Tony Romo gets honest about criticism

The criticism of CBS NFL analyst Tony Romo can certainly be exaggerated at times, but even he knows it can also be warranted.

Romo joined a recent episode of Cousin Sal’s Winning Weekend for The Ringer and FanDuel TV. During the interview, “Cousin” Sal Iacono asked Romo about dealing with the criticism that comes with being the lead NFL analyst for CBS.

“You get a turtleback in some ways once you play in the NFL, where it’s like things can just kinda hit you and roll right off,” Romo said. “But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect the people around you or the people you’re with. So, you’ll hear about things and when you talk about the criticism I say, if you’re on Twitter and you’re basing it off that, it’s not unwarranted .

“Maybe I should do these things, maybe they’re right in some ways. It’s my job to – I want to do the best job for this game so you enjoy it the most you possibly can…You want to enjoy the experience and if I’m making it not enjoyable, well that’s on me. I should do a better job of that.”

While the social media criticism of Romo might be loud, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback says fans are very complimentary in person. Romo noted fans might even tweet praise of him on occasion, but they’re not going to do it repeatedly. The critics, however, they’ll jump at every opportunity to tell you Romo is bad at his job. Romo added that he might ask fans for feedback one day by putting the question on social media. Personally, I would advice him against that.

Sal recalled a similar situation when his cousin Jimmy Kimmel was working for Fox NFL Sunday as its game prognosticator. According to Sal, they put Kimmel’s fate in the hands of the fans at one point, setting up a phone line where people could vote whether he should leave or stay.

“That’s the world we’re in and that’s a good thing,” Romo said. “In my opinion, the fans are the people who literally decide and should. Because it’s like, if they don’t like you, we’re not playing sports trying to win. We’re trying to make the experience better for the viewer.”

Romo exploded onto the scene in 2017, exceeding everyone’s expectations and later parlayed his quick start into a massive $180 million contract with CBS in 2020, doing the NFL broadcast industry a major service by raising the ceiling  on everyone’s salaries. But the luster has since faded for Romo, with people becoming less impressed by his ability to predict plays, and more caught off guard by his at times over-the-top excitement.

The overzealous enthusiasm, strange noises and tendency to step on Jim Nantz’s calls makes Romo an easy target on social media. Social media might just be a microcosm of his audience, but at least some of those concerns were shared by the network, with former CBS Sports chair Sean McManus admitting he told Romo to “calm down a little bit” last year. Romo downplayed his critics earlier this year, and while he might not pay much attention to the negative criticism, he apparently believes it can be warranted.

[ Cousin Sal’s Winning Weekend ]

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