the Fresno State job all along. Who knew this was the guy who was going to take Nick Saban's spot in Alabama.

Go figure that. And one last go figure, Kalen DeBoer taking the job in Alabama means Michigan retired his predecessor and then got him essentially in a national championship game as his final coach there in Washington, where he then went and took the job that Nick Saban vacated after losing to Michigan. All I'm saying is go blue. Your ability to weave Michigan into almost any story. It's not Michigan.

It's myself. It's amazing. I'm weaving myself in TJ. What is the name of this show?

My goodness, the Rich Eisen show, but it is wild. Michigan beats Alabama. Saban retires, then beats Washington and then Washington coaches. Washington's coach leaves for Alabama and the through line is Michigan in that little subset.

But Kalen DeBoer, how about that? Is he the first coach in Alabama history to have a Sioux Falls gig on his resume? Oh, man. What a story. What an ascension. He was 67 and three at Sioux Falls. Oh, he's just he's one over six in Fresno and then 25 and three the last two years of Washington, one everywhere. And he's the next coach of Alabama football.

Crazy. Let's take a break. When we come back, none other than Aaron Jones, everybody of the Green Bay Packers.

When we come back to take you to Super Wild Card Weekend. I don't understand why you're surprised when I said what I said, TJ, because what does Alabama and Washington have in common? They both lost to Michigan.

Yeah. Like, what else do they have in common now that Kalen DeBoer is taking the job that Nick Saban has vacated due to his retirement? And who beat them? Who beat Alabama to send him into retirement? Shocking us all. And who who did?

Who did Washington? I'm just saying it's like six degrees, Kevin Bacon, except with you at six. No, what I'm trying to do is trying to weave things together. I'm a story weaver. And you know what stories are? Tapestries when you weave them together. Otherwise, they're just stories. That's a good point. So I'm trying to weave them together and create an image in the mind's eye of our viewers and listeners.

That's why they keep coming back. And what did I say? I said, I'm amazed by your ability. No, I don't think you said it that way. You kind of said it in a way that made it seem like I'm making it about myself. And I am. I am. You're right.

Guilty as charged. You know, I'm just saying. You want me to say it with my chest, too?

Should I put the microphone in my chest? Like, should I do that? It's not even a week in. Look, I'm not saying for you not to be happy. I'm just, you know. He is. Well, you know how he is. He is the one ever seen happy. How is he?

Let's talk about him like he's not sitting there. He don't want to see you happy. You know what I mean? Yes, you do. Chris, you do. He does until I start talking about how happy I am. Then he wants me to stop. Right. I don't think anything's proven that to be wrong. He does not want to see you again.

So that you know what is not wrong? Nick Saban retiring after losing to Michigan. And then after Washington loses to Michigan, the guy who coached Washington took Alabama's job and the through line is Michigan beating them both to win the national championship. You're welcome.

You're welcome. Back here on the Rich Eisen Show. Look who's joining us to take us to Super Wild Card weekend before he takes himself to Dallas for the Green Bay Packers.

Aaron Jones is back in the playoffs, people. Good to see you, Aaron. How are you? Good to see you. I'm doing good. Thank you.

Oh, buddy. You're going to your home state. Are you not? I am.

I'm excited to go back home to the state of Texas. All right. How many tickets? How many tickets have you been working on this week? What do you got? I've gotten so far.

I've gotten probably about 20 tickets and some more. You still wait a minute. Aaron Jones, plus 20 is still not enough.

Definitely not. What do we got? What do we need?

What do you need? About like five more, six more. Come on now. So who's not using their tickets in your locker room? Right.

Have you found those people yet? It's the playoffs. Everybody wants to be at the show, you know? Well, I mean, wait a minute.

One of your teammates went out to the coin toss by himself because it was his hometown. I mean, shouldn't you be at the show? Shouldn't you just pull a gyre and just start taking tickets from people? Shouldn't you do that?

You should do that. Okay. So I am so excited for you to go back to Dallas or to go back. How close is Dallas to your home? Dallas is about nine and a half hours.

Okay. So it's a drive for a bunch of people. What does it mean for you to be back in the playoffs right now? It means a lot, not only for myself, but for my team as well, for the organization. You know, we were in the situation last year.

Didn't come out on the right side of that. And to be in that situation again, you know, all the work that you put in, the time that you've put in, that everybody's invested and to come out on the right side of that. It's a really great feeling.

It also shows that your hard work doesn't go for anything and all that you've built came to fruition. And you're now the OG Aaron in the situation, because the previous is now in New York. How is your role on all of this with so many young players? You're the youngest team to ever gain a playoff spot in the history of the NFL, Aaron.

Your role is what here? Just to continue to lead these guys, you know, that's been my goal this whole time. You know, just make sure that they're ready to play.

I know they're capable of playing, but just, you know, got to be on top of everything from communication, verbal, nonverbal to, you know, it'll be loud in there to the small things at this point. When you get to playoff football, it's the small things, the exit, you know, it's the small things, the execution, who makes the least amount of mistakes is what separates everybody. Please, let's talk about your quarterback a little bit here, because he has had a remarkable season, certainly when, as one might think, in their first foray as being a starting quarterback in the NFL, some ups and downs.

But the ups in the last month of the season have definitely helped take your team to Dallas. What have you seen from Jordan Love all season long that is the consistent through line through all of this? Calm, cool, and collected, never too high, never too low, you know, and I feel like that's who we need, you know, when things aren't going your way, if you have somebody who's in the huddle who's calm, cool, and collected, like, hey, this is what we're about to, this is what we're going to go down and do, we're okay, blah, blah, blah. It keeps the whole team calm, you know, you're never rattled, you're never scrambling, you're not blinking, you're always ready.

But I would say just how calm, cool, and collected he is, he never gets rattled. And what's a good example, can you remember a moment in a game when it came through, that came through? I just, I just flash back to week, what was it, week two, I want to say it was week two when we played the Saints, week three, maybe. Yeah, week three, you start against the Bears, and then if I'm not mistaken, you want, you took on the Falcons, and then the Saints at home, right? Was that your home opener?

Yes, sir, you're correct. So that game, you kind of just see, you know, we were down 17. Down 17, and he just calls everybody up, and he's like, hey, we got a choice here, what are we going to do?

You're going to either play ball or we're going to lay down. But it was all calm, cool, and collected. He wasn't, you know, getting on anybody's behind or anything like that. He was just, he was pushing us, and it really turned us around. And you've seen us come back, and he put on a show, and I think you start seeing his confidence then, and he showed that he's a gamer.

Well, then the adversity. Let me ask you about how you saw him overcome that adversity, because the next week, just a few days later, was that Thursday night against the Lions, where they kind of had their way in Lambeau, and then came Thanksgiving, where it was a complete flipping of the script. And that was when things began to truly take hold, I think, on your team, Aaron, where you could see a change, you could see Rashawn Gary going off, you could see the defensive line doing its thing, you could see Jordan in the offense with the young receivers doing their thing.

What happened with Jordan after that Thursday night tail kicking that didn't drag you guys down? Well, we just got together as a unit, and we talked about everything. And like I said, much like these playoffs, it comes down to the small, minute details in this game that's going to either separate you or make you play successful or unsuccessful. And all 11 have to be on the same page. You can't have 9 doing the right thing and 2 doing something else. Things will never work, or it's not going to work the way it's supposed to.

It may still work, but not the way it's supposed to. So just kind of echoing some of that and then just blocking out the outside noise, trusting each other, and believing in each other. That was the biggest thing through adversity, just sticking together. And then interesting you used the word the number 11. I assume that's been circled in your meeting rooms all week long, number 11? So what challenges do you see going to Dallas? You know them, I just would love for you to throw them out there for me and for the Packers fans that are eager to see a W Sunday.

Definitely. You know, they get after the quarterback. So we just got to be clean on our protection and our communication and keep Jordan clean.

So we give him time to operate. But you know, they got guys every level they have. Demarcus Lawrence and Michael Parsons, you know, those two guys can wreck a game if you let them. They like to try to get them in one-on-one situations so they can rush the passer. And then they play a lot of man on the back end. They have their DBs have really good ball skills, you know, so they like to try to get pressure on you and make it tough for you in the back end. Man, I'm so excited for this game. And I'm excited for you. It's been what's the adjective you would use to describe your season? Aaron Jones. That's a great question. Thank you.

I wouldn't say I guess you could say roller coaster. Right. I mean, just you trying to stay healthy.

And then when you're healthy, you just you look like the Aaron Jones. We all know and love, you know. Yes, sir. That's the biggest part. Just staying healthy.

You know, once I felt like once I was able to get back healthy, I was just maintaining that and continue to play at this high level. And, you know, just show show everybody. Well, you can't say Showtime without show, right, Aaron? You know what I'm saying? See what I'm saying?

I'm just trying to see if you're picking up what I'm putting down. And what do you think it would mean to come up with this win on Sunday? I think it would mean a lot for our team going forward. Everything, you know, just like you said, we got a young team. Nobody expect us expects us to win, but we believe it believe in ourselves and we believe that we can we can get it done. So it'll be it'll mean a lot, but it would be one step closer to accomplishing our true end goal, which is getting one step closer to the Super Bowl. And what if you're willing to share is Matt Lafleur's message to you guys this week? What has he been saying? Pretty much that we've been, you know, we've been in playoff games the last three games. Nothing nothing is different in this one. This winter got home just like the last couple of weeks have been. We've been we've been in the playoffs and just that how I said it is going to come down to those small little details and and execution. So make sure that you're you're in your books.

You're taking that extra time and then your your body's right as well. Ready for Sunday. And then, of course, Mike McCarthy's on the other sideline. Was he the one that got on the phone with you after you were drafted? No, sorry, he wasn't. It was Ted Thompson. Oh, it was Ted Thompson. May he rest in peace. And so is there any is there any memory of McCarthy that you have that you want to throw out there as you're going to see him?

Yes, I remember I was I was with him my first two years. You know, he's a great offensive line, a great coach, and just have a lot of respect for him and excited to see him on Sunday. OK, Aaron Jones, thanks for the time. I always appreciate you taking the time for this program.

I don't take it for granted. So thank you. Yes, sir. Thank you. You got it.

Enjoy it. That's Aaron Jones at Showtime underscore 33. And it's with a Y.

Make sure you spell it right out there on Twitter, right here on The Rich Eisen Show. There he is. There he goes. You don't want any piece of him. You know, that's the guy who can make your Sunday miserable.

Yeah. What's one thing that the Dallas defense does not do well? Stop Aaron Jones.

Stop the run. So Aaron Jones is going to be a pro. And AJ Dillon, roll him downhill. Yeah, but also, I mean, I really Aaron Jones is calling this show multiple times. I have him on my fantasy team almost yearly. I really like Aaron Jones, so I can't say anything bad. Yeah, he's one of the he's one to root for. It's going to be hard. It's going to be tough to stop him, man. Who's not giving Aaron Jones tickets? There's only so many. Yeah, but you got to find a rookie and make him give them up.

But I mean, does one of those receivers like, yeah, Jayden Reed doesn't get any. I mean, if I if, you know, if somebody came up to me and say, hey, my family's in Texas, can I have your tickets? I'm like, sure, go for it. I'm from New York. What do I know? I don't know anybody in Texas.

It's snowing like crazy. They may not get out of there. Oh, really? Yeah, they will. I'll be ashamed if the game. So if Kalen DeBoer doesn't take the job, you know who might? Mike McCarthy? Ryan Day. Because who who beat him last?

James Franklin. Is he next? No, it's it's well, actually, we skipped over Ference and Ryan Day Loxley in Maryland. By the way, by the way, former Alabama staffer. They wouldn't that wouldn't be a bad choice, by the way.

Who else? He's a great coach. You know, Tulia into the portal. Maybe you bring him there, right? There you go. Bring him there with you.

If you're Loxley. Who else? Franklin. Well, we beat and then we beat the interim coach of Michigan State. They're not going to hire him there.

We just keep going on and on because that is the predicate. Like, hey, what about did Michigan beat you in your last game? What about Jim? No. Well, then you're not hired. Maybe Jim would want to be the Alabama coach. No.

Nope. You know, Michigan, a nice stepping stone to Alabama. How's that possible when we stepped on them in the Rose Bowl, pal? Why not? How's that?

How's that possible? You just keep trying to build in Syracuse. We'll take a look at it. I'm very happy. We'll keep taking a look at it. We'll schedule you. OK, great. Sold. What a great way to end this program. Have a great Super Wild Card weekend, everybody. Back on the Roku channel to rap in a sec. Right now 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.