Hour 2: Chargers Fire OC Greg Roman, plus NFL on FOX Analyst Mark Schlereth

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0:31Rich Eisen:every soda's got something to say colas brag probiotics give ted talks then there's mr pib no pitch no promises just bold cherry bringing the flavor bold kick of cherry hey yo mr pib 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. This is the Rich Eisen Show.

1:17Rich Eisen:That Texans defense is no joke. Ball is out. Rankins picks it up. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Hot seat. Mike T has had more success than anybody in the league. Earlier on the show, ESPN NFL analyst Alex Smith. Coming up, Fox Sports NFL analyst Mark Schlereth. Comedian Kevin Nealon. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Our number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air. Great chat with Alex Smith and our number one Kevin Nealon of obviously SNL fame and also all the Sandler movies that you can handle. He's going to be coming back on the show in hour number three. He hasn't been here in about three plus years.

2:02Rich Eisen:So it'll be great to reconnect with Kevin Nealon in hour three. There's always you at 844-204-RICH. Number to dial. It's an overreaction Monday on a Tuesday. We'll get to that shortly in a moment. But guess what? We've got Mark Schlereth back here on the program from Fox Sports. Good to see you, Mark Schlereth. How are you, sir? I'm doing great, Rich. How are you, my friend? I am doing well. You think Aaron Rodgers should do what? How about that for openers? Mark? um what do i think he should do i don't know go on a darkness retreat and eat ghee butter till he throws up okay that's one thing that that agree he could do that listen he should do whatever he wants to do if somebody's willing to pay him um to play quarterback and that's what he wants to do then i think he should do it the guy can still play there's no question as he slowed down a bit Yes, certainly.

2:52But can he still throw the football? Absolutely. But listen, man, whatever he wants to do, I always look at fans in general. They're like, oh, that guy should retire and he's tarnishing his legacy. Man, the easy thing to do is retire and put your name into the running when you're going to become the first ballot Hall of Famer. The tough thing to do is if you still have a passion for it to continue to play, because it takes a lot of dedication, a lot of time, and a lot of work to be able to do that. And so whatever he wants to do, I'm fine with. Like, I'm not sitting here saying, oh, I think you should do this or that.

3:28To me, I love watching him play. Obviously, last night was a tough night, no question about it, but the Houston Texans defense will do that to everybody. I mean, I always put myself, Rich, in a position like, what if I was playing still? What if I was playing against those guys, right? And I started thinking about that as I was watching last night. I instantly got diarrhea. I was like, these guys are so freaking awesome. And they are so violent the way they play football. And they are so unbelievably tough. It just like just the whole thing about how are you going to deal with those guys? Man, that would be that would be like those 2000 Ravens when you had to play those guys.

4:05That's what it reminded me of, dude.

4:06Rich Eisen:That's how I started the show, saying that I've been fortunate to do what I do for a living since 2003 with NFL network, but the first Super Bowl I ever attended was Super Bowl 30 when the Ravens dismantled the Giants. And I equated this defense for the Texans with that one. And I know that sounds like heresy, but it's the real thing, man. I don't know how many Hall of Famers are going to wind up on this team or how many on this team will wind up being Hall of Famers, more appropriate way of saying it but that yeah that i i didn't stutter nor did you rich i i remember going into a game in 2000 we're going to play the ravens that a playoff game and at the time i was i was injured but i was helping kind of with the game plan and helping alex uh alex gibbs our offensive line coach and um and so we go in there we put in four like you always break it down by four games their last four games and I think in their in the last four games when we broke them down I think an offensive lineman got up to block Ray Lewis I think twice or three times I mean it was unreal that dude was just flying around having tackling practice and Sarah Goosa and Sam Adams were just eating people up in the middle and it was unbelievable but you know we were the Denver Broncos and we ran the ball against everybody and and uh you know we're gonna run against the Baltimore Ravens and we're going to do this that the other and we get into like halfway through the third quarter we are getting our asses whipped I mean we are just getting whipped and Alex Gibbs looked at me um as our office was coming off you know to the sideline he just kind of put his hands up and we're like well what are you gonna do like there like there ain't nothing you could do they were that good and that's kind of how I feel about the Houston Texans man they are that good they they are and i started the show by saying they can win it all um based on what we saw and and and stroud fumbled it five times and they still won yeah um obviously it helped that he didn't lose uh all five but that that happened last night and who else impressed you from the uh wild card weekend mark slareth yeah i mean i'm telling you like you look at what Chicago has been able to do.

6:26And, you know, one thing I always say about coaches, and there was a lot of pearl clutchers out there said, oh, you know, Ben Johnson said, you know, F the Packers and, oh, we're all worried about that. One thing I always say about head coaches in general is you have to authentically be you. And as players, come on, we were all a bunch of PE majors. I mean, I got a general studies degree from the University of Idaho, right? I'm not that smartest guy, but you do have a great sense of which guys have horse sense and which guys are real. And you've got to be authentically you. And it's one of the things I loved about Ben Johnson, man.

7:06He's like the first time I talked to him months ago, he goes, wait till you see this offensive line I put together, man, we're going to change the way this organization operates. Wait till you see us run the ball. And that's the thing. This guy has been lauded as or lauded as one of these, I see there's my general studies degree, however you use that word, Rich, you can do that for me. He's lauded. He's lauded. I got you. As this great play caller and this great play designer and all this, that, and the other, the bottom line is, man, that dude runs the football. And then you see him in third down and six situations, he'll run the football knowing, hey, man, I'm going for it in fourth down in this situation.

7:43And your ability to overcome that whipping you got in the first half and to walk out there and still have the mental capacity and the belief and the toughness to go out there and do what you do I just thought that was

7:59Rich Eisen:incredibly impressive by the Chicago Bears yeah and Denver got two first team all pro offensive linemen Chicago got one in left guard Joe Tooney and then one second team all pro and the right tackle and Darnell Wright. And so clearly Ben Johnson had a vision and has been able to affect it. The Caleb Williams fourth and eighth throw for me, that's the play of the year at this point in time, just in terms of the stakes, in terms of the manner in which he threw that football, how he found his receiver in Roma Dunse. I have no idea. It saved the entire year for Chicago and started yet another comeback, and which has been their hallmark.

8:42Rich Eisen:And now here come the Rams. What is your opinion of that? Fully knowing, by the way, it could be one of the coldest games on record in the history of the NFL playoffs, by the way. Yeah, yeah. I've said this for a while that I thought the Rams for a lot of the season were the best team in the NFL. And then, you know, you watch a game where they're up 14-0 and you're thinking, at least I was thinking, this could be a blowout. And I've done enough Carolina games to know that the Carolina Panthers Panthers still have a ways to go before they're at that level of the Rams. And then, you know, the Rams have to come down and put a drive together with Matthew Stafford throwing it to Parkinson down the, which was just an unbelievable throw, right?

9:22And catch. But yeah, I still think the Rams are really, really good. And I think that they are, you know, defensively, they can rush the passer. They, they, they're very balanced on the defensive side of the ball, but they gave up a lot of big passing plays to the Carolina Panthers. I just, they felt like there was something off there. I still think Matthew Stafford, I still think that offense can produce, and I still think they're a better team than the Bears, but I've been discounting the Bears every step of the way. Like every step of the way, I'm like, ah, man, this is the week, and oh, you know, like their quarterback, Caleb Williams, he doesn't complete a high enough percentage, and yet he still just seems to be able to make a play when a play is needed.

10:04Being able, there's a skill set in being able to play your best when your best is needed. When it's crunch time, that dude just has an ability about him. When it's the old saying, when it's nut cutting time, that guy cuts nuts. He just figured out a way to get it done, and it's incredible.

10:23Rich Eisen:Mark Schlereth here on the Rich Eisen show right here. The one seed you're concerned about the most, Denver taking on the Bills and Josh Allen, or Seattle taking on a San Francisco 49ers team that just lost another major player in George Kittle but keeps on chugging and clearly they know each other. Which one is the matchup that concerns you for the one seeds the most, Mark? Probably the Broncos. Josh Allen is just that special. I look at San Francisco and what they've been able to do to this point is just incredible. from Robert Sala being able to grab a guy like Kendrick's off the street. And all of a sudden that guy is your play caller on the defensive side of the ball and the guy that's orchestrating on defense and all the young players they're playing with there in San Francisco and all the injuries they've had offensively and Kyle Shanahan continuing to do the things that he does.

11:20I think that it's an incredible story. I think this Seattle team is so good on the defensive side of the ball. And one of the things I've always said about great pass rushers, you know, you go back to your playing days is, hey, man, if they've got one really good pass rusher, we can we can kind of eliminate that guy or one guy who is we used to call him war daddies. You got one war daddy. We can eliminate that one war daddy. We can figure out a way to game plan around it. But they got four or five guys on their defense. They're just problems. I mean, they're just problems and they rotate those guys.

11:52I think Mike McDonald's done a phenomenal job. That defense is incredible. And like you watch, you go back to week 18, that game, I think it was a Saturday night where it was a 13 to three game and it might as well have been a 30 to three game. I mean, it was a butt whipping by Seattle that they put on San Francisco. I just don't know that you're going to be able to come back from that one. But the Broncos, Josh Allen, I don't think, I think this is the worst team that Josh Allen has got to the playoffs with here in recent years. But he is such an X factor. And his ability to run the football of the – I think they had 12 rushing plays, two of them kneeled down.

12:34So 10 rushing plays, seven of them – I went back through the film against Jacksonville. Seven of them were designed runs, either tush-push, I think four of them, and then three designed runs, QB draws, and a quarterback power. The guy is phenomenal. And it's not just a scrambling ability. The design runs when they get into the higher red zone or into the red zone. And then his ability to stand in the face of trouble and just deliver the football. He is just the biggest X factor. He is the compound W. He will cover multiple warts. And I think he's done that throughout the season for the Buffalo Bills.

13:11Rich Eisen:Well, I mean, and, you know, the national conversation is that even though, as you pointed out, his team may not be one of the better teams or the best team that he's had this decade but he's got the best layout of the playoffs he's had even though he's on the road for the first time this decade and the reason why everybody's saying that is who's not in the playoffs and that's Patrick Mahomes and I give you the floor on that one since I know you're a Chiefs lover who misses talking about that team and that quarterback Mark yeah as much as I hate the Chiefs I have nothing but respect for the Chiefs.

13:43And I'm conflicted about it because I actually want to hate Patrick Mahomes so much. And I actually find myself like gravitating to him and liking him, which really, man, that is like, that's like eating a turd sandwich with sprinkles on it. You know, I just like the sprinkles don't really help it go down. But I will tell you, I am fascinated by watching Patrick Mahomes do what he does late in games. His ability, again, very much like what we talked about with Caleb Williams, his ability to be at his best when his best is required. And the belief that team has had in their ability to go out there and put a drive together late in the game to win a football game.

14:29It is like essentially nothing I've seen in years and years. It reminds me of, you know, playing with John Elway and being in the huddle in a game where you're down by two touchdowns. And Elway walks into the huddle and is like, all right, let's go. Let's go win this thing, you know. And you just feel like, all right, let's – here we go. And that's the thing that fascinates me about Mahomes and the fact that he's not in the playoffs and the Bengals aren't in the playoffs and, you know, some of the great quarterbacks. Lamar's not in the playoffs. You're right. It's probably the easiest path, even though you're on the road, when you consider those guys are not in your playoff kind of path.

15:07Rich Eisen:Yeah, I mean, Knicks, May, and Stroud are the three quarterbacks left in this AFC playoffs with Allen standing out, obviously, as the most decorated one. But May maybe being the, I don't know, obviously you said Josh Allen is the MVP formally of last year and may could be this year. That looms out there. Mark Slareth here on the Rich Eisen Show. In the few minutes I have left, I want to talk about the coaching with you and everybody that's been fired or could get hired or could get fired. Were you surprised John Harbaugh was let go in Baltimore, Mark? I was because I think John Harbaugh is one of the great coaches in this league.

15:50And, you know, I don't know what all behind the scenes has gone down in Baltimore. I do know that there does come a time when your run is probably over and when everybody needs a fresh start. And it's much like the players. You get to the point where you've been with an organization for a while, and when you get that fresh start, it's not only probably good for the organization for you to walk out the door, but it's also good for you to re-energize and to reconnect, if you will. So I was surprised because John Harbaugh, like I said, is class, and he's a great coach and has been a great coach in this league for a long time.

16:28But, you know, I think that whether it's the quarterback and John that don't see eye to eye, you know, offensively, whatever the case may be, I think it'll be good for both the organization and good for John to get that, you know, get a fresh start and go lead another team to the playoffs.

16:43Rich Eisen:Where do you think his best landing is? The Falcons say that they're going to have an in-person meeting with him. Obviously, the Giants have an opening. Give me the spot where you think he fits best, Mark. Yeah, I think that the Atlanta Falcons are a really talented football team, and then they play in a division that's very winnable. So I think that would be a great fit for John Harbaugh. I think the Giants also would be a great fit for John Harbaugh, a young quarterback who I think is a talented kid, defensive front seven. I think they can play, and they seem to have fixed some of their offensive line woes and some of the issues they've had there.

17:25So I think either of those teams would be a great fit for John. And so that would be my anticipation. I think the Giants probably would be my number one, kind of my number one place where he might go. But I think that would probably be my destination number one for him.

17:45Rich Eisen:Okay. And now congratulations. In the few minutes I have left, I'm making you an NFL owner. You now have multiple more zeros going on. So congrats again, as I said. But you don't know which team yet. I'm going to sort of spin you around the dial here about what you should do as the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles. You're Jeff Lurie. What do you do? What do you do there in Philadelphia? Well, I think one thing you have to do is you've got to give Nick Ceriani the opportunity to reestablish himself and reestablish the culture within that organization. And sometimes the best way to move forward is to let go of really good players that become a problem.

18:33And I think one of the things that happens in a locker room when a guy is unhappy and we're talking about A.J. Brown and what happens, how that filters through your locker room. If you consistently have to acquiesce to a certain guy because, you know, he is that talented. Ultimately, what happens to guys like me is you watch that go on and it becomes uncomfortable in your own locker room. right be like we gotta we've got to acquiesce to that guy on a consistent basis and then all of a sudden that dude's in the training room you're like i don't want to go in the training room i'm not you know i'm gonna skip my treatment or i'm gonna do it later or whatever the case may be and i think one of the things that ends up happening to you is you develop a locker room full of independent contractors i'm just going to do my job but i don't want to be involved or be connected because you guys consistently you know you acquiesce to a guy who's being an ass as opposed to handling your business.

19:33Rich Eisen:Well, so it's not the OC, QB, or HC. It's number 11. That's what you say? I think number 11 is a problem. And then if anybody else is in that same realm, if it's your QB, like it's hard. They have changed offensive corners almost every year, right? Other than Steichen, yes. Right. Right. It's it's hard, right, to to implement something, especially if you've got guys that aren't on the same page and you've got guys that don't like the game plan because I'm not getting enough touches in this game plan or I'm not getting this, that, the other. Or the quarterback is saying I need to be more than what you're allowing me to be.

20:15And I think one of the biggest things just in life in general, Rich, is to know what you are, but probably more importantly, know what you're not like. I know what I'm not good at. I'm just going to stay away from those things. When I played here in Denver, I was exceptional at the zone running scheme. A, B, and C, man, I was exceptional at those things. Anything that had to do with pulling or some other things, I was not any good at that anymore. My legs were so beat up. My knees were so beat up. You know what we did? When we put power, implemented power into the game, the gap run scheme, We only ran it.

20:54We only ran 17 power. We ran the right guard pull. We took 16 power. We took counter out of the game plan for me. But Mike Shanahan was like, hey, listen, man, the dude is as good as there is at A, B and C at the zone, the wide zone, the tight zone to taking guys off the ball. He's as good as there is in this game. So we can't pull anymore because his knees are so shot. We just won't pull him. problem solved right and we went back-to-back super bowls doing that and the bottom line is you've got to know as a player what you can and what you can't do the first thing i did when i broke the huddle was it was to say to myself where is my help and where can i not get beat where can i absolutely not get beat because i don't have any body presence i don't have any help i don't have a running back escaping through the b gap where am i in trouble and let me stay out of that position.

21:47Let me funnel a guy where I have help and where I know I can win as opposed to being, you know, a moron and jumping in the middle of a guy and giving him a two-way go. Like those are the things you need to know as a player and you need to know as an organization. Okay.

22:04Rich Eisen:So in the few minutes I have left with you, congratulations. Your name is now Mark Rooney. What do you do if you're in charge of the Steelers, Mark Rooney? Yeah. You know, I think very much like the Harbaugh situation, sometimes change is a good thing. And I know we've only had three coaches in the last 200 years and, you know, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But sometimes, you know, it's run its course. You haven't won a playoff game. I know you've gotten there, but it's not it's not getting there. The goal is always what to win your division, to try to get a first round by right to be the number one seed and to win a championship.

22:43That's the goal. And it feels like the goal in Pittsburgh is, hey, we win more than we lose. We're 9-8, and we make it to the playoffs. If that's the goal in Pittsburgh, then that's incorrect. That's not the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Pittsburgh Steelers' goal is to win championships. And if you're not doing that and you're not winning playoff games, then sometimes it's run its course like it had in Baltimore. And sometimes you just got to move on.

23:13Rich Eisen:Now, lastly, you're in charge of the Packers. What do you do? You're Mark Policy. What do you do? Yeah, I would continue with Matt LaFleur. I think he's done a phenomenal job. And you've gone through the Aaron Rodgers. You had to make the tough decision there. Now it's Jordan Love, you know, and you've had some injuries down the road. But I still think that that's a damn good football team. And I think Matt LaFleur is a damn good football coach. Okay. And we'll just give you a crack at breaking news. My coordinating producer, Mike Hoskins, just got in my ear and say, Jim Harbaugh just fired Greg Roman as the offensive coordinator of the Chargers.

23:55Rich Eisen:Your first blush reaction there is what, Mark? I think Greg Roman has been great. and he's done a great job implementing kind of that quarterback run game with the drop-back game and all those things. And then that gives itself a potential reunion with John Harbaugh when he goes to the Giants. How about that? And so who do you think the Chargers could use? What sort of look to implement Jim Harbaugh's vision? What do you think? Yeah, well, Jim Harbaugh is a guy that wants to, you know, he wants to run with fullbacks. He wants to run the football. He wants to do all those things. And I'm a big fan of that stuff.

24:45But you've got to be able to find a way, one. And I know you had all kinds of offensive line issues in regards to the injuries and stuff. So I don't know that this is necessarily a fair situation. But you've got to be able to figure out how you're going to keep your quarterback upright. And I don't know about you, but I'm watching that New England game late in that game, and I started feeling bad for Justin Herbert. Like, they're going to, like, I thought a couple times he was going to die. Like, it just was like he was getting crushed. And when you don't have the ability to run drop back and you don't have the ability to protect your quarterback, you got to find a way, a system to make sure you keep some pressure off of that guy.

25:29So I did feel bad about that. I know you've got personnel issues because of the injuries, but, but yeah, you got to find a way to be successful in those situations.

25:39Rich Eisen:Stinking truth podcast with Mark Schlereth, Fox sports, Mark Schlereth. You the man we'll chat again next week. If you don't mind, sir. Appreciate your sense. Good Rich. Ladies and gentlemen, Mark Schlereth here on the Rich Eisen show. We're up against it. Let's take a break. We'll come back and we'll talk about the chargers making that move. 844-204-RICH. We'll talk with you as well.