Mike Mayock: Jalon Walker Reminds Me So Much Of Micah Parsons

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He baked it in! Maryland is going to the Sweet Sixteen! Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. The Michigan turnaround moves on to Atlanta.

My Michigan Wolverines. Earlier on the show, WWE superstar Seth Rollins. Coming up, UCLA women's basketball head coach Corey Close. Former NFL general manager Mike Mayock. And now it's Rich Eisen.

That's right. Hour number three of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air right here on Roku. Mike Mayock's going to join us in about 20 some odd minutes time to give us his thoughts on the NFL draft 30 days away from now. We just said goodbye to Seth Rollins, WWE superstar, and this is how we roll goodbye to Seth Rollins. Hello to the coach of the number one overall seed in the women's tournament advanced with a win last night here in Los Angeles over Richmond, heading to Spokane to take on Ole Miss in the Sweet Sixteen. Corey Close is good to see you. Thank you. Great to be with you. Thanks for having me. And you know the way here because you were just here last week for Women's Sports Now.

If it's not broken, don't fix it. Right? Let's go. So if you survive in advance, we'll see you next week. We'll see you next week.

Let's just speak it into existence. I just know it meant everything to the Women's Sports Now crew to have you as the first in studio guest for that program. It's about women's sports once a week, one hour.

It's all good. And so it's great to them, though, like this is we have such a need to be telling more of the women's sports stories and to have the pride in that show. And then to be able for me, it was just such an honor to be a part of it, because that's my biggest thing. If we're going to continue to move the sport forward, we've got to have great storytelling. And there's so many great stories to tell.

And they're telling them. And I appreciate you saying that. And I kind of go back and forth about it.

And I'd love to get your thoughts on it. It's just that at some point, we we we shouldn't or shouldn't have the need to say, hey, you know, let's talk about these stories because the play speaks for itself. You know what I'm saying?

And I wonder where you where you sit on that. I would say the play has been speaking for itself longer. Right. But people don't have the connection for a couple of reasons. One is in the past, there haven't been enough exposure windows. But I also think the storytelling is important because it connects people to their journey. Right.

And and I think that, you know, people, it's not like whether it be the NFL or the NBA or men's college basketball or women's sports, it doesn't matter. The reality is we fall in love with people's stories. And I think that when you're talking about growth and exposure, I think the product has been ahead of the storytelling. Well, let's talk about your story.

OK, let's do it. You were walking right into me. OK, well, I mean, you're saying about the stories and, you know, prior to you appearing on Women's Sports Now last week, I was chilling with you in the green room and hearing about your your journey to becoming the head coach of a basketball program at UCLA. And so how did you like what what got you into coaching to begin with? Well, my dad was a teacher and a coach. And, you know, really, for me, it was about what does it look like to impact people.

And I had great role models in both my parents that just were like, you know what, if you're not pouring your life out for the sake of others, it's pretty empty. And I saw that in sports. And so I really didn't think I was going to become a college coach. I had an opportunity right out of college. I went to school at UC Santa Barbara and I worked camps up and down the coast because they had the best pickup games.

And so I would do that. And I got I went to camp at UCLA. And Kathy Olivier was an assistant at that time. And she's like, you know, you could be a coach someday.

And, you know, I hadn't really heard that. Well, then she got the head job the year I graduated from college and they had what they called a restricted earnings coach, which was designed to have an entry level position. You only got paid $16,000 for to be a full time coach for the year. And I took it not really knowing what I was getting myself into.

And it's all I've ever done. And so you showed up at UC on the campus of West. Well, first things first, how was your game at UC Santa Barbara?

I was a really good passer, really couldn't hit the ocean from the beach. So, you know, I could shoot free throws. That's my only NCAA record. I don't know if it still holds.

Is that right? But the most free throws in a row in an NCAA tournament game, I was, I think, 17 for 17. In a game? In a game. You were getting fouled that much in a game. What was going on? I was like, at the end of the game, they just kept giving it to me and fouling to come back.

And I lucked out. So you want to look that up, Chris? Is that a, is that a 17 in a row? I don't, you know, an NCAA tournament game 32 years ago.

So it very well could be broken. Coach, hold on. You said you couldn't hit the ocean from the beach, right?

You would average 15, 15 a game. You're sitting here. Come on now. It's a little deceiving, I think. So, you know, I did take pride in my passing that one. I did take pride in it. Well, I mean, there's the eight part of it, right?

But 15, that's not too bad. Hey, thanks. See, that's a coach right there. Tell us about the team, not individual achievement.

Two and a half steals a game, Rich. Okay. All right.

So 17 free throws in a row. Very good. So, all right. So you're now trying to become a coach. Yeah. And how did you wind up at Westwood? Well, like, you just went?

Yeah. I just sort of like, you know, they're giving me an opportunity. I was like, I don't have anything else to do. No one else is hiring me.

So I might as well give this a try. And, you know, as I shared with you the other day in November of my first year there, Steve Lavin, who was the restricted earnings coach on the men's side at that time said, Hey, I'm going over to see coach wooden tonight and you're coming with us. And he brought some other men's coaches.

And I went over there and What's where his house, his house, his apartment in Encino. And I was a nervous wreck. I was like sweating even more than I'm sweating now. And I have hot flashes now.

So it's, you know, different set of deals. But I walked in with these men's coaches and I was in the back and coach wooden said, who are you? And I was like, Corey close. And he said, how do you spell Corey? And I said, C O R I. And he goes, you come with me. And he walked me into his apartment and right outside of his den was a little bench that said, C O R I. And he said, you're the first person I've ever met that spells it like my great granddaughter, Corey.

And I pretty much tried to go back every other Tuesday for almost 15 years after that. No kidding. All right. Yeah.

So life changing. That was a connection that you made with John wooden. Yeah. And, and I have, we have this here, Chris, you got this at a, at a, at a garage sale or something. It was, yeah, it was kind of the Valley.

Didn't you go to Rose bowl? Yeah. And it was just sitting in someone's garage. And it was like 20 bucks or something. I was like, can I buy this?

The famous pyramid of success. And John wouldn't autographed to somebody with some, I don't know who it is. Somebody who's who's who's wound up giving it at somebody who's sell it in a garage. Do you use this at all or no, not really. I do.

I do. And I think a big piece of it. And what's really cool is that not only in sports, but it's also, I think Forbes magazine a couple of years ago did an article that it's still the most widely used business motivational tool, even to this day. And so I just think, but the reality is it's about character.

And I don't think character ever goes out of style. It's about doing the right thing in your process and allowing the outcomes to take care of themselves, redefining what success looks like, what competitive greatness looks like. And honestly, that was what I wrote in my journal yesterday or yesterday or two days ago, as I just said, help me to define success the way coach wouldn't taught me. And that's really about giving your best effort and having the peace of mind that you did your very, very best and trusting that the rest of it will take care of itself. How do you pass this along your players? Imperfectly. I mean, that's, I think that's the part about, I think the reality is another quote of coach wooden's. I'm just bringing them.

Sorry. But he said the biggest form of partiality is to treat every player the same and that standards don't change, but the way in which you teach those standards change based on relationship, based on getting to know them. And I said the way that we pass these things onto our players is we develop genuine relationships.

We get to know them and we hold the standard, but we do it in different ways according to the personalities of our players and the needs that they have. I've got Corey Close here, UCLA head coach heading to Spokane to take on Ole Miss. And so where, where are you now in this problem? And by the way NC State has advanced. It would be interesting if, you know, Florida State winds up advancing too, because that was part of your history.

Seven years in Tallahassee. I loved every second of it. It was awesome. And, and Brooke Wyckoff is still a friend. And so she's the head coach at Florida State and it's going to be a great matchup and we'll see what happens between Florida State and LSU today and see, see what's going on from there. But what an interesting history with Ole Miss. Christine Ewola on their team is a transfer from us and we love her. It's one of those great, it's amazing because the transfer portal opens today in college athletics, which is our basketball. And the reality is she's one of those stories is a great reminder that, you know, everybody has a story and why, and we really actually supported this and we have a great relationship to this day. And so we've watched a lot of their games. We celebrate her and her experience with Ole Miss, but we're very familiar as a result because we've been following her and the team all year long.

And so the fact that we're matching up in Spokane is it's going to be a really fun battle. I'm sure. No doubt about that. And so again, I was there last night, as you know. Thank you. Of course. It's just, it's a, it's a, it's a great time.

It's a great time. And certainly, you know, we have an 11 year old daughter to show, you know, what you're doing with your players and what have you. Who dances better than you too.

Taylor's got you on that, but okay. Thank you, coach. But I supported that you did it. I was, I was supportive that you did it. I thought it was good that way.

She just has better moves. By the way, guilty as charged, you know, for sure. And, you know, Chris watching here on this front, you know, Chris, you think that that is not acceptable, these maneuvers right there. Thank you. As I, you know, like I said, heating up over here.

No problem. But like I was right there in a timeout. And this is, this is when, you know, speaking of hot flashes, your team, your team, your team outscored Richmond by 20.

Yes. In the third quarter last night. What did you say to your team during that, during that halftime where it was, cause it was tied.

I was tied at the half, you know, and they are the most Richmond credit to them. They're the most efficient team in the whole entire NCA and they're doing, they've done a great job. The reality for us is that we were making a lot of mistakes and we need, I just, I literally walked in the locker room, like everybody take a deep breath. Like let's regroup.

These are the actions in which we're struggling with. We're going to rotate and how we handle our help side a little bit differently. And, you know, we're going to have to win this with our defense. We're, we were fine offensively. We were scoring at a very efficient rate when we had a chance, but it's just, it's really hard when they make you play defense for so long.

Right. And, you know, they stretch us out and it's a hard matchup for our team. But credit to our team that they came out and just said, you're going to have to deal with our pressure and we're going to wear you down. And, you know, it was, I think 29 to seven in the third quarter. And, you know, that really changed the game. It sure did.

And the tenor in the crowd, as you saw right there. Absolutely. So is there pressure that comes with being the first overall seed?

Yeah. Yet maybe comes home to roost against Richmond on a Sunday night in Pauley? Well, I mean, I think there is pressure, but we've had that all year long, I think in terms of that. But I do think part of it in the NCAA tournament, we see it every year. That's why it's madness is that it's about matchups.

And, you know, that is a hard matchup for our team that you're going to have six, seven Lauren Betts chasing around these shooters everywhere. I mean, they, they, they spread you out so far that I, we knew it would be a tough matchup. But that being said, I really think you have to see pressure as a privilege is that, you know, this is an, I get to pressure and pressure pressure and pressure can be, you know, it doesn't have to influence behavior and pressure. It is what it is. But we can channel that pressure or that even like nervousness or whatever comes with these March Madness games with high intensity and channel it in a way that fuels us. And I just think it's how you look at it and how you internalize that pressure. It's there.

But wouldn't, wouldn't most people want that kind of pressure? That means we're at a level of excellence that warrants that. And so embrace it and make the next right step. Yeah.

Betts was around the three point arc defensively quite a bit last night. You know, you could see that certainly in the first half more than the second half. And I mean, clearly as you guys fortunate enough to survive in advance, you're going to see more, way more and more of that with people who, you know, I'm not denigrating at all, might have the, the roster size to, to do more damage. Right. Right. Like, and that's, I'm sure what you're, you and your staff are working on as you head to Spokane. And I just think how it narrows, if you look at who's, who's left in the field.

Yes. There actually really aren't very many Richmond's left, so to speak in that. And they, I mean, they're such a good team, but that actually bodes well for us because I just think the style of play, there's a little bit more traditional styles and balance of bigs and guards and all of those things that I think actually help us down the stretch. Do you want to face a team, if you can choose it that you've already faced or somebody that you haven't, what would be your choice? I have mixed emotions about like, because I am a Florida state person, but I wouldn't mind another crack at LSU. They put us out last year in the sweet 16, but, you know, I think you have to love whoever you get to face and with another chance to try to go one and O and get, earn one more chance to play.

That's how I'm looking at it, but I wouldn't mind that one. I'm asking coach, a coach you know, about who you want to play or not. Obviously you got to play who you want to play. I just know obviously from the NFL, my, my area that I've been with for 20 some odd years, you don't want to face a team for a third time, right? A division opponent, you face it a third time in the playoffs. You know, you've, you've faced USC for a third time. It's entirely possible in the final four for a fourth time.

Is that something you invite or is that something you, obviously if you're in the final four, you'll take it. Yeah, absolutely. I think that, you know, it's one of those things that I try not to give my energy to anything that I don't have control over because it's taking away energy from something that I should be investing time in that could actually affect outcomes.

Right. And so, you know, I really try not to give it a, a second thought really. And so the reality for us is that you know, we, I do think we benefited from that being the third time in the championship game of the big 10 tournament with USC. But the reality is I have no control over it and, you know, it's styles of play. I mean, it's just like in the NFL, right? There's various styles of play that maybe you like more than others, but my job is whatever opponent I have is I got to figure out a way to come out on the winning end. And so to play to our strengths and our identity better than they play to their strengths and their identity. So, you know, I try to minimize, I don't, I don't have enough bandwidth to give too much energy to something I don't control.

Okay. What would winning a title mean to your kids? What would it mean? Well, I think, you know, one of the biggest gifts coach wouldn't gave me is that when you have the kind of success he had, it validated the way in which he went about his process. And it encouraged me that you can be at the highest levels of excellence and you don't have to be demeaning. You don't have to be like win at all costs.

You don't have to be transactional with your kids and you know, push all the right buttons to elicit this, you know, response or against each other. And I was like, okay, it is possible to win at the highest levels and to treat people well and hold high standards and not doing it in a demeaning way. For me, to me, for me personally, it would mean it validates the process and I would get to pay that forward to somebody else that you don't have to, you know, you can, you can do things the right way. You can do things with integrity. You can be fiercely competitive and still care about people and invest in their hearts. And so for me personally, that's the way I think our players, it would maybe mean something a little bit different. And the fact of like they, they walk down those hallways every day and there's a trophy case in the hall of fame and that has 124 national championships.

And it's an insane number and none of those are women's basketball. So the chance to put that, like when I first got here, I took a picture, there was an empty space in that trophy case and I took a picture of it and I put it right next to my desk that we were going to create, we were going to have uncommon women willing to make uncommon choices, yielding an uncommon result, which is fill in that empty space. And so that would be really meaningful to them. Now, I always have to say that I don't think that's right that we don't have a trophy for that because 1978, Annie Meyers and you know, Annie Meyers was there, Denise Curry was there that, you know, they're amazing. They won the national championship, but it was AIAW and the NCAA didn't acknowledge women's basketball yet. And so it's really not fair because they did win the national championship just because the NCAA didn't acknowledge it didn't mean it didn't happen. But in the current landscape, we don't represent that there.

And so reality for us is it would mean a lot to enter into the tradition of excellence that UCLA has. Well, I wish you luck in that endeavor. Thank you. I appreciate that. You know, and again, I love that you're talking about your process.

You can be very demanding as well. Yes, I am. I noticed during a timeout last night, I do believe you had your board in your hand, but you didn't draw up a play. You kind of just aired everybody out for like 30 seconds. I was blocked out by your staff.

Yes. Did I catch that? You know, people, the mistake of being process oriented does not mean you're not demanding or competitive. And our players, in fact, I think Lauren Betts said in the press conference, she said, don't mistake it. Coach Corey is holding the standard.

If you don't meet the standards, you're coming out, you're not playing, period. And so I'm very serious about standards of excellence. And I'm a pretty spirited, fiery coach at times, you know, but, you know, hopefully in a balanced fashion most of the time.

So you're balanced. Sometimes you definitely were making a point. I noticed you're, you're being very pointed in making a point last night.

Yes. Congrats on everything to this date. Obviously I know you're in the midst of everything. Thanks for coming down here and thanks again for kicking off Women's Sports Now on Roku. Really appreciate it. It was an honor to do so. You're kind to say that Corey Close is here on the Rich Eyes and show getting set to go off to Spokane everybody to take on Ole Miss.

And then beyond that, Mike Mayock will be joining us when we come back to talk about the draft 30 days from now. your business. Plus you'll have complimentary access to more than 1400 airport lounges worldwide, including the Centurion Lounge. So you can keep running your business while you're on the go. 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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Follow and listen on your favorite platform. Back here on the Rich Eisen show. We're a little bit late for our next guest, but we'll get to him right now.

And I figured a son of a coach would not have a problem with me talking to a champion coach right here on the set. Mike Mayock joining us here on the program. Good to see you, Mike. Yeah, especially when we get some of the women some recognition too.

I think it's awesome. Hey man, I was, I wasn't kidding. Last night I took, Susie and I took our kids to the UCLA game against Richmond last night at Pauley Pavilion where all those, I mean the banners and I'm like, that's Kareem's number. They got the Jackie Robinson 42 up there too.

It's just, it's like a museum in there. And, you know, UCLA wasn't playing all that well, you know, coach close calls a timeout and she just aired them out. Like you could see, like she, she had, she had her play, her play board with the magnets on it and she wasn't moving anything around, you know, and she just had the kids in front of them and she made her point and, you know, they, they went on a 29-7 run.

Mike, that happened. Hey Rich, women's, women's sports in general, it's the same. I mean, the intensity, the emotion. My daughter Lee was a really good high school basketball player.

She scored, I don't know, 1200, 1400 points or whatever. Yeah. And you go to a practice or one of their games and it was no difference than me playing for the New York Giants. I mean, it was for real and they compete and, and I love the women's game because it reminds me of the men's game 20 years ago where, you know, the men's game now was, is basically no middle. You're, you're either three-point shooting or you're dunking. The women's game, man, the whole court all night, you're playing all 90 feet. I love that.

Yeah. Not many jersey swaps either at the end, you know, like it's really intense at the end of these games. How are you as a dad in the crowd, Mike? Were you getting on the refs? What were you, what were you, what was parent Mike Mayock like in the crowds, Mike?

What was that like? I never got on the refs and I tried to be quiet, as quiet as I could. When I watched my son play football and baseball, I got as far away as I could and same with Lee in basketball. But I found out years later from Lee, cause your kids are hyper-focused on their parents. And you're in a small gymnasium and I knew Lee would have the ball in her hands with a kid she could blow right by, but Lee's going to run the offense. And under my breath, I think I'm going to take her, take her, you know, take her to the rack. And I found out later on, she was like, yeah, I could hear you all the time.

My daughter, my 11 year old is playing in an all-star game series right now and in a tournament. And Susie was on a flight to Chicago last week wanting an update. So I was texting her updates from the stands. And after the game, Taylor, my daughter comes up to me and goes, dad, you were on your phone the whole game. You know, like she's seeing, she won't talk about hyper aware. And I'm like, I wasn't like on Instagram, you know, I wasn't like doing wordle, like I'm texting your mom an update here.

Like, don't get on me. Like that literally is what happened last week, you know? That's awesome.

It's unreal. All right. Let's get to the order of business. By the way, we're back here on the Rich Eisen show with Mike Mayock.

Our radio audience just rejoined us here. 30 days out, man. Like what, what, what's happening right now in, in, in the NFL 30 days out from a draft, Mike? Well, I mean, I hate to say it, but the whole quarterback thing is overshadowing everything right now. You know, obviously we're in the middle of pro days.

And for instance, this week Penn state has theirs. People want to see Abdul Carter run despite the problem with his foot. His agent, Drew Rosenhausen said he's going to run. So Jalen Walker from Georgia, he did not work out at the combine and he said he had a thigh thing. So now he and one of his teammates who's another potential first round pick are working on, I believe April 17th in Athens. So, you know, there's all this pro day conversation and who's running and what are they running?

But it's kind of overshadowed by quarterback roulette in the NFL. All right. So in that's, I imagine when Rogers makes his choice, that's when a lot of this, as you've said, the carousel that's, that's looming over because that might turn the giants into potentially a trade partner. A couple of spots up. Cleveland will maybe get Russ if they don't just stick with picket. Like I'm wondering what you think is the holdup that you say is, is, is lurking above all this, Mike, what's your opinion of that?

Yeah, the Rogers thing is, is pretty amazing. And you know, you can, you can go back to Brett Favre and he didn't sign until the middle of August with Minnesota. And obviously A-Rod certainly remembers all of that. And I'm guessing again, no, I know in A-Rod a little bit, but he's a very smart guy.

I think he's got a bad taste in his mouth and he wants to finish the right way. So, you know, from what's available today, that would mean Pittsburgh. However, I'm sure being a smart guy and doing his due diligence with his agents, they're kind of like, what are the chances you're drafting a first round pick?

Am I your starter? If you take a first round pick at 21, you know, am I going to lose my job halfway through the season? I think Aaron's very cognizant of his place in history and had a bad taste in his mouth the last couple of years and wants to rectify that. So I find that really intriguing and I find even more intriguing that, you know, really teams are holding spots for him. And, you know, the Giants signed Jamis Winston, but, you know, he signed for backup money and that's what he is.

He might electrify you here and there, but he's a backup quarterback. So, you know, the Giants are in the game. Cleveland has a general manager and a head coach who I respect highly.

I think they're both really intelligent men. They've been very quiet. You know, what are they, they're not going in week one with Kenny Pickett under center. So, you know, if we assume Tennessee has taken Cam Ward, you know, the two, three documentary starts and it could go so many different ways, Rich, that it kind of blows my mind up. You know, I kind of look at it and go, okay, if Shadore Sanders goes two, regardless to who, the Giants moving up or Cleveland sticking, if Shadore went two, then effectively Jackson Dart is next up and teams are going to start to panic a little bit. You know, Pittsburgh's going to go, is he going to get to us? Does New Orleans take Jackson Dart at nine? If Shadore slides down six, seven, nine, anywhere in there, you know, Jackson Dart gets pushed back.

Pittsburgh feels better, but the fact that teams are kind of letting Aaron dictate that without somehow covering themselves. And that's why I look at Cleveland is really intriguing. They're going to set the pace of this draft. If they can stick and pick, and if it's Shadore, great.

If it's not Abdul Carter, is that everybody's talking about? Will they trade back one pick and let the Giants come up and get a quarterback? And Rich, there's one other kind of wild card within the whole concept here. And that is the head coach and GM with the number two pick Cleveland and the head coach and GM with the number three pick, the Giants are both on the hot seat. And if you remember years ago when Aaron Rogers was coming out and you thought I was crazy for pushing them down to 24, one of the main reasons I pushed him down was because teams that needed a quarterback had head coaches and GM on the hot seat. And they had to win now. So the Cleveland, New York giant predicament really intrigues me.

Do you do what's best for the building? Which is if you believe he's a good quarterback, the young kid, you got to take them. Now you might be taking them for the next head coach because you're end up going to have to play a rookie quarterback. So there's just so many ramifications up. I don't remember a year where there's more quarterback ramifications, both in free agency and the draft. All right, there's a lot that you just said Mike Mayock here on the Rich Eisen Show that I want to follow up on. First one, you know, we're assuming Cam Ward goes first.

I don't know of another soul out there that thinks otherwise, right? Like why do you think this is such a general consensus that Cam Ward is going to be the first overall pick in this draft 30 days out from it? Mike? I think his tape is better. I think there's more upside. I think teams wanted to get to know the kid. And if the kid was going to check out, then I think he was going to be the number one quarterback. I love his journey. I've never met the kid. But the fact that he came out of high school as a nothing, goes to incarnate word for two years, Washington State for two years, and then grabs that Miami program by the throat and takes him where he did.

I love that story. So I don't think there's much doubt that Tennessee is going to take him. The only question is, will they go get a veteran backup? You know, will they bring in a Joe Flacco, just kind of help the kid learn? Because I don't think Will Levis, you know, I think they'll try and move Will Levis if they make that pick. Flacco is sitting at home right now.

Somebody can go beat him to that punch. You know what I mean? Like, it just seems there's such a stasis here that we haven't seen in a while, right? I mean, Brockman told him before the show, you said, what date did the trade happen for what you said? Yeah, it was two years ago. It was the Bears and Panthers, Mike.

It was done on March 10th. You know, and here we are on March 24th, and there doesn't seem to be any movement right now. And so if you're going to take Cam Ward, then you go get Flacco before somebody else does because they're missing out on Rodgers, right? Like, it's kind of nuts, that what we're seeing right now.

Yeah, I don't disagree with any of that. And, you know, there's Flacco, there's Carson Wentz, there's potentially Ryan Tannehill, but that's kind of the, quote, cream of the crop of the veteran quarterbacks that can back up outside of obviously Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson. And, you know, I think Russell Wilson's stock has taken a significant hit and justifiably given what's happened since he left Seattle. And, you know, the fact that Pittsburgh, he's not even their third or fourth choice, you know, which tells you volumes about how they feel about how he played last year. So this whole, it's one of the reasons, Rich, I kind of texted you the other day, like, you know, down the road post-June 1 after the draft, if somebody's not happy with their quarterback situation, I'm a big believer that you got to be looking at Cousins and Carr.

All right, why? I mean, Cousins, I understand, you know, the 10 million bucks that just became guaranteed in 2026, the Falcons are like, that can get offset, doesn't matter to us, we can just hold on to it. Cousins is, you know, doesn't appear to be the type of personality that's just going to go on somebody's show like this one and try and force the situation, right?

Burn it down, demand a trade, that sort of thing. Maybe he will be. But why do you think Derek Carr would be an option?

What makes you, gives you that indication? Well, let's just take a step back. Both of these quarterbacks have no trade clauses. So if you put your GM cap on and you're Andrew Burry, okay, or you're Joe Shane, and all this stuff is playing out and, you know, potentially there might be two guys out there, you got to do your homework, you got to be calling Mickey Lomas in New Orleans, you got to be calling Atlanta, and you got to do your homework in case you get shut out of the player you want. With Derek Carr, keep in mind, New Orleans restructured his contract recently. So a team that would trade for Derek would only have to pay 1.2 million, the veteran minimum, this year.

And next year, he makes 40 million, but it's non-guaranteed. So if you were to trade for Derek, you get the opportunity to start a guy this year and be your bridge. If you needed him next year, he could be your bridge for a total of 41 million, 20 million a year for, and if you don't want him year two, you cut him with no consequences. So I kind of look at Derek Carr and I go, okay, if New Orleans was willing to move him, point number one, okay, and if Derek was willing to go to a team like, say Cleveland, that's a year removed from being an 11-win team with a quarterback-friendly coach who won 11 games with five quarterbacks in one year. You know, so maybe if I'm the Cleveland Browns, I'm talking to Mickey Loomis and saying, Mick, you know, would you move him?

What would it take? Because it's a $1.2 million contract with the Sean Watson making all that money. To me, it's a phone call that has to be made, and if you get shut out, you know, at the end of the day, if you're Cleveland and you get shut out, and again, you know, Kevin and Andrew are under some pressure, Derek Carr can step in day one and compete. So I think Derek Carr is a real object of potential desire down the road for somebody getting shut out. Certainly if Jackson Dart goes nine, right?

Certainly if something like that happens. Now, you know, they might be more prone to just say, we're going to go with this kid. Although I did hear from some folks, Mike, maybe you did too, that they did like Spencer Rattler. They did like what they saw in him last year.

Here's what I tell you about Rattler. He went in the fifth round a year ago. I had a second day grade on him. You know, I thought he was a second or third round at worst. He's a twitchy kid with a big arm. He's athletic. Do I think he got the best opportunity to compete last year in a fair situation?

Probably not. Typical rookie kind of year. There's some talent in Spencer Rattler. And keep in mind that the 26 quarterback class a year from now should be much more talented.

So if you're able, if you're New Orleans and you move Derek Carr for a draft pick, you've got more of an ability to move up next year with extra ammunition. And lastly, before I let you go, you had mentioned earlier the Penn State pro day. Is this really a significant box to check on Carter's foot to see him? Like, is this because, you know, pro days usually are just, you know, obviously they're set up for the kids to look good and succeed.

But is this a genuine concern? Because I know there are some other edge rushers that maybe aren't as highly touted as this kid. But how big is this pro day in your estimation, Mike? I would tell you two things. One, I might be the only guy out there that had a higher grade on Jalen Walker than Abdul Carter. And I'll stand by that grade. And by the way, big grades on both of them, top five grades on both of them. Sure. But to answer your direct question, Abdul Carter teams are worried about foot injuries and stress fractures and they want to see x-rays and they want to see you move.

They're the kind of things that can come back and bite you. I think Drew Rosenhaus, the agent, has been through this, seen it, done that, and he's going to put the kid in the best opportunity to succeed. If he goes out there and runs well, looks good, I think everybody's just going to go, hey, he's fine. We can fix the foot after the year if there's a problem.

So I do think it's a situation where he's got to show up and show out. All right. I got to ask you the follow-up on Walker. You say you had a better grade on him than you do Abdul Carter.

Why? I put the tape on the Georgia tape on Jalen Walker and he's an off-the-ball linebacker at 243 pounds and my jaw dropped watching him run. His twitch, his speed, his quickness, his change of direction. But what really intrigued me is on sub-packages, Rich, they played him everywhere from the a-gap over the center all the way out wide as a pass rusher. And I have in my notes all over the place for Jalen Walker, every tape I watched, I have Micah Parsons. Micah Parsons. Micah, he reminds me so much of Micah Parsons when he came out of Penn State because he was an off-the-ball linebacker that they used exactly the same in sub-situations. And the bottom line for Micah Parsons and Jalen Walker to me, when you go, okay, what does this kid do best? Even though he was an off-the-ball linebacker, what he did best was rush the quarterback. And I think the only limitation on Jay, this kid's 21 years old, he's a third year junior, he's got all kinds of upside. I think the only limitation is a defensive coordinator with lack of creativity because this kid can play all over the ball. I think he's the next level linebacker edge rusher in the NFL. And if you got to chase Jayden Daniels all over the place, this is the kind of kid I want doing it.

Whether it's off the edge, which is what I think he's going to be, or as an off-the-ball linebacker. Man. Okay. So, I mean, it does appear he could be available in the back half of the first 10, right? Like it's unless somebody looks at the medical and makes a decision. You know what I mean?

Like that, that's why I bring it up. And I know that might not be fair to Abdul Carter, but I mean. Right. You and I can't control Abdul's medical and I'm sure he'll check out. Right.

All I'm trying to say is there are a lot of edge rushers that are really good in this class, but this kid Jaylen Walker is so twitched up, quick, tough, relentless that, and I don't know the kid, I've never met the kid, but at the end of the day, off his tape, I bet on his upside all day long as a top five pick. Mike Mayock, you're the man. Love chatting, as always.

We'll chat again next week. Thanks again, Mike. Thanks Rich.

Appreciate it. That's Mike Mayock, everybody, right here on the Rich Eisen Show. That's food for thought right there, man.

That is some big time food for thought right there. Says Micah Parse has written all over him. And you know that's the Abdul Carter comp. You know, and obviously. Makes sense.

The game is one thing. The fact that you could see the Micah Parsons comp since he wore Micah's uniform number at the same school. All right, we'll take a break.

Here's Rich Ackerman with a sports update back on the Rich Eisen Show in just a moment. I'll tell people this. Troy Emmett and me, we never, never had a falling out. Never had an argument. Never had a fight because we knew what it was like building it from the bottom. And that's the thing that made us as good as we were. We all knew what the mission was, and we all bought into the game plan of transforming an organization from one to 15 to a championship organization.

And Jimmy was at the helm of it. I knew once I got there what the expectation was going to be. I just did not know how difficult it was going to be to get all of that together. But through that whole entire process, we grew together. We matured together. We played together. We played at a high level together, and we lost together.

We went through a lot together. And so that team itself was built inside out, and it was built to go out and destroy whatever it was in front of. Now, we competed at the highest level amongst ourselves, which made us ready for anybody and anything that was out there.

That's why we were different. So people look at us and they ask us, how about the Caring Cowboys? They ain't going through this. They haven't had to deal with the 115. They don't even know what it's like.

And even before the 115, I don't mind some of Jimmy's old tricks. When we lost in Washington, we should have won the game. We lost in Washington. That poor lady was trying to feed us on the airplane. Jimmy said, you take that damn food and put it away. If they were hungry, they should have ate on the football field. And Jimmy said, in every away game, every away game, we get laid in the game. I used to come to the line and say, we're going to eat tonight. We're going to eat tonight.

Because y'all know y'all lose this game. You know, so play for your supper. You eat five hours before the game. Yeah. Just that you eat five hours before the game, everything.

So now you play the game, you exhaust, everything's gone. You want some food. You want some food. And if you didn't win that game, ain't no food. Won no party.

Well, nothing, nothing. You got to ride the plane. The plane was quiet the whole time.

Nobody said a word. I'll never forget the one time we did lose to Washington, but we was coming back. We may have been coming back from, from DC. And there was a little noise on the plane. Poor Jimmy went off. He came back there. Went off.

Okay. He had just got done watching the live feed. He came back there, man. And, and, and Robert. I mean, everybody, everybody here is on the block. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not going to call out no names, but everybody here is going to shut up and shut out. You said another word.

I'm going to cut you before the plane lands. We sit back there like this. Dude.

Damn. So you get in the fourth quarter, you're like, what y'all going to do now? We're talking like... You can either whoop these jokers or we're going to deal with that joker. Let's go.

And, and it was always easy. Just whoop their ass. It's one of those things where you want to go outside and whoop somebody behind and then come back to the house and say, mama, we did what we needed to do. Can we get something to eat now?

I love that. I forgot about that story. Jim Johnson refusing to feed his team because he was so angry. Brockman's saying that stuff can't fly anymore. They're laughing about it now, right?

He got on them rings though. Back on the Rich Eyes and Show radio network, sitting at the Rich Eyes and Show desk, furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry. Grainger has the right product for you.

Call clickrainger.com or just stop by. Let's go to Turzo in Iowa. He's been hanging on. What's going on, Turzo? Hey, what's up Rich? Brockman, TJ. What's up, brother?

Don't trade her. How are you guys today? Oh, that's good for you and Turzo. Good for you. I could dump you off the phone like that.

No, he can't. It's all with love there, Mikey. I love you, Turzo. Hey Rich. Turzo, you're like the second biggest guy from Iowa to be on the show. That's right.

Seth Rollins first, right? What's up? That was awesome. That's a great interview and that was pretty cool.

You would offer him to come sit in it. Oh yeah, it's fun. He would be great. I'd love to see it. I'd love to see it. Hey, I never did see that sports judge clip that you guys were doing. That's hilarious. That had me rolling through it. It's old school. It's old times. We might have to bring that back. I got a guy with me. Yeah, that was good.

What else is on your mind? Hey, so I got to give a shout out to my two alma maters, Colorado State and Drake, for a good run in the tournament. I didn't think that it was a travel against CSU. I thought it was a heck of a play, but watching the replay, yeah, it looked like three steps, but I think it's a hard call.

It's a gather in two steps. I had no idea. Yeah, yeah, whatever. Yeah, it's great no matter what though.

It's great. But shout out to my Bulldogs. Go Bulldogs. Even though we're losing our head coach to Iowa, this is the third one that we've lost, but hopefully they can find somebody to fill those shoes because it's always fun having the Bulldogs in the tournament and being able to go watch them here in Des Moines. Thanks for the call, Terzo. Terzo and Iowa, everybody. Uber Eats is delivering game day deals all tournament long, folks, because you can't watch eight hours of basketball a day on an empty stomach.

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Order now. Jimmy in San Antonio wants to chime in. What's up? Que paso?

Manos. What's up? Hey, well, first I have to congratulate you on your Michigan win over my Aggies, home of the 12th man. Okay.

Yeah, I know. Well, the second half was self-explanatory. It was just a tremendous turnaround by Michigan, let's be honest. Yeah, we went down. It looked like we were going to get blown out, down 10 without the ball, and then Michigan won by 11. It was truly... I'm sorry it made you upset, Jimmy, but I was ecstatic.

No, no, I did okay. And I have an opinion about Aaron Rodgers, but first it's 2-2, bottom of the fifth Mets-Yankees in Fort St. Louis. I don't know if that's a Mets town or a Yankee town. Fort St. Louis is a Mets town. Fort St. Louis is a Mets town.

That's right, for sure. I once covered some Mets spring training there waiting for Mike Piazza, and he came out with not one, but two ladies. Hey.

What do you mean? He's a Hall of Famer. I mean, like, what am I telling tales out of school about Mike Piazza? If he wants a homer in this game.

It was the San Antonio mission, Mike Piazza, before with the Dodgers. Okay. If Aaron Rodgers and Tomlinson get together and they get on the intellectual same page and have seen everything, isn't that going to be a problem for the AFC and the NFL? Hey, man, if if Rodgers goes to the Steelers, and I think he will, and thanks to call Jimmy, we're going to be ending in about 30 seconds. Rodgers goes to the Steelers, it would be awesome. There would be an absolute mosh pit Donnybrook between every single major broadcast partner of the NFL to get a game. Because he plays, obviously, the AFC North.

They play the NFC North in the AFC East. It's just take your pick, take your pick. Oh, my gosh, we're not there yet, though. That'll wrap it up for this show. 844204, Rich. We'll chat again tomorrow.