Blue By Ninety - Stadium & Main | Eric Weddle Breaks Down Michigan Hiring Kyle Whittingham

Episode Date: December 30, 2025

Eric Weddle was an All-American Safety at Utah under Kyle Whittingham and went on to have a 13-year NFL career. He tells Chris Wormley & Jordan Strack what Michigan fans can expect from Whittingham and adds a few stories from his NFL playing days.

beauty all right three two one all right welcome into stadium in Maine with big worm and strack I am Jordan strack that is Chris Wormley on the other side of the screen and it's been a little bit worm since we have talked after the

the Ohio State game you've been a little bit busy you're doing this NFL thing again you've been playing for the Indianapolis Colts how are you holding up how's the body body's good it's a lot lot better than like my spirits are right now in terms of how this team's been the last

really month and a half of the NFL season and, you know, injuries and things like that. We've had a gauntlet of a kind of back half of the year. But the body's good. It's just, it's just frustrating to lose some games, especially when we had some pretty high hopes. But it's always good to be back in a locker room. Always good to continue to do what I love. And, you know, I'm going to ride this out as long as I can. Yeah, and I know you've been home here in Toledo.

You did the Christmas thing. You got to give away some Christmas presents to a bunch of kids from Washington local schools. How cool was that? Yeah, that was amazing. It was the second year we've done this with our foundation. And this year with Nigel Hayes and Storm Norton and his wife, Bree, we were able to help out more kids this year. We had 75 total, and they got $200 and they got to go to Target over on Alexis and just have a day. They got to pick whatever they wanted and to see their faces light up and to see their faces light up

and to see them kind of go through, you know, real world situations of, you know, how much things cost and all that stuff. It was fun. But just to bring a little joy to the, you know, the Christmas holiday and the holiday season, it was pretty cool. Awesome. Love it. Our podcast here teamed up with Blue by 90. We're wrapping up our first season here. Make sure you go follow us on Instagram, Stadium and Maine pod.

There's a lot going on with Michigan football. since the last time we talked, there are major, major changes. First off, we are hoping to get Eric Weddell on this show. It's on the graphic. We are hoping that he's going to be able to come through. So hopefully we'll hear from him and just a little bit to talk about Kyle Whittingham, the New Michigan football coach. That's obviously the biggest story right now.

Everything that happened with Sharon Moore is obviously in the past. And I think we can move on to the good with Michigan football right. now, and that is Kyle Whittingham. Just first off, when you first saw the news that there was a new Michigan football coach, what was your initial first reaction? I mean, it was a sigh of relief. You know, the last two, three weeks have been pure chaos in terms of, you know, the football world and what that means for the program.

And to finally get a name, to finally get, you know, somebody who, it seems like, is hard-nosed, disciplined, tough, is going to hold these kids to a high standard. I'm really excited for this program. I think it's what they need. I don't know if he was necessarily the first option, especially when you go back even a month and a half ago before even Sharon got fired. There were some pretty big names out there that I think would have loved to be at Michigan. But I think at this time for this program,

I think Whittingham is the guy that Michigan needs, just reading and seeing kind of his pressers and what he brings to a football team and culture-wise. I'm excited for this, and I think he's going to do some great things at this program. I am too. And, you know, let's go over the process first. As names kept coming out,

and I think what Michigan fans got frustrated by was, okay, we hear Kenny Dillingham's name come out. Okay, you hear Jeff Brom's name come out. out. Then you hear Todd Munkin's name come out. Whoever it was, Kalin DeBoer, there was never any concrete reporting on any of it. I think I can speak to from that perspective what it's like during a coaching search because I have been through these as a reporter. I know exactly how these things go behind the scenes. And what will happen a lot of times is, an agent will reach out to a reporter and an agent is looking to get an extension or a raise

for whoever his, you know, his employer is. And so what will happen is an agent will say, hey, listen, like, Michigan's definitely interested in Jeff Brom and or Kenny Dillingham's agent will say, hey, like, I'm hearing some rumblings like Michigan's going to try to talk to him. there were never any concrete conversations or confirmed conversations with any of them. It was all speculation. And I think what Michigan fans kept dealing with was there's a roller coaster during these things where you have to understand what's real and what's not.

And to be perfectly frank, throughout the process, a lot of what came out was bullshit. It was pure bullshit. like it was just not real it was fabricated it was it there were there were a couple guys that michigan was not even involved with so the caylin de boar thing i can tell you this i remember a couple years back there are people inside michigan's leadership that love cayland debor and the feelings were mutual cayland debor loved michigan and i thought it was a real possibility right after the national championship

when Jim Harbaal left. And when it came up again, of course I think there were some natural things that were going to pop up like, yes, Michigan would love Kalin DeBoer to come. That didn't happen. So, you know, everybody throws out their favorite candidate and everybody throws out whatever

and eventually it gets settled on as Kyle Whittingham. And that's where I want to go with this thing now. So I think Kyle Whittingham is an unbelievable fit. for what Michigan needs right now the style of football Michigan wants to play and for just having an adult in the room to write the ship as Biff said it's a malfunctioning organization right now and it is Michigan needed a guy that came in to come in and be steady and be in charge and not be messaging women at half time of the

freaking biggest game of the year. Allegedly. Allegedly. Allegedly. Michigan needed a grown-up, and they finally have one in there for the first time in a couple years. Yeah, I mean, stability. Like when all this was coming out with Sharon and then he gets fired,

and, you know, these last two, three weeks, it's like Michigan needs stability. And honestly, for the last, even five seasons or so, it's been up and down with, You know, the COVID year, when Harbaugh was two and four, you know, getting fired and having to take a pay cut. And then he comes back and it's the Conner Stallion stuff. And it's the cheeseburger recruiting violations. And then you get into Sharon and it's like, is he worthy of this job?

And he comes in and has a rocky first year with him beats Ohio State. And then this second year with Bryce Underwood, and it's all these things that are roller coaster. And there's going to be ups and downs in a program always. But when you look at what Whittingham has done, he's been at you. Utah, I think, for close to three decades, if not 30 years. He's been the head coach there for 21 years. That shows me stability. And he's done more with less for, you know, two decades now as the head coach.

And at a program like Michigan, I was talking with some friends that we all played at Michigan together. We got a group chat. And I was thinking, like, since I started watching Michigan football, they've made one good hire as a head coach. And that is Jim Harbaugh. you know i mean obviously lord car was there but i was you know he was hired in 95 and i was you know two years old brady hoke no rich rodriguez no trone more comes to find out no and the only one is harball so if if if they're going to do it right and i think they found the right guy because

of the stability and what he's been able to do at a program like utah i'm excited for it but but the word that keeps coming back to me is stability and and for a group of guys and young men who are looking for guidance and are looking to grow as men. I think him at the helm is going to do wonders for these guys. It seems like Bryce has, you know, gave the stamp of approval and is excited to get to work with him and potentially that the offensive coordinator that he's, you know, supposedly bringing in. But I'm excited for the stability.

And it doesn't always have to be flashy. It doesn't always have to be razzle-dazzle. If Michigan is a program that likes to run the ball and play great defense, I think Whittingham is is the guy for that. I don't think there's any question. Steady is the operative word here. I think it's clearly the safest thing. This was the safest hire you could make.

And I think right now Michigan needs safe. And I don't mean that as a negative. I think Michigan is at a crossroads right now where they have to get a lot of stuff cleaned up. And I'm, like, I'm just tired of, of Michigan football being the butt of every joke, whether it's, and I'm not talking about just, you know, stupid trolling, whatever, but like Michigan has been the butt of all jokes. And it's frustrating. And I'm tired of it, to be honest with you. And it was probably easier when, you know, they're having that success for those four years, really, and the Big Ten championships said, okay, make fun of us. We're, you know, we're still winning. We got a ring. Big Ten championships, all that. But when it starts to hurt a little more, when it becomes, it's real. It feels more real. Like when, you know, you're cracking jokes with your friends and someone said something to you

and you think it's true, that hurts a lot more than it just being a funny joke. So, yeah, that it's not fun to be the butt of the joke right now. No. You should hear the guys in the Colts locker room what they were saying when Sharon first got fired and worrying what's going on with your school worrying what's going on here it's like man i'm i'm just finding you know i'm finding this out like with you guys and all the stuff that's coming out and the allegations and all that it's like it's uh it's tough and i mean obviously for him it's it's a terrible situation and all that but like you know you think of

the family you think of you know his wife and kids and what they're going through and the players and all that but stability and safe i think for a program like michigan right now is exactly what they need um i i'm just noticing this i had christmas at my house and yeah so my family was over i see i see i see the emmys that's what i see oh no one of my bucky family members they snucked that onto the set all right let's take a shot of woods and whiskey in it man you'll be right yeah right that's unbelievable i just i literally am looking at the screen and just notice that's terrible um yeah so the thing that frustrated me the most was sharon's actions had consequences not just for him i mean you think about and i think you know wink

at the citrus bowl press conference brought it up and it's so true you think about every one of those assistant coaches and and listen football coaches understand that they are hired to be fired and that's part of the deal That's part of it. What's not part of it is that Sharon's actions have direct real impacts on family members of these assistant coaches. We're talking kids have to be taken out of schools now. They're going to be moved across the country.

There's uncertainty. They don't know what's going on. Like, yes, that's part of the deal. That is, they understand it. Trust me, I talk to college football coaches literally every single day. But when it's no fault of their own, it wasn't because they were losing. It wasn't because they didn't do their job well. none of that. It was because of these selfish actions of one human being.

That's what's frustrating to me. So that, like that part sucks. But to get to get back to the Kyle Whittingham stuff, Michigan is unequivocally better today than they were three weeks ago. No question. I don't think there is any way you could possibly argue and say Michigan is not better off and in a better spot today than they were three weeks ago. Yeah, I mean, people talk about, oh, you're going to lose some recruits.

You're going to lose some guys in the transfer part. That's going to happen anyways. Part of it. And sometimes you just have to rip the band-aid off and rebuild. I think Michigan is still in a great spot to compete. You have somebody who's a proven leader, a proven builder of men and culture. And if you have all of that, I think you put yourself in a great position to win. But there's probably going to be some bumps and bruises along the way.

But that's what you sign up for. I think in terms of being a football player is it's not always going to be perfect. You're going to have to maybe reinvent yourself a little bit. You're going to have to suffer and make some sacrifices because with this new kind of changing of the guard, and not even changing the guard, but just complete, you know, a whole new staff, basically. There's going to be some learning. learn there's going to be learning curves there's going to be some some difference of opinion but in in the world of football and sports that that that's that's what's going to happen but like you

said they're in a very a way better spot than they were I would even say you know if winning him would have gotten hired you know right after harbaw I think that would have been a home run hit too you know I think I think they're in a better spot now obviously than they were you know a month ago and I'm excited to see how this grows over the next three four five years No question. And so you bring up a point about the recruiting. And I think it's a good one. And it's something that I think I've tried to like talk about with everybody that would listen. You can't dictate your hire for the next five to seven years based on the wants or needs of 18, 19 year old kids. You can't do it. Like you just can't do it. And when you start to go down that road,

that's what derails you not not a couple kids leaving here there in the world of college football today 18 19 20 year old kids are going to move on that that is that that is a foregone conclusion and you have to get out of the the antiquated way of thinking about college football of you need to build through high school and you have to do things a certain way yes high school recruiting still has to be the forefront of what you do but if a couple of michigan signes say, okay, hey, release me from my thing. And, you know, if Bear McWhorter or Brady Marquise need to leave, okay, like, that's, that is what it is.

Michigan is going to still be Michigan. And it doesn't matter if some, some kids that have never stepped on campus don't come. It won't matter if, even if, and I don't want this to happen, but even if Bryce Underwood were to leave, Michigan is still going to be Michigan and they are still going to go out and they're going to hit the transfer portal hard and they're going to bring in another quarterback. They're going to bring in another tight end.

They're going to bring in another wide receiver. The 90s are over. The 2000s are over. With the transfer portal, you don't need time to rebuild. Not when you have Michigan's resources. That's part of what Kyle Whittingham brought up was he's going to have resources to be able to go get his guys.

And that's, so that is one of my concerns, though, and that that I wanted to bring up here. And that's next up on my list. So you've got a head coach who, yes, he's 66 years old. Much more concerning to me than his age is the fact that he's never been in the Midwest. You have to go build relationships. Is it a concern?

Yes. Do I think the world is coming to an end because Kyle Whittingham has never been in the Midwest coaching and needs to build relationships? No, like, no. That's why you have assistant coaches. that's why you bring these guys in assistant coaches do most of the heavy lifting in recruiting anyway you just have to bring in guys that know what they're doing and and build those relationships and that stuff's going to happen that doesn't worry me

it's a concern but it doesn't worry me at all I think yeah no I think his his style of coaching and his style of play fits perfectly within the Midwest you talk about I agree you know big offensive linemen running backs tough hard nose defenses that is the that's the big 10 that's the Midwest yes uh if you know does he need to build relationships absolutely but he has i think uh a really good foundation because of the way he is as a coach and how he has coached you know a west coast mountain west team for the last two decades he knows what it takes to you know the big 10 is a lot different than the the pack 12 or wherever they were at the last pack 10 the last several years but the way

he, his style of play at Utah, I think, is going to translate really well to the Big Ten and is what Michigan needs. So he's going to be able to recruit. Like you said, he's going to get those assistants that know the area, that know the players and are going to, it's going to hit the ground running. And I think it's going to be a lot more seamless than than most people think. I agree. The other concern that everybody seems to be bringing up is that he's 66 years old. I tweeted this out the other day. We live in a country where we have elected an 80-year-old as the leader of the free world in back-to-back elections. Yeah.

I don't care that Kyle Whittingham is 66 years old. I just don't care. Like, he's coaching college football. 66 is the new 46, man. Yes. Easily. I mean, he beat Pat McAfee in our arm wrestling competition on Kyle's game day, I think, this year. So, like, he's also not, yeah, he's not a normal 66-year-old.

he's a guy who rides motorcycles and skis and plays golf and has worked out 4,000 something straight days like you look at him and he's not your typical 66 year old Kurt Signetti as people have pointed out is is less than two years younger and if Michigan would have hired him not one person would have brought up the fact that he's 64 years old so to me it's the most overrated absurd talking point there is I don't need Kyle Whittingham to come in and give us 15 good years. You're hoping for five to seven really good years from Kyle Whittingham, go win some football games, get this thing back on the tracks, and then you can ride off into the sunset.

And I think the other thing right now is, yes, he's 66, but judging by some comments that I've seen, like it feels like he's got a little bit of a chip on his shoulder right now. I think he's got some things still at 66 he wants to prove. I think there, it feels like he's going to have some things that he's never had before at his disposal. And he seems hungry to go do it at 66. So like, let him go. I think he's going to be fine. Yeah, I think he even talked about it when he stepped down at Utah.

He, he felt like if, if this is it, then he would, I think you'd be happy with it. But then also there's a thing where if the right team calls and the right university calls, because, I mean, let's be honest, he was probably. never going to win a national championship at Utah, not because of, you know, him as a coach or his coaches, but just the resources and the talent that you can bring at a university like Utah, he did more with, or he did, yeah, he did more with less for so long that when you get to a place like Michigan and you have every resource at your disposal, I think, you know, he had eight, 10 win seasons at Utah. What does that look like for Michigan, you know, these next

five years? If they're not, if they're not winning 10 games, that's, I don't think that's, Wittingham's fault, that's going to be a whole other issue. So I'm excited for him. I'm excited to see what he can do with this program because I think he has a strong track record of being very successful. Michigan won nine games this year with a head coach that was checking on only fans models at halftime, allegedly. That's what's crazy though.

If they can win nine games with that shit going on, what can Kyle Wittingham come in and do if he gets this thing going right that that's that's that's that to me is a a a sign for you know what i have to give the players and the assistant coaches so much credit for this year like knowing i think there were some rumblings and you know i'm not going to say that we all we all knew exactly what was going on but like the fact that the players were able to deal with everything they dealt with as 18 to 22 year old kids and and the coaches were able to deal with all that like kudos to that says a lot about the assistant coaches too like obviously biff biff being there and being kind of maybe that's steady you know he he's not doing it for the money

he's not doing it for the accolades he is doing it because he loves yeah coaching young men i think i look at a guy like wink and he talked about in his press press conference at the bowl game it's like he he's set for life he's made so much money being a defensive coordinator and an NFL coach that it he's there just to to, you know, develop men and a guy like Sean McGee, the GM there, he's one of the best guys I've ever been around in terms of character. So having those guys in the building, I think, helped out tremendously, especially when you see some of the reports of Chiron and Wink not talking for, you know, the better half of the

season and what that looked like. It, I'm very impressed by that nine wins now. And, you know, I don't know, do we put an asterisk? against, you know, on that Ohio State game, like, should that game count? I don't, I don't know. You tell me. I don't know. They caught us when the, when, when the Wolverines were lacking a little bit.

And now that they're back, you know, they're back on top. I think Michigan's back on top. Yes. Sure. We can, where we can do whatever we want. We got, we have, we have nine months until, you know, they kick off again. So I can talk all the shit I want. Yeah.

Yeah, whatever. You can do whatever you want. All right. Let's go into the impacts on the roster right now. We talked about it a little bit. And Kyle Whittingham, I think, made a very clear point that he wanted, that he needed to talk to Bryce first. And he did that before he was even introduced in his press conference.

He said him and Bryce had a 45-minute conversation, and he listened mostly. What does that say to you? that he went to Bryce and made that a priority because now, I mean, you're having to re-recruit Bryce Underwood to Michigan all over again. And the other thing that he said, I thought was very important was that this offense fits him to a T and that Bryce is going to love this offense. To me, that, yes, it's a big selling point.

and I'm hoping that Bryce will look at at everything that Utah's offense was this year and take all that into account because it feels like it's a system he can thrive in. Yeah, I think whether Whittingham likes it or not, like he has to kind of cater to Bryce a little bit for a lack of a better word. But yeah, you got it. I mean, he's essentially the franchise quarterback. You have to have those conversations. You have to see if you, if you,

guys are going to be a good fit together. You have to sell them a little bit, right? You have to re-recruit this kid who came in, you know, with Sharon and Chip Lindsay and be like, hey, like, this is going to be a better offense. We're going to, you know, cater to you a little more than what was in the past. And I think that's a smart move by on his part in terms of getting, you know, and if Bryce stays, a lot of other people are going to stay too. And that also helps with recruiting in the transfer portal. So having that conversation before even being introduced, I think was probably paramount. He understands it. He knows that Bryce Underwood has has the key to the university for these next couple years. And he had to, you know, not getting out

his good side, but sell him and say, hey, like, I'm the head coach now, but also, like, this has to be somewhat of a collaborative effort because we know what you can do when you are playing at your best. I do think that, like, if you can keep, and if you want to text weddled it right now, go ahead. I'll talk for a second if you want to check with him. I do think you have to, I don't want to, I don't want to overstate like you have to make all these concessions to Bryce Underwood or whatever. But yeah, you do have to sell yourself. Bryce Underwood didn't sign to come to Michigan to play for Kyle Whittingham. That's not what he came here for. But he did come for the University of Michigan. And I think the other thing is that if, if Bryce Underwood does stay,

You made a good point there. It does help a lot of other people. I think what it does is it sends a message to everybody else like, hey, like my conversations with this guy went really well, and we're going to be good. We're fine. We're still Michigan. I think that more importantly than anything.

And listen, if Bryce Underwood decides that it's best for him to leave, like I said off the top of this show, that's fine too. Like if Bryce decides that, hey, I need to move on because this isn't what I signed up that's okay too. I'm not going to begrudge a kid or bash a kid that decides that he wants to like that that's okay too. But I do think that he will he will thrive in that system. When you go back and look at it and I don't know if it was Connor Stallions or somebody was tweeting out and talking about the multiple formations. There are so many different looks that this offense gives you that I think that Bryce would be really, really good in. I just think he

I think he would be in a really good spot. And the other thing is that they're still going to run the football, which is what really impresses me. Even if they come and they run everything out of 11 personnel, like they're still running the football effectively. I think that's like there's a lot of really good things to like. Yeah, I mean, especially, I think I did see that tweet as well. And to an offense, a lot of those personnel can look the same.

It's just an extra tight end or maybe even like an extra alignment playing as a tight end, extra receiver, whatever it may be, but to defenses, it's going to give them fits because they're going to have to practice that. They're going to have to spend less time on what Michigan does, you know, majority of the time and focus on those little things here and there. So I think that gives Bryce in that offense the upper hand, which is going to be exciting to see. But I think you know, let's get past this bowl game first. Let's see how Bryce plays in the bowl game. Let's see what these guys do. I think the transfer portal opens up again here soon and see what happens there, but you hit spring ball running, you get your offense kind of, and your defense

kind of solidified. And then you roll into camp and let's see what happens in the first year. I think a lot of people are excited about it. For sure. I, I think there's a lot of really good things to come. And I'm hoping, selfishly, there's, the staff is the staff and like, whoever he brings in. There's only one guy that I'm really selfishly hoping for. So, his long time offensive line coach at Utah is Jim Harding, who went to Malmy High School, where I went to high school. He played at the University of Toledo. He's a Toledo Hall of Famer.

And he also happens to be like one of the best offensive line coaches in all of America. And his wife is from Troy, Michigan. I had one brief conversation with Jim the other day. And I'm really hoping he's coming back to the middle. They've been out west for so long. And I'm kind of hoping selfishly, like he's coming back because, A, he's awesome at his job, but he's also a good person. And it'd be kind of cool to have him at the University of Michigan.

So that's my selfish plug, hoping for Jim Harding to come. Maybe he'll be Grant Newsom's assistant offensive line coach. I can tell you this. If Jim Harding is coming, it's not to be the assistant offensive line coach. Michigan has resources and money for a lot of things. But he will not be coming to be Grant Newsom's assistant. assistant. I think that will, he's probably going to be one of the casualties of this thing, unfortunately, and I know you love him and think how he's brilliant and he is.

But I think he might be one of the casualties of this whole thing. All right. So we talked about the resources at Michigan. And Kyle Whittingham for so long has been able to identify talent and develop talent at Utah. And he did that by not getting five star guys. He's not not getting a bunch of blue chippers. He's doing it by getting some four stars and and bringing in some good players and then developing them. I think the people he can recruit to Michigan for the first time in his life, he's going to be able to sit down in some living rooms that he's never sat down in. And yes, it's the block end, but it's also a big huge checkbook that he's able to take along with him. That's got to be really, that's got to look really exciting for him to be able to

get in front of some people that in the past, he probably didn't really have a shot at it. That has to be exciting, doesn't it? For sure. Absolutely. I mean, I would be, you know, I'd be salivating if I was a head coach or even a coach just on the road recruiting. And, you know, for the longest time, I had to kind of scratch and call my way just to get a four star. And not to say that he's not going to have to work his butt off to get these recruits now. But to have those resources, to have the of a university like Michigan, it's going to open up a whole new world for him and his coaches to be able to go out there and get the best of the best. When you can, someone like Kyle who can identify players and then you can develop them to be at their best, that's,

that's a special, special combination. And it's dangerous. It's dangerous for other teams because sometimes you can just have a player and they're just good right away. And they're just good right away. And sometimes there's players that you can develop and then they get good. But when someone's really good and then you can continue to develop them at a high rate, that's special, like Bryce. Like if Bryce, if Whittingham and whoever their OC is going to be can develop Bryce, I mean, he's first round quarterback, you know, maybe one of the best quarterbacks to come out of Michigan. Like it's, that's the type of thing that a coach like him can do because he's done it for so long. It's exciting to be able to watch.

I'm ready for it. And he's done it. He's done it with less forever. And I, you know, I took some flack on that because like I said kind of the same thing about Jeff Brom. Like at,

you know, you have to do it with less at Michigan sometimes. And I was, I was thinking of old Michigan with academic standards that, that were almost unattainable for some. Transfer credits not coming over. Now Michigan has, they are in they're in the big boy pool like they can go get who they want um there's nobody that's

that's out of their league like they can go recruit who they want but now you're still bringing it you still have to bring in guys that fit the culture you want um so i think you know that's part of it is like yeah you can go get a bunch of five star guys but like they also have to fit your um fit your culture and they have to be able to fit into what you do um so that's going to be the interesting part um one of the other challenges i think for kyle wittingham at Michigan. And Urban Meyer actually brought this up today. Winningham is going to be

under some scrutiny that he's never been in his entire life. Like when you're out at Utah, everybody loves you and everybody knows that the challenges that he faces, I think, for the part. And you win nine to ten games all the time. That's good enough for everybody out there. You're God out there.

Yes. And you're going to, Now at Michigan, though, like, if you win nine games and miss the playoff and you're not contending, people will be calling for your job fast. Yeah. It'll be one year, one season, and it'll be, you know. It's a different kind of scrutiny. And I think that's an interesting thing to see how he reacts to all that, too. I think because he's been in this for so long and he's been a head coach for so long,

the pressure is, I mean, you saw what happened with Sharon and the pressure that that, that kind of, but that was his first head coaching gig. Like, I would have, I would have loved to see Sharon give you a head coach at like a Mack school or, you know, a lower division school, not division, but a lower, whatever you call it, G5 or whatever they call them. Yes, G5. And then get that chance at a bigger school like Michigan. But when you, when you get thrown into the fire like that right away, it's, it's tough. But, you know, with 66, he's got a lot of wisdom. He's got a lot of life experiences.

And, you know, I guarantee he doesn't have an Instagram. someone said is his his Instagram he follows 10 girls and they're all his family and he hasn't posted in 11 years so it's like he's not he's not going to hear that outside noise unless he goes and Googles it and I think that that's going to serve him well yeah but yeah you win nine games you only win nine games yeah you're they're calling for your head right away and I think he understands that but I think he's built for it I think he kind it seems like he kind of is embracing the challenge of all that too um let's uh next thing i the national reaction to this has been unbelievable like i as i scroll through and i watch it for four days or whatever

it's been five days now is there has there been a single national voice that has said anything bad about this higher the only negatives that you see are from like rando trolls from state or from Ohio state that are fans. But like everyone that that knows ball says this is a dynamite hire. And everybody has amazing things to say about Kyle Whittingham. That's been kind of refreshing, to be honest with you. It's been kind of nice to see all that and not have to deal with whatever random negative thing there is at this hour.

Yeah. I think, I think Joel Clatt had some raving things to say about him. Urban Meyer. You know, he was, you know, Whittingham was one of Irving Myers' assistants when he was the head coach there. I saw he was on Portnoy's podcast and Portnoy tried getting him to be a special assistant to Whittingham. And he's like, I'm not saying the M word and I'm not saying, I'm not wearing a

amazing blue. I don't know. It was just one of those things that like when you go to it and you look at it and you're looking at these, you know, big time names in sports media, it's all good things. they have nothing bad to say. They say he's going to restore Michigan in terms of the culture and what he does in terms of being a coach and the style that he brings. I think it's a match made in heaven for what Michigan's looking to do.

Yeah, and it's like you look at it. And when is the last time that there was a resounding positive national thing? I mean, you know, everybody had an opinion about Jim Harbaugh. Whether you like him or hate him, everybody always seemed to have an opinion on Jim Harbaugh. And it was very rare that anybody was like, oh, my gosh, this guy's the greatest. You had to be a Michigan fan to think that Jim Harbaugh was the greatest, despite the fact that, you know, he's literally one of the greatest football coaches of all time. Like, like, there was no debate in my mind around Jim Harbaugh until, you know, we got to a couple years in. And then I was like, okay, maybe this isn't the guy.

And then he turned it around. And then I was like, no, no, no, he's the greatest. But like, it's been a while since we've had a bunch of positive press about something going on at the University of Michigan. It's kind of nice. You're muted somehow, warm. It's okay. There we go.

Okay. But like I said earlier in the show, like, it's been five or six years of like kind of turbulent, you know, like, and it's refreshing to hear some positive things. obviously a lot of you know success is going to come with a lot of opinions and you'd rather be winning than losing uh but it i don't see this i don't see how this can can end badly for winning him obviously you lose games and all that stuff but everything i've seen and his track record has shown it that he's a winner um so i'm excited for that no question i think that that's what i'm most excited to see is just kind of how this i want to see how this

goes i want to see what it's like i want to be able to watch a Michigan football game again, like we did a couple years ago and know that they're going to be completely prepared, detail oriented. The head coach is going to know when he shouldn't, shouldn't use timeouts. He's going to know how to manage a clock. I'm excited for those things. I'm excited for just the simple things of watching Michigan football again like we did at the end of the Jim Harbaugh era, where things where you knew that Michigan wasn't. going to beat themselves. I think that's the one thing that I'm most excited about was I felt like there were times with Sharon Moore where it felt like that he was overwhelmed. It felt like he was

in over his head. It felt like he wasn't, he just wasn't fully comprehending or prepared enough for some moments. And that's, I'm excited to have that back. Just simple stuff. Yeah. And it makes sense that he wasn't prepared, like, now that we kind of know what's been going on. But yeah, just simplicity and knowing what to do at the right time, keeping your composure, stability that we just talked about. It's, I think that's, that's going to be the biggest thing that, because Michigan has a talent. Michigan has a talent. Michigan has the resources.

Michigan has all the things that you would be like, okay, this is a playoff team every year. And I think this is going to be the missing piece that they found. And, you know, it's going to be nine months until we can actually see what the product looks like. So we're going to be waiting for a while. But it's a lot of excitement. I'm excited to get to some spring practices and check them out, get to the spring game and see how they operate. But I think they're in the right direction for, without a doubt, heading in the right direction. Yes, in a much better spot than they were a few weeks ago. One overarching thing that I wanted to talk about, for some reason, and I don't say for some reason, I know why.

But there were all these people talking about how nobody's going to want the Michigan job. Nobody wants to be the head coach at Michigan. It kind of reminds me back to when Brady Hoke was hired and I, and that's when I asked him, like, you still think this is an elite job. And he, you know, and that's when he said, this is Michigan, for God's sakes. It feels like we're back in that position again, where people are like, oh, my gosh. You know, Paul Feinbaum comes on and nobody wants to coach at Michigan. Nobody wants to deal with this mess.

Well, you know, Paul Feinbaum knows that the SEC is slowly slipping away, you know, like they're not the big dogs anymore. And he's trying to do everything he can to get the, to keep the top talent there when, you know, schools with more money are now at the top. And obviously, Alabama, I think Georgia are going to stay there. But yeah, he's, he's an SEC homer. He's never going to root for the Big Ten. He's never going to have anything nice to say about them.

so you got to take everyone's got an opinion just like everyone has you know the saying of everyone's got a butthole so yes all right fair um but like my whole thing is like that was always such a ridiculous talking point and i just didn't get it like like you're still Michigan is still going to pay eight million dollars and could have paid more potentially for head coach they're still going to have endless resources uh they still have have Larry Ellison's money, uh, they still have all, like they have just endless things that that are going on. And we're, and we're talking about nobody wanting to coach Michigan. Like, and yes, I, I understand that there's an investigation going on and there's, there's this or that

and there's some, you know, some negativity surrounding the program right now. None of that. Football coaches don't care about that stuff. They want to come in and they want to coach ball. And I think that's one of the cool things about Kyle Whittingham is like, he's going to come in and coach ball, and you're not going to have to worry about any of the other stuff. And, like, so he didn't care about that. Like, he just wanted to come in and be the head coach at Michigan and, like, go win football games. So, like, I just thought it was such a silly narrative that was, that was circulating on

the internet that nobody was going to coach Michigan. Like, what are we talking about? Yeah. I don't even know what to say to that because, like, of course you're going to want to coach at Michigan. Of course you're going to, you're going to take the call. You're going to listen to what, what the athletic director has to say, no matter what, what, I mean, not even like investigations, there's no president right now.

Like what, what does that have to do with, you know, what does a president at the university have to do that much? I understand he's like the boss of everything or she's the boss of everything. But in terms of a football program, like let Kyle Winningham handle that, let him and, and their coaches handle that and see what happens because, I keep saying it, but like, it's, it's going to work out. I think he's going to, he's going to figure things out. And it's people are going to be really, really happy with, with this decision.

Yeah. All right, as we wait for Eric Weddell, let's talk about the Citrus Bowl a little bit. Let me preface this by saying, I am going to try my hardest to care about this football game, okay? I'm going to watch. I know I'm going to watch. Michigan football is playing, and I am going to watch. But I'm telling you, Worm, this football game is about as checked out of a football game is I think I've ever been for a game, like, since I started watching Michigan football.

When I hear how many opt-outs Texas has, and I hear how many opt-outs Michigan has, and I think about it, it's like, it's really hard for me to get into this game. And actually, before we get into it, well, Eric gets settled in here, and then I will bring him on right now, because he just hopped in on this thing, and he's going to join us now. a 14-year NFL vet, six-time pro bowler, a guy that you played with Worm in Baltimore. I'm glad he remembered me, too. That was, I felt good when I, when I texted him at. I mean, listen, I, you know, like you play with a lot of guys over that many years.

Like, I get it. You might forget somebody did remember you. So that's good, Worm. I'm still glad you had his phone number, because I said, I'm like, dude, do you have like any NFL guys that played there? Like, can we get somebody on that played at Utah that you know? And let's bring him on right now. Eric Weddle, joining us right now here on the podcast. Appreciate you doing this.

How are things going in your world right now? I'm good, man. I'm good. You know, it's crazy times, obviously, being a alum that's very connected to the program. And, you know, I think everyone's kind of in shock and, you know, what's going on. He was supposed to be stepping down. But now he's taking over Michigan. and, you know, I'm used to this type of, like, turnover and change because that's just the way

the league was. You're either getting cut, you're getting traded, you're, you know, new teammates every six months, new coaches. So to me, it's not, like, out of the norm. It just is what it is. But I think for everyone, just a shock of it all. But, man, I'm excited for them. I'm excited because to how.

an opportunity to continue coaching for one and to do it at one of the best you know programs in the country and to turn that place back to respectability it's something that he's going to be remarkable at and don't be surprised if they're back in the playoffs and doing big things because he's he's just that type of guy tell us about it yeah tell us tell us what Tell us what we can expect in Ann Arbor with, with a guy. Yeah, I mean, shoot, I'm almost 20 years removed from playing under him. But, you know, I go to a couple of Utah games a year.

I've been to spring ball the last three years with my high school coaching staff. I'm a head high school coach down in San Diego. So, and he's allowed graciously to be a part of meetings, be a part of coaches, you know, staff meetings, players, like all access, right? And he does, you know, I'm very, very grateful for that. So I've seen them, obviously. And what you're going to get? How do I put it the easiest way?

You're going to get someone who's very passionate and humbled at the opportunity to coach, to be a coach, and to build those relationships with the players. He takes that very seriously. but you're also going to get a guy that's no BS like you're going to know where you stand what's going on why am I not playing what do I need to improve on what is our culture how do we play this game what's our identity how are we going to win this week what is the plan like he's very very very detailed okay and yeah like his strengths are a football coach okay his not so strengths are like getting up in front of the media and talking to him for an hour

and shooting the shiz and like playing grab ass with a bunch of boosters like that's just not his strong suit can he do it he will but he's going to be not like he wants to coach football he wants to watch film he wants to get his guys ready to play smash mouth football win the line scrimmage and he and you take on that personality like he he was a stud linebacker at bi you played in the NFL or you know he had a short stint he comes from an NFL background he coaches the NFL style and that's where his like tenacity and direct and you know his force comes as a coach but you can always respect it and you love it because he really does care about you but he he treats like a man and you always know the expectation and where you stand in the grand scheme of things and you know

that you have to play a certain style of football here or you're just not going to be there. Walk us through your relationship with him because I believe he recruited you when he was a defensive coordinator while Urban was still the head coach and then he was later your head coach at Utah walking through your relationship

as you were being recruited. Yeah, I mean, I owe not just my playing career but my family, like my wife and I got married when I was in school. My kids, like, he was coming through. Long story short, like, he took a chance on me. Coach Meyer didn't want to offer me a scholarship.

Coach Witt really went to bat for me, had a plan for me, saw me as a defensive back. Like, I really wanted to play wide receiver in college, but he looked at me. He's like, listen, you're going to be a defensive back. I'm going to coach you up, and you're going to have a chance to compete out here. And really, like, it just, like, how he is a coach, and a man like that's what i really appreciate it he was very honest with me and he and he envisioned

and had a plan for me so i i got turned off from a lot of the coaches that kind of were trying to BS me we'll do this we'll let you do this like nah he he had a plan and really went to bat for me and really like i owe a lot of my success over the last 20 years because he took a chance on me coming through the inland empire stopped by my school to see where i had committed to and realized I wasn't going anywhere, and he was like, what the heck? Did I, did I do a robbery? Did I go to jail or something? Like, what's the issue?

Why is anyone recruiting me? And so he jumped on me, pause, and was able to, I know, like, you know, when I get on these things, you know, get these young guys, they're going to give me crap around. The locker room doesn't, man. It makes you like scared. Yeah, exactly. So now recruiting wise, he's the one, he's the reason why I went to Utah and I'm forever embedded to him in the program because they believed in me.

And he's, I don't think there's anyone better at evaluating talent and doing more with less. You know, you can go on and on from other coaches around the country, media members that watch Utah play over the last two decades and see what. what we've done and put guys in the NFL, like he knows talent and he knows how to get the most out of guys and being able to go to a school like Michigan where you're not going to have to battle for three stars like are wanting to go somewhere else or the one one out of five years you get a four star. Like you're going to get whoever you want. And that's like really exciting for me as a guy that played for him that what's he going to be able to do with some of the

best kids in the country. Yeah, I think we were talking about earlier in the show, but like, this is, I think Coach Winningham is the exact type of coach that Michigan needs right now. They need stability. You talked about the culture. You talked about the development of young men, especially in the day and age of NIL where, you know, guys can jump ship and, and leave whenever they want for, you know, either more money or, you know, what they think is a better opportunity. And for a guy like Coach Winningham, who I've never met personally, but just, you know, stories like you've just told and and what other people have said in the media it's like he is going to hold these guys to a high standard he's going to develop them because let's be

honest the end goal is to go to the NFL for most of these guys and if he can do more with less like he has at Utah for the last two decades I'm super excited to see what he can do at a program like Michigan and like I just said I think I think he's perfect for for what this program needs right now yeah I mean like all that stuff yeah like he he's he's ball through and through like if you if you like really what michigan historically has been like he's the type of guy that you want to lead your program like football toughness win the trenches run the football stop the run play great defense like that's that's big 10 football that's michigan football and probably another like who he is and what he stands for is probably

like one of his greatest attributes but also be willing to adapt like the game and these kids have changed so much over 20 years, right? Like a lot and still being able to connect and motivate and be able to have an imprint on these young men, both on the field and often, especially academically. Like we had a 93% graduation rate, which was one of the tops in the country for the university for our football program. So it's just all the little details, the little things that matter to a program that Michigan, obviously has gotten away from and to say like you fell into a guy that's like I honestly

think like Michigan I lucky with Coach Whit because you're getting a guy that's going to turn your place back to respectability in a place where as an alum like you you're going to be proud of that and and get away from what has transpired over the last six months and the last couple years of just not doing things the right way um there's a couple things that I like there's like criticisms that people have given he's 66 years old how is he going to recruit the Midwest are those total bullshit and in your mind recruit yeah recruiting like regional recruiting is like so overrated like I don't even know what that means in today's landscape like you have to know the Midwest like no I need to be able to

evaluate talent on the film I need to go to the school and size these plays players up and see if they're a right fit for us like yeah that may be important to smaller schools but it's michigan like i i don't need to be i don't know i don't need to know anything from anything to go into a house with a michigan shirt on and say i think your son's a really good player i think you might be a good fit let's build this relationship like what does it matter where i would come from or where i recruit so that is irrelevant and uh what was the other knock on him oh is age yes yeah like i've been in the game for a long time and a coach whit intellectually uh his his his uh his energy his is uh what's the like his uh his quick wittness right like it's just my is his IQ level like if you ever

get a chance to ask him his IQ it's borderline genius and he he doesn't like ever bring it up unless you get really close to him but he is he's seriously like high level high level so that on top of he works out every day for like the last 20 years every day he does the same workout he's look at his calves you know if you don't think you guys in shape and in ready to rock like you're just you're fooling yourself and you could just tell honestly like from the from the interview like the press conference it's he's energized like he's he feels like he's ready for it ready for the challenge so age i would say in some cases it's true like you look at who is the old texas coach uh mac brown yeah mac brown like you look at back brown

you look at coach wait is that even comparable like when mac brown was like kind of of later years and i i don't know anything about mac brown i'm just trying to think of an older coach yeah around the same age yeah like he's they're they're legends and pke carroll's still doing it even though he's, that product this year by the Raiders is awful. I don't know what he's doing over there. But I don't think those are any concern. Like, honestly, the only concern you could say if you're looking at the Utah program is offensively over the course of his years have sometimes not been as explosive or turned out. Like, we've turned out guys in the NFL, but like, you know, you could say like that could be a knock.

but you can't knock anything outside other than, you know, maybe just the talent, you know, on offense of just not getting, you know, averaging 45 points a game like some of these schools do. Like, that's never been our way as a program. And I don't even think Michigan up until maybe their championship year has been like, oh, we're going to put up 40 points a game and just try to outscore people. Like, that's just not how their schools are built. Our schools, like we're very similar in our mindset. So I guess that would be the only knock you could try to find.

But outside of that, like, this guy's a good coach, man. So are we going to see you in Ann Arbor sometime soon with Coach Whit? Like, I'll take you. Oh, man. I'll take you a night of dinner. If he hits me back, I know he's been busy the last few days. So I would, I told him, you know, if he needs me for anything, he knows I'm there for him. And, you know, my son, my son's getting recruited by a bunch of schools.

So they may have to see us out there on a visit. I don't know. If Michigan's smart, they'd get on my son because he's pretty good. Does he play safety like you or what position does he play? He plays quarterback in safety. Yeah, he's pretty good. I love it. So Urban Meyer today made a point, said something along the lines of, like, when you go to a Kyle

Whittingham practice, that's what a practice is supposed to look like. You've been there. you've seen them what is a what does a kyle wittingham practice look like what what did urban mean by that do you think well i think it's very direct it's it's uh it's clean it's it's uh you know the coaches are all prepared there there is no wasted movement wasted time it's uh it's efficient and it's a physical physical physical practice like there that's what we hang our head on uh being physical being physical being the most physical team. And if you can't block and you can't tackle and you can't get off blocks,

then you're going to have a hard time playing in Utah. It's very like honestly, when I look at Utah and I bring this up because I've been, you know, Gage, Gage one of a couple of officials this year. He went to Oklahoma. He went to Georgia at a couple of schools that have offered them. And being around like Georgia and Kirby and how he just, the standard and what he perfect for you know what he is his uh identity as a program like that's Utah right but he could do it and say it out loud with his chest out because they're national champs right like they can say hey if you don't play if you know if you don't like having pads every day because that's what we do and you don't like hitting and play it and win the fourth quarter like this isn't

the place for you we'll just go find the next guy like Utah is that but you can't really say that because we don't have like a bunch of five stars. But when I say, when I see Kirby saying those things and meeting him and like him spending time with us, like that's, that's Utah football. It's just, Coach Witt's never going to let those cameras in there.

So I don't know if he's going to have a change of heart, like having people at practice and alum's. And he was very, very, like, tight-knit on who came to practice, who was allowed to come to practice. Like, uh,

it's, he doesn't let. anybody in the circle like when he when he breaks down practice if you're not an ex player you're you're not allowed in the circle it doesn't matter you could be a celebrity you could be david portnoy who's given millions you're not allowed in the huddle when he speaks to the team so he he treats that like those little details and things are very secret like it's only for the team and i love it because it's it's meaningful it's it's it's it's not for everyone to be a part of as as you know like in those intimate it's like the locker

room like only select people should be allowed to go in the locker room right and so i don't know how that's got he's going to have to adjust letting more cameras around because michigan's a brand like it's it's uh it's bigger than any individual so i just it'll be interesting to see how he handles that for sure well i will say like jim harball was a lot like that actually Like, Jim Harbaugh didn't allow cameras at practice. You were allowed to, only like the Michigan cameras were allowed to come and shoot just a little bit. But like Jim Harbaugh was very much like that. So I think people are probably kind of used to it here, only because they did have to deal with Jim Harbaugh,

who I think has a lot of probably the same traits that you're talking about. Did you downplay how good your son was? Is he actually, is he a five star? Did you downplay how good he is? is just a little bit maybe what's that did you downplay just how good your son actually is he's a composite five-star kid like like did you downplay it a little bit he's pretty good uh well he has a long ways ago and uh you know he's he's got a chance i say i tell coaches this uh aside from what he's on the field right he's he's a guy that could turn your program around he he has that it

I think that more so than anything else, like how he treats his teammates, how he galvanizes guys, he has a real special trait that, uh, of those type of things. Because, you know, I only got one son. I, I got three girls and a boy and I try to teach him what it means to be a man and hopefully a great husband and father one day and what it really means to play this game and how it could change your life if you, if you welcome it. and embrace it and respect it. And so he takes that on, man. When he crosses his white lines, he sees red ass and there are no friends.

There are no, he's out to prove himself every snap. So, you know, has there been instances in practice where we've gotten guys that are on the sideline after a rep because he goes too hard? Yeah, but that's the way he's been taught. So he'll, he's got a chance. I'm really proud of him. and it's fun, sure fun to coach him. I was going to ask one follow up on that. So Joel Clatt actually said that Kyle Whittingham is a guy that he would let

he would want his son to play for. Is that kind of how you feel about Kyle Whittingham? Oh, for sure. Like it would, you know, before all this and I'm really close with Coach Scali and there's not a better guy to take over that program. And it's the same thing. Like there are certain guys that I know. know personally that I would forever, like, would be so proud and elated if my son got to

learn and grow as a man under their, their example. And Coach Witt's right there with them. So, you know, Kalani, Coach Witt, you know, obviously Morgan, there's guys that I've met, like, I would love for Gage to learn and grow under Kirby Smart. I would love for him to Brett Venables. Like, those guys are just rock star men, right? that I've only could do so much as a father. Now it's time for you to learn from somebody else and being a good man with good morals and good character. Like, that matters to me.

And it may not matter to other people, but it does to me. And you're getting a guy with strong values in that for your program that you're going to be proud of. Like, is it going to happen overnight? No, but you're going to be able to rest at night being a proud Michigan man knowing who's leading your program. Yeah, I was going to say your son sounds a lot like you in terms of, like, I tell guys all the time, like, you were probably one of the best teammates I had in terms of just being a good person to everybody. And when you step on that field, you were, you know, I mean, you were, you were a bad dude.

And there are, there are a few guys that I played with that I think could have retired and been an NFL coach right away. one is you and now these last three weeks I've been playing with Philip Rivers on the Colts Oh my gosh, crazy I think he's another one. How was that, how were those practices all those years going up against that offense and having two of the best guys

I think that could go and lead a team right now in the NFL? You and Phil Rivers, that must have been in fun times. Yeah, man, it's, it's, I just love, I love what the game, can can give you if you just open yourself up to it right like if you really pour into the game you pour into the the day and day out of of the team and you know crazy you remember like it's it's long days right and everyone everyone everyone everyone at that level is is talented is good

you got it you got to be lucky to stay away from injuries but a lot of that is how you take care of yourself? Are you working out every day? Are you rehab? And like, there's so much that go on behind the scenes that if you're willing to put in the time and effort to try to be the best, and it doesn't always work out, but are you willing to do that? Like, I would say a high percentage aren't willing to do it. They just rely on their talent and rely on just their natural ability. The other half don't love the game. They're just there because they're, They can make a lot of money and it provides a good life, which is cool, right? But the truly great ones, and I wouldn't say I'm great, I just, I just made it had a good

run, but the great ones that I've been around. I'll say it for you. You're great. You're too kind. The great ones that I was fortunate to play with all had like very similar attributes. They all love to practice. They all love to compete. They were the hardest workers.

They studied the most. like they were the extension of your head coach and their vision, okay? If your leaders on the team are not your hardest workers and in the building first, last, like all those cliche things, but in certain buildings, that's true, right? In San Diego, Phil and I were there at 4.30 in the morning. We were doing our own prep for two hours, but we'd always meet up at lunch or sorry, at breakfast at 7 a.m. to talk ball and throughout the day. And then at the end of the night, we'd always meet up in the sauna talking about our opponent. Like, hey, what are we checking to when

you see a shade and the nickels inside leverage? You know the nickels blitz and like, what's going to be our check this week? And then so we're, we're just going back and forth. And then on the field, competing and pushing each other. And that's what makes great teams. And now did we ever win a Super Bowl? No, but man, we were, it was fun because the leaders on a team pushed each other and competed and did things the right way. So I think in hindsight, like, I just appreciate the relationships. And, you know, I got the biggest smile when Chris texts me. And because I remember those days.

I remember him as my teammate. I remember him lining up and me trying to help him, you know, do his job and make us better. Like, it takes everybody. You can't win this game by any individual. It takes everybody. And so I had the biggest smile. And I'm like, of course, of course I remember you, dork. Like, what do you think I am?

Like, I'm old, but I'm not that old. So I think I try to teach the young kids, and especially my son, like the game is bigger than the individual. It's always about the team. And when the team has success, the individual has success along with it. All right. Going on the Philip Rivers thing, we'll get you out here in a second. Could 40-year-old Eric Weddle make an NFL return right now? no no i'm sorry uh you know it's kind of it's kind of funny like i you know i rupture my peck in

that super bowl and i don't even think i could i don't even think i could tackle like a seventh grader without it like rupturing again so that alone i don't think i could play could my mind yeah i think i could easily just go in there and do it but i'll give you guys a funny story and this is like this is like an old man moment which is kind of shocked me so once a week on the treadmill i do i do sprints like you know it's not not even like not even fast like 12 miles an hour is the fastest the stupid treadmill goes so it's not like it's not like i'm like really sprinting right and so i do like i build up to it anyways i'm doing it for like i don't know like two three months like just trying to stay with it and then i do like the other day

of the week i do like other cardio every day but the other day i do like sled poles and pushes and that type of stuff just to like kind of act like I'm a somebody but I'm not and uh no lie on my last rep at 12 miles an hour my calf like I almost I don't know if I like pulled it strained it I definitely heard it and this was like a month ago I still haven't been able to get on the stupid treadmill and run as soon as I start running at five miles an hour it starts to just the sharpest pain goes through my cap down my achilles and I'm like I'm not going to rupture my achilles so I'm just not going to run anymore until I feel no pain so long story short I would go out there and I would break half my body on one break I literally would do one back pedal

break and I think my whole side would rupture unbelievable unbelievable so old old retired has been is what I tell people because it was there's just no way there's no way i could get out there honestly watching the game and i'm such a fan like i love just watching ball and trying to be a better coach i don't even know how we did it like i don't i don't know how he's and before the cba like well we're pads every day and real double days every day and we could actually tackle and hit like i was just i was kind of like a unicorn i would say you know do i mean you're like legitimately one of like the all-time grades you were like you're also get me come on like you're also downplaying yourself

here like you spent that much time to league you ran six pro bowls like yeah yeah you're what i mean yeah i mean yeah i think like i'm not i'm not naive like i think i had a i was a good player like do i think like when people ask me about the hall of fame like i don't think i'm a hall of fame type guy like i think of the hall of fame is like transcendent like literally it should only be like 30 players and, you know, a lot of guys, but, you know, like an Ed Reed, Troy, like those guys were incredible, you know, Rod Woodson, Charles Wilson. So, like, yeah, I was really good. I'm not, like, I'm not dumb, but I'm definitely not, I don't think, in that caliber. So it's, there's just levels. And that's cool. And I'm, I'm fine with it, man. I had a great career,

made some great friendships, and I gave it everything I had. So I'm all good with it. Love it. Word me anything else for him? We're going to let him go. So in 2018, we made the playoffs that year, and you got a bonus for making the playoffs, and you got us like that bottle of Hennessy. I still have not opened that thing,

and it's like sitting on the bar. And it's got my name on it, and I haven't cracked it open yet. I don't know if I ever will, but I just wanted to throw that in there before we headed out. Oh, I love it. I love to hear that. So backstory, and I'll give another tidbit of that.

So 2017, I had a close. is that if I made the Pro Bowl and we went to the playoffs, I got a million-dollar bonus. Well, that year we lose to the Bengals on the last play of the game. I remember buoyed up the seam. Oh, gosh, it was bad. And so, you know, everyone, you know, has it to lose a million dollars. So I never really had it. So, you know, I can't really say I lost it.

So we're in the same exact situation a year later. We have to beat the Browns week 17. I made the Pro Bowl and if we bake the playoffs I get a million dollar bonus Well you know C.J. Mosley makes the pick boom We celebrate get the million dollar bonus So I think after taxes it was like I don't know Like four hundred and seventy five K or whatever it was

And it was the first time in my career that I looked at Chanel, I'm like babe like let's just spend it like Let's spend it on family let's spend it on my teammates Like I was able to get all the guys like this really nice gift And I took my family and my wife's side and my side all to Hawaii and paid for everyone to go first class. It was awesome. And on the kick of it, I had like, I don't know how much money I had left, but, you know, the Ford Shelby's trucks. So they're like ridiculously expensive.

And there's no way. But I ended up buying one because I had this extra money that I didn't think I would have. So I have that every day I get in that truck, it's my dream truck. and I would have never have got it if we never would have got that. I never would have got that bonus on the last play of the game. So, you know, I get to help out my teammates. I helped out family. Then I, you know, buy myself a ridiculous overpriced truck that has more issues with it than I should have paying over $100K for it.

That's unbelievable. I love it. That is so awesome. As we get you out of here, because Worm won't, he's not going to shamelessly do this. I'm going to do it. Chris actually is going And nobody knows I don't anything people know this yet

publicly Chris has a celebrity softball game coming up in Toledo this summer Oh sick Listen We need to somehow get you Over to Toledo So we can have you in this celebrity softball game

With for, do it for warm If you can't Where the hell is Toledo Ohio? How do I even get to Toledo from San Diego? You fly to Detroit You fly to Detroit and it's a 14th 45 minute drive down nice and easy oh that's not too bad that's not too bad do i get a tour university toledo too as well dude listen we've got between worm and i we've got every

teledo connection there could possibly be we're both toledo guys so like we will take you wherever you need okay do whatever you need if we can get you if we can somehow get you back in the summer send me the dates i'll i'll send you the info here soon i'm pretty good and softball that's one thing i can do at this at this old age so yeah i mean Baseball, baseball was actually what I was best at. Really? So I got hit, until I got hit in the face at bat my junior year,

and that was the rest of my baseball career was done. I'm good after that. Yeah, I was. But it was a blessing in the skies because then I could actually do what I wanted to do. Play football. I love it. Dude, this was an absolute blast.

Thank you so much for doing this. Of course. Anytime, guys. Stay in touch, man. Love you, great. See, bro. Eric Weddell, that was awesome. And sorry, where am I, like, Justin had texted us in the group chat.

I'm like, listen, like, word's not going to add. I'm just going to do it. We're going to try to get him here to Toledo. Well, you got, like, the soft little plug, and then I'll work them from there. So thank you. Yeah, appreciate it. That's good. We try to get as many big names as we can for this thing.

People don't even know about this yet. We're just breaking news here and letting people know. It's going to be awesome. So, all right. So, like, how good is he, though? Like, that was awesome. Yeah, I mean, when I said that he could be an NFL coach, Like, I mean, obviously he's doing some great things with the son and that high school down in San Diego and he's, you know, developing young men, which is incredibly important.

But he could, he could easily be a head coach. And he was, he was the smartest defensive player I ever played with. And I played with some, you know, some really smart guys in terms of defensive scheme. And he's by far, he was telling me where to line up as a safety. And I'm playing D-Line. Like, he knew it all. And one of the best teammates I've ever. had for sure. Yeah, his son, by the way, is the 26th nationally ranked player in the class of

2028. He's like, yeah, he's pretty good. Give him a look, you know, like, he's pretty good. All right, very quickly. Let's, let's just knock this thing out real quick, because we're at over and we're well over an hour now. Citrus Bowl coming up, New Year's Eve, 3 p.m. in Orlando, Texas, a seven and a half point favorite. No, G. L. Hattie, no J. Sean Barham, no Derek Moore for the Wolverham. Marines. Obviously, Biff is the interim coach. Texas is also without a bunch of key pieces. They were without their top two running backs. They're without a bunch of other dudes too. They fired their defensive coordinator. So, you know, there's no opt out excuses or anything like that. And it's so unpredictable when you get to a bowl game because to be honest with you in a

game like this when it's a non-playoff game, it's like who actually cares, who actually wants to be there? That's the team generally that comes out and wins these games. What are you looking forward to at least watching. I'm looking for Bryce to take a step. You know, it's been about a month since they've played a little over a month. I'm excited to see him and Andrew Marshall's connection, see if that's grown over the last month. Jordan Marshall, to take another step, he made it.

Obviously that first bowl game last year against Alabama, he kind of put himself on the scene and kind of emerge as one of the top guys. But just, I think they need to come out. And I think they're going to, I think they have a lot to play for. I think they're going to play for Biff. I think they're going to play for the coaches that are no longer going to be there next year. And, you know, this is a little bit of a tryout and a test to see if Wittingham likes these guys. So I think that's really important.

But, you know, whenever you have the chance, you don't have to play football. You get to play football. And that was one of the messages that Philip Rivers kind of reiterated this week with us was you get to do this. Like no one's holding a gun to your head. No one's forcing you to do this. Like you get to do this. So any opportunity that you have to play this game, whether it's a meaningless bowl game,

whether guys are opting out, whether it's not going to matter in six months who won the game, and you're opting into play. Like you got to do it. And you should want to put your best foot forward and put some good film out there. Yeah, there's a lot of people that would love to be able to wear the winged helmet. I'm sure one more time,

especially some of you former players that would love to be able to do it. uh what they're getting to do one more time so yeah it's certainly uh and it's also michigan and texas like listen it's still like it's big brand against big brand you're still facing archmanning it's still like it's going to be good um we'll certainly be watching uh new year's eve 3 pm in orlando wolverine's taken on texas uh thanks to eric wattle that was awesome uh got some really good insight into who kyle wittingham is um and again make sure you follow us on instagram stadium and main pod and tell your friends about it as well we we try to get cool guests we try to do cool things talk ball and it's been fun uh worm i appreciate you and uh we will do this probably

one more time uh before the end of the season or after the season ends i guess oh yeah let's do all right yes that's uh that's chris wormley i'm jordan strack thanks so much for watching uh make sure you share this with all your friends don't