Hour 1: UCLA’s Mick Cronin Ejects His Own Player??? Plus Hall of Fame LB Luke Kuechly

18:36Luke Kuechly:Mike, are you working this game? No.

18:38Rich Eisen:It's ESPN. That's one versus three.

18:41Luke Kuechly:Houston, Arizona.

18:42Rich Eisen:That's a 2-4 match. Great week. That's the appetizer before that game. Brother, great week in college basketball. Great stuff. And I'm just, again, Mike, I know that you worked those faders for the network up on Pico. I'm glad you ejected yourself to be with us today.

18:59Luke Kuechly:I have UCLA on Saturday. Let's see if they have. Let's see what happens. Yep. You never know. That's why I asked, because I knew it was ESPN, but Mike answered so quickly. Like, yeah, I do a lot of Big Ten. He takes credit for everything.

19:10Rich Eisen:Like he really showed up in the bad bunny halftime. I had the Ohio State last night. Rich's favorite team. Wait. Yeah, they're insignificant when it comes to Big Ten basketball right now. And Michigan State. Michigan State is as relevant as any team in the Big Ten. So is Purdue. So is Illinois. I'm just happy where my team is right now, especially in relation to Ohio State. And 100 % every Buckeye fan out there is watching this thinking we could have had Dusty May as their head coach. You don't. And then on top of it, on top of it, any Buckeye fan I know is like, well, football is the main sport.

19:47Rich Eisen:Got it. Okay. Okay, enjoy your spring in Columbus, Ohio. Okay, and the only letters that might be, okay, that I know you like to X out the M, fine. The letters might be N-I-N-T. Oh, I'm just loving this. I love this level of petty. Speaking with my chest here on ESPN, Disney +, the ESPN app, ESPN Radio, and SiriusXM. What a great platform. Petty Plus. And I thank my friends in Disney and up in Bristol, Connecticut for giving it to me. Luke Keekly is next. One of my favorite humans I've gotten to meet in the National Football League. He is a Hall of Famer. And he is coming up.

20:31Rich Eisen:The Rich Eisen Show Podcast.

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23:18Rich Eisen:Luke Keighley, Hall of Famer here on the Rich Eisen Show, talking about how he learned being in the Hall of Fame. I'll be honest with you too, Luke. you know um just for just astray from your enshrinement in this for a second how many snaps can pepper still give you do you think i mean i look at him and he looks like he could still play football luke i mean yeah you want to i think he i think he'd come in and be one of those those rush ends on third down where you overload one side and just let him work on the back side on the tackle and let him go win he's unbelievable there's there's some guys as you will find out because I've been around covering the hall for a long time.

23:56Rich Eisen:There are some guys who just look awesome in their gold jackets now as if they were wearing it as a rookie, right? Mel Blunt is one of them. Mel Blunt, I don't know if you've ever met him, but hopefully you will certainly coming up this summer. You look at him, and I'm like, he could still give me snaps. And then he wears his cowboy hat, so he looks like he's taller than he really is. But has it hit you that you are now part of this group, Luke? slowly I think the further away I get from you know Pep showing up at the door and me being out there in San Francisco for the Super Bowl the further away you get from it the more it kind of settles in and it's it's pretty cool it's you know it's that's what I've told everybody you we had a dinner or I'm sorry a luncheon on Friday after NFL honors on Thursday so Thursday was honors Friday we had a luncheon and before the luncheon you go in this big room and there's 35 40 guys all in jackets and that to me was was cool and it's the guys you look around and i love football i've loved it since i was a little kid i've watched football since i can remember and there's dudes it's you know john lynch it's warren sap i saw marshall fock in there i talked with ronde barber for a while and then you just look around the room you don't get a chance to talk to everybody but then Isaac Isaac Bruce was in there and I don't know Kurt Warner's there and Steve Young and you look at all these dudes that you grew up watching and you wanted to be like and they have their jacket on and it's so cool to see all these guys in their jackets and then you kind of got to pinch yourself and say wow like that'll be all one can't rolls around I'll be in the same situation as them which I think is the further away you get from it the the cooler it gets.

25:44Is this what you dreamt of growing up in Cincinnati? Luke? I think when I was a little kid, I think I dreamt of running out on Friday night under the lights at my local high school, St. Xavier High School, wearing a blue jersey with a white helmet with an X on it. And then as you get older, you think, man, maybe I can play in college. And then you get in college and you say, maybe I can play in the NFL. I don't think this was ever something that I thought in a million years would happen. I went up to Canton with a grade school buddy when I was in grade school. And we went through the Hall of Fame and we looked at the bus and the rings and all the exhibits of the guys that had given their gear to Canton to throw in the Hall of Fame, which I thought was super cool.

26:31And you never think that you're ever going to be in that same club as those guys. So I think, like I kind of mentioned, it just started to slowly settle in, and it's super cool.

26:42Rich Eisen:And then the neat thing, too, Luke, that I think you're already gleaning, is you get randomly thrown into a group of men as a Canton class, right? That you're now going to be attached to the other four guys who are in this Hall of Fame class with you. And I'm wondering what it was like when you were backstage at honors. Was that the first time you guys were all together? as a class, you and Breeze and Fitzgerald and Vinatieri and Roger Craig? Yeah, so we met up at the hotel and got on a bus and went to honor. So that was the first time that we were all together. But I think this is what the thing that I think is great about the class is, you know, we all played against each other.

27:27You know, I played against Larry a bunch. We played him in the regular season. We played him twice in the playoffs. first battle guy arguably a top three receiver ever and then you know drew i i got spoiled playing against a guy like drew every every year we played him twice in new orleans and we played him three times in 2017 in the playoffs and you get you don't i never i never it was just drew breeze and sean payton and he's gonna throw for a million yards and you don't appreciate it as much because you play him so often. And then I get done playing and everyone's like, who's the best guy that you played against quarterback-wise?

28:08And without even thinking, I always say Drew. Just the command he had for that offense, his ability to go through progressions, his ability to evolve with Sean, his ability to just, you watch him. I told him, I was like, I used to watch you in pregame before we had helmets and jerseys and pads on, just going through his pregame stuff. he would go through all of his drops all of the routes and he'd take his his steps and he'd throw the ball and then he'd go through progression two three four and every drop that he had was exactly the same his head would be down the middle of the field he'd get to the top of his drop he'd take his footwork he'd snap his head where he needed to he'd throw a perfect ball based on timing and then he'd go to read two read three read four and his feet and his shoulders in his body position would always match everything he's he's truly he's one of a kind and and then you look at adam a guy that i played against when he was in indy and a guy that i grew up watching with him in new england and obviously him with the colts one of the best to ever do it all-time points score in the nfl history and then roger craig and drew drew made a really cool comment about roger i think it was drew might have been larry i forget who it was but they said they had a conversation with with the quarterbacks in San Francisco, Montana, and Steve Young, and they always talked about, hey, how great Jerry Rice was, and Ronnie Lott, and Dwight Clark, and Montana, and obviously Steve Young, but they said the sauce that made that offense go was Roger, and he was ahead of his time, and the ability to catch the ball to the backfield and also run the ball as effectively as he did was special, so I got to play against three of those guys for meaningful parts of my career and then obviously Roger getting in if you watch his knock with the guys that were there it was it was Ronnie and Charles Haley it was just his special watching him how excited he was and and the guys are I tell you what the four dudes that are in are great obviously phenomenal football players that goes without saying but great people we got a chance to be around their families and just great people and I think that's what makes it even cooler as well yeah to Walter Payton

30:24Rich Eisen:many of the year award winners there in Breeze and Fitz and first ballot Hall of Famers. And, you know, I know you never played against Roger Craig. You mentioned Marshall Falk earlier in this conversation, Luke Keekly. I mean, Marshall will always tell you that Roger Craig being the first thousand thousand guy was someone who helped pave the way for his ability to play the game the way that he could. And then a teammate of yours in Christian McCaffrey is like the modern day version of it, Luke. Yeah. Christian's unbelievable. Yeah. He had a, I'm so happy for him the year that he had in San Francisco.

30:55Just, it's not surprising what he does as consistently as he does. Just his work ethic, his love for the game, his understanding of that Shanahan offense is just will and desire to be great in his competitive attitude. He's a special player, he's a special person. And for him to have the year that he did is just who he is as a person and as a player.

31:18Rich Eisen:Dave Wynn's comeback player of the year the night that you were on the same stage too of NFL honors and you know and and you are one of three Carolina Panthers now to be in the Hall of Fame the guy who showed up in your house in Julius Peppers and the late Sam Mills being the the other one as well I mean that that's gotta I imagine mean something to you as well Luke right yeah I think you know you talk about Pep first and when I got to Carolina they had a hallway of guys that got in the Pro Bowl so you know Ryan Cleo Greg Olson Wesley Walls obviously Cam Smitty, Gross. I'm missing guys, I'm sure.

31:56I remember Pep's picture that they had. It was him in a white jersey in his visored up helmet. He was holding a football in front of himself after he had an interception, a fumble recovery. He just looks like an absolute stud. it and I just remember hearing from all the guys stories of Pep hey when Pep was here he used to do this when Pep was here he did that this is what Pep did against Michael Vick hey you should have seen the time that Pep made this interception and ran it back 90 yards for a touchdown so there was this this legend of Pep for the longest time and then he came and I had the opportunity to play with him for his last two years in Carolina.

32:42And it was, to me, it was super cool to play with a guy like Pep, a guy that I grew up watching and that I had heard so much about from my early time in Carolina from guys that had played with him previously. And then Sam Mills. I mean, there's the motto for the team, it's stitched in the back of our jerseys, is keep pounding. And that was a Sam Mills thing. obviously the story of Sam with his cancer and his impact on the team and his impact really on the room that I was in the linebacking room. So it was Sam and then he set the stage and then he coached Dan Morgan, taught Dan everything. Obviously Dan had a phenomenal career, now the GM for the Panthers.

33:25And then after Dan, it was Thomas and then Beast. And then, you know, we had a couple other guys and then um i showed up and then shaq thompson now we've got it's continuing down but the dude that started the standard for linebacking play and how to play the game of football was sam mills for the carolina panthers so the two dudes that are in for the carolina panthers are phenomenal football players but again just great people and uh yeah just super fortunate to

33:55Rich Eisen:be there with those guys luke keekley here on the rich eyes and show pro football hall of fame class of 2026 uh and shriny uh in the few minutes i have left with you let's talk about the panthers now i know you're in the radio booth forum uh what a year what a year for the carolina panthers i you know when a team finishes under 500 and gets to host a playoff game they normally get a lot of slings and arrows sent in their direction but they almost knocked off the rams for a second time this year what what has happened there that gives you or anyone else the impression that this is now like we're ascending here right like what where where do they go from here i think the first thing is just stability the stability that we have with dave canalis obviously the head coach dan morgan our gm brant tillis and david tepper i think all those guys those four guys have a great feel for what needs to be accomplished i think they trust each other they let everybody do their jobs and the energy and the feel in the building is where it needs to be as far as great place to work Great place to be competitive.

35:01People are willing to learn. People are willing to teach. And Canales right here is just the ultimate example of just consistency. He's able to make difficult decisions. He's able to make the decisions that are the best for the team, regardless if they're easy or not. I think that we've gotten better each year that he's been there. And I think that Bryce has continued to get better each year, obviously finished year three and he's on an upward trajectory. I think his confidence in himself and his confidence in the offense, the last probably five, six weeks of the season, you really saw it and you see it in his demeanor and his body language and I one thing that I noticed was at Super Bowl this year you know everybody does Radio Row and get asked a million questions the answers that Bryce had in Radio Row this year felt like a guy that was very confident in where he was very comfortable um knows who he is I think he believes that the team has his back which they obviously do and he looks like he's ready to to take off and that's been a little bit different than he was in the past where he's, I think he's been trying to figure it out.

36:18We've had different coaches. We've had different play callers. We've had different guys that got brought in, but now it's Dave Knauss. It's his offense. He was in year two this year. We're in year three next year with Knauss and Bryce. I think he's very comfortable. I think he's very confident and we're slowly building a team around him to help him play well. Obviously the rookie um McMillan was phenomenal Tedaroa McMillan right here with Bryce he had a great year thousand yard receiver rookie of the year and then the one guy that's that really kind of came on at the end of the year was Jalen Coker second year kid out of um Holy Cross he's big he's physical he catches the ball outside of his body and he's competitive as hell and I love it um we're slowly getting there we're a young team that is starting to figure out hey we got a chance to be really good we've got great coaches we have a great situation i think this is going to be a big off season for for dan and uh and brant to go get some guys in free agency and nail the draft and i think if we do that we put ourselves in a really good position to take a big step this year in the few minutes i

37:27Rich Eisen:have left with you what what what's your opinion of the seattle defense you personally eyeballed you were in the building yeah they're fun man they're fun they they're good up front their guys in the inside are super active um their edge guys are good the one guy that i love to watch that i think really makes it all work is eman warry that rookie out of south carolina so much of the nfl has become can we play nickel and hold up in the run game and then it's like all right well if we're going to play nickel and they spread us out can that guy that is like that pseudo sandbacker nickel big safety can he get stretched out and play in the slot as well and this umanwari kid this rookie he's big he's long he's physical he can play super disruptively in the run game he can blitz and then they can split him out and he can play equally as well in the slot they're big and long on the outside with witherspoon and rick woolen they're they're good everywhere man ernest jones had a phenomenal in a year leonard williams up front demarcus lawrence and wusu i mean you go down and look at that roster they're really talented and then and then mike mcdonald and how he runs that system it's simple it's easy but when you play against them it happens so fast they're so physical they have such great length that they're not just playing cover three with normal dudes they've got pass rushers that make the ball come out they've got great length in the secondary they can match up with you however they want because the um and worry guy they're super talented they're fun to watch and uh you know who i'm really happy for though is is our guy sam darnold for for what he's been through in the resiliency that that dude has showed for him to get to the uh super bowl and win the super bowl it makes a lot of people really happy look at him just that's like look at that smile man that that smile says i've been through a lot but it also says, I've always believed in myself.

39:24And look at that. Look how happy that my man is right there. It just makes me, that's what football is about is dudes that run the roller coaster. They're up, they're down, they're on different teams. People say they can't do it. And then you know what Sam does? He sits behind Brock Purdy and learns in that Shanahan system. And then he goes with O 'Connell for a year in Minnesota, has a great year. And then they lose the game in the playoffs and everyone says that he stinks for I don't understand why. And then all he does is go to Seattle and sling it around and go win a Super Bowl. So, I mean, Sam deserves everything that he's gotten.

39:58All he's ever done is work hard and grind and believe in himself and say, I'm going to continue to get better. And then we have those pictures that you guys just put up there of him smiling with the Lombardi trophy in his hand. And that's what the game's about. And I'm so happy for him.

40:13Rich Eisen:You deserve it too, man. You deserve to be in the spot where you played your Super Bowl. I know the result wasn't what you wanted in Super Bowl 50, but you deserve to be on that spot 10 years later introduced as a Hall of Famer to that crowd, man. You deserved a moment like that. I heard, you know, from the knock on the door video, you know, Greg Olson tell you that you don't talk about yourself enough. So let others do it for you. And in that regard, do you know who's going to be introducing you? Have you decided that yet? Is that a decision? I got to figure that part out. So it's been a whirlwind, obviously, the last couple weeks.

40:47And I got to figure, there's two of them I got to figure out. So who's going to introduce you on enshrinement day? And then who's going to put the jacket on you too? I've learned that'll be on Friday night. So I got some figuring out to do. And it'll be fun, whoever it ends up being. But Greg's a stud. You already know that. Everybody knows that about Greg.

41:09Rich Eisen:so yeah and we send our condolences to him uh losing his brother um luke you're you're you're the man and listen you know part of this as well as a party um tepper's got deep pockets man do not do not be humble about it he's got to dig deep let's throw a bash for you in ohio okay that's your home i'm gonna have you i'm gonna have you represent me and be like hey rich rich needs to talk to you mr tepper we need to get this thing going yeah dave i'll just do it through the camera on ESPN. You got the cash. Let's go. Let's go. He's a Hall of Famer. He's a Carolina Panther. Let's go dig deep and let's throw a party for this man.

41:47Rich Eisen:How's that? Thank you. Did that work for you? That's perfect. That's great. I directed straight to Cameron. Thanks for the time, Luke. You're the best, bud. Thanks, guys. You bet. Congratulations to Luke Heakley. Yes, sir. Pro Football Hall of Famer in the second ballot right there on the program. See, and everybody says that, you know, the class might not be this or that without Belichick. It's still going to mean a ton. It's going to mean a ton to this guy and And Fitz and Breeze and Roger Craig, who, by the way, didn't wait for the knock on the door. He beat Ronnie Lock. Ronnie was like this and the door opened.

42:18Rich Eisen:He's like, I got this. I've been waiting 30 years. We didn't really talk about how awesome. Those are great moments, man. And Vinatieri, he'll represent the Patriots before Bill gets in eventually. 844-204-WRICH-NUMBER-DOLL. All from running here on this fun Monday show. Or it's a Wednesday.

42:40Rich Eisen:The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.

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44:35Rich Eisen:Or you can just call 844-204-Rich and tell me how you like your Hyundai Palisade. Terzo in Iowa has been a longtime listener and longtime caller into this program. You're on ESPN now, Terzo. Hopefully, are we on in the bar in Iowa?

44:52Luke Kuechly:You guys are always on. Come on, Rich. You're on to Carl's right now? They got you either streaming or on the ESPN, my man. Fantastic. They got you on it everywhere you're at.

45:02Rich Eisen:Terzo, are you, because, again, you're a legal expert, is there any way that you could potentially slap a lawsuit on the Seahawks for winning in the 49ers stadium? And demand that they pay for some sort of defumigation of the beloved home locker room of your beloved Niners? Terzo?

45:21Luke Kuechly:Yeah, see, that's where it'd have to come from. We'd have to have a lawsuit against them for damages that are not in the everyday realm of wear and tear. So if they were doing things in excess to do that, that's kind of where we'd try and recruit any of that fumigation or mitigation that we had going on there.

45:41Rich Eisen:Saul Goodman would come up with something. So let's go. Terzo and Iowa. Terzo.

45:45Luke Kuechly:They didn't flush the toilets.

45:46Rich Eisen:They didn't clean up after themselves. They left food out. They did something wrong. What they did is they won the Super Bowl.

45:53Luke Kuechly:Well, that too. Well, and that might be the worst part about the defacing of our field there. So that might be kind of the main part that we'd be looking at is the pure damages. Sorry, Terzo. It's all good. Hey, Rich, I got a question for you guys. We were having this discussion. There's Eric Carls talking about Floyd Mayweather fighting Tyson. And we were thinking in NBA talks, what would be the best two-on-two team? And they've had, and it's throughout the NBA history, but they would have had to have played on the same team. Now, theoretically, you would hope that they were all in their prime whenever they played together.

46:38Luke Kuechly:But the argument came down to, you know, MJ and Pippen versus LeBron or Kyrie or Durant and Curry. Now, there was some pushback with Kobe and Shaq, but I think it's always pretty difficult to throw Shaq in there because I think he's just the most dominant player. Yeah, I know. That's why you would take him, Terzo.

46:58Rich Eisen:You just basically talked your way into the answer, I think, right? I mean, we're up against the end of the hour. Thanks for calling, Terzo. Wouldn't you say Kobe and Shaq versus Jordan and Pippen? Isn't that the answer? But they can't guard Shaq. I guess Durant, you can't guard him down low either, and then there's Curry for a three-point shot. Interesting question. This is good bar talk.

47:20Luke Kuechly:Yeah, we could spend an hour on this, man. I'm almost inclined to go Jerry West and Wilt. That's not bad. If you want to go old school. Magic and Kareem? I mean, Magic and Kareem would be tough to beat. Kobe and Shaq, yeah, obviously, because Shaq's hard to deal with.

47:35Rich Eisen:MBE, baby. What about Harden and Embiid? No, not on that. That was totally facetious. Okay. This guy. I mean, Tatum and Brown, right? Okay. I'd say. Okay, maybe you'll see it on March 1st, baby.

47:52Luke Kuechly:The Ridge Eisen Show Podcast. Shot clocks, big shots, upsets, aces, TGL playoffs are here. First, Atlanta Drive starts their repeat run against Los Angeles Golf Club. Then, Rory's Boston Common Golf and Tiger's Jupiter Lynx face off in their playoff debuts. Who will advance? Keep up. It's playoffs. Tune in Tuesday, March 17th at 6.30 p.m. and 9 p.m. only on ESPN and the ESPN app.