Bobby Okereke, Indianapolis Colts

Inside Radio Rose, Super Bowl 57, Zach Galb here with you coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. Now joining us from the Indianapolis Colts is Bobby Okereke. Bobby, good to see you. How are you? Good brother, good to see you. Appreciate you having me.

So, I gotta bring this up right out of the gate. My producer over there is a Colts fan. We call him hot take hickey. I can't stand the Indianapolis Colts because I'm a Patriot fan. And all year long, he's just so obnoxious with the Colts. And this year it was a tough year for you guys. Tough year. And he was very sad all throughout the season.

Yeah, it was rough. You know, we had great expectations to start the season. I mean, last year we had, I think, eight Pro Bowlers, the most of any team.

But yeah, you know, just facing unfortunate adversity. And you know, we got to experience Jeff Saturday as a coach, which is really cool for us. And yeah, just hoping to turn it around next year. You keep on improving individually each and every season. Where do you kind of think your game is at right now? I just think I'm showing that I'm a complete linebacker. I've shown great position flexibility, moving from the mic to the will position this year.

And yeah, I can just do it all really. Coverage, pass breakups, interceptions, TFLs, run stops, blitzing. I'm really a complete linebacker. Is this like a nervous time for you or an exciting time? Because your future is up in the air and where you're going to be playing football next year?

Yeah, exciting time. You know, for me, the haze in the barn, you know, my work's done. So now just sit back, you know, talk with my agent and just embrace this whole process. What do you bring to a football team?

Like, when you get through all those questions that people ask, you know, combine kind of questions, even though it's for agency. If a team's going to give a big contract to Bobby Okereke, Bobby Okereke is who on and off the field? On the field, very intelligent guy. He's a leader. He's a guy that can lead your defense. Has great position flexibility. Can play Mike, Will, Sam, any position. Off the field, a guy who's very focused on community outreach. A guy who really just has a lot of positive energy and loves to bring people together. And a guy who's going to be a joy in the building.

Bobby Okereke here with us. How do you look back at that transition from Frank Reich, who's been with the Colts for a while, part of the business. He gets fired. Jeff Saturday, then out of nowhere, goes from ESPN to becoming your interim head coach. How did you guys handle that in the locker room?

What was your view like of it? Really, if the team wants the best chance to win and succeed, you have to embrace him. So he understood that. The first thing he did in the first couple days was really just get to know us. And for us to get to know him. He explained who he was as a player. Undrafted guy.

First one in the building, last one out. Hard working guy. And he said, that's how I'm going to coach you guys. With no excuses. And just demanding excellence. That's what he did. And the veteran guys embraced him. The young guys came along. And I thought we did a good job. Obviously, unfortunate results.

It was a good experience for everybody. Do you think he has what it takes, if they named him the head coach moving forward, to be a head coach for several years in the NFL? Yeah, I think so. Obviously, this is his first chomp at the bit.

And obviously he's excited and wants more. But I know Indy's going through their whole interview process. They're going to evaluate the best coach for the situation. I think that's what it is.

You can't really get coaches, but it has to be a system fit for all the guys. It's pretty good. I just think Jim's a cool guy. And he's pretty wise, too. I remember one time after a game, he came in the locker room and was like, you guys can win the heavyweight fight. You guys can beat Tyson, but you can't beat Ali right now.

Just basically alluding to us not being able to not beat ourselves and play a technically sound game and not make mistakes. I think he's got great vision. He's been around the game for a long time and he's seen a lot of things. Wrapping up with Bobby Okereke, so you guys actually beat Kansas City this year. When you're preparing for Mahomes, and there's so many tough challenges. He's the best quarterback in the league. But what's really the emphasis that you guys stress when going up against Mahomes? They're an explosive offense. They want the big play.

The big thing is eliminate explosives. And second thing, especially with the pass rush, is keep them in the pocket. Because that's when he's dangerous, when he's scrambling. And his receivers go into scramble, Joe. They start running all these creative routes and they stop. They're just playing backyard football. And that's when they're at their best. You can eliminate explosives and keep Mahomes in the pocket.

You should be set up for a successful day. And then on the other side with Jalen Hurts, he could kill you both ways as well. But I think the toughest challenge for a linebacker like yourself is one second you're thinking, okay, here comes the handoff to Miles Sanders. And then he tucks it back and runs it 30 yards up the field.

I know you guys also went up against Philadelphia in a back and forth game. He's got to be one of the toughest quarterbacks to prepare for in Jalen Hurts. Now he is. I think in that offense is the true triple threat. He can pass. He can make all the throws. He can make quick game.

He can make the deep shots. He can make those intermediate throws. And they have a good run game. Honestly, one of the best offensive lines led by Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Isaac Somolu, and Miles Sanders.

Great running back. And then also, you can stop the run. You can stop the pass. And then Jalen can take the ball and run up the middle. And they run quarterback draw.

So it's that true triple threat that's very hard to stop. I know you're on the defensive side of the ball, but Nick Sirianni was on the offensive side of the ball in Indianapolis before getting this job in Philly. And when he got hired, everyone was like, who? He was even surprised that he got an interview. I think he was on vacation somewhere.

He had to go get a suit or something like that is the story. What's your view on Nick Sirianni? Because what he's done the last two years has been some impressive stuff.

I love Nick Sirianni. He's got great energy, youth. He just has great vitality. And he just has his guys playing with an attitude. And that's how he walks around like, excuse my language, like a s*** doesn't stink.

But he's just got ultimate confidence. And I think that's why they've been so successful. Alright, take us back to Cali. Tell us about the swag you got today. Yeah, so I got on Cali Strong Gear. They're a female majority owned brand by Jennifer Echeverria. 20% of their proceeds go to military and funding youth in San Diego. That's awesome.

Yeah, amazing. And they're the first clothing brand in every product market. You know, they got great glow in the dark technology gear and they got, you know, hats with the velcro.

So they're really multi, multi diversity brand. And this looks nice, by the way. Yeah, super comfy. I mean, it's nice. You can wear it like in a business meeting, whatever.

You could like go out, but then you could also sit on the couch and like eat some nachos and watch the game of this upcoming. Exactly. Now they got a lot a lot of diversity in this group.

Except if I was wearing it, maybe I wouldn't wear it on a Sunday because I don't want to get like nachos and like the Cheez Whiz and all that stuff, you know, on the Cali Strong swag. So we appreciate the time. Good to meet you, Bobby O'Karaoke and good luck for whatever the future has in store for you. Yeah. Thank you, brother.

Appreciate it. Wherever you get your podcast, the biggest game of the year, the Super Bowl is on Odyssey and Westwood One brings it to you streaming live for free Sunday, February 12th on the Odyssey app. The Eagles have been the NFC's best team. It's the Eagles versus the Chiefs. The Philadelphia Eagles are going to the Super Bowl. Catch all the action from Westwood One, your Super Bowl, your Odyssey.

Get in the game and download the free Odyssey app today. The biggest game of the year, the Super Bowl is on Odyssey and Westwood One brings it to you streaming live for free Sunday, February 12th on the Odyssey app. The Eagles have been the NFC's best team. Touchdown Travis Kelsey. It's the Eagles versus the Chiefs. The Kansas City Chiefs, the Philadelphia Eagles are going to the Super Bowl. Catch all the action from Westwood One, your Super Bowl, your Odyssey. Get in the game and download the free Odyssey app today.