Mike Missanelli hangs up on Sal Paolantonio over Doug Pederson interview
New Eagles head coach Doug Pederson spoke to 97.5 The Fanatic’s Mike Missanelli about a wide range of topics, but the interview didn't impress ESPN's Sal Paolantonio.
On Tuesday, new Eagles head coach Doug Pederson spoke to 97.5 The Fanatic's Mike Missanelli about a wide range of topics, but seemed unwilling to reveal much about the future of quarterback Sam Bradford.
"I just think that's the most important position on the field," Pederson said, sidestepping Missanelli's questions about where negotiations stand with Bradford.
"At the end of the day, when this thing is all said and done, we're going to have the best quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles," Pederson said.
When pressed about Bradford's asking price (reported to be as high as $25 million), Pederson remained noncommittal, telling Missanelli he wasn't privy to the negotiations involving Bradford, his agent, and vice president of football operations Howie Roseman.
The interview didn't seem to impress ESPN's Sal Paolantonio, who joined the show later in the afternoon and ripped Missanelli for not asking Pederson if he'd personally spoken to Bradford since becoming the Eagles' head coach.
"That would be the first question I would ask him," Paolantonio said. "We need to know what Sam Bradford has told the Eagles about his intentions. Pick up the phone and say, 'OK, Sam. What do you wanna do? Do you wanna stay here, or do you wanna go?"
Throughout the entire 7-minute interview, Paolantonio wouldn't let the subject go, which eventually led an angry Missanelli to interject, "Gee, Sal, I'm sorry I didn't do the interview to your standards! I apologize for that!
"I did the interview. I'm sorry I missed the one question!" Missanelli exclaimed, and when Paolantonio still wouldn't let the subject go, the Fanatic host had enough.
"You know, nice talking to you. Have fun at the Super Bowl," Missanelli said as he hung up on the former Inquirer beat reporter and turned the show back to callers. "If I did that to him, he'd be the first guy to squawk."
Here's the full audio of the exchange between Missanelli and Paolantonio, courtesy of Crossing Broad:
Missanelli told Philly.com on Wednesday that the exchange was, "a minor disagreement amongst good friends."
As the Inquirer's Jeff McLane notes, Pederson has been asked about speaking to Bradford: