Hour 3: Dolphins introduce new HC, Higher Register, & Albert Breer joins the show

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0:45Rich 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?

0:59Albert Breer:We've got a podcast so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part. Our YouTube channel.

1:06Rich Eisen:Subscribe at youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. Let's begin. This is the Rich Eisen Show. What do you think we are, gangsters? Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.

1:25Albert Breer:Can I interrupt? I'll address the Keon situation.

1:28Rich Eisen:Earlier on the show, five-time pro bowler Teron Armstead, ESPN college football analyst Josh Pate. Coming up, senior writer for the MMQB, Albert Breer. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Hour number three of the Rich Eisen Show, Championship Sunday, just a few days away. As of this very moment, Jeff Halfley was just introduced as the new head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Dolphins, still six gigs unfilled for next year's head coaching photograph at next year's owners meeting in March. It's kind of like the back to the future photograph. The Polaroid is getting filled in one by one. Yeah, yeah, right. 844-204-RICH being the number to dial.

2:20Rich Eisen:We chatted with Josh Pate last hour to close off the college football season. Our number one, Teron Armstead, was here. If you missed anything, there's always our YouTube channel, youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show. All three hours available in podcast form, however you get your pods. There's also the Disney Plus page. Once we're done, you can watch us back anytime you want by hitting the tab to watch the entire show back. One of our favorites, kind enough to join us once again with so much happening, is Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer. Good to see you, Bert. How are you, buddy?

2:51Albert Breer:Hey, Rich. How we doing? Sorry, I was coming in hot. in a little traffic on the way home. Oh, no kidding. Oh, no. Yeah. I think when there's even the prospect of a snowstorm now up here, which you're a native to the Northeast, a lot of people get on the roads. And I don't know if they're emergency shopping at the grocery store or whatever, but yeah, it's pretty busy out there.

3:15Rich Eisen:Well, you know, from what I hear what's coming to New England that we're going to there's going to be a captive audience for sure for the afc championship game uh with the snow hitting uh but before we get to anything for championship weekend i would love to know your thoughts backstory uh of the firing of sean mcdermott that led to a press availability of owner terry pagula and the new gm slash president of football operations of um uh the buffalo bills in brandon bean what led to all

3:49Albert Breer:of that what do you have yeah so i think what you've seen over the last week is a lot of the tension and pressure that was on everybody over the course of the last three or four months spilling out. I don't think, and you can, I mean, you can see it, by the way, their interviews list has been kind of cobbled together now. You know, I don't think that there was any major discussion between ownership and anybody else in that building about doing this. Yet, you know, I think as November became December, as December became January, as the AFC bracket materialized and there's no Joe Burrow in there.

4:21Albert Breer:There's no Lamar Jackson there. Most of all, there's no Patrick Mahomes in there. There was just this tension and pressure that didn't exist before in that building. And I think, you know, when you look at Josh Allen's emotion coming out of the game, when you look at Sean McDermott's reaction to the officiating coming out of the game, and now this with Terry Pagula, it's almost like all of that has spilled out. You know, like this has been, I think, one of the most well-run organizations in the sport over the last nine years since Sean McDermott and Brandon Bean got there. And so, I mean, to me, it's really eye-opening watching that.

4:55Albert Breer:I mean, it's like watching a car crash in real time, you know, over the last few days there. And so they still have good people there and I trust they get it right. But the optics of it aren't good. You know, throwing a player who's still on your roster and Keyon Coleman under the bus the way that they did. And I think, like, I don't think it was all that graceful the way that Terry Pagula talked about Sean McDermott either. You know, it kind of felt a little bit like a kicking a guy when he's down, which I'm sure, you know, if he had a second chance at that, maybe he would word some of the things a little bit differently.

5:27Albert Breer:You know, and then I think the optics of promoting Brandon Bean. I think Brandon Bean's one of the most capable general managers in all of football. However, you have to understand the way this is going to look, you know, and I think of the scene from Office Space where I can't remember what the guy's name was, but the character, you know, the main character in Office Space and the other guys that she's been let go and um you know they go to tell him and then he's like he's like well yeah i got promoted i know it's not fair you know what i mean like it just sort of felt that way and um the reality of it is like this is sort of a restructure for them and they're going to what pagula has in the nhl um with the sabers maybe what he's more comfortable with which is you're going from having um your coach and gm report to ownership to now having the coach report to the gm and the GM report to ownership.

6:18Albert Breer:So they're restructuring a little bit here. At least that's the idea. We'll see whether or not whoever the new coach is changes that at all. But a messy week altogether and a restructuring of the organization that's part of it. And it's hard not to think that when you listen to the words, right, and you listen to them say, like, what happened in Denver was the reason why, it sort of I think brings to light you know just how tense and how scattershot everything's been

6:47Rich Eisen:there the last few days because it does make it sound like it was an emotional decision rather than rather than one that that you normally take some time clear heads and things of that nature and Pagoula still seemed to be hot he seemed to be not only hot about the way it ended in Denver but also um the way he's clearly attuned to narratives that have been ascribed to his general manager and one particular player and keon coleman and unfortunately for them um you know one of the more shared pieces of video i saw on socials yesterday albert was the hard knocks in which brandon dean is clearly on board with keon coleman if not his own idea but let's place that aside for the moment and say so you're saying there's a new structure in buffalo um basically the structure that John Harbaugh just undid with the Giants.

7:41Rich Eisen:So if Breer, I'm sorry, if Brian Dayball comes to Buffalo, he'd be familiar with that setup of reporting to the general manager. And is that part and parcel of what's going on there? I mean, Dayball would be a familiar choice and one that I think maybe does need to be sold to the fan base in terms of his wins and losses. But what do you think, Albert?

8:07Albert Breer:It's kind of interesting because a couple of days ago I heard probably not. But I think Josh Allen's involvement in this is a factor. And Josh is very, very close with Brian Dayball. And so, you know, I do think that they're going into this with an open mind. But you can clearly see like a lot of the guys that they're bringing in have connections. Joe Brady works there now, right? And then you have Brian Dayball who was there this morning. And you have Anthony Lynn who worked there previous to this regime. so like there's familiar faces that are coming in to interview there and um you know like so it kind of that's why i said when they when they bring go and they put this list together it does feel a little bit like all right like we've got to kind of cobble something together and and hustle something together and kind of collect what we're doing you know because it it it just didn't feel like this is something where okay i'm pulling the list out of my drawer and it's been ready for two months and here we go you know and obviously they're later and part of that is you know the fact that they were in the second round of the playoffs which puts them behind the other nine teams that had openings it's only six now or it's only five now but the other nine teams that had openings had a jump start on them um or head start on them so i you know i i think dayball's candidacy is is interesting because i think this is going to be a josh allen centric hire I would also say that this is a golden opportunity for them and I think all those guys realize it that you may never have this sort of carrot to put in front of coaching candidates before where you've got Josh Allen a few months from his 30th birthday in the prime of his career he's the best player in the sport you're going into a new stadium I mean if you're doing this again in four or five years you don't know that Josh Allen's going to be still in the same state he is now based on the mileage he's already got on his body.

10:02Albert Breer:So I think you have to treat this as a golden opportunity. So they're going to go through these interviews. Would I be surprised if you take a big swing? If they were to take a big swing, I wouldn't be surprised because that's what this sort of opportunity dictates, at least in my mind.

10:15Rich Eisen:Albert Breer from Sports Illustrated is MMQB, must read every single week here on the Rich Eisen Show. Who pops next? Ravens pop next? What's your general sense here?

10:25Albert Breer:I think like the Raven situation is another one that's interesting. And I put them in the Steelers category in that, one, they've made very successful off-the-board hires. John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin were off-the-board hires, right? Like that wasn't anybody's hot candidate in 07 or 08. And they have a lot to sell. So this isn't like some sort of reclamation project for anyone coming in. And I think, you know, the flip side of it is for that reason, the candidates have to fit them as much as, you know, they have to build something for their coaching candidates. So I think it's at least interesting that Jesse Minter was just in there yesterday.

11:07Albert Breer:He worked there before. They know him. They've been able to see Mike McDonald's success in Seattle. Mike McDonald and Jesse Minter worked together in Baltimore and Minter succeeded McDonald at Michigan and had similar success. And now Jesse Minter is canceling his interview at the Browns today. Just interesting. Minter also interviewed with the Raiders the day before that. There are Michigan connections there too with Tom Brady and John Spitek. So that's an interesting name. I think Brian Flores is seen as a program fit for Baltimore. um you know i but i but i again like i look at them as one you know clint kubiak's another one that has some some ties there um i think that's one where they can be patient and let the process play out um but it wouldn't shock me if you know jesse minter wound up being the guy yeah that that

12:03Rich Eisen:that wouldn't shock me either so uh who are the browns looking at well i mean like i think i i

12:10Albert Breer:felt like all along like Jim Schwartz sort of had the inside track here I think they want to keep Jim Schwartz in the building based on what they they know about him and if you really drill down like if we're being fair about this Jim Schwartz his time in Detroit you know his third year they broke through he took over a winless team his third year they break through and make the playoffs for the first time in forever and I think what kind of took them down there was more a roster building thing than anything else. Like, I think he really believed, he had really believed that he, like that he could make it work with kind of some wayward players.

12:50Albert Breer:And they had a disastrous draft in 11 with Nick Fairley and Titus Young and Mikel LaShore where that like Jeff Fisher Titans model didn't really work for them. But I think there's some, there's some merit to the idea of Jim Schwartz. And again, I think they'd like to keep him in the building in some capacity. And then you look at the young offensive names. Grant Yudinski is going to be in there tomorrow, the Jaguars offensive coordinator. He's only 30. They're hoping for a chance to talk to Nathan Schielhaus, the Rams pass game coordinator, early next week when he's allowed to do a second interview with them.

13:24Albert Breer:So I think Jim Schwartz, I think their preference is to have Jim Schwartz is part of the equation. And, you know, I think it'll either be Jim Schwartz or one of these young offensive guys with Jim Schwartz as the defensive coordinator.

13:38Rich Eisen:So let's talk Raiders, Albert. What's happening with them? Another Tom Brady hire with him in the mix. And they've got the first overall pick as well. So obviously that's going to be part of the interview process, visions of Fernando Mendoza, who they think is the first overall pick. What are you hearing about the Raiders approach here?

14:02Albert Breer:So they're very cognizant that the quarterback is going to have to be accounted for in all of this, right? So that does not mean you have to hire an offensive coach. However, if Jesse Minter, who they like a lot, is going to get the job, there's going to have to be a detailed plan for, OK, here's our offensive coordinator. Here's our quarterbacks coach. Here's how we're going to bring them along. and when we lose our offensive coordinator if that happens in a year or two here's the guy who's going to replace him who i'm going to put on my staff right now i think it has to be something like that right for them to be convinced not to go with an offensive guy so i think minner is in the in the running and um presuming he has a plan for all that which i he's really sharp and he's interviewed really well i i would think that that that box would be checked by him i think he's in the running uh davis webb to me might be the most interesting name though um he's incredibly well thought he hasn't coached for very long is the problem but he played in the league recently he's my understanding like got like a passing relationship with tom brady but he's got two offensive coordinator names that i know are on this list that have tight connections to brady and one is brian dayball who could wind up going to tennessee as the coordinator could go to buffalo as the head coach but brian dayball is one name for davis webb they were together both in new york and buffalo when davis was a player and the other is cliff kingsbury who almost went to vegas a couple years ago as a coordinator who's tight with brady and so i i think davis webb has a ton of head coach qualities and i think part of it is the same thing with the Rams, the Rams have with McVay, right?

15:48Albert Breer:Like, which is like, I remember talking to the Rams front office people when they hired Sean and the whole thing was, well, we can hire him now a year early, or we just won't get him at all. Because if he doesn't get a job this year, he's going to get one next year and we're not going to be looking for one next year. Right. So I think with Davis, that's part of the logic is do we go in early on a guy a year early with a guy, bring in an experienced offensive coordinator who can work with the quarterback and just bet on this guy's upside. And so I think Davis Webb has a shot in Vegas under that sort of setup.

16:23Rich Eisen:Albert Breer here on the Rich Eisen Show. Let's turn to the championship Sunday before I let you go on the rest of your Thursday. Your opinion of Jared Stidham's readiness is what?

16:38Albert Breer:I've talked to a handful of people about him who've worked with him, coached him over the course of the last few days. So his story is fascinating. He had kind of a rough upbringing, was a blue chip high school quarterback at a Texas small school powerhouse, goes to Baylor, was going to be the guy there. Then he gets caught in the crossfire of the Art Briles thing. No fault of his own, of course, but winds up transferring to Auburn. Not a great system for a young quarterback there. but he makes it work and then the patriots gamble on him and they take him in 19 with the idea like this guy is going to be a good guy to have in the pipeline sort of like jimmy garoppolo was a few years earlier he had a chance to start in 20 he had a back injury that kind of limited him a little bit that off season and then covid wiped out otas and minicamp and then bill goes and signs cam newton um on july 1st and the opportunity to start goes away the patriots then draft mac jones the next year so that window that he had to become the starter there had shut but josh mcdaniel still thought enough of him when he got to vegas the next year to trade for him and then they tried to bring him back the following year but got outbid by sean payton who brought him in his Russell Wilson insurance.

17:56Albert Breer:And then Stidham stays the next year when Nix is drafted. And now they re-up with him again at two years and$12 million. So Sean Payton liked the idea that he can handle my offense because he's played for Josh McDaniels. I'm told he's been fantastic behind the scenes the last couple of years. A key part of Bo Nix's development and having the right sort of quarterback room. He's got swagger. He's got a skill set that's not that different than Nix's. Now, my question would be with Stidham, can he make the four or five throws at the end of the game that Bo Nix was making consistently? There's a reason why Bo Nix was coming back in all those games, seven fourth quarter comebacks, another one in the playoffs that broke a Broncos record, the franchise of John Elway and Peyton Manning, right?

18:41Albert Breer:Nix was making those throws at the end of the game. So can Stidham make those throws? But I can just tell you, just talking to people, he's not going to shrink to this moment. Like what people who know him best and the people who've coached him say is if this guy makes a mistake, it might be a couple of picks because of overconfidence. But he's going to go out there and sling it. And if Sean Payton makes this work and wins the Super Bowl for Jared Stidham, Sean Payton walks into Canton, I think. Don't you? Of course. Right? Yeah. So don't you think Sean Payton, you know Sean, I know Sean. Sean, don't you think Sean would love to say to everybody right now, watch this?

19:24Albert Breer:Of course.

19:24Rich Eisen:Yeah, I mean, he'd love to do that. And he'd love a shot at the Rams, who, as you know, went to the Super Bowl in Atlanta rather than his Saints, you know, with the pass interference that wasn't called. I mean, yeah, his competitiveness and his sort of, you know, hackles are very, we're familiar with it and it's very famous. The bottom line, though, is a guy hasn't, I have a number right here, he hasn't thrown a pass in 749 days.

19:54Albert Breer:And that's the difference, right? Because that's the difference, because we can make the comparisons to Jeff Hostetler and Nick Foles and even Tom Brady and Kurt Warner. Those guys all had runway, right? Like Warner, Trent Green got hurt in the summer. Tom Brady, Drew Brelts, got hurt in September. like Foles and Hostetler are closer, but both those guys had regular season games that they started at the end of the year leading into the playoffs. So this is different. You know what I mean? Like this one is not the same as those. And that's why I can't wait to see how he plays rich. I mean, I, you know, you'd like to see every team be at full strength and that's not really possible because of the nature of the sport.

20:34Albert Breer:Um, and you certainly like to see the best quarterbacks going but um i just think this is a fascinating story i mean i i just can't get out of my head how well teddy bridgewater played in an emergency situation for the saints in 2019 went five and oh when drew breeze got hurt like it i just i don't know if jared stidham would work for for 17 games you know as a starting quarterback for for the broncos but do i think that sean Payton might be able to make it work for two I mean he might be able to what's your take on the NFC championship game before I let you go yeah so like I think that I I think the Seahawks are the best roster left um I think they've shown that right like so we saw a complete they were I mean that the first the first quarter of that game against San Francisco was like the definition of complementary football that cliche right like it was kick return for a touchdown turnover on downs, offense catches it in, turnover, offense catches it in, right?

21:31Albert Breer:So I think they're the most complete team left. I think like the Stafford Ram, like these Rams are very different than the Rams that were there four years ago. And I think part of it is Sean McVay's reaction to Kyle Shanahan having his number and he knew they had to get tougher and he knew they had to get more rugged. And over the summers, in the last couple of summers, they've gotten, you know, they've had longer practices. They've had more contact. They've invested in the lines of scrimmage. Kevin Dotson coming over from Pittsburgh to play a guard has become one of the best guards in football.

22:04Albert Breer:They invested in Jonah Jackson. That didn't work out as much, but that was another investment up front. The defensive front, Verse, Fisk, Kobe Turner, Young, like all those guys are big, rugged guys. And they were built to beat the Niners. They're built to beat the Seahawks too, you know to stand up to a really tough Seahawks team so I think if the Rams are going to win this game and beat a really really good Seahawks team the formula is going to be let's take let's turn this game into a street fight and you know we'll get to the point where there's five minutes left and then number nine goes down on the table is our trump card you know I um it's a very different way that they won the Super Bowl four years ago but I think there's a real path to victory there and what's going to be an unbelievable environment for football all right man stay uh

22:55Rich Eisen:stay uh warm uh stay out of the snow there i'll be in denver and then alabama so i'm actually missing it but i appreciate your concern oh boy oh yeah man family minus dad without this within