Adam Schefter on D&C: ‘I think Rex [Ryan] just talks. He doesn’t care’

Adam Schefter

ESPN’s Adam Schefter made his weekly appearance on the Dennis & Callahan show Friday, and he started off by taking questions about Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh. When asked if he was sick of hearing about Harbaugh, Schefter responded by sharing an anecdote about his wife.

“I will just say this,” Schefter began, “the great philosopher wife that I’m married to, last night, she’s an uninterested football fan, she looked at me at one point and she said, ‘So, is this Jim Harbaugh guy the new Brett Favre?’ ”

Schefter went on to discuss where he thinks Harbaugh will be coaching next year.

“My guess is Stanford,” he said. “But again, my guess every single day in this process has been wrong. So if I’m saying Stanford, that probably means he winds up as the 49ers head coach. But I would guess Stanford.”

Schefter said he thinks Harbaugh has lost his leverage when it comes to negotiating with NFL teams, and he pointed out that the Dolphins never made an offer to him, contrary to some reports. He said the Dolphins were not in compliance with the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview minority candidates, and therefore could not make an offer even if they wanted to.

Below is more on Harbaugh, as well as Schefter’s thoughts on Andrew Luck, Rex Ryan and which team could challenge the Patriots. To listen to the interview, check the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page.

Is it possible Harbaugh told the Dolphins he did not want the job because the general manager and defensive coordinator are both staying?

It’s possible, yeah. I could see that. The way that it was explained to me throughout the day yesterday by various people is the Dolphins went out there, they rushed out there. … They rushed out there to try to see if they could get this guy, but the calls I got yesterday that seemed to be consistent were that the Dolphins were not in a decision mode, they were in an exploratory mode. And they were trying to figure out whether they wanted to go out and hire Jim Harbaugh.

Just like they kicked the tires on Jon Gruden and Bill Cowher, they were doing the same for Jim Harbaugh. They were in exploratory mode. One of the options, which I was told throughout the day yesterday was quote-unquote very much on the table, was hiring a new offensive coordinator to match with [head coach] Tony Sparano and [defensive coordinator] Mike Nolan. I had a couple people insisting to me yesterday that that was real and viable and very much on the table.

Is it Josh McDaniels?

It’s not Josh McDaniels. McDaniels and Mike Nolan don’t get along, because they worked together in Denver and obviously didn’t enjoy that experience. But there still is an offensive coordinator candidate, and clearly the Dolphins made the decision last night, I don’t know why, to go with that other plan.

They never made an offer to Harbaugh. They decided to go the other way, to keep Sparano, after they embarrassed Sparano and humiliated him, basically hung him out there to dry. But that’s where this is at right now.

The Dolphins approached both Gruden and Cowher?

Well, you talk to various people. ‘Are they interested? Do you think this guy would be interested?’ … Again, didn’t hear the conversation. I’m not privy. I was told they kicked the tires on both guys.

On how this stuff changes all the time:

A week ago, I thought there was no doubt in my mind Jim Harbaugh was not going to Stanford. He’s going to go to Michigan. He’s going to go San Francisco. He’s going to go to Denver. He’s going to go to some other NFL team that creeps up, which turned out to be Miami. He has so many options that I cannot foresee a way that he’s going back to Stanford.

I thought it was going to be Michigan, but then there’s no Michigan. Then I thought it was going to be San Francisco, but then there’s no San Francisco. Then I thought it was going to be Miami, but that whole thing falls apart. Now we’re back to San Francisco and Stanford again.

What about the news that quarterback Andrew Luck is returning to Stanford and not entering the NFL draft?

Honestly, I expected Luck back there all along.

You did?

I really did, because that was the word, that he planned to go back.

Yeah, but they always say that.

But this is different. It was a different deal. He had wanted and planned to be there all along.

There’s a history of college coaches not succeeding in the NFL. Why does that not apply to Harbaugh?

Because there’s always some new, pretty young lady who comes along and captures the attention of somebody that they think is going to be different. Just like teams trade for players and they think, ‘We’re going to straighten out this guy and make it work.’ It’s a similar concept.

I think it’s a situation where in this particular case, they see what Harbaugh has done turning around programs, they know he has pro experience, the pro game is not new to him. He’s experienced with it, he’s coached at that level, he’s played at that level, and they think that he’d be able to make that transition.

Do the people you talk to around the NFL respect Jets coach Rex Ryan or do they think he’s kind of a clown?

I think Rex just talks. He doesn’t care. There’s no filter. He’s just going to go up and say what he feels. We can try to analyze it and assess it, but it’s just him speaking from the heart and going out there. He doesn’t care.

Do you see any upsets this weekend?

For what it’s worth, I’m picking all four road teams. All four. And I will say this, that I think the winner of the Green Bay-Philadelphia game has a very good chance of representing the NFC in the Super Bowl. That I do feel strongly about.

Who could scare the Patriots?

The one team that I think is the most dangerous to them, just based on what we’ve seen before, is Baltimore. They won in the postseason in Foxboro last year. They played with New England this year.

Went to overtime.

So, why would they not be the most formidable foe right now that the Patriots could face?

Because they almost lost to the Bengals last week.

It doesn’t matter. They’ve proven that they can play New England tough. They’re 6-3 on the road this decade in playoff games. They have that aura, that attitude, that swagger. They don’t care who they’re playing, where they’re playing. I just think to me, if you’re New England, that’s the most dangerous team.