ONE LAST DRIVE
Burkhardt & Olsen get final shot at being Fox’s No. 1 duo
For Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen, parting may not exactly be such sweet sorrow but it still must sting.
With Tom Brady set to become Fox Sports No. 1 NFL analyst next season, Sunday’s Lions-49ers NFC Championship Game will likely be Olsen’s last dance with Burkhardt, as the two are finishing their second season together.
The situation is unusual. According to an assortment of “experts,” Olsen has established himself as a voice worthy of the No. 1 role. He has an ability to teach throughout the broadcast while the game is evolving. Rarely has a No. 1 analyst, who has proven himself to this extent, been “rewarded” with a demotion and replaced by a player with no broadcast experience. It did happen when Tony Romo moved Phil Simms out of CBS’ top NFL spot in 2017.
But this is multi-megastar Brady who Fox signed to a 10-year contract worth $375 million two years ago. After losing their No.1 NFL team (Joe Buck/Troy Aikman) to ESPN’s “Monday Night Football,” the Foxies needed to restore the buzz and then some.
Along with his status as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, quarterbacks to play the game, Brady also brings celebrity glitz and glamour. These are qualities Olsen, or any other current NFL analyst, can’t duplicate.
“I’m on the record about how much I respect Tom. I understand the situation,” Olsen recently told the Sports Illustrated media podcast. “... I get it. I understand what we all signed up for, but it’s not going to alter one thing we do. And all we’ve done is continue to deliver and the ratings, the metrics, show it.”
If Olsen wants to stay in the analyst business, what are his options? Considering his performance over the past two seasons, he could land with another Fox play-by-play voice. What about the NFL’s other TV partners (CBS, ESPN, NBC, Amazon)?
As far as No. 1 teams go, those networks, barring any surprises, are set. And after his success as a top analyst, would Olsen be inclined to accept a gig that drops him down a network’s depth chart?
This is no picnic for Burkhardt, either. With Brady in the booth, the pressure will be ramped up. Even though Brady enters the biz with no experience expectations won’t be lowered. They will be sky high. And there will be pressure on Burkhardt to make sure Brady succeeds.
Then, there is the sharp-breaking curveball the Foxies could throw. If they thought Brady might have a better chance of succeeding with a little help from his friends, the Foxies could keep Olsen in the No. 1 booth, bring Brady in, and along with Burkhardt go to a three-man configuration.
It was Fox that created one of the highest performing three-man combinations in the history of sports TV, when it teamed Aikman, Buck, and Cris Collinsworth (They were known as The A Team) from 2002-04.
With all this stuff swirling around them, their minds should be clear on Sunday. After all, there is still one more game, and one last chance, for Olsen and Burkhardt to work together.
JASON HAS OPTIONS
Chances are while Jason Kelce was feeling no pain, he was also auditioning for an NFL TV job while “performing” Sunday in Tayor Swift’s Buffalo suite during Chiefs-Bills.
After he officially decides to walk away from the Eagles, the big man should be in demand, like his brother Travis, for NFL media gigs. He already projects an everyman presence.
A show that doesn’t take itself so seriously (like NFLN’s “Good Morning Football”), could be a good fit. Yet J Kelce might also be suited for other studio shows or the game day booth.
In other words, he should have options.
COURTESY COVERAGE
If the NFL buys a stake in ESPN, which has been reported as a possibility, the preferential treatment the league already receives will be over the top.
Stephen A. Smith indicated this while being interviewed by SXM’s Howard Stern. SAS told Stern if the deal goes down, he will contact the league office before reporting a story or expressing an opinion that makes the NFL look bad.
“I’m going to reach out to Roger Goodell directly to say ‘this is what I’m going to do and here’s why,’ ” Smith told Stern. “They can try to stop you. In the end it is very difficult to do.”
Oh really? Would SAS extend the same “courtesy” to the commissioners of leagues who are not part owners of ESPN?
ESPN suits already bend over backwards to maintain, and enhance, their relationship with the league. It makes us wonder how many “controversial” stories have not seen the light of day or have been watered down after the NFL has pushed back?
SO LONG, DOC
The day Glenn (Doc) Rivers convinced The Bristol Faculty he would be part of their No. 1 NBA broadcast team for the long term, the loquacious one must have turned in an Academy Award performance.
Anyway, it’s good riddance to Rivers, the Pied Piper of Puff. With Milwaukee making him their new coach, we will be spared from hearing Rivers use ESPN’s microphone to lobby for his next NBA coaching job.
Meanwhile, ESPN got what it deserved. It fired Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy using an excuse that it was worried about them jumping back into the coaching ranks. That was disingenuous drivel. Fortunately, the Basketball Gods, and Rivers, turned the tables on them.
Now ESPN is left with Mike Breen and Doris Burke (aka Mork and Mindy), as its No. 1 team. Try selling that Dozy Double to Basketball America. The Brainiacs running ESPN’s hoops department need to add a third voice.
And that should be the man who invented basketball — JJ Redick.
AROUND THE DIAL
If Bill Belichick doesn’t land a head coaching gig during this cycle could television be a possibility? We don’t see him enjoying the confrontation necessary to work in the studio. Nor would the grind of analyzing games, and criticizing players, be appealing. Yet a brilliant mind might customize or create a show (or segment) for him. Something where the coach takes viewers inside the game — a teaching kind of thing. … It’s interesting that criticisms directed at Tony Romo rarely blame the CBS executives who decided he was the future of NFL game analysis. It makes you think Romo forced the suits to hire him. … Sal Licata and Brandon Tierney’s Thursday WFAN session with Andrew (Dice) Clay was hardly an interview. It was a 45-minute filibluster by the comedian. … Christopher (Mad Dog) Russo went on another archaeological dig last week bringing former NFL running back (Dolphins, Colts, Eagles) Norm Bulaich to the SXM microphone. Good questions. Good stories. … Thought SXM’s Adam Schein was going to lose it when a caller revealed himself to be X handle “brickwall89.” Just wondering if Schein will be able to contain himself when “Brickwall90” and “91” confront him.