Tony Romo, who’s set to call Super Bowl 2021 for CBS, became an instant NFL broadcast sensation and earned himself a $180 million contract from CBS partly because of his ability to predict plays before they happen.
It must have Jay Gruden dreaming of the kind of money he can make in the booth, because the former Washington head coach thinks Romo’s reputation for predicting plays is overblown.
“I could do it every time. He’s only right like 30 percent of the time,” Gruden, who spent 2020 as the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator, told The Athletic. “Those are usually pretty obvious, I mean (laughs). Nobody talks about the times when he’s wrong, but when he’s right, holy cow, he’s a genius. Oh, come on, man. Sure, it’s a run. Nope, it’s a pass. Sorry, I was wrong.”
A Wall Street Journal analysis from January 2019 concluded Romo’s predictions were correct 68 percent of the time.
Romo has had his fair share of naysayers. Former WFAN star and current SiriusXM radio host Chris “Mad Dog” Russo said during the 2019 NFL season that Romo “never shuts up,” leaving play-by-play man Jim Nantz with nothing to do.
Gruden, the 53-year-old brother of Raiders coach and former “Monday Night Football” analyst Jon Gruden, is interested in a media gig this year, with it becoming increasingly unlikely he’ll have a coaching job for the 2021 season.
“I got a couple of things lined up. Maybe try my hand at commentating, studio, something like that. If I can get lucky enough to get one of those jobs it would be great to keep alive in the football world,” Gruden told The Athletic. “I love the game. Love to talk about the game, love to be part of it. Sitting out is not really an option, but if that’s what I have to do then I’ll have to do that for a year.”