Hour 1: Miami-Ole Miss Reactions, plus Ashton Kutcher Talks Bears-Packers In-Studio

0:01The world moves fast. Your workday? Even faster. Pitching products, drafting reports, analyzing data. Microsoft 365 Copilot is your AI assistant for work. Built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Microsoft 365 apps you use. Helping you quickly write, analyze, create, and summarize. So you can cut through clutter and clear a path to your best work. Learn more at Microsoft.com slash m365copilot. You know you need fiber for a healthy gut, but do you actually know how to get it? Quaker's been serving up fiber since 1877, with over 100 great-tasting, good-source-of-fiber options to choose from.

0:42Whether you like old-fashioned oats, instant oatmeal, granola, or oatmeal squares, Quaker makes it delicious. Mmm, so good. Get your fiber with Quaker. Shop Quaker's good source of fiber products at a store near you.

1:25This is The Rich Eisen Show. the show.

1:28Rich Eisen:I'm in Miami. This is the Rich Eisen Show. First and back into the end zone. He runs it in. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Whoever counted us out, they're never part of the equation. Today's guests, actor and diehard Bears fan Ashton Kutcher, Emmy-nominated actor Dennis Leary, senior writer for the MMQB Albert Breer, and now it's Richard. Well, hey, everybody. Welcome to this edition of the Rich Eisen Show live on ESPN, live on Disney Plus and the ESPN app and ESPN radio. And we are thrilled to be here with you with three teams remaining for college football's national championship.

2:16Rich Eisen:And we also have, as we know, a wildcard weekend afoot to talk about with you. Ashton Kutcher, who cannot wait for kickoff between his beloved Bears and the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night, is going to join us. Dennis Leary, who, as you might imagine, does know a thing or two about New England football. He will be joining us in hour number two to talk about the Sunday night of Wild Card Weekend. And the rest of our sports world is up there for conversation with you at 844-204-RICH is the number to dial. Those are the first two hours right here on ESPN. And Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated on the spinning coaching carousel, as well as all the news and front offices in the National Football League prior to Wild Card Weekend.

3:00Rich Eisen:It's going to join us in Hour 3 when the show returns to our exclusive window on Disney+. Good to see you over there, Christopher Brockman. How are you on this Friday? Rich, good morning. Good Friday to you. It is a what's more likely Friday as well, so that's going to be coming up in Hour 2. DJ Mikey D is in the States. Good morning, Rich. Mike Del Tufo, good to see you over there. and T.J. Jefferson, it appears the candle is lit as always. Candle is lit. Your BFF, Ashton Kutcher, is going to be coming in. It's going to be a little surreal. I won't lie to you. You've known it. You go way back like a car seat with him, right?

3:31Rich Eisen:Yeah, man. So this is going to be, you know, his wife has been here, a couple other friends. But, yeah, this will be pretty cool. It will be cool because, again, I believe he's there with his Chicago Bears hat. So he's going to be talking about that Bears-Packers game. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial. But we start this program with a dynamite college football semifinal game last night in the Verbo Fiesta Bowl. Yes, indeed. It's like it's missing a it feels like it's missing a vowel. Right. So I guess you could put the you in there. Hey, I'd like to buy a vowel. You know what? Look at you, Rich Eisen.

4:07Rich Eisen:Come on. Thanks, guys. Wow. I really appreciate you. Listen, I don't know what's going on in the world of football, but it seems like every big-time standalone football game has been off the hook, professional in college. Am I wrong? It was a nice start to the weekend, man. Hopefully that's just like the appetizer for how good these wildcard games are going to be. Or Indiana-Oregon tonight. Exactly. In Atlanta for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, right? I don't know what it is. And it's also college football is kind of mimicking professional football or vice versa. And anyone can win it. Except for the fact nobody thought that when the college football playoff committee put the 12 teams in the hopper together.

4:58Rich Eisen:Because there were two group of five teams and they're like, you got no shot. And yada, yada, yada. They're not in it anymore. And then it's Miami getting in instead of Notre Dame. BYU wanted a shot. They didn't get a shot at the title. Notre Dame didn't get a shot at the title. And at the same time, even when Miami got in, it was, well, there's Ohio State. Pardon me, the Ohio State. I mean, we all know the ground that got covered by shows like this one on networks like this one. When the college football playoff brackets came out. and the general concept was listen if you're looking to get a march madness type cinderella run going that ain't happening from the group of five and you know wondered if it would even happen with the 10 seed i i know they don't term it last one in right they don't turn it term it last one in not for football right they term it that way for for college basketball right well you usually We play in the play-in game.

6:05Rich Eisen:And I always feel bad for those teams. Like, hey, you're last one in. You know? You're 68th into the bracket. Correct. Might have been just because of the, you know, I lived that getting picked in gym back in the eighth grade. But listen, Miami and Ole Miss were, if you will, the two teams coming into this whole thing of good luck to you, missing your head coach bolting to LSU. And good luck to you, you, you know, from the ACC, where the Atlantic Coast Conference has two teams on the Pacific Coast. And look at those two teams last night. Just spectacular end-to-end action. and so many kids bursting to the four from Trinidad Chambliss to obviously, you can't say Carson Beck burst to the four when he's a 23-year-old who is in the same draft class as not one but two starters on wild card weekend and C.J.

7:12Rich Eisen:Stroud and Bryce Young. Seven years in college. Right. You know, hey, the 2021-2022 National Championship quarterback is the fiesta bowl, pardon me, verbal fiesta bowl offensive MVP of 2026. But that's what Carson Beck is. He was spectacular. He was spectacular. I know he had an interception last night, but he was terrific, including the game-winning rushing touchdown. Only a second of the season. Carson Beck's legs put Miami up with 18 seconds to go. And Trinidad Chambliss did his best to get Ole Miss in position, and he did for one toss to the end zone that the old ball coach of Ole Miss with his thumbs thought was pass interference.

8:02Rich Eisen:And the Hail Mary in the end zone. Lane Kiffin popped out there on his feed. Maybe he's like, damn, man, that was$750 ,000 out of my pocket. Or he's really invested in the kids who he is now watching and had an opportunity to win without him. Pass interference 100 % as there was nothing but contact, basically from the 10-yard line all the way to the back pylon. But as you know, one of the most frustrating inconsistencies of being a football fan is to hear from officials and officials who now have moved on to talk about officiating on TV. Rules analysts who say it doesn't matter when there's a foul and the end of a game.

8:52Rich Eisen:It doesn't matter what time it is. If it's a foul, it's going to be called a foul unless it's a Hail Mary and then roller derby can happen. and what fouls, what pass interference, what defensive holding, what illegal contact. I think that was all in one play, but this is what is part and parcel of playing better than the refs. Don't put yourself in a position where you need a Hail Mary. And obviously time was running out, and the fact that Miami had not one, not two, not three, but four drives of over 13 plays, first time that's ever happened in a college football playoff game because that's why Miami is moving on to the national championship game is they are winning in the trenches just like their head coach did back in the day for the U.

9:40Rich Eisen:They're winning in the trenches. They got the quarterback play from Carson Beck that they were hoping for when they got him in the portal from Georgia, and everybody thought he's finished. He's going to go to the U. End of story. Good to see you. You're not in the SEC anymore, and who does he beat to make the national championship game for the U but an SEC team in Ole Miss. And if I'm not mistaken, didn't Lane Kiffin had some words to say about Carson Beck leaving Georgia and getting to Miami? Google it, as one of tonight's coaches might say. And then on top of it, too, holy crap, that kid Malachi Tony.

10:21Rich Eisen:I mean, it's fitting he wears Tyreek Hill's number for a team that plays in Miami. He's fast. He's unbelievable. He's a game breaker. So they've got guys who can get after you on defense. They've got guys who can run down your throat on offense. They've got a quarterback who is, again, 23 years old and is as experienced a college football quarterback as you'll ever see. A head coach who is dialing it up. An alumni fan base that is belting everybody or objects on the sidelines. And this kid, Tony, holy crap. I'm just wondering if he's made himself a ton of money, if not now, but when he wants to go pro.

11:06Rich Eisen:And this kid, Chambliss, on Ole Miss as well. Pete Golding, congratulations to him on giving this run for the ages to the Ole Miss fan base. I thought I was going to come on today talking about Ole Miss getting to the national championship game and recalling my 1989 Michigan Wolverines who watched Bill Frieder bounce right before the NCAA tournament. And then they go on a run with Steve Fisher. I thought Pete Golding might be the football Steve Fisher right here, but instead it's Mario Cristobal and the Miami Hurricanes moving on. And a lot of times I think narratives take over, I don't know, popularity, social, the media in general.

11:45And this game's never been about that. And I think these guys proved that after November 1st, 69 days ago, I think is what it was. They made a simple decision to bring energy every single day into the building and just get a little bit better and find a way to be 1-0. And, you know, we haven't been home in a long time. You know, we've been on the road for five straight games, and it's because of their work, their commitment, their belief, and their trust,

12:09Rich Eisen:and the confidence to have in each other. And they're going home because that's where the national championship game is at Hard Rock. home of the Miami Hurricanes in the same way that the Niners hope that they're going to wind up in their building or the Rams wound up in their building and won it all or the Bucks wound up in their building and won it all can Miami do that against either Indiana or Oregon and Carson Beck again having his name sort of knocked down pegs for future NFL first round draft choice or knocked down as a possible college football national champion quarterback because Georgia wasn't interested in his services anymore.

12:56Rich Eisen:Had this to say, making the national championship game for his new school and team last night. It's been unbelievable. Obviously, almost exactly a year ago, I made the decision to come to this university. I remember me and Coach Chris Paul talking on the phone for the first time. I was sitting in Jacksonville in my house, in my room, and I just had a big smile on my face, and he had a big smile on his face, and he said, let's get to work. We really banded together and showed that we believe in connection, that we don't just fake it, that this team is really a family. And if our team really wasn't like that, I don't know if this win happens tonight.

13:34We really banded together. We believed in each other, and we never flinched in the face of adversity.

13:39Rich Eisen:All right. Here comes Indiana or Oregon. we'll find out who it is and as for Ole Miss we will see them in future years with Pete Golding as their head coach looks like Trinidad Chambliss for one more year unless why would he want to play one more year in college this dude is NFL ready I looked at him and I understand he's listed at 6-1 might be on top of a phone book we'd see it as the future combine but he's got a lot of old school Russ in him, man. He's really, really good. Gamer throws a good deep ball. Oh my word. He really impressed me through this run. And I guess the only question is whose quarterback is Lane going to steal in the portal?

14:20Rich Eisen:Hey now. Because it ain't going to be Washington's. That story keeps getting weirder and weirder. Until now he's back with the Huskies. But at any rate, looking forward to tonight's game. Looking forward to seeing what Miami can do on the night of the 19th against either Indiana or I think it's going to be Indiana all due respect to Oregon I think Indiana is a wagon and I think that'll be a great slobber knocker of a college football national championship game how about the 10 seat everybody that some folks were wondering didn't deserve to get in well Miami's proven they can win either way they played a tough physical game against Texas A &M right and then last night they put 30 plus on the board they are really really good and that kid tony tony make you feel good oh my word he can he's a home run hitter you know so um 844-204-rich is the number to dial in the program dennis leary is going to be in our number two right here on espn along with disney plus the espn app and espn radio but are you ready to bring your buddy out why not tj jefferson's bff who he doesn't like to mention is his BFF until I drag it out of him.

15:37Rich Eisen:But Ashton Kutcher is here, so there's no turning back. I guess not. Talk about his Bears against the Packers and more in a moment.

15:53Rich Eisen:Rich Eisen here. The tax deadline will be here before you know it. And you just want to know your taxes are actually being handled. But the old way? You hand everything off and then silence. Days pass. Weeks pass. You start wondering, should I send another follow-up email? It feels like you're chasing updates and getting nowhere. But now, taxes are different because your taxes are done for you by a TurboTax full-service expert. With Intuit TurboTax, you can match with your dedicated tax expert and hand off everything right in the app. And while your expert checks for every deduction, you'll see real-time updates on your phone so you always know exactly where things stand.

16:32Rich Eisen:Suddenly, you're not refreshing your inbox. You're going for a run, grabbing a coffee, scrolling anything other than a just-checking-in message. Because your TurboTax expert is handling it and keeping you in the loop. So this tax season, get your best possible outcome and every dollar you deserve without the guesswork. Visit TurboTax.com today to learn more. Real-time updates only in iOS mobile app. Only available with TurboTax full-service experts. O 'Reilly Auto Parts can help take the guesswork out of your check engine, ABS, or maintenance light with O 'Reilly Veriscan. The service is free and provides a report with solutions verified by ASE certified master technicians.

17:14Rich Eisen:O 'Reilly Veriscan can identify the most likely problem with just one scan. If you need help, O 'Reilly Auto Parts can recommend a shop for you. Don't ignore a check engine, ABS, or maintenance light. Ask for O 'Reilly Veriscan today. A free service exclusively at O 'Reilly Auto Parts. If you're like me and my family, you're all about creating amazing memories while on vacation. And for me, many of those have involved a home we found on Airbnb. We had such great experiences that whenever we travel somewhere new, we always check Airbnb first to find a place that fits our needs. The homes we've stayed in comfortable.

17:52Rich Eisen:safe, private. You feel like you're part of the community. After a long day of exploring or sitting on a beach, it really is nice to come back to a place you can call your own. Airbnb is also a great way if you want to earn some extra money while you're traveling or out of your house for an extended period of time. You can make your home work for you while you're away. Not as a full-time thing, not as some big production, just something that fits into trips you're already taking. You can use the money for that dream vacation or put that money towards that outdoor kitchen you always wanted hosting on airbnb just feels smart your home may be worth more than you think find out how much at airbnb.com slash host the rich is a show podcast stream uh the latest ryan murphy project is called the beauty on fx premieres where it's fx is the beauty pardon me with three episodes on wednesday january 21st at 9 eastern on fx and hulu and ashton kutcher is here to discuss that and so much more and again uh just to bring the radio audience up to speed this this show is as wild as any ryan murphy show is expected to be you'll see the first three episodes and they're wild right and then it gets more wild like i'm telling you every do every episode he would send me the script i was like i have to i do that like my i have to play play do that as a character and it's weird when you're playing like the bad guy quote unquote you have to find ways to like justify everything that they're doing because nobody even the worst people in the world don't think that they're doing something awful and and you're like how am i gonna how am i gonna like Like, wrap my head around, this is a benevolent thing to do.

19:36And, you know, he's like, you know, containing this outbreak, which is wild. It must be fun, though, to do something like this, right? It's so fun. It's so fun. Because also this guy is like a trillionaire. Like, billionaires are fine. This guy is a trillionaire. Don't mess around. You're like, well, yeah, I mean, it's a trillionaire. And so there's a weird sense of that. I have a friend who will remain nameless, very nice guy, who's a billionaire. And he once said to me, he was like, yeah, I told my wife, if money is the problem, it's not a problem. And when you lace into that mindset, you kind of go, if money is the problem, it's not a problem.

20:22And for this guy, nothing's a problem. because like if he got put in prison he probably just buy the prison and make it nice like it's there's not a version right of things going bad for this guy and it's really fun you just kind

20:35Rich Eisen:of dance on life when you described a friend of yours that's a really nice guy i thought you were meaning tj until you mentioned billionaire then i knew then i knew not my bff you know just another friend you know just another friend um so it's great to have you here man because obviously you're you're you're adjacent to the family if you're bffs with with tj jefferson i feel like i am I'm family. You are. You are family. Certainly since you've called into this show multiple times talking about your Chicago Bears. On the scale of one to out of your skull, how concerned, nervous, anxious are you for the Saturday night game against the Packers, Ashton Kutcher?

21:11So it's really weird. I love it. It's really weird because we as fans feel like our participation is necessary. like we actually i genuinely feel like if i'm not game ready by game time that could affect the outcome of the game like i know it's it doesn't make sense i genuinely feel like that right like i've i've spent the last like i know the packers very well first of all it's the packers which like anybody who's a bears fan is like like we almost just decided not to eat cheese anymore because the Packers are represented by cheese. Like, I will go on a dairy-free diet just to protest the Packers.

21:56Like, that's how hardcore I am. Understood. But I wouldn't want to hurt the dairy industry, so I won't do it. Yeah. You have a heart. I really don't like the Packers. And I know the Packers well. I know Caleb is going to be there to play. I know the team's going to be there to play, but I feel like I have to be there to play. So, how are we prepping? How are you prepping? Well, I mean, I've studied, like, Jordan loves tendencies. Okay. Like, you know, to start with, like if he rolls right, he can throw a medium or deep route. If he rolls left, he's a little bit unsure. There's a little bit of applause.

22:28He's probably going to throw a short route or run with the football. Yes. Like I've studied those tendencies and I'm going, are we game planning appropriately?

22:34Rich Eisen:And so therefore that you are so ready, you think Dennis Allen's defense will be better than ready because you're ready. Is that what you're saying? Yeah, that's right. And I feel like if there's an emergency button that I have to put, I don't know if I told you this, but I went to a game last season and Ryan Poles made the mistake of giving me his phone number. And so I blow him up about things that I see. And I'm sure that they don't matter at all. And I'm sure that they're not inconsequential. But I was watching the preseason and I was watching Luther Burden. And he's a rookie. And when it was a run play, he left his mouthpiece out every single time.

23:19And I'm like, Ryan, will you let Luther know that he's showing, he's giving a tell on every down, right? Like whether or not he's going to run or whether it's going to be a pass play. And then I noticed in the last game, he actually caught the ball, didn't have his mouthpiece in, and got clunked. But I don't know if it had anything to do. So your analysis has cost this man his teeth?

23:45Rich Eisen:Is that what you're saying? I don't know. What the hell? I just feel like any input I can have to dictate the outcome of the game, I need to be showing up and watching these things. I know that since Micah Parsons has been out, when the Green Bay Packers blitz, they go into a fuzzy zone, and it's pretty consistent, and we should be able to eat that up. I'm looking at injury reports. I've been watching Josh Jacobs for the last couple weeks. He's dinged up. He sure is. He's dinged up, and that's going to affect their running game. So they're probably going to be leaning into pass first. And so I know, like, on third and six, third and five even, we're likely not putting the ball in Jacobs' hands.

24:23I know if Jacobs is lined up a little closer to Love pre-snap, it's likely a run up the middle. If he lines up a little deeper, it's likely a run on the outside. I'm watching the game preparing for the Bear victory. You're in. You're locked. We got Kyler back. It's going to be a big deal. We got Rome back. Looks like he's coming back too. It's going to be a very big deal. And Colston, because of Rome's absence, Luther and Colston have really stepped up their game. And I think that that confidence that Caleb has, that he now has more, Adunze, Colston, Komet, and Burden. and you go, now he has a level of confidence with that entire receiving core that I don't think would have been there had it been not for the injury, I think that we're going to be on all four cylinders.

25:12Is it fair to say, Ashton Kutcher,

25:15Rich Eisen:that if it was the Rams or the Niners or even the Eagles or even the Seahawks, you'd feel more confident, but you're less confident because it is the Green Bay Packers and you're accustomed over the last two decades of sort of a result. A Caleb Haney moment while Jay Cutler's on the bicycle before he strolls down Rodeo Drive after the loss. What do you think? You know what I mean? There's some scars here. I think what happens, I think because it's the Packers, and I don't think it's relative to anything that they do, can do, can't do relative to San Francisco. I think San Francisco's playing some of the best ball.

26:00That was one of the most incredible games of the year. That was awesome. Seattle's defense right now is like, wow. That's blowing me away right now. But I think the Rams are very potent as well. You've got Puka, you've got Devontae coming back. Their run game has been exceptional. They have some defensive vulnerability. but the thing that concerns me about the Packers is we've already played them twice. And recently too.