As Mike Tomlin often said during his time coaching the Steelers, “One man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity.”
At CBS, Tony Romo’s leave of absence could give J.J. Watt the opportunity to permanently seize the top spot in the broadcast booth.
Via Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, Watt said last week that he and Jim Nantz had recently worked a practice game. And it seems as if CBS is planning for a full year of Nantz and Watt as the No. 1 team.
If, as many believe, Romo won’t be back at CBS, Watt will have an extended audition for the job he’ll be performing. And CBS presumably would prefer to not hopscotch from Romo to Watt to someone else. The powers-that-be will want Watt to grow into the job, and there’s no reason to think he can’t.
Watt has the football credentials, thanks to his Hall of Fame-worthy playing career. And he has done well in his TV career, both on The NFL Today and in the No. 2 booth with Ian Eagle.
Much of it depends on the extent to which the viewers embrace Watt. Although the networks will feign ignorance as to social-media chatter, someone is monitoring all of it. If Watt creates positive buzz (and avoids saying things for which he’ll be dragged by the users of the various available online cesspools), there will be no reason to make another change for 2027.
The adjustment affects everyone on the broadcast team. This year, the No. 1 group at CBS had no choice but to pivot from Romo to Watt, after the bosses decided to sideline Romo. Next year, CBS won’t be compelled to make a change.
Nantz will have some say in this, too. If the transition from Romo to Watt is seamless for Nantz, he’ll want to keep it rolling. If the Nantz-Watt vibe doesn’t work, either on camera or behind the scenes, Nantz will be more inclined to advocate for a different direction.
Still, there’s no reason to make another change unless another change is necessary. For now, it’s basically Watt’s job to lose, if Romo has indeed lost it for good.