Former NFL official Mike Carey tended to be so bad in his role of analyzing calls during games for CBS that fans did collective eye rolls any time he appeared on TV. It turns out that public criticism is what led CBS to get rid of Carey.
CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus talked with Newsday’s Neil Best about their decision not to bring back Carey and said he was surprised the public was not more patient about Carey developing.
“The issue that I didn’t anticipate was the reaction he would get when he disagreed with the official,” McManus said via Newsday. “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.”
Carey is a likable guy and served as an official in the NFL for 23 years before becoming a rules analyst for CBS, trying to fill the same role Mike Pereira has with FOX. The problem is he just wasn’t very good on TV. Not only did he tend to frequently get calls wrong (which CBS disputed), but his presentation also wasn’t very good.
