"I said, ‘Coach, I am so sorry.’ And he goes, ‘Why are you sorry? This is your job.’ I loved him so much for that."
Tasked with interviewing Mike McCarthy as the Dallas Cowboys were getting blown out by the Baltimore Ravens, Erin Andrews began with an apology.
With the Cowboys trailing Baltimore 21-6 at halftime, playing terribly on both sides of the ball and staring at a 1-2 start to their season, having to stop their head coach for an interview on his way out of the locker room is undoubtedly an awkward position to be in. And on the latest episode of their Calm Down podcast, Andrews told co-host Charissa Thompson about her exchange with McCarthy during the Fox broadcast.
“Yesterday couldn’t have been worse for the Dallas Cowboys, well it could have been worse, I did the game a couple days after their strength trainer passed away in front of all of them,” Andrews recalled. “I worked that game three days later and it was horrible.
“But in terms of a team struggling on both sides of the ball…that is where we kind of earning our money as sideline reporters and feel bad if you have a heart as a broadcaster. Yes, it’s part of the job, it’s why these guys are paid. But standing in the hallway waiting for Mike McCarthy to come out after he addressed his team and trying to stop the bleeding on both sides of the ball in that Ravens-Cowboys game, I looked at him as he walked out and I said, ‘Coach, I am so sorry.’ And he goes, ‘Why are you sorry? This is your job.’ I loved him so much for that. He’s just so lovely and sweet.”
McCarthy has been on the hot seat in Dallas pretty much since Jerry Jones hired him to be the Cowboys head coach. And that seat has only gotten hotter as calls for the Cowboys to replace McCarthy with Bill Belichick grow louder. All that to say, McCarthy shouldn’t be rattled by having to answer a few questions from Andrews while his team was struggling at halftime.
The apology wasn’t necessary, but it showed Andrews recognized the human element of being a head coach in the NFL while your season is in turmoil. McCarthy likely would have been respectful of the job Andrews was tasked with for Fox regardless, but you can’t fault a coach for not wanting to be engaging down 21-6 halftime. And Andrews breaking the ice by addressing the uneasiness of having to do an interview in that spot was a pro move from arguably the best sideline reporter in sports media.
