Hour 1: Rich Ranks the NFL Head Coach Openings, plus CBS Sports’ Bill Cowher

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1:00Rich Eisen:This is the Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody. Can't get enough of the Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck. You can find us everywhere. Watch us weekdays on Disney Plus from noon to 3 Eastern. Miss the show? We've got a podcast so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part. Our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. Ladies and gentlemen. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Oh, look at Steve Curry. Uh-oh, Steve, don't get thrown out. Eagle, Roy. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. You look at the top picks, except for the Jets, are on to a new coach.

1:45Rich Eisen:Today's guests. Pro Football Hall of Famer Bill Cower. Fox Sports NFL analyst Mark Schleren. Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Well, hey, everybody. Welcome to this edition of The Rich Eisen Show, live from Los Angeles, California, on this Tuesday, the 6th of January, 2026. Everybody, 844-204-RICH, number to dial, whether you're watching us on Disney +, the ESPN app, or you're listening to us on ESPN Radio, Sirius XM, Channel 80, our podcast listeners, you could call. We might not be here. Just depends on when you're listening to us, whenever you want, on our podcast, all three hours.

2:28Rich Eisen:we're we're here for you in spirit if you're listening to us on our podcast we greatly appreciate that and anybody who watches later on on disney plus or uh somehow checks us out on our youtube channel we greatly appreciate youtube.com slash rich eyes and show you hit us with a follow button we're closing in on uh 1.1 million folks who take us in that way good to see you over there chris brockman how are you good morning rich how are you my friend good to see you DJ Mikey D's first appearance of 2026. Good to see you over there. Good to see you, TJ Jefferson. Did we get our plaque yet? For YouTube?

3:03Rich Eisen:Oh, for YouTube. One million. No, we have not. Because remember, I had picture ideas. I wanted us to take it around like one of those flat Stanleys. Oh, I thought the Stanley Cup is the Stanley I'd prefer to associate with. This is our Stanley Cup. You know what I mean? Plus, we don't have to have a handler with white gloves following. Very good. We should, though. You know, I introduce you guys first because you are on the Rich Eisen show, my BFFs. Of course. That means a lot, man. No, it's the truth. We're going to have a new one today joining us today. Oh, yeah. His name's Kyle Whittingham, and he has no idea that we're besties.

3:41Rich Eisen:He might have an idea. He's going to know right away. Right away. Oh, that we're besties? Yeah. I'm going to tell him. He's going to pick up on you. He has no idea. He has no idea. He's probably heard. You're out there in these streets. I'm out there in these maize and blue streets. Rich Eisen, he ain't that little kid from Staten Island. And he joins us the day after Bryce Underwood says, what portal? I don't see a portal. I'm staying right here. That makes you feel very happy. He's joining us in hour number three. In hour number two, Mark Schlereth will join us. He was on the microphone for Fox of Falcons and the Saints.

4:15Rich Eisen:He almost watched the New Orleans Shuccaneers put the Buccaneers into the playoffs. So that didn't happen. The Panthers move on. And Mark's going to be the first to help us break down Wild Card Weekend this week. Kurt Warner tomorrow. Bill Cowher is going to join us. Hey, Bill Cowher. Car power. We'll talk to Bill and his chin. Better do your chin. Join us on Zoom in short order. we'll talk to him about the coaching carousel and which job does he think is best um he's on ebs which has the wild card sunday opener between uh the bills the small market bills and the small market jacksonville jaguars you didn't like that when i threw that at liam cohen yesterday to call refer to the bills as well i i think that was uh you know uh putting him in a position yeah provocative act perhaps i just thought it was pointing out how he's just saying it with his chest and he's a guy who says things with his chest i mean technically you know based on the media markets jacksonville is rated higher than buffalo there you go so buffalo is factual they're the large market team in this wild card yeah it's a factual if i was armed with that information yeah i would have even pointed that out i looked it up after the fact but yes are the jaguars still underdogs in their home for sure yeah they are still all right yeah one and a half okay very good i can't wait to throw jacksonville in a tease uh by the way um i've just been told in my ears the latest of the uh coaching carousel assistants are taking it on the chin today matt eberflus of your dallas cowboys the defensive coordinator of the cowboys is thank you for your service has uh been told um his services are no longer required um which is you know i i i like that guy i like eber fluss yeah you know what i mean and a few times right he was there um in indianapolis at the dinner where some guy came up to me and thought i was ryan gosling so we'll always have that that is absurd it still is a feather in my cap sir it's i would i would never I can't wait until Ryan Gosling sits in that chair next to you and you get to share that story with him.

6:30Rich Eisen:I can't wait for that moment. Please, God, someday. That would be great.

6:36Rich Eisen:And, you know, it was just a year and a half ago that the guy was the head coach of the Chicago Bears with Caleb Williams. He had that golden lottery ticket from back in the day, and now he is no longer required to be a defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys. Rough season. Well, they finished in DFL in total defense in 30th in many other metrics. They were DFL, and it's going to be a fourth straight year for the Dallas Cowboys to have a new defensive coordinator. Yikes. And, you know, it's the next guy. It's Iberflus. Last year was Mike Zimmer for one year, and before that, Dan Quinn, who just let go of both of his coordinators.

7:26Rich Eisen:The commanders announcing or our friends in the media are announcing and the commanders will no doubt at some point confirm. Cliff Kingsbury is out as the offensive coordinator. Don't forget, he was a guy who was in the mix for head coaching jobs at this point last year because of what he did with Jaden Daniels. And Jaden Daniels goes down. the offense falls completely apart McLaurin has a problem which isn't a surprise usually happens with guys who hold out that they have some form of a soft tissue injury at some point in time the run game goes down with Austin Eckler I mean injuries ravage that side of the football and all the plans Noah Brown hardly played Zach Ertz goes down towards the end of the year they wind up playing the third string quarterback because Mario Tuh gets injured and, you know, in the same way, Eberflus has got to be like, yeah, you know what's going to affect the total defense and the lack of sacks?

8:27Rich Eisen:Not having 11. You trading Micah Parsons away right from under me when you say everyone should sleep easy. You know, and that's just the way things go, I guess, in the National Football League. It's like a weird bling game. I bet Cliff thinks he's in the mix this year for a head coaching spot. i i mean it doesn't help it always helps when you're looking for a gig that you already have one it's the way it works in the real world as well uh certainly when you're highly successful with the job that you already have and you could basically say in a meeting you know or or you know go into the audition if you will with that as your you know backstop to basically say i'm good you know i i'm interested in your job but we're all good if it doesn't work out i mean there's some sort of a power that you you feel empowered in these conversations but to come in and say yeah the washington commanders have let me go but i'd love to still be your head coach it's it's not the greatest it's not the best uh way to walk into a job interview joe witt the defensive coordinator is out so the commander is changing both coordinators and dan quinn making that decision or ownership making that decision and dan quinn checking the box that's just what's what's happened and now there are six head coaching positions open at present um and uh I have a top five list.

9:55Rich Eisen:Oh, okay. Now, as you know, I do one more with the top five list. So it kind of fits to have six head coaching jobs open at present. And it does not appear of the three Florida-based head coaching jobs. One, as we all know, is quite secure. We're the guy who could be coach of the year in Liam Cohn, as the Jaguars are taking on the Bills to kick off wildcard weekend on Sunday for a triple header. And then there's the Miami Dolphins, whose head coach, Mike McDaniel, said yesterday he's going to be involved in the general manager's search for the Miami Dolphins. Is that weird? Usually it's the general manager chooses the coach, not the coaches there, and he helps the owners and consultants choose the general manager.

10:52Rich Eisen:That's an NFL way of doing something bass-ackwards, unless you'd love the head coach, and clearly they do. And Mike McDaniel can dial up plays, that is for sure. Hiring the guy that might fire you is a little strange. Well, I mean, we'll discuss this later on a little bit more. Hiring my brother. And Todd Bowles, a soundbite that we'll play later on as well, him saying he's earned the right to stay head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which I kind of liked that sort of brio that you don't want to, don't hear from Todd Bowles. Usually he's really calm unless you lose a football game in the last seconds, the Atlanta Falcons, then you sound like a truck backing up.

11:34Rich Eisen:But so I think it's going to stay six. You do. I kind of do. You don't think a wild card weekend could have an effect on things. I don't know. I would hope not. I would hope not either. I mean, in terms of if you lost the wild card game. Well, I think you're referring to Mike Tomlin right now, and we'll talk about that with Bill Cowher in short order. But I have my top five, and just understand this. Every job in the National Football League is a great job, okay? I mean, there's only 32 of them. It's the pinnacle of your profession to be a professional head coach in the National Football League.

12:15Rich Eisen:You could win the Lombardi Trophy if everything goes right. So understand this. There will be a six on the list, but it's still a special job. Have I covered my behind enough? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hit it. High five. One, two, three, four, five. Rich's top five. Ah, yes. My top five best NFL coaching opportunities at present, presented by Hyundai. Number five on the list. I'm putting the Cleveland Browns here. Here are the things that they got going for them. They're sixth overall on the clock. And also they've got Jacksonville's first round pick last year because they let Jacksonville hop up to take Travis Hunter, whose services they have not had in Jacksonville for almost more than half the season.

13:05Rich Eisen:And they're still in the wildcard round. But that means currently, would you care to guess what the Jacksonville first round pick is on the clock right now? Oh, like 28 or something? Yeah. Nice. You nailed it. I didn't know that. So they got the sixth and the 28th overall pick. They also have a defense ready to roll. Okay. I mean, we all know how good defensively they are. Offensive problems all over the lot. As we know, they only have cap space of three million going into next year. That we all know can be fixed a little bit. But that's 26th best in the NFL. The owner there, the Haslam family, you heard Jimmy basically say yesterday, we're not dysfunctional.

13:51Rich Eisen:What's dysfunctional? We're dysfunctional? Not this building. We're dysfunctional. And, you know, it's still the Deshaun Watson contract that roosts over this team and the salary cap. And so if you want this job and you want to go to Cleveland and you want to go in this division and you want to try and be the mayor of Cleveland by winning games there, you've got to figure out what to do with Deshaun Watson next year and the quarterback. What is up with that? So I'm putting the Browns here fifth on this list. Number four on this list, I'm putting the Vegas Raiders here. They've got the first overall pick, and they've got$110 million in cap space.

14:33Rich Eisen:That's the second best. Now, the problem with that is when you only have, you know, Max Crosby, Brock Bowers, Ashton Gentry, you know, the left tackle Colton Miller. After that, there's reason why the cap space is there. because you don't have a lot of guys that have commanded the salary to eat up your calf space. The guy on the right, Tom Brady, how much, if you're taking this job, you've got to find out how much is he going to be involved? And is he not in the building? And, you know, Alex Guerrero is in the building. What is that dynamic of a guy who's not in the building running the team? and I understand Brady's greatness.

15:20Rich Eisen:He's, by the way, a dynamite broadcaster. I think he has vastly, vastly improved. His enthusiasm for the game just comes through, the microphone, his knowledge. It's so great when he's like, when I used to do this, you're like, please tell me more about what you used to do. I want to know. Because you don't want to be that guy that he's saying, this is what I used to do, and you're on the field, and you're the guy not doing that. It's like being the guy on the iPad handed to Michael Jordan. You know, in the last dance. At any rate. And you can't say, what do you know, Tom Brady? What is that dynamic?

15:53Rich Eisen:And how does it affect the operations in the building? It's a fair question, I think. And, you know. I told you, quarterback under the most pressure this offseason. Tom Brady. Who's it going to be? And here's this stat that speaks about how dreadful the Raiders' offense was this year. Ashton Gentry had 1 ,021 total yards after contact this year. Insane. Okay. He had a 1 ,000-yard season scrimmage after contact. His total yards number was 1 ,321, meaning he had only 300 yards on the season before he was hit. Wow. Wow. That's how bad it was protecting, blowing open holes, finding an offense of anything.

16:43Rich Eisen:And plus, you know, I'll put it forth on the list here because, you know, you're living in Vegas. Take that as you will. Fun town if you want to find the fun. Good place to be. And good place to be if you don't want to find the fun. All right. Number three on the list, I'm putting the Atlanta Falcons here. Oh. even though they have no first round picks just 5 million in cap space, that's the 24th best in the National Football League but this division is winnable, to say the least an 8-9 team an 8-9 team just won this division, as a matter of fact the 58 combined wins for the division over the last two years is the fewest combined wins of any division in the national football league it's the most winnable division you have out there the offense is ready to roll do you have a plan for michael pennix do you want him because he's there when he comes back and if not you've got kirk cousins and drake london and kyle pitts and bijon robinson who is must be the greatest guy to to coach in the nfl if you think about it right what a dream you got guys on defense you got an uh potentially a couple all pros on the offensive line so there's there's some bones there to win this division as Brady Morris could say, all I had to do was beat the Jets and I'd still have a job.

18:03Rich Eisen:And the Jets would have the first overall pick, but I digress. Number two on the list are the Tennessee Titans. I'm putting them here. They've got the fourth overall pick. The average age of their team is 25.8. That's the youngest in the league. You've got the youngest roster. You've got the fourth overall pick. You also have the first overall pick from last year's draft. So you can use the fourth overall pick on the best player on the board that's not a quarterback. What's your plan for Cam Ward? I mean, this guy basically marinated in anonymity this year. By the way, that's a great, I think, Deep Purple album was marinated in anonymity.

18:36Rich Eisen:Great tour. He's a baller, man. I really like him. Okay, so what's your plan for him? You got him on his rookie contract starting in year two. $113 million in cap space. That's number one. And I believe there's no state income tax, right? In Tennessee, no, there's not. There's not in Nevada either, right? Correct. Okay. Number one, this state income tax here, for sure. But I'm putting the New York Giants here. You got Jackson Dart in year two. You got Cam Scadaboo coming back. You got Malik Neighbors. You've got this defense that has just gotten a ton of studs in that front seven. Third overall, pardon me, fifth overall pick, 18 million in cap space.

19:19Rich Eisen:That's the 19th best. But what's your plan for Jackson Dart? You see what I'm saying? I've got three kids at quarterback that lead this list here. You've got to have a plan for it because if you think these kids aren't it, you might have to find out if the front office and ownership is flexible about not going with them anymore, which is a tough sell. Maybe you don't want that job because the last job you want is a job where a team is committed to a young quarterback that you don't believe in. the worst part is to have that happen during you during your tenure where you believe in the young quarterback and now you don't see dolphins comma miami number one are the giants on this list go ahead you have one more i did not know and that leaves the cardinals by process of elimination their third overall on the clock and they've got 44 million dollars in cap space that is the uh 14th best overall in the NFL.

20:22Rich Eisen:And, you know, again, young receivers, Michael Wilson is so freaking good. Trey McBride is the best tight end in the NFL, production-wise, to say the least. And, you know, my issue with being a Cardinals head coach is the fact that this division is sending three teams to the playoffs right now with 12 or more wins, and you started 2-0 and only won once the rest of the way, and that's the team that you're taking over. With Kyler Murray is the question. Is he your guy? Is he not? What does that leave the team if he isn't anymore? Is ownership willing to part ways if you're not interested? Would they hire you if you're not interested?

21:09Rich Eisen:I mean, that's a large conundrum, but still there's a lot of great bones for taking this job. That's the one more of my top five best NFL coaching opportunities. I just ranked them one through six right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Presented by Hyundai, everybody. Let's take a break. Bill Cowher is going to join us next from CBS. 844-204-RICH is the number for you to dial to have a conversation with us on this program as well.

21:40Rich Eisen:The Rich Eisen Show Podcast

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22:45Rich Eisen:So get down to your local Hyundai dealer and get away with a deal you'll love during the Hyundai Getaway Sales Event. Visit HyundaiUSA.com for details. In my line of work, I'm fortunate enough to travel quite a bit covering the biggest moments through the football season. While I'm on the road, I sometimes miss the comforts of home, which is why when I travel with my family, we always check Airbnb for places to stay. It's our home away from home, providing the comfort and safety that allows us to wind down and relax. Families like mine are looking for homes that fit their needs to make new memories in, and your home may be exactly what they're looking for.

23:22Rich Eisen:If you're looking to save up for a new addition to your house or a once-in-a-lifetime trip to see your favorite band in another country, for instance, hosting your house on Airbnb could help you reach those goals. It's easy to list your home for short trips or extended periods of time, allowing your house to earn you some extra money. Make your home work for you while you're away and enjoy the benefits of hosting on Airbnb. Your home may be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb.com slash host. our radio audience has returned here on espn radio that's the voice of bill cowher who joined us during our disney plus espn streaming port of our television uh show commercial break uh from cbs pro football hall of famer good to see you coach uh i'm just wondering again you you've your run to the super bowl you've been part of runs uh before from wild card road game weekend opportunities.

24:23Rich Eisen:Is this, you're a perfect guy to ask this question to, the most wide open playoff field that you could remember perhaps even from your coaching days where truly anybody can go on wild card weekend, win on the road, and go on a run to the Super Bowl right now? I don't think there's any question about that, Rich. I think if you look and since this format of 14 teams now instead of 12, and now we have seven seeds that are in there, and this is the third year of that, But I look at those two seven seeds, the Green Bay Packers going to the Chicago Bears. I'm telling you, that's a divisional game. I think Green Bay Packers are going to go in there healthy.

25:00I know Matt LaFleur rested his guys last week. The Bears maybe not playing their best those last couple weeks. They can still run the football. I give them a chance big time to go into Chicago and win that. And for the Chargers, you know, Justin Herbert, you can say what you want. They lost those three tackles early in the season. It's been kind of a makeshift offensive line. But the time clock in Justin Herbert's head, I think, has sped up down through the years. So he's gotten used to maybe throwing the ball quicker than he wants to and then maybe having to evade. This is the best defense he's had going into a football game in terms of playoffs.

25:34And so it's time for him to do it. But you're also going against the New England Patriots, maybe one of the most balanced football teams, and talk about the AFC side of the ball.

25:41Rich Eisen:Yeah, and the six seeds are the Bills in the AFC and the Niners in the NFC. The five seeds are the Rams in the NFC and the Texans who have the longest winning streak in the National Football League going into the playoffs. I mean, seriously, everybody's got to have their heads on a swivel this week. Yeah, I mean, I don't think there's any question that this is wide open from one to seven. I think you can even talk about the fact that Seattle and Denver, you know, they're right there with the rest of those guys. There's been no separation. I think you've got a group of teams in there. They're slotted in certain places, and I think that's what makes the playoffs great, particularly this round, Rich.

26:18I always said, you know, you get to the playoffs and it's 0-0. All you got to do is win three games if you got to buy, four games if you don't get to buy. And whether you play on the road or you play at home, to me it's just, you got to beat everybody anyway. And that's why I liked even what Nick Sirianni did this past week. I could have got a second seed. I don't care, but he put health over matchups. And I think that's the way you have to do it going into the playoffs. Go as healthy as you can, and then play over where you have to play. slay every dragon along the way and if you have to beat them all because to me there's only one champion there's 31 other teams that are vying for that position i'll put a pin in that for a

26:51Rich Eisen:second because uh i do want to revisit that what you just said about sirianni but in the in in in what we're you know in the vein of what we're talking about here the the bye week it's great for rest it's great for health and it's great because you don't have to win four playoff games to win it all, you have to win three. So you're a step closer to the ultimate prize. But this week, again, the bye week may be most important because you avoid the fray of this weekend where anybody can win. There's just no question about that. But you also, the thing that you, the bye week, you lose is momentum.

27:28I mean, there's one thing because you lose that game, you lose a bye week, but if you have the momentum going in, that's why I go back and just say, the one thing I always looked at every year, and this was the Commanders a year ago, and it's been the Philadelphia Eagles this year. Sometimes a three-game losing streak, which we experienced a year we won our championship. We were 7-2, went to 7-5, had to win our last four to get in, and then went on the road three times and won the championship. We won eight straight games. I saw that with the Commanders a year ago. They went to the championship game.

27:57I see that with the Eagles this year. That three-game loss they had the last two weeks in November and the first week of December, I think that depth have made them a better football team. They had to do some serious soul-searching. So sometimes the depths of despair can read the heights of hope. I just think sometimes you have to go really low to get really high. And that's how I looked upon our run that we had in 2005, and I see that kind of the same parallels where the Eagles are. And they've been there before. No one's talking about them. I think the running game's coming back. Yes, those questions are going to exist on the offensive side of the ball, but that is a very, very special defense.

28:33And, again, they are still the defending champs.