The job of an NFL broadcaster starts long before they put their headsets on each Sunday. Throughout the week, television announcers like Greg Olsen meet with key personnel from both sides of the upcoming matchup to gather insights and inform the audience about the state of each team.
These meetings not only enhance the analysis for the viewer but also generate a wealth of knowledge that NFL analysts can utilize on-air throughout the season. For Olsen, these meetings have been eye-opening.
During an appearance on the 3 and Out podcast released this week, Olsen explained how he gets insight into why top coaches like Super Bowl LVI champion Sean McVay stand out compared with other coaches who are “just making sh*t up.”
“It’s been the coolest part of the process,” Olsen said.
“As fun as sitting in the stadiums and calling the games and all of that (is), when you sit down and you talk to general managers and front office personnel and they really give you a clear vision of why we’ve done certain decisions over the last tow or three years to get to this point, it’s an unbelievable insight and process into how much time and thought is put into why certain teams are really good. And then you talk to other teams and you get off and you’re like, these guys have no idea what they’re doing, and it’s no wonder they’re not good.”
Many top NFL analysts like Tom Brady, Tony Romo, and Troy Aikman are former star quarterbacks. They were in the weekly game plan meetings and potentially even had an input in the offensive design.
But for Olsen, who had a more focused role as a tight end during his playing career, these calls may be even more enlightening — for better and worse.
“There’s countless times a year where I hang up off of some coaches conference meeting and I’m like, I get why Sean McVay wins a lot, I get why Kevin O’Connell wins a lot, there’s a million guys,” he said. “And then you also get off some other calls and you’re like, ‘They have no clue. They’re just making sh*t up.’ And it’s amazing at the NFL level, but that’s real.”
So next time you see Olsen calling a lopsided game for Fox, he just might be thinking that the losing coaching staff was just “making sh*t up,” even if he doesn’t say it on air.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.