Just a few months into his TV broadcasting career, Jason Garrett could already be in line for a promotion.
The former Cowboys coach has been working with NBC on USFL coverage, which began in April. Now it appears he may be taking over for Drew Brees in the booth for Notre Dame football games this fall and possibly in the studio for Football Night in America, the network’s Sunday night NFL pre-game show.
The report comes from the New York Post. NBC declined to comment, according to the paper.
Garrett, 56, has been teamed with Jac Collinsworth (son of Cris Collinsworth) for the relaunched USFL’s first season and done well, by all accounts. Collinsworth- a Notre Dame grad- is apparently being eyed to take over the Fighting Irish play-by-play duties on Saturdays from Mike Tirico, who is replacing Al Michaels on Sunday Night Football.
That shuffle suggests that Garrett could stay partnered with Collinsworth and replace Brees after just one year on the job. The former Saints quarterback was said to be out at NBC back in May. Fox is rumored to be interested in bringing Brees aboard as their No. 2 analyst.
If Garrett takes Brees’s seat on Saturdays, it stands to reason the network could also have him assume Brees’s studio duties on Sunday nights.
NBC has already revealed that Cris Collinsworth and Melissa Stark will join Tirico for Sunday night game coverage.
It should be noted, however, that neither Brees nor NBC have said whether the 13-time Pro Bowler would return to the network in some other capacity for the 2022 season.
But social media posts from Brees confirmed that some sort of change was in the offing for him, as he toyed with the notion of everything from an NFL comeback or the senior golf tour to coaching kids or concentrating on business and philanthropic work.
After 17 seasons on coaching staffs in Miami, Dallas, and New York, Garrett admitted to a similar level of uncertainty as he took a noncommitted approach into his first TV gig just a few months ago.
“I love coaching. I love players, I love building teams, all of that. This was just an opportunity that came up this offseason,” Garrett said at the time. “It just sounded like something that was going to be interesting and fun to do. So I’m diving in right now, but all doors are open in the future.”
With the USFL season scheduled to culminate as a champion is crowned on July 3, that next door may be opening for Garrett. And it may be just down the hall from his current post.
The Cowboys are currently slated to be featured in NBC’s Sunday night coverage in their season opener hosting Tampa Bay on Sept. 11, in Week 6 at Philadelphia, and in Week 13 versus Indianapolis.
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