Neil Reynolds Exclusive Interview with Ryan Fitzpatrick

We're gonna talk to Neil about his time with the Dolphins quarterback and the launch of his new podcast, The Neil Reynolds Podcast. All of that and more here on this Friday, April the third edition of the Drive Time Podcasts. And I am very excited to get to this interview

with Neil Reynolds. I think we can all agree that Ryan Fitzpatrick is one of the most liked players, most unique players in the league, and he often gives refreshing perspective not just about football, but really any topic in life. A fifteen year NFL VET, a graduate of Harvard with a degree in economics tough to find a more well rounded resume than what Ryan Fitzpatrick offers. So with that, let's go ahead and get to my interview with Neil

Reynolds of Sky Sports and The Neil Reynolds Podcast. He spent an entire day with the Dolphins quarterback chatting about football, life and everything in between and joining me on the podcast. Now is the host of sky Sports TV, the Inside the Huddle podcast and his newest project, The Neil Reynolds Podcast, self named Neil. Welcome in, sir, Thank you for having me, Travis,

thanks for having me on. Yeah, it's been exciting times m launching this new podcast, and yeah, I got to spend spend a day with a man who's dear to Dolphins fans hearts. I'm sure he certainly endeared himself to us last year with the way he finished out that season. You even talked about it in the podcast, and we'll get to the stuff here in just one second. About him carrying Walt Aikin's of the field after that when in New England just really symbolizes and personifies the kind

of man that Ryan Fitzpatrick is. And that's the debut subject of Neil's new podcast, The Neil Reynolds Podcast. He's gonna go one on one with different NFL stars and NFL people and get their perspectives and their takes and who better than Ryan Fitzpatrick. And first, Neil, let's go ahead and start here with your your project and talk about it. What was the inspiration behind this new podcast and what can fans expect from these one on one

really intimate interviews. Yeah, and that's what that's what I'm am me in for. Um. Obviously, I'm I'm four thousand miles away from the u S so, um, there's no point me doing a podcast that's looking at all of the ins and outs of the news of the NFL. And I actually do that to a degree for the UK audience with inside the Huddle anyway. So this is a this is a chance for me to use great contacts. I have great contacts. I pride myself on having very very good contacts. I just I was texting back and

forth with Fits this afternoon. I've just got off the phone with Kurt Warner, So you know, I do have contacts through quite through the Sky Sports work, also through NFL UK. We do NFL UK live stage shows around the country and we go to theaters and we tour and I've been with a lot of big names and we don't just get to sort of do one into We get to sit on a tour bus for six hours. As we go from place to place, you really get to know the person. And so these are stories of

their lives in football. So it's not about the news of the day. It's about how they got to where they are, you know, what makes them tick, what drives them, what stories can they tell us along the way. So really trying to take fans, you know, as you said, intimate. I think that's the that's the feel I'm trying to get with this is um you know, take fans really

in in in that person's life. And and that's why with with fits And to start the first one, you know, I mentioned to him that I'd like to come out to see him in the America and could we do the interview, and he said, well, yeah, don't just come and do the interview. Let's go fishing. We'll go fishing for the day. So we we went fishing. I'd never fished before in my life, and then we sat and did the interview afterwards, and and so you really want

to get that kind of up close field. So it's storytelling. It's just telling these stories of how people got to the nfl SO Episode two I recorded the day after I spent the day with Fits. I went and spent an hour or so with Bruce Arians, the head coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and it's about his life. It's not about Jamis Winston. It was actually before they signed Tom Brady um, but it's more about you know, Bruce Arians was a bartender who got held up at gunpoint

once he got kicked out of high school. He coached Andrew Lucky, coached Peyton Manning Big Ben. It's all It's all about those stories. It's not really about the headlines of today. Well, you've certainly found the best characters in this big play that we do call the nf Bell to kick off this podcast, and you guys can find the Neal Raylands podcast wherever you get your episodes from, whether it's Apple, Spotify, you can go ahead and download

that podcast. And first, Neil, before we get into this, you mentioned Fitzpatrick's upbringing kind of what brought him to the stage of his career. But before we do that, I have to ask you because the promo you guys shot on those scooters you beat. When you're around Ryan Fitzpatrick, you just you just can't help but have a smile on your face. And I was chuckling as I watched that was that little clip rehearsed or was that completely

off the cuff? Ryan Fitzpatrick and his finest So I told him what we were so we it wasn't rehearsed. I said, I want you to say welcome to the Ryan Fitzpatrick Podcast, and then I'll correct you and then we'll just go go from there. Said just follow my lead. So we did it once. That was one take and that was it. That was just and I didn't know he was going to give it the big cell like he did. That was that was all him, And there was no there was no kind of lines. It was.

It was kind of a rough idea of what to say, but that that's just him and and it was. It was great because we knocked on his front door. We arrived at his house and straightaway he came out into onto the porch and said, we're going to go to the at the end of the street to do some of the filming. So he said, it's about you know, it's about a quarter of a mile down this way, half a mile down this way, And I said, okay. So he said, we're gonna need to jump in a car.

So I said, okay, we're all going to get in one car. And he said, no, No, your producer and cameraman they can get in a car. Guys, just drive to the industry. It's right down that way. You can't miss it. You and here we're going on these and that. And then he just pulled open his garage and he's like, let's get on these. There's like a couple of big kids. And then he just goes race it off down the street and I have to catch him up. I've never been on an electric scooter in my life. But yeah,

that's just him. He's just a He's one of the most down to a fun guys, totally unspoiled by fifteen years in the NFL. You would you wouldn't think he was an NFL player. You just think he's a regular guy, which is why I think so many people loved him. And I actually have a great story to add for the scooter idea here. Neil I was at a game for the Dolphins and Bengals last year. It was right before Christmas, and so he had his entire family down and he had a great game that day, through for

four touchdowns over four hundred yards. And my wife and I went down to Los Olas and Fort Lauderdale for a dinner that night, and who do we see besides Ryan Fitzpatrick. And like you mentioned, he's got the beard, he's got the trucker hat on, the T shirt and the shorts. Looks like a regular dude. And he was walking alongside who I think was his mom, and he looks at one of the bird scooters and I kid

you not, Neil. It's funny you mentioned that, because his eyes lit up like a twelve year old child when he saw that thing, like I want to ride that, but he couldn't do it. He didn't do it. He passed it by, but he definitely wanted to get on that scooter. So I think that's a hilarious segue, hilarious story.

And I wanted to ask you, since you did spend the day fishing with him, is this the kind of guy he mentioned in the podcast growing Up with Brothers and how the house was full of testosterone and how every Thanksgiving the biggest competition was the pregame way in and the post game way in. In terms of the Thanksgiving meal dinner. So I was curious, does that competitive nature, that competitive streak that he grew up with, did that translate onto the fishing boat and did you guys kind

of go back and forth that way. No, he couldn't have actually been more different in maybe he saves the competitiveness for his brothers. But he was the perfect coach. And I was terrible, Travis. I've never filmed it. I've never fished in my life. I've never fished. I couldn't even cast off to start with. And it was funny

we were I said to my producers. We were driving home at the end of the day, back to our hotel, and we were talking about what a great day it was, and I said, you know what, there was a little piece there where you could see why he's been so loved in every locker room he's been in. So every time I messed up, he would say, that's my fault. I didn't teach you properly. So I cast off one point. I cast off and the hook attached to the rope

at the end of my boat. I didn't even get the cast off off the boat, and the hook got all hooked up and caught up and he was like, that's my bad. I should have told you to look out for the rope. Literally, every time I messed up, it was his fault, and it was he made me feel so like welcome so at home. So don't worry if you mess up, you know, if you if you do something, I mean to be fair. He was giggling

away how bad I was at times. But I also did catch a fish and I had no idea what I was doing, and he talked me through the whole thing. So yeah, he wasn't competitive, but I got to see that that classic you know, it's not your fault, it's my fault kind of leadership. And it was just interesting because if he translates that onto the field and into the locker room, you can see why he's so love so when you can't the first And he accept the

credit for that as well. Oh no, but I didn't want to touch it, so no, no, it was all me, you know, it was it was giving me the credit, but he had to take over because I didn't. I didn't want to touch the fish. I'm not not very good at that kind of thing. I didn't want to know that. I just wanted to get the fish off the hook and back in the water as quick as we could. But you know, it was one of those it was one of those days where we were we

were we we kept everything rolling while we were fishing. Um, you know, aside from the sit down interview, and I think both of us forgot that we had a camera on us, that we had microphones on. It was just yeah, it was just I mean, I've covered the NFL for a long time and it was one of the one of the special days and it was It sounds like you really had a great time with him, Neil, and it doesn't surprise me at all being around the guy

just just emanates that energy. And you talked about this on the podcast with him coming off the bench and that Washington game, how he really sparked the offense and led two touchdown drives and almost one the thing at the very end of the contest, and you can kind of see that that gravitational pull that he has as a quarterback on the football field, Clearly he has that

outside the football field as well. But I wanted to kind of talk to you here about his draft day experience since we are coming up now just three weeks away from the draft, and I actually didn't know that he had an offer from Eastern Washington. I'm a Pacific Northwest guy myself, that's like two hours away from where I live. Found that very interesting. He talks, of course about his some of the trash talk in the IVY league there at Harvard, says, these stories are great. You

guys have to go check them out. On the Neil Reynolds podcast, he talks with Ryan Fitzpatrick, Dolphins quarterback. But back to the Dolphins aspect and standpoint. You mentioned that the way he does kind of have that gravitational poll

in the locker room. How much did you really get from him in terms of just being around him on an outside the football field, and you mentioned that leadership, but just the kind of guy that you want to be around definitely the definitely the kind of guy you every fan would want to go and have a beer with him. Everyone would want to hang out with him, and I think that's the same in the in the

locker room. And then when we got together to to talk about his career and we talked during this podcast episode, he said it was actually the Dolphins turnaround at the end of the season was more about emotion and art and effort than just XS and os. You know, he said he felt like he had to bring an energy and a vibe to the team when he got in there as a starter, and I thought, well, that actually sums him up as well, because you know, along the

way over fifteen years, it's probably not been perfect. I mean, he talked about in the podcast, he talks about the impact on his family of having to move eight different times. You know, he's got seven children and you know his very very supportive wife who kind of leads away whenever they have to move somewhere else. But you know, it's not been perfect for him. It's not been fifteen years all in one spot. But he's always brought that emotion,

that energy, and that heart. I think that's that that you know, if you sum up Ryan Fitzpatrick as a player, I'm going to go with the heart. You know, never sliding, always dive in my bead first at the end of a run. That's him and that's why I think fans, players, everyone, wherever he's been people have loved him. He puts it all on the line. He had a quote on your podcast, Neil that I think completely summarizes what you just said per quickly. At this point of his career, what do

I have to lose? He said, And he also talked about having a thirteen and eleven year old boys that watch every game and they're going to copy his attitude with whether it's hanging his head or being you know, upbeaten, encouraging, and he sets the right example that way. But going back to the idea that he plays with the mentality of what do I have to lose? But you also asked him about kind of this area of sweet spots for athletes, the experience and athletic ability both kind of

coming together at the right time. And fitz has told us He told us last year in training camp that he thinks he's playing the best ball of his career. And I think if you go back to the tape last year, that would certainly be the case, just based on the way he played and kind of dealing with the circumstances that he had in the situations he dealt with. Do you think that it's crazy to say that Ryan Fitzpatrick at thirty eight years old can be the best

version of himself? No, I think as soon as the ms of that, and that was kind of why I was leading him that way. I think that's clear to say what you look at what he did in Tampa, um, I look of what he did last year with the

Dolphins when he was back in there. I mean, we had we had the week's seventeen game on Sky Sports here in the UK live that and we were kind of watching it, thinking, well, Week seventeen, sometimes there's everything's decided, so you kind of you kind of just hope that the Dolphins can hang around long enough in this game against the Patriots to make it interesting. So at least we have an interesting program we can put out to

the viewers over here. And you know what, I thought, he had an answer for everything the Patriots defense throughout him and that was a good defense. And when when the game was on the line with the last two minutes left, he just methodically moved the Dolphins down the field and fired that strike for the winning touchdown. And I thought, here's a quarterback now who has all the answers. He's probably seen every defense, and I mean he's he doesn't play scared, does he? I mean it doesn't play

He plays like he he plays LuSE. He plays with it all on the line, and he's not afraid to make a mistake. And I think that goes back to exactly what he said to me, which is what we got to lose. This might be something neal that you you have to kind of go off the reservation in terms of this podcast you did with Fitzpatrick to answer.

But I'm curious because you mentioned the way that he said that the hardest part about coming to a new team because he has bounced around, you know, two years here, two years there, one year in a spot, time and time again, and he comes in and has to develop these new relationships and get to know a whole new locker room, a whole new coaching staff, a whole new

training staff, of cooking staff. I mean, the operation of an NFL football team is hundreds deep, and he comes in and finds a way to kind of galvanize this entire organization. Have you ever had conversations with teammates of Ryan Fitzpatrick that can tell you the exact same thing. Um, I haven't actually really spoken to many people that have that have played with him, but I just get that sense from looking at looking at how fans react to him,

and I saw it. I just I'll just give you this It's probably the only way I can really say where I've seen it, and you know, he could tell me it, but I can see it as well in

terms of fan bases. Is when we went around the UK and we were touring, and we did four shows in five nights, various spots around the UK, and we're getting on the bus and we're going from city to city, and literally as I introduced guests onto onto the stage, you know, they get a polite round of applause and fans were jumping out of their seats when when he walked out, they were singing the you know, the fitz Magic songs. We had. We had guys turning up him

with big beards on, some with fake beards on. We had guys with massive beards who who asked if they could come on stage and meet fits and then he got them to do a thing here and he and his linemen do where they rubbed beards on each other. I mean, he's he really brought into it, But I would say I've seen it more from the fans side as opposed to teammates of his and getting up close and personal with that beard, like you mentioned the fitz mag beard. You talked to him about does he still

hide things in his beard? First, let's let's go ahead and start there. Actually, Neil, you asked me if he if he keeps things in his beard, if he mentioned something about baby carrots, can you kind of can you just expand upon that, because I was I was curious

to hear more when I heard the podcast. Yeah, I think everyone should go and if they google Ryan Fitzpatrick baby carrots, then there there is a video there from nfl UK, an nfl UK Live tour where so we're we're touring and talking on these nfl UK lives and uh, fitz was talking about how he used to stick things in the beard, pencils and pens, and then he tells a story about how it was Thanksgiving Day dinner and

he had put a baby carrot into the beard. And so as as fitz is telling the story, he starts talking about how the kids have gone to bed and the wines flowing and him and his wife are getting a little bit romantic, and then he paws is because he's not quite sure how much more of the story to tell, and so then I just said and out popped your baby carrot, and that was it. Went viral. Oh my goodness, yes, so, yeah, you can do with

that one what you will. But that was that was the story, And I suggest everyone going to look up Brian fitzpatrick baby carrot on the internet. How much how much attention does he paid it was beard throughout the course of a day, Like being around him, is he is he manicuring it? Because that thing is so it's it's so majestic, Neil, when you and I'm sure you're getting up close to it, you had a chance to kind of see that, like is he kind of tinkering

with the beard all day? Or like what's his activity with his own facial hair? Now? He leaves it alone? He leaves it alone. He um, I think you know, I don't think he even I don't think he even touched it once. When I was saying, it's just like he lets it run free, you know, let's it do whatever it needs to do. I don't think he's I don't think he's doing a lot of grooming. M Yeah, it's just too he's too laid back and chilled out for that. I tell you why, so did the only

thing he did about his appearance that day. So we scooted down to the water's edge and again, like I said, it's like a three or four minute scooter ride down to the water's edge. And then he because he likes to be kind of outlandish, and he was like, oh no, I wanted a I had this shirt like a sort of real Florida's shirt that screams Florida. I wanted to wear that. He was like, wait there, wait there, and

he sort of went off on his scooter. He came back with the shirt on, and he was because I think he was going on vacation the following week, so so he came back with this kind of loud Florida, almost like Hawaiian type shirt on and then um, he said, where are we going to sit while we're doing this interview. I was like, oh, we can either sit on the rocks by the water, and he said, well, the tider come in soon's I'll tell you what. I'll go go and get a bench, and off he goes on the

scooter again. Then he comes scooter him back with a bench under his arm. I mean he did ever, he did all the kind of legwork to set up the interview and actually as he left on the on the as we finished the afternoon and we were heading out. He had a bag on on his table by his door with all these Hawaiian shirts for his holiday and and he said, oh, I should have worn this one. And it was the loudest, brightest pink shirt you've ever seen. And I was fits that would have been brilliant. I said,

that shirt is brilliant. I said it's bad. It's so bad, it's good. And he wouldn't let me leave until he gave me the shirt. He gave it to me that he didn't even keep it. He gave it to me. It's up in my it's up in my closet, now ready to go for whenever I go on vacation. You got to give him like one of your shirts or a shirt and tire jacket like the old jersey swap they do sky sports suit. Yeah, that's perfect. So you guys,

I don't see him as a suit and tie guy. Really, I don't know if he's ever worn maybe at Harvard. I would imagine that maybe he had to come across one one of his one day at Harvard. And let's go ahead and let's talk about that for a second. Neal his his time in college at Harvard. You talk about his Wonderlok score got a forty eight out of fifty. On the wonder leg. He played in the East West Shrine game, and he remembers getting off the bus after that game and taking an exam proctored by an ex

Harvard coach in a hotel room. Winds up being the fifth to last draft pick back in two thousand five? Was it five? Yes, two thousand five, And so his time at college kind of prepared him for the league in a way, But it was also one of the more unique experiences for a player coming up through the draft process, was it not? Yeah? Well, and and because football wasn't the priority for um for most of the

students of that school. So I don't think he walked around like a like a big shot, and I don't think maybe that's why he is like he is now he was He's never been that kind of big man on campus. I think he's just one of the guys.

And Yeah, it was interesting around the draft because his dad, he didn't know if he was going to get drafted, and he wanted to kind of keep it low profile, and his dad invited about forty family members and friends to their house on the weekend of the draft, and he didn't get drafted on day one, and I think then get drafted on day two, and then all these family people were around and Fits is sitting off in a separate room, embarrassed about not getting drafted, and then

he finally hears his name called and he's on his way. But it wasn't it wasn't a traditional route to the NFL. And I think that's what's going to be interesting about some of these stories that I tell you know, one of my future guests will be Kurt Warner, who was stacking shelves, as we know, in a in a grocery store before he came to NFL Europe and then made

it with the Rams. Bruce Arians was kicked off his high school team as a quarterback and didn't know what kind of future he had before he became a graduate assistant coach. No, no one has any one kind of cookie cutter route to the NFL. Oh, And that's where I think it'll be interesting with these stories. I'm also noticing I've interviewed a few people already and started sort of stockpiling some of these because they're fairly timeless. Some of these interviews it's really about the arts and the

wins and losses. It's all about the relationships in the locker room and the relationships with players and coaches, players and fans, players and teammates. I think that's coming through as I start to talk to more and more people. I think that's one of the things that you'll hear most.

You know, players that have moved on in their career and retired talk about is the thing they missed the most is that camaraderie and the relationships in the locker room and just the day to day grind being around guys working towards that common goal. It really is a special bond created amongst all those players, and hearing those perspectives on your podcast will certainly be great, Especially Kurt Warner,

what a what a great story that is. Bruce Arians I didn't know much about his background until you told me here, so I'll definitely dive into that. All you guys out there here, Drivetime podcast fans check out the Neil Reynolds Podcast. He is Neil Reynolds, the host of sky Sports TV, the Inside the Huddle podcast, and now

of course the new project, The Neil Reynolds Podcast. You can find him on Twitter at Neil Reynolds NFL and his podcast wherever you get your podcast from the Ryan Fitzpatrick episode number one, do not miss that and of course all the episodes after that. And Neil, when we do get back to normal life and we do get back to football, hopefully we can grab a point sometime, whether it's over in your neck of the woods or

out here in South Florida. Absolutely, Travis to appreciate having you, having me on, Appreciate the Dolphins allowing me to tell this Ryan Fitzpatrick's story. And yeah, the Dolphins are one of the most popular teams in the UK, so I hope to see you guys back over here in London soon. We really appreciate Neil, Thank you so much. Thank you so do yourself a favor and go check out that podcast. It's the first on the Neil Reynolds podcast, the new

project from Neil Reynolds of Sky Sports. It's about forty five minutes. I didn't want to get into too much detail because I don't want to spoil some of the details and some of the stories from that podcast, but

I promise you will not be disappointed. The Dolphins quarterback is very very entertaining, and that interview is fantastic, from his time in high school up to college at Harvard, through the pros, the challenges of becoming a quarterback that kind of had to go from back up to starter, to back up to starter, to bounce around the league, and then of course now his time with the Miami Dolphins, And how great was that quote about the fishing, teaching techniques,

and how great of a coach he was, always taking blame and deflecting any praise possible when Neil did in fact catch that fish. That's just the kind of guy he is. That's the kind of quarterback he is. And the other great note from this podcast I took away was the quote that we heard from Fits last training camp about how he thinks he's playing the best ball of his career and throughout the course of the season and the year prior with the Buccaneers. To me, that's

a percent true. So Fitzpatrick on the up and up, the trajectory of pointing forward, and of course his presence in that locker room in Miami goes a long long way galvanizing the entire football team and creating a great, lighthearted but serious work ethic in the Miami Dolphins locker room. So again, Neil Reynolds podcast. Go check it out, Ryan Fitzpatrick. As for this addition of the Drive Time podcast, that's going to be my time you all. Please be sure

to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcast. Leave us a rating, leave us a five star review that helps the podcast go up the charts. There help Let's get out to more Dolphins fans. Follow me on Twitter at Wingfield NFL, follow the Dolphins at Miami Dolphins, check out the fish Tank and the Audoriable podcast, and of course Miami Dolphins dot com. Five look back with nottt more up on the website and all of our previous podcasts before that Here on Drivetime. Until next time, fins up