Eisen’s 40-yard run will go on despite pandemic

We just couldn’t let this stuff go … had wingtips, but clearly no

Rich Eisen wings.

The NFL Network host’s first 40-yard dash came during a lull at the 2005 scouting combine, in the old RCA Dome in Indianapolis, and on a lark, writes Sam Farmer of the L.A. Times.

“Terrell Davis was sitting next to me, part of our crew,” Eisen recalled, referring to the Hall of Fame running back. “I looked down at the field, we had a 90-minute wait until we were taping. I turn to him, fully dressed and ready to do ‘Total Access,’ with a suit and tie, and say to him, ‘How fast do you think I can run?’ ”

Davis laughed, but Eisen was serious. He left the set, walked down to the field, got into a stance that tested the fabric of his Italian suit, and chugged out a 40, just the way all the NFL prospects would do. Miraculously, he didn’t pull a muscle. Instead, he started an annual ritual.

Sixteen years later, Eisen’s “Run Rich Run” is a noteworthy date on the NFL calendar. Eisen, 51, has parlayed it into a philanthropic event, fielding thousands of videos of fans running 40s — including Commissioner Roger Goodell barreling down a hallway at the NFL’s Park Avenue headquarters — and raising millions of dollars in donations to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

“In 2015, we just decided to tell people to run their 40-yard dashes in their work clothes and upload the video to Twitter, and go to the website and donate,” said Eisen, host of “The Rich Eisen Show.” “We got a few thousand dollars that year, and it just kept growing and growing. It’s taken on a life of its own.”

Anna Isaacson, the NFL’s senior vice president of social responsibility, said in an email: “We are thrilled that Run Rich Run is happening again even during these unusual circumstances. Although the initiative looks different this year, what hasn’t changed is Rich’s unwavering commitment to St. Jude, one of our long-time partners. We salute Rich for bringing together the entire NFL family to help raise millions of dollars for St. Jude’s and the deserving children.”

This year, a twist. Because the combine was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic, “Run Rich Run” organizers had to find another time for the event. They staged it over the weekend at SoFi Stadium.

Although Eisen never has beaten the time of any player at the combine, he has improved his time since covering the distance in 6.77 seconds his first time. His fastest 40 was 5.94 in 2016, and he ran a 5.98 last year.

“To this day, whenever anybody’s the slowest at the combine, like a lineman runs the slowest of all the linemen, I get a text from Hall of Fame defensive tackle Warren Sapp that says, ‘That’s your pace car,’ ” he said.

Trivia question

What was Sapp’s time in the 40-yard dash when he was a rookie in 1995?

They said it

Eisen, on possible future glory: “I do not want to be the person that I ever beat.”

Trivia answer

Sapp ran a 4.69. For a comparison, Myles Garrett, a defensive end, ran a 4.64 in 2017.