He addresses the report that Amazon wants him for Thursday-night football.
1. It was recently reported that Amazon wants to pair Troy Aikman with Al Michaels for its Thursday-night NFL package that will begin next season.
During his appearance on this week’s SI Media Podcast, which dropped this morning, I asked Aikman whether he would be interested in that gig.
“Maybe,” he said. “I’m not sure where all that might lead or how things end up. Right now I’m just focused on Fox. I do know this. I love working for Fox. I love the people I work for. I love the people I work with. I’ve had the same producer for 21 years, Richie Zyontz. I’ve never had another producer.”
Aikman added, “I’ve been really fortunate. It’s kind of a mom-and-pop-type operation. I don’t know that it’s that way at other networks. Whenever I have a question, to be able to call the people who actually sign my checks is pretty nice. So I’ve enjoyed that. Now where it might lead with Amazon, I’m aware of those conversations, as well. I guess time will tell.”
I then asked Aikman whether he would keep his Fox gig while doing the Amazon job simultaneously.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “There’s been conversations, like, I’ve not had conversations myself with anyone, with Amazon or with Fox about this. There has been conversation that if Amazon had an interest in me maybe I would continue with the same schedule that I’ve been doing and that is Thursday nights with Amazon and then doing the late game and the playoffs with Fox. I will say that’s a lot. I’ve been doing it for four years now. I really thought I’d do it for one year, and the first year was a lot of fun doing Thursday nights, a prime-time game, something I had never done before. And now here I am in my fourth year, and it’s a lot. I don’t want to say it takes the enjoyment out of it because I really love what I do. What it takes away is the time spent with the crew and really being able to get to know and enjoy the people on your crew. There are people who have been on our Fox crew for two or three years who I really don’t know because I haven’t been around them. I think like any good team, that’s part of it. That’s kind of the magic in what you do. So I’m not ruling that out, but my preference because of how difficult it is would be to get back to a normalized schedule and do one game a week.”
If Aikman ended up exclusively with Amazon next season, that would cause quite a domino effect in the NFL broadcasting world, because Fox would then need a lead analyst to pair with Joe Buck. It would be unlikely Fox would elevate its No. 2 analyst, Greg Olsen, into that role, since Olsen is just in his first season calling games.
It would also be a credibility builder for Amazon if it could steal Aikman from Fox and pair him with Michaels, who, if you heard on a recent edition of the SI Media Podcast, sounds like he’s definitely headed there after this season.
Other topics covered on this week’s SI Media Podcast with Aikman include the prospect of a Patriots vs. Bucs, Brady vs. Belichick Super Bowl; how Aaron Rodgers’s toe injury could affect him; what’s wrong with the Cowboys; the emphasis on taunting penalties; the ManningCast; and much more.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher.
2. Here’s all you need to know about Urban Meyer after he was fired as Jaguars coach with a 2–11 record: His firing had Aaron Hernandez trending on Twitter this morning.
3. CBS announced Thursday that Nickelodeon will carry a wild-card game on Sunday, Jan. 16 at 4:30 ET. Noah Eagle, Nate Burleson and Gabrielle Nevaeh Green will once again called the slimed-filled telecast. And now let’s all enjoy SiriusXM’s Chris Russo trying to pronounce “Nickelodeon.”
4. Calling all Ted Lasso fans: The show has released a little Christmas for you.
5. This was very well done by ESPN’s Malika Andrews. Just keep an eye on Richard Jefferson’s face throughout the clip.
6. Presented without comment.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: A very nice reader sent me this video of a re-created The Sopranos opening featuring the Office theme song, and it's wonderful.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Stitcher. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.