Michael Irvin reveals trick that landed him ESPN gig – “I threw all my rings on the table and walked out”

Hall of Fame wide receiver and Super Bowl champion Michael Irvin began a broadcast career after retiring from the National Football League. After working on the "Best Damn Sports Show Period" show on Fox Sports Net, he was interviewed by ESPN.

In a recent interview with the New York Post, he spoke about his experience during the interview process and what he believes helped him get the job. He said that it was 2003, and Keyshawn Johnson had just won the Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Johnson had called out Sterling Sharpe for never being able to win a Super Bowl. So Irvin, who won three Lombardi Trophies with the Dallas Cowboys, used that to his advantage. As Irvin walked out of the office, he put his three Super Bowl rings on the conference table. Stating that they wouldn't have to worry about him being called out for not winning a Super Bowl.

“My deal was coming up. ESPN called me. I’ll never forget. It was right after the Bucs won the Super Bowl. Keyshawn Johnson called out Sterling Sharpe over his lack of rings. When they brought me in to interview, as I was leaving I looked at them and said, ‘Hey one last thing: you will never have to worry about someone calling us out saying we don’t have any rings again’ — and then I threw all of mine on the table like they were dice and walked out.”

Clearly, it worked out for Michael Irvin, who worked with the network throughout the 2007 season. Although he now works with the NFL Network and is a fixture on the Sunday kickoff shows, he has returned to ESPN. He is now a co-host on both "GET UP" and "FIrst Take".

Michael Irvin supports league's QB protection

Over the last few weeks, there have been some debatable roughing the passer calls throughout the National Football League. In a recent interview with the New York Post, Michael Irvin said that he supports protecting the quarterback.

“Everybody’s been all over the refs on these roughing the passer calls, with Brady and Derek Carr last week. I just want to offer this up: I have no problem with the NFL protecting the quarterbacks, because if they don’t protect the damn quarterbacks, we get ‘Thursday Night Football’ all the time. Let them keep our quarterbacks healthy.”

He said that the reason he doesn't have an issue with the NFL protecting quarterbacks is becuase the alternate in "Thursday Night Football". Essentially taking a deal at the lackluster performances that have been occurring on Amazon Prime's Thursday night broadcasts. The lack of scoring and competition on Thursday night has had NFL fans furious.