Bruce Feldman: I Don't Think Caleb Williams Was Staying With USC

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Learn more at Discover.com slash credit card. Limitations apply. Listen, when I say things into this microphone, I believe them and I'd love to be right. This is the Rich Eisen Show.

But when I'm right, I do like to return to the microphone and enforce that. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Do not let the Buffalo Bills in the tournament.

But they didn't. The Rich Eisen Show. Earlier on the show, Lions tight end Sam Laporta. Coming up, Fox Sports college football insider Bruce Feldman, legendary actor and director Dolph Lundgren. And now it's Rich Eisen.

That's right. Great chat with young Sam Laporta in hour number one of the Rich Eisen Show in hour number three. Dolph Lundgren is going to stroll in here. He's got a new movie. He's got a new TV show and we got our own old school celebrity. True or false for the guy who played Ivan Drago and so much more as part of our pop culture history.

As you know, we dig that sort of stuff. He's in studio in hour number three. Bruce Feldman's about to walk in here and tell me what the hell's going on with Jim Harbaugh. He's out here and he's here. He's out here. He's in Atlanta. And then you hear that he and Michigan are still talking with each other for a new contract that he might feel comfortable signing. Jerrod Mayo has been introduced as the new head coach of the New England Patriots. We are we are we are editing sound bites as we speak. Right.

Excited. So he's the first new coach hire as Bill Belichick is out on the market. Well, as you know, they wasted no time because there was a clause in his contract that they were able to make this higher right away.

Well, because they already pretty much gave him a deal pretty much. Oh, yeah. Robert Kraft, one of the quotes that I'm seeing here. Robert Kraft said the time he spent with Mayo during their twenty nineteen trip to Israel helped strengthen his convictions, that he would be a great head coach.

OK. So Robert Kraft knew back then, hey, man, he's the also he he knows the way that some of the players, I'm sure, are talking about him to. Telling you, Robert Kraft, you trust.

It's going to be wild. What is what sort of program does he run? What sort of organization do the Patriots have now that the organization has been essentially been ripped out?

Yeah. A lot of questions about Belichick was running a lot of the front office hierarchy scouting department. Who's going to be who's going to be in the draft room? Who is going to be the one making the final call on the pick?

A lot of questions. How about public PR on Patriots Twitter right now? You know, do we get to talk to the quarterback there?

You know, I mean, that'd be great. Rich, who's the quarterback? Who are we talking to? As soon as I got I mean, are we talking right now? I want Bailey Zappi on the show.

OK, great. Get me Zappi. Mac Jones was in attendance today. Was he really? Dude, he's there. He's under contract.

That kid got a raw deal, man. Dude, I feel bad for he and Zach Wilson finished the season as healthy scratches. I know they kept saying that he's in the concussion protocol, but in with the Jets. But it's just like this kid was is definitely not back with the team. And they wanted to do him the favor, finally, of being healthy, looking for his new gig.

I mean, I think both guys deserve a chance for at a fresh start somewhere else. Trey Lance is in Dallas. You know, he's in Dallas. Could he be the quarterback of the future if they decide to blow it up there?

What do you think? For the Cowboys? Yeah.

Well, great idea. You just don't want to talk about Dallas Cowboys these days, do you? I didn't I spend the last hour. You're saying you're wondering when the second game is going to be. I mean, so the double elimination tournament. It's not like I don't want to talk about.

What's there to talk about all year? All I heard from the talking heads were was Dallas was fugazi. Dallas can't be the team with the winning record. Dallas wasn't real.

And and we lost. So I don't know why all these people are acting like they're so surprised. If all year you're saying you didn't believe in the Cowboys and we weren't really that good. So they'll when they prove that you were right. Why are you acting? Not you just in general. Why are people acting surprised? Like you said this was going to happen and it happened. So are you so are you blaming the media for what happened? How I'm not sure how you got that from what I just said. I repeat it.

If you're thinking if you think something's not real and something's fugazi, and then you find out it is fugazi. Yes. Are you going to act surprised? Like, no, you said this was going to happen all year. That's what Bomani Jones said yesterday, right? Didn't he say that? Yeah, because there were conversations going on. Who's more disappointing, the Cowboys or the Eagles?

Sure. You know, I heard all for two thirds of the season was brotherly shove Eagles. This that and the third and had the Eagles not choked. We wouldn't even the reason why the Cowboys are more surprising is surprising is is just.

I don't think you believe this. The reason why the Cowboys is more surprising is because surprising is, hey, it just jumps out at you. Like a surprise party is just minimal. Oh, God, I'm walking in. There's everyone I love that's in the room for me. Surprise. Hey. So you can't have a surprise party if it takes two months.

To completely devolve, we sound like the Eagles did. We saw, you know, I mean, yeah, like you can't have a surprise party where it's just like you show up. I'm surprising you. And then two months later, we have the party. I'm giving you a two months heads up. You know what I mean? Like it's it's it would take two months to basically finish. Right.

The prep that you've known the entire time you've seen it coming. That's why you can't really answer that question. I would say it's more surprising that the Eagles completely fell apart. Number one on my list this year of biggest head scratchers is the total disintegration of the Philadelphia Eagles from 10 and one to finish 11 and seven.

Wow. Is it surprising that the Dallas Cowboys lost to the Green Bay Packers? Yeah, because I thought I took the bait.

I thought they were different this year. But again, all last week, when every time you asked me, are you worried and you're joking? And what did I tell you each and every time I'm like, yeah, yeah. And I told you how the Packers could beat Dallas.

And that's exactly what they did. Now, all. Year plus that this man was banned, you wanted him back on the show. Do you want to talk to Murph now? I mean, Murph called in last week. I know that, but he's going to be I would imagine he's calling in to gloat. And you have been his best, biggest advocate.

My poker friend who was banned from the show for multiple years because he cursed and never but he never curses at the table. Like even when you bad beat him, he goes nice hand. You know what I mean? Like, I don't know if Murphy is even understood that I've been pounding the table for. I don't know that you probably know because he's hearing this long winded introduction.

It's sort of like the long surprise party. I've been met, you know, he didn't know about it, about the free Murph sign. And Murphy Murphy, either you there, Murph, you there, Murph. Hi, guys.

Good morning. I did know about the free Murph sign, and I really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. And Murph, we've never even met. I just felt like yours was the cause of the action champion.

I don't like people, you know, being I love that you take causes, the causes that nobody else will take. Murph, I called you in the middle of the game. I called you in the middle of the game Sunday, brother.

Rick, as you showed your friendship, you called me in the middle of the game so I could scream in the phone with you. It was unbelievable. I mean, the best part of it was I had for the first time and I don't remember. I had no expectations of winning because, you know, we kind of got there. It was great. And if we had ended there, it would have been a successful season, given everything that we that, you know, happened.

But then to beat them in the way that we did, it was like unbelievable. I mean, I don't know what. How does this feel to that?

You know, to root for a team that just keeps regenerating and regenerating and has quarterbacks that can win playoffs. I don't understand. It doesn't compute for me. It just doesn't compute, you know. Well, I listened to your discussion and apology to Gooty, Gunty, Gunty?

I don't know how they... Morty Gunty. No, Gooty Kunst. Your guy, Gooty. Gooty Kunst.

Yeah, Gooty Kunst. Yeah. And I thought it was well said. I mean, I had my doubts for a long time. I mean, we kept drafting all these defensive players and then, you know, we get a little better at defense, but not like we're not at the top of the league.

It's still not. But he knows how to find receivers in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth round. Unreal.

I mean, it's unreal. I mean, Devontae Adams was second or third, I think. Second. Yeah, I think so, right? Yeah. I think.

But yeah, you're not wrong. So what do you think about the Niners, Murph? You can take them. I'm going. You're going. I'm going to the game. You're going. Attaboy. I'm going.

All right. I'm a real fan, Murph. I'm like rich. I'm going and I'm just... It's so refreshing. I mean, there's no drama.

And, you know, one of those things where after you get out of a situation like, oh, yeah. Well, I mean, you know, there was so much drama around everything. Every time Rogers talked in front of a microphone, there was drama related to the team.

And now it's like completely the opposite. And it's like, it's just like an amazing season and with no expectations. It's like, you know, LeFoure has a chance to really run his offense instead of having, you know, Rogers kind of second guess, you know, and maybe not follow through on exactly what was called all the time. So you're going to wear your Lynn Dickey jersey, Murph? How are you going to go dress to the game? What do you got?

What do you got? You got your Lynn Dickey jersey and you're going to wear your Lil Wayne chain? Is that what you got going on? Yeah. Is that what you got?

You know, it's very funny you say that. It's Wednesday and I'm actually thinking about my my outfit. I've got a Green Bay Packers sweatshirt. OK. Of course, my hat.

OK. Yep. There it is. And I don't know what I'm going to wear. I have a I have a short sleeve or a gold Packers shirt with a green emblem. I think I'm going to wear that with a T-shirt underneath. You'll stand out. You'll stand out. Yeah, I think the gold will stand out. Exactly.

That's what I'm thinking about. So it's I really appreciate you calling me, Rich. It was very kind of you. Well, you call me all the time, Murph. And I figured I'll just return the favor by calling you and telling you, I couldn't believe it. I called Murph in the middle of the game.

I'm like, dude, you must be just scraping yourself off the ceiling right now. This is unbelievable. Murph, we got rain on Saturday, so be careful. Yeah, I know. I know. But you know what?

It's the same thing. I don't expect that we're going to win if we do. Great.

But it's like it's just the magic of having this underdog team kind of keep going on the upset tour. So hopefully it continues. All right. That's Murph, everybody who's kind enough to call into this show and and is so happy. He's going to fold the nuts to me in a couple of nights.

So they'll be great. Thank you, Murph. Appreciate that. All right, Murph. I mean, he is the personification of those Pack Packer fans who are just out of their skulls, man. Meanwhile, we're we're we got Aaron Rodgers voicing over season ticket videos. Get excited, Rich. Get hype. The only thing I want to see on a season ticket video voiced by Rogers is his MRI. That's it.

Can he voice over his MRI how it looks now? Because other than that, and the other thing I want to know is what is the plan to back him up? Period. And then how do we use whatever draft picks we have remaining?

I don't know. They only lost a second to to protect him. Jets choose a tenth overall. Of course, the Bears are right in front of them because you know they're going to want to get something out of.

What the hell? Can everybody just pass on the best offensive lineman from one through nine? Can we get that? You only have six picks in this draft. I get it. Yeah, because they the only one we don't usually have seven. As you know, there's seven draft choices you get and they don't have their second. That belongs to Green Bay. So the Bears are going to trade that pick. No, the Bears are going to use it. We already had that established, right?

You don't have a fifth either. Oh, is that right? Yeah. OK, so the Bears. So the Bears the Bears are going to use it on. Can you put the draft order up?

I have it in front of me here. Yeah, Williams. The Bears will use it on Caleb Williams.

The commanders will use it on Drake May. One of them. One of them, right? Jayden Daniels, right?

One or the other, I think. Patriots will use it on the other guy. You don't think you'd take Marvin Harrison? That would be insane.

OK, I thought you wanted them. Who's throwing him the football? Me? So the Cardinals are going to have Marvin. Marvin Harrison Junior is going to drop. This is our first.

This is, by the way, the Rich Eisen Show off the cuff. Mock draft 1.0. The Cardinals are going to have Marvin Harrison. Marvin Harrison dropped to them. Hey, Kyler, there you go.

Here's Marvin Harrison Junior. Great. Worked out for them. Enjoy yourself.

He probably loved that, by the way. They didn't tank tank. They're sticking with Kyler and boom. Here's the Hall of Fame receiver. Right. Here's Marvin Harrison and you get him. And by the way, Marvin, you get to play indoors in Arizona.

Amazing. Hope that's going to be nice. Then the Chargers would take what? Brock Bowers. Let's give him Brock Bowers. Maybe. Or Malik Nabors.

Maybe he goes up a little bit. For Herbert, right? They need to get younger and faster on offense. The Giants. They should trade up for a quarterback. The Jets are not going to get the best offensive lineman. There's no way the best offensive lineman drops to 10. No chance. Oh, no way. No way. Not according to... That's not a bad half of a top five right there. Tankathon has you with the second best lineman, Joel from Notre Dame.

Okay. So you got to put away your Notre Dame hatred. Dude, I've rooted for Nick Mangold for a long time. That's true. Are you kidding? Garrett Wilson is one of my favorite Jets in a long time. Yeah.

Once they get out of college, it's fine. I'm not like Breer where I'm just going to be spiteful towards anything like that. All right. Let's take a break. Let's get Bruce Feldman out here. I've got my top, my power rankings on the coaches who are available because I can't quit power rankings on a Wednesday.

Isn't that ironic? I'm doing a top 10 disappointing teams. Okay. We'll figure that one out.

You really going to do that? I already know who won two. I just know you do. No, you don't. Come on.

We know who won two. Or you might as well just do three through 10. No, I'm going to surprise you guys. Are you really going to do that? I haven't typed up.

I just have to hit send. For later on today? Or maybe tomorrow, let's take a break. Bruce Feldman's here. I need information.

I want answers. How many times have I said that for him coming out on the show on a Wednesday? 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 that 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 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 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. Back on the Rich Eisen show, we're on the Roku channel right now. Radio audience about to return and our friend from the athletic and Fox Sports, Bruce Feldman back here on a Wednesday show. Good to see you, sir. What what game are you going to this weekend? I am actually we have my son's club soccer team has some soccer games.

I will have to watch a lot of stuff on YouTube TV or whatever else. Okay. By the way, something interesting happened when I left your studio last week.

All right. I got a text from somebody going, Hey, be on the lookout. We're hearing Sabin may retire tonight. Bolo. Whoa.

Beyond literally leaving. And then I called somebody else like, Yeah, we've heard that. I don't know if it's true. And then could not confirm it until it already got out. Wow.

Dang. Yeah, so when the radio audience returns, I want to dig in a little bit deeper to the that. Also, I want to obviously dig into Michigan and what is going on there. The other coaches searches that are going on. And then obviously who just finally I mean, Caleb just waited to the last. Was it like an hour before processing? It was right up to the deadline. Yeah, it's not like his dad had some particular thoughts on what he was hoping the process would go like, but there's no coming back process.

What do you mean? They had a bad offensive line. You're going to play behind that offensive line a year later.

Plus, it doesn't matter what your NIL is. You're now you'll be a year closer to the maybe 70 million a year. By that point in time, I might be understating it. What it would be like four years from now.

You think there's any possibility he thought about entering the portal? Hold on a second. We're almost there. Okay, these are vastly important questions that I want the radio audience to hear as well.

No offense to the Roku channel. We're very, very thrilled that you're here because we're about to rejoin. Got to ask about yours too, right, man?

Arch. Oh, my gosh. This is going to be great. We're back here on the Rich Eisen Show on the Roku channel.

Now one big happy family. The Rich Eisen Show radio network back on the air. I'm at the Rich Eisen Show desk furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry.

Grainger has the right product for you. Call clickgrainger.com or just stop by. Bruce Feldman stopping by once again in his usual Wednesday spot. And let's start off the conversation with what you just revealed to the Roku channel audience. When you walked out of here last Wednesday, you're in the parking lot and you look down at your phone. And what happened? I missed a text from somebody saying, hey, just a heads up here in that Saban is going to retire tonight.

You should look into it. Well, I made some calls. Nobody could confirm it at that point. Now what I think we knew was, you know, in retrospect was he wanted to tell his team first. Once that happened, then the news was fair game. So was there any sense at all during the season that this could be his final? There's always a speculation that that was going to happen at some point, right? That he eventually wants to go work at ESPN and be on TV and talk about the game and the grind of being a college football coach, especially in this day and age with the transfer portal and NIL and all the stuff that comes with it.

I think it's exhausting. And even for Nick Saban, and I think he knew this was a really good job he did from how bad the, how un-Alabama like the team was the beginning of the year to what they were like to be a playoff team and almost make it to the championship game. So do we know when he, did you pinpoint when he knew? Did he, do you think he strolled on the sidelines of the Rose Bowl, maybe looked around saying, this is it?

Does he know it? There's a funny moment that happened after the game. So at the Rose Bowl, I remember being with a bunch of people right outside the Michigan locker room and Saban had just done his post-game press conference. He comes down the ramp of the Rose Bowl and the golf cart really has to stop because there's a cluster of people in the way who are kind of where the Michigan locker room is.

And he kind of looks and sees everybody and does this kind of like pageantry wave and gives us kind of half smile. And I remember thinking, well, that was not the expression I was expecting for Nick Saban. I was kind of almost expecting the famous Urban Meyer lose to Michigan State pizza box, right?

Where it's just defeated and disgusted and all those other things. And I was like, that was a, you know, I remember the expression of Saban. And look, you know, I brought that up when I was trying to confirm last week, I don't know, about seven days ago at this time to somebody I was like, I wonder if he knew at that point then, I just coached my last game, you know? And my guess is he probably did. Right, sure.

Don't you think? Yeah, because I don't think he was going back and forth on it, you know, to the end. You don't make a decision like that, that, you know, reactionary. But I think he probably had to feel at that point, this is it. I mean, you look at some of the reactions in retrospect of people saw him around the game. And I think it maybe is a little more foreshadowing than we probably could have imagined. And this may be naive to say, but I was kind of stunned that there wasn't a handpicked successor, you know, that there's nobody on the staff that could be identity.

There was nobody from this group. I mean, like, if it had gotten to the point where it got past Kalen DeBoer, we had heard that they were going to at least interview Tommy Rees, the offense coordinator. But Tommy Rees is like just barely 30. And the idea that you would replace him and Saban had, you know, ideally, you know, the best coach out there is Kirby Smart, who is his protege. But Kirby Smart's got, you know, he played at Georgia, he's from Georgia, he's got a really good situation, a great situation at Georgia. And you don't want to be the guy to replace Nick Saban if you already got that. I just think the, you know, if Sark was still the offensive coordinator, I know that people inside Alabama really think highly of him and what he had done there. But he's a Texas. And in a lot of ways, Sark has a better situation than if he were to come back to Alabama. Because at Texas, he's replacing Tom Herman. At Alabama, you were replacing the greatest coach of all time.

That's just a heavy shadow. Is that why they, because again, you just use the phrase getting past Kalen DeBoer. I mean, how many coaches, because it seems like they kicked a ton of tires here, starting with Dan Lanning and then with Sarkeesian and then with Mike Norvell. And then they got the Washington coach to say yes. Is that a fair assessment of the way this went? No, I mean, I know they like Dan Lanning. He had been there, you know, but by the way, you know, Kalen DeBoer's 3-0 against Dan Lanning.

No, by the way, I'm not clearly, clearly I saw what he with my own two eyes. I think I think it was a case of this. I think that they were really impressed by Kalen DeBoer as more people found out about who he is and what he's about. You know, he's he was the one guy that really has no ties to the region. I mean, Mike Norvell had never coached in the SEC, but he's in Tallahassee at Florida State. He coached at Memphis.

He's obviously recruited in that footprint a lot. But by the same token, two of the greatest coaches, most successful coaches in recent history came to the SEC with no SEC experience. One was Nick Saban before he got to LSU and the other one was Urban Meyer before he got to Gainesville.

And those hires worked out really, you know, terrifically for those schools. So I don't know, you know, in Sark's case, I think there was probably interest, but I don't know how far they actually got down, would have got down the road with him. Mike Norvell, I think there were real conversations there.

I don't know what the order of sequence is. I'm sure in the Florida State side, they're going to say Mike Norvell was the choice in the Alabama side. They're going to say I was we were always interested in more. You know, Kalen DeBoer was a guy we thought would be more ready to take on the responsibility of following Nick Saban. You know, the Dan Lanning one, Dan Lanning's deal, and we reported this after Saban had stepped down, his buyout is so big.

It's way bigger than what has been reported with just Oregon. And so everything I know, having been around him and had a lot of conversations with him, is that he really loves it up there. He feels like he's got a really good thing. It seems like he's got a really good thing. Oregon's got the NIL piece figured out like that team.

I would say is to me would be the favorite to win the Big Ten in their first year based on what he has coming back. So I don't think he pulls I don't think he was in position to go, hey, I'm really coveting that job. But I don't I think a lot of stuff we're not working out for for it to go in that direction anyway. It's just it just was kind of surprising to me that Alabama just didn't get its pick because if it's Alabama because of what and I know those are monster size shoes to fill and you never want to be the guy after the guy. But I mean, I might want to live in Alabama's locker room.

You know what I mean? Like that's those facilities. And one would think the support that they must have is the alignment piece of it that I've heard is different, where if you're a head coach someplace else, you have to go through a lot of other stuff to maybe get something rubber stamped. Yes, whereas certainly at Alabama, when you're Nick Saban, there wasn't much of that resistance or or, you know, bureaucracy to wade through.

So I think those situations were really good. But again, you know, in a lot of ways, I don't I don't think the gap is is significantly bigger at almost any of those programs. By the way, Texas is going into the SEC this year. I mean, again, I think what Steve Sarkeesian has done there, I think he kind of knew I'm rolling here.

Why would I leave? You know, as opposed to there, you know, the one that's curious to me a little bit would be Florida State and Mike Norvell, just because we know how much friction there's been with the leadership at Florida State to try to get out from under the ACC and from Mike Norvell if he could have gone. And I honestly do not know if there was an offer. I think those things get caught into semantics. And it's unlike there's a level of transparency that comes with the NFL protocols that there is none of that in college. So and I think, you know, Greg Byrne, the AD, I think if you had asked him, you know, I'm sure he respects Mike Norvell. I get the feeling he's very, you know, the more time he spent around killing the more the more the more he's probably feels very confident he's got the guy.

Bruce Feldman from Fox Sports and the Athletic here on The Rich Eisen Show. You just mentioned Texas. Quinn Ewers announces he's staying. And I'll be straight up. I'm not looking to stir anything up here. I really am not. But straight up, I would not have thought Arch Manning would go to a school where he would sit for two years. I just didn't think that in a million years. And that's the way it looks like it's going to be.

Yeah, that's cool like that. There's nothing. I don't think the Ewers staying was a surprise to anybody, you know, like kind of who'd watched him because it wasn't there's nobody I know. And this goes back to coaches who played him this year who thought Quinn Ewers was going to come in and be a top 15 pick after what he did this year. Like he's talented and he was hyped and significantly coming out of high school. But I don't think anybody looked at him and go, oh, yeah, he's going to go in there and crush it.

And then he's going to bounce as soon as he can to go to the NFL. I mean, this is a deep quarterback draft, you know, because you obviously have Caleb, you have Drake May, you have the Heisman winner who's made leaps and bounds at LSU since he's been there and Jayden Daniels. You have JJ McCarthy, who's definitely talented. There's a bunch of other guys in there who are really good quarterbacks. I mean, to think that Quinn Ewers would have, you know, maybe he would have been the fifth quarterback.

I don't even know that. Oh, this has nothing to do with Quinn Ewers' choice. It's got to do with I never thought Arch Manning, when he said he's going to Texas, would be sitting for two years. I just didn't think that or that the Mannings would be cool with it or that was part of the plan going in. But then go to if that's the case, then go to a smaller program where your competition isn't as such where you're like, I think, you know, playing at the level he played at. It wasn't like he was playing at Modern Day or St. John Bosco or one of these programs that is playing incredibly high level competition every week in high school football. I mean, everything I had heard is Texas likes Arch Manning, but, you know, he had a lot of area to grow in terms of consistency, what they'd see practice to practice. I think this is a really good thing for Arch Manning to sit for another year and keep developing because I think if, you know, a different case would have been, OK, does he want to transfer to Tulane?

I'm not saying this was ever a mix. Like Ty Thompson, the backup at Oregon, decided to go where you have a program where the quarterback who just came from there, Michael Pratt, who I think will be a good NFL quarterback. But like, you know, it's home. You're at a good program right now. There's a really good coach in there and John Sumrall.

And you can see what happens. But I think there's a lot of quarterbacks when you are totally unproven in college football. What you did in high school doesn't carry that much weight, no matter what your last name is. I mean, Malachi Nelson was a quarterback who ESPN ranked as the top player in the last recruiting class was a five star guy went to USC. He wasn't going to have huge offers once he transferred out of USC because he didn't have anything to show for it. It wasn't like they were raving about what he did there. He's going to Boise State.

You know, the other guy who is a five star guy who's played more, certainly more than Arch and Malachi, Dante Moore. But, you know, had a bunch of pick sixes of UCLA. He's going to Oregon, but he's going there knowing he's going to be the backup. And he's going to sit there for another year and just try to learn and develop.

So I think what's happened in the portal is, yeah, it's great you were four or five star guy at a high school or it's great you had this big reputation. But if you don't have film in high school from real college film, I think people are like, we need to see something from it before they're going to say, hey, we trust you to, you know, run our run our program. Well, listen, obviously, who am I to tell the Mannings about quarterback development? Obviously, they are expert at that.

And certainly when it comes to one of their actual flesh and blood, I am sure they know what is best. I'm just, again, kind of surprised that Arch Manning would be sitting at some point. He's going to play, right? I mean, he's going to have to play because we keep talking about, of course, Caleb Williams is going to declare, of course, I get why J.J. McCarthy is going right now, because anybody who goes now starts the clock towards potentially excelling and getting that second contract that would make NIL money look like chump change in the NFL. And who knows that better than the Mannings as well?

At some point, Arch is going to have to start this clock. But I think unlike a lot of the other people we're talking about, I'm guessing and I don't know their finances, Arch Manning is not going to need to work to, you know, like they've got generational money already around him. I think the best case for him is and obviously they know better than me, but the best case for him is go somewhere where I can be developed and then I will be sort of like and on the other thing is Quinn Ewers has been banged up, had shoulder injuries the last two years where he's missed time. So it's not to say he can't get on the field next year. I think the point is going to be keep learning, keep developing, because he definitely had way, you know, a lot of stuff to learn and physically develop. And then in 2025, you can be ready to hit the ground running as opposed to, all right, I just need to get on the field because I'm in some big hurry where I may, you know, take it two steps back to get on the field. And then I'm someplace where maybe it's not as good around me or maybe the system isn't what we want. I mean, obviously chose Texas for a reason and all those things are still in place.

And if anything, I feel like the plan, if you are objectively looking back on, all right, I'm more sold on my decision to go to Texas. By the way, Malik Murphy, who's like throws it better than both of those guys. He's transferred out. Like he's no longer there.

He was the backup. And so I think that cleared a path. Now, if Malik Murphy had decided to stay, then all of a sudden now is arch the number three. That would have been to me a bigger question mark.

But now that, you know, that has changed. And I think as the number two, you get more reps. You certainly will be in position if if Quinn Ewers does get hurt again to be in line to jump in and be ready. That's why you're here to give us the clear eyed analysis. I'd like to take a break and come back and talk about the next level from Caleb Williams taking every last second that it was available to declare. Then obviously my coach and what's going on with him.

OK, all right. That's Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports and the Athletic. We're chatting with him here on a Wednesday. And who says college football season is over?

Get out of here. Back here on the Roku Channel, Bruce Feldman is here. We already talked about Stroud with Daniel Jeremiah yesterday because we saw him at the combine. And I guess the Georgia game, he began to see flashes of what we're seeing now.

Right. But other than that, I mean, he's really taking his game to a new level. But Jordan Love, we haven't seen play football essentially in three years. Did did did you see some of this play when he's at Utah State? He's a fun story. And just like credit to to Matt Wells, who was was his coach at Utah State.

They were the only ones who like who really were in on him. And the things I've heard. So his old trainer is now a high school coach in Texas. And this guy has actually a big following among like youth training people and just raves about Jordan's, not just his work ethic, because, again, he was like 170 pounds and scrawny as could be, but just his commitment to it, but also how humble and how thankful and appreciative he was for people who worked with him on the process. You know, these guys are not you know, Matt Wells is now as an assistant coach at Kansas State, but it's not like all of a sudden he's come from this place where it's a star factory.

Right. You know, he was the guy at Utah State. They had a good program then.

And then he kind of drifted into the radar. And a lot of people were polarizing on Jordan Love about whether he was going to be that good. There were a lot of people who didn't think.

And I just know from the people I had who were so rooting for him, you know, I think it was a Thanksgiving weekend, maybe game where Thanksgiving Day in Detroit off. Yeah, he did. And there were so many people in his corner because they know what kind of guy he is. Never mind, just like, oh, yeah, they believed in him. But they know when he got drafted.

You know, he called them. Thank you. In all in all. Is that right?

Yes. I love hearing that, obviously, because we like people. I mean, hearing how guys who are excelling on the field are our people in that respect. And I'm back on the Rich Eisen Show radio network with Bruce Feldman still here from Fox Sports and the Athletic was telling a story on the Roku channel about what a good dude Jordan Love is. And there was a video that was a photograph that went viral. It was a photo that he helped some ladies stuck in the snow. You know, I guess he was walking out of the facility and somebody was stuck in the snow in Green Bay and he helped her out of her situation.

And she's just like, took a selfie with the guy who helped. And it just turned out to be Jordan Love of the Packers is about to boat race the Cowboys. I knew the game was over.

It's over, you know, it's pretty wild. Just as like, you know, incredibly humble, but still knows the place he came from. Right. And the people who because he was not most of these guys, you know, certainly not Josh Allen, but most of these guys at some point were like the guy coming out of high school and everybody worshiped them. And, you know, all these coaches wooed them to get in the process.

That definitely wasn't him. You know, it's basically Matt Wells at Utah State, and they were the only ones. And he was a scrawny kid who did all this, you know, and still it's not like he's like jail and hurts where he's just like powerhouse. But I think he did all these things that people said, hey, you know, this will help you and worked along the way. And I know from especially, you know, one of them who was like one of the trainers he had back then in Utah just talked about how appreciative and would, you know, when he gets drafted, hey, I want to thank you for what you did for me.

You know, I love that. Utah State versus Iowa State on Saturday night for the right to go to the NFC championship game. Purdy versus Love can't make this stuff up, man. I got Bruce Feldman here on the Rich Eisen Show. What is going on with Jim Harbaugh right now? What are you hearing back in Ann Arbor? There's a conversation about an indemnity clause that's holding up a possibility of him.

I don't know if it's holding up a possibility. Like when I first heard that, my thought was some of these things just seem so far fetched that it would be like, OK, we're going to put this out there that when we do move to the NFL, we're like, hey, they were not all in on this. I don't understand why that would be necessary, because I I don't know a single Michigan Wolverine fan that would say when Jim Harbaugh steps to a podium, if he does in Los Angeles for the Chargers or Atlanta for the Falcons, where he's already interviewed or whatever, would go, how dare he do that?

I don't know of a single one. So why would that be a track covering situation that leads me to believe that this is legit? Like he does want to go back to Michigan and something.

It doesn't seem like this is a straw man of a of a clause situation. Jim Harbaugh has always been wildly unpredictable. Right. And, you know, you hear rumblings of people there. I think it's cautiously optimistic saying, oh, Jim wants to come back.

Jim is absolutely kicking the tires on the NFL right now, whether it's the Chargers or the Falcons or, you know, who, you know, how many other if the Cowboys pop free. Right. I mean, yeah. I mean, does he want to be there? I mean, I think the questions are going to be, you know, does is this something that's going to wrap up anytime soon? Like, is it going to be something that's going to you know, it's not like if it's a college thing, it's like, hey, we got to hire somebody who can't have an open job because the transfer portal, we're going to lose players. Yeah, this is the NFL.

It's like a different calendar altogether. So I think if you're Michigan, you just got to be patient with it and know, hey, if it if he does leave, we got Sharon Moore, who's beaten Ohio State beat one at Penn State. The players revere him.

The people around inside the program revere him. And that would be a really good backup plan. What is the clause about? What are you hearing? I mean, what is this? He wants full indemnity if something pops up with the NCAA.

Yeah. And I think the tricky part on that to me is that the with the NCAA, you are accountable if you're the head coach for people under you. The staff is 50 people, you know, so if there is something there now, last week, Florida State had something where their offensive coordinator and this is portal related, he got hit pretty hard. And it was like, wait a minute, this isn't exactly how the NCAA language usually goes towards the head coach. It was like really more the offensive coordinator got dinged for something, which I think a lot of people felt like was the NCAA was trying to make an example of him and them.

So there's so many eyeballs on the illegal signal stealing investigation. You know, by the same token, Jim Harbaugh served a big suspension, like three games. I think so.

But I mean, it was a backloaded schedule. It wasn't like he did not get hit hard by this by the Big Ten. So who knows what is going to come from that? You know, and again, I it's it's hard to unwind at this point. I just think that, you know, he's going to sit here and and look and say, OK, what's my best option here? Do I do I really want to be back in the NFL? And do I think I can leave this team to a Super Bowl? Can I leave this franchise to a Super Bowl?

I ultimately think that's where he's going to end up. You do. Yeah, I do. Just because he I mean, it's not like they lost to Washington. He won the national title. Can you say that again?

I was just so great that you just I'm sorry. Yes. But I understand what you're saying. But I also understand that if he does go back, I mean, Saban's gone, right? Yeah. He has an opportunity if he wants to spend the next 10 years, his final 10 years coaching, if he does want to coach till he's 70, he could wind up like Bo.

You know what I mean? But Bo didn't win a national championship. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. But what I'm saying is not he could be as revered on campus or. Who is the greatest football coach in the history of Michigan? You mean in the history? I obviously it's Bo. I mean, there's it's Shembekler Hall and there's a well, I mean, Fielding Yost. You want to go?

I don't know. You know, honestly, like he can be viewed as the current best college coach there is because he's won right now. Saban's gone.

Kirby Smart has got two. Yeah, so but but he's just put himself in that mix, you know, and and honestly, if you want to continue saying, you know, the number of Georgia Bulldog fans that I know in my life, you know, who are people who would know Georgia Bulldog fans in my life who have been very, I think, respectful of my feelings of of excitement that they all do want to say, well, you know, there is the best team in college football that won the last two that somehow got, you know, jobbed out of not getting into the final four, like good luck. I mean, good luck beating us. We lost to Alabama.

Those things happen. I mean, so you can have these arguments about there's still things to do at Michigan. And I understand, though, that if he feels that the NCAA is out to get him and that there may be a particular individual from Michigan's past that sits on an infractions committee that has something out to get him for that, he wants some form of a codified protection in a plan if he does come back. I don't think that's happening, though.

I don't know how they do that carve out. I you know, again, the people I talk to who are closest to Jim Harvon, this is going back a month or so. So the biggest thing burning in him would be a Super Bowl.

And you can't get that in Ann Arbor anymore. You just you know, it's like he has to go to the NFL. He's going to do it. He came really close before. You know, again, I wouldn't be shocked if he stayed.

But I'd be really surprised. I mean, given now it'd be different if they didn't win the national title last year, if they came close and they lost to Washington. But he's won it.

You are going out on top. You dominated the Big Ten. You beat Ohio State three times in a row. I mean, I don't think like there's there's no bigger way for him to leave if you're going to go to the NFL. Like that's true, you know, I feel like he said a couple of years ago when the Vikings thing did not work out on signing day, you know, I'm done looking or whatever.

And then he interviewed last year and was in the mix for the Broncos. That's part and parcel, though. And the crazy thing is every single one of us in Wolverine, you know, fandom was just like, it's going to cost us. How are we going to get a team on the field?

How kids going to stay? How are we going to win? And the dream, the dream, the dream came true. It's unbelievable. Bruce Feldman, few more minutes left with Fox Sports and Athletics.

Bruce Feldman here. Caleb Williams waited, it seemed like, to the last second to process his papers. Was was there anything going on? No, I think his dad had some thoughts on how he thought this should work. What do you mean?

I don't know. There was always chatter about, like, can we get ownership of a team and processes? It's just a lot of stuff where it's like, yeah, the NFL doesn't work that way. So they thought there was a leverage play in him in going pro. There was also a part of it. It's like, do I want to go there? You know, you mentioned the Mannings before.

Like, obviously that that happened, whatever it was, 30 years ago. I was with the Chargers and they got him to New York. But at this point in time, the Bears hold the pick and his their son is so talented. I mean, I mean, Caleb is so talented. Like he's going to be a bear, man.

I think he's going to be a bear. Yeah. And, you know, like, I think the challenge would be if you come back to USC, you just went seven and five and you were playing behind a really mediocre offensive line. I don't think that offensive line is going to be significantly better. Right.

So, yeah, you're you're living in L.A. You're taken care of on the NIL front. But if you want to go play in the NFL, you already won a Heisman. I mean, this is all it made no it made no sense to stay put.

It makes zero sense. He didn't play in his bowl game. He wasn't.

I don't think he ever was going. OK, so he waited to the last second and now I mean. Doesn't that happen all the time, though?

Guys like usually like wait, play up the drama. I definitely think, oh, I mean, Marvin Harrison Jr. did it last week. I mean, J.J. McCarthy did it Sunday. I think he waited until after they were finished with their celebrations and what have you.

I don't recall somebody who was the 1000 percent in my mind, with all due respect to Drake May and whoever's not drafting him one, I don't recall anybody who was the surefire first overall best like Trevor Lawrence in weight. Did he? I don't remember. They also did the had a lot of drama around his movement after he left Oklahoma. You know, it was like, hey, we're going to go. We're talking to Chip Kelly at UCLA. Good. By the way, good luck on the NIL front with anything you're trying to get out of UCLA. But also then it was like, hey, there's a coach that we know in Wisconsin who's going to be the offensive coordinator and there was, you know, chatter about that.

Like it didn't wasn't very like smooth. It was just there was a lot of there was a kind of a bumpy ride before he ended up reuniting with Lincoln Riley, which seemed like it was going to be the obvious move. So what are we going to hear? What are the red, the silly red flags we're going to hear in regards to him? So you know how it works. You know how this works.

What are we going to do? Probably the silliest one I would imagine will be, oh, he paints his fingernails. I mean, it's like he cried in his mother's arms or something like that, something silly like that when he was all upset about losing.

Yeah, that I'm sure that'll get that'll become a thing for a day or so. I mean, he's super talented. Everybody everybody I know who's worked with him thinks he's really bright, really, really bright. He's physically strong.

He's done everything to get himself ready for this. I just think, you know, it's going in the NFL and half the guys who they take more than half, you know, when it comes to quarterbacks don't live up to what they're doing. Some of its circumstance and it's some of it's like the adversity that you've never had before to that degree when it's real than when you're, you know, trying to be the face of a franchise. You know, I don't again, physically, I don't think they can ding here. I don't think they can ding him for anything, you know, like I just think, you know, I'm sure one day somebody will bring up, oh, here's the shots of him in the crowd with, you know, his mom sobbing after a game. It's like, look, the guy is, you know, really, you know, like invested in his program and everything there.

I don't have a problem with that by any stretch of the imagination. It's just, again, the question is going to be, does he look at the Bears and say, because they blew out their offensive staff, right? And that's the first thing they're going to have to do.

They're going to fill out that staff. So do you go bring Cliff Kingsbury in to run the offense? Yes, I mean, but why wouldn't you? Why wouldn't you at least consider it?

Would he do it? That's a great idea. I mean, yeah, set it up for him. And the minute you because you're going to have to hire a staff fast. There's a bunch of people, a bunch of teams that need OCs right now in the NFL.

So you're going to have to go and fill that thing out fast. And that is going to inform us, I think, on what their decision is going to be. Daniel Jeremiah thinks it's absolutely Caleb Williams. And I trust him. My two eyes say it's absolutely Caleb Williams. The eye in the sky tells me it's Caleb Williams. Maybe you get a second round pick for Justin. Justin, I think that's high.

I mean, they might I think they'd be lucky to get that. Depends on what Belichick wants to do in Atlanta. By the way, the biggest you mentioned CJ Stroud a minute ago, the biggest CJ Stroud sleuth or whatever, the one who was on to it way before is D.J. 's podcast buddy, Bucky. Well, Bucky coached him, you know, when he was in high school and saw him just kind of thrive.

So credit to Bucky because I think he would have wanted to been jumping on the Grainger desk more than anybody. Look at him. I've heard this thing all year by Trader Jones. You know what? I'm selling soap, too, brother. Thanks for coming on. Thanks for having me.

You are the man. That's Bruce Feldman right here on the Rich Eisen show. Everybody check out his pod and check out his writing in the Athletic. And then when he's back on Fox Sports, he will let us know. Our number three, Dolph Lundgren is in our green room. Is he really?

Oh, yeah. Dolph Lundgren is here. He's next.

He must break you, Bruce. See, you're not done yet. We still have two more minutes here.

We're still live. He is. That's right.

You don't usually stick around to the end of the hour. Dolph Lundgren was a huge thing for like the same age. Yeah.

When he or that generation, when Rocky came out. Is Dolph is he here yet? Is he physically here? I'm not sure.

I don't know. He might. I think he you might be crossing paths. He may break about that. He's got a new movie out that he's co-written and he produced it and he's directed it. He's in it. I mean, he's got a I can't wait to talk about this one. He's got a new series that debuts tonight on the Maximum Effort channel called Flip a Coin, where he does he flips a coin for 30 minutes. And I can't I mean, you just flipped a coin right there.

And you're not selling the soap very good. No, seriously, dude. I'm seriously. He flips a coin for 30 minutes.

Malin Ackerman, his fellow Swede, she she she narrates it and heads three times in a row. Oh, my God. So, yeah, he's coming in here. And please, you know, we're going to have you as much as you're willing to come in here because there's still so much to talk about with this draft, because, you know, you know, at some point, Drake May is going to he's going to get pushed up being talked about. He's worthy of being number one overall, too. I think Jayden Daniels will get hyped up. I'm sure that's going to happen. By the way, Cliff Kingsbury going to be the O.C. in Chicago.

Why would you not like that if you're embarrassed? Hell, yeah. All in on that. You could take Roma Dunes a ninth. There you go. That's that would be pretty wild. Leave the offensive lineman for the Jets.

Bruce Feldman here, everybody. See that? Watch what Lala is talking about on YouTube or search for give them Lala wherever you listen.