When Joe Davis and Greg Olsen step into the booth together for the 2024 NFL season, it won’t be for the first time.
During Olsen’s first year at Fox Sports, Davis would replace Kevin Burkhardt in the booth while the No. 1 NFL on Fox play-by-play announcer hosted the pre-and-postgame shows from the World Series. Because of that, Davis and Olsen called as many as four games together in the booth.
While the chemistry between Burkhardt and Olsen is undeniable, there’s also a pre-existing chemistry between the two voices who’ll grace Fox’s No. 2 NFL team this fall.
“I did four games with Greg and hit it off,” Davis told Rich Eisen on The Rich Eisen Show last week. “The foundation of chemistry on the air is chemistry off the air. And we’re both young dads, and we had a lot we could relate on. We like food. We like restaurants. So, right away, we had a good relationship and, I think, had some good broadcasts. And I’m fired up for it. I think we’re gonna be great.”
Olsen is clearly enthusiastic about teaming up with Davis and vice versa. Eisen also mentioned that the success of this duo might rely on Davis taking a bit of a leadership role. This isn’t because Olsen doesn’t respect Davis’s talents but because of the current situation at Fox. With Tom Brady locked into the top booth thanks to his massive 10-year, $375 million contract, it seems unlikely Olsen will get the chance to call the biggest games in the foreseeable future.
“I think there’s something to that, but I think it’s also helpful that he’s familiar with this crew — the same producer, director, the wonderful Pam Oliver, that he broke in with,” explained Davis. “So, this was his first crew. And to have that little bit of background with me. Obviously, he wants to call the biggest games on the biggest crew. But to go to a new crew and not have it be totally new, I think there’s a comfort level there already, where I don’t feel that much responsibility to it, because I know he’s gonna be comfortable.
“And the other thing is, I know from talking to him like he’s channeling this the right way. Where he’s channeling this, saying like, ‘Heck yeah; let’s go be great. It doesn’t matter what number game it is, how you rank it, no, we’re still gonna get good games. And we’re going to try to be the best crew in football and crush it no matter what.'”
[The Rich Eisen Show]
