Jim Nantz is in unfamiliar territory this season, as the veteran play-by-play announcer is calling games alongside NFL legend JJ Watt rather than his usual partner, Tony Romo. Romo and CBS mutually parted ways earlier this month following the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback’s OWI arrest in July. Since then, Nantz has remained silent about his former booth partner’s situation, but now he has broken that silence, addressing Romo’s future.
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In a recent episode of the Traina Thoughts podcast, Jim Nantz opened up about the situation, addressing Romo’s future.
“I think unquestionably he will work again. I don’t know if it’s calling games or being in studio, but he’s got a lot of talent. He’s got a lot of people who like him, and he’s a star.
“He’s got a personality that’s different, and that’s a good thing. …And I don’t know where Tony’s head is on that right now, so I’m not going to speculate, but I think you’re asking me ‘will he ever work again in the business?’ I think there will be plenty of opportunity for that, because he’s got game.”
It’s been a couple of weeks since CBS and Tony Romo parted ways. The network hired Romo in 2017 as its lead NFL game analyst following his retirement from the league. He joined Nantz in the 2017 season, and the duo worked together for almost a decade before Romo’s departure this season.
During his appearance on the podcast, Nantz also acknowledged his relationship with Romo.
“It’s a forever relationship [with Romo]. It was a great friendship before we got started as teammates on the air, I’ve talked about it through the years that when he was a player, with his love of golf … when I would have a Cowboys game we would spend a lot of time, devote a lot of time in these production meetings to talking about golf. So it was a friendship that went back, I’d say [to] 2010.”
CBS’ decision to part ways with Romo came more than two months after the former QB’s arrest. As per Nantz, it was the network and division president Davis Berson’s decision to let Romo go.
“I had no role in this,” Nantz added. “…and I think that’s the way it had to be. It was going to be CBS Sports’ decision and Dave Berson. I had no role. No role in that whatsoever.”
Tony Romo’s incident took place in late July. According to the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office report, Romo was stopped after allegedly passing vehicles in a gore area, the marked space separating highway traffic from vehicles entering from an on-ramp.
Officers reported signs of impairment, including glassy eyes and an odor of alcohol, and said he performed poorly on field sobriety tests.
Reportedly, an open alcoholic beverage container was also found in the vehicle. Subsequently, he was taken into custody.
About a week after his arrest, CBS announced that Romo was on leave from his broadcasting role “until further notice.” In his absence, JJ Watt was assigned to the lead broadcast team with Nantz and Tracy Wolfson. Meanwhile, Berson said that there was no timetable for Romo’s return, while citing the importance of CBS’ image.
“We had to consider the impact on our image and on our brand. That’s very important to us. Whether the games, marketing, PR, social, the focus should and needs to be on our presentation and not on any other factors,” said Berson.
Ultimately, CBS announced their mutual separation, confirming that Watt would be the lead analyst for the rest of the season. For now, Tony Romo will stay away from broadcasting for the rest of the season.
As for his return, Jim Nantz is optimistic that his former partner will return. With CBS or any other platform? That remains to be seen.