Once the subject of adulation, Tony Romo now finds himself the source of criticism
Tony Romo wasn’t going to say the “n-word,” but he does need to take his job as seriously as he does his golf game.
This week, the ex-Dallas Cowboys QB turned CBS NFL analyst went viral when during the AFC title game between the Chiefs and Bengals he verbally stumbled around a word that started with the letter “n.”
He said the letter. I cannot envision any plausible scenario where Tony Romo was going to say that word. Social media did its typical thing on Romo, whose problems aren’t words that he didn’t say.
Much like Romo’s playing career with the Cowboys, his career as a broadcaster is at the point when the same fans who loved him now are turning on him.
It happens to all of them, with the possible exception of being the late John Madden. Now more than ever, sports broadcasters can’t win.
Tony can, however, help himself. If he wants to.
All he needs to do is put away the clubs a few more times a week.
Romo the TV star
After Romo retired from the NFL following the 2016 season he was immediately paired next to Jim Nantz calling CBS’ top NFL games each week, and he flourished.
Romo knew all of the players. He knew the coaches. He knew the plays.
His enthusiasm was genuine. His commentary was authentic.
His ability to predict plays was eerie. Romodamus was born.
CBS’ decision to move Phil Simms to the studio and replace him with Romo was more than justified.
He became the subject of a bidding war between CBS and ESPN, which was desperate to put someone on its Monday Night Football telecasts who would do something other than inspire mockery and criticism.
(When ESPN hired Romo’s former teammate, Jason Witten, and immediately put him in the booth for its MNF telecasts in 2019, the thought was Witten was going to be Romo 2.0. Didn’t take).
In Feb. of 2020, according to The New York Post, Romo signed a contract with CBS that will pay him $18 million a year through 2030.
He had already made a buhzillion dollars from his playing days with the Cowboys. Throw in a few more tens of millions from endorsement deals with Corona and Skechers, and ... it’s hard to stay that motivated when you have that much money.
How Romo became a four-letter word
During the 2022 season, it became apparent that something changed.
In the fall, former NBC president Dick Ebersol told Chris Wallace in an interview that aired on HBO Max, “I’ve known Tony Romo, since he first got to the pros. He’s an unbelievably engaging guy, he should have been a terrific, great broadcaster.
“Something’s happened since he got into that chair. And it doesn’t seem like he’s into it. Like he was on his way up. He does not seem to be the storyteller that he should be. The thing that makes (Al) Michaels and (Joe) Buck great, and all these guys are they’re really, they’re really storytellers. And Tony has gotten further and further away from that I think.
“This is somebody who should be an announcer for the ages, but clearly has lost his passion for it. And I would have him in my office often not to kick his ass, but just to keep reminding him of what put him there in the first place.”
Ebersol is one of the most revered figures in the history of professional sports broadcasting; you don’t disregard what Dick Ebersol says about sports broadcasting.
Ebersol issued a glorified retraction/oops statement to The New York Post, but he said what he said for a reason.
Throughout the season Romo became a target on social media, which doesn’t necessarily mean a thing.
What became apparent is that his knowledge of the teams and the players decreased the further he’s removed from his playing career. In the place of knowledge is cartoonish enthusiasm.
Romo is going through what a lot of former players turned broadcasters go through: they eventually grow bored by calling the games they once played.
They don’t stay current on the teams, or the rosters.
The satisfaction from calling a game will never replace the feeling of winning a game. It’s something former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman has discussed, and worked his way through.
It’s one of the most difficult aspects to a post-playing life; there is no substitute for the high that comes from competing in front of 65,000 people.
Romo’s golf problem
According to The New York Post this week, multiple CBS executives visited Romo at his home in Dallas this past fall to encourage him, basically, to prepare more for the broadcasts.
According the report, the problem wasn’t fixed.
Romo can easily fix this problem by simply playing less golf, and doing a little bit more homework.
The man is so good at golf that had he elected to pursue this sport decades ago he might have just made the PGA Tour.
Romo is an outstanding golfer. An outstanding amateur golfer. He’s so close to being that good, which in golf means he’s not that close.
He’s paid to call NFL games, not play golf. That’s what CBS wants him to do.
Whatever you think of the likes of Cris Collinsworth, Kirk Herbstreit, Greg Olsen, Daryl Johnston, Charles Davis, Aikman, and many others they all are all pros who have a command of the teams they are covering that day.
Collinsworth often drives fans crazy because he’s unafraid of his opinions, but no one can say he’s not prepared, or he doesn’t know his subject.
Whatever you think of Tony Romo, he is not a dumb guy. He probably would have been an excellent offensive coach, if he wanted the schedule.
He got away without having to do much homework early in his broadcasting career because his familiarity with the NFL was fresh and current. Now it’s not.
Put away the clubs a few times and week and watch the game film and he’ll be fine.
If he wants to.
