Why Mike Carey Will Not Be Part Of CBS' NFL Coverage This Season
Mike Carey/CBS
Mike Carey will not be on your TVs during NFL games this fall.
CBS announced this week that the former NFL referee, who'd served as a rules expert during CBS broadcasts in recent seasons, will not be back this fall.
Carey, who was a referee for more than a decade, was a constant focal point of criticism for NFL fans. Carey was (relatively) often wrong when telling fans what he thought the result of a challenged play was going to be.
CBS wishes fans were more "patient" with Carey.
“It takes some people a while to develop into good broadcasters, and the viewing public was not as patient as I thought they might be,” CBS Sports chairman SeanMcManus said of Carey’s relatively brief term on TV.
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“The issue that I didn’t anticipate was the reaction he would get when he disagreed with the official,” McManus said. “For some reason it’s OK for Jim Nantz or Joe Buck or Cris Collinsworth or Jon Gruden to disagree with an official, but when Mike disagreed, with all the years of experience he had, he used to get criticized, pretty roundly.
“So I think that surprised me. It is a difficult role, and if your job is to predict what the official is going to say, that’s an easier job than actually stating your opinion, which might be different.”
Will you miss seeing Carey during games, NFL fans?
