Hour 3: From the NFL Combine with Bucs HC Todd Bowles, Eagles GM Howie Roseman & Panthers GM Dan Morgan

11:09Howie Roseman:It's really been unbelievable just coming in. And I think the first day, me, Jason, we all told him the same thing. We didn't want him to be Tom Brady. We wanted him to be Baker Mayfield.

11:21Rich Eisen:You literally said those words to him.

11:23Howie Roseman:Yes, I said, I'm not asking you to be Tom Brady. I'm asking you to be Baker. We don't want Tom. We want Baker Mayfield. They're different players. Tom's legendary. Nobody's going to ever replace Tom. Tom's like a pair of shoes that you put up on a shelf that you wore for a long time, and you buy a new pair, and you've got to break them in. And Baker came in, and he's the new pair of shoes for us, even though he's been in the league for a while. But I think we found each other at the right time. He was the right fit for this team. but mentally he is so sharp at reading the room as far as understanding what the defense needs, what the offense needs, spending time with players where they're sitting down at lunch, giving them advice, hanging out with them later on, you know, hanging out with the offensive line.

12:10Howie Roseman:He runs with the linebackers. He does a great job of keeping everybody in sync while he learns the game plan. And he's a very sharp passer, especially a deep ball passer that he doesn't get enough credit for. And he's been a godsend for us. Yeah, telling him we want you to be you had to have been maybe one of the first times he's ever heard that as a professional. He said that. And he's actually said that. It's the first time he's ever said that. And, you know, as he got going a couple of days and he saw it was true and believed it. And everybody rallies around Baker and we love him to death.

12:44Rich Eisen:You're the second former Jet head coach I've had here today. I had Robert Sala on in the last hour. But the reason why I bring that up with you right now is how did you watch Sam Darnold do what he's done? You were his first head coach in the National Football League.

13:00Howie Roseman:I was so happy for Sam. I was so happy for him. He came in under a lot of pressure in New York, but he got injured a little bit. And then I don't know what happened after I left, but I know he bounced around a few. But we always exchanged pleasantries when we played each other after the game. and I'm just so happy for him because I know he works at it. I know he cares, and it's great to see him blossom. What does that tell you about quarterbacking in this league?

13:26Rich Eisen:And obviously you have a veteran. You have the guy chosen. It's amazing. You have the guy chosen two picks ahead of him as your quarterback right now. So you've coached the number three overall guy. You've coached the number one overall guy of that draft who both had to go somewhere else. What does that tell you about grooming, if you will, quarterbacks in the national league?

13:46Howie Roseman:It takes a few years in this league to develop into a full-time legendary quarterback. You know, you can have a great first year. That doesn't mean you're going to be great your entire career. It takes about three years to learn the system and settle in, and four years before they really start to blossom or not blossom. And I think they all need time, regardless of what they did in college. And they're coming out less and less with 18 games and 20 games. and instead of playing Coach Parcells used to say, if they haven't played in four years, you don't know what they're going to be yet. So a lot of those guys coming out early, you've just got to be careful and you've got to do your due diligence.

14:26Howie Roseman:Not that they're not great players, but it helps when you have games under your belt in college.

14:32Rich Eisen:Great to see you, Todd Bowles.

14:33Howie Roseman:Very good seeing you. Thanks for coming by and seeing the fine aging wine. Oh, yeah. Who doesn't drink it.

14:38Rich Eisen:I appreciate you. Great to see you, Todd Bowles. That's Todd Bowles, the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. When we come back, Howie Roseman of the Philadelphia Eagles is standing by. This is the Rich Eisen Show live from the Combine. Please tell. The Rich Eisen Show podcast.

14:58Rich Eisen:If you're ready for an oil change, trust the professional parts people at O 'Reilly Auto Parts to recommend the best products for your vehicle. Right now, get five quarts of Valvoline full synthetic motor oil and a Wix filter for$35.99 and receive a$15 O 'Reilly gift card after rebate. Upgrade to a Wix XP oil filter for just$2 more. Limits apply. See store for details. Stop by your local O 'Reilly Auto Parts store or shop online at OReillyAuto.com. Rich Eisen here. The tax deadline will be here before you know it. And you just want to know your taxes are actually being handled. But the old way?

15:35Rich Eisen:You hand everything off and then silence. days pass weeks pass you start wondering should I send another follow-up email it feels like you're chasing updates and getting nowhere but now taxes are different because your taxes are done for you by a TurboTax full-service expert with into a TurboTax you can match with your dedicated tax expert and hand off everything right in the app and while your expert checks for every deduction you'll see real-time updates on your phone so you always know exactly where things stand suddenly you're not refreshing your inbox you're going for a run grabbing a coffee scrolling anything other than a just checking in message because your turbo tax expert is handling it and keeping you in the loop so this tax season get your best possible outcome and every dollar you deserve without the guesswork visit turbo tax.com today to learn more real-time updates only in ios mobile app only available with turbo tax full service experts get into the hyundai getaway sales event and get away with a deal so right it almost feels wrong because right now you can get great deals on our most popular models including our adventure ready suvs like the hyundai santa fe or santa fe hybrid and the tucson or tucson hybrid plus there's our bold and stylish elantra loaded with the latest tech or go all electric with the ionic 5 or ionic 9 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 Back here on ESPN Radio, I've got Howie Roseman here live at the Combine.

17:13Rich Eisen:Let's just jump right into it. How do you term last year's season? Yeah, I think disappointing.

17:19Todd Bowles:You know, disappointing because, you know, coming off of our 2024 championship, felt really good going into the season that we had a chance to compete for another championship. Obviously, every year is not going to end with confetti falling on our head, no matter how hard we try, things happen. But when it doesn't happen, we're disappointed. And so we got to start and look at that and why it didn't happen and go through the reasons and go through the tape and go through the roster and all the things that could potentially make us better so that next season has a better result.

17:51Rich Eisen:What is Sean Mannion bringing to this equation now, your new OC? What do you think?

17:58Todd Bowles:Incredibly impressive person, really, when you sit and talk to him about football and his vision for the offense and the people that he's been around and hopefully the talent that we can surround him to make his transition easier as a first-time play caller. And I think the good news, and you and I got married a little later, so we saw this in our own personal life, is the more you meet, the more sure you are. And so I think that going through the process and being open-minded led us to Sean and just really excited to support him.

18:33Rich Eisen:Well, what's he going to do that gives you the confidence to tell your fan base, this offensive coordinator is going to be less scrutinized than the previous one and the one before Kellen Moore?

18:46Todd Bowles:Well, I don't know that the bar is if they're going to be scrutinized or not. I mean, we do play ball in Philly. And so being scrutinized is going to be part of the game.

18:54Rich Eisen:Well, being scrutinized will only come because if there's another question about play calling or lack of points or consistency, and tweets and posts that are thrown out there.

19:06Todd Bowles:I think, Richard, what we were looking for is we were looking for a system of play that fit our players and having a system that we can go back to our players and show them the vision for. And Sean has a vision for how we're going to play. He has a vision for how our offensive line is going to play, how our skilled guys are going to play, how our quarterback is going to play. We think it fits the talents that those players have. And so for us, that's exciting. You know, we go back and we look and a lot of categories in offense, we're 20th, 21st. And so there's a lot of room for improvement. And you've got to combine that.

19:39Todd Bowles:We can't forget about the defense, you know, and Coach Fangio coming back and the defensive talent that we have and continue to improve on that side of the ball as well. And special teams, you know, we're not looking to go this way here and then fall back that way. You know, we're looking to hopefully be great in all three phases. Is A.J. Brown going to be one of those players? Well, I think I've been really consistent in talking about how hard it is to find great players. And AJ's been a great player for us. Not a good player, a great player for us. He does have tremendous character. And so I think from our perspective, we're looking to add to our roster.

20:13Todd Bowles:We're not looking to subtract. And so, you know, I've been really consistent in saying that.

20:18Rich Eisen:Well, I mean, he's a great player. And obviously, you want to have somebody like him catching the ball. And you also got him. You got, obviously, Devontae Smith. You got your tight end. You've got your quarterback. You've got Saquon. You're ready to roll. What's your offensive line outlook as you're sitting here at the combine, do you think?

20:36Todd Bowles:I think we've got four Pro Bowl players coming back on our offensive line, which is exciting. We feel like we've got some young talent there as well. Tyler Sheen will be in his second year as a starter. We haven't hit free agency or the draft to continue to add. And really, that's what we want to continue to do. We want to continue to add talent. I describe it like a layer cake. Once you take out a layer, you've got to rebuild that layer. So if you can add on to that cake and add on talent upon talent, you've got a chance to be a really good football team.

21:06Rich Eisen:What does Jalen Hurts need to improve in?

21:09Todd Bowles:Well, Jalen's been an incredible quarterback for us for five years of starter. Super Bowl MVP, man, no doubt. Two Super Bowl appearances, one world championship. Probably would have been the Super Bowl MVP in two of both those games if we would have pulled out the first one. If there was no penalty at the end is what you're saying? Hurts my heart talking about that. Okay. And so I think that the guy's always trying to improve. He's always trying to work on whatever it is. Obviously, he's got another new offensive system. You know, he's been around a lot of offensive systems as a starting quarterback, not only in the NFL, but in college.

21:42Todd Bowles:And all he's done is embrace that and take on that challenge and persevere through it. Do you like the drama? Do you like it? I don't know any different ways to go about it. You know, like you just said, how many combines? They've all been in Philly, you know. And so for us, it's part of running a team in Philly.

22:00Rich Eisen:It always seems to be something, though. Do you prefer it? Would you just like to come to work and there's no storylines, there's no phone lines lit? I understand it's part and parcel of Philly.

22:12Todd Bowles:What is that like? I don't know what that's like. And I think for us, what I prefer is winning. And winning at a high level and doing that in a way that changes lives. And so we've got to get back to that. And we're not far removed from that. And certainly when you're talking about 11 wins and winning the NFC East, not a terrible year, you know, but our standards are what they are. And we embrace that.

22:38Rich Eisen:All right. In a few minutes I have left with you. Walk me through watching Cooper DeGene and Quinion Mitchell here a couple of years ago. Let's pull back the layers on evaluating and nailing it and what you see here and what boxes needed to be checked after that.

22:57Todd Bowles:Yeah. Now, Coop was medical, right? Because Coop wasn't here. He was coming off an off-season injury. And we were chatting with him. We brought him into the facility as well. And I think when we were going through our draft prep thinking Q had a good chance of being selected before we picked at 21. Right. Had done the work on him. Loved the player. Loved the person. And just anticipating probably wouldn't be there. So really thinking that Coop was a legit option for our pick. And when we were on the clock, it was because we had done so much work and we were prepared to take Coop at that pick. And having them both there at a position of need, it was a hard decision because we loved both of them.

23:35Todd Bowles:And both those guys, first-team All-Pros, Pro Bowl players, better people than even players, as hard as that is to believe. And so once we picked Q, immediately on the phone trying to trade up. And when the day ended, that whole Friday, thinking about ways to go up and get Coop, not knowing where he would go and just having some hope, you know, that we'll be able to do it because we had two second round picks in that draft. Right. But when you like someone that much, you know, whether it's Q or Coop, you're anticipating that everyone likes them the same way. And so you're anticipating with every pick.

24:12Todd Bowles:Anytime someone says, hey, no, we're going to pick, they're taking who you want. And so when we were able to get Coop, you know, I think it was just a really exciting and a huge part of our world championship team and certainly even, I guess, our division-winning team last year. No doubt.

24:28Rich Eisen:No doubt about it. And hopefully for a long time to come, both those guys. What's the deepest group here, do you think?

24:33Todd Bowles:You know, I always get in trouble when I do that. And then if we don't pick from that group, it's, you know, Howie said this group's really deep. Or you could be throwing us off the sink.

24:41Rich Eisen:So go for it. What do you got?

24:42Todd Bowles:I got to be careful on that. But, you know, I think that where we are as a team, you know, you look on both sides of the ball. We got a lot of players playing at high level for the Philadelphia Eagles. A lot of players that are either on their second contract or hopefully will be on their second contract where their journey started in Indy. And, you know, getting a chance to draft and develop. Everyone's going to get in front of a microphone when they're hired as a GM and say, I want to draft, develop, and resign. And that starts here.

25:10Rich Eisen:It starts right here. It starts right here. And then when does free agency hit for you? Like here as well? Are you taking meetings? Just wondering how you manage generally here.

25:22Todd Bowles:With our own players, you know, certainly. Understood. We are meeting with our own players and we have a bunch of free agents. I didn't mean to suggest you were tampering. And, you know, I think for us it gives a chance to be eye to eye and see people. and I always like doing business face-to-face rather than on the phone if you have that opportunity. So I look forward to doing that and trying to really retain as much of our guys as we possibly can. We had a lot of young players on our football team who, whether it's this year, next year, or even a guy like Q three years from now, will have contracts that expire and guys that we want to keep in Philadelphia.

26:01Todd Bowles:Right. Who's that right now for you? Well, we've got a lot of free agents here, and I wouldn't want to just pick out one, but we'll meet with all the representatives. We owe these players a lot of our success. It's because of the players that we have in Philadelphia. And so we'll try to keep as many guys as we can, but also an eye on the big picture and understanding that we've got a lot of guys who are huge parts of our team who we also want to extend coming up. And unfortunately, in this league, we do have a salary cap.

26:31Rich Eisen:Yes, you do. We do. I understand that.

26:34Todd Bowles:I know.

26:34Rich Eisen:The conundrums of your job, sir. The vagaries of your gig. Yeah, conundrums. But it is also the beauty of leveling a playing field here in the NFL.

26:43Todd Bowles:I guess, if we have to do that. I didn't vote on that. I wasn't a vote on that.

26:49Rich Eisen:Well, speaking of voting, there's been apparently a very quiet competition committee conversation on the subject of the tush push, if not at all. Does that surprise you?

27:01Todd Bowles:No. I mean, I think we had a lot of conversation last year about the play and, you know, our feelings on the play. And so I think that that's where we are right now. And so whatever we got to vote for and vote on, we'll evaluate and analyze and have the conundrums of the decision.

27:22Rich Eisen:Well, why do you think there's apparently no conversation on the tush push?

27:26Todd Bowles:No, I would hate to put words in others' mouths, Rich. Look at you. I would hate to speak to somebody. Should I do it?

27:32Rich Eisen:and have you reacted or not at all?

27:34Todd Bowles:I am not in control of what comes out of your mouth as well. Okay.

27:37Rich Eisen:I just think it's because, you know, you didn't beat everyone over the head with it this year as much as you did the year you won it all. That's what I think it is.

27:45Todd Bowles:Well, maybe it's another area we have to improve on. Look at you.

27:49Rich Eisen:Maybe. You're too much. Hey, listen, my time with you is up. I don't want to take up too much more of your time right here. I appreciate that. I appreciate it.

27:56Todd Bowles:Kevin is a Philly guy. Kevin Stefanski. He's still chatting on the podium. I don't want to take you away. His dad was a GM in Philadelphia. The Sixers, right? Yeah. Right? Yeah. Okay. And so he knows what it's like. You know, I have him talk to my sons about what it's like to be a son of a GM in Philadelphia. His dad's a great guy.

28:16Rich Eisen:Yeah.

28:17Todd Bowles:You know, now, unfortunately, he's got to come to the NFC and we got to compete.

28:21Rich Eisen:Yeah, you got to compete.

28:22Todd Bowles:Yeah. Whatever it is, it is.

28:24Rich Eisen:And by the way, it's great to see you in person. I don't see anything on your forehead. No, no. You know, it's funny.

28:30Todd Bowles:I saw John Schneider. I didn't see anyone throw anything in his head. Well, it's fish. They throw fish there.

28:36Rich Eisen:They do. Once in Seattle. Right.

28:38Todd Bowles:I don't think that would hit as hard as the beer bottle.

28:40Rich Eisen:Look at that right there. Tell me, do you have that photograph in your office? Right?

28:43Todd Bowles:You know, it would be weird to have a self-portrait in my office. That would be a weird thing to have. So I don't have that in my office. Well, we can set that up for you. But it was a great, happy moment. Even gushing blood. Maybe slightly concussed.

28:58Rich Eisen:You give blood to your city of Philadelphia is what you were saying. That's what I do. Hey, buddy, thanks for coming on the program. Really appreciate it. You got it. That's Howie Roseman, the general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles. Here he is. Come on over here, Kevin Stefanski. Oh, yeah. Right here on the program. There you go. Thanks again for coming on, sir. You got it. I know this is really weird that we do this live, but what the heck. There they go. They're hugging it out. I'm describing for the ESPN radio audience. They're chit-chatting. This is what happens at the combine. They hug it out.

29:28Rich Eisen:They dap it up. Great to see you, Coach. Kevin Stefanski. How are you? We are live on the air right now. Good to see you, man. Great to see you. How are you? I'm great. I'm an Indy. Did you have a good podium session?

29:38Dan Morgan:They were easy. Easy question. It was good. Oh, really? Ian Cunningham went first. So it's always good when the GM goes first. He can get all the tough questions. I come in and get the easy ones. How's it going for you, man? Good. You know, I'm drinking out of the fire hose, as you do, as a new head coach. And a lot of this early in this process is putting a coaching staff together. So I feel very, very strongly about the group we've put together. we're almost done. We've got one more hire to make, and then can press send and can announce that staff. But I feel really strong.

30:06Rich Eisen:And working with Matt Ryan, walk me through what is that like? It's his first role at this very important gig.

30:12Dan Morgan:It's awesome. And to Matt's credit, you'd think he's been doing this for 30 years. And maybe he has. Maybe the truth is he's been doing this his whole life because as the quarterback, you're the leader of the team. In a lot of ways, you're the leader of the franchise, and that's a role that he's been in damn near his whole life. So it comes very naturally to him. very intelligent, emotional intelligence off the charts. So I've been very impressed, obviously.

30:37Rich Eisen:All right. So I'll ask the same question that I asked Robert Sala. It's his second run at being a head coach. How are you going to take your experiences from Cleveland into Atlanta and maybe say, I'm not going to do it that way anymore?

30:51Dan Morgan:I would hope that I'm taking every experience really from year to year and month to month and game to game and trying to become a better version of myself. And there's obviously, you look back over six seasons in Cleveland, there's a ton of stuff I'm proud of. And there's things that I would definitely do differently. Some of them are really small things. Some of them are big things. And I think if you have the right mindset, if you have the right growth mindset, you know, the humility to say, like, hey, I'm not a finished product. I think you can take that with you and use it to your benefit.

31:20Dan Morgan:Now, to say that you're not going to make another mistake, that's not realistic. I mean, you're not going to be perfect at this thing, but I certainly feel more comfortable after six seasons of doing this in my chair. Well, what's the small thing? What's the big thing that you're going to do? Yeah, doing interviews with Rich Eisen seem a lot easier. Nice. Yeah. Well, I mean, shoot, just comfort in everything and decisions that you make. Comfort in putting a coaching staff together. I would tell you, Rich, being in the league now, being a head coach for six seasons, being in the league, you feel confident in knowing what your roster needs from a coaching perspective.

31:54Dan Morgan:So putting that staff together was something that I felt really strongly about.

31:58Rich Eisen:All right. Kevin Stefanski here on the Rich Eisen Show. Who's your quarterback going to be? Well, it's February, so we have time.

32:07Dan Morgan:That doesn't matter.

32:08Rich Eisen:You can't ask me to be nuanced, Kevin.

32:11Dan Morgan:I'm very excited about Michael Penix, as you can imagine. Now, what's most important to Michael, and he knows this, and he's done an amazing job, is rehab. Yes. And he's getting healthy, and he's attacking his rehab. So I'm proud of where he is right now. He's definitely still has work to go, but he's just got to keep his head down so he's done.

32:28Rich Eisen:And then do you have a plan if Kirk Cousins is available or he will not be available? Or I know what's being reported out there right now.

32:36Dan Morgan:Yeah, I think those are all things that we're working through. I think Ian and Matt and myself have had a lot of those discussions. And obviously, Ian talked this morning about Kirk. And, you know, I think the world of Kirk, obviously, you know, have a personal relationship with him.

32:52Rich Eisen:But we're excited about what we have moving forward. Okay. And then Penix, what do you see from him? I imagine, I don't think so. I mean, obviously, Watson was still, you know, either healthy or coming back. Did you kick tires on him in Cleveland at all?

33:08Dan Morgan:You know, you watch all the guys. at that moment in Cleveland didn't think we'd have a chance at him, but you watch all of them. And anytime you're watching those receivers from Washington, you're watching him. So there's some crossover that you're doing. Really talented young man. The highs on tape are quite impressive, and it's our job as coaches to put a system around him where we feel like he can go maximize his talent. But this is a young man that can make all the throws, is a good athlete. So excited about him. But again, what's most important for Michael is getting healthy.

33:40Rich Eisen:Well, in terms of excitement, right, and in terms of you being a coach, how many kids do you have? I have three. How old are they? 16, 13, 10. Okay, so bigger kids, bigger problems. I've got 17, 15, and 12, and there are times where I'll wake up in the middle of the night and I'll start thinking about work and I've got to turn my brain off. I imagine a head coach in the NFL is something similar to that. Yeah. But how tough is it to turn your brain off when you think about B. John Robinson?

34:07Dan Morgan:he man uh he's i can't wait to coach him and i've uh had a lot of conversations with him he was he was in the building and we talked not about football don't worry didn't break any rules um but this this guy's wired the right way i mean man he was uh he is all ball all the time forget how physically gifted he is which we all know we all see right but just getting to know the person oh man i can't i can't tell you how pumped i am to coach this young man and and for us as an offensive staff to put a system with this guy in mind but the impact that he has in the building just being the person he is is off the charts yeah he's a dream come true um just in

34:45Rich Eisen:every yeah every facet but what are you willing to share about what you think you can do with him

34:52Dan Morgan:like what what i think to his credit and to to zach robinson and the coaches he's had they've done a great job with with bijon so it's not something you have to wholesale change it's not a wheel reinvention here. No, no. He's done a terrific job. I'm excited about some of the things we're going to do that, you know, maybe a little bit differently in the run game, maybe a little bit differently in the pass game, but there's no shortage to the things you can do with him. And we have to guard against a little bit and, you know, pump the brakes and say, okay, you know, I don't think we can give it to him every play.

35:20Dan Morgan:Maybe we can. Maybe we'll try to break the record. But, you know, just understanding that we want this player to affect our games on Sundays and what he can do in the pass game, what he can do in the run game is really, you know, it's all untapped.

35:35Rich Eisen:Well, I mean, again, I know you spent your time in Cleveland and certainly weren't talking fantasy football, but his usage has been a massive topic of conversation since he's come out, whether he's used in the red zone, whether he's used to punch it in the end zone, whether he's used enough. Yeah. And I'm wondering where you land on that subject matter.

35:51Dan Morgan:Well, as a former fantasy player myself, I understand people's desires. I'm sure having him on their team. However, we're focused on that W at the end of the game. I understand. This comes from some, you know, we had Nick Chubb. So anytime you didn't hand the ball to Nick, there was some boo birds there, which I do get.

36:12Rich Eisen:I do get. I taught Sean Payton the term vulture. He'd never heard about a touchdown being vultured before because he, you know, he had Camara back in the day. And I'm like, sir. And he didn't handcuff him?

36:22Dan Morgan:No, he didn't. Come on, Sean.

36:26Rich Eisen:no but i do bring up the fantasy element because obviously his usage in real football is a

36:33Dan Morgan:conversation to be had as well and the truth is we've we have talked about and we'll talk about you want bijan for a 17 game plus season and you want to make sure that you're being smart about what you ask him to do uh throughout the season and it's a long season but uh we want to make sure he he's maximized we're maximizing the player uh but just to go back rich i can't tell you how

36:56Rich Eisen:excited i am about the person yeah before i let you go uh what's the most physically freakish thing you witnessed miles garrett do man i mean you could put on the highlight reels sure um even

37:10Dan Morgan:if it's in practice well here's i was gonna say in the weight room well yeah actually you could do that too you put on the highlight reels you could look at the weight room i would always go back to Miles, we had an understanding, and he got mad at me because we'd do two-minute drills. And, you know, Miles, he's unblockable in games. He's also unblockable in practice, right? So in a two-minute drive, he'd sack the quarterback every time if you called it a sack. But as a coach, I'm trying to get the work done. So I told Miles, I said, I'm not going to call the first sack. I'm going to call the second one.

37:42Dan Morgan:And I probably didn't do it enough to Miles' liking. We also probably wouldn't have been a very good two-minute offense because the drill would be shut down because he would just end it every time. So I marvel at what he can do physically. The first time I put eyes on Miles was when it was COVID. So we didn't have an offseason. Then we had to show up for training camp, and I got to watch this guy bend. And I remember walking down the defensive line drills. I was just blown away. So, yeah, physically gifted, also just an incredible person. was very, very lucky, blessed, you name it, to be able to coach him for six seasons.

38:16Rich Eisen:Yeah, and again, when you say you didn't call it, you let the first sack go?

38:21Dan Morgan:Let the first sack go. I should have called the second one. Sometimes I did, but it was every single time Miles wanted that. I could have called the second, the third, and the fourth sack also. Yeah, but you've got to practice your two-minute drill. You've got to get some work in. But he makes it very hard to practice against, and he also makes it very hard to play against. And we play those Cleveland Browns this season, And so that's something that I don't know that any coach looks forward to going up against number 95.

38:45Rich Eisen:What's that going to be like for you, do you think?

38:47Dan Morgan:Yeah, I mean, you know, I think so much of this, Rich, is the relationships that you build in this day and age. And it's not just, I mean, it's with players, it's with coaches, it's with the staff, it's with, you know, all the people throughout that building. Those are friends and those are really family. I mean, you spend so much time together. So, you know, that'll be a special time for me. You know, I went back when I was in Minnesota for 15 seasons, went back and played there. I think in 2021, very similar where you're staring across the sideline at so many of your friends, so many people that you know and you love.

39:17Dan Morgan:So that's just part of this business. Good luck to you, sir. It's always great to have you on the show.

39:21Rich Eisen:I'll take that luck. You bet. That's Kevin Stefanski here on the Rich Eisen Show. Before we take a break, I just want to let you know to get into the Hyundai Getaway Sales Event right now and get away with a deal so right. Thank you, coach. It almost feels wrong because right now you can get great deals on our most popular models, including our adventure-ready SUVs like the Hyundai Santa Fe or Santa Fe Hybrid and the Tucson or Tucson Hybrid. There's also the bold and stylish Elantra loaded with the latest tech or go all electric with the Ioniq 5 or Ioniq 9. So get down to your local Hyundai dealer and get away with a deal you'll love during the Hyundai Getaway Sales Event.

39:57Rich Eisen:Visit HyundaiUSA.com for details. One last segment and one last guest. Dan Morgan, the GM of the Carolina Panthers to wrap the show. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.

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41:50Rich Eisen:Our radio audience is back. One last segment here in our first of four days of the Combine. The GM of the Carolina Panthers, Dan Morgan, is here. What was your combine like when you were a player?

42:01Dan Morgan:You know what? It's funny because I try to remember what I went through and being here. I remember coming. I didn't work out here, but I did the interviews, though. Why did you work out? Were you hurt? No. At Miami at the time, we had so many draft prospects that we all decided, hey, we're going to go down there. They're all going to come.

42:23Rich Eisen:So it's not like if we don't work out here, then. so the hurricanes on mass say we'll do it at the pro day we're not working out at the combine yeah what would how would that fly to dan morgan the general manager i'd be fine you'd be fine yeah i

42:34Dan Morgan:get to go down to miami why not yeah but yeah we uh yeah so we went we went down there we did our workout down there so i just did the interviews here okay um and i i remember going in there and it's funny because when when guys come in in the room i kind of know what they're feeling like you You know, you're sitting there like some of these guys haven't done an interview before. So, like, they come in, they sit down. Yeah. They have 10 people staring just at them. So it can be a little nerve wracking for them. So I try not to judge those guys, you know, these young men, you know, too harshly on a 20 minute interview because, you know, it can be a nerve wracking thing.

43:13Rich Eisen:What was Ted McMillan like when he walked in? You just like, OK.

43:17Dan Morgan:Walks in, you like look up. You just see this big human being that's super confident and just like smooth guy, but then he becomes an animal out on the field. So, yeah, his pre-draft was awesome. Like talking to him and just kind of getting to know him as a person and like hearing his football story and just kind of how he, you know,

43:41Rich Eisen:developed into who he is now. It's pretty cool. Were you white-knuckling the choice because you're thinking somebody might hop in front? We were. We were. Yeah, we fell in love with him.

43:55Dan Morgan:You watch the tape, and then you meet the individual, and you just fall in love with him. So, yeah, we were high on him and hoping that he fell to us at 8, and luckily he did. Are you ahead of schedule right now? Is that a fair assessment or not? No, I really try not to put timelines. I let the timelines stay on the outside. Like, people can put time. That's my job. Yeah. Right. You guys can put the timelines on, but, like, we're going to stay disciplined. We have a plan. You know, we want to win the division every year. We want to go to a Super Bowl. The same thing that every other team does, but anything good doesn't just happen overnight.

44:34Dan Morgan:So, you know, we have to be, you know, real picky and, you know, we got to be methodical in our approach and and do things the right way and spend money the right way and keep our draft picks. You know, I don't you know, none of us want to go all in and just like, hey, we're going to get this guy like not one guy is just going to make you a better team.

44:57Rich Eisen:So, yeah, we just got to stay disciplined and, you know, keep building this thing brick by brick. Whenever I talk about the Panthers on this show, I always bring up the game that Kurt Warner and I called on NFL Network in Germany between your team and the Giants. And how we were interviewing Dave Canales. He goes, I know we're going to be in the right spot when everybody's personality comes out on the field. And that game, Bryce Young was hopping up and doing first down stuff. And the rest of your team was beginning to get into that. Finished nicely. Last year happens. And if you think about it, everyone's saying in the, again, narratives, the NFC Championship game was a de facto Super Bowl, with all due respect to obviously New England or Denver.

45:46Rich Eisen:You almost beat the Rams a second time this year. So is that a measuring stick that you're taking?

45:51Dan Morgan:Yeah, I think, you know, we're definitely headed in the right direction. You know, the culture around our building, it's shifting to a winning culture. People are expecting the win and wanting the win. But everybody knows in our building that nothing's going to be handed to us, that we have to go. We have to earn everything. We've got to put the work in. So we're, you know, the whole building, you know, we're all aligned. We're all on a mission to be great. And, you know, we want it bad.

46:23Rich Eisen:And, you know, we just, again, we've got to put the work in. In the 90 seconds I have left, was that your belt you gave to Irv on the sideline for these Miami Hurricane college games that he was beating? No, that was not mine. That was not yours. No, that was definitely not mine. I didn't see you on the sideline of these Miami Hurricane college games.

46:41Dan Morgan:I wish I could go down more often, but I got a job.

46:44Rich Eisen:You got something called a playing season? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, the Panthers making the playoffs kind of took you out of that mix. Yeah, it did. It did. I guess that's not a bad job. I love watching them on TV, though. Right? Yeah. Just watching what they did this year came awfully close. Yeah. Mario did a good job. Okay. So I just, okay. Otherwise, we would have seen you, Michael, on the sideline. Otherwise, I would have been down there with the belt. That's right. Yeah. How about Irv with his belt, man? Yeah. He has fun. He looks like he has fun. Yeah. He's one of my favorites. Yeah. Well, thank you for coming on here.

47:18Rich Eisen:Yeah. I greatly appreciate you. You're helping me finish up my show today. Awesome. Awesome. And I greatly appreciate it. And I just love, again, I like your coach. I like what you guys are doing. I like, you know, how Bryce is growing into the role here. Yeah. You know, pretty cool. Yeah. Congrats on all that. Yeah, I'm excited. You got it. That wraps up day one right here on the Rich Eisen Show live from the Scouting Combine. We're going to be back with you here all three hours on Disney Plus and the ESPN app. Sean Payton, John Schneider, Dan Quinn, Ryan Poles, Nick Ceriani on our Wednesday show.

47:54Rich Eisen:Thanks for listening to the Rich Eisen Show podcast. You can watch and listen to the Rich Eisen Show live weekdays from noon to 3 Eastern on ESPN Radio, Disney Plus, and on the ESPN app. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.

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