Being a rules analyst was always something that Dean Blandino thought he could do at some point.
The NFL’s former Vice President of Officiating (2013-17) discussed his transition to the broadcast booth on the latest episode of the Awful Announcing podcast and told host Brandon Contes that the work of Mike Pereira at Fox helped blaze that trail.
“I worked with for a long time,” Blandino said of Pereira. “He was doing the NFL Network segments with Rich Eisen at the time. When I was the head of officiating, I was doing those segments with Dan Hellie, and it was good preparation. You’re talking to a camera; you’re not talking to somebody in front of you; you’re trying to articulate things.
“I always knew TV was something that I thought I would be good at. And I thought I was going to stay at the NFL a little bit longer in that role, Fox Sports; it was an opportunity that presented itself. It made a lot of sense for me in my life at the time — and I love the NFL — but it was a great decision to move over to the broadcasting side.”
Convinced of his TV potential, Blandino’s move to Fox Sports proved a rewarding career shift despite his love for the NFL.
Contes asked Blandino if he feels like he has more to offer as an analyst, whether it’s more mic time or just being a third analyst with a set booth every week.
“It’s a great question. I really feel like what I’ve learned with my time in broadcasting, our value as rules experts is not when we come on the air,” he said. “There’s time when we come on the air, and I can say, ‘Hey, I don’t have anything to add,” because if I come and say, ‘Hey, look here’s the left foot at the sideline,’ everybody at home can see that. Like, I don’t need Dean Blandino or anybody else to tell me that.
“I think our value is we can talk to the producer directly, or I can talk to Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen directly, and I can walk them through situations, so they can go on the air and explain it. I can tell them and be in their ear, and then it’s seamless, so I don’t even have to come in on the broadcast. Now, if there is something significant and we really have to get into more detail, then that’s what I’ll do. But our value — we’re doing that throughout the game — getting in our producer’s ear, the producer can get into talent’s ear, and it’s seamless.
“So when I hear Greg talking about a rule, most of the time that’s coming from me through either the producer or directly to him. And a lot of them — Greg’s really good with the rules — so, a lot of the times, I’ll reaffirm. I’ll say, ‘Greg, great job. That was exactly spot on,’ or I’ll give him something to add. That’s kind of where our value is.”
Blandino acknowledged that there are times that his expertise is most valuable when it’s used behind the scenes to inform broadcasters rather than always requiring them to explain rules on air directly.
Blandino’s transition from the officiating office to the broadcast booth demonstrates the changing landscape of sports media, where expertise extends beyond on-air roles.
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