Mike Florio: I Think We're On Nick Sirianni Watch In Philadelphia

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Learn more at Discover.com slash credit card. Limitations apply. This is the Rich Eisen Show and the Cowboys looked like they hadn't played a game together this year. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. I don't want to get into any addressing of any aspects of any part of the Rich Eisen Show. You know, he's had enough.

And I think this is where you take a big swing at, say, like a bill. Earlier on the show, NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah, host of the right time podcast Bo Money Jones. Coming up, host of Pro Football Talk, Mike Florio. And now it's Rich Eisen. Hour number three of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air.

844-204 Rich is the number to dial. We've got time to take your calls in this hour. And so much happening, obviously, in the NFL, fresh off of the super wild card weekend double header finale with the Bills eliminating the Steelers and then the Eagles getting eliminated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I'll be straight up with you guys and making my picks for this weekend way off on the Browns. I thought the Browns were going to win and could not have been more off on the Dallas Cowboys.

Right. I mean, couldn't have been more way off on that one. And I kind of flipped the coins thinking the Rams were playing better and more consistently down the stretch. But the Lions proved me wrong on that one. This choosing the Bucks over the Eagles was that was that one was the nose. The that was kind of no brainer of no brainer.

For me, it was for most because they were playing. And now the question is, what happens there? You know, suddenly the Eagles are holding the beer of the Dallas Cowboys.

What are they going to do after their embarrassing loss? And joining us now on top of our number three is our longtime friend and creator and owner of Pro Football Talk, Mike Florio, joining us here on the Rich Eisen Show. Are you in your kitchen now and you're in your bar?

Is this the famed Florio bar, not the office? What do we have? Mike, what do we got here? I don't hear him.

You got it there? You got me. Hey, where are you? I hear you. McFly.

I hear you. McFly is here. Where are you right now, Mike? Where are you? I'm in West Virginia in my house. OK, let's just leave it at that.

This is this is I'm just I'm just messing around. There's no famous bar. There's a barn that has a bar in it. OK, I do some stuff down there every once in a while. I had been doing stuff out of my office, but I felt like I needed to change a venue. I'm back down in our wine cellar.

I know it sounds very fancy. We don't have much wine in it. Dude, that's awesome. Too solid. Too solid. I just thought you might want to make drinks for all the Eagles and Dallas Cowboy fans. And there's plenty back here.

I think it wouldn't last very long. But yes, there's plenty back here from the holidays. Still, we had this is the satellite bar. We got the bar in the basement.

This was the extra satellite bar that my son kind of commandeered over the holidays. And then we got the bar down in the bar. Love it, Mike. Fantastic. So obviously, I'd love to start with the Eagles and the Cowboys, but I do want to place them aside because I did text you over the weekend when I saw what you were saying on one of the many NBC pregame shows from this past weekend with three games in the family of networks and streamers about Mike Tomlin. What do you make of his exit stage left that ended his press conference yesterday, Mike?

Well, I think that it's important to understand the background of all of this. And here's what I said on Saturday night at halftime of the Browns Texans game. Mike Tomlin every year after the season ends, he's all in and then it ends and he takes a step back and he reassesses. This year is unique, Rich, because for the first time ever, he's entering the last year of his contract. He's never had to get to this point. The Steelers have always extended him before he's entering contract year. So that changes things. It's unique.

It's different. So he will talk to his family, as he always does, and then he'll make a decision about the future. And the options, as I see it, are sign an extension because the Steelers, we reported a couple of weeks ago before the Bengals Steelers game on NBC, Steelers want to extend it. That's option one option to leave now and see if anyone calls and makes Art Rooney an offer. He won't refuse for Tomlin to take over somewhere immediately.

Do the Sean Payton sabbatical year and have someone trade for him as a practical matter next year, or or decide not going to accept an extension. I'm going to finish my contract and I'm going to do something that head coaches rarely do in the NFL, which is become a free agent. And so if he's thinking about even the possibility of coaching out his contract and becoming a free agent, I think what he did last night was a message to all reporters. If you ask me about my contract in any way, shape or form between now and the end of next season, I'm just going to leave.

I'm just gone. And it'll be interesting to see if anyone has the nerve to ask him about it when he does his end of season press conference, because my guess would be if someone does and I don't think anyone will ask, but if someone does, he'll just leave. I think that was the message he was sending last night. That's my theory.

But it's based on the background that I just laid out. So he's leaving because why? He just doesn't want to talk about it or it's I mean, it's you can't compartmentalize the two. You can't start talking about your contract while you're all in with the Steelers. And he's famous for saying we want volunteers, not hostages. And he has signed up to be a volunteer through the end of next season. After that, he's free to go volunteer somewhere else. And I don't think he just even wants to start down that path. He doesn't want it because it would have been easy to say I'm going to be the Steelers coach as long as they want me. It would have been easy to say I look forward to signing an extension. It would have been easy to say I have no intention of ever leaving.

I've been here since 2007. All I do is say that and it's over. He didn't say that. So it's not over. So now we wait to see what he decides to do after talking to his family. He could sign that extension and it would be done.

But I think by walking off in a roundabout way, that message is sent. If you raise this with me before I make my decision or even if my decision is coach out my contract and become a free agent, you're wasting your time. Press conference over.

I'm gone. And the reason why I also bring it up and not only because of your insight that I heard you say over the weekend, but anything's possible, man. I've never seen a coaching carousel like the one that we are seeing spinning off its axis and rolling down the street because Belichick is out there and Vrabel is out there. And my college coach, Jim Harbaugh, is out there. Pete Carroll, if you're interested, is out there.

I mean, so on and so forth. So it makes sense to throw Mike Tomlin's name in the mix. Is there any way one of the NFC East teams that got one and done? And not only that, but neither team even held a lead in getting one and done in the wildcard weekend.

Either one of those teams, maybe because of who's out there willing to blow up their current situation. I'm going to rewind again by three, four or five weeks when we didn't know what the Patriots were going to do. And I think the end of the season, the way that it concluded was one of the big factors that they had gone on a tear and they had won four in a row to finish up.

Maybe things would have been different. But once the idea began to be even discussed, entertained, considered in New England, one of the realities that the Patriots were facing was a fear or at least a concern, a realization that if they move on from Bill Belichick and they set this up where he can go anywhere he wants, there's a chance he goes straight to Dallas if Mike McCarthy fails to get the Cowboys back to the NFC championship again. And that streak continues.

It's amazing. First 30 Super Bowls, 16 times the Cowboys played in the game to get to the Super Bowl. Since then, 28 years, zero. That streak obviously continues. And that's what opens the door to Jerry Jones, possibly saying, I'm going to reset. Mike McCarthy has one year left on his contract as well.

I'm going to move on. Bill Belichick is available. You know, a lot of times we overcomplicate things.

I think it's pretty simple. One of the great coaches of all time is available for anyone who wants him. How does that not become a factor in how you assess your current coach, especially if you have a playoff ready roster that you can dangle for that coach? It's one thing to think about the non playoff teams where there would be some sort of a rebuild. You got Bill Belichick walking right in and taking over the Cowboys or maybe the Eagles after what happened last night and after what happened the final seven games of the season. I think after they got beat by the 49ers, they kind of checked out a little bit. They realized it's not our year. And Coach Nick Sirianni never properly snapped them out of it.

And it just continued. And I think we're on Mike McCarthy watch in Dallas and we're on Nick Sirianni watch in Philly. And whether or not a move made is going to be potentially influenced by whether or not the owners think they could be the one to land Bill Belichick.

Well, I mean, I don't know. I mean, Jerry Jones is known for sticking with his guy. And Laurie, you know, as we all know, read the room fast about Chip Kelly, got him out.

And then two years after Doug Peterson wins the Super Bowl, he's gone. So wouldn't you say that that is the spot where where a change might actually happen, even though that sounds crazy for a team that was ten and one? I think both are possible.

Both are possible. But obviously only one can get Bill Belichick. And who knows, maybe this uncertainty inspires Arthur Blank to make ridiculous promises to Bill Belichick to get him to take that job instead. I'll give you a full control of the team. I'll give you more money than you've ever made in your entire life.

Who knows? But between the two, something's got to change in both. You can argue something's got to change. And with Philly, the easy argument is, hey, Nick Sirianni has gone to the playoffs three straight years in three years on the job, went to the Super Bowl last year, had the better team, was ahead, could have won it this year, ten and one before it fell apart.

No way you make a change. Let's go back nine years after the Broncos lost in the playoffs at home to the Colts in the divisional round. And the late Damaris Thomas told me a couple of weeks after that, there were guys in the locker room for the Broncos that game that didn't want to go to New England next week for the AFC Championship game.

And they got their wish. So the Colts beat them in the divisional round a year after they went to the Super Bowl. Four years of John Fox, four playoff appearances for John Fox. John Elway fired him because Elway wanted to see the team go out kicking and screaming. There was no kicking and screaming last night from the Eagles.

So the precedence there, as ridiculous as it sounds on the surface, the precedence there for change. And we saw Jeffrey Lurie last night. I'd like to think of a good adjective for the facial expression, because it was kind of a cocktail of various different mindsets and emotions fused into one. It was stupefied. It was it was shocked. It was angry.

It was like seven different things melted into one. But it wasn't the kind of look that is a good one for Nick Sirianni. Mike Florio here on the Rich Eisen Show. What's your reporting on my college coach who was out interviewing with the Chargers Monday?

What do you have? Well, again, we got to rewind in order to understand what happens going forward. He thought two years ago when he packed up, what, the day before letter of intent day and went to Minnesota to interview for the vacant head coaching job with the Vikings. He thought he was getting it. And he did. Last year, he wanted the Chargers job.

That was my understanding a year ago. He wanted that job, but obviously didn't come open. The Broncos interviewed him at a time when it wasn't 100 percent certain they were going to hire Sean Payton. So Greg Penner, the CEO of the team, flew to Ann Arbor to meet with Harbaugh then. This time around, the team he was very interested in coaching last year has interviewed him. The question becomes how many other teams decide to pursue Harbaugh and does he work out a deal to stay with Michigan? The reporting from Dan Wetzel of Yahoo from earlier today about the Michigan negotiations.

That's kind of ominous to me. It sounds like Harbaugh is making a request. There's no way Michigan can comply with which makes it easier for him to feel like he's walking away with a clear conscience. This is the year for him to go back to the NFL. He's won his college championship. He said that he's got unfinished business in the NFL and he's going to have maximum leverage and presumably maximum interest. When you look at what he did with the 49ers, you look at what he's done with Michigan. How do you not at least have interest in talking to Jim Harbaugh and possibly bring him in?

Because he's going to turn around a bad team quickly. That's exactly what he did with the 49ers. Well, I mean, put your legal hat on and explain, if you don't mind, to my viewers and listeners, the exact conundrum. Or does it indemnification if the NCAA comes in and smacks down Michigan based on something Jim should have known, but didn't know with Conner Stallions? What is exactly that legal best you know issue that is kind of holding up that you say Michigan could never agree to, is what you're saying.

Here it is, as best I understand it, based on Dan Wetzel's reporting. Yes, Harbaugh wants immunity against being fired for any type of NCAA sanction that might be imposed based on the multiple pending investigations. Now, if he just wants to be guaranteed his money, that's one thing they can easily agree to that fine. If we have to let you go for cause because of something, the NCAA concludes, we'll still pay you to not coach the team. If he wants a guarantee, he's still going to be the coach. That's problematic because what the NCAA does, Rich, they issued to schools and to the coach what they call a show cause order. Which means if you are going to either continue to employ or hire this coach during the term of the show cause order, one year, five years, 10 years, whatever, you've got to show cause to the NCAA. In other words, you've got to justify, you've got to explain to the NCAA why they shouldn't come down on you right now and punish you aggressively right now for touching this guy that they've essentially blackballed.

It's a fancy way of blackballing someone that the NCAA has used many times over the years. So if they attach a show cause order to Jim Harbaugh, Michigan's got to fire him. Otherwise, the NCAA is going to come down on Michigan like the NCAA maybe hasn't come down on a football program since SMU. Not that it would go that far, but their hands are tied once there's a show cause order. So if he's looking for a guarantee, he's not going to be prevented from coaching. I don't think Michigan can agree to that. Well, I mean, and again, I but you also have to understand if if Jim has, I guess the ability or Jim is wondering if the NCAA is on the up and up with him anyway. You know what I mean?

Like, I'd want out if I were him. The NCAA is an inherently corrupt organization, in my opinion, and I would want out the whole the whole structure. Is a device for allowing the various member organizations to engage in blatant antitrust violations by refusing to compensate players and for decades, refusing to let them even go make money off of their own name, image and likeness.

It's inherently corrupt, in my opinion. I don't want to get me sued or you sued, but I can understand why Jim Harbaugh would want nothing to do with any NCAA member institution after what he's gone through the past couple of years. Mike Florio here on the Rich Eisen Show. Where's Vrabel?

What's his what's going on with him? I mean, he's I'd want to hire him, you know. And again, he'd be on my list.

Well, absolutely. And over the weekend, we posted an item that was very preliminary based on what I was hearing, kind of a match game of who goes where the Raiders and Vrabel makes sense. Albert Breer pointed out last week the relationship between Tom Brady and Mike Vrabel. Tom Brady's still got a pending deal to buy part of the Raiders that may never get approved, but still Brady's involved with the Raiders. The betting markets have shown Vrabel creeping up the stack as one of the favorites to be the Seahawks coach.

Now, over the weekend, Dan Quinn was the favorite. But now you sell Dan Quinn to any fan base after giving up 48 points to the Packers and Jordan Love on Sunday. If I'm Mike Vrabel, I'm waiting to see what happens in Pittsburgh. That's a place that drafted. You know, we had assumed he was going to potentially land in New England where he won a couple of Super Bowls. Pittsburgh drafted him and and I'd also want to wait and see what happens in Kansas City.

That's where he finished his playing career. And if Andy Reid retires after the season, he said last week he's given no thought to it whatsoever. I think there's reason to believe the Chiefs are at least, you know, putting on the radar screen the possibility of it happening based on how this postseason goes. If Reid walks away, there's only one team out that's got Patrick Mahomes. And if I'm Mike Vrabel, I want to see if there's a chance there before I would commit anywhere else. But Pittsburgh, he just seems like the perfect Steelers coach if Mike Tomlin would decide to move on. I'm with you, man.

I'm stunned that they just fired him. I mean, you're you're you had an interesting post as well. I think I reached out to you as well about ownership in the NFL and whether some people are ready for it. I'll give you the floor. You know, honestly, you know, it's kind of it's kind of a third rail, but go for it.

Mike, go for it. I don't. Yeah, it's I guess it's more of a third rail for you than me because that's all right for them. I got it. But I'm only one step removed. Trust me. I'm giving you the floor on my on my on my shirt. I appreciate it.

And I respect you for it. Look, if you want to drive a car and this is where the judge would say, I hope you're going somewhere with this counselor. If you have a car, you've got to go take two tests. You've got to go prove in writing that you're qualified and then you got to get behind the wheel and you got to do it.

To the satisfaction of the examiner. To own an NFL franchise. There's no requirement whatsoever.

There's no test that you take. You just need to either have enough money that you're the high bidder to buy the team. You don't have to know anything about football. You just have to have cash or or you have to have the right DNA or the right marriage relationship. It's either family or marriage that gets you in a position where you inherit a team when someone dies. And there's no guarantee that the person who inherits the team and we've seen it throughout the league. It's more common than not that you've got teams managed by people who didn't buy them. Not that the person who buys them has any qualifications in the first place, but this team passes around within the family.

Family member to family member. Inevitably, it's going to land in the lap of somebody who doesn't know what they're doing. And my point is, none of them have any objective qualifications to do it.

And I know that the approach that I've suggested as an alternative wouldn't be perfect. But look at Green Bay, where you have a corporation, where you have a CEO. Mark Murphy didn't just roll out of bed one day and become the CEO of the Packers.

He earned it. He's proven that he's qualified to run an NFL organization. If all of these teams became corporations and had CEOs and boards of director and shareholders, there would be a lot more accountability. Jed York once said you can't fire an owner if they were all corporations, you could fire the CEO and some fan base is rich.

And I'm not going to name names. They're just stuck until the current owner sells it or dies. There's nothing you can do. And it's one dysfunctional mess after another. The commanders fans lived through it until Daniel Snyder finally cashed in. That's what fascinates me, because I look at a coach like Mike Vrabel.

And I say, if you know what you're doing, all due respect to Amy Adams Strunk, if you know what you're doing, you work it out with Mike Vrabel. You don't get upset because he said nice things about the Patriots when he was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame. And you're miffed because by implication, he was saying bad things about the Titans. You work it out with a great head coach and you keep him around as long as possible. That's one of the great flaws. It's one of the things that makes it so fascinating. Rich covering the NFL, you've got basically mom and pop operations that are worth 10 billion dollars.

It's incredible to cover it and opine about it and to touch the third rail or jump on it with both feet. Well, again, you know, like becoming commissioner isn't you need Roger Goodell and inherit it. He's a CEO of the of the company and, you know, does such a great job of it when he's got 32 other owners who might have been in the position that you're just saying.

And I just said that to try and make sure I'm in good shape after giving you the floor on this. You know, imagine if the NFL, the entire NFL was family owned, like all the teams and the commissioners just handed down to this cousin or that son or this spouse or this. It's ridiculous if you think of it that way. I mean, take a step back. This is ridiculous, but it's what we're left with.

Well, it's in all sports, too, for sure. Tell me about your book, Father of Mine. We haven't spoken about that in a while. How's that going?

This was the mob novel that came out last April. The the price has been slashed for ninety nine to three ninety nine. That's not a huge bump, but it's still two dollars cheaper per month than Peacock. So, you know, not to go towards that third go, buddy.

Yes. OK. Peacock is a great value for five ninety nine. It is a far better value for five ninety nine than my book is for three ninety nine. There is an immense library of shows and movies.

And you could have seen the Dolphins Chiefs game and hopefully did. I saw people saying on Sunday that they canceled Peacock one day after they got it. It's like, well, you idiots, you had twenty nine more days to watch the office, to watch this, to watch that.

Like, why are you throwing it away anyway? We got it. It was supposed to be a pitch for Father of Mine, but I ended up with three ninety nine on e-book. All right, Mike, thanks for the time.

Always a pleasure. That's Mike Flory, everybody. Pro football talk. There you go. Father of mine.

Order now. So every NFL team should go public? Is that an interesting point, though, is what he's saying is that. Oh, no, for sure. And who's been one of the most stable franchises in terms of winning? Stewart. The Green Bay Packers. Come on.

Yeah, I mean, the Packers have Del Tufo's not here, otherwise he would have taken out his. Did he leave his share here? He had it yesterday.

He wanted to probably teach. I saved you. He brought it.

No, no. He saved his share because I'm like, if you let me get a hold of that, I'm going to tear it. Well, no, I saved you from him busting it out on you on the show. No, what you did is you deprived this show of a great moment of you ripping up his share and tearing it into pieces. I can't believe, by the way, I looked I watch back because we made a reel out of it. And popped it, popped it on our Instagram and tick tock feeds and what have you of us coming over.

Chris, you and I hugged him literally. And Del Tufo's like this pose with it. Like, yeah, I know. There it is. Look at Mike.

You and I look at Brockman. You are so nurturing there, Chris, to give him a massage. And like, and here I am. But she told me I smelled good. You did smell good. I mean, I appreciate Del Tufo's like, how about them?

I was like pretending to wipe the grease word off of his hand before that. Oh my gosh, he's a troll. Game time tickets. We use it. All of us here have it on our phones or tablets.

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Lowest price guaranteed. Eight four four two oh four. Rich number to dial when we come back. I talk about my boy who made the divisional round. 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 prize picks dot com for restrictions and details. Welcome to Talkville, the ultimate smallville rewatch podcast. Karen, what you got?

Hi, guys. Karen Appalene 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 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. You were twenty nine when this first started.

Now you're in your mid 40s getting all rocked up like you did. Yeah. In this. Do we do we need to test you, Matt? Did you take? No, no, I should have that made it easier. There's not in my experience, there's not you know, if you're not going to take anything, which I'm not the there's no it's the same workout that it was when I was twenty nine. It's just, you know, it's just a very strict diet, two days in the gym. And it's you know, there's no it's just all work.

Like there's no right. There's no there's no shortcut. And then just so you just cut out what sugars by the end, it's like by the end, it's just protein and vegetables and no carbs at all. And just, you know, to work out today. And I mean, it was it was a lot of work for how many weeks, months did you have to do that? Well, I was in shape. I got in shape for The Martian and then and then for this movie I did in China. And then and then about 10 weeks out, I kind of ramped up even more. And so it was to try to get under, you know, down below eight and like seven percent body fat.

It was more about body fat than weight. So when you were done shooting, what was the first meal that you had when you're done shooting? Oh, man.

I mean, you know, for me, it's Italian food by, you know, pasta and, you know, bread, pasta, red wine, chicken parm. Yeah. Oh, my God. Yeah.

Are you kidding me? That's the thing that that's what my kids love to eat. That's like sometimes when we order out, we'll get this, you know, this chicken parm, this parm and this pink pasta that they like. And they're just like, you know, plating it for them. It's just like, you know, I start shaking.

I'm just wondering if the Boston and you just came out. I think I just said I didn't say I didn't say chicken farm. I didn't say I said chicken. But I but I it was it was I forgot the hour.

It wasn't that I'm the I'm the same way, you know, and when I go back to the old school days, I love chicken prime. He did say chicken pan. He did. He corrected himself. Yeah. Yeah.

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Rich Eisen show radio network back on the air. I'm sitting at the Rich Eisen Show desk, furnished by Grange with supplies and solutions for every industry.

Granger has the right product for you. Call click Ranger Dotcom or just stop by Blaine in Wisconsin. Let's take Blaine's phone call. Here. What's up, Blaine? How are you? Hey, guys, how's it going? I'm good. What's on your mind? Don't got a question, but I got an observation for you to ponder, if you will.

All right. If you compare the Green Bay Packers this year to their Super Bowl run, I know a bit of a stretch, but hear me out. So we have to fight through the last few weeks to get into the playoffs. Week the wild card, we play the NFC East champions this year, the Cowboys, then the Eagles go on to face the number one seed win, going to face the NFC North champions back then was Chicago. This year could be the line. And then the Super Bowl was the AFC North champions. Then the Steelers this year could be the Ravens, which I think people would pick.

So it was just funny when I went back and look, I was like, you know, this could kind of be a little bit of a symmetry between these two. Right. And it started again in the place where you won the championship in Dallas.

Down in the. Oh, yeah. Don't forget that. All right, Blaine, thanks for the call. Hey, listen, Packers fans should have every reason to. Dream here, right, Chris, right, T.J.? Sorry to bring it up.

I mean, but they possibly do. You're in the dance. It's all you want.

I want to get into the room. They're more into dance. They just they just threw a haymaker just to start it. Mm hmm. I mean, it definitely got the attention of the San Francisco 49ers.

It's kind of crazy. You know, remember Nick Bosa after they beat the Eagles, said we just gave you the blueprint on how to beat the Eagles. And ever since then, the Eagles have been nothing but beatable. Do you think he was right? I mean, do you think he gave out the blueprint? Great question, because he's like, yeah, we just beat him.

And, you know, it's a copycat league and we gave out a blueprint. Did he? Did they? Seems like it. I mean, you're just looking at the results.

It's a results based business we're in. They've been terrible. They've been one of the worst teams in the league in the last month and a half since that game.

So, yeah, maybe they did. They lost that game and only won once. But they should have lost to Buffalo.

No, I know that. I mean, like they should have lost out. Yeah, there's the should have. There's the shoulda on all that stuff.

It's not like they look great in that game anyway. There's the shoulda. And then there's what happened. That's the same.

And I'm wondering if they get the blueprint. And the same thing is the shoulda, which is why I'm not getting to even though I love talking Baker Mayfield. You know, I'm finally kind of landing on that spot right now, two and a half hours into the show, because everybody kind of figures, you know. That the shoulda, the Eagles should have won that game because they're the defending NFC champ. Joel McCoy said on our show, the Bucks are going to win. And we all thought, well, yeah, because you've been you've been picking the Bucks all year long. You're a buck and you're, you know. And I I'm I went with them because I saw the way the Eagles have been playing.

Yeah. And I'm like, the Bucks are the better team. The Bucks have played better football than the Eagles. I'm not just going to say the Eagles should win this thing.

As a matter of fact, you know, who should win this thing? It's the Bucks. And everybody's like overlooking them for next week.

I I'd counsel against that. I thought it was preposterous that the Eagles were favored in that game. Well, it's because of going in the last night. But I mean, the the what you're seeing right here out of the the Buccaneers.

Is stupendous. Mayfield second career playoff win. And the other one was that that boat race of the Steelers when he was with the Browns in the wildcard around six hundred passing on six touchdowns and zero interceptions. And then, you know, the next week. He put the scare in Kansas City, did he not? Right.

So. Let's just give him his flowers, man. This point last year, everyone's like, where is he going to go? And Aikman said it multiple times last night. The Bucks were over capped.

They were they were in deep trouble. Where are they going to find a quarterback who's like, I'll go there. I'll take less. I'll follow Brady. And I'll lead the team and I'll be happy to do it. And it was a perfect marriage. You know, a perfect marriage, and I'll also go somewhere and play for a defensive minded head coach, and he could easily go, I don't want to do that again.

You kidding me? I don't want to do that. You know, I just had Steve Wilkes just there, you know, as my as my. As my interim coach, what a mess that was. So I'll go there and I'll I'll start becoming the primary.

Vessel for Dave Canales, who hasn't called plays since he was in high school. I'll do that. And then I'll find Mike Evans in a way that Brady couldn't or didn't. However you want to put it. Come on now. Awesome.

Well, he made himself a lot of money because good for him, he's going to get one hundred million dollar deal from them. You should. This is what Baker Mayfield had to say after the game last night. How does this playoff win compare to the first one?

Pretty good. Is it even sweeter considering the journey you were on this past year? Yeah, I mean, I don't like to directly compare. But yeah, obviously the ups and downs that I've been through in the last few years. This one's great, but like I said earlier, our sights are set for bigger goals.

And so on to the next one. There's something about whether it's you're an underdog or a road game, just having your backs against the wall and knowing it's it's just your team versus everybody else when you're counted out. And it's always fun to be in that role. Obviously, I'm pretty comfortable in it, but our team has completely embraced that throughout the year. I think you're getting your last cracks at Baker Mayfield.

Giving some countenance to this whole. Yeah, you were in the dumps last year and now look at you now. I think he's just going to be like, I'm the guy here and I should be the guy here and I'm the man. And of all the people to come into the building, I understand Stafford was a totally different ball of wax. Mayfield is the first quarterback drafted number one overall, the win his first home playoff game at least five seasons since entering the NFL since Matthew Stafford did it for the Rams in twenty twenty one.

Right. So here comes Mayfield after Stafford in that building. And like I said, a whole different ball of wax for Stafford because of his history there.

But who likes to bite kneecaps? Himself. Don't you think he's like this? He's like a he's got a Dan Campbell attitude coming into that building. You hate me and I'll plant the flag in Michigan like I did in Ohio all those years ago, I love the guy. I'm psyched for him. I am psyched for him and the Bucks should.

Be happy to sign him, right? Don't you think they should be done with like they're not going to be searching for the next this that they found him, he's found. Yeah, they found him. They found him. He's he's the guy. And he he needed to.

And to think there was a quarterback competition in July and August. Well, you got to do that to start. I understand. But if you look at that from where we started this journey and now here they are all winning a playoff game. The journey I'm going with is is he was he was on the couch at that podcast with the dogs, you know, belly scratching up. He is on his way to being a career backup.

Right. And then he goes to Carolina. And that was a total complete mess.

Where where Carolina, I guess, was looking at him in the same way that Tampa was like, we'll see what you're doing here. And then they decide to go in a completely different direction. They fire the coach.

What a holy heck of a mess. The interim comes in, benches him. He goes to the Rams and wins a game right on on on two days notice. Right. And apparently McVeigh and him vibed and he got like sort of a rejuvenation in him. And then, like I said, the Bucks needed somebody. Because I guess they weren't handing it off to Trask and look at them now.

They're there in the divisional playoff round. There was footage going around X Twitter of last year, him sitting in on the scout team for the Panthers at the end. Oh, yeah, I saw that picture. That's what he was doing this time. This time last year. So I think we're we're we're going to be done with the look. How far you've come stuff with Baker. I think he's going to be done with that. All right, we'll take a break when we come back. Just want to give a couple of thoughts on Vrabel and Bill Belichick going out the door here on this busy, fun Tuesday before Suzy Schuster and Amy Trask take over the studio for their pod.

Eight, four, four, two or four rich number to dial as well. And so it looks like Jason Kelce is, in fact, retiring, everybody saying he told his teammates that you saw him hugging it out with Jeff Stoutland, the longtime offensive line coach in Philadelphia on the sidelines yesterday. Six time all pro, one of my favorites that I've gotten to get to know. And we all, you know, have seen from afar what he's like with the Mummers Parade costume when the Eagles won the championship. And and then obviously what he was like. Doing beers to announce that he was coming back, right?

Didn't he do like shotgun beers or something like that? Look at that. Just just good people, man. Good people.

Good, dude. Lots of fun. We're now getting to know his personality quite a bit through his New Height New Heights podcast, you know, with his bro. And he came in studio here over the summer and we love meeting him. And we posted this photograph. One of my favorite comments on the on the exchange is a viewer or listener at Wote 09.

The guy on the left of Jason in the photo looks like a bad Joe Rogan wax figure. That's a good one. I enjoy that. See, that's what happens when you're not here.

You get those things read about you. Del Tufo does look like a child in this photo. Well, I mean, again, TJ and Jason Kelsey surrounding him makes him does look like he's a little wax figuring.

But Jason, that's one of my favorites, man. And, you know, I was tweeted that out last night. It's kind of selfish of me wanting to see you keep playing 36 year old. He's got little babies at home.

It's time to be full time dad. And then whatever whatever he wants to do in media. I mean, off off you go. So what an incredible run. What an incredible run. And just all the kudos well deserved. And we will see him walk elegantly into Canton one day back here on the Rich Eisen Show radio network. Eight four four two oh four rich numbered adult. If Nick Sirianni is shown the door again, I'd I'd be stunned.

You're ten and one. I know it finished poorly and the coach's job is to stop the bleeding and he didn't. But I don't know if this is going to happen or not. But if it does. My one suggestion would be Vrabel. Put him in the NFC East in Philadelphia. Don't you think he would be awesome there? And. He also, once upon a time, famously said on this show. That A.J. Brown essentially.

Is his guy. This is the answer he gave me two years ago, right? When in April 2022, when it was a hot rumor that the Titans weren't going to pay A.J. Brown and they were going to trade him before the draft and they eventually did it to Philadelphia. And this was his answer when I said when I asked him the question about Brown. Is A.J.

Brown on the on the on the trade block? Mike, as long as I'm the head coach, I I love A.J. professionally, personally. You know, I've been I've gotten to to know him well as his coach and enjoy seeing him as much as I possibly can. So as long as I'm the coach here, I would I would want to have A.J.

Brown on my football team. And then as we all know, he went and then there is a video. You can just see it online still of him getting up from the draft table in the Titans draft room like John Robinson's not making eye contact with him.

And it's one of those hitch up of the pants that is the international symbol of I can't believe this crap is happening. And he'll never come out and say it, but that was the general sense of there was an issue from the beginning. Of A.J. Brown's departure there, he's there, he's there, he loves running the football, Philly fans have been begging for it. I'm not advocating that they should fire Sirianni, but if this is a situation where he is, I mean, that would this is the guy. Don't you think he should be in the NFC East, one of those two teams, right?

Either Dallas or and then and then bring him and Derrick Henry together. Oh, man. I don't know, or both teams run it back with what they got, I think, again, like I said, I think both the Eagles and the Cowboys are going to stay put, and this is all just media. But. Yip, yap.

Jibber jabber right now, not saying that we jibber jabber here, but I just think at the end of the day, organizational meetings will be had and it'll wind up. Yeah, unless it's proven this year, honey, he completely lost that team in that locker room. You can't go from winning the Super Bowl to a year later getting canned. That just doesn't doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense.

Hey, man, not unprecedented. Doug, Doug Peterson created a play that had a statue out in front. It didn't. Yeah, I know a beer company made it, but I mean, you know, the Philly special and he got let go and it didn't make sense.

Let go. He got fired. Well, he said it all being nice. I know being nice, mutual parting of ways I know is the 21st century way of saying it was my point that that made no sense either.

Like, well, I mean, in terms of making no sense, you know, in terms of making zero sense. Bill Belichick is a head coaching candidate that can be interviewed like everyone else. And I couldn't I couldn't believe when I saw the tweet from the Atlanta Falcons confirming what we were all thinking. But there it is.

We have interviewed Bill Belichick for our head coach opening. And there he is in a, you know, in his Patriots gear. This may have been the day that he came back 28 to three. I don't know.

It looks more recent than that photo. But the if I told you on that night, you know. When probably Sarah Tiana was inconsolable. Right.

And everyone else in your life, very rough. We were all very happy. OK, except for anyone in Atlanta that that one day. You're going to have Bill Belichick interviewed for the job, and I got to say this. I don't think Bill's interviewing unless he knows that he's got a real shot here. He's not going to just although I don't like what does a Bill Belichick coaching. Interview sound like.

What does it look like? Donovan down at a great tweet last night. He was just admitted Bill Belichick interviewed you. Right. I mean, like, you tell me what facilities you're going to like.

I need to know how committed like what's the ownership. Like he knows Arthur Black. I'm sure he's had conversations with him, but never as in depth as the one that he probably had then, you know, in the interview. Does he come with like I'm because knowing him, he's as prepared as they come to break down. Like, this is what I think, you know, I would do. Has he been watching you do that?

The Falcons tape since last Thursday. You know what I mean? All he does is he has a little Halliburton, right? And he walks into his job interview, sits down. They say, had me. Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you. He opens it up like Marcellus Wallace's briefcase. It's in the gold. And there's he pulls out six little objects. He sits on a table and he said, that's my room to make silver. And he sits back and he's like, yo, what up, though? Like, that's what it is. Right. Pat Riley's got the crown back and he just takes them out.

I mean, it can't be like, hey, I've looked at the route tree concepts around here and I've got some issues or defensively, you know, I like these guys. That guy, number seven, Robinson, I'm going to give him the football. Hired.

Is that what it is? It's funny, the best tweet that I saw from from the ringer, right? Nora Princiani. Nora Princiani. I, I, I, she she's like she tweeted out, I guess, a quote that would be said by anybody interviewing a candidate for a job. Can you tell us about a time you faced significant odds and how you overcame them?

Like, it's funny, it's funny, it's 28 to three. I was in the Super Bowl once. Houston. Wait, you might have been there. Were you there?

I think I saw you. Just in case you might not remember, this is what happened. Of all the teams he's interviewing with the first time out. Yeah, why would I don't know why you guys seem surprised. Of course.

Why wouldn't you if you're them? Well, I mean, again, if you're Arthur Blank and again, he's he's 81 and trust me, I don't say this as an ageist. You know, no, Susie's nana lived till she was 102 or 100. Right. And we want people to live for as long as possible. And, you know. But at 81, no, but at 81, you're sitting here thinking, I need to win now, right? If you're talking about winning, it's all about marking of time.

Right. You're wondering about time. And if you feel you've got a roster ready to win and you decide I'm getting a new coach and Bill Belichick does, in fact, pop free and they may have been talking with one another. Who knows having a friend of a friend reach out to a friend of Arthur Blank, who knows somebody who knows Arthur and letting him know, like, if this happens, I'm interested.

Are you interested? Check this box. And it actually does happen that the Patriots decide to let him go. And he's there, how do you not hire him?

And of all the divisions that he would then go to and maybe try and win one post New England, it's the division Brady wound up in. Right. Nuts.

Nuts. You can't make it up. If I had told Sarah that night. Oh, my gosh. You know, and James White got in the end zone, right?

I think she was probably blacked out at that point. Hey, one day Belichick is going to consider coaching your team. And you are way into the idea. How do Falcons fans feel about this? They got to be all over it, right?

Yeah, I'm not sure. I think for Falcons fans, just her perspective, who's the quarterback next year? And I think that was probably Bill's. I would hope one of his first questions. What's our quarterback situation? Or do you think he's or is he telling him that's his point?

It's just like, here's my trophy. Is he going to go get Jimmy G? Mm hmm. I know Justin Fields. Which would be an interesting combination, right? For Justin Fields and Belichick. Well, a type of quarterback Bill's never had before. But somebody with questions, he's got 15 wins. He needs for four. You know, we will keep hearing that about how many wins shy of the Don Shula coaching record he is, but he wants one more of those to take out of his Marcellus. Well, yeah, case, you know, he wants to get to Brady. He'll never admit it, but oh, come back to Tom's one ahead of him. He wants to win one more.

Maybe you got to eat at him. Maybe the Brady stuff and the win stuff. He just wants to win one more.

Just one more going out the door for Atlanta. Or just for himself, probably for himself. I'm not saying he's he's doing it for a city.

Right. But but just for another franchise that he once upon a time prevented from winning one. So I'm like, you know, I owe you one. Yeah, but you couldn't get one.

I'll I'll come and give it to you. And any any other Dallas, TJ, they build him a statue on the spot. Oh, man, a statue. That doesn't even seem like enough. And that's the other point, too, is that if you're Dallas and you're Philadelphia and he's out there and you can get, you don't drive your feet on this, like, what are you waiting for? The problem is, like you mentioned earlier, Rich, you let go McCarthy. Now we have to replace the head coach and an OC play call.

Well, bring in Bill, Bill, bring in Bob, bring in Bill O'Brien. Right. Of King Daniels. Don't you think he'd bring McDaniel's with him? I don't know.

OK, yeah. He drafted Kingsbury once. Josh McDaniel's is a head coach.

No, thank you. Josh McDaniel's is an OC. Very good.

How soon can I get him on the plane? That's Jones made the pro ball with with that. Isn't it easy to be O.C. when you've got Tom Brady as your quarterback? Hey, he did it with Matt Jones.

He did terrific. And the playoffs that year. I know you didn't just bring up the Pro Bowl. And you're the one of the people who sit there and goes, that doesn't even count.

So everyone just drops out. There was a tweet from the Atlanta Falcons saying, we have interviewed Bill Belichick for our head coaching position. That happened. Like, what timeline are we in? It's I don't know. Future two.

What is going on? Look at that. Six rings. Here's my resume. Yes, yes.

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. What's it? What's an interview like? Crown bag pulls out the crown bag. That'll wrap it up for our show. Fun stuff with Bomani Jones in studio, Mike Florio and also Daniel Jeremiah. We'll be back to wrap up the show on the Roku channel in a moment. 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.