For the first time since Tony Romo’s arrest and departure from CBS Sports, his longtime broadcast partner Jim Nantz spoke publicly about the situation.
Appearing on the Jimmy Traina “Traina Thoughts” podcast, Nantz said he had no role and no say in CBS Sports’ decision to part ways with Romo, with whom he continues to have a “forever relationship” that dates back several years before their on-air partnership. Nantz: “We’ll be friends forever. Nothing changes.”
Nantz sidestepped the question of whether CBS made the right decision to drop Romo, who was arrested for OWI in July and subsequently placed on leave, but said he checked in on him after the decision was announced earlier this month “just as a friend to make sure he’s alright.”
While Nantz made sure to note that “no one can defend” the OWI, he expressed confidence Romo “will come through this” and work again in the industry. “I think unquestionably he will work again. I don’t know if it’s calling games or being in the studio. He’s got a lot of talent, he’s got a lot of people who like him, and he’s a star. And he’s got a personality that’s different, and that’s a good thing. He’s a bigger-than-life personality.” He went on to compare Romo to original “Monday Night Football” analyst “Dandy” Don Meredith.
When the conversation shifted to Nantz’ current partner JJ Watt, he took pains to stress that any praise of Watt was not in service of highlighting Romo’s shortcomings. “Anything I say about JJ is not a reflection of what I wasn’t seeing with Tony,” Nantz said, before praising Watt’s preparation for game telecasts. “His preparation is so much like a guy that is preparing for an actual game to play in it. It’s astounding to see the level of detail that he gets into — and that he shares,” calling it “commendable” that Watt shares his insights with the production crew throughout the week.
Nantz described Watt, who is in his second year as a game analyst, as a “total pro” about making sure the crew is aware of his thought process going into a game, later adding that he is “acting like a very experienced broadcaster when it comes to knowing when to drop in information.”
Again stressing that he was not trying to compare the two, he also described his interplay with Watt as more traditional than with Romo.
Nantz: “I’m not saying this is good or bad, but stylistically, I’m now back to pretty much what you would call a play-by-play role. Moreso, more traditional. I guess I don’t mean this to sound like a comparison, but Tony’s broadcasting style — I’m not saying it was wrong — it needed to be tailored toward his persona. And he’s a big kid, and he needed room. That’s the way it worked. It worked exceedingly well, and it’s a different demand on the play-by-play role than it is with JJ. This is more, a little more traditional.”
