The Long family has become one of the more synonymous families when it comes to former football players in the media. Howie has been on FOX NFL Sunday as an analyst since 1994, Chris has been the host of the Green Light Podcast, and Kyle Long has been on That Other Pregame Show on CBS Sports Network for the last three seasons as well as being a co-host on Chris’s podcast.
All three of them have had strong success on-the-field and in sports media and Chris and Kyle learned a lot from being around their dad. This week, Kyle Long was a guest on The Adam Schein Podcast and Kyle mentioned how his dad has always been the same as a broadcaster as he was at home when they were growing up.
“The thing that stood out to me from a very young age about my dad’s work is that he was the same guy at the kitchen table before school that he was on the set on Sunday. The level of passion that he has for the game of football is unmatched. He loves to study. He is such a student of the game. It drives me crazy how passionate he is about football and his family…He’s even-keeled, consistent and I think that’s what made him great in TV is because people feel like he’s not dressing himself up to talk football. People get what they get.”
One thing that has stuck with Kyle about the way his dad was on television was that he would never railroad any player and that there was a proper way to be critical of an athlete.
“One thing I respected about my dad from a very young age in the media is he never railroaded guys. He’s never done that. You can be critical while being macro. You don’t have to get into the micro all the time particularly as it pertains to the negative. You can laud guys all day and you should pump guys up that don’t get recognition, but we’ve all been the guy that needs some support in the media and that’s a crappy feeling.”
When Kyle is looking for advice from Howie, the main thing his dad tells him is just be yourself.
“As it pertains to TV, he just always tells me to be yourself, man. Just be yourself. That’s all you have to be. Have good energy. Say what you mean. Say what you feel.”
