Longtime Fox Sports NFL reporter Pam Oliver may or may not be returning to the network next season.
Oliver’s contract with FOX is expiring, and a network spokesman would only say that she was “an extremely valued member of the Fox Sports family” when asked about her status by Sports Illustrated. Oliver has been with FOX since 1995.
The 2013-14 NFL campaign was a tough one for Oliver. First, she suffered a concussion after being struck in the head by a football during a preseason game. That was followed by some poorly-received comments at an October event promoting the Super Bowl, and then in January she had an over-sympathetic interview with 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh after the NFC title game.
Add to this that FOX has been clearly bullish on Erin Andrews since hiring her from ESPN in 2012. Andrews has been assigned to nearly every big event FOX has broadcast over the past 18 months, including February’s Super Bowl. Andrews already works with the lead FOX NFL team of Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Oliver for the biggest games of the season, and it would not be a shock if the network decided to place her there permanently.
(Mon. news from SI.com)
