Marchand Sports Media How Adam Schefter became the most prolific NFL insider ever
In the 50-minute podcast, ESPN’s Adam Schefter explains how he went from thinking he was going to work in his family’s five-and-dime store the rest of his life to becoming the most prolific NFL insider ever. He details the steps that got him to ESPN, how he does his job, what irks him and how he sometimes wants to be let out of “his cage.”
Here’s what you need to know:
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* How scheduling a podcast with Schefter during the head coaching carousel is a juggling act
* Growing up, Schefter watched all the New York teams, while being a voracious reader of The Post, Times and Newsday
* He would wait for his dad to come home from work to tell him about the latest trade and free agent stories
* His family had a five-and-dime shop that he thought he would work in the rest of his life and never thought sports media was an option
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* How Schefter got rejected by a fraternity, the football and basketball offices at Michigan that led him to the newspaper
* How Mitch Albom meant so much to him and his career
* Bo Schembechler getting red-hot mad at him
* How he found Jalen Rose’s father, Jimmy Walker’s number in 24 hours for Albom’s classic “Fab 5” book
* How thinking about his start in Denver and covering the Broncos makes him emotional
* How amazing the access, including eating breakfast with John Elway, with the Broncos was so instrumental in his career development
* How he thought he was going to be a beat writer for his whole life as he didn’t go to NFL Network until he was 38
* How an NBC Broncos’ feature by Gayle Gardner that Schefter participated in was a big problem and resulted being sent to Dan Reeves’ office
* How Pat Bowlen and Eric Weinberger were influential in bringing him to NFL Network
* How he almost didn’t go to NFL Network, but they told him they envisioned his job being like Peter King and Mike Lupica
* How after he fell in love with TV because he didn’t have to transcribe anymore
* How he didn’t want to leave NFL Network for ESPN,
* What happened with the million dollar ask of NFL Network
* How Chris Mortensen was so important to his arrival at ESPN
* When ESPN hired Schefter he did not have a Twitter account
* ESPN hired him to be on the new 9 a.m. SportsCenter and write a little. That’s it.
* How he couldn’t believe he was on Sunday NFL Countdown with Chris Berman and company
* What is the story he is most proud of
* How do you create sources, which includes regular calls from coaches on their way home from work
* How many phones does Schefter have
* How many hours does he work per day
* How the job takes over your life
* Peter Schrager puts out a statement and Schefter got into trouble for it
* Does he want to retire like Woj? He did get some questions about other jobs on the day Woj left
* His talks with Woj before Woj retired
* What’s the value of transactions five minutes before they are announced
* How he was ahead on Ben Johnson to the Bears, where others said Raiders and his heated response to critics
* How he loves to escape the “cage” that ESPN has him in and do NBA or maybe one day do golf
* How he would have done the pod at 2:15 a.m.
* Related pods: Bomani Jones … Chris Russo … Ramona Shelburne
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