Chris Russo hilariously flubs attempt at pronouncing Matt Eberflus’ name

Chris “Mad Dog” Russo has garnered millions of dollars for speaking into a microphone. Yet, amazingly, the Radio Hall of Famer can’t correctly pronounce half the names and sports terms he’s paid to talk about.

Tuesday afternoon, Russo remained on-brand with his self-imposed tongue twisters when he attempted to pronounce the name of Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus. The bullish attempt, shared by Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina, occurred on Russo’s SiriusXM Radio show during an interview with Peter King.

Here is Chris “Mad Dog” Russo trying to say the name of Bears coach Matt Eberflus. pic.twitter.com/dhQqH2F8x1

— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) October 10, 2023

“If you talk about vacancies in the NFL, there’s nothing in the NFC West,” Russo said while discussing potential head coaching changes in the NFL. “O’Connell’s going nowhere. Is Albrus, the Bear coach, gonna be in trouble down the road?”

Mock him for brutally flubbing the name “Eberflus.” But credit Russo for quickly adding, “the Bear coach,” realizing no one was going to have any idea who “Albrus” was in reference to.

Eberflus is the latest name to fool Russo, but it’s not the first, and it certainly won’t be the last. Just last month, Russo butchered the name of Mad Dog Sports Radio’s newest morning show host, Damon Amendolara, a person he’s known for 25 years. Russo was also recently tripped up by New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave.

But it’s not just Eberflus, Amendolara and Olave. Russo has struggled with Saquon Barkley, Qatar, the Washington Commanders and a cast of other sports names and terms throughout his renowned radio career.

In general, sports media executives might prefer a more polished host, who can properly pronounce the names they’re paid to talk about. Russo, however, has managed to turn his one-of-a-kind accent into part of his long-lasting appeal.

At least Russo tried to pronounce Eberflus. His former radio partner Mike Francesa would more likely just say, “the kid in Chicago.”

[SiriusXM, via Jimmy Traina]