Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is set to dive into a career in sports media for the 2024-25 NFL season, as he will be involved in a “recurring role” with Omaha Productions, a partner with ESPN, alongside Peyton and Eli Manning. Only time will tell whether he excels in that new role. But he at least hopes that he is better in his new role than his former player, Rob Gronkowski is in his analyst role with Fox Sports.
Gronkowski has served in an analyst role on Fox NFL Sunday since 2019, generally providing laughs with a familiar face that nearly every football fan instantly recognizes.
But as far as the insight he provides to viewers on a weekly basis, Belichick seemingly believes that Gronkowski leaves a lot to be desired.
During the Netflix comedy special, The Roast of Tom Brady, on Sunday, Belichick took aim at Gronkowski’s on-air performance for Fox, telling him to “please stop doing his job”.
“Gronk, I’ve been watching on Fox NFL Sunday,” said Belichick. “And I’m begging you, please stop doing your job. Do another job. Do somebody else’s job.”
https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1787297702667321582
Gronkowski was of course not the only former Patriot that caught some flack from Belichick during the roast. Perhaps Danny Amendola got it the worst, whom Belichick tore apart for his subpar stats during his time with the team.
Bill Belichick roasting Danny Amendola: “Danny joined us in 2014 and had 200 yards. In 2016 he had 250. Or what Randy [Moss] would call a decent first half.”
— Alex Barth (@RealAlexBarth) May 6, 2024
But still, you have to wonder whether there is at least a little bit of truth from Belichick here regarding his assessment of Gronkowski’s ability as an NFL analyst.
Belichick, who has famously been a man of very few words as a head coach in the NFL, really stole the show throughout the roast, showing he can be quite witty when he is put on the spot.
Perhaps this ability will indeed make him a better media personality than Rob Gronkowski. One thing is for sure. If Belichick is even half as good at breaking down the NFL in a studio setting as he is at coaching, ESPN is surely going to be happy that they are bringing him in.
