Rich Eisen has solid credentials as a journalist, but when he decided to leave ESPN and join forces with NFL Network, he must have been concerned that he would be seen as less a reporter than a PR man. In a compelling interview with King Kaufman of Salon, Eisen explains that when he took the job, he did so with assurances from his bosses that he would be allowed to cover the NFL the way he saw fit, as long as he wasn't talking about point spreads. Eisen tells Kaufman:
I like Eisen's approach, and I think he and NFL Network's main information man, Adam Schefter, always give an even-handed look at the league. If the only restriction placed on Eisen is that he can't talk gambling, he's got more independence than a lot of broadcasters who don't work for sports leagues.The only time the NFL has said to me, "You can't say this" was before we went on the air, and they said, "There will be no discussion of gambling. There will be no lines, overs, unders." And I'm fine with that. If there's anybody who requires their football news to be filtered through that prism, there's many different outlets to seek, and then they can come back to us.
I'm totally cool with that. I mean, we talked all summer long about dogfighting, and that was after Pacman Jones, where I learned what "making it rain" means. I had no idea. We talked about that, we talk about coaches on hot seats, owners that make bad decisions. We have the head of NFL refs on every week for what I think is the most compelling segment we put on "Total Access." The head of NFL refs comes and talks about controversial calls. And to the credit of the NFL, that's the way it's been from the get-go.
