Jacksonville Jaguars star runningback Maurice Jones-Drew will be getting his very own radio show on Sirius XM on Friday nights.
What kind of radio show?
Fantasy football, naturally. Many of us know Maurice is a huge fantasy football guy, and openly advocates drafting himself 1st overall all the time.
Fantasy football buff Maurice Jones-Drew is getting his own radio show to share his expertise with fans.
The Pro Bowl Jacksonville Jaguars running back will host the program every Friday night during the season on the new all-fantasy-sports station on satellite radio service Sirius XM. -Associated Press
Now, I don't have a problem with players hosting radio shows, especially if they have the kind of personality that a guy like Maurice Jones-Drew has.
Someone may have a problem with it, however.
Jack Del Rio.
Remember last year, when quarterback David Garrard had a weekly hour-long call-in show in the afternoons on 1010XL? It lasted about two weeks before head coach Jack Del Rio shut it down. "Less than 48 hours away from the game, it's not even a question," Del Rio said. "I don't even understand how anybody could ever advise somebody to think about doing something like that. It makes no sense."
I remember when this went down, I agreed to a point but disagreed to a point. The show was in the 3 o'clock hour on Friday afternoon, after the final practice of the week. It was only an hour long and it got David Garrard "out there", so to speak. I think anytime a player takes phone calls on sports radio, they deserve a lot of respect. It's not easy taking random phone calls, trust me.
Del Rio said he was upset mostly because David Garrard was talking about things unrelated to the opponant less than two days away, it was mostly personal business and about his family. "He said, 'As a father figure, I'm just trying to tell you this isn't good late in the week like this," Garrard said. "'You can field things early in the week and ... rehash the past game. But late in the week, you want to be studying your film, you want to be with your family and you want to be off your feet, relaxing.' I totally understand where he's coming from."
Del Rio went directly to David and ended the show. Murmurs came out that Garrard did have something in his contract that required him to clear things like a radio show with the team prior, and that he did not. It's possible Jones-Drew has the same clause, and I doubt Del Rio pulls his plug. Still, it seemed kind of like an over-the-top reaction by coach Jack Del Rio, who also does a call in show on Tuesday nights during the season.
Fast forward and what will Del Rio's reaction be with Maurice Jones-Drew hosting a show even closer to gametime? Jones-Drew will undoubtedly be talking football, but it will be fantasy football.
"If you're not studying film, you ought to be relaxing with the family. So, those are my thoughts. I conveyed them to him," Jack Del Rio told David Garrard about the radio show.
I wonder if he'll tell the star and face of his football team the same thing.