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September 4, 2024 14 mins
UCONN Men's Head Coach Dan Hurley is the ruler of the jungle for week 1
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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
With Tony Pike.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
If we want to move on to doctor Keith Gorn
and Austin Elmore.

Speaker 1 (00:05):
I think you should continue. Let me keep going.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
There sency three sixty tomorrow which twelve News on ESPN
fifteen thirty.

Speaker 3 (00:13):
Bengals game Plan is on in twenty minutes, Dan Horde
and Dave Lapham. By the way, tomorrow we're broadcasting from
the Munios Foundation top golf tailgig.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
With Anthony Munios and many many others.

Speaker 3 (00:24):
Looking forward to that Sunday, the season opener for the Bengals.
Their ruler of the jungle will be two time national
championship coach Dan Hurley, who obviously his Yukon Huskies won
the twenty twenty four NCAA Men's basketball Championship, winning it
for a second consecutive year. He is, as has been

(00:46):
well documented over the years, a die hard Bengals fan
deskite despite growing up in New Jersey, and nice enough
to give us a few minutes to talk some some
football coach.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
It's good to have you. How are you?

Speaker 2 (00:58):
What's up? Great? Great to be on man, and uh,
I bet you a lot of those like Cincinnati Bearcats
fans did not see it coming. With this Yukon program,
especially at the end of our AAC tenure, or you know,
in my first couple of years at Yukon, we did
not look like an eventual back to back.

Speaker 3 (01:17):
Cham uh I remember those days well, and uh no,
you're you're right, And so as a UC guy, you know,
I'm sort of happy to slap you off to the
folks at Xavier where they have to deal with you
twice a year.

Speaker 1 (01:29):
So yeah, I think I.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
Got the part of how I think I might have
got the rule ruler of the Jungle was when we
when we want to today? Dude, last year dropping a
dropping a boude at the end of the press conference,
I think that, uh you know that that was a
that was a that was a big role for left
hand the.

Speaker 1 (01:48):
Yeah smart moves.

Speaker 3 (01:49):
So obviously twenty twenty four has been very kind to you.

Speaker 1 (01:53):
Is being name ruler of the jungle? Like the icing
on the cake? Is that the best thing to happen
to you this year?

Speaker 2 (01:57):
I'm telling youm O for for how deep you know,
my fandom goes with the Bengals and this goes you
know for me personally, you know, like in the know
all the way back to the eighties and then you know,
forcing my family to become Bengal fans, like two sons. Yeah,

(02:19):
I'm telling you, it's like it's right there with what
the White House does it. It's it blows away any
first pitches or yeah, but I'm telling you, it's it's
like right there. For me, as sick as I am
about you know, my beloved Beangles, it's like it's right there.

Speaker 3 (02:35):
So I remember when you were coaching at Rhode Island.
I was I was filling in for the great Dan Horde.
Cincinnati's playing Rhode Island and you beat us, and that's okay.
And somebody said to me, you know, Dan Hurley's a
Bengals fan, and I kind of was like, you know, okay, fine,
you know whatever. You know, maybe he knows Andy Dalton
or someone, and it's like, no, he's hardcore. He's a
big time Bengals fan. And so I you know, you've

(02:58):
talked about the story of how you got into this
team as a kid, the Freezer Bowl. Here's what I'm
interested in because I have some experience doing this. So
I lived for a chunk of my childhood in New Jersey,
Central Jersey in the eighties and this is pre NFL
Sunday ticket and the Giants had some hohlacious teams, and
the Jets were good and down there in Central Jersey,
Randall Cunningham and the Eagles they got good.

Speaker 1 (03:19):
And so it was hard.

Speaker 3 (03:20):
So describe for me what it was like growing up
as a Bengals fan in the eighties when you had
all these other good NFL teams around you.

Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah. So, you know, the eighties probably my word as
bad as as the nineties, right, So, yeah, because you
did you had Kenny Anderson and uh, you know in
that Super Bowl appearance, which you know, that's where it
started for me. And then obviously you had Boomer, uh
you know Boomer in the late eighties, and you know,

(03:49):
the Lefty. It was more it got bad more when
I was like in college in the in the in
the nineties, you know, post Boomer, when it started to
get difficult. And it was also, you know, we were
obviously not playing a lot of national TV games back then,
so my only way of getting information was I would

(04:11):
get the newsletter that I would get the Bengals Report,
you know that that newspaper.

Speaker 1 (04:16):
Yeah, once a month or or or.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
Eight times a year. And I remember at Seaton Hall,
sitting in the back of an intro to sociology class,
reading like the Bengals Report, and doing my own depth
chart for the season of the not so great teams.

Speaker 3 (04:34):
I can painfully, I can painfully relate to that. You know,
you've been a fan for such a long time.

Speaker 1 (04:39):
You have. I mean, you have an all encompassing.

Speaker 3 (04:41):
Job, and the season's overlap, so it's it's got to
be easier in September and maybe even October. But when
you get into the heart of your season, how closely
are you able to follow them?

Speaker 1 (04:53):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (04:53):
I think up until really up until November with you've
got a pretty good window. For me. It's like, like
everyone leave me, you know, unless there's like a five
star kid, you know, committing between one and four on
a Sunday, Like, leave me the hell alone. Like this
is my I don't play golf, I don't have a

(05:17):
whole lot of hobbies or interests outside of like ducom
basketball and my family. So all I ask for the
people around me is that is that Sunday window. Uh,
to be left alone. Uh. And then it's really like
I think it becomes something too with you know, when
you have kids and when you when you have sons especially,

(05:38):
it's like for me, it's a common interest that that
you know, that we have together that kind of keeps
us connected and gives us something to talk about, spend
time around. You know, it's just a neat thing to have,
you know, with with your family, with your boys.

Speaker 3 (05:54):
So you talk about, you know, turning them into Bengals fans.

Speaker 1 (05:57):
Was that a tough cell?

Speaker 2 (06:01):
My wife, Andrew used to my oldest son Danny, you know,
they're all coming with me this week. Obviously he uh,
my wife used to pay him off to My wife
would give him like five dollars a game to sit
and watch the game with me because I yeah, he
was not really interested in it. And then because I'm

(06:24):
such a monster during the game, you know, just throwing
stuff and you know, clock management is like a big
thing with me, Like I don't know a whole lot
about the schemes, although I'm learning, but I think anyone
could kind of sit there and you know, question timeouts,
clock management, things of that nature. Officials obviously, I always
have a thing for referee, so they're they're always a target.

(06:48):
So but my wife, the fandom started with my boys
by her just basically paying them off to spend time
with me, and then now they're as hard more or
even more so.

Speaker 3 (07:03):
You you talked about watching the games, and I was
going to ask that because I mean, you know, I
watch Yukon games I attend when you're in town and
you're animated, which is awesome. Is it is it kicked
up a notch when the Bengals are playing or do
you bring it back? Like what is what is it
like for those three hours if you and I are
in a living room together, what am I experiencing?

Speaker 2 (07:23):
It's like it's a lot, Like it's a lot like
one of my games that you kind of Oh, yeah,
I mean, I'm up, I'm walking around. Uh, I'm superstitious.
So you know, like if I'm watching the game on
one TV at a certain spot and the game's going bad,

(07:43):
I'll move to a different TV and a different seat.
I'll change my sweatshirt or my jersey. You know, I'll
get mad. I'll get like real angry that you know
again at the officials at the other team. You know. Uh,
it's like, yeah, I mean, it's a lot like my
wife does not stay in the house during the game.

(08:06):
It used to it used to frighten her. You know,
they're you know, screaming, the yelling, the browing of pillows
and close the windows. Like she was like, we have
to close the windows because people think you're crazy. I
there was one game where I have you know, she
has to blow up dangle like like person in the

(08:30):
you know, you blought the inflatable like Bengal guy with
the with the ball. Yeah, so like I've kicked it
out of that or like I think, particularly one bad game,
I laid all of my Bengal stuff in the driveway
and when she got home from the food store, she
obviously knew that they lost the critical game because everything

(08:50):
I owned Bengal apparel was like laid out neatly in
the driveway, Like I'm done.

Speaker 1 (08:57):
That's okay, that's insane.

Speaker 3 (09:00):
I mean, like you weren't you weren't about to pour
a gas on it, right, Like it was just sort
of temporary insanity that kind of thing.

Speaker 2 (09:07):
Yeah, Yeah, it was just you know, frustration. I think
I don't know if it was like it might have
been during Baron, Marx dur and Marvin Lewis's time there,
Uh it might Yeah, going from as bad as we
were to when my mom got there and like we
and Carson Palmer and Chad and Uh and TJ and

(09:31):
and Chris Henry, that whole group like to not be
able to kind of break through and get that playoff
win that was particularly crushing, you know, the Steeler playoff game,
Chemo bon olen Hoffen, that whole thing that was like, yeah,
like what your favorite team like. That's why I never
overreact to when my fans want to kill me, because

(09:54):
I know what it's like to be a really passionate fan.

Speaker 3 (09:58):
I can relate to almost everything you're saying. I've never
laid my Bengals stuff out, but I have been tempted.
You mentioned wearing a jersey, So who's the go to
Bengals player jersey you're wearing on game day?

Speaker 2 (10:09):
Well, it's it's uh, you know now, it's Joe.

Speaker 1 (10:14):
You know it's Joe.

Speaker 2 (10:14):
It's Jamar. It's Joe, It's Jamar Chase. Sometimes I'll get
nostalgic and and you know, I've got the Yeah, I've
got the Boomer, I've got the Ocho Cinco. Uh, I've
got a Hushman Dada, I've got a I've got a
Rudy Johnson. Uh. So yeah, I mean, I'll start with Joe.

(10:35):
If it's not going well, I'll start or I got hoodies,
you know, like if I'm not into just wearing a
particular players jersey, I'll just go to wanna like a
cool hoodie, you know. But I'm feeling have.

Speaker 3 (10:49):
Have you been have you been following the day to
day mechanics of the Jamar Chase situation?

Speaker 1 (10:56):
Well, I have.

Speaker 2 (10:57):
I was hoping like the open, the opening part of
the show would be us, you know, talking about you know,
him getting this bagh. But I guess it's still it's
still ongoing. It's just you know, it's tough. I mean it,
you know, for for fans, it's probably hard to understand.
And a lot of these times though, you know, coaches

(11:17):
and players, when you get into these situations, it's like
a lot of it's it's in the hands of the agent, uh,
and you're being directed. You know, none of us are
real business people. Like he's a baller, he's a ballplayer.
You know, I'm a coach. Uh. You know, we're not
necessarily business people. So if you're at the mercy of

(11:37):
your agent and how he's directing you, and and uh,
you know, and and the organization. You know, we've all
been in that spot.

Speaker 3 (11:45):
The great Dan Hurley is with us, ruler of the
Jungle on Sunday. You've been awesome with your time. Let
me let me just throw two more at you. What
is what is your biggest you know, coming into the season,
what is your biggest question or concern about the twenty
twenty four Bengals.

Speaker 2 (11:59):
Yeah, obviously, you know, I'm I'm star just uh, you know,
just with with obviously the injuries with you know, with
Joe you know, and I'm feeling good about feeling good
about the offensive line. Uh, that was unfortunate, you know,
then his injury because I think that would have been
just awesome competition at right tackle that uh, you know,

(12:21):
really would have I think, uh, you know, just lifted
the play of of of of of both players. So
you know, it starts with with with the offensive line
and obviously the defensive line with Riles Murphy be and
being hurt and you know, gonna need uh Joseph Asai,
I think too, you know, to to really kind of

(12:44):
you know, show consistently what he's flashed. I think the
third receiver uh, you know too obviously that you know,
uh you know that the kid from Princeton or you know,
or a Burton get a employe be able to get
to that third receiver spot. Uh, because with Jamar and
t Hagens and you know well protected, you know, I

(13:05):
got a lot of you know, the running back spot
at you know Chase Brown, Dak Boss Uh.

Speaker 1 (13:11):
You know like that.

Speaker 2 (13:12):
So I'm excited to see Chase Brown. He did some
exciting stuff as a pass catcher, but okay, he run
the ball to uh Dak Shale changed position the safety
to quarterbacks. Like what's that going to look like? As
not a lot of players that you know have done
that well. But he's an athlete. He's got kick in state.

Speaker 3 (13:32):
So it's uh yeah, there's a lot a lot of
working parts. It's gonna be a lot of fun on Sunday.
Jamar did practice today, so did to Marius mim So
we do have some things going in the right direction.
I cannot thank you enough for doing this. I hope
you have a blast on Sunday. And uh, you know,
at some point I get John, we'll talk some basketball.

(13:53):
But this is really cool. Thanks coach.

Speaker 2 (13:55):
Well later, brother'll see Sunday, And.

Speaker 3 (13:57):
I hope so Dan Hurley, head coach of the two
time defending national champion Yukon Huskies, and this week's ruler
of the Jungle. We are late. Gotta go, Horden Lapham
next Bengals game plan. We'll talk to you tomorrow from
the Munio's Top Golf tailgate in Westchester on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 1 (14:15):
This report

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