ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes has made a career of critiquing decisions made by NFL teams. But on Friday, it was Kimes who was under a microscope after coming up short on her recent appearance on Celebrity Jeopardy! earlier this week.
After advancing past the quarterfinals round last month, Kimes faced off against David Friedberg and Sean Gunn in the semifinals on Wednesday. Despite holding a lead throughout most of Wednesday’s show, Kimes ultimately came up short after both she and Sean Gunn got the Final Jeopardy question wrong and Friedberg got it right.
Kimes finished in second place just behind David Friedberg. However, the ESPN NFL analyst was rather hard on herself during an appearance on the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast, likening her tentativeness on “daily doubles” to that of an NFL head coach who is afraid to go for fourth-down conversions.
“I could feel his disappointment in my cowardly bullsh*t daily double strategy,” said Kimes of Celebrity Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings. “You can see it, just the disgust… I am the coach who kicks the field goal instead of going for it!! My whole career is devoted to calling these coaches out on cowardly game management, and then when I was in that situation, I panicked like a word I can’t say.”
.@minakimes on her Celebrity Jeopardy! showing:
“I am the coach who kicks the field goal instead of going for it!! My whole career is devoted to calling these coaches out on cowardly game management, and then when I was in that situation, I panicked like a word I can’t say.”… pic.twitter.com/AFPNQtwriP
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) April 18, 2025
If you don’t think Kimes was hard enough on herself, Pablo Torre and Dan Le Batard certainly were, roasting her for what they believe what would be considered a “choke” in the sports world.
“Mina, for those who are not watching, is in full NFL coach behind a mic podium posture,” said Torre. “Just really disappointed in herself not having the right strategy.”
“I was so pissed walking out of there because I felt like I just strategically didn’t prepare for the right things. And I didn’t think through it. I was really mad at myself,” replied Kimes.
“That is choking though right Mina?” asked Le Batard. “This would be textbook definition of choking, right coach?”
.@minakimes answering like a football coach when asked whether or not she choked on Celebrity Jeopardy! is comedy. 😂😂😭 pic.twitter.com/9tnZWyk9GS
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) April 18, 2025
While Kimes was disappointed in her loss, she also couldn’t admit that she “choked,” claiming that she knew “pretty much every answer,” but wasn’t able to buzz in before her competitors did.
“I don’t think I dominated to the point where it is textbook choking,” Kimes contested. “Like, I don’t. I choked on the daily doubles. And I think that’s why that was the hardest for me to watch because that was my fault. I knew pretty much every answer, but I just couldn’t buzz in. That’s not choking, that’s just not being as good at it.”
Le Batard continued to call Kimes’ loss a choke, particularly when it came to Kimes’ strategy throughout the semifinals.
“The reason that I say it is choking is because the combination of panic and lack of strategy that, in a moment makes you go ‘Ahhh’. Because all of the sudden you are scared.”
Whether you believe Kimes choked or not, she is pretty disappointed that she wasn’t able to follow in Katie Nolan’s footsteps and become the second sports media personality to appear on Celebrity Jeopardy! finals.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.