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Learn more at americanexpress.com slash Amex Business. This is the Rich Eisen Show. How about no cowboys? The Rich Eisen Show. Rush in trouble. Strip sack, touchdown! Scoop, score! Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. We just aren't playing very well.
It happens we're doing that at home. Today's guests, host of the Glory Days podcast, Johnny Manziel, Chargers head coach Jim Harpaugh, Army head coach Jeff Moncken, actor Alexander Ludwig, plus latest news and more. And now, it's Rich Eisen.
That's right, that's right, that's correct. And here we are, live on the Roku Sports Channel. This Rich Eisen Show terrestrial radio affiliate Sirius XM Odyssey, Tune In, and so much more. We're gonna have a great show today here on the Rich Eisen Show. I know it.
It's not just because of our guest list. Johnny Manziel's gonna walk through the door in about 20 minutes, expected. We got two red hot head coaches. Jim Harpaugh of your Los Angeles Chargers, seven and three, fresh off a beat in the Bengals, getting ready for the Har Bowl. He'll be joining us, top of hour number two. And then we've got Jeff Moncken, the head coach of undefeated Army football, getting set to take on Notre Dame and Yankee Stadium.
Those are all proper names and nouns that are facts. And then the actor Alexander Ludwig walks in studio in hour number three. Then there's you, 844204 Rich, number to tell. Then there's overreaction Monday on a Tuesday. That's still to come.
Our overreaction Monday podcast is out there for everybody to check out on our YouTube channel or wherever you get your podcasts, including all three hours of this program. I also know we're gonna have a great show because we just about 15 minutes ago unplugged the show and plugged it back in. And we're great. And it's awesome.
We reset, we had a reset. It's gonna be awesome. Chris Brockman, good to see you over there. Hey Rich, what's up? Good to see Jay Fellee in his position. Good to see you, Jay. I like it. TJ Jefferson, how are you, sir? Good to see you. I mean, I'm great, I guess. These are the days, back in the day, you would be holding up a grease board saying how about them Cowboys?
Win or lose, I would hold up that grease board. Right now, right now. Now I just don't care either.
Right now, you just don't, you don't have it anymore. I'm beat down, Rich, I'm beat down. And it's time for our Monday night review presented by Lowe's, our usual Tuesday segment to start the program. Poor TJ. Let me just say this, sorry, Houston Texans. I know you got your win. I know you ended your two game losing streak. I know you're looking good. I know you're feeling good.
I know you got your concerns. I know you got the win that you needed. Got your Nico back.
But unfortunately, yeah, you got your Nico back. Okay, unfortunately you lost to the Cowboys, which means we've got a, and the national sports media talk about that. Certainly when they've lost five in a row.
Certainly when they're all in season. That we've been talking about ever since Jerry Jones said the words were going all in on the 2024 season at the Senior Bowl. That's where it was born. The Senior Bowl. Prior to the Super Bowl, that Senior Bowl in Alabama, back in January. When I think Jim Harbaugh was still the coach of Michigan. I don't know if I have my dates right, but it was right around the same time. And the all in season for the Dallas Cowboys has turned into, has devolved, has fallen apart to the point where the Dallas Cowboys are someone else's get right game.
Especially in the Jones Mall. Drapes open, drapes closed, doesn't matter. Roof open, for a split moment, roof closed. And I know everybody was making hay with the fact that the roof was literally caving in. Bad, bad, I know, right?
Bad, bad optic. That they opened the roof for the first time in two years and stuff fell down. Thank God nobody got hurt. And then the game started. And again, the Dallas Cowboys season has devolved into becoming someone else's get right game. And it's also come to the point where you're praising the Cowboys for not having it cave in fast. They actually hung in there.
I mean, at one point, I'm doing the Westwood one halftime on the radio. And I'm pointing out, hey, the Cowboys gave up 14 to start the game. And just when you thought the boat race was on again in their home, they actually hung in there. Mistakes and all. Brandon Albury actually missed a field goal. He actually hit an upright.
He didn't split them. And even with all that, they're down seven. And case in point, take a look at what the Jaguars did in Detroit. It caved in on them fast and then they just- It was over.
Non-compete from there on out. Dallas showing some backbone. That's not the way you're supposed to talk about the Dallas Cowboys. Not on a Monday night against the Texans whose fans were all over the yard. That's not supposed to happen.
And then the roof did cave in, figuratively. And it started to fall apart because Dak's up there with a headset and he surgically repaired a hamstring. And Cooper Rush is trying to make something happen. I mean, the guy did have 354 yards passing, but you know, 55 attempts, that's not what you want out of Cooper Rush. It would be very helpful to have a run game, which they don't have. That's part of the all-in season.
It would be very helpful to have somebody other than CeeDee Lamb. Part of the issue is Brandon Cooks took a shot to his knee and there was an infection that's kept him out ever since the early parts of this season. That's been part of the all-in season. You know, Kavanti Turpin did have a nice touchdown grab where he, according to next gen stats, had the fastest miles per hour. He reached almost 23, 24 miles an hour running to the end zone.
It's the fastest of the decade. So you have fast players, you just can't find them. Micah Parsons is out there trying to make plays, overshone.
It just doesn't matter right now because it's too inconsistent, too mistake-filled. And part of that is because the roster is thin. And they also just, they're unbalanced.
They're all over the map. And these are numbers that shouldn't be read out loud, but I'll read it to you. Cowboys 0-5 at home. They're allowing 37.4 points per game at home this year with a turnover margin of minus 11.
So I hope the fans that come to the stadium to watch the players eat and work out are getting their entertainment there because it sure isn't happening on the field. They're one of two teams without a home win this season so far as we enter week 12. The other is a team you do not want to be associated with in the NFC East. The New York Giants are also 0-5 at home and onto their backup quarterback. So, first time Jerry Jones has ever started a season 0-5 at home. That includes the year they had one win. They've allowed 25 or more points in five consecutive games. That's the longest streak in the NFL. They've trailed by at least 20 points in six straight home games, starting with the loss that caused the all-in season. Wild card one and dunning by the Green Bay Packers. That's where we are. And the coach who is part of the all-in season by having no more contractual years after this one was asked, what's up with this at home?
Five straight losses now, five in a row at home. How do you explain? Can you explain any of this or you're- Explain it?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think the reality, it's very frustrating. It's frustrating for everybody. Frustrating for the players, frustrating for the coaches. I know it's, you know, it's disappointing for the fans, but we just, we have a lot of moving parts going on and we just have to be cleaner and more detailed in certain spots. We're not playing well enough or, you know, execute well enough, coaching well enough to overcome some of the mistakes we're making at critical times in the game. So, you know, just even in the first half, you know, we had some opportunities there to get some more points and didn't get it done.
We just had to play cleaner in these tight spots and we did not do that tonight. Bless that guy, man. I mean, did you see the beginning of that soundbite where they asked him to explain it and he went, explain it? And then caught himself and got into coach speak mode.
So let me do Mike McCarthy, the favor here. What were they really thinking? Explain it.
Explain it. Do you see who's up there where they surgically repaired a hamstring? Did you see the fact that when he had an intact hamstring, we did not have an intact complimentary football team? Because I don't have a running back past a ghost of Zeke Elliott and Rico Dowdle? I had to put Dalvin Cook on the active roster and he's back on the practice squad for a reason. I'm not playing Trey Lance for a reason. I don't have somebody past CeeDee Lamb. I'm down a tight end three. I didn't have Micah Parsons for a month plus. And sure, could I be coaching better? Yeah, I get it.
But you go coach a group of grown ass men who know you don't have a contract pass this year. Brandon Aubrey went on jury duty. Did you see the article? Could you imagine Mike McCarthy saying, you see the article on ESPN.com?
I read that deep dive before the game. Todd Archer's reporting that my guy was on jury duty, came at seven o'clock at night. We had to send him outside of the star to go kick. The lights weren't on, the sprinklers went off and he couldn't kick one time because Jerry had the kids playing on the star. Explain it, go talk to Jerry.
And scene. Problem is talking to Jerry, the question is if Mike McCarthy's lost the locker room. This was the Jane Slater show with the owner, Jerry Jones after the game. Do you ever see any wisdom and a change of voices in there coming from the top? Well, I have made a change and I've never, I've made a change early and on a coach with Chan Gailey and I've always regretted that. And I've made a change during the season and I've regretted that.
And so that's the music I'm listening to. But given some of the time that Mike's already had here in Dallas, do you feel like the voice is falling on deaf ears to some extent? What boy? Do you feel like he's lost the locker room at all? Well, it's not so that lost the locker room. I remember John Madden and Al Davis called me after we won one game the very first year and he said, well, at least you didn't lose the team or the locker room.
I said, well, what's that? How do you lose a team? You've misplaced them on the road or what?
And I'm not trying to be cute here, but they say, well, you didn't lose it. Well, I can tell you in there right now with the kind of careers a bunch of those guys have, a kind of the prospects of their futures, the competitors they are, I don't worry one ounce about losing anything as far as in the family of losing a team. Listen, I think the team needs a hard reset.
Right. I think that the hard reset is somebody like Belichick or Vrabel. Just hand it off. Work with them. Obviously, Jerry and the Joneses have a way to run the team. And they run the team like you run your fantasy team. Like you're not going to hire somebody else to run your fantasy team for you. You're the GM.
You're the owner. That's what they do. They do that. And they find some really good players. But the way of it being done the way that it's been done, signing guys late, generationally enriching them late, and building the roster under the manner that it is, the all-in season is an utter failure, utter failure. It's not working. It's not working. And obviously, the football gods keep kicking them in the nards with some injuries.
But a lot of teams suffer those. It's just not working. It's not working to have the coach having no extra games past this year, no extra years past this year.
Just not working. He needs a hard reset. Needs Belichick, I think. With all due respect to Mike McCarthy, part of him has to wake up saying, I don't want to keep going on like this.
I wouldn't blame him if he does that. I know he loves to coach. He's a coach. All coaches just are lifers.
And that's the other thing, too. Not as if Jerry Jones would ask for my 2 cents or require it. But the idea of saying, those guys in the locker room who have their futures are on the line around here, some of them might just go, who cares?
I'll go somewhere else. They might love playing in Dallas. They love living in Dallas.
They might love Jerry Jones and playing on his team. But after a while, it's just like, I'm getting my brains beaten in over here. And that's the way that you continue to lose games. And yes, lose a locker room. But they didn't lose. I mean, that's why I'm saying, I can't recall the Cowboys being like this, where it's just like, hey, at least they didn't give up until it looks like the third quarter.
At least they kept fighting. There's someone else's homecoming right now, and that shouldn't be for the Dallas Cowboys, period. End of story. Let's take a break.
I just heard some, oh, pardon me, sorry, before we take that break. That was our Monday night review presented by Lowe's, official partner of the NFL. It's easier to make the right calls with the right team. So kick off your next home improvement project with Lowe's.
Lowe's knows home improvement. Johnny Manziel's in our green room. Before we bring him out, there is breaking news. The Jets have fired somebody else.
We'll get to that after Johnny Manziel. I just I don't I don't know what they're doing. I don't know what's happening.
I don't understand it. Yeah, I'm talking Jets or Cowboys. Well, I think the Cowboys, the Cowboys, I understand why it's happening.
I don't know. And I don't I don't know the Jets plan, man. Oh, I know what's going on there. But, Rich, we both need factory resets on this season. I know that I think you're you're you're going to get yours. I don't know if the Jets are going to get theirs.
Because the guy who I think the Cowboys need to factor factory reset with isn't going to come to the Jets. That's true. Ever.
That is very ever when I say ever. I mean, this world can actually implode. And by the way, stay tuned. And be reconstituted. And Belichick still wouldn't go to the Jets. Let's take a break. Bring them out. Yeah, let's go.
Johnny Manziel's got a new podcast produced and distributed by almost Friday media called Glory Days. We'll talk about that next. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance, fiscally responsible financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds because Progressive offers discounts for paying in full, owning a home and more. Plus, you can count on their great customer service to help you when you need it.
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Not available in all states or situations. For business owners like you, the American Express Business Platinum Card works just as hard as you do to help you pursue your passions with its world class business and travel benefits. You can get more for your business wherever it takes you. The Amex Business Platinum Card offers a flexible spending limit that adapts with your business, enabling you to flex and adapt as your business evolves. And you'll earn five times membership rewards points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on Amex Travel dot com so that going that extra mile for your business is even more rewarding. See how the Amex Business Platinum Card gives business owners like you the tools and rewards to do more of what you love. Not all purchases will be approved.
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O O O'Reilly Auto Parts. Back here on the Rich Eisen Show, Roku Sports Channel feed. Our radio audience will rejoin us in less than two minutes time since the first of two times. I welcome for the first time here in our studio, Johnny Manziel. Good to see you, brother.
Good to see you. You got it. Podcaster Johnny Manziel. Host Johnny Manziel, right? Yeah, so far.
Interviewer Johnny Manziel. So far. Look at you. You're on the Q side of the Q&A. I am.
I am. How's that for you? How's that going for you? It's been interesting.
It's definitely been a little taking a little bit of time to getting used to it for sure. I've spent so many years on the other side of it. I was about to say, do you have more respect for the Q side of it?
Yeah, no, I definitely do. I think, you know, getting the chance to sit down and be the guy on the other side of things is an interesting take for sure. OK, and who have you interviewed so far that you're so far? I sat down with Teyvon Austin, you know, one of the legends of college football. Sure. Had LaShawn McCoy on, Greg Oden, Lindale White coming out this week.
So I've got some white. Yeah, so I've got some some an interesting cast of, you know, some legendary college athletes, I feel like. Have you ever met LaShawn McCoy before or are you friends with him? Just in passing, I think throughout the years, you know, you go to a lot of events, you see a lot of guys, you get the chance to meet some guys. But Shady was great, an interesting character for sure.
And Greg Oden, too. What did you talk about with him? You know, I think there's there's a lot of similarities of things that we've been through in our lives. Just, you know, struggle of, you know, having an ambition of a goal of turning a career into something that doesn't always necessarily go the way that you anticipated or the way that you think. And then, you know, kind of what comes from that.
You know, there's still a lot of other life that is left to be lived after after your football or your basketball or whatever your career and the sporting world kind of end. So interesting to hear his take on on, you know, how life was, you know, when basketball wasn't there anymore. And it's called, again, produced and distributed by almost Friday Media Glory Days. New episodes drop every single Thursday, and it premiered back in October back on the Rich Eisen Show radio network sitting at the Rich Eisen Show desk furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry. Grainger has the right product for you.
Call clickgranger.com or just stop by. Again, there are new episodes of the new podcast that started back in October. Glory Days every single Thursday interviewing sports legends as they reminisce about some of the more remarkable moments and eras in sports that are still remembered and beloved by fans today.
Produced and distributed by almost Friday Media, the host of that pod. Johnny Manziel is here on the Rich Eisen Show. It's worthy of applause again.
Yeah, absolutely. The first freshman to ever win the Heisman, Manning and Davey O'Brien trophies in the same year back in the day. And the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner is is here. So when was the first time you realized you were pretty damn good at the football?
Johnny, when was that happen? You know, I had some standout years in high school. I was a late bloomer, late player into the football world. I didn't really start until seventh grade.
So it wasn't something I did when I was really young. I was a baseball guy my whole life growing up. Yeah, baseball playing what?
But middle infield. I thought that's really what I what I was, you know, the best at what I wanted. You have a little pop. You have a little pop.
Yeah, I could hit a little bit. But football kind of came in, took over. And just from there, it was just all all football all the time for the most part. So who's the one who basically said forget that baseball thing?
I think my parents are always really supportive of me doing whatever I really want to do. So I think more than anything, it was me. You know, I think I had more fun, you know, getting hit, being a guy who you know, I got a lot more of a thrill out of football for sure. Playing quarterback, though, when did you start that?
Was that? I always played quarterback from from kind of the time that I ever really started. I don't think I really started taking off and growing into the quarterback position probably until I got into high school. I got in a great system around some great coaches who ran a spread offense that was that was, you know, perfectly suited, perfectly tailored for, you know, what I felt like I was good at. And then in front of the 12th man, which again, you know, all the Aggies, whenever I mentioned the 12th man in Seattle for the Seahawks, they get very pissed off at me. Very, very pissed off. What was that moment like for you in front of a home crowd for Texas A&M football for the first time for you?
Yeah, it doesn't it doesn't get any better. My first time I got a chance to play on, you know, a 330 CBS slate of, you know, a big time SEC game against Florida. So, you know, any time we step foot into Kyle Field and got a chance to play in that stadium in front of, you know. Kyle Field, Aggieland is some of the greatest fans, you know, as as you see on a week to week basis. So, you know, it couldn't be more energy, couldn't be more excitement.
It couldn't be more just passion within that within that program and within that place. What would you have made in NIL? I would have probably made a good amount.
You know, I need a numbers. What do you think you would have made in name, image and likeness? I mean, I think I probably could have made five to 10 million, probably somewhere in there to be able to, you know, in that day and age, being able to have social media and be able to, you know, have the stardom that I feel like I had in college. You know, it definitely could have been lucrative. Just just a little bit outside of that window, pretty much. Yeah, a few years.
Definitely. When was the first time you did the the money sign? I don't think I did it until 2013.
So I did it in my second year. It's kind of a thing that we had between some guys on our team and then, you know, did it in the game and it kind of took off and created a little bit of a life of its own. So what was the genesis of the of it? You know, I think just in practice, a couple of guys making some good plays and just, you know, something we kind of did within the, you know, inner workings of our team a little bit.
And, you know, it took off and it's definitely stuck around for a long time. And you had some obviously terrific teammates. One of them is a, in my mind, first Ballot Hall of Famer Mike Evans. What was what was the first time you ever met him connected with him? What's your good Mike Evans story? Man, just getting the chances to watch him come in as we came in the same time, both, you know, as freshmen coming in and be able to watch him grow and get to the point of where he is today. He was always that physically, you know, dominant, even though as a guy who, you know, didn't really he's really come into the wide receiver position.
You know, he was a very raw talent whenever he got to Texas A&M. But, you know, unbelievable work ethic, unbelievable receiver and a guy right now who has done things in the NFL that are just mind blowing to me. Consistencies there every day is a great teammate. So, you know, he's definitely a guy that I keep up with and definitely, you know, try to watch on Sundays. Do you do keep in touch with Mike Evans? Yeah, me and Mike will always be close.
We'll always be good friends. And, you know, proud of him. Couldn't be more proud of him. And Baker's his guy now. Yeah, I think they have a great, great rapport, great connection. Obviously, he's been a little banged up this year, which has been tough. You know, he's always dealt with a little bit of some hamstring problems, even going all the way back to our days at A&M. So, you know, hopefully he gets the chance to get healthy, get back on the field.
And, you know, I'm hoping he can find a way to maybe still crack that thousand yard season this year, even though it's going to be tough. You chatted up with Baker in the Heisman house at any point in time? Whenever we see each other, we still we still we still chop it up a little bit. What's it like doing those spots? That's great. The the Heisman guys in that fraternity and the people that are in there are just, you know, absolutely amazing from the from the older legends to the guys, you know, who I played against or around the same time, same age as me. So, you know, it's a special experience to be able to, you know, have a good laugh. They're all pretty funny to be able to, you know, do those spots. And and, you know, for me, I love it.
It's a blessing. Who would you meet that you you're like, OK, that's pretty cool. And anytime you get a chance to be around like Bo Jackson or or, you know, it's just a surreal experience, you know, having, you know, seen highlights of this guy, what he was able to do, what kind of player he was just really off the map of just legendary status. So, you know, anytime you see Barry Sanders walking around or ever run into him, it's it's.
It's pretty sick. So another baseball guy who played as a hobby, right? Just just like you. Yeah, just like you.
Exactly. He had a little I think the guy had more talent in his pinky than I did. I would go up to him and he's been on the show before. And I wished we had more than just 15 minutes with him, with Bo Jackson.
Yeah. So what do you talk about when you do you go up to him, you pick his brain, you just you just sit there, sit around and just swap stories. I think more than anything, just get a chance to go up and just check in, see how things are doing, just be able to swap some stories. Obviously, a little bit about, you know, I try and and, you know, obviously ask about, you know, some legendary times, the things that you've seen him do and pick and pick his brain and see what it was really like on the field or or off the field. Yeah, I mean, I mean, definitely, definitely on the field, I think, for the most part. Just trying to dig in there and see what the what you guys talk at the Heisman House, just walking around where there's there's Dez, there's you, there's Baker, there's what Eddie George walking around.
There's all these guys walking. Do you ever talk about whether they voted for you or not? Does that ever come up in a conversation?
Maybe, you know, in the year that I want it, maybe sometime around then when you first get a chance to like meet the guys and stuff. But, you know, after that, I think after that, I think we're more on like current topics that we talk about, more about who they're watching this year, who they think they're going to vote for this year and just, you know, seeing kind of who we're going to welcome in next. Who do you who do you think? Man, you know, obviously, Travis Hunter's having a great season.
He's the favorite right now. I've I really think that it's, you know, what Ashton Gente has been doing at Boise State has been, you know, as impressive as impressive as it gets week in and week out, just putting up absolute numbers in the clinic and, you know, has Boise State and the real chance to be able to make it into the playoffs this year. It's amazing you just mentioned two players who don't play quarterback. Yeah, right. So which quarterback do you think should at least get to New York?
How does that sound? I think probably Cam Ward. You know, I think the way he's played at Miami this year, you know, the way he plays the game of football, I think he's a guy that's probably deserving to be in New York. You know, they've had some close games and close calls that he's really, you know, played well enough to dig them out and really get them some wins and some situations that maybe, you know, they didn't deserve. Yeah, I mean, just watching him in the final five, 10 minutes of a game. It's unbelievable some of the things that you're that you're seeing him. Yeah, no, the Virginia Tech game was was one where he really, you know, kind of willed them back into into that win and didn't look like they were going to get it done. So, you know, just the effortless he plays with football really effortlessly.
Right. You see him out there. It just looks like he's kind of floating. He makes it look pretty easy. And, you know, listen, no disrespect to Ashton Genti or Cam Ward or any of the other quarterbacks.
Watching Travis Hunter doing what he's doing, that's like a unicorn. You know what I mean? Like playing 100 snaps at least. I mean, that's that's a minimum. I might be under undercounting the number of snaps that he plays in a game. Right. And the plays that he makes that changes a game on either side. I mean, we're and he's playing more offense than Charles Woodson ever did.
Yeah. No, I mean, like we haven't seen anything like this. You know, we haven't seen anything where a guy is playing, you know, 100 snaps a game, 50 and 50, and really making an impact on both sides of the ball. And I think you just see it, you know, almost every single week. This guy's just he's going to be something special, especially when he gets to the next level, I believe, too. Do you think he can do that at the next level? Um, I mean, that would be the first time that we've ever really kind of see that. You know, I think as you get into the NFL and as you see with these guys, they're probably, you know, you might have some packages or a couple of, you know, formations or something that you would see. Right.
Put it in a minute receiver. But I don't think it's a full time thing that you can really do at the next level. You don't think so, huh? No, I don't.
Do you? Um, I think Dion is building him for that purpose. I think Dion is definitely 100 percent.
I can't wait to get Prime on the show in the next couple of weeks to basically just. Pick his brain on on his thoughts on it. I think he he thinks the kid can do it if I had a guess and that the kid probably wants to try it.
Yeah. The only question is, is he going to have a coaching staff that would allow it or it's just so physically in the same way that Dion is doing right now, because Dion's fostering it right now. And you could see the results. But, you know, there's more grown ass men at the next level. It's definitely a more physical tolling, you know, game at the next level to be able to go and do that and put that many snaps on your body and be able to, you know, do it on both sides of the ball. Time in and time out, I think would be it would be tough. But I think if anybody's got close enough to being able to do it, it's definitely him. Yeah, I think I think Dion is probably, you know, creating him in this lab with the idea of at least attempting it and at least telling some coaches, you know, when he's at the combine or in these interviews to say, hey, I want to try it. You know, and maybe a team might pass on him for that.
But I doubt it. I doubt he's so incredibly talented. I would vote for him for the Heisman. Is that is that who you would? I know you're counseled not to say these things publicly, but go ahead.
If you if you want, I mean, I think I still want to kind of, you know, I let the whole season regular season play itself out. But no, he's definitely at the top of the list right now with, you know, him and Jinty, I think are neck and neck. You know, it's every single week checking the box score and kind of both of those guys and being able to see, you know, the highlights and kind of what they put out on film for the week before.
But, you know, two guys who are who are, I think, neck and neck. Do you ever cross paths with prime Johnny Mansell? It's been a while. We did we did in the past of my family's in Dallas.
He was in Frisco. So every now and then run into each other. We've always had a good relationship if we ever run into each other.
He couldn't be more nice, couldn't be more, you know, great to me and always has been since, you know, probably 2012. Johnny Mansell here. Everybody catches new pod glory days every single Thursday.
You can listen to new episodes, YouTube, Spotify, Apple, wherever you get your podcasts produced and distributed by almost Friday Media. A couple more minutes left with with Johnny right here on the Rich Eisen show. What would you tell yourself on draft night? Sitting here now, if you could make that phone call to your phone that you were sitting there on draft night, what would you have told yourself? I would have probably told myself to relax a little bit and just, you know, trust the process and where where things are going to go. You know, I think I was so, you know, worried and anxious at that time in my life of, you know, necessarily feeling like I had to be a first round pick or I had to be this or I had to be that. And I think I would have probably enjoyed the moment a little more. You know, I think if I would go back in time, I don't know if I would go to the NFL draft. I think I would have been better for me to spend it with my family and kind of be be somewhere else.
It was a little bit of a whirlwind looking back on it now. But, you know, just just to enjoy the moment a little bit more and not to be so stressed. You know, I put in a lot of work before the draft to be able to put myself in a position, put a lot of good things on tape to be able to get drafted. So, you know, just kind of to be a little more calm. I've been meaning to ask you these questions.
I'm glad you're sitting here for years. Did you think the Cowboys were coming to catch? I did. Is that pick was was kind of going by at 16? You know, the people around my circle in my camp, my agent, you know, they didn't have really any, you know, thought or like, you know, that that was going to even remotely be the case at all.
But, you know, me just being, you know, a Texas guy having grown up liking the Cowboys, you know, I think there was always like a thought that if I was sitting there at that point in time, that maybe it would have happened. Did you meet with Jerry pre pre draft? No, never did. No, never did. Anybody with the Cowboys pre draft?
No, I don't think so. OK. What about the Browns? Did you meet with anybody? Yeah, I met with the Browns, you know, once at the combine and then again and immediately in college station. Did you ever meet the person who apparently on the street told the owner of the Browns to draft you? I definitely did. Is that a true story? I definitely didn't.
I'm not sure. You don't even know if that's true, huh? Because that's the story is, you know, that somebody was a big fan of yours and and told the the Browns ownership. Go ahead and draft them.
Yeah, I remember I remember seeing something like that, but no, I never, I never got a fact check on it. So I'm going to go straight up the flagpole for that one. So what would you tell your your training camp self if you could go back in time right now?
Johnny? You know, I think for me, I would have blocked off, you know, a lot of my a lot of my other life, a lot of my outside life. And really, you know, it was a huge transition for me just getting into the difference in, you know, this play style, play calling, the way the NFL offense kind of works, you know, at Texas A&M.
It couldn't have been more easy. Couldn't have been more free flowing of a spread offense and one that, you know, when I got to the NFL was it was a really big adjustment for me. You know, I think I spent, you know, a couple of months just getting into, you know, where you get your eyes on certain plays, reading coverage, you know, just being able to, you know, it took me a while to be able to learn the game a little bit. And one that I really didn't feel like, you know, I started to get a good grip on until, you know, you know, after a training camp my second year. So I think, you know, after being as successful as I was in college and really being able to kind of, you know, breeze through at times a little bit, I wish I would have put just a little bit more effort into that training camp self.
Yeah. And so what do you think when you look back, when you think about your career? What, you don't do it too much? Do you ever look back?
Of course I do. I mean, I'm still a guy who watches, you know, NFL football, you know, college football every weekend. I'm still pretty, you know, dialed into it for the most part. And it's it's tough. You know, you see guys that you're drafted with that are still playing.
You see guys like, you know, played with Mike Evans, guys still on his 11th year or whatever it is. And, you know, it's something that you miss. It's something that, you know, you wish things would have gone differently. And I think for me, you know, there's just things I wish I would have done differently. At times, I have a little bit of regret, you know, obviously moved on a lot with my life now and in a place where, you know, I still feel good and still feel happy even without the game of football being there.
But, you know, there is always a regret and always a wish and a hope that, you know, I would have done things better, done things the right way and been able to have a little bit longer career doing something that I genuinely love. So who do you want on your pond? Who's on your wish list, Johnny? Man, you know, I think I sat down with Matt Leiner. That was something that was really cool for me, a Heisman guy. So I think for me to be able to have some of the Heisman guys on there will be something that I'll be looking forward to the most. Just being able to, you know, share that with them, go through their Heisman years, be able to talk about it a little bit for me, I think is something that I'm super interested in. So what would you ask yourself about remarkable moments in sports, if you could? Like, what was yours? What was yours? You know, I got a chance to do some really amazing things, play some amazing games against some unbelievable talent. You know, an Alabama game always will stick right in my in my memory, in my mind of, you know, what it felt like walking off that that field that day and beat the number one team in the country and get four bills, man.
You put you put four bills on them. Yeah. And Evans had, I think, like 260 yards. You had like a Jamar Chase game. Had some had some good, good battles with with Coach Saban in Alabama. So, you know, just getting a chance to play in the SEC and getting a chance to play at an amazing school like A&M, I think, you know, just just got a chance to make some great memories, some ones that still last and stick around. Did you cross paths with Saban on the field after that game? I did a little bit, but I got a chance to go on college game day this year and get a chance to talk to him a little bit and hang around him. So what a great coach, what a legend of the game and somebody that was really fun to get a chance to play against. I bet you he remembered every snap of that game. I'm sure he did. He definitely razzed me a little bit and said it was better to be, you know, sitting up on that booth with him there than having to go and play against him.
And and, you know, what a legend. Dude, you and McAfee would have been a great hang. That's for sure.
For sure. Did you hang with McAfee at all? I didn't get a chance. I didn't get a chance to really know him back in the day. But, you know, it was awesome to get a chance to be on game day with him. He's he's electric. Yeah, it's he's really brought some life to that whole college game. They said it's fun to watch on Saturday.
Yeah, man. So who's so who would be on your wish list? I get asked that all the time.
Who do you want to have on your show? And, you know, so this is your pod now. You get out there and get a chance to kind of, you know, run and control it a little bit. There you go.
Call your own place. Yeah, I think I think one that I'll be looking forward to the most, it'll be the most special is probably having Mike on. I think that's somebody that, you know, I want to be able to sit down and talk about, you know, what we went through at A&M, you know, the legendary things that we got to do together.
And then obviously what he's doing now. So I think that's somebody, even though you know him, even though it's a good friend for me, you know, I think it'll be something that will be cool to do. I is he the only guy on the planet who can say I caught footballs from Johnny Manziel and Tom Brady? Maybe I'm trying. I'm going through my head right now.
How many? Good one. I'm wondering how many other guys can say such a thing. Yeah, that's that's Johnny Manziel. I beat Alabama catching footballs from Johnny Manziel and I beat Kansas City catching footballs from Tom Brady.
That's not bad at all. Johnny, I think the thing about your story that I like is isn't the story, you know, you started the year, you could walk home after games and then you beat Alabama and you need a police escort. Like is anyone ever ready for that type of catapult to fame? Yeah, I think it's it was definitely, you know, an overnight rise, definitely an overnight change in my life.
And, you know, I don't know if anybody's ever ready for it. You know, I think at the point in time of when I was in school, when I was in college, you know, social media was just starting to get big. It was just the changing of kind of the way the world works a little bit. So I think I was, you know, right in the thick of it.
I think maybe guys are a little bit more prepared for it now. And I know at the time that I definitely wasn't. TJ, what about your meteoric rise to fame?
People are stopping you in the street now, right? That's only because of you though. I feel like I'm the Johnny Manziel of this equation right here. I should start making, I should start going like this. Johnny, congrats on your pod. Again, every single Thursday, you can listen to new episodes of Glory Days produced and distributed by Almost Friday Media.
Get it wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for coming in here, man. Appreciate you. Thanks for having me.
Anytime. That's Johnny Manziel right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Our next guest is Jim Harbaugh.
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up for your one dollar per month trial period at Shopify.com slash Westwood one all lowercase go to Shopify.com slash Westwood one to upgrade your selling today Shopify.com slash Westwood one Anthony Anderson he's over there with tj right now he told a story we're back live on the air by the way put the photograph up yeah we're back put the photograph up Anthony do you got is he still wearing his mic okay yeah just real quick tell the story can you tell the story real fast so we're in Monaco uh the international uh television festival and Prince Albert yeah and Prince Albert is is is I'm friendly with Prince Albert so when you're at when you're at the castle when you're at the palace yeah you're not allowed to take pictures and so we're taking pictures and they're like they come stop me and I was like no Prince Albert said we can take I can take pictures and they shrink away and so I go to every black person there and you saw the group I was 50 cent myself tj um yeah so um I was like hey guys we're gonna take a black picture at the palace and they were like what I said we're gonna take a black picture at the palace and they're like okay and they're like when I was like you'll know when so 10 5 or 10 minutes later people in various conversations I was like okay it's time to take the picture so I just give the call and people are mid-conversations into the oh I'll be right back I gotta go take the black picture so we all gather around the steps in the back one more time in the middle getting someone's phone number too yeah so we're in the middle and we just we go in the back and you know we we take a picture Jesse Smollett 50 cent myself my wife tj tj Jefferson tj now the rich isin show yeah from from monaco to elsa gundell some people are not ready for that type of thing tj jefferson stay ready is ready for that type of thing from monaco to elsa gundell yeah our buddy tom person made that for you fantastic back here on the rich isin show radio network sleep number go to a sleep number store near you right now certainly if you're in a market for a new bed you should stop at a sleep number store because they will make sure that your body's pressure points are assessed and recommend a bed at every price point that is just right for you and you can find a mattress there that is just right for you for sure because you can adjust your sleep number bed to the exact side you want for firmness or not my sleep number setting is 60 susie's is 70 10 numbers apart but it is the world of difference again stop by a sleep number store near you right now go ahead hit it go ahead here it comes am i i see breaking news the jets have fired their general manager joe douglas i i i i i feel like that seinfeld episode where i am without speech i have no speech i am without speech there's no speech who fires a general manager in between weeks 11 and 12 like like fans are going to be happy to see that head on a pike is that what we're doing we're hey hey really talented players that the general manager drafted that's not performing very well perform better otherwise you'll wind up like the general manager who wisely drafted you is that is that the message honestly you got the rookies of the year on both sides of the football two years ago in that locker room yeah you know i i the kid fashion who who the jets drafted in the first round this year started at left tackle this week he's been all over the line he's been doing terrific work and stuff's just not working out i i i mean i i don't get it i don't understand it you fire your coach in between week five and six at two and three you only win one game six and then let's fire the general manager in the middle of the in the middle of the the season i i don't know i'm like i sit here and i wonder like did they tell him that did was he being is he being told by ownership to cut people and he refused to do it and then so it's insubordinate and we're gonna fire you we know we're gonna fire you anyway let's clear house now normally i'd say that that that that's an indication to some coach that's out there that's saying um you know i want this i want that in terms of um shopping for groceries so you fire the grocery shopper now to send an indication that that's the case and the only guy that you would make such a statement for is bill belicheck and there is a warm place that would have to freeze over um like antarctica on top of the arctic times greenland um you know and then to the uh um iceland degree like that's that's how much it would have to freeze over before he takes the job for the jets with woody johnson his owner and i think woody would know that too i don't get it i don't understand it i don't know the point of it normally again when you make these changes in the middle of a season it's as a message to the fan base that don't give up on us where we we hear you you're not happy neither are we so we're making this message and so now you've got an interim head coach who's calling play unacceptable and taking responsibility for it like he's got five years left on a contract and a general manager that's out uh i i guess you don't have to make roster moves here is there an interim gm is there such a thing speaking of like bring this whole segment full circle it's like a castanza thing you're the assistant to the interim general manager the traveling secretary of the interim general manager is that is there such a thing right now i mean orlovsky tweeted out um you know complete joke or clown show whatever i don't yeah i and that's the general sense of what's going on and aaron rogers knew it he basically said when he got there that if it doesn't work out everyone's going to get fired i just don't think he thought it would go so poorly in year two after blowing out his achilles in year one that um that they would fire both the coach and gm and the gm i would imagine got the stamp of ownership's approval to go get aaron rogers since it was on his plane that they flew out to malibu to start the conversations with the coach who got fired in between weeks five and six this year and all of the moves that were made to support rogers's arrival by getting some of his band together and the coaching staff to the manner of his liking and comfort level i mean they did all the moves like uh i i i don't know like if if if you're going to get fired uh i i i don't know like if if he had a brawny aged son they would have gotten him on the roster too you know what i mean like they were setting everything up to his liking and comfort level it's not like joe douglas went rogue to do it right to the point where he needs to lose his job between weeks 11 and 12 devante adams he went rogue on that one really and again i don't know if the firing means he's gone rogue i i just don't know what the plan is here maybe they're getting this done now because um the owner of the jets is going to accept a post starting in january so you get this done now before he leaves the country so everything is set up kind of there is a rule named after a previous ambassador to ireland and the obama administration that you have to follow i don't think you could speed the process again i'm i'm just i'm throwing darts here to try to understand it i i i said it yesterday it is the most disappointing in a jet season i can remember where there's so much excitement and the roster is terrific i guess you know jets are on a buy and they decided no point in dragging it out let's just send him home he and sola could go you know help the floor's offense i don't know i guess you rip the band-aid off but it i i don't know what message this sends other than the fact that the season is lost completely unmoored from the success so many people had hoped for and now you just got to wonder new gm new coach what do you do with a 41-year soon-to-be 41-year-old aaron rogers who wants to still play there and it it's worked out so poorly to this point in time what do you do when the owner is saying i'll hire you and then you know i think i might be overseas but we will zoom we can zoom i mean you know a serious organization tells aaron rogers to to hit the road but the jets have proven time and time again they're not fire your coach after week five and now the gm a month and a half later who who does that what type of organization does that does that i don't recall of another one that's done it i don't know and you know uh obviously having been knowledgeable of the jets fan base for half a century fans are i i think uh just completely apathetic not apathetic it's not apathetic no uh i numb uncomfortably numb but numb nonetheless like can't believe this has happened you know sure rogers was having a you know diminishing returns in his final year in green bay but not like you know not like he would come and he'd blow his achilles out and the total year would be lost and he'd come back and then look a lot like a 39-year-old coming back from a you know a 40-year-old coming back from achilles injury and then everybody else would regress to the point where they felt compelled to fire the coach in between weeks five and six and then the general manager on the week 12 bye week at three and eight after being two and one for the first time since 2015 you know it's just yet another trap door opening up which is why jets fans are completely uncomfortably numb right now i think our two coming up jim harbaugh oh by the way on the opposite end of that spectrum coming up hey it's rich eisen here join me and my compadre chris brockman every monday on the overreaction monday podcast rich jamis has taken the brows to the playoffs dude why can't they win seven eight games to finish the year why not i'm not saying it's no why not but this is a definitive statement that's clearly an overreaction and it's perfect fodder for a show like this one i appreciate you coming out of the gate hot come react or overreact with us overreaction monday wherever you listen it's game over over man
