CBS Sports president Sean McManus says there is no truth that executives at the network staged an intervention for lead NFL analyst Tony Romo, amid criticism that the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback was unprepared at times in his role this past year.
McManus appeared on SiriusXM’s ‘Mad Dog Unleashed’ and commented on a New York Post story that reported that McManus and a lead NFL game producer went to Romo’s home to address the situation.
“The thought that there is some kind of story behind the fact that I sat down with Tony to talk about how he can get better is just inaccurate,’ McManus said, per Sports Illustrated .
CBS said at the time that the alleged intervention was a ‘complete mischaracterization,’ adding that executives meet regularly with their on-air talent.
“An enormous amount of people have come up to me who have said to me, ‘We really like Tony Romo,’” McManus said on the radio program. “He’s different. He’s not your typical analyst. He is enthusiastic. He sometimes speaks more of a fan than even an analyst, which I think people like. So I think this is being overplayed.’
Since retiring from the NFL, Romo has been the lead analyst on CBS Sports and signed a reported 10-year, $180 million contract in 2020, making him one of the highest-paid analysts on television.
‘Social media, as you know, tends to be very vitriolic and unkind and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. And then when the mainstream media watches social media, they start ganging. … Can he get better? We can all get better,’ McManus said.