Rich Eisen

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Rich Eisen
Rich Eisen 2011.jpg
Rich Eisen at the 2011 NFL Draft
Born (1969-06-24) June 24, 1969 (age 52)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Michigan (BA)
Northwestern University (MS)
OccupationSportscaster
Spouse(s)Suzy Shuster (m. 2003)
Children3
WebsiteNFL Network

Richard Eisen (/ˈaɪzən/; born June 24, 1969) is an American television journalist for NFL Network. He also hosts a daily sports radio show, The Rich Eisen Show, for Westwood One, which has video simulcasts on NBCSN and Peacock, along with replays on YouTube.

Early life and education[]

Eisen was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised on Staten Island.[1][2] Eisen attended the University of Michigan, where he served as co–sports editor of the school's Michigan Daily and member of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity.[3] He graduated in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and in 1994 he earned a Master of Science degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

Broadcasting career[]

Early years (1990–1996)[]

Eisen was first a staff writer for the Staten Island Advance from 1990 to 1993, and the Chicago Tribune in 1993 and 1994. He was then a sports anchor and reporter at KRCR-TV in Redding, California, from 1994 to 1996, and also worked in television as the Medill News Service's Washington correspondent (1994).[1]

ESPN (1996–2003)[]

Eisen (left) and Marshall Faulk during the 2010 NFL Draft

Before working for the NFL Network, he worked for ESPN. He was part of a duo with Stuart Scott, and became well known for his humor, most notably his impressions of Atlanta Braves broadcaster Skip Caray and provided interviews during the Home Run Derby. Eisen was also the host of ESPN's reality series, Beg, Borrow & Deal. For ESPN Radio, he served as host of Major League Baseball and as a guest host on The Tony Kornheiser Show and The Dan Patrick Show. Outside of the world of sports, Eisen hosted the ABC show Domino Day.

Among Eisen's notable achievements while at ESPN, was breaking the news of St. Louis slugger Mark McGwire's retirement from baseball in 2001 on SportsCenter. Days later, he sat down with McGwire for an exclusive interview elaborating on the decision.

NFL Network (2003–present)[]

Rich Eisen was the first on-air talent added to the NFL Network roster in June 2003. Eisen is the face of the 24-hour, seven-day-a-week cable and satellite channel dedicated to football that debuted in November 2003. He was the main host of the show, NFL Total Access, the network flagship program, until August 2011. Eisen signed a new long-term deal with NFL Network in 2010 and became the new host of , the first pregame show on the NFL Network. Eisen also remains host of NFL Total Access and NFL GameDay Highlights, as well as NFL Network's Thursday Night Football pregame, halftime and postgame shows and special on-location coverage from league events such as Kickoff, Pro Football Hall of Fame, NFL Scouting Combine, NFL Draft and Super Bowl.

Eisen expanded his résumé in 2010 with the debut of "The Rich Eisen Podcast," the first-ever podcast for NFL.com. The weekly podcast, available on Apple Podcasts among many other sources, features guests from the world of sports and entertainment news talking football and all the latest headlines. Since its debut, the podcast has been downloaded more than 7 million times and celebrated its 200th episode. Eisen hosts his nationally syndicated sports talk radio show with Chris Brockman, Michael Del Tufo, and TJ Jefferson.

In November 2012, Eisen's first Thanksgiving Special aired on the NFL Network with a variety of celebrity guests talking mostly sports and current events.[4][5]

In 2005, Terrell Davis challenged Eisen to compete in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. Eisen runs it annually, wearing a suit, and his times are:

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
6.77 6.22 6.43 6.34 6.34 6.21 6.18 6.03 6.03 5.98 6.10 5.94 6.02 5.97 6.00 5.98[6] 6.03

That makes his best time 5.94, in 2016.[7]

Eisen turned his annual sprint into a charitable campaign "#RunRichRun" which raises money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. His campaign has already raised over $480,000 and for his work he was honored with the 2017 Pat Summerall Award.[8] A graphic based on one of his runs is the trademark of his weekday radio and television talk show.

Other networks/shows[]

On November 3, 2014, Eisen took over the noon–3 p.m. time slot on Fox Sports Radio from Jay Mohr, who moved to the 3–6 p.m. slot.[9]

Eisen was the host of the TNT original reality series, The Great Escape, which debuted on June 24, 2012, and was cancelled in October 2012.[10]

On October 6, 2014, Eisen began a new sportstalk TV/radio show, The Rich Eisen Show. The show is broadcast live from DirecTV's El Segundo, California Studios on Audience Network[11] and NFL Now.[12] On November 3, 2014, the show was picked up by Fox Sports Radio and broadcast daily from noon-3 p.m. ET.[13] In early March 2020, the show's broadcast moved from Audience to YouTube due to the impending shutdown of Audience. NBCSN and NBC's streaming service Peacock would pick up the show several months later.

From 2015 to 2017, Eisen had a recurring role as himself on the CBS sitcom The Odd Couple, playing the arch rival of fictional sports radio personality Oscar Madison (Matthew Perry).

Since 2016, Eisen has appeared on multiple episodes of Comedy Central's @midnight.

In February 2018, Eisen co-hosted, with model/actress Rebecca Romijn, The American Rescue Dog Show on The Hallmark Channel.

In 2020, Eisen and The Rich Eisen Show is featured on Madden 21: Face of The Franchise.[14]

Personal life[]

Eisen is Jewish.[15] In 2003, Eisen married Suzy Shuster, formerly a college football sideline reporter for ESPN on ABC. They have two sons and a daughter, and live near Coldwater Canyon in Beverly Hills, California.[16]

Eisen wrote the book Total Access, which was published in 2007.[17] In 2012, he started the "Punters Are People Too" movement[18] after Bryan Anger was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

In 2014, he had a small cameo in the film Draft Day. Plus, he's part of the "Face of the Franchise" story mode on Madden 21

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Rich Eisen Biography". Grabow.biz. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2007.
  2. ^ The Rich Eisen Show (November 29, 2017). "WFAN's Mike Francesa Talks Giants Benching Eli Manning & More w/Rich Eisen". YouTube. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  3. ^ "Rich Eisen (Alpha Kappa - Michigan) - Former ESPN Anchor". Pi Kappa Phi. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  4. ^ "The Rich Eisen Holiday Special". NFL.com. November 23, 2012. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  5. ^ "NFL Network: On Air Talent: Rich Eisen". NFL.com. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  6. ^ Curtis, Charles (March 2, 2020). "Rich Eisen breaks six seconds in his latest 40-yard dash at the NFL combine". USA Today. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  7. ^ Schwartz, Nick (February 25, 2014). "Rich Eisen broke the 6-second barrier in the 40-yard dash". USA Today. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  8. ^ St. Jude Children's Research (February 15, 2017). "Rich Eisen honored with the 2017 Pat Summerall Award during Super Bowl LI week at Legends for Charity® Dinner". PR Newswire. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  9. ^ Yoder, Matt (October 6, 2014). "Fox Sports Radio will be picking up The Rich Eisen Show". AwfulAnnouncing.com. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  10. ^ "TNT orders first reality competition show". UPI. January 6, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  11. ^ "Rich Eisen is getting a three-hour daily NFL talk show on DirecTV". USA Today. August 18, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  12. ^ "Series Premiere of 'The Rich Eisen Show' to Air Today on DIRECTV and NFL Now". NFL Communications. October 6, 2014. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  13. ^ "FOX Sports Radio & DIRECTV to Bring THE RICH EISEN SHOW to Sports Radio Fans Nationwide". Broadwayworld.com. October 7, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  14. ^ "MADDEN 21 Face Of The Franchise | CHOOSING A COLLEGE (Rise to Fame Career Mode) Ep 2 - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  15. ^ @RichEisen (December 22, 2013). "I'm Jewish. RT @AdamPierces @richeisen you looked like you never sat on Santa's lap before" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ^ Jackson, Candace (September 6, 2012). "Home Front: Mixing Young Kids With a Collection". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  17. ^ "Total Access: The Journey to the Center of the NFL Universe". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  18. ^ "Punters Are People Too! – NFL Punters & Players Join the Movement". NFL.com. September 27, 2012. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2019.

External links[]

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