Latest / NFL Now / Eric Bieniemy Joins The Show, Browns Hire Bubba Ventrone, & The Latest on Kirk Cousins

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Eric Bieniemy Joins The Show, Browns Hire Bubba Ventrone, & The Latest on Kirk Cousins · NFL Now

0:05
Speaker 1: NFL Now is a production of the NFL in partnership
0:08
Speaker 1: with iHeartRadio. Aaron Rodgers has evidently emerged from the darkness.
0:20
Speaker 1: We await word from the Packers quarterback. As of now,
0:23
Speaker 1: there is still no word coming up. However, we can
0:26
Speaker 1: tell you what the Vikings might be thinking about Kirk
0:29
Speaker 1: Cousins contract is he enters the final year of that.
0:32
Speaker 1: Welcome to NFL Now on NFL Network, a Thursday edition
0:36
Speaker 1: from our newsroom in Los Angeles. My name is Andrew Ceciliano.
0:40
Speaker 1: We do have coaching news today. We're going to start
0:42
Speaker 1: that news in Denver where their former head coach is
0:45
Speaker 1: now their new defensive coordinator, Vance Joseph, who has fired
0:50
Speaker 1: after two seasons seventeen and eighteen in Denver as the
0:53
Speaker 1: head coach, then went to Arizona's coming back to take
0:56
Speaker 1: a different position under Sean Peyton. More on that story
1:00
Speaker 1: coming up a little bit later, and we'll also talk
1:03
Speaker 1: to this guy a little bit later as well. Eric
1:05
Speaker 1: the Enemy, the new offensive coordinator at assistant head coach
1:09
Speaker 1: in Washington. He shook hands with Ron Riveron did the
1:12
Speaker 1: press conference earlier today. First and foremost, let me just
1:18
Speaker 1: say this. It's it was an amazing ten years having
1:22
Speaker 1: the opportunity to work for the Chiefs organization. So it
1:26
Speaker 1: goes without saying I'd like to thank Clark Hunt in
1:30
Speaker 1: the whole entire Hunt family. I love to thank Mark Donovan,
1:33
Speaker 1: our team president with the Kansas City Chiefs, Brett Veach
1:36
Speaker 1: and his staff, and of course Coach Read. It's been
1:40
Speaker 1: an amazing journey, you know, getting to this point and
1:43
Speaker 1: having a success that we've had over the years. But
1:46
Speaker 1: now it's time for a new challenge and looking at
1:50
Speaker 1: these guys up front, Eric, the enemy is fired up.
1:53
Speaker 1: He's fired up, and you guys have figured that out
1:56
Speaker 1: real soon. Why Washington, what appealed to you on what
1:59
Speaker 1: appealed about this shot to you? Why not Washington? Look
2:03
Speaker 1: at all the talent, Look at the play that they have, Okay,
2:07
Speaker 1: look at the guys that they have on defense. So
2:10
Speaker 1: I'm excited about this opportunity. I've known Coach Ron now
2:13
Speaker 1: since nineteen ninety nine, so relationships means something. I know
2:17
Speaker 1: Coach Mayhew for a number of years, and that means something.
2:20
Speaker 1: I've known mister Stokes for a number of years, and
2:23
Speaker 1: so I have no doubt about what they're building here. Obviously,
2:29
Speaker 1: they went to the playoffs in the previous year, so
2:32
Speaker 1: they would basically real close this year of going So
2:36
Speaker 1: I'm never I have never ever backed down from a challenge.
2:39
Speaker 1: So I'm embracing this challenge. I'm fired up, I'm excited.
2:43
Speaker 1: I'm excited when it's time to start talking bald with
2:46
Speaker 1: these guys, to start getting to work. But when it's
2:49
Speaker 1: all said and done with why not Washington? Did you
2:53
Speaker 1: feel like if you wanted to elevate to being a
2:55
Speaker 1: head coach one day that you had to make this
2:57
Speaker 1: kind of a move to kind of get your put
2:59
Speaker 1: your own full stamp on an offense. Being a head
3:02
Speaker 1: coach right now is not in my thought process right now.
3:05
Speaker 1: Here's what I'm focusing on. I'm focusing on being the
3:07
Speaker 1: best coach and I can be today. Okay, the rest
3:11
Speaker 1: of everything else will take care of itself, starting the mall.
3:14
Speaker 1: I live in a moment, Okay, So I gotta be
3:16
Speaker 1: in planet and Nicky knew exactly what I'm about to say.
3:19
Speaker 1: I gotta be where my feet are, so right now,
3:20
Speaker 1: my feet a planet right here. But here You're going
3:24
Speaker 1: to be the main guy. How do you anticipate that?
3:26
Speaker 1: And do you think that is going to be a challengers.
3:28
Speaker 1: That's something you're really ready for, fired up for it, bro,
3:31
Speaker 1: fired up and excited, fired up for a bro. Look,
3:35
Speaker 1: can you win a press conference? Heck yeah? Does it
3:38
Speaker 1: matter come September? I don't know, Tom Placero, Mike Arafolo,
3:42
Speaker 1: but guys, Eric B. Enemy impressed seemingly everyone in the
3:47
Speaker 1: room and everyone watching from home today. Mike, what stood
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Speaker 1: out to you? It won't matter in September to the
3:55
Speaker 1: likes of us, but it don't matter to the players.
3:56
Speaker 1: And they were there in that room right now or today.
3:59
Speaker 1: Excuse me. So let's see how excited they are to
4:01
Speaker 1: work with Eric B. Enemy. And they are some pretty
4:04
Speaker 1: good skill position players. The depth that they have at
4:07
Speaker 1: wide receiver and at running back. Their offensive line is
4:10
Speaker 1: pretty good as well. So B Enemy was asked why,
4:12
Speaker 1: Washington said, why not Washington? You look at what they've
4:15
Speaker 1: got going on here. I'll also add this, this was
4:17
Speaker 1: a big hire for Ron Rivera because Eric B. Enemy
4:21
Speaker 1: was sought after by a few teams, including the Baltimore Ravens,
4:25
Speaker 1: but Rivera wanted to wait for B Enemy on this
4:28
Speaker 1: one and was able to land it. And this was
4:31
Speaker 1: not seen as one of the more highly sought after
4:35
Speaker 1: offensive coordinator jobs. In fact, they had a few folks
4:37
Speaker 1: tell them no thanks, I'm not going to interview. I
4:41
Speaker 1: think that was in part because of the how unsettled
4:43
Speaker 1: it was at the quarterback position. Also with ownership right,
4:46
Speaker 1: nobody knows what's going to happen with the future of
4:47
Speaker 1: the franchise. But b Enemy ran toward this thing. He
4:51
Speaker 1: wanted to go to Washington. He liked what he saw there,
4:54
Speaker 1: and obviously his relationship with Rivera and their ability to
4:57
Speaker 1: come together as a coaching staff is something that he
5:00
Speaker 1: is looking forward to as well. So you know, this
5:03
Speaker 1: was I referred to it last hour as the head
5:05
Speaker 1: coachiest of offensive coordinator interviews I've ever seen, And that's
5:09
Speaker 1: a part of this. Can the Enemy set himself up
5:11
Speaker 1: to be a head coach looking forward? Tom He says
5:12
Speaker 1: he's not thinking about that right now, but this was
5:15
Speaker 1: surely a part of the move for B Enemy to
5:17
Speaker 1: get somewhere be the unquestioned guy, and if he can
5:20
Speaker 1: coach this offense up and show success here, he's gonna
5:22
Speaker 1: set himself up perfectly for the next head coach hiring cycle.
5:27
Speaker 1: Mike Eric Bmmy was also asked why he left Kansas
5:31
Speaker 1: City after all the success there. He'd been there a decade,
5:33
Speaker 1: won a couple of Super Bowls, coaching the MVP in
5:36
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes. So I think you have to understand the
5:38
Speaker 1: last couple of years he's on one year contracts there,
5:40
Speaker 1: he was never going to be the primary play caller
5:43
Speaker 1: in that building. He was ever gonna be able to
5:45
Speaker 1: set the staff the way that he wanted to. So
5:47
Speaker 1: in Washington, he gets the upgraded title being the assistant
5:50
Speaker 1: head coach. There, he gets to call plays, he gets
5:53
Speaker 1: a multi year deal, and he gets to build out
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Speaker 1: the staff the way that he would want to. A
5:57
Speaker 1: lot of these are things that head coaches do. That
6:00
Speaker 1: was one of the first things b Enemy did even
6:01
Speaker 1: before it was announced that he got the job, was
6:03
Speaker 1: meet with the coaches internally heart exactly the direction they
6:06
Speaker 1: were going to go. He referenced the talent they've got
6:08
Speaker 1: on the team. Now, we've just got to figure out
6:10
Speaker 1: whether he's got a quarterback Sam how will be QB
6:12
Speaker 1: one going into the offseason. According to Ron Rivera Andrew,
6:16
Speaker 1: we'll see if that remains the case comes September one
6:18
Speaker 1: career start. It came week eighteen for Sam Howell. Tom mean,
6:22
Speaker 1: by the way, we're told, we're told Eric, who's gonna
6:24
Speaker 1: Eric's gonna join us soon. He can hear us right now. Hi, Eric,
6:27
Speaker 1: regulation he's getting hooked up right now. Don't know if
6:30
Speaker 1: he's entirely plugged in, but but he is a couple
6:33
Speaker 1: of minutes early. We will get to him momentarily in
6:36
Speaker 1: the interim, Tom, who's your quarterback? Eric? Answer us? Tell me,
6:42
Speaker 1: not him? Tell me Tom, who's the Cardinals quarterback? How
6:47
Speaker 1: about that? As far as week one Andrew, they don't know.
6:53
Speaker 1: Michael Bidwell, the owner, reiterated that in I believe it
6:56
Speaker 1: was a podcast interview here in the last couple of days,
6:59
Speaker 1: saying that they got to sort out that room. You
7:01
Speaker 1: got Kyler Murray, who is certainly the franchise quarterbacks make
7:04
Speaker 1: it him nine million dollars this year, but he suffered
7:07
Speaker 1: that significant knee injury back in mid December. Aco reconstruction
7:12
Speaker 1: was necessary. He's not gonna be ready for the start
7:14
Speaker 1: of the season. Bidwell said he's hopeful Murray will be
7:17
Speaker 1: ready early in the season and not closer to mid season,
7:20
Speaker 1: which is I think been the expectation to this point.
7:24
Speaker 1: But they're gonna have to have somebody else in place
7:26
Speaker 1: in the short term. Colt McCoy is also under contract
7:28
Speaker 1: for next season, has two point two five million dollars
7:31
Speaker 1: fully guaranteed, so he would anticipate he's gonna be a
7:33
Speaker 1: part of this Arizona team. But he finished last season
7:36
Speaker 1: out of the lineup because of concussion, went into the protocol,
7:39
Speaker 1: came out, went back into it, was not able to
7:42
Speaker 1: play over those final several games there. So, as Bidwell said,
7:45
Speaker 1: you got two guys coming off of injuries, and that
7:47
Speaker 1: leaves some questions. They do not have another quarterback currently
7:50
Speaker 1: under contract. That's because Trace McSorley is currently a free agent.
7:54
Speaker 1: So one way or another, the Cardinals have to add
7:56
Speaker 1: at least one quarterback before training camp here, and we're
8:00
Speaker 1: looking at Kyler Murray whether he's gonna play week one.
8:02
Speaker 1: We know he's gonna play for the Cardinals next season.
8:04
Speaker 1: We don't know that about the Andre Hopkins. Monte Astinport,
8:07
Speaker 1: the new general manager, was asked about that and said
8:09
Speaker 1: they are in the early stages of evaluating whether DeAndre
8:14
Speaker 1: Hopkins will be part of the roster going forward, that
8:16
Speaker 1: he is excited about the possibility of having a talent
8:20
Speaker 1: like Hopkins on the roster. But it's a big number.
8:21
Speaker 1: It's nineteen and a half million dollars slated to come
8:24
Speaker 1: Hopkins way, So we shall see if some other teams
8:27
Speaker 1: are willing to step in offer the right compensation for
8:30
Speaker 1: a potential trade, they may have to tweak the contract.
8:33
Speaker 1: The last time Hopkins got traded by the way, he
8:35
Speaker 1: used the leverage to get into another contract extension, which
8:39
Speaker 1: is kind of why we're here right now at a
8:41
Speaker 1: big number. So a lot of moving parts on de
8:43
Speaker 1: Andre Hopkins. This is something we're gonna be watching in
8:45
Speaker 1: the next couple of weeks here, Andrew. Yeah, it sounds
8:48
Speaker 1: like we're in the early stages of hoping that he
8:50
Speaker 1: either a takes a pay cut or be someone calls
8:54
Speaker 1: and says, you know, well, we'll take de Andrey Hopkins
8:56
Speaker 1: off your hands. Meantime in Cleveland, Tom earlier this week,
9:00
Speaker 1: eyebrows raised when the Browns all of a sudden, six
9:03
Speaker 1: weeks after the season ended, fired where parted ways, let's
9:06
Speaker 1: call it with special teams coach Mike Preefer. And then
9:10
Speaker 1: you had your report on Bubba Ventrone and that it
9:12
Speaker 1: all kind of sort of made sense. It's right, Andrew.
9:17
Speaker 1: The Colts just hiring Shane second after the Super Bowl,
9:19
Speaker 1: which meant that Bubba Ventrone suddenly was potentially going to
9:23
Speaker 1: have the opportunity to interview elsewhere. The Colts allowed him
9:25
Speaker 1: to do that, and he is now being hired by
9:27
Speaker 1: the Browns as their assistant head coach and special teams coordinator.
9:32
Speaker 1: Ben Trone is forty years old. He actually played four
9:35
Speaker 1: seasons with the Browns, was a special team's ace for
9:38
Speaker 1: them as well as the Patriots, among other teams, went
9:40
Speaker 1: into coaching has had one of the top units in
9:42
Speaker 1: Indianapolis in recent years. This is a big time hire
9:46
Speaker 1: for Kevin Stefanski and a guy who we quite possibly
9:48
Speaker 1: are going to hear again as a head coaching staff
9:51
Speaker 1: or head coaching candidate in years to come. Meanwhile, this
9:53
Speaker 1: leaves the Colts without a special teams coordinator. We'll see
9:57
Speaker 1: exactly what direction Stiking goes there. But how about Mike Praefer.
10:00
Speaker 1: He's suddenly available, another highly respected coach and certainly somebody
10:03
Speaker 1: you would think would fit now since he is newly
10:06
Speaker 1: available and her exactly with coordinator jobs still being filled
10:09
Speaker 1: here a couple of days before we get to Indianapolis.
10:13
Speaker 1: Thank you Tom, and thank you Mike speaking up coordinator
10:16
Speaker 1: jobs getting filled. How about Vance Joseph. This is the
10:20
Speaker 1: second time the Denver Broncos, by the way, have hired
10:24
Speaker 1: as a defensive coordinator a man they once fired as
10:28
Speaker 1: head coach. They did it with Wade Phillips as well,
10:31
Speaker 1: he came back years later as DC. Now Vance Joseph
10:36
Speaker 1: is coming back. James Palmer as DC. He had a
10:40
Speaker 1: chance to talk to him today. What do you say, Well,
10:43
Speaker 1: they probably like the same result that happened with Wade Phillips. Right,
10:45
Speaker 1: Andrew I won a Super Bowl and Super bractice to
10:47
Speaker 1: Opade Phillips return. So obviously Sean Payne maybe opening for
10:51
Speaker 1: a repeat type of occurrence with Vance Joseph. Had a
10:54
Speaker 1: chance of text with Vance a little bit this morning.
10:55
Speaker 1: He said two main reasons he wanted this job and
10:58
Speaker 1: to come here and leave this group. Obviously one a
11:00
Speaker 1: dominant roster on the defensive side of the ball. All
11:02
Speaker 1: the struggles that this team has had on the offensive
11:05
Speaker 1: over the last several years, specifically this past year, the
11:08
Speaker 1: defense has remained consistently very good. He's going to have
11:11
Speaker 1: a safety in an All Pro and Justin Simmons running
11:13
Speaker 1: the group who played for him in twenty eighteen when
11:15
Speaker 1: he was the head coach of the Denver Broncos. The
11:18
Speaker 1: second ones was he really thinks the world of Sean
11:20
Speaker 1: Payton said he's a stud and how I'm going to
11:22
Speaker 1: be a part of his coaching staff. And that's the
11:24
Speaker 1: other aspect of it. Now there's gonna be two coaches
11:26
Speaker 1: staying with him and defensive line coach Marcus Dixon and
11:30
Speaker 1: defensive backs coach Christian Parker. And Parker really deserves a
11:33
Speaker 1: lot of credit for the very quick growth we've seen
11:35
Speaker 1: in Pat Sir Tan being considered one of, if not
11:38
Speaker 1: the best corner already in his second season in the NFL.
11:41
Speaker 1: Those two guys will be a part of Van Joseph
11:43
Speaker 1: staff that they're going to start talking and putting that
11:45
Speaker 1: together when he gets to Denver. I believe later this
11:48
Speaker 1: week Andrew okay, going back home. I hope he didn't
11:50
Speaker 1: sell his house. Maybe he can move back in in
11:52
Speaker 1: the meantime, we'll run there for a while. I'm not
11:55
Speaker 1: a Broncos. George Peyton and Sean Payton any Peyton will
11:59
Speaker 1: do have to figure this out. Their list of notable
12:02
Speaker 1: free agents as we get ready for Indianapolis and the
12:05
Speaker 1: out of the new league year and now just under
12:08
Speaker 1: three weeks, Palmer, what position group stands at? Look, you
12:12
Speaker 1: see a lot of offensive lineman there, and you know
12:14
Speaker 1: Sean Payton said it in his introductory press conference. The
12:17
Speaker 1: two biggest allies for a quarterback are a defense, which
12:20
Speaker 1: we just covered has remained pretty good, and a run game. Well,
12:23
Speaker 1: the run game is tied into that offensive line that
12:25
Speaker 1: also protects Russell Wilson that allowed a NFL high sixty
12:29
Speaker 1: three sacks this past season. Now all five starters missing
12:32
Speaker 1: multiple games due to injury, so that was a big
12:35
Speaker 1: part of the issues. Their best offensive lineman, left tackle
12:37
Speaker 1: Garrett Bowles, missed essentially the entire season with a broken ankle.
12:41
Speaker 1: He will return, that's a positive. But Dalton Reisner they're
12:44
Speaker 1: starting left guard as a free agent, as well as
12:46
Speaker 1: a bunch of other guys you saw in that list.
12:47
Speaker 1: Also looked for them to evaluate the center position as
12:50
Speaker 1: Lloyd Cushenberry has underperformed in that spot and we know
12:53
Speaker 1: how important that is to Sean Payton into the quarterback
12:55
Speaker 1: in Russell Wilson. But they don't pick Andrew until the
12:58
Speaker 1: third round, where they have back to back picks with
13:00
Speaker 1: sixty seven and sixty eight. I don't think anybody be
13:03
Speaker 1: upset if they went offensive line with both of those guys.
13:05
Speaker 1: One player though, on that list to keep your eye on,
13:08
Speaker 1: potentially maybe the only one to be franchise tagged out
13:10
Speaker 1: of the group, would be Draymond Jones, the defensive tackle,
13:13
Speaker 1: defensive end. How everyone to really call him could be
13:16
Speaker 1: the one guy that they could potentially tag. Not sure
13:18
Speaker 1: if that's going to happen. I know they're discussing an
13:20
Speaker 1: extension with him right now because they'd like to keep him.
13:23
Speaker 1: He led this team in tackles for lost last season.
13:25
Speaker 1: He led them in sacks as well, maybe one of
13:27
Speaker 1: the most underrated interior pass rushers in all of football.
13:30
Speaker 1: When they made that trade with Bradley Chubb, they had
13:33
Speaker 1: keeping Draymond Jones in mind, I'm told so. They knew
13:36
Speaker 1: they weren't gonna be able to keep both of them.
13:37
Speaker 1: They knew they were a little deeper at the pass
13:39
Speaker 1: rusher spots. They knew they could get a lot for
13:41
Speaker 1: Bradley Chubb. Looked at the dollars hoping they can bring
13:43
Speaker 1: back at Draymond Jones. He's a key, key key guy
13:46
Speaker 1: at the top of that list for them, and a
13:47
Speaker 1: guy you'd have to think Vans Joseph certainly wants there
13:50
Speaker 1: as the new DC. You can't go home again. Vans
13:54
Speaker 1: Joseph doing that, thank you. You might be in the
13:56
Speaker 1: same house and I let it think about it. I
13:57
Speaker 1: don't know if yeah. I mean like he's worth looking into.
14:00
Speaker 1: The combine is worth looking into as well. Next week
14:04
Speaker 1: presented by Boll Live on Field Workout starting on Thursday
14:07
Speaker 1: on NFL Network on NFL Plus NFL Now, we'll be
14:10
Speaker 1: there beginning on Tuesday for a six hour extravagance. We'll
14:16
Speaker 1: see it then and we'll see this guy coming up
14:18
Speaker 1: next alviaus already got the team gear, get rid of
14:21
Speaker 1: the suit, put on the drive fit. Eric b Enemy
14:23
Speaker 1: the new OC in Washington, set to join us next.
14:32
Speaker 1: I want to go ahead and introduce to you guys,
14:34
Speaker 1: Eric Biennemy, and then we're in a suit and a
14:41
Speaker 1: fantastic tie and a nice vest as well. Eric Bannery
14:44
Speaker 1: went up there and while the Washington media he's with
14:46
Speaker 1: us live now on Commander's cam. Already coach changing into
14:51
Speaker 1: drive fit. Does that mean you are already getting right
14:54
Speaker 1: to work? It's time to go to work, getting ready
14:59
Speaker 1: to set the tone and get to start it. So
15:02
Speaker 1: I had to get out in my suit so I
15:03
Speaker 1: can be a little bit more comfortable, just relax and
15:06
Speaker 1: start getting everything together. Well, it's a good looking suit.
15:08
Speaker 1: And the very first question, Eric was why Washington? You said,
15:13
Speaker 1: why not explain to people what you meant? Well, here's
15:20
Speaker 1: what I meant. Obviously, there's a ton of talent on
15:23
Speaker 1: this team, and obviously we all go to the combine,
15:27
Speaker 1: we evaluate the same players. So there's a number of
15:29
Speaker 1: skill set players here that have done an outstanding job
15:32
Speaker 1: since they've been in the league. Here, all right, So
15:35
Speaker 1: the thing is, and then you look at the defensive
15:37
Speaker 1: side of the ball. There's some players on that other
15:40
Speaker 1: side of the ball and they've done an outstanding job.
15:42
Speaker 1: So why not come to Washington and work here? On
15:47
Speaker 1: top of that, I said, again, just like I said
15:49
Speaker 1: in my press conference, coach Ron Rivere is an outstanding leader.
15:52
Speaker 1: He's a man of integrity, and he does an outstanding
15:55
Speaker 1: job of leading men. And so you know, for me,
15:58
Speaker 1: this is a great opportunity to come and work. Forehead
16:02
Speaker 1: coach was obviously on the defensive side the ball, but
16:04
Speaker 1: all so too, and has a nucleus of people that
16:07
Speaker 1: can help put it together and keep building it the
16:10
Speaker 1: right way. You had a lot of those guys, especially
16:13
Speaker 1: on the offensive side, Terry McLaurin, Johan Dots and both
16:15
Speaker 1: your running backs, your would be number one quarterback in
16:18
Speaker 1: Sam how all there in the room today. I know
16:21
Speaker 1: you can't talk football yet necessarily with them, but what
16:24
Speaker 1: it means to you to see all those guys show
16:27
Speaker 1: up for a press conference on an off day in February,
16:31
Speaker 1: that was big time, you know, for those guys to
16:33
Speaker 1: take the time just to be here, to be in
16:35
Speaker 1: the building. We know how it is doing the off season.
16:37
Speaker 1: Players they try and get as far as the way
16:39
Speaker 1: as they can. But that that meant a lot to me.
16:42
Speaker 1: And my job is to make sure and when i'm
16:45
Speaker 1: when I do have the opportunity to sit down and
16:49
Speaker 1: talk ball with them, is to be as accountable as
16:52
Speaker 1: I can so we can get the very best out
16:54
Speaker 1: of them. And like I told him, you know, when
16:56
Speaker 1: it's all said and done with, it's my job to
17:00
Speaker 1: really sit down and get to know the people, develop
17:04
Speaker 1: the relationship so now I can get the best out
17:07
Speaker 1: of the players. So I'm fired up about this opportunity.
17:10
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait. All right,
17:13
Speaker 1: you said you got to know a lot of these
17:15
Speaker 1: players over the years, certainly in your role as offensive
17:17
Speaker 1: coordinator in Kansas City at the combine. We're about to
17:20
Speaker 1: go to the Combine. What did you see at all
17:24
Speaker 1: when you looked at last year's quarterback class and you
17:27
Speaker 1: looked at Sam Howell. Well, you don't really like the
17:31
Speaker 1: disclose all your insight and all your info, but we
17:35
Speaker 1: saw a hell of a player. You know, we saw
17:37
Speaker 1: a guy and obviously we had a higher draft grade
17:39
Speaker 1: than where he went. But I will say this, you
17:42
Speaker 1: see a competitor. You see a guy who's playing baseball
17:45
Speaker 1: who can make those throws, and he can shape the
17:48
Speaker 1: ball and make the throws. Obviously, he's a kid that's competitive.
17:52
Speaker 1: He can run it, and when it's all setting done with,
17:55
Speaker 1: he's a steady kid. He doesn't get too high, he
17:58
Speaker 1: doesn't get too low. Although I did like the flex
18:00
Speaker 1: that he did when he scored against Dallas. That was
18:03
Speaker 1: some good stuff. But I of his demeanor and what
18:06
Speaker 1: he brings to the table. Now, I'm still heavy in
18:08
Speaker 1: the evaluation phase, so I just want to make sure
18:11
Speaker 1: that I'm doing my due diligence, just like, not just
18:14
Speaker 1: with him, but with all these players, just so I
18:17
Speaker 1: can make sure that we're building this the right way.
18:19
Speaker 1: Break by Brick All right, Eric, want to go back
18:21
Speaker 1: to something you said about the transition here when you're
18:24
Speaker 1: on the podium earlier, you said comfort is the enemy
18:28
Speaker 1: of progress. So you wanted to leave Kansas City, wanted
18:31
Speaker 1: to try something new? What about this job? If anything
18:36
Speaker 1: makes you uncomfortable so that you can at progress, Well,
18:43
Speaker 1: it's growth. It's the opportunity to grow. You can't be
18:47
Speaker 1: afraid of leaving a situation where you've had a great
18:51
Speaker 1: deal of experience and a great deal of success. You
18:56
Speaker 1: can't be afraid of leaving that. Okay, and do not
18:58
Speaker 1: get me wrong. You know we've had We've done a
19:01
Speaker 1: lot of things where we've worked our tails all to
19:04
Speaker 1: put us in that position. But now it's time for
19:06
Speaker 1: me to expand my circles, you know, welcome in a
19:10
Speaker 1: new family and build it and get these guys to
19:13
Speaker 1: buy into what I'm selling, but also to have a
19:17
Speaker 1: taste of that success that they can have if we
19:20
Speaker 1: do it the right way. But when it's all said done,
19:23
Speaker 1: what you don't want to remain comfortable and stagnant in
19:26
Speaker 1: one place, and not that it was getting stagnant, and
19:28
Speaker 1: not that I was getting comfortable. I just wanted an
19:31
Speaker 1: opportunity to go somewhere else and embrace another challenge. Eric,
19:36
Speaker 1: what are you say? And I know people kind of
19:38
Speaker 1: through the head coaching thing act on the podium and
19:40
Speaker 1: they tried it in a lot of different ways today
19:42
Speaker 1: and you said all the right things. But what do
19:44
Speaker 1: you say to the people who are not mad at
19:48
Speaker 1: you for taking the job at all, happy that you
19:51
Speaker 1: found something you like, but they are mad for you.
19:54
Speaker 1: People that look at the process and say they are
19:56
Speaker 1: mad that Eric b Enemy thought, you know what? This
20:00
Speaker 1: is right for me? Well here's and I just say
20:05
Speaker 1: this first and foremost, I greatly appreciate all the support,
20:08
Speaker 1: but also too, my job is to make sure that
20:11
Speaker 1: I'm where my feet are and so I can't worry
20:14
Speaker 1: about the things I cannot control. Obviously, I still got
20:17
Speaker 1: to do a better job of putting myself out there
20:20
Speaker 1: and when I'm sitting in that room, Obviously I got
20:22
Speaker 1: to be accountable to myself and make sure that I
20:25
Speaker 1: can make it happen. But I'm not going to allow
20:28
Speaker 1: those distractions to impact what we have moving forward. So,
20:33
Speaker 1: like I said, I'll eliminate all that stuff. My job
20:36
Speaker 1: is to make sure that I'm concentrating on what's important now,
20:40
Speaker 1: and the only thing that's important to me now, Andrew
20:42
Speaker 1: is just making sure I'm maximizing today, which is going
20:45
Speaker 1: to help us till tomorrow. You said, the last couple
20:48
Speaker 1: of weeks have been draining, both physically and emotionally. I
20:52
Speaker 1: get the physically part here, I mean, you guys want
20:54
Speaker 1: to Super Bowl, You had a parade, you had to
20:56
Speaker 1: fly back and forth I assume between Kansas City and Washington.
20:59
Speaker 1: But what about it has been draining emotionally? Well, just
21:07
Speaker 1: like I just discussed, it's been ten years, and just
21:12
Speaker 1: all the family members that I have made outside of
21:15
Speaker 1: the b enemy household. The I mean I said this earlier.
21:19
Speaker 1: You know, between Clark Hunt, Mark Donovan, Brett Veach and
21:24
Speaker 1: his staff. Coach read our entire offensive coaching staff all
21:29
Speaker 1: about support staff. I mean, I have so many people
21:32
Speaker 1: that I can name. I mean the late night crew
21:35
Speaker 1: that comes in and clean and just all of friendships
21:39
Speaker 1: and relationships that have developed. That's hard to leave. But
21:44
Speaker 1: in order to grow in this profession. You have to
21:48
Speaker 1: you have to have the ability to count on yourself
21:51
Speaker 1: and bet on yourself, and so I'm betting known Eric B. Enemy.
21:55
Speaker 1: Eric BI Enemy has a lot to offer. Okay. It
21:58
Speaker 1: was emotionally draining leaving family behind because of all the
22:03
Speaker 1: close relationships that has been developed. But I'm okay expanding
22:08
Speaker 1: my horizons. I'm okay expanding my circles, and I'm okay
22:12
Speaker 1: of expanding my family out here with the Washington Commanders.
22:15
Speaker 1: And I think everyone watching wishes you nothing but the
22:19
Speaker 1: best as you do take this next step on that journey.
22:23
Speaker 1: Congratulations again, Eric B. Enemy, and good luck there as
22:28
Speaker 1: the new OC and assistant head Coach of the Washington Commanders.
22:33
Speaker 1: Thank you, Andrew, I greatly appreciate it. And please you
22:37
Speaker 1: guys got to do me a favor, and please tell
22:39
Speaker 1: m j D say hello. And I think he's getting
22:41
Speaker 1: a little wider than me. Okay, got okay, I can
22:45
Speaker 1: I tell you something real quick. I was going to
22:47
Speaker 1: ask about mj D at the very end of this, like, hey,
22:50
Speaker 1: do you have a message for him? But you gave
22:52
Speaker 1: such an emotional and heartfelt answer there at the end
22:54
Speaker 1: about a new family and a new challenge. I'm like,
22:57
Speaker 1: I like you nailed it, like you nailed the landing.
23:00
Speaker 1: I can't ask you something stupid about MJD and then bam,
23:03
Speaker 1: you just went there. Anyway, well that's my guy. Earlier
23:10
Speaker 1: I said, Hey, what should I ask you a guy?
23:12
Speaker 1: And well I can't. I can't actually repeat on air
23:14
Speaker 1: what he said, but we could do that later. Eric Biannim,
23:17
Speaker 1: good luck to you man. Okay, you're watching NFL Now,
23:30
Speaker 1: NFL Network. We're waiting for an answer on Aaron Rodgers.
23:32
Speaker 1: We're waiting for Derek Carr to pick a team. The
23:35
Speaker 1: offseason quarterback harousel and the spinning will be fantastic, But
23:40
Speaker 1: it is an annual tradition. What to do with Kirk
23:43
Speaker 1: Cousins contract? Tom Pella Sero back with US now from Minneapolis.
23:48
Speaker 1: Kirk Cousins is a Hall of Famer when it comes
23:51
Speaker 1: to navigating the quarterback contract field. Here, what are the
23:57
Speaker 1: Vikings going to do? Is Cousins heads into the final
23:59
Speaker 1: year of this deal and to the Vikings one thirteen
24:05
Speaker 1: games with Kirk Cousins as their quarterback last year in
24:08
Speaker 1: a new offensive scheme with one of the NFL's worst defenses.
24:12
Speaker 1: So obviously to the extent that they were using twenty
24:14
Speaker 1: twenty two as an experiment to see how Cousins and
24:17
Speaker 1: Kevin O'Connell would work together in their second time being
24:21
Speaker 1: on the same team. You'd have to say largely it
24:23
Speaker 1: has been a success. So what do you do now
24:25
Speaker 1: with cousins contract? He signed a one year extension last March.
24:29
Speaker 1: The tacked on thirty five million dollars in one year
24:32
Speaker 1: to his deal, game a raise last season. Still do
24:34
Speaker 1: another thirty million dollars fully guaranteed this year? I would
24:38
Speaker 1: not anticipate that there's another one year extension here. Either
24:42
Speaker 1: the Vikings and Kirk Cousins do a long term extension
24:45
Speaker 1: that locks him up as their franchise quarterback, or potentially
24:48
Speaker 1: they keep their options open and let Cousins play out
24:52
Speaker 1: this existing deal. Remember, he was franchise tag twice by Washington,
24:56
Speaker 1: so for the Vikings to make it use a third
24:59
Speaker 1: tag on Cousins after the twenty twenty three season, it
25:02
Speaker 1: would be an astronomical number. Over fifty million dollars probably unlikely.
25:05
Speaker 1: So this is not just about charting the course for
25:08
Speaker 1: twenty twenty three. It's about the big picture of the
25:10
Speaker 1: Vikings quarterback position as they figure out what to do contractually,
25:13
Speaker 1: and an extension here certainly frees up money because Tom
25:15
Speaker 1: they have a decent list of free agents here. That
25:18
Speaker 1: questi adolph A Mensa has to deal with Alexander Madison
25:21
Speaker 1: heading to free agency. That's certainly a big one there
25:24
Speaker 1: behind Dalvin Cook, and there's some other notable names here
25:26
Speaker 1: as well, so that new deal would give him a
25:28
Speaker 1: little bit more flexibility. On top of that, the Vikings
25:33
Speaker 1: have decisions to make with some of their guys who
25:35
Speaker 1: are still under contracts. Starts with wide receiver Adam feel
25:38
Speaker 1: in Minnesota native. He's been very productive over the years
25:41
Speaker 1: in Minnesota. He's got a cab number close to twenty
25:44
Speaker 1: million dollars this season, stills a lot left in the
25:46
Speaker 1: tank at age thirty two. But can they figure out
25:48
Speaker 1: some type of a restructure potentially a reduction or the
25:52
Speaker 1: stealing take his chances and go to the open market.
25:54
Speaker 1: They've also got to figure out what to do with
25:56
Speaker 1: Daniel Hunter, who last year had money moved up in
25:59
Speaker 1: his contract, so he's only under contract this year from
26:02
Speaker 1: about five point five million dollars now. Obviously, it's very
26:05
Speaker 1: difficult to see Daniel Hunter playing for that type of
26:08
Speaker 1: money coming off a ten and a half sack season.
26:10
Speaker 1: He's still only twenty eight years old. Someone at some
26:13
Speaker 1: point is going to give him big money. You're talking
26:15
Speaker 1: about a massive money extension for an edge rusher who's
26:18
Speaker 1: still in his prime at this point. Ideally, the Vikings
26:20
Speaker 1: would like to work out an extension there. If those
26:23
Speaker 1: talks are not productive, then we'll see exactly where things go.
26:26
Speaker 1: Andrew Daniel Hunter, a mid around pick a couple of
26:28
Speaker 1: years ago under Rick Spielman, hit that one out of
26:30
Speaker 1: the park and now obviously deserve some compensation here. Daniel
26:35
Speaker 1: does all right, Thank you, Tom Pellicero. The latest on
26:37
Speaker 1: the Vikings as they navigate the offseason, as we navigate
26:40
Speaker 1: the combined season as well. The HBCU combine was Monday,
26:44
Speaker 1: and a lot of heads turned by that guy, Andrew
26:46
Speaker 1: Farmer from Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee. You do need
26:54
Speaker 1: to get to know him, Sherry. Well, Andrew, no other
26:59
Speaker 1: player on any level had as many tackles for a
27:02
Speaker 1: loss per game in twenty twenty two. Van you what
27:05
Speaker 1: is a secret to your success and what are you
27:07
Speaker 1: hoping to scouts see from that? Well, first of all,
27:09
Speaker 1: it's nothing but God. You know, I wouldn't be out here.
27:11
Speaker 1: I wouldn't be able to make a tackle, make a
27:13
Speaker 1: play without God. But besides that, you know, putting in
27:15
Speaker 1: the work, having the coaches trusting me to make plays.
27:18
Speaker 1: You know that that's that's main, that's the main reason
27:20
Speaker 1: why you visited with the Packers, Titans, Colts, Chiefs, Broncos
27:25
Speaker 1: in a few other teams. Just what is your biggest
27:28
Speaker 1: takeaway from the interview process, particularly being here in New Orleans? Uh,
27:31
Speaker 1: you know, just be honest, you know, just be honest
27:34
Speaker 1: with it with the Scouts. You know, they're they're here
27:35
Speaker 1: to help you. You know they're going to vouch to
27:37
Speaker 1: the GMS and the coaches for you. So you know,
27:39
Speaker 1: just be honest, you know, just be yourself and you
27:42
Speaker 1: know it'll work yourself out. You just finished your first
27:45
Speaker 1: major in biology with a minor in chemistry, also working
27:48
Speaker 1: on a major in physical education. My goodness, how do
27:52
Speaker 1: you feel like your book smart helps you translate that
27:54
Speaker 1: to football? You know, some somebody when the Scouts taught me,
27:58
Speaker 1: I was premitted, uh someone the Scouts compared to organic chemistry,
28:01
Speaker 1: you know, all the stuff that you learn at the
28:03
Speaker 1: beginning this, smeister, you're gonna have to translate all the
28:04
Speaker 1: way to the end. And that goes to the same
28:06
Speaker 1: with the playbook. You can go. Everything translates from you know,
28:09
Speaker 1: the classroom to a playbook. It translates, so that definitely helps. Well,
28:13
Speaker 1: we appreciate the time. Thanks, have a great weekend, Joe,
28:14
Speaker 1: Thank you, doctor, Doctor, Thank you, Andrew, thank you, Sherif.
28:21
Speaker 1: Rolling in the violence, but you two Tame. NFL Now
28:25
Speaker 1: is a production of the NFL in partnership with iHeartRadio.
28:29
Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app,
28:33
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.