Being right ain’t always easy, but that won’t stop ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky from trying, and savoring all his analysis that proves to be true.
Orlovsky is the subject of a detailed profile for GQ Sports this week, where writer Matthew Roberson spent a day at Bristol with the former NFL quarterback. Since joining ESPN, Orlovsky has morphed into one of the network’s most interesting personalities. He relishes the fact that people find him weird for his strange food takes and personal hygiene practices. But he also relishes being right about football.
“I love being right,” Orlovsky told GQ. “I mean, it’s a flaw. But that’s my game day—my victories are being right when other people aren’t. My victories are finding stuff. That’s my wins. I take a lot of pride in that too, I honestly do.”
“He loves being right,” his NFL Live co-host Mina Kimes agreed. “If he’s right about something and it’s proven correct three years later, he’ll text me about it at 5 a.m. It’s very funny.”
But the drive to be right comes at a cost. The GQ feature paints Orlovsky as an over-preparer, which stems from his time as a quarterback. Orlovsky’s wife, Tiffany categorized her husband as a “psychopath with work” for this near addiction to watching film.
“I think being the most prepared and informed person is never a waste for me,” Orlovsky says. “I used to get mad, because my jaded mindset was like, ‘Everybody should watch the games like I do.’ No. That’s what makes me different. But Stephen A., that’s not his job. That’s also what allows for good conversation. I think that’s something that I’ve learned as well. Everyone has different roles, and none are more important than the other. They’re just different and that’s what makes a show.”
“It’s not fun all the time,” the former NFL quarterback admitted. “I had gotten to the point where I was like, ‘Yo, I don’t want to watch football.’ Because I had gone almost…I think I had two days off in like 111 days.”
Like any sports analyst, Orlovsky isn’t always right. The time he claimed Dak Prescott didn’t deserve to be paid as much as Carson Wentz stands out. And some of his quarterback rankings have been off the rails, such as listing Prescott 12th among the 14 playoff quarterbacks last season, or ignoring Joe Montana when he listed his top five quarterbacks of all-time. But the insight he offers on NFL Live is astute, the takes he gives on First Take are always entertaining, and some of the information he casually divulges on podcasts are so bizarre they’re almost endearing. All of it has helped turn Orlovsky into one of ESPN’s most beloved talents on the screen and off it.
“I think the reason people like him so much—this is going to sound corny, but fuck it—he’s a great teammate,” Kimes told GQ. “What makes him so rare is that he both treats everybody with respect but also pushes people to be better. He works so hard that everyone around him feels compelled to work at a similar level. He pushes me to be better, and then when we are better, he celebrates us more than anybody I’ve ever met in my life. I owe a lot of my career over the last couple of years to him, frankly.”
[GQ]
