The good news for TV analyst Tom Brady is that Ben Johnson, the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, is now free to be hired by Tom Brady, the minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.
It would also likely eliminate the blatant conflict of interest at play during Fox’s broadcast of the Washington Leaders’ upset win over the Lions in an NFC Divisional Round game on Saturday.
The irony is that this was Brady’s best performance yet as a broadcaster.
But the idea that the appearance of a conflict of interest between analyst and owner was “ridiculous” (according to Fox Sports’ president of programming and production) doesn’t hold up against how the broadcast actually played out and what Brady said — or didn’t do. I don’t say.
Here are five takeaways from Brady’s night in the booth:
Brady didn’t say Ben Johnson’s name.
Brady mentioned Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn several times, including the self-deprecating “What do I know?” line after calling for Glenn to stop blitzing, followed by Glenn blitzing the leaders on a penalty kill. (Maybe Glenn He should I’ve stopped bombing.)
“One of the great play-callers…has great passion and a great work ethic,” Chiefs offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury stated, including a glowing 30-second monologue early in the third quarter.
Brady spent nearly a minute talking about how great Kingsbury is. This is good! Fans want to hear what Brady thinks about Johnson, too. But would this be absurd? Unfair advantage? Conflict of interest?
Brady mentioned Bill Belichick. He even name-checked Dan Marino.
But the Lions’ offensive coordinator — coincidentally, a top candidate eyeing the appointment as his team’s head coach — was not mentioned by name. Not during Brady’s pregame analysis. Not when the Lions pulled off two brilliant tricks: “I think when you believe in your players that much, you’ll do anything.” Are you Dan Campbell or Johnson? It would be good to hear.
And certainly not when the Lions’ tricks went sideways.
Brady’s play-by-play partner, Kevin Burkhart, brought up Johnson’s name several times. Brady was determined not to utter Johnson’s name during the game.
After a disastrous trick play when Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams threw a brutal interception, Brady was saved from being suspended by a commercial break.
When the broadcast resumed, to the Fox team’s credit, Burkhart immediately said: “Ben Johnson has pulled a trick like no one else has done and they work normally, but it was a disaster.”
Brady: *silence.*
And after a 40-yard run from Austin Ekeler, Burkhart came back to the decision: “Back to the trick play that failed…”
Brady: “I tried to run something a little weird…and at that point, Williams is trying to make a decision, and he’s a non-quarterback, trying to throw the ball and read the defense and…not a great time to play the trick.”
But it was, in theory, a great time to name-check Ben Johnson, who called the trick play.
Fans deserve to hear Brady’s live analysis of Johnson, who was a key figure in the game.
Burkhart and Brady talked about Brady owning the NFL — sort of
Judge for yourself. Here’s the transcript of the exchange coming out of the commercial break with 3:42 remaining in the first quarter, Lions Ball.
Burckhardt: “You know, Tom, I had a little side hustle a few months ago. You know, buying a minority stake in the Raiders. So, you know, just normal stuff. However, the cool thing is that you’ll be able to participate in these interviews and this search for head coaches.” “And obviously we told you that Glenn and Ben Johnson did that. How did you rate them?”
Brady: “It was just a great learning experience. What you realize is that the league is full of great potential. What I believe in: the resume, the accolades are all earned by what people do on the field. You earn your opportunities and you perform and you let it all do the talking. “It should be like I did when I was a player.”
Burckhardt: “Well, they got a lot on tape, there’s no doubt about that.”
like The athlete‘s Andrew Marchand wrote about X On Saturday: “They kind of addressed that on the air.”
It was unreasonable to expect Burkhart to say something like: “So! I heard you’d love to have Ben Johnson as your next Raiders coach!” And Brady would say: “Yes! He’s amazing!”
However, the matter-of-fact exchange came as people told them what to say SomethingBut Brady didn’t have to say anything substantive.
Frankly, Brady not mentioning Johnson by name seemed more awkward and disconnected than the 35-second calcified discussion on the general topic.
“At the end of every year, the league resumes, and that is the challenge the NFL faces.”@tombrady He discusses the difficulty of maintaining a consistent level season after season in the league. pic.twitter.com/W8WVZguaV4
– Fox Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 19, 2025
This was Brady’s best performance as a broadcaster
Brady may never have said “Ben Johnson” at all, but at the biggest stage of his young radio career, he was pretty good. It was his best performance in the role to date.
Early on, Brady did a skillful job of explaining why Jared Goff and QBs are able to drop their arm angle when throwing from the pocket versus inside the pocket. He talked about his own experience throwing firearms and the influence of Patrick Mahomes.
Midway through the second quarter, after Goff narrowly missed Williams on a long throw: “He’s going to go for a home run. … When you have those plays, those are the long misses. Closing is not good enough in the playoffs. Sure, you’ve got to try Take advantage of them when you get them.
More on the Lions’ struggle: “The challenge I see, KB, is just an emotional letdown. When you’re the No. 1 seed in the playoffs… you expect to have the lead in the second quarter. Now you’re looking up. You’re down three. The crowd is so out of sorts.” Essentially, they are worried about the team… This is where there is no need to panic. This is where you have to show mental toughness.
On the pick-six thrown at Quan Martin, Brady called out this little “resistance.” He was so endearing. It was all of us.
“he [Goff] “He gets greedy,” Brady said. “You feel like you are at the bottom… When you throw high balls over the middle in zone coverage, you cause problems.” The analysis was simple but effective.
After Williams’ TD trick ends: “This is crazy! This is video game stuff right here!” It was a sincere joy from Brady. It is fair to ask whether he wished he could have said: “Great decision from Ben Johnson,” but he refrained.
On the flip side, Brady wasn’t afraid to talk about the Lions’ defensive struggles. It’s worth noting that on the decisive penalty kick when Detroit had 12 players on the field, Brady was pleading: “It’s time! Time’s out!” Then “No…no.” Then he laments: “Oh no.”
What he said immediately afterward was astonishing: “I had a coach for 20 years, Bill Belichick, who said you can’t win until you can avoid losing. And it’s played that way… Playoff football? That’s why you win games and lose them in the big moments. “
Brady spat out the word “loss.” He was audibly and instinctively disgusted. It was a great moment.
The “Brady Rules” were in effect
When Brady was approved as a minority owner in the NFL, part of the deal was to prevent him from commenting on arbitration while his games were being broadcast.
When Goff was smashed in the helmet during the sixth pick — a play that temporarily took him out of the game — Burkhart and Fox rules analyst Mike Pereira discussed the play and Pereira felt it was a penalty. Brady was silent.
With 6:57 remaining in the third quarter, Burkhart brought up a Goff play in the context of another call by the officials, the ghost holding Detroit back. As expected, silence from Brady.
Let’s compare that to the method Troy Aikman attacks officials On the ESPN broadcast of the Texans-Chiefs game when Henry To’oTo’o was called for roughing the passer on Mahomes. Fans expect analysts ready to confirm to everyone what we’re all seeing.
It’s just a small thing, sure, but it becomes much bigger if something similar happens in the Super Bowl, for example.
Brady is not a character in the TV series “Severance.”
This means Brady cannot “separate” his Raiders ownership from himself as a television analyst.
Don’t tell fans that the appearance of a conflict of interest between Brady the analyst and Brady the owner is “ridiculous,” because didn’t Brady ever say the name of the team’s offensive coordinator with turnover after turnover in a crushing upset loss shootout.
It’s better for Brady — and Fox And the fans -If the Raiders move quickly to hire Johnson and clear Brady’s schedule for the next few weeks to focus on the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl without any hiring distractions or distractions to derail his suspension.
Brady did a great job in Detroit on Saturday night. Just imagine how good he could be if he could talk freely about all the people involved in the game.
(Photo: Nick Antaya/Getty Images)
