He’s the ‘Romo-stradamus’ of Super Bowl LIII, but Tony Romo is mum on Cowboys’ future
Tony Romo was the star of CBS’ Media Day on Tuesday in advance of Super Bowl LIII between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams.
His ability to predict plays as a game analyst has gained him a cult following and a nickname of “Romo-stradamus” by broadcasting partner Jim Nantz.
There were 27 people on stage for CBS and all but a couple of questions from the podium were directed at Romo.
And the former Cowboys quarterback loved every minute of it.
Asked if he considered switching to the Weather Channel because of his forecasting abilities, Romo deadpanned, “I hear they pay better.”
He even predicted the score of Sunday’s game between the Rams and Patriots down to the situation, without giving a winner. Romo said it would be 28-24 with the losing team having the ball last and failing to score.
It was the classic funny, humorous and awe-shucks Romo that has resonated so well with audiences in just two years on the job, after injuries and the emergence of Dak Prescott forced the Cowboys all-time leading passer to retire following the 2016 season.
But one question stumped Romo, causing him to grow serious and then respond with a non-answer: What do the Cowboys, who lost in the NFC divisional playoffs to the Rams, need to do to take the next step?
“Hmmm, that is a good question,” Romo said after a brief pause. “I will pass on that.”
Romo was noncommittal on his expectations for quarterbacks coach Kellen Moore, who is expected to be promoted to offensive coordinator in place of the fired Scott Linehan.
Romo had his best season under Linehan in 2014 when he threw 31 touchdowns with just nine interceptions and was an MVP candidate. Moore was his backup quarterback in 2015-2016.
But considering that coach Jason Garrett remains the leader, he questions how much will change at all.
“I don’t know. I thought Scott did a good job,” Romo said. “Expectations happen in the NFL. If you meet them, you’re rewarded. If not, then things change. Change is inevitable. But I honestly don’t know how it will play out. I think it will be interesting to see what they morph into. In a lot of ways, I think they’ll probably stay pretty similar because the head coach is there and it’s still probably going to be his verbiage, so my guess is you can only branch so far but they’ll have new wrinkles here and there.”
Romo never mentioned Garrett by name. Not then, and not in a follow-up about what the Cowboys can do to put Prescott in a better position to succeed.
“I think he is in a good position,” Romo said. “I think the coach has done a good job for all of their players. You know, that’s what their goal is, to put everyone in the best situation possible. There are a lot of things that go into it. It’s not just a play call, or a quarterback, or a throw.”
Romo has heard the longings of Cowboys fans who have lobbied for him to become to the team’s offensive coordinator.
“They’ll have to wait,” Romo said. “I’m sure one day I’ll coach. Just right now, I’m happy with where I’m at. I’m enjoying it and I’m lucky to be in this position calling the Super Bowl. You know, I have three young boys at home that I want to be around and watch them grow up.”
Pressed further on his coaching future, Romo said: “I’m sure the competitive side (wants to coach), I’ve said it before. But it’s just many years away. It’s not around the corner.”
What’s around the corner is Sunday’s Super Bowl.
He said he doesn’t miss football as much as he used too and golf, rather than broadcasting, has provided an adequate competitive replacement for football.
And he doesn’t view broadcasting the Super Bowl, even as one of the network’s biggest stars, as a replacement for his Super Bowl dreams as a player.
“I don’t know. I never got there. It is one of my biggest disappointments,” Romo said. “I wasn’t able to do that. You leave your body, your heart and everything into it and you try. It’s something you have to live with.”
Romo said broadcasting Super Bowl LIII is not the same version of the same dream. It’s a different dream and a different life. And he’s trying to give it his best as he did in football.
“It’s a different life,” Romo said. “You move on. You are disappointed. You give everything you got. And like anything, you move on. I don’t look back a ton. Just kind of move on, to the next step and next phase and try to make that as great as it could possibly be. You do that you try to be as good as you can be at the next thing. You move on. It’s part of your ability to improve and get better, try to be as good as you can be in whatever it is you are doing.”
He is now considered the best at calling games and predicting plays.
Just don’t ask him about the Cowboys.
This story was originally published January 29, 2019 at 6:17 PM.
