ESPN’s Adam Schefter tells HBO’s Real Sports he broke news of Packers’ job to new HC Matt LaFleur

A regular conception of reporting, especially when it comes to sports news, is “relaying what’s happened to the general public.” But that sometimes takes a turn, with reporters actually informing the people involved about what’s going on. And that was the case with the Green Bay Packers’ head coaching job, where ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter was actually the first to inform Matt LaFleur that he’d gotten that gig. Schefter revealed that on a “Adam Is On” segment on him on HBO’s next edition of Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel, which airs Tuesday on HBO at 10 p.m. ET/PT (and 9 p.m. CT). Here’s the exchange about LaFleur between Schefter and Real Sports correspondent Jon Frankel, extracted from a screener provided by HBO:

Jon Frankel:  “Have you ever called a guy and been the first to tell him that he’s out of a job or he’s gotten a job?”

Adam Schefter: “Yeah. It happened last week. Basically called the Packers head coach, Matt LaFleur the day he was hired. And I said, ‘Matt– just wanted to confirm you’re taking the Green Bay Packers head coaching job?’ And he said, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

 I said, ‘Have you gotten a call yet that you’ve been eliminated?’ And he said, ‘No.’

And I said, ‘Well, they’ve called everybody else and eliminated them. Congratulations. You’re the head coach of the Green Bay Packers.’”

That’s pretty remarkable, but it helps to show the amount of information Schefter has when it comes to transactional NFL reporting. And Schefter spoke further about that, and about his desire to pursue that, in this preview clip:

The full segment is well worth a watch, and the other areas it dives into (Schefter’s day-to-day travels from the New York City suburbs to ESPN’s NYC studios to Bristol and back, how ESPN decided to provide him with a regular driver, his marriage to a woman whose husband was killed in the 9/11 attacks and the book he’s since written about his wife’s ex-husband, and his previous correspondence with Frankel over dating someone who was widowed in those attacks) are all quite significant. It’s also notable to see the times Schefter puts HBO’s filming on pause to take a call or a text, something he’s also done with ESPN shows. At any rate, this is quite an interesting look into Schefter and his life, and it’s worth a watch for those interested in the role he plays at ESPN.

The Real Sports episode with Schefter airs on HBO Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT.