Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
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 well documented over the years,
(00:22):
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. It's good to
have you. How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:33):
What's up? Mo? Great? Great to be on man, And
I bet you a Loto is like Cincinnati Bearcat 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 champ.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
I remember those days well, and no, you're you're right,
And so as a UC guy, you know, I'm sort
of happy to slip you off to the folks at
Xavier where they have to deal with you twice a year.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
So yeah, I think I got the part of how
I think I might have gotten the rule ruler of
the Jungle was when we when we want that today?
Dude last year dropping a dropping a boode at the
end of the press conference, I think that, uh you
know that that was a that was a that was
a big move for left handom.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Yeah, smart moves. So obviously twenty twenty four has been
very kind to you. 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 (01:31):
I'm telling you, for for how deep you know, my
fandom goes with the Bangles 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,
(01:53):
you know. I'm telling you, it's like it's right there
with what the White House visit. It's uh, it blows
away any first pitches, yo, But I'm telling you it's
like right there for me as sick as I am
about Yo, my beloved Dangles.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
It's like, 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,
(02:28):
he's hardcore. He's a big time Bengals fan. And so
you know, you've 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 live 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 hollacious teams, and the Jets were good, and down
(02:50):
there in Central Jersey, Randall Cunningham and the Eagles they
got good and so it was hard. 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 (03:03):
Yeah. So, you know, the eighties probably my word as
bad as at the nineties, right, So, you know, because
you did you had Kenny Anderson, and uh, you know
that Super Bowl appearance, which you know, that's where it
started for me. And then obviously had Boomer, uh you
know Boomer in the late eighties, and you know, the
(03:24):
Lefty it was more, it got banned more when I
was like in college in the in the in the nineties,
you know, post Boomer, when it started to really get difficult.
And 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
(03:45):
get the newsletter, the I would get the Bengals Report,
you know that that newspaper once a month or or
or eight times a year. And I remember at Seaton
Hall sitting in the back of the 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 1 (04:08):
I can painfully, I can painfully relate to that. You know,
you've been a fan for such a long time. You have,
I mean, you have an all encompassing 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 2 (04:27):
Yeah? I think up until really up until November, 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
(04:51):
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,
(05:13):
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 1 (05:28):
So you talk about, you know, turning them into Bengals fans.
Was that a tough sell?
Speaker 2 (05:35):
My wife, Andrew used to my oldest son Danny. Uh,
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 uh a
game to sit and watch the game with me, because
I get he was not really interested in it. And
(05:57):
then because I'm 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 and things of that nature. Officials obviously,
(06:17):
I always have a thing for referee, so they're they're
always a target. 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
hardcore or even more. You know.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
So 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?
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Like?
Speaker 1 (06:52):
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 (06:58):
It's like it's a lot. Like it's a lot like
one of my games that you come, 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 in
a certain spot and the game's going bad, I'll move
(07:18):
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
(07:39):
stay in the house during the game. It used to.
It used to frighten her. You know, they're you know, screaming,
the yelling, the brawling of pillows and different close the windows.
Like she was like, we have to close the windows
because people think you're crazy. I there's one game where
I have you know, she has to blow up dangle
(08:02):
like like person in the 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 beangal stuff in the driveway in which she got
home from the food store. She obviously knew that they
(08:22):
lost the critical game because everything I owned Bengal Parel
was like laid out neatly in the driveway, like I'm.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Done, that's okay, that's insane. I mean, like you weren't
you weren't about to pour a gas on her, right,
Like it was just sort of temporary insanity that kind
of thing.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
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 when Man got there and like and
Carson Palmer and Chad uh and tj and and Chris
(09:06):
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
Bonol and Hoffen, that whole thing. That was like, yeah,
like with with your favorite team. Like That's why I
never overreact to when my fans want to kill me,
(09:28):
because I know what it's like to be a really
passionate fan.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
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 (09:43):
Well, it's it's uh, you know now, it's Joe. You
know it's Joe, It's Jamar, It's Joe, It's Jamar Chase.
Sometimes I'll get nostalgic and and you know, I've got
the you know, I've got the Boomer, I've got the
Ocho Cinco. Uh, I've got a Hushman Dada, I've gotta
(10:04):
I've got a Rudy Johnson. Uh So yeah, I mean
I'll start with Joe. 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 that
I'm feeling.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Have have you been? Have you been following the day
to day mechanics of the Jamar Chase situation?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Well I have. I was hoping like the open, the
opening part of the show would be us, you know,
talking about you know, him getting his bag. Uh, 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 and a lot of
these times though, you know, coaches and players, when you
(10:52):
get into these situations, it's like a lot of it's
it's in the hands of the ancient. 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 your agent and
(11:13):
how he's directing you, and and uh, you know, and
and the organization. You know, we've all been in that spot.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
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 (11:33):
Yeah, obviously I'm 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 it's unfortunate, you know,
then his injury, because I think that would have been
just awesome competition at right tackle that uh, you know,
(11:55):
really would have I think, uh, you know, just lifted
the play of of of of both players. So you know,
it starts with with with the offensive line and obviously
the defensive line with Miles Murphy be and being hurt,
and you know he's gonna need uh Joseph Asai, I
think too, you know, to to really kind of you know,
(12:18):
show consistently what he's slashed. I think the third receiver uh,
you know too obviously there you know, uh you know
that the kid from Princeton or you know, or as
Burt and get some employee be able to get to
that third receiver spot. Uh because with Jamaar and T. T.
Haggens and you know, well protected, you know, I got
(12:39):
a lot of you know, the running back spot and
you know Chase Brown and Dak Moss. Uh you know
that like that. I'm excited to see Chase Brown. He
did some exciting stuff as a as a pass catcher,
but okay, he run the ball to uh dak Shale,
changed position, the safety, the corner cornerbacks, Like, what's that
gonna look like a lot of players that you have
(13:03):
done that well, but he said, athlete has got tickets.
Think so.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
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'll get Sean we'll talk some basketball. But
this is really cool. Thanks coach Well, I hope so.
(13:32):
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