By Richie Zyontz
FOX NFL Lead Producer
Editor’s Be aware:Richie Zyontz has been an NFL producer for FOX since 1994 and is in his twenty third season because the lead producer. He has greater than 40 years of expertise overlaying the league and has produced seven Tremendous Bowls. All through the 2024 NFL season, he’s offering an inside look as FOX’s new No. 1 NFL workforce, together with NFL legend Tom Brady, makes its journey towards Tremendous Bowl LIX.Learn extra behind-the-scenes tales from Richie Zyontz right here.
At our first offseason assembly at his Florida residence, Tom Brady mentioned one thing fairly attention-grabbing.
Whereas munching on steak tacos with very wholesome trimmings, Brady informed us how easy Invoice Belichick made the sport for his gamers. That appeared like a revelation to these of us on the skin who regard the ‘hoodie’ as a soccer savant perpetually teaching prefer it’s three-dimensional chess.Â
Easy is sweet. It applies to most professions, particularly broadcasting. An NFL sport is a fast-moving, extremely coordinated effort, the place seconds really feel like minutes to these of us chargeable for its choreography. So when Brady talked about “easy,” it actually resonated as we began to strategize about Tom’s first 12 months as FOX’s lead analyst.
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We’d keep away from a laundry checklist of do’s and don’ts. That creates confusion and a cluttered thoughts — for the analyst and the producer. Tom had already reached out to all the massive names in sports activities and sports activities tv. I can solely think about the names floating round in his contacts checklist. When he will get to the J’s he comes up with Michael Jordan. After I go to mine I give you Jersey Mikes.
However all these exterior conversations landed on the identical recommendation — be your self.
It takes a workforce …
Inside 5 minutes of our first dialog, the phrase “workforce” got here up repeatedly. Music to my ears, certainly! As we’ve labored our manner by means of the beginning of the season, it’s so obvious why all his earlier teammates cherished him. Regardless of all of the accolades and achievements, Brady is most of all an awesome teammate. He respects the work each member of our crew does. That may be very empowering to our younger impressionable manufacturing crew.
Tom Brady meets with the manufacturing crew throughout a lunch assembly in Los Angeles in June. (Photograph by Richie Zyontz)
At a June lunch in Los Angeles, we gathered our crew for lunch. Brady went across the desk asking every individual what their duties had been for the printed. He then proceeded to ask about our backgrounds and the way all of us began in tv.
He’s extra thinking about “course of” than anybody I’ve ever labored with — and that encompasses 43 NFL seasons.
Most broadcasters aren’t involved with how the sausage will get made. Tom asks a number of questions.
Curiosity is a invaluable trait. I believe it is going to serve our crew nicely.
A finely tuned machine …
Fortunately for Tom, he’s becoming a member of a veteran group. Kevin Burkhardt, Erin Andrews, Tom Rinaldi and the mix of Mike Pereira and Dean Blandino have made his transition seamless and painless. Wealthy Russo has directed 5 Tremendous Bowls. Our technical crew is second to none, many having been with us for 20 years or extra.
Now, I used the phrase “painless,” however there was some ache as we started ramping up within the spring.
Donning headsets in a studio on the FOX lot, Kevin and Tom started by calling video games from final season off a monitor. This helped with their chemistry however proved awkward since we had no management over the images or the replays.
Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady labored collectively to construct chemistry heading into the season. (Photograph by Richie Zyontz)
From there, we graduated to an precise broadcast sales space — calling a UFL sport and two NFL preseason video games.
This proved very useful. Brady set to work underneath precise sport situations, studying the mechanics of being an analyst and coping with the assorted voices in his ear.
A UFL sport proved to be nice observe for Tom Brady. (Photograph by Richie Zyontz)
And we’re off …
Chemistry is all the things. Fortunately, Brady works subsequent to Burkhardt, whose center identify ought to be “chemistry.” Kevin has an ease about him not usually present in New Jerseyites. He offers Brady the mandatory room to comfortably slide into his new position. And that chemistry exists all through our complete crew.Â
Saturday evening dinners are essential to workforce constructing — not less than at our community. That’s the place a statistician from a farm in rural South Dakota like Jeff Nelson can sit and chat with a seven-time Tremendous Bowl champion from Northern California.Â
Saturday evening dinners are nice for workforce constructing, the place a statistician from South Dakota like Jeff Nelson (left, in blue shirt), can sit and chat with a seven-time Tremendous Bowl champ. (Photograph by Richie Zyontz)
A number of observations after three weeks:
Tom is a fast research who depends on real-time suggestions. And he’s not on the lookout for pats on the again. He labored underneath Belichick for 20 years. Nothing we are saying may offend him.
His preparation is immaculate — simply because it was as a participant. He compiles his personal analysis booklet and shares it with our complete crew. At our Saturday evening manufacturing conferences, he lays out his profitable blueprint for each groups. And to nobody’s shock, he’s been on the cash every time.
In Sunday’s sport, his blueprint mentioned that the Cowboys wanted to point out toughness — they didn’t. He additionally indicated that Lamar Jackson wanted to unfold the wealth round and never be a one-man present — he did.
Tom has change into extra decisive in his ideas with every broadcast. And he’s having fun with himself. Cameraman Andy Mitchell discovered a fan in a shirt emblazoned with the rating 28-3; a reference to the Patriots‘ well-known comeback win in opposition to Atlanta in Tremendous Bowl LI. Brady used that chance to explain his mindset on the time and apply it to Dak Prescott’s wanted technique, because the Cowboys had been down 28-6 on the time.
In three brief weeks, Brady already owns the road of scrimmage as an analyst, very similar to he did as a participant, mentioning the cat-and-mouse sport between the quarterback and the defensive signal-callers. All very encouraging indicators.
This journey has simply began, and I can’t wait to see the place it goes.
Richie Zyontz has been an NFL producer for FOX since 1994 and is in his twenty third season as lead producer. He boasts greater than 40 years of expertise overlaying the NFL.
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