Cowboys News: Troy Aikman on shaky ground with ESPN, Jim Nantz defends Tony Romo
By Jerry Trotta
The Dallas Cowboys are well-represented in the NFL’s coverage of primetime games.
Former Super Bowl winner Troy Aikman is now calling Monday Night Football with longtime partner Joe Buck on ESPN after years calling “America’s Game of the Week” on FOX, while Tony Romo is partnered with Jim Nantz on CBS. The duo is typically assigned one of the week’s most high-profile games.
Incredibly, both former QBs are navigating issues with their current employers.
In Aikman’s case, there’s mounting speculation that Aikman and Buck, albeit to a lesser, extent had an influence in ESPN’s decision to swap MNF director Jimmy Platt and producer Phil Dean.
Awful Announcing reached out to ESPN and found the unexpected change was part of an “ongoing friction between production crew and talent.” One longtime MNF staffer said ESPN technicians felt “betrayed” by the network’s leadership.
The tension started in Week 1 when Aikman took issue with a wonky telestrator as he tried to analyze plays for the viewing audience.
Sources detail Troy Aikman’s rocky relationship with MNF crew in wake of production shakeup https://t.co/MEuHKlody4 pic.twitter.com/DuIeYj2Gqm
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 17, 2023
Former Cowboys QBs Troy Aikman, Tony Romo dealing with behind-the-scenes issues at ESPN and CBS.
The tension didn’t end with the telestrator, however.
Awful Announcing shared that Aikman — unlike previous MNF broadcasters — didn’t go out of his way to ingratiate himself with his new team. One source said Aikman arrives Monday (game day) on his private jet and flies home after the game, leaving minimal time to practice and interact with his teammates.
Another source told Awful Announcing that Aikman knows 10 people on a crew that carries some 150 or more people and that the former Cowboys quarterback never showed to a camera meeting or attended a crew outing.
It seems like Aikman has some bridges to mend before he enters the second year of the five-year, $90 million contract he inked with ESPN.
That brings us to Romo, who purportedly underwent a CBS-ordered intervention amid backlash from his broadcasting during the 2022 season. Romo was accused of bypassing film study — a must for a high-profile color analyst. Viewers have also grown increasingly fatigued by Romo’s replay analysis.
Appearing with @JimmyTraina, Jim Nantz pushes back on the recent criticism of Tony Romo. https://t.co/uylxDglgZM
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) April 13, 2023
Appearing on the SI Media with Jimmy Traina podcast, Romo’s broadcast partner Jim Nantz pushed back on the criticism surrounding Romo.
"“I think there was a little bit of a misinformation attempt there to portray him in a not-so-favorable light,” he said on the podcast. “It was very disappointing. It really got, to me, more steam after the AFC championship game, which was our last game. And for the life of me, I didn’t understand it…”“Tony is the best,” Nantz said. “He’s the absolute best. And he’s also one of my best friends. I love the guy. And when somebody starts questioning our chemistry, there’s an agenda there. There is nothing wrong with our chemistry. I have never had better chemistry with anybody in my career than Tony. All you have to do is sit in the booth with us, which people that are covering our business, they’re always welcome to come in and take a look at how we interact between the two of us, on the air, off the air, between plays. It’s amazing. I’m not worried about it.”"
Another reason that proves Nantz is the best.
It’s admittedly unsettling that both Aikman and Romo are in the crosshairs. Hopefully, both analysts get back in the good graces of ESPN and CBS and this supposed friction become non-stories by the start of next season.
