Ian Rapoport, NFL Network

Back here on Radio Row inside the Convention Center. I think this is the hardest working guy inside Radio Row. So we're perched up right next to the NFL Network set. And even my producer said he just got here today. Ian Rappaport is just looking down at his phone constantly. Too much.

And you're here, I was here late last night, like you're here all throughout the day. There's a lot going on. And even if there's nothing to report, there's still stuff going on behind the scenes. You know, so many Super Bowls, you kind of, you show up and all the coaches are hired. Maybe there's a couple position coaches and it's really not a big deal.

And this is not like that. There are two head coach openings. There's plenty of coordinators to be hired. It is an unbelievably busy time in Super Bowl week.

Plus, there's like QB news and there's a lot going on. So when I know that I have to wake up early, I'll set an alarm and always wake up like way before the alarm. Maybe just an anxiety. When you go to sleep, are you just waking up in the middle of the night and checking your phone because you never know when NFL news could happen? Like you probably never sleep. I do sleep. But do you get good sleep?

I don't think so because I'm always tired. But I do wake up and the first thing I do is check my phone. And there's always like a cringe. And that's the worst thing. I hate checking my phone first thing in the morning. See, I do it automatically no matter what. You sort of like cringe a little bit because you're like, oh God. If there's something there or I got a text that I've been waiting on, like if you put it out, I might have to do some TV but it's 3 in the morning. And there's always that kind of push-pull of like, I would like to sleep but I got this little bit of news.

So it's never quite restful, I'll say that. So you mentioned the coaching search. My producer over there, we call him Hot Take Hickey. He's like the most delusional Colts fan on the planet. He said there was a 0% chance that Jeff Saturday was going to get a second interview. He already got that second interview. He thinks there's a 0% chance that he's going to get the job. He has made a bet with me that if Saturday gets the job, what would you, would you shave something into your head?

63 shaved into his cabeza. How likely is it that Saturday actually gets that job at Indy? I would not say it's 0%. I would not.

Thank you. I mean, is he the front runner? I don't know.

I don't know. And that's been the part of the problem is, you know, I think Jim Irsay has really kept it close to the vest. Chris Ballard has kept it close to the vest.

It is on purpose. They would like to conduct this coaching search in relative silence, which is, you know, not always the case. I mean, things, you know, people want to keep things quiet all the time. It never happens.

But they have managed to keep a lot of it quiet. But I believe Saturday is still very much in the mix and we will see if he ends up getting it. When you get to the Cardinals job, what's the latest there? Yeah, Cardinals job is another kind of odd one.

You know, they are, they're interviewing candidates still this week. Lou Annarummo goes, today's Wednesday, right? Lou Annarummo goes Thursday. And then Mike Kafka went earlier in the week.

Flores was supposed to go today. Obviously pulled out to take the Vikings job. You know, it's, it's late in the week. The Super Bowl is Sunday. I just wonder if the Cardinals will maybe not want to upstage the Super Bowl in their own town by naming a head coach. Like, they may wait until after the Super Bowl, which, you know, sometimes things get out.

But I know that Michael Bittel would really not want to upstage the Super Bowl in his own city. So, is there any skepticism when it comes to Kyler Murray? Like, I hear what you just said about not upstaging the Super Bowl, but are some of these- Oh, you're wondering if someone isn't taking it because of Kyler. Yeah, like, did Sean Payton not really want to go there because of Kyler Murray? I, I don't think Sean Payton didn't want to come here because of Kyler Murray.

It sounded like he was at some level interested. Now, there's a lot here. I mean, there's facilities needs improvement. You know, it's, it's a team that probably needs to be retooled a little bit. It's not just Kyler, though, because the quarterback might not be healthy until mid-season. So, like, you can like Kyler all you want. You're still going to have to have an answer at quarterback before he even steps on the field. Like, that's one of the issues. So, it's complicated. I don't believe that Sean Payton, like, pulled out.

I just don't think it was a match, even though it sounded like it went decently well. It's just, they want to do things deliberately, and they have done things at their own pace. And, obviously, I wish it was done earlier because my life would be better. Yeah. But it is what it is.

Ian Rappaport here with Dust. Do you get a kick out of the source-off that people were talking about last week between you and Adam Schefter? You know, it's so interesting because I don't, there are some times I have, like, a warped sense of things, right? Like, I'll know something is this way, and then I'll see people react. Like, let's say, like, news. Like, I'll say news, talk about something, and people will react like, wow. And I'm like, doesn't everyone know this? Like, this is not a big deal, or whatever it is.

So, I, the source-off, I don't even see it like that. Like, once I report something, and I'm confident in what I reported, as was the case with the D'Amico Ryans Broncos news they had about a week or so ago, once that happens, I don't really care what happens to it. Like, I don't care who picks it up. I don't care who, you know, puts it on their blog and has it take. I don't really care if reporters react to it.

The only thing that really matters is, like, did I get it right or not? And I'm very confident in my info. So, like, people are like, oh, it's you versus Schefter. Like, I report what I know based on my sources.

He reports what he knows based on his sources. And everyone just gets to pick and choose what they like. And that's, I'm sort of okay with that. And I think the biggest problem right now in media when it comes to insiders is, and you do a great job at getting it right. There's so many people that just try to get it first. There's a lot more of these guys than there ever used to be.

Which I guess is okay. And sometimes they're right, but when they're wrong, and I can't tell you how many times we'll have someone say, I saw this on Twitter. Like, just a friend in conversation, I saw this on Twitter.

That's when I go, who are you reading? Like, I've never heard of a person. No, it's, you know, I was talking about this with my buddy, Pelissero, and somebody was asking about, like, you know, what's the worst thing about media? And it was like, there's a lot of people who are insiders who are not inside. And this is a hard enough job. I mean, I don't know if that came off a certain way or not, but, like, this is a hard job.

And it takes, took like five years for me just to be able to compete and get any sort of news on the inside. And now there's a lot of people out there who are not on the inside who sort of try to be. And a lot of times the news comes out all wrong. And it's annoying because sometimes you have to chase and sometimes it's wrong. Now, if someone's right, like, okay, I credit, move on. Like, that's fine, but sometimes they're not right.

And so you seem to have more of those guys in media now than we've ever had. Do you think it's tough for you to give your opinion on things? Because whenever you give an opinion on something, it's- I don't give opinions. Ian Rappaport says this. Don't give opinions. It's funny, like, there's some weird things in journalism that have become drilled into my brain that just happen organically. I do not cheer at sporting events.

I was in press boxes for 15 years. I just, my body does not work that way. So if something happens that's great for the, like, let's say the Mets. I'm a big Mets fan.

I do not react. Wait, I was just going to say, is this only for football? This is also for, like, the Mets?

It's just the way it works now. So, like, I will, if everyone's cheering, I will have to say to myself, like, all right, like, cheer. Yeah. So I invite you, let's say, Mets in the World Series next year. We go to Game 7 together. You're a huge Mets fan. You had, throughout the first pitch, I've seen you tweet about the Mets all the time. Ian Rappaport's there. Let's say Francisco Lindor catches the ball.

They win the World Series. You're going to have to force yourself to cheer? I will at least have to think about it, yeah. Wow. It just doesn't- So anyway, the reason I say that is because when people ask my opinion now, I almost never give it. It's just reflexively I will rely on the information I have and discuss what I've learned, not what I think. It just doesn't- Because the reality is, based on my job, what I think is not actually important. What I can prove is important. So what could you tell us about Rodgers?

Because I'll give the opinion. The last two years, I thought he was definitely going to stay in Green Bay. And then this year, I think he's going to get traded. What do you know about the Rodgers situation? I know he has not made a decision. And I believe a lot of it's up to him. He is going to- If he says he wants out, then I believe the Packers will trade him.

If he wants to come back, I believe they will keep him. So the Packers would still be inclined to move this marriage into the future? He's Aaron Rodgers. And that's the problem. And that's one of the toughest things.

You can talk about what a team should do, who should be interested, should they move forward. The cat that's like, well, if you have a chance to get Aaron Rodgers for one season, you should probably take that. And that's the problem because he's so good on the football field when he plays. Were you surprised that Brady retired?

A little, yeah. I mean, knowing what I know now, he did the right thing. But I was looking at it more like, all right, his personal situation is what it is. He was still playing at a high enough level that it was okay to play.

He wasn't embarrassing himself. I thought, and the season was bad. So I was, in my head, I was like, this guy. And the people I spoke to who were close to him were kind of like, he probably retires. Now, the other thing I know is, one, he needs to be close to his family.

And that is extremely important to him. And it was not going to go back to Tampa. And it was not going to go to the Dolphins.

So there was no other option that would allow him to be close to his family. So that's why retiring makes sense. I just didn't quite see it coming when it did. When you just look at the state of the league right now, I think the toughest part is there's no middle tier for quarterbacks in terms of pay grade. Like Daniel Jones, Geno Smith. Honestly, that's the way it should be.

Yeah, but the Giants and Seahawks, I kind of expect both of them are going to bring back Daniel Jones and Geno Smith this year. But I just wonder what those numbers are going to really look like. My guess is they might look like the franchise tag.

Like three, four years probably? Or one. Or just the tag. Because if you're going to give a three-year deal, if you're going to half commit, then it actually probably makes sense for both sides just to do the tag. Because for me, the way you get yourself in trouble is to do a Jared Goff deal, where you have a quarterback you're kind of committed to, you're kind of like, and then it doesn't work and you're like, great, we got all this money. So to me, either you have a Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, where obviously you're going to pay them, or not.

And if you don't have one, then you've got to go find one. Would you be surprised, Ian Rappaport from the NFL Network, if this offseason you're breaking news that Lamar Jackson has signed a long-term extension with the Ravens? I guess I would be surprised. I mean, it wouldn't floor me, because an extension has always made sense for both sides. It wouldn't be shocking.

It would be nice, because then I would stop talking about it. Your thoughts on this game coming up this weekend? What stands out to you from the storylines of this one? I like the young quarterbacks. I mean, Mahomes is who he is. Obviously, he's awesome. This kind of a little bit reminds me of his first Super Bowl, where you're like, okay, this guy's going to be a rock star, and if he just wins, then he's really going to go into the stratosphere. And I feel like that with Jalen Hurts.

He is awesome. And winning a Super Bowl is life-changing, and for a quarterback's trajectory, it's an incredible thing. And does Jalen Hurts get there? Does Mahomes kind of reestablish himself?

There's a lot of other fun stuff, but the quarterbacks really stand out to me. Good to see you, I'm assuming, on the NFL Network all throughout the week. Because every time I look over, all you're doing is on your phone. All week long. It'll be fine.

It's been a good week, though. Ian, good to see you. Thanks so much. Thank you, man. You too.

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